undeceived [novahd]

4

James wasn't a religious guy. Nothing about it appealed to him, and he never really saw how it would to other people. Really, he was just far too narrow-minded to do so. In James' mind, there was nothing that could justify meaningless war and violence, like religion so often did. Plus, he's read a bible; he knew just how much nonsense was in it. To him, none of it seemed to make much sense anymore. No premarital sex? No gays? That was basically all that made up James' life. It just didn't make sense to the young 16-year-old that a man up in the sky cared so much about what he did when there was already so much worse in the world. Why would someone who created the entire universe want to dictate over who he slept with?

Plus, growing up where no one gave a shit about you didn't really teach the boy much about faith. James knew firsthand how cruel the world was, and how little God gave a shit about all these kids in here. He figured, if there was a god, most of these kids would've at least got adopted by now. And he didn't believe in the everything happens for a reason shit either. None of the shit in his life was going to make him stronger. He was in a shitty situation, and that was the entirety of it.

Yet, Aleks was amazed by everything James disagreed with. All of his past concerns about brushing his teeth and getting breakfast melted away at the words of the priest. Frankly, it almost seemed unnatural to James. He didn't really know anyone so interested in faith.

"Jesus Christ, that was amazing!" Aleks rattled on, breathlessly and excited as he sat down next to James at their lunch table.

"I'm pretty sure the Bible has some strict rules on using the Lord's name in vain." James pointed out with a mouth full of food and a smile played on his lips.

Aleks quickly shot the boy an obviously fake smile, before glancing around the table to see unwavered looks of disinterest. His smile faded and brow furrowed in mild disappointment at their lack of reactions and began to speak again. "Am I the only one then?"

"Kinda." Trevor shrugged honestly.

"It's not the whole religion thing in general-" Joe spoke, although was quickly cut off.

"Oh, it is for me." James quickly chimed in, before returning right back to his meal.

"It's just that our priest kinda just says the same thing every week. Gets old." He finished cheerfully, after shooting a chuckle to James.

"I don't know. It was just so motivating! And plus, there's gotta be more to it, right? The Bible's not all just orphan shit." Aleks fought in hopes to earn some of the guys' agreement.

"Everything in that book is bullshit, dude. Most churches don't even donate the money to us. They just keep it to build a new stage or something." James rolled his eyes, gesturing around with his fork.

"Every place has some corruption. Just cause it's there, doesn't mean it can't be fixed." Aleks shrugged.

"Are you really into all of this?" Joe asked, as if it was something rare. "Like for real?"

"Yeah, I think so." Aleks nodded a little more confident in the situation.

The rest of the boys nodded in understanding, except James, who outright chuckled at his friend's stupidity. Aleks immediately turned to him in confusion at James' unwillingness to listen.

"What?" Aleks asked, irritation clinging to his words like a bee to honey.

"Nothing- nothing." James managed between giggles. "It's just- it's not something I would expect you to like."

"I'm sorry, but didn't we just meet yesterday?" Aleks pointed out as a small grin formed on his face in confidence.

"He's got you there, dude." Trevor chuckled.

"Trevor-" James scolded with a side-eyed glare, before turning his attention back to Aleks. "C'mon, man. I think I know enough about you to know that your aren't gonna agree with some of the shit in that book."

"I don't know, dude." Aleks shrugged, finally dropping the subject.

They continued on the next few days without much talk on church, except for the occasional playful argument. James, who was critical and close-minded, never even thought about giving Aleks a chance, even if he did have some good points. Although, James has always been stubborn.

And by the end of the week, Aleks found himself more and more understanding of the religion, reading the Bible almost every night and scheduling time to talk to matrons about it. James had barely seen Aleks anymore, besides their short moments before bed. There they would talk about their day and joke about whatever came to mind.

Everyone was comfortable. Minor differences in the group wasn't enough to destroy it, so they used them to communicate. Talking about their beliefs, whether it was James' hate of religion or Aron's blatant disinterest in the whole thing, left them without any silences. And Aleks was feeling more at home as the days passed. He actually felt like he was wanted in a way that every orphan wanted to be. He was content.