Trouble (7 page)

Can we
shake on this one?” Matt said as he extended his hand.

“
I think we’ll keep this one open for the time being,” Byron
said forcing a smile.

Chapter 12: The Moment of Truth

They were
leaving for Griffin Observatory in the 6th period and were all
expected to appear very promptly at the planetarium by 2.00pm.
Natalie and Byron went in Matt’s sports car. The Observatory was on
the south side of Mount Hollywood with a breathtaking view of the
greater LA city area.

Their
lecture was held in the Oschin Planetarium Theater and was on the
theme Centered in the Universe. The presenter also talked and
demonstrated supernovas. These were exploding stars. They were
intrigued to see and to be told that some stars seemed to go
through tantrums like in soap operas. They seemed to fake their own
deaths. These were oddball sort of stars that were born out of the
merger of other stars, They ran on nuclear fusion and when they ran
out of fuel their core collapsed and they exploded making up new
cosmic bodies. The presenter showed a stellar merger image showing
that large stars brushed against each other. Although they appeared
to die, they didn’t and merely became much larger stars.

For some
strange reason Byron thought that these stars resembled them too.
They tried to form units with one another. Many times it worked
well. Sometimes it didn’t work out. They always took something out
of these interactions whether good or bad.

+++++

Byron and
Natalie came out of the 290 seat theater and were separated from
Matt. They went up to the ramparts and admired the breathtaking
view.

They
stood closely together in deep thought.

“
There seems to be a lot going through your mind,” Natalie
said.

“
A teen thinking deeply can be stormy,” Byron said
cryptically.

“
Why?”

“
I’m too embarrassed to tell you.”

“
Try me.”

“
You won’t get angry with me?”

“
Let me hear it first.”

“
As I held you in the Station I couldn’t help noticing that you
were very pretty and vulnerable.”

“
You mean I’m pretty when I cry?”

“
It brought out other hidden qualities in you. You saved
Quentin. You believe in yourself. You have inner strength. I know
I’m rambling.”

Natalie
was going to make a comment but thought better of it and remained
silent.

“
I want to be part of your scene. You had chosen Russ so I
waited. Then he moved out of your orbit (he paused) and here I
am.”

She
seemed to be genuinely at a loss for words.

“
I had this overwhelming urge to kiss you at the Station as I
held you. Then I thought that would be unfair.”

“
A brotherly kiss.”

“
What I was thinking of was a passionate French kiss where time
sort of stood still.”

“
Sort of Romeo and Juliet.”

“
Minus the suicide bit. I’d like to do it now.”

“
You mean over here with all these people watching?” she
whispered.

“
They’re watching the great city below them and even the
galaxies. And we’ll just kiss for maybe 3 minutes. That hardly
counts in light years.”

“
You sound very persuasive.”

Byron
knew he was taking a gamble by making this ultimatum at this
delicate time, so soon after her break up with Russ. He felt that
if he waited longer, she might move on to someone else. She would
make a decision on whether she was the right one for him. He held
her tightly and kissed her passionately. He wanted to go deeper
into her life and he sensed from her subtle body language that she
was unwilling to go into unexplored territory especially as she had
to deal with the trauma of an absent dad. She was also rattled by
his cherubic face. The thoughts and passions behind the face ran
deeper and she was unwilling to commit to an obsessive kind of
love. She didn’t mind kissing altar boys on the cheek but
passionate kisses took her into unexplored territory that could be
very exciting but also emotionally draining. He knew the moment
that the kiss ended that she would discourage him in the politest
way possible. She had come into this relationship looking at him as
a brother rather than a boyfriend. That was his disadvantage from
the beginning. He had forced the issue but from her subtle
gestures, he could sense that she had not changed her
mind.

From his
vantage point hidden from them, Russ watched the unfolding scene
with bitterness and anger. “You slimy little creature, you couldn’t
wait one day to get your lips on her body. Well I have a little
surprise for you all,” he said triumphantly as he moved
off.

She
touched his face. “You have a nice tender face.”

He was
about to kiss her again and then he stopped abruptly, “Oh my God.
Okay admit it,” he said forcing a smile.

“
What?”

“
The sensitive face thing.”

“
I said tender.”

“
I sometimes hate my face.”

“
I know. That’s why I said you have a nice face and you should
love yourself. You’re unique.”

“
Tender face.”

“
Well I just meant that. Nothing more.”

“
You think I kiss like a girl.”

“
No. I mean that you’re a caring kind of a guy. You’re the type
who’d make love rather than screw a girl.”

“
Don’t they mean the same thing?”

“
The screwers usually boast that they have spread their
tadpoles in the pool.”

“
And the ‘make lovers’?”

“
They’re considerate like you. They have candle lit dinners,”
she paused. “And they do it after marriage.”

“
I’m tender and cherubic,” Byron sighed. “I’m
overwhelmed!”

“
You have atmosphere. You’re forever saying that you hate your
face. But it’s tender in a very nice way. Be proud of it.
”

Byron
looked ahead as if talking to a camera for youtube, “Taylor Swift,
did you hear that? She said I have a caring face and I don’t bring
her trouble.”

“
And you’re like a brother to me?”

“
Okay I take the hint.”

“
You’re always looking out for me. You care for me.”

Things
were not working out as he planned. She was hesitant about
committing to him. He was too much of a gentleman to beg her or
force her.

He saw
Matt coming up, smiling and looking so carefree in his hunk of a
body that seemed unusually adult like for a 16 year older and
wanted so much to hurt him. Why should he be so fortunate to have
the prettiest girl in the school? He didn’t stand up for her or
defend her. He had just come in at the right time and place and
found the competition in disarray. Byron wanted so much to kiss her
again (knowing that Natalie would not protest) while he was
observing them so intently. He wanted to make him feel that if he
couldn’t get her, neither would Matt. He snapped out of his dark
thoughts. He could never do that and hurt Natalie in the process.
He felt guilt that he had even contemplated the idea.

Natalie’s
eyes were moist. She had anticipated that they would have this
challenging moment together when they would discuss their
friendship and separate as romantic partners but be closely linked
in a brotherly, sisterly relationship .Byron understood her well
and she admired him for that.

Matt
waved to them from the lower ramparts.

“
You two have things to discuss so I’ll leave you two for a
while. I’ll go to the “Fight Scene” area,” Byron said with a forced
smile.

“
Your obsession for James Dean is admirable,” Natalie
laughed.

“
Rebel with a cause,” he said. He liked to feel that loving
someone meant respecting them and not exploiting them, hence his
emphasis on the rebel ‘with a cause.’

Matt was
tense and looked expectantly at him. “I understand I’m the new kid
on the block. I don’t want to get in the way if you two are
close.”

“
I just want Natalie to be happy.” Byron forced a
smile.

Matt
sensed that this issue had not been solved. It would surface later.
He knew that his social skills needed improving because he was not
subtle or diplomatic in what he said when discussing Natalie with
Byron.

Chapter 13: Quentin and Byron

“
Byron, hi.”

“
Hi Quentin,” he said uneasily. He was still reeling from the
polite refusal by Natalie and was careful not to sound offhand. He
didn’t want him to feel that he was taking out his frustration on
him.

“
I saw you looking so intensely at the world below you,” he
said for want of something to say.

“
Just refreshing myself with memories from here,” Byron
said.

“
Rebel?”

“
With A Cause.”

“
That’s a new angle,” Quentin paused awkwardly mustering up
courage to express himself. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you but
kept putting it off until after what you did.”

Byron
fidgeted uneasily.

“
I wondered if we could do things together
sometime.”

He
started thinking of how to refuse without sounding or acting
impolite. His fertile mind started conjuring up things like doing
treadmill and other work out exercises in matching velvet tights or
motor bike rides in matching Bermuda shorts and wrist bands. This
would all be done as they exchanged cheesy pleasantries on which
fabric had a nice silky feel or which nut jelled well with vanilla
ice cream and other goofy talk. He felt immediately ashamed of his
thoughts. He felt he was being unfair on Quentin and at the very
least should hear him out.

“
I hear you like hunting and hiking. We’ve got a cabin in the
forest with a great pool. Just great for swimming.”

“
That sounds interesting.”

“
I have a Honda and I can give you a few pointers. I hear your
dad is buying you one.”

Byron
looked excited. “That’s really cool.”

“
Unless you want to be driven around in your SUV.”

Byron
cackled.

“
And maybe you can teach me those games I hear you’re so good
at.”

“
I’d love to do that.”

“
This is a great way of penetrating each other.”

“
Penetrating each other?”

“
You know. Like penetrating each other’s minds and getting to
know each other.”

Byron
couldn’t stop laughing. It was the funniest thing he’d ever
heard.

“
You probably know that my parents are gay.”

The
hardest part was coming Byron thought and I’d better behave myself.
“Natalie told me. How does that work out?”

“
My parents are both male.”

“
So were you adopted?”

“
My sister and I are both biological children of my dad. We had
a surrogate mum.”

“
You also have a sister?”

“
She’s a freshy at St Monica’s. You’ll meet her when you come
for a sleepover.”

Sleepover? Did he hear right? “It must be interesting having
gay parents,” Byron said for want of something to say. He felt
awkward not knowing if he’d said the appropriate thing.

“
They are very caring.”

“
That matters a lot,” Byron said.

“
By the way I thought I might mention that I’m not
gay.”

“
Not gay?”

“
Yes and neither is my sister. We have gay parents and they
respect our sexuality. Maybe later in life we may develop gay
interests but not at this point in our lives.”

“
That’s cool,” he stuttered. He felt quite foolish with himself
that he had made so many assumptions about Quentin.

Quentin
did not tell him that they did not go around saying this to people
because it could be misconstrued. Some people might think they were
trying to deny their parents. They only came out with their
sexuality if people asked them about it or if they were confiding
to friends.

There was
a twinkle in Quentin’s eyes, “I bet you were thinking I’d try and
have a relationship with you.”

“
No. No,” Byron said rather too quickly.

“
You thought I’d hold your hand over candle light and look into
your eyes.”

They both
laughed heartily.

“
I’ve been having so many issues lately and was just thinking
that I needed to circulate a bit more, go out on sleepovers and
keep myself busy.” Byron whipped out his phone to get Quentin’s
number.

“
Can I get a hug from you?”

Byron had
no difficulty with that.

“
That felt great, I mean, hugging a hero who stood up for
me.”

Byron
looked embarrassed. He was not so sure if he was a hero as his
actions had been partly done to impress Natalie.