Chapter 13 Royal Claim
Trent
Trent amazed himself by doing the one thing; not once thought of doing in his life. He watched two men do explicit things with each other. He was more than mildly surprised by the manly grunts and bad language passed back and forth. The craziest thing about it all, it didn't do much for Trent. Though he was sure it turned most gay men on, but for Trent himself, not much. Just a full fledging raging hot boner. None of it really brought a rise out of him. He couldn't stop imagining doing a few of those things with Jason. That was the reason he had a boner.
He had to keep the volume down to a zero and kept his phone under his desk while checking to make sure no one was watching. At first he felt like he was twelve years old all over again. Like he was committing a serious felony. He wasn't even supposed to be using his phone.
Trent was going from video to video, trying to find something to get a rise out of him. Not much of it worked. At least not of the bondage stuff did anything for him. He became repulsed when he stumbling across golden showers and pissing. That was enough research for the day. How in the world did anyone get their rocks off on something like that?
Gym class came and went almost as normal. He tried to ignore the guarded looks he was getting from one of Jason's best friends, Nicklaus. Every time he turned to face whoever he felt was staring at him, he'd find Nicklaus staring with no shame. Some of the other guys noticed and started giving him crap about it. Like with most guys, they found ways to laugh it off and continue on with their game.
Trent was no longer the only guy on the volleyball team. A guy who laughed too loud and thought he was a gift from heaven decided he wanted all the glory to himself. Only half female population seemed happy to oblige. The other half went out of their way to show Trent their loyalty.
By loyalty, some girl he hardly knew, a brunette grabbed Trent by the shirt as he was leaving the boys locker room, shortly before gym ended. She was strong for her size and kissed Trent like he was the last man on the planet. Her hands balled into fists as she gripped his shirt and pulled herself closer. Trent let it happen, because was let's face it, she was hot.
His body started to heat up, including the southern part of him. The reaction was the same as it always had been. Trent by no means was a virgin, but that didn't mean he was the kind of guy that chased every skirt imaginable. He had the family name and morality to uphold.
She used her tongue and Trent responded with the same favor when suddenly he felt... wrong. Shame. They were behind the other bleachers. It was darker and cooler there. Trent could hear the same senseless babble of his fellow peers just on the other side, but that was irrelevant.
Trent broke away from the kiss but the strange girl didn't seem to notice. She suddenly looked very pleased with herself and literally skipped away. Meanwhile, Trent was breathless and leaned against the back of the bleachers for support. He brought one hand up to his face like he just had his first kiss. With his fingers he traced the pattern where the girl's lips had been.
Some stranger kissed him, but in the back of his mind, he wanted to kiss someone else. He almost kissed that someone-else earlier that other day. That someone was obviously Jason. What was he thinking? Judging by the sudden bulge in his pants apparently he still could.
The shame though, the shame he felt came as a surprise. But why? What did he do to feel ashamed about? He kissed a girl, and he liked it. Simple right?
Trent was a man, a man that liked women, and the occasional guy. He just never acted on it before.
Right?
What?
The bell rang again and Trent drifted back out from behind the bleachers wanting to find a rock to hide under. No one seemed to notice or care as he drifted out the doors. He hardly looked up after he went to his locker, to get everything he needed for the next two classes. When he did look up he saw Jason's head someplace too high for it to be.
Trent stood rooted in place until Jason got close enough before turning a corner, to head down the art hall. Jason was on some cowboy-boot-wearing, skinny-blue-jeaned, pale-blue-button-up, exposing half of his chest, guy's back. Trent wasn't the only one openly staring. Everyone in the hall was. Jason on the other hand didn't seem like he had a care in the world, but he also looked...
Trent was suddenly not happy, and this surprised him because, what right did he have over someone he hardly knew?
He felt his face go white hot with fury beyond his comprehension. Irrational thoughts came into play. Why did Jason stay quiet about having a boyfriend? Trent felt like he'd been humiliated, slapped across the face. He'd rather he was slapped across the face. At least that would have felt better.
Wait, why am I mad? What difference does it make? We're not even boyfriends. Boyfriends!?
"Oi," Zoë had that habit of popping up when least expected. "Are ya alright mate? You look like you could melt that row of lockers down with a look like that."
Trent needed to get a grip on himself. "I'm fine." He gave himself a mental headshake. There was no need to take any of his hanger out on her.
"You don't look fine, you look sad now." He heard Zoey say before he turned around to head over to his next class.
The rest of the school day Trent used every brain cell imaginable, into his school work. He aced every pop quiz without much effort. He was selected to read out loud to the class. There was a 'Popcorn' rule meaning a student could pick any fellow student they wanted, and that student could read out loud for as long as they wanted. Trent read out loud to the end of the lesson. He didn't care when his accent slipped up but he noticed no one bothered to sleep through class anymore.
Everyone was kind of staring him like he was a different person now. Or maybe that was just his imagination.
After the last period let out, Jason's heart fell into a thousand pieces. He was about to head over to Jason's locker and push the green monster that added too much weight to his stomach, someplace else. What he was saw was, the same guy, this time with his shirt more open close to his navel was standing there with Jason too. Caitlin and Nicklaus were also there.
Trent thought about turning around and leave without a word, until that guy wrapped an arm around Jason's waist to pull him closer. He went as far as calling Jason a virgin. That wasn't much of a shock to Trent. Even though Jason had already mentioned having a boyfriend before. The guy sounded like he was a jerk anyway. But wait...
Trent found himself straightening out his face like he was about to go before the paparazzi. He let himself think tall and glided over to Jason. At the moment, he couldn't care less about anyone else. Caitlin was the first one to notice, and she looked alarmed. She nudged Jason with her elbow. That brought Nicklaus to look his way too.
Jason turned to Caitlin first, then found Trent heading his way. Everything was happening in like a slow motion movie, when the nameless guy finally noticed Trent. A smug smile fell upon his lips, that Trent seriously considered in wiping that look off his face, with his fist, but Jason was right there. Too close. Trent had to remind himself that he was not an animal. He needed to focus on what growing up in royalty taught him.
He started with Nicklaus. "Hey, meant to apologize to you about the uh," He meant the words but this was still all for show.
"No problem man, it was all one big misunderstanding." His face hardly gave much away but Trent knew he couldn't win them all overnight. Nicklaus held onto his girl, protecting her, or that was a natural thing to do.
Caitlin stared just as blankly at him as her boyfriend had most of the day, but there was a hidden hostility there. The cowboy was the only curious face. Jason didn't look like he fully trusted Trent. Trent figured he deserved that for the cold way he treated him recently.
"And thanks for your, um, help. I deserved it." He added sheepishly to Caitlin.
Caitlin only bobbed her head up and down once. She didn't say anything but that was about as close to an acceptance as Trent was going to get. He didn't miss the fact that her eyes momentarily slid Jason's way. All she'd been doing was looking out for her best friend, and Trent even knew, Caitlin could see straight through his acts as she blurted out the question, "What do you want? Don't you have new friends to hang out with?"
She was due to be the hardest nut to crack next to her generally carefree boyfriend. Nicklaus didn't look like he could hold a grudge much more than he could carry water in his hands. At least Trent had that in common with him. Jason was about to say something but the mystery guy spoke first. Clearly he could sense there was about to be trouble.
"Yo, name's Jasper." He held out a fist expecting a fist bump. Trent knew what to do but all he could do was stare at it wondering what he was supposed to do with it.
"This is Trent, he's not from around here," Caitlin said without looking at anyone, and not all happy that her question had gone by unanswered.
Nicklaus held on tighter, brows knitted together as he tried to meet her gaze.
"Yeah," Jason said to brighten up the mood. "He's from the Westside of Australia. So I've heard." Jason suddenly looked shy, not used to being in the spotlight.
Trent couldn't help but smile, a sincere smile this time as he looked at Jason almost appraisingly.
"Nice to meet ya mate." Jason said in his most cunning smile to Jasper.
Caitlin suddenly snapped her head in his direction noticing the hidden venom in Trent's voice. Apparently she and Trent had a lot more common. Nicklaus couldn't see it but he was starting to put the pieces together as he followed his girlfriend's gaze. Jason seemed to sense it. Jasper was starting to size Trent up, and Trent returned the favor.
"Alright you queens, knock it off." Caitlin's voice, though slightly cautious, seemed to snap everyone back into place.
Even Jason seemed to pull away from Jasper's arm but he wasn't moving towards Trent either. "Yeah he's been my ride these past two days. Last week actually. Then he just kinda... stopped."
Jasper was frowning at Jason but trying to hide it. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Though Jason clearly wished he could be anywhere but here.
"You also stopped showing up." Two could play that game Jason. You pushed me away, but then, we both did that to each other.
Trent knew he was acting like a possessive jerk, but couldn't help slinging his arm around Jason's neck soon as Jason was free from Jasper. Trent had to fight back the urges he felt, that were trying to get Trent to almost dry hump Jason in front of everyone. He never knew he had that kind of insanity in him! Until he saw Jason in the arms of another man.
Trent refrained himself from forcing Jason to walk away from everyone without saying goodbye at first. Nicklaus looked worried and Caitlin looked heavily conflicted. Trent feared that he was going to have to break down and tell her the truth one day. Maybe then she wouldn't worry as much? Had Trent been in her position, he would have reacted the same way.
"Where're you goin bro?" Trent knew it couldn't have been that easy as a hand fell over his shoulder just as he turned his back. Jasper as it seemed, wasn't about to let Trent go without his say-so. Most of all, Trent felt a flicker of admiration for the man for standing up to him like that.
That didn't mean Trent wanted to remove that hand, painfully if possible. "To talk."
For the longest time, there was a silent stare down between Jasper and Trent. Jasper squinted mildly while Trent refused to look away. It went on and on even things started to get uncomfortable. The feeling of Jasper's hand over Trent's shoulder was starting to burn when suddenly, "Don't take too long." The threat was clear in Jasper's eyes: Don't you fucking hurt him.
"Promise." Trent replied.
Trent could have also sworn he heard Caitlin mutter something about promises, promises, but first things first. Jason.
They were out the front doors when Jason finally pulled out from under Trent's arm. The action alone stung Trent more that he would have liked to admit.
"Ok Trent, what the hell was that?" He was fighting himself to keep from shouting.
Trent felt exactly the same.
"Do you think you've got some kind of royal claim on me? Let me remind you, I am not an object you can play with then throw away at your convenience."
Huh? "What?" Why did Trent bring Jason out here? To talk about what again? Or was this all because he wanted to get Jason away from Jasper?
"Oh..." Jason was shaking his head in four different directions with anger. "You heard me. I know you did. You can't keep giving me all these mixed signals. What's wrong with you? Are you in the closet?"
I don't know! He wanted to scream.
"Then what do you want from me?" Jason's voice sounded just a tad defeated, and lost.
If Trent could have worked up the nerve to at least express how he felt with the usage of words, he would. His feet wouldn't move him forward, and his arms couldn't reach. In that moment he felt useless. That was something else he hadn't felt before.
"All these mixed signals you keep, for lack of a better word, putting out there. I don't get it, and right now, I can't get myself caught up in someone I can't have."
At the last bit, Trent found himself finally looking up.
Not so brightly he answered with a, "Huh?"
It was the wrong answer because Jason suddenly looked very sad. His face went from red to completely spent, flushed. A ghost of the Jason Trent had come to know so well was taking Jason's usual place. Trent felt like the real himâCalebâremained trapped beneath a muddy surface. No matter how much Caleb tried to claw his way out, something blocked him from making any real progress, and down the pit he would go again.
Jason was above the surface with his hand outstretched to help him, but Trent felt too caught up in the things he thought he knew about himself. The secrets and the lies. After this, Trent, no Caleb, vowed to never do those two things again. It did more than hurt him, but hurt others around him.
His one and only chance was already blowing up in his face. A month hadn't even gone by and it was already slipping through his fingers. When Jason turned and started to walk away, he found the words, despite the fact a small audience was starting to gather. They passed through his lips without any kind of act.
"Jason I," He began.
"Yes?" Jason turned, eyes pleading for the truth. Any kind of truth.
Trent felt his body go numb but he was going to say the words. Do the right thing. Sort everything out and screw the consequences! It wasn't worth watching Jason on the verge of tears and betrayal.
Just say what you feel, as his older sister would say.
Flash! Snap! Flash! Click! Flash!
Trent couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.