3
1644 Words
"On your six, Jaxon," Lukas murmured as he reloaded his character's weapon. "Geesh, it takes almost as long to load a real gun."
Laughing, Jaxon sliced through the attacking party that Lukas warned him of. "Shoot, I'm out of ammo."
"Just use your other weapon," his friend said, rolling his eyes. Grinning, Lukas gestured to the game on the monitor. "You gushed over this gift, didn’t you?”
Jaxon frowned. He hadn't gushed that much over the game Markus found for him. He actually hated the idea of his boyfriend getting him gifts for no reason. Jaxon's eyes flickered between the three screens, his mind focusing on all three at the same time.
The right monitor was set up to monitor the hall outside the apartment door. The left screen continuously ran tracking information on his friends and their kids, and the middle one showed the game they were playing. His father called him paranoid, but his Godfather preferred to use the term innovative.
Checking his in-game inventory, Jaxon picked out a new weapon before moving. Making his character advance stealthily, he went over to one of the bodies lying around. Finding what he was looking for, he picked up the ammo. "Yeah, your brother can be a total pest when he's got his heart set on something, but I'm glad he got this for me. He actually sat down to play it with me for a few hours. I was hard-pressed to actually accept it, though. You know how I am with getting gifts."
“Yeah, no kidding. It makes you hella paranoid to get anything for no reason, but I understand where you’re coming from. You just don’t like feeling obligated to return the favour because it sets off your anxiety.” Falling quiet for a bit, Lukas looked down at his hands, his fingers positioned above the controls.
He was trying to formulate the question on his mind in a way that didn’t make him sound petty or childish. "Um, Jaxon? Can I ask you a question?"
Sliding his eyes to his best friend, Jaxon scoffed. For the first time since meeting Lukas, the other teen was nervous about something. Deciding to lighten the mood, he said, "Is it so bad that you have to ask me beforehand?"
Lukas laughed. "Shut up! No, I was wondering if you wanted us to start using your name."
Confused, Jaxon paused the game. "Luke, you're not making a lick of sense."
"It's just that we, meaning you and I, don’t have nicknames yet. Phoenix is Firebird, Kenni is Red, your sister is Shadow, my brother is Scrapper, and Memphis is Dragon, but we don't have nicknames." Lukas grieved his lack of a code name as he tore through more of the zombies on the screen.
Jaxon, on the other hand, was floored. He'd been expecting them to find out his name and be like everyone else who said they'd never get used to saying it, let alone learn how to say it right. Taking a moment to get through the horde coming at him, he paused the game and swiveled his chair to face Lukas.
"I think that's actually a good idea," Jaxon said. "Maybe we could look up what the word technologist means in German while we're thinking about it to see if it would fit you. I mean, we are Nix's tech team."
Lukas frowned. "Don’t bother looking it up. German-Canadian, remember? It's my second language, and the word is pretty much the same in German as it is in English."
A light blush crossed the Korean teen’s cheekbones. Shaking it off, he said, "How about Storm for your nickname, then?”
Seeing the deadpan look on his friend's face, Jaxon backtracked. "No, no, no! Hear me out, please. You're usually really calm, but once people get you going, you turn into a freaking human hurricane. Storm suits your personality."
Taking a few moments to think about it, Lukas eventually nodded his head. "Yeah, I can get behind that reasoning. What about you?"
"Actually, I kind of appreciate you guys being so gung ho about using my birth name. I'd like it," Jaxon admitted as they turned back to the game.
Checking his watch, Lukas groaned. "Damn, my dad is going to skin me if I stay out too late."
"Luke, come on, you literally live across the hall. Just call him and let him know that you're spending the night. It might make your brother hella jealous, but I totally want to keep playing."
Chuckling, Lukas pulled out his cell and placed the call. "Hey, Dad, I'm spending the night at Jaxon's, okay?"
Trace's voice was laced with annoyance. "I'm not home. I'm at Carson's with David and Declan."
His smile falling from his face, Lukas dropped his voice to a whisper. "Dad, you promised you would quit."
When his father spoke, he could hear the frost in the man's voice. "Don't tell me what to do, kid. I'm in charge of you, not the other way around."
"I know, Dad, but you promised to only drink on special occasions." The words came out as a plea, but there was real pain in the teen’s voice.
The line turned to static for a few moments while the teen listened as someone tried to wrestle the phone out of Trace's hand. Someone told him to sit down and shut up before Declan's voice came over the line. "Luke, your father's not drinking anything except soda, so don't worry about it."
Nodding, Lukas sighed. "Thanks, Declan. I just don't like it when he drinks. He loses himself in the bottle. Can you remind him about going to church in the morning?"
"Yeah, I'll remind him for you," Declan agreed before disconnecting the call.
Jaxon noted the visible lack of enthusiasm in his friend as Lukas put away his phone. He knew Trace's drinking binges scared both brothers because of how verbally violent the man could be behind closed doors. He was never physical with his boys, but the verbal garbage was just as bad. He also knew that the family was as devout as they could get, too. When Markus officially came out to their dad, it had been David who threatened to end Trace's life if he hurt the teen in any way.
"Is he drinking?" Jaxon asked cautiously.
Lukas blinked. "Declan said he's not, and I believe him. Maybe I should just stop trying. I mean, he bailed on us last Sunday, and Father Nicholas asked what happened for us to be alone."
"Man, you need to tell someone what's going on, Luke. Your dad needs help of the Alcoholics Anonymous variety,” Jaxon advised. "You don't have to hold it in, Lukas. In a completely platonic way, I'm here for you. Laugh, cry, pray – do whatever. I got your back."
Laughing, Lukas tried to ignore the fact that he was numb inside. Clenching his teeth, he tried hard not to let his pain show. Bowing his head, Lukas started muttering the Lord's Prayer under his breath. He clutched the rosary around his neck in one hand while the other was locked tightly in his best friend's grasp.
When he was done, Lukas offered a small smile to the other teen. "Sorry, I know that you're an atheist, but it's the only thing that helps keep me calm."
Eyeing him with a dark expression, Jaxon scoffed. "Am I supposed to care about our religious differences now? You're my best friend, and have been for the last nine damn years. If I gave a s**t about something so trivial, do you honestly think I would have offered you any level of comfort? If you gotta pray, then pray. No, I don’t really believe in God, but everyone’s beliefs are different, and I was raised to respect that."
"I'm not sure what to say," Lukas whispered.
Jaxon frowned at him. "I don't really care either way, but your kill-count is atrocious."
"What? No, it-" Realizing that he'd died again, Lukas grabbed the throw pillow off Jaxon's bed and started whacking him with it. "You. Son. Of. A. Jerk! Why didn't you say something sooner?"
Laughing hysterically, Jaxon ducked for cover before grabbing another pillow to use as a shield. "You were having a moment, and I didn't want to ruin it."
"By all means, ruin my moment of self-pity to let me know that my character died. Now I have to start all over again," Luke moaned as he sank to the floor. "f**k this s**t, I'm grabbing some popcorn."
Still laughing, Jaxon followed Lukas out to the kitchen. Raiding the cupboards for snacks, they grabbed what they could before heading to the living room.
"Movie?"
His onyx eyes glinting wickedly, Jaxon grinned. "Horror?"
"Let's see what's on Netflix," Lukas said as they passed the snacks between them. "Hey, no, the Red Hots are mine."
Jaxon scrolled through the new releases and whooped when he spotted a movie he wanted to watch. "Who said I wanted your damn cinnamon candy anyway?"
"Go suck a Würstchen," Lukas replied.
Jaxon's frown faded before the corner of his lips turned up into a smirk. "I would, but your brother's not here."
Lukas gagged slightly. "Not only is that completely disgusting, but... EW! I don't need to know what you and my brother are doing behind closed doors!"
"Speaking of doors, did you lock the apartment down?" Jaxon asked with a scowl.
"I thought you did?"
"No." Getting up, both teens ran to the apartment door. Just before they reached it, David staggered into the hall, happily singing under his breath as he kicked off his shoes. Wobbling, he put a hand on Jaxon's head and sighed.
"Don't stay up all night, kiddo. I’m hittin’ the hay," he said before stumbling his way into his room.
- Writer
