Gender Defenders: Behind The Scenes - Chapter Twelve: Change of Heart
Sam the T-man:
LOL Thanks - wow, Luca's proving to be popular, hope Leo doesn't get jealous ;) Ooh, cookies! Thankies! :D *starts munching on cookies*
Apologies for my writing taking another standstill lately (although the next few chapters for this have been written, need to get the pics taken). Uni work was driving me nuts, but thankfully now D-Day's passed I can relax a little. That and I needed a break from the stories for a bit. Will update shortly - looks like I'm gonna need to improvise after the next chapter. Never mind, so long as it gets posted ;)
Thanks for all your lovely comments, they've been very encouraging :)
Sam the T-man:
Chapter Eleven – The Brick Wall
Hey sweetie, how’s it going?
I don’t know if you got my last letter – I never heard back from you, I hope everything’s alright. Things are still s*** here, I have to be careful in mailing these letters in case she catches me. I knew I’d be in trouble for sleeping with you, but this is just taking the p***… is there any way to convince her we love each other?! I don’t know… I miss you like crazy…
He never got my letter? Damn it… This is the second time it’s happened. Is she intercepting them or something? I’ll bet it’s not worth replying either. She’s already confiscated his mobile, so the phone’s out… there must be a way round this, there must be…
“Hey, Dad?”
“What’s up?” he asks, naturally taken by surprise after I’d pounced him so soon after waking.
“You know on some mp3 players, you can play videos?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there a way to put a home-made movie onto them?”
“Of course there is!” he chuckles, “How else do they get on there?” His mirth fades as he notes my rising excitement. “Why?”
“Alec hasn’t got my letters,” I tell him in dismay, “If his Mum’s hiding them, I need to find another way to reach him…”
“So how’s an mp3 player gonna fare any better?”
“If I can make it look like it came straight from the shop, maybe she’d just pass it on?”
“Oh, I see,” he nods, “Nice idea.”
“So, can I?”
He wears a knowing smile as he dips into his back pocket, and leafs through his open wallet. “So long as it’s a cheap one,” he agrees, “You won’t need a four gig one just to send him a movie.”
“So long as it can play them I don’t care,” I grin, planting a kiss on his cheek, “Thank you!!”
“Hey, come on,” he remarks, “You think I hadn’t noticed how sullen you’ve been lately?”
My head drops as I feel tears sting my eyes. I barely lift it again to peer into the red pools of his eyes. “I miss him Dad,” I utter, feeling my jaw beginning to quiver, “I just wish I could hear his voice…”
“Oh Leo,” he groans, pulling me into his arms. I cling tightly to him while my brain tries to decide whether or not to turn on the taps behind my eyes.
“Anything for me?” I ask expectantly, hoping that one of the envelopes she holds has Leo’s writing upon their surface.
“Hmm,” she muses, and I momentarily frown at the official looking parcel that she studies. I open my mouth about to ask what it is, but as she beats me to it I quickly close it. “Did you order something from dabs recently?”
“Oh, that online electronics store?” I check. Instinct tells me to play along for some reason, so I do so. “Oh yeah! I needed a bigger pen drive for school,” I lie as I move to take it, rushing excitedly to my room before I close the door. Once there, I allow myself a frown as I study the box. No, I didn’t order anything from there recently, what the hell could this be?
I sit upon my bed as I open the package, revealing not a pen drive, but an iPod clone. A delighted gasp escapes me as I spot a Post-it note on the back of the device, with the words “I’m fully charged, check the videos” scribbled onto it.
“Leo?” I wonder aloud, in a voice scarcely above a whisper as I hastily dig out the earphones and hook up to the player, pausing only to refer to the manual as I find my way around. There is but a single movie, unoriginally labelled “Play me”, and a smile stretches slowly across the width of my face as those familiar streaked locks appear on the tiny screen.
“Hi honey!” comes his chirpy greeting as he blows a kiss at the camera. Just seeing his face is enough to bring happy tears to my eyes, without even hearing what he has to say. It’s not all good though.
“If you’re watching this now, my plan has worked,” he continues, his manner becoming more serious, “I did get your letters, it was wonderful to hear from you. I replied too, both times, and each of those letters were about a mile long. Your last one tells me that something fishy is going on – once I could understand, but twice? I can’t help but wonder if she’s hiding them somewhere, maybe even reading them. I hope she has in fact, maybe they’d tell her how much I miss you, that this isn’t just some infatuated schoolboy thing but real love? Enough of my own folks can see that, and I’m not even counting the vampires!” He takes a pause from his outburst to let out a sad sigh. “Okay, I’m done ranting, how are you doing? Still got your photo on my mirror, so at least I can see your pretty face each morning. Haven’t changed much myself as you can see, still your baby-faced goth! I was probably the only trip not enjoying our fifteenth birthday though… it’s just not the same without you Al, I’ve really missed you… good for something though I guess.” At this point he reaches for the notepad I’d often seen him scribble in, and opens it out to the camera, leafing through pages of writing. “See all this?” he remarks, “Songs, poems, all sorts of crazy s*** in here lately…” The book closes, and his glassy green eyes are once again locked onto the camera. Still wearing eyeliner, which now is starting to smear as his tears mix with the black substance, creating streaky dark paths down the length of his cheeks. “They say you’re at your most creative when you’re low, guess it’s true,” he muses, “I’m even worrying my folks lately – I just don’t leave my room much anymore. I’ve been that bad…” So saying, he gives a sniff as a hand rises to his mouth, almost at the same time as I do as I feel the onset of tears myself. It gets so that I have to pause the video, dropping the player onto my bed as I cup my face into my hands, sobbing quietly as my head spins. If Mum has hidden his letters from me I’ll be so angry.
I do manage to finish the video, burying the player into a drawer before getting ready to face the day ahead. It takes longer than it usually does, mainly because this time I need to let my eyes get back to normal first. Thankfully Mum’s working, so I make a mental note to have a snoop around when I get back from school.
“Now, if I was Mum, where would I hide my son’s boyfriend’s love letters?”
I shrug to myself as I head for her chest of drawers, reminding myself that this is no scavenger hunt as I carefully pick through her clothes. Finding nothing, I come to her vanity table where my eyes are drawn to a drawer with a lock, which doesn’t yield to my tugs at its handle.
“I’ll bet they’re in there,” I mumble to myself, and look about the surface for any sign of a key. I decide to look in her jewellery box, and a satisfied smile spreads across my face as I uncover the little key from its hiding place, growing wider as it works to unlock whatever buried treasure lies within. Replacing the key carefully, I slide open the drawer, my smile dropping from my lips as my eyes spot a pair of envelopes stacked on top of each other. Clutching at them, I pull them free from her drawer, not caring what else lies within for now as I push it closed and walk away from the table, my hand diving hungrily into the already opened white envelope before me. My eyes scan the handwriting that is unmistakably his, and with growing dismay I notice the other letter is also from him.
I swallow hard as I hear the door close. She’s home, and I have no idea how I’ll face her. All I can do is sink into her mattress as my knees weaken, my mind reeling. I feel so betrayed, so invaded, by my own mother of all people…
“Alec??”
With my hands between my knees, she can’t see yet what I’ve found. My head turns in her direction, not hiding my glassy eyes as I look back at her – she has the audacity to look indignant as she approaches, closing the door behind her.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“I could ask you the same thing!” I snap, waving the envelopes at her as I rise. “These were addressed to me! Since when did you have the right to read my mail?!”
“He’s a child, Alec!” she counters, “You could get into serious trouble!”
“We love each other!” I protest, “Does that not mean anything?”
“You think you love each other…”
“We know we love each other!” I tell her, “Everyone I’ve met who could read minds knows it’s real…”
“Oh, don’t start that again,” she dismisses, “They don’t exist Alec, they’re nothing but fairytales…”
“Oh, sure,” I scoff, “I’ll bet his teenage parents would agree with you.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I’ve met them!” I tell her, “I met his green cousin, who by the way also has fangs…”
“Enough!” she yells, “I said no contact, and I mean no contact.” She moves closer, her hand moving to the envelopes in my hand. Consumed already by mixed, strong feelings, something strange slips from my mouth as I pull away.
“Rack off,” I snarl, even pushing her away as I run from her room and into mine, where I lock the door before she has a chance to intrude any more than she has already. With what strands of privacy remain now back in my grasp, my head thuds against the door as I lean against it for a moment, tears streaming down my face as I gather my thoughts.
“You okay?” Jo asks.
I merely shrug as I pick at my meal, the tool in my hand reduced to a plaything as it teases the food on my plate.
“This is getting ridiculous.”
I look up at the voice, and notice Dad rising from his chair. “Come on you.”
“Are we going somewhere?” I ask, spotting Mum joining him with a gaze that tells me communicative thought is passing between them.
“You are fortunate we understand your pain,” she says, “Adults seem to assume we are too young to love; since she still will not accept yours, it is time we proved ours to her.”
A grin spreads across my face as I brace myself for the ride, and in so doing my eyes rest on Dad.
“And you thought this made you a bad parent?!” I tease, but mentally I cross my fingers that their idea will work.
“Something wrong with my cooking?”
I don’t bother looking up at her, but give a feeble shrug as I continue to prod at the food with my fork. Speaking to someone who seems to make it her goal to keep you miserable is no easy task, and still it is one I can’t find the will to tackle.
“Come on, this is getting ridiculous.”
You’re telling me.
“Alec, look at me.”
Give me one good reason why I should.
“Alec!”
It’s harder to ignore a nudge, but after pulling my arm away there’s only one thing that I can say.
“Leave me alone.”
“You can’t carry on like this,” she coaxes.
“Oh really, and why would that be?!” I snap, my patience exhausted, “What is it Mum? Are you jealous?!”
“Don’t be…”
Our spat is cut short by a knocking on the front door. Frowning, she rises from her seat to answer, and my curiosity pulls me from my own chair, although for now I linger in the background as she heads for the door.
“Mrs Banks?” Dad checks. I watch from behind the wall, following their advice to keep out of her sight until she shows signs of being reasonable.
“We’re in the middle of dinner,” she tells him.
“So were we,” he replies, “Well, our children were, but one of them just won’t eat.”
“So call a doctor.”
“Oh, we know why he won’t eat,” he explains, his arms crossing as he continues, “He’s not ill. Not physically, anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Get to the point Dad…
“Perhaps you misunderstand my husband,” Mum supplies, “He does tend to talk in riddles. You think we are talking about a baby, but that is not the case. Our son is fourteen and in love…”
“Leo,” the woman groans, unmoving from her spot and also folding her arms. “I’m not discussing this with kids. You bring round his real parents, then maybe we can talk.”
She goes to close the door, but Dad hastily plants his foot in the gap, preventing her from doing so.
“We are his real parents,” he tells her.
“You’re only a child yourself!”
“Who’s that?” I ask, approaching the door. I can pick out the sound of a young lad, British going by his accent… and yet it sounds familiar.
“Just kids,” she replies, “Claiming they’re Leo’s parents.”
My heart skips a beat as I realise who the boy is that she’s been talking to.
“Evan?” I check, “Emily?”
“Hi there!” Dad waves, “I gather your Mum still hasn’t met vampires by the way she’s talking…”
“I’ve heard enough talk of vampires,” comes the typical response, “I suppose you’ve got your prosthetic fangs in place too.”
At this he raises an eyebrow. “So sure they’re fake, are you?” he observes coolly, before a cat-like roar escapes his throat at a volume that makes me catch fright. I’d seen him do that in play, but now he even looks like a tiger about to move in for the kill.
Damn, that was loud… do we have a wild panther stalking the streets?
“Still think we don’t exist?” Dad checks, now propped up against the doorframe polishing his garnished nails.
It seems to work enough for her manner to change, but not in the desired direction.
“And you expect me to let you in?!” she splutters.
My cue to move, methinks.
Stepping into her view, I eye her squarely as I cross my arms.
“If he’d wanted to kill you, he’d have done it by now,” I tell her, “But they prefer the bad guys.”
“Mum!” I protest, “I’ve met them already, they’re cool.”
She looks from me to the figures at the door. I can only silently pray that she realises that not all vamps are out to get you, even though the only ones who’ll hear me are the creatures hoping to gain entry.
*****
Apologies for the size of the parcel - would you believe that was the smallest I could find? *grumble*
Bloody_Tears:
Great update Sadie! I've been following this for a while. It was so sweet that Leo went to all that trouble to get a message to Alec. Out of interest, you seem to have quite a lot of gay sims in your game, was that intentional? One of my sims yesterday started making out with his male best friend, even though he is married, although I'm not sure which one started it. Very random. Anyway, the point of this post was to congratulate you on another fantastic update, so I'll leave it there. Keep up the good work!
Sam the T-man:
Thanks! :D Um, yeah, about the amount of gay sims, a lot of the time it was but some of it wasn't. Gino was an accident (wrong settings on an auto bed), for instance, while others I just got story ideas that wouldn't work if they were straight. It may sound odd, but there's something about all the things that can happen with gay guys, that I like to explore in my stories and even relate to sometimes, maybe it's 'cause I've spoken with a lot of gay men IRL, who knows. :dontknow: Glad you're enjoying the story anyway :)
Veckah:
*bounces* Wonderful update Sadie, but NASTY cliffhanger.
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