“Where did you two end up after the party?” Toya asked Mike and Rocco blinking her big brown eyes.

  Toya, Moni, Rocco, and Mike were working on the Civics test questions in their group. No one was motivated to do the assignment—rather they all wanted to talk about the party.

  Mike and Rocco looked at each other. Neither of them was ready to tell anyone other than Joe and the band members about their budding relationship.

  “We hung out with Rocco’s band members a little. We ended up going home around 1,” Mike answered.

  “Oh?” Moni interjected giving both a knowing eye.

  “We left Joe there. He had other activities going on that we didn’t want to interrupt,” Rocco added.

  “I see…” Toya gave a coy smile and looked over at Moni. Moni returned the smile.

  “Easy, ladies,” Mike tried to quell the conjecture.

  “Well, everyone loved your show! Everyone wants to book you for their parties!!” Toya exclaimed. Mr. Pendleton looked up and gave the group a gesture to work on the assignment.

  “Are you guys going to be ready for this test?” Moni asked in a hushed tone.

  “I think this will be pretty easy,” Mike answered in an equally quiet volume.

  “I mean, everything is on the sheet,” Toya added. “Are you all going to study together?”

  Mike and Rocco gave a look to each other as if to tell each other to be quiet. Rocco wrinkled his nose while Mike shrugged his shoulder.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I may just breeze over the notes tomorrow night before bed and be done with it,” Toya said.

  Mike and Rocco breathed a sigh of relief. It was after class when Rocco thought it best to clarify the plans for studying.

  “Are we still going to study together tomorrow night?” Rocco asked after Toya and Moni left after the dismal bell.

  “Yum, yeah we are,” Mike smirked. This made Rocco return the smile.

  “How much studying do you think we will do?” Rocco asked.

  “All of it,” Mike retorted. “But not necessarily Civics.”

  Rocco’s jaw dropped, and he laughed. “You’re a …” he trailed off thinking of some sort of smart name to call Mike.

  “I’m a what?” Mike smiled.

  “You’re an ok guy,” Rocco replied.

  Mike giggled and slapped Rocco lightly on the shoulder. During psychology, all Mike could think about was kissing Rocco. He thought about this so much that he started sketching hearts all over his notes during the lecture. He wasn’t getting much from the class anyway. When psychology class was over, he handed Rocco his notes. Rocco started to laugh at his attempt to be an attentive student. The hearts were plentiful on his page and Rocco absolutely loved it.

  “Hey Mike, before you go, we are going to talk about our show at lunch. Any requests?” Rocco asked.

  “Hmmm, I’ll let you pick something just for me. And don’t tell me what it is. I want to guess what you picked just for me,” Mike smiled.

  “You got it,” Rocco said and walked with Mike to their next class just across from each other. They passed by the Haven and saw Chris and Stanton among the group. They had managed to work their way into the popular group rather easily. Chris spotted Mike and waved. Mike nodded at him and continued to class with Rocco.

  Chris stood at the Haven watching his friend walk down the hallway. It occurred to him that Mike had been making himself scarce. They had been the best of pals all during junior high school. Mike and he would have sleepovers almost every other weekend. They were inseparable. Since they started high school, they had barely spent any time together. Mike was visibly hostile toward Stanton as well. Sure, Stanton was a jerk that no one really liked, but, still, Mike always kept his feeling close to his heart. When he did hang out, he was quiet and withdrawn—like his mind was somewhere else, like he didn’t want to be around them. Ever since he started hanging around Rocco, he was changing into a new person. He was becoming one of those alternative guys everyone seemed to want to be now. He didn’t dislike the new music but neither did it appeal to him. He especially didn’t like that he was losing his friend to this new counterculture movement.

  “What’s the deal with him?” Stanton poked Chris on the shoulder.

  Chris looked for Mike, but he had disappeared in the crowd. “I don’t know.”

  “Ever since he met that queer guy, he’s been all over him,” Stanton quipped.

  “Yeah,” Chris replied wistfully.

  “Meh, fuck him,” Stanton sneered and turned back to the crowd at the Haven. Chris continued looking down the hall. He missed his friend.

  “Alright, the show was a success!” Pete started the conversation at the lunch table. Raz, Austin, and Rocco were all in attendance. “But I think we gotta change some things up.”

  “Okay, what are you thinking, Pete?” Raz asked in his laid-back attitude.

  “I loved the starting songs, but we should lose the Zeppelin. It slowed the momentum,” Pete looked over at Austin, “Sorry, dude, it did.”

  “No, that’s cool. I caught onto that too. I’m okay if we drop it,” Austin replied.

  “What if we replace Zeppelin with some old school punk?” Rocco asked the group.

  “I’m listening…” Pete replied.

  “Maybe Blitzkrieg Bop?” Rocco said. “It’s fast and it’s pretty easy to learn.”

  Pete’s eyes lit up, “Yes!! I love that!” Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “I want to keep the GnR, but can we ax the Def Leppard? I know it’s popular with these kids but it’s not really us,” Raz interjected.

  “I hear you. What do you all think?” Pete asked.

  “You know, I’ve been listening to Social Distortion. Maybe we can play one of their new ones,” Raz answered.

  “I’m not familiar. You have the album?” Austin said.

  “Yeah, I’ll bring it to practice,” Raz answered.

  “Okay, that’s a maybe then,” Pete pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and a pen. This was where the current playlist was held. He started scratching through some items and writing in the new suggestions. “We could add more to make the show longer as well. Like I think we played for almost 45 minutes. We could go for at least an hour.”

  Rocco was shocked. Their set was just 45 minutes? It seemed like it was not even 5 minutes.

  Pete started to dig in his jacket pocket. He pulled out a photograph. “I found a picture of Fred. This is so your boy can draw up a design for us.” Rocco took the picture and gave it a look. It was a Polaroid of a little chihuahua. Fred had huge ears and eyes. This picture made Rocco laugh.

  “I never thought Fred was a chihuahua!” Rocco laughed.

  “Oh, yeah. I guess you’ve never seen him,” Pete replied.

  “What’s this about?” Austin asked.

  “Well, Rocco’s boyfriend is an artist. He’s agreed to draw us a design for our band. Maybe we can put it on the drum,” Pete said.

  “Why didn’t I know about this?” Austin asked looking slightly dejected.

  “It just came up last night,” Raz replied.

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  “Last night?” Austin was even more letdown.

  “Yeah, we were hanging out at the skate park last night—me, Raz, Rocco, and Mike. It came up,” Pete said casually.

  “Damn, you guys were hanging out at the skate park?” Austin asked.

  “It wasn’t planned or anything,” Rocco interjected picking up on Austin unease.

  “Look, Austin, it was unexpected. Raz and I were there. Mike and Rocco showed up,” Pete said.

  “Okay. But it is my drum set. I’d like to have a say on what goes on it,” Austin stated.

  “How about this? We will get Mike to draw some stuff, and you get to pick which one you like. You’re right, it is your drum set so you should get the final say,” Pete proposed. Austin nodded in acceptance.

  “I just want to be a part of the conversations,” Austin stated.

  “Well, you can be if you hang out with us more often,” Pete replied.

  “I know. With work and with Wendy, it’s a little hard. We’ve been hanging out every night,” Austin said.

  “Well, that’s really not our fault,” Pete snapped.

  “Hey, Pete. Turn it down. That’s not his fault either,” Raz interrupted.

  “Just try to make more of an effort to be a part of the band, dude. Okay?” Pete said.

  “How about trying to not be an insensitive prick,” Austin quipped.

  “Guys, stop,” Raz snapped.

  “Okay, okay,” Pete sighed and held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry.” His apology was half-hearted at best.

  “Austin, honestly. It was an impromptu conversation,” Rocco replied trying to smooth the tension.

  “I know. I’ll try to hang out with you guys more,” Austin responded.

  “Lunch is almost over. Practice tonight at 8?” Pete said. All the guys nodded and got up from the table. They all felt that, despite the small disagreement, they had worked through some things they need to discuss.

  David Wick stood off to the side of the Haven waiting for anyone to come join him between classes. He had played football all his life—ever since he can remember. He was on a team in elementary school which progressed into junior and senior high. He played center on the varsity team. He was a tall and broad guy with a thick chest and neck. His looks were somewhat below average. He had an aquiline nose and beady green eyes, but he had a striking jawline with a prominent cleft in his chin. He would often slick back his tight curly blonde hair with copious amounts of gel making it look perpetually wet. He always smelled of old sweat and Charmin toilet paper.

  When football was over, he was tall enough to be on the basketball team but not quick enough to play any position of significance. He made the bare minimum in grades to stay on the teams. For such a massive specimen, he had a surprisingly high nasal voice that many found grating. He was good friends with Joe Barber who was far more handsome, attractive, and charismatic than David. Some thought that David only befriended Joe to be in Joe’s circle. Joe and David were the most outstanding players on the football team although Joe was by far the most popular. David could be described as an annoying bully. It was likely that high school football would be the high point of David’s life.

  “Didn’t see much of you at the party,” David said to Joe as he walked up to the Haven.

  “Yeah, I was preoccupied all night,” Joe replied looking over the crowd of kids walking by.

  “What happened to you?” David asked in a flat tone that hinted a little of disinterest.

  “Oh, I was here and there, making the rounds,” Joe said not wanting to delve into the details of how he had really spent his night.

  “Cool,” David said. There was a lull in the conversation, but the silence was not awkward. David did not have much going on in his head.

  “Hey, what did you think of that band?” Joe broke the silence.

  “Oh, man, they rocked…even that little fag was pretty good,” David replied.

  Joe gave him a look of disgust. “His name is Rocco.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” David huffed.

  “I hear they are getting booked up to play all the good parties,” Joe said trying to keep the conversation light.

  “Yeah, I asked that lead guy if he could play my party,” David added.

  “Oh yeah?” Joe asked disinterested.

  “Yeah. I’m not sure if I’m still all in though. I don’t want a bunch of queers showing up for my party because of Rocco,” David laughed.

  “I don’t think that would be an issue,” Joe said almost under his breath.

  “What’d you say?” David grunted.

  “You won’t have to worry about it,” Joe said louder.

  “You don’t think that Rocco dude will bring his faggot friends?” David mumbled.

  “They’ll have far better things to do,” Joe rolled his eyes. The intent of Joe’s comments that David’s party would be dull at best was lost to him.

  “Hey there’s that lead singer,” David said as he spotted Pete walking by.

  “Yo, dude,” David yelled to Pete. Pete kept walking by not hearing David.

  “Yo!” David yelled again. Many kids including Pete looked over. “Yeah, you!” David pointed to Pete.

  “You talking to me?” Pete asked.

  “Yeah,” David grunted. “Come here. I gotta ask you something.”

  Pete stopped momentarily and then walked towards David and Joe.

  “You still wanna play my party?” David asked.

  “Nope,” Pete said in a direct tone.

  “Why not?” David asked confused at his denial.

  “Our band doesn’t play for dickheads that like to bully my bandmates,” Pete said and started to walk off. David grabbed Pete’s shoulder to stop.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?” David was still confused by this denial.

  “You called my guitarist Rocco names. We aren’t down with that. So, fuck off,” Pete said as he tore himself away and walked off confidently.

  David stood dumbfounded. Joe started to laugh. David turned to Joe and simply said, “The fuck?”

  “Gotta go, David. It’s been enlightening,” Joe said and walked off leaving David at the Haven in a stupor. David stood there alone for a few seconds before huffing out a “whatever” and walking off.

  Rocco knocked on the door of the Barber’s house ready to study for the Civics test. He really was not interested in studying anything other than Mike. He eagerly awaited the door to open hoping it was Mike. It was!

  Mike was wearing what he had on at school that morning, a solid red t-shirt and khaki-colored shorts. He had a yellow plaid shirt tied around his waist. The only departure from his ensemble was that he was wearing Rocco’s ball cap on backwards.

  “Come in!” Mike exclaimed and took Rocco by the hand. The house was situated so that the stairs going to the upper level were right by the front door. Mike’s mother and father were watching TV in the living room which was not visible from the entryway. “Mom! Dad! Rocco is here. We are going upstairs to study.” Mike turned back to wink at Rocco which made his stomach flutter.

  “Okay honey,” his mom yelled. “Rocco, welcome!”

  “Let’s go!” Mike eagerly pulled Rocco’s arm up the stairs.

  As the two entered the hallway, Joe’s door was opened. Rocco could see Joe walking around his room. Joe turned and waived.

  “Hey Rocco! Guess what?” Joe said.

  Mike pulled Rocco into his room. “Not right now, Joe. Give us ten minutes,” Mike yelled at his brother and slammed the door. Mike pushed Rocco onto his bed and hopped on top of him straddling Rocco’s lap. Mike gave Rocco a ravenous kiss. Rocco could detect the taste of salt and the scent of teenage musk. Mike would barely let Rocco get a gasp of air. He was furious in his kisses. After a few minutes, Rocco pulled away to get some air.

  “Is something wrong?” Mike asked.

  “Not at all! I just needed a moment to get a breath,” Rocco laughed and took his hat off Mike. Mike’s auburn hair fell forward gently brushing Rocco’s forehead. His glasses were about to fall off his face. Rocco reached up and took Mike’s glasses off. He folded them and laid them on the nightstand. Mike smiled and sat up.

  “I guess I am just happy to see you,” Mike laughed and put his hands on Rocco’s chest. Mike could feel Rocco’s developing chest muscles and gave him an expression of approval.

  “I don’t think we will get much studying done,” Rocco said and laid on his side facing Mike. He propped himself on his left elbow and placed his hand on Mike’s chest. He began running his hands over Mike’s chest. Rocco could feel Mike’s body heat through his t-shirt. Even though Mike was of average build, he had a layer of fat over his belly. He felt Mike shiver with excitement.

  “I’m not ready for that,” Mike whispered. Rocco nodded and took his hand away. Rocco was a little relieved as he was unsure what to do next. Mike grabbed Rocco’s hand and placed it on his heart under his shirt. Rocco could feel the pounding of Mike’s heart. Rocco leaned forward and gave Mike a tender kiss on his full wet lips. Rocco ran his hand over Mike’s smooth chest. There was not a single hair. Rocco placed his head on Mike’s chest leaving his hand on the other side of his chest. Mike’s shirt was pulled up. Rocco could see that Mike’s torso was as freckled as his face.

  Mike reached over and ran his hand under Rocco’s shirt. To Mike’s surprise, Rocco sat up and took his shirt off. He laid back down on the bed and put Mike’s hands where they were. Mike took in the intoxicating aroma of earthy musky scent emanating from Rocco’s body.

  At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Rocco sat up and grabbed for his shirt. He hastily put it back on inside out. Mike pulled his shirt down.

  “Are you guys decent?” a voice came from the other side. It was Joe.

  Rocco smoothed down Mike’s hair as the door swung open.

  “I see you are studying…” Joe paused. “HARD!” Both Rocco and Mike covered their laps with their hands. Joe immediately burst out laughing.

  “Shut up, Joe!” Mike exclaimed.

  “Anyways,” Joe said. “Guess what?”

  “Oh yeah, you were going to tell me something,” Rocco said.

  “Your buddy, Pete, gave it to David this afternoon,” Joe said. The mention of David Wick quelled any arousal Rocco was feeling.

  “What do you mean?” Rocco asked.

  “Well, David saw Pete walking down the hall and asked him if y’all were going to play his party. Pete, without missing a beat, told him to fuck off and that you weren’t playing a party hosted by a guy that called a member of their band names,” Joe recounted.

  Rocco was stunned. Pete had said this? Pete was standing up for him?

  “Really?” Rocco asked in shock.

  “Yeah, he just walked off leaving David looking like a beatdown pussy,” Joe laughed.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Rocco was still shocked but was also deeply touched at Pete’s gesture of solidarity.

  “I would say Pete really is a good friend. He has your back,” Joe retorted.

  “Wow, yeah,” Rocco sat back. Pete really was a good friend. In the relatively short time he had known Pete, Rocco was close to Pete as a bandmate but was still unsure just exactly what Pete thought of him. This left no doubt how solid Pete’s feeling were. He looked over at Mike who was grinning from ear to ear. Rocco was beginning to realize that there really were people in his corner—people he had never expected.

  “Okay, that’s all. Now go back to what you were doing,” Joe said and left the room with a knowing smirk.

  “That’s really awesome to hear,” Mike said and put his head on Rocco’s shoulder.

  “Yeah,” Rocco sighed and put his face in Mike hair. The interruption and the unexpected news took the sail out of the previous moment but in the best way possible. Not only did he have Mike and Joe, but he also had his bandmates. Not everyone was a dick.

  “So, should we study?” Mike finally said after a few moments.

  “I guess we should,” Rocco said. “Oh wait, I have something for you,” Mike had a look of surprise on his face. Rocco pulled out the picture of Fred from his back pocket. “Speaking of Pete.” He handed the picture to Mike. “That’s Fred.”

  “Oh my God!!! That’s Fred?” Mike exclaimed. “He’s adorable.” Mike smiled at the picture of a chihuahua with huge eyes and ears.

  “So, you think you can do something with that?” Rocco asked.

  “Oh definitely!!!” Mike said excited that he was now a commissioned artist. “I had a few ideas already, but this will certainly help.”

  Mike got up and put the picture of the little dog on his desk. He grabbed his Civics notebook and went over to the bed. He opened it up and placed the notebook between the two. Mike placed his head back on Rocco’s shoulder as the two started quizzing each other.