10A/N: I'm really in love with this story and I wrote most of it in one to two days because I went crazy a little bit. It involves male/male pairings and pseudo-incest. I have no idea the process of adoption so I was pretty much bullshitting a bunch of things just to get the story out, so those that do know...Let me know! I won't change the story at this point but it would help for future reference :D SO YES I'M SUPER passionate about this story, but I can't stop jumping POV because I have a problem. This first chapter will be like a 3rd person introduction/overview and the rest will 1st person. Please bare with me and review so that I am motivated to continue and don't cry myself to sleep at night. Enjoy!
At the age of fourteen, family matters weren't the main concern of only child David Richland. He was going through his moody, awkward growth spurts and puberty mishaps stage where his face was more important than his friends which were more important than his family which was more important than his education, but of course, girls were the most important of all.
David spent hours staring in the mirror, figuring out different ways to style and slick his short black hair. He had braces which he hated but knew that one day he would have a perfect smile and that maybe people would forget he had ever had a mouth full of metal. He only had two more years with them and he fiddled with them constantly keeping them as clean as possible.
His appearance was everything as a Freshman in high school, and it'd already gotten him the approval of cooler friends and the attention of hotter girls than he'd come in contact with in middle school.
He preened often and his parents doted on him, but he would've rather not have been wasting time at home in the first place.
Being an only child was hard. His parents constantly hounded and lectured him. They craved constant contact with their child and he always felt guilty saying "No" when asked if he would have an unwanted parent-child bonding session with either of them because despite loving them, they were not his friends.
They were nice, but they were suffocating him. Getting dropped off at the movies by your parents is understandable for a young, licenseless teen, but having your parents join you and your friends for the movie was too much. Even sitting rows and rows away, David could feel their stifling presence and his friends laughed at him constantly. They just had too much love to give and he hated being the only victim for their attention.
He had hated it for years upon years until last weekend when his parents sprang some news on him that he was more than unprepared for. One that would change the rest of his life and all he had wanted to do was get a ride to the mall.
"We have something very, very important to talk to you about, David," Linda Richland had said rather than answering his question about getting dropped off.
He sighed internally and most likely externally as well, but he gave them his best "Well? I'm Waiting." look and his father just smiled and clasped a supporting hand on his wife's shoulder.
A million things ran through his mind as he panicked about what could be very, very important. His grades weren't so good and he did come home with a black eye the other week. Maybe he had spent too much money last month or they were giving him more chores? He stole a little bit of alcohol (okay a whole bottle) from his dad a while back but surely he wouldn't be bringing that up so many weeks later.
"Your father and I love you very much," his mother continued.
Aw shit this won't end well.
"But as you know, after we had you, we tried and tried but weren't able to have another child," she said.
Repeating that fact made him grimace and raise an eyebrow.
"It's been a long...terribly long process and we wanted to surprise you. We know it's hard being the center of attention all the time and we'd been missing a little extra something in our hearts, so we finally decided to go through with it after all these years. Better late than never, right?" she added with a nervous laugh and her husband moved his arm around her for additional support, ever the silent one.
David hoped that this would all lead up to them busting out a box of puppies or kittens because anything else it sounded like it could be was just not plausible.
"Um...go through with what?" he asked. He shifted uncomfortably in his Vans.
"Your mother and I have adopted. You're going to have a brother! He'll be coming home to live with us next weekend!" His dad said, a little too exuberantly. What happened to his silent support? They looked apprehensive but were positively beaming at him.
David saw white for a second. His face had become hot and his eyes burned and blurred and an overwhelming sense of "what the fuck" washed over him before he turned to the front door, opened it, and ran, slamming it behind him.
His hormones weren't ready for this unexpected rush of emotion and tears ran down his face and his voice squeaked a little as he ran down the blocks and blocks of houses and around the back streets to anywhere that wasn't home.
He was...being replaced? All those years and he wasn't enough for them?
How was he supposed to have a brother so late in life. He was already a Freshman and school had been in session for two months. He was suddenly supposed to shack up with some random boy and share everything in his life? Share his parents and his house with a stranger? Why had they waited so long to tell him? Some little fuck was gonna just waltz into his house and be fawned over by his parents? He would be left alone and ignored and...free. Free to do what he wanted while his parents messed around with the new baby. Free to stay out a little later and hang out a little longer than what his parents would usually allow. He could slip under the radar and do what the fuck he wanted.
He stopped running at a bent chain-link fence in someone's backyard and his tears slowed as well. Had he overreacted?
This kid could be like...a baby or toddler or some little five year old. He only had about four more years until he would move out and it wasn't like he had to claim the kid was his brother. He'd just live there like a really annoying family friend that won't leave. He'd be a shitty big brother anyway, he knew that for a fact. He drank and dated girl after girl and spent more time in the mirror than on his homework.
Maybe he'd get less allowance and less gifts but if the kid was old enough he could probably get less chores and more out of the fucking house time.
At that thought his phone chimed.
It was Sarah.
[You on your way or what?]
He had forgotten about going to the mall just that quickly when ten minutes ago it was the only thing on his mind. That and making out with Sarah and possibly her friend Vicky when Sarah wasn't paying attention. He texted her back.
[I'm gonna be a big brother...]
He turned in the direction of his house and began walking back. Can't get a ride if you're not in the car.
His phone chimed again.
[Your mom is pregnant? Holy shit isn't she like 40? That poor baby!]
He smirked at his friend's rudeness and wiped at his wet face again, feeling stupid suddenly for freaking out like some emo teenager.
[Adoption. Some random kid is gonna live with us starting next week.]
He took his time to collect himself during the walk back home. He wondered what kind of kid it would be. He figured his parents didn't want to deal with a hormonal teenage girl later on, so that's why they opted for another boy. Maybe he could teach the boy some things. His outlook had begun to change as quickly as it had formed. He hoped that if it was still a baby that he wouldn't have to help change it's diaper or babysit.
By the time he got back to the house, his parents had moved to the couch. His father had an arm around Linda as she cried softly into him with her hands to her head.
The sound of David closing the door behind himself got their attention and he nervously cleared his throat, feeling guilty and ashamed of himself.
"Hey look, you guys. Sorry for overreacting. This is your life, I guess. If you want another kid, I understand, but don't expect me to babysit," he said quickly. He stood there feeling uncomfortable and stupid as his parents looked at him.
His mother finally stood.
"Thank you so much, honey. You don't know how much that means to us. I know it may be difficult at first, but we really want to give him a fresh start in a loving environment and this opportunity came so suddenly that we didn't want to miss it. This week we'll be getting the guest room together for him to stay in and I would appreciate it if you helped," she said as she grabbed her purse from the entry table and walked past him to the front door.
She looked back at him and said with a small smile, "Well? You still going to the mall, or what?"
David gave a half smile in return and heaved a heavy sigh as he went on ahead of her. Maybe nothing would really change. Maybe everything would. Maybe he should just stop being a bitch and get over it.
He finally ended up at the mall and indeed made out with both Sarah and Vicky before Sarah's mother dropped him off at home. He slept fitfully that night. His dreams racked with horrible, snot-nosed toddlers breaking his things and being generally loud and annoying. He hoped his nightmares weren't premonitions. Horrible, terrible premonitions.
Later that week, it was meet and greet day. His parents had gone to pick up the new kid. David sat on his bed looking out of his open door which looked directly into the open door of the guest room across the hall. He looked at the work he and his parents had done on making the room feel more welcoming and comfortable. A twin sized bed that matched his own let him know that this kid was old enough not to have to sleep in a crib.
His mother had told him that the boy belonged to a close coworker and friend who had passed away last year. The single mother had no immediate family, but the boy's father had been a drug addict and was in prison. Linda had gone to him and asked for custody of his child and he agreed, feeling it was the best possible option for his estranged son.
The kid had it rough, that's for sure. He'd been in the foster care system during the past year and had already been in and out of a few foster homes. Linda said she had met him before a few times when his mother was still alive and that he was a good boy. They refused to tell him anything more about him and suspiciously avoided the subject of his age.
David was nervous.
Even more so when he heard the front door open and his father yell, "David, were home!" across the house.
David stood and walked to his door, then back across his room. It was happening too soon. He wondered if he should go downstairs or make them come upstairs. He decided to meet them halfway. He plastered on an obviously fake smile for his parents and told himself to be an adult about the situation. After all...how bad could the little guy be?
He left his room and began descending the stairs as three pairs of legs came into view and then three faces. Two smiling, and one blank.
David stopped in his tracks.
"Meet your new brother, Damien! He's also a freshman and when he's ready, he'll be starting school with you at Mountainwood High!" his mother said with a smile on her face and her hands on the boys shoulder.
David balked at the site of his pale and beaming parents standing behind a scrawny, short, brown-skinned kid with glasses and a look of pure terror and discomfort in his light eyes.
"What the fuck?!" he said without thinking.
"David!" his father said.
"You watch your mouth, young man! I can't believe you," said his mother with a protective arm around the kid.
He was beyond confused and anger ripped through him of its own accord and he lost control.
"I thought it was gonna be some little kid! Not only is he my age, but he's going to my school? And let's not ignore the obvious fact that he's black! I have to share my house with some charity case geek? I can't believe this!" he yelled before turning tail and storming off to his room. His door was slammed and locked behind him. The only benefit so far of having a new brother was getting locks on the upstairs bedroom doors.
David felt betrayed somehow. It would have been different if it was a younger kid, but now it felt like he really was being replaced by some "good kid". He looked like he hadn't even hit puberty yet, how the hell was he supposed to be starting high school?
He was stirred from his moody outbursts by his father banging on the door.
"How dare you speak to us that way! You better grow up and find some decency, or I'll be taking off this door completely! Don't you bother coming out of that room for dinner until you remember the respect and compassion we raised you to have," he said before pacing across the hall, presumably to the boy's-Damien's- room.
David stayed in his room all night. It was a Saturday and he didn't bother responding to any of the text messages and calls he was receiving from friends. Mostly girls. Fuck everybody. How the fuck was he supposed to show up to school with a black brother? Especially a little nerd like him who looked like he hadn't been kissed by anyone but his mother.
His mother.
Okay so maybe he did feel a little badly about how he reacted. The kid just lost his mom last year, but that didn't mean he had to be nice to him. He just wouldn't acknowledge him. Or his parents much for that matter.
He almost felt embarrassed for them. Rich white people come to save the unfortunate minority child and shower him with a pity party.
David shook his head and let sleep take over as the night progressed on and he dared not leave his room while his parents were awake.
The next morning, he silently crept out of his room to grab some breakfast before running back to safety. A quick glance to the door across the hall and David's anger bubbled up inside him again. He put his food down and went across the hall to the former guest room. He pulled on the handle and it opened. Unlocked.
He pushed open the door and put on his most intimidating face as his eyes met the newcomer's.
Damien was already awake and fully dressed and sitting awkwardly on his bed. When David entered, he cringed and fear gripped his features. He scooted back into a corner as David approached and David poked a finger in his direction.
"Hey. You may be my parent's new son, but I am not your brother. When you start school, don't talk to me, don't wave at me, don't even look at me. And don't touch my stuff! You got that?" he said.
He had entered the room intending to apologize, but that pathetic look on his face just made David angry for some reason and he ended up threatening him instead. He tried again, but what came out was, "I said, 'You got that?'".
The boy just stared at him, frightened and immobile with his eyebrows raised almost to his hairline and his thick glasses glaring slightly against the rays of the morning sun. His shirt was tucked into his pants and the book he had been reading was on the ground now and everything just made David sneer.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? You can't even talk?" he said as he advanced on the boy and pushed him a little, further into the corner he was trying to escape to.
"Say something!" David said and tears began to stream down the boy's face as his hands went instinctively up to protect his face when David went to push him again.
"David! What has gotten into you?" came his father's voice from behind him. His father pulled him away from the boy as his arms slowly lowered.
"You are not allowed in this room ever!" Peter shouted to his son. He dragged him out.
"The door was unlocked. Just thought I'd say hey to the new guy, but that loser thinks he's too good to talk to me!" David said with his scowl in place and his chest heaving from the struggle.
"Damien is a mute! And you are grounded! No friends, no phone, no fun until you learn to be a human being! I will not tolerate this behavior in my household. Your mother and I didn't raise a bully! We are going to welcome Damien into the family and you will be hospitable and courteous to him whether you like it or not!" Peter said.
David looked over the the boy who was still silently crying.
"I didn't know he was a fucking mute! You never told me anything about him. I didn't even know he existed until last week and now you expect us to be best friends? Fuck that!"
The sound of a hard smack resounded through the hallway. David's hand grasped at his red, tear streaked face as he stumbled back against the wall. Neither of his parents had hit him in years and he was sure he would have a bruise on his face with how hard his father had slapped him. His wide, glassy eyes stared at his father who had an equally shocked expression.
"I-I'm sorry, son. You just made me so mad! Get some ice on that. I didn't mean to hit you, but I did mean what I said. If you don't get your act together, your mother and I may just send you to live with your grandparents for a while or worse...in a boarding school. Damien isn't here to get rid of you, but if you keep acting up, you'll take care of that all on your own," Peter said. He went back downstairs, presumably to his bedroom to fill in his wife on David's recent antics.
Before David could head downstairs for the ice that he did in fact need, he glanced over at the open door of Damien's room and realized he had seen everything. David scowled at him, flipped him off, and went on his way.
Fuck if he was gonna show weakness in front of that weirdo.
About two weeks later, apparently Damien had acclimated to his new environment and had begun to attend David's school. Only a handful of his close friends knew that they were now legally brothers, but otherwise, the way David steered clear of him, there was no way to tell they even knew one another.
As the school year progressed, David's jock friends had identified Damien as a weak target and zeroed in on him. He was bullied and sometimes David even took part in the bullying. The best part was that Damien couldn't talk and wouldn't speak up to tell their parents about it.
David couldn't put his finger on it, but something about Damien unnerved him to no end and he made Freshman year for the teen a hell.
Damien was often hidden away in the library. His thick glasses glaring and his shirt tucked in. He had made some friends and they would hide from the jocks together. Study together or whatever it is they did. As far as David was concerned, it didn't matter. As long as he wasn't around him too much, he could keep his social standing intact. He wasn't a bad guy, he just cared more about his image than other people's feelings.
He was on his fourth girlfriend by the end of the year and had made it to third base finally. He was starting to get tired of messing with Damien, unlike the testosterone-pumped jocks.
His parents absolutely loved the brown-skinned boy and he seemed happy when he was home, despite occasionally having to hide bruises or ruined textbooks and various school supplies. He did well in school and David had to admit that him helping out with chores did make it easier to get out of the house more often. As time went on, he slowly stopped torturing Damien altogether and went to ignoring him. He only acknowledged his presence at home or if the family went out together. They had come to a sort of mutual understanding where they obeyed their parents but stayed out of one another's hair.
By senior year, both boys had grown tall and filled out quite nicely. David had left his dyed, longish black hair behind and opted for his natural medium brown color cut short. His pissy, attention whore attitude had disappeared sometime in Junior year and he was now a laid-back and mild-mannered kind of guy. He still partied, but hooked up with way less girls than before. He'd finally lost his virginity to Julia Moore, but he wasn't impressed with the encounter and had withdrawn from relationships for a while. That was a few months ago. He was in a few clubs, but sometime late into Junior year, he had lost the drive he had as a freshman to earn a high social standing. The kids at his school were pretty much airheaded assholes and he used to be one of them. Nowadays he just kept a few close friends and kept everyone else at a distance.
Damien had swapped his glasses for contacts and his now toned body and angular face attracted a lot of attention from the females. Ever the nerd, he probably failed to noticed. Thankfully he grew out of his officewear phase and now usually wore dark pants and well-fitting t-shirts. He had joined both the track team and the mathletes. Not to mention he was vice president of the book club. He was doing well for himself.
David couldn't say that his "brother" never made him laugh or that he hated him. Sometimes they'd do favors for one another. Over the years they'd become more like casual acquaintances. The only way he learned much about Damien was whatever his parents told him at dinner.
He had never even been to one of his track meets, even when his parents asked him to go. Luckily he usually had some club activity or homework assignment to do so he could easily get out of it, however, one Saturday morning saw him sitting on the opposite side of the bleachers from where his parents were cheering Damien on.
A girl he had been interested in wanted to spend the day with him, but her parents were making her go to the track meet that morning for her younger sister's race and David just so "happened" to be going to the same meet. What a coincidence.
He hitched a ride with his parents and stole away to meet the girl.
Between his smooth talking and her hopelessly pathetic giggles at the shit he was spewing, he took a few quick glances at his "brother".
"I was kind of hoping I could maybe ask my parents for the car after this and then maybe we could like meet up and get lunch somewhere and see a movie or something? Does that sound cool? I mean if you're hungry. Did you eat already? I totally had like half a bagel or something and I hate coming to these meets because they're so long and Katie doesn't run until way later, but my parents insist on arriving early..." Julia rambled on while assuming that David had been listening, but he wasn't. He looked at her and smiled. His white, straight and braces-free teeth almost blinding her effortlessly.
Damien had gotten braces shortly after moving in with them and had just gotten them off last month. He licked his teeth a lot still.
Julia lost her train of thought and giggled some more, playing with her hair a bit. David had forgotten why he'd had a crush on this girl after the first hour of the meet and he was ready to go home, but he knew his parents wouldn't leave until after Damien's race.
He left Julia, telling her flat out that he didn't want to be in a relationship at the moment and that she was a nice girl. He found that he friendzoned a lot of potential girlfriends lately. He stood to go grab a drink, but the track was still visible from the concessions. It seemed that Damien was about to run and David's legs betrayed him as they abandoned the concession line and he jogged to stand beside the bleachers to watch despite his "I could care less" attitude about the whole thing. The shot was fired right as David's green eyes caught sight of the boy who had so rudely entered his life three years ago.
It was like watching a duck...no no, more graceful...a swan gliding through the water. David's eyes were glued to Damien's face as he ran. He was almost floating despite his swiftly moving legs. He was easily taking the lead.
At home, Damien's room was littered with medals and trophies, but now David understood why. He was amazing.
He crossed the finish line well before anyone else and David had to admit that his running was mesmerizing. Somehow, in his trance, he had pushed his way up to the front fence separating the track from the bleachers and he was leaning on it with a goofy smile on his face.
Damien slowed to a light jog and once he slowed down enough, he turned back to face the finish line and the bleachers where his parents stood shouting and cheering for him along with many other fans and supporters of the school's team. A huge and easy smile broke across his face and he walked a bit to catch his breath.
David had seen him smile before of course, but never one as carefree and truly blissful as this one. He was frozen; his gaze never leaving the slightly younger boy's face.
Damien's eyes scanned the crowd as he lazily made his way back to his cheering coach. Before he could reach her, his eyes met a familiar olive-colored pair and he stopped in his tracks, his smile falling from his face as he stared wide-eyed at his brother staring stupidly and directly at him with a wistful smile on his face.
Over the years, Damien had come to terms with being adopted into the Richland family, but he had never quite fulfilled the role of "brother". He figured that after high school they'd go their separate ways and maybe one day be friends when they were older and less hormonal. He never imagined that he'd see the virtual bane of his existence gazing almost proudly at him after a race. He panicked as his heart started beating quickly again and soon David realized he was staring and he quickly turned away, heading back toward their parents. Damien remembered what he was doing and self-consciously walked to the coach.
David was fidgety as he made his way to where his parents awkwardly attempted to escape the bleachers and hug their son.
What the fuck was that?
He was staring like some dumbstruck fangirl. Maybe it was just heat stroke. In October. Yeah. Definitely that.
After about thirty minutes of talking and getting situated, the Richland's were heading out to their car to take Damien out to lunch with his medal in tow. As they drove, Linda turned to look at the boys-who had managed to sit as far as possible from one another in the back seat-and asked where Damien wanted to go for lunch.
"Mexican?" she said. He grimaced and shook his head disapprovingly.
It had been four years since his mother had passed away and four years since he last spoke. After puberty and all, David doubted that Damien even knew what his own voice sounded like. He'd found out later that it was not a physical condition-his...muteness-but rather a mental one. Even now that he was doing much better, he still hadn't spoken a single word or made a single sound. Not even when laughing or coughing or sneezing. It was terrifying how powerful the mind could be.
"Italian?" she said with an eyebrow raised. He shook his head less enthusiastically now.
She was racking her brain for a place nice enough for his victory, as usual. And as usual, David knew exactly what the victor wanted.
"Dad...just take us to IHOP already," he said with an eye roll. David glanced at his mother and Damien. She looked stumped, but Damien had an excited look on his face while he nodded frantically before looking at David and his smile faltered before he looked out of his own window quickly.
They never went out to eat at inexpensive places, but Damien loved pancakes more than anything, and somehow David knew that fact better than their parents.
"IHOP it is," Peter Richland said as he glanced back at his boys with a smile.
David stared out of the window on his side of the car and unconsciously moved even closer to it.
"Fucking…swan...fuck," he thought to himself as cars and buildings sped past them.
Maybe he shouldn't attend anymore track meets.
A/N: WELL THERE IT IS. Chapter one. Chapter two is pretty much already done, just wanted to get this up and going. Just a reminder that the following chapters will be in first person and we are staying in senior year! Please review; I need it! ToT Thank you for your time!