Junior High: A Romance {RusAme}

Oh

I V A N

October 18, 2014

As soon as Ivan heard the school bell ring, he was out of the door. He was ready to get home and enjoy his weekend. Ivan looked down at his phone and saw Alfred's contact. It filled him with excitement and warmth. He immediately opened the text, hoping for a nice, funny message. However, what he received wasn't happy, nor was it funny. He puzzled over the text for a moment. It was like his jubilant state of mind couldn't process the tragedy before his eyes. His boy friend's parents were divorcing. He knew how terrible Alfred must've been feeling at that moment. His mother and biological father had divorced a few years back. He sat on a bench and collected his thoughts. He typed a few responses but scrapped them all. What could he say to make Al feel better? Finally, Ivan settled on a call.

He sat for a moment while the phone rang. Alfred didn't answer, so he left a voice message for him.

"Hello, it's me. I was wondering if you'd like to meet- to talk about it, I mean. They say time supposed to heal you, but I don't think you want to wait." He hung up. Was his last message too much about what he thought? Ivan called again and recorded a message. "Hello? How are you? It's so typical of me to talk about myself. Sorry. I hope you're well." Ivan finished. He breathed out slowly. Ivan thought about texting his mother that he was going to be late getting home, but she would only ask a million questions about why. At the moment, he didn't feel like dealing with her.

Soon enough, Alfred was on his way. Ivan had chosen a park that was pretty desolate. When he saw Alfred coming up the street towards him, the sun was already setting. He was noticeably more melancholy and was trying to hide it. As soon as Al was close enough, Ivan wrapped his arms around him and they stayed that way for a moment. Each pulled away in the same instance.

"Do you want to talk-" Ivan stopped. Alfred obviously didn't. So, the just sat there in silence for a while. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't a silence you'd want to be in. They hung in the moment for what seemed like ages until they both snapped out of it and sat on the swingset. Al's silence was deafeningly unnatural. He broke the silence with a sob, surprising Ivan.

"Why?! Why are they like this?! This morning, they were fine! They were being all lovey-dovey and fucking gross, but now Arthur wants a stupid divorce..."

By this time, Alfred was crying loudly, and quite ugly. Ivan didn't know what to answer back to him, so he just sat there and stared. Of course he knew what Alfred was feeling, many kids these days did. But, his father was cold, and heartless towards his family, so Ivan didn't mind letting him go. Alfred was different. His step-father was a kind man, not some asshole off of the street.

After they had talked for a while, Ivan yawned. The sun was retreating out of the sky. "I have to go." He said reluctantly. Alfred nodded. "Thanks for being here." Ivan smiled. The taller boy hugged his friend, and began to leave.

_______________

As Ivan stepped into the house, the first thing he heard was a loud "where have you been?" The 13 year old quickly shut the door and answered truthfully.

"So, you've been with that boy- Alfred was it?" His mother asked. Ivan softly shook his head yes. She did a small 'hmph' and continued to question her son.

After a while it was made apparent that Ivan's mother did not approve of a potential relationship with his classmate. The usual things were said. "This is just a phase. You're doing it for attention. Is this because your father left? I can't believe you would fall into this stupid trend." Ivan made no attempt to try and make her understand, this was his mother after all. Didn't she know what was best for him?

"I don't want you talking to him anymore. I swear if I hear a single peep about this Alfred boy we are moving. I can't believe they got to you." Her words were made acid-like by her thick Ukrainian accent. There was no point in arguing. Once his mother had made up her mind about something, she wasn't changing her decision.

After the lecturing, Ivan retreated to his room. He had always thought that his mother would support him in anything that he decided on. Apparently not. He finally got to his room, and he layed there for a while. Ivan remembered the venom in her tone when she spoke of Alfred. The way she had explained that he'd burn in hell for this was just so... poignant. He'd (unfortunately) regretted telling Alfred about what he felt, and he hoped that this was a phase.

He didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially the woman who gave birth to him.

(A/N: for this chapter, I had the pleasure of having AaronMathey as a co writer! Thank you, darling!