Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

“Not for the LGBT community it isn’t,” said Blake.

  It wasn’t like him to go head to head with his dad. Whatever Dad said generally went in their house. But he couldn’t help but feel like this was an attack on Elion as much as anything else. He wasn’t having that.

  “If you care so much about our reputation,” he carried on. “Why did you agree to this ridiculous reality show? They make up stuff and twist everything. Elion and I can’t ‘date’ ” – he put the word in air quotations – “without acting like a couple.”

  “The show isn’t ridiculous,” his mom piped up.

  His dad glowered, but Blake didn’t back down. “You need to remember how hard we worked to get you where you are today, young man,” he said. “You should be grateful.”

  “I am,” Blake cried in exasperation. He looked between his parents. “Of course I’m grateful. But you can’t have it both ways! The show set up a story where I’m with Elion, so of course people are going to talk about it. And…” he added. He couldn’t seem to stop his mouth in time. “Would it really be so bad if I was bi?”

  There was a moment’s silence. “But, you’re not,” said his mom.

  He felt hot all over, like he had a sudden fever. “But…if I was…would that be something you couldn’t live with?”

  His mom rolled her eyes and went back to her letters. “I’m not sure why hypotheticals matter so much to you right now.”

  His dad was considering him very carefully. “It’s important to support the LGBT community,” he said slowly. “So if that was the case, it would be something we could discuss. But you must always remember you’re in the public eye.”

  Blake dug his fingernails into his palm. He needed to keep his cool. “So it would be fine to date a guy. So long as you thought they’d get good approval ratings?”

  “Your father has a point,” said his mom with a shrug. She sliced her letter opener into the next envelope. “Maybe we should swap Elion for someone a little more marketable?”

  “What’s wrong with Elion?” Blake demanded. A wave of nausea passed through him at the idea of having to pretend to date some random guy. It was more than that though. He was furious at the implication that Elion wasn’t good enough.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong with Elion?” Jodi echoed. “Not white enough?”

  “Don’t be so dramatic honey,” said their mom with an eye roll. She shook out the letter she’d just pulled free. “Although I would be interested to know where his family is from. Is he local?”

  “He’s not an illegal immigrant,” Blake ground out. “If that’s what you’re asking.”

  “And you too, with the drama,” she replied. “I’m just trying to figure out if I know his mother.”

  “He works in a coffee shop,” his dad cut in. He folder his arms across his chest. “He has pink hair.”

  “He’s also kind and makes me laugh,” Blake shot back. “I actually think it’s great he doesn’t care what people think of him all the time.” He’s not full of shit, was what he really meant. But if he was going to come out of this even remotely intact, he’d need to watch his language. “In fact-”

  “Richard?” Blake’s mom had gone extremely pale. The letter she was staring at in her hand was shaking. Her whole body was trembling.

  In a flash his dad was by her side. But then he saw the contents of the letter and sighed. “It’s just a prank, darling.”

  Jodi craned her neck to try and see the message. “What?”

  Wordlessly, their mom handed over the sheet of paper. Blake almost laughed when he saw it. But then he realized it was genuine.

  Someone had constructed an old-fashioned stalker note out of cut-out letters from magazines. It was quite artistic, in its own way. But then Blake read the message.

  Blake,

  You thought you were better than everyone but you’re just like the rest of us.

  Now you’ll see. We belong together.

  That boy is bad for you. No one can love you as much as me.

  Blake sighed. Yeah, it was creepy, but the style of the letter was actually more evocative than the message itself.

  “I think that can safely go in the trash,” he said.

  His mom snatched the letter back. “No. We have to hang on to it. We shouldn’t really have touched it. Hopefully the police can still get fingerprints off of it.”

  “Mom, no,” he said firmly. “We’re not going to the cops. Keep it if it makes you feel better, but it’s not like it was delivered to the house.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “They don’t know where I live any more than those trolls on Twitter, and they’ve said way worse stuff.”

  Jodi nodded. “As unsettling as that is,” she agreed. “It’s nothing compared to being told that someone wants to kidnap you and inject you with AIDS.”

  “Oh that’s awful,” his mom said, hand on her chest.

  Blake shrugged. “That’s the internet,” he said. It wasn’t like he was used to it. But he had got better at tuning the nastiness out.

  “This is what I’m talking about,” said Blake’s dad, shaking his head. “By carrying on with this boy, you’re attracting the attention of violent people. What if they hurt us, or one of the students?”

  “Elion has to live with the risk of suffering a hate crime every day,” Blake countered. “If someone attacks him, or us, that’s up to them. We’re out there now for everyone to see. I’m not going to drop him just because things got a bit hard.” He jabbed his hand towards the letter. “We may not really be dating but he is my friend now. I’m going to support him. You can’t stop people from being obsessed.”

  “Besides,” said Jodi. “Crazy is crazy. If it wasn’t about Blake being queer, it would be about him breaking up the band. Or the way he has favorites in his class. Or some other stupid thing that people fixate on with celebrities.”

  “Blake is in the public eye,” said their dad sternly. “And he needs to take responsibility for his actions.”

  “Maybe,” Blake said, getting to his feet, “I want to just live my life for five minutes. I managed just fine by myself on the road and in L.A.”

  “You’re in my house,” his dad growled. “You’ll abide by my rules.”

  “Whatever,” Blake snarled. “I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t have to put up with this.”

  He stormed around the island counter and down the hall, heading for the door. His mom and dad called after him, but he ignored them. He needed to stop letting them talk to him like a child. Storming off like one probably wouldn’t help things, but he was too angry to stay.

  Thankfully, there were no cameras present this time to watch him stomping away. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he reached the street and unlocked the screen. He tried calling Joey, but it went to voice mail. His thumb then hovered over Elion’s number.

  “Oh what the hell,” he said out loud, connecting the call. “He’ll probably be at work anyway.”

  Elion wasn’t at work though. He answered the phone on its third ring.

  “Hey man, how’s it going?” he answered cheerfully.

  Blake smiled. He felt the tension seep from his shoulders almost immediately. “Yeah, not bad,” he said, not wanting to go into details. “Listen, uh, did you maybe want to hang out, or something?”

  God, when did he become so pathetic? He used to have so many friends. Now he sounded like a needy loser.

  But Elion didn’t seem put off. “Yeah, sure,” he said brightly. “At the studio?”

  “Actually,” Blake said, hoping this wouldn’t dampen his enthusiasm. “I was hoping we could do something, just the two of us. No cameras or performing. Just…be normal.”

  For a split second he considered that maybe Elion wouldn’t be interested. That he was enjoying being on the show rather than hanging out with Blake himself. But his response was immediate.

  “Oh thank fuck,” said Elion with a laugh. “Let’s go have some real fun. When was the last time you just goofed off?”

  “It’s
been a while,” Blake agreed. He missed playing video games with Joey, or hitting the dry slopes with TJ. He missed the guys in general, if he was honest. But getting to spend time with Elion felt like it might fill that hole in his chest. “What do you want to do?”

  “I’ll come pick you up,” Elion said. There was a hint of devilment to his voice.

  Blake liked it.

  15

  Elion

  Elion watched with amusement as Blake agonized over his food order. “Dude,” he said, leaning in to murmur by his ear. “It’s just burgers.”

  Blake looked bashful. “Sorry. I’m not used to eating stuff like this.”

  To be fair, that was probably why he had a body like a Greek god. But Elion figured he could most likely do with letting loose and being just a bit bad for once. “Take your time,” he said. He didn’t mind waiting.

  They were at one of the takeout joints in town. Nothing all that fancy, but the food was so tasty it was Elion’s go-to comfort eat. He always got the double cheese burger with extra onion rings, slaw, fries, strawberry milkshake, the works. When he told Blake this, it seemed to spur him on with his decision. He got a quarter pound burger topped with bacon and barbecue sauce, then all the same sides as Elion.

  Elion was going to suggest eating in, but Blake was getting attention from some of the other diners and had already signed someone’s burger box.

  “Oh my God,” said a burly guy in a trucker cap as they made to move away from the counter. “You’re that guy, the one from the band, aren’t you?” He laughed as he eyed Blake up and down and pushed the brim of his cap up. “Sing that ‘Oh oh oohh’ song!”

  “I’m so sorry,” said Elion with his brightest smile, grabbing Blake’s hand. “But I’m afraid I have to whisk him away. You have a great day now.”

  He steered Blake around the guy. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then the man noticed their entwined fingers and his curiosity quickly turned to a scowl. “Faggots,” he grumbled under his breath as Elion hurried them out of the front door.

  Outside in the sunshine, Elion glanced at Blake. “Sorry,” he said. He made to take his hand away, but Blake tugged it back.

  “Fuck him,” he said. He squeezed Elion’s fingers. “Thank you for saving me from having to sing that God awful song again.”

  His voice was a little shaky, but he obviously wanted to put the insult behind him. Elion wished he could protect him from homophobic assholes like that. But the best he could do was look after him now.

  “Yeah,” he said with a laugh, allowing the conversation to move on. “Why do people always want you to sing Hearts Bound?”

  Blake narrowed his blue eyes at him as he finally let his hand go and walked around to the passenger side of the car. “You know Hearts Bound?” he asked with a grin.

  Elion shrugged, trying to gloss over the fact he’d been looking into the Below Zero back catalogue. “It’s the most popular song you had, right? The one that made you famous?”

  Blake nodded and slipped into his seat. “Yeah. That’s why people always sing it. It’s mega catchy, but I never really liked it.” He dropped his head back against the seat. “Fuck, it’s good to say that out loud,” he admitted. “We were never allowed to be honest like that, ever.”

  Something warm curled in Elion’s chest. The fact that Blake was being truthful with him felt special. Even if the relationship was a sham, it would be worth it for little moments of authenticity like that.

  “I think Cherish is my favorite,” Elion said. As soon as it blurted from his mouth, he regretted it. That was an album track, from their very first album five years ago. Blake was going to think he was a fanboy.

  Instead though, he turned and smiled at Elion. “I love that one,” he said softly. “Raiden helped write it, even though they didn’t credit him for it.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

  Elion wasn’t sure what to say, so he started the car instead. He’d asked for the food to be double bagged, so he wasn’t so worried about it getting cold as he pulled out of the lot to start the short drive.

  “Where are we going?” Blake asked.

  “Surprise,” said Elion. Then he winked over at his passenger. “I’ve got a secret spot.”

  He expected Blake to grill him further. Instead, he just gave Elion a curious smile, then looked out of the window. It was a beautiful day, warm but with a pleasant breeze. Perfect for eating al fresco.

  After ten minutes driving he pulled his old car off the road in a dirt parking lot next to some woods. “Take a walk?” he asked. Blake raised an eyebrow at him as he unclipped his belt.

  “Sure,” he said.

  They followed a track through some trees, then found themselves on a grass pathway through long grass as tall as Elion’s waist. Power cables strung between telephone poles crisscrossed overhead, creating the feeling of being under a web. The sky was a beautiful azure blue and Elion breathed the fresh air in deeply.

  “This is nice,” said Blake appreciatively.

  Elion nodded. “I used to come ride my bike here when I was a kid. It’s peaceful.”

  “Peaceful is good,” Blake said with a shaky laugh. “No cameras or fans.” He mimicked Elion and inhaled a long breath. “Just a moment to step back and…I don’t know, just be.”

  He seemed a bit embarrassed at admitting that to Elion, but what he said made sense to him. “Your life must have been quite the circus the past few years,” he said. He was leading them down the path he knew all too well, towards a little patch he liked to think of as just his own.

  Blake ruffled his blond hair. Christ, did he even know how gorgeous he was?

  “Yeah,” he admitted. “I don’t want to complain. I’ve had an incredible experience that so many people would kill for. But some days, it’s like I forget who the hell I even am.”

  Elion smiled at him. It wasn’t flirty. It was something warmer than that. “I’d like to get to know the real you a bit better,” he said. “We can coax him out away from civilization, perhaps?”

  They rounded a corner and Blake stopped, his eyebrows raised. They were at one of the junctures of the grass paths. But there was also an old oak tree whose branches spread out overhead and a little babbling brook that ran beside it. If they sat down, like Elion intended, the long grass would obscure them from view. It was his favorite getaway from reality.

  “Wow,” said Blake. “This is…” He trailed off and looked around. After all the things he’d probably seen around the world, Elion couldn’t really believe his hideaway was all that great. But the look of awe on Blake’s face did make him feel the smallest bit proud. He was smiling so much the dimple made a reappearance. Elion gave himself a mental high five.

  “Picnic?” he asked. He held up the brown paper bags scrunched in his hands.

  Blake smiled. “Sounds awesome.”

  He’d seemed agitated when Elion had picked him up. He’d not been at home, instead giving him a street corner nearby for Elion to find on his maps app. He’d planned on making a Pretty Woman joke about the kind of guys that he normally picked up from corners. But Blake hadn’t looked in the mood to be teased.

  Whatever had been bothering him seemed to have lessened as they got comfy and spread out their feast. Blake moaned in a highly sexual manner as he bit into his burger. Elion had to shift his weight slightly as his cock threatened to perk up a bit too much.

  “I can’t remember the last time I had a burger and fries,” Blake said with his mouth full. Elion laughed at him as he swallowed and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, but that is really good.”

  Elion popped a fry into his mouth and chewed, licking the salt from his lips. “I know, right?” He unwrapped his own burger and raised an eyebrow. “Go on then. What’s the best meal you’ve ever had? The fanciest restaurant?”

  Blake nodded thoughtfully as he took another bite and swallowed. “Not really a restaurant, but there was this place in Tokyo that sold bento boxes in this mirrored, psychedelic,
cyborg themed joint. It made you feel wasted before they even brought out the sake.” He smiled to himself. “I had incredible cheese fondue in Budapest. Tea at the Ritz in London. For my twenty-first birthday TJ got me into this faux speakeasy in New York. We drank thirty-dollar cocktails from tea cups and jam jars and did shots with these girls from Puerto Rico.”

  He was staring fondly into the grass, lost in the memory. For a second, Elion allowed himself to just watch him. He looked so beautiful and relaxed.

  “You must miss it,” he said softly.

  Blake stirred himself from his reverie and took another big bite of his burger. He licked barbecue sauce off his fingers. Elion waited patiently, giving him time to order his thoughts. “I do,” he said eventually.

  “But,” Elion prompted, sensing it was already coming.

  Blake laughed. “But,” he repeated. “It was never my dream. Joey wanted to be famous since the moment he was born,” he said with affection. “Raiden just has this incredible voice. It’s like he sees music everywhere, he’s so talented.” He chuckled and shook his head. “TJ was put on this earth to live every second like he’s going to die tomorrow.”

  “Cheers to that,” Elion agreed, saluting with his burger. “TJ’s the ‘bad boy,’ isn’t he? The ripped one with all the tattoos.”

  Blake shook his head. “He wasn’t as much trouble as the tabloids made him out to be,” he said. “But yeah, that’s him. He could really sing though, loved his classic rock.” He laughed, scrunching up his pretty nose. “And Taylor Swift.”

  “No!”

  “We’d try and tease him over it, but the man did not care.” He sighed. “Then of course, there’s Reyse.”

  Elion toyed with his milkshake straw. “Are you jealous?” Reyse Hickson already had a new single out, after all.

  “No,” said Blake. He licked his lips and frowned as he thought. “I had a lot of fun in the band, but it was also exhausting. Never ending, sleeping on tour busses, a different city every few days. We worked our fucking asses off to make it. But, well, you know already I had the weakest voice. I loved dancing on stage, putting on amazing shows. But the constant TV appearances and interviews and long hours in the recording studio…” He shook his head. “I don’t miss that.”