Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  Blake scowled. “Yeah, but they’re using me to insult you.”

  Elion was genuinely touched. It was beyond awful, having someone call you names based on nothing more than the color of your skin. Elion had been born in America, he was a damn American. But some people always wanted to treat him as less.

  But with Blake looking at him like that, it became fractionally more bearable.

  “It’s fine, baby,” he said.

  There it was again. He thought Blake’s face had lit up at the pet name yesterday evening, and it did it again now.

  “So,” he said, swiftly changing topics. “Until you’re better, are you going to be cooped up here? Because I had hoped to take you out last night before you threw a diva fit and pretended to break your leg.”

  Blake laughed and poked him playfully on his arm. “Actually,” he said. He stopped fussing over Watson and picked up his phone. “I was just talking with Joey. His agent, Martha, has a proposition for me.”

  “Yeah?” Elion waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Blake slapped his knee.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter.” He scrolled though his phone. “Okay, so in a few days it’s the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards in L.A. Joey is already going to present an award, but his partner dropped out last night. They wondered if I’d step in. I’ll definitely be able to walk by then,” he added as if sensing Elion’s question.

  He smiled. “That’s great,” he said. “Keeps your face out there and gives you a chance to see your buddy again.” He rubbed his thumb against Blake’s leg in a comforting gesture. “You going to say yes?”

  Blake bit his lip and looked at his phone screen. “Well, since you ask, I wanted to check with you first. I get a plus one to the awards.”

  It took a second for what Blake was asking to register. “You want me to go with you? To California?” He’d hardly ever even been to Indiana, let alone the West Coast.

  Blake occupied himself stroking Watson’s head again. “I mean, only if you want to?”

  “Are you kidding?” Elion cried. “I’d love to! Do we get to walk the red carpet? Will I need a tux?”

  Blake beamed at him. “Yeah, all those things,” he said. “When I feel better we can go shopping if you like? Find something together.”

  Elion was almost bouncing with excitement. “Yeah. Yes, I’d like that.” Suddenly, the next few days were looking very exciting indeed.

  20

  Elion

  Naturally Blake’s parents weren’t wholly keen on the two of them running off on a trip together. But Joey’s agent had only secured two event and plane tickets and just the one hotel room for him and Blake. For a while, Elion seriously thought Mrs. Jackson was going to rebel and book her own trip. But Elion had a suspicion the show runner Seth managed to say something to convince her to stay behind.

  Whatever it was, Elion was extremely grateful. He was beyond excited to be going away with Blake. They could have been going anywhere and he would have been psyched, but the fact it was to a glitzy awards show in sunny California was even better.

  As promised, Blake had taken him shopping and they’d gotten complimentary suits. Blake’s was a darker purple and Elion’s more of a lilac, with white shirts, grey-ish purple accessories and fancy Italian leather shoes.

  Blake insisted on paying for everything. Ordinarily, Elion liked to try and contribute his fair share. But there was no way on Earth he’d be able to afford those prices, so his pride had stepped aside and he’d allowed Blake to treat him. Who knew if it would happen again, anyway? Elion was okay accepting a gift if it was possibly the only one he was ever going to get from him.

  The plane journey was just four hours but he and Blake had been granted seats in first, whereas the crew were confined to economy and their camera equipment to the hold. It wasn’t like he and Blake could do anything surrounded by people anyway, but it was nice to relax and not feel like they were being recorded for once.

  They chatted quietly about nothing in particular and half watched an action film on the small screens from their arm rests. Elion reveled in how normal and uneventful it was. Like they were a real couple. Even when a teenage girl came running up to Blake as they were exiting the plane it didn’t burst his bubble. Because when she tearfully asked for his autograph on the back of her boarding pass, she then also asked for Elion’s.

  “You guys are so awesome,” she managed to choke out, her voice slightly lisped from the braces she wore. “I started taking dance classes because of you, contemporary and ballet.”

  Blake’s face was pure delight as Elion scribbled his signature on the cardboard next to his. “That’s amazing, you keep at it honey.”

  “Thank you, thank you,” she stammered as she ran back to her folks.

  Elion couldn’t stop smiling as they went to get their bags from the carousel. “That was pretty neat,” he admitted. Knowing Blake had inspired someone to pursue their passion almost made all the shit they got online worth it.

  “I know,” Blake agreed. Then he took his hand.

  Elion was sort of aware of people looking and some taking photos. Kala got her smaller camera out of hand baggage and was obviously filming them. But Blake’s hand felt like a shield between Elion and the world. He clung to it and leaned into his body, letting everything else blur into the background.

  They were only there for just one night and in no time they were in a car getting whisked off to their fancy hotel to get ready for the awards. It showed how nervous Elion was as he didn’t try to flirt or make a pass even though the both of them were running around having showers and grooming with nothing but towels around their waists.

  He wasn’t totally brain dead though. So he did register how stunning Blake looked with his shirt off, glistening with droplets of water clinging to his golden skin. He just didn’t have the energy to do anything about it.

  It hadn’t really occurred to him that he’d actually have to walk the red carpet. That he would be there as Blake’s boyfriend. That there would be reporters and bloggers and people scrutinizing them. Fuck. He wasn’t anybody. He wasn’t famous. He was just some guy who worked at a coffee shop that happened to go to school with a dude from a boy band. It was by accident he’d got himself on the show.

  As he fumbled with his tie for the third time he was just about ready to throw the damn thing across the room, when he felt deft fingers slip around his collar and Blake appeared behind him. “It’s going to be fine,” he murmured in his ear as he expertly knotted the tie. He felt warm and reassuring with his chest pressed against Elion’s back. “I’ll be right there with you, I promise.”

  Elion took a shaky breath and gave him half a smile. “You must be used to this by now,” he said.

  Blake shook his head. “Just learned how to deal with it.” He smoothed the finished tie down and turned Elion to take in his finished look. They were about the same height; Blake was an inch or two taller, but it was easy for Elion to look into his eyes. “Perfect,” he said, holding his hands.

  Elion was a bag of nerves. Part of him wanted to seize Blake and kiss him senseless, demanding that they date for real and take him to bed to utterly ravish him. The other was so scared that he was about to set a foot wrong with some unknown etiquette that he thought he was going to puke.

  “Shall we go down to the lobby?” he asked, stepping away and rubbing his hands on his thighs.

  Blake blinked then smiled at him. “Of course.”

  On the car journey over, Blake explained how it would work. They would walk the carpet – orange, not red in this instance – and talk with reporters. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” Blake assured him.

  Elion knew he was being uncharacteristically quiet, so when Blake took his hand again, he let him.

  Then they’d mingle for a cocktail reception, take their seats, and enjoy the show. Blake’s award was about halfway through, so that was the only time he would leave Elion’s side. In the safety of the auditorium tho
ugh, Elion didn’t think he would mind that so much.

  Then there would be the inevitable after parties. As the ceremony was starting in the late afternoon, there were apparently several events Blake was expected to attend. But Elion would deal with that when the time came. For now, it was time to get out of the car.

  The cameras started flashing as soon as the door opened. Elion’s heart raced in his chest as he slid out after Blake. He didn’t let go of Elion’s hand as they stood, waving to the crowds with his other free hand.

  The show was being held at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. It was a big, square, red and cream building with palm trees swaying along the exterior walls. The carpet was indeed orange and stretched out before them towards the main entrance of the arena.

  Blake’s laughter as people screamed for him was infectious and Elion felt himself relaxing. People were chanting for their attention. There was a chorus of ‘Oh oh oohh!’ that dozens of people sang at the top of their lungs.

  Apparently, their ‘ship’ name was Belion. As they slowly made their way along the carpet, Elion could see people had made signs.

  “We love you Belion!” some tearful girls screamed at them. Blake ignored the first few reporters hanging over the railings and took Elion to go say hi to the fans.

  Like at the airport, the sobbing, shaking girls wanted both of their autographs, which Elion couldn’t quite believe. But he followed Blake’s lead, talking to each girl in turn and giving them a hug once he’d signed whatever they had in their hands.

  “It’s so great to meet you,” he said over and over, meaning it ever time.

  The reporters were still calling out to them. But before he and Blake had a chance to move over to them, there was a hurtling ball of black suit and curly hair that launched itself onto Blake’s back.

  “DUDE!” the excitable ball screeched. Blake roared back in his face as he turned and hugged him with lots of back slapping. The cameras – both from Feet of Flames and all kinds of other shows – swarmed around them to capture the moment Blake and Joey from Below Zero reunited.

  Elion stepped back gracefully. He was happy for them as they talked over one another, saying how much they’d missed each other. The reporters and bloggers were keen to ask them many questions and the guys stood with their arms slug over each other’s shoulders to answer them. The crowd started singing ‘Oh oh oohh!” again.

  Elion had never asked about Joey. He was openly gay and by all accounts Blake’s best friend. Was there more to it than that?

  Joey was cute, there was no denying it. He had a mop of blond highlighted curls and green eyes that sparkled. Smaller in almost every way than Blake, he also had a baby face and had always been marketed as the ‘cute’ one of the band.

  Maybe that was who Blake would rather be with if he was actually bi. At this juncture, Elion was convinced it wasn’t a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’ he felt able to come out. So, when he did, was Elion just the warm up so he could go back to Joey?

  The thought stung and made his nausea come back in full force. But if that was the case, he resolutely promised himself that he’d accept that with humility. He was here to support Blake through the show and his self-discovery. The chances of Elion being his ‘happy ever after’ were never very high.

  Except Blake suddenly looked around confused, ignoring the reporter who currently had a microphone in his face. He stopped searching once he spotted Elion. “Come here,” he cried, waving him over eagerly.

  Elion almost checked behind himself to see if Blake meant somebody else. But he didn’t. He was looking right at Elion.

  So he eased his way through the small throng that had gathered and stood by Blake’s side. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around his waist and kiss him on the temple. “Joey, this is my boyfriend, Elion.”

  Joey managed a handshake before the questions started up again. This time, some were even directed towards Elion. They were mostly what he thought about Blake and his dancing, rather than about himself. But that was fine. Because Blake’s hand didn’t leave his hip the entire time and his thumb rubbed in little circles, reassuring Elion that he wasn’t going anywhere.

  The rest of the orange carpet was a whirl. Elion lost track of the number of truly famous people he saw. Some even came over to say hello, which stunned Elion into silence most of the time. Blake did a great job mingling with everyone though, and his hand only left Elion’s waist to take his hand so they could move around more easily together.

  Joey stuck by them, not close enough to be intrusive, but near enough to pop back in whenever people wanted Below Zero photos. He was good at playing the crowd.

  Eventually, they made it into the Galen Center building and out of the sunshine. Elion had sort of wished he’d brought shades with him, but apparently that would look bad in photos. Better to squint and have your face seen. But the a/c was a nice relief as much as the champagne flute pressed into his hand by a waitress.

  “Cheers,” said Blake, holding up his own glass.

  Elion licked his lips and lightly chinked the two flutes together. “Salud,” he toasted back.

  They mingled for a little while but then Blake was accosted by a biracial girl he was sure was from a British girl band. He was about to follow them as he had been doing for the rest of the afternoon, when he felt a tug on his arm.

  “I’ll entertain him for a minute,” said Joey brightly, shooing Blake and the girl away.

  Elion suddenly felt nervous. He chewed on his lip as Joey steered them to swap their empty glasses for full ones.

  “So, you know what I’m going to ask,” he said once they were a little away from anyone who might overhear.

  “How I get my hair so shiny?” Elion suggested, attempting to cover up his nerves. “Because it’s just coconut oil, my friend.”

  Joey’s mouth twitched at the corner, but he didn’t smile. “Blake said it was all fake.”

  Elion threw up his free hand and darted his eyes left and right to see if anyone had heard. “Look, it wasn’t our fault, okay. We were tricked. But we have to keep it up for now. Please don’t make Blake out to be a liar.”

  Joey watched him for a moment, then sipped his champagne. “So it’s true?”

  Elion took a larger gulp of his own drink. “It’s…complicated.”

  “Because,” said Joey, leaning in and slipping his hand across Elion’s back. “He looks at you like you hung the moon.”

  Elion just stared as Joey moved away again and smiled at him. “Huh?” he uttered.

  “Are you telling me you two haven’t…” He let the pause do the talking. “At all?”

  Elion obviously had a terrible poker face, because Joey grinned at him. “Okay,” he said hastily. He had no idea if he was making a terrible mess of things or not. “Blake’s figuring some stuff out, and I’m helping him. He’s my friend and I want him to be happy, but he needs to do some soul searching and work out some things about himself.”

  “He’s bi,” said Joey bluntly. “And I’m almost certain he’s demi too.” He touched Elion’s arm affectionately. “You must be pretty special.”

  Elion couldn’t help but look over to where Blake was taking photos with the girl band. “Really?” he said faintly.

  Joey shrugged when he turned back to him. “I’ve known him a pretty long time. I’ve never seen him get like this with anyone.” He rolled his eyes fondly. “He talks about you all the time.”

  That made Elion laugh, but also he felt like firecrackers were going off in his chest. Did this mean he really had a chance?

  “Question is,” said Joey, arching an eyebrow, “how do you feel about him?”

  “Oh man, I’m crazy about him,” he said in one rushed breath. He probably should have kept his fat mouth shut, but if what Joey was saying was true, he didn’t want Blake’s BFF to be in any doubt of his intentions. “I can’t…” He shook his head. “I’m going along with this fake thing because I don’t want to lose him. But…do you think I really have a
shot if I made a move? For real?”

  He could hear the desperation in his voice, but he had a feeling that went in his favor as Joey slipped his arm around his shoulders. “I think you do. Don’t let that ridiculous show get in the way of something real. Blake might need just a bit of help to be brave for this one.”

  Elion looked him square in the eye. “And I wouldn’t be getting in your way if I did that?”

  Thankfully, Joey laughed loud enough to get the attention of several people around them. But he kept his voice low to talk to Elion. “He’s my brother. I love him more than pretty much anyone on the planet. But no, you’re not getting in my way. In fact, you have my blessing,” he said with a wink.

  Relief coursed through Elion’s body. “Thanks, man,” he mumbled.

  Joey shook his head. “Don’t mention it. Now how about we go rescue your beau before those girls eat him alive?”

  Elion fully endorsed that plan.

  21

  Blake

  Blake had been a little nervous as to why Joey had wanted to talk to Elion alone. But the two of them had come sauntering back over with smiles on their faces, relaxed and happy. So it couldn’t have been that bad.

  Shortly after they’d been able to take their seats. The inside of the auditorium was decorated like some sort of Dr. Seuss wonderland, with whacky shapes and bright colors forming the basis of the stage and the areas around it.

  “Wow,” said Elion, craning his neck to take it all in. Blake squeezed his hand, so happy he was able to share this with him. It was funny. He would have sworn that when the band had split, he wouldn’t miss this side of things. But here with Elion and Joey he was having a wonderful evening.

  “Thank you,” he whispered in his ear. “For being here.”

  “Thanks for inviting me,” Elion replied a little bashfully.

  He sat in between Elion and Joey, who was on the aisle end. That was so the two of them could slip out easily enough when it was their turn to go present. He was a little nervous, but that was always the way when he wasn’t just dancing. He was sure he could read the tele-prompter okay without fumbling.