"Oh god" I whined as I watched the video.
"And there it is" exclaimed Alex.
"I can't believe you guys" I complained. They only ignored me.
There had been a New Year's Party in which we had all went to Randy's house to celebrate the start of 2009. It was fun with all the snacks, hot tub, video games on the giant tv, board games, etc. That was from what I could remember. The rest...was caught on video.
"Who would've thought Noah Lainer would ever get, not only drunk, but drunk UNDERAGE?" Dane said.
"Dude," began Randy, "what were you thinking?"
"Yeah, what were you thinking? How do you get drunk off of champagne anyway?" asked West.
"That's not what I meant" Randy commented.
"Whatever. I still don't even see how it-" he got cut off.
"HERE IT COMES YOU GUYS!" yelled Alex.
I painfully watched the video play itself. I was holding up a little glass of champagne & singing a Steely Dan song. Not only that, but I had removed my shirt & was dancing awkwardly in circles around Jade. Jade was laughing nervously as I did so, but didn't seem to be protesting. And that's when it happened.
As I continued subconsciously singing, I started moving closer to him. Suddenly, I lunged forward & began kissing him. I saw Jade's face full of surprise.
At this point, we were all laughing. I held my face in one hand, trying to hold back my chuckles from the video clip. The rest of my friends were laughing hard. It was so embarrassing but at the same time...it WAS funny.
"Nice" laughed Colin.
"Shut up" I giggled. "I didn't mean to do that."
"Yeah well you did. And now millions of people will get to see it, ha ha" West snickered. They had put it on Youtube. Great.
"Don't worry Noah, I got something that can take ALL our minds off this. I got seven tickets to see the H Gang. They're performing tonight in Portland & tomorrow night in Augusta. We can all go tomorrow night" offered Randy.
"Whoa Really? Can I ask how much they were?" asked Dane.
"They were $200 each."
"WHAT?! $200 EACH?!" yelled Alex.
"Yup."
"So your dad finally got that raise, didn't he?" Dane said as-a-matter-of-fact.
"Yeah he did. So you guys up for it?"
We all agreed to go.
On the night of the concert, Jade came over to my house. My dad had actually almost said no when I asked him to go out on a school night. I eventually had to bribe him with no allowance for chores over the weekend, doing all homework before I went out & to go to sleep the second I got home. Even with all that, he was still reluctant. But sooner or later he caved in.
So anyway, Jade came up to my room while I was changing. Obviously, I chose to wear my H Gang t-shirt underneath a green sweatshirt. I figured that if the concert was energetic enough to make heat, I'd be able to take off the sweatshirt. I also had on some jeans.
"Hey" I heard a voice behind me as I pulled the sweatshirt down over my head.
I turned around & saw Jade there.
"Hi."
"Bro, I can't wait for this concert. Thank god Randy's dad is a rich man or else we wouldn't have been getting tickets.You think he could get us tickets to Sox games this season?"
"Yes but I'm not doing it. Be serious J, we can't do this a lot. It's not fair to take advantage of Randy just because his dad has a lot of money."
"I wouldn't call it taking it advantage of, I'd call it...using the resources we have."
I gave him a stupid look.
"You're a very dumb & shallow person, ya know that?" I retorted.
"C'mon Noahy, I was just kiddin'. I'm not saying all the time, just now & then. Remember, his dad took us to do a lot of things when we were younger."
"Yeah because that's how you entertain a child. You spend, spend, spend."
"Exactly. Plus, how am I shallow? I'm dating you, aren't I?" he sneered.
Oh I got burned.
"Haha, what a knee slapper" I replied sarcastically.
"You DID always like my humor."
I rolled my eyes & smiled.
Later that night, the concert was going great. I told you, I was so hyped up I took off my sweatshirt, letting my H Gang t-shirt be seen by the band. Eventually, the midway point came & we all decided to split up a little. Buy souvenirs, get some snacks, get a drink, go to the bathroom, etc.
On my way to buy a Pepsi, I felt a tap on my left arm. When I looked to see who it was, I saw a smiling face & one not so smiley face. I smiled back.
"I didn't know you liked H Gang" I said.
"Yup, we both do" Ruby replied.
"Hi Janie" I said, trying to smile.
"Hey" she said flatly. I bet she'd make a great cheerleader.
"So did you & Jade join the county GSA?" Ruby questioned.
"Yup, we both did last week."
"Awesome. We gotta stand up for our rights!" she exclaimed, shaking a happy fist at nobody in particular.
"'We'?" I asked.
"You betcha" Said Ruby, turning to Janie & kissing her long & hard right on the lips. My jaw dropped. I noticed a few people around us staring. Specifically boys who seemed to be liking it. I couldn't blame them.
When they let up, a boy several years older walked by me.
"You the luckiest kid on the damn planet" he whispered & then kept walking on. I laughed to myself. Yes I was, but not because of Ruby & Janie kissing.
"Wow. You guys uh...huh. Don't like hiding much, do ya?" I said.
"Nope. Hey, ya know what, the band is giving away a free chance for people to go up on stage to sing with them. They'll pick 20 people to come up & go on stage. If you & Jade get picked, you should do something special" Ruby explained.
"Cool. How do you know that?" I asked her.
"My dad is head of security here" Janie pointed out.
"Ahh..." I trailed off.
"Well, the show's comin' back on. See ya guys later" she said. The two of them walked off.
As the show started back up, the crowd started to become excited again. It was getting to be chaos & it was awesome. Everybody was singing along to all the songs & just having fun.
Soon, the group announced the number seats that would allow audience members to join them on stage.
"HEY GUYS, I'M ONE OF THE NUMBERS!" I yelled.
God must have been happy with me because another one of the lucky numbers was Jade's! Talk about a coincidence. All the winners got up & walked their way up to the stage, hanging with all the members, sort of. We all danced a bit & got in a word or two through the microphone of the songs.
When everything became 'freestyle', everyone did their own thing. It was a blast. Jade & I danced as friends, goofing off.
Suddenly, a crazy thought came into my mind. Before I could even logically think it over, I leaned into Jade & kissed him square on the mouth. I jammed my tongue into his shocked mouth, letting my tongue glide against his.
Even though the song continued, the audience was instantly quieter. They were shocked by what had just happened. Frankly, so was I.
Suddenly, the entire theater exploded with applause. To be honest, I jumped a little bit, it was so loud & surprising. I couldn't help smile to myself as thousands of people cheered & supported my relationship with Jade. It not only was viewed by the crowd, but also on tv, where millions of people were watching it at home. It was nerve-racking but also exciting. I knew that a good amount of people has just assumed I was gay for some time now. And now, it was confirmed.
I looked at Jade as we continued dancing smoothly on the stage while H Gang played on.
"You comfortable now?" he had to scream to me.
"With myself? You have no idea."
"Well actually I meant wearing those jeans I got you, but whatever" he joked.
I laughed.
"No. But I'm not taking them off anyway" I called.
"Aww man" he grinned.
I laughed.
Well I guess I'd have a good amount to look forward to when I got home & to school the next day. And you know what? I was ready.
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