Lessons
"Please, dude, I just need some help. Teach me how to study, and I can take it from there. I've just never been able to concentrate. I'm begging you, just help me out."
"And what do I get in exchange?" Ephram asked with a smirk.
"Cool by association?" Bright supplied lamely.
"We already did that. It didn't work. But I suppose I could take you under my wing. Come over to my house after school, and we'll see what we can do." Bright grinned and headed off to class, while Ephram laughed to himself quietly.
Bright walked into the Brown's house, and after humoring Delia for a few minutes he headed up to Ephram's room. Strange music was pouring out from under the door so that Bright's knock went unanswered. Pushing the door open, the tall teen saw the young waif leaning back in his chair, tapping alone to the music on his knees.
"Hey man, what is this?" Bright asked gesturing to the stereo.
"Placebo," Ephram answered, handing the jewel case to Bright. "Brian Molko is a god."
"Who's the chick?" Bright asked, looking over the liner notes.
"That's Brian Molko, the lead singer."
"He's a fag?!"
"He's androgynous. He's a guy who happens to enjoy wearing dresses and pearls. Michael Stipe from R.E.M is the same way."
"The guy from R.E.M. is a drag queen?" Ephram sighed, this was going to take some time.
"Okay, he's not actually a drag queen, he just wears skirts on occasion and a bit of eye make-up."
"Why on earth would a guy wear make-up?"
"To look pretty. I wear make-up on occasion. Well, I haven't really done it since I got to Everwood, seeing as how I'd really prefer to not be beaten to death and tied to a fence. But back in New York I used to wear eyeliner and nail polish along with my brightly colored hair." Bright didn't know what to make of Ephram's little admission.
"Dude, this is just confusing the hell out of me. Every time I come over here you do or say something that makes you seem like a fag, but I know you liked my sister, and what about all that stuff with Madison?"
"Bright, you wanted me to help you learn, right?" Bright nodded. "Good, then we're going to have a vocabulary lesson. First word: androgynous. Definition: somebody who is a genderless beauty. You can't always tell if they're male or female, but you know they're gorgeous. Second word: bisexual. Definition: somebody who is attracted to both genders. Next term: faggot. Dictionary definition: a bundle of sticks or twigs, or a cigarette butt. Last word: queer. Definition: strange, out of place, against the norm. Any of this coming through?" Ephram asked, knocking his fist lightly against Bright's head.
"You really want me to kick your ass, don't you?"
"No, I'm just sick of bullshit. Yes, I liked Amy, and yes, I care about Madison. We're not together at the moment-- which was a mutual decision. I like girls, Bright, girls are good. Now, what homework do you have tonight?" Ephram asked, smoothly changing the subject. Bright didn't want to talk about school anymore.
"Alexander the Great conquered the world, while suffering from epilepsy. He was also rather gay."
"That's not in the textbook, man."
"It's Everwood. Of course it's not in the textbook."
"Why would any dude wanna hit it with another dude?" Bright asked, making a face.
"A guy knows better how to make another guy happy than any girl would We know what we like."
"I still think it's nasty." Ephram sighed.
"Alright, new tutorial." He turned on his computer and pulled up WinDVD. He scanned over his dvds, and decided on "The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert." Bright watched the movie in wide-eyed shock. Ephram watched Bright watch the movie with a smirk of amusement. Bright knew all the words to all of the disco songs, and Ephram found it completely hilarious to watch the big jock singing along.
"Dude, that makes no sense, he's obviously able to sleep with chicks, so why the heck would he leave her to be with men?" Ephram sighed. Bright still wasn't getting it, so he pulled out the disc and popped in "Velvet Goldmine."
"Just, just watch this one. You do know who Oscar Wilde is, right?"
"Um, I think so."
"He wrote 'The Portrait of Dorian Grey.' Remember that movie we saw with Sean Connery where the one dude had a picture that aged instead of him, and when he looked at it he aged really fast and turned to dust? Oscar Wilde wrote that story. He was also a very famous gay man." Bright didn't answer because he was enrapt in the movie. Ephram noticed that Bright was no longer shouting 'Ew!' when two men kissed.
"This movie is a fictional story based on the relationship of David Bowie and Iggy Pop in the seventies. See that guy right there? That's Brian Molko." Bright nodded silently, paying attention to the movie. Ephram had to laugh at Bright's reaction to Ewan McGregor's rendition of "T.V. Eye.".
"Dude, you didn't tell me the dude waved his cock around!"
"Does it matter? It's still an awesome movie."
"Why do those fags look so familiar?"
"First of all, as I told you before, a fag is a bundle of sticks or a cigarette butt,. Secondly, that's Ewan McGregor, from Star Wars, that's Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, from "Bend it Like Beckham," and that's Christian Bale from American Psycho and Newsies."
"Oh, okay." As his favourite scene approached, Ephram stared Bright straight in the eyes, and recited along with the movie:
"The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history." Bright's eye's widened.
"Dude! Don't do that!"
"Sorry if I threatened your manly straightness. Anyway, that guy there, was also in 'Prozac Nation,' which you wouldn't have seen because your taste in movies is that of a brain-dead slug."
"Uh-huh," Bright said, caught up in the movie again. Ephram knew had made the right choice is forcing Bright to watch VG. As the movie ended, Ephram handed Bright the phone.
"Call home, tell them you're staying here for dinner and then spending the night," Ephram directed.
"Um, okay," Bright said, a little unnerved by this new, direct, firm Ephram. Bright was unusually quiet during supper, apart from flirting with Delia, and trying to ignore Andy and Ephram arguing about. . . Something. As Bright shoveled the last of the mashed potatoes into his mouth, Ephram got up and ran a finger down the back of Bright's neck, causing Bright to shiver and suddenly shut up.
"Bright and I have some more work to do. We'll be upstairs," Ephram announced, and led Bright back to his room. As Ephram fiddled with his computer, Bright noticed a small photo album on the edge of Ephram's desk and picked it up. At first, Bright wasn't even sure Ephram was in the pictures at all. It was like he was looking into an alternate universe composed of glitter and black mesh.
"Dude, are you wearing a dress in this picture?"
"Yes. I was dressed up as Ophelia. That's Spike, he was dressed up as Desdemona, and Zero was dressed as Juliet. Then Zombie and Fuzzy dressed as Lady Macbeth and Titania. That was an awesome Halloween. . . " Ephram got a goofy looking grin on his face. Bright flipped through the album.
"Shit! How many piercing did you have?" Ephram thought for a minute.
"Um, six in one ear, three in the other, my right eyebrow, my labret, my left nipple, and this one." Ephram stuck out his tongue, and after careful examination, Bright noticed a small flesh-colored ball on Ephram's tongue,
"HOLY SHIT!"
"Yeah, dad doesn't know I still have this one, or he chooses to pretend he doesn't know. About a week or so before we moved here, my dad tackled me and pulled them all out and then threw them out the window of our apartment, and said that if he ever saw them again, I'd be strung up by my toenails." Bright studied Ephram's face.
"Huh. I wonder why I never noticed the holes before. But why would you do that?"
"Something to do, a way to get back at my dad, and 'cause it made me look pretty," Ephram batted his eyelashes at Bright.
"Dude-man, please stop freaking me out. Let's just watch the movie." Ephram set up "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and he and Bright settled onto Ephram's bed. Soon Bright was so into the movie that he didn't even notice Ephram gently cuddling against him. Ephram had seen the movie many times before, so instead, he found himself watching Bright watch the movie. The way Bright tilted his head whenever he didn't understand something, the way Bright blushed when he finally got it, they were all pieces of what made Ephram so attracted to the older boy. As the movie went on, Bright began to shift a little and Ephram notice the slowly hardening bulge poking his hip. As Hedwig became more and more like Tommy, Ephram decided to make his move.
"So, Bright, you like these movies so far?"
"They're weird, but kinda cool. I never knew you watched musicals, though."
"They're not musicals, they're 'rock operas.' Anyway, the hotness factors supercede the musical qualities of the movies every time." As Bright tried to figure out Ephram's big words, Ephram leaned his head forward, catching Bright's mouth with his own. After a startled second, Bright pulled away from the kiss.
"DUDE! I'm not gay!"
"Dude!" Ephram mocked. "Neither am I. But kissing is kissing, and sex is sex as long as you care about each other and have fun. So, since I know the movie is turning you on, why don't we try a new lesson - 'how much pleasure can I get from somebody with a tongue ring?'" Ephram leaned in to kiss Bright again, and this time Bright didn't pull away. Bright opened his mouth to let Ephram's tongue in, and felt the barbell clacking against his teeth. It turned him on even more. Ephram ran his hands down Bright's back, and slipped his right hand down Bright's pants, wrapping his long fingers around Bright's erection. A tiny moan escaped Bright's lips, and Ephram felt like showing off, so he pulled his hand away and lowered himself eye-level to Bright's crotch. Using only his teeth, he undid the button and pulled down the zipper. Sweaty and horny, Bright decided to pretend that he wasn't with another guy, and pulled off his shirt. Bright Jr. was standing up through his fly in all his circumcised glory. In one swift motion, Ephram pulled off Bright's pants and boxer' s, leaving the basketball-player completely naked in Ephram's bed.
"Please," Bright said, "Please suck me."
"Well, since you asked nicely," Ephram laughed evilly and engulfed Bright's penis in his warm wet mouth. He took in most of it, having a very talented gag reflex, and bobbed up and down, his tongue ring creating some nice friction. Ephram fondled Bright's balls with his right hand, while slipping his left index finger in Bright's mouth.
Bright sucked on Ephram's finger eagerly, so horny. He twisted his fingers in Ephram's hair, unaware that Ephram's finger had left his mouth. But he gasped when he felt the intrusion at his rear. As Ephram gave Bright a blowjob, he worked his index finger into Bright's ass. Then he worked in two fingers, scissoring them while he squeezed Bright's balls gently with his right hand. Then he pulled back, taking Bright's balls into his mouth as he continued to work his fingers into Bright's ass. While he sucked on Bright's balls, he expertly grabbed a tube of lube from his nightstand and squirted some on his left hand. He massaged Bright's asshole, managing to work in three fingers before he let Bright's balls slip from his mouth and returned to his cock. He sucked eagerly, waiting for the reaction that would come as soon as he found what he was looking for. There it was. Ephram caressed Bright's prostate, and Bright almost screamed. He'd always been afraid of assplay, but whatever Ephram was doing felt so good, he came harder than he ever had before. Ephram swallowed it all, not complaining. It wasn't the tastiest substance in the world. But it wasn't disgusting either.
"Oh, GOD, that felt so good," Bright said.
"Do you trust me?" Ephram asked Bright, looking him straight in the eyes.
"I guess so, but I'm not gay," Bright insisted again.
"That's okay. I know you're attracted to girls, but I also know that you' re enjoying what I'm doing to you," Ephram said, his eyes locked with Bright' s. Bright searched Ephram's eyes. The younger boy had never hurt him, never done anything to put him in harm's way or purposely damage his life. He looked into Ephram's eyes and saw. . . Lust, passion, and strength. He'd asked Ephram to teach him, so he might as well keep learning.
"I trust you," Bright whispered hoarsely. Ephram stepped away from the bed for a moment to undress, and Bright saw for the first time Ephram's beautiful penis. He'd watched a lot of porn in his life, and had never thought of a penis as beautiful before, but Ephram's penis truly was beautiful. It was perfectly proportioned, hard and throbbing. Ephram took a condom from the drawer in his bedside-table and tore open the wrapper, rolling it down his length. Then he came back to Bright, still lying on his back in Ephram's bed. Ephram squirted some more lube in his hands and worked on Bright's hole, massaging it, getting three fingers in and out comfortably. He lifted Bright's legs onto his shoulders and positioned himself at Bright's entrance.
"Are you ready?" Ephram asked, gently. Their eyes locked again, and Bright nodded. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Bright said quietly. "Please, fuck me." He never in his life imagined he would utter those words, especially not to another guy, but right then, it didn't matter. Suddenly, gay, straight, bi, none of those labels mattered. All that mattered were two people who cared about each other, doing what felt natural.
Ephram slowly pushed into Bright, paying close attention to Bright's face. It hurt a little, but mostly it felt good, and Ephram had used a lot of lube. Ephram kept pushing and Bright felt him hit that spot again-- that place that felt soooo good, and Bright's penis leapt at the stimulation. Ephram buried himself to the hilt, and stayed there, letting Bright get used to the feeling. Ephram kissed Bright again, deeply, as if all of life depended on that kiss. When it broke, Bright looked up at Ephram.
"You can move, you know." Ephram chuckled a little, and started to move, pistoning in and out, gathering speed. "Oh my GOD, that feels so FUCKING good," Bright said in a hard whisper, trying to be quiet, but wanting desperately to scream. Ephram was beginning to lose himself, as he fucked this boy-- this boy who he'd been wanting to bed since he moved to Everwood-- jerking him off with one hand while he pounded into him. Finally, he let go, emptying himself into the condom as he fisted Bright to his second orgasm. Ephram pulled out and tied off the condom, tossing it in the wastebasket. Bright noticed that he felt empty, almost sad that Ephram was gone. Ephram collapsed on top of Bright, his almost nonexistent weight covering Bright like a blanket.
"The final lesson for tonight is," Ephram said, whispering in Bright's ear, "Shower right away or get stuck together." Ephram got out of bed, giggling, and peeked his head out the door. He checked to see that both his dad and Delia seemed to be sleeping, so he and Bright crept to the bathroom and showered. Together.