Chapter Twelve – [Memory, Freshman Year, Winter Break] – Two Types of Friends

Lyn examined the steep slope without hiding his suspicion that it wouldn’t be a great an idea to sled down it like a maniac. He had heard enough about Brad’s extended family to imagine the chaos that would come with it, but nothing had truly prepared him for the reality. An assortment of cousins, aunts and uncles, even two pair of grandparents were assembled at Brad’s family’s home, so his arrival had gone almost unnoticed. Brad’s mom had kissed him on both cheeks, looking harried and hastily trying to get everyone settled in an orderly fashion, and thanked him for Brad’s good grades. Apparently, the Fosters considered Brad’s ability to achieve reasonable results on his exams was due to Lyn. Which was true, seeing the number of times he had helped his friend with papers, essays and whatnot.

A hard slap on his back made him flinch.

“Come on,” Brad said cheerfully, “show me how it’s done, city boy.”

Lyn scoffed and barely kept his balance, perched as he was on the bright-red sled that the Fosters most likely secretly supplied to undercover Santas. “If I’d known you wanted to me to break my neck, I would’ve thought twice about your invitation.”

“You sort of invited yourself,” Brad reminded him.

Lyn winced. It was so like Brad to make him feel miserable with an off-hand remark like that.

Brad didn’t notice his friend’s mood change and began pushing him from behind.

“Hey, wait,” Lyn shouted.

The sled was picking up speed, and the slope was so, so steep. Lyn closed his eyes, then panicked and opened them again.

“Lean back!” Brad shouted orders from behind. “Use your feet to steer!”

Lyn was pretty certain everything his pal said made absolutely no sense. He was gaining speed as he was going down the slope. At the foot of the hill, Brad’s many cousins were already engaged in a snowball fight.

His sled came to an abrupt halt as it hit something. Lyn registered only that he was flying through the air. His flight was short, though. He fell face-first into a snowbank.

Brad’s easy laugh reached him as he struggled to get back to his feet. The snow got in his hair, frosting his eyelids, and Lyn was pretty sure that some must have gotten past the collar of his coat and even under his sweater.

“See? That wasn’t so hard. You only need to work on your landing a little,” Brad said, parking his sled close to him with skilled ease.

He began patting Lyn clean and even brushed the snow from his hair. Lyn did his best not to stare at his friend as he was getting this strange full-body treatment. Maybe it had something to do with the many cousins Brad had. Even if Brad had no siblings, he always acted like someone who had lived his entire life in a full house.

“I think I need to get it out of here, too,” Lyn explained as he opened his coat. “Damn, it’s gotten everywhere.”

“Let me help.” Brad removed the glove from his right hand with his teeth and grabbed Lyn’s sweater, pulling it up.

He didn’t have time to react as Brad’s hand came in contact with his skin. Somehow, Brad had pulled the undershirt up along with it, as well, and now his cold fingers were on Lyn’s belly.

“Hey, stop wiggling,” Brad warned him as his hand slid upward, brushing the snow off Lyn’s chest. His moves were rough and brusque, but Lyn felt like he was about to die of shame and shock.

“There you go,” Brad said, satisfied with his work. “Do you think you can handle a snowball fight, princess? Or do you want to hurry back and help my aunt Frankie with the cookies?”

Brad thought nothing of the touchy-feely things he did. He had no reason to think his behavior was strange. Lyn was the one who made it so.

“I am so going to kick your ass,” he promised as he straightened his clothes. “Who do you think you’re calling ‘princess’?”

Brad guffawed and grabbed Lyn’s arm. “Get on. I’ll be right behind you.”

Right behind him indeed. For the second time today, Lyn thought his heart would stop. Brad pushed him down on the sled and climbed behind him, trapping him between his thighs. There were heavy coats between them and the firm idea that there was nothing strange about two friends doing this, but Lyn couldn’t stop his frantic mind from hoping for the impossible as they rode down the slope.

***

“I know it’s not much, but it wouldn’t be a real Christmas celebration without gifts, right?”

Brad scratched his head. “I didn’t get you anything, though.”

There were out on the porch, while the rest of the guests and Brad’s family were having fun inside playing board games. It was late and the air was clear. Lyn could feel his breath turning into frost on his lips. He took out the small package and pressed it against Brad’s chest.

“Don’t worry. You invited me to your house. I’m the one in your debt.”

“You’re so formal sometimes, I want to slap you right upside the head,” Brad said. He took out the leather bracelet and admired it in the porch light.

“It’s a friendship bracelet,” Lyn explained. Would it be all right for him to be the one who helped Brad put it on? Would it be all right to get closer?

Brad guffawed and shook his head. “Sometimes, Lyn, you act like a girl who’s still in sixth grade.”

“You don’t like it?” Lyn had no idea what to say. If Brad gave him his gift back, he wouldn’t know—

“I do.” Brad pushed his sleeve up and wrapped the leather band around his wrist, skillfully fastening it without needing any help. “See? It looks like I’m your friend.” He shook his wrist in front of Lyn. “Hey, did you get one for Alexander, too? If that prick finds out you only gave something like this to me, he’ll go into a serious funk. He’ll look at us like he wants to murder us in our sleep until college ends.”

“I did,” Lyn confirmed. At first, he had considered not doing so, but Alexander had invited him over, too, and as strange as their trio was, they were supposed to be friends. All three of them.

“Good.” Brad ruffled Lyn’s hair and brushed his knuckles against his frozen nose. “Let’s go back inside. You wouldn’t know it, but I’m the king of games in my family.”

Brad hurried back inside without checking to see if Lyn followed him.

Was this closeness what he truly wanted? Obviously, Brad was aloof, blind, as Alexander said, and Lyn worried that he had already given himself away too much.

It was better to have this than nothing at all, he decided as he started walking. Friendship was enough.

***