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 Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:35 pm
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Chad was almost sad to see Devyn go, but he also knew that Oliver was probably waiting for him, and Elliot had been making snacks. He waved to Devyn as he left, and carefully shut the door behind him.
He stared down at his pen once more, unable to stop himself from smiling. It was such a kind gesture, and he hoped that Devyn wouldn’t regret offering his help so easily. But then, he wouldn’t have bothered if he thought he would get annoyed, right? Maybe?
It was barely even a minute after Devyn left that Chad took the pen, opened it, twisted it until he heard the click, and scribbled a quick thank you! with a little heart on his hand.
Once the pen was safely closed once more, he turned to poke his head into the living room to see where everyone else was, or if they needed his help with anything.
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:08 pm
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Oliver had a small stack of books that he was arranging very carefully, but it looked like he’d gotten a little distracted flipping through one. The little bit of motion in the corner of his eye when Chad arrived made him jump, so he’d clearly gotten engrossed in the book, quickly.
“Oh, Chad,” he smiled quickly and gestured for him to come over and sit next to him.
“I didn’t see you there, you’re so quiet. I hope El hasn’t been teaching you how to sneak around, he’s so good at spooking me. Come on over, I’ve pulled out a few books. I think I’ve got all of the ones they’ll have in the curriculum this year. Most of the high schools are going to have the same–I think. They’re still finalizing it, but these are all of the usuals. And they’re good choices. Some of them even have movies–which helps me, a lot, when I’m having a hard time focusing. But all of them have audio books, or we can read out loud together. Which is not an obligation,” he assured quickly. “Sometimes I have days where I stumble over my words or I skip lines, or stutter or say the wrong word–and that’s okay. Sometimes reading out loud helps me slow down and focus. Sometimes kids can be a little mean about it if reading isn’t your strong suit and you get something wrong, but you know it’s safe here.”
He put his hands on his knees and let Chad look at the covers of the books he’d laid out.
“And if you ever need a break, we’ll take a break,” he reminded, “This isn’t supposed to be a chore. But these are some good books, so I hope you’ll like them. This one is one of my favorites,” he said, and couldn’t help but pick up a very well loved copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. “It’s got some sensitive topics in it, though. So when you have to read it, if you want to talk to someone about it, you can talk to me. I don’t know how involved your parents are with your homework,” but he suspected it wasn’t involved at all, “but you’ll always have Asher and I if you want to talk about anything. And Michael, too. I’ve seen him with more books than we’ve got at the library, he loves to read.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:17 pm
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Chad froze when Oliver jumped, and looked at him with concern and a quiet apology. He certainly hadn’t meant to startle Oliver. And he was worried because he knew why he was so jumpy about things. Elliot told him that his dad’s parents weren’t that great, so of course Chad had to wonder…
But that was for another time. Instead, he focused on the books that Oliver had collected. It was a little overwhelming to see so many books, but he also knew that it should be spread out over the year, so that was a little better. And if there were movies and audio books then that was even better.
“My grandmother used to help me with my homework, but I’ve been trying to do it on my own since she passed away,” he admitted as he moved over to where Oliver was sitting on the couch and probably sat probably too close. It would have been easy for Chad to just lean against Oliver like this, but he resisted, even if he was tired. Well, he was always tired, so he supposed that didn’t really count.
“I don’t think I’ve read any of these,” he frowned, feeling a little flustered because he really wasn’t good at reading, and balked at the idea of reading out loud. That was the worst part of class -- having to read anything out loud.
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:22 pm
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When Chad sat close, Oliver leaned into it just a little bit, like he might have done with Elliot. “She sounds like such a sweet lady. That must have been difficult for you. I’m proud of you for trying so hard.”
He meant every bit of it.
“I bet she’d be really proud of you. It’s okay if you haven’t read these, they’re usually recommended for thirteen, fourteen year olds. I was fourteen when I first read this one,” he said, patting the book he’d set in his lap. “Some of them take a little bit of thought, and some are meant to make you consider or challenge concepts.”
He’d noticed the frown on Chad’s face as much as the change in his demeanor. “If you don’t want to read out loud, you don’t have to. I used to make Asher read to me so I didn’t have to,” he confessed, and leaned forward in his seat just a bit, as if he hoped to catch a glimpse of his husband in the kitchen. He could only just barely hear Elliot and Asher in the kitchen and a smile lingered on his face as he caught their reflection in a frame on the wall.
“So if we get stuck, we can just borrow him and Elliot.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:27 pm
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When Oliver leaned forward, so did Chad, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was Elliot was working on. It sounded like he was helping his dad with things, or maybe just having a good conversation. He smiled and giggled quietly in agreement when Oliver suggested using them to read out loud.
“What’s it about?” Chad asked, glancing at the book in Oliver’s lap, but his face adopted a guilty expression. “Oh, I mean, I guess if that will spoil it, I can just try to read it instead.”
He noticed how it looked like it got a lot of love, which would make sense if it was one of Oliver’s favorites. It was nice that Oliver was offering him help like this. If Chad was on his own, well… he liked being with the Reids more than his own family.
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:40 pm
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Oliver seemed delighted with the questions.
“It’s a coming of age story, first of all. An exploration of morality. The confrontation of evil and the fight to overcome it. It’s not really spoiling anything,” he assured, even if he was choosing his words carefully. “It’s about doing the right thing even when no one else is. It’s about the importance of education, but not just the sort of things you can read in a book. Compassion, integrity, sympathy. It’s about learning and growing and changing for the better. It was written a very long time ago, so there’s a lot of racial injustice. Social injustice, prejudice, justice.”
He gave Chad a moment to let this sink in and then explained, “It’s about a man accused of a heinous crime, and the community turns against him because of their racial prejudice. The main character is a young girl growing up in this environment, and her father is the lawyer who is representing this man. And he’s a very admirable man, and I always wished I had a father like him. He cares very much for his children and tries very hard to understand them. There are distinctly good characters and distinctly evil characters, but you don’t always know who is who until the end. I like it,” Oliver said, in a tone that seemed to imply he’d been criticized for his likes in the past.
But, Chad wasn’t judging him, he wasn’t worried about that.
“So I suppose, it’s about growing up and learning that the world isn’t just black and white, and about being kind to people and treating them well.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:47 pm
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Chad listened intently, hanging onto every word Oliver said. It sounded like a good book, and it had to be well liked if it was assigned reading, right? And Oliver seemed to like it very much.
“I wish more people read this book, then,” Chad said quietly, because it seemed as though there were some people who missed out on the lessons about being kind to people and treating them well.
But he didn’t want to bring down the mood, so he looked up at Oliver with a smile, and leaned a little closer to him.
“Thank you for helping me. I like being here a lot. I wish you and Mr. Reid were my fathers,” he sighed, but then made a face as he realized how rude that probably was to just say things like that. To assume that the thought would be mutual. Color flooded his cheeks and he shook his head as he scrambled for something else to say. “I mean… I know that’s not, but… and I guess…” He knew he was making no sense.
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:03 pm
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“Oh, we’d take you in a heartbeat. Asher says I can’t kidnap you and forcibly adopt you without breaking a few laws, so you coming over after school is going to have to be good enough for me.” He was quiet and then smiled. “For now.”
Even if he was teasing, he gave Chad a little hug.
“I wish more people read this book, too. And even if they didn’t, I wish more people were nicer in general. I get yelled at all the time at work by parents who get mad at me for not teaching their kid exactly what they want them to learn, but they won’t spend time with their kid at all. And I can’t read minds, I don’t know what these parents want. But I remember being a kid. Being in high school was scary. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have Ash, he probably saved my life. My parents were a lot like the people in this book. The whole town was.”
He pursed his lips for a second and then shrugged. “Ignorance is learned, and if you don’t have people who are willing to open your eyes, you don’t get the chance to learn how to be better. That’s why stories are so important. I didn’t have people I could look up to back home. But I looked up to people in stories. I hated reading, I saw the movie before I saw the book. It’s so old, it’s in black and white. But I liked it so much, I wanted to read it. Also, it was assigned reading. I was hoping I could just watch the movie and do okay on the tests, but.” He shrugged.
“Are you talking about Atticus again?” Elliot asked as he walked in, a little amused at Oliver’s book collection.
He had two drinks, one in each hand. Fresh lemonade, which he was very proud of.
“No, we’re just trying to pick out a book to read,” Oliver assured, but he seemed just a little flustered. Not enough that he couldn’t laugh about it. “Did your father tell you to say that?”
“He did, yeah,” Elliot confessed, and Asher laughed from the kitchen. He smiled extra for Chad as he handed him his glass first, and then stretched over a bit to pass Oliver his, too.
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 10:36 am
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The little hug was appreciated, although Chad would have been happy to hug anyone in that family for as long as possible. And Devyn and Michael too, probably. They were sort of like family, right? Or at least Michael was. They’d all mentioned Michael a few times.
Chad felt as though he knew how Oliver felt when he said how Asher probably saved his life. He’d only been with them for a few weeks now, but he was pretty sure knowing Elliot saved his life already. And maybe it was him following Elliot around all this time that kept him alive, too. He was a little embarrassed about that, but Elliot was a good sport and didn’t seem to mind Chad basically stalking him.
He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of ignorance he had learned, knowing the kind of household he was growing up in. But he didn’t feel as though he was anything like his father, or his father’s girlfriend. Maybe it really was possible to grow up with the influence of others and not end up like people who weren’t the best.
When Elliot entered the room, there was something strange that made Chad glance up. It had nothing to do with Elliot, who was perfect in every way, but what he’d said.
“Atticus?” Chad repeated, and then frowned thoughtfully. Oh, but when Elliot approached with the lemonade and smiled at him, he couldn’t help but smile brightly in return.
“Thank you, El,” Chad said, his cheeks retaining some of the heat from before, so he quickly sipped at the lemonade to cool himself down. But how could he not get flustered after thinking about how wonderful Elliot was?
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:03 am
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Elliot beamed at the praise and leaned against the edge of the couch for a few seconds to observe what they were doing. “Tell me if you want more, I squeezed a lot. Atticus is a character in the book. Dad’s favorite.”
“We almost named you Atticus,” Oliver mused, sipping at the lemonade. “It was on our list of names, I had to beg Asher. It’s just–I looked up to him a lot. He was just,” he sighed, a bit flustered, and had to turn to Chad like he needed to justify himself. “He’s a good guy. He’s collected, he does the right thing, he’s respectful, he has good morals, he cares about his family. He’s the father in the story. He’s caring and compassionate–you’ll see, when we read it,” he huffed, and placed his hand affectionately on the book’s cover.
“It’s just, you know. You read a book and get attached to a character. I wanted to be more like him. Someone who stands up for people and does the right thing, and who is confident and strong and admirable.”
He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second and continued, “I mean, he’s not perfect. No one is, I’m not blind to his flaws. The story’s told from the perspective of a child who loves and respects her father, so of course she only sees the good in him. But it was important to me in a time where I needed someone like that. So this will always be one of my favorite books, and he’ll be one of my favorite characters. And I like the pretend, perfect version of him. Especially in the movie.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 5:37 pm
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Chad smiled up at Elliot once more, happy that he was so close, if only for a little while.
“It’s a nice name,” Chad agreed when he thought about Elliot being named that instead. “It would have fit you too, I think. To be named after someone who is confident and strong and admirable and stands up for people and does the right thing.” Definitely a better name than Chad. Then again, any name would probably be better.
“I bet he was very brave too, if he has to stand up for people that others don’t like or agree with,” he hummed thoughtfully to himself as he lifted his lemonade to sip. Elliot was caring and compassionate, too. But if anyone asked Chad, Elliot was perfect.
Knowing how fond Oliver was of the book -- and movie -- it made Chad a little less hesitant to try and read it. He wasn’t looking forward to how difficult it would be, but with so much encouragement, he was willing to give it a chance.
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 8:36 pm
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“You’re too sweet,” Elliot laughed, but he was smiling so obviously enjoyed the kind words. “I like my name, you’re the one in the market for a new one. You haven’t found any that you like yet?” He already figured he knew the answer, if he had he was certain that Chad would have told him by now so they could have started trying it out.
Oliver tilted his head but wore a polite, knowing smile as he listened to the two. He sipped at his drink and watched as Elliot leaned a little closer to Chad, like he was just more comfortable being near him. “Do you think having a different name can change how you view yourself? Like, you could embody that persona more if you had a different name?”
“Sometimes,” Oliver answered. “But it’s your name. You can make it mean what you want it to. Or you can use it to inspire you. Or remind yourself that you can be any of those things.”
Elliot considered this and pursed his lips as he tilted his head to mull it over. “I guess that makes sense. It’s a pretty name, though. Whatever it means, I like it.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 8:54 pm
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“You don’t think so?” Oliver asked gently, resisting the urge to hug Chad–if only because Elliot had slid over next to him so he could do it instead.
“You just haven’t had the chance to be,” Elliot said, giving him a quick squeeze. “I believe in you. I’ll be confident for you, until you find your confidence. And I think you’re strong. You were working so hard, all by yourself. And you’re good and kind and treat everyone nicely, even if they’re mean and don’t deserve it.”
Oliver couldn’t help but smile, and there was nothing but love and pride in his eyes as he listened to Elliot. “The key to confidence is just practicing until you’re comfortable. It takes time, but it’s something you can work at, if you want to. Strength comes in a lot of different forms. Sometimes it’s resilience, sometimes it’s determination, sometimes it’s the guys at the gym.”
“We could go to the gym if you wanted,” Elliot said, but he was probably teasing. He gave Chad another squeeze. “You’re resilient. And determined. So, you’re strong. And your art is strong, too. And your kindness is strong. I have a lot of nice things to say about you that aren’t even strength related, just in case you need to hear them, too. But if you like the name, you should put it on your list. I want to know what other names were on your list sometime, dad. Atticus and Elliot are both good names. Maybe Chad can borrow one of the names you didn’t use. Unless you’re going to have more kids?”
“Oh, I’d have liked to. But unless a miracle happens, you’re probably an only child. Unless we can steal Chad and adopt him. I saved one of our old lists, I’ve got it in your baby book, I think. I’ll pull it out and we can go over the list. If you want, Chad. Of course, then we’ll just have to look at all of El’s baby pictures…”
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:07 pm
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Elliot telling Chad that he believed in him meant more to Chad than he knew how to express. He chewed on his lip anxiously, even as Elliot and Oliver went through what made someone confident or strong, and he couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at his lips when Elliot joked about going to the gym. At least he hoped Elliot was joking.
He leaned closer to Elliot, because he always felt most comfortable around him. And the smile stayed when Elliot mentioned there were other nice things he could say. But Chad didn’t want to seem like he was just fishing for compliments. He appreciated their attempt to cheer him up, though.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, turning just enough to press his forehead against Elliot’s temple. He would have hugged him back if it wouldn’t have been awkward for him to twist around where he was sitting. He would just have to hug him later.
“I would like to add it to my list… if that’s okay?” he asked, glancing over at Oliver, because he didn’t want to just take names that were important to him. He still wasn’t sure if he could fit a name like that, but it was the prettiest one he’d heard so far, and one he liked a lot.
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