FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Prince of the Hill 3

Three idiots and a grill

By Kendo Kawabata

"Shephard....Shephard....Shephard...." Gielle muttered to himself as he flipped the pages in the phone book. The young flamedramon brushed some of his blonde hair from his eyes as he flipped the pages slowly, running his eyes down the alphabetical letters. Apparently his aunt and uncle didn't believe in directory assistance.

He could hear his cousin Bobby in his bedroom playing one of his games. Which game, he didn't really want to find out. Knowing his cousins senseless sense of humour, Gielle didn't think Bobbys' taste in games was something worth knowing about. Besides, his cousin never once asked him.

It was Wednesday, and his aunts 'Boggle day with Nancy' meant that Gielle, with his uncle at his job, could have some sense of peace during the day. With school resuming on the following Monday, Gielle knew he'd had little time for peace.

Specially with his aunts promise of taking him shopping for school supplies. Which he knew would mean that his aunt was considering replacing every t-shirt that he owned.

"There can't be that many Shephards in the district, can there?" he thought to himself as he looked down the index after arriving at the right set of letters. He felt the old bloodhound Ladybird rub against his feet as he sat at the kitchen table and he gave a rub of his foot against her. With his uncle not home, he could at least walk around with socks on.

"All those times he visited, why did I never ask him what his number is?" Gielle said as he mentally hit himself for not doing such a simple thing. But then again, he had just simply not considered asking him for it. He didn't have a cell phone himself.

"Forse dovrei aver chiesto prima che sia sceso e mi ha portato nella sua bocca " he thought as he felt himself blush for a moment as he forced himself to look down at the names on the list. *Maybe I should have asked before he went down and took me into his mouth*

His finger found the first Shephard, but the initials beside it were wrong. The second and third were the same, but a couple did have just the single initial M next to them. But they were in the wrong areas to be Alexs father Michael.

But his finger stopped about halfway down the list at one that looked different to the others.

"M. Shephard. MD." The listing mentioned the right address area, including a phone and mobile phone number. He wondered for a moment what MD stood for. He felt like it was obvious to him, but he wasn't too sure about it. Figuring he could ask someone later, he picked up the phone and rang the home number.

He heard the dial tone as he fingered the cord on the phone with his fingers a few times, keeping the phone pressed against his ear. He felt a little anxious, feeling his heart beat a little faster with each dialtone that rang. He was very eager to hear Alexs' voice again, especially sine he hadn't heard from him since the previous Sunday.

But the phone just continued to ring, the electronic sound echoing against his inner ear. After the fifteenth ring, he had to admit that neither Alex nor his father were home at that time. He could have just walked over and seen them, but he didn't want to just barge over and show up unannounced. Although the last time that had happened, the two of them had ended up on Alexs couch in a rather heated embrace.

He checked the phonebook again and looked at the mobile number. It didn't hurt to try after all. He hung the phone up and began to dial the new number. He placed the phone back against his ear, feeling a bit anxious again. But he was pleased to hear that the phone was picked up after only a couple of rings.

"Dr Shephards Office" came a male voice on the end of the phone. It was very familiar.

"Michael?" Gielle said in surprise. Doctor?

"Gielle?" Michael asked, sounding equally surprised to hear him. "Is everything ok? Is your family alright?" he asked, sounding worried.

"They ... are ... " Gielle said slowly, sounding slightly confused. "When did you become a doctor?" he asked. Then realised how stupid he must have sounded.

"Didn't Alex tell you" Michael asked before he laughed. "Oh, you had me worried there for a moment. People usually call me during working hours for family emergencies" he said. "But if you didn't know then that's a relief" he admitted.

"I'm...not bothering you, am I?" Gielle asked him. He felt a twinge of guilt and felt a little bad to think that he was.

"No, its ok. I'm between patients. Next ones not due in for a while" Mihael said with a sound like he had just sat down. "And yes, I am a doctor. Been one for about twenty years. Time flies though'' he admitted. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well" Gielle said as he leant against the frame of the doorway in the kitchen. "Do you remember on Sunday when Alex asked you if I could stay sometime during the week?" he asked. There was a pause for a moment or two while Michael must have been thinking about it.

"Yes, I remember that" Michael said. "And I remember that I said yes" he added.

"Well, I do still want to come over" Gielle said. "But I was starting to feel....I guess anxious that I hadn't heard from you or Alex" he admitted. "I just thought I'd ring up and check, you know. Instead of just showing up announced."

He didn't hear anything for a moment or two, and was about to ask Michael if he had heard him before he hear Michael sigh.

"I must have forgotten to tell you. And I guess Alex didn't tell you?" he asked him.

"Tell me what?" Gielle asked. For a moment he wondered if Alex had gotten into some sort of trouble or that Alex had intended to break things off. Either way he felt like his heart was starting to race like crazy.

"Alex's mother took him for the rest of the holidays" Michael said. Gielle felt his heart plummet. Although it wasn't nearly as bad as he had been expecting, for some reason that news didn't sound quite so good either. Considering how much of an impression Alex's mother had given him when he saw her briefly.

"She did?" Gielle asked, his fingers fidgeting with the phone cord as he slowly unwound the springy plastic from his digits.

"Yes. She's meant to have left him with me for the holidays, but she took him back a week early to resume our normal agreement that I get him on weekends only" Michael said. Gielle could catch the disappointment in his voice. "So he won't be back till Friday."

"Oh" Gielle said, disappointment heavy in his voice as well. He had been looking forward to spending time away from his uncles house and with someone he felt actually wanted him around.

"I'm afraid we'll have to make an arrangement after school starts" Michael said as he sounded like he was switching hands. "I need to get him sorted out this weekend for Monday. And Judy has a list of things I need to buy for him" he said. Gielle caught the slight anger in the older lions voice, but said nothing.

"Ok" Gielle said in resignation. "I'll guess I'll see him on Monday then" he said, feeling rather downtrodden.

"I guess he didn't tell you he'd be seeing you on Friday."

"Wait, what?" Gielle said, suddenly perking up a bit. Michael sighed again, although he sounded amused.

"Your uncles gathering. Didn't you know about that?" Michael asked, a slight chuckle in his voice.

"No...no I didn't" Gielle admitted. A gathering? What was he talking about?

"You don't get told much do you?" Micahel asked with a proper laugh this time.

"Unfortunately no" Gielle admitted. He sure didn't know what Michael was talking about, that was for sure. Although he wasn't sure why it was so funny either.

"Your uncle does this grill gathering thing every now and then. Personally, I think it's just an excuse for him to show off his grill and barbecuing skills all the time. And he invites everyone over to it. Including me and Alex, so we'll be there around lunchtime" Michael said.

"Oh, well that's great news "Gielle said with a rather large smile on his face to the news. He suddenly felt a lot better. He'd be able to see Alex again before he went back to school. How could he not be happy with that?

"Sorry to cut this short, but my next patient just walked in" Michael said, the sound of someone opening a door and someone greeting him was heard in the background. "I'll see you on Friday" he said before Gielle was greet by a dialtone.

"Mi domando se posso attendere fino a venerdì? " Giell said to himself, unable to hide the smile across his face as he placed the phone back on the wall and put the phone book back in its place, after copying down the right phone numbers now that he knew they worked. *I wonder if I can wait till Friday?*

"Who were you talking to?" Gielle heard his cousin say as he turned and saw the chubby wolf standing behind him with his arms crossed. He gave Gielle the impression he had just caught him doing something illegal. Which, by the look on his cousins face, he was hoping he had.

"I was talking to Alex's father" Gielle said to his cousin as he folded the numbered paper and slid it into his pocket. "I was checking to see if it was still ok to stay over sometime." Bobby didn't look convinced as he continued to give Gielle the same accusing look. "Anyway, its none of your business who I talk to" he said.

"I hope you didn't talk for too long. Dad gets upset when the phone bills over budget" Bobby said with a smirk on his face, as if the thought of his cousin in trouble was something he could enjoy watching. "Why do you like him so much anyway?"

"Because he likes being around me. We have similar interests" Gielle said. It wasn't that far from the truth.

"He didn't have very good interests when he hung around with me" Bobby said, an accusing look across his face as he looked at his cousin. "Why does he find you so interesting anyway? What could a lamewad like you and him have in common anyway?"

"Lei non ha 'la Scorreggia in una Lattina' di spruzzare su qualcuno? " Gielle said as he brushed past his cousin and headed for his bedroom. His good mood was very quickly disappearing. *Don't you have Fart in a Can to spray on someone?*

"What?" Bobby said, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"I said get lost midget" Gielle said as he shut the door behind him and flopped himself face first onto the bed. He figured Bobbys language skills with Italian was probably as remarkably poor as his aunts. He doubted that Bobby would be smart enough to figure out what he said without attempting to look it up.

Gielle had thought before that he could probably say anything to his aunt and she'd probably only translate what she wanted to hear. He sighed a bit and rolled over onto his back. Although the temptation to call her a pig was very hard to resist, he guessed that if he actually did, she'd pick that moment to understand him.

"Only two days till I can see him again" Gielle said with a smile to himself as he stared up at the ceiling, one hand behind his head and the other sitting on his stomach. Able to know that Alex would be coming by soon had lifted a weight of anxiety from his shoulders and he found himself able to relax a bit.

However after about ten minutes of silence and ceiling searching, Gielle found he was getting a bit restless. And he didn't feel like just lying there all day. So he pulled his laptop from the desk and placed it over his lap. He slid the disk for his favourite game 'Blossom' into the drive.

The loading screen started up, the word 'Loading' at the bottom of the screen in fancy writing was replaced by a single rosebud that appeared. It then started to spread across both sides of the screen like a creeping vine. Leaves and thorns grew inwards towards the center of the screen before the bud opened in the middle of the screen, a vividly red display of rose petals. The word 'Blossom' appeared over the screen in shimmering letters.

Gielle stuck his headphone point into the audio jack and settled his headphones on his long ears before he clicked on the 'Resume' option and settled himself into the fantasy world to pass the time.

Friday.

Whenever Giells parents had company over for a barbecue, they actually took the time to prepare and make it look like they were happy to have the company over. Gielles father was not a cook in any sense, and had very poor skills on even a barbecue. Gielles mother had expressively forbade him from cooking every since he tried to surprise her for her breakfast by cooking her pancakes. They saved the stove, but not the pancakes.

So his mother took care of the cooking. After all, anyone from Texas had to have some degree in cooking outside. Although that incident in the kitchen had gotten her a complete new set of cooking pots and high quality take out for her birthday and anniversary every year. So she couldn't really complain.

His father would decorate the backyard with coloured lanterns that were strung up from tree to shrub if need be, and set up a table outside to groan under the weight of the various foods his wife would spend a day or two preparing. Although more often then not she would threaten her husband with a smack across his backside with her rolling pin should she catch him stealing from the food before the guests had arrived. That didn't stop him from trying.

Day or night those lanterns would be lit and a very large drum of ice would be placed outside and filed with sodas and alcohol to be kept chilled. The food would be unwrapped and everyone would walk around with food on their plates and eat with plastic cutlery. His father would be sharing a beer with his friends, often bragging about how unashamed he was that his wife was the better cook, while she would just simply laugh it off as she tended to the grilling foods.

Sometimes, those lunches would extend into the evening, when the ice and drinks would be refilled, and the food table refreshed and the barbecue relit to continue with the grilling. And sometimes, on those days, if they were very lucky, there would be fireworks in the sky. Venice loved fireworks, and they held displays in various parts of the city many many times. Gielle always stood with his parents as they watched the fireworks from their backyard, just able to focus on those brief works of beauty as they forget there was a whole world still moving around them.

Gielle realised that day how much he took those days for granted, and just how happy those times had been when he saw the unbelievably bland effort his aunt and uncle were going to for this so called gathering of their friends.

There was a grill for his uncle to cook on, but Gielle found that his uncle expressively forbade anyone but him from cooking the food, or even touching it. Only he deemed himself fit to understand the different cuts of meat and what level of grilling they were done too. All Gielle saw though were steaks. No chicken, no sausages, no bacon, no onion, no potatoes. Just steak.

There was an outside table, but it was set up like a formal dinner, with real cutlery and plates set out in neatly aligned rows. Only a handful of salads sat in the middle of the table. Aunt Peggy remarked that she did little cooking because she expected others to bring something along, and if they didn't, their fault if they went hungry.

Drinks were kept inside, in the fridge. And only accessible when Peggy poured them into a pitcher and served them with ice when the soda was almost flat. There was only type of beer. Alamo brewed beer, and it was kept securely tight in a cooler, only to be opened with his uncles express permission.

As Gielle brushed his hair in the bathroom, having changed into some fresh and clean clothes, the only thing that actually made him even consider stepping outside was the fact that Alex would be there. Otherwise, he probably would have only come out to get something to eat. Staying shut up in his room and avoiding his uncles friends seemed too good to pass up.

He stared at his reflection for a moment. Blonde hair brushed back, a black t-shirt with his favourite Weeping Angels on the front, and dark blue denim jeans, accompanied by his white sneakers. He thought he looked decent enough as he put his brush down and turned the bathroom light off.

He left the bathroom and walked through the empty kitchen into the outside backyard.

He braced himself as he stepped outside.

"Not another angel shirt" he hear his aunt say in exasperation the moment he stepped out. Gielle turned to her and shrugged it off as he shut the door behind him. She was wearing her typical manly style clothing, including the incredibly butch shoes she had on.

"I like them" Gielle said as he looked over to where his uncle was tending to the barbecue. He had just started putting the steaks on. Gielle saw his cousin throwing a ball rather feebly with Ladybird lazily going after it.

"Well, hopefully our friends won't find it as creepy as I do" his aunt commented as she laid out a bowl of some very unappetising looking potato salad. Gielle decided to not comment as he decided to simply sit and wait for whoever was meant to come. He felt bored already.

They seemed to come randomly, but there was still some sense of order to the people that showed up. The first were the ones from across the alley. Gielle recognised him when Alex had pointed him out at church. Dale Gribble, the thin reedy looking chain smoking white rat, wearing his trademark truckers cap and tinted sunglasses. His wife was an equally thin but very attractive fair furred rat with a surprising amount of blonde hair. Gielle recognised her as Nancy, the weather girl on the local news station.

The boy that came with them had to be Joseph, although Gielle was struck by how unlike his parents he looked. He recognised the horrible sounding voice that made Joseph sound like he was chewing cotton or something. He was quite tall for his age, looking like he had been stretched out. But what caught Gielle was the fact that he looked hybrid. There was brown hide across his hands like gloves and he had a thin skeletal looking tail ending in a white talon. If Gielle had to guess, the scales had the same tone of brown that Alexs hide did. His ears were definitely reptilian at least, and when he licked his lips, Gielle saw a forked tongue briefly.

"Dale. Nancy" Hank said as they walked into the yard. He didn't seem surprised or excited to see them. He merely greeted them like he was passing them in the street. Others were starting to arrive as Nancy greeted Peggy with a "Hello Shug" accompanied in a very heavy sounding southern drawl.

"So, is this the famous Auditore?" Dale asked. Gielle instantly thought the rats voice was probably the most annoying thing he had ever hear of as the rat seemed to peer at him as he took a deep inhale of his cigarette, inhaling half the white stick in one go.

"Yep. Peggys uh...nephew" Hank said as he quickly turned his attention back to his meats as Joseph went off to join Bobby. They seemed happy to see each other. Gielle felt Dales eyes on him, almost trying to stare into him as another stepped up.

The pale yellow husky was next, the one called Boomhauer. He had very small eyes and a steady handshake, but when he spoke, all Gielle got was a thick and fast paced series of worlds dotted with 'yo' and 'man' in between every other word. He wondered if he was on speed or something. He couldn't understand any of it.

"Uh...Nice to meet you too" Gielle said as his hand was shaken, the only thing he felt he could be comfortable saying. The husky merely nodded it off before he walked off. He apparently had access to hanks cooler because hank didn't tell him off for grabbing a can.

"You must be Peggys nephew" came a sweetly frightening voice as Gielle turned and found a fat balding bear in a stained singlet bearing down on him with wide eyes and a ridiculous grin plastered across his face.

"Um..Hi?" Gielle said as he found himself taking a step back. The bear stunk something bad. He smelt like he hadn't showered in a week and hadn't thought of using deodorant. The bear gave what Gielle could only describe as an eager sounding whine as he took a step forward.

"HI. I'm Bill" the bear said, his grin seeming eager and even wider. "I can tell your Peggys nephew. You have her eyes" he said, obviously thinking it was some kind of compliment. Gielle could find no words to say as the bear got even closer. Gielle felt scared for good reason.

'Bill, get away from him. You're scaring him" Peggy said sharply. For once Gielle was glad to hear her voice. The bear seemed to recoil, and much to Gielles imminent relief, he backed off, as if the thought of offending Peggy was something he didn't want to do.

Gielle breathed a sigh of relief as the bear wandered off and Gielle was allowed some breathing room. Quite literally. Another couple walked in and they were a pair of Asian looking pumas, accompanied by a young female, who was probably their daughter.

"Hello rednecks" the male said in a rather happy and boastful voice. He had perfectly manicured hair and his clothing looked rather impeccable. "Out enjoying redneck activities and food cooked on inadequate grill? Ha ha" he laughed.

"Hello Kahn. Minh. Connie" Hank said in the same emotionless tone of voice without looking up.

"Hey Connie" Bobby said in a tone that surprised Gielle as the girl was welcomed by his cousin. The tone surprised Gielle, because it was the same tone of voice he used when he saw a piece of chocolate cake. He saw the way they hugged each other and wondered briefly if there was something between them. Connie apparently looked as happy to see him as he did her.

"Peggy. So good to see you' Minh said loudly with a broad grin on her face. She was dressed quiet smartly for the occasion herself. "I see you couldn't afford good plastic forks, so you go with metal hand me downs" she said.

"Well, those who can afford reusable items just prove they can't commit to something permanent" Peggy said in retaliation with a narrow glare behind her ugly square glasses.

"At least people see something new all the time and not something they've seen over a hundred already" Minh said with a smug grin on her face. It seemed almost like a well rehearsed routine between them both.

"Questo è normale? " Gielle wondered as he felt the best thing to do was probably keep to the shadows. Bill was giving him the creeps with the way he was walking around like an over eager child. And he could still feel Dales eyes on him everywhere he turned. *Is this normal?*

He glanced over to the entrance to the alley but he didn't see Alex or Michael walk in. It seemed no-one else was coming, and Gielle felt his heart sink a bit. If everyone had already arrived, he didn't really have a reason to stay outside anymore. Although, he thought better of it. He was outside now, might as well grin and bear it.

Everyone seemed to just mill around and make small talk. There was no real indication that anyone was having any actual fun as they all just stood and drank rather politely. If this was meant to be a gathering of friends, Gielle thought he would have found a funeral party more livelier than this.

He sat himself down on a chair and just watched everyone talk amongst themselves. He felt severely out of place. None of the adults seemed interested in talking to him, and his cousin was having fun with his friends. Perhaps all the adults already knew about him after getting told through the social grapevine as it were. Although he was kind of glad not to be the center of attention.

"Dad, how can you tell when the steaks are cooked?" He overheard Bobby say to his father after several minutes. Gielle turned his attention that way for a moment.

"Because barbecuing is an art form Bobby" Hank said, and Gielle heard a tone of pride in his uncles normally expressionless voice. He had to guess that maybe barbecuing was something his uncle was not only good at, but something he cared about.

"With great meat, comes great responsibility" Hank continued as he slowly turned a piece of steak over like a surgeon operating a scalpel. Gielle frowned. He knew where Hank had stolen that phrase from, but he felt like Hank would never admit he had even read the comic.

"Oh, Medium rare. They're done" Hank said after a few strategic presses with his tongs. Medium rare? Gielle didn't remember anyone actually asking for how they wanted their steaks cooked.

"What happens if someone wants them well done?" Bobby asked his father.

"Then we politely, but firmly, ask them to leave" Hank said rather sternly. Gielle felt slightly surprised to that. He had never heard such a stupid and ridiculous thing in his life. Asking someone to leave just because hey liked their steaks cooked well done? His mother would have grilled a steak to a lump of coal if one her friends had asked her to.

"May I have my steak well done Mr Hill?" came a voice behind them.

All three of them tuned and Gielle felt his heart skip a beat. There stood Alex, holding a plate in his hands and a rather innocent expression on his face.

Gielle felt himself start to smile a bit as he saw the dumbstruck expression on his uncles face that someone would even ask such a question. Although part of that smile, or maybe most, was because he saw Alex had finally arrived.

"Hello Hank. In charge of the grill again I see" came Michaels voice as the older lion walked up, wearing some rather normal looking clothes, but he still had that tired look on his face that Gielle had seen on him last time. He wondered briefly if Michael had just gotten out of bed.

"Uh..yeah" Hank said as he piked up a steak and dropped it onto Alexs plate. "There you go. Uh..enjoy" he said rather quickly as he turned his attention back to the grill.

Gielle had to smile a little. It seemed that maybe his uncle wasn't as tough as he tried to make himself out to be.

"I was hoping to get asked to leave" Alex said with a broad grin across his face as he sat down at the table. Gielle giggle a bit as he grabbed a plate and got his own steak from his uncle before sitting next to Alex. He didn't want to waste another minute waiting.

"You were?" Gielle asked as he grabbed his knife and fork and helped himself to some salad from a bowl. Others were starting to line up now that the steaks were cooked.

"Yeah, cause that means I can leave and ask if you can come home with me" Alex said with a smile as he rubbed his leg up against Gielles a little. He was wearing shorts, and for a moment Gielle wished he was as well. He felt a very overwhelming desire to pull Alex on top of him and start kissing his lips just so he could get wrapped up in those arms.

"I'm really glad you're here" Gielle said with a smile as he put a few small mounds of salad on his plate. They stuck to the spoon like glue and he had to shake them off pretty hard. "I thought for a while that I wasn't going to hear from you" he admitted.

"Yeah, me too. And I'm sorry I didn't call or anything. Mom didn't give me a chance to grab my cell from dads. It was a real last minute thing" Alex said. He glanced around for a moment and put his hand on top of Gielles.

"I'm sorry I made you worry" he said, his thumb slowly giving a soft stroke against the side of Gielles hand. Gielle found himself smiling and feeling warm inside. He wanted to take that hand and kiss and lick every warm finger.

"You're forgiven" he said with a smile, not wanting to let Alex move his hand.

But the other adults began to sit around them and they had to stop being so close in such a public event as they began to eat.

As everyone tucked into their food, Gielle was reminded how much of a formal event this gathering of friends was as no-one talked as they ate. He was again reminded of a wake as they all ate in a rather religious silence.

Gielle had barely eaten a few bites of his steak before he pushed it away on his plate. It tasted bland. There was no extra flavour or anything. Just a cooked slab of tough meat. And the salads were simply dreadful. The movement did not go unnoticed by his uncle.

"Something wrong Gielle?" Hank asked with a raised eyebrow, as if no-one had ever refused his steak before. Gielle wondered briefly if anyone else at the table would have dared to do such a thing.

"Obviously the Italian boy does not like redneck cooking" Kahn said was a high and quick laugh. It was briefly shared by some of the others. They all seemed to find it funny.

"Perhaps cooking on a real grill is too good for him shug" Nancy said with a rather flirty sounding giggle and an effeminate wave of her hand.

"Maybe he's only used to high quality handmade pasta served by mafia men, like all Italians do in Italy" Dale said as he blew smoke over his shoulder.

"Actually, the meat doesn't take that nice" Gielle admitted. Did everyone have to comment on this? "It tastes like it was bought from a supermarket" he said. Hank chewed perhaps once before he swallowed, looking surprised.

"You can tell it was?" Hank asked, sitting up a bit in his chair.

"Uh...yeah" Gielle admitted. "It tastes like it's been sitting on a shelf after being frozen for a week."

The expression on Hanks face made it seem like he had just noticed Gielle for the first time. In a good way this time.

"You can tell the difference between store bought and butcher bought?" he asked. For a moment, he actually looked impressed, something that looked completely foreign on his face.

"Well...yeah. Mom bought from the butchers and dad bought from a supermarket. I could always tell the difference" Gielle admitted.

"I guess your father wasn't much of a shopper then. Women always know better then men in a grocery store" Peggy said as she shared what she thought was a girly laugh with Nancy and Minh together.

"Well, no. Mom did all the shopping, and the cooking" Gielle admitted.

"But your dad did the grilling right?" Hank asked from his position down the other end of the table. "What kind of grill did he use? A Char-King Imperial?"

"Actually, Mom used a charcoal fire pit" Giele admitted. He didn't know why, but the moment those words left his mouth, he knew he had said the wrong thing.

The reaction from around the table was something akin to as if he had just announced he was a racist against cowboys in texas. His uncle let out a strangled gasp like he was about to have a heart attack. His aunt gasped and looked like she was about to turn grey. Everyone else at the table looked like they had never heard such a concept before.

Michael was probably the only one not fazed by the news as he finished eating his mouthful.

"I used to have a firepit in our backyard" he said with a smile to Gielle. "Although I had to stop using it after Alex starting burning things in it with my back turned. And when I wasn't home, come to think of it."

"Really? He did?" Gielle said with a smile. Alex groaned a bit from the way his father was grinning.

"Oh yeah. He used to burn his homework so he didn't have to do it" Michael said with a smile as Hank seemed to regain himself.

"Gielle, we do not joke about grilling like that" Hank said rather angrily.

"I...I wasn't joking" Gielle said in surprise. He had never heard his uncle get that angry before. "Mom did do all the grilling on a firepit. She was really good at it..."

Hank glared so hard at Gielle that his words were lost before he could even form them. Whatever impression that Hank had of his nephew a moment or so ago was far gone now. Probably for good.

"We do not joke about charcoal around here. It is a bastardised and improper fuel source. We always and only use propane. And we do not joke about women grilling on it, understand? Barbecuing is a mans thing and a mans thing only" he said in a final tone.

Gielle slowly closed his mouth. He felt like he had just been slapped in the face.

"Hey Hank, maybe we could let Peggy have a turn on the grill. See if she can not burn a piece of bacon" Dale said with a high laugh before he lit another cigarette.

"I hope your happy Gielle. You just turned grilling into a joke" Hank said angrily as everyone at the table laughed in some way.

Gielle felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment and felt tears start to well up in his eyes as he looked down at the table. All he had done was admit the truth. Was everything about his family something for his aunt and uncle to find fault with? Was his family really considered that far below this one?

"I think your mother would be able to grill better then Hank" Michael said gently to Gielle as he put soft hand on the boys shoulder. "I bet she could make this crap meat actually taste edible." He didn't look impressed, nor did he look like he was laughing. He looked concerned. Gielle blinked his eyes clear and smiled up a little at the older lion.

"Thanks" he said quietly. He felt Alex reach under the table and put his hand on his leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He felt a bit better, but not by much. No-one else at the table seemed interested in if Gielle was ok.

If it was any consolation to be found, the lunch didn't last much longer then that, as everyone left the table and seemed to mill about with each other. They all seemed to ignore the teenager that got insulted by his uncle as they resumed their earlier stances from earlier around the backyard.

Peggy seemed to enjoy talking with the other women there, seeming to break into laughter every few minutes or so. Whatever little catfights they had before didn't seem to matter much as they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Hank worked on cleaning his grill with the precision of a surgeon once more, making sure to clean it spotless. He must have had practice because he was done quite quickly before he opened his cooler and stood alongside the alley against the fence with his friend Dale, Bill and Boomhauer. All they seemed to do was stand and say 'Yep' in succession.

Michael and Kahn seemed to be in conversation about something, and Bobby was off with Joseph and Connie together. It gave Gielle a chance to talk it over with Alex by themselves as they sat at the table together.

"I'm sorry about what Hank said about your parents" Alex said as he put his hand over Gielles on the table surface. "He thinks he's so high and mighty half the time. He had no right to say that about your mom."

"Don't apologise for him" Gielle said, feeling the tender squeeze on his hand. "I don't want you apologising for him, when he says things like that the l'idiota di conservatore stupido " he said rather angrily. *stupid redneck idiot*

"I'm not sure what you just said, but I think I can guess" Alex said with a soft smile as he rubbed the back of Gielles hand.

"Oh, you can, can you?" Gielle said with a wry smile as he felt himself chuckle despite how angry he was.

"Yeah" Alex said as he put his hand under his chin and put on a deep thinking looking for a moment. If Alex was trying to make him feel better, he was doing good enough. "You either said he was the biggest redneck around" he said with a grin before he leant in close. "Or you said kiss me right now" he whispered against Gielles ear.

Gielle felt himself blush and unable to speak for a few moments as Alex sat back.

"Hah. It was the second one wasn't it?" Alex said with a triumphant grin on his face. "Shall we do it here, or sneak back to your room and get intense?"

"ALEX" Gielle said, his blush growing all the more fierce. His blue cheeks were turning quite purple. "I....not out in public" he stammered a bit. He felt his heart race like crazy. What if someone was listening?

"OK. Then we'll go into your room and make out" Alex said with a broad grin to Gielle.

"Is that all you think about?" Gielle said in a low voice as he looked around a bit, hoping that no-one was paying any attention to the conversation.

"It's all I think about doing with you" Alex admitted as he gave Gielles hand a squeeze. "It's all I've thought about for the last couple of days. Just getting away and having you in my arms again" he said. Alex turned his head away a little and Gielle saw the look on his face.

"You really like me that much?" Gielle asked as he moved up a little closer to him.

"Of course" Alex said as he looked back to him. "Gielle, I was really happy to know I could see you during the week, and then mom showed up" he said.

"Mom...she didn't give dad any notice and just showed up demanding I go home with her. I didn't get a chance to pack anything, including my phone" he said with a sigh. "God, knowing that I wasn't going to see you, I just wanted to cry. And then Dad called me the other day and said you had called him asking about me, and that made me feel so much better. But I felt so bad that you were worried abot me. And it made me want to hold you all the more" he said as he touched Gielles hand again.

Gielle didn't say anything for a moment or two. It wasn't that he couldn't say anything against it, it was simply the fact that he knew how Alex was feeling because he felt the same way. He had wanted to just be held in Alexs arms just as much as Alex wanted to hold him.

"I guess this is what its like to be love with someone" Gielle said as he looked down at the table. "Just wanting to be with the other so much that it hurts" he added.

"Yeah. I guess so" Alex said with a nod.

"You know, at least school starts on Monday. And then we can see each other every day, regardless of your mom" Gielle said to him. Alex smiled up at him, the lion hybrid seeming to brighten up at that thought.

"You're right. Regardless" he said with a smile, the action brightening his face.

"Is your mom really that bad towards you and your dad?" Gielle asked. "I know it's probably a touchy subject between you two, and you don't have to say anything if you don't want" Gielle said to him.

Alex said nothing for a moment as he seemed to be thinking it over. Gielle didn't mind one way or the other if Alex didn't tell him anything. After all, divorce was probably a touchy subject to most people, and he could somewhat understand if Alex didn't want to talk about it.

After all, Gielle wasn't ready to talk about his parents death or funeral to anyone just yet himself.

But Alex didn't get a chance to reply when they saw a shadow stretch over them across the table and they both turned to see Dale standing a foot or so away from them, smoking probably a brand new cigarette.

"So, your last name is Auditore, is it?" Dale said as he gave a slow drag of his smoke as he seemed to regard Gielle with what felt was an intense stare.

"Um...yes...it is?" Gielle said slowly as he looked up at the thin reedy rat. "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"Auditore de Firenze?" Dale asked as he drew a slow drag on his white stick. For a moment, Gielle was wondering what the hell he was talking about. Then he remembered what Alex had said about Dale on Sunday. That he believed any and all half baked crackpot theories out there.

"No. It's just Auditore" Gielle said quickly. "The last part is an old Italian tradition to add your home city on the end of your name. It would be Auditore de Venice. And I have no relation to the games. It was made up" he said.

"Was it? It was well known that the Spaniard that became the Pope came from one of the most devious families out there" Dale said with another drag on his smoke. "And he was involved in some pretty shady dealings throughout his lifetime. Who's to say he didn't battle a famous assassin on the way?" he said, as if it was the most obvious thing.

"I think they cleared that up when they put 'The Borgias' on tv" Alex said. He seemed to sense where this was going because he stood up rather quickly. "Come on Gielle. You can show me that level on 'Blossom' with the poisoned river" he said.

"Hold it there" Dale said in a loud and authoritive voice. Gielle had just stood up from his chair as he found Dale standing in front of him. For a moment all he got was a large looming figure of a skinny rat almost glaring down at him.

"Auditore. I knew that name is no good. No woman of Peggys family would marry into a criminal family of assassins like yours" Dale said, stating it as if it was so blatantly obvious.

"We were not assassins" Gielle said. Was this guy smoking weed or something? "And I have no idea what your talking about" he protested.

"We all know the Auditores were real. And they were good at infiltrating the enemy" Dale said in a loud and arrying voice that made those closest from nearby to turn their heads towards him.

"You're crazy. Lei è maledetto matto "Gielle protested. The others around the yard didn't seem to act like they were bothered by what was happening. If anything, they seemed to act like it was nothing out of the ordinary for Dale Gribble to publicly announce his rather far fetched beliefs. *You're damn crazy*

"Dale, that's enough." Surprisingly, but not entirely, it was not his uncle who came to his defence, but rather Michael. "He's not a spy, and the whole Auditore thing was made up. Even I know that" Michael said in a tone of voice that said he had obviously dealt with this sort of thing before. "Just leave the boy alone. He hasn't done anything."

"Be that as it may, oh non believer" Dale said as he took a thick inhale of his cigarette. "There's still one outstanding issue" he proclaimed.

"Yeah, what's that?" Alex said as he put himself between Gielle and Dale. Gielle wished he wasn't blushing to the fact that Alex was obviously trying to protect him in such a way.

"We all now Flamedramon don't have hair. I've seen the anime" Dale said in an obvious tone of voice. "Which means your either wearing a wig, or you're an imposter" he almost shouted.

Gielle took a step backwards as Dale roughly shoved Alex aside, who landed on his backside with an oomph, and then managed to grab a handful of Gielles hair.

"Tell us who you are imposter" Dale shouted as he gave a hard tug on Gielles hair, making the teen give a cry of pain as he felt the skin of his scalp get roughly yanked back.

"Dale, stop that" Michael demanded as he took a step forward after seeing his son get roughly pushed away. Peggy just stood with her arms crossed, looking irritated that such a scene was happening at her own home. Hank seemed to act like he wasn't there.

"Get the hell off me" Gielle shouted as he brought his hand back. Just as a couple of the others went to intervene, they all saw and heard the smacking sound of Gielles palm meeting Dale Gribbles face. The older man let go of Gielles hair as he stumbled back a few steps, his face a full on portrait of disbelief as if he didn't understand what just happened.

"Oh my gosh, Shug" Nancy cried out. "Your face is bleeding" she almost screamed.

"You hit my dad you jerk" Joseph shouted in anger. "Dude, you suck" he shouted at Gielle.

Dale brought his hand up to his face and felt the small trickle of warm blood that ran from his nose. He let out a very surprisingly loud squealing noise before he simply crumpled onto the ground.

"Dangit Gielle, how could you punch Dale like that?" Hank said angrily to his nephew as he rounded on the smaller boy. "That was completely uncalled for" he said.

"But..but you saw what he did" Gielle protested as he pointed over at the unmoving rat on the ground. His wife and son were already at his side trying to rouse him. "He heard what he said about me and...and he tried to pull my hair out" he said.

"Shut up Gielle" Hank said as he pointed an accusing finger at him. "You had no right to punch him in the face. Now get out of my sight before I kick your ass all over the lawn" he said as he glared down at his nephew.

"Hank, you're taking this too far" Michael began, but stopped when Gielle turned and ran back into the house.

"Lei pattina di nuovo e dice qui che lei sono il Belgio al suo crossdresser per essere di spicey a lui " Peggy shouted after her nephew, but the door slammed shut with a bang loud enough to make Ladybird cringe. *You skate back here and say you're Belgium to your crossdresser for being spicey to him*

Alex watched as just about everyone there gathered round Dale Gribble and acted like he was some kind of war hero. Although he knew his father was only acting like that because he was a doctor and certainly not a close friend of Gribbles.

He felt more then angry though. Dale Gribble was a notorious paranoid theorist who believed anything and everything. And he quite often went out of his way to act on those beliefs. It wasn't the first time that Dale had done so with Alexs father, be it the exploding mailbox, the security camera lawn ornament or the pirate radio tower he had tried to assemble in Michaels backyard.

But for him to believe an obviously, if believable, made up historical theory like that, and then almost assault Gielle like that, well there was no cause for that.

The teen glared at Hank and Peggy Hill, who didn't seem concerned that their nephew had just run off upset after what had just happened.

"Dangit Peggy, you should put a leash on that kid .That boy aint right. He's been nothing but trouble since he arrived" Hank said in exasperation to his wife. Dale was being lifted up by Michael who helped him to a chair, Nancy practically in drama tears over the incident.

"Hank, it's probably not his fault. My sister probably wasn't a great mother like myself. All we can assume is that he's a problem child" Peggy said, in a tone that told everyone that she was right about the situation. Deciding he had heard enough, Alex carefully slid the sliding glass door open and slid himself into the house before shutting the door behind him.

The house was very quiet as Alex made his way to Gielles room. He purposefully didn't wipe his feet on the matt on the kitchen floor. The door was shut, but he could hear Gielle behind it. He carefully turned the knob and the sounds of Gielle crying got louder.

Alex said nothing as he slipped carefully into the room and shut the door behind him. Gielle was lying face down on the bed, his head buried into the pillow. From the doorway Alex could hear Gielles muffled crying as the flamedramon boy poured his sadness into the pillow.

Alex locked the door behind him and slowly made his way over to the bed. Gielle showed no sign of recognising who was there as he sniffed a few times, his shoulders shuddering as he cried again and again into the soft filled fabric.

The hybrid teen sat carefully on the bed, the mattress shifting under the slight change in weight. Gielle slowly turned his head enough to see who sat down beside him before he buried his face back into the pillow. Alex saw enough to see that Gielles eyes were stained with tears and he shook with silent anger again.

Alex gently outstretched an arm and slowly slid it from Gielles shoulder down the side of his body as he moved himself to lie beside him, half covering him on top of the young boy. Gently he slid his other arm under Gielle so that his hands met on the other side of his body and he drew his arms close to hug him against him.

"It's not fair, I know it isn't" Alex said softly as he let Gielle cry as much as he wanted. He had every reason to be upset, and Alex had no intention to let Gielle stop.

"Of...of course it's not" Gielle said into the pillow, not moving much as he felt Alex squeeze his arms around his body.

"Dale deserved a punch in the face" Alex said as he slowly pressed his nose into the crook of Gielles neck and held it there. He inhaled slowly, able to smell the soft blonde hair that now pressed over his muzzle as he gave the boy another squeeze with his arms. "Preferably one that broke his nose."

"I wish ...I wish I had broken it" Gielle said angrily into the pillow. "He ...he had no right to say that. He...he had no right to say those stupid...stupid things about my family" Gielle sniffed as he spoke, his body shuddering from the crying.

"I know" Alex said softly as he felt Gielle shift a bit, just enough to turn so that his back was pressed up against Alexs front. Alex shifted his arms a bit so that he held Gielle around his stomach, but kept his muzzle against the side of Gielles neck.

"How could...how could my uncle just say those things to me? Just insult my parents like they were idiots, and let that ...that bastardo say those things about me?" Gielle said as he pulled the pillow against his chest. *bastard*"

"It's because he's Dale Gribble, and everyone expects him to do stupid stuff like that" Alex said as he softly pressed his lips against Gielles neck. He held his lips there a moment to savour the taste of the boys soft skin before he pulled his lips off. "I guess everyones so used to him being some conspiracy theorist that its not surprising he'd be suspicious of you. He tried to build a pirate radio tower in dads backyard once, because he thought undercover soviets were infiltrating our plumbing."

"But...but why am I the one in trouble?" Gielle asked as he closed his eyes. Something about the soft kiss against his neck made him feel a bit calmer and he was able to speak a little better. "He...he tried to rip my hair out and I'm in trouble for hitting him."

"Maybe they didn't expect you to do something about him" Alex said softly as he pulled his arms back a bit to squeeze Gielle softly against him.

"Maybe...." Gielle said softly as he felt the soft squeeze and he couldn't help but let out a soft moan as he felt himself get pulled closer to Alex.

Gielle hugged the pillow against his chest and held it there as he let the tears flow until they eventually stopped. The material of the pillowcase was now damp, but he didn't pull it away. Doing so would require him to move and he didn't' want to disturb alexs embrace.

The two of them sat there for several minutes, not moving their bodies as Gielle felt alexs warm embrace slowly calm him down to the point where he felt like hwas about to fall asleep. And he would have happily done so at that point.

Alex closed his eyes as well as he held Gielle close, feeling the boys warm body pressed up against his own. He dearly wanted to run his hands over Gielles naked flesh and caress his body. To touch and rub and stroke and stimulate parts of him that would make him moan in pleasure.

But he knew that now was not the best of times to do such a thing and he simply resigned himself to softly kissing Gielles neck now and then. But he was careful not to start making out with the warm flesh and leave an obvious mark on the blue surface.

He opened his eyes as he felt Gielle take a hand and place it on his own before he lifted Alexs hand away from his body and placed it gently across his cheek. Alex smiled a little as he felt Gielle nuzzle softly into his hand as he softly stroked his fingers over the boys cheek.

Gielle softly opened his mouth and took one of Alexs fingers into his mouth and suckled gently on it. He heard Alex mrowl a little behind him and he couldn't help but smile as he suckled on that softly furred digit before he pulled it from his mouth and kissed it gently.

It was Gielles turn to gasp a bit as he felt Alexs spare hand slowly creep under the hem of his shirt and across his flat stomach, the fingertips starting to toy with his navel. He giggled a little, finding the sensation ticklish as he flexed inwardly against the sensation.

Alex slowly began to rub Gielles stomach as he extended his tongue and dragged it from the crook of Gielles shoulder up his neck to dance it across his lower jawline. He leant himself over enough and tilted Gielles face towards him as he pressed his lips against Gielles.

Gielle shifted underneath Alex and moved around enough so that he pulled Alex ontop of him. Alex slowly laid himself over the other boy and cupped Gielles face with his hands and pulled him upwards enough to press his lips firmly against the others.

The two boys moaned gently into each others lips as they held their lips together. Gielle felt Alex open his mouth enough to take Gielles bottom lips between his own and nom softly on it, casing him to squirm in a rather pleasing way.

"Oh Alex" Gielle moaned softly as he felt Alex tug a little on his bottom lip before he let it go and started to kiss his way along Gielles chin towards his neck. The soft and warm lips of the hybrid boy felt so good against his neck and he didn't want the sensation to go away.

"Gielle, you have no idea how good you taste to me" Alex said softly between kisses as he pressed his lips repeatedly against the soft blue flesh and held it there for a few seconds each time before he lifted off and found another spot to press against.

Gielle felt himself moaning as certain parts of his neck betrayed him, making him moan more then other spots would allow him. He could almost hear Alex grin to the different sounds he made and those sounds began to increase as Alex focused himself on those particular spots.

The middle hollow point between Gielles chestbones, when applied pressure with a tongue, made him arch his back a bit. A soft spot halfway up his neck on the left side made him cringe with a soft, almost mewling sound. And the little spot where his neck met his jaw on the right side made him squirm and giggle when Alex licked it.

"I didn't know digimon could be so much fun" Alex said with a smile as he finally stopped his slow and torturous actions and smiled down at the boy underneath him.

"You going to let me do that to you?" Gielle asked with a soft panting smile as he reached up to wrap his arms around Alexs neck.

"Maybe" Alex said teasingly as he pressed his lips back against Gielles. "But what makes you think I'm going to stop long enough to let you?" He asked as he slowly slid his hands under the hem of Gielles shirt and began to pull it up.

"Alex" Gielle whined a bit as he felt his stomach become exposed, the white flesh suddenly vulnerable to whatever Alex had in mind to do with.

"Especially since I want to find more spots to make you squirm" Alex said with a devious but loving smile on his face as he slowly began t move down.

They both froze and felt their hearts almost stopped in mid beat when the door to the bedroom was knocked on. Silence hung in the room for a moment as they both registered they were being disturbed, before another, slightly louder, knock was heard.

"Y..yes?" Gielle called out as he felt Alex, regretfully, pull his shirt back down to cover him up.

"I'd hate to interrupt, but everyone's leaving" he heard Michaels tired sounding voice speak through the doorway. "And we need to leave as well."

"Dad...do we have too?" Alex called out, suddenly looking as downtrodden as he felt.

"I'm sorry son, but we do" Michael called out. He did sound pretty sorry about it. "Just finish up that computer game thing you two enjoy playing and come out" he called out, before silence hung from the doorway.

"I wish you didn't have to go" Gielle said softly as he sat up as Alex got off him. He blushed as he realised that he hadn't noticed when he had gotten so hard from their intimacy, and by the way Alex was readjusting his own bulge, that he hadn't either.

"I wish I didn't have to go either" Alex said as he turned to Gielle and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Neither boy wanted the other to go, but Alex regretfully pulled away.

"I'll try and see you over the weekend if I can" Alex said as he headed to the door.

"I'd like that" Gielle said as he watched Alex unlock the door and slowly walk out, the door shutting with a rather loud and final sounding click behind him.

Silence hung in the room as Gielle realised just how empty the room had become after Alexs departure. Slowly he sat himself down on the bed and laid himself back down.

Already he was missing him something fierce and he pulled the still damp pillow back against his chest. Then, he reached back over himself and tugged on a corner of the duvet and pulled it tight over his shoulder. He pulled it tight as he laid there for the remainder of the afternoon, just hearing the noises of everyone else in the house move about, the blanket feeling like it was holding him close.

He could at least pretend Alex was there holding him. Not even his uncle could take that away from him.

If Gielle had thought Alex was permitted to come over, he was very sorely mistaken. After having to endure a very lengthy 'discussion' with his uncle on why he shouldn't just punch people in the face, his aunt and uncle both informed him that he was grounded once more for the weekend, with no visitors.

"Bobby was never as much trouble as you have been" Hank had said as if it was blatantly obvious as they sat eating Peggys rather bland attempt at lasagne. Who the heck made Lasagne without cheese?

"Your uncle is right. Bobby era sempre un maiale un golem panciuto "Peggy had informed him with a stern waggle of her finger. *Bobby was always a pig bellied golem*

Neither of them seemed even remotely concerned that Dale had tried to rip Gielles hair out, and they hadn't addressed the issue. Gielle could only assume that they believed what he had done had been worse.

He didn't sleep well that night.

The next morning he woke up to his aunt once again fixing breakfast for the family. He was starting to believe that she didn't believe in free choice when it came to breakfast foods. Gielle groaned slightly as he anticipated burnt hash browns and charcoaled bacon once more.

Neither his aunt nor uncle greeted him as he walked in to the kitchen already dressed. He sat himself at the table in his designated chair and waited quietly. His uncle glanced at him once before he turned his attention back to the morning paper.

"Here's your breakfast" Peggy said as she put the plate of unappetising stodge in front of him. "Eat up. Your uncle has arranged your day for you" Peggy said as she went back to the stove.

"My day?" Gielle asked as he looked over at his uncle for a moment.

"You're being punished Gielle" Hank said as he turned a page of the paper. "So you'll be working all weekend to help your aunt and I. Although Peggy is going to take you shopping for school accessories. We both don't approve of your wardrobe" he said.

"So, do you want me to mow the lawn or clean the garage?" Gielle asked. He hoped that if he did, he could take his time so his aunt wouldn't have long to go shopping with him. Even manual labour was better then spending time with his aunt. But his uncle gave him a dirty look.

"No-one touches my lawn besides me. And my garage is off limits. Ladybird sleeps in there. She doesn't like people barging in without forewarning" Hank said in an angry tone of voice.

"I'm not even allowed to ask a damn question?" Gielle wanted to say to him, but he thought better of it and kept his mouth shut.

"The lawn is off limits, but the tree out the front needs pruning" Hank said as he resumed his reading of the paper. "You'll be cutting back the excess branches, and then you'll be washing my truck. I'm taking it to the carwash this afternoon. I don't like people seeing me drive a dirty truck" Hank said.

"Why do I need to clean it if you're going to do it later?" Gielle asked him as he poked his fork at the blackened strips of bacon on his plate.

"Because if people see me drive a dirty truck, even to the carwash, they'll think I don't take good care of it. And I do" Hank said as he gave his nephew a dirty look. "Now stop talking and eat up. You've got work to do" he finished. "The tools are already out the front.

"Yes Uncle Hank" Gielle said rather unhappily as he merely poked the ugly looking fodder around on his plate. He felt like he had no appetite that morning for anything. After a few very silent and uncomfortable minutes he emptied his plate into the trash and left the kitchen.

"Don't cut yourself Gielle. The hedge trimmers are sharp" Bobby said from the doorway of his bedroom as Gielle passed by on his way outside. "Would be a shame if you lost your hand" he said as he grabbed his wrist with his hand and put on a rather overdramatized look of horror on his face as he pretended he was holding a bleeding stump.

"Ricky Gervais is funnier then you" Gielle said flatly to his cousin, smirking slightly to himself to see the look of utter revulsion on Bobbys face before his cousin slammed the door shut.

Gielle opened the front door and went to step outside when his foot hit something. He looked down to see a package sitting on the welcome mat. For a moment he was confused. His uncle had already retrieved the paper, so he couldn't have missed it.

He bent down to pick it up and found his name written across the top. He looked up and around for a moment, hoping to see if the person who had dropped it off was still around. But the street remained empty. He was further confused as he stepped onto the front porch and unwrapped the box.

Underneath the dull brown paper was a cell phone box. He raised an eyebrow to that. Who would send him a cell phone at this time of the morning?

Thinking it was nothing more than a practical joke, which would have added insult to injury he opened the box and the phone slid out into his hand. He recognised the type. It was one of those old flip top prepaid style mobile phones, the kind used for people who didn't want a full plan. And it looked like it had been used before.

"Ok, so who would send me a used phone?" he wondered to himself as he checked the box for a note. He pulled out a few cords and a rather worn phone cover before his fingers met a folded piece of paper by the bottom.

"Hey Gielle. Mom surprised me last night by coming over unannounced. Again. She decided that I needed a real phone since school starts on Monday, so she paid, well, dad paid, for a new iPhone for me. So, you can have my old one. It has my old number for you to use, and my new number, so you can call me. Anytime. And some credit left over. Call me, please.

Love Alex"

Gielle felt his heart skip a beat for a moment as he clutched the phone against his chest. Such a thoughtfll gesture from Alex was wanting to make him cry. For all the right reasons.

"L'amo anche " Gielle said softly as he gave the phone a hug against his chest, starting to feel better about his weekend, before he tucked the phone into his back pocket. He didn't want his aunt or uncle to see it. *I love you too*

Suddenly, the prospect of School was looking better and better. He would be away from his aunt and uncle, and get to hang around with Alex all the more. And now that he had a cell phone, Alex wasn't far away anymore. He was just a call away.