FIVE CALL A TRUCE

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     By the time they were back on the docks, the sun was high in the sky, and the afternoon was blending into the evening. They had fun swimming and fucking around and going places they probably shouldn't have. Summer days were always fun with his friends, Norman loved them dearly. He just forgot that sometimes. Their problems all tended to get in the way. As they went to unload the boat, though, James told everyone to stay in their seats. Curious to see what he had to say, Norman listened.

"All right, we've been having fun all day and I don't want this to ruin it," he began, which was never a good sign with James, "but Rocky, I gotta ask. You and Alisha have been acting so weird with each other literally all day. I noticed it this morning and the rest of us started to notice, too. Don't lie to us, just tell us what's up. What's got you guys acting like total strangers?"

Of course, their first instinct was denial. Why wouldn't it be? Alisha knew no one could know what had been discussed in Norman's room last night and secrets were always safe with her. She was an iron safe of secrets within the group. Once you told her something that shouldn't be known, her lips were sealed. However, she was an absolutely terrible liar.

"There's nothing going on, dude," Norman took over the moment he realized how nervous Alisha was. He stood up from where he was sitting and got into the forefront of James's vision to keep his eyes off of the girl who already seemed to be sweating at the idea of having to come up with a lie. He was going to protect her the way she protected him. "You're like squinting trying to read between lines right now, just chill out."

"No, he's right," Lila piped up, which was rare for the girl. Usually, she was so quiet she went unnoticed. It always took a drink or two for her to speak up, but never like this. "There's something fishy going on, just admit it. You guys look like two kids who just stole from a fucking cookie jar. Can you blame us for wanting to know what's going on?"

Norman sighed, running a nervous hand through his messy half-wet hair. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on the back of his neck and his cupid's bow and he was dangerously aware of how guilty he was trying not to look. Ideally, he wanted to look like a disgruntled innocent, but he wasn't. He knew he wasn't, but Norman was prepared and equipped to lie his ass off.

"Listen, if something was going on, we would be happy to tell you! When have I ever kept a secret from you? When has Alisha ever kept a secret from you guys?" The answer to both of those questions was many times, but Norman was going to pretend like it wasn't. He was always awfully good at pretending. Thankfully, his minor outburst seemed to throw his friends off guard and they paused their questioning for a moment.

Then, Gemma, the most kind-hearted and gentle person of the group, probably the only one of them that was a good person, spoke up, "I know you guys are hiding something and it feels like shit to see that you guys have a totally obvious secret because we're your friends, too. I feel like you guys forget that sometimes."

"We're dating," Alisha spat out before Norman could come up with something to deflect Gemma's statement. The girl stood up nervously, walking up beside Norman and intertwining their fingers together. Her palms were sweaty as hell and he had a feeling she wasn't going to be able to get away with this lie for long. "We've been hooking up for... a while and last night we decided to make it official and we were scared to tell you guys because we didn't wanna fuck up the group. I know we kind of like to keep actual dating out of here so that's why we were trying to avoid each other all day so we wouldn't make you guys suspicious. I guess we kinda failed at that, huh, babe?"

Norman nodded, not liking where this was going. He didn't know how long Alisha was going to be able to keep up with the lie, not to mention he really didn't like the lie she had come up with. Granted, it was better than telling his friends he kissed a boy. And liked it. The last thing he needed was all of his friends thinking he was gay when he wasn't. He started wishing he hadn't told Alisha in the first place because now they had to do this in order to cover it up. Was it all worth it? Norman wasn't sure.

James turned to Norman in disbelief, scoffing as he looked so utterly betrayed. "Rocky, is this true?"

Hesitantly, Norman sucked in a deep breath and nodded. He couldn't bring himself to speak. Barely getting it out, he confirmed, "Yeah, yeah, it's true."

The other boy's face turned sour and before Norman could even blink there was a fist hitting his face. He got knocked backward by the punch having caught him by surprise. James had never punched anyone, like, ever. He always said he was too good looking to throw punches because he wouldn't be able to stand it if someone punched him back and ruined his face. It was a stupid reason, yes, but James was not a violent person.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Norman exclaimed, clutching a bleeding nose for the second time that week as he pressed against the boat's railing. James came barrelling towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his button-down shirt and wrapping another hand around Norman's throat.

"The one fucking rule was that none of us take advantage of Alisha's trust in us," James spat, "There's a reason we don't date within the group because it'll fuck everything up. Don't even get me started on if you guys break up."

"Can't we just talk about this?" Norman asked, his voice wild as he tried to pry James's hands off his neck.

James shook his head, spitting, "We have to protect Alisha from so many fucking creeps out there to make sure that she is safe and has people she can always come back to. You dating her fucks that all up."

"James, chill the fuck out, it's fine!" Alisha exclaimed. She came up behind him in an attempt to get him away from Norman with Gemma and Lila teaming up to help her. After a moment, Gemma was able to get ahold of James and grab him in a light chokehold to get him away from Norman.

"God, men are so dramatic!" Gemma exclaimed, sounding genuinely pissed off, "Never in my fucking life did I think I would have to pry you two off of each other! James, Alisha can make her own fucking decisions she's her own woman and none of us get to act like we control who she dates or doesn't date. Norman, I'm sorry you guys felt like you had to lie to us because of this. You shouldn't feel like you have to keep secrets. If you guys are happy, then I'm happy for you, too. So is Lila, right Lila?"

The girl nodded but didn't say anything. Gemma continued, "See? Great, now James, say you're sorry and that you're happy for them."

"I won't," James spat, wrangling himself out of Gemma's grip and brushing himself off.

Norman, still clutching his nose, scoffed. Alisha tried to move his hand so she could get a look, but he pushed her off as gently as he could. "Fuck this, I'm leaving. Lish, you can come over later if you want. James, don't fucking talk to me until you're ready to stop being a dick."

With that, Norman wiped his bloody hand on his khaki shorts, not caring about the stain, and climbed down the ladder onto the dock. He heard his friends calling after him, but he didn't bother to turn around. Of course, as he was running away from his friends, someone else had to be running away too. John B and he made eye contact as they were both running down the docks, except when the other boy saw his bloody nose he stopped in his tracks.

Calling out to Norman he asked, "Dude, what the hell happened to you?"

"My best friend punched me in the face," Norman explained in as few words as possible as he walked up to meet him. "I'd make some biting remark about how fucking depressed you look right now, but I'm exhausted and bleeding so excuse me for the moment."

Norman went to walk away, but John B placed a hand on his chest. Of course, since his shirt was half-unbuttoned from being on the water in the heat all day, the other boy had to place his hand for the most part on bare skin. John B's palm felt warm against his skin and Norman was going to just pretend the tingling feeling was normal.

"Woah, hey, what happened?" John B asked with something that looked strikingly similar to concern in his eyes. Norman had to be kidding himself if he thought the boy was legitimately worried about him. "And for your information, I look "fucking depressed" because I just got fired from the job that is the only reason I get to eat."

"Well, shit," was all Norman could think to say, "What a pair we make right now, huh?"

"Can we call a truce for like five minutes? I'm emotionally exhausted."

"Me too."

John B nodded and reached out a hand. Norman shook it loosely with a small half-smile on his face as he caught his breath. After a moment, the other boy asked, "So, why'd your friend punch you?"

"He thinks I'm dating one of our friends. I think he got pissed because he's been into her for a while, but he's not her type so I know it definitely will not work out," Norman explained with a sigh, "Just some stupid dominance show off or something. People seem to like to hit me because I won't hit them back."

He scoffed, "You were ready to fucking deck me at five in the morning today."

"Yeah, because you're a little shorty, I could take you on, easy," Norman said with a shrug and a nonchalant chuckle. John B rolled his eyes, which only made him laugh a bit more. "Why'd you get fired?"

"Sarah fucking Cameron. She told her dad that she caught me stealing," he sighed, "Don't worry, I know it wasn't you. I literally just saw you guys getting back when I was heading into my fucking death so... yeah."

"That fucking sucks. I-I wouldn't have told him," was Norman's response. He didn't know what to say, really. What do you say to someone who probably can't afford to put food on the table anymore? "Uh, shit, ugh, I, listen, I'm gonna be honest with you what I'm about to ask is like 90% out of pity because I still hate you, but we called a truce and I feel bad. Uh, my mom always makes like a shit ton of food even though she's only feeding... three people, so, like, do you wanna come over for dinner? I just, I know with like the power being out and you just lost your job, grocery shopping must be tough and I just... yeah. Dinner."

"You're asking me to come over for dinner?" John B asked with disbelief in his voice and a raised eyebrow. "Like, actually?"

Norman groaned, "Yes, like actually, don't be a dick about it."

"Yeah," John B said and at first, he wasn't sure if he heard him right. When he scrunched up his brow in confusion, he repeated himself, "Yeah, I'll come over for dinner. That's kinda gay, though."

His first instinct was to smack him gently on the chest, saying, "Don't say that shit. People can hear you. I'm not gay."

John B winked and Norman almost smacked him again. "Yeah, I guess I'm just irresistible."

As they began walking, Norman rolled his eyes, joking around, "You know, just because I'm not a violent person does not mean I will not hesitate to punch you right now. We can have matching bloody noses, wouldn't that be just the cutest?"

John B started laughing before something caused him to stop in his tracks. A truck pulled up next to them, but Norman hadn't even noticed. The window rolled down, revealing two gruff men who looked like it had been years since they last smiled. There was the sound of a gun cocking that caused all laughter between the two to fade away completely.

"Time's up, boy," one of them spoke, referring to John B.

"Run," John B breathed out nervously before grabbing Norman by the wrist and taking off running. The man cursed and got out of the truck to begin chasing them and Norman was just running right alongside the teenager wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into. However, there was a man with a gun back there so it was going to be running first and asking questions later. This is why Norman stayed away from Pogues, he was reminded. They always meant trouble. They cut into someone's yard as John B attempted to jump over a fence, but took it down instead. In different circumstances, Norman would have been laughing his ass off. Instead, he helped John B off of the ground and took off as fast as possible.

The man managed to catch up, getting a grip on the back of John B's shirt, but Norman grabbed his hands and ripped them off before grabbing John B by the elbow to help him get away faster. Being a surfer and a gym rat seemed to be helping Norman out in this situation, which he was thankful for. They cut through some alleyways, but right as they made their way into the road, they were face to face with the other man driving the truck they had been in. They were able to stop just in time and make their way around the truck and continue running. Norman's breathing was getting labored and he didn't know how long he was going to be able to keep going. However, those guys weren't looking for Norman so figuratively he could just trip John B and take off running. For some reason, though, he didn't want to. He wanted John B to get away from them, too.

They turned a corner and came upon a fence. The man was catching up and Norman knew they would have to climb, but Norman noticed something. The power lines.

"John B, wait!" Norman exclaimed, but it was too late as the boy leaped up onto the fence and was shortly electrocuted. He ran over to him as he fell, checking for a pulse right away. Norman knew how dangerous it could be. Judging by the groan coming from John B and the pulse, he was still alive. Norman was sure they were in it now, there was no way out and John B was in no state to run.

"You gotta watch those live wires after a storm," the man chastised as he stepped closer to them. Norman, who was kneeling by John B, raising his hands in surrender. However, the man just shoved Norman to the side, causing him to fall onto the ground. He felt the sting of scraping his elbows on the gravel, but he kept a cautious eye on the man as he spoke to John B. "You're gonna give me what I want."

Right when Norman was fairly sure John B was going to get brutally murdered in front of him, a police siren could be heard. He sighed with relief but tried to stay quiet so none of the men were reminded of his existence. Sheriff Peterkin stepped out of the police cruiser with a stern expression on her face and Norman had never been more excited to see that woman in his entire life than he was right now. Just like that, the man stood up and walked away like it was nothing. As soon as he was gone, Norman forced himself off the ground and over to John B to make sure he was okay. He wouldn't admit it to his face, but even if he hated the boy he didn't want to watch him get hurt.

"That boy is coming with me," Sheriff Peterkin instructed as she spoke through the fencing, "You run home, Rockwell, I know you're a good kid. Let me pull around and pick him up."

"I'm coming with," Norman gasped before he knew what he was saying, his voice raspy and tired but still demanding. "We've got dinner plans."

i literally cannot stop writing for this story i don't know why i love norman and john b and their chemistry so much this is my absolute favorite story right now anyway I'm updating twice in one day because i crave validation and also bc i have hella work this weekend so i wont be able to update as much