The Bright Side Brigade Read online

  The Bright Side Brigade

  Elaine White

  Encompass Ink

  Copyright © 2019 by Elaine White

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  The Likely Lads

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Lost in a Dream

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Interlude ~ New Kids in Town

  Larger Than Life

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Anonymous

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 10

  Cinder, Smoke and Ash

  Prologue: Day 121

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Postlude ~ The Same Mistake

  School Assemblies

  Acknowledgments

  Helpline Advice

  About the Author

  This book is for everyone who doesn't fit a box and doesn't want to. Always be you!

  Love is love. May it always be celebrated.

  The Likely Lads

  Chapter 1

  The kid was going to get his heart broken. Messily and without a single hope of recovery. Guaranteed. Alvin couldn't see it ending any other way.

  The heat of the early summer sun wasn't helping; the rays and the almost magical golden hue of the unexpected afternoon mist left a romantic atmosphere over the entire carnival ground, but it did nothing to improve his mood. Not when he had to watch his brother suffer in silence.

  If Javon had been older, he might have told him to get his act together and do something about his inexplicable feelings for Tracy. But, he was only fifteen, pining after his big brother's best friend. Nothing about that made it easy or simple. Not when they had the added problem of moving within just a few weeks.

  It was that upcoming move that had inspired Javon to confess everything to Alvin. Even then, it had taken the last eleven days to convince his brother to actually act on his feelings and take a risk. He hadn't even noticed that he'd talked himself into coming to the carnival tonight; Javon had worn down his resistance and agreed to confess only if Alvin was there with him, as moral support.

  He was such a stupid idiot, he'd walked right into the trap. Now, he had to find a way to put together a trap of his own, to get Tracy and Javon alone together long enough for his brother to pull up his big boy pants and speak up.

  Before Digby got his head out of his ass and noticed that Tracy had been flirting with him for the last two hours.

  Rolling his eyes, Alvin cursed his propensity for finding himself surrounded by loved up idiots. And usually ending up the one sensible guy in the room, who had to give them a shake. What had he ever done to deserve a life like this?

  “Please?” Tracy asked, grasping Digby's biceps with a pleading look, while fluttering his thick eyelashes.

  “Oh, fine.” Digby finally gave in to Tracy's pleading, leading him over to the stall to buy candy floss, as though he wasn't old enough to go buy it himself. “Javon,” he asked, turning to glance at Javon as he pulled out his wallet, “do you want candy floss?”

  “No, thanks,” he replied, toeing the ground with his trainer and not looking at anyone.

  Without even noticing his sad, lacklustre reply, Tracy and Digby went back to their conversation about the carnival and what they wanted to do, see, and try out, while they were there. No one noticed that Javon was already regretting his decision to come along.

  Just as Alvin did. Maybe if he'd suggested a quiet night in, a movie night or just invited Tracy over with the honest excuse of needing to talk, this wouldn't be happening. But, it was too late to regret opting for a last night out with all their friends. They needed this, almost as much as Javon needed to tell Tracy how he felt.

  This was their last night of freedom before he and Javon moved away, in the next three weeks. They would be moving here, to this little sleepy town of Chance Harbour, nearly two hours’ drive from their home in Edinburgh. They wouldn't go back to live in their old home ever again; the only time they'd make it back to Edinburgh would be to visit their friends, on weekend trips, or during the summer holidays. This part of their life was over and they were being forced to move on, all because their dad was moving to a new job.

  They had no say in leaving. No say in staying.

  This was how it had to be. And if Javon didn't do this now – if he didn't tell Tracy the truth – he would always regret it. Alvin knew how hard long distance relationships could be; he'd seen plenty of them in his old school. But he also knew that moving to a new town might put a barrier between themselves and their best friends, just like how even the closest friends sometimes lost touch when they moved away to college.

  If that was their future, if there was any risk that they might lose their friends because of this move, Javon needed to know he'd done everything he needed to do before that happened. And said everything he needed to say.

  This was the time for no regret. Big or small.

  A part of Alvin wondered if it wasn't for the best that Tracy didn't know how Javon felt. Maybe it was for the best that Javon didn't have to face that rejection, or the drama of being accepted by the guy he cared about only to move away?

  But every time he stopped to think about that, to give it its fair consideration, his heart hurt and he knew it was wrong. He couldn't let Javon live with never knowing. Even if Tracy inadvertently broke his heart, at least Javon would know and could move on. And this was their best chance. This carnival, in their new town.

  Refusing to have their home town plagued by the possible memory of rejection, Alvin had thought this was the best solution. Come to this one-off carnival, in their new town, and see what happened. If Javon got hurt, they had years to bury the memory with new ones, and it was unlikely that this park holding the carnival would be central to their futures, so it would be a small matter to avoid the area.

  Of course, that wasn't how he'd put it, when he asked everyone to go to the carnival with them. He'd made it about visiting their new town and seeing what it had to offer. Which wasn't much. It looked like every other harbour town, as far as Alvin could tell. Scenic villages straight out of a movie, beaches and piers, seagulls and excited teens mulling about on the weekend.

  Nothing special. But he hoped it could be. Eventually.

  Alvin was grateful that their friends had made the long trip out here with them, for the weekend. It was their last chance to be with their friends before things got complicated, and the moving process stole whatever free time they had before the new school term started. It was the reason Javon had decided to use this night as inspiration for his confession; he was going to
tell Tracy how he felt, to take this last risk.

  This carnival was an opportunity to go crazy, to spin that wheel of fortune and hope to Hell it went in their favour. And what were they doing? Javon was pussyfooting about, too scared to see his plan through; Alvin was locked inside his own head and not doing what he was supposed to be doing. Rook and Vito were the only ones taking the opportunity for what it was; spending their time together and not letting anyone else waste it.

  Tracy? Well, Tracy was trying his luck with Digby, which technically counted as making the most of what time he had. Digby was his usual self, uninterested in everyone else and only caring about seeing everything in sight and playing every game they came across.

  Alvin's heart broke for his brother, watching him drool over Tracy, who was too busy fawning over Digby to notice or care. He had to do something; he just didn't know what.

  Then Javon took the choice out of his hands.

  “Will you come with me?” Javon asked quietly, sidling up to Alvin's right side. He couldn't meet his gaze, but that was alright for now.

  He smiled and put his arm around his kid brother, wondering what he was talking about. They'd been here for nearly two hours, playing all the games in sight, but they hadn't ridden any rides yet. “Where?” he asked, reaching up to brush his fingers through his dark hair. It still had that baby soft feeling that Alvin envied; his own was much coarser and more difficult to maintain.

  “That one.” He nodded to the left, where a man stood on stilts, a top hat on his head, a monocle on his left eye and a bold, black moustache that was as fake as the ones bought at the fancy dress shops.

  “What is that exactly?” he wondered aloud, trying not to scoff at the ridiculous outfit.

  Javon grinned. “It's a kind of haunted ride. Like the love tunnel, but with scary stuff that pops out at you,” he admitted, looking excited despite the fact that he hid behind cushions any time a scary movie came on. Still, if he wanted to go then Alvin was going to make it worth his while.

  “Fine. But I have a better idea,” he agreed, in his own roundabout way. He removed his arm from Javon's shoulders and turned to see what Tracy and Digby were up to. They were talking, but the body language and Tracy's tense smile suggested his flirtations weren't getting him anywhere.

  Good.

  “Hey guys,” he called, as he walked over to them, “we're going into the tunnel. Why don't we all go together?” he suggested, keeping a steady smile.

  “What tunnel?” Tracy asked, a gleam in his eye that said he was thinking 'The Tunnel of Love' and how it might spur Digby into action.

  Alvin ran with it and grinned. “The very one you need,” he said, with a wink. As Tracy beamed a delighted smile and turned to twitter to Digby, Alvin led the way to the tunnel, speaking quietly to his brother. “Trust me and do what I say.”

  Javon nodded, but didn't look any less confused. A hand on the small of his back guided him past the man on stilts and through the entrance.

  He stepped back to let Digby go first, then caught Tracy's hand and whispered conspiratorially, “Go with me on this. He's not getting the hint, so sit with Javon. It will make him jealous.”

  For a second, he wasn't sure if Tracy was going to play along or not. He bit his bottom lip and peeked inside at the dark entrance, trying to see Digby. When he couldn't see anything, he nodded tentatively and Alvin breathed a sigh of relief. With an internal fist pump, he followed Tracy in and let the guy running the place strap them into two carts, each only seating two people.

  Tracy practically rushed into the first cart, the moment Javon was seated, as though to make sure no one else had the chance to take the last seat. “We can sit together,” he told Javon, “and you can hold my hand. I don't like scary rides,” he confessed, turning to shoot a glare at Alvin.

  Honestly, he wasn't sure if that look was genuine, because he'd misled him about the ride, or for Digby's sake to imply that he was angry about it. Either way, it got him sitting beside Javon, who smiled and reached for his hand far too tentatively. If he couldn't even do that, without second thoughts, Alvin doubted he'd be able to go through with his confession. But, that was Javon's choice.

  Alvin let Digby take his seat first, then climbed in and nodded his thanks to the guy that secured the bars holding them in.

  With one lurch forward, they were off. And all he could do was cross his fingers and pray that it worked. If everyone behaved themselves, this could be the start of something new. However complicated it might be, Alvin was willing to do anything to make his little brother happy. Even if that meant trusting Tracy with his heart.

  The most feminine of their group and the stereotypical blonde, Tracy found no shame in using whatever tactics were necessary to grab his next man. It made Alvin's teeth itch, thinking about how many he'd worked through this year. But, to give him his due, he fell in love quickly, but he didn't sleep around; he was waiting for 'someone special'. Whatever that meant.

  All Alvin knew was that he was there as the mediator and it was up to him to crack some heads, and explain the obvious. Because, as much as Tracy was a blind fool, he couldn't see something that Javon never showed.

  He just wasn't sure how to handle this one. With anyone else, he'd be a bit more brutal and blunt, get straight to the point, and leave them to it. He couldn't do that this time. Not when the 'problem' involved a complicated love triangle involving some of the most important people in his life. Digby and Tracy had been his friends since he was a toddler, and Javon was his brother.

  If this little trip into horror-ville didn't help things alone, he'd have to try something else. Because, he wasn't leaving this carnival until Javon had said his piece and Tracy had heard him out.

  No matter what it cost, what it required of him, or whatever Alvin had to do, he had to make sure that Javon got to speak his mind, Tracy knew the truth, and no hearts were broken by the end of the night. So much was at risk. He couldn't screw this one up.

  Chapter 2

  Alvin's plan made Javon sweaty and nervous. He'd known for almost a month that the time had come to tell Tracy how he really felt. Ever since his dad announced they were moving and that he wouldn't be just a street away from his big brother's best friend anymore. The moment that reality sank in, Javon knew what had to be done. But it just wasn't as easy as everyone said it should be.

  They'd known each other for years, but he'd always been afraid of Tracy and that he might not feel the way Javon felt. His obvious infatuation with Digby over the last six months made that prospect frighteningly real.

  Sometimes he envied Vito and Rook. They were both fifteen, in his year at school and closer to him than they were to Alvin, but they were also the most solid couple he'd ever seen survive the trials of high school. Javon didn't know how they managed it. They were both butch, muscled guys; interested in wrestling and rugby, who listened to hard rock, yet they were never picked on the way some of the other kids at school were.

  Javon often wondered if it was their sheer size and their accepting attitudes that made them exempt from that part of high school life, or if it was something else. Somehow, they never had any of the gay slurs thrown at them, despite forming an LGBT support group within their school. When the principal saw how effective it was, they even asked Vito and Rook to help them put together a sort of package for other schools to follow.

  He only wished he was confident enough to be like them. To be so strong and so confident in himself and who he was.

  Alvin was. He always had been. He even joked about how they were the 'homosexual crew' of their school. A bunch of LGBTQ kids who had always been friends, but were all somewhere on the Kinsey scale and were unashamed to admit it. Javon would agree that they were misfits, with most of them involved in the heavy-geek activities of Comic Cons and Cosplay, split halfway between Marvel and DC, and fully aware of how nerdy they were. None of them would deny that.

  And, true, they did span a good portion of stereotypes. Tracy was the most feminine
of the group, with Vito and Rook the macho boys. Alvin claimed that he and Javon were the normal two, regular high school jocks, while Digby was the geek with glasses and braces, but enough muscles to avoid being picked on.

  The one other thing they all shared was being single. Except Vito and Rook who had started dating each other when they were barely twelve. It was watching them sneak away from the group, about twenty minutes ago, that made Javon want to go on this horror ride. He wasn't scared of these kind of things, but he liked the thrill and the surge of adrenaline that came with the rides.

  Watching Rook and Vito head off to the pier, talking about how romantic the sparkling lights woven throughout the trees and along the path were, while heading for a romantic boat ride, had been just a little too much. He'd suddenly realised why Alvin hated being at the carnival and why he wanted to get away from what he called 'lovesick idiots'.

  Being surrounded by couples, all swooning over each other, while being perpetually and pathetically alone, Javon had finally understood. It really could hurt to be alone.

  Now, seeing Tracy sit beside him and take his hand, he wondered if he was being selfish. Maybe if Tracy really did feel strongly about Digby, he shouldn't say anything. He should let Tracy be with the person he cared about. And he shouldn't be separating them for this ride, just to confess feelings that Tracy might not want to hear about, and might never return.