J. Tomas - His Biggest Fan

His Biggest Fan

By J. Tomas

Published by Queerteen Press

Visit queerteen-press.com for more information.

Copyright 2012 J. Tomas

ISBN 9781611522365

Cover Credits: Yuri Arcurs

Used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the authors imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America. Queerteen Press is an imprint of JMS Books LLC.

* * * *

His Biggest Fan

By J. Tomas

My best friend Ross is the biggest Viral Blue fan boy I know. Seriously. Weve been friends since elementary school and even then he listened to the band. They dont exactly play the type of music most parents want their ten-year-olds listening to, but Rosss older brother Timmy liked the Blue, and hes the one who got Ross hooked.

Personally Im not a fan, but dont tell Ross I said that. Id absolutely die if he knew the only reason I keep the latest VB CD in my car is for him. Even though weve heard it a million times, he always has to sing out loud to every song, turning up the volume a notch or two during his favorite parts, and he always has to tell me what front man Adam Blue meant when he wrote a particular verse. Ross should knowhe studies the CDs liner notes as intently as his teachers hope hell one day study for class.

Adam is the Blues lead singer and, if you ask me, the real reason Ross likes the group in the first place. If you ask him, though, hell count off the reasons on his fingers. One, theyre from Richmond, which is a thirty-minute drive up the interstate and close enough to make Ross think Adam and he come from the same hood. Two, Adams gay, like Rosslike me, too, but Ross always seems to conveniently forget that when hes listing why he thinks he and Adam are soul mates. And threewell, there is no three. Ross usually starts to swoon whenever he announces Adam is gay, as if anything else is besides the point.

Youre just like all the other teeny-boppers out there drooling over him, I say, raising my voice so Ross can hear me over the blaring hard rock riffs coming from my car stereo. Were on the way to school, and seven thirty in the morning is a little early to be listening to this shit, if you ask me.

Which Ross didnt, of course. He just popped in the CD the moment he sank into the passenger seat, as if this is his car. I dont have the heart to turn off the music he loves so much. I tell myselffor the hundredth time, it seemsthat Im too good a friend for him, but it doesnt make me feel any better.

Beside me, Ross stops the drum roll he was tapping out on his knee and glares my way. Dont call me that. Teeny-boppers listen to pop crap. Viral Blue

Is popular, I point out. Isnt that what pop music is? Popular?

Ross sniffs in disgust. Viral Blue is a real band. Nothing pop or fake about them. They sing original songs written by Adam himself

So they arent popular? Sometimes I do this, just because I know I can get away with ittwist Rosss words around as he tries to convince me how great the group is. Eventually hell get so flustered, hell get mad, and then I have to grovel and apologize to get him to talk to me again, but I have to admit, its fun to tease him. He makes it so damn easy.

You know theyre popular, Ross says. Adams like some sort of rock god. The way he moves onstage! Holding the mike stand against his body and writhing into it

And Ive lost him. His eyes take on a glazed look as he shifts in the passenger seat, trying to mimic moves hes seen Adam make in the videos he watches on YouTube. Before I can say anything else, Ross reaches over and cranks up the stereos volume another notch, drowning me out.

Adam Blues sultry, smoky voice fills the interior of my car and I roll down the window a little just to get some breathing space. Ive never met this guy, I probably never willhell, Ross will never meet him, I know it wont ever happen. I know this. So why am I jealous of a celebrity who doesnt know or even care Im alive?

Because my thick-headed dumb-ass of a best friend is so in love with Adam Blue, sometimes I think he doesnt know Im alive. He totally doesnt deserve me.

* * * *

When I hear on the radio that Viral Blues coming back to Richmond for a one-night performance at the Coliseum, I almost call Ross to tell him the good news. Almost. I justify not calling by telling myself he already knows, he has tohe gets daily updates on the band by e-mail, so theres no way he doesnt have their upcoming tour schedule already memorized. Sure enough, when I pull to a stop in front of his driveway to pick him up the next day for school, I can tell hes heard.

And, from the way he throws himself into my car, pouting so hard hes almost in tears, I know he isnt going to the show.

So what, your mom said no? I ask. I dont directly mention the concertI dont want to see him blubber and cry.

Ross sinks down into the seat and kicks the dashboard in front of him. Tickets are outrageous. She wont even think about loaning me the money.

At fourteen, Ross doesnt yet have a job. Fourteen and a half, to hear him tell it, but that half only gets you a working permit if youre a year older. He has no way of paying back a loan for concert tickets, he knows this. Apparently, his mother does, too.

Besides, he couldnt go by himself. Who would he drag along with him to the show? Timmys away at college, and I couldnt imagine Mrs. Coleman at a rock concert.

Which would leave me.

Oh, hell no.

Carefully I clear my throat. Thats too bad.

Just go, Ross mutters. Drive as far away from here as you possibly can. Drive all the way to Bostonthats where Adams playing tonight.

Adam, right. Rosss real BFF. Who am I again, the chauffeur?

Hes so depressed about it, though, it hurts my heart. I pop in the CD to try to cheer him up, but he just crosses his arms and glares out the windshield as if daring someone to start something with him today. I ask him a few stupid questionswhat he thinks theyll have for lunch today, shit like thatbut all I get in reply are a few grunts so I stop. Hes a year under me, so we dont really have any classes in common. If I didnt take him to school every morning and back home afterward, Id never see him during the week. We only met each other through church, because both our parents attend St. Joes and we had Sunday school together when we were younger. Neither of us bother going to mass anymore, but were still friends.

Only friends.

Damn Adam Blue.

* * * *

Because Im older than Ross, I do have a job, but I only work two nights during the week and half days Saturday and Sunday. I work retail, which sucks, hauling boxes and crates in the warehouse for the local Best Buy. At least I dont have to deal with customers, and because of the lifting, I get paid more than I would working a register. After Ross complained about the price of the concert tickets, I looked them up online and found out they wanted $120 for floor seats. No wonder his mother said no.