Rockside Princes Grind Like Sharp Teeth
"Bert, what's 'sex'?"
Bert lowered the magazine he was perusing, and peered over it at his little brother. "Er,"he offered unhelpfully.
Joseph continued to stare at him. Bert remained silent. Evidently deciding Bert had been temporarily taken deaf; Joe asked again, slightly louder; "What's sex?"
Bert sighed and laid his magazine on his perfectly made bed. "It's...a word," he said hopefully. "Where did you hear that anyway?"
Joseph frowned slightly. "On T V." Bert sighed again. "You're not supposed to watch TV on your own," he reminded him. Joseph didn't bother defending himself, knowing Bert wouldn't tell on him anyway.
"Joe, you're eleven, shouldn't you know this stuff already?" Mumbling to himself, he added bitterly, "I knew that stuff already. Didn't have to go mortify my older brother for the information either."
Joe bit his lip, looking hurt. Bert chewed the inside of his cheek and relented. But if he was really gonna give the sex talk to his brother, he was gonna do it the right way.
Gerard picked up his phone, squinting at it and answered it.
Bert offered his customary greeting of "What are you wearing?"
"Naked. What do you want?" Gerard asked, glaring at his easel. "Dumbass. Don't you realise you're supposed to be a masterpiece?"
"I am a masterpiece," Bert defended himself.
"Not you, doofus."
"Oh." Bert realised.
"What's up?" Gerard tried again, poking his painting with the wooden top of his flatbrush.
"Gerard, what's sex?" Joe had apparently gotten impatient and took the phone from Bert.
"Er..." Gerard offered.
"That's what I said too, but apparently it's not a valid answer," Bert stole the phone back from Joseph.
Gerard frowned. "You're on your own, man."
Bert yelped into the phone "But Gee! What did you tell Mikey?"
Gerard burned with embarrassment. "...nothing," He said weakly.
Bert scowled into the phone. "What?"
"He already knew." Gerard said, deciding to keep the embarrassment of knowing his little brother was no longer a virgin and yet Gerard was, to himself.
"Well that sucks. What am I supposed to tell him?" Bert sulked. "Please come over and help," he begged. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease..."
"Urgh. Fine. I'll be in your window in a minute, " Gerard said huffily.
"Yes! Thank you!"
Bert placed his phone underneath his pillow, drawing out every movement to delay speaking to his brother, at least until Gerard came.
"Well..." Bert picked at his nail varnish, thinking hard. "Sex is...Sex is...It's...er..."
Joseph sat there patiently.
Bert sighed and began, staring at the poster above Jordan's head.
"Sex is when you have a dick," Bert began with a slightly confused look on his face.
"And when you get aroused and it gets hard and then you put it inside a girl's pussy," Bert thought and added "or a guy's ass, or he puts it in your ass or..." Bert thought hard. Joseph looked slightly horrified. "Or you take it and..." A small frown furrowed Bert's brows, he was evidently confusing even himself. "And then you cum. Well, no, first you thrust a bit and then...you cum. Which is an orgasm. Which is like..." Bert frowned harder, Joseph looked terrified now. "...Like a sneeze. Kinda. "
"What the fuck are you trying to do, terrify him?" Gerard burst, pulling his leg in from the window and landing on Bert's carpet with a muffled thump.
"Oh thank God," Bert breathed. "I had no idea where I was going with that."
"That sounds awful!" Joseph cried out, his hands placed protectively over his own crotch. "I'm never sexing anyone!"
"Good." Bert said, sounding satisfied.
Gerard sighed, picking himself up from the carpet and plopping onto the bed. "No, not 'good'. You scared him," He chastised Bert who was flicking through his magazine again with a bored expression.
Joseph's lower lip wobbled. "Gerard, does it hurt? Is it really bad like Bert said?" He asked fearfully.
Gerard shook his head." No, no...Bert's an idiot. It's like..." Gerard looked to Bert for help, but he was resolutely glaring at his magazine, determined to be as unhelpful as possible.
Gerard thought carefully. What would he have told Mikey if he had had the chance? "Sex is kind of like a very special hug that two people who love each other have. It's a different kind of love to how you love your family, or friends," Gerard added, just in case he confused Joseph, who nodded. Bert turned the page, emanating approval.
"And it's a way for people to show their love for each other, or if it's a man and a woman, it's a way to have a baby-"
"What do you mean, if it's a man and a woman?" Joe interrupted.
Gerard thought, inhaling slowly. "Two men or two women can have sex too if they want."
Joseph looked confused. "No, they can't." He said reasonably.
"Why not?" Gerard asked, equally calm.
"Mom said." Joseph said triumphantly.
"Mom is lying." Bert snapped, flicking the page and staring at it again, hurt in his eyes.
"But-" Joe started.
Bert snarled.
Gerard patted Bert's knee soothingly. "He doesn't know any different," he reminded Bert who just hissed, "no, but she does."
Gerard turned back to Joe. "They can, if they're attracted to other people of the same gender."
"What is that?" Joe asked, looking confused again.
Bert's breathing became irregular and he hid behind his magazine.
Gerard continued on. "That's called being gay, or bisexual, or pansexual, or-"
"That's a lot of words," Bert noted quietly.
"Are you gay Gerard?" Joseph asked. Gerard shook his head. "No, but that doesn't matter. Who you like has no bearing on who you are." He explained. Joseph looked slightly confused. "Alright."
Gerard nodded, biting his lip. "Anyway, the point is; that as long as there's love there can be sex if both people want it. Alright? Even if they're both men or both women."
Joseph nodded slowly. "Why are people gay?" He asked.
"Sometimes they just are," Gerard replied.
"It's not wrong or bad, no matter what some people will tell you," Bert said from behind his magazine.
Joseph nodded. "Ok," he agreed. Gerard nodded in approval. Bert turned a page, bringing his knees up to his body.
"Joseph!" A female voice called from downstairs.
"Coming mom!" He shouted back and dashed down the stairs with the energy of a child.
"S'ok, you know. She didn't mean to hurt you." Gerard mumbled, hands fisting in Bert's sheets.
He pushed Gerard's hands away and smoothed out the sheets until they were perfect again. Gerard folded his hands in his lap. "It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter." Bert murmured, closing his magazine and placing it neatly in the first drawer of his shining clean bedside locker.
"Robert!" A man bellowed from downstairs. Bert's bedroom door swung open easily on its oiled hinges. A small, feminine, blonde woman poked her head around the door. "Robert? Oh, hello Gerard. Come help bring in the groceries." She disappeared around the door again.
"Wanna help?" Bert inquired and Gerard nodded, following him as he rose from the bed, fixing his sheets and exited the bedroom.
Climbing down the stairs, Gerard was forcefully reminded of something. In all the pictures, they showed the perfect Mormon family unit, smiling, peppy, happy kin. Bert wasn't in any of them.
The latest one he was in showed him as a small, smiling, skinny boy of about eleven or twelve, blonde in a striped polo-neck with his father's hand on his shoulder and his proud mother at his back.
Gerard swallowed, averting his eyes from the photos, feeling like he was witnessing a family's secret shame, a festering sore eyes should avoid. Bert didn't seem to notice, landing on the floor and moving into the kitchen to help and be ignored anyway.
When they were done, Bert led Gerard back upstairs and they sat on the perfectly made bed, talking quietly and meaninglessly.
The large grandfather clock in the downstairs hall struck three o'clock and Bert's mother entered the room without knocking again.
She nodded to Gerard in greeting and turned to Bert. "We need to talk. Family meeting. He'll call you later Gerard, of that I have no doubt. We're down in the dining room Rob."
Standing and quietly grumbling at being called 'Rob', Bert gave Gerard a quick wave. Gerard stood too, smoothing out the bed linen before Bert could beat him to it and turned with a worried look on his face. "Family meeting?" He inquired and Bert shrugged, leading him from the room.
At the front door Bert hugged him briefly and stepped back. Gerard's practiced eye could still see the well-hidden anxiety in his face and voice as he said goodbye and closed the door.
"Robert!" His father bellowed from the living room, Bert walked in, confusion etched on his face and
sat at the left of the table.
His mother sat at the right hand side of the table, his father at the head and Bert on the left. His father's face was stern; his mother's downcast and drawn. Bert felt another unwelcome twinge of anxiety in his stomach. "What did I do?" He chose to ask.
Glancing at her husband, Bert's mother placed something shining on the table. "We found this in your room." She sounded disappointed. Bert leant forward to see what was causing so much damage. It was a DVD, out of its case laid bare on the table like something naked and disgraceful.
Bert swallowed. "It's not mine," he lied quickly.
His mother shook his head sadly. "It is, Robert. Not only..." She sniffed, finding it hard to continue. "Not only are you lying, not only is this p-p..." She shuddered, clasping a shaking hand over her mouth.
Bert wanted to tell her she was over-reacting, but really she wasn't.
"Men." His father said in a sad, distant voice. "Not only is it pornography, it's homosexual pornography. " His father shook his head and Bert tried to bury the itching feeling that he had disappointed them yet again.
"I...I..." He struggled for words, a good excuse that would make it alright. He shook his head like his father. "It's..."
"We've decided to help you son."
Fear and confusion welled up Bert's eyes. "What?"
"We're sending you to a rehabilitation centre to help. It's a nice place, filled with kids your age, you'll make plenty of friends. It'll help." His mother said, in a pleading tone.
Bert's eyes widened and asked the next question even though he knew the answer, "Rehabilitation for what?" Both his parents looked at him in a pitying manner.
"For the thoughts Robert. We know the urges you've been having, and we want to help you get better," his mother soothed, leaning across the table and patting his hand. Bert withdrew it.
"It's an illness son, it could happen to anyone," his father reassured him. "It doesn't mean we love you any less, but you do need to get better. Will you try get better for your family?"
"Stop patronising me," Bert snapped, standing and stepping away from the table. "When? Where?"
His mother swallowed nervously. "The bus leaves for Lakewood in an hour. We thought we'd give you enough time to say goodbye to Gerard. We packed a bag for you, the centre has strict rules on what you're allowed to bring."
"For how long?" Bert demanded, moving further away from his family, shock and horror welling in his stomach, tasting like bitter rejection.
His mother avoided his eyes and his father spoke. "As long as it takes."
As the shuddering bus ground to a halt, Bert stood and exited it, hefting his bag over his shoulder.
He looked around the second he stepped off the bus, looking around for an escape. Unfortunately, the first step he took towards a wood his arm was gripped by a taller, wiry man with red hair. Bert scowled at him. He smiled back, pushing his sunglasses up on his face. "You must be Mr McCracken," the man said cheerfully.
"You must be Carrot top. Nice to finally meet you," Bert offered as the man led him towards a large area with numerous building with high walls. He ignored his remark, choosing instead to introduce himself. "My name is Jack, I'm the team co-ordinator,
"You'll have an orientation meeting in five minutes; I'll introduce you to your roommates now and they can help you drop your bags."
Bert snorted. "They call it an orientation meeting? Really?"
Jack studiously ignored him, leading him over to a small group of boys who were gathered by the door of the smallest building.
Turning to him, Jack pressed a bundle of papers into his hand and slapped a name tag on his chest before turning to leave, mumbling to himself about more boys coming through.
Rifling through the pages, Bert ignored the stares of the other boys in front of him, patting down his name tag as it curled at the corners.
The first page showed his details and read;
Name: Robert Edward McCracken
Age: Sixteen
Location: Cabin Seven, Bed Two, bunking with Mr Quinn Allman, Mr Jepharee Howard and Mr Frank Iero.
Schedule: Group B92
Councillor: Jonathon Monroe
"Er..." Bert offered as greeting.
The three guys gathered at the door blinked at him. In synchronisation. It freaked Bert out.
"Woah. Synchronised blinking. That's -"
Eventually one of the boys took pity on him, allowing him a small wave and interrupting his babble.
"Wassup. This is Frankie, and Ryan. Quinn's asleep." He beamed, Bert tried not to but the corners of his mouth lifted in a grin. "Oh, and I'm Jepha," he added, apparently just remembering.
Bert grinned, his knees buckling slightly under the weight of his bag. "Robert. Bert," he hastened to correct himself, despising how dorky he sounded.
"Hi Robertbert," A short bundle of energy beamed at him. "Woah," Bert mumbled as Frank took his bag and dashed off with it. "Um..?"
The one Bert thought was named Ryan raised an eyebrow at him. "My name is Ryan."
Bert liked him immediately. His voice was nice and ...smooth but gravelly.
He waved dorkily. "Did that kid just steal my bag?"
Ryan shook his head, Jeph stared into the distance, easily distracted by the sea and the rocky walls leading up to the dunes.
"He's just bringing it into your room for you. Frank's...helpful. Yeah, helpful." Ryan explained. Bert nodded.
Suddenly the door to the cabin they stood at opened and a lanky body tumbled out and landed on the ground at Ryan's feet. He leapt up and yelped at Jeph.
"You were s'posed to wake me! I have to show the new kid around, is he here yet?" The lanky-bodied boy faced the two other boys, apparently not spotting Bert.
"He's here," Jeph agreed. Quinn cursed and asked "Is he hot?"
Jeph nodded "Sure."
Ryan scrunched up his face, "Not my type."
Bert scowled. "Well fuck you too!"
Quinn whirled around and nearly tripped over his untied shoelaces. "Oh shit. You must be Robert."
"Robertbert," Jeph corrected. Quinn looked confused. Bert sighed. "Just Bert, mmkay?"
Quinn looked down at Bert and grinned. "Hi Just Bert." He held out a tanned, bony hand.
"I'm Quinn."
Bert lowered the magazine he was perusing, and peered over it at his little brother. "Er,"he offered unhelpfully.
Joseph continued to stare at him. Bert remained silent. Evidently deciding Bert had been temporarily taken deaf; Joe asked again, slightly louder; "What's sex?"
Bert sighed and laid his magazine on his perfectly made bed. "It's...a word," he said hopefully. "Where did you hear that anyway?"
Joseph frowned slightly. "On T V." Bert sighed again. "You're not supposed to watch TV on your own," he reminded him. Joseph didn't bother defending himself, knowing Bert wouldn't tell on him anyway.
"Joe, you're eleven, shouldn't you know this stuff already?" Mumbling to himself, he added bitterly, "I knew that stuff already. Didn't have to go mortify my older brother for the information either."
Joe bit his lip, looking hurt. Bert chewed the inside of his cheek and relented. But if he was really gonna give the sex talk to his brother, he was gonna do it the right way.
Gerard picked up his phone, squinting at it and answered it.
Bert offered his customary greeting of "What are you wearing?"
"Naked. What do you want?" Gerard asked, glaring at his easel. "Dumbass. Don't you realise you're supposed to be a masterpiece?"
"I am a masterpiece," Bert defended himself.
"Not you, doofus."
"Oh." Bert realised.
"What's up?" Gerard tried again, poking his painting with the wooden top of his flatbrush.
"Gerard, what's sex?" Joe had apparently gotten impatient and took the phone from Bert.
"Er..." Gerard offered.
"That's what I said too, but apparently it's not a valid answer," Bert stole the phone back from Joseph.
Gerard frowned. "You're on your own, man."
Bert yelped into the phone "But Gee! What did you tell Mikey?"
Gerard burned with embarrassment. "...nothing," He said weakly.
Bert scowled into the phone. "What?"
"He already knew." Gerard said, deciding to keep the embarrassment of knowing his little brother was no longer a virgin and yet Gerard was, to himself.
"Well that sucks. What am I supposed to tell him?" Bert sulked. "Please come over and help," he begged. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease..."
"Urgh. Fine. I'll be in your window in a minute, " Gerard said huffily.
"Yes! Thank you!"
Bert placed his phone underneath his pillow, drawing out every movement to delay speaking to his brother, at least until Gerard came.
"Well..." Bert picked at his nail varnish, thinking hard. "Sex is...Sex is...It's...er..."
Joseph sat there patiently.
Bert sighed and began, staring at the poster above Jordan's head.
"Sex is when you have a dick," Bert began with a slightly confused look on his face.
"And when you get aroused and it gets hard and then you put it inside a girl's pussy," Bert thought and added "or a guy's ass, or he puts it in your ass or..." Bert thought hard. Joseph looked slightly horrified. "Or you take it and..." A small frown furrowed Bert's brows, he was evidently confusing even himself. "And then you cum. Well, no, first you thrust a bit and then...you cum. Which is an orgasm. Which is like..." Bert frowned harder, Joseph looked terrified now. "...Like a sneeze. Kinda. "
"What the fuck are you trying to do, terrify him?" Gerard burst, pulling his leg in from the window and landing on Bert's carpet with a muffled thump.
"Oh thank God," Bert breathed. "I had no idea where I was going with that."
"That sounds awful!" Joseph cried out, his hands placed protectively over his own crotch. "I'm never sexing anyone!"
"Good." Bert said, sounding satisfied.
Gerard sighed, picking himself up from the carpet and plopping onto the bed. "No, not 'good'. You scared him," He chastised Bert who was flicking through his magazine again with a bored expression.
Joseph's lower lip wobbled. "Gerard, does it hurt? Is it really bad like Bert said?" He asked fearfully.
Gerard shook his head." No, no...Bert's an idiot. It's like..." Gerard looked to Bert for help, but he was resolutely glaring at his magazine, determined to be as unhelpful as possible.
Gerard thought carefully. What would he have told Mikey if he had had the chance? "Sex is kind of like a very special hug that two people who love each other have. It's a different kind of love to how you love your family, or friends," Gerard added, just in case he confused Joseph, who nodded. Bert turned the page, emanating approval.
"And it's a way for people to show their love for each other, or if it's a man and a woman, it's a way to have a baby-"
"What do you mean, if it's a man and a woman?" Joe interrupted.
Gerard thought, inhaling slowly. "Two men or two women can have sex too if they want."
Joseph looked confused. "No, they can't." He said reasonably.
"Why not?" Gerard asked, equally calm.
"Mom said." Joseph said triumphantly.
"Mom is lying." Bert snapped, flicking the page and staring at it again, hurt in his eyes.
"But-" Joe started.
Bert snarled.
Gerard patted Bert's knee soothingly. "He doesn't know any different," he reminded Bert who just hissed, "no, but she does."
Gerard turned back to Joe. "They can, if they're attracted to other people of the same gender."
"What is that?" Joe asked, looking confused again.
Bert's breathing became irregular and he hid behind his magazine.
Gerard continued on. "That's called being gay, or bisexual, or pansexual, or-"
"That's a lot of words," Bert noted quietly.
"Are you gay Gerard?" Joseph asked. Gerard shook his head. "No, but that doesn't matter. Who you like has no bearing on who you are." He explained. Joseph looked slightly confused. "Alright."
Gerard nodded, biting his lip. "Anyway, the point is; that as long as there's love there can be sex if both people want it. Alright? Even if they're both men or both women."
Joseph nodded slowly. "Why are people gay?" He asked.
"Sometimes they just are," Gerard replied.
"It's not wrong or bad, no matter what some people will tell you," Bert said from behind his magazine.
Joseph nodded. "Ok," he agreed. Gerard nodded in approval. Bert turned a page, bringing his knees up to his body.
"Joseph!" A female voice called from downstairs.
"Coming mom!" He shouted back and dashed down the stairs with the energy of a child.
"S'ok, you know. She didn't mean to hurt you." Gerard mumbled, hands fisting in Bert's sheets.
He pushed Gerard's hands away and smoothed out the sheets until they were perfect again. Gerard folded his hands in his lap. "It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter." Bert murmured, closing his magazine and placing it neatly in the first drawer of his shining clean bedside locker.
"Robert!" A man bellowed from downstairs. Bert's bedroom door swung open easily on its oiled hinges. A small, feminine, blonde woman poked her head around the door. "Robert? Oh, hello Gerard. Come help bring in the groceries." She disappeared around the door again.
"Wanna help?" Bert inquired and Gerard nodded, following him as he rose from the bed, fixing his sheets and exited the bedroom.
Climbing down the stairs, Gerard was forcefully reminded of something. In all the pictures, they showed the perfect Mormon family unit, smiling, peppy, happy kin. Bert wasn't in any of them.
The latest one he was in showed him as a small, smiling, skinny boy of about eleven or twelve, blonde in a striped polo-neck with his father's hand on his shoulder and his proud mother at his back.
Gerard swallowed, averting his eyes from the photos, feeling like he was witnessing a family's secret shame, a festering sore eyes should avoid. Bert didn't seem to notice, landing on the floor and moving into the kitchen to help and be ignored anyway.
When they were done, Bert led Gerard back upstairs and they sat on the perfectly made bed, talking quietly and meaninglessly.
The large grandfather clock in the downstairs hall struck three o'clock and Bert's mother entered the room without knocking again.
She nodded to Gerard in greeting and turned to Bert. "We need to talk. Family meeting. He'll call you later Gerard, of that I have no doubt. We're down in the dining room Rob."
Standing and quietly grumbling at being called 'Rob', Bert gave Gerard a quick wave. Gerard stood too, smoothing out the bed linen before Bert could beat him to it and turned with a worried look on his face. "Family meeting?" He inquired and Bert shrugged, leading him from the room.
At the front door Bert hugged him briefly and stepped back. Gerard's practiced eye could still see the well-hidden anxiety in his face and voice as he said goodbye and closed the door.
"Robert!" His father bellowed from the living room, Bert walked in, confusion etched on his face and
sat at the left of the table.
His mother sat at the right hand side of the table, his father at the head and Bert on the left. His father's face was stern; his mother's downcast and drawn. Bert felt another unwelcome twinge of anxiety in his stomach. "What did I do?" He chose to ask.
Glancing at her husband, Bert's mother placed something shining on the table. "We found this in your room." She sounded disappointed. Bert leant forward to see what was causing so much damage. It was a DVD, out of its case laid bare on the table like something naked and disgraceful.
Bert swallowed. "It's not mine," he lied quickly.
His mother shook his head sadly. "It is, Robert. Not only..." She sniffed, finding it hard to continue. "Not only are you lying, not only is this p-p..." She shuddered, clasping a shaking hand over her mouth.
Bert wanted to tell her she was over-reacting, but really she wasn't.
"Men." His father said in a sad, distant voice. "Not only is it pornography, it's homosexual pornography. " His father shook his head and Bert tried to bury the itching feeling that he had disappointed them yet again.
"I...I..." He struggled for words, a good excuse that would make it alright. He shook his head like his father. "It's..."
"We've decided to help you son."
Fear and confusion welled up Bert's eyes. "What?"
"We're sending you to a rehabilitation centre to help. It's a nice place, filled with kids your age, you'll make plenty of friends. It'll help." His mother said, in a pleading tone.
Bert's eyes widened and asked the next question even though he knew the answer, "Rehabilitation for what?" Both his parents looked at him in a pitying manner.
"For the thoughts Robert. We know the urges you've been having, and we want to help you get better," his mother soothed, leaning across the table and patting his hand. Bert withdrew it.
"It's an illness son, it could happen to anyone," his father reassured him. "It doesn't mean we love you any less, but you do need to get better. Will you try get better for your family?"
"Stop patronising me," Bert snapped, standing and stepping away from the table. "When? Where?"
His mother swallowed nervously. "The bus leaves for Lakewood in an hour. We thought we'd give you enough time to say goodbye to Gerard. We packed a bag for you, the centre has strict rules on what you're allowed to bring."
"For how long?" Bert demanded, moving further away from his family, shock and horror welling in his stomach, tasting like bitter rejection.
His mother avoided his eyes and his father spoke. "As long as it takes."
As the shuddering bus ground to a halt, Bert stood and exited it, hefting his bag over his shoulder.
He looked around the second he stepped off the bus, looking around for an escape. Unfortunately, the first step he took towards a wood his arm was gripped by a taller, wiry man with red hair. Bert scowled at him. He smiled back, pushing his sunglasses up on his face. "You must be Mr McCracken," the man said cheerfully.
"You must be Carrot top. Nice to finally meet you," Bert offered as the man led him towards a large area with numerous building with high walls. He ignored his remark, choosing instead to introduce himself. "My name is Jack, I'm the team co-ordinator,
"You'll have an orientation meeting in five minutes; I'll introduce you to your roommates now and they can help you drop your bags."
Bert snorted. "They call it an orientation meeting? Really?"
Jack studiously ignored him, leading him over to a small group of boys who were gathered by the door of the smallest building.
Turning to him, Jack pressed a bundle of papers into his hand and slapped a name tag on his chest before turning to leave, mumbling to himself about more boys coming through.
Rifling through the pages, Bert ignored the stares of the other boys in front of him, patting down his name tag as it curled at the corners.
The first page showed his details and read;
Name: Robert Edward McCracken
Age: Sixteen
Location: Cabin Seven, Bed Two, bunking with Mr Quinn Allman, Mr Jepharee Howard and Mr Frank Iero.
Schedule: Group B92
Councillor: Jonathon Monroe
"Er..." Bert offered as greeting.
The three guys gathered at the door blinked at him. In synchronisation. It freaked Bert out.
"Woah. Synchronised blinking. That's -"
Eventually one of the boys took pity on him, allowing him a small wave and interrupting his babble.
"Wassup. This is Frankie, and Ryan. Quinn's asleep." He beamed, Bert tried not to but the corners of his mouth lifted in a grin. "Oh, and I'm Jepha," he added, apparently just remembering.
Bert grinned, his knees buckling slightly under the weight of his bag. "Robert. Bert," he hastened to correct himself, despising how dorky he sounded.
"Hi Robertbert," A short bundle of energy beamed at him. "Woah," Bert mumbled as Frank took his bag and dashed off with it. "Um..?"
The one Bert thought was named Ryan raised an eyebrow at him. "My name is Ryan."
Bert liked him immediately. His voice was nice and ...smooth but gravelly.
He waved dorkily. "Did that kid just steal my bag?"
Ryan shook his head, Jeph stared into the distance, easily distracted by the sea and the rocky walls leading up to the dunes.
"He's just bringing it into your room for you. Frank's...helpful. Yeah, helpful." Ryan explained. Bert nodded.
Suddenly the door to the cabin they stood at opened and a lanky body tumbled out and landed on the ground at Ryan's feet. He leapt up and yelped at Jeph.
"You were s'posed to wake me! I have to show the new kid around, is he here yet?" The lanky-bodied boy faced the two other boys, apparently not spotting Bert.
"He's here," Jeph agreed. Quinn cursed and asked "Is he hot?"
Jeph nodded "Sure."
Ryan scrunched up his face, "Not my type."
Bert scowled. "Well fuck you too!"
Quinn whirled around and nearly tripped over his untied shoelaces. "Oh shit. You must be Robert."
"Robertbert," Jeph corrected. Quinn looked confused. Bert sighed. "Just Bert, mmkay?"
Quinn looked down at Bert and grinned. "Hi Just Bert." He held out a tanned, bony hand.
"I'm Quinn."
