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Luxemburger Queen -- Part 5 I know I'm crazy, I should be doing a lot of stuff for uni but - here you go!! The Day After "Brian? Brian, come on now, it's getting late!" Mrs Molko knocked against the door which lead to Brian's room. "I don't feel well," a muffled voice replied. Mrs Molko frowned. Yesterday, Brian had refused to come to dinner, claiming that he wasn't hungry, and she hadn't seen him for the whole evening. She hadn't thought much about it then. Brian often was very difficult and moody. She hadn't thought that he might be getting sick . She knocked again. "Brian, is everything all right with you? You should at least come and get some breakfast!" "I'm - I'm fine, Mom, I just have a horrible headache and -" "Headache?" Mrs Molko's sense for danger woke with a start. "Brian, you haven't been drinking, have you? If you think you'll stay at home because of an ordinary hangover, you -" "I DIDN'T touch any alcohol, Mom, okay?" Brian's now annoyed voice emerged from the room. "I'm just not feeling well!" Was he only trying to have a lazy day? It wouldn't be the first time he tried to fake being sick just to stay at home. Mrs Molko decided to test him. "But Brian, it's Wednesday." "Yeah, so?" "So it's drama club today." Inside his room, Brian jumped. Right. Wednesday. Drama club. He forced his glance away from the mirror where he'd been examining the purple bruise on his cheek. Wednesday. Frank wanted to talk to him today. But Christian! He couldn't go face Christian! And what was even worse, he couldn't go face his mother with his face looking like this! "Mom, I'm really not well ." he answered at last, cursing silently. Outside, Mrs Molko stared at the door a bit helplessly. Maybe he really wasn't well this time. He wouldn't skip the drama club for nothing, it was so important for him. "Brian, I really think you should see a doctor." "All I need is some rest, Mom. Don't worry, okay? I'll just go back to sleep and get some breakfast later," Brian's voice said impatiently. "Shall I get you anything? Tea? Cookies?" Mrs Molko moved the door handle tentatively, but Brian had locked from the inside. "Brian, please open, I want to check whether you have fever." Brian stifled a moan. Why did he have to have the most overprotective mother in Luxembourg? He sighed. "Okay, I'll be right there for breakfast and then we can discuss this, okay?" "Okay . I'll get the thermometer." Brian sneaked to the door and pressed his ear against it. When he heard his mother's footsteps leaving, he opened and rushed to the bathroom. Maybe he'd be able to cover the bruise with some of his mother's make-up. He dug through her things, finding a tube of make-up that almost fitted his skin color and started to hastily cover his face with it. "Brian?" He froze with terror. The door opened! Why hadn't he locked it? His mother entered. "Do you - " She broke off, staring at him. He slowly turned away from the mirror to sheepishly look at her. "Brian Molko, you wouldn't be wearing MAKE-UP, would you?" she shrieked. "Uhm ." Brian wasn't sure what to say - the case was quite clear. "Off with that! Now! Oh, dear Jesus, I don't know what to do with this boy, help me to be patient!" She grabbed a tissue, stepped over to Brian and started to rub at his face. Brian sighed, feeling awful - angry, ashamed and frightened of what she'd say when discovering the bruise. Mrs Molko's thoughts raced as she was cleansing her son's face. She didn't mind Brian's passion for acting. She didn't mind his mediocre guitar playing. She didn't even mind his bad grades so much. But make-up! And this horrible David Bowie poster in his room, and this music he liked! She continued with increasing passion. Oh no, her son was NOT going to be one of these disgusting sinners sleeping with men! Her hands stopped dead as a gap in the make-up revealed a hint of color. She slowly continued to rub, revealing an enormous purplish-blue bruise on Brian's left cheek. "Brian ." she gasped. The boy sighed deeply and lowered his head. Mrs Molko stared at him with shock. A bruise! So he had tried to cover a bruise with her make-up! Instantly, she felt ashamed for her accusations. She had judged without really knowing the facts. Silently, she asked God for forgiveness and decided she'd do something nice for Brian to make up for this. But now she was preoccupied with other things. "Brian, who did that to you?" she asked calmly. Her son squirmed. "Mom, it's nothing, okay?" "Nothing?" She grabbed his shoulders and dragged him in front of the mirror, making him look at his reflection. "You call this nothing? It's quite a something to MY eyes!" "Mom, please, I just had trouble with someone at school and -" "Who? Who did this to my boy?" "That's none of your fucking business, dammit!" "Watch your language, boy!" Mrs Molko stared at Brian with increased anger, which was now no longer directed against whoever hurt her child, but against this boy who dared to use such language in her house. "You tell me who it was NOW!" she commanded, struggling to stay calm. "No, Mom, please, just leave it, if I tell I'll only get into more trouble!" pleaded Brian. "No, no, Brian, the one who did this must be punished so he can learn and regret and will find his way back to God!" Brian rolled his eyes. "Mom, matter of fact is that if I tell you and you run straight to the headmaster as I know you will, I'll get an even worse beating tomorrow and I'm not keen on that!" "That's not the point, Brian! We're talking about a soul that needs to be saved!" Brian glowered at her. "Funny. I thought we were talking about me fearing for my health, but I see that's less important than some git's soul!" Before his mother could reply, he pushed past her, rushed into his room and grabbed his school bag. "Brian, that wasn't what I meant!" his mother called after him. "Of course -" "Sorry, Mom, it's late, I need to get to school!" Brian interrupted her coldly, storming out of the house, raging with anger. Christian avoided to look at him when Brian entered the classroom and sneaked to his place in the back row. The others looked, though, and noticed the obvious change in his face. Sniggers arose. "Been wrestling a giant, Molko?" one of the boys asked with a grin. "Or with your size, it was probably a dwarf that beat you up!" Brian gritted his teeth, but decided not to answer. It'd only make things worse. The teacher came in only a few moments later so they stopped teasing him, and since it was their French teacher who never seemed to care much about anyone, he accepted Brian's excuse about gym class and just told the class to take out the books and turn to page 48. Brian managed to stay out of trouble until the lunch break when Devin passed his table and knocked his juice over. "See, that's what you get from trying to steal!" he hissed before walking over to Christian, Michael, Stefan and the rest of the team. Brian stared after him. So that was Christian's story! Blind fury rose in him - not only had Christian told them that it had been HIM who'd beaten up Brian, moreover he had twisted the truth! Brian Molko a thief, huh? A low growl escaped his throat as he stood up and walked over to the boys. "Hey, Christian!" he heard himself call out angrily, while a silent voice in his head screamed and begged him to stay silent and sit down again. "I hear you're calling me a thief, is that true?" He saw Christian paling and smiled. How does that feel, he thought, the fear to be made a fool in front of the whole school? Nice, isn't it, that's what I live with every day. "What the fuck are you on about?" Christian retorted, hastily swallowing the chunk of meat in his mouth. "You told Dev that you beat me up because I was trying to steal!" Brian glowered at Christian. "Well, if I remember correctly, it was quite the other way round!" The pallor gave way to a sudden blush. "Are you calling me a thief, Molko?" Christian asked with a low, deadly voice. Brian felt his courage leave. "Well, just stop telling people I am one, okay?" he mumbled, turning hastily to rush back to his place. "Hey, Molko ." Christian's voice sounded behind him like a death knell. "Wait a second, nancy boy." Brian swallowed heavily and obeyed. Fuck! He felt that he'd started to tremble with fear. Why did he have to be such a bigmouth? He should have been happy enough that Christian had left him alone! Why the fuck had he insisted on provoking him like that? He felt a heavy hand slump down on his shoulder, so forcefully that his knees almost gave in. "Look, Chris, I -" "Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" Christian hissed behind him, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him towards the door. "Leave him alone!" ordered Frank's voice from somewhere left to Brian. Christian sniggered. "Awww, ain't that cute, one fag rushing to the rescue of another!" "For Christ's sake, Christian, why can't you ever behave like a normal human being?" another voice said angrily. Brian turned his head in surprise - it was Michelle! She was blocking Christian's way, arms crossed, glaring at the tall boy. "Won't you ever grow tired of beating up weaker ones?" Christian growled and stared at the girl with confusion. Brian used the opportunity to slip out of Christian's grip and back off several steps. "Didn't know you were falling for losers, Michelle," Christian grumbled at last and sat down again with his friends. Brian let out a deep sigh. "Thanks," he muttered and smiled weakly at the older girl. She shrugged and smiled back, approaching. "What a retard!" "Don't insult the poor retards by comparing them to him," Frank said behind Brian. Michelle frowned. "Did Chris do that to you?" she asked, pointing at Brian's face. Brian blushed. "Yeah, um, well, it -" "What a simpleton!" Michelle sneered. "Does it hurt?" she then asked sympathetically, softly touching the bruise. Brian gulped. "Uhm . no, not very much, really ." He suddenly felt very dizzy. Probably her perfume, he thought, it's really strong . "I'm just glad he didn't really hurt you, you know, like breaking your nose or so, cause then you'd have to quit the play." "So you don't want me to quit the play, then?" asked Brian, confusedly. "Well ." Michelle shrugged and smiled at Frank, who had stepped next to Brian. "He was right, you know, you DO fit the part, so . I want the play to be really good." "Thanks." Shouldn't it be forbidden for girls to wear shirts with SUCH a low neckline in school? Brian tried to focus his thoughts which had been drifting under Michelle's bra. "So . see you later then, right? Rehearsal ." "Yes." She flashed him a last pretty smile and then went back to her whispering and giggling friends, leaving Brian alone with Frank. "Where're you sitting?" Frank asked. Brian pointed at his place with the now cold food and they sat down together. "Boy, that was close," Brian sighed after a little while. "Bigmouth strikes again." Frank grinned. Brian raised an eyebrow. "You like The Smiths?" "Not really. Only heard that song by accident." They looked at each other and than simultaneously blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry," said Frank after a minute. "About what?" "About the other day, the stuff I said. I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I'm really sorry." "It's okay," Brian replied calmly, but inside he felt like jubilating. Frank smiled. "You like Michelle, don't you? I mean - you REALLY like her ." "She's pretty. Very." "Yeah . I guess ." Brian giggled. "Believe me, since she falls into my territory of expertise." Frank laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess she does. Certainly isn't my type, you know?" "Too far on the feminine side?" "Of course." The older boy sighed. "Well, as I said, I'm sorry, cause you obviously like her even though she's a girl. I shouldn't have tried to convince you you're gay. I'll do my best to keep my fingers off you from now, promise." Brian felt a pang of disappointment. "Really?" "Yeah." "Oh." Frank looked at him and frowned. "You know, Bri, if I didn't know you're not gay, I'd think that sounded like you were regretting it." "The fact that I'm not gay doesn't mean that I don't like you," Brian heard himself mutter and blushed. Frank stared at him with confusion. "Well," Brian continued, almost dying with shame, "I mean, you, you're a nice guy, and - and I liked the, uhm, you know, on that swing, and the stuff down in the basement and all ." "I don't think I'm still with you," Frank said, shaking his head, "what are you saying, that you're gay after all?" "No, I'm not, I'm just - undecided." "Undecided?" "Yeah. Undecided." "Oh." Frank examined the nervous boy in front of him. "So ." "Yes?" Brian looked up into Frank's eyes. "So maybe you wouldn't mind me inviting you over to my place after all?" Frank said hoarsely, assembling his courage. Brian stared at him speechlessly. Frank smiled sadly. "Yeah, it's okay, I should have known." "I'd - I'd very much like to visit you, Frank." The older boy choked. "Really?" "Sure. When?" "How about today, after drama club?" Brian thought for a moment. "I'll have to call my Mom and tell her, you know, she freaked out when she saw my face and if I'm not back at home in time today, she'll -" "Yes, sure, no prob, you can call her from my place." Brian beamed at him. "Okay then." "Cool." Frank leaned back into his chair, eyes wide with excitement. Just then, the bell rang, announcing the lunch break to be over. The boys rose and packed their stuff. "So is this some sort of date we have?" Brian asked silently just as Frank was about to leave. Frank blushed slightly. "Uhm . sort of, yeah, I guess." Brian smiled at him. "Cool!" 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