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When people say that Connor Stevens is the most popular guy in Anchor Beach it would fall short. Saying Connor is an Instagram Famous it would be an understatement. A few years ago Connor came out of the closet and he grew on followers along San Diego and bit by bit over the world.
But he is down to earth. The fame he acquired didn´t make him to lose his modesty.
At the beginning his pictures and selfies had forty or fifty likes. Today any of his pictures has twenty thousand easily. And not only in the pictures he shows with less clothes than usual.
A photo of his truck, shining just washed achieved forty thousand likes. And he wasn´t even in the picture.
The pick up truck was a gift from his father, Adam Stevens. After seeing how his relationship with his only son could have been lose forever. It´s a gift for how Connor behave, a way to say how proud he is for being his son, being proud of being his father.
Adam is an incidental famous star because of his son. His instagram, which Connor created, configured, and every now and then, in those moments Adam stop uploading pictures takes charge of update it, answering messages and blocking those people living in the twenty first century with some problem with his son´s homosexuality.
Adam doesn´t have as such followers as his kid, but little by little he is making a spot as an online celebrity.
Where he is more famous is by the comments he leaves occasionally in his son pictures.
One day Connor upload a picture in the middle of a workout. All sweaty, shirtless and with his characteristic smile. His face and smile lighting up all the picture, without filter because Connor is real, he posted it with the phrase `in the middle of a workout and all I want to do is eating a pair of burguers´.
The message Adam sent was `you should be doing your homework, don´t you?´
With many messages between father and son people went crazy and starting making screenshots and forwarding between twitter, tumblr and facebook.
And in Anchor Beach is not different that he is somehow kind of a celebrity. He speaks with everyone, he lends his lectures notes and behaves like a boy from his age. With no pretensions.
Jude Adams Foster see Connor from afar. Like something unreachable even he is the most friendly boy in the high school.
He follows him on instagram, since the first day he heard Connor talking in the hallways saying he made an account on the social platform. But in this day he is only able to access to instagram at home. Every day he gets up from bed he opens a webpage to see if Connor has posted any picture, and some days he refresh the page before leaving to school. He is not obsessed with Connor. No. It is something he will deny every time. Even if his mothers caught him seeing one of the pictures of Connor from last year. Jude is not obsessed. It is just a little fixation.
Each person has a favourite picture of Connor. Most people will tell you is one in which Connor is without a shirt. Other people will tell you is one from Connor on the beach, also without something in his upper body, of course.
Jude´s favourite picture is one of Connor dressed. It´s a picture from a year ago, when Connor won the MVP in high school league. After the game in which he scored many runs and helped his team to win the league.
This picture is of Connor holding the trophy, smiling at the camera. The smile Jude would like to be towards him. That day he was in the bleachers, watching the game. He suffered alongside Connor even if the boy didn´t know he was there. But he cheered when Connor won the point of the victory.
But since the last two weeks Jude´s phone is broken. Cortesy of his brother Jesus after throwing him in the pool. And he needs time to collect enough money to buy another one. Works in the neighbours´ houses and helping at home is hard work but low paid.
And he can only spy, ahem, watch his instagram when he is at home. That´s why he tries to take a look before leaving for high school. That´s the reason when he hears some girl on the hallways at Anchor Beach of how Connor just post a picture, so he feels envy that the girl can look at the picture before class. And he has hours after he goes back home to see it. He has the option of going to the library and use one of the computers in there and see the picture, but decides not to in case he get caught. Unlike Connor, Jude is still in the closet. He is not ashamed of being gay, his mother are also gay, but in high school there is always people trying to make him feel inferior. And he prefers to keep a low profile at high school.
So he has to resign himself to listen at the girl talking about the new picture. She is talking to another girl and they speak in an uninterested voice, because Connor posted a picture where he is dressed. Jude can´t avoid to feel angry. These girl think that Connor only exist to post pictures without a shirt on so they can drool about it. But he can´t say anything. He needs to keep quiet to not betray himself.
And his day runs slow. The classes are eternal and he only wants to go home. The second the bell rings through the high school he picks up all his stuff and before anyone in his class starts to get up he is crossing the class door. But Jude has bad luck and instead of finding an empty hallway he finds Blake. The bully from school who has make his life difficult. He could have tell his mother about the bullying, but don´t want to be the kid who hides under his mother´s skirt. Until now he has been able to defend himself. He can keep doing it.
"Hey, loser. Are you in a hurry?"
"Don´t you have eyes on your face?"
Jude´s comeback only makes Blake angrier. Even if everything makes Blake angry. Especially if is related with Jude.
The only Jude gets is Blake grabbing him and push him against the lockers.
"Aren´t you old enough to attack people, are you?"
"Do you ever keep quiet?"
Jude is tired of all this shit, always pissed off with everyone and needs to make fun of the rest of the world to feel better.
"After all this time I thought you would have grow up, idiot."
Jude can´t keep quiet, even when Blake is messing with him since the day he step into Anchor Beach. So he knows Blake is going to punch him.
Is able to see how his fist is getting closer in slow motion, it´s a shame his brother Jesus taught him a class on how to avoid a punch in the face.
But he can´t perform it when Blake is pushed away from him.
Jude didn´t hear anyone get close but the only thing he see is Blake flying against the opposite wall, hitting the lockers loudly and losing all the air in his lungs.
When he focus what is happening in front of him he can´t believe it. Connor. He stopped Blake of giving him a punch.
Jude doesn´t know what to think about what is happening. The center of his obsession just helped him.
"Are you ok, Jude?"
Jude can´t stop feeling dizzy knowing Connor knows his name. For a single moment he gets excited but he slow down himself. He is one of the kids of the vice-principal. Of course Connor would know his name.
Blake´s histerical laughter make the two boys look at him like he just hit his head.
"Taking care of your boyfriend, Stevens?" says still laughing.
"Shut up."
But Blake has a spark in his eyes and Jude doesn´t like that a bit.
"Or maybe you don´t know here little Jude can´t stop looking at your pictures every second of the day."
Jude can see how Connor´s back gets stiff bit by bit. Like a bow ready to shoot an arrow. In any other time the vision of that back it would be the best moment of his day, but right now only wants´to look for a hole and hid in it.
"I´m pretty sure little Jude can´t stop touching him with your pictures, Stevens. Do you like that, knowing this little pervert does when he is alone?"
Jude can´t endure more embarrasment and start running. Doesn´t want to look Connor in the face. After what Blake told him he knows he never will have the chance to look Connor in the eyes. Has been avoiding the boy so he is accustomed. But being forced because Blake gave him away is even worse.
"Jude, wait!"
Connor´s voice calling him from behind only makes him keep running. The humiliation he feels is replaced by the fear of what Connor would do because he knows he is a voyeur. So he runs without looking behind him.
After running a few minutes, he slows down, running the hand through his face can see how his tears fall freely. And can´t stop falling.
Jude can hear a car approaching him but doesn´t mind about it and keeps walking, until the car stops next to him and the voice he thought he would never hear again call him.
"Jude, get in the truck."
Jude doesn´t look at Connor and keeps walking, with no more strenght to keep running.
"Jude, wait" Connor´s tone of voice, is not what Jude expects, not anger of knowing the little dirty secret, but of concern.
"Get in the truck, Jude. Please."
Only the last word makes Jude came to a stop. The word and how Connor sounds. He never hear him so vulnerable, is not like he has talked to him, because until today he didn´t talk a word with the boy, but the videos Connor post once in a while gave him a idea of how he talk. And doesn´t like how he sounds. Jude doesn´t like to hear Connor like that.
Jude gets close to the truck and without looking at Connor gets in.
A few seconds pass and Jude doesn´t know what´s wrong but the silence is worse than anything that is running through Jude´s head.
"Buckle up, please" said Connor, in that tone again, it says to Jude he is not angry, but doesn´t know the reason Connor followed him.
With Jude secured, Connor puts his truck on the road.
Inside his head Jude is looking at many possible scenarios, Connor is going to kidnap him and leave him one hour from San Diego, this is ridiculous cause Connor is the nicest person Jude knows, even when not in a deep sense. Connor is going to beat him cause he is a vouyer. Also something absurd because Jude never has seen Connor being aggresive with anyone until today when he helped him against Blake.
Jude is not paying attention to the road Connor is driving, it seems like he is only driving aimlessly, without a place to go.
"I have been trying for years to be brave enough to talk to you."
Jude finally looks at the boy sitting next to him. Connor focusing on the road in front of him, the only signs showing he is nervous are the sweat Jude can see in his face and how hard is gripping the steering wheel so his knuckles are turning white.
"Since the first day Blake was messing with you I wanted to help but you put down your foot and a teacher arrived before I could do anything."
Jude doesn´t know what is happening, what he thought was going to be a beat up or a threat is turning to be a declaration of... love.
"Months later I heard you talk to your sister Mariana about how you open an instagram account. I supposed it would be a good way to start talking, considering that being near you make me nervous and I couldn´t use my voice. So I make an account and when I knew you were close I said it aloud. Hoping you will follow me. See if I get brave enough to talk to you, but you never follow me."
Jude can´t keep with everything he is learning today about Connor.
Connor parks his truck and turns off the engine. Looking at the road in front of him. Jude turns his head to his right and can see his own house. Connor brought him to his house.
"Don´t worry, I won´t say anything in high school about what Blake said. I won´t do anything, I´ll leave you alone and I won´t bother you again."
Connor´s voice break a little and Jude knows he can start crying at any time.
"What Blake said is true" says Jude with tears in his own eyes. Feels the need to tell Connor so he can see how delectable he is. "Every chance I get I normally take a look at your account. And usually are several times a day.
Jude is not looking at Connor but he feels he is looking at him. He doesn´t dare to take a look to avoid looking at his disgusted face.
"The worst game of my life was the one I won the high school league."
Jude turns to look at him and in his eyes don´t see what he was expecting.
"I couldn´t stop making foolish mistakes and I was a disaster." Jude doesn´t remember any of that, and he was looking the match. "I was on the lookout of looking for you in the bleachers instead of being focused on the game."
"The picture you took when you won the MVP in that match is my favourite."
Connor has to lower his head but Jude can see the smile he secretly want to see every day.
"I started playing like I should the moment I heard your cheers in the middle of the game."
Jude doesn´t remember that, and Connor can see it in his face.
"I know it was you, I recognise your voice, even though I couldn´t find you. Your cheers make me focus and I decided to win the game for you. I search for you after the game but I couldn´t find you. So I posted that picture. That smile was for you. That picture was for you."
"I followed you since the first day I heard you on the hallway." Connor can´t avoid smile after that. "You couldn´t know it was me because I didn´t use my name as user, and I didn´t post any selfie."
Connor is now smiling that one Jude adores. The both looking at the other in the eyes, a few reddened by the tears both have shed.
Both boys are distracted without saying anything so they didn´t see someone get close to the truck. Waiting a few seconds to see if the boys realize someone is out of the car looking at them.
The only thing that make the boys react is the sound of someone tapping in the front seat passenger window.
As the two boys turn around can see that Lena Adams Foster, first smiling but seeing Jude with red eyes change her face to one of concern and protection. Connor lowers down Jude´s window.
"Hey, bubba. Everything ok?"
Jude smiles at Lena and nods his head. After a few seconds looking at Jude´s face, Lena turns back to the kind vice-principal Connor knows.
"Hey, Connor. How are you?"
"Good, Mrs. Adams Foster" says smiling.
"Want to stay and eat with us, Connor?"
Lena smiles wider seeing the face of his younger son. Can´t wait to tell this to Stef.
"I don´t want to bother, Mrs. Adams Foster."
"You can call me Lena, we know each other for a long time."
"I would have to ask my father, Lena."
"Another set of taps in Connor´s window make the boys look at the other side. Seeing Adam Stevens with a smile in his face.
"Dad?" says Connor nervous rolling down the window.
"Hey, kid. Hey, Jude."
"Hi, mister Stevens."
"You can call me Adam."
Adam keep smiling at them for a long time and when the boys doesn´t move a single muscle to step out of the truck, Adam leans forward in the window and runs a hand over Connor´s hair. Because he knows his son hates it when he mess up with his hair. But he is distracted so he doesn´t see how his father takes the keys from the ignition
"Come on, boys. Lena and Stef invited us to have lunch in this beautiful day."
Adam steps out of the car and goes closer to Lena in the sidewalk.
The boys look at their parents, and then they look at each other. Both get off the truck but stay close to it. Jude is trying to find a way to run away but stop when feels how Connor takes his hand.
"Dad, I need the keys to close the car" says Connor but Adam´s answer is pushing the bottons to block the car and raise the windows. Connor groans cause that was one of their ways to run away.
Connor turns to Jude and grips his hand. "It couldn´t be so bad, right?"
"Your siblings came home, Jude" says Lena.
Now is Jude the one to groan this time.
"Mike and AJ also came, with Anna. And your granddads too."
"Worse, Connor. It´s going to be horrible."
The smile that Connor gives him makes Jude to breath a little better.
"Come on, the sooner we go inside the sooner we could get out."
The two boys start walking to the house, holding hands. Adam stays behind with Lena seeing them.
Adam takes his phone and took a picture. The boys from behind, the center of the picture their hands intertwine.
This is the first picture Adam posts voluntarily to his instagram. In the caption he writes `time to meet the in-laws´.
The photo surpass in likes any picture Connor has posted before.
The second picture posted that same day is of the two boys again. Lying in the sofa. Connor lying in top of Jude. Again the picture don´t show their faces and the center is how they are holding hand. In the caption the people can read `first meeting with the in-laws suceeded, turn to sleep for a bit because it was intense´.