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The Queen of Hearts

Chapter four

Madison was rudely awoken the next morning by Jamie jumping on his bed.

Tired grey eyes opened slowly to find the boy standing on the bed, his feet either side of Madison’s stretched legs and he smiled down at the other boy cheekily.

“Morning sleepy head!” He laughed, a wide grin on his face, but Madison simply rolled his eyes and pulled the covers up over his head. A moment later hands curled around the duvet and pulled, yanking it clean off of the bed and throwing it away into the corner. Madison had just enough time to roll onto his back and look up grumpily before Jamie straddled his waist, bouncing up and down on his stomach like a five year old on Christmas morning.

“I love how grumpy you are in the mornings,” Jamie grinned, poking Madison in the cheek.

“I’m grumpy because someone just woke me up by jumping on my bed.”

The boy picked up a pillow from next to him and placed it over his face, clamping it with his arms but hands tugged on them insistently until he let go. Jamie flung the pillow away and leaned down to kiss the end of his nose.

“Hey grumpy. Guess what day it is?”

“I know, I know,” Madison grumbled, pushing Jamie away and sitting up on the bed. It was the brunette’s birthday, his twentieth and the three in the house were due to go out that afternoon to celebrate before work. Jamie was always the same on his birthday, happy and loud, running round the house like a small tornado, bugging everyone for his presents until they gave in just to shut him up.

“Where’s my present, Maddy?” Jamie demanded, impatiently tugging on one of the boy’s nipple piercing until he hissed softly.

“Ouch. Because you just did that, you have to wait until after my shower.”

Madison heard the other boy grumbling as he slid off the bed, moving around the room to gather up his duvet and pillow before placing them back on the bed. He then stepped out into the hall, fetching a towel from the airing cupboard before heading to the bathroom. Jamie was standing in his doorway as he stepped into the bathroom and he turned to stick his tongue out playfully before closing the door behind him.

Jamie sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he headed downstairs, finding Alysia in the kitchen.

“Maddy won’t give me my present either.”

The blond just laughed before kneeling on the floor in front of the dryer, taking the clothes out and folding each piece meticulously.

The two others didn’t know what they would do without Alysia. The boy did most of the chores around the house- washing, ironing, hovering. It wasn’t through choice, however, since the only times the others tried to do anything they ended up messing it up. Madison could just about handle the washing up, but he knocked everything over with the hoover and burned clothes with the iron. Jamie, however, was useless with everything- the last time he had tried to wash up after dinner, he had broken half the china, almost sending Alysia into a panic attack.

The blond was going to make someone a good housewife someday, but until then, he would just resume running the house as he did.

“You’re like a big kid,” Alysia laughed, taking the pile of clothing over to where he’d set up the ironing board, “You’re just going to need to be patient. Once Maddy gets out of the shower, you can have your presents.”

“But I don’t want to,” Jamie whined.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door.

“Go get that, hun. It’s Rob.”

The brunette moved to open the door, finding the blond standing on the other side of it holding a big, wrapped present.

“Hi Jamie. Happy birthday.”

“Ooh, present,” Jamie replied, taking the box from the other’s hands. He left Rob standing in the doorway, shaking his head with a grin.

The blond closed the door behind him and followed his friend into the kitchen where he spied Alysia standing at the ironing board. The other blond was wearing a tight pair of jeans that made his butt look great and Rob couldn’t help but smile. He’d been attracted to Alysia since the first moment he’d met him…he’d just never acted on it.

“Hey Rob,” the other boy said with a smile, putting down the iron and moving to give the blond a hug. “I’m glad you came. Though, Jamie, you can’t open that until Madison gets downstairs.”

The brunette groaned. “No fair. He takes forever.”

Rob ruffled Jamie’s hair before moving to put the kettle on, making four cups of coffee. Then the three sat around the table and chatted until Madison finally made his appearance, shuffling into the kitchen in skinny jeans, a warm hoodie and bunny slippers.

“You okay honey?” Alysia asked, crossing the kitchen to feel the other boy’s forehead. “You’re a little warm.”

“I’m fine.”

The boy gave Rob a quick kiss on the cheek as he sat down, taking up his mug of coffee. It was a while before anyone spoke and by that time Jamie was practically bursting with the need to say something.

“I guess it’s time for presents, huh?” Madison said finally, meeting his friend’s eyes over the top of his coffee mug. It was fun to tease the boy. He was really like a big kid when it came to birthdays and Christmas, which was something else that everyone found so appealing about him.

“Mine first,” Rob told the boy, pushing the box towards him and he ripped into the paper eagerly, throwing pieces all over the kitchen. Alysia’s was next and then finally Madison’s, which turned out to be a small box.

It was a necklace, a choker that Jamie had been admiring for weeks in the window of a shop downtown. Instead of a chain was a thick, black, velvet band that tied together at the back with rich, red lace and the charm was an elaborate, gothic cross that the boy had found appealing. He knew that it would have cost Madison a small fortune- the boy had probably been saving for weeks.

“Oh Maddy!” he gushed, throwing his arms around the boy’s neck. Madison always took care to buy him presents that he really enjoyed, things he’d had his eye on for weeks before his birthday or had always secretly coveted. “I love it. Thank you so much.”

Rob helped him fasten it round his neck and then Alysia went to the fridge to fetch the cake he’d made for the occasion. He was usually up in the morning before the other two and he’d spent hours making the cake from scratch and then icing and decorating it. It turned out to be delicious and both Jamie and Rob had two servings each. Madison, however, barely ate anything, claiming he wasn’t hungry and spent the time pushing the food around his plate thoughtfully.

It had always been a cause of concern to the other two. They knew Madison was far too slender for his height and he hardly ever seemed to eat anything, no matter what it was. Both were worried that he’d end up with an eating disorder, another thing to add to his already hated life.

“Not hungry, hun?” Alysia asked, brushing back a lock of the boy’s hair.

“Not really.”

Jamie frowned, leaning over to wrap his arms around Madison.

“But we’re going out for a meal in a little while…you’re not going to eat anything?”

The disappointment on his face was evident and Madison found himself sighing. Jamie looked like a puppy that had been kicked, with his big, brown eyes wide and a sad look on his face.

“I’ll try to have something, okay?”

“You’d better.”

It was a few hours later when the four made their way out to the restaurant. By that time, darkness was beginning to descend and it was the sickly glow of streetlamps that greeted them as they walked down the road from the house.

They decided to take the bus again, since they felt it wasn’t right to make Jamie walk all the way on his birthday. Rob even paid for the boy’s bus fare and he, Madison and Alysia had already decided they would pay for the meal between them.

The restaurant they went to had become a tradition when any of them had a birthday, a little place across town where the manager knew them by name and always gave them a discount on the bill. He greeted them by the front door as they entered, leading them to the table that they always had, one that was tucked away in the corner, away from the prying eyes of the other customers.

Jamie had been given free reign to order whatever he wanted, which was how he ended up with a plateful of chicken and potatoes, piled high with mushrooms and other vegetables. For someone who often acted like a child, Jamie was unusually keen on vegetables, always making sure to include them in his diet to keep him healthy.

Madison could only bring himself to order the soup of the day, which turned out to be leek and potato. He wasn’t feeling the best, but he wanted to be there for Jamie, which was why he forced as much as he could into himself. The others seemed happy enough, talking and laughing at the top of their voices, but he found he just couldn’t enjoy himself.

Eventually, he rose to visit the bathroom, excusing himself with a few mumbled words before he left the table. In the restaurant’s bathroom, he splashed a little water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror, taking in his pale, sickly colouring and the dark bags under his eyes. He was coming down with something, most likely a cold, but it would most likely end up affecting his work. No one wanted to sleep with a prostitute that was coughing and sniffing while lying on his back with his legs spread.

He rested his head against the coolness of the mirror, letting the chill cool him down a little. As he stood, the door opened behind him and he pulled away quickly, only to find Alysia standing behind him.

“Honey, you look awful,” he noted, moving up behind the boy to squeeze his shoulder gently. “You look like you’re coming down with something.”

Alysia raised his hand to press it to the boy’s forehead, watching him closely. He had been looking more sickly lately, getting thinner, paler.

“I don’t feel so good, Aly,” Madison told the blond, sliding his back down the edges of the sink until he sat on the floor. Alysia crouched down beside him, squeezing his hand worriedly.

“I’m gunna call a cab to take you home, hun, okay?”

“No…”

Madison took hold of the other boy’s arm, raising eyes to meet his.

“Please…I don’t want to ruin Jamie’s birthday.”

“Honey, you are sick. He’s gunna be as worried about you as I am. He’s not going to enjoy his birthday while you’re sitting there looking like you’re about to pass out.”

Madison sighed, leaning his head back against the smooth wall behind him.

“Alright,” he agreed finally, very reluctant, but he complied when Alysia held out arms to help him up and together, the two made their way back to the table.

“Jamie, hun,” Alysia began, noting the immediate worried expression on the boy’s face, “I’m going to take Maddy home, he’s not feeling so great. You two stay and enjoy yourselves, okay?”

The brunette climbed quickly to his feet and crossed to Madison’s side, feeling his forehead.

“God, you’re burning up. Forget staying here, we gotta get you home.”

“No, Jamie, no,” the dark haired boy protested, pressing on his friend’s shoulders to get him to go back to his seat, “I am fine, just getting a little cold is all. I want you to stay.”

“Fuck that.”

As the two argued, Rob got the attention of the waiter and had the bill sent over to the table. He knew there was no chance that Jamie would stay if Madison was ill- he cared so deeply about the boy that he would have been sitting there worrying all night if he hadn’t been with him. Still it was a shame to have such an abrupt end to an otherwise good afternoon.

It was easy for anyone to see how close Jamie and Madison were. In the cab on the way back home, the brunette was fussing all over his friend, asking him question after question about how he was feeling, how long he had been ill, what he had taken for it. It was like a mother fussing around her sick child.

Once home, Madison was bundled straight up to bed, tucked up warm with a hot water bottle and a mug of medicinal lemon tea. Jamie still fussed about him, getting him everything he could possibly need.

“It’s nice that they’re so close,” Alysia sighed wistfully, watching Jamie run up the stairs for what seemed like the tenth time. “They’d do anything for each other. Wish I had friends like that.”

“Oh come off it.”

Rob smiled, shaking his head at the other blond.

“You have three friends that would do anything for you too. We all care about you, Aly, whether you think we do or not.”

Alysia looked up at the other boy over the mug of coffee he’d made. Rob was a good friend of theirs, always there if any of them needed him, sometimes without even being asked.

“Thanks.”

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