Totally Hetero Pudge And Ronny: Chapter Three

This is chapter three of my Accelerated Christian Education fan fiction, which I am very proud of. It is the first ACE fan fiction on the internet, to my knowledge, and you can find more chapters (thirteen so far) here on my Deviant Art page, feezlfuzzl, or on the ACE Gay Porn page at the top of this blog.



Pudge went home, greeting his mother briefly as she made dinner, then headed straight for his room. Lying on his bed, he called Ace, still confused and reeling from the shock.
"I saw Ronny today," he said.
"Ronny? The only Ronny I know is the guy who used to pick on us as kids."
"Yeah, that guy."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Where'd you see him?"
"On the side of the freeway. I had a flat tire."
"Okay. And he did too?" Ace asked in confusion.
"No, he stopped to help me."
"What? Ronny?"
"Yes, Ronny." 
"Ronny Vain? Ronny Vain helped you?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you call me to help you?"
Pudge was embarrassed to admit that he couldn't change the tire himself. "I didn't have to. Ronny had a spare."
"He gave you his spare tire?"
"Yes--to borrow," Pudge lied. He hope Ace didn't want to go with him to give it back. "He said he would come get it sometime."
"When?"
"I don't know."
"Well, what did he want in return?"
"Nothing. He was just helping me out."
"Huh." Ace was silent for a few seconds."Oh, I get it: He gave you his business card, didn't he?"
"What?"
"He's a mechanic, Pudge. He works over in Sodomburg," Ace explained, distaste in his voice at the last word. "He's trying to drum up business for himself."
"He didn't give me his card, Ace." Pudge was almost a little hurt that Ronny hadn't.
"Oh, well...he must have forgotten."
"Why would he forget, if he only did it for his business?"
"I don't know. Do you think he got saved?" Ace asked, affecting a reverent tone.
"I don't think so. He was wearing a leather jacket."
"Why would he be nice to you if he wasn't a Christian?" Ace asked impatiently. "What did he say when you mentioned the Lord?"
Pudge had no answer for that. "Um...well...I guess I don't remember."
"You didn't say anything about God to him?" Ace demanded, incredulous. "Pudge, do you realize that you may be the only Bible he ever reads?"
"I know," he said lamely, feeling guilty and "convicted" (he had always hated that word, though he was not supposed to feel guilty when he was "convicted"). "I was just too shocked to see him," Pudge added.
"That's no excuse, Pudge. You know we are supposed to be ready to give an account at all times for the hope that we have."
Pudge's brain felt tired at hearing the very familiar bible verse. He didn't like it, but sometimes he just became weary of hearing the same verses again. Almost any common bible quotation was enough to make his brain try to skip over it. He tried very hard to pay attention, because they were God's own words, but he was still mentally tired, especially in trying to live up to God's own words.
He pulled himself back to the conversation. "What?"
"We have to give an account, Pudge. For the hope that we have. Haven't you ever seen that verse?"
"Yes, I have. Of course I have. You know I have. But Ace, Ronny didn't ask for an account of my hope."
"But what if he had?"
"Then I would have given him one. You know I would be ready at all times, Ace."
"I'm not so sure. You weren't ready then," Ace shot back confrontationally. It was Ace's way of "holding you accountable."
Pudge hated when Ace doubted his faithfulness. He had said something once, and received the "as iron sharpens iron" verse. Pudge's mind glazed over the memory of that verse.
"Ronny probably would have thrown the tire iron at me if I'd said anything!" Pudge snapped, sitting straight up in bed.
"Well, then, you--" Ace began, then cut himself off abruptly.
Pudge could read his mind. He knew that though Ace wanted the honor of being persecuted for his beliefs, he would probably not volunteer willingly or unnecessarily to take a tire iron to the head. "I know you think I could have been persecuted for my beliefs, but I don't think that would have done any good, Ace. Ronny knows what we believe, and he has a chance to come to our church anytime. He knows he's welcome there, we've told him before."
"That was years ago, Pudge."
"I know he remembers. And I was wearing one of my Christian t-shirts."
"Which one?"
"'Abreadcrumb & Fish'" Pudge quoted.
"He might not have got it."
"Well, it doesn't matter, because I'm taking my car to Ronny to be changed, and I'm going to give him a gospel tract then!" Pudge blurted out. Now that he said it out loud, he thought it was a brilliant plan. And though it made it sound as if his car wore a diaper, it also shut Ace up.
"Okay. I'm going with you."
Ace would ruin everything. "I want to do this alone."
"Pudge, it's Sodomburg." There was that tone again. The nearby town was a den of sin and corruption because it had several bars and clubs, and the stores were open on Sundays. It was medium-sized, though bigger than Highland City. "Christians can't go there alone. It's too tempting. And Jesus said to go out two by two."
Pudge's heart sank. He felt guilty for just wanting to be "normal," for once, and Ace would screw everything up. Ronny would hate him if he brought Ace. And a little part of him just wanted to be free of everyone's "accountability;" he wanted to relax and not have to witness, "confess Christ," or prove his devotion among believers for once.
But he couldn't argue with Scripture. There was no way to get out of it. "Okay," he said finally. "I'll make an appointment tomorrow."
"I'll make the appointment for you. I have their number."
"How do you know..."
"They have good prices, and I have to shine the light of Jesus to them," he said defensively. "I'll make your appointment. They know me there."
"Okay," he almost sighed. Pudge wondered if Ace went alone to the mechanic's in Sodomburg. "Good night, Ace."
"Good night, Pudge." Ace was using his spiritual tone, as if speaking to a new believer, which Pudge obviously was not. "God bless."
Pudge took several deep breaths after hanging up. There was an all-too-familiar feeling in his sternum as though his thymus was shrinking. He had to get out of the appointment. He knew he shouldn't care what the world thought of him, but for some reason he cringed when he thought of being embarrassed in front of Ronny. He shouldn't be embarrassed by the gospel, but when Ace shared it, he somehow was.
He had to get out of it. But he couldn't--not without being humiliated in front of Ace and possibly his whole church. And even going along with it, he still had to find a way to plausibly give the spare tire "back" to Ronny, or Ace would know he was lying. He was doomed. Either way, he was doomed.

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