Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 10:32:07 EDT
From: Gryffindor6698@aol.com
Subject: Center Stage - Chapter Six

The following is a complete work of fiction.

Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is
completely coincidental.  Please do not copy or distribute the story
without the author's permission.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations between consenting
adults.  If it is illegal for you to read this please leave now.

Thank you to everyone that has written to me!  I appreciate and love all
the feedback I have received.  I am trying to answer as much as I can.

Thank you to my editor for looking over this chapter!!!!

If you enjoyed this story please check out my first story, City Of Dreams,
listed under the Adult Friends Section or you can check out the yahoo group
where all the chapters of City and Center Stage can be found.  That address
is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/City-Of-Dreams.  Please feel free to send
any feedback or comments through the group or you can send it directly to
Gryffindor6698@aol.com.  Please just remember to add something in the
subject line so I know it's not Spam.  Enjoy!

Previously:

Once again there was a loud pounding on my door.

"CAMERON OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW!  I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU!"

I rushed passed Ariel and grabbed my phone off the table.

"I'm calling the cops asshole! You better get the fuck out of here!"

I screamed over my shoulder.  I pushed the talk button on the phone and
waited for the dial tone.  I wasn't able to get a dial tone.  This phone
was a fucking piece of shit!  I hit the button a few times and I got the
same result.

"FUCK!!!  I can't get a fucking dial tone.  Why isn't this piece of shit
working??"

I slammed the phone down and heard Ariel's voice over my shoulder.

"That's because I unplugged it from the wall."

I laughed.  Leave it Ariel to try and fuck around at a time like this.

"You are so not funny..."

I turned around and my voice caught in my throat.  Fear froze me in place
and I couldn't move.  I was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Chapter Six

I've always heard the expression 'like a deer caught in headlights' but I
never truly understood the meaning of it until this exact moment.  Time
seemed to slow down. I could feel myself stop breathing.  There is no way
this is fucking possible.  It is supposed to be Lucas.  He's supposed to be
the crazy nut job that's been harassing me.  I could practically hear the
theme song to The Twilight Zone playing through my head.  What the fuck is
going on?  Ariel's face was as cold and hard as the gun she was holding in
her hand.  Her voice had an edge to it.

"I want you to sit down.  I would suggest no sudden movements on your part
either.  We don't want this gun to go off accidentally now do we?  Of
course that doesn't mean I don't intend to use it either.  Now SIT."

She motioned me back towards the couch and I plopped myself down.  My brain
was going a mile a minute.  How is this even possible?  I would have never
in a million years expected this.

"Why Ariel?  What have I ever done to you?"

Ariel sat down opposite me and crossed her legs.  She continued to keep the
gun pointed directly at me.

"This has nothing to do with you Cameron.  You just happened to be an
unfortunate pawn in this whole thing.  I tried to warn you though.  How
many times I tried to keep you out of his way, but did you ever listen?
Nooooo.  You had to crack through his shell.  You had to bring happiness
back into his life.  I never thought anyone would be able to get through to
that self-serving son of a bitch.  I can't believe I underestimated you."

Recognition dawned on me.  All the conversations we had.  I thought she was
just being a friend and trying to keep me from getting hurt, but she was
really trying to keep me from getting through to him.  I looked over at
her.

"This is all about Zack isn't it?  Why?"

A very unladylike snort came from Ariel.

"Why?  You've obviously never had to live in the shadow of someone else.
Can you even imagine what it would be like to have someone like Zack as an
older brother?  So fucking successful.  So fucking smart.  I have to live
up to that expectation for anyone that knows we are related.  They see the
things that he is capable of and they fucking expect the same, if not
better results, from me."

"So you're holding me at gun point because you're jealous of Zack?"

Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared.

"No my dear Cameron.  That is why I am going to kill you."

My eyes widened in absolute fear.  She was holding me at gunpoint, but I
honestly didn't expect to actually die.  Don't ask me why.  For some
strange reason I just figured she wanted to scare me.  I didn't think she
was actually capable of murder.  Then again she did unplug my phone and
come over here with a gun.

"Do you really think you can get away with this Ariel?"

Her mirthless laugh echoed through the room.

"Oh I know I am going to get away with it Cameron.  I'm going to make sure
all the blame gets passed to sweet Lucas.  It was just a stroke of luck for
me that he came pounding on your door tonight.  It's a good thing I was
here to witness you letting him in.  Even though I tried to stop him from
shooting you I just couldn't.  He was too big and strong for little ole
me."

I gazed at her with pure hatred on my face.

"Zack will know.  He said they found a match for the fingerprint.  I am
sure they have figured it all out you twisted bitch."  Ariel leapt up from
her seat.  She continued to keep the gun pointed directly at my chest.

"I would be careful what you say sweet thing.  You need to remember which
one of us has the gun.  You are going to die, but if you don't watch your
fucking mouth you might die sooner than I have planned.  Understand?"

By this point she was standing almost directly in front of me, but out of
my reach if I wanted to try and disarm her.  I heard an ear piercing howl
come from my bedroom.  Obviously Madison knew something was wrong, but she
couldn't figure out what since she was trapped in the room.

"It's a good thing your pup is put away.  I am sure she would cause all
kinds of problems, and I really wasn't looking forward to hurting her."

The thought of Madison getting hurt made me sick to my stomach.  I was glad
that she was locked up in the bedroom.

"You really think you are going to get away with this?"  I looked deep into
her eyes.  I expected to see some sign of the craziness that was lurking in
her head.  What I saw though frightened me even more.  There was nothing
crazy about her.  She was very calm and serious.  Ariel obviously planned
this out well.  "What about the fingerprint Ariel?"

"Cameron if they would have looked close enough my fingerprints are over
all of the notes.  That doesn't prove anything though.  You let me read all
of them.  Of course my fingerprints would be on them."

My eyes closed as a long shuddering sigh was released from my lungs.  She
was right.  I did let her handle the notes.  Could that mistake ruin
everything?  Wait a God damn minute.  That wasn't a mistake.  How could I
have known at the time that she was this super crazy uber douche bag?  I
opened my eyes and met hers with a hard look.  Ariel took a step back and
cocked the gun.  The sound of the metal hammer clicking into place nearly
made me piss my pants.  I had to find a way to distract her before she
actually fires.

"Why Ariel?"

A cold, calculating grin appeared on her face.

"Why not Cameron?"  "What did Zack do to you to make you hate him so much?"
I tried to take a calming breath.  If I could keep her talking maybe I
could find a way out of this.  "I know he's an asshole and a total bastard
sometimes but..."

"You don't know anything you faggot!"

There was such malice and anger in her voice the air rushed out of my
lungs.  It was almost like she had hit me.

"Do you have any clue what it's like to be the younger sister of
perfection?"

My mouth moved but no sound came out.

"Answer me you stupid mother fucker!"

Before I even knew what happened I felt a sharp, excruciating pain rip
through the side of my head.  I was barely able to hang on to
consciousness.  My eyesight was starting to clear and I could see Ariel
standing in front of me.  She must have hit me with the butt of the gun.
How the fuck did she move that fast?  I put my hand up to feel the area
where she cold cocked me.  As I pulled my hand back I could feel the sticky
wetness on it.  I glanced at my hand and saw the blood that was running
down my palm and onto my arm.  I was barely able to stop myself from
emptying the contents of my stomach.  Ariel sat back down opposite of me.

"Let's try this again.  Remember that punishment.  If you forget to answer
me again then you die."  She leaned back but kept the gun carefully aimed
at me.  "Do you have any clue what it's like to be the younger sister of
perfection?"

I looked at her and shook my head.

"Well then sweetie let me tell you what it's like.  Nothing I ever did was
good enough for my parents.  Why is that?  I'm sure you're asking yourself
that.  I asked myself that for so many years.  I finally figured out why.
Zachary.  You see everything he did was fucking perfect.  He had a 4.0
grade point average.  Zack was student body president for three years.  He
was the valedictorian for his high school and college graduating class.
Zack had everything going for him, and I had to live in his shadow every
day of my fucking life."

By now I could feel the blood as it ran down the side of my face.  I was
feeling a bit lightheaded, but I was using all my strength to stay focused
and awake.  "You poor baby.  You had a tough childhood."  I know that I
shouldn't have been egging her on, but if she was going to kill me then I
wasn't going to go silently.  "Everyone has had tough times in our lives.
So the fuck what?"

Ariel frowned at me and held the gun up a bit more.

"Now Cameron I though you had better manners than that.  Settle down. I
don't want to have to teach you another lesson."  Ariel's face became a
hard mask again.  "I have to admit that I never thought the mighty Zachary
would ever have a weakness, but it seemed that luck would be on my side.  I
found out a dirty little secret that he was hiding.  I found out he was
gay."

The memory of this caused a look of pure glee shine from Ariel's face.  I
could feel my stomach swell again.  This was disgusting.

"Who else could he confide in?  His sweet younger sister of course!  Zack
poured his heart out to me.  It would have been rather touching if I didn't
hate the cock-loving bastard.  I offered as much support as I could, but I
bided my time and waited for the perfect opportunity.  It didn't take long
for the opportunity to present itself."

She stopped talking and looked at me with a questioningly look.  Obviously
she wanted me to figure this part out for myself.  It took a moment before
I realized what opportunity she was talking about.

"Lucas."  I said as I wiped some of the blood that was dripping from my
face.  "So you got lucky when Zack met Lucas?  Big fucking deal."

"Lucky?"  Ariel cackled.  "There was no luck involved in their meeting
Cameron darling.  Who do you think introduced the two of them?"

"What?"  I attempted to keep the shock from my voice, but it didn't work.
"You introduced the two of them?"

She nodded her head proudly.

"I have to admit that it was by far one of the best parts of my 'destroy
Zack' plan.  Lucas may appear smart, but manipulating him was like moving
checkers around the board.  I was able to orchestrate Zack's coming out and
the backlash that came from our family.  If it wasn't for me I bet most of
the family would have been okay with it, but I couldn't have that, now
could I?"  "You twisted piece of fucking..."

The sound of a gunshot echoing through the room silenced me.  I didn't feel
any pain, but maybe my body had gone into shock. I glanced down and sighed
with relief to find that she didn't hit me.  As I glanced to my right
though I could see a hole in the couch about chest high.

"From this point on Cameron if you don't talk nicely to me then I am not
going to play with you anymore. Besides time is running out.  If you want
to hear the rest of this I suggest you be a bit more pleasant.  I don't
want you to die without knowing how much trouble I've had to go through.
Now where was I?"  Ariel tapped a finger on her lips as if she was in deep
thought.  "Ah yes.  Okay.  So I effectively alienated Zack from all of our
family.  I thought at first that would be good enough, but then I realized
that he still had some happiness.  He was still with Lucas.  Zack thought
Lucas was his true love.  That's so sweet isn't it?  It's just to die for."

The last sentence passed over her lips with an icy malice I didn't think
any human was capable of.  It was in that moment that reality had finally
settled in.  I was going to die here.  There is nothing that will stop her
from killing.  Obviously the psycho made sure she always got her way.
Ariel began her rambling again.

"Of course I couldn't allow his happiness to continue. That wouldn't really
suit my plans at all.  So I got Lucas really drunk one night.  I let a
friend of mine into their apartment and helped get Lucas into bed.  Zack
came home later that night and found the two of them in bed together.
Nothing happened, but he certainly didn't know that.  If you could have
heard the fight they had Cameron!!  It was totally scrumptious!  I have to
say that it was really a stroke of genius on my part.  So poor little
Prince Charming retreated back behind the walls of his castle.  It didn't
take him much time to look for something to fill the void.  Luckily for me
it was CSP that filled the void, and of course he gave his wonderfully
talented supportive sister a phenomenal job.  Things went so smoothly from
that point on.  I thought everything was right on track, but then my plan
encountered a huge snag."

"I'm guessing that I was the snag?"

"BING BING BING!  Chuck tell the man what he's won!"  Ariel said in her
best game show host impersonation.  "Yes you were the snag in my plans.  I
didn't expect you to last long at all.  No one else could put up with his
shit. How was I to know that you were a resilient little fucker?  You
totally flew under my radar.  I kept trying to guide you away from him, but
you just wouldn't give up.  You should have listened to me Cammy."

"What did you call me?"

Ariel smirked.

"Did you honestly think Zack would share such intimate information with
Lucas?  I was the one that told Lucas about that night with you and Zack on
the couch.  And you didn't take my advice either. Right before I left you I
told you not to do anything fucking stupid.  And of course you went ahead
and told Zack that you loved him.  I still can't believe that you did that.
Honestly I am even more shocked that the pig fucker even admitted that he
loved you back."

Can any of this even be possible?  How could I have totally misjudged
Ariel?  Why didn't I see her for the manipulative bitch that she really is?
Then again she's obviously had years to cultivate her skills.  I bet even a
detective couldn't puzzle this out.  Where the fuck is Matlock when you
need him?  Shit he's probably down at the fishing hole with Opie and Aunt
Bee.  Concentrate Cameron!  You need to distract her.  It may be the only
way you can escape.  It was almost like she was reading my mind.

"You're not going to escape Cameron.  You are right where I want you.  The
only way you are leaving this apartment is in a coroner's black bag.  So
don't get any crazy ideas that someone is going to save you.  It's just you
and me kid."

"You won't get away with this Ariel.  You are..." It was difficult to
continue speaking.  The room was starting to shift and sway a bit. "You are
going to get caught."

"Who is going to catch me Cam?  I've already taken care of you and your
pesky dog.  Face it sweetie.  I've won.  Your death will send Zack back
into his shell. Luckily I will be there to comfort him, and then it will
just be a matter of time before I take care of him as well.  Of course I
will have to take over CSP.  It seems like I will be making out pretty well
don't you think?"

"I'm fixin to knock your ass into next week bitch, and next Thursday I'll
kick your ass again."  If I was going to die then I certainly wasn't going
to go quietly.  "You're nothing but a whiny, spoiled, pouting whore who
couldn't..."

"SHUT UP!!!"  Ariel screamed as she stood up.  The gun was shaking in her
hand.  "It's sudden death time Cammy.  Two minute warning!  Wait a minute.
Who am I kidding?  I doubt you understand any of these sports sayings
anyways.  A poor little fag like you wouldn't know shit about sports.
Right?"

"I understand you completely Ariel."  I said as I slowly pushed myself up
into a standing position. "What I don't understand is how a dumb fucking
cunt like you could have pulled something this elaborate off?"

"Time to die Cameron.  I would say it's been fun, but we know that would be
a lie.  No one can save you now."

Ariel pointed the gun at my head.

"I can save him."

Both of heads snapped to the voice that was coming from the hallway.
Lucas!  How the fuck did he get in the apartment?

"How the fuck did you get in here?"  I yelled at him.  I sighed and rolled
my eyes.  "It would just be my luck that Dudley Do-right shows up instead
of Superman."

"I climbed down the fire escape.  Luckily the window in your bedroom was
unlocked, and I was able to climb in."  Lucas said.

He lifted his arm up and pointed a gun at Ariel.  Oh fucking great!  I'm
bleeding and trapped in a room with an asshole and a psycho.  If I live
through this I am calling Ripley's Believe It Or Not.  I'd rather be
trapped in a room with Charles Manson and Hannibal Lector.  If dumb mother
fuckers could fly then my living room would be an airport.

"Attention K-Mart shoppers!"  Ariel said with a cackle in her voice.
"There's a two for one special in Cam's living room!  This is even better
than I planned!  I can kill both of you and still frame Lucas.  I must have
been a good girl this year because Santa decided to give me my presents
early!"

A thought suddenly occurred to me.  If Lucas came out of my bedroom, then
where the hell was Madison?  I locked her in there earlier tonight. I would
bet a million dollars that she is biding her time and is going to attempt a
lassie-like rescue.  Please let that dog have some common sense for once in
her life.

"The cops are already on their way Ariel.  Do you really think that no one
heard that gunshot earlier?  Why didn't you just hang a sign out the window
that said 'Psycho Killer Here!"

"Wow Lucas. You had an actual thought for once in your life."  The sound of
gunfire echoed through the room again.  Lucas jerked backwards and fell to
the floor.  He didn't move. "Too bad it was your last thought."

I was slowly trying to back away from Ariel, but I bumped into the coffee
table.  She spun towards me.

"Don't go anywhere Cameron!  You and I have some unfinished business."  She
took a step towards me with a maniacal smile on her face.  "Since Lucas is
out of the way I think it's your turn to die.  It looks like your luck has
run out.  Good bye Cameron."

Everything moved in slow motion.  Ariel's arm slowly swung up in front of
her.  She aimed the gun at my chest.  Just as I saw her finger tense on the
trigger I caught a blur of motion out of the corner of my eye.  Madison!
Just as Ariel was about to fire Madison leapt towards her and she bit
Ariel's arm. I heard the gun recoil one more time and suddenly everything
went black.

* * * * * * * * * *

Zack's Point Of View

It was a cloudy day as I stood in the cemetery.  The wind whipped through
the air and it brought a slight chill with it.  I didn't bother trying to
close my coat though.  I was still numb.  I looked down at the freshly
covered grave and my eyes stung with unshed tears.  I felt like I should be
crying, but I just couldn't.  So much has happened in the past three days,
and I spent most of that time crying my eyes out.  Memories flashed through
my head.

I remembered sitting on the floor in the middle of Cameron's living room.
My arms wrapped around his barely breathing body.  Blood covered both of
us.  His blood.  A chill ran through my body.  There was blood running down
his beautiful face from a gash in his head.  There was also blood all over
his chest.  He had been shot in the shoulder.  The paramedics were barely
able to pry me away from him.  I didn't want to let him go.

I rushed out of my meeting earlier that night because I got a call from one
of the police detectives.  They matched the fingerprint they found to
Ariel, my own sister.  It wasn't a surprise that her fingerprints were on
the letters.  Mine were too.  The detective wasn't talking about a print on
the letters though.  They found her print on one of the envelopes.  I knew
that no one but Cameron had touched the envelopes.  I tried to get to Cam's
place as fast as I could, but the traffic wasn't cooperating.  When I
finally was able to rush into the apartment the site that greeted my eyes
made my blood run cold.

Lucas' body was sprawled in the hallway.  He was shifting slightly on the
floor.  I could barely hear the groans coming from him. Ariel was backed
into a corner of the living room with a very pissed off Madison snarling
and howling at her.  I could see a pair of legs sticking out from behind
the couch.  I ran over and found Cameron's unconscious body there.  His
breathing was very ragged and I was barely able to feel a pulse.  I
couldn't help the scream that erupted from my throat.  Madison spun around
to find out what the source of the sound was.  As soon as she saw me she
came running towards me.  She quietly barked at me.  That had always been
Madison's way of greeting me.  She leaned forward and gently licked at
Cam's face.  A whining sound filled the room and that made my heart break
even more.

I heard a pair of feet shuffling in the room.  My head jerked up and I saw
Ariel trying to get up.  She finally was able to stand up and she started
towards the door.  I was just about to yell at her to stop, but Madison was
faster than I was.  She took off towards Ariel.  Just as Ariel was reaching
the door Madison darted in front of her and successfully tripped Ariel.
Ariel's head connected with the wall with a sickening thud as she fell.
Her body hit the floor and she didn't move.  I couldn't believe any of this
was happening.  This was not fair!  I finally found Cam and he was being
taken away from me!

I still to this day cannot fathom why Ariel would do any of this.  She was
always so supportive and wonderful to me.  Whenever my life was at its
darkest moments she was always there to comfort me.  Maybe one day I will
be able to understand what made her do this, but it will most likely be far
in the future.  I was not looking forward to the future.  Ariel might have
hit her head when she fell, but it didn't kill her.  She was just knocked
unconscious.  Ariel is currently in custody and awaiting her trial.  I was
required to testify.  I am not looking forward to it at all, but she has to
pay for what she did.  I hope she burns in hell.

My eyes once again looked down and focused on the grave.  Suddenly
everything the reality of the last few days finally set in.  Sure I knew
what was going on, but the full impact of it just hit me.  I couldn't stop
the tears the blinded my vision.  My body was overcome with emotion.  I
felt a pair of arms wrap around my body.  I turned and buried my head into
the strong chest that was there.  I felt a hand run through my hair.

"It's ok Zack.  Let it all out.  I know he was your first love.  I can't
believe you haven't cried more than this.  Don't bottle up your emotions.
I'm here for you."

I took a few calming breaths and tried to compose myself.

"He wasn't my first love."

I got a raised eyebrow in return.

"What do you mean Zack?  I thought..."

I shook my head.

"He wasn't my first love.  You are."

My body shook as I felt his lips against mine.  His tongue pushed into my
mouth and took full possession of me.  I wrapped my arms around his waist.
Our lips broke apart and we looked at each other.

"Let's go back to your place Zack."

I sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you?  It's our place Cameron, and besides
mister, you have to go back to the hospital.  That was the deal. Remember?"

Cameron's face lit up with a smile that was so beautiful I could feel my
heart burn with the love I had for him.  He put his arm around my shoulder
and we started back towards the car.  I glanced back one more time at the
grave.  Lucas's grave.  He might not have been the most wonderful person in
the world, but he didn't deserve this.  No one deserved this.  Except maybe
Ariel.  As we walked back towards the car I helped keep Cameron steady. He
had been unconscious for most of the time he was in the hospital.  He
actually just woke up late last night.  He found out the funeral was today
and demanded he be released to come with me.  I had to take him back to the
hospital right away, but the doctors said he would be fine.  Luckily the
bullet hadn't hit anything major.

 The problem that Cameron faced was the massive amount of blood that he
lost.  That is why he was unconscious for so long.  Normally the doctors
would have been able to get the blood bank to provide blood, but Cameron is
O negative.  O negative is considered the universal donor blood. Anyone can
receive O negative blood, but a person with O negative blood can only
receive O negative blood.  The blood bank didn't have the quantity of blood
that Cameron needed.  Dale, Sydney, and I were all tested.  Dale and Sydney
stayed with me most of the time at the hospital to keep me company.  They
made sure that one of them was always there with me.  It seems that fate
was going to shine upon us again.  It turns out that I was O negative.  I
couldn't wait to tell Cameron about it.

I think that he would be pretty happy to find out that my blood was
actually running through his body.  I know that it meant a lot to me.  I
felt more bonded to him than I ever did before.  We haven't had the chance
to really talk much since he woke up last night.  We mainly just clung to
each other and cried.  As we approached the car Madison was jumping around
in the backseat and barking her head off.  I don't know who was more
excited that Cameron was ok, her or me?  Okay.  I think I edged her out
just a bit.

I walked Cameron around to the passenger side and opened the door for me.
Before he climbed in I felt his arms wrap around me.  We hung onto each
other.  What would I have done if I had lost Cameron?  I didn't even want
to think about it.

"I love you Zack.  With all of my heart and soul I love you."

I gently kissed his lips.

"I love you too Cameron.  You are everything to me."

Cameron gently got back in to the car and I closed to door.  I made my way
around to the driver's side.  I stopped before getting in and looked back
towards the graves again.

'Rest in peace Lucas.'  I thought as I slide into the car and headed back
towards the hospital.  Lucas was one of the first people I ever cared
deeply about.  This was an end to a part of my life.  Cameron's hand
reached over laced his fingers through mine.  I glanced over at him and
smiled.  Life may have given me one ending, but fate gave me another
beginning.  I gently squeezed Cameron's hand and thanked God for the
millionth time today for allowing Cameron to stay with me.  In just a few
days he would be released from the hospital.  We decided this morning that
Cameron would move in with me.  He couldn't go back to live in his
apartment.  Of course Madison would be coming along too.  I was looking
forward to that.  I still can't believe that Madison decided to like me.

The past few days were hell.  I did put to rest a part of my past, but I
had a bright future to look forward to with the man that I love.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

That's it for chapter six everyone! I am REALLY sorry for the wait. I've
been getting killed at work doing major overtime AGAIN.  No cliffhanger
though!

If I had had another cliffhanger then I would have had to buy a chocolate
company for Susan, Kath, and Becky.  Hopefully though y'all liked the
suspense.

Please feel free to send me your thoughts about the story.  If you want
check out my Yahoo group where Center Stage, and my first story City Of
Dreams is at here is the address.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/City-Of-Dreams or you could email me at
Gryffindor6698@aol.com Remember to include something about the story in the
subject so I don't think it's Spam.  Until next time everyone!!!


Michael

Copyright - Gryffindor 2003