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Not to disappoint anyone, but this story still falls under the heading of wank-media

All the usual disclaimers apply. Tread with caution. The story below was first published 3 years ago in a different forum and it has been re-written. This story does not discuss the theories of nurture or nature. It is not a portrait of flamboyance. This story explores the natural occurring femininity in a boy. He has done nothing wrong, he just is. More importantly, this story is about a guileless boy's existence in a world that is perplexed and sometimes even hostile to something both alien and vulnerable in their midst.

The Boy Who Wasn't

by Chance  all rights reserved

The Brothers

A better TV appeared in the room.  Occasionally Barney would drop by with practical gifts.  He brought over a mini refrigerator and a fan to put in the window.  He gave Josey a long sleeved plaid shirt with snaps for buttons.  It was just like the ones Barney wore.  Josey politely said, thank you,  but never tried it on.

Taking a commanding position in the middle of the small room, Barney announced with authority, "We've got to figure out how to get Josiah back into school!"

Jennifer agreed giving Barney's, hands on approach, credibility.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going out to get cigarettes."

Her intention was to retreat and allow Josey to experience a man to man talk with Barney. He pulled up a chair and placed it next to the half dressed and reclining boy. Josey spread out, had a prolonged stretch and only then, sat up giving Barney attention.

"Josey, do you have any idea what you want to do with your life?"

Josey made a vague effort at being polite but Barney was speaking a foreign language.

"Um...not really."

"You need to start thinking about these things before it is too late. I just transferred my two boys over to the technical high school so that they can learn a trade. Have you thought about doing anything like that?"

For reasons that he didn't fully understand, he just didn't like Barney. They were just so different.

"Not really, I mean, no, I haven't thought about anything like that."

"Well what do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"So, you plan to lay around, half naked everyday and let other people pay all the bills?"

"Josey gave Barney a guilty but endearing smile. "I guess so."

The sight of it just irritated the shit out of Barney and his temper was beginning to well up. 

"If you were my kid I'd beat the fucking shit out of you!"

Josey recoiled giving him a hurt and puzzled frown.

He caught himself and for a moment, just as his plain looking face was beginning to turn red with exasperation, it was then that Josey saw the real Barney.

Angrily he said, "Tell your mother that I'll see her this evening!"

With that Barney left the small apartment in a huff.

~

Jennifer returned with soda and chips. 

"What happened to Barney?  Oh, that's right, he had some kinda of job he had to do."

She never mentioned the man to man talk.  

Jennifer gave Josey a hug, "Can you keep a secret?"

The boy listened.

"I think Barney wants to marry me. What do you think?"

The shock at hearing this physically went through his body.  If he had been standing, he might have collapsed in a faint. 

She was unaware of the effect it had on Josey. "I'm sorry I've been going out so much."

She also had no idea that her absence had given Josey an opportunity to go out too. He always made sure he got back before she did and now, a rift between them had suddenly formed.

He let his mother talk.

"Josey honey, I'm tired of moving around and worrying about not having the rent and I want a stable life for you so you can go back to school and I can't face ending back on the street.  Oh fuck, do you remember when we were homeless in Bakersfield? I never want to go through that again. Life has been too hard."

Josey asked a crucial question. "Do you really love him?"

She didn't say anything but Josey knew the dye was cast when she said,  "We might move over the his place in Culver City."

The newly installed phone rang.  Jennifer got up to answer it and Josey slipped out the door.

~

They're all gone today but in 1990 there was a bank of pay phones down stairs at the front desk. Josey dialed the number. 

A man answered. "Yeah?"

Josey's voice was trembling. "Is Clark there?"

"Naw, he's not here. Who should I say is callin?"

Josey quickly hung up. 

Afterwards, he walked down to Sunset where he had gradually made a circle of friends. Spike was around but they ignored each other.

A kid named Devon called out to him. “Hey Josey!”

He felt increasingly at home with the street kids that hung out on the boulevard.

He was spending more and more time there and was beginning to make some friends.

~

Barney's house had a lawn but the grass was dead.  So was the Arabian palm that towered over the small house.  Jennifer and Josey had come over to see where Barney lived.  It was also an opportunity to meet his two boys that were down for the weekend.

"I'm not wastin expensive food on you scum bags, I ordered Mexican food and Jennifer and me are going out to the Olive Garden."

Eddie was the tall one and Richie was the shorter one. They both had acne.  The two boys were quiet and subdued around their father.  They called him..Sir, and he affectionately called them, scumbags.  Josey kept getting the two names muddled up in his mind but he would soon learn the difference.

"We'll be back by mid-night and don't burn the house down. 

Josey thought his laugh is so stupid.

The door shut and Josey found himself alone with the two boys.

The shorter boy looked at Josey. His expression was mean and unattractive. He looked over at the taller one, smiled and then back.  They moved closer to Josey.

Early on it was apparent that Richie, the shorter one, did a lot of the talking. 

He was cocky and confrontational. "Do you think you can beat me in a fight?"

He put up his fists and pranced threateningly back and forth in front of Josey.

Josey was not equipped for this kind of encounter.

"Well, what-ya think?"

Josey looked from one to the other. "No I never been in a fight."

Richie threw a fake punch that stopped short of hitting Josey.

"Answer me one question,..Are you a faggot?"

Eddie, the taller one moved closer and said, "Yeah, are you a faggot?  You look like one."

"Come on, tell us, are you a faggot?  We won't tell nobody." They both laughed.

The two boys trapped him in a corner.  His body vibrated with fear.

"You ever fuck a girl?"  

The fear showed in his face. Josey managed to say no.

"What?  You mean to tell me you never fucked a girl?".

Richie said, "Well that means you must be a fuckin faggot."

His brother chimed in, "Yeah, you're a fuckin faggot aren't ya?"

They were getting considerable pleasure out of terrorizing Josey.  It was bordering on sexual bloodlust.  When Josey looked into each of their mean and twisted faces he saw Barney's face.  These boys were his creation.

A sense of real and accelerating danger hung in the small room.

"Hey, you suck dick? I know you do.  Tell us how you do it, we wanna know."

"Yeah, you like to get fucked in the mouth?"

Eddie moved in back of Josey and Richie came closer menacing him.  Josey put his hand up to hold him back.

"Hey, don't fucking touch me you faggot!  I'll fuck you up good!"

The doorbell rang. It was the Mexican food delivery. Josey pushed past the delivery boy and ran down the street as fast as he could. 

When he knew he was far enough away he hid in an alley and started to cry. 

~

Josey looked at the crumpled piece of paper and put a coin in the payphone.

"Hi, is Clark there?"

"Yeah, this is he.  Who is this?"

"It's  Josiah."

"Well, Josiah, refresh my memory, I don't remember any Josiah."

 "We met in the movies. They was showin Ghost, remember?"

"You must mean I picked you up in the movies"  There was a pause.

"Oh, yeah, I remember you, really cute blond. What's up?"

"I don't know, I just called you up to see if you remembered me is all, I'm sorry I bothered you."

Josey was about to hang-up.

"Hey, what's goin on with you. Do you want to get together and do something?"

The boy was relieved that he remembered him and that he was even interested.  "Um, ok."

"Where can I pick you up?"

"I'm in Venice.  At the circle where the Post office is."

"Sure, I'll be there in 20 minutes."

To Be Continued

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