Challenges

Part XI

***

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Again, all places are real, the people are not. The only sex in this story is alluded to, and not actually described.

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Matt (Socks)

*** Modern Day ***

Justin drove up to his house, and looked at the clock: 6:30. The good news: Matt's car was still sitting in the driveway. The bad news: He was late for dinner and had not called his mom to let her know he was going to be late. While he did not live there anymore, his mother still liked to keep the rules. He would probably hear about this one.

He walked into the dinning room where all were sitting around the table eating. His father looked up and motioned towards the chair that was vacant left to him. This was going to be bad, as he was not smiling.

"Hey Uncle Justin." Chris said in a cheerful voice as he saw him walk in. "We missed you. Where ya been?"

"At a friend's house." Justin ruffled Chris's hair as he sat down. "I am sorry I did not call."

"What friend?" his mother forced the words out of her mouth.

"Nate." Justin said, grabbing the bowl of mashed potatoes.

"Did you fix things?" Matt asked before his mother could say something.

"Yes." Justin grinned. "I think we are okay now."

"Good." Lori responded, looking him over. She giggled a bit. "I am hoping it went well."

"Lori!" Matt hissed at her. He could see the disheveled look Justin had, and could tell what kind of make up the two of them had. No need for his mother to notice as well.

"I don't understand what it is you see in him." Justin's mom said not seeming to notice or care. "He has found a good woman to take care of him, and you need to do the same."

Justin coughed on his drink. The whole table turned to look at Justin but Chris seemed oblivious to what was going on.

"What?" Justin's dad asked.

"Well," Justin looked at the table and swallowed hard. "There is no wedding. They have decided not to have it."

"What did you do?!" Justin's mom said, throwing her fork on the table. "You could not leave well enough alone. You had to go and stick your nose in their happiness."

"I did nothing." Justin said calmly. "Nate wanted to talk to me, and I obliged him. He wanted forgiveness for what he did, and I forgave him."

"Why should you forgive him?" His mother went on. "You two were in a relationship that was not appropriate. He left you because he found the love of a woman. You, on the other hand, had to go and ruin it." She was furious. "I always assumed it was Nate who turned you. But now I see it is you who turned him." She turned towards Lori and Matt as she let her fury explode. "I am not sure why you two allow your son to be associated with and be around such sinful behavior. If your son turns out normal it will be a miracle!"

She turned and stormed out of the dining room, leaving everyone speechless. Chris was looking around, not sure what the conversation was about.

"What does she mean normal?" He asked in only the way an innocent child would ask.

"It's okay bud." Justin answered by putting his arm around him. "You are fine."

Matt and Lori looked at each other and then at Justin, and finally at his dad. His dad was sitting there with his fork still in his hand, and some food on it. He seemed just as shocked as everyone around him. He laid his fork down, and stood up and followed his wife.

Matt looked at Justin and motioned his head to go into the living room to have a conversation. Justin got up and walked to the living room with Matt close behind.

"So what happened?" Matt said as they both took a seat on the couch. Justin looked at his hands and sighed hard.

"You were right. I should never have gone for revenge. I should never have said the things I did." Justin sighed hard. "I told her what we had done in a crude way. Unfortunately she did not know about it, claimed Nate lied, and that he could have gotten her sick, and ended it." He recounted the rest of the story, and what culminated in them making love in the shower, and then again in the bed.

"Well," Matt said, "I figured something like that happened. You look like you had a roll in the hay per-say." He laughed. "Are you two getting back together?"

"No." Justin said with a smile. "I got closure, he got his forgiveness, and we can move on. I think we will be friends, but nothing more."

Matt reached around and hugged Justin.

"I am glad you got to that point." He pulled him in closer. "But dude, you smell like sex."

*** 15 years ago ***

"I can't believe it." Nate said as they sat in Justin's car in the school parking lot.

"I am sorry." Justin said grinning. He had just told Nate about the events with Cody.

"Sorry?" Nate said, looking over. "I have wanted to run my hands over his body for a long time, and here you are able to lay with him for almost a full hour!"

"I thought you would be jealous."

"Jealous? Hell yes. I wish you would have told me so I could have joined!" Nate laughed.

"It was so cute." Justin said, looking out over the parking lot. "He looked so vulnerable, and so unsure. I think he really wants to be with Grayson, but at the same time he wasn't sure."

"Is he going to hang with us?"

"I think so. He wants time to spend with us, and get to know Grayson."

They kissed before getting out of the car and headed towards the school.

"Hey guys!" Cody said, running up behind them.

"Hey Cody." Nate said with a grin and looked him up and down. "All those days I just…."

"Nate!" Justin said before he said too much. "Sorry Cody, I had to tell him what took place last night. It was the only way I could keep my personal consciousness clear."

"It's okay." Cody said, waving his hand towards the school. They all started to walk that way. "I understand you two share everything. Me and Connie shared things too." He smiled.

They made their way to the commons area and found all their friends sitting in the usual spot. This time Mark was sitting with them. He did not always get there early enough to join them for a morning conference, but today he was.

"Hey guys." Nate said coming up. "You all know Cody Lane, correct?"

Kimberly grinned. "Who doesn't!"

Mark and Neil both said hi.

"So what does a senior want with us lowly sophomores?" Scott asked as Cody sat down next to Grayson.

"Just think Justin is a cool guy." Cody said, looking at Justin. "Plus I feel I want to get to know you all better. I know him, Nate, and Kimberly from Church, but I want to get to know their friends."

Scott shrugged his shoulders and sat silently. Justin knew there was something wrong, and he would ask Scott later.

"Hey Grayson." Cody said, turning his attention to Grayson. He slid in next to him.  Justin was sure Grayson was about to pass out that Cody was sitting that close to him.

"Hi." Grayson responded in a weak voice and turned red.

"We are going to meet at Kimberly's house tonight for a study group." Justin said quickly. He knew that not much would happen here in front of everyone. After all Cody was not only on the football team, but also the basketball team. How would it look if one of the star players were gay? "I know you don't have our classes, but we could use your insight."

"Sure!" Cody said smiling. He turned towards Grayson. "You going to be there?"

"Uh..." Grayson fidgeted in his seat. "Yes."

"Good." Cody grinned. “Won’t miss it for the world.”

"Oh my god!" Kimberly squealed. "Is it the water or something?"

Mark looked up from his book he was trying to get read before his English class. "Water?" he looked at the fountain with a curious look on his face.

"No it's Cody." She said laughing. "He is... well like our two friends here." She pointed towards Justin and Nate.

"Oh." Mark said, looking at Cody and then started nodding his head. "I see." He smiled and went back to his book.

Justin laughed as he watched Grayson's eyes grow larger. His mouth wanted to say words but nothing came out.

"We will talk tonight." Cody said, winking as he got up to head to class. "See you there."

"We will come pick you up." Nate said to Cody as he walked off. "And another one joins the dark side!"

Scott sighed and got up and walked off. Mark looked at him and followed as well. Maybe tonight he would get a chance to talk to him about what was going on..

***

That night, Justin, Cody,  and Nate, pulled up to Kimberly's house. Cody sat in the back seat and was silent the entire way. He was in his tight shirt that both Justin and Nate had a hard time not looking at.

"You ready?" Justin asked, turning around to look at Cody.

"I think so." Cody looked out the window at the house. "I am not sure what I should do."

"Be yourself." Nate said. "Just let things happen."

Justin and Nate climbed out of the car and turned to look at Cody. He was still sitting in the back car, just looking at his lap. Justin grinned at Nate.

"Reminds me of the night Matt took me to your house for our first official date." Justin whispered.

"I never saw that part." Nate walked around and joined Justin. "I bet you were adorable." He leaned over and kissed Justin on the cheek. "Just so adorable."

"Okay." Cody said getting out of the car. He closed the door and pulled on his shirt trying to get it straight. "I can do this."

"I love that shirt." Justin said laughing. "I want to just..."

Nate poked him in the ribs. "You look great Cody. You will do fine."

They went up to the door and Nate knocked on the door. They waited a few moments before Kimberly opened the door.

"Boys." She smiled. "I hope we are doing fine." She grinned when she saw Cody's shirt. "And some of us look fine."

Cody blushed and walked in behind Justin and Nate. They all walked towards the living room area where they held their study groups.

"Mom and dad are gone tonight, so we are all alone." Kimberly sat down on one of the couches next to Neil. "Mom said if we want, we could order a pizza."

Justin and Nate took their seats on the couch opposite where Kimberly and Neil were sitting. Scott was sitting next to Mark on the floor. He was busy looking at the same book he was that morning. Grayson was sitting in a love seat on the opposite side of the room where they entered.

Grayson looked up and saw Cody and turned red. Justin assumed it was due to his noticing the tight shirt that Cody was wearing. He understood the amazement. Cody was well defined.

"Hey." Cody said, walking up to Grayson. Grayson scooted to the edge of the love seat to give enough room for Cody to sit next to him.

"Hey." Grayson blushed. "How are you?"

"Nervous." Cody sat down, and his large frame dwarfed Grayson.

"Me too." Grayson cracked a smile and laughed nervously.

They sat and talked about their science class for an hour. During the discussion Cody ended up putting his arm around Grayson and held him for most of the time. Grayson at first turned white and looked like he would end up fainting. Eventually he got comfortable and put his hand on Cody's chest.

By the time they were done, Justin and Nate were cuddling on the couch, and Neil was holding Kimberly.

"I think we have gotten pretty much everything done with science." Kimberly finally said. "I think we should cover the other subjects this weekend."

Scott put his stuff in his bag he brought and stood up. "I hate to study and run, but I need to take care of some things at home."

Justin frowned. "Let me walk you out." He followed Scott out the door.

"You don't have to follow me all the way." Scott said, turning around. His face looked like it was on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong?" Justin stopped. Usually he would hug someone about to cry. Scott on the other hand was a different situation. His emotions were closely guarded, and he did not like to be touched.

"I am just tired, is all." He wiped his eyes to push back the tears. "I will be okay."

"No. Something is not right." He walked up and put his arm around Scott. He would deal with the physical reaction as it came. Scott just leaned in.

"I am tired of being alone. First you and Nate, and then Kimberly and Neil, and now Grayson and Cody." He was sobbing. "I know I hold my emotions in check, and I am sarcastic. But I use it to hide my own insecurities."

Justin hugged Scott tighter and rubbed his hair. It was black and curly. Justin never considered Scott emotional, nor did he ever show this side. It was really unnerving. The one that was always calm, and logical, was now a ball of messed up emotions.

"Never thought you would want to get connected to someone like that." Justin said. Almost immediately he regretted saying that.

"I like to stay detached so people will leave me alone." Scott sobbed into Justin's shirt. "I am actually shy, and I use sarcasm to make up for it. I like people to think of me as an ass. They leave me alone."

Justin thought about that statement for a moment. He never thought of Scott as shy. In fact, Scott always spoke his mind, even when it was not what everyone wanted to hear. It was how they all became friends. Justin and Kimberly liked the outspoken nature. If they wanted to know the truth about something, Scott was the one to go too. Now Justin saw it was a facade of his real self.

"Hey look at me." Justin pushed Scott away and grabbed his head between his hands. "You are highly attractive. I think any guy or girl would be lucky to have you. You will find someone."

Justin looked into Scott's dark eyes, which were turning red, and realized how attractive he truly was. He would have no probably getting a girlfriend, or boyfriend, if he just put himself out there.

"Thanks Justin." Scott said smiling. "You are a good friend."

Behind them the door opened and Mark, Nate, Cody, and Grayson came out.

"Oh my." Nate said with a smile on his face. "What do we have here?"

"It's okay." Justin said, turning. "Scott was just having a bit of a problem."

Scott smiled. "Sorry for running out."

"It is okay." Mark walked towards them. "I think we are going to jet. Way too many hormones bouncing around in there."

"Yea." Cody said. "Kimberly and Neil are getting a bit too heavy for us."

Justin laughed. He turned around and looked at Scott. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yea." Scott wiped his eyes, and smiled looking at the rest of the group. "You all wanna go grab something to eat from Randy's?"

"Sure!" Mark said.

"We are up for it." Cody said with his arm around Grayson. Grayson had a huge smile on his face as he leaned against Cody's hulking frame. Justin smiled as he saw how happy Grayson was. It was strange seeing such a small-framed person standing next to someone who could bench press him for hours.

"Sounds good to me." Nate said looking at Justin who just nodded.

"I am going to ride with Grayson if that is okay guys." Cody said to Nate.

"I wish I could ride you." Nate said, looking at Cody's chest. "But we understand."

Cody laughed and walked with Grayson to his car. Mark and Scott went to their own individual cars and headed off.

"So." Nate said, pulling Justin around. "What was THAT about?"

"Scott wants a girlfriend." Justin put his arms around Nate. "Or, at least I think he wants a girlfriend. With all that is happening, I suspect all of our friends are into the same sex."

"Not those two in there." Nate motioned his head to the door. "They are REALLY into each other."

"Think we should leave 'em alone?" Justin grinned. "I mean, they might break something."

"One day," Nate said, pulling Justin closer, "We will break something ourselves."

"Can't wait." Justin replied, giving him a deep kiss on the lips.

***