Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 19:13:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Tiffani Chin <eliteecrew@verizon.net>
Subject: Jumping over my Mountain, Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This story is copy right protected. Please do not post it on
any other website. If you are not 18 or male on male action offends you, do
not continue further. Email me, EliteECrew@verizon.net for any kind of
feedback.

Hey, I hope some of you enjoy this chapter. I understand that not everyone
agrees with how the story is turning out or what not, but try not to be
rude in your emails. It's a story and I have to .write it how I want
to. Thanks.


Jumping over my Mountain, Chapter 6


Helaku's point of view


Sweat dripped down my face as I bent my legs, ready to anticipate Bryce's
next movement. We had been playing basketball and this was our second
game. The first game Bryce won and he had been so cocky about it that I had
to win this one and we were close; I was two points ahead of him. Two more
baskets and he would win.

"Give it up Helaku," Bryce called out. "You're not going to win," he said
as I dribbled the ball.

Ever since our dinner in mid June we had developed a sort of friendship
that consisted of daily lunches together and joking around during meetings
and working on presentations together.

We had become known as the office team and we were well liked.

Bryce was laughing more and definitely removed that stick up his butt he
had had in there for so long when I first met him.

I was even enjoying his company; he had a lot of things to say and was way
more interesting that I initially gave him credit for.

And he had helped me to take my mind off of Crew.

I still missed him and I wondered what he was doing in California, and I
was sorry for cheating, but the pain wasn't as bad. I was beginning to
accept the concept that maybe Crew and I weren't meant to be and
considering the possibility that I could indeed get on with my life and
stop feeling so shitty.

Bryce helped me bounce back to normal and I now had someone to spend my
free time with. And my Dad was even happy I was doing well at work and it
was rare having my Dad happy about something I did when it came to making a
living. And I had to admit that this work was less tiring than bartending
and made steadier money, along with the more stable hours.

Now here I was playing basketball with my new best friend slash coworker.

Saturday afternoon and we were playing on an outside court at this nearby
park. It was fairly quiet at the park. It was August now and many families
were out on vacation with their children being off of school and all that.

I dribbled the ball between my legs quickly and turned in the opposite
direction to get around him.

He was quicker though.

He anticipated my movement and lunged forward and grabbed the ball from me
and before I could react he shot the ball into the air.

SWISH!

"Yes!" he cried out, "we are tied sucker!"

I groaned and threw my head back.

"One more and I win! Dinner and victory is mine!" he taunted.

I flashed him a dirty look and rubbed my head. The sun was beating down on
me and I was sweating and feeling flushed from the exertion. It didn't help
that my hair was so dark; it attracted the heat and I think I got a sunburn
on my newly cut hair.

For this job I could no longer have that faux hawk I loved so much. Ah,
welcome to corporate life.

"I could still win," I shot back.

"Only in your dreams," he said in a sing song voice.

I smiled. I didn't know he got so competitive. It was actually a very cute
quality.

It was his ball this time so he dribbled and he was remarkably fast. I
never seen hands move that fast before. He was extremely well coordinated.

He swung the ball under his right leg, but before he completed the swinging
motion, he faked me out by swinging it over his left hip. I tried to knock
the ball out of his hands but he had already ended up chucking the ball at
the net.

I watched as the ball sailed over my head and I shielded my eyes from the
sun and watched as the ball sunk directly in.

"YES!" Bryce called out pumping both fists in the air happily.

I groaned again.

I hated losing.

"I win, you lose!" he said turning to me smiling.

He came closer to me and jumped on top of me suddenly. I cradled his hips
reflexively and fell to the ground, breaking his fall.

"I am superior to you!" he crowed.

I couldn't help smiling as well; he seemed so overjoyed.

"You won basketball, but you're still a loser. What happened to being a
graceful winner?" I asked.

Bryce never answered me, he just kept grinning.

"Are you gonna get off of me anytime soon?" I asked laughing.

When I stopped laughing I realized he hadn't joined in with me and was
instead peering down into my face.

I stopped laughing as well and looked back at him.

He looked so serious and I was confused for a moment.

Why did he look so thoughtful and nervous all of a sudden?

Then the moment was gone and he got off of me and offered me a hand.

"Good game," he said.

"Thanks," I said.

"Not many people could have had such a close game with me, usually I cream
them but you kept a good fight until the end that is," Bryce added.

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, you were this close to being a graceful winner," I
said holding up my thumb and index finger together, "and then you lost it."

Bryce burst out laughing and wiped his sweat off his face with his t shirt.

He looked back at me. "So, how bout that dinner?" grinning cheekily.

I groaned.

I really hated losing.

*** "I thought I was supposed to pick you up and buy you dinner?" I said
thoroughly confused when Bryce showed up on my doorstep with Chinese
takeout and soda.

He shrugged and placed the food in the kitchen. "I was tired from all that
sun and basketball that I didn't feel like going out and being with a large
crowd," Bryce said.

I shrugged. "Ok, fine with me," I said.

Bryce bought a lot of food. He unloaded spring rolls, egg rolls, lo mein,
white rice, chicken and broccoli, sesame chicken, honey chicken, fried
rice, and eggs and shrimp.

"I was hungry," was all he said when he looked at me.

What was with all the Skyler's in the world?

As we ate our food in the living room, sitting side by side on the couch
comfortably I told him about my coming out to my Dad.

"I was so scared to tell my Dad I was gay, but I remember waking up one day
junior year in high school and thinking to myself `just do it, no matter
what the consequences you have to be true to yourself'. I was willing to
risk my Dad throwing me out on the street, but color me surprised when he
didn't," I said.

"My Dad said, `just as long as you keep it to yourself and let your other
achievements speak for themselves' and I remember I was so relieved that he
didn't hate me. I don't think I would have been able to handle that."

"Did your friends take it well?" Bryce asked popping in a piece of sesame
chicken into his mouth.

"Well in high school some of my friends weren't ok with it and then we
parted ways. Most were accepting even if they didn't agree with it, but
that was high school and how often do I see people from high school?" I
countered.

"But everyone else in my life was cool with it. Obviously my bartending
buddies were because they were either gay themselves or worked in a gay
club so they had better been ok with it. And besides college people are
just more open minded in general," I said.

Bryce nodded in agreement.

"I remember telling my neighbor, Storm who lives downstairs, and I was
amazed at how cool he was with it. He just goes, `That's cool man. No big
deal. Wanna play some one on one?'"

"Really?" Bryce asked in awe.

I nodded. "Yeah he was totally cool and supportive and so was his twin
brother. And his twin brother has gay tendencies."

"Gay tendencies?"

"Yeah, he's been, I don't know, crushing, talking to, whatever some friend
of my ex boyfriend." As soon as I mentioned ex boyfriend we both got quiet
again.

After a pause, he asked, "So how come it didn't work out with your ex?"

I took my time chewing and swallowed hard.

"I cheated on him and he dumped me," I said ashamed.

I looked at Bryce and he didn't seem to be judging me but waiting for me to
explain further.

"We got in a fight over how I wanted him to, I don't know how to explain
it, let me in, tell me stuff, and trust me and he got all mad and said we
needed to take a break," I said, "and I got to a bar at night and I'm
drinking away and some guy hits on me. I told him to back off, he wouldn't
and I was about to leave and he offered to just talk and buy me a drink. I
didn't even realize we had drank so much and that somehow he had ended up
in my bed the next morning."

"Then what happened?" Bryce asked quietly.

"Well I told him to leave and it was a mistake, I had a boyfriend who I
loved. I was prepared to sleep my hang over off when Crew came by just as
the guy was leaving."

"Ouch," Bryce winced.

"He ran to the twin's place, he's really good friends with them too," I
said, "and he was hysterical and we were yelling and everything. Finally,
Storm told me to leave, Crew said he hated me, and Skyler still hasn't
spoken to me," I finished.

"Wow," was all Bryce said.

"Tell me about it," I said shaking my head.

"That's why I needed to quit bartending," I continued, "Every time I was
there working I was reminded of my, of my cheating and I hated it. Guys
would come up to me and I would always think `what if I hadn't cheated on
Crew? Would we still be together?' Or if I was making someone a drink I
would think, `what if I hadn't been drunk, would I have walked away and
been able to have worked things out with Crew?'

"So now I have a stable job and I haven't been to a bar since and I haven't
drank alcohol in awhile," I said.

"So you cleaned up your act?" Bryce said.

"Definitely. Cheating was the biggest mistake of my life and I'll regret it
forever. I never want to cheat again and I want to eliminate the buffers
that led me to my infidelity," I explained.

"Do you still love him?" Bryce asked suddenly.

I thought about that. Did I still love Crew? Or was I just in lust with him
when I first saw him?

"I don't know anymore," I admitted. "Crew is a good guy and a great catch
and I thought I was in love, but since I haven't seen him in awhile, I'm
thinking we may have rushed into something too soon. We really didn't know
each other too well and we never had a chance to spend much quality time
together. But I did like him a lot and I'm still fond of him."

Bryce nodded as if thinking it over.

"Would you get back together with him if he forgave you?" Bryce asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have the answer to that. Maybe. Maybe
not. I'm too ashamed for hurting him and too afraid to hurt him again."

We were silent as we finished the last of our food.

"Hey I have an idea," Bryce said popping the last morsel of his spring roll
into his mouth.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Paint something for me."

"What?" I asked raising my brows.

"Paint something for me," he repeated, "you said you would remember?"

"I remember, but you want to do it now?"

"Sure, why not? It's a Saturday night; we're both tired and stuffed. When
is there a better time?" he asked.

"Okay," I agreed, "let me get my stuff."

I walked into my room and dug around my closest for my old paint
materials. I found my easel, the paper, and my box of paints. But then I
realized that the paints had all dried up since I haven't used them in,
jeez, who knows how long?

I scrimmaged around my desk and came up with a charcoal stick instead.

"Hey Bryce, my paints are all dried up but I can sketch you something
tonight and then paint you something another time," I offered, "I'm pretty
good at charcoal," I added holding up the black shit and sketch book.

"Sure, no problem," he said smiling.

"So any requests?"

"Requests?" Bryce asked.

"Want me to sketch something specific or something off the top of my head?"
I clarified.

"Oh," Bryce said. "Um, can you sketch me?"

"You?" I asked, "sure, no problem. A face sketch or a full body sketch?" I
asked turning to a blank sketch page.

"A full body."

"You got it," I said drawing a light line down the page.

"A nude sketch."

I dropped my charcoal stick.

"What?" I asked not sure I heard correctly.

"I want a nude sketch to give to my girlfriend," he said.

"What girlfriend?" I asked curiously. He never mentioned any girl to me.

"I didn't say anything to you because I didn't know if it was going to get
serious or not and I don't like to talk about something until I'm
positive," Bryce said.

I swallowed hard. "Oh man, I don't know."

"Please," Bryce said.

I swallowed again. "Uh Bryce, you do know I'm gay right. I might pop a
woody," I warned.

"Why, do you find me attractive?" Bryce said smiling.

"Bryce," I started.

"Come on, do it for a friend. I am your friend right?" he asked.

"Sure you are," I answered instantly.

"Great," he said and he stood up and began to take his shirt off.

"Wait!" I said.

"Yeah?" he asked looking at me.

"Where do you want me to sketch you?" I asked.

"Is the couch ok or do you want to do it somewhere else?" Bryce asked.

"Um, I don't know. When people visit, they uh, they uh use the couch and
everything," I said licking my lips nervously. "We can do it in my spare
bedroom," I finally said.

Bryce smiled. "Ok then, lead the way."

I walked slowly ahead of him into my spare room and turned on the light. I
couldn't believe I was actually going to do this. I never really thought of
Bryce in that way before or had any romantic feelings towards him; he was
straight after all, but now he was going to be stripping, in my house.

That was a little erotic and even I had to admit, he wasn't hard on the
eyes.

"Umm, I guess you can find a position you want to, uh, set yourself, uh,
in," I stammered.

I wiped my sweaty hands on my soccer shorts as I watched him take off his
shirt and undo his belt buckle. He kicked off his sneakers and threw down
his jeans.

GULP.

He wasn't wearing any underwear.

Bryce plopped down onto the bed without any hint of embarrassment. Hell I
was blushing more than he was and I was fully clothed.

He positioned himself at a sideways angle on the bed; one leg completely
extended and the other one bent at the knee, propped up into the air. Bryce
placed one hand around his waist, the other hanging off of his knee. He
tucked his chin under and looked up at me.

This was the most seductive pose I had ever seen.

I was thoroughly turned on by this point.

When did Bryce Whitman get so fucking hot?

Bryce had nicely defined muscles; long, lean, and tight. He had a flat
stomach, his rib poked out with his knee and arm lifted. His pubes were a
light brown, but his treasure trail was ashy blond like his hair. His blond
bangs draped over his face, drawing more attention to his dark eyes that
were burning a hole in me right now.

His cock was soft and all five inches of it hung near his extended leg.

I took a few deep breaths.

"Whenever you're ready," Bryce said.

I tried to mentally collect myself and took my sketch pad and the charcoal
stick.

I tried to focus on my strokes and forced my hand to remain steady. It took
a minute to get the outline of his form down on the paper, but the details
were the most difficult to obtain.

I shaded in his pubes and treasure trail quickly and drew in his piece and
balls. I shaded the shadow his elbow and knee cast over his other leg and
stomach.

I looked at his face. He was biting his lip now and staring so intensely at
me I felt like running out of the room.

But I quickly drew in the lines for his hair and shaded in his eyes which
from this distance appeared to be dark and full of emotion.

I drew in his nose, a faint line to indicate his nice cheekbones and his
lips were structured in a small smile.

Almost done, almost done.

I gave my finished result a quick scan.

"All done," I announced hurriedly ripping off the page and standing up. I
held the sketch book over my crotch to hide my very bulging hard on.

Bryce got up slowly and didn't put on his clothes just yet. He walked
closer to me and took the piece of paper from my hand.

I looked straight ahead to avoid looking at his body.

He looked at it for a second and smiled. He turned to me. "You did a good
job. I love it."

"You're welcome," I rushed out and tried to brush past him to leave but he
grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him.

One of his hands reached down and removed my sketch book and he glanced
down at my swollen crotch.

Bryce looked back up at me and smiled.

"I'm sorry, but I did warn you," I said weakly trying to move around him
again.

Again he grabbed me and held me in place. "Don't be sorry," he said
huskily. He inched closer to me. I could feel the heat off his body
radiating and I felt suddenly very sweaty.

"I'm flattered."

I swallowed and backed up a step.

"And I have a confession to make," he said stepping even closer.

I opened my mouth to suck in some air.

"There is no girl," Bryce finished and he leaned in and kissed me.

*** Soft lips.

Mm, I forgot how much I really loved to kiss.

"Wait, what are we doing?" I asked pushing him off of me.

"We're kissing," he answered leaning in again.

"No," I said edging away. "We're friends, you're not even gay!"

"How do you know?" he asked standing to face me.

"What? You are?" I demanded.

"Yes," he replied simply.

My head reeled. I wasn't expecting him to say yes. I was expecting the
speech of how he wanted to experiment and all that crap.

"Get out," I said.

"What?" Bryce asked shocked.

"I need time to process this," I said, "just go, please."

"Helaku," he said moving to me.

"Don't," I said turning my back to him. "What was all this? A seduction or
something? I'm just really confused. Can you please go?" I said without
looking at him.

I heard silence, but then Bryce sighed and I heard him putting his clothes
on.

A minute later the door slammed shut.

I sighed and sat on the spare bed.

I was confused.

Did I have feelings for my former enemy Bryce Whitman?

*** "You've been avoiding me," Bryce accused when he cornered me in the
office kitchen Monday morning. "I've called you so many times Saturday
night and Sunday. Why haven't your returned any of them?" he demanded.

I stirred my milk trying to come up with an answer.

"Helaku answer me," Bryce begged.

"I don't know. I'm just confused," I replied. It was the only answer I had.

He stood back and studied me.

"Did you like kissing me?" Bryce asked quietly.

"Yes," I said immediately before I was able to fully process the
questio. But truthfully I had enjoyed kissing him.

"Do you have feelings for me?" he asked, "and don't say maybe. This is a
yes or no."

I stayed silent and didn't answer him. I just stirred my coffee absently.

Bryce grabbed my cup and steadied my other hand.

"Helaku, answer me," he said in a softer tone.

"Yes," I whispered after a moment. I avoided his stare.

He placed his finger under my chin and looked me in the eye and leaned in
close before placing a fast peck on my lips.

"Good, because I like you too. Ever since the first day you started working
here," he added as he walked out of the kitchen leaving me staring after
him.

Bryce turned around and caught me staring. He winked and grinned at me and
began whistling all the way back to his cubicle.

Ever since my first day?

What the hell?

*** SUMMER'S END

Zeke:

I clapped Crew's shoulder. "One more week of paradise buddy. Ready to go
back to reality?"

Crew groaned. "No, I love it here. I love the people, I love the weather, I
love work, and I love surfing," Crew said pouting.

"I'm not ready to go back to school and working all the time. Boo," Crew
said like a child.

I laughed. "I know Crew. But we'll come back here again, I promise. Let's
just make the best of it before we have to head back home, ok?"

Crew nodded.

"Come on. let's make some burgers on the grill before work. And then we can
have a late night surf," I said.  ***

Skyler:

"Oh yeah, last week of work," I said as I filled the printer with more
paper. I did a little dance as I ripped open a new package of paper and
popped the lid in the machine.

"Having fun?"

I spun around and saw my Aunt smiling at me.

"Yeah, just listening to some music while I fix this," I said holding up
the paper.

"What music?" Aunt Jennifer asked confused.

"In here," I said tapping my head.

Aunt Jennifer gave me an odd look and then smiled. "Listen Skyler, I wanted
to say I'm proud that you stuck the summer out and overall you had a
serious and positive attitude. It's good you're taking some
responsibility. Your mom is happy about that too."

I nodded pretending to listen when I was really tapping my foot to Beastie
Boy lyrics.

Intergalatic planetary!

"Now I know the semester is starting in one week and then you're gone, but
you better do well in school because your mother and I have already
discussed potential winter break plan and next summer break plans for you
to work here," Aunt Jennifer said or in my opinion threatened.

Damn it.

***

Hiro Takashami's point of view.


I emptied the last box in my room and placed some of my German books on my
bookshelf.

I rifled through my Initial D anime comic book, but put it down after a few
seconds.

I was feeling melancholy but I couldn't pinpoint why or what was the cause
of it and I hated that. If I was feeling sad or happy I would like to know
the direct cause of it. The unknown was a real pisser.

Maybe it was a combination of things. After all I had just moved from
Colorado to Princeton, New Jersey. It wasn't exactly the next town over and
it was an adjustment. My grandma had a car for me to use and I had used
this past weekend to explore and I learned where some of the local malls
and movie theaters were. Not to mention my new school I would be going to,
Rutgers. It was a big campus and I still didn't know where everything was,
but in time I would eventually figure it out. It was kind of like learn as
you go.

I missed the familiarity of University of Colorado since I had been going
there for three years and I was just finishing my senior year in a new
state and school.

It was the circumstances; I had to be with my grandmother. And the smile on
her face when I arrived was worth all the trouble of relocating. And who
knows, maybe I'll meet some cool people here. New Jersey was close to the
city after all. You never know.

The one thing I disliked was the weather. I wasn't used to humidity or
sweltering heat and now in the last week of August, it was hot! Like step
outside and you're drenched in your own sweat hot. I didn't care much for
it.

Most of the time I just hid in my room with the air condition
circulating. It was rather nice.

This was my last week of freedom before the semester started and I reveled
in it, just lying on my bed staring at the ceiling when my grandmother's
voice called out to me.

"Mittagessen ist bereit!" (Lunch is ready)

"Kommen!" I called.  (Coming).


***

Helaku's point of view

I stared across the table at Bryce Whitman.

He simply stared back at me and let a small smile form on his lips.

I averted my eyes. The marketing meeting was going to start soon and I
didn't want to be distracted with his smile.

Three weeks ago after that nude sketch incident we had both basically
admitted we liked each other.

I still didn't know how it had happened.

I guess Bryce had kind of wormed his way in or fought his way into my
life. It first started with him annoying me constantly, then that dinner
where things really look off. All those lunches, working together, playing
basketball together. And then that night when I sketched him naked really
got me thinking.

I realized I wasn't just physically attracted to Bryce, although he was
really good looking. I really liked being with him and talking to him. We
had a lot in common concerning our upbringings and our respective
overbearing fathers. And I was finding that I was laughing a lot when we
were together. Our conversations just flowed; it kept going and I never
knew how it started but once it did it could last for hours.

Even though three weeks had passed, we hadn't really hooked up or had any
sex. We just did what we usually did. We ate lunch together, played
basketball on the weekends, and sometimes had dinner after work. We never
really broached the topic of a relationship. I had the feeling Bryce didn't
want to pressure me or rush me into something. So for the time being we
were just enjoying each other's company. I liked taking things slow; I had
never done that before with a boyfriend or fling. I was used to jumping
someone's bones or them jumping mine; but Bryce liked me and wanted to
spend lots of time with me.

I didn't know what to make of my newfound revelation. Should I ask Bryce
out? Should we just stay friends?

I didn't know what to do anymore or what to make of anything.

I looked up again and saw Bryce watching me. He licked his lips.

I gulped.

*** Hiro's point of view


I wiped my brow as I walked in the direction of the Food Science building
on Cook Campus.

This school was huge; I had some trouble finding my way, but luckily I was
pretty good at directions and navigating.

I knew New Jersey and all those other North East coast states had four
season weather, but I never knew it could get so sweltering in September. I
definitely wasn't in Colorado anymore. Boy did I miss the cold weather.

I stepped inside the lecture hall and sighed with relief. I was greeted
with air condition. Was there ever a better invention than a device that
filtered in cool air?

I scanned the room for an empty seat. The class was half full at this
point, so I aimed for a seat in the very back.

I always liked to sit in the back, even though it was far away from the
board, I liked to see everything. Who wanted to just stare at the teacher
when you could be admiring genetically blessed people?

I took my seat and looked at my schedule. I had a bunch of upper level
courses, but I took this one hundred level as an easy elective. I wanted to
have one automatic A without much work and besides, I heard this professor
was pretty easy. It sounded like a good deal to me.

I heard some commotion and my eyes searched for the cause. I was sitting
facing the door so I could easily see the people walking in.

I noticed a pair of twins walk in; they were Asian, Chinese maybe or
Japanese. They had the pale, creamy complexion and huge eyes. I also
noticed that they were very good looking.

And popular.

The one with shorter hair wearing form fitting jeans and an equally form
fitting pale blue shirt was greeted with giggles and a chorus of hellos
from a bunch of girls in the middle.

The other one had longer hair, covered by a red baseball cap. He wore a red
short sleeve shirt with the collar flipped up around his neck. His jeans
were baggy and he sported a neon yellow belt and neon yellow sneakers, with
a black wrist band.

He was smiling widely and exchanging "sups" with various guys to my right.

I liked to think of myself as a good judge of character. I could tell these
twins were not just popular, but really good people. Maybe it was the way
the people they were with hung onto their every word, or how the short
haired twin seemed really respectful and the longer haired twin was
constantly laughing, in a good natured way.

My eyes drifted towards the door and I constantly scanned the people that
walked in, but my attention always came back to the twins. Especially the
long haired one. It was probably because he was louder and more outgoing;
he just demanded the attention.

And that laugh.

"So check it out," I heard the long haired twin say. "I really needed a
ride somewhere and it was so hot that I couldn't stand to walk the twenty
minutes to get there," he started laughing before he even got to the punch
line. "So I saw this car coming and it was slowing down to let a pedestrian
cross and I noticed the person driving was young so I had an idea."

"As the car came closer, I kind of threw myself onto the hood, like an all
out body sprawl, and my face was in the windshield," he started cackling
with laughter.

I noticed a big portion of the lecture hall was either openly listening or
listening while they did something else simultaneously.

I was openly listening. This guy was just that entertaining.

"So this woman jammed on the breaks and I sort of roll off, luckily she was
going slow. Then I knock on her window and ask if she could give me a
ride," he continued.

"Shit, Skyler," a guy he was sitting with said laughing.

Skyler. Interesting name.

"The poor girl was so shocked and terrified I might go to the police that
she gratefully gave me the ride in exchange for my silence," Skyler
finished and was howling with laughter this time. Various people in the
lecture hall were as well, including his group of friends.

"Did you do it more than once?" one of his friends asked.

"No, I couldn't. Shit if I did it on a daily basis I would become known as
that suicidal dude that likes to throw himself onto moving cars. I would
have been thrown in a mental institution, which I wouldn't have necessarily
minded because I always wondered what it was like to be a patient, but I
don't think my Mom would have been too pleased," Skyler said cracking up
again.

I smiled and shook my head. This kid was a fucking hoot.

"But man, let me tell you I was damned tempted to do it a few times. It was
mad hot!
 Skyler exclaimed. Then a thought came to him. "Wait, I haven't done that
around here. Maybe I'll do it later," he said.

Just then the teacher walked in and started fussing with the
computer. People quieted down slightly, curious about what the teacher was
going to say and handing and syllabi and stuff.

Except for Skyler. He kept right on chatting away.

"Do you want to hit up a movie later? This is my only class for the day and
I don't want to rush home to do nothing" a guy asked Skyler.

"Sure," Skyler said the same time his twin suddenly called over, "No!"

"You have two more classes today, Skyler," his twin scolded him.

"How do you know that?" Skyler demanded.

"I saw your schedule," his twin replied.

"How?"

"I found it."

"You mean you were looking for it," Skyler accused. "Did Mom tell you to
check up on me? Make sure I went to all my classes?"

"Skyler!"

"Storm!" Skyler said in a mocking tone.

Storm? Wow, that was another interesting name.

"Fine, don't go to your classes. What do I care?" Storm asked hotly. He
turned back around in his seat, frowning.

Skyler got up and sat next to him. "I'm sorry bro. I'll go to my classes, I
promise, ok?"

Storm didn't answer him but he nodded. "So, can I have some money for a
soda?" Skyler asked sweetly. Storm rolled his eyes.

"Please?" Skyler begged.

Storm fished out his wallet and handed his twin two dollar bills.

Skyler snatched it up and stood up. "Thanks, you're the best brother ever."

Storm snorted. "Dude, I'm your only brother. The sad part is that you're my
only brother."

Skyler feigned hurt. "That was cruel bro, real cruel. What if I died on my
way to the vending machine and that was the last thing you said to me,
you'd regret it," he said pointing his finger in his brother's face.

"Just for that comment, I'm not paying you back for the soda," Skyler said
in a mock huff and walked off.

I smiled and watched him go. The twins seemed really funny. It was my first
day at a new school; it would be great to make new friends. The twins
seemed like the perfect people to get to know.

***

I yawned as I stretched in my chair in my one and only class of the day
Friday morning. I was excited for the weekend, not that I had anything
special or specific planned, but I just loved weekends because it meant
freedom from school or work. Everyone was more relaxed and agreeable over
the weekends.

Since I commuted I always got to class a little earlier than usual; it was
the only way to secure a parking spot. So I just sat in class, in the back
of course, and writing down some of the assignments I needed to take care
of.

The first week of classes there wasn't much work to do, but I wouldn't mind
getting a head start on scanning some of the materials, just to get the
feel of what's going on. Besides I liked the classes I had; especially for
my major. I wouldn't mind getting a head start on that work. If I enjoyed
the work and it served me a purpose, it was a good deal.

People were filtering in as the start time for class got closer and I saw
some girls shoot me some smiles. I smiled back politely but turned my
attention to the front of the room.

I liked to be left alone in my classes; I didn't want to be chatting with
some nosey girl.

About five minutes before class was to start I noticed a guy walk in and
take a seat in the front.

For some reason he caught me eye.

I watched as he sat down and took out his notebook and pen and waited for
class to start.

He was so eager and looked a little nervous. I wondered if he was a
freshman, but for a freshman he wasn't taking the introductory courses I
thought he would want to take.

I noticed as people came in he didn't really spare them any glances. He
kind of kept to himself. People like that always intrigued me. I always
found that the quiet people were the most interesting or had the most to
offer; and being friends with them made me feel special. As if they were
only showing this wonderful side of them to me; it was out little secret.

This guy was good looking too. He was sitting down so I couldn't tell his
height or anything, but he looked reasonable, judging from the length of
his limbs. He was lean and had muscles in the right places.

I admired his defined jaw and red lips which I could see from where I was
sitting and his rosy colored cheeks were cute. He looked young, maybe he
was a freshman. Just a really smart, hardworking freshman. His hair color
was dirty blond, buzzed kind of short. I assumed he had blue eyes, because
the whole `blond hair, blue eyed' combination, but I wasn't positive. I
didn't have a good visual angel of his eyes from where I sat.

The teacher never did roll call, instead she passed around a sign in
sheet. When it got to me, I followed the pattern the sheet had gone in and
counted the number of people per row.

I think his name was Crew Jamison.

I smiled. J Crew, like the clothing store. That sounded cute.

I kept my eye on him the entire time. He listened carefully and wrote down
a couple notes. There was something about this guy I liked. I wanted to get
to know him better.

After class ended I watched him slowly gather his stuff and walk out the
door. I was about four people behind him and heading in the same direction
as he was when there was this blur that flew by and jumped directly on top
of Crew.

"Ooompfh!" Crew groaned as him and the guy crashed to the ground with a
thud.

Then he started laughing hysterically as the guy planted loud exaggerated
kisses on his cheek.

Other people were either laughing or shaking their heads.

They both got up and I realized that the guy that had jumped on Crew was
Skyler from my Food Science class.

"Bitch, how was California?" Skyler asked Crew as Crew picked up his stuff
which had dropped when he fell to the ground.

"It was great, I had the best time ever," Crew said.

Skyler was about to say something when he spotted me about to walk past
them.

"Hey," he called out.

I turned to face him with an acquiring expression. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you in my Food Science class?" he asked. I nodded.

"Hey, I'm Skyler," Skyler said.

"Hiro," I answered. Both Crew and Skyler looked at me.

"You're Japanese?" Skyler asked.

"Partly," I said.

"Wow," Skyler said in an awed tone.

"What?" I asked amused.

"We never get Japanese people around here. Awesome man. Hey we were about
to go get something to eat, you should come," he said wrapping an arm
around both Crew and I, without waiting for answer.

He led us out of Scott Hall and down College Ave to the student center. He
continued to walk with his arms wrapped around both of our shoulders.

I found it strangely odd, well for me, not for Crew since he obviously knew
him well. But Skyler had just barely met me, invited me for lunch and now
we were strolling along as if we were friends for years. Skyler didn't
appear to be the least bit fazed by this.

"So man, are you new around here or something? I haven't seen you around,"
Skyler said.

"You know everyone at this University?" I asked smiling.

"Pretty much. I'm one of those people everyone flocks to," Skyler said
batting his eyelashes. "Everyone loves me, it's a tough job being the most
loved person in the world, but someone has to do it," he added.

Crew and I started cracking up.

"Jeez, I'm fucking starving," Skyler said letting go of us and walking
ahead into the student center.  I looked questioningly at Crew.

Crew just grinned. "One thing you have to know about Skyler. The one and
only thing he loves more than himself is food. Don't ever get in his way
when it comes to food, he would kill you. One time we were at a pool party
and I was in his way to the grill and he chucked me into the pool," Crew
said. "He didn't even check to see if I was all right. His twin brother
Storm did."

I laughed and Crew joined in. We shared a look and Crew looked away
suddenly, staring at the ground.

Blue. His eyes were bright blue. I was right.

I studied him a bit more. He was even more beautiful up close.

"You shouldn't do that," I said.

Crew looked at me quizzically as I held open the door to the student center
open for him. "You shouldn't look down at the ground so much. You have
nothing to feel embarrassed about. Plus, you have really nice eyes," I
added.

Crew smiled and blushed slightly, but didn't avert his eyes this time.

"Guys!" Skyler cried out waiting on line at the Wendy's. "Hurry up if you
want to order with me," he said as he was almost to the cashier.

Crew walked quickly ahead and I waved and pointed to a sandwich/salad bar
area. I selected a turkey wrap and an orange juice and when I finished
paying I sat at the table Skyler and Crew had already snagged.

I just sat and ate my food as I watched Crew and Skyler catch
up. Apparently Crew had been away for most of the summer, from what I had
gathered.

"Yeah, Zeke and I got jobs as waiter and he was right. The money was much
better than over here. His aunt's beach house was beautiful; right by the
water. I could spend all night at the beach and then walk like ten feet and
go to sleep. It was awesome, I had the best time ever," Crew said smiling.

"And now you're back here in good ol' Jersey," Skyler said in a south
jersey accent.

"I know! Zeke and I didn't want to go back. He was like, ugh, Boston and I
was all like, ugh, New Jersey." He and Skyler started to crack up.

"Who's Zeke?" I asked.

"Zeke is my best friend from high school," Crew explained. "His aunt had a
beach house in Santa Barbara, California and we ended up staying there for
the summer."

"I've never been to California before," I said.

"It's really nice. Maybe after graduation I'll move there," he said. Then
he looked as if something just popped into his head. He turned to face
Skyler.

 "Oh I forgot to ask, Sky, how did work go over the summer?"

Skyler rolled his eyes. "Just like I thought it would be. It was shit on a
stick man. I had to do all this data processing, input, output, excel,
blah, blah ,blah. Or I was the official go to errand boy. And don't forget
about the dress code," he finished groaning.

"Come on now," Crew chided. "I bet people were hitting on you left and
right when you showed up in your snazzy gear."

Skyler smirked at Crew's obvious jib at him. "You know it baby."

"Well was it a paid internship?" Crew asked.

Skyler nodded. "Yeah it was the only good thing about working there. I made
some money, that and I have something to put on my resume," suddenly he got
a disgusted look on his face. "Ew, look at me thinking and talking like
Storm. That ain't right. Let's change the topic, quick," he said seriously.

"Uh, uh, Zeke and I tried surfing in California," Crew popped in.

"Fucking A! Were you any good or did you wipe out?"

"The first few times I wiped out. At first I thought it would be similar to
snowboarding, you know the movements and balance, but the waves makes it a
lot harder to stay afloat," Crew said.

"You snowboard?" I asked.

Crew looked at me. "Yeah, for as long as I can remember. In fact, Skyler,
Storm and I work at Mount Vernon every year when the season starts up,"
Crew said. Skyler nodded in affirmation.

"I snowboard too. I was on a snowboarding team up in Colorado," I answered

Crew's eyes widened. "Really? That's so cool."

"I knew it! You're not from around here," Skyler said. "When did you move
here?"

"Just over the summer," I said.

"How come?" Skyler asked.

"I moved in with my grandmother," I replied. It looked like Skyler wanted
to ask more, but Crew jumped in.

"So was your team any good?" he asked.

I nodded. "We were fairly decent. I was good enough but I never pushed
myself too hard because all I really care about what having fun," I
answered.

"You should come snowboarding with us one day," Crew said smiling. "I'll
race you. I bet I'll beat you," he challenged me raising his brows.

I smiled. He looked cute when he tried to appear menacing. The look didn't
seem to suit him.

"Okay, I'll race you. And since you seem competitive, you'll most likely
win," I said.

Crew pouted. "Well you have to give it your all. I don't want to be handed
a win."

"I will," I promised. Crew smiled again, looking like he got his way.

Skyler suddenly stood up. "I need more food," and he walked to get some
pizza.

"So do you like it here?" Crew asked me.

I shrugged. "It's just another location. Everywhere is basically the
same. People have the same routine no matter what state or country. Being
content just depends on the state of mind. So yeah, I'm great and I like it
here," I said grinning at him.

Crew looked at me oddly, like he wasn't sure how to process my reply. But
he let it go and continued to eat.

I leaned forward on the table. "You're in my Imperialism class." I said it
more of a statement than a question. "Well when we have our upcoming exam,
do you want to get together to study?" I asked.

"Sure," Crew said drinking his soda.

Skyler then sat down with a tray loaded with four slices of pizza and he
also bought two more fries from Wendy's.

"Uh, dude, you just ate two burgers, how can you fit all that in?" I asked
staring with my mouth hanging open.

Skyler was too busy to answer as he had about ten fries stuffed in his
mouth so he pointed to Crew to answer for him.

Crew looked at me. "Trust me, the more you get to know Skyler, the more
amazed you'll become," he said smiling.

Skyler looked at me and grinned but all I saw was a bunch of mashed
potatoes.

I couldn't contain my grimace.

***

Helaku's point of view


"Miss!" Bryce called out just as I was about to throw my dart.

I missed the target.

"Cheater," I accused turning to him.

Bryce smiling innocently. "I did no such thing. You missed. It's not my
fault if you have poor hand eye coordination."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's get some lunch. I'm starving," I said
pulling the darts out and reaching for my wallet.

Bryce grabbed my arm and steadied me. He leaned in and kissed me on the
lips before pulling back. I reached for his waist and pulled him back in.

I kissed him deeply, enjoying the feel of his soft hair on my forehead,
which he had grown out slightly. I pulled back and took a deep breath of
much needed air.

Bryce and I officially started dating last night. We went out to dinner
Friday night which was a usual occurrence for us. I invited him back in for
coffee and then he hit me with the hard stuff.

"Hela, I really like you. I would like us to go somewhere," he said.

"Oh yeah, go where?" I asked playing dumb.

He shot me a pointed look. "You know what I mean. Relationship wise."

"You want to start dating?" I asked.

"We already are dating," he said.

I frowned. "We are? Where was I?"

Bryce frowned as well. "Come on Hela. We spend every waking minute
together. We work together, we eat two out of three meals a day together,
we call each other to talk after we get home, and we spend the weekend
together. Don't tell me you just want to be friends with me," he said
exasperated.

I sighed. "No I don't. I guess this is a little shocking and I'm still
adjusting and wondering if it's all real. I mean at first we hated each
other, then we become best friends, and then we become boyfriends? I find
it surreal."

"I never hated you," Bryce clarified.

"Then why were you such a huge ass?" I asked.

"I liked you," he said simply.

"You liked me?" I asked thoroughly confused.

"Yeah and I didn't know how to act around you without following you around
like a puppy. I didn't know you were gay too and I didn't want to out
myself. What if I got fired or something?"

"So instead you called me names, taunted me, or ignored me when we were in
a large group of people?" I asked. "A little grade school-ish don't you
think?"

Bryce smiled. "Like I said I didn't know how to act. If I acted rude you
wouldn't suspect me and in a way I was trying to hate you so my feelings
wouldn't get out of hand. I mean crushing on a straight guy, at work no
less, just spells disaster."

"So you were happy when you found out I was gay?"

Bryce grinned. "Well after the initial shock and then running after you and
then stalking you at your house and begging you to have dinner with me,
yeah I was happy. I went home and did back flips."

"Really?" I asked my eyebrows raised.

"Hell yeah, I can do one for you now," he offered.

I held up my hand and smiled. "That's really not necessary."

"So what attracted you to me? Was it my gorgeous looks?" I joked.

Bryce laughed along with me. "Well there was that. You looked damn good in
your suit. I wanted to lock us in the meeting room and tear your clothes
off." I looked away in embarrassment when he said that. "You have the most
beautiful green eyes," he said walking closer to me, "and as soon as you
started talking to everyone I knew you were a great guy. You were so
friendly and open, making jokes, acting as if you knew everyone
already. You treated everyone respectfully and you are so smart and have
such amazing ideas. Basically you were the ultimate package."

He came within an inch of me. "What attracted you to me?"

"At first I was really pissed off at you," I admitted, "but I guess your
loneliness attracted me. I could sense it and that was our connection. I
love your blue eyes and your shy smile. I love how competitive you get when
we play basketball. It's cute."

Bryce wrinkled his nose when I said cute. "I meant dead sexy," I said and
he grinned.

"Plus you kind of grew on me. I thought we were just friends and I never
realized my actual feelings or attraction towards you."

"So what sealed the deal?" Bryce wondered.

"You look really good naked."

Bryce threw a pillow at my face right.

I gasped in mock pain. "That's it, we're over," I said pretending to walk
over.

I laughed as Bryce tackled me to the ground, pinned my wrists, and planted
a hard kiss on my mouth.

*** Hiro's point of view


Saturday morning.

Studying on a Saturday morning. I'd rather pick mud out of my fingernails
than study on a Saturday. A rather nice Saturday morning no less.

Yet it could have been worse. I could have been studying calculus or
chemistry, which I never did take an understanding to.

 I was studying for the first exam in my history class with Crew.

And Crew was the main reason why studying on a Saturday morning wasn't so
terrible.

I had asked Crew yesterday before class ended if he wanted to get together
to review materials and he had agreed.

"Want to go to my house or yours?" I asked him.

"Um, I guess mine will be ok," Crew answered.

I smiled. "Good choice. If you went to my house my Grandma would be
interrupting us trying to feed us cookies or some cakes."

So now here we were, sitting at Crew's kitchen table with our books opened
and our notebooks out.

The professor had given us some specific topics to study and review and she
said to know the vocabulary at the end of every section chapter.

I watched as Crew concentrated on the terms and wrote them in his
notebook. His brow was scrunched and his bit his lip.

He had very full lips for a guy.

I glanced around his house and wondered why it was empty. Maybe his family
had to go out and do something. His home was nice, small, but well
furnished and clean. It had a good air to it.

Even though Crew and I had met about three weeks ago, we didn't get
together outside of school too much, although Skyler managed to rope us two
into eating lunch about once a week. Yet Crew and I never really talked a
lot one on one. Skyler was really the buffer. That kid could talk, but I
did love his funny stories.

Crew was still quiet in class and I never went to sit with him. He would
nod to me in acknowledgement when he arrived and he would wave when he
left. But that was the extent of our so called friendship.

He seemed shy around me, like right now for instance, as we studied. I knew
he wasn't really too sky, but I think it was because he didn't know me too
well. I couldn't blame him. I was no Skyler. I didn't know how to go all
out and start randomly talking to people. I've always been the quiet loner
type myself.

I watched Crew write for a bit more.

"You're quiet," I said suddenly breaking the silence.

Crew's head snapped up and his eyes met mine.

"Huh?" he asked frowning slightly; confused at my random statement, but
then he seemed to process what I said. "Oh, well, you're quiet too."

I smiled. "Yeah I am pretty quiet. I like being quiet; I like to take in
everything around me. Loud people are so busy being loud they can't see
other stuff."

"I don't understand what you're getting at," Crew said his frown deepening.

"You're quiet because you're sad," I said. It was a statement. "Why are you
so sad?"

"Well, you don't know me that well, so," he trailed off, not knowing how to
finish.

He got back to his work. He never answered me and I didn't push him on the
subject. We got back to our studies.

*** "Pizza and donuts?" I asked.

Crew nodded. "Yeah, those are Skyler's two favorite foods in the entire
world. He said he had a sudden craving for them," he added closing his cell
phone.

Skyler had just called and invited them over to have dinner at his
apartment.

I had been with Crew for the third straight Saturday in a row ever since we
got together that first time studying.

We still didn't talk about anything too deep and weren't that good of
friends, but our grades came back stellar and we figured we made a pretty
good study team. We decided to keep the habit up.

"Ok, so when do you want to go?"

"Let's leave now. I can't study anymore, I'm tired," he said rubbing his
eyes.

"Ok," I agreed happily slamming my book shut and stuffing them into my back
pack.

We drove over to Skyler's apartment which was pretty close to campus and as
soon as we walked in I was hit with the smell of pizza.

I took in the sight of three pizza boxes, three liters of soda, and two
dozen donuts.

"Is all this just for us?" I asked in shock.

"No," Skyler said, "Storm's coming too." I looked over at Crew but he
didn't seem fazed by the colossal amounts of food sitting in front of us.

"Where's Storm?" Crew asked as he reached for a donut.

"He'll be here soon. He had to take Kate somewhere. If you listen
carefully," he cupped his ear, "you can hear the sound of a whip being
used."

I chuckled. At that moment Storm breezed in.

"Hey guys," as he took his seat at the kitchen.

"Hey," Crew and I said.

Skyler imitated the sound of a whip being cracked. Storm looked confused as
we all laughed.

They all inhaled their pizza slices. Skyler had nine alone, Storm had five,
and Crew had four.

I only had a measly two.

"How come you ate so little pizza?" Skyler asked curiously as he finished
his third donut.

"I don't eat pizza very often," I answered.

Skyler and Crew stopped chewing at the same time and gawked at me.

"Why?" Storm asked.

I shrugged. "I don't eat out a lot or have much junk food or anything
processed."

"Then what do you eat?" Skyler asked in amazement.

"What else is there?" Crew asked at the same time.

I laughed. "I actually eat a lot of fish and vegetables, oh and tea."

Crew looked surprised, Skyler looked disgusted, his lip curled. Storm just
looked impressed.

"And you're satisfied with that?" Skyler asked.

I nodded. "Well I'm used to it. I've been eating that way ever since I was
a kid."

"I am Japanese after all. That's how we eat," I reminded him.

"What else are you?" Storm asked.

"A whole bunch of things. My grandparents had a lot of Eastern European or
mixed Asian descent. But my Mom was pure German and my Dad was a quarter
Japanese and Scottish."

"Wow, mix big. So you're only an eighth Japanese then?" Storm asked. I
nodded.

"Well you got the cool Japanese name," Skyler said burping loudly.

There was knocking on the door.

"Come in, it's open!" Skyler yelled.

A guy I didn't recognize walked in. He was tall, taller than me and Crew,
and even the twins. He had dark tan skin, black hair, and bright green eyes
I could see from here. He looked Native American or maybe some Asian
mix. He was handsome.

He walked into the kitchen and everyone became quiet. I was confused.

Skyler just ate staring hard at the newcomer.

Crew developed an interest in his donut, playing with the frosting.

Storm was the only one that looked head on and actually talked to the guy.

"What's up Hela?" he asked.

"Hey, my car stalled. Can you give me a ride somewhere?" the guy called
Hela asked.

Storm glanced at Skyler and Crew. "Sure." He took his care keys from the
drawer and then stumbled back.

"Oh by the way, Helaku McAdams this is Hiro^Ådude what's your last name?"
Storm asked.

I stuck out my hand. "I'm Hiro Takashami," I answered.

Helaku looked directly at me and didn't smile or say hi in return. Then his
stare shifted over to Crew who was still avoiding his look as if it were
his newfound religion.

Then he turned back to me and there was this look in his eyes.

His eyes were questioning, were filled with hurt, worry, and anger.

There was something going on between Crew and this Helaku.

I never broke the stare; I just continued to look at him head on.

If he wanted to intimidate me it wasn't going to work. I didn't intimidate
easily.

Storm noticed the tension in the air and placed his hand on Helaku's
shoulder. "Come on, let's go. I'll take you where you need to go," and he
led him out.

After they were gone, Skyler and Crew were still quiet. Then Skyler put a
smile on his face and the tension literally disappeared.

"Let's watch some Family Guy," he announced heading into the living room.

*** "Are you sad because of the guy I met at the twin's apartment?" I asked
referring to Helaku.

"Hela?" he asked quietly not looking up from his notebook.

It was another Saturday morning and we were once again seated in his
kitchen table.

I waited for him to say something, but he never did go any further.

"I don't want to talk about it," was all he said.

"Ok," I said instantly.

Crew looked at me with surprise, like he was expecting an argument.

I just smiled and turned back to my textbook, reading.

I felt Crew's eyes on me and then out of the corner of my eye I saw him
return to his work.

I was curious about Crew. I had been to his house for six Saturdays in a
row now and never once did I see a family member around. I never ever saw
any pictures of anyone that could remotely be his family. I saw a lot of
pictures of the twins and his best friend Zeke though.

He still was quiet and soft spoken around me and he seemed a little bit
down ever since that encounter with Helaku.

I never felt the urge to ask him questions though.

Answers were to be given willingly and he obviously didn't want to give any
to me at this time.

"Thank you."

I looked up into Crew's blue eyes which were full of gratitude and relief.

I just smiled and resumed copying down the chapter key terms.

***