Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 01:00:37 EDT
From: Mikeyscribe@aol.com
Subject: Popular - 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. If you enjoy this story please check out my other stories, City Of
Dreams and Center Stage can be found in the Adult Friends section on Nifty,
The Fifth Power can be found in the SciFi/Fantasy section or all my stories
can be found at my Yahoo! Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichaelPhilips or you can send me an email at
Mikeyscribe@aol.com Please remember to include something about the story in
the subject line.

If you would like to read all the posted chapters of Popular, please sign
up for my yahoo group. Chapters 7 and 8 are available there in the files
section. Also, all new chapters and stories are updated there every
weekend. There is also a story called Trinity: Isle Of Terror available
there that has not yet been posted to Nifty. The first part of the series
is complete and available in the files section of the group. Thank you so
much!


Popular By: Michael Philips

Chapter Six

A passion that he had never knew existed swept through Leo's body as he
felt Hayden's tongue slide into his mouth.  It felt like every inch of his
body was on fire, and Leo didn't know whether to enjoy the feeling or be
afraid of it.  His mind was screaming at him that this was all a cover to
throw Jared off, but his heart refused to believe that for a second.  Leo
was reluctant to end the kiss, but his lungs were burning from lack of
oxygen.

As Leo broke the kiss he leaned his forehead against Hayden's as he gasped
for air.  Leo couldn't stop himself as his eyes drifted downward and took
in the beauty of Hayden's exposed flesh.  He could see the goose bumps that
had broken out over Hayden.  Leo wasn't sure if that was from excitement or
from fear.

The realization of his coming out broke through the euphoria that Leo was
feeling, and it took all of his energy to hold back his raw emotions.  He
felt his body begin to tremble again, and Hayden quickly engulfed him in a
tight embrace.

"You befriended me when probably nobody else would."  Hayden whispered in
his ear.  "I owe you and Lexie so much for that.  I'm not going to let you
down.  I'll be by your side throughout all of this."

Hayden had meant his words to be comforting, but it only made Leo more
upset and afraid.  Leo had been able to put the wager with Noah out of his
mind for some time, but it all came rushing back to him as Hayden had
whispered in his ear.  Their initial friendship wasn't based on honesty,
and an intense guilt swept over Leo.  He had to tell Hayden the truth, but
by God he was so afraid.  Leo wasn't sure if that kiss had meant as much to
Hayden as it did to him, but Leo was sure that the bet would change
everything.  It was more than likely that Hayden wouldn't be by Leo's side
after all was said and done.

"There's something I have to tell you."  Leo quietly said to Hayden.  "It's
about..."

Leo wasn't given the opportunity to confess to Hayden as a pair of arms
pulled them apart.  Noah had separated them, and his face was twisted in
fury.  Lexie stood behind him and was trying to pull Noah back.

"What the FUCK is this all about?"  Noah demanded. "Are you really a fag,
Warner?"

"Damn it, Noah!  You better lower your voice before you make a scene."
Lexie snarled at him.  "Say that again, Noah, and I'll kick your ass all
over the campus."  Hayden growled at him.  "Do you even realize how
difficult this must be for Leo?"

"He didn't look all that upset as you shoved your tongue down his throat,
Hayden."  Noah lowered his voice, but the anger and hate was still there.
"Unless you mean to tell me that you enjoyed it.  Are you a homo too?"

"This is definitely one of the hottest rush parties we have ever had."
Hayden recognized Adam's voice immediately.  The group had turned to find
him standing next to them.  "I was a little afraid that Jared was going to
ruin the party by that scene that he caused.  Don't worry, his nasty ass
has been evicted from the premises.  That hot kiss the two of you shared is
definitely the talk of the party.  I'm Adam Packard by the way.  I'm the
Chapter President for Beta Kappa Gamma."

"I hope that their fag...little display won't hurt our chances at rushing
here."  Everyone knew that Noah was about to say faggy, but they didn't
realize just how far Noah was planning on going.  It seemed that having the
frat president standing with them had flipped the snob switch in him.  "We
haven't known Hayden all that long.  So we were surprised to say the least
when he attacked Leo here."  Noah laughed in an attempt to pass his comment
off as a joke, but he wasn't fooling anyone.

Hayden could feel Leo's body completely tense up in anger, and he placed a
hand on Leo's shoulder to calm him down.  Hayden wasn't surprised that Noah
would try to exclude him from their group.  Noah was obviously hoping to
rush BKG, but Hayden knew that Noah's words had sealed his fate.  The frat
would never accept someone like Noah into their fold, ever.

"Our frat is one of the most exclusive frats on campus, but that doesn't
mean that we are close minded."  The smile on Adam's face was the type of
smile a person would give a small child.  "A fairly decent percentage of
our current brothers and alumni are gay.  We do have a zero percent bigot
rate though.  Which we are pretty proud of."

"So you would let Hayden rush?" Noah asked incredulously.  It seemed to be
beyond Noah's grasp that not all people were homophobes.

Hayden could see the tension that was running through the group.  Noah's
mouth was definitely going before his brain was engaged.  From the looks
that Lexie was giving him this was a side she had never seen before.  Which
didn't surprise Hayden in the least.  He was positive if Noah had shown his
bigot tendencies before, Lexie would have gotten rid of him.  Hayden could
see a muscle in Adam's jaw begin to twitch.

Hayden realized that the moment of truth for him was at hand.  Adam
wouldn't back down from the bigotry he was seeing, and Hayden didn't blame
him.  If the situation was reversed Hayden would do the same.  Adam
carefully looked over at Hayden in question.  He knew what Adam wanted to
say, and he nodded once giving Adam permission.

"It doesn't matter what anyone in this frat thinks of Hayden, though they
all like him."  Adam said with a grin.  "He would be given a bid just based
on that, but he's guaranteed one no matter what anyone thinks."

"How could he be guaranteed a bid?"  Noah demanded.

"I'm a legacy."  Hayden quietly replied.  Lexie glanced at him curiously,
and Hayden continued to explain.  "A legacy is when one of your relatives
is either in the frat or if they're one of the alumni.  My father is a Beta
Kappa Gamma alumni."

"That's bullshit!"  Noah exclaimed surprising the group.  "I was talking to
one of the brothers earlier in the week, and he had mentioned this year's
legacy candidates.  He never mentioned a Taylor."

"That's because Taylor isn't my last name."  Hayden quietly said.  "Taylor
is my middle name."

Leo stepped back from Hayden, and he could see the shock in Leo's eyes.
Noah and Lexie looked just as shocked as Leo.  Guilt and pain ripped
through Hayden with a power he had never known.  He hadn't meant to lie to
his new friends, and he could only hope they would understand.

"What's your last name?"  Leo asked quietly.

"Chatham."  Hayden's voice was low and raw.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Noah practically yelled. "Chatham as in the
Chatham Chapter House?  Chatham like Chatham Inc., the largest privately
owned company in the country? You're father is Dale Chatham, the
millionaire?"

Fury had replaced the fear that coursed through Hayden's body.  Noah looked
at Hayden with a great amount of distaste.  Hayden knew that Noah couldn't
believe that someone like himself had come from a great deal of money.
Hayden knew that his family's wealth outweighed anything that all three of
their families had put together, and Noah's attitude finally forced Hayden
to the breaking point.

"No."  Hayden tried to control his anger as well as he could.  "My father
is Dale Chatham, the billionaire."  Leo and Lexie were looking at him with
open-mouthed astonishment.  He knew that they were hurt, and Hayden
couldn't blame them for it.  Noah was sputtering and obviously trying to
figure out something to say.  After a few moments of silence Hayden
couldn't take it anymore.  "I hope this didn't ruin the rush party, Adam.
I'm think I'm going to head back to my dorm.  I'll drop by the house soon,
and we can talk."

Hayden didn't wait for anyone to respond, and he quickly left the deck.  He
made his way through the drunken partygoers and rushed from the house.
Hayden had to stop himself from running as fast as he could away from the
frat party.  His entire world had been turned upside down in a matter of
minutes.  Hayden had hoped that Leo or Lexie would have tried to catch up
with him, and when they didn't Hayden couldn't stop the tears that began to
fall.  He felt like his world was ending.


*


Hayden didn't sleep well that night at all.  His dreams had turned into
nasty nightmares.  The fear of what would happen to his friendships was
intense enough to make him think about leaving Reynolds.  Hayden lay in bed
in a pair of pajama pants and stared up at his ceiling.  He had no clue
what to fucking do, but he did plan on staying in bed all day.  That plan
was changed as someone knocked on his door.  Hayden had ignored it at
first, but the pounding got louder.  He glanced over at his clock and saw
that it was barely nine in the morning.

"I'm coming!"  He called.  Hayden stumbled out of bed and yanked the door
open.  He was surprised to find out who was standing there.  "Lexie!"

"Morning!"  She gave him a bright smile.  Her eyes immediately began to
roam over Hayden's bare chest.  "I've always enjoyed meat in the morning,
but it's normally bacon or sausage.  I didn't expect to see any stud meat."

Hayden blushed at her comment, but he was surprised and definitely happy to
see her.

"How did I get lucky enough to get a wake up call?" Hayden asked with a
small smile.

"I brought breakfast."  Lexie held up a bag that Hayden hadn't noticed
before.  "I figured you wouldn't be leaving your room today, and a cutie
like you needs nourishment.  Are you going to invite me in or do I have to
stand here all day?"

"I'm sorry, come on in."  Hayden stepped back and let Lexie into his room.
She sat down on his bed and began digging through the bag as he shut the
door.  "I'm not really a morning person.  So you'll have to excuse my
rudeness."

"You think you're bad?" Lexie's laugh brightened the room.  "You should
have seen Leo's face when I stopped at his room an hour ago.  He was so
rude, I wonder why?"

Hayden sat down on the bed across from Lexie.  She handed him a Styrofoam
container, and they ate their breakfast quietly for a few moments.  Hayden
wasn't sure how to start a conversation, but he was feeling optimistic ever
since Lexie showed up a few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you."  Hayden quietly said.

"You don't have to apologize, Hayden."  Lexie looked at him and smiled.
"We totally understand why you did it.  You weren't trying to hurt us.  You
just wanted to be liked for you, not your money.  Trust me, sweetie, Leo
and I have been there ourselves."

"Last night was so bad."  Hayden said with a sigh.  "I was planning on
telling you both everything, I just wanted to find the right time."

"We know that."  Lexie chewed thoughtfully on a piece of bacon.  "I would
have been here last night, but Leo was a total wreck after the whole coming
out experience last night.  Between finding out Noah was a big ole
homophobe and that you had more money than God, it was a bit much for him
on top of everything else."

"How is he handling things?"  Hayden was very concerned about Leo.

"Leo is doing the best that he can."  Lexie looked deep into Hayden's eyes.
"He was okay once he realized that I was okay with everything, but he's
still worried about you."

"Why?"  Hayden couldn't believe that with everything going on Leo was
concerned about him.  "I told him last night that I would be there for him.
I just wasn't sure if he'd want me there after the truth came out."

"Leo wasn't concerned about that.  He was as surprised as I was, but I'm
hoping you know that shit like that doesn't concern us."  Lexie's voice was
very serious.  "With or without the money, we're your friends.  I'm hoping
that we can move past this."

"I was hoping for that too."  Hayden said with a grin, but it quickly faded
as he thought of something.  "What about Noah?"

"Now that's a horse of a different color."  Lexie sigh was a painful one.
"We knew that he was snobby, and since we've known him forever we were just
used to it.  We had no idea of the hate he carried around inside of him.
Needless to say, Leo and I are keeping our distance from him.  I made it
very clear to Noah last night that things were over between us."

"I'm sorry, Lexie."  Hayden reached out and grabbed one of her hands. "This
has to be so tough on you."

"It's tough, but it's not the end of the world."  Lexie gave Hayden a small
smile.  "Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew Noah wasn't right for me,
but I was so comfortable with him I was afraid to do anything about it.  I
can enjoy being single for a while before moving onto my next victim."

"God help that poor guy."  Hayden joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
He was rewarded as Lexie laughed and punched him in the leg.

"Speaking of poor guys..."  Lexie began.  "Noah was Leo's roommate, so
needless to say Noah moved out this morning.  He went to the Student
Affairs office and requested a room change.  Leo might be looking for a
roommate soon."

"If that's your idea of dropping hints, then you have no tact whatsoever."
Hayden laughed.  "I take it you want me to move in with him?"

"It was Leo's idea really, but of course I had the same thought.  We do
share a brain you know."  Lexie's smile faded a bit.  "Leo's worried though
that you might not want to be his roommate or his friend actually."

"Why would he think that?"  Shock ran through Hayden.  He had figured they
wouldn't want to be his friend.  Hayden had never thought for one second
they would think he wouldn't want to be around them.

"He's worried that between his coming out, and the fact the two of you
shared one hell of a kiss together, that you might be uncomfortable around
him."  Lexie quietly said.

"He's worried about the kiss?"  Hayden was surprised.  "Does he remember
that I'm the one that kissed him?  The entire situation was my doing
because I wanted to get Jared to back off and leave him alone.  I told him
after that whole kiss thing that I was still his friend, and that I'd be
there for him."

"He's kinda fragile right now, and I know he's not thinking clearly."
Lexie explained.  "Leo wanted to come with me, but he wasn't sure if you'd
want to see him or not."

"I'm going to kick his ass!"  Hayden joked. "I can't believe that he would
think that I wouldn't be his friend because he was gay.  That's utterly
ridiculous."

"It's totally ridiculous."  Lexie agreed and paused for a moment before
continuing.  "Especially when he finds out that you're gay too."

"What?"  Hayden was thankfully he had a mouthful of eggs, and not bacon.
Otherwise he may have choked.

"Settle down!"  Lexie quickly continued.  "I could be totally wrong about
this, and I may have just made a huge ass of myself, but I have a hunch
that I'm not."

"How?" Hayden's voice was clipped, and he didn't look at her.

"How did I know?"  Lexie asked.  As Hayden nodded she continued.  "Well
I've had suspicions that Leo was gay for a few years now, and I saw some
things in you that reminded me of him.  Besides the fact that when we were
wrestling in the Court you weren't...shall we say excited?"

"That doesn't..."  Hayden began, but Lexie cut him off.

"I know, I know.  That doesn't mean anything, but it just added to my
suspicion." Lexie smiled comfortingly at Hayden.  "Don't think I'm
conceited or anything, but you and Leo are the only guys that have ever
wrestled with me and haven't gotten hard.  Remember I was a tomboy, so I've
pinned quite a few guys in my time.  Besides, I've seen the way you look at
him.  And as much as you may say that kiss was a cover, I could tell that
there was something else going on there.  Even the world's best actor
couldn't fake what the two of you shared last night."

"Did you tell Leo?"  Hayden quietly asked, as he finally looked her in the
eye.

"No.  That's not my place to do that."  Lexie quietly said.  "But I think
it's a bit obvious how he feels about you."

"I know what you're thinking, Lexie."  Hayden gave her a small smile.  "I
can see the wheels turning in your head.  Trust me, I would love to be with
Leo.  He's beautiful, smart, funny, caring..."

"But?"  Lexie added in for him.

"I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship."  Hayden honestly replied.
"I don't know if I could handle that.  I've never really had true friends
before.  How do I know that I could even handle something like a boyfriend?
I don't want to hurt Leo.  I couldn't do that to him."

"All I'm going to ask of you is to not put the idea completely out of your
head."  Lexie moved next to Hayden and put her arm around his shoulder.  "I
honestly think the two of you are perfect for each other, but I agree that
you have to be friends first."  Lexie leaned her head on Hayden's shoulder.
"I'm not going to tell Leo, or even hint around about it.  The ball, so to
speak, is in your court.  This way there's no pressure.  Okay?"

"Thanks, Lexie.  I appreciate it."  Hayden gave her a half hug and smiled.

"We need to have some fun."  Lexie said with a giggle.  "Adam told us last
night that they are hosting a masquerade ball tonight over at the rec
center as part of their rushing process.  I told Leo earlier this morning
that he had to go, and I'm telling you the same thing.  We need to unwind
and have fun, just the three of us."

"It's kinda short notice to get a costume don't you think?"  Hayden asked
her as he laughed.  Lexie was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

"There's a couple of costume places in town actually.  They do a lot of the
costuming for theaters in New England.  So we are very fortunate indeed."
Lexie said with a grin.  She stood up and kissed Hayden on the forehead.
"I'm going to go and run a few errands and pick up a costume.  The party
starts at eight.  Be there or else mister!"

"Wait a second."  Hayden stopped Lexie before she could leave.  "What's
your costume so I can find you?"

"Half the fun of tonight will be trying to find each other, Mister
Chatham."  Lexie winked at him and then took off.

Hayden finished up the rest of his breakfast and then quickly cleaned up
the mess.  He couldn't believe how almost an hour ago he had even thought
about leaving his friends and Reynolds behind.  Hayden smoked a quick
cigarette out of his dorm window to try and ease his nerves.  His mind
centered around what Lexie had said earlier and around the kiss that he
shared with Leo the previous night.  Was it even a possibility that things
could work out between the two of them and develop into something more?  As
Hayden threw on some clothes to run into town he pushed everything out of
his mind. Only time would tell what the future had in store for all of
them.


*


Lexie was standing by the punch bowl and tapped her foot impatiently.  The
masquerade ball had been in full swing for almost a half hour, and she
still couldn't find Leo or Hayden.  She cursed Leo as she stood there in
her Wonder Woman costume.  With her height, hair, and build, the woman at
the costume shop claimed it was the perfect costume for her.  Judging from
the appraising looks Lexie was getting that night, it was a perfect choice.
She needed to send that woman at the shop a thank you card.

She continued to curse Leo under her breath because it was his bright idea
to try and find each other instead of just meeting up beforehand.  Lexie
considered using her lasso to hog tie and whip Leo the moment she saw him.
She felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she spun around ready to give
Leo a good brow beating.

"What do you want?" Lexie spat at Noah.  He was standing in front of her
dressed as some type of English aristocrat, powdered white wig and all.

"Don't get all super hero strength on me."  Even the sound of Noah's voice
was enough to piss Lexie off.  "There's something that I need to talk to
you about.  I'm really not the bad guy in all of this."

"The fuck you aren't."  Lexie turned to walk away, but Noah grabbed her
arm.

"Trust me, Lexie.  I don't want to be talking to you either, but this is
something you have to hear."  Noah said as Lexie pulled her arm from his
grasp.

"And what's that Noah?"  Lexie decided to just hear the asshole out, and
then she planned to get as far away from him as possible.

"The entire reason why Leo is friends with Hayden."  Noah said with a grin.
"I thought you might want to know the real truth behind it."

"Obviously it's because he felt bad for knocking him down." Lexie said with
a sigh.  "You know that Leo feels guilty when he hurts someone, whether it
was on purpose or not."

"That is true, but that's not the real reason behind it."  Noah carefully
explained all the details of the bet he had with Leo.  Lexie's eyes widened
as Noah spilled his guts.  "That's the truth."

"You're lying!"  Lexie shook her head in disbelief.  "Leo would never agree
to anything like that."

"If you don't believe me then ask him yourself." Noah said with a shrug.
"He's over there playing Zorro.  I ran into him as we walked into the rec
center.  Leo's been trying to find you first."

Lexie's eyes scanned the crowd, and she finally did see Leo over in the
corner of the room.  His gaze was scanning the crowd as well.  She didn't
bother saying anything to Noah and immediately took off across the hall.
Lexie was going to get some answers, and she was going to get them right
then and there.  Lexie kicked herself for not noticing Leo sooner.  As she
approached him she could see his thick, dark hair hanging out from under
the bandana and hat that covered his face.

She grudgingly admitted that he looked really good in the all black
costume.  As Lexie approached him he finally saw her.  A dazzling smile
appeared on his face, but she didn't give him the chance to say anything.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him back into a secluded corner.

"Tell me what Noah said isn't true!"  Lexie demanded as she smacked him in
the arm.  "God damn you!  How could you do this to Hayden?"  Lexie stood
there as a stunned expression appeared on Leo's face.  "Don't even act like
you don't know what the FUCK I'm talking about.  Noah told me that the two
of you had a bet that he couldn't take anyone on campus and make them
popular.  He said that you agreed to it, and then Hayden got picked as your
project."  She couldn't contain her anger and roughly pushed Leo backwards.
"He said that the only reason you approached Hayden that day in the cafe
was to make friends with him to try and prove Noah wrong.  I never thought
you would ever pull a stunt like this."  Leo looked at her, and she could
tell he was the verge of crying.  "Are you going to fucking say anything?"

Leo raised one of his black gloved hands and covered his face.  His body
shook slightly, and Lexie wasn't sure if he was upset about her yelling at
him or upset that he got caught.  Lexie's hands balled up into fists, and
it was taking all of her strength to not pound the shit out of him.  She
opened her mouth to begin another tirade when a hand on her shoulder
stopped her.

"Lexie, what the hell are you freaking out about?  I could see you flipping
out form across the room."

Lexie's eyes widened in shock, and she spun around to find Leo standing
there.  He was dressed as Dick Tracy, and even had the yellow trench coat
to go with the costume.  He was looking at her like she had lost her mind,
and an icy cold fear shot down her spine.

"Wait a fucking minute.  If you're here, then who..." Lexie's voice broke
off as she saw Noah step into her view over Leo's shoulder.  He wasn't
standing close enough to hear what was being said, but he had a huge evil
grin on his face.  "Oh fuck!"

Lexie quickly spun around, and looked at Zorro, who she thought was Leo.
Zorro's gloved hand reached up and pulled the hat and bandana off.  The
hair that Lexie had seen before was actually a professional wig.  Her heart
threatened to explode in her chest.

"Oh my God."  Lexie whispered.  "Hayden."

Lexie locked eyes with Hayden, and tears began to fall down her face as she
realized what she had done.  Noah had set up her up good, and she had risen
to the bait without realizing it.  She couldn't even imagine the things
that were running through his head.

"What the hell is going on here guys?  This is supposed to be a party."
Leo joked and laughed.  His laughter stopped as he realized just how upset
Lexie and Hayden were.

"Is it true?" Hayden asked Leo as a few tears slipped uncontrollably down
his face.

"Is what true? What the fuck were you two talking about?"  Leo demanded.
He had no idea what had them so upset, but he was worried about his
friends.

"Noah told me about the bet." Lexie quietly sniffed.  "Of course I freaked
out, and he told me that you were dressed as Zorro.  Since YOU had decided
that we would surprise each other with our costumes, I had no idea it
wasn't you.  I came over here and confronted you about it, well, actually,
it turns out I told Hayden all about it."

"Oh my God." Leo started talking as fast as he could.  He had to explain
everything and make them understand.  "Hayden it isn't..."

"IS IT TRUE?"  Hayden's voice was harsh and cold.

"Yes." Leo muttered.  He had never heard Hayden like that before, and it
scared the hell out of him.  "It's not what you're thinking.  Please let me
explain..."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say."  Hayden interrupted him.
"I...It's...I can't believe this."  Hayden went to walk past them, and Leo
reached out and tried to grab his arm.  Hayden jumped back like he was on
fire.  "Don't touch me."

Leo watched as Hayden took off through the crowds of people.  Hayden's
words had hurt, but it hurt Leo even more when Hayden jumped away from his
touch.  Leo knew that he deserved everything he was getting, but that
didn't make it hurt any less.  He turned to Lexie to try to explain
everything to her, but she wasn't anywhere to be found.  She must have
slipped off as he watched Hayden leave.  In that one moment Leo lost the
one thing that he had started to care for more than anything in the world.
Hayden.

* * * *

If you would like to read all the posted chapters of Popular, please sign
up for my yahoo group. Chapters 7 and 8 are available there in the files
section. Also, all new chapters and stories are updated there every
weekend. There is also a story called Trinity: Isle Of Terror available
there that has not yet been posted to Nifty. The first part of the series
is complete and available in the files section of the group. Thank you so
much!