Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 03:05:02 -0400
From: wereallmadhere@hotmail.com
Subject: That's Life (Chapter 1)

Author's note: Hey all, this is my first time posting. I would really like
some feedback...good, bad, anything is appreciated. Email me at:
wereallmadhere@hotmail.com

First off, to save my ass, if you are under age or it is illegal for you to
be reading such "filth", please leave. This material contains crude
language (gosh!), and homosexuality (oh my!), so if you are offended, then,
yes....goodbye!

I hope I don't offend anyone with this story. It is purely fiction, all
from my own imagination as well as being inspired by many a great writers
on this site.  I do use politically incorrect terms for certain subject
matters, but I am trying to portray the thought process of the
protagonist. I do not use refined story-telling language, because I want to
say it in the voice of the protagonist.

This is not a stroke piece. (Half my readers...GONE!) It is a story of
self-discovery and the trials and tribulations of a young man dealing with
life, with the added worry about being gay. I use crude terms, not to
offend the gay population, but to mock society and how they view
homosexuals...and even how twisted it is, that the ones who feel the hate
the most, are the gay men themselves. So, I dedicate it to you all. Cheers.


Curtains up: Lights, camera, action....

CHAPTER 1

"Fuck off!" screamed Kenny as I poured a keg of ice water on him. The keg
was a token gift given to him from his last night's endeavor where he
apparently won the drinking round. I broke out into laughter then. I
couldn't hold it any longer. I laughed so much that my laughter soon turned
to hiccups and then Kenny pounced, finding the perfect opportunity. He was
on me, and compared to me, it was an easy battle. Within minutes, I was
pinned to the floor, my clothes suddenly damp.

"Shit, bro, take a joke!" I hollered, but it was no use. There sat Kenny,
two feet from me, dripping wet, with his trademark smirk/grin on his
face. He knew I was wearing my favourite shirt. The thing with Kenny is,
one could never tell if it was a smirk or a mischievous grin on his face,
so I couldn't even really get mad at him, he had one of THOSE faces. Ya,
ya, he got away with that look more often than I could remember.  Ever
since our childhood. He had a handsome chiseled face and deep blue eyes
courtesy of his Irish Dad and chestnut brown hair (now with highlights) and
tanned skin courtesy of his Italian mother. The dog even had dimples that
made my Grandma swoon.  Sick, really sick.

I lived in his shadows for all of our friendship, all fourteen years of it.
Now, him at nineteen and me at eighteen, not much has changed. We both got
into University. I wanted to prove myself so bad that I fast tracked just
so I could graduate with him, upstage him. But, it wasn't enough for my
parents. He got in for Engineering. I was majoring in Art, sissy Art.you
get my drift.

"So, what's with that shirt? You got a girl in your Still Life class?" He
smirked again.  Fuck I hated him. He knew me too well.

"Um.no, fuck off, can't I just wear it cuz I wanna?" I looked over at him.
He started laughing again.

"You're fucking redder than a tomato, dude.don't lie.so?" he said, wiggling
his eyebrows and smiling a stupid ass grin "who is it? Come on, dude, I'm
your best friend!  Plus it's about time you got yourself a pussy. If you
were a virgin any longer, you have to dedicate yourself to the
church. Blah!"

"No one.you would know. She's, well, she's got nice tits, but I think she's
out of my league, whatever." I concluded, while my fingers lay crossed
behind my back, hoping he wouldn't probe any more. Once the dude got
started, he was more curiouser and curiouser.

The thing he doesn't know is that, there is someone in my Still Life class,
but that someone don't got tits, nor a pussy. He's this Greek God or that's
how I saw him as.  Ripped, tanned, about 6'0 with an amazing smile. Amazing
body. Deep green eyes that sometimes caught the light and made him almost
magical, and these amazing hands, so graceful, his brush strokes were
so..oh fuck, I was getting carried away as usual. His name was Thanasias
Lampropolous. That was how he was introduced to us on our first day of
class. When one of the smartasses in the class, giggled, and called out
that the name was a "mouthful," he retorted, "that's not all about me that
could be a mouthful" and winked. I was in total lust. He continued on to
tell us to call him "Thane". What an unusual name? But then again nothing
about his was ordinary nor usual. Far from it.

"Wake up, hello!!!!!!" Kenny cried, knocking on my head.

"Sorry.I kinda spaced out" I said.

"S'okay, so you wanna get some dinner before you head off?" he asked, while
he changed his clothes. I couldn't help but steal glances. He put on a
fresh white wife-beater, khakis and a button down beige shirt, left
open.......damn! I needed to get laid FAST! I was just too horny.

"Ya, sure." I may have been a little skinny but I was gaining fast and I
had been working out with Kenny too so nothing turned to fat. And a growing
boy needed food.  I was almost 5'7 now. I didn't feel so small anymore, but
sometimes, when I stood beside Mr.  6'2 Kenny, I would feel intimidated. Ah
well. Back to food. Damn, if I couldn't gorge down a whole fucking pizza.
So, we headed out, me not bothering to change out of my damp shirt. I
didn't want to give Kenny that satisfaction.

The expected happened. As we exited our room (ya Kenny and I were roommates
in Rez, big surprise), these chicks came out of nowhere, I swear, and like
freaking vultures, just pounced on Kenny and asked him if he was going to
the Food Court. Mr. Man that my boy was, nodded and inevitably, we were
escorting these...well-endowed...females to the food court. Damn! I didn't
need this, especially not when I wanted to talk to Kenny.

				***

It has been almost a month that we have been in University. Things were
getting stressed.  Kenny partied like it was 1999 and I stayed home. I
didn't really check the bimbo scene if you get my drift. In the beginning
of University, Kenny always persuaded me to go with him, offering me free
drinks. I took him up on the offer the first time. Big Mistake!  A person
with my stature should not drink like I had and soon my body was
convulsing.  Not a nice feeling...especially when I was admitted to the
Hospital for Alcohol Poisoning.  Kenny was scared shitless. He wanted to
call the 'rents but knew that if he did, we would both be in shit. Thank
god he didn't...but after that, he was less adamant on me drinking.
Actually, he kinda gets freaked every time I put a drop of alcohol in my
mouth. Ah well!  At least I'm not allergic to weed or tobacco. Sweeet!

So, I really did savour these times where Kenny and I were alone and we
could just shoot the shit, but lately, Kenny had been preoccupied. He had a
whole group of friends, all loud Engineers who partied and partied and
slept with chicks. I kept to my studies. I really wasn't that outgoing like
Kenny, he was the ying (extrovert) and I was the yang (introvert). It
seemed that University was gonna separate the duo after all.  I knew Kenny
and I were drifting apart. When we were in our hometown, it was easier. We
lived next door. Our parents were good friends, we were always in close
proximity to one another and had to inevitably become friends, out of lack
of resources.


Don't get me wrong. I don't think Kenny thinks of me as a burden. I am just
starting to feel like if I cramp his "style" any more, I would lose
whatever salvageable friendship we have. So, I wanted to give him his
space, to do his thang! I was sad about it, sure, but what can I do?
						*** There we were, sitting
in the loud, cramped food court, these chicks hanging on to every word
coming out of Kenny's mouth and it was all basketball talk!  He was on the
team. I bet they didn't even know what a "slam dunk" was, but suddenly,
suddenly, they were more than ready to get a crash course on
basketball. Fuck these posers! I couldn't take it anymore. I got up, threw
my half-eaten pizza in the garbage and jetted from the scene. It was too
claustrophobic. Ok, I know what you all are thinking now, this dude is hung
up on his best bro. Hell no! Been there and done that. Way back when, when
I realized that my dick only twitched at the sight of a dude, in
particular, Kenny, I blamed myself for being gay and of course, Kenny for
turning me gay. I was in love with the boy. But, with time and years, I
learned that I had to move on. Kenny was my best friend and a nice guy, he
was open-minded, and, hopelessly...straight. So, end of story. I was moving
on...to Thane hopefully. I just needed the perfect time to let Kenny in on
my little secret. I knew he would understand. I hoped he would understand.

"Yo! Mofo!"  My thoughts were interrupted as I soon felt myself being
punched in the arm.  It was Kenny. "What's with the disappearing act man?
Why'd you leave like that?"

"You were busy with you fan club, didn't wanna interrupt, plus I's gotta
get to class, bro," I laughed. It didn't bother me, and I wanted to make
sure that he knew that.

"So, you just up and leave? What the hell is the matter with you lately?"
He was calm, but there was anger in his voice. I was shocked. I turned to
him. This was new, where was this coming from?

"Wha..?" I was totally confused.

"Are you having PMS or sumethin? Every time, you just throw a bitch fit and
leave. It's like you're trying to avoid me ever since we came to
University. Fuck Galen.  Tell me what's wrong, what's with you?" He looked
concerned. I didn't know what to do. I was on the brink of tears and I
didn't know why.

"I gotta get to class....bye," and I walked away. I could tell Kenny was
standing there. His stare burnt a hole right into my back. I couldn't turn
around. If I did, I knew I wouldn't be able to turn back. So, I kept on
walking, cursing myself for letting the tears slip through my eyes.  Sissy.
I was a fucking sissy. My dad was right.