ALLEN

by tim



Here we go with Allen again;

it hasn't stopped, and I won't say when.

Remember to e-mail me if you have a comment;

I'll tell you now where mail can be sent.

tim.0310@juno.com

Please, I ask you, don't copy this work;

and sell it for profit like some kind of jerk.

Or post it to other sites 'cause that would be bad;

unless my permission, you've already had.

This story contains gay sex so don't be offended;

unless you're the type who's never been rear-ended.

If there's a similarity of person or place;

it's just a coincidence, so don't get on my case.

Okay, the gay sex part might have been just a bit crude. Now I feel like a bad boy and I need to be spanked. Just kidding, and I hope everyone realizes that - the poetry is done; all in good fun. Oh no! I can't stop now. I guess there's only one thing to do, but first I have an announcement. From now until the end of Book One I will post each chapter twice. The 'a' chapter will be in html format, while the 'b' chapter will be in standard txt format. This is so the reader may choose which format they would rather read. After Book One has concluded any further chapters will be posted only in html. BTW, look! I figured out how to indent. (You have to read it in html to get that one.)


Allen - by tim

Part 12

Calvin awoke Saturday morning in Ricky's arms. Ricky had told him about the talk with Rusty, so now Calvin knew what the problem was. He just wished he knew what to do about it. There was no way he could live without Ricky in his life now, they shared so many of the same feelings and interests.

For example, they both liked playing music. Ricky loved to play the keyboard, although his piano teacher would have a fit if she heard him call it that. Also, Calvin had been playing around with the guitar for years, and had become quite good at it. Both boys also sang fairly well.

Most importantly though, Calvin and Ricky had fallen so in love with each other that it would be impossible for Calvin to imagine them apart. But Calvin also loved his other friends. They had helped him through some pretty rough times, whether they knew it or not. It just wasn't the same love he felt for his precious Ricky. Calvin knew there just had to be a way to convince Rusty and Allen that he still cared about them.

Rusty awoke Saturday morning and behaved as though nothing had happened the night before. He had convinced himself during the night that it was only a one time event, and he was making way too much out of it. Besides, he had a date tonight with one of the best looking girls in school. Rusty began to grin widely as he thought about his date with Jennifer.

"Why have you got such a big, goofy grin this morning?" asked Allen. "Oh wait. I forgot about the big date tonight. You're really gonna wow her, taking her out in a city bus, you stud!"

"Oh, you're just jealous." said Rusty. "Besides, if you had yourself a boyfriend, we could double tonight. And for your information, it's not my fault I'm still two weeks away from my license."

"Right! Like I would want that one floating around school." replied Allen. "Double dating a guy, along with you and Jennifer."

Besides, how could Allen tell Rusty that he was right. Allen was jealous, he would give anything to replace Jennifer after last night. He couldn't ever say that though, if he did he would lose the best friend he ever had. Allen decided that while Rusty was on his date, he would go to the mall and hang out. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could find someone who would want to be with him. After his experience with Calvin though, he wasn't going to rush anything. At least he had learned that lesson well.

Rusty spent the rest of the day running around in circles, getting ready for his date. Before Rusty left he cornered Allen, away from everyone else. Rusty put his arms around Allen and gave the boy a warm, friendly hug.

"I hope you know, I'm not going out with Jennifer to replace you." said Rusty. "You're my very best bud, and no one could ever replace you. It's just that a straight guy's gotta do what a straight guy's gotta do. I promise that I'll never ignore my best friend though, I'll always find time for you whenever you need it." Then Rusty patted Allen on the back.

Allen replied, "Thanks pal, that means a lot to me. I'm happy that you think I'm irreplaceable, and that you'll always be there if I need you." Allen then returned the pat to Rusty's back.

That evening, Allen had a good time at the mall. He met a few other kids, although none gave any indication of being boyfriend material. However, he did have fun. That is until Calvin and Ricky showed up.

"Hey pal." said Calvin.

Allen wheeled around when he thought he heard Calvin's voice. Sure enough, it was Calvin, and Allen did not look thrilled.

"Please Allen! Please don't run off, I need to talk to you." begged Calvin.

"Okay!" said Allen, gruffly. "Go ahead, if you think it will do any good!"

Then Calvin said, "Allen, we've been friends for way too long for me to lose your friendship like this. I know things haven't exactly worked out well for everyone, and if we could turn back time I would never do things the way I did. But the past is past and we can't change it, and now there's Ricky. I know you don't want to hear this, but I love Ricky. I didn't intend for it to happen but I thought after what I had done to you, there would be no way you could still have those feelings for me. That's when Ricky came along." Calvin looked down at his feet for a few seconds, and then continued.

"In that short period of time I became free to be whoever I wanted to be. I also realized that I had fallen in love with Ricky. I'm so sorry that you found out by seeing me and Ricky like that. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you again. Do you know why? It's because I still love you, dude. It's just a different way than I love Ricky. I love you as the best friend a guy could have, even though I know I don't deserve you as a friend. It still hurts that I made you feel the way you feel, and now you don't want me around. Please Allen, find a way to give me one more chance as a friend." By this time Calvin was fighting to control his feelings.

Allen didn't know what to think. Calvin had hurt him twice, but he wished things could be the way they were before any of this happened. Then he looked at Calvin, who looked like he could begin crying in the middle of the mall at any time. Finally, Allen saw the look of concern on Ricky's face. Allen reached his hand out toward Calvin, who took the hand into his immediately.

"I'll think about what you've said." replied Allen. "Just so you know, I don't hate you. I also don't want any of us to hurt because of this anymore. Do you mind if we talk about this again at Rusty's birthday party?"

Calvin then hugged Allen in the middle of the mall and said, "Dude, you know my birthday's on the same day. Maybe Tom can call Mike and Emily and work out a joint birthday party. I definitely want to talk to you then!"

Allen shook hands with Calvin and Ricky, and promised again to talk to both of them at the party. Then the boys split up and Allen made his way home. He had a lot to think about on the way.

Rusty was having a good time on his date, or so he thought. During the movie they were watching, one of the characters had a very funny line.

Rusty subconsciously said, "That was a good one, wasn't it Allen."

"I beg your pardon!" said Jennifer. "You just called me Allen. Is there something I should know."

Rusty looked embarrassed beyond belief as he replied, "I'm sorry Jennifer. This is the first time I've gone to the movies on a date. Usually I go with Allen, I guess I just wasn't thinking."

"I guess not!" exclaimed Jennifer. "Maybe this will remind you!" Jennifer then grabbed Rusty's hand and held it for the rest of the movie.

After the movie, Rusty and Jennifer had a nice dinner and Rusty never repeated his slip. Then they got on the bus and headed home. Rusty walked Jennifer up to her front door where he said goodnight.

As he was about ready to leave, Jennifer asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?" She then puckered out her lips at Rusty.

Rusty said, "Oh yeah, sorry." He then kissed Jennifer on the cheek and said, "I'll see you at the birthday party." as he ran off down the sidewalk.

On the way home Rusty replayed the evening in his head. He had a good time, after all Jennifer's hand was much softer than Allen's. Although when him and Allen went to the movies they would always joke around, but Jennifer just wanted to watch the movie. Also when Rusty and Allen would eat together, they would always make faces at each other to see if they could make the other person choke. And Allen would certainly never expect a kiss at the end of the evening, just every once in a while.

One other person had a busy evening. It was the private detective / bodyguard that Tom had hired to keep an eye on Robert, when Tom couldn't be with Calvin and Ricky. The detective had followed Robert, who had followed Calvin and Ricky, to the mall. He thought at one point things might get rough, but Robert did keep his distance. As the detective was about to notify the police that Robert was in violation of the restraining order, the boys finally decided to call it an evening and go home. At that point Robert went home as well.

The next week went pretty smoothly for the boys. Calvin did have Tom talk to Mike and Emily about the party. The adults seemed thrilled about combining Calvin's and Rusty's 16th birthday parties. They thought it might help the boys patch up their differences.

Rusty talked to Jennifer every day because he had biology class with her, he felt things were going great with him and his new girlfriend. However, he wasn't exactly thrilled when his parents told him about the plans to combine his and Calvin's birthday parties. He was told by Mike and Emily that the plans had been set and that was all there was to it.

Allen was busy thinking over what Calvin had said to him. He did miss his second best friend, next to Rusty. By the end of the week Allen had began sitting with Calvin and Ricky during fifth period Algebra. This made Ricky very happy. Not only was his boyfriend happier because of this, but Ricky also wanted a chance to be accepted as a friend by Allen and Rusty.

The weekend before the birthday party Rusty decided to take his best friend to one of the local theme parks. Since Allen was still supposed to be taking it easy Rusty decided on Universal Studios. Maybe if Allen was feeling up to it, they could go to the other Universal park next door where all the big thrill rides were.

While they were standing in line at the gate they met a man named Greg, and his son named Shane. They found out the pair weren't really father and son yet, but someday hoped to be. Rusty and Allen enjoyed talking to Greg and Shane and eventually invited the pair to Rusty's birthday party. Then the first pair made it to the turnstile.

The turnstile attendant ran Greg's ticket through the turnstile and allowed him in without a hitch. When he ran Shane's ticket through though, nothing happened. He ran Shane's ticket through the turnstile a few more times, with no luck.

The attendant looked up at Shane and asked, "You didn't break your ticket did you?"

"What do you mean 'break my ticket'?" replied Shane.

The attendant set Shane's ticket on top of the turnstile and pounded it with his fist. Then he said, "If you do that, that's enough to break your ticket. Did you do that?"

Shane replied, "No, I didn't do that!"

"Oh, oh!" exclaimed the attendant. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that then."

By this time Greg, Rusty, and Allen were all laughing at the attendants antics. He finally ran Shane's ticket through again, and this time it worked as the attendant sighed an exaggerated sigh of relief. Then it was Allen and Rusty's turn.

The attendant asked the boys if they thought the incident with Shane's ticket was funny. When both boys agreed that it was, the attendant said, "In that case you're going to have to answer a question before you can get in. Are you ready?"

Both boys nodded so the attendant asked, "If a rooster lays an egg on top of a house, and the roof runs north to south but the wind is blowing out of the east, which way will the egg roll off?"

Allen and Rusty discussed this for a few seconds, then Allen answered, "It rolls off to the west."

"I'm sorry!" exclaimed the attendant. "Your answer is wrong because roosters don't lay eggs!"

Greg and Shane had stuck around to see if Allen and Rusty made it in okay, and were now howling in laughter. The attendant then let Rusty and Allen in.

The attendant turned to the guys and said, "Thanks for visiting us. Have fun today." He then waved at the four guys.

Rusty said, "That guy was nuts, but funny as heck."

Greg said, "Yeah, I don't think I've ever been that entertained just getting into a park."

The four guys hung out for a while and talked, before splitting up. Rusty and Allen continued on and had a great day. They did end up going over to the other park for a while. While Allen didn't quite feel up to riding the big green roller coaster at the front of the park, he did ride the 3-D ride based on a famous superhero. It turned out to be one of the best days Rusty and Allen had experienced in quite a while.

The next week was busy with preparations for the big birthday parties. Allen was intent on finding Rusty a present that would come close to the present Rusty had given him for Christmas. By the end of the week, he felt he had it all worked out. Rusty was also very busy studying for his drivers license test, which he would take early Saturday morning before the party. Rusty was a little less upset about combining parties with Calvin, seeing as how Allen didn't seem too upset by it either.

Then came the big day. Rusty and Mike headed off to the DMV, while Emily started to make preparations. Originally Rusty had wanted a swimsuit party around the pool, but Emily put the brakes on that idea. Besides, it was still too early in the season to plan on something like that. She did tell Rusty that if it were warm enough that day, the kids were welcome to use the pool but it would not be an all day event.

Shortly after Rusty and Mike left, Tom arrived with Calvin and Ricky. The boys would be in charge of getting the back yard ready, while Emily and Tom continued with preparations. Emily did have Tom pull Rusty's present into the back yard when it arrived. She wondered how they were going to keep a car a secret from Rusty, until the dealer agreed to deliver it on a flatbed on the morning of the party. Once Tom had the car in the back yard, he put it in a corner beside the garage and covered it with a tarp.

Calvin was green with envy, as he continued setting up tables and chairs. Meanwhile, Allen and Ricky were running speakers from the stereo inside the house out to the back yard.

As they were working Ricky asked, "So, do you think the four of us can be friends like you, Calvin, and Rusty were before anything happened?"

"I don't know if it can be exactly like it was before," said Allen, "but I don't see why we can't at least get along and hang out sometimes. It did hurt when I first saw Calvin and you, but now I'm glad for him that he has you."

"Thanks buddy!" said Ricky. Then he gave Allen a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Damn!" exclaimed Allen. "How come all the nice ones are taken?" Then both boys laughed.

Just before the rest of the guests started arriving Rusty and Mike returned, with Rusty smiling and laughing like crazy, as he waved his license in the air for everyone to see. Now it was Allen's job to make sure Rusty didn't notice the tarp, which was partially hidden by the garage. Beth volunteered to help Allen with that job.

First to arrive was Greg and Shane. Rusty and Allen took them around and introduced them to everyone as their new friends. Greg seemed to hit it off nicely with the adults, then Mike noticed that Greg happened to be Greg Holt, the writer. Everyone was suddenly impressed that Rusty and Allen knew someone who was so famous, but no one was more surprised than Rusty and Allen.

"Shane! Why didn't you tell us that your future dad was a famous writer?" asked Allen.

Shane replied, "Because, you didn't ask."

"Dude!" exclaimed Rusty. "He doesn't even look rich and famous. He looks just like anyone else's dad."

"Thanks." said Shane. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that. He works hard at not being too noticeable."

Next, Allen's parents arrived, followed soon after by Jennifer.

Allen got Jennifer alone for a few minutes and said, "Hi. I'm Rusty's friend Allen. Could you help me to keep Rusty from noticing his parent's present over there by the garage?"

Jennifer replied, "Oh! So you're the Allen I've heard so much about from Rusty. Sure babe, no problem. I'll help you keep Rusty distracted."

Allen could see why Rusty liked Jennifer now, she seemed really nice. He just wished she wouldn't try to make him blush like that. Soon, several of Rusty's friends from school had arrived along with the assorted relatives, and the party was in full swing. Allen, remembering the last party he was at, was relieved that Beth was the only little kid at the party.

Once everyone had sung the version of Happy Birthday that involved Rusty and Calvin living in a zoo, Rusty personally served Allen some cake and ice cream. He had remembered that Allen couldn't have any at the last party. After the cake and ice cream, plus a little talking and joking around, it was time for presents.

Allen stepped forward first and said, "After the really cool present you gave me at Christmas, I wanted to do something special." He then handed Rusty a small box. "Go ahead and open it."

Rusty opened the box and removed an intricate looking ring, with the word 'friend' across the top in raised letters.

Then Allen said, "The really cool thing about this ring is that it is actually two interlocking rings." Allen took the ring and gave it a slight twist, unlocking the two halves. Then he continued, "See. Now you can have this half with the letters f-r-i, and I'll have this half with the letters e-n-d. That way we'll always know what we are together."

Rusty was so moved that he couldn't speak for a few moments. Almost everyone there thought it was a special moment. However, Jennifer looked on with apprehension etched on her face. After that moment, Calvin and Rusty were both busy opening their presents.

Then Mike stepped into a position where Rusty's back would be toward the garage in order to face him. Then Mike said, "This is an important birthday for you. You're now officially a young man." Then Mike handed Rusty a small box.

Rusty said "Wow! Another really small box. And with an obscene amount of wrapping paper. Okay, I'll play along."

As Rusty was opening the package, which had enough wrapping to keep him busy for a few moments, Tom and Calvin were pushing the car out from it's hiding place. Then Tom removed the tarp and they both retook their places. Rusty finally had the box open and removed a set of keys. He held them up in the air with a puzzled look on his face.

When Mike pointed behind Rusty and Rusty turned around, he screamed, "Oh my god! You didn't! Holy crap, you got me a car!"

It wasn't a new Mustang, it looked to be about a 96 to 97 model, but that didn't matter to Rusty as he ran over and hugged the machine. To Rusty, it looked absolutely fantastic. Actually it was in very good condition, ran well, and didn't have a lot of miles on it considering it's age.

Then Rusty ran back over to his parents, threw a hug around both of them at the same time, and said, "I love you guys so much! How did I get so lucky to have a mom and dad like you?"

Mike and Emily enjoyed their son's affection and happiness so much, that it made it worth every penny they spent on the vehicle. The remainder of the party was a happy, joyful, celebration. The air was filled with music and laughter. It seemed everyone had found someone to dance with. There was Rusty and Jennifer, Mike and Emily, Ben and Judith, Calvin and Ricky, and it was a big surprise when Tom and Greg began dancing together. Not even Allen was left out, as Shane grabbed his hand and drew him into the dance.

Rusty whispered into Jennifer's ear, "I have to be the luckiest boy in the world right now."

Jennifer replied, "It would seem so, babe."

All four boys were now glad to put everything behind them, and pick up the pieces so they could go on with their friendship. It was the happiest all four of them had been together in months. Little did they know, their happiness would be seriously threatened in just one short week.

I'm sorry. I promised myself when I got to this point, I wouldn't do a cliffhanger. I just couldn't resist. I don't want to say anything about Part 13 except find something to hang on to.

tim