Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2007 18:36:10 -0800 (PST)
From: Drizzt DoUrden <menzoberranzen_of_the_drow@yahoo.com>
Subject: Enjoy the Ride - Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimers apply. If you are underage (18 or 21,
depending) and/or are offended by mature themes including consensual sexual
contact between teen males, then DO NOT continue. This work is entirely
fictional and any resemblances to persons (other than myself) either living
or dead, is entirely coincidental. If you wish to reprint this story, just
drop me an email letting me know where, and make sure you give me (Menzo)
credit.

Feel free to give me criticism; my writing is far from perfect! Comments
are very much appreciated, so please drop me a quick email at
menzoberranzen_of_the_drow@yahoo.com

~Menzo

"Enjoy the Ride"

Chapter 4 - Mistakes

*********************************************************

When I woke the next day, I was groggy and very hung-over. I also noticed
that I was clad in only boxers and a t-shirt, lying beside Ben, who was
wearing even less. I lifted my head off the bed slowly, looking around the
room. I jumped when I saw Matt and Jesse standing at the door. I quickly
covered Ben with the blanket, keeping my eyes away from my friends.

"It, uh..., it's not what it looks like," I stammered.

"Really?" asked Matt sarcastically. I didn't detect any anger, but I wasn't
sure. I looked at Jesse and my heart fell. There was no judgment in those
eyes but there was an unfamiliar look in them. Disappointment, perhaps, or
sadness mixed with a healthy dose of concern.

"OK, maybe it is what it looks like," I admitted. I was suddenly nervous;
the house had been pretty full last night. "Please tell me nobody else saw
us."

"Well, ah, Dorian came looking for you last night."

"Oh, god," I groaned. My face drained of blood and I thought I was going to
be sick.

"Don't worry, he won't out you. He did seem a bit upset though." Matt
glanced at Jesse after this last remark, but I didn't pay them any
attention.

"How can you be sure?" I asked, still worried.

"He just won't. He never outed Ben when he walked in on him with making out
with another guy."

Surprise replaced worry. "So Ben is...gay?" I asked. Jesse gave me a funny
look, and a smile came briefly to his face.

"What do think, dummy?"

"Well," I blushed. "We were pretty wasted last night. Speaking of wasted,
can I get some Advil? My head is killing me."

"Sure," laughed Matt, leaving the room.

"Jamie?" said Jesse seriously after Matt had left.

"Yeah," I replied, suddenly very aware of the situation.

"I don't know exactly what happened with Ben last night, but be
careful. Don't rush into something and do something stupid. I know - well,
I don't actually - how hard it is to deal with everything, but...just be
careful."

"I know," I sighed. "I was drunk and wanted to get my mind off what had
happened earlier. It was probably a mistake, but I'll be careful."

"Promise?" he asked.

"Promise," I repeated, smiling at his protective nature. I gently shook
Ben, who started to stir.

"Oh, fuck, my head," he said sleepily as he rubbed his eyes. When he saw me
sitting there and Jesse standing in the door, he perked right up and looked
anxious.

"Oh god, it really happened?" he asked, looking abashed. I nodded and he
groaned.

"I'm sorry Jamie, I shouldn't have done that."

"Hey, it's as much my fault as yours," I said.

"But you weren't in a good place. It was my responsibility to draw the
line."

"Don't blame yourself for my actions. It was the alcohol, not you. How come
you never told me?"

"Told you what?" I arched an eyebrow and didn't respond. He sighed.

"I was afraid to tell too many people," he said. "When you told me you were
gay, I wanted to tell you too but I didn't want anything to happen between
us. I value you as a friend, and sex ruins friendships."

I smiled gently at him. "We'll forget that anything happened. I'm not ready
for anything serious right now, and I wouldn't want to lose you."

"Mmm, well I don't remember much anyway. So, we're good?"

"Of course. Though I think Dorian might be getting annoyed at walking in on
you," I laughed.

"Oh god," he sighed heavily, glancing at Jesse. "I'll talk to him on
Monday."

Matt returned with the pain killers and I eventually managed to get
dressed. I washed my face with cold water and then Jesse and I got into his
car and drove home. Susan and Dave greeted us and they didn't seem to mind
how obviously hung over we were. They had always been really cool about
that stuff.

"Looks like you had a good time," Susan teased as we walked in. We laughed
and then decided to make ourselves presentable.

I immediately went to take a hot shower in an effort to wake me up. Under
the stream of water, I let my foggy mind drift back to my little encounter
the night before. To my surprise, I no longer found myself attracted to Ben
in the way I had before. Maybe it was the fact that my fantasy had come
true or maybe it was the fact that he no longer seemed so untouchable. It
had been my first sexual experience and even though I still wanted to lose
my virginity with someone special, I didn't regret the experience. What
really preoccupied my thoughts was Jesse. I knew he was worried and, though
I couldn't admit it, I knew he was right; I really should deal with my
problems, rather than pushing them to the side. He would never say anything
about who I chose to fuck around with, but I knew what he thought. He
thought that I couldn't deal with everything, got drunk and had a
meaningless sexual encounter to take my mind off things. He wasn't entirely
wrong, I admitted reluctantly, but I just didn't know what else to do.

"Jamie?" called Jesse as I stepped out of the shower.

"You wanna go and get some breakfast?"

I hesitated for a moment. "Sure," I said. "Just let me get ready."

"Ok, I'll see you in a bit."

I dressed myself slowly and when I was done, I shook my head sadly. I had
never, ever stalled going out with Jesse before. I was determined that I
would not let this between us. They would not ruin anything else for me,
and most certainly not my long friendship with Jesse. This might not have
been the best reason for me to open up to Jesse, but I needed to and
whatever motivated me to do so would have to do. I walked downstairs, and
found Jesse waiting at the door. We stepped outside, got into his car and
endured a silent car ride to a small café where we often had brunch on
weekends.

"The usual, I suppose?" asked a waitress as we seated ourselves at our
customary table. We both nodded.

"I'm sorry," I said eventually breaking the silence.

"You were drunk..."

"Not for that." I was speaking quietly and trying to avoid talking about
the subject directly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said, reaching across the table to
grab my shoulders.

"Yes, I do," I practically whispered. "You were only looking out for me,
and I ignored that. It's just that...it's so hard for me."

"I know," he said softly. "It isn't my place to pressure you, Jamie, but I
worry about you. I don't want to see you hurt. Last night, when Jason was
there, you froze up and practically collapsed. Then, 5 minutes later, you
were up and ready to party. You can't sustain that much hurt and not feel
anything. You can't bottle it all up inside of you."

I closed my eyes, preparing myself. We were going to do this now for better
or for worse. "Thank you for that, by the way," I started. "I don't think
I've ever seen you hit someone first."

"It just made me so mad to think he could do that to you, for what? Because
you like guys?" I could see he was going to get worked up again, and I
motioned for him to calm down. He stopped, and let me continue. I talked
for what seemed like hours. The waitress returned with our food, but it was
largely untouched when we left.

It wasn't the abbreviated version I had given on my first night at Jesse's
house, but the full, gritty one. It was the first time I had thought of it
except in the darkest recesses of my mind. Now, at the forefront of my
conscience, tears began to flow freely down my face.

It was hard, but I told him every detail of that night, every blow, every
degrading remark, every cold stare from my mother. Once I had opened the
gates, everything just flowed out. I talked about the feelings of betrayal,
loss, worthlessness and distrust that I had been intensifying over the past
week. I would later learn that this delayed reaction was from shock which
prevented me from internalizing things.

Despite the tears and the anger, it did feel could to just open my heart
and soul to the one person I knew I could trust absolutely. I would battle
my inner demons for a long time afterwards, but knowing that I could always
vent to Jesse, or cry on his shoulder, permitted me to retain a degree of
normalcy in my everyday life. That's not to say I never had a bad day, or
even a breakdown, but it was far better than having to face it alone.

We stayed long after our food was gone, with Jesse doing his best to
comfort me. I was extremely grateful for his presence, and I knew I had
done the right thing to tell him. We eventually moved on to other subjects
and the rest of the day progressed quite normally.

"So, you met Dorian, huh?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. It seemed an odd thing to ask.

"He's a great guy, but I think you might have shocked him a bit this
morning," he laughed.

"Yeah, he was quite sweet last night."

Jesse opened his mouth as if to say something, but he shut it without
speaking. We finally decided it was time to leave and, after washing my
face in the bathroom, we drove back to the house. We were noticeably more
at ease now, and I was glad to have the tension between us gone.

The rest of my Saturday was pretty much a write-off. I was emotionally
exhausted, and still feeling nauseous from the hangover. I had wanted to go
running, but soon realized that it was a foolhardy idea. Jesse and I
lounged around the house, talking and just enjoying each other's company as
it had been before. It was amazing the difference in our dynamic since
yesterday and I felt tremendously better for it.
*****************************************************************

"Hey Jamie, are you coming to bed?" Jesse asked me as I got undressed.

"You go ahead, Jess, I think I'll sleep alone tonight."

"You sure?" he asked with a voice reminiscent of Liz's.

I smiled and assured him that I would be fine. He turned and went to his
room and I got into 'my' bed. I soon discovered that nights were still an
unpleasant time for me - more so as the shock turned into acceptance - and,
after I had tossed and turned for two hours, I got out of bed quietly and
padded over to Jesse's room. Rather than sleep with him, I climbed into the
day bed on the other side of the room. The rhythmic sounds of his heavy
breathing were comforting, and I soon found myself asleep.

Sunday morning, I woke bright and early and left for a much needed run. My
bruises were healing nicely and running had always been a peaceful time of
introspection for me. I ran for longer than usual and by the time I got
home, I was drenched in sweat and my breathing was ragged. Jesse was,
unsurprisingly, still asleep when I got back so I just jumped into the
shower. No sooner had I started to eat my breakfast than the phone rang.

"Hello," Lily said. The person on the other end obviously asked for me.

"One moment." She smiled broadly and handed me the phone.

"Who is it?" I asked, a bit worried. She only smiled more and pushed the
phone into my hands.

"Hello," I said into the receiver.

"Hey, Jamie," came the cheerful voice on the other end.

"Hey," I responded, having no idea as to who it was.

"It's Dorian."

"Oh, sorry. I should have recognized the voice," I laughed. It was a forced
laugh; what did he want?

"D'ya want to go for coffee?"

"What?" I asked, surprised. "Sorry, I mean that would be
lovely. Starbucks?"


"Yeah sure," he sounded a bit awkward.

"Ok, then. I'll see you there in...how's half an hour sound?"

"OK, bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone. How odd, I thought. He was more and more
awkward and nervous as the conversation continued. I just hoped there
wasn't going to be a long, awkward conversation about the party.

"Soo," Lily giggled. "Going out with Dorian?"

"Yeah," I replied, somewhat annoyed with the giggling. "He's a nice guy."

She shook her head in an exasperated fashion but let the matter drop. I
looked at the time; it was only 9:30. I decided not to wake Jesse so I just
wrote him a note before getting changed into something suitable for
Starbucks.

**********************************************************

"Hey Dorian," I called, walking up to the lean figure standing by the
entrance.

"Oh, hi Jamie," he said shyly. I found that a bit curious, seeing as how we
had talked extensively on Friday.

"Lets go grab something to drink," I said, pulling him by the arm into the
café. I ordered an oatcake and my usual, rather complicated, espresso
drink. I paid and walked over to the counter while Dorian ordered his
drink. However, as soon as I reached the counter where they serve the
drinks I was totally transfixed by the gorgeous guy working the bar. I had
never seen him before, and judging by the looks of things, he was new here.

"Hey," I said, finding my voice. "You might want to put the coffee in after
the foam."


"Oh sorry," he blushed. "I'm not so good at this, am I?"

"Nonsense!" I said emphatically. "It's a tough drink to make, and this is
what, your first week?"

"Yeah," he said with a small smile. "Are you a regular?"

"Yes. So I expect you to now how to make it next time, ok?" I laughed.

"Yes, sir!" he smirked nervously. Our eyes definitely lingered, but I never
had had a good gaydar so I wasn't sure. As he broke our stare, I took the
time to take in his beauty. He was small - no taller than 5'8 - and I
guessed his age at about 17 or 18. He had a very slight build and was
obviously not an athlete. Cute in the extreme was how I would have
described him. His close-cropped black hair framed a pixie-like face with
nicely proportioned features. His eyes were hazel and had a beautiful
almond shape but it was his mouth and smile that made me melt when I looked
at him. He was quite shy but when I saw his full red lips break into a
sweet smile, I thought I was going to start drooling.

He didn't exude raw masculinity or sex appeal, and he wasn't even 'pretty'
in the way Ben was, he was just so unbelievably cute. The uniform stopped
me from getting a look at his clothes, but his well-groomed hair and
manicured fingers suggested a quiet pride in his appearance.

"He's not that hot," Dorian whispered, somewhat sharply, into my ear,
snapping me out of my trance. I blushed and he grabbed his coffee before we
walked over to an empty table.

"Sorry about that," I said.

"Ben might not be so happy about it," he said, the indifference in his
voice starting to bother me.

"Ben? Why would he care?" He arched his eyebrows at me.

"Ooh, that. Yeah, um," I coughed. "That was just a drunken mistake. Sorry
you had to walk in on the two of us like that."

"You're not together?" he asked, his voice returning to normal.

"No, why?" I laughed.

"Oh, no reason. Just curious, I guess," he trailed off and took a long
drink to compensate. "I don't really know all that much about you, I mean."

"So, lets talk."

And talk we did. We spent quite a while talking, jumping from topic to
topic. The issue of my parents never came up, but I think he had a decent
understanding of what had happened. I genuinely liked Dorian; he seemed
very open and sweet. He was the first I had met since switching schools
that I could actually see as a friend. I was bit annoyed by some of his
behavior when I did anything 'gay,' but it didn't seem malicious so much
as...I don't actually know what it was.

"Look," I explained. "I'm not out, and I want it to stay that way, but you
already know. If you could not tell anyone, I would be grateful. It isn't a
problem for you, is it?"

"No! Why would it be a problem for me?"

"I dunno," I said. "You seemed a bit annoyed that I was, um, talking with
that guy at the bar."

"Well, your eyes were practically falling out of your head," he said with
same tone. I dropped the matter, and returned our empty mugs to the bar. I
said a few polite words to the guy, and resolved to come here more often
when he worked.

Dorian and I said friendly goodbyes and promised to see each other more in
class as we shared several. I spent the rest of the day with Jesse and we
had a blast. It felt like nothing had happened, and we were just the same
inseparable best friends we had been before. It was a huge relief for me to
know that I hadn't lost that too. I spent quite a bit of time finishing my
homework and covering some of the curriculum differences between my old and
new schools. It had been a weekend of ups and downs but I was feeling great
when it came time for bed.

I slept on the day bed again and that night was no better than the one
before. My therapist would later say that it was natural for me to try and
lead a normal life during the day but that it would to some very hard,
lonely nights. Hard, yes, but I knew that I would never be lonely there.


************************************************************


Monday started off well; I went for my daily run and met my friends at the
school yard. Liz seemed a bit worried about my excessive drinking at the
party, but that was just Liz. There was no awkward moments between Ben and
I. It was quite the reverse, actually. We now had so much more in common
now, and conversation seemed to flow more easily. Jesse and Matt were
laughing about something and things seemed normal. The bell rang and I met
Dorian in the hall before our first class.

"You shouldn't hang out with fags," drawled a voice from somewhere behind
me.

"Right, I'll be sure to keep my distance from you then," I retorted easily,
never looking back. Whether or not it was my lack of 'respect' or my
comments, I soon came to regret not turning around. I felt my body collide
with the wall and I whirled around, regaining my footing.

"I'm sorry," I said shaking my head. "Do I know you?"

Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say either, I observed as I
narrowly dodged a fist.

"Derek James," the leader of the pack said menacingly. "Remember it,
fucker!"

"Right, will do," I said with a fake smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I
have a class to get to." I started to brush past them, not really expecting
to get anywhere, when I once again found myself hitting the wall with
uncomfortable force.

"Don't mess with us, White," the dumb looking boy said.

"Excellent! You already know my name! Oh, and I won't, don't you worry." I
said, still not displaying any fear. I did refrain from moving though.

"I don't like repeating myself, punk, but I will. Because I'm nice."

Right, nice. I thought to myself.

"Don't hang out with fags, or rumors will spread," he said with a glance to
Dorian that left little doubt about the fag and in a tone that left little
doubt as to who would be spreading said rumors.

"Yes, well if Dorian ever decides to molest me, I will make sure to let you
know of it."

"Don't get smart!" said one of the other guys.  Had a hunch that they were
just picking on Dorian and that he wasn't actually gay, and so I stuck with
that story. Dorian himself wasn't saying anything, but I couldn't really
blame him for not wanting to get involved.

"Ok... So, let me get this straight. No fags, no backtalk and no smarts?
Anything else I should know." My poker face was perfect, as were my
reflexes. Fortunately, before anything could escalate, Ms. Stone walked by.

"Mr. James, do you have a problem?" she asked calmly.

"No, ma'am," he replied before lowering his voice to whisper in my
direction. "But you will soon."

"Alright, then. Get to class, you're late already."

They started to disperse in different directions but apparently Derek
couldn't resist the temptation to have another go at me.

"This isn't the end of this, White. You'll regret this, you know."

"I hadn't planned on it, but if you say so..."

I would regret it, as it turned out. I think I was overcompensating for my
lackluster defense against my brother and father and I was going to play
the tough, sarcastic guy, no matter the cost. My teacher bitched at us for
being late, but we largely ignored him and moved to a corner of the room
where the lesson was forgotten in favor of conversation.

"So, what's the deal with Derek?" I asked.

"Typical bully," Dorian replied. "Dumb, and followed by cronies dumber than
he is. Still, it isn't wise to provoke him. He can make life very
unpleasant for you. Thanks for sticking up for me, by the way."

"Don't sweat it, it was fun to taunt him." Dorian looked worried, and I
would later find out why. Derek James did not take kindly to being played
for a fool.

The incident happened at lunch hour. I was walking towards the pick-nick
table where Jesse and the rest were eating their lunch when my peripheral
vision glimpsed a closed fist coming towards my temple. I was not your
typical bullied kid, however, and I was far more agile than he was. I
ducked his fist and, against my better judgment, drove the heel of my hand
under the arm that had just flown by. My hand smashed into his ribs,
eliciting a growl of pain and renewed efforts by him and his friends to
land a hit on me. I was quite good at fighting, but I was certainly no
match for Derek and three of his as-yet-unnamed friends. Rather than wait
for them to reach me, I spun around once and brought my foot crashing into
the side of Derek's neck, dropping him to the floor.

The last time I had been in a fight, I hadn't fought back. I was still
haunted by the demons of that night, and I lost my ability for rational
thought. All vestiges of clever wit and courtesy were gone from my voice.

"Bring it on, you son of a bitch," I said to the body on the ground in
front of me. His cronies, stunned, stopped momentarily, giving me the time
I needed to prepare myself. It had all happened very quickly, but by the
time they were upon me and, I must admit, getting the better of me, half
the school had crowded around us and Jesse, Matt and another boy I didn't
know were trying to break up the fight. Well, they were more trying to
pummel Derek's friends than anything else. Four on three, with me in a
less-than-lucid state, they had no chance. I escaped with only some aching
ribs, and Matt seemed totally uninjured. Jesse and the other guy were
sporting blackening eyes as they backed away from the fight. Derek was out
cold. Unfortunately, the fight had brought back powerful emotions of anger
and hate, and I was not about to stop the fight.

"Calm down!" yelled the stranger, grabbing my shoulders.

"Jamie," Matt said. "It's over."

"You've got that right, Mr. Brighton," came the cold voice of
Ms. Stone. She did not seem so warm and approachable right now. "I want all
of you in my office in 3 minutes. Someone take James to the nurse, please."
She gestured once to the body of Derek and then walked back into the
school.

"Uh-oh," sighed Jesse. "This isn't good."

"No," I agreed, shaking. I was in no mood to talk about my actions at the
moment; that could wait until we were alone. The rest of the short walk
passed in silence. We reached the office of Ms. Stone where she was waiting
for us.

"Sit down," she said to us, gesturing to a row of chairs in front of her
desk.

"So, which one of you wants to tell me why there was a brawl in my school."

"It was Derek James," I said firmly but politely.

"So, he attacked you and you felt it appropriate to knock him unconscious?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And the rest of you?" she asked to the others.

"Matt, Aaron and I came to help Jamie when John, Clay and Ken started to
attack him as well."

I assumed that Aaron was Jesse's friend, while John, Clay and Ken were
Derek's. They made objections, insisting foolishly that Jesse and Matt had
been the ones attacking Derek.

"Stop!" said Ms. Stone firmly. "I expect to see you all after school. I
believe the cafeteria needs a good clean. You may go."

We all got up, relieved at our light punishment, but as I reached the door
I heard her call my name.

"Not you, Jamie. Stay here, please."

Matt whirled around and opened his mouth, but I motioned for him to
leave. Once they had all left for class, I sat back down.

"Yes?"

"Why did you do it?"

"What?" I asked.

"Why didn't you just walk away."

"Because that doesn't make the problem go away," I answered simply. "It may
not have been wise to fight back, but I would do it again, given the
chance. I know people like Derek, and they only stop when they realize you
aren't afraid of them. I'm sure he'll think twice before trying to hit me
again."

"Do you really believe that, Jamie?"


I narrowed my eyes; what was she getting at?

"I have been a teacher for almost 30 years and I too have known many people
like Derek. It is just as likely that next time he picks a fight, you will
find yourself surrounded by thugs in a dark alley with no one there to
help. Be careful, Jamie."

"I will, Ms. Stone. And thanks for the warning, I'll keep it in mind." I
couldn't shake the feeling that she liked me more than the rest of her
students.

The rest of the school day was rather uneventful. Dorian seemed very
worried about Derek James, but I did my best to reassure him. Cleaning the
cafeteria was surprisingly enjoyable. Derek and his friends had been
assigned to the kitchen while me and mine cleaned the eating area. We
laughed and joked and spilt water all over. Aaron turned out to be a great
guy and a good friend of Liz's. A very good friend, as I found out when Liz
came to see how we were doing.

We finally finished cleaning to the satisfaction of the janitor and left to
go home, our backs sore and our hands raw. The reception at home was pretty
much as expected. Lily and Susan immediately swarmed over us, paying
special attention to Jesse's black eye, and once they were satisfied we
would survive, stern disapproval replaced worry. We were late, because of
the cleaning, and Dave was already home. We endured a lengthy lecture about
picking fights over dinner but he did concede that it wasn't really our
fault.

I was a bit concerned about school on Tuesday, especially after Ms. Stone's
comments, but other than a few dirty looks and a rude remark, nothing of
interest happened with Derek or his friends. The friendship between Dorian
and I continued to grow, and I got to know Aaron a bit better when he came
to eat lunch with us - or rather, with Liz.

"So, Jamie," began Aaron. "I heard you're coming to the cross-country
practice today?"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Do you run too?"

"Yup, but I'm not great. I just do it for fun. I'll give you a ride over to
the course, if you want."

"Thanks, that'd be great."


That afternoon I finally got the opportunity to do some serious
cross-country running. The coach told me that, because I hadn't been there
for tryouts, he would let me come to this practice and, if I was good
enough, I would be able to join the team. I was going to show them what
cross-country was all about. I wasn't on top form that day, but I was last
year's regional champion, despite having only been a freshman, and I was in
excellent shape. The curse we were running on was a long - almost 3 miles -
loop that passed through woods, a small meadow and a lakeside beach. I was
introduced to the team of 10 or so runners and after a small stretch, we
set off.

In general, I preferred to pace myself so that I could put on a final burst
of speed towards the end, surprising my competitors, but today I took the
lead within the first couple of minutes and kept it until the end. I ran
hard, and it felt so good to be back running through the woods. The only
other person on the team who was even close to me after the first mile was
a small boy - a freshman, I thought - that looked vaguely familiar. I
finally completed the loop, well ahead of everybody else, to find the
parking lot full of cars and waiting parents.


"Good job, White," the coach said gruffly but kindly. I nodded my
appreciation, and took a long drink of water. I took a seat on the grass
and waited until the other runners came into sight. The next to arrive was
the small freshman and after him came the rest of the group, all running
close together. I waved to Lily in the crowd, but the coach had called us
all together for a meeting.

"Ok, girls, did you see that?" he gestured towards me. "That's what I
expect from now on, ok! So, work hard and see if you can't get some
pointers from White here."

I grinned broadly, thanked the coach for the practice and walked over to
the parking lot where Lily was waiting with the car. I stopped in my tracks
when my eyes flitted across a familiar cute face.


"Hey," I said, walking over to the Starbucks waiter.

"Oh, hi," he replied shyly. I noticed a cut running across his cheek but
decided against saying anything.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"My little brother runs, too."

Ahh, so that was why the freshman had looked so familiar.

"He's quite good you know," I said.

"Thanks! I guess that's where all the athletic ability went, then."


"Maybe," I laughed. "Are you still in school?"

"Yeah, I'm a junior. I think I've seen you in the hallways. Oops, I gotta
run."

"Alright, I'll see you at Starbucks sometime," I called after him as he
went to find his brother. He was an exceptionally beautiful human being, I
noted yet again. I stepped into my car where Lily was laughing at me. I
blushed slightly but held my composure.

"Do you even know his name?" she laughed.

"Of course I do," I said, thinking furiously. "Ok, maybe I don't. What is
it?"

"Not telling," she said smugly.

"What!? Why?"

"Because you should ask him yourself."

"Gah, fine!" I snapped in feigned anger.

***************************************************************

"Hey Dorian," I called after the taller boy.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go grab coffee at Starbucks?" I asked.

"Sure!" he said, his face brightening. Neither of us had a car, so we set
out on foot.

"Jesse," I shouted over to him. "I'll be home later, ok?"

He nodded and said something that I couldn't catch over the din of the
courtyard. Dorian and I were becoming fast friends and as we spent more
time together we discovered that we had many things in common; a love of
coffee foremost among them.

"Your usual?" asked cute-Starbucks-guy when I walked up to the cash. I
noted happily that he seemed more at ease around me now.

"One time and you already know it?" I laughed, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, you were scary..." We laughed and then I paid, letting Dorian
order. He seemed a bit curt with the waitress and my old fears resurfaced a
bit. I toned down my flirting when I went to pick up my drink and we had an
enjoyable time at the restaurant. When it came time to leave, I picked up
our empty mugs and walked over to the bar.

"Thanks again," I smiled at the waiter.

"Haha, no problem Jamie."

"You know my name?" I asked, pleased.

"Keegan, my brother, couldn't stop talking about you last night. I'm
Julian, by the way."

"Well, nice seeing you again Julian. I might see you at school
sometime. Bye."

"Bye!" he called after me.

Dorian was glaring at me as I walked back to him. I sighed and shook my
head, not in the mood to humor him.

"Is that why you invited me here?" he asked accusingly. I was fed up; he
knew I was gay, he could at least expect to watch my flirt a bit without
getting defensive.

"What is your problem?" I demanded angrily. He looked taken aback, but it
was momentary.

"If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you!" He swung his bag over
his shoulder and made for the door.

"Oh, please! What are you, my girlfriend?" I called after him. I stormed
out, annoyed, and we each went in opposite directions.

**************************************************************

Comments, criticisms and suggestions are all very welcome. I write because
I enjoy it, but I post them here for you so please let me know what you
think of the story.

Menzoberranzen_of_the_drow@yahoo.com

~Menzo