Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2014 01:27:24 +0000
From: theadlaotribe@gmail.com
Subject: Falling for a Straight Guy Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. It involves romantic
and/or sexual relationship between males. If you are offended of this
subject matter, if you are a minor, or if you are in a place where it is
illegal to read this type of literature, please stop reading now.

Copyright © 2008, 2014 by Fritz Diantan. All Rights Reserved. Except as
permitted under the law, no part of this publication may be reproduced
without the prior written permission of the Author.

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Falling for a Straight Guy
Chapter Seven: Secrets Revealed


David did not know what his friends ate for breakfast as they all climbed
the stairs to the library to review for their upcoming examinations. It was
unprecedented for the girls to take the initiative to study for as long as
Dave had known them. He was now unsure whether it was a good idea because
he had the impression that he would probably be tutoring all of them for
the next hour or so.

Looking around the silent room, it was not unusual to see less students at
this part of the campus. Only a handful of teens hangout in the library, a
few who truly needed to study for a quiz bee or something but most that
stray in were those who just needed a quiet place to chat. The librarian,
who is also a Science teacher, was always too busy and can only stay in the
library for short periods. This in turn gave the students opportunity to
talk as loudly as they can.

As they all took their seats, Dave saw that some of the students that was
already there were also seniors. He blushed a bit as he saw a familiar guy
who was noticeably perusing a math textbook with full concentration. Yet,
Dave got a twinge of annoyance when he saw Teresa Perez trying to flirt
with Daniel, obviously distracting the guy from studying. Breathing deeply
to focus himself, Dave started to take out his notes so he and his friends
can start studying.

After the first five minutes, Dave knew this would be a tough job for
him. It was as if the kikays, Marcelo and Ferdinand never paid attention to
their teachers' lectures for the past quarter. They keep asking Dave to
clarify even the simplest things. Belinda and Paul were stifling chuckles
and giggles seeing that David was obviously at the brink of
imploding. Jemma and Jaypee on the other hand looked like robots in
automatic mode. They were just flipping their notebooks at random,
pretending to read in silence as they ignore each other and the rest of the
gang.

Dave wanted to kiss Belinda after she announced that they should all take a
little break. Dave consumed almost half an hour trying to explain to his
clueless friends the difference between a motor and a generator. The kikays
stood up and stated that they were going to the "powder room" to freshen up
while Paul and Jaypee went down to the cafeteria to get sustenance. Marcelo
and Ferdinand chatted idly while looking to the other side of the library
as they fantasized the things they would do to Daniel if they were left in
a room alone with the guy. Jemma, on the other hand, just played with her
cell phone and ignored the rest of the world.

Unexpectedly, Dave felt Belinda pull on his arm and motioned for him to
follow her towards the bookshelves. Pretending to look for books they would
need for their review, the two went to the other side of the library and
stood behind the shelves away from the earshot of their friends.

"Don't tell me you hadn't noticed?" asked Belinda softly as they hid behind
the walls of books.

"Is this about Jemma and Jaypee?" said Dave. "What's up with them? Are they
in a fight or something?"

"Well..." Belinda started but clearly having second thoughts whether to
divulge information or not.

"Oh don't give that look, Bel," said Dave fiercely. "We'd been friends for
how many years now..."

"Yes, I know but if Jemma hadn't told you about this, I'm not sure if I'm
allowed to say," Belinda said with total desperation that Dave felt shivers
on his back.  Whatever the reason behind the lovers' quarrel was really
serious or else Belinda would not have dragged him behind the book
shelves. But what was bothering Dave the most was why Jemma did not asked
the help of everyone in the gang.

'Yet,' Dave thought for a bit as he realized what kind of a prick he was,
'Jemma tried to tell me her problem that day when I ditch her so I can talk
to Daniel...'

"What is it? Are they breaking up?" he asked quietly.

Belinda took some books at random, pretending to check them out. She was
silent for a while and Dave wondered whether she had not heard him. But her
answer was something he never saw coming.

"They might be if they don't get things settled," said Belinda in a voice
no louder than a whisper. "It's about... um... Jaypee wanted to do it but
Jemma said she was not ready."

Blinking in confusion, David stared at Belinda. "Do what?"

He got surprised when she glared at him, something that never happened
before, as Belinda was the gentlest among the gang.

"Oh come on David! You're a guy, isn't it the only thing you all think
about? You know... do 'it'," she said sounding a bit frustrated.

Biting his lip uncertainly, Dave just stared to her, as he was still
completely clueless. A whole minute passed in silence as Dave tried to
guess what exactly Belinda was talking about. It was not an easy feat as
his brain was still in academic mode and only school related stuff floated
to his mind at the moment.

"Oh my god, you're hopeless!" said Belinda through gritted teeth, pushing
the books forcibly back to where she got them. "I was talking about sex!"

Dave's jaw dropped in shock while his eyes got big as dinner plates.

"W-what?" he asked stupidly.

Belinda scoffed as she checked what Marcelo, Ferdinand and Jemma were
doing. The three were still minding their own business so she turned back
to Dave.

"You might be running for valedictorian but as a guy..." Belinda shook her
head a bit then continued. "Jemma told me Jaypee talked about doing it but
she was so shocked that she nearly slapped him. She didn't mean to
overreact but the damage was done. Jaypee turned cold after the rejection
so now Jemma thinks a break up is coming."

"But Jaypee just got a bruised ego or something... he won't break up with
Jemma just because of not getting laid, would he?" asked Dave.

"Well, you're the guy, you tell me!" said Belinda. "Jemma wanted to talk to
you to get another guy's opinion even though how embarrassing it would
be. But after offering your help you ditched her so suddenly... I mean,
what's gotten into you lately?"

Dave was guilty as charged and he knew his friends needed satisfactory
explanations on his mood-swings. Most of all, with what he did, Jemma
deserved more than a text message for an apology.

"I mean... please don't get mad Dave, but these past few weeks, it's like
you're in a daze or something," Belinda continued cautiously, watching her
friend's reaction. "We know that you're busy with clubs and classes but in
the past, you'd been able to do all those things with ease and still have
time to hang and be our rock. I don't know about Marcy, Ferdy and the girls
but, honestly, Jemma, Chris and I miss that...."

Dave stared to where their friends were sitting. He saw Paul and Jaypee
arrived with a tray full of snacks and handed it to the gang as Shaina,
Marites and Mica entered the library, chatting enthusiastically, totally
ignoring the "Keep Quiet" signage all around them. Then, he saw Daniel get
up and leave the library making Dave's feelings of guilt increase a
hundredfold.

Looking back at how long he had been friends with the gang, Dave realized
he had always put them on top of his priorities... afraid that if they
leave, there will be no people left who will care for him. He had been the
adviser of the group, the rational voice amidst the impulsive hormones, the
wise and all knowing Mr. Reliable. He displayed the attitude of being in
charge and self-assured, always helping others but never needing help for
himself. Dave needed that image to survive because not having
geographically available parents can really make life tough for a teenager.

But, after he realized his feelings towards Daniel, Dave lost his focus and
certainty. It took him completely off guard that it rendered his logical
thoughts useless. It even brought forth insecurities he never knew he had
and made him do things he regretted. And when he gave time to sort out
himself, his friends assumed he was no longer the Dave they knew....

'Was it really wrong of me to put my own problems first this time?' Dave
asked himself silently.

Belinda continued to look at him, thinking that maybe she went too far. If
Jemma and Jaypee do not sort out their problems soon, the rest of their
friends might smell trouble and it could lead to them taking sides,
breaking their gang apart.

"I know I had been out of it lately... I'm just preoccupied right now. Some
things that I never expected are happening and I need to sort them out on
my own," whispered Dave. It was vague but he cannot just 'out' his
feelings... there were so much at risk.

Belinda frowned, apparently unsatisfied by what he said but she knew it
would be pointless to pursue the subject.  Years of knowing Dave taught her
he was adamant once he made up his mind.

"You know we'll always be here if you need us Dave," said Belinda. "This is
what friends do... even without invitation we put our nose to our friends'
business with the hope of helping them."

"Yeah, that's what we're trying to do here, right?" Dave said with a
smile. "So, who else did Jemma talk about this?"

"Only me," said Belinda, looking guilty. "Jemma was so embarrassed but she
needed to talk to someone. I'm not sure how she'll feel if she finds out I
told you without asking her first but I needed to talk to someone too."

"Yeah, I know that feeling. I'll talk to Jemma then and maybe with Jaypee
too though it would be tricky... I mean, it's one thing to care for a
friend but to discuss their sexual lives, that's a whole new level," said
Dave, making a pained face. Belinda just laughed.

"Well, I know we'll figure it out. You always do," she said. "I think we
should go back before they get too suspicious."

Belinda then walked from behind the bookshelves and joined the gang. David
was about to follow her when he remembered their alibi was to look for
books they were going to need for the review. Thinking it would be weird if
he did not brought any, Dave scanned the shelf for any Physics text book
available when female voices from behind another shelf mentioned Daniel's
name. It got Dave's attention so suddenly, he did not notice he was holding
his breath just to eavesdrop to the conversation.

"He is so cute I wouldn't mind kneeling for him," said a familiar feminine
whiny voice Dave recognized as Teresa Perez's. She had the reputation of
being a boyfriend collector to what Dave had heard from the kikays.

"Oh my gosh, I cannot believe you just said that!" Dave heard another
girl's voice said, which he did not recognize. "But I think I wouldn't mind
too."

"So you want to see who he'll pick between us?"

"Why do we have to compete? We can always share?"

The giggles that followed gave Dave shivers, which he never got except when
watching a horror movie. Fuming for a bit, Dave took a rather thick
textbook at random and turned to go back to his friends. But an exclamation
from the girls made him stop again, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Ooh! He forgot his math text book!" said the other girl. "I guess, he was
really in a hurry... maybe he went to the bathroom to take care of some
business."

"Yeah, I guess me rubbing his leg turned him on too much," said Teresa.

'Maybe Daniel wanted to get as far away as he could from a creep like you!'
thought Dave while stopping himself from puking. He could not believe there
are girls as desperate as this.

"What's that stuck between the page?"

Dave walked back to his friends no longer interested to whatever Teresa
will say.

"Where've you been?" asked Paul while handing Dave a soda.

"Just took a text--" started Dave but his sentence got drowned by Teresa's
shriek.

"OH MY GOD!"

The whole gang plus a few more students in the library looked towards the
scream's direction. Dave saw Teresa and a girl looking at a piece of paper
with shocked expressions.

"Excuse you?" said Ferdinand loudly, looking directly at Teresa with a
raised eyebrow. "Can you keep your voice down? You don't own the place."

Teresa ignored him for a second, and then she folded the paper and pocketed
it while staring at Ferdinand with a smug look on her face. The girl beside
Teresa meanwhile, was looking at Dave with a small frown that totally
confused him.

"Don't tell me what to do, fairy!" Teresa snarled.

Picking up Daniel's math book, she and the girl walked toward the exit. As
she passed the gang's table, Teresa shot David an ominous smile. Everyone
in the table looked at her with loathing until she was out of sight.

"That bitch!" said Marcelo. "She got some attitude going up against us!"

"Well, we won't let this slip," said Shaina, putting her hands together and
resting her chin on them. It was the sign that she was really pissed. She
rarely do this gesture and as Dave remembered the last time she did so,
Shaina nearly scalped a senior last year.

"Who does she think she is?" Mica said, looking at the exit as though the
air around it was putrid just because Teresa walked there.

"Calm down girls," said Paul. "She was just herself. Did you really expect
anything less?"

By the tirade of indignation that followed, Paul knew he should have just
kept quiet. Letting the girls bitch about Teresa's lack of respect, Dave
was only half listening as he tried to decipher Teresa's expression. He
felt as though there was something more in Teresa's smile... like a storm
just waiting to strike.

* * *

David found himself alone a few hours after the gang went their separate
ways as the day ended. The study session went nowhere after Teresa dampened
the gang's mood thus Belinda thought they might as well go home as it was
also getting late.

Preparing another meal alone in the kitchen, Dave still felt uneasy as he
opened a can of soup for his dinner. His sister was still somewhere he did
not know and most likely be home after midnight. This was not the object of
his worry though... Dave knew very well that his sister could take care of
herself. But something was about to happen, Dave can feel it... something
bad.

A loud noise from his room startled him, making him drop the can opener to
his feet. Cursing silently, Dave picked up the utensil then dashed to his
bedroom as he realized it was his phone that surprised him. The caller ID
told him it was his mother.

"Hello mom?" Dave said as he put the device to his ear.

"You have things to explain young man!" the voice from the other line said
with such volume that David had to hold out his cell phone a few inches
away from his ear.

"Um... what?"

"Your grades! I cannot believe how low they are! Your father and I are
sacrificing so much working and this is the only result we get?"

Realization hit Dave like a ton of bricks. He knew he cannot tell his
mother the real reason why he got 'unsatisfactory' grades.

"I'm sorry Ma... it's just, I got busy with the school paper and the
council... I'm the chief editor and school president now so--" Dave began
to explain but his mother's voice stopped him.

"School paper? Council? You're letting yourself get sidetracked by extra
curricular activities? Do you know that in college, you don't get any extra
credits for those? Academics are more important when you find a job. Focus
on that instead! You're friends made you do this, didn't they? I knew they
were a bunch of--"

"My friends have nothing to do with this," said Dave before he can stop
himself. "And my grades are not that low. I'm still one of the best in
class--"

"Being one of the best is not enough! And don't interrupt me, young man!"
The voice from the other line was so loud it was as though Dave's phone was
in speaker mode. "I told you and your sister no grades lower than 85
percent! I'm working day and night here and I expect the best effort from
both of you. I want to know whether I'm getting my money's worth in
supporting you!"

Dave closed his eyes as he continued to listen to his mother. Tears fell to
his cheeks before he could stop them. He anticipated his parents would get
disappointed but Dave never knew his mother would react this way.

"Your father and I are giving you anything you want. You should be thankful
that you have a house, you go to school, you have a computer and expensive
clothes. There are people out there that could not even afford eating three
times a day! And all we expect from the two of you are to focus on your
studies! I tell you, if these marks don't improve by the next grading
period, you might as well not study at all because I'm not going to waste
money in laziness."

The line went dead. Dave stared at his phone as he stood immobile in his
room. Most probably, his mother's phone run out of prepaid credits.

Wiping his tears, Dave sniffed the air and cursed aloud as he smelled
something burning. Running to the kitchen, he turned off the stove. There
was thick black smoke coming from the pot where he was heating the canned
soup. His dinner now resembled like liquefied charcoal.

Loosing his appetite, Dave dumped the contents of the pot down the
drain. He went back to his room then laid down in the darkness.

'If she reacted like this just because of my grades, what more if she found
out that I'm...' Dave thought as he buried himself in his sheets.

 He felt so tired suddenly after the call. It was as if all he do to the
people he love was to disappoint them.


* * *

The alarm clock blared to his ears as it signaled Dave to wake up. Groaning
impatiently, he tried to reach out to it but it was too far. Dave knew he
got the tendency to be lazy sometimes so he placed the clock where he would
not be able to reach it without sitting up. Giving in to the obnoxious
sound, Dave sat up on his bed, his hair standing in all direction while a
bit of drool clung to his left cheek.

He felt exhausted and Dave felt as though his stomach was wrestling with
his other internal organs in hunger. Extending an arm to the shrill device,
Dave finally pushed the button to shut it up. Scratching his head, he knew
he got no choice but to go prepare breakfast and shower.

A note by the fridge made Dave frowned.

"Next time, fake it before mailing it. I don't want to be told off because
of your screw up."

Crumpling his sister's note in anger, Dave went back to his room and took a
towel. He showered as fast as he could... unable to stand the house that
never gave him comfort.


Walking pass the school entrance, a cup of coffee and a pack of cookies at
hand for breakfast, Dave saw a small group of students congregated near a
bulletin board. As he stride pass them, some gave him weird looks. Guys had
smirks of triumph while girls frowned with look of disbelief in their
faces. Getting a little bit annoyed, David ignored them and just continued
his way to where the gang usually hangs out in the morning.

As he got nearer, Dave saw that everyone was already there but the
expressions on their faces told him something was definitely wrong. No one
really noticed him at first but as he stood a few feet behind Paul, Jaypee
looked up and gave Dave a look he never wanted to see again.

"Guys, who died?" asked Dave, intending it as a joke as Jaypee diverted his
stare.

The kikays gasped in surprised as they realized who spoke. After a brief
look to Dave, Marites, Mica, and Shaina looked down to the table.

No one said a word for a whole minute, while Dave stood frozen in his
feet. Then, Ferdinand stood up clutching a piece of paper so tightly that
it was tearing. He brandished his hand to David to show him what it was.

All the air escaped from his lungs, as Dave recognized the words printed on
that piece of paper. He dropped the coffee and cookies as he took it from
Ferdinand. It was a photocopy of his letter to Daniel explaining
everything.

"W-where... where did you... get this?" Dave asked.

"Someone left a stack of it by the cafeteria and posted it on the bulletin
boards," Belinda answered who apparently was having a hard time looking at
him. "David... it's not true, is it?"

He could not answer her... he could not believe what was happening.

"Answer her!" shouted Ferdinand so suddenly that it shocked Dave to the
core. He looked at his friends... all waiting for his answer.

"Oh my god!" said Shaina as she stood up and ran. Mica and Marites went
after her.

Marcelo stood up too while shaking his head. He walked towards Ferdinand,
who continued to wait for Dave to speak.

"Let's go."

Dave closed his eyes. It was two words but the tone on Marcelo's voice said
so much more. As he opened his eyes again, Dave's blurred vision saw most
of his friends walking away. His tears flowed as Jaypee gave Dave a
disgusted look.

"Jems, let's go," Jaypee growled to his girlfriend. Jemma looked at him,
then to Dave. She stood up too and walked behind Jaypee.

More students began to arrive and Dave remained frozen in all the
chaos. Some of them looked at him with frowns on their faces. Some were
pointing at him while whispering to their classmates. Belinda and Paul
remained at their seats, staring at Dave but looked so lost to what they
should say.

As the murmurs grew louder around, Dave knew he could not take it
anymore. He ran as fast as he could, knocking students on his way. The
security guard tried to stop him from leaving the school grounds but David
ran passed him, his tears streaked face obvious for all to see.

"David!" someone called from behind but he ignored it.

All he wanted was to go away... away from all the whispers... away where he
could be on his own. He had never felt so weak... so broken... so alone.

(To be continued...)

FROM THE AUTHOR:

I took a bit of break from, well, everything the past few months. But now
I'm back and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. To be honest,
rewriting/revisiting this story (which is loosely based on my experiences)
reminded me of certain things and forced me to deal with them all over
again. That's probably the reason why I kept on procrastinating in
submitting a new chapter. I started writing this story a few years back
when I was still a teenager and used it as a coping mechanism/outlet for my
youthful angst. For those who have expressed though email how they like the
story or how much they relate to it, thank you. And to those who are still
experiencing the anxieties that come with teenage youth, sharing my stories
and reading those written by others here in Nifty made me realize that we
are never, truly alone.

I wish you a happy life and stay tuned for new chapters.


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Fritz Diantan
theadlaotribe@gmail.com
theadlaotribe.wordpress.com