The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities are entirely fortuitous. The story may contain profanity and references to gay sex. If such content offends you please leave now. The author retains all rights to the story. Do not copy or use without written authority from the author. Write Bobby at brokendreamboi@yahoo.com with your comments.

Fly Me Away 06

Danny

The feeling of strong, loving arms wrapped around me almost made the tension in my head seem minimal. But the more I recognized the tightness, the more it seemed to pain me. The effect of the hot water wasn't helping much in itself. I knew I needed to say something, but Brandon's grasp had a hypnotizing effect. Then again, ever since Brandon told me that he's ready to be in a relationship with me, I have been in a hypnotic like state, minus the crying.

"Hey, you okay? You've been kind of quiet for the past few minutes." Brandon said, jarring me from my thoughts. The tension began to pull tighter in my head.

"I-I-I'm just thinking of s-s-stuff," I replied.

"Anything particular?" He pressed his lips against my shoulder. "You're not having any second thoughts about us are you?"

Brandon still doesn't know about my migraines. I'm not sure tonight would be the best to tell him about them. Although, lying to him would make me feel like a total jerk.

"There's s-something we need t-t-to talk about," I started. I scooted over from him just enough to be able to look him in the eyes, or at least his direction. "F-for the past few m-months, I've been g-g-getting these h-horrible migraines. And s-sometimes they a-are so bad that I h-have to stay home from school d-days at a t-t-t-time. They h-hurt me so badly. When I have one, th-there can't b-be any light or s-sound otherwise I throw u-u-up and feel m-more pain."

"So, why're you telling me this now?" He started to rub my left shoulder gently. The affection he continued to give me was energizing me somehow. It felt like all this electricity just moving all around in my body, waking my senses and bringing them to new levels to which they've never been.

"I'm s-starting to get that t-t-tightening feeling in my h-head."

Brandon suddenly seemed to go straight into protective mode. "Well, let's get out of the water. Come on, I'll get you some pills or water or something." He flung himself out of the Jacuzzi and grabbed our towels. Before I was even fully out of the water, he had a towel wrapped around me tightly. Brandon hurriedly walked me into the house and fetched some Tylenol.

"B-Brandon, I'm all r-right. You c-can calm down." I giggled at his attempts to show his caring side. "The Tylenol should w-work in a s-sec. It's j-just a little b-bit of tension."

"There's no taking chances, Danny. Besides, you having a migraine gives me a reason to cuddle with you even more. What do you say we go into my bedroom and lay down?" Brandon rubbed my arms up and down with his hands creating a nice warming effect. "But we should change out of our suits first. I'll change in my room and you take the bathroom, okay?"

I softly said, "Okay," He led me into the bathroom and then went to his bedroom. I was super excited to be able to lay down with him. The thought of him holding me tight against his warm body made me move twice as fast getting dressed. When finished changing, I walked into his room. He was sitting on his bed with a small smile.

"I am so tired," he yawned. "If I fall asleep on accident, make sure you wake me up, okay? I want to make sure you're home on time. In fact, we only have about forty-five minutes."

The countdown of the time caused me to feel a bit sad. The past few hours with Brandon have been so amazing. Him holding me and saying all these sweet things to me, well, I just don't want it to end. Tomorrow they'll probably all be repeated, but tomorrow is so far away. Maybe Brandon will want to hang out like all day tomorrow! From morning until I have to go home. The movies are gonna take a long time anyways. Yeah, I'll ask him before he takes me home. He'll probably be up for the idea. I hope anyways.

Sure enough, Brandon did fall asleep once while we were cuddled up under his covers. But I didn't really mind. I just nudged him a little bit and he apologized extensively. Being wrapped in his arms felt... It felt... Oh, God, it felt so amazing. I never knew I could feel like this. He makes me...tingle with this energy that won't die down. And hopefully it never will die down.

Eventually the time came for me to actually go home. Midnight was just minutes away and Brandon didn't want to upset my mom. She seems kind of defensive around him whenever he's over. Actually, now that I really think about, she seems to change the subject whenever I even mention him. I'm sure she likes him. I mean, she wouldn't let someone in her house she doesn't like. For me, though, she just might. But Brandon hasn't ever done anything to...um...disrespect her, I guess. No, wait, that isn't the right word. He hasn't given her reason to not trust him. Trust. Now there's something that I'm finding easy to do with him. Brandon hasn't given me any reason not to trust him. Honestly, I don't get that vibe from him.

Brandon drove me home with only a couple of minutes to spare. We sat in his truck for a few seconds before I brought up the idea of spending all day tomorrow together.

"U-um, w-w-would you be willing t-to start early t-tomorrow?" I nervously asked.

He was quick to respond. "Actually, Danny, I didn't want to tell you earlier, but I think I'm coming down with something. So, I'll call you tomorrow when I wake up and tell you how I'm doing, okay? If we can't early, then I'll just take a bunch of meds and sleep so I can hurry and get better." Brandon said confidently. He did seem a bit nervous about something, though. It's probably just his stomach or whatever's bugging him.

"A-all right," I gushed. "I'll be w-w-waiting for your c-call then." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek before I jumped out and ran inside. Dad was in the kitchen doing some paperwork when I walked in. "H-h-hi, dad,"

Dad looked up from his papers and smiled. "Hey, bud, how was Brandon's? Your hair tells me you had a good time."

I looked at my faint reflection in a window. My hair was indeed a mess, sticking up in several places. "Yeah, w-we had a really g-great time."

"Well, I'm glad that you two are becoming such great friends. But why not think about getting some sleep now, huh?"

"C-c-can I go o-over again tomorrow night? B-Brandon wants t-t-to watch some m-movies."

"Sure, we'll talk more tomorrow. Now go to bed, kid!"

I ran upstairs to my room. There's no way I'm gonna be sleeping for a while. I am so excited to be able to see him again tomorrow. Hopefully his slight sickness tonight doesn't escalate to something bigger. But as long as we can hang out like originally planned, then who's to complain? When I crawled in bed, like I said, it wasn't my intention to sleep. It felt like I was running on pure energy. But as soon as my head hit the pillow it was off to dream land.

Sometime the next morning I awoke very slowly. Last night sitting in that warm chlorine filled water probably made me more tired than I had thought. After a few minutes of just lying in bed, I really needed to pee. Once that was done and over with, I went downstairs for breakfast. But my parents' conversation stopped me short of the kitchen.

"I just don't know about this, Alan. He seems nice and polite, but we don't know anything about him. And I'm pissed you didn't wake me up when Danny got home last night." mom was saying to dad.

"Honey, you're doing that whole obsessive worry thing again. Danny said he had a great time last night. I saw the look on his face when he walked in. I've never seen him so happy." dad said to her.

"Brandon may be a saint now, but who the hell knows when that act is up. What if he hurts Danny not only mentally, but also physically? I'm telling you, Alan, it's a mother's instinct."

"It's a mother's paranoia. If Brandon had wanted to only use Danny for his brain, don't you think he'd be done with him by now? The two of them are always saying how much better Brandon is doing."

"He'll probably use him until the end of the year!" mom said loudly. "Don't dismiss this."

"You know, we talked about what else could be going on. Maybe it's time we really start considering it as a possibility." There was a few seconds of pure silence before dad continued. "Carmen, maybe you should just sit down and talk with Brandon. If you're so sure about his ulterior motives, then you should have no problem faking some more politeness. You're kind of hypocritical, though, no? I mean, honey, you're saying Brandon might be faking his politeness, but aren't you doing the same thing?" I heard dad start to walk out of the kitchen. Unsure of what to do and not wanting to get caught for eavesdropping, I quickly ran back upstairs before casually walking down again.

"Morning, d-dad," I said as he started up the first few stairs.

"Hey, Danny, how'd you sleep?" he asked, completely happy compared his little talk in the kitchen.

"Very good,"

Mom was making breakfast when I walked in the kitchen. She looked kind of sad about something. I've never heard her talk about Brandon like that. I'm just shocked that she doesn't like him at all. And then I felt really bad about it. Dad on the other hand sounded like he didn't not like Brandon at all. It's just mom. She's always so nice and happy. Why is Brandon so bad in her eyes? Oh, God, would she act like this if she knew we were going out? I mean, she doesn't even know I'm gay! What's her reaction going to be when I tell her that?

Brandon

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Danny. I'm just going to take a lot of meds and sleep. I'll call you around five, okay? And give you a status update."

"A-a-all right," Danny said sadly. I know how badly he wanted to hang out all day, but I am truly going to just sleep all day until the party tonight.

"I'm sorry, bud, but I can't help when I get sick."

"I know, b-but I really w-wanted to see y-y-you today." he sighed. "Just g-get better and call m-me later."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, I will call you. Bye, Danny."

"Bye,"

After we hung up, I went into the kitchen for some breakfast. Since I always do the grocery shopping on one of the many credit cards dad's given me, there's always something I actually want for breakfast. With a couple bowls of cereal in my stomach, I went back into my room and fell asleep.

Several hours later I awoke. The time on my cell showed seven-thirty. Crap. The party started at seven. Doesn't matter, though, since parties usually don't pick up till late anyways. Since the time wasn't a factor, eating dinner and getting ready was a slow process. There was something nagging in the back of my mind. It felt like maybe I forgot to do something, but honestly I can't think of what. Whatever. The nagging feeling will pass once I get to the party.

Danny

"I thought you and Brandon were supposed to watch movies tonight?" mom asked suspiciously. She was just trying to dig information on Brandon I'm sure. After my little eavesdrop this morning, I'm not sure I want to talk about him anymore around her.

"He had to cancel," I solemnly replied, nibbling on a macaroon. "He got sick,"

Mom just gave me an unsure glance, but didn't say anything more. She went about her business cleaning up downstairs a little bit. I could feel the tears beginning to burn in my eyes. I cannot let her see me cry. While she was busy, I snuck up to my room and collapsed on my bed a sobbing mess. It's seven-thirty and still no word from Brandon. He could be sleeping or he could have forgotten about me. How am I supposed to truly know? That's what is making me the most miserable; not knowing why he hasn't called me yet.

The future is such an uncertain thing with me. A career is a very uncertain thing considering I don't think I'll ever get over this stupid stutter. Sure, there're laws that protect me from being discriminated against, but like all employers actually follow those laws. There is one career field in which I know I want to get into. Science is so fascinating to me. A career in science has so many different options from astronomy to oceanography to meteorology. Those three career paths are my choices. How fun would it be to get paid to stare into space and figure out the universe? Can you imagine how cool it would be to be able to study the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it? Storms are spectacular and I love them so why not make it a career to study the weather? Sure, those careers require a lot of schooling, but in the end it'd be worth it. Since they take so much schooling, though, I'm not sure they'd be the best for me for a few reasons. The first and foremost would be the cost of the schooling itself. I need a Ph.D. for astronomy, but for oceanography and meteorology I could get by with a bachelor or master degree. That is a lot of school, and that's not even including how much money that would cost. Then the second reason is that those fields are difficult. I'm up to a challenge in my mind, but once a challenge is put in front of me sometimes I can't handle it. And the third reason would be that if I got into oceanography I'd have to move closer to the ocean. The nearest beach is about two hours from us. Even with astronomy I'd have to move I'm sure. Mom and dad would move for me, but I wouldn't want to do that to them. They've already sacrificed so much I wouldn't want them to abandon their lives here for me.

Another call-less hour went by agonizingly slow. Mom came up and asked if I wanted to go to the store with her. She said she needed to get some stuff for dinner tomorrow. But I was in no condition to be going anywhere. Before she walked out of my room, though, she informed me dad was downstairs.

There are a lot of things I could be doing right now. I could be studying for the government test on Tuesday or I could be finishing some statistic homework or I could call Brandon. What have I got to lose?

Brandon

The party was kicking up and I was having the time of my life. I was downing drink after drink and dancing like it was no one's business. Tonight I've been dancing my ass off with anyone who wants to. So far tonight I've basically been the total opposite of my gay self. But hey, no guys here would dance with another dude. I don't know that because I've asked, but because it was pretty obvious by the way they were grinding with various girls.

I went outside for some air after a while. The small storm from yesterday started back up about an hour ago. But not even the sound of raindrops pelting against the awning could help me figure things out.

The liquor was starting to catch up to me bringing with it the drowsiness that usually occurs after a long night of partying. Since moving here, this is the first party I've been to since the beginning of March. With such a long absence of liquor, I was a light weight tonight.

Something has been nagging at me ever since I arrived at Alex's house. Even though it's been a few hours since arriving, the nagging just won't stop.

Just then, my cell phone rang. Without looking at the ID, I answered. "Hello?" Either there was no answer or the sound of the music from inside drowned out their voice. "Anyone there?" Then whoever it was hung up. I looked at my recent calls, seeing a name that chilled my blood.

Danny. I fucking forgot to call Danny! Oh, my God, I am such a shit! Fishing my keys out of my pocket, I dashed to my truck. On the run to the truck, the horrible thought that I've been drinking stopped me from immediately starting the engine and roaring to Danny's house. I cannot believe I forgot to call him. He's probably so freaked out right now. Several times I tried to call him back, but he wouldn't answer.

"Way to go, Brandon," I muttered to myself.

Danny

Brandon's at a party. No. He told me he was sick, that he'd be in bed all day. He lied to me then. He lied about everything. Obviously he doesn't care about me! How could I have been so stupid!

I buried my face in a pillow and let out a bloody scream. The pain was coming out; more like pouring out. He lied to me. I believed every word that came out of his mouth. And this is what I get it. The wall was down and look what happened. My heart was attacked.

Anger started to replace the pain. The anger was building and building until finally I rushed from my bed to my desk where I grabbed the cherry candle jar and launched it across the room into a wall. It made a loud bang and another scream left my mouth. The tears were freely streaming down my face.

Dad swung my door open and stared at me. I was sobbing pretty hard at this point. My hair was disheveled and my face was stained with tears. It must've been a pretty pitiful sight to see.

"D-daddy," I sobbed, standing in place.

Dad ran up to me and pulled me into his chest. "Shh, bud," Being wrapped in his arms made me cry even harder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"B-B-B-Brandon lied to m-me!" I cried out. "He w-w-wasn't sick at a-a-all."

The time Brandon came into my life I thought we'd never be true friends. I figured he'd probably just use me like everyone else has. But he was different. He at least pretended to be my friend before breaking my heart like it's never been broken before.

Brandon

The next morning I was woken up by the sound of cars driving by. When my eyes opened, there was something that I instantly noticed. My head wasn't pounding and my stomach felt all right. That means that I don't have a hangover. The only sore things on my body were my legs from the dancing probably. I started my truck and checked the time. It's only nine so that's not too bad. Before I go to Danny's and beg for forgiveness, a shower is a must right now. All the dancing last night worked up quite a lot of heat, which drenched me in sweat. Right now the smell in my truck was anything but pleasant.

When I got home, I trudged inside, undressing on the way to my bathroom. Oh, man, the hot water that cascaded down my body felt so good. Although it was a waste of water, I just stood there for at least ten minutes before actually cleaning myself. With all my shower stuff done, I dressed and ran to the kitchen for an apple before leaving to Danny's.

Ten o'clock. I don't know how getting ready took me an hour, but I'm finally at Danny's house. The scenario of what the consequences of walking into that house could be gave me chills. Mrs. Turner probably has a weapon out just waiting for me to walk through the front door.

This was one of the most nerve-wracking moments in my life. I'm standing at the front door contemplating whether or not I should knock, ring the doorbell, or run away. Danny won't answer my calls and I don't have their house phone, not that I would dare call the house anyways.

The rain has picked up again. Gee, earlier this morning it looked like the storm had pretty much passed. I wish the rain would wash my problems away.

The moment has arrived. It's do or die time. I rang the doorbell and waited for the front door to open. Maybe I'd get lucky and Mr. Turner would answer. He at least likes me enough to give me a chance to explain what happened. Unfortunately for me, Mrs. Turner answered and she looked very unhappy that I'm the one at the door.

"Hi, Mrs. Turner," The words were soft, almost inaudible against the sound of the pouring rain.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Unlike my words, hers were cold and forceful.

I sighed in defeat. This will get me nowhere. "I'm sure you know what happened, but I'm here to make things right."

Mrs. Turner studied me for a moment. "Fine, come in,"

"Thank you," I stepped inside after wiping my feet off on the doormat.

"Before you talk to Danny, I'd like you and me to have a conversation." she said rather nicely compared to her previous bitterness. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No, thank you,"

She led the way into the dining room. My nerves were all jumbled up at this point. I have no idea what Mrs. Turner wants to talk to me about. Her lecturing me about last night would be too obvious. I've learned nothing in life is ever that simple. After she poured herself a glass of iced tea, she joined me at the table.

"When the doctors told me that Danny was different, I didn't even cry. I knew the he was my son and it was my job to love him no matter what. When Alan and I tried to enroll him into preschool, that's when the problems started. All the schools rejected him saying he needed special schooling.

"We skipped preschool and taught him ourselves. Kindergarten time came around, but this time we were ready. It wasn't until the middle of second grade that more problems emerged. His teacher wanted to talk to me privately after class one day. She discussed her concerns of Danny's inattentiveness and the possibility of special education classes. Then a week later, the principal wanted to discuss other educations options with me. I told him that if he dropped Danny from the school I would sue him for discrimination. Needless to say, we had very few problems for the rest of elementary school."

Her story was blowing my mind away already. I had so many questions for her. "Even if he was inattentive, did he at least get good grades? They couldn't have possibly wanted to drop him if he got good grades."

"Oh, yes," she responded after a sip of her tea. "He had B's in every subject they taught."

"Do you think the teachers just didn't know how to handle him so they suggested the special education stuff?"

"I honestly don't think they were prepared for a kid like Danny. Other than occasionally being inattentive, he was such a good little boy. He listened and followed instructions and helped out. The real discrimination didn't pop up until middle school. Entering into sixth grade, Danny was very nervous. It was around that time that he developed the stutter. Many times after picking him up from school, he was break down. He told me that so many kids would pick on him for stuttering. Brandon, his stutter wasn't even close to being as bad as it is now. He stuttered maybe one word a sentence if even that."

I shook my head in disbelief. In middle school, kids could be very cruel. Personally, I wouldn't know because I was always pretty popular thanks to my dad's money.

"So what did you do to stop this? You had to have done something. That is such bullshit." Too late had I realized I just blurted that out.

Mrs. Turner ignored my language. "I got arrested,"

"What!?" I laughed.

"Several meetings were held with the principal of the middle school, the vice principal, his counselor, and two teachers of Danny's classes in which he was most tormented. Finally, I got tired of actions not being taken. Once more, a lawsuit threat reared its face. Boy, the principal was quick to do something. The bullying stopped for a while, but one day Danny told me it turned physical. Apparently, he went in the back of his social studies class to sharpen a pencil. Another kid was back there before him, and made numerous derogatory remarks before shoving him out of his way. You know what Danny told me that threw me over my breaking point?" I shook my head no. "He told me that the teacher just watched." Mrs. Turner sniffled suddenly. I became so enthralled in her story, I hadn't even noticed her crying.

"I can't believe that," Anger raced all throughout my body. The way Danny was treated made me feel protective, very protective all of a sudden.

"When he told me that, I dropped him off at his dad's office, then sped back to the school. That bitch of a teacher was packing up to leave when I arrived. I asked her how she could just stand by and watch my child be harassed, but there wasn't enough time for her to answer before I slapped her across her pathetic face. The two of us traded a few blows, ending up outside where several students witnessed me kicking her ass. The police sirens could be heard in the background, but I wanted one more good shot at her. While her attention was barely pulled away, I decked her. She dropped to the ground in pain. The police arrested me on the spot and I spent a week in the city detention center before my trial. Alan made sure to threaten the district with several lawsuits until they folded and gave in to us. My trial lasted less than an hour. The judge, although supposed to be unbiased, obviously felt for my situation as a parent. I had to pay a fine and do some community service. Danny's teacher was fired for negligence and misconduct."

I sat in shock by what I just heard. Mrs. Turner isn't the sweet, innocent woman I once assumed of her. But oddly enough, I'm proud of her for how she defended Danny.

"Wow, Mrs. Turner, I had no idea about any of this."

"The bullying died down once word got around about what 'Danny's super mom' was capable of. Danny got through the rest of middle school without any further discrepancies. And surprisingly enough, he never had any serious problems in high school. I think part of that had to do with his clothing, though. Maybe you have or haven't noticed, but all of his clothes are from Hollister, American Eagle, and Abercrombie. Having the clothes that everyone else had boosted Danny's confidence a little bit even though his stuttering got as bad as it is now. Actually, his freshman year we got him a speech therapist and even medicine to help with his stutter, but nothing worked. The doctors didn't know what to make of it. Look at Danny now, though. He has straight A's and a 3.4 GPA. Pretty good for a kid with a mental disability. Doctors, what do they know, huh? One doctor in particular has been helping us ever since Danny was a baby. He helped Alan and I teach him when preschool wouldn't accept him. He went as far as to congratulate me telling me that I was the sole reason Danny has made it this far. He still calls on occasion to see how things are."

I hadn't even noticed my tears until I itched my cheek and felt wetness. "Wow, you guys have had a crazy seventeen years."

"Gosh, Brandon, you don't even know." She laughed, but then grew serious again. "I want to apologize for how I've treated you. You must realize that I was just trying to protect Danny."

"I did realize that and took very little offense. I can appreciate how protective you are of him. Last night was pure selfishness on my part and I totally regret it. I know I hurt him badly, but I'll figure out some way to make it up to him. Um, can I ask you a question?" She nodded. "You say that Danny is mentally challenged. How is that possible if he gets straight A's? I thought the mentally challenged were incapable of really doing anything on their own."

"You know, that is more a stereotype than anything. There are different levels of being mentally challenged just as with any other disease or problem really. Danny is on a low level. He has trouble doing every day things like laundry, turning the shower on, and other little things like that. It is enough for him to be classified as lightly mentally challenged. Then you throw in his stutter and his inability to handle social situations and you have yourself an average case. Being mentally challenged isn't like what they portray in the media."

That makes a lot of sense. Because of what I've seen on TV, I thought being mentally challenged meant not being able to do anything without the help of a caregiver. But Danny can do practically everything on his own. Jeez, I'm learning something new every day around this place.

"Yeah, that clears a lot of things up. What the media shows is so wrong then."

"Not all of it is wrong. The mentally challenged they show are the severe cases. Danny just isn't a severe case, but that also doesn't make him not mentally challenged."

"I think I need to tell you something about the two of us." I began. This seems like the perfect time to tell her we're dating.

"Alan and I already know you two are dating." she easily said. I gave her a confused look. Danny and I never even really talked about it except privately in his room. How could she know? "Thursday after dinner I asked you guys through the intercom if you wanted some ice cream. After Danny replied, he must've accidentally hit the lock switch for the talk button. We heard everything you guys said."

"Mrs. Turner, I'm..."

"No, Brandon, let me finish. Alan and I have talked a lot about it and we're both relieved in a sense. We think it's great that Danny finally found someone to care for him."

"And I really do care for him. I'm not sure about love yet, but the feelings are very strong. I'm not even sure I can promise I won't hurt him in the future, at least intentionally. But I will promise to do my best."

"That's all I can ask of you. Just know that I approve of you both."

"That means a lot to me, Mrs. Turner."

"Brandon, I think it's time you started calling me by my first name." She stood up and gave me a quick hug. "Don't let Danny see you've been crying.

"Before I go up to see him, I want to thank you for telling me all of that. It really does mean a lot."

Carmen smiled and nodded. "I'll bring you up some macaroons in a little while."

Danny was sitting on his bed, legs scrunched up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, staring out the window. The rain was showering the glass, making it difficult to distinguish the houses across the street. I knocked on his partly open door, not wanting to scare him by just barging in.

"G-go away, m-mom. I t-told you I don't w-want to talk." He sounded so sad and miserable.

"That was my first mistake," I stated softly, walking into his room slowly.

Danny stood from his bed and looked at me with a shocked expression. "W-What?"

"Going away, that was my first mistake. My second mistake was even thinking of not being with you last night."

He sniffled, wiping away stray tears with his shirt sleeve. "W-why did y-y-you lie to m-me?"

"There's no excuse good enough to answer that. Just know how sorry I am." I opened my arms for him. He took the hint and ran into them, clutching at my chest and sobbing hard.

"I-I-I-I was s-s-so hurt a-and mad,"

"I know you were, and I am so, so sorry, Danny." I was trying to hold back my own tears. "I promise I'll never do anything like that ever again, all right?"

"O-o-okay," he whimpered. "Are you m-mad at m-me?"

I pushed him off of me gently, puzzled as to why he'd even think I'm the one who would be mad at him. "Why would you think that?"

"F-f-for being mad a-at you," His voice was so tender and soft it made my heart melt.

Pulling him back into me, I said, "Of course I'm not mad at you. You had every right to be upset with me. What I did was stupid and selfish." The two of us stood holding each other for several more minutes. An idea suddenly popped into my mind. "Hey, want to have that marathon still?"

Danny snapped his head up, showing off a cute little smile. "You r-really want to?"

"Absolutely," I whispered into his ear. "And I'll hold you close just like I did Friday night."

He bolted from our embrace and got the DVD player set up. I told him that while he did that, I'd go and get us some snacks and drinks. On my way out of the room, however, Carmen beat me to the punch and was just clearing the stairway with a tray lined with two plates of macaroni and cheese and two cans of Coke.

"Here's some lunch for you two," she said, handing me the tray.

"Thanks, Mrs. Turner," I smiled. "We're just gonna watch some movies all day. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," She headed back downstairs without anything more.

Danny was lying on his bed ready to cuddle. But first we needed to eat our lunch. While eating, I noticed something was missing from his room.

"Hey, where's Reno?" I asked.

"Dad h-had to take him t-to the vet for sh-shots." Danny replied.

"Poor guy,"

"Y-yeah, but he n-needed them so we h-had no choice."

Once we finished eating, Danny started the movie. We were cuddled up next to each other under the covers. I had one arm pulling him in close to me and my other in a space between his neck and pillow. It was so comforting knowing that the two of us are all squared away. Never again will I lie to Danny. What I did was pure selfishness not to mention a dick move. I plan on being here for Danny for a long, long time.

Hey readers! So, I hope Mrs. Turner's talk with Brandon cleared some things up. Danny IS mentally challenged. I've gotten several messages from you all asking if he really is challenged. And there's your answer. More and more of Danny is still to be revealed.

Tonight (or last night depending on when you read this-or Sunday night if you're really late :P) is/was the season 6 premiere of Desperate Housewives. Hopefully you watched it because I am so stoked for it! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed chapter six. Feel free to write me at my e-mail address that's given atop every chapter. Also feel free to join my group: Shades of Wisteria. Oh, and don't forget about my instant messaging screen names! And don't worry about bugging me because you WON'T.

AIM= brokendreamboi

Yahoo!= brokendreamboi

MSN= brokendreamboi@yahoo.com

I published Beautiful Lie! You can purchase it by following this link: Bobby's Storefront. It's exciting to have another one of my stories created into a book. If you do decide to purchase it, then I really hope you enjoy it. Speaking of purchasing, you must purchase the book in order to read the entire story. But (and I mean a big but!) if you cannot purchase the book for any reason and would like to read the entire story, then please contact me. Exceptions can and will be made for you. And please don't feel embarrassed if you can't buy it. I have had many hard times in my eighteen-and-a-half-year-old life. Thanks ahead of time!