I realise it has been a while since the first posting of chapter one. I apologise for this and do hope that the people who sent me emails on the first chapter will continue to read . Even though I have had a while, I did rush this chapter so I apologise for any spelling or grammatical errors which I have not noticed. As always I appreciate any comments . please send them to me on feldmannathan@aol.com

Aiden felt the tears subside from his face. The warmth from the hand caressing his neck felt good and had a calming affect on his nerves. He looked up into the face of Sean. The deep blue eyes , which had seemed piercing and soul breaking to him before, now looked warm and inviting.. They held Aidens attention , as if they were hypnotising him. He slowly felt himself slipping away into a spellbinding trance , melting away into their intense blue.

The sound of Sean's voice broke the trance.

' Hey Aiden ...how you feeling? '

Sean's voice was soft , like a small breeze gently rustling through Aidens soul. To hear this boy use his name was wondrous .

' F...ffine...' he replied trying to find his own voice but he couldn't. It suddenly came to him all that occurred. His first day in a new school and already he had been knocked about. Not only that but remembering upsetting his mother today in the car flashed in his minds eye. Slowly, he felt the tears reach his eyes again , and the first rolled down his cheek , dropping to his leg.

'Oh...god...'he sobbed to himself putting his head down creasing his eyes shut.

He felt the hand move away from his neck and then a soft touch on his chin as Sean guided Aidens head to face him.

Aiden opened up his eyes to look into the face of Sean's. He saw a tear trickle from the corner of Sean's left eye.

' It's okay Michael...please don't cry' Sean's voice whispered , his eyes focussing in again onto Aiden's tear stained face.

Aiden suddenly felt a little confused . ' My names not Michael...it's Aiden ' .

He looked intently into Sean's face for some recognition of the mistake he had just made. Sean just continued to look upon Aiden , his tears flowing more easily now.

' Sean' Aiden said quietly. But the boy remained holding his chin , looking upon him , his eyes watering away . Aiden suddenly felt that Sean was looking through him rather than at him. It was as if he seemed to be seeing something else entirely in Aiden. He suddenly felt a little scared at this . What was Sean seeing? He thought to himself. I remind him of someone but who? He found himself thinking back to the classroom , where no one seemed to talk to Sean. Everyone avoided him. Was that something to do with this Michael?

'Sean...who is Michael?' Aiden heard himself saying. He couldn't remember consciously thinking about asking this but it just seemed to pre-empt itself.

' Wha...What ' Sean said loudly. He quickly removed his hand from Aiden's chin and rose himself up off his crouching position.

Aiden looked at Sean's face and saw the tears dry up as quickly as they had come. He saw what only could be described as a cold look overtake Sean's face , and what seemed like a slight glaze come over the blue eyes.

' You gonna be alright now ' Sean said in a stony tone , but not even looking down at Aiden.

Aiden slowly picked himself up off the ground , wincing slightly at the pain erupting from his chest.

'Yeah...yeah' he replied. 'er...thanks again for...well ...you know...kinda rescuing me'

'Whatever' Sean said suddenly turning around , picking up his rucksack from the ground. ' I would avoid this corridor again if I were you. Those guys always hang around here' . And without looking back , Sean walked down the corridor and turned the corner, leaving Aiden alone.

Aiden managed to find the History classroom and burst through the door 20 minutes late, much to the annoyance of the male teacher Mr Chilton.

' I do not appreciate lateness in the slightest ' Mr Chilton lectured to Aiden . ' And I certainly do not expect it from a new student who should be putting an extra effort into making a good first impression'

Aiden felt a small rise of anger from within him. He had no intention of reporting what had happened , mainly because he did not want to cause trouble but he wasn't about to be told that he was a bad student.

' Well surely Sir , you would expect a new student to be late considering they have to work their way round a new school , trying to find their classrooms' Aiden replied in a flat tone.

He heard a small titter go around the other students in the class.

' I beg your pardon' Mr Chilton said in a shocked tone. ' How dare you answer me back.I suggest you come back to this classroom after school to explain to me why you think it is acceptable to talk to a teacher in that manner'.

' So I have a detention then' Aiden shot back angrily. Shut up Aiden! He thought to himself suddenly . Why do you always have to say things before you think about it.

Mr Chiltons eyes narrowed slightly and he gave Aiden a piercing look.' Yes...you do. Everyday up until the end of the week. I expect you to report to my classroom at the end of everyday , on time '

Aiden felt a groan from within himself. Slowly he looked at his feet then back up onto the smirking face of Mr Chilton .

' And if you are late for any of those occasions , I will add another day to them' Mr Chilton continued .

' Now , go sit down at the back over there ' .

Aiden shrugged his shoulders and looked at the desk the teacher had pointed to. It was a desk right at the back of the classroom sitting next to a boy.

Slowly, he slumped down in the chair, seizing up a little as pain erupted from where he had been kicked. What a day. he thought to himself. And to crown it all off I manage to get a full week of detentions. Not only does this school suck , but so does my whole life. And Sean! Sean. The boy of my dreams , my one fantasy is here in existence . He saves me , like a knight in shining armour , comforts me like a warm, known lover . It all feels so good. Then he changes. So sudden. Back to what ever he was when I first saw him walk into that classroom. And who did he call me? Michael! Who in the hell is Michael?

Aiden was awoken from his thoughts by a sharp nudge on his arm. He looked over to his right to see the boy sitting next to him beaming this huge grin on his face.

'You alright mate?' the boy said still grinning.

' Er...yeah!' Aiden replied rather surprised that the boy was speaking to him , what with Mr Chilton in the room.

He looked over to the front of the class only to give a double take . Mr Chilton wasn't even there. And to top it off, the whole of the class had their heads all turned in his direction , every student with a huge grin planted on their faces.

' Hey new boy' a blond haired boy from the front shouted . 'Way to go , answering back to old Chilton'

The whole class laughed.

' Yeah' another said. ' That was way cool man. Did you see the look on the old assholes face? He looked like he was gonna blow a gasket or sumthink'

This bought more laughter from the class.

Aiden gave a shy smile ' Yeah, but it got me a weeks worth of detentions though' he replied shrugging.

' Don't worry' the girl just infront of him said ' Chilton always lets you go after about 10 minutes. He hates waiting about at the end of the day himself. Happens all of the time'.

' Really?' Aiden asked seriously.

' Yeah, honestly man. She said smiling . ' There is no way he will keep you for an hour.'

This made Aiden happy. The last thing he needed was to be late home from school. Besides, he was supposed to meet his brother to walk home with. If he didn't turn up for that then his brother would tell his mum and he would have to explain to her and she would get all disappointed in him . Then he would receive the usual lecture about behaving and not arguing with teachers. He had heard it all before. Aiden knew he had this problem of speaking before he thought about what he was saying. Especially when he was angry. It had caused him trouble at his old school and the last thing he needed here was trouble.

The rest of the class soon lost interest in watching Aiden and started talking amongst themselves. He wondered where Chilton had gone. He had been so busy with his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed .

' My names Alex by the way' the boy sitting next to him suddenly piped up.

' Oh..sorry, hi . I'm Aiden. I' m new here' Aiden replied smiling.

Alex's face suddenly went wide with amazement ' Nooooooooo. Really? Never would have guessed' he said sarcastically but finished it off with a huge grin.

Aiden smiled. ' Haha...very funny. I suppose it was a dumb thing to say though'

' Kind of ' Alex replied ' But I'll forgive you'.

Aiden instantly felt a like towards Alex. The boy seemed likeable. He had what could only be described a wild hair. It was relatively short and was gelled to spikes but seemed like it would be naturally curly as some of the spikes bent to a curl. The hair looked like it was dyed . No cut that comment...it was definitely dyed. It seemed a bright auburn , but at the tips of the spikes , Aiden could see dark red. It was pretty cool , even to the standards of someone who never used hair dye. He had three piercing in his left ear . to Aiden it seemed like a punky look.

' So are you new in town too? Alex asked .

' Yeah. Originally from Brighton' Aiden replied.

' Cool. Right next to the coast. Bet it's weird moving down here though. You know, slap bang in the middle of Surrey, no sun, no sea , just lots of boring buildings and stuff' Alex said rolling his eyes.

' Nah, it isn't too bad'. Aiden sighed. ' The good thing about here is that London is only 10 minutes on the train'

Alex's eyes lit up . He let out a small laugh. ' London. It ain't anything special man. Just one huge city'

Aiden shrugged his shoulders. ' Yeah, but I ain't ever been ' .

' How come? Brighton's only about an hour away on the train?' Alex said.

' I know. But Mum worried. I always asked her to let me go , but she thought I was too young at the time to be going round a big city on my own' Aiden said rolling his eyes on the last part.

' Well that's what you get for living out in the sticks' Alex replied laughing.

Aiden laughed also ' Hey...Brighton ain't that bad mate. Lots of cool things to do . You know windsurfing , sailing ...relaxing on a beach during the summer...whereas you city dwellers have to deal with ...oh let me see...traffic...smog...' Aiden said listing things off from his fingers.

Alex gave him a playful shrug ' Yeah...whatever mate. Whatever makes you feel better'

Then Alex's tone became serious. ' True though Aiden ...I envy you in a way. I would have loved to have been bought up next to the sea away from...from...well all this shit.'

' It's not too bad here is it? ' Aiden replied looking quizzically at Alex.

' Nah...not really. I suppose it's one of those things you know. You always wish for something you haven't got. You were kinda bought up in an area I wouldn't have minded living in '.

' Yeah, you are right' Aiden said. ' I guess when I was in Brighton , I always imagined how good it would be to live next to London City. You know, be able to go there constantly, explore the sights of the capital and stuff'.

Both boys sat there for a second each looking in different directions , thinking their own individual little fantasies . Then Aiden roused himself with a smile. ' The cool thing is ...I am now actually living here. London city, here I come' and with that he lifted his arms up and let out a little whoop of joy which caused a few other students to turn their heads. Aiden , embarrassed by his little outburst , quickly put his arms down , and looked down at the desk with flushed cheeks. He turned to see Alex chuckling to himself.

' Hey, I am really getting to like you Aiden' Alex said with a huge grin on his face. ' You seem a little mad like me' And with that he slapped him on the back .

Aiden felt a sharp pain suddenly erupt from his stomach which caused him to stiffen up . His face crunched a little .

'Hey man, you ok? Alex said with a look of shock. ' I didn't slap you too hard did I?'

' No...no' Aiden stuttered holding his stomach. ' I'm fine' . He looked over to see a shocked look on Alex's face. He let out a weak smile. ' Seriously, it's okay...just..er..stomach ache'.

'You sure?' Alex asked a little warily.

' Yeah..Yeah. It's nothing mate. Don't worry.' Aiden replied as the pain slowly subsided.

Alex seemed to accept Aiden's answer and he let out a smile. ' First day nerves getting to you. Don't worry. I think you will fit right on well here. Everyone's pretty friendly once you get to know them . You just need to know who to avoid'.

I wish I knew that before. Aiden thought to himself but let out a little smile. With the pain totally gone now, he relaxed and continued to enjoy the company of Alex. Alex told him about good things to do around town, the local cinema , bowling alley as well as places to eat at. He also invited him to a small gathering of his friends around his house on Saturday night -' A sorta getting to know the new kid do'- as Alex phrased it .

' You don't have to though mate if you don't want to' Alex said .

' Na..Na I would love to...it's just I don't want to intrude mate. You know...I only just met you and all' Aiden replied ernestly.

This made Alex laugh. ' It ain't like I am asking you to marry me or anything...just come and hang out'.

Aiden felt himself turn red. ' No ...I never meant it like that. I just mean...well ...you know...ah whatever yeah I would love to'.

' Cool. It's settled then. Hey, I am just making you, the new kid feel welcome in town.And plus , you seem cool ' Alex said smiling. Then he looked over to the back of the girl sitting on the desk in front of theirs . ' Hey Claire , Aiden here is gonna be coming over on Saturday too' .

The girl stopped her conversation with her neighbour and turned to face them. She looked at Aiden with a smile ' Wicked . We will have to give him a huge welcome then. Something special ' and with that she gave Aiden a wink and turned back to her conversation.

Alex laughed. ' You've caught Claire's eyes mate. Watch out , she's a man eater'.

' I heard that Alex ' Claire said without turning round. ' Besides you can't have all the cute ones for yourself'.

Aiden felt a small jump from within his stomach . What was that suppose to mean? he thought to himself. He heard Alex next to him laughing.

' You are such a joker Clairey ' Alex said giggling . He turned to Aiden to say something but at that point the classroom door swung open and in strode Mr Chilton. The class fell silent.

' Well class, sorry for the interruption. It won't happen again' Mr Chilton said in a brusque tone. He looked up at the white board and then back at the class. ' Now...where were we...oh yes ...the great fire of London...'

With that, Aiden felt himself slowly drift off into a daydream.

After the History lesson had finished , Alex had asked Aiden to meet him at lunchtime which he had readily agreed too. Hell, he had absolutely no one else to meet. He then attended his next two classes ,with the help of his trusty map. Science and english. Both lessons were an absolute drag . The only thing that kept Aiden awake during them was thinking about Sean .

His next lesson , Maths though came as a mixed surprise because as he had entered the classroom , who should be sitting there right at the front but Sean . Aiden found himself fighting the urge to go and sit next to the boy , who had but two hours before rescued him from being severely beaten up. But from the scowl erupting from the blonde boys face, he decided it probably wouldn't be all that welcome. So he made his way to an empty desk at the back of the classroom.

Sean didn't even acknowledge his presence when he had passed him. Aiden had mumbled a hello to him but no response had been given back . Aiden knew that he had upset him after the fight . Sean had been comforting him he remembered , but had called him Michael. All Aiden had done was say that he wasn't called that. Then Sean had just gone all funny. All cold and dark. Aiden could picture the change in Sean's face. The pity filled eyes turning black . The tears on the cheek suddenly evaporating into the air as if they hadn't been there at all. Then abruptly leaving Aiden there. What had happened ?

Oh forget it Aiden thought to himself as he sat at the back of the classroom. It seems no one else here cares about him so why should I. And with that,he turned away from looking at the back of Sean. But as the maths lesson commenced , Aiden found his eyes slowly wandering back to Sean. The boy's beauty seemed to act as a magnet, attracting Aiden. The sleek, white- blond hair , shining out like a beacon . Those blue intense eyes seemingly looking at nothing . His cheekbones protruding slightly . Those large lips unmoving for anyone. In-fact it felt like his whole face was a finely crafted work of art , sculptured by the hands of God himself and put on the earth for all to gaze at and admire. His beauty was astounding to Aiden. He actually had to look around the classroom to see if anyone else was being drawn to this immaculate angelic being. But no one else was. Aiden felt like crying out there and then. Shouting to them all-'Look at Him..Look. Can't you all see!'. But then a thought struck Aiden. A thought that scared him a little and one that seemed to ring true because of what he had already witnessed about Sean. Perhaps they all see something else! Perhaps they only see the darker side of this boy. The quiet one. The loner. Perhaps that is all he is. Nothing else but that.A wolf in sheeps clothing. Aiden had to know. He had to find out.

Aiden met up with Alex at lunch as agreed. They both had grabbed some food and sat down in the bustling hall amongst the noise of the other students. As they both settled into their food , Aiden took the opportunity to ask Alex a couple of questions.

' Alex...tell me about this Sean Weller kid ' Aiden asked putting on a tone of nonchalance .

' Huh? Where did that one come from?' Alex suddenly looked up from the burger he had been munching on.

Aiden realised how weird it must sound to Alex for him to be asking randomly about another student. He felt a little embarrassed but his curiosity was intrigued. He needed to know.

'Er...well...he was in my form class in the morning and the teacher put me next to him' Aiden stuttered slightly.

Alex gave a little nod of the head but remained staring at Aiden with a serious look. ' I still don't get it man . Why you asking?'.

Aiden was now feeling more than a little embarrassed . It struck him suddenly that he actually didn't really know Alex at all. He had only just met him. Hell, he was a great guy and so far the only person who had welcomed him in to this school. Aiden knew that they would more than likely become great friends but at the moment, they were still in the getting to know eachother stage.

Aiden slowly shook his head and smiled. ' Nothing man. Nothing. Just being...er...curious' he said in a carefree tone.

' Listen Aiden ' Alex said ' I don't mind you asking at all.It's just...er...out of all the kids you have met today you ask about him. I think I know why you did but I just need to know why' .

Aiden looked at Alex worried for a second. He thinks he knows why? he thought to himself. Can he see through me? Can he see that I have fallen for Sean? He realised he had to tread a little carefully with this one. ' You think you know why? Well perhaps you do. It's just...the reason I asked is because...well... He is weird man. I mean really weird. Almost like psycho weird...I dunno.'

Suddenly Alex's face changed into a huge smile. He chuckled a little to himself. ' I tell you what man...I thought you was gonna say that you had made friends with him or something'. And with that Alex laughed louder.

Aiden looked a little surprised at this. ' Why on earth would that be a funny?'

Alex slowed down his laughter and wheezed a little. ' Coz no-one and I mean no-one can make friends with that guy. He is a loner through and through. And he is rough. I am telling you, one rough kid.'

' Rough?' Aiden asked taken back by this.

'Yep' Alex replied. ' Rough as anything. Hell, the guy has been through a lot to make him that way. He is practically a street kid but without living on the street. He is dark man. Really dark. No one gets close to him. He just wanders round here scowling , not talking much. Just like a shadow.'

Aiden felt shock go over his whole body with these words. He had thought that Sean was a loner by the way he acted but the way Alex described him was as if he was a criminal. He put on a brave face, so as not to show Alex his feelings inside. ' You said he has been through a lot. Like what?'

Alex nodded his head as he took another bite of his burger. He finished chewing and swallowed before he spoke again. ' Well, I do not know the whole in.'s and out's of it but I can only say what Claire told me. She knew him from his early school years in infant's and juniors schools. From what she told me , he was one of the nicest boys ever. You know the sort, blonde haired blue eyed Angelic type. Teachers pet. Anyhow...It all changed when he was 10 years old...'

Alex paused to take another bite of his burger. Aiden just sat there waiting, watching him chew the food down . Alex swallowed and then looked at Aiden but did not speak.

' AND...' Aiden suddenly burst.

' And...what?' Alex said calmly but a slight glint hitting his eyes.

' It all changed when he was ten...' Aiden replied

Alex laughed. ' God, you are inquisitive...well...yeah . Aged 10 , his older brother died'

Aiden let out a little gasp. ' Oh...so it fucked him up then'

' Fucked him up a lot apparently. No, Claire says that him and his brother were real close. You know like buddies. His brother looked after him. His father was in jail . Anyway , his brother got knocked down by a car right infront of Sean. After that , she said he kinda went in on himself. All quiet and everything. Didn't say much to anyone. Kept himself to himself. People left him alone, thinking that he was mourning for his loss but he never changed . He just remained like that. Constantly a loner'.

Aiden sat back in his chair a little shocked by what he had heard. Poor Sean he thought. No wonder he's the way he is. Dad in jail , brother dies with him seeing it. But a thought struck him about the way Alex had described him before.

' You said that he was rough, like a street kid before...well if he is just a loner surely that wouldn't deem him to be all of that?' Aiden asked.

Alex's eyes narrowed a little and he looked away. ' Yeah...well you see, his brothers death didn't just affect him' he said . ' His mother was distraught.'

Then Alex looked back at Aiden ' You see, from what I know, his mother was a nervous wreck anyway. She had a husband who beat her up constantly. I think he actually nearly killed her . That is why he was put away in the slammer. The way it goes is that she relied on Seans older brother to look after him . Claire says that she was a real timid woman from what she saw of her. Small and quiet. She would always pick Sean and his brother up after school , when they were younger. Well after his brother died, Claire said she never saw her again. Not once. Word is , she totally broke down and had to go to an institute'.

Aiden sat in a stunned silence. What he was hearing sounded like something out of a movie. Not real life.

Alex looked at Aidens face and laughed nervously ' Yeah, I know.It is all a bit...well...er ..wild'

Aiden just nodded his head.

'Anyway' Alex continued ' As far as I know Sean went to live with his grandmother. But she couldn't control the boy. I mean she is old obviously and to suddenly have one of your grandsons die, your daughter in an institute for the insane and now lumbered with a 10 year old boy is a lot to expect from anyone. So the old woman just let him be. Literally! He justs lives under her roof. She has no control over him' .

Alex paused and just sat there thoughtfully.

' So he is out of control'? Aiden asked.

' Yep' Alex finally said. He leaned in close and looked around him before looking back at Aiden. ' The boys into all things. He smokes , drinks , picks fights , God knows what else. I mean , he has no one to control him at all. Some people have seen him out really late at night...drunk or high or on whatever. I mean, like I say , there is no one to look after him properly and no one to look out for him '

' What about friends?' Aiden asked

Alex just looked and laughed . ' Like I said he does not let anyone close to him at all. And besides, no one would seriously wanna be this guys friend...I mean he's...well a physco'

Aiden's mind was running in all directions. It didn't seem right. Sean had helped him earlier. If what Alex was saying about him was correct then why did Sean help him? That did not seem to fit his supposed character. Besides , Aiden found it hard to believe that people were not attracted to Sean at all. He was beautiful. Surely the way he looked drew people to him. Suddenly something struck him that he hadn't thought about. A reason as to why Sean may have helped him.

' Alex...what was Sean's brothers name?' Aiden asked

Alex had to think for a second but clicked his fingers ' That's it! Michael. It was Michael '

Aiden felt himself go white. Damn he thought. That is the name Sean called me. He thought I was his brother. This suddenly scared him but he chose to put it to the back of his mind. As he broke out of his thoughts he could hear Alex talking about something completely different .

Aiden felt the rest of the school day slip slowly by without much incident. Finally ,the school bell rung signalling the end of the day , and Aiden heaved himself up from his desk with a sigh of relief. He said his goodbyes to Alex and arranged to meet tomorrow morning at the front of the building.

' So , how was your first day bro ' said an ever cheerful George.

Boy, does anything ever make him miserable Aiden thought to himself as he approached his brother waiting at the gates.

'Yeah ..great' he replied sarcastically.

George's face fell. 'Oh...that bad eh...how come' he said sounding sympathetic.

Well , I happened to meet the boy of my dreams, who ends up to be a complete and utter psycho , not only that I practically get beaten up, only to be saved by the boy of my dreams, who then thinks I am his dead brother , but then realises I am not and now hates me...the end!!!!! Aiden thought all this to himself without flinching.

Suddenly he ran it all through his mind again . How funny it is he thought to himself.

He cracked a little smile . This turned into a laugh. He saw George giving him a strange look.

' Sorry George...it's just...well..hmmm...a funny day' he said with a thoughtful grin on his face.

'OOOOKKKKK' George said rolling his eyes. ' My brother is mad. I can handle that'. And with that he turned away from Aiden and started walking away.

Aiden laughed to himself again then with a small jog caught up with his brother. On reaching George he suddenly remembered !

'Shit' he said allowed.

'What?' George said looking at him.

'I had a detention after school...which I have completely forgotten about' Aiden cried out.

'A detention! Already' George shouted .

'Yeah' Aiden sighed. 'Don't tell mum. She'll be devastated'. The thought of his mothers disappointment caused his heart to give a little leap.

George smiled a little. 'hmmm...do I keep your sordid secret ...or not?' he replied wickedly.

Aiden felt like punching his brother there and then but let it go. It decided instead to resort to begging.

'Please George...you know she has a lot on her plate at the mo...and well...I do not want to worry her and all that so...'

George put up his hands. ' Listen bro...no probs...I will not say a word...it is safe with me'.

'George I could hug you right now' Aiden said with an smile on his face.

George suddenly went serious. ' If you do that...i will tell mum.' Then he let out a little smile. ' Besides , you are gonna have to deal with the teacher who gave it to you tomorrow for missing it'.

'Damn...' Aiden said. ' Didn't think of that one.' Then he gave a little shrug of his shoulders. ' Oh well...take one day as it comes. Besides I hate the teacher so I am not bothered about impressing him'

'Oh well' George said. 'It's your grave.'

With that, the two boys carried on walking , heading towards the bus stop.

Catching the bus back home proved traumatic for the two brothers. They had known what number bus to catch but hadn't thought about what direction they should have been taking it in. They ended up going in completely the opposite direction and only upon arrival at its final destination had realised this. Of course the situation was all too amusing for George who could not stop himself from laughing. This only added to Aiden annoyance . Luckily, the driver took sympathy on the boys plight and said that he would not charge them again for the ride back.

Once home, they both tucked into the salad their mother had left for them . George , speaking most of the time with his mouth full, informed Aiden about his first day at school. Aiden was not at all interested and was glad when the phone rang , interrupting his brothers spiel . He jumped up to answer it.

'Hello?'

'Hi Aiden . How was your first day at school' .he heard his mother say from the other end of the receiver.

'Oh, hi mum. Yeah cool. How is work' he replied

'Good son . I spent most of the day being shown around and getting my bearings . I like it though. It seems a good hospital . Listen, they have asked me to stay on for the night shift'

' Mum, you have just worked the whole day' Aiden said shocked. ' How can they expect you to go the whole night without a break'

' I know honey' she replied sighing ' but you know from before. Working in hospitals mean long hours and plus this means extra pay . Besides they are giving me tomorrow off in exchange '

Aiden sighed to himself. He knew his mother had done long hours at the hospital in Brighton when they lived there but for some reason , with Dad now gone he had thought she would try to avoid this here.

' Aiden...you still there' his mother said.

'Yeah mum.' He replied

' Don't be angry ...he heard her say. 'We do need the money now'.

Aiden suddenly felt a little guilty. ' No...no , I am not angry ...it's just...well..i don't know. No it's cool mum.' He said.

' Sorry son...i know it is hard but well I need to rely on you a bit more now...you know look out for your brother and all'

It hit Aiden that his mother saw him as responsible. She needed to rely on him as the oldest to take charge whilst she wasn't there. This thought changed his heart. 'No probs mum. I have got it covered'

'Thanks son. Now I will be home around 8.00 a.m tomorrow morning, just in time to give you two a lift in.'

'We can catch the bus in if you wanna sleep'? Aiden said thinking it was the least he could offer.

'No , no Aiden. I do not mind at all...'his mother stopped midway.

'Mum?' Aiden said

He could hear her voice in the background and guessed that someone must be talking to her. Suddenly her voice came on clear again.

'Aiden, I have got to go. Something has come up'

'Ok...I will see you at 8.00 tomorrow' he said but heard the phone go down the other end.

The two brothers spent the next 3 hours in mild conversation , in front of the television. Aiden learnt that his brother had already slotted in with a group of friends which didn't surprise him in the slightest. His brother seemed to have a way with strangers that made them love him instantly. Whether it was the cheeky grin or the glint in his eye, Aiden did not know but he always termed it the George Magic. Whereas George himself said it was his gorgeous good looks that did the trick.

'Anyway bro' Aiden said heaving himself off from the sofa. ' I think I am gonna go for a small walk . You fancy coming?'

George's face screwed up in disgust . ' It is nearly nine at night. Isn't it a bit late to be going out?'

Aiden smiled and put on a baby like voice . ' awwww ...is Georgey afwaid of the dark. Does Georgey think it is too cold for him'

Aiden's taunt only received a pillow in his face much to the amusement of George.

'Very funny George' Aiden said sarcastically. 'I take it that means no'

' Clever boy' George replied.

' Your loss'.

After 10 minutes of walking around the streets , Aiden decided that it would have been a better idea to have stayed in doors. His hands were chilled to the bone and he had them squashed into his coat pockets trying to bring them back to life. The night air was freezing to say the least.

'What on earth possessed you to come out walking on a cold night Aiden' he said to himself seeing puffs of his breath come away from his mouth.

He now found himself walking alongside the green fence which surrounded the local park. His house was on the other side of the park and he contemplated to himself whether to walk through it. But on second thoughts decide to scale around the perimeter on the road, not much fancying the look of foreboding darkness inside the park itself.

As he rounded the next bend he stopped suddenly and squinted his eyes. Two figures stood together just a little away from the street lamp. On closer inspection , he could see one was a man and the other a teenager of about his age although he couldn't see the face as he had a hooded top on. The man seemed angry and was speaking in a shouted whisper. Aiden stayed close to the fence of the park, the bushes scratching against his face. He was certain the two could not see him. He listened.

' Listen boy , you owe me ' the man 's voice whispered.

The boy did not seemed to react but his body swayed a little.

' Are you off your face again you little shit' the man said this time shouting .

Aiden heard a little giggle come out from the boy.

'You fucking are...you greasy fucker' the man shouted and with that he pulled out something from his pocket. Aiden tried to see what it was but it was too dark. The man's next words sent a shiver down Aiden's spine. ' Let's see whether gutting you helps you speak'

With that Aiden crashed around the bend and shouted ' Don't do that'

The man span around suddenly , seemingly shocked at the presence of someone else. 'Fuck' he shouted .

Aiden stopped a little away from the two, himself shocked at what he had just done.

He saw the man's face screw up slightly into a grimace and turn back to the hooded boy . ' Maybe next time cock sucker' he said and with that his fist crashed into the boys stomach . The boy slumped to the ground with a little moan . The man kicked the boy twice. He then turned to Aiden .

' Now you, you little shit...if you say anything to anyone...I will find out who you are and where you live and you will get what I have just done to Seany boy here ten times over ok?'

Aidens mind was racing. He could not move. His body felt like stone. He just looked at the man.

'Oi...pretty boy...do you understand' the man now said sternly pointing the knife as he said it.

Aiden nodded his head slowly but did not move.

With one last kick at the slumped figure on the floor , the man turned and walked off towards a car parked near by. Aiden watched as the man opened the door , look around and then get in. With a rev of the engine and a screech of tyres , the car bombed down the road into the distance. Aiden only stopped staring at the fading car when he heard the groan of the body on the ground.

Aiden slowly walked forward. ' Are...are ...youuuu ok?' he said stuttering. His legs felt like jelly , and the coldness of the air was now biting against his cheeks , but he felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him.

The boy groaned a little .

Aiden knelt down beside him. ' Listen...I only live up the road..iiii could call the police from there...if if you like?'

At the mention of police ...the boy seemed to react and with a groan sat up. This made Aiden jump up slightly.

'No police...'.the voice said from under the hood.

'But don't you want to report that man?' Aiden said shocked.

The boy laughed a little.

Aiden suddenly felt annoyed. ' What's so funny?'

The boy slowly took down his hood and Aiden gasped. Sitting in front of him was the same blonde angel from school. The angel who had saved him from being beaten. It was Sean.

'Sean' Aiden said slowly.

'Yeah...how did you know' Sean's voice sounded slurred . ' Have I sucked your dick do?'

' What?' Aiden said suddenly taken aback.

Sean just shrugged his shoulders. ' I am good you know' he said in a offhand way. He looked up at Aiden.

Aiden looked into the blue eyes that captivated him at school. Even now, as hazy as they were , a spark played on them . A few locks of the blonde hair played upon the left eye causing Sean to absently brush them away, the eye squinting in a cute way which caused Aiden to melt a little.

Aiden sighed. ' Listen...where do you live Sean...I'll take you home'.

Sean 's eyes averted from Aiden's . A small tear played upon them. ' Not home. No. She can't see me this way' . He then looked up at Aiden again.

Aiden looked up at the night sky. 'Fuck' he said to himself. Looking down again towards Sean he said ' Then you have to come to mine. I can't leave you out here like this.'

'Like what ?' Sean replied slowly heaving himself up . He suddenly lost his balance and crashed down to the ground again.

Aiden rushed to him and slowly grabbed his arm. ' Like that...your on drugs or something'.

With that, he heaved Sean's body onto his left side.

' Yeah...I know..' Sean slurred.

They slowly started walking in the direction of Aiden's house, Aiden found himself supporting Sean's body weight. As he struggled to keep the boy upwards he thought to himself about what George was gonna say. Hopefully he would be in bed. And mum. She was gonna find out more than likely. She would probably be none too happy that a druggie was staying in her house .

His thoughts were interrupted by Sean mumbling something.

' What did you say sorry?' Aiden asked nearly keeling over with the pressure of walking both of them.

'I...ii ...said...thankyou Aiden' Sean spoke with a slur.

Aiden suddenly felt his heart leap for joy as he heard Sean say his name. The boy . This boy he had on his arm . The one he felt something for said his name. He felt himself smile.

'No probs' he replied casually.

Sean 's head slowly rested against Aiden's shoulder , and Aiden could smell the boys hair . A sweet smell. A smell that suddenly took Aiden to another place altogether. One where Sean and him were together , smiling at eachother.

The stumbling onto the curve bought Aiden back to the real world as he and Sean nearly toppled over.' Stop dreaming Aiden ' he said to himself .

He then struggled onwards towards his house carrying Sean with all the love in his heart.

Again any comments send them to : feldmannathan@aol.com

Plus: You all must read 'Wade and Christian' and 'The Prick' available on Nifty Highschool section . Both are by Virtual insanity and they are absolutely brilliant stories. If you read them and love them like I do, then email the author and let him know. Keep the boy writing for he has great stuff to come!!!!!