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Bigger font this time...sorry I forgot before.

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Tim hadn't said a word since they left the beach. His head was leaning against the window as he watched cars follow behind them through side mirror. Rick slowed the car and stopped at a red light. He looked over at Tim and asked, "Are you okay?"

Tim tilted his head back slightly, but his eyes didn't leave the mirror. He shook his head.

The light change to green and Rick moved his foot to the gas pedal. "I don't care if you're gay...I don't even care that you're going to hell because of it. Hell, we can even still be secret friends when no one else is around...if you want. You know, just stay away from me at school and stuff."

Tim smiled, just for a second. He tried to sort through the thoughts in his mind. His eyes broke contact with the mirror and he looked over at Rick. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he didn't know where to start or if Rick was even the person he should be talking about it with. He was about to speak, but he turned his head back to the mirror instead.

A few minutes later, Rick pulled into Tim's driveway and turned off the car. They grabbed their stuff from the back and headed inside the house. Once in the bedroom, Tim turned on the radio and lay down on his brother's bed.Rick had taken a seat at the desk and was flipping through the pages of a magazine.

Tim was scratching at the wooden slats beneath his mattress when he finally spoke. "Sorry about the beach."

Rick tossed the magazine onto the desk, looked up at Tim and said, "It's cool, it was way too nice out for the beach anyway."

Tim looked back at the wooden slats. It could be worse. Someone else could of noticed. He thought about Rick. He was a really good guy. I mean he doesn't even care that I'm going to hell and we get to still be secret friends. Tim smiled to himself and got off the bed. "You hungry?"

Rick nodded as he got out of the chair and they went to the kitchen. Tim used the last of the bread and made a couple of turkey sandwiches. He filled two glasses with water and handed one to Rick. They took their lunch and sat down in the living room. Tim was on the couch and Rick in the arm chair. After they finished their lunch they turned on the television and found a movie to watch. When it was over, Tim turned off the television, grabbed the plates and took them to the kitchen. He came back and sat down on the couch.

He noticed Rick staring at him. "What?" Tim was slightly irritated.

Rick looked thoughtful. He got out of the chair, went over to the couch and sat next to him. He looked into Tim's eyes. Tim stared straight back into his. They studied each other intently. Neither of them breaking eye contact. Rick finally leaned forward slightly. Tim leaned in too. Their lips were only a few centimeters away. Rick moved slightly closer.

Tim started to lean in more, but then pulled away quickly, stood up and cursed, "Fuck!"

Rick laughed and shook his head. "Amazing. You're thinking you might be gay...and I still win! You really should be able to get farther than that."

They heard a car pull up to the house and a minute later Tim's mom and brother came through the front door.

"Hey, mom", Tim said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sean placed a stack of mail on a table by the door and took a seat in the arm chair.

"Hi Sweetie." She handed him a bag of groceries she was holding and saw Rick sitting on the couch. She smiled and said, "Hello Richard."

Rick returned the smile and said, "Hi."

"How are your parents?", she said as she picked up the mail and began to look through it.

"They are good", he replied.

She put down the mail and smiled again. "Tell them I said hello." She headed into the kitchen to put the groceries away.

"I will", Rick called to her as she left the room.

"Did you guys go the the beach?", Sean asked.

Tim looked over at him and nodded. "Yeah, but we didn't stay very long, it was kind of boring.

Sean picked up the remote and turned the television on. Rick got up from the couch and headed toward the front door. "Alright, I'm gonna head home. See you at school...do you need a ride?"

Tim shook his head. "My mom is gonna take me, thanks though."

Rick said, "No problem." He waved to Sean and Tim and left the house. Tim walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. He looked over at Sean. "You need any homework help?"

Sean nodded and said, "Yeah, I might need it later."

Tim said, "Okay." He got up and went to his room and climbed into his bed. He napped for a while until his mom came in to tell him dinner was ready. After the meal, he and his brother went back to their room and worked on homework. Tim didn't have much and finished pretty quickly. He put his stuff in his backpack and sat down next to his brother to help him with his math.

After they were done working, Sean and Tim headed to the park to play a little catch. Tim noticed his brother had gotten pretty good at tossing the ball since they started playing regularly. He smiled to himself, thinking it would be cool if he played quarterback on the team when he got into high school. It could be a sort of legacy thing. After it got dark, they headed back to the house.

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Tim got to school a little later than usual the next day. When he walked into homeroom, he saw that Rick was sitting next to Alex and they were engaged in conversation. Tim walked towards them and said, "Hi."

They stopped talking and looked up at Tim. Alex smiled and said, "Hi."

"Hey", Rick said. "I was asking Alex if he wanted to hang out with me and you tonight. I thought we could go to Klivers or the Race Way or something."

Tim nodded, "Yeah...the Race Way would be cool." He looked over at Alex.

"Sounds good." Alex smiled again. Tim's face flushed a little.

Rick saw and grinned. He said, "Cool. So we'll meet up there around seven. you need a ride Tim?"

Tim nodded.

Rick was about to speak but Alex spoke first. "I can pick you up on the way if you want." he said.

"Okay", Tim responded.

Rick shrugged a little. The bell rang for first period. "Alright, see you later then", Rick said and headed off. Alex followed behind and Tim after Alex...smiling.

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