"The future is for those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"
One Life
by Ryan Keith
Part 2 -- Change
The sound of the doorknob turning made him bolt upright in his bed. For a fraction of a second he thought his father was going to walk through, and was relieved to see a boy about three-quarters his own height, who had weird sparkles around his eyes and the craziest spikes on his head. The boy looked at him awkwardly, and then walked in carrying two suitcases. The cases were almost larger than the kid.
"Hey,
guy, you must by my roommate. Nice to meet you."
"You have, like, a hangover, don't you? Great, I have a depressed loner for a roommate. Come on, what else can go wrong?"
"I
didn't mean to end up with a hangover. I hung out with some friends and just
chilled. What's it to you?"
The
kid stepped back like
"Um,
sorry for asking, but are you..."
The boy didn't let him finish, anyways. "Gay? Yes. Is that a problem, sir?"
"Good, now get your cute ass up and help me with my stuff. I think I broke a nail."
The
guy walked out before
Shit, I didn't even get his name. Ugh, I can't believe he's my roommate. When Jaylin and Dave find out, they'll surely think I'm gay too. I'll get the shit beaten out of me!
He decided not to worry about it right then. Princess Sparkles was waiting for his help.
*************
"Come on, buddy, get up." Jaylin nudged his roommate for the millionth time. "Shit, Dave, you're like my brother. You shouldn't get smashed the night before a day like today. We have a shitload to do, man."
His roommate groaned, before mumbling, "Come back next year. My head's pounding. I'm skipping the orientation. Just tell me later what I need to know. Thanks, dude."
Before Jaylin could complain, his roommate fell back into his slumber and began to snore lightly. Jaylin considered dumping water on Dave, but didn't want to clean it up afterwards.
Waiting
for the elevator, he wondered what the day held for him. After the hour-long
orientation, there would be several activities with the residence frosh
leaders. He hoped to have as much fun as he had had the night before. This time
he was going to make sure
As
the elevator opened, he was surprised to find
"Oh, hello, my pretty! Come in! I'm sure there's enough room for us to, uh, fit," the boy said, his eyes teasing.
Jaylin
didn't know whether to feel revolted, or angry. He walked in and turned towards
"Hey, Ty, did you sleep okay?" he asked.
"Yeah,
I did, thanks. I guess I passed out, huh? Did you take
me back to my room?"
Jaylin decided to take advantage of the situation. "Yup, and I even tucked you in as you confessed your undying love for me," he teased.
Horror
stuck
"I
was kidding, buddy. Don't worry. Sorry," Jaylin said apologetically. "Honestly,
you were the perfect drunk last night, I swear." Jaylin swore at himself again,
but
A loud clearing of the throat made the two of them turn to the short kid. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Tyler?" the boy asked in a demanding tone.
"Yeah, sorry, Jem. Jayse, this is my roommate, Jeremy, but he prefers Jem. Jem, this is a friend of mine, Jaylin."
As much as he didn't want to, Jaylin stuck out his hand to offer his greeting. Jem took it quickly and held it tenderly; his fingers seeming to caress Jaylin's hand. Jaylin felt like he was shaking hands with a squid.
He pulled his hand away fast when Jem looked at him seductively. He figured the guy was gay. He already had the women to deal with and now he might have to fight off this guy.
Jem
smiled seductively again and whispered, "Tease," before Jaylin turned to
As they walked off the elevator, Jem ran off on his own to meet up with some people. He ran over to a couple of girls that Jaylin had seen the day before. The girls immediately took him in and began giggling as they looked towards Jaylin and Tyler.
"Sorry
about him, Jayse. I just met him this morning and just finished helping him
bring in his stuff. I don't know how I'll survive,"
Feeling
like it was the right thing to do, Jaylin gripped
"Okay, thanks. I don't think Princess Sparkles will be leaving me alone much. I might drop by real often."
"No problem, buddy. Our room is always open. I have an extra sleeping bag, so feel free to crash in our room whenever you feel like it. Dave and I won't mind."
Princess Sparkles? Haha, that's golden.
They
walked into the large cafeteria, which had hundreds of seats. Several tables
that held Danishes and croissants filled a corner of the room. Jaylin and Tyler
looked at each other and smiled as their stomachs grumbled, and they headed for
those tables. Clusters of girls seemed to be following them. Jaylin smiled,
knowing half the followers were eyeing
*************
They probably wanted to just use me to get closer to Jaylin.
"Hey, baby," an effeminate voice said.
"Jem,
how've you been, guy?"
"Oh, don't give me that! You've stolen Jaylin all morning, and that's all you have to say?" With a tiny wave of the hand, he continued, "I guess I'll forgive you. These games need groups of three. I guess it'll be me, you and Jaylin. I don't take no for an answer. I'm gonna make him grovel at my feet."
"Sorry, Jem, we have a team of three already. Oh, there they are! Hey... Dave, Jaylin... over here."
"What
are you..."
"Who is that god?" Jem demanded.
"Who?"
He
turned and saw that Jem was pointing at Dave.
"That's
Jaylin's roommate, Dave,"
Without
another word
As
"You behind this
rouse, punk?" Dave asked abruptly.
Stopping
dead in his tracks,
"What?"
"This asshole woke me up saying we have to play these stupid games," Dave said with irritation. "Said it was your idea. If these games are boring, your ass is mine, Ty."
"Okay, buddy, you know you wanted to come down," Jaylin said in defense. "Quit bitching like a girl and suck it up some." Jaylin smacked Dave's back pretty hard, causing him to stumble.
Dave cursed under his breath.
"Sorry,
Dave,"
As
he turned to run, a hand grabbed his arm hard, pulling him around.
When
"Sorry,"
"What
the hell was that about?" Dave said in wonder as he watched
"I
don't know, but maybe he thought you were angry about waking up. I don't think
he had many friends at his high school. This might be a new thing for him."
"Oh shit, you think?" Dave asked
with worry. "Damn, I didn't realize. Shit, man, we gotta go after him."
Jaylin grabbed Dave's arm as he started to walk off. "Wait... there's more."
"What?"
Dave was annoyed, anxious to go after
"The
way
Jaylin
knew that Dave hadn't meant to upset
"Fuck, man, I didn't mean it, honest. Shit, I gotta fix this. The dude doesn't need to be scared here. Let's go and..."
Dave didn't have time to finish. A sharp voice had cut him off.
"What
did you do to
Jaylin and Dave turned and were surprised to see several girls looking angrily at them.
"Asshole, she asked you a fucking question," another girl began. "If you hurt him, you fucker, I'll make you pay. Who the fuck do you think you are, pretty boy?"
The voices began to rise and Jaylin found himself looking helplessly at Dave. Dave looked a bit amused.
"Looks
like the
Another wave of voices engulfed them as they were slowly being overwhelmed.
"Go after Ty. I'll catch up later after dealing with... this," Dave said with an impulsive smile.
Jaylin grinned before ducking. A lone sandal flew over him as he looked back with surprise.
Holy shit, these women are vicious.
Jaylin snuck away, leaving Dave cornered. He knew Dave was going to be okay.
Another sandal flew and nailed Dave right in the face. Dave snapped and started yelling at the girls. The girls found his anger encouraging and began to escalate their voices.
Shit, I hope he's gonna be okay. I shouldn't worry. He can handle himself.
It
didn't take Jaylin long to find Tyler, after seeing him run in the direction of
the Foundation Pond, a large pond with a few trees along one side. There was a
side road that curved around it, but overall it was out in the open. From his
window Jaylin had a perfect view of the pond and was quite fond of it. He was
glad to see that
He
slowly walked up behind
"Quite a view, ain't it?" Jaylin began.
Jaylin
caught
Jaylin though maybe
"You
know, Dave wasn't angry with you," Jaylin said, after taking a seat beside
Jaylin
smiled when he noticed his words seemed to have some effect.
Jaylin
didn't want to say any more. He knew how embarrassed
"I like you a lot too, buddy. Let me tell you, nothing will ever make me hurt you. You're too nice to hurt. I don't know `bout Dave, but if you have any problems, come to me. I'll take care of you. I don't know what it was like in your old school, but you don't have to be scared here. You start off fresh in university. Let it go man, you're among friends now."
"You promise?"
"What?" Jaylin asked
"Man, nothing you do will ever make me hurt you. Maybe if you go postal I'll have to deck you, but never will I hurt you because of who you are." Jaylin didn't know what had made him say that, but somehow he knew they were the right words.
"I promise."
He
turned to
Jaylin's
father had taught him the importance of friendship, and he had always valued
his friends, although he didn't show it all the time. He had never had a best
friend, other than Sam, but she was different. He felt that in Dave, he had
found his best friend, but with
"Are we cool?" Jaylin asked after another moment.
"Hell no, you ain't off the hook that easy."
The
two boys turned to the third leg, Dave, who had a distinct bruise on his face.
His right eye twitched like he was seriously angry. Thinking back to the girls,
Jaylin stifled a laugh. He turned to
Dave
jumped up on the rock and sat with his back against
"Listen, dude, if you're gonna hang around with me, you got to understand that there's a lot of shit that comes out of my mouth. I didn't mean one bit what I said back there, I was just fucking around with you."
"Yeah,
I know. I was being stupid. Sorry, Dave,"
"There you go again, you punk," Dave spat. Jaylin wondered if Dave knew what he was doing, but decided to give his roommate a chance. There is a first for everything. This was an approach that seemed interesting.
"You
need confidence in yourself. Yo,
Jaylin gave his friend an odd
look. "What do you think, dumbass? I didn't get this body from eating Big Macs,"
he said with a hint of humor. If
"Great. I used to work out a lot, but I got lazy. Starting today, we're all going to the gym at least four times a week," Dave announced.
"Four times! You're shitting me, right? I've never even been,"
"Well, we're gonna get you in shape. You're good looking, but too skinny. We need to put some muscle on you. That way you'll attract three times the women you already do."
"Is that alright with you, dude?" Dave asked Jaylin.
"Yeah,
sure, not a prob," Jaylin said. He used to go to the gym six times a week, but
he wasn't going to scare
"But why?"
Dave
turned to
Jaylin
had to admit it was a good idea. Dave went on about the schedule they were
going to follow and nearly laughed his ass off each time
*************
For
He
didn't want that attention. He wanted Jaylin, but he knew that was impossible.
He was content with just having Jaylin close to him, but each day it seemed
harder for him to accept Jaylin as only a friend. He fought to keep his
feelings at bay. The women weren't the only problem. There was his roommate
Jem. Several times Jem eyed Jaylin and Dave when he brought them over. Dave
seemed to enjoy the attention, but Jaylin seemed to get annoyed. He tried to
talk to Jem about it, but Jem said he was being too paranoid.
Having
friends was also a new thing for
His
father called him once. He asked
After
enjoying the eye candy for a while,
"So,
not even a hello? Is that where our friendship is at?"
"I knew it was you. Our friendship is much deeper than that; we don't need words anymore," Jaylin said smoothly.
"Ohh,"
Jaylin turned and gave him a challenging look. "Hey, I am a poet. You should check out some of my work."
"Sure you are, buddy."
"What?"
"You used my word. Buddy. Only I use that," Jaylin grinned.
"Yeah,
well, I'm adopting it."
For a moment they just looked at
each other, both enjoying the company.
Pulling his laptop out of nowhere, Jaylin opened up the screen and browsed through his files.
"What
are you looking at?"
"You
don't believe I'm a poet, do you? I see it in your eyes. Well, I'm gonna prove
it to you," Jaylin said, placing the laptop on
Reading
the words carefully,
"It's...
amazing,"
"It's about someone who wants to be seen for who he is, not what people want to see him as. He's concealed behind an illusion created by the people around him, and he just wants to be seen," Jaylin said sadly.
"This
is amazing, Jayse,"
The look on Jaylin's face was priceless. "God, no! No one has ever read this, not even Sam."
"Wow,
thanks, guy. I mean, I'm touched you shared this with me, but why not Sam?
Isn't she your g-girlfriend?"
Jaylin
gave
"Listen,
A sudden ring halted Jaylin's voice and seemed to scare the living daylight out of both of them. Jaylin's wash was done.
Letting out a sigh, Jaylin jumped off and headed for the washer.
Swallowing,
Jaylin turned to him and paused. "Nothing, buddy. Don't worry about it."
As
Jem's
groaning and his calling out of
"Oh, sorry, honey, this is a bit embarrassing," his roommate giggled as he covered himself. "Well, now that that's kinda out in the open, is there any, uh... favor... I can do for you?" Jem cooed from his bed.
"No
thank you,"
Does the guy have any decency? Oh my
God, I feel violated. Why the hell did he have to be screaming out my name?
"Hey, hon, is Jem in that room?" The girl asked.
"Yeah,
but...uh, he's sleeping,"
"Well, fuck, I knocked like fifty times and the fucker didn't answer me." She ran to the door and banged it hard. "You little shit, I want my fifty bucks. Now! I'll tell Mom, you little fucker!"
"Thanks, hon. I got my money back from my bitch brother because of you. What's your name?"
It
suddenly hit
"No
problem, the name is
"Oh...
you're the cutie my brother was talking about. Wow, you are pretty hot. Be
careful, boy, my brother is a freak. If he does anything scary, you let me
know. I'm just up a floor, okay? My name is Lindsey, by the way. Nice to meet you." She walked away, leaving a rather shocked
*************
Jaylin
walked out of the café with his bottle of water and noticed a boy he knew quite
well sitting on a bench. He quickly made his way towards the boy and plopped
himself down, causing
"Sorry about that, man. Didn't mean to make you shit yourself." Jaylin laughed but quickly fell quiet after glancing at his silent friend. "Hey, buddy, you okay? Someone giving you problems?"
"It's... no, it's nothing. Just still can't study in my room."
"Oh, sweet. Well, I found this awesome place about two minutes from here. Dave's there right now. Why not join us? Sam's gonna join us, too. She called me just now and she wants to meet up."
Grimacing at a sudden thought, Jaylin tried to explain something. "Ty, you need to understand something. Sam and me, we're not really going out... anymore. I... I really can't explain it... it's just... "
"Dude,
don't worry about it,"
"You know you just said `dude', right? You biting off Dave now?" Jaylin said with an impish grin.
Smiling,
"Hey, Tyler, Jayse... over here, dudes," Dave called out to the two.
Jaylin
smiled happily as
Jaylin was surprised to see Sam already sitting with Dave.
"Hey, baby," Sam called out, "you finally decided to show up, eh?"
"Yeah,
and I kinda picked up some loose baggage," Jaylin joked, indicating
Jaylin turned to Dave and both
shared the same smile.
Sam
reached out and grabbed
Jaylin took a random seat. "How did you guys find each other?"
"I have a good eye, and I know a lady when I see one," Dave said smoothly. "I saw her and approached her and told her you'd be around shortly. I was the perfect gentleman."
"I'm sure you were, buddy," Jaylin mocked.
"He was. Don't be so hard on your friends, Jayse," Sam scolded.
"Yeah, Jaylin, don't be so hard on your friends," Dave mimicked.
The friendly banter continued with everyone's participation. In no time, Sam was well liked by both Dave and Tyler.
"Anyways," Sam said, suddenly turning to Jaylin, "did you give my idea some thought?"
As if knowing this was going to be brought up again, a flustered Jaylin sighed before replying, "I already told you, I won't do it, Sam, I... "
"But you're meant to do it!" Sam argued, "Please... It would mean so much to me."
Equally persistent, Jaylin again refused.
Tyler and Dave looked at each other dumbfounded.
Sam turned to them with pleading eyes. "Can you guys help me convince the big baby to go into my show?"
"What show?" Tyler and Dave asked simultaneously.
Sam explained Frosh Idol, a university fundraiser loosely based on the already-famous `American Idol'. The competition included a fashion run of clothes made by forth-year fashion design students; a swimwear run, and the choice of either singing a song or doing a dance. To Jaylin, it sounded more like a beauty pageant. He sat back with a scowl on his face, still refusing to participate.
Laughing at his roommate's expense, Dave encouraged Jaylin, "Come on, dude. You're totally a babe magnet. Plus, it's for charity, right? Come on, don't be such a grinch."
"'Cause I don't wanna!" Jaylin said in a childish tone.
Sighing to herself, Sam spoke up, "Fine, be a big baby." Turning to the other two, she warmly asked, "What about you two? You're both good looking... especially you, Tyler. Why not join?"
"Right! And embarrass myself?" Dave said. "I can surf, but no way in hell can I sing or dance. It's gonna be an empty house if I sign up."
Pouting, Sam gave up. "Fine, you guys are all the same!"
"Really!" Sam said excitingly.
"Wait,
I didn't agree on..."
"You were thinking about it, buddy. I saw it. You want to do it, right?" Jaylin insisted.
"Well, I was just thinking it might help me boost my confidence a bit. But I've never done anything like that before. I... "
Grabbing both his hands, Sam smiled deeply, her eyes glittering. "You'll be perfect. Your voice is heavenly. I take you'll do singing?"
"Hey,
I didn't agree to..."
"I heard him singing `Perfect' by Simple Plan in the laundry room, and it was amazing," Dave commented.
"But I still haven't..."
"I have that song on my laptop without the vocal. Sam, help me set up the speakers? You can hear him sing."
The
sudden movement of everyone ended what
I've come this far. I won't let them
down.
Within
moments,
Dave's booming voice caught everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a special preview of University Idol, brought to you by student body coordinator Samantha La'chapelle. We introduce to you Foundation Residence's own University Idol, Tyler!"
A
roar erupted from the crowd, causing
Taking the crowd's yelling as a signal, Jaylin pressed a button on his laptop, starting the music.
It
suddenly hit
Hey Dad, look at me,
Think back and talk to me,
Did I grow up according to plan?
And do you think I'm wasting my time,
Doin' things I wanna do.
But it hurts when you disapprove all along.
He saw Jaylin smiling at him, a look of wonder
filling his face.
And now I try hard to make it,
I just wanna make you proud.
I'm never gonna be good enough for you.
Can't pretend that I'm all right,
And you can't change me.
Cause we lost it all,
Nothing lasts forever,
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect,
Now it's just too late,
And we can't go back,
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect.
I try not to think,
About the pain I feel inside,
Did you know you used to be my hero?
All the days you spent with me,
Now seem so far away,
And it feels like you don't care anymore.
And now I try hard to make it,
I just want to make you proud.
Memories flooded
Mr.
Morton, his face fuming, stared at his son and watched him tremble in his
chair.
"So,
you didn't even fight back?" he asked in an angry voice. His
disappointment was clearly noted by young
"They were bigger than me. There were four of them and only one of me. The teacher wasn't..."
"You
don't blame the fucking teacher!" his father roared as he backhanded
"You're a pussy! My father used to beat me to toughen me up. Maybe I should do that to you," he said with an ominous tone. "As you are now, you're a fucking pansyass. Is that what you want to be, boy? A fucking fag?" he yelled.
"Oh,
you're angry now?" Again
"Fuck
you...I'm not a fucking fag...Why the..."
"You listen to me, and you listen good," his father spat furiously, "If I find out you are a fag, I will kill you... You hear me? You tell your mother any of this and I'll kill you. You straighten up, or you won't survive in this world. I'm doing you a fucking favor. You should be grateful."
His
father left him alone on the kitchen floor. Blood was on the tip of
Each
tear
I'm never gonna be good enough for you.
Can't stand another fight,
And nothing's alright,
Cause we lost it all,
Nothing lasts forever.
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect.
Now it's just too late,
And we can't go back.
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect.
Nothing's gonna change the things that you said.
And nothing's gonna make this right again!
Please don't turn your back,
I can't believe it's hard just to talk to you,
But you don't understand.
Cause we lost it all,
Nothing lasts forever.
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect.
Now it's just too late,
And we can't go back.
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect.
Cause we lost it all,
Nothing lasts forever,
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect.
Now it's just too late,
and we can't go back.
I'm sorry, I can't be perfect...
For
a moment
He
was shocked a second later when a sudden roar made him lose his train of
thought. He looked at the crowd and they were all looking at him and cheering.
Taking that as his cue,
Jaylin
was proud. He clapped his hands hard.
To the audience in the miniature stadium, that
song had been sung so powerfully that it had brought tears to many eyes. Jaylin
understood the sorrow behind
© 2004 Ryan Keith
Yay! Chap 2 is out! Did you like it?? Really?? That's great!!! Hehe, sorry, I'm kinda in a happy mood tonight. I'm happy to get this out, I know a lot of you have been waiting for this. Well here it is! Next chap should be around shortly. I think I'm going to release a chap every week. So be happy^^
E-mail is Ryan_Kayden@yahoo.ca
Special thanks to Aaron and his crew for doing a fantastic job with editing and
providing a home for my work. If you're reading this at another site, please
note that www.themailcrew.com has my
other story. That's a great site for guys in high school, and I recommend you
guys check it out^^. Great stories there by other authors, too.
NOTE: The "Perfect" lyrics were taken from one of a number of Internet sites that have posted varying versions of the lyrics. Hopefully the most accurate version was chosen. "Perfect" was recorded by Simple Plan in 2003 and released by Lava Records.