Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:17:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Castle <mickcastle92@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: Running Scared Chapter 3

I couldn't believe what I had just seen. It was nearly three hours since I
had had my talk with Joel, but it now seemed like an eternity ago. And what
I was now seeing seemed so much like it was a whole different person that I
had talked to. Because truthfully, I was now, in fact, looking at a whole
different boy, or at least it sure looked like it was. Even though I knew
it was the same person, very little about him looked the same.

I was now sitting at the kitchen table at Liam's. Liam had just emerged
from his bedroom closely followed by Joel. But the changes that he had
undertaken in the hour and a bit beforehand left me nothing short of
speechless. While I had thought that he had looked pretty hot before, now I
could feel myself harden just at the sight of him. I had to give Liam all
of the credit; he truly was a magician.

This had been what Liam had been talking about when he had said he was
ready. I had realised that with authorities all over the state, and
particularly the border, looking for Joel and me, I knew that we needed to
look like other people, so I had called Liam. He was studying to become a
costume artist, but more then that, he could change or design people to
look completely different; he wanted to do it for movies.

So he had agreed to participate in our transformation. He had worked on me
first. He had cut my hair, and had altered the colour to blond, as opposed
to my natural brown. He had placed contacts in my eyes, brown, as opposed
to blue. When he had finished I looked in the mirror, and couldn't believe
it. Liam also used some makeup products, to change the appearance of my
face; in truth I didn't even recognise myself.

But the work that Liam did on me was nothing compared to what he did on
Joel. I wasn't in the room while he did his work, but when Joel emerged, I
didn't know what to say. Joel had gone in with black hair that was curly,
and he came out with the straightest red hair. I almost had to laugh when I
saw it, he had brown eyes originally, but then they were suddenly hazel. It
was amazing.

When Joel came out to see my reaction, he wore a cockeyed look on his face,
but then when he had seen the look on my face, he grinned. I had to fight
hard not to show the fact that I was boning up. I didn't know exactly what
Liam had done to his face and his body, but I swear, Joel looked as though
he could easily pass as an eighteen-year-old. It could have just been me,
but he looked taller.

I decided not to ask Liam what he had done to the boy. I just marvelled at
his work. After Joel had done a few spins to show off the new him, Liam
told him that he should take a shower to get some of the loose hair and
dirt off of his body. Joel immediately accepted the offer and he bounded
off to the bathroom; he looked so happy, that I couldn't help but to smile
as I watched him leave.

When I turned back to face Liam I realised that he had seen the look in my
eyes. He looked as though he was going to say something, but then seemed to
have changed his mind. He stood in front of me, and we were both silent for
a long time, before Liam asked if I wanted a drink. As he got us drinks I
said, "Liam, I knew you were good, but damn, I can hardly recognise him. I
hope the police can't, either!"

Liam nodded as he brought over a cup of coffee for me, and then we headed
out to the back of his house. He didn't have much of a backyard, but he had
a patio that he had set up for parties, and we sat down at one of the
tables. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, just looking out, and
thinking. I knew after all that had happened this morning, making it across
the border was the most important thing that Joel and I had to do.

Finally Liam looked across at me and asked, "So, what's the plan from
here?" I knew that he meant beyond going for the border. But the problem
was that I had no idea what we were going to do once we made it into South
Australia. "Liam I don't know; all I know is that we are going to go for
the border."

Liam nodded, and then was again silent for a few moments; then he suddenly
got up and walked inside.

I was more than a little surprised, but before I got a chance to react,
Liam was walking back outside, paused for a moment, and then sat back down
into the seat that he had just left. Again we sat in silence for several
minutes before Liam finally looked me square in the eye. "Well if you're
going to keep away from the cops, you can't do it in that car. They're
looking for it. You try to cross in it ... they'll nail you straight away."

I had completely forgotten about the car. I had forgotten that I had stolen
it, and the fact that I was still driving it was a big mistake. As I was
thinking this, Liam extracted something from his pocket. I realised what it
was, and I gasped. Liam held the keys to his car--a Chrysler jeep--in his
right hand. He paused as he thought about what he was doing. Then finally,
he held them out for me to take.

I looked at Liam to make sure that he knew what he was doing. Liam nodded
as he said. "Take it. It guarantees that you will make it across; when you
come back, you can return it."

I nodded as I accepted the keys. I heard the bathroom door open inside and
knew that Joel had finished in the shower.

Liam asked, "When are you going to leave?"

I had been glancing into the house waiting for Joel to emerge. The question
took me quite by surprise. Liam saw me looking into the house, and again
seemed to hesitate at saying something.

 "I want to leave soon; the earlier we cross the better."

Liam nodded but was still scrutinizing me.

I knew he was dying to say something else but didn't want to upset
me. Finally I saved him the hassle. "Dude, why you looking at me like
that?" My question surprised Liam.

Suddenly, we were interrupted by Joel calling out. "Jason, where are you?"
He sounded worried, and it was now that I remembered that only a few hours
ago, I had threatened to leave and talk to the cops. I stood up as the boy
approached the open door. I moved to the door and Joel saw me, and a
relieved look came over his face. I couldn't help but to grin. "Hey, Joel,
you feel better?" He nodded.

I didn't notice, but Liam was watching us intently. Joel didn't notice, or
at least didn't respond.

"Yeah, I feel great, but I was worried when I got out, and I couldn't find
you. I thought you had gone." I moved toward the boy and gave him a big
hug.

"I'm not going anywhere, Joel without you. I promise you, that I won't ever
leave you." As I held him in the embrace, I felt the boy sigh. I pulled
away from him and saw that he had tears in his eyes.

I moved back over to my seat, and indicated for Joel to sit down as
well. Liam got up and walked back inside.

Once he was inside, Joel leaned over and whispered, "I just don't get it
Jason; why do you care so much? I only met you three days ago, and you're
doing all of this for me."

I nodded slowly, as I stared into the boy's eyes and said. "Yeah, I am, and
I will do a lot more for you. Whatever it takes to keep you safe."

That broke the floodgates, as Joel started to cry softly. I looked up and
saw Liam standing in the doorway, indicating for me to come inside. When I
stepped inside I saw something laying on the bench. When I looked closer I
saw that it was two identification cards. One, a drivers licenses with a
picture of the new me on it. The other was a student I.D. card with a
picture of Joel. I couldn't believe that Liam had even rigged us up some
fake identification.

I leapt at him, practically bowling him over, as I hugged him. He accepted
the embrace. We stood there just hugging for ages, before I finally
released him and whispered. "Thank you, Liam, for everything. You are such
a great friend."

Liam blushed as I paid him the compliment, but I could tell from the smile
on his face that he appreciated it all the same. "I figured that you'll
need some ID if you're going to get across."

I couldn't hold myself back as I leaned into him and planted a soft kiss on
his cheek. He looked stunned for a moment, and then got a cheeky smile on
his lips. "What? I only get a kiss on the cheek?"

I knew that he was only joking, but I grinned and kissed him fully on the
lips. As I pulled away I heard a gasp, and I looked over Liam's shoulder to
see Joel standing in the doorway with an expression on his face that I
couldn't quite read.

Then suddenly Joel took off running. Worried, I looked at Liam, but Liam
only smiled at me as he asked. "Where's he gonna go?" But as soon as he
asked the question, Liam realised that it had been a mistake. I knew Joel
wouldn't go far, but I was still worried about what might happen before I
found him. I made my way out of the backdoor, and began my pursuit.

I had been running for about two blocks, when I realised just how quick the
little bugger was. I realised that without a car I didn't stand a chance of
catching him. And I was about to turn around to grab a car when a thought
occurred to me--a place that Joel may have gone to. I knew if I went there
and I was wrong, Joel would have too great a lead on me to find him, but my
gut told me to go and check out the place.

The place I was thinking about was a park that was three blocks away from
Liam's place. It had a fort that we had played in when we were kids. I
didn't know why, but I thought that that was where Joel was. So, when I
arrived at the park, I saw that it was empty. I made my way towards the
fort. Sure enough, when I reached the fort, I could hear movement inside of
it. I stood to the side of it and called out. "Joel, is that you?"

There was only silence for a while, then finally, the boy stuck his head
out of the fort. The look on his face was one of confusion and sadness. I
was going to sit down at the base to the fort, but then I decided to climb
up into it. It was a tight fit; I hadn't been in it for nearly eight
years. But we had built it big enough to fit ten of us kids, so it wasn't
too bad. I sat down and Joel looked at me carefully, but then he sat down
with his back to the wall.

I didn't know what to say. I knew after everything that this kid had been
through, he must truly hate all gays. I had to make him understand that
there was no ulterior motive to what I was doing ... I just HAD to do it! I
had no idea of how to even start the explanation. I looked at him and I
said, "Look, Joel; I'm sorry for what you just saw."

The boy looked skeptical at what I was saying. He bit his bottom lip.

I was pretty sure that the kid was considering running again. So I
stretched out my leg, effectively blocking the door. He looked at me and
then said, "Are you really..."

The pause made me think that he was implying I wasn't sorry for what he
saw. I quickly responded. "Yes, Joel; I am really sorry. You shouldn't have
seen that." Joel stared at me silently as though trying to see into my very
soul.

Then the most incredible thing happened; he gave me a smile that could have
lit up the moon. "I didn't mean that, I meant are you really... well like
are you really ... gay?"

The question bewildered me. I didn't have anything to say to that for the
longest moment. I finally took a deep breath and said. "Yeah, Joel, I am."

He seemed deep in thought for several minutes, then a light seemed to have
gone off in his head. He stared at me horrified. "So that's why you're
helping me."

I almost responded immediately, but then a thought occurred to me--what if,
in fact, it was my motive? I mean, I couldn't deny I had the hots for
him. But I quickly dispelled those thoughts. "No, that isn't the reason..."

I was about to continue, but Joel cut me off. "But do you like me ... I
mean more than ... just like as a ... friend?"

I was afraid to answer his question.

Joel seemed to sense that my silence was an answer, but I said, "Yes, Joel,
I think that you are cute, especially now, but I want you to know that I
would never make you do anything you didn't want to. That isn't the reason
I grabbed you; I helped you because you were in trouble. Please understand
that."

Joel nodded his head slowly. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

But then, Joel got a cheeky smile on his face again as he looked at me. He
crawled closer to me in the fort and when he was almost on top of me he
whispered, "So ... if you won't make me do anything that I don't want to
... what will you let me do if I DO want to."

Then before I had a chance to respond, Joel leaned into me and kissed me
ever so sweetly on the lips. The kiss took my breath away, and took me to
another place.

It took me several long minutes to respond to the kiss, but when I did, I
kissed him with fire. His lips were so sweet and warm. I placed my right
hand behind his head as I slid my tongue into his mouth; he began duelling
it with his own tongue. The feeling was so incredible. I had a raging
hard-on by the time we broke for air. I couldn't believe how great it had
felt to kiss the boy, the first real kiss I had ever experienced.

I looked at Joel as he moved in for another kiss. But I placed a hand on
his shoulder, and gently pushed him away. "Damn, Joel; that was incredible,
but we can't do anything here." Joel looked sad, but realised that I was
right. I lifted his chin up in my hand, and as I looked into his eyes I
added as I rearranged my hard-on, "We've got a long trip ahead of us and
plenty of time to have fun. But for now, we have to say goodbye to Liam."

Joel again looked sad but nodded.

Then we made our way out of the fort.