Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:44:15 EDT
From: HnstSkr4@aol.com
Subject: The Mirror and Nothing More - Sections 33 - 36

Warning: This story doesn't contain any sex.  It's the story of gay teens.
None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to
resemble any living or dead people.

Let me know what you think of the story by emailing me at
_Hnstskr4@aol.com_

I want to thank everyone who has emailed.  I also want to thank those who
have read the story.  It means a lot hearing from you.  Please continue
reading!  There is a lot more to come.  I own all rights to this story.
Chuck B.

I've got such a great response to the story and would love to hear from
everyone who reads it.


The Mirror and Nothing More

Chapter 9


Section 33 - My Acceptance Letter

	Doug and I have yet to decide on a school.  We aren't receiving any
scholarships, although we haven't stopped trying.  Going off to college has
me a little frightened.  I'm not afraid of being away from home.  I'm not
afraid of losing contact with my friends.  What scares me is walking away
from Doug.


	The chances of us winding up at the same college are totally
remote.  We are still learning about each other.  I don't know about Doug,
but I don't want to call it quits.  We haven't shared much with those
around us but we've planned to meet up again after our undergrad work is
done.  I'm worried our plans will somehow get lost amongst the distances,
the textbooks, and more important, the loneliness.  I'm scared of
forgetting how much Doug means to me.

	Doug is truly the total package.  He is romantic.  He's not afraid
to bring me flowers.  It doesn't concern him that someone might see us
kissing.  My boyfriend even cooks for me.  He has served me cookies,
crepes, and even a four course dinner.  Doug is thoughtful.  He goes out of
his way to remember birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasions.
He is a jock.  He takes of care of himself and inspires me to keep myself
in good shape.  Family is so important to him.  He has talked to me about
us being dads to a very lucky child.  Doug is compassionate.  This guy is
incredible.  I don't know where we are going to school but I would love to
be together.

	I got everyone together after making a few quick phone calls.  I
even made an attempt to call Pete.  He didn't feel it would be okay if he
came.  Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in him, but it's his choice.
Doug arrived with Jeff and Grant.  My parents were already seated in the
living room.

"Okay everyone, moment of truth time!" I said as I slowly opened the
envelope and took out the letter.

"Dear Alexander T. Cook,

We are pleased to announce your acceptance to Michigan State University."

I didn't even bother reading the rest of the letter.  Doug stood up and
gave me a huge hug and a little peck on the cheek.

Jeff stood up and gave me a hug, also.  He then said, "Congratulations
Alex, I always knew you would make it."

Grant even gave me a hug.  My parents were absolutely thrilled.  Mom looked
like she might even have been crying.  Dad came up and gave me a hug.  I
looked over at Doug and there seemed to be a tear descending his cheek.

Section 34 - Doug's Letter Doug's P.O.V.

	I received my letter on the same day that Alex got his letter.
When Alex called, I decided to share the news with my friends at Alex's
house.  My parents already heard my acceptance letter so I wasn't taking
anything away from them.  They got to spend that moment with me.  I picked
up Jeff and Grant and sped on over to Alex's.  I was not prepared to hear
Alex's news.

	Alex's news hit me pretty hard.  It ended up being pretty bad.
Alex's school would put me hundreds of miles away from him.  How do I tell
him that I'll be at least 500 miles away from him?  Sure, we had discussed
the possibility of being away from each other.  I'm still not ready to hear
what his letter said.  When he announced his school, I felt myself tearing
up inside.  I didn't want to cry in front of him.  He doesn't need to see
me upset.


	Still, I couldn't keep it in at all.  I watched his face and in a
heartbeat, he was up and leading me into the kitchen.

"Doug, what's wrong?"

He had to know what was wrong, but he asked any way just to be sure.

"Alex, I'm not going to be with you at school.  I... I... want to be there.
I... I... want to be with you."

He looked into my eyes and smiled.

"Doug, we knew that we might be away from each other.  It's okay!  We'll
survive whatever happens."

I know he's right but I couldn't shake my fears.  "Alex, I'm afraid of
losing the love that we share for each other.  I love you Alex!"

He always seems to know what to say.  I know he feels the same about me
otherwise he would have been gone a long time ago.  Alex is absolutely the
perfect guy.


	We said good-bye to everyone.  Alex and I exchanged our good-byes
and exchanged a kiss in parting.  On the way home, I had a thought.  I want
to be with him.  I'm going to there with him.  I know he's not going to be
happy if he finds out that I'm considering rejecting my acceptance into
Southern Utah University.  At the same time, he would want me to be happy.
He'd want me to follow my dreams.  He'd want me to be there with him if at
all possible.  Will my parents be okay with it?

	Mom and Dad were having a little ice cream in the dining room when
I entered the house.  I sat down with them and just sighed.  I had no idea
how to tell them.  I was feeling horrid.  I don't want to disappoint them.

"Mom, Dad...what would you think if I rejected my acceptance into Southern
Utah University?"

"Why are you going to turn it down?" Dad asked.  As my mom smiled, Dad gave
me that "What are you thinking?" look.

"I want to be with Alex.  I've thought about and I think it's what's best.
I love him."

That was all I said, I went upstairs and thought long and hard about my
decision.


Section 35 - Back To Pete

Pete's POV

	Ever since Doug showed up in our little Indiana city, my life has
been hell.  I lost Alex, lost Jeff's trust, and now even Jeff has found a
fag to love.  Jeff has been my pawn from day one but when I realized that I
lost Alex, I turned my focus to Jeff and now that little worm has a little
boyfriend.  He also has my notebook.  I think it's time to upset someone's
day.  Too bad that my boys are in kiddie prison for playing a little rough
with Jeff.  How to strike??

	I need something to use.  They won't trust me, wait a minute.  Alex
did make a special effort to invite me over to his house.  Maybe, I need to
play nice so I can dig my fangs into Jeff and his boi.  Let's see, it's
five o'clock.  I know Alex is home.  I'll just give him a little phone
call.

"Alex!  Hey what's up?"

"Pete?"

I think that I startled him by calling.  Maybe this was a mistake.  I'll
have to take things very slow.

"Yeah, it's me!  Sorry, I couldn't come to your party."

"It's okay!  It wasn't much of a party.  We had cookies, punch, chips and
dip and then I read my acceptance letter."

Note to self, Jeff is losing his bodyguard.  Now what about Doug?  If I
play my cards right, I can still have my hands in on making sure Jeffery
gets what is coming to him.

"So is Doug going to college?  Where are you guys going to school?"

Now for his answer so I can begin plain my revenge against that worm, Jeff.

"We are both going to be attending school at Michigan State."

"Very cool!"

Now, both of Jeff's friends will be gone and the only one he has to lean on
for support is Grant.  This situation couldn't be any better.  I think
things will work out perfectly.

"Well, I need to get going!  Can we get together later for lunch?"

I waited for his reply.  I hope he says yes, because I need this little
plan to work.

"Yeah, umm... sure!  I'll talk to you later, bye!"

With that he hung up, I could tell Alex didn't buy my little act.

	It's okay though, I fooled them once I can fool them again.
Hopefully, I won't need to use anything as drastic as a suicide to achieve
my goals.  I need a new follower.  Someone who is willing to get mean and
dirty.  A fag hater would be perfect because it won't take much convincing
from me for them to follow my little plan.  Now where to find such a guy?
I can't just put out feelers for someone.  I also can't be seen with whom
ever I find.  Whatever I choose to do and with whom ever I choose to help
me, it must be flawless.

	It must go off without a hitch otherwise Jeff and his little
boyfriend will get away from me.  My plan is going to be sweet.  I'll get
their trust again by breaking up a fight between my person and Jeff's
little friend.  Then I'll just invite them over for a little party and then
I bet there will be a chance to slam Jeffrey one way or another.  If that
doesn't work, I'll just come up with another little plan.  Things will very
quickly move my way!


Section 36 - Pete's Plan Revealed

Alex's Point of View

	I decided that I couldn't waste any time.  I don't know what's
going on exactly but I know Pete's cooking something up.  I quickly called
Doug.

"Doug... I need to see everyone NOW!"

Doug didn't even respond to what I said.  He hung up and within five
minutes was knocking on my door.  I felt shaken.  Right then and there, it
clicked.  Jeff or Grant might be Pete's new target.  He seems to attack
someone by attacking those he thinks are close to them.  I've got to
convince everyone that I'm right on this one.  Doug and Jeff might be
easier to win over than Grant will be, simply because he doesn't know the
type of person that Pete can be.  I just hope my fears aren't justified.
To think that I actually considered dating Pete if anything happened
between me and Doug.  I think we made it to Jeff's in record time.

	We were at Jeff's place in less than 3 minutes, which is good,
because the sooner I spill what's on my mind, the better I'll feel.  We got
out of the car and knocked on the door.  Doug must have called Jeff and
Grant because they were already waiting for us.  Doug knew whatever was
bugging me was huge.  He took my hand and whispered into my right ear,
"Everything will be alright!"

I leaned in close and just rested my head against his shoulder.  Jeff was
sitting there and looked at me.

"So what's going on?"

I looked at him and Grant and wondered if I should even mention anything to
them.

	I can't just let that man hurt them.  I have to say something.

"Well guys, I think Pete's planning something.  He called the house saying
he was sorry for missing the letter reading and then he invited us out to
lunch.  He also asked where Doug and I will be attending school.  So yeah,
basically he was acting all nice and stuff."


Jeff looked very uncomfortable.  I suppose that I would too if I had been
beaten up because of Pete.  Jeff reached down by his side and pulled out
the infamous journal.

"I was reading a bit more into Pete's journal when I discovered some stuff
that might be of interest.  As we already know, Pete was behind the attacks
on me and the threats against Alex.  Pete knew James and Parker would
attack me just for being gay.  It seems he might have been planning
something against Doug."

Well, I think this points us in the right direction, but I still think that
Pete is cooking something up for Jeff and Grant.


	Jeff looked at Doug and then back at me.

"So what's his plan?" Jeff asked.  His body language showed his concern.
He was visible shaken.  I can certainly understand his feelings at the
moment.  Especially since Jeff was attacked by Parker and James the last
time that Pete hatched a plan.

"I don't know, to be honest.  It's just a gut feeling, really, and I can't
shake it.  I just feel deep inside of me that his target is Jeff and
Grant."

Jeff looked at Grant and they started talking between themselves.


	I knew Jeff was now worried sick about Grant.

"Grant, we have a problem!  This kid, Pete, is trouble."

We were all a little scared.  No one knew what Pete might do.  No one knows
what he's capable of pulling off.  We are all pretty positive that he's up
to no good, so now it's just a waiting game.  It won't make things any
easier on us.  At least we are little bit more prepared for the trouble
this time around.  My greatest fear is Grant losing his home in the
aftermath of this up-coming storm.