Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2016 07:44:27 +0000 (UTC)
From: doncornelius69 (at) yahoo.com
Subject: We Will Remember Them Chapter 8

This story is a work of fiction. None of the characters are real and any
similarities between this story and/or any characters in it and real life
is purely coincidental.

THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF CONSENSUAL SEXUAL ACTS BETWEEN
TEENAGE MALES. IT IS INTENDED FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY! IF YOU FIND THIS
TYPE OF MATERIAL OFFENSIVE, OR IF YOU ARE UNDER 18, OR UNDER THE LEGAL AGE
TO VIEW SUCH MATERIAL THEN PLEASE READ NO FURTHER.

The author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original
story.  You may not publish it or any part of it without explicit
authorization from me.

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The night after I came out to my parents I had dreams. BAD dreams. I'd wake
up, realize it was a dream, fall back to sleep, and right back into
another. Being chased was on overall theme, but the situations were
different. Mostly people coming after me yelling 'faggot' and 'homo' in a
variety of situations.

It didn't make for the most restful night.

I was relieved when my alarm went off, but I felt nervousness in the pit of
my stomach. I knew this was going to be a big day and I figured it would
also be a hard one. I had breakfast with Neil and my mother, then she drove
me to school while Neil stayed behind to get Cat and Josh ready.

It was a quiet ride, but not because we were hiding. I was psyching myself
up for what was to come while she was giving me the time to do it. I
remember being proud of myself because instead of thinking about all the
different ways this could wrong, I was instead thinking about being OK with
everything. I just wanted to be honest with the guys. If it didn't work
out, that was cool. I just knew that as long as I was true to myself, I was
going to be fine, even if it did mean catching a beating from some jackass.

We pulled in about 645 and I hopped out. Before I could close the door
mother said, "Don't worry about a thing today, it's all going to go
well. And I love you."

I just smiled back at her and said, "Thanks and I love you, too."

I closed the door and turned around to see Frank Hatcher holding the door
open for me with a big smile on his face. Frank was one of the new guys
who'd tried out this year and made A team. We'd been friends for years, but
grown closer since two-a-days.

I just looked at him and smiled. "Willy?"

He laughed, "Yeah, told me make sure no one fucked with you today."

"Shit, I have a feeling this is going to be a let down since he and Brent
have apparently told everyone."

Frank replied, as we walked down to the freshman locker room, "Would that
be so bad? Personally, I think it was going to be that way whether they
made calls or not. The folks who like you are going to keep liking you and
those who don't..."

"Can fuck the hell off," I said, finishing his sentence.

We walked in and I went to my locker to change. I got funny looks from some
people, others just smiled or came by and told me 'just want you to know,
we're cool and I got your back'. One of them was George Brown, one of Wes'
friends, and I just looked at him like 'the hell are you talking about?'

He just stared down and I could tell he was upset. "Look, my older brother
had a best friend who was gay and ended up getting the shit kicked out of
him when he came out. It hurt a lot of people and the hell of it was, he
was a really good guy. I may want to kick your ass at times, but I don't
dislike you because you're gay and I'll be damned if stand by while someone
fucks you up for it."

"Damn, dude, thanks. Honestly, I appreciate it. Even if you do sometimes
want to kick my ass," I finished, smiling.

I finished getting suited up as fast as I could and ran out to the field
where Coach Meade was already standing.

"Coach, before we start practice I need to tell the team something. May I
have a minute?"

He just looked at me for a second with a sad look on his face, "You're not
quitting on me, are you?"

"No sir, I'm gay and I need to tell everyone so if they have a problem with
it, we can do something about it."

He looked blankly at me for a second before responding, "No. If someone has
a problem with it they can come see me. Then they can drop out of
athletics."

"I understand, but wouldn't it be better if I told them?"

"Nope. I'll handle it."

And he turned back to the field. We started practice and for the first 30
minutes, there was some chatter, and some of the guys asked me if it was
true. The bullshit didn't start until about 730 and it started with
Wes. Slowly, it built up until Coach called everyone in.

"Alright, I can tell from the chatter most of you know about
Hallstrom. Anyone got a problem playing with a gay guy?" he asked, as my
stomach fell. About six guys, including Wes, raised their hands.

"OK, you six can go change and I'll talk to you after the team is done with
practice," Meade said.

One of the guys, a new kid I didn't know, said "But Coach, why are you
sending us in?"

"Well, son, Hallstrom works his ass off and the rest of the team obviously
accepts him as is. Not to mention he was man enough to actually ask me to
make the announcement himself this morning. You six were over there
sniveling and cracking jokes like chickenshit losers. Hallstrom can't help
who is anymore than Flynn can stop being black. If you have a problem with
it, you don't belong in team sports. Now go and we'll talk when I get the
TEAM off the field."

And the six of them trudged off, with only Wes looking back, directly at
me, as if I'd somehow screwed up football for him.

We practiced for about another hour, then he led us back in to get
changed. The guys were already in Meade's office, but I didn't really
look. I just wanted to get clean and out of there. I was stowing my pads in
my locker when I realized Frank was standing next to me. I looked over at
him and he just smiled and nodded his head.

"Am I that obvious?" I asked.

Frank just snorted, "You're trying to hard to be normal. Just remember
we're all good with you. You don't have to worry in here."

I grabbed my soap and shampoo and went to the showers, got cleaned up, and
went to change. When I walked up to my locker, that new kid who spoke up
earlier and Derrick Sinclair were standing there.

"Guys, if you want to take a punch at me, can you at least wait until I'm
dressed and outside?" which made George, who was hovering kind of close by,
laugh.

Derrick was the one that spoke first, "Dude, I need to apologize. This
whole thing just came as kind of a shock and I followed along with Wes. I
know it's not an excuse. You've never been anything but cool to me and I'm
sorry for making a thing out of this." He finished by sticking out his
hand, which I shook.

The new kid, Aaron, piped up next, "I don't even know you and I don't know
any gay people. But I've never caught you looking at me and if the rest of
the team stands with you, I can too. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's cool. I know we may never be friends, but this is the last year
I'm playing anyway. I promise you, I'm focused on football and nothing
else." They both nodded at me and walked away.

When they were out of earshot George said, "You handled that better than I
would have. You know, you're one cool motherfucker." I just smiled back at
him and said thanks.

I got dressed like I always do and started to walk out before I heard
"Hallstrom!" from Meade's office. I walked back to his door and went in.

"Yes sir?" I asked.

"Did Sinclair and Morris come in and apologize to you?" he asked.

"Yes sir, they did. I really wish you hadn't forced them." I replied.

He looked up at me with this strange look on his face, "I didn't force them
to do shit. I had the six of them in here, told them that as far as I and
the team were concerned you weren't going anywhere and that if they still
had a problem with it, knowing how hard you work and how dedicated you are,
then they needed to grab their shit and go talk to a counselor about
getting out of Athletics.

Those two stayed behind and told me they'd realized they were wrong. I just
told them that if they gave me any trouble, I'd be harder on them than God
was on Job, but that if they meant it they could stay. They were the ones
who asked if they should apologize to you and I told them only if they felt
like it, but that I wasn't going to make a thing of it."

'Oh, crap' was the first thought that went through my head. Not only had I
assumed Meade was trying force something, but I'd assumed their apologies
weren't genuine.

Meade looked at me like he could read my mind, "Son, you're a good
kid. Wouldn't hurt you to give folks the benefit of the doubt sometimes. A
lot of people are going to extend that to you, because I'm sure you've
earned it. Your job is tougher because you're going to have to do it with a
lot of people you don't know all that well or who may not have earned
it. In the end, I promise, you'll be better for doing it."

"Yes sir. And thank you."

"Alright, get on out of here before we get all teary eyed."

"Yes sir," I replied as I walked out and went down the hall toward the back
door. Frank and George were coming out of the locker room about the time I
hit the door and told me to wait up. I looked back at them, said OK, and
opened the door, stepping out to hold it open for them.

And saw Wes, standing there, throwing his fist into my face. I didn't have
time to think or react, I just took the punch to the jaw and stumbled
sideways letting the door slip, then falling to the ground. It took me a
second to get my bearings back and I looked up to see Frank and George,
holding Wes back from doing anything else. Right then a whistle blew and
Coach Edwards, the head coach, came walking up from behind them.

"You guys break it up. Johnson, come with me. Hallstrom, you OK?" he asked.

I stood up, a little shaky, rubbing my jaw, "Yes sir. He hits like a
bitch," which got a smile out of Edwards.

"Alright, head to the nurse when you get in and get checked out."

"Yes sir," I replied and Frank, George, and I started walking down to the
main school building while Edwards took Wes back into the field house.

It was, maybe a five minute walk down the hill but George was talking all
the way about what a fuckup Wes was and how he was sorry he was ever
friends with him.

Frank and I didn't really disagree with him. As soon as we reached the
school, we waited with the other guys for the bell while Frank told them
what happened. Everyone pretty much agreed that a sucker punch was about
the lowest thing you could do. I was still rubbing my jaw so I just nodded
and grunted agreement.

When the bell went off I made my way to the nurses office after telling
Frank and George I was good. I asked Frank to tell Willy and Brent what
happened and to MAKE SURE they didn't start something with Wes when he got
to school. I also pulled out my phone and texted Josh and Alan, telling
them no matter what they heard that I was fine and not touch Wes. Which, of
course, prompted a barrage of WTF texts and I just told them I'd tell them
later.

The nurse was actually really cool, but he was really by the book and the
book said notify the parents. At one point, one of the vice principals came
in and I told them what happened. He waited with me until mother got there
and I filled her in. She was adamant about taking me to the hospital and I
had to beg her to relent.

"Mom, I'm fine. It's sore but it doesn't hurt that much. Just give me an
Aleve and I'll be fine."

My mother, a little moisture in her eyes, just said, "OK, but when your
father picks you up he's taking you to get an Xray to make sure. If
anything changes, text us both."

Normally, I'd have been all about an excuse to get out of school but going
to the doctor, especially today... what better way to make me look like the
weak, delicate, little homo. The funny thing was, by that point, I was
pretty OK with it since at least he'd hit my jaw. If he'd broken my nose I
would have been REALLY mad.

The nurse wrote me a pass to 2nd period and I walked out of the office. It
was kind of cool being in the hallways when everyone else was in class. I
ended up going to the bathroom, checking myself in the mirror (nothing
obvious, except that the skin where he'd hit me was red), and then grabbing
some books out of my locker before sauntering into Mr. Jenkins Honors
Biology class. He looked at my pass and, with 10 minutes remaining in
class, just told me to sit down.

Willy sat next to me, one of the other freshman in the class which was
usually for sophomores and juniors. As I walked to my desk I could tell by
the look in his face he was furious. It took him all of 90 seconds to pass
me a note.

"The FUCK are you thinking telling us not to fuck up Wes. You think you can
stop that from happening? NOW? Fuck that motherfucker. I'm going to put him
in the hospital."

I quickly wrote out...

"Great, do that and everyone will think I'm just another weak little faggot
who can't handle himself. He sucker punched me, it hurts but he didn't
break my jaw and I'll be fine. I got this. PLEASE don't do a damn thing to
him. Let the school handle it."

He returned the note to me...

"If we don't do something it's going to be open season on you. Then we'll
be fighting off EVERYONE. We have to pound that fucker into the ground and
make sure people know not to fuck with you."

And I returned it to him...

"People already know you. People already expect you to do
something. They'll ask why you haven't, so tell them I asked you not to
because he hits like a bitch and I'm fine. Trust me, it'll work."

I passed it back to him as the bell rang and I watched him read it. He
looked back up at me, "OK. I don't like it and Brent's going to like it
even less."

"Then show him the note. Seriously, when I need help you'll know it. This
isn't the time to play avenging angel. I appreciate it, but there's too
much going on and people have to see I can handle myself." I thought my
answer was a good one. It also turned out to be right.

Two minutes later, as we were walking down the hall to English (which Brent
was also in), some sophomore made a wise ass crack and I just laughed at
him and said I'd already been sucker punched once today but that when he
was ready to come at me like a man to let me know. That got a few laughs
from the people in the hall and a high five from Glenn Reynolds who was
laughing his ass off as the sophomore scampered away.

As we walked away I glanced at Willy who was smiling. He finally
acknowledged me and said, "OK, you were right. I get it."

Brent was outside the class with ten other guys, including Darnell and
Frank. They all smiled when I walked up and fist bumped me, basically for
saying Wes hit like a bitch. I looked over at Frank, as class got started
and mouthed 'thank you'. He just responded with a nod. In an hour, that
would be all over school and everyone would know. The calculus on beating
me up would change dramatically since I may be little but I was definitely
not one to fold up in a fight. Now, you had to figure that if you didn't
seriously hurt me, I was going to make fun of you. And that was worse than
having a homo around anyway.

And then you'd have to deal with Willy. And Josh. Willy could really fuck
you up. Josh would break limbs.

The rest of the morning was pretty good. I had B lunch with Frank and some
of the other Freshman guys. Lane was in it as well so I said hi to him and
filled him on the morning so far. There were a couple of varsity guys and
cheerleaders who sat with him and they all thought it was funny as hell.

I ditched the lunch mother made me and instead got Frito Pie and a bunch of
other junk, then sat down in the seat Frank saved for me. First
question... Are you OK. Yes. Then, basically a repeat of my exchange with
Willy from Biology. I told them all I appreciated them and that this was
just the way it had to be. I told them to relax, it said enough to everyone
around that they were still sitting with me. I could tell it wasn't the
answer some of them wanted, especially George, but I knew it was the right
one.

When the bell rang we all got up to toss our trash and walked out
together. I heard my name from the other entrance and turned to see Josh
jogging over. I told the guys I'd see them later and then walked toward
him. When he got to me, he gave me a hug and asked if I was alright while
looking at my jaw.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Lane walked up and gave Josh a hug and a kiss. "Well, my table thinks
you're the shit. They can't believe you told Edwards Wes hits like a
bitch. They were still laughing about it when the bell rang."

Josh just looked at me and smiled, "You really did say that to Coach
Edwards?"

"Yep" I responded with a smile. "I'm gonna be late, I'll see you guys
later."

I had to really book to get to my next class, Geometry, which I hated. I'd
had Algebra in eighth so I had to take Geometry in order to get into
Algebra 2 in tenth, precal in eleventh and then calculus my senior
year. Math wasn't easy for me, but once I got it I was pretty good. I knew
I wanted to be done with as much as possible in high school. The thought of
college level calculus scared the crap out of me, especially after talking
to Richard.

During class I got a text from Bruce:

"Heard you had an exciting day. Just wanted to tell you I'm with you in
spirit and so are a lot of your friends in OC."

I remember sitting back in my chair and feeling pretty full of emotion. All
day I'd been inundated with support from my friends and even people I
didn't know all that well. To hear that from someone so far away, well, it
just kinda got to me. I didn't know what I'd done to earn it, but I was
damn glad to have it.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, surprisingly. Until 315 when I
got a text from my dad.

"When school is out, meet me in the office."

I just replied back "OK" and really hoped he wouldn't go out of
control. What I didn't know was that Wes's dad had pretty much gone
berserk. Edwards had hauled him into the office and made sure he got three
days of in school suspension for punching me. For Mr. Johnson, that was a
declaration of war no matter if his son was completely at fault.

When the bell rang, I made my way to my locker to grab some things and ran
into George. I asked him how his day had gone, and he smiled. "Lost a
couple of loser friends, made some new ones."

I just looked back at him, the guilt evident on my face, "I'm sorry man,
but I really did appreciate what you said today."

"You're sorry?" he asked.

"Yeah, you said you lost some friends and I can only imagine it was because
of me..."

He interrupted me with, "I lost them because they're assholes. Period. You
know what I learned today? That I never had any reason to dislike
you. You're about as far from a stuck up rich kid as you can get. I'd been
listening to Wes' shit all this time and I'd find a way to interpret things
you did to fit what he told me. It never occurred to me that people liked
you because you were a really decent guy. The people I got rid of today are
gone because they're hateful shitbags. Fuck 'em."

I just stood there, smiling, "Well, then I hope I'm one of the new
friends."

He turned back to his locker, then looked over at me, "You are." He
finished by holding out his fist and we bumped. He ended up walking with me
to the office. I told him I had to go in since my Dad was here. He wished
me luck as I opened the door.

One of the secretaries who worked at the front desk asked how they could
help me and I told them who I was and that I'd been told by father to meet
him here. She told me he was in with Principal Smith and led me back. When
she opened the door, I went in cautiously to see my father sitting in one
of the chairs laughing at, what I guessed, was a joke from Smith.

As I walked in, Smith stood up and offered his hand.

"We've met before, but the last time you were knee high to a
grasshopper. I'm Principal Smith."

I shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you, sir. What's this all about?"

"Well, your daddy was worried about what happened this morning after
practice and there's been some confusion. I talked to Vice Principal Ford
and he shared what you told him. I was hoping you could tell me."

I felt hot all of the sudden and I looked over at my father who had a
serious look on his face. He just nodded and I nodded back. "Well, sir, I
was walking out of field house to go to 2nd period and I held the door open
for a couple of friends. As I did so, Wes Johnson sucker punched me in the
jaw."

Smith nodded, "What happened then?"

I looked down, "To be honest, I was out of it for a little bit, maybe two
or three seconds. I looked up to see George and Frank keeping Wes from
jumping on me. About then Coach Edwards blew his whistle and everyone
calmed down a bit. He asked if I was OK, I told him I was, and he told the
three of us to go on to class. He pulled Wes back into the field house and
we walked to school."

Smith leaned over his desk, his hands clasped together, "Son, did you see
Coach Edwards strike Wes?"

"No sir. Wes looked pretty deflated at that point, Edwards had him by the
arm and was moving him back inside the field house."

My father was the next one to speak, "And that's all you saw?"

I looked over at him and replied, "Yes sir. At least once they were
inside. I'm sure Coach Meade could tell you about what happened next since
he was inside the whole time."

Smith sat back in his chair, hands behind his head, "Ed, I don't think
there's anything to worry about. I spoke with Tony Meade earlier and he
didn't see a thing. Everyone's story matches up, except that of the Johnson
boy."

I father stood up and held his hand out to Smith, "OK, I just wanted to
make sure nothing happened to Edwards. I know how Stan can be, so if there
are any calls I need to make, you let me know," he looked over at me,
"Alright kiddo, let's go get you x-rayed so your mother can stop worrying."

"Yes, sir. It was nice meeting you Principal Smith, sorry about the
circumstances," I said.

"No worries here, son. If you ever need anything just come see me," Smith
replied.

My father and I walked out of the office and out to the car. After we were
in, he turned to me and said, "He hits like a bitch?" with a smile.

"Yes sir, he does." I said.

"Like father, like son I guess." he quipped.

"Mr. Johnson hit you?" I asked.

"Yeah, once. A long time ago. I put him in the hospital for it." he
replied, smiling.

On the way to the doctors office he told me the backstory of the
day. Edwards had hauled Wes down and written him up for fighting. When his
father showed up, Wes had this story about how Edwards had hit him. It was
a real shit show apparently and my father got roped into it when he called
Principal Smith about me after speaking to mother. He felt like Edwards
needed some protection from the Johnsons and their school board
connections. My father had some of his own and leaned heavily on them
during the day. Turned out, making my father happy was more important than
making Mr. Johnson happy.

After the x-ray, which was clear, we went to grab some ice cream. As we sat
down to eat, I could hear my father sigh and I knew this was going to be
pretty uncomfortable.

After his first spoonful of ice cream, he said, "Alright, so tell me what
led up to Wes punching you."

I gave him the account of the morning, from the time mother dropped me off
until 2nd period.

"Only four guys had a problem?" he asked.

"Yes sir, only four."

He leaned back and looked at me, "Son, I wish you hadn't said
anything. This may only be a phase and now it's something you're going to
have to live with for a while."

"Dad, you're not listening. I was never in love with Kami the way other
guys are in love with their girlfriends. I knew the first time we kissed. I
knew every time we hugged. I knew when we had sex. I'm gay and it's
hardwired in my brain, not something that's going to change."

He snorted, "You don't know that. People change all the time."

"Not their sexual orientation."

"Well, people experiment at your age..."

I interrupted him, "Yes sir, and Kami was the experiment. The deviation
from what is normal for me. I could have sex with a hundred girls and I'm
still going to be gay."

He was still eating his ice cream, looking down intently at the cup he was
holding. "This is going to take me some time to get used to. And I'm
terrified that today was just the start. There will be more violence to
come and I don't want to see you get hurt. Life isn't easy for gay kids."

"Life isn't easy for anyone. Today, George Brown, who has been friends with
Wes for years and has hated me the whole time, was one of the guys who
stood up for me. If Edwards hadn't shown up when we did, he and Frank would
have beat the shit out of Wes before I could have even throw a punch.

Yeah, I know I need to look out for myself, but being honest about things
got a guy who hated me to give me a chance today and he found out I wasn't
the monster that Wes portrayed. People ARE going to look at me differently
because I'm different. No one can help that. But I know, after today, if
anyone is going to mess with me, it's not because of some chickenshit
secret, it's because they're assholes. And I'll give as good as I get."

He sat back in his chair, arms folded across his chest with this unreadable
expression on his face. I just smiled and dove back into my ice cream. We
just sat there in silence for, I don't know, two or three minutes, before
he finally spoke again.

"You know I love you, right?" he asked.

"Uh huh," I responded around a mouth full of ice cream.

"I just can't believe only four guys had an issue with you being gay."

"Ask Coach Meade if you don't believe me. Look, I don't know why but that
was it. Meade thinks it's because I give it my all when I'm playing. I
personally think it's because they all know me and they know I'm not some
weirdo or freak. This is just something about me that's different, but no
one feels threatened or nervous. I know I'm lucky, but I don't know if it's
because I'm really lucky or because I've never been a dick to anyone." I
replied.

"Well, you are a pretty good kid, all things considered. And it helps you
get your good looks from your dad," he said with a smile.

I just rolled my eyes, "Yeah, that has to be it."

Not long after we left and he drove me back to mothers where Neil's car was
in the driveway. My father and I both got out of the car and walked up to
the house, I used my code to unlock the door and we went in.

"Go tell your mother I'm here and that I need to talk to her."

"Yes sir." I replied and went to find her. She and Neil were watching the
early news in the family room when I walked in.

"Mom, dad's here and needs to talk to you."

"Oh, OK," she said, getting up from the sofa. "How are you doing?"

"I'm a little sore, but other than that I'm good."

She looked at me and used her thumb to wipe something off my chin, then put
it in her mouth. "And full of chocolate ice cream."

I just smiled back as she walked past me.

Neil just smiled at me, "Other than the fight, how was your day?" I gave
him a brief rundown and sat down on the love seat to watch the news with
him. About five minutes later, mother reappeared, clearly a little
upset. Neil asked what was wrong and she just said "nothing, he just wanted
me to know the x-rays were clear."

Neither of us were dumb, we knew he'd said something else, but we didn't
pry. To me, it was between my parents and to Neil, I'm sure it was a bit
more complex but it boiled down to not wanting to intrude unless asked to
offer advice.

About 20 minutes later, I went up to my room to do homework. I was there
when Josh came in around 7 to tell me to come down to dinner. Here's the
thing about family in a house with an intercom. When they just want to tell
you something, they use the intercom. When they want to TALK about
something, they come get you. Wish Josh, it was the foot shuffling and
looking down after he'd stated his ostensible reason for bothering
you. Only after a bit of that would he finally talk about what was really
on his mind.

"OK, so I know this is going to come as a surprise, but are you and George
Brown doing anything?"

"DOING anything? Like what? Did you hear something?" I asked.

He just continued his little nervous dance. I hated when Josh was like
this. It was unnatural for guy his size to mince around like a 9 year old
girl.

"Just that the two of you were now dating?" he replied. "I told people it
was bullshit because you'd never said anything but I wanted to make sure."

I just sat back in my chair, "It's bullshit. Hell, I'd be flattered, but
George is straight and was, until today, one of the guys in Wes' orbit who
hated me. After today, we're friends and he now knows Wes was full of shit,
but he's not gay. Where did this come from?"

"Christina Davis asked me about it before I went to practice. Her twin is
apparently interested in you and thought something was going on."

That brought a smile to my face. "Oh, really?"

Josh smiled back, understanding why I was suddenly so pepped up. "He's a
choir guy, kinda nerdy. I don't really think you'd like him but if you want
me to give her brother the green light, I can."

I just shrugged my shoulders, "Sure. I'm out and there aren't a lot of
options."

Josh smiled back, "OK, be careful what you wish for."

I remembered the Davis twins from when I was in sixth and they were in
eighth. They were both really cute. The brother, Christopher (and it was
ALWAYS Christopher) was very sweet as I remember and a little
flamboyant. People were nice to him because of his sister and because the
girls in their grade ADORED him. He was kind of small and not at all what I
would have normally gone for, but I figured it might be fun to actually
date another guy in the open.

The next morning was pretty quiet. Things had quietened down at practice
and nothing weird happened. Aside from a few obviously joking comments
(when one of the guys dropped his soap near me he looked at it, then looked
at me with a big smile and said, "Don't try anything" to which I responded,
"You have pimples on your ass, dude") things were good.

That afternoon, my father picked me up to do birthday stuff with him then
dropped me off for dinner with mother, Cat, Neil, and Josh. It wasn't big
or flashy, it was just family and it was nice. Lane and Alan ended up
coming over later and we got hang out for the first time in weeks.

The next morning there was a note in my locker at school from Christopher
Davis. It was a poem he'd written about how handsome I was and a brief note
asking if he could take me out Friday night. He'd also left his number so I
could respond to him.

I went to second period and showed it to Willy who, predictably, cracked
up. He quickly scribbled out a note

"Dude, you can't do this. This guy is all wrong."

I returned volley

"What to do mean all wrong? Like in the head?"

Willy

"No, he's all wrong for you. You're as into poetry as I am."

Me

"I thought it was sweet. He's different than us, but is that a bad thing?"

Willy

"No, but it's definitely not something you're going to be able to deal
with."

I knew he was right. Poetry wasn't my bag. But there was a part of me that
needed to do this, to go out with him, anyway. Justifying it as something I
was into WAS all wrong because it wasn't true. I wanted to be OUT. I wanted
to go out on a date and it didn't hurt that Christopher was cute. He wasn't
physically what I was into, that would be more someone like Bruce, but he
was attractive and he clearly thought I was as well.

I sent back to Willy...

"Maybe not, but I'm going to check it out. I feel like I need to."

Willy, after reading my final reply, just shook his head with a smile. He
then looked over at me and nodded. I knew what he wanted to say, "I get
it. Go on".

The rest of the day went as usual. I hooked up with Lane at lunch and gave
him the note. We reconnected before seventh period when he was going to
band.

"This is really sweet, but it's not you, you know?" he told me.

I sighed, pushing back against a locker, "I know, but I want to BE out. I
want to date and, honestly, the pickings are pretty slim around here,"
which made Lane laugh.

"Well, Christopher is a really nice guy and he's cute. I say go and see
where it leads. But, whatever you do, don't lead him on. It'll just crush
him and he doesn't deserve that."

I was taken aback a little, "What makes you think I would do that?"

He looked down and shuffled his feet a little, "You wouldn't do it to mess
with his head or his heart, you'd do it thinking you were being nice and
it's absolutely the wrong thing to do. Christopher's a sensitive guy and
he's obviously crushing on you pretty hard to have put himself out here
like this," he said, waiving the note. "You just need to be honest with him
and don't think you're doing him any favors trying to spare his feelings."

That was a hit that landed. It wasn't meant to be mean, but I could
absolutely understand why he said what he said. That WAS me. I could
absolutely see myself doing something like that and, in an effort to not
hurt someone, end up doing something even more horrible. "Damn, I love you
man. Thank you," and I gave him a hug as the warning bell rang.

I had to run to make my last class and as soon as I was in my seat, I
pulled out my phone and texted Christopher that I would love to go out
Friday. We texted back and forth that evening and from that I realized he
was pretty smart and seemed to have a good sense of humor. I went to bed
that night kind of giddy.

I woke up Thursday feeling pretty energized for the first time in days. I
told mother and Neil about Christopher that morning at breakfast and my
mother started to tear up a little. I asked her what was wrong and she just
smiled and said not a thing. At the time, it made zero sense to me, but she
seemed OK with it. She was also OK making sure I knew curfew was midnight
and not a second later.

Christopher and I finally got a chance to talk before he went to choir
later during the day. He wasn't as bashful as I thought, he was really
level headed and polite. We agreed he'd pick me up at 630 on Friday so we
could go to the game together. Our first real meeting was
interesting. There was some tension, we obviously thought the other was
cute, but it wasn't anything dramatic or life altering. He was maybe an
inch taller than me but he was lighter, I'd guess about 15 pounds, darker
complected than me but blonde as well. Given my experience to date, this
would be the first time I was physically bigger than my date and it was
kind of a rush. I snuck a quick kiss before running off to class, leaving
him standing there with what looked to be some impressive wood.

The rest of the afternoon went well and both the freshman and JV won our
games that night. Christopher had come to watch since it was a home game
and Josh introduced him to mother and Neil. I could see them sitting
together in the stands from the field and it made me feel warm all over.

After we got home, we had dinner and sat down to watch a movie. It was so
obvious I was in a good mood, I'd catch Josh and Lane (whose second home
was now basically our house while Josh was here) looking over at me
smiling. For some reason, I thought it was kind of condescending... the
established couple enjoying the puppy love of one of their friends. And
that wasn't me being narcissistic or misreading the situation. People do
that all the time and it's really annoying.

After the movie, I told everyone good night and made my way up to my
room. Mother came in to see me before I went to bed and we talked a bit
about Christopher.

"He seems like a really nice guy. And he also seems to like you a lot. I
thought he'd be more nervous meeting me, but he was really very charming,"
she said.

"So you like him," I asked.

"Of course. He's attractive, polite, intelligent, or at least he seems
intelligent from the little conversation we had at the game, and he has a
crush on my son. What's not to like," she finished with a smile.

"Lane thinks he has a crush on me, too."

She just smiled, "Lane's right. The real question is, do you have a crush
on him?"

I thought about it for a second, then responded, "No ma'am. I mean, I think
he's cute and I like him but I don't know him well enough to have a crush."

"Oh, dear. Well, you're about to get a taste of what it's like when someone
likes you more than you like them. The only advice I can give you is not to
lead him on. It wouldn't be fair to either of you. Play it safe."

"Yes ma'am."

I woke up the next morning a little sleep drunk. Friday's after a game were
usually pretty easy in practice so I wasn't really concerned about it. By
second period I was pretty awake and Willy and I had a good time with our
neverending notes back and forth. I told him what our plans were and he
asked if we were going to Glenn Reynold's party after the game. I just told
him I didn't know, Christopher was in the drivers seat and I'd see where we
ended up.

Willy thought it would be a good idea for us to come.

"It'll let everyone get a chance to know him and get comfortable with the
two of you together." Which, made sense to me and I told him I'd work
something out.

After class, as we walked down the hall we ran into Glenn who started
smiling as soon as he saw me.

"Hey,"he said, and then looked over at Willy. "Mind if I have a word with
him alone."

Willy just said sure and that he'd see me in English.

I looked back at Glenn and asked, "What's up?"

He smiled back at me, "So, you and Christopher?"

That shocked me. Of all the people who would interested in my dating life,
Glenn Reynolds? I had this questioning look on my face as I asked, "Oh,
come on. Like you care." I finished kind of laughing, which was a big
mistake and I saw it immediately in Glenn's face.

"Dude, I grew up down the street from him. Christopher came out to me and
Christina at the same time."

I just formed a little 'o' with my mouth. "Sorry, Glenn. I just assumed you
were messing with me. I didn't realize you were close to them."

"It's cool, don't worry about it. I just wanted to say Christopher is a
really good guy and if anyone gives y'all shit, YOU let me know. Sometimes
he blows things off that he shouldn't because he feels like he's bothering
me. Don't let that happen, OK?"

"I gotcha."

"Good. And don't fuck with him. He and his sister are my oldest
friends. You piss him off, and we're going to have problems."

THAT set me off. Lane was one thing, Glenn Reynolds didn't know me well
enough. "Why is everyone so worried about me fucking with him and not the
other way around. I'm just a little freshman, what if he takes advantage of
me?"

Which made Glenn crack up. "Rob, you have probably 30 pounds of muscle on
Christopher so I'm not at all worried about him trying something. I'm
talking about emotional stuff. Don't dick him around. He doesn't deserve
it."

"OK, I won't. But promise me one thing?"

"Sure."

I gathered myself a bit, "Give HIM the same speech you gave me. Everyone
seems so concerned about me doing the right thing, as if we're destined for
failure, that it never occurs to them that he may be the one who ends up
hurting me."

Glenn just stood there for a second, looking at me. "You really don't get
it, do you?"

"Get what?" I asked, exasperated.

He just stared back at me with this incredulous look on his
face."Nothing. Yes, I'll tell him not to fuck with you. Get to class."

As I walked to English, I thought a little more about the
exchange. Christopher was a really nice guy, but I was pretty certain he
wasn't a saint. I know people liked him, I know they were protective of
him, but this was ME, not some monster with an insatiable libido who would
cheat. Not to mention this was our first date. Who knew if there would be
another, let alone if we'd actually start dating.

The whole thing threw me off for the rest of the day. In hindsight, I was a
real moron. Instead of being excited for my first real date with a guy, I
was dwelling on the fact that everyone liked him very much and apparently
thought I was the ultimate Player, a reputation I'd neither earned, nor
sought.

My dad picked me up from school and we went to look at a property he was
thinking about buying. He asked what I was doing tonight so I told him. And
he froze the hell up. It wasn't like he just stopped functioning, far from
it. He just got really quiet very quickly and stayed that way. I knew he
was trying but I also knew this week had been rough on him and was only
getting worse, at least from his perspective. He was going to need to come
to grips with things a little faster than expected.

However, I wasn't really in the mood to make small talk in an attempt to
draw him out so I asked if I could change the radio station. When he just
grunted back, I took it as assent and did what I wanted to do. We drove out
to the land he wanted to buy and, to be honest, it looked pretty good. I
didn't ask why he wanted to buy it, I didn't care.

He dropped me at mothers about 30 minutes later and we did actually say bye
and he reminded me he was picking my sister and I up on Sunday after
church. Then, he took off. And I was angry. Not pissed, ANGRY. Not only had
he freaked about me having a date, he was doing that 'hey, let's spend time
together but only when it's convenient' thing with Cat and me. It was, in a
word, infuriating. The kind of infuriating that only comes when someone you
love just does something completely terrible.

I walked into the house and found it empty, so I went up to my room and
took a nap, hoping like hell my mood would lighten in a few
hours. Thankfully, it did. I woke up about 530, showered and then spent
another 30 minutes trying to decide what to wear before finally settling on
jeans and a polo. I really wanted to wear shorts (it was mid-September in
Texas), but it didn't feel right. A button down was too hot, so I picked
out a polo. By the time I was done, I actually felt pretty good and about
10 minutes before he was to pick me up, I went downstairs.

I found my mother and Cat in the kitchen with Neil and Josh.

My mother was the first one to notice me as I walked in and she pulled me
in for a hug.

"Oh, honey, you look so cute!"

I could feel the heat on my cheeks. It was a big deal for me and I really
did want to look good. She knew it and was making every effort to make me
feel good before my first real date. Score one for mother in the Which
Parent Do I like Better Right Now contest.

Everyone else chimed in with basically the same thing. I ended up nodding
shyly with a smile and telling them thanks. I already felt self conscious
but this did a lot to help boost my confidence and help me relax. I looked
at the clock and it was almost 630.

Josh noticed me clockwatching, "Nervous?" he asked.

I just nodded, "Yeah, a little. I know I shouldn't be, but I can't help
it."

He came over and gave me a hug, "You're going to be fine. Just be yourself,
it's what he's attracted to anyway."

"Thanks, bro." I replied and I could see Josh's eyes start to water. It was
the first time I'd called him that in a non-joking way and I didn't realize
it would get to him like it did.

A minute later the bell rang and Josh ran to get it. I called after him and
he just said, "Give me 2 minutes, then you can come." I just nodded back.

That ended up being a really long two minutes. They'd been munching on
stuff before Neil had to take Josh to the field house to get ready for the
game and then mother and Cat to grab something to eat. I really wanted some
of my mother's hummus, but I'd just brushed my teeth and didn't want our
first kiss to be marred by garlic hummus mouth.

I waited about 90 seconds then hugged everyone and told mother I'd be home
by midnight. I turned to walk to the front door and I as I walked down the
hall I could catch the tail end of the conversation and Josh was speaking.

"...means the world to me so you treat him like you'd want someone to treat
your sister."

"Of course, man. You don't have a thing to worry about."

And then I rounded the corner into the entry and they both looked at me. I
could see Josh smiling broadly and I looked over at Christopher who was
expressionless and didn't look like he was breathing.

"Christopher, are you OK?" I asked.

Josh looked over at him and nudged him, causing him to cough and sputter a
little.

"Yeah, I'm... great. You look amazing."

Which, of course, caused me to blush again.

"Thanks, so do you." That wasn't a lie, either. He was wearing a pair of
brick colored chinos and a navy button down that had obviously been
tailored to him. He looked really cute, especially when he was the one
blushing because of my compliment.

I crossed over to him and gave him a hug, then pulled back and said "Let's
go."

And we walked out the door, through which I yelled bye to Josh just as it
was closing. We walked out to his car, got in and drove away. I figured he
had a plan in mind but, after about the fifth turn and we were still in my
neighborhood, I realized he didn't. His hand was resting on the shifter so
I placed mine over it as we came to another stop sign and he looked over at
me.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Why don't we get something to
eat?" which caused him to visibly relax.

"I'm sorry, I'm really nervous. When you walked in, I just lost it."

"It's ok, Christopher. Just remember, I like you too. I wouldn't be here if
I didn't."

He sighed, "Of course, I know that. Doesn't mean my nervous system is going
to let me off the hook." he paused and shifted in his seat toward me. "You
have to understand, you're like a dream come true for me. The gorgeous jock
who happens to also be gay and wants to go out with me."

"Oh, come on..."

"No, seriously. We never get to see ourselves the way others see us and
that's probably a good thing. So, just trust me on this."

I leaned forward and gave him a kiss. This time, it wasn't a peck, but I
also didn't force my tongue into his mouth. It was just a nice kiss,
sweet. And, I liked it. It wasn't fireworks exciting, like the one I'd
gotten from Bruce just before we left OC, but it was nice and felt really
good.

"OK, but only if you take me to grab something to eat."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too. You want to go to Mitchells?"

I thought for a second, "You know, I could really go for something gross
and pseudo-Italian..."

"Oh no..."

I smiled at him, "Oh yes..."

He sighed, then met my eyes, "OK, Olive Garden it is."

I gave him another quick kiss and he then he drove us to our doom. The
restaurant wasn't crowded since it was a Friday night before a football
game. Later, after the game, there would be an obnoxious line out the
door. We got a table and sat down, looking at menus. I could feel his eyes
on me, but I decided not to make a thing out of it. He was so cute and
earnest, that I didn't want to make him feel self conscious. I was also,
slowly, really starting to like him.

Not long after a server appeared and we ordered, unsurprisingly the same
mess. It was one of the specials they run where everything is covered in
Alfredo sauce and cheese. It should come with an angioplasty or a set of
stents.

As we waited, we people watched and made up back stories for the people we
saw. The common thread was that everyone was either celebrating a birthday
or they were having an affair. The restaurant was pretty sparsely populated
so we ran out of people to watch but did like the cowboy there who was
obviously out on a first date. He and his girlfriend were really cute and
when she rose, he stood as well.

Christopher was staring at them and sighed at one point, "That's really
sweet. You don't see things like that often."

"Yeah," was literally all I could think to say. He just looked back at me
with this dreamy look in his eyes and I said, "What, you want me to stand
when you go to the bathroom?"

This got a laugh out of him, "No," he said, "I just think it's sweet."

Thankfully, our food arrived shortly thereafter. We ate and chatted about
school. Mostly, he asked me about the classes I was in and gave me some
insight into my teachers which was cool. We also talked about mutual
friends, who was dating who, etc. The best part about the entire dinner was
that there wasn't any awkward moment. The two us were completely at ease
with one another and the nervousness from earlier was gone. It was, in a
word, nice.

Christopher wanted to pay but I insisted since he was driving. My dad had
given me one of his cards almost two years before to use for emergencies
and some of my normal spending when I didn't have cash. I had to account
for it and reimburse my charges if they were just for me. I couldn't wait
to tell him about this one.

As we walked out of the restaurant, his hand reached for mine and we walked
that way to the car. He went to my side and opened my door, which I thought
was so cute I wrapped him in a hug and gave him a really nice kiss.

As I broke away I said, "Thank you for what has been a really nice night so
far."

"It's only going to get better," he paused, looking at his watch, "Oh,
shit! Gotta go!" And he ran over to his side of the silver Honda Accord and
hopped in.

I had my hand over his again as we drove to the stadium and was feeling
really good about it. Christopher wasn't just a good guy, he was a
romantic. We were completely mismatched since I was anything but, however I
was having a great time and I realized I liked him a lot. Sexually, I think
he was more into me than I was into him, but I knew if it came to that I
wouldn't have a problem hooking up with him.

Of course, it never occurred to me that for him, it wasn't going to be just
a hookup.

We were late getting to the game, but were having so much fun we didn't
really care. He got our tickets and we made our way up to the student
seating to join our friends. Brent and Darnell were sitting together and
I'd asked them to save two spaces for us. Darnell was in choir (no joke,
the guy had a beautiful singing voice) so he already knew Christopher and
was cool with him. Throughout the game people came by to say hi or
congratulate us on going together and I didn't correct them as Christopher
was clearly having fun with it. The only thing that annoyed me was that I
was trying to keep up with the game, not to mention follow what was going
on with my friends who were playing.

My heart stopped at about two minutes into the third quarter. We were on
offense and Josh was blocking for one of the running backs when a
linebacker missed the RB and hit Josh low, sending him up in the air then
hard onto his head and upper back. I stood up, holding my breath, as
whistles were blown and a flag landed on the play. Josh didn't move. He
just laid there as the coaches and the trainer made their way out to
him. Christopher stood next to me and grabbed my hand as he leaned over and
said, "He's going to be fine. Just breathe."

Ten more seconds passed and nothing, except for the crowd starting to shout
JOSH JOSH JOSH JOSH further up the stands from us, where some of the
sophomores and juniors were sitting. I glanced back and caught the eyes of
some of them, silently thanking them for doing what they were doing. 10
more seconds passed and the everyone on our side of the stadium was on
their feet chanting his name. My chest was so tight and my heart was
beating so fast I thought it was going to burst. I caught a glimpse of my
mother and Neil making their way down the bleachers, presumably to get onto
the field. I glanced back at Josh and saw his left foot move, then his
right. Not long after, the coaches helped him up and he walked off the
field to a cheering stadium, waving at the crowd.

And I released Christopher's hand, which I hadn't realized I'd basically
crushed. I looked over at him and said thank you, and he just smiled back
at me. As everyone started to sit, I told him I wanted to go check on Josh
and he asked if I wanted him to come with me. I didn't answer, just reached
for his hand and dragged him behind me.

We made our way to the section behind the benches where my mother and Neil
were standing, talking to Josh. He smiled at me when he noticed me walking
up.

"Hey, I'm impressed. It took almost two minutes for you to get here!" he
said, letting me know he was fine.

A wave of relief hit me and I know it was obvious. I walked up and reached
down to touch his hand. "You're really OK?"

"Yeah, my neck is going to be sore, but everything is where it's supposed
to be. Keep your head up, remember?" he said, alluding to the conversation
we'd had during two-a-days about Brent and Willy.

"Asshole,"was my reply as I smiled.

"Well, I don't care what the trainer says, we need to take you for a scan
right now. Go get your coach." Neil demanded.

"Don't worry Dad, the trainer is going to walk me back to the field house
and you can pick me up there. Honestly, I'm fine." he answered.

"Well, OK. I know you think I'm being paranoid, but I'm not taking any
chances."

"Do you want me to come?"I asked.

Josh looked at me, "Absolutely not."

Neil smiled over at me, "No need. We'll have him at the hospital and if
anything's wrong, they'll be able to get a handle on it. You two enjoy your
night and your mom and I will take care of the smart ass."

Josh spoke quickly, "Go tell Lane I'm OK, willya? I know he's going to be a
basket of nerves."

"Sure thing," I replied.

I told them all bye and to call me if anything happened. Christopher and I
then went over to the band section where Lane was visibly relieved to see
us.

"Fucking Abernathy wouldn't let me go check on him," he told us, barely
concealing his anger and frustration.

I smiled back at him and put my hand on his shoulder, "He told us to come
over here. He's fine, Neil and mother are going to take him for scan to
make sure nothing is wrong, then he's going home. Just go there when the
game is over."

Lane seemed to relax a bit. "Thanks, Rob. Now y'all get out of here before
dickwad starts screaming."

Christopher and I made our way back to where we were sitting and watched
the rest of the game. Not long after we sat back down, he got up to gossip
with some of his friends and I was basically done telling everyone that
Josh was OK, but that Neil was taking him for a scan to be sure.

Brent was the first one to speak, but I could tell Darnell was dying as
well.

"Other than Josh's performance, how's the date going?"

I smiled, "Good. Actually really good. I'm having a lot more fun than I
thought I would."

Darnell was smiling, "You think you're going to get some action tonight?"

"Why? You wanna watch?" I threw back at him which prompted laughter from
both him and Brent.

"No, it's too new and we aren't there yet. Honestly, every minute I spend
with him, I like him more and more."

"Ohhhhhhh..." they both moaned, in unison.

"Y'all stop,"I begged, blushing. "I'm really comfortable with him and he's
actually a lot of fun. But he's a little bit of a romantic and we all know
I'm not."

Brent just nodded, "Give yourself a chance, I have a feeling you'll be
surprised."

We sat back to watch the game and about 6 minutes before it ended,
Christopher sat back down next to me and patted my thigh. I looked over at
him to see a big smile and I asked, "What?"

"Nothing, just thinking about what we're doing next." he replied, which
made me gulp a little. I hadn't thought about anything beyond just the
date, and I wasn't prepared for anything more. I started to tense up a bit
and he asked what was wrong.

"Nothing, just wondering what you have in store for me."

Christopher leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, stud. I'm
not going to rape you tonight."

That got a laugh out of me and for probably the 19th time I was really
impressed with his sense of humor.

After the game ended, people were asking us about Glenn's party and
Christopher just said we had other plans. We got back to his car a little
after ten and I finally got to ask what those plans were. His cryptic
response was, "You'll see."

He navigated through the traffic and we made our way to a park just on the
edge of town. There was a hill you could drive up to which had a pretty
good view of the southern end of town, mostly neighborhoods and the park
itself. It was also very unlit so the stars were pretty amazing. He parked
the car and we both got out. He went to the trunk and pulled out a blanket
and what looked like a small cooler.

We walked over to the side of the parking area and spread the blanket out
so we could lay down on it. The cooler, it turned out, just had some Cokes
in it which was a relief since I was sure Neil and mother would be up and
they would definitely be alert to the smell of beer on my breath.

I laid down on the blanket and pulled him to me which was surprisingly
easy. Our faces were inches apart and we just looked at each other before I
finally pulled him in by the back of his neck and kissed him. With one
swipe of my tongue on his lips, he opened up and let me in, sucking on my
tongue so beautifully that my dick was instantly hard. We stayed that way
for what seemed like forever before he finally pulled back, as breathless
as me.

"Damn, you're a hell of lot more experienced than I thought," he said.

I just smiled back at him, "Or I'm just a natural?" which got a nice laugh
out of him. He settled into my side and I let my arm cradle him. It felt
really good to hold him like this, no cares or worries, just the two of us
out here. We ended up talking and making out a little more before realizing
it was 20 till midnight and we quickly packed up so he could drive me home.

We got back to my place to find it still very lit up at 1157. He walked me
to the door and I gave him a hug and another kiss as we said goodbye. I
stood there watching him walk back to his car, completely happy with how
the night had gone and thankful, as he drove away, that I'd spent it with
him.

I opened the door to the house and made my way to the family room to find
everyone there. My mother looked at her watch, noting the time, and then
looked back at me with a smile. I went over to where Josh and Lane were
sitting and listened to Lane's story of how Mr. Abernathy had been quite
the dick about letting Lane see his injured boyfriend.

I finally said, "Did y'all just get home?"

"Yeah, just a little while ago. The scan was fine, nothing bad, except for
some strained muscles. I have to take it easy for a few days but I'll be
back in pads by Wednesday," Josh replied.

"Good. Well, I'm going to bed," I started before everyone started moaning
and asking me to tell them how tonight had gone, so I sat down and did just
that.

Thanks for reading! Any comments can be sent to doncornelius69 at yahoo dot
com.

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