Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 18:45:07 EDT
From: TheoNorth@aol.com
Subject: LeaDR House Ch. 5

WARNING: The following is a work of fiction containing (hopefully) graphic
descriptions of sex between any number of willing men. If this sort of
material offends you, you shouldn't be reading it. If you are too young to
read this sort of material, you shouldn't be reading it. If however, you
are of age and you're sitting in your dorm room and no one else is around
and you can't figure out why you get a hard-on every time your best buddy
drops his shorts and heads to the shower...read on my friend.

This story is fictional. Any similarities between the men in this story and
the men that you know are purely coincidental, although the author wouldn't
mind hearing about them himself.

Comments may be sent to TheoNorth@aol.com

Constructive criticism will be accepted. Praise will be absorbed. Flames
will be ignored.

Now, without further ado . . .


                           LeaDR HOUSE
                          by Theo North

                            Chapter 5
              In which Josh spends a spirited night
                   in the fraternity's basement


Halloween was the one night when it sucked to be president of Lambda Delta
Rho. The LeaDR's always threw a spectacular party. The guest list was
all-male and VERY select. By the end of the evening everyone at the party
had shed their costumes and their inhibitions (provided they had either
when they walked in the door), and everyone who was invited came.

The president of the LeaDRs, however, was never at the party. For over 60
years now, the presidents of LDR had spent Halloween night in the basement
... in a locked room ... in a sling.

According to legend, LeaDR House was donated to the fraternity by an
elderly couple, a Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Stouffer, who lived near the campus
with their son, Harland. Harland had been a carpenter a rough and tumble
man with dark blonde hair, a mustache and an easy smile.  Judging by the
photo of the man which hung in the entrance hall, he also had a killer
bod. The photo was old the family had lived in the home during the 1930's
yet for those pre-Soloflex days, Harland had a broad chest and the sort of
sharp, defined muscles that spoke of lots of hard work. On Halloween night,
1932, when Harland was 30 years old, he died in a mysterious accident in a
small room of the basement of the house. He was doing some remodeling work
when a heavy, wooden beam collapsed and fell on him, crushing him. The
couple was devastated. They wanted to move away from the home and the
memories it contained, yet they felt strongly that their son should be
honored. So, looking to the nearby university, they selected the LeaDR's as
the fraternity with which their son would have felt most at home, and gave
the house to them. The only stipulation was that each year, on Halloween
night, the president of the fraternity would sit a vigil in the basement
room, praying by candlelight in memory of Harland Stouffer.

That was the "official" version of the story which is promoted on campus
and in printed publications about the fraternity. The unofficial story is
slightly different: Harland Stouffer was a large, masculine man who enjoyed
hard, rough sex with other large, masculine men. He carried on his
activities in the basement of his home where his elderly parents would
never disturb him.  In 1932, Harland was preparing for a very special night
of "trick and treat" with his lover, Rory O'Toole, a husky Irishman who
served on the city's fire department. At just 21 years of age, Rory had
thick, black hair, not only on his head, but covering his chest, arms, legs
and ass. His eyes were as green as a shamrock and his full lips often
curled back in a wicked smile that made women blush and caused men to shift
uncomfortably in their trousers. Rory had the sort of thick, muscular torso
and strong arms that screamed "dominant bastard," but with Harland, he
happily surrendered his ass and became a moaning, cursing fuck-pig.

Harland was installing a sling from a beam in the couple's playroom. He
could hardly wait to see Rory's muscled legs spread wide and flung high. He
could imagine the glint in Rory's green eyes and the leering smile the
Irishman would flash as Harland shoved dildos, fingers and, finally, his
throbbing cock into the fireman's hole. Rory, however, was a big man,
almost as big as Harland.  Stouffer decided he better test the sling out to
make sure it would support his lover's writhing, pleasure-wracked body. He
climbed into the sling and took a tentative swing back and forth....the
loud *CRACK* of the beam above him was the last sound he ever heard.

Harland's parents never knew of the sling or the secret playroom. There
were both too frail to come down the basement stairs. Rory was the one who
discovered the body that night. He knew immediately what had happened and
removed the sling and other toys from the room. He vaguely told Harland's
parents and the police that the man was working on "some sort of remodeling
project" when he was killed. After the Stouffers moved out of the house,
Rory restored and reinforced the wooden beam in the playroom and hung the
sling which he was to have shared with his lover.

It was Rory who made the arrangements with the LeaDRs. The agreement was
that each year on Halloween, the room was to be set as it should have been
on that Halloween night in 1932, with the president of the fraternity
acting as a stand-in for Rory. He was to be placed in the sling with his
wrists and ankles securely bound. The room was to be lit by
candlelight. The door was to be locked and guarded by two of the fraternity
brothers who were not under any circumstances
  to open the door until sunrise.

In theory, the president was to be an "offering" to Harland Stouffer. Of
course, no fraternity president had ever seen the ghost of Harland, so the
ritual had become one of those pointless bits of ceremony which the
fraternity president HAD to perform, no matter how much he bitched about
it. Over the years, a second tradition had grown up around the legend of
Harland Stouffer.  The presidents would routinely moan and scream and make
all kinds of bloody racket in an attempt to convince the brothers standing
guard to open the door. If the door opened, of course, the president got to
punish the guards, so at least there would be some payoff to having missed
the Halloween party. However, everyone had caught onto that trick ages ago
and no matter how much screaming went on, the guards never opened the door
anymore.

Every year, after a couple of hours, the president would give up
screaming. Sometimes, after that, there would be a couple of hours of
hoarse begging, whining or threatening. Then, the president would accept
his fate and fall asleep in the sling, where the brothers would find him
the next morning and tell him all about the hot party he had missed as they
loosened his bindings.

So it had been for over 60 years and so it would be tonight when Josh Leary
did his turn in Harland's sling.

				    ***

"Well, you seem to be tied down tight enough," Randy said, grinning down at
his frat brother and lover. "Hope you and ol' Harland have a nice time in
here."

"Bite me, Cubby!" Josh shot back, grinning at the sophomore stud's
Halloween costume. Randy's round ass and giant basket were squeezed into a
tight pair of blue shorts. His chest fur popped out over the top button of
his blue uniform shirt and the little blue cap on his head gave him a look
that was at once innocent, and yet VERY wicked. "You planning to earn any
special merit badges tonight?"

"Shut up. You know how many Goodwill Stores I had to look through to find a
cub scout uniform that fit?"

"From the look of those shorts, I'd say you should have shopped a little
longer. Just a bit tight, aren't they?" Josh asked.

"That's ok. I don't intend to be wearing them long anyway," Randy fired
back.

"Bastard," Josh said, grinning. They both laughed.

"Have a good time at the party, Randy, but do me a favor, ok? Try not to
let them all gang-bang David like they did to Perry last year?"

The over-sized cub scout laughed. "Oh yeah. Man, I almost forgot about
that."

"Well Perry hasn't, I'll guarantee you. That poor kid was leaking cum out
of his ass for three days.  Man, I felt sorry for him."

"Not so sorry that you didn't take your turn pounding the kid's asshole, I
noticed," Randy replied.

Josh laughed. "Yeah, well, you were right behind me buddy!"

"Yeah, I had to take sloppy 14ths, or something like that!" Randy was also
laughing.

"Damn. That was a night," Josh said, regretting the party he was about to
miss. "Anyway, do me a favor and keep an eye on David for me. Protect him
from the others."

"Right, ace. That's like telling the rat to keep the mice away from the
cheese."

"I didn't say you couldn't fuck him. Just don't let everyone fuck him. Now
give me a kiss before they lock me in here."

"Gladly." Randy leaned down and gave the frat president a deep kiss, his
tongue searching every corner of the stud's mouth. Jesus, but he loved
Josh. It would be fun tonight, playing with Josh's little brother. Still
though, he would miss not having his lover at the party. It was always much
more fun fucking David when Josh and Randy shared him.

"Times up, lovebirds," Brock barked at the two kissing fratboys. As Randy
left the room, Brock turned to Josh. "Sorry you won't be at the party,
dude, but you know the rules."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just lock the door and tell them to keep the noise down
so I can get some sleep," Josh grumbled.

Then the door shut and Josh tried to relax for what he knew would be a long
night.

				    ***

It had been, what, two hours? Maybe three? Josh had actually been able to
catch a few fitful naps in the tiny basement room. Each time, though, he
would awaken to the driving beat of a new song playing upstairs ... or the
sound of all the brothers cheering on some activity or another.
Occasionally, there would even be the unmistakable moan of somebody taking
something really large up his ass, or screaming out in pain from a rough
spanking. At one point, he heard a younger voice scream, "YEAH, SHOVE 'EM
BOTH UP THERE." It sounded like Brock's little brother Scott and Josh could
only imagine what the kid was talking about.

"Oooooooooooh." There was another moan. God dammit, sounds like they're
having one hell of a party up there, Josh thought. "Oooooooooooh," the moan
repeated. It was an odd sound. Josh couldn't place the voice. Nor could he
figure out the tone. It didn't sound much like someone having sex, but it
wasn't the pain-filled wail of someone taking a beating.

"Damn, you look hot," said a voice in a low, quiet tone.

Josh quickly tried to twist around in the sling. The voice sounded like it
came from right behind him. "Brock, is that you, you bastard? ... Randy?
........David?"

"I knew you'd look good, but I never dreamed you'd look that fucking
good. Look at those strong hairy legs pointing up at the ceiling, that
muscular chest. You are a top-stud's wet dream come true, boy. You know
that?"

A cold chill ran from Josh's hairline to his toes. His balls shriveled and
tried to climb inside his body. His sphincter clamped tightly shut. "Whose
there?"

There was a deep laughter from behind him. "Whose there?" it mocked. "Who
the hell do you think would be here, you stupid mick? Or do you always hang
around in slings waiting to see who'll walk by?"

And there he was: Harland Stouffer was standing right in front of Josh. The
frat president recognized the man from the photo in the front hall. He
looked exactly as he did when the photo was taken....except that Harland
was wearing nothing but a white pair of boxers and they were showing a
considerable bulge. Josh screamed to wake the dead.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! FUUCK FUCKKKK! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF
HERE!!! OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR! NOW! OPEN IT NOW!!! OH FUCK FUCK FUCK
FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!" he cried out, twisting and turning in the sling, tugging
at the restraints on his wrists and ankles.

				    ***

Outside the door, the two guards smirked at each other.

"Man, I was just starting to think he wasn't going to play that trick," one
said.

"Well, it's midnight. He must have been waiting for the 'witching' hour,"
the other replied, chuckling.

				    ***

Inside the room, Harland was also chuckling. "I see you're feeling feisty
tonight. Good, so am I.  Just keep the noise down baby. You don't want to
wake mom and dad."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Get....me......OUT OF HERE!!!!!! Open the door you dumb
fucks!!! OPEN IT!!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! OOOOH FUCK! FU...."

A large hand clasped itself over Josh's face, sealing off the noise of his
screams. If Harland Stouffer was a ghost, his hand was very real, Josh
thought. He could feel the strength, the callouses from the man's
woodworking, the hair around his wrists. Josh stared wide-eyed as Harland
(with one hand still covering the boy's mouth) stepped out of his white
boxers. Harland removed his hand from Josh's face.

"AAA...." As soon as Josh opened his mouth to scream again, Harland shoved
the boxers into the boy's face, making a thick cotton gag out of the
material. Josh could taste sweat and piss in the shorts. He could smell the
funky odor of Harland's big balls. Could ghosts sweat? Or pee? Was this
really the ghost of Harland or was someone putting one over on Josh?

The boy stared wide-eyed at the man towering over him. He had the dark
blonde hair of the man in the photo upstairs. His eyes sparkled a bright
blue. His chest was massive and covered in fur that swirled seductively
around his pecs and than trailed down the stomach to the thick pubic
bush. Josh's eyes followed the hair trail to its conclusion: Harland's
cock. "JESUS! Harland Stouffer was ... is ... hung," Josh thought. The cock
jutting out from the man's body was easily 11" long and 6" thick. He was
bigger than Randy, and Randy had the biggest cock Josh had ever seen, until
now.

"Yeah, you always do quiet down when you get a look at this big fuckstick,
don't you Ror? And it always gets big when I get a look at your beautiful
body. Fireboy, you are the hottest looking mother-fucker in this town, you
know that? With all that dark hair and your pretty green eyes.  Not to
mention your round, hairy, little ass. Seems like it's been years since I
had me a taste of your spicy hole. We're gonna fix that right now," Harland
said. "Rory, prepare for your sling-ride to heaven."

Rory? Good god, he thinks I'm Rory O'Toole, Josh realized. He had not time
to dwell on the thought, though, before he felt Harland's slick tongue
burning a trail up his asshole.  "Mmmmmph" Josh moaned through the
boxer-short gag.

"That's right, Ror-boy. Tell Harland how much you love to have your
stud-ass chewed on. Damn, boy. It's a good thing the guys at the firehouse
don't know what a sweet-tasting hole you got.  Every building in town could
burn to the ground before they'd ever get done taking turns tongue-fucking
you," Harland growled in his low, sexy voice.

The top-stud was squatting between Josh's wide-spread cheeks. He got a big
whiff of the musky interior of Josh's asschute, then plunged his tongue
inside. In a matter of moments he was licking and slurping, coating Josh's
guts with spit and prying open the fratboy's pink pucker wider and wider.

Josh thrashed his head from side to side, moaning through the cotton
material. He couldn't remember ever having such a hot rim job. Josh no
longer cared if Harland was a ghost or not. All he knew was that his ass
was buzzing with horny pleasure and he wanted more ... lots more.

Harland continued to drive his tongue in and out of the tight, hairy hole
before him. He had waited so long ... so long for this night with Rory, to
lay the stud out in the sling, to taste him, to touch him, to fuck him hard
and rough, to feel his heat and to share their love. When the young stud's
hole was wet and wide open, Harland stood up.

Josh moaned as the tongue left his ass. The feeling of emptiness was to be
short-lived, though.  Harland walked to a rack on the wall filled with sex
toys. (WHERE did THAT come from, Josh wondered. He was certain it hadn't
been there when they locked him in the room.) From the rack, the blonde
hunk removed a thick 10" dildo. "This ought to loosen you up real nice,
boy," he growled.

Josh concentrated on relaxing his hole as Harland placed the mantoy against
his young ass. Josh was hoping for a slow, easy entry. It was not to
be. Instead, Harland shoved the thick dildo up Josh's ass with a slam that
made the frat-slave see stars. "Ooooooooooowwwwwwwww!!" he cried in muffled
complaint around the boxers.

"You like that, boy? Huh? Yeah, Harland's boy always likes it rough, don't
you?" Harland taunted, as he mercilessly pumped the dildo in and out of
Josh's tortured rear. The kid was moaning, his eyes clenched tightly
shut. Still though, he nodded his head enthusiastically as Harland
continued to ask if he enjoyed the harsh treatment.

Harland gave the dildo a final, hard jab, burying it in Josh's hole. He
then grabbed a wooden paddle from the rack. The older stud lifted the
paddle high above him. His arm swung down in a mighty arc and the wood
connected hard with Josh's balls.

"OOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" Even through the boxer shorts, Josh's
scream was loud. The young man thought he would pass out. No pain had ever
been this intense.  Then -- POW -- another blow landed and his nuts felt
like they were on fire. Nausea swelled over Josh. His stomach tightened;
his eyes watered; his head was spinning with pain and confusion.

"TAKE IT BOY! TAKE WHAT HARLAND GIVES YOU! TAKE IT YOU TOUGH-ASSED MOTHER
FUCKER!"

				    ***

Outside the room, the two guards quickly locked eyes with one another.

"What was that?" the first asked.

"I don't know. It didn't sound like Josh, did it?"

"No. It definitely sounded like someone else. But there couldn't be anyone
else in there. Could there?"

"I don't think so. Should we open the door?"

There was a pause as they both thought about it. "No," the first one
finally decided. "I don't think so. Go get Brock and we'll ask him. I'll
stand guard here."

				    ***

Back in the room, Harland gave Josh's balls one final, gut-wrenching
smack. Josh moaned quietly, his spirit broken and his balls screaming.
"Look at those bull balls, all red and swollen," Harland said as his
fingers lightly rubbed Josh's tortured nuts. "Incredible. You are one hell
of a stud."

Despite the pain, Josh heard the compliment and his ego swelled a
bit. Damn, he was a stud. He had taken the worst Harland could deliver and
survived ... so far.

Harland returned from the rack with a pair of clothespins which he quickly,
and unexpectedly, snapped to each of the frat president's nipples.

"Ooooooowwwwwwwwwww!!!" Josh cried as his body absorbed this new pain. His
torment was further increased when Harland roughly pulled the dildo out the
boy's ass. "Ooooooohhh!"

"You miss that dildo in your butt, boy?"

Josh nodded.

"Awwwww. Does the fireman need someone to help him with the burning in his
hole?"

Josh blushed but continued to nod.

Three rough fingers shoved their way into the fratboy's ass. Harland
plunged his fat fingers in and out of the boy's hole, twisting, turning,
stretching his tender ass-walls wider and wider. The sensations were too
much for Josh....his ass, his tits, his balls. The poor kid thought he was
going to pass out from the pain and excitement.

"Mmmmmmphhh...mmmmmppphh" Josh moaned.

"What's that boy? You got something to say? Here, let me remove those
boxers, lover...as long as you promise to keep the noise down," Harland
said with a slight chuckle as he pulled the gag out of Josh's mouth.

"mmmooooompprr" Josh moaned in a small, unintelligible voice.

"What's that lover?"

"aaaooooooohhmmmpp" Josh's eyes were rolled back. His head lolled and the
sounds coming from his mouth made no sense.

Harland grew concerned. "Should I stop, Rory? Did I go too far?"

Somewhere on the edge of consciousness, Josh heard the question and an
answer shot up from the depth of his being...an answer he had no mental
control of. "NO!" the boy shouted.

Harland grinned, his confidence back. "That's my boy. That's my Rory. You
want more, you hot little slut?"

"more.....oh god, more....yes...." Josh panted. His mind had checked
out. The young man had surrendered his body to the indescribable sensation
Harland was causing in his body. There was no longer pleasure or pain
... the two had merged into one incredible feeling. The feeling had no
name, at least no name that Josh had ever heard. It was a new and
incredible state of being where every touch, soft or rough, caused the
nerve endings to stand up and scream, and with each scream Josh's body
echoed with the certain knowledge that this torture would not kill him.
Rather, it made him feel more alive than he ever
had. "more...please...more," he muttered as he writhed and twisted in the
sling. Sweat coated his entire body and the thick hair on his head, his
chest and his limbs were matted to his muscular frame.

"That's my boy. Sweet god Rory, no man turns me on like you do. You
understand me like no other ... and I understand you my sweet boy. I
understand your needs, and I love to fulfill them."  With that, Harland
snapped a clothespin to Josh's swollen nutsac. The boy screamed.

				    ***

"He's pulling your leg, you dumbfucks," Brock chastised the guards. "I
can't believe you brought me down here for this. I told you he'd do
it. It's the oldest trick in the book."

"No wait! There's someone in there with him. I swear!"

"That's impossible. There's only one door to this room and you've been
guarding it ... Haven't you?" Brock asked.

"YES! I swear...."

"What's going on?" asked Randy. He had seen the guard fetch Brock and knew
something must be going on with Josh.

"Oh, Josh is pulling the old, 'Get me out of here' routine and these
dickweeds fell for it," Brock laughed.

"COME ON RORY, TAKE THOSE FINGERS BOY....JUST ONE MORE TO GO YOU HOT-ASSED
LITTLE STUD!!!"

Brock, Randy and the guards stared at the door for a long time. No one
spoke.

"What the FUCK was that?" Brock asked finally asked.

"I told you! There's someone in there! Do we open the door?" the guard
asked in a high, panicked voice.

"Open it!" Randy screamed. "Get him out of there!"

"NO! DON'T TOUCH THAT DOOR!" Brock yelled. "You all know the rules. Do NOT
open that door for any reason!"

"But... but...he could be in danger" Randy sputtered.

"OOOOH GOD! YES! YES! DO IT HARLAND! YOU HOT FUCKING BASTARD! SHOVE YOUR
FUCKING ARM UP MY ASS!" came Josh's voice from the locked room.

"I'd say Josh is only in danger of not being able to walk right for a few
weeks," Brock grinned.

				    ***

Harland had four well-greased fingers in Josh's ass and was stirring them
around, massaging the boy's prostate and stretching his love tunnel
wider. He pumped back and forth, his muscled arms flexing as Josh moaned
and cursed and generally had himself a great time in the sling.

"You like that, boy?"

"YES SIR!" Josh barked.

"You want more?"

"Mmmpppph..ooh god," Josh's mind was in turmoil. The feeling was
intense..but more? Could he do it? Could he take the giant stud's arm up
his chute? "Yes....please YES. I want more!" he heard himself say without
being entirely sure where the words came from.

Harland curled his thumb into the palm of his hand and
slowly...slowly...slid the entire thing into Josh's stretched hole.

"OOOOOOOOH! JESUS!"

"HOLD ON LOVER! Just a little bit more....BREATHE DAMMIT!"

Josh took a deep breath and felt his ass clamp down tight on Harland's
wrist. Josh's mind was lost in a million obscenities, but he couldn't waste
breath voicing them. Never had he been stuffed so full. Never had he been
so aware of his ass and all the nerve endings inside it. He continued to
breathe deeply and, as his ass relaxed, he felt Harland begin to move his
hand slowly in and out.

"Uuuuuuhhhh! Uuuuuuh damn!" Josh hissed through clenched teeth.

"Relax baby! You're doing really well. I knew you could do it."

Josh raised his head and stared down at the handsome stud between his
legs. Harland looked up and the two men locked eyes. Josh could easily have
been hypnotized by Harland's sharp blue eyes had they not suddenly gone
moist and spilled their salty tears down the stud's cheeks.

"I'm so proud of you Rory. That an incredible stud like you would give
yourself to me...you don't know how much that means to me. You are the
greatest man I've ever known. I love you so much, and I will for as long as
I live, and beyond. Rory, I want to spend the rest of my life with
you. Please, you're the only man I will ever love."

In that moment, the roles were reversed. Josh may have been the one in the
sling, but Harland was the one who was vulnerable. He had surrendered his
heart with complete honesty. Josh looked at Harland's tear-filled, anxious
eyes and his heart collapsed in his chest. His eyes, too, began to water
and he was overcome with a feeling of love so strong it shook him. For the
rest of his life, Josh was never completely sure whether the feelings he
experienced in that moment were his own or those of Rory O'Toole, somehow
transferred into his body by whatever magic had brought Harland Stouffer
here in the first place. In the end, though, it didn't matter. What
mattered was that Josh looked into Harland's eyes and said, with complete
honesty, "I love you, too. And I always will."

As if to consummate their love, Josh came. His cock erupted in a shower of
pearly mancream that covered his torso. Harland smiled as the young man
shook and moaned through his orgasm.

When, Josh calmed down, Harland gently slid his hand from inside the boy's
bowels. He then leaned forward and, as Josh felt himself slipping off into
sleep, he lovingly licked every drop of cum from the boy's chest and
abs. Josh's last memory of that Halloween night was of Harland Stouffer's
soft lips on his, kissing him and muttering, "I love you...I love you...I
love you" over and over.

				    ***

At the crack of dawn, the brothers of the fraternity anxiously unlocked
the door of the tiny basement room. They gasped out loud as they looked at
the empty sling before them. Hearts pumping, fear rising, they scanned the
room ... Randy was the first one to spot Josh asleep in a dark corner. He
was wrapped in a warm flannel blanket and lying on a feather
mattress. Brock was sure neither item had been there when they locked Josh
in the night before.

"What happened in here last night?" Randy asked.

Josh smiled. "Something beautiful." That was all he would ever say on the
matter to any of his brothers.

				    ***

Later, on the evening of Nov. 1, Josh stood in the foyer of LeaDR House
and looked at the picture of Harland Stouffer. "Where are you, Harland?" he
thought. "Will I ever see you again?"

He paused in his thoughts to look outside. An old man walked down the
street. Though obviously aged, he was in good shape and walked proudly with
his shoulders back and his head high. The man looked up at LeaDR House.

A jolt blasted through Josh. He raced out the front of LeaDR House to the
man on the sidewalk.

"Who are you?" Josh demanded, more fiercely than he had intended but his
heart was racing and his adrenaline was pumping.

"You don't need to ask that question, do you?" the old man replied calmly.

"You're Rory O'Toole, aren't you?" The man nodded. "I don't know why I know
that, but I do. I knew it as soon as I saw you from the window."

"You know it because last night you were me. You saw Harland Stouffer,
didn't you?"

"YES! Does he show up every year on Halloween?"

"No. He's never appeared before," Rory said. "Every year I waited for
him. Every year, I hoped.  But last night, he came. I could feel it. I woke
up in the middle of the night and I knew he was here."

Josh was confused. "Why did he come this year? Why me and not any of the
other presidents?"

The man reached into his overcoat and pulled out an old photograph. Josh
looked at the picture.  It was of two men standing with their arms around
one another. One of the men was Harland.  The other was ...

"That's ME! Wha? How?" Josh sputtered.

"It's not you. It's me, when I was 21. You're my spitting image. I think
that's why Harland came back. What did he tell you, son? What did he do?"
the man asked with large, hopeful, pleading eyes.

Josh blushed at the thought of what he and Harland had done the night
before. He opted for discretion.

"He said that he loves you. He said that he would love you forever, even
after death. He asked you to spend the rest of ...," Josh paused, uncertain
how to end the sentence.

Rory nodded. Tears formed in his eyes. "I love him too. I always have. I
tried to move on with my life ... to find someone else. That's why I left
town after his death. I never found another like him, though. Everyone else
was second best. I never stopped loving that man. And I never will."

"I told him that....and he gave you this." Josh leaned forward and planted
a tender kiss on the old man's lips. An electric shock passed between the
two of them. "I love you," he whispered, and to his ears and to Rory's the
voice that came from Josh's mouth sounded just like Harland Stouffer's.

"Thank you," said Rory O'Toole. "Thank you, very much."

Josh watched as he walked away down the street.

Check out Chapter 6 for more LDR House action.