Out In The Cold by Nature Boy (Solar Fox) November 4, 1991 Mark stood in the doorway looking into the classroom through the opaque glass. He was seventeen, though he really had no business to be here legally. He had quit school last month. It hadn't even been this school, here in this small rural northwest Georgia town. Still, this was a high school that often competed against his own in various sporting events. The year was 1974. Mark had been living life strangely in his month of exile, and actually in a town the size of this one, at times he risked getting arrested - and may have come close to it. Frequently on warm nights he'd head up to the main part of town on the main drag - especially on weekends - and hang out on street corners. Sometimes if he saw an interesting guy, he'd make gestures, usually wearing nothing but shorts, and even in them it was easy to get arrested for indecent exposure. Mark was a fairly shaggy youth and stood about five foot eleven. He weighed around 160 pounds with brown hair and eyes. He tried a few tricks for money, but he eventually decided that it was too risky for him and he didn't exactly like doing it with everybody that wanted it. The brown hair was getting pretty long in back now, after being "care-free" for so long. But one night he headed up to the boulevard and another dude was cruising the area on foot. The guy was younger than most he had encountered - a teenager like himself in fact. "What the hell", Mark decided, "this guy looks interesting enough." So Mark and the young dude went back behind the row of buildings that lined this main drag. "What's your name?" asked Mark as they walked around the corner and into the darkness. It was close to midnight. "Keith, dude.. what's yours?" "It's Mark.." Mark knew at once that he liked the sound of this guy's voice. Finally, the pair got to a very quiet, very desolate area behind the buildings. "I gotta be honest," said Keith, "I ain't never done it with a guy before.." "Have you done it with a girl?" "Nope, almost did once.. but shit, it just didn't feel right." Sixteen-year-old Keith Johnson was trembling just a bit at the knees, even though the weather was warm, even for this hour of the night. "Relax man," said Mark, unzipping Keith's fly quite casually and reaching in to try to locate Keith's dick, feeling through jockey underwear. "I dunno, it just.. didn't feel right, askin' a girl.. I've jacked off a lot before, but I keep thinkin' about guys in the locker room - heh, yeah, its funny I know..." Keith rattled on. "No, not really that funny," answered Mark, who had pulled Keith's dick out, still very flacid. Keith was still nervous. Mark tried to get him to relax - but in a hurried frenzy, Keith just grasped at his pecker, pushed it back into his shorts, zipped up his jeans, and took off without saying another word. Mark stared into the abyss - up at the star-lit sky. A tear formed as he thought about the boy who was just before him, he had only gotten a partial look at the youth's face and knew that his name was Keith - but that was all. Mark thought about that night now, as he stood here looking into this classroom of students, looking to see if perhaps he might see a face that resembled Keith. He didn't, and gave up, walking home. He closed the door, and his mother stood there, her face glued in a hard stare. "DON'T give me that line that you were out looking for a job, mister. I've heard that line until I'm sick of it. If you seriously wanted to find a job, you'd have one by now!" "Mom...." "DON'T mom me, you impudent bastard! Now get in there and clean up that room!" He walked back through the hallway, and into his room, closing the door. He turned on some Led Zeppelin and flopped down on his bed. He felt he'd just as soon be dead. His mother had generally been on his case like this since junior high, when his failing grades held him back a year. Then when last month he dropped OUT of school, she seemed to loath him even more. An only child, he was spending more and more time roaming high school halls. Mark's mind drifted now; drifted back to days in junior high when he first began to realize that he was probably gay. He could remember as far back as elementary school - around fifth grade - when he'd try to slip off to the bathroom and hide out there, peeking out under the first stall wall to see how big the kids' peckers were that came in randomly to piss. By the time he had come to grips with the fact that he was a homosexual, he had begun to SKIP WHOLE CLASSES in junior high and hung out in the locker room there at the school, just watching guys coming and going. Now, this very moment, Mark amazed even himself as he looked down at his naked lower torso - his dick was actually a bit stiff even though he was quite depressed. He wrapped his hand around it and stroked it a few times, but soon stopped; the event that had taken place with this "Keith" a few nights ago still had him depressed and mentally shaken. Of the twenty-or-so johns that he had catered to, this had not only been the youngest - but the cutest. His mom banged on his locked door now, stirring him to full attention. He jerked up his jeans in anger and went storming out of the house. He walked back up the boulevard where he regularly went at night, only this was still late afternoon. He walked into a local pub, and attempted to order a drink. "Well now, don't ya think that you're just a mite too young to be drinkin'?" asked a rather smart-mouthed bartender. "You know you got to be at least eighteen to drink in this state," said the bartender pointing out the obvious over the blare of the local radio station behind him on top of an old Frigidaire. "I'm seventeen..." blared out Mark. "Say what, son, speak up a bit, couldn't hear ya..." he said, getting a step closer and this getting the attention of a customer sitting on a stool some seven seats down. "I said, 'I'm SEVENTEEN!'" he shouted. "Oh.. well son, you're still one year shy then.. but why, what the hell.. you look like you need to get smashed, so.. we'll jes' keep this little deal 'tween ourselves.." Two hours later, Mark Lewis Erikson came stammering out of the bar, walking in figure-eights and basically smacked so hard that he could just have easily had a date with the broad side of a brick. He managed to walk into an alley which led close to some of the department store buildings lining the road, and passed out near some garbage cans against one of the buildings. A car horn sounding out on main street close to sundown rekindled Mark's senses. He awoke to the smell and stench of dead fish. Apparently some had been discarded in one of the garbage cans nearby. A radio playing in a car stopped at a nearby traffic light could distinctly be heard playing one of the popular songs of 1974 - "Killing Me Softly With His Song" - sung by Roberta Flack. Mark stood up on his feet, then uncontrollably bent over at the waist and threw up, next to the area where he had been sitting. Stammering around, he realized that he was no longer drunk and started back down the sidewalk for his house. His father met him at the door. "Pack you things. You're leaving." it was a strange, demanding, matter-of-fact tone that Robert Erikson had used, the same tone he had used in his line of work when he had told a client that a contract agreement had been reached, only this seemed to be accompanied by a sense of urgency. "You have caused and created enough problems - for myself and your mother - to last the three of us an entire lifetime." In one strong, harsh moment, Mark pushed his father, with all the strength he found within himself. He shoved his father back, back - and Rob Erikson slammed his shoulder full impact against the kitchen wall, vibrating the entire house. Mrs. Erikson gasped and ran madly out of the room. His father got to his feet and tackled his son to the ground, slamming Mark's shoulder to the floor. With this, Mark put his hand over his father's face and pushed him away, Rob falling toward the kitchen table. Just then, his father, age 38, struck his foot against the inner frame of the table - and as a result of this, he twisted his ankle. Mark arose and went to his room, began throwing together a suitcase as best he could. "He - he had alcohol on his breath," Rob told his wife as she came to his aid. Just then, Mark darted out of his room with the suitcase, and started to head for the door. "Just you wait right there!" Rob cried. "I've changed my mind - I'm calling the police!" "The POLICE?!" echoed Trisha Erikson. "You're going to have our son arrested?!" Mark refused to slow down. He ambled toward the door, but his father pushed him down to the floor, Mark's tailbone striking the floor first, his right arm taking the impact of the suitcase. "When I say wait, I mean WAIT, MISTER!" Tears streamed down Mark's cheeks. The police came and hauled him off to the county youth detention center. He was booked on several misdemeanor charges and placed under observation for the remainder of the night. The next day he met some of the other youths that were there on some varying charges. Later that day he was allowed into a cell with no observation, with about four other youths, ranging in age from fifteen to seventeen. At first, he couldn't believe he was here in this horrid place; it didn't seem like it was happening. He thought surely that he was dreaming and that he'd soon wake up from all this, and everything would be normal. One of the youths kept sizing him up; wouldn't take his eyes off him for even a moment. "Wan' sum head, buddy?" asked the youth, looking at least a couple of years younger than Mark. At first, Mark didn't answer. Another approached him, this guy about Mark's height, and reached down for Mark's groin. "Shit, it isn't even hard, Petey. Maybe this one isn't a fag.." "Hell Charlie, EVERYBODY in this place is a faggot.. he just ain't used to it." "Yeah.. he pro'bly jacks off alone, in his room," the one called Petey joked. "Just shuddup, alright?! I am a faggot.. I was a friggin' hustler.." "Hey, hey now.. temper! We don't want the warden comin' over here!" "Yeah, Mr. Warden's probably back there pudgin' a dude.. I heard stories about him from Scott..." Three of them laughed. Mark just sat there on his cot. One of them came over and put his arm around Mark; he diligently brushed it away. Mark knew that he wanted sex; yet somehow he felt that he didn't want it while he was behind bars. He wanted to be free... Two hours passed. Two of the boys in the cell went at it together at least once in Mark's sight. A third named Andrew asked Mark repeatedly if he wanted to have sex, or at least give him head. Mark finally gave in, and knelt in front of what turned out to be fifteen-year-old Andrew, and sucked the kid off. An officer appeared at the cell. "Erikson!" he yelled, ordering the cell door to be opened. The youth walked out. "This is your lucky day. Your mother is here, she's dropped all the charges.. looks like you're a free man.. though I wouldn't exactly call you a 'man'..." Mark was released into the custody of his mother. As soon as his mother had to come to a stop at the next traffic light, Mark bolted out of the car and into the city. She blew her horn but it did no good - Mark had weaseled his way out and was gone... this time for good. Mark headed toward a back alley; it was getting toward late afternoon. Walking down this street, he began to head toward a familiar location - down where he had met sixteen-year-old Keith Johnson. Somehow, he could not get the kid off his mind, even in light of all that had gone on. Sitting on a step, Mark stared at the watch that he had just gotten back from the center's officials when he had left into his mother's custody. Heh. He was still a minor, legally - he wouldn't be eighteen until next August. So the city might well be looking for him soon. The sun slowly started to sink into the western sky. Mark started to get a little hungry. His last meal had been this afternoon at the detention center - just a sandwich, chips, and a half pint of chocolate milk. Not much to fuel him for most of the night. He just could not face going back to his family. Mark had been staring off in the distance, in and out of dozing, when the figure approached him. To say that it had caught him off guard would be a strong understatement. "MMM.. Mark?" "Yeah? Keith? That you?" "Yeah.. it is dude.." Keith answered, getting closer and finally sitting on the step beside Mark. "I..I'm sorry I left the other night, man, really.." "That's okay. I probably would have left too." "Why? I SHOULDN'T have left, Mark.. I'm a fag.." Mark looked at him. "Are you sure?" "Yes. I wasn't then, but I am now. I kept thinking about all the shit we could have done together..." "I've been kicked out of my house," Mark told him now. "I have no place to live - I just got out of juvenile because my dad fought with me.. and of course, he wouldn't put up with THAT, regardless of what I did.." "Oh, God man, that's awful.." "Is this the first time you've come around looking for me since we met?" Mark asked. "Yeah.. I was.." Keith giggled ".. I was testing myself with a bunch of porno pictures of girls.. never could get it up at all man.. but then I thought of you and jacked off.." "Did you cum?" "Seven times.. in one day.." "Holy shit.." Keith Johnson was given his first blowjob right there. Though Mark's mouth was very dry just now, somehow - someway - he was able to suck cock. Actually, Mark couldn't believe how well this guy was hung; he wasn't hung like a horse by any means, but just the sight of the pubic hair on the guy sent chills up Mark's back. Keith was spurting shot after shot into Mark's mouth, like a fire hose. Keith smiled. "It felt good," Keith said, zipping up, "REAL good." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Keith's parents agreed to put Mark down for the night with the understanding that Mark was someone that Keith knew at school and was having problems. When Mark got to Keith's house, he was speechless; it looked more like a mansion or an estate compared to the wood-frame house Mark had lived in. Keith had introduced Mark as a close friend and therefore he was allowed to spend the night in Keith's room, which Keith seemed to want more now than ever. Mark had let him know that this was something for which he was eternally grateful. Keith stood five-foot-eight to Mark's five-foot-eleven. Where Mark had brown hair Keith's was more a sandy-blonde and it had looked good to Mark from the beginning, though he had not let it on quite as strongly as he would have liked. Nothing happened between them that night; on the nightstand Keith pointed out a small photograph of his girlfriend. Morning came and Keith got dressed for school. Mark had slept through most of this but awoke to see Keith putting on socks and shoes. "What time is it?" Mark asked. "Six-thirty." The next move Keith made stunned Mark and at the same time, he wasn't sure how to feel. Keith, now having tied his shoes, picked up the small 8 x 10 photo of Veronica Shields and threw it across the room, letting it crash into a wall, sending glass flying everywhere. "Bitch," he said. "all she does is whine that I'm not as good to her as Ronny Delano is.." "Why don't you let Ronny Delano have her?" asked Mark. "I plan on it, now.." The bedroom door flew open and Keith's father stood there. "What's all the noise about?" "Aw, sorry dad, it's nothin'.. picture fell.." "Okay.. just wanted to make sure that everyone was alright.." "Yeah, everything's okay here," Keith said and as his father walked away, he began picking up glass fragments. Mark had seen Keith's thirteen-year-old brother, David, last night but they had not officially met. Knowing full well now that Keith was awake, David strolled into the bedroom in his underwear. David knew of Keith's porno mags and frequently borrowed them. Here and now, little David was returning them. "I'm done with these, bro'," the five-foot-four, 120 pound David said. His brown hair hung down in bangs, and his blue eyes were piercing, even this early in the morning. "Hey, that's okay, you can keep 'em.." said Keith. Suddenly, David's eyes lit up, then they dropped. "Hey, you can't be serious.. you mean, you don't want this shit anymore?" "Naah.." Keith said, trying not to give away too much information. "Why not? You got some newer ones?" "Umm.. no, I'm just tired of fooling with them, too much trouble for me to hide from mom and dad anymore," Keith lied. "Oh," said Dave. "Well, I hope it doesn't rot and fall off, hahaha.." laughed the young David and walked off with the magazines, into his room just across the hall. Mark's eyes looked downcast as he stared at the floor. He sat on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, all cleaned up, Keith stood before him in those school-boy clothes, red baseball cap and hi-topped sneakers. "Whas' up?" Keith asked. "Not much.. just not sure what I'll do today.. not completely sure where I'll go.." "Just stay here," Keith offered. "My parents will both be gone, and David and I will be at school.. I usually get home at a quarter of four," he said. "I couldn't do that.." "Why not?" "I'd eat you out of house and home.." "So? Mom will just have to buy more groceries.." Keith laughed. And so it was. The entire family took off to school and work while Mark, unbeknownst to anyone else, remained in the house. Finding a color television in the family room, he turned it on and began flipping through channels. It was then that he discovered that the law was looking for him - the news agency was describing him as "not armed, but could possibly be considered dangerous". He fixed a sandwich later in the day on white bread composed of ham, Swiss cheese, salami, lettuce and tomatoes. He opened a bag of potato chips that had not been previously opened, hoping that it wouldn't be something that would be caught. He made himself at home and rambled through Dave's room as well, he was curious about the kid and was a little anxious to find clues that might tell which side of the fence his dick grazed on. Going through David's room told an interesting story. On the one hand he saw the girlie porno mags under David's mattress; yet in his dresser he found something quite odd; a pair of underwear in a shoe box with a note attached: "This was the first pair of underwear I ever creamed... March 5, 1974." It was a pair of Fruit of the Looms, that still had a small skid mark on the seat and a rough spot around the fly, Mark noted, where David had quite definitely creamed the underwear. He found little else of significance in the room - what was that? A noise! Shit.. Mark hustled out of David's room. What if it were Keith's parents coming home early? How would they react? Mark darted into Keith's room and hid next to the window beside the bed. Cautiously, Mark looked up - and saw Keith standing facing the opposite wall. Mark breathed a sigh of relief. "What is it?" asked Keith. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." "I didn't know who you were, so I just hid," replied Mark. "Well, it's 3:48, and I just got in," Keith confirmed. "David usually gets here around 4:15 from middle school." "What's he like?" "David? Well, he's pretty cool.. but now, I've never messed with him.. jacked off around him before but that's been the extent of it.." Mark looked up at Keith and found that Keith was staring back at him. "I broke up with Veronica today," he said. "I know now what I want.." "What do you want?" "Mark, I.. I want you. I know that sounds a little strange, but I just.. its so clear to me.. and I just can't get it out of my head.." "Keith.. that isn't strange, man. It really isn't. There's nothing strange about that at all." They were both silent for a moment. "Keith, I want you too. There was something about you, man.. somehow I wanted you from the moment.. the very moment that you came into that alley that night.." "How could you tell? You couldn't really see me that well?" "I could tell in the sound of your voice, the way you moved and walked.. there were plenty of signs.." "Oh? You could sense I was.. a f.. a fa... shit I just can't say it.." "A homo?" It had been David's voice. He now made himself visible from behind Keith's door. "You're a homo?" David asked. "is that why you gave me all your magazines?" It was now Keith that looked like he had seen the ghost. Suddenly, he wasn't sure that he was anything - after what no telling his brother had heard standing out there in the hall.. and what his parents may know soon..... "Does David have a girlfriend?" Mark asked. "UH, you better leave, man.." "Huh?" "I said, leave! Just go!" Keith demanded again. Not saying a single word, Mark walked out the bedroom door and proceeded to the front door to leave. "No, wait! Don't go!" Again, this had been David's voice. Mark froze. He didn't know whether to stay or leave for a moment. David walked up behind him, in the kitchen. "Are you gay?" asked David. "Yes, I am." "You don't like girls at all, but you like guys?" "Yes. Please don't ask a lot of questions just now.." said Mark. Now Keith was standing behind his brother. "What is it, David?" he asked of him. "This may not be a good time, Keith," said David, "but I jack off a lot thinking about guys.." "How can this be? You have my mags.." "Yes, but there's also nekkid guys in there with the nekkid girls...." All three youths froze. Mark turned to face David. "Yeah, I am probably a fag'it too.." David admitted. Within five minutes, David was showing off his special underwear, that Mark had already seen (but hadn't), and David said that it had been two months ago that it had happened. It also wasn't long that even Keith was getting the best look at his brother's small pubic hairs that he had ever had. What was better, David had a hardon, and it was giving Keith one too. Mark already had one. "I - was on TV," said Mark. "Cops are looking for me." "Aw, don't sweat it," said Keith. "All you did was get kicked out of your house, right?" The boys jacked off together. Even for David it was a treat.. and now David had let on that he wasn't altogether straight!!! Now that Keith's mom had gotten home, she had issued Keith an ultimatum. Mark was no longer welcome in the Johnson household. Keith knew now that he either had to force his new-found friend back out on the street, or.... "I can't do it, I just can't," Keith kept saying to himself. The first sign of anything Mark saw was Keith in his room, packing a suitcase. "What is it? Where are you going?" asked Mark. "Mom told me you had to go and if you didn't, I'd go too." "So, what's the big deal?? I'll leave, I'll have to go somewhere anyway." "Yeah, but you won't go alone.." "Now, Keith... be reasonable about this. You LIVE here.." "Not anymore." Little Dave heard the commotion and stuck his head inside the door. Then stepped in, saw what was going on, broke out bawling and ran back to his room, closing the door. "Sorry little brother," Keith said into the air where Mark could hear it, "but this is gonna happen." "What do you think YOU'RE doing?" said the voice of Agnes Johnson. "Mom, just leave me alone. You told me that Mark had to go, right?" "Yes I did. What reason does that give you to pack a bag?" "Mother, if he goes, I go." "All right, but I think you're being both very foolish and very childish.." His mother walked out and now his suitcase was packed. After a few moments he distinctly heard his mom telling his father.. "..he's in there packing a suitcase like he won't be back for a month.." "What? Let me go talk to him.." "You can try, Larry but it won't do any good." Before his father could get to the room, Keith carried the suitcase out of the room and into the kitchen a back way. Mark was in his wake, with his suitcase. He almost knocked his mother down trying to get out the door. Keith and Mark both stood at the entrance to their street now. Keith sat down the suitcase. "Man, I kept thinking about you all day at school today. I just couldn't get my mind off you." "Keith, you just quit school when you walked away from there! Hell man, the law will be after you too!" "So what, man.. I just can't go on now like that.." "Well just because I left doesn't mean we can't go on seeing each other," said Mark. "Seeing you isn't enough, dude. I want to sleep with you, live with you, and.. love you," Keith said, his eyes focused very clearly into Mark's. "C'mon then, we'll get out of here," said Mark, it being apparent that Keith would not give in. Keith had given up more than he had let on. He had been holding a job at the local supermarket. It hadn't paid much, true, but now that was ancient history as well. Before Keith and Mark walked away, David rode up on his bicycle, his face red and tears still in his eyes. He stopped at the street corner and Keith looked at him. "Hey.." said David. "Hey.." Keith answered. "Mom said that if I saw you to tell you to get your butt home right now, or she'll call the police." A moment of silence. "Keith, c'mon man, I'll really miss ya.." David persuaded. "Well, I guess you better tell her to get her index finger warmed up for that call, then.. 'cos I can't go back, bro..." "Why?" asked David, the tears welling up again. "Because.. I love Mark.." With that, David wheeled around quickly and took off for the house. Keith and Mark picked up their suitcases and headed east on Route 166. "Where are you going?" asked Mark. "To catch a bus." "A bus? You might have to ride alone, man. I don't have much money!" Keith revealed that he had enough for them both. Then he told Mark just how much he loved him. "Shit, I had all this love tucked away that I was going to use when I really got to know Veronica well. Then she tells me she doesn't want to have sex with me until she's sure Ronny Delano wouldn't be mad. Then I decided women were a waste of time. I also realized that women didn't turn me on after all. When I was about David's age, I had jacked off thinking of this guy I knew in school that had a huge dick. For a long time I've jacked off thinking about him. I never really could think of Veronica and get it up..." "And you said with me you did it seven times.." "Yeah. I just care a lot about you.." "I care a lot about you too, Keith.." They walked down to the bus depot and boarded a bus bound for Jacksonville, Florida. In doing this, they had just made an honest attempt at throwing away their past and preserving this moment in time forever; they were together and suddenly that was all either of them needed to keep them happy. This was a nice bus, comfortable, the seats reclined and the boys were lucky enough to get two seats together. Mark had enough to pay for at least half of his $60 one-way fare; but Keith insisted that he keep the money. "You or I may need it for something else later on down the road," Keith stated. And who knew, he could be right! The bus got on Interstate 75 and followed it all the way down, the map showed - then it showed where the bus changed over to I-10 once in Florida and took that into Jacksonville. It would be probably close to midnight when they finally arrive at the depot, Keith figured. Still it had been a collective decision; it was Mark's idea to take a bus, butthen it was Keith's idea to go to Jacksonville. The boys had their seats in the upright position, flashed pearly-white smiles at each other, and then as they actually kissed, they caught the attention of a little old lady who peered at them from across the way over the top of her glasses. But as she saw them break the kiss, she nodded her head to herself and whispered some obscenities that couldn't be heard over three feet away. They leaned back in the seats. "Okay, what's the first thing we're gonna do when we get there?" asked Keith, feeling that Mark was the expert. Mark said he would have to think about it, but that they'd probably have to try to get some real sleep down there, since it would become the wee hours of the morning fast after their arrival. Keith had discovered that he loved Mark more than anything else in the world, and realized that he would sacrifice - and actually DID sacrifice - anything and everything to be with him. Mark on the other hand, had somehow found a place for Keith from the moment he first saw him on that night; it had been close to three weeks ago now. So much had happened in such a short time. Now they would both have to take their chances and make the best of it. Still, it wasn't as though Mark were an ex-con or something; hell he might not even be wanted down here. Whatever happened up there might just blow over - or so he hoped. It was his misfortune, coupled with Keith's parents' short-sightedness, that had lead to this situation. Macon, Georgia. Everyone was out at a Shoney's Restaurant for dinner. Keith and Mark waited until everyone had unloaded the bus, then they meshed together in a long, tight, deep embrace, followed by a long, wet, hot kiss. Finally, holding hands as they left the bus alone, they entered the restaurant and sat at a table away from the rest of the people that had been on the bus. They had been told that they would be here from 45 minutes to an hour before they would leave again. After a hearty meal and a piss, they ambled back onto the bus as just a few others had trickled out the door. They got comfortable in their seats. For a brief moment, Keith began to have a flashback about his brother. Somehow he could see in his mind, his brother at the age Keith was now. One question that somehow lingered in Keith's mind was, "I wonder if he'll be like me? He's just a kid," Keith thought. But then, Keith was only three years his elder. Keith, who had the window seat, stared out the window a bit glumly at the passing scenery as it rolled past down the interstate. Just across the Georgia/Florida state line, the bus made a pitstop so everyone could get out and stretch their legs, go to the restroom, etc. Keith and Mark just stayed on the bus. "What was it like in juvy?" asked Keith. "Juvy?" "Juvenile.. that's what friends of mine called it.. 'juvy'." "It's weird man.. too weird.." answered Mark. "There's kids in there just dyin' for sex." "Fags?" "Yeah, most of them that I saw were." "D'ya ask any of them why they were there?" "Yeah, there were like four in there where I was.. and they were all in for, get this - indecent exposure." "Shit! I wish they'd expose around me!" joked Keith. Mark laughed. "I guess it feels good to be positive about saying that now, huh?" "Yeah.. it feels a lot better.." They dozed off on the bus and slept most of the rest of the way to Jacksonville. After all, the seats WERE comfortable... Jacksonville. The boys departed the bus once at the depot and began walking closer into the heart of the city. The little rest they had gotten wasn't enough to do them the night, but for the moment they had enough energy to scope out a place to stay the night. A motel room was out of the question. The two of them didn't have enough money, and they knew they'd have to forego a comfortable bed in order to provide a little more food in their stomachs. The air smelled of pulp and paper mills. Finding some land behind a row of houses that looked suitable and, for the moment, vacant, they slipped through the trees and back into some woods. Keith had been too frantic to pack a flashlight, but Mark, in all his glory, had one and stopped to open the suitcase and obtain it. It worked. Locating a clear spot, they stopped and sat down. "Shit man.. anywhere around to get water?" asked Keith. Mark pointed with his thumb. "That little gas station 'round the corner.." "Wait a minute.. they also have a.. Coke machine," remembered Keith. "Yeah, they do! What if we leave our stuff here, and go for some Cokes? They did. They were back in less than ten minutes. "Man, this is kinda strange," said Mark. "Yeah it is," Keith agreed, his eyes getting wider. It was just now really starting to sink in - everything that had happened, the uncertainty of their future... it was after 1 a.m. now and it had been some thirty minutes ago that they'd gotten in town. Keith and Mark sat side by side, just as they had been for hours on the bus. Slowly, Mark unzipped his pants, pulled out his penis. He looked at Keith, yes Keith had already seen it. "Wanna suck me?" Mark asked. Sliding even closer, Keith rolled his lips and began to suck Mark's throbbing member. Almost as soon as he did, however, he fell asleep. It had been a very long, trying day - and they were exhausted. Carefully, Mark lifted Keith's mouth off his dick and lay his head down on his leg. Mark zipped up and fell asleep soon thereafter. Saturday morning. The early-morning smell of the pulp and paper mills tickled Mark's senses shortly after sun-up. He quietly stood up and went to a different tree nearby to release his piss. Well, the sound of the tinkle of the piss hitting the ground was enough to stir Keith. Neither Keith nor Mark had slept all that well, but nonetheless they had managed to get some between them. "Where we gonna head next?" asked Keith as Mark approached him. "Ssshh.." beckoned Mark. This made Keith raise his eyebrows. Had Mark heard something? Now, Keith heard it too. Young voices. Young, pre-adolescent voices. Were they male? Female? They seemed to be getting closer.... "I don't WANNA go to the mall," one of them said. "I wanna ramble in these woods.." and there they were, a pair of young males, both of them probably in their early teens and with their shirts off, tucked in their back pockets of their shorts. They slowed and saw the suitcase, then kept on walking, slower than at first. "Didja see the way they were looking at us?" said one. "Yeah," said the other, adding, "hey, I gotta take a leak. Let me show you how I like to whip it out fast.." Then the other one watched as his friend demonstrated how easy it was to expose his entire dick and balls from the legbands of his underwear and shorts without unzipping the shorts. "Ohhh.. man, it's so big!" said the onlooker. As the piss began to flow from his pee slit, he looked up, cracking first a smile, then a giggle. After he was finished, he pulled down his shorts and underwear, showing it to his friend and letting him have a feel. Yes, Mark and Keith had been watching, and right now they were getting a pretty good view of the youth's buttcheeks and asscrack. By the time the pair realized that Keith and Mark were there, both of their lower torsos were exposed to the boys, and both their dicks were hard. "Hot damn," said Mark, "can we see, too?" At first, the youth that had urinated frowned. His eyebrows were down and he looked on the verge of becoming angry if he wasn't angry already. Then he looked down, and it was something about the pubic hair around their cocks that got his attention. Neither of the other two youths had that yet of course. Then, both of the younger boys watched in awe as they saw Mark kneel on the ground and suck Keith off. Now, THEY had to try it on each other. The boys were Darrell, who turned out to be eleven, and Chad, also eleven. Darrell discovered quickly that he liked the taste and feel of his schoolmate's sex organ in his mouth. "Now, arn't'cha glad we didn't go to the mall???" asked Darrell. Once these little sexual innuendos were over, Mark told them of their dilemma in hopes that they might be able to either offer temporary asylum or tell them where to find it. Believe it or not, they did. As hard as it was for even Keith and Mark to believe, there was a clubhouse where several boys met, way, way back in these woods. It had no electricity but it had running water - there was a tap located just outside it. They were led back to the place and put their suitcases down on the floor. To their amazement, one boy was here now, slouched in a corner, dressed only in shorts, socks, and shoes. No sooner did Keith and Mark get in the large room - it was deceiving from the exterior - than the boy started asking Keith and Mark questions. He looked at Mark, who though he was seventeen, didn't look a day over fourteen. "You got any hair around it?" asked the boy. Mark didn't have to guess what "it" was. A wicked, perverted grin fell across Mark's lips. Seeing this, the kid burst out in laughter. "Bah-hahah! Are you going to be rooming with us?" As they soon learned, Mark was the oldest - not only now, but of all the boys who stayed in this clubhouse. There were around twenty on a SLOW day, and they were all good friends - not just from the same middle - yes, MIDDLE.. school either. Outside of Mark and Keith, the average age of the boys there was thirteen. Darrell said in not so many words that the absence of the other boys today was attributed to the fact that most of them went swimming, and some had gone to the beach, about 20 minutes away on foot. Most of the boys that were here were runaways or had heard that there were some "interesting guys that liked other guys" around here. Keith looked over at the boy they hadn't really met yet. His dick was out and it was firm. This boy was thirteen himself and his name was Phillip. Slowly, Phillip began to rub his own dick; Mark could see in the light that flickered through the dirty window nearby that there was a small amount of hair around his private parts. "You ever been sucked?" Mark asked. "Nope, what's it like?" Mark gave a live demonstration. Phillip was ecstatic; his dick had never felt like this before - so good, such a strong sensation. At first he was so carried away that he pressed his palms firmly against the floor - yes, this clubhouse actually had a wooden floor instead of barren earth. Phillip came a small trickle of semen into Mark's mouth, and again Phillip was ecstatic; he had never seen anyone eat cum before. More, Phillip actually saw Mark lick his lips as if he savored every drop. "You mean that shit is good to eat?" Mark nodded. Keith had been jacking off the entire time that Mark and Phillip had been fooling around. Seeing all this, Keith's load was close to blowing and he offered it to Phillip, who accepted it right into his mouth. He was amazed at the taste of fresh semen. End of Chapter One