Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 21:40:17 +0000
From: Danny writing <danny2017writing@outlook.com>
Subject: Spring-Tide Part 1

Spring-Tide (Part One)

About Me; My name is Danny and it's my first time at writing this sort of
content.
I'm always in search of new types of storytelling opportunities regardless of
the theme or genre.
As a gay man who's known about nifty for a while, I'd like to try my hand at
this sort of material.
I've read some heart-felt stories on here and I felt that I was ready to tell
a story of my own.

I want to put it out there that this story will be a slow burner; well for me
at least.
The story will focus more on the love side of things. However,
you never know what's down the road and what could happen.
So, as I've seen at the top of most stories on nifty.
I'll just warn people that their maybe sexual content in this.

The story is fiction, and if there is delays on chapters;
my apologies in advance. I'm also writing my first novel,
which is set in a dystopian land while also juggling study in collage.

Also please do not copy, alter or use my work. If you want more information
Please contact me.

Feel free to email me with feedback, I'd love to hear how people interpret
what I'm writing. danny2017writing@outlook.com


SPRING-TIDE

The summer of 2013 was perhaps the most crucial learning curb for me.
I was aware of most things around me; but not what was right in front me.
You see from an early age I knew I was different; not gay different but
that's different story.
I didn't quite fit into my peer group,
I was usually just left in the background, I existed but I wasn't cool.
I had few friends and I was content. But the summer of 2013 was a year that
changed my life;
I'm 17 today, but nobody or any event that could be put in front of me today
could make me feel as grateful or as thankful as the year I met Jason.
He changed me.
Motivated me,
this person helped become the person I am today.
And because of him, I made it my business to be as creative and as
inspirational to everyone I'll ever meet

The only way I can fully comprehend how to thank someone for a past event is
to show them bigger; better and more significant things.
This is why it's taken my quite a few years to understand what it all meant
to me.
Where ever you are, Jason, I want to thank you; and I hope you are well.
This is the story of Jason Taylor, a boy who I loved. And will never forget.


As a mature fourteen year, old life was rather lonely.
I was considered to intelligent for most people in my age bracket and didn't
see quite eye to eye with most of them.
Very few people in my school could come to understand me whole heartedly.
I wasn't into skipping school or getting drunk on the weekends.
I'd had rather spend time with family, by family I meant my mam.
When I was eight my mam and dad's marriage was not going so well and by the
time I was nine they had split up but didn't decide on getting a divorce.

This made life feel; not sad but sombre.
With just me and my mam for a couple of years, it made me become more
dependent on her.
She was my only source of social interaction since my parents separated.
I only seen my dad once a week.

In school, my grades where fairly high however,
I wasn't a huge hit among the girls or the boys.
I didn't match up with fitness standards girls wanted in a boy or the
flawless skin the boys wanted in a girl.
But who said I was interested in girls,

It wasn't as if I was horrible looking, but I was considered a weird one; as
that very few bothered to
Approach me for more than a favour or friendship. I didn't have much of a
social circle outside of school.
And when I got home everyday I decided to stay home, this started to grow on
me in the start of my teenage years.
Battling through depression, I isolated myself from human contact, I
preferred
The company of myself.

I had started working out regularly to tone up and too much effort and
hardships, I was starting to see results.
I decided to do this to try and take my mind off things and also to lose
weight, it had made the hours in the day go by faster.
For the first time in my life I felt as if my life was becoming meaningful, I
was gaining my own independence and I was finding myself.
I had made a couple of new friends but I still hung closely to my old ones.

However, with what happened after Christmas was the reason that sparked a
whole new way of life for me.
My depression was on a steady decline and I was not liking the way life was
going, I had started self-harming.
But on one cold January morning;

The local guidance counsellor at our school did a lecture in the main hall to
all my year group about
a foreign exchange program, it was aimed at summer.
A cultural exchange program. I had heard about these but I never really
thought much about them and I thought that I'd never have the balls to go
through
with one, and considering filling out paper work to go away on one of them.

Going home that sleepy January day, I popped on my PlayStation 3 and decided
to unwind after the hectic day I had.
It was only that night that I felt I wanted something better; something more
from life.
It felt as if I was missing something. But I couldn't rightly fill in what
that was.

Tossing and turning all night I crawled out of bed the next morning tiredly,
I knew today was going to be a stressful day for me, pondering all the
thoughts.
I set my mind on at least looking over the application form that was given
to everyone with a print out that had all the relevant information about why
you should go
and what are the benefits and etc.

That evening when I got home; I went straight up to my bedroom,
and opened my wardrobe door and glanced at the reflection that was in front
of me.
Standing about 5'6, I guess you could say I was a bit small for my age
however
I was taller than my mam and best friend.



The worn out blue eyes peered back at me. The small offering of freckles lay
across both cheeks and my nose.
My medium auburn hair had an undercut on both sides and left a top-heavy
section on the top to perform a comb over or a messy bedhead hairstyle.
I guess you could say it was a messy undercut.

I started to strip, taking off my school uniform,
I tossed it on the end of my bed and took my place in front of the mirror
again.
I admired the progress I had made in the previous mounts.
The Acne almost now non-existent; all that was noticeable was a couple of
stretch marks around my hips and stomach.
And of course, a couple of light scratches on my right arm, I also had a half
a dozen fresh red marks
Around ribs from pinching myself.

Grabbing my shaving cream out of the wardrobe and my clean razor,
I headed into the bathroom to keep up the progress of my hygiene standards.
Even though my face was nearly completely smooth, I decided to shave and have
and shower.
Standing under the shower was an exuberant feeling.
It felt like a relieve to step under that warm current and let the water wash
over me.

After the shower, I had come to notice that I had forgotten to grab a towel,
so, I ran to the hot press to grab a towel; fiercely I then ran straight into
my bedroom.

Drying off I quickly I put on a grey cotton tracksuit,
Which I used mostly for just lounging around the house.
When I finished that I tossed all the necessary stuff into the hamper
and made my way over to my desk that sat in the corner of my room.
I had plans to sit down and at least look over the application form and all
its commodities.

Walking across to sit down at the desk,
I looked around my room to see if anything else needed to be done.
My room I guess you could say was very basic for a teenager,
I had wooden laminate aspiran oak floors and magnolia painted walls.
The beech built-in wardrobes sat in the far corner of room.
Directly across from that was my bed and at the foot of my bed was the desk.
Last but not least the Tv and PlayStation where the only other things in the
room.
The Tv was mounted to the wall while the PlayStation 3 sat on the wooden
floor.

Finally grasping the piece of paper in my hand I sat down on the end of my
bed and started reading,
I learned that the cultural programs last for the three mounts of summer.
The application for and information went on the talk about getting to know
other cultures and
also, the opportunity to hold down a part time job. I felt intrigued to go
give it a try for the first time ever.

Determined I sat down with both my parents, my mam at the table and
my dad on loud speaker and told them about the opportunity.
They were a little sceptical about it at first but
then I told them more about how it works.
I told them that I'd have a host family and that I'd taken care of.
After a bit of trickery, I got them to come around to my way of thinking.
It was only the actual process of filling out the application for and
choosing a country to go.

The school said that we could go to any country but they listed countries
that they had connections with;
One of them was New Zealand.
I heard that New Zealand was beautiful and from what I've seen of it was the
most preferable candidate.
I talked to my mam about the decision and got her input about the decision.
She was supportive about the decision, and if that's what I wanted
then she'd be happy to pay for a trip to New Zealand.
She did though tell me to consider the other countries before I filled out
the application form.
And I so I did I took some time to think about it properly and
when it came to the crunch I had my heart set on New Zealand.

Handing in the application form I hoped to hear back from the school soon,
but two mounts went by.
I had been called for an interview with the school's faculty in the start of
march;
walking into the board room for the first time since I started my self-
discovery journey was nervous.
I couldn't believe my ears when the principle told me that
I had been excepted for the program and that the education program that
covers the school should pay for flights and the accommodation.
The only thing I'd have to pay for was my entertainment, clothing and food.

When school let out for the summer I found the last week in Ireland going so
slow,
I wanted an adventure. I wanted to get away from the rain and the gloomy
weather,
I wanted to also meet new people.
When the day finally came, I had everything packed,
I carried my suitcase down the stairs with my backpack and sat them on top of
each other in the hallway.

I sat down to dinner with my parents one last time;
I have to say it was possibility the most emotional moment of my life to that
moment.
I guess my parents where happy that I was going to experience new things and
start spreading my wings.

After that I found myself on the way to the airport, not much was said on the
way to airport,
the evening had faded and become night time, Rain splattered across the
windscreen of the car.
The condensation started to build up on till dad put on the heater to get rid
of the condensation
that was starting to fog up the windows.

Standing in Dublin airport, my parents helped me check in my bag and
we then found our way to the gate that got you into the terminal. Kissing my
folk's good bye,
I promised them I'd call them when I land, they made sure that I
had enough money for the flight over in case I wanted to buy food or
something to drink,
last but not least they made sure I had all the right documentation before I
went through the gate.

Booking in I went through the gate leaving my parents and made my way to
the security section into the terminal. A man handed me a grey tub and I
placed my belt, phone, headphones
and my wallet in it as well as my backpack. I then waited my turn to walk
through the metal detector.
When my time came, I walked under it, hoping it didn't go off.
Not that I was hiding anything but; most people don't like the embarrassment
of that.

Satisfied that it didn't go off I picked up my tray and took my things out of
it
and put my belt back on before I headed off out into the departure lounge.
I looked around the duty-free area to kill some time.
I looked at clothes and food that I could bye to bring onto the plane.
Doing so I bought myself one large bottle of water and some munchies.
Along with a sandwich.

I decided to just sit around and wait for the call for my flight,
around 8pm the call for my flight to board appeared over the intercom and I
made my way to the gate number.
After I was boarded and settled, the plane departed from Dublin airport at
8:30 pm
on its long journey to Auckland International Airport in New Zealand.

When I arrived, I felt the effects of the jetlag kicking in.
I got little sleep on the plane, I not one of those who can easily sleep on a
plane.
When I got off I collected my suitcase from the carousel.
Walking and thinking I thought about the documents I had read countless times
on the flight over trying to memorize the name of my host family I was
staying with.
When I got to the departure gate there was a couple of people waiting for
family members;
When they seen their loved ones they immediately flocked to them.
Me I stopped dead in my tracks and started looking around at the remaining
people that was standing around.

I looked around a seen a woman standing beside a pillar, holding a sign that
said Samuel Barrett.
Walking towards the name I hated pronounced that way.
I closed in on the distance between me and the woman.

The woman was a tall blond; she was really an attractive lady.
She smiled and gave a warming smile before said asked. "You must be Samuel"

Nodding in agreement I said "I'm SAM, Are you Mrs. Taylor"

"Pff, MRS. Taylor, oh sweetie you can call me Aimey."

"Aimey then", I Beamed

She offered to carry my luggage, But I said I'd carry it,
With her leading the way. We made our way back to her car making small chat.
The humidity was felt with a slight breeze.
It felt so nice to actually have the warm breeze touch my skin. Rolling my
suitcase behind me,
I came to notice the woman was only wearing a light jacket and throwers.
I felt the heat; did she not? By the time we got in the car,
and out onto the opened road the effort of taking in everything that was
going bye ceased, I was too tired.
Mrs. Taylor talked about some landmarks along the way and places I could go
during the stay here.
The two-hour drive to Tauranga started to become tiring and with that I must
have dozed off.
Because the next thing I remember was Aimey waking me up as
she turned off a main road and into a gravel driveway up to
large house that had a couple of adjacent buildings surrounding it.
I must has felt comfortable to have fell asleep I thought as Aimey
blabbed on about her husband should have something to eat for both of us.

Checking my watch which was still set to Ireland, looked at the clock in the
car.
It was 11:25 pm. My planed landed at about 8 pm, so that means
I was traveling about 27 hours give or take.
The car pulled up beside a large building beside the house;
and Aimey looked over at and giddily announced, "where here"
with that see leapt out of the car and went to the booth.

Pulling out my luggage, I joined her as she lead me towards the house,
the door opened as we got to the door and a boy about my age welcomed us in.

Without giving her a minute the boy stated quickly "Mom, my braces are really
sore."

She turned around to me as she rolled her eye balls, "Taylor this Samuel;
Sam... I mean" she stuttered.

The boy became all shy and sheepishly and said "Hi"
Putting my hand out for a handshake, the boy shuck my hand.
Do you want me to take that for you, he enquired?

Holding the suitcase behind me trying to signal the right body language I
said "I've got it thanks."
The teen boy was a handsome lad; He must have been about my height and his
build was much more athletic than me.
His light brown hair was tousled, but it was neatly presented.
His skin was flawless other than a small cut on the edge of his chin.
I'd tell you right now, I've seen some really stunning people in the course
of my life; But the word beautiful wasn't enough to just define his
appearance.

There was just something special the moment I seen him, it wasn't love at
first sight. But there was an attraction there.
I felt more conscious now with this boy around. It played on my
Mind. I wondered what his first impression of me was?
Just then a tall man came from a door at the far end of the
Entry way holding a spatula.

He seemed happy and energetic, He was loud and noisy. Pulling me into quick
hug he then pointed towards the open door.

"Sam; it's good to have you here. You're probably starving; spaghetti is
being dished up. Please come, help yourself I insist."

Walking into the dimly lit kitchen I was dished up the spaghetti at the
table. I dug in and made small talk with
My new host family. I learned that Aimey was a veterinarian and she was a
mother of two. Her husband Jack was in his mid-thirties
And was a history lecturer at Auckland University. I also learned that their
eldest son Jason; who was sitting at the table
With us was fourteen and that he heavily into sports and art. Last but not
least they spoke of the youngest of their family
Who was asleep upstairs.

Jason beamed at me from across the table and said

"You'll see Bradley tomorrow, He my little bro"

Aimey Smiled and cut in over her son

"Yeah sweetie; You will have met all the smiths by breakfast, why don't you
boys head on up to bed.
  I'm sure Jason will show you where you'll be staying, Sam."

After the young woman, had said that Jason immediately frowned; and gave her
a sympathetic look.

"Aww; Mom, it's not that late. I want to continue playing online.

She looked at him in a knowing manor, before trying to sweet talk to him.

"Jason you've been on the PlayStation since dinner, and you have guest".

"But Mom, I'm in the middle of a .........".

Just then she cut him off and gave him a stern look.

"Jason - Taylor; You better show some hospitality, now get your skinny butt
up to bed."

With that he cracked a smile, as he leaned in for a hug before turning around
to me.

He pointed towards the stairs in the corner of the kitchen when she slapped
him playfully on the bum.

Giddily he announced,

"Hey watch the merch".

Getting himself under control he then motioned for me to follow him; He
walked towards the small
Staircase in the kitchen and lead me up onto the floor above. He walked the
small landing area which lead
Over the kitchen and into the garage. The loft of garage was converted into a
nice modern guest room.
Switching on the light, we entered the room. It had a large double bed, an
olive French freestanding wardrobe
With a matching desk area in the beside it, And a ensuite. The freshly
painted room which consisted of
An Italian ivory paint, made the place feel modern and homely.

Placing my bag on the end of the bed, I turned around the Jason who was
talking about the bathroom;
But I wasn't listening all that much, because I was in a state of aww. I have
my own private quarters.
With that he step back over towards the door and said that he was heading off
to bed, He said that
If I wanted to find him; that his room was back across the landing and down
the small corridor to the right.

"My room is on left; you can't mistake it; it looks like an art gallery on
the on the door."

With that we said goodnight and I closed the door as I watched him disappear
out of sight.

The next morning, I stirred from my slumber around 7 am, the house was still
quite and I had worked up a thirst.
Tossing the blankets aside I crawled out of bed and wilted towards the
ensuite.
I stood feeling unbalanced over the toilet half asleep; Pulling the waistband
of my briefs down I started peeing.
After I had relived myself and threw some clothes back on; I made my way
downstairs to the empty kitchen and started opening
Each cabinet door one by one, once I had found a glass I flipped the tap up
on the sink waited for the glass to fill up.

Sipping from the glass I heard a small noise from close by. Deciding to find
the source of the noise.
I walked towards the dark mudroom between the kitchen and the garage and
pushed on the door.
Inside I found a brunette boy which looked like Jason from behind. Crouched
down at a grey box on the concrete floor.

Clearing my throat to get the boys attention, he turned around looking
surprised.
It was Jason, and he looked as if he was getting ready to go somewhere.

"Hey," he said as he looked back down at the crate on the floor. He bent back
down and continued
 Looking for whatever he was looking for.
 Walking over towards him I crouched down beside him. The box was full of
assorted sports gear.
 There was all sorts of stuff in it. He looked flustered and annoyed.

"Can I help" I asked sincerely, he turned to look at me, it was then that I
could see the
 Frustration on his face.

In a low doubtful voice, He chucked what he was holding back into the box and
said

"I can't find my goggles; I want to do some training before the swim team
meet".

"Okay well maybe I can help, is there any other boxes they might be in".

He pointed at a box on the shelf above him and I immediately started sifting
through the box looking for
Goggles for Jason. After a couple of minutes of rummaging sounds filling the
room I happened to look up and catch
A glimpse of purple elastic goggles with a tinted cover for the eyes.
They were hanging from the extended handrail of a treadmill that sat at the
back of the garage in the corner.

With a smirk, I projected my voice in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey; these what you're looking for" I said, walking over to the treadmill
and picking up the googles and dangling them on my index finger.

turning to look at him back him he had reverted his attention to me but
still, stead crouched on the ground on till he noticed
The goggles in my hand.

"Oh you found them" he piped up as he shot to his feet and walked towards me,
leaving the mess he made behind.

Snatching them from my hand he started to make way for the door.

"Thanks, I'll cya later" he said in a hushed tone as he spun around and ran
out the door. I decided since I had
Notting better to do, I'd clean his mess for him.

Picking up the box I had been looking through I placed it back on the shelf
and picked a plastic lid up that had
Been resting against the base of the shelving unit. Placing it back on the
box Jason had been rummaging through,
I made my way back to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Having a delicious breakfast, I made small talk with Aimey and Jack, Though I
still hadn't seen their other son;
They simply said he sleeps in on the weekends. And at this point I was
wondering when I was going to see him.

After breakfast, I headed back upstairs to get showered and freshen up, on my
way up the stairs, a dirty blonde
Boy approached me as he descended and I ascended. The boy looked to be about
eleven or twelve. He had a slight tan
That could seen originating from his hands, bare feet, slender neck and head.
The rest of his body was covered
By two-tone blue pyjamas. He seemed to be wondering down in his own world
unaware of me approaching him.

Looking up as I met him in the midway point, he yelped and jumped back
towards the magnolia wall.
Jumping back from fright also, I started laughing as the boy stood still with
his back towards
The wall.

Gasping for breath I offered

"Sorry for scaring the crap out of you".

Although before the boy responded to me he studied me over; from head to toe,
before deciding
To answer me back.
Cracking a smile, he replied with a cocky tone, he said.

"Ehm... are you the dude who's staying with us.

Smiling at the boys' curiosity, I responded honestly.

"Yep; all the way from Ireland" I declared giving the boy a warm smile.

"I'm Sam" I said confidently; while extending my arm for a hand shake.

Clearing his throat the boy put out his hand also, and quickly shot back.

"Bradley. Look I'm kinda hungry I'll catch you later"

With that he gave me a warm smile and continued down the stairs.

Turning around to him as I reached the top of the stairs I shouted down to
him

"Later".

Lunch had come and gone, and by 2pm I had found myself in the company of the
Two brothers. Both where young at heart and full of energy. Jason was full of
life;
Yet he looked a little tired since he had come back from his swim this
morning.
Bradley on the other seem to be mischievous, I guess you could say he would
be the
Type of boy that would break girls' hearts, but unintentionally.

Both brother where fairly similar in comparison other than their build and
height.
Jason was pretty athletic and his brother was only starting to develop some
muscle.
Bradley was around 5'0 foot; whereas Jason was around the same height as me,
maybe a
Foot taller than me, that being 5'7.

The brothers decided; that because It was a decent day out that they'd show
me around a
Little. Running to my room, slipping on my converse shoes. I grabbed my phone
and wallet.
I Followed the boys out down the driveway and headed into the countryside.
The boys talked about their neighbours and how they used to annoy
The cows in the fields.

Now walking beside Jason as Bradley trailed a little bit ahead of us.
I asked Jason to tell me a little bit about himself.
He immediately got all stuttery.

"Emm...  You want to know about me!" He asked looking across at me with
innocent eyes.

Shrugging my shoulders back; I smiled at him as I felt my nervousness kick
in.

"Of course, I Emm..., I'd like to be friends".

I hand second thoughts on how that line was blurted out and I just hoped that
I hadn't come across
As to weird; because Jason defiantly seemed like a guy to get to know.

Giving me a slight smile he said sure while nodding his head in agreement.
We turned off the main road and onto a dirt trail that lead into a cluster of
trees, with Bailey still
Leading we turned off the trail several ways in and into the trees.
By this point we had got a flowing conversation going and it wasn't all that
bad.

Jason looked over at me before starting the next sentence of our conversation
and
Looked me over as over as he lifted his legs high through the branches that
had
Found their way on the forest floor.

Thinking of another question to ask him I decided to ask him what he thought
of himself.
With that I asked "Can you describe yourself in five words".

He looked ahead of him and contained walking, He appeared to be thinking of
an answer and
All that could be heard was the cracking of twigs under our feet.

After a couple of seconds of quietness, he broke the silence by saying.

"I'm Thoughtful". In a direct tone. He looked across at me and then coyly
said.

"You used your one question a day" and walked on ahead of me leaving me
behind.

I was not sure what had happened, but he seemed to have got amusement out of
this as walked past his brother.

Catching up with his brother I said "Hey" He nodded at me as he at a
chocolate bar.
I decided to ask Bradley about Jason, "Is he okay?"
Bradley took another bite from the bar and talked with a mouthful of
chocolate.

"Yep, He's usually shy.

Not sure what to make of Bradley's statement I decided to ask where we were
going.
With that he said "Our Fort" and pointed towards a clearing in the trees.
Where the lake met the land and a large solid wooden building had been
constructed
beside the shoreline.

Jason had stopped in front of us and we caught up with him.
He turned to me and gave a cheeky grin. Breaking the silence, he said.

"I'm spontaneous"

"AND SARCASTIC" I added.

The End of Part 1

Please Stay tuned for the next part, I have much much better ideas in mind
for future parts, this part was just merely setting the story in motion.
Feedback would be appreciated.
And if you managed to read this far, Thanks for taking the time to read this.