Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:56:20 +0100 From: mac_manap@msn.com Subject: American-English, pt. 6 Hey! Long time, no chapter! I would like to apologise firstly for this incredible delay. To be fair, before I cocked up those last posted chapters, I had planned on delaying their release, staggering so they all came out in a proportional cycle, or whatever. But as I fucked that up, I had to write a whole chapter between the last post and this one. This has been a very difficult chapter to write, and so I owe many thanks to Rob who wrote a lot of this- well, more than he had probably expected me to ask him to. It's pretty lengthy and not as well edited as the others as I've been pretty busy lately with illness, laziness. I went on holiday recently and now I'm unpleasantly burnt. Anyway, you may not like this chapter, but I think it's cool. It was just a pain in the arse to write! Thanks to everyone who wrote me. I appreciate it. I do apologise for the time I took in posting this. To those of you who left me less than pleasant emails, fuck off cos I don't want you to read this story. Also- before you start- let me inform you all now, as of next Saturday (20th September) I shall be moving to University and so the next chapter is likely to take some time due to the settling down period and then the following chapters aren't likely to come out as often as many of you would like. Please remember I do this for fun and for something to do. I don't do this for money. This isn't my life. I am trying to live a real one. So if you don't like the time I take, well, tough. Anyway... Happy Reading! This story is entirely fictional. If it seems familiar then it's because it is. I stalked you and took parts of your life for this story. I have that kind of time. If anything offends you, well, too late because you already read it. To be fair, you are on a site where you could come across anything, so you have no right to be offended. So there. If it is illegal for you to read this in your community, then I advise you to leave. However, I can't personally do anything about it. I won't to be honest, because I'm lazy. Thank you, I'll be here all week! Enjoy! AMERICAN-ENGLISH CHAPTER SIX. CLAY. "Can I ask what you mean by since you first saw me?" I turned and looked at him, puzzled. "What I mean? Isn't it obvious?" "Not really." I sighed. That bastard. I would have punched him for asking me that, had it not been for my adoration of the guy. He wanted me to say it. I knew it. "Well...before you moved here, I hadn't ever thought about a guy in a..." I swallowed hard, thinking of how to word it. "...in a romantic way." My cheeks flushed with red. So did Jacob's. "How did you know though?" Why did he have to keep asking? "The first time I saw you, you were walking down the corridor to your locker. I was sat reading at the bench near the door to the labs and..." A smile ran across my face as I recalled the memory. Lost in the moment, it took me a little while to remember that I wasn't alone in the bathroom. I quickly looked down to the floor, humiliated. "Oh." Something in his voice made me think he wanted to say more. Before the awkwardness could continue, I chose to end his suffering. "Look," I said to him as mellow as possible. "I don't expect anything from you. I just want to be left alone with this so I can deal with it..." I went back to the stall to grab my stuff. "...by myself." I found it difficult to look him in the face. I just needed to get away. "We haven't got long `til the test and I can't afford to miss another one. I still need to look at my notes one more time. I already have to make up for this morning with extra credit stuff," I griped. I felt his eyes on me as I headed for the door. Without realizing, I looked back at him. His eyes were lost and confused. I felt bad for piling my shit on the guy...but he did ask. I flashed him a small smile, but I instantly regretted it. I rushed out of the bathroom and heard the end lunch bell ring overhead as I walked down the hall. *** The morning bell rang overhead causing the crowds to slowly shuffle off to their classes. I watched as the guys jumped up, grabbing their bags and books, almost too enthusiastically. "Looks like you guys are a little eager to get going," I said, smiling wryly at them. Brady laughed, "Well I got Trish Anderson waiting on me in home room, man. I can't keep her fine ass waiting!" He began laughing more, holding his hand up for Evander to high five, shooting a cocky wink to whoever would receive it. I shook my head as he left in the opposite direction with Evan. Man I hated that guy. Egotistic little shit head. "Come on, Clay," Chrissie whined cutely grabbing my hand. "We're gonna be late and you know how Mrs. James gets." I smiled at her. "It's ok, babe. I'll protect you from her," I stood up to give her a kiss. Man, she was a killer: she was the best looking girl in school. She just had to walk to drive me crazy. What I would do for a piece of that ass! I wanted her bad. She knew it. "Prom," she would say. She wanted to make it special. I liked that. Just not the waiting part, though. Breaking our kiss, I only just managed to grab my gear before she pulled me on. Catching up with some of my buddies in homeroom, we began talking about the weekend football practice. "Shit, dude... I can't go on like this," Dylan moaned in his deep voice, stretching his tense arms and legs. The new coach, Jackson, liked making us sweat with long practices every weekend. I couldn't remember the last time I had been this sore. But he wanted us to be the best we could be...which we had to respect, even if it damn near killed us! I was listening to the guys bitch on about their personal problems, all the while laughing at their whining, when I heard some of Chrissie's friends talking about something. "...oh my God, I bet he sounds like a prince!" "Gotta love that accent," Estralita added. I turned to face her, confused. "What are y'all talkin' about?" The guys had stopped in intrigue too. "There's a new kid starting some time today and, get this: he's English!" Chrissie half collapsed in excitement. I felt a little jealous. Just a little. It was amazing all of these girls were wetting their panties just because this guy was from Britain or England or London or wherever the hell it was. "What're you trying to say, baby?" I asked, all puppy dog eyed. "Don't I do it for you anymore?" She laughed lightly. I loved her laugh. "CJ, please! We're talkin' about my future husband here!" She smiled a toothy grin at me as the bell rang again to signal the start of lessons. "Well, Prince Harry had better watch out, cuz you're mine, hear?" I pulled her into another kiss before she walked down the corridor to her first period surrounded by all the girls who wanted to be her. I couldn't help but smile. Life was so good. Practice was hard, but getting better. I was sure we could win the season easily now. School was great; I did pretty well for myself averaging mostly B's. And I had the best girl: cute, smart, sexy, funny... I had it all. And I showed it with my constant dopey grin. At least that's what mom and Chrissie kept saying. Word of the new kid seemed to spread like wildfire. Gossip never stayed gossip for long. The school was bugged, I swear. Everyone seemed to know everything. And this was no different. All the girls were anxiously excited and all the guys seemed to groan: more competition. I couldn't help but just laugh at them. As long as he stayed away from my girl, I didn't care. "Yo guys, when's this fag gettin' here?" Fucking tool. Brady was almost as excited as the girls. He loved ribbing on the new guys. Made him feel superior or something; over-compensating for his lack in altitude? If it wasn't for Chrissie, I would have punched him a long time ago. She'd been a friend with Brady for a long time. I guess it was the only thing about her I didn't like. Well...one of the only things. But hey, no one's perfect. Grabbing some books from my locker, I followed Evan to biology. Evander was a cool guy, but he was real... for lack of a better word... paranoid. Since I fist met him, he had always been competitive: sports, grades, looks, girls... you name it, he'd try and beat you at it. Being Greek, he has all the dark features, which some of the girls love. He's hairy as fuck though! His ass is like a gorilla's or something. I guess that none of these girls have seen it! But he's an awesome dude. I liked spending time with him. He didn't bullshit around like Brady. Evander and Brady were also good buds. Both of them and Chrissie had been friends since they were little. I don't know what they saw in the guy. The sky outside had turned cloudy and threatening compared to the bright blue and beautiful shine from this morning. Fucked up weather patterns all over the country had confused the seasons or something. Thinking about the weather gave me the chance to avoid doing work. Evan was sleeping. One of the best things about him was his ability to sleep with his eyes open. It was funny as fuck and always got him in trouble. One light snore always did him in. Right on cue, a delicate snore filled the room and Mr. Hewitt's eyes flamed up. "Evander Nieodemus!" Pulled out of my staring match with the weather, I began laughing. Everywhere I went, all I heard about was this new English kid; the girls wanted to hear him talk, the guys wanted to meet the new opposition... Evander and Brady wanted to kick his ass. I kinda felt bad for the kid cuz I knew the guys weren't joking. By lunchtime, Dylan had joined in with them. "I think the pussy's done shit himself or something, man," he said over his sandwich. "Little fag ain't gonna show." Across the table, the girls were talking about him too. Estralita seemed to have a little thing for English guys. "Well, the accent at least. Have you ever seen their teeth? Damn! Bet they're all crooked and shit. The twins squealed at the prospect. No one was shallower than the twins. Georgia and Gloria were clones of each other- not simply identical. They were the same person. They always had the same hairstyle, their long blonde hair straight as, well, straight hair. Not a day went by when you didn't see them in the same outfit- although Gloria usually wore a purple version of Georgia's pink...or is that the other way around? Who knows; you didn't have to call them by name anyway since they always responded together. It was annoying: their cutesy, whiney voices sometimes felt like nails on a chalkboard. "Oh my God, he better stay away from us..." "...away from us because I don't want his ugly teeth..." "...can't have his ugly teeth near us!" "Ew!" They ended in unison. As always. They also agreed explicitly with everything- and I mean everything- that Chrissie said. And that's not really a good thing. She frequently comes out with some random shit. Another thing I guess I don't really like about her. Man, that sounds bad- I take it back. It's not that I only date her for her looks or anything. She's a great girl. Funny and cute...always makes me smile. "Oh my God, y'all think he has one of those weird accents that no one understands?" Chrissie started giggling, immediately followed by the twins. "What?" Brady asked, as all the guys began listening to the girls' conversation. "You know, when they're on the TV and they have to subtitle it cuz you don't know what they're sayin'?" Brady nodded his head, a wicked grin on his face. Prick. "Oh my God!" Twins exclaimed. "He'll have to walk around with, like, paper all day!" "Just so we can know what he's saying!" More giggling. Lita rolled her eyes. She wasn't a fan of the girls either. I had some free time before English and so headed to the library. I know, right- the quarterback spends his time in the library? Trust me, I don't intend on remaining a football player forever. I do it for fun. I wanna teach. I love kids. I might teach Gym. Maybe I could teach English or something too? I haven't really thought too much about it. But I knew that I didn't wanna be labeled as a dumb jock. That was Brady- not me. Reaching the library, I was greeted by the GSA's president. The group was about to begin their weekly meeting. "Tanner, what's going on?" "GSA, Clay. Same time every Monday, every week." I was fucked. Tanner could see I had studying to do; he wore an apologetic look on his face, "Sorry, dude." Tanner ran his hand through his hair. He had gone with purple tips this week. If it weren't for his outlandish hairstyles, his too-tight fitting jeans and shirt, it would have been hard to peg Tanner as the gay type. He acted just like every other straight guy I knew. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and smiled. "You could try the science hall. It's usually pretty quiet & empty around this time," he informed me. "Thanks, man." Shit! I needed to get this reading done for English and I hadn't had time over the weekend cuz of fucking Jackson and his fucking practice! Luckily, Tanner had been right. The hall was completely vacant. I knew I'd have at least a good thirty minutes to myself before the next classes started. The book had drawn me in so intently that I only woke from my daze when footsteps began to echo from further up the hallway. The creaking of the door resonated through the corridor as one set of steps clapped down the stone floor. Another pair- soft and slower, like a mouse- followed gently afterwards. I looked up. Mrs. Sirocco's high heels thundered past the rows of lockers, a younger person in her wake. "You're locker is here..." she said in her calm voice. "This is your combination to get inside," she handed over a piece of paper. She stood right in front of him so I couldn't get a good look. "Anything you find in there you can keep, although I'd strongly advise against it. I'll be back in a minute, Jacob. I just need to go and get your schedule." She clip-clopped her way back to the main offices, whistling `Desert Rose' to herself, leaving just the new kid and myself in the large hallway. As soon as she left, he looked up for the first time to face his locker and, I assume from his jumpy reaction, only then noticed my presence. He turned to face me too. At that instant...I don't know what happened...my gut wrenched at my insides. It twisted and pulled and made me feel empty and sick all at once. My chest felt heavy and I could hear my heart pounding in my head. What the fuck was that? Awkwardly, he smiled a weak smile at me. He looked so... He was so... I didn't know the words to use. I was speechless...thoughtless. My mind felt like it was running a marathon, and yet comatose. He had hazel eyes. That was obvious- they were too green to be brown. They shone at me. Shone? Well, they did... His messy brown hair gave him a youthful and charismatic aura. He looked to be a little shorter than myself, and he was slim...athletic-looking. I wonder what his body looked like... What? I didn't just say that! Did I? I mean, I only wondered how stacked he was, of course! Try and guess what he played- clearly not a wrestler or a football player. Definitely not baseball. Too American. Maybe soccer? Or swimming? Maybe he just liked running... Disturbingly, I couldn't pull my eyes away from him. It felt like I'd spent an age staring his way. What stood out a lot was his unlabelled style. Definitely not a jock, and he didn't look geeky either. Obviously he wasn't a goth or a punk. The best I could get was surfer...or preppy... It was unique. I had stared for too long. "Can I help you with something?" My dick jumped a little in my boxers at the sound of his voice. English accent: like warm butter on toast. It melted as the sound wafted into my ears. I couldn't believe it, but his sarcastic tone sent a chill down my spine. Was I getting a boner? I went red in the face as I apologized. "Sorry..." I couldn't get anything else out. I wasn't sure he even heard me. I forced my self to look away, his voice still sailing through my head. It was...soft...pure? I don't know, but it made me feel uncomfortable knowing how much I liked hearing it...how much I wanted to hear more. The bell rang aloud above me knocking me out of my dream. English class. As I stood to gather my things, I kept a wondering eye on him through the crowds of people... What the fuck was wrong with me? Whispers filled the air around me as people began to notice the new guy. I think he realized it too... he kept his head firmly down, away from all those eyes...including my own. "He's here?!" Brady's voice filled the hallway. This wasn't going to be good. "Yo! Hey! HEY! Faggot!!" Jacob turned around when he realized the insult was aimed at him. Sirocco had called him Jacob, right? Evan followed Brady to confront the new guy. I couldn't hear what they said to him, but I bet my last dollar they jumped straight to their usual dumbass insults. I think I saw Jacob respond, but the people kept pulling tighter around the scene. I fought to get closer, to regain my view of Jacob. I stepped into a clear spot just as Evan pushed Jacob to the floor. Shit. On his first day? Fucking cock sucker, Evander! I screamed in my head. You just try that one more time... What was I thinking? I needed a smack to the head or something. Evan was my friend. I should be on his side, shouldn't I? Shouldn't I be there with him, even if I didn't agree? I should be stood with my pals, regardless of my feelings for this new kid. Not that I have feelings for him, I just feel bad for him. Pity- that's a feeling... This ongoing battle in my head continued as I watched the insults fly back and forth from Evan and Brady to Jacob, his ass pushed to the floor at every opportunity, the crowd laughing louder and louder. Why aren't they in class? Why aren't I in class? Why am I still standing here? "Yo! CJ! You gonna just stand there, man? What're you doin'?" Evan called to me. People stared at me, expectantly. I can't. I should. Why shouldn't I? He deserves it! But why? All he did was show up...this beautiful guy. Beautiful?! What the fuck? My head pounded heavily as I was forced into the ring. Jacob stood, watching me. His eyes were... His mouth... My emotions quickly turned to annoyance, anger and rage as my kind feelings towards him increased. I did not like him. I didn't. You know what? Fuck this! I hit him. Not too hard, but hard enough to knock him backward. He fell into his locker. "Welcome to the free world, bitch!" Brady snickered. As the laughter heightened, I could see a single tear fall down his face. "The little homo's crying!" Who said that? Fuckers! I turned to see Evan, Brady and some more kids standing laughing. They were laughing with me. I had yelled out that he was crying. I turned to watch Jacob walking away, back toward the office. Sanctuary. Evan and Brady high-fived each other and anyone else who held their hand out. Evan lifted his hand for me. I lamely hit it back. Guilt spread through my mind and body. I couldn't think straight. What was happening to me? Mr. Peterson wasn't happy that so many of us were late. Luckily he's a pushover though. I slumped in my chair next to the window, Chrissie sitting next to me. She was talking to me about something, but I was only half listening to her. I had other things on my mind. Before I could really begin to clear my thoughts away, Mrs. Sirocco knocked on the door, her calm voice filling the room once again. "Excuse me Mr. Peterson, but we have a new student for you today. Allow me to introduce to you, Jacob Hylton all the way from the United Kingdom! Ain't that exciting, y'all?" A general murmur filled the room. I froze up. In he walked, his right cheek violently red from where I had hit him. Guilt and... something else, wanted desperately for me to walk over to him and apologize...and hug him. Hug him? Get a grip, CJ! "Where are you from, then?" Peterson asked as Mrs. Sirocco left. He didn't move his head to face anyone. I felt worse and worse by the minute; remorse for what I did, and hatred for what I felt. "You wouldn't have heard of it," his voice had lost the spark that was present earlier. But I still felt my stomach and chest tighten as he spoke those words. "Oh? Well... Is it close to anywhere we might have heard of?" "Forty miles north of London," he added, blandly, still not making eye contact. I watched his mouth move, so gently as each word passed over his lips. Someone, please smack me now. I need to be stopped. "Ah, well, we've all heard of London, I hope!" Petersen chuckled to himself and offered up the empty desk to Jacob, who pulled out a pen and paper, sitting quietly, looking at no one. Whispers echoed around the room. A giggle. A snort. He only seemed to move when the bell for the end of the day rang across the school. Chrissie began talking at me again, pulling on my arm and forcing me to walk slowly with her. I needed to catch up with Jacob to... to... I didn't know. I desperately wanted to be close to him though... to apologize at the very least. I reached my car after dragging myself away from Chrissie. She wasn't happy with me, but I needed to get away. I turned the key and headed straight off without a second glance at anything- I'm probably lucky that I didn't crash. As I turned off the main road and headed down my long street, I saw Jacob up ahead. No way did he live near me. This was too much. I couldn't believe it. He was going to haunt me everywhere! I passed him just as he walked up his driveway. I lived just around the corner from him. I became surprisingly and unwillingly excited at this prospect. When I finally closed my bedroom door behind me, I collapsed on my bed and lay staring at the ceiling. I needed to make sense of all this, whatever "this" was. What was I feeling? It started the first time he looked at me...those eyes were full of something spiritual. I felt my heart quicken and my penis stiffen at the thought of his stare. His intense, penetrating stare. It was... It was sexy. It was. Why, I didn't know. But I couldn't deny that much. I liked the way he looked at me. That first time anyway. I tried to ignore the expression on his face just before and after I hit him. The more I thought about his warm features, and his incredible voice, the harder I became. Was this natural? I mean, surely this is just a phase, right? I bet all guys go through this kind of thing. The one guy they wouldn't say no to... Should I be even thinking this? Let it go, CJ. Just deal with it and it'll pass. I hope. I don't wanna... I can't be... I just... Could I like him? No. That's crazy! I don't even know him. How can I like someone like him? Him?! A guy? No way. I don't like guys. "I don't like guys!" I stated aloud. "I'm straight. I like girls. I like girls!" I didn't want to admit it but it occurred to me as I rolled over that I didn't believe the words I spoke. I wanted to, but I didn't. I liked him? He only spoke to me once... And, yeah, he's good looking. I like his voice... his eyes. I tossed over in my bed, similar thoughts passing around with his face remaining center stage. I fell asleep, a final conclusion coming to me: Sure, he might be hot. Yeah, I might be attracted to him...but that's as far as it goes. He's nothing. Not a damn thing. It'll pass. It'll pass... I hoped. The next few weeks were difficult to get through. I had tried to avoid Jacob wherever I went, but with him being in a lot of my classes and with him living just around the corner, bumping into him was inevitable. I tried not to, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I had decided it was fucked up that he had gone from being eagerly anticipated, to being completely ignored, except for the insults and sniggers that surrounded him. But I couldn't think too much on it. I had to swallow any feelings for him. I needed to fight off the gut-wrenching feeling that tugged at me every time he was around me. Every time I thought of him... Gym was the worst. I couldn't help but watch him get changed the first few times. His body was tight, like a swimmer's. He was nicely toned but without the muscle of a football player. I boned up whenever I saw him pull off his shirt. It took all my restraint to not look at him in the showers. I guess gym wasn't easy for him either; the kid didn't know squat about baseball, football or even basketball. Brady loved calling him out on it. Evan shoved him to the ground whenever he could and Dylan loved to show him up by throwing him the ball. I'd like to say I didn't join in with them, that I told them to back off and leave him to it, but I didn't. I was probably the worst. As the time passed, the number of times I picked on him increased with the longitude of my feelings for him. As hard as I tried, I couldn't shake his face from my head, I couldn't ignore my quickening heart rate and the surge of blood rushing to my loins. A punch to the stomach, a trip in the hall and throwing him at his locker were the only things I could do cover my sympathy for him. My adoration for him. He didn't speak to anyone any more. Only when a teacher spoke directly to him did he respond. At least he never seemed to talk around me. I hated myself. I did. I had never been a bully, not really. The odd comment here and there- that was all. But what I did to him... I hated me. And I hated the way I felt for him. It had been well over two months since Jacob first arrived in that science hall and I had started to change. Everything around me had started to change. My relationship with Chrissie had all but ended. We were still together but I wasn't the same. Time with her had become a chore. I guess I was too scared to just leave her. I needed the cover or something. Cover for my feelings for Jake. It had happened one night not too long ago when I finally admitted to myself that I had feelings for him. Strong feelings. My run-ins with him had eased. I couldn't bring myself to hurt him too much anymore. I didn't want, couldn't stand the thought of him hating me. I guessed he did though. He had begun throwing back the occasional insult now under his breath at me. It tortured my insides to know the pain I had caused him. The overwhelming urge to be near him, to touch and comfort him was making me ache. Fuck, I'm such a shit head. The guys didn't seem to notice the changes in my behavior...I wasn't sure if that was a good thing though. Shouldn't they notice something in my attitude, being my buddies and all? At least I had them to take my mind off my shit. Although sometimes Brady and Evan would go out of their way to torment Jacob, bringing me along with them. One Friday evening we headed out to catch a movie at the theater. Pulling up, I noticed Jacob standing in line for the same flick. Before I could think of how to drive the guys' attention away, they saw him there. Shit. I couldn't see this going well. "Look who it is! Fuckin' homo's out in the real world!" Brady called. "He's all by himself!" Lita realized, laughing with twins. I stood there not knowing what was gonna happen. I knew they wouldn't let his presence go unnoticed. Seated in the theater, the subject of further tormenting Jacob came up, and how to go about it. It had been decided that we would take him out with us after the film for some "fun". I didn't really want to think about what the fun would be, but I didn't really have a choice. However, a while before the movie was due to end, Jacob- who was sitting near the front- stood and headed out the door. I tried to offer him a slight smile, but he hadn't seen. The rest of the guys were all staring after him too. They were thinking of some kind of plan, no doubt. When we left the theater, it was decided we would follow Jake home and try to get him to come out with us. I knew I shouldn't have gone along with the plan, but the idea of being closer to Jacob made my chest tighten. I lead the convoy of cars down Jacob's street. It wasn't long before his house came into view, and there he was, playing with a soccer ball. I slowed the car to watch him. He was good...real good... I guess our presence wasn't exactly subtle, cuz he stopped and stared at us. Panicking I continued down the road, turning off onto my own street. "Whoa, CJ, where you goin', dawg?" Dylan asked as we pulled up by my house. "Huh? I just thought we should have a plan or something..." I lied. "Anyone got one?" Brady asked as he closed his car door. "A plan? Christ, let's just get on with it, see what happens," Evan responded. Lita had already begun walking back down the road toward Jake's house. I called after her but she kept going, forcing us to follow. Up to the door she went and rang the door bell. Mrs. Hylton answered the door. I recognized her immediately- she was my mom's new friend. I don't think she saw me cuz she didn't say anything. "Hi, Mrs. Hylton? Is Jacob in?" Lita asked in her beautifully accented voice. She had a charm about her that made it difficult for people not to do as she asked. "Oh, hello!" She beamed back. "Are you one of Jacob's friends? Oh, he didn't mention you were coming round, the silly boy." A nice lady, but she her whole persona seemed very false. "Let me just get him for you," another smile and she closed the door as the rest of us gathered around. I suddenly became very nervous knowing they would find some way to humiliate the shit out of him, regardless of their good intentions. I hoped Jacob would refuse the invite, even if my body craved to be near him. I walked up behind Chrissie and put my arm around her, trying to hide myself from direct view. A few minutes passed before he appeared, opening the front door: "Yes?" I guess he hadn't realized it was us. The look of pure embarrassment shone his face red. I began getting sweaty, taking in a silent gasp at the sight of him standing only in his towel, his hair dripping wetness down his body, and a slight bulge showing through the white material. I had to pull a little off of Chrissie so she wouldn't feel my growing erection. The girls started giggling wildly at the sight of him, followed by Dylan who put on an uncharacteristically pleasant tone of voice. "Hi, err, Jake. You were in the shower?" "Yeah I was." Jacob replied, coolly. His voice was smooth and confident... I wanted to jump him. "Can I help you with somethi-?" "We can wait if you wanna get some clothes?" Chrissie jumped in, snapping me out of my daze. "No. It's fine," he said as naturally as possible. "I can wait." "Really Jake, we don't mind." I said, a little embarrassedly. I couldn't just leave him standing there in nothing for my own sake more than his. I tried smiling a little, but I think it came off wrong, like I was jibing him. "What is it?" he insisted. He looked straight at me and before I could think about it I gave him the invite. "Why don't you come and hang out with us?" Brady had started saying before I cut him off. "What?" He asked, a little blankly. The boy was hot, but a little slow. The others started hounding him, trying to get him to come out with us. I couldn't resist any longer and stared shamelessly at his body, taking in his physique. I had never been able to look at him this close for this long... I watched his wet hair trickle water onto his face, rolling down his flushing cheeks. His eyes were brown with mystery and green with attitude and character. I loved his eyes more than ever. They spoke before his mouth did. His nose was perfectly formed and even had a cute factor about it. I watched his lips move in response to the guys' persistence, almost in slow motion. They were...succulent, a perfect shade of pink. His teeth were white and beautifully formed- kinda goes against the stereotype! I stared at his incredible torso...I had only been able to glimpse at it in the locker room before this, but now I could see all of the rippled abs that sat under his smooth pecs. His towel sat right on his waist line...I could see a small bush of hair poking through the top...and the bulge which didn't leave much to the imagination. "Damn..." I sighed under my breath, hoping Chrissie didn't hear me. "Why won't you just lighten up dude? We're doing you a favor," Brady said aggressively. I hadn't been paying attention to what had been said, but Jacob looked like he'd had enough. "A favor? You're doing me a favor? OK, well, a few things: firstly, it's Jacob. Not Jake. Not Jay. Jacob. I've been here for over three months now, so it's nice that you noticed. Especially with all the shoving and pushing that you've all bestowed on me pretty much since I got here, like it's not fucking hard enough to move to a new country with no one but your parents to talk to. I've had nothing but you lot treating me like shit and now you're here telling me that you've been doing me favors? Well, thanks, but I'm not interested. So I'd appreciate it if you buggered off." He slammed the door shut, a look of anger and hurt flashing before the snap. "What's `buggered off'?" Georgia asked. I was quietly annoyed at the guys and myself. We had made his life hell here, no doubt. What really got to me was how unfazed they were: a shrug was their general response, like nothing had happened. "Hey, hey guys! Check this out!" Lita called for the rest of us to join her on the lawn, her cell phone out with a picture flashing on the screen. *** "Look, I just wanted to come and apologize for what happened on Saturday. The guys were way out of line. We shouldn't have bombarded you like that, and I sure as hell didn't realize they were gonna do that to you. And then to do what they did with it...must've been real embarrassing." I was stumbling all over my words. "I just wanted you to know that I didn't have anything to do with that." It was the following Monday and I had found Jacob sitting in the library by himself, pretending to read a book. For the first time since our first meeting, we were all alone together. I expected myself to be nervous or something, but surprisingly, I felt comfortable. Like being with him was the most natural thing in the world. It felt good. I felt good. I smiled at everything he said, every stupid insult he threw my way. I got a little tingly in my groin when he called me Mr. Jockstrap. I loved that. "To do with what? What the hell are you talking about?" Was he kidding? No way he didn't already know about this. "You know..." "Well obviously I don't." He was so cute when he was frustrated. But I didn't have much of a chance to think about it. I had to show him. I reached for my cell phone and brought up a picture of him in his towel. "What the fuck...?" "I'm guessing you didn't know..." "What the fuck is this?" "It's you." "I can see that! What are you doing with it?" Part of me wanted to tell him that, after I had fought with Lita about deleting the picture, and after the vengeful little cunt sent it to everyone in her contacts list, I had used the picture to bust a nut last night. And again this morning. It was the first time I had ever jerked off to a picture of a guy before and damn, did it feel good. Instead, I told him the shortened, cleaner version. "I just wanted you to know that it had nothing to do with me." Again, the urge to comfort him was powerful. "You alright, dude?" "Am I alright? Fucking fantastic. I'm living in a different country where I have no friends, parents who are too busy living their own lives and you and your fucking group of friends who are determined to make my life a living hell." I tried to say something to make it alright, but he wasn't having it. "Shut the fuck up, Clay! You and your friends can go and fuck yourselves. Just leave me the fuck alone!" He grabbed his bag and crossed the library, slamming the door behind him. I deserved that, I thought as I stared after him. It wasn't fair. No one should have to put up with that kind of treatment. I heard a light cough from across the library that snapped me back into reality. Tanner stood in the librarian's office doorway, staring at me. I noticed one of the printed pictures of Jake in his hand. He didn't say anything; he didn't have to. I wore exactly how I felt on my face. If he of all people didn't realize it by now, well, then he probably didn't deserve to be the GSA's president. There was no sign of Jake when I stepped into the hallway. No sign aside from the hundreds of photos that were hung awkwardly with cheap tape throughout the school. Furious with my so-called friends and the mixture of feelings I fought inside, I began ripping several of the pictures down from the walls and lockers. Before I realized what I was doing, I had a good hundred in my hands. I looked up and down the hall to see if anyone had seen and quickly discarded the printouts into a trashcan. Pulling myself together, I headed down the hall to Miss Stokes' class. I made an attempt at talking to Jacob, but his stubbornness combined with Stokes' nasally voice made it increasingly difficult. When the bell rang, I jumped up and followed Jake into the hall, but he had vanished into the crowd before I could catch him. I spent the next ten minutes or so searching the school up and down and finally found Jacob in the least used bathroom on the entire campus. "There you are. I've been look-" I broke off as I felt the crunch of glass beneath my sneakers. "What the fuck...? Jake, what have you done? Are you alright?" I hurried to his side and tried to take Jake's hand to examine the damage, but he snatched it away like some frightened and wounded animal. "I'm fine. I have to go." Jake picked up his bag and headed toward the door. "You need to have that seen to... Jesus Christ, I can't believe you did that." "Move, please," he said, a little stern. "What? No. We need to talk. This is going too far now. I have tried to apolo-" "What part of leave me alone do you not fucking understand? I said move out of my way." His anger was even more of a turn on. Blood surged through my body, my heart began racing, and my dick stiffened. "Or what?" I questioned, more serious than sympathetic. "You'll find out what," he snarled, looking up at me. We stood at a stalemate for a brief moment before Jake grabbed me by the shirt. I took his thigh in my hands and he went for my waist. My erection pressed against his side as we landed on the glass littered floor. I finally pinned Jake to stop him from hurting himself further on the sandy shards. I struggled, but finally climbed atop him and sat on his rock hard stomach. My dick twitched slightly, flushing my cheeks and causing an unfortunate smile to appear on my face. It would certainly have been an intimate moment- there was no doubt about that- had the two of us been in another situation. Jake obviously didn't feel the same way as he spat, hard, into my grinning face. "You fucking asshole!" I yelled. A primal rage flooded my mind and, as I wiped the spit from my face, my fist propelled toward Jacob's confident and beautiful smile. A dull thud echoed in the bathroom, followed by more muffled smacks of flesh on flesh. I regained control of myself once the blood started oozing from Jake's face. My fist hung limp in the air. I felt sick. I climbed off of him and tried to take Jake's hand and help him to his feet. For the second time, he refused me his hand and climbed up on his own. He washed his face in the sink while I slumped against the wall to keep myself from puking. I gazed at the back of his head and moved my lips to say something, anything, but the words never came. He glared at me once through the sink mirror before finishing up, grabbing his bag, and storming out of the bathroom. "I'm so... sorry... sorry... so..." They wouldn't stay back any longer. The tears I had been silently fighting off began to trickle down my burning cheeks as I slid helpless down the wall. I wasn't sure how long I laid there, but it felt like an eternity. Jake's innocent and helpless face was etched into my mind, and I couldn't shake it. It was all too much. I quickly rushed into the stall and emptied my stomach into the bowl. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stumbled out of the bathroom, my backpack dragging behind me. *** "CJ?! CJ, we're headin' home now!" "Looks like I gotta get going, buddy. I'm glad we sorted this mess out." "Yeah, me too." My parents had dragged me to a dinner party Jacob's mom was holding that night. I tried to weasel my way out of going, even getting to the point that I yelled at my mom. Surprisingly, the evening went much better than I thought it would. Jake had given me the chance to explain myself and make excuses for my "friends". Smiling at each other, I added, "And we should get together some time and have a little game of `football'." I said, throwing in an English accent. "Ha, yeah. Would be good. But, err, don't do that again." We laughed and exchanged some quick farewells before I closed Jake's bedroom door and headed downstairs. His parents shook my hand before letting me out of the house, telling me how happy they were that their son had made "an great friend". The next day, I had managed to convince Jackson to start up lessons on soccer as a subtle favor for Jake. He managed to show us all up, rubbing Brady's face in the shit especially. It would have been a better day had I not let my guard down in the shower after the lesson. Being the end of the day, most of the guys had just headed straight home. I was going to as well, until I saw Jake standing in the shower. He was masturbating? I couldn't believe my eyes...his face was in ecstasy, his moans just heard over the running water. His hands were all over his body and I watched as he blew his load into the shower basin. I nearly busted a nut there and then. He opened his eyes to see me staring back at him. Quickly turning around, I jumped back into reality and tried to ease my growing erection. I couldn't walk away now; it would look like I was some peeping tom or something. Removing my towel and focusing my energy on reducing my hard dick, I stepped under a shower near Jake. I kept the water chill to prevent a resurge in my groin. I caught him staring at my body as we exchanged pleasantries. Did he like what he saw? I guess a lot of guys check out other guys in the shower- watching the competition. I had stopped showering as he watched me. I felt myself growing a little at his intense glare. He turned away again, flushing a little, and I began walking towards him, uncontrollably, a heavy smile on my face. "You alright, Clay?" I shook my head slightly, "I dunno... I just... I don't know..." He didn't move as I inched closer. "Anyone in here?" Jackson's voice called. Reality hit me like a tonne of bricks and both of us got out of there as quick as possible. I found it difficult to face him for a while after that. Humiliation swept through me every time I saw him. I needed to manage my feelings more. It didn't help when Jackson signed both me and Jake up for his out-of-school soccer team. One night after our first practice, I watched Jake get into a car with some other kid, and jealousy took over me. As soon as he got home, I invited Jake around, my envious rage taking over my mind. Sometime during the evening, I ended up in my bedroom, emotional and tired, sitting quietly and thinking about what the fuck to do with the difficult situation. "Clay?" I turned to face him, standing at the entrance to my room. I hadn't heard him approach. "Sorry, I thought you heard me..." he stammered. "It's ok. I was just thinking about something and didn't hear you," I said, unable to look at him. "Clay, something is really not right with you." "I'm fine! I'm fine, Jacob," I repeated, realizing the anger in my voice. "Clay, I'm not an idiot. You haven't been yourself since... You haven't been yourself for a while. You look unhappy at school when you're with your friends, you didn't say a word at football training today, you ring me out of the blue and then you sneak up to your room when you say you're going to grab something from the kitchen?" His facts were undeniable and frightening, but they were the truth. I was not fine. "Look!" I shouted, jumping to my feet and approaching Jacob. There was a moment of hesitation between us as we studied one another. I gazed into his face. It looked much better compared to what it had after the beating I'd given him.  I don't know if it was passion or lust I felt for him, but my hormones took control but Jake's face was in my hands and his lips were locked with mine before I could blink. Jake stumbled back and looked at my frightened face as I began crying. I retreated to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Two of the tiles beside the mirror cracked that night as I punched the wall with my fist. By the time I'd finished my childish tantrum I was exhausted. I slumped down against the door. Tears still fell from my eyes as I sat there. Quietly, Jake shut my bedroom door. I lifted myself up off the floor and looked out the window to see him cross the lawn and head home. Things continued spiraling out of control for me at that point. Chrissie and I decided to break it off until I could sort myself out. I knew I would have to tell her eventually, and that was a conversation I was determined to put off for a while. Jake came looking for me one day after I had missed one of our exams, finding me in our semi-sanctuary of a bathroom. We fought in our usual way, but it was all too much to keep close to the chest. He broke me. I had to come clean... "Can I ask what you mean by since you first saw me?" I turned and looked at him, puzzled. "What I mean? Isn't it obvious?" "Not really." I sighed. That bastard. I would have punched him for asking me that, had it not been for my adoration of the guy. He wanted me to say it. I knew it. "Well...before you moved here, I hadn't ever thought about a guy in a..." I swallowed hard, thinking of how to word it. "...in a romantic way." My cheeks flushed with red. So did Jacob's. "How did you know though?" Why did he have to keep asking? "The first time I saw you, you were walking down the corridor to your locker. I was sat reading at the bench near the door to the labs and..." A smile ran across my face as I recalled the memory. Lost in the moment, it took me a little while to remember that I wasn't alone in the bathroom. I quickly looked down to the floor, humiliated. "Oh." Something in his voice made me think he wanted to say more. Before the awkwardness could continue, I chose to end his suffering. "Look," I said to him as mellow as possible. "I don't expect anything from you. I just want to be left alone with this so I can deal with it..." I went back to the stall to grab my stuff. "...by myself." I found it difficult to look him in the face. I just needed to get away. "We haven't got long `til the test and I can't afford to miss another one. I still need to look at my notes one more time. I already have to make up for this morning with extra credit stuff," I griped. I felt his eyes on me as I headed for the door. Without realizing, I looked back at him. His eyes were lost and confused. I felt bad for piling my shit on the guy...but he did ask. I flashed him a small smile, but I instantly regretted it. I rushed out of the bathroom and heard the end lunch bell ring overhead as I walked down the hall. Before I leave you, I wanted to once again recommend: OPERATION: COLLEGE QUARTERBACK Hot sex scenes and an amazing storyline with incredible characters. My favourite. /nifty/gay/college/operation-college-quarterback/ FALLING FOR A STRAIGHT GUY A great, slow paced story about a young, very likable guy. I edit this story now. /nifty/gay/highschool/falling-for-a-straight-guy/ QUARTERBACK WITH THE EMERALD EYES The longest story I ever read with on Nifty with constant new storylines to keep you entertained! It will make you yell out "Oh, God, WHY NOT ME?!" many times! Awesome! /nifty/gay/highschool/quarterback-with-the-emerald-eyes/ HOUSE PARTY I just started reading this one today and it's really good. The characters are some of my favourites. /nifty/gay/highschool/house-party/ Other stories I have recently come across: DYLAN'S DILEMMA Another long story. It's not really about the sexual conquests of this young guy, but more about his learning of being gay and how he approaches his new life style. Some may like it, some may not. I do. Good characters and interesting plots. Very realistic really. /nifty/gay/highschool/dylans-dilemma/ Let me know what you think of them! And my own of course! Response to mac_manap@msn.com Personal replies will be sent a.s.a.p. Thanks again. H.Mac.