Love Me Chapter 20

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None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living or dead people.

This story contains some adult language as well as sex, or some hints of sex. I cannot promise that there will be sex in each chapter, but if you find my writing to be offensive or distasteful in any way, you're visiting the wrong website and need to move on.

Love Me

Chapter 20

Standing Up

This chapter sees Ryan, Riley, Caden, and Jared gathered around the coffee table at Caden's and Jared's house. The guys are reflecting on an experience that took place a few weeks ago.

"So, Ryan, tell me more about the bully issue a couple of weeks ago?"

Jared asks Riley's boyfriend. It would be hard for Ryan to describe the whole situation when he wasn't involved in the entire situation.

"Caden, I think you should start the story."

Ryan says to Caden, hoping that the older guy can clear up some of the gaps in his story. After all, no one likes gaps in their accounts.

"Sure, dude, I can help tell part of the story."

Ryan has no idea how that day started at Riley's house, so it's good that Caden is willing to talk about the morning of this day.

***

Caden is ready to begin the tale.

"It begins with me driving Riley to school. We didn't talk much, but I got a chance to hear my brother singing."

Riley blushes at the revelation that he likes to sing in the car. Caden softly chuckles, and Ryan smiles because he loves learning things about his boyfriend.

"When we arrive at the school, Riley does his best to get out of the car as quickly as he can. We say our goodbyes as Mr. Harrison, one of the aides, approaches the car to help Riley get inside the school. I always stay to make sure that they get inside without any incident, then, and only then do I leave. I think that I saw you, Ryan, waiting for them when they came in the door?"

Caden looks at Ryan as he waits for an answer.

"Yeah, I like to be there when he gets to school."

Ryan says as he pats his boyfriend on the back. Riley just smiles as he looks at him. Riley is grateful for the guy sitting next to him, a guy who proved himself to him many times.

***

Ryan places his mind back to the day that his tale took place. Allow to set the scene, Riley already has his lunch and is sitting by himself. Ryan is in line waiting to get his lunch, so he can't see what is going on by Riley. Another student is carefully watching our main character. Riley meets eyes with this other student. A chill washes across Riley. The kid snarled at Riley, and he knew the kid was trouble. Riley is scared silly, but he's hoping that Ryan won't be long. The kid spoons up mashed potatoes and gravy and launches it at Riley hitting his face. The kid mouths something to Riley, but Riley can't read his lips, so he ignores it. Another volley of potatoes lands in Riley's tray. Two people are approaching the table where Riley is sitting, and it makes him smile. Not everyone around him is happy, though.

***

The kid from the other table is eying his table as the kids approaching Riley.

"So, I heard from Blake and Ben that my boyfriend had mashed potatoes and gravy all over his face."

Mrs. Browning told Caden and Jared this part. Still, the memory seems fresh in Riley's mind. Then again, not much time has gone by between the attack by this bully and today.

"Yeah, we know all about the second bullying incident. Guess what we don't know is what was going on between Riley and everyone in the group?"

Caden says after hearing what Caden had to say.

"From what I heard, the kid that was causing trouble played nice while Blake and Ben were standing next to Riley. They decided to wait with Riley until I got there. They sat down with him and had lunch with him. Luckily, I wasn't too far behind them."

Ryan was a minute behind them. Ben and Blake made themselves helpful by helping Riley get cleaned up at the table as best as they could. When Ryan got to the table, it was evident that something had happened.

***

Ryan was caught up to speed, but he wanted to catch the goon in action, so he sat down and waited for the guy to act again. It didn't take long, either.

"Pretty soon, we were having wads of paper thrown at us, but they were aimed at Riley. I gave him my best intimidating glance, and the paper stopped. I had Blake get Mr. Harrison, but by before he could to our table, things went south. Riley reached over and tapped me on the forearm; that's my cue to take his hand. It was at that moment that the kid called us "Fags!". Now he had my attention, and I was not going to let him think for a minute that we were going to cower at our table."

Caden and Jared are glad that the young man took the stance that he did. It let him know that Ryan and Riley are not going to be targets of his hate.

***

Ryan pauses the story long enough to catch his breath.

"I immediately stood up and walked over to the other table. The kid didn't look too happy to see me approach him. He is nowhere near my size. I looked at him and said:

Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but where I come from, people don't intimidate others, so knock the crap off. You might just end up having a horrible day if you pull this stunt again. Leave him alone!"

Ryan even takes a second to flex to show his size to the crew. They didn't need to see his muscles, but he figures it added to the storytelling.

"I did my best to emphasizes the "Leave him alone!" part. The other kid looks at me and just stares for a second. I don't think that I intimidated him at first. But then he looks at me and says, "Why should I leave him alone?", and then I told him that, if he didn't leave Riley alone Mr. DeSoto was going to deal with him, and I also told him that I was going to deal with him. Left it at, I wasn't about to let anyone mess with my boyfriend."

Caden smiles, but he is also afraid that Ryan might push a bully too far and end up in a fight. Ryan is the type of person who will more than likely defend himself, which means he would get suspended also.

"Look, Ryan, as much as would love to see one of these guys getting a black eye from you, I don't want you getting hurt or suspended either."

Caden tells Ryan to make sure he understands that it's okay to defend Riley, but at what cost.

"Thanks, Caden, I won't fight unless I have too. I also made clenched my jaw and looked at that kid straight in the eyes, and did everything I could to intimidate him without throwing a punch; I wanted him to know that I wasn't about to back down when it comes to Riley. Mr. Harrison was watching me the whole time too, so if the kid did start something, I had a witness that could vouch for me."

The news that someone was watching him sort of helped ease Caden's and Jared's fears. They don't want to see Riley bullied any more than they want to see Ryan having to defend him physically.

***

After thinking about what Caden said to him, Ryan starts up the tale of the day again.

"I looked into Riley's eyes and could see that he was still scared. I was pretty sure that Riley wouldn't want to deal with the bully. I was pretty sure that Riley wouldn't want to get the kid in trouble, but I knew it was the right thing to do, so I convinced him to talk with Mr. Harrison. I could see him struggling with what I said, so I gently took his hand, and we walked up to Mr. Harrison together."

Riley reaches for his boyfriend's hand as and looks at his brother and Jared. One might think that the Riley was anxious. Nope, he is letting Ryan know that he loves him for being there for him.

"When we approached Mr. Harrison, Riley not only told on the kid, but he also pointed him out. I was so proud of him."

At the time, Riley wasn't sure that he could tell on the kid. The last time, the bully threatened to beat up Ryan, so what would this guy do to either him or Ryan.

"Riley, I'm proud of you. You got up right in front of that guy and turned him in, good job brother—Ryan for supporting him.

Caden gives Riley a thumbs up which makes Riley laugh.

"I...am not a...child anymore."

Riley says with a beaming smile on his face. Caden looks at him and says:

"Maybe not, but you will always be my baby brother."

Riley doesn't phrase "baby brother." He thinks that Caden could have said it differently.

"Riley, it's cool. Caden doesn't think you're a baby. He was just saying that you'll also be younger than him."

Jared could see tell that Riley was having some issues with what Caden said, so he put his spin on it, and Riley was okay with it. Ryan is just about done with this part of the story.

"Anyway, we stood by Mr. Harrison while he texted Ms. Browning. After doing that, he looks at us and tells us to either sit back down or go to the classroom. Riley didn't want to hide in the classroom, so we sat back and spent the rest of lunch together."

With that said, Ryan smiles, and as he does, Riley kisses him on the cheek. Ryan knows that the next part of the tale is going to be a bit sketchy because he doesn't know exactly what was said.

***

Caden picks up the story from where Ryan left off, and it's a good thing, or there would be a considerable gap in the story. He speaks up, and all eyes are on him.

"So, before the day ended, I got a phone call from Ms. Browning. She wanted me to know that two kids stepped up and helped stop a bully in his tracks. I'm telling you; she was practically smiling through the phone. It has been a while since I have heard anyone smile over the phone. When I heard there was another bully, I wasn't exactly smiling, but when I heard that two kids stepped up and stood up for my brother, I was thrilled. I know, I said thank you already, but thanks again, Ryan. It meant a lot to have you defend Riley. Anyway, back to the story, she told me that they already knew who the bully was, she had already spoken with Mr. DeSoto and that he would be spoken with a fair punishment given for his actions. Mr. DeSoto was going to make an example of this kid, but I didn't think that was far. I thought maybe time in your club might help him out, and Mr. DeSoto agreed, but the kid will also be cleaning the lunchroom too since he decided to throw food."

Riley gave his boyfriend to thank him for everything that he has done for him, but mainly what he did that day in the lunchroom.

"Did...did...you...know...know it was Ryan?"

It took everyone a second to understand what Riley was saying. He was asking his brother if he knew that Ryan was one of the kids who stood up for him. It ended up that Ryan didn't know that at first, but he figured that out eventually. Caden hopes that Ryan will continue to stand up for Riley.

"Not right away, no, but I'm glad that he was there to put this guy in his place."

"Thanks, Caden, I was glad that I was there too. I was lucky to get in line when I did; otherwise, it might have got worse."

Jared would have said something but he ended up taking a little nap amidst all the talking.

***

Jared would have congratulated Ryan for being there too. He would have smiled big time. When he saw Riley give Ryan a hug, he would have given Caden a little peck on his face. No doubt that he would have mentioned how his heart sank a little when, he heard the news of the bully. Caden was going to wake him up but he thought he looked cute resting his head on Caden's shoulder. Snapping a few pictures, he wanted to remember this moment. There is more story to tell, so Caden stops looking at his handsome man. Ryan's turn to continue to story.

***

Ryan looks at his everyone's faces before he begins the tale. It starts off right after Ms. Browning's call to Caden ended.

"I was sitting in Blake's dad's class when Blake and I got called to the gym to speak with Ms. Browning. Now, I must admit that I was a little sweating it a bit. Blake and I showed up at the gym and Ms. Browning waved us over to her. She told us about her call to Mr. Bishop, and he wanted her to thank the two guys who helped put a stop to the bully. She thanked us for helping Riley out and then told us how proud she was of us for sticking with the plan that we made."

The guys look at Ryan and smile. Even Riley gives him a cute little smile and a wink. Jared wakes up and catches Caden smiling at him, so he leans in and kisses his boyfriend on the lips. Caden has something that he wants to add to the discussion.

***

Caden again looks at everyone before he starts to speak. He just wants to make sure that everyone is listening to the story.

"After I spoke with Ms. Browning, I was stressing pretty bad. After all, that was the second episode of bullying in less than a week. I was not sure if the bully was a friend of the guy from earlier. It was nice to see the you and Blake standing by my brother, but I didn't feel right with the bullying happening so close to one another."

Jared was concerned as well. Caden wants to give Jared a chance to say something if he wants too.

"Jared, do you have anything to add to what I'm saying?"

The teens are now looking at Jared while they wait for him say something.

"I have to agree that it was a little disheartening to hear that Riley had been bullied again, but yeah Caden was worried. I'm not sure what else could be said about the situation to be honest."

Caden nods his head and agrees with the other adult.

"You...you were...worried about me?"

Riley can't believe that Caden was worried about him. Why shouldn't he be worried about his brother?

"Riley, I'm always worried about you little brother."

Caden tells his little brother. These two brothers have been through a lot together and they will continue to go through things. Ryan isn't done with his retelling of that day.

***

Ryan is getting ready to begin the story again. He starts up talking again.

"We had finished up our talk with Ms. Browning when Mr. DeSoto called Blake and me down to his office. He wanted to talk with us about the incident. We were expecting him to talk to us about what happened for clarification, but what he really wanted was to reward us for protecting one of his kids, which is weird to hear. Still though, it was great, because who doesn't like to be told that they did something amazing?"

Ryan winked at Riley, who was quick to say something in response to Ryan little flirty wink.

"I...I...think, you...are amazing."

For as long as these two guys have been dating, Caden still isn't used to hearing them flirt with each other. It's cool when you think about how good Ryan is for Riley.

"Thanks Babe!"

Ryan says to his boyfriend. Jared smiles at the teens, and pats his boyfriend on the back.

"So DeSoto called you down just to thank you guys?"

Ryan nodded his head to answer Caden's question. Mr. DeSoto wanted to do something that would encourage Blake and Ryan to keep doing what they did for Riley.

***

What happened next though has to come from the mouth of Riley. See, after Ryan and Blake got called down, it was Riley's turn to be talked to by Mr. DeSoto. Every student in this school are under Mr. DeSoto's protection but the students in the special education program are especially under his care.

"Mr. De...Soto called me...down to tell me, that...that he was concerned...about me. He...told me...that he was worried. Promised me, that I...will...be safe."

Caden wonders if they move again, will Riley be as lucky as he is now. At this school, Riley has had so much luck. The school hasn't been great for Riley, but it hasn't been totally bad either.

"I love Mr. DeSoto. The guy goes above and beyond for his students."

Caden tells everyone in the house. Jared nods his head, and Ryan agrees with Caden too. It's with that that the tale is more or less over, but as the narrator, I can't end this chapter there.

***

Jared takes over telling the story at this point. Jared knew that the day had been rough, and he thought that they could all use ice cream.

"I heard Caden talking to someone on the phone, and then he stopped in at my office to ask if I wanted to ride with him to pick up Riley. I had my work finished for the day, so I agreed to drive out there with him instead of taking his car. Honestly, I was worried that Riley wouldn't recognize the car, but that wasn't an issue. He came out to the car with Mr. Harrison and Ryan. As we left the school, I had an idea. We needed a chance to enjoy the day just a bit. So, I suggested having ice cream, which, of course, was a big hit with everyone."

Jared drove out to his favorite ice cream parlor. They spent an hour sitting there talking about anything but school. Jared drives back to the school to drop off Ryan so he can get his car, and then the guys head for home.

***

As the narrator, it's my job to inform you that the guys are done telling you about the rest of the day. It's my job to tell you about the rest of their day. After at home, Caden takes his turn, making dinner. While he's cooking, Jared takes Riley outdoors to play basketball. It's not something Riley is good at, but he likes spending time, Jared. Riley thinks having Jared around is cool because it's like having another big brother.

"Jared, you...you love Caden?"

Jared knows that Riley doesn't need him to answer this question. After all, he hears them telling each other that they love each other. He sees them exchange kisses and hugs, so yeah, he shouldn't need a reminder about how Jared feels about Caden, but Jared won't ignore the question. Jared makes it a point to reply to all of Riley's questions. He feels it would be rude, but it's hard to know sometimes if Riley has honestly forgotten something or if he is asking for some unknown reason.

"Yes, I love your brother. "

Riley smirks just a little, which could mean that he was asking for some unknown reason. Jared is counting down the days till he can ask the question and make themselves honest. Answering the question, Riley and Jared go back to basketball.

"Jared, Riley, time for dinner."

They stop their game and come in for dinner.

***

An hour after dinner, the guys get a visit from Ryan. Ryan and Riley take a seat in the living room. Ryan likes to come over to read Riley's skateboard magazine with him. They enjoy time their time together. It usually takes an hour to read it. When they've read through it, then they typically have a bowl of ice cream enjoy some cookies, but since this is Friday night. Caden offers Ryan a chance to stay the night with the understanding that the guys sleep in the living room in sleeping bags. Ryan accepts, and the couple spends the night talking and enjoying the evening.

***

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