Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:18:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Smith <faretheeforeverwell@yahoo.com>
Subject: Stories from Haven - Kendal 2

DISCLAIMER

The following story is completely fictitious and any resemblances to
persons living or dead are entirely coincidental. Just as in life, this
story contains graphic scenes of love and hate, life and death, joy and
sorrow, as well as material that may be offensive to some audiences. If
such material makes you feel uncomfortable, then please read no further
than this warning.

Send questions and comments to thatguywhowritesniftysmut@gmail.com

KENDAL - CHAPTER TWO

The room was dimly lit from the hallway beyond; its tall book-filled
shelves casting shadows in the small room as the boy eagerly awaited his
promised story. Clad in soft and warm pajamas, the boy of seven or so had
taken great care to take his bath, brush his teeth, change into his PJs and
settle in under the covers of his new warm bed as snowflakes danced outside
his bedroom window. His bright multi-colored eyes seemed to shine with
excitement as he heard the tell-tale creaking of the floorboards outside
the hallway.
     The light from the hallway was extinguished by the shadow of a giant.
     Rather than cause alarm in the small child, the boy seemed to overflow
with newfound excitement; his toes wiggling under the covers of his
bed. Flashing a toothy smile towards his giant—sans a couple
teeth—the hulking figure took pity on the boy and returned the friendly
smile. Making his way into the room with lumbering strides, the man closed
the distance between himself and the boy in three large steps. Sitting down
on the side of the boy's bed, the sturdy piece of furniture slightly gave
way to the man's mass, causing a small eruption of giggles as the boy found
himself sinking into the mattress.
     "Quiet now," the giant gently hushed with a grin, "otherwise no
story."
     The boy went instantly silent, barely daring to breathe less he lose
the opportunity to hear a new story from his daddy. The man, dwarfing the
small child, gently leaned down and kissed his son on the forehead and
eased him down into his bed. With hands the size of shovels, the man
delicately tucked the child into bed, making sure his small body was secure
and safe from the cold.
     "Alright, alright." The man comforted, "Let me see..."
     The boy waited for what seemed like eternity as his giant contemplated
what tale to gift the boy with tonight. Since it was Christmas Eve, he had
hoped he would get to pick a story for the man to read to him, but when his
daddy had told him he had a very special story to tell him, the boy had
been overjoyed. He hoped his daddy hadn't forgotten the story.
     "Once upon a time..." the giant began.
     Good so far, the boy thought to himself.
     "...there was a mighty king. He ruled a magical land filled with every
kind of person and creature imaginable. There were elves and dwarves,
gnomes and goblins, dragons and phoenixes, wizards and knights. It was a
magical land that existed in a place called Dream. The land of Dream was a
peaceful place where everyone was happy. Everyone, that is, but the king."
     "Why was the king not happy?" the boy asked.
     "Well, you see, the king was lonely." The giant explained. "His wife,
the beautiful queen of the land, had passed away because of a mysterious
illness and he was left all alone. He tried not to let the sadness of the
queen's passing make him sad, but sometimes late at night he would pray to
the powers that be to send him someone to make him happy. He prayed and
prayed, every night he prayed for the powers that be to send him someone he
could love, and one night when he was praying especially hard, they heard
him."
     "What did they do?" the boy asked, "Did they send him a new queen? Did
they send him a puppy!?"
     "Shh, no. No." the giant chuckled a bit. "The powers that be said to
one another, `this is a good king who looks after the people, so we will
send him someone special for him to look after and to love him as he loves
his people so he won't be alone anymore.' And so they made him a
princess. They made her eyes different colors, to show how special she was,
one as light and brown as amber from the earth and the other as blue and
clear as the sky reflected in a pool of water."
     "Just like my eyes!" the boy exclaimed.
     "Yep, and they made her body small and perfect so she was just the
right size to be hugged and carried around by the king all day long."
     "Just like how you carry me around, daddy!" the boy said excitedly.
     "True, true, but when the princess was made they realized they had
forgotten to give her a heart." The giant explained.
     "Oh no! No heart!?" the boy said dismayed.
     "Nope, no heart. So, one of the powers that be said, `I have here half
a heart. The other half has already been given to someone else we made
special just for the world, but it is half a heart of true love. Let us
give the princess a heart that is one-half a heart of true love so when she
awakens to the realm of Dream, she will have purpose in finding the other
half of her heart.' And all the powers that be agreed, so you know what
they did?"
     "What, daddy?" the boy asked wide-eyed, having never known someone
could exist with only half a heart.
     "The powers that be cut open the chest of the princess and gave her
half a heart of true love." The giant replied, "But when they put her chest
back together there was a mark left behind to show where they had place her
heart."
     The boy reached to the top of his shirt and pulled the loose fabric
down exposing a scar on his chest right over his heart. He looked down at
the scar, barely believing all the coincidences between himself and the
princess in the story.
     "A mark like this, daddy?" the boy asked looking up to the giant,
showing him the scar.
     "A mark just like that." The giant confirmed as the boy allowed the
fabric to return, a little stretched, to its normal shape. The giant
proceeded to redo tucking in the boy.
     "So, was the king happy then?" the boy asked looked into his daddy's
eyes.
     "Yes," the giant smiled down, "the king was very happy. He was so
happy he had found someone to love, he never wanted to let the princess out
of his sight, but he knew that someday she would want to find the person
who shared the other half of her heart. So, he treasured each and every
moment he had to share with his princess."
     After a moment of silence, the boy looked up into the giant's kind
eyes.
     "Did the princess ever find the prince? Does she find the person with
the other half of her heart a true love?" he asked hopeful for a happy
ending.
     "I don't know, son." The giant replied. "That part of the story is yet
to be written."
     "I bet she does." The boy said as fatigue began to set in and his eyes
slowly closed. "I bet he is a pirate prince and they sail away with the
king... and they live happily ever after... and adventures..."
     The boy was lost to the realm of Dream, safely wrapped in a protective
blanket of heroes, princesses, pirate princes, and kind kings. The giant
doubted his nightmares would return tonight. Leaning down, he once more
kissed the mop of brown hair, sending with his kiss a silent blessing.
     "Sleep, my little Kendal drum," the giant whispered like a soft wind,
"the beating of my very heart."
     He prayed to the powers that be they would spare the boy further
torment from the dark memories and fragments of nightmares his gentle and
innocent mind could not possibly fathom.
     "Please," the giant softly begged, "spare him those painful memories."
     As the giant removed himself from the bed and quietly—or as quietly
as a giant can—made his way towards the door of the small room. He
gently half-closed the door behind him, allowing a sliver of light to
remain, a beacon of hope that the day had not abandoned the world; a
promise that tomorrow the sun would surly rise.
     The giant loved his son. He knew the boy played make believe and acted
out the stories he was read, and the giant knew his son would often times
play the role of the princess needing to be rescued. The boy may not know
it or fully understand it, but the giant was giving him a gift;
acceptance. The giant was giving his son the gift of unconditional love and
support, in the form of a story he might one day fully understand. He just
hoped his son wouldn't grow up too fast.

"I don't get it." Kendal said as he stared blankly at his charismatic band
leader. "Like, you want to do my stories... how?"
     The band was once again assembled in the garage adjacent to the youth
center called Haven, each member at their station. At the front of their
formation was Austin Decker, charming and dashing leader of DJ Orphan with
guitar in hand and microphone at the ready. On Austin's left was Eddy
Winters, quiet and calculating guitarist whose technical playing was
unmatched. On Austin's right was Samuel Connors, Kendal's boyfriend, whose
dark and sulking appearance blended well with his roll of bassist. Just
behind Eddy rested the keyboard/mixer setup devised for Olivia Waters,
Austin's aid and second in command. Behind them all, sitting at the full
drum kit, was Kendal Erikson, the beat of Haven's rhythmic heart.
     "Yeah, I am a little confused about that too." Sammy chimed in.
     For the past few weeks, while the band had been practicing, Kendal had
been telling stories. It had begun during one of their many breakings in
practicing and had been well received, so they continued. The boy would
tell a short story involving characters from a mythical realm called
Dream—a realm originally created for the boy by his own father. Each
tale told painted Dream a bit clearer in the minds of his band mates and
had become a welcome diversion from their music.
     "It's simple," Austin said. "I want to put together a few songs about
the characters from your stories. I think it would be really cool. Like,
take Jester the Blue..."
     "The Blue Jester, you mean." Kendal corrected.
     "Yeah," Austin replied, "Either way he has a really cool story and it
would make for an epic guitar duel. Jester the Blue verses Rage the Arcane,
but in music form. Plus the story of the first to Dream was really
awesome. What other ones?"
     "The Phoenix and the Dark Knight." Olivia suggested.
     "I really liked that one with the shape shifting rabbit kid warrior."
Eddy offered.
     "You mean Benny the Barbarian Boy Bunny?" Kendal asked. "He is a
hengeyokai; they are a race of spirits that can take the form of humans or
animals."
     "The Immortal Lovers." Sammy coughed quietly.
     "Yes," Austin grinned, "I did like the tale of the Immortal, forged
for the realm of Dream by the powers that be and given half a heart of true
love, only to find the other half of his heart residing in the chest of a
beautiful princess. If I had to pick parts, I would have to say the
description of the princess fit you to a `t,' Kendal... and the Immortal
would most certainly fit Sammy."
     Kendal froze. He had described the Immortal of his story as having
black hair like moonless midnight and piercing blue eyes like a forgotten
icy pool reflecting star shine. How could Austin have known he was talking
about Sammy? Kendal secretly hoped Austin didn't know, otherwise he might
kick them out of the band.
     "Sammy? Really? I sort of pictured the Immortal as being... you
know... more... taller?" Kendal offered feebly.
     Kendal looked over to Sammy and could see the bassist lower his head a
bit, as if contemplating whether or not he was too short to live up to
Kendal's dream prince. To his credit, Kendal was almost crying at the sight
of disheartening the boy he loved or making him think he was too
short. Unfortunately both boys missed Austin, Olivia, and Eddy as they gave
a communal smirk; oh, they were having fun with this little game of secret
love.
     "Well, either way, would it be okay? I mean, would it be okay to write
songs about the characters from your stories?" Austin asked almost knowing
the answer.
     "Of course," Kendal replied, happy he could help out the band, "you
can use my stories."
     "Excellent." Austin flashed a grin. "Olivia and I will work some stuff
up and we will run them by you for a screening. It will be a bit of a side
project between rehearsals. Speaking of which, shall we go again? Whose
list are we on now?"
     "We are all the way to Sammy's list." Olivia commented dryly. "Looks
like... Serenade by Steve Miller Band. Honestly, Sammy, you like Steve
Miller Band?"
     Each member of the band had been given the task of creating a list of
songs they would want to be able to cover using DJ Orphan. Austin had
reasoned it would be a way for the members to get to know the musical taste
of the others, hone their skills working together, as well as provide them
a solid pool of songs to pull from for different things they might want to
do. Sammy had selected Serenade by the Steve Miller Band and didn't know
why Olivia was scoffing at his selection... Steve Miller Band was good, or
so he thought.
     "Be nice." Austin countered, keeping his friend in check. "No one
complained when we did Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie."
     There was general chuckling from the other band members, although
Kendal did pipe in that he did like that song.
     "Fine," Olivia admitted in defeat, "what's the setup?"
     Kendal Erikson had never been in a band before, so he didn't really
know what to expect or how it worked with other bands. However, he did have
enough sense to know what DJ Orphan did was special. He didn't know how it
worked or why, but the process they used to learn new songs seemed almost
magical, and he had a sneaking suspicion Austin was the source. Each time
they would play a new song, it would begin with Austin. He would close his
eyes, as if listening carefully to the song at hand. After a few moments he
would let people know what they were doing. After that, they just played
and it seemed like as long as they listened to Austin and his music they
could follow him. It was sloppy at first, but once they let themselves go
and just followed the music, their playing improved and their retention of
the music was unbelievable.
     "Kendal and Sammy as they are," Austin replied, eyes still closed
listening, "Eddy, I want you taking the rhythm guitar and secondary
vocals... Olivia, you follow my lead and fill in the harmonies."
     Austin paused for a moment.
     "Has everybody heard this song before?" he asked almost as an
afterthought.
     Not everyone was as dedicated to music as Austin Decker and so Kendal
raised his hand as did Olivia. Giving Olivia the signal, she collected the
CD Sammy had brought with him and he told her he thought it was the fifth
track. So they listened.

As band practice came to an end, the teens secured their instruments and
packed up what they would be taking home. Kendal was excited because Sammy
had told him he had a surprise for him, but he had to wait until after band
practice. As everybody picked up the center, gave goodbye hugs, and made
their way towards the door, Kendal made sure not to be so clingy to
Sammy. Another night at Haven; another night their secret love was safe.
     Kendal's father was out of town because of work, again, so Kendal had
secretly hoped Sammy would spend the night. Unfortunately, he knew Sammy
wouldn't break his promise to Kendal's dad about not doing romance stuff in
their house, so he knew it couldn't be that.
     "So, you want to know your surprise?" Sammy asked as the two walked
home together.
     "Yes, please, Sammy?" Kendal implored Sammy as he clung to the older
boy's shirt sleeve, well out of sight of the youth center and Austin
Decker.
     "Well, for starters, you aren't going home tonight." Sammy grinned a
bit to himself.
     "Why not?" Kendal asked a little concerned. "Where am I going to
stay?"
     "Well, you know how I work at that hotel downtown?" Sammy asked the
boy.
     "Yeah." Kendal replied having heard Sammy talk about the hotel.
     "Well, my boss is out of town this weekend because of work stuff,"
Sammy explained, "and I've been working really hard and saving up... and I
sort of got us a room tonight, if you are interested that is..."
     "You mean, a room all to ourselves?" Kendal asked a little
mischievously. "Like, a place we can be alone that isn't school, Haven, or
my dad's? A place that doesn't have a `hands off' policy?"
     Kendal let out a devilish little giggle that was as infectious as it
was cute.
     "Ah, I see the puzzle pieces are falling into place." Sammy
grinned. "It is a suite, actually, and we will have full access to room
service and anything else we may require. I am going to spoil you stupid
tonight."
     Kendal was thrilled and a little nervous too.
     "So... you don't REALLY think I am too short, do you?" Sammy asked as
his cheeks turned a little red in the night. "I mean to play the part of
the Immortal in your story?"
     Kendal laughed a little to himself as he went up on his toes to give
his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek as they continued to walk peacefully in
the night.

"Why do you keep up the façade, you dork?" Olivia asked Austin as his
grandma drove them to Olivia's mom's house. "You go through all this
trouble of brining them together and organizing the band so they can work
together only to make them think they have to hind their relationship from
us. Granted, it's funny to watch them squirm, but don't you think it is a
little much?"
     The boy had sat quietly next to his hetero life-mate and listened as
she talked about Kendal and Sammy, but he was distracted.
     "Listen, it isn't like I TOLD them they couldn't be together; they are
the ones who reasoned I would have a problem with it." Austin explained. "I
just went along with it because it's funny, it brings the band closer
together, and you have to admit that forbidden fruit tastes better. Once
you think you are not allowed to have something, it increases the urge to
have it."
     "You're right." Olivia admitted a little coldly, knowing full well
what it was like to want something she knew she couldn't have. "Once you
think you are not allowed something... it makes you want it all the more."
     She gave her best friend of almost 10 years a sideways glance, but she
could see he was once again lost in thought, his eyes drifting dreamily
into the distance.
     "You spending the night?" she asked a little hopeful.
     "It's Friday," Austin replied as he gave her a heartfelt smile, "of
course I'm spending the night. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Friday."
     Some things never change, and Austin Decker being a hopeless dork was
thankfully one of them.

Sammy had, for the most part, treated Kendal lovingly like a small child
during their stay in the suite. He didn't know why, but he had a sneaking
suspicion it was because he knew what he was going to tell Kendal would
hurt a bit and he wanted to do everything and anything he could to help
ease that hurt. Both boys cuddled together in the large bed; the same bed
Sammy had shared many times with Mr. Creed.
     "Once upon a time..." Sammy began.
     Good so far, Kendal thought to himself.
     "There was a boy, a boy who was born with half a heart of true love."
Sammy said as Kendal snuggled back towards his boyfriend. "The powers that
be had given him half a heart of true love, but the boy didn't know
why. They had sent him into the world with a longing to share that heart,
but they had forgotten to give him someone to share it with. It was cruel,
the boy had thought, it was too cruel to give someone a heart in desperate
need of love without anyone to share love with. So, maybe because he didn't
want to feel the hurt anymore, or because he simply forgot how to, the boy
didn't feel love."
     Sammy felt Kendal's arms wrap tighter around his own, comfortingly.
     "So, the boy did what he could to survive in a world without love."
Sammy continued, keeping his own feelings of pain and loneliness from those
days long since passed at bay. "He had a few friends—he even had a
mother and a father—but no bond that could be called love; just
acquaintances and obligations. He had one friend, though; one who he knew
loved him very much. The boy wanted to please this friend, wanted to keep
the friend so badly he would do almost anything for him. So, one day, when
the boy noticed an older man—a business partner of his friend—who had
taken a liking to the boy, the boy had agreed to entertain the main on his
visits."
     Sammy could feel Kendal still holding tightly to his arms and Sammy
kissed Kendal on the back of his neck as he brought to boy closer still
towards his heart.
     "The man was kind, never forceful or hurtful, but the boy knew the man
was interested in the boy, in his mind, his body, and his soul. The boy's
mind had never been filled with much of anything except a want to please
the people who cared for him and his body was just a thing, so he gave it
to the man, but his soul... somehow, deep inside, the boy knew his soul
belonged to someone else."
     He felt Kendal stir in his embrace.
     "What happened to the boy?" Kendal asked with a waver in his voice.
     "As fate would have it, the boy was wrong." Sammy explained, "The
powers that be had not forgotten him, and they sent to him someone with the
other half of the boy's heart of true love. The moment the boy laid eyes on
this other boy, he remembered everything. He remembered what love felt
like, he remembered what true pain and agony felt like at the thought of
not being good enough for this boy, and he remembered what shame felt
like... at the thought of what... he had done in the absence of love. So,
the moment the boy saw his love for the first time, he made three vows. The
first, his soul would reside with his love forever, even if the boy's body
were to crumble to dust. The second, his mind would forever be filled with
thoughts of his love, even if the boy sometimes lost his head."
     "And the third?" Kendal asked hopefully.
     "The third, his body would never know another person as long as the
boy lived, he would belong completely to his love. And so, the boy met his
love, they fell for each other hardcore, but the boy knew in order for this
to be love, honest and pure love, he had to tell his love about this darker
part of his life. So he took the other boy to a castle where they spent the
night together, and as the night came to a close he told the boy a bedtime
story all about his past and the mistakes he had made, hoping in vain for
forgiveness."
     There was a brief moment of silence between the boys, Sammy's heart in
his throat.
     "And what was the other boy's reply?" Kendal asked as he slowly turned
around in his lover's arms to face him, their eyes locking together in a
seriousness Sammy had never known he could fear.
     "I don't know, Kendal." Sammy replied. "That part of the story has yet
to be written."
     "I bet the other boy still loves him because there is nothing that
needs to be forgiven." Kendal said as he slowly closed his eyes and
snuggled up to Sammy. "I bet they stay together forever... and they live
happily ever after... and have adventures..."
     Kendal softly snored into Sammy's chest as the older boy looked down
with silent tears in his eyes. He leaned down and kissed his love on the
top of his freshly washed brown mop and snuggled in with him, feeling their
shared warmth.
     "What have I done?" Sammy quietly asked the powers that be, "What have
I done to deserve such love?"
     "You're my pirate prince..." Kendal quietly mumbled in his sleep, "It
was fated... to be..."