Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 22:36:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Virtual Diva <virtualinsanity78@yahoo.com>
Subject: Wade and Christian 3

Disclaimer:

This story is intended for adult audiences.  If you are not an adult 18+,
21 in some areas, please do not go on.

I have been writing for some years, but this is the first time that I have
shared my writing with the public.  Any encouragement would be well
appreciated and replied to at virtualinsanity78@yahoo.com

For those of you who have encouraged me, I want you to know I really
appreciate it and look forward to seeing your reaction to the coming
installments!

			            Chapter Two

	Wade stood beside Jonathan's locker in the crowded hallway. Jon was
sticking a picture of Shannon Callahan, his girlfriend of the past ten
years, up in a prominent position.

	Wade hid a grin. The two had been in love since Jon had poured milk
on her lap in the second grade. They were inseparable.

	"Don't you see enough of her every day?" Wade teased and Jon
laughed, staring at her picture for a moment. "You wish you were as lucky
as me," Jon said with a happy grin and Wade felt a pang in his heart that
he ignored.

	"What are you saying?" Wade laughed. "Being with Tiffany Taylor
makes me the luckiest guy on the planet."

	 Jon shoved some books into his backpack and slammed the
locker. "Any guy would be lucky to get a girl like Tiffany," Jon admitted
and Wade grinned. He was proud of the fact that the best looking girl in
the whole school was his girlfriend. What guy wouldn't be?

	As if she knew that they were talking about her, she rounded the
corner and stopped when she saw them, drawing rapt stares in her wake. She
was a breath of fresh air, a pretty little blonde with wide green eyes, a
mass of cascading blonde curls and a tight, flawless body displayed to
perfection in a clinging, flowery pink dress with a matching mini
sweater. She had used glitter on her eyes and she sparkled as she smiled at
Wade.

	"Hey, pumpkin," Wade said warmly as she approached him, her heels
tapping on the linoleum floor.  Wade admired everything about her, from the
pink butterfly clip in her hair to the dusky glitter nail polish on her
toes. Some soft, fruity fragrance wafted around her and Wade took her hand.

	"Hi," she said with a warm, shy smile.

	"How's your first day of school going?" he asked and Jon stared at
the pair for a moment. With Wade's tall, dark, and muscular good looks and
Tiffany's flawless blonde innocence, they seemed to be the perfect
couple. If he hadn't observed firsthand their genuine affection for each
other, he would have thought it was too good to be true. Still, Tiffany
worshipped Wade and whenever she cast those heart-wrenching green eyes on
him, Wade seemed to soften as well.

	"Good," she said happily, beaming. "Janice and Mary are in my
Spanish class."

	"That's awesome," he said and Jon turned away from the warm
intimacy in their voices. "You'll never believe what McNealy said to me in
fourth period."

	"What?" she asked, her bright eyes adoring his face.

	"New York State College is considering me for a football
scholarship," Wade nearly burst with the news and Tiffany practically
bounced. Her acceptance letter from NYSC was already pinned up on a
bulletin board in her bedroom. She had applied for early admission at the
end of their junior year and spent most of her months that summer at the
university's Cheerleading camp.

	"That's incredible," she gushed and Wade grinned. "I know," he
said. "It would only be a partial one. My dad would have to pay for the
other half and I wouldn't be in the starting lineup at least not the first
year."

	"So what," she exclaimed happily. "We would be at college together
and after you played for the first year, you'd be a starter for sure. I can
cheer for you from the sidelines!" Wade grinned at her enthusiasm. She was
always good for his morale. It never hurt to have a beautiful, sweet girl
like her support his every move.

	"Yeah," he said and pulled her close for a lingering kiss. He
admired her flushed face when he was done. It didn't matter that his body
didn't share in the excitement of the kiss with her.

	Wade had met her during their freshmen year, but hadn't even
thought to ask her out until more than a year later. The football season
was partially finished and Wade, along with Jon, was the youngest player on
the varsity team. Tiffany was a sophomore, too and a lot like Wade and Jon
because she had skipped over the junior varsity cheer squad and been
selected for the varsity squad, which was reserved for juniors and
seniors. He had heard of her before. She was popular with the upperclassmen
because she was so pretty and all the boys fantasized about her. Still, she
and any other girls had been conspicuously absent from any of Wade's
imaginings.

	When he was coming out of the locker room late after a game, he had
heard her faint whimpers and had looked around to find her huddled in a
corner of the hallway in tears.Against his baser instincts, he had gone to
comfort her. She had fixed watery, innocent green eyes on him and something
in his heart stirred.

	"What's wrong?" he asked and she sniffled lightly, her nose red and
her movements so completely feminine it was almost as if she was a
caricature of herself. Something about her innocence and vulnerability
struck Wade.

	"It's Tim Mathers," she said between sobs. "He dumped me."

	Wade watched her quietly, not knowing what to do. He awkwardly put
a hand on her shoulder.

	"He'll come back," he assured her, aware of her reputation as the
school's hottest girl even though she was only a sophomore.

	"No, he won't," she exclaimed, crying. "He wanted me to have s-sex
with him and I wouldn't. I'm not easy, you know. Just b-because I'm a
cheerleader and I'm b- blonde doesn't mean I'll put out to the first guy
that comes along."

	Timothy Mathers was a senior and the captain of the football
team. He was popular, rugged and handsome. It was purported that he only
had to look in a girl's general direction and she fell in love with him.
Wade had seen firsthand Tim's flawless perfection and here was this little
sprite of a sophomore telling Wade that she had turned him down? No doubt
that had rubbed the egotistical and puffed up Timothy the wrong way. Wade
hid a grin.

	"Well, if he's not willing to wait until you're ready then you're
better off without him," Wade assured her and she stopped crying and looked
up at him questioningly.

	"You don't think it's bad that I don't want to have sex?" she
asked.

	"No, I don't either," Wade said, lying through his teeth. Every
night he wacked off thinking about a certain pair of intense blue eyes and
a lean, tall frame, but he was talking about girls.

	"I thought all guys wanted to have sex," she asked, forgetting her
hurt in the face of this new discovery.

	"Nah," he said lightly. "I want to wait until I get married."

	"Are you serious?" she asked, brightening. "I do, too."

	"There's nothing wrong with that," Wade said. At least, she was
feeling better and that was his goal.  What did it matter if he wasn't
being exactly honest with her? He wasn't being exactly honest with anyone
these days.

	"You're so cool," she said warmly and smiled at him. A few months
later, they were a couple. Wade had taken a lot of slack from Timothy and
his group of super popular seniors when everybody at school found out, but
he felt comfortable with Tiffany. She liked him. She laughed at all of his
jokes, could spend hours sitting in front of the tv watching old episodes
of Taxi with him and she always made him feel great. To Wade, it was nearly
perfect.  He took her to the movies and to the school dances. They held
hands and kissed. They hung out with her friends and his friends and no one
suspected a thing.

	"Are you coming to the bonfire at Reggie's tonight?" Tiffany asked,
bringing him out of his reverie. Wade nodded.

	"Do you want me to pick you up?" he asked, giving her hand a little
squeeze and she shook her head.

	"I'm gonna ride with Kara," she said. "She's all spazzed out about
Eric and I told her we'd eat ice cream and listen to Sade after school."

	Wade laughed. Tiffany and the cheerleaders she was friends with
were always a source of confusion and amusement for him. Girls did the
weirdest things.

	"Okay," he said. "I'll meet you there."

	                                                               ***

	Christian stacked another piece of wood on his cousin Reggie's back
porch and groaned. "You're lucky I even did this for you, man," he said to
Reggie's massive back.

	"You're the best cuz I've ever had," Reggie exclaimed.

	Christian grinned. "I'm the only cousin you've got," he pointed out
and Reggie laughed.

	"Exactly."

	Reggie and Christian didn't move in exactly the same
circles. Reggie played football and was wildly popular and Christian was
much lower key. They were setting some things up for this bonfire Reggie
had planned for that night.  Christian had been grudgingly invited by
Reggie, but didn't plan to attend.

	"Where's the cute black chick?" Reggie asked, sitting down on a
step.

	Christian peered at his cousin's thick neck and frowned. "What do
you want with Lakiesha?" Christian asked.

	Reggie shrugged. "She livens up the place," he said. "You act like
she's your girl or something."

	"Whatever," Christian said and looked away. Reggie turned around
and looked at him.

	"Is she?" Reggie asked and Christian watched as Reggie's expression
became serious.

	"No, she's just a friend," Christian said slowly. Couldn't Reggie
see that he was gay? Everyone at school seemed to think so. Maybe he had
been knocked down on the football field too many times.

	"Does she like white guys?" Reggie asked and Christian's mouth fell
open.

	"Are you serious?" Christian asked and Reggie shrugged
again. "Every since that faggot Mannie of hers is out of the picture I
thought I might have a chance," Reggie said.

	Christian winced at his choice of words, but chose to ignore his
insensitivity and focus instead on what he was revealing. "How long have
you had a crush on her?" Christian asked.

	"Shit, since freshman year," Reggie said. "She was in my PE class
and she was better than some of the guys.  She could play basketball,
softball, tennis, you name it. I've had a crush on her ever since, but she
barely even knows I exist except that I'm your cousin and I've been kind of
scared of what everybody would think about the whole interracial thing.

	"But I saw her with Mannie and it felt terrible. I practically
killed someone when I heard he went to the Marines.  I was so fucking happy
to see the back of that guy. He's not even worth her spit. He's gone and I
got to thinking about how long I've wanted her and it's senior year
now. I'm kinda running out of time. So, I want to make a move. That's why I
planned this bonfire. I figured if you were here, she'd be here, too."

	"She'd come if I asked her," Christian admitted and Reggie groaned.

	"You mean, you haven't asked her?" Reggie asked, wide-eyed.

	"No, I didn't plan on coming," Christian defended himself. "I
figured you just asked me because I'm your cousin."

	"No, I asked you because I wanted you to bring Lakiesha," Reggie
protested. "She's like sewn into your side or something."

	"She's my best friend," Christian said. "I was gonna pick her up
after I helped you and we were going to go to movie or something."

	"No," Reggie said firmly. "Christian if there is any common blood
running through our veins, please do me this favor. Forget the movie, come
to the bonfire."

	Christian sighed heavily. A night full of obnoxious jocks and
bouncing cheerleaders? "None of your friends like me," Christian protested
and Reggie got this pleading look on his face.

	"I've never asked you for anything as important as this," Reggie
said quietly and Christian gave in. He had never seen Reggie express so
much emotion before. For awhile he had doubted Reggie's ability to speak in
anything more than grunts or one- liners and here Reggie had practically
given him a soliloquy extolling the virtues of the nubile and Nubian
Lakiesha. This would come as a surprise to her. Christian thought about
Mannie. Lakiesha needed the distraction.

				  ***

	The first thing Wade noticed about Reggie's bonfire was that
Christian was there.  Pressed up against a porch rail with a cup of beer in
his hand and an uncomfortable look on his face, Christian looked completely
out of place. Wade couldn't believe that he was there. It was completely
not his scene. Still, Wade knew that he and Reggie were related, cousins or
something. So, it wasn't absolutely incredible that Christian was
there. Reggie didn't throw many parties and Wade hadn't known what to
expect. Wade turned away from the sight of Christian and willed his heart
to calm down.

	Just because the guy was at the same party didn't mean that they
would have to talk to each other.

	"Yo, Harrison," a low voice called and Wade turned back around to
see Jon, Shannon, Tiffany and Kara coming towards him. He had been so
completely focused on Christian that he hadn't even noticed his friends
rounding the corner. He plastered on a grin and reached out a hand for
Tiffany. She took it willingly and grafted herself to his side, which was
just what he wanted. He felt that having her there beside him was almost
like a protection from Christian.

He looked up and saw the piercing blue eyes on Tiffany and felt a shock go
through him. All those years ago when he had told Christian to leave him
alone, Christian had done exactly that. There had been plenty of times when
he had wanted to take the words back or wished that Christian had been
stubborn and not blindly obedient. Perhaps even more than the vivid
attraction that he felt for the boy, he missed their friendship.

	With Christian, he had felt like he could say or be anything. He
had never felt so completely accepted or understood before or since. He had
never even forgotten Christian's phone number and had sat beside the phone
plenty of nights wondering if he dialed what would happen. But those were
thoughts that he couldn't allow himself. He had things set the way they
were going to be. Tiffany was by his side and his father loved her. There
was no turning back.

	"Thanks for coming guys," Reggie came away from the barbecue grill
and patted Jon on the back.

	"Thanks for the invite," Jon grinned and pulled Reggie down into a
headlock. Reggie squirmed for a minute and then picked the thinner up in
his arms and swung him around until Jon released him. "Don't forget what a
runt you are," Reggie laughed, setting Jon back on the ground. Jon was
hardly a runt, but compared to Reggie's massive form, it could be debated.

	"Yeah, yeah," Jon laughed and put an arm around Shannon, who was
laughing at him as he reeled a little dizzily.

	"There's beer in the keg and burgers and hotdogs on the grill,"
Reggie said and then he looked over in Christian's direction. Christian
motioned to him and Reggie started walking towards him. "Have fun," he
called over his shoulder.

	Wade pretended total and undivided interest in Tiffany.

				       ***

	"Why do I have to talk to him?" Lakiesha grumbled under her breath
as Reggie walked towards them. "I've seen him a million times at school and
he never says a word to me."

	"Maybe he's shy," Christian suggested.

	"Yeah, right," she returned, watching the huge, dark-haired guy
make his way towards them. She missed Mannie and she would rather have gone
to the movies with Christian so that she could complain about that.

	"Hey," Reggie said when he was standing in front of them and he
seemed a little out of breath. He kept his eyes on Christian the longest
and Lakiesha figured that he just didn't like black people all that
much. She folded her arms and shifted from one foot to the other.

	"Reggie, you know Lakiesha, right?" Christian said not at all in
his natural way, but in a scripted, contrived way. Lakiesha watched as
Reggie's eyes met hers and she felt like someone had punched her in the
stomach. They were so intense that she almost thought she was seeing
things.

	"Hi, Lakiesha," he said quietly and he held out his hand for her to
shake. She had no idea he was staking claim and she shook his hand
slowly. When he had it in his, he didn't let her go, but pulled her a
little bit nearer.

	"Hey," she said a little inadequately, feeling completely bare
naked in front of Reggie's persistent eyes.  They stood there for a few
moments, feeling awkward. As Christian watched the two of them, he knew
that there was something right about the whole situation. He decided that
he should give them some privacy and lifted his cup at them before sliding
down the porch rail and away from them.

	He really had no where to go. He wasn't about to put himself
through the torture of trying to fit in with any of the drinking jocks
there and he wasn't exactly the cheerleader type. Still, he couldn't leave
Lakiesha until he knew that she one hundred percent wanted to be left. He
headed off through the backyard and into the woods around Reggie's place.
He walked for a little while, away from the laughter and the music and sat
down on a rock. It was peaceful, almost like his own sanctuary and he
actually began to feel comfortable. Wade watched as Christian disappeared
into the woods behind Reggie's house. He was torn between relief that
Christian wasn't within his sight anymore and the desire to go into the
woods after him. He knew that was out of the question.

				          ***

	"Ohmygawd," Kara let out a one-word mumble and hid her face in
Tiffany's shoulder.

	"What?" Tiffany exclaimed, looking around.

	"Eddie," Kara whimpered and Tiffany gasped. Wade rolled his eyes,
unwilling to embark on another journey of the ongoing saga of Kara And
Eddie's crazy relationship. He looked at Jon who was joking around with
Shannon, tickling her belly button and making her laugh. For a moment, Wade
felt completely out of place, even among his best friends. Eddie made his
way towards the group and even Wade could admit that the guy was
cute. Maybe that was why Kara put up with so much of his crap.

	"I wanna talk to you," he said to Kara, loud enough for the entire
group to hear.

	"I don't want to talk to you," Kara said, practically screaming
already. Tiffany looked like a mother hen, ready to fight and protect her
nest. Jon and Shannon were in their own worlds. Wade edged towards the
woods, almost unconsciously. He would have liked to say that he didn't know
what he was doing, but inwardly, he did.

	Christian was nowhere to be found as he first entered the woods. He
thought about how much Christian liked to hide. Their youthful games had
always centered around that theme. Still, Christian had never been able to
hide from Wade. For a moment, Wade was a sixth grader again. It had been
soon after his eleventh birthday. He had endured a day of merciless ribbing
and teasing from the guys, Christian included because he was the last to
turn eleven. At the moment, he and a boy named Alan were the pursuers in a
cut throat game of hide and seek. Christian had taken almost an hour before
into the woods. One by one, Wade and Alan had hunted down each one of the
hiding boys, but for more than twenty minutes, they had all been searching
for Christian, the promise of finding him lingering on Wade's breath like
sweet candy.

	He had crept through the woods, slowly, stealthily behind all of
the other boys. As they passed a huge oak tree, peering in every corner and
every crevice, Wade stopped. The boys went on unaware of the sensation Wade
felt in the pit of his stomach. He looked and gray eyes collided with a
crazy blue ones. Wade felt his heart begin to pound heavily. He felt his
palms start to sweat. He stared for a few moments, then Christian grinned,
arms wrapped around his branch.

	Wade let out a triumphant yell. In the present, Wade simply walked
around a small corner and spotted Christian there on a rock. As he walked,
his foot snapped a twig.

	Christian looked up and his eyes caught and held Wade's. Wade read
accurately the swift and complete panic that swept across Christian's
face. Christian was the first to look away. Brave now, Wade completed the
journey he had come on and sat down on the rock, close to Christian, his
arm brushing the thinner boy's. Christian wouldn't look at him, his throat
was working convulsively.

	"Don't you want to know what I want?" he broke the silence.

	Christian still wouldn't look at him.
	 "No," Christian said in a soft, hoarse voice and Wade leaned back,
finally feeling as if he was somewhere he belonged.

	"Do you want me to leave?" Wade asked slowly and Christian just sat
there, blinking.

	 "What do you want?" Christian gave in, after an interminable
silence. Now that Christian was asking, Wade didn't know what to say. What
did he want? If the truth could be told, he would say that he wanted to put
his arms around Christian, run his fingers through his hair, kiss him,
stare into those blue eyes that had been haunting him and just be. But he
couldn't say that.

	"I want to make up," Wade said, his voice so low that Christian
almost couldn't hear him. Christian laughed, but there was little humor in
it.

	"That was five years ago," Christian shrugged, feigning
nonchalance. "It's no big deal, water under the bridge and all that." It
was nothing of the sort. Christian thought for a moment that he could
recall with exact precision each and every time Wade had looked through him
as if he did not exist. The sting of it cut like a razor blade, an electric
shock.

	"I'm sorry," Wade whispered and his voice was shaking. Christian
looked away, pretending that he was interested in something, the moss or
the trees. He didn't want to start bawling. He didn't want Wade to know how
much he was hurt.

	"Don't worry about it," he managed in a voice that was only vaguely
off kilter. He stared down at his lap again. He wasn't prepared for the
actuality, the presence of Wade. It made him remember everything. The days
he had spent in the woods, way up in his tree, trying to come to terms with
the loss of his best friend. The bus rides to and from school with Wade and
his friends laughing and a translucent Christian only a few feet away. Wade
and Jon becoming friends. Tiffany Taylor.

	"You've got lots of cool friends now anyway," Christian said. Wade
stared at him.

	"Yeah," Wade said, but his voice was hoarse and the wind carried
the words away. Christian counted his heart beats wondering how much longer
Wade was going to sit there. "I want to be friends again, Chris."

	Christian felt the acceleration in his heart, the blood rushing
through his veins. Sweat broke out on his upper lip.  He nodded
slowly. Friends, he told himself. This time he wasn't going to mess things
up. He wasn't going to forget for a second this time that what was going on
between them was friendship and nothing more.

	"That sounds cool," Christian said lightly, downplaying the
moment. He could think it over and shed tears at home when he was
alone. This time, he wasn't going to show any emotion.

	"M-maybe we can hang out sometime?" Wade suggested, relaxing now
that Christian wasn't pushing him away and Christian nodded. "We could
study or something."

	"Yeah," Christian agreed.

 	"You still good at math?" Wade asked and Christian laughed.

	"Kinda," he admitted. "I'm in Honors Calculus."

	"Well, hell, you can help me with Pre-Calc," Wade said and pressed
a shoulder against Christian's. Christian nearly jumped out of his skin. He
was off of the rock and a few feet away from him before Wade could blink.

	"Yeah, I could help you with Pre-Calc sometime," Christian said,
quickly, running his hand over the bark of a tree, pretending like nothing
was out of the ordinary. Wade watched him, taking in the flatness of his
waist in the baggy jeans and the breadth of his shoulders in his blue
sweater.

	"I could come over tomorrow," Wade said slowly, a slow drum of
desire welling inside of him, compelling the words.

	"Um, I gotta go to church with my mom," Christian said
slowly. "It's like the one thing we do together all week."

	"Oh," Wade said, disappointed and having a hard time not showing
it. Christian was nothing like Tiffany, who was ready to go whenever he
called.

	"But, you could probably come over some other time," Christian
said. "I do Calc homework almost every night. Maybe when you get out of
football practice one day or something?"

	"Yeah," Wade said, pleased again. Christian looked back towards the
party, hoping that Wade would leave soon. He wanted to digest what had
happened. He wanted to reason it all out in his mind and make it rational.

	"So, I'll see you later, I guess," Wade said lightly and he stood
up.

	Christian unconsciously pressed himself closer to the tree. "Yeah,"
he said awkwardly and Wade brushed past him and out of sight. Christian
could barely catch his breath and he watched the smooth, athletic figure
disappear from his sight.

					******

That's it for this chapter.  Wanna read more?  Please let me know and I
will continue to post! virtualinsanity78@yahoo.com