Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:50:10 +0000 From: Mike Pryor Subject: Ascendancy Streets away, ambulances and the police all surround a car that's been badly smashed up. Two cars, one on either side of the road, a blue Volvo on the far side, a black Nissan Micra on the near side. The black Nissan being the worst off of the two... Nathan stirs in bed, a strange feeling looming over him like he was being watched. Which he was. He takes a second to collect himself and rub his eyes before he looks at the doorway and sees him stood there, he looks different this morning, but that's probably just the drowsiness Nathan thinks to himself. "I thought you'd left?" Nathan says, flopping his head back onto the pillow. "Couldn't leave without saying goodbye..." comes the reply. Caleb walks slowly over to the edge of the bed, and looks down at Nathan in wonderment. So handsome, even when he'd just woken up. "So are you leaving then?" Nathan says, feeling that Caleb wasn't going to continue. "Not just yet. I have a few minutes left before I have to go." Caleb reaches down and is just about to run his finger down the cheek of Nathan when he stops himself, recomposing himself quickly, he walks over to the window and looks down at the deserted street below. "Why don't you lie with me for a few minutes until you have to go?" Nathan says after a few seconds pass. "Because I'd probably fall asleep." Turning over in bed to look at Caleb stood at the window, the slightest feeling of deja vu coming over him, he'd been in the exact same place last night. Last Night. Caleb sat on the edge of the bed, the strewn up bed which had yet to be slept in so far tonight even though it was well after two in the morning. His thoughts were racing and his emotions had run on empty for most of the evening after the argument he had had, which was finally over. He raises his head and looks at the lone figure stood at the window, looking out into the darkness through the rain streaked window, the light and shadows playing upon his naked skin making him look even more magnificent to Caleb's lustful eyes. The room was almost dark except for the light from the window, from some streetlamp just outside, hard to even believe they could have had an argument in there, but they had. The tensions between them were building more and more recently, and the arguments were following, funny really, that in the last two years previous to the last three months they had only had one real bust up, and now they seemed to be a weekly thing. Moving from the bed he stands behind the figure at the window, admiring his back, his tousled hair, his baggy black boxers. Nathan. A picture of perfection, reaching his hands out he takes him by his hips just above the waistband of his boxers, holding his perfect skin, pulling himself into this boy wonder. Pressing himself hard into Nathan's back, Nathan feeling the warmth of the hot flesh pressing against his bare back. Nathan leans his head back slightly as he feels Caleb's chin on his left shoulder, his cheek rubbing against Caleb's, who moves his hands from Nathan's hips round his stomach and clasps them together just under his navel. "I'm sorry," Caleb says in no more than a whisper into Nathan's ear. Nathan lets out a deep breath. "You've nothing to be sorry for," Nathan says as he looks at the reflection of them both in the black glass that acts more as a mirror than a window. "So are we all right?" Caleb looks at Nathan in the reflection, his eyes looking tired and drawn, Caleb wanting nothing more than to just lay down with him and let him fall asleep in his embrace. "Yeah, we're good," Nathan answers, even his voice sounded weak from over exhaustion. Taking Nathan by the hand, Caleb leads him over to the bed and crawls under the sheets with him, again holding him from behind, their bodies tight together and Caleb's left arm over Nathan's body with Nathan clasping the back of his hand with his left hand. "Night, Cal," Nathan whispers as he closes his eyes and relaxes his body into Caleb's warm, loving hug. "Night, sweet prince," Caleb whispers back and kisses Nathan's cheek. Caleb lay awake for a few minutes listening to Nathan's deep breaths as he sleeps peacefully. Now. "Are you okay?" Nathan says, Caleb had never really been one for mindless chatter but even now he seemed a little too quiet. "I'm fine. Just thinking." "Thinking about what?" Nathan asks, sitting up in bed and resting his head against the wall. "About the first time we made love." Nathan had thought about that a lot too lately - great minds think alike, or whatever... It had been nearly a year ago now but he remembered how scared he had been, but how reassuring Caleb had been. He remembered how patient Caleb had been with him, even after he had made Caleb wait nearly a year into their relationship before he had let Caleb take him to bed passionately. Caleb was a great guy, but lately everything had been going wrong. The arguments had been pointless. "Do you remember how nervous I was?" Nathan chortles. "Christ, yeah," Caleb responds. "But to tell you the truth...I would've waited forever for you." Last Night. Caleb listens intently as Nathan breathes softly as he sleeps. Sweet Nate, his pet name that Caleb had given him, everyone else had come to call him Nathe, but to Caleb that sounded...well it didn't sound right. Although Nathan wasn't even his full name, only a select few people knew that, Caleb included...Nathaniel, but even to Caleb that had its own sexiness to it. He moves from the bed slowly, having to free his hand from Nate's grip in the process. Sitting himself at Nathan's desk, after he had plugged the headphones into the hi-fi and put his CD of choice in. The song made him feel sad, then again knowing that his time with Nate was nearly up made him sad also, he could feel the end coming, the arguments and the fact that they hardly had anything new to say to one another were big giveaways. The words to the song had more meaning tonight, he wrote the letter he was going to leave for Nathan letting his tears fall onto the page. Could this really be the end, he hoped not, but if it were...well he had written down his feelings for Nate, just in case he didn't get a chance to tell him. Now. "Well...I have to go," Caleb says somewhat solemnly. "I'll see you soon." "Yeah, see ya," Nathan tags on. Caleb stands in the doorway and turns, just about to say something but he doesn't, then mutters under his breath, "I love you," then leaves. "Goodbye," Nathan shouts after him, but gets no reply. The room stays in silence, an eerie silence that sends a shiver through Nathan as he sits himself at the end of the bed. He rubs his eyes again, then for the first time notices the piece of paper on his desk...he'll read that later. He looks over and through the sheets of his bed to find the remote control to his hi-fi, clicking it on, to whatever had been last listened to on CD the night before, the sound distant thanks to the headphones that were still plugged in. Nathan goes over and unplugs them, the music suddenly very loud. Opening the piece of paper, the ink almost unreadable thanks to the tears, only words like: I; miss; love; promise and forever, visible. (The Click Five - Baby Just Say Goodnight, re-repeats itself once more on the hi-fi.) A few streets away, the paramedics pull a body from the Black Nissan, oddly familiar too... But it couldn't be? Caleb... The End. All comments and criticism welcome - email: writerguy85@hotmail.co.uk