Re-Edited - Draft One

 

The regular warnings apply as always. Consider charity for nifty's awesome service. Please don't alter or reproduce my work without first contacting me.

 

Feedback would be appreciated, if you would like to send me an email. Please do.

 

A SIDE NOTE; this is just an updated version of EIWT Draft 1. A full book, with new characters, scenes and plot is coming soon as an Ebook.

 

Contact and find me on these sites. I'll be posting daily updates on Tumblr.

Email - danny2017writing@outlook.com

Twitter - @author_daniels

Tumblr - dannywriting2017

 

For anyone who is interested, I have other stories on nifty. I will list them at the end of the story.

 

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Many thanks;

 

To my friend and editor Leo, who has spent a great number of hours revamping the face of EIWT.

 

To my friend and fellow writer Hunter, for all the support he has shown during the course of my writing. Check out his story Open Hearts.

 

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Songs In This Chapter

 

1.    Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers

2.    Moon by Sleeping At Last

3.    Somewhere In Between by August Wilhelmddon

 

 

In The Last Chapter: The events of the last chapter has left Sam's head in an awkward and stressful place, so much so that he lashed out at the people

he believes are acting selfishly. He tries to smooth things over with Ethan and make things work in the previous chapters, but all to no avail.

 

Even If We Tried

by d.k. dANIELS

Part 10 - Segment 2

 

 

The next morning, I crawled around the house with not much ambition to do anything.

My mom decided not to call me for school, and I soon found out a little later that Austin didn't go to school either.

Heading down for a late breakfast, I poured myself a bowl of cornflakes and added the cold milk and dug in.

Eating at a slow pace I just sat in the silence as my mom went around cleaning the house.

I must have been sitting there for a quite a while, because she came in and out of the kitchen about ten times before she finally asked,

"Sweetie are you finished with your bowl?"

 

Moving the bowl out into the centre of the breakfast bar I lay my head down on the counter and started to cry.

Within seconds I felt my mom's hand cloak my back as she pulled my head up off the countertop and held me close to her chest.

She had such a delicate touch; it was so nurturing. In a raspy voice, I said "Mom, I'm really confused",

as I wiped my tears with the cuff of my pajama top.

She loosened her grip a little as she looked down at me; with one of her hands she ran her palm over my eyes,

wiping the tears out of my sunken sockets and she also brushed my messy hair up off my forehead.

 

"Shh", she whispered before saying, "Sam, talk to me honey."

 

With a muffled sob, I said "Ethan won't talk to me."

Mom just drew in a relaxed breath and said with a nurturing tone "Sometimes friends fall out hunny."

 

"No", I declared and nervously rushed through the next thing I was about to say.

"He won't talk to me because... because I like someone."

 

"So, do you think he's jealous?" mom offed in a hushed tone.

 

Confused with her question I asked "What do you mean?"

 

Giving a small smile she then returned to my question, "With you having other friends."

At this point my crying had subsided a little and I could feel the cool air from the wet streaks that

were left along my cheeks where the tears had descended.

 

"No mom", sigh. "Ethan tried to kiss me, and then he pushed me and called me a faggot."

 

"Ethan kissed you?" she asked with a curious melody to her voice, so much so she was almost blushing for me.

 

"Ugh... no, mom... eh, why would he do it and then call me that?", I said all in one go, almost running out of breath.

 

"You said you liked someone; if that's not Ethan, maybe he feels rejected.

 

"Rejected? For what?" I asked, now feeling content enough to open up about the sensitive issue.

 

"Maybe he is your best friend; but have you considered that he may have a crush on you?"

 

Then something I hadn't thought about suddenly started to be pieced together.

I never thought of things this way, but it became evident now that my mom had pointed it out.

Why did things have to be so muddled and awkward.

 

"So...So...", I struggled trying to find the words with my new-found discovery. "You thin... you think,"

I stumbled, trying to pronounce the syllables, in a state of cringe. I covered my eyes in disbelief and squealed, "Oh man!"

 

Drawing my conclusions in my head I then asked, "So how do I tell him I want to be friends?"

 

My mom then added teasingly, "You say you just want to be friends."

As she gave my arm a gentle nudge to try and cheer me up, it did make me crack a slight smile,

but I don't think it was enough to completely cheer me up.

 

I turned to her to where she leaned against the countertop to take the weight off her feet and asked,

"But what happens if he doesn't want to be friends, like how can you be sure? He said he likes girls!"

 

"Maybe he was trying to act normal, so he could better understand his feelings before he told you anything. Or maybe he just loves you."

 

Cringing and flushing with embarrassment I stated, "Love is a big word."

 

"I know hunny, but you can't deny what the heart truly wants," my mom offered back to my statement.

 

Thinking of what to say next, I thought about bringing up the locker incident, but decided to skip that and I just went straight for the kill.

 

"Mom...", I weakly stated.

 

"I'm being bullied."

 

"By whom?" she probed, turning to face me with a gloomy stare.

 

Drawing in a breath and letting it escape in a puff I said, "it's happening in school."

 

"Do you know who they are?", she asked, clearly wanting to know.

 

"Yeah, but I don't want to name anybody, I stated gravely.

 

"Okay hunny; will you promise me that you'll tell me when you're ready?"

 

Taking a moment to think, I clearly said "I promise."

 

She cupped my chin, and raised my head to meet her eyes and proudly said, "in case you think that nobody is on your side,

I just want you to know... that I'm your biggest fan."

 

Smiling softly, I felt my heart melt in my chest.

I stepped down from the stool and gave her a proper hug and then stepped back, and looked up at her.

"Mom can I meet my friend Austin, he's out of school too."

 

"Is his mom home?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"I think so, I can call and ask."

 

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Song Four: Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers

 

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She nodded and I ran upstairs to my room and got my phone. I called Austin and in a couple of seconds we were talking nonstop.

It was good to hear his voice; it was an extra layer of assurance that I had another person on my side.

I asked was his mom around and he said that she was. Within a few minutes my mom had asked could she speak to Austin's mother,

and the two of them took our phones and chatted for a good portion of fifteen minutes.

My mom motioned for me to go get ready while she was on the phone.

 

I ran up and jumped in the shower. I wore something good, because you know I had a standard to keep up with, if I wanted Austin to still like me.

I styled my hair and brushed my teeth, after gargling with some mouth wash and by the time I arrived downstairs my mom was ready to take me to Austin's house.

In the car we talked about what she and Austin's mother had talked about;

she didn't really give much in details away, but she said that her son Austin has mentioned me a lot. Which made me nervous.

I think my mom possibly had made a friend because she started babbling on about some recipes that she talked about with Austin's mom.

 

Before I knew it, I was at Austin's house and I was being dragged indoors to the kitchen, where his mom had prepared a light lunch for all of us.

After lunch, me and Austin sat on the coach in the living room as the women laughed and talked for another twenty minutes

until my mom decided to say she was going.

 

While Evelyn, Austin's mom was waving goodbye to my mom, Austin turned to me on the sofa and said

"I'm taking you out to have some fun", and with that he gave a goofy smile.

 

"Really, where?" I asked with surprise.

 

When his mother arrived back in the living room she asked, "Are you ready boys?"

 

"For what?, I asked looking around to her behind the sofa: she had car keys in her hand and a pair of sunglasses.

 

"I'm taking you Go-Karting", Austin cut in with a giddy tremble that could be felt on the sofa, as he could hardly control his excitement.

 

Just like that I shot up, putting out my hand to pull Austin up, and his mom looked at us and smiled.

Austin gripped my hand and pulled himself up off the sofa and we both walked on ahead of his mom toward the front door.

 

On our way to the Karting track me and Austin cracked jokes in the back of the car,

the sun beamed through the sun roof and the windows of the land rover, the radio played a couple of chilled songs and everything seemed happy for the moment,

everything else didn't matter because I was here with Austin.

His mom started singing a piece of the song, Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers, that was currently on the radio and then Austin joined in.

It was such a cute moment. I didn't sing of course; I'm not that sort of person that usually sings,

but I just looked on and smiled at the two of them as they seemed relatively happy.

 

When we arrived, Austin shot out of the car ahead of me and I was right behind him, after I fumbled awkwardly to get my seatbelt off.

I opened the car door, got out and ran around the land rover to where he was standing against a chain link fence that was on his side of the car.

Peering through the entrance you could see people racing around the tarmac track.

Austin was so animated with all the emotions he must have been feeling. It was kinda awesome, the two of us were off school and we were out karting.

`Em was this a date, I asked myself. Nawh, it was just a day out, right?'

 

Austin turned to me and said, "Are you ready?"

 

I gave him a small nod and Austin reached out and pushed his open door closed and we proceeded to walk toward the archway that led into the track.

His mom caught up with us after she had parked the car.

In the forecourt area we walked up the young man that was sitting in the small admission booth that was built into the wall.

She paid for our admission and then we both pushed through the barriers and his mom followed closely behind.

We waited around for a little bit, and ate some junk food with the money Austin's mom had given us.

She said if we needed anything to come find her at the food court area, and with that we both set off doing our own thing.

When we found ourselves getting a little bored of hanging around, we decided to actually try racing this time around.

 

Queuing up at the small line, we waited about five minutes so that we could both be on the same track at the same time.

After that time had expired, we made our way toward the go-karts that were stopped on the finish line.

When I got to my go-kart I reached in and pulled out the helmet that the last driver had tossed onto the seat when he was finished.

I quickly put my helmet on and sat into the seat in the kart. I adjusted the straps so that the helmet was a little tighter.

I then was all ready to go. I glanced over at Austin to see if he was ready, but to my surprise I found him in a cute predicament;

he was having problems with his helmet.

The fastener wouldn't close, so I hopped out of my kart and strolled the couple of feet toward him.

Smiling I slapped my hand down on top of his helmet, and he looked up with a bashful smile.

 

"Are you having trouble?", I wittily asked.

 

I then crouched down and brushed his hands out of the way, where he was trying to close the grip.

I readjusted the straps and made sure it was secure on his head before fastening it.

"There," I said, "we gotta make sure you don't break anything."

 

We both chuckled at that and I then returned to my kart and sat back in the bucket seat.

I glanced over at Austin, who gave me a giddy thumbs up; it was almost like he was on a lot of sugar.

It was so funny to watch, but adorable at the same time. "Thanks," he said as he returned to a moment of sincerity.

 

Locking the six-point harness, I then heard the young woman who must have been about twenty that was watching over the people on the track,

ask, "Are youse ready?" When we both gave the okay,

she pressed the lighting system that emulated the traffic lights on either side of the yellow barriers.

The barriers where a multitude of lumber and rubber tires that held the track together.

They were all painted in a high visibility yellow paint, and the traffic lights only housed two colours, green and red.

Austin and I paced ourselves as we were waiting for the light to turn green and with the blink of an eye,

the bottom light shun a bright glossy green and I pressed my foot down on the accelerator.

 

The perpetual motion jilted me forward, however Austin got the lead for the moment.

I tailed quickly behind him, hearing the roar and shutter of the engine behind my seat.

I pushed my foot down on the pedal hoping that I could go faster.

I don't think it quite worked, but after I did that I caught up with Austin and grazed the back bumper of his kart and he skidded slightly but got control back.

I used his momentum to break the wind that would have slowed me down from overtaking him,

and on one of the final bends I navigated into the dip in the road where the sharp turn was and overtook him.

"Hey", he roared, while he smiled. I could feel the wind rush by me.

It struck my face and made my eyes water up on the second lap around the track.

 

We did ten laps, and then we stopped. I had won six of those races while Austin had won the last four.

It was fun, just messing around with him, and nobody to tell us that we couldn't have fun.

I was the first one out of my go-kart. I unbuckled my harness, got out of the seat and dropped the helmet back in the kart.

I walked over toward Austin, who was stepping out of the bucket seat.

He reached to unhitch the helmet and when he took it off, his hair was a little flat and it stuck to the sides of his temples.

It was noticeable that some heat had built up inside the helmet and made his hair a little damp; it hung loosely and freely now.

 

He pushed some of the hair back and took in a deep breath before adding, "That was fun."

He lead on and I followed him back out the gate he had come in and started walking in the direction of where we had left his mom.

"I had a lot of fun today," I added. "Thanks for a great day, Austin" I offered gratefully.

 

He looked over at me and squinted as the sun was beaming down on his face. His face looked a bit moist,

and I could see a small dark patch between his nose and upper lip. I assumed that it was the start of a moustache that was growing, you know like peach fuzz.

It made me wonder how come I hadn't noticed any of this on myself. I mean, I never shaved yet.

I don't think I even knew how. I wondered if Austin knew how to shave.

 

We looked around for his mom for a couple of minutes and then we saw her sitting in the shade at a table under an umbrella, by a large hedge.

Panting a little we pulled up two chairs and sat down on them when we got to the table.

"How was it boys?", his mom asked as she looked back and forth between the both of us.

Austin looked beat; he looked like he was ready to sleep. I didn't feel all that tired but I did feel incredibly thirsty.

 

Austin just rubbed his eyes a little before he said, "It was good." After a couple of seconds, he asked,

"Can we have some money for something to drink." His mother smiled and she then dipped into her handbag and pulled out her purse.

She clicked it open and took $10 dollars out and handed it to Austin.

At this point Austin was slumped in his chair and he looked like he was contemplating using the remaining energy he had left to buy drinks.

But then he squinted over at me and had a sudden burst of energy. He asked,

 

"What do you want, Sam?"

 

I said I'd go look at what they had to offer and while I walked with him I had a sudden thought to try and buy the drinks with my own money;

Since he spent money on me, or well, his mom did, I thought it couldn't hurt to show a little appreciation.

That was until I heard him say, "This is all I have to my name, ten dollar; make it count, Sam." He chuckled.

We had finally arrived at the counter, and I was looking at what could be bought and then I saw the `homemade smoothies'

sign on the wall behind the person who was at the till.

 

Smoothies seemed like a viable option. The price said $5.60. Then I asked Austin,

"What do you want to drink," with a curious tone to it. I placed my hand across my chest and, said, "my treat."

 

"But... But," Austin stuttered. It was safe to say that I cut in over him and said, "But I'm buying."

 

He smiled and seemed to give in as he softly said,"Can I have a strawberry milkshake?"

 

I looked up at the milkshake prices; they were the same price as the smoothies. Digging into my pocket, I pulled out exactly 8 dollars even.

I became aware that I would be able to get one or the other, but I knew that the right thing to do was to treat Austin to this.

So I said to the middle-aged woman behind the counter "One strawberry milkshake and a bottle of water."

I decided on the water because the water was the cheapest, weighing in at 2 dollars. Austin was quick to ask,

"Are you only getting water?", but I was persistent.

I wanted him to have the milkshake, so I nodded my head and confirmed I only wanted water, even though I would have liked the smoothie.

 

The woman then handed the bottle of water over the counter to me after I paid and she started making the milkshake.

After a minute or so Austin was walking away from the counter with me, holding a straw in his mouth,

savouring the sweet taste of a strawberry milkshake.

 

Returning to our slumped positions on the chair I watched as Austin drank all the milkshake while I took little sips of my water.

Once we finished that we ordered a 16-inch margarita pizza and ate till our stomachs where about to burst.

Afterwards we packed up and headed back to the car and drove back toward my house.

Every now and then his mom would ask what turns she had to take and I gave her the directions.

After twenty minutes or so we stopped outside my house and we all got out and went inside.

 

My mom was glad to see that I had had a good day, but she was also a little more curious as she eyed up Austin.

I think she was starting to suspect the way I acted with him, and how I was acting right then. She didn't say anything of course, but I could sense it.

While we left the adults to the boring adult things, me and Austin headed up to my bedroom and chilled for a little,

while they talked it out and were becoming quick friends. I sat on my chair as Austin looked around my room more carefully this time;

he was taking everything in. The first time he was here he didn't really have time to take in the surrounding.

He asked about the PlayStation and I ran through the games I had, after which he agreed to add me after I added him, using the PSN app on my phone.

We started talking about his vacation he would be taking up in Seattle and then one thing led to another when he dropped a rather awkward question.

 

"So... where's your dad?"

 

Not sure on how to approach the subject, I tried my best to try and explain.

"My dad, you see, never really showed much interest or invested time in me; he just up and left about a six years ago.

I can still remember him, but all the memories I have of him are kinda foggy.

I remember him being somewhat of a typical dad; he didn't drink, or smoke.

He wasn't abusive; I think something just clicked and he wasn't my dad anymore and he walked out on us.

I did want to see him at first, but I became aware that he didn't want to see me. I found out that he got remarried and started a new family."

 

"I'm sorry", Austin said as he looked down at his scuffed shoes.

 

"What about you; where's your dad?, I asked.

 

Austin gave an animated answer. "He's coo;, he plays sports with me in summer, and helps me practice.

He taught me how to play baseball." But then Austin's voice dwindled and the lively voice settled down.

"He is always busy though. I'd like it if he was home more often, even one night a week. maybe we could watch a movie as a family or something,

but he usually gets in when I'm asleep."

 

I realized what he had said, but didn't offer any response. I just nodded understanding about how it feels to not have a dad in your life.

A couple of minutes later his mom called from downstair, announcing that they were going and I walked him out to the curb.

Watching him get in the car I said, "I'll call you later" and with that he got in the car and shut the door -- not breaking eye contact with me.

When his mom started the car he rolled down the electric window, and smiled.

Then the car rolled forward and down the street with his mother beeping the horn.

I waved at the car for a few seconds, I wished that I had leaned in and kissed him or even hugged him goodbye.

 

Around 6 pm I finally let my mom let me out without her having to baby or worry about me.

I knew I should of course but assured her that I'm okay.

I wanted to go for a little walk to clear my head and catch some sun before it completely disappeared. She agreed and let me out.

I strolled the neighbourhood for a little bit enjoying the cool warm evening that was on offer, but then I had a sudden urge to drop by Ethan's house.

I don't know why, but I found myself walking in the direction toward his house without actually thinking about it.

 

I ended up across the street from his house and even though I had come this far I hesitated to walk across the street and knock.

After about fifteen minutes I persuaded myself to go across the street and knock.

I don't know what I was thinking but I had to knock; it was like rational thought was no longer working these last couple of days.

Lifting my index finger up to the doorbell, I pressed the white button, and then the bell chimed.

I waited nervously for a couple of seconds until the door opened and a woman, the same age as my mom opened the door.

She had dark brown hair that was starting to fade in colour and soft green eyes. "Hello Sam," she said with a melodic sound to it.

 

Smiling a radiant smile, she said with a little pithiness to her tone,

"You just missed Ethan, Sam. I can tell him you knocked, if he comes back early," she then offered.

 

Looking down at the ground and back up at her with disappointment. I said lowly,

"no thanks" and little by little I wilted away from the door and started down the driveway.

 

Soon after that I was home and went to bed. I didn't go to school Friday either. I stayed home.

I'm not sure about Austin, because we talked last night and he didn't bring it up, so I'm assuming that he did his own thing.

I had told him how bummed out I was with Ethan though. I stayed home and played PlayStation most of the day.

I mean, I knew the exhibition was coming up but that was the least of my worries.

It was on Monday anyway; I had plenty of time to get ready for it.

Come Monday the following week Austin would be in Seattle, I quickly found myself wondering what I would do with myself while he'd be away.

It would be the longest week of my life.

 

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Song Five: Moon by Sleeping At Last

 

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Around 5 pm I got a message from Austin, it read,

 

Received: "Do you want to reschedule that appointment we made on Wednesday."

 

Immediately, the thought of sneaking out with Austin again trilled me. I quickly found myself guessing what we'd do for the night.

But I quickly sent back what was on my mind. I found myself wanting to really meet up with Austin and hang out, he was like a drug now,

I couldn't get enough of him.

 

Sent: "What will we do"

 

After a couple of minutes, Austin sent back

 

Received: "Something Mischievous; Meet at 11, outside school."

And with that the arrangements were made and I waited eagerly for that time to hurry up.

I showered and dressed, and made it look like I was going to have an early night to mom; but I quickly threw on a hoodie and pair of cotton track pants,

and snuck down the stairs and out the back yard when the time came.

Just like countless times before I struggled to free my bike as it had become tangled in the garden hose that was attached to the outside water tap.

But once I got it free I wheeled the bike out under my arm and mounted it in the front yard.

Pulling out my phone, I cheeked the time, it was 10:32 pm, and I went to Austin's chat log and started typing.

 

Sent: "On my way"

 

And with that I pushed away from the curb and started my journey to the school to meet up with Austin for the second time.

 

Pulling into the bus depot outside of the school building;

I skidded to a stop just short of the curb and dug into my pocket to get my phone out to inform Austin that I was here,

but I stopped when I saw a familiar figure coming down the hill in front of me.

I swung out of the bus depot and started cycling toward the person on the bike and we stopped right beside each other.

Austin stopped, facing one way and I stopped, facing the other. He was panting again, and he smiled across at me as he pulled his hood down.

His eyelashes protruded from his face against the street light and it made him irresistible in the current lighting.

He had one foot on the pavement between us.

I had both of mine on the ground for stabilisation; his other foot rested on the pedal of his bike.

He looked so cute and so snug I couldn't hold back, so I shifted all my weight to my left leg and stood up.

 

Leaning in I brought my lips to his and gave him a kiss under the silent streetlights that surged with power and

the faint buzz from the electrical current that passed through the transformer, high above our heads.

 

Shifting my weight back to my bike, I leaned back and he looked down at the crossbar between his legs and smiled but didn't say anything.

While I was looking at him I noticed that he had a rather large duffle bag hanging from his torso on the far side of his bike.

"What's the bag for?" I questioned.

 

"I... Uh, for fun", he stuttered in an adorable way; he had returned to his soft facial expression,

but you could tell that his soul was smiling from his eyes." Okay, so what are we going to do",

I asked looking around, to make sure no police were around.

Austin then shuffled a little and brought the duffle bag over his head and placed it on the cross bar between his legs.

"Where's Ethan's house?" He asked as he unzipped the bag. Ethan's house?

Why would he have a need to know that, I found myself wondering."

 

"Why?", I asked coyly at the oddness of his question.

He put his hand into the bag and pulled out a toilet paper roll, and tossed it at me. It hit my chest and fell to the ground between us.

I think I knew what he was suggesting.

I thought it was quite a rebellious idea, but I found it a little cruel to just target Ethan in specific,

but maybe this could be something we could do and target each of the bullies one by one.

It would be a fun little rebel adventure to embark on with him at night.

There's just something about being out after dark that that gives you this free feeling; you feel like you're not following the rules that everyone else is following.

I mean it felt bold and mystical, like we are not going to be held back by a curfew or a few simple rules. It is after all a free country.

 

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", I suggestively asked him.

 

"No, they're not for your ass, Sam" he shot back, making me chuckle along with him.

 

"Are we going to TP Ethan's house," I asked a little curious as I tried to uphold my moral principles.

 

"We can if you want to", he innocently said as he leaned down between us and picked up the roll that was on the ground.

 

Thinking about what was right or wrong, I found that this was equally a healthy balance at getting back at Ethan, even if it wasn't a huge thing.

I mean we weren't hurting anyone or damaging property, so I confirmed by giving an approving nod at Austin and offered, "I'll do it if you want to."

 

He threw the toilet paper back in his duffle and started to zip his bag up.

While he was doing that I took the cue, and stood up on my bike and gripped it by the handle bars and turned it around, the same as Austin.

 

Looking over at him, I waited for him to put the bag over his shoulder. He said giddily when he was ready, "Where to Siri?"

 

Smiling at his sarcasm, I started making a stuttering enactment of a satnav "Re...Re...Rerou... Rerouting."

He sniggered and I placed one of my feet on the pedals to start cycling.

Pushing down on the thin pedal, I moved slowly ahead of him and said, "After 1 mile, turn left."

He started laughing as he started to catch up with me. We both cycled down the remainder of the hill I had cycled up to meet Austin.

Turing left at the deserted intersection, we cycled down the main road that lead into Spokane.

After about five minutes of cycling I darted right and Austin followed me, matching my pace.

I was now on a small suburban road that had small bungalows on each side of the road.

Cars hugged the curbs, which tunnelled us into the middle of the road. Hitting the next intersection,

I went straight and before we knew it, I had stopped outside of Ethan's house.

 

The mint green Tudor style bungalow looked uninhabited. All the lights were out and all the windows were closed.

Everyone must have gone to bed early, I found myself making the most plausible conclusion.

Sighing, I stepped off my bike and wheeled it up on the curb and silently let it fall to the ground.

Austin did the same, and he quickly dismounted his bike and followed after me.

 

"Is this it?, Austin asked. Not too long ago I was standing in this very driveway talking to Ethan's mother.

His mom had always been nice to m;, she never had anything bad to say about anyone.

Even if Ethan was being a jerk, I knew deep down in my heart that he was lost.

I don't quite know how to describe it, but it seemed like he was lost or something.

Maybe it was because, well... what my mom said, maybe he's confused like I am.

Well I don't think I'm confused, but it does explain a couple of things if he doesn't want to talk to me because I'm hanging out with another boy,

who is in all retrospect the same as me, and possibly Ethan.

 

Austin cut in and mischievously said, "So, do you want to do this?" Gawking over at him, a slight grin crossed my face and formed dimples.

I knew that I wanted to do it of course. Austin dropped the bag on the grass in front of him, and bent down to open it.

For the first time, I found myself looking at his butt. I had never really looked at it before, but something drew me to it.

I don't know how to describe it; it was like plump and round, I guess, it looked, I don't know, good.

Then he turned and looked up at me and handed me two rolls.

I think he sensed I was looking at his ass, but he just smiled and took two rolls out for himself.

 

Sighing from relief that he didn't say anything about me looking, I felt myself picking my brain.

Did he think that was weird, me looking, I mean? Did he like me looking?,

I mean, I liked looking, I think. But did he find it uncomfortable and just smiled out of nervousness?

 

Standing back up he turned and nudged me, "Ready?", he asked, as he started unravelling the toilet roll.

With a nod, I watched as he started running at the house quietly and tossed the roll over the porch section of Ethan's house.

He quickly ran to the far side of the porch and picked up the roll; some of the roll was spewed out across the roof of the porch section of the house.

Austin then took the roll and hurled it at a tree and started running for the roll.

I felt the adrenaline rush kicking in and I stepped forward toward the two cars in the driveway.

I opened the toilet paper and started wrapping it around the wing mirrors of the coupe and then tossed it under the belly of the car.

Jogging to the small gap between the coupe and minivan, I gripped the squishy roll and tossed it back over the roof of the coupe.

 

I did this a couple of times before moving onto the minivan.

I glanced at Austin, who had sprinkled the tree in the front garden with layers of toilet paper.

He was now focused on the number of small garden ornaments that were close to the house.

I then went back to the bag and fished out another roll.

I became aware of the amount of paper there was in the bag.

I chuckled at the rebelliousness of this deed and threw a roll over the roof that landed just short of the side entrance gate.

I looked at Austin who was still running around the garden doing his thing. I could see the bright light flooding through the gate.

I knew it was the floodlights from Ethan's swimming pool in his backyard.

I reached for the bottom of the gate and hoisted it up; just like always, the lock popped and the gate opened.

 

I could see down the narrow opening between the house and the garden fence.

I turned to look around for Austin. He scared the crap out of me, as I wasn't expecting him to be right behind me when I turned around.

 

"You almost gave me a heart attack", I declared.

 

"Don't take one of those", he mockingly chided.

 

**********************************************************

 

Song Six: Somewhere In Between by August Wilhelmddon

 

**********************************************************

 

Looking back down the side entrance I could see some of the shrubbery and the glow from the pool emanating and

flooding out onto the sandy gravel path.

 

Austin cut in again and said with a dramatic sounding voice,

 

"What did you find?"

 

Before I could say anything, he brushed through and started walking ahead of me.

Looking back out onto the street, to see if anyone was around, I called softly, "Austin, I don't think we should."

I started to take unwanted steps toward the corner that Austin had just disappeared around.

When I reached the corner, I had a clear view of the swimming pool that me and Ethan spent many summers in,

just messing about and nearly drowning each other as we wrestled around.

 

I saw Austin trying to pull a large ceramic flower planter away from the small rock wall that had held the shrubs on the left towards pool.

"What are you doing?", I asked quickly, trying to catch up to him but before I could get to him he edged the planter off into the pool and it sunk to the bottom,

making a dull thud and large splash. Within second's the contents of the flower planter spewed across the freshly chlorinated pool.

The surface of the water turned a dirty brown colour as the peat moss rose up to the surface.

Pieces of the flowers bobbed on the top of the water and Austin started to snigger.

 

"That's awesome, let's do it again", he announced, turning to find something else.

In shock at the damage that he had done, I turned and grabbed on to his arm firmly and asked in disbelief,

"Why did you do that?

 

"Let go of me; that hurts", Austin squealed as he tried pulling away from me, I didn't realise that I was holding him that tightly.

Letting him go in shock, I froze.

 

"I'm sorry", I admitted as I sat down on one of the sun loungers behind me. Austin looked a bit scared.

I think I was too domineering. `I should have handled that better, Sam', I scolded myself. Austin rolled up his sleeve a little and I could see

from the reflection of the pool and flood lights that there were red impressions of my fingertips imbedded into his skin.

I almost heaved at the very prospect of having hurt Austin. I keeled over but Austin caught me.

 

"Sam..., now's not the time to sleep on the job", he wittily retorted nervously. I knew he was trying to defuse the situation.

But that didn't change the fact that I manhandled him. It was not my intention, I swear I didn't mean it. It was in the heat of the moment.

"I'm sorry Austin," I submissively said. I was prepared to do just about anything to amend my mistake, I didn't want anything to come between us.

 

He still held me none the less, "It's okay, don't worry about it", he whispered, looking from me to the patio doors of the house.

 

"I'm really sorry for grabbing you like that." I offered again.

 

"I'm fine, honest; it just happened", he quietly said looking at me. I lifted my head up to meet his; I think he could see that I was sorry. I truly was.

 

"Are you going to leave me to do this on my own?, he asked.

I knew that he wanted to do this, and I felt the only way to make up for it was that I had to do this with him.

I had not planned on damaging my best friend's garden, but now it definitely became and a problem.

Weighing my options and suppressing my guilt,

 

""No", I told him and he gave me a frown. I stood up up off the lounger.

Glancing down to Austin, he seemed to be sulking, which was cute in a way but it also made me feel bad for not saying yes.

After all I didn't want to destroy my friends back yard.

Looking at the mess Austin had made I felt responsible for his actions even though I didn't do it, his mess was now mine.

And although it had already contaminated the pool, I don't think I could reverse the condition at this point.

The mud had started to water down and gloat in the water like mud alt to do.

 

"Are you okay?", Austin asked. I decided to just say "Yes" to him so that I didn't have to explain why I was feeling bad.

He didn't appear to be feeling bad, but I certainly was.

Deciding to leave as quickly as possible, we went back outside to the front yard, picked up our bikes and duffle and cycled away like nothing had happened.

We didn't want to go home just yet, and I couldn't think of any other place for us to go, so I brought him to mine and Ethan's hideout.

 

Stopping at the top of the hill, we wheeled our bikes down the slope and laid them on the grass in the natural dip.

Turning to Austin, I could see that he was still having a ball, and I was now aware of a rebellious side in him that I had never seen before.

I just hoped that I was not getting in way over my head with this. I definitely knew I would be hearing back about what we just did tonight, but for now,

I just decided to take the tranquillity, before the police came knocking.

Sitting down on the grass I gazed up into the sky, as Austin sat down beside me.

We sat like that just listening to the water flow effortlessly under the bridge and down the river.

I thought of all the bad deeds that I had ever done in my life and I can definitely tell you, I never felt so guilty.

Ethan may have deserved some trash talk, I guess, but not what I had done.

 

The night seemed young and the cold was slowly starting to descend, but as the early hour only started to creep in,

I lay down with Austin and started talking about poetic stuff that was wise beyond our years.

I pointed to the stars and talked about our zodiac signs.

I explained what it was like to be an Aquarius, and how the rebellious little Aries I lay next to was so fiery.

He reached up and cupped my hand as I explained the stars I pointed to.

It was a vast world out there and I couldn't think of anyone better to explore the galaxy with.

All I needed was his hand holding mine, like he was right now.

 

Glancing over to Austin I found myself smiling. The boy I was being slowly driven insane by had fallen asleep.

Yet he still held my hand, so that was enough for me to be able to gaze up at the beautiful night sky and watch it

slowly fade as my eyes shut and everything went quiet around me.

 

`Everything Went Quiet'

 

The End Of Part 10 - Segment 2

 

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading.

Please, comments are welcome. Actually needed, lol.

Email- danny2017writing@outlook.com

Twitter - @author_daniels

Tumblr - dannywriting2017

 

Bibliography; of LGBTQ stories by D.K. Daniels, on Nifty.

 

Even If We Tried (First Draft) - Gay Male, Young friends

Spring Tide (Unfinished)- Gay Male, Young friends

As They Say (On-going) - Gay Male, Young friends

Our Little Darlings (Stand-Alone Edit)- Gay Male, High School

Ghouls, Goblins & Ghastly Boys (Mini-Series)- Gay Male, Young Friends

Light The Night (Mini-Series) - Gay Male, Young Friends

Who We Are (Stand-Alone Edit) - Gay Male, Young Friends

 

Bibliography; of LGBTQ stories by D.K. Daniels, on Iomfats

 

Who We Are (Listed under D.K. Daniels Author)

 

Bibliography; of LGBTQ stories by D.K. Daniels, On Cornercafe.us

Ghouls, Goblins & Ghastly Boys (Listed under D.K. Daniels Author)

Light The Night (Listed under D.K. Daniels Author)

Who We Are (Listed under D.K. Daniels Author)