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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*****Sam & Austin *****

 

1.    This Town by Niall Horan

2.    Only You by Selena Gomez

3.    Seven Billion Smiles by Reed Deming

 

*****Ethan & Sam*****

 

4.    The Truth by Fernando Valázquez

5.    Campfire by John Hopkins

 

 

In The Last Chapter: The warm effects of Austin has really taken its toll on Sam. He enjoyed a peaceful and loving night out on the town with Austin.

Secretly he is falling in love, yet disaster still looms and is fresh on his mind.

Could this be the chapter that wedges a far harbour between both of Sam's worlds? Keep reading to find.

 

Even If We Tried

by d.k. dANIELS

Part 8

 

*****Sam & Austin*****

 

The bright and blinding light poured through the narrow slits of the venetian blinds, and was a harsh assault on my eyesight.

I felt the rays burn my eyes as I tried to open them; I also felt the warmth that was being provided by the rays on my arm.

Sometime during the night, I must have gotten too warm and ditched my shirt on the floor as I was only wearing my t-shirt now.

The room was quite stuffy, and in an attempt to air out the room and fix the lack of oxygen,

I fumbled with the handle on the window and made a racket as I reached through the narrow opening in the blinds to open the window and push it out a little.

 

Sighing and breathing in the warm room contents and the partial fresh air now coming from the open window,

I looked around my room in a little baffled daze.

I was trying to make sense of my surroundings and to answer my curious thoughts of why I was sleeping on the window seat.

I guess my train of thought was dropped on its head when I saw Austin asleep in my bed.

All the encountered memories of last night flooded my brain and my thoughts became very muddled and noisy.

He was asleep in my bed, I blinked. This cannot be a dream, can it? I questioned myself.

I evaluated the probability and the odds that this was in fact a dream, but I could not bring myself to try and pinch my arm to make it end.

Why would I, he's so dreamy and cute just lying there.

He lay in the same position as he had before he decided to move last night, when I was drawing him.

His hair was a little messed up from the tossing and turning he had done throughout the night.

I found myself fan-girling for a second, he has bed head.

"Oh that's totally adorable." I found myself becoming more and more infatuated by his presence.

I remembered everything now. I remembered sneaking out to meet him.

I remembered holding hands with him; I remembered feeling my heart drop when he fell.

I remembered playing doctor, to my injured cutie.

 

Last night was not a blur at all. It all still felt so fresh in my mind.

His adorable little gestures, his laughing, his burping and his smile. His laugh! His laugh was contagious.

Just like when you feel the sudden urge to kiss him, his laugh does the same thing to me.

I just feel like kissing him when he laughs and smiles.

I craved the exciting little world his eyes would bring when he was awake.

He looked so peaceful and at ease. His little scar above his eyebrow and his nonchalant face, everything was perfect.

I had to admit, I would have loved to lean over and kiss him.

I could only imagine him waking up as I kissed him and those expressing eyes just looking, waiting for me to make the next move.

 

The smell in the air was not just my own body odour; it had a subtle smell to it this time.

Almost like strawberries. I liked the new smell; looking across at the sleeping Austin,

I felt my heart beat in my chest faster and I just wanted to wake him up. To make him laugh, and make him smile.

I wanted to feel those butterflies take flight in my stomach, like he always would make me do.

I wanted to feel nervous suddenly, because in everything I felt, I was myself when I was nervous around him.

I felt at home for some odd reason; it gave the illusion I had a safe place to retreat to.

As much as I wanted to wake him, I just couldn't. He had to sleep, he was just too adorable to wake up.

"God, what's wrong with me? All these mushy feelings are emotionally draining but so good, all at the same time."

I questioned myself. I felt and heard a slight rumble in my stomach.

Placing my hand over my stomach in acknowledgement,

I shifted my position on the cushioned window ledge and my journal slid off the end and onto the floor, making a loud clunk as it hit the floor.

Austin didn't wake up, and as proof I looked up in haste to make sure I had not disturbed him.

Sighing out of relief, I was glad that he didn't wake up.

Looking back down to the journal on the floor, I scooped low and grabbed it; leaning back up against the cushions behind my back, I rested.

I could feel my neck developing a crick from the awkward position in which I slept last night.

"Last night must have definitely happened," I assured myself.

It was kind of magical, I admitted. I was distraught for a moment, when Austin tossed the blanket I had placed over him last night off-

onto the floor and turned back facing me with a sigh as he turned.

He was still dressed, like he had been last night, in his cute shirt and black skinny jeans.

He had tossed his shoes and black leather jacket to the floor. After a moment of ruffling he settled back into his sleep and relaxed.

Smiling at him, I opened my journal and flicked through the pages, admiring my previous drawings.

I was kind of neglecting them, I thought sadly, as well as the world I said I was going to create.

But with all the pressures and demands of school I just couldn't bring myself to pick up the pencil lately.

Still, I guess being with Austin made up for it ten times over.

His drawings were the best ones I had ever produced. I knew that much, for sure.

Looking at the sketch of Austin, I placed my hand beside his left cheek in the journal and admired the finished drawing.

Looking over at the real Austin, I compared the level of detail between the two.

I was happy with the finished version, but of course, the real miracle was indescribable.

 

Realizing I needed to relieve my bladder, I nudged the blankets off me gently and quietly.

I placed the journal down on the spot I was sitting and toddled to the bathroom.

Wiping the sleep away from my eyes, I pushed the door open and closed it slightly so that it was still ajar and walked the small distance to the toilet bowl.

Hooking my thumb into my belt buckle, I undid it and unzipped my trousers and hooked my thumb into the waistband-

of my underwear and pulled down with one hand.

Taking my flaccid boyhood in my spare hand, I aimed it at the back of the toilet and started to relieve myself.

Once I was finished I zipped everything backup.

I then flushed the toilet and washed my hands and headed back out the small opening in the bathroom door by turning sideways and slipping through it.

 

Austin was still asleep in the bed. In that moment I felt I wanted to be with him; rational thought was no more: I wanted to be close to him.

It was the first time I had ever really felt this emotion. I did not know what to think of it, but all I knew was that I wanted to be close to him.

It was purely innocent. I didn't have any thoughts other than to be beside him for comfort.

Slowly I walked to the bed; I felt nervous. I didn't want to wake him, and I was not sure if I should proceed; but non-the less, I did.

Crawling as slowly and as gently as I could, I lay flat on my back behind Austin in the space he left open.

Looking up at the top mattress above me,

I placed my hand over my heart and I could clearly feel it pounding in my chest.

I didn't dare move any further. This was as far as I could go for now.

 

I got such a fright when Austin turned over suddenly and draped him arm over my chest and his head slid-

into my shoulder and the side of my chest. He woke up suddenly with surprise as he lifted his tussled bed head up from my shoulder.

He looked totally kissable in that moment, but of course, I chickened out.

He squinted to see and opened one of his eyes. Surveying his location, he seemed content;

when he looked up at me he smiled when he caught sight of me.

Those gorgeous eyes. They were both open now and so full of life and mystery.

He sat up a little but didn't move his arm or change his position.

He just looked at me with this innocent look about him.

"Good morning," he whispered, and groaned softly while he stretched a little.

 

Chuckling a little I said softly, "Morning, Adventure boy."

He blushed slightly before he placed his head back down on my chest and sighed in a relaxed way.

I placed my head back on the pillow behind my head and looked up at the lattes both blushing and smiling, while he lay across my chest.

It was such a sweet moment; everything was peaceful and I was enjoying the heat radiating from Austin pressed against my side.

 

He broke the silence after a couple of minutes with a soft murmur, "This is nice."

I felt all these warm feelings compress my chest and my arm, that was being crushed by Austin, was getting pins and needles.

I was so glad that I had made the decision to lie beside him. I could feel his small inhales and exhales as he breathed.

"Austin", I said softly. Just like that he lifted his head as quick as I said it. He was looking at me with those puppy eyes.

That's when I knew I had to tell him how I felt.

 

"I..." I trailed off. "I really like you", I said softly and in a composed way.

My heart was racing and I was a nervous wreck. But he was still clinging to my side.

Nobody has ever held me this way. This was a first for me.

The last time someone held me anything as close to this was my mom, and that was more of a gentle hug.

I could still recall a particular time that she held me close, not long after my dad had walked out on us.

But this was different. I never imagined it would feel as great as this. Was I in love?, I asked my underaged brain.

If this is what love feels like, then I want it to last for ever.

I've never been this close to one of my friends, not even Ethan.

I have given him a hug, yes. But not like this.

I think it would feel wrong with one of my friends, but it feels right to be lying here with Austin.

 

I felt the small trembles of Austin chuckling as he tried to control himself. "I REALLY, REALLY like you!" Austin said softly.

 

I wanted to kiss him so bad that I thought about asking him. He was just being too cute.

I couldn't keep holding out. "Can I kiss you?", I asked, to make sure that's what he wanted.

He gave me a knowing coy smile and with that I leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.

It was short and sweet, and like that it was over, and I felt a little disappointed that it hadn't lasted longer.

 

He then scrooched back down and placed his head back on my shoulder and became a little panicky as if he wanted to get something of his chest.

I was glad when he asked, "can I tell my real story?" with a soothing and sweet voice.

 

I breathed out lovingly and lifted my head slightly to look at him. "I'd love to hear your story,"

I mentioned in a confident way and lay back down as he pondered where to start.

 

"Well... it started about a year before I moved here. My family has been saying that we moved because of my dad's work.

But that's not the real reason. I moved..., I mean we moved, to protect me. I liked this guy at my school, he was in my social circle.

He was one of my friends. Anyway, I came out to my friends and I lost a couple of them;

but he was one of them that stuck by me, when most of them had walked away.

I started to slowly develop feelings for him, and I told him one day when we were hiking; that I liked him.

He said, cool, but didn't really dig into it much that day. I remember a week later, he had a pool party and afterward I ended up kissing him.

I thought he was giving me signals, but I guess I didn't understand.

That's when he pushed me away and got mad. I tried apologizing, but before I could do anything he had made everyone at the party aware that I had kissed him.

I ended up leaving embarrassed. By the next week, everyone knew.

It started off with slurs and insults. But it started to become physical; with shoving and pushing.

This boy started hanging around with another group and he confronted me one day after P.E. I couldn't exactly go anywhere, so I tried to talk reason.

But he would not have any of it. Instead, that day I came home with a black eye.

That's when my mom took action and went to the school. The school dismissed the problem, but the bullying didn't stop.

It wasn't as physical but it was still persistent.

About eight months into the bullying both in and outside of school, I asked my mom for help because I was feeling very low, and here we are now.

I don't want you to get hurt because of me, Sam; so, I understand if we need to go our separate ways."

 

He sniffled a little bit as he clued me in on a big part of his life; he also resorted to drawing circles on my chest out of nervousness.

I felt my heart really sinking. Before I could do anything, I could feel my eyes watering up. I wasn't going to leave him,

I felt his pain, and his story was definitely disheartening. "I'm sorry," I gravely said.

"You are a very special person to me; I admire you for that. Whomever you choose to give your love and energy to, should be grateful."

 

"I am grateful. I'll always be listening to anything, anything you ever want to say to me.", I stated kindly and appreciatively.

He then softly just curled into me and held me tighter, and I felt good to be a trusted person in his life.

I knew I had to live up to that name. I had to make changes. I guess I made him feel safe, as he did make me feel safe.

 

I was about to close my eyes, feeling so relaxed and all. But Austin sat up and started kicking his legs like a giddy child would.

As I looked down at him in a baffled manner, he asked in a hurried way, "Can I use the bathroom?"

 

`Did he really just ask me to use the toilet?', I found myself thinking.

I guess it was not any different than my asking to kiss him. So, I guess it wasn't a big deal.

 

Pointing at the ajar door I smiled and said softly, "Sure; you know where it is."

After that I watched as he navigated toward the en-suite and closed the door behind him.

I smiled and shifted my head toward the natural sunlight that was coming from the window and the gentle fresh breeze that accompanied it.

The room was not humid anymore and I could finally breathe. I was smiling over nothing at all.

I guess I was being a doofus, just looking out the window from my bed as the rays warmed my skin.

Lifting up my arm I inspected my forearm and its small fuzz of soft hairs.

It got me thinking; was Austin naturally tanned all around or was it just his skin exposed to the daylight?

It made me wonder; either way I could only imagine that he was beautiful, regardless of what skin colour he had beneath his clothing.

I looked over at my alarm clock and saw that it was 8:02 am and decided it was time to get Austin on his way,

as much as it pained me to say it and to see him go. I didn't want him getting into trouble.

With that I slid off the messed up bed and started picking up small articles of clothing that I had pushed under the bed and out of the way last night.

 

When Austin reappeared, he smiled at me as he stood in the door frame, and coyly passed by me as I entered the bathroom with the dirty laundry.

His messy hair and cheeky smile were a perfect dosage of adorable for this time of morning.

Dropping the laundry into the basket, I heard Austin say from the next room that he thought he should go home.

Looking back out into the bedroom, I saw Austin smiling, as he lost himself while putting his shoes back on.

Slipping into the door frame, I smiled as he pulled on his jacket and tried to flatten down his messy hair a little that dangled from his head.

"I'll Leave it," he scolded himself when he couldn't to get it to settle down, which was funny, and with that he was ready to leave.

I didn't want him to leave; this whole little world was perfect: nobody was there to invade us or tell us that us being that close was gross.

Looking down at the ground with a saddened gaze, he said that he'd call me and that made it all much better;

I was going to ask when, but I refrained from asking, as it would probably make me look needy.

 

Closing the distance between us, I met him at the bottom of my bed and just stared at him.

Lifting my hand up to his face, I held his right cheek and placed my finger around the back of his head and my palm gently grazed his cheek.

 

"I'll miss you," I admitted, looking deeply into his eyes and then leaned in for a kiss, as I let go of his cheek and dropped my arm to my side and pressed in.

I had to slightly stand on my tippy toes to be level with him. I wanted it to feel magical, but that wasn't the case.

I was more nervous about trying to look cute or be cute. I was too busy trying to make him happy than giving in to my own desires.

After the kiss broke, I felt disheartened that it had broken, because I was just getting into the mood when he decided to stop.

 

He smiled and started for the door "I'll miss you more..." he offered gently.

I quietly followed him as he opened the bedroom door and started the descent down the stairs.

We zoomed through the kitchen and opened the patio door. Closing the patio door behind me,

I watched as he got onto his bike and started wheeling it toward the side entrance.

 

Following closely like a lost puppy, I walked him to the curb where he got on the bike and looked both ways before he pushed out onto the street.

Watching him pedal away, he stood up on the bike to give a wave as he pushed forward and slowly disappeared into the endless road that was still quiet,

white flakes of sun coming through the trees and the sounds of birds chirping.

 

Heading back inside, I closed the patio door gently as to make it appear nobody was awake.

I then fumbled to the fridge, rubbing my stomach from the hunger that was growing stronger.

It was only then that I thought that Austin didn't have anything to eat. Damn it, I frowned to myself.

Why didn't I think of this when he was here. I felt like a terrible person for not giving him something to eat.

I should have offered him some food. Grabbing the glass Nutella jar.

I placed it on the counter beside the cooker and shut the fridge door and opened the cupboard that was hanging from the ceiling.

Looking for the white bread, I noticed it on the second shelf and reached for the plastic packaging and pulled it down by its tassel.

Shutting the cupboard doors, I dragged both of the contents from the counter to the breakfast bar.

Digging into the top drawer under the countertop,

I fished out a butter knife and then took a seat on the stool as I heard the clunk as the cutlery rattled from the force of the drawer closing.

 

Unscrewing the lid, I dropped it on the counter and watched it bounce to an abrupt stop.

Picking up the butter knife I scooped a large amount of chocolate spread onto the knife.

It was clearly too much, but I was not phased, as it was chocolate.

Freeing the bread from its packaging with my free hand, I placed a slice on the counter in front of me as the little crumb particles-

sprinkled around the vicinity of the surface around the bread and I used a firm hand in applying the delicious chocolate to the bread.

 

After putting chocolate on three slices, I picked up the first one and smelled it; the deep chocolate smelled so good and with that I took my first-

chunk out of the bread and started munching away, devouring the delicious snack.

Heading back upstairs, I cleaned my mess up from the kitchen and found my way back to my bedroom, closing the door behind me.

Leaping for my bed I sprawled out at the comfort and pulled on the pillows from behind my head and placed them at my side,

where Austin would have been lying, I did miss his touch and his closeness already and that was saddening.

I ended up dozing off thinking of Austin, with a cushion clutched close to my side.

 

*****Ethan & Sam*****

 

A little while later I was woken up by my mom who was all praise. I was a little confused as to why there was an overdrive of it all of a sudden.

But as quick as she blurted the news out, I could not keep up with her. Asking her to "explain it again",

she did so without thinking much about it and said that the coaches from Lacrosse and Baseball called and said that I had made both the teams.

"Oh", was all I could bring myself to say. I had not planned on getting both sports but here it was nonetheless.

I guess I was happy that I was selected out of the possible hundreds that wanted to play, so I guess I should try and at least look happy to be picked.

I wondered if Ethan had gotten picked too, and I also wondered who would be my team members.

I didn't want to wait that long; the anticipation would kill me, but I guess I had no choice.

I reached across for my phone and thanked mom for the news as she left the room and said she was making breakfast.

 

Unlocking my phone I had a message from Austin, just like he said he would call me, but the message was unexpected.

I first went to imessage and typed a message for Ethan.

Deciding to send it was another matter.

I wanted to talk about last night with him; he must have questions of course and I wanted to try and clear up everything with him.

I also wanted to talk to him about Austin.

I knew Ethan was being a dick, but he was a long time friend, so I at least owed him a sit down talk to try and explain everything-

and also be able to listen to what he had to offer. I hit send.

 

Sent: Hey man, can we meet today around lunch? :)

 

I then navigated to Austin's message; I smiled at its content and thought about what to write back.

 

Austin - 8:42 am: Thanks Sam. I had a great time last night, and I'm home now.

 

Sent -- 10:02 am: Me 2. It was a great night, with you.

 

Placing my phone on my chest I looked around the room. I drew in a contented breath and smiled.

We hadn't got caught; it was so awesome. If my mom had suspected something she probably would have said it by now.

The emotions from last night were still fresh in my mind and everything was happy.

I felt my phone vibrate and picked it up from my chest and saw it was from Ethan.

 

Ethan -- 10:14am: Sure, meet at 1:00 pm outside the back entrance to Macy's."

 

Tossing my phone on the bed, I jumped up and headed into the bathroom, stripped off and showered like every other morning.

Fishing out a clean pair of underwear and socks I pulled them on and settled with my blue jeans and red hoodie.

Throwing on my Nike shoes I headed downstairs to get a proper breakfast.

 

Arriving in the kitchen, I was surprised to see Lauran who was already up, on a Sunday. I found myself saying that that was very unusual.

Pulling the milk from the fridge and cornflakes from the cupboard my mom complimented me as I sat down at the table.

"You're all fresh. You heading out sweetie?" she said in a soft but humble voice.

"Yep... I'm going to meet Ethan in a little bit at the mall." She carried on doing some of her motherly chores as I ate breakfast.

She asked if I could help out around the house before I left, and so I did.

I did the dishes from the breakfast; took the garbage out; Made all the bed upstairs and dusted, while my sister vacuumed.

 

Grabbing my phone before I headed out, I checked it to see if I had a message back from Austin, who was now up and awake.

He had responded to my message from earlier. I was excited that he had sent me back a message so quickly.

I decided to not answer back as quickly. I didn't want to get into a bad habit of being a constant replier.

I did have things to get done and didn't want to set a bad example.

I said cya later to my mom and sister, I opened the front door and headed off down the street toward the mall without my bike.

This was one of the first times in days that I left the house without it and I felt a little naked without it.

I must have got used to having it by my side, or tagging it along everywhere I went.

I thought it would be best to leave it at home, since I would be having a talk with Ethan, and then there was the whole situation of the mall.

Frankly, it was just too much of an effort to bring it.

 

I did have my heart set on talking to Ethan and nothing today was going to jeopardize that.

I wanted to say things to Ethan, he was not the easiest person at the moment. I was not entirely happy with him.

But with that being said, nobody's perfect, not even me. Unless you're Austin; then you're perfect.

I found myself chuckling at my joking around. I walked to the suburban area toward the Spokane Valley Mall.

The temperature was slowly raising and the sky was relatively clear with only a couple of scattered clouds.

Summer really was on its way and I was definitely enjoying the sunshine; I had nothing to moan about.

 

The sounds of birds, lawnmowers and children's laughter started to fade into the background and by the time I reached the mall-

the sounds of traffic and the faint rustling of the wind were the only sounds that could be heard, as I was relatively out in the open.

Walking across the already packed car park, I came to Macy's and waited beside the door for Ethan to turn up.

If there was any one thing I liked about Ethan, I would have to choose his punctuality.

When he said a particular time, he would always show up on time or just before it.

I did feel slightly uncomfortable standing there looking around; I could feel people that were entering and leaving ogling me and it made me feel uneasy.

Like clockwork he turned up five minutes before one and we both greeted each other with a fist bump before heading inside the-

mall after agreeing to take shelter from the heat.

 

Waltzing at a snail's pace, we passed by each of the store fronts and just casually making small talk we strolled along the whole length of the mall.

He didn't bring up the events of last night. But as hard and as confusing as it was to me, I was going to let the cat out of the bag.

Ethan must have felt the need to show a little skin today; he must have been feeling the effects of the lovely weather.

I guess I should have worn shorts and a t-shirt too; I moaned to myself as I knew I would be sweltering later.

Turning around when we reached the last strip of the mall. We ended walking back toward Macy's when Ethan suggested we get slushies.

At the counter, I placed my elbows on the wooden surface as Ethan order his drink.

I was going to opt for buying a slushy, but I thought it would break the ice if I kept things as normal as possible.

We used to do this all the time when we were younger; we would get drinks and snacks from here and then head on over to our fort that we built as kids.

Ethan got a regular blue slushy and I decided to go with the colourful red, blue and green combination.

Slurping and walking, we both went at a slower pace than before, so that we could drink our drinks without getting brain freeze.

Yep, brain freeze is a bitch. Heading back out the same door beside Macy's, we ended up walking back across the car park;

slowly but surely, as we avoided and stopped for a number cars to pass.

When we finally got to the grassy area that separated the mall car park from the small secondary road,

we darted out across the road so hard that I could feel the harsh vibrations of each step, so much that it hurt my feet.

 

A little out of breath, we descended the small incline down toward the river. You know, the Spokane River.

I walked at an angle so that I could pace myself going down the hill but Ethan just flew past me and was approaching a record breaking speed.

Running down the hill I thought, that was him. I could never understand how he never fell, going at that speed.

A couple of times I guess you could say he had a close call and stumbled to a stop before either falling or ending up in the river.

Finally, I set foot on the bank, Ethan was already tracking onward toward the base that was about 100 yards ahead.

The sun was gradually raising the temperature; the smell of fresh water could be inhaled from the mucky water-logged banks-

and the overgrowth of weeds and yellow cress.

 

I thought of how I was going to say this to Ethan, as I trailed along the dry path that had been slightly worn over the years from us coming down here.

How was I going to approach the subject of Austin? Do I tell Ethan I have feelings for Austin, should I tell him that Nash was an evil bastard?

Should I tell him I'm gay?... DEFINITELY NOT, I scolded.

The fort consisted of collected pieces of wood, that we had amassed.

It had a couple of blue tarps to stop the rain from flooding in during a downpour.

To my surprise, the base never flooded, although it was so close to the river.

I guess from where we built it, it was kind of sheltered from the railway bridge that was above and it was built on the highest point from the river bed.

The worn faded panels that made up the walls, was evidence that the front wall that was most exposed to the weather was starting to rot,

but we never got around to fixing it. Life was going on without the fort.

 

Reaching the door, I ducked going through the doorframe.

At last I was now standing in the base I built with Ethan; it had so many good memories and so much joint effort contributed to make this sanctuary truly ours.

It was away from prying adults and all our peers. Only people we chose to hang out with, got the privilege of knowing about this place.

 

I can recall all the games we played, and all the joking we did at times.

I remember that some summers we would get water from the river and have epic water fights, but that was a long time ago.

I guess you could say we were too old for any of that now. Ethan parked himself on one of the sofas we had in the base.

I could never remember where exactly we got that sofa. But the best bit was getting it down the hill and in here.

I remember the thing barrelling down the hill when I let it slip and thank god Ethan had cat-like reflexes, because he would have ended up-

in the hospital if that thing had landed on top of him.

 

I sat down on the white faded chair in the corner, that I had salvaged from a skip, going back three years now.

I raised my slushy to my mouth and took a sip.

I decided to ease into the subject slowly and I began to talk about the news I had got this morning.

 

Nervously, I offered, "So... Um, did you hear back from the lacrosse and baseball?

 

He looked across at me and took a sip from his drink also, which had clear beads of water rolling down the plastic cup.

Finishing his gulp, he said quite lively, "Yeah, I got on the lacrosse."

 

"I really wanted to play baseball this year though," he said a little saddened.

 

I was excited to tell him, but I thought for a second. Should I tell him I got baseball or just lacrosse?

I decided to go with lying and told him that I only got lacrosse.

It made me feel guilty for saying it but before I could say anything, he was so happy about both of us getting lacrosse,

that I didn't have the guts to tell him that I got the baseball too.

 

The conversation carried on in the dimly lit room; parts from the outside world peeked in through the small cracks in the wood

and offered some additional lighting. Everything was calm as we ended up turning the conversation into games. the soft haze of dust that-

floated in the middle of room was the only sign of life. Not even as much as the river could be heard. No traffic, nothing.

It was just us and the specks of dust that floated in the air between us.

Some time had passed before I decided to bring up the subject of Austin.

I held my tongue for a brief moment before blurting out something that could destroy the calm mood.

 

"Ethan...", I said softly, unsure about how to proceed.

 

"Yeah?", he asked with a merry ring to it.

 

Drawing in a breath of frustration, I found it difficult to think of the words to say.

 

"Em..., Ethan," I said, practically shaking. "I want to be friends with Austin and nobody is giving him chance.

I thought you would give him a chance, but you seemed to have distanced yourself." `There, I said it,' I thought to myself.

I felt a moment of pride overcome me as I felt I was now becoming untouchable in the moment.

 

Ethan made a quizzical face and set his empty slushy down on the ground.

 

Stuttering, he found some sort of weird compassionate tone as he said,

"Look, if you want to hang out with a gay boy, you're on your own."

 

Feeling my eyes water a little bit and partially offended, I offered.

 

"Nobody knows him; you haven't even given him a chance. I thought you of all people would understand that,"

I said in a flustered but hopefully pervasive tone.

 

Ethan went quiet, He was never the sort of person who could produce much in serious situations.

Letting out a sad sigh, I tried to think of where to guide the conversation.

 

"He needs friends. I'm going be his friend; and I was hoping you'd still be my friend...",

I said rather emotionally. With all that said, I almost lost my voice when I got to the word `friend'.

 

Ethan then sat forward and placed his hands on his knees and thought -- he just thought.

I felt like I was being judged for a moment, just sitting there in the chair.

He had not spoken yet and I was starting to worry that I had crossed the line, but I wanted to get my point across.

I have been able to talk about anything with him, but this seemed to be the hardest.

 

"Nash is the one who spread the nasty rumours about Austin," I said, hoping that he would see Nash for who he was.

 

 

"I have talked to Austin, and he really needs a friend. Everywhere he's been, people have not shown kindness.

I know Austin... the real Austin", I stressed, trying to tell him the awesome person I had gotten to know.

 

He gulped and looked a little agitated, and started to rattle his left leg, to find something else to say.

 

"Austin got beat up in his last school, and all he ever wanted to show was kindness to people.

But people won't respect him for it.", I cried out.

It was the first time that I had actually broken the desperate barrier, and Ethan seemed to have picked up on it.

I guess he found my weakness. But with all that said, he looked rather distraught to me.

 

"I don't care...", he said, getting emotional too.

 

"You don't care?" I asked, feeling hurt by his remark.

 

He went quiet for a moment and then blurted out "No!"

 

"So if I was the same..., would you care?", I asked nervously.

 

He just looked at me and back to the ground.

 

"I know who you are," he said, welling up.

 

"I don't care about him; I care about you!" he said abruptly and sadly.

 

"He's taking you from me," he stammered softly before wiping his red nose and started to sob gently.

 

"He's what?" I questioned. I was confused, did I hear Ethan right.

 

Again, I repeated the question trying to dig deeper. "He's what?"

 

Just then he shot up from the sofa and started screaming at me coldly.

Most of the words bounced off my head, I didn't take any of them on board but the last seven words made me shiver as I heard them as clear as day,

before he stormed out of the room with the slamming of the door. Then the room returned to the quietness. "I don't want to be like you.

" Those were his words. I sat shocked and afraid to move from the chair.

 

I drew in a sobbed deep breath and started to cry at all the mixed feelings I was experiencing.

I must have sat there most of the day, trying to piece parts together in my head.

But the daylight disappeared slowly, and Ethan never came back.

 

Sitting there alone in the dark, I was perhaps the most confused, and isolated I had ever felt in my entire life.

 

The End Of Part 8

 

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)