LOVE'S SACRIFICE

By Matthew Croft

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story starts by gradually developing the characters first, and it takes a few chapters to get to the "good stuff." That said, let us take care of all the usual legal stuff. This is a fictional story containing consensual sex between boys. You should know the drill. If you are under 18, if it is illegal for you to read this kind of story in your area, or if you do not wish to read this type of tale, please hit the back button now. Finally, I am always open to comments and/or plot suggestions. Please feel free to email me at wowcrofty@icloud.com. That is it! Now, without further ado...

CHAPTER 1

i.

Dale Edwards hated school. He had told his parents many times that he was going to drop out, and they explained how he "was just confused about what was expected of him" and how he "might consider private school, where the classes were smaller and the teachers cared more." When he had said that he didn't think private school would change his opinion in the least repeated his threat, his mother had played the "you will do what I say because it is for your own good" card. Dale had flipped her off and ran out.

She called the cops the very same night to report him missing, and an officer found him a day later camping out in a clearing a mile away; he was taken into custody and brought back home. His mom and dad were quick with the hugs, kisses, and the apologizes. Dale was unaffected by their affection; after all, he knew it was just good acting. They did not, nor would they ever, love him. And the "it is for your own good" thing was laughable too. They could not know what was the best for him, because they did not know him. That was fine, because he did things on his own and did not want anyone else screwing up his efforts. He was fourteen and content to spend the rest of his life alone.

"You're going to be late, honey," Patricia Edwards called up the stairs.

Big fucking deal, Dale thought, but said, "Be right down!" The time to finally get the hell out would come soon enough, and there would be nothing anyone could say about it this time.

Twenty minutes later Dale was at his locker grabbing his books for his first classes of the day when Tommy Shane stepped up next to him and began rumaging through his locker. Dale smiled. If there was any one who really did know the "true Dale," Tommy was the one. They had met in first grade and they had hit it off as friends instantly. Dale broke the silence by theatrically sighing. "Well, I can see they haven't taken the garbage out today since there is trash like this laying around."

"Fuck you! Don't they teach how to say good morning anymore?" Tommy replied in mock anger.

"Nope."

Both boys chuckled, and Dale continued. "So what are you up to tonight? I was thinking that we could hang at your place and stuff ourselves with pizza, sodas, and junk food in front of the big screen. Maybe your brother could get us some of the "other" drinks."

Tommy shook his head. "No, sorry bro, my brother isn't home, and I am actually not going to be either."

"Why?" Dale stopped shoving textbooks into his pack and looked at his friend. Now Tommy smiled. He enjoyed the rare moments like these when he could surprise Dale. It was not an easy task and Tommy was pretty sure he was the only one that had managed to do it more than once.

"Remember Brittany from math?"

Dale nodded.

"Well, her and I have a date."

"Holy shit, dude! But, why do you want to go out with her rather than hang?"

"You know, I'll never understand you gay guys. You don't like girls, and you do everything you can to prevent girls from liking others." Tommy shook his head in frustration as he looked questionably at Dale.

He smirked impishly. "Well, see, that is where being straight falls short. Gay guys don't even have to like each other to get some. We can just meet, say hi, rip our clothes off, and go at it. Then, if we enjoyed it, we will get to know each other. Much more convenient if you...." Dale trailed off as his attention was drawn to a boy that had just walked up to a locker across the hallway. He had never seen him before; Dale was sure of that. And to say he was gorgeous would be an insult. He had straight blonde hair, and as the kid turned to give the hallway a casual glance, Dale noticed his eyes. They were of the most purest green he had ever seen. His features were that of a boy with no trace of the man he would become, so puberty had clearly not left too much of a mark yet. Dale guessed that he could not be more than twelve years old.

He was brought back to reality when he heard Tommy's amused voice. He realized then that he had been drooling, a trail of saliva had ran down the front of his shirt and started pooling on the floor, and he became greatly embarrassed at how obvious he had been with his affection.

"Hey bro, you totally spaced out on me, and if you don't stop staring, we're gonna need a boat here."

"Who is he?" Dale asked, still in a daze and practically ignoring everything his friend had just said.

Tommy sighed. "His name is Simon. His family moved here a week ago."

"Where do they live?"

"How should I know? I'm not about to stalk the guy."

"Well, I'm going to find out." Dale said firmly as he started toward Simon.

Tommy instantly reacted and clamped his hand tightly on Dale's upper arm. "Whoa, no way! Listen, Dale, I know you like guys, and I have always respected that and accepted you for who you are. But, that's me. There are people who would make fun of you forever and make you the laughing stock of the school if they found out. Plus, he's probably AT LEAST two years younger. That might be a little weird for both of you, don't you think?"

Waves of resentment and anger rose in Dale and he attempted to slide Tommy's hand off himself. "No, I don't think that at all. I think it would be just fine." He managed to free his arm, and was about to make a break toward his target again, when the bell signaling the start of homeroom rang. He changed direction and took off towards the classroom, giving Tommy a bitter stare and not waiting for him to catch up, an unzipped section of his backpack falling open behind him.

"Damn it! Sometimes there's no getting through that thick head of his." Tommy remarked to himself. He slammed his locker and started after Dale.

ii.

From his vantage point, Simon McLockland watched as the boy that had been openly eyeing him sprinted away, closely followed by the slightly older and less menacing boy. "Thank god," Simon murmured as both disappeared around the corner. He was terrified to the point of panic that the younger of the pair had shown so much interest in him. Was he going to get beat up? Was he going to be forced into some kind of initiation? He was the new kid after all.

The thing that scared him most was not so much that the boy had looked at him, but how he had looked at him. And the drooling. He had reacted in much the same way that his older brother had when his girlfriend came over for their first date. It was almost, Simon thought, as if the kid was in love with me. But that can't be. Boys can't like other boys like that.

Yet, the more he thought about what had just happened, the more he noticed that his body was reacting. His breathing was starting to increase, and his penis was getting harder and harder by the second, until it was sticking straight out and tenting the front of his pants. To anyone walking by, what was happening would be quite obvious. Confusion now welled up and clouded Simon's fear. What was going on? He had never felt like this before, and his wiener hand only gotten slightly stiff whenever he needed to pee badly. He was still thinking about his stalker. Could that be it? Could he have thought so much and been so terrified of the kid to hurt hiimself? He had to put him out of his head and get back to healthy thoughts. But the more he tried to clear his mind, the clearer his thoughts about that unknown boy became. He was having almost the same feelings toward this perfect stranger as he had for his parents, but these were a little different. He could easily see himself hugging and kissing the boy and enjoying it, while doing that with his mom and dad made him uncomfortable. He stood frozen and unsure what to do. Something was definitely wrong with him.

iii.

After the last class of the day, Dale and Tommy met outside the main doors of the school. They always walked home together since they lived only three blocks apart.

"So, how's the prom queen?" Dale inquired after bumping fists with Tommy.

"Oh, she's awesome, and she's super psyched about our date. How did I get so lucky?"

"Mmm, I'm not sure you have," Dale said playfully. "Don't you have to bang her before you can say that?"

Tommy stopped walking and turned to face him. "No. Let me guess: you gay guys have to score before you consider it a successful relationship."

"We just don't make a huge deal out of getting laid. If it happens, it happens." He shrugged. "Why is there so much drama when girls and guys are involved?"

"Because," Tommy said, losing his cool, "to us, sex actually means something; it's a symbol of love for each other. And anytime a guy sticks his dick in a girl, there is always a greater risk than when a guy shoves it in another guy. There are things called pregnancies and babies. Have you forgotten about those?"

Dale held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Whoa, dude, chill! I didn't mean anything by it. I was just asking an honest question. Where did that come from?"

"Sorry, bro. I just don't like it when you make being gay out to be better than being straight. We have a right to choose who we want to be with, just as you do."

Now it was Dale's turn to apologize. "You're right. I sometimes get carried away."

Tommy nodded.

"So we cool?"

He nodded again and held up his hand. "Skin it."

Dale slapped his hand against his friends, and pulled out his phone with the other. "What time is she meeting you?"

"Around 6."

"Well, it's only 4. Want to catch a burger at Pete's?"

"Nah, I gotta get home. I want to make sure I have enough time to get ready for tonight."

Dale halted, laughed loudly, and smiled. "Just remember that your shoes are the ones without the pointy tips and jacked up backs."

"You're something else, you know that?" Tommy shook his head in disbelief, but he was smiling as well. "Later."

As Tommy picked up his pace, Dale held back and watched him go. His mind wandered to the time they had first seen each other. He had been standing in the lunch line holding a tray of food. The cafeteria was small and the windows into the kitchen were positioned very close to the first row of tables; someone had thought it would be hilarious to put his foot out and trip him. Dale did not see it in time and blundered straight ahead. He flew forward, and the food landed on the floor, the buddies of the perpetrator, and the attached seat of the table. The tray unpredictably struck the offending kid in the head. Dale's nose met the floor with a loud crack, and blood started collecting on the white linoleum.

The bully and his classmates had been howling with laughter until they got speckled with the almost inedible lunch the school provided. They cut the banter short and glared resentfully down at Dale, who was being helped to his feet by a tall and slender boy that had rushed over right as Dale began to fall. When the tray hit Mr. Bigshot on the forehead, his cries of merriment turned into a bellow of rage. He lounged himself at the still stunned Dale. The boy that had helped him up cried, "Look out!"

Dale focused in time to see the bully running at him with all the force of a pack of NFL linebackers. He was able to bring himself out of his reverie enough to sidestep slightly to avoid the grunt of the onslaught. He took the boy that was still clinging with him. It was the only helpful trick his brother had ever taught him. "If a guy ever wants to take you out and is coming at you, step out of his way. That will avoid you getting killed." And this certainly seemed to be a life or death situation. The crazed kid wanted blood.

Fortunately, a teacher noticed what was happening before the bully could regroup for a second attack and came over. He grabbed the kid's shirt collar and lifted him off the ground. "Alex, what did I tell you the last time? If you insult, make fun of, harass, or hurt another student again, you will be taking a long vacation. Well, you better pack your bags, because you're leaving immediately."

"This was different," Alex countered. "That there's a queer boy. We can't have queer boys in our school."

"Whether that's true or not, and I don't really care either way, I, not you, will be the one to determine who we have in our school. Now start marching, Mister, to the office."

Dale could remember the sequence of events as if they had only happened yesterday. The person that had come to his aid had been Tommy. He had saved Dale's life. Dale, in turn, had saved his, and the rest was history. It is incredible when you think about how the most complete and longest lasting friendships are forged during the most hostile of situations. Within the maelstrom of dark hate and anger there is a ray of hope and light. And Alex's words kept resonating through Dale's mind. "That there's a queer boy." How right he turned out to be.

He wondered how his one time nemesis had known. Did gay guys send out some type of aura to the people around them, a sort of sign advertising the fact? Had he been displaying it back then that early in life? The fact did not bother him in the least if it was so; he was who he was. But, he would have to ask Tommy about it next time he seen him.

Now, as he approached the start of his street, he paused. "Why should I go home?" Indeed, there was nothing there for him. His mother would be frantic that he had not shown up yet. Oh well, let her call the voicemail. He could stand for a nice walk in the park. He turned on his heels away from his house and continued on past the intersection.