Kayden Chapter 1

This story involves gay fiction. I don't like writing bout sex, so you won't find it in here, I might suggest some of it, but no hardcore. This is basically the story of my life; there have been alterations in names places, and events. Particularly to guard the people involved, but also adding some excitement to the story. There is no sex, like I said, I hope people find this story helpful, but I guess for legal reasons, I need to state that anyone under the age of 18 cannot be reading this. Not like I can really do anything to stop you, it's more of like a moral obligation.

Kayden- By Ryan Keith

Chapter 1- A New Day

"I love my life. I'm young, I have friends, a loving father, and I'm an ok student. I'm your average boy."

Those thoughts have repeated themselves everyday for the past 10 years of my life. I'm happy. I truly am. Yeah I don't have a mom, but my dad and I have been doing great by ourselves.

Here I am, standing in the form God gave me, looking at my reflection as water drips from my hair. I love my hair like this. This wet, down, drippy, spiky hair look, I think it fits me great. The problem is, it's just wet hair clung together, and I will never get it to stay like that. By the time it dries, it will be a bit shaggy and not spiky at all. I'll need a shit load of gel to make it stay like this. My eyes are brown, but sometimes people would say I have a yellowish tint whenever light hits them. I would joke about being a werewolf when I was young. I scared quite a few of the kids.

I'm not ashamed of my looks, and maybe I tend to exhibit a few of my features more than others, but it's all in good fun. The names Zachary Hunter by the way, but I hate that name, and go by Zac instead. It's an interesting name. Why my dad chose it is beyond me. My friends think it's a cool name, and the girls' squeal every time they say it.

Like I said I'm not ashamed of my looks, in fact I'm pretty happy with what God gave me. I guess I owe my body to swimming. Been swimming since I was 6. My dad got me to love the water, and he's told me stories of his youth and how many competitions he won. My face has not a single pimple. Thank God I have no acne at all. I like to think my eyes, ears and nose are well proportioned, and I guess I do have a boyish look. I usually keep my hair short, spiking it with a touch of messiness, but it kinda grew in the summer and I'm debating how I should wear it.

Yup, today is the start of a new school year. I'm here in grade 10, attending St. Michael's Secondary School. Grade 9 was a blast. I met a lot of people, and kinda established my group of friends. There were maybe 20 of us who were all friends, and went to parties and such, but there were only four guys who I stuck very close with. They have been my best friends since grade 6 when I moved here into Whitby. For those of you who don't know, Whitby is a town in Ontario, about an hour from Toronto. I was really excited to find out what classes I was in and who was in them. You know, that first day of school excitement. Then after you find out, it's like, "I want my summer back!" sort of deal.

Looking at the digital clock in my bathroom, I quickly decided to get a move on, dad was going to leave in a bit, and I wanted to catch a ride with him.

I hastily threw some gel in my hair, somewhat messing it around to give it a wild kind of look. At times my hair is fairly thick, then when its not, its very thin and easy to control. Today was a thick hair day, so I fixed it as best I can. I quickly threw on my school uniform. It was these grey dress pants, with either a white golf shirt, or the white polo shirt, with a white t-shirt on the inside. I hated the golf shirts, and the polo shirts tend to feel nice, and I felt well dressed and professional.

I grabbed my bag and made my way down snatching a granola bar from the kitchen. Dad was there reading the morning paper and sipping his coffee. Let me tell you a bit about my dad. He is the coolest dad in the world! He's only 31 too. Very handsome, I guess looks are hereditary. He met my mom in grade 9, and they went out until grade 11 when she got pregnant. She wanted to have an abortion, but my dad fought to keep me alive. In the end, my dad's parents paid her off to have me. Soon after that, she left school, and they never saw each other again.

My dad was a smart kid, and my grandparents were bomb too. They helped raised me while dad went to finish school. We lived with his parents while he commuted to University of Toronto, and he was able to get Bachelors, Masters, and finally his Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering. He took an accelerated program and was able to finish within 9-10 years. My grandparents were loaded, so providing for me while paying dad's tuition fees was simple for them. Dad was a single child, so they took me as their own child too, but dad never failed support me. Even in his studies, he managed to spend his time with me as I grew up, teaching me all that a dad should.

I remember when I was 5 I wanted a dog and my dad said I couldn't get one. I was whining and complaining in the pet store while my dad tried to calm me down saying we would when he's done with school. I laugh at that memory constantly, primarily thinking about how funny that must have been. A five year old crying and calling a twenty-one year old, daddy. Dad looked like he was still 18 at the time. I still remembered the looks on some people's faces when they found out I was his son. They were surprised, not shocked, and they looked like they were going into a dream state. I guess it sounds kind of romantic: a single father who raises his child by himself, at the tender age of 21. My dad still looks like he's 25 or something.

After the morning jostling with my dad, we headed out to his car, a new 2000 V6 Honda Accord. My dad worked for CSA, Canadian Space Agency, and was making quite enough for just him and me. I rolled the windows down taking in the nice breeze. It was September, but it was still hot and felt like June.

"...so I think it's best if you guys reserve tonight, or else it might be booked." My dad said as he turned into the main road.

"Huh?" I asked in confusion

My dad turned to me and grinned, "You really should pay attention. If you did then I wouldn't have to complain about your grades. Their good but not the best," he said proudly.

"My grades are good enough" I asserted, brushing his concerns aside.

"Zac, there are different types of people" he said, returning his attention to the road. "Some party all throughout high school, making friends and having the best time of their life. They have fun, but they don't have a bright future," he said sadly.

"Others study like crazy, and get amazing grades, but they lack in friends and have no social life. That's the lonely path. But because they grow accustomed to that loneliness, when they go out to the work force, they lack what many people need: communication skills."

I don't know what he was getting at but I guess he was trying to share some experience of from his years in high school.

"Then of course there are those who party hard, make tons of friends, and manage to do extremely well in school. They get great results, have friends to support them, family who are close, and have high morals. These people are hard to come by. They need balance; a state of equilibrium." Leave it to dad to bring in his scientific terms in his pep talks. "The stress from studies is released with family and friends, the need to be alone is quickly relieved through studying." That kinda made sense.

"In grade 9, I was the party type. My work was dead last and by the end of grade 10, I knew I was in trouble. I became the smart type and lost a lot of friends. It was hard, and there was no one I could turn to who was my own age except your mother. Even she was getting sick of me."

The thought of the mother who wanted to abort me made me sick. To me she was some woman who I didn't matter to.

Dad continued, "I soon figured out how to balance everything: working hard and setting goals that seemed hard to achieve, but still having some time with friends." He turned to me, "I'm telling you this because I want you to know you can have fun and still do good in school, but it takes a lot of work, and balance. Don't be put off by what people say is impossible. I'm living proof its possible." I swear sometimes I think my dad is the smartest man in the world.

Being the teen I am, I replied, "Yeah, I know. I'll try harder this year". It doesn't sound like much, but deep down, I was going to try my best, I love my dad and I hate to disappoint him.

"Anyways", he continued, "I was talking about your birthday next week." Suddenly I was excited, my birthday was on September 9th and I always did something with the guys, and this time we were going to watch a Blue Jays game. "The baseball game would probably end around 8, so it may be better if you guys went to a nice restaurant, explore the city a bit, and crash at a hotel. It will give you boys a chance to explore your youth" This is why I love my dad, he thinks of the coolest things. He isn't strict on rules, and he knows what it's like to be young and wanting to explore.

"That would be so cool" I almost yelled.

My dad seeing my excitement smiled and said, "I can book you boys at the Fairmont Royal York, its about 2 blocks from the Skydome. They don't have a room for all 4 of you, but you can get a room for three and a room for two". I love my dad.

Getting no response from me, he shook his head and turned in towards my school, "We'll

talk about it some more tonight."

"Sure" I replied, my face plastered with the biggest grin in the world.

As I got out of the car, I turned to my dad and gave him and gave him a hug, "I love you dad." I felt him choke a bit. "I love you too Zac, you make me so damn proud."

I got out and waved at him. I didn't care if people saw me. I loved my dad. He was my support and the one person I tell everything to. Everything. You see, I'm gay, and I have been for a while.

He confronted me in grade 8 about some of the sites I've been visiting. I never knew about site history, or the fact that the computer kept a record of it. My dad, however, being an Aerospace Engineer, did.

I remember wanting to run away when he asked me if I had something to tell him. My worst fears were realized when he told me he knew what I'd been looking at on the Internet. Before I could run he grabbed me and hugged me tight. I was bawling at the time, telling him I was sorry and begging him not to leave me. I was fully torn whether or not he was going to kick me out or beat me. I heard the stories. I was scared. But he held me and let me cry until I was worn out. When I finally looked at him, he too was crying. I thought that maybe he was disappointed in me for being gay, but my dad was in fact sad for me. He told me that because I was gay I was going to have to face a lot of hardships. He feared for my well being, because he knew he couldn't always be there to protect me.

That night he told me he did suspect my sexuality, but never pressed forward. He said he had a gay friend in high school who was the nicest guy in the world. His friend killed himself because his family rejected him. Dad said he didn't want me to go through the same thing and was the main reason he wanted me to take Karate in grade 5. I was amazed, it wasn't until grade 6 that I knew I liked guys, and my dad said he already suspected when I was in grade 5. I never took my lessons seriously, but dad told me I should, that way I could protect myself.

He was right, and I knew it, so I worked hard. And now, by next year I was going to be a brown belt.

I took off my bag. Sometimes it gets a bit too hot with the bag on and all, and I didn't want my shirt to be drenched. As I walked up to the school, I felt a sharp pain on my back. I turned to see my best friend Jett Emerson smiling happily at me. I knew there was going to be a big red handprint on my back.

"Hey, Zac" he said grinning at me, his spiky blond hair shuffled a bit in the wind, "ready for your big 15?"

"Jett, that hurts man," I complained, trying to reach for my sore back. He knows I've been swimming all summer. I ran in the Triathlon a few days ago and was still sore.

"You'll be fine" he grinned mercilessly. "Our night out next week is going to rock!"

We walked through the front foyer, and made our way to the café where our friends hung out, and where our classes we posted.

"You won't believe how much better it's going to get," I replied, a cocky smirk on my face.

"Dude, what's the game plan?"

"Let's just wait until the rest of the guys get here, that way I need to say it only once"

Jett frowned at that, it looked like his eyes sagged a bit, it truly gave a new definition to the puppy face. Jett is extremely cute. Yeah, you know the best friend relationship and all. But despite his looks, he never attracted me physically; I guess we've know each other too long. He's more like the brother I never had.

He doesn't know about me, thank God. I really don't know what his standing point is on gays, and I've been too scared to even hint it. I recall one time in the gym locker room last year he punched someone cause they were badmouthing a friend of ours, they were saying he was gay. But with Jett's playful mood, it was almost impossible to get him angry. He's nice and controls his anger most of the time, but when he snaps, he snaps. I like to think he has the most self discipline out of my group of friends. He didn't have a bad body either. He kept in shape by playing hockey and just working out. In fact he was huge for his age, but he was always kind and gentle with everyone. Like he was afraid to hurt them. We occasionally worked out together at the recreation center I swam at. He would wait until I was done practice or occasionally ran the track waiting for me to finish.

As growing boys, we both lost our baby fat fast, and maintained healthy diets. I'm not a breakfast person, but I usually have grapefruit in the morning. Our bodies, however, were different. I was slim, but kept a strong figure. He had the bright blond hair. Some people thought we looked like brothers, and would think I was the younger sibling. Jett was more built than me, about my height, and still growing. He reached about 5'9 over the summer. We both grew up together, him growing up without a father, and me growing up without a mother. His father died of a heart attack when he was 4. I guess we depended on each other whenever we felt out of place or were just upset. He had three older sisters, two who were already in university, and I guess they worked on him developing his charms and gentleman like attitude.

It was cute watching him sometimes, his sisters taught him to open doors for ladies, pull chairs up for ladies, and talk smoothly with them, too. It impresses me every time he grabs a new girl's number. He doesn't brag or anything like that. His sisters would beat the shit out of him. Even when the guys are comparing notes in the locker room, he tells them to mind their own business, that it's between him and the girl he's seeing. He's a modest punk, but he occasionally tells me, and only me, about some of his experiences. That's what best friends do!

We found out we weren't in the same homeroom, which sucked, and we wouldn't know our classes until we picked up our schedule at homeroom. We waited patiently, talking about this new girl Jett was seeing. He never bothered me about getting a girl friend, and when ever some of the guys asked about me, he would back me up saying I was too picky with the girls at our school. With someone like him covering me, I was left alone. But I wasn't a fragile kid who shied away from crowds; I've had my share of bantering with other student. Occasionally what I learnt in Karate was a great help. I guess I just pissed off a few of the guys in our grade. Many girls tried to get close to me in grade 9, but I somehow kept them at bay, never giving in to their seductive approaches. I mean, I am gay, after all.

It was 10 minutes to the warning bell when the pack walked in. I should probably describe the pack, they were my close friends, but they were best friends; as close as Jett and I.

First there's Scott Kendal. Usually all talk, and his comments usually get him in trouble. When he would complain about wanting to get some with the ladies, Jett would try to shut him up saying talking about women like objects was. They often were on each other's bad side, but they had a weird relationship. No matter how angry they made each other, when it was called for, they were tight. I mean, they watched each other's back. Jett and Scott had weird kind of rivalry going, where both of them would insult each other but know it was in good fun. It was a love/hate relationship, where they did all they could to piss each other off to show how much they cared about each other. It's always fun watching them tussle, going at it in fake fights that looked real, but they both held back. Scott wasn't really into sports at all, but did enough to keep in shape. He was the only one among us who smoked, but not around us though. We would bitch until he was red in the face and lose interest in the cigarette. He was into computers and science, read a lot of books, and was usually quiet with new people. When he gets to know you, you can't shut him up.

Scott also was a skater, and he hung out with a few of them sometimes, but usually was with us. He wasn't into smoking weed, but he wore skater clothes and hat. The girls thought he was cute, I had to admit, he did have a great smile. He is kind of hard to approach, cause people tend to think of him as someone who belittles others, but he's not like that at all. He's part of a ton of clubs like Amnesty International and stuff. He started several petitions and wrote many essay. He was really passionate about living. His heart once stopped when he was a child. I wasn't too sure about the detail, but he seems to think God gave him a second chance. We believe him. He always went to church and even participated. He was a great skater too; he did a few competitions at the Exhibition during the summer, (C.N.E, Canadian National Exhibition).

Either people avoided him because of his arrogant and selfish attitude, or they liked him for his unbeatable sense of humor. We were cool with each other, he tend to share more of the important stuff with me. Scott wore glasses but hated them, so he wore contacts unless he forgot them or ripped them. Shin tutored Scott, which is a good thing, cause Shin actually kept Scott in line most of the time.

Now Shin is a mouthful. He's one of the most interesting, funny, wild, and charming guys anyone can ever meet. His name is Shin Matsura, a Japanese kid. He was born and raised in Whitby. His mom was a gentle lady. She wasn't Japanese, I think she was Chinese. His dad was ok, a lawyer and a smiley kind of guy. Shin shared his father's passion in baseball and had played since he could pick up a ball. He was pretty amazing too. Both his parents were strict on school though, so Shin had to work extra hard to keep his family happy. But despite that he was always laughing and saying something or other that was funny to our group. He sometimes did things we wouldn't understand just for the hell of it, and was really playful. He was shy around some girls, but then again he was also straightforward with a lot of them. He was a charmer like Jett, except Shin was a hell lot more fun.

He had wild hair. It was thin and black, but he wore it in an Asian style, having it messy and spiked, and always dyed. Usually he highlighted his hair red, which looked really cool, but over the summer he bleached his whole head, and wore his hair in this new form. It was spiked still, but chunks of hair fell forward and on the sides, it looked amazing, but looked like he spent hours on it. Shocked me to find out it took no more than five minutes. He was a bit chubby as a kid, but he lost it all and became fairly well built when we reached high school. He loved martial arts but didn't take it, which sucked because it would have been cool to have him in my Karate class. And did I mention he had a kick ass Sword collection? He had a bunch of wooden swords called Shinai's, and had a collection of Katanas and other Japanese swords. Shin took Kendo as well, so he was really cool in that. He also loved games, so when we weren't chilling he was sitting at home playing export games they didn't have here.

It amazes me how I could be associated with these people. Each of them was unique and real, but they never made me feel small. To them I was the group counselor, but also over-confident and slightly cocky. I'm easiest to talk to and easy to get along with. I sometime s think Shin is the one easiest to get along with, but then again he has the shortest attention span ever known.

I sat there grinning at them as they walked in.

"Is there a secret behind that smile, or are you just happy to see me?" Scott joked and he took a seat across from me.

"Just a few good news items to shed on your small brains" I retorted. He laughed it off.

Shin then sat on the table close to us and commented, "Well you are smiling a bit too much, looks like you got laid or something." Jett gave him a look, and Shin playfully slapped himself for the crude joke, but then asked "anything on your mind?"

"Actually, I was just thinking how amazing each of you are, and how we kinda fell into our little group"

By now most of them were blushing at my straightforward comment, but Shin was displaying his grand smile, it wasn't a hot smile, but it was certainly a happy one.

"Geez, what brought that on?" Scott asked, clearly embarrassed from the praise, "I mean you're just as amazing Zac"

It was Jett's turn to speak up "Yeah man, or did you forget that you are unbelievably talented with your guitar."

I probably failed to mention that, but I did play the guitar, and was fairly good at it.

Jet could probably read my face "Don't try to hide it. We all know how cool you look with your guitar and stuff. Your voice ain't half bad either".

I felt proud of my friends. They weren't fake. They were true. We all grew up together, and we didn't have any problems showing our friendship. I just held back with telling them my biggest secret. I just hope when I am ready they will stay by me.

"Anyways!" I shouted, trying to escape the embarrassment, "Now that you're all here, I can tell you the great news."

I could tell they were waiting, but I just held on, trying to drill them with suspense.

"Well? What are you waiting for man?" Shin demanded.

I just smiled, I know I was going to pay for it if I let them hang for even another minute.

"My dad told us to go to a restaurant after the game this Friday, you know for dinner"

"Well obviously, you think we'd just hop on the train and come back?" Scott asked, obviously disappointed with the surprise.

"And we're going to stay at a hotel, and chill around downtown all night."

I saw their faces light up, and they were looking at each other like they couldn't comprehend what I just said.

"Dude! Your dad is so cool!" Shin said excitingly, but then his smile faded. "Guys? What are we going to do in Toronto, we're too young to do anything you know?"
He was right, we weren't even 16. What would we do?

Jett already had it figured out though, "We can watch a movie, and there's this mini putt place my cousin works at, we can probably get in free. Plus there are tons of arcades there too." Already our faces were lighting up again.

Then the bell rang.

We said our goodbyes and went separate ways, none of us had the same homeroom, but Jett was heading upstairs like me, so we stuck together talking about my birthday.

"Your dad is so cool letting us go like this. I'm sure if he tells my mom it's ok, they would believe him." He was right, all my friend's parents trusted my dad, maybe because he was young, or maybe because he was a single parent like Jett's mom. But whatever my dad said, went with the mom.

"And all my sisters think your dad's pretty hot. I'm sure if you dad came over and personally ask, my sisters would try to help him anyway they can," he joked.

"That's so sick. Dammit that's my dad!" I cried, laughing at the thought of it.

We split as soon as we reached the stairs and walked into the familiar room of Religion. Great first period is hearing a teacher tell us what they think we should hold important to us.

It's going to be a boring semester.

First one in the classroom. Great! I took a seat somewhere in the middle, I didn't like the back because I couldn't pay attention, and I didn't sit at the front because you just don't.

I watched as the students walked in. A few of them were classmates from other classes last year, and we just nodded to each other, acknowledging the fact that we are in the same class. I saw Maya Claire walk in. She was probably one of the most attractive girls I know. I think she's beautiful, but she doesn't do anything for me. She saw me and waved. We weren't really friends, but we have talked a bit at a few parties we've been at. She was really a kind girl, and from what I'd heard, still single. I guess people thought she was picky with her guys as well. She was popular, but people who thought they can leech off her didn't last long. She had a thing for that, and knew who was using her and who was real. She smiled as she walked over and took the seat beside me. I didn't care, she was nice, and probably could help me pass the time in this boring class.

As soon as she moved though several people also moved, it looked like it was centered on Maya and me. Our teacher came in and quickly saw that the seating arrangement wouldn't work, I knew the ass would do something like that. I had him last year, a boring guy with no sense of humor.

He started to call out our names. When my name came up, I think I heard a few girls let out sigh. I just ignored it, but Maya was giggling. I practically knew everyone in the rooms, I've seen them at one point or another last year. No new faces this class. I lay my head down and tried to plan out my birthday in the city. That's when I heard something new.

"...Is Kayden Pierce present?" asked the teacher.

I could see everyone look around, probably like me, didn't recognize the name. It was a unique name; I wonder what type of person that named belongs to. But I guess he wasn't here, cause no one claimed it.

By the time the roll call was over, a kid practically fell into the classroom catching himself at the last minute and making a grand entrance. He stood up, obviously out of breath, and tried to explain his reason for being late. His back was to us, so I didn't get that good of a look at him. Our teacher seemed to understand and looked at us.

"There's a new student here today, please help him feel welcome, he got lost," the teacher said. It was almost like he said that to spite him.

I felt sorry for the kid. I could probably tell that the rest of the class felt for him too. They knew the teacher was a bastard. He turned around smiling, I suddenly couldn't breathe. This boy, he stared right at me, his blond hair combed back, his bangs slightly forward that seemed to make way for his face. He had the most amazing blue eyes I've ever looked into. He was about my height, maybe taller, but no more than 5'9. I couldn't tell about his body, because he wore the polo shirt, and he only had it halfway buttoned, showing this really cool silver chain with a kick ass symbol hanging from it. His shirt was untucked like everyone else. His pants seemed a bit too baggy to be uniform pants but they still looked like it. His face smile was so inviting, it was more heartfelt that Shin's smiles. I couldn't tell if he was holding back, but I sensed something about him, I couldn't really understand what it was. I suddenly wanted to know everything about him, where he went to school, his interests, if he had a girl friends...

I couldn't believe myself, for the first time, I found myself gawking at another boy. Sure I was attracted to guys, but not as strong as I've felt at this moment. I also realized that he was placed in a tough situation. New kids always have problems in new school, and our teacher didn't really make it easy for him, I knew he was upset that the boy was late, but he could still cut him some slack.

Then he looked right at me, and it seemed as if his left lip began to rise, giving me a hot grin. But before I could take in his smile he introduced himself.

"Hey, nice to meet you all. Like the teach said, I'm new, so please look after me." He was smiling again, I felt my throat dry up, never have I felt this way about another boy. The kid was far from over, "My name's Kayden Pierce, but my friends call me Kade." It seemed as if he was enjoying this little introduction, and I was glad he wasn't intimidated by the teacher's words.

"I like to read fantasy books, play basketball, and take long walks. Pizza and ice cream are my favorite foods, my birthday was a few months ago, and so I'm 15. Umm...I think that's it." He turned to the teacher who was clearly pissed that his words didn't affect him one bit.

"Just take a seat," our teacher said. What an asshole.

I could tell the whole class was relieved with the way it turned out. Kade seemed to be an easy going guy and it looked like he wasn't going to have any trouble at all fitting in. I could also detect a bit of love vibes coming off the female students around me, but hey, they weren't alone in adoring this new teenage god. Kade took a seat at the front, the only remaining seats that were left.

Our teacher then looked around the room, "My name is Mr. Sergeant, and I will be your religion teacher for the semester. I will not tolerate any foolishness in this class, so be warned." Holy shit we haven't even done anything yet and already we've been warned. He then looked over the rules and code of conduct which each teacher was suppose to read at homeroom.

He looked around the room, then stared at Kade, "Mr. Pierce, please stand at the front" I couldn't believe him, he still haven't had enough, he was determine to embarrass him. Kade simply walked up, still smiling while the teacher looked him over.

"Class, part of the school rules are the uniform and how it should be worn. As you see, Mr. Pierce is apparently breaking several of those rules." This was too much, who does this to a new kid. I thought the kids were supposed to pick on the new guy.

"First off, his shirt is untucked, second only three buttons are allowed to be undone, he has five, and his pants are clearly not uniform pants." Mr. Sergeant ranted off. I felt sick to my stomach, I felt so bad for Kade.

But before the teacher could continue, Kade interrupted, "Sorry sir, I didn't realize the school was strict on uniform. My last school wasn't too strict. Thanks for pointing out my mistakes." Kade then simply buttoned up his polo shirt to the required buttons, and tucked his shirt, right in front of us. It looked rather exotic, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought so. When he was finally was settled, he then turned towards the teacher smiling kindly, "Sir these pants are uniform pants, it's the same retailer as the rest of the uniform, I just got a bigger size because I like my pants baggy. " he then thanked our teacher and took a seat. I couldn't believe my eyes, the new kid just simply evaded all of the teachers traps, and even made our teacher look like more of an ass that he already was. I don't know what came over me, but I started to slowly clap, Maya got the signal and she followed suit, suddenly the whole class erupted in a series of applauses and whistles. Kade just smiled at all of us and quietly took his seat.

Mr. Sergeant was furious, and was trying to shut the class up. But then the bell rang. Thank God it was a shortened day. Each class was going to be 30 minutes today since it was preparation for the semester. Our teacher didn't have time to give us the overview and we were already outta that hell hole with our schedules. I made my way to the door, and watched the boy of my dreams turn around and give me a warm smile. He then walked away. Was that directed at me? I turned around quickly and found no one else by my side. That smile was at me.

Shin was in the next class. It was English. I actually didn't mind English class because it was a break from numbers and boring lessons on nothing. Shin was already seated near the back, I motioned him to come forward, but he simply shook his head. At first I was confused, but then I got the message. The goddess, well, Shin's goddess anyway, walked in. This fairly tall Asian girl whom Shin had a crush on for a while walked in and suddenly smiled at Shin's direction. I knew they were friends, and I was kind of rooting for him to get with the girl. She was pretty. Actually, she was hot. Her name was Mai. Shin always said her name like `my', everyone else pronounced her name as `May'. Not that big of a difference. She had her hair pulled back, and tied, which made me see why Shin was so attracted to her. She had a few strands of hair at the side of her face that hung loosely, and made her look hot, I guess. She was kinda bossy and was usually in control of everything. She wore glasses which made her look even more sophisticated and smart, like a young business woman. I could tell that if they got together Shin would be whipped, but I guess I always suspected he would fall for that type.

Anyway, Mai quickly took the seat next to Shin, and I saw them engage in a series of small talk. I think I saw Shin's eye sparkle a bit. Mai was covering her mouth with little giggle, I guess she did look cute. Only one who can bring Shin down to Earth was someone like Mai, and the only one to put a smile like that on a person like Mai was Shin. They were perfect.

I didn't know what was perfect until I heard a sweet voice behind me.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" I recognized the voice, and spun around the wrong way, actually taking a 270° spin before facing my definition of perfect.

Right in front of me stood Kayden, and he looked so good. He was smiling and had his hands stuffed in his pockets with a binder sticking out from under his arm. It was then I noticed that his shirt was untucked again, and that he unbuttoned his shirt. He looked really sexy, like an angel with a devil's pitchfork.

I had to say something, and fast, and I didn't want to sound too eager, or even worse, uninterested.

This is it Zac, it's either sink or swim; he's gonna like you or he's gonna think you're an asshole. It all depends on your reply, your tone of voice and your facial features. Too much will give you away and scare him, are you willing to risk it? You can simply shy away, at least that would save you some embarrassment.

The little men in my mind started to pull strings trying to screw up my response.

"Sure," I replied. I smiled a little and watched his smile grow, if that was even possible. Wow that was pretty easy. I tend to over react at situations like that, I always manage to put everything in black and white.
"Thanks" he said, pulling a chair closer to me, "I didn't know anyone here from the last class except you, I'm glad I saw you."

"No, no, I'm glad I didn't screw this one up. You're just so hot..." is what I wanted to say, but I knew that was impossible.

Instead I nodded and replied, "Yeah, sucks being the new guy. That teacher last class gave you a hard time. He's a real asshole."

The look on Kade's face was priceless, he looked so innocent, and unaware of anything around him, he looked like a lost puppy, "He was giving me a hard time? I thought he was trying to be funny. I think he was trying to ease my first day jitters, but its alright, I never get those."

I couldn't believe him, he actually thought that devil in disguise had good intentions. I secretly sighed inside. What a pure innocent, boy you are I said in the back of my head.

Before we could continue our little chat, a tall man with gelled hair walked in. He appeared to around my dad's age. He looked us over, then grinned nodding his head.

"I had a bunch of whiny grade nines a while ago, and because I had to read the code of conduct, I couldn't grab a bite to eat." He placed himself at the front of the room.

"The semester break down is at the front. You kids read it, then talk amongst yourselves. I'm going to go to the cafeteria, no one leave until the bell, got it?" his question was slightly serious, but a noticeable smile hid behind the cool stare.

We sat there, stunned. A teacher we didn't know trusted us enough to leave us unattended. Something tells me this guy is going to be a lot of fun. That was kind of cool. I decided to get Kade and me the breakdown, but before I got up, I noticed Kade walking towards me. He already had two sheets with him. How the hell did he move so fast? I wondered.

"Here, I got one for you"

For the first time I noticed how white his teeth were, and they were perfectly aligned, I had braces when I was in grade 5, they're gone now, so that's a good thing. Something else I noticed was his eyes. He had the most amazing blue eyes ever. They looked so inviting, like an ocean ready to carry you away. I could sit here staring at those eyes and never get bored, but that may not be a good idea.

I simply nodded and gave my thanks. Somewhere inside, I wanted to know everything about him; he looked very interesting, smart, and cute. The list goes on.

"So is there anything to do around here? I just moved up here with my parents and I don't know where anything is." He looked at me, not faltering one bit, his voice calm, stern, and full. This boy had no faults.

"Actually this place is kinda the shit hole. We have a crap mall, but there's a pretty good one about 15 minutes from here. A lot of my friends just hang there sometimes, watching movies occasionally." I answered his question like a pro.

"Like a couple of mall rats, huh?" he asked innocently, flashing his great whites.

"Dude I totally love that movie!"

"Me too, just way too funny. I guess hanging out at the mall is pretty cool"

I don't know what came over me, but suddenly I was talking with this beautiful life form and I wasn't scared. I wasn't shy. It felt so natural to be around him. He was so beautiful it was unreal to think we were the same species. It's like he took away all my worries and that we've been friends forever. I was shocked with what suddenly came out of my mouth.

"Yeah man, you should hang out with us some time, it would be really cool. We can all watch a movie or something, I don't mind showing you around."

I saw his eyes soften, and his mouth closed. A slow smile crept across his face. If I hadn't been sitting, I literally would have fallen down. My knees felt weak, and I was transfixed with the look he was giving me. I was overcome by a sense of peace.

This guy, why does he make me feel like this? I wondered to myself.

"I would really like that. Thank you, umm" He sounded troubled, and I suddenly understood why.

"Sorry, I never introduced myself," I said sheepishly lowering my head is shame, "My name is Zac. Nice to meet you."

His eyes flashed again, they were so bright, like the vast ocean...yeah, yeah you heard me mention that already. It took a lot of effort to break away from my daze and actually listen to him.

"Cool, the name is Kayden, but I go by Kade and..." I suddenly cut him off.

"And your favorite foods are Pizza and ice cream right? I asked jokingly.

He grinned wildly at me, "Damn straight!"

We chatted for a bit, I looked around after we took a break from our endless chatter. It was by then I noticed we had more than half the class staring at us. Probably all wondering who Kade was, and why I was talking so openly with him. I also saw Shin give me a wicked smile; he got up and walked towards us, quickly followed by Mai.

"Hey Zac!" Shin walked over and gave me props, we pull our fists and knock knuckles, a cool way of greeting a buddy.

He looked at Kade, who sat there smiling at us, like he knew our friendship was tight.

"You gonna introduce us, man?" Shin asked, knowing I was going to probably blush and mess up some how.

"Uhh, right," I began awkwardly. "Guys, this is Kade. He's new here" I said motioning a thumb at him. "Kade, this is one of my best friends, Shin, and his soon to be girlfriend Mai."

I had to take advantage of the situation. I knew they were both going to murder me afterwards but it was the spur of the moment.

Mai simply bit her bottom lip and smiled widely. "Asshole"

I had to snicker a bit, I knew I caught them,

"Too bad for you, we're already going out, and nice to meet you Kade. I'm sure you'd be a good influence on our Zac". I didn't know that Mai and me were at a friendly basis, but I was cool with it. She was actually really fun to be with once you got to know her, but I was still in shock from what she said.

I turned sharply at Shin who was trying to hide the fact he was embarrassed, he unknowingly scratched his forehead, a habit he does when he feels embarrassed or confused.

"DUDE!" was all I could say.

After a short moment I continued, "Why didn't you tell me you modest bastard" I joked slapping him on his back.

He smiled obviously embarrassed at the situation he was in, "You guys never asked, we've been going out for a week now." At that he came from behind Mai and grabbed her waist, she seem to like that position, clasping her hands around his. Wow I never knew shy, wild Shin was so forward with the ladies.

My smile refused to fade while I stared at both of them. I was really happy for Shin, but then again I envied him too. He had someone important, I wanted that. But I couldn't just come out and tell a guy I felt attracted to him.

Shin seemed to sense my thoughts and quickly shifted to a new topic, "So Kade, have you seen all of Whitby yet?"

"No, not yet," the beautiful boy replied, "I moved last week, but I've been busy taking care of some things back at home" The way he said `things' made me wonder a bit, "Zac said he was going to show me around some time"

"If you have five minutes to waste, then go right ahead. We should really rename this town Shitby" Mai quipped. We were all laughing at that for a while.

"That's cool" Shin replied, "You should hang with us a bit, it would be cool to show you around, man."

Kade simply nodded, acknowledging Shin's invitation. I really liked the way Shin was able to meet new people, someone like him didn't have any enemies. Everyone liked him, and he had the coolest personality anyone could ever have, he was smart but modest, popular but easy to talk to. He never looked down on anyone, and he was usually his silly self, often breaking down any social walls some people placed around themselves.

Before we knew it, the bell rang and we all went to the door. Kade had Art next, and surprisingly, so did Mai, so they went they're way, talking like they were long lost friends. I just stood there and watched my angel walk away. I felt sort of empty and dry without him near me all of a sudden. My dry throat got tight, and it was hard to swallow. Why did Kade make me feel like this?

The students dispersed leaving me in the empty hallway. It felt cold. Rather, I felt cold. I felt alone.

END OF CHAPTER 1

Well, there you have it, chapter 1. There's more to come, please send any questions or comments to Ryan_Kayden@yahoo.ca. Obviously flames will be ignored. Please also don't try to get me to alter the story, I'm pretty much writing this story for my most important person and myself. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.

Copyright 2003 Ryan Keith