Disclaimer: The following story contains activity that would be considered of homosexual nature between consenting college students. While none of it crosses into a gratuitous nature, if such material is offensive to you or you are not of the legal age to read such material in your area, please do not. Other than that, please enjoy the story!
The Living Years
Chapter 6 "The Weekend"
That was it? Trey had feelings for Noah? Seriously? That was all that Shawn could think about all night. He couldn't seem to function correctly around Trey knowing that little bit of information. That alone had been what kept him up at night. Just up thinking, tossing and turning. And he was even up before the loud buzzing of his alarm clock, which he'd muted before it was set to go off.
He'd watched Trey sleeping, like he always pretended he wasn't doing and he had seemed to sleep perfectly well, despite being trapped in an elevator for an hour. And even though it was something the two of them could say they had in common, as unique as it was, it still hadn't been enough for either of them to talk to each other last night.
Trey had gotten up just like he always did and Shawn couldn't help but to watch him get ready. He didn't even try to pretend like he wasn't either. He was just that conflicted. And he hated that.
Once Trey had started brushing his teeth, Shawn forced himself to sit up and look around. It was the second night he actually gotten into bed at a reasonable time. It was also the second night he hadn't exactly had the best time trying to get to sleep, if he got any sleep at all.
It all just made him wonder exactly what he was going to do about his conflicted feelings.
He looked over at Trey who looked back at him in the mirror and rolled his eyes. Shawn wanted to get an attitude and start with him again, but realized that he'd just decided that he was going to try and be more civil to Trey.
And he figured he'd give it a shot.
"Couldn't really sleep last night," he started, peeling a wife beater on. "Couldn't stop thinking about the whole elevator thing yesterday."
Shawn noticed Trey look at him in the mirror as he continued to brush his teeth.
"And how about that catfight, huh?" he asked, walking over to his closet to pick out his clothes. "That was some weird shit, huh?"
Trey spit in the sink and turned off the water, wiping his mouth and turning around.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Shawn looked over at him.
"What?" he asked.
"This. Talking to me instead of at me," Trey replied. "That's new."
Shawn watched apprehensively as Trey walked over to his own closet and started going through it as he tried to come up with some kind of response.
"I can't be in a good mood?" he decided to try.
"If only, huh?" Trey replied, grabbing a bag from his closet and setting it down beside his bed.
Shawn regarded his packing the mostly full bag curiously and decided to ask him about it.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, trying to sound friendly.
Trey didn't even turn around to respond.
"Yeah, home," he replied. "I'm in class until three. After that I'm taking straight off."
Shawn felt a little sad over that information. He'd been hoping to have the weekend to try and mend things with Trey, not expecting him to be going home the first week of school. It was a bit strange in his opinion, but he decided not to comment on it.
"Anyway, could you refrain from using any of my shit while I'm gone?" Trey asked, standing up and glancing briefly over at Shawn. "I don't wanna have to change my sheets because some girl you brought back slept in my bed and puked in it."
"I wasn't gonna^Å." Shawn started immediately stopping and trying to keep his cool. "Yeah, sure."
Trey had been expecting some kind of argument or snide come back comment, but when he didn't get one, he started making up his bed.
"So^Åwhere do you live?" Shawn asked, starting to put on his jeans.
"Around," Trey replied, not wanting to tell Shawn for more than a couple of reasons.
"Yeah I could probably go home for the weekend if I wanted," Shawn said. "Not like I live out of state or anything."
"Really?" Trey spoke, somewhat uninterested as he moved from his bed over to his backpack.
"Yeah well, I don't know^ÅI'm thinking about it," Shawn replied.
Trey picked up his bag and backpack and stopped, looking over at Shawn.
"Well if you do stay it's like I said, how my side of the room looks right now is exactly the way I want it to look when I come back," he said, before turning to head for the door.
"Yeah^Å.sure," Shawn sighed, as the door slammed shut behind Trey. "No problem."
"Is it bad?" Amber asked.
"It's gone down a bit since yesterday," Jesse replied, looking over Amber's bruised left eye. "She bloody got you, eh"
"Shut up, Jesse," Amber groaned, standing up to view her own eye in the mirror. "It was a sucker punch and I did better."
"I should see the other girl, right?" Jesse spoke, bemused. "Look, you could always skip class. It is Friday after all."
"And that's supposed to make a difference?" Amber asked, turning to face Jesse. "Besides, if the heads found out I skipped, they'd replace me like that and you wouldn't want that would you?"
The way Jesse saw it, he could just as easily find another fool of a girl in the sorority to stay with and get away with it all just the same, but he decided to spare Amber's feelings, especially after yesterday.
"That was so bad being trapped like that Jesse," Amber said, wrapping her arms around Jesse's shoulders. "Especially without you. I thought I was gonna die."
"Well you didn't," Jesse replied. "Just be thankful you weren't sharing an elevator with TWO nutters."
"Oh no I didn't have any nuts^Åbut there was a crazy girl," Amber spoke, not getting what Jesse had meant at all.
Jesse stared at Amber as she let go of him and walked over to the mirror again.
"Thank god for concealer," she spoke, started to rub a bit on the bruised area of her eye. "Or I probably would risk skipping."
Jesse uncrossed his arms and turned to walk back over to his bed, sitting atop it.
"You ARE going to class today right?" Amber asked.
Jesse groaned as he leaned over the side and reached for his shoes.
"I guess," he replied. "I can always amuse myself picking on the blokes next to me."
"Whatever works," Amber spoke, gathering her backpack. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah^Åsure," Jesse sighed, feeling less than thrilled at having promised he'd go to class.
"Great," Amber said, exiting the room.
Jesse groaned, not having anything to look forward to but the weekend.
"You know, I always wondered what happens when you actually die in the Prometheus Lands across the sea but-"
"Jeremy, Jeremy^Å.what did I say about those games?" Noah asked, as he tied up his shoes.
"That you thought they were for nerds and that I should talk about them with someone else?"
"Not in those words, but yeah, pretty much," Noah replied.
"Are you still upset about what happened yesterday?" Jeremy asked.
After the whole elevator ordeal, Noah had decided to temporarily forgo chatting with Trey as he'd had enough excitement for one day. He'd decided to forgo talking to anybody after quickly getting rid of Zoey and wanted to go chill out in his room. He thought Jeremy would be in the room like he always was, so he left his keys in the room, something he quickly regretted, as Jeremy had decided to pick the day that could have easily been his last on Earth had he gotten struck by one of the several hundred thunder bolts that crashed down the previous day, to go out.
Zoey was pissed at him for getting rid of him and wasn't around for him to stay in her room until he got back and neither was her roommate. And he didn't know anyone else well enough to stay in their rooms. Plus it wasn't like he could just go strolling around the campus instead, as it had gotten really bad outside since the time he'd been stuck in the elevator. So he had to wait in the lobby. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. Five hours he waited until Jeremy finally showed up minutes before he'd actually need his student I.D. to get back into the dorms.
But that wasn't the situation he knew that Jeremy was talking about, as he knew all about his elevator misfortune, and knew that was what Jeremy was talking about.
"What happened yesterday?" Noah spoke, lacing up his sneakers. "I got stuck in an elevator. I got over it."
"Dude I'd probably have so many nightmares if I ever got stuck in an elevator during a thunderstorm as long as you did," Jeremy replied. "I mean you guys seriously could have died."
Noah didn't think anything had been that serious, nor did he need Jeremy to beat the issue into his brain anymore than it already was.
"Look, I'm just trying to forget about it, okay?" Noah asked standing up. "It's no big deal."
"I mean, I don't even have a will^Åhow am I supposed to decide who'd get my computer?" Jeremy spoke, mostly to himself at this point. "It was three grand, you know. Birthday present last year."
"Really?" Noah spoke, looking himself over in the mirror.
"I mean dying, that's serious stuff you know?"
Noah didn't really see how anyone could talk extensively about will's and dying so early in the morning but then he had to remember the kind of guy he had for a roommate and realized exactly who.
"Yeah well, I didn't die and it's over so can we just not talk about it anymore?" Noah asked, pulling his backpack strap around one of his shoulders.
"Yeah dude, sure," Jeremy replied. "But uh...just so were straight^Å.I'd totally want you to have my computer if^Åwell, you know."
Noah figured it was probably because Jeremy didn't have any real friends, but decided to just smile and agree before leaving the room and immediately noticing that Zoey was coming out of hers at the same time.
She looked over at him and looked away, pissed, as she locked her door.
"Hey," Noah greeted her sheepishly, joining her at her side.
"Now you wanna talk?" Zoey spoke, starting down the hall.
Noah pulled his backpack over his shoulder more before starting after her and following her at her side.
"Not directly after we both go through something probably point two percent of the population ever experiences."
"I'm sorry okay? I just, had stuff I needed to work through."
"And what you thought I didn't?"
Noah sighed as he and Zoey got to the area where their dorm's elevators were located and Zoey pressed the down button.
"Look, I like you Noah, I really do but I'm not talking to you for myself you know," Zoey said. "I wouldn't be totally hurt if I didn't have to anymore."
And with that Zoey grew quiet.
Noah tried to find something to say to Zoey but he realized that he really had been out of line to blow her off yesterday, especially as they were working on building a friendship.
All he could do was let out a sigh and wait with Zoey, realizing that he hadn't exactly started off his day well at all.
Today was going to be the third day that Trey attended his Psychology class, and the third day he had to be around Dro when he was with Grace in class. That always bothered him and while it still bothered him even today, the fact that he and Grace had both went through something not many people could say they go through made him feel more connected to Grace than Dro could ever hope to be.
It wasn't a secret Dro didn't like him and he didn't like Dro either, so he was hoping that Grace had confronted him like she was planning on doing and set things straight.
Trey was just about to enter the class when he felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back in turning him around. He wanted to throw up a little when he realized that it was Dro.
He looked both to his left and right as Dro put an arm past his face, almost slamming into it, and stared less than five inches away from his face into his eyes.
"You're a little fucking PUSSY, you know that?"
"Yo, look man^ÅI don't want any-"
"Trouble? Seems like that's all yo ass was looking for when you decided to tell my girl about what you thought you saw at that damn party!"
Trey stared at Dro incredulously.
"What I THOUGHT I saw? You were tearing open a condom^ÅI saw more than I wanted to-"
Trey stopped and flinched when Dro slammed his other hand into the wall past his face.
"Stay outta my shit alright?" Dro growled.
"Grace is my friend-"
"Grace is my friend," Dro mimicked Trey. "You a faggot bitch ass nigga. Shit."
Dro glared at Trey for a few more seconds before Dro shoved past him and headed into the classroom. Trey was a bit shaken and it took him a second to get over what happened. But when he did he didn't worry about it too much, as he figured that Dro was just upset at having been dumped by Grace.
He straightened himself out and headed straight into the class, still avoiding the eyes of his classmates by looking down, but no longer hesitant about where to sit, heading straight up to take a seat next to Grace.
When he reached her his mouth nearly dropped open at what he saw. Sitting comfortably in usual spot was Grace with Dro next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, glaring at him. Besides that there was some guy, who looked one of Dro's friends, sitting in his usual seat.
He walked up and looked over at them.
Grace looked over at Trey, the guy in his seat and looked like she suddenly remembered something.
"Shit, boy get yo ass up," she spoke to the guy sitting in his seat.
"Naw, man, stay right there^Åyou cool," Dro spoke.
"Dro, what the hell-"
"Baby it's cool^Åremember what we talked about?" Dro asked.
Grace sighed and looked down, not even bothering to say hi to Trey or even look back over at him.
Trey was stuck not really sure what to do.
He certainly wasn't hoping to ever have to look for a seat in the class ever again, and Dro, jackass that he was, was making it so that he'd have to.
Lowering his head slightly, but trying not to look too sad about it all, he walked past their row and up to the top to look for another seat.
He'd been looking forward to the day, and it wasn't going well at all.
"For the love of^Å" Jesse had completely forgotten that both the crazy girl from the elevator and the bloke that like to snog guys were in the Music Appreciation class that he'd stepped inside.
He'd turned around to leave but found himself being shoved aside by other people trying to get inside the class, something that was new for him.
"What's wrong with you people? Do you NOT recognize Sergio Vermonte when you see it?"
His loud outburst had only drawn attention to him, the first of which to notice him was Sierra who spotted him and sighed, growing angry. When Noah heard Sierra sigh angrily he looked over at her and noticed where she happened to be looking, over at the door where Jesse was standing to the side looking disgusted with the concept of higher learning.
"It wasn't the squirrelly girl after all then," Sierra mumbled. "He really is bad luck."
"Tell me about it," Noah replied, automatically shrugging to keep out of sight.
He was hoping that Jesse wouldn't see him so that he wouldn't have another chance to embarrass him in front of a lot more people than he had on the elevator.
Apparently Sierra, who was just as much of an attention whore as Jesse, didn't feel that way.
"The special classes are two buildings over moron," she called out to Jesse, which was like an open invitation to call him over. "And the psych ward isn't that far away from there either."
"What are you^Åugh," Noah groaned looking around for somewhere else to sit before Jesse had a chance to make his way up to where they were sitting.
But as he did that, Sierra once again shoved her way past him to meet up with Jesse in the middle of the steps as the other students poured into the classroom around them.
"If that's the case, why aren't you already there?" Jesse started, upon meeting up with Sierra.
"Oh that's great, really original," Sierra replied. "Now maybe we can tell mama jokes."
"I generally have no problems with females wherever I go," Jesse started, crossing his arms. "Which posses the question, what is it about you that's so irritating? Could it be that you aren't really a woman after all?"
"You're a fucking idiot, you know that," Sierra started.
"Sorry darling," Jesse argued. "You started with me first. Besides, every word I speak is true."
"And you do speak a lot of them," Sierra replied. "But that's okay, teachers like answering questions. Let's see how many of them I can make about you without her catching on."
"What are you playing at?" Jesse asked. "Why can't you just behave like all the other girls and enjoy being around my general area?"
"You mean fall down and kiss your feet like some kind of slave woman?" Sierra asked incredulously. "Sorry, but I think I like my idea better."
And with that Sierra walked past Jesse and back up to where her seat where Jesse followed her with his eyes, spotting Noah as the guy she was sitting next to.
"Cheers mate!" he called out.
Noah rolled his eyes and sunk in his seat a little more.
"Don't worry," Sierra replied. "I got him."
Noah didn't care about their petty little rivalry. All he cared about was trying to get through the class with both the schools craziest guy and craziest girl in the same room with him.
"So^Åwhat was it like?" Ben asked, as he and Shawn walked across the campus, passing the central fountain.
Shawn hadn't really been paying attention to his friend as he talked about all of his female exploits as he'd been to busy thinking about what he was supposed to do for the weekend. Trey was leaving, and normally that would be the kind of thing he wanted but now he wasn't so sure.
"What was^Åwhat like?" he asked.
"You know? Being trapped in an elevator," Ben replied. "It wasn't just you and a bunch of guys was it?"
Shawn had vaguely called and told Ben about the whole elevator deal in a passing moment last night and couldn't blame him for wanting details. Being stuck on an elevator, especially for as long as he and everyone else had been didn't happen to most people.
"No, there were two girls," Shawn replied. "They got into a fight."
"Dude, you didn't tell me this WHY last night?" Ben asked, suddenly sounding a lot more interested in their conversation. "Were they hot? Did they take their shirts off^Å.dude we should start carrying like Jello around so we can get girls to fight in it."
"No," Shawn replied, showing he was still more on Earth than Ben even with all his thoughts clouded. "That's a dumb plan. Stupid."
"Well it's weird huh?" Ben started. "I mean just yesterday it looked like we were having Noah's Ark two over here and now it's almost completely dry out here."
"Well it IS summer still," Shawn replied. "And it is ninety five degrees out here."
"Still I wish I wouldv'e stayed with you yesterday," Ben replied. "We haven't really done anything this week huh?"
Suddenly an idea flashed across Shawn's mind.
"Well, what about the weekend?" Shawn asked.
"What?" Ben asked, confused.
"We could go home^Ågo out with some of the guys^Åit could be like it used to," Shawn replied.
"I don't know man," Ben started, hesitantly. "I mean, I'm kinda making a lot of friends here. Why would I wanna go back if I don't have to?"
"Come on Ben," Shawn replied. "It's not like were gonna go back every week. We could just tell our parents how our first week was and then go hang all weekend. It'll be fun."
Ben sighed and looked his friend over before shrugging and nodding.
"I guess man," he replied. "If you want."
"Cool," Shawn replied, suddenly feeling a lot better now that he knew he wouldn't have to spend his weekend as alone as he thought he would.
"Now back to this catfight that happened yesterday," Ben started.
Trey hadn't really been sure what to do about Grace. He normally met her for lunch, but he'd decided to forgo lunch as he was all ready to leave for the weekend. Even though he lived a little over an hour away from the school and would have to take a bus to get home, he more than needed to get away for the weekend.
He couldn't believe that it appeared that Grace had taken Dro back even though she told him that she believed that he was cheating on her. They even talked for a few hours about how she was going to handle the break up, the specific questions she was going to ask and what she was going to do about it. Yet, she was back with him and it not only confused him but pissed him off thoroughly.
He wasn't sure if he even wanted to call her. The fact that she hadn't tried to call him or stop by his room to talk was making it easier to decide. He'd already made up his mind that he was going home for the weekend and that if Grace wanted to talk to him she'd have to wait until he got back Sunday night.
He'd managed to get his stuff together and had opened his door to leave when he spotted Grace standing outside of it, hand up as if she were about to knock on the door.
"Uh^Åhey," she said.
Trey sighed and looked away from her, not really sure what he could say to her without making it sound cruel. He wasn't even really sure he should be talking when he was feeling as upset with her as he was.
"Can we talk?" she asked.
"I don't know," Trey replied, crossing his arms but still not looking at Grace.
"Trey^Å"
Trey looked up at Grace and stared at her for a few seconds before moving aside just enough to let her inside the room. He let the door shut behind him and turned to walk over to his bed, sitting on the edge of it. Grace stood across from him looking around.
"So this is your room," she said, picking up her foot when she realized she was standing on one of Shawn's shirts strewn about on the floor. "At least YOUR momma taught you some sense. Mine would beat my ass if she ever saw my room like this."
Trey wanted to point out his own mother would too if he ever made as big a mess as Shawn had with his side of the room. But instead he just crossed his arms, waiting for Grace to get to the point of her visit.
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier okay," Grace started. "I just^Å..Dro's been good to me. And we talked-"
"I fucking SAW him Grace," Trey decided to interject. "With my own eyes! Why would I lie to you?"
"I don't know. I^Å" Grade strayed. "I don't know."
"So is that it then? You think I lied to you?" Trey asked.
A few moments passed where neither of them said anything before all of a sudden the door to the room flew open, revealing Shawn, who stopped once he saw both Grace and Trey inside.
"Oh uh^Å.hi," he spoke, shutting the door slowly and standing by it.
"Hi," Grace spoke, not bothering to look over at Shawn. "Trey..."
"You know what, I'm leaving anyway," Trey started standing up.
Having Grace basically call him a liar was one thing but to be here with her and now Shawn was too much. If he was gonna go then he had to go now.
"Trey^Å"
"Maybe I'll see you next week," he said as he pushed past Shawn and opened the door. "When I've come up with some more lies to tell you."
Grace and Shawn just watched as a highly pissed Trey stormed out of the room slamming the door shut behind him.
"That must be his thing today," Shawn said. "Slamming doors."
Grace looked over at Shawn.
"I'm Shawn by the way," he introduced himself.
"Grace."
Shawn looked around, not really sure what to do or say.
"You're a slob, Shawn," Grace said. "You know that right?"
"A little mess never hurt anyone," Shawn replied with a nervous laugh.
Grace just nodded uncomfortably before starting for the door.
"Well^Å.see ya then," she said.
"Yeah," Shawn replied. "See ya."
"There," Jesse said as he walked into his and Amber's room and shut the door behind him. "I've done it and gone to class. Are you happy now?"
Amber, who was sitting at her computer instant-messaging a few of her friends, turned in her chair to face Jesse as he walked over to his bed and fell atop it.
"You act like I told you to go kick your mother," Amber said.
"I've actually done that^Åalthough she did kick me first," Jesse replied.
Amber frowned at Jesse.
"What kind of screwed up family do you have?" she asked.
"The kind of family that needs separate five hundred dollar an hour therapists," Jesse replied, looking over at his clock. "Ugh it's only four. This has to be the most uneventful Friday I've ever lived through."
"Just be glad you're here to live through it," Amber said, turning back to her computer.
While Jesse was admittedly bored at the moment, he couldn't help but to wonder what he'd do for the weekend.
"So, you got anything going on then tonight?" he asked.
"Um, I don't know yet," Amber replied. "It's been a long week. I don't know if I'm up for any parties."
Jesse mumbled under his breath that he didn't mind attending parties without Amber as he turned over on his back and pouted.
Amber turned around and stared at him before sighing and standing up.
"Okay," she started. "Get up."
Jesse sat up.
"What? Why?"
"Tonight is movie night," Amber replied, grabbing her keys. "You want a fun weekend? Let's start with tonight."
Amber may have been dense but Jesse never questioned her ability to have fun. And even though movies didn't sound ideal to him, the prospect of what could happen after them did. So he got up and joined Amber at the door, ready to head out with her.
Trey felt a bit of nostalgia being back home again, even though he'd only been away for a week. He wasn't sure why he was expecting something to be different, but nothing had changed and he knew it.
He missed home though. Something as simple as the way his house smelled instantly put him at ease. It wasn't entirely peaceful and quiet however. Being an inner city home, the sounds of the streets easily poured through into the house, even though all the windows and doors were shut. Being six thirty in the evening wasn't too bad as far as street sounds went.
It was like being back made him feel like he didn't have any problems at all. He could go anywhere he wanted now. He wasn't confined to his classes, the school cafeteria and his hellhole of a room that he shared with an asshole of a roommate.
He immediately plopped down on the couch in his living room and let out a sigh, feeling at ease with himself. He felt like there were so many things that he could do, he wasn't sure where to start. He could go for a walk, something he did often to clear his head of all thoughts, considering he never had anyone to talk to about them, and as far as he was concerned, no one now to talk to about them. Or he could make himself a snack and watch t.v. Or he could forgo the snack deal altogether and head down to the chicken joint on the corner for dinner.
There were so many things that he could do now that he felt he had more freedom. And not one thing was coming to him as an idea of what to do first.
He turned on the lamp on the end stand next to him and looked around. Everything looked the same, even though he wasn't really expecting anything to have changed in a week. Everything smelled the same even. Like cinnamon. Everything was the same. And as underwhelming as that would be for some people, he didn't mind it at all.
He was feeling like he'd actually take a quick nap before he heard what sounded like something falling upstairs.
The first thing he did was think about what he should do, instead of acting right away. The stereotype generally went that white people went to check out strange noises, usually without a weapon, and it lead to their doom while black people either did the same, but with a weapon, or just got the hell out of dodge first, asking questions later.
He himself realized he didn't fit either one of those stereotypes because all he wanted to do was sit and wait to see if it happened again. And even if it did, he wasn't sure what he'd do.
A few minutes passed where he didn't move at all. Just sat up and waited for the sound to happen again, which it did, right after Trey had proceeded to make himself comfortable again. One time could easily be considered a coincidence. Two times however, the second time being much louder than the first time, wasn't a coincidence and he needed to do something about it.
He realized it could be anything. His mother could have accidentally left a window open upstairs and a cat or something could have gotten inside and been making a mess or something. And as unlikely as that sounded, it was exactly what Trey was hoping to be the case as he grabbed the lamp he'd turned on, and after turning it off and taking off the lamp shade, started up the stairs.
He realized that for his sake, he needed to see what the noise was. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he didn't see anything as being out of order that he could immediately tell. There weren't any lights on, and the doors to the rooms upstairs were completely open.
He was about to peer into his own room when he heard the sound again, quickly turning around. That was when he realized that the sound was coming from upstairs. In the two room apartment that his mother occasionally rented out to people.
He wasn't sure what to do when he realized where the noise was coming from. It would seem the obvious answer to everything was that his mother had rented out the room apartment again, probably to get a little extra cash to pay for some of his college expenses. But without knowing that for sure, what would he tell his mother when she came home asking about the maniac he let stay upstairs refraining from calling the police on.
Or^Åor he could just go check out the scene for himself, which is exactly what he decided to do, without thinking about it anymore. Being a person who thought about literally every action he made before he did it, he realized he'd probably find fault in his logic if he questioned himself right now.
He didn't even think about what he was going to say if in fact there was a tenant in the apartment but he figured he'd be able to come up with something, even if he knew he was lying to himself.
Upon reaching the top, the only light that could be seen was the light pouring out from underneath the door of the room, where there obviously was someone inside.
Trey let out a deep and paced breath before he raised his arm and, after a moment of hesitation, knocked on the door.
At first, he wasn't sure if he'd made the wrong decision, especially after no one came to the door. Then all of a sudden loud rap music started playing, some more rummaging around occurred, and finally the door opened.
"Aye, was up man?"
Trey wasn't sure what to think.
Standing before him was a vaguely familiar face, probably someone that hadn't graduated in his class in May, dressed in heavy brown Timberland boots, dark black baggy pants and grey Southpole hooded sweatshirt.
And with not being sure what to think, he also wasn't sure what to say either.
"You Trey?"
He wasn't sure why the fact that this random strange dude knew his name actually creeped him out a little, even though he more than likely had probably seen him around school before. The guy creeped him out almost as much as Dro did.
"Yeah," Trey replied cautiously.
"Was up man, I'm LaTario. New tenant, man."
Trey just nodded in understanding even though he didn't really get why before standing around awkwardly. He wanted to run away fast in the other direction and forget he even had a new tenant but decided to wait until there was nothing left to say.
When LaTario just stared at him as if he were waiting for him to leave, Trey turned slightly before turning all the way around and heading back down the stairs, feeling somehow like he'd just wasted his time.
In just one week his mother had gone and gotten herself a tenant to fill the apartment and hadn't mentioned a thing about it to him in any of their brief conversations over the phone during the week. That angered him a little, but he realized he couldn't really be that upset given the reason his mother had most likely done it.
But the fact that someone else was in the house made him feel somewhat like he wasn't completely free. It wasn't quite the trapped feeling he felt when he was at school with Shawn, but it was up there.
And that feeling left him wondering exactly what he'd do with his time now.
"Well if isn't Mr. Higher Learning himself," Kaz spoke as he stared at Noah standing at his front door.
Noah pulled his jacket around his arms tighter and squinted to keep the wind out of his eyes as he gazed at his best friend.
"You gonna let me in?" he asked, simply.
Kaz stared at Noah for a few moments before relenting and tossing his door open wide enough for Noah to get inside before shutting it and staring at Noah.
"Never thought I'd see you again," he commented.
"That's funny because I saw you and Sabrina already this week," Noah spoke, taking his jacket off and looking around.
"What?" Kaz asked as he walked over to the kitchen area.
Noah pushed some junk off the side off the couch and had a seat. Kaz was a member of the lower class spectrum of income. Or at least his parents were. He lived in a trailer that was a good size. Probably about as big as one of his classrooms at school.
Noah himself belonged somewhere in the middle class end of things, bottom or middle he wasn't sure. He wasn't exactly trailer trash. His parents just acted like they were because they associated with trailer trash and threw parties all the time like they were still 20.
It was exactly what he wanted to come back to. Because he felt that at least this way he didn't have to think about anything or anyone from school. It was simpler that way.
"Heads up," Kaz spoke, tossing Noah a beer before opening his own and taking a swig.
Noah looked over the beer, not really feeling like he wanted to open it, despite the multitude of feelings that were running through his head.
"So, what brings you by?" Kaz asked, throwing himself on the couch opposite Noah. "I can't see you wanting to come back to all this."
Noah just stared down at the beer in his hands, feeling conflicted about what to say exactly.
"Alright, don't tell me," Kaz replied. "I plan on getting wasted tonight and probably wouldn't remember tomorrow anyway."
Noah grinned at his friends comment before looking over at the clock up above his head.
"Wanna talk someplace else?" he asked.
"What, don't wanna drink alone?" Kaz asked, taking another swig of his beer.
Noah stood up.
"Let's have some fun man, like we used to," he replied.
Kaz took another gulp of his beer while staring at Noah for several long seconds before jumping of the leg of the sofa he was sitting on and burping loudly.
"There gonna be any hot tail where we're headed?" he asked.
Noah playfully shoved him towards the as the two of them got ready to head out.
"You have been going to all your classes right, Ben?" Shawn's mom asked as they all sat around the dinner table.
"Why Mrs. Wright, I'm appalled and shocked with disbelief," Ben replied. "Besides, why ask me first? I'm not even your son."
"You eat and sleep here and what a coincidence, so does my son," Shawn's mom replied. "And I know my son wouldn't skip. Right Shawn?"
It was true that Shawn hadn't skipped any of his classes yet, but that didn't mean that he was against doing such a thing. But he wasn't about to tell his mother that.
"Mom did you set up my credit card account yet?" Shawn asked, as he forked over his salad.
"Oh yeah, it went into effect this afternoon," his mother replied. "So if you want to use it^Åbut remember, it's for school related things. Don't go charging a subscription to Playboy to that account."
"Dude, you should SO do that," Ben spoke. "I hear it shows up as something else on the statement."
"You heard?" Shawn asked.
Ben looked around at everyone.
"Allegedly," he quickly recovered.
"No, I get it mom," Shawn replied, as he finished up with his food. "I shouldn't waste the money on stuff I really don't need."
"Well, I want you to enjoy school, just don't go overboard," Shawn's mom replied.
"We should go charge a life supply of Raman noodles," Ben said, finishing his own dinner.
"God Ben, how much money do you think is on the card?" Shawn's mom asked.
Once again Ben looked around at everyone before grabbing Shawn, who was standing to put his plate in the sink, and pulled him towards the stairs.
"Dude!" Shawn exclaimed.
"You have a credit card now which means we have options," Ben started, as they walked up the steps.
"What's with all this `we' talk?" Shawn asked.
"Come on, you know my parents wouldn't trust me with a credit card," Ben replied as they entered Shawn's room.
"Hmm, I wonder why," Shawn replied.
Ben walked over to Shawn's computer desk and took a seat in the chair while Shawn plopped himself down on his bed.
"Surprised my dad hasn't tried to turn my room into a gym yet," Shawn mumbled, bitterly.
"I give it a month," Ben spoke off handedly. "But seriously, we should really think about what all we can do no that you have an unlimited amount of funds."
Shawn sighed and looked around his room. All he'd been thinking about when he'd asked Ben to tag along home with him was that he'd be getting away from all his problems at school, mainly Trey. After that, he really didn't care what he and Ben did as long as he didn't have to worry about school. And so far, he was doing well to forget about it and his problems.
"You know we could go out," Shawn started, suddenly coming up with an idea to spend the night having fun.
"Yeah?" Ben asked, a grin forming on his face.
"Yeah," Shawn replied, getting off of his bed. "Let's go."
"Cool," Ben replied. "Now this place where we're going, is it gonna require me to have some one's?"
"Shut up," Shawn replied.
"So did you like the movie?" Amber asked as she and Jesse exited the movie theater and turned down the street leading towards the downtown area.
"What, that bloody mess?" Jesse replied. "I think I'd rather poke my own eye out than to have to sit through it again."
"Uh! Brad Pitt was in that movie!"
"Exactly my point, love," Jesse replied. "Usually when you cast a movie you wanna aim for people who possess something called talent."
"You're just jealous you haven't been in a movie," Amber teased.
"With Brad Pitt? Oh yeah, I'm loads jealous," Jesse shot back. "So what's next on the schedule? You planning on taking me to the cowpoke states hottest club^Åor wait^Ådo you have clubs here?"
"Tonight's all about showing you around town," Amber replied. "You gotta know what's what if you're gonna be living here."
"Temporarily," Jesse added. "You forgot that part."
Amber just giggled as she wrapped Jesse's arm with hers, leaning into him as they headed down the street.
Jesse generally said adios' the moment a girl started attaching herself to him, but for some reason, he didn't mind with Amber. He was far from ready to start calling her girlfriend' but he wasn't going to push her away.
"So really, what's hot here?" Jesse asked as he and Amber continued to walk along. "Back home there's this place called Liquid-"
"Jesse," Amber interrupted. "I don't go to clubs. I don't know."
"Well maybe you should," Jesse replied. "Certainly wouldn't hurt much now would it?"
"Maybe we'll get around to that," Amber started. "But first, I wanna play tour guide and show you around. I've always wanted to do that since my mom told me there was no such thing as a Magic School Bus."
Jesse flashed Amber a dense look before finding himself being rushed along as she led him towards an ice cream stand.
"You expect that because I have more money than God that I'm gonna keep feeding you?" Jesse mumbled, annoyed. "What happened to the every day anorexic?"
"Oh no, I'm not taking any pills," Amber stupidly replied. "I'll take two vanilla cones please."
Jesse sighed as he fished out his wallet watching Amber take the liberty of ordering something she had no intention of paying for.
After he handed a crisp five dollar bill to the man behind the counter he watched as Amber licked one cone and held the other one away from him when he tried reaching for it.
"Then what did you order two for?" he asked, annoyed.
"Duh," Amber replied, cheekily. "I only have two hands."
Jesse flashed her a bemused look as she continued to lick her ice cream cone.
"So you know Tanner's mom finally split, again," Kaz spoke taking another swig of beer as he and Noah sat at the counter at the bar of a local club. "He's all beat up about it. Of course, that's probably cuz his step dad's taking care of that part for him."
Noah took a sip of his own beer, reminiscing.
"Stuff's really still fucked up around here huh?" he asked.
"What, you say that like everything's so great up at your fancy university or whatever shit that is," Kaz replied. "Aren't you the one who said you were having problems of your own?"
Noah took another sip of his beer.
He knew that he was having problems. Problems with Zoey. Problems with Jesse and Sierra. Problems with Trey. He just wasn't sure what Kaz would think of his `problems' if he decided to tell him about them. He knew what kind of shit Kaz had been through in his lifetime. Certainly much tougher shit than a petty argument with some rich punk.
"Nah, don't worry about it man," Noah assured Kaz. "The weekend mulls over all troubles right?"
"What is that some fucking college shit?" Kaz joked, flipping a bar nut at Noah.
Noah dodged out of the way, allowing the nut to hit the back of another guy at the bar's head, who grabbed it and turned around.
"Dude what the hell!?"
"Oh, sorry," Noah laughed, looking the guy over, instantly stopping his laughter.
The guy who had just been hit was certainly one of the most attractive guys he'd ever seen. He was white with thick brown hair that was combed back in a way that made him look preppy. Dark brown eyes and a face you'd easily be able to picture on television somewhere. To go along with the preppy hair were preppy clothes.
The guy was everything that Noah spent the past two years of his life trying not to be. He normally made fun of those kinds of people and did whatever he could to avoid them. But for some reason, tonight he felt differently. Tonight, he was actually attracted to a prep.
That is to say if the guy really was a prep. And he wouldn't know that much unless he talked to him.
"Oh look, the fags getting up," Kaz joked, taking a sip of his beer. "You think he's gonna ask us if we got the new American Eagle catalogue?"
"Kaz, shut up," Noah quickly mumbled as the guy took a seat next to Noah.
Noah couldn't really tell why it was happening.
Maybe the guy was upset behind the nut being thrown at him and had come over to scold him. Or maybe he just felt like moving.
Either way, Noah felt nervous all of a sudden.
"You know, if you're gonna throw stuff at people, at least make sure you have better aim," the guy spoke.
Noah felt a little more at ease, as the guy was speaking to him in a friendly manner. There was no way that he could be upset over something so stupid as what had happened.
"Yeah I think all the happy people are East of this place," Kax spoke, sounding pathetically buzzed. "You might wanna try finding one of them to talk to."
"Matt," the guy spoke holding out his hand for Noah to shake.
"Noah," he replied back.
"So you're not happy huh?" Matt asked.
"Well let's see, he's a fucking slave to the education system again^Åwhat do you think?" Kaz asked.
"Kaz-"
"I think I need another beer," Kaz started, cutting Noah off. "I'm depressed all of a sudden."
Noah had started to object but Kaz actually got up and left him alone with Matt.
He turned and looked over at Matt sheepishly. He didn't even know why he was being the way he was around Matt. Up until recently, he'd always saw himself as straight. It wasn't exactly like he didn't see himself the same way now, however. It was just that lately, he was worrying about guys more than girls.
He wondered if he should be worried, but never really questioned it. And he didn't want to ruin his night by doing it again.
So he shrugged it off in order to focus on Matt.
He was determined to forget about Trey for at least one night.
"So, uh, you in college or-"
"Was," Matt replied. "I spent two years at Brown before I realized that I had no fucking clue why I was there. I mean, I guess I know what I wanna do with my life but how am I supposed to know if its right for me, you know?"
"I'm studying music myself," Noah replied. "I'm a freshman."
"Freshman doesn't exactly equal twenty one now does it?"
Noah just looked down. Sure he and Kaz weren't exactly 21, but they WERE both 18, which as far as he was concerned was good enough.
"And what are you like two years older than me anyway?" Noah joked.
"Yeah," Matt replied. "So I guess the under twenty one rule applies to me too."
Noah smiled.
He would never have guessed that it would be so easy to talk to someone who reminded of everything he used to be.
"So dressed like that, I can't really see you coming to clubs," Noah commented. "Especially ones like this one."
Both Noah and Matt turned around in their chairs at the bar to look out over the club.
"Yeah well you gotta get out and live sometime right?" Matt asked.
Noah looked over at Matt and smiled.
Trey was trying to concentrate on reading his magazine, but something always interrupted him.
Whether it was having to answer the door to let in LaTario's friends or trying to get some peace between the loud talking or blasts or music, LaTario was turning into an even bigger hassle than Shawn. And from what he experience with Shawn already, it would take a lot for that to happen.
He couldn't for the life of him see why his mother would approve someone like LaTario living in the upstairs apartment. He could understand why she'd rent out the apartment, sure, but to him? Without making too harsh of a judgment, LaTario seemed just like any guy he knew at high school. And that wasn't exactly a good thing.
Knowing someone else was in the house with him, someone that he didn't even know, was almost like being back at school sharing a room with Shawn. He always felt so constricted while at school. Like he couldn't do anything. Like he was being watched, which, he generally was when it came to Shawn. And it was all his fault.
He thought that by getting away for the weekend, he'd be able to get away from his thoughts, the majority of which centered around Shawn.
But that didn't seem to be working for him very well.
After the fifth ring of the doorbell, he'd decided to just forget about answering the door for LaTario, as he knew for a fact it could be heard from the upstairs apartment.
When the doorbell rang again, he sighed and fell back on his bed. It was annoying and starting to worry him. He wasn't sure what he'd do if LaTario tried to throw some mini party in the apartment. Since his mother wasn't home, it'd be up to him to make sure things went smoothly around the house. And he didn't exactly have the greatest people skills.
When the doorbell rang a third, fourth and fifth time without answering, Trey let out a loud annoyed sigh and forced himself out of bed to go attend to the door. He wasn't anyone's servant. He knew LaTario could hear the doorbell being rang.
Ads he approached the door, the bell rang for a sixth and seventh time to which Trey decided to walk slower, to make the impatient whoever-it-was wait even longer.
He was about to give the person at the door his best annoyed expression when he stopped just short of that, only managing a look of shock and confusion.
"Punk ass! Aye uh, whatchu doin here man?"
It was Dro!
Grace's boyfriend Dro.
The same Dro that he'd seen with another girl. The same Dro that Grace had taken back after telling Trey she believed that Dro had cheated on her. The same Dro that threatened him in the hallway before class.
The very same Dro he thought he'd left at school along with all his other worries and problems.
"Uh.." was all he managed to get out as he just stood at the door.
"Yo man, let him in!" LaTario called out as he came down the stairs.
But Trey was too shocked to oblige, to which Dro just pushed past him, letting himself in.
It was this that snapped Trey out of his shocked state, confusion now taking over.
"Yo man, tight place," Dro started, greeting LaTario with the obligatory `black guy' handshake that Trey was so used to seeing.
"This ain't it man," LaTario replied. "Shit's upstairs."
"Wait a second," Trey started. "What are you doing here?"
Both LaTario and Dro looked over at Trey with these haughty looks. Like the two of them were disgusted with Trey for not getting something they were both obviously in on.
"Yo, this shit ain't cool man," Dro started, his attention turned to LaTario. "How you know him anyway?"
"Me? I live here!" Trey exclaimed.
"What?" Dro asked, actually sounding concerned.
There was a moment between the three of them where none of them said a word. It didn't last long before more talk was brought up.
"Aye yo, let's just go upstairs," LaTario spoke, trying to get Dro to come with him.
But Dro and Trey were too busy staring at each other to notice.
"Dro," LaTario spoke.
"Right, right man," Dro spoke, allowing himself to be led upstairs leaving Trey confused.
A good five minutes must have passed while Trey just stood thinking and trying to see if he could hear anything going on upstairs from where he was at downstairs before he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump back lightly.
"Hey baby!" his mother greeted him, pulling him into a hug.
"Mom," Trey spoke, a little surprised but still mostly confused.
"Oh, I know it's only been a week but I missed my baby," his mom crooned, releasing him from the hug.
She took a step back and looked him over before setting her purse down ad taking a seat on the sofa next to them, inviting him to sit down next to her.
"So tell me about your first week? You ain't been skipping no classes have you?" his mother asked as he sat down.
But his mind was somewhere else entirely.
"Mama, who is that upstairs?" he asked, not really sure what he was thinking.
"Oh LaTario? He's renting out the apartment upstairs," his mom replied. "Lord knows it came at the right time."
"Mom, what do you know about him?" Trey asked.
He wasn't sure what he was trying to say or ask, but he just didn't feel right knowing the guy living in the upstairs apartment knew Dro.
"Well I'm not gonna just let anyone stay up there, Trey," his mother responded. "He's in school. Goes to the local community college. He's a good boy."
Trey allowed that statement to sink into his head. Dro went to his university and while he didn't exactly know him very well, he was anything but `a good boy'. It left him wondering what that said about LaTario.
"I'll tell you all about it later, but first, you tell me how school is," his mother continued. "You been eating up there right?"
And realizing that his mother would much rather focus on him, Trey decided to go ahead and let her. He could always worry about Dro and LaTario later.
"Chug chug chug chug chug!!!"
Shawn and Ben chimed along with a large group of people as one among them managed to get down his tenth beer.
"Dude, he's gonna be so shit faced tomorrow morning," Ben joked, as if something like that were amusing.
"Tomorrow? He'll probably pass out within the next five minutes," Shawn replied, looking the guy over.
"Well I know one thing," Ben said, getting up to head towards the bar, Shawn following. "I'm not driving him home."
"I drove, remember?" Shawn asked.
Which was the reason why he hadn't had but only two beers. He figured that was a good enough limit to still be considered sober.
Shawn watched as Ben ordered himself another beer.
"This was a good idea man," Shawn spoke. "Coming home for the weekend. I almost forgot how much fun it is here."
"What not having enough fun on campus?" Shawn asked sarcastically.
Ben just grinned as the bartender handed him another beer and the two of them headed over to an empty pool table.
"Ryan used to kick my ass all the time at this," Ben said, grabbing a pool stick. "Didn't he go off to UCLA?"
A lot of Shawn's old buddies had gone out of state for college. But one incentive to being as outgoing as he was was that he knew quite a few people. So even though a good chunk of them were gone, he still knew enough people to call up and have a good time.
And tonight was no exception.
Shawn picked up a pool stick of his own and started cueing it as he thought about how much fun he was having being away from school for the weekend.
"Hey."
Shawn looked up and noticed two attractive guys had joined them at their table. The more attractive of the two was holding a beer in his hands looking over at him sheepishly while the other one was near Ben.
"Uh, hey^Årandom people," Ben spoke, still cueing up his ball. "Hey look if you want to table too bad now. It was empty when we got here."
"Well maybe we could compromise then," the guy near Ben replied, placing a hand on his shoulder and caressing it.
Ben looked down at the guys hand before flipping it off of him and tripping back in a panic.
"Dude, what the fucking hell!"
Shawn looked over in concern as he realized what was going on.
"Relax, what's the big deal?" the guy asked.
"That shit aint cool man, no way!" Ben objected.
"Okay, let me try something else then," the guy spoke, making the biggest mistake of his life.
He grabbed Ben and planted a firm kiss on his lips. Ben, who was stunned at first, pulled away after a few seconds, pushing the guy so hard he fell backwards.
"Brian!" the cute guy that had been staring at Shawn earlier called out, rushing over to help his friend.
Shawn, in turn, rushed over to Ben to try and calm him down. He knew how bad a temper Ben could have once he was pushed past a certain point.
"Fucking fag!" Ben was shouting as Shawn tried holding him back.
But the Brian guy was laughing as his friend helped him stand up, obviously seeing something funny in their situation.
"You straight guys take everything WAY too seriously," Brian joked. "Let's go Rob-"
Ben wasn't about to let the guy get away with kissing him, however, and pulled him back delivering a punch to his face, causing him to fall into a nearby table crashing it on the floor.
"Ben!"
"Fucking queer! Kiss me again! I fucking dare you!" Ben shouted, jumping on top of Brian to continue the beating.
Brian's friend tried to stop the fight but was only pushed back from a loose blow. When Shawn tried to pull Ben off, he actually got somewhere in managing to get him away from Brian before he pushed Shawn away in favor of continuing the fight.
Most everyone else in the place was watching the fight like it was some kind of interesting movie, not bothering to lift a finger to stop it or look for someone who could stop it.
"Ben!"
"I'll kill your fucking faggot ass! I'll kill you!"
"Ben!"
Shawn looked back and noticed two big guard looking guys trying to get towards them through the crowd.
"Ben, stop! We gotta go man!"
For some reason, through his rage, Ben actually heard this and stopped with his beating, a good thing considering Brian actually looked on his way to death.
"Ben, let's go! Now!"
Shawn pulled Ben to his feet and the two of them rushed past the crowd, heading in a hurry for the back exit.
He always knew that Ben could be really bad when he snapped, but he'd never seen him this upset before. He wasn't sure what it was, but this happening was causing him to think twice about his best friend. The same friend that he always saw as the brother he never had. Now, he wasn't so sure he even wanted a `brother'.
Noah finally gave into Matt's trying to force his tongue into his mouth, as he pushed him into the back wall.
He could feel Matt's right hand reaching down for his shirt while his left was rubbing his crotch.
He wasn't sure what it took to get him this far. One minute he and Matt were talking about their mutual tastes in music, and after Kaz informed him how he was turning in early to go band some chick he met in the club, he and Matt ended up back at his place.
Matt was a charming guy. Not exactly the type of guy he was ever friends with before or after he gave up his life of popularity, but there was something about him that he saw and liked. It was the very thing that had captivated him so much that he was here now, making out with a guy he'd met only three hours ago.
Matt let his tongue slip out of Noah's mouth and pulled back enough to say something.
"You sure you don't do this kind of thing?" he asked, working the belt to Noah's jeans. "With guys I mean?"
"Are you sure YOU don't do it?" Noah asked.
Matt grinned as he slipped Noah's jeans down.
"Hey, never hurts to try something once," he replied. "And then, if you like enough, you can just keep trying it. I should know."
Noah accepted that answer as he allowed Matt to raise his arms above his head as he kissed his way up his body, stopping at his lips.
The two of them kissed deeply and slowly, before Matt pulled back, breathing in as Noah breathed out.
"I don't know what to do," Noah admitted, sheepishly. "I mean, I've never done this before. With a guy."
Matt leaned in and kissed Noah slowly before pulling back again.
"I'll go slow then," he replied, starting to unbutton his own shirt.
Noah knew it wasn't exactly a substitute, but it was enough to ease his mind. It was good for him. And what he needed was some good after his week at school. Now all he had to look forward to was the rest of his weekend. And hopefully, he wouldn't think about Trey until is was over.
"So your sister works in a strip club even though she got into Harvard?" Jesse asked.
"I know some of her moves, wanna see?" Amber asked, starting to pull her leg up as far as possible.
Jesse was temporarily distracted with this notion before he realized where he was.
"Were standing at a piece of American history Amber," Jesse replied, referring to how they were near the Grassy Knoll. "I don't think that's appropriate."
"Okay then, maybe later," Amber replied.
"Or now," came the voice of a guy nearby.
Jesse looked over and noticed that the guy was one of three college aged looking guys who surrounded the two of them, the two that hadn't spoken making catcalls at Amber.
"Um, can we help you burnout losers?" Amber asked, crossing her arms.
"This your boyfriend?" the main guy asked.
"Sure is," Amber replied, wrapping her arms in between Jesse's.
Jesse looked down at her arm and rolled his eyes, pulling himself free.
"Let's not jump ahead of ourselves now," he replied.
"So in other words, I'm looking at a hot piece of available ass," the main guy replied.
"Like that would stop you, Lucky," one of the other two guys snickered.
"Lucky? Isn't that a dog's name?" Amber asked, confused.
Jesse, while not wanting to extend the effort, couldn't deny that he did care somewhat for Amber. And as such, he pulled her closer to him as Lucky and his cronies surrounded him.
"You know, I could show you how to a have a REAL good time, " Lucky started, stroking Amber's hair.
"Alright, why don't you just back up you right wanker," Jesse barked.
"Wanker? I got one of those," Lucky replied. "Maybe your girl pal here could make it feel nice-"
Jesse pushed Lucky back as Amber grabbed a hold if his arm.
"You know, I'm starting not to like you very much, guy," Lucky spoke, after catching his footing.
"Well to quote Burroughs, I don't care if you hate my guts," Jesse replied. "The important question is whether you're in a position to do anything about it."
"You trying to be a fucking smart ass with me?" Lucky asked.
"There it is," Jesse spoke amused. "I was wondering when that famous Texas charm would kick in."
Lucky started towards Jesse to which Jesse gently nudged Amber out of the circle.
"Stand over there," he replied, before falling to the ground with a surprise blow to the face from Lucky.
"Oops, that wasn't very charming of me was it?" Lucky asked as Jesse stood up, wiping his mouth clean of a speck of blood.
"No," Jesse replied. "It wasn't."
"I guess I should have told you I'm an expert at this sort of thing," Lucky spoke, his two friends snickering at his comment.
Lucky stood in the middle of the both of them with his arms crossed, looking Jesse over like some kind of victorious champion.
"So are we gonna box or what?" Lucky asked.
"You know, it's a tad crude to fight in public," Jesse replied. "But with you I think I'll make an exception."
That was all it took before Lucky decided to lunge at Jesse again, only this time, Jesse quickly dodged out of the way. When Lucky turned around and tried again, Jesse caught his fist with one hand and knocked him in the throat with the palm of his other hand, causing him to fall to the ground gasping for air.
When Jesse looked over at Lucky's friends, the jumped back slightly, looking a bit frightened, before helping their friend up.
"I guess someone should have told YOU I did three years karate in south London," Jesse said snidely. "Learned from the best, too."
"This ain't over!" Lucky managed to get out.
"No, I think it is," Jesse replied, allowing Amber to wrap her arm in between his, as the two of them started down the street, leaving behind Lucky, his friends, a crowd of on lookers, and their interesting weekend, behind.
My Yahoo Group is currently under construction. I will be leaving the links to the finished advanced chapters of The Living Years up until I need to move them later (but only into a new folder). Feel free to stop by and check out the progress:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoJoPresents-GayFiction/
Personal email: crossingboi2004@yahoo.com
Copyright 2006