Copyright of this story is retained by the author and it should not be reposted to any newsgroup or website without permission. Any form of commercial use is strictly prohibited without the express permission of the author. The author can be contacted at gym@softhome.net
The usual disclaimers apply: don't read if you are prohibited by location, are under legal age, or if you are likely to be offended by explicit descriptions of gay sex. The story is pure fiction and is not based on any actual events.
Sexual Development: Chapter 24 - Fallout by Gymnopedies
Daniel didn't know whether to be surprise or not when Jason turned up at his front door on Monday morning so that the two of them could walk to school together. Jason being there wasn't in itself unusual, since the two boys usually walked to school together. But after the events of the previous day, Daniel had no idea what to expect anymore.
After hearing about Daniel and Dean, Jason hadn't responded with the expected explosion. In fact, he had hardly responded at all. It was as though he were determined to blank the whole thing out and pretend that it hadn't happened. Daniel had made a couple more attempts to get the boy to discuss it, but had either been totally ignored or received a short, sharp response from Jason saying that he didn't want to talk about it. However, it was obvious to Daniel that Jason was far more hurt and upset than he was letting on. The boy's behaviour throughout the rest of Daniel's visit had alternated between extremely forced cheerfulness and gloomy silence, and a couple of times Daniel was sure that he saw his friend wipe away tears. The tense atmosphere in Jason's room had soon become unbearable, and eventually Daniel had had to make an excuse that he needed to get home. Daniel was now starting to wonder whether he had made a huge mistake in dropping Dean, and he voiced this worry to Craig on the telephone later that evening. Craig had told him to try not to worry and advised him to let things settle for few days and see what happened.
This morning it appeared that even the forced cheerfulness had gone and Jason had lapsed into total depression. He looked completely miserable and spoke only when spoken to, answering with just the bare minimum of words. Daniel tried to make conversation as they walked to school, but soon realised that he was talking complete rubbish as he attempted to fill the long, uncomfortable silences. By the time they reached the school he was ready to scream at Jason in the hopes that this might at least get some sort of reaction.
Then, just as they entered the school gates, an already bad morning suddenly took a potential turn for the worse. They met Dean.
When he saw them, Dean hesitated, uncertainly, and then approached them. Daniel looked from Dean to Jason, holding his breath. What the hell was going to happen now? He had a sudden vision of Dean and Jason rolling around on the floor punching hell out of each other. He tensed, ready to step between them if it proved necessary.
"Hi," said Dean, his tone tentative as though he too were worried about what might happen.
"Hi," said Daniel.
Jason merely nodded, his lips pressed together in a tight line, his body tense.
"You OK?" Daniel asked.
"I guess," said Dean, with a sort of shrug.
Dean certainly didn't look OK. Daniel had previously seen two completely different sides of the boy. There was the cool, confident, reserved Dean, the 'school' Dean, who no one messed with unless they wanted to get the crap kicked out of them, and who even made brick shit-houses like McBride think twice. Then there was the open, excited, friendly Dean, the Dean that Daniel had only got to know recently, who was bright and sparkling and enormous fun to be around. The boy standing in front of Daniel this morning was like neither of those. It was as though someone had picked him up and shaken him and all of the confidence and sparkle had fallen out. He looked nervous and uncertain and thoroughly miserable.
As Daniel looked from Dean to Jason, his heart sank even lower than it had been before. The two teens were almost mirror-images of misery. He bit his lip and had to make an effort to stop himself from crying. He had really messed this one up. "Come on, let's go in," he said, forcing out the words. Without looking back, he headed for the main door. The three of them walked through the corridors towards their classroom in silence. There was an almost palpable tension in the air, though Daniel tried to take consolation from the fact that at least Jason and Dean hadn't come to blows. Not yet, anyway.
As he entered in the classroom, Daniel stopped in surprise. There had been the usual noise and chatter, but all of this suddenly stopped as every face turned his direction. And then he saw what was written in large letters on the board at the front of the room and he gasped aloud as he realised that no one was looking at him after all. They were looking at Dean.
Dean's face drained completely of colour as he looked at the board, his eyes wide as he scanned across the words. "Dean Williams is a shirt-lifter." And underneath that, "Williams sucks willies."
"Watch your backs boys, the cock-sucker has arrived." Simon McBride strode across the room, a broad grin on his face. He stopped immediately in front of Dean. "I always thought there was something funny about you, Williams. And now we know all about you. All this time you've been a gay boy."
Daniel expected Dean to face McBride down, just like he'd done so often in the past. But this didn't happen. Dean seemed to draw in on himself; he just looked small and frightened. He pushed past McBride and walked over to his desk, where he sat down, his head in his hands.
"So you're not even going to try to deny it?" asked McBride, smugly, following Dean and standing over him. "You're not going to deny that you're a cocksucker? Come on Williams, it's no fun if you just sit there and take it."
"Leave him alone, McBride," snapped Daniel.
McBride ignored him, keeping all his attention on Dean. He was clearly revelling in the moment. "But you can't deny it, can you? 'Cos it's true." He gave Dean's shoulder a rough shove as though trying to provoke him. "Not such a big man now, are you Williams? You're just a little fairy." He slapped the back of Dean's head with his open palm and laughing, he walked away.
Dean didn't respond. He sat looking down at his hands, clearly on verge of tears.
Daniel looked at his friend, feeling helpless and furious both at the same time. Why hadn't Dean denied it? Why hadn't he kicked the shit out of McBride? And how the hell had McBride found out? The only people who knew about Dean being gay were himself and Jason. Then an awful thought suddenly occurred to Daniel. Surely not. Surely Jason wouldn't do that. He turned slowly to look at Jason. One look was all he needed. The information hadn't come from Jason. Jason was glaring at McBride's back with a cold, seething fury that was almost frightening to see. But if not Jason, then who? He walked over and sat on the edge of Dean's desk, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but not knowing what to say.
Dean looked up and smiled weakly. He gave a shrug. "Well, I guess now they know."
"Yeah, but how?"
Dean turned his head and looked pointedly across the room. Daniel saw that Trevor Spencer, who normally sat next to Dean, was now sitting with McBride's gang.
"Trevor?"
"Looks like it."
"But how did Trevor know?"
"He came round last night." Dean sighed. "I told him."
"You told Trevor? Why did you go and do that?"
Dean shook his head, sadly. "I was lonely and upset. I needed a friend to talk to."
Daniel groaned inwardly. This was all his fault. How could he have messed up so badly?
The sound of jeering filled the room. Daniel glanced round to see that Jason was in the process of cleaning the board, ignoring the taunts and jibes coming from McBride and his gang. He finished, and then walked to his own desk at the back of the room, giving Dean a silent nod along the way.
It was at that moment that Mrs. Redbrooke, their form teacher, arrived for morning registration. Daniel squeezed Dean's arm. "I'll talk to you at break," he said. Then he went and took his seat next to Jason. Could this day possibly get any worse?
The day did in fact get worse. McBride and his friends took every opportunity to bait and take digs at Dean, jostling him in the corridors, shouting out comments as they waited for teachers to arrive for lessons, and even sometimes making slightly more indirect comments whilst the teachers were actually there. Daniel watched this with increasing frustration, wanting to do something to help, but not knowing what. The most frustrating thing of all was that Dean appeared unwilling to do anything to try to defend himself, simply taking everything that was thrown at him and sitting silently at his desk with his head bowed. Morning break was a complete nightmare and almost resulted in Daniel getting into a fight with McBride. Only the unexpected appearance of one of the teachers prevented Daniel from having his head torn from his body and handed back to him minus his teeth.
It was lunchtime before Daniel got a proper opportunity to talk to Dean. Daniel, Jason and Dean sat together at a table in the dining hall. Dean had a plate of salad in front of him, but it remained completely untouched as he simply stared at it. Jason had sausage and chips, which he picked at silently, as though he wasn't really hungry but was simply going through the motions. Daniel had bought some sandwiches, which he made an attempt to eat, but he soon gave up on them and pushed them aside. At least there was no sign of McBride; he was probably off in some other part of the school making some other poor kid's life miserable. Though glancing around, Daniel was sure that a lot of the other kids in dining hall were looking in the direction of their table and talking about them. Dean was a well known figure within the school due to his kickboxing and karate achievements, and it was an absolute certainty that by this stage the gossip would be spreading. It occurred to Daniel that since he and Jason were sitting with Dean, some people would have already made up their minds that they too must be gay, by association. Well fuck them! Daniel was really passed caring. He even considered getting up onto his chair and announcing to everyone that yes, he was gay. This thought made him smile.
"How are you doing?" Daniel asked Dean.
Dean simply shrugged. He didn't reply and he didn't even look up.
Daniel bit back a sigh. He looked at Jason, but there was no support from that direction; Jason was almost as withdrawn as Dean. He tried desperately to think of something to say that might help the situation, but nothing at all came to mind. "Why did you have to go and tell that git Trevor?" he asked, eventually. Then he wished he'd kept his mouth shut, since this sounded so much like a reproach.
"I told you," said Dean, looking up, his voice sounding completely drained. "I needed someone to talk to. Trev rang after you'd gone so I asked him to come round. He was my friend, so I told him about me."
"Some friend," said Daniel, earning himself a snort of agreement from Jason. "No friend would ever have done what that bastard did."
"Well it's done now," said Dean, bitterly. "I can't take it back, so I'm going to have to live with it."
"Maybe. But you don't have to keep taking the crap that McBride is dishing out. Why don't you stand up to him?" Daniel's voice sounded harsher than he had intended as some of his frustration forced its way through.
"And do what?"
"Ram his fucking teeth down his throat," muttered Daniel. "That would do for starters."
Dean shook his head. "I can't."
"Course you can. You could beat him easy. And he knows it. That's why he's always backed down before."
"Yeah, but he won't back down this time," said Dean, miserably.
"He might."
"He won't. He only backed down before because he was scared of me. He's not scared anymore. Everything has changed. You've seen him this morning. Now that he knows that I'm gay he thinks that he's better than me."
"So you show him he's not. If he doesn't back down then you kick his face in."
Dean glared at Daniel. "I keep telling you, I can't. If I get into a fight and someone gets hurt I could get suspended and they won't let me take part in competitions. It's the regional championships this coming weekend. I've been working to get ready for it for months. You've no idea how hard I've worked. Neither McBride nor anyone else is going to stop me from taking part."
"Well you've got to do something," said Daniel, feeling more and more exasperated.
"Like what?" Dean was now starting to look annoyed.
"I don't know. But you can't just keep letting McBride walk all over you."
"If you're that worried about what McBride is doing, then you fight him. This is all your fault anyway," Dean snapped raising his voice enough that people were starting to look over at them. He immediately grimaced and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's not your fault at all. It's my own fault for trusting Trevor. Dean Williams messes up yet again," he said in a self-mocking tone.
Daniel cringed inwardly. Dean had been right first time, at least partly. Much of this mess was down to him. "I'm sorry too," he said, softly. "I guess it's starting to get to me, seeing McBride on at you all the time."
"It's not exactly much fun for me," Dean muttered. He went back to staring at his salad.
The afternoon followed pretty much the same pattern as the morning. McBride continued to make snide remarks and, at one point, he tripped Dean in the corridor as they moved between lessons. Dean staggered and went down onto his knees. However, McBride got the worst of it this time when Sara Tunstall, one of the girls in their class, swung her schoolbag hard into the boy's groin - it seemed that there were others in the class who were getting sick of McBride. There was general laughter as McBride hunched over, groaning and clutching at his balls.
Unfortunately the small demonstrations of support from a few members of the class did little to lift Dean's spirits. The constant barrage of abuse was clearly getting to him and there were times during the afternoon when it appeared to Daniel that his friend was close to tears. Daniel tried to offer words of comfort and encouragement, but even to his own ears these sounded empty and ineffectual.
On top of his concerns for Dean, Daniel was also becoming increasingly worried about Jason. The boy had hardly spoken a dozen words all day, and such prolonged silence from Jason was totally out of character. As the day wore on, the dark scowl on Jason's face seemed to be getting deeper and deeper, and Daniel was worried that the young teen was harbouring a growing resentment of the attention that his best friend was giving to Dean.
It was therefore a huge relief when the final bell sounded, signalling the end of school for the day. Daniel sighed to himself as he packed his books away. At least now they would be able to get away from McBride and his gang. He waited for Jason and Dean, and the three of them left the classroom together.
However, it seemed that Daniel's feeling of relief had been premature. As the three teens walked out of the school gate, they walked straight into Simon McBride and his associates. McBride was with five of his friends, including Trevor Spencer, who, it appeared, was now a fully paid up member of the gang. It was clear that they were waiting there with the full intention of encountering Dean outside of the school grounds and away from whatever small protection school might offer. Daniel's step faltered as he saw them, but he quickly caught himself, determined not to show that he was in any way intimidated. He glanced around, his heart sinking as he saw that there were no teachers in sight. This wasn't looking good.
Dean kept walking, his head down, as though he intended to plough straight through the group. But McBride was having none of that. He placed himself directly in front of Dean, forcing him to stop.
"Well if it isn't the three homos," grinned McBride.
Dean tried to shove McBride aside, but the bigger boy grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him roughly back.
"Not so fast, queer. We've got some business to settle with you."
Daniel put his hand on Dean's shoulder to steady him as the teen staggered backwards, and then glared at McBride. "Just let us through," he said. "We've listened to your crap all day. Now we want to go home."
"You'll go when I say that you can go," growled McBride. He grinned. "Me and Willy-Watcher Williams have some business to take care of."
Dean didn't respond. He stood with his head bowed, looking dejected and beaten.
"Oh, come on, McBride. Dean's had enough today. This might seem funny to you, but it's no fun for him. Let him go home." Daniel fought to keep his voice calm as he tried to appeal to McBride's sense of reason. "Please."
The appeal fell on deaf ears. "I don't find it funny," shrugged McBride. He looked at the boy next to him, a heavy-set boy called Tim. "Do you find it funny?"
Tim shook his head.
"How about you, Spencer?" asked McBride, addressing Trevor, who looked to be trying to make himself inconspicuous at the rear of the group. "Did you find it funny having a queer touching your dick and measuring you?" McBride didn't even wait for a reply before turning back to Daniel. "This isn't funny at all Marshall. This is serious. Me and the lads don't like having a queer in the class. We might catch something."
"Don't be stupid," Daniel snarled.
McBride's face darkened and he took a step towards Daniel. "Don't call me stupid, not if you want to keep your teeth." The he smiled, coldly. "You'll keep for another time, Marshall. We'll let you off today as long as you mind your own business. Today it's Williams' turn." As if to emphasise his words he jabbed at Dean's shoulder, pushing him.
Dean glared at the boy, his hands at his sides were clenched into fists, but he showed no other signs of responding to the provocation.
Daniel looked around helplessly. Several other students had stopped to watch. Standing in small groups, they kept their distance, as though eager for the anticipated entertainment but not wanting to get drawn in. They certainly weren't going to be of much help.
"So what are you waiting for, Williams?" demanded McBride. "You've always been to keen to play the big man before. What's stopping you now? Come on, fairy." He took another step forwards and pushed Dean again. It was obvious that he too had noticed the gathering crowd and was now playing to his audience. "I bet you even fight like a fairy." Another step and another push.
"Smack him one, Dean," someone shouted from the sidelines.
"Yeah, come on Deano, smack me one, if you dare." Another step, another push.
Someone else called out, encouraging Dean to "get stuck in". This was followed by further shouts, most supporting Dean. If anything, the shouting seemed to encourage McBride. He clearly wasn't bothered that most people were backing Dean. He kept moving slowly forwards, a sneer on his face.
Dean stepped back, staggering slightly each time McBride pushed him. He had a desperate look on his face and glanced from side to side as though looking for a way to escape. He was breathing quickly, his mouth clamped shut and his eyes sparkling with tears of hurt, anger, and frustration.
"That's it, fairy, start crying," McBride taunted. "Mummy's not here to take care of you now. But maybe she'll go with you to the hospital when I'm done with you."
Daniel watched, feeling his own anger rising to almost unbearable levels. He wished that Dean would let go and smash McBride's face into the ground. But at the same time he recalled what Dean had said at lunchtime about being barred from taking part in competitions. Dean lived for his kickboxing. If he lost that, on top of everything else that he was going through at the moment, it would destroy him. Also, Daniel was beginning to doubt whether Dean would be able to beat McBride even if it did come to a fight. Dean looked so small and frail compared to McBride's bulk. And then there were McBride's friends. There was no way that even Dean would be able to take on all of them. Daniel glanced at Jason, seeing the boy hovering in the background, his face like a thundercloud, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a silent snarl. Daniel knew Jason well enough to know that the boy was on the verge of losing it completely and launching himself at McBride and probably getting himself beaten to pulp.
"Come on, queer," snarled McBride. This time his push was even rougher, more like a punch. It caught Dean on the right shoulder, spinning him around and causing him to give a soft cry of pain.
"Leave him alone!" Daniel threw himself forwards, not able to watch any longer. He grabbed for McBride, intending to pull him away from Dean. A moment later he found himself sprawled on the hard tarmac of the road. McBride had simply hooked a foot behind Daniel's leg and pushed him over, hardly even glancing in his direction. Daniel's attack had been about as effective as a puff of air.
"Just me and you, queer. Just me and you," said McBride, his eyes fixed on Dean as he beckoned the boy to him with his fingers.
Dean's eyes went down to Daniel and he shook his head. Tears were now running down his cheeks. He turned his gaze on McBride with a look of pure, cold hatred. Slowly he drew himself up, balancing himself as he moved into a fighting stance.
Just for a moment a look of uncertainty crossed McBride's face and he swallowed hard.
"BASTARD!"
The cry of rage came from behind Daniel, and suddenly it was as though McBride had been hit by a tornado. The bully went down under a barrage of flying fist. He rolled on the ground, trying unsuccessfully to ward off the torrent of blows that rained down onto his face and torso, completely overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of the attack.
"Bastard! Bastard!" Jason repeatedly screamed the word as he sat astride McBride's body, pummelling downwards with his fists, oblivious to everything except the writhing boy beneath him.
Daniel forced himself to his feet, not sure what to do. People where shouting, some were cheering. McBride's friends stood watching in stunned surprise. Dean's was nearby, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Daniel took a hesitant step forwards. Should he try to stop Jason? McBride was taking a real beating. Yes, he deserved every single blow. But Jason looked set to beat the boy senseless.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw two figures quickly approaching. It was Carl and David Benson, the twins who had taken part in the gym-session at the same time as Daniel, Jason, and Dean.
"Holy shit!" said Carl, taking in what was happening. "I suppose we'd better break it up?"
David shrugged. "No hurry. McBride seems to be having a good time."
Grinning, Carl walked over and took hold of Jason's shoulders, hauling the boy up and back. Jason responded by swinging wildly back with his fist. He would have caught Carl on the side of the head if the older boy hadn't ducked in time.
"Whoa! Hold it Crusher!" Carl laughed. "I'm one of the good guys. Come on. I think he's had enough." He pulled Jason back, away from McBride. "Here, come and take care of your friend before he mauls someone to death," he called across to Daniel.
David Benson knelt beside McBride, helping him sit up. There was blood streaming from the boy's nose and running down over his mouth and chin.
"I think he's broke my nose," McBride sobbed.
"About time someone did," said David, unsympathetically.
Jason also had blood on his face where McBride's elbow had caught him in the mouth. He was gasping for breath and trembling violently and seemed ready to take on anyone who so much as looked at him wrongly. Daniel put his arm around his friend, hoping to calm him down. Then Jason spotted Trevor and lunged towards him. Daniel only just managed to keep his grip on the boy's jacket and hold him back. Trevor jumped back in a panic, tripped over the edge of the curb and ended up flat on the road. This seemed to mollify Jason somewhat, and he gave a disgusted snort and stopped struggling.
"Oh bugger! Here comes old Dutton," muttered Carl. "Now there's going to be trouble." He exchanged looks with his brother, who was still kneeling beside McBride, and then grabbed Jason and quickly pushed him behind Daniel and Dean. "Keep your head down and stay out of sight."
Mr. Dutton was a miserable old git at the best of times, and Daniel hated him. If he found out about Jason and McBride fighting in the street there was going to be hell to pay.
The man came striding up, his face set in its usual frown. "And just what is going on here?" he demanded in a tone that made it clear that he would stand no nonsense. He stood over McBride, glaring down. "Well?"
"He tripped, sir. Fell right on his face," said David, answering quickly before McBride could say anything.
"Tripped?" Dutton looked sceptical.
"Yes, he was rushing to get out of school and must not have been looking where he was going," David continued. "Isn't that right, Simon?" He nudged the boy's back.
There was a long, awkward pause as McBride glared at Daniel and Dean. Then he gave a slight nod of his head. "Yeah. I tripped," he muttered.
Dutton still looked unconvinced. He cast his eyes over the gathered teenagers as though looking for evidence that would contradict this story. In the end he shook simply shook his head resignedly. "What are all of you standing here gawping at? Haven't you got homes to go to?" He reached down and helped McBride get to his feet. "You'd better come with me, boy. You need cleaning up."
As Dutton escorted McBride back into the school, everyone began to disperse. McBride's gang looked at each other and then they too wandered off, talking amongst themselves.
"That was near thing," said Carl, looking at Jason. "If Dutton had arrived here a couple of minutes sooner, you'd be spending the rest of your life in detention. Then he grinned. "It one hell of a pasting you were giving McBride though. Best thing I've seen in ages. What set it off?"
"Just McBride being his usual self," said Daniel. "He's always had it in for Jason. I guess now he'll be more careful who he picks on." He glanced at Dean, who smiled gratefully.
"Ah, OK," said Carl. Then he too looked at Dean. "It had nothing to do with you being outed then?" He gave a smile and a shrug as Dean's face fell. "I think the whole school probably knows about you by now. Don't worry about it. Everyone's been talking about it today, but give them a few days and they'll be talking about somebody else. Most people couldn't really care. It's only wankers like McBride who might have a problem with it."
Dean gave a forced smile and nodded.
"You think McBride will keep quiet about what really happened?" asked Daniel.
"He will if he knows what's good for him," said David. "He knows that if he says anything now he'll be dropping me in the shit for lying to Dutton, and I don't think he's stupid enough to do that."
"You better get off home and get your mouth cleaned up," Carl told Jason. You don't want to still be out here if Dutton decides to come back this way. I don't think he'd swallow the idea of two people tripping and falling on their faces on the same afternoon."
Jason grinned and then winced and touched his hand to his mouth.
The three younger teens said goodbye to the twins and set off for home. Daniel and Jason insisted on accompanying Dean home, in spite of Dean's protestations that Jason should go and get his mouth looked at. The three of them walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Though Daniel noticed that Dean didn't look quite as miserable as he had earlier, and, for the first time today, Jason looked almost happy.
"Thanks for standing by me today," said Dean, as they stood outside his house. "And thanks for dealing with McBride," he added, looking at Jason. "You were amazing."
"I followed your dad's advice," said Jason. "Hit them before they hit you and make sure you hit 'em hard enough to knock 'em down," he quoted, looking pleased with himself.
"Yeah." Dean suddenly looked miserable again.
"Are you OK?" asked Daniel.
"I suppose I'm going to have to break the news to Mum and Dad, before they find out from someone else."
"How do you think they will take it?" asked Daniel. "My mum was really cool about it when she found out. She said that she'd already known for ages."
"I don't know," said Dean. "But I shouldn't think Dad will be very happy."
"Best of luck," said Daniel. "I hope it goes OK." He gave Dean a quick hug, and then surprised himself by impulsively kissing the boy on the cheek.
Dean smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
Jason hesitated for a moment, and then he too gave Dean a hug, surprising both of the other boys. He stepped back and then blushed as he saw them looking at him. "What?"
"Oh never mind," chuckled Daniel. "Best of luck, Dean. Give me call later."
"Yeah, I will."
Daniel and Jason waited until Dean had gone inside and then they set off for home.
Daniel was a little surprised when he realised that Jason intended to come home with him. Given the strange mood that the boy had been in all day, Daniel had expected his friend to say goodbye and go off on his own after parting company with Dean. However, Jason appeared content to simply follow along. They walked pretty much in silence, Daniel casting frequent glances at his friend. On the surface, Jason appeared happier than he had all day, though he would occasionally touch his fingers to his mouth and grimace.
"Does it hurt?" Daniel asked.
"It stings a bit," said Jason.
"Well remember that you gave him far worse than he gave you," said Daniel.
"Yeah, I did didn't I?" said Jason. He grinned and then winced and grimaced again.
Daniel's mother was in the hallway as the boys entered the house. "What on Earth...?" She gently took hold of Jason's chin and looked at his mouth. "Alright, what you been doing?"
"Jason sort of got into a fight," said Daniel. He'd considered making up a story but decided that the best and easiest solution was probably to simply tell his mother the truth.
"A fight?" The woman gave the two teens a disapproving look.
"Yeah, it was with Simon McBride," Daniel explained. He briefly recounted what had happened at school that day, telling his mother about how Dean had been outed and how McBride had victimised the boy, making his life totally miserable, culminating in the after-school confrontation.
"You got into a fight with Simon McBride?" The woman's eyebrows went up as she looked at Jason. "He's twice the size you are."
"Yeah, but Mum, you should have seen him," said Daniel, proudly."McBride didn't stand a chance. Jason was brilliant. He knocked McBride down and punched hell out him. There was blood pouring from McBride's nose and he was crying and everything."
The woman tried to maintain her frown for a moment, but then gave up and gave a smile as she shook her head. "Well, I suppose it was for the best of reasons. Come on through to the kitchen and let's see if I can clean you up a bit."
In the kitchen, Daniel sat and watched as his mother gently dabbed the drying blood from around Jason's mouth with a damp cloth. Jason, held himself tensely and gave one or two moans of discomfort, but mostly he endured the attentions in silence.
"Can Jason stay to tea?" Daniel asked, as his mother finished her ministrations.
"If he wants," she replied. "It's nothing very exciting. Just a chicken stir-fry with some rice. He'd better give his mother a quick ring first though and check that's it's alright with her."
"It will be," said Jason, holding a tissue to his tender lower lip.
After calling Jason's mother, the two boys went up to Daniel's room to listen to some music until the meal was ready.
"Your mum's pretty cool," said Jason, as he followed his friend up the stairs.
"Yeah, she is most of the time," said Daniel. "Except when she's being a pain." He entered the bedroom and went straight over to his CD player, intending to put on some music. However, he stopped dead as his eyes fell on the height-measuring chart that hung on the wall. "Shit! It's Monday."
"Yeah, I know. So what?"
"I have to go to Adam's room after school on Mondays and Thursdays to measure Ben and Billy." In a sudden panic, Daniel turned back towards the door as though ready to rush back to the school. Then he realised that there would be little point now. Any measuring would be over by this time and Adam would probably have gone home. "Shit!"
Jason gave a shrug. "I shouldn't think the runt would be too upset that you weren't there."
"No, but Adam would wonder where I was. Shit!" he repeated again. He hated the thought of letting Adam down. He sat down on the bed, annoyed with himself.
"I don't think Adam will mind," said Jason. "You can go and see him tomorrow and explain what happened. Besides, if you'd gone to the measuring you would have missed out on me beating up McBride." He smiled, rather painfully.
"Yeah, I wouldn't have missed that for anything," said Daniel, also giving a smile. Jason was right; Adam would understand when he heard what had happened.
Jason wandered over to a set of drawers. On top of the drawers was a small collection of metal figures of dragons and wizards and warriors. Jason picked up a fierce looking dragon in one hand and a sword-carrying warrior in the other and moved them together in a short, mock fight. He quickly tired of the game and turned back to look at Daniel. "Do you think Dean will OK?"
"I dunno," said Daniel, sadly. "School wouldn't be so bad if McBride and his gang leave him alone, but I don't know what's going to happen when he tells his mum and dad. His dad doesn't sound very nice. Remember how Dean told us about him laying into him when he lost a fight once?"
"Yeah." Jason sighed. "I hope it goes OK. It makes me feel sick to even think about telling my mum and dad something like that. You're so lucky that your mum is cool with it." He ran his tongue thoughtfully over his sore lower lip, glanced at Daniel, and then lowered his eyes looking suddenly uncomfortable.
"What's the matter? Is it hurting?" asked Daniel.
Jason shook his head. "Only a bit." He was silent for a moment and then he looked up again, nervously meeting Daniel's gaze. "Why did you break it off with Dean?"
"What?" Daniel was taken completely off guard by this unexpected turn in the conversation.
"Why did you break it off with Dean?"
Daniel's mouth had suddenly gone very dry and his heart was pounding. Less than twenty-four hours ago, Jason had refused to even discuss the subject of what had happened with Dean. "I told you yesterday," he answered, carefully, unsure of where Jason might be going with this.
"Yeah, you said you fancied me more than Dean," said Jason. "But I don't understand why." His voice shook with suppressed emotion and his eyes flicked nervously around the room. "Dean's miles better looking than me. He's cleverer than me. He does all that karate and kickboxing and stuff, so he's really fit. Fuck, you said he even sucked your dick for you. So why did you dump him?"
"I didn't dump him," said Daniel, almost defensively. "There was never really anything going on between us to start with. It was just that one time, and I felt so guilty about it that I told him I didn't want to do it again."
"But why should you feel guilty?"
"Because I felt like I was cheating on you," said Daniel. "I told you yesterday. I don't want Dean. I want you. Sure, Dean is hot. That's obvious. But I think you're hot as well." Daniel cringed as he said this, unsure how Jason was going to react.
"At least Dean doesn't look like a girl," Jason muttered.
"Neither do you," said Daniel, forcefully. "And besides, it not just about who's better looking. There's much more to it than that. It's like, well, me and you, we have something special between us. Dean is great, but it's not the same. I like Dean a lot. But with you... I love you, Jase." There, he'd said it. He swallowed hard and waited for the explosion that he was sure was now going to come.
But the explosion didn't come. Jason closed his eyes. He stood rigid, with his head back. His face was pale and his breathing was quick and ragged.
"Jase?" Daniel asked, after a few seconds.
There was no reply.
"Jason?"
Slowly, Jason opened his eyes and lowered his head until he was looking at Daniel. His eyes were sparkling with tears. He flicked his tongue across his damaged lip. "I'm scared," he said, in a small, frightened voice.
Daniel jumped to his feet and hurried over, intending to hug his friend. But at the last moment he stopped, feeling awkward. Instead he simply took Jason's hand and led him back to the bed. The two of them sat down, side by side.
Jason was still clutching the tissue that Daniel's mother had given him to dab his lips with. He used this to wipe his eyes. There was a long silence before he eventually looked up at Daniel. "I think I might be gay," he said, tearfully.
At first, Daniel thought that he must have misheard. Then as the words finally penetrated, he felt a sudden surge of joy. This was the news that he had wanted to hear for so long. Could it be true? Could Jason really be gay? Surely he wouldn't joke about something like that. It was clear from the distressed look on Jason's face that this was no joke. The boy was as upset as Daniel had ever seen him. He squeezed Jason's hand, trying not to make his happiness to obvious. "Being gay is nothing to be scared of."
"For you, maybe," Jason sniffed. "It's different for me. As far back as I can remember people have been calling me gay, just because of the way I look."
"By people, you mean McBride?" said Daniel, gently.
"Yeah, McBride and his friends."
"The same McBride who went off crying after you gave him a good thumping?" Daniel pointed out.
"Yeah. But that doesn't change the fact that he was right, does it?"
"So what?" said Daniel. "What does it matter if you are gay? Being gay is nothing like what McBride and his wanker friends make it out to be. It just means that you like boys instead of girls. Other that, you're no different to anyone else. Look at Dean. Does it make him any less cool just because he's gay?"
"No, of course not. But Dean is different. No one messes with Dean."
"But it wasn't Dean who beat the crap out of McBride, was it? It was you. You're just a tough as Dean, and McBride found that out today."
Jason didn't look convinced.
"How long have you known?" asked Daniel.
"I don't know. I'm still not sure. I said that I 'think' I might be. I didn't say that I definitely was."
"Alright, well how long have you thought that you might be gay?"
"Ages." Jason replied. "Even before I found out about you. When I found out that you were gay it made it all so much harder. I didn't want to be gay. I still don't."
"So what makes you think that you might be?"
"Just things."
"What sort of things?" Daniel pressed. He could tell that this wasn't easy for Jason, but he was determined to push the boy.
"I guess one of the first things was about a year ago. I had a dream and when I woke up I'd... you know." Jason's face reddened.
"You'd what?"
"I'd shot off all over myself."
"What was the dream about?" Daniel asked, now feeling extremely curious and wanting the details.
"You."
Daniel gasped. "You had a wet dream about me?"
Jason nodded, his face still flaming. "Yeah. It happened twice. I told Adam about it, that time after we'd had that big fight when I found out about you being gay. He said that it didn't really prove anything. He said lots of boys sometimes have dreams and stuff about other boys but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're gay. He said boys sometimes even did stuff with other boys and that still didn't mean that they were gay. I told him how I thought about you all the time. He said I should talk to you about it, but I couldn't."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. I just couldn't. I didn't want to even think about it."
Daniel sighed. In a way he was a little annoyed that Jason had kept this secret for so long, but at the same time he was extremely happy that it was now out in the open. "What made you decide to tell me now?"
"Things that have happened," said Jason with a shrug. "Like yesterday when you told me about you and Dean. That hurt so much. I was so jealous that you'd done stuff with Dean and not with me. But at the same time I didn't want to do any of those things, even though part of me did want to. It's all so mixed up. I can't explain it. Then I had that fight with McBride today, and I thought that maybe being gay wouldn't be so bad after all if I didn't have to worry about people like him. I thought that maybe I should just stop worrying about it and tell you and then everything would be better. But it's not better and I feel as mixed up as ever."
"Maybe you just need more time to think about it," said Daniel. "At least now that you've told me, we can talk about it."
"Yeah, I suppose." Jason sniffed and wiped his nose with the tissue. "You aren't mad at me for not telling you before?"
"I wish you had told me," said Daniel. "But I think I understand why you didn't. It doesn't matter. The main thing is that we're still best friends." He put his arm around Jason's shoulders and hugged him and was rewarded with a smile. Daniel returned the smile. Jason was gay. Suddenly, life looked so much brighter. OK, so Jason still wasn't comfortable with his feelings, but given time and a little encouragement, all of that could change. One day, hopefully fairly soon, Daniel was sure that he and Jason could have something really special together, something even better than the close the friendship that they already shared. All that was needed was a little patience and understanding and anything could be possible.
Just as things seem to be going well, there is a sudden, unexpected downturn in the penultimate chapter of this story. Coming next - chapter 25: Stabbed!
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