Hi everybody! Spoon Mike here; with part six for your viewing pleasure. I know, it's been a LONG wait, but my life has been so busy lately. College, music, work, it's all kept me busy. I'm going to try to keep writing this time. Wish me luck!
I really haven't read much Nifty in the past few months, but I have to take a moment to plug my favorite story of all time on the Nifty Archive, JC's Hitchhiker. If you haven't read this one yet, PLEASE do yourself a favor and go read it! You WON'T be disappointed! Writer Boy is SUCH a fantastic writer! Many thanks for the inspiration and comments!
MANY thanks go to my fans, cheerleaders, and everyone who's sent me an email. Special thanks go to Writer Boy (my inspiration), RdrMike (my proofreader) and Adam (my friend). Writer Boy: I wouldn't have written anything in the first place if it weren't for you and your awesome story. Without RdrMike and Adam, I might not have come back to this story. Thanks to you three so much!
DISCLAIMER: This story, along with all of the following characters, is pure, unadulterated fiction. I do not pretend to know any member of N'Sync, or Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, or any of the other celebrities that have appeared or may appear in this story. I have no idea what their sexual or even food preferences are. Any and all songs used in this story belong to their respective artists and labels. Mike Russell is a completely fictional character and any resemblance to any real person is strictly coincidental. If you're a minor, scram! If this type of material offends you, why the hell are you here at this site in the first place?
Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Playing From the Heart - Chapter 15 By Spoon Mike
"No Ben, not like that!" I exclaimed as Ben misses a note. Ben sighs. Today's lesson is not going well; something is going on with him, and I can't tell what it is. He seemed like such a happy, easygoing guy before, but he's hardly even cracked a smile since he got here. In fact, the only thing he cracked was a reed, which he dropped clumsily when I was reaching to take it from him for inspection.
"Ben, is there anything wrong? Anything that you'd like to talk about?"
"No, Mike. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you seem kind of nervous and jumpy and not like your normal self." I took the clarinet out of his hands and set it on a small stand on the floor. "Now, please talk to me."
"I'm not sure if I can." Ben looked at the clarinet, the floor, and his hands -anywhere but at me.
"Please, feel free to talk to me about anything. We're friends after all, so..."
"Friends? We're friends?"
"Of course! You're my student, and have been coming over to my house for the past two weeks; you're definitely a friend in my book." I leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. This seemed to calm Ben down, slightly.
"Well... a lot has been on my mind lately."
"Hmm..." I look at the clock. 7:20. Ah, I know! "Maybe we should stop the lesson for now."
Ben looks up at me suddenly. "Why?"
"Well, we're not getting anywhere with the clarinet tonight."
He looked away again. "Oh."
"Ben, I have an idea. I'll cook us some dinner, and then let's watch a movie or something. We'll have some fun, and come back to the clarinet some other time."
"Really? You mean it?" Ben's eyes perked up.
"Sure, you're my friend, and I can see that you are upset about something. Why don't we just have a nice restful night? We can reschedule the lesson for another time."
"Alright, Mike. Thanks!" Ben already looked a lot better. Good!
We put away everything and went into the kitchen to make dinner. I decided that we'd have spaghetti and garlic bread. Ben was very helpful, stirring pots, setting the table, and stuff like that. He was even whistling around the kitchen. What a character! I'm glad that he seems to be back to normal.
Dinner went great. The food was delicious, and Ben turned out to be a great conversationalist. He opened up, and we talked about many things. He asked about school, Jeff, and the orchestra, and I asked about his best friend Matt and acting. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had. We bonded together extremely well. Ben is really an awesome guy. Later, we put on Spaceballs, a really funny Mel Brooks movie that parodies on Star Wars heavily. We laughed so hard, and talked again after the movie ended.
About a half hour later, Ben stood up. "It's time for me to get going. I wanted to talk to Matt, and I have to be up early tomorrow."
I walked him to the door, and gave him his coat. "All right. I had fun tonight, Ben."
"I did too, Mike."
"Do you want to reschedule our lesson now? How about on Saturday?"
"That sounds good. I have a meeting until 5:00. How about 7:00?"
"Sounds good to me. See you then, Ben."
"See you then, Mike." Ben opened the door and left. I'm so happy that seems in better spirits, but I wonder what could be bothering him.
Tonight started out so badly, but ended so wonderfully! I had dinner and watched a movie with Mike! He's such a gentleman, and cooks so well. I haven't had such a good time in so long, ever since... well, never mind that for now. No need to spoil my good mood. I practically danced home. Corny, I know, but I can't help it tonight!
I danced right through our front door, and into the den, where Matt was busily typing away. When he saw me, he stopped and gave me his full attention.
"Ben?" he asked. "How did it go?" Matt's been worried ever since that day last week. After I saw Mike and JC kiss last Thursday, I was broken up over it for the past week. I was dreading returning to Mike's for the lesson tonight. Thanks to Matt, I relented and went to the lesson.
"Matt, it was so wonderful. The lesson, wasn't, I mean, but the rest was, it was so, so...wonderful!" I spun onto a nearby recliner.
"Whoa, slow down! What do you mean?"
"Well, after the lesson was determined to be a flop, He suggested that we have dinner and we watched a movie afterwards! We had spaghetti and watched a movie together, and just talked and talked! I feel so close to him, and I think that he might feel the same, too!"
"Hmm. Ben, what are you thinking of doing?" Matt could always tell when I was up to something.
"I'm going to tell Mike how I feel about him at my make up lesson on Saturday." Matt looked surprised. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even know that I was going to say that. It feels like the right thing to do, however. I want to be honest with Mike.
"But what about JC?"
"Forget about JC. There's no way that Mike and he has what Mike and I have."
"Ben, are you sure that this is a good idea?"
"Sure it is, Matt. All I have to do is tell Mike how I feel about him, and I'm sure that he'll feel the same. You had to be there tonight. I'm sure of it.
"If you're sure..."
"I am, Matt. Thanks for caring. I'm off to bed, long day tomorrow. Good night, Bro."
"'Night, Bro." Matt replied, and went back to his writing.
While getting ready for bed, I thought some more about tonight. Sure, Matt may doubt that Mike will just leave JC and be with me, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not as sure as I sounded when I was talking to Matt. I have to try, though. I can't let JC win Mike from me. Mike should be with me. I got ready for bed and went to sleep, full of dreams about Mike.
To Be Continued...
So what did y'all think of Chapter 15? What do you think of Ben? Ready to kill me yet for keeping you guys waiting SO long? I really am sorry, but I've been busy, tired and stressed this past semester and summer. But, I'M BACK! Remember, you can thank RdrMike and Adam for this!
Please email me at col_dot@hotmail.com . Suggestions? Questions? Threats? All are welcome! I have the story kind of mapped out, but you can still influence changes. It's been so great to hear from everyone who's contacted me, and I promise to reply as soon as possible. Don't be afraid to write. Hope to hear from you soon!
Spoon Mike