Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 18:42:07 -0400
From: ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Brittle as a Bird  Chapter 18

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write Ron at
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
writer.



Brittle as a Bird Chapter 18



I didn't see Gene in school for several days. I was beginning to wonder if
he had changed schools. With his family's money, he could have easily
enrolled in a private school someplace. Star said she went over to his
house several times, but he was always in his room, and his mother would
avoid any questions she asked.

When I did see him, he was walking down the hall talking to a member of the
football team. He didn't look as dejected as he had the last time he was at
school. Our eyes met on one occasion, but he looked blankly at me and
continued walking.

"I see Gene is back," I remarked to Star during lunch.

"Things seemed to have settled down," she said. "I haven't heard his name
mentioned once today."


"I heard someone call him a fag in the hall," Ticker said. "He ignored them
and just kept on walking."

"You can't respond every time says something to you," I replied. "Believe
me, I know. I've been on the receiving end for a long time."

I scanned the cafeteria looking for him. He was sitting off to the side at
a table with a couple of other guys. They were on the football team, but
they were second string linesman. I guess the popular players were still
not talking to him.

I looked at the jock table in the middle of the cafeteria. As usual, Barry
was trying to be the center of attention. I couldn't hear what he was
saying, but it was obvious he was making some kind of joke about Gene. He
would look over at his table and then say something. The guys would then
erupt into laughter.

During my afternoon classes, I began to feel nervous. It seemed like there
was a big secret everyone was sharing, but me. Students would stop talking
whenever I approached in the hallway. Once I passed them, they'd point at
me and continue their conversation.

By the end of the day, I was feeling as if there was an approaching
storm. As I walked down the hallway at the end of school, students would
part and let me move between them. It was as if all eyes were on me, and it
made me nervous.

When I left the building, there was a large group of students following me,
and other students were standing around. It was as if they were waiting for
some main event to occur. I'd seen it several times over the years. Usually
it indicated that a fight was going to happen. Since I hadn't heard any
comments during the day, I didn't know who was going to be involved. I
really didn't care. Watching two students pummel each other wasn't my idea
of fun.

As I walked down the sidewalk, a group of students blocked my way. They
were members of the football team. Suddenly, they parted and Barry came
walking from behind them. He stood in front of me while they circled
behind. Within seconds, I was in the middle of a throng of students.

Now I knew why everyone had been following me and standing idly
around. They wanted to witness a fight between me and Barry.

"Me and you got some unfinished business," spat Barry. He was rubbing his
right hand with his left. "I fucked Gene up, now it's your turn, Fag."

"I don't want to fight you," I insisted nervously. Since Barry was much
larger than me, and he had the support of his friends, the odds weighed
heavily against me. Even if it were just the two of us, I would still have
been no match for him.

"I hate fags," he shouted as he approached me. "I still get sick when I
think of that faggot kissing you."

"You've got it wrong," I stammered. He stopped and stared angrily at
me. "Gene didn't do anything. I kissed him."

"You're lying, you fucker!" He shouted. "I know what I saw."

"Gene's not gay," I shouted back. "He was trying to pull away from
me. You've been lying to everyone." I looked around at the confused
faces. "He was too drunk to know what was happening."

"Liar!" Suddenly, I fell to the ground from the blow Barry threw to the
left side of my face. I was disoriented as I tried to lift myself up off
the ground. Before I could get to my feet, Barry kicked me violently in my
side, sending me reeling to the ground again. I looked up to see Barry lift
his foot to smash it into my face.

"Stop!" I could barely make out several of his friends grab Barry and push
him away from me.

"I'm going to kill the fucker!" They fought to keep him back from attacking
me. Just then, Mr. Walters and two security guards pushed their way through
the massive wall of students. The guards grabbed Barry and handcuffed him,
as Mr. Walters knelt down beside me.

"Are you alright, Joey?" I winced when he tried to pull me to my feet. A
couple students walked over and helped him. My head was pounding and I was
having trouble breathing as they helped me back into the school. Ahead of
us, the guards were struggling with Barry. He was trying to fight them and
break free.

"Take him to my office and call the sheriff," yelled Mr. Walters to the
security guards. "I want him arrested for assault."

I was literally carried to the nurse's office. Once there they laid me on a
table while Mrs. Scowfield, the school nurse, examined my face and
side. She determined that my injuries were serious enough that I needed to
go to the hospital. I begged her not to call an ambulance, but she insisted
that I needed medical attention. Ten minutes later I was lifted onto a
gurney and taken to an awaiting ambulance. There was still a large assembly
of students milling about. It surprised me when I saw several girls crying
as they loaded me onto the ambulance.

**************

"It looks worse than it is," a nurse remarked as I sat on the hospital bed
looking at my face in the mirror. The same eye that had been blackened
earlier by Barry was again dark and swollen shut. I winced when she applied
an ice pack to my face.

"Here," she took my hand and pressed it against the compress. "Hold this
here until I come back." As she walked out, Dr. Langford, one of the
hospital residents, came back in. He had talked to me earlier and told me
that my injuries were not serious. Other than some major bruising, Barry
hadn't broken any ribs when he kicked me in my side.

He handed me a small bag containing medication. "You're going to be sore
for a few days." He pulled out a white bottle and held it up to my good
eye. "Take one of these when you need it. Follow the directions on the
bottles for the two other medications."

"Thanks, Doc."

"I'm releasing you to Mr. Wendelmeirer," he said. "I understand he's your
legal guardian."

"Yes, Sir." I stood and followed him out of the examining room. Before he
opened the door to the waiting area, he turned and said, "Now don't be too
surprised. You've got a lot of support."

He held the door opened and I walked out. I stopped suddenly when I saw the
large number of people waiting for me. Allen and Star were the first to run
over to me and hug me. They held me for several minutes as we cried. When I
stepped back, I looked around the room. Mr. and Mrs. Wendelmeirer
approached me and hugged me. Ticker was behind them with tears running down
his face.

"Come here you big lug." I held out my arms and he walked over and gave me
a bear hug. I started screaming from the pain in my sides.

"Damn," he said worriedly. "I'm so sorry, Joey."

"It's okay," I managed to smile. "No more noogies for a while."

I looked around the room and noticed Mr. Walters and Dr. Hatfield, the
principal of our school. I'd never met him before, and I'd only seen him
during assemblies. They rose from their chairs and approached me.

Mr. Walters held out his out and I shook it. "I'm glad you weren't
seriously injured, Joey." Dr. Hatfield reached out and put his hand on my
shoulder.

"I want you to know that this matter has been dealt with
expeditiously. Barry Morgan has been arrested; and after due process, he
will be expelled from Southwestern. This was his fourth assault on a
student in the past two years. We want to assure you that when you return
to school, we will do our utmost to provide for your safety." He then
reached his hand out and I shook it.

"Stop by my office in the morning," said Mr. Walters. I nodded and shook
his hand again before he and Dr. Hatfield turned and walked away.

"Did he say that Barry was getting expelled?" Ticker asked as he and Star
walked up and stood beside me. I looked over at Star and nodded. "I'm
sorry."

"It's not your fault, Joey." She replied sadly. "That's what he gets for
being an asshole. I talked to my dad a little while ago, and he's refused
to go bail him out after he talked to Dr. Hatfield. He says he got what he
deserved."

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. Allen kissed me
gently on the back of my neck. I turned and wanted to kiss him, but there
were too many people around. Tears welled up in his eyes, so I took his
hand and held it.

"I'm alright, Allen." I tried to feign a smile. "I've been through worse
than this."

"I know," he said. Tears were beginning to run down his cheek. "But in the
past couple of days, you've been shot and now beaten up." He buried his
head in my chest. I looked over his head and noticed Mrs. Albright and Gene
sitting on a couch. Gene was crying, and his mother was trying to comfort
him.

"Will you take us home?" I asked Ticker.

"Sure," he replied. "Mom and Dad left a few minutes ago. Mom's preparing a
late dinner."

"No," I blushed. "I meant will you drop me and Allen off at his place?" I
felt him reach for my hand and squeeze it.

"Haven't you been through enough today?" Star asked. "Perhaps you should go
back to Ticker's and rest."

"Allen will take care of me." I looked into his face and he nodded. Ticker
thought for a minute and then grabbed Star's hand. "Let's go," he
said. Before leaving, I gave one last look at Gene and his mother.

"Wait a minute," I said. I then walked over to them. Mrs. Albright stood as
I approached. Gene put his head down and didn't look up. His mother put out
her arms and held me tightly for a minute.

"I'm going home with Allen tonight," I informed her.

"Will you be alright, Honey?" She reached out and gingerly touched my
swollen eye.

"I'll be fine," I insisted. "The doctor gave me pills to take away the
pain." I looked down at Gene and he was still looking down at the floor.

"I'll stop by in the morning," she said. She again hugged me.

"Bye." I started to walk away but stopped.

"Bye, Gene." He looked up with tearful eyes and nodded.

"Bye, Joey." I turned and walked back to an awaiting Allen.

**************

"Mmmm," I purred. "That feels good."

I was lying on my stomach on the bed in Allen's apartment, and he was
straddling me, rubbing my back. He was being careful to avoid the bruise on
my side.

"You're so tense," he murmured as he continued to gently knead his hands
into my back.

"No shit, Sherlock," I laughed. "You think so?"

He lay down beside me, and I rolled over so that our faces were inches
apart. I watched his eyes as he studied my face.

"Why did you do it?" He asked.

"Do what?"

"Cover for Gene?"

I rolled over on my back and looked up at the ceiling. It had been
something I'd been asking myself all night. When Barry called Gene a fag,
my first instinct was to protect him. Allen reached out and made circling
motions on my arm, waiting for me to respond.

Finally, I rolled back and faced him once again.

"I'm not sure," I said. "You didn't see him in the hay loft of Billy Joe's
farm. He looked so frightened. I understood what he was feeling. He'd lost
everything and I felt sorry for him."

"But he treated you like shit," Allen reminded me.

"Not really," I responded. "I think he was just trying to cover up his
feelings."

"His feelings for you?" Allen asked.

"Maybe, but probably not," I said. "I'm just the only gay guy he knew. Guys
like Gene don't fall for boys like me."

"Don't say that." Allen leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "I
fell for you."

"You were easy," I laughed as I returned his kiss.

"So what do you think will happen now?" A worried look appeared on his
face.

"It's up to Gene, I guess." I responded. "I gave him a way out. He can go
back to school and pretend he's straight, or he can admit to everyone he's
gay. It's his decision."

Tears welled up in his eyes. "Yeah, but you got your ass kicked doing it."

"Barry was going to kick my ass anyway," I said. "At least something good
may have come out of it."

He leaned in and kissed me again. "You know you're really special?"

"Of course," I smiled. "I have you, don't I?" We kissed again, and then
Allen turned off the lamp beside the bed. I rolled on my side and he
scooted into me, until we were spooned comfortably together. As he kissed
the back of my neck, I feel into a peaceful sleep.

We were awakened in the morning by a light knocking on the door. I nudged
Allen, trying to get him up, but he grunted and rolled over and snuggled
into the blanket. After three more knocks, I decided to get up and answer
the door. I found my pants that were laying on the floor beside the bed and
put them on.

"Good morning, Joey." Mrs. Albright brushed past me and walked over to the
kitchenette. She was carrying a large bag from McDonalds. I watched as she
pulled several breakfast sandwiches, hash browns and three coffees from it.

"Are you hungry?" I nodded. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day
before. Allen and I had gone straight to bed after getting back from the
hospital. Actually, I hadn't even realized I was famished until I smelled
the food on the small table.

Allen yawned from the bed, and then sat up. "Good morning, Mother." He
pulled back the blanket and slowly got out of bed. I watched as he walked
lazily to the restroom. A few minutes later we heard him taking a shower.

I sat down and Mrs. Albright handed me two sandwiches and a cup of
coffee. "Thanks," I said.

She reached across the table and patted my hand. "Thanks, Joey." I looked
into her face and saw tears emerging. "Star came over last night and told
me what happened. That was very brave of you to protect Gene the way you
did."

"Is he alright?"

She smiled warmly. "Here you are with bruises all over your body and you're
asking me if he's alright." She reached up and caressed my cheek. "You're
such a wonderful boy." I felt my face begin to blush.

"Why did you do it?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't really know, Mrs. Albright." I responded. "I guess I felt sorry
for him. Besides, he's Allen's brother."

"You care a lot for Allen, don't you, dear?" Again, tears formed in her
eyes.

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied.

"You know he's in love with you?" She studied me awaiting my answer. I
don't think she realized that Allen and I had confessed our feelings for
each other.

"Yes, Ma'am," I said. "I'm in love with him too." She took a handkerchief
out of her pocketbook and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"What happened with Gene didn't cause a problem between you?" I think she
thought that since Gene had kissed me, Allen would feel threatened.

"No, Ma'am." I assured her. "Gene was drunk that night. I don't think he
meant it."

"Perhaps you're right," she replied. "He's just extremely confused right
now. His father has been so hard on him; I guess he kept a lot of his
feeling bottled up. He's getting the help he needs now."

"Does Mr. Albright know?" I remember Star saying that he was in Kuwait, but
I didn't know if he knew about the events of the past few days.

"Oh, no," she gasped. "He'll be gone for two more weeks. I hope we can get
this resolved before he returns. I can't lose a second son." I looked into
her face and could see the hurt behind her eyes. It was sad to realize that
Allen's family lived in fear of such a spiteful man.

Just then Allen emerged from the bathroom wearing a green robe. He walked
over and scooted me over in my chair and sat down. Mrs. Albright laughed
when she watched me struggling to stay seated.

"I'm hungry," announced Allen. He grabbed a couple of sandwiches and a hash
brown and began gobbling them down. I looked over and watched him eating
greedily. I remembered just a few weeks earlier when he refused to eat
anything. Since then it appeared he may have put on about ten pounds.

There was another soft knock at the door, and Star then entered, followed
by Ticker. She walked over to Mrs. Albright and gave her a hug. While I
wasn't paying attention, Allen took advantage of the situation and scooted
over, knocking me onto the floor. My face turned red when everyone starting
laughing at me.

I got off the floor and walked over and picked my clothing off the
floor. "Give me a minute and I'll be ready." I disappeared into the
bathroom, removed my pants and jumped into a hot shower.

Twenty minutes later, after saying goodbye to Allen and his mother, we
headed down the stairs to get into Ticker's car. I stopped suddenly when I
saw a familiar red corvette parked behind Ticker's.

"What's he want?" Star asked. Gene got out of his car and walked toward
us. Ticker and Star stepped in front of me. I guess they were going to
protect me in case Gene decided he wanted to fight.

He approached sheepishly. He had his head down and appeared very
nervous. He lifted his head and looked around Ticker and Star. Our eyes
met.

"Can we talk?" It was almost a plea. It was obvious he was nervous.

"What do you want?" Ticker asked. His actions were as a mother hen. He was
standing defensively in front of Gene, trying to appear intimidating. I
pushed past him and stood before Gene.

"It's alright, Ticker." Again, Gene looked into my eyes. "We do need to
talk."

Gene turned and walked back to his car and got in. "You sure you should do
this?" Star asked worriedly.

"We've got to talk sometime," I answered. "Now is as good as any time."

"I guess you're right," she said. "You want me to go with you?"

"No," I replied. "We should probably be alone." I turned and headed to
Gene's car. I looked up at Allen's window and saw Mrs. Albright looking
down. She nodded slightly just before I got into the passenger's seat.

I should have been afraid, but for some reason I wasn't. I felt safe with
Gene. We'd been through so much over the past week, and we had shared so
many experiences, that I felt some kind of a kinship with him.

He didn't say anything as we drove through town. I looked over several
times, but he kept his face forward. His beautiful features were marred by
the dark bruises on his face where Barry had hit him. They were beginning
to fade, but his eye was still swollen slightly.

I wasn't sure where we were going until he pulled into the development
where he lived. He turned onto the long lane leading up to his house. He
pulled the car into the garage, and then he got out. He turned and looked
at me before heading into the house. I followed and found him sitting at
the kitchen table.

"You want a cup of coffee?" I nodded, and he walked over and poured two
cups. He got some milk out of the refrigerator and then sat down.

"I don't know how you like yours," he said. He placed the milk in front of
me, and then pushed the sugar over.

"Black is fine," I answered. We sat for several minutes before he said
anything.

"I don't know where to start," he finally spoke. I looked into his face and
was overwhelmed with the sadness behind his eyes.

"I'm really sorry about Saturday night," he said. "I had too much to
drink. I should never have kissed you."

"It's alright, Gene," I answered. "I understand."

"No," he sounded upset. "You don't understand. You have no idea what I'm
going through."

I couldn't control it, but I began to laugh. My laughter seemed to upset
him. "I'm really sorry, Gene, but I do understand. I've been going through
shit for the past five years."

"My dad would kill me, Joey." He said sadly.

"Listen to me, Gene." His eyes were beginning to become moist with
tears. "My old man put me out of the house and made me sleep in the garage
when I was sixteen. A couple of weeks ago, he threw my clothes out on the
lawn. I've been staying at Ticker's since then. So don't tell me I don't
understand."

I realized that he knew nothing about me since I had never told anyone at
school about my family situation. I'm sure he'd probably heard rumors, but
my life story was virtually unknown to him.

"My uncle molested me when I was eleven." He took a sip of his coffee,
never removing his eyes from mine. "My dad and mom caught us on the couch a
year later. My dad disowned me after that. I've had to survive on the
streets until just recently. A couple of weeks ago I tried to kill
myself. If it hadn't been for Allen, I'd probably be dead now."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, so I got up and walked over to
the kitchen door and looked out onto the back lawn. After a minute, I
walked back to the table and sat down. Gene was staring blankly at the
clock on the wall.

"I don't know what to do, Joey." The expression on his face was of absolute
despair. "Mom has me going to counseling, but they just keep telling me I
should accept who I am, but I can't. I saw how Dad reacted when he found
out Allen was gay. I don't think I could survive if he rejected me like he
did him." He put his head on the table and cried softly.

After a minute, he lifted his head and said, "I'm not strong, Joey. I'm not
like you and Allen."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked. I was afraid he was talking about
suicide again.

"People were calling me all day yesterday," he said. "They told me what
happened and what you said. I think I can make it until I graduate high
school and go off to college."

I looked into his eyes, and I knew the decision he had made. He was going
back to school and pretend that what had happened was my fault. He would
pretend that he was straight and that I had taken advantage of his drunken
state. I had intentionally given him an alibi, and he was going to take it.

"I'm sorry, Joey," he replied sadly. "I don't have a choice."

"Can I ask you a question?" It was something that I'd been thinking about
for a week. He nodded his head. "Why did you kiss me?"

He blushed and then put his head down. He waited a minute before
answering. "I've had a crush on you since the seventh grade" He raised his
head and looked into my eyes. "I know you don't remember, but you helped me
with a math problem in Mrs. Turner's class. We were sitting really close
and I could smell the shampoo in your hair. I think it was at that time I
realized I might be gay. I went home that night and.." His eyes lit up and
he started laughing. "Well, you get the picture."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I was going to," he said, "but then Dad found out Allen was gay. He said
some really horrible things about boys liking other boys that way. When he
kicked Allen out, then I knew I couldn't feel like that- ever. I also saw
how the guys at school talked about you, so I had to keep my distance.

"Then that night when you were sitting alone on the porch, I remembered how
I felt about you, and well, I just wanted to kiss you." He blushed, and
then looked down.

"Are you sure you can live a lie?" I asked.

"I have to," he said sadly. "I know it's wrong, but I think I can convince
people at school I'm not gay. You helped me there. Besides, the people I
care about know. Mom, Star and Allen know." He looked at me and
smiled. "And you know."

"Yeah." I smiled. "I know."

We sat for a few minutes without saying anything. He walked over to the
kitchen cabinet and placed a box of doughnuts on the table. He ate three
while I hungrily devoured two.

He looked across the table and asked, "So tell me about you and Allen. You
guys serious?"

"Yeah," I responded. "Allen's really been there for me. I guess I've been
there for him too."

"Do you love him?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I do." He smiled and nodded.

I looked at the clock on the wall. "It's after ten," I said. "We should get
to school." We got up and stood awkwardly before each other.

I walked over and held out my arms. "Friends?"

He smiled and approached me, pulling me into a hug. "Friends."

**********************

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