Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:19:46 +0000 (GMT)
From: Nathan Me <nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: james chapter33

'James' by Nathan

Email address nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk

My stories are archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nathansstories/.

This story contains material of a sexual nature and describes sexual acts between
adults and children. If you find this kind of material offensive, if you are under the
legal age to read such material or if it is illegal in your country, please do not read any
further.

My stories may contain some factual or autobiographical elements, but they are works
of fiction and any apparent similarities of my characters to real people are not
intended.

This story is protected by copyright. It may not be downloaded, copied, printed or
otherwise reproduced in any way other than for your private enjoyment and may not
be changed in any way without express written consent of the author, me!

I hope you enjoy this story.


James: Chapter 33


The shopping centre was more like a retail park. The two storey, indoor mall spilled
out both sides into wide arcs that were open-air, paved pedestrian areas, with shops
down each side. At the end where they pulled in were a Multiplex cinema and a
Megabowl. Nita parked up the minibus and divided them into two groups. The girls,
Phil and Andy went with her, as she thought they would be harder to handle, and the
four younger boys went with Tom. So, by default, this meant that James went with
Tom. Sam made sure that he was between the man and James. He wasn't going to let
Tom get at his friend. Nita had given them all their allowances and within reason they
were free to spend the money on whatever they wanted.

That Saturday afternoon was hot and humid. As Tom walked round, his shirt clung to
him uncomfortably, although, the uncomfortable feeling may also have had something
to do with being so close to James without actually being able to talk to him openly.
He allowed the boys to dictate which shops they browsed and so spent along time
looking at Nike trainers, mobile phones, skateboards and sweets. Sam spent very little
and seemed keen to save as much of his money as possible. Danny wanted to spend it
all on sweets and a Spiderman action figure. Chris insisted he save some and they
both managed to keep about half of what they had been given. James bought a 500ml
bottle of Coke and a packet of Opal Fruits. He offered the packet of sweets round and
even offered Tom one. Tom accepted, mumbling a thank you. Sam looked at him
suspiciously and once again manoeuvred himself between them. Tom smiled. It was
becoming quite obvious what Sam was doing. The smile faded: if he really was
protecting James, then he must have known! Shit!

James couldn't make up his mind whether it was a good thing that Tom had found
him, or not. On the positive, if Tom still liked him, it may be a way out of the
children's home. On the other hand, if Tom was really like he had seemed during
those couple of days, did James really want to spend any time with him at all. He
chewed his lime Opal Fruit and his mouth salivated. It always amazed him how the
citrus chews were able to make your mouth water, just like the advert said. He sat,
while Chris told Tom all about the various skateboards on the sports shop's wall. He
described in detail what an 'olie' was and how to best perform it. He went into great
detail about the different grades of wheels and which were best for what manoeuvres.
Although he appeared to be concentrating on what Chris was telling him, both Sam
and James noticed that Tom frequently glanced back at James. Still confused, James
let out a big sigh, got up and wandered off to look at trainers. The ones the home had
supplied were basic white and blue Hi-Tech and he wanted something a little smarter,
something with a bit more street-cred'. He had seen a pair of black Pumas that he
fancied, but Puma wasn't in, so he looked at the Adidas and the Nikes. They weren't
as good as the Pumas, but they were more acceptable. He didn't have enough with
him to buy the ones he was looking at, so he decided to save his money and perhaps
he would be able to buy them in a couple of weeks, maybe.

"So what you gonna do about him?" Sam made him jump.
"Nothin' for now. I'll wait and see what he does."
"Do you still like him or hate him?"
James thought for a moment, "I don't know, really."
"Well, he seems ok, but if he's just another sick'o..."
"I don't know how he found me."
"Looks like he's gonna be around every week anyways."
"I know."
"So, I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to."
"Maybe."
"You all right?" Sam looked at James. He seemed withdrawn and quiet, not like his
usual confident roommate.
"Yeah." James picked up two trainers, "Nike or Adidas?"
"Nike. Adidas are crap. They look like the Hi-Tech the school gave us."
"I like the Puma ones over there."
"They're ok, but Puma is definitely out."
"I know. I think they look better than the Nikes though."
"Maybe, but you wouldn't want to be seen at school in them."
"I guess not." He put the trainers back on the rack and moved further down the isle,
away from Tom, Chris and Danny. "What do you think of him?"
"I don't know him."
"First impressions?"
"Seems ok, I guess. Why?"
"I just can't decide whether to talk to him or tell him to fuck off."
"Shit! I didn't think you knew words like that!"
"I'm picking up your bad habits." James said laughing at his friend's surprise.

Sam dug him in the ribs and drew a disapproving stare from a shop assistant. They
moved slowly round the outside walls of the shop until they were back beside the
Skateboards. Tom was still listening to Chris, but Danny was bored and had moved
over to the bikes. There was a Saracen Raw with front and back suspension and dual
disc brakes, but if Danny had any ideas, as soon as he stood beside it, it was obvious it
was designed for a teen. The saddle was at his chest. He moved on down the rack,
touching each bike as he went. James saw it first and as he moved to stop it, Sam
turned and saw it too. The bike that Danny had just given a little push had begun to
fall against another display on the other side. The display must have been top heavy,
because as it was pushed at the bottom, the top swayed and began to topple towards
Danny. James was just too far away to reach Danny and Sam was even further. James
screamed at Danny to move, but the boy just froze and looked back, puzzled. Tom
heard James and because he was subconsciously looking for any opportunity to speak
with the boy, he was already primed, on edge. As he turned, the signage at the top of
the display of bicycle components seemed to disengage from the tubular framework,
fold down on itself and launch at the small child. Adrenaline pumped and Tom leaped
at Danny, curling his body around the child and doing a head over heals roll away
from the stand. Danny screamed in fright and the other three boys froze as the edge of
the falling sign fell across Tom's back, flattening him on top of the screaming child.
A shop assistant had seen the whole thing and reached Tom as he went prone under
the sign. He pulled the heavy board off Tom and reached down to pull him up, but
Tom was winded and took a few moments to react. He rolled off Danny and pulled
the boy round to face him. Danny threw his arms around the man's neck and sobbed
into his shoulder. The three boys' feet finally became unfrozen and they all
simultaneously ran to Tom and Danny. Tom accepted the shop assistant's hand and,
still with the small boy clinging to him, managed to stand up.

"I'm sorry I don't know how that happened." The shop assistant was also white as a
sheet. Another assistant, wearing a badge that identified him as, "Sean, Duty
Manager", had now joined them and he was looking more angry than concerned about
their welfare.
"I guess it could have had something to do with the fact that these kids were running
around like thugs and..."
"Stop right there." Tom seemed to grow six inches and took a step towards the duty
manager, "Unless you want me to sue you and your company for gross negligence,
you will shut your face now. What ever these boys were or were not doing, everything
in this store should be safe and secure and the fact that it is not is your fault, not ours,
you little prick." He stared the duty manager down. The duty manager's face was
changing from red to purple, but as a four foot eight, skinny runt, he had neither
stature nor strength to stand against Tom. "I suggest that you clear this stuff off the
shop floor before someone gets seriously hurt and does sue you ass off. Now get out
off my way before I kick you out of it."

Tom, still carrying Danny, led his charges out into the pedestrian area, down about 20
meters to a bench and seemed to crumple down onto it.  He pulled Danny away
slightly, so he could look at him. He checked the boy's arms and legs, but nothing
seemed broken. Danny was just shocked. In truth, so was he. He sat there, breathing
heavily for several minutes until Chris broke the silence.
"Danny, are you ok?" Danny just sobbed into Tom's shoulder. "Thanks, Tom."
"No problem, Chris. I'm just glad I managed to get there in time to get him away
from the sign."
"Yeah, man. You moved like Superman, or somethin'." Sam stood in awe. Everything
was beginning to sink in and the shock was wearing off. The boys all started talking at
once, but the common conclusion was that Tom was the hero. Even James joined in
praising him. James know knew that Tom was here to protect them, and whatever
Tom's and James' personal history, that didn't change. He still wasn't sure how Tom
had found him, but now he was less scared of the potential outcomes. As the group
moved off to another shop and Sam and Chris were paying attention to Danny, who
had finally let go of Tom, James dropped back and walked beside Tom.

"Why did you come after me?"
Tom looked down at the boy, dumb for a few seconds, until he saw that James was
less wary of him. Something had changed and now was the time to talk. "I looked for
you that day, and when I couldn't find you, I thought that I had hurt you and scared
you off. I really wanted to be a better person and thought that if I volunteered to do
charity stuff, it would help. Honestly, James, I had no idea you were at this home."
"So why how did you end up at our school?"
"My boss knows the headmaster."
"Oh."
"Really. Honest. But James, if you don't want me to stay, I'll make some excuse and
leave." James walked silently for a few meters. Tom couldn't bear it.
"Do you?"
"What?"
"Want me to go?"
"I don't know." They walked a little further. "I guess not."
Tom desperately wanted to take the boy and hug him, but James had sped up and
caught up with the others.

More to come...