Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 23:08:18 -0500
From: Kris Eshleman <uninspired_teen@hotmail.com>
Subject: 98 Shades of Gray: Chapter One

Hope you guys all like this story. It is a bit more gritty than Lance Meets
an Angel, and I hope it goes over well. Please write me and let me know if I
should continue it.

Disclaimer: You know the drill...to young leave...don't like male/male
relationships leave...I don't know Jeff although I wish I did...me saying he
is gay here has no effect in real life.

Have fun and a note on terminology: I used some real Roma words to add
authenticity. Kumpania is a term for a close circle of friends, and Marhime
is the term for unclean.



     Jeff Timmons rushed across the street, holding a now thoroughly wet
newspaper over his head in a vain attempt to keep the torrential downpour
off of him. He kind of laughed to himself upon reaching the other side. What
a great way to end the glorious European tour for 98 Degrees new CD
Revelations than to be stranded in Timisoara. It was a beautiful city in
Romania, there was no denying it, but he wished it hadn't been storming for
the past 72 hours. The other guys had already left the city to return to the
states. They were going to have three weeks off before meeting up again, and
he had decided he wanted to visit Beijing. He had worked in a Chinese
restaurant, and had a couple of Chinese characters tattooed on his chest,
but he had never actually been to China. What the hell, he figured he was
already more than halfway there, why not just go now. His flight was
supposed to have left two days ago, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to
happen when the storm rolled in.

     He had tried to make the best of it though, seeing the sites of the
city. It really was beautiful. He loved the Banat Metropolitan Cathedral. He
visited a couple of times since becoming "stranded". He loved the way the
massive church looked in the heavy downpour, like a giant fortress against
the storm. He had regretted leaving the bench he had been looking at it from
tonight, but it had just gotten to cold and he needed to return to his hotel
near the airport.

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

     Coron lay sprawled on the pavement. He couldn't remember when he had
fallen there, and he couldn't remember how he had made it that far. Even
through the haze of drugs he knew he was hurt bad. Not because he really
felt the pain, but he could see something...it was thick, red, and he knew it
was hot. He thought it might be blood, but the heavy rain was quickly
washing it away. The guy had SEEMED NICE.

<center>*FLICKER*</center>

     Coron looked at the man in the car. The guy looked nice enough, not
really the serial killer type. In fact, he was kind of cute, and besides, he
really needed the money the guy was offering, and when the man spoke his
voice was soft and warm.

"Come on get in. You'll have a great time. TRUST me"

<center>*FLICKER*</center>

     Trust.... how long had it been since he had known trust? His friends, no
more than that.... his Kumpania had deserted him. Sabina, his own sister had
yelled at him.

"Coron, we must return to mother and father. Our people wait outside the
city for us. Timisoara is not for us. We are Roma; it is in our blood to
wander. I miss the children and the dogs. This city hurts my soul. It is
Marhime. I feel unclean just being here. Look what it has done to you. It
has made you Marhime; you SELL YOURSELF ON THE STREET, to men and to women."

<center>*FLICKER*</center>

     So Coron decided to get in the car. The man took him to a hotel that
was in the middle of the city; he could see the airport as he got out of the
car. He couldn't tell whether the guy was from Romania or not. He was never
really good at telling those things. His thoughts were interrupted as the
man spoke.

"That is some interesting jewelry you have on."

"What...oh, yeah my mom made this necklace for me."

     Coron absently fingered the beads around his neck. The necklace had
been a gift from his mother on his 18th birthday earlier this year. How long
ago had it been? Six months...nine?

"You look like you have been SLEEPING IN THE STREETS the last couple of
nights."

<center>*FLICKER*</center>

"We are leaving Coron. Gemile, Luciano, Keja, Vedel, all of us. We are going
back to the others. We are tired of sleeping in the streets and being
afraid."

     Sabina said it with tears in her eyes. She had looked at him pleading.
But he couldn't take it. He couldn't face his parents. He couldn't face the
rest of the caravan. Not being unclean. He didn't think he would ever be
clean again.

"GO DAMMIT, JUST GO! I AM NOT GOING WITH YOU!"

<center>*FLICKER*</center>

     Coron waited patiently as the man opened the hotel room. He squinted
his eyes a bit, attempting to see in the darkness. He took off his coat and
shook it out.

"Yeah, it's been hard since my Kumpania left."

"Your Kumpania? What the hell is a Kumpania?"

"Huh, oh it's a term we Roma use to describe our close friends."

"Oh you're a gypsy huh?"

     By that time Coron had become aggravated. He tossed his coat down on a
chair. The guy was paying him to have sex, not to talk about life. Coron
hated that. He just wanted to get it over and done with.

"Hey you look pretty tense...um..."

"Coron"

"...Yeah Coron, here why don't you take some of this to relax a little?"

"What is it?"

"Just a hydro-codeine, a muscle relaxer. It will help you loosen up, plus it
will make what's coming up a little easier for ya."

"I have been through this before you know... but hey whatever."

     Coron took the pill and the man handed him a glass of what appeared to
be water. Coron stuck the pill in his mouth and downed the contents of the
glass.

"Okay.... now what?"

"Now the fun starts."

     The guy said it with a vicious tone in his voice, and somewhere in the
back of Coron's rapidly fading consciousness, a small voice told him to run,
to get away from this guy. He squinted his eyes trying to bring everything
back into focus.

"Fu...fun?"

     Coron asked brokenly, but his only response was a backhand from the
other guy. Pain exploded briefly in his head as he lost balance and fell. He
was aware that he had hit his head on the table near the bed, and that he
was bleeding, but only barely. Like he was watching what was happening to
someone else. He started to lose even that tenuous awareness as the guy
began to tear his clothes off....

<center>*FLICKER*</center>

     He heard himself groan, he knew that the guy had raped him, he was
pretty sure of it anyway. Somewhere his mind noted that he was only half
clothed, his pants were on but unbuttoned, the rest of his clothes were
nowhere he could see. The guy had probably robbed him too. He was cold, and
he felt like he had been beaten within an inch of his life, but he couldn't
bring himself to do anything. He was lying in the middle of the sidewalk,
and rain was pouring down all around him. Was this how it was all going to
end? Was he going to lie there and bleed to death? Would it matter? Would
anyone even know or care?

     Suddenly someone came into his vision, at any other time he probably
would have jumped at the appearance of a stranger, but he didn't have the
strength of body or will to even wince. The guy started to ask him
questions; Coron couldn't make them out through the haze of drugs and pain
though. Absently he noted that the guy was kind of attractive. His hair was
the same shade of black as his own, but the other had dark brown eyes, a
stark contrast to his nearly amethyst ones. He tried to answer, to say that
he was all right, but all that really came out was a noise somewhere between
a groan and a whimper.


     As Jeff arrived on the other side of the street, he saw something big
lying on the sidewalk in front of his hotel. He was to far off to be sure,
but he though it might be a body. Thinking that someone had fallen in the
rain he ran toward the person, abandoning the newspaper when he got close.
He saw that indeed it was a person, one that looked like he had gotten into
a fight. The guy, probably around eighteen or nineteen years old was lying
there without a shirt or coat or shoes, and his pants looked like they were
hastily thrown on, and weren't even buttoned. His thoughts were cut off as
the guy let out a soft whimper; Jeff rushed over and knelt down beside him.

"Hey man, are you all right?"

     The guy opened his eyes, a blue so dark they nearly seemed purple, and
looked straight at him. Jeff noticed that the guy's black hair was matted
with blood, and that there was a decent amount of blood on the pavement
around him. He was covered with bruises, a few small cuts, and even appeared
to have one cigarette burn on his left arm. The guy tried to answer him but
didn't really do anything more than groan.

     Jeff made a decision; he couldn't leave the guy on the street. He
carefully picked him up, and slung him over his shoulder. He took a few
experimental steps to make sure he could carry his new burden, and found
that the guy wasn't that heavy. He began to walk carefully down the street,
making sure not to slip or fall in the downpour. He had seen a hospital or
clinic a block over, and was fairly confident he could make it...he just hoped
that the guy on his shoulder could too...
*************************************************************************

Thxs everyone who has supported my writing. If you like you can check out my
website for more http://www.geocities.com/uninspired_teen or if you have any
feedback (which I would love to hear from everyone) write me at
uninspired_teen@hotmail.com