Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 05:19:57 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: Tales of a Real Dark Knight Chapter 37 Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my mind!!! Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox. Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. Star Trek and all related characters created by Gene Roddenberry. Copyright Paramount Studios. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 37 More Than Friends At 11:00 I finished up work and headed out for lunch. I went to the hot dog stand along the streets and got lemonade. After my interesting morning with Justin, I needed a little sugar to celebrate. It seemed, so far, that Justin and I were okay. That helped heal up a lot of frustration for me. Now I had no worries or fears, at the moment. Of course, with Halloween coming up, who knew what spiritual battles would be waiting for me. I walked through the park and found Hailey walking. She should have been on campus. I decided I would meet her and see what was up. "Hi, Hailey." "Eric! Oh, hi! How are you?" "I'm doing very well today. Thanks for asking." "Good. We were concerned because you weren't in class yesterday." "I needed some more recovery time, that's all." "Glad you're better." "Thanks. How are you?" "I'm okay." "Are you sure?" The psychologist in me took over. "I mean, you look kind of glum. Shouldn't you be on campus?" "Yeah." "Well...?" "I don't know. Just lots of stuff going on. I felt so overwhelmed. I need to get away for a while." "I know what you mean. I've been there. Do you mind if I walk with you?" "Just don't try to help me, okay? I want to deal with this on my own." "Sure. No problem. I'll be here if you need me." We walked in silence for fifteen minutes. I didn't want to pry into her business if she wasn't ready to be helped. When it got pretty late, I suggested we go back to the campus. When we arrived on the campus, class was almost ready to start. We met Brian and Alan walking toward one of the many buildings. "Hey, guys!" I yelled. "Hey, Eric," they greeted. "Hi, Hailey," Alan and Brian said to our friend. "Hi," she responded in a quiet voice. "Are you ready for today's test?" Alan asked me. "What test?" "Dr. Israel is giving us a test over the material we covered in class." "It's a good thing I have such good friends who helped me when I was in the hospital. I might not stand a chance if it wasn't for you." They smiled. "By the way, where's Hunter?" "Drooling over the new Backstreet Boys CD." We laughed. It was always cute to see someone gushing over a famous person. So long as it didn't turn into obsession, it was fine. We entered into class and sat down. Dr. Israel gave a rather interesting test. It was more of an opinion-type test as opposed to the right answer/wrong answer test. It was interesting. The topic was the pros and cons of mutations. We had to honestly weigh both sides and put in our opinion. I enjoyed it since I'm so opinionated anyway. After class we went to the others in silence. Everyone was concentrating on the test in the next class. When we were all finished, Alan suggested we all go out and get something to eat to celebrate. We found a pizza shop that everyone raved about. It was very nostalgic. It brought back so much of the 80's, 70's, 60's and 50's. The song playing as we entered was "The Runaway" by Del Shannon. I remember the song well. It was one of my favorites as I enjoy music from the 50's and 60's. We found a booth and sat down. The waiter came over and we ordered a pizza. He was rather cute but I didn't voice my feelings. I didn't know if my friends knew for sure I was gay. I figured it would be in better taste to wait until after the tests were over before I said anything. "So has anyone seen Hunter?" I asked. "No, he didn't show up for classes," Brian replied. "He said he had something to do, but I don't remember what," said Alan. "Hmm," was all I responded with. Something must be going on with him. It wasn't like him to just disappear. As we sat and chatted, I saw Nick and Kevin from the Backstreet Boys enter the restaurant. Nick looked over at me and quickly looked away. In all I had done the day before I had forgotten to find Nick and his friends and apologize for my rudeness. "Excuse me, please," I said to the group at the table and stood up. As I walked towards them, Nick whispered something to Kevin and then left. Kevin looked over at me as I approached. "Hey, Eric, Nick was telling us..." But I ignored him. For some reason Nick was avoiding me. I had to find out why. I'm pretty sure it had to do with what happened before, but I needed to find out for sure and apologize for it. "Nick. Nick!" I watched him climb into the passenger side of an SUV. "Nick, what's wrong?" "We are, Eric. We are." "What do you mean?" "We are wrong! Gay people! Men who are attracted to men! Women who are attracted to women! We are all wrong!" "Nick, who told you we are wrong?" "My psychologist." "Who is your psychologist?" Kevin came out with the pizza. "What's going on?" he asked. "That's what I would like to know," I said. Kevin climbed in and asked Nick. "Nothing. Just go." "Please tell us, Nick. We want to help." "Just drive, Kevin. Please." Kevin looked over at me and shrugged. He started up their SUV and left me standing in the parking lot. Something was going on with Nick. It was his psychologist, but who was his psychologist? I had to find out. I went back into the pizza shop and sat back down with the rest of the guys. "What was that all about?" Alan asked. "Nick was upset about something. I wanted to find out what. I thought maybe I could help him." Our pizza came and we ate. I returned to my apartment and brushed my teeth. I still felt a little on edge so I decided to suit up and patrol. I went downtown to see what I could see, and needless to say it was interesting. I got to a building across from the penthouse hotel apartment that NSYNC stayed at. I could see in Justin's room like I did a few months ago. He was sitting at a desk reading one of the books I suggested to him. I was glad for that. I also happened to see someone moving around in their living room area. I decided to investigate. I shot a line over to their building and swung down to the balcony soft and silent. Trying the doorknob, the doors opened rather easily. The person had moved from the living room to the hallway so I followed. When I rounded the corner it found the hallway empty. Maybe it was just one of the guys and I was being paranoid. I crept down the hall just in case it wasn't. When I got to Lance's room, I heard him talking. "Eric, is that you?" Then music began to play. I recognized the tune as "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie. I've been alone with you inside my mind And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times I sometimes see you pass outside my door Hello Is it me you're looking for? I can see it in your eyes I can see it in your smile You're all I've ever wanted And my arms are opened wide Cause you know just what to say And you know just what to do And I want to tell you so much I love you I long to see the sunlight in your hair And tell you time and time again how much I care Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow Hello I've just got to let you know Cause I wonder where you are And I wonder what you do Are you somewhere feeling lonely? Or is someone loving you Tell me how to win your heart Cause I haven't got a clue But let me start by saying I love you Hello Is it me you're looking for? Cause I wonder where you are And I wonder what you do Are you somewhere feeling lonely? Or is someone loving you Tell me how to win your heart Cause I haven't got a clue But let me start by saying I love you My God. Lance loved me. He must have been the one Joshua told me about who had feelings for me. If that is true then...oh, no! I was the one he talked about being in love with but was in love with someone else! I was hurting him being with Justin! And when I lost Justin... I can't believe this! "Well, look what the cat dragged in." I turned to see a female dressed like a purple cat. "Where do you people come from?" "Hmm, let me see," she said. "Some believe that God created us." She stepped up considering her words. "But then there are others who subscribe to the big BANG theory!" When she said "BANG" she kicked me knocking me into the wall. She didn't wait to see what I was going to do. She took off into the living room. The impact that I had on the wall was loud enough to gain the attention of everyone on the floor. Lance opened his door as well as Justin, JC, Chris, and Joey to see me standing in the hallway. Thank God I was in my Batman costume. They weren't ready to see Eric roaming their hallway. I nodded to them and ran through the living room to the balcony. I looked across the street to the other buildings hoping to find Catwoman. "What is it, Batman?" Joey said. I turned to the guys. "Catwoman was here." Looking up I had a thought. She might very well have gone to the top of the apartment building. I shot a line up and it pulled me up to the top. Climbing up I saw an empty rooftop. I ran to the other side only to see her shadow disappear off the next building over. By the time I would have reached her she would be well gone. There's nothing I could have done to catch her. "Who's Catwoman?" I heard the Huntress say. I looked around to find no one. "Huntress? Where are you?" "I'm close to Porter Incorporated. Where are you?" "I'm on the roof of the Radisson." "What are you doing over there? Checking up on your boys?" "Hardly. I saw someone inside their apartment. It was someone dressed like Catwoman." "Man, Batman. You bring out the weird in people. I never had this kind of problem of people dressing up like animals. First a firefly. Now a cat." "You're right. You usually just have demons and vampires preying on the innocent of this city." "Which direction was she headed?" "East." "I'm not in that direction. We will have to keep our eyes out for her when we patrol. What was she doing?" "She stole from the guys." "Great," the Huntress said with a burst of sarcasm. "I'm going to keep continuing patrol." "Can I talk with you later?" I asked. "Sure. Where do you want to meet?" "How about on top of Central Plaza Towers?" "Sounds fine. See you in about an hour." I went to the edge and looked over. Standing on the balcony was JC, Lance and Justin. Justin seemed to keep his distance from Lance. I felt bad for both of them, which showed the healing I've gone through. Normally I would be so angry with someone treating a gay person like they had the plague. But I understood Justin's feelings and I knew he was trying to get help so he could understand. I was thankful for that. That provided the hope of he and I being friends again. I enjoyed our friendship. I decided to patrol some more. As I went from building to building, I came upon Nick getting into a taxicab. "I wonder where he's going?" I followed the cab to just outside of the city. "Man, I need some wheels," I whispered. I watched as Nick got out of the cab and paid the driver. The cab went down the road leaving Nick all alone. He disappeared into the brush. I silently followed. When I came to a clearing, I found Nick standing on the edge of the cliff looking out at the city. I moved to a better position so I could see his face. I was saddened by what I saw. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, lit only by the moonlight. I studied his delicate features and read all the pain and inner turmoil he struggled with in everyday life. Then he began to sing: Close every door to me Hide all the world from me Bar all the windows and shut out the light Do what you want with me Hate me and laugh at me Darken my daytime and torture my night If my life were important I Would ask "will I live or die" But I know the answers lie far from this world Close every door to me Keep those I love from me Children of Israel are never alone For I know I shall find My own peace of mind For I have been promised a land of my own Just give me a number Instead of my name Forget all about me And let me decay If my life were important I Would ask "will I live or die" But I know the answers lie far from this world Close every door to me Keep those I love from me Children of Israel are never alone For we know we shall find Our own peace of mind For we have been promised a land of our own I heard rustling and ducked down out of site. I made sure I could see what was going on, though. Nick turned to the direction the rustling was coming from and slowly, emerging from the shadows was the one person I least expected. To Be Continued... Ah!!! Cliffhanger endings!!! Don't you just hate me? Ha, ha, ha! I needed to end it here. I'm trying to keep the chapters close to the same length. Any thoughts on who Nick's psychologist is? What about where Hunter went? It's good to see Eric going back to the way things used to be. And now he knows Lance loves him. But what to do? He knows Lance likes Eric. He also knows Nick likes Batman. But neither Lance nor Nick knows that the one they care about knows. And neither one knows that Eric and Batman are one in the same. Eric really can't do anything right now, or can he? With what he's gone through, do you think he is ready to forge a relationship? Let me know what you think the answers are to these questions!