Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 11:00:20 CDT
From: Peter Pan <jendor2@hotmail.com>
Subject: Elijah's Impact Part 2

"To write is to breathe." -- Anon.

			      Elijah's Impact
				 By PeterM

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I said before, the events in this story are fictitious.
It involves consentient sex between eighteen-year-old Elijah Wood and the
twenty-two-year-old narrator. If you are repulsed by such activity, then
let me ask one thing: Why are you here? NB - this story does not claim to
say that Elijah Wood is gay - THIS IS A FANTASY! Get it right!  :-) Praise,
comments or flames can be sent to me at jendor2@hotmail.com Before reading
this section, you must first have completed chapter's 1-4.]*

				   Five

Wads of hot, creamy, salty and silky cum was attacking my throat,
slithering over my tongue and slipping gracefully down my larynx. Elijah
moaned and released his grip on my head as the last pangs of ecstasy waved
over his body and he wiped the thin lather of sweat from his brow, gasping
for air like I had held his head under water for hours. 'Uh, God!' he
managed to say, weakly.

I pulled slowly back from his cock, my lips drawing up over the head,
extending as he came out of me in a bid to have him in my mouth for as long
as possible. Then my tongue sought the tip of him to take any remaining cum
he might relinquish at the last. I smiled up at him. 'Well? Did you enjoy?'

He laughed, breath trickling from his throat. 'You bastard! You know I
enjoyed it!'

'Good,' I said. I was happy. Elijah had cum in me. But it was more than
cum, it was a part of him, a part of his soul; he had given me something he
had given no other and I would cherish this moment for the rest of my
life. I licked my lips that were sparkling from a film of sperm and raised
myself to him to kiss him. His hands on my cheeks felt so good as our lips
met and parted together, our tongues caressing once again. I was rapidly
falling in love - not with the screen-Elijah I had already grown to love as
an actor, but the real-Elijah, the Elijah in my living room, the real
person. *My* Elijah. Not like something to go down on my Record of
Achievement, that sounds too... I don't know, stoic, too cold, as if I just
aimed to have him and then tick him off in my little black book. It was
nothing like that. This was real, this was... *life*.

'Peter,' Elijah said, breaking our kiss. 'Why did you do that for me?'

'Why? Because... I don't know, because I like you, as more than an
actor. Because- well,' I added softly, in a whisper, my head hung, 'because
I'd like to be your boyfriend. If that's okay.'

I could see from the corner of my eye that he was smiling. 'Peter, after
that you don't even have to ask. But, let's keep this just between us,
okay? I'm not ready for the world to know just yet.'

'Me either,' I agreed and we kissed again.

Then, slowly, he made his way onto his knees and prepared to take me in his
mouth. I sighed. This was life. *This was life*.

'Ohhhh-ahhhhhh, yeahhhh...' I was reduced to breathy sighs and heavy
panting. Elijah took me in his mouth and all I could think was,
*OhGodOhGodOhGod*. My cock was enveloped in the wet warmth and the breath
from his nose tickled at my pubic hair. I tensed and stiffened. I would
blow any minute now, I knew it. I *needed* to erupt in my lover as much as
Norman Bates needed therapy!

He licked slowly and sentuously up my shaft, the tip of his tongue easing
gently over my cum-slit, my pre-cum oozing, balls tingling. With my mouth
ajar and eyes in flickering slits, my hands grasped tightly to his head,
fingers running through his hair, touching lightly over his cheeks and neck
and chin. He was so good at this. I *was* falling in love.

Elijah pressed his lips tight around the head of my throbbing dick and
swished his tongue across it, sending shivers down my stiff cock and up my
arching back. With one hand he toyed with my balls, caressing them,
tickling, holding loosely and tightly and fingered the area behind them
that led to my anus. His teeth teased my sensitive skin and his mouth
suctioned like a vacuum. It was not long before I was thrusting forward
with vehemence, my stomach slapping his forehead, my cock touching his
tonsils briefly before he pulled back without gagging, and my cum left me,
shooting fast and furious into his warm mouth, my hot and salty liquid
filling him. 'Unghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

He continued sucking after I had exploded, taking all my cum and swallowing
it. And then he slowly let my dick fall from his mouth and he smiled up at
me. 'Well,' he said, almost as out of breath as I was, 'I'm not going to
need any salt for the rest of the week!' We both laughed and he raised
himself to my level on the couch and we embraced and kissed, collapsing in
an exhausted heap. He buried his face in the crook of my neck and kissed me
there, then I could sense him inhaling through his nose. 'Ahhh, CK-Be,' he
said.

'You approve?'

He said nothing, simply kissed my lips softly and snuggled closer to me,
smiling widely with that cupid's-bow mouth of his. I took that as a yes.

'Thanks,' he said soon, almost in a whisper, as we were just laying there
in the silent comfort of each other's embrace. 'For everything. I'm glad we
met.'

'Me too,' I said. '*Really* glad we met.' I kissed his forehead and closed
my eyes contentedly.

				     *

He glanced my way. I smiled, blushed, toyed with the collar of my shirt,
and dropped my eyes from his gaze. Hannah looked at me.

'Well?' she said.

'Well what?'

She rolled her eyes as she seemed fond of doing. 'Well what happened? Last
night? You and Elijah?' She looked expectant, looked sweet in a girlish
sort of way - a hand on hip, lips pouting, shoulders drawn back as if in an
unconscious charge to appear taller than she was. 'Well?'

I could not help from smiling. 'I'm not telling you that!' I told her,
winding a coil of flex wire up in my hands to store away after use. 'That's
private.' I finished winding it, slung it over my shoulder and was about to
turn around when I stopped and looked at her again.

'That's so unfair!' she complained.

'Life's unfair,' I said, laughing. 'But one thing: Thanks.' And then I
kissed her on the forehead and walked off.

'I knew it!' she blasted excitedly. 'I knew it!' I watched her prance off
towards Elijah who had just finished a shoot and throw her arms around his
neck, kissing his cheek. 'It's wonderful news! Excellent!' she told him.

'What's all this?' their mother said, approaching. 'You're hugging your
*brother*? Where's my camera!'

Elijah shot me an indecipherable look and I threw back an apologetic
one. He smiled and so I guess it was okay to have let his sister know our
secret. I'm sure she would have worked it out anyway! I made the shape of a
phone reciever with my hand to let him know he should call me, and then I
packed up and went home.

When I got there, there was a message on my answering
machine. Elijah. *Hey, Peter. Guess who? I've made plans for us for this
evening. Meet me at the park two blocks from your appartment at 6:30, okay?
See you there. Oh, what size shoe are you?* Strange. The park. Hmm. And why
did he want to know my shoe size? I suppose he's planned a sort of picnic
or something, but why the shoe size?

I didn't eat. If he'd decided on a picnic (even though it would be an
*evening* picnic), I'd have to be hungry, wouldn't I? I was wrong, though.

When I got to the park, he was nowhere to be seen. I checked all over, and
then sat on the bench near the main entrance, hoping I had come at the
right time and to the right park. I had been sitting there for nearly ten
minutes and about to give up, when a figure came towards me on
rollerblades. It was him, and he was carrying another pair of blades in his
hands.

He stopped by me, a little out of breath, and flopped onto the
bench. 'Hey,' he said. 'Can you blade? Didn't know your size, so got
these. Hope they fit.'

'Um,' I stalled. 'Blade? Yeah, sort of. I have a pair but hardly ever use
them.'

'Good.' So I took the blades from him, my hand lingering on his as he
passed them to me, and tried them on. They fitted fine which was good. And
then he said, 'Come on. It'll be dark soon. Ever made out in a public
place?'

He left me with that thought and took off, heading toward the center of the
park, calling for me to catch up, and all I could imagine was Elijah's hot
cock back in my mouth where it belonged, us making out... in the park.


				    Six

'Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh!'

Ever lost control of your footing and stumbled around for several minutes
before actually toppling over? Huh! I have. Something about the way I
pushed my right foot out sent me down the slight slope in the park with my
arms swinging and my legs going in opposite directions, my whole body
bending backward, then topping forward, then back again. Why the hell don't
these damn stoppers work when you need them to?!! I screamed
again. 'Elijaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!'

He turned round to look at me and a second later I came crashing into him,
and together we sailed a couple of feet across the ground, slumping on
springy grass and scaring off a squirrel which scurried up a nearby
tree. He was laughing, our legs entangled, our bodies pressed tight
together, our noses inches from each other. I panted for breath and
suddenly Elijah's lips were planted against mine. 'Mmmmm,' he murmured
through his lips. Then he was laughing again.

As I tried to untangle myself from him, I said, 'That's the last time I'm
going rollerblading! They'll kill me, these things!' That just made Elijah
laugh even harder.

'You've gotta be careful, that's all. And besides, you look good on them.'
He touched my hand, helped me manouver myself so that I could kneel up, and
smiled.

'Well, that settles it: I just won't look good anymore!' I sighed
heavily. We had been blading for nearly an hour and I had an enormous
erection in my pants since Elijah had said something about making out in
the park. It was already pretty dark now. I leaned in and kissed him
lightly, very quickly in case someone happened to be passing.

He saw my nervous search of the surrounding area. Grabbing my crotch, he
said, 'Don't worry, we're alone. My, what a big package you've got down
there, sir!'

I smiled. 'Stuffed it with socks!'

'That explains it!' And then we were kissing again, his warm lips against
mine, against my neck, my ears. His tongue, jutting forth, my heartbeat
surfing along, his hands exploring my back and buttocks. 'Oh, Peter! You
feel so good.'

'Not half as good as you,' I said, tearing at the waist of his pants. 'I
hope we don't get caught.' But ecstasy had taken over my body so if we were
caught I'm sure I couldn't stop anyway! I dug into his pants and sought the
opening at the front of his boxers, reaching in and taking my
prize. 'Mmmm,' I mouthed as I lowered my face to his throbbing
dick. 'Better than a Cracker Jack prize!' He knelt there, mouth ajar, hands
on my head, thrusting himself into my mouth, and he tasted devine, tasted
heavenly. Elijah was fucking my face. Elijah Wood was giving me his cock,
his pride. And all too willingly I sucked like I'd never sucked before.

'Oh, man! oh yeah, Peter! So good. So good. Yeah...' Elijah's breathing was
erratic and sharp, his hips thrusting faster, harder, his hands gripping me
tighter. I knew he was climaxing quickly and I needed him to spurt into
me. He was so hot that even I was getting off on his breathed
words. 'Unph... uh, Pe-t-errrr. Oh yeahhhh... I'm cumming, I'm cum-' He
shoved himself into my mouth almost violently and blew his wads of sperm
with force. He tasted wonderful. I loved him.

				     *

'I can't believe it,' I said. 'I mean, who'd've thought I'd ever be this
close to Elijah Wood?'

'Who'd've thought I'd be making out with *you*?' Elijah replied, wrapping
his arms around my waist and holding me tight.

'Certainly not me!' I said. 'I was sure you were straight. You can usually
tell if someone is... but you seemed so, I don't know, normal I
guess. Whatever normal is!' I kissed his forehead and he smiled, his wide
blue eyes staring into mine. I wanted to tell him I was falling in love
with him, but I just couldn't. It had only been several days, afterall, and
I didn't want him to think I was taking advantage of his stardom in someway
or another. We stood there, in the park, the moon high above our heads,
like something from a tacky romance novel, just loving the moment, the time
we had together. I *needed* to tell him I loved him.

'Do you think it's possible to fall in love with another guy? I mean so
quickly?'

The question came as a shock. Elijah bit his lip. I was stunned into
silence. *He* had asked it, not me. Right there and then, just as I was
thinking the same thing.

'Elijah, I-'

He broke away from me. 'I'm sorry,' he apologised. 'I didn't mean
anything. I've upset you, haven't-'

'Elijah, no. You haven't upset me. I was going to say I was thinking the
same thing.' He looked at me, surprise in his eyes. I smiled. 'I mean
it. I... I was about to tell you that I...' He did not let me
finish. Suddenly his arms were about me again and his body pressed against
mine, his lips finding their place with precision. Our kiss was long and
passion-filled, hands roaming over each other's backs, bodies hugging
tightly to each other. And then we broke apart again, both of us giggling
like school-kids. I noticed tears in Elijah's eyes, tears just ready to
burst free. 'I love you,' I said.

'And I love *you*,' Elijah voiced. That made me love him more, hearing him
say that. I wanted to be with him forever, wanted to be his Siamese twin,
his "other half", the other side of the coin. And even though I knew that
was impossible, I did not say it, did not want to break the mood. I loved
him and that was all that mattered. I loved him and *he loved me*.

He repeated saying he loved me, and we were kissing again. It was honestly
the best feeling in the world - loving and being loved. You couldn't beat
it with a stick, as they'd say back home! 'Is m¢r mo ghean ort,
Elijah. Mise gean tu. A stor.' When Elijah looked at me questioningly, I
said, 'It was Irish. I don't know all that much, but I know enough to say I
love you.' I brushed the back of my fingers against his smooth cheek
tenderly.

'All that meant "I love you"?'

Smiling and leaning back in for another kiss, I said, 'Pretty much.'

When the time came for us to go home that evening, we walked back to my
place and I game him a ride back to the hotel he was staying in. 'Why don't
you come in for a while, Peter?' Elijah said as we sat in the car outside
the entrance.

'No I better not. I'd feel uncomfortable. And your mom may not like me.'

'Of course she will. If I like you, she'll like you. I'm a good judge of
character,' he said.

'Runs in the family then, doesn't it?' I said, making a reference to
Hannah. And then suddenly she was at the side of the car, peering in the
window, a huge grin painted across her face. Elijah lowered his window and
she stuck her head in.

'Hi,' she exclaimed. 'What's up?'

'Nothing,' Elijah said. 'How'd you know we were here?'

Hannah looked at me. 'I recognised your car, Peter. Don't worry, mom
doesn't know. But she'll wonder where you were all evening. Told her I
wasn't sure. I'll let you explain, bro.'

Elijah shrugged. 'I'll just tell her I was with Peter. I *can* have
friends, you know!' Hannah shrugged again.

'Well, you better go before the police are called out to search for you!' I
joked. 'Call me, okay?'

Elijah smiled and said he would. Then, without caring about Hannah staring,
he leaned over and kissed me firm on the lips, then mouthed silently, *I
love you*.

*You too*, I mouthed back. Hannah smiled, blushing only mildly.

Having dropped my love off and said my goodbyes, I decided to drive around
for a while. It was still a little too early for sleep and besides, I
wasn't tired anyway. Oklahoma City at night was a wondrous sight, all
lights and liveliness. I just drove for nearly an hour, circling the city,
high on life, on love, on lust. Elijah loved me. I couldn't believe it.

Finally, after passing a Denny's three times, I stopped and went in for a
coffee. Coffee at this time of night may not have been a wise idea, but I
didn't have college the next day and they didn't start filming until one
o'clock, so I thought it'd be okay. Besides, I could almost say I was
addicted to caffine! Coffee, soda and chocolate, that was me! If you are
what you eat, I'm a carbonated, chocolatey mug of coffee! Okay okay, so
it'll ruin my liver, but never mind, I'm sure you have some bad habits,
too!

Actually, I had three cups. Enough to keep me awake all night! And *that*
was a bad idea I guess, but I wouldn't have slept anyway. I wanted to stand
on the table in Denny's and shout from the top of my lungs that Elijah Wood
was my boyfriend, but reason got the better of me, thank God! I'd have made
a fool of myself if I had - not to mention destroying Elijah's career
forever. So I settled for smiling to myself and thinking about how good it
felt to know that he loved me, to know that my feelings for him were
returned. If anyone had have looked at me that night, sitting there all
alone in a booth in Denny's, they would've thought me mad - *Look at him*,
they'd probably say. *What a loony! Smiling to himself and chuckling!*. But
you know, I didn't care. I was wrapped in the soft swaddling known as Love
and I was happy. No one could take that away from me. No one.


				   Seven

'Guess what I'm doing,' he said, his voice heavy on the phone. 'I'm slowly
unzipping my pants. I'm taking out my hard cock. I'm gripping it
tightly...' He breathed loudly, making my spine tingle, hairs on the back
of my neck standing to attention for roll-call. He was making me hard. 'Oh,
Peter, it feels good. I'm imagining you licking me, touching me, sucking
me...'

'Stop!' I begged him. 'Elijah, stop. I want to be there for you. Don't be
wasting your precious juices. Stop!'

'I can't. It's so good. You make me so horny,' he said. God, even his voice
got me hot! I couldn't sit still, listening to him phone-sex me. It wasn't
intentional. He had rung to tell me he was going to be busy this evening
and we couldn't meet, that he had some function to attend. And then he said
he was getting horny and started to tell me these things. The bastard! I
wanted him to be here with me now. I needed to have him right
now. 'Ohhhh... Peter...'

He didn't stop till he knew I had cum. I hated him for that. But I loved
him more than ever! He wouldn't be with me tonight, but still he managed to
leave his mark. Boy, this guy was good!

And so I spent the evening with Hannah. I really did like her. We went to
the mall and just hung. She was wearing one of Elijah sweaters, I
noticed. I looked good on her, but of course it looked better on
Elijah. Mind you, if I had my way, he'd be naked more times than not! As we
were eating, she said, 'Well, does he live up to expectations?'

'Huh?' I replied, knowing what she meant, but wanting her to say it.

'Elijah,' she said as though I were dumb. 'Does he? Is he what you
expected?'

I smiled. That was enough for her. But I said, 'He's better than I had
hoped for. He's... he's amazing.' I didn't mean it to sound like I was
talking about his performance in bed!

'Oh! I didn't need to know that!' she complained, but was smiling.

'Not like that! I meant he's just an amazing person, that's all. But,
actually he *is*-'

'Okay,' she said, slurping her soda. 'You can stop there. I'm sure he is,
but I don't want to know it! But I'm happy for you both. Elijah deserves
someone good like you.'

'Why Wood, I do believe you just paid me a compliment! Whatever next!' I
said in my best Southern Belle accent - actually, it sucked! I imagine it
was comical: an Irish male attempting a female American accent!

'Well Mary-Jane,' said Hannah, mimicking a thick male voice, 'I believe I
did. And I've got this strong urge in my pants to want you up on this table
right now!'

We laughed. 'Dear Wood! You make me blush!'

'I thought that was what my brother was for,' Hannah said.

'Well, he makes me goes hot and red in places, but I wouldn't say he makes
me blush!' She mocked throwing up! 'Hannah, you'll have to get used to
it. I'm not toning down in front of the person that got us together in the
first place.'

'I thought I was used to it,' she said. 'But you get ruder and ruder every
day!'

'More rude,' I corrected. She rolled her eyes. And not long after that, I
was back home in bed, reading 'The Exorcist' by William Peter Blatty (Huh!
Like I need to tell you who wrote it!). It really was a scary book. I
laughed at the movie the first time I saw it. Since, I have come to
appreciate it. It marked a turning point in movie-making. Whatever that
turning point was, I wasn't sure, but it was there anyway. And its
cinematography was so drastically different than other movies of its time
that it stood out more - can you tell I took a media course a few years
ago???

I managed to finish the chapter I was on and then turned out the light and
went to sleep. I was still on a high at having Elijah profess his love to
me the other day. It made me feel like the greatest person alive. He was
so... gorgeous - on the *inside* as well as the outside. So infinitely
good.

I vowed I'd tell my story to the world someday. If he agreed. I loved
him. Saying that, even to myself, made my heart skip a beat with
excitement.

And then I was off in some exotic place, Elijah at my side, love in our
hearts and time on our hands. I was gazing into his eyes. I could have done
that for years on end. I was gazing into his eyes and he was gazing back
and we were so in love. And although it was a dream, the only thing we
lacked here in real life was the exotic place. We *were* so much in
love. Love - I knew the meaning of the word. It was
Elijah. All-encompassing.


				   Eight

There was never a time I did *not* know I was gay. many times I was in
denial, but I always *really* knew it. I could remember as far back as age
ten when I was checking out other guys. Sounds weird, a little kid on the
pull! But it was more subtle than that. I knew even then, in my relevant
innocence, that my feelings were wrong, that I had to hide 'myself' behind
a mask of being 'normal'.

'Ditto,' Elijah said, when I told him this. We were laying together on my
bed, his arm lolled over my stomach, my hand stroking his hair.

I must have looked confused because then he did. I said, 'Why'd you say
that? You never do.'

'Say what?'

'"Ditto". I've never heard you say it before.'

He smiled. 'Because you say it.'

'Do I?' He nodded. 'Oh,' I said. 'I'd never noticed.' See, we had got to
the point in our relationship where we could talk about silly little things
like that and get away with it as 'proper' conversation! I kissed him and
snuggled tighter. 'What do you want to do tonight?' I asked him.

I could feel his shoulders shrug. 'Not sure. You?'

I laughed at the alterior implication I took from that. 'Does that mean
what do I want to do tonight, or that you'd like to do *me* tonight?'

He rolled his eyes, kissed me, smiling, and said, 'Both.'

We talked back and forth about this evening for at least fifteen or twenty
minutes. The theatre? No. Take away and a video? No, but maybe if the worst
comes to the worst. A walk in the park? No, too lazy. Therefore that ruled
out rollerblading again. 'We could just lay here all night,' I said. 'I
don't mind that. We'd be both together and it wouldn't take any energy!'

'Or,' he smiled, 'we could lie here all night and fuck.' He squeezed my
crotch and kissed my neck. It sounded so sexy when he said that word,
fuck. This was sweet little Elijah Wood. He shouldn't be saying words like
that!

'Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you? You'd like me to *fuck* you all night
long, wouldn't you, boy?' I emphasised the word 'fuck' to make it sound
more... dirty. 'You want me to *fuck* you up the ass? Is that right? You
want me to *fuck* you and cum up your *hole*?' He laughed, but neither of
us really found it funny. It *did* sound dirty. It sounded so sordid and
promiscuous.

Then, just as we started kissing again, the phone rang. 'Ugh! Perfect
timing,' I said.

'Leave it,' Elijah told me. 'Let the machine get it.'

'What if it's important? Like my mom or something.' I had horrible images
of my dad in hospital or something wrong back home. I'd have to fly back to
Ireland as soon as possible. No, I shouldn't think like that. Bad luck.

'Oh, okay,' he moaned and we got up off the bed and out of my bedroom.

When we got to the living room, the machine had already picked up. *Hey,
this is Peter. Either I'm not in or I couldn't be bothered to pick up. You
know what to do*. God, my voice sounds terrible! And then Hannah was on the
line.

'Guys? You there? Elijah, pick up.' Elijah dashed for the phone and picked
it up. I guess *he* was the one with terrible images running through his
head now.

'Hannah?' He paused as he listened, then I saw a smile spread across his
face and I knew there was nothing wrong. *Phew!* 'What? Now? Tonight?' he
said after a slight pause. 'Um, but I'm with Pet-' another pause. 'I- uh,
okay, I'll...' yet another pause. 'Um, yeah, okay. Right. An hour? See ya.'
He hung up and turned to me.

'What's up?' I queried. Something was afoot, I could tell.

He smiled wryly. 'You hungry?'

'Huh? What-'

'We, my dear fellow, are going to dinner.'

I was confused. 'But I thought you didn't want to-'

He shook his head and came to me, holding me by the waist. 'Well we're
going. Me, you, Hannah and... and my mom.' My eyes widened in shock and he
laughed. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'It'll be fine. This is where I bring you
home to see me parents and if they like you we get married.' He continued
laughing as I was still in shock.


				   Nine

'What am I going to wear?' I questioned, rummaging through my closet.

'Oh stop being such a girl,' Elijah teased. 'Wear anything. Mom's not gonna
notice what you're wearing. At least, she'll never notice if we tell her
we're gay - that way she'll have something on her mind and won't even
*care* what you're wearing.'

'But if we do that,' I said, 'won't I be wearing the soup a second later?'

He laughed. 'That's true. Best not then. Okay, let's see what you've got.'
And he came over to me and started sorting through my clothes, matching
things up as if he were a designer. We decided on smart but casual. A pair
of pants and teal shirt, my Vans and Mickey Mouse socks. He insisted I wear
them so that if there was an awkward silence (even though he said there
definitely wouldn't be) he'd get everyone to look at my cool socks.

I don't know why I was so nervous. According to his mom we were just
friends - she had no idea! So it would have been okay anyway. But still,
what if she didn't like me? What if after I left she said to Elijah,
'Elijah, he's a bit too old to be a friend, isn't he?' God I hoped she
liked me!

				     *

We drove to the hotel and he showed me to their suite. It was huge, I could
have gotten lost easily. Wallpaper all greens and golds and reds, red
carpet in the corridors and beige in the suite. He unlocked the door and we
were immediately greeted by his mom, Hannah standing behind her watching
the exchange between their mom and me. Elijah introduced me.

'Mom, this is Peter. He's a runner for the movie. He's Irish.' I've no idea
why he added that extra piece of information! Just like Hannah had done
when she introduced me to Elijah.

We shook hands, a strong and confident shake. 'Hello, Peter,' she said in
the way all mothers say it when you've just been introduced to them. 'Come
in, come in.' We entered and Elijah said he'd go change. Luckily Hannah
remained to guard me! 'I've seen you on the set, Peter,' their mom
said. 'Are you enjoying it?'

'Yes, Mrs Wood,' I replied as politely as possible. 'It's great. I've never
worked on a set before, except college work back home.'

'Oh,' she tutted. 'Don't call me Mrs Wood. Makes me sound so old. Call me
Debbie, okay?' She smiled and added, 'If I hear you call me Mrs Wood once
more, *you* can pay for dinner.' I laughed. For a second I wasn't sure if
she was serious or not, then I realised that she was where Elijah got his
odd - but nice - sense of humor. I liked her immediately. I only hope she
liked me too.

When Elijah returned from his room, in a pair of dark pants and a brightly
colored, striped sweater, we set off to a restaurant I didn't even know
existed - and it was one I couldn't have afforded, either. I had brought
some money with me and was going to be so polite as to offer to pay for a
share of the bill - my parents had taught me enough manners to get by!

We didn't even have to be waited to be seated. 'Wood party,' Mrs Wo- Debbie
said and they were all smiles and yes-ma'am-no-ma'am-three-bags-full-ma'am.

'Ah, yes,' said the balding waiter. 'Wood. Party of four. Follow me.' I had
expected this to be a black-tie-affair, but luckily everyone was rather
casually dressed. Thank God! I'd have looked a fool otherwise! We were
seated, me between Elijah and Hannah, opposite Debbie, on a round
table. 'Can I get you anything to drink before you are ready to order?'
said the waiter.

Both Elijah and Hannah said Dr Pepper. Debbie looked at me and said,
'You're twenty-two, right, Peter? How about a beer?' I declined, saying
that I'd simply prefer a Dr Pepper, and she smiled (had I passed her little
test? I wasn't off getting Elijah drunk and being a bad influence on him,
was I?). She turned to the waiter and said, 'Just water for me please,
thanks.' He nodded and left, and we picked up the huge menus. Elijah's leg
brushed mine and he smiled warmly at me. I smiled back, gratefully. So far
so good.

The evening went well. I got the feeling that Debbie *did* like me, and I
was relaxed enough to be able to make some sarcastic remarks to things that
Hannah and Elijah said, that being my mark! After dessert, as we sat
drinking coffee and eating complimentary mints, Hannah picked up her black
leather hand-bag and turned to her mom.

'Mother, dear, shall we go powder our noses?'

'Ah,' Debbie replied, reaching for her own bag. 'Lets,' she agreed, and
they excused themselves. Elijah and I made a show of being 'gentlemanly' by
standing as the ladies stood and nodding to them as they walked toward the
'powder room'.

As we sat, laughing, Elijah's hand went under the table and rested on my
thigh. 'She likes you,' he said.

'Yeah?' I asked. He nodded. 'How can you tell?'

Smiling, he said, 'I just can.'

My head swelled! 'Thanks for bringing me along. It wasn't as scary as I
thought it'd be.' I picked up a mint and fed it to him in an
*over*-friendly manner, and then when the ladies had returned we were
simply friends again, masking our feelings as best we could.

When it came to bill-paying time, I reached into my pocket for my
wallet. 'What are you doing?' Debbie queried.

'I'm-'

'No you're not. *I'm* paying. I insist. You've done enough by taking Elijah
off my hands in the evenings!'

'Hey!' Elijah protested.

'He's not that much of a handful,' I said, smiling at Elijah. 'But I'd like
to help. At least a little bit. I did eat quite a bit.'

'Forget it,' she insisted. 'You're a student. I know what those days can be
like. You'll be eating baked beans if I took any money from you.'

'Ewh!' I said. 'I hate baked beans.'

'Ditto,' said Elijah.

'But, really, I-' I bagan again.

Debbie sighed. 'Okay, I'll make a deal with you. Do you have any English or
Irish money on you right now?' When I nodded and said I had some English
money, she said, 'Okay, give me one English pound and we'll call it
quits. Deal?'

I thought about it. I knew she wasn't going to let me pay no matter what,
so I said, 'Okay, deal.' And I passed over a pound coin.

				     *

'Elijah, you dunce!' screamed Debbie. 'What are you doing with a faggot?
Can't you tell he's queer?' She threw her jacket on her bed and kicked off
her shoes. 'Fucking faggot! You're not sleeping with that... thing, are
you?'

Elijah was stumped for words. 'Mom, I-'

'Stop,' she said, rubbing her temples with her hands. 'I don't want to
know. You're never to see him again. Do you understand? I mean it. First
thing tomorrow I'm having him kicked off the set. Hannah, pour me a
bourbon.'

'Mom, please,' Elijah pleaded. 'You don't-'

'Don't use that tone of voice with me, young man. You may be world-famous,
but you're still not better than me!'

'But-' His words were cut off as Debbie's hand came across his cheek.


What's going on? Does Debbie *really* want to separate Peter and Elijah?
Find out soon, with the next update..