Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 00:22:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chase Donovon <chase_donovon@yahoo.com>
Subject: Welcome to Salem, Part 7

 Advisory: This story is pure fantasy and doesn't
reflect the actual characters or actors on Days of Our
Lives. The show and characters are trademarks of and
copyright Corday Productions Inc., in association with
Columbia Pictures Television.

 Note: This story was started about two years back, so
the action takes place at about that point in the
show.

 Check out my Yahoo Group for gay Days fiction by me
and others at
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/daysgayfiction

                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   I managed to get out of the bushes and into one of
the park's public restrooms without being seen, where
I cleaned up enough to be able to get home.

   I took a quick shower and then collapsed back onto
my bed, where this whole day had started. I'd
certainly never expected anything like this when I
woke up! My ass was feeling very sore, but it had been
more than worth it.

   I must have dozed off for awhile, because when my
cell phone rang, I jumped awake with a start. For a
second, I had no clue where I was. Then it all came
back and I rolled over to the bedside table and
grabbed the cell phone, a staple for any Salemite.

   "Hello?"

   "Philip?" A familiar voice sounded in my ear.

   "Yeah?"

   "I saw you, Philip. I saw what you did with Brady
in the park!"

   I closed my eyes for a second, imaging the whole
scene I'd been engaged in from a third person view.

   "Oh." What else could I say?

   "Is that all you're going to say?" Shawn asked. He
sounded angry.

   "What do you want me to say, Shawn?" I asked
quietly.

   "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

   "Tell you that I'm gay, you mean?" I asked,
wondering what his reaction was going to be in the
long run to this turn of events.

   "No, that you're my long lost twin brother. What do
you think I mean, Phil? Why didn't you tell me? I
thought I was your best friend." The sarcasm in
Shawn's voice gave way and he sounded hurt.

   "You are. Listen, can we meet somewhere? This isn't
a conversation I want to have with you over the phone,
man."

   Shawn was quiet for so long that I was about to ask
if he was still there when I finally heard him sigh.

   "Okay. Let's me down at the docks. My parents' boat
is there, we can talk and not worry about anyone
overhearing."

   "I'll be there in twenty minutes," I said, hanging
up before he could change his mind.

   I sat on the edge of the bed, my thoughts spinning.

   With any other guy on the show, I'd have used this
to my advantage. Since arriving in Salem, in Philip's
body, I'd managed to seduce Jason, Austin, and Brady
by playing on what I knew about their characters from
watching the show. I'd been a different person with
each of them, and the only motive had been the hot
sex.

   Shawn was different, though. With Shawn, I wanted
to be myself, the real me. I wanted more from him than
just great sex, though I wanted plenty of that, too.

   I didn't want to play games with him.

   As I got ready to head to the docks to meet him, I
felt for the first time that the mask I'd been
wearing, the thing that had made me feel so invincible
and able to do all the things I'd never have dared to
do as my regular self, was slipping.

                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   I was more nervous than I ever remember being in my
life. This was like first date jitters times ten
billion.

   The docks were deserted and I walked along with the
sound of the water lapping against them playing in my
ears. I'd already become used to my surroundings, the
earlier awe of finding the sets from the show suddenly
real places having faded.

   The Fancy Face was docked just ahead of me and I
made my way towards it, my heart pounding.

  Shawn was sitting with his legs hanging over the
side, looking out at the water, his back to me. He'd
changed his clothes since the basketball game, donning
a long sleeved baby blue knit shirt and khaki slacks.

   The term breathtaking came to mind.

   "Hey Shawn," I said quietly. My voice sounded
suddenly rusty and unused.

   "Hi," Shawn's voice was just as quiet. For a
moment, I wondered if he was even going to turn around
and face me.

   Then he slowly stood up and looked around.

   "Come aboard. Let's talk," he said, gesturing to
the door to the living quarters on the boat.

   I followed him down the steps into the familiar
setting and we were soon sitting across the table,
facing each other.

   I knew he was waiting for me to do the talking, so
I plunged right in, my heart still pounding.

   "Shaw, I'm really sorry about you finding out the
way you did. I never wanted that."

   "Yeah, it was pretty... shocking," Shawn said, not
quite looking me in the eye.

   "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I just didn't
know how you'd react."

   His eyes met mine now and he shook his head. "Phil,
you know me. Do you really think I'd turn my back on
you because you're gay? You're my best friend. You're
family."

   I winced at that last word. Family. Damn the
interconnected families on this show! Shawn was my
nephew. But then again, the only guy I'd fooled around
with since my arrive who wasn't family was Jason.
Austin was my half brother and Brady another nephew.

   But there was still a difference. I wanted more
than fooling around with Shawn.

   "Shawn, it's very scary. You don't know what it's
like to have to carry a secret like this and never
know for sure just how anyone will react. I didn't
think you'd hate me, but I wasn't ready to risk it.
You mean too much to me." I resisted an urge to reach
across the table and take his hand in mine.

   Shawn stood up and started pacing around in the
small space available.

   "Fine, Phil, I guess I can understand that. But..."
he stopped and shook his head.

   "But what, Shawn?" I asked.

   "Brady? Philip, what were you thinking? Are you
two.. I mean, has that happened before? Are you guys,
like, dating? And what about Chloe??"

   "Whoa, one question at a time! What was I thinking?
I don't know. I was thinking like a lot of guys our
age, I guess. With my dick."

   Shawn's eyes widened but that was his only visible
reaction.

   "No, I've never been with Brady before that. It
just sort of happened. Um... how much did you see?" I
asked, wondering if he'd been there for the whole
show.

   "Enough," Shawn said tersely.

   "Okay," I said, drawing out the word. Obviously he
didn't want to talk about the specifics. "About Chloe,
I don't know. It's a mess and I'm going to have to
clean it up. I don't want to hurt her. But she's not
the one for me. I'm gay."

   Shawn sat back down across from me and sighed.
"She's going to be really hurt."

   "I know," I whispered. I did feel a little bad
about that, but after all, it wasn't really my mess.
I'd stepped into the game halfway through. Chloe had
already been involved.

   Shawn looked at me for a little while, saying
nothing. I just looked back, waiting, my heart still
beating fast. He looked so beautiful, sitting there. I
could have stared at him for hours.

   "When... when did you..." he hesitated, blushing a
bit.

   "When did I what?" I asked, trying to sound
encouraging.

   "Um.. first know you were... gay?" Shawn's blush
deepened.

   "I always knew, on some level. I just didn't want
to admit it to myself," I said.

   "Was.. I mean, had you.. was Brady your first
time?" Shawn was practically squirming in his seat
with embarrassment.

   "No. That was my second time. And I'd fooled around
with another guy, but not gone all the way," I said,
deciding to be honest about my sexual history, at
least since the moment I became Philip.

   "Phil, you and Brady are related to each other,"
Shawn pointed out, as if I'd forgotten.

   "Not that closely, Shawn. I mean, we aren't
brothers," I said, an image of Austin's face as it had
looked while he was fucking my ass flashing before my
eyes. "And we really don't know each other that well,
even if his dead mother was my half sister. I never
even met her."

   "Still..."

   "Shawn, it's like with you and me. I don't really
consider you family. You're my best friend. I hardly
ever think about the fact that your dad is my half
brother. Do you?" I asked, thinking how silly it all
sounded when spoken aloud like that.

   "I guess not," Shawn admitted.

   We sat quietly for a minute or two. I wondered what
Shawn was thinking. Was he remembering what he'd seen
between Brady and I? In a way, I was glad he'd seen.

   "Why did you come back? I asked, as the thought
struck me.

   "What?"

   "To the park. I thought you had to meet Belle at
Dot Com. Why did you come back?"

   Shawn opened and closed his mouth a few times, and
I thought I detected a look in his eyes that verged
almost on panic.

   "I... um... I just.. I don't know," he finished
lamely.

   "Well, you had to have had some reason. I mean, you
couldn't get out of there fast enough after..." I
paused, remembering the sudden, accidental touch of
his hand on my hard-on during out game of one on one.
"... what happened."

   Shawn blushed deeply again and nervously ran his
hand through his hair.

   "Let's just forget about that, okay? It was an
accident."

   "Shawn, I didn't think you were trying to cop a
feel, if that's what you're worried about!" I laughed.
"We were playing a game, man. And it.. um.. got in the
way."

   "Yeah," Shawn nodded in agreement.

   "So, why did you come back?"

   "I wanted to make sure you were too embarrassed. I
wasn't sure I handled it right," he said, and I could
tell somehow, just by looking into his eyes, that he
was telling the truth. He'd come back to make sure I
was okay. I think at that moment, I feel even more in
love with him.

   Of course, me being me, I covered it with a joke.
"Oh, don't worry, you handled it just right!" I
winked.

   Shawn jumped up and shook his head. "I didn't mean
that!"

   "Shawn, relax! I'm sorry. That was just a bad joke!
I didn't mean it. Look, it means a lot to me that you
were concerned and wanted to make sure I was all
right. Thank you."

   Shawn gave a little snort and shook his head again.
"Oh, you were more than all right! Didn't take you
very long after I left to get busy, did it? I wasn't
gone more than a few minutes and when I got back you
were... in the bushes."

   "It just happened, Shawn. He was watching us play
and he realized that I was turned on by you. It just
sort of happened," I tried to explain.

   "You were turned on by me?"

   It was my turn to blush and stammer.

   "I mean.. well, yeah, but..."

    Damn. If only this wasn't Shawn! I could so easily
try and play this situation to my advantage. But with
him, I felt like a lovesick teenager.

   "By me?" Shawn asked again, his voice barely a
whisper.

   I was faced with a dilemma like I'd never known
before. Should I respond honestly, and risk losing him
as even a friend? But wasn't there a hint of something
else in the air? Was I wrong, or just indulging in
wishful thinking, to think that maybe Shawn was
interested in me? In Philip?

   I decided I had to risk it, I had to be honest.

   I nodded slowly and looked into his eyes.

   "Yeah, Shawn. By you. I... I've had feelings for
you for a long time."

   Shawn stared at me for a few endless moments and
then turned around and ran up the stairs.

   "Shawn!" I followed as quickly as I could, but he
was already on the docks and showed no signs of
turning back.

   "Fuck!" I shouted and began kicking anything and
everything in sight, venting my frustration and anger
at myself. I'd blown it.

   "Philip? Hey! Philip, stop!" I was grabbed roughly
by the arm and looked up into a very familiar face.

   "What are you doing?"

   "Brandon?" I asked.

   "Yeah. What's going on? Why are you destroying Bo
Brady's boat?"

   "I... Shawn... I..." it was too all too much. I'd
ruined everything. I felt the tears spilling over and
rolling down my cheeks.

   "Are you all right? Hey, what's going on?"
Brandon's voice was filled with very real concern and
I felt him put his arm around my shoulders.

   "I love him," I burst out, collapsing against
Brandon's firm body and letting myself be held. It
felt really good.

   "You love Shawn?" To my surprise, there was no
shock or disgust in Brandon's voice. Instead it was
soothing and caring.

   "Yes," I said, pulling back and looking into his
eyes. There was nothing but kindness there.

   "Does he know that?"

   "I just told him. And he ran off without saying a
word," I tried to choke back some of the tears,
feeling incredibly foolish. I was standing in front of
Brandon Walker, and instead of making some play to get
the stud in bed, I was crying like a 13 year old girl
who's favorite Backstreet Boy just came out of the
closet.

   Brandon pulled me into a hug for a few seconds, his
strong arms around my back, our bodies pressed
together.

   "I understand what you're going through, man. I
mean, to a degree. I know it's not the same thing as
finally getting up the nerve to tell another guy you
like him, of course. But we've all been where you are
now. We've all been rejected by someone we care
about," Brandon said, his eyes taking on a distant
look.

   "You're talking about Sami, aren't you?" I asked.

   Brandon looked at me in surprise but then nodded.
"Yeah. I loved her and wanted to be with her, but she
wants Austin. He's not right for her, but there's
nothing I can do."

   "Maybe she'll come around," I said, remembering my
night with Austin.

   "I can't wait around on maybe. She's made her
choice. But Philip, man, you've got to give Shawn some
time. Maybe he's not interested, but maybe he's just
scared. You don't know yet. Hang in there until you do
know for sure. And no matter what happens, you're a
great guy. You'll find the right one for you."

   "Brandon, I never realized you were so amazing! I
mean, you didn't even bat an eye when I told you I
loved Shawn. You come off as this super macho boxer, I
thought you'd be freaked by the idea of me being gay."

 Brandon smiled and shook his head. "Nah. Gay,
straight, bi, it doesn't matter to me. Personally, I
think everyone is bisexual to a degree."

   My ears perked up a bit at this, but before I had
time to register this most interesting of comments
fully, I noticed that Brandon was no longer looking at
me, but at someone over my shoulder.

   I turned around and saw Shawn standing there,
staring at me.

   "I think you two need some time to talk," Brandon
said. "Phil, you can call me any time if you need to
talk about things," Brandon smiled, squeezing my
shoulder as he turned to walk away, leaving me alone
again with Shawn.

   We stared at each other in silence, my cheeks still
embarrisingly wet from my outburst and Shawn's chest
rising and falling, his breath still not quite caught
after his sudden sprint.

   The silence grew as our eyes remained locked
together.