Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:02:39 -0500
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: A Delicate Situation  Chapter 21

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit my personal website at www.themustardjar.com for more
stories.


A Delicate Situation      Chapter 21


Wes continued to hold my hand as followed Joseph down the sidewalk toward
Founder's Square. Surprisingly, most of the students watching us began to
applaud. Two guys held hands as they stepped out from the crowd and joined
us.

Darlene videotaped the crowd as we marched. I noticed numerous students
taking pictures with their cell phones as we marched past them. "Are you as
nervous as I am?" Wes asked as he clutched my hand tightly.

"If I get any more scared," I laughed nervously, "I'm going to pee my
pants." He looked down at the khaki pants I had on and laughed.

We marched for about five minutes without incident. Occasionally, someone
would holler out words of support. If anyone said anything derogatory, I
didn't hear it. Suddenly, Joseph held up his hand for us to stop
marching. About twenty feet in front of us, six campus security officers
stepped out of the crowd and blocked the sidewalk. Students began to
assemble around the sides to watch what was happening.

A burly officer stepped forward and hollered into a bullhorn. "This is an
unauthorized march," he shouted loudly. "You are ordered to stop. If you
continue, you will be arrested." The other officers stepped behind him with
batons in hand. If they were trying to intimidate us, they were doing a
good job. Wes held me tightly around the waist as my legs became weak.

Joseph turned toward the group and looked around, staring into each of our
faces. "This is it, Guys," he said defiantly. "I'm going forward. If you
want to drop out, now is the time to do it." Three marchers, two girls and
a boy stepped away and joined the crowd assembled along the sidewalk.

I looked up at Wes and asked, "What do you want to do?"

He looked nervously at the police officers, then down at me and said,
"March."

"You sure?" He gripped my hand and squeezed it.

"Yes," he said. "I didn't get beat up for nothing." Hearing his words
assured me we were doing the right thing. Before we started forward, he
leaned down and kissed me.

Joseph told us to march in groups of four, and to link arms tightly as we
marched. He told us not to resist being arrested, but to sit down on the
sidewalk and force them to carry us away. He looked around at the number of
people who had their cell phones out taking pictures and recording us. "We
want the world to see exactly what is happening- a group of students being
arrested while marching peacefully." Again, he looked at each of us. "Are
you still in?" I looked up at Wes, and he nodded. I then looked at Joseph
and nodded. He smiled slightly and winked at me. He took a step forward and
announced loudly, "Let's continue our march for gay rights." Students all
around us started applauding loudly. Many yelled out words of support.

When we were about ten feet away from the officer who had shouted out the
warning, he held up his hand to stop us. "I'm Police Chief Stewart. I am
asking you to stop this unlawful assembly, or you will be arrested." A loud
chorus of "boo" arose from the crowd.

Joseph told him, "We are doing nothing wrong. We are marching peacefully to
Founder's Square to protest the injustices toward gay students." Students
around us began to applaud. "If you want to arrest us for doing that,"
insisted Joseph, "Then do it."

Stewart looked over at the steps of a nearby building. Avery was standing
looking down. He scowled angrily at us, and he then gave a quick nod toward
the police chief.

We moved cautiously forward as we followed Joseph. My left arm was wrapped
tightly around Wes's. A girl was clutching tightly to my right arm.

Stewart looked again at Avery, and then he barked out loudly, "Stop or be
arrested." Students began to yell obscenities at the officers. I noticed
eight more officers move into position behind the others.

When we were six feet away, Stewart stepped to the side, and several
officers emerged from behind him and started spraying us with canisters of
pepper spray. The next few minutes were chaotic. Students began to disperse
as the gas permeated the air. We could hear people shouting
obscenities. Wes pulled me to the ground and covered me protectively with
his body. I choked violently as I tried to gasp for air. I screamed out for
Wes when I felt someone jerk me from the ground, place my hands behind my
back and handcuff me.

Because of the pepper spray, I couldn't see anything that was happening. My
eyes were searing with pain, and I couldn't breathe as I was led
away. Someone was holding my arms as we walked about fifty feet away. "Sit
down," a voice yelled as I was pulled to the ground. I jumped when someone
threw water on my eyes and began flushing the pepper spray from my face.

"Where's Wes?" I screamed out.

"It's okay, Dorian!" I heard him say about five feet away. "I'm not
hurt. Are you?"

I screamed out, "I don`t think so," as water was again thrown into my
face. I could still hear students violently yelling out obscenities at the
officers as I remained on the ground. Slowly, my vision began to return,
and my breathing became less erratic.

When I regained my vision, I could see that the officers had placed the
marchers on a curb as they flushed our eyes out with bottles of water. Two
other marchers separated Wes and me on the curb. I wanted to get up and sit
beside him, but I was afraid the officers would beat me if I moved. Joseph
was at the end, hollering at the officers for arresting us. A throng of
students were taking pictures and recording us as we sat handcuffed on the
sidewalk.

Suddenly, the crowd parted and a reporter, followed by a cameraman, stepped
forward and began taping me. "Are you Dorian Gale?" he asked as a police
officer grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The cameraman continued to
tape me before another officer stepped up, blocked him and ordered him to
leave.

"Get them out of here," barked Stewart. We were pulled to our feet and
taken to an awaiting police van. I managed to sit beside Wes; and I pressed
my body close to his. Darlene was placed in our van, but I didn't see
Jade. She must have been put in another.

Wes looked down and asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"Yes," I assured him. "I'm okay." In fact, now that everything was over, I
felt proud of what I had done. I hadn't backed out when I easily could
have. Instead, I marched bravely forward with the others. I looked up and
smiled at Wes. He leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. I think he
was feeling the same way I was.

Joseph asked if anyone was hurt. When we assured him we were all right, he
began to explain what would happen next. "We'll be taken to the county
jail, booked and then jailed. Within a few hours, we'll probably go before
a judge. The judge will tell us what we're being charged with, probably
unlawful assembly, or some shit like that. Plead not guilty. He or she will
then impose a bail. I don't think it will be too much, maybe a couple
hundred dollars. Once someone posts bail, you'll get to go home. He leaned
around looked at his watch. You'll probably be sleeping in your bed
tonight."

For the next fifteen minutes, we talked excitedly about what had
happened. I think everyone was like me, still pumped up with adrenaline. We
talked about the effects of the mace on our eyes and breathing. No one
could believe the officers had used pepper spray to stop us.

"I thought they would just walk up and handcuff us," said Joseph. "Those
mother fuckers played dirty."

"It was Avery," replied Darlene. "I took pictures of him on the steps of
the history building."

"Fucker!" spat Joseph. "You might as well forget pictures. Didn't they
confiscate your camera?"

"Yeah," grinned Darlene. "But not before I sent the pictures to my editor."

The next hour was exactly as Joseph explained. We were individually
processed. They had us remove everything from our pockets. We were then
photographed and fingerprinted. When we were finished, all the guys were
placed into a holding cell. The girls, we assumed, were detained in a room
together.

Besides Wes, Joseph and myself, there were eight other guys who had
participated. I knew them because we had chatted at our Campus Pride
meetings. I was surprised that Noah hadn't joined us, but Joseph said
Cameron had talked him out of marching. He said that Noah had been
seriously beaten in high school, and Cameron was afraid that he might get
hurt while participating in the march.

"I thought Avery was bluffing," admitted Joseph. "He hates negative media
attention for the school.  Wait until he sees the evening news tonight," he
laughed.

Suddenly, I got sick to my stomach. I vaguely recalled a cameraman coming
up to me as I sat on the curb with my eyes burning from pepper spray. There
were probably hundreds of photos of me in the parade. There was no way my
arrest was not going to an important news event.

Sensing my change in mood, Joseph sat down beside me on the hard cement
bench. "Relax, Dorian," he said. "You took a stand for what you believe
in."

"Tell my father that," I lamented sadly. Wes reached down and gripped my
hand tightly.

"Fuck your father," remarked Joseph angrily. "He's a homophobic
dickhead. How he can have a gay son, and not support gay rights, is
unimaginable. So fuck him."

After Joseph moved away to talk to another guy who had participated in the
march, Wes and I talked quietly. "Why did you decide to join us today?" I
had wanted to ask him that since he first showed up outside the library.

He looked at me and smiled. "Sydney," he answered.

"Sydney? What did she have to do with it?"

"She came to my room last night," he replied. "We had a long talk."

"Sydney?" I asked again. He laughed when he saw the confused look on my
face.

"She really loves you," he said. "You're lucky to have her as a friend."

I replied, "I know that. But what did she say?" I couldn't understand why
she had visited Wes's dorm room.

"Let's just say she made me realize what an ass I am," he said smilingly.

"She has a way of doing that," I laughed. I wanted to lean in and kiss him,
and I could tell he did too. However, we were aware that there were video
cameras watching our every move, so we didn't.

We talked a while longer until I grew tired. Wes told me to rest my head on
his shoulder, and I fell asleep. I was awakened about an hour later when a
guard opened the cell door and told all of us to follow him.

We were taken to a courtroom to await a judge for our arraignment. We were
called individually to a stand as the judge unceremoniously announced the
charges against us. We each stated we were not guilty, and she then imposed
a five hundred dollar fine and announced our next court date in three
weeks.

For the first time since arriving, I saw Jade sitting at the other end of
the courtroom. She smiled and raised her thumb triumphantly. I was glad she
hadn't been hurt. Darlene and Amanda were sitting beside her. None of them
seemed upset to be sitting in a courtroom.

Fifteen minutes after returning to our cell, an officer unlocked the door,
stepped into the room and said, "Gale and Hayes. Your bail has been
posted. Follow me." Wes and I followed him to a window where we signed a
few forms, and then we were given a bag containing our belongings. When
done, he escorted us to a door. When he opened it, Mrs. Hayes was waiting
for us.

She rushed over and quickly embraced Wes. "Are you okay?" she cried. She
stepped back and examined him closely. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, Mother," he responded. She then turned to me and hugged me tightly.

"Were you hurt?" She asked as she released me.

"No, Ma'am," I assured her. "I'm all right." We followed her out of the
building and headed toward her car.

"Wait!" I exclaimed loudly and stopped.

Wes asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"I can't leave the girls in there," I replied anxiously. "I have to get
them out."

Thirty minutes later, Jade, Amanda and Darlene exited the jail. After
seeing how upset I was about leaving them incarcerated, Wes's mother went
back inside and posted their bail. When we came out of the courthouse, a
large number of news reporters had gathered on the sidewalk. As soon as
they saw me, the cameramen rushed over and began filming.

"Do you have anything you'd like to say?" One reporter asked as we rushed
to the car.

Another shouted, "Does your father know you`re gay?"

"Will this hurt your father's campaign?" Another shouted. Wes pulled me
protectively into his side much like Seth had done and attempted to shield
me from the reporters.

I had to laugh when Jade threw her fist into the air and shouted, "Gay
Rights!" before climbing into the backseat beside me. Mrs. Hayes could
hardly pull away because cameramen were attempting to videotape me in the
backseat of the car.

"Holy Shit!" Jade exclaimed as we finally managed to leave the parking
lot. "Can you believe that!"

Wes was sitting on my other side, and he asked worriedly if I was all
right. I was afraid that the incident might scare him again, and he may
have doubts about being with me. My worries were abated when he leaned down
and kissed me on the lips.

We laughed when his mother loudly cleared her throat and asked, "Is anyone
hungry?"

"Yes!" We shouted in unison. She laughed and then drove to a nearby Buffalo
Wild Wings. I would have thought that after spending the past five hours in
a jail, and then experiencing the mob scene outside the jail, our mood
would have been somber. Yet, it was anything but that. We were cheerful and
excited about what had happened. Even Wes's mother didn't seem upset that
her son had been arrested.

When we entered the restaurant, someone pointed at us and shouted, "Oh, my
God. It's him!" It appeared that about thirty people were seated at tables
and booths. I was surprised when several people stood and started
applauding.

Jade asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," I replied.

Wes pointed to a large screen television above the bar. "Look!" he
exclaimed excitedly. I looked over and saw myself on the sidewalk
attempting to wipe pepper spray from my eyes just as two campus officers
grabbed me by my arms, lifted me to my feet and handcuffed me.

Under the picture were scrolling the words:

JONATHAN GALE'S SON ARRESTED AT A GAY PROTEST MARCH....VICE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE HAS NOT COMMENTED ON THE INCIDENT

Mrs. Hayes instructed Wes to take me to a back table far from everyone else
while she and the girls went into the ladies restroom. When we sat down,
everyone was staring at me.

Wes asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes," I assured him. "But what about you?"

He reached under the table and grabbed my hand. "I knew when I came to the
march today that something like this might happen. Sydney also made me
realize that being with you meant sharing you with the world." He squeezed
my hand tighter. "So yeah, I'm okay with that."

Before I knew what I was saying, the words, "I love you," slipped from my
mouth.

He looked around the restaurant, and I knew he wanted to kiss me. However,
with so many people staring at us, he didn't. He smiled broadly and said,
"Me, too."

His mother and the girls came from the restroom and made their way to the
table. I noticed that a few people stopped them to talk. They were probably
asking about the march they were watching on the television screen.

Jade sat down and remarked excitedly, "This is fun. I feel like a
celebrity." After sitting beside me, Darlene took out her cell phone and
took a picture of us.

"A post-arrest picture," she exclaimed.

"Well in that case," Mrs. Hayes said as she took her phone out of her
purse. "Sit next to Jade and let me take a picture of you, too." She had to
chastise us because we kept making stupid faces as she attempted to take a
picture. Finally, we settled down, and she took a picture.

"I'm so proud of you," she said as she sat down beside Wes. "I wish I could
have joined you." She looked over at Wes and frowned, "You told me you
weren't going to participate."

Wes reached for my hand and squeezed it, "I changed my mind."

A waitress approached the table and took our orders. Everyone ordered
chicken wings and fries. Before leaving, the waitress asked shyly, "Are you
really the guy on the television?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Cool," she exclaimed as she turned and walked away. We continued to talk
about the events of the day. Occasionally, someone would cautiously
approach the table and ask if they could take a picture of me. Even though
it was bothersome, I would nod my head and tell them they could.

About half way through the meal, my cell phone rang. "Shit," I hissed.

Wes asked, "Who is it?"

"My mother," I replied worriedly. "Excuse me," I said as I rose from the
table and stepped away.

I put my phone to my mouth and said, "Hello, Mother."

"Where are you?" she screamed. "I was told you were released a half hour
ago. Where are you?"

"I'm fine, Mother," I responded sarcastically. "Thank you for asking."

"Don't get smart with me," she hissed angrily. "I asked you where you are?"

"I'm having a late dinner with friends."

"Where?"

"Buffalo Wild Wings," I said.

She hung up.

Wes asked me if everything was all right, but what could I say. I guess she
just wanted to know if I was safe. I could tell by the tone of her voice
that she was very upset. She was probably angry because I had interrupted a
fundraiser she and my father were attending.

The waitress brought the wings to the table, and we hungrily ate. None of
us had eaten since lunch. Most of us thought we would march to Founder's
Square, Joseph would say a few words and then we would leave to grab a bite
to eat. We had no idea events would unfold the way they did.

I had eaten my last wing, and I was wiping the barbeque sauce from my face
when I noticed two men in black suits enter the restaurant and look
around. One poked the other in his side with is elbow and pointed at me.

"Shit," I muttered loudly. Everyone turned to see where I was looking.

Wes whispered, "Who is it?"

"Secret Service," I replied.

Jade said, "No shit?"

"That must mean my mother is here," I informed them as the two men
approached the table.

One looked down at me and scowled, "Dorian Gale?"

I looked up and responded, "Yes?"

"Would you come with us, please?" He folded his arms and waited for me to
get up.

"No," I replied adamantly. "I'm eating with friends." The one speaking
turned toward the other and nodded his head. He quickly exited the
restaurant.

The remaining agent said politely, but sternly, "I've asked you to
accompany me."

Mrs. Hayes rose from her seat and stood before him. "Unless I've gone deaf,
I believe I heard him say he didn't want to go with you."

The agent looked at her angrily. "I don't believe this involves you," he
stated firmly.

"But it does," she responded equally angry. "He's a dinner guest of mine."

He started to reply, but suddenly my mother entered the restaurant,
followed by three secret service agents. She stormed to where I was sitting
and ordered, "Get your ass out of that seat and come with me." She turned
abruptly and stormed out of the restaurant. Two agents waited behind for me
to accompany them.

Mrs. Hayes looked as if she was ready to confront the agents again. I knew
from past experiences that secret service agents were federal authorities,
and Wes's mother might be arrested if she tried to stop them from doing
their assigned duty. And right now, that assigned duty was making sure I
left the restaurant, on my own or them bodily removing me.

"It's all right, Mrs. Hayes," I said as I rose to my feet. "I'll go with
them."

She looked at me worriedly. "Are you sure, Dear?"

I laughed nervously. "She is my mother," I replied. "What is she going to
do, shoot me?" I looked at the agents and wondered if they were armed, and
if one would indeed loan my mother his weapon. She appeared angry enough
when she stormed out of the restaurant.

One of the agents firmly gripped my arm. "Come with me, Sir," he stated as
he started to lead me from the restaurant. As he escorted me down the
aisle, numerous people were taking pictures of us with their cell phones.

"Just great," I thought. "More pictures for the National Enquirer."

When we were leaving, I looked back as Jade stood and shouted, "Kick ass!"

* * * * * *

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