Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 2:00:13 -0400
From: jaden.scott@adelphia.net
Subject: Lover's Lane Chapter 15

This story is a work of fiction.  It depicts a romance between two
consenting adult males and may contain some descriptions of sexual acts,
again between two consenting adult males.  If you are not of legal age to
read this kind of story, please leave now.  If you reside in an area where
reading stories that include sexual situations between two consenting adult
males is illegal, please leave now.  This story is for entertainment
purposes only.  Any similarity to any person(s) living or dead is simply a
coincidence.  The author retains all rights to this story.  It cannot be
reproduced in any form without expressed written permission from the author
(me).  Please contact the author for any requests. Copyright 2005.

Feedback (and criticism) is ALWAYS appreciated and welcome.  Please respond
to this story at: jaden.scott@adelphia.net

I look forward to hearing from all of you and I will respond if you write
to me.  Thanks to all of you who have written so far with your encouraging
words.  I have appreciated every one of them.  Jaden

**Please watch for changes in POINT-OF-VIEW.**


LOVER'S LANE

by Jaden

>From the end of Chapter Fourteen:

**JADEN'S POINT OF VIEW.**

Dr. Swatt had given me alot to think about.  I felt much more calm than I
did when I came in here earlier.  She had really helped me.  I decided to
take her advice and get some rest.  I wasn't sure if I was going to tell
Lane about my past.  I definitely had some serious thinking to do.


CHAPTER FIFTEEN: PRELUDE TO "IT"

**LANE'S POINT OF VIEW.**

Dammit!!  I had just read the same paragraph three times and I still didn't
know what it said.  This is pointless.  I'm too preoccupied with Jaden,
Kaylie, and everything else that had happened at the party last night.  I
looked over at the clock and saw that it was 9:30PM.  Jaden told me this
morning he was going to call me, but he hadn't yet.  Come on, Jaden!!
Call!!  This is ridiculous, I thought.  I've been driving myself crazy
waiting all night.  For all I know, he's decided not to call or he's
forgotten.

I sat back in my desk chair and put my feet up on the desk.  For the tenth
time today, I thought back on all of the events that had occurred last
night.  I still wasn't exactly sure what had happened between Kaylie and
Jaden and I had no idea why he reacted the way he did.  It was obviously
something major.  Jaden didn't seem like the drama queen type.

I had been surprised when Nick invited Jaden to our house for the party.  I
didn't know anything about it.  It wasn't unusual for people to congregate
at out house on the weekends, so Nick could have just asked Jaden to come
over and hang out with us.  I'm not sure why Nick specifically said we were
going to have a party.  Maybe he thought Jaden would be more willing to
come if he called it a 'party'.  In college, it's one thing to just hang
out, but when you use the word 'party', suddenly hundreds of people want to
show up.  Even though I didn't officially confirm my feelings for Jaden
until after the basketball game, Nick had sensed that something was going
on with the two of us and he decided to take action since he knew I
probably wouldn't.  My best friend knew me too well and, to be honest, he
was right.  I wouldn't have done anything, especially with all of my
insecurities about relationships.  That was Nick, always trying to push me
when I was hesitant.  I was so glad I had him in my life.

I had been extremely nervous when the party began.  I was able to relax
quickly because it started out so well, or, at least, it seemed to.  Jaden
looked hot, as usual.  We were having fun, talking and hanging out.  I have
to admit that I was a bit surprised to learn he didn't drink, but the more
I thought about it, the more I realized it was totally in character for
him.  We had a few conversations over the last couple of weeks about living
a healthy lifestyle, and I knew that Jaden was very dedicated to living
that way.  One part of living that type of lifestyle would mean not
drinking or smoking.  At least, I assumed he didn't drink because of that
reason.  Like everything else with Jaden, I was guessing at what motivated
him.  He was still a mystery to me.

In the earlier part of the evening, we were getting along really well.  I
was really enjoying his company.  The wall he normally put up around
himself was completely gone.  I was beginning to think he was good at
everything he did, especially after the basketball game, so it was
refreshing to see him fail so miserably in the video game tournament.
Somehow that made him more human and I actually had a feeling of being less
intimidated by him.

I took my feet off of my desk and sat upright in my desk chair.  I looked
over at the clock.  It was 10PM!!  I grabbed my cell phone off the desk and
checked to make sure it was still working.  Why hasn't he called yet??  I
debated whether or not I should call him and I finally decided to wait it
out.  I had to follow Nick's advice and let him call me.  If I called him
and he agreed to talk to me, I would be wondering if I had pushed myself
too hard on him.  Whether I liked it or not, the ball was in his court.

I got up from my desk chair and went over to lie on my bed.  I continued
thinking about last night.  I had tried to keep Kaylie away from Jaden as
much as I possibly could.  I could tell she made him uncomfortable.  When
we were out on the porch, he even asked me if there was some way he could
let Kaylie know he wasn't interested.  Oh man, the porch!!  I had not
planned on making a move on Jaden.  I was content to just hang out and have
a good time.  But then he made a comment about wanting us to be friends.
It wasn't so much what he said, but the way he said it that made me think
he wanted something more than friendship.  Suddenly, I found myself getting
out of my chair and walking over to him.  Time stood still.  I was fixated
on his mouth and his lips.  His lips were so...luscious.  I wanted to
nibble and suck on them.  I was extremely nervous, but I couldn't stop
myself.  I had never wanted to kiss someone so badly in my life.  I'm
positive I would have gotten the chance if Nick hadn't interrupted us.

At first, I could have killed Nick when he came out onto the porch.  But
then I noticed Jaden's reaction to our almost kiss.  He seemed freaked out
by what had just happened.  For a second, I had been completely convinced
he was gay, but the way he reacted caused me to doubt my conclusion.  After
Jaden went in the house, I told Nick everything that had just happened.
After hearing the latest evidence, he was convinced Jaden was gay and liked
me.  I wasn't sure.  I was getting mixed signals from Jaden and they were
confusing me.

I grew even more doubtful of Jaden's feelings for me as the night wore on.
After the incident on the porch, he put up his wall again.  He was being
much more quiet and reserved than he had been in the earlier part of the
evening.  At the time I thought it was my fault for trying to kiss him, but
looking back on what happened before he ran out of the house, I realized
that some or maybe all of his issues had to do with how Kaylie had treated
him.

I thought I knew Kaylie really well.  I honestly didn't think she was
capable of causing so much trouble. She had completely ruined the evening
and I think she did most of it just to spite me.  When Nick, Tim, Clint,
and I had first met the girls, I didn't come out to them right away.
Kaylie had developed a crush on me right from the start.  That crush had
turned into some really strong feelings.  I think she might have even been
in love with me.  I did nothing to lead her on or make her think I returned
her feelings.  If anything, I tried to discourage them.  It got to a point
that I finally decided I had to come out to her.  She didn't take the news
very well and I had felt an incredible amount of sympathy for her broken
heart.  I knew that sometimes people couldn't help whom they liked and I
was flattered that she thought so highly of me.  But, my sympathy for her
didn't last very long.  At first, she started making rude comments around
me.  Before long, she was being outright nasty, but only when the two of us
were alone together.  She acted sweet as pie when the other girls or guys
were around, then made snide or smart-ass comments to me.  She was so
two-faced it was sickening.  I thought her anger would diminish over time,
but it seemed those feelings just kept growing and growing inside of her.

I never said anything to the rest of the group about the way Kaylie was
treating me.  I didn't want to stir up trouble amongst the girls.  They all
seemed to genuinely like Kaylie.  The only person I confided in was Nick.
There wasn't much I could really do, so I tried to stay away from her as
much as possible and I put up with her bullshit when I had to.

After I rejected her, she made a play for each of the guys in our house.  I
always got the feeling that she was trying to make me jealous, but all her
actions ever did was annoy me.  Clint was the only one of us who succumbed
to Kaylies advances, but he only did because he had too much to drink.
Still, it was a decision he had regretted ever since, especially once he
started dating Angela.  I got the feeling that Kaylie only had sex with
Clint out of some misguided need for revenge.  It was hard to figure out
her thought process.

Since she had established a pattern of flirting with whatever new guy our
group would meet and hang out with, I was absolutely sure she would try and
make a pass at Jaden.  When we were at the basketball courts I asked her,
quite nicely, to leave Jaden alone.  I was surprised when she seemed
willing to grant me this small favor.  She must have changed her mind
between the basketball game and the party, because she was all over Jaden
the minute he arrived at our house.  It's possible my request to stay away
from Jaden actually increased her desire to go after him.  I'm not sure
what motivated Kaylie to do whatever she did to Jaden.  All I know is how
big the consequences were turning out to be.

To say I was shocked by Jaden's sudden outburst would be a huge
understatement.  He wasn't just yelling at Kaylie, he was screaming at her.
He was scared, too.  I could hear it in his voice.  At first, my mind
didn't register what he had said to Kaylie.  Before I had a chance to
react, Kaylie started laying in on me and, in the process, outed me.  Well,
she outed me to Jaden, since everyone else at the party knew about my
sexuality.  I made eye contact with him briefly after she said those
disgusting things to us.  He was clearly in shock.  So was I.  It took me
about ten seconds to react after Jaden bolted out of the house.  I tried to
run after him, but by the time I made it to the driveway, he was already at
the end of the street and disappearing out of sight.  I yelled out his
name, but he didn't react.  He just kept running.

I didn't know what to do, but I realized I needed answers, so I went back
in the house to find Kaylie.  I was so furious with her.  I tried to
prepare myself for the showdown I was sure Kaylie and I were going to have.
I found that I would have to wait my turn because Nick was yelling at her
as I arrived back in the living room.  Actually, it was more like he was
roaring.

"WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO TO JADEN, KAYLIE??" Nick screamed at her.

Kaylie and Nick were standing in the middle of the living room and everyone
else was standing around them in a sort of circle.  Nick isn't a very big
guy and Kaylie is a decent sized girl, so I was kind of shocked by how much
bigger he looked than her as they stood in confrontation.  If I hadn't
known Nick as well as I did, I'm sure I would have thought he was going to
punch her.  I had never seen him so mad in all the time that I knew him.
His anger, as great as it was, didn't compare to the fury I was feeling
toward that bitch.  As I looked at her, I realized that, for the first time
in my life, I actually hated another human being.  She revolted me.

Kaylie, for her part, had decided not to give up easily.

"I didn't do ANYTHING to him, Nick.  Why do care so much about that fag
anyway??"

"YOU WHORE!!" Nick shouted.  "HOW DARE YOU CALL..."

"NICK!!" I yelled in the most commanding voice I could muster.  "Please,
let me handle this."

Nick looked over at me.  His face was all red and he was visibly shaking.
I walked up to Kaylie and got right in her face.

"Kaylie, I want to know what happened between you and Jaden and I want to
know NOW.  I don't want any of your bullshit.  I just want some answers!!"
I said in a low and menacing voice.

"Or what??  You're going to hit me??  Well, faggot, I don't have any
answers to give, so fuck off!!"

I had never considered hitting a girl before in my life.  At that moment,
however, I wanted to rip her fucking head off.  It took all of my strength
NOT to give into that urge.  She wasn't making it easy for me though.

"Kaylie, we all know something happened between the two of you.  None of us
are stupid.  I need to know what you said or did to him to make him react
that way."

"Of course you want to know, Lane.  You think you're entitled to anything
you want.  Well, I don't have any answers to give.  Even if I did, I'd tell
you to stick them up your ass!!"

After Kaylie made that comment, Mark started to snicker.  I saw Marissa
walk over to him out of the corner of my eye.

"What are you laughing at, asshole??"  Marissa asked him.  Before he had a
chance to respond, she kneed him right in his crotch.  Mark fell to the
floor, clutching his balls the whole time.

"FUCK!!"  Mark exclaimed.  It looked like he was in serious pain.

"Get the fuck out of this house, you bastard.  And take your BOYFRIEND
too." Marissa said to him.

Mark started to get his wind back and looked up at Marissa.

"You can't tell me what to do.  This isn't your house." Mark said
defiantly.

"Fine, then I'll say it.  GET THE FUCK OUT.  Oh, and don't come back." Tim
said to him.  It surprised me that Tim was the one who told him to get out.
Out of all of us, he got along best with Mark, probably because they shared
a common interest in video games.  I was proud of Tim.  I had always
thought Mark was an asshole, and his boyfriend was just downright creepy.

Mark got off of the floor after hearing Tim speak.  He looked surprised and
didn't move for a second.

"You heard him.  LEAVE.  NOW." Clint said in support of Tim.

"Whatever, losers.  Come on babe, let's get out of here." Mark said to
Nate.

Mark and Nate walked out of the house.  I turned my attention back to
Kaylie, who was gearing up for round two of our little battle.

"How does it feel Lane??  Jaden knows you're gay and he RAN AWAY from you!!
HE RAN!!  He doesn't want you."

"You can think whatever you want, Kaylie.  All I want to know is what you
did to him that made him react so violently."

"Nothing happened between us.  Why don't you try blaming someone else for
your boyfriend's problems??"

"Why don't you tell the truth, bitch??"  Vicki suddenly spoke up.  "You
were all over Jaden tonight.  I know for a fact you were making him feel
very uncomfortable.  Despite that, he kept trying to be polite to you, but
you wouldn't stop!!"

"I could care less what you think, Vicki."  Kaylie spat at her.

"Do you care what WE think??"  Kelly said.  All of the girls--Kelly,
Chrissy, Angela, and Stephanie-had formed a line and were facing Kaylie.
Kelly was clearly speaking for all of them.

Kaylie looked shocked for a moment, like she had forgotten the other girls
were in the room.  In an instant, she turned sweet and innocent, just like
she always acted when she was around Kelly and the rest of the girls.

"Guys, c'mon!!"  She was practically whining.  "I was just playing around.
Seriously, are you going to get mad just because that fag ran out of the
house??"

"First of all, Kaylie, stop using that word.  He's gay, not a fag.  God,
what a fool I've been.  Nick has been telling me about some of the things
you say and do to Lane when the rest of us aren't around."  Kelly told her.

I looked over at Nick when I heard this revelation.  I didn't think he said
anything to Kelly about the things that happened between Kaylie and me.
Nick looked back at me and shrugged his shoulders.

"I've always defended you and given you the benefit of the doubt because I
had never seen you act the way Nick was describing."  Kelly continued
talking.  "But here, tonight, you've crossed the line.  I'm sick.
Actually, I'm disgusted with how you're acting right now.  I can't believe
I had such poor judgment and ever called you my friend."

"Are you serious??"  Kaylie asked.  She seemed genuinely surprised by this
turn of events.  "Angela??  Stephanie??  Chrissy??  What has gotten into
all of you??"  Kaylie looked from girl to girl, but none of them said
anything.  They stood silently next to Kelly, clearly supporting everything
she had just said.

"Fine.  Be that way.  I can't believe any of this."  Kaylie whipped around
to face me.

"This is all your fault, Lane.  You're such an asshole.  I hate you.  Good
riddance to you and your 'precious' Jaden.  It seems like he's an emotional
wreck.  Good luck with that.", she said with an evil sneer in her voice.

"Get out, Kaylie.  I can't stand to look at you anymore."

Kaylie took one more look at everyone and then she stormed out of the
house.  I was so glad to get rid of her, even though she didn't give me any
of the answers I had been looking for.  I sat down on the couch, unsure of
the next move to make.

"Now that she's gone, does anyone know anything about what happened to
Jaden??" Nick asked everyone in the room.

"I knew that he was uncomfortable with Kaylie's advances, but I didn't
realize it was affecting him so much." Vicki responded.  "There is one more
thing.  I, uh, I confronted him about being gay earlier when we were
dancing.  He didn't seem too happy that I figured him out."

"What??", I exclaimed.  "What exactly did you say to him, Vicki??  And what
did he say back to you??"  I asked her.

"I just told him that I knew he was gay, and that I was OK with it.  I also
told him if he wanted to come out to everyone here, no one would judge him
or give him a problem.  The only thing he told me was that he wasn't ready
to come out, at least not tonight and he asked me to keep it a secret."

I thought about what Vicki had said.  Was the reason Jaden freaked out so
badly simply because Vicki had figured out he was gay and called him on
it??  My instincts told me that might be a small part of it.  I was
convinced the larger issue with something Kaylie did to him.  Damn her for
being such a bitch!!

"I spoke to him earlier for awhile out on the porch." Marissa added.  "He
seemed fine to me.  I didn't detect that anything was wrong with him."

Everyone else said they had noticed Kaylie hanging around Jaden, but not
much else.  I was stumped.  I didn't know what to do.  George came up to me
and tried to get my attention.  Wait a minute!!  George was still here!!
Jaden had taken off without his dog!!  Eventually, he would have to come
back to get him.  Jaden loved George too much not to make sure he was OK.

I started scratching George behind his ears.  Nick noticed the motion and
echoed my thoughts.

"Well, Lane, the good news is George is still here.  Once Jaden realizes
that he left him here, he'll come back to get him."

"I know, Nick.  But, I can't just sit around here and wait for him to show
up.  I feel like I should be doing something.  I need to go look for him
and make sure he's alright."

"He might not come back for awhile.  He was really upset when he ran out of
here." Kelly piped in.

I stood up from the couch.  I saw George's leash lying on the floor and I
grabbed it.

"I'm going to take George and go look for him." I said to everyone.

"I'll go with you, buddy." Nick said to me.  Thank god for Nick.  I really
needed him right now.  He was my rock.

"We'll stay here in case he comes back for George." Stephanie said to us.
"Make sure to take your cell phones in case we need to call you."

Nick and I grabbed our phones and I put George's leash on him.  George was
anxious to get outside.  Could he possibly know we are going to look for
Jaden??  Kelly walked out of the house with us.  We stopped in the driveway
to talk for a minute.

"Be careful.  Call us if you find him." Kelly said to us.

"We will.  By the way, thanks for sticking up for Jaden and I with Kaylie.
It really means a lot to me.  I know it must be hard, considering she is
your friend.  I'm sorry all of this had to happen."

"First of all, Lane, she WAS my friend.  There are no excuses for the way
she acted tonight.  And, if anyone needs to be sorry, it's me.  I
constantly stood up for her when Nick told me how she was acting toward
you.  I didn't allow myself to see that side of her.  Maybe if I had, none
of this would have happened tonight."

"It's nobody's fault, except Kaylie's.  She is the only one worth blaming.
I know I hurt her when I didn't return her feelings for me.  Still, that
didn't give her the right to act the way she did tonight.  To be honest, I
would be happy if I lived the rest of my life and never saw her again."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't have to.  The first thing I'm going
to do is force her to find another place to live.  Her name isn't on the
lease, so it shouldn't be too hard.  Either way, she won't WANT to live
with us if I have anything to say about it."

That's what I loved about Kelly, how she always stood by her friends.  Nick
and Kelly were a lot alike in that regard.  They were so good for each
other and I was happy for them.

I gave Kelly a long hug, to show there were no hard feelings.  Nick gave
Kelly a kiss goodbye and we took off on our search.  The first place we
stopped was Jaden's apartment.  I had told Nick and the others the whole
story of how I had met Jaden earlier today.  I even told them about the
times that I 'stalked' him, much to my embarrassment.  So, it didn't
surprise Nick that I knew exactly where Jaden lived.  George was visibly
exited as we arrived at his home and he kept tugging on the leash, trying
to get to the door faster.  We knocked on the door, but no one answered.
All of the lights were off inside of Jaden's apartment and the door was
locked.  I was fairly confident that he wasn't in there.

After stopping at his apartment, we searched the entire campus and
surrounding vicinity for about two hours.  We looked everywhere we could
think of, but we couldn't find him.  Finally, we agreed to head back to our
house.  As we were walking, I decided to try Jaden's apartment one more
time.

"Nick, I know you're tired, so why don't you head home by yourself??  I'll
take George and stop one more time at Jaden's apartment.  Maybe he's back
there by now."

"Are you sure??" Nick asked me.  I nodded my head.  "OK, buddy.  Before I
go, I have to ask you one question.  Has it occurred to you that he doesn't
want to be found??"

"I've thought about that, but I still have to try.  I'm really worried
about him, Nick.  I realize that something is going on with him and he
might not feel comfortable talking about it.  I'm OK with that.  Right now,
all I want to do is make sure he is safe.  We can get to the other stuff
later."

"Lane...is this guy really worth all of this??  You only met him two weeks
ago.  What do you REALLY know about him??  He seems like a nice guy, but
it's obvious from the way he acted tonight that he has some problems.  Do
you really want to deal with all of that??"

These types of questions are another example why I loved my best friend so
much.  He was willing to confront me with some tough issues and really make
me think about my actions.  He didn't let me skate through life easily, and
I was very grateful for that.

"Nick, I've asked myself those same questions about a million times.  Even
now, as we've been looking for Jaden, I've wondered why I was doing this.
I don't know what it is about him, but I really like him.  He has
this...sweetness and innocence that really draws me to him.  My gut
instinct is telling me to stick this one out.  I'm not sure how else to
explain it.  He needs someone to fight for him, to make him take down those
walls that he puts around himself.  I've seen him without those walls,
Nick, and I really like the person he is at those times.  I sincerely
appreciate your concern for me, but I have to follow this through.  Can you
support me on this one??"

"I've always got your back, Lane.  I'm just worried about you.  I'm not
sure what is going on with him either, but you have to be prepared for him
to try and shut you out.  You might have to fight to get him to open up to
you.  Just don't push him too hard.  Let him come to you when he's ready.
It's going to be difficult, but you have to do it.  Can you handle that??"

"Wow, when did you get all insightful??" I said with a smile.  We shared a
quick laugh.  "Seriously, thank you so much, Nick.  I'll try to remember
all of that."

Nick and I gave each other one of those 'manly' hugs, the kind where the
guys grab hands and then kind of bump chests with each other.  After our
'hug', Nick slapped me on the back and headed for our house.  George and I
walked back to Jaden's apartment but, once again, he wasn't there.  I
looked at my watch and saw that it was almost 4AM!!  I wasn't sure what to
do.  I was very tired so I sat down in front of Jaden's apartment door.
George immediately got into my lap and I was asleep before I even realized
it.

My cell phone started to ring and it nearly scared me to death.  I jumped
off of my bed, raced over to my desk, and picked up my phone.  I checked
the caller ID.  It was Jaden!!  He actually called me!!  I was encouraged
by this action.  He had been so non-committal when he finally came home
this morning.  When I first saw him, I wanted to run up and hug him.  I was
so relieved that he was OK and in one piece.

I started to ask him about the previous nights events, but he said he
couldn't talk bout it.  I decided to let him slide because I could see how
exhausted he was, both physically and emotionally.  When I first started to
walk away from him, I wondered if I would ever see him again.  Then, he
called out my name and I was filled with hope when he promised he would
call.

I stared at the phone as it rang for a second time.  I checked my watch and
saw that it was nearly midnight!!  I wanted to answer, but I didn't know
what to say to him.  I didn't want to push too hard and scare him off.  The
phone ran a third time.  'What am I going to say??' I wondered again.
Suddenly, I realized if I didn't answer the phone, it wouldn't matter
because I wouldn't be able to talk to him at all.

"Hello??" I said tentatively into the phone.  There was a pause that lasted
about three seconds.  I was just beginning to think he had hung up on me
when I finally heard him speak.

"Um...Lane.  It...It's Jaden."  He spoke to me!!!  I was SO nervous.  I
still couldn't think of anything to say to him.

"Hey.  It's...uh...well, I'm glad you called." I finally got out.  He was
silent again, this time for about ten seconds.  The wait was excruciating.

"Yeah, well...I just w-wanted to let you know that I would be meeting up
with you at the gym tomorrow morning for our workout.  That is, if you
still want to meet up."  He sounded so unsure of himself.

'If I still wanted to meet up??'  I was wishing I could see him RIGHT NOW!!
It was clear he was very doubtful of my feelings toward him.  I realized
that I needed to reassure him that I was looking forward to seeing him.

"Of course I do.  I'll meet you at the regular time, OK??"

"OK.  Um...I've got to get going."  NOOOO.  Quick, Lane, think of
something, anything, to say.

"I'm really looking forward to our workout session.  If...if you need to
call me again, for ANY REASON, please don't hesitate.  I'm here for you, if
you need me."

There was another silence before Jaden started speaking again.

"T-thanks Lane.  I'm, uh...I've got to go.  Bye."  He hung up the phone
quickly.  It sounded like he was about to start crying.

I took my cell phone away from my ear and just stared at the digital screen
for a few seconds.  I didn't know what to do.  I was upset that he was so
upset.  I wanted to race over to his house and...comfort him.  I wanted to
give him my shoulder to cry on, if that's what he needed.  But, I was
afraid to go.  It might really freak him out if I suddenly show up at his
doorstep.  I remembered Nick's words from last night: 'just don't push him
too hard.  Let him come to you when he's ready.  It's going to be
difficult, but you have to do it.'  I decided that I had to stay home
tonight.  When I saw Jaden at the gym tomorrow, I would be friendly,
supportive, or whatever I thought he needed.  I was not going to push
myself on him and risk alienating him.  'I can do this', I said to myself
with a smile.  I lay back down in bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

On Monday morning, I was at the student gym about ten minutes early.  I
didn't want Jaden to show up and leave if he didn't see me.  I wanted to
talk to him.  I waited inside of the doors that led to the gym.  They were
made of glass, so I could watch for Jaden to arrive.  As 6:45AM came and
went, I started to get discouraged.  Maybe he isn't going to come after
all.  I sweated it out for another five minutes before I finally saw him
walking, very slowly, down the path that lead to the gym.  He looked
hesitant, and he actually stopped at the bottom of the steps that led up to
student gym for about ten seconds before he walked up to the front doors.
He looked surprised when I opened the door for him.  I decided not to make
any reference to him being late.  It was the first time he had been late to
any of our workout sessions.  I wanted to be upbeat around him.  I would
let him make reference to the incident the other night if he wanted to.

"Hey, Jaden.  Are you ready for me to kick your ass on the weights today??"
I said with a big smile.  It didn't matter how big my smile was because he
wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Yeah, sure." He said.  "Well, we'd better get started."  He pushed his way
past me and headed into the gym area.  Shit!!  He didn't take my bait for
some friendly bantering.  Ok, Lane, just chill out.  Let him get warmed up
to you.

But, he never did get warmed up to me.  In fact, he really didn't talk to
me during our entire workout session.  He was pushing the weights hard,
harder than he had during our previous sessions.  Instead of talking about
his feelings, he was working them out on the weights.

When we finished our session, he practically ran over to the shelving unit
to grab his things, and then he made a beeline for the door.  I was having
a hard time keeping up with him!!

"Jaden, would you like to meet up later at the student union and get some
coffee or something??  I asked him.  Maybe he would want to talk then.

My question seemed to stress him out.  He got this look on his face, like
how am I going to get out of this one??  I decided to give him an out.

"If you're busy, that's cool.  I just thought I'd ask."  I said to him.

"Yeah, um...I've got a lot to do today, Lane.  Maybe some other time.  I'll
see you tomorrow over at the track.  Bye."

And with that, he took off out the door.  After our previous workout
sessions, we had always walked some of the way home together before we
parted ways.  This was a very discouraging turn of events.  I reminded
myself that the party was only two days ago and I had to give him time to
feel a little less awkward around me.

I thought he would start coming around after a couple of days but, on
Thursday, he was still acting the same way he had acted on Monday.  He
would barely talk to me, and when he did, it was only something regarding
our workout session.  The wall was back, and it had been reinforced with
some type of impenetrable compound.  I couldn't figure out what to say to
him or how to act around him.  I kept up the lighthearted attitude, but I
was finding it increasingly hard to stay positive when he acted like he
didn't want to be around me.  The part of me holding onto hope was
encouraged that he was showing up every day.  That had to mean something,
right??

Finally, Friday arrived and our last workout session of the week at the
student gym.  He was even quieter on Friday than he had been during the
rest of the week, if that was even possible.  He barely said two words to
me the entire time we were working out.  I was starting to get depressed by
the whole situation.  I was doing what Nick had suggested.  I hadn't
mentioned the party to him all week.  I wasn't pushing him to tell me what
was going on inside of his head.  I kept hoping he would bring up the
subject, but he didn't and I was beginning to wonder if he would ever be
ready.  I was starting to think I was going to have to force him to talk to
me.  I wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

After we finished working out, we walked, together, over to get our things
at the shelving unit.  This time, however, Jaden didn't try to take off out
the door.  He stood and waited for me to finish gathering my things and
then he actually held the door open for me as we walked out of the gym.  We
walked down the steps and onto the path leading back toward our homes.
FINALLY, I thought, we are taking a step forward, no pun intended.  Even if
he's not talking, he's walking with me.  I was feeling much better about
everything.

We finally got to the point where we had to part ways to walk to our
respective houses.  I slowed down and turned to Jaden.

"Good workout today, Jaden.  You were really pressing those weights again.
You're going to be as big as me if you keep that up." I said, making
another attempt to be lighthearted.

He just looked at me and didn't say anything.  No smile, no reaction,
nothing.  I wasn't sure what to do.

"Um...so I guess I'll see you at the track tomorrow."  He still wasn't
saying anything.  "Uh...OK, I'll see you tomorrow, then."

I was confused, so I just turned and started to walk toward my house.
Fuck!!  Was this progress??  I wasn't too sure it was.

"Lane!!" I heard him call out to me when I got about twenty feet away from
him.  "Wait up a second."

I turned around and watched him jog up to me.  When he got in front of me,
he stopped and seemed unsure of what to say again.  I decided I had to let
him take his time and find the words he wanted to say.

"Um...Um...I...I..."  He was struggling to speak and it was heartbreaking
to watch.  Finally I couldn't take it anymore, so I spoke.

"Jaden...look at me."  Jaden slowly raised his eyes to look in my own.  His
eyes were glistening with unshed tears.  I was filled with a huge amount of
compassion for him.  "It's alright.  You don't have to say anything if you
don't want to."

"No!!"  He shouted. I think he surprised himself more than he surprised me
with his outburst.  "What I mean is...I need to talk...to you...about
something."

"OK, did you want to talk right now."

"No.  Um...do you remember that bet we had a few weeks ago."  I nodded my
head to show I remembered.  "Well, you, uh, you never paid up on that bet.
I was wondering if you wanted to have that dinner...tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night??  I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Good."  He sounded so relieved.  "Lane...I...I know I've been quiet all
week.  We haven't really talked since the party."

He was finally bringing up the party!!  Nick was right!!  I'm so glad I
waited until he was ready to say something to me first.

"I'm sorry about that.", he continued.

"Jaden, there's no need to be sorry.  I don't know what is going on, but I
really want to help you, if I can."

"There are some...things that I need to talk to you about.  Some things
from my past.  I want to talk to you about them, but I can't right here.  I
was hoping we could have that dinner you owe me and then I can..."  He
trailed off, unsure of what to say.  I jumped right in.

"That sounds like a good idea, Jaden.  I'll tell you what, why don't you
plan on coming over to my house around 7:30PM tomorrow night and I'll have
dinner ready.  Let's not put any pressure on the night.  If you feel like
you want to talk, I'll be more than willing to listen.  If not, we'll just
hang out and enjoy a good meal."  He looked visibly relieved at what I had
suggested.  A small crack formed in the wall surrounding him.

"A good meal??  I thought you said you couldn't cook!!"

"I'll get the girls to help me.  Lemon-chicken, right??  Trust me, you
won't die or anything."

"I'll let you eat the food first.  If nothing happens to you, I'll give it
a try!!"  And, just for a second, I saw the Jaden that I really liked--the
open, slightly sarcastic, Jaden.  I think he realized his wall slipped a
bit, and he put it back up quickly.  However, knowing that it was possible
to break through that wall filled me with hope.

"Fine, fine."  I decided to stop trying to banter since the wall was back
up.  "I'll confirm the details with you tomorrow at the track."

"OK.  I'll...I'll see you tomorrow."

He turned and started walking toward his house.  I watched him until he was
completely out of sight.  I felt so much better now that I knew he was
starting to come around.  I hoped that he would feel comfortable tomorrow
night and tell me what was on his mind.  I was going to do everything I
could to make him feel relaxed.  Hopefully he'll open up and I can finally
learn the truth about my mystery man.  Saturday night suddenly seemed like
a long time away.



TO BE CONTINUED


We're finally here people!!  So many of you have written to me asking
exactly what happened during "IT".  It's almost time to find out.  Tune in
to chapter 16 to find out what occurred during those 36 hours that Jaden
was kidnapped.

Be on the lookout for Chapter 16 coming soon!!

FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK---This is lifeblood for us writers, so please
drop me a quick line.

My e-mail address is: jaden.scott@adelphia.net