Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 03:22:57 EDT
From: RainDude099@aol.com
Subject: Cali Boys chapter five


This story is a work of fiction intended for a mature audience. All
Similarities between characters in the story and people in real life are
completely coincidental. This story depicts homosexual acts so if you do
not approve of this subject, please do not read any further.
This story is copyrighted by the author and may not be copied without the
written permission of the author, Scott MG.

Once again I'm sorry its taking so long to get these chapters out. Life
is so hectic!!! I'll work harder on it though! And thanks for all the
positive responses, keep it up!!!


Cali Boys
Chapter Five

Chris's feet were on fire. They ached from pain after running for over
an hour. He felt as if the skin on his feet was going to rip apart and
leave him stranded in the middle of the dimly-lit street on which he was
running. The sky had long gone dark and Chris had long been off of the
beach. He had yet to turn and look back in the direction from which he
came. He kept looking straight ahead through burning eyes, pretending he
had a destination waiting. Inexplicably, the streets were empty; no one
was driving or jogging or seemingly present at all. It was as if the
entire world had vanished and Chris was the last man on earth. He was
completely alone in the world. He had no one at all anymore. His
parents had failed to notice anything earlier that evening and he had no
intention of going back to them at the beach. He knew they would exit
the party half-drunk and completely dismiss the fact that their son
wasn't with them. And the only other person in the world that he cared
about had abandoned and betrayed him. He was alone.

Chris stopped for a moment at a light post to catch his breath. The
night air was cool and refreshing but it was stinging his eyes. He wiped
away the remaining tears from his eyes and breathed deeply, examining his
surroundings. He tried to collect his scattered thoughts. It was if the
last two days were spinning around, replaying in his head. He revisited
every event that had past occurred. Logically thinking, the past two
days were completely unrealistic. Within two days Chris realized he had
slept with Ryan and shared the most honest love he had ever known and
then only to lose it the next day. Chris was sure he had heard a song
with the same story but his mind was too focused on the pulsating pain in
his chest, echoing throughout his body.

He didn't want to think about where he was going; it really didn't
matter. Chris knew he wasn't about to go home to a house that he hated
and a family that didn't care about him. All other family lived too far
away, and Chris wasn't sure he would even go to them if it was an
option. Under normal run-away circumstances Chris would have gone
immediately to Ryan's house but that was, of course, not an option any
longer. For a moment Chris thought about the fact that he would never
see the inside of Ryan's house again-- a place that he considered more of
a home than his own house. Of course Ryan's house meant nothing to Chris
if Ryan wasn't in it. He would never get to sit with Ryan in his bedroom
again, and that was all he really wanted to do at the moment.

Chris wasn't wearing a watch so he had no idea how long he walked
through the darkening streets, talking to the sky and wishing he could
erase the past week of his life. If only he hadn't kissed Ryan that day
in the pool, he thought, none of this would have happened. He pushed
back another build-up of tears and tried to breathe calmly. He still
felt faint and the world seemed to lose significance. The street signs
faded from his sight and before he knew it, Chris had wandered in to the
mall parking lot.

It was like history was repeating itself as Chris found himself
staggering in to the mall, half-alive, breathing weakly. He dismissed
the worried and questioning eyes that he passed, concentrated completely
on the feeling of emptiness that was eating away at him. At the moment
Chris couldn't make himself care about anything in the world. He
didn't give a shit about the people that were whispering about his
condition as he passed them. He didn't give a shit about his parents or
anyone else that might be wondering where he was. He didn't give a shit
about himself or what was going to happen with his life. Nothing
mattered anymore. He felt as good as dead. As he forced himself to walk
through the emptying mall, Chris wondered if there was any point to
living or if it would be better just to end everything. He wished he had
thrown himself in to the ocean when he had the chance.

Taking a deep breath, he sank in to a stool at the smoothie/milkshake
bar, not even fully realizing where he was. His mind couldn't
concentrate on his surroundings or the people around him. He buried his
face in his hands, ignoring the man behind the counter and the person
sitting at the bar, a few seats away. Chris just ignored the world
around him for as long as he could. He sat in silence hoping that he
could turn back time and erase everything that had happened. Chris was
so lost in his mind and his complete despair that he didn't hear the
voice speaking to him.

"Are you ok?" The voice repeated and Chris removed his hand from his
eyes to see the familiar face speaking to him.

His heart skipped a beat hoping that Ryan had followed him but the
illusion faded and he realized that the teenage boy looking at him was
not Ryan but instead the boy that he had seen two days ago at that exact
location. The guy was sitting at the same spot he had been sitting two
days earlier which made Chris realize he had instinctively sat at the
same spot as well.

"Excuse me?" Chris said through an exhausted voice as he studied the
boy's worried expression. He was attractive, as Chris remembered. The
guy had short blonde hair, lighter blonde than Ryan's hair, styled up and
out of his face revealing his bright green eyes which stared with
concentration and attention in to Chris.

"I couldn't help noticing that every time I see you here, you look
completely crushed. Like you're carrying the weight of the world on your
shoulders or something." He said with concerned eyes that demanded
Chris's attention. Chris sighed and rubbed his burning eyes. "So, are
you alright?"

"I'm... having a bad night," Chris said ignoring the stranger's piercing
eyes.

"I can tell," he said as he pushed aside an empty drink. "You want to
talk about whatever it is? I promise I'm not some jackass who's gonna
fuck with you when you're feeling like shit. I'm just here to help you
out with whatever is going on... You look like you could use someone to
talk to."

Chris turned slowly to face the guy again, questioning him with his
expression. The attractive stranger's face was completely serious. He
looked very honest and as strange as it seemed to Chris, completely
trustworthy. There was something about the expression on his face that
held Chris's attention and made him reconsider everything.

"You don't even know me..." Chris said in a low, ragged voice.

"Talk to me and change that." The stranger said as he stood up and
moved to the seat next to Chris, keeping his eyes on him the entire
time. "My name's Jake Shepard." Chris looked deeply in to his friendly
eyes and everything started to melt. All of the hurt started to sink in
to the back of his mind as he became taken in to Jake's eyes.

"I'm Chris... Banks."

"Well it's nice to meet you Chris," he gave a friendly smile revealing
perfect white teeth. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you look like
you're half dead? You're not hurt or anything right?"

"I'm not hurt." Chris said solemnly.

"Family trouble?" Jake asked, probing for information, and Chris laughed
weakly.

"Not at the moment. Maybe when I get home though."

"Well if it is some kind of family trouble, I understand. I mean my
family isn't perfect."

"It's not my family right now. It's not like I'm running away from my
parents or anything... Although I don't think they'd give a shit if I
did..." Chris stopped for a second and realized that he was releasing
personal information about his life to a complete stranger.

"They'd care Chris."

"Well I'm not running away so it doesn't matter." Chris said after a
moment of studying Jake's serious face again. He was completely
captivated by his concern. No one showed concern and kept attention on
him the way that this complete stranger did.

"Alright," Jake said and thought for a moment. "...Girl troubles?" He
said in a quiet voice as if it was something he didn't want to ask.

"Um, no..." Chris laughed and waited for a moment. "Pretty much the
opposite..."

"Yeah?" Jake asked regaining interest. "What do you mean, exactly?"

Chris waited in silence for a long moment considering the words in his
mouth before finally taking a deep breath and answering, "I mean that I'm
gay..."

After a long moment of awkward silence Jake smiled.

"That's cool, Chris. I am too."

"...Really? You're not just bashing me?"

"Have you ever met a straight guy as outgoing as me?" He asked.
"Seriously... I kinda thought you'd caught on... Everyone else can always
tell almost immediately."

"Guess I'm not very observant."

"It pays to be observant," Jake said. "I had a feeling you were the
very first time I saw you here. You were with some guy and it was pretty
obvious you were in to him."

Chris sat up at attention. "Was he a little taller than me with blonde
hair?"

"Yeah I think... I didn't pay too much attention to him though..."

"Ryan." Chris said and a rush of pain rolled over him.

"Your boyfriend?" Jake asked in a quieter voice, unenthused.

"No... Not exactly..."

"I'm just guessing that this Ryan guy is the reason why you're upset.
Let me guess, he's straight and you're crushing on him? Don't feel bad
about it Chris, it happens to all of us."

"No," Chris sighed. "It's complicated..."

"Well if you want to talk about it..." Jake said.

"Well Ryan is my best friend... he always has been... I guess I've
always wanted to more than friends... I thought he was straight... but
then he kissed me the night that I came out to him... the night that I
told him I loved him..."

"Really...?" Jake asked as he studied the look of sadness in Chris's
eyes. He could tell how hurt he was.

"He told me he loved me the other night..." Chris said, turning to look
Jake directly in the eye. "He told me he wanted to be with me and that
he loved me the way that I loved him."

"He loved you back and then he broke your heart?" Jake asked
sympathetically.

"Yeah..." Chris sighed. "After I slept with him."

"That's awful." Jake spoke after staring in disbelief for a moment.
"He fucked you and then he fucked you over."

"It was the best night of my whole fucking life," Chris said breathing
harshly and fighting tears. "Tonight he was kissing this girl from our
school... and he told me that he can't be with me because he isn't
gay..."

"Self-denying."

"He told me that it doesn't fit in to the equation of his life."
Chris's sad voice began to convert in to anger. "Like he has some plan
for himself and I can't be part of it!"

"You really loved him?" Jake asked quietly. Chris stared at him for a
moment, feeling the emotion in his voice.

"Yeah... for the past four years or however long it's been..." Chris
buried his face in his hands. "I guess you think I'm pathetic Jake."

"No..." Jake said as he looked Chris over, forcing himself to hold back
from comforting him. "I don't think you're pathetic Chris... Everyone
gets heartbroken."

"Have you ever been heartbroken over a guy?" Chris asked while looking
straight ahead.

"Yeah, of course. Last summer I was crazy about this guy that I met at
a photo shoot... By the way, I do some modeling... He was ok with me
being gay and we hung out a lot..." Jake said looking downward as he
remembered. Chris turned to look in to Jake's green eyes as he was
retracing his past. "... He got kind of drunk one night at a party and
he made out with me... For me it was the best thing in the world because
I'd been crazy about him from the first time I saw him and I thought
maybe it was gonna lead to something more... but for him... when he
sobered up he was totally freaked out... he stopped talking to me..."
Jake sighed deeply. "Yeah, I haven't heard from him since."

"I'm sorry." Chris said sympathetically.

"Yeah. Well like I said, everyone gets heartbroken." Jake wiped away
his sad expression and tried to appear confident. "Anyway, that Ryan guy
sounds like a real dick. You're probably better off without him Chris."

Chris sat stiffly in his seat for a few moments slowly realizing what
was going on. Out of nowhere he had meet someone that was exactly like
him-- someone that seemed to understand him and what he was going
through. For a long time Chris had wanted to meet other gay teenagers,
just to have someone to talk to about things that he couldn't talk about
with Ryan. It had been hard for Chris to only have straight friends that
looked down upon homosexuality. But now suddenly Chris realized he had
made a gay friend-- an attractive gay friend.

"Jake, do you know what time it is?" Chris asked as he rubbed his
forehead.

"Uh, it's like fifteen 'till eleven," Jake said as he checked his
watch. "The mall will be closing soon."

The two of them turned and scanned the food court area which had become
completely vacant except for a janitor sweeping under a table and
whistling a tune to himself. Everyone had left, even the people at the
smoothie/milkshake bar. Jake stood up and took another look around the
empty area before turning to Chris.

"I guess we better get going," he said. "Do you live around here?"

"Not that far." Chris tried to remember exactly how far away he lived
from the mall but his mind was still blurred from the overwhelming
night.

"Can I walk you home Chris?" Jake asked, looking completely serious.

"You don't have to do that. I'm fine Jake, really. I'll be ok to get
home."

"Well could I walk you home anyway?" He asked and shrugged hopefully.
"I'm not like trying to take care of you or anything. But I would like
to make sure you get home safely."

"You're too concerned," Chris said bluntly as he stood up. "But its
kind of nice."

The two of them exited the food court silently and left the mall while
the janitor followed them to the door, locking it behind them. Chris
took a deep breath, feeling the cold air fill his lungs, and he suddenly
realized how exhausted he was. His legs felt weak and after several
steps he wanted to collapse on the street. Chris felt himself wobble and
bump in to Jake who reached his arm around him and held him still. For
the first time that night Chris felt safe.

***

Chris's house was coming in to view as Jake helped him down the street.
Chris felt so exhausted that his eyes were begging to close. Jake
continued talking to him to keep him from passing out on their journey
home. He held Chris close, not wanting to let him fall over in to the
street, and couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of it all.

"Maybe I'm just not good enough for him." Chris slurred as he was
fighting the urge to fall asleep.

"Bullshit Chris," Jake said. "I've only known you for an hour and I can
already tell you're a really great person. You don't deserve someone
that's gonna stab you in the back like that. You deserve something a lot
better."

"Like what?"

"Like someone who is gonna like you for who you are and love everything
about you, even the seemingly annoying things." Jake laughed slightly.

"I just don't understand... Why..." Chris yawned.

"Why what?" Jake asked as they approached Chris's driveway-- absent of
any cars.

"Why Ryan would do that to me..." Chris suddenly felt a burst of energy
as they started walking up the driveway and to the front door. He pulled
away from Jake and threw his hands up in the air. "Why the hell is my
life so... so hard?!"

"I don't know Chris," Jake said as he reached for the front door.
"Maybe it's all supposed to teach you something."

"The door is locked." Chris said before Jake could open it. "We have
to go around back."

"What I mean Chris," Jake started as they made their way around the side
of the house to the back gate. "Is that maybe you need to forget about
Ryan. Sure he was a great friend, but it's pretty obvious that he can't
be more than a friend to you..."

"...I guess you're right..." Chris said as they opened the gate and
entered the backyard which was lit up by the lights of the pool.

"You'll meet someone better Chris," Jake continued. "Someone really
great that wants to be with you. Hey, nice pool."

"Thanks," Chris said as he reached the back door. He turned around and
looked in to Jake's awaiting eyes. He still looked as concerned as he
had first looked at the mall.

"Jake... What made you talk to me tonight? Why did you care what was
wrong with me?"

"I don't know..." he shrugged and looked down. "I hate seeing people
upset. I hate seeing someone be so sad... Especially someone like you...
You're really something special Chris... I can tell... I could tell since
the first time I saw you, sitting in that food court... I wanted to talk
to you so badly..."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you were with that guy, and I couldn't be entirely sure you
were gay, ya know?" Jake sighed. "Too bad I didn't get to you before he
did..."

Chris looked deeply in to Jake's eyes and saw the obvious emotion
there. An emotional hint he had given Ryan millions of times over the
years. Chris could tell that the boy in front of him had honest feelings
for him. The boy in front of him was completely serious and completely
trustworthy. In less than an hour he had been an honest friend-- someone
that would listen to him and help him with what he was going through. He
had even helped him home. There was something special about this guy--
Chris could feel it. The look in his eyes was undeniable.

"Jake... You're so..." Chris tried to think of the words as he felt
himself move closer to Jake. "You're great..." He could feel what was
about to happen and he didn't feel any urge to pull back.

"Chris, I..." Jake started to say as Chris leaned in to kiss him and
their lips met and locked.

Neither of them held back in the moment. They were both overwhelmed by
emotion. All thoughts of Ryan evacuated Chris's mind and he felt a warm
feeling inside of him. A feeling he had been missing all night. He
loved the feeling of Jake's lips on his and his body against his. He
loved the feeling of being swept away in the emotion of the moment. He
loved the feeling of watching the world disappear from around him. He
loved the feeling of losing consciousness. He loved knowing the guy he
was kissing loved it too.

The only thing Chris wanted to think about was what he was doing. He
didn't want to open his eyes and have the world come crashing back on to
him. He didn't want to open his eyes and realize that Ryan was standing
at the gate watching every second of it. Neither Chris or Jake saw Ryan
standing there dumbfounded. Neither of them saw the look of total
disbelief and destruction in his eyes...

To be continued...