Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 06:54:15 -0800
From: firexity vee <4plexity@gmail.com>
Subject: collide part 1

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction that describes the love between two men.  If
that's something that does not strike your fancy or if it is illegal
wherever you are for you to be reading this, then I suggest you go
elsewhere more suitable.  There isn't a lot of sex involved either, so a
porn magazine would probably serve your purposes better.

I would very much appreciate any comments!  Shoot them my way at
4plexity@gmail.com and I will reply with my heartfelt thanks.

* * *

Collide
by rexie

Jacob took his cellphone out of his pocket and checked the time: 8:37 pm.
Pretty soon his friend Penelope would be by to pick him up.  He walked over
to the full-length antique mirror that his mother had bought from a garage
sale for his birthday and looked over himself.  He was, of course, very
handsome but that obvious fact escaped Jacob for he never saw himself that
way.  He did his best to look his best in clothes that his price range
could afford.  Tonight, however, he was wearing possibly the most expensive
outfit that had ever touched his tanned skin.  He was wearing a snug white
collared shirt with the long-sleeves rolled up and the most perfect jeans
that seemed to comfortably hug his posterior.  It was an important night.
The most popular girl in his school was throwing the biggest "goodbye
summer" party that the small town of Celestia, California has ever seen,
and him being the best friend of one of Celestia High's cheerleaders, he
was lucky enough to receive an invite right after school ended in June.  At
first he did not want to go, because, having never attended a party, he was
afraid that he would be pressured to do drugs or have sex or something.
However, after watching Grease around twenty-seven times, he finally
convinced himself that the party was only going to be filled with singing
and fabulous choreography (naive, yes, but he really did want to convince
himself to go to this party, plus he got the choreography nailed already).
Since the invitations gave a two and a half month heads up, Jacob was able
to earn money by working double shifts at the local Denny's and was able to
go buy himself brand new clothes from the mall.  To say that he was very,
very excited would have been an understatement and he could not wait for
Penelope any longer.  He checked himself one last time and left his bedroom
to wait in the living room.  His mother was in the kitchen cooking dinner
and she looked up only to drop the wooden spatula that she was holding.

"Oh my," she gasped, "my little Jakey's all grown!"

"Mom," Jacob started, blushing.

"You look as handsome as your father," she said and her eyes glazed over to
the memory of her husband.

"Thanks, mom," he said and he took a quick glance at the family portrait in
the dining room wall, looking over the four smiling people that seemed very
happy once.

"Are there going to be guys there?" his mother asked while she got back to
her cooking.

"Yes," he said and knew that she was about to touch off on the subject of
his sexuality.  Jacob was gay and he knew it ever since he stole Penelope's
Ken doll, pretended it was his boyfriend, and planted kisses on its small,
ever-smiling lips.  He had told his family after his eighth grade
graduation and even though his mother was totally fine with it, things were
never the same.  He was now about to start his junior year in high school.

"Well, I hope you meet someone nice," she said casually.

"I hope so, too, mom."

Outside, Penelope parked on the Alexander driveway and pressed the horn
three times to signal her presence.  Jacob heard her and his whole body
shivered with excitement.  He hugged his mom and said goodbye and told her
that he had his phone on in case she wanted to check on him during the
night.

His mother turned off the stove and walked Jacob outside to Penelope's car.
Penelope waved to Mrs. Alexander as she reversed the car out of the
driveway and into the street.  Mrs. Alexander waved back and watched as the
car sped farther and farther away and turned on a corner.

She walked silently back into the house and took a picture of her husband
from the coffee table.  She was smiling because her son is turning out to
be exactly like his father: handsome, kind, hardworking.  For some reason,
however, tears started to flow from her weary eyes.

"Our son's growing up, Joe," she whispered, "I only wish that you could see
him."

* * *

Riley was taking a shower when the clock was at 8:37 pm.  He did not know
why he was taking a shower.  He did not know why he was going to the party
in the first place.  Sure he was boyfriend to Erika, the hostess of the
great party.  Sure, the party was going to be held in his mansion.  Sure, a
lot of his and Erika's parents' money were already spent.  But are those
really reason enough for him to be there?  He was tired from the
ridiculously harsh football practice Coach Brenneman was putting the team
through in preparation for next week's pre-season team trials.  Riley did
not at all expect his summer days to be invaded by wearisome sprinting,
painful tackles, or by the very close, very hot, very intimate relationship
with the other very handsome football players.

Many, however, think of Riley as the handsomest of all the football
players, maybe even of all the school.  He gazed upon his naked self
through the misty bathroom mirror.  His honey blond curls were wet, making
it appear darker.  Normally, his locks would rest lazily upon his head and
the flowing strands would sway gracefully with the breeze.  His soft, curly
hair alone has mesmerized many, but those who actually dared approach Riley
would have swooned at the sight of his beautiful eyes.  On the perimeter,
the color of his eyes were that of a bright blue that blends with hazel
green as it approaches the center.  Amazingly, the hazel green blends even
more into warm brown surrounding the pupil.

He looked like a god.  Even more, he had the body of one.  Many years of
running and weight training have shaped every curve of muscle that rippled
throughout.  It did not go unnoticed, for the girls of the school started
throwing themselves in his arms, longing for the promise that he would take
care of them.  That he would love them and marry them and have lots and
lots of children with them.

Of course, he never did.

All of his relations lasted for at most six days.  They were mainly sexual
and he would come out of the relationship knowing less about the girl than
before.  He would lose interest really fast and the girls would realize
that he would never show them the love they were seeking.

Erika was different.  She had managed to break the six-day time limit and
is pushing on close to six-months.  They got along, sure, but deep in
Riley's heart he knew it was not right.  He just didn't have the guts to
break up with the most popular girl in school.

Speaking of which:

"Hey baby, what's up?" Riley answered his cellphone after seeing Erika's
name on the ID screen.  "Yea. I just finished taking a shower...yes, the
caterers arrived...and so did the band...and the dj...Erika...
Eri--Er--STOP!... relax, baby, everything is already taken care of...yea,
some people are already here...sure baby,...it's a night that we won't
easily forget."

* * *

"Melanie, I can't believe you're going to miss the party...what are you
talking about, you were invited too...yea, sure it did say `Penelope Lee, and
guests' but we are her guests...well, it would have been fun to have you
there too...what...calculus work already...? That's what you're doing...? Okay, if
you say it's fun...sure...we'll have a great time, thank you...goodnight Mel,"
Jacob flipped off his cellphone and stuffed it in his pocket.  He looked
expectantly for the house that they were headed to.  He'd never been there,
but he knew it was a mansion so it had to be big.

"There it is," gasped Penelope, and out of the tall trees that lined the
sides of the road came a magnificently large mansion that seemed to glow
white against the night sky.  The gates were of pristine white and every
car was required to stop before it for identification.  After inspecting
their invitation, the security guard opened the gates for Penelope's car.

Jacob looked on.  There were already many cars ahead of them stopping in
front of the wide French doors to hand the keys to the valet.  He saw many
of the `popular' crowd walk out of their vehicles to join the festivities
inside.  They were garbed in their best party clothes and Jacob felt that
the hardwork he dedicated to his new clothes was well worth it.  Penelope
led him through the French doors and into the spacious foyer.

"My god," whispered Jacob, "Penn this house in enormous!"  Beyond the
elegantly furnished foyer were two towering pillars that extended all the
way to the three-floor ceiling supporting what seemed to be a stained
glass, but grandly translucent ceiling.  The pillars also doubled as the
entrance to wide, majestic stairs that circled wider as it went further
down.  The stairs led to the bottom hall where several round tables were
set up.  There was a large dance floor situated further along and a long
table, presumably for the hosts, was in front of the stairs overlooking the
crowd.  People were dressed casually, but as they looked on at the setting
of the party, they all felt very underdressed.  The whole thing looked like
it was for a wedding.  However, the band started to play and everybody that
was already there forgot all about their clothes and started dancing and
drinking.

"Wow," said Penelope as she and Jacob took their seats, "the Gabriels must
be like super rich.  Do you know what they do?"

"They're surgeons," answered Jacob, "Riley's dad is like the chief of staff
or something and his mom works with him at Celestia Medical.  My mom works
as one of their nurses."

"Wow, really?" said Penelope, "I knew your mom was a nurse there but I
didn't know the Gabriels were her bosses."

"Yea, I don't even know who Riley is, to be honest.  I just know of him
from my mother but I've never really seen him in school."

"Really?" said Penelope, looking at Jacob with an incredulous look, "well
maybe you'll meet him tonight, actually, no, I'll introduce you.  He's a
very nice guy, I think you'd like him."

"Sure."  Jacob looked around at the crowd of people that's starting to
gather on the dance floor.  He knew some of them but were friends with only
a few.  They were all the very popular, ranging from cheerleaders to
football players to government officers.  It was a world that was very
different from his but he wasn't the least bit scared at exploring it.
"Hey, Penelope, let's go dance!"

The band was playing very upbeat, club music and it was very easy for Jacob
to catch the rhythm and dance.  If there was one thing that Jacob was good
at, it was dancing.  His mother had a passion for dance and pushed Jacob
into many dance classes when he was a child.  From ballet to urban to folk
dancing to tap dancing, Jacob learned them all.  In time, he also developed
his own passion for dancing.  So it was only natural to him to be able to
gracefully flow with the beat of the music.  Penelope watched him a little
bit and wished she could dance just as good.

* * *

Riley heard the music start and took it as his cue to join the party
downstairs.  He looked over himself one last time in the mirror and brushed
away some random lint that landed on the white collared shirt he was
wearing.  He sighed, not really wanting to be a part of the mayhem, and
finally opened the door and walked out to the balcony.  His room was on the
first floor and outside his doors he could easily observe the people
dancing on the bottom hall below.  It wasn't long until he spotted his best
friend Lucas on the crowd and motioned for him to come.  He watched as
Lucas shoved his way up the flight of stairs and walk to his side of the
balcony.

"Man, I didn't think you'd show," started Riley as Lucas stopped to lean
over the railings next to him, "I mean I wouldn't have gone to this party,
I'm dead tired."

"God, I know," the boy answered, "Brenneman is fucking crazy for expecting
me to run five miles in twenty minutes.  But I'm just here for a beer, and
maybe some ass."

"Tell me about it, ever since Erika started planning for this shindig, she
hasn't been putting out," said Riley.

"Didn't she start planning four months ago?"

"Exactly."

"Dude, how are you still alive?"

I'm not, Riley thought.  "Oh, I have my ways..."

"No!?  You got yourself a little affair on the side?" said Lucas, jumping
excitedly.

No, "Maybe," he replied slyly.

"Oh, man!  That's wild!  What happened, though?  I thought you loved
Erika."

I never did, "She...she hasn't been around.  It's her fault, really," Riley
said.

"So what, are you guys breaking up?"

I want to, "I don't know."  Riley's eyes wandered on the dance floor as his
mind raced with so many thoughts.  Lately, Riley has been troubled with
things that he was just starting to realize.  He was looking through his
yearbook and discovered that he has been with a great majority of the girls
in his school.  But what really surprised him the most was the fact that he
never knew their middle or last names.  He started questioning himself and
feared that he might be doomed to a fate of eternal solitude.  He didn't
want that, no...he wanted to always have someone, someone to love and hug and
give roses to.  Someone that would make him happy.  Obviously, Erika was
not that someone since he has been very unhappy.

"...like when you're together this long, really, something's..." Lucas went on
but Riley wasn't really paying attention.  He was watching a cheerleader
that he once found attractive, though he had forgotten her name.  He was
straining to remember as he watched her dance but what caught Riley's
attention was the person she was dancing with.  It was a boy with short,
dark hair and very handsome features.  Riley estimated the boy to be a few
inches shorter than him but a lot thinner.  The boy wasn't bulging with
muscles like the football players he knew, no, he was lithe.  What
captivated Riley, however, were the boy's movements.  He was dancing as if
he was floating in air and every graceful move was entrancing Riley even
more.  He noticed that he wasn't the only one watching the boy dance.
Others, who were standing just outside the dance floor and not dancing, had
their eyes fixed on him.  The music blaring was rock but the boy's
coordinated movements were soft, light, and airy.  It was beautiful.

He was beautiful.

"Who is that cheerleader there?" asked Riley.

Lucas followed where Riley pointed and craned out his neck to see who it
was.  "Oh, that's Penelope, one of the junior cheerleaders."

"Who is she dancing with?"  Lucas, however, did not answer right away.
Instead, Riley felt Lucas shiver slightly.  He turned to look at his friend
and found that he was watching the boy dance.  His eyes were glazed over.
"Lucas?"

"Ugh, it's that fag," he finally answered with fiery hatred spewing from
his mouth.  "I can't believe faggots were allowed here, shouldn't they be
doing make up or something?  Bunch'a freaks..."

Riley was shocked to hear Lucas talk this way.  Sure, he was sent to the
office on many occasions for fighting, but Riley never saw him as a
homophobic bully.  He knew that this guy had a good heart so hearing him
curse about gay people was surprising.

"But do you know him?" asked Riley, choosing to ignore Lucas's insensitive
speech.

"His name's Jacob Emanuel Alexander, I think.  But why do you care about
some fag anyway?"

"Look at how he moves...it's interesting."

* * *

Jacob lost track of anything else.  He could have been dancing for two
minutes or two hours, he had no idea.  All that mattered were the movements
and the music.  It wasn't particularly his taste of music but he loved the
dancing, nonetheless.  Because when he dances, he's free.  Free from the
tragedy of the past, the worries of the present or the uncertainty of
tomorrow.  He loved that feeling; it was sort of like floating up, up and
beyond the chimney tops away from this world.  He closed his eyes and he
flew.

But the music finally stopped, and, like a befuddled crow that hits a
Windex-clean office window, Jacob fell.  Not, literally, of course, but the
sudden interruption jolted him out of his fantasy and back into the real
world, a sensation that he disliked very much.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Celestia High," blared the voice of the DJ on the
speakers, "I would like to take this moment to introduce to you," the
lights dimmed, "the fabulous hostess of this fantastic party," a spotlight
focused on the stairs, "you know her very well," drum rolls started, "she's
your student body president, your head cheerleader and the organizer of
many school-wide events," escalating tension, "the one, the only, Erika
Evers!"

Jacob saw a tall, commanding figure enter the spotlight.  She was gorgeous
and Jacob didn't find many women gorgeous, him being gay and all.  Erika
was the exact living replica of Barbie (before the breast reduction).  She
was blond, she was thin and she had the bosom that every girl in school
strived for.  Her entrance was grand and she walked slowly down the stairs
making sure to wave at every direction of the hall.  As she got closer,
Jacob saw that she was wearing a subtle tiara.  Erika took the biggest
chair in the elevated long table and everybody clapped.  The music resumed
and people started dancing again.

Jacob and Penelope went back to their seats to rest a little bit and have
some drinks.

"Hell of an entrance, don't you think so?" Jacob said.

"Yea, well she is the host, I was actually expecting her to like fly in,"
said Penelope.

The round table they were sitting at was pretty much empty, save for one
boy sitting two chairs away from Jacob.  Jacob looked at the attractive boy
and their eyes locked.  The boy had kind eyes and they softened as Jacob
looked at them.  Penelope gasped as she turned to look at the boy.  He was
hot!

The boy finally spoke, "You know, I've always thought of Erika as sort of a
drama queen," he said, referring to the previous conversation about Erika's
entrance.

"Uh...yes," muttered Penelope.  It was hard for her to talk when she was
slightly drooling.  Jacob, though initially shocked, was perfectly
indifferent to the boy's looks.  But he was intrigued.

"What is your name?" asked Jacob.

"Ethan," he said, "and you are Jacob and Penelope."

"H-how...how did you know?" stumbled Penelope.

"I volunteered with Jacob at the homeless shelter a few months back," Ethan
said, confidently, "though we were never properly introduced, one of the
nuns there told me his name."  He turned to Penelope, "you, on the other
hand, are a cheerleader so many know your name."

Penelope giggled and Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Hm, I think I do remember you," Jacob said, "didn't you spill the tomato
soup all over your white shoes?"

Ethan blushed.  "Hah, it's funny you remembered the tomato soup instead of
me."

The party rolled on while Jacob and Penelope conversed with Ethan.  It was
mostly Jacob talking as Penelope would giggle every once in a while.  Ethan
fascinated them both.  He was to be a senior when school starts yet his
voice was heavy with kindness and wisdom.  He would talk about how college
was upon him and somehow teach Jacob and Penelope the importance of
friendship and camaraderie at the same time.  He only spoke of good things
and his face looked ever joyful.  His presence alone had eased both Jacob
and Penelope.

It didn't take a genius to realize that Penelope was very interested in
Ethan.  Jacob, being the best friend that he is, excused himself from the
table saying that he had to use the bathroom.  Really, he wanted to leave
Penelope and Ethan alone so they could talk and get to know each other
more.

Jacob made for the dance floor.  He wanted again to dance himself away but,
suddenly, he stopped.  He felt a warm light shine behind him.  Slowly, he
turned and a pair of the most beautiful eyes met his gaze.  The light
seemed to come from behind a boy sitting on Erika's right and next to some
jock named Lucas.  Jacob looked and he felt his heart leap faster than a
racing rabbit.  The light grew.  Before him was this boy that seemed to
pierce his very soul with his stare.  Jacob blushed and he felt butterflies
fluttering all over his insides, struggling to get out.  He broke the stare
first.  He turned around and decided, instead, to head for the bathroom.
Over his shoulder, he looked at the boy one more time.

He was still looking at him.

* * *

"Riley?" the voice echoed, "Riley!"  Erika had been observing her boyfriend
for the past twenty minutes and she noticed just how quiet and thoughtful
he was.  Normally, Riley would be the first one to have imbibed a dozen
cups of alcohol but tonight, he was struggling to finish one cup.  She was
worried.  "Riley!"

"Huh," he said, stupidly.  The interruption was not to his liking.  He was
lost in his fascination with this Jacob who, only a second ago, was looking
at him, too.  Riley could not breathe.  That span of three seconds when
Jacob's attention was on him was a lot more exciting than anything he has
ever experienced in his six-months with Erika.  That fact scared him to
death.  "Erika, what is it?"

"Are you alright?" she asked, trying to trace wherever it was he was
looking at before.

"Yea, I'm alright.  I'm just exhausted from all the fucking running I had
to do today."

Erika felt it a long time ago.  She knew it was there.  Between them
existed a rift that was growing increasingly wider every day.  She was
scared that she would lose him.  No, she can't lose him.  He was too rich,
too handsome and too popular to be laid to waste.  She had to do something.

"Look, Riley.  I know I haven't been very attentive, what with the party
planning and all.  But, you know, tonight, the party will be over and I
could stay here and we could...have fun."  Sex was the answer.  Sex had to be
the answer.  Erika believed that it was the leash that she held over Riley.
After having sex with him tonight then everything would be all right...right?

"No, baby, it's alright.  You don't have to stay over.  I'll be fine."

"What?!" oh no, he did not just reject her offer.

"You know what, I think I'll head over to my room right now and rest up a
bit.  I'll be back."  Riley made to stand up but Lucas came suddenly.
Erika was too shocked to talk.

"Erika why are fags invited to your party?  I mean, what the hell?"  Lucas
voiced angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Erika said, still a bit taken aback.

"That gay Jacob was walking about.  Why did you invite him?"

"Lucas, why are you still on that?  Just go and try to have fun, nevermind
the guests," Riley said.

"No!  It's just wrong that he's here, is all."

"Jacob?  You mean that junior?  I didn't invite him.  He might be
Penelope's guest," said Erika.

"Whatever," Lucas stalked off.

Riley stood up and kissed Erika on the forehead.  He slowly walked to the
steps and went up to his first floor room.  In his private lounge, he
browsed through the bookshelf in the far wall and found the hard bounded
book he was looking for: The Celestian Yearbook.  He sat on one of the
lounge chairs and quickly flipped through the pages of the book, his heart
rate increasing with every page turn.  Finally, he reached the section he
was looking for and immediately began searching for `Alexander.'  He didn't
even have to look for it since the photograph of a handsome young man
immediately caught his attention.  It was him, but a year younger, since it
was last year's yearbook.  For a moment, Riley let himself stare at the boy
with the beautiful smile looking back at him.  Then he dropped the yearbook
on the floor.  He was ashamed.  He knew what he was feeling was wrong and
somehow immoral.  And yet, he wanted, no, needed, to feel it.

"What the fuck is wrong with me," he whispered.

* * *

Jacob locked himself in the bathroom.  His heart was racing a million miles
a minute and he was trying to calm himself down.  He was scared.  The last
time his body acted this way was when he was standing in front of his
parents about to tell them their son was gay.  What amazed him more was
that some stranger looking at him caused it all.  Try as he might, he could
not remember what the stranger looked like.  All he knew was that he made
him feel this way and that the stranger had the most amazing eyes.

There was a knocking on the door.

"Someone's in here," said Jacob.  He walked towards the large mirror and
looked at himself.  Jacob felt his heart ease up and he thought about other
things, like dancing.  He turned on the golden faucet and adjusted the
stream of water to the right temperature.  He washed his hands and
sprinkled some water to his face.  Then, he reached for one of the hand
towels and dried himself up.  I'll be fine, he thought, I want to go
dancing again.

There was a pounding on the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," said Jacob.

When he opened the door, there was a rather large and muscular boy standing
right in front of it.  Jacob figured that he must really need to pee so he
tried to step aside to let him through.  The boy didn't move.  When Jacob
moved to head for the dance floor, the boy blocked his way.  Jacob looked
at his eyes and saw passion there.  The boy, moving swiftly, pushed Jacob
into the bathroom so hard that the smaller boy fell flat on his back on the
tiled floor.  He hovered towards Jacob and locked the door.  The music
outside was so loud that it would be impossible for anyone to hear
anything.  Suddenly, the boy leaned down and grabbed Jacob's collar.  His
face was expressing hatred but his eyes expressed something else.  He
lifted his arm and began what would be the most painful night in Jacob's
life.

"Fags don't deserve to live," Lucas whispered and Jacob felt that he was
about to die.

* * *

Riley was lying on his couch and gazing blankly into the ceiling.  It had
occurred to him that Erika had just offered him sex but he flatly refused
it.  Instead, he chose to go up to his room and flip through every page in
the yearbook, twice, hoping to catch another photo of Jacob.  He found only
a few, proof that Jacob wasn't part of the popular crowd.  In all his
pictures, two girls were always at his side.  The cheerleader named
Penelope and an Asian girl with glasses on who was clearly a nerd.

Riley was about to drift off to sleep when a knock sounded in his door.
Lucas did not wait for an answer and came right in.  He seemed as if he was
in a hurry and Riley noted that his eyes were very red.

"Lucas, what's up?" started Riley.

"Hey man I gotta take off.  I'm beat and I think I'll just go home and
sleep," Lucas said, slightly shaking.

"Alright.  Are you okay, man?" Riley asked, noting the fact that his black
shirt was crumpled in places and his hair was in disarray.

"Yea, I'm fine," he said, avoiding eye contact, "look, I really have to go,
it's almost 10:30 and I want to get home by 11."

Lucas bolted out of the room and Riley watched in wonder at his friend's
demeanor.  He shrugged it off and went to put away the yearbook back in the
shelf.  He rejoined the party that was at its peak.  All the guests have
arrived and the enormous dance floor was crowded with gyrating bodies and
swinging hips.  Riley looked around for a sign of Jacob as he descended the
grand steps.  When he didn't find him, he figured he was probably just lost
in the mass of dancing people.  Riley took his seat in the long table and
watched as the party raged on.

For the next hour and a half, he spent the entire time trying to find
Jacob.  He longed to look upon his smile again, to watch him move
gracefully in the dance floor.  Riley even asked Erika to dance, a rare
occurrence, just so that he would be immersed in the dance floor itself and
maybe have better luck finding him there.  He didn't.  He did find Penelope
who seemed to have stayed at her seat talking to Ethan the entire time.
Riley dared not approach her and ask where Jacob was so he just kept on
searching.

Celestia was nowhere near like one of the big Californian cities like Los
Angeles or San Francisco.  It was a small town so when the time turned to
11:40, the partygoers started to dwindle down.  The idea of partying until
three a.m. was preposterous to them.  Riley watched as the downstairs hall
emptied more and more each minute.  Erika kissed Riley goodbye around
twelve a.m. and Riley saw that Penelope was alone again.  There were only a
handful of people left now and some of them were passed out near the punch
table.  The band had left and Riley looked at the rather empty hall.

Suddenly, Penelope ran up to him.

"Riley," she squealed, "oh my god, have you seen the guy I was with?"

"The guy you were talking to the whole night?" Riley asked, noting
Penelope's flushed appearance.

"No, the guy that was with me when I got here, Jacob.  Have you seen him?"

Riley started to feel a pang of fear.  "No, why, what happened?"

"I can't find him anywhere!" she screamed.

"Maybe he went home?" Riley said, sweating now.

"No, I'm his only ride.  If anything happens to him--"

"Don't say that, no, don't worry, we'll find him."

"The last time I remember seeing him, he said he was going to the bathroom
but I can't find the bathroom."

Riley walked to the downstairs bathroom.  There was a short hallway to the
far end of the hall and it led to the only bathroom in the bottom floor.
When they both reached the door, Riley tried to open it and found that it
was locked.  He knocked but no one answered.

"Jacob, honey, are you in there?" screamed Penelope, her voice revealing
just how scared she was.

"Penelope, you better stand back," said Riley.  He took a few steps
backwards and ran, with all his might towards the door.  Every bit of
strength he had was awakened because it felt as if he had to break this
door or else something unspeakable might happen.  He collided with the door
causing a loud thud and the door swung violently open.

The large bathroom was rather dark.  All the lights were off save for one
light.  They looked and she screamed.  Directly under the light and eerily
illuminated was Jacob.  He was lying on the floor with blood seeping out of
the area where his head is.  His white shirt was torn in many places and it
was scarlet with his own blood.  Riley ran towards him and cradled his head
in his lap.  Penelope was frozen near the door.  For a moment, Riley just
looked at his face.  Jacob's right eye was swelled shut and his nose was
broken.  His lip was cut in many places and his cheeks were bruised badly.

Riley felt a million things at once.  He was first angry, then anxious,
sad, furious, confused, and finally afraid.  This stranger who, for all he
knew, was already dead caused all that.  But he wasn't dead.  Jacob's lip
trembled, and it was as if a rock was dropped in Riley's head, waking him
up.

"Penelope, call the Celestia Medical emergency center and tell them we're
coming," he barked, "I'll drive him there and you should follow with your
car."

"O-okay," said Penelope, still terrified of the whole situation.

Riley gently placed his arms around Jacob.  He knew he had to get him to
the ER as fast as he can but he didn't want to cause Jacob any more pain.
He gently lifted him up from the floor and carried him out of the bathroom.
He noticed how warm Jacob's body was and, despite the situation, it felt
good having this boy in his arms.  He wanted to have him there forever.

* * *

When they reached the grand stairs, Jacob stirred.  He opened his eyes and
immediately saw the stranger's face.  It was the boy that was looking at
him before.  The boy that made his heart rate soar.  He suddenly felt a
rush of pain throughout his body and he groaned.  Tears started flowing
from his eyes causing even more burning pain.  The stranger looked at him
and Jacob stared at his beautiful eyes.  He tried to say something but the
stranger spoke over him.

"Shhhh...don't worry, Jacob, I got you.  You're going to be all right.  Just
relax and I will take care of you," he said softly.

Jacob just looked at his eyes and felt an inviting warmth within the
stranger's body.  Though he did not know his name, Jacob felt safe in his
arms so he closed his eyes and tried to relax.  Somehow, despite the
extreme pain he was feeling, everything was going to be fine.  This
stranger would make it so.

* * *

To be continued.

***

Send your comments to 4plexity@gmail.com.  I'd love more motivation to
write the next chapters.