Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2005 14:35:37 -0800 (PST)
From: T J <dreemarz@yahoo.com>
Subject: Dare to Dream: 3 School

	If you are offended by male/male relationships and sexual
relationships, or homoerotic situations and scenarios, then please leave,
for your own benefit. If this conduct is illegal in your area, or if you
are underage, you must leave. Otherwise, enjoy. This is copyrighted by me,
so please don't copy or steal, ask and you'll be rewarded (maybe).

Chapter 3
	School

-----Darren-----

	I looked nervously at him as he stared at me with a calculating
gaze. I wasn't quite sure what he was up to, but it unnerved me, to say the
least. It was almost as if he was trying to disprove something that was
true, and accepted as true. Uneasily, I fidgeted in my seat, awaiting my
chance to leave, or preparing to bolt if the need arose. All of a sudden,
as if waking from a daze, Brendan smiled back at me, hesitant to meet my
eyes.

	"Sorry about that, I got lost in my own thoughts for a second. It's
just that I know Emma. We're very good friends and we talk about a lot of
things. You happened to be one of the things we used to talk about and
meeting you here is just so unexpected. Sorry, I guess I overreacted, huh?"
He smiled back at me, holding my gaze for a few seconds before unlocking
the car. "Do you mind if I tag along? I haven't seen Emma since I've been
out and I really would appreciate it if I could just say hi."

	The question was weird, but it was absurd for him to ask me. It was
polite, yes, but highly unnecessary. Unless of course, which was probably
the case, he felt I wanted some time alone with her. I wanted to tell him I
did want to talk to her, to find out why he knew about me, and what it all
meant. But what kind of a person would I have been if I had denied the man
who had given me a ride in a storm the right of entrance into a house that
wasn't even mine. I nodded before getting out and rushing out of the car,
attempting to remain as dry as possible. I rang the doorbell hoping Emma
would quickly open up, I don't think I could have stood another few minutes
with Brendan alone.

	There was something about him that made me feel ambivalent. On one
side, he was extremely appealing to the eyes. No doubt about that, I'm sure
he had a string of worshippers lined up for him at school. If I had met him
back at my old school, even my old life, I would have undoubtedly tried to
at least get to know him as a friend and even better, if he was gay. Now,
of course, I just wanted to be let alone until I could once again
reestablish a part of myself in this world. Now, on the flip side of the
coin, his eyes were dark. Not the kind of dark that's reminiscent of
mystery or mischief, but an eviler blackness. It chilled me to the bones
every time I met his eyes. Deadly beauty would be the perfect way to
describe them.

	Emma opened up looking ghastly white. At the sight of me she flung
her hands over me and started sobbing into my shoulder.

	"Oh my god Darren, I was so scared. I had no idea that a storm was
approaching or I would never have let you gone out. Thank god you're
ok. Your parents must have been watching over their son. Whatever divinity
of heaven granted this miracle, I thank you." She pressed me tight as she
sought to control her emotions. I couldn't raise my eyes to meet Brendan's
gaze but I knew he was intently gazing at the interaction between Emma and
me.

	I patted her gently on the back before stepping back from
her. "It's okay Emma, I'm fine. Really, nothing happened. Don't worry about
it." She slowly nodded her head but her face was still contorted with worry
and concern. I was touched by her empathy, but I was not surprised. Emma
was the kind of person that would go to any depths of worry to make sure
someone was ok and until she had concrete proof, she'd be the classical
mother hen. Turning around, she gasped a little as she noticed Brendan for
the first time.

	"Brendan! What are you doing here?" He smiled gleefully at her; I
think he was slightly thankful that he could finally enter the
conversation.

	"Well, I was on my way over to Kyle's house for the party when I
spotted Darren walking. When the storm started to worsen, I remembered him
walking and dashed back to see if he was ok. Luckily, I was able to catch
him before it got truly ugly out there." Emma seemed to accept that answer
for now but deep down, I knew she was nowhere through with him. It looked
like it was going to be a long night, something I did not need right
now. All the human interaction after a long time of no contact had me
exhausted, wishing for my pillow and comforter.

	"Darren, dear, why don't you go up and change out of those wet
clothes. You want a pair B?"

	"Nah, I'm cool. Mind if I crash on the couch?" Entering, he took
off his wet shoes before shaking his hair to get out all the moisture that
had accumulated on the porch. Emma snorted a little to show her contempt at
his antics. I made my way up to the room as I shed my shirt and picked up a
towel to dry off. I rummaged through my drawer when I felt a slight chill
take over the room. I felt eyes on my back which made the hairs on my neck
stand on end. Slowly, I turned around to find Brendan there, his eyes
transfixed on my mid section.

	I was horrified, positive he was staring at the long scars that
were running down my abdomen. The wounds had healed, but the scars had
remained. The doctors said they would fade in about a month. Apparently the
incisions had not been deep enough to permanently scar anything. I was very
lucky for that.

	In vain I tried to cover myself with the comforter of the bed. My
actions seemed to have disturbed Brendan from his reverie because he looked
down, blushing a crimson red. I stared at him, hoping he'd either leave or
tell me what he wanted. I didn't like his eyes on me, the way he seemed to
be piecing me apart or something. Not only that, I didn't want him to ask
any questions. True, my scars were faint, but they were still there. I just
hoped he was not inquisitive.

	"Umm^ĊEmma told me to ask you for a towel." He stood there looking
at me guiltily. I wish he'd just walk out of the room so I could finish
changing but he seemed rooted to the spot. I could always ask him to leave,
but I opted for a different approach.

	"The towels are in the second cabinet, from the top, in the
bathroom. It's the second door on your left, can't miss it." With that, I
turned my back to him. It was only after I felt clam again did I resume
changing my clothes. I changed quickly, hoping that he would not reenter
the room and disturb my peace. Luckily, he didn't. I quickly made my way
downstairs to find him and Emma talking about his apparent vacation. He was
describing it with great vividness. Taking a seat on the same couch as Emma
had branded her own, I listened in for a few words.

	"Yeah, the roller coaster just stopped for about ten seconds, and
those were the longest ten seconds of my life. I thought it'd never end,
but when it did, I felt like they were too short." He laughed at his own
anecdote which I quickly grew bored with. My wind was wandering which it
was doing a lot lately. I wanted to get up and get some sleep, but it was
not to be.

	"Ah Darren, there you are. I almost thought you were going to go
take a shower. Brendan here has kindly offered to give you rides to school
and back." She smiled at me, putting her hand protectively around me whilst
I seethed in rage. She knew I hated being babysat, this was no different. I
turned to see Brendan but his face was unreadable. His eyes shone with the
same glint they had during the small altercation a few moments ago.

	"Thank you Brendan but there's hardly any need. I love to walk and
the school's not that far. If anything does come up though, I will
definitely ask you." Definitely my ass I thought to myself. Until I figured
out who he was and what his intentions were, I needed to place as much
distance as possible between him and me. Of course, the sparse four feet
between him and me was not helping, but it would soon change. Very soon, I
hoped.

	Luckily, his cell started to ring and he politely excused
himself. He went outside to talk and I wasn't able to catch his words. At
the same time, he could not hear what I wanted to say to Emma, so it worked
out in the end.

	"Emma, what are you doing? You know I don't want any ride to
school, you know I want to stay low key. From what I can tell, sticking
around Brendan won't help me at all to stay low." Her eyes were still moist
with the roller coaster of emotions she had gone through but they had
softened a little more when I asked her this.

	"I know Angel, but I really think it'll be impossible for you to
stay low key. At least with Brendan, I know him and he'll be able to keep
an eye out for you." I snorted and she looked at me quizzically, eyebrows
raised.

	"Yeah, he'll keep an eye on me all right." She seemed surprised to
hear this and tilted her head as a signal for me to continue. "He came
upstairs and was staring at me for god knows how long while I had my shirt
off. His eyes were transfixed. He saw everything Emma, the scars are still
dark enough to see. You don't think he'd make anything of it, do you?" She
sighed a little and stared out at the window.

	"I don't know Angel. I doubt he'd say anything. But be careful. I'm
sure it'll amount to nothing. After all, he's a good kid, deep down. He may
not seem it but he's not bad. Perhaps a little vain, shallow, and even a
party animal, but deep down, where it really matters, he's not bad." I
couldn't believe the words that were flowing out of her mouth. Every pore
in my body was giving me the contradicting answer, but somehow, I knew Emma
would never lie to me. Maybe I was being too judgmental. After all, it had
only been but an hour since I had met him. First expressions aren't always
true. Oh how much I had learned that lesson.

	"Maybe Emma. Maybe I'm being stupid or prejudiced, but he seems
unbelievably superficial. It's bugging me. I'm not usually like this. I
don't know what's happening. Maybe it's all the nerves. Damn it, I wish I
could figure this out." I pulled my knees to my chest as I fought my inner
demons as they fought to be released.

	Brendan reentered the room looking a little unnerved. It must have
been an interesting call. I know it was bitchy of me, but I couldn't
resist.

	"Do you need to leave Brendan?" He seemed a little taken back, but
fortunately, I had kept my voice from sounding hopeful.

	"No, it's ok. It was just Kyle calling to see if I was going to
make it." He left it at that, not finishing. I was fuming inside. Why
couldn't this Kyle have forced him to leave? I'm sure there was something
that could have made Brendan leave, but I just had to find it.

	Emma punched me in the rib slightly eliciting a small hiss from
me. I turned to her to see she had her hand covering her mouth, horrified
at what she had done. Her eyes were wide but I shot her a glare that told
her to shut up. I didn't need to give Brendan any more suspicions of what
was going on. Unfortunately, I cursed the bad luck of mine; I found him
staring intently at us.

	"Umm^Ċare you ok Darren?" it almost sounded like genuine concern
but I checked myself before gingerly shifting onto the spot where Emma had
accidentally hit me.

	"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a sore spot." I knew at that instant he
knew what those scars might have meant. I knew, from looking at his dark
green eyes, that he was slowly but surely calculating my story. Why I was
here with Emma, why I was to attend school here. If he only knew how wrong
he was.

	"Well B, it's getting late. You have school tomorrow. You better
head home." I was thankful to Emma for asking him to leave but I was uneasy
that she lamely put together such a reason. It was apparent that he wanted
to stay, and even more so that he had expected a long night. After all, he
did have a party planned. Nonetheless, I was grateful for her attempt.

	"Yeah, you're right Emma." I was shocked to say the least. Inside,
I was doing jumping-jacks and tumbles of ecstasy. "Well it was wonderful
seeing you again. I hope we can talk again real soon. And Darren," he
turned to me, his hand outstretched, "it was a pleasure meeting you. If you
need anything or a ride to school, call me. Emma has my number, so no
worries there." He smiled and I smiled back, much to my resistance. My
emotions were getting the better of me.  I gave him my hand to shake but he
grasped it and pulled me up. "Walk with me?"

	I looked out side and to my great chagrin, the rain had stopped. I
groaned internally before quickly glancing at Emma. She nodded her head and
gave me a small smile. I cursed my luck thinking how unfair this was. I
just wanted to go to sleep. Sleep, damn it. Turning to him, I nodded, my
chin remaining rigid. He led the way outside and to his car.

	The lawn was still moist with the new batch of rain it had
received. The moonlight caught in the dewdrops and reflected the darkness
around us. I looked up to notice he was staring at me again. I was
seriously getting tired of it and I was getting angrier every time he did
it. I just wanted to be left alone, at least till college. But apparently,
he didn't want me to.

	"Listen Darren, if you need anything at school, don't hesitate to
ask. Just find me and we'll work it out. You sure you don't want a ride? I
mean it's really no problem for me." Forcefully, I found my voice in
response to his.

	"Really Brendan, don't sweat it. I can walk, it's no problem. It's
good exercise too." He laughed a little and I raised my eyebrows to him

	"You, my friend, don't need any exercise. I doubt there's any fat
on you." I narrowed my eyes. What did that mean, no fat on me? One thing I
knew though, he had been watching me intently. The thoughts perturbed me to
say the least but I shook it off. "Sorry, I guess that was a little
unnecessary huh? But really, don't hesitate to ask. For anything." He
smiled coyly before hopping into his car.

	I didn't like the way he had said anything. It implied so many
things, none of which I wanted to try with him. I waved my hand slightly
before quickly running back inside. I snuggled into my spot in the living
room before speaking up.

	"Alright Emma, spill. Why does he know me?" She shook her head
before standing up.

	"Well Angel, Brendan and I are really good friends. I had met him
at a restaurant, but that's a story for another day. Anyway, he used to
come over and tell me his problems and I'd listen to him. We got real close
and slowly, I too opened up to him. After all, it was only fair since he
had put so much faith in me. The things he told me, you'd be surprised of."
She smiled fondly, remembering the memory. I cleared my throat to get her
attention back on me. "Sorry, where was I?" She smiled as I shook my head.

	"You were about to tell me why he knows about me." She nodded and
continued pacing in the room.

	"Well, one day, we were going through some pictures when he saw
you. I don't think I had ever seen him so excited. He was practically
jumping up and down. He pointed to you and said, `who is he?' You should
have seen him, he was so cute. And when I took a closer look and noticed it
was you, I couldn't resist, it poured out of me." I contemplated what she
had just said. Why had he been so excited when he had seen me?

	"Emma, why was he excited when he saw me?" She looked like a deer
caught in the headlights. Smiling sheepishly, she turned her head to face
more directly as she sat directly in front of me.

	"It's not my place to say Angel. But knowing you, you've already
put together two and two." She had inadvertently confirmed my suspicions,
he was gay and he was after me. I groaned as I fell back against the wall.

	"Please tell me he has some kind of boyfriend or something. I don't
want to deal with him right now, I have plenty enough on my plate." She
chuckled but continued.

	"Honey, he's not a dater. Not a long-term dater or anything. So
don't worry." I smiled to myself before closing my eyes.

	"I thought you said you couldn't tell me if he was gay or not?" She
punched me, this time, in my arm before responding.

	"I didn't say he was gay now did I? You really oughtn't jump to
conclusions, you know." Oh I knew alright, knew real well.

	"Well, thanks for the heads up Emma. I'll watch myself. I'm going
to go to bed. Tomorrow's a big day for me." I stood up before giving her my
hand to get up. We walked up the stairs together before we stopped at the
top. She gave me a slight kiss on the cheek and I hugged her tight.

	"Sweet dreams, Angel. I will always love you."

	"You too Emma. Take care girl." I hugged her tight again before we
split and headed in opposite directions. Entering my room, I looked and
found my school stuff. Everything was in order, all I needed to do was get
my schedule the next morning. Another semester and I'd be out to college,
and hopefully, a better life.

	Chunking my shirt, I opened the door to my bathroom before quickly
washing my face and brushing. Returning, I dropped my pants and changed
into PJs. PJs are the best, soft and comfortable. Very warm. I decided to
leave the top off for now and instead used the comforter for warmth. I
prayed for my parents before closing my eyes.

	My eyes flew open about two minutes later realizing I had not set
the alarm. Some stroke of luck had somehow reminded me about it. Leaning
over, I set the alarm for 6:00 A.M. Nice and early, the best time for a
run. I wanted to go out for a jog before going to school. Jogs had always
refreshed me and prepared me for the long day ahead. Although the air here
would be more crisp, it'd actually probably be better since it would awaken
me faster.

	Returning to the warmth of my bed, I closed my eyes. Sleep slowly
came to me and I dreamed of pretty, fluffy, pink things floating in the
air. Actually, I didn't have any dreams, but I've always wondered what it'd
be like to dream of such innocent things. Who knows?

TBC: Chapter 4: Run-Ins

Author's Note:
     Hey guys, thanks for all your help in respect to the questions in my
last chapter. I've decided to continue with dual-set up since I received
pretty mixed feelings on this, slightly leaning toward the dual-set
up. However, from now on, I will begin the next chapter where I had left
off the old one. I realize you will not be able to get what the other boy
feels for the previous chapter, but that's what your imagination is for
(amuse me here). Actually, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure it out
yourself. Secondly, for the sex scenes, most likely, I will limit them to
the very beginnings of sex, maybe continue them if they're very important
to the story. Otherwise, most will be left for you to gesticulate. Sorry
about this, and if you're truly bothered, email me. Thirdly, I realize my
posting is slow. I'm sorry for this but I have only time on the weekends to
write and respond to your emails. I'm truly sorry for this, but this is as
fast as I can do them. I'm dying to know what you guys this about the two
boys, so please send me some feedback.

	If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me at:
dreemarz@yahoo.com