Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:49:53 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: A Different Road   Chapter 10

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


A Different Road Chapter 10


I woke up early the next morning. I had a lot of trouble getting a
peaceful sleep. I kept thinking about everything that had happened the
last few days. I cannot really explain it, but I do not think I was as
scared about the future.

Meeting Adrian had really changed my life. Before him, Brett had always
been my world. Charlie was right when she said I'd followed him around
like a loyal puppy for years. I could now see that that was true. I
don't think Brett saw me as a loyal follower, but he knew I was always
behind him. After speaking to his mother, I now realized he missed me
being there.

Now, I felt I might have a new chance; a chance to walk side by side with
someone. However, we both had so many problems. I was still messed up
over Brett, and Adrian was scared to death of his father. I really
didn't know if we even had a chance at a decent relationship. Even
though we were drawn to each other, there seemed to be a force pulling us
apart.

When I arrived at school, the halls were decked with in banners. We were
facing one of our toughest rivals tonight. The first thing I saw was a
poster with my name and number on it. I walked over and tore it off the
wall. It didn't deserve to be there with the other members of the team
since I wasn't playing in the game tonight.

"You should have left it up there." I heard Brett's deep voice behind
me. "I thought you said you were still on the team." I turned and
looked into his face. There was a haunting sadness behind his brown eyes.

"I am," My voice was trembling. This was the first time I had actually
tried to carry on a conversation with him. "But the coach says I can't
play tonight because I missed most of this week's practice." Both of us
found it hard to make eye contact.

"I see." He said sadly. I don't know why we were having difficulty
speaking to one another. Things had never been this awkward before.

"Good Luck." I said and then walked away. I heard him say a weak,
`Sure.' I never thought that there would ever be a day when I would
feel uncomfortable being around my best friend.

I went to my locker to get my books for first period. Charlie was stand
there with a grin on her face. It disappeared when she saw the sullen
look on mine.

"Uh, oh." She said. "You alright?" She walked over and wrapped her
arm around mine.

"Yeah." I replied. "Just not a good morning. I ran into Brett."

"You wanna go somewhere and talk?" She asked.

"No." I said. "I gotta quit freaking every time I see him. We've got
a whole year of school left, and I still have to play with him on the
field." I gathered my books and closed my locker.

"I'll catch you later." I turned and headed to class. Charlie rushed
off in the opposite direction.

As I was heading to class, I saw Tommy, our other wide receiver,
approaching me. He walked up angrily and stood in front of me blocking my
way. Students stopped walking and gathered around us.

"Singer." He said loudly. "How come you've let the team down?" He
shoved his finger in my chest trying to get me to respond. I stepped back
away from him. I was not looking for a fight.

"Biggest game of the year and your punk ass ain't even suiting up." He
shoved me backwards, again trying to get me to fight him. Some one from
behind shoved me back into him. When they did, he swung and connected to
the left side of my face. I briefly saw stars swirling in front of me.

"Tommy. I don't want to fight you." I took a step back, in case he
swung on me again.

"You don't have a choice, mother fucker." He swung again. This time I
was able to avoid his punch. Suddenly, I felt someone shove me to the
side and stand before Tommy. It was Adrian.

"Leave him alone." He said coldly. Everyone around us got deadly
silent. Tommy's eyes widened looking at Adrian. No one knew what to
expect since he had never interacted with another student before. I could
tell that Tommy didn't know what to do.

They stood staring into each other's eyes. It was a game of who would
break the stare first. I looked at Adrian and shuddered looking at the
steely stare he was giving Tommy. It was almost deadly. Tommy looked away
first and stepped back. He then looked over at me.

"This ain't over Singer." He said as he turned and walked away.

The other students began to disperse and head to class. Adrian grabbed my
arm and led me to the nearest restroom. Once inside he walked over, got
some paper towels, and wet them. He then came over to me and placed them
on the side of my face where Tommy had hit me. Not once had he said
anything.

I looked into the mirror and started laughing. The left side of my face
was turning red. Adrian's left side also had a slight bruise in almost
the exact same spot from the auto accident.

"We look like twins." I laughed. He didn't find anything funny about
the situation. He frowned and continued holding the cold towel to my
face. He looked over to the door to see if anyone was coming in, then he
gave me a quick kiss.

"You alright." He said with the same concerned look on his face.

"Yeah." I replied. "You really didn't have to step in. I can take
care of myself."

"Yeah." He said as he took the towel and threw it away.

"I gotta get to class." He turned and headed for the door. I quickly
grabbed his arm and turned him so he could face me.

"Thanks." I whispered as I leaned in and gave him a kiss, this time
only longer. Just then, the door opened and we pulled away quickly. I
looked over and saw Brett standing staring at us. His eyes dropped, as he
hung his head and left.

"Man." I leaned against the wall, slid to the ground, and put my head
in my hands. As long as I live, I don't think I'll forget the hurt look
on Brett's face. I know I shouldn't worry about it because of the way
he made me feel this past week, but Brett and I had once meant something
to each other.

I don't know how long I sat thinking about Brett. When I finally looked
up to see where Adrian was, I discovered that he had left without saying
anything. This made me feel even more depressed. Within the past few
minutes, I'd hurt two people I cared about.

I got up and walked to first period. I considered leaving school, but I
had already missed a few classes and my grades were beginning to be
affected by all the distractions. I tried to pay attention and take
notes, but I found myself doodling on my paper. When I looked down, I
realized what I had been writing.

I kept writing Adrian/Brett repeatedly. It was as if I was subconsciously
trying to decide between the two. One time I had circled Adrian's name,
and the next I had circled Brett's. I added up each time I had circled
their name.

Adrian- 9

Brett- 5

I couldn't even remember what I had been thinking each time I circled
their name. One thing was for sure, Adrian had definitely come out on
top. However, I didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing.

When I got to third period government class, Cindy was sitting in the
front, but Brett was not beside her. I took my seat and waited for him to
enter. He never showed up. This had to be the first time Brett had ever
missed a class, except for the time we were both sick.

I next went to calculus class, which I shared with Adrian. However, when
I entered, he wasn't sitting in the front as he had been the past few
days. I looked around and he was sitting in the back row with his head
down on the desk. I took my seat and tried to pay attention, but I could
feel his eyes boring into the back of my head. I turned around once and
he was staring sadly at me. He then put his head back down on the desk.

I couldn't understand how my life could be so screwed up. It was as if I
was riding on a roller coaster and it wouldn't stop. I just wanted to
get off and stand on solid ground, but it just kept going up and down.

When the bell rang, I tried to talk to Adrian, but he just brushed past
me without saying anything. I ran out into the hall and pushed him
against the wall.

"Adrian." I pleaded. "Please. We have to talk."

"Look, Corey." He said with tears in his eyes. "You still love him. I
can't compete against Brett." He pulled my fingers from his arm and
walked sadly down the hall. I saw Charlie walk up to him, grab his arm,
and walk with him. She turned around and gave me a questioning look.

I walked out to my car and drove away from school. I headed back to Kiser
Lake. I had to get my life back into perspective, and I needed some place
to do some real soul searching.

When I got out, I walked deep into the woods. I didn't want anyone to
find me this time. I decided I wasn't going to leave until I had made
some sense of my life. After walking about a half mile, I found a tall
oak tree. I don't know why, but I climbed up and found a fork in the
tree that made a suitable place to sit. It was almost like sitting on a
hammock.

I had to stop the roller coaster, but how to do that? I didn't even know
if I had the power to do it. I wasn't the only person involved. If it
were just me, I could handle it. However, Brett and now Adrian worked
into the equation. The problem was- I didn't really know if either of
them really wanted me.

I knew that Brett didn't want me as a lover, but the look on his face
when he saw me kissing Adrian made me wonder if he still had feelings for
me. Moreover, I could never have a chance with Adrian if I kept my heart
open for Brett to someday come back and reclaim it.

Adrian- 9

Brett- 5

What was I thinking when I circled Adrian's name nine times? I knew I
could really have a wonderful relationship with him, but Brett stood in
the way. In addition, what if I did choose Adrian and Brett wanted me
back. Did I have the will power to tell him no? One thing was for sure,
someone was going to get hurt no matter what decision I made, and I
didn't want to hurt either one.

I must have sat in that tree for an hour pondering my future. One thing
was clear, I didn't have any more of an idea what to do than when I'd
climbed up. However, I did feel good that I had given it some thought. I
guess the only thing I could do was wait and see what road I would be
going down. There was definitely a fork in the road, and I was standing
looking down two dark paths.

When I returned to my car, I suddenly stopped. Charlie was sitting in the
driver's seat asleep. I walked over and tapped on the window. She jumped
and looked out the window at me and then started frowning. I walked
around and got in the passenger's side.

"Would you fucking tell me what is going on inside that pea brain of
yours?" She shouted angrily. "I swear to God I'm going to break your
neck with my own hands if you don't stop hurting Adrian."

"I don't mean to hurt him." I sighed, put my head on the headrest, and
closed my eyes.

"Would you then please tell me why he's locked himself in a bedroom at
Uncle Cornelius's and refuses to come out?" She shouted. "Why the hell
did you two have to meet?"

"I'm sorry." I said softly.

"Sometimes saying you're sorry just isn't enough, Corey." She
replied. She held out her hands demanding my keys. I reached into my
pocket, took them out, and handed them to her.

"Where are we going?" I asked as she pulled out of the park.

"You're going to go talk to him." She said. "Either tell him you want
him or let him go. He can't take much more."

"But I don't know what I want." I said honestly.

"Then let him go." She looked over at me. "Quit stringing him along."
We drove in silence as we headed back into town. She kept looking over at
me.

"You need to get your shit together, Corey." She said as we pulled into
Cornelius's driveway. We got out of the car and walked inside. Cornelius
and John were sitting at the kitchen table. They looked up and gave me an
angry look. Charlie pointed to a closed door and walked into the kitchen.

I went to the door and knocked. "Adrian. It's Corey. Will you let me
in?"

I put my head to the door and listened but I couldn't hear anything. I
knocked softly again. "Please." I pleaded.

"Go away, Corey." I heard his shaky voice say from inside.

"Please, Adrian." I said softly. "I just want to talk." I sat down
outside the door and waited. About five minutes later I heard him unlock
the door. I stood and opened it and walked into a dark room. I saw him
lying on a bed across the room. I walked over and sat down beside him.

"When I met you, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you." I
started. "If we had met maybe two months later I wouldn't be going
through the shit I'm going through right now. I guess our timing sucks,
huh?" I laughed nervously.

"Yeah," He wiped tears away from his eyes with the pillowcase. "I
guess it does."

"I really am sorry." I rubbed his back gently. "I never wanted to hurt
you. It's just.."

"Brett." He finished the sentence.

He sat up and looked into my eyes. "Do I even have a chance?"

In that split second, I made my decision. I knew what the circles had
meant. I knew the road I was destined to take.

"Yes." I leaned in and kissed him. He responded by returning a
passionate kiss. I turned and lay atop him, kissing him deeply. I had
never felt as close to anyone as I did with Adrian at that moment. In all
the years that Brett and I had had sex, not once did I feel that I was
loved.

Adrian made me feel loved.

I rolled around on top of him and could feel his hard cock pressing
against my own. I pulled his tee shirt over his head and threw it on the
floor. I then began sucking his nipples as he squirmed beneath me. I
started licking down his chest, but first looked into his face for his
permission. He nodded and laid his head back on the pillow and moaned
softly as I continued nibbling at his soft stomach.

I sat up and unzipped his pants. His hard cock jump up awaiting escape. I
rubbed the head through his underwear as he moaned loudly. I looked at
him again for permission and he nodded. I pulled his pants and underwear
off him, leaving him naked before me. Even in the darkness, I could tell
he had a nice body. It wasn't muscular like Brett's, but he was solidly
built.

I looked into his eyes one last time and he nodded. I began stroking his
hard cock with my hand as I leaned in and gave him another kiss. He
moaned softly and squirmed under me. I moved between his outstretched
legs and began to lick the precum that had formed on the tip of his cock.
He shuddered as I began to suck his cock into my mouth.

"Oh God, Corey." He grabbed my head and held it tightly. I began to
deep throat him and could feel the head of his cock growing larger. I
knew he was getting ready to cum.

"Corey!" He screamed as he began to shoot his warm cum down my throat.
I thought I was going to gag with the volume of cum that was going down
into my stomach. I don't think he'd had an orgasm in a while. I gulped
quickly as he filled my mouth. Soon he began to subside as his cock
started to soften in my mouth. I pulled off, moved back on top of him,
leaned in, and gave him another deep kiss.

I rolled off and lay beside him gently rubbing his chest as his breathing
became more regular. I played with the small beads of sweat that had
formed. He was lying back with his eyes closed.

After a few minutes, he rolled over and rested on the elbow that was
still in a cast. He winced slightly from the pain. With his other hand,
he pushed me over on my back. He reached down and unzipped my pants.
Realizing he was having difficulty, I lifted up and pulled my pants and
underwear down to my knees.

He reached out and gently began stroking my cock. He started out slowly
and then sped up the movement when I began to fuck his hand. Soon, I
could feel my balls tighten and knew I was approaching an orgasm.

"I'm going to cum." I whispered in his ear. He leaned over and watched
as I started spewing cum on my stomach. He continued stroking me until
the last drop had dripped out of my cock. He leaned down and grabbed his
underwear and began to clean my cum off me.

When he was finished, he leaned in and gave me another deep kiss. We made
out for several minutes without saying anything. I reached out and could
feel that he was hard again. I started stroking him rapidly and within
minutes he filled my hand with warm cum. I took his underwear and wiped
it off.

"I really like you, Adrian." I said as I kissed him again gently.

"I know you do, Corey." He returned the kiss. "I think I'm in love
with you."

"You know I can't say it yet." I said sadly. He leaned in and gave me
another kiss.

"I know." He smiled. "I can wait."

We got up and I turned on the light on the dresser. For the first time I
got a good look at Adrian's naked body. He looked great. I could tell he
was satisfied with my body because he wouldn't stop staring at me. We
started getting dressed. I laughed when he held up his cum stained briefs
and threw them under the bed. He then put on his pants and shirt. After
dressing, we walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen holding
hands.

Charlie took one look at us and started dancing around the kitchen.

"Oh my God! You did it!" She kept screaming as she bounced around.
"You did it!"

Both our faces began to redden.

Cornelius and John sat at the table and smiled. John got up, walked over
to the refrigerator, and pulled out a few sodas. He handed Adrian and me
one.

"I guess this calls for a celebration." He said as he lifted his can
into the air.

"Here, Here." Cornelius shouted as he lifted his coffee cup. We clanged
our drinks together and began drinking. Adrian leaned in and gave me a
kiss. Everyone started applauding.

John made another wonderful meal. I could see why Cornelius was so large.
If I ate like this everyday, I surely wouldn't have the body I now have.
When we were done, we went into the den to watch a little television. I
looked at the clock and noticed it was just a little past seven.

"I have to go." I said as I took Adrian's hand and squeezed it. "The
game starts at 8:00 and I really should be there." I felt really guilty
by not playing. We were facing our biggest rival of the year and if they
beat us, our hopes for a state tournament would be almost over.

"Can I go with you?" Adrian asked sheepishly. I knew he probably had
never attended a sporting event in his life.

"Of course," I smiled. "I would have asked, but I didn't think you'd
go."

"Can I go!" Charlie screamed. "Hot pretzels!" Everyone started
laughing. I stood and took Adrian's hand and Charlie's and helped them
to their feet. We hugged Cornelius and John and then headed out to the
game. Charlie called shotgun, but Adrian drug her out of the car and sat
beside me. Charlie didn't say a word all the way to the stadium.

There was a large crowd already sitting when we got there. Many people,
especially alumni, stopped me and asked why I wasn't playing tonight. I
just told them I had an injury and it hadn't healed yet. I assured them
I'd be back in the game next week.

We sat in the fifth row behind our team. Several times I saw Brett
scanning the crowd. I saw him wave once and looked and saw Cindy standing
on the sideline in her cheerleading uniform.. I figured that was who he
was looking for until he continued looking up into the stands.

He saw me and stopped. Even from such a far distance, our eyes met and we
stared at one another. He saw Adrian and Charlie sitting by my side. He
cast his eyes down, walked over, and sat on the bench with his hands in
his head. A few of the team members approached him, but he didn't seem
to have much to say.

"I'll be back." Charlie said. "I need a hot pretzel. Anyone want
anything?" Adrian and I shook our heads.

Charlie returned about fifteen minutes later with another girl. She was a
very pretty and her hair was cut extremely short. She had a ring piercing
in her left nostril and several more piercings in her ears. Fortunately,
her hair was dark brown, not orange or some other wild color.

"I'm back." She sat down and the other girl sat beside her.

"Julie," She pointed to me. "This Adonis is my good friend, Corey. The
hunk beside him is his boyfriend, Adrian. Adrian is my cousin and best
friend."

"Julie?" I questioned her. It suddenly dawned on me that this was the
girl whom Charlie had previously dated.

"I told you about her." She cast me a cautious glance.

"Oh yes. The famous Julie." I laughed. "The one who owns Charlie's
heart." Charlie began to blush. I loved it when I could embarrass the
impenetrable Charlie.

The game began. On the first play, Brett dropped the ball on the handoff
and the other team recovered it. Minutes later they scored a touchdown.

The rest of the night continued like the first play. It seems like Brett
fumbled every handoff and three times threw the ball into the arms of the
opposing team. He kept looking up into the stands at me. Guilt
overwhelmed me. If I had been down there he wouldn't be playing this
poorly. At halftime the score was 34-3.

Charlie and Julie disappeared during halftime. They said they were going
to the restroom, but they never returned. I was worried about her, but I
knew that she was safe with Julie. They had dated for several months. It
wasn't as if she was leaving with a stranger.

When the team returned to the field after halftime, Brett was not with
them. Joseph, our second sting quarter back played the second half. We
were crucified. He played worse than Brett had the first half. The final
score was 48-10. We had managed to score only one touchdown the entire
game. It only came when the opposing team fumbled a ball and our
defensive lineman picked it up and ran in for a touchdown.

As we were leaving, many people stopped me and said that we would not
have lost if I had been in the game. Again, it made me feel extremely
guilty. I should have been down on the field. It appeared that our
chances for a state title were gone. Brett and I had dreamed about it for
so long.

As Adrian and I were heading to our car, Mrs. Weaver walked over and
grabbed me by my arm. She spun me around and I stood staring into her
angry face. She glanced over and noticed Adrian standing beside me.

"Thanks, Corey." She said angrily. "Thanks a lot." She gave me a
disgusted looked and walked away to her car.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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