Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 11:35:56 -0800 (PST)
From: Ryan West <ryanwest25@yahoo.com>
Subject: Diving In/Floating Away 7

	Cameron Wright arrived extra-early to school on Thursday morning.
He didn't want to miss out on talking to James and hearing about what had
happened with his parents. He had a smile on his face as he closed the door
to his car. His car was the third one in the parking lot.
	However, Cameron had underestimated the fact that James would not
be in just as early. So, Cameron first visited all of his teachers and
collected the work from the day before, which he had missed, and then for
the next twenty minutes Cameron took a nap outside his locker. He was
awoken by a slap in the head. He looked up and saw Alexis grinning above
him.
	"What are you doing here so early?" Alex asked.
	"I don't know," Cameron lied. "Just thought I'd get an early
start..."
	"And where were you yesterday?" She interrupted.
	"Long story," Cameron explained.
	"Missing two days this week...that's not like you..." Alex
smiled. "Your becoming pretty bad ass."
	"Shut up, I was sick" Cameron smirked. "Plus, I got all the work
done for my classes anyway, so it's not like I missed anything."
	"Whatever you say..." Alex sighed. "But when you fail out of high
school, don't get mad when I say I told you so."
	"I hate you," Cameron rolled his eyes. "How was school without me?"
	"It was lame, obviously," She said. "Nothing exciting...except, you
heard about Travis right?"
	"No, why? What happened?" He asked concerned.
	"Don't you guys talk? I thought you were best friends?" She
inquired.
	"We do...just not as much recently," He explained. "Just cause
like, he's been busy with Marissa, and I can't really tell him much about
my life, because he doesn't...you know...know anything about me being.."
	"Oh, right." She nodded. "Anyway...Marissa moved to live with her
Dad the other night. And now Travis is moping around not talking to
anyone."
	"Really?" He was surprised. "I never thought I'd ever see Travis
mope...ever."
	"I know, right?" She laughed. "I tried talking to him, but he
basically told me to fuck off...so...yeah, I'm not planning on doing that
again anytime soon."
	"I'll talk to him." Cameron thought for a moment.
	"Yeah, I think that's a..." Alexis began to talk but suddenly
Cameron's eyes lit up and he hopped up from the ground and walked
away. "...good idea..."
	Cameron had spotted James Winters walking down the hallway, and he
couldn't even continue listening to what Alexis was saying. He quickly
walked towards James, just as James had arrived at his locker.
	"James!" Cameron called just as James was entering the
combination. He turned around and smiled at Cameron.
	"Hey, what's up?" James asked.
	"Nothing really, I'm glad to see you're looking better," He leaned
against the locker next to James'. "How did it all go?"
	"Um...it went well. I guess." James said as he gathered books from
his locker. "They didn't kick me out or anything. Which is always good. But
I have to see a shrink once a week."
	"That's weird," Cameron nodded. "But at least things went well,
what was there reaction when you came home?"
	"Um...wait, this isn't the best place to talk about this," James
realized that he couldn't explain everything in the middle of the
hallway. "What are you doing after school?"
	"I have practice till five, but after that I'm free," Cameron said.
	"All right, I'll pick you up from practice?" James offered.
	"Yeah sure," Cameron blushed. For once, things were working out and
Cameron had butterflies in his stomach.

...

	Cameron soon left, and James was continuing to load/unload his
backpack. He took out his planner, and looked at his assignments. He was
already behind in work just from missing the day before. He rolled his
eyes, and felt a little overwhelmed.
	"James," A voice called. This is the second time someone had called
to him in he past five minutes. He spun around to see a disheveled Devon
standing behind him.
	With everything that had been going on, James had nearly forgotten
about Devon. He hadn't even thought up anything to say to him. Part of him
was extremely pissed that Devon had run away after his mom walked in on
them. He hadn't even called later to check on James. But part of him knew
that Devon was freaking out himself.
	"Hey," James nodded.
	"James, what happened?" Devon whispered. "You didn't call me back
yesterday. Did your parents go ballistic?"
	"No, it's fine," James said. He was still pissed at Devon, so he
didn't want to tell him everything.
	"Are they going to call my parents or anything?" Devon asked
nervously.
	"No," James shook his head.
	"Oh my god, thank god!" Devon laughed a sigh of relief. " I was
freaking out all of yesterday! I was so paranoid every time I spoke to my
Dad that he knew and everything! Oh man!"
	"No, you're good," James closed his locker and started to walk
away. Devon looked confused and followed after him.
	"Wait...are you mad at me or something?" Devon asked.
	"We'll talk later," James muttered as he walked away.

...

	Travis McCarthy looked down at his phone. Still nothing. He put the
phone back in his pocket and banged the back of his head against his
locker. He closed his eyes and imagined Marissa.
	She hadn't called him since she had gone away. To be fair, Travis
had told her to Ôfuck off' at the airport, but he hadn't meant it. He just
wanted to know what she was doing, who she was meeting at her new school,
how she was adjusting. Everything. But no phone call.
	It had been her decision to break it off. It was extremely unfair,
and Travis hated it, but he also wasn't going to be the one to concede at
call her. No, he couldn't do that. It was all bullshit.
	He hadn't gone to any of his classes today. He went to them
yesterday but he hadn't paid attention to a thing any of the teachers were
saying, so he didn't really see a point. He smoked a little bit in the
morning, and now he was hungry. Luckily it was lunchtime. So, Travis, still
clutching his phone, got up from the hallway and ducked into the cafeteria.
	There was a lot of energy and commotion, and for a very stoned
Travis, that was too much to handle. He took a while to get to the line,
stumbling over a couple chairs and then he spent a couple minutes staring
at the vending machines. Finally he got to the front of the line and
grabbed a sandwich and a fountain soda and the bolted from the cafeteria.
	As he left, he felt a hand grab his arm. He slapped it off
instinctively, then realized it was Cameron.
	"Hey man," Travis grinned. "What's up?"
	"What is your problem?" Cameron asked. "You weren't in Math. What
are you doing?"
	"Nothing man," Travis' grin faded. "Don't worry, I'm good."
	"Travis..." Cameron started. "Look, I know your upset about Marissa
and everything, but you can't do this..."
	"Oh fuck off man," Travis rolled his eyes and laughed a little
bit. "You honestly, don't know what it's like. You've never even had a
girlfriend."
	"That's true..." Cameron blushed. "But still...look, I just want
you to know that, if you want to talk to someone about everything..."
	"Maybe," Travis sighed. "What are you doing after school?"
	"Oh...I can't today," Cameron shook his head. "But I can tomorrow."
	"Yeah, sure whatever," Travis pushed past him.
	As Travis left, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his
phone. He checked it, and it still had no missed calls.

...

	James left his sixth period class and headed down the hallway. He
was feeling a little bit better about everything, now that things were
going back to normal. He was happy to go back to his schedule.
	Suddenly, as he was walking past the east side stairwell, an arm
grabbed him and pulled him into it. He came face to face with Devon. This
was the stairwell they usually met at between third and fourth periods.
	"What are you doing?" James grabbed Devon's hands off of him.
	"What am I doing? What are you doing?!" Devon snapped. "You've been
avoiding me all day. You were an asshole this morning. And you didn't meet
at our usual spot today! What's going on?"
	"Nothing...look..." James thought for a moment. He looked at his
watch. He was going to be late to his next class anyway, so he decided to
talk to Devon now. "Can we go outside?"
	"Okay." Devon nodded.
	They walked down the stairs and exited the building. They walked
past the baseball field and towards the football field bleachers. No one
was there. They didn't speak as they walked up to the top bleacher and sat
down. It took a moment for either of them to say anything.
	"Are you breaking up with me?" Devon finally asked.
	"No," James said at first. "Maybe...I don't know, honestly."
	"Why?" Devon asked. "I mean, I don't get it. I really thought
things were going well..."
	"They were going well," James agreed.
	"Okay...then what?" Devon was confused.
	"I don't know," James thought for a moment. "I mean I'm pretty
upset with you for not seeing if I was okay the other night..."
	"Wel...I'm sorry then..." Devon managed to get out. "I was freaking
out too. I wasn't thinking..."
	"It's not just that though..." James wasn't sure what it was
exactly. "I just...I just don't know if me and you are good together."
	"What?" Devon was taken aback. "James, what are you talking about?
I don't get how we're not good together. You just said yourself, things are
going well. We get along well, the sex is good...I thought everything was
going great."
	"They are, look, I just..." James thought for a second. "I need
time to think about everything. A lot is going to be going on at home now,
and..."
	"Okay..." Devon hesitated for a moment. He honestly felt that James
wanted to break up for some other reason, but was using all these things as
an excuse. "So...I guess, we're broken up then."
	"Look, I don't want to end on bad terms..." James started.
	"Yeah, sure, whatever," Devon got up and walked down the
bleachers. James felt that he should chase after him, but he knew that he
had done the right thing.

...

 	Alexis Lucas had called her old job at The Downtown music club/bar
and they told her to come in speak with the boss after school. She could
probably get her old job back and work everyday after school. She needed
some source of income, seeing how her parents weren't planning on giving
her money to go out. Besides covering rent, they literally gave her no
other money, however her Dad would send her a little bit every month, now
that her parents had separated.
	She closed her locker, then walked down the hallway and out of
school. Once outside she started walking to her car. However, before she
got to the parking lot, she saw Travis sitting on the school steps playing
with a lighter. She rolled her eyes then kept walking before he called her
name.
	"Alex!" Travis shouted. He jogged up next to her.
	"What?" Alexis was surprised he had even acknowledged her.
	"Hey," Travis said as he caught up to her.
	"Are you feeling better?" Alexis asked.
	"Want to smoke?" Travis asked, completely ignoring her question.
	"What?" Alex asked.
	"C'mon, I don't feel like smoking alone again," Travis
sighed. "Just go with me and smoke."
	"I can't I..." Alex started to protest, but she then realized that
her boss wouldn't get there until five, and it really wouldn't matter what
state she spoke to him in, he would take her back because she was
hot. "Fine."
	"Really?" Travis smiled. "All right sweet. Let me just grab my
bag..."
	Travis ran over to the stairs where he had been sitting, and
grabbed his backpack. He swung it over his shoulder and caught up to Alex.
	"Where do you want to smoke?" Alexis asked.
	"I have a place," Travis had already started walking.
	They finally arrived at a small area covered by trees behind the
school. This was where Travis and Marissa used to smoke.
	Travis reached into his pocket and pulled out a pre-rolled
joint. He then flipped open his lighter. He took a hit, and then passed it
to Alex. She coughed a little bit- it had been a while since she smoked.
	"So, how are you doing with everything?" Alexis asked after she
stopped coughing.
	Travis didn't respond. He took another hit and then passed it back
to Alex. They continued smoking in complete silence until the blunt was
finished. Travis threw the remnants on the ground, grabbed his bag, turned
to Alex said "Thanks," then left.

...

	Cameron got to practice right on time. He was hoping that the
practice would be quick and easy, so that he wouldn't be too tired for when
he hung out with James. He got to the locker room and opened his locker. He
took off his shirt and threw it into the locker. Then he slipped off his
jeans.
       Looking around the locker room, it was hard to keep his eyes to
himself. All of the guys on the team were stripping around him, and most of
them had great bodies.  He got a strange rush as he slipped off his boxers
and stood completely naked in the locker room. He reached into his locker
and pulled out a pair of blue Speedos. He slipped them on.
      He walked over to a mirror that hung on the wall near the showers. He
pretended to be fixing his Speedo, but actually was looking at his own
body. He really had tightened his body up over the past couple weeks. His
arms were getting bigger and he was starting to show the slight beginnings
of a six pack. He smiled at himself, then walked back to his locker.
      When he got back at his locker, Devon was there, shirtless, and
getting changed into his swimming gear. Cameron approached him.
      "Hey Devon," He smiled.
      "Hey," Devon was not as chipper.
      "Sorry about not being at practice yesterday, I wasn't feeling so
good," Cameron lied.
      "Yeah, right," Devon nodded. "It's cool."
      Cameron suddenly felt nervous. Had James mentioned to Devon that they
had spent the day together? He said he wouldn't when they were at the lake,
but who knows. Devon said nothing more as he changed into his Speedos and
went out to the pool.
      The coach reminded them at the beginning of practice that the next
weekend they were going to have their first swim meet upstate, and that
they would have to sleep over. Cameron had completely forgotten about that,
and hadn't looked at the schedule.
	They then split off into their separate lanes and began doing the
typical Thursday practice- ten laps, then a rest, then laps then a rest,
etc. and then ab work outs.  After Cameron's ten laps he panted heavily at
the deep end of the pool, leaning against the wall. Devon soon swam up next
to him, finishing his ten laps. Neither of them spoke for a moment,
catching their breath.
	"Me and James broke up," Devon bluntly stated.
	"What?" Cameron felt his heart beat even faster than it was
already.
	"Yeah," Devon didn't repeat himself. "He didn't really give a
reason, just a bunch of bullshit. He said Ôwe weren't good together' which
is complete crap."
	"Oh man, I'm sorry, Devon," Cameron half-lied.
	"It's fine," Devon wiped water off his face. "I just kind of wish I
had gotten a straight answer from him, you know? I mean, he was my first
boyfriend. My first everything. And he just, like, did that with no
explanation."
	"Wow, yeah..." Cameron started to feel guilty. "I'm really sorry."
	"Don't be sorry," Devon forced a smile. "It's not like you did
anything."
	"Yeah, right..." Cameron blushed.

...

	James left his house at five o'clock exactly. He wanted to get out
of the house as fast as possible.  Everything was extremely awkward with
his parents, especially because neither of them were addressing
anything. James actually would've preferred if they were yelling and
screaming. But no, they were just being polite and pretending that there
was no situation. He knew that on the inside they were terrified.
	He had told them that he was going to the gym to work out, so he
would only be able to spend around two hours at Cameron's at most. But he
was looking forward to it. The day before where he and Cameron had gone to
the lake had made him feel so much better about his situation.
	On the way over, James couldn't help but think about his break up
with Devon. It had all happened so quickly. One minute they were perfectly
happy, and the next they were over. There was no denying the fact that
James' feelings for Cameron had been a major contributor in his decision to
break up with Devon. Ever since James had seen Cameron the first day of
school, he knew that it would not be easy suppressing those feelings.
	The summer with Devon had been a lot of fun. That's exactly what
Devon was- a lot of fun. He always made James laugh and was always upfront
and honest about how he was feeling. He never beat around the bush. There
we so many qualities that James was going to miss.

...

	Cameron did a final inspection of his room. Everything looked neat
and tidy. He looked at himself in the mirror. Still sporting the same
clothes he wore to school, he had combed his hair a little bit, but didn't
want to look like he tried too much. He looked good though, which made him
feel confident.
	James had texted him and said he was on his way over. Cameron
wanted to make sure everything was perfect by the time he had arrived. As
Cameron was checking under his bed to make sure it was clean, Laura Wright
appeared in the doorway.
	"What are you doing?" Laura asked.
	"What?" Cameron turned around and looked at her. "Oh, sorry, I just
was...forget it. Did you just get home?"
	"Yeah," Laura nodded. "Sorry I wasn't around to make you breakfast
this morning, we had to work on a new ad campaign."
	"It's alright, don't even worry about it," He shrugged. "Oh, James
is coming over to hang out for a bit."
	"Oh, really?" Laura smiled. "He seems very sweet. It's good to see
you're making some more friends."
	"Yeah..." Cameron nodded.
	"All right, I'm going to go take a bath," Laura waved.
	Cameron waved back, then sat down on his bed. He was anxious. His
stomach was filled with an absurd amount of butterflies. He waited for a
few more minutes until his phone finally rang.
	"Hello?" Cameron answered, doing his best to sound nonchalant.
	"Hey, I'm outside," James said into the other line.
	"Okay, I'll be right down," Cameron hung up the phone.
      He sat up in his bed, did one more quick inspection around the room,
then looked himself over in the mirror one more time before leaving his
room and going downstairs. He took a deep breath before opening the
door. James was standing there smirking back at him.
	"Hey," James smiled.
	"Hey," Cameron blushed back.
	"I have to be back in like two hours," James explained. "I told my
parents I was going to the gym."
	"That's fine," Cameron nodded then lead the way up the stairs.
	Once in Cameron's room, there was an awkward moment deciding where
to sit. Cameron took a seat on the edge of the bed, while James deliberated
for a moment. Eventually he sat on the floor, leaning against the end of
the bed, next to Cameron. This made for an uncomfortable angle for
conversation. This was not planning out as Cameron had expected. Cameorn
hopped down to sit on the floor next to James.
	"So...hows everything at home?" Cameron asked.
	"It's awkward," James laughed. "I mean they didn't kick me out of
the house which is...good. I don't know. It's just very stressful."
	"I can imagine, "Cameron nodded.
	"It's weird," James said. "For all my life, home has been the place
to go to when all my problems were coming down on me and now...I don't
know, I don't really feel safe at home. Not like my parents are going to,
like, kill me or anything. It just doesn't feel...comfortable."
	"I'm sure it will though," Cameron replied. "It's literally only
been a day, James, I feel like things will calm down soon enough."
	"Yeah," He agreed. "I also kind of broke up with Devon..."
	"I heard," Cameron admitted.
	"From Devon?" James asked, but then realized it obviously had to
have been from Devon. No one else knew. "What did he say?"
	"Just that you broke up, and he didn't really know why," Cameron
said. "...why did you break up with him?"
	"I don't know," James blushed a little bit. "A lot of things, just
kind of added up."
	"Oh," Cameron looked down, slightly disappointed. For some reason,
he had hoped that James would turn to him and say Ô you're the reason I
broke it off with Devon!' then kiss him.
	Cameron looked back up and James was looking at him, studying his
expression. Their eyes met. Their lips were inches away from each
other. Cameron felt his heart spinning. He wanted James to lean in and
plant his lips over Cameron's and kiss him passionately. But he
didn't. Breaking their moment, James turned and looked at Cameron's T.V.
	"You have Nintendo 64?!" James exclaimed. "I haven't seen this in
years. My mom threw mine away!"
	"Yeah, it's the only system I have," Cameron laughed.
	"Do you have Mario Kart?" James asked.
	"Yeah," Cameron leaned forward and pulled the game out of a
drawer. "You want to play?"
	"Yeah!" James lit up.
	As Cameron put in the game and they began playing "Versus" mode, he
couldn't help but wonder why James hadn't kissed him. He was single now. He
was asking to hang out with Cameron, coming over to his house. For the
first time in their friendship, they were both available and
interested. Were they both interested? Cameron began to doubt it. Maybe
James honestly just wanted to be friends.
	The continued playing for a while, switching things up by playing
Battle and Mario GP. Cameron actually was beginning to realize that he'd
want James in his life no matter what.
	"Damn, you're good," Cameron laughed as James beat him again in
Versus.
	"What can I say?" James smiled.
	"It's embarrassing because I own the game," Cameron joked.
	"Yeah, you really need to practice up," James smirked.
	They both didn't say anything for a moment.
	"Well, I should probably get going," James finally said standing
up. "My parents are probably going to be a little cautious about how much
time I'm spending at Ôthe gym'."
	"Yeah, right," Cameron said as he stood up to meet James.
	"But, um, I probably won't be allowed out this weekend, just
becau-" Before James could finish speaking, Cameron grabbed James and
kissed him. His hands were placed along James' jaw line. Suddenly Cameron
pulled back.
	"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Cameron immediately apologized. "I don't
know why I di-" Before Cameron could complete his thought, James grabbed
Cameron and kissed him back.
	James pulled Cameron's body closer and wrapped his arms around
Cameron's back. Cameron placed his right hand on James' hip and his left
one on James' bicep. Cameron felt a tingling sensation all over his
body. James broke the kiss for a moment to remove his shirt. He then moved
in to kiss Cameron again, when Cameron stopped him.
	"Wait.," Cameron said. "Let me lock the door."
	James laughed as Cameron locked the door then turned back towards
him. He looked at James' chest and couldn't control himself. He quickly
rushed towards James and began kissing him some more.
	Soon Cameron pushed James onto the bed. He took off his own shirt
and James just smiled at him. He crawled on top of James so that Cameron
was lying in between James leg's, with their crotches aligned. James was
wearing mesh lacrosse shorts that left little to the imagination. Cameron
could feel James' hard cock rubbing against his own through his
jeans. Suddenly James pushed himself off Cameorn and stood up.
	"Wait...we can't do this," James said as he grabbed his shirt off
the floor and through it on over his head.
	"Why?" Cameron felt slightly embarrassed.
	"No, I mean...we can do this, but not now," James laughed. "My
parents are going to be wondering where I am."
	"Oh, right," Cameron laughed.
	"Yeah," James smiled. "But...um...I do want to do...this again."
	"Me too," Cameron blushed.
	"This weekends going to be tough for me," James admitted. "I think
my parents aren't going to let me leave the house."
	"Yeah," Cameron agreed.
	"But, we can figure something out," James smirked.
	James turned around and unlocked the door, then opened it. He
started to leave, but then remembered something.
	"Oh, and Cameron?" He turned around.
	"Yeah?" Cameron asked.
	"If we could keep this...whatever it is... a secret for a while, I
think that'd be for the best," James said.
	"Well, I wasn't planning on telling anyone..." Cameron laughed.
	"No, I meant from Devon," James explained.
	"Oh, right," Cameron understood. "Yeah, I think that's a good
idea. Things would probably get awkward at practices and stuff."
	"Yeah exactly," James said. "Also, we only broke up today..."
	"That's true," Cameron smiled.
      After James left, Cameron couldn't control himself and had to jerk
off. He thought about the kiss, their bodies rubbing up against each other,
and just the idea that he was kind of dating James.

...

	The next day, for the first time in months, Cameron was extremely
excited to go to school. He wanted to see James, he wanted to kiss him, he
wanted to do everything with him. However, he was going to have to somehow
control himself. Somehow.
	The first thing Cameron did was stop at James' locker to check if
he was there. He waited there for about ten minutes. He just wanted to say
hi and see him, but James was nowhere to be found. Cameron felt sort of
embarrassed. Maybe he was taking the relationship too seriously. I mean,
James hadn't said anything about them dating. They had hooked up. That's
all. Now Cameron felt like a stalker.
	Cameron walked back to his locker with his head held low. However,
as soon as he arrived at his locker he saw James waiting for him.
	"Hey," James smiled. "Sorry if this is super creepy, me waiting for
you by your locker, but I just wanted to say hi."
	"No! Not at all!" Cameron laughed.
	"So, I spoke to my parents last night, and it looks like I can't go
out tonight," James said sadly. "But I think next weekend they'll be a lot
better."
	"Okay great," Cameron nodded as he entered the combination to his
locker in and opened it. "Wait, shit, I'm not going to be here next
weekend. I have my first swim meet upstate..."
	"Damn it," James frowned. "Well, it looks like this is going to be
much more challenging than we thought."
	"Well, you could always say you were going to the gym or
something," Cameron suggested.
	"I think they were really suspicious last night, I don't know if it
will work again," James admitted.
	"We'll figure something out," Cameron said hopefully.
	"Yeah, right," James agreed.

...

	Alexis Lucas arrived at her first period English class to be
surprised by Travis. Well, he hadn't done anything to surprise her, except
merely appearing. He hadn't been to class all week, and even before Marissa
left he rarely ever showed up. Alexis set her books down in the front of
the class.
	She glanced back at him, but he avoided her eye contact. He was
looking out the window. Alexis rolled her eyes then reached into her
backpack and pulled out her notebook. She opened up to the last page of
notes she had taken and sat prepared for class.
	A few moments later, Mr. Thompson walked in the room and landed his
briefcase on the desk. He opened it up and began to gather himself. The
students in the class continued to talk while Mr. Thompson prepared
himself.
	In the back of the class room, Darcy Granger and Meghan O'Halloran
laughed amongst themselves. Things had been extremely awkward ever since
they ditched Alex. They literally pretended like they didn't know her at
all. Which sucked, not because Alex actually cared about their friendship,
but because Cameron was her only friend.
	Luckily, yesterday Alex had gotten her job back at The Downtown,
which would mean that she would be able to distract herself, and possibly
finally meet some new guys.
	Mr. Thompson began to teach the class. He was discussing Macbeth
and the lineage of family in the story.
	"Well, if you look at the character of Banquo, you can see
that...excuse me, Mr. McCarthy what is that in your hand?" Mr. Thompson
snapped, interrupting his own lesson. All eyes darted to the back of the
classroom. Travis was clearly holding his cell phone in his hand.
	"Uh..." Travis was at a loss for words.
	"Bring it up here," Mr. Thompson rolled his eyes. Travis came to
the front of the class room and placed the phone on his desk. "Okay, you
know the rules, no cell phones in class. The Three Day rule
applies. So...you can get it back after the weekend."
	"After the weekend?" Travis exclaimed. "No, I need it this
weekend."
	"I'm sorry, Mr. McCarthy," Mr. Thompson said. "But those are the
rules."
	Travis started to protest, but gave up. Alex could see his physical
demeanor change and she felt extremely bad for Travis.
	Mr. Thompson put the phone in his desk drawer, locked it, then
continued teaching the lesson.

...

	James had permission to leave school early that day, but only by an
hour. The only appointment the psychiatrist could make was at 3:00, and the
office was about half an hour away. So, James left school at 2:15 and
arrived at the office at 2:45. He would have to be in the waiting room for
another fifteen minutes.
	During those fifteen minutes, James contemplated what the session
would be like. He had never seen a shrink before, although he had thought
about it. However, who knew how this person would judge him. They might
tell him that being gay is wrong and that he has to stop immediately. That
sounds like the type of person his parents would send him to.
	However, at 3:00 when the shrink opened the door, James was
pleasantly surprised. She was about forty with curly red hair and a big
smile. She seemed rather inviting.
	"James?" She smiled.
	"Yes," James stood up and offered his hand. She accepted.
	"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Dr. Keller," She said. "Come on
in."
	There were multiple offices in this center. It seemed that she
wasn't the only psychiatrist working there. She stopped at an office at the
end of the hallway and opened the door. There was a large "L" shaped couch
at one end, and then a chair at the other. James took a seat on the couch.
	"Well, how is everything with you?" She said as if they had met
before.
	"Um, it's good," James smiled. He was somewhat hesitant to open up
to this woman.
	"Good," She smiled. "So, I don't know if your parents told you, but
I specialize in Gender and Sexuality Issues."
	"Right," James nodded.
	"And I spoke briefly to your parents on the phone," She
continued. "And they said that you're sexually confused."
	"Well, I'm not sexually confused. I'm gay." James said.
	"All right," She nodded.
	"It's kind of weird saying that out loud," He laughed.
	"Well, have you ever been with another boy?" She inquired.
	"Yes, uh, several actually," James admitted.
	"And you enjoy it?" She asked.
	"Yes," He blushed.
	"And have you ever been with a girl before?" She asked.
	"Yes," James suddenly remembered when he had sex with Meghan
O'Halloran last year at Kevin's house party. It was weird to think about
how much had changed since then.
	"And you don't like that?" She asked.
	"Nope, not at all," He shook his head.
	"Okay, well," She made a little note on her yellow notepad. "Let's
get into talking about your past relationships."
	"Well, um, where should I start?" James asked.
	"The beginning," She leaned forward.
	"Okay, well," James thought about where he should begin. "I guess I
always knew about...it. Kind of just something that was always in the back
of my mind, but I ignored it. And I dated a few girls around school
freshman and sophomore year, just to try and pretend I guess. It was all
confusing. But then, last year...I, uh, started hooking up with...my
English teacher."
	"Really?" She asked. "How old was he?"
	"Thirty something," James blushed.
	"You know, he could get in serious trouble for that," She said. "If
you wanted him to, of course."
	"I know, and I don't..." James nodded. "It wasn't anything beyond a
sexual relationship."
	"Did you have sex with him?" She asked.
	"Yes," James lowered his head. This couldn't get any more awkward.
	"Did you give or receive?" She asked. Okay, maybe it could.
	"Received," James' face was beat red.
	"Okay, continue," She wrote a little down on her note pad.
	"Okay, well, I ended things with Mr. Reilly, that's his name,
because...uh...well, because I met this guy Cameron," James felt comforted
about the idea of Cameron.
	"How did you meet?" She asked.
	"It's, uh, it's a long story," James said. "Basically, a kid got
hit by a car and died, and me and Cameron had to help him."
	"Okay..." She said, a little shocked.
	"Anyway, I met Cameron, and then things got confusing," James
said. "Because he was already dating some guy, Matt, who went to our
school. So, I started hooking up with this guy on the lacrosse team, Max."
	"And he was gay also?" She asked. Her notepad was rapidly filling
up.
	"Yes," James nodded. "Maybe. He might've just been super horny."
	"And did you have sex with him?" She asked.
	"Yes," James nodded. This was getting easier. "And I only
received. Okay, so all along I had feelings for Cameron, but I was having
sex with Max. And I finally told Cameron how I felt, but he told me he
wanted to be with Matt. Then, I found out that Max actually had been the
one who killed that boy with his car..."
	"What?!" She exclaimed. "Wow, that's...wow,"
	"Yeah, I know," James smiled. She was getting invested in his life,
without judging him. "He's actually waiting for trial right now, so we'll
see how that turns out. Anyway, Max went away, and then I met Devon. He's a
sophomore in high school, and he's just like I was. We hit it off really
well."
	"Did you-" She started to ask, but James knew it was coming.
	"Yes, " He said. "And I was on top. Anyway, we were going really
well over the summer. He's a lot of fun, and a really really great kid. But
then...Cameron came back in the picture. And he was single now."
	"Oh no," she smiled.
	"Yeah," He nodded. "Well, I stayed with Devon, until the other
night when my parents walked in on us. And Devon just ran out without
trying to help me or anything. And I ended up running to Cameron's house
and he helped me out a lot. And then, yesterday, I broke it off with
Devon. And then, last night I kissed Cameron. And here we are."
	James was nearly out of breath, he needed a moment to catch it, and
Dr. Keller needed a moment to write everything he said down.
	"Wow, that's some story," She said finally.
	"Yeah," James agreed.
	"Well, we'll have to go more in detail," She laughed. "But, do you
want to know what I think at this point?"
	"Yes, please," James was dying to get some outside perspective on
his situation.
	"It sounds to meet like you've been hopping from guy, to guy, to
guy. Never stopping to think about anything," She said. "You haven't been
alone for more than a week or so. Each time you were alone, you found
another guy to fill that void. I mean, just yesterday you broke up with
Devon and went straight to Cameron. In my opinion, you should spend some
time working things out by yourself."
	James had never really thought about things that way. He guessed he
had been doing that. But things seemed different now wither Cameron. He had
a lot to think about.

...

	Devon arrived at practice in a much better mood than he had been in
yesterday. He had spent all night feeling upset about James, and now he
felt that he was over it. Sort of over it. He would be after tonight.
	When he got home, he had immediately contacted this guy that lived
a few towns over. Before Devon and James had started dating, Devon had
posted a profile on a website. He had started to get to know this guy,
Mark, who was a senior in high school (at the time), but Devon had stopped
talking to him once he met James. Turns out Mark was still single, and was
having a party Friday night. Things couldn't have worked out more
perfectly.
	Cameron arrived at practice once Devon had already changed into his
suit.
	"Hey Cameron," Devon smiled.
	"Hey," Cameron waved then walked over to his gym locker. He entered
the combination then began to get undressed. He slipped off his shirt.
	Devon had noticed that Cameron was attractive before. His light
tan, combined with his light brown/dark blonde hair, was
beautiful. Especially now that Cameron was in good shape because of
swimming, he looked great. Devon had even seen him fully naked, and Cameron
did live up to expectations.
	Practice went along as usual, they split up into their separate
lanes and began swimming their laps. During one of the breaks, Devon had an
opportunity to speak with Cameron.
	"So, Cameron, what are your plans for tonight?" Devon asked.
	"What?" Cameron looked surprised by the question.
	"Well, remember how I said I knew a guy that I could set you up
with?" Devon had mentioned something the other day in passing.
	"Yeah..." Cameron said skeptically.
	"Well, he's having a party tonight," Devon said. "I thought maybe
we could go."
	"Um...maybe..." Cameron smiled.
	"C'mon," Devon splashed him. "I'm sure there will be at least one
or two super slutty guys there who will suck your dick."
	"Umm...I don't know if..." He was taken aback by the idea. "Didn't
you just break up with James?"
	"Yeah, so?" Devon asked. "You think I should be mourning or
something?"
	"I guess..." Cameron said.
	"If I'm being honest, I just want to fuck someone," Devon said. "Or
have someone fuck me. Either."
	"Okay..." Cameron got uncomfortable.
	"James was my first," Devon explained. "And he's the only person
I've ever been with, and I don't like him holding that over me. Fuck that."
	"Oh, okay," Cameron nodded. "Well, I'll let you know, but I think
I'm going to stay in and study tonight..."
	"Lame," Devon rolled his eyes just as the coach blew the whistle
and they were forced to do laps again.

...

	Alexis Lucas waited outside Mr. Thompson's classroom right after
school, while he finished up a conference with another teacher. She looked
at her watch, she was going to be late to her job at the Downtown.
	After a few moments, the other teacher opened the door and left the
classroom. Alexis immediately got up and walked in to see Mr. Thompson
gathering his books.
	"Hey, Mr. T," Alex smiled.
	"Hello Alexis, " Mr. Thompson smiled. "How are things?"
	"Good..." She nodded. "Look, um, I need you to do me a favor, and I
know I'm totally crossing boundaries here, but I would really really
appreciate it if you could give Travis his phone back. He's had a really
rough week and..."
	"Look, Alex, I'm sorry," Mr. Thompson shook his head. "But rules
are rules, and he shouldn't have been texting in class..."
	"All right," Alexis turned away in defeat, but realized she wasn't
ready to concede. "Okay, I hate to bring this up, but last year I helped
you get backing in the student government for that English after school
reading program you wanted to set up. And you said you owed me a favor
and..."
	Mr. Thompson looked at her for a moment. He then unlocked his
drawer, reached inside and handed Alex Travis' phone.
	"If you ask me, I think you wasted that favor," Mr. Thompson said
as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder. "Travis McCarthy isn't
worth it."
	"Yeah....right..." Alexis nodded as she began to contemplate it
herself.
	Alexis left Mr. Thompson's office and walked down the hallway. She
wondered why she was being nice to Travis. Even though he had cheated on
her, he used to be her friend and she didn't want to see him down.
	After exiting the school, she realized she had no idea where to
find him. She reached down and grabbed her own cell phone to try and call
Travis, but she then realized that she had Travis' phone. So she looked
around the exterior the school for a little while, finally finding Travis
at the spot in the woods where they smoked the day before.
	"Hey," Alexis said as she poked her head from behind a tree. Travis
looked up startled, dropping the joint he had in his hand.
	"Oh fuck," Travis laughed. "You scared that shit out of me."
	"I'm sorry," Alex laughed as she sat down on the log next to him.
	"It's all good," He smiled. "The joint was pretty much done
anyway. What are you doing here? You want to smoke or something?"
	"No, actually," Alexis reached into her bag and pulled out his
phone. "Here."
	"What? How did you..." Travis grabbed the phone and looked at it in
astonishment.
	"Mr. Thompson owed me a favor," She explained.
	"Did you sleep with him or somethin'?" Travis asked.
	"What? No." Alexis rolled her eyes. "I helped him get this stupid
after school program set up."
	Travis wasn't listening; he was waiting for his phone to turn
on. When it did, he checked to see if there were any missed calls and was
disappointed when there weren't any.
	"Damn," He slammed his phone shut.
	"What?" Alexis asked.
	"Nothing," Travis sighed.
	There was a moment of awkward silence, and Alexis was about to
break it by commenting on how cold it was getting.
	"She gave me no fuckin' reason for ending things," Travis
blurted. "She just fuckin' left and hasn't called me or texted me or
anything. She doesn't even fuckin' miss me."
	"I'm sure she-" Alexis tried to interrupt.
	"And I fucking loved her, I would've done anything for her." Travis
furiously snapped. "I would've gone with her if she asked me to. I would've
driven to California every month. I would've..."
	"But Travis," Alexis finally got a word in. "Maybe it's not about
you, you know? Maybe it's about her. Whatever reason she left here for,
maybe she wanted to be alone. And it doesn't matter how much you cared
about her...maybe she just needs time to herself, you know?"
	"I guess," Travis finally said. He looked down at the remnants of
the joint. "Still bullshit...but yeah, I guess."
	"You're a good boyfriend, Travis," Alexis said. "Well, not to me,
but you were to her. I could tell."
	"Thanks," Travis made eye contact with Alex. "You know, I really am
sorry about that. I was an idiot."
	"It's fine, I'm over it," Alexis laughed. Their eyes met for a
moment.
	Suddenly Travis' phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He quickly
dug in his pocket and flipped his phone open.
	"Marissa?!" Travis got up. "Oh my god! I miss you too!"
	Alexis grabbed her bag and gestured to Travis that she was going to
leave. He nodded as he continued talking on the phone.

...

	Cameron arrived home and after speaking to his mother for a few
minutes, he closed the door to his room. He immediately dialed James'
number as he threw his bag down on the bed.
	After a few rings James answered.
	"Hey," He said.
	"Hey," Cameron enthusiastically replied. "How did it go today?"
	"Um...it went okay," James said.
	"She didn't try to exorcize you or anything, did she?" Cameron
laughed.
	"No, no," James laughed back.
	"Good," Cameron said. "So...what did you talk about?"
	"Just, uh...I don't know...I kind of gave her a brief run down of
everything and everyone....and..." James thought about what to say.
	"That's cool," Cameron nodded. For some reason this conversation
seemed a lot more awkward than Cameron had imagined.
	"Look, uh, " James paused for a moment. "Look, Cameron, I really
like you. A lot."
	"I like you too," Cameron smiled.
	"But, uh, " James thought again. "The psychiatrist brought up a
good point to me. She told me that I literally haven't been completely
single at all in the past year."
	"Okay..." Cameron began to feel nervous.
	"I'm not saying I want to be single," James said. "I just...I don't
know, it got me thinking. I just think that....I think that I may need some
time to work things out. You know? Just alone."
	Cameron didn't respond for a second. He could feel his heart
dropping. He wanted to tell James that he wanted to work things out
together with him. He wanted to tell him that he would be there for him no
matter what. But all that came out was "yeah, sure."
	"I don't want you to think this is just a way of me not wanting
to...be with you. I just honestly think that I need to figure things out
for me right now." James said.
	"Right, I completely understand," Cameron lied.
	"All right, good," James said. "So, uh, I'll see you on Monday, I
guess?"
	"Yeah," Cameron was holding back tears as he hung up his phone.
	This was complete shit. Why did this have to be so complicated?
Cameron didn't understand. James liked Cameron. Cameron liked James. That's
all that should matter. Why was James making things so complicated?
	Cameron flipped his phone open and was about to dial Alexis. He
wanted to be able to talk to someone. However, as he dialed, he got an
incoming call from Devon. He warily answered it.
	"Hey Cam, what are ya doing? ÔStudying'?" Devon laughed.
	"Funny," Cameron rolled his eyes.
	"Come tonight," Devon begged. "It'll be fun. There are going to be
really hot guys there! And I guarantee that they'll think you're hot..."
	"I don't know, I have a lot of work to do," Cameron lied.
	"Shut the hell up," Devon said. "You're coming."
	"Why do you want me to go so badly?" Cameron asked skeptically.
	"Well, A. I need a ride. And B. You havn't hooked up with anyone
all year, and I think you need to put yourself out there." Devon said.
	Cameron contemplated things for a moment.
	"So, are you coming or not?" Devon asked.

...

	Cameron Wright pulled up to Devon's house around eight o'clock. It
was odd seeing Devon's house. Most kids who went to Mineola High were
relatively well off. However, Devon did not appear to be. He did not live
in the best part of town, nor in the best house in that part of town.
	In fact, Devon refused to let Cameron come in. He told Cameron to
call him when Cameron was outside. So Cameron did, and now he waited
patiently in his car. Tapping his fingers on the wheel, Cameron wondered
what he had done to make James change his mind. He began to feel self
conscious. Maybe he was a bad kisser. Maybe James realizes Cameron was
annoying. He didn't know. His thoughts were broken when Devon hopped in the
passenger seat.
	"Hey nerd," Devon smiled as he closed the door.
	"Hey," Cameron smiled as he started to drive.
	"Are you excited?" Devon rubbed his hands together.
	"I don't even know where we're going," Cameron laughed.
	"I thought I told you," Devon scratched his head. "Well, you want
the long story or the short story?"
	"Depends," Cameron said. "How long of a car ride do we have?"
	"Not too long," Devon said. "it's only over in Brightwood, but I
can tell you the long verson anyway."
	Cameron braced himself for the story of where they were going.
	"So, I kind of realized I was into guys around puberty or
whatever," Devon started. "And I jerked off to them and shit. Which was
fine, but around last year I wanted to meet someone and hook up. So, I went
online and went to a couple websites. You ever do that?"
	"Once," Cameron shuddered at the thought. The one time he had, it
turned out to be an older man who and tried to molest him.
	"Well anyway," Devon continued. "I met this guy who lived over in
Brightwood online. And we talked for a while, and he seemed pretty
cool. He's cute, but a little older."
	"How much older?" Cameron began to feel nervous.
	"Only like a year old than you," Devon calmed him. "And we were
going to meet and hook up or whatever, but then me and James hooked up, and
so I stopped talking to this guy."
	"How did...uh...you and James hook up if you don't mind me asking?"
Cameron asked.
	"We were at some stupid party over the summer," Devon said.
	"Oh, cool," Cameron nodded. "Did he act weird after? Or anything?
Like distant?"
	"What? These are weird questions, dude," Devon laughed. Cameron
needed to be more discrete. In fact, he wasn't being discrete at all.
	"Just asking, forget it," Cameron laughed.
	"Anyway, so, I e-mailed this guy last night to see what he was up
to and see if he was still single, " Devon continued. "And he is, and it
turns out he was having a party tonight. So here we are."
	"Right," Cameron nodded. "So, are you going to hook up with him?"
	"Yeah, probably," Devon admitted.
	"Cool," He replied.
	"So, uh, what's your deal with guys?" Devon asked abruptly.
	"What? Uh, nothing at the moment..." Cameron lied. Well he sort of
lied. He technically wasn't hooking up with James anymore, so nothing was
really going on the moment.
	"Who's this Matt guy?" Devon asked. "He's your ex- boyfriend
right?"
	"Yeah," Cameron replied.
	"He hot?" Devon asked.
	"Yeah," Cameron nodded. "He's a really great guy."
	"Then why did you break up? Was he a bad fuck?" Devon asked.
	"What? No. It's a long story." Cameron admitted.
	"Okay jeez," Devon took a hint.
	The rest of the car ride they joked about people on the swim team
and their coach. They also talked about their first swim meet next
weekend. Devon calmed Cameron down a little bit. When they finally pulled
up to the house, it was quite obvious that a party was going on inside. The
house itself was average. It was nice enough, but clearly the people who
live inside didn't care about being unique. Their house was exactly the
same as every other on its block.
	They both approached the front door, anxious of what the night
would bring. Devon rang the door bell and they waited patiently.
	"Wait, why does this kid still live at home if he's a year above
me? Doesn't he go to college?" Cameron asked.
	"Community college," Devon replied.
	"Oh, right," Cameron nodded.
	The door finally opened after a few more rings. The home owner did
open the door. He was wearing a white polo shirt and light jeans. He had a
golden chain around his neck. He didn't look very gay at all. He had a bit
of stubble and very thick eye brows, but nice eyes. Cameron couldn't make
out what color they were, but he saw a bright white smile on his face when
he saw Devon.
	"Devon! We finally meet!!" He opened his arms for a hug.
	"Hey!" Devon went in for the hug. They held each other for a moment
before Devon stepped back. "This is my friend Cameron."
	"Cameron? Nice to meet you man," The guy said. "I'm Dave."
	"Nice to meet you Dave," Cameron nodded.
	Dave stepped back to reveal the rest of the party. For some reason,
Cameron was surprised that there were girls there. He assumed it was going
to be a bunch of flamboyantly gay guys, but it seemed like a regular
party. Cameron was actually happy about this. Devon and Cameron stepped in
and looked around. A game of beer pong was going on across a dining room
table, and girls were dancing in a corner.
	"Devon, can I get you a drink?" Dave said.
	"Uh, yeah, get me a double shot," Devon smirked.
	"Woah," Dave laughed as he walked away.
	Cameron surveyed the room to see if any cute guys were there. It's
not like he was looking to hook up with some random guy like Devon was,
it's just that he felt that he should keep his options open. One guy in
particular caught his eye. He was tan with spiked black hair and was
playing a game of beer pong. The guy looked strangely familiar, but Cameron
couldn't place him. Suddenly Cameron remembered who it was. It was Jeremy.
      Jeremy had graduated from Mineola High the year before. Cameron had
met him briefly through Matt, and it was not the best meeting. Matt
explained to Cameron that he and Jeremy had been good friends for a long
time, and that one night they had sex, but Jeremy insisted that he was
straight. Cameron always felt jealous towards Jeremy, and felt even more
uncomfortable when Matt went on a camping trip and slept in the same tent
as Jeremy. However, Matt had insisted that nothing had happened. Still,
Cameron felt very uncomfortable now that Jeremy was there and he wanted to
leave.
      "Devon, I think I'm going to go," Cameron pulled Devon aside.
      "What?! We literally just got here," Devon snapped.
      "Yeah, but, my ex's...ex...is here, and it's awkward," Cameron
explained.
      "What?" Devon scanned the room. "Matt's ex? Who?"
      "Don't be obvious about it, but the guy playing beer pong with the
black hair," Cameron gestured subtly. Devon was not subtle at all when he
looked at Jeremy.
      "He's hot," Devon smirked. "You should hook up with him."
      "What? No." Cameron shook his head. "Didn't you hear me? He's Matt's
ex!"
      "So?" Devon rolled his eyes.
      "Let's just go," Cameron began to say, but Dave had just returned
with two shots and had gotten Devon's attention. Devon and Dave took the
shot together and then walked off, leaving Cameron alone.
      "Great," Cameron shrugged.

...

	Devon and Dave walked off onto the back porch. There was a hot tub
filled with three girls who were drinking mixed drinks. They walked past
the hot tub and eventually settled on a bench in the backyard.
	"I'm glad you came," Dave smiled.
	"I'm glad I came, too," Devon took a sip of a beer that he had
picked up off a counter.
	"So, what have you been up to?" Dave rested his arm on the back of
the bench. "You kinda stopped talking to me in the middle of the summer..."
	"Yeah," Devon nodded. "Sorry about that, just kinda...stupid high
school bull shit."
	"Yeah, I remember that shit," Dave nodded.
	"Yeah," Devon replied. "Oh, no, you got some, uh, beer, I think, on
your shirt."
	"What?" Dave looked down and on his shirt, he did in fact have a
large beer stain. "Damn it! Fuckin' Guinness. Always stains! Whatever, I
didn't like the shirt anyway!"
	Suddenly, Dave took his shirt off and threw it into the back
yard. Devon had not expect this, but he liked what he saw. Dave had a
decent amount of chest hair that cover most of his chest. He wasn't
particularly tan, but he was muscular. He looked strong, at least. Dave
leaned back on the bench.
	"Aren't you going to be cold?" Devon asked. "I mean it's
October..."
	"What?" Dave looked at Devon. "Nah! Those bitches up there are in
bikinis. I can handle it."
	"I mean, they're in a hot tub," Devon laughed.
	"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me," Dave smirked. "Are you
cold?"
	"What? No not..." Devon wasn't able to finish.
	"We can go up to my room if you are," Dave offered. "It's the
warmest place in the house."
	Devon contemplated this for a moment.
	"Yeah, sure," Devon smiled.
	Devon followed Dave into the house, leaving Dave's stained white
polo shirt behind.

...

	Cameron was still standing uncomfortably in the front room of the
house. He had made no effort to make conversation with anyone. He had
gotten himself a beer and was leaning against the stairwell. He had
strategically placed himself so that Jeremy would not be able to see
him. His mission was to avoid any contact with Jeremy.
       After standing alone for a while, he decided to give in and text
James. Just because James had said that he didn't want to be in a
relationship, it didn't mean that he wanted nothing to do with Cameron. In
fact, he was sure that James wanted to talk to Cameron.
	"Time out. So awk, I'm at a party and Matt's ex is here lol" was
what Cameron texted James. He waited for a response.
      Cameron watched as Devon and Dave walked towards him. They waked
passed him and onto the stairs. Cameron grabbed Devon's leg from under the
stairs.
	"Where are you going?" Cameron whispered.
	"Relax," Devon kicked him off. "Walk around, introduced yourself."
	And with that, Devon went up the stairs. And Cameron was a lone
again. He awkwardly looked around the room. Taking Devon's advice, he
decided to walk around the party and try and meet people.
	Eventually he found himself on the back porch, next to the group of
girls in the hot tub.  He had searched the whole party and no one had tried
to talk to him. He sat down on one of the porch steps and hung his head in
his hands.
	"Hey you," One of the girls from the hot tub called to him. Cameron
turned around. He stood up and faced her. "Come in here!"
	"What? Me?" Cameron turned around and realized he was the only guy
out there.
	"Yeah!" Another drunk girl in the hot tub said.
	"Uh, I don't have a bathing suite," Cameron shook his head.
	"So? Go naked!" One of the girls said.
	"Uh..." Cameron laughed.
	"Seriously, come in your boxer's!" said another.
	Cameron thought about it for a moment. He wasn't talking to anyone
else at the party, and they certainly weren't talking to him. So, Cameron
took off his shirt and jeans and jumped in the hot tub with them.

...

	"And these are my model trains," Dave gestured to a rack of fifteen
multicolored miniature trains.
	"Interesting...." Devon lied.
	"So, yeah, you know my room completely now," Dave laughed as he
turned around to face Devon.
	"Yup..." Devon nodded.
	"So, uh, what do you want to do?" Dave scratched his chest hair.
	Devon looked at Dave slyly with a smirk on his face. Dave took a
step closer and slowly went in for a kiss. There was a height difference,
but that didn't really bother Devon. In fact, there was a four-year age
difference. Devon was fifteen and Dave was nineteen. That didn't bother
Devon. In fact, it almost turned him on a little more.
	Devon rubbed his fingers through Dave's chest, grasping at each
lock of chest hair. Dave reached over and grabbed the bottom of Devon's
shirt and pulled it off. It was kind of funny seeing the two of them
shirtless together. Dave was very hairy, while Devon barely had any hair
under his armpits.
	"Can you lock the door?" Devon smirked. He didn't want a repeat of
what happened last time. Devon suddenly realized that it had only been
three days ago that he and James were in a similar place, doing a similar
thing. The thought only made him want Dave more. As soon as Dave turned
around, Devon grabbed his hand and led him away from the door. He then got
down on his knees. This made Dave smile.
	Dave quickly undid his belt buckle and then unzipped his pants. He
lowered his pants so that he was only wearing his boxer-briefs. Devon could
see the outline of Dave's semi-hard cock through the underwear.  He leaned
forward and grabbed Dave's ass cheeks to pull him closer. He moved his
mouth so that he was nearly sucking his hard dick, except the fabric was in
the way. This made Dave let out a little moan.
	Not missing a beat, Devon grabbed the edges of Dave's boxer-briefs
and pulled them down, revealing Dave's now fully hard cock. He was very
large and very thick. Devon gulped at the nine inches he saw before
him. Devon had a large one, but not nearly as thick. Dave had a lot of
pubic hair, which normally would've turned him off, but it fit Dave.
	"Go ahead," Dave said. "Don't be afraid. Suck me off."
	Devon took one big gulp and tried to take some of Dave in.

...
	"You're cute," said one of the girls in the hot tub. Her name was
Melanie, or so Cameron had learned. The other two were named Beatrice and
Tina. All of them were wasted, so it didn't really matter.
	"Thank you," Cameron blushed.
	"Do you have a girlfriend?" giggled Beatrice.
	"Uh..." Cameron thought about what to say. He didn't want them to
hit on him anymore, but he also didn't want them to leave him alone at the
party.
	"We think you and Melanie should hook up," laughed Tina.
	"Shut up, guys!" Melanie splashed both of them.
	"Uh...I'm flattered..." Cameron was uncomfortable.
	Before anything could go any further, a shadow appear behind
Cameron and someone said, "Got room for one more?" Cameron turned around to
see Jeremy. Crap, he had found Cameron.
	"Sure, Jeremy," Beatrice smiled. Jeremy took off his shirt and
shorts and got in the hot tub next to Cameron. Cameron tried not to look
directly at Jeremy, but he could tell that Jeremy had a good body. He had
olive color skin that went along with his spiky black hair. His chest was
completely bare and smooth. It wasn't extremely well toned, but it wasn't
flabby either. He wore a tight necklace around his neck.
	"Jeremy, this is Cameron," Beatrice pointed as she took another
swig of her fruity drink. Jeremy looked at Cameron and Cameron wasn't sure
how to act. He could pretend like he didn't know Jeremy and hope that
Jeremy would do the same, or he could say something. He decided to pretend
he didn't know Jeremy.
	"We've met already," Jeremy said. Cameron blushed. Crap.
	"Oh, that's cool," Beatrice leaned forward. "Don't you think that
Cameron and Melanie would make a really hot couple..."
	"I don't think Melanie is his type." Jeremy winked at Cameron. Wow,
he was making this extremely awkward.
	"Why not?!" blurted Melanie, who now seemed really hurt. However,
that sadness went away a moment later when someone turned on the radio
inside and a song by M.I.A. came on. "Oh my god! This is our song girls!"
	All three of the girls jumped out of the hot tub and ran
inside. Cameron felt relieved for a moment knowing that Melanie would no
longer be hitting on him. But now he realized he was left alone with
Jeremy. He was annoyed. Why did Jeremy follow him into the hot tub?
	"What are you doing here?" Cameron snapped. He didn't know why he
was being so hostile, but he was frustrated at the situation.
	"Me? What are you doing here? These are my friends..." Jeremy
laughed.
	"Long story," Cameron moved a little further away from
Jeremy. "Don't you got to college or something?"
	"I took a year off," Jeremy leaned back. " Why are you being so
mean to me? What did I do to you?"
	"I don't know, you were always giving me devil eyes whenever you
saw me with Matt last year," Cameron explained. "And you slept in the same
tent with Matt that one time. And you had sex with my ex boyfriend."
	"Woah, woah, woah" Jeremy sat up. " First of all, nothing happened
in that tent. Matt never would've cheated on you. Secondly, we had sex
once. And we were both wasted."
	"Still..." Cameron thought for a moment. He was confused. Was
Jeremy even gay? Was he really just drunk that one time? "Wait...I'm
sorry...are you..."
	"I'm bi," Jeremy said confidently. "And I'm sorry if I stared devil
eyes at you. I was upset that I let Matt go."
	"Why did you? Wasn't it like a year between when you hooked up and
we went out?" Cameron asked.
	"It was a confusing time, I don't know," Jeremy said. "Can we not
talk about this shit? It's a party. Let's relax."
	"Okay, sorry," Cameron tried to loosen up. "So, uh, what've you
been up to?"
	"Nothing really," Jeremy said. "I live in an apartment with my
buddy Rick. He's straight, and really cool."
	"Does he know you're..." Cameron asked.
	"Bi? Yeah, everyone knows." Jeremy nodded.
	"Really?" Cameron asked. "Here? Every single person here knows?
	"Yeah," Jeremy smiled. "What? Is that that crazy to you?"
	"A little," Cameron smiled. "I don't know, it's just a little weird
that's all."
	"Wait, sorry, who did you come here with?" Jeremy asked.
	"My friend Devon, he's upstairs or something," Cameron said.
	"Devon? You came with Devon? You're not dating or anything right?"
Jeremy asked.
	"No, no, just friends," Cameron shook his head.
	"Good, because my friend Dave really wants to hook up with him,"
Jeremy laughed.
	"Well, I think he's getting his wish right now," Cameron smiled.
	They both just sat there for a moment.
	"So, have you spoken to Matt at all?" Jeremy asked.
	"Kind of," Cameron said. "I went to visit him last weekend, which
was all right, but yeah. Not since then. "
	"Why did you guys break up?" Matt asked.
	"Just, uh...we weren't compatible," Cameron remembered why they
actually broke up. James. And now Cameron felt like an idiot.

...

	James had taken a nap after visiting the psychiatrist. It had been
a long couple days, and just talking to her had taken a lot of energy out
of him. When he woke up, he wasn't sure if it was night or morning. He
turned on his phone to check the time, and saw that it was still night. He
had one new text message. He opened it up. It was from Cameron. "Time
out. So awk, I'm at a party and Matt's ex is here lol"
	Suddenly, James felt jealous. What party was he at? Matt's ex? His
heart started to beat rapidly. Had he made a mistake telling Cameron that
he wanted to end things for a while?
	James sat up in his bed. He was only wearing his boxers, and was
sweating a little bit. He walked over to the air conditioner and turned it
on. He ran his fingers through his curly hair and thought for a moment
about what to do.
	After a few moments of thinking, his phone rang. He picked it up
and looked at the caller ID. It was his sister, Meg.
	"Hello?" James answered. This was going to be an awkward
conversation. He hadn't spoken to his sister since everything had happened.
	"James! I've been calling you for an hour!" She yelled on the other
line.
	"Sorry, I was taking a nap," James said.
	"Whatever," she said. "More importantly, why did you never tell
me?"
	"What?" James asked. "About me being....?"
	"Into guys?! Yes!" She said. "I wish I would've known! I honestly
had no idea! I couldn't believe it!"
	"Thanks... I guess," James smiled.
	"So, wait, Mom and Dad saw you hooking up with a guy?" She
asked. "Who? Was he hot?"
	"Wait...you're taking this rather...lightly..." James was
confused. Why wasn't she making a bigger deal out of this?
	"Why wouldn't I?" She asked. "I mean, I feel really sad for you and
everything. Well, not sad, but I mean, you know life is going to be harder
and everything. But I figure mom and dad are giving you all that shit."
	"Yeah, I guess," James nodded.
	"So, who's this guy you're hooking up with?" She said. "Is he hot?"
	"Well, I'm actually not hooking up with him anymore..." He
admitted.
	"Oh," She sounded upset. "Why?"
	"He like freaked out about Mom and Dad telling his parents, and I
don't know. I kind of have feelings for someone else..." James said.
	"James!" She laughed. "Such a pimp!"
	"Shut up!" James smiled. "But I'm just going to be single now. I
need to work things out."
	"Hm..." She sighed.
	"What?" James asked.
	"Nothing," She said. "It's just I feel bad that you're going to be
going through all this with Mom and Dad and shit all alone, you know? I was
kind of hoping you were dating someone so you'd have a shoulder to cry on
and everything."
	"Yeah..." James thought for a moment. He knew he was making a
mistake ending things with Cameron. He should never have listened to that
stupid psychiatrist. But then again, maybe she was right. Going through all
this alone might make him stronger and independent. Only time would tell...

...

	Devon was on all fours, leaning most of his weight against his
elbows. Dave was kneeling behind him applying lube to his condom-covered
cock. He then lathered Devon's asshole with lube. It was going to be a
tight fit.
	"You ready?" Dave said as he closed the bottle of lube and threw it
off to the side.
	"Fuck yes," Devon smiled.
	Dave took a look at Devon's completely hairless ass and it only
made him harder. He slowly brought his large thick cock to touch Devon's
asshole. He slowly pushed it in. Devon bit his lip as he felt all of Dave
go inside of him. It hurt. A lot. Devon was almost regretting having sex
with Dave.
	Dave slowly pulled out a little bit and then pushed back
in. Devon's face was red, it hurt a lot, but at the same time he was
receiving immense pleasure. Dave went in and out again, and it hurt a
little bit less and it become a little bit more pleasurable. Dave began to
move faster. He pulled Devon closer and moved his own hips faster and
faster. The sound of Dave's hips hitting Devon's ass cheeks sounded faster
and faster.
	"Oh fuck me," Devon moaned. "Yes! FUCK ME!"
	Dave moved his pace faster and faster until he slowed down a
bit. He held his entire cock inside Devon for a moment before moving faster
once more. He eventually stopped and pulled out.
	"Turn around," He said. "Let's do it front the front. Lift your
legs."
	Devon did as he was told. He turned around facing Dave and lifted
his legs in the air, exposing his hole to Dave.  Dave lifted Devon's legs a
little bit higher and positioned himself so he could gain better access. He
then began to rapidly fuck Devon again.
	Devon grasped his hands at Dave's chest hair to try and hold onto
it. He then moved his hands to grab Dave's hair ass and feel it thrusting
in and out of him. This was amazing.
	"Oh yes, shove your big hairy cock into me!" Devon moaned.
	And Dave did. He fucked him harder and harder and Devon moaned
louder and louder. Dave suddenly pulled out. He slipped off his condom and
moved closer to Devon's chest. He stroked his hard cock over Devon's
chest. His face scrunched up for a moment and then a load of cum sprayed
onto Devon's bare chest. Another smaller load came right after it.
	Devon continued to jerk off his own cock which was raging. Dave lay
down on the bed and Devon sat up. He towered over Dave's body and shot a
load onto Dave's hairy chest. Dave rubbed in the load in with his chest
hair.
	Devon collapsed onto the bed. They both lay panting for a moment.

...

	"Melanie? No, never." Jeremy laughed. "Someone that desperate can
only mean a clinger or an STD."
	Cameron laughed. He was actually having a decent time hanging out
with Jeremy. It helped that they were both half naked and sitting in a hot
tub. However, Cameron suddenly realized that it was getting late, and he
had seen no sign of Devon.
	"What time is it?" Cameron asked.
	"Oh, um..." Jeremy leaned out of the hot tub and grabbed his
phone. "Wow, it's already 11:30. Time flies..."
	"Oh, shit, I have to be home by twelve," Cameron stood up. Jeremy's
eyes went immediately to the bulge in Cameron's boxers. The boxer's clung
to his soft dick, creating a perfect outline. Cameron realized this and
awkwardly loosened them up before stepping out of the hot tub. Jeremy too
got out of the hot tub.
	"Here, let me get you a towel," Jeremy walked over to a hanger with
a bunch of beach towels. He grabbed two, one for himself and handed the
other to Cameron.
	"Wow, I didn't realize how cold it was, " Cameron shivered as he
draped the towel around his own shoulders.
	"Yeah," Jeremy nodded. Neither of them spoke for a moment while
they both dried off. "Hey, um, do you have my number?"
	"Uh, no..." Cameron blushed.
	"Let's, uh, exchange numbers, just in case, you know...you want to
hang out or something..." Jeremy smiled.
	"Yeah, sure," Cameron nodded then reached down and grabbed his
jeans from the floor. He reached into one of the pockets and pulled out his
cell phone. He was surprised when he saw that he had one new text
message. His face lit up when he saw that it was from James- "Haha, oh god!
Call me when you get bck I want to hear all about it. Also- I want to talk
about me and you again" Cameron smiled as he read it.
	"You have a boyfriend don't you." Jeremy said aloud as he saw
Cameron read a text message.
	"What?" Cameron looked up at Jeremy. "Uh...I'm not sure really..."
	"Of course," Jeremy smiled. "Well, here, take my number
anyway. Just in case."
	"Okay, yeah," Cameron nodded as he listened to Jeremy give him his
number.
	Cameron closed his phone and looked up at Jeremy. Cameron realized
that Jeremy was actually a pretty nice guy, and he was glad he came
tonight. Suddenly, Devon appeared outside the glass door to the porch. He
was clearly drunk. His hair was disheveled and his shirt was on backwards.
	"Well, well, well," Devon smirked. "I leave you alone for an hour
and you're already half naked with some guy! Typical."
	"Shut up," Cameron laughed as he reached down and put his jeans
on. "Devon, this is Jeremy. Jeremy, Devon."
	"Nice to meet you," Jeremy extended his hand.
	"It's very nice to meet you," Devon took a step forward and
inspected Jeremy's half-naked dripping wet body. "How do you know Dave?"
	"We met through a friend," Jeremy said.
	"I just fucked him," Devon smiled.
	"Okay! Let's go!" Cameron grabbed Devon and pulled him through the
glass doors.
	"Bye Jeremy!" Devon winked.

...

	Cameron silently drove towards Devon's house. Devon was nearly
passed out in the passenger seat and he wasn't speaking much. They drove in
silence for a while, until Devon suddenly snapped to attention. He quickly
looked out the window, then at Cameron, then back out the window.
	"Did I pass out?" Devon asked.
	"Yup," Cameron nodded.
	"Nice," Devon leaned his head against the window. "I'm just tired."
	"Right," Cameron smiled.
	"Who's that guy you were in the hot tub with?" Devon asked. "He was
hot."
	"That was Jeremy, Matt's ex," Cameron said.
	"He's gay?" Devon smiled. "So are you going to tap that?"
	"Um, I don't think so," Cameron shook his head.
	"Would you mind if I did?" Devon asked.
	"Uh..." Cameron thought for a moment. "Not really..."
	"Do you have his number?" Devon asked.
	"Uh, yeah..." Cameron reached into his pocket and took out his
phone. He read off the digits in Jeremy's phone number.
	"Thanks," Devon smirked.
	"No problem," Cameron nodded.
	"Did you have fun tonight?" Devon asked after being quiet again for
a few moments.
	"Um, yeah sure," Cameron said.
      "Good, I'm glad," Devon smiled. "I definitely had a good time..."
	"I know, you told me," Cameron said. "And pretty much everyone else
at the party...."
	"So what? I don't have to see any of those people ever again if I
don't want to," Devon said.
	"I guess," Cameron nodded. "But Brightwood's only a few town's
over, aren't you nervous about people talking? I mean, if anyone found out
that you had sex with some guy then...everyone would know. Aren't you
scared of that?"
	Devon was silent.
	"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be harsh," Cameron sighed. "I just think
you need to be really careful. I mean, if you're ready to come out then
that's fine, but..."
	"No, I'm definitely not ready," Devon said. "Look, I'm an
idiot. You don't have to lecture me."
	"Okay," Cameron said.
	They drove in silence until they finally reached Devon's
house. Cameron pulled up and Devon got out of the car.
	"Thanks for coming," Devon poked his head in before he closed the
car door.

...

	Cameron arrived back at his house and sat down on his bed. It was
already twelve thirty. He took out his phone and contemplated not calling
James back, just because it was so late. However, he decided to call
anyway. James picked up after the third ring.
	"Hey," James said.
	"Hey," Cameron smiled. He was happy James picked up.
	"How was the, uh, party?" James asked.
	"It was all right," Cameron admitted as he stood up and began
pacing around his room as he spoke. "Devon invited me to go with him to
some party over in Brightwood."
	"Oh, really?" James felt somewhat jealous on two accounts. He
didn't like the idea of Cameron hanging out with Devon. Although James had
ended things with Devon, he had some feelings for him still. And he also
didn't want to lose Cameron.
	"Yeah," Cameron nodded. "And Matt's ex was there. It actually
didn't end up being that bad. I had a good time."
	"Good," James said.
	"Sorry I called so late..." Cameron apologized.
	"Oh, not, don't even worry about it, I was still up," James shook
his head.
	"Oh, okay, good." Cameron hesitated before asking. "So, uh, what
did you want to talk about...?"
	"Right, um..." James felt a little nervous. "Look, like I told you,
I have a lot of things that I'm going to need to work out. But I really
really care about you a lot..."
	"Me too," Cameron smiled.
	"I want to try and make this work," James finally said. "But I need
you to be understanding when it comes to things with me and my parents."
	"Of course I will," Cameron lit up.
	"Good," James nodded.
	"Yeah," Cameron smiled.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Seriously
please e-mail me your comments and suggestions or anything at all at
ryanwest25@yahoo.com Thanks!