Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:51:59 -0500
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: It's Not Easy Being a Tree  Chapter 4

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
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit www.themustardjar.com for more stories by Ronyx.


It's Not Easy Being a Tree    Chapter 4


I sat beside Dad at the game, but I couldn't concentrate on what was
happening on the field. All I could think about was Jon's driver's license
in my left front pocket. What if he needed it later? Sometimes he, Debbie
and some of the guys on the team go to a club after the game. It's an 18 or
older club, so they do not serve alcohol. However, you still have to show
your ID to get in. What if he opens his wallet and his ID isn't there?

I looked down on the field when I heard loud shouting coming from around me
Jon had just made a twenty-three yard touchdown. His teammates were rushing
him and lifting him into the air. I looked at the score. There were seven
minutes left in the fourth quarter and our team was ahead by 13 points.

"Did you see that play, Woody?" My Dad shouted excitedly as he hit me on my
back.

"Yeah," I mumbled as he pounded me again.

Jon ran up to the sideline and posed for Dad like he usually does after the
game. Larry Atkins, the quarterback was with him. Dad took a couple of
pictures. He laughed when Jon made a `V' sign over Larry's head.

I fumbled with Jon's ID in my pocket as I considered hollering out and
telling him he had left his license on the dresser. But then I knew he
wouldn't believe that. How could he pick up his wallet and not notice his
driver's license beside it? Then he would probably question me as to why it
was out of his wallet in the first place. So I remained quiet, hoping that
he wouldn't notice it missing. I would just get up in the middle of the
night after he went to sleep and return it.

"That was a great game," Dad exclaimed as we drove home. "Jon's such a
gifted athlete." He looked at me and smiled, but it quickly disappeared. I
knew what he was thinking- why couldn't I have been one too.

A son will try to please his father. He does from the time he is a little
boy. "Hey, Daddy! Look at me!" He hollers as he hangs upside down on the
monkey bars. It makes him feel proud when his father smiles appreciatively
as he does it again.

Or he will follow closely behind him as his dad putters around in the
garage on a Saturday morning when he really isn't doing much of anything
Maybe it's a kitchen cabinet door that is loose on a hinge or a leaky
bathroom fixture. Whatever it is, the son feels happy just to be with him
as he asks for a screwdriver or a wrench.

Then the son grows up and he is not his little boy anymore. He is now
trapped in that purgatory place called adolescence. Dad now looks at him as
if he is seeing his son for the first time. He gets that look in his eye as
he judges him. Did I produce someone like me?  Will that now developing
young man someday give me grandchildren that I can play with on the monkey
bars or will follow me diligently around the garage waiting for me to hand
him a screwdriver or wrench?

Sometimes fathers come to the realization that the son they enjoyed as a
little boy doesn't meet his expectations as a young man. Fathers may say it
doesn't really matter, but deep down they feel an uncertainty. Maybe it is
because he feels he has failed as a father- maybe he did something wrong.

Sometimes I can see it in Dad's eyes when he looks at me. I am the one who
he feels he failed, or perhaps I failed him. Probably the latter, because
good fathers do not fail their children. However, I can see the pride and
admiration he feels when he looks at my brother or talks about him. I also
see it when he looks at Glenn.

And I suppose he is confused too. How could one son have turned out
successful, but another a failure? I know he wonders where he went
wrong. But he didn't go wrong. I am just me- Woodward James Fields. I would
have been me no matter what Dad did. I would have been me no matter what I
did.

But I don't feel I have done anything wrong or that I am a failure. Sure,
I'm small and not very athletic, but should that be the only standards by
which Dad judges me? Do I have to go through life always being compared to
my older brother?

I don't know. I don't have an answer. I also don't know why I am looking
out the car window with tears in my eyes as Dad talks about how great a son
Jon is.

It's not easy being a tree.


After we got home, I went to my room. I quickly checked my email before
going to bed. It wasn't late, but I was tired. I just wanted to hide under
the covers and remain there until morning.

I had an email from Jeff. He wanted to remind me to meet him at the mall at
ten. I also had an email from Kate. It simply said, "Thanks." I guess she
felt like I did. It was good to have someone I know I can turn to if I
really needed someone to listen.

I was awakened from my sleep when the door burst open and the overhead
light came on. I blinked my eyes several times before I was aware of Dad
standing in the room in just his boxers. He walked over to Jon's dresser
and picked up several things before slamming them back down.

"Where the hell is it?" He shouted as he opened dresser drawers and removed
things from them. I jumped when he suddenly shouted, "Woody!"

I sprang up in bed and stared wide-eyed at him. "Have you seen your
brother's driver's license?" He opened another dresser drawer and pushed
things aside. I looked quickly at the door when my mother appeared tying
her robe around her waist.

My heart started pounding and I quickly looked at my pants lying at my feet
on the ground. I wanted to make sure the license hadn't fallen out when I
removed them earlier.

"What's wrong?" My voice quivered, but then again I had been aroused from a
sound sleep.

I turned my head towards my mother when I heard her say softly, "Jon's been
arrested." I looked quickly at the alarm clock on my dresser. It was 1:37.

I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest. I knew why he had been
arrested because of my father`s actions, but I asked anyway so as not to
appear guilty. "What happened?"

"He got picked up by that young cop, Murdock, because he said he was
driving without a license." I jumped when Dad slammed his hands down on the
dresser. "Where is that fucking license!"

My mother rushed over, grabbed his arm and said calmly, "Now settle down,
Dear. It must be here somewhere." She pushed my father out of the way, as
she began to search in the same places he had looked previously.

"He's going to have to go to court if he doesn't produce his license," my
father shouted. He suddenly turned to me. "You haven't seen it, have you,
Woody?"

"No, Dad," I managed to stammer out. I looked away so he wouldn't see the
guilty look in my eyes. He stormed out of the room with my mother close
behind.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I said silently to myself. I was afraid something like
this would happen. Jason Murdock was a young cop who had it in for my
brother since our team creamed his little brother's team last year in the
city tournament. Jon had often come home complaining because he had been
stopped for something insignificant, like forgetting to signal when he
wanted to turn. Murdock never gave him a ticket, but he did try to make
Jon's life miserable.

Tonight, though, he finally was able to nail my brother. When Jon couldn't
produce his license, he must have been arrested and taken downtown. I
looked over at the clock. It was now 1:48. Jon must have been taking Debbie
home after a party. I only hoped he hadn't been drinking, too.

I got up when I heard the car doors slam. I peeked out the window as my
parents drove away. I quickly picked up my pants and took Jon's license
out. I frantically looked around the room for a safe place to hide
it. Telling him I had found it was now not an option after I'd told Dad I
had not seen it.

I considered cutting it up and putting it in the trash compactor; however,
as bad as it seemed, I still needed it. Jon was going to have to get a new
license whether or not I destroyed the one I was holding in my hand. If I
threw it away, then I wouldn't be able to register on the chat site. That
meant I would never be able to see Indyboi91 again. The damage was already
done. I decided I would keep it at least until I registered. Then I would
could take it to school and throw it in a trash bin in the hallway. No one
would ever know.

I ended up putting it inside my sneakers. Who would think to look there? I
knew Jon wouldn't because he was always complaining that my shoes made the
room stink. Oh, right. My shoes smell, but he can leave his dirty jock
straps lying around. I guess he thinks they smell like cologne or
something.

I had managed to fall asleep again until I later heard a commotion outside
my door. It was my dad. "Dammit, Jon. All I'm saying is be more
responsible."

"I am responsible!" Jon hollered back. "I told you I don't know what
happened to my license." They argued a minute more before Jon came storming
into the room, slamming the door. I looked over at the clock. It was now
3:21.

"I know you're not asleep," Jon said angrily as he pulled his jersey over
his head and threw it at me.

I sat up, running my hand over my head. "What happened?"

"I gotta go to fucking court next week," he replied angrily He repeated
Dad's actions in looking for his license. After a minute, he turned to
me. "I'll tell you what," he said "I'll give you ten bucks if you can find
my driver's license before Monday."

I inadvertently looked down at my sneaker on the floor in front of my
bed. I then looked up at Jon. "Dad's already tore the room up looking for
it. If he can't find it, then I don't think I'll be able to."

Jon toed off his shoes, sat on the bed and pulled off his pants. "Well, if
you do find it, ten bucks." He then lay back on his bed, pulled the covers
over him and was soon asleep. I looked at my shoe and wondered if it would
be worth the ten bucks. However, it was Jon who made the offer, not
Dad. Jon still owes me five dollars for the time I took the blame when he
broke the back door screen throwing a baseball at one of his friends. He
told me he would pay me if I told Dad it was me. I got grounded for a week,
and Jon made every excuse not to pay me. So no. I don't think I'll `find'
his license.


Jon was gone when I woke up. Usually on Saturday mornings, he doesn't even
know the world exists until after noon. I looked at the clock. It was 9:35.

"Shit!" I shouted as I jumped out of bed. I was supposed to meet Jeff at
the mall at ten. I dialed his cell phone, but he didn't answer. I left a
message on his voice mail telling him I would be about fifteen minutes
late. I didn't even bother to shower. I pulled on my shorts that I had worn
the day before and then found a tee shirt on my closet floor that didn't
appear to be too dirty. After a quick smell of the arm pits, I put it on.

Dad, Mom and Jon were at the kitchen table when I entered. Mom was giving
Jon a lecture on being more responsible. He looked up at me and rolled his
eyes.

"But Mom," he whined. "My license was in my wallet. Honest. I never take it
out."

"Well," she huffed. "It didn't just get up and walk away."

Jon pushed himself away from the table. "I'm tired of talking about my damn
driver's license. I swear I didn't lose it" I thought Mom would say
something to him about cussing in front of her, but she didn't. I guess she
thought he was already too upset.

"I'll run you down to the DMV after school on Monday," volunteered Dad.

"So that means I can't drive my car this weekend?" Jon shouted.

Dad frowned and shook his head. "Not unless you want to end up back in
jail. Murdock would love to arrest you again."

Jon looked up at the clock. "Can't we go this morning? The DMV is open on
Saturdays, right?"

Dad looked at Mom, then back at Jon. "Ordinarily, yes." He said. "But your
mother called to see how late they are open, but they said that all the
computers were down, so they wouldn't be able to process anything until
Monday."

"Shit!" Jon shouted angrily.

"That's enough, Young Man!" My mother's face was beginning to redden with
anger. "I let it go once, but not twice."

Jon hung his head and mumbled a weak, "Sorry." He slumped into his
chair. "I've got a date with Debbie tonight and I can't drive my car."

A smirk appeared on Dad's face. "I'll be glad to take you."

Jon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Dad, just what I want. You taking me on a date
like I'm fifteen again."

Dad tried to stifle a laugh. "Well, I didn't think you'd mind. Besides,
what can you do at nineteen you didn't do at fifteen?"

Jon raised an eyebrow. "You really want to know." Mom slapped him on his
arm.

"That's enough, Boys." She gave my father an angry look. "And I mean boys."
She looked over at me.

"Would you like some breakfast, Woody?"

"No, Ma'am," I said politely. "I'm meeting my friend, Jeff, at the mall."

Dad looked at Jon and grinned. "Would you like your brother to take you?"

Jon pushed himself from the table as he looked angrily at Dad. "Smart ass,"
he mumbled as he headed downstairs to work out. Dad leaned back in his
chair and roared with laughter.

I glanced quickly at the clock. "I have to go," I informed my parents. "I'm
already late. I'm riding my bike."

I was closing the door when Mom shouted out, "Be home in time for dinner."


Before getting on my bike, I reached into my pocket to make sure I had
Jon's driver's license. I didn't take it out because I was worried Mom
might be watching me through the window.

It took me fifteen minutes to get to the mall. Jeff was waiting at the bike
racks located on the side. He grinned when I got off my bike and approached
him. "It's about time," he laughed. He quickly looked down at my
crotch. "What were you doing, playing with it?"

I giggled and pretended to jack off. "I was waiting for you." He looked
down at my crotch as his face reddened.

"You're a perv," he laughed as he turned and started walking toward the
mall. I trailed behind staring at his ass inside his tight, boarder shorts.

Jeff is the kind of guy who is a lot of fun to just hang around. He doesn't
get out often, so when he does, he makes the most of it. I almost split my
sides laughing when we entered a Victoria Secret and he held up a pink bra
to his chest and asked me, "Is it my color?" The clerk followed closely
behind us and clicked her tongue like my mother does when we exited the
store.

We passed Radio Shack and I looked in the window to see if they had any
webcams on sale, but I didn't see any. Jeff asked if I wanted to go in, but
I told him I didn't. I knew I would be returning after he left. We passed
several more shops until we came to a designer eyeglass store. It must have
been new because I couldn't remember seeing it before.

"Come on," I said as I reached down and grabbed Jeff's hand. I pulled away
when he looked down and gave me a weird look.

"Why are we coming in here?" He asked as he trailed behind me as I looked
at the display cases. "You don't wear glasses."

I looked at his face adorned with the black framed glasses he wears. "No,
but you do," I remarked as I picked up a pair I thought he would look good
wearing. "Here, try these on."

He walked over and looked at himself in the mirror. "I like these," he said
as he pushed his glasses back. "They make me look..."

"Like a dufus," I giggled before he finished his comment. I thrust the
glasses I was holding in his hand. "Please?" I pleaded. "Just put them on."
He started laughing when I began to pout. "Just for me?"

"Okay," he giggled as he removed his glasses and tried on the designer ones
I had given him. They weren't fancy, just a pair of glasses with a thin,
designed frame at the top. He put them on and turned toward me with a
frown. "What do you think?"

My mouth dropped. He looked like a different guy without his black framed
glasses. "You look really cute," I said before I realized what I had
said. My face began to redden.

"Uh, Woody," he replied as he turned back and adjusted the glasses on his
face. "I don't think a guy should call another guy `cute.'" He giggled when
he saw the embarrassed look on my face. He turned and asked, "So they
really look good on me?"

I could hardly look him in his face. I glanced up quickly and replied,
"Yeah."

"Cool," he said. He then walked over to a middle-aged woman behind the
counter and began to talk to her. I strolled around the store, still
embarrassed that I had called Jeff cute. Occasionally, I would glance over
at him as he continued to talk to the clerk. After several minutes, he
walked over to me.

"I'm going to ask my mother if I can get an advance on my allowance," he
said as he handed me back the designer glasses. "These are kind of
expensive, but if you think I look cute in them, then I guess they are
worth the money." He stressed the word, cute.

My face reddened once again as I gently pushed him and said, "Shut up,
Fucker." He giggled as he followed me out of the store.

We next went to the food court to get something to eat. Since I had skipped
breakfast, I was starving. Jeff headed to Taco Bell while I went to Asian
Paradise to get some chicken fried rice. Jeff wrinkled his nose when I sat
down. He was taking a bite of a bean burrito.

"What?" I asked when I noticed the look on his face.

"You're going to eat that?"

"Yeah," I replied, "Why?"

He started giggling. "Looks like a bowl of maggots with dog meat."

"You look like you're biting on a big turd," I laughed as he started
choking on a bite of his burrito.

"Stop!" He hollered as we continued to laugh. The rest of the meal was the
same silly bantering. By the time we had finished eating, we were both
ready to puke the food we'd just eaten.

When Jeff looked across the food court, I had an opportunity to just stare
at him for a brief moment. He had changed a lot the past year. Maybe his
hormones had kicked in, but he was developing into a good-looking guy.

It is funny it had happened when I didn't even notice. Last year when I
thought he liked me, I just shrugged it off as a stage he was going
through. Now that I had admitted to myself that I was gay, I kind of
regretted that I had dismissed his actions so quickly. Then I didn't find
him attractive. However, today, looking across the table at him, sat a
handsome boy growing rapidly into a man.

Something came over me and I began to get depressed. Jeff was changing, and
I wasn't. I was still the same runty kid I had been last year and the years
before that. I hadn't realized it before, but he was now probably several
inches taller than I was this year. I hadn't grown and inch. I know, I
measured myself just the other day. Maybe a quarter inch, but no more.

Suddenly, Jeff looked over at me and smiled. For some reason I had to look
away before tears formed in my eyes. My head jerked back when I felt
something hit the side of my face. I looked back at Jeff and he was
grinning, prepared to hit me with another piece of his burrito.

"What?" I asked as I attempted to smile.

"Man, Woody," his smile faded to a concerned look. "You looked like you
were a thousand miles away. You okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I replied as I picked up my trash, got up and headed for the
trash bin. "Why wouldn't I be?" He hurried to catch up with me. As we
walked side by side out of the food court, I became aware of our height
difference. He was growing into a mighty oak. I was still a sapling.

We continued to walk around the mall, visiting several clothing shops. Jeff
tried to get me to join in his playfulness, but I was no longer in the
mood. After about an hour, he called his mother to come get him. I walked
him to the front entrance to wait with him until she arrived.

We were standing quietly looking out over the parking lot when he looked
down at me. "Is everything alright, Woody?"

I bit my lip and responded, "Yeah, sure, I'm alright. Why do you keep
asking me that?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I just care, okay." I shrugged my shoulders as
I continued to look for his mother's car.

"Listen, Woody," he said as he looked around to make sure no one was
coming. "If anything ever is wrong, and you want to talk about it." I
looked up at him and forced a smile.

"Thanks, Jeff," I responded, "but everything is okay. There's nothing wrong
with me." He started to say something else, but just then his mother turned
into the parking lot.  He walked over to the curb and waved at her. She
pulled up and he got in the car. As they pulled away, he smiled, held his
hand out the window and gave me the one finger salute.

I hurried back into the mall and headed toward Radio Shack. Once inside, I
strolled around acting as if I was just browsing. I didn't want to appear
too eager to buy a webcam. There were three guys working in the store and
they appeared to be college students. I'm quite sure they would know why I
wanted a webcam. I even scanned their bodies wondering if any of them could
be my Indyboi91.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" I heard a voice behind me
ask. I turned and it was the cutest of the three guys. He was just a little
taller than I was with short blond hair and blue eyes. I quickly looked
down at his shirt that contained his name. Travis.

"Uh, uh, yeah, Travis," I stammered out. I had to think quickly. I hadn't
come up with a reason for buying a webcam. I had no idea what they were
used for other than looking at naked guys in a chat room.

"Um," I looked into his blue eyes as he waited for me to say
something. "I'm looking for a webcam."

He raised an eyebrow. "A webcam?" I could feel my face start to redden.

"Um, yeah," I replied nervously. "My big brother is in college and he has
one. He wants me to get one so we can see each other when we chat."

Travis started laughing. "Your brother must be better looking than
mine. The last thing I'd want to do is look at his ugly mug on a cam."

"He's not ugly." I had no idea how to respond. "It's just that he's
hundreds of miles from home and he says he misses me, so he wants to see
me." Travis smiled and walked behind a counter. He pointed down at several
webcams on the top shelf.

"You have any idea what you're looking for?" I shook my head. He then began
to describe the cams and their different functions I was interested in only
one thing- price. The cheapest was listed at $2995. I figured it really
didn't matter what the quality of the picture was as long as I could get
into the site and show them Jon's ID.

"I'll take that one." I pointed to the cheapest cam He pulled a box from
under a lower shelf and laid it on the counter. After entering it into the
register, he asked me, "Cash or credit card?"

"Cash," I informed him as I dug into my pocket for the money.

"$33.67," he said as I handed him two twenties. After giving me my change,
he bagged the webcam and handed it to me.

I almost skipped through the mall to my bike. My heart was pounding inside
my chest. In just a few hours, I would be looking at a naked Indyboi91.

* * * * * * * * * * *

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