Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 07:09:59 EST
From: THRAWN5678@aol.com
Subject: Last Chance for Jason Chapter 4

Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) disavowal;
3) a statement made to save one's own ass. This is mainly a fictional story,
with some real people in it, and thus is not meant to reflect anything about
their sexuality. This story should not be read by anybody who is not legally
allowed to read it.. So if you're underage, leave right now!!

Author's Notes: Well, I finally got around to finishing this fourth chapter! All
my efforts were concentrated earlier on my big Halloween update, and after I got
hit with a flu-like bug, I've been a bit behind. And I've been doing plenty o'
planning as far as this story's backstory goes, and its future plot. So the next
update should be much sooner than this one.. If you have any comments or
suggestions, e-mail me at THRAWN5678@aol.com

I want to thank all the really kewl people who have sent me e-mail telling me
how much I like the story. I appreciate you all!! Special dedications go out to
Mike, my editor, for everything, and to Chris, who knows what he means to me!!

I've created a website for my two main stories. This way, you can read the most
recent versions of Last Chance and Never Guess!! Also, you can expect the website
to have the new chapters as they are written a few days before Nifty, so visit
if you want a jump on the story!! Vote on the Poll!! Sign the Guestbook!! Leave
a message on the message board!

http://www.squallthrawn.com

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

Last Chance for Jason
by Squall Thrawn

previously in Last Chance...

"Thank you, Kevin. Anyway, I'll leave you two boys to your conversation," said
Mrs. Parker, turning towards the door. "You're still welcome to stay for dinner
of course, Jason." She walked out the door, but turned around. "And if you two
help set the table in a while, I might just let the two of you sit next to each
other." The big grins on the boys' faces were immediate. With that, she left to
get dinner ready.

"Wow, Kevin, that was intense," said Jason, wiping his forehead. "But I can't
believe that your mother was so cool about it!!"

"I know, I never would have guessed," said Kevin, wiping his own forehead. "I
mean, I figured she'd come around eventually, but never this fast."

"What are we going to do about our fathers?" said Jason, his brow creasing
slightly. "I mean, my father would pitch a fit, definitely, and your mother
seems to think your father wouldn't approve either."

"I don't know, Jason, I don't know..."

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

Chapter 4

"So, who's your friend, Kevin?" asked Jonathan Parker as he sat down at the head
of the dinner table. Kevin and Jason were already seated next to each other on
Mr. Parker's right. Mr. Parker didn't seem to notice that Kevin's right hand and
Jason's left hand were both under the table.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Kevin apologetically. "Father, this is Jason Schuler."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Parker," said Jason, smiling shyly.

"Well, I'm glad to meet you too, Jason," said Kevin's father. "Kevin doesn't have
many friends over at the house anymore." Just then, Elayne Parker brought over
the steaming hot pan of lasagna. She cut four large squares of lasagna and placed
one on each plate.

"There's more if you're still hungry after that," said Elayne with a smile on her
face. "Nobody leaves this house hungry."

"Thank you, Elayne," said Jason, smiling broadly at her. Mrs. Parker sat down
across from Kevin. Mr. Parker made sure that everybody was settled, then he
clasped his hands together to begin the before-meal prayer. He noted with
satisfaction that there was no hesitation on Jason's part.

"Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy
bounty through Christ, our Lord, Amen."

"So, Jason," said Mr. Parker as they were eating, "Are your parents religious?"

"Sir, my mother died when I was three," said Jason, calmly. "My father has never
liked going to church, and stopped completely after my mother died. I still go
to church every week, though."

"Good," said Mr. Parker, nodding his head. "So, how did you two meet?"

Kevin shot a look at his mother, silently asking her why his father was
interrogating Jason. She shrugged slightly.

"We both work at Wal-mart," said Kevin. "Jason has my old job of pushing carts."

"Good, good," said Mr. Parker. "Nothing like honest work to keep kids out of
mischief. How old are you?"

"I'm 18, soon to be 19," said Jason. Anticipating the next question, he
volunteered some information. "I'll be entering college next year, but I haven't
decided which one yet. Most likely a local one. And I'm undecided on my major."

"At least you're planning on going to college," said Kevin's father, nodding.
"Not like these other kids who graduate from high school and get their
girlfriends pregnant and are forced to flip burgers at some fast-food
restaurant." Mr. Parker had little patience for people such as these, who, in
his opinion, wasted their potential and God-given talents. "Kevin here is
planning on going to law school, to follow in his father's footsteps, aren't you
Kevin?" Kevin merely offered a brittle smile.

"How was your day at work, today, honey?" Elayne Parker interjected, breaking up
her husband's interrogation. Soon enough he was droning on about a client of the
law firm he was a partner of, complaining about billing or some such nonsense,
according to him. Granted, anybody who had an opinion that differed from his,
was full of nonsense. Meanwhile, Kevin and Jason ate in silence, out of the
limelight. Eventually though, Mr. Parker's story about his- in his way of telling
it- exciting day at work ran down, and Mrs. Parker picked up the slack.

"So, what do you guys have planned for tonight?" asked Elayne, looking at the
two boys. Her tone of voice indicated to them that she wasn't resuming the
interrogation of before; indeed, she just sounded curious.

"Well, we were thinking about taking in a movie," said Kevin, smiling at his
mother.

"That sounds great, Kevin," said Elayne Parker, warmly. "Would either of you
like some more lasagna?"

"No thanks, Elayne," said Jason, smiling at her as well at her motherly attitude.
Jason was shocked at how quickly she had practically adopted him as another son.
He was sure that she was still having a few problems adjusting, but at the same
time Jason knew that her attitude was genuine. He could also see that Kevin's
father was going to be a major problem. Mr. Parker couldn't be less like Jason's
dad if he tried; the only similarity was their homophobia. But while Jason's
father opposed gays because it wasn't the "macho" thing to be, Jason suspected
that that didn't figure into Mr. Parker's equation at all. It was simply that it
wasn't what Mr. Parker had planned for Kevin, and it was against what Mr. Parker
believed in. He idly wondered which was the greater sin to Mr. Parker.

Just then, Kevin, whose right hand was already under the table, put his hand on
Jason's thigh and slowly started rubbing it. Jason turned abruptly towards Kevin,
who gave him the most innocent smile he'd ever seen. Jason smiled back shyly,
then blushed when he saw Elayne Parker's knowing smile. He gently but firmly
removed Kevin's hand from his thigh.

"Excuse me, Father?" said Kevin, respectfully. Mr. Parker looked at Kevin. "May
we be excused from the table?"

"Yes, you may," said Mr. Parker, nodding his head. "I'm glad to meet you Jason,
and I hope to meet you again."

"Thank you, sir," said Jason as he and Kevin stood up. "I know I'll be back;
this is probably the best meal  I've ever had."

"Thank you for the compliment, Jason!" said Elayne Parker. "You're welcome over
any time."

Jason thanked her for the open invitation and he and Kevin made their way to
Kevin's room.

"Do you see what I mean about my father?" asked Kevin as he closed the door
behind them.

"Yeah," said Jason. "He seems to be very.. umm... resistant to change." Jason was
struggling to be diplomatic.

"I guess you could say that," said Kevin, shaking his head. "That's probably the
nicest way of putting it."

"Do you want to go to law school and follow in your father's footsteps?" asked
Jason.

"Does it matter what I want?" asked Kevin bitterly. "The great and powerful
Jonathan Parker has spoken, and whatever he says is law."

"And yet you're willing to defy him by not giving in and 'becoming straight',"
noted Jason. He was sure he was going too far, but he couldn't help himself.
Kevin appeared as if he was going to get mad, but then the fight went out of his
eyes and his shoulders slumped.

"I just.. I don't want to disappoint my dad too much," mumbled Kevin, barely
audible. "I remember when my sister Jenna moved out and said that she was
through living the life my father had planned for her. My dad barely speaks to
her any more. I know my mother still keeps in touch with her, though. When Jenna
moved out, all the burden fell on me. If I got a B on a test, I was grounded for
a week. You'd think my father would make me quit my job if my grades weren't
good enough for his liking, but he insisted that I work. Said I needed the
experience and the discipline. Most kids argue with their parents on a frequent
basis, but I learned that there was no point, years ago. It's impossible to
argue with a parent who's a lawyer, and even if I did make a valid point, he'd
start saying that he was the head of the family, and what he said goes. Maybe,
just maybe, if I can convince him that I know what I'm talking about with my
sexual orientation, he'll relent on that. But career-wise? Not a chance in
Hell." Kevin finally turned towards Jason, and Jason was struck by the sense of
deep hurt, almost a sense of hopelessness.

Jason walked over to where Kevin was sitting, and stood in front of him.

"Listen to me, Kev," said Jason. "Before I talked to you today, I was a mess,
emotionally. But you gave me the greatest advice ever. You told me to follow my
heart. And it told me that I should be with you. Listen to your own advice. How
can you be happy if you're not doing something that you want to do? Follow your
heart. It'll steer you in the right direction, just as mine did." Jason used his
hand and gently wiped the tears from Kevin's eyes.

"Thanks, Jase," said Kevin emotionally. "I just need to think on this a bit, ok?"

"Take all the time you need, Kevin," said Jason sincerely. "And just know that
I'll be here if you want someone to support you."

Just then, somebody knocked on Kevin's door.

"Kevin, honey, it's me." Elayne Parker's voice was unmistakable. "Could I ask
you to do a favor for me?"

"Sure, Mom," said Kevin. "You can come in; we're decent." Jason giggled a bit at
his comment.

"I would hope so," said Elayne Parker as she opened the door and walked in,
smiling. "First of all, do you work Friday night?"

"I work Thursday night," said Kevin, "but I managed to have my Friday night off."

"How about you, Jason?" asked Elayne Parker, turning to Jason.

"I don't have to work on Friday night, either," said Jason. He turned to Kevin,
who gave him a grin.

"Well," said Elayne Parker, shaking her head at the expressions on their faces,
"I was wondering if you could pick your sister up at the airport at 7 pm."

Kevin's head jerked up. "Jenna's coming into town?"

"Well, her plane is landing a little before seven, so I guess that means she is
coming to town," said Mrs. Parker.

"Isn't this a bit short notice?" asked Kevin, curious.

"Well, you know how your sister is," said Mrs. Parker lightly, but Kevin could
sense that there was more to it than that. But he didn't pursue it.

"I'd be more than happy to pick her up," said Kevin, sincerely. He truly did
love his older sister.

"Thanks a lot, honey," said Elayne Parker. "Why don't you bring Jason along too?
I'm sure she'd be glad to meet one of your 'friends'; after all, she'll want to
see who took her place as best friend."

"You know that nobody could replace Jenna," said Kevin, smiling. "But I haven't
even come out to her. How could I introduce her to my boyfriend?" Jason smiled
at that comment.

"Try the same tactics that didn't work today with me," said Elayne drily. "But
practice. She'll at least be able to guess that there is somebody in your life,
so you have a choice. Introduce her to Jason, your boyfriend, or Jason, your
really close friend. So if and when you get the courage to tell her, it won't
take her by surprise."

"That sounds like a plan," said Kevin. He turned to Jason. "Do you want to come
along? It's your call."

"Well, if you don't think I'll be in the way of your reunion with your sister, I
would like to meet her," said Jason. "You've talked enough about her that I'm
eager to meet her for myself."

"Then its settled," said Mrs. Parker, satisfied. "I'll give her your cell phone
number, in case she doesn't have it. That way if something happens, she can get
ahold of you." With that, Mrs. Parker left Kevin's room, closing the door behind
her.

Kevin was already deep in thought. Jenna. Usually older sisters just tolerated
their younger brothers, and didn't give them much thought. And Jenna had been
seven years older than him. But Jenna had treated him almost as an equal. She
was undeniably his best friend. And when she was 16 and started dating, she made
sure that Kevin approved of her boyfriends.

Kevin remembered that day, seven years ago, when Jenna finally moved out.

-----

"Kevvy, can I talk to you about something?" Jenna said, walking into Kevin's
bedroom. He was busy playing a video game, but paused it and looked up at his
sister's serious face.

"Sure, Jenna," The twelve year old Kevin said, smiling. She was the only one
allowed to call him that, and then only when it was just the two of them. She'd
called him that for as long as he could remember.

"Well, you remember Casey?"

"How could I forget her?" asked Kevin, grinning. "She said I was cute." He still
didn't know if she meant it, or if she was just saying that because he was her
best friend's little brother. But he wasn't going to debate the matter.

"Yeah, she did say that," said Jenna, a brief smile on her lips. "Well, we've
been doing some thinking and planning, and we've finally found a cheap apartment
for us to rent down in Orlando, Florida. Her job has approved her transfer to
their division down there, and I'll check out the job market when I get down
there."

"What are you talking about, Jenna?" asked Kevin, his smile long gone.

"I'm moving out, Kevvy," said Jenna, her smile gone as well. "It's nothing you
did; don't ever think that. You're actually one of the only reasons why I waited
this long."

"Why are you moving?" asked Kevin, heartbroken. His best friend in the world was
leaving him.

"Because I'm tired of not being able to live my own life. Everything has been
dictated to me since before I was your age. I just want to be able to make my
own choices. And according to him, that's not possible." She practically spat
out the word 'him.' Kevin didn't need to ask who she was referring to. "I just
want to be myself. And Orlando's a beautiful place. When we get settled down
there and I earn some money, I'll buy you a plane ticket, and you can visit me
down there. And in the meantime, we can still talk on the phone. Okay, Kevin?"

"I'll miss you," said Kevin, his eyes tearing up. He gave his sister a big hug.

"You have no idea how much I'll miss you too," said Jenna, openly crying as well.
"Be good, and don't let him get you down." She reluctantly ended the hug, and
kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, Kevvy. Don't ever forget that."

-----

Seven years had passed since Jenna had left, and despite her promise to fly him
down to Orlando and call him frequently, Kevin had only seen her three times
since she moved out. His father had not taken the news well, and had cut her off
completely from contacting Kevin. On those rare times that she visited, they
could only meet outside of the house. And though she never admitted it, Kevin
suspected that living down in Orlando wasn't quite as easy, or as cheap as Jenna
had made it sound.

"Hey, Kev! You there?" Jason cut into Kevin's reminiscing. Kevin jumped.

"Oh, sorry, Jase. I was just thinking," said Kevin.

"That was fairly obvious," said Jason, smiling. "Thinking about your sister,
aren't you?"

"Yup," said Kevin. "It's been a while since I've seen her. Two years, I think.
I've talked to her on the phone a few times since then. My father doesn't allow
too many calls to her. Sometimes I get the feeling he's blocked out the fact
that he even has a daughter. I do chat with her online occasionally, when she's
using her friend's computer." Just then, Kevin looked at his watch. "Shit! if we
don't hurry, we'll miss the 7:20 showing of Spider-Man." The two boys jumped up
and quickly made their way out the door to Kevin's car.

"Don't drive too reckless," said Jason, as he buckled his seatbelt. "I would
like to get there in one piece."

"Don't worry! Trust me!" said Kevin with a grin on his face.

-----

"So, what did you think of the movie?" said Kevin, as he and Jason walked out of
the movie theatre.

"That was totally awesome!!" said Jason, grinning. "And Tobey Maguire and James
Franco were pretty hot, too!"

"Hotter than me?" asked Kevin, mock seriously. He stopped and looked at Jason as
if he was hurt by the thought.

"Hmmm.." said Jason, as if he was seriously considering it. Then he grinned
widely. "Not a chance in the world!!" He quickly looked around to see if anybody
was watching, and gave Kevin a peck on the cheek. Realizing how exposed they
were, his face turned a bright pink.

Kevin glanced around. "I don't think anybody saw us, and even if we did, there
probably wouldn't be anybody we know here." With that, he kissed Jason back.
Without further incident, they made it back to Kevin's car and started back on
their way to his house so that Jason could get his car.

"Hey, Kevin?" asked Jason, as they drove along the highway. "How are we going to
handle work?"

"What do you mean, Jase?" asked Kevin, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Well, for starters, I seriously doubt it would be a good idea to come out. You
know how the people there are."

"That's probably true," said Kevin, nodding his head. "And they'll probably
assume we're a couple if we start hanging around each other constantly, after
not talking for all these months."

Jason winced. "I wasn't sure of my feelings, and I didn't want to be outted at
that place. Despite the fact that I flirted with the girls there quite often,
some of the guys there were teasing me about being gay. That's why I showed them
that first note. I thought it was a joke from one of them."

"Well, all that matters is that it did work out," said Kevin, smiling. "I've an
idea. I'll come around and start talking to you, gradually, and eventually
everybody will accept that we're friends now."

"That should work," said Jason. "You're a really smart guy, Kev. How did I get
so lucky?"

Kevin blushed crimson.

-----

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at work," said Kevin, as Jason got to his car.
"Drive carefully."

"Alright, Kev," said Jason, unlocking his door. "Have a nice night. Sweet dreams,
and all that good stuff." Kevin laughed.  He quickly glanced around, and kissed
Jason. Not a peck on the cheek, but a real kiss. Jason tensed at first, since
they were somewhat exposed here, but soon relaxed. Jason's mouth opened and
Kevin's tongue was soon exploring every part of Jason's mouth. Kevin could feel
himself getting hard, and from the feeling of something poking him in the hip,
Jason was getting excited as well. So Kevin reluctantly broke the kiss, before
they got too excited. Jason smiled that shy smile and opened his car door.

"I... Sleep well, Jase," said Kevin, changing what he was about to say.

"With thoughts of you, how could I not?" said Jason, smiling. He was soon
pulling out of the driveway, and heading towards his home.

Kevin silently cursed himself for almost slipping there. It was too soon to be
saying something like that. He didn't want to scare Jason away or anything.

Kevin walked to the front door of his home, his mind filled with thoughts of
Jason, and of the thought of his sister coming to visit.

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

So we find out about Kevin's sister! Will she accept him or reject him? And what
about Kevin's father? RAFO!!!

Squall Thrawn
THRAWN5678@aol.com
http://www.squallthrawn.com