Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:54:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lost Cause <l0st_cause@yahoo.com>
Subject: Learning To Fall

Disclaimer: The following story is Fictional. It contains descriptions of
homosexual activities. if you find this type of story offensive, or viewing
this material is illegal where you are, then please leave now. This is the
work of fiction. Any similarities to persons living, dead, space aliens,
goats, or others are purely coincidental. There may be sexual content so if
this, in any form, offends you, please cease reading. Also, if you are not
of legal age to read this, please don't.

Learning To Fall

By L0st Cause

Getting out of my car, I walked over the grassy hills towards the edge of
the road. I'd been just driving around, not really going anywhere, more to
clear my head than to reach any particular destination. Until, that is, I
reached the end of the road. There were construction signs posted all over
the place, including dead end signs and danger signs. I had ignored them
all, driving as close as my car could get without falling over the cliff,
not that I would've minded, but I figured why make a mess of my car. There
were danger, do not pass signs in front of me, as well as some chains, but
I ignored them all and walked past to the edge of the cliff.

Standing just a few inches from the edge, I felt the heavy wind blowing
against my body, sending my long, light brown hair to wander all around my
face. The gusty breeze gently pushed me back, away from the edge of the
cliff. I looked straight ahead of me into the sun as it fell inexorably
towards the horizon, its golden hue reflecting into the ocean. I could see
my own reflection in that surreal sea. It was impossible. But as I looked
closer, I could see that it was indeed my own hazel green eyes staring back
at me. I looked again towards the sun and thought how delightful it seemed,
and knew, in that instant, this was the time and way I wanted to go^Å.into
the sunset. Below me I watched the ocean waves crash into the rocky shore,
causing volumes of water to soar endlessly. It looked to be about a
fifty-foot drop, straight into the rocky ocean.

I took a deep breath. "No one will even notice I'm gone," I said out loud
to no one in particular.The gusts had gained in strength and swept across
the mountain, making it hard to hear anything but the ocean crashing into
the mountain on which I stood.

"I would," came the soft voice of a young man. I froze. The voice was calm
and soothing, although I didn't recognize it.

I looked down again, and hoped that this mystery man would just get the
hint and walk away, but he didn't.

"Isn't it beautiful?" the stranger said softly, but loud enough for me to
hear. I wasn't sure what to say or do. I thought I was alone and that no
one would ever find me, but now, that all seemed to have changed.

I slowly turned around. The first thing I noticed about this mystery man
was his age. He looked to be about my age, maybe a little older. I also
couldn't help but notice how amazingly beautiful this guy was. He stood
about 5'11" in height, just a little taller than myself, and skinny, but
well built and toned. His eyes were a deep light brown, and his hair was a
mix of different shades of brown. He also had these dimples that matched
him so perfectly. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a white t shirt.

I've never seen a man quite like this before. I knew it couldn't be real^Å
but why was he talking to me? "Maybe he just feels pity for me because he
knows what I was about to do," I thought to myself. I looked up and noticed
the stranger's eyes still on mine. I turned back around and looked at the
sunset, closer this time.

"It is beautiful," I said softly.

"So are you," came the reply. I turned around again, and saw the stranger
was blushing a bit. Soon, I found myself meekly smiling back.

"You have an amazing smile," the stranger said. I slowly began wondering
why I felt so comfortable around this guy, someone I've never met before in
my life. Just his voice made me feel like nothing else mattered. Somehow he
just made everything right.

This stranger carefully moved a little forward towards me, while his eyes
watched mine intensely. Without even thinking, I moved backwards a tad, not
understanding why he was coming so close. I continued to move back until I
seemed to run out of land. I saw the panic in his eyes just as I felt my
entire body being lifted off the cliff, and slowly falling... I could hear
his voice screaming my name, but I continued to fall, it felt endless. The
wind ploughed into my body, propelling me downward into that surreal sea. I
don't know how but I looked up and met his eyes once more, but this time he
wasn't alone. There, beside him, shined a figure in the shape of a woman
made of pure light, her eyes focused on the stranger. I could tell they
were somehow related. Those thoughts quickly faded, though, and I drifted
off into the depths of the ocean.

***

"Wake up!" Tyler was roused from his sleep to the sound of his mother
yelling from downstairs.

"Fuck," he cursed to himself. Tyler, quickly sat up, he could feel his
whole body shaking violently.

"Tyler!" came another yell from downstairs.

"I'm up," he screamed back. Tyler lay on his bed, going back and
remembering everything that had just happened in his dream. Tyler wondered
what this guy represented; why had he been so attracted to someone he'd
never met before. Tyler remembered that when he saw this stranger, nothing
else mattered; somehow, all the pain and fears that he had been
experiencing in his dream just disappeared. Tyler also remembered the
feelings that rushed to him as he was falling, he couldn't believe how real
it all seemed to him.

Tyler thought maybe this guy might have been a symbol of his boyfriend,
showing how much they cared about each other. The only problem with that
was Tyler didn't feel much for his boyfriend. He enjoyed his company but
nothing more^Å he didn't feel the passion, the love, the magic he felt when
he had been with his Dream Man. That's what he began to call him^Å his
Dream Man. He didn't give his dream much more thought as he started to get
ready for another day of school. Tyler walked into the kitchen to be
greeted by his mother, father and his little brother Ethan.

Ethan is three years younger than his brother, and looked up to him for
everything. Ethan frequently told his brother how much he wanted to be just
like him when he was older. Ethan and Tyler went to the same high
school. Unlike most siblings, they rarely fought. It seemed astonishing to
their parents how well these boys got along. They weren't, however, about
to question their good fortune. Tyler made himself some breakfast and sat
next to his little brother. Tyler's mother and father had the news turned
on, like they did most mornings. On the news this morning, they were having
a debate on gay marriage. Once Tyler's parents realized what the debate was
about, they quickly changed the channel, muttering something about how all
gays should be locked away. Tyler knew where his parents stood on gays. He
also knew how close-minded they could be. He wished that someday he would
be able to tell them, but knew that it most likely would never happen.

Tyler left his house and drove into his school's parking lot. He got out of
his car and walked towards his school. Usually, he would have picked up his
boyfriend on the way to school, but today he hadn't. He didn't understand
why. He only sensed that today was somehow different. In fact, Tyler's
whole world was about to change.

On the other side of town lay another male adolescent stirring
awake. Zachary got out of what he called his bed, which was nothing but two
old mattresses stacked one on the other. He stared up at the ceiling,
knowing another blissfully awkward day awaited him. Zachary reached under
his pillow and took a hold of the only memory he had left of his mother. He
put on the pendant she had left him last year. Zachary's mother had been
diagnosed with cancer when Zachary was ten years old. The doctors had told
her to keep taking her medication and treatment regimen. But being a single
mother with an underpaid job had been hard on the both of them. Zach had
done everything he could to help his mom, including getting his own job at
the local drug store. Because he was still underage to be working, he had
been paid under the table, although the hard labor he was put to had been
hardly worth it. The day he had found her laying on the living room floor
was the hardest thing he had ever had to face. His mother had asked only
one thing of him before she passed and that was that he finished high
school and attend college with the money she had saved for him by not
buying her medicine and by not having to pay hospital bills. She had told
Zach that she wanted him to find someone special and to move on with his
life. Her last words were forever written into his heart.

"Zachary, I will always be with you, no matter how old you get, your
memories of me will be with you forever, and I'll always be looking after
you, just look for me in your dreams."

To this day Zachary still blames himself for the loss of his mother. Even
if he barely had the money to pay for food, he knew that he had to keep his
promise to his mother, and that was exactly what he went on to do. He knew
that she could have lived longer, but she had taken it upon herself not to,
so that Zachary could try to make a better life for himself. Zachary loved
his mom more than anyone; he couldn't believe what she had done just so he
could have a better life. He felt so many different emotions, but most of
all he felt his heart ache at the loss of his mother. Zach kept a picture
of himself and his mother in the pendent; it was a way for him to always
remember her, to keep her close to his heart. Zach looked at the clock and
saw he had little time to waste. He got into the shower and quickly got
dressed; he left for school at the local community college, not too far
from his apartment building.

As Tyler began to walk up the long flight of stairs leading to the entrance
of his school, he noticed almost every student he had passed turned around
to look at him. Tyler knew he was "good looking" because he had often been
told so by friends, or even complete strangers. But the fact that everyone
who turned around to look at him had a confused or angry look on their
faces, started to get Tyler wondering what he was walking into. Tyler was
in 11th grade at his high school and it was a pretty big school, holding
about six hundred students.

As he opened the two oversized doors leading into Burnsides High, he was
tossed face first onto his ass. Tyler is pretty skinny, and the guy that
happened to throw him down was a lot bigger then he was. Tyler slowly got
up, and that's when he noticed that the guy who had knocked him down onto
the floor was standing right in front of him, with the most disgusted look
on his face. Tyler recognized this 6'3" football player as James.

"Watch where you're going, faggot!" James spat into Tyler's face.

Tyler was shocked, to say the least. James played football with Tyler's
boyfriend, Tim. The fact that Tim was always with Tyler, made all the other
jocks treat Tyler as one of them.

"What the fuck is your problem, James?" Tyler spat back, getting angry. He
noticed a big crowd around them and suddenly began looking for Tim. James
seemed to quickly notice this.

"You," he said angrily pointing a finger at Tyler. "You're my problem, and
quit looking for your boyfriend, because he ain't here," James hollered,
making sure everyone could hear him.

"What did you do to him?" Tyler said quickly, now very worried. It hadn't
even hit him that he had just admitted to being gay in front of most of the
student body.

"Me? I didn't do a damn thing^Å it was you that drove him off, you homo."

"What the fuck are you talking about," Tyler replied getting very agitated
now.

"You heard me, he told his parents all about you, and what you were doing
to him. How you turned him gay and how he was too scared of what you were
going to do to him if he told you no^Å So now he's gone far far away from
you^Å And you're going to pay for driving our best fucken quarterback away
from us, fag," James stated clearly. His face had turned dark shades of
red.

Tyler didn't know what to say or do; he'd always thought Tim loved him, he
knew he didn't love Tim, not in the same way Tim loved him, but to think
that he could make up such lies hurt him deeply. But then Tyler started to
think about it, and began to put the pieces together. Just a few days ago,
Tyler had told Tim about how he felt towards him, and that it was best they
just stayed friends. Tim took it hard that day, but sounded better on the
phone the next day, though

Tyler now realized that he hadn't been okay at all.

"What do you say, guys, let's teach this faggot a lesson," James hollered.

There were a few "yeahs" and what not. Tyler was scared; he didn't know
what to do. He tried to back up as James moved in on him, but he bumped
into another football player behind him and got shoved onto the floor
again. Just as James picked him up, he made a fist with his left hand, but
before he could hit Tyler with it, some of the school's teachers broke them
apart. Everyone was sent to their classes, but Tyler was sent to the
principal's office.

"Mr. Young, please come in," the principal said as Tyler walked into his
office and took a seat on the other side of him.

"Now why don't you tell me why you started a fight with the other boys," he
said while leaning back in his chair.

"Sir, I didn't start the fight," Tyler said calmly.

"That's not what the other kids said, son, now why don't you just tell me
why you started it?" The principal was very hard-headed, and it started to
get to Tyler.

"I said I didn't start it!" Tyler screamed.

"Watch your tone with me, young man!," the principal scowled.

Tyler gave the principal a fierce look and just kept quiet.

"Fine, you said you didn't start it. So why don't you tell me what happened
then," he said.

"I was just walking into school when James and the rest of the football
team cornered me in the halls, and started to push me around," Tyler said
quickly.

"And what did you do, to make them so angry towards you?"

"I didn't do a thing," Tyler stated.

"Could this be because you chose to like boys instead of girls?" the
principal asked as he took off his glasses.

Tyler was speechless; did the principal just say that, Tyler thought.

"Look, Mr. Young, you have a good record, an `A' student, and all your
teachers are very fond of you, so I won't suspend you, but I will make it a
requirement that you see the school counsellor. He has dealt with boys with
the same problem as you, and will help to show you the right way."

Tyler was pissed, to say the least. He often overheard stories of boys, who
had been either accused of being gay or out, sent to this counsellor's
office, and how he talks about how wrong it is to be gay, and that it is
the biggest sin and blah blah blah. Tyler knew he wasn't going to stand for
this, no matter what happened to him^Å he was already pretty much screwed,
so why not stand up for what he had left^Å his pride.

"What?" Tyler screamed.

"Now you listen to me, don't you dare raise..." But Tyler cut him off.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? I'm gay. It's not something I chose to
be and, really, it's none of your fucken business if I'm gay or not. I will
not talk to homophobes like you, who will try to tell me I'm sick," Tyler
shouted. The principal look outraged, he stood up and grabbed Tyler's file.

"That's it! You are suspended for two weeks, now get out of my school
before I expel you," he demanded.

"Do whatever you want, I'm out of here," Tyler yelled as he jumped out of
his seat and headed for the door.

Tyler was so pissed he kicked the principal's door open and slammed it
shut, causing everyone in that office to turn and stare at him. As Tyler
stormed out of the office, he walked past James who had a big grin
plastered all over his face. He stopped and turned around. He walked back
towards James and punched him in the face. James hit the floor like a sack
of potatoes. Tyler made sure that smirk was off of James's face before he
ran out of the school as quickly as he could. He got into his car and
left. But as Tyler was driving off he noticed another car, a blue Toyota,
leaving as well. A few minutes later his phone rang, he checked it and saw
it was a text message. As soon as he could, he pulled over onto the side of
the road, opened up his cell phone and read the message.

Tyler

Look I know you most likely hate my guts right now, but I'm sorry. See the
day you told me you just wanted to be friends, I ended up outing myself to
my parents. They took it badly and refused to have a homo for a son, so
they made me make up that story, and made us move^Å You must be going
through hell right now, and I'm really sorry but I had no choice. I got my
own reputation to look after right now and I can't have you messing that up
for me. So this way I can get you out of my head and stop being gay,
because we moved far away from you. Tyler, you broke my heart, and I can't
deal with it^Å But you brought this on yourself^Å

Sorry it had to end this way, but look at the bright side, if things really
get bad at school you can just move away. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your
life, because I know I will enjoy mine.

The text message was sent from an anonymous user, but he knew who had sent
it. He wondered how anyone could do something so horrible. One moment Tyler
had everything, a loving family, tons of friends and a boyfriend. Even if
he didn't feel anything for him, he was still a friend, or at least that's
what he had thought. But now it seemed Tyler had lost it all. Most of the
people at Tyler's school now hated him, and he knew his parents weren't
going to take his coming out very well. Tyler wondered why, what did he
ever do to deserve this fate. Tyler hated the fact that he had to do that
to Tim, but he couldn't help it. He didn't feel anything for Tim and it's
not like he used him or had sex with him, it was quite the opposite. Tim
had often used Tyler, hell, Tyler even caught Tim with another guy but let
it go.

Tyler didn't know what to do; he knew he couldn't go home now since Tim
more than likely had told his family all about him, like he did at
school. So he decided to drive and just see where the road would take
him. He drove for about two hours, with tears running down his face, as if
he'd just lost a loved one. To him he kind of did, he lost everything that
he thought made his life right. He turned up the music and kept driving
until he spotted this nice little coffee place. He thought about it and
figured it was a good place to maybe just sit, relax and think.

Tyler pulled into the parking lot, and slowly made his way into the coffee
shop. As he entered, he noticed it was a pretty big place. The counter
where you order your drink was right in the center, and they also had a
small bakery. There were about twenty or so tables spread around the room,
some big some small. To one corner, there were a few computers on for
customer use. It was a very clean place and very nice. It looked like the
place just opened up. Tyler looked around and noticed the place was pretty
busy, so he looked up at the menu, and decided on a White Chocolate Mocha
Frappuccino. He walked up to the counter and ordered his drink. The girl
who took his order seemed about his age, and was very cute and
friendly. After she made his drink, he looked and found a small table
towards the back, kind of away from everyone else. He decided that would be
a perfect place to sit.

It was a table for two, so Tyler just sat on one of the chairs and started
to think about everything that would likely be happening to him. The more
Tyler thought about things the worse it was making him feel, so he decided
to read his favorite book to get his mind off everything that was going
on. He opened up his backpack and took out his book, and before he knew it
his head was deeply into the book, stopping to take a sip of his coffee
every now and then. He was so focused on the book that he didn't even
notice the guy standing in front of him.

Zachary had finished his classes early, his last class having been
cancelled, he was glad to finally get out and be able to enjoy one of his
few days off of work. He decided that with what spare cash he had, he would
treat himself to some coffee, to help him relax, and really enjoy his day
off. He headed off to the only coffee shop he ever went to. He walked in
and waited in the long line ahead of him. As he was waiting, he looked over
to his favorite table to see that it had been taken. Zach got bummed a tad,
seeing as how he always sat at that same table the few times he had been
there. But he noticed that the guy sitting there seemed to be alone, Zach
looked around and saw that all the other tables were occupied, so after
ordering his drink he walked towards his favorite table.

"Um excuse me, is this seat taken?" asked the guy standing right next to
Tyler.

Tyler stopped reading his book and thought about it for a moment, there was
something about his voice, something that made him feel okay. Tyler decided
there was nothing wrong with it and said, "No. Help yourself." With that
the stranger quietly took the seat opposite from Tyler. Tyler went back to
reading his book.

"Must be a good book," the same voice said. There was that same familiar
soothing voice.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites," Tyler said as he gently placed his book
down onto the table, and picked up his almost empty coffee. As he took a
sip, he looked up meeting the stranger's eyes with his own. Tyler's jaw
dropped, and so did his coffee. He was looking into the eyes of the same
man who had been in his dream.

All Tyler could hear was the sound of his plastic coffee cup as it dropped
onto the floor. Tyler couldn't believe what he was seeing: the same
different shades of brown in his hair, the same eyes, everything right down
to the dimples, all the same as in his dream. Tyler couldn't help but find
himself staring at this man; his Dream Guy was now sitting right in front
of him, wearing a white polo and some long dark jeans.

"Are you okay?" asked the voice, bringing Tyler out of his trance. He
quickly realized what he had just done and picked up his coffee cup off the
floor, thankful it was almost empty so nothing spilled out.

"I'm fin^Å fine," Tyler stammered out. Tyler looked up again, and noticed
the concerned look on the stranger's face.

"I'm sorry," Tyler stated calmly. "It's just you^Å" Tyler hesitated and
thought about what he was just going to say. Did he really want to tell
this stranger about his dream? Tyler quickly decided not to.

"Never mind, look I better get going," Tyler said as he quickly grabbed his
stuff and headed for the door. But as he started to walk away from the
table he was stopped.

"Wait!" said the stranger as he quickly stood up and walked over to Tyler.

Tyler froze, and slowly turned around, only to find himself staring
straight into those beautiful brown eyes he had dreamt about.

"My name's Zach," the stranger said as he stuck out his hand to shake
Tyler's.

"My name's Tyler," he said shyly as he took Zach's hand into his own and
shook it. Just feeling Zach's touch sent shivers through Tyler's body. He
didn't know why but he didn't want to let go. He kept glancing at Zach and
the smile he had on his beautiful face.

"Umm can I have my hand back?" Zach asked softly. Tyler didn't realize he
was still holding it, and looked down to see that he was and quickly let
go, while turning dark shades of red.

"Sorry," Tyler said meekly. Zach just gave Tyler a reassuring smile.

Suddenly Tyler's cell phone started to ring, and as he looked at it he saw
Home flash across the screen. Tyler quickly started to shake. Zach watched
as Tyler's whole expression changed from happy to terribly frightened.

"Look, I really got to go, but it was really nice meeting you, Zach," Tyler
said slowly. Tyler walked out of the coffee shop, feeling useless once
again. He hopped into his car. As he turned the engine, his cell phone rang
again. He turned off his engine and answered his phone.

"Hello," he said as calmly as he could, but noticed how shaky his voice
was.

"Tyler, get home now," came his mother's voice. He noticed how angry she
was and could hear his father in the background talking about how he
wouldn't have a fag for a son. Tyler's heart dropped. He quickly hung up
the phone without even saying a word. He collapsed onto his steering wheel,
his face buried in his hands, and all his tears came flowing down his
cheeks. There was a soft knock on Tyler's window and he jumped. But as he
looked up he saw a very worried Zach outside. He wiped the remaining tears
out of his eyes, opened his door and stepped out.

"Tyler, what's wrong?" Zach said calmly. Tyler closed his car door and just
leaned on his car, still trying to wipe the tears from his eyes. But Zach
grabbed his hand, and with his other he softly wiped the remaining tears
from Tyler's eyes. Their eyes locked onto each other. Tyler couldn't hold
it in anymore and broke down.

"Everything's ruined, why, why does this have to happen to me for^Å I
didn't do anything," Tyler screamed. He started to slip from his car, but
Zach quickly grabbed him and held him close. Tyler let his head fall on
Zach's shoulder as he began to let all his tears out. Zach held Tyler very
close, rubbing his back. Zach started to wonder what had happened to Tyler,
he had seemed perfect back in the coffee shop, and now it's like he's a
totally different person. Zach and Tyler must have been standing like that
for about 30 minutes until Tyler finally started to calm down. Zach didn't
know what was bothering Tyler so much, but he knew he couldn't let him go
home. Zach saw how Tyler reacted when his phone rang and figured it was
probably a big family problem. Zach really had no clue what the real reason
was.

"Look, thanks for everything, Zach, but I really need to get going home,
I..." but Zach cut him off.

"Tyler, why don't you come spend the night with me? I know you don't know
me too well or anything, but I think it's better than you going home right
now, and hey, you don't even have to spend the night, you could just stay
for a few hours and hang out," Zach said, giving Tyler a smile.

"I don't know^Å wouldn't your parents^Å" But Tyler stopped as he noticed
Zach's entire face go blank at the mention of his parents.

"I live alone, my mom passed away a few years ago," Zach said calmly
forcing a weak smile. It was very difficult for Zach to talk to anyone
about his mother, yet somehow he knew it would be okay with Tyler.

Tyler gave it much thought before he replied, "Okay."

Zach seemed confused. "Okay?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, if your offer is still on the table, I'd like to take it," Tyler
stated.

Zach's smile came back in full force. "My offer is always available to you,
Tyler," Zach said giving Tyler a quick wink. Tyler didn't know what came
over him as he moved closer to Zach and engaged him into a hug, Zach
happily returned Tyler's hug. Tyler asked Zach where he lived and whose car
they were going to take.

"I don't have my car with me; I usually catch the bus to wherever I have to
go."

"Unless it's somewhere far, then I'll drive," Tyler offered. So they both
agreed that Tyler would drive the both of them to Zach's house.

When they arrived, Tyler noticed that Zach lived in a very elegant
apartment building. As Zach led the way, Tyler couldn't help but stare at
Zach's ass. He thought just about everything about Zach was so amazingly
beautiful. When they got inside, Zach explained how it was a one bedroom
apartment and showed Tyler around the small place. Tyler noticed that
Zach's place was very clean; he had a nice place but the couch looked a
little haggard. He also noticed how empty Zach's place was. He really
didn't seem to have a whole lot of things. When Zach showed Tyler his room,
Tyler loved it. Zach's room was three different colors: blue, white and
green. Zach explained how he'd always wanted to be a designer and that he
had painted his room. Tyler was speechless. It looked as if it had been
done by a pro or one of those TV shows where they redo your room. Tyler was
really impressed.

The boys spent the next few hours getting to know each other. Neither boy
went into full detail about their lives, but each of them sensed the other
was hiding something, something neither of them wanted to pursue. Zach
explained how he was a freshman at the local college, just a few blocks
from his house, and that he worked a part time job to pay for rent and
other expenses.

Before they knew it, it was about 11:00pm and Zach persuaded Tyler to spend
the night, since it was already late. Tyler agreed and thanked Zach
endlessly. When it was time for bed, Zach insisted that Tyler take the bed
and he would take the couch. Finally, they both agreed that since it was a
king sized bed, they could both share it. They crawled into the bed with
just their boxers on.

"Zach, thanks again for today," Tyler said as he rolled over to face him.

Zach smiled, "Anytime, Tyler."

"Goodnight," Tyler said as he rolled back over.

"Goodnight!" Zach said as he closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next day, as Tyler awoke, he was shocked. Somehow during the night he
and Zach must have rolled closer to each other, and now Zach was behind
Tyler spooning him. Tyler felt scared. He didn't know what Zach would think
about this when he woke up. So instead of trying to get up, Tyler snuggled
against Zach and just enjoyed being held. A few moments later he felt Zach
stir and knew he was starting to wake up.

"Morning, Tyler," Zach said sleepily. Tyler froze; did Zach know he was
awake? Should he just make like he was still sleeping?

"Morning," he said softly, not quite sure why he said it. After a few more
moments, Zach let Tyler go and moved away from him. Tyler quickly turned
around to find Zach wide awake and staring at Tyler.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to sleeping with someone else, and when I do, I
usually end up cuddling with them like that," Zach said, but Tyler quickly
noticed he looked a little worried.

"Don't worry about it," Tyler replied quickly. "It felt nice," he finished,
again not sure why he said it.

Zach raised an eyebrow and smiled; he moved closer to Tyler and held him
again.

Tyler immediately smiled and let out a small sigh. He enjoyed Zach holding
him more than anything else. They were now both wide awake, but still
snuggled in bed together.

Tyler just leaned back into Zach, and wished that the feeling of their bare
skin rubbing against each other would never end. But it did, sooner then
Tyler expected; Zach let go of Tyler and slowly got out of the bed. Tyler
watched as Zach stretched out and walked into the bathroom, but just before
he walked into the other room, Zach turned around and gave Tyler a gentle,
soothing smile. As Zach went out of Tyler's sight, all Tyler could do was
lay there alone, speechless. Somehow Zach's smile felt more then just a
smile to Tyler, he saw it as some kind of message, like a "Please don't
leave, I'll be right back," smile, if that's even possible. Tyler thought
he was going insane. This whole time he was with Zach, he didn't think
about anything else. He felt safe, happy and^Å loved when he was with
Zach. But how can someone you don't even know love you? Hell, Tyler didn't
even know if he was gay or not^Å maybe he was, but that doesn't mean that
he liked Tyler.

The one thing that Tyler couldn't understand was why he let himself open up
to Zach; he never let anyone into his life, never! So what makes Zach so
special? Tyler glanced over at his phone to see that it was already,
2:00pm. Once Zach returned, the two of them decided instead of going out,
they were going to stay at Zach's apartment and watch a movie or two. That
is indeed what they did. They lay in Zach's bed and let the movie play,
often times Tyler would catch himself staring at Zach, and their eyes would
make contact. Tyler would quickly turn away, not knowing how Zach might
react. Tyler awoke to the sound of his cell phone; he hadn't even noticed
he had fallen asleep. Tyler looked up to meet Zach's eyes once again. He
gave Tyler a quick smile, as his eyes went back to the movie. Tyler didn't
recognize the movie; he figured it must have been a different one than what
they had been watching earlier. He picked up his cell phone and ignored the
missed call, only to see that it was now a little past 6:00pm. Zach noticed
Tyler staring at his phone, and gave him a questioning look.

Tyler's cell phone started to ring again, interrupting his thoughts.

"Shit!" he thought to himself, as he answered the phone.

"Where the hell are you?" screamed through the receiver. He paused, shocked
by the tone of his mother's voice, not knowing what to say. As he was about
to respond, Zach snatched the phone out of his hands. He greeted Tyler's
mother calmly, and you could hear her from a mile away screaming her lungs
dry. Zach quickly walked away from the bedroom, whispering to Tyler's
mother. Tyler could feel himself shaking.

"Why did Zach do that?" he thought to himself, and then he quickly
panicked. "What if Mom tells him I'm gay?" Tyler began to shake even
more. When finally he had felt safe and loved, he was about to have it all
taken away again.

Tyler felt all the tears rushing into his eyes again; he knew he couldn't
live like this anymore, he didn't want to. He just wanted this to be over^Å
for all of this to end. In that instant, he climbed out of bed and began to
put his clothes back on. He started running out of the apartment, his only
goal being to get away. As he rushed out of Zach's room, he unintentionally
knocked Zach down, straight on his ass. Tyler hesitated for a moment,
wanting to say something, but, instead, made a run straight for the
door. He felt horrible about knocking Zach down like that^Å But if Zach
knew about him, he probably didn't even care; in fact, he would be doing
Zach a favor by just getting out of his place. Tyler rushed for his car. As
he got there, he realized he didn't have his keys. He panicked again as he
heard footsteps coming from the building. Thinking fast, he felt his back
pocket and reached in, and found a set of car keys. He took them out
hurriedly and opened the car door. As he got in he quickly turned the
engine on and gassed it out of Zach's parking lot.

Tyler sighed with a feeling of relief, until it hit him again that he had
no idea where he was going. He didn't know the area where Zach lived, he
was now lost. So he just drove; he noticed a car that seemed to be
following him, but thought nothing of it as he remembered Zach saying there
was something wrong with his car. So he continued on his journey, to where
he still didn't know. Tyler was looking for something, but he just couldn't
put a finger on it. Tyler drove for another two miles, until he reached a
dead end sign. He stopped his car in the middle of the road and stepped out
onto the pavement.

"That's it," he screamed, as he jumped for joy. That's what Tyler was
looking for, that sign told it all for him. He got back into his car and
kept going straight. There were a few more dead end signs. He reached a
chain gate, blocking the path. He turned off his car and got out. As he
looked around, he was surrounded by trees and mountains. He walked towards
the chain gate, and crawled under it. As he reached the other side, he knew
he was now where he was supposed to be, it was exactly how it was in his
dream, the same signs posted around. He walked more until he reached the
cliff's edge and couldn't go forward anymore, well, just not yet.

He looked up at the sky and it was just like in his dream again, the sun
was setting down into the ocean. He felt the wind, as it brushed against
him. Tyler looked down and watched as the ocean waves crashed down onto the
bottom of the cliff. As Tyler stared at his own reflection off the water,
he noticed something was different, his eyes were no longer green, in the
reflection they were now brown, a very light brown. Tyler looked closer at
the reflection and saw that it wasn't his eyes staring back at him, they
were Zach's. Tyler was confused, he moved a little closer to take another
look, but as he leaned over, he started to lose his balance. His life
flashed before his very eyes. He could hear himself screaming out, as the
ground beneath him began to loosen. He felt the impact of the air rushing
through him, his whole body went stiff, he couldn't hear a sound, he
couldn't even breath, all he could feel was a pulling, a pulling around his
waist, taking him backwards.

Tyler closed his eyes, wondering if he were now in heaven. He still felt
whatever was around his waist holding on tighter then ever before, slowly
and gently pulling him backwards. He had no clue what was going on, but
kept his eyes closed. That's when, suddenly, whatever it was that was
holding him let go. Tyler didn't know why, but he felt lost. He sensed that
whatever had been holding him, held more than just his body. He knew that
sounded crazy, but he also knew that he needed to have that feeling
back. He opened his eyes to see that he was still on top the cliff, looking
into the sunset. Tyler looked down once more, and that's when he saw what
or, better yet, who it was that had been holding onto him^Å. It was
Zach. Those light brown eyes locked onto Tyler's green eyes. He slowly
turned around and found himself face to face, with his hero. Tyler kept
getting flashes of his dream and knew, at that very moment, that Zach was
indeed his Dream Man.

"Why," he heard himself say softly. He wasn't quite sure why he had said it
but he did.

Zach seemed confused, but kept his eyes locked on Tyler's the whole time,
as if they were speaking through their eyes. Zach moved closer to Tyler,
but unlike in his dream he didn't move away, he stood still until they were
in each other's arms. They both leaned forward, their lips met for a brief
moment, until Tyler stepped back. He thought for a second that maybe he was
dreaming, but he didn't wake up this time. He knew this was all indeed
real. It was Tyler's turn to step forward this time and brush his lips
softly onto Zach's.

"Because I love you," Zach said quietly as he leaned back in to kiss Tyler
once more.

They gracefully gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like
forever. Tyler didn't want this moment to end; he knew deep down inside
that he, too, loved Zach. It was as if they were made to be. But Tyler also
knew all the things that lay in wait for him back home. Zach seemed to
somehow know what Tyler was thinking, because he quickly responded, "Things
will be a lot better, Tyler, I promise." They embraced each other, holding
on and never letting go. The sunset went down, leaving both of them there
staring out into the twilight, wondering what lay ahead. But whatever it
was, they knew they would face it^Å together.

That night, Tyler went home, but with Zach close by his side. Tyler knew he
needed to talk with his parents, but Zach wouldn't let him do it
alone. Tyler's parents were outraged and demanded that Zach leave their
house, so he did, with Tyler and a bag filled with Tyler's most valuable
things.

Tyler ended up moving, but not to anyplace far, just into Zach's
apartment. Tyler's parents weren't supportive as Tyler had wished, but knew
there was nothing he could do about it, and hoped that, someday, they could
finally accept him for who he was. Zach agreed to share an apartment under
the terms that Tyler finished high school, which he did the following year
at a new smaller high school right next to Zach's college. When Tyler
turned eighteen, he found out that he had a trust account that had been put
in his name by his grandmother. She had passed away a few years prior. The
account contained about a half-million dollars. Tyler hated the fact that
he had to leave his brother alone with his parents but he also knew he had
no other choice. But in the end, being apart, ended up bringing them closer
than they had ever been before. Ethan had known about his brother for some
time now and still loved Tyler like he always had. He made sure that he
constantly reminded Tyler how much he loved him.

Tyler and Zach were often mistaken for twins by strangers; it's not that
they looked that much alike, but more of how well they fit together, they
were made for each other, and when they were together, which was most of
the time, you could feel the love they had for the other.

*****

It was a delightful winter's day. All types of different men and women,
boys and girls, were gathered together. They were each wearing various
styles of suits and dresses. In front of a crowd of a little more than
three hundred people, stood two young men facing each other, gazing into
each other's eyes, as they did the first day they met. Zach took a moment
to look into the endless sky, he knew his mother was there watching over
him. He knew she was proud of him for keeping his promise, but most
importantly, she was proud of him for being who he was all along.

"Welcome everyone to the wedding of Tyler and Zach. These two young men
have come a long way and would like to welcome and thank you all for being
here and supporting them today."

As the ceremony went on, the part both boys were waiting for finally
arrived. They exchanged their vows, then made their public commitment to
one another with their final "I do." They came together and kissed.

"I love you, Tyler, now and forever," Zach said softly after they broke the
kiss.

"I love you too, Zachary, till death do us part," Tyler replied. Tyler took
Zach's hand in his and they shared the rest of their special day with their
family and friends.

As they drove off to their honeymoon, they were comfortably seated in the
back seat of Zach's new car, the one that Tyler had just bought for
him. They sat in the car, holding hands and staring deeply at each other,
knowing that they would be happy for a long time together.

"I think I'm going to be sick^Å" Ethan complained as he watched the two of
them staring at each other so intimately. He turned on the engine, and
headed in the direction of their new home.

*****

Tyler slowly opened his eyes; not wanting to wake up Zach, he slowly rolled
over and stared at his sleeping beauty.

"Mm, are you okay, babe?" Zach mumbled, always being the light sleeper and
waking up each time Tyler would roll over just to admire Zach sleeping
peacefully.

Tyler recalled the dream he had just had, and knew what was to come. He was
now too excited to return to sleep; he had a big smile on his face that
showed just how happy he really was. Tyler couldn't believe it himself,
just a day ago he thought all was lost, guess it just shows that anything
can happen.

Zach, not getting a reply, opened his sleepy eyes and saw the big smile on
Tyler's face.

His eyes made contact with Tyler's. "I hope to wake up like this every
day," Zach said quietly as a yawn escaped him.

"You will," Tyler replied, quite sure of himself. Zach once again wrapped
his arms around Tyler, and Tyler scooted back into Zach, allowing him to
resume the position they were in. They stayed that way for a few minutes,
Zach sensed Tyler's restlessness and wondered why.

"Tyler?" Zach whispered.

"Yeah?" Tyler replied.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

There was a moment of silence, until Tyler thought of something.

"Zach?" Tyler asked hoping Zach would still be awake.

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?" Tyler asked with hope in his voice. To anyone else
they would have thought of it as a joke, but not Zach. Zach knew Tyler
meant it.

"First thing tomorrow morning, babe," Zach replied calmly, as if he knew
all along what Tyler was going to say. Tyler couldn't help but smile, he
was now with the one man he loved, the man he knew loved him back, the man
whom he was going to marry.

As Tyler started to drift off to sleep once more, he looked out the window,
into the moon and mouthed a "Thank you." Tyler knew that he had had those
dreams for a reason, and he was very glad he did, because without them^Å he
may have never met his true love, Zach.

"Are you two done? Some of us want to sleep, you know," muttered a tired
Ethan, standing at the door of Tyler and Zach's room.

"Get out of our room," they said in unison.

"Then shut up!" Ethan demanded. "Why couldn't I have a normal brother," he
muttered.

Just as Ethan turned to walk back into the living room, he was greeted with
a pillow to the back of his head. He stopped walking, and slowly turned,
only to be greeted by a giggling Tyler and Zach.

"Okay, I'm only gonna ask once... which one of you threw that..?" Ethan
said in a very soft deep tone.

Tyler quickly pointed to Zach who in return pointed to Tyler. Ethan glared
at them for a moment before walking away. After a few moments of giggling
and kissing, the two went back to cuddling and returned to sleep.

"Jesus Christ!" Tyler screamed as cold water rushed into their bed. Zach
and Tyler quickly jumped out of their bed, both boys only in boxers. They
glared towards the door, where an overly excited Ethan stood, with a hose
in hand. He dropped the hose in the doorway and returned back towards the
living room, as he was sleeping over just for the night.

Tyler and Zach looked at each other in disbelief, before screaming
"ETHAN!!"

Believe in love at first sight. Learn to live a life rather then spend a
life avoiding death - life is not breath but action. Life involves
passions, faiths, doubts and courage.

Dream with your heart not your mind, and magical things can and will
happen. Live each day to the fullest as it may be your last. No one knows
where this world will take you but yourself.

______

I'd like to give a speical thanks to Conner, for being my editor, and also
for all of his advise, and support.

I'd also like to give a big thank you to CJ for beta reading and for his
wonderful advise as well.

As always all your feedback is very much appreciated. You may leave them on
the efictions forum here.

http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14822

You may also leave your feedback to me via PM or email, at
L0st_cuase@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Copyright 2007 by L0st Cause. All Rights Reserved. No parts of this story
may be copied, reproduced, in print or in any other format, without express
written consent from the author