Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:21:44 -0500
From: ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Love on Trial  Chapter 5

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

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Love on Trial        Chapter 5



I arrived at school late the next morning so that I could avoid running
into Stephanie. My blood was still boiling over her email. I don't know
why she had suddenly become so obsessed with my relationship with Jason.

I had known him much longer than she had. Why had she, so all of a
sudden, become his watchdog? If I had wanted to try and have sex with
him, I would certainly have done it before now.

When I entered third period history class, Stephanie was already at her
desk. I tried not to look at her when I took my seat.

About ten minutes into the period, the person behind me tapped me on my
shoulder and handed me a small piece of paper. It had been folded over
tightly several times. On one side was written my name: Taylor. I
unfolded it and read the contents.

I've been watching the way you look at him, fag. Stop it!

My face reddened as I felt the anger seething within me. I knew that I
had never acted differently around Jason than I had for years. If he
didn't realize I had feelings for him, then how could she?

When the bell rang, she rushed out of the room, brushing me roughly
against my shoulder. Before she left the room, she turned around and gave
me a snide look. I decided that I would again skip lunch. Instead, I
headed for the library.

Mrs. Mason's class was working on their research paper. She looked up at
me and smiled when I entered and took a seat at the back. I sat down and
pulled out some books from my book bag. Today I had come prepared. I had
packed a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just in case. Now I
was glad I did.

After about twenty minutes I looked up and saw Cynthia walking my way.
She sat down and looked worriedly over at me.

"Hi," she said. "You alrig.." Suddenly, she stopped. "I mean, how
are you, Taylor?"

"I'm alright," I said with a smile. I knew she had remembered when I
had gotten angry the other day when she asked me if I was alright.

"Why are you in the library? She asked. "I was looking for you at
lunch."

"I don't know," I sighed. "I just wanted to be alone."

"You avoiding me?" She asked sadly.

"No!" I tried to insure her. "It's not you."

"So you are trying to avoid someone?" She questioned.

"Yeah," I confessed. "Stephanie."

I told her about the email the night before, and the note that was passed
to me third period. She listened intently while I described Stephanie's
behavior the past few days.

"She's insecure right now," Cynthia explained. "She says all Jason
does is talk about you. He's worried that something's wrong with you."

"But why does she think I like him?" I asked.

"She's jealous," she said. "She thinks Jason is paying more attention
to you than her."

"That still doesn't explain why she thinks I'm gay." I said.

"She never thought about if before," she said. "Then she got to
questioning me why you never kiss me like other guys do their
girlfriends."

I continued to listen carefully.

"I guess I kind of implied that maybe you weren't like other boys,"
she said embarrassingly. "I didn't mean it to sound like you was gay,
but she took it that way."

"So that's why you wanted me to kiss you in the hall yesterday?"
Everything was beginning to make sense now.

"Yes," she said. "I was trying to throw her off."

"I don't think it worked," I sighed.

"No," she said. "But I think she's a little confused right now."

We spent the rest of the period chatting comfortably with each other.
It's strange, but now that she knew I was gay, I enjoyed being with her.
I didn't feel like I had to be someone I wasn't. It was nice to be able
to take off the mask and be myself around someone who meant a lot to me.

Later, when we went to law class, Mr. Anderson took Jason and me to
another room to begin preparing us for our roles in the mock trial. I had
been reading over the material for the past few days, so I knew my part.
Jason was as ready as I was. We seemed to have impressed Mr. Anderson
with our preparation.

We reviewed the case and he spent thirty minutes explaining the role of a
prosecutor and defense attorney. I had seen a few law shows on
television, but a trial seemed much more involved than what we saw on the
screen.

"You can't just know the case," Mr. Anderson explained. "You have to
know people. You have to be able to look them in the eye and make them
believe what you're telling them. If you don't believe it, then neither
will a jury."

"That should be easy," laughed Jason. "I've been lying to my parents
for years and they fall for it."

"Like when you told them I broke your bicycle?" I said. "And you're
one who tried to race it down the hill and crashed?"

"Well, they believed it, didn't they?" He started laughing.

"Act it out." Mr. Anderson said. We looked over at him, wondering what
he was talking about. "Jason, you're explaining to your father what you
did. Taylor, you pretend to be his father."

We spent the next fifteen minutes role playing. It was hilarious. Jason
was trying to convince me (his father) that I had ruined his bike. I
wouldn't believe a word he said. Out of frustration, he threw up his
arms and sat down angrily. Mr. Anderson had watched the exchange without
saying a word.

"That young man," he got up and walked over to Jason, "will cause you
to lose a case. An attorney can never lose control in the courtroom."

Jason sat with his arms folded, staring out the window.

"Taylor," he said, "you did a good job refusing to be swayed. You're
the kind of witness I like to put on the stand." Jason looked at me and
gave me an angry look. I could tell he was once again jealous that Mr.
Anderson had praised me.

Mr. Anderson told us to go back through the case and prepare questions we
would ask potential witnesses. When the bell rang, Jason got up and left
without even saying goodbye.

When we returned to Mrs. Mason's classroom after school, Jason still
seemed to be upset. He rolled his eyes at me when I walked in. Cynthia
came in and sat down beside me. She leaned in and gave me a small peck on
the lips. I looked over at Mr. Anderson and he raised an eyebrow, causing
me to blush.

We again broke into groups. Cynthia, Wayne and I went to the other
classroom to prepare, while Jason, Stephanie and Chris remained with Mrs.
Mason. We worked diligently for an hour and a half, before Mr. Anderson
told us we could leave.

Cynthia and I were walking down the hall when we approached Jason and
Stephanie. Cynthia grabbed my arm and pressed her body against mine.

"You guys want to go get something to eat?" Jason asked. He no longer
seemed upset.

"We're going over to my house," Cynthia quickly responded. "We have
some studying to do." She then started giggling. I watched as Stephanie
gave Jason a questioning look. Cynthia grabbed my arm and pulled me down
the hall.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it?" I asked her after we were a
safe distance from them. "They'll never believe we're having sex."

"They will if you get me pregnant." I started gasping for breath. I
looked over as she gave me a wide grin.

"I knew that would get you." She started laughing hysterically. She
grabbed my arm and we left the building.

I was in my room later that night when Jason came in. I was lying on my
bed with all the papers from the mock trial scattered around me. He moved
some of the papers and sat down.

"Alright, spill it." He looked at me and folded his arms.

"Spill what?" I asked. I really didn't know what he was talking about.

"When did you and Cynthia start sleeping together?" He asked. "Her
dad's going to kill you if he finds out."

I didn't know what to say. I started to deny it, but then I thought he
might start thinking I was gay again. At least if he thought I was
sexually involved with Cynthia, he wouldn't suspect that I really wanted
him.

"Um," I stammered. I was trying to think of something to say.

"No, it's alright," he said apologetically. "I guess it's really not
my business."

He grabbed a paper off my desk and we began to go over the case. He kept
looking at me, but he never mentioned it again. I knew he was hurt
because I had not confided in him, as he had me, when he became sexually
involved with Stephanie. It was a little too late to deny it now. I only
hoped that I could convince Cynthia to go along with this charade.

We spent the next few weeks pouring over the case and learning more about
the legal system. I was beginning to think that I would enjoy pursuing a
legal career. It was particularly heartening for me to know that Mr.
Anderson could become a very successful gay attorney. No one seemed to
mind that he was involved in a relationship with Thomas.

One day we were taken to the court house after school and allowed to
practice in an actual courtroom. Mr. Anderson brought in a judge to
observe us. When we finished, the judge said we had performed very
professionally. He thought we would do very well in the competition.

There was only one problem with performing in the mock trial. When we got
to the actual competition, we would be paired to compete against another
school. The officials of the competition would assign the roles. We would
either compete as a prosecutor, with the opposing school as the defense,
or vice versa.

That meant that only one of us would compete. Jason would either
prosecute the case, or I would defend it. One of us would be sitting on
the sidelines watching the other. I thought it would be a shame to spend
so much time on this and then have to sit and just be an observer in the
courtroom.

Mr. Anderson tried to sound upbeat and tell all of us that we had gained
knowledge of the legal system, even if we didn't get a chance to
perform. I knew I had learned a lot, and it had helped me to make up my
mind about my future, but I still hoped that we could defend the case in
competition. I figured that Jason probably felt the same way about
prosecuting the case.

He came over to my house late one night just days before the competition.
It was a Wednesday night and the mock trial was scheduled for Friday
afternoon. Both of us were becoming exceedingly nervous as the day came
nearer.

"I hope we get picked to defend the case," he said as he sat on the bed
going over the case. "You're really good, Taylor."

"Thanks, Jason," I remarked, "but I hope you get to compete. You've
worked harder on this than me."

"Maybe I have," he grinned, "but I think Mr. Anderson will be
disappointed if you don't get to defend the case."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said sheepishly, "It's just the way he watches
you."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. He seemed to be wanting to say
something but was holding back.

"I think he likes you or something." His face began to redden. "Do you
think he's a fag?"

I suddenly became angry at Jason. It was the way he said the word
`fag,' like it was dirty. We had been working with Mr. Anderson for
over a month and he had never been anything but professional. It made me
mad that Jason would insinuate something like this about someone I
thought we both had grown to admire.

"What if he is gay?" I shouted as I got off the bed. "Does that make
him less an attorney?" I walked over to my computer desk and started
playing an online game. I was trembling, and I was trying to find
something to do to calm me down.

"Damn, Tay," Jason sounded offended. "It was just a question. Why are
you getting so upset?"

"It's just stupid that you can say something about someone who's
helped us out the way he has." My voice was cracking with emotion. If
Jason couldn't accept Mr. Anderson, then how could he accept me?

"Ok." He threw up his hands. "I'm sorry, alright?" He grabbed a
paper and pretended to read it. I continued to play the game until I had
calmed down. After about ten minutes we continued studying. Nothing more
was said about Mr. Anderson, but I saw Jason looking at me several times.
I had a feeling he was wondering why I had gotten so upset.

I had been considering for the past week to come out to Jason. He was my
best friend, but he had given me several indications that I couldn't
trust him. Every time I thought he could deal with it, he'd make some
negative comment.

I was going to tell him a month ago, when we started this competition;
but then Stephanie had to start poisoning his mind. Now his bitter
comment about Mr. Anderson made me realize he would probably not continue
to want me as a friend if I did confide in him.

The six of us, who were competing in the mock trial, were excused from
classes on Thursday as we once again accompanied Mr. Anderson downtown to
the courthouse. He had asked three other attorney friends to help us
polish up our performance. The judge, who had observed us earlier, even
acted as the judge for our rehearsal. By the end of the day I was
exhausted. I only hoped I had enough energy left for the next day.

Mr. Anderson invited us to dinner at a popular Italian restaurant. He had
made prior reservations, and they had a small private room for us. I was
surprised when we entered the room to see another distinguished man
sitting at the table. He got up and gave Mr. Anderson a hug when we
entered.

He was introduced as a `friend' of Mr. Anderson. His name was Thomas
Murphy, and he too was a prominent attorney. Besides Mrs. Mason, I was
the only other person who knew that Thomas was actually his partner.

Throughout the meal I watched as Mr. Anderson and Thomas would talk
privately to one another. It was obvious by their close contact that they
were more than just friends.

"Look," Jason whispered in my ear. "I told you he was a fag. See how
he's acting with that guy."

"Just shut up, Jason." I whispered angrily back. "It's his life if he
is."

I scooted away from him, sitting closer to Cynthia. She looked over and
gave me a worried look, but said nothing. She seemed interested in
talking to Thomas. He had been entertaining us with attorney jokes all
night.

When dinner was over, Jason and Stephanie quickly disappeared. Chris and
Wayne left also, leaving Cynthia and me with Mrs. Mason, her brother and
Thomas.

"So that was Jason?" Thomas looked over at me and smiled. I watched Mr.
Anderson elbow him in his side, causing him to let out a loud grunt. He
looked over at Cynthia and his face reddened. He thought he had almost
outed me to her.

"It's alright," Cynthia laughed. "I know about Taylor's obsession
with Jason."

Mrs. Mason's mouth flew open as she looked at Cynthia and me.

"She found out right after I talked to you." I admitted. Naturally,
they were curious, so we spent the next ten minutes telling them about
the kiss and Cynthia's attempt to divert Stephanie from believing I was
gay.

"It certainly seems to have worked," remarked Thomas. "I think it's
very admirable of you to remain friends with Taylor. You're a remarkable
young lady."

"Yeah," I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I think I'll keep her."
Everyone started laughing.

It was late when I arrived home. My parents were in the den watching a
movie when I entered. I went in and talked to them for a while before
going to my room. I was sitting at my computer playing a video game when
my father came into the room. He walked over and sat on the bed.

"Come here, son," he patted the bed beside him. "May I talk to you for
a minute?"

I walked over and sat down beside him. "I'm very proud of you. I talked
to Bernie this morning and he said that you've really impressed him."
He put his hand on my leg and patted it several times.

"Thanks, Dad." I was trying to choke back the emotion I was feeling.

"Your mother and I will be there tomorrow to watch you," he told me.
"No matter how the competition turns out, we'll still be proud that
you're our son." I could feel my eyes welling with tears.

"Here." He reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a key and handed
it to me.

"What's this?" I took it and examined it. It had the logo of a Ford on
it.

"No!" I shouted and jumped off the bed. He laughed as I ran down the
stairs and into the den where my mother was standing with a wide grin. I
ran over and hugged her and then ran outside.

Sitting in the driveway was a red Ford Focus. I ran around the car,
jumping wildly. I took the key and opened the door and jumped in. My
mother and father were standing in the yard laughing at my wild antics.
My mother was wiping tears from her eyes.

I jumped out and hugged them both tightly. Tears were in my eyes as well.

"It's not the BMW you wanted," Dad laughed, "but it will get you
where you want to go. You've worked so hard, we wanted to reward you."

"Thanks, Dad." I walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. "I love
you."

"We love you too, Taylor," he said tearfully. My mother stepped up and
we continued to hug one another.

"Let's go for a ride," my father said excitedly. We locked the house,
and then I drove them to a nearby ice cream shop. We all ordered a hot
fudge sundae. Extra nuts, of course.

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

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