Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 21:06:13 EDT
From: ICONvsICON@aol.com
Subject: Marcus and Kyle #14

Marcus and Kyle
By Christian Mitchell
Copyright 2004.  All Rights Reserved.

Chapter Fourteen

    I admit that it was a bit strange to wake up the next morning and walk
about the house knowing that my parents knew Kyle and I had sex the
previous night.  Initially the first fifteen minutes were awkward but the
slight uneasiness soon diminished.  It was not long before we were all
acting normally.

    The remainder of the weekend passed relatively quickly.  Kyle and I hung
out off and on.  The planned dinner with his parents was postponed from Sunday
night until Wednesday.  And I had a lot of homework that I had to complete
before returning to school on Tuesday.  I pretty much spent Monday studying and
preparing for school.

    Once Tuesday arrived I was actually kind of happy about going back to
school.  Yet, I was also a little nervous because Kyle still had one more day of
suspension.  So I would be walking the halls of Westwood High on my own.
Nearly a full week had passed since our relationship had become common knowledge.
I convinced myself that I had every right to be apprehensive, but there was
no need to completely stress myself.  At best, it was a good opportunity for me
to project confidence.  If there were people that no longer liked me or
ridiculed me, then so be it.  Such is life.  I was in control of whether I wanted
to be a victim or a fighter, a survivor to varying degrees.


    I reported to the office immediately upon arriving at school.  I had a
brief meeting with Principal Michael.  Basically, he lectured me about fighting
with other students and doing it on campus.  He mentioned that he would be
keeping an eye on my friends and me.  Other than that, it was rather painless.

    Before first period I retreated to the restroom to piss away all the
coffee I had consumed.  The bell was about to ring within minutes so the bathroom
was damn near empty.  As I was standing at the urinal Sheldon Baxter appeared
at my side.  He unzipped his pants and started to urinate.  "How are you
doing?" he asked me.

    "I'm fine," I replied.  "Same old shit."

    "Yeah, I hear ya," he replied.  He continued to piss then he sighed
rather heavily.  "Man, this past weekend was a bitch."

    "Why?"

    "My girlfriend Lisa has been pretty bitchy lately."

    I didn't really know Sheldon well because he didn't really hang out with
the rest of my group of friends.  He was somewhat of the rebel type.  I'm
sure he had quite a few friends because he was actually pretty nice when he
wasn't projecting attitude.  I didn't know his girlfriend at all.  She was a junior
and I wasn't even sure I could picture her in mind even if I concentrated
hard.

    "Sorry, to hear that," I replied.

    "Yeah, life's a bitch," he grinned. "And so is my girlfriend."

    He glanced about the bathroom and discovered that we were the only guys
in there.  He laughed at his stupid remark about Lisa then looked at me.
"Maybe you can help me out."

    Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that he was stroking his dick to
erection.

    I shook my cock a few times.  As I was zipping my jeans I turned to him
and responded," I don't think I can."

    Sheldon grabbed my arm.  "Ah, come on, man.  Lisa's being a total bitch
about sex.  I need to get off.  I don't wanna fuck you.  I just need to have my
dick sucked."

    I yanked my arm from his grasp.  "I wouldn't let you fuck me.  And I
don't want to suck your little dick."

    "Hey," he sneered.  "It's not all the way hard yet."  He stroked the
length of his dick slowly from base to tip a couple times.  "Believe me, this baby
is big.  I guarantee you'll like going down on it."

    "Fuck you," I replied.  "You're a fucking asshole, Sheldon."

    "Hey, I thought you might be interested since you're a fag now," he said.
 "I promise I won't tell your boyfriend.  It'll be our secret."

    I started to walk away.  "Thanks for the offer but fuck you anyway."

    As the bathroom door was swinging closed I heard him say," your loss
faggot."


    I was happy to see Paul's face when I walked into American History.  I
sat down next to him and placed my books on the desk.

    "Hey, buddy.  How ya doing?"

    "I'm fine," I replied with a frown.

    "Liar.  You look pissed."

    "You know Sheldon Baxter, right?"

    Paul thought a moment then nodded his head.

    "He propositioned me in the restroom."

    I quickly told him the story of my encounter with Sheldon.  Just as the
teacher entered the room Paul grabbed my wrist and leaned closer to me.  "Hey,
don't even mention it to Kyle.  He'll be pissed and probably kick Sheldon's
ass."

    I motioned that I understood what he telling me.

    "I'm serious," he continued.  "The last thing Kyle needs is to be
suspended again."

    I agreed then focused my attention on the teacher as he started to
discuss the chapter we were supposed to have read for the day's class.


    Throughout the day a handful of my friends either ignored me or treated
me a little differently as they pretended that they were treating me the same
as they had always done.  I was relieved that quite a few friends didn't treat
me any differently at all.  Yet, only a few actually told me that they had no
problem with me being gay.

    I sat with Tyler in the cafeteria.  A couple of our friends were seated
around us.  Everyone was talking and laughing as they normally would.  Suddenly
the table became very quiet.  Then I saw Brandon walk into the room with
Ashley at his side.  They were holding hands and walking toward the food counter.

    "Holy shit!" I exclaimed.

    Tyler nodded his head.  "Yep.  Your eyes are not deceiving you.  Brandon
and Ashley are officially an item now."

    The sight of the two of them as a couple shocked me.  I wondered if the
news would have any effect on Kyle.  Despite the fact that Ashley had
instigated the drama surrounding Kyle and me, would the news rub him the wrong way?
Was it possible that his feelings would be a little hurt?  Or would he simply
shrug his shoulders as he always did when he didn't give a shit about something?

    "So I'm pretty sure that no one has mentioned this to Kyle, huh?" I asked.

    "Nope," Jordan replied with a mouthful of food.  "He probably wouldn't
give a shit anyway.  And he shouldn't because the two of you are together.  That
bitch doesn't deserve to get him all worked up."

    "You're right," I sighed.  "But you know what?  Fucking Brandon should be
happy that he's with Ashley now.  I don't even know why he was so pissed off
last week.  I mean, why even start a fight with us if he was going to end up
with her?"

    "Because he felt betrayed by you and Kyle," Jordan answered.

    I looked at him in disbelief.  "What?"

    "Yeah, he told me that he felt betrayed by you guys.  He said the two of
you were liars who deceived him."

    "How the hell did we do that?"

    "I guess he thinks that you and Kyle have been together a while and that
you just never told anyone.  Since he thinks that, he feels like you lied to
him for a long time."

    "That's bullshit," I shouted.  "That's not even fucking true.  Kyle and
I didn't get together until just a little over a week ago."

    "Hey, I'm just telling you what Brandon told me," Jordan stated.

    "Well, I'm sure gym class will be interesting."

    "He dropped it," Tyler replied.  "He got permission to drop gym so he
could go to study hall instead."

    "Oh, he's so disgusted by us that he can't even finish gym class for the
year?" I asked with irritation.  "What a fucking idiot."

    Jordan cleared his throat and gulped the soda he was drinking.  "He said
he didn't want to have to shower with two faggots."

    I rolled my eyes.  "Yeah, he is a fucking idiot.  I suppose he thought we
were gonna put the moves on him.  Maybe make him gay just like Kyle and me,
huh?"

    "Fuck him," Tyler responded.  "We're better off without him hanging
around and we're certainly better off without him in fucking gym class."

    "Well, looks like things are working out in my favor after all," I smiled.


    I shouldn't have been surprised that some of the guys were shy about
being naked around me in the locker room.  In a way my feelings were hurt, but I
could also understand their ignorance.  Thankfully, Tyler and Paul noticed some
of the guys' reluctance to take their clothes off and decided to be an
example to the others.  They both stripped and continued about their business as if
nothing out of the ordinary was taking place.  Soon everyone was in the
showers as usual.


    Kyle returned to school on Wednesday.  Sometimes people would stare at us
oddly when he and I were together.  For the most part everyone treated us the
same or they basically ignored us.

    I arrived at Kyle's house for dinner around six o'clock that evening.  I
was nervous about being in the house again since the night that Mr. Levine
had kicked me out.  Despite the fact that he had apologized to me, I still felt
like somewhat of an outsider.  The feeling that I had become a stranger to
Kyle's parents did not completely fade away.  Kyle did his best to reassure me
that everything was fine and that I had nothing to be worried about.  Yet, I
remained in a constant state of anxiety.

    Kyle's parents greeted me and again apologized for the way they had
behaved toward me.  About a half-hour before dinner Mr. Levine asked if he could
talk to me privately.

    We retreated to his office.  I expected him to sit behind his desk, but
he surprised me by sitting in the chair next to mine.

    "Marcus, I can not begin to understand what you must be feeling right
now," he said.  "You seem a bit nervous.  And I don't blame you.  Please forgive
me for the way I reacted last week."

    "You're right, I am nervous," I responded.  "And I do accept your
apology.  My feelings were hurt so I guess I'm still scared."

    "You don't have to be scared," he sighed.  "You are welcome in my home.
I want you to feel comfortable when you're here."

    "Thank you," I smiled.

    "You know, I was not prepared for Kyle to tell me that he is gay.  I
guess I didn't want to accept it.  But he's my son and I love him.  I should have
been happy that he was in a relationship with you."

    I wasn't sure if we were going to be having an exchange of words or if I
was meant to simply listen.  I nodded as he talked and tried not to shift too
much in my seat.

    "The world is a very different place today than it was when I was growing
up.  When I was a teenager it was a very taboo thing to admit to being a
homosexual.  Currently things are a lot different.  I forgot how much easier it is
for a gay person to be living in today's world.  But there are still many
people out there who condemn homosexuality.  When Kyle told me about the two of
you, I think I was scared of what might happen to you.  And I guess I was
scared of what people might say to me about having a gay son."

    "I can understand that," I replied.  "I've thought about all of those
things, too."

    "Good," he smiled.  "Then you know where I'm coming from."

    "Yes."

    "The truth of the matter is that I don't care that Kyle is gay.  And I
don't care that he's involved with you.  If he wants to be in a relationship
with another man then I should be happy that he chose you.  I know that you and
Kyle are very close.  You've been friends forever.  It gives me comfort
knowing that the two of you love each other very much."

    "Thank you," I replied.  "It makes me feel good to hear you say that."

    "I'm glad," he beamed.  "I don't want to hurt my son and I don't want to
hurt you either.  I want the two of you to be happy together.  If I stood in
the way of that then I would be denying you happiness.  It could turn my son
against me.  And I don't want that."

    I continued to look Mr. Levine directly in the eye and nodded my head.

    "The two of you are old enough to make decisions for yourself.  I have to
trust that you know what is best for you.  Soon you'll be in college and
experiencing all that life has to offer.  I can't keep popping up to voice my
opinion or put my foot down when I don't approve of something.  I have to let Kyle
make his mistakes and enjoy his successes.  And I hope that you are one of
those successes."

    "I hope so, too," I replied.  "I don't want to disappoint you or make you
angry with me.  I want you to remain an important part of my life.  And now
that Kyle and I are a couple it's more important to me now than it was when you
were just my best friend's father.  Know what I mean?"

    Mr. Levine chuckled and slapped his hand on my shoulder.  "Yes, Marcus.
I know exactly what you're saying."


    The dinner was quite a pleasant experience.  It was as if nothing bad had
ever happened between us.  Kyle's parents were as attentive and loving as
they always were.  We talked and laughed about many things.  After dessert we sat
on the patio for a while.

    In the past when I visited Kyle's house I was expected to return home at
eleven o'clock so that he could finish his homework or get ready for bed.  I
was no longer subjected to that expectation.  Mr. and Mrs. Levine said good
night about 11:30 and retired to their bedroom.

    I smiled at Kyle.  "I had a nice time."

    He grabbed my hand with both of his.  "I'm glad.  And I'm happy that my
parents have accepted you as being my boyfriend.  The guy that I'm in love
with."

    My smile widened.  "It's kind of surreal."

    "What?"

    "I can't believe that you and I are sitting here.  Like this.  In a
relationship with each other.  In love.  And our parents are happy for us.  They
really, really accept us as a couple."

    "Yeah," Kyle agreed.  "It feels good, doesn't it?"

    "It feels great!" I exclaimed.  "I'm very happy right now."

    "I never would have imagined that this is where we would be.  But I'm
glad that we are.  I love you so much, Marcus.  I want you to be happy.  I want
to love you forever."

    "I want you to be happy and loved forever, too," I replied.


    I returned home soon after midnight and went directly upstairs to my
room.  I sat at my desk for a few minutes.  I didn't do anything but stare into
space, not looking at anything in particular.  I allowed myself to think about
how happy I truly was at that very moment.

    I was acutely aware of the constant smile that painted my face.  And when
I seriously concentrated on my perpetual smile I couldn't help but giggle.
It embarrassed me a little to be acting so boyishly.  Yet, I never defeated the
urge to giggle.  I embraced it.