Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:17:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Jack Frost <unpetitpoissonbleu@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Moving On - Ch 21

Moving On -- Chapter 21st
By Jack Frost

A special thanks to Sharon for the excellent editing work!
Un remerciement special a Francois pour la correction des textes francais
et pour le "betareading" !!!
And finally, many thanks to a certain goat with sunglasses, CJames the
betareader!


	It's been two day[ML1]s since that eventful night of embarrassment
and the relief that followed. Krist has been nothing but all normal as if
nothing had happened. His silly moods in the morning were directed to
everyone as usual, not just me and Ben. So, now it's Julien, Loic, Matt,
Cecile, Adrien, and Krist that know all about us, and they took it like it
was a small simple thing to deal with. My life has changed ever since Ben
stepped onto the bus on that day, and I blame that stupid bastard (with
humor intended) for making it complicated and fun at the same time. But I
still feel paranoid about it with everyone else that has no clue. The real
test, which is my mother over all, hasn't begun. I rarely, or more like
never, felt any hostility in my own home region in the middle of the woods
where it wouldn't be surprising to find that things are a little "behind"
concerning issues in American society as a whole. Much better than Iran
though, where I just read that a coupe of teenaged boys got hanged for
simply being gay. Ah dear old Pennsylvania, still stuck in the middle of
things.

	Right now I'm with Mom going down the mountain on Highway 81. She
managed to get a day off to take me to the driving center in Hanover
Township. I'm feeling too tired since it's almost 9am now, and I'm not a
morning person on weekends.

	"Any questions about the rules or something?" Mom asked.

	"No... I don't think so," I grinned, "But how can I trust you?
You're going 75 in a 65 now, and there's a cop right there," I pointed at a
hiding spot with a glimmer of white through the bushes.

	"Smart mouth..." she smiled and slowed down by a state police car.

	We arrived at the driving center and since it had just opened,
there was no line. Mom took me to the counter with the application and my
birth certificate, and wrote a check to pay for the fees of just $31. The
woman behind the counter processed my application and birth certificate
quickly and told me to go to a computer to get started.

	The first question was, "To avoid hydro-planning, what should we
do? A) Speed up. B) Slow down and hold the wheel steadily. C) Stop
immediately."

	This was too easy, I thought, so I picked a) and I got a green
correct mark. I have to get 17 of 20 questions correct to get the
permit. All of the questions went by like a breeze, except I identified the
school crossing sign wrong; I confused it with a pedestrian sign. Then
there was just one more question. No matter what, even if I got this wrong,
I'd still pass because so far I had 18 of 19 correct. It was just a silly
question about a stop light.

	"If you want to make a right turn on a red light: Who has the right
of way? A) You. B) The driver around you. C) You must yield to all drivers
with a green light before turning right." And I answered c) and voila, a
green mark and a congratulation that I passed.

	"Woot!" I shouted until the other test takers around me stared,
"Sorry" I apologized and went back to the lady at the counter to tell her I
was done and had passed.

	"I heard'cha," the lady smiled, "Congrats and here's your
permit. Drive safely, huh?" She handed me a plain piece of paper about the
size of two credit cards with my name and information on it. I went to the
waiting room where I saw Mom. I threw the permit down between her and the
newspaper she was reading. She smiled and went to read it. She got up and
we walked out, and then she picked up the phone to call someone.

	"Hey Amanda. We'll be there in a couple of hours, ok? Love you,"
she said to the receiver.

	"Eh?" I looked at her all confused.

	"We're going to see your sister," she wiggled the key set at me,
"And you're driving."

	"Woot! I get to drive to Jersey!" I grabbed the keys and walked to
the car. We jumped in and I put the key in the starter, but it won't even
start. Not even a clunk.

	"You gotta press the clutch down," Mom noted.

	"Oh..." I pressed it down and it started nicely, then I let it go
and it stalled in a second.

	"Don't let it go!" Mom said, but it was too late, the engine
died. "Keep it down always when you start it, when the engine is running at
full stop, or it'll stall," she sighed.

	"Everyone has automatic except us..." I smart mouthed.

	"Just get it moving or I'll drive," she rolled her eyes, "Shift to
reverse and slowly let the clutch go," I did what she said. I moved the
stick to reverse and let the clutch go and pressed the gas. But the tires
squealed and I slammed on the brakes and again killed the engine.

	"You gotta press the clutch if you're gonna brake like that," she
noted.

	"God..." I restarted it and managed to back out and stopped to move
the stick, but I killed the engine again. Shit!

	"I know I know...press the clutch..." I told Mom before she had the
chance to say anything. I restarted it and set it into the first gear, and
managed to get out of the parking lot. Mom smiled, all pleased.

	"You did better than me the first time. It took me fifteen minutes
to leave the parking lot," she grinned, "Your grandfather had a lot of
headaches after that."

	"No kidding... How long ago was that?" I asked.

	"1976..." she answered, "And be quiet, I'm not that old," she
grinned, waving her hand to tell me to keep on driving. I looked left,
right, left before pulling out onto the street.

	"If you're trying to go that fast, move to the third gear, not the
first one," Mom noted.

	"Oh..." I moved it to the third gear and it felt easier to go
faster then. Then my cell rang. I reached in my pocket to answer, but Mom
grabbed it from me.

	"Worry about driving. I don't encourage talking while driving," she
flipped the cell open, "Hello?" Then she made a funny face, "Ben?... Oh
Steph can't speak now. He's driving. Yes, he passed. He'll call back later,
I guess." And she hung up.

	"Mon cheri?" she asked. I blushed extremely hard.

	"It means `my bud'," I translated, though it really meant "my
dear."

	"Oh... I was just wondering since he spoke French first," she
appeared not to care much. I got on the highway and put the stick on
overdrive. It'll take a couple of hours of driving to get to where my
sister lives in New Jersey.

	I went through the Pocono Mountains and an hour later, we crossed
over the Delaware at the Delaware Water Gap to New Jersey. Mom had to
remind me to get some gas because the needle on the gas guage was really
touching `empty', and she rolled her eyes telling me she better not have to
come out to get me because I ran out of gas while on the highway. I got out
to pump some in, but an assistant told me not to.

	"Huh?" I wondered.

	"You can't pump your gas in. Only we can. State law," he answered
and took the pump for me. Oh, I forgot.

	"Oh...then put twenty in, please," I gave him the money and got
back in the car, muttering `only in Jersey...'

	We continued to drive until we reached the town of East Orange,
which is not very far from New York City. My sister lives in an apartment
in the town near the bus stop connecting to her university in Manhattan. We
went up to the door of a building with a nice Victorian facade and rang the
door bell. A girl with black hair, blue eyes, and a skinny figure came
out. My sister and I are quite the look-likes except for a slight
difference at the shape of our chins.

	"Mom! Steph! Hey!" she jumped.

	"Hey Amanda," Mom and I said and we hugged and kissed her.

	"I miss you guys and I'm so glad you came over to see me," she
waved us to come in, "And Steph, did I just see you behind the wheel when
the car was parked?"

	"Yeah, I just got my permit today. Mom surprised me by letting me
drive here," I grinned while I took off my shoes. We went up the stairs to
the second floor, which consists of her apartment.  As we got there, we saw
a guy sitting on her couch doing homework. He noticed us and looked a
little surprised.

	"Oh, sorry Amanda... I didn't know you were expecting guests," he
started to fold up his books and put them in his bag, "Should I leave?"

	"No... I don't think it'll be necessary," she said, "This is my mom
and my brother, Steph." I waved at him.

	"Hello," Mom went to shake his hand, "And you must be?"

	"My boyfriend, Mike," Amanda answered.

	"Oh? And you never told me about him," Mom looked at her and went
back to smile at Mike, "Dear, stay here. I want to know what she's up to,"
she winked her eye.

	"That's great... Let's go in the kitchen for some coffee and a
sandwich," she pointed to the kitchen, "I made turkey and cheese, our
favorite!"

	"After you, Mike," Mom, still smiling.

	Holy shit. Mike is just plain hot, especially when I'm behind him
seeing his tight jeans hugging his bubble butt. Damn, my sister landed a
mighty fine one! Ok, shut up, my little gay muse, and sit in that corner
again until you decide to behave! I went to sit down between Mom and
Amanda, taking half of a sandwich from the plate in the middle of the
table, and put some spicy mustard all over the Swiss cheese. I continued to
stare at Mike. He's obviously in his early twenties, about 21 or 22, which
is two or three years older than Amanda. He has a mop of curly blond hair,
pale skin, and blue eyes. Hmmm, I'd do him any day if only I weren't with
Ben now.

	"Steph?" Amanda waved at my face, "What are you doing?"

	"What..." I snapped out of my daze, "Sorry... I was thinking and
staring out of that window." Amanda looked at me a little suspiciously,
like she had something on her mind.

	"Don't mind him," Mom told her, "So, Mike, how did you meet her?"

	"Oh, we go to the same school together and share one of our
classes," Mike answered with ease.

	"Yeah, we kinda hit it off when I had to partner with him over a
project," Amanda noted, "Pity you haven't got a girlfriend to show me now,
Steph".

	"Erm, I'm fine where I am," I blushed extremely deeply. She noticed
and grinned, knowing that she succeeded.

	"Of course you are," she cheekily responded.

	"What? Are you telling me there is someone?" Mom looked at me.

	"No!" I blushed even deeper, "Jesus, Amanda." She
giggled. "Seriously, I'm going at my own pace. If she comes in my path,
that's fine. In the meanwhile, I have my friends, so I'm not really
lonely."

	"Ah! Speaking of friends, Steph made a new one," Mom said before
talking a bite of her sandwich, "Yeah, a boy named Ben and he comes from
Canada... Montreal."

	"Oh really?" Amanda subtly pressed her for some more details.

	"Yeah, they met about a month ago and they pretty much go out every
day," Mom continued explaining, not having a clue what Ben and I do during
our moments together. And I still kept on blushing. Amanda looked at me and
made that look again.

	"And they went to Montreal together," Mom finished up.

	"Oh I love Montreal! I went there a few months ago with my friends
to dr..." Amanda cut herself off, but Mom caught up.

	"To drink?" Mom rolled her eyes.

	"Yes... But it was more than that, I swear!" Amanda groaned.

	"Yes, sure, hon," Mom smiled, "Relax. I drank when I was your age
and it was legal to do so. But then, it is legal for you to do so in
Canada, so I don't have a problem with it."

	"Yeah, we did a lot together up there. We went to Quebec City and
Ottawa as well with Ben's gay friend, Julien," I said. Wait, I shouldn't
have said `gay'. Amanda didn't notice anything, except nodding to confirm
she has heard everything.

	"That's great," she added. Then we went on talking about random
stuff. After that, we decided to go to the city for a little
shopping. Amanda drove us over since she could get a cheaper parking rate
for parking at her own school. We went into the subway to go to Fifth
Avenue. I got excited when I saw an H&M store and ran in to be blessed with
neat clothes at inexpensive prices. Mom and Amanda went to the ladies'
section while Mike and I went to the mens'. Mike just grinned and made a
couple of comments on some of the clothes, but moaned that it was a little
costly for him.

	"My credit card is almost full and I dedicated a paycheck to pay
all of it off," Mike grinned, "Lemme know if you find something good at
$20," he said in a New Yorker accent.

	"Are you from here?" I asked.

	"Yeah, from Queens," he answered.

	I saw a guy not too far from me, checking out a shirt, and looking
obviously gay. As I bent my head down to look at the jeans' size, I could
tell he was looking at me, and I think he knew I was watching him for a
little longer than normal. I took the jeans and went to the fitting room to
try them on.

	"I'm going to try this out, Mike," I told him.

	"Alright, I'll still be here," he nodded.

	I checked into a fitting room and tried on the jeans. they looked
nice if the mirror wasn't failing me. I'll see if Mom will buy them for
me. I left the fitting room and saw that gay guy talking to my sister near
the door.

	"Oh hey," Amanda saw me.

	"Hi," I looked at that guy next to her.

	"Oh, that's my friend, Guillem," Amanda introduced him.

	"Hey, I'm Steph," I shook his hand. He had a rather light hand and
shook my hand as if it was as fragile as a feather. Ok, now that's creeping
me out a little bit.

	"Where's Mom?" I asked.

	"She's upstairs," Amanda looked for the stairs to show me.

	"Okay, I'm going to see her. Sorry, Guillem, but nice to meet you,"
I went to the stairs and started up them. I saw my sister looking a little
confused at what Guillem was telling her. Eh, must be about something that
wasn't my business.

	After holding shopping bags of clothes from H&M, American Eagle,
the Gap, Urban Outfitters, and Victoria's Secret (for Mom and Amanda, not
me and Mike), we decided to get back to the apartment and Amanda would
order some pizzas and coke.

	"Hey, Steph, wanna come with me?" She asked me when I was about to
get out of the car.

	"Yeah, why not..." I got out of the back seat to sit in the front.

	"Amanda, here take a twenty," Mom pulled a $20 note out of her
purse.

	"No, Mom, I got it," Amanda waved it off.

	"Take it..." Mom shoved it in her hand.

	"Okay... If you insist," Amanda put it in her pocket, "Alright,
beats on?" she checked.

	When we were five minutes away from her apartment, Amanda asked me
a question that I would have never seen coming.

	"Hey, don't be offended if I ask you this," Amanda took a breath,
"I just wanna disprove Guillem, my friend back in the H&M, that not all of
his kind are that obvious to him."

	"Go on? Yes? His kind?" I was confused, but I knew very well what
she meant by that.

	"Well, gay people," she clarified, "He asked me why I never
mentioned to him that I have a gay brother."

	"What?!" My voice rose. But seriously, how the hell does he know
that? He must've had damn good radar.

	"I know. I was surprised too. I told him it's not true," she
nodded, "But then I started thinking. I've met his kind many times at
school, and I know them well. So, Steph, don't be offended... Now it seems
obvious to me, but I wasn't sure before. But are you really?"

	I was simply shocked I was that damn obvious. Unfortunely, my mind
got tangled up over whether I should tell her or not, and it was my long
silence that gave me away instead.

	"Oh my god, are you really?!" Amanda nearly missed a stop sign as
she looked at me. I nodded and blushed really hard.

	"Oh jesus, I had a clue when you eye-raped Mike in the kitchen, but
I accepted your excuse that you were looking out of the window," Amanda
giggled, "Oh, it's ok... I don't care."

	"Well, glad you don't, but I'm still surprised I was that obvious
to you guys but not Mom and Mike," I looked out of the windshield, not
looking at her. Amanda stopped at the stop lights.

	"Don't look at anyone else like you did to Mike then, it'll just
give you away," Amanda looked at me, "But around New York gay guys, you'll
have a lot of trouble keeping off their radars. You cannot help it." She
leaned over to hug me.

	"Thanks for the advice," I kissed her cheek, "I didn't think I
needed to hide from you, but this is all new to me and it never occurred to
me today to tell you."

	"It's alright..." and she bit her lip.

	"Spill it... now..." I ordered her.

	"Is Ben...? Or maybe is it Julien?" She asked.

	"Yes, they're both gays too," I noted.

	"But Mom did say you spent a lot of time with Ben," Amanda bit her
lip again after saying that. I sighed, what the hell... My cover was
already blown anyway.

	"Yes, he's my boyfriend. Happy now?" I told her finally.

	"Of course... It's so cuteee!!! My little brother is getting
serious," she gasped and grinned like Ben would have done in the same
situation.

	"Oh shut up and drive... You have a green light," I told her. A car
behind her blared its horn.

	"Oh fuck off..." she fingered the irate driver in the rear view
mirror.

	This is nice, now I have to add my own sister to the list that I've
came out to. I shouldn't have been surprised, since she's lived most of her
life in New Jersey and it's one of the most gay friendly areas you could
find in the whole country. Yep, life is going great.


Once again, a special thanks to Sharon for the editing job!!!
Encore une fois un remerciement special a Francois pour le "betareading" et
pour la correction des textes francais !!!
And finally once more, many thanks to a certain goat with sunglasses, CJames!

Discussion topic on GA can be found here through the link below.

http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5530

unpetitpoissonbleu@yahoo.ca
E-mails and feedbacks are highly appreciated.

Copyright 2007 by Jack Frost. 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.
[ML1]