Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:11:44 PST
From: Joseph Thoreau <jdthoreau@hotmail.com>
Subject: My Hero - Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER
**********

This story contains sexual acts between teenage boys. If this is not to 
your liking, then leave. Simple. If you are UNDER the age of consent for 
state / country / planet and all laws effective there, please leave now. 
Of course, I'm underage and I wrote it, so that's pretty odd, don't you 
think?

I wrote this story. I would be very appreciative if it wasn't changed in 
any way. You may post it to newsgroups, give it to friends, use it to 
line a birdcage, as long as I am accredited as the author and you do not 
charge for doing so. Thanks. 

The story is an odd mix of fact and fiction, inasmuch as I exist, the 
people in this story exist (names have been changed), but these events 
have not taken place outside my hormone charged imagination. This is not 
a story about sex. It is a love story with sexual elements in it. The 
sex takes a while to get to, so be patient. If you are just looking for 
something to jerk off to, you should probably move on.

If you like this story, mail me at JDThoreau@hotmail.com. If you don't
like it, mail me anyway and tell me what's wrong with it. Praise will be 
appreciated, flames will be ignored. Enjoy!


To Matt-For both the inspiration for this story and his constant support 
throughout the development of it. Thanks, bro. I love you. 


Chapter 4

	I held Kevin in my arms and rocked him back and forth. He was
sobbing into my shoulder and I could feel his warm breath and wet tears
through my shirt. I stroked his hair and whispered reassuring things into
his ear. In a couple of minutes, there were no tears left. He pulled away
and wiped his face with his hands. I got up and brought him some Kleenex.
He wiped his face again and took a deep breath. He looked at me and said,
"Oh, Jeff. I'm so sorry about that. I shouldn't have done that. That
was..."
	I stopped him. "Quit. It's okay. I understand. You have nothing to
be sorry for. Just tell me what happened."
	He sighed and started telling me what his father said. "Well, when
I told him I got jumped and someone had to intervene, he got pissed. He's a
pretty big guy. He kept going on about how I should have been able to take
them, how I should be ashamed of myself. It's just that...he doesn't think
I'm enough of a man. It's complicated. We just don't get along much. He's
just being a bastard, as usual."
	I felt like such a shithead! I shouldn't have made him call. "Oh,
Kevin. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble or anything. I
shouldn't have made you call."
	He shushed me. "It's okay, man. You didn't mean anything by it. My
parents and I have been like this for a long time. You didn't cause it."
	"Still, I feel so bad about it."
	"Listen, Jeff. Today you have rescued me from a beating, treated my
injuries, and let me cry in your arms. And the weird thing is, I don't even
feel embarrassed. You have done so much for me. Please do not feel bad
about anything, okay? You are a wonderful guy. I don't want you to feel
bad."
	His blatant statement of gratitude flustered me. "Okay, I won't." I
quickly looked for a chance to change the subject. "So, um, what should we
watch until the pizza gets here?"
	I grabbed the TV guide and we settled on the movie Contact. It was
set to play on HBO in a few minutes. The pizza was due soon, too. "Better
get something to drink," I said. "We have Coke, Sprite, Pepsi. What do you
want?"
	"No, let me get it. I have to get this ankle moving. What would you
like?"
	"Ummm, okay. Sprite. They're in the refrigerator."
	He got up and walked into the kitchen, then came out a few seconds
later with two cans of Sprite and some paper napkins. He handed one can to
me. "There you go. Anything else, sir? An appetizer, perhaps?"
	I laughed. "Hey, I'm the waiter here!"
	The pizza arrived 15 minutes into the movie. Kevin answered the
door and paid the driver. He came back and we indulged in a little old
fashioned gluttony. We polished off all but three slices of what we had
ordered, then sat back to relax. I don't think we moved for half an
hour. Contact ended sometime before 11:00. It was a pretty good show. When
it was over I got up and stretched. I looked at my watch. "Oh, man! It's
almost 11:00. Damn. I got work in the morning."
	"Oh, I'm sorry! I've kept you up late. I'd better get going."
	"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm usually up at this time anyway. Let
me go get your shirt and we can go."
	I retrieved his shirt from the bathroom hamper and returned it to
him. The blood appeared to have stained it. I wasn't familiar with
laundry. "That looks pretty bad. Hope you can get that out."
	"Shouldn't be a problem. Blood comes out really easy if you soak it
in cold water for a while, then bleach it."
	I looked at him oddly. "What? Is your Dad a dry cleaner?"
	"Nah, but I've done this a few times before. Like I said, it
shouldn't stain."
	Something bothered me about what he said. "Really? When have you
had to get bloodstains out of your clothes?"
	He looked uncomfortable. "I don't know, I've just done it a couple
of times. I do laundry a lot. So, ready to go?"
	I decided to let it drop, but it still bugged me. I got my keys and
we left. He gave me directions to his house. It was only about five minutes
away from mine. We pulled up and I noticed that all the lights were
off. "Uh, you got a key?"
	He fished one out of his pocket and started to get out. He looked
back at me. "Ummm...see you later, I guess?"
	"Yeah, I suppose so."
	He was halfway to his door when I looked down and saw his shirt in
the floorboard. I called out, "Hey, Kevin! Wait up!"
	He looked back at me and I got out of my car. I walked up to him
and handed him his shirt. "Oh, thanks, man. Almost forgot it. And speaking
of that, when can I give you your shirt back?"
	"Don't bother. It's a little too small for me. You keep it."
	He was silent for a moment. "Jeff, can I ask you a question?"
	"Sure."
	"Why are you so nice to me?"
	That took me off guard. "Uh, I just like you, Kevin. You're a nice
guy."
	He lowered his head. "Damn, man. I don't get it. It just blows my
mind. You have done so much for me today. You've risked your ass to save
me, let me into your home, patched me up. You have just been so great to
me. I owe you big. You know, um, I know we both don't have many friends and
stuff, but I'd be really glad if I could have the chance to be yours."
	He was staring straight down at the ground with his hands in his
pockets. I said, "Kevin, you're really sweet. That's nice of you to say. I
feel the same way, okay? You're a really nice guy and I would like to be
your friend."
	He hadn't looked at me in a while, he seemed to be very interested
in his shoes at the moment. I could almost feel his insecurity. You know,
I'm a romantic. I'm a melodramatic person. When the mood strikes me, I just
act out of instinct. And at the moment, my instincts told me that Kevin
needed to be hugged. It was really a risky thing to do, but I guess I was
getting more self-confident.
	I closed the short distance and wrapped my arms around him. He
removed his hands from his pockets, and I felt them wrap around my back. We
stayed like that for a moment, then I broke the embrace. He smiled
sheepishly. "Thanks, man. You're a cool guy."
	I smiled back. "So are you. See you Monday?"
	"I'll be there."
	"Cool. Later, bud."
	I watched him walk back up to his house and shut the door. Only
then did I get back in the car and drive off. As I drove home, I couldn't
stop smiling. When I had first met Kevin, I had wanted to get with him. I
still did in a way. But now, I was happy just to be his friend. That was
great, too.
	I got home about 11:30. I cleaned up all the food and stuff and
went to bed. As I was taking off my shirt, I felt the spot where his tears
had soaked it. I held it up to my face and breathed in, remembering what it
was like. I knew I was being silly, so I put it down and climbed into bed.
Shortly after I turned off the light, I heard my parents get home. I was
thinking about my budding friendship. I had never really had friends my
age, the reasons for that already covered. Now it seemed that I had a
chance to be good friends with this really cute, intelligent, and wonderful
guy. I fell asleep a few minutes later and enjoyed a very peaceful night.