Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2015 13:55:02 +0000 (UTC)
From: Aaron Hull <wah.stories@yahoo.com>
Subject: My Name is Connor: Chapter 02

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	I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I
haven'y had time to write something like this in forever so it was pretty
fun. Other stories by me include One or the Other, Gavin's Got Game,
Hayden's Story, Shawn's Turn, Teddy Bear, and the After Party. The first
five are found here in the gay highschool section and the latter two are in
the gay college section. If you do enjoy reading this, you can contact me
at wah.stories@yahoo.com.

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	It was Sunday night and, like every Sunday, Patrick was staying
over. The tradition started when we were in eighth grade when his parents
weren't able to take him to school on Mondays so my mom would take the both
of us; Patrick lived outside the district but the other middle school
wasn't as good as ours so his dad would pick him up and take him to my
school until his boss changed his hours so that he had to be at work before
the school opened. Even though Patrick can now drive, we just let the
tradition continue on.
	I was lying on my bed reading a book and Patrick was in my bathroom
shaving his face. He normally shaved it all off but he had recently decided
to keep his chinstrap so it took him longer than usual to do his weekly
shave.
	"Are you kidding me?" I heard him say. I looked up from my book and
Patrick was standing in the doorway to the bathroom. He had a pair of blue
and gray plaid boxers in his hands. "I know you told me that you and Troye
were going to try being friends again but I didn't know you all were
friends with benefits."
	I gulped. "How do you know those aren't mine?"
	"Connor," he said with a smile. "I see you in your cute little
briefs every single Sunday night after you shower. If you switched to
boxers, I would know."
	That was true. And don't get the wrong idea, Patrick is
straight. He's extremely comfortable with me being gay so walking around in
his boxers and seeing me half naked didn't bother him. We were more like
brothers than anything and the idea of being with Patrick sexually was
something I had never thought of. Don't get me wrong, Patrick is cute. He's
about 5'8 with bleach blonde hair and he has a killer smiler. His body is
also nice, he's danced his entire life and his body is definitely a work of
art. But like I said, were brothers and I couldn't sexualize him.
	"When he brought me home I told him he could change into some of my
clothes since his were soaked. I didn't know he'd also change his
underwear."
	Patrick just smiled; I couldn't tell if he was smiling because he
could see me turning red or if he was smiling because he thought the truth
was just a very bad lie. "Why are you two trying to rekindle things? From
what you and Spencer said, I thought you'd be the guy cheering at his
funeral."
	"That would probably be Spencer. And I was mostly just hurt, I was
never really mad at him. And at a time like this, the fact that someone has
made an attempt to come back into my life makes me feel wanted again." If
there was someone I could be honest with, it would be Patrick. He's a
goofball most of the time but he can keep a secret.
	Ever since my dad left, I've felt like I haven't been good enough
for anyone. My dad knows me better than anyone else, he's known me my
entire life. If he thought that I wasn't good enough to be a part of his
family, how could I expect someone else to love me? At least that's what I
felt. Patrick had been there for me and he helped me through a lot of that
pain.
	Patrick dropped the boxers and came over to me. He plopped down
next to me and rested his head on my shoulder. "You know I love you, right?
You are my best friend and I will always be here for you, dude. Even when
you and your future husband have a fight and your sorry ass is on the
streets. I'll kick my wife out of the bed and I'll comfort you."
	"Thanks." The funny part about that was Patrick would do that. He
actually has left a chick in the middle of a date to comfort me, let's just
say they obviously aren't dating anymore. "Now go wipe your face off before
you get shaving cream all over me. I've already showered and washed my
face."
	"What? You mean like this?" I knew I shouldn't have said
anything. Before I could make a run for it, he had already collected all
the leftover shaving cream in his hand. My life flashed before my eyes as
he shoved his hand in my face and got shaving cream in my hair, up my nose,
in my mouth, some even got on my bed and wall.
	I squirmed out from under him and escaped to the other side of the
room where I was able to take a couple deep breaths. The taste of shaving
cream was definitely disgusting. "I hate you. So much."
	Patrick just put his legs out and his hands behind his head. He had
the cockiest smile. "You know you love me."
	I couldn't help but laugh as I noticed where his hand was
placed. "You know you just put shaving cream in your hair, right?"
	He didn't move, his smile just slowly changed into a frown. "I just
washed my hair though."
	He sounded like a little kid who was told recess was over. I
obviously couldn't help but laugh harder, so hard that I closed my
eyes. Big mistake.
	I was soon tackled onto the floor and pinned. I looked up at him
and he wasn't smiling. He was just staring, it looked like he was lost in
his thought. It was awkward because he didn't move either. He just remained
on top of me for what felt like five minutes before he snapped out of his
trance.
	He rolled off of me. "Sorry. I don't know what that was. I
just...deja vu I guess. I just had a thought. Sorry."
	"It's cool. Anything you need to tell me?" I looked at him with
concern. This had never happened. Where could he have gone in those few
moments?
	"No. I'm good. I promise." He stood up and extended a hand to help
me. "Now come on, we gotta clean up the mess you made with the shaving
cream so that we can go to bed. We have a big week ahead of us."
	I just rolled my eyes as he helped me up. I knew that if I tried
arguing with him I would end up with more shaving cream up my nose. We
eventually got it all cleaned up and we climbed into my bed. Normally we
stay on our respective sides of my queen-sized mattress but Patrick was a
little closer than he usually was.
	"I love you, Connor." I heard him say.
	I rolled over to face him and I saw that he was smiling. "I love
you too, Patrick. You're the best friend every gay guy wants."
	Patrick smiled. He then did something he had never done. He scooted
closer to me and rested his head on my arm. I thought it was weird but I
went with it. We then did that little dance to find the place where we were
both comfortable and fell asleep like that.  ~ ~ * ~ ~
	The next day while we were at lunch, Patrick accidentally let it
slip that Troye and I are now trying to be friends again. Spencer, being
the diva that she is, did not like this news. A part of her hates it for
superficial reasons such as intermingling between the basketball team and
drama club but there is also a part of her that hates me and Troye being
friends again because he already hurt me once.
	"Why would you do that to yourself, Connor?" Spencer asked.
	"Do what?"
	"That friendship is just a disaster waiting to happen. If it
couldn't withstand being in separate schools, how is it going to last now
that the two of you are on completely different planets."
	"We're not on completely different planets." I just looked
down. Whenever people are obviously upset with me, I tend to retreat back
into my shell.
	Spencer rolled her eyes. "He's a jock. You're not. Two different
worlds."
	"This sounds like some Romeo and Juliet, shit." Lauren said.
	"It's not." I said somewhat too defensively.
	"You don't have to snap, asshole." Lauren said in response. One
thing I had learned about her is that she does not take any kind of sass.
	"What he was trying to get at is that he doesn't want to talk about
this right now. He made a decision to let someone back in and if it doesn't
work out then it is his problem and not ours." This was why I loved
Patrick. He could fuck up and make Lauren and Spencer mad at me but then
make it better by protecting me.
	"I'm just looking out for you, Con. I saw what it did to you when
we were little kids. I couldn't imagine what it would do now that you've
gone through so much." I looked up from my mashed potatoes and saw that she
was actually concerned.
	"I promise you I will be okay. Troye and I really clicked the other
day and I could tell he was just as happy as I was that we ran into each
other. Please just be happy for me."
	Spencer reached out and caressed my hand. "You deserve friends who
won't abandon you, Con. Seeing you in pain is the worst."
	Before I could tell Spencer how much I loved her, a loud commotion
coming from the jock table caught everyone's attention. Paige Vaughn had
poured her milk on her boyfriend's head over at the jock table. Everyone
started laughing and cheering as she walked away. Everyone knew that Chad
was cheating on Paige, even the theater people who were outside that circle
knew what was going on.
	The rest of the senior cheerleaders got up from the table and
followed Paige out, obviously trying to console her. The basketball team
just laughed at Chad as he sat there with milk all over him. The only one
who offered him any help was Troye. He said something to him and then the
two left the cafeteria.
	I turned back to face Spencer. "See, he's not like the rest of the
jocks. He's nice, he just had a phase."
	"You better hope it was a face or else he's going to have five
inches of heel buried in his ass." Spencer was very protective of me. Like
Patrick, I knew I could count on her; she usually took a more physical
approach to helping me out than Patrick did, though.
	Patrick, being the idiot he is, then made things worse for
me. "Well since I found his boxers in Connor's room, I'd say he likes
having five inches in his ass. It actually might be a bit bigger than
Connor."
	I had to hit him. Not only did he make a joke about my dick size,
he also reveal a piece of information that would give Spencer and Lauren a
reason to give me "the talk" again. After I came out to Spencer, she sat me
down and gave me a sex talk because she thought I was with Patrick, they
weren't friends at that point so she had no idea he was straight at that
time.
	"Why were his boxers in your room?" Spencer asked. For a second I
thought she was my mother.
	"Long story. Please don't ask."
	Spencer opened her mouth but I was saved by the bell. I got up and
made a b-line for the door. I knew this wouldn't be the end of it but I
knew I needed more privacy than a public cafeteria to explain everything to
her.
	As I was walking to class, I passed by Troye and Chad, who was now
wearing a hoodie and a pair of matching sweats with Troye's number on them;
32. His hair was also wet so I guess Troye let him wear his warm-up clothes
after Chad washed the milk out of his hair.
	Chad didn't notice me in the crowd of people but Troye did. He
smiled at me and waved. I smiled back and faintly waved back. I knew those
were just small gestures but it was a start. Spencer was right, we really
were on two different planets. Neither of us could really mess with the
status quo, it would have been too much pressure on the already fragile
friendship we were trying to rebuild.
	The classes following lunch; United States history, geometry, and
photography; were nothing special. My favorite of those classes was
photography. In there, we usually went outside or occasionally on field
trips to go take pictures. Since our yearbook club isn't big, we were also
the ones who contributed most of the yearbook photos. The only ones there
were really in charge of were the ones where they bring in a photographer
to take a picture of you on what is usually your worst hair day of the
year.
	As the final bell rang, everyone fled the room as quickly as
possible and crowded the halls. Since rehearsal didn't start for another
thirty minutes, I decided to talk to Ms. Porter and show her my photos from
the previous week.
	"You have a real talent, Mr. Phillips." She said as she looked
through the photos on my camera. "You don't capture an image, you capture
an emotion. You capture beauty in its truest form. I love it."
	"Thanks." I smiled. Ms. Porter was an amazing teacher, she showed a
lot of interest in me and my work. I liked photography before the class but
she made me to love it.
	"I was thinking about offering an advanced photography class next
semester and I would be honored if you considered taking the course. Since
the equipment would cost so much, very few students would be allowed to be
in the class."
	"You really think I'm good enough for an advanced class?" A wave of
excitement overwhelmed me.
	Ms. Porter just smiled. "Well of course! Like I said, you
understand what photography is supposed to be and this is just an
introductory course. I want to turn the old shop room into a black room so
you all could develop your own film. I love digital photography and all it
has done for us, but you can't truly understand the art of photography
until you've used a camera with film."
	"I will definitely think about it." I didn't need to think about
it. This was definitely something I wanted to do. It was honestly a dream
come true.
	"Here's your camera." She handed my camera back to me and I saw on
the picture of the old couple I had taken. They were just going on a day
stroll through the park and the moment was too good to miss out on. After I
took the picture, I asked them if it would be okay if I could use it and
they told me they would be honored. I would have asked before but I wanted
to capture a real moment between the two. "I will see you tomorrow,
Mr. Phillips."
	I left the room in a great mood. I never thought of myself as that
great of a photographer. I had to tell Spencer and them about it, hopefully
it would cause Spencer to forget about the whole thing about Troye's
boxers.
	 As I was going down the hall, I ran into one of the freshmen who
had joined the drama club. His name was Micah and he was sitting in the
hall, reading from one of his textbooks and writing stuff down in a
notebook simultaneously.
	"Hey Micah." I said a bit too cheerfully. He looked up and seemed
shocked that I knew his name.
	"Hey. Connor. How are you?" He closed his textbook and started to
put his books back into his bag. Micah was a little flamboyant and I've
always gotten the vibe that he was gay, I wasn't really sure though.
	"I'm good. And how are you?"
	"I'm fantastic." And sure enough, his facial expression gave the
same answer. I was puzzled because how in the world could you be that happy
after the eight hours of prison we just endured? I was just complimented on
the best way so obviously I was happy. But a freshman? That should be
impossible.
	"That's good. You're a backup dancer, right?" I really wanted to
get to know all of the new freshman because for most it's hard to
assimilate into the family. When I joined, I had Spencer and Patrick by my
side and they were both social butterflies so I was accepted almost
immediately because of them.
	"Yeah. Do you know if Patrick will be here today? I need him to
help me with some of the dance moves he changed last week."
	"He should be, but you know how he can be sometimes. Did he give
you his number? When we started rehearsals I told him he needed to do so
since he's very unreliable about showing up to these things."
	"Yeah, he did. He's seemed pretty organized so far."
	I laughed. "Just wait `til Friday night and Saturday morning when
you're freaking out. Something will mystically happen to his phone and you
won't see him until show time."
	"I sometimes wish I could sing, it would be nice to work with you."
The way he blushed and adverted his eyes from direct eye contact hinted
that he had a crush on me. I never thought of his as cute before but now
that I actually look at him...
	"Well I sometimes wish I could dance. So don't be jealous."
	"I could teach you some time!" He said this a little faster than I
think he wanted to because he turned red right after. "I'm guessing you
could go to Patrick if you really wanted to learn how to dance, though. He
is a better dancer than me anyways."
	"Don't put yourself down. He may have a little better technique but
I've seen you with the others, you are a great teacher. I may just take you
up on your offer." I know this is going to sound stupid but as I said that,
I winked. I don't know why, but I did.
	Micah's face turned even redder, he was almost a crimson at that
point. He stood up and fumbled with his bag. "I'll see you inside, Connor."
He then quickly turned and went into the auditorium.
	I couldn't help but think about how cute he was. I didn't even know
if he was gay. And since I had a `girlfriend,' I couldn't see him making a
move any time soon. The fact I had a `girlfriend' also made it impossible
for me to flirt because if he figured out I was flirting and he didn't like
that, it could ruin mine and Spencer's reputations for lying to
everyone. If he somehow made a move, I would probably pursue him, but that
was unlikely.
	I waited another minute and walked in. Micah was talking to some of
his freshman friends and when he noticed me, I could see him blush. His
cuteness was definitely something I would have to get used to if I wanted
to finish this week.
	Spencer, Lauren, and Patrick eventually showed up to rehearsal and
everything went smoothly for once. That was our first day of tech rehearsal
and we spent most of it making sure the microphones worked and the sound
and lighting cues were right. Occasionally the lighting would be a fraction
of a second off for Spencer and she and Lauren would start bickering. It
was funny to me because once they would really get into it in the moment
but once we left the auditorium, they were back to normal.
	After we were done for the day, I cleaned up the auditorium and
stuck around for as long as I could. This time Micah stuck around too and
helped me out. I had asked him why his mom hadn't picked him up yet and all
that I can remember about his excuse was that it was something stupid. He
obviously wanted to spend some one on one with me. I thought it was cute.
	"Did you have Mr. Hendricks for U.S Government?" Micah asked me as
he swept the stage and I reorganized the prop shelf for act two.
	"Yeah. I really liked him. His class was fun." It was actually one
of my classes now that I think about it.
	"We must be thinking of different teachers then. This guy is an
asshole. He's the kind of conservative who preaches from a book he's never
opened."
	That made me laugh. I had never really heard Micah say anything
other than words of kindness. "Maybe my Mr. Hendricks retired. Mine was an
old guy with a toupee."
	Micah laughed at that. "Mine is young and hot. But like I said,
he's a major asshole."
	"So, you think your teacher is hot?" I nudged him with my elbow and
winked.
	Micah's face went full crimson in a matter of five seconds. "For a
guy, yeah. I don't like guys. I'm straight as can be."
	"In this program, either you tell the truth or someone else tells
for you. I'm not saying that you have to tell everyone your deepest darkest
secrets, just know that someone will find out soon enough and you have to
be ready for what happens at a minutes notice."
	Micah's smile faded. "I thought everyone here was supposed to be
family?"
	He walked over to the edge of the stage and just sat. I walked over
to him and sat beside him. I glanced over at him and he looked kind of
lost. I couldn't help but smile. I knew I shouldn't have but he looked like
a lost puppy.
	"We are a family. It's just that sometimes when a family member
feels like you didn't trust them, they get upset and do something
stupid. Trust me, I've done my fair share of stupid things."
	"So, if I came out to you, you wouldn't tell everyone?" Micah
asked. I looked him in his eyes and just smiled. "Just theoretically, that
is."
	"Yes. Theoretically, I could keep your secret if you came out to
me. And, theoretically, if you came out to me, I'd send you a picture of
what I was planning to wear to school every morning so I could get your
fashion advice."
	This made Micah smile. He also began to blush again. If it were up
to me, he'd always be blushing.
	"I'm serious, dude. If you came out to me, theoretically that is, I
would keep your secret. I mean, you'd be surprised by how many gay guys and
girls I know."
	"Do you think...do you think you could help me find a guy?" Micah
asked. I could tell that was something hard for him to say.
	"You mean theoretically?" I didn't know if pretending we were
talking theoretically would make things better, I was just hoping it would
make him be a little more open.
	Thankfully I was right. He smiled and let out a slight
laugh. "Yeah. Theoretically."
	"I know a lot of guys who'd be all over you. Too bad you're
straight."
	Micah rolled his eyes. "I'm gay."
	I squinted my eyes and looked at him. I cupped my hand behind my
ear. "What was that? I couldn't hear you. You were definitely mumbling."
	He turned a little redder. "I am gay." He said this a little bit
louder but I had to push him a little farther.
	"What was that?! I have bad hearing! You're going to have to speak
up!" I wasn't really shouting but my voice was definitely raised.
	Micah didn't fall for it, he just blushed even more and sat there
quietly. He twiddled his fingers and I couldn't help but think about how
cute he was.
	I put my hand on his leg and his eyes jumped out of their sockets
and he looked me in the eyes. I just smiled. "Your secret is safe with me,
man. You don't have to worry about anyone finding out."
	Micah and I just sat there for a while. My hand resting on his
thigh. His hand closest to me was slowly making its way to me but his move
probably wouldn't be made for another five hours. I decided to expedite the
process and interlocked our hands.
	"Could you tell me a little more about the guys who would gladly be
with me?" Micah didn't look up when he said that, I could tell it was
really hard for him. I, myself, have never had a boyfriend so I was also
nervous. The closest I've come to any of this was the fake stuff Spencer
and I did and that was all acting. This time I had to summon my inner actor
and portray a confident gay guy or else I could say goodbye to fulfilling
my sudden desires.
	"Yeah. There's this one guy." I gulped. I decided to go for
broke. "He thinks you are an amazing dancer and would love to learn a thing
or two from you. I think he's going to be Marco in the musical."
	Micah continued to look down but his smile grew. "He sounds really
cute. Do you really think he's into me?" He finally looked up at me and his
steel gray eyes shined.
	"Yeah. Keep this between the two of us but he told me that he
really wanted to kiss you." It was now my turn to advert my eyes and blush.
	He let out a nervous laugh. "Well, you can tell him that if he
wants to kiss me, he can. I've wanted to kiss him for a while now."
	I looked up at him and I could see how nervous he was. To be
completely honest, his nervousness was cute. "Really?" I leaned in a bit,
hopefully enough for him to notice.
	He did. He leaned in a bit too. "Really."
	Slowly, the two of us got closer and closer. I was completely lost
in the moment and it lasted forever. When we were finally close enough to
feel each other's breath, I was pretty sure I was hyperventilating. That
would be my first kiss. I so badly wanted it. We moved in a bit more and
just a millimeter separated our lips.
	"Is anyone in here?!" The voice startled the both of us and we
quickly jumped apart. From behind the curtain emerged Ms. Dennis. "Oh! What
are you boys still doing here?"
	Micah was obviously too shocked to speak so I spoke for the both of
us. "Micah offered to help me clean up. We got to talking and I guess we
lost track of time."
	"Oh." Ms. Dennis was obviously oblivious to what we were about to
do and even if she did know, I don't think she would have cared. "Well I
gotta close everything up. Do you all have a way home?"
	"Yeah." Micah finally spoke up. "My mom should be outside any
minute." He jumped down from where we were and grabbed his backpack that he
had laid in one of the seats in the first row. He then turned to me. "Thank
you. I'll see you later?"
	"Definitely." I couldn't help but smile at him. He was so cute.
	After he had left, I helped Ms. Dennis with the last sweep to make
sure everything was good. We headed out the doors and Ms. Dennis wished me
a good day. I was smiling so hard because for the first time in my life,
there was potential for a love life. The fact that I would spend the next
forty minutes walking didn't even phase me.
	When I got to the parking lot, I was startled to see a single car
in it. There was a brown eyed, brown haired boy sitting on the hood of the
car in his basketball shorts and a t-shirt. It was Troye.
	"What are you doing here?" I asked.
	His eyes were closed when I had gotten close and my voice startled
him. "I've been waiting for you. I thought your rehearsal ended thirty
minutes ago?" He laid back down on his hood with his hands behind his head.
	"Yeah. I stuck around for a while, though. I normally leave last, I
don't want people to know I walk home."
	"Well you won't be anymore. I'm going to take you home. So get used
to not wanting people to know Troye is an amazing friend who is always
there for you."
	I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine walking home. I don't want you to have
to wait for me like this every day. Rehearsal this week lasts until five
every day."
	"Well thankfully coach has us practicing until five every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. And thankfully I teach inner-city kids how to play
basketball every Tuesday and Thursday until five at the elementary school
down the road. So I wouldn't be waiting here for you."
	"But I still live in the opposite direction of you. That's a lot of
gas money."
	"I have a gas card. My parents told me that since they won't have
to pay for college, schools are already talking to me about scholarships,
they would pay for my gas until I leave. And trust me, my college fund had
a lot of money in it so you don't have to worry about gas at all."
	I was in way too good of a mood to continue bickering with him. I
walked over to his car and opened the passenger door. "Well if you're going
to give me a ride home, you're going to have to get behind the wheel, not
in front of it."
	He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I am going so far out of my
way to help you so you can keep your attitude to yourself." He rolled off
the hood of the car and got in. The smile on his face told me that he
wasn't serious.
	"I'm in the drama club, I can't keep my attitude to myself." We
both closed our car doors and we were off. For a moment, it felt like we
were always friends. I loved it.

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