Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 21:43:33 -0400
From: ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: No More Rainbows  Chapter 12

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.

Visit Ronyx's website at  www.themustardjar.com



No More Rainbows          Chapter 12



"Artie!" My mother shouted. "Get up or you'll be late for school."

I moaned and covered my head with the pillow. I dreaded going back to
school. After what happened in the restroom on Friday, and then my debut
appearance on the late night news that night, going back to school was
something I wanted to postpone forever.

I hadn't slept at all. Different scenarios kept running through my head.
I think before my mother hollered out my name, I had conceived every
imaginable name calling, shoving and beating that could occur. I had to
sit up for a while during the night when I started seeing Brent in those
visions. I was scared that he would also be hurt by some homophobic boy
like Cal.

I jumped when my mother knocked on my door. "Artie, get out of bed.
You'll be late for school." She slowly opened the door, and then walked
across the room and sat down beside me.

"I know today will probably be one of the worse days you'll ever
experience," she said soothingly. I pulled the cover back and peered out
with one eye.

"You really think so," I said sarcastically. Suddenly an idea crossed
my mind. I sat up quickly in bed.

"I know," I said excitedly. "You can home tutor me. You're pretty
smart."

She looked down at me and smiled. "Just pretty smart? That didn't sound
like much of a compliment."

"Come on, Mom," I whined. "Let me stay home and you can tutor me here.
Kids do it all the time."

"Hmm," she held her hand to her chin as if in thought. "That sounds
reasonable. I can give up my job and stay home with you. Of course, with
no money, it means we'll have to live in a box and beg for food when
you're not studying. Go ask Randy if that's alright with him. He'll
have to pull his weight, too."

She said it so convincingly, I thought for a minute she was serious. I
then decided I'd play along also.

"Randy!" I hollered. "Come in my room. I have something to ask you."
My mother reached out and tried to cover my mouth, but not before Randy
came running into the room in just his underwear.

"What, Artie?" In one leap, he was lying across my bed looking me in
the face.

"Mom and I just had a good idea," I said evilly, looking at my mother
out of the corner of my eye.

"Randy." She patted him on his bottom. "Go get dressed for school."

"But Randy didn't ask me anything yet."

"He's going to be asking to do your chores around the house in just a
minute." She gave me a look like the game was over. Randy got up and ran
out of the room.

"Seriously, Mom. I can't go back there. Everyone's going to give me a
hard time." I lay back down and pulled the covers back over my head.

"Of course they will," she replied, pulling the covers away from my
face. "It won't be easy, but the best thing to do is ignore them. If
you react, then they will know they've gotten to you and it will only
make it worse."

"I'm not that strong," I insisted.

"Yes, you are," she responded as she brushed her hand through my hair.
"Look how much you've had to deal with lately. This is just another
hurdle you'll have to jump over."

"What if someone pushes me, or tries to fight with me? I can't ignore
that."

"If someone tries to intimidate you or gives you a hard time," she
said, "then go to the office and talk to the principal. When I take you
to school this morning, I'm going to talk to Mrs. Martinez."

"What if someone hits me?"

"Then hit them back," she said angrily. I looked at her in disbelieve.
My mother had preached nonviolence for as long as I could remember. I got
in a small fight with another boy when I was in the fourth grade. He had
pushed me and I pushed him back. The teacher only saw me retaliate, so
she thought I had been the instigator of the fight.

She called my mother and told her what happened. When I got home that
night, she made me sit down and write five reasons why fighting is a bad
thing. Afterwards, we sat and talked about it for a half hour. I never
hit anyone again.

"You always told me not to fight." I reminded her.

"I'm not telling you to fight now," she insisted. "I'm telling you
to defend yourself if you must. There's a difference. You can't let
someone just hit on you and not try to protect yourself."

"But I don't know how to fight, since you've never let me," I said
sarcastically.

"Then do this." She stood up and started swinging her arms wildly. She
reminded me of a windmill. I fell back on the bed and laughed loudly
watching her circling her arms in every direction.

"They'll think I'm crazy." I managed to gasp out between laughs.

"That's the idea," she said as she started swinging wildly again. I
again fell on the bed and howled with laughter. It was just what I needed
to ease some of the tension I was feeling about going back to school.

She dropped Randy off at school, and then we drove over to mine. I felt
embarrassed walking into the school with my mother at my side. Since it
was only a few minutes before the start of school, many students watched
us walk to the office.

Once inside, we had to wait for about twenty minutes before we were able
to see Mrs. Martinez. It was actually the first time I had ever spoken to
her. I'd seen her walking around the halls, but I was just another
unknown student, or so I thought.

She smiled at us when she walked out of her office. "Hello, I'm Mrs.
Martinez." She extended her hand to my mother and me.

"And you are Artie Thomas," she said. "I've enjoyed reading some of
the wonderful stories you've written for the school newspaper. You're
very talented." I stood and looked at her in amazement. I couldn't
believe she actually knew who I was.

The next ten minutes were very embarrassing. It was extremely humiliating
to listen to my mother talk about me kissing another boy at school, and
then asking the principal to help protect me from the reaction of other
students.

"Who is the other young man involved?" She asked.

"Do I have to tell you?" I looked pleadingly at my mother.

"I can't protect him, if I don't know who he is." I hung my head and
had to decide if I wanted to out him. I figured she'd probably hear the
rumors and would know by lunch anyways.

"Brent England," I whispered almost inaudibly.

"Brent England!" She said rather loudly. I looked up and couldn't
believe the stunned look on her face. "He's such a quiet young man. He
has one of the highest grade point averages of anyone in the school. I
don't think I've ever seen him talk to anyone the past two years." She
got up from her desk and walked out into the main office. I watched out
the door as she went up to the secretary and said something to her. A
minute later she picked up the phone and called someone. After hanging
up, she came back into the room.

She and my mother talked casually for a few minutes until the school
secretary entered, followed by a very frightened Brent.

"Sit down, Brent." Mrs. Martinez pointed to a chair along side her
office wall. He picked it up and placed it beside me, and then hesitantly
sat down.

Mrs. Martinez looked at him and spoke in a motherly tone. "Artie and his
mother have explained to me what happened on Friday morning. Before I
proceed, would you like me to call your mother and father and have them
present?"

Brent looked at me and then at my mother. "No, Ma'am. I feel safe with
Mrs. Thomas here." My mother started smiling. She reached over and
patted Brent's hand, trying to comfort him.

"Before we begin, I'm going to tell you what I'd tell a boy and girl
who would be brought to my office for demonstrating their affections in
public. This is a place of education. You are here to learn, not to make
out." I looked at Brent and his face turned a bright red. I think mine
was shining just as brightly.

"Another incident will get you a night of detention," she warned.

"I don't think you have to worry about that," I said quickly. "We
learned our lesson already."

"I'm sure you have," smiled Mrs. Martinez, as she observed our
embarrassment. She looked over at my mother and gave her a wink.

"Now, I'm not going to anticipate a lot of trouble here." She
continued. "I know how high school students are. There's going to be
some gossiping, and I'm sure there will be some rude stares and
comments. You'll just have to learn to ignore them. Students are going
to talk, and you definitely gave them plenty to talk about. You'll have
to deal with the consequences of your actions."

We both nodded our heads.

"However, there is a zero tolerance for sexual harassment. That applies
to gay students as well as towards girls. If you feel that any student
crosses the line, then you come see me. If anyone touches you or makes
sexual advances to you, you tell a teacher immediately. I also want to
know if any student tries to bully you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," we said in unison.

"This will probably blow over soon," she said. "You're not the first
students to come out at school, and Lord knows you won't be the last.
The best thing to do is just try to ignore most of what you hear. If you
react, it will only add more fuel to the fire."

"My mother said the same thing earlier today," I said. Our eyes met and
my mother nodded her head.

Mrs. Martinez looked at Brent and asked, "Are your parents aware of what
happened?" He hung his head and nodded.

"What about Jared?" Again, he nodded his head.

"Good," said Mrs. Martinez. "I'm sure he'll be keeping a watchful
eye on you then."

"Now remember," she insisted. "Come to me if you feel you're being
threatened."

She wrote Brent and me passes to class while my mother stayed and talked.
I learned later that Mrs. Martinez was concerned how my father's arrest
had affected me. She even pulled up my grades on the computer to see if
they had dropped. Fortunately, I had managed to keep up with most of my
school work.

Mrs. Martinez was right about rude stares. When I entered my first period
class, the teacher stopped lecturing and I noticed everyone begin to talk
in hushed tones. When I sat in my desk, the guy sitting next to me moved
further away.

"I ain't sitting next to a fag," he muttered under his breath. I
pulled out my book and tried to catch up on the work I'd missed, but it
was hard to concentrate. Every time I looked around the room, someone was
turned in their seat staring at me.

When the bell rang, the boy who had called me a fag rushed past me,
pushing me against my desk with his shoulder. I sighed, knowing it was
going to be a very long day.

A strange thing happened on the way to third period. A guy came up from
behind me and shoved me into a locker. As he walked away, another student
came up behind him and pushed him up against a locker and said something
to him. He nervously nodded and then hurried away.

I recognized the student who had come to my aid. He was Isaac Norman, an
offensive tackle on the football team. He was a large guy, weighing at
least 230 pounds and over 6 feet tall. I had interviewed him for a
sport's article last year. He looked over at me and nodded before
walking away.

I jumped when someone came up beside me and grabbed my arm. "Hey," said
Amber. "How's things going?"

"I've had better days," I said.

"You have nothing to worry about," she replied. I turned and gave her a
questioning look.

"Yeah, right," I responded. "You're not the one being called the
school fag."

"Don't sweat it," she said. "No one's going to bother you."

"What makes you say that?" I couldn't understand why she was feeling
so confident.

"Jared's got your back," she stated. "He's put out the word. If
anyone fucks with you or Brent, then they have to deal with him and the
entire football team."

"Are you kidding?" I asked unbelievingly. Now I understood why Isaac
had threatened the kid who pushed me earlier. As we walked to class, I
noticed that students would move away and let us pass. It also appeared
that many students had stopped staring at me like I was some kind of
sideshow.

Third period went without any major incidences. I noticed one student
sitting a few desks away from me give me a snide look and then flip me
off. The student behind him, a member of the football team, smacked him
in the back of the head and then whispered something in his ear. The guy
then looked over apologetically and nodded.

When the bell rang for lunch, I walked cautiously down the hallway. I
wasn't sure if anyone would say something to me or push me against a
locker. I felt safer when Derrin Bailey, the center for the football
team, stepped up and walked beside me. Neither of us said a word, as he
escorted me to the cafeteria.

Brent entered at the same time I did. I gave a sigh of relief when I saw
two linebackers walking behind him. Like me, I guess he had his personal
escorts.

"Hi," he smiled. "Am I glad to see you. I've been worried about
you."

"I was worried about you, too," I replied, "but I see Jared has taken
care of things."

"Yeah," he said. "I tried to tell him we didn't need it, but he
insisted."

"Well I like it," I said. "At least now I don't have to worry about
you getting hurt by someone."

"I can take care of myself." He held up his arm and showed his small
arm muscle. He worked out a lot, but he still didn't have the kind of
body that would remotely intimidate someone. I giggled when he puffed out
his chest.

"Come on, Hercules," I laughed. "Let's get something to eat."

Amber and Linda were sitting at the table waiting for us. Several
students stopped eating and stared at us as we walked across the
cafeteria, but no one said anything.

"Do you guys realize how popular you are?" Amber asked when we sat
down.

"Popular?" Brent asked loudly. "How can we be popular?" He asked in a
lower tone.

"Jared's gotten out the word that no one is to say anything to you
guys." She hit her left hand with her right. "Or else."

"Now everyone is wondering who will be the first to break the rule and
get their ass kicked by the football team," laughed Linda.

Just then Jared walked up to the table, followed by four other team
members. The cafeteria became eerily quiet. He stood and looked
threatening across the cafeteria.

"How's it going, Guys?" He said loudly enough so that most students
sitting nearby could hear him. "Anyone giving you any trouble?" Again,
he scanned the cafeteria. I saw Mrs. Martinez standing in the doorway
smiling appreciatively. I guess she was happy that Jared was making her
job a little easier.

After another glance around the room, he sat down beside me. "Hey,
Artie." He smiled and threw his arm protectively around me. "How's
your day been?"

"Not bad," I replied. "Thanks."

"No problem, Buddy," he responded. "Let me, or one of my boys, know if
anyone messes with you." He got up and walked over to Brent and ruffled
his hair.

"Later, Guys." It seemed like every eye in the cafeteria was on him as
he walked away.

"See," whispered Amber. "I told you. Jared's intimidated the shit out
of everyone in the school. You guys don't have to worry about
anything."

We sat and talked casually. It seemed like a lot of pressure had been
lifted from our shoulders. I no longer had to fear other students
reacting angrily towards me or Brent.

"I've got something to ask you," said Amber excitedly. "I've been
dying to know all weekend."

"What?" I asked.

"Did you guys really do it Saturday? I know you did."

"Amber," squealed Brent. "You can't ask us that."

"See," said Amber turning to Linda. "I told you they did. If they
hadn't, they'd have said no."

I looked at Brent and he was blushing brightly. If Amber and Linda
weren't sure before, they certainly knew now because of Brent's
embarrassed reaction. They started laughing.

"Come on, Artie," huffed Brent. "Let's get out of here." This caused
the girls to laugh even harder.

As we left the cafeteria, two football players got up and followed us
out.

"I don't mind them being around," said Brent when he noticed them
following us. "But it's sure going to prevent us from doing anything."
He looked at me and wiggled his eye brows.

"You can't be serious, can you?" I said excitedly. "After what
happened Friday?"

"I can't help it," he replied. "Whenever I'm with you, I want to
touch you, kiss you." His face began to redden. "You opened up
Pandora's Box."

"More like Pandora's dick," I giggled, looking down at his obvious
erection.

He quickly turned and spoke to the two football players following behind
us. "Artie and I have to use the restroom. Would you watch the door and
make sure no one comes in for a minute?"

"Sure, Kid," said Bert Sullivan, a tight end. Ryan Baker, a defensive
lineman, nodded his head. We walked into the restroom. Brent peeked under
the stalls to make sure we were alone.

"Come here, you." He pulled me into him and kissed me. I could feel his
erection rubbing against my leg. I reached down and cupped it in my hand.
He let out a gasp, and then bit down on my lip.

"Ouch," I yelled, jumping back as I checked my lip to see if he had
drawn blood.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't expecting you to grab me."

"Did you like it?" I giggled, reaching out and rubbing his hard cock.
He moaned as I rubbed it more vigorously. Suddenly, his eyes widened and
he bolted for a nearby stall. I started laughing when I saw his pants
drop. A few seconds later, he let out a loud moan.

When he emerged a minute later, his face was flushed. I leaned up against
the wall and roared with laughter.

"You didn't just jack off into the toilet did you," I howled.

"Shut up," he replied indignantly. "It's not funny. You made me do
it. Just wait. I'll pay you back."

"Mmm," I said, as I pulled him in and kissed him once again. "I can't
wait." He reached down and started stroking me, but someone started
knocking on the door. Cautiously, Bert opened the door and peeked in.

"You guys better get out of here," he warned. "Mrs. Martinez is
patrolling the halls." It was a known fact that she would walk
unannounced into the boys restroom to catch smokers. She said she had a
husband and three boys at home, so she wasn't going to see anything she
hadn't already seen. She always ended by saying, "but probably
smaller." This usually brought laughter from the guys who were standing
at the urinals.

We arranged ourselves and then exited the restroom. Bert and Ryan looked
suspiciously at us as we walked out.

"Will you guys do us a favor and watch the door while we go in for a
minute?" I looked over and noticed a surprised look on Brent's face.

"Sure, Guys," I said.

"Knock twice if Old Lady Martinez comes down the hall," said Ryan. They
quickly disappeared into the restroom.

"You don't think?" I questioned Brent.

"I don't know," he replied. "Do you think they're doing what we just
did?"

"You mean jacking off into the toilet," I giggled.

"No," he said embarrassedly. "Kissing each other."

"Wouldn't that be weird," I said. "Two members of the football team
being gay."

"Why?" Brent replied. "There are gay guys every where."

"I know," I said. "But Bert and Ryan?" Both guys were extremely large
and rough looking. It was hard to imagine them kissing each other.

Just then the door opened and they emerged. Both of their faces were
flushed. I looked down and saw that both of their pants were tented. They
had definitely done something that aroused them.

"What?" Bert asked defensively when he saw me staring at his erection.

"Nothing," I responded embarrassedly. Ryan threw his arm around my
shoulder and began laughing.

"You're not the only two around, you know." He started laughing as he
and Bert headed down the hall. They turned and laughed harder when they
saw the stunned looks our faces.

"Come on, Guys." Bert laughed. "We got to get to class." Just then
the bell rang. Bert escorted Brent to class, while Ryan walked beside me.
He stopped me before I entered my class.

"Listen, Artie." He had a serious expression on his face. "Bert and I
are on the DL. No one but you guys know. I'd kind of like to keep it
that way. Okay?"

"Don't worry, Ryan," I assured him. "Your secret is safe with us."
He patted me on my shoulder and walked away. I felt happy knowing there
was another gay couple in our school.

I watched him walk down the hallway to his class. Before entering my
room, I noticed Cal leaning up against a locker staring at me. Chills
rushed through me from the cold stare he was giving me. For an instant, I
once again began to worry about Brent's and my safety.


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