Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:59:08 -0400
From: ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: No More Rainbows  Chapter 3

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 prolific Nifty writer.

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No More Rainbows     Chapter 3



Linda and I stood looking at one another in utter amazement. I knew I was
mad as hell for what my mother had done; and by the look of anger in her
eyes, I knew she felt the same way.

Suddenly, my mother gave me a nudge from behind. "Don't just stand
there, say something." My face turned red with anger. I started to walk
away, but she reached out and jerked me back to her side. If we had not
been inside a church, I think I would have said something that I'd later
regret.

"Hi, Linda," I said timidly. Tears were forming in my eyes from the
anger and humiliation that was flowing through me.

Linda looked sympathetically at me. She was as embarrassed by the
situation as I was. "Hello, Artie." Surprisingly, she grabbed my arm
and pulled me away from my mother and started to lead me outside. I
looked back and saw my mother smiling appreciatively.

Without saying a word, I followed her over to a bench under a large maple
tree. She sat down and motioned for me to join her.

"Are you as mad as I am right now?" She said angrily. I looked into her
green eyes, and her frown turned to a warm smile.

"Do you go straight to hell for killing your mother inside a church?" I
returned her smile.

"I don't know," she laughed, "but how do you want to do it? Guns or
knives?"

"I'm kind of partial to a public hanging." I laughed back.

"Sounds like a plan." She looked at me and gave me another warm smile.
"I think we have some rope in the garage."

We sat quietly and giggled at our antics. It was strange, but I felt
comfortable with her. Perhaps our meeting had been under embarrassing
conditions, but she had managed to make it into a lighthearted situation.
I liked her for that.

She turned and looked at me. "Sorry about that thing with your dad. You
must be going through some shit right now."

"I'm not sure some shit would best describe it," I replied. "It's
more like a manure factory." She started giggling.

"And I'm really sorry about this." She said. "Our moms just got to
talking and when my mother told her I was single, she insisted that we go
out."

"It's okay," I assured her. "But I really thought the days of parents
arranging dates for their children were over."

"Obviously not," she responded. "But you know you're not obligated."

"Tell my mother that," I said sadly.

I looked again at Linda. She was an attractive girl. If I had been
straight, I'd probably be jumping into my mother's arms and thanking
her for hooking me up with someone like her. She had beautiful green
eyes, which complimented her soft blonde hair. She looked rather boyish
in her appearance, which made her more appealing.

"Why is she so insistent that we date?" She asked.

"From what I could see," I teased, "Your mother seemed to like the
idea almost as much as my mother."

"Yeah, well, it's a long story." She sighed.

"Same here." I sighed back. We looked at each other and started
giggling.

"You're alright for a boy," she laughed.

"You're not too bad for a girl," I joked.

Just then our mothers stepped out of the church and looked over at us. My
mother gave me a smug, approving smile. I tensed up once again from
anger.

"I guess they approve." Linda laughed when she saw our mothers smiling
at us.

"Next thing you know, they'll have us married." I kidded.

"I'm not sure my girlfriend would like that." My mouth dropped as my
head turned suddenly in her direction. I was floored! Linda just admitted
to me she was gay.

She looked over at me and smiled. "Surprise!" She laughed at the look
on my face. "Why do you think my mother was pushing so hard for me to go
out with you?"

"You're gay?" I stammered out.

"Not if you ask my mother," she replied. "According to her it's just
a phase."

I sat and stared wide-eyed at her. She again started laughing. "You'd
better close your mouth or bugs will fly in it."

I sat back and started laughing uproariously. I looked over and saw our
mothers still watching us intently.

"My mother wants me to date you, because after my father's arrest,
she's convinced I'm gay."

"Are you?" I stopped laughing and looked at Linda. I had never told
anyone that I thought I was gay. She had just outed herself to me, but I
wasn't sure I could do the same.

"Well, I'm waiting." She waved her hand in front of my face. "Are you
gay?"

"Yes." I finally admitted it- to Linda and myself.

"This is perfect!" She exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" She was grinning from ear to ear.

"The perfect cover."

"What?"

"The perfect cover," she repeated. "We can go out, but we'll invite
Amber and your boyfriend along. You do have a boyfriend, don't you?"

"No," I said. "I've never really thought about it before."

"Well, we'll have to find you one." She said excitedly. "Then we can
double date. My mother has been watching me like a hawk. She refuses to
let me see Amber. If I go out with you she won't think anything. But I
don't want you to be tagging along by yourself. We have to find you a
boyfriend."

I sat looking at her dumbfounded. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
She looked so confident. I didn't mind helping her see Amber, but I
definitely didn't like the idea of finding a boyfriend. I wasn't ready
for that- yet.

It also sounded like a good way to prevent my mother from finding out I
was gay. If I started going out with Linda, it would definitely throw her
off.

I looked over at Linda and grinned. "This just might work- Girlfriend."
We both started laughing.

"Okay- Boyfriend." We looked back at our mothers and it just made us
laugh louder. They smiled appreciatively at us. I guess they thought that
we were really getting along. If they only knew the scheme we were
plotting; as Linda called it- the perfect cover.

Mother smiled all the way home. I was amused because she thought that she
had won this small battle. She felt that the preacher had exorcised my
demons and averted me from spending a life of sin.

"Isn't Linda the most adorable girl?" She asked. I didn't answer.
"She'll make you such a wonderful girlfriend."

"Mom," I whined. "I'm not going out with her." I knew she'd be
suspicious if I suddenly agreed with this matchmaking situation planned
by her and Linda's mother.

"Yes, you will." She said emphatically. "It won't hurt you to date a
nice girl." She looked over and scowled. "Do you have a problem with
dating a nice girl?"

I thought a moment before answering. "I'd just like to find my own
date. It's not right for a mother to do it."

"Well, it's been decided," she insisted. "You're going out with her
Saturday night."

"And if I don't?" She looked at me and glared. I was afraid she was
going to drive off the side of the road because she wouldn't stop
staring at me.

Finally, she answered coldly. "That is not an option you have."

Success! I had maneuvered her into our perfect cover. I was proud of
myself. Linda had slipped me her phone number before leaving. I couldn't
wait to give her the good news. She was going to be able to spend time
with Amber on Saturday night.

I didn't sleep well Sunday night. I knew I'd have to go to school and
face everyone. Adam had already given me an indication of what to expect.
If my best friend turned his back on me, then I assumed everyone else
would too.

Randy must have slept well, because he didn't crawl into my bed during
the night. I was also afraid, that if he did, Mom might peek in and see
us sleeping together. She made it evident at church yesterday that she
didn't approve of our closeness. I think she thought that I might molest
him. It saddened me that she didn't trust me with my own little brother.
It just added to the developing feelings of animosity I felt for her.

I got out of bed and jumped into the shower. I like to shower in the
morning to try and wake myself up. I wasn't a morning person. If it was
left up to me, school wouldn't start until after noon. Naturally, we'd
still have a 3 o'clock dismissal.

As I was washing my hair, I heard Randy open the door and enter. I heard
him pissing. Then it hit me. "Dammit, Randy! Don't you dare!" I heard
him giggle, then flush. Seconds later, I was shockingly awakened when the
scalding water hit my body.

Getting to school is a forty minute ordeal. Randy walks two blocks to his
elementary school, but my high school is located across town. We live in
a private development, so students gather at the main thoroughfare.

Usually there are about fifteen of us waiting for the bus to arrive. It
is evenly divided between boys and girls. The girls gossip, while the
boys horseplay. More than once I've had my book bag snatched, then spent
several minutes chasing the guy who took it.

Today was different. As soon as I walked down the street, everyone
stopped talking and watched me approach. Adam was in the center, and I
could tell that he had been filling them in on what had gone on over the
weekend. Some friend.

As I walked up, I looked around; but everyone refused to meet my eyes. I
could tell they were very uncomfortable with my presence. Then I thought
how I'd feel if the same thing had happened to one of their fathers. I
know I would have reacted the same way. What do you say to a guy whose
dad was busted in a public restroom? "Hey guy. Anything new?"

I walked away, and sat on the curb about twenty feet away. They resumed
their quiet conversation. Again, Adam seemed to be the one speaking the
most. I heard a few of the words they were using, and it hurt. I shot
Adam a dirty look when I heard him say, "Cocksucker."

When the bus arrived, I sat in the seat behind the driver. I usually sat
in the middle of the bus with Adam and a few of the other guys, but I
knew they didn't want me to join them. As students got on the bus, they
would look at me and then walk away with a stupid grin on their face.
Again, I heard a few remarks, but none of them seemed to be intentionally
directed at me. They may have been afraid of the driver writing them up
and reporting them to the principal.

The bus dropped us off, and I walked dejectedly into the building. This
was probably one of the hardest things I'd ever done in my life. I had
always been rather non-existent at school; but as I walked, it was
evident that wouldn't be the case today.

I expected my fellow classmates to talk about me, but it hurt when I
passed by three teachers gathered in the hall and they stared at me. As I
walked by, I heard one say, "Is that him?" The other responded, "Yes,
that's that Rudolph Thomas's boy." They then resumed talking about my
father. I shot them an angry look and continued walking.

During homeroom, the teacher didn't even call out my name when she took
attendance. She just looked at me and shook her head, and then proceeded
to the next student. I don't know if she was trying to ignore me, or if
she thought other students would react if she said my name.

The rest of the morning continued the same way. People weren't being
outwardly rude. No one said anything mean to me, but it was like I was
some spectacle in the zoo. Someone would point me out to someone else,
and then I could tell they'd be talking about me. I caught a couple of
comments in passing. Most were about my father being arrested, and none
seemed to be directed at me personally.

I couldn't wait for lunch to arrive. I had planned to get to the
cafeteria early, grab a sandwich and then find a quiet place outside to
eat. However, my plans changed when someone grabbed my arm as I was
heading toward the serving line.

"Hey, Boyfriend." Linda was grinning at me. She stood on her tiptoes
and kissed me on my cheek. "The pregnancy test came back positive."

I stopped and roared with laughter. Linda was the medicine I needed to
take my mind off everything else that had been happening. "Girlfriend,
you've got a lot of explaining to do, because I had a vasectomy last
year." Now it was her turn to laugh.

"Come on." She wrapped her arm around mine as we got the usual cold,
stale cafeteria staple- pizza and French fries. After we paid, I followed
her across the room. I watched as students stopped eating and looked my
way. Again, I could tell that I was the center of their conversation.

Linda sat down at a table occupied by another girl and a boy. The guy was
cute- super cute. I don't know why, but I blushed as I took my seat.

"Artie, I want you to meet Amber." I looked up and met the eyes of
Linda's girlfriend. I immediately recognized her. I had interviewed her
last year for an article for the school newspaper. She was one of the key
players on our girls' basketball team. I found her extremely friendly
and easy to talk to. It was one of the best interviews I had conducted.
She later sent me a letter thanking me for the wonderful article I had
written on her and the team.

Like Linda, she was rather boyish in her appearance. Her brown hair was
cut short and spiked on top. She was also very beautiful. Her complexion
was flawless, and she had penetrating blue eyes. I looked back and forth
between her and Linda, and I found them to be a very attractive couple.

"I remember you," she stated excitedly. "You did that article for the
school newspaper. My parents had it framed and hung on the wall in our
den. You're a good writer."

"Thanks," I mumbled. I know I was once again blushing. I wasn't very
good at receiving compliments.

"The nerdy looking kid beside her is her brother, Brent." He looked up,
and then quickly looked back down at his meal.

"Say hello, Brent," admonished Amber. He looked up and I stared into
his deep blue eyes. "Hey." He started to give me a timid wave, but
quickly put his hands back in his lap.

I couldn't stop looking at him. I know you're not supposed to consider
another boy beautiful, but that was the only word that could come to my
mind. He looked remarkably like his sister. His hair was cut short and
spiked on top as well. And like Amber, his skin was flawless. He looked
much younger than he probably was. Since he was in high school, I assumed
he had to be close to my age.

Prying my eyes away from Brent, I looked over and noticed Linda grinning
at me. She nodded her head at Brent, and then winked. I could feel my
face burning with embarrassment.

The amazing thing about lunch was the fact that nothing was said about my
father. For thirty minutes I completely forgot that I was the school
oddity. Linda and Amber spent most of the time bantering back and forth.
Basketball was in mid-season, and she seemed excited about the prospects
of the team doing well this year. I assured her that I would continue to
cover the games and report their winning season.

Brent didn't say anything, but I caught him looking at me several times.
Each time I'd look over and catch him, he blush and look away. Amber and
Linda saw us several times exchange timid glances. They'd look at each
other and smile.

"Linda told me that you're now her boyfriend?" Amber looked at me and
grinned. "Am I invited to the wedding?" I started to make a gay remark,
but I looked at Brent and caught myself.

"It's alright," said Amber. "He knows." He looked up and gave me a
timid smile, before looking back down at his meal.

I started laughing. "I'd marry her, but I don't seem to have the right
equipment." Linda and Amber started laughing. I saw Brent's lips curl
into a small smile.

"Well, I don't have the right equipment for you, either," Linda
replied. Brent lifted his head and looked wide-eyed at me. I began to
blush. Linda had just outed me to him. I should have been upset, but I
wasn't. For some reason, I wanted him to know.

Realizing what she had said, she placed her hand on my arm, "Sorry,
Artie. I need to be more careful."

"It's alright, really." I assured her. "If we're going to be friends
and hang with each other, then we need to be honest. At least the three
of us have something in common."

I almost fell out of my chair when Brent timidly muttered, "Four of
us."

"Well, I guess that's out of the way," laughed Amber. "She took a
pencil out of her book bag and pointed it at the table. After tapping it
three times, she announced, "I hereby declare this to be the `Anything
but Straight' table." For the first time since I sat down, Brent
laughed.

"Are we still on for Saturday night, oh boyfriend of mine?" asked
Linda. I really had conflicting feelings about going. I wanted to go with
Linda and Amber. In the short time I had known them, I really felt we had
bonded. Looking around the table, it seemed like we had been friends for
years.

On the other hand, agreeing to the date would give my mother power over
me. She could dictate who I could see and who I couldn't. I believed
that at sixteen, my mother didn't need to select my friends. My only
consolation was knowing that Linda and Amber were gay. I wish I could
tell my mother, just so I could see the astonished look on her face.

"Well," she insisted. "Do I get to see Amber on Saturday?"

"I'm crushed," I moaned, clutching at my chest. "Alas, my fair maiden
doesn't want to be my true love."

"Alas," she retaliated, "your Shakespeare really sucketh." Brent
broke out in laughter across the table.

"You think that's funny?" I jokingly asked him.

"Actually, yes," he replied shyly.

"Well, then Kind Sir," I said. "Since my fair maiden refuses the
request for my companionship, would thou agreest to accompany mine
self?"

Brent blushed and looked down at his empty plate.

"I think that's a yes," laughed Amber. Brent looked up and met my
eyes. I couldn't look away from his penetrating blue eyes.

"Definitely a yes," remarked Linda, as she poked me in my side. She
turned to Amber and said, "I think we'll have to watch these two."

"Ew," squealed Amber. "That's gross! I'm not watching. He is my
brother after all." The bell drowned out our laughter.

We left the cafeteria and I was halfway across the building until I
realized I was unconsciously walking Brent to his class. We weren't
saying a lot, but I just enjoyed being with him. I'm surprised that I
had never noticed him before in school.

I still knew very little about him. I knew his name was Brent, his sister
was Amy, he was extremely attractive; and, most importantly, he was gay.
I suddenly stopped, realizing that I was going in the wrong direction and
I'd probably be late to my class.

"I have to get to class," I said nervously. "It's that way." I
pointed in the opposite direction. That caused him to start giggling.

"Thanks for walking me to class," he said shyly. His cheeks began to
turn red. It was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen. Looking at the
teacher outside the door, another question was answered. He was going
into Mrs. Cauldiron's class. I had her last year for sophomore
literature. I now knew he was probably a year younger than me.

"Bye." He gave me a timid wave and disappeared through the door just as
the tardy bell was ringing.

"Shit." I said to myself. I ran to class knowing I was going to be a
few minutes late, and I would probably be assigned a night of detention.
As I walked into my chemistry class, Mr. Gates asked me why I was late.

"He's been down on some guy in the bathroom." Someone from the back of
the room had said loudly. The class erupted into laughter, as my face
turned red from embarrassment. Mr. Gates gave me a sympathetic look and
told me to take my seat. He scoured the room, trying to figure out who
had spoken out so rudely; but after a minute, he began the lesson.

I made it through the rest of the day without any more incidences. As I
got on the bus, I was relieved that the school day was finally over.
Again, I sat at the front of the bus behind the driver. When Adam walked
on, he looked down at me and nodded before taking his seat in the middle
of the bus. I looked back a couple of times and caught him staring at me.
He'd quickly look away, but then he would look back to see if I was
still watching him. We did this a few times until I got tired of the game
and opened up a book and began to read.

My grandmother was sitting in the den when I arrived home. Randy was
lying on the floor in front of her. He had a book opened, and he was
doing his homework.

"Do you have any homework?" She asked as I walked in.

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied.

"Well, go do it now," she told me. "We're going out to dinner in an
hour."

"Where's Mom?

"She's taking care of business." I knew what that meant. She was
probably at her lawyer's office. "She'll meet us at the restaurant."

I went to my room and started on my homework. I was almost finished with
a history assignment when my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID
and recognized the number Linda had given me.

"Hey, Girlfriend," I said.

"What's up, Lover?" She responded.

"You know if we keep this up, we're going to start believing it," I
laughed.

"I doubt it," she giggled. "You don't have.."

"I know," I said, "the right equipment." We both continued to laugh.
I couldn't believe how comfortable she made me feel, even when we were
speaking on the phone.

"So what's up?" I asked. I didn't know if she had something to tell
me, or if this was just a friendly call.

"You have an admirer," she informed me.

"Who?"

"Like you don't know."

"No, who?" I had a good idea who she was talking about, but I wanted to
hear her say it.

"Brent," she said. My heart began to beat faster. "He didn't stop
talking about you all the way home from school. I've known him for about
two years, and he said more this afternoon talking about you, than I've
heard him say in all that time.

"Really?" I was surprised by what she was telling me.

"So do you like him?" She asked. "He's really cute, don't you
think."

There was an awkward silence. I kept picturing his bright blue eyes as we
sat at the table in the cafeteria; and then the way he blushed when I
walked him to class.

"I'm waiting," sighed Linda. "Do you like him?"

"Yes."

"Yes!" I smiled as I heard her excitement.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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