Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2012 17:38:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Aaron Hull <wah.stories@yahoo.com>
Subject: One or the Other - Chapter Thirty

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	This is my first story that has chapters! My other stories are
Hayden's Story and Gavin's Got Game, they're here under the High School
section, I also have a story called The After Party, which is under the
college section. There is now also another story by my, which is similar to
this one, called Shawn's Turn, which is also under the high school
section. I'm under the Nifty Authors section as Aaron Hull so if yhou get
confused as to where these stories are, you can just go there. Warning: My
shorter stories contain sex.
	If you like this story, contact me at wah.stories@yahoo.com. I
strongly encourage it. Also, If you want to be on my e-mail list to find
out when the next chapter comes out, please include that in the email!

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	Well...it's been a week since the incident at the movie
theater. Mom has finally let me see the light of day and hang out with my
friends. What sucks though is that for the next three weeks, Megan has to
come along to ensure no violence. I hate this but there are times when
Megan can be cool. The worst part is that when I'm with Mason, I can't
passionately make out with him or anything like that, we'll be limited to
the whole one-kiss-at-the-end-of-the-date thing.

	Right as I woke up on this godforsaken morning, Mom paid me a
visit. "Hey sweetie."

	"Hey." I was still kinda tired so my voice had a little rasp to it.

	"You got something in the mail. It's from the county jail. Megan
got something too so I don't think it's concerning the incident." She then
handed me the letter. I had absolutely no idea why Megan and I were
receiving letters from jail.

	"I'll give you your privacy." Mom said as she got up and left.

	I opened the envelope and saw it was a letter, a handwritten letter
at that. It was from Jordan. Out of all the people in the world, why would
Jordan send ME a letter. I decided that since he's in jail now there's
nothing he can do to hurt me, it's okay to read the letter. It read:

Dear Spencer,

	Don't go thinking you're anything special. My counselor thought it
would be best if I wrote a letter of apology to each of the people I hurt,
apparently it's supposed to make me feel better and want to change.

	I'd like to start off by saying I am sorry for all the years I
harassed you. Being a smaller guy in here and coming off as weak for a
petty crime, I've basically become a bitch to some of the other guys. If
only I had known that I was such a monster. I would have completely changed
and treated you like a human being. Just because you're gay doesn't make
you any different from me, expect the whole I'm-a-bad-influence thing.

	I'd also like to apologize for something else. The only other
people who know about this are Mason and Tyler. I was the one who put you
in the hospital. Your sister had pissed me off and when you bumped into me,
my homophobia and rage took over and I wanted to teach you a lesson. I went
too far and ended up knocking you unconscious. I hope you take the high
road and don't press any charges. I know you are a nice guy and in my
opinion, what I'm going through now is punishment enough. I just want to
let you know that I didn't mean to severely hurt you, I just wanted to
scare you.

					Sincerely,
					Jordan

	I re-read the last paragraph over and over again. He knew. Mason
knew all along that Jordan was the one who put me in the hospital. Just
when I had thought I had actually found love...I find you he was protecting
that asshole. A boyfriend is supposed to help him, not the aggressor.

	I had to talk to Mason. The only problem is that I don't want Megan
knowing and I don't want to have this conversation over the phone. I
decided I'd sneak out my window and pray to god I get down the tree.

	I quickly changed into some nice shoes and warm clothes, I didn't
know how long I'd be, I knew that I wouldn't just take a sorry and come
right home. I set the letter on my desk and locked the door. I took a good
look out the window and saw that this would be miraculous if I could get
out of the window, let alone get back in when I decided to return.

	I was actually able to make it to the tree and shimmy my way down
it without my mom or Megan knowing. I immediately started to walk to
Mason's house. It's a pretty far distance away, which would hopefully give
me enough time to think of a way to bring this up to him. Maybe I would ask
him if he's gotten a letter from Jordan, but then he'd know I got one and
he'd be prepared to talk his way out of it. No matter what I could think
of, there was nothing good enough to to start the conversation.

	Before I knew it, I was at his house. His mom opened the door and
greeted me with a hug. She told me that I was right on time because Mason
had just woke up. I thanked her and headed upstairs. Without knocking, I
entered his room.

	He looked over and when he noticed it was me, there was a smile on
his face. He was sitting up in his bed shirtless, which made it even harder
for this conversation.

	"Hey baby. I've missed you this past week. You should come here so
we can snuggle and watch TV." He patted the spot beside himself.

	"You knew..." I know it wasn't the best thing to say, but it's all
I was capable of saying.

	"Huh?"

	"Jordan...he sent me a letter, telling me HE was the one who put me
in the hospital and YOU knew."

	Heartache replaced his smile. "Let me explain...I was going to tell
you but I had no idea how to tell you."

	"You could have told me when I was in the fucking hospital! Do you
know how much easier life could have been if that asshole was locked up a
long time ago!"

	"Babe please..."

	"Don't fucking talk to me like that! I've been walking through the
halls, just wondering which of these people almost killed me! You've told
me multiple times that you'd never lie to me but you kept this from me and
completely ruined my life!"

	He got up from the bed and started to walk towards me. He was
wearing nothing but boxers which made this even harder. He put out his hand
to put it on my shoulder. "Babe..."

	"Don't you fucking call me that!" I slapped away his hand. I was
crying now. I so badly wanted Mason to hold me but what he did was
unforgivable.

	"But..."

	"No! We're over! I can't take this! I would expect this from one of
those idiotic jocks! But you WERE supposed to be my boyfriend! I guess I
was wrong about you..." Before he could say anything, I stormed out of his
room. I couldn't help but really cry now. Mason's parents saw me
crying. They asked what was wrong but I ignored them and quickly got out of
there.

	I literally had no one. I've probably pushed my friends so far away
that the possibility of getting close to them again is gone. Mason can't be
trusted anymore because he completely fucked me over. My mom and sister
would never understand and pretend as though they did. I seriously was all
alone now.

	After a few hours of wandering, yes hours, I ended up sitting
outside the school. I looked at my cell phone and the number of missed
calls was ridiculous. I had about ten from Mason, eight from Megan, five
from Kurt, six from Macy, seven from Daniel, six from Brennan. They all
probably thought I was dead by now. I just couldn't handle seeing anyone
right now. I wanted to be alone and none of them would let me be alone.

	"Excuse me? Spencer?" I looked up to see Mrs. Garrison standing
near the front door of the school. "What brings you here?" Mrs. Garrison is
the school nurse. After the thing with Jordan, I went to her every time I
was in pain.

	I held back the tears long enough to answer her. "It's a long
story."

	"Well why don't you come in and talk to me? It's going to get dark
soon and you know rough this part of town is." I couldn't help but crack a
small smile. This side of town was essentially crime free. On both sides on
the school are two high-income neighborhoods.

	I got up and followed Mrs. Garrison. She escorted me to her office,
where I sat on the examination table. "Why are you here?" I asked, mostly
trying to be polite.

	"Well, I thought I left something here and I came by to see if it
was here. While I was coming out, I saw you sitting on the sidewalk."

	"Oh."

	"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

	"It's a long story."

	"I thought we already went over that?"

	"Yeah. But I don't think you'll want to hear my problems."

	"I could have pretended that I didn't see you and left. I care
about what goes on in your life, Spencer. Is everything okay with Mason?"

	"How did you...?"

	"Did you forget that me and Coach Garrison are married?" Coach
Garrison is the football coach, the one Mason is close to. "He has told me
about you and Mason. I knew you two would end up together, when he'd come
by to take you to class, I could just see it in your eyes that you two were
going to be together."

	"Oh. Well...we broke up."

	"Why?" Mrs. Garrison actually seemed concerned.

	"I found out that Jordan was the one who beat me up and put me in
the hospital. I also found out the Mason knew the whole time and didn't say
anything."

	"I'm so sorry, Spencer. I know how you feel though."

	"Really?"

	"Yeah. But in my case, my father knew who raped me when I was
thirteen. It was one of his friends when he was drunk. I had always thought
it was some random guy who got in the house while my dad was drunk. But the
whole time my dad knew it was him and was just protecting him. But I guess
in the end everything worked out. I wanted to be a fashion designer but
then after I was raped I wanted to help kids so I became a nurse, i felt
like I could help them physically and emotionally."

	I actually felt bad for Mrs. Garrison. What she went through was so
much worse. We both ended up in the hospital, but I couldn't remember
anything while she must remember every little detail about what happened to
her. "I'm so sorry. I never knew that happened."

	"It's not something I like telling everyone. I just wanted to let
you know that you aren't alone. I remember feeling so alone after I was
raped. I know it's not the same as what happened with you, but we were both
fucked over by someone we loved."

	I couldn't help but cough. Mrs. Garrison does not look like the
kind of person who would cuss. "I'm sorry if I seem so down. You had it
much worse than me."

	"Don't be sorry. We grow from things like this. Does anyone know
you're here, besides me of course."

	"No. After I got the letter from Jordan, I snuck out, went to
Mason's, broke it off, and then ended up here.

	"Maybe we should call your mom. If you ever need something Spencer,
I'll be here for you. I'm going to send a message out to all your teachers
and tell them that if you ever need to talk then you can come visit
me. I'll tell them you're suffering from flashbacks."

	"Thanks. And yeah. I guess that would be good."

	"I'll be right back. I still have your mom's cell phone number so
I'll call her and talk to her, tell her that you're okay and all that
stuff." Mrs. Garrison smiled at me and then left the room. I actually felt
better than ever before. I actually felt like I wasn't alone. I also felt
like Mrs. Garrison wouldn't end up hurting me like everyone else in my
life.

	About thirty minutes had passed before Megan showed up. I knew this
was going to happen. It was destiny that Megan would be the one to kill
me. I thanked Mrs. Garrison for everything she did and headed towards my
death.

	I got in the car and Megan didn't say a word. I just sat in the
passenger seat. There has only been one other time when Megan was so pissed
that she didn't talk and that was when she found out Jordan was cheating on
her.

	At first I didn't know where we were going, I knew we weren't going
home. We then ended up at Mason's house. I felt my heart crumble, I began
to tear up.  Megan got out of the car and walked up to the front door. She
knocked and waited. Mason's mom answered the door and I could hear the two
women talking. A minute later, Mason's mom left and Megan waited at the
door. When the door opened again, I saw Mason. That's wasn't for long
though. Megan decked Mason and all I could hear was "Fuck with my little
brother again and I'll beat the shit out of you!"

	Megan then came back to the car. I looked up and saw a part of
Mason's face. It was red. I guessed it was partly because he had just been
hit, but I knew he was crying. To think of it, Mason's mom also looked like
she was crying.

	"I read the letter. I got mine from Jordan and he told me what he
did. When I went to check on you, you were gone. I saw the letter and I
just knew you had came over here. When I came over here, you weren't
here. I was on the verge of punching Mason then but I wanted you to be
around to know I'll always have your back, Spencer."

	"Thanks." was all I said. I actually felt better knowing Megan
would be there for me. It kinda did hurt when I saw Mason get punched, but
I knew Megan only did that because she loves me and she was pissed.

	When we got home, I sent a text to all my friends and basically
told them what had happened and that I would talk to them the next day, I
was too tired to stay up and text all of them all night. Mom was hysterical
when I came in. She was in tears and hugging me and telling me she loves
me, I guess she saw the letter too. I told her that I'd be okay eventually
and that all I needed right now was a few hours of sleep. She believed me
and let me go. I quickly went upstairs and laid down. I immediately fell
asleep, there was no way of saving me.



-Mason's Perspective-

	I heard a noise and looked over to see Spencer coming in my room. I
had just woken up so I was just in my boxers. "Hey baby. I've missed you
this past week. You should come here so we can snuggle and watch TV." I
patted the spot beside me.

	"You knew..." He said, I had no idea what he was talking about.

	"Huh?" I became scared. What if he had found out about the Jordan
thing?

	"Jordan...he sent me a letter, telling me HE was the one who put me
in the hospital and YOU knew."

	I felt my heart break. I knew I should have told him. "Let me
explain...I was going to tell you but I had no idea how to tell you."

	"You could have told me when I was in the fucking hospital! Do you
know how much easier life could have been if that asshole was locked up a
long time ago!"

	"Babe please..."

	"Don't fucking talk to me like that! I've been walking through the
halls, just wondering which of these people almost killed me! You've told
me multiple times that you'd never lie to me but you kept this from me and
completely ruined my life!"

	I got out of bed and walked over to him and put my hand out to lift
his chin so he'd be looking into my eyes to know how bad I truly felt about
keeping this from him. "Babe..."

	"Don't you fucking call me that!" He slapped my hand away. Tears
were strolling down his face now. I wanted to hold him close and tell him
everything would be alright, but I knew I wouldn't make anything better.

	"But..."

	"No! We're over! I can't take this! I would expect this from one of
those idiotic jocks! But you WERE supposed to be my boyfriend! I guess I
was wrong about you..." Before I could say anything, he stormed out of my
room.

	I quickly slipped on a pair of shorts and a shirt. I read out of my
room and heard the front door slam. I quickly ran down the stairs and Mom
looked at me with this concerned look. "What happened?"

	"I really fucked up, Mom." I said as my tears began to stroll down
my face.

	I ran out the door and looked around, Spencer was nowhere in
sight. I started to shout his name, but there was no response. I'm pretty
sure the neighbors could hear me , but I didn't care. Spencer is supposed
to me with me and I'm supposed to protect him but all I did was end up
hurting him. I honestly can't do anything right.

	I knew that I wouldn't be able to find him and I knew that he
wouldn't listen to me even if I did. I knew he needed space from me so I
stopped at the end of the sidewalk and turned around. With each step I took
my heart broke more and more. Mom was at the door looking at me with
concern. "What happened?"

	"I knew the whole time. I knew Jordan was the one that hurt Spencer
and I never told him." I began crying, Mom embraced me in a hug and held me
close.

	"Everything will be okay. You messed up and now you have to suffer
the consequences. Things will get better, sweetie. Spencer just needs
time. Once he realizes that you were only trying to protect him, he'll
forgive you."

	"I still hate myself. I should have told him." We were still
standing outside on the porch while I was crying and Mom was holding me.

	"Don't hate yourself, baby. Let's go inside. We don't need the
neighbor's judging us more than they already do." This made me smile a
little but I was still deeply hurt by myself.

	We went in and I laid down on the couch, Mom went to get me
something to eat for breakfast. Soon after she had brought it to me, there
was a knock at the door. I quickly got up to go answer the door, I was
hoping that it was Spencer. I was close. It was Megan.

	"Is Spencer here? He's not home."

	"Umm. No. He left a little while ago. I kinda did something to
upset him."

	"Well, if he comes back here, will you please call me? I'm worried
sick about him."

	"I will." And with that, Megan left. My heart started to hurt more,
I couldn't help but feel like I was lying to her and trying to protect
myself. I was sure she would be back later once she found out what I did. I
feared that moment.

	I went back to the couched and laid back down. Mom was sitting on
the loveseat and just watched me as I ate. Dad was at work, Alex was at a
friend's house, and Garrett was at a karate class so it was just me and mom
for the next few hours.

	After I finished eating, Mom took my plate and washed it
quickly. When she came back, she made me sit up so we could talk. "So,
would you like to explain to me the whole story? I kinda understand what is
going on but I would like to hear the whole thing."

	"The day that Jordan beat up Spencer and left him unconscious, he
told me and Tyler what he did. I was just so mad at him. I wanted to punch
him. My mind was in a different place, all I could think about was how I
wanted to be with Spencer and tell him that I love him and that I
apologized for not being there for him earlier. After Spencer finally got
out of the hospital, I never really saw a good time to tell him what had
happened. Soon I kinda forgot and just went on with life. When I found out
the he was in jail recently, I thought this would be a good time to him but
I still couldn't find a time to tell him. Somehow he found out this morning
and he confronted me about it and I had no idea what to tell him and next
thing I knew he broke up with me. I went after him and tried looking for
him but I knew that it would be useless. He hates me right now and I hate
myself too. I should have told him but I was too chicken to tell him."

	"I'm sorry baby. Were you trying to protect Jordan?"

	"Of course not! I just...I knew how heartbroken he would be and I
didn't want to bring it up. I just knew if I told him, he would have to
relive the incident every time he saw Jordan and if his mom decided to take
him to court then he would have to and I just want him to be happy." I
started to cry again. I felt so sick.

	Mom wrapped me in a hug again and held me. "I understand,
baby. Everything will be okay. I've seen the way you two look at each
other. I know you two will be together again soon and he will make you
realized how special you are."

	The next few hours flew by. Garrett was the first to come home, one
of his friends dropped him off, next was Dad, then was Alex. Dad completely
accepts the fact that I'm bi and he treats Spencer like a second son but
it's still kind of awkward talking to him about my love life. I decided to
not tell the three of them the news yet, I felt like I should give it some
time before I reveal the fact that I just ruined Spencer's life. Around 8,
when mom was getting ready for dinner, I head upstairs to shower and such
since I hadn't moved from the couch since I sat down on it this
morning. When I came back down, mom had just answered the door. She said it
was for me, so I looked to see who it was and there stood Megan.

	"Hey." I said to her.

	Without saying a word, Megan punched me in the face and it felt
like my jaw had been dislocated. "Fuck with my little brother again and
I'll beat the shit out of you!" Megan yelled as I stood there stunned. She
then turned and returned to her car. In the passenger seat I saw Spencer. I
felt my heart break again. I hated knowing what I kept from him. I just
stood there and watched as they pulled out. I hoped my mom was right about
things getting better because right now they were shit.

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	Every time I read a story of Nifty, I never read the top part, so
just in case you are like me and only read the bottom portion if you liked
the story, here is my email again: wah.stories@yahoo.com. Also, if you want
to be on my email list to find out when new chapters come out, include that
in your email. AND if you email me, please state what story you're
referring to. Thanks for reading the thirtieth chapter of my story.
	I'd also like to give thanks John, my editor, and Trish, who now
helps me come up with ideas for the story. Without John, this story would
be LOADED with grammatical errors. Unfortunately, John is out of commision
for now so if there are errors I apologize. Trish has helped me come up
with great ideas for this new semester that I would have never thought of.
	Shawn's Turn: Love Chad is up now and not many people have been
reading it, that I know of. So if you do enjoy this story please check it
out. Thanks :)

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