Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 13:49:39 +1100 (EST)
From: Dane Isaac <dane_isaac@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: Rian Chapter 12

Hey guys... im sooooo sorry its taken this long to finish it but ive been
on holidays and there's a boy.... anyway! its a bit of a boring chapter
but im am still having issues with it so if anyones got some ideas i
would love to hear them! and if i havent emailed u back yet im sorry im
not the most reliable emailer! but i will try to get to it soon!
dane xx


Rian Chapter 12


It was like emerging from a dream when the time arrived in which both
Rian and Jake had to leave Julian's house.

"Stay for a bit. We'll go for a drive and then I'll drop you back
home."

Rian looked at Jake and found he couldn't say no. He smiled although it
was tempered with a look of resignation. He would get in trouble for
this.

Jake once again found himself worrying as he saw the look on Rian's
expressive face. That was often a problem for Rian, he couldn't help
showing his emotions and had only recently learnt that he needed to guard
those expressions.

They drove towards the beach. "Where's the best spot to go?" Jake
grinned at Rian.

Rian feeling suddenly exposed to the realities of his controlled life had
lost his earlier happiness. He shrugged. "No idea."

Jake frowned. "Rian. I need you to talk to me. What's going on? You
look really unhappy. Are your grandparents treating you ok?"

Rian glared at him. "You think I'm lying to you?"

"God! I don't think you're lying! But there are things you're not
saying. Anyone could see that." Jake was nervous. He could see Rian
getting angry and frustrated.

"Its none of your business really is it? I'm already getting my dad in
trouble. You want me to get my grandparents in trouble too!" Rian could
feel an irrational anger build up. Maybe if he had just spoken to his
father. Or what if his dad went to counseling. But they had forced him to
press charges. His dad might go to jail because of him.

"Sorry to say this but your dad deserves it. He hurt you so bad. Fathers
aren't meant to do that." Fear was pressing into Jake's stomach. This
wasn't going well.

"He's still my dad! You made me, you and Gus and Tristian made me
report it! Take me home, I'm sick of this you shouldn't have come down
here all you want to do is make things worse for me!" Rian felt tears
pinch at his eyes. In the back of his mind he knew this was irrational
and completely wrong but he couldn't stop it.

"Rian! You can't think that!" Jake pulled the car over to the side of
the road so he could face Rian.

"Take me home."

"Look at me!" Jake demanded.

Rian couldn't do it. He was ashamed. Angry. Bordering on hysteria.
Jake sighed and pulled back into traffic. "Where do I go?"

"Drop me off just up here. I'll walk."

Jake tried not to cry. What now? Tristian had warned him that Rian might
react weirdly to his sudden appearance. It had started so well.

Rian himself was trying to stop the occasional tear from squeezing out.
His heart felt like it was having palpitations. It was best this way.
When Jake stopped the car Rian got out immediately. Jake quickly
followed. He pulled Rian around to face him but the black haired boy was
staring intently at his shoes.

Jake sighed. "I know you're angry but I still don't regret coming down
here. I wish it could have ended better but^Å I'll be waiting for you
when you decide to call. No matter what you may think at the moment, I
still care for you very much. So do Trist and Gus. We can't wait until
you come back to us."

Jake stroked Rian's cheek and was heartened when the other boy didn't
move away. He didn't look at him either. Rian stood silently, listening
as Jake got back into the car and drove away.



The following day at school, Julian cornered Rian. With a quirky smiled
on his face he asked. "So did you guys do the dirty?"

Rian was still raw about what had happened the day before and glared at
Julian. "Do you always have to know everything?"

"Ok. Right." Julian tried to hide the hurt he felt from his face. "Um,
did you do your English homework?"

"Fuck!" Rian swore. Of course he hadn't. He had spent all night
brooding, something he was becoming increasingly proficient at. He had
made it home in time. Had been allowed dinner which he could barely eat.
How could he have said those things to Jake?
He didn't really think that Jake had forced him to do anything. He felt
no loyalty towards his father. He didn't even know where those thoughts
had come from. He knew he should call Jake and apologise but perhaps it
was better to keep him at a distance for the time being.

That line of thinking didn't comfort him one bit but Rian decided to
ignore that.

Julian watched his friend storm off. Shit his brilliant cheer up plan had
backfired.





The date of the trial was set three days after Rian's final exam, less
than four weeks away. Rian was finding he had to study a lot to stay on
top and was kinda glad he wasn't allowed a social life outside of
school.

Over the next week Rian and Julian patched up their differences but Rian
remained tight lipped about what had happened with Jake. The stress he
was under was building dramatically. It was beginning to show physical
signs. Rian looked like he hadn't slept in days. Julian knew that
something much more than the VCE was weighing on his mind.

Despite the fact that Rian hadn't called or emailed Jake, he received
constant emails from the boy. None of them mentioned what had happened
just little tidbits of news from back home. Tristian's emails were also
casual but still showed signs of how worried he was for Rian. He knew his
best friend would be freaking out at the moment an while he didn't know
exactly what had happened between Jake and Rian he could guess at the
mental agony Rian's overactive brain would be going through.

That Saturday Rian's grandmother called him into the study. Elizabeth
and George had come to the realization that Rian would be unlikely to say
anything favourable about his father at the trial. Unless they could
somehow influence him.

The lawyer they had hired to defend their son advised them to send Rian
to a councilor so that he could be made to understand that his father had
gone through a breakdown and his action, while unfortunate were the
result of a loss of control and temporary sanity. The lawyer hoped to get
him off the charges of battery of a minor on psychological grounds with
promises of continual psych evaluation and anger management programs.

Rian was informed that he would be attending counseling sessions, that he
had no choice in the matter. Flashes of past counseling sessions whirled
in his brain. Fighting back tears Rian merely nodded.

The first session was on Monday after school. Rian was dreading it so
much he could hardly concentrate all day. The sight of his grandmother
waiting for him at the gates sent his stomach churning and his heart
pounding. He had no doubt that these sessions were not for his own mental
well being.

The councilor was a woman this time. She came out to greet them as they
stood in the reception.

"Hi! My name's Nicole. Martin wasn't able to make it in today for
personal reasons so he asked me to fill in. I hope that's ok with you?"

Rian's grandmother narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Our lawyer arranged
it with Martin. He knows the situation."

Nicole smiled politely at the domineering old woman. "Well, like I said,
he couldn't make it. This way Rian, f you please."

Rian hurried after her before his grandmother could raise any more
objections. Nicole didn't seem too bad.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Nicole asked the silent and sad
looking boy before her. She motioned towards a seat after Rian shook his
head.

He sat down and looked at her with weary eyes. "Is this where you're
going to tell me I'm not gay?"

Nicole sighed, disturbed that a councilor had possibly said this to the
boy. "No of course not. More than 10% of the world's population is
same-sex orientated. But lets start there. When did you realize you were
gay?"

Rian gave her a penetrating look. He shrugged after a moment. Okay. At
least she wasn't trying to talk her out of it.

"A few years ago. It wasn't a traumatic event in itself."

Nicole looked at him. So the trauma had come after. "When did you come
out to your parents?"

Rian winced and glanced at her. "Earlier this year."

"It didn't go well I take it?" Nicole asked gently, seeing the boy's
pain.

"No!" Rian took a deep breath and suddenly the whole sordid story came
out in more detail than he had told anyone. The family breaking up, his
mum leaving, the counseling, the abuse, the anger, the hospital, Jake,
his grandparents. It came out fast and sometimes incomprehensible.

Nicole was horrified at what Rian had gone through. She began to have
some serious doubts about the intentions behind the counseling sessions
in the first place. Nicole hid her anger and decided that the minute Rian
left she was finding out what Martin had been planning and if he had been
convinced to go along with this whole farce she was going to intervene
and fast.