Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:18:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Smith <faretheeforeverwell@yahoo.com>
Subject: Stories from Haven - Kendal 1

DISCLAIMER

The following story is completely fictitious and any resemblances to
persons living or dead are entirely coincidental. Just as in life, this
story contains graphic scenes of love and hate, life and death, joy and
sorrow, as well as material that may be offensive to some audiences. If
such material makes you feel uncomfortable, then please read no further
than this warning.

Send questions and comments to thatguywhowritesniftysmut@gmail.com

KENDAL - CHAPTER ONE

The sound of the music could be heard throughout the entire house. The
music building up as fourteen year old Kendal Erikson slid across the
hardwood floor clad in only his boxers and a t-shirt.

I love myself; I want you to love me.
When I feel down, I want you above me.
I search myself; I want you to find me.
I forget myself; I want you to remind me...

He sang into one of the drum sticks he was holding...

I don't want anybody else.
When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh...
I don't want anybody else...
Oh no, oh no, oh no...

Alone in the house he began to do a sexy dance while imagining he was
performing just for Sammy...

You're the one who makes me go money.
You're the sun who makes me shine.
When you're around I'm always laughing.
I wanna make you mine.

Whip around with his eyes closed, singing...

I close my eyes and see you before me
Think I would die if you were to ignore me
A fool could see just how much I adore you
I get down on my knees; I'd do anything for you.

Drops to his knees...

I don't want anybody else.
When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh...
I don't want anybody else...
Oh no, oh no, oh no...

Kendal gets to his bare feet and begins gyrating slowly to the music as he
allows his drums sticks to move over his body, as if Sammy's fingertips,
their tips brushing up against the fabric of his boxers and lifting his
t-shirt a bit as it moves up his stomach as he lets out a soft sigh...

I love myself; I want you to love me.
When I feel down, I want you above me.
I search myself; I want you to find me.
I forget myself; I want you to remind me...

He begins playing the air drums as the rhythm is accented in the music...

I don't want anybody else.
When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh...
I don't want anybody else...
Oh no, oh no, oh no...

I want you, I don't want anybody else
And when I think about you, I touch myself...
Oooo, oooo, oo-oo, Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah...

Kendal never heard the front door to his house open or the sound of the man
stopping dead in his tracks to the sight of the risky underwear-clad
dance. His glasses reflected in the light of the hallway as he took in the
spectacle of his nephew moving provocatively. He took pity on the boy,
choosing awkward embarrassment now to avoid greater humiliation later.
     "Hi Kendal." The man shouted through the music.
     "Ah!" Kendal yelled back in surprise as he turned around quickly.
     "Ah!" The man yelled right back, equally surprised at the reaction.
     "Elliot!" Kendal shouted as he tripped over himself running towards
the stereo to turn down the volume.
     The house suddenly fell silent as Kendal was still breathing heavily
from a combination of the dance, the sudden surprise, and the feeble
attempt to retain his dignity in front of the family friend and surrogate
uncle. Crimson streaked his young face.
     "Might want to throw on some pants; Russell and your dad will be in
momentarily. The big strong men are bringing in the groceries." Elliot
explained. "Didn't you have like five hours to get ready?"
     "I got sidetracked." Kendal offered feebly.
     Without another word, Kendal bolted towards the staircase and made his
way up to his room. At least he had already laid his clothes out for the
dinner. He was excited. He and Sammy had been dating for two weeks and
finally, Sammy and his dad were going to meet. The boys had kept their
relationship a secret from everybody, even Austin and the rest of DJ
Orphan, as both boys thought the zealous bandleader would frown on
inner-band relationships. The boys still planned to keep their feelings for
each other a secret from Kendal's father, at least until the man could warm
up to Sammy a bit.
     The only time Kendal and Sammy got to see each other outside of band
practice was at school and of course on the weekends when Kendal's dad was
away for work related reasons. Kendal had told his dad all about DJ Orphan,
the youth center, as well as his friendship with Sammy; he just hadn't told
his dad everything.
     Kendal saw his phone light up and buzz around his bed as he dashed to
answer the call from Sammy.
     "I love you." Sammy said as the phone picked up.
     It had become Sammy's preferred way of greeting Kendal. He told the
younger boy he always wanted to tell Kendal how much he loved him, at every
opportunity he could, so he often did.
     "I love you, too." Kendal replied in turn feeling like a million
dollars.
     "We are still on for tonight? Dinner with your dad and his friends at
seven?" he asked.
     "Yeah, I am just getting changed now." Kendal explained as he tried to
hold the phone to his shoulder as he struggled to hop into his shorts.
     "Do I need to like wear anything fancy? Dress down? Don't wear
anything that could make me look like I am in a gang, right? Your dad
doesn't have a color he hates does he? Or wait, if I seem like I am trying
to please him he might figure us out. What if he has already figured us
out? What if this is all just an elaborate trap to lure me in so he and his
friends can grill me? They still grill people, right, like in police
stations and stuff? I wouldn't know because I've never been..."
     Kendal waited patiently as he sat on his bed to put on his socks.
     "I'm rambling again, aren't I?" Sammy asked.
     "Yes, but I think it is cute." Kendal replied with an unseen
smile. "Dress like Sammy. YOU are meeting my dad and our family friends,
not some pretend version of you that only exists to please other
people. There is only one person you need to worry about pleasing tonight."
     "Oh, hey... I mean... yeah?" Sammy asked a little enthralled.
     "I'll see you in an hour?" Kendal tried to settle.
     "I wouldn't miss it." Sammy replied.

"So you two met at Elliot's office?" Sammy asked as the two men told the
young guest a tale about a prize fight gone wrong.
     "Yep," Russell confirmed. "I had a broken nose and Elliot had to push
it back into place. When the pain subsided and the stars disappeared, I
looked into his eyes and knew I had to know him better."
     The five were sitting around the dining room table, Russell and Elliot
on one side, Kendal and Sammy on the other, with Able at the head of the
table. Everyone had been introduced and light conversation had followed as
dinner was readied. The meal was delicious, prepared by the three men in
the kitchen while the boys waited in the living room catching up on their
"band homework." Sammy had never had Shepherd's pie before, and it was
really good.
     "Hey, I am going to go grab the dessert." Russell broke a moment of
silence, "El?"
     Both men excused themselves from the table and made their way past the
boys to the kitchen. After they passed Elliot sent a playful jab into the
arm of the ex-fighter.
     The gay couple had been a surprise for Sammy and it had the effect of
putting him at ease with the possibility of Mr. Erikson knowing about him
and Kendal; if he had gay friends than surely he must be okay with the idea
of his son having of boyfriend. However, Sammy also thought it could be a
set up, luring him into a false sense of security to come clean about his
relationship with his son. Of course he doubted Mr. Klein or Mr. Whitfield
was pretending, as they had shared several PDAs when they thought both the
boys were not looking.
     "So, Sammy, Kendal says you and he have been working really hard
together on his band with a few other kids from school. It is good to see
young people applying themselves to something other than videogames and
skateboarding. How did you get into music?" Able asked.
     "Oh, umm... well, I guess you could say drugs... I
mean... anti-drugs?" Sammy stumbled. "One of my friends made me promise
never to get into drugs, so he sat me down and we figured out a good hobby
for me to do that would keep me away from stuff like that. I guess he had
seen too many of his friends become druggies and he didn't want that to
happen to me. I guess in that regard I've been really lucky, I mean having
a friend who looks out for me like that."
     "I agree." Able said as he smiled at the boy.
     "Yeah, he is a really great guy." Sammy said.
     Sammy suddenly felt Kendal brush his leg up against Sammy's, idly
playing with the older boy's leg. Sammy wasn't sure if it was intentional
or if Kendal was having one of his "idle" moments, but the comforting
gesture was felt all the same.
     "So this youth center you boys go to. I think I might stop down there
one night and see what it is all about." Able said matter-of-factly.
     "Oh, yeah. Sure. It's just a place our band leader, Austin, is having
us use right now." Sammy attempted to deflect, fearing what the man might
think about his son going to a gay youth center with Sammy. "It's a safe
place, one of those things, everybody welcome. I think he only uses it
because he likes to annoy the head facilitator. Allan's a pretty alright
guy though."
     "Ah, I see. Still, I do like to know what my son has been up to. I
feel better knowing I am leaving him in trusting hands." The man's tone was
even and unthreatening.

From inside the kitchen area, Elliot quietly got Russell's attention as he
pointed towards the dining room and gave a quiet snicker. Russell looked to
where his love was pointing and smiled to himself with a silent shake of
the head.
     "Oh, Able's not going to like that." Russell said to himself as he
scooped out the ice-cream into five bowls.
     "Not going to like it? This is Able Erikson we are talking about. He
probably already knows." Elliot laughed a little more to himself before he
suddenly took on a more serious expression. "This is Able Erikson's son we
are talking about... I hope Able doesn't kill this new kid, I sort of like
him."
     Both men turned to face the living room once more, as they watched
Kendal play footsy with his boyfriend, safely protected from view by a
thick oak table.

As dinner wrapped up and dessert ended, Sammy couldn't help but feel the
watchful eyes of the giant posing as Kendal's father upon him at all
times. The man was civil, and feigned politeness and kindness, but Sammy
had been around the block long enough to pick out the pushers and the
posers. This had been a trap, a clever one, and Kendal was blissfully
unaware. A silent understanding had been reached between the two.
     "I know you like my son and I know he likes you, but he is too good
for you," were Able's unspoken words.
     "Fuck you, you holier than thou giant fuck. I love Kendal and you can
fucking suck it," were the words Sammy desperately wanted to let
losing... so long as he could do so via text from the other side of the
world.
     "Well, I think it about time I take Sammy home. It is getting late and
I don't want his parents to start worrying about him." Able said as the
night started to come to a close.
     "I can walk, thanks." Sammy said as he felt a powerful hand weigh down
his shoulder.
     "Nonsense, it is late and dark out. I insist." Able said.
     "I'm coming too." Kendal said, finally picking up that something might
be wrong.
     "No." Able said simply. "You stay here and help Elliot and Russell
clean up like a good host. I will only be a minute."

They drove. Sammy with his stomach in his throat kept imagining the worst
possible scenarios unfolding. He knew Mr. Erikson was a cop, or at least a
former cop. Ex-cops were worse than cops because they had all the
connections of a normal cop with nothing to lose.
     "You seem worried, Sammy." Able said in that same insufferably placid
tone. "Is everything alright?"
     Sammy hated these games. He wanted them to end. So he ended them.
     "So when did you know that Kendal and I were dating?" Sammy asked in a
similar placid tone.
     Sammy could have been wrong, but he thought he saw a slight grin come
to the giant's face moments before it disappeared.
     "I had no idea until you told me." Able replied.
     "Bullshit." Sammy retorted. "You are many things, Mr. Erikson... a
jerk-face liar being one of them... but you are not stupid and neither am
I."
     "You kiss your mother with that mouth, Sammy?" Able asked a little
pointedly.
     "I kiss your son with this mouth." Sammy replied.
     The large vehicle came to a grinding halt; tires screeching in the
night.
     Sammy was immediately aware there were very few other cars—or as
Sammy like to call them at the moment "witnesses"—out on the road, and
he was suddenly filled with regret in speaking without thinking.
     "I take back the part where I said I wasn't stupid."

As Kendal helped clean up the dishes with Elliot and Russell, he felt a
gentle hand on his shoulder. Elliot had been watching the boy as his heart
sank, obviously feeling the evening had failed to reach its intended goal
of winning Sammy over to his father's good graces.
     "Hey, buddy." Elliot said lovingly, "Want to tell Uncle El and Uncle
Russ what's wrong?"
     "What makes you think something is wrong?" Kendal asked a little
shocked as he continued to dry the ice-cream bowl in his hands.
     "Well, for starters, you have been drying the same bowl for over five
minutes." Elliot replied with a gentle smile. "You and Sammy, huh?"
     Kendal could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He let the plastic
bowl drop with a clack to the kitchen floor as he fully embraced his friend
and surrogate uncle. All the pent up worry and fear seemed to wash out of
him onto the older man as his own lover looked on sympathetically, knowing
it was best to let Elliot speak with the boy.
     "Daddy hates Sammy, doesn't he?" Kendal cried into the man's nice
shirt as he gently stroked the young boy's back.
     "No. I don't think that is it at all, honey." Elliot replied
kindly. "I think he knows just how much you like Sammy, and that maybe he
is a little worried because he doesn't know this boy very well. I'm sure
they are driving around right now talking things over, and your father is
making every effort to get to know Sammy for you. You're father would never
do anything to hurt you."
     "You really think so?" Kendal asked hopefully.
     Elliot just nodded as he continued to comfort his nephew. God he hoped
he was right; otherwise that kid was as good as dead.

"I've smoked pot, once." Sammy replied to the question.
     The two figures seemed to wander the streets aimlessly as they talked,
honestly, back and forth. Able had confided he indeed had known Sammy and
Kendal were seeing one another and he frankly didn't approve of the boys
going behind his back. He had hoped they would take the opportunity at
dinner to come clean, but in retrospect he admitted he had expected too
much of them.
     "And that is when your friend made you promise never to do drugs
again?" Able asked.
     After their initial testing of the waters, Able had suggested they go
for a `walk,' and while he had meant nothing insidious by it, Sammy still
occasionally gave him looks as if he half-expected the large man to clobber
him over the head with a shovel-sized fist. As they walked, Sammy told Able
all about his life, growing up with apathetic parents, coming out to utter
rejection, and until he had met Kendal and gotten involved with the band,
his almost complete lack of friends.
     "Yeah, he has always tried to look out for me. I think it's..." Sammy
stopped himself.
     "It's because he sees in you something he could not save in
himself. An innocence he feels he has somehow lost." Able supplied. "He
looks out for you and cares for you out of a need for redemption."
     "Are you going to arrest him?" Sammy asked directly never taking his
eyes off of the sidewalk before him.
     "No," came a surprising reply from the large man. "What is said on
this walk remains on this walk. Besides, I think your friend is off my
radar anyway. I've got more important things to worry about than someone
who runs a few shady businesses... such as my son."
     "I don't want Kendal to know." Sammy said quietly. "I don't want him
to know I have friends who are criminals. The thought of doing anything to
hurt him..."
     "In that regard we are on the same page, eh, Sammy?" Able said kindly
to the youth. "Okay, so here's the deal. You want to continue dating my
son? Then there are a few ground rules. They are nonnegotiable. First, if
you do anything to hurt him, and I do not mean something stupid or silly or
foolish as is bound to happen that will hurt his feelings; I mean if you
truly hurt him, you will never see him again. Second, I understand you are
both young adults brimming with hormones, but I don't want any sex related
happenings in my house. Third, give Kendal a call... he probably thinks
I've killed you and am hiding the body somewhere. The boy has a vivid and
overactive imagination, and I am mostly to blame for that."
     "Alright," Sammy agreed, "I definitely agree with the first rule. No
problems there. Now, does the second rule exclude PDAs? Or is that one of
those, out of sight out of mind things?"
     Able rolled his eyes silently as they walked on. It was going to be a
long night.
     "Call my son." Able sighed as he placed a friendly hand on Sammy's
shoulder.