Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 23:22:30 -0700 From: Liquid Dream <hot_n_sexy1290@hotmail.com> Subject: Brian and Steve/ Chapter 6 Disclaimer: This story does not have anything to do with real life. Its characters are all fictional and so are its settings. Brian and Steve Chapter 6- The Funeral Brian awoke Tuesday morning. He was not going to go to school, he had to attend Steven's funeral. He dragged himself to the mirror and looked into his reflection. He had gotten skinnier and his eyes had large, dark bags underneath them. His mom walked into the room with a package. "Brian, sweety, here's your suit for the ceremony," his mom said as gently as possible. Brian turned slowly and looked at the suit and what it represented. He looked at his mom and once again he crumbled under the pressure. His mom rushed forward to catch him and comfort him. He sobbed for a few minutes and tried to regain his composure. He stood up and told her he would be okay. She hugged him again and left the room. Brian took a shower and got dressed in the suit. He felt as though it was incomplete though. He looked around and found what he needed, the gold chain. He put it around his neck and tucked it under the shirt against his bare flesh. It was as though he could feel Steve's warm flesh against his again. Yet again he felt as though he was forgetting something. He went to his dresser and pulled out his favorite gold ring. He knew that he would never feel right until he did it. As quickly as he could he ran down to the garage and pulled out his fathers engraving tool. Upon the ring he wrote, "I love you too." He put the ring in his pocket and went back upstairs. The ride to the funeral was completely silent and his parents dared not speak of Steve. As Brian walked into the building an utter silence overcame the guests, for they knew that Brian was Steve's best friend. Brian walked forward to the open casket and look upon his lover and friend one last time. He pulled the ring from his pocket and placed it upon Steven's hand. As the ring touched Steve's cold flesh Brian felt a warm glow around the chain. "Good bye Steven. Please, always remember that I love you," Brian whispered as he struggled not to burst out crying. A single tear fell from his eye and onto the casket. He looked upon the body for a few more moments and walked away, knowing that he would never see him again. He approached Steve's family, who in turn embraced Brian. "Brian, I want to thank you for always being there for Steven, and always being a good friend," Mrs. Lemke said in a quivering voice. "Mister and misses Lemke, I have something I need to tell you," Brian started, "Steven and I, well, we were boyfriends," he finished expecting an outraged scream, but none came. "Steven was gay?" his parents asked in a voice that was completely free of anger. "Yes," Brian replied. "Well, I am so happy he had someone like you to love him before he left," Mrs. Lemke said as she hugged Brian, "I want you to know that you are like a son to us," she added. "Thank you," Brian said in disbelief. "Do your parents know?" Mr. Lemke asked. "No, I am really scared about telling them," Brian admitted. "You don't have to be, we'll do it," Mrs. Lemke said. "Really? Thank you very much," Brian said in relief. "Your welcome, it's the least we can do," They replied. Brian went to sit down. He gazed thoughtfully at the casket that held his love. He knew that he would never again see Steven, but he also felt that he would never be alone. The time came to bury the casket and the guests all gathered in the cemetery. As Brian got into the car to go to the cemetery his parents turned around to talk top him. "Brian, Mr. And Mrs. Lemke told us," his mother said gently. "Oh, they did?" Brian said as he blushed. "Don't worry son, we're perfectly fine with it, you know we just want you to be happy," his father said through a smile. "Thank you so much," Brian said as he almost started to cry. They arrived at the cemetery and they sat in front of the grave. The minister spoke for a while until he finally asked if anyone had anything that they would like to say about Steve. Brian hesitated for a moment and then raised his hand. The crowd gazed at him and smiled, some cried at the show of bravery and loyalty to a friend. Brian walked to the podium and spoke from his heart, no written speech, no pre planned words, just his heart. "My name is Brian Yanez. I was Steven's best friend for 10 years and his lover for two days." He began and the crowd gasped, "Steven and I have always been good friends but just a few days ago he and I found that we were more than that. I loved him more than anything in the world, and now he has been taken from me. But I know that he is still with me in a different form. Even though we only shared our love for one weekend, it will go on for all eternity. He was a good person and he cared about other people a lot. I know I speak for everyone that knows him when I say 'we'll miss you, Steve.' Thank you," Brian finished his speech and a sparse 1 or 2 claps erupted into a loud cheer for Brian. The ceremony was about to come to a close when they began to lower the casket. Brian watched with an unimaginable pain in his heart as his love was about to be entombed within the ground forever. "I love you, Steve," He whispered softly. Suddenly, as those words left his lips, a vision flashed in his mind, the engraving upon the ring, "I Love You Too." The casket was lowered and the first handful of soil was dropped. It was over. Brian walked into the distance holding the chain, thinking of the weekend that he had truly found love. The end. Hi everyone. I am so sorry about how long it took to write this. I have been really busy as of late. I hope you enjoyed this series. This is, as I stated in an earlier chapter, the last installment. I will be releasing a new series in a few days, so keep your eyes open. Please send your comments to hot_n_sexy1290@hotmail.com they mean a lot to me.