Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 13:07:20 -0000
From: Jamie <virus@dial.pipex.com>
Subject: Chris-and-Jamie  Chapter 22

Same stuff - don't read this is u r underage or u don't like reading stories
of love between two boys.

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To Psygnis Five and DX21685 - Hope u like it guys

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I crossed to the window and threw open the curtains. They billowed out
around me as I yanked them from their resting place, exposing the warm
sunlight.

Pulling on a pair of faded jeans and a light red t-shirt, I jogged down the
stairs in search of my boyfriend. Eventually arriving in the kitchen, I saw
Chris hunched over one of the ovens. Just as I entered the room, he
straightened up bringing a tray of hot bacon and sausage from the grill he'd
been working at.

He acknowledged my presence with a smile, and divided the food amoung the
three plates that he had already placed on the table in the dining room. I
walked over to him and placed my arms around his neck, nuzzling into his
warm shoulder.

`I thought you'd left me.' I smiled and kissed him slowly. Reaching over his
shoulder, I picked up one of the sausages from the plate and took a bite.
The flavour was quite good, especially since it was Chris who cooked them.
His usual action was to burn the meat to a crisp before serving it. `You
know, you could make one hell of a cook.'

He pushed me away and punched me in the arm, smiling at the joke.

`Before I kill you.' He said. `You'd better go and get Ciaran up.'

I made a quick exit and climbed the stairs to the second level. Making my
way down the hallway, I began to think of what it was going to be like,
having to live with Ciaran and Chris together for two weeks. When I finally
reached the door and raised my fist to knock, I had made my decision -- I
wouldn't hide from either of them.

I muffled groan came from within, and I tried the handle of the door. It
wasn't locked and opened easily. The light level was dim, inside. With the
curtains still drawn, the only distinguishable shadow was the bed. Ciaran's
chest rose and fell as he slept, oblivious to my entrance. I crossed to the
bed and began to shake him. He just groaned and turned over. Shouting got no
response either. After trying twenty different ways to wake the cocooned
teenager, I settled on an idea that I was certain would work.

Leaving the room, I raced upstairs and grabbed the small English Horn from
my music studio. Returning to Ciaran's room, I warmed up my lips and placed
them to the mouthpiece. The rousing emitting of "Dawn Chorus" echoed through
the halls of the old house. Ciaran sat bolt upright and clasped his hands
over his ears.

`Shut the fuck up!' Ciaran tried to shout over the shrill blasts of the
golden horn.

`Downstairs, five minutes, breakfast.' I said in a blur and rushed from the
room, before he could realise what was actually going on. Like me, Ciaran
was not a morning person in the least.

About ten minutes later, a very frail Ciaran arrived downstairs. His
jet-black hair was uncombed and was sticking out at various angles. You
could make out the tiny red marks around his eyes, where he had been rubbing
them, in an effort to wake up.

`I HATE mornings!' He moaned, through the veil of thick palm tissue.

Chris laughed and patted his back.

`You'll get used to them, when you've seen a few, that is.' He added.

Ciaran grinned at this, and managed to lower himself into the wooden seat,
that had been pulled up for him at the large table. He laid his head in his
hands and groaned.

My own thoughts strayed to the food that was getting very cold before me.
Reaching over for the salt, I spread a healthy helping over my meat and
began to eat.

The conversation didn't flow for a while, as the food entered our mouths and
slipped down our throats.

Chris, as usual, began the conversation, with his usual American enthusiasm.

`So, Ciaran, you wanna fool around a bit?' This sudden question made me
choke on the bacon. My eyes filled up with water, as the coughing fit
continued, and I was able finally to spit the food out onto the plate.

Ciaran had gone sheet white, and was looking to me as to how to answer the
question. I couldn't do anything but stare at Chris.

`Why, what did I say?' Chris looked baffled, as though he hadn't just hit a
really contentious topic of conversation.

I couldn't believe he had brought this topic up. Oh god, what was I going to
do; I didn't want to distance myself from Ciaran, but I didn't want to lose
Chris if we fooled around with him.

`Er...I think...I mean...well...we should talk about this first.' I stammered out,
after a very long silence. `I mean, I think we should all look at what would
happen if...'

I couldn't finish the sentence. The tears began to fill my eyes at the
thought of losing my boyfriend. I ran from the room.

Sinking down into the soft folds of my bed, I realised how stupid I was
being. Why couldn't they do some stuff together. Personally I didn't want to
get involved, but that didn't mean...or did it? Oh god, this is just too
confusing.

`James?' Chris has softly ascended the stairs and knelt on the bed beside
me. His warm hand rubbing my back was reassurance enough, and I left the
hollow comfort of the pillow.

`Chris, I don't wanna do anything like that...I couldn't...I...' He quickly put a
finger to my lips and began to speak.

`Jamie, Ciaran and I have been talking it over and we decided that it would
be best if we didn't involve ourselves too much. However, that doesn't stop
you and me from helping him find a boyfriend!' At this last statement, his
eyes lit up at the prospect of such a relished task. Personally I couldn't
see why it was so brilliant, but then I suppose we have to give some leeway
for Americans (hehehe -- sorry, bad joke).

>From the position that I was in, lying flat on my stomach, I drew my elbow
up sharply behind me and brought it full force into Chris's ribs. He gave a
slight yelp and got up. His eyes signalled the declaration of war; and with
the pillows being the nearest thing; they served us admirably as weapons.

After a few swings, one nearly ending in the standard lamp being knocked
from its perch, Ciaran sidled glumly into the room. His face brightened when
he saw the fun, grabbed a pillow and quickly joined in.

However quickly it had sprung up, the war was nonetheless extremely
organised. By some silent unanimous decision, Ciaran and I were to defend
the bed from the attacks of Chris. He in turn, was trying to win by climbing
onto the prize. It ended in disarray and not less that four ripped pillows.
The air filled with the soft sprinkling of feathers, like a light snowfall
in summer.

Leaning against the headrest, we sat back panting and surveyed the scene
around us. The floor had been completely covered with feathers, and was
glistening a deep white.

`So, since this is your room, Jamie, I think you should clean it up...' Chris
gave his sideways grin at me.

`It's half yours!' I retorted, flashing the same back at him.

`Well I don't live here, so it's not mine.' Ciaran sighed and rested his
head on one of the pillows that had not been used to repel invaders.

`Hey, you do for the next two weeks.' Chris and I both said in unison, and
pulled him to his feet.

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`You'll never catch us!' Chris shouted over his shoulder as his bike roared
to life and sped into the distance.

It had been a week since the pillow-fighting incident and we had just one
more week until the start of school. The sun had come out that morning and
bathed the estate in its warm glow. Not wanting to waste the opportunity to
get some fresh air for a change, we decided to go for a ride on the
quad-bikes.

Pulling three of the newer bikes from the stables, we checked the oil and
revved them up. Once purring like kittens, they were ready to be ridden.
Chris and Ciaran had jumped on the first two, and sped off. I adjusted my
helmet, threw one leg over the seat and stamped down on the clamp, releasing
it. The bike gave a loud groan and shot forward at an accelerating pace.

Pressing a small button, located under the dashboard, I released the
automatic-speed limiting system and accelerated past the safety limits. Soon
this action helped me to catch up with Chris and Ciaran, neither of whom
knew of the existence of such an inhibitor.

Ciaran's bike was new last year. A beautiful pink stripe ran down the length
of the blue metallic body. The tyres had not been worn as much as mine and
still had most of their grip left on them, increasing the height slightly.

Chris's, however, was a black, sleekly built bike that rose into a point at
the front. An orange fireball ran down its length and when the bike was in
motion, it looked as though it was shooting across the side of the rider.

Our ride took us through the first two fields to the small wood beyond. Here
we dismounted and sat in a small clearing just next to the field's edge.
Looking around, the trees surrounding us rose up like huge skyscrapers and
hide us totally from the view of the outside world. It was almost as though
we had been given some time off from being humans, busy and rushed, and was
one of the most delightful feelings I have experienced.

The sun seemed to have risen much more than expected since we first got up,
and looking above the circle of trees, it could be made out glistening in
the sky directly above us.

Ciaran sank to the ground, displaying his exhaustion. Lying back, his hands
held behind his head he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. It wasn't long
before Chris and I had both joined him on the ground, staring at the top of
the small canopy above us.

`Shall I compare thee to a summers day, thou art more lovely and more
temperate...' Chris had started to spout, before my elbow was jabbed sharply
into his chest.

`If you ever quote Shakespeare to me ever again, I will have to have you
killed!' We had just sat a huge 3 hour exam on Macbeth, and right now I
didn't really care much for the Great Bard, no matter what people thought of
him.

`I think there was a complement hidden somewhere in that addressed to you.'
Ciaran said to me smugly, still with his eyes shut tight against the sun's
protruding beams.

`Well, if there was then I appreciate it, but I hate Shakespeare!' Chris
just giggled at my last outburst and settled down again. An evil grin
appeared on his face.

`Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of
York...' Oh god he was off.

`Richard III.' I said, without hesitation, determined to beat him at his own
game.

`Is this a dagger I see before me...' He tried with another.

`Macbeth.' The quiz was now in full swing, Chris and I trying to assert our
authority over each other, and Ciaran giggling in the background at our
childish attempts to do so.

`Friends, Romans, Countrymen...'

`Julius Caesar.'

`Let me play the fool...'

`Merchant of Venice.'

`A woman moved is like a fountain troubled...'

`Taming of the Shrew.'

`Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more...'

`Henry V.'

`Okay, now you're beginning to freak me out.' Chris leaned over and kissed
me, sliding his tongue between my lips.

Ciaran, however, was still rolling on the floor with tears streaming down
his already red face.

`It wasn't that funny!' Chris said, but soon began to laugh as well. I
joined in just for the hell of it. Summer would be nearly over, and I wanted
to spend as much of it as I could enjoying myself.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Summer was eventually over and Chris, Ciaran and I packed our schoolbags and
scrambled into the car. Henry, who had now become -- amoung other things --
our driver, turned the key in the ignition and the car rolled down the
narrow road to the main gates.

As we approached the gates, they automatically swung open and allowed the
small black car access to the road beyond. Looking back at the house, in the
distance, something about it seemed different from when we were out of
school -- it seemed less appealing, somehow more unwelcoming.

Chris interrupted me from my reverie.

`Why is the genius coming to lowly secondary school today then?' He taunted
mockingly.

`You know why, my darling boyfriend...' I used the same sarcasm on him. `I've
got university on Tuesday and Thursday. Plus I've gotta fit in all my other
lessons around that.'

My timetable had been sent to me the week before, and it was crammed to the
brink. I almost wondered if there wasn't a time when I would be taking two
lessons at once, just to get through them all.

We soon arrived at the school gates and the car came to a steady stop
outside. Throwing open the side door, Chris clambered out followed by
Ciaran. I said `thanks' to Henry and trundled after them.

What we saw when we reached the gates made my heart go stone cold. The blood
fled from my veins and seemed to collect in my toes. Lee was standing at the
gates with four of his other friends, and as we came closer four knives
glinted in the sunlight.

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