Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2014 04:55:07 -0600
From: DJ Adams <adamsdj1977@gmail.com>
Subject: Merry Christmas, Elijah Lucas: December 5th

*******

Merry Christmas, everyone!! I've taken a break from my 'One Hell of a Day'
story to write this Christmas-themed series. This story will be updated on
the actual dates notated in the story and will conclude on Christmas day.
After that, I'll resume my other story. Hope you all enjoy it. Please,
write me with your feedback!!


AdamsDJ1977@gmail.com


Also: This story is completely fictitious and none of the characters are
based on any real people. This is simply a fabrication of my imagination
and I just thought it would be a fun little story to tell during the
holiday season.


*******


To recap: Four days ago, on December 1st, Elijah went shopping with his
mother at a new, little store in town. The store was divided into a
clothing boutique on one side and a leathercraft shop on the other side.
While Elijah was looking at one of the racks, a boy named Bruno approached
him and introduced himself. Elijah knew that Bruno was easily the most
beautiful boy he'd ever seen and was quite sweet. Unbeknownst to Elijah,
Bruno had taken a shine to him, as well. The day ended with Bruno
masturbating in his shower to the thought of having sex with Elijah, before
drifting off to sleep while cuddling a pillow.


*******


Merry Christmas, Elijah Lucas.


*******


December 5th


 It had been a long week. Much to the dismay of Elijah, he didn't have a
single class with the new boy, Bruno. He hadn't so much as caught a glimpse
of him all week long. Well, that's not entirely true. Elijah DID have a
dream about Bruno the night they met. He dreamt that he and the boy were
sitting on his bed and that they were kissing. When his alarm went off the
next morning, Elijah woke to find himself with a mouthful of his pillow.
Still, it wasn't enough and he simply had to see Bruno again. Thankfully,
he hadn't picked up his Mother's gift from Bruno's parents' store, yet.


*******


 The bell rang, signaling the end of third period and the start of the
first lunch wave. Bruno made his way to the cafeteria. He stood in line for
lunch and paid. On his way to a vacant table, Chester, one of the
particularly mean bullies of the 7th grade year, decided to slap the tray
out of Bruno's hands, sending his chicken nuggets sailing across the floor.
The entire cafeteria fell silent and all eyes shifted to Bruno.


"Tough luck, new guy. Better watch where the hell you're going next time,
faggot." Chester said with a laugh.


Bruno didn't say a word.


There was a *WHACK* followed by a *THUD* and a *GASP*.


"Fuck you, asshole. I don't take shit from bullies. And YOU'D better watch
where the hell YOU'RE going because the next time you try that shit with
me, I'll knock your fucking teeth out. By the way, Merry Christmas, JERK."


Another *GASP* followed by spontaneous cheering. Just like that, Bruno went
from being the new guy that nobody knew to the cool guy everybody suddenly
wanted to hang around with. The cheering was cut short, though, when School
Resource Officer McAvoy walked into the cafeteria and came to where Bruno
was standing over Chester, who was nursing a bloody nose.


The Officer looked back and forth between the two of them. "One chance. Lie
to me and I'll arrest you both. Who started it?" She asked.


Bruno piped up immediately. "He slapped the tray out of my hands but,
technically, I was the one who threw the first punch."


The Officer was taken aback. Usually, students tried to lie to her, or beg,
or reason their way out of these types of situations. "Okay then. Well,
Chester, I want you to go to the nurse and have that nose looked at. When
she's done, come find me in the main office and DON'T make me come looking
for you. Clear?" She said sternly.


"Yes, Officer McAvoy." Chester said before turning back to Bruno. "I won't
forget this." He said, squinting his eyes.


"Better bring your A-game, bro. I don't sweat you." Bruno retorted.


"ENOUGH." The Officer said, putting an end to the exchange before it got
out of hand. "GO, young man." She ordered Chester, pointing to the door.
Chester complied and left the cafeteria as other kids snickered and
giggled. "As for you, young man, what is your name?" Officer McAvoy said to
Bruno as she took out her handcuffs.


Bruno's brain clicked back into its usual pleasant self. "My name is Bruno
Jørgensen, Ma'am." He said happily as he held out his hand for the Officer
to shake. "Sorry we had to meet this way."


Again, the Officer was taken aback but she kept her composure and
cautiously shook Bruno's hand. "You're not going to give me any problems,
are you, Mr. Jørgensen?" She asked him.


Bruno shook his head in the negative.


"Good. So I won't be needing these, then?" She asked, holding the handcuffs
higher so Bruno would understand.


Again, he shook his head in the negative. The Officer put her handcuffs
back onto her belt.


"Okay then. Do you know where the main office is?"


"No, Ma'am."


"Okay. I'll take you up there, myself. By the way, you can call me Officer
McAvoy." She turned and began walking towards the door and Bruno followed
suit. As he walked by a table full of girls, somebody reached out and snuck
a piece of paper into his hands. Without looking at it, Bruno nonchalantly
put the paper into his pocket before Officer McAvoy could notice.


*******


"You're new here, aren't you?" Officer McAvoy asked him on the walk up to
the office.


"Yes, Ma'am." Bruno replied.


"So, tell me again why you got into the fight?" She asked.


"Because the other guy slapped my lunch out of my hands and told me to
watch where I was going. I've never even met him before and that was the
first thing he had to say to me."


"So, you broke his nose for it, right off the bat? Don't you think that was
an overreaction?" She reasoned.


"No disrespect, Ma'am, but I don't. I don't tolerate bullies." Bruno said,
matter-of-factly.


"Still, violence is not the answer." The Officer said, trying to make her
point to Bruno.


"Ma'am, I believe the Allies tried to reason with Hitler during the second
World War- It didn't work out too well for them."


"Okay but Chester is not Adolf Hitler, is he?" The Officer asked.


"No, Ma'am, but maybe if someone had punched old 'Dolfie in the nose when
he was a kid and showed him that he shouldn't bully people, maybe history
would have taken a different route." Bruno retorted.


The Officer smiled. Bruno had her and she knew it. Obviously, he was
smarter than she had taken him for.


"Plus," Bruno continued, "He called me a faggot."


That struck a chord with Officer McAvoy- She knew middle school was a tough
time for kids and their identities and to demean anyone like that was a pet
peeve of her's.


"I'll have to have a word with him about that." The Officer replied.


Bruno giggled. "Well, I guess I kinda took care of that for you or else we
wouldn't be walking together, would we?" Bruno smiled at the Officer.


Officer McAvoy couldn't help but giggle. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be
laughing at that. It's not professional. Besides, no one should be calling
you a faggot. It's demeaning and it's not something that most kids your age
are even sure about."


"Well, you're only half-right, Officer McAvoy. People shouldn't call me
that." Bruno said. The Officer scrunched her brows and looked at Bruno. "I
AM gay, though. I don't have a problem with being gay, I just have a
problem with other people who DO have a problem with it." He said.


 Now the Officer was truly floored. This young man was either a genius who
was wise ahead of his years or he was a total moron who was just looking to
be a social outcast. Still, him admitting he was gay gave her the leverage
she needed to invoke a hate-crime statute and threaten Chester with a
felony if he didn't knock his garbage off.


 They walked into the main office and the phone number for his parents was
pulled out of Bruno's file on just his fifth day in the district.


*******


 The second lunch wave started. Elijah walked with his friends, Mack and
Louis, down to the lunch line. As they took their seats at their usual
table, Elijah heard the name 'Bruno' come up.


"Bruno? Bruno Jørgensen? The new kid?" He asked.


"Yup." A girl named Chelsea answered. "He met Chester today."


"Aw, fuck. Really? Chester couldn't just give him a break? Does he
seriously have to screw with EVERYONE?" Bruno groaned.


"Actually, Bruno gave Chester the break- A broken nose to be specific."


"What?!" Elijah said incredulously. "Bruno hit him?!"


"Yup. Got himself suspended for the rest of the week, too."


 Damn. This Bruno guy really WAS awesome. On one hand, it sucked that he
got himself suspended but it didn't make much difference to Elijah because
Elijah didn't have any classes with Bruno so, if Elijah wasn't gonna see
Bruno in school anyway, it didn't really matter that Bruno was suspended.
Now, if Elijah had a class with Bruno and he wasn't gonna get to stare at
him for the 80-minute period, THAT would be something for Elijah to be
pissed about.


"He's really cute, too. I would totally blow him." Another girl from the
table chimed in.


"Yup. Me, too." Chelsea opined.


"Same." Elijah said absently.


The whole table paused and looked at him.


Elijah had fucked up but he quickly fixed the situation. "I mean, yeah,
same as every other girl in the school. They'd all blow him, too."


 That seemed to satisfy as Elijah secretly knew he'd dodged a serious
bullet on that one. With that, a sudden pit appeared in his stomach and he
knew just what to do to fill it: Those chicken nuggets on his tray were
calling his name.


*******


 Bruno's parents had no problem with him being suspended for the rest of
the week, given the circumstances. They were actually quite impressed with
Officer McAvoy, too. In front of Bruno and his parents, along with Chester,
his parents and the Principal, she shared that Bruno admitted how he was
gay and that Chester calling him a faggot while assaulting him constituted
a hate crime. She gave Chester one warning that, if he bullied again, she
would charge him with the felony. The Principal also told Chester's parents
that, if Chester told anyone that Bruno was gay, he would personally see to
it that Chester was expelled from the school. Even better, Chester's
father, a Judge, told Chester that there was a military school for boys
that would be happy to accept him if he were expelled.


 As for Bruno, his parents were kinda glad that he had been suspended since
there were still a few more boxes that needed to be unpacked in the new
house. Plus, the store still had some inventory that needed to be made,
too. His Mom went home but Bruno and his Father opted to go to the store
and put in some extra hours.


*******


 Elijah told his Mom all about what happened with Bruno and Chester when he
got home. She was shocked to hear it but also glad the Bruno stood up for
himself. Elijah was pretty enthralled with Bruno, even though he'd only
actually met him once. Still, it was clear to Mrs. Lucas that things had
progressed to a point in her son that she had to have a talk with him. She
fixed the two of them a snack, to tide them over until dinner, and called
Elijah into the dining room where they sat down together.


"Sweetheart, can I ask you a question?"


"Sure, Mom." Elijah replied as he took a bite out of his sandwich.


"Do you like Bruno?" She asked nonchalantly.


Elijah stopped mid-bite but quickly recovered. "Sure. I like him. He's
seems like a pretty cool guy."


"Are you sure that's all?" She pressed. Yup. Elijah was fucked and he knew
it. More importantly, his Mom knew it. Recognizing the panic on her son's
face, she continued. "I was just wondering because he seems like an awfully
sweet boy and he did seem to like you, too..."


"Wait. So, you know and you're cool with it?" Elijah asked incredulously.


"Honey, I'm your Mother. Your Father and I have always known and never
minded. We were just waiting for you to tell us yourself or for you to fall
in love."


Elijah thought about it for a minute as he took another bite out of his
sandwich. He scrunched his brows. "Okay. Since I didn't tell you myself,
you think I'm... in love? ...With Bruno?" He asked.


"I don't think you're in love yet but you're getting there." She explained.


"What makes you say that?" Elijah asked.


"Elijah, first of all, do you really think I didn't see the way you two
were looking at each other the other day in the store?" Elijah blushed hard
at that comment. "Besides, if that wasn't enough, hearing you mumbling his
name in your sleep while you kissed your pillow was pretty much a flashing
neon sign." His Mom chuckled. Elijah laughed, too. Maybe it was pretty
obvious. "Just be careful is all I'll say. I know you know about safe sex
but I am also saying that you should guard your heart, too. You're a really
sweet young man and you'll make a great boyfriend to the right boy- Just
make sure you don't dive headfirst into shallow waters, okay?"


 Elijah understood exactly what his Mom was saying. They had just finished
their snack when Mr. Lucas walked in. They all chatted about their day and
Elijah brought his Father up to speed on the whole Bruno situation. Mr.
Lucas was pleased that his son had finally come clean about being gay and
encouraged his son to do whatever made him happy so long as he was safe.


 After the chat, they shared a family hug before Elijah asked his Dad to
take him Christmas shopping. His Father happily agreed. In the car, Mr.
Lucas asked where Elijah wanted to go first. Was it really even a question?


*******


 Elijah and his Dad pulled up in front of the the Jørgensen's store and
parked. Elijah was so excited, it took everything he had not to skip into
the store. The door opened and the bell rang as the two walked inside. Mr.
Lucas was immediately impressed with all the leather craft. Elijah went to
the same rack that displayed the pocket photo holder that Bruno had made,
so he could show it to his Dad, but it was gone. Elijah was kind of sad- He
really liked that little thing and he just knew he should've bought it when
he had the chance.


"Welcome!!" Mr. Jørgensen called out to Mr. Lucas and Elijah.


"Hey there!! Quite the selection you've got here." Mr. Lucas said.


"Thank you. We try not to make the same thing twice." Mr. Jørgensen beamed.


"Ah, so you guys make everything in-house?" Mr. Lucas asked, truly
impressed. "You do wonderful work."


"So does Bruno!!" Elijah added happily.


"Thanks, Elijah!!" Bruno called out from the back room as he stepped around
the corner to see his friend.


Elijah held out his fist for Bruno to bump and he obliged. As the Fathers
became lost in their own conversation, Elijah and Bruno became lost in
their's.


"I heard what happened with Chester. They said you broke his nose. Nice
work." Elijah said.


"Yeah, well, he had kinda had it coming after he called me a faggot.
Nothing pisses me off like that." Bruno stated sharply. Elijah flinched
when Bruno said the word 'faggot' but Bruno didn't notice, he just
continued. "Anyway, when I was following Officer McAvoy out of the
cafeteria, some girls handed me a piece of paper but I stuck it in my
pocket before I could read it. I checked it out when I got here and look at
what they wrote!!" Bruno said, pulling the neatly folded note out of his
pocket and gave it Elijah to read. He thought it was a trip how 'easy' some
girls can be.


'hey cutie, we think u r hot. wanna hang out some time ;)?'


Elijah read the note and his heart sank. He thought Bruno was flaunting how
easy it would be for him to het a girlfriend. Elijah handed the note back
to Bruno. Well, there went any hopes Elijah had of Bruno being gay and he
quickly became devastated by it. The moment became tense and awkward
without either boy knowing what to say. Elijah shuffled his feet and looked
at the ground. Without looking up, he spoke softly, "I need to buy my Mom a
gift for Christmas. She liked one of the sweaters in here, if you wouldn't
mind cashing me out?"


 Bruno scrunched his brows. Obviously something had happened to strike a
sour chord with Elijah but he didn't know what it was off the top of his
head. He did agree to cash Elijah out. As Elijah grabbed the sweater for
his Mom, Bruno tried to make some small talk but it seemed like Elijah's
mood was shot for the evening so he decided to leave him be. Bruno rang up
the sweater, which totaled $59-. Elijah reached into his pocket and pulled
out $60. As Bruno printed out the receipt, he scratched something out and
handed it to Elijah, who didn't notice the scribblings and simply put the
receipt into the bag without a second glance.


*******


 Father and son walked out of the store shortly after, leaving Bruno and
his Father alone. Bruno said goodbye but Elijah hardly returned the
gesture. Bruno and his Father returned to the back room to continue working
on their respective projects -An intricately tooled belt for Mr. Jørgensen
and a plain holster for a revolver for Bruno.


"Dad?"


"Yes, Bruno?"


"Did I do something wrong?" Bruno asked.


"Son, I already told you that I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself
today." Mr. Jørgensen grinned at his son. Bruno didn't smile back.


"I mean, did I do something wrong with Elijah?"


Mr. Jørgensen became perplexed. "Why would you think that?" He asked in
earnest.


"Because we were talking and laughing and he just got really quiet. He
didn't seem to be interested in talking to me anymore and he barely said
goodbye to me!!" Bruno said as his eye began to water.


Mr. Jørgensen quickly realized that there was more than what met the eye
for Bruno between him and this Elijah. "Do you like him, Bruno?" He asked.


Bruno squeaked as he nodded his head and fought back the tears.


"Okay, son." Mr. Jørgensen said as he put down his tools and hugged his
son. Bruno let it go and the tears rolled down his face.


"I don't know what I did. It was like, he went from being happy to see me
and then to suddenly like he didn't even want to look at me." Bruno
explained.


"Well, son, sometimes people can be depressed for no particular reason-
It's just the way they are wired. It's also entirely possible that you let
it show that you like him and, maybe, he was put off by it. The vast
majority of men and boys are not gay and some people choose to dislike gays
for whatever their reasons may be." Mr. Jørgensen explained to Bruno.


"So, what do I do?" Bruno sniffled.


Mr. Jørgersen smiled. "Be his friend. Just don't get too close, is all.
Treat him with respect and just be a friend to him. To have him as a friend
would surely be better than to not have him at all, wouldn't it?"


"Yeah. I guess." Bruno conceded.


"Good." Mr. Jørgensen said. "Now, why don't we pick this stuff back up
tomorrow morning and go home for tonight? I think a cup of hot cocoa is in
order."


 Bruno smiled at that thought. His father always knew just how to cheer him
up. They locked up the shop and set off.


*******


 When they got home, Elijah thanked his Father for taking him shopping
before retiring to his room for the night. He brought the sweater with him
so he could hide it in his closet- Elijah wanted it to be a surprise for
his Mom. Before he put it away, he laid it out on the bed. It was quite
pretty, actually. When happened to glance in the bag, he noticed some
scratching on the back of the receipt. It was a note from Bruno.


'Hey dude. I don't know what's up but I think you needed space. When you
can, let's hang out :). Bruno.' Also scribbled across the bottom was
Bruno's cell phone number. The feelings came back to Elijah and, now that
he was in the privacy of his room, he let loose and balled.


 It took him a few minutes to recover but he managed to fold the sweater
neatly and stash in his closet. He crawled into bed, still sniffling, and
tried to put the thoughts of his unrequited crush out of his head. Elijah
tossed and turned for several hours thinking about Bruno. It was crazy: He
only had two conversations with Bruno but he already managed to fall in
love with him and have his heart broken. Finally, Elijah conceded that his
affection for this boy was his own issue and that Bruno shouldn't have to
pay a price just because he was straight and Elijah didn't like it. Elijah
resolved to be a good friend to Bruno anyway and that he wouldn't let his
emotions make him bitter like the did earlier that night. After making
peace with himself, he finally drifted off to sleep. Thankfully, it was
friday and Elijah could sleep in the following day.


*******


 Bruno finished his hot cocoa with his parents and went to bed early but,
first, he needed to shower. While in the bathroom, under his scalding
water, he performed the same ritual he had, every night since he met
Elijah: He jacked off to the fantasy of having this boy he really came to
like, all to himself. When he was finished, he sighed dejectedly.
Hopefully, he hadn't been too inadvertently aggressive towards his straight
friend and, maybe if Bruno was lucky, Elijah wouldn't hate him and would
want to hang out some time.


 Bruno dressed himself and climbed into bed. He said his prayers, thanking
God for allowing Elijah into his life and promising to be the best friend
he could be to him, if Elijah would have him. Bruno snuggled with his
pillow and was just about to fall asleep when he heard whining outside his
door.


"Shadow." He smiled as he got out of bed to let Shadow in. As Bruno opened
the door, a large black German Shepherd came into his bedroom.


"Hey, buddy." Bruno cooed.


Shadow wagged his tail in response as nuzzled Bruno legs.


"Ya wanna come to bed and snuggle with me, tonight?" He asked. Shadow just
looked at him and cocked his head to the side. Bruno giggled. "You're
funny, Shadow. C'mon. Let's get some sleep."


 Both Bruno and his dog climbed into bed. Bruno pulled the covers over
himself and Shadow. Shadow laid with his head on the pillow and his back
spooned into Bruno's chest. Bruno loved it when Shadow cuddled with him.
His fur was always so soft and he could always feel his heart beating- Not
in a weird way, Bruno just appreciated the company. Before long, the boy
and his dog fell asleep.


*******


END OF CHAPTER.


*******


Once again, guys, I've taken a break from my other story to focus on this.
These chapters will be updated in real-time on the actual dates before the
story comes to a close at Christmas. Stay tuned. The next installment will
probably fall sometime around the middle of next week.