Out In The Cold
			by Nature Boy (Solar Fox)
			     November 4, 1991

   Mark stood in the doorway looking into the classroom through the opaque
glass. He was seventeen, though he really had no business to be here legally.
He had quit school last month.
   It hadn't even been this school, here in this small rural northwest Georgia
town. Still, this was a high school that often competed against his own in
various sporting events.
   The year was 1974. 

   Mark had been living life strangely in his month of exile, and actually in a
town the size of this one, at times he risked getting arrested - and may have
come close to it. Frequently on warm nights he'd head up to the main part of
town on the main drag - especially on weekends - and hang out on street
corners. Sometimes if he saw an interesting guy, he'd make gestures, usually
wearing nothing but shorts, and even in them it was easy to get arrested for
indecent exposure.
   Mark was a fairly shaggy youth and stood about five foot eleven. He weighed
around 160 pounds with brown hair and eyes. He tried a few tricks for money,
but he eventually decided that it was too risky for him and he didn't exactly
like doing it with everybody that wanted it. The brown hair was getting pretty
long in back now, after being "care-free" for so long. But one night he headed
up to the boulevard and another dude was cruising the area on foot. The guy was
younger than most he had encountered - a teenager like himself in fact. "What
the hell", Mark decided, "this guy looks interesting enough." So Mark and the
young dude went back behind the row of buildings that lined this main drag. 
   "What's your name?" asked Mark as they walked around the corner and into the
darkness. It was close to midnight.
   "Keith, dude.. what's yours?"
   "It's Mark.." Mark knew at once that he liked the sound of this guy's voice.
Finally, the pair got to a very quiet, very desolate area behind the buildings.
"I gotta be honest," said Keith, "I ain't never done it with a guy before.."
   "Have you done it with a girl?"
   "Nope, almost did once.. but shit, it just didn't feel right."
   Sixteen-year-old Keith Johnson was trembling just a bit at the knees, even
though the weather was warm, even for this hour of the night. "Relax man," said
Mark, unzipping Keith's fly quite casually and reaching in to try to locate
Keith's dick, feeling through jockey underwear. "I dunno, it just.. didn't feel
right, askin' a girl.. I've jacked off a lot before, but I keep thinkin' about
guys in the locker room - heh, yeah, its funny I know..." Keith rattled on.
   "No, not really that funny," answered Mark, who had pulled Keith's dick out,
still very flacid. Keith was still nervous. Mark tried to get him to relax -
but in a hurried frenzy, Keith just grasped at his pecker, pushed it back into
his shorts, zipped up his jeans, and took off without saying another word.
   Mark stared into the abyss - up at the star-lit sky. A tear formed as he
thought about the boy who was just before him, he had only gotten a partial
look at the youth's face and knew that his name was Keith - but that was all.

   Mark thought about that night now, as he stood here looking into this
classroom of students, looking to see if perhaps he might see a face that
resembled Keith.
   He didn't, and gave up, walking home.
   He closed the door, and his mother stood there, her face glued in a hard
stare. "DON'T give me that line that you were out looking for a job, mister.
I've heard that line until I'm sick of it. If you seriously wanted to find a
job, you'd have one by now!"
   "Mom...."
   "DON'T mom me, you impudent bastard! Now get in there and clean up that
room!"
   He walked back through the hallway, and into his room, closing the door. He
turned on some Led Zeppelin and flopped down on his bed. He felt he'd just as
soon be dead. His mother had generally been on his case like this since junior
high, when his failing grades held him back a year. Then when last month he
dropped OUT of school, she seemed to loath him even more.
   An only child, he was spending more and more time roaming high school halls.
   Mark's mind drifted now; drifted back to days in junior high when he first
began to realize that he was probably gay. He could remember as far back as
elementary school - around fifth grade - when he'd try to slip off to the
bathroom and hide out there, peeking out under the first stall wall to see how
big the kids' peckers were that came in randomly to piss.
   By the time he had come to grips with the fact that he was a homosexual, he
had begun to SKIP WHOLE CLASSES in junior high and hung out in the locker room
there at the school, just watching guys coming and going.
   Now, this very moment, Mark amazed even himself as he looked down at his
naked lower torso - his dick was actually a bit stiff even though he was quite
depressed. He wrapped his hand around it and stroked it a few times, but soon
stopped; the event that had taken place with this "Keith" a few nights ago
still had him depressed and mentally shaken. Of the twenty-or-so johns that he
had catered to, this had not only been the youngest - but the cutest.
   His mom banged on his locked door now, stirring him to full attention. He
jerked up his jeans in anger and went storming out of the house. He walked back
up the boulevard where he regularly went at night, only this was still late
afternoon. He walked into a local pub, and attempted to order a drink.
   "Well now, don't ya think that you're just a mite too young to be drinkin'?"
asked a rather smart-mouthed bartender. "You know you got to be at least
eighteen to drink in this state," said the bartender pointing out the obvious
over the blare of the local radio station behind him on top of an old
Frigidaire.
   "I'm seventeen..." blared out Mark.
   "Say what, son, speak up a bit, couldn't hear ya..." he said, getting a step
closer and this getting the attention of a customer sitting on a stool some
seven seats down.
   "I said, 'I'm SEVENTEEN!'" he shouted. "Oh.. well son, you're still one year
shy then.. but why, what the hell.. you look like you need to get smashed, so..
we'll jes' keep this little deal 'tween ourselves.."
   Two hours later, Mark Lewis Erikson came stammering out of the bar, walking
in figure-eights and basically smacked so hard that he could just have easily
had a date with the broad side of a brick. He managed to walk into an alley
which led close to some of the department store buildings lining the road, and
passed out near some garbage cans against one of the buildings. 

   A car horn sounding out on main street close to sundown rekindled Mark's
senses. He awoke to the smell and stench of dead fish. Apparently some had been
discarded in one of the garbage cans nearby. A radio playing in a car stopped
at a nearby traffic light could distinctly be heard playing one of the popular
songs of 1974 - "Killing Me Softly With His Song" - sung by Roberta Flack.
   Mark stood up on his feet, then uncontrollably bent over at the waist and
threw up, next to the area where he had been sitting. Stammering around, he
realized that he was no longer drunk and started back down the sidewalk for his
house. His father met him at the door.
   "Pack you things. You're leaving." it was a strange, demanding,
matter-of-fact tone that Robert Erikson had used, the same tone he had used in
his line of work when he had told a client that a contract agreement had been
reached, only this seemed to be accompanied by a sense of urgency. "You have
caused and created enough problems - for myself and your mother - to last the
three of us an entire lifetime."
   In one strong, harsh moment, Mark pushed his father, with all the strength
he found within himself. He shoved his father back, back - and Rob Erikson
slammed his shoulder full impact against the kitchen wall, vibrating the entire
house. Mrs. Erikson gasped and ran madly out of the room. His father got to his
feet and tackled his son to the ground, slamming Mark's shoulder to the floor.
With this, Mark put his hand over his father's face and pushed him away, Rob
falling toward the kitchen table. Just then, his father, age 38, struck his
foot against the inner frame of the table - and as a result of this, he twisted
his ankle.
   Mark arose and went to his room, began throwing together a suitcase as best
he could. "He - he had alcohol on his breath," Rob told his wife as she came to
his aid. Just then, Mark darted out of his room with the suitcase, and started
to head for the door. "Just you wait right there!" Rob cried. "I've changed my
mind - I'm calling the police!"
   "The POLICE?!" echoed Trisha Erikson. "You're going to have our son
arrested?!"
   Mark refused to slow down. He ambled toward the door, but his father pushed
him down to the floor, Mark's tailbone striking the floor first, his right arm
taking the impact of the suitcase. "When I say wait, I mean WAIT, MISTER!"
   Tears streamed down Mark's cheeks. The police came and hauled him off to the
county youth detention center.
   He was booked on several misdemeanor charges and placed under observation
for the remainder of the night. The next day he met some of the other youths
that were there on some varying charges. Later that day he was allowed into a
cell with no observation, with about four other youths, ranging in age from
fifteen to seventeen.
   At first, he couldn't believe he was here in this horrid place; it didn't
seem like it was happening. He thought surely that he was dreaming and that
he'd soon wake up from all this, and everything would be normal.
   One of the youths kept sizing him up; wouldn't take his eyes off him for
even a moment. "Wan' sum head, buddy?" asked the youth, looking at least a
couple of years younger than Mark. At first, Mark didn't answer. Another
approached him, this guy about Mark's height, and reached down for Mark's
groin. "Shit, it isn't even hard, Petey. Maybe this one isn't a fag.."
   "Hell Charlie, EVERYBODY in this place is a faggot.. he just ain't used to
it." "Yeah.. he pro'bly jacks off alone, in his room," the one called Petey
joked.
   "Just shuddup, alright?! I am a faggot.. I was a friggin' hustler.."
   "Hey, hey now.. temper! We don't want the warden comin' over here!"
   "Yeah, Mr. Warden's probably back there pudgin' a dude.. I heard stories
about him from Scott..."
   Three of them laughed. Mark just sat there on his cot. One of them came over
and put his arm around Mark; he diligently brushed it away.
   Mark knew that he wanted sex; yet somehow he felt that he didn't want it
while he was behind bars. He wanted to be free...
   Two hours passed. Two of the boys in the cell went at it together at least
once in Mark's sight. A third named Andrew asked Mark repeatedly if he wanted
to have sex, or at least give him head. Mark finally gave in, and knelt in
front of what turned out to be fifteen-year-old Andrew, and sucked the kid off.

   An officer appeared at the cell. "Erikson!" he yelled, ordering the cell
door to be opened. The youth walked out. "This is your lucky day. Your mother
is here, she's dropped all the charges.. looks like you're a free man.. though
I wouldn't exactly call you a 'man'..."
   Mark was released into the custody of his mother.
   As soon as his mother had to come to a stop at the next traffic light, Mark
bolted out of the car and into the city. She blew her horn but it did no good -
Mark had weaseled his way out and was gone... this time for good.
   Mark headed toward a back alley; it was getting toward late afternoon.
Walking down this street, he began to head toward a familiar location - down
where he had met sixteen-year-old Keith Johnson. Somehow, he could not get the
kid off his mind, even in light of all that had gone on.
   Sitting on a step, Mark stared at the watch that he had just gotten back
from the center's officials when he had left into his mother's custody. Heh. He
was still a minor, legally - he wouldn't be eighteen until next August. So the
city might well be looking for him soon.
   The sun slowly started to sink into the western sky. Mark started to get a
little hungry. His last meal had been this afternoon at the detention center -
just a sandwich, chips, and a half pint of chocolate milk. Not much to fuel him
for most of the night. He just could not face going back to his family.

   Mark had been staring off in the distance, in and out of dozing, when the
figure approached him. To say that it had caught him off guard would be a
strong understatement.
   "MMM.. Mark?"
   "Yeah? Keith? That you?"
   "Yeah.. it is dude.." Keith answered, getting closer and finally sitting on
the step beside Mark.
   "I..I'm sorry I left the other night, man, really.."
   "That's okay. I probably would have left too."
   "Why? I SHOULDN'T have left, Mark.. I'm a fag.."
   Mark looked at him. "Are you sure?"
   "Yes. I wasn't then, but I am now. I kept thinking about all the shit we
could have done together..."
   "I've been kicked out of my house," Mark told him now. "I have no place to
live - I just got out of juvenile because my dad fought with me.. and of
course, he wouldn't put up with THAT, regardless of what I did.."
   "Oh, God man, that's awful.."
   "Is this the first time you've come around looking for me since we met?"
Mark asked.
   "Yeah.. I was.." Keith giggled ".. I was testing myself with a bunch of
porno pictures of girls.. never could get it up at all man.. but then I thought
of you and jacked off.."
   "Did you cum?"
   "Seven times.. in one day.."
   "Holy shit.."

   Keith Johnson was given his first blowjob right there. Though Mark's mouth
was very dry just now, somehow - someway - he was able to suck cock.
   Actually, Mark couldn't believe how well this guy was hung; he wasn't hung
like a horse by any means, but just the sight of the pubic hair on the guy sent
chills up Mark's back. Keith was spurting shot after shot into Mark's mouth,
like a fire hose.  Keith smiled. "It felt good," Keith said, zipping up, "REAL
good."

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

   Keith's parents agreed to put Mark down for the night with the understanding
that Mark was someone that Keith knew at school and was having problems.
   When Mark got to Keith's house, he was speechless; it looked more like a
mansion or an estate compared to the wood-frame house Mark had lived in. Keith
had introduced Mark as a close friend and therefore he was allowed to spend the
night in Keith's room, which Keith seemed to want more now than ever. Mark had
let him know that this was something for which he was eternally grateful.
   Keith stood five-foot-eight to Mark's five-foot-eleven. Where Mark had brown
hair Keith's was more a sandy-blonde and it had looked good to Mark from the
beginning, though he had not let it on quite as strongly as he would have
liked.
   Nothing happened between them that night; on the nightstand Keith pointed
out a small photograph of his girlfriend.

   Morning came and Keith got dressed for school. Mark had slept through most
of this but awoke to see Keith putting on socks and shoes. "What time is it?"
Mark asked. "Six-thirty." The next move Keith made stunned Mark and at the same
time, he wasn't sure how to feel.
   Keith, now having tied his shoes, picked up the small 8 x 10 photo of
Veronica Shields and threw it across the room, letting it crash into a wall,
sending glass flying everywhere. "Bitch," he said. "all she does is whine that
I'm not as good to her as Ronny Delano is.."
   "Why don't you let Ronny Delano have her?" asked Mark.
   "I plan on it, now.."
   The bedroom door flew open and Keith's father stood there. "What's all the
noise about?"
   "Aw, sorry dad, it's nothin'.. picture fell.."
   "Okay.. just wanted to make sure that everyone was alright.."
   "Yeah, everything's okay here," Keith said and as his father walked away, he
began picking up glass fragments.
   Mark had seen Keith's thirteen-year-old brother, David, last night but they
had not officially met. Knowing full well now that Keith was awake, David
strolled into the bedroom in his underwear. David knew of Keith's porno mags
and frequently borrowed them. Here and now, little David was returning them.
"I'm done with these, bro'," the five-foot-four, 120 pound David said. His
brown hair hung down in bangs, and his blue eyes were piercing, even this early
in the morning.
   "Hey, that's okay, you can keep 'em.." said Keith. Suddenly, David's eyes
lit up, then they dropped. "Hey, you can't be serious.. you mean, you don't
want this shit anymore?"
   "Naah.." Keith said, trying not to give away too much information.
   "Why not? You got some newer ones?"
   "Umm.. no, I'm just tired of fooling with them, too much trouble for me to
hide from mom and dad anymore," Keith lied. "Oh," said Dave. "Well, I hope it
doesn't rot and fall off, hahaha.." laughed the young David and walked off with
the magazines, into his room just across the hall.
   Mark's eyes looked downcast as he stared at the floor. He sat on the edge of
the bed. Suddenly, all cleaned up, Keith stood before him in those school-boy
clothes, red baseball cap and hi-topped sneakers. "Whas' up?" Keith asked.
   "Not much.. just not sure what I'll do today.. not completely sure where
I'll go.."
   "Just stay here," Keith offered. "My parents will both be gone, and David
and I will be at school.. I usually get home at a quarter of four," he said.
   "I couldn't do that.."
   "Why not?"
   "I'd eat you out of house and home.."
   "So? Mom will just have to buy more groceries.." Keith laughed.

   And so it was. The entire family took off to school and work while Mark,
unbeknownst to anyone else, remained in the house. Finding a color television
in the family room, he turned it on and began flipping through channels. It was
then that he discovered that the law was looking for him - the news agency was
describing him as "not armed, but could possibly be considered dangerous".
   He fixed a sandwich later in the day on white bread composed of ham, Swiss
cheese, salami, lettuce and tomatoes. He opened a bag of potato chips that had
not been previously opened, hoping that it wouldn't be something that would be
caught.
   He made himself at home and rambled through Dave's room as well, he was
curious about the kid and was a little anxious to find clues that might tell
which side of the fence his dick grazed on.
   Going through David's room told an interesting story. On the one hand he saw
the girlie porno mags under David's mattress; yet in his dresser he found
something quite odd; a pair of underwear in a shoe box with a note attached:
"This was the first pair of underwear I ever creamed... March 5, 1974." It was
a pair of Fruit of the Looms, that still had a small skid mark on the seat and
a rough spot around the fly, Mark noted, where David had quite definitely
creamed the underwear.
   He found little else of significance in the room - what was that? A noise!
Shit.. Mark hustled out of David's room. What if it were Keith's parents coming
home early? How would they react? Mark darted into Keith's room and hid next to
the window beside the bed. Cautiously, Mark looked up - and saw Keith standing
facing the opposite wall. Mark breathed a sigh of relief.
   "What is it?" asked Keith. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
   "I didn't know who you were, so I just hid," replied Mark.
   "Well, it's 3:48, and I just got in," Keith confirmed. "David usually gets
here around 4:15 from middle school."
   "What's he like?"
   "David? Well, he's pretty cool.. but now, I've never messed with him..
jacked off around him before but that's been the extent of it.."
   Mark looked up at Keith and found that Keith was staring back at him. "I
broke up with Veronica today," he said. "I know now what I want.."
   "What do you want?"
   "Mark, I.. I want you. I know that sounds a little strange, but I just.. its
so clear to me.. and I just can't get it out of my head.."
   "Keith.. that isn't strange, man. It really isn't. There's nothing strange
about that at all."
   They were both silent for a moment. "Keith, I want you too. There was
something about you, man.. somehow I wanted you from the moment.. the very
moment that you came into that alley that night.."
   "How could you tell? You couldn't really see me that well?"
   "I could tell in the sound of your voice, the way you moved and walked..
there were plenty of signs.."
   "Oh? You could sense I was.. a f.. a fa... shit I just can't say it.."
   "A homo?"
   It had been David's voice. He now made himself visible from behind Keith's
door. "You're a homo?" David asked. "is that why you gave me all your
magazines?"
   It was now Keith that looked like he had seen the ghost.
   Suddenly, he wasn't sure that he was anything - after what no telling his
brother had heard standing out there in the hall.. and what his parents may
know soon.....
   "Does David have a girlfriend?" Mark asked.
   "UH, you better leave, man.."
   "Huh?"
   "I said, leave! Just go!" Keith demanded again. Not saying a single word,
Mark walked out the bedroom door and proceeded to the front door to leave. 
   "No, wait! Don't go!"
   Again, this had been David's voice. Mark froze. He didn't know whether to
stay or leave for a moment.
   David walked up behind him, in the kitchen. "Are you gay?" asked David.
   "Yes, I am."
   "You don't like girls at all, but you like guys?"
   "Yes. Please don't ask a lot of questions just now.." said Mark.
   Now Keith was standing behind his brother. "What is it, David?" he asked of
him.
   "This may not be a good time, Keith," said David, "but I jack off a lot
thinking about guys.."
   "How can this be? You have my mags.."
   "Yes, but there's also nekkid guys in there with the nekkid girls...."
   All three youths froze. Mark turned to face David. "Yeah, I am probably a
fag'it too.." David admitted.
   Within five minutes, David was showing off his special underwear, that Mark
had already seen (but hadn't), and David said that it had been two months ago
that it had happened. It also wasn't long that even Keith was getting the best
look at his brother's small pubic hairs that he had ever had. What was better,
David had a hardon, and it was giving Keith one too. Mark already had one.
   "I - was on TV," said Mark. "Cops are looking for me."
   "Aw, don't sweat it," said Keith. "All you did was get kicked out of your
house, right?"
   The boys jacked off together. Even for David it was a treat.. and now David
had let on that he wasn't altogether straight!!!

   Now that Keith's mom had gotten home, she had issued Keith an ultimatum.

   Mark was no longer welcome in the Johnson household. Keith knew now that he
either had to force his new-found friend back out on the street, or....
   "I can't do it, I just can't," Keith kept saying to himself. The first sign
of anything Mark saw was Keith in his room, packing a suitcase.
   "What is it? Where are you going?" asked Mark.
   "Mom told me you had to go and if you didn't, I'd go too."
   "So, what's the big deal?? I'll leave, I'll have to go somewhere anyway."
   "Yeah, but you won't go alone.."
   "Now, Keith... be reasonable about this. You LIVE here.."
   "Not anymore." Little Dave heard the commotion and stuck his head inside the
door. Then stepped in, saw what was going on, broke out bawling and ran back to
his room, closing the door. "Sorry little brother," Keith said into the air
where Mark could hear it, "but this is gonna happen."
   "What do you think YOU'RE doing?" said the voice of Agnes Johnson.
   "Mom, just leave me alone. You told me that Mark had to go, right?"
   "Yes I did. What reason does that give you to pack a bag?"
   "Mother, if he goes, I go."
   "All right, but I think you're being both very foolish and very childish.."
   His mother walked out and now his suitcase was packed. After a few moments
he distinctly heard his mom telling his father.. "..he's in there packing a
suitcase like he won't be back for a month.."
   "What? Let me go talk to him.."
   "You can try, Larry but it won't do any good."
   Before his father could get to the room, Keith carried the suitcase out of
the room and into the kitchen a back way. Mark was in his wake, with his
suitcase. He almost knocked his mother down trying to get out the door.

   Keith and Mark both stood at the entrance to their street now. Keith sat
down the suitcase. "Man, I kept thinking about you all day at school today. I
just couldn't get my mind off you."
   "Keith, you just quit school when you walked away from there! Hell man, the
law will be after you too!"
   "So what, man.. I just can't go on now like that.."
   "Well just because I left doesn't mean we can't go on seeing each other,"
said Mark.
   "Seeing you isn't enough, dude. I want to sleep with you, live with you,
and.. love you," Keith said, his eyes focused very clearly into Mark's.
   "C'mon then, we'll get out of here," said Mark, it being apparent that Keith
would not give in.
   Keith had given up more than he had let on. He had been holding a job at the
local supermarket. It hadn't paid much, true, but now that was ancient history
as well. Before Keith and Mark walked away, David rode up on his bicycle, his
face red and tears still in his eyes. He stopped at the street corner and Keith
looked at him. "Hey.." said David.
   "Hey.." Keith answered.
   "Mom said that if I saw you to tell you to get your butt home right now, or
she'll call the police." A moment of silence. "Keith, c'mon man, I'll really
miss ya.." David persuaded.
   "Well, I guess you better tell her to get her index finger warmed up for
that call, then.. 'cos I can't go back, bro..."
   "Why?" asked David, the tears welling up again. 
   "Because.. I love Mark.." With that, David wheeled around quickly and took
off for the house. Keith and Mark picked up their suitcases and headed east on
Route 166. 
   "Where are you going?" asked Mark. "To catch a bus."
   "A bus? You might have to ride alone, man. I don't have much money!"
   Keith revealed that he had enough for them both. Then he told Mark just how
much he loved him.
   "Shit, I had all this love tucked away that I was going to use when I really
got to know Veronica well. Then she tells me she doesn't want to have sex with
me until she's sure Ronny Delano wouldn't be mad. Then I decided women were a
waste of time. I also realized that women didn't turn me on after all. When I
was about David's age, I had jacked off thinking of this guy I knew in school
that had a huge dick. For a long time I've jacked off thinking about him. I
never really could think of Veronica and get it up..."
   "And you said with me you did it seven times.."
   "Yeah. I just care a lot about you.."
   "I care a lot about you too, Keith.."

   They walked down to the bus depot and boarded a bus bound for Jacksonville,
Florida. In doing this, they had just made an honest attempt at throwing away
their past and preserving this moment in time forever; they were together and
suddenly that was all either of them needed to keep them happy.
   This was a nice bus, comfortable, the seats reclined and the boys were lucky
enough to get two seats together. Mark had enough to pay for at least half of
his $60 one-way fare; but Keith insisted that he keep the money. "You or I may
need it for something else later on down the road," Keith stated. And who knew,
he could be right!
   The bus got on Interstate 75 and followed it all the way down, the map
showed - then it showed where the bus changed over to I-10 once in Florida and
took that into Jacksonville. It would be probably close to midnight when they
finally arrive at the depot, Keith figured. Still it had been a collective
decision; it was Mark's idea to take a bus, butthen it was Keith's idea to go
to Jacksonville.
   The boys had their seats in the upright position, flashed pearly-white
smiles at each other, and then as they actually kissed, they caught the
attention of a little old lady who peered at them from across the way over the
top of her glasses. But as she saw them break the kiss, she nodded her head to
herself and whispered some obscenities that couldn't be heard over three feet
away.
   They leaned back in the seats. "Okay, what's the first thing we're gonna do
when we get there?" asked Keith, feeling that Mark was the expert.
   Mark said he would have to think about it, but that they'd probably have to
try to get some real sleep down there, since it would become the wee hours of
the morning fast after their arrival.
   Keith had discovered that he loved Mark more than anything else in the
world, and realized that he would sacrifice - and actually DID sacrifice -
anything and everything to be with him. Mark on the other hand, had somehow
found a place for Keith from the moment he first saw him on that night; it had
been close to three weeks ago now. So much had happened in such a short time.
Now they would both have to take their chances and make the best of it.
   Still, it wasn't as though Mark were an ex-con or something; hell he might
not even be wanted down here. Whatever happened up there might just blow over -
or so he hoped. It was his misfortune, coupled with Keith's parents'
short-sightedness, that had lead to this situation.

   Macon, Georgia. Everyone was out at a Shoney's Restaurant for dinner. Keith
and Mark waited until everyone had unloaded the bus, then they meshed together
in a long, tight, deep embrace, followed by a long, wet, hot kiss. Finally,
holding hands as they left the bus alone, they entered the restaurant and sat
at a table away from the rest of the people that had been on the bus. They had
been told that they would be here from 45 minutes to an hour before they would
leave again.
   After a hearty meal and a piss, they ambled back onto the bus as just a few
others had trickled out the door. They got comfortable in their seats.
   For a brief moment, Keith began to have a flashback about his brother.
Somehow he could see in his mind, his brother at the age Keith was now. One
question that somehow lingered in Keith's mind was, "I wonder if he'll be like
me? He's just a kid," Keith thought. But then, Keith was only three years his
elder. Keith, who had the window seat, stared out the window a bit glumly at
the passing scenery as it rolled past down the interstate. Just across the
Georgia/Florida state line, the bus made a pitstop so everyone could get out
and stretch their legs, go to the restroom, etc. Keith and Mark just stayed on
the bus.
   "What was it like in juvy?" asked Keith.
   "Juvy?"
   "Juvenile.. that's what friends of mine called it.. 'juvy'."
   "It's weird man.. too weird.." answered Mark. "There's kids in there just
dyin' for sex."
   "Fags?"
   "Yeah, most of them that I saw were."
   "D'ya ask any of them why they were there?"
   "Yeah, there were like four in there where I was.. and they were all in for,
get this - indecent exposure."
   "Shit! I wish they'd expose around me!" joked Keith. Mark laughed. "I guess
it feels good to be positive about saying that now, huh?"
   "Yeah.. it feels a lot better.."
   They dozed off on the bus and slept most of the rest of the way to
Jacksonville. After all, the seats WERE comfortable...

   Jacksonville. The boys departed the bus once at the depot and began walking
closer into the heart of the city. The little rest they had gotten wasn't
enough to do them the night, but for the moment they had enough energy to scope
out a place to stay the night.
   A motel room was out of the question. The two of them didn't have enough
money, and they knew they'd have to forego a comfortable bed in order to
provide a little more food in their stomachs.
   The air smelled of pulp and paper mills.
   Finding some land behind a row of houses that looked suitable and, for the
moment, vacant, they slipped through the trees and back into some woods. Keith
had been too frantic to pack a flashlight, but Mark, in all his glory, had one
and stopped to open the suitcase and obtain it. It worked.
   Locating a clear spot, they stopped and sat down. "Shit man.. anywhere
around to get water?" asked Keith. Mark pointed with his thumb. "That little
gas station 'round the corner.."
   "Wait a minute.. they also have a.. Coke machine," remembered Keith.
   "Yeah, they do! What if we leave our stuff here, and go for some Cokes?
   They did. They were back in less than ten minutes. "Man, this is kinda
strange," said Mark. "Yeah it is," Keith agreed, his eyes getting wider. It was
just now really starting to sink in - everything that had happened, the
uncertainty of their future... it was after 1 a.m. now and it had been some
thirty minutes ago that they'd gotten in town.
   Keith and Mark sat side by side, just as they had been for hours on the bus.
Slowly, Mark unzipped his pants, pulled out his penis. He looked at Keith, yes
Keith had already seen it. "Wanna suck me?" Mark asked. Sliding even closer,
Keith rolled his lips and began to suck Mark's throbbing member. Almost as soon
as he did, however, he fell asleep.
   It had been a very long, trying day - and they were exhausted. Carefully,
Mark lifted Keith's mouth off his dick  and lay his head down on his leg. Mark
zipped up and fell asleep soon thereafter.

   Saturday morning. The early-morning smell of the pulp and paper mills
tickled Mark's senses shortly after sun-up. He quietly stood up and went to a
different tree nearby to release his piss. Well, the sound of the tinkle of the
piss hitting the ground was enough to stir Keith. Neither Keith nor Mark had
slept all that well, but nonetheless they had managed to get some between them.
   "Where we gonna head next?" asked Keith as Mark approached him. "Ssshh.."
beckoned Mark. This made Keith raise his eyebrows. Had Mark heard something?
   Now, Keith heard it too. Young voices. Young, pre-adolescent voices. Were
they male? Female? They seemed to be getting closer....
   "I don't WANNA go to the mall," one of them said. "I wanna ramble in these
woods.." and there they were, a pair of young males, both of them probably in
their early teens and with their shirts off, tucked in their back pockets of
their shorts. They slowed and saw the suitcase, then kept on walking, slower
than at first. "Didja see the way they were looking at us?" said one. "Yeah,"
said the other, adding, "hey, I gotta take a leak. Let me show you how I like
to whip it out fast.." Then the other one watched as his friend demonstrated
how easy it was to expose his entire dick and balls from the legbands of his
underwear and shorts without unzipping the shorts. "Ohhh.. man, it's so big!"
said the onlooker. As the piss began to flow from his pee slit, he looked up,
cracking first a smile, then a giggle. After he was finished, he pulled down
his shorts and underwear, showing it to his friend and letting him have a feel.
   Yes, Mark and Keith had been watching, and right now they were getting a
pretty good view of the youth's buttcheeks and asscrack.

   By the time the pair realized that Keith and Mark were there, both of their
lower torsos were exposed to the boys, and both their dicks were hard. "Hot
damn," said Mark, "can we see, too?"
   At first, the youth that had urinated frowned. His eyebrows were down and he
looked on the verge of becoming angry if he wasn't angry already. Then he
looked down, and it was something about the pubic hair around their cocks that
got his attention. Neither of the other two youths had that yet of course.
   Then, both of the younger boys watched in awe as they saw Mark kneel on the
ground and suck Keith off.
   Now, THEY had to try it on each other. The boys were Darrell, who turned out
to be eleven, and Chad, also eleven. Darrell discovered quickly that he liked
the taste and feel of his schoolmate's sex organ in his mouth. "Now, arn't'cha
glad we didn't go to the mall???" asked Darrell.

   Once these little sexual innuendos were over, Mark told them of their
dilemma in hopes that they might be able to either offer temporary asylum or
tell them where to find it.
   Believe it or not, they did.
   As hard as it was for even Keith and Mark to believe, there was a clubhouse
where several boys met, way, way back in these woods. It had no electricity but
it had running water - there was a tap located just outside it. They were led
back to the place and put their suitcases down on the floor. To their
amazement, one boy was here now, slouched in a corner, dressed only in shorts,
socks, and shoes. No sooner did Keith and Mark get in the large room - it was
deceiving from the exterior - than the boy started asking Keith and Mark
questions. He looked at Mark, who though he was seventeen, didn't look a day
over fourteen. "You got any hair around it?" asked the boy.
   Mark didn't have to guess what "it" was. A wicked, perverted grin fell
across Mark's lips. Seeing this, the kid burst out in laughter. "Bah-hahah! Are
you going to be rooming with us?"
   As they soon learned, Mark was the oldest - not only now, but of all the
boys who stayed in this clubhouse. There were around twenty on a SLOW day, and
they were all good friends - not just from the same middle - yes, MIDDLE..
school either. Outside of Mark and Keith, the average age of the boys there was
thirteen.
   Darrell said in not so many words that the absence of the other boys today
was attributed to the fact that most of them went swimming, and some had gone
to the beach, about 20 minutes away on foot. Most of the boys that were here
were runaways or had heard that there were some "interesting guys that liked
other guys" around here.
   Keith looked over at the boy they hadn't really met yet. His dick was out
and it was firm. This boy was thirteen himself and his name was Phillip.
   Slowly, Phillip began to rub his own dick; Mark could see in the light that
flickered through the dirty window nearby that there was a small amount of hair
around his private parts. "You ever been sucked?" Mark asked. "Nope, what's it
like?"
   Mark gave a live demonstration. Phillip was ecstatic; his dick had never
felt like this before - so good, such a strong sensation. At first he was so
carried away that he pressed his palms firmly against the floor - yes, this
clubhouse actually had a wooden floor instead of barren earth.
   Phillip came a small trickle of semen into Mark's mouth, and again Phillip
was ecstatic; he had never seen anyone eat cum before. More, Phillip actually
saw Mark lick his lips as if he savored every drop. "You mean that shit is good
to eat?" Mark nodded.
   Keith had been jacking off the entire time that Mark and Phillip had been
fooling around. Seeing all this, Keith's load was close to blowing and he
offered it to Phillip, who accepted it right into his mouth. He was amazed at
the taste of fresh semen.

End of Chapter One