Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 22:27:30 +0000 (GMT)
From: roy p...... <sunbeamtb@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Peter Johnson, part 9

Peter was hurt at first by Nathan's insistence that he tell his
parents about their feelings for each other, but while resting
exhausted from running away it all fell into place in his mind.
His coolness and disinterest afterwards has Nathan worried, but
are his fears ill-founded? Peter has had a lot of emotional
pressures lately, can he survive this latest threat to his new-
found happiness? All the traditional warnings and disclaimers
apply, you have been warned.


                             Part 9


Knock, knock. "Do you want any breakfast, Peter?" His mother's
voice broke his sleep. He woke refreshed. "No thanks, Mum. I'll
lie in a bit, if you don't mind." He called back. "Anything you
want me to do later? Come in if you like." Marjorie Johnson
opened the door and took a step inside. "Tidy your room," she
said, seizing the chance to get it done at last, "and take your
dirty laundry down to be washed. I've done two loads already, and
there's another load in at the moment." "O.K." "There's a box of
Christmas cards on the table, write yours for the family and your
friends. I'm going shopping with your Father after breakfast,
I'll get some more and the last few presents while we're out" she
finished. "Leave the breakfast things then, I'll wash up when I
come down." "Thanks, Peter, that'll be a great help!" she said,
grateful for the offer. She watched Peter turn over in his bed,
and pull the duvet up nearly covering his head. 'Two weeks now'
she thought. 'What a change!'

Just over an hour later he got up, showered and dressed in t-
shirt, jeans, jumper and trainers. He quickly tidied the room,
and gathered up his dirty clothes. Alan, his elder brother, was
writing cards on the kitchen table when he got downstairs.
"Mornin' Pete!" "Mornin' Alan!" Alan hated his name being
shortened to 'Al' ever since someone called him 'Al Jolson' and
sung 'Sonny Boy' to poke fun at him. Until recently, Peter had
continued to call him 'Al'.
Peter emptied the washing machine into the waiting basket, sorted
his own dirty clothes into 'whites' and 'coloureds', then put the
'whites' in to wash and programmed the machine. He picked up the
basket, took it out to the garden and hung out the clean clothes
with the others his Mother had done already. He didn't notice
Alan staring through the window at him. 'About time,' Alan
thought, 'he's been an asshole too long!"

Peter returned to the kitchen and washed up all the dirty
breakfast plates, dishes and cookware. Drying his hands, he asked
Alan "Where's A.M?" A.M. was their nickname for Anne-Marie, their
nine-year-old sister. "Gone to town with Mum and Dad." Alan
replied. "Oh, O.K." Peter said. "Give me a shout when you're
done, I'll come an' do mine" he called as he went to return
upstairs.

As he passed the phone in the hall, it rang. Peter lifted the
receiver before it rang twice "Y'hello!" he mumbled. "Oh, Hello.
Is Peter at home?" Nat's voice. "I'm not sure, I'll go and see!"
Peter said. "Pete?" Nathan said, recognising the voice. "No, I'm
afraid he's gone out!." Peter replied, then laughed. "Hiya, Nat,
how's things?" "Not bad," Nathan said, disguising the worry from
his voice. The last thing he expected today was a cool, calm
Peter. "I think Mum an' Dad had a talk about us last night, but
they went out shopping before I got up, I haven't seen them yet
today." "Oh," said Peter, still calm, "Mine have gone to town as
well, I wonder if they're meeting up to discuss us? That'd be a
laugh!" Nathan was really worried now. "You comin' round then? We
could hang out, chat, watch telly, play Dragon Master -" "Nah,
I've got stuff to do, including rest. Gonna have an easy day. See
yer Monday?" more than a few seconds stunned silence from Nathan.
"Don't worry, Nat, I'm O.K." said Peter. "Just wanna chill an'
rest the brain department for the weekend. Tell yer what, meet me
at Ian's at half eight Monday, we'll escort him in on his first
real day. It'll be cool!"  "Err, O. K.!" said Nathan, slowly. Was
anything going on between Peter and Ian? He hoped not. He
suddenly realised that Peter had hung up. No goodbye, no I love
you. Peter had said I love you to him every time they spoke when
they weren't together, for days now. Nathan was destined to worry
all weekend, after that.
Peter, however had a pleasant, restful weekend. He wrote his
cards, wrapped a few presents that his folks had bought on his
behalf, helped his mum with the rest of the laundry, and even
played with little A.M. and her dolls house. Sunday was just
breakfast, Playstation, dinner, homework, tea, T.V, bed.

At half-eight on Monday morning, they met outside Ian's Aunt's
house. "Hiya, Nat, did your Dad say Anything?" "Nah," Nathan
sneered. "Guess I was wrong. Did you -?" "Nah also!" Peter said.
Too nice a weekend. Couldn't be arsed." Before Nathan could add
anything else, he added, "Be done by Christmas. I know the
deadline. Come on, let's get the new boy!"

Ian was delighted to see them, they calmed his nerves just by
being there. "You guys are the best!" he said, beaming a huge
smile at them. Then reducing it a lot, he said "You don't know
how sorry I am - " "Forget it," said Peter. "Long time ago.
Forgotten it myself." "So long ago I've forgotten what I've
forgotten about!" laughed Nathan, and they walked off towards
their school.
It didn't take Ian many minutes to notice that Peter wasn't all
over Nathan this morning. As Peter was a few steps ahead, Ian
caught Nathan's attention, pointed at Peter, and pulled a 'What's
wrong?' face. Nathan held his palms up and shrugged his
shoulders. There was no way Peter could have seen them do it, but
he said, still looking forward, "There's nothing the matter with
me, stop worrying. If you need to worry, let's worry about how
much notice everyone took of Riley's assembly Friday afternoon."

They turned into the school yard. Within two minutes, every boy
there had turned their head to see them then turned away,
disinterested! Peter and Nathan were dumbfounded! Until, that is,
John Lester and three of his equally heavy followers approached
through the crowd. 'Here we go,' thought Peter. Nathan remembered
the last time a gang had approached him in a schoolyard, even
though that gang's leader was now standing alongside him. Ian
felt the need to stand tall and square up to the four muscled
troublemakers heading their way. "Hey, guys!" John Lester called
out to them, still twenty feet away in the schoolyard. Nearby
heads turned, half expecting a confrontation. "How's it goin'!"
he said as he neared them, a smile on his face. He raised his
palm for a high five, and the heads turned away, almost
disappointedly.  "Cool!" said Nathan as three palms smacked
Lester's. They were introduced to each other, 'The three dudes
who fucked Hunt off' is how Lester described them to his
henchmen. He then told them about Riley's assembly on Friday
afternoon - "He kept lookin' at me," he said, "and sayin' stuff
like we shouldn't pick on anyone 'cause they're Black or Jews or
gay or whatever. Laid it on heavy, he did, an' said that he'd
expel anyone who did it. S'pose I agree with him really, I must
be getting' soft or somethin'!"
 "No," said Peter, "just growing up. That makes you stronger. He
say anythin' about Hunt?" "Only that he'd left." Lester shrugged.
"An' after, I told him about Hunt an' me, like you said. I got
him to phone my ol' man, to prove I'd told him at the time, an'
they talked about charges an' stuff."

The start of school bell rang, Ian went to Mrs. Burns' office and
Nathan and Peter went off to their first lesson. They hung out
together during breaks and at lunch, but Peter remained
unemotional with Nathan, and that hurt. He wouldn't push it
though, he thought. See what happens.

Ian joined them at lunch, in a happy mood. "I think I'm gonna
like it here!" he said, then, scanning the room added, "There's
some fit looking guys here!" "Just don't look at this one!"
Nathan said, nodding towards Peter. "He's taken!" Peter blushed.
'It's gonna be alright.' thought Nathan, relieved.
At the end of school, Nathan was going to ask Peter to come back
to his house, maybe stay over. Before he could, Peter suddenly
exclaimed "Gotta go. See you both tomorrow!",  ran off and jumped
on a bus just about to leave the stop by the school. "What was
that all about?" asked Ian. "Blowed if I know," said Nathan,
"He's been acting strange all weekend!"



Peter got off the bus near the shopping centre, and went straight
to the card and gift shop. After a short time searching, he found
the special cards he wanted. One each for his Father, Mother,
Brother and Sister. And another, headed 'To my Boyfriend'. He
paid for them, then returned to the outbound bus stop. On his
way, he glanced in the window of J.B.Sports. Without slowing his
walk, he turned abruptly and went in. The bus home was crowded,
it was the start of rush hour. He had to stand most of the way,
which annoyed him as much as the driver's attitude when he had
boarded and paid his child's fare.  There was a wailing baby
somewhere on the bus, too, and the noise didn't help his temper.
As the bus emptied, he took the only available seat, by the
mother and squealing baby. He noticed her as he sat down, not
much older than himself, he thought. His mind wandered for a
second, thinking of her and when she got pregnant. Somehow he
pictured John Lester's muscled body on top of her, and giggled.
The baby had been watching him, and laughed. He frowned and
wished the bus to hurry him home.



Peter acted coolly to Nathan all of the week, and Nathan was
really worried. By Thursday, he knew it was over, Peter just
wanted to stay friends. He felt gutted on his way to school, it
was all his fault by pushing too hard. He'd try to save it by
telling Peter that it didn't matter if his parents weren't told,
they could keep the secret from them if that's what he wanted.
Yes, that's what he'd do. Today. However, as he approached the
school gates, Peter was waiting. He took Nathan's hand, and
pulled him forwards, then planted a kiss on his lips! "Hiya,
babe, you're late! You had me worried you weren't coming, you
were sick or something!" The school bell rang, and before Nathan
could get over his relief, delight and surprise, Peter said "See
you third period, Nat, at P.E!" and was gone, lost in the crowd
filing through the main entrance doors. Nathan was REALLY
confused now, what WAS up with Peter, was he playing mind games,
or had he flipped? This had to be sorted, and soon, he thought.

The P.E. lesson was taken by a stand-in teacher they hadn't seen
before, who pushed the boys as hard if not harder than Mr. Hunt
had done, but by praising their efforts, not decrying their
weaknesses. The two boys were on the same side in a basketball
game, but on the three occasions that Nathan had been nearest to
Peter when he had to pass the ball, he'd passed to somebody else.
After the lesson, when they'd showered, dried and dressed, and
were heading for lunch, Nathan could stand it no longer. He
pulled Peter round by the shoulder and said "Do you know what
you're doing to me?" - or he tried to say it. Only the "Do" came
out before Peter put a finger across his lips and said, "Sshhh,
babe. I just need a clear head at the moment, no distractions.  I
know it doesn't seem like it, but as far as I'm concerned,
nothing's changed. I still love you to bits. Please be patient,
Nat, please wait for me, eh?" Nathan shook his head, but Peter
had gone. He was already at the counter, choosing his dinner.
They sat in silence, eating. Nathan kept looking at Peter, trying
to understand, trying not to stare. Ian joined them, in a
cheerful mood. "Hi, guys!" "Hi!" in unison came back. The silence
came down again. Ian frowned at Nathan. Nathan frowned back. Ian
broke the silence. "Peter -" "Don't, Ian." Peter shot back. "It
doesn't concern you. I've just gotta stay clear headed at the
moment, I don't wanna be rude, but don't ask." Just as the shock
hit them both, Peter instantly switched off his 'attitude', and,
smiling, said "So what are you grinning like a Cheshire Cat
about? Got yourself a boyfriend already?" Nathan and Peter
laughed, Ian grinned even more. "Not quite, but there is someone
absolutely gorgeous in some of my classes, and, well, - Sshhh!
Here he comes!"  Nathan and Peter didn't need to look up, "Derek
Reynolds!" they both called in unison.
A boy Ian's age came up to the table with his dinner on a tray.
"Can I sit here?" he nodded with his head towards the empty seat
by Ian. The golden blonde hair bounced on his head as he nodded,
his bright blue eyes sparkled as he looked at them for approval.
Ian patted the seat, and Derek slid into it (the seat, not his
hand. Wait!) and placed his tray on the table. "Thanks for
calling me over, Guys!" he said, "I thought all the tables were
full!" He smiled at them, a glimpse of perfect white teeth
flashing past pink kissable lips. The smile would have melted a
glacier, if there had been one handy. Everyone said his smile
would capture hearts, but nobody thought that he would intend
them to be boys' hearts.
The conversation drifted towards computer games, but Ian couldn't
concentrate, his eyes were glazed over, watching Derek eat. Derek
made sure he nudged Ian's arm with his elbow every time he lifted
a forkful of dinner to those lips. One forkful was too much, and
a trickle of gravy ran over Derek's bottom lip and down his chin.
Ian came in his trousers, and he blushed bright red.
After the meal, all four stood to leave. Ian removed his coat,
folded it over his arm, and carried it in front of him. Derek
glanced down before the damp stain was covered by the coat and
smiled again. The smile on his lips had a little wicked upturn at
its ends.
"Would you like to come -" a millisecond's hesitation "over
tonight and play 'King Arthur's Knights' on my GameBox? I'd love
to have a swordfight with you!" "Y - y - yes! I'd love to come
with you!" Nathan and Peter doubled over with laughter. Despite
his coolness with Nathan, they both still shared their abilities
to see double meanings in almost anything. As they left the
dinner hall, with Ian's face so red he'd have stopped the traffic
if he stood by the roadside, Nathan whispered to Peter
"Is everything really alright, Pete?" Peter looked into his eyes
and replied "It sure is, Nat, just be patient, it sure is."



The rest of the day, however, and Friday, Peter remained distant
from Nathan. On Friday afternoon, the school broke up early for
the Christmas holidays, Christmas day being the next Tuesday.
Peter's last lesson didn't include Nathan, he was on the other
side of the school, so Nathan was delighted that Peter had waited
in the yard for him to leave. Peter hugged Nathan, attracting
stares from other boys filing out of the doorway, and gave him a
kiss on the lips, which astonished the onlookers even more.
"Happy Christmas, Nat, I promise I'll see you over the holidays.
I really will." Then he turned and walked away. Nathan was
furious. He WAS playing with him, confusing his emotions. He went
to run after Peter, turn him round, shake him, make him see what
he was destroying, but Peter's words rang as clearly through his
mind as if he were still there, speaking them. "Please be
patient, Nat, please wait for me!"