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Recap from the end of Chapter 6:
His answer was simple and to the point, "I love you!" With that my eyes started to swell up with tears and so did Jason's. By the time we had composed ourselves dad and Ryan returned. Dad asked, "Devon, do you understand everything Jason told you?" I looked at him and said, "Yes and no. But I will work it out in my head soon." He chuckled. We all talked about the next step. I told Jason that with the help of the building staff and football team he was now moved into our dorm room. Dad also reminded us about his talk with the Dean of Students and the Chief of Police. We told dad that we are confident that we will be okay for now.
Chapter 7 - Devon's Point of View:
Jason was discharged from the hospital on Friday morning. Ryan and Dad met us at the dorm later that day to make sure we had settled in and that all was okay. Tears swelled up in Jason's eyes when we got back to the dorm. It was like a party. All the staff, dorm mates and the football team were waiting for us as we walked in. They had hung a big sign in the commons living area that said "Welcome Back Jason". I looked over my shoulder at Riley and Sam and the look that Sam gave me told me that she was the one who put that in motion. Jason was a little embarrassed and somewhat emotional.
As one of Jason's friends came up to us he threw a big hug around Jason. That was all it took for him to lose control and he started to cry. I got a little worried. But Sam leaned into me and whispered, "He is Vinny, a long time friend of Jason. They went to school together. He transferred here mid-semester but did not know Jason was here until the news hit of his attack. Vinny came to the dorm office the other day asking about Jason. So I told him that Jason was coming back today." After thanking Sam for doing that I put my hand on Jason's shoulder. As he looked at me I saw that both of them had red, teary eyes. As soon as Jason introduced me as his boyfriend Vinny wrapped his arms around me, gave me a big bear hug and thanked me for taking care of his friend.
I invited Vinny back to the room so they could catch up. When we got to the room we discovered that Jefferson, David and Jamail were waiting for us. They had picked up some Chinese food for all of us. We had a good visit and Jason and Vinny were able to reconnect. This was a good opportunity to get to know Vinny better. He told us, "I lost contact with Jason after he was disowned by his parents. I did not know how to contact him because his folks refused to acknowledge him and would not tell me where he was. They said, "We don't have a son and don't care where he is. He is dead to us". So I am elated that I found my friend again and that he has a boyfriend to boot."
After everyone left Riley and I cleaned up and discovered that we had so much food we had left overs for the next day or so. Ryan and Dad asked to talk with us in private. Dad gave each of us sport looking "Fit" watches. He explained, "They are just like other "Fit" watches but that these have something extra - a panic button and tracker. When the panic button is pushed it will alert a monitoring station and will lock onto your location and track you. The reporting station will alert the local police and me".
After our discussion everyone said good night and dad and Ryan headed home. Riley and Sam went off to his room. Jason and I went to ours. As I got ready for bed, I noticed Jason was a little nervous as he watched me stripping down to my boxer briefs. I walked over to him and held him tight until he was able to calm down and relax and then I helped him get ready for bed. He snuggled up to me and I held him tightly until he fell asleep. He had a restless night's sleep so I was awake up to the wee hours of the morning. But I did not care about that at all. When we woke up around noon on Saturday we were well rested. We showered, dressed and went out to the common room and found Riley and Sam watching TV so we asked if they wanted to go have lunch with us. They said yes so off we went. We got back around 2 in the afternoon and decided to work on our homework and get all caught up.
It was around 6 in the evening when we finished up with everything so we ordered pizza for dinner. While we were waiting for our pizza to arrive Riley got a phone call and took it in his bedroom. 45 minutes later he came back out with a big grin on his face. We stared him down, waiting for him to give us information about his phone call. He just started to laugh his ass off. Once he composed himself he told us, "The call was from my mom to see how I am doing and to let me know that Coach O'Rourke wanted me to call him. So I did." I asked in an irritated tone, "So what did he want"? It was at that point that Riley just lost it. He started laughing so hard that he began crying. I got up and punched him in the arm. That just made him laugh even harder.
He finally regained his composure and said, "Coach O'Rourke has invited us to the Thanksgiving game as his guests. I need to call him back soon to let him know who is coming with us. It is a home game on Friday after Thanksgiving which is just 3 weeks away." I said in a low voice "Oh" and then went and sat down on the couch. Riley came and sat down next to me and put his arm over my shoulder and said, "Hey bro, it is okay if you do not want to go." I was conflicted and the very thought of going back dug up sad memories. Then I felt someone slightly squeeze my hand. I turned and saw that it was Jason. He looked at me with a somber smile and said, "We should go. You will be able to reconnect with some friends and I will have an opportunity to meet them as well." I smiled at him and asked, "Are you sure you are up to it after what just happened?" He told me straight up, "Hey babe, I am fine. I want to go with you." I hugged him and we kissed up to the point such that lips became puffy. After everyone stopped laughing we decided that all 4 of us would make the trip back home. So I called dad to let him know. Riley called his mom and the Coach to let them know. By the end of the night we were all excited as we talked about our plans to prepare for the trip home.
The few days that were left before our trip home were great, so great in fact that we attended a Halloween party. Riley and Sam went to a football party while Jason and I were going to have relaxing night in our room. But all that changed when there was a knock on our door. When I answered it found myself greeting Jake Logan (football teammate to Riley and Kurt. He got shot at the Thanksgiving Day game last year. See Chapter 4 of NSWP -- Story 1). I was very shocked to see him as I had not seen Jake since Kurt's funeral. He started to laugh at me because of the look on my face. Then he picked me up with a bear hug and we both started laughing. Poor Jason was at a loss to what was going on. Once Jake let me go from the bear hug I introduced Jason as my boyfriend. Jason offered Jake his hand but Jake pushed his hand away. I got scared buy then Jake took Jason into a big bear hug just like he did me. As Jake was hugging him he said, "Welcome to our little group!" I said, "Jake what are you doing here? Can I offer you a beer?" (We had one stashed in the back of the refrigerator). But Jake said, "No, but if you have a coke that will be good."
We went in to common room and sat down to visit. Jake told us, "I called Riley to let him know that I was coming to check out the college for next semester and that I wanted to see you guys and (with chuckling) meet this Jason guy to see whether he was worthy of my "seal of approval". Jason had a worried look on his face. I laughed so hard that I started to cry. I told Jason, "Jake, Riley and the others said the same thing to me a long time ago. Jake is just wanking your chain and joking with you." So I felt better as Jason relaxed and smiled.
Jake told us, "After I was shot at the game last year I could not play football and ended up finishing high school at home. As a result I lost my college scholarship to Northeaster." As he spoke he had a hint of sadness in his voice. I went over to him and gave him a hug and told him I was sorry. He looked at me with a confused look and said, "Oh no. I never regretted what I did to protect two people who I consider as family." So, to change the subject I asked, "So then your plan is to come here for the spring semester?" He smiled and said, "Yes and to help me get started I was awarded a scholarship from Central State and also have received money that was raised from a fundraiser that someone secretly held to help me with my college expenses." I kind of got lost in my thoughts as he explained what was going on. (Riley and I knew that Jake had lost his scholarship. So we secretly made arrangements with Dad and the Coach to help Jake. We gave Dad and Coach clear instructions that Jake was not to know about it.)
After Jason and I congratulated Jake and welcomed him to the school he asked, "What time will Riley get home?" I told him he was at football practice. But then I had an epiphany. I said, "Let's go watch Riley and the rest of the team practice." Jake and Jason agreed and off we went. We watched them practice as they were finishing up. As we walked towards them Riley saw us and came running at top speed. That caught the attention of his fellow teammates. Some of them followed Riley, including Jamail, Jefferson and David. Soon we had a small group of football jocks around us. Riley made introductions and as soon as he mentioned Jake's name the team was wowed. Jamail said, "Jake, it took great courage to do what you did. It is a great pleasure to meet you." Everyone enthusiastically shook his hand and greeted him. David asked, "What brought you up to visit?" Jake told them that he was going to be coming to school here in the spring. They all said that was cool.
All of a sudden their coach yelled at them to get a move on because he did not want to spend the night waiting on them to shower and get out of the locker room. So we all started to walk towards the athletic center. Jamail and Jefferson ran ahead of us to talk with the coach. As we got near the coach called Riley over to speak with him. Riley called Jason, Jake and me over to introduce us. The coach shook Jake's hand and said, "I have heard a lot about you and understand that you plan to take classes here next spring. I want you to consider becoming a member of the team." Jake had a look like a deer in headlights. Once the shock cleared he looked at the coach and said, "Thank you. But I can't play on the field what would I be doing?" The coach chuckled and said, "I want you to be the team manger. Even though you would not be out on the field, in my opinion just by your past unselfish act you would be a inspiration to the rest of the team. Jake had a big smile on his face and with a shaky voice accepted the offer and thanked the coach and everyone. He told the coach and team that he thought he would never be able to be a part of a football team again after he was injured from the shooting.
It turned out to be a fantastic day. After the team came out of the locker room they went to dinner with us. It was sort of like an impromptu celebration. While we were eating I asked Jake where he was staying while visiting the college. He asked if he could stay with Riley and me. But before we could answer Jefferson offered him the guest room at the football house and told him that since he was officially going to be member of the team he was more than welcome to use the room. He accepted and thanked him for the offer. It was an amazing weekend with Jake and the other guys from the team. Jake was so much happier after he left. We made plans to meet up for the Thanksgiving game this coming Friday with Jake and he headed back home Sunday morning.
Monday was not a very welcoming day. It was raining and cold as we all headed out to take our mid-term exams. Because of the exam schedule we would not see each other untll diner time. As I was leaving my last exam to head back to my room, I got a text from Riley saying he was spending the night with Sam and that he would see us tomorrow night. I responded back by telling him to have fun. I then sent Jason a text to tell him that it was just us tonight. I put my phone in my pocket and continued to trek towards the dorm. Just as I entered the dorm my phone beeped and it was a text from Jason. He said he was running late with his last exam and would home within the hour. I responded with no worries and went to our room. I dropped off my bag and headed out to the store. I was planning on surprising Jason with an intimate dinner and sexy night since it was just us. I ordered our favorite Italian dinner and tiramisu.
I stopped and picked up some massage oil and scented candles. When I got back to our dorm room I turned on the oven to keep our food hot, set the table, took a shower and then cleaned up around our rooms. I was sitting in the common room with the lights out and the candles flickering while I was waiting for Jason to arrive when I heard the door being unlocked. Since the only light in the room was from the candles I was not able to see who it was. I knew it was not Jason because I was able to see well enough to determine that 3 men had broke into our room. Apparently they did not see me when I hit the floor by the couch. As soon as I hit the floor I activated the panic button on my phone. The 3 men started to trash our room. I gathered enough courage to jump up and yell to make myself know. They immediately stopped trashing our room and turned on the lights. All of them were wearing ski masks and approached me. One of the guys said, "What do we have here, a hidden little fag in the dark?" He then shouted to the other 2 men to grab me. They came at me but I jumped over the couch. But their leader was able to grab a hold of me and then the other 2 came to his aid. But I got one good shot with my foot and kicked the leader right in the nuts. He went down moaning with pain like a sack of shit. The other 2 were not happy about that and started to beat on me with their fist. The leader got up and stopped them. He then hit me in the head with his fist really hard and I saw stairs. The next then I heard from the leader was, "Strip off his clothes." As the other 2 started to rip off my shirt, I started to fight back but I got shocked with a taser and fell to the ground. Just as I was about to pass out the door to our dorm room flew open. That was the last thing I remembered.
Jason, Riley and Dad were in my hospital room when I woke up. I looked over and saw Jason sitting in the chair next to my bed. As soon as he saw me move he jumped up and moved closer to me. Then the others saw what was going on and came over too. Jason was crying and holding my hand. He kept saying he was so sorry. I looked at him and asked, "What are you sorry about?" As I tried to calm him down the doctor walked in and talked to all of us. He said I could go home in a little while after some tests. He then took a look at my side just under my right armpit and that's when I saw what looked like 4 burn marks. I asked what that was from. He looked at me and asked, "What do you remember about what happened to you?" I told them, "After my shirt was ripped off I was hit hard in the head and then felt like electric shocks on my side." The doctor said, "The hit gave you a mild concussion and the marks are from a taser. But you are going to be okay. I plan to discharge you in a few hours."
After he left Jason calmed down and said, "Babe, I am so sorry for being late. If I had not been running late I would have been there with you to fight those goons off." I took his hand and held it and told him, "Jason, it is not your fault that this happened or anyone's fault for that matter. All the lights were out in the room because I was planning to surprise you with romantic dinner and night together. So the goons assumed no one was home when they came in. Hey, come to think of it, how the hell did they get in?" Dad spoke up. "The 3 guys were members of a Fraternity. One of them has a set of master keys to the dorm. All 3 have been arrest for breaking and entering, criminal mischief, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The Fraternity has been suspended until a judiciary review by the school is complete." I asked, "How were they caught?" Dad started to tell me but Riley cut him off with a laugh and said "I caught them. When you pushed the button on your phone it sent an automatic alarm to Jason's, your Dad's and my phone that you were in trouble and it gave your location." Dad agreed with Riley's assessment. Riley went on to say, "I was walking with Jefferson, David and Sam when my phone went off with a shrill that sounded like an air raid siren. As soon as I looked at the screen and saw that it was flashing your name and location I bolted towards the dorm with everyone in tow. We ran right past the desk and up the stairs to our room. Just before we entered we heard a loud crash. We tackled the 3 goons and held them down. It was only a few minutes later when the cops arrived and put handcuffs on each one. Just as the ambulance arrived Jason came in and literally flew over everyone to get to you."
I asked Dad and Riley if I could have a private moment with Jason. So they went to the waiting room. I patted the bed next to me and Jason sat down. I took his hand and pulled him closer to me. I asked, "Did you really fly over everyone?" He started to breath heavy and began to cry his eyes out. I told him everything was okay and showed him the taser marks on the side of my body and inadvertently also exposed to him my private parts. He just completely lost it. Just as he regained his composure the doctor came in and asked if I was feeling any light headedness or nausea. I said, "No. I feel fine". He told me, "Great. Then go home and get some real rest because I just turned in the paperwork for you to be discharged." I thanked the doctor and asked Jason to hand me my clothes. The look on Jason's face was "priceless"! He said, "Oh Devon, I rode in the ambulance with you to the emergency room. I did not have time to bring any fresh clothes and the nurses cut off your pants and underwear. What are we going to do?"
Just then dad and Riley broke out laughing at us. Dad handed me a bag with a tee shirt, sweatpants and sneakers. As soon as I got dressed we headed out to go back to the dorm. I hugged dad and asked if he was coming with us. He said, "No. I will see next week when you guys come home for thanksgiving." We hugged again and went our separate ways. Jason and I hopped in the back of Riley's car and I thanked Riley for being available to take us home. I cuddled up to Jason as he rubbed my back. Jason whispered into my ear, "You are so hot. I think it is so cool that you are going commando." I grinned and tried to think of anything to keep from getting a boner. I failed big time and had no way to hid it. Ugh! As we pulled into the parking lot I took a deep breath and said, "Oh fuck!!!" Riley and Jason looked at me with bewilderment. I cleared up my panic when I said, "I sure hope someone turned off the oven and blew out the candles or we were going to be walking into a big mess." As we entered the building there was a cop who was checking everyone's ID to ensure that they were students and lived in the dorm.
When we walked into our room we discovered that it was spotless and super clean. Sam, David and Jefferson were in the common room to greet us. I thanked them for everything they did. We visited for a little while and then we called it a night. I had 2 exams Thursday afternoon and then I was done until we got back from thanksgiving.
I woke up at about 11 am. I still had 2 hours before my 1st exam so I took a shower. Jason had left me note that said, "See you tonight. It is my turn to make dinner!" I smiled and headed off to the exam. As I was walking to my class it felt like people were staring at me but I blew it off and went to the student union get something to eat and do last minute studying. As I walked pass the school paper stand I stopped dead in my tracks. The headline on the paper was "Second Student Attacked for Being Gay" along with a photo of my trashed dorm room. Blood ran from my face and I felt like I was going to pass out. Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder and one grabbing my arm. In my state of shock and anger I was ready to hit whoever was grabbing me. But when I turned around I saw it was Vinny. He asked, "Hey bro, are you going to be okay?" Since I was still pretty shaken I could not answer him. He directed me to a set of chairs in the lobby and we sat down. He excused himself so that he could go get me a bottle of water. I drank it down in almost one gulp. He asked me again if I was okay. I shook my head yes then told him, "I am just shocked by what the school paper has published." He jumped up to go over to the newsstand to get a paper. I watched him as he read the article. He said, "No names are mentioned in the article. The people in charge of the paper know better than to print information like that."
I took a deep breath then reached for my phone to check the time and found I still had time to get a fast bit to eat and invited Vinny to join me. After we ate we parted ways and headed off to our exams. As I entered the classroom the professor called me over and quietly told me, "Because of what happened last night you will automatically receive a passing grade." I said, "Thank you but I still want to take the exam." He said, "I want you to know that I appreciate your courage. You can take the exam if you want to and I will grade it for you. But regardless of whatever the grade is you will still pass." I thanked him and took my seat to take the exam. I had a similar conversation with the professor who gave me my next exam.
When I arrived back at our room I found Jason crying on the floor. I ran to him and took him in my arms and held him until he stopped. I asked, "Babe, what happened?" He sobbed, "As I was coming back to our room I saw the school paper and started to have a panic attack." I held him tightly and rocked him back and forth. I grabbed my phone and asked Jason to call the student helpline to talk to them. He did not want to but he finally gave in. Just as I was about to give him some privacy he stopped me. So I sat next to him and held him as he talked and recounted his panic attack. It was a long conversation. When he was done he was so mentally and emotionally exhausted that we just went to bed and fell right to sleep.
I woke up first and got out of bed to hit the bathroom and then headed out to get us some breakfast. I got enough for four because I did not know if Riley and Sam were in his room or not, so I played it safe. When I got back I made some coffee and set the table. Just as I finished Sam came out with Riley right behind her. I started to go get Jason but he popped out of the bathroom. So we all sat down to eat. While we were eating there was a knock on the door. We certainly were not expecting anyone so each of us looked bewildered.
Riley was the one who got up to answer the door. I heard him say something then a shouting match erupted. Jason, Sam and I went running to door. Riley was holding one guy by the throat and yelling at the other guy to back off. I went up behind Riley and encouraged him to let the guy go before he caused some bodily damage. Once Riley finally let him go the guy apologized to us. That caught us totally off guard. I said, "Excuse me. But what did you just say?" He introduced himself as the president of the Fraternity that the goons belonged to. I was both mad and scared at the same time. But before I walked away he introduced the other guy as the president of their national headquarters. I took a step back and in a cold tone asked, "What the hell do you want?" Just as he was about to answer my question the security guard from the lobby came in and asked if everything was okay. I answered, "Yes. Thank you. These men were just leaving."
I turned to walk back into the dining room when the guy from the national headquarters spoke to me, "Mr. McSweeny, please let me speak with you." I looked at him with anger and asked, "How do you know who I am?" Again he asked, "Please, can we just talk?" After Jason, Riley and Sam indicated that they thought it would be okay I agreed to let them into the apartment to talk. Immediately I asked again, "How the hell do you know my name?" He told me, "I discovered who you were after our fraternity brothers were arrested. Your name is on some papers in their room at the house we live in with the other members. I did some research on you and learned all about your past, all the bullying, you being shot at and Kurt's death. What our brothers did to you was wrong." I immediately corrected him on the spot by telling him that his fraternity brothers were also responsible for the first attack on Jason.
With all my penned up anger I yelled at him, "Those animals should rot in jail for the torture they infected on us." I literally ripped off my shirt to show him my bruised body and the burn marks from the taser. I continued to yell, "Jason has similar scars all over his body. What Jason experienced from the hands of your brothers was far worse than what you see on me. So you sure as hell should not expect to receive any help from us." The national president said in a calm voice, "I am not here to ask for your help. I am here to offer our help and to ask if you would be willing to share your life story with us in detail so we can educate our members. Our hope for the future is to weed out the kind of people who did this to you so that it will never happen again. We will pay you for your time when you share your life story and also cover any and all medical and physiological services you and Jason need or want. And we will reimburse you guys for any property that was damaged."
Our faces were just inches apart when Riley handed me a new shirt. I sat down to put the shirt on and Riley spoke, "When do we need to give you an answer?" We were a little shocked at his answer. "Not until early next year. We want this project to be ready to use for the fall semester." Riley told him, "Mail us written proposal and we will discuss it with our family." He agreed. The president of the local chapter on campus apologized to us and told us that if we ever need anything to contact him. After they left we finished eating and took some time to reflect on what had just happened. Then we cleaned up and packed for the trip home. We were excited about being able to attend the thanksgiving game.
End of Chapter 7. Chapter 8 is a work in progress. Be on the lookout for it. For those of you that sent feedback on "A New Start With Pain", thank you. Your comments were greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading Chapters 1 thru 6 of "Devon - The Next Step." Any feedback you offer will be greatly appreciated. You can send your comments, whether positive or negative, to Frank McMee Fam00750@Yahoo.com. Also, a thank you is extended to Samual Blake for his assistance with editing and proofreading. Please consider visiting his LGBTQA Concerns Website at https://samual-blake.tumblr.com May you be blessed with an enjoyable and safe day.