Along the Way 3
The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities are entirely fortuitous. The story may contain profanity and references to gay sex. If such content offends you please leave now. The author retains all rights to the story. Do not copy or use without written authority from the author. Write Bobby at this address with your comments.
**Along the Way 03
**
I'm such an idiot! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! The President's son!? How the Hell could he not tell me about this!? Oh, my God! No wonder he wears a hoodie and glasses constantly. Even in the damn movie theatre he wore his glasses. Now it all makes sense, even Niles makes sense now. But why would he want to spend even a second with me? That's the only thing I'm confused about right now. Brett can have anyone in the world. Why choose a freak like me? What am I saying, though? Brett and I aren't anything. We're just friends I guess.
The morning was slow and nerve wrecking. Brett would be here any minute and I am freaking out. I'm not even so sure I should be going with him today. And should I confront him on what I found out last night? Crap, I'm screwed. It's going to be awkward I can already tell.
Just then, the doorbell rang. "Just a second!" I shouted. I scurried through my room to the front door. I felt my hair just to make sure it was standing perfectly, and then I opened the door. Immediately, the strong scent of Brett filled my nose and sent me straight to Heaven again.
"Hey there, Tanner," Brett said with his trademark smile. He was wearing a different outfit today. Instead of a hoodie, he was wearing regular black shirt, shorts, and a black hat. He's also wearing his aviator sunglasses. Brett almost looked like a normal person.
"H-hi, Brett," I muttered.
"Something the matter?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"No, no, nothing's wrong. I'm just, uh, tired kind of, I guess." I lied straight through my teeth. I felt bad for lying, especially because I got like ten hours of sleep, but I can't tell Brett why I'm sad. I might talk to him about it, but maybe not. I don't want to ruin what we have.
"Um, okay then. Are you ready to go?"
"Sure, let's go." I shut my door and walked with Brett to the car.
Along the way to wherever we were going, Brett tried to get me to talk, but I was being pretty silent. Sitting next to the President's son is very scary after all. We eventually pulled up to a fast food place. Niles went through the drive-thru and ordered one of everything on the menu for us. Once we got our food, Brett and I got busy.
Niles drove us to an abandoned dirt field twenty miles out of Washington. There in the field was a lone plane and a man. Brett looked at me with a wicked grin on his face. In the pit of my stomach, I had this aching feeling this wasn't going to be a normal flight.
"I hope you're okay with flying." Brett said.
"Um, actually I've never flown before. Ever." I nervously got out.
"Well, there's a first for everything, Tanner." As Niles came to a quick stop, the guy came up to the car and opened the door for us. Brett gave him a quick hug and handshake. "This is Jeff 'The Hawk' Sanders. He's been a friend of my family for years, and today he's going to be taking us for an interesting flight."
"I'm Tanner," I said meekly, sticking out my hand. Jeff shook it and smiled.
"Well, boys, are your ready to fly?" Jeff asked the two of us.
"Yeah, but just take it a little bit easy today, Hawk. Tanner here is a first timer."
Jeff only let out a muffled, evil laugh. I had a sudden fear for my life as I realized this was going to be no ordinary flight. I've seen this kind of stuff on TV before. People step into a small plane like the one in front of me and they do some aerial tricks and stunts and then they die. They come crashing to the Earth. Oh, my God, what am I doing here? Jeff must be a great pilot, though, because if the President allows Brett to do this kind of stuff, then he must be safe enough. Although, what if the President doesn't know Brett's even here?
Jeff helped Brett and I into the plane. We got buckled up and placed some sort of microphone over our heads. We also got a pair of goggles if we needed them.
"Calm down, Tanner, I've done this hundreds of times before. It's a lot of fun. Trust me." Brett calmly said. His eyes were staring into mine.
"Okay," I whispered.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
I had to think about it for a second. I barely know him at all, but deep down in my heart I can honestly say that I trust Brett. So I answered, "Yes, I trust you."
The plane roared to life. Within a few seconds, we were in the air at a steady pace. I was still very tense, but I continued to peer out of the small window. Everything looked so tiny from high in the sky. Brett looked at me, curious looking about what I thought. I simply smiled at him, then continued staring out the window.
Just when I thought it was going to be a safe ride, nothing like I previously thought, Jeff shouted from on front of us, "Here we go, boys!"
All of a sudden, the plane dives straight down. Fear rushed in and took the place of my calm, happy self. The plane then shot straight back up and then we went upside down. Brett was in his seat just laughing and having a great time. I on the other hand considered holding my breath to make myself pass out. Jeff began making the plane spin around while doing loops. I felt churning in my stomach and I knew that if Jeff kept this up my breakfast would be coming up. Suddenly, the plane stopped spinning. Jeff pushed some sort of lever up which made the plane let out a loud roar. Jeff then made the plane go straight up. I mean vertically up. My God, I didn't know planes could actually do this. And just as I was getting comfortable going straight up, Jeff decided to then go straight down.
Eventually we straightened out and landed. Never in my life have I been happier to walk on the ground. I stumbled out of the plane, clutching at my stomach. Brett grew worried of me and rushed to my side.
"Tanner, are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
"Am I all right!? Am I all right!?" I screamed at the top of my lungs. My breathing was hard and deep. "That was amazing!" I then broke out in hysterical laughter. Brett soon joined and playfully punched the in the arm.
"You jerk," he laughed. "I thought you were seriously mad."
Brett and I continued laughing until there was no tomorrow. Niles came up to us after a while, though, and said it was time to leave. The two of us thanked Jeff and said goodbye. It was only noon-thirty when we left the field. Brett told me that we still had some things to do, but I couldn't imagine what he had in store for me.
While we were driving, I kept thinking of how I could bring up the subject of Brett being the President's son. Right now just didn't seem like the time, but I can't think of a good time to do it. All of my thoughts were interrupted when Niles pulled up to an amusement park. I looked at Brett with glee in my eyes. He just smiled at me and rubbed my leg. I didn't know what to think of that, but nor did I care. I'm going to an amusement park for the first time in my life and I'm doing it with the person whom I like more and more every second.
"Is this your first time here too?" Brett asked.
"Yeah," I said, ashamed of my life.
"Well, I'm glad I get to take you, Tanner." Brett smiled at me.
Niles dropped us off near a ticket booth and told us he'll be watching us. I knew that was because Brett is the President's son. I just can't figure out why Brett hasn't told me about that yet. Right now wasn't the time to think about it though.
We walked up and got our tickets. Brett asked what I wanted to do first, but honestly, I did not know. This was my first time being at an amusement park after all. So he made up a game plan. He said we'd start at the back and work our way to the front. It seemed foolproof, but as we were walking by some of the rides, I was starting to worry that they weren't safe. This one ride shot straight up into the sky, then came plummeting back down.
"Okay, well, we're at the very back of the park. What looks most appealing right now?" Brett questioned.
"What are those?" I asked, pointing at these things that people were driving and crashing into each other.
"Those are called bumper cars." Brett said. "You sit in one of those cars and basically bump into everyone and anyone." While Brett explained what they were, I was mesmerized by them for some reason.
"Okay, I wanna do that!" I excitedly said.
Brett laughed, "Okay,"
The two of us walked up to the ride operator and showed him our wristband. He waved us in. Brett and I got in a car close to each other. A whole bunch of people flocked in and got in the empty cars. After all the cars were filled, the operator explained the seatbelt procedure, then wished us happy bumpings. He pushed a button and suddenly my car jerked to life. Everyone began laughing and having a great time, but I was a little confused. I mean, I was getting bumped and bumping others, but I didn't see the great thrill in this. In fact, it sort of hurt my back. It wasn't until I found Brett through the mass of people and bumped him did I really start having a good time. I began to laugh hysterically while bumping into anyone, mostly Brett. He was also having a good time, though, as his laughing was an indicator. Once the ride was over, he asked if I liked it.
"Yeah!" I shouted, laughing.
"Awesome," Brett laughed. "So what's next?"
I looked around and decided on something that I had previously written off. I pointed at the gigantic tower that shot people up in the sky, then brought them back down. He nodded and then we were standing in line waiting to get on. Once it was our turn we hopped on the seats and pulled some sort of restraint over our shoulders. More and more people began to get on the thingy as well. The ride operator told us some basic stuff, but I was not paying attention. Adrenaline was pumping through my system. Suddenly, an automated voice began counting down from five. I was so excited I was shaking in my seat. Brett started laughing at me and then just like that we were shot straight up. As we reached the top, we came to a complete stop. The automated voice said something and then started counting down again. The voice reached zero and we plummeted to the ground below us, but then were shot back up immediately and then brought back down. Brett and I were laughing so hard tears were freely flowing from our eyes.
Over the course of two hours, Brett and I rode every single ride in the park, riding some twice. The heat began to affect us, however, and we felt exhausted from the day's activities. So, we decided to get some food before leaving the park. While Brett was getting us food, I told him I needed to use the bathroom. He pointed over to a small building and said he'd meet me at a table in the shade.
Entering the bathrooms, I noticed there were two guys already inside. They turned and glared at me when I walked in. I walked in a stall and locked the door. I've never really understood the things in the wall where you stand to pee out in the open. I just don't get it. So, anyways, I finished my business, then walked to the sink and washed my hands. The two guys were still inside and they were still glaring at me. Just as I finished drying my hands, open of the guys grabbed me and threw me against the wall.
"Hey there, you little slum boy." the guy said. "What are you even doing in this park?"
I got smart and soon realized I should've thought before I spoke. "I don't believe that concerns you." Honestly, I didn't think what I said was so smart, but apparently the guy pinning against the wall did.
"Oh, so you're a smart little fucker aren't you? Well, what do we do about that around here, James?"
The other guy said, "We usually kick smart kids' asses."
Suddenly, I was struggling to catch my breath. The guy who was pinning me had launched his knee into my gut. The other boy began to kick me. Just when I thought I was dead, I saw Brett run into the bathroom and shove both of the guys off of me. As the two attackers began to stand, Brett reached into one of his pockets and retrieved a small remote. He pushed a red button, then placed the remote back into his pocket. One of the boys charged at Brett, but he moved out of the way and began to attack him with moves that I have only seen in the movies. Almost as soon as the other boy was about to charge, Niles and four heavily suited men with large guns came running into the bathroom shouting. Brett helped me stand up and we exited the bathroom.
People were running around everywhere. There were several men that looked exactly the same as the guys in the bathroom running towards us. Two helicopters were circling over the park.
"Mr. Malcolm," one of the suited men said. "We need you and your friend to come with us right now."
Brett and I were dragged along the outer rim of the park where a military helicopter was landed. The man instructed us to get in the chopper and that we'd be airlifted home. As we were taking off, I saw police cars by the numbers flocking to the park. Brett gave me a sorrowful look, but I just ignored it and continued staring down at the ground below us.
Only minutes after we took off from the amusement park, the chopper landed somewhere that I've never actually seen before. Brett and I were then brought into a car that looked exactly like the one Niles drives him in.
"I know who you are, Brett." I suddenly blurted out once we were inside the car.
"You do?" Brett asked sheepishly.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" I demanded.
"Because I didn't want you to like me just because of that." Brett said. "I'm sorry, Tanner, but I was just waiting for the right time to tell you. I was going to eventually, but I just had to make sure that you weren't the type of person who likes the superficial things."
"Um, hello!? Look at me, Brett! Do I look like I even have anything fancy or even nice? Look at these clothes! And you saw my house! How could you even assume that!?"
"I realized you weren't that type of person right after I dropped you off the first night we met. After that, I was just extremely nervous to tell you. I didn't want to scare you off because...um...well, because..."
"Because what? Spit it out!" I loudly said.
"Because I like you!" Brett said, then quickly hid his head in shame.
I shook my head. "You what?" I don't think I heard Brett right, but if I did then I think he just said he likes me.
"I like you, Tanner. I'm gay!"
"B-but you're the President's son?"
"That doesn't mean I'm straight, you know?"
"But why do you like me? Like me out of all the gorgeous, rich people out there who can give you everything you want?"
"Just because you don't have a lot of money or nice clothes doesn't mean you aren't attractive in any other way. My God, Tanner, you're so cute, especially when you warm up and have a good time. Your social status doesn't matter to me." Brett explained. "What I care about is you, not what you have or don't have."
"Wow, I never thought you'd be saying that stuff to me. I mean, I was cautious about you, but after you dropped me off that first night I just had this feeling of safety around you, even if you are the most recognizable person in this country."
Brett giggled. "Well, maybe not the most recognizable."
"So..."
"Are you gay?" Brett asked.
"What?"
"Are you gay?" he repeated.
"Oh, yeah, I'm gay." I stated easily.
"Do you want to, I don't know, maybe become official boyfriends?"
The hopeful look on Brett's face was enough to make me want to say yes, but there're things I want to think about first. If he and I become boyfriends, I'm pretty sure I'll have to meet his parents. That's not something I could even consider doing because I don't even have nice enough clothes to get into the White House. And if we do become official, then what would happen to him? I mean, I don't even think he's out to his parents. What if someone saw us together and released the news to the entire country? Our lives, or at least Brett's, would be ruined. I don't care what happens to me because I couldn't get any more invisible.
"I want to think things over first, okay? I do like you Brett, a lot in fact, but just give me a little bit of time." I said to him.
"All right," Brett smiled. "You can take as long as you want to."
"Thanks," I said with my own smile. Brett scooted closer to me so that our arms were rubbing right against one another's.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and hope you have an awesome New Year! Chapter four is soon to come so keep your eyes open! As always, feel free to join my Yahoo! group by clicking: Shades of Wisteria.
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