Boyslife

Well, here it is, the long awaited Episode Six of BoysLife... Thanks to all who have read the first 5 and given me such great feedback about the series. I have started college and believe it or not, I had written this episode, saved it on a disk, and then lost the disk. So I had to start over. But I like what I came up with. I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of this one. I Promise that Episode Seven will not be such a long wait! Enjoy!!! -James

Now I'm taking one more stand I'll probably fall down once again But I won't let these petty dilusions Scar my soul and bring confusion (Lyrics from the song "What Can I Do?" by James Harrison)

BoysLife - Episode Six

Perry Adamson could not sleep. The scene of Wade hitting him kept flashing through his mind. His whole evening had turned into a nightmare. He had decided to break up with his boyfriend Wade Zimmerman, and in anger, Wade had punched Perry.

Perry was thankful for his roommate, Jason Harmon. Jason had noticed something was wrong as soon as Perry walked in the door, and Perry could not turn Jason away. Jason held him for the longest time as Perry just cried, thankful that he had been strong enough to break up with Wade, and fearful of what Wade might do to him. Jason had insisted on calling the police, but Perry had begged him not to. He was afraid of what Wade might do to him if the police got involved. He would have never thought Wade would have turned out to be an abusive person, but it was clear to him now that Wade was never the person he thought he was.

Perry tossed and turned in his bed, glancing at the door every now and then, half expecting Wade to burst through. He kept telling himself he was being silly, but the thoughts and questions kept racing through his mind. He thought he knew Wade. He was obviously wrong, and now he did not know what to expect. He didn't want to feel insecure in his own home, but he couldn't help it.

And Perry had someone else on his mind. He slept in the room right next to Perry's. His name was Josh Maxwell. Josh truly cared about Perry, and Perry knew it. But Perry had brushed Josh off when they had talked about a relationship deeper than friendship. He almost did not know what to do about Josh anymore. It was evident that Josh still had feelings for Perry, even through all the things Perry had to deal with. Jason had assured Perry that he needed to move on. Josh was starting to become interested in another guy, Perry was sure of it. Jason never came right out and said it, but Perry knew that's what it was.

Just as Perry's eyes became heavy, and he felt himself starting to rest, he heard footsteps in the hallway, causing him to gasp and sit bolt upright in his bed. The footsteps came to his door, and then there was a soft knock. Perry almost cried out in fear.

Then the door opened, and Perry's eyes were glued to it. Jason poked his head through, causing Perry to sigh a big sigh of relief.

"Jason you scared me!" Perry said.

"I'm sorry," Jason said softly. "I woke up and realized my bedroom is too lonely." He paused. "Perry this is going to sound corny, but can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Sure," Perry said. "I'd be glad to have someone else in here with me. Although I doubt I can fall asleep."

Jason came into the room, and sat next to Perry on the bed. "Thinking about Wade?"

Perry nodded.

"I know it must be hard," Jason said.

"I never thought it would come to this," Perry said. "I can't believe I was so wrong about him."

"You had no idea he was like that," Jason said. "He seemed like a cool guy at first."

"At first, yeah," Perry agreed. "But then my prince charming lost his charm."

Jason smiled. "Perry I am proud that you recognized that he was treating you wrongly. Some people in situations like yours just stay with these jerks because they believe they're in love."

"I knew he didn't love me," Perry said. He shook his head. "But that's over with now. I want to try not thinking about it."

"Good idea," Jason said, pulling aside the covers and getting into the bed. "Thanks for letting me sleep over. I didn't want you being alone, and me being alone wasn't any better."

Perry smiled. "Thanks Jay. It's good to have friends that care."

"You're welcome," Jason said, laying down on one of Perry's pillows. "I do need to try and get some sleep though, I have to work tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too," Perry said. "I'm going to be real prepared for this now."

"You'll do fine," Jason said.

"We'll see," Perry said, laying down. "Well, good night Jay."

"Good night," Jason said.

The next morning, Jason helped Perry get ready for his first day at work. Perry seemed reluctant to go.

"What if Wade shows up?" Perry asked Jason. "He knew I was starting today..."

"You'll be with a bunch of other people," Jason said, cutting him off. "Besides, you'll most likely be training today and they'll probably have you with a trainer all day."

"Yeah, I guess," Perry said with a nod. "I just can't help thinking what he might try and do to me."

"He had better not try to do anything to you," Jason said. "Or he's going to find himself in a lot of trouble."

"Do I look all right?" Perry asked, turning to look at himself in the mirror. Jason had picked out his outfit for the day, and even let Perry borrow a shirt of his.

"I think you look really cute," Jason said. "I really like that shirt on you."

"You're a mess," Perry said. "But I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Do you want me to drive you to work today?" Jason asked. "I'm sure we could find a way home for you."

"No," Perry said, shaking his head. "I think I'll be fine driving on my own." The two of them went downstairs, and Jason gave Perry a hug.

"Just try and not think about Wade today," Jason said as he held Perry. "Focus on doing your best at a new job."

"I'll try," Perry said. He let go of Jason. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Jason said, watching Perry walk to his truck, and then shutting the door.

"You two looked awfully sweet this morning," Josh said, coming down the stairs, and startling Jason.

"Josh, you shouldn't have been spying on me!" Jason said. "I can be just as sweet with you." He went over and gave his cousin a warm embrace.

"Now that's nice," Josh said.

"Yeah yeah," Jason said, grinning. "So what's up with you, all perky this morning?"

"I'm meeting with Mark today," Josh said.

"So you guys decided to meet?" Jason asked, following his cousin into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Josh said. "We could never get ahold of each other on the phone, so we just decided to go ahead with it and meet."

"Well that's cool," Jason said.

"I'm meeting him over at the diner," Josh said.

"The one up by the mall?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, that one," Josh said.

"Sounds nice," Jason said.

"Well, now that I've shared all my personal life," Josh said. "Why don't you tell me what's up with you and Perry?"

Jason stared at Josh for a moment before answering. "Josh, Perry broke up with Wade last night."

"Well, good for him," Josh said. "It's good to hear that."

Jason nodded. "And Perry needs a lot of support through this. I'm just trying to be a good friend."

"I understand," Josh said. He looked at his watch. "Well, I am going to get in the shower and then head on out to meet Mark."

"Oh boy!" Jason said with a smile. "Have fun!"

"Don't worry," Josh said. "I will."

Mark Alexander looked around the room, trying to see if he could spot the person he was waiting for. He wasn't usually one to set up these mysterious meetings with a person he barely knew. But something about this guy intrigued him more than any other person had done before. There's no harm meeting with him, he kept telling himself.

He glanced up at the door, as someone came in. It was Him. Mark knew it was the guy he was supposed to meet, without even having to look at the clothes. But sure enough, it was a blue and red Hawaiian shirt, and the guy recognized Mark and his white polo shirt and brown sweater vest. He started to walk towards the table where Mark sat.

Mark couldn't help but notice this guy's amazing looks. His black hair was short and spikey, with a small amount of blonde highlight streaked through. He was tall, well-built, and his skin was a golden bronze color. His eyes sparkled, a baby blue color, and he walked with a confidence that seemed to make everyone notice him.

"Hi," The guy said, coming up to the table. "You're the cool guy I am supposed to meet?"

Mark nodded, holding out his hand. "I'm Mark Alexander."

The guy shook it. "I'm Josh Maxwell."

"It's nice to meet you at last," Mark said as Josh sat down across from him.

"You too," Josh said. "I've really enjoyed our chats on the Internet."

"Yeah," Mark said with a nod. "I feel like I know you so well by now."

"It does seem that way," Josh said. He opened a menu. "Did you order yet?"

"Nah, I just got a Coke," Mark said. "I was waiting for you."

"You didn't have to do that," Josh said.

"No, I wanted to," Mark said. "I've been looking forward to this."

"So have I," Josh agreed. "It's nice to finally meet someone who isn't totally absorbed in the subject of sex."

"Who says I'm not?" Mark asked with a smile. "I just wait until later to bring that up."

Josh laughed. "I suppose that's all right." The waitress came and they both ordered their meals.

"So is everything all right with Perry?" Mark asked. "I know you were worried about him."

"He finally broke up with his boyfriend," Josh said. "I'm happy for that. But I have accepted the fact that there's nothing there between him and I. Certainly not like the spark I feel between you and me."

"Yeah I felt it too," Mark said. "It's not every day you meet someone who makes you feel like you've known them before."

"I am positive I've never known you before," Josh said. "But I wish I had."

Mark smiled. "Thanks."

"So how are you doing?" Josh asked. "How's your little brother?"

"He's fine," Mark said. "He's looking forward to starting school soon."

"High school was such a fun time for me," Josh said. "I learned a lot about myself."

"I don't really remember much about my years in high school," Mark said. "It all kind of runs together."

"I know how that feels," Josh said. The waitress came back to give him his drink. "It's kind of strange actually talking to you face to face, usually I'm typing what I want to say."

Mark smiled. "I'm really glad we met Josh. I hope we can become really good friends."

"I already consider you a close friend," Josh said. "And who knows, there might be something more there. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"We'll have to do that," Mark said, sipping his soda.

Sabrina Harmon heard the doorbell of her house ringing as she ran the vacuum cleaner through the den. She shut the machine off and ran to the door. She was surprised to see her brother standing there. "Jason!" She said, throwing her arms around him. "Come on in."

"I was hoping you'd be home," Jason said.

"Why didn't you just call first?" Sabrina asked, closing the door behind him.

"I wanted to surprise you," Jason said. "I was home alone and decided to stop by here before I headed off to work for the day."

"Well, I have off today, which means it's cleaning day," Sabrina said. She led her brother into her kitchen, where she poured them glasses of fruit punch and then they went out into her screened-in patio to sit. "I love this big old house," Sabrina said. "But cleaning it can be a real chore sometimes."

"Yeah, all these hard wood floors," Jason said.

"So what's up with you?" Sabrina asked. "How's things at the house?"

Jason told her the story of Perry breaking up with Wade the night before. "I was so proud of him Sabrina, but he seems to be so scared of Wade still, I don't understand it really."

"It's going to take some time for Perry obviously," Sabrina said. "Who knows what's really going through his head right now. It's hard when you make a big mistake like that to recover instantly."

"I know," Jason said. He laughed. "Well, last night we slept together..."

"What?!" Sabrina asked in shock, her mouth flying open.

"No, no! Not like that!" Jason said, blushing. "I couldn't sleep in my room all alone, I kept thinking about Perry alone in his room, and I was thinking about Trevor too much. So I went in and slept in Perry's bed with him last night."

"Oh," Sabrina said, sipping her punch. "I was a little worried there for a moment."

"No, I could never do anything like that to Trevor," Jason said. "I love him way too much."

"Well, I'm glad to hear about Perry," Sabrina said. "But speaking of Trevor, aren't you the least bit suspicious about the way he just up and left like that?"

Jason shrugged. "I guess his grandmother doesn't like me and Trevor did not want to go anyway, so he just kept me out of it."

"But is there anyone else he knows in Chicago?" Sabrina asked. "It does sound a little shaky to me Jay. I know how much you care about Trevor, but you have to keep the possibility open."

"I have," Jason said. "I don't want to think about it, but sure the chance is there that he lied to me and shipped himself out to Chicago for a week." He paused. "But I just can't believe that. I cannot think of anyone who lives there that he would know, and if he was simply meeting someone why go all the way out there. It just doesn't make any sense."

"That's for sure," Sabrina said with a sigh. "I guess you just have to trust him, and maybe you'll get more of the story when he comes home."

"I'm sure I will," Jason said. "I miss him terribly though. He said he might get to come home early, but I'm not sure when that is going to be. I hope it is soon."

Sabrina smiled at her brother. "You're too funny sometimes Jay."

"You wouldn't want me any other way," Jason said with a grin.

"That is true," Sabrina said.

"Have you talked to Mother lately?" Jason asked, changing the subject. He did not want to keep thinking about what Trevor was up to in Chicago. The more he thought about it, the more questioning he became.

Perry walked into the house, tired after his first day of work. Things had gone well, and he did not really think of Wade too much. Except for toward the end of his shift when someone came into through one of the lines he was bagging for who looked exactly like Wade from the side. Perry thought he was going to faint. But then the guy looked at him and he knew that it was not Wade.

As he was getting ready to go upstairs, Josh came out of the living room. "Perry!" He said.

Perry stopped on the first step and looked at Josh. "Yeah?"

"Come in here, I'd like you to meet someone," Josh said, smiling.

Perry sighed and followed Josh into the living room. Another guy sat on the sofa. His hair was short, which he wore combed to the front with the front flipped up. His hair was a dark brown color and the front flipped up part was dyed a bright blue. His eyes were also blue, and he wore khaki shorts, a white polo shirt and a sweater vest. Josh introduced him as Mark Alexander.

"It's nice to meet you Perry," Mark said, shaking Perry's hand.

"Thanks," Perry said. "Same to you."

"We were going to call out for dinner tonight someplace," Josh said. "Would you like to join us?"

"That would be nice," Perry said. "I'm going to go lie down for a little bit."

"All right," Josh said. Perry walked out of the room, and upstairs to his bedroom. He took off his shirt and pants, and laid down in his bed. He had rested for a few moments when the phone rang. Too tired to pick up the phone in his room, he let it ring, waiting for Josh to pick it up. The phone stopped ringing and then a moment later, Josh was coming up the stairs.

"Perry, Jason's on the phone for you," Josh said, standing in the doorway, where Perry's door was halfway open.

"All right," Perry said, getting up from his bed and walking over to Josh who had the portable phone. "Thanks Josh."

Josh smiled at him and then went back downstairs.

"Hello?" Perry said into the phone, laying back down on his bed.

"Hey there," Jason said. "How did it go today?"

"It was all right," Perry said. "It was a long day, but I made it through okay."

"That's great," Jason said. "I'm glad to hear that."

"There was this guy who came in that looked exactly like Wade," Perry said. "I thought I was going to pass out."

"But it wasn't him?" Jason asked.

"No, just some guy," Perry said. "But it was enough to get my heart beating like crazy."

"I can imagine," Jason said. "I just wanted to call and check in on you. I've been thinking about you all day."

"That's very thoughtful of you Jay," Perry said. "I don't think I'd be able to go through this without you."

"Yeah, well you keep on going strong," Jason said. "Wade was just a bad mistake. You'll find someone to truly love you someday."

"I know," Perry said.

"Well, listen," Jason said. "I need to get back to work. Josh is there, so if you need anything, talk to him okay?"

"Okay," Perry said. "He has some guy Mark here too."

"Mark's over there?" Jason asked. "Wow, that's cool."

"You know him?" Perry asked.

"No, I just knew that Josh was going to meet him today," Jason said. "I really need to go now Perry, I'll see you when I get home okay?"

"All right," Perry said. "Bye Jay."

"'Bye" Jason said, then there was a click as he hung up the phone.

It was late that evening when Josh and Mark finally decided to order food from a little Mexican place near the guys development. They left Perry alone in the house for the short time they went to pick up the food. At first he tried watching TV, but every car he heard going past the house he was up looking out the window trying to see if it was Wade's car. He decided to go in and set the dining room table after that, so that when Josh and Mark came back with the food that they would have someplace to eat. Then he went upstairs and tried surfing the Internet, but then he kept hearing noises and went running downstairs, the portable phone in his hands, looking out the windows. Finally Josh and Mark pulled up in the driveway, nearly giving Perry a heart attack. He heard the car pull into the driveway, and he couldn't tell who's car it was. Then no one got out of the car for a while, and Perry started to panic. Finally though, he saw Josh getting out of the passenger side of the car and he breathed a sigh of relief. They had taken Mark's car, and that is why Perry had not recognized it. He knew he shouldn't be acting so paranoid, but he had no idea if Wade was simply going to leave him alone or try coming after him.

As Josh and Mark walked up the walk, Perry unlocked the door and opened it for them.

"Thanks Perry," Josh said, following Mark into the house.

"That smells good," Perry said, following them into the kitchen.

"It sure does," Mark agreed. "My mouth is watering now. I've had to smell this the whole way home!"

Perry laughed. "I set some plates and stuff in the dining room for us."

"Great," Josh said. "Let me grab us a bottle of soda out of the pantry." He went out of the room. Perry and Mark took the food into the dining room and sat down. Josh came in a moment, with glasses and a bottle of soda.

"Thanks for inviting me to eat with you guys," Perry said.

"You would have wound up eating alone," Josh said. "And I would feel awful if I let you do that."

"And I'm really enjoying getting to know you Perry," Mark said.

"Thanks," Perry said.

As they were finishing their meal, Jason came home. "I guess I missed the party," He said, coming into the dining room. He was introduced to Mark, and then Mark said he needed to be heading home.

"I had a really nice time today," Mark told Josh as the two of them stood out by Mark's car. "I would love to hang out again sometime soon."

"Yeah, me too," Josh said. "It was fun today."

Mark looked at Josh for a moment, and then timidly put his arms around Josh. Josh returned the embrace.

"I'll call you soon," Mark said.

"That sounds great," Josh said. Mark got in his car, and Josh returned back inside. Jason and Perry were in the kitchen.

"Mark seems really nice," Jason said.

"Yeah, he is," Josh agreed.

"I can't believe you two spent the whole day together," Jason said.

"He felt like an old friend to me," Josh said. He shrugged. "We didn't think anything of it."

"I think that's cool Josh," Perry said.

"Well, I've had a long day," Josh said. "I'm heading off to bed. Good night you guys." He turned and went out of the room.

"Well, I guess he's over me then," Perry said.

"Obviously," Jason agreed.

The next day, Saturday, Jason woke up later than usual. He had the day off and had no idea what he was going to do. When he went downstairs, the house was quiet, no one was home. There was a note from Josh on the table, with an added note from Perry scribbled onto the bottom of the paper. Jason got himself something to eat and then got into the shower.

After that, he decided to take a trip over to his parent's house. He had not been there since he moved out, and he would like to see his mother again.

When he got to the house, he saw both parent's cars out in the driveway. Which meant his father was home. Jason had not spoken to his father in quite a while.

He bravely walked up the walk and went inside the house he used to call home. It was strange coming to this house now that he had moved out and was on his own, in his own house.

"Mother!" He called out as he went into the house. He heard footsteps coming down the hall, and his father came out, almost crashing into Jason.

"Jason!" His father said, a look of surprise on his face.

"Hi Dad," Jason said. He never knew how to start conversation with his father.

"I was in the den, doing some work for the office..." His father started, but then stopped, almost as if he realized he was talking to his son, and he did not want to be speaking to him. "Uh, your mother is outside, painting the birdhouse out back."

"Thanks Dad," Jason said, walking past his father into the kitchen and out onto the back deck. There was his mother, old clothes on, standing on a step-stool, painting the wooden birdhouse that had been there for as long as Jason could remember.

"It looks nice," Jason called out, walking over to his mother.

"Jason!" She said, getting off her stool and coming to him. "It's good to see you." She laughed. "I'd hug you but I've got paint all over me!"

Jason laughed. "You're a mess mother." He paused. "I saw Dad inside."

"Did you now?" His mother asked.

"Yeah, he said like, half a sentence to me," Jason said.

"Your father has never been much of a talker," His mother said to him, getting back on her stool and resuming her painting. "But he is coming around Jason. You know he loves you."

"I know," Jason said. "But it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes."

"There!" His mother said proudly. "I think I am finished."

"This old thing hasn't been painted in years," Jason said.

"Yes, I know," His mother said sadly, coming back down off of the stool. "I thought it was time to give it some new life."

"That blue color is very nice," Jason said. "If I were a bird, I'd love to live in this little house."

His mother smiled. "It does look rather attractive, doesn't it?" She wrinkled her nose. "I think I had better go change these clothes and wash up a bit." She started walking back to the house. "Are you hungry, do you want me to fix you some lunch?"

"No, I'm fine Mother," Jason said, following her into the kitchen. "Where's Kevin?"

"He has a new best friend," His mother said, taking off her shoes and throwing them out onto the deck. "Some guy named Patrick. He and his family moved in that house down the street a little while ago."

"That sounds nice," Jason said.

"Your father doesn't think so," His mother said. "We've never met the guy, and Kevin's always going down to his house."

"Maybe he's just shy," Jason said. "I mean, I wouldn't bring Trevor here for the longest time because of Dad."

"I know," His mother said. "But I've answered the phone a few times, and I can't tell if this guy is a teenager or an older man."

"I don't think Kevin would be hanging out with an old man Mother," Jason said.

His mother sighed. "Well, it's Kevin's friend, and I cannot say who he can and cannot hang out with." She went out of the kitchen, and Jason followed her. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "I need to go change. Why don't you go in and talk to your father?"

"You know I don't..." Jason started.

"Jason," His mother said, looking at him with concern in her eye.

"All right," Jason said.

His mother gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you honey." Then she ran upstairs.

Jason went into the den where his father was sitting at his desk, looking over some paperwork. His father did not notice him come into the room, so Jason sat at the chair next to the desk, facing his father.

"Hello Jason," His father said, not looking up from his papers. "Did you find your mother?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "She's done with the birdhouse and she went upstairs to change and wash up."

"Oh," His father said. He looked up at Jason quickly and then fixed his eyes once again on his paperwork.

"So how was your vacation?" Jason asked after an awkward moment of silence.

"It was all right," His father said. "I saw you got moved out okay."

"Yes, we were fine," Jason said. "The new house is really nice."

"I'm sure it is," His father replied. Another moment of awkward silence.

"Did you guys move Kevin into my old bedroom?" Jason asked.

"No, we're using that as a guest room now," His father said.

"Well that's nice," Jason said. Just then the phone rang.

"Excuse me Jason," His father said, picking up the phone. Jason knew that was his cue to exit, and so he went out of the den, shutting the door behind him as he had done so many times before when his father had received a business call.

Jason went into the kitchen to wait for his mother. He poured himself a glass of iced tea and sat at the table. His mother came down shortly after that. "Did you talk to your father?" She asked.

Jason nodded. "Not for very long though, he got a call."

"Well, at least you made the effort," His mother said. "I appreciate it."

"I know you do," Jason said. He only wished that his father was not so cold to him. It made coming home very difficult.

Josh looked at his watch. He only had two more hours to work, and he would be glad to go home. It had been a rather busy Saturday crowd in the mall today, and he could use a nap. His co-worker, Amy Martin, came up to him at the counter.

"Finally, a moment of peace," She said with a smile. "Now you can tell me about this Mark guy!"

"You've been dying to get me to talk about him!" Josh said with a grin.

"Yes!" Amy said playfully. "I've been dying to know. So tell me!"

Josh told her briefly about his day spent with Mark, how comfortable they had felt together, how Jason and Perry had seemed to like him as well.

"So you think you're over Perry completely?" Amy asked.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever get over him completely," Josh said. "I mean, when you feel that strongly about someone it's not the type of feeling you can just switch off and throw away."

"I understand," Amy said. "I hope things with Mark work out for you then Josh. You're a really nice guy, you deserve someone to love you and be there for you."

"Thanks Amy," Josh said, noticing a few customers coming into the store. "Let me go see if these people need anything." He went up to the customers and asked them if they needed any help, and they told him they were just looking. He told them he would be at the desk if they needed him and then he returned to Amy.

"So how's Jason dealing with his man not being around?" Amy asked.

"Fine I guess," Josh said. "He hasn't really talked to me about it that much."

"I see," Amy said. "So when does Trevor come home?"

"I think Tuesday," Josh said. "But I could be wrong."

"I'm sure Jay will be happy about that," Amy said.

"Oh he'll be excited," Josh said. "No doubt about that."

Amy laughed.

Perry walked in the door from work that afternoon, and Jason came running up to him, "Perry, I'm so glad you're home!" He said.

Perry looked at his friend in confusion. "What's up with you Jay?"

"Sabrina called and asked me if I wanted to go to the city and go to a club with her," Jason said. "And I asked her if I could bring you along and she really wants you to come."

"Well, all right," Perry said. "I guess so."

"Great!" Jason said. "We have to leave in a little over an hour to meet Sabrina and a couple of her friends at her house."

"Wow!" Perry said. "I guess I should go upstairs and get changed."

"Yeah, that would be good," Jason said, following Perry up the stairs. "Did you want to take a look through my closet and see if you liked anything?"

"Sure!" Perry said, heading into Jason's bedroom. They went into Jason's huge walk-in closet and started going through his clothes to try and find Perry a club outfit. Finally they did find one, Perry tried the clothes on and he loved the way he looked.

"You're looking sexy!" Jason said, as he stood behind Perry looking into the mirror with him.

"Thanks Jay," Perry said. "It's your clothes that do the trick."

"Trevor always says I have an impressive wardrobe," Jason said with a smile.

"I think I will go hop in the shower now," Perry said, going out of the room.

Jason had already taken his shower, so he changed into his club outfit. He had decided on wearing his black shiny pants that looked like they had a plastic covering on the outside (and which Trevor also did not like very much) and a tight silver and electric blue spandex shirt. He looked in the mirror and smiled at himself. He was looking forward to this night out.

Josh had come home to an empty house, and decided to call Mark over to spend the evening with him. Mark got there, and the two of them fixed burgers for their dinner and then sat down together to watch a movie.

After the movie, Josh offered to show Mark his bedroom. Mark agreed, and so they went up into Josh's bedroom.

"This is a nice place," Mark said, sitting down on Josh's bed. "I wish I had a place of my own like this."

"Well, it's only you and your brother at your place," Josh said, sitting on the bed next to Mark, facing him.

"Yeah, but this house is a lot nicer than mine," Mark said. "It feels more comfortable, more warm and homey to me." He laughed nervously. "I guess without Mom and Dad around anymore things just aren't the same for me and my brother."

"Hey, don't say things like that," Josh said. "I think you're an awesome guy."

Mark smiled. "Thanks."

"I mean it," Josh said, looking Mark in the eye. "I keep thinking this is a dream and sometime I'm going to wake up and find out it's not real."

"I've had those thoughts before," Mark said. "I still can't believe how close I feel to you, and I only met you face to face yesterday."

"Yeah it's pretty awesome," Josh said.

They both kind of stared at each other for a moment. Josh couldn't take his eyes away from Mark's bright blue eyes. He felt his face getting hot as he realized Mark was staring back.

"Uh," Josh said, standing up quickly, tearing his eyes away from Mark's. "Do you want to surf the Net or something?" He started to walk past Mark, but Mark grabbed his arm, twisting him back, so that he fell into Mark and the two of them kind of fell back onto the bed, with Josh on top of Mark.

"I'm not interested in computers right now," Mark said softly, his face inches away from Josh's.

"You're not?" Josh asked softly, feeling himself being drawn in.

"No," Mark said, as their lips touched. Josh closed his eyes as Mark put his arms around Josh's neck and the two of them began kissing passionately.

"This is great!" Perry said loudly into Jason's ear as the music blared in the club. The two of them were having the time of their lives, dancing and hanging out with Sabrina and her friends and meeting new people.

"Yeah," Jason yelled back, moving his body to the music. He had already gotten three phone numbers from incredibly sexy looking guys. Rather than tell them he wasn't interested, that he already had a boyfriend, he took the numbers and planned to throw them away when he got home. He had also noticed that Perry had been approached a couple of times, which made him happy. Perry seemed more himself tonight that Jason had seen him in a long time.

Soon the song ended, and Jason grabbed Perry's arm and took him back to the table where Sabrina was sitting with Teresa and Lexy, two of her friends.

"This is pretty cool," James said to his sister. "I'm glad we did this."

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me!" Perry chimed in.

Sabrina smiled. "You guys are too much!"

Lexy stood up. "I'm going to the ladies room," She said.

"I'll come with you," Teresa said, standing.

Sabrina sighed and grabbed her purse as Lexy and Teresa started to walk off. "I guess I'd better go with them," She said, pushing out her chair and standing up.

Jason stole a glance at Perry. He was sitting in his chair, his eyes scanning the crowd, his head moving with the beat of the music. Jason had to admit that Perry looked pretty hot and he fit right in with the crowd. Perry looked over and caught Jason staring at him and smiled.

"Look at that guy over there," Perry said pointing timidly. Jason looked where Perry was pointing to a guy standing at the bar. He was tall, wore black velvet-type pants and a skin-tight white tank top shirt. He had a great body, very well-built. When he turned around, Jason noticed his face. He had bleached-blonde hair with dark roots just starting to show. His eyes looked pale green and he had sideburns grown to just under his ears.

"He looks nice," Jason said. "And he looks available. Why don't you go say hi?"

Perry shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

Jason stood. "Fine, then I will!" He said, walking past Perry and ignoring the look of complete shock on his face.

Jason walked right up to the bar, standing right next to the good-looking guy.

"Hi," The guy said, as the bartender came over to Jason.

"Uh, a Coke please," Jason said.

"Not a drinker?" The guy asked, turning to lean sideways on the bar, facing Jason.

"Not tonight," Jason said with a smile, accepting the drink and paying the bartender.

"I'm Ben," The guy said.

"I'm Jason," Jason said.

Ben smiled. "You here alone?"

"I'm with a few friends," Jason said. "One of them is right over there," He pointed to the table, where Perry was watching his every move. As he pointed, Perry quickly looked away.

"Oh, okay, I remember seeing you over there now," Ben said.

"Would you like to come sit with us?" Jason asked.

Ben shrugged. "Sure, that sounds great." He followed Jason to the table.

They got there just about the same time the girls returned from the bathroom. Introductions were made, and then Ben pulled up a chair and joined them.

"Do you all come here often?" Ben asked.

"I've been here a few times," Sabrina said. "It's the first time for the guys."

"I come here every so often to take a break and do something new, you know?" Ben said. He turned to Perry. "So what do you think so far?"

"It's great!" Perry said with a smile. "The music is great for dancing."

"I'd love to see what you've got on the dance floor then," Ben said.

Perry looked at Jason, who gave him a small nod. "Sure," Perry said, standing with Ben and following him out onto the dance floor.

"Boy am I happy to see that!" Jason said, a huge grin on his face.

Jason and Perry walked into the house at close to 4 AM. They had stayed at the club until 2 with Sabrina and the girls and then went with Ben to a local pub that he knew of, some little place underneath an Italian restaurant. It was open all night and quite enjoyable. Not too many people had been there, so the 3 guys had been free to talk. Since Jason had driven into the city he was able to bring himself and Perry home.

"I guess Mark stayed the night," Perry said as he followed Jason upstairs.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jason said. He stopped at Perry's bedroom door. "Are you going to be okay by yourself tonight?"

Perry nodded. "Yeah, right now I'm so tired that I think I'll just drop dead."

Jason laughed softly. "Well goodnight then." The two of them embraced and then Perry went into his bedroom and closed the door.

As Jason was walking past his cousin's bedroom, he noticed that the light was still on. He opened the door a crack to shut it off, and was startled by what he saw.

Josh and Mark were laying together on Josh's bed, their clothes thrown on the floor. Mark had his head on Josh's chest, and they were both sound asleep. Jason closed his eyes and shook his head. His cousin wasn't usually one to just have sex with someone. Jason wondered what had happened while he was out. He switched off the light and closed the door.

Then he went to his bedroom. The bedroom that he shared with Trevor. It shocked him that he hadn't thought of Trevor all night. At the club, he had felt free and comfortable. The thought that he had a boyfriend didn't really cross his mind. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out three slips of paper with names and phone numbers on them. Guys he had met at the club. He went over to the wastebasket to throw them away, but then something stopped him. He didn't have to have anything serious with any of these guys, but it was no harm in being friendly to them. He put the numbers into the drawer of his desk, and then went to sit on his bed.

His eyes fell on the photo of him and Trevor, taken a year ago at an amusement park. Trevor was holding Jason from behind, and they looked so happy. But Jason didn't feel happy at the moment when he thought of Trevor. Why had this sudden trip come up and why had Trevor told Jason so very little about it.

Jason wanted answers. He picked up the phone and punched in Trevor's cell phone number. He doubted that Trevor would have it turned on, and when he heard the voice mail, he knew he was right.

"Trevor, it's Jason," He said. "Call me as soon as you get this message. I'm tired of being in the dark. I want answers." He hung up the phone.

Suddenly he did not like being in the room alone anymore. He changed out of his clothes, putting on a pair of pajama pants. Then he crept quietly out of his room and down the hall to Perry's room.

As he opened the door, Jason saw Perry asleep in his bed, curled up like a little kitten. He looked so cute sleeping there. Jason moved quietly to the other side of the bed and crawled into it. As he did, Perry stirred, rolled around to face Jason and opened his eyes.

"Oh Jay," Perry said with a smile. "I was just thinking about you."

Jason smiled back, and brushed his hand against Perry's forehead, pushing away a lock of curly hair that had fell down. Perry rolled back over so that his back was to Jason, and to Jason's surprise, moved his body against Jason's chest, snuggling close. Jason put his arm around Perry and closed his eyes. The moment couldn't have felt more right to him. (7178)