Note: I have made a minor, but critical update to part 5. In the original version, I included a date that set the story 10 years in the future. As I began part 6, I decided the make the dating of the story indistinct.
Disclaimer:
This story is fiction about teenage boys do what teenage boys find enjoyable, including boy on boy sex (eventually!) Read at your own peril. None of the characters in this story are based on anyone in real life. Any resemblance to someone real is purely coincidental. All rights of the story are reserved to the author.
In case you're wondering, this story begins on a slow burn and will increase in intensity, so please be patient. There will be those passionate events that we call come to Nifty for, but this story is about a first relationship and will follow that path. If you're wanting a story that more slam, bam, thank you ... sir, then you'll probably want to look elsewhere. :)
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Enjoy...
Comic Books Part 6 by Mike Anderson
Revised ending to Part 5:
The monument maker was located at the edge of town, another 10 minute ride on the four-wheeler. Surrounding the building were several grave markers of different hues and sizes. Bart scanned them until he found Mikey's. Pulling Tanner lightly by the hand, they went over to it.
Michael Derrick "Mikey" Allen Born: October 8, xxxx (15 years ago) Died March 3, xxxx.
Tanner's eyes stopped dead on the date of death -- MARCH 3 of this year! It couldn't be ... But the state swim meet ... it's in the capital ... He started to feel light-headed ... images flashed in his mind ... he heard a BANG ... the world began to spin .... white powder filled the car ... and then there was a THUD ... Tanner had only one thought as darkness closed in and he slipped down into its depths:, "I killed Mikey!"
And now ....
Tanner had the surreal experience of feeling like he was underwater without being wet. There was a sense of pain you couldn't feel. He was struggling to surface, but all was dark and eerie. Sounds and images echoed in his mind: the sound of screeching tires, a shower of white powder... He felt like he was spinning end over end and didn't know which was up, or even if there was an up.
At first, Tanner strained to wake out of this sea endless living nightmare. He could hear a voice calling to him, but it was like it was at the end of a long, hollow tunnel. His body started to tingle. His head felt incredibly heavy, he couldn't think clearly. He couldn't remember who or where he was. His mind was engaged at full throttle, but his consciousness was still in park.
Then the voice became a little more distinct ... a familiar voice that was a glow of hope in the shadowy murk of Tanner's existence. He yearned towards that voice .... But then images swirled around him again ... the inside of a sedan ... a lightening bolt in a circle .... White powder ... a boy's face on the windshield...
No ... he couldn't go to the voice ... the voice must hate him ... he will lose that voice in his life forever ... Tanner stopped struggling and gave into the gloom. He began to shrink in on himself ... his body was ceasing to exist. He couldn't feel his hands or feet and the numbness was traveling to his core ... to his heart and mind. Soon even that essential part of him would be stilled.
An eternity passed in an instant ... the spinning began to slow .. the thickness more enveloping ... the murkiness grew restfully turbulent ... soon the end would come.
... And then ...
... a spark ...
... a warmth in his right hand.
The warmth spread up his arm and overtook the numbness ... The voice returned, even more insistent. The warmth spread to his back and encircled him ... The voice called out again, quieter than before yet echoing loudly through his soul.
Tanner began to struggle out of the morose again. He clawed his way back to the light. That voice could not be denied, even if it would be last time he heard it.
The spinning returned, but that was a good thing. Movement is life, and life is good. The surface was so close ... and with a final stretch, he broke through. The world and light had come back ....
As Tanner opened his eyes, a white ceiling greeted him, along with a man standing over him in dark blue medical scrubs. Tanner's eyes suddenly burned for a moment as a bright light was shone in each, one at a time. He felt constrained, and then realized someone was lying in the bed with him snuggled up against him. He knew who it was, and that thought made him feel faint again.
"Well back, Mr. Brennan. You gave us a little scare." It was the man in the medical scrubs .. an doctor ... he must be in the hospital. "You've been unconscious for a little over an hour." He directed his words to the other person in the bed with Tanner. "Mr. Allen, I think I need to ask you to get up now so I can examine my patient."
Tanner felt more than saw Bart withdraw from the bed. With Bart's departure, it was like a part of him had disappeared. Yet it was also good. Once Bart discovered what he had done, he'd never speak to him again; he'd never want to see him again. Tanner found himself rolling over onto his side and taking on a fetal position.
"Mr. Brennan, I am Dr. Pitik. May I call you Tanner? You fainted out at the cemetery. Mr. Allen here called 911 and the EMTs brought you here to the ER. You were unconscious and started to go into shock. Your core temperature started to drop. When Mr. Allen heard me say that, he immediately climbed in the bed to share his body heat with you. It's more a survival technique than one employed in an ER, but it did that trick."
Tanner nodded affirmatively without saying a word, still turned away from the doctor and Bart. At Dr. Pitik's request, though, he sat up and faced the medic. He avoided looking at Bart, he was too ashamed. After the usual prods and pokes, Dr. Pitik announced that Tanner appeared to be no worse for the wear, but wanted him to stay overnight for observation. He also ordered a cat scan, just to be on the safe side.
Tanner's grandmother was in the room, but left with the doctor so they could talk out in the hall. That left just Tanner and Bart ... and an awkward silence, something that had never happened before.
Bart sat in the chair next to the bed, he seemed hesitant. He looked at Tanner with a confused look on his face. Bart was trying to think of how to ask what he wanted to ask. Something had set Tanner off, and he was worried it might happen again.
Finally, he decided to just soldier through. They'd never been coy around one another and he didn't want to start now. "What happened Tanner?" Bart was immediately sorry he asked, for with that question, Tanner squeezed his eyes closed and tears started to stream down his cheeks.
Tanner, for his part, felt his chest start to tighten. He knew he had to tell Bart, but he also knew he'd lose his friend forever....
Tanner sighed, he needed to get this over with. "Mikey was struck by a car ... a dark blue Ford Taurus, wasn't he?"
Bart was thunderstruck, "How could you know?" he eventually managed.
Tanner looked Bart right in the eyes. His voice became dead, just like he felt. "It's my fault, Bart ... it's all my fault ... I'm the reason your brother is dead. I killed Mikey!" With that, Tanner laid down again and rolled onto his side away from Bart. He didn't want to see the look of horror and hate that he was sure would be there.
Bart heard the words Tanner said, but they made no sense. The images from that awful day came back to him in an instant. His brother on a gurney with blood all over his face. A man and a women visible through the car windshield of the dark blue vehicle, not moving, with white residue on their faces and white bags covering their laps.
"Tanner, it wasn't you ... I saw the couple in the car ... I won't ever forget that moment. They looked like they were dead as .... " Bart trailed off ... a couple dead ... Tanner living with his grandparents ... moving to a new city. "Holy shit ...." he muttered, "it was your parents."
Bart grabbed Tanner's hand and squeezed ... both his parents ... dead on the same day -- the same day -- the same moment -- as Mikey. Bart felt nothing but grief for Tanner. He'd never blamed the couple, they were as much victims of that tragic day as Mikey was. Without thinking, though, he found himself asking, "Why do you say it's your fault?"
Tanner didn't answer, couldn't answer at first. He pulled his hand away from Bart's and scrunched down more into a tighter fetal position. He started to tremble slightly. Bart did the only thing he could think of to comfort Tanner. He climbed back into the bed and hugged him tight. Tanner initial stiffened and tried to shake Bart off, but Bart wouldn't let go.
"Tanner, I know you don't want to, but you need to let it out. Let the darkness bleed from you. I will protect you, like you protected me. I'm not going anywhere. I don't know why you think it, but I know one thing is certain above all. You DID NOT kill Mikey." He could feel Tanner begin to sob. Bart held him and kept him safe.
Slowly, Tanner began to speak, "We were driving through the capital, heading to the new gaming center .... "
MARCH 3
Tanner was excited, he would get to spend the entire day immersed in fun. The new gaming center had a cosmic bowling alley, three level laser tag arena, a rope course featuring a three story zip line and bungee jump, wall rocking climbing and of course more video games than any other place he knew. They even had several next gen VR games that would be rad to try out.
He looked out the window and saw the dome of the capital approaching. He loved the architecture style of old government buildings. You just didn't see anything so majestic anymore. Most of the other buildings were simply tall rectangles of glass and steel.
Without realizing it, Tanner began to hum a tune he'd often heard his dad play in his office. It was an old Irish folk song that Tanner couldn't remember the words, but which he loved the rhythm and sound of. Unconsciously he began to tap out the beat on the door armrest. He'd mentally hummed the song three time through, when suddenly there was a click and a small panel opened in the side of the armrest. It reminded him of the small ashtray built into the doors of his grandpa's old Buick. The weird thing was this car was far too new to have something like that.
He propped open the little door, cleverly designed to be unnoticeable when closed, and the sunlight streaming through the rear window glinted off something silver. Tanner dug in the opening with his fingers and pulled out a silver necklace. His parents were deep in conversation about plans for the upcoming Easter family dinner and didn't notice what he was doing.
The necklace was finely made and sported a pendant. Tanner grinned when he examined it; it was a gold lightning bolt surrounded by a silver circle -- The Flash's icon. Tanner decided to try it on. After he snapped the latch, he tucked the necklace under his shirt and closed the little compartment.
For a moment, he thought of keeping his little discovery to himself ... but then his conscience reminded him that it might be his dad's. Besides, Dad liked nifty little contraptions, he'd appreciate the secret compartment in the door.
"Hey Dad ... I gotta show you something ..."
George Brennan, hearing his son's call, turned his head slightly while trying to keep an eye on the road. An intersection was approaching, but traffic was light. Tanner saw his father's head movement and opened his mouth to regale his saga of the mysterious secret compartment, when a loud BANG--BANG echoed in the car and both front airbags deployed impacting into George and Lisa Brennan. A split second later, the car momentarily accelerate slightly. A white powder filled the car, remnants of the airbag activation.
Tanner's mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. A new noise shook the car, a loud THUMP against the front windshield. The overload of sensory input caused his brain to shut down, but not before his eyes registered a young face smacking quickly into the windshield and then sliding off slowly....
The next thing Tanner recalled, he was being pulled from the car by a tall man, also with blonde hair. The man leaned over him and began to check his head. Tanner had the impression he was getting ready for a more thorough inspection, when the man was pushed out of the way by an EMT barking orders to get back.
PRESENT DAY -- SEPTEMBER 5
Tanner had never really let himself relive that day. Now, he blandly gave the details to Bart, like a man make his final confession before his execution.
As the last memory surfaced, the one of him being pulled out of the car, Tanner had the weirdest revelation possible. That man ... the one who had helped him out of the car ... he'd seen him before. No, that wasn't right. He'd never seen the man before the accident. But he had met him once after, when he came up to the beach to have lunch with his son ... with Bart.
But how could that be? The blond hair, the lanky frame ... Tanner was sure it was him, that they were the same man. Yet that made no sense ... what was the probability that Bart's dad had been the first person to the scene? And wouldn't he have gone to help his son? He had to have been wrong. Tanner decided his mind was just playing tricks on him, that it had conflated that mysterious helper with the memory of meeting Bart's dad for lunch way back in June.
Tanner had trailed off while he contemplated the identity of the mysterious stranger. The room was deathly quiet. The whole time he had been recalling that horrid day, Bart hadn't said a word. He had been so engrossed with Tanner's words, in fact, he hadn't noticed the two people who had slipped into the room. The first, who had shown back up moments after Bart had climbed into bed with Tanner was Tanner's grandmother, Laura. She had quietly sat down, not wanting to intrude on two boys, especially once Tanner starting recounting that awful day.
Tears dampened her eyes. How could she have missed the signs of Tanner's guilt? She knew he'd been hurting, how could he not? But all this self-recrimination. How could she have let him carry this pain all summer? She knew, of course. She'd let herself think that Tanner was coping well. He sure had given all appearances to that account.
Well and he had coped, hadn't he? Thanks to Bart Allen. Her gaze shifted to Bart and she let a sad smile touch her face. My how she had been suspicious of that boy at first, especially being from that family. But she had no doubts now.
Laura's gaze further shifted to the other person who had just arrived. Thankfully he hadn't heard that part about the necklace. She'd have to talk to Tanner about that later and make sure he understood its importance. Aside from the assurances from Dr. Pitik that Tanner was just fine, knowing that the necklace was not lost or stolen was the best news she'd heard since her son and daughter in law had been killed.
Nicholas Allen stood in the doorway watching the two boys. That man always set her on a slow burn. Laura was just about to stand and walk him out, despite the fact his son was in the room, when he did her the favor and turned about, walking away on his own. His arrival and departure had been so quiet, neither boy had noticed.
Bart still remained quiet. Laura held her breath wondering what he would do. Would he leave? Would he blame Tanner? But then she exhausted in relief as Bart hugged Tanner tightly. He whispered something softly to Tanner, who looked like he wanted to pull away, clinging to the false narrative that he was responsible for Mikey's death. Bart, thankfully, clearly did not agree.
She decided it would be OK to speak ... and hopefully she could help. "Tanner..." she called softly.
Both boys visibly jumped and Bart sat up, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Laura walked over and smiled, though it was a smile tinged with melancholy. "Boys, it's just me.... It's not like it's the first time I've seen in a bed together." Laura suppressed a small laugh as she saw Bart's face flame up in embarrassment.
She leaned over and cupped Tanner's face, turning it towards her. Wearily he sat up. He clutched his arms to his chest, but Bart didn't hesitate to draw him in with a shoulder hug. Again Tanner resisted, but Bart wouldn't let go and Laura could see Tanner's resistance fade. He relaxed against Bart and his rocking slowed.
"Tanner, I am so sorry. I had no idea you blamed yourself for all this. You never wanted to talk about your parent's accident and if I even came close to bringing it up, you changed the conversation or left the room."She paused for a moment and lifted his face up a little more so he was looking her in the eyes. "Listen to me ... You DID NOT cause the accident," she dragged the last sentence out slowly to ensure it sunk in.
"The final police report came out shortly before you came out to our summer cabin. There was a glitch in the car's programming. As your father approached the intersection, the glitch caused the front airbags to deploy without reason and ..." Laura sighed as she recalled the details and imagined them all too vividly in her mind, "without other safety measures kicking in, such as the seat belts. They didn't lock up like they were supposed to when the airbags deployed.
"The long and short of it was, that when the airbags deployed, the impact and the whiplash snapped your mom's and dad's necks." Laura recalled the cold, official description laid out in black and white in the report. She realized her toned echoed that rendition. Her voice softened and she took Tanner's left hand, the one opposite of Bart. "As he died, your father must have spasmed and hit the gas pedal, causing the car to run into Mikey as he crossed the street." She squeezed his hand and gave him an encouraging smile. Through her damp eyes. Bart also hugged Tanner tighter, but whether that was for Tanner's need or his, she wasn't sure.
Bart turned towards Tanner the words that came out shocked Laura for their brutal honesty. "Tanner, your parents are dead. They're not coming back." Like a spark touching gasoline, Tanner's inner grief exploded out of him and he began to sob uncontrollable. Bart recognized what he was going through, having been in his shoes only hours before. Bart repeated his words, not harshly, but not softly either. "They're gone Tanner." Laura understood what he was doing. Even though it tore her heart, this was what Tanner needed more than anything -- to confront the darkness and travel through it. With Bart by his side, she had no doubt he would come through the stronger for it.
With one final hand squeeze, Laura elected to let the two boys be alone. Before this summer she would have NEVER left her grandson alone with an Allen .. well Mollie and John were OK, but then they weren't Allens, were they? Somehow, Bart was different from the rest of his family. She prayed he was different enough. With that, she walked out of the room.
Just as it had been with Bart, Tanner's sobbing finally receded. The boys were content to sit there taking strength from each other. Eventually Tanner quipped with a short, not quite mirthless, laugh, "I think we both lost our man card today." he sat up and moved a small bit apart from Bart.
"Dude, you don't lose your man card for crying, only if you in cry in front of a girl," Bart contemporized, slugging Tanner in the arm as he said it.
"What about for fainting?"
"Actually, when you faint so thoroughly that you need a cat scan, your man card is upgraded to gold status." Tanner grinned at that, which led Bart to lower the hammer, "I am just afraid, though, they're going to find out what I already know."
Tanner looked at Bart quizzically, "Yeah, what's that?"
Bart rapped Tanner on the head several times and replied, "That none of the lights are on up here, duh!"
And just like that, both boys shrugged off the events of day. All Tanner's fears of losing Bart evaporated like morning fog under the noon sun. They were right back where they had been.
No, Tanner realized .. it wasn't the same .. they were in fact closer. Today a hurricane had swirled down into their lives. They'd take some punches. They'd, been knocked down ... but they had also come out the other side stronger in their bond and trust of one another.
A knock on the room door drew the attention of the two young men. A fresh-faced nurse in purple scrubs walked in pushing a wheelchair. In the chair was a light blue hospital gown.
"Good to see you up," I'm Amy, I'll be your nurse for the night. It's time to take a little trip and get that CT scan done. I need to take you in the wheelchair and you need to change into this hospital gown. Everything comes off, including underwear and socks. Make sure you also remove all jewelry and metal piercings. Do you need help getting out of bed or changing, I can get one of the male nurses, if you want?" Tanner winced at the mention of piercings ... he could never understand why any sane person would do that.
"No, he can manage. I'll help him if he needs it," Bart answered for Tanner. Bart suddenly felt a bit of a thrill course through him at the prospect of seeing Tanner naked. Once such thoughts would have unnerved him ... but what the hell, was Bart's attitude now -- at least where Tanner was concerned.
Nurse Amy left and Tanner pulled off his shirt. He had long ago overcome any shyness being naked around Bart. ... Except ... now Bart was just standing there, staring at him.
"What?" Tanner asked in exasperation.
Bart smiled wickedly. "I'm just waiting to see the burning bush, Moses." Tanner felt himself flush vividly in his face and chest. Bart started laughing. "Guess the fire's hot tonight!" he taunted. Bart had started calling Tanner "Moses" when ever he had to get naked. He was always enamored by Tanner's bright red bush around his jock. He called it the "burning bush" and thus the moniker, "Moses".
Tanner started to lower his pants, but then had to quickly sit back down, his shorts straddling his hips. Bart's mirth vanished in an instant and he was by Tanner's side. "What's wrong? Should I call the nurse?"
"No, I'm fine..." Tanner insisted. "I just got a little light-headed when I started to bend over." He took a breath, "I think you'll have to pull off my shorts, socks and underwear."
"No problem." Bart moved in front of Tanner and grabbed the band of his underwear. As his fingers touched Tanner's bare hips, Tanner gave an involuntary shudder. He also felt his blood drain from his face, but this time not because he felt light-headed. He could feel his cock begin to respond. **No, please, not that! ** Tanner fiercely thought.
Bart had whisked the shorts and boxers off. He knelt down to pull off Tanner's sock (probably should have done those first, he thought). A movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to look up and he found himself staring right at the piss slit of Tanner's manhood. The movement he'd seen had been the boy's cock inflate. Bart stopped, transfixed. A strong almost sour aroma oozed from Tanner's groin to Bart's nostrils and then to Bart's groin. He found himself inhaling deeply, cherishing the unexpected and strangely enticing smell. A clear drop formed at the tip. To Bart it looked like the nectar of life. He wanted to taste it ... He moved in a fraction of the distance ...
"Shit, Bart ... I'm sorry. It's been a couple of days ...." Tanner glanced down at the wood he had sprung and found himself babbling a little. Did he really just allude to his jacking habit?
To Bart, the sudden sound of Tanner speaking shattered the spell that Tanner's meat had cast over him. "It's not like it's the first time I've seen you hard, Moses." Bart grinned as he stood up and held out the hospital gown for Tanner to walk into. Tanner moved forward so Bart could tie up the back. He pushed the call button and Nurse Amy appeared. Bart guided Tanner to the wheelchair, only his hand was slightly lower than it should have been; Bart had his hand firmly placed on Tanner's ass. Right before he removed his hand so that he could gently guide Tanner down into the wheelchair, ... Bart gave a squeeze.
Suddenly Tanner's mind drifted back to the first time thing had gotten a little interesting between him and Bart ...
More to come....
If you have comments or would like me to let you know when I submit a new chapter e-mail me at michcherry94@gmail.com