Dare to Dream
By: TJ
If you are offended by male/male relationships and sexual relationships, or homoerotic situations and scenarios, then please leave, for your own benefit. If this conduct is illegal in your area, or if you are underage, you must leave. Otherwise, enjoy. This is copyrighted by me, so please don't copy or steal, ask and you'll be rewarded (maybe).
Chapter 4
Run-Ins
-----Brendan-----
Waking up to the sound of an alarm knowing that there's a long school day ahead of you is not fun, by any means. But waking up knowing you'll be meeting Darren is enough to want the day to never end. Such a dilemma isn't it? School and Darren, or freedom and no Darren? Hmm...I suppose I could sill find freedom with Darren, although that would take some time.
Begrudgingly, I got up and out of bed and made my way over the bathroom. Taking a quick shower, I exited grabbing some new clothes I had brought from my vacation along the way. Orange and brown, match well and moderately exuberant. Perfect.
Slipping downstairs and past my parents who were two busy bickering at each other to notice, I grabbed some OJ and some toast before dashing out the door. I wanted to get to school early in case I missed Darren. I didn't want the whole school to mob him all at once, at least with me there, I could fend them off, for a while, maybe. Anyway, driving down, I allowed my mind to wander as it reeled through some thoughts, most inconsequential. Rolling down the windows, I allowed it to wash through my hair. I can see the advantages of growing out your hair as it feels wonderful, but it was way too bothersome.
Pulling up into the parking lot of your relatively new school, I noticed Emma's car there. Already? I glanced at the clock and noticed it was only 7:30 A.M. Why would she be here so early? Darren said he would be walking. Curiously, I exited my car and made my way across to the building as fast as my two legs would carry me. If only I could catch her before she left from the office. Otherwise, it would be a nightmare to try and find her in the maze that they call school. That is, if she was here to see the principals. Although why, I couldn't understand. Maybe it was to talk about Darren. Time would tell.
As I pulled open the door, I yanked someone along with it. I heard a muffled hiss of pain before realizing that Darren was on top of me. Horrified, I got up before realizing that by doing that, I had literally sent him falling to the ground. He hissed again, and his half-naked image flashed through my eyes.
Long scars adorned his otherwise perfect body. His pecs and abs were rock-hard but they were discolored, as if someone had accidentally started to paint over an already finished masterpiece. The darker tan was evident, it looked like he had gotten into a fight or worse, been beaten. His shoulders were scraped with multiple cuts; the shoulder blades were raw with blood-red cuts, as if they were only beginning to heal. Who or what could have hurt this beautiful person so bad?
Snapping back to the present, I watched him in dismay. "Darren! I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" As I bent down to help him up, he brushed my hand off saying he was fine. "I'm so sorry Darren, I should have watched who was behind the door. I was being clumsy. It's just I was in a rush to catch Emma because I noticed her car outside. I had no idea you'd be here too." I got up along with him but he wouldn't meet my eyes. I was taken back a little but I shook it off, believing he was only temporarily annoyed with me. Key word, temporarily.
"It's really okay Brendan. Don't worry about it, I'm fine. After all, we all make mistakes. If you want to catch Emma, you should hurry. She's almost done talking with Mr. Richards." Without so much as a bye or a smile, he left. I was speechless for a couple of seconds as his coldness struck me. I hoped I hadn't done any permanent damage. I truly wanted to get to know him. I thought about chasing after him but decided he needed some time alone. Plus, I really did want to talk with Emma. As I once again stretched my hand out to open the door, the door opened in my face, slamming the handle into my stomach. I let out an `oomph' before clutching my stomach.
"Brendan! What are you doing? Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Emma bent down to meet my eyes. The concern was evident in her eyes. I was touched by how much she genuinely cared about me. Smiling, I stood back up right.
"Don't worry Emma," I chuckled, "compared to what happened to Darren earlier, this was nothing." Noticing the question in her eyes, I continued, "I opened the door same time he did and he ended up on the ground. He seemed like he was hurt a little but he left to go somewhere. Is he ok?"
Emma held me with her gaze. She was sizing me up and I hated it when she did. She rarely did that, only if she felt I had ulterior motives behind what I was asking.
"Emma?" I asked nervously, my feet shuffling under her gaze.
"We need to talk B. When are you free today?" I didn't like her tone, she sounded weary. Tired even. That shocked me because Emma was always as bright as the sun no matter what she had done the day before. For her to sound tired meant there was more in play than I could even begin to grasp.
"I'm free now." I replied, hoping I could figure out what was going on before I would confront Darren again. She shook her head, lightly laughing.
"Nice try mister. I'm not going to let you miss your first day back at school." I pouted but she held firm. Damn luck of mine. "Anyway, about Darren. Just give him some time B. He'll come around. He's got a lot of things to deal with right now, and he doesn't need anyone to nose about it."
"I would never nose Emma. You know that." I was slightly offended that she would think I would nose around, but I knew she had a good reason for saying it. But my worst fears were, for better or worse, confirmed. Darren had been through something and he was staying with Emma for it. I could only hope he was truly okay. I knew he was holding in a lot and I just hoped that one day, he could trust me enough to share the pain.
"I know you wouldn't B. Just protect him at school. Undoubtedly, the girls will have a field day." I smiled at the prospect before Emma continued, "Just make sure you protect him from a distance." I raised my eyebrows in question about her last comment. "Give him room B. I can't really explain why right now, but just know he's a kind of loner at the moment. I just hope he'll one day regain the charisma he used to have." She looked so nostalgic at that point, she seemed almost like she was going to cry. I felt like giving her a tight hug and did just that. Her arms embraced me and she whispered something unintelligible in my ear. I gazed at her with concern before she reverted her eyes and let go of me.
"Same lunch?" I nodded my head silently. "I'll pick you up here quarter after. Deli's sound fine? Who am I kidding? Of course it's fine, you practically buy all the food they make." I smiled at that comment before shrugging my shoulders.
"So what? The food is good, what can I say?" She smiled too before she began to make her way to her car. Turning back, she looked at me again before continuing again. Just as I was about to enter the building to drop off my stuff and make sure Darren hadn't gone too far, I heard Emma calling my name
"B! Just make sure Mitch stays away from him." My smile faded and my eyes hardened. Mitch was the gay slut of our school. He had gotten into any guy's pants that wanted even the slightest hint of sex. I had had the misfortune of being one of his fantasies. He had stalked me till I had finally given him what he wanted, me.
That was the day I had lost my virginity, I can still remember it clear as the day is bright. It was also one of my worst memories. I would do anything to change that day, to get back my virginity. It had been after that I had lost all inhibitions. I suppose I could say I was similar to Mitch. The thought repulsed me, but I knew that my previous actions held true, whether I liked it or not. I looked back at Emma before nodding my head in agreement. I didn't trust my mouth in the state I was in.
The mention of Mitch had brought back too many memories that I didn't want to deal with. I had buried them after all to prevent myself from thinking them. I wanted them gone, erased, anything, just not remembered. But they were a part of me, and I couldn't change it. But, what I could change was my future.
"Would you like to tell me why you look like a zombie?" I jumped at the sound of my best friend's voice.
"God Kelly. Don't do that. Don't sneak up on me, you know I hate that." She frowned before she hit the side of my head. "Fuck, what the heck was that for?"
"For accusing me of sneaking up on you, you know I wouldn't do that honey. I've been standing here for a good five minutes trying to get your attention. What was Emma doing here anyway?" That snapped me out of my daze and I glanced at my watch. I cursed under my breath as I realized I had been standing there for at least ten minutes. That meant Emma had left right after I nodded and I had been too busy to notice anything else.
"Sorry girl, I just had a lot on my mind. Emma was talking to me about something. Don't worry about it." Kelly sighed before staring at me deeply.
"Lemme guess, you were there last night?" I frowned at her tone.
"Yes I was, why?" She placed her hands on her hips before stepping on my foot . "Damn it Kelly, what is up with you?" I hopped on one leg trying to console my toes where her heels had stabbed me.
"What is up with you B? You're out of it. First, you tell me you're going to make it to this party, then the next thing, you tell Kyle you had something important come up. Now, Emma is talking to you about god knows what and you tell me it's nothing important. Coincidences occur honey, but not in rapid-fire succession. Something is up, and you're not telling me. You know I tell you everything honey, we're pretty much brother and sister." I looked into her eyes and I noticed the same concern I had noticed in Emma's. Except Kelly's concern was much deeper and older.
Hell, I had known the girl forever. I realized I was in the wrong. I was letting my thoughts and emotions take over my reactions and it wasn't working. "Sorry girl, it's just my emotions. I'll tell you everything, but you want to head down to the pond?" Our school had a pond that was in a secluded area at the back of the school. It had been a present from the Class of '03 and it a very peaceful place to talk.
As we made our way there, my story poured out onto her. She listened attentively, smiling about me meeting Darren for the first time, my shock at finding out who he was, the talk with Emma, and the incident with him half-naked. I did leave out his scars though, it seemed personal to him and it wasn't my place to intrude. She punched me slightly when I went into further detail about how beautiful he was.
I had never really told her about Darren since Emma had asked me to keep him unknown to my friends. I, still to this day, couldn't understand why. It's not like they were going to go and abduct him, but I trusted her judgment and had enough respect to concede. As we continued walking, she put out her hand over my mouth and tugged on my shoulder, her eyes staring at something in the distance. When I turned to where she was staring, my breath left me.
Darren was sitting on the rocks, feet dangling on the water, his face turned towards the sky. Eyes closed, he seemed to be thinking, profoundly at that. His shirt hung loosely on him, exposing the skin around his neck, inviting the eyes to explore. His neck was so slender and beautiful, perfect for kissing and biting gently. His eyes were closed, his eyelashes long and beautiful. Many girls would die to have his eyes. Personally, I was a sucker for a good body and nice, long dick, but for some reason, the thing that appealed me most about Darren was his eyes. Sure, I hadn't seen his dick, although I had fantasized about it a good many times, it really didn't matter. If it was anything like the rest of him, it was perfect. That much, I knew.
I don't know how long I was in my trance but I was soon snapped out of it thanks to a pinch on my skin. I shot Kelly a dirty look before I found her smiling at me. I looked at her quizzically before she shook her head. Whispering, she said, "you've got it bad B. I've never seen you take to anybody before like this. You almost seem wistful, and that, B, is something I would never have imagined coming from you." Offended I tried to pull away from her grasp, but she held firm. "Oh don't pull your shit on me honey. You know I'm right. Come on, the great master of one-nighters, crazy over another boy. If it was anybody else, you'd have gone right up to them and asked them out for tonight. That, and probably not have made it out of the car before devouring their mouth." She smiled sweetly at me but I knew she was right.
Sometimes, I wondered what had happened to me. Mitch had happened. Repulsed by where the thoughts were going, I physically shook my head so as to clear it mentally. Ironic, isn't it?
"Well, aren't you going to go talk to him?" She pushed me forward but I didn't dare move of my own accord.
"No, not now. Not yet at least. He seemed a little mad about something this morning and I don't want to disturb him." She nodded in understanding before sitting down on the grass. That was one thing I loved about her, she wasn't like other girls. I mean, can you tell me about a single girl who would so carelessly sit on the ground without having plastic wrap wrapped around their skirt so as not to get it dirty? None.
"You weren't kidding B. He is beautiful. Not your handsomeness or even your hotness. His beauty is different. I definitely wouldn't call him hot. Hot means something that is sexy and sex just doesn't seem to fit him. At least not right now, he seems so forlorn. Do you know why he's staying with Emma?" There. She had asked the one question that had my mind spinning. Oh how much I wanted to know, but I knew I had to wait. Emma wouldn't tell me unless it somehow had some direct relation to me. I would have to wait for Darren to tell me, and by the looks of it, that might be a while. I sighed before leaning against a tree.
"I don't know girl. I wish I did, but I don't. He seems so sad too. I really hope he's ok." When I looked down, I found Kelly looking at me, mouth hanging open. "What?"
"I don't believe it. I don't fucking believe this." Her words had me confused and I was getting slightly annoyed. Damn feelings. "Well, I'll be. I didn't think I'd see the day you were in love anytime in the next few years, let alone this year." My ears perked up at the mention of me' and love' in the same sentence. Me? Love? Impossible.
"What are you talking about Kelly? You know how I feel about dating and the sort." She giggled before tracing the petals on a flower.
"I thought I did. But this boy has you wallowing in love honey. Damn, I was praying and hoping for this day. You know I hate it when you sleep around." That was probably our longest argument. She always was steady with her boys until she found someone better. It really wasn't her fault that happened often. What can I say, the people at our school change often. As for me, you know my spiel on dating
"Whatever girl. You sure you're okay?" Funny how the roles reversed. I went back to staring at Darren. He seemed so calm and peaceful, and ever so beautiful. God, I could stare at him all day and never get bored. For the strangest reason, my lower extremities had not reacted to the sight before me. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining, just curious. I closed my eyes, imagining what it would be like to be sitting next to him.
"Brendy! There you are! I've been looking all over for you babe!" Before I could do anything, I had someone's tongue down my throat and their body pressed up against me. Out of instinct, I responded with the like before realizing where we were and that Darren had been sitting there, peacefully. I tried to push the person in front of me off of me but with little success. My eyes flew open to reveal that it was none other than Josh. I pushed harder and he growled in my mouth. I tried to close my mouth but his tongue in it prevented me from doing so. Kelly sighed before getting up, and forcefully pushing him off of me. I hope I didn't forget to mention that she was quite strong from all her training with volleyball and track.
"Kelly, what you doing? I want some time with my man." She slapped him, none to gently and told him to shut up. He looked at her with puzzlement before shrugging and turning to me. I held my finger up to his mouth before gazing in the direction of Darren. I was, to say the least, horrified to find him staring at me. I couldn't really tell because of the distance, but if I didn't know any better, I'd bet his eyes were stormy. He seemed annoyed that we had disturbed his respite. I wanted to run over to him and apologize but Josh prevented me from doing so. Luckily, Kelly recognized my dilemma and grabbed Josh's hand before dragging him off. Forcefully. That girl really did hate him, and he knew it. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't say anything about it because he knew I loved her to death.
Without wasting any time, I quickly hurried over to Darren. Closer, he seemed slightly amused, perturbed even, but not mad. I sighed a relief. He looked at me with interest, as if contemplating what to say. Then it struck me. He had no idea I was bisexual. I suppose this was one way to break the ice, but it was not the way I'd have expected. He looked away again before sighing.
"Sorry about this morning Brendan. I was upset over something and it wasn't right of me to take it out on you like that. I hope you can forgive me?" He looked at me with cutest, most innocent eyes. He was asking me for forgiveness? The thought, let alone the action, was absurd. But it was so sweet.
"Of course Darren. It's no problem, like you said, we all make mistakes." I couldn't resist his smile because I found myself smiling in turn. He reached his hand for mine and I reached down to help him up. Instead, I found my ass on the cold rock. He had pulled me down to sit next to him. He laughed a little before leaning back on his hands.
"You know, you made me fall on the ground too. This is only a part of my revenge." He sounded so serious it made me crack up. He looked at me again and I found myself getting lost in his eyes. Did I mention how beautiful he was? "Anyway, who is he?" His question was so sudden it surprised me.
"Who?" I was confused now, and it sucked. I hope I didn't come off like a complete airhead.
"The boy. You know, the guy you were just kissing a moment ago?" My cheeks flushed a deep red and I started to stammer in hopes of finding a suitable excuse. That caused him to laugh and his laugh was heavenly. "Don't worry about it Brendan, it's not my place to ask anyway. Sorry, I was being nosy." His words struck me. He truly was genuine.
"It's ok. His name's Josh." I didn't elaborate anymore because in truth, I didn't no much more. I know it sounds horrible and makes me look like a slut, but it really isn't my fault. After all, it was he who had approached me.
"Cute." I looked at him in wonder. Cute? What did he mean? It looked like he understood because he continued, "you and him. You two looked cute together. I can tell he really likes you." I think I was about to cry because he thought we were cute together. I wanted to tell him that Josh meant nothing to me, that he was just a fuck, but I knew that would make me as valuable as dirt in his eyes. Although you must agree, dirt is quite valuable. After all, it is what allows plants to grow. And without plants, there would be no humans. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.
"Actually we're not going out. It's kind of complicated." I looked away, feeling embarrassed. I didn't have the heart to continue.
"It's ok, don't worry." He hesitated a little, as if carefully choosing the next few words he'd say. When he was done contemplating he looked back at me, cautiously. His eyes were deep and he seemed troubled. "Do you want to show me around the school?" I think the sound of my jaw hitting the floor could be heard throughout the school grounds.
TBC: Chapter 5: Joshie
Author's Note:
Hmmm...it's been quite interesting indeed. Someone please tell me if the story gets too diluted. Chapter 4 is the true `beginning' of Dare to Dream, Chapter 1-3 are kind of like a prologue, somewhat. I realize the story might be somewhat confusing, but that's expected. Most of it well be cleared up soon, I hope. If it seems truly baffling to you, email me and I'll try and explain. Anyway, how is the dual-setup working now? Better? Worse? Tell me. I hope you understand the two characters better now since you got to know both of them better.
Also, you can find my story on www.thescribblerspad.com. Thanks to the Carolina Scribbler for hosting Dare to Dream (thanks Johnny).
If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me at: dreemarz@yahoo.com