My Bodyguard Chapter 20
A very special thanks to Ed for editing this chapter.
This story is not true.
This is a story of love, trust, hope, and commitment. It is not a sex story. However, this story deals with love between two teenagers. If you are offended by stories involving love between two teenage boys, please do not read this story. There will be some sex scenes in this story; however, sex is not the main theme. If you are under age 18 or 21 or it is illegal to read this story where you live, don't read it.
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This chapter is going to switch back to Mike's point of view.
I have read everything I could on human sexuality. Although there is lots of conflicting data, it can be said that about 5% of people are gay and about 25% are bisexual. Our high school has about 250 students in four grades. Half of them are male so that means 125 male students. That means that there are about 7 gay and 31 bisexual males at our school. What I have read also suggests that often the bisexuals are homophobic because they are unsure of their own sexuality. A straight male couldn't care less about a gay guy because that is one less guy to compete with for the attention of girls. This being said, odds are that it was just a matter of time before I ran into another gay guy.
Mark and I got up Wednesday and went to school. It was hard going to school after being off for 6 days. The morning was quiet. At lunch we had a bunch of girls sitting with us as usual, all asking about our Thanksgiving holiday. Mark told them to read tonight's paper if they wanted to find out about our weekend. This started a new round of questions. Then something unusual happened. This freshman guy I had seen around but did not know approached our table.
"Can I sit with you guys?" he asked.
"Sure," Mark and I both replied.
He sat down and the girls once again started in on Mark.
"So, what's your name?" I asked.
"Ken Smith," he replied quietly.
"I'm Mike Stevens," I said, shaking his hand. He did not look me in the eye. "You're a freshman, aren't you?"
"Yes, I turned 14 last summer."
He was a cute kid. Probably about 5'6" with blond hair and blue eyes. I would say that he weighed about 130 pounds. He did not say anything else at lunch and said goodbye when he left.
Before our next class, Mark and I were walking down the hall when we saw Ken being teased by two other freshman. They were saying that he must be some kind of gay boy for sitting with us. Mark went up to the two boys and put his hands on their shoulders.
"What part of the school no-tolerance policy on bullying and harassing don't you understand?" he said.
The two turned their heads and looked at Mark with fear in their eyes.
"I think we need to make a trip to the principal's office," Mark said.
"Don't do that," Ken said. "Isn't there something else you could do? It will only make it worse for me."
Mark thought for a minute and pulled out his notebook. He started writing.
"Okay, I have written down everything I just saw and heard. You two sign this and apologize to Ken and promise to never do anything like this again and we can forget about this. Remember that if anything like this happens again, I have a signed statement of your guilt. I sit with Mike every day. I dare you to say the same things to me like you were saying to Ken. There isn't such a thing as guilt by association. If you sit with a bunch of girls, does that make you a girl? Now shake hands, apologize, and sign this statement and never do anything like this again."
I could tell that Mark was pissed. The boys could too. They signed his statement and shook hands with Ken. Then they said that they were sorry and promised to never tease Ken again. The two left and Ken stayed behind.
"Thanks for not turning them in. I would not want to be responsible for anyone getting suspended or expelled," Ken said.
"You're not responsible for other people's actions, Ken. You did nothing to deserve being harassed. It's not like you're..."
Mark stopped in mid-sentence as Ken started looking at the ground. Then he looked up at me.
"Mike, can I talk to you, sometime?" Ken said.
"Ken, you can talk to us any time you want. How about after school today?"
"After school would be great. I am not sure that I can talk to both of you though."
"Well, you see, Ken, Mark and I are a team. We don't keep secrets from each other. And until we get to know you, Mark is not going to leave me alone with you. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do and I guess that is okay."
"Great, why don't you meet us at Mark's truck after school? Do you need to let your folks know where you are going?"
"No, it is only my dad and he works at the sugar beet factory afternoons. He already said that I could go over to your house after school."
"Okay, we will see you in the parking lot after school. Later."
"See you later."
"Is it just me, Mark, or do you get the feeling we have just been set up?"
"We have just been set up but I don't think it's anything bad. I think Ken has something he wants to get off his chest. He probably has the hots for you. He kept sneaking peeks at you at lunch today."
"He can't have me. I'm taken, thank you. If he wants to get off on his chest or whatever, he is just going to have to do it himself."
We both laughed at that and then hurried off to class. We were late but the teacher didn't say anything.
Sure enough, right after school Ken was waiting for us. We all took off in Mark's truck and were soon home. We said hi to my mom and introduced Ken. Then we went downstairs.
"Wow, you got your own gym down here," Ken said.
"That's right, I work out down here and sometimes Mike joins me," Mark said.
"Cool."
"Well, Ken, you had something you wanted to talk to me about. I'm all ears."
We all sat down and waited for Ken to speak. After about a minute I spoke up.
"Ken, nothing that you say will be repeated outside of this room. We only want to help you if we can."
"I was talking with my dad this weekend and I told him I think that I might be gay. He was cool with it. Dad was a hippie back in the 60's and is real liberal. I asked him some questions he could not answer. He suggested that if I knew someone who is gay, perhaps they could answer my questions."
"Wow, Ken, it took guts to tell me that. I think that you already have some answers, so how about I ask you some questions?"
"OK."
"Ken, how long have you felt that you're gay?"
"About a year now."
"Is there anyone who you have a crush on?"
"No, but I think a bunch of guys are cute."
"Do you have a best friend?"
"No, but I have several friends. My closest friend is Kathy Dunn."
"Have you told anyone that you think you are gay besides your father and us?"
"No."
"How did you feel today when you were being teased by those kids?"
"I didn't care. They're going to think whatever they want to think anyway."
"Do you think that it's wrong to be gay?"
"No."
"To tell you the truth, Ken, you sound better adjusted with your sexuality than many adults. What questions would you like to ask?"
"How long should I wait to have sex?"
"The rest of your life. You see, Ken, you want to make love, not have sex. At your age, about half of the other boys around you are looking to experiment with sex with other boys. If they find out that you are willing, they will use you to get off and tell all their friends about you. The next thing you know, you will be the school slut."
"How do I find someone to love?"
"If I could answer that question, Ken, I would write a book and get rich. Some day, Ken, you will meet someone that will put butterflies in your stomach. You won't be able to talk to this person and you will think about this person all the time. Then comes the hard part. You have to force yourself to tell the other person how you feel."
"What if they are not gay?"
"Chances are that they won't be. Chances are they won't care that you are. But there is probably 25% chance of you getting in big trouble by coming on to someone."
"What do you suggest?"
"Well, you could hang out with us at school at lunch and stuff. Everyone knows that I am gay and, if you are with me, they will assume that you are gay too. If teasing doesn't bother you, that is. Because you can expect to be teased if you hang out with us. And perhaps some other gay kids will start hanging out with us. One thing you need to know, though, is I am taken, Ken. I have already given my heart to someone."
"You sure that you want to have a bunch of gay guys hanging out with you, Mark?"
"I don't mind, it just means that many more girls chasing after me."
"Come on, Mark, I don't think that there is a girl in our school who does not have a crush on you. You could have anyone you want."
"I'm not interested. I have a girl I am in love with back in my old town."
"It would sure break a lot of girls' hearts if they knew that. Anyway I'm glad to hear you're both happy. Someday I hope I find love too."
"You're still young, Ken. I'm sure the right person is out there for you. You just need to be patient."
"I think it's great I can hang out with you guys. And I feel comfortable talking with you two. I hope you're right, I guess I just need to be patient."
"Ken, I can give you a list of good books to read to better understand yourself. Do you have a computer?"
"Dad has a computer; it's slow but I can get online with it."
"I will also give you a list of Internet sites that have resources for gay teenagers."
"That's really nice of you, Mike, thanks."
"Do you want to work out with us for awhile?" Mark asked.
"Sure."
We worked out together for about an hour and half. We then we took Ken home. That night at dinner was quite exciting. Dad had the newspaper with the article written about us. It was written a lot differently than what was written in the Chicago papers. We made the front page. The opening line was 'Local Boys are Heroes in Chicago'. My parents also asked us about Ken. We told them that he was just some kid at school that wanted to hang out with us.
After dinner Mark and I went upstairs and did our homework. When we finished the homework, Mark called his dad to give him his travel arrangements. His dad said he was going to take Friday morning off work so he could be at the ceremony. After he got off the phone we talked for a while.
"Mike, what do you think about Ken?"
"I think he's kind of confused right now. But, some things have to be learned on your own. It would be easy for me to explain what he is feeling right now. I went three years feeling the same way. He seems like a smart kid to me. I think he needs to do his own research and come to his own conclusions. If he asks me for help along the way I'll be happy to tell him what I can."
"Do you think we can trust him?"
"I am already out. I would not tell him that we're in love and a couple. I also would not trust him with the fact that you are gay. By the way, who is this girl you are in love with in your hometown?"
"My mother, of course."
"Good thinking. You told him the truth and yet he believed something else."
"Police do that all the time, Mike. We will bring someone into custody and question them. We will tell them the truth but they often think something else. That is kind of the way I plan on handling my dad when I see him. I am going to tell him the truth, just not all the truth. I am also going to do what they call 'asking leading questions'. I am going to be asking questions I already know the answer to and then see if he lies to me. That is another police trick."
"That is really smart, Mark. I wonder what tomorrow will bring at school after the article in the paper tonight?"
"I don't have any idea, Mike, but I don't think it will hurt us any. It should help explain why we need to be off school a week from Friday, though. I think you're right, tomorrow's going to be an interesting day."