The usual disclaimers apply - ie. no reading this if you're not of age to read it, and no peeking at this if you can't stand gay people (which would bring to mind the question of what the hell you're doing reading this anyway).
Dear Readers: I'm still getting a handle on this variety thing between the Shane/Robin chapters, so I apologize in advance if there are too many similarities.
All questions etc can be directed to dcross1@home.com
Robin noticed Shane staring at him with something undefinable in his eyes. Was it love? Lust? Or something else? He didn't know. Questions like this crowded in on him. A hand on his shoulder startled him, until he realized where he was and who he was with, quickly relaxed, and smiled at Shane as he welcomed the contact.
Shane asked, "Robin, do you remember what I asked before, about your parents helping you a lot? Um, was it about you being gay and all that?"
Robin nodded. "Yeah. I can't really go into details, but it started mostly by accident, actually. My sister should really be the one to thank for bringing it all up - she was rattling on about a discussion that her Socials class had about the news recently; you know, about the government changing the anti-discrimination laws, and my parents had a really open discussion about the whole thing."
"Well, I'll have to congratulate her for indirectly helping the man I like."
Robin felt embarassed at the compliment, and felt the heat rise to his face. "Flatterer."
"Only for you." Shane kissed Robin on the lips, and chuckled as Robin stared at him, somewhat dumb-struck.
"This is all so new to me, you know..." Damn this uncertainty.
"Same here. I understand what you mean. Look. I want you to know something. There's a couple other people--"
Robin instantly felt as though he were about to be dumped already. He interrupted with, "That you like?"
"No, you silly. Let me finish! There's a couple other people in school who know that I'm gay."
A spike of fear went through Robin's mind - was he to be "outed" before he even had a handle on this situation? "What?! Oh shit!"
Robin felt Shane's warm hands on his shoulders, easing him down from his panic. Shane said, "No, LISTEN, damnit! They're two guys who have lockers next to mine, who don't care because they're too busy arguing about weird scientific theories."
"Who?"
"Don't know if you know them. They're both named Dave, but one's in grade 11 and the other's in grade 12. Heath and Conway."
"The names don't ring a bell. Sorry."
"That's all right. I've got to introduce you, for sure. Just don't tell them the sky's red or something." Shane grinned.
Robin stared at the wall as he ruminated on the feeling he'd had a few minutes ago - how... just right it had felt to be with this guy, this blond god with a warm smile and a sparkle in his eye. He said softly, "You know, when we kissed that first time... it felt like I was coming home."
"What do you mean, 'coming home'?"
"It's hard to explain." Robin looked at Shane, and hesitantly traced his finger down Shane's jaw, then let his hand drop. "Like I'm completely safe, secure ... like I'm not gonna get yelled at for doing something wrong."
"Yeah, I think I know what you mean. For me, it felt more like the universe was telling me everything was OK; that I wasn't just shouting into the wind, so to speak."
Shane turned sideways, and took Robin's hand, then kissed the back of it. He then looked up, and leaned in to kiss Robin on the mouth. Only this time, it was like the French kiss of earlier - tongues began to wrestle, and hands began to roam as they embraced.
Robin broke the kiss quickly, breathing heavily. Were they going too fast? Should he continue this??
Shane, who appeared confused, said, "Did I do something wrong...?"
Robin shook his head, and said, "No... it's just that I worry if we're, you know, going too fast or something." He nervously laughed.
"If you don't want to do something, tell me. I'll never force you to do something you don't want. I promise you with my heart." Robin was touched by this gesture of affection on Shane's part, and his heart swelled. He looked into Shane's eyes and saw nothing but truth and respect.
Robin smiled and touched his nose to Shane's. "Thanks. I really appreciate hearing that. I dunno, I've only really accepted that I was gay really recently."
Shane brought Robin into another hug, and said, "I've known I was gay for about three years now, so I guess I've had more time to get used to the thought of doing things with another guy."
Robin envied Shane's equilibrium. He wished he had been able to work all this out in advance. He said, "I'm jealous. I can get used to kissing and hugging you, but anything else still makes me feel weird. Not that I wouldn't mind trying, but I have to get used to the idea..."
Shane nodded. He stroked Robin's arm and said, "Well, I've always wanted to take a man out for a date. Would you like to go somewhere with me?"
"Um, sure. Where, though?" Robin was confused, but at the same time, thought about how cool this was getting.
Shane inquired, "How 'bout Cafe California? I could use some lunch."
Robin nodded his assent. Hey, there had to be worse places to eat, right?
"Well then, what's stopping you? Let's get rolling, shall we? Oh, and we'll go in my car. I insist!" Shane grinned, stood up, and extended his hand to help Robin up.
1:00 PM
Robin swallowed the last of his fajita, then said, "Fajitas. Gotta love 'em."
Shane replied, "Nuh-uh. Chicken Quesadilla. Numero uno, senor." He winked.
"Like you'd know a margarita if it came up and bit you."
"When did we become the Mexican food expert?"
"Since I read the menu for this place." Robin tried to properly look down his nose at Shane and failed, precipitating a short chuckle on Shane's part. He wasn't sure if the sparkle in Shane's eye was mischievous or lustful.
The waitress broke the mood as she inquired if either of them wanted to order anything else. Shane shook his head no, as did Robin; she left the bill on the table, then collected the dishes and cutlery and swiftly vanished. Two hands reached for the bill at the same time and engaged in a pulling contest to see who would get the check. Victory for Robin!
Shane pouted and Robin acquiesced. "Ok, fine, you can pay next time, since you're such a gentleman and all." He smirked and tapped Shane's foot under the table.
"We'll see who's the gentleman later." Shane suggestively raised his eyebrows, and Robin had to avert his eyes as he blushed.
Robin wondered what guys were supposed to do on dates, and asked, "Um... anyway, where shall we go now?"
"No idea, man. What time is it, anyway?"
Robin grinned, then reached across and smacked Shane's head lightly. "You dumb-bell, the clock's on the wall over there!"
Shane looked at the clock, blinked, then looked again. Robin could have sworn he'd never seen that clock there before. He sheepishly read the time. "Ok, it's about five after one. I think we'll have to call it a day soon; my parents will be back from this big church social thing they're doing, and they'll rest easier if I'm back before they are."
They both stood up, and Robin sighed. For the first time in a few hours, he felt weighed down by the world and it was all the less bearable now that he had found someone who he could share his feelings, hopes, and desires with. Shane leaned over and said, "We've got plenty of time. There's a whole school year left for us, you know." He gave Robin a friendly punch on the shoulder and Robin had to grin.
Just as Robin was about to exit the restaurant, Shane said, "Robin, would you wait for me outside by the car? I've got to make a phone call." What the hell was this all about? Robin looked at Shane, wondering what was up. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad, Ok?" Robin nodded and left the restaurant.
Robin leaned against the passenger door, and stared off into nothing, abstracted. He wanted this to go on forever, but the world had an unpleasant way of making itself be known. He recalled the events that had occurred in Shane's car before they had arrived at the restaurant...
They had gotten their shoes on, and made their way out to Shane's Ford. Robin marvelled at the size of the interior, as Shane started the engine. Robin's thoughts made their way past his mouth. "Damn, you could have a party and a half in here." He blushed as he realized how that sounded. Fortunately, Shane's grin was all the reassurance he needed.
As the car had wended its way northward through town, Robin looked off to his right, at the expanse of the ocean. He thought about how his feelings had been submerged until very recently, and whether or not he was sure of himself. A curiosity filled him, and he turned towards Shane, who caught the movement and looked over to smile at Robin.
Robin had said, "Hey, um, Shane?"
"That's my name; don't wear it out."
Robin had chuckled. "How did you know you were gay?"
Seriousness enveloped the car as Shane formulated his answer: "It's sort of a long story, but I'll try not to bore you.
"Back when I was fourteen, I started noticing that while everybody else talked about how they liked this girl or that girl, I had these weird thoughts and feelings about other guys. At first I just denied it. Prayed to God, all that jazz. Didn't work. Then I decided to try dating a girl anyway. That didn't work either and just reinforced the feeling that something wasn't 'right' with me. Finally, I went to the school library and poked around a bit, and found a book which was about homosexuality.
"What a revelation! What an absolute revelation, Robin. Have you ever 'known' something all your life, only to have a sudden change in your entire point of view? This was about the same - it was a confirmation that I wasn't like most of the other guys - I was gay and that was all there was to it." Shane fell into a kind of brown study, and Robin couldn't think of anything to say or do except lean over and gently put his hand on Shane's shoulder, squeeze a bit, and then remove his hand.
The somber mood lifted as they had reached the intended destination, and entered the Cafe California...
Robin snapped back to reality as Shane appeared on the driver's side, momentarily out of breath. He said, "Hey. What took you so long, mister?"
Shane replied, "Like I said, I made a phone call." He winked, unlocked the door, and got inside before Robin could frame a reply. The click of the door being unlocked on the passenger side was his cue to get in. What was he getting himself into here?
1:25 PM
Shane pulled up before the house on Ash Street, and said, "Voila."
Robin, confused, admitted defeat. "Uh, why are we here?"
"C'mon. All will be revealed in a few moments."
Robin followed Shane out of the car to stand beside Shane as the door opened to reveal a blond-haired guy who wore glasses, and was about the same height as Shane and Robin. He grinned like the Cheshire cat, for some reason.
The mystery guy said, "Hey you two, c'mon in. Just take your shoes off inside and follow me." He zipped down a flight of stairs to the left off the main walkway, and then disappeared around a corner. Shane and Robin took their shoes off and trudged down the stairs, bringing up the rear. Mr. Mystery was reclining on his bed, and gesturing to two chairs in one corner of the room.
Shane took Robin's hand in his own and held the joined hands up. The blond guy turned purple with laughter and fell off the bed, gasping for air.
Robin, by now thoroughly confused, said, "Look, would SOMEONE please tell me what's going on?!"
The unnamed fellow looked at Shane, grinned again and, while reseating himself on the bed, said, "Shane, Shane, Shane. You sneaky sonofabitch. You dragged your boyfriend along and didn't even TELL HIM who you were bringing him to see! I oughtta smack you for this, and make you apologize to him, but I betcha if I did that you'd probably accomplish the feat by kissing the daylights out of the guy, and as romantic as that seems, I'd rather not have to explain to my mom why two guys she doesn't know are sucking face in my room." As he giggled, Robin wondered, "Who the hell IS this guy?"
Shane released Robin's hand and put both his hands in the air and said, "Ok, Ok, I admit it. Anyway, I should introduce you guys, I guess. Robin, this is David Conway, one of the two Daves I was telling you about earlier. And Dave, this is Robin, as I'm sure you probably know."
Ah. Enlightenment. Robin reached over to shake David's hand. "Pleased to meet you." He smiled shyly.
David vigorously shook Robin's hand and said, "Likewise." He released the handshake, and continued. "Ok, so as much as I like to see a cute couple, what exactly was the purpose of this interlude?"
Shane admitted that introducing Robin formally was really his only objective.
"Ah, don't worry about it. Just giving you guys a hard time. Hey, Robin. What do you think of this character here?"
Robin felt embarassed as he brought himself to admit his true feelings. "Well, um... I like him a lot, even if he did put one over on me this time!" He mock-glared at Shane, and then kissed Shane on the cheek.
David snapped his fingers as he cursed. "Damn, why didn't I bring a camera for this? Next time, you guys. You gotta pose for me - no, not THAT way, you pervs. Getcher minds outta the gutter. I'll get 'em developed in Vancouver and you can have the duplicates for your collection."
He rambled on. "Oh yeah. You guys gotta come by my locker so I can watch the other Dave choke when he sees you guys together. He doesn't even know about you yet, Robin; this should be fucking hilarious. I bet this'll be better than the time I got to watch him choke indignantly when he found out nobody got the top quark yet."
At that last, four eyes looked at David inquisitively. He cleared his throat. "Not important. I'll explain later... Anyway, you've had your date, you've presumably kissed. So when do I get to see you guys meet at the altar, so to speak?"
Damn, wasn't this guy jumping a little too far ahead? He said, "Look, Dave. We've only been together a few hours. I don't even know where we're going to be six months from now, let alone that far down the road."
Shane backed him up. "We're going to be taking it one day at a a time, anyway. You've got to remember in a town like this we can't be like... well, this like we are in front of you. That's going to pose its own challenges."
David had the good grace to look apologetic, and said, "Oops. Shoulda realized. My bad. Well, I do wish you guys the best of luck, and I wrote down my private phone number if either one of you wants to talk about anything. Don't give it out to anybody, and if you have to, talk elliptically. I'll catch on pretty quick.
"Now I'm curious about something. How did you two end up coming out to each other anyway?" If curiosity had a picture, David's face would have made it into the dictionary.
Shane and Robin took turns relating what had happened earlier in the day.
David chuckled. "Geez, of all the tricks... pretending to need help on a homework assignment has to be one of the silliest things I've heard! Man, if I was a bookie I'd have cleaned up on this bet."
Shane looked troubled. He said, "Yeah, but Dave, I was more scared right after I told Robin, than I ever had been before in my life. Man, I seriously thought for a moment that I was doomed."
Robin felt abashed at this as he realized the effort it had cost Shane to throw caution to the winds earlier that day. David smoothed over the resulting awkward moment by changing the subject with an effort. "Um, guys... do your parents know about any of this? Shane, we've discussed the situation with respect to yours so I suspect the answer is 'no' on your part."
Shane's reply was a nod.
Robin spoke carefully and softly. "My parents know most of it, I guess. I'll have to introduce you to them soon, Shane." He looked soulfully into Shane's eyes, and Shane leaned in for a kiss that lingered for a second or two.
David's voice startled them both. "Shit, you guys. Do you know how beautiful that looked? I've gotta get that goddamn camera!"
That ends part 10.