DISCLAIMER
The following story is completely fictitious and any resemblances to persons living or dead are entirely coincidental. Just as in life, this story contains graphic scenes of love and hate, life and death, joy and sorrow, as well as material that may be offensive to some audiences. If such material makes you feel uncomfortable, then please read no further than this warning.
Send questions and comments to thatguywhowritesniftysmut@gmail.com
NOLAN - CHAPTER TWO
Sam brought his hand up to his face. He could see the red smear on it and even though his hand hurt, in a disconnected way he knew the blood wasn't his. He could feel Max pulling on his bare shoulder. His words were urgent, but he couldn't understand them. A process was going on inside Sam's head, like a child trying to grasp a balloon that kept moving higher and higher out of reach. He was trying to piece something together.
Sam said the words before he could register them. They were almost a whisper, drowned out by the laughter and yelling around the pool. He said them three more times before he realized what he was saying.
"I should be fine in the shallow end."
The words Nolan told the twins when they asked if he wanted to play in the deeper water.
The meaning of the words impacted both boys at the same time.
"Oh, God." Sam said in shock.
"...he can't swim..." Max echoed.
A shrill whistle blew. Sam could hear Nolan's name being called out from behind with urgency.
"Hey! No running!" the ass-hat lifeguard shouted as Dylan burst past the twins.
Each droplet of water from Dylan's dive seemed to rain down upon the twins like a magic storm. They could see the white foam trail that led downward at an impossible angle towards Nolan. The children who were playing seemed to be looking around at the source of the ruckus, while the lifeguard seemed to stand up from his post for the first time. When the lifeguard saw the red trail of blood in the water his eyes went wide with realization.
"Everybody! Out of the pool!" he yelled interjected with repeated short whistle bursts.
Max began to sob as the twins could see Dylan grab Nolan's limp arm and pull him close underwater. Dylan made his way with Nolan to the surface of the water. As they broke the surface, Dylan let out a breath for air; Nolan did not.
"...he... he can't swim..." Sam trailed off. Max never left his brother's side as they both began crying.
"Wow." Nolan said, taking in the site of the park as he and Dylan walked around, "it's really beautiful."
Dylan smiled to himself. Nolan was looking around the park with childlike wonder plastered all over his face. It had only been an hour in the park and already he could tell Nolan was opening up to him. Sure it was just small talk and asking some simple inconsequential questions, but still, it made Dylan feel like a million bucks.
He could hear a little laugh coming from the boy next to him.
"What's so funny?" Dylan asked.
Nolan just smiled up at him.
"Nothing. I was just thinking how much I like it when you smile. It suits you, you know?" Nolan added as if making a profound statement of someone many years older.
Dylan really liked Nolan. The kid was funny, smart, charming, and he possessed this air of innocence that Dylan wanted to simultaneously protect and exploit. No, not exploit. Dylan beat himself up internally, berating himself for thinking of taking advantage of Nolan.
"You okay?" Nolan asked with a concerned look on his face, seeing Dylan's facial changes as he chided himself.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Dylan answered, letting the smile from earlier return, "just my thoughts getting the better of me."
Nolan seemed to weigh Dylan's answer in his head before letting it go.
"So, Nolan." Dylan asked, trying to change the subject, "what grade are you in? You're eleven, so that is what? Sixth?"
Nolan was quiet for a few moments.
"Umm... I'm actually in fifth grade..." he trailed off.
Dylan instantly felt bad, but how could he have known Nolan had been held back.
"I move around a lot... and it takes me a while to get to know new people... sometimes too long... so when I am in a classroom surrounded by people I don't know... it's hard for me to speak up. Teacher's just assume I'm slow... they pass me... but they don't really care to look at me... see me..." Nolan let his words sink in for Dylan.
"But you seem to be comfortable around me?" Dylan pointed out.
Nolan just turned and smiled at Dylan.
"Yeah, but you're special... it isn't like how I normally am around people... I don't know why... you just..."
Nolan reached over and hugged Dylan around the waist.
"... you just feel... safe." Nolan finished, as he inhaled Dylan's smell only to let it out with a small sigh.
Dylan wrapped his arms around Nolan's back. He could feel unnatural warmth between them. Could this be the feeling of love? Dylan hoped so. He also hoped...
"...I can feel it, too." Nolan replied.
"Huh?" Dylan asked.
Nolan looked up into his eyes, smiling a little to himself.
"I'm sorry." Nolan replied, "I thought I heard you say something. Still, I feel it."
"Me too." Dylan said as they continued to hug.
The inside of the room was slightly heated but dark as the night outside. Dylan was roused from his slumber by the feeling of a warm body next to him in his bed. He allowed himself to wake up a little before he turned himself carefully over to find Nolan in bed with him. The stunned realization lasted for only a few moments, as Dylan tried to decide what to do.
"Sleep tight, little man." Dylan whispered as he closed his eyes and brought his hand around to lay on Nolan's back.
Thinking for a moment, Dylan leaned down and kissed Nolan on the forehead, through his mop of black hair.
As Dylan drifted off to sleep he couldn't help but feel like he was running. As he continued to run in his mind, he could see that he was chasing after something. As he got closer, he could see it was someone... it was Nolan. Nolan was running as fast as he could and Dylan felt himself being pulled along but slowly catching up.
"Promise." Dylan replied out loud as he suddenly found himself wide awake, clutching Nolan protectively to his chest. The light from the window was filtered through the blinds, but motes of the invading light managed to find their way right into Dylan's eyes. Nolan began to stir in his embrace.
At that moment, Dylan heard a soft knock on the door. It was Mrs. Richardson's `get up time for the day testing the waters to see if it is okay to come in and check on you' knock. Dylan had no time to get Nolan into his own bed, so he did the only thing he could think of. He dropped back down to the bed and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
"Boys?" Mrs. Richardson said softly as she opened the door and peeked inside.
Dylan could hear the door open more as she moved inside. She seemed to move about over to the bed. Dylan could feel Nolan stirring in his embrace, and then finally Nolan lifted his head up.
"Morning." Mrs. Richardson said in a gentle tone, "Trouble sleeping, Nolan?"
Dylan could feel Nolan move around a bit, obviously adjusting to his sleeping situation.
"I guess so... I don't..." Nolan let out a yawn, "I think I might have had a nightmare... but I don't remember."
Dylan feigned stirring himself as he began to "wake up" to the sound of the two talking. As he opened his eyes, he could see Mrs. Richardson looking down at him, already ready for the day. Nolan was sitting up, but he was still mostly out of it.
"Hey." Was all Dylan said as he pretended to be warmly surprised that Nolan was in his bed.
"Hey, Dylan..." Nolan said a little less groggy. It took only a few more moments before Nolan realized where he was. The realization brought him almost immediately to a fully awake mode. Embarrassment plastered all over his youthful cheeks.
"Nolan, you're fine." Mrs. Richardson said. "If you had a nightmare, it is only natural that you would want to be near someone, and I'm sure Dylan doesn't mind."
"Not at all," Dylan jumped in, taking his cue from Mrs. Richardson. "I can think of worse ways to wake up than next to you..."
Mrs. Richardson just gave Dylan a `really? you just said that out loud' look, as Dylan internally face palmed himself. Nolan was oblivious to the slip of the tongue.
"Well, it is a beautiful Sunday morning and Mr. Richardson is fixing breakfast downstairs. I hope waffles are satisfactory, otherwise we have cold cereal." It was Dylan's turn to give Mrs. Richardson the `really? you just said that out loud' look.
"Sounds good." Nolan said, blushing as he finally realized he was in his underwear in front of his foster mom, sharing a bed with her foster son, barely covered by a half discarded blanket.
"I'm going to go check on the twins. You two just get up at your own pace this morning. Tomorrow is going to be a different story, but we can get to that later. Dylan, if Nolan needs help with running the shower, be sure to show him so he doesn't burn himself. Also, later today we are going to be going out with Nolan to pick up a few things. Make sure you both are ready by 1:00pm."
Dylan knew that voice. They were going to go shopping to get Nolan everything he needed. The Richardson's were not the richest family, and honestly the money they got from the state for taking care of the foster kids they got barely covered the needs of the kids. Still, Mr. Richardson was a hard worker and with his job as a computer technician he was able to provide comfortably for his family. Mrs. Richardson worked at the school Nolan was probably going to be starting tomorrow for testing, not as a teacher, but as the administrative head. Since a lot of Mr. Richardson's work could be done at home, and almost all of Mrs. Richardson's was through the school, it was no wonder they made such great foster parents.
As she left, Dylan could feel Nolan's body slump a little bit.
"You okay, Nolan?" Dylan asked, fearful that he might have known what happened last night.
"What did you mean?" Nolan asked, not looking Dylan in the eyes, "What did you mean, when you said `promise?'"
Dylan was taken back a little bit by that. He didn't think Nolan had been awake until Mrs. Richardson came into the room.
"Well... I'm not really sure... I guess I was still dreaming a little bit..." Dylan said, seriously trying to remember the dream he had. All he could remember was running.
Nolan seemed to think his answer over for a long while with a very serious look on his face. It surprised Dylan how grown up some of Nolan's expressions could be, especially when he got serious. Dylan reached his arm out and hugged Nolan's bare body to his own. Nolan rested his head on Dylan's shoulder.
"I think... it had something to do... with protecting you..." Dylan said, trying to remember more of the dream he had.
"But..." Nolan began.
"But nothing." Dylan interrupted the younger boy. "I can't promise you a lot of thing's Nolan... I'm not that great of a person... but I want to be..."
Dylan could feel himself speaking honestly for the first time in a long while. It was as if his words were flowing out of some hidden place in his heart, as if it wasn't really him speaking, but rather the person that he wanted to be speaking up for once.
"I've never told anybody this, but when I grow up... I want to protect people." Dylan said plainly, allowing the words to sink in, "I'm not sure how to do that though." He admitted more to himself than to Nolan.
"You want to protect people? Like a police officer...?" Nolan asked hesitantly.
"I don't know." Dylan answered honestly, "It's like, when I close my eyes, I see myself... sword and shield... like a knight. I want to be strong... fast... tough... smart... dedicated... I want to be everything I need to be in order to protect the people I love. So I train every day to make myself physically able, I learn skills that I think will help me help others, and... I don't know... it sounds kind of dumb, huh?"
It was Dylan's turn to find an unmarked spot on the bed to drop his stare.
"It doesn't sound dumb." Nolan said. "It sounds like you know what you want to do... you just don't know what you want to be."
"Sometimes... it doesn't even feel like it is a matter of what I want... it feels like... what I need. I need to protect people. Like everything I am doing right now is slowly leading me to a place I need to be in the future. Does that sound stupid?" Dylan asked.
"No... It sounds like you are following your dream." Nolan said simply.
Dylan looked over at Nolan who was smiling at him with warmth that seemed to wash over the older boy. Dylan returned the smile.
"As I said, I can't promise you a lot of things... so I will only promise you one."
Nolan looked up at Dylan quizzically.
"Nolan, I promise that so long as I am able to, I will do everything in my power to protect you, and keep you from harm. I want you in my life. You are important to me."
Nolan bit his lip as he looked into Dylan's eyes, trying to detect any hint of deception or joking.
"You mean it?" Nolan finally asked hopefully.
"Of course." Dylan looked into Nolan's eyes as the younger boy swallowed hard.
Nolan smiled, weakly at first, but soon he couldn't contain his happiness.
Nolan was the first to break the silence.
"Better go get ready for the day. Haven't even gotten out of bed and it is already shaping up to be a great one!"
When 1:00pm rolled around, Mrs. Richardson announced a voyage to the mall. Mr. Richardson had to stay to catch up on some work, but Mrs. Richardson, Sam, Max, Dylan, and Nolan all loaded into the Richardson's van and made their way to the mall. Since Dylan was the oldest, he got to ride up front, leaving Nolan and the twins in the back. Luckily, Sam and Max decided to behave themselves. Dylan assumed they were simply saving up their mischief for later.
Nolan had never been to an official mall, the closest thing was a strip mall once in Florida. After that revelation, the twins began talking nonstop about how they couldn't believe such a travesty was allowed to happen in this day and age. Dylan on the other hand mentally focused on the fact Nolan used to live in Florida, which was a long way from Iowa, where they currently resided.
Finding `rock star parking' up front, Mrs. Richardson explained the way things were going to work. Sensing the twins were going to be more of a distraction than an asset, she decided to put Dylan in charge of Nolan, while she would handle the twins. She told Nolan to stay with Dylan and that if they needed anything, Dylan could reach her on his cell phone. She also handed Dylan a card.
"When did you get this?" Dylan asked, confused.
Nolan tried to get a better look at the card as Dylan flipped it around in his hand, looking it over. It appeared to be a credit card, but Nolan couldn't see anybody's name on it.
"Mr. Richardson and I picked that up about two weeks ago when we learned Nolan was going to be coming to stay with us. I've been holding on to it just in case. Dylan, you are to get him everything he needs clothing-wise. I'm going to take care of a few minor things, but I want you to get him at least five pairs of new pants, get him some new shirts, new underwear..." the twins giggled as Mrs. Richardson slapped them away in mock frustration,"...a pair of running shoes..." Nolan's attention seemed to focus a bit more on the conversation,"...a haircut... maybe for both of you... and some lunch."
Dylan seemed to look the gift card over a few more times before looking up at Mrs. Richardson.
"Umm... just how much is on this thing?" Dylan asked.
Mrs. Richardson held up a few fingers so the twins couldn't see, indicating that there was $500.00 on the card. Dylan's mouth dropped.
"Now, go have fun. If you need anything I am going to be dragging these two around for new clothes. They are springing up like weeds and since they both like different styles it might take a while. I honestly miss the days when you were required by law to dress twins exactly the same." Mrs. Richardson joked.
"You can blame that one on Dylan and Cole." Sam said dryly.
"For sure." Max added.
As the group entered the bookstore entrance, they parted ways. Before Dylan and Nolan could make their way out of the bookstore, however, Dylan spotted Nolan eyeing a table full of puzzle books.
"You like puzzles?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah, sometimes they are fun to do... I just don't get to do many. Not much for crosswords, there are a lot of words I don't know, but number puzzles are fun." Nolan said enthusiastically.
"Well, seeing as Mrs. Richardson put me in charge of the money, why don't you pick out a couple puzzle books and we can get them so you have something to do during down time. After all, the twins have their x-box and the Richardsons got me martial arts lessons, so this will be part of your coping mechanism."
"Coping mechanism?" Nolan asked a little confused.
Dylan just laughed a little and told him to never mind. As Nolan went and began looking through the bargain puzzle books, Dylan browsed the shelves for manga. After looking around for a bit, he found Nolan who had picked out two rather thick looking puzzle books. They looked like the ones that you filled in the numbers to get different equations in a square, but Dylan couldn't be sure. Either way Nolan seemed to be happy with his choices, so they went and paid for the books using the card Mrs. Richardson gave them.
As they left and began moving about the mall, Dylan began asking Nolan where he wanted to go to get clothing. Nolan wasn't quite sure, so Dylan decided to ask in a different way. He asked what sort of things Nolan liked to do, what sort of activities he did, and if he liked certain styles by describing them. After a few minutes of conversation, Dylan found that Nolan was much more active than he would have guessed. Since Nolan liked outdoor stuff, going for walks, running, hiking, climbing trees, and other sort of rough activities, Dylan decided on where to go.
"You are probably looking for clothing that is going to be adaptable and resilient. None of that pre-worn in crap like Max likes. So we probably want to either go jeans or cargos. Actually, I think I saw something around here you might like..." Dylan said as he trailed off. They had been in the clothing store all of five minutes and already he was pulling out stuff for Nolan to try on.
All in all he found some pants that could be converted into shorts using zippers with lots of cargo pockets and loops. Dylan explained the loops were for belts or equipment that some people that were explorers or outdoor adventurers used. Dylan also had Nolan try on some generic black, grey, and white t-shirts, since they were the best for basic protection and wear. If he got them dirty or torn than it would be cheap to replace. He also helped Nolan pick out a pair of swimming trunks, general use goggles, a neck-shading hat, a pair of black leather work gloves, a pair of new running shoes, a couple belts, and some new boxer-brief underwear. He also threw in a high quality, highly resilient, flashlight that could be connected to his cargos as well as some functional carabineers.
"Wow, cool, just like the mountaineer's use." Nolan exclaimed, marveling over the carabineers.
While they were in sporting goods, Dylan got something and buried it in the cart.
As they were looking around, Nolan noticed a few shirts that he thought would look good, but Dylan saw they were in the women's section. Dylan rolled his eyes and told Nolan to get them too, since the other stuff had either been on sale or cheap anyway. Also looking around they got him a swimming towel, an overcoat that seemed to match the black cargos pretty well, and at Nolan's request a small sewing kit.
"You sow?" Dylan asked a little surprised.
"A little bit... sometimes I like to patch things up a bit. Just haven't really had a chance for a while." Nolan replied matter-of-factly.
As they went to check out all of the clothing and accessories, Dylan told Nolan to go wait for him on the bench just outside the store. Nolan did as Dylan paid for everything with the card, except the hidden item which he used his own money to get.
As Dylan met back up with Nolan, Dylan defused Nolan's question about what that was all about by redirecting him a couple stores over to the salon.
"A salon?" Nolan asked.
"Trust me." Dylan said as he struggled to lug all the bags they had.
As they made their way in, Dylan did the talking. He set up Nolan's appointment, which would be in a few minutes and told the lady to just do whatever Nolan wanted with his hair, but to give him the full works. Than Dylan called Mrs. Richardson on his phone and seemed to set up a time to meet with her at the car. Then he turned to Nolan.
"Alright, buddy. Here is the plan. We still have some more shopping to do, and this haircut is going to take a little bit, so I am going to meet Mrs. Richardson at the car and drop this stuff off. If you want, I can leave some of the new clothes here and when you are done you can change into them before we meet back up with the Mrs. Richardson and the twins?"
Nolan nodded and rummaged through the bags, putting everything he wanted to wear in one bag that would stay with him. A pair of black cargos, a grey t-shirt, a pair of boxer-briefs, some socks, his running shoes, the sewing kit, one of the belts, one of the women's shirts, the flashlight, and the goggles stayed. Everything else went with Dylan to the van.
Right as Dylan was leaving the salon, he heard Nolan's name being called. It looked like Morgan was going to be taking care of him. He knew Morgan pretty well since she always did his hair when he got it trimmed. He knew Nolan would be in good hands.
It seemed like forever before Mrs. Richardson made it to the van where Dylan had been waiting with the bags to be let in. She also had a few bags in tow, and finally took pity on Dylan with a remote unlock so he could open the trunk and start loading in their bags.
"How's it going so far?" she asked, a little out of breath from lugging the clothing laden bags for two.
"Pretty good, we got him some stuff to wear now, but he still kept it minimal. Kind of surprising that someone his age is more about function than form." Dylan added.
"He would know." Mrs. Richardson said knowingly.
"Well, we better get back to our respective charges, eh?" Dylan said ignoring her comment.
Pam smiled at her son.
"Thank you, Dylan. You've been really good for Nolan, and I know it hasn't always been easy. He is a very open child when he feels comfortable, and I can tell he cares about you very much. Just remember, you're opinion matters to him, so just watch what you say."
Dylan just nodded as he hugged Mrs. Richardson. They parted ways, as they were at opposite ends, and Dylan made his way quickly towards the entrance nearest the salon. Looking down at his watch, it had been almost a half-hour. He hoped that Nolan hadn't been waiting for long. He would feel bad if he made the poor kid worry.
Dylan got to the salon almost ten minutes later. He really wished Mrs. Richardson hadn't parked so far away from that part of the mall, but there wasn't anything he could have done.
"Hey, Nolan done yet?" Dylan asked slightly out of breath to Lily, the receptionist.
"Oh, he and Morgan finished up a while ago, than he said he wanted to try on some of the stuff you guys had picked out, so Morgan took him into the back changing rooms." Lily said warmly to the regular. "By the way, he is so cute."
Dylan thanked her, as he went into the back area where Morgan was standing outside of a vented wood door.
"Hey, Morgan." Dylan greeted the older woman. "Is Nolan almost done?"
"Oh," Morgan jumped, not expecting Dylan to appear behind her, "give me a fright why don't you?"
Morgan laughed a bit as she calmed herself down.
"I expect he will be out in a few minutes. Gave him a pair of scissors to cut tags off and the like, but he has been in there for about 15 minutes now." She said, checking her watch. "You don't suppose he is having...a... male issues?" she asked, whispering the last bit.
Before Dylan could reply, the door slowly opened and Nolan poked his head out. Dylan could see that Morgan had done a nice job with his hair. Cleanly and expertly washed, it had a jagged messy look to it but it still managed to hang over his forehead and ears at cute angles. Dylan thought Nolan couldn't possibly look any better. He was about to tell Morgan as much, when Nolan stepped out of the changing room.
"Oh... wow." Was all Morgan could say.
The other hair stylists and the customers they were working on stopped their chatting and turned to look at the emerging Nolan. Dylan thought he could hear music playing in the background.
Nolan's blue eyes seemed to glow in the light of the room, contrasting the black of the cargo shorts he wore which grounded his entire look. His simple grey t-shirt was tucked into his waistline, accenting the belt and drawing attention to his waistline where it moved up to the shirt that had once been of a women's store brand cut, but had since been modified with scissor and sewing kit into a work of art on Nolan's young body. The sleeves arranged in such a way as Nolan's shoulders and arms were slightly exposed, carried down into an elegant cuff and completely open buttoned.
The goggles loosely strapped around his neck, the entire picture immediately captured in Dylan's mind what it would look like if an angel tried to pass himself off as a futuristic looking assassin. Nolan just became the coolest kid on the block.
Sensing everyone staring at him, Nolan meekly asked if it looked okay.
"Nolan," Dylan said in the most reassuring voice he could muster at the time, "you are beautiful."
No one in the room could deny or dared to challenge the older boy's judgment.
"Kid," Morgan added, "someday, you are going to break someone's heart."
"He already did." An older black lady getting her hair done in one of the chairs said, as goodhearted laughter filled the salon.
Dylan saw the streak of crimson on Nolan's cheeks, but knew he enjoyed the compliment.
They made their way to the front, a few more people complimenting Nolan on his look and one asking him where he got that shirt. When Nolan told her, she told him he might have a future in clothing design someday. Dylan went to use the card to pay, but Lily asked if instead it would be alright if they used Nolan as a model for one of their posters. Dylan looked down at Nolan who looked up at Dylan equally unsure of what to do, so Lily explained that sometimes they get a patron in that looks so good with their new hairstyle or otherwise and they sometimes take them to the picture studio next door and take a few shots instead of paying.
After considering it for a few moments, Nolan agreed, and Lily led Nolan and Dylan next door. It took only a few minutes to set up the quick shoot, and the photographer seemed to know what he was doing. When he saw Nolan, he looked the young boy up and down and immediately asked if he had done any modeling before.
"No." was all Nolan could softly say.
The cameraman, probably used to working with kids in the family portrait studio told Nolan he was just going to take some pictures and wanted Nolan to act like himself. He called it `being natural.' The entire process took about twenty minutes, and after it was done Dylan realized they should have met up with Mrs. Richardson and the twins a while ago. After going through all the photos he took, the cameraman took the ones he liked best, loaded them into his computer quickly, and made a copy on a disk for Lily and for Nolan.
"Nice work, Nolan." The cameraman said as he handed Nolan the disk in its case.
"Thanks, Tony. It was kind of fun." Nolan said enthusiastically. Dylan was happy Tony had made it a positive experience. "I've never had my picture taken before. It was neat."
Nolan turned and began to go, and Dylan could almost see the heartbreak in Tony's eyes at that revelation. No one had ever taken his picture before? No one had ever bothered to capture his smile or his joy? No one had ever bothered to make memories with him they could share?
Dylan thanked Tony and Lily, before escorting Nolan out into the mall proper.
"I wonder if Mrs. Richardson is going to be mad at us for being so late." Nolan asked as he played with the disk case in his hand. Dylan carried the last of the bags that had Nolan's old clothing in it.
"No," Dylan said, imagining Mrs. Richardson, "not mad at us..." he said, allowing the last word to trail off.
"Dylan Evan Richardson! I am mad at you!" Mrs. Richardson yelled from almost across the mall as Nolan hid behind him defensively.
"Told you she wouldn't be mad at us." Dylan whispered.
Nolan just giggled to himself, clinging to Dylan's shirt tail.
"Sorry mom, but we sort of got side tracked. Nolan got offered a modeling career, and I'm pretty sure he is going to be a fashion designer when he grows up." Dylan explained as Mrs. Richardson put her hands on her hips not believing a word of it.
Dylan could see the twins coming out of Game Stop with a bag of their own, and he wanted to time this just right. Obviously Mrs. Richardson hadn't really seen Nolan that well, so Dylan whispered behind him to Nolan, asking him what his full name was. Nolan didn't really know why Dylan wanted to know, but told him anyway.
"Lady and gentlemen," Dylan began as he cleared his throat, motioning to Mrs. Richardson who still looked disapprovingly at him and the tweedles, "May I present to you, Nolan Swift, up and coming model and fashion guru."
He waved his hand out to his side as Nolan moved from behind him. Nolan's hand ran across Dylan's outstretched arm until their hands met. Nolan allowed his hand to fall into Dylan's as he made a slight bow to an astonished Mrs. Richardson. Sam and Max both stared openly at Nolan who seemed to be radiating the same beauty as in the salon. More than a few passersby stopped to stare at the youth.
"Wow. You look wonderful, Nolan." Mrs. Richardson complimented, finally finding words but feeling they failed to describe him.
Dylan noted with some satisfaction that both Sam and Max had sported wood and were in the process of hiding their erections with hands and bag respectively.
"Thanks." Nolan said humbly, "Oh, Tony at the portrait studio gave this to me," he said, handing her the disk case, "it has the pictures on it he took for the lady at the salon, and... I want you to have them."
It took Mrs. Richardson a few moments to register everything Nolan was saying as she took him in.
"So, let me see... new clothes," Dylan twirled Nolan around by the hand letting his shirt catch the air with an artistic flourish, "new shoes," Nolan showed off his black running shoes, "hair cut," Nolan shook his head as the styled mop of hair didn't seem capable of falling in a bad way, "swim wear," Dylan said while winking to the twins, "and a picture for above the mantle; all for under the expected budget. It helps when you get the cost of a salon style haircut waved for helping with advertising."
Regaining themselves a bit and deciding to join in on the fun, the twins interjected.
"But wait..." Sam jumped in.
"That's not all!" Max added.
"There's more?" Sam responded with mock surprise.
Both boys reached into their pockets and took out their cell phones and scrolled through their contacts. Happy that they landed on the one they were looking for, they both directed the screen of the phones at Nolan, showing him who the highlighted contact was.
"I... I don't understand." Nolan said as he and Dylan both looked at the screens with a highlighted "Nolan" on them.
Taking their cue, Max shut his phone while Sam hit the send button on his. As Sam brought the phone up to his ear a phone began ringing in Mrs. Richardson's pocket. She reached in and pulled out an identical but silver phone and handed it to Nolan. Still a little confused, Nolan just looked at the phone.
"I think it's for you... better answer it." Dylan said as he leaned down next to Nolan.
Nolan took the phone from Mrs. Richardson and opened it. He stared at the screen for a few moments before he held it up to his ear.
"Hello?" he asked innocently into the device.
"Hey, Nolan." Sam said into the phone, even though they were a few feet apart. "This is so we can get a hold of you and stuff. Also, try not to lose it or break it..."
"...even though it is fully insured against any sort of accident or hazard." Max added as he spoke into the phone as if they were miles apart from Nolan and he wouldn't be able to hear them any other way.
Mrs. Richardson laughed to herself.
"It has all of our contact information in it, but I don't have to remind you that it is not a toy and is to be used only for emergencies. No prank calling or dialing 911 unless it is an emergency." Mrs. Richardson added.
"That's right..." Sam interjected once more.
"Only use it for emergency prank calls." Max followed up.
Nolan laughed at the joke, but Dylan could see tears beginning to form in Nolan's eyes.
"One more thing." Dylan said, kneeling down to Nolan, "I saw this, and thought you might need it. Seems to me like you move around a lot, sometimes maybe in directions you don't understand. So, maybe this will help you find your way, when you are lost. Maybe it will help you find your way back to the place you need to be... to the people that care about you."
Dylan reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal object, and as Nolan looked closer, he could see it was a compass. It seemed to be durable and made for really rough exploration. He could see the arrow pointing North, towards Dylan.
"Also, came with this booklet, teaches you how to read maps and a compass. I'll teach you, if you want?" Dylan added.
A single tear rolled down Nolan's cheek, but even his red cheeks and watery eyes couldn't detract from the beauty of the boy standing in front of Dylan. Nolan reached out and took the compass from Dylan's hand and fell into his arms. Dylan held onto Nolan for a long while as Mrs. Richardson and the twins took in the scene quietly, not wanting to disturb the magic of the moment.
When they got home, Nolan talked Mr. Richardson's ear off about all the new stuff they got and how amazing the mall had been. Mr. Richardson was eager to hear all about it as he fixed an early dinner of lasagna, after loading Nolan's beautiful new photographs on the family computer. Dylan helped unpack Nolan's new clothes into his dresser which looked satisfactorily full. Putting the puzzle books away, Dylan turned around and was startled by Nolan being in the doorway. The kid knew how to be quiet.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Nolan apologized, smiling a little to himself at the thought he could scare such a big and seemingly fearless person.
"No worries, buddy. Dinner almost ready? I'm starved."Dylan said brushing the incident off.
"I think so, Mr. Richardson said it would be about 10 more minutes before `plates.' I think he meant before we could get plates and be ready to eat." Nolan seemed to be trailing off a little bit, and from the ways his eyes moved, Dylan could tell Nolan wanted to ask something but wasn't sure if he should.
"Nolan? What's on your mind?" Dylan said, sitting down on Nolan's bed and motioning for the younger boy to sit down next to him, "You know if you want to talk about anything, I'm here."
Nolan hesitated a little bit before he made his way over to the bed. Instead of sitting down next to Dylan as he had expected, Nolan allowed himself to lay back. Letting out a sigh, Nolan fixed his eyes to the ceiling.
"Dylan?" Nolan asked.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think I am beautiful? Like... do you like the way I look?" Nolan asked, more pleading for an answer than simply seeking one out.
Dylan was a little thrown by the question, but it was obviously important to Nolan. Dylan didn't want to say anything that would hurt Nolan's feelings and he certainly didn't want to tell him the truth of how he really felt, but given Nolan's question and Dylan's experience with him, Dylan felt the truth would be the simplest and best.
"Nolan, I believe you are probably the most beautiful person I've ever met. Not just outside, but inside too. Yes, I like the way you look, but what I love is you. You are kind... and funny... and... I don't know..." Dylan trailed off a bit as Nolan shifted his weight to he was partially sitting up to face Dylan, "If you want to know if I am attracted to you, than the answer is honestly yes, but I don't want to do anything to hurt you, Nolan. That thought alone would break my heart."
Nolan seemed to take in what Dylan had said and as usual seemed to weigh it in his head.
"I think I'm attracted to you, too." Nolan finally said turning his head to look at Dylan, "Is that okay?"
It was Dylan's turn to weigh Nolan's words.
"So long as neither one of us does anything the other doesn't want or isn't ready for, than I don't see why not? You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, and I feel you would never want to do anything to hurt me." Dylan explained, "But, if I might ask, when did this all come about?"
Nolan smiled.
"Well, I just sort of noticed how you always look at me, not in a bad way but like you are really looking at me. You listen to me, even though I am younger than you." Nolan observed.
"Boys! Dinner!" the echoing call of food from Mrs. Richardson sounded throughout the house. Somewhere downstairs the telltale sound of exploding twins could be heard.
"Nolan? I've got some questions for you..." Dylan began, but Nolan stopped him.
"How about after dinner... I promise I will answer any and all questions. One condition, however." Nolan quickly added.
"And that is?" Dylan asked before committing either way.
"I can sleep in your bed tonight, since it will be easier to talk that way." Nolan said simply, nothing sexual implied.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Dylan agreed in mock pain as if Nolan had asked him to do the most unbearable thing in the entire world. To that Nolan giggled and hopped off the bed. As he made his way to the door, Nolan turned back to look at Dylan to see if he was coming.
"You know, if we don't hurry, Sam and Max are going to eat all the food." Nolan said dryly.
"Oh, I was just being nice and letting you have a head start." Dylan said matter-of-factly.
Both boys locked eyes. Moments later each exploded from their current position towards the stairs. As Dylan picked Nolan up and held him upside down over his shoulder as they made their way noisily down the creaky wooden steps, the sound of Nolan's giggling laughter could be heard throughout the entire house.