Hey people, had quite a few people interested in the prequel. If you didn't read my little comment thing on the top of the last chapter, then I've written a prequel which you will need to e-mail me for with the subject as "Prequel Please" on wanna_get_lucky@hotmail.com Hope you all liked it, those of you that did get it from me. Here's the new chapter anyway. Keep the feedback coming in guys!
Time Will Tell Chapter 22 - Rage
I made my way up to the bar and leant against it waiting for the busy bartender to get to me. There was nobody around that I would count as a friend, people I knew and smiled to, that sort of thing but nobody who I was close to.
"Great song Danny, who was it for? Who's yer boyfriend?" My heart froze. I recognised the voice instantly. It made me feel physically sick, it made me want to lash out wildly at the person who used it, but it made me scared. It made me feel like a two year old does when an Alsatian on a frayed rope is barking it's head off. My knees started shaking and I wanted to cry. Meyrick had put me through so much torment that I was terrified of him. The last time I had spoken to him I had made him cry, this time he sounded so confident it scared me. I wouldn't let him know though, I couldn't let him know what he was capable of reducing me to.
"Leonardo DiCaprio John, didn't you know?"
"That's good, that's good. Yeah, funny. I'm glad to see your sense of humour hasn't changed."
I didn't want to hear anymore. I turned and walked away, I'd get the drinks later.
"So who is he really? Is it that Fullerton guy, I always thought he might be gay? Or Trix maybe. Is that him, huh? Is it Tristan Race that likes you up his ass?"
I wouldn't stop, I kept on walking getting more and more frantic walking into people who were dancing around. I had to get away from him but he wouldn't stop following me.
"No, I know! It's that Shears kid isn't it? Yeah, you spend a hell of a lot of time with him don't you."
I wasn't looking at his face, I was trying to walk away. I was battling to keep myself from crying and I couldn't let him see. I just couldn't. I hated him, I loathed him. Why wouldn't he leave me alone?
"It's him isn't it? Conner Shears, he's your bum chum isn't he? I wouldn't have thought you were his type though Danny. Him being a sporty guy and you being, well, a tag along to the sporty guy's. What makes you think they want you with them huh? You think they like you? I've been trying to figure out for a long time what they get out of your friendship with them. It took me a while to figure it out but I guess it's just so that they have someone to laugh at when they're bored. You didn't think they really liked you did you Danny?"
I knew it wasn't true and I knew that he was trying to crush my spirit. It worked though. I knew the guy's liked me and everything, but he was making me feel so small, draining my morale so quickly and effortlessly. It was something I had forgotten he could do to me so well.
"I'm going to tell them Danny. I'm going to tell them what really happened. I'm going to tell them that you're the one who is gay."
"Go ahead! See if I care." I turned to him letting him see my tears. I had a good idea as to what would happen if he did.
"No, it's not that easy for you I'm afraid. You have to be there with me when I tell them so that they can hear you confirm it, which you will otherwise I'll beat the living shit out of you." With that he grabbed me by my collar and dragged me over to the table where the others were.
We got through a clearing in the crowd and he pushed me towards the table. I looked around at the others. They looked at me with surprise on their faces having seen me crash against the table and the tears on my face.
"Tell them!" I didn't hesitate, the music was loud enough for anybody not at the table or near it not to hear. So only my friends and John could hear me.
"John wants me to tell you that I'm gay and he isn't and that I framed him."
"And I reckon that one of you others is his arse mate too."
"Yeah, that would be me." Conner said looking John straight in the face.
"There you are. I was right about him in all. Their queers."
"Yeah and?" Trix asked casually.
"What?" John was confused suddenly. Trix, Conner, Scott, Luke and Sean stood up, almost at the same time. They surrounded John and started taking him towards the exit. I just stood there watching as they escorted John outside the hotel. I didn't know what to do. The girls didn't say anything to me, just left me with my own thoughts for a minute.
"I want to see this."
"Are you sure Danny?" Kate asked quite concerned.
"Yeah." I started to follow the others. My upset began to turn to anger and hatred. I ran to catch up with them. I ran outside the hotel and took a look around to see where they had taken him. I ran round the corner suspecting that that was where they were. I was right too. I arrived to find Trix holding John to the wall with his hand around his throat. John looked like he was shitting himself.
"Trix! Don't."
"No Danny. I won't take anybody threatening my friends like he did. He's going to regret what he just tried to pull."
"Trix! He's mine." Trix didn't move for a minute, he held John there and finally relaxed his grip and took a step back from him, never shifting his menacing glare from John's face. John coughed a little, obviously Trix's grip had been tight enough to restrict his breathing a fair bit.
"Good boy Danny. Good boy! At least I have a chance against you."
"Why do you hate me so much John? Why do you treat me like you do?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"Yeah."
"OK, you're a fucking poof. That's one reason."
"You and I both know that that can't be the reason."
"Do we?"
"I think you know what I'm talking about."
"No, what?"
"Surely you remember what happened in the park?"
"Oh! Right, yeah. That! Well just so you know, I'll get your pretty little boyfriend here with that too."
Red! I saw red! I felt adrenaline shoot through my body as I launched myself at him. I released hit after hit after hit after hit, each to the face. He had threatened my Conner and that was that. Before then I was going to keep things civil and just have things go on as if nothing had happened that night afterwards, but it was too late. He had pushed me over the bitter edge and I was pummelling him with everything that I had in me. I was hitting him fast and furiously, I was crying at the same time too.
I was pulled off him eventually, by Trix. He pulled me off him and I struggled out of his grip and back down to carry on with my assault on John but I was stopped again before I could get back to him.
"That's ENOUGH! Danny, you'll kill the bastard."
"That's something I should have done A LONG TIME AGO! Don't you EVER threaten Conner again you piece of fucking shit!" I spat on him and kicked him in the stomach.
"Jesus Christ Danny!"
I felt different. I had never wanted to have to do that to another person. Not even John Meyrick. He was curled in a ball on the pavement gripping his stomach and with blood dripping from his lip and the signs of black eyes coming through already. I looked down on him feeling strange, like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt free. He didn't scare me anymore. He no longer posed a threat to me, he knew that he had no control over me whatsoever now and that I was strong enough to take him on.
"Let's get back inside Danny before you chew his neck open or something. Meyrick! You keep away from everyone of us or next time I won't pull him off you." Trix warned.
I was still crying though, I couldn't really tell why anymore.
"Danny? What did he mean? What did he mean when he said he'd get me with it too?" He looked really concerned. I couldn't tell him though, not even Conner. I couldn't tell him what he'd been threatened with.
"I can't. I'm sorry but I can't Conner."
"That's OK, maybe some other time. Do you want to go home?"
"No, come on. We'll go back in. I want to get pissed and have a good night. It's Valentines Day isn't it? Let's enjoy what's left of it."
"OK, well dry your face. We don't want everyone knowing that you've been crying." I did. And we went back in. My knuckles were feeling really sore now.
"I'm going to find some ice for my hands. I'll be back in a minute."
"You go and sit down with the others, I'll go and get some for you. Just rest, no arguments." And he was off. I followed the others back to the table and sat down. The girls found out what happened and checked that I was OK. Sean came back to the table with a glass of something. He held in front of me till I took it off him. I looked quizzically at him to find out what it was.
"Just down it." I took a sniff of it. Whiskey. Strong stuff, it must have been about a triple. I tipped my head back and slid it down my throat. I recoiled from it a bit, the taste making my eyes water. This stuff was fucking strong. My screwed up face sent the others into piss fits! Conner came back with a wine bucket full with ice and water after about ten minutes.
"Thanks babes."
"So what was he threatening Conner with Danny?" Luke had sobered up a little now. He had been swaying when he was outside but he was better now, must have been the fresh air.
"It doesn't matter. He wouldn't dare now anyway."
"No I don't think he would!"
The rest of the evening went fine. I cheered up as I got more drunk and I was singing along to the songs that the DJ was playing. I apparently went nuts when he started playing Back In My Life by Alice Deejay. I wouldn't have said that I had gone nuts from what I remembered, but I'd enjoyed singing along with it anyway.
Before too long I had forgotten about the fight earlier (at least I did when I didn't knock my bruised knuckles on anything) and was having a good time until the evening drew to a close and we were turfed out. Once again we caught taxi's home.
"Danny?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you gunna be OK?"
"Yeah, why?"
"After your fight? Aren't you worried about what will happen with Meyrick?"
"How do you mean?"
"What if he goes around telling people what happened? What if he goes to the police with you beating the shit out of him?"
"That's not his style, he hates police because of how much trouble he gets himself into. If he goes down to the police he'll probably be laughed out of the door and told he got what he deserved."
"Really? How come he hasn't had the book thrown at him if he gets into so much trouble?"
"Since his dad's an advocate he's treated like an ambassador with police immunity which he in turn abuses the system with so he won't get done for anything, that's why he can afford to be such a fucking criminal and get away with it. He's a police criminal basically."
"Shit."
"Uh huh. And he's already told everyone about me once and they don't seem to believe or care anymore so it doesn't bother me that much. They'll probably just think he's lying."
"I suppose so. You going to the town tomorrow?"
"Yeah but Conner and I were going to meet up with James, Ryan and Toby to go to the cinema, you can join us if you like though?"
"What you watching?"
"The Green Mile?"
"The, err, new Stephen King one?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, I'll tag along if that's alright. Ring me in the morning then."
"Cool, see ya Trix."
"See ya Danny, Conner."
"See ya." Conner and I set off on a walk back to my house. The town was deadly silent, the occasional sound of cars in the distance and the odd barking dog, otherwise a special serenity had descended over Parkway that Valentines night. Conner and I held hands as we walked home. It felt nice walking hand in hand, even though we were only doing it because nobody would see us at three in the morning.
"Danny?"
"Uh huh?"
"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand, but I'd like to think that we can talk about anything with each other."
"Go on." I had suspicions about what he was going to ask next.
"What did Meyrick mean when he said he'd do to me what he had done to you? What had he done to you? It made you wild, you scared me actually. I didn't know you had that sort of anger in you."
"To be honest I didn't either, I just couldn't stand him threatening you."
"With what?"
"I don't know if you want to know."
"Being outted? Telling the school, that's the only thing that Trix was able to suggest. Is that what he was threatening me with?"
"You don't have to worry about that babes, nobody would believe him. He's been labelled as a liar because of doing it to me."
"I know that but is that what he was threatening me with?"
"Yeah." I didn't want Conner to know that he had been threatened with something much more sinister than that.
"You're lying." He said it in a very matter of fact way. He could tell instantly.
"Yeah. I, well I, oh, I'm sorry babes. I really don't want you to know, it's nothing to do with you in that respect, I mean, it's not like I don't trust you, that doesn't even come in to it. It's difficult to explain, I want to tell you because we can talk about anything, but I really feel at the same time that it's best that you don't know."
"What could he have done to you to make you so scared of telling me? It upsets me to know that there is some kid out there who can have such a negative influence on our relationship like this. You came back to our table in tears because of him tonight Danny, I had barely ever even seen you angry before, but tonight you were like a different person when you attacked him. If you had been alone, I'm damn sure you wouldn't have stopped hitting him until he was dead. How can he make you go through such extreme emotions so easily? I don't like the influence he has over you."
"He scares me, he always has. I used to hang around him because I was scared of him, I was afraid that if I didn't I'd be on the receiving end of the shit he put everyone through. He ruled me through fear and I was too blind to understand that back then, but now I realise it because I felt that same fear again. I know this sounds all pretty weird and sort of like Jerry Springer's final thought sort of thing, but it's true. He doesn't scare me as much anymore, I know that I can beat him and that I have my true friends to stand by me and help, whenever I need it."
"I'm glad, you should have known that before though. You don't realise just how much the others respect you do you? Luke told me earlier tonight how proud he was to have you as a friend. OK, so he was drunk as a skunk, but you know it's true."
"I do. I know I do. I guess it's just hard for me sometimes because I feel like I have something to prove to them, you know. I think that what it is, is that since I am gay, it feels as if I have to be different. It's as if I have to act normal, you know? And in doing that I keep distance from people, even my friends which I'm beginning to realise that I don't need to do. I know that I can talk with any one of my friends about anything that I need to."
"Good." And he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"I think that's enough introspection for one night, don't you?"
"I suppose so. You want ice cream when we get in?"
"What flavour you got?"
"Guess."
"Toffee Ripple?"
"In one! You want some then?"
"Hell yeah!"
"You want your chocolate sauce with it too?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Anything else?"
"Hell yeah!"
"What then?"
"You babes."
"Flirt!"
"Sue me!"
"Blow me!"
"Again?"
"You up to it?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Good good."
"Carry on? Sure. That's a great idea." Trix was in.
"Yeah, that would be cool." Trace was in.
"Definitely." And Sean was in too. Conner had already agreed with me the night before.
"Excellent, then it's settled. We're a band."
"What do you want to do? Keep on with covers or shall we write our own material?"
"Could do both. I've got about seven songs that I've written though."
"Wow! I thought you said that you'd only done the one?"
"Yeah but I enjoyed seeing it take shape you know? I wrote more when I got bored in classes and stuff."
"Yeah. If all your songs are as good as that one, then we'll make the big time."
"That might be a little too optimistic Trace."
"No seriously, I was actually honoured that you wanted me to play Knowing That You Love Me. It was pretty good stuff Danny. If it's all like that and we can play it well enough then I'm serious, we could go somewhere with all this."
"Would we want that? To be rock stars?"
"I would!"
"Yeah!"
"Would be pretty damn cool."
"I think so, yeah. Like I said though, we're looking ahead of ourselves. We haven't even finished school yet."
"If we were on a record deal, we wouldn't need to go to school, we'd be made for life."
"That's true."
"Listen to these guy's Luke! Filling their heads with dreams of living the high life! They'll be expecting OBE's for long time service to the British Music Industry before long!"
"Ahh! Don't worry Scott! We won't forget to call you every now and then when we're on our world tours!"
"Oh Trix! You running a temperature?"
"Ha ha! When do you want to rehearse then Danny?"
"I don't know, every other day after school, every three days? Something like that?"
"Sounds cool. Shall we do anything tonight after school?"
"I have footy club, I missed it last week for a rehearsal. I shouldn't really miss it again this week. How about tomorrow?"
"Fine by me, anyone who can't make it? Excellent, tomorrow after school it is."
"Can we come along? You know, just listen to you play?"
"Yeah if you want, just don't laugh if we fuck up that's all."
"I have no idea about music and that. I probably wouldn't be able to tell if you'd fucked up or not anyway."
"Probably better that way."
"So what are these songs you've written then Danny?"
"I'll show you tomorrow."
"Cool, guess who I saw this morning?"
"Who?"
"I'll give you a clue, his face is out here." Trix made what was obviously an exaggerated gesture with his hands.
"Oh."
"John Meyrick."
"I guessed."
"What? I thought you would have been happy?"
"Trix, I don't like people knowing that I'm violent!"
"You're not, usually."
"I don't want them thinking I am ever though, I'll get a bad name for myself."
"Well it's the first time, nobody will make that much of it."
"I hope so."
"Trust me."
"Hey Danny."
"Hey James."
"I want to congratulate you on your singing the other night. You really were great. I had no idea that you could sing like that man! You were fucking cool, and did you write that song?"
"Yeah, I wrote it, I wasn't that good though I don't think."
"You were! Everyone thought so. Conner should be proud." He whispered the last sentence so that nobody in the school could hear.
"Really? Well the others were good to, that would have helped a lot."
"Yeah obviously, but you were damn good."
"Thanks."
"Any time. You should think about doing a concert or something like that. House charity maybe, that's coming up soon, you'll have to think of something to do anyway, that way you can get people listening to you and you can give the proceeds to charity."
"That might not be a bad idea actually."
"You should seriously think about it. If I were you I'd make a demo tape too and send it off to record companies."
"Yeah, but to who at the companies?"
"I don't know, maybe if you just send it they'll give it to the right guy."
"Hmm, I'm not sure, they probably get like fifty of those a day."
"Nothing to loose."
"I suppose so."
"I would if I were you. That is if you want to become, like, famous and all."
"We were talking about that at break time actually. I think it's something that if it were to happen, it would be really cool, but it isn't something that we wouldn't, you know, ruin our A-levels and University degrees over."
"Yeah, but it's a good fall back plan."
"Yeah."
"OK, well I gotta split. I'll give you a ring tonight OK?"
"Sure, yeah. Speak to ya later James."
That was a good idea. He had set the wheels turning in my mind now. A concert, where people would be willing to pay to come and listen to us. If we had made as big an impact as James had said we did, then it should go down pretty well. I liked that idea!
OK stay tuned for more instalments and don't forget to write wanna_get_lucky@hotmail.com