I would like to thank the guys on niftyorg, niftywriters, and my friend Wes for their help and encouragement. This is the first story that I have used an editor. I think he done an excellent job.
Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. It never happened. This story contains sex between teen boys. If you are under the age of 18 or do not approve of gay sex, or the subject matter is not legal in the area you reside, please do not read further.
After the argument in the locker room, Lon and Jackson walked in silence to Lon's car for the ride to Jackson's house. The anger between them was still palpable.
As they got into the car, Lon could hold his frustration no longer. Facing Jackson, he angrily asked, "Why did you mess up Travis's night like this? We should all be out celebrating his win tonight, but now we can't because you had to be such an asshole."
Jackson tensed up as he replied, "Me, the asshole? I'm not the one who kissed him. I should have kicked that boy's ass."
Lon retorted, "Yeah, you're the asshole all right. This was to be a good night for your brother, winning his first real match. I thought it would have been good for him if his brother were there to see it so both of you could celebrate his victory together." The car engine sputtered to life.
Jackson turned to Lon and spit out, "Well, Christian ruined his night by beating him up."
Lon shook his head as his hands rested on the steering wheel. "You just don't get it. Your words hurt him a lot more than the beating he took from Christian tonight. It's just like the day you left him in the park. He and I talked about it after I went back and picked him up. When I got there, he was still sitting on his knees crying his eyes out. He was feeling totally rejected, especially by you. His own brother beats the shit out of him, but worse than that, was the verbal abuse you gave him that day. Your words cut him to the bone." The car made its way backward out of the parking place.
Jackson paused before replying, "I never meant to hurt him. I just wanted to rock his world a little, hoping that would snap him out of him 'thinking' he was gay."
Lon pulled the car into traffic and said, "Whether you meant to or not, you really hurt your brother that day. I'm sure you hurt him even more tonight. And," Lon gripped the wheel a bit more tightly, "he does not 'think' he is gay. He really is gay. He did not choose to be that way, he just is."
Jackson came back quickly with a bitter expression on his face, "Well I can't have a brother who is gay. What would people say? All my friends know how I feel about gays."
Lon visibly calmed himself. "First, what does it matter what people say to you about Travis being gay? You're not the one who is gay. Second, he's not asking you to become gay, but just to accept him as a person for who and what he is. Just because he's a little bit different, are you willing to lose him completely as your brother? He feels like he already has lost you as a brother. Remember I told you during the match that you don't even know me after all these years?"
"Yes," Jackson said.
Without changing his expression, Lon said, "Well I am gay, too."
Jackson blurted back, "No, you're not! I would know!" His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Would you?" Lon asked quietly. "You didn't know about Travis. I've known I was gay for maybe six years now. You and I have known each other since, what, the 6th grade. And you didn't even know I wrestled! Well, you can see for yourself that someone has been teaching your brother. I know how you feel about gays and wrestling, so I kept you from finding out. Now you can let this information change our friendship if you want, but I wanted to try to help you understand that you can still be friends with your brother even though he's gay. If you're scared he'll try to make a pass at you, consider this. I've never tried to make a pass at you, have I? And I can't count the number of times I've seen you naked, spending the night together as kids, in the gym locker rooms in junior high, and at the high school."
Lon turned the car into the driveway to Jackson's apartment and killed the motor so they could talk a bit longer. Jackson replied a bit more softly, "I'm not worried about him making a pass at me. It's just that I hate gays. I've hated them all my life. It's hard to change all of a sudden to acknowledge that my own brother is a fag. I'm going to try to accept him, but it won't happen over night. It's gonna be really hard not to say something when I see him kissing some dude."
Lon focused his eyes on Jackson like laser. "You really need to be telling this to Travis, not me. He really, really needs to hear this from you. He's staying at my house for a couple of days since it'd look real bad to your mom and dad if he went home all messed up like his face is. You wanna come over and talk to him?"
Jackson nodded negatively. "No, I don't think so. I've been hit really hard tonight. I think I better sleep on all this. I mean it's has been a real shock for me to find out that my brother's a fag and so are you, after all these years. And that's along with everything else that happened tonight."
"Ok" Lon replied earnestly, I understand your position. But please realize that your brother is being torn apart inside over the thought of losing everyone he loves: his mom, his dad, and his brother because of this. But he's realizing more and more each day that this is not something he has control over, it's just the way he is. And he is willing lose them if that is what it takes. "It's taken him several months to decide that he can even accept himself as being gay. I've tried to help and encourage him when I can, but there's only so much I can do. He really looks up to you. The biggest thing he needs right now to see that his big brother will stand by him. He's waiting for that before he believes he can even think of telling his mom and dad."
"I never realized this was so hard for him too," Jackson said, pensively. "What about this Jerry guy? Are he and Travis like...uh..."
Lon smiled and almost laughed out loud, Jackson couldn't even say the words to ask the question. "You mean are they boy friends?" Lon saw Jackson almost cringe, as the words seemed almost to cause him pain. "I can't answer that one for you. I only know that they are very close. You saw for yourself that Jerry was the first one on his mind when Travis woke up. Only Travis or Jerry could answer for you. But let me share a bit of wisdom that Travis has taught me. He told me, 'Never judge a man until you have been inside his head, because you never know what's going on in there or what he is fighting.' "
They said their good-byes as Jackson exited the car and walked to his apartment. Lon reflected on how Jackson is still a long way from being able to accept his brother for who he was, but hoped that their conversation helped at least a little. If it did, then tonight was all worth it. Only time will tell.
TBC
If you would like to see pictures of the wrestlers in my stories I can email them to you upon request. All comments are welcomed and encouraged. Send them to: dude_chevy@yahoo.com You can see more of my stories at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fantasy_Wrestling_Stories/
Chevy
Thanks to the community for help with editing.