It's been forever since I posted :bomb:

And you carry the one.

Chapter 5

 

 

 

He awoke to the sound of a car door opening and closing. Someone knocked on the window. It was really loud considering they had knocked right where his head was. Where the hell was he? He turned to look at a weight on his shoulder. Jonny was sleeping there. Then it came back to him. There were in the limo, and Will and Guy were with Michael Jackson.

 

He looks so peaceful like that. Shame I have to wake him. He’s even making that grumbling sound he makes when he’s having a good dream. Fuck it’s cold. These jackets weren’t meant for the cold.

 

“Hey. Jonny. Wake up. And stop drooling. Your getting it all over my jacket.” he said as he poked him.

 

“Wha? 5 more minutes.” he said, half asleep.

 

“If you get up I’ll make pancakes.”

 

He sat straight up. Then he saw it was night and they were in the limo.

 

“Aww damn it Chris.” he said disappointed.

 

Chris laughed.

 

“Come on it’s raining and I want to get inside.”

 

They both got out and the tall man from earlier came up to them.

 

“Here’s your keys. You’ll be sleeping in rooms 42 and 45. Fred will meet you guys in the doughnut shop across the street tomorrow morning so you can chose where you’ll be traveling next.” he said in a deep voice.

 

“Alright thanks then. Any idea when he’ll be meeting us?” Chris said.

 

“You’ll know.” the man said.

 

Let me guess another sticky note. I hate sticky notes.

 

With that they walked off into the hotel to search their room.

 

“Which one do we get?” asked Jonny.

 

“I say we get 42.”

 

“Alright then. Looks like it’s on the second story.”

 

“Elevator or stairs?”

 

“Elevator. ” answered Jonny.

__________________________________

 

When they got to their room they saw that there was only one bed for 2 people.

 

“Oh fuck, only one bed.” said Chris annoyed.

 

“What afraid I’ll bite?” said Jonny jokingly.

 

“Maybe.”

 

Jonny laughed.

 

Chris walked over to the remote.

 

Lets see what’s on the tele. Sesame Street. Didn’t they only show this in the mornings? And what is this doing in a different dimension?

 

Jonny sat on the edge of the bed and watched the T.V screen.

 

“Doesn’t this only come in the mornings?” Jonny said confused.

 

“Yeah. It’s weird. But then again look at what else has happened today.” Chris smiled and layed upright on the bed against the bed post with a pillow holding him up.

 

Jonny snorted and moved from where he was sitting and layed down next to Chris and watched the television. He laughed at something or other on the T.V. but Chris wasn’t paying attention. He was too busy staring a Jonny.

 

I should tell him. No. Yes. God damn it Christopher you won’t get a chance as perfect as this anytime soon. But still…. Fuck it, if I never try I’ll never know.

 

“Hey Jonny. I’ve got to tell you something.”

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

 

“Yeah Chris?” he didn’t look away from the screen.

 

“Jonny, look at me.”

 

The tone in which he said that got his attention.

 

“What is it?”

 

Chris looked at him and swallowed hard, he avoided Jonny’s eyes and looked at the screen.

 

Fuck Chris say something. It’s now or never.

 

“I love you Jonny. Very much.”

 

Jonny looked confused. “Yeah I love you too Chris.”

 

“No. Fuck I don’t know how to say this. Do you remember that night we looked out at the stars with Will and Guy?”

 

“The night you came up with Yellow?”

 

“The very one. I took a look at you that night and I fell for you. I fell hard. And I wrote it about you.”

 

Jonny didn’t say anything. Chris looked at anything but Jonny. He realized the T.V. was turned off when Jonny turned to listen to him. He had always been a good listener. The room was silent. It was silent for much to long.

 

“Jonny. Please say something.” Chris said as he looked up.

 

He realized Jonny was smiling.

 

“Why are you smiling?” Chris said confused.

 

“Because it took you so long. And now that were in a different dimension you tell me.”

 

Chris was about to give an explaination but Jonny had already crushed his mouth onto his. Chris didn’t even realize what had happened until Jonny pulled away. It was Jonny’s turn to avoid Chris’ eyes now. Chris looked at him in surprise and noticed Jonny had turned a bright shade of pink. He smiled, laid on top of him, and kissed him back. The kiss was slow and gentle. Jonny pulled away after what seemed an eternity and said:

 

“Wait Chris, what about Gwen?”

 

“Who’s Gwen?” Chris said with a wide smile on his face. Jonny smiled too.

 

“Did I ever tell you what a great smile you have?”

 

“You may have mentioned it. Did I ever tell you what a great kisser you were?”

 

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Chris winked and went back to kissing him.

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

 

Chris was on top of Jonny, kissing him.

 

Fuck you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this Jonny. I’ve got you, I’m not holding back. Not now.

 

The kiss gradually started getting faster and rougher. He slid his hands down Jonny’s chest and tugged at his belt buckle. Jonny made a moan and Chris smiled as he kissed him. Jonny slid one of his hands down to the back of Chris’s thigh. The other became intertwined with Chris’ fingers. Chris laughed a little. Not because it was funny, but because he was happy. He moved his lips down to Jonny’s neck and moved his free hand to the front of Jonny’s pants and rubbed the lump there. Jonny’s hips twitched and Chris heard a groan come out of him.

 

Oh this is going to be good.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Chris woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. His cell phone. He looked around for it. He found he was holding Jonny in his arms. He took a moment to look at him and take in the moment. It was cold. He realized he had his shirt off. And pants.

 

He’s making the grumbling noises again. Must be having a good dream. It’s fucking cold. Where’s my phone? What time is it?

 

It was still dark outside. He got out of bed slowly and walked to the window. Still raining. He picked up his phone. 4 AM.

 

“Hello? Hey Guy. Will what? Yeah. Room 45. Come to 42 so I can give you the keys. No. Sex with hookers. Yes really. That’s why the room smells like sex. Alright see you in 5.”

 

“Who was that?” Jonny had woken up.

 

“Guy, he says Will got drunk.”

 

Jonny let out a tired laughed. Will got drunk with Michael Jackson.

 

“Go back to sleep. Guy will be coming by to pick up their keys.”

 

“You might want to put some pants on then.”

 

Chris looked down and smiled.

 

Oh yeah pants. Right.

 

He put them on quickly when he heard a knock at the door.

 

 

ECONOMICS

 

Chris walked into class the next day, positively glowing. Never before had things gone so right in his life.

Not only was Jonny acknowledging his existence, they were also becoming friends. When Chris's parents asked where he was going the afternoon before, and he answered, “Hanging out with Jonny,” he had to hold his breath to stop himself from squeeing.

As he sat down in his seat, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

“Hey, Chris!” Jonny said as he walked by.

“Hi, Jonny!” Chris breathlessly replied. Then he turned to Clarissa, who really couldn't have cared less, and said, “He said 'hi' to me. Ee!”

“So that weird thing hasn't changed, I see,” Clarissa said. Chris, recognizing that Clarissa didn't care about him, turned his head to face the front of the room. As he did, he caught a glimpse of Jonny, who seemed to be looking over at him. Chris blushed and tried to hold back the grin that was tearing it's way onto his face. Then he got an idea.

“Hey, Guy,” Chris called to his right. “Come here real quick, I need your help.”

Guy, not too thrilled to have his conversation with Amber interrupted, sighed and walked over to Chris.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You know how to get girls, right? 'Cause you're a player?”

“Why does everyone think that?”

“You're not?” Chris asked, dumbfounded.

“No. And... between you and me,” Guy leaned forward and whispered, “I've never actually, you know, had a girlfriend before.”

“Seriously?!?!”

“Seriously.”

“Me neither,” Chris shrugged. “Anyway... do you think you could still help me?”

“With what?”

“What do you think I could do to get Jonny to like me? I mean, I think we're friends now, which is great, but I still want him to like me.”

Guy thought for a few moments. “Oh! First, you should get a haircut.”

“Haircut?” Chris repeated, brushing a hand through his curls. Then he added, reluctantly, “I guess I could do that.”

“Good... Yeah, try that first, see how it goes. Good luck, then,” he said, and walked back to Amber.

“So, anyway, Friday's not gonna work for me,” Amber said. “For the movie. Is Saturday OK?”

“Yeah, it should be,” Guy replied. “What's with Friday?”

“My dad's coming home from his business trip. I have to go with my mom to pick him up from the airport.”

“Oh. Well, have fun with that.”

“I'd much rather be having fun with you,” she said, winking. Then she quickly frowned. “Oh, that sounded a lot dirtier than I meant it to.”

Guy laughed. “It's all right.”

A few seats over, Will was buried in a book about painting. It told about different artists throughout history, different styles of painting, and all sorts of other artsy things. Will was reading it in hopes of furthering his knowledge of art.

He flipped the page and saw the most beautiful painting he'd ever seen. It was a simple painting of melons titled, “Viva la Vida.” It was not extravagant by any means, which was what added to its marvelousness. More importantly, Will found it to be very thought-provoking. Why such a meaningful title for such an ordinary subject?

He spent the entire class thinking about that painting. In fact, he managed to space out and miss every single thing the teacher said to them. Only after the bell rang did he wake up from his thoughts. He looked around the room, alarmed, to see that everyone was leaving. So, he grabbed his books and went along on his merry way.

While walking down the hallway, he realised that he was behind Chris and Jonny. Though he wasn't a nosy person, he couldn't help overhearing their conversation.

“I had a great time yesterday,” Jonny said.

“Me too,” Chris replied. “I really like spending time with you, Jonny.”

“I have to be honest, you're a lot cooler than I thought you were. You know, you kinda come off as a huge dork.”

“I know,” Chris disappointedly said. “That's why nobody likes me.”

“No, lots of people like you,” Jonny said, reassuringly.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“...Do you like me?” Chris asked.

“Well, from what I've gathered, you're a neurotic freak and very self-deprecating... but you're pretty awesome,” Jonny admitted.

Chris smiled. “Oh, Jonny, you're killing me.”

Jonny laughed, “Why do you like me so much?”

“I don't know,” Chris sighed. “I just do.”

“Well, I appreciate it. And... maybe I'll return the favor.”

 

 

And You Carry The One - Chapter 8

 

 

 

Knock. Knock. Knock……….. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

 

“Hold your horses Guy, I’m coming.” He said as he opened the door.

 

“Hello Chris.”

 

To his surprise it wasn’t Guy with a clumsy Will , but Fred. The short man entered without hesitation, or permission for that matter.

 

“Are you ready to pick where you’ll be traveling to next?”

 

“What?! I…. No. It’s 4 am. Why are you here?”

 

“Well I’m a morning person. And why does this room smell like fantastic sex?”

 

“I uh… we hired hookers.”

 

“What?”

 

“WE HIRED HOOKERS.”

 

“No you didn’t , this dimension doesn’t have hookers. I created it. I should know.”

 

“Err.. ..Well never mind that now, your friend said you’ll meet us in the doughnut shop. Why are you here?” Chris was starting to get angry with him.

 

“I wanted to tell you what time you’ll be meeting me. I know how much you hate sticky notes.”

 

How does he know I hate sticky notes?

 

“Well what time then?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“WHAT TIME THEN?”

 

“11 am. Don’t be late Chris.” And with that the small man walked out and closed the door behind him.

 

“I don’t like Fred.” Jonny had woken up and was sitting on the side of the bed.

 

“Yeah that makes two of us Jonny.”

 

Chris walked over, sat right beside him, and held his hand.

 

“Why’d you bring us here?” Jonny had a serious look on his face.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You’re the only one of us who can. You’ve done it more than enough times to know what goes on.”

 

“I don’t know. I’ve been bored lately. I think I needed a change.” Chris winced. He had torn the fabric of reality because he was bored? Even he didn’t buy it.

 

“You and I both know that’s not true. You know you can tell me. I won‘t tell.”

 

Chris bit his lip and took a deep breath.

 

“I just couldn’t handle it there anymore Jonny. I’ve got to much going on. With the tour, the album, Gwen, the kids. She wants a divorce, did you know? We haven’t had sex in months. On top of that me and Will have been fighting non stop these past couple weeks, even before all this. And now it seems all we do is perform, compose, eat, and sleep. We barely even talk to each other apart from composing. I needed to go someplace that wasn’t real. Someplace to get away from it all. Someplace like this.”

 

Jonny stayed quiet for a long time.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have…..”

 

“Could have what? Stopped the tour? Made Gwen come back? Make me and Will kiss and make up? No you couldn’t have Jonny. You know that. I know that. The whole fucking world knows that.” Chris didn’t mean it as bad as it sounded. Or maybe he did. His mind wasn’t working right at this point.

 

Jonny looked at the floor.

 

“Maybe I couldn’t have done those things. But I would have understood. I would have been there.”

 

“Well that’s good for you isn’t it? Maybe I don‘t fucking want your understanding. Ever thought of that? I don‘t give a damn if you’re here or not.” Chris gave him a cold look. Jonny looked at him in surprise. He was hurt. There were no other words for it.

 

“Fuck you.”

 

He stood up and walked to the door.

 

“Wait Jonny I didn’t mean-”

 

The door had been slammed shut.

 

 

Separation, Communication and Devastation

Part 5

 

 

Dear Mr. Jonathan Mark Buckland,

 

I have something I need to tell you... I'm pregnant...

Just kidding. I was just trying to start this letter of dramatically, you know, like they do on those crappy soap operas.

Anyway, moving on...

I don't know where Simone lives, actually. Now that the weather's really hot she can't grip onto her pencil. Because she sweats so much it just slides out of her hand, so we haven't been able to communicate. I still hang with her, though.

I told the one instructor that doesn't hate my guts and doesn't wish me a painful death today about the bullying. She said she'd talk to the bullies about it, and she did. But except instead of the bullying stopping, they beat me up again today and forced Margaret (that's the nice camp director's name) to help. She threw a giant jug of orange juice at me, and the juice entered the cuts in my skin (you know, from when they bashed me) and it stang so much.

Sorry, if there this letter is a little wet, it's because I'm here in my cabin crying my eyes out, which I'm also getting teased for.

And, oh my God, the chocolate? Thank you SOOO much, it was a saviour. I'm craving more though, which is probably a sign that I shouldn't have eaten the whole block in four minutes.

And M 'n M's? Jonny!! You shouldn't have told me. You know they're my favourite.

Aww. Tooth decay? You'd have to be the cutest piece of tooth decay in the world.

And yeah, I only have five now. I dropped a few photos in a pile of dog shit on the way to choir practice. I didn't even attempt to rescue them. But hopefully that'll be enough.

And the World Spelling Cup is the best thing since sliced bread, how could people not watch it? And House. House is awesome.

Did your little bro have a stinkbomb? Did you plant it in Corey's locker. DID HE CRAWL INTO A HOLE AND CRY HIS EYES OUT AND THEN DIE??

Who's your relief teacher? Mrs McEwan? She sucks.

ULTIMATE ROBOT FIGHTING LLAMAS!! CHOCOLATE!! Honestly, Jonny, I'm impressed. I can't wait. It sounds great. Let's set a date. And my poems have gotten worse and worse of late.

 

Your bestest friend in the whole wide world.

Sincerely,

Warm regards,

Christopher Anthony John Martin.

 

(See, I'm a professional now, Jonny!!)

 

 

 

Part 6

 

 

Jonny?

 

Why haven't you replied to me yet? Is it something I said?? If so, I'm really sorry.

Anyway, Simone ditched me yesterday to hang with the 'cool kids'. I was shocked!!

In other news... Someone told me today I had a cool shirt! I was wearing my Space Invaders one and they said it was awesome. No, actually they said it was cool, but still! I'm not sure if they were being sarcastic or not, though...I'm not too good at detecting it.

Oh, and I got forced to eat a pickle that had been on the ground today. Ugh. Firstly, I can't eat pickles; I'm allergic. And secondly, it had been on the ground. I mean, there could've been ants or spiders or snails or all of them on there just before the pickle got dropped.

I'm well and truly fed up of these bullies.

My bald spot of hair has kind of grown back. It's shorter than the rest of my luscious locks (kidding!) but it still covers the bald patch.

And I've just provided you with a heap of information you really didn't need to know, but please, reply ASAP.

 

Please?

I love you, my dearest Jonny,

With all my heart,

Shall we never part,

Look, it's a llama eating a grocery cart!!

Yay!!

 

Another crappy poem. Stop paying attention to these, please. They're just intolerable.

 

Love,

Chris xxx

 

 

 

Part 7

 

 

Jonny,

 

Please send me anything, a crappy drawing of a stick figure (I take that back; stick figures rock!), anything, please!

Just so I know you're still alive. It sucks we can't have cell phones at this camp.

Please, please, please, please. I can go on and on if I have to.

I've been up all night worrying about you. I asked Margaret if i could use her mobile, but she refused and said it wasn't fair.

 

I hope you're okay,

Chris.

 

(P.S. Please reply!!)

(P.P.S. Just had to remind you so you won't forget. But still, please reply!!)

 

 

if, while reading this, you die of cuteness, it's not my fault. :cheesy:

 

ECONOMICS

 

 

Will stood by his seat, simply removing his backpack, when Jonny rushed up to him.

“Will, oh my God, did you see Chris?” Jonny asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean have you seen Chris today?”

“No, why? Are you looking for him?”

“No, no, no, no,” Jonny rambled. Then, with big eyes, he leaned forward and said, “He cut his hair.”

Will didn't really care. “Really?”

“Will, he... I...” Jonny fumbled with the words. “Well, I mean...”

Will could see that Jonny was becoming very flustered.

“A haircut, seriously?” he said in disbelief. “That's what it took?”

“No, not just that,” Jonny replied. “But, Will, you should see him now...”

Will glanced around the room, looking for Chris. Sure enough, Chris was standing a few rows away, talking to Guy.

“I don't know if I like this,” Chris said. “It feels weird.”

“You look fine, man,” Guy said.

“Do you think Jonny will like it?”

“I don't see why not,” Guy replied. “It's a good look for you.”

Chris sighed, rubbed his hand against his short hair, and repeated, “It feels weird.”

“Wow, I can actually see around his head now,” Will laughed.

“Should I tell him?” Jonny asked.

“Yeah, he'd probably like to know.”

“Oh, but I'm really nervous now.”

“Why are you nervous?” Will asked, lightly smacking Jonny. “You already know he likes you. Actually, he's, like, hopelessly in love with you. Though, I suppose it's not hopeless anymore.”

“But what if he, like, suddenly changed his mind?”

“Since yesterday, Jonny? I don't think so. Go over there and tell him.”

After a few seconds of standing still, Will pushed Jonny away from him.

Jonny stumbled, but once he regained his balance, he started to walk over to Chris. His heart was pounding in his chest and he desperately needed a drink of water.

By that point, Chris was walking over to his own seat.

I really, really hope Jonny likes my haircut, he thought. Otherwise I-

“Chris!” Jonny called. Chris whirled around and nervously scratched behind his ear.

“Jonny, hi!” He wasted no time, and quickly spit out, “Do you like my hair?”

Jonny smiled. “Yeah... actually, I have something I need to... tell you...”

“Oh, God, what is it? Do you hate me now?”

Jonny laughed at how ridiculously paranoid Chris was being, without thinking about how he was probably just as paranoid. His nervousness subsided, however, when he noticed the adorably confused look on Chris's face.

Somehow, in those few moments, he had all the courage in the world. And so, with all that courage built up inside of him- what else was he to do?- he kissed Chris.

 

 

Chris slowly opened his eyes. It felt like he just woke up, but he was rather confused by the concerned-looking Jonny hovering over him.

Whoa... he thought. What happened?

“What happened?” he voiced. Jonny breathed a sigh of relief and held out a hand to help Chris up.

Chris gladly accepted and was pulled to his feet. He looked around to see that he was in his Economics class, and there were a few people gathered around him.

“Um, you, uh... fainted,” Jonny said in a low voice.

“I did?”

“Yeah.”

“OK, everyone, back to your seats, please!” the teacher announced. Jonny looked at Chris for a few more seconds, smiled, then left. The teacher rushed over to Chris.

“Chris, are you OK? Do you want to go to the nurse or something?”

“No, I'm fine,” Chris said. “Thanks.”

The teacher didn't seem to be satisfied with his answer, but accepted it anyway. “Well, if you feel like you're going to pass out again, just let me know, OK?”

“OK.” Chris sat down in his seat.

He rarely paid attention in class, and today was definitely no exception.

He felt... odd. He'd never fainted before, and on top of feeling a little lightheaded, he was also a bit... he wasn't sure how to describe it. It was like butterflies, almost, but a thousand times more fluttery. And also, some anxiety was thrown in there.

It was the weirdest thing ever.

When class finally ended, he walked as slowly as he could to the door, as he still wasn't feeling too hot. Jonny noticed, and slowed down his pace as well.

“Chris, how are you doing?” Jonny asked.

“I'm still a bit... woozy,” Chris said. “Jonny, what happened? Why did I faint?”

“Oh...” Jonny said, blushing like crazy. “I might have, um... I might have, you know, kissed you.”

“WHAT?” Chris exclaimed. He stopped walking altogether, and Jonny started to worry a bit.

“And then you fainted... I took it as a bad sign,” Jonny frowned. “I'm sorry.”

“No, no, don't be sorry. It's not a bad sign at all,” Chris said with one breath, “in fact, it's just that I'm a little shocked because I never thought this would happen and now it's happening and I'm just a little shocked and right now I really need to sit down.”

“We're in the middle of the hallway, that might be a bit hard,” Jonny said. “Come on, we'll walk to the cafeteria, and you can lean on me if you need to.”

“Thank you, Jonny,” Chris said. They both began to walk, and Chris placed his hand on Jonny's shoulder to stabilize himself. Much to his surprise, moments later he felt a hand- which happened to be one of Jonny's- rest on his hip.

Like a-thousand-times-more-fluttery butterflies.

 

 

 

 

:blush::wacky:

It Was All...

 

Part 2

 

 

I stepped out of the shower and quickly wrapped myself in a towel. My curls were already sticking me in the eye. I swiftly brushed them away and made sure the towel was on tight enough. I had stupidly forgotten to bring clean clothes into the shower room, but I figured that by that point the dressing room would be empty. The only problem was getting to the dressing room.

 

I slowly opened the door of the shower room, peeking my head out to see if there were people around. I didn't see anyone. Tightly holding on to my towel, I made a run for it. It's really not the best idea to run in a towel. Regardless, I made it without any embarrassing mishaps occurring. I pushed the door open and stumbled inside, only to find that someone else was already in there.

 

“Oh, shit. Sorry!” I apologized as the dark-haired man turned around. He took one look at me and turned back.

 

“No, it's OK. Do you need to get changed? 'Cause I can leave. I wanted to talk to you, but it can wait,” he rambled.

 

“You wanted to talk to me?” He nodded, his back still turned. I had a feeling that I knew what he wanted to talk about.

 

“It can wait if you need to change. I'll just be waiting outside,” he added as he walked towards the door, trying not to look at me.

 

“Right... give me about five minutes, then?” I said as he opened the door.

 

“I'll just be waiting out here.”

 

Over the next five minutes, I tried to dress as slowly as I could. I really didn't want to talk to Guy. It's not that I didn't like him, actually, the problem stemmed from the fact that I did like him. Much more than I'd care to admit. Jonny told me he thought Guy felt the same, but I couldn't be too sure. And knowing Jonny, he'd probably gone and talked to Guy about it, too. I was not prepared to deal with all of this at that moment. But I thought something to myself, as I was putting on my socks, which was will I ever be prepared to deal with all of this? Is there even a way to prepare for it? It's not like I had a choice, anyway.

 

Once the last article of clothing had been placed on me, there was really no reason left for me to stall. I opened the door, and Guy was sitting right outside, waiting. When he saw me, he stood up.

 

“So, you wanted to talk?” I asked.

 

“Yeah,” was all he said. He kept his eyes pointed at the ground, his fingers fumbling with the hem on his shirt.

 

“Were you planning on actually talking?” He remained silent for a few more moments.

 

“Jonny told you.” My earlier suspicions that Jonny had talked to Guy appeared to be correct.

 

“And then he told you?” Guy stopped messing with his shirt, and took a step closer. Then he lifted those gorgeous eyes of his.

 

“Are you... interested?” There was no point lying to him, as it wouldn't do either of us any good.

 

“Yes,” I said, moving closer to him. “Very much.” He didn't say anything in return, but he did make a sudden movement towards the door of the dressing room. Before I knew it, we were both back in there, sitting on the large sofa.

 

“No pressure, right?” Guy said, staring awkwardly at the floor. I just stared at his gorgeous face, quite unsure of what he meant. Of course, I'd stare at that handsome man all day long if I could, with his rugged stubble laying against his upper lip in such a way that made him even more irresistible, if that was even possible. He finally looked up at me, after a few moments of silence, and clarified, “I mean, it's all right if nothing happens between us...”

 

I wanted to ask him if he was telling me it's all right or asking me, but those dark eyes were more than I could handle. Instead, I just leaned forward, hoping he'd get the hint. He followed my motion, and before long our lips met. It was a quick kiss at first; just testing the waters. His lips felt smooth and he tasted like watermelon, probably because that was the only thing that had been left on the fruit tray after the show. It was nice, though.

 

I half-expected him to decide that none of this was a good idea, and bolt out of the room as quickly as he could. He didn't, though, which I was extremely grateful for. I was also grateful that we were sitting, as the height difference between us could have been awkward. Speaking of awkward, there we were, still centimeters apart, but not doing anything, not saying anything. But as I looked deeper into his hypnotizing eyes, I realised the silence was not so horrible, and there was a burning question longing to leap from his smooth lips: Should we take this back to my place?

 

Now, as we were on tour in a foreign country, it was not so much his place as his hotel room, but within ten minutes he led me into the small, dimly lit room. The bed was snug against the corner wall, its neatly-made sheets just begging to be ruffled. It welcomed me with open arms as I sat down and watched Guy walk over to the mini-bar.

 

“Do you want anything?” he asked, grabbing a bottle of some unidentified liquid.

 

“What, you need to get drunk to do it with me?” He turned around with an odd expression on his face, both apologetic and horrified. I tried to laugh it off. “I'm good.”

 

Deciding that the alcohol probably wasn't the best idea (or maybe he never actually planned on drinking anything), he stored the bottle back in its resting place. “I'm sorry, I'm just a bit nervous,” he said. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and flopped down beside me on the bed. “This is... something I've been thinking about for a while, you know, and it's just a little... nerve-wracking to actually be here.”

 

“I know what you mean,” I said and flashed him a warm smile. “There's no reason to be, though, right? Like you said, no pressure.”

 

“Right, no pressure...” He closed his eyes and inaudibly whispered something, probably talking to himself. With nothing else to do, I moved as close to his face as I could, just to entertain myself and maybe even startle him when he opened his eyes again. A few moments later, he stopped his whispering and said, “I can feel your breath, you know that, right?”

 

“You can? Oh.” I backed away, and Guy opened his eyes. The next thing I knew, he was brushing his hand against my face, pushing away a lock of hair, which was still a bit damp from earlier. His hand slid down to my collarbone and rested there for a minute.

 

“You have such a nice neck,” he muttered. Then he pulled his hand away. “Sorry, I'm just really nervous.”

 

This time I decided to take the lead. Cupping his face in my hand, I slowly leaned in and pressed my lips against his. He was much more enthusiastic now, and soon enough I felt his tongue slip into my mouth. He still tasted like watermelon. I found myself subconsciously trying to remove clothing, both his and mine, and I think he might have been doing the same. It's a bit weird to think back on all of it and realize that I was making out with Guy, while sitting on the bed in his hotel room and undressing. It felt so natural, though, when it was happening.

 

Some odd minutes later, I found myself stripped down to just my boxers and throwing Guy's jeans to the floor. He scooted back up against the pillows, and I quickly climbed over him. Neither one of us could get enough of the other, it seemed. He had a firm grip on my back, though in due time his hold moved to the waistband of my boxers. This was gonna be a long night.

 

 

 

:wink3:

And You Carry The One - Chapter 9

 

Chris' point of view.

 

 

He sat there at the edge of the bed staring at the door. He moved his hand where Jonny had been sitting. It was still warm.

 

Why did I say that? Why the fuck did I say it? I didn’t mean it. I don’t think-

 

His train of thought was cut off by a knock at the door. He literally ran over to it and fumbled with the lock. Stupid lock. How dare it get between him and Jonny. He opened the door but his heart sank when it was only Guy and a drunk Will. Guy was holding Will’s hand and Will was busy trying to call a taxi to take them to the hotel. It would have been funny if Chris wasn’t feeling the way he was at the moment.

 

“Hey Chris I- why does this place smell like sex?”

 

“Me and Jonny just finished having fantastic passionate sex with one another.”

 

“Yeah and I’m the queen of England. Where is Jonny anyway?”

 

“We got into a fight. He ran off.”

 

“You got into a fight at 4 AM? What could you have possibly been fighting about?”

 

“HELLO?! Taxi man? No. YES. DON‘T FUCKING CALL ME AGAIN.”

 

They both turned to look at Will who was apparently calling the taxi driver.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO BUM HOLES STARING AT? SHUT UP I‘M ON THE PHONE. SHHH. NO.”

 

Guy rolled his eyes. “Well you can tell me about it later. I got to show Mr. I-can’t-hold-my-beer-for-shit to our room. Come on Will.” Guy grabbed Will’s hand and lead him to the door as if he was a small child..

 

“NO. I CAN’T LADY. JUST BECAUSE YOUR NUMBERS BEEN DISCONNECTED-”

 

The door was closed. Chris sighed and walked over to the bed and laid down. He stared at the ceiling. There was a strange stain on it. A couple actually. He didn’t want to think of what on Earth they could possibly be. He closed his eyes and listened to the room. It was still raining. He heard the droplets hitting the window. He heard the clock count the time. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

 

I didn’t mean to Jonny. I swear I didn’t mean to…

 

He got up and ran out the door.

 

 

 

Jonny's point of view.

 

 

He shut the door. Shut Chris out.

 

That fucker. He doesn’t want me there, fine.

 

He walked down the empty hallways of the hotel. Elevator or stairs? Stairs. He walked down the steps slowly. There was no rush. He wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

 

Why’d he get so angry? I give him my trust, I try to help, and he doesn’t want it.

 

He reached the last step and walked to the back exit of the hotel. No reason to go through the front. The back was closer. The easier way out. He opened to door with the big EXIT sign over it. He shivered. It was cold. And raining. How long had it been raining? It didn’t matter. It felt good. Helped him cool off.

He ran away. Just ran away. He ran past the parked cars in the parking lot. Past street signs. Past people. Past trees. He noticed something. There were new colors in this dimension. Colors he’d never seen before. He was too focused on Chris the whole time they were here. He tried to think of a name for them but failed. He had ran for quite a distance before getting tired. He stopped and looked back. He couldn’t even see the hotel.

 

Why am I running?

 

He sat down against a concrete wall.

 

“Oh fuck Chris…..” he said out loud, mostly to himself, somewhat to the bird staring at him.

 

Why can’t I stay mad at you?

 

He wanted to be mad. He had every right to be mad. But he couldn’t. He just felt hurt. The man that meant everything didn’t want him there. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He felt the drops of rain hit his face. He couldn’t tell if the water on his face were tears or rain drops. He suddenly heard something. Footsteps. They were running. He heard his name. It was Chris, he was looking for him. He didn’t say anything, he just stood up. Chris was running towards him. He felt his heart jump.

 

“Jonny! Jonny I’m sorr-”

 

Jonny had tackled him to the floor. He hugged him with all his might. He wasn’t about to let go.

 

“Apology accepted.”

 

He kissed Chris hard. He wanted to show him what he could never say with words, because there weren‘t words to say it with.

 

 

Once upon a time there was a band called Coldplay. None of them were gay yet their fans wrote annoying gay stories about them to enrich their sad lives. Eventually they all died of various causes.

 

 

THE END

 

*accepts award*

For Brooke---

Best I can do on short notice!!:D

 

Purr

 

 

 

Two cats sat on a fence.

One was the color of a warm and luscious sandy beach.

With big blue eyes.

One was the color of the sky just before the sun went down.

With slightly almond bright green eyes.

 

Want to share my Little Friskies?

The first one asked the second

Nope. I got my own Cat Chow

The second one told the first.

 

Want to share my water dish

The first one asked the second

Nope, I got my own canteen

The second one said.

 

Want to rub my whiskers

The first one asked the second

Nope, my whiskers are longer anyway

The second one told the first.

 

Want to help me hunt for mice

The second one asked the first

Nope, I am a vegetarian

The first one told the second

 

Want to lie in dirt and get some sun

The second one asked the first

Nope, I have delicate white skin and I burn

The first one told the second

 

A big black dog walked by

You two need to stop flirting

It won't do you any good

Take a look at yourselves

You are both neutered.

 

The first one looked at the second

The second one looked at the first

We can still rub noses

The first one said

And we can still rub tails

The second one said.

 

The End.

 

 

 

 

With thanks to Juliana for all the language help:kiss::kiss:

G/F (yes....them...again)

Heritage

Chapter 1

 

 

The shrill sound of a phone ringing in the middle of the night is never a good thing.

Guy heard it, but he couldn't quite force himself to wake up long enough to answer it.

Then suddenly, the ringing stopped.

He reached a long arm across the bed but found it was empty.

He struggled out of the blankets and slipped on a pair of sweatpants that were hanging over the back of a chair.

Opening the bedroom door, he heard Fab speaking in a low voice.

He was speaking in another language.

Guy was pretty sure it was Portuguese as he had heard him speak it several times before.

Often when he was on the phone with his mother or his father, he would occassionally break into a string of Portuguese before switching sometimes to Italian and sometimes back to English.

Guy couldn't hear what Fab was saying.

As he stood listening, Catherine came wandering down the hallway from her room.

She was obviously mostly still asleep.

Guy hurried to catch her before she tried to navigate the stairs while partially awake.

He picked her up and rubbed her back.

She slumped down against him and fell back asleep.

He carried her back to her room and closed the door.

Fab was still talking quietly on the phone so Guy decided to go downstairs and make some coffee.

He kissed Fab on the cheek as he walked by.

Fab smiled at him with a worried look on his face.

At the bottom of the staircase Guy thought he heard the words, "vindo" and "casa."

To Guy that meant that something must seriously be wrong for Fab to say he was going back to Brazil.

Guy was just pouring a cup of coffee when Fab came into the kitchen.

"Que e errato?" Guy asked him in his best Portuguese accent.

Fab smiled at him but the worried look on his face only deepened.

He always loved it when Guy attempted to speak his native language.

"You still suck at that," Fab said, accepting a cup of coffee from Guy, "But I love you for trying."

"Well, what is wrong?" Guy asked.

Fab sat down at the table.

"My father has had a heart attack," he said, "A very serious one. The doctor's want to do bypass surgery. My mother wants me home for that. In case, something goes wrong."

"I'm so sorry," Guy said, sliding his arms around Fab's neck.

Fab took a drink from his cup.

"I have to go," he said, as if he was trying to convince himself.

"Of course," Guy said.

"My mom wants me to bring Catherine," Fab said, looking at Guy and waiting for his reaction.

Guy's mouth tensed into a straight, hard line and the grip on his cup became noticeably tighter.

"Is that what you want?" Guy asked.

"Don't start that, please," Fab said, looking hurt.

Guy stood up and walked to the sink.

He drank the last of his coffee and sat the cup in the sink a bit harder than he intended.

The cup broke into several large pieces.

"I am going back to bed," he told Fab, "Let me know what you decide."

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

"I know you aren't asleep," Fab said, when he laid back down beside Guy.

Guy was lying on his stomach facing away from Fab.

He didn't say anything.

"Will you please talk to me?" Fab asked.

Guy was in no mood for talking, but the tone of Fab's voice broke his heart.

He turned over and looked at Fab.

"What?" he asked.

"Why do you always have to be such a moody bastard?" Fab asked.

"I am sorry," Guy said, in a tense tone, "Excuse me if I am not quite ready to forgive your father."

Fab was silent for a moment.

Then he said in a low, scratchy voice, "I have decided that I am taking Catherine."

"I knew you would," Guy said, sitting up.

"He just wants to see her one time," Fab said defensively.

Guy looked at him but didn't say anything.

He picked up his pillows and turned to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Fab asked.

Guy stopped but didn't turn around to face him.

"I am going to sleep in the other bedroom," he said.

"He is an old sick man," Fab said, "Can't you just let it go for now?"

"I wish I could," Guy said, without moving, "But I just can't. And it amazes and angers me that you can."

"He is my father," Fab said, as if that answered every question.

"That doesn't give him the right to....to... say the things he said," Guy told him.

Fab was silent.

He got out of bed and walked to where Guy was standing.

"I already made my choice," he said, caressing Guy's cheek, "I chose you."

Guy looked at Fab standing before him.

"Don't you understand?" he said, with a cracking voice, "I can't stand the thought of losing you."

"What?" Fab asked, in complete surprise.

"Your father....he is a powerful influence on you whether you believe it or not. Once you go back there...it just scares me," Guy said, "And don't get me started on his obsession with Catherine."

"She is his granddaughter," Fab said.

"Well, Matthew is his grandson too. In every way except biology but your father isn't interested in him, is he?"

"No," Fab said quietly, "He isn't."

"And that is the kind of man that you want to introduce Catherine too?" Guy asked.

"Are you telling me I can't take her?" Fab asked.

Guy looked at him.

"Do whatever you want," he said, "She's your daughter."

 

 

Heritage

Chapter 3

 

 

Guy was driving. Not going anywhere. Just driving.

He was angry. He was hurt. He was scared, no, he was terrified.

Fab might see his father as a sick old man but that wasn't how Guy saw him.

Guy saw him as a mean-spirited, bigoted, stubborn and troublesome thorn in his side.

He knew that Fab loved his father despite all he had done to try and ruin their relationship.

Guy was okay with that. After all, the father-son relationship is tenuous at best when there are no obstacles to overcome.

He hated the fact that Fab's father made such an obvious distinction between Catherine and Matthew.

That was a narrow-minded and old-fashioned way of thinking and he honestly didn't want either child to have anything to do with the man.

He was trying very hard to respect whatever decision Fab made regarding Catherine. But it wasn't easy.

He wanted to forbid Fab from taking her with him, but he knew that would only cause more problems.

His phone rang and he had to search through his pockets to find it.

"Can you take us to the airport?" Fab asked.

"Us" ----The word leaped out of the sentence at Guy. So Fab was taking Catherine with him after all.

"Sure," Guy said, quietly, "When?"

"I found a flight out in a couple of hours," Fab answered.

"Okay," Guy said, "I am on my way home now."

 

"But I don't want to go," Catherine was saying when Guy walked into her room.

Fab was rummaging through her closet and throwing random clothes into her little suitcase.

"What's the trouble here?" Guy asked, trying to appear jolly.

"I don't want to go to Brazil," Catherine said, crossing her arms.

"How do you know?" Guy asked, kneeling down beside her, "It might be the most awesome place in the world."

Fab glanced at him in surprise.

Catherine looked at him suspiciously.

"I hear they have snow there sometimes at this time of the year," Guy teased her.

She still looked wary, but her face showed interest.

"Really?" she asked, looking at Fab.

"Sure," he said, as he tried to zip her suitcase closed.

"And," Guy said, kissing her on the tip of her nose, "Matthew will be so jealous that you get to go and he doesn't."

Catherine smiled deviously.

"That's true," she said, thinking it over.

"Put your shoes on," Fab told her, as he picked up her luggage.

Guy stood up.

"Do you have her passport?" he asked Fab.

Fab nodded.

"Thank you," he said, looking at Guy with total appreciation.

"I did it for her," Guy said, looking away.

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

Guy helped Fab carry the luggage to the ticket counter and through the long line for checking bags.

Catherine was carrying her little pink plastic purse and a large doll.

Fab had told her it was okay for her to take those two things on the plane with her.

Neither of them said much as they stood in the long lines.

"How long until we get there?" Catherine asked.

"A few hours," Fab told her.

In reality it would be twelve hours, but he didn't see the need to tell her that.

"I am going to be so tired," she said, dramatically.

"You can sleep on the plane," Fab told her.

"I will be too excited," she said.

Guy leaned down and whispered something into her ear.

She giggled and laughed and then nodded.

Soon they were finished with baggage check and they stood near the line for security.

Guy picked Catherine up and hugged her and kissed her.

"You be good, my little lassie," he said.

She smiled at him.

"I think I might miss Matthew," she said, "But I know I will miss you."

"I love you," he told her, with a heavy heart and a sick stomach.

"I love you too," she said.

Guy looked at Fab, but neither said anything.

"I guess this is it," Fab said.

"I guess so," Guy said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Guy watched them as they passed through the security check-point and waited at the line for the metal detector.

He turned to go.

Something made him stop.

Something made him turn around.

Fab was just about to walk through the metal detector.

"Wait!!" Guy said, running toward the security check point desk.

Two security guards caught him, one by each arm.

Fab turned around.

"You can't go past this point," the security guard was telling Guy.

"Please," Guy said,as the guards let him go, "I forgot to give him something. Something that he needs."

Another security guard escorted Fab back to where Guy stood.

Guy grabbed Fab and hugged him as tears spilled out of his closed eyes.

"I love you," he said, quietly into Fab's ear, "Don't forget that. And please come back."

"You were right," Fab said to him, "I needed that very much."

 

 

 

SPRING & WINTER

12!

 

 

 

 

Guy stood at the edge of the small dock, simply staring down at the water. I watched his back, waiting for him to make some sort of move. “Well?” I inquired. “Are we going swimming, or have we merely come to examine the water?”

 

Guy turned around and gave me the tiniest of smiles. Slowly, his long fingers moved to the buttons on his shirt. I reached for my own, but I found that I couldn’t make my hands move. I just watched as Guy slipped out of his shirt and tossed it onto the wood beneath his feet. His skin was pale, but it had a nice glow to it…sort of like I imagined an angel’s would look like. I finally managed to move my eyes from his figure and focus on removing my own clothing.

 

Suddenly, Guy coughed quietly, and I automatically glanced up. My throat went dry when I realized he was looking directly at me, and his fingers were expertly undoing the buttons on his trousers. I wanted so badly to look away; to avoid any embarrassment. But I couldn’t make myself do that, and he definitely knew it. He smiled.

 

“Aren’t I perfect?” he joked. “Come here.”

 

I stumbled over as if I’d been given an order.

 

“There you are,” he murmured, quickly unbuttoning the rest if my shirt. He yanked it off me and tossed it on top of his. “Don’t be so shy, Christopher. You’re such a girl.”

 

“I don’t mind,” I said, without thinking. Guy chuckled as he slipped out of the last of his clothing. It took me a full second to realize that he was standing in front of me, quite naked.

 

“Well?” he asked, obviously unashamed. “Go on, then.”

 

I found that I couldn’t form coherent words, and I could feel sweat dripping down my bare back, despite the nice breeze. “I…uh…I wasn’t aware that…I would have to be…unclothed.”

 

“Oh,” he said, looking suddenly uncertain. “I always swim this way.”

 

“Yes?” I said, staring straight into his eyes (to avoid them straying). “How odd.”

 

Before I knew it, he’d dove into the water. I heaved a sigh of relief and shuddered. I was sure that I couldn’t have survived another minute with him. He surfaced, and I chuckled at the state of his hair, which was plastered to his face. He pushed it away and scowled. “Don’t stand there having a laugh at my expense! Come in!” My smile faded quickly, and I angled myself away him. My ears burned red as I heard him laughing at me. “Don’t be so modest, my friend,” I heard him say in a sing-song voice. “Or are you simply too insecure to join me?”

 

“No!” I choked out. “Just…wait!”

 

Finally, at the moment I got the last leg out of my pants, I threw myself into the water. It was freezing cold, and I came up shivering and sputtering. Guy was doubled over with laughter, his narrow shoulders shaking. At least I was covered, though.

 

As it turned out, Guy was a marvelous swimmer. His pretty, lean body moved through the water like a fish’s. I didn’t swim as much as I kept my shoulders below the water, trying to make sure nothing was visible. Guy found this quite frustrating, and he would constantly try to pull me up by the arm, insisting that I was acting like a child. “We’re both men, aren’t we? Is there really anything there either of us haven’t seen before?” He paused, considering this. “Or are you secretly a woman?” he gasped. “In that case, this would be terribly inappropriate.”

 

I was amazed at how different he’d become. When I’d first met the man, he’d seemed so shy and reserved. Now he was playful and energetic, which only added to his charm. I shivered as I thought about what had just crossed my mind. Charm? I was speaking about another man! What was wrong with me?

 

But the truth was, the very sight of him made my insides go to mush and my heart beat wildly. His smile made me smile, and his happiness made me feel joy. His sadness had made me feel helpless, and seeing him unclothed had awakened undeniable sensations of lust.

 

But surely that was sinful. I had to get rid of those feelings.

 

I had to…but I couldn’t.

 

 

 

It Was All...

 

Part 3

 

 

“Something wrong?” Jonny asked, pointing to the cup in front of me. “That's the third coffee you've had in half an hour.” He's such a good friend.

 

We were sitting in the lobby of the hotel we'd been staying at. It was in fact my third coffee; it had been a week since Guy and I hooked up, and he hadn't talked to me. Literally. Not even one word.

 

I didn't answer Jonny, but I could feel him staring expectantly at me. I fingered the rim of the cup and sighed. “Last week... remember that thing you told me?” I looked up. Jonny was indeed staring expectantly at me, his hands clasped together on the table. “About Guy.”

 

Jonny nodded. “Did you talk to him?”

 

“We talked, yeah. And, uh, we ended up... you know.” Jonny raised his eyebrows in slight shock, then moved his chair closer to mine and lowered his voice.

 

“Did you have sex with him?” he quietly said.

 

“Everything but,” I said, shaking my head. “Now he won't talk to me.”

 

“He won't talk to you at all, or...?”

 

“He hasn't even said, like, hello or anything. He just keeps avoiding me.” I took a sip of my miserable coffee. I don't even know why I kept drinking it, it didn't help at all. Jonny raised a hand and scratched the side of his head.

 

“Have you tried to talk to him?” he asked after a while.

 

“No, but I don't think it'll do any good.”

 

“Do you want me to talk to him for you?”

 

“You'd do that for me?”

 

“Yeah, sure. Just...” he trailed off, staring into the distance. I turned to see what he was looking at. Guy was standing on the opposite side of the room, talking to some girl who worked at the hotel. He seemed to be pretty friendly with her. “Should I do it now?”

 

“If you want,” I said. Jonny stood up, giving me a reassuring pat on my shoulder, and walked over to Guy. Within seconds, the hotel worker walked away, slightly annoyed. It was almost impossible to tell how the conversation was going just by looking at them. From a distance it looked like they were just having a normal conversation. But my cynicism told me that it probably wasn't going well.

 

A few minutes later, they parted ways. Jonny walked back to me, and Guy left the building altogether. Jonny had a blank expression on his face, like he didn't want to give away how their talk went.

 

“What did he say?” I asked as Jonny sat down. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Bad news.

 

“He said he doesn't know what you're talking about, and nothing happened between you two.” Worse than I had imagined. At that moment, everything seemed to hurt. My head, my heart, even my hand, though that was probably from the hot coffee I'd spilled on it. In any case, it was a pain I'd never felt before, and I've had a lot of girls in my life that I cared for tell me that they hated me. Nothing ever felt this horrible, though.

 

“Why would he do that?” My voice was starting to shake.

 

“I don't know,” he said. “I do believe you, though. Guy is so bad at lying.”

 

“He's the one who wanted to talk to me in the first place. If he hadn't said anything then nothing would have happened. He didn't seem to be having a bad time, either. I don't get why he would lie...”

 

“I'm sorry, Chris.” I rested my elbow on the table and buried half of my face in my hand. I felt like I was gonna cry. As strange as it sounds, and as supportive and helpful as Jonny was, I didn't want him to see me like that. So, I came up with an idea.

 

“Did he say where he was going?” I asked, the question muffled by my hand.

 

“What?”

 

I let my hand drop to my side and repeated, “When he left, did he say where he was going?”

 

“Chris.” Jonny gave me a look that said 'Give it up, you twit,' but he wasn't going to convince me.

 

“Did he?”

 

Jonny sighed, “He said he was gonna go to that antique shop down the road from here.” I jumped up from my seat, nearly spilling my now fourth cup of coffee. I wanted to thank Jonny, and tell him how glad I was to have a friend like him, but I really needed to get out before I started bawling.

 

“I'll see you later.” Jonny nodded and waved.

 

“Good luck.”

 

The antique shop was about a three-minute walk from the hotel. It was a sunny day, which I thought clashed horribly with my situation. There were lots of people on the sidewalk, mostly couples, I think, and I was surprised that no one recognized me, though I was also extremely grateful for that.

 

The door was open, probably to let some fresh air into the dusty, brown store. There weren't so many people inside, though it was hard to tell because the aisles were built up so high that it was nearly impossible to see anything besides the shelves. I walked down a few of the aisles, but they were empty with the exception of various ancient pots and vases and such. At the end of one row, however, I saw a sign pointing to a section titled, “MUSIC.” It was a definite bet that Guy would be there.

 

Sure enough, there he was, standing in front of a rack of records, silently flipping through the selection. I was going to talk to him, but I wasn't sure yet what to say. I took a few moments to just stare at him, trying to gather up the courage to talk to him and trying to figure out what to freaking say. I didn't have to think for long, though, before the conversation was started for me.

 

“You followed me here?” I have to admit, I was pretty startled. I wasn't sure how he knew I was there, until I realized that there was a giant mirror next to him. He turned around and said, “I suppose you want to talk.”

 

I took a few steps closer to him, and with my shaky voice asked, “Why have you been ignoring me?”

 

“Sorry,” he said, though he didn't look all that sorry. He sounded sorry, though. “It was a horrible thing to do, but... so was what we did.”

 

I couldn't believe what he was saying. What the hell was going through his head? “But you wanted-”

 

“I did. I don't anymore.” I could feel the tears building in my eyes. He remained standing for a few moments, then he walked away towards the exit. Suddenly, a surge of anger burst through me.

 

“Thanks for letting me know,” I shouted at him. As if he couldn't be any more of a jerk, he continued to walk away, forcefully raising his arm and flipping me off. I was fully prepared to break down right then and there, but I didn't want to make more of a scene. Instead, I ran out of the store, almost literally, and didn't stop until I stumbled upon a bench in the middle of some small park. No one else was there, so it was perfect.

 

I just sat down on the bench, pulled my knees up to my chest, and fell to pieces.

 

 

Read My Mind

Chapter 1

 

 

"God what a fantastic show!!" Chris said, collapsing in the back seat of the van.

"That was the most amazing one in a long time," Will agreed.

"Yeah," Guy nodded.

Jonny didn't say anything.

He was looking absentmindedly out the window as the driver of the van accelerated quickly to beat the traffic.

The neon lights of the downtown area were all blazing.

Blazing, white and hot and whirling in an amazing rainbow of colors.

Blazing with intensity and fire and a zest for life.

Blazing just like Jonny's emotions.

"Jon?" Chris asked, touching him on the knee.

Jonny felt the touch and his pulse exploded, sending bright red blood shooting through his veins.

"Yeah?" he asked, with half closed eyes.

"We were just saying what an amazing show that was. Didn't you think it was more intense than usual."

Jonny shrugged.

"I guess," he said, trying to control the earthquake sized shaking in his stomach.

"Ah, did Chris wake you up again?" Will teased.

From his point of view, Jonny was the solid granite foundation that the band stood on.

Jonny never got excited. Sometimes Will even wondered if Jonny was alive.

Jonny didn't answer, but turned back to the window.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on Chris.

Jonny had this strange hope that if he concentrated long enough and hard enough, Chris would get the message.

"Jon," Chris was looking at him closely with those big, sparkling, gorgeous blue eyes again.

"I bet I can tell what you are thinking," Chris teased.

"I bet you can't," Jonny thought, "But God knows I wish you could."

"You are thinking about all that room service food waiting for us back at the hotel," Chris teased, "The big lobster and those little biscuits that you like so much."

Jonny gazed at him for a few moments.

"That's it, Chris," he said, quietly, "You just know me so well."

Chris smiled sweetly, showing those long creases in this beautiful cheeks.

"I knew it! I do know you so well," Chris said.

Jonny thought about crawling across the seat and pinning Chris against the window and kissing him until they both couldn't breathe.

He thought about sliding his hands under Chris t-shirt and pulling it up just enough so that he could run his tongue across Chris' flat, tan stomach.

"Now, I bet you are thinking about desert," Chris teased him, "Maybe some ice cream."

"Yeah," Jonny said, with a shaky voice, "That's exactly what I was thinking about."

"It's like I can read your mind," Chris said, laughing.

"If only you could," Jonny thought, "If only you could."

 

 

One Day Like This

Chapter 6

 

 

 

"I know this sounds crazy Phil, but I've found something, actually someone, that makes me feel happier than I've ever felt before."

 

"Guy...."

 

Guy interrupted him.

 

"And I'm going to New York City with her" he added confidently. "I know, this doesn't make any sense to me either. I've no idea why I feel I have to do this, but I do, and I'm going to go with my gut on this. She....the girl that I met....well she's amazing. And if I continue on in the band, touring and whatnot, I'll be away from her all the time. It would never work out. I don't know how you guys manage to have long distance relationships, but I'm just not like that."

 

He paused for a moment, then added "I....I just can't leave her Phil."

 

He sounded desperate, almost pleading. Phil sighed deeply.

 

"Alright. I'll accept that Guy. But just remember that the others aren't going to let you do this without a fight. They really care about you, you know."

 

"I know."

 

And with that Phil hung up the phone. The greatest thing about Phil was that he'd never fight you, not if you truly had your heart set on something.

 

I knew calling him was best.

 

He put his phone in his pocket and went back to Emily's room. As he approached her door, he realized he had jumped the gun.

 

What if Emily doesn't want to go anywhere with me? What if she thinks I'm crazy for even suggesting such a thing?

 

It would be awfully embarrassing if he had to call Phil up again later saying "Oh, never mind all that stuff I said earlier because that girl I was just blabbing about thinks I'm crazy now." Not to mention the heartache. It hurt just to think about it now. It was ridiculous that he should feel so attached to someone after knowing them for only a day. But he couldn't help it. As he reached out to knock on the door, his hand was shaking.

 

She's going to say no. I know she is. Why wouldn't she? We barely know each-his thoughts were interrupted when Emily opened the door with a smile and a "hey". She had cleaned herself up while he was gone, and no traces of her previous sadness showed on her face.

 

"So what's the story now? Are you going to catch a later flight?"

 

She had to force herself to keep smiling as she said this. She hated to think about him leaving.

 

"Well no, not exactly. Actually, I just called Phil and told him that I'm quitting the band."

 

"Quitting? Why!?"

 

"Because I don't want to be without you."

 

She stared blankly for a moment, hardly believing her ears.

 

"You're really quitting the band.....for me?" she asked with quiet disbelief.

 

"Yes."

 

He stroked her hair.

 

"I've never been as happy before as I've been with you. I don't know if this will amount to anything, but I've got to try and see. I wanted to ask you, would you be willing to go to New York City with me? I think we'd be very happy there."

 

Well, I said it. And I'm glad I did. For better or for worse.

 

Emily just stared for a moment.

 

I want to say yes. I really do. But, what about the band? Well, I guess that can be worked out later.

 

"First, let me make it clear that I disagree with your decision to quit the band. I'm not worth that. But yes, if I'm being honest, I'd love to go to New York City with you. Because I don't want to be without you either. Truthfully, I really want to be selfish today. I want to be with you whatever the cost, so I'll accept your decision to quit-even though I disagree with it."

 

"Ok, then it's settled" said Guy, nodding.

 

He stared at her a moment, then leaned in and grabbed her, kissing her passionately.

 

"You are worth it by the way" he whispered as he let her go again.

 

He smiled widely, no longer able to contain his joy.

 

"I'll go book us a flight."

 

 

 

 

Sorry it's so short:shrug:

 

I don't think this chapter was necessary but whatever :awesome:

 

And You Carry The One

Chapter 10

 

 

Chris woke up to a loud knock at the door. Will was yelling at it to wake up. Or was he yelling at them to wake up? He didn’t know. He was always dazed and confused most mornings, he never was a morning person. He realized he was holding Jonny. He was warm. It was cold last night, his body heat felt good against him. He could hear him breathing slowly. He wished he didn’t have to wake up but he looked at the clock. 10:30 AM. Fred said to meet him at 11. He leaned over, kissed his cheek, and shook him gently.

 

“Rise and shine Jonny. We got to meet Fred in a half hour.”

 

“Grgh.”

 

“Alright, I guess you’ll miss out on the doughnuts.”

 

“Hmm? Doughnuts?”

 

“He’s meeting us in a doughnut shop.”

 

Jonny sat up instantly.

 

“Alright so who’s showering first?” he said.

 

“Who say’s we can’t shower together?” A sly grin came upon Chris’ face.

 

Jonny smiled.

 

“Last one to the shower is a rotten egg.” Jonny jumped out of bed and ran to the shower, but slipped and fell on the way. Chris laughed.

_________________________________________________________

 

“I want the twisty one with chocolate.” said Jonny as the boys walked over to the shop.

 

Will rolled his eyes. He held an ice pack on his head. Hangovers were a bitch.

 

“Want the one with jelly in the middle.” Said Guy.

 

Chris laughed. They sounded like children.

 

“I want the pink frosted one with sprinkles.” said Chris.

 

“I want you all to shut the fuck up.” said Will.

 

“Not our fault you decided to go all loopy yesterday.” replied Guy.

 

Will said something under his breath.

 

“Don’t worry Will, I’ll get you a chocolate one.” said Chris as they walked through the door. Chris got in line while everyone looked for a place to sit. He noticed there was a bear in front of him wearing a ridiculous hat. He poked the bear.

 

“Hey Bernard!”

 

The bear turned around.

 

“Holy shit. Long time to see how the fuck are ya Chris?”

 

“I’m doing pretty fucking good. How are you?”

 

“I’m doing pretty fucking awesome myself. Damn it’s been years. I heard you started a band with those college mates of yours.”

 

“Yeah, that explains the outfit. Nice hat.”

 

“Thanks. Nice hair.”

 

“I know. What are you getting?”

 

“One of everything. You?”

 

“A twisted one with chocolate, a normal chocolate one, a jelly filled one, and a pink one with sprinkles.”

 

“Didn‘t know you had such a fucking appetite. ”

 

“My band mates are here. Look.” he pointed at the table where Jonny, Guy, and Will were sitting. Jonny and Guy were playing rock, paper, scissors. Will was busy being Will.

 

“They haven’t changed a bit.”

 

“Hello, may I help you gentlemen?”

 

Bernard and Chris turned to the cashier. Chris realized he didn’t bring money, well at least none that would be valid in that dimension.

 

“Don’t worry I’ll cover it Chris.” Bernard ordered and gave Chris his food.

 

“I’ve got to go Chris, It was nice seeing you again. Tell your mates I said hi.”

 

“Will do. Bye Bernard.” The bear had to duck through the exit to get through. Chris walked over to the table and gave everyone their doughnuts.

 

“Bernard said hi.” He said as he sat down.

 

“Bernard was here?” Jonny said as he looked around.

 

“Yup.” Chris said as he reached as he reached under the table and squeezed Jonny’s thigh quickly. Jonny jumped. Guy looked up.

 

“Why didn’t we see him?” said Guy.

 

“I’m guessing because you were busy playing rock, paper, scissors. Who won?”

 

“Guy.” said Jonny as he sighed.

 

“Well we all know you can’t beat him when it comes to rock paper scissors.” said Chris.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” said Jonny as he took a bite of his doughnut.

 

“Where the fuck is Fred?” said Will grumpy.

 

“I’m right here.” Fred seemed to appear out of nowhere.

 

“Are you boys ready to chose the next dimension?”

 

 

Read My Mind

Chapter 2

 

 

Guy stretched his long legs out across to the seat opposite him.

His feet rubbed against Will's thigh.

"Sorry man," he said, as he moved them over a bit.

"You got dirt all over my pants," Will said, brushing the offending sprinkles of dirt away.

Guy didn't answer, but he laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.

Will thought about what it would feel like to run his hand up Guy's leg.

Starting at the ankle and moving past the strong muscular calves.

Then making his way up to the slender knees.

Will thought about what it would feel like to place soft little kisses across the bony part of Guy's kneecaps.

He took a deep breath and his hand twitched a little.

Guy opened his eyes and looked at him.

"What's the big deal?" he asked.

Will coughed a little and tried to clear his head.

"Those pants have to be sent out for cleaning tomorrow anyway, what's a little dirt?"

Will didn't answer, but crossed his arms in front of his chest.

It probably appeared as a sign of defiance or indifference but it was really an attempt to control his breathing.

Guy removed his legs from the seat beside Will and crossed them in front of him.

Will thought about how long and slender Guy's thighs were.

Probably the result of all that running.

He thought about how the muscles would flex beneath his hands.

How the long thin hamstrings would quiver as he ran his fingers up the back of Guy's thigh.

How the strong quadriceps would twitch when his breath fell on them.

How the adductors would shake as he ran his hands up the inside of the thigh all the way to....

"Gee, are you still thinking about that damn dirt?" Guy asked.

"What?" Will asked.

Guy sat straight up in his seat.

"It was a good show," he said, "Why not just concentrate on that instead of being pissed about a little mud?"

Will flashed his eyes at him.

"Forget about it," he said.

"I would like to," Guy told him, "But apparently you can't."

"How do you know what I am thinking?" Will asked, in a snarl.

"Please," Guy said, "I can read you like a book after all these years."

Will laughed.

"You think you can read my mind?" he asked.

"Sure," Guy said, "It's easy to tell what you are thinking."

 

 

Separation, Communication and Devastation

Part 8

 

 

Chris,

 

We thank you for being so kind and lovely to our dear Jonny. He's so happy since he started dating you. It was great to wake up each morning and see him with a spring in his step.

But, it is with much regret we must tell you our darling boy passed away eight days ago.

A student at your high school, Corey Hill, shot our dear Jonny. He did this because Jonny apparently planted a stinkbomb in Corey's locker.

After going on a binge of drugs and alcohol, Corey told his mother he was going for a drive in his sedan. He instead went down to the public library where Jonny was studying for his project on King Henry VIII, and removed a rifle from his knapsack and went on a wild shooting spree.

Corey killed eight other children who had gotten in his way before he finally reached our sweetheart. He shot our darling boy at point blank. The bullet went straight through Jonny's head. It killed him instantly.

Corey is currently in jail, waiting for his hearing.

We have decided to wait until you return from camp to hold Jonny's funeral. We think it is the best thing to do, since you two were so close.

We can't thank you enough for making Jonny so happy. He loves you. He's definitely looking down on you.

Jonny will always be there, remember that.

 

Mr. and Mrs Buckland.

 

 

 

Part 9

 

 

Jonny, the love of my life,

 

I am so sorry, Jonny. I am so, so sorry.

I never meant for this to happen. I just thought that Corey would move seats. I never once thought he would kill you.

I was so...dumb... How could I not realise that? It's all my fault.

Jonny, I love you.

It seems so unreal. I'll never be able to touch you again; I'll never be able to kiss you again, in this dimension anyway. Jonny, I need you so much!

So, I came up with an idea about an hour ago.

I've got the knife here, a few pictures of you and I, some rope - just in case I chicken out of stabbing myself, because you know that's what probably will happen. You know I can't stand blood.

And you know I love you, right?

I love you with all my heart, Jonny.

So, that's it, I guess.

I'll see you soon, Jonny. I can't wait.

 

Love,

Chris xxx

 

 

 

 

 

That's the end, by the way.:):D

 

 

Read My Mind

Chapter 3

 

 

There was a sudden scream of tires and a stream of curse words were expelled by the driver of the van as he jammed the brakes very hard.

Luggage, clothes, and Guy's camera went flying all over the van.

Not to mention the four occupants who were not wearing seatbelts.

Chris ended up on the floor of the van with Will lying on his arm.

Jonny ended up face down in Guy's lap.

"Everyone okay?" the driver called back to the four friends.

A chorus of "Yeah's" emanated from the seats as they tried to extract themselves from the strange positions they were now in.

"Sorry," Jonny told Guy, sitting up as quick as he could and scooting back to his original position.

"You couldn't help it," Guy said, smiling at him, "It was that idiot driver."

Jonny was turning very bright red under his cap.

"Are you going to move anytime soon?" Chris growled at Will, "I think my arm is broken."

Will shook his head, got up slowly and looked at Chris.

He reached down and pulled Chris upright and sat him in the seat.

"Your arm is not broken," he said, "Stop being a baby."

Chris just stared at Will with a blank look on his face.

He never realized how strong Will was.

Now his gaze traveled across Will's shoulders and he noticed how broad and well-defined they were.

The paper thin shirt that Will always wore was clinging to all the ripples in his chest.

Chris thought about how it would feel to take a few little secret nips at the supple skin with just his teeth.

"It's not like I meant to fall on you," Will told him.

Chris was still staring at him and absentmindedly rubbing his wrist.

He was thinking about whether or not Will's little soft scruff of a beard would tickle if he kissed him.

"Chris??" Will was snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"What?" Chris asked, in a gruff tone.

He was very angry that Will had interrupted his little fantasy before he got to taste Will's smooth tongue.

"I know what you are thinking," Will said.

"Really?" Chris asked.

"You are thinking about kicking me out of the band again just because I accidentally fell on you," Will said, in a joking manner.

Chris noticed how strong Will's hands looked and he remembered how intoxicating it felt to have Will pick him up so gently.

"That's it," Chris said, without changing his expression at all.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Will teased, "Because if you do you will just have to drink that vodka/cranberry juice mixture again."

Chris thought about what it would be like to pour vodka slowly onto Will's body and then spend hours licking it off.

"And you know how alcohol affects you," Will was saying.

"Yes," Chris thought, "And now I know how you affect me."

"See," Will said, shaking a finger at him, "It never pays to mess with Will."

"Could be true," Chris was thinking, "But I would like to try it."

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

"Hey," Guy punched Jonny on the arm.

"What?" Jonny asked, without looking at him.

"Don't be so embarrassed," Guy told him, laughing.

Jonny looked at him slightly from underneath his cap.

"I know you are thinking what a weirdo I am," Jonny told him.

"Sure,Jonny," Guy said, sarcastically,"That's what I am thinking."

Guy was really thinking how strange it was that he became so aroused when Jonny fell into his lap.

"He is kind of cute," Guy thought, as he sat looking at him in the neon reflection of the street lights.

"And he has a really pretty smile, when he really smiles," Guy thought.

"I am really sorry," Jonny was telling him.

"And he is so sweet," Guy was thinking, "Such a big heart and so thoughtful."

Jonny looked shyly at Guy and saw that he was staring at him.

He never knew what Guy was thinking because Guy was a master at disguising his emotions.

"Are you mad?" Jonny asked.

But Guy didn't hear him.

He was looking at Jonny's hands.

"He plays that guitar with such a delicate touch," Guy was thinking, "I wonder if his fingers would be just as gentle with a lover?"

Jonny leaned over closer to Guy.

His brilliant green eyes bore a hole through Guy.

"What a fucking beautiful color they are," Guy thought, "How have I never noticed that before?"

Jonny pulled back quickly.

"I.....I didn't mean to get in your space again," Jonny said, nervously, "I just don't want you to be mad at me."

"I told you that I'm not mad," Guy said, in a gentle tone.

"I know what you said," Jonny told him, "But I can tell by that look on your face that you are thinking something different."

"Is that so?" Guy asked, sharply.

"Yeah," Jonny said, "You are thinking what a klutz I am."

Guy shifted in his seat and crossed his legs.

"That's exactly right," he lied to him.

"You are thinking that I should have caught myself before I landed in your lap," Jonny said, quietly.

Guy's stomach did a little cartwheel as he remembered the feel of Jonny's breath on his thighs.

"You are correct," Guy said.

Jonny put a hand over his face.

"I am so sorry again," he told Guy, "I just knew you were more upset about it than you seemed."

Guy looked at Jonny for a few seconds.

"Forget about it," he told him, "I already have."

Jonny scooted across the seat to Guy.

He leaned close to him and said, "Liar.....I actually can read your mind, you know."

Guy pushed him away.

Jonny winked at Guy and went back to his side of the van.

 

The End

 

 

 

a poem :wacky:

 

because i felt very uncreative today with my other stories :disappointed:

and i want to get to my 13000th post. :wacky:

Jonny'd like to say

 

 

 

 

If I sit here just a little longer

and with my eyes I'll stare-

For with what else would I use

to gaze upon your curly hair?-

 

Would you think I was a bit creepy?

Or weird, to say the least?

But my love for you rages inside me

like some sort of wild beast.

 

I can hardly contain my joy

when I see your smiling face,

and when you laugh at the things I say

my heart beats all over the place.

 

I know it sounds so cheesy

but you're always on my mind.

Well, you and that fantastically,

lovely-shaped behind.

 

Maybe that's a bit too much

to reveal to you in this thing,

but anyway I have to say

I love to hear you sing.

 

And I love to hear you talk;

your accent melts my heart.

I will be so devastated

the day we have to part.

 

Until then I'll be content

with being your best friend.

But, Chris, I want to let you know

I'll love you 'til the end.

 

 

 

 

And You Carry The One - Chapter 11 (with smileys)

 

 

“I’M CHOOSING IT!!!!!” yelled Chris, earning him a few strange looks from the other people in the shop. :blank: :uneasy:

 

“Nope, Guy’s choosing next.” corrected Fred. :snobby:

 

“No! You better choose a good one Guy or I’ll, uh… stab you with my fork!” threatened Chris. :annoyed:

 

“What fork?” said Guy. :thinking:

 

“Well it’s actually a spork.” :confused:

 

“Chris if you don’t shut up I’ll stab you with my spork.” said Will. :angry:

 

“Where are the hats?” asked Jonny. :huh:

 

“The author thought they were lame, so she decided to give you a button which chooses the dimension for you.” :shrug:

 

“Where’s the button?” said Guy. :thinking:

 

“Sitting right in front of you.”

 

“But Chris is sitting in front of me.” :uhoh:

 

“Exactly.”

 

Guy poked Chris in the ribs.

 

“Ow! What the fuck Guy?” :confused:

 

“Nothing happened.” said Guy. :stunned:

 

“Well duh. You need to poke his belly button.” said Fred as if it was obvious. :rolleyes:

 

Guy poked Chris’ belly button and the blinding white light came back. They all shielded their eyes and Chris held on to Jonny and Guy held on to Will. Before they knew it they were on a row boat in the middle of a foggy lake. In their underpants.

 

 

Friday, the 13th

Chapter 1

 

 

Chris woke up earlier than usual.

He peeked out from under the blankets.

The room was still dark.

He didn't know if it was because the heavy curtains were drawn across the windows.

If it was because it was still night.

Or if it was because the world had ended while he slept.

He didn't think it was the latter because he didn't hear the noise of destruction.

But then, if the world ended because aliens had taken over, it might have been a quiet end.

That thought scared him and he pulled the blanket up over his face quickly.

He wasn't taking any chances with aliens.

He had seen "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," at least 42 times.

Chris looked down at his slender, well-shaped body.

"Damn," he thought, "All that fucking yoga. I am so hot.....of course, an alien would snatch my body first."

He snaked a long skinny arm out from under the blanket and reached for his cell phone.

"I know," he thought, "I will call Jonny. He will know if the world ended today."

The phone rang and rang and rang.

There was no answer.

There was no message telling him to leave a voicemail.

Chris closed the phone.

"Oh," he thought, rubbing a hand across his face,"They got Jonny already."

He lay under the blankets thinking what his next move should be.

"Obviously, I have to save Jonny," he thought, "But how? I am scared to get up much less go out."

He peeked out from under the blanket again.

Suddenly, there was aloud and continuous knock on his apartment door.

"They are after me!!" he thought, "They always take the most gorgeous ones first."

He hopped up with the blanket wrapped around him and fled into the relative safety of the closet.

Then he heard footsteps.

They came closer and closer and closer.

The door of the closet opened.

A huge monster stood looking down at him as Chris cowered in the corner.

The monster took a step forward and yanked the blanket from Chris.

"What are you doing?" Jonny asked.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's you!!" he jumped up and hugged Jonny.

"I thought aliens got you," Chris told him.

"Why would aliens get me?" Jonny asked.

"You know what today is," Chris told him, "It's November 13th, Friday, the 13th."

"So?" Jonny asked.

"That's when all the bad stuff happens," Chris told him, "Plagues and aliens and disasters and monsters."

Jonny shook his head.

"Not that again," he said.

Chris nodded seriously.

"We have to be careful. You shouldn't be out on a day like this."

Jonny laughed.

"Well, you might consider locking your door then," he told Chris.

 

 

Friday, the 13th

Chapter 2

 

 

 

Guy was awake very early.

It was his favorite "holiday."

He needed alot of extra preparation time.

He started the morning with a run through the park at 4 a.m.

It was a brisk refreshing morning, even if it was a little misty.

As he ran he planned out his day.

He figured he would start at the Antique Store.

The morning was usually when the lonely young rich married women browsed.

Guy smiled to himself.

All women were extra horny on Friday, the 13th, but those women..

Those women who were so often ignored by their husbands, those were the ones who were extra vulnerable today.

He picked up the pace running as he thought of what luscious bodies they had.

They had nothing else to do but spend hours a day working out and going to spas.

His mouth watered as he ran.

His mind shifted to where he would go for his afternoon "appetizers."

Usually, the book store was a great place.

Those educated, upper class snobby girls were there at that time of day.

The ones who wore their hair all pulled back and severe with black-rimmed glasses.

They were the ones just begging to be shown a good time.

This was the one day all year when they were willing to let themselves be taken.

Guy began to slow his pace as he cooled down from the long run.

For his dinner date he planned to hang out at the local pub.

Sure, that was an expected place to go, but after the morning and afternoon, he would need an easy catch.

The bars were always brimming with young girls having just turned legal age.

It was so easy to buy them a few drinks.

They were usually drunk before he found out their names.

That is when he bothered to find out their names.

Guy chuckled to himself.

He did a few stretching exercises with the help of a park bench.

A pretty young girl walked by, staring at him.

He smiled and said "Good morning."

"Getting ready for today?" she asked.

"How did you know?" he replied, winking at her.

"That's easy," she said, "All the men are extra horny on Friday, the 13th. Why else would I come to the park this early?"

He laughed at her.

"Would you like to go for a workout with me?" she asked.

"I just finished a run," he said.

"That's okay," she said, smiling at him, "I wasn't planning on running for my workout."

He laughed and followed her down the path.

"God, I love this 'holiday'", he thought.

 

 

Friday, the 13th

Chapter 3

 

 

The basement was dark and damp.

Quite a few scorpions and spiders scurried here and there.

Will brushed away a few cobwebs as he entered, carrying a lantern.

A large black spider tried to run, but Will spotted it.

He picked it up, laughing.

"I really should save this for my brew," he said, "But, nah..."

He slipped it into his mouth, barely getting all the legs to fit.

"They are very tasty this year," he said, licking his lips.

He opened a large cabinet with squeaky doors and began to sort through the various jars.

"Hmm," he said, slipping on glasses to read the labels, "I will need this one."

He took down a jar which appeared to be empty.

"Damn," he said, "I forgot to refill my chicken feet. I can't make a good potion without chicken feet."

A scratching noise came from behind him.

He turned around and smiled.

"Hey, Blackbeard," he said, "Come here little buddy."

A large gray rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on Will's shoulder.

He took a few treats from his pocket and slipped them to the rat.

"Are you ready to celebrate our favorite day?" he asked, petting it on the nose.

"People think it is Halloween, but that is such a tacky holiday. So commercial."

He turned around and bent over to pull his large black kettle out from under a bench.

He smiled and rubbed his hands together.

Reaching into the cabinet he took out a plastic bag.

"Witches hair," he said, dropping it into the kettle.

He took out another jar.

"Toad whiskers," he said.

Then he rummaged around a bit more in the cabinet.

"Ah," he said, taking out a red bag, "My special ingredient for this year's brew."

He held it up to the lantern.

Then he held it up for the rat to see.

"Remember how hard it was for us to get this," Will asked, snickering.

"I don't think Chris even knew we took it. But he will know once this brew is finished, won't he?"

The big rat just sat on Will's shoulder, chewing his treats.

Will made kissing noises at him.

"Now," he said, "We shall mix up this special concoction."

He laughed maniacally as he dropped the blood into the kettle.

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

"You have Paraskevidekatriaphobia," Jonny told Chris.

Chris sat down heavily, still clutching his blanket.

"I knew it," he said, with big eyes, "Everyone kept telling me it was my imagination...but I knew I was dying."

Chris fell over in the sofa and closed his eyes.

"I do feel kind of faint," he said, taking his own pulse, "And my heart is beating too fast."

Jonny was just staring at him.

"I feel feverish, don't I feel feverish,Jon?" Chris asked, taking Jonny's hand and pushing it against his forehead.

"No, you feel fine," Jonny said.

Chris sat up.

"It's okay," he said, "I know you must be crushed. It can't be easy to lose such a perfect friend as me."

Jonny raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Go ahead, let it all out, Jon," Chris threw out his arms ,"I am here for you."

Jonny finally stood up.

"Will you cut that shit out?" he said.

"I know you must be going through denial," Chris said dramatically, placing his hand over his heart.

"The only way you are going to die is if I kill you for acting so ignorant," Jonny told him.

Chris stood up and walked over to him.

"You are so sweet," he said, "You would kill me so that I don't have to suffer."

Chris sobbed a bit.

"That's not what I meant," Jonny said, "There is nothing wrong with you."

Chris jerked his head up in surprise.

"But you just said I had that...that disease."

Jonny laughed hard.

"It isn't a disease," he said, "It is an illness. It is the technical term for the fear of Friday the 13th."

Chris stiffened his back.

"I don't appreciate you making fun of me," he said.

"Then stop acting like a drama queen and I won't have to," Jonny advised him.

Chris threw himself down on the sofa.

"Maybe it would have been better if aliens had stolen my body," he said.

Jonny walked over and sat down beside him.

"Nah, you don't mean that," he said, staring at Chris.

"I don't?" Chris asked.

"No," Jonny said, shaking his head slowly, Because then you couldn't feel me do this."

He slid his hands between Chris' thighs.

Chris giggled.

"Aliens are out," he said, "But you can take my body."

 

 

One Day Like This

Chapter 7

 

 

Meanwhile, Chris, Jonny, and Will were outside their hotel. Chris was sitting on the front stoop of the building, his head in his hands, looking quite a bit like a sad puppy. Will was standing on the sidewalk, arms crossed, his eyes searching angrily about the street, expecting to see a drunken Guy come stumbling down any moment. Jonny was leaning against the front of the building, throwing anxious glances at Chris, who was too filled with his own worry to notice.

 

They stayed like this, not talking and hardly moving, for what felt to them like hours but was actually only a few minutes. Then they heard the hotel doors open, and they all turned towards Phil, who had taken a phone call a few minutes ago and hurried inside the building to talk privately. The frown he wore was quite obvious. Chris immediately jumped up, hoping that the call had been news about Guy, who they still hadn't heard from since last night.

 

"Chris, don't jump to conclusions. It's not going to be about Guy" scoffed Will. "And stop worrying so much. I'm sure he just went with that girl to some bar and got drunk and passed out or something. You should be angry, not worried."

 

"Well, actually......." said Phil, hesitantly.

 

"What, what!?" Chris practically screeched, grabbing hold of Phil's shoulders and shaking him. Will's words had done nothing to calm him down.

 

"Um, well, Will was right. It wasn't about Guy-it was Guy. He called to say......that...that he...." He stopped short. He had no idea how to give this news.

 

"WHAT!? WHAT IS IT PHIL!? Is he drunk? Is he hurt?"

 

Chris gasped suddenly.

 

"WAS HE KIDNAPPED BY ZOMBIES!?"

 

Phil, Will, and Jonny all threw him classic "what the fuck?" looks.

 

"What?", Chris responded indignantly. "I saw it in a movie once. It could happen!"

 

He shrugged, then began to pace around nervously.

 

"Come on already Phil, out with it, before Chris wears a hole in the sidewalk" said Will, rolling his eyes irritably.

 

Phil took a deep breath, mustering up all his courage.

 

"Guy called to say that he's quitting the band. Actually, he kind of already quit. He's probably on his way to New York City as we speak."

 

"WHAT!!??" screamed Will, Jonny, and Chris in unison.

 

"Are you serious? You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" shouted Will, throwing up his hands.

 

"No. This can't be happening" whispered Chris. "No, no, no, no, no!" He collapsed on the ground, looking utterly defeated.

 

"Oh, who am I kidding, I knew this would happen. I knew it. It couldn't go on forever. I knew everyone would get sick of me at some point."

 

His voice sounded like mumbles through his hands, which were covering his face almost completely. Instantly Jonny was hovering over Chris with a concerned expression. He laid his hand on Chris's shoulder.

 

"It's gonna be OK Chris, we'll straighten him out for sure. And stop blaming yourself! I'm sure this has nothing to do with you at all! Phil, did he happen to mention why he was leaving? Anything that we can work with at all?"

 

"Yeah" sighed Phil as if already defeated. "He said.....he met someone."

 

He practically cringed when he said it. Surely this wouldn't go over well with them.

 

"See Chris? Not about you."

 

Chris wasn't paying attention.

 

"Someone....you mean like a girl? questioned Chris, a blank expression on his face.

 

"Yes Chris, a girl, obviously. Probably that same girl he texted us about earlier."

 

"What?"

 

"Oh yeah Phil, I forgot we never told you. Last night we were wondering where Guy was, so I texted him and he said he was with some girl that he had met after the show."

 

His anger flared up again suddenly.

 

"Leave it to Guy to fall for some random girl he met after a show! God! Why does he do these kinds of stupid things!? He's always talking about some 'amazing girl' that's 'changed his life', blah, blah, blah."

 

"Actually Will, he sounded serious this time" Phil replied thoughtfully. I honestly think he may have found someone speci-"

 

He stopped talking suddenly, noticing Will glaring at him.

 

Jonny, trying to ease the obvious tension, joked, "That's our Guy. Always falling for one girl or another."

 

Chris laughed. Phil tried to smile. Will just rolled his eyes again and let out another sigh.

 

"I think it's kinda nice, how Guy always lets his heart guide his actions."

 

"You would Chris" replied Will, rolling his eyes yet again.

 

"Sometimes you think too much Will!" laughed Chris, patting his friend on the back.

 

Chris's expression abrublty turned serious and thoughtful.

 

"But seriously guys. This could be a good thing. Not the whole quitting the band thing, but him meeting someone special to him. Guy hasn't been this adamant about anything in a long time. Maybe he's finally moving on."

 

"You're saying he's finally starting to form real relationships again?"

 

"I'm saying he's onto to something at least, Jon."

 

"Well that's all well and good you guys, but we need our bassist."

 

"Silly Willy, I know that of course! I was never intending to just let him up and run off with the girl! We'll fly down to New York City and bring him back, of course we will; champion!"

 

"What?"

 

"Well dearest William, whenever I think 'Will' I think 'Champion!" Chris replied, laughing again.

 

"Chris I really wonder about you sometimes" said Jonny, shaking his head.

 

But he couldn't help but laugh at Chris's antics. He really knew how to lighten a mood. And the best part was that he did it without even trying. His happy-go-lucky attitude was just contagious. That was the kind of man Chris was. He made you feel what he felt.

 

"Yes, yes, that's it!" Chris seemed to be speaking more to himself than anyone else now.

 

"We'll go to New York City, and convince Guy to come back to the band, we'll drag him back if we have to!"

 

Jonny couldn't control his laughter. Even Will was smiling.

 

"Chris, that really is a good idea" said Phil, bringing them back to reality.

 

"But if we really want to do this, we have to do it now. We already had to cancel today's concert, and we've got another one in two days. But two days is a fairly good amount of time. I'll go book us a flight and explain to the crew what's going on. You guys go pack up your things and start thinking about ways to convince Guy to come back."

 

"Got it" said Chris giving Phil a thumbs up and then practically sprinting back inside the building.

 

Looking back at Jonny and Will, he yelled "Come on! We're going to get Guy back!"

 

Will and Jonny nodded in agreement and follwed Chris inside. But secretly all three of them were wondering if they would actually be able to convince Guy to come back.