A New Path To Walk: Chapter 2

Chapter 21

After Chris had hung up the phone, he ran a hand through his long dark brown hair, with its natural red highlights. Sinking down onto his couch he closed his sapphire eyes and began to reminisce. Jake had done a lot more for him than he would admit that was for sure. Being the new kid in a high school is never easy, especially when you're a senior in a new high school. All teens that were his own age had looked upon him as an outsider from the very first day he came. Except one person. One day when he was sitting by himself at his lunch break, a tall muscular guy came over to him. Chris looked him over, and his instant thought was that he was attractive, he had a thing for guys with black hair. But what really captivated him, was the guy's eyes. They were a brilliant dark violet, and seemed to shine with a curiosity and interest.2

"Hey mind if I sit here?" Chris noticed from the guy's walk that he must be a dancer, only a dancer could move with that kind of ease and grace. Also from his voice, he had to be at least a baritone.3

"Uh sure, go ahead. Aren't you nervous that I'll rub off on you or something?"4

With a laugh, the guy sat down. "No, and anyone who thinks they'll become gay from hanging around someone who is, is an asshole. I'm Jake by the way, Jake Evans. You let me know if anyone gives you shit about your preferences, and I will deal with them myself. I think it's pretty brave of you to come out of the closet, especially around this crowd."5

Chris answered with a grin, his sapphire eyes glimmering. "You're not like your friends. I'm Chris Riley." He extended a hand to Jake.6

Jake shook the offered hand warmly. "My friends are very close-minded and frankly I don't really like hanging around them anymore. So where did you move from?"7

Chris ate some of his lunch and then answered. "Stamford, I moved out and came here, got my own place and everything. What grade you in?"8

"Cool, I'm a senior, I'm guessing you are too?" Suddenly a medium height, blond jock with a smirk on his face, wearing a football jersey came swaggering over.9

"What are you doing Evans?"10

Jake turned in his seat. "I'm talking to someone Tom, what does it look like?"11

Tom snickered. "Then I guess you haven't heard that he's gay?" He gave Chris a look that made him flinch.12

"Actually I have and I don't give a shit, so what's your point?" Jake noticing that Chris had flinched gave him a reassuring look that said, I'll handle him.13

"So have you turned gay now too, hanging out with a fairy!" he scoffed this and Chris clenched his jaw at the nasty dig at his preferences.14

Jake rose to his feet, and because he was taller than Tom, he towered over him. Right up in the jock's face he snarled. "No I happen to be straight. If I ever hear you call him that again, I swear you will never live it down. All I would have to do is let it 'accidentally' slip that you got an STD when you were on your campaign to screw all the girls in the school, and you didn't have the sense to check if they were clean. Now how do you think people would react to that? Not very good I think. Do you think you would act so tough then? Hell no. No one would ever date you again, and your cheaply bought popularity would go out the window in less than two seconds. Is that what you want Tom?"15

All the color drained from Tom's face and he shook his head. "No."16

Jake smiled as if he had never been angry just two seconds before. "Good that's better, so we're perfectly clear?"17

"C-crystal," he stammered. Jake then gripped him by the shoulders making him face Chris.18

Chris looked at Jake questioningly but understanding dawned on him with what Jake said next.19

"Now I think you owe him an apology. Say it loud and clear so we both can hear you."20

Tom's gray eyes were whirling with fear of Jake, and what he could do to his reputation, and his voice seemed to tremble when he spoke. "Ah sorry about that, no hard feelings right?" The expression on his face was pleading as if he was begging Chris to forgive him so he would not have to face Jake's wrath.21

Chris arched a brow and looked into Tom's eyes, not smiling and yet his tone wasn't cold either. "No, I'm not one to hold a grudge."22

Satisfied by Tom's apology Jake let go of him and gave him a shove at the table where the people who had been hanging around him were. "I'm sure my 'friends' over there would be happy to have someone else to follow. You're just like them so you should fit right in. Remember what Vicky told you? You ever harm me, my family, or one of my friends and she will come after you. I think if she did you wouldn't have to look in the dictionary to find out what the word eunuch means."23

With a visible swallow, Tom headed over to the table and took a seat, and Jake watched as he asked one of the people in the group a question. Once Tom got his answer his eyes widened, and he turned pale, quickly he looked at Jake, shuddered and looked away.24

"Guess he found out what it means then, I think he'll think very hard before deciding to mess with you again Chris." Jake sat down again and grinned at Chris. "He and his gang are the only people I ever am mean to, I guess it's because they constantly pick on people different from themselves. It's about time they got a taste of their own medicine."25

Sapphire eyes stared back into Jake's violet ones, one question running through Chris's mind. Finally he decided to get his answer. "Why did you do that?"26

Jake uncapped a bottle of Sprite and took a sip, his own eyes glittering. He tilted his head slightly to one side, cracking his neck. "Why did I do what?"27

Wincing at the noise of bones cracking, Chris responded softly, "Why did you stand up for me? You don't even know me and yet you just threatened the first guy to make fun of me."28

"Why? I would walk through fire for friends if I needed to, so why not stand up for them? Don't look so shocked, I'm considered a bit of a rebel around here, it's like I have a sign taped to my back. The message probably would say, 'I'm the different one, beware I am not a mindless asshole.' What sickens me about going to this school is except for a precious few everybody acts the same way." Jake cleared his throat slightly and closed his eyes for a moment. "You looked like you needed a friend, I saw you sitting here by yourself and it made me remember when I used to sit alone."29

This had been unbelievable. A completely gorgeous guy had actually noticed him, stood up for him, and wanted to his friend. Jake didn't care what they thought, to Chris that was pretty amazing. This guy was bold that's for sure, and he'd already shown he wouldn't take any BS from anybody. Too bad he was straight or Chris would have been in heaven. Ever since that day Jake and Chris had become very close friends, and Jake for the entire year was Chris's protector. If anyone so much as looked at him in a hurtful way, Jake would give him or her an earful.30

Chris chuckled softly to himself at the memory. "What a wonderful guy I befriended. So wonderful that I fell for him." This he said aloud before he thought once again. I vowed I'd put those feelings aside once I knew he was straight, I can't stop doing that now. No matter how much I want to. Whenever his father gives Jake hell I always want to go to down to the man's office and beat the living daylights out of him, or I want to cuddle Jake and say it'll be okay. Frankly I don't know which is worse. This whole disaster with Lydia is tearing him apart, and all the bad luck he's had with relationships has him so depressed. But what can I do without revealing how I feel? It's so frustrating.31

Both he and Jake had had their share of family troubles that was for certain, so Chris knew exactly how the twenty one year old felt. Chris's family problems had occurred back in Stamford, two years before he had moved here. He had been sixteen then, and had been fully aware that he felt for guys what he should have felt for girls.32

Chris had known since he was thirteen, the year his mother and sister had been killed in a car accident one night in January. Since then his father Eric had become cold, and bitter and it seemed as if he would never smile again. So Chris could not talk to his father about his preferences, and definitely not his brother. Mark, who was two years younger than him had expressed his disgust of same sex pairings quite often, whenever he came across anything even remotely related to the subject. When Chris thought there was no one around like him, Ryan McFinn found him.33

It was Ryan that helped him deal with his grief over his mother and sister, as well his other troubles. The red haired, green-eyed fifteen year old had taken thirteen year old Chris under his wing so to speak. Friendship soon grew to love, but they both knew that their relationship had to be kept hidden. But what they did not expect was for everything to fall apart.34

One night weeks after he turned sixteen, Chris had gone over to Ryan's house for a few hours and the two had gone upstairs to talk. Mark had been sent by their father to come and get Chris because he was needed at home for some reason. Ryan's mother sent him up stairs and Mark had opened the door to find Chris locked in the comforting embrace of Ryan's arms, the two sharing a loving kiss. Mark had run back to the house and told Chris's father everything, by the time Chris got home it was too late. That night still felt like a dagger to his heart.35

Chris's father had been waiting at the door and grabbing his son by the shirt collar he had pulled him inside. "So this is what you've been hiding?"36

Trying to find some words to say that Mark have been untruthful, Chris looked helplessly at him. "I-I it's not true."37

"Don't bother to deny it Chris I can see it in your face! I will not have this corruption in my house, this abnormality! It's sin and you know it!"38

In a choked voice, he answered with sureness in his tone. "Love is no sin! Just because I do not love girls it's abnormal? That's not the way I see it. If it's done in nature there is no way it can be wrong and nothing you say will convince me that it is!"39

Eric had backed him up against the wall in the hallway, his eyes flaring. "But you are no animal, you are human so it is wrong! Look what that boy has done to you! He's twisted your morals and clouded your mind, manipulating you into believing something that is not so. But I care about you and I am going to put a stop to this madness!"40

Chris had jerked his shirt collar out of his father's grasp and had moved toward Eric, forcing him back a few steps. His defiant eyes met his father's and his tone was cold as a winter wind. "Ryan has done nothing to me but love me! Nothing has he done to manipulate me, everything was of my consent! He has shown me something that you never have since Mom died. Who else was I to run to? I wanted to talk to you, to tell you but I knew I couldn't. All you've done for the past three years is push me away! You don't care about me half as much as you claim that you do. If you did this would not matter to you! In fact I'm starting to think that you wouldn't give a damn if I dropped dead in the street somewhere. You'd most likely walk by and pretend you didn't know who I was!"41

"Get out! I don't ever want to see you again. From now on you are not my son! My son is dead, and I will not tolerate a creature such as you to reside in my house, corrupting the son I have left. My wife and daughter are dead because of what you did. If they hadn't been so eager to get to that play you were in that night they never would have died!"42

Stung by those words Chris headed up the stairs tears silently streaming down his face. "Fine, I'll leave. You won't have to deal with me any longer, I'll get my stuff and I'll get out, but then who are you going to blame for an event that couldn't be controlled?" Heading to his room he had thrown a suitcase on his bed, shoved some clothes and a few other possessions in it, and gone down the stairs and out the door, hearing the door slam behind him. Torn apart by disbelief and hurt Chris had gotten in his car, and driven to the one place he knew he could find comfort. That night Ryan had comforted him reassured him. Also he washed away any doubts that were running through Chris's mind and just showed him love. For two years they lived together, but then Ryan came to realize that they were not meant for one another and broke Chris's heart, saying it was just easier to go their separate ways. So Chris had come to Danbury for a reason he did not know and bought his own place.43

When Chris jerked away from his harsh memories he was crying. Tasting the salt of his own tears on his lips, he buried his face in the pillow on the couch and just let everything out. Jake did not even know about Chris being disowned, or about Ryan. The memories still hurt too badly for him to talk about with anyone. Finally when he had gotten his emotions under control, he had gotten in the shower letting the hot water, for a time, soothe away the hurt he felt inside. Once again he was able to put it aside and think of better things. Soon his best friend would be here, and there would be no room for tears over the past, only laughter and happiness and the promise of better times.44

To be continued45