Love On The Links Chapter 12

This story is a work of erotic fiction involving teenage boys. All the usual rules apply. If you shouldn't be reading this now then don't continue on. Copyright Notice - Please, this story is Copyright © by NCDuffer and the author retains all rights. You may distribute, copy, print, staple or spindle this story however you like, provided this copyright notice remains intact and you do not change the story in any way. Also you may not charge any fee to anyone to distribute or access this story. Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcomed! Send them to ncduffer@hotmail.com.

"Jack," I hissed. I nodded my head in their direction and his eyes darted over to where the two boys were sitting. His eyes registered their presence, but soon, they were focused back on me. To my frightened panic, he leaned in as if to kiss me, right there in the middle of the aisle! I shook him off savagely and bolted out of the theatre. I ran through the lobby, out the doors, and aimlessly out into the parking lot. The weather was cold, and I could see my breath forming little clouds as I panted. I don't believe I've ever been so scared in my entire life. What in the hell just happened in there? Suddenly, I felt two arms wrap themselves around my waist from behind. I quickly shrugged them off and whipped around. It was Jack, with eyes that looked like they could burst with tears at any moment.

Just then, his mom pulled up in the suburban, and we hopped in for the short trip back to his house. It was a very quiet ride back, to say the least. Haley and Mrs. Stewart were up front chatting about the movie she'd seen, but Jack and I might as well have been in a soundproof isolation booth. When we got home, Haley and Mrs. Stewart went inside, but Jack and I stayed outside in the driveway. Jack looked longingly at me, trying to figure out what I was going to say. It wouldn't be long before I let him know exactly what it was.

"What the hell, man?" I said in a loud whisper; I tried as hard as I could to keep my nearly boiling temper in check.

"I'm sorry Will," he said, still valiantly fighting back the onslaught of tears that I knew was coming. "I don't know what came over me."

"I'll tell you what came over you, extreme stupidity!" I said, regretting every word immediately. I could see his face literally crumple before my eyes, as my words struck him down.

"I said I was sorry, Will," he struggled as the tears started. They fell slowly at first, and then there was just no holding back the deluge. It didn't affect his speech, though, his eyes were just flooding.

"Jack, I know you're all out and everything to your folks now, and that's just great, and I'm honestly very happy for you, but I'M NOT OUT! Do you understand what that means for me?" I said, now close to shouting. Jack just nodded as I continued. "There is so much at stake for me, Jack, stuff you don't even know about. I can't risk my whole life falling apart at this point by getting outed before I'm ready. It's just not fair of you to ask that of me."

Jack struggled to clear his vision, frequently wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He cleared his throat and softly spoke. "Will, I said I was sorry, and I truly am. But as sorry as I am about that, I'm just as upset about being forced to live a lie, day in and day out. Do you remember what I told you awhile back? That I would give up anything for you? That I would walk barefoot across broken glass for you? I'm sorry if being with me doesn't fit into your "life plan" right now, Will. The thing you don't realize is you ARE my life plan. Everything else "fits in" around YOU."

"I'm sorry if I made it sound like you were an inconvenience, Jack," I replied. "But we just have to be more careful, you know? I mean, what if those guys we saw tonight say something? What are we gonna do then? Seriously, how do we respond to being seen together by ourselves at a gay movie? Is there any spin we can put on this? Jack, you more than anyone should see how much we've got to lose by this getting out." I was surprised by his answer, though.

"Will, you should see what we will have to gain," he said, which completely floored me.

"What the hell could we possibly have to gain?" I asked.

"Honestly, at this point, it's like me trying to explain to a blind person the benefits of having sight. I could tell you, but until you experience being completely free and honest for yourself, you won't know how intensely liberating it is."

"Jack, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to take me to the next level, but baby, believe me, I am not ready for it. Not now, and I guarantee not for awhile."

"Ok," Jack said, his eyes drying, but his smile still miles away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard."

"Well," I answered, "we just have to figure out how to get around this situation with the guys at the movie theatre. I mean, I don't even know their names."

"We'll just get out your yearbook from last year," Jack said. "But I bet I know exactly who they are. There's been a rumor going around about two guys at school who were dating. You know what this means, though, right?"

"What," I asked.

"That we're not the only gay couple in school," Jack answered. "Who knows, maybe they would be fun to hang out with. You know, you wouldn't have to watch what you said around them."

"Well," I started, "I doubt we will be friends with them. They aren't exactly in our kind of crowd. If they're the guys who are supposedly a couple, they hang out with the freaky crowd in the drama club. Not our type of people, Jack."

"And all the guys who lust after the girls are?" he asked.

"Good point. Still, how in the world would we explain that? That might be just enough to rouse suspicion of us," I replied.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Jack said. "They're probably having the same conversation we are right now."

"I can't believe we saw Will Parker and Jack Stewart together," Garrett said as he put his hand on top of Matt's. Both hands were now resting comfortably on the gearshift in Matt's car as they were heading home from the movie theatre.

Matt drove a little, red, 4-speed, '82 Honda Civic Hatchback with a shitty radio. It was a gift from his parents on his 16th birthday last year. It had been their ticket to freedom, getting them out of the house and giving them a private place to talk. That was important to them, because they were in love and desperately trying to keep it a secret from everybody at school. Until just recently, they had been completely successful.

Both boys were in 11th grade and active in the drama club. Although they had a lot of great friends in the drama club, they didn't really feel like they could tell anyone about their relationship.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Matt asked.

"Do you think?" Garrett replied.

"Why else would they be at THAT movie, together, and did you see Jack put his arm around him right before Will ran out?" Matt answered.

"God, who would've thought?" Garrett said. "I never would've seen that in a million years."

"I wonder if anybody else knows," Matt asked.

"I doubt it," Garrett replied. "We may not be in the A-list gossip circle, but we definitely would've heard about something like that."

"They should really be more careful," Matt said. "I wouldn't wish this last week on anybody," he trailed off as tears filled his eyes and choked his voice.

"I know, baby," Garrett replied, gently rubbing his boyfriend's cheek with the back of his hand, "but as long as we've got each other, who cares what these assholes think?"

"Excuse me," the boy asked, "is this the right place for the 'Sound of Music' auditions?"

Garrett Thompson, the student casting and publicity director for the play, a sophomore, hesitated for a minute before answering. He was short of breath because of the attraction he felt towards this boy standing before him. "Um…yeah…auditions…here…me…I mean, I'm the casting director…I'm Garrett," he said, tucking his clipboard under his arm and extending a trembling hand.

"I'm Matt Briggmore," the boy said, introducing himself and giving this cute kid in front of him a quick once over. Damn, he thought, he's a cutie. "This is my first tryout for a production and I'm reading for the part of Rolfe." Matt found himself staring at Garrett's dark features. He had these gorgeous chocolate eyes, chestnut brown hair, olive skin, and this cute little dimple in his left cheek when he smiled. He was shorter than Matt, by at least three or four inches, and this fact really turned Matt on.

He could nail that part, Garrett thought to himself. Matt stood about 5'11" with rosy red apple cheeks, blonde hair, ice-clear blue eyes, and a pretty decent build. He had all the right attributes for a convincing German boy, and if Garrett had anything to do with it, which indeed he did, Matt would get the part of Rolfe. Garrett finished his mental evaluation of Matt, and asked him to begin whenever he was ready.

"Let's see what you've got," Garrett said, giving Matt a warm smile.

Matt started in on the dialogue he'd prepared and made short work of the scene. He really did well. Next, Garrett asked him if he'd sing a little bit, and Matt really nailed that part. Garrett was impressed with Matt's performance, and without even considering any other candidates, cast him for the part.

As the spring moved on, and the production got more and more involved, Matt and Garrett spent more and more time together. Garrett would help coach Matt on his scenes, and Matt would give up his Saturdays helping Garrett go around getting donations for publicity. One day while they were working on the garden scene where Rolfe proclaims his love for Liesl, Garrett got so into the role, and so ardently did he wish that Matt was really professing his love for him, that Garrett actually kissed him. Stunned, Matt just looked at him blankly.

"I'm sorry," Garrett said, his eyes filling up with tears.

"Don't be," Matt said, smiling. "I was hoping you would do something like that sooner or later."

"You mean?" Garrett asked, his brown eyes doing their best puppy dog imitations.

"Yeah, I'm pretty crazy about you, man," Matt replied.

"Really?" Garrett asked. "Really really?"

"Really really," Matt replied with a smile.

Ever since that day, the two had been inseparable. Every time Matt sang, Garrett's heart leapt. The show was a huge success; some people said it was the best production the school had ever put on. The cast party after the show found the two boys surrounded by their friends and fellow actors. Everybody was congratulating Matt on his performance, and Garrett was beaming proudly. He was in love with Matt by this point, and Matt returned his sentiments gladly. The summer brought the two boys closer, as they could spend their days together and really get to know each other intimately. They both had to get summer jobs, so they both found work as bag boys down at the local supermarket. They arranged for all their shifts to be on the same days, so even when they were at work, they could still be together. Besides, working together always made the time fly by. Soon summer had ended and they started back to school as juniors. They only had one class together, but it was drama. They were in there with all their friends from last year, and talk about a production of "West Side Story" began circulating. Soon, both boys were immersed in the production, and this time Matt could convince Garrett to join the cast. He was nervous as hell at first, but performed his part very well. School was going well, and they were very much in love. So far, they had managed to keep everyone except Garrett's parents, who were very accepting of the whole thing, in the dark about their secret relationship. That was until the night before school started back from Fall Break.

Matt had gone over to Garrett's house to watch a movie and spend some last minute quality time before the stress of schoolwork descended back upon them. Garrett lived in a middle class subdivision, and a lot of their classmates lived in that neighborhood also. In fact, Stephen Parsons, the first baseman for the baseball team, lived right across the street. Many days Garrett had spent staring out his window watching Stephen cut the grass, or wash the car. All the while he was oblivious to Garrett's eyes memorizing every curve of his hairless chest and firm legs. Garrett knew it was no use, though, because Stephen was dating a cheerleader, and when Matt came along, Stephen faded from his memory all together.

That night passed as nicely as all the others Matt and Garrett spent together. The video they rented was probably pretty good, but they spent most of the time making out on Garrett's bed. When 11 pm rolled around, Matt had to be getting home, and Garrett walked him outside to his car. Unbeknownst to them, Stephen was outside beside his house, sneaking a cigarette beside the garage before he went inside to bed.

The front porch light at Garrett's house attracted his attention, and Stephen watched as the two boys walked down the sidewalk. There was little else to watch at this time of night in this neighborhood, so Stephen watched them as he quietly inhaled on his Camel Light. To his surprise and horror, Garrett leaned into Matt, pressing him against the car door, and planted a firm, deep kiss on his lips. The cigarette hung onto Stephen's bottom lip as his jaw dropped and remained open long after Matt had pulled out of the driveway. Holy shit, he thought to himself, what the fuck did I just see?

The next day at school, Garrett and Matt proceeded as normal, unknowing that their world was about to be turned upside down. Stephen was unsure what to do about the knowledge he carried; he didn't condone the activity that they had been involved in, but he didn't know if he should really tell anybody. He decided that he wouldn't say anything about it immediately, but he was dying to tell someone, anyone.

The whole mess made Stephen feel uncomfortable, though, because although he wasn't friends with Garrett, he had known him his whole life. They lived across the street together, and had played together a few times as kids. Garrett just never seemed interested in pickup games with the other neighborhood guys, so eventually they drifted apart. But it was that childhood bond that was temporarily buying Stephen's silence. Soon, the secret was really straining him to keep silent, and he felt as though he might burst if he didn't tell someone soon. He naturally picked his girlfriend, Liz, in whom to confide.

"Hey babe," Stephen started at lunch. "You'll never guess what I saw last night."

"What?" Liz replied.

"I saw Garrett, that little guy that lives across the street from me, making out with another dude in the driveway!" Stephen said, breathing easier to finally have the secret off his chest. He had lasted nearly half a day, what self-discipline.

"Who was he kissing!?" Liz almost squealed in obvious delight at her opportunity to be the first one to drop some MAJOR scoop.

"I'm not sure, but I think his name's Matt something-or-other," Stephen said. "He's another one of the fruits in the drama crowd."

"OH MY GOD! Wait till Jenny and Anna Beth hear about this!" Stephen's conscience socked him in the gut, as he could feel the wheels of the school gossip machine going into high gear. He couldn't help it, though, he thought, why should he feel bad about telling? They were the ones that would catch hell. By the end of the day, the rumor mill was churning out every distortion of the story imaginable.

Garrett met Matt in the back parking lot after school, like usual, for the ride home. Both boys had been getting weird looks all day, and neither really knew why. Deep down, they hoped they were wrong, but something about the stares they received told them there was no way they could be. When Garrett walked up, Matt's chest tightened, because he could see the tenderness and vulnerability in Garrett's eyes. He was clearly hurting, and his classmates had done a number on him that day. Their silence had isolated him into a shell of cold emptiness, and he was threatening to lose it right there in the parking lot. Once he was with Matt, Garrett was able to compose himself a little better and they walked towards the car at the back of the parking lot. As they passed row after row of cars, they heard the whispers, then the whistles and catcalls started. By the time they reached the "cool" section of the parking lot, people were outright laughing and jeering at them. An obvious theology expert shouted at them, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, cocksuckers!"

Garrett started to cry softly, and soon the tears were falling quickly. That brought even more laughs and jeers, everyone was enjoying making the little faggot cry. Matt was obviously upset, but seeing Garrett unravel stung him in his very soul. He did what just came naturally to him; he put his arm around Garrett and held him close as they neared the car. This just sent another wave of frenzy through the crowd that was following them through the parking lot, but Matt could care less at this point. Garrett just wrapped his arms around Matt's waist, and clung to him for dear life. Matt opened the passenger door, and Garrett slumped down inside. He walked around the other side to his door, shot the crowd the bird, hopped in the car, and drove away.

The next day at school wasn't much better, as nearly everyone it seems had heard about the two boys. At 9am, the school's guidance counselor called them into her office.

"Sit down, boys," Mrs. Forrester said as Garrett and Matt sat in the overstuffed chairs in the Guidance Office. She closed the door behind them and returned to her seat behind her desk. Ruth Forrester was a soft spoken, mild mannered woman of about 50 years of age. She was a small framed lady, and always wore those reading "half-glasses." She kept her graying blonde hair pulled back into a bun that was always held in place by a yellow pencil. She had a soft heart, but could be firm when she needed to be. Although not quite adept at college and professional planning, she was very sensitive to the emotional needs of the students charged to her care.

"There's a buzz going around the school," she started softly, "of which I'm sure you both are well aware." Both boys cast their eyes down at the floor. The look of uncontainable guilt and shame flashed across their faces and she immediately sensed the rumors were true. "Garrett…Matt…boys, look at me." She held their gaze and offered a warm smile. "I know this has to be a very tough and trying time for both of you, and I want you both to know if you ever want someone to talk to, please feel free to come to me. I don't care if I'm in a meeting with the principal at the time, if you feel like you're in danger, or you just need to get something off your chest, please come to me. It's my job to make sure you're emotionally well enough to be at school, but it's my mission in life to make sure I do everything in my power to make you happy while you're here. Got it?" Both boys nodded in silent assent, as a silence fell over the room. No one was quite sure how to proceed. Finally, she could tell the boys were not going to open up to her this easily. She would have to earn their trust, but she knew it was imperative to do it as quickly as possible. Being gay in high school is not something to go through alone; to endure requires all the help one can get.

The "threats" started merely as quick glances of scornful disapproval; by Wednesday, it had turned into an all out game of cloak and dagger for survival. Garrett and Matt always derived their strength mainly from each other. They had a mutually reinforcing relationship that renewed each other. When they were together, they were solid; to affect them, they had to be separated. The hostile atmosphere at school served that purpose in that they were afraid to even be seen together. Garrett was the first to break. For some reason, fate had dealt him an unlucky lot in the Math department. He was not exactly born to calculate, if you catch the drift. He was still in a pretty basic geometry class which was also rather densely populated with meatheads from the football team. Bobby Taylor was his chief tormentor; he felt it was his mission in life to ridicule and deride Garrett any chance he got.

"Hey priss," Bobby ribbed to his jock buddies at the back of the class as Garrett walked to his seat near the front. "My girlfriend has a few extra pairs of lace panties if you and your bitch wanna borrow em." This sent the jocks rolling with crass waves of laughter. Garrett tried to concentrate as best he could during the class, but near the end, a note was passed to him that finally cracked his façade.

The note was crudely folded into a rough square, and Garrett discreetly unfolded the injurious letter. What he saw before him was a coarsely obscene drawing depicting himself and Matt dancing in a sea of fire. Across the top of the page was scribbled, "SAVE AIDS THE TROUBLE. KILL YOURSELF." Red-hot tears erupted from Garrett's eyes as he crumpled the note and ran out of class valiantly attempting to salvage his rapidly eroding composure. He could hear the snickers as he passed the rows of jocks and headed for the door.

"Garrett, where are you going," he heard the math teacher ask right before the door slammed behind him.

Matt's trial by fire was being held across the campus in another building. He was suffering through a biology lab involving a dissected pig fetus. He was stuck as a partner with an airheaded blonde named Stacey, who seemed to be slicing and dicing their way to a failing grade with reckless abandon. Suddenly he was struck on the back of the head by a small object. It fell on the floor beside him and he leaned over to pick it up. He nearly vomited when he realized what it was; someone had thrown a mutilated penis from a fetal pig. Rage burned in his eyes as he heard stifled laughter erupt from the other side of the lab room. It was a table full of "cool" people whose names Matt couldn't help but know. He'd had their ideals of "coolness" shoved down his throat since his first day as a freshman at this school. It may not have been the same people, but their wicked brand of malicious, backstabbing, two-faced, superficial conduct seemed to transcend from one year to the next. He just hoped with all his heart that God was watching, and that even though he wasn't strong enough to stop people like that, the Almighty would one day balance the books in his favor. Soon the bell rang and Matt was comforted by the fact that he was on his way to his one refuge; last period of Drama where he would be with Garrett. He needed to see him, to recharge his reserves, and renew his defenses. Only Garrett could give him the strength to make it through. When he walked into the double doors that led into the backstage area of the school auditorium where drama class was held, Matt's heart leapt into his throat. Garrett was nowhere to be seen. He didn't quite panic until the final bell rang; singing out an ominous cacophony that clamped down on Matt's heart. His drama teacher gladly wrote him a hall pass to go find Garrett; Matt suspected deep down she knew what was up.

He immediately went to the areas of campus that he knew would be deserted; he fruitlessly searched the courtyard, the library, the cafeteria. He was wracking his brain as he silently stalked down a hallway in the math wing. He froze in his tracks when he heard the unmistakable sound of crying. Not just sniffling, but all out wails of sheer desolation. He knew it was Garrett; he could recognize him from the tone of the voice. But something was different. This was a coarse, primal sounding noise. He burst through the door and quickly made his way to the last stall. Garrett wasn't even making an attempt to quell his laments, and Matt quickly knocked the stall door open. Immediately Matt began weeping, as his beautiful boy was crumpled up against the wall clutching a wadded up piece of paper. Garrett was apparently so fazed that he didn't even notice Matt come in, and when he went to touch him, Garrett flinched as if he'd been stabbed with a red hot poker. He tried to get away as Matt tried harder to get ahold of him. It was as if Garrett was running purely on instinct, and his "flight" mechanism had kicked in.

"Garrett," Matt said, unsuccessful in settling the wild-eyed boy. "Garrett!" he tried once more to the same violently resistant response. "GARRETT!" Matt screamed, "It's ME, baby!"

Garrett's eyes opened so wide that Matt was stricken with a sort of paralysis. He had never seen someone go so completely over the edge with fear. Once Garrett's eyes registered Matt as a non-threatening entity, they closed tightly as Garrett collapsed his sad little frame into Matt. Fortunately, Matt was already close to him and was able to catch him and support his broken angel.

"Shhh," Matt softly whispered in Garrett's ear as both boys cried into each other's frames. "It's ok, baby, I'm here."

Matt slowly worked the piece of paper out of Garrett's clenched hands and glanced down at what was written on the page. His eyes glazed over with immeasurable ire as he saw the illiterate scribbling on the crumpled notebook paper.

"Come on," Matt said, "we're going to see Mrs. Forrester."

The guidance office was bustling with the sounds of ringing phones and the hum of the copy machine as Matt practically carried Garrett inside. Mrs. Forrester saw the scene unfolding before her and ushered the boys inside her office. "Hold my calls!" she shouted at the secretary as she shut the door.

The next day, a casual observer would've thought someone had called in a bomb threat. The teachers were all sternly tight-lipped, standing resolutely outside their doors between classes and watching for any signs of disturbance. A letter had gone out from the principal; these boys were untouchable. If anything at all out of the ordinary was said, implied, or even thought, the teachers were to report the offending students immediately to the principal himself. Vitriolic intolerance, he maintained, simply would not be permitted at his high school.

The principal's noble attempt at excising the cancer from his high school succeeded modestly in the fact that Matt and Garrett were safe to walk down the halls and sit in class without fear. The hearts and minds of the students, and even some of the faculty, would take far longer to rehabilitate. Finally the last bell rang on Friday, and the boys headed out into the parking lot. Instead of the catcalls and the whistles, the people reacted nearly the opposite. They met the boys with icy stares of condescension and some even turned their backs as the boys walked past. But they could handle this; they had their harrowing experience, and they had survived. They survived together, and if anything, they were stronger.

"Hey babe," Garrett said, obviously recovering from the depths he had reached earlier in the week. "Why don't we do something fun tonight? We should go see a movie…"