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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Flash Fiction - Second Shot - The Senior Year - 1. Chapter 1

Blake Finch massaged his temples pushing his brown hair back. “But we’re so different, Jase.”

“And?” Jason Tellerman paid the clerk and grabbed their drinks. “Why does that matter?”

“It doesn’t, it’s just that Ethan’s so…so….”

“Out?” Jason’s raised eyebrow told Blake how his friend felt.

“Yeah.” Admitting it almost made Blake feel worse. No not worse. He didn’t feel bad, just confused. “Not that it’s bad, but…well you know, I’m not.”

“No. Really?” Rolling his eyes, Jason took a sip. “Look Blake, we’ve had this discussion before. You know I’m not objective on the subject given my experience with Peter. Of course I think you should go for it.”

He wanted to explain why he couldn’t do what Jason did, but he knew how lame that sounded. Staring at his mocha, Blake admitted out loud what he knew really held him back. “I’m scared.”

“Of?”

“Everything.” Blake looked up and found Jason eyeing him. “I mean everything that could happen if I come out.”

Jason nodded, but didn’t speak. As the silence dragged on, Blake sensed Jason’s disapproval. Not that he’d said it, but it wasn’t hard to see. And that bothered him. Jason’s family and their money gave him options Blake would never have. Jason had no right to judge him. A diploma from Graydon gave Blake options after graduation. Without it, he’d end up working at a mall.

“Okay,” Jason’s voice brought Blake from his thoughts. “Let’s talk this through. We both know Coach Slewman won’t kick you off the soccer team or yank your scholarship. He had my back when I got outed: he’ll totally have yours.”

“True.” He really didn’t need to worry about his scholarship. But what if his team didn’t want him if they found out?

“And do you really think the guys will care?”

Staring at his friend and team captain, he knew the real answer. “No, you and Darryl would kick their ass.”

“Don’t forget Dean.” Jason smirked.

Blake laughed at the memory of Jason’s straight ‘little” brother reaming out the new freshmen players after they laughed at a gay comment on the first day of practice. It helped quell a bit of his angst. “No one can forget your brother.”

This time Jason’s smile threatened to split his face. “Nope, Dean’s one of a kind. So back to your problem; not school, not the team, what’s left? Your family?”

Blake stifled a snort. His family wouldn’t care. No one had an issue with his gay uncle and his partner. “C’mon you know Uncle Greg and Corey are accepted. My folks won’t kick me out.”

“I know.” Jason took a pull on his coffee, staring over the lid at Blake. “Which is why I don’t get what you’re afraid of.”

He wanted to repeat, ‘everything’, but knew it wasn’t true. So what was his problem?

Jason kept his gaze on Blake. “Do you like Ethan?”

Remembering last night, Blake smiled. “Yeah. I do.”

“So why are you mind fucking this?”

He knew the real answer. “Like I said before, we’re so different. What if we don’t work out?”

“First—” Jason held up a finger. “—Pop always said, ‘oil and water doesn’t’ apply to people.’ Differences are good to a point. You’d be bored if you dated someone who liked all the same things as you."

That made sense to Blake, but he still had doubts. Before he could respond, Jason held up another finger.

“Second, nothing’s guaranteed. There’s no way to know in advance if it will work out or not.”

Blake nodded. Everyone thought Jason and Peter would be forever and they split up for a time before getting back together.

“And third, Ethan’s a great guy. He might be a bit out, but if you told him you need some time to ease into it, I’m sure he’d understand.”

“You mean tell him to act more straight in public?”

“No, of course not.” Grabbing his cup, Jason twirled the liquid for a moment. “But he understands you’re not out. If he isn’t comfortable with that, he shouldn’t expect you to change either. The point is, talk to him. I know he likes you too.”

“Really?” Had Jason talked to Ethan already? “Did he say that?”

Jason rolled his eyes, leaving just a sliver of blue visible below his lids. “Yesterday, all he could talk about was you. Blake this. Blake that.”

He didn’t need a mirror to know how big a smile he wore. Then reality hit. “But he’s a three hour drive away.”

“Only when he’s at school. Your parents live twenty minutes away from his mom. If you guys work out, you’ll have plenty of chances to see each other.”

Staring into the dark liquid, Blake mulled Jason’s words. Part of him knew that dating Ethan–whatever form that took given the distance–would force him to come out. Ethan wouldn’t accept anything less and Blake wouldn’t ask him to.

But he also wanted something like Jason and Pete had. Someone he could get close with and spend time with. Ethan might not be that guy, but Blake hadn’t met anyone else who made him even think about coming out.

Nodding slowly, Blake twisted his lips to the side. He knew he’d never find the ‘right’ answer. “Thanks Jason.”

“You bet. Anytime you need to talk, let me know.” Smacking his hands on the table, Jason rattled their near empty cups. “I need to go for a run. You coming?”

It might help to be a little less jacked before he called Ethan. “Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”

Special thanks to MikeL for editing this chapter for me.
Copyright © 2014 Andrew Q Gordon; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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I love Second Shot, but I am holding my opinion here. Second Shot stands alone as a great read, and I am by no means criticising. JMO. but I will certainly continue reading.

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On 03/07/2013 02:27 PM, joann414 said:
I love Second Shot, but I am holding my opinion here. Second Shot stands alone as a great read, and I am by no means criticising. JMO. but I will certainly continue reading.
Jo Ann - what you say is one reason I've never seriously contemplated a sequel. I doubt strongly I can duplicate the elements that drew people in to Second Shot. This is a bit different. It's not going to be a 'story' per se, but more like snippets into their lives. Basically I've wanted to do something like this for a time and the Wednesday Briefs format is giving me a platform to try it. Folks may say, this is crap - stop it. or they may like. At this point I'm only committing to try it for a time to see how it goes. I may end up shifting my flash fiction focus elsewhere, but I figured this would be a good way to use characters that people recognize without needing to write an entire novel and find an interesting story/plot to write about. Short flash fiction is easier to come up with a conflict for the characters involved to over come.

 

But I appreciate the honesty and hope that if this seems like it's falling flat, you and others will tell me the truth. I can easily shift my focus to ideas to do the flash fiction if this isn't working.

 

Andy

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Looking forward to seeing and revisiting these characters again. I'm going to be a little reserved until i see how your idea plays out as far as it not being a sequel but instead a series of stories written from the different perspectives of the characters. I think it could prove to be quite interesting and I'm looking forward to reading them. My hardest part will be making sure that I allow these shorts to stand on their own and not compare them to Second Shot (which I still believe to be one of the more phenomenal stories that i have read on this site).

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Hooray! The Second Shot boys are back, even if only for short stories...

 

:-)

 

Thanks Andy!

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On 03/07/2013 03:04 PM, CW Prince said:
Looking forward to seeing and revisiting these characters again. I'm going to be a little reserved until i see how your idea plays out as far as it not being a sequel but instead a series of stories written from the different perspectives of the characters. I think it could prove to be quite interesting and I'm looking forward to reading them. My hardest part will be making sure that I allow these shorts to stand on their own and not compare them to Second Shot (which I still believe to be one of the more phenomenal stories that i have read on this site).
In a sense this is kinda sorta a sequel, but I think the better word choice is spin off or a new book in a series. I really don't know what to call it as I'm not sure there is a word for it. Think of it like a tv show that is based on a movie. The movie was a one and done, and the tv show picks up and follows a character or maybe all the characters in different episodes. Is that a sequel? I don't think so, but it is certainly related.

 

So, as you said, give me a chance to see how it plays out and if it sucks - please tell me. Since this is something of an experiment, I need to know what people really think.

 

Thanks for the review and for reading.

 

Andy

 

As for the other point, I don't think this will be the same as Second Shot. In Sec Shot there was an end that the characters needed to work toward. Here there will probably several 'ends' along the way. As in I'll probably close out several story lines along the way and pick up new ones. But they will all be related to each other and build

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On 03/07/2013 06:57 PM, KevinD said:
Hooray! The Second Shot boys are back, even if only for short stories...

 

:-)

 

Thanks Andy!

If the world is good and the planets align right, the hope is there will be new 'chapters' every week. But no promises because life does interrupt at times. :)

 

Andy

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B) ............Q-man!! It was almost like you never finished the story the way you just picked it back up. Looking forward to reading more!
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On 03/08/2013 08:11 AM, Benji said:
B) ............Q-man!! It was almost like you never finished the story the way you just picked it back up. Looking forward to reading more!
Thanks Benji. I beg to differ that it is so seamless. It is taking me a bit to get back into their heads. But I'm getting there.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Andy

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On 03/08/2013 08:11 AM, Benji said:
B) ............Q-man!! It was almost like you never finished the story the way you just picked it back up. Looking forward to reading more!
Thanks Benji. I beg to differ that it is so seamless. It is taking me a bit to get back into their heads. But I'm getting there.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Andy

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Andy,

Interesting concept for your various explanations. But really to compare this to the TV version of a movie? Generally the TV episodes fall flat -- not saying this will. Just don't forget other important projects -- just saying.

It has been a while since I read Second Shot and The Trial, so it took a bit, including a second read of this vignette, before I was able to pull my mind back to the setting and people. This is short but has the making of an interesting journey with your mind.

My first impression of Chapter 1 was that I came into the middle of something, but the second time through, I figured out what was going on, and enjoyed it. I look forward to the next episode. See you on the same shot channel, same shot time, for Chapter 2.

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On 03/08/2013 02:09 PM, GeR said:
Andy,

Interesting concept for your various explanations. But really to compare this to the TV version of a movie? Generally the TV episodes fall flat -- not saying this will. Just don't forget other important projects -- just saying.

It has been a while since I read Second Shot and The Trial, so it took a bit, including a second read of this vignette, before I was able to pull my mind back to the setting and people. This is short but has the making of an interesting journey with your mind.

My first impression of Chapter 1 was that I came into the middle of something, but the second time through, I figured out what was going on, and enjoyed it. I look forward to the next episode. See you on the same shot channel, same shot time, for Chapter 2.

GeR, a) not going to neglect other projects, these are by nature short so as to provide authors a short break from larger projects B) well I hope this won't fall flat, I'm thinking **Mash** or Highlander or Stargate when I said movie-tv, [yeah I dream big - :D ].

 

As for entering in the middle, we did. I'll get to explaining that in the next few installments, but in the true nature of 'good' flash ficition - I think everyone knows Blake and Ethan hooked up in some fashion. So if everyone understood, then I did good. :)

 

Thanks for coming by and and yes, same Shot time, same Shot channel :P

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OMG I'm so hyped to hear abou the soccer boy & karate kid adventures again!

You better post weekly Q!

Loved the chapter & it brought me back to the universe very smoothly. Keep it up

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On 03/10/2013 08:05 AM, boiwonder said:
OMG I'm so hyped to hear abou the soccer boy & karate kid adventures again!

You better post weekly Q!

Loved the chapter & it brought me back to the universe very smoothly. Keep it up

I've wanted to get back to soccer boy and karate kid but didn't have time or a fully formed story in mind. That and all the stuff with the publisher. So this seems like a great vehicle. I'm pretty sure I can manage a 1000 word or less a week. But no promises other than I'll try. :)

 

Glad you're happy with their return.

 

Andy

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On 03/12/2013 05:05 AM, xncrzy said:
So happy you are continuing this story. :Vic2:
Glad to see you're happy and reading, you're just a beltway ride away so I don't want to make you angry.
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I am so glad that you are writing more Second Shot. I have read Second Shot 3 times through. I just can not get enough of these characters and your writing. This story has touched me deeply md I am glad to get whatever more you are willing to give us, I continue to enjoy your writing. Thanks!

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On 03/16/2013 01:44 PM, 2fortheater said:
I am so glad that you are writing more Second Shot. I have read Second Shot 3 times through. I just can not get enough of these characters and your writing. This story has touched me deeply md I am glad to get whatever more you are willing to give us, I continue to enjoy your writing. Thanks!
Thanks for letting me know. I've wanted to get back to the these characters but never really seemed to have the story for it. This seems perfect for me - at least for now. Maybe I'll do some thing more soon, no promises however, it will be a big undertaking if I do. :)
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1 hour ago, Danilo Syrtis said:

lol jason a « matchmaker » ? nice start 👍

I really need to revisit and clean this up. It's kinda a hot mess lol.

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