See Me - 7. Chapter 7: Rush Of The Moment

The shower water ran hot, the mirror fogged and steam filled the room. Thankfully they hadn't woken Emry's parents, and if they had, they didn't know about it. Emry sighed, running the soapy rag down Dominik's back and then he pulled it away and brought it under the water to rinse it off, his head lowering.

Despite the sound of the shower, he was close enough to hear that sigh, it was one of those louder ones and it was enough to make him turn around and he looked at Emry, his eyebrows lifting. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...just...I have mood swings sometimes. Though I don't like to call it that because that sounds chaotic, I just...sometimes go from being happy or at least okay to being..." He shook his head from side to side.

"Down?" Dominik questioned.

"Yeah, and sometimes I don't know why." He sat the rag on top of the bar of soap which rested on the shelf and he looked up. "The water doesn't hurt does it?"

"The cuts...it hurts the cuts...but I think that's a given." He stepped closer. "Why do you feel down? There must be a reason, if you really think about it."

"I guess just thinking about what they did..to you." He looked up. "And how...kind of my life is a confusing mess."

"Tell me about it." Dominik leaned a shoulder against the wall. "Don't worry about me, I lived."

Emry managed a smile and he shrugged. "Well, I was kind of thrown into Merit's life by chance and...I could of really liked him, I did...and then I just, I went to a party for the first time and I realized that..I should be having fun and..." He shrugged. "It doesn't make sense, I met another guy, developed feelings for him, not the same exact kind or..I guess for different reasons and then...well then...the one guy I'd crushed on since I started high school..he sent me these like hints..or whatever and..I went to him and something happened with him."

"And now?" He watched Emry.

"Well, the second guy ended up leaving town, it was sad and then the third guy, I haven't seen him since the...something happened. He was Kane's best friend, and..Kane showed up the next day and I had to hide in the closet and they left to go to school, haven't seen him, but that was because then I ended up back at Merit's and...the feelings just felt gone...but not gone." Emry paused and then went to finish. "Then...my sisters boyfriend came to me and told me he wanted to sleep with me because I was her little brother and it would be hot. I shrugged it off at first...but then I started spending more time with him and now..."

"Now here you are..." Dominik nodded. "With me."

"Yeah..." He looked up at Dominik.

"And what do you think about all of that?"

Emry shrugged. "Well I tell myself that it can't be love every single time, that's insane. I tell myself that maybe it's just the rush of the moment and the rush of the time. Maybe I'm just...having fun."

"Emry...the thing about being a teenager is that...it is such a confusing time and...you've just begun...feelings change, they rearrange, they shift, you go through phases and themes and...trying to find any kind of deep meaning right now is...well, it's pointless. You see these movies...but in real life, teenagers might as well label themselves scatter brained."

"But some manage to have relationships..."

Dominik nodded. "The older ones, and yeah...when you go through, it all starts to form and shape and you slowly become who ever you are going to be. Even so, you might not be able to have a real relationship for a long time. Most people go on into their twenties and they don't go into relationships, or they date and don't even make it to that level. You meet so many people during this time, some people just want to have fun and experiment and see what all there is out there."

"Well, that's kind of what I told Merit." Emry took a deep breath and looked up. "It's the only thing that made sense to me." He paused. "So, what you are saying is that I should just go on whatever I feel, go with it and..."

"Go with it, make sure other people understand you aren't making any big commitments, because you can't...your mind wants to wander and explore and that is exactly what you should do, and it might feel emotionally intense every time and you might want to label it love because it feels so intense, but it's not."

Dominik held up a finger. "It's attraction, it's excitement and fascination, allow yourself to let go and just...flow to where ever your life takes you because...maybe you're just not one of those people who can make a relationship yet." He grinned. "You're a late bloomer as it is...might just apply as much mentally, go at the levels you feel ready."

Emry frowned. "What bothers me..." He looked up at Dominik. "I ditched Merit, forget the guy after, he left before anything real could happen, then I went straight to your brothers best friend...and I did things with him." He tilted his head to the side. "Kind of like I want to do something with you. I get this whole exploration thing...but I don't want it to make me a whore."

He stared at Emry and frowned. "That's only a label other people can give you, not one that you have to give to yourself, you define you, and what other people don't get...is that this is just as much a time for sexual exploration as anything else, I bet more people do it than you know, they just never tell."

He looked up. "And?"

"And my point is...the same, explore in whatever way you need to, it's part of being human, it's part of you, and there is a reason for you, a reason in you that makes you feel what you feel and you shouldn't feel bad if you follow it."

Emry slowly nodded. "You never said what you thought...about me...wanting you."

"Emry, I won't lie...if you want me...I don't think I could say no." He reached out and lightly grasped his upper arms. "But you can know this much, I won't be thinking you are a whore, nor will I be going out giving people a reason to think that of you."

He looked up at Dominik and drew his bottom lip in and then he slowly nodded. "Part of it...I want to make you feel better...I feel like you deserve someone who cares...to be in your life, and I'm glad you can understand that I can't promise you all these deep things."

"I don't expect you to. You're just exploring...and..." He smiled. "Well, I appreciate your reasoning, though I don't think that is the entire reason, you want to explore for yourself." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Emry's.

His eyes closed. "And kind of...at the same time, I've been lonely, people don't really understand, they think it's funny. I passed out once...collapsed and...it happened in the hall and these kids, they were going to undress me. I know because I was awake and aware but...I couldn't move, I came out of it just in time."

Dominik pulled back and he frowned. "That's awful." His eyes shifted down. "I can see why...when given the opportunity, you would want to explore it."

"Yeah, I guess...it's like getting the opportunity to be popular, it's strange to you and so...you want to try it." He shrugged. "But with Liam, he had...well the way he told me he wanted me to worship him...it just sounded so..."

"Appealing?" He grinned at Emry. "And naturally being at your sexual peak, as I said, you got curious and you tried it, and now..you're with me, in this...situation, in the shower, you want to feel more."

Emry nodded. "Exactly..."

"Well, pat me dry...really softly...and then take me to your room." He grinned and brought his hand up to Emry's cheek. "I'll go with you...where ever you want to go...consider me your lab rat, I'm happy to be it."

Emry grinned and he quietly laughed and turned around and turned the shower off and stood there for a few seconds, the television wasn't playing, his parents had to still be asleep. "Well...if this shower didn't wake them, they are across the trailer." He grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower.

Justin lets out a little hum as he shifts and rolls over, his eyes fluttered open to see Dolph laying on his back beside him, staring up at the ceiling. A curious look took over and he slowly pushed himself up onto his elbow. "Did you never go to sleep?"

Dolph took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. "No...I just wanted to stay awake. I hope I didn't bother you." He tore his eyes away from the ceiling to look at Justin.

He slowly grinned. "How? You were perfectly still. I think I might know if you moved, and how you could lay there like that for hours, awake, is beyond me." He paused. "That usually means deep thoughts."

He stared at Justin and nodded. "Yeah, well I didn't move." A small smile appeared. "I felt peaceful."

"Really? No depression?" Justin asked with a look of concern. "No more bad feelings?"

"I wouldn't let myself, I was scared I might...So, I stared at the ceiling, I didn't move, I didn't think, I just made my mind blank and...it was a peaceful feeling." He reached up and his fingers brushed along Justin's jaw.

"What about now?" He asked, feeling on edge about what would happen next or where they would go from there on out. He knew that to pressure Dolph with such things was a lot to ask, so he hoped these simple questions would give him an idea.

Dolph's eyes drifted back towards the ceiling. "Life feels...frozen, like it's hard to picture what is next, what will be after this night, when we leave this room. I want to say that this fixed everything, I want that so much." He looked at him. "I'm willing to try though, I have to, it's the only option, I have to find a way to live and...I can't imagine a better person."

"Emry?" Justin asked, mostly out of insecurity.

"Not even him, I mean...you both bailed on me at one time...but I just have this feeling that he wouldn't have the heart or the care or...the thought to come back."

He stared at Dolph and slowly took his hand. "Emry isn't shallow, maybe you are right in that he won't come back, but don't put him in that shallow place. I think...he's just someone who has gotten caught up in a lot of things." He looked off to the side. "I remember what was before what came."

"Elaborate?" He asked Justin.

"Well...I remember when he collapsed in the hall with the few other people that were running late to class, myself included. The group of kids that were going to undress him, probably leave him there to be found for the joke of the day." Justin went on. "Or at the start of the year, when he actually took gym and he had the basketball and jumped to try and make it in and landed flat on his back, went right into a seizure and the ball fell straight down and hit him right in the face and bounced right off, caused him to bite his tongue and spit out blood everywhere..."

He listened to Justin recount those events and then he slowly nodded. "Thinking back on it...I guess it would be easy for him to get wrapped up in people taking an interest in him, even more so, accepting him and actually liking him."

Justin stared at Dolph. "It's not just you, he dropped Merit, moved on to Trillian, didn't give me even half an hour of his time." He shrugged. "Maybe he has a short attention span or all of him just goes into one person and he gets all consumed."

"Whatever the case...I can't look back or keep holding on. I mean, if, for whatever reason, he can't keep more than one person in his life or give more than one person his attention, well...if that person isn't going to be me, I have to move on myself, and I sincerely want to try and do that with you." He stared at Justin and then he gave a firm nod.

"Dolph, you are one person in the world I would, will, and do trust. I know if it doesn't work out or...if you can't bring yourself to happiness, for whatever reason, I know you won't do me wrong." His hand ran across his chest. "But for my sake, and more importantly, yours, I hope that can happen for us, we both deserve it."

He took Justin's hand and kissed his knuckles and then he nodded. "I'm going to give it the best that I got, and I hope that is good enough."

"Your best is always good enough, it's all I ask for..." Justin leaned closer and lightly kissed him, briefly and gently, then he eased back. "I want to eventually tell you that I love you...but those are words I save for the right time."

A smile formed after the kiss broke and he nodded in understanding. "As they should be, those aren't light words, people toss them around just because they feel really strongly around someone, that feeling might not be what they think it is. Just that...love is the easiest label to put on it, and it can honestly feel that way."

"It's why you have to be sure." Justin laid back down and he laid his head on Dolph's chest. "And I'm going to be sure...very sure before that happens."

Emry laid back into the bed, looking up at Dominik. "There is something I should tell you first..." His finger moved to his chin. "Kind of a warning label." He grinned.

"What?" Dominik grinned as he stared down at Emry.

"I shouldn't find this funny." His smile suddenly faded. "I actually don't." He took a deep breath. "It's possible that...right after orgasm...I could collapse, go out...and I need you to know that if it happens, not to worry, I'm okay, it's not dangerous. Just incredibly horrible.."

Dominik brought his hand up and ran his hand over the top of Emry's head as his hips lowered between his silky soft thighs. "Well, I'll just have to hope that it doesn't happen, but if it does, so long as it doesn't hurt you...then it's okay for me."

"Okay..." Emry slowly nodded and he leaned up and pressed his lips against Dominik's, his hand moving and his arm slid around his neck, pulling him down as he laid back, those hips lifting and he let out a slight moan of pleasure as their skin made contact for the first time and it was the subtle difference in texture that caused so many good feelings, enough to cause a shudder and a shiver.

Dominik smiled into the kiss, that smile was brief as the kiss deepened and his hips rolled forward as he grinded himself against Emry, his hand slid down his chest and abdomen and then down his side, across his hip and then down his thigh, he pressed harder into the kiss as his tongue forced it's way into Emry's mouth and in a dip and roll upward it ducked into Emry's mouth, tongue's rolling around each other.

He brought his other hand up and pressed it against Dom's muscular chest and when Dominik felt that slight pressure of a push, he opened his eyes and broke the kiss, getting the hint, he rolled himself over, taking Emry with him as the young teen ended up on top. A smile appeared on Emry's face as he leaned down and started kissing his chest, reaching back and grasping hold of Dominik, he stroked him a few times.

Dom stared up at him and he took a deep breath, the room was dark, yet seeing the moon light come through the window and illuminate him in such a way, it was beautiful, he was almost like a silhouette, yet he could still make out some details. He slightly grinned as he felt that hand on his cock and once he was positioned just right, he gave a lift of his hips and pushed upward, pushing past the barrier and into the depths of Emry.

His eyes widened as he suddenly felt Dominik push inside of him, being a virgin, there was an initial great amount of pain, and Dom was a big and muscular guy, it was expected that he would be large in that department as well. He leaned forward, his hands falling to the mattress and his hands grasped onto the sheets and balled into tight fists. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against his shoulder, a slight sound of pain coming from him.

Dominik remembered this fact, his hands lightly ran over Emry's back in an attempt to sooth him. "It's okay.." He whispered, knowing he would stop at Emry's command, but he had yet to give that order. His hips lifted further, continuing to slowly push himself inside, his goal was to work himself until he was fully within Emry. He then slightly pulled back and then pushed forward, going just a little deeper than before.

Emry wouldn't give that command, he wanted to lose his virginity, he was ready, he wanted to become experienced, he wanted to reach the point to which he felt the pleasure. So, given these facts, he would surprise Dom with his next actions.

He pushed himself to sit up and as Dom thrusted up, he pushed down, forcing Dominik further into him, quicker than the stronger and older man had planned, and this was the rhythm that started their night.

The process in the beginning had taken some time and little sounds were made, but each of them struggled to keep it down in order to keep Emry's parents from waking up. However it seemed that eventually things began to move along. Dominik pulled Emry down and then rolled over and laid over him as he laid on the mattress. His hips thrusted back and then forth, gently grinding with a firm press at every forward motion.

Emry took a deep, almost gasp like breath as he was rolled over and then he grabbed the hair at the back of Dominik's head, pulling him forward as he quickly and deeply kissed him, his own hips would swirl and roll, grinding and writhing beneath him as pleasure finally mixed with still lingering pain, he didn't care though, this was his first time and he wanted to make it as memorable as possible, a good experience, a special night.

Dominik broke the kiss, his teeth captured Emry's lower lip and lightly tugged before releasing and he grinned and wrapped Emry up and he pulled him up and sat the boy on his lap, legs tucked under him in this new position. He brought his hand up to his forehead and pushed his head back and leaned forward and licked his way up the front of Emry's throat.

Now in Dom's lap, it was a new position that he was eager to try. He felt that tongue and let out a breath as his hand fell away soon after. He lifted his head back in order to look at him and he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Dominik in a bear like hug as he held onto him and began to roll those hips back and forth, riding him in steady and smooth motions, yet he could feel his orgasm growing near.

As for Dominik? An orgasm was still a far cry from home, he was used to getting down and rough, though he was okay if it didn't happen for him this time, to him this was all about Emry, and that was all that mattered to him. However, he could tell that Emry was growing close. His arms remained wrapped around his waist, holding him protectively and a quiet moan was pushed past his lips and against Emry's shoulder to muffle it from being to loud.

Emry however was the risk as his motions grew faster and then his eyes shut tight and he began to blow his release between their stomachs in a hot mess of sexual bliss. A loud moan escaped as he felt himself tense up. His eyes then shot open and widened as his motions picked up, became faster, riding out his release, quite literally. As he finished, he not only felt the relaxation, but he felt that familiar weakness. His arms loosened and his eyes fell shut.

Dominik grinned and he rubbed Emry's back as he reached his moment of pure bliss, however, he felt the way Emry's grip suddenly loosened and the moment Emry seemed to pull away from him, seeing his eyes closed, it was then that he realized that he was going to collapse. He quickly leaned up, laying Emry onto the bed and he shifted, pulling himself out. "That's what you meant." He whispered, staring down at him.

Emry was not asleep, he was in a classic case of cataplexy. Eyes closed, muscles completely given out, yet he was aware, he could hear, and he felt Dominik lay him back, pull out of him, and heard exactly what he said, yet he was powerless to do anything.

There was something else that he noticed, and that was foot steps charging down the hall, he knew Dominik had to notice as well. Someone was coming, he knew it wasn't his mother, she wouldn't of cared to check on him. Then again, anything was possible.

One thing was for sure, this was going to look bad, very bad.

Dominik had heard the foot steps too and his eyes shifted towards the door. Okay, if he was going to get caught, he wished he at least had some underwear, but all of his clothes were in the wash, probably ready to be thrown in the dryer by now. He pulled back, trying to climb off the bed in time by the time Cedric stormed through the door.

Cedric walked in and he looked over, seeing Emry naked and unconscious on the bed, then his eyes traveled over to Dominik, an older guy, had to be in his twenties, on the bed with his son, also naked and trying to climb off the bed. His eyes widened and he reached over and flipped the over head light on. "The fuck is this?!" He screamed

Jessica ran through the living room, while Cedric was dressed in nothing but a pair of black boxers, she was shrugging a white silk robe over the matching nightie that barely covered her thighs as she went down the hall. "What is going on?!"

Emry laid there, hearing the chaos erupting and inside, he was screaming, telling himself to move, to get up, thoughts rushing through his mind, yet he was still powerless, his mind was screaming to move and still nothing, he couldn't even twitch his arm.

Dominik grabbed the sheet and pulled it up and around his waist to cover himself. "I know what this looks like..." He held a hand up. "Sir...I swear nothing happened that he didn't want to happen, he told me...he might pass out..."

Cedric walked around the bed. "And you think that excuses it?! How the fuck old are you?! Twenty what?! Where the fuck did he meet you?!" His hand moved up and he pushed Dominik back and slammed him into the wall and held him there.

"Cedric!" Jessica walked into the room. "You're going to knock a hole in the wall!"

Dominik let out a breath as he hit the wall and he stared at Cedric. "I would never ever dream in a million years of hurting your son."

Cedric frowns and he looked down, noticing Dominik was already well beaten up. His hand falls from the man's chest and he started to laugh but fell short after a scoff. "Obviously I'm not the only one you pissed off."

"Your son helped me...after my dad and my brother..." Dom trailed off. "After they punished me when my brother found out I was gay, he made sure to tell our dad and he made sure I paid for it. This..." He waved his arms. "It wasn't a plan, I just needed someone's help."

Cedric looked up and he started to feel sympathy until he heard about how Dominik came to Emry for help, that was when he balled up a fist and punched him across the face, sending Dominik's head swinging to the side and he stumbled and fell to the floor. "You came to him for help and ended up in bed with him?! Why not go to the ER?! You go to the fucking ER!"

"Guys!" Jessica screamed. "Now you're going to get blood on the floor!"

Cedric angrily turned towards Jessica. "Since when do you give a fuck about the floor?!Why don't you just go back to bed and not care?! Because you really don't care! You never have!"

Finally a deep breath was taken in and Emry's eyes fluttered open and his vision was a blur and the overhead light was incredibly unwelcoming. It caused him to close his eyes again, the rest of his body felt numb and he knew that sometimes it took time to wake the rest of his body up after these attacks. Why did this have to be one of those times? He needed to get up, jump in and help.

Dominik stood up, turning to look at Cedric, the punch hadn't caused any blood, thankfully. "You're right..." He spoke up. "I should have gone to the ER...for a beating, for the physical beating...but I hurt in here." He pounded his chest with his fist right over his heart. "Could the ER help that? Sure, they have some stranger mental health person who really doesn't know you or care about you."

Cedric looked over at Dominik as he got up and further tried to explain away and justify coming to Emry for what happened to him. "Well, I'm sure you're feeling a ton better!"

"Actually...I don't." Dominik frowned and he shook his head. "My family hates me, and I feel sad for myself that Emry has really been the closest thing to a friend that I've had lately...and I just met him. I care about him...I sincerely care about him and I want to be here for him for whatever he needs."

Emry rolled his tongue around and then he swallowed and took a deep breath. "Stop..." He spoke up.

Cedric turned around and Dominik's eyes shifted over to Emry. "You're okay..." Dom stepped forward and then stopped, thinking better of it.

"It only lasts till like two minutes, unless I shift into a sleep episode." Emry opened his eyes and he looked at his dad. "Dominik did nothing wrong, if only you knew what his family did to him, it was horrible...it would make you wonder how a family could be so horrifying and terrible...and this was my choice, he didn't push me or force me or pressure me. In fact he said it was okay if I didn't...and that he wanted me to be sure."

Jessica leaned against the wall by the door and crossed her arms.

Cedric walked over and knelt down beside the bed and he ran a hand over Emry's forehead. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I am okay." Emry's head rolled to the side to look at his dad. "I wanted tonight...with him, I wanted him." He paused and looked down. "Dad...he was so understanding, he listened to me, he knows so much about what it's like, what I'm going through, why I do some of the things that I've done lately, he made it seem clearer."

"Okay...Cedric, he's a good guy...seriously, lets go to bed now." Jessica said, impatiently.

"In a minute..." Cedric looked at Jessica, irritated and annoyed with her. His attention then returned to their son. "I am sorry, I thought he was taking advantage of you, especially with you unconscious. I just remember when those awful kids tried to undress you...and that horrible school didn't know what to fucking do about it."

"Not much you can do...they can't watch all the time, people do things when they aren't seen." He took a deep breath. "It's okay, please go back to bed, I am fine. My body is just a little numb, I need to make it work again, I am fine, that is normal."

Cedric nodded. "Okay, but if you need anything, you come to me." He leaned forward and kissed Emry on the forehead and stood up and headed out of the room. Jessica pushed away from the wall and followed after him, shutting the door behind her.

"Sorry..." Emry looked over at Dominik.

"It's okay...you have a damn good dad." He walked over and sat on the bed. "What do you mean you're numb? Is that like sleep paralysis? Because you said you didn't go to sleep."

"I didn't, it's just that after an attack, sometimes I feel so exhausted that I have to slowly get parts of my body to wake up, it's a process. It's like...my body just wanting to not move and I have to work hard mentally to bring myself to do it. I think it's more of a psychological thing than a narcolepsy symptom." Emry explained.

"Yeah...it kind of sounds like it." Dominik sighed. "I don't think I can sleep after this, but you need to sleep. So, please sleep and I'll watch you...and wake you and we can watch the sunrise together."

Emry grinned. "Better wake me before sunrise then, if I have paralysis, I won't be seeing the sunrise."

"I'll keep that in mind." Dominik got up and walked over, turning the over head light off and he turned, seeing Emry close his eyes and he walked over and climbed back in the bed and he laid beside Emry and smiled as he watched him, his hand moving to lightly stroke his arm, thoughts drifting on what Emry might want this to be or what he should think of it, he figured he would get his answer in some form or another, he certainly didn't expect anything, he hadn't even expected them to sleep together.

Siera headed down the hall, her destination being the class that Talia attended just before lunch, hoping to find her and catch her before she made it to the cafeteria where they usually hung out at. She rounded the corner and moved through the crowd of people and that was when she spotted the brunette and lifted a hand, waving towards her as she came out of the class room.

"Siera?" Talia moved through the people, her back pack hanging off one shoulder and a couple of her books being held against her chest by a single arm and hand. She reached her best friend. "Hey, what is it? You look frantic."

"Yeah, I kinda am. I need to talk to you and it's really urgent." Siera looked around, appearing almost as if she could cry in that moment. "I'm really freaked out about this..."

Siera turned around and headed over towards the basement door where it was a little uncrowded.

Talia could see how upset her friend was and she followed her over to the basement door, hoping that Asia wasn't planning to come to the basement, or out of it.

"What happened? Is it Merit?" Talia asked. "Has he had second thoughts? Because he seemed really adamant about his plans with you after the game last night, especially during the scene we walked up on at the parking lot."

"A scene? What kind of scene?" Siera asked.

"Well, apparently Kane's brother was picking Kane up in Kane's car. I guess maybe it was in the shop or something and that's why he didn't have it himself. More importantly, he found out that his own brother was gay and apparently he found out because Dominik was kissing Emry."

"That explains it..." Siera's eyes widened. "I saw something very horrible." She looked up at Talia. "I was riding my horse through the fields, you know? And my lands are connected to Kane's and I kind of rode my horse to the border and...I saw their dad's truck being driven through the fields and..." She let out a breath and almost forgot to breath.

Siera paused for a long moment and then gasped in a breath of air. "They had Dominik tied to the back of the truck, driving it through the fields, dragging him by a rope. It was Kane driving the truck because I could see their dad standing near the porch screaming antics, like insults and encouraging Kane to go..."

Talia suddenly dropped her books on the floor and she was completely silent, her eyes widened as she stood there in complete shock, she wasn't sure how to respond to such a story at all.

"Wow...getting clumsy too?" Asia walked up with Miki tagging along as usual. "Kane is just going to love that when you become his trophy wife and drop your champagne at his big party, I'd really fix that."

Siera could see how shocked Talia was after being told what happened, and she could clearly see that Talia was in no position to handle Asia. So, that was when her head turned in the girls direction. "Shut up and go away, she just found out something very fucking disturbing, something that's none of your business."

"Something disturbing?" Asia looked over at Talia. "Funny, Talia and disturbing go together quite well." She threw an arm over Miki's shoulders and headed off down the hall.

Talia didn't even process Asia being there, she knew the girl had been there, she heard everything the girl had said, but none of it really hit her, it was like there was some sort of shield around her, protecting her while she dealt with such a blow. Finally she looked up at Siera. "I can't believe he would ever do that."

Siera looked at Talia and she frowned. "Well, he did...I'm sorry to tell you." She looked down. "I don't know what to tell Liam or Merit. I sort of feel like it's not my business to tell, except that I felt you had the right to know."

"I do have the right to know, as does Liam and Merit, so feel free to tell them, if lunch is what you are worried about, Kane and I won't be there...he'll be coming with me." She leaned down and collected her books.

Siera slowly nodded. "Okay, well, I'll fill them in on it."

Talia stood up and nodded. "Merit has a right to know, he saw what happened after the football game as well as I did, the fact of what Kane found out about Dominik." She then turned and headed off down the hall.

Asia had stopped at the end of the hall and she watched Talia take off. "I need to find out what is going on." She wondered if Talia's memories were coming back to her.

"Well...they are never going to tell you." Miki said.

"But, they might tell Lana." Asia grinned. "So long as she drifts through their circle right now. Text her and tell her to be at that lunch table."

"I'll try, but Athen is going to have to be away, he is enemies with Kane." Miki noted as she looked down at her phone and sent a text off to Lana with Asia's orders, of course it was more of a request from her perspective. "Okay, hopefully they clue her in, if they don't?"

"Well, that lunch table only applies if Siera shares what she knows." Asia pulled out her phone and started texting. "Since Athen has to be away, he'll do something for me and we'll get an exclusive straight from Talia and Kane themselves."

"Let me guess, the old hide a phone trick?" Miki's eyebrows lifted. "Pick a little fight with Kane, throw a few words around, plant his phone at the right moment, then when Talia tells him to get lost, he goes...and we get to hear?"

"You know my mind well, it's an old trick...but a good one." Asia sent the text and turned towards Miki. "You might just work the ranks soon, come to my level, though we are already best friends and glued at the hip, I don't know much more that can happen than that."

"Well, we can work on Justin." Miki's eyes shifted to the side. "I know he's the guy of our group but...we really should make him more of a part of us."

Asia thought about it. "Well, Jesse doesn't bitch..." She shrugged. "Then again, I guess Justin can't really be compared to Jesse, he did become our friend and he wants to be part of us. Soon enough, he'll be in on one of our schemes." She reached around and looped her arm with Miki's. "For now lets go." The two girls headed off.

Siera had been watching Asia and Miki, though she couldn't hear a thing they were saying, she knew she needed to get to their table and catch the others up on what Kane was really about, he had gone way too far. She never was a fan of his bullying, but this sent her over the edge and she was done with it. She pushed away from the basement door, seeing Merit waving for her in the crowd, she headed off to catch up with him.

"Emry..." Liam walked up behind him as Emry was putting away his books and organizing his locker. "I am really sorry that it has taken me this long to get back to you. It's just with school and my parents being on top of me about college and everything, it's been really hard, I mean it, I've thought about you...and...I guess there is no excuse for taking this long."

This part of the hallway was growing empty and what students were still there were crowded in small groups near by, but none close enough to listen to them and none seem interested in doing so.

Emry closed his locker and he turned around and he looked at Liam. "Well, I'm not mad. Really...I'm just entirely confused about everything. If you thought I was madly in love with you...I'm not. I wasn't even in love with Merit. I've realized that these feelings I have, despite the intensity, they are not love."

"What are they then?" He asked, curious.

"They are just the rush of the moment, the fleeting excitement of the time. Love means that it doesn't just exist while you're with someone and then suddenly goes away when you meet someone else. When that happens, it's just attraction, the urge to explore." He shrugged. "I just...met someone who helped me put everything into perspective."

Liam slowly nodded. "Okay, I understand." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Do you still feel a rush with me? Can we...still be an attraction? Can we still explore, together?"

Emry stared at him. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Merit, you are going to have to be strong and be true about yourself. Hiding in a closet when Kane showed up wasn't cool. In fact...when you find out what Kane did, you are going to find out he isn't cool at all, you might even be out right horrified."

"What did Kane do?" He asked.

"After last nights football game, his brother Dominik decided to come out to him, he saw him walking up and so he grabbed me and kissed me, that was his way of doing it. Kane flipped out, later he got with his dad, they beat Dom up, worst part...they tied him to the back of a truck, Kane was made by their dad to get in the drivers seat and drive through their fields, dragging Dom through it."

Liam's mouth fell open, his jaw dropping and his eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am serious. Kane's hate goes a long way, his dad's goes even further, especially when it's family, I believe." Emry crossed his arms.

"Wow...I had no idea..." Liam drew in a deep breath. "So, what do you think he would do to me?"

"You're not family, he might try to fight you, but I don't think it would end up going to his house and to his evil father, and you stand a better chance against him than me, so I wouldn't worry." Emry leaned back against the lockers and brought one hand up to his chin. "He found out about Merit when he mentioned being with me to Siera on the phone, but since he is trying to force himself straight with her, I guess Kane approves and decided to leave Merit alone. He doesn't know that it's not going to work, and Merit doesn't know that either, or he does and he's just desperate." Emry added.

Liam crossed his arms and nodded. "Wow...feels like I missed a lot." He looked down the hall. "I feel sorry for Dominik if he has to go back there."

"He's staying with me for now." Emry stated. "I've also been hanging out with Athen quite a bit, but if you care at all, you will take that secret to the grave with you. Honestly it's wrong of me to be hanging around with him but we haven't done anything. We might of kissed, but it hasn't gone beyond that."

Liam shook his head. "I wouldn't do anything to cause a bunch of crap between you and your sister. Though you should reconsider it." He looked down and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Like I said, I still want us to be together, even if that isn't really a relationship kind of together."

"Maybe, the advice I was given was to follow whatever feelings come to me, that is what I plan to do." He paused. "I guess part of me wants to be angry at you, but I don't feel like I can stay angry."

Liam looked up at him. "You should be angry with me." He then stepped closer. "But if you can't be, that says something."

Emry shrugged. "And then there is Dolph, someone who befriended me before all of this and I've just neglected him because so many people have come into my life, I've felt like I haven't had the time...he should hate me for that."

Liam placed his hand against the locker next to Emry's head. "You do your best, I think...and now I just want to go somewhere and have a nice lunch period together."

Emry looked up and shook his head. "We have friends, I know it's been a little rocky but we need to keep it together."

"Yeah, but we have been rocky too and we deserve our time to fix it." He pulled his hand away and his arm fell to his side. "I just mean some place to hang out, nothing more than that."

Emry slowly nodded. "Okay, well...I guess the courtyard is usually a safe bet, not a lot of people go there, just people that want to be alone for personal reasons."

Liam smiled and he reached out and took Emry's hand and pulled him away from the lockers. "To the courtyard it is..." He headed off down the hall, leading Emry with him as they fell into a walk together and moved around the few small groups that had formed within the space of the hall.