Aiden's War - 8. The Gambit

“Hey, here’s my schedule for the next few weeks,” Dustin whispered in my ear as he slipped me a piece of paper. It had only been a few days since our first time and here we were naked with each other again on the Monday after Easter with another day off of school and another round of fun in his bedroom. I’d never been comfortable being naked in front of anyone, but with Dustin I never wanted to put on clothes again. Even when we weren’t having sex we were just hanging out naked.

“If you can make it over here on the off days we can have more fun.”

“Isn’t it your birthday this week?” I asked.

“April 1^st,” he replied. “Friday night. I’ll finally be eighteen.”

“Can I come over and maybe stay overnight?” I asked. I rested my head on his shoulder and gently rubbed his belly between his ribs and his belly button.

“No can do, Aide-o. I’m spending the evening with Emily and then Billy’s spending the night.”

“Oh…” I sighed. I pulled away from him and rolled over on the bed, facing away from him.

“Don’t be jealous,” Dustin said, snuggling up behind me. He reached around me and gave my balls a squeeze. “Why don’t you come over Saturday night and stay until Sunday?

“I can’t… My mom works night shift Friday, that’s why it’d work. I can come over Saturday afternoon but I can’t stay long.”

“You don’t have to stay very long to do what we’re going to do,” Dustin said, pressing his hips against my butt. I pressed back against him and could feel him begin to stiffen again.

“So what’s the deal with you and Emily? I mean, are you cheating on her with me or…?”

“I told you, I’m still trying to sort it all out,” Dustin said. He pulled away from me and hopped up so that he was kneeling on the bed. I turned around and sat cross-legged across from him. “Em’s been one of my best friends for years. I love her. I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I can’t keep stringing her along if she wants more out of me than friendship. Friday night I’m going to tell Billy how I feel. After that, I’ll tell Em. She’ll understand. And then, I’ll be free. No more secrets.”

“No more secrets,” I repeated. “You going to tell Billy about us?” I asked.

“Maybe,” Dustin replied.

“So you’re ashamed of me?” I asked.

“Not at all! I’m not ashamed of what we’ve done. I’ll tell Em about it when I tell her everything else. It’s just… It’s complicated with Billy. Look, I went through a really tough time because of sex and Billy was there for me when no one else was.”

“Do you love him?” I asked.

“Of course I love him, but not like that. He’s my best friend. He knows things about me that would make anyone, including you, run away from me screaming for their life. Billy doesn’t judge me. He saved me. I mean, he literally saved my life. So yeah, I love him.”

“Would you do with him what you’ve done with me?” I asked.

“Even if he weren’t Brett’s boyfriend I could never have sex with Billy. I love him too much to fuck him. You know what I mean?”

“What about me? Do you love me?”

“I barely know you. Not really,” Dustin replied.

“We had sex,” I insisted.

“I’ve had sex with people whose names I don’t even know,” Dustin replied. “Look, Aiden. I really like you. Do you really think somebody who’s as fucked up as me could fall in love with someone after having sex with them one time?”

“We’ve had sex twice,” I pointed out.

“Whatever! Look, I do like you. A lot. You’re cute and I’m having fun. I like you enough to make this a regular thing if you want it. Why ruin it with feelings? Let’s just have fun.”

“So you don’t love me,” I sighed.

Dustin leaned forward and wiped away the tear that had rolled down my cheek. He kept his hand there on my face. “I don’t fuck people I love,” he replied. “If I loved you we’d have to stop having sex.”

I pulled away from his touch. “You have a very strange relationship with sex, don’t you?”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Dustin said, completely seriously. “So, you want to go again before you have to leave?”

“You just want to shift gears from that conversation to sex just like that?”

“Why not? We’re already naked,” Dustin said.

“I’m beginning to think I’m in over my head,” I sighed. “Okay… Can I ask you to do something for me before we have sex again?”

“Sure!”

“Could you kiss me?”

“Kiss you? Like on the mouth?”

“Yeah. I’d like that very much,” I replied.

“I’ve kissed your penis. Isn’t that enough?” Dustin joked.

“No, because that obviously means nothing to you. Kiss me on the lips, like you mean it, and then you can fuck me.”

“Okay, stand up,” Dustin said. I slipped of the bed and stood there. Dustin joined me. He pulled me close to him so that our bodies were pressed together. The top of my head barely reached his nose. “Look at me,” he said. I looked up into those blue-gray eyes of his.

“I ever tell you brown eyes are my favorite?” he said.

“Don’t pick on me,” I said.

“No it’s true! Brown eyes and light brown hair get me hot.”

“Brown eyes are boring,” I said.

“I think they’re awesome,” Dustin said. “Now close ‘em.”

I closed my eyes and felt Dustin lean closer toward me. His lips gently brushed against mine.

“Open your mouth, just a little bit,” he whispered. “Kiss me back.”

I obeyed. Once again I felt Dustin’s lips brush against mine. This time with more urgency. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his around my lower back. I wasn’t prepared for his tongue to slip its way into the kiss, but I liked it. Almost instinctually, my tongue began to dance with his. Dustin lifted me off my feet, continuing the kiss as he did. I threw my legs around him. I could feel his dick throbbing under my ass. Continuing to kiss each other, I reached down and grabbed hold of his cock and lined it up with my asshole.

“This isn’t going to work,” Dustin said.

“I want it to,” I replied.

Dustin carried me over to the bed and laid me down. He laid on top of me and we kept on kissing. I don’t know how long we kissed, but it wasn’t long enough. I barely remember the sex that followed the kissing, because the kissing was so passionate and right. I felt as if my soul had melted into Dustin’s soul.

“Please let me say the words,” I thought to myself. “I want you to hear me say it.”

Dustin wrapped his arms around me and I wrapped my legs around him. His thrusting became much more urgent.

“I’m coming,” he whispered into my ear.

“I love you,” I whispered back.

After it was over, Dustin just kept on holding me, even after he pulled out. He turned me over so that I was on my belly and he kissed my neck. Then he slowly worked his way down my spine. He stopped in the middle of my back. I felt his fingers tracing along the scars where my dad had beat me with his belt.

I heard him sniffle and felt him shudder.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Dustin replied. He quickly pulled away.

I turned around, but Dustin had already moved to the side of the bed facing away from me.

“You should probably go,” he said, not daring to look back at me.

When I returned from my shower Dustin was already dressed. He was standing by the shelf looking at his trophy from the chess tournament.

“See you at school?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “That was pretty intense, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I replied. I turned to leave.

“Hey Aiden,” Dustin called. I turned around. He was still looking at the trophy.

“Yeah?”

“I…” He looked at me. It looked like he was trying to think of what to say. “Thanks,” he said. “This weekend was great.”

I gave him a nod and then left.

I couldn’t wait to see Mr. Hartley the next day. I found myself walking with a little more confidence as I went on my first journey through the halls of Mon Valley High School after having had sex. No one was going to get me down that morning. Not only had I gotten laid, but I’d gotten laid repeatedly and I was going to get laid again on Saturday! I finally found the time to head toward Mr. Hartley’s room right before lunch. I ran into Tyler coming the opposite direction. He looked like he’d been crying, very upset about something. Even though we weren’t on speaking terms at the moment, I wanted check on him.

“You okay, Ty?” I asked.

“Fuck off, faggot,” Tyler snapped at me.

“Whatever, dude,” I replied, moving on. Nothing was going to bring me down that day. I knocked on Mr. Hartley’s door and he welcomed me inside.

“I take it my Bishop was Knighted?” he said.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked.

“When a young man has that look on his face, there’s only one reason. And since our Knight had that same silly look on his face this morning…”

“What look? Happiness?”

“No, something far worse…” Mr. Hartley sighed.

It was true. Every time I crossed paths with Dustin in the hallway, we couldn’t help but grin at each other. I don’t think I’d ever been happier at school. I was so happy, I was almost floating through the day, supported by little gay rainbow hearts and unicorns.

Tyler, on the other hand, kept looking more and more distraught. I was too busy floating around with my head in the clouds to even notice until gym class. Tyler kept throwing the ball at me with an extra bit of viciousness at me during dodgeball. He was warned twice by the gym teacher not to aim toward my head with the ball, but then Tyler did it a third time and got kicked out of the game. He was supposed to go to the sideline with the rest of the people who had been eliminated. But instead he ran across the gym and tackled the crap out of me. I fell onto my back and Tyler pounced on top of me and punched me in the face several times. It took two students and the gym teacher to get him off of me.

“That’s what you get, faggot! That’s what you fucking get!” Tyler screeched, tears streaming down his angry red face. He got escorted off to the principal’s office while a couple of kids helped me to my feet. I had a bloody nose and a busted lip, but I’d survive…

“What’s his problem?” one of the girls in the class asked.

“Guess he wanted to play Smear the Queer instead of dodgeball,” I replied, feeling a little dizzy. The gym teacher told me to go to the nurse to get some ice for my face. Then I was called to the principal’s office to explain what had happened. I wasn’t much of a witness because everything was a blur. Tyler got suspended from school for the rest of the week and I got to go home early since I’d had my face bashed in. The funny thing was I wasn’t all that hurt after about a half hour. Tyler didn’t hit very hard. If I didn’t have braces I probably wouldn’t have busted my lip at all, and the bloody nose had cleared up long before mom arrived. I was still in the office in my gym clothes when she got there. It was almost time for dismissal anyway and I felt bad she’d made the trip for what seemed like nothing. But then she asked to see the principal. Even though the door to his office was closed after she went in there, I could still hear her voice exploding in anger at the principal’s lack of control over the bullies at the school. All I could think was that something like what happened to me would never happen again once Mr. Hartley was in charge.

Mom exited the principal’s office and instructed me to come with her to the car.

“I’m still in my gym clothes and my stuff is still in the locker room,” I said. She walked with me to the gym and let me go to change clothes while she gave the gym teacher a piece of her mind as well. By the time I had changed and came out of the locker room, the gym teacher was practically cowering in fear of my mom.

Once we were in the car, mom began to cry. She leaned toward me and I leaned toward her, touching our foreheads together.

“My sweet baby,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this. I thought this kind of thing was over after we got away from your father.”

“It’s okay, mom.” I replied.

“Oh no it’s not! I have half a mind to pull you out of that place and homeschool you myself!”

“Please, don’t do anything crazy!” I replied. “It’ll be better soon.”

As we drove toward home, mom continued to be shocked by what had happened to me. “I can’t believe Tyler did this to you! His parents must have serious issues with him being gay for him to act the way he does.”

“He’s not gay,” I insisted.

“Sweetheart, I may not know much about gay life, but anyone can see that boy is gay. He may not like it, and he may be fighting it, but that boy is as queer as a three-dollar bill. I don’t appreciate that you’re the victim of his self-loathing homophobia.”

“Well, I might not be as innocent as you’d like to think of me in this situation,” I admitted.

“Baby, I know about the things you’ve done with him in your bedroom.”

“It’s not that. A few weeks ago, Dustin Smith and I… We sort of held Tyler upside-down off the edge of the auditorium balcony and maybe roughed him up a little bit. Today wasn’t so much about homophobia as it was about revenge.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” mom said. “I can’t believe you’ve gotten yourself mixed up with someone like Dustin Smith.”

“It wasn’t that big a deal, we were…”

“Do you know the type of boy Dustin Smith is? That boy is dangerous. I really don’t want you hanging around someone like that.”

“What’s so bad about Dustin?”

“Do you think stealing a car and getting arrested are good ideas?”

“You can’t judge him based on one thing he did years ago!”

“I can when the boy responsible is getting my son into trouble! You stay away from him. I’m not kidding. Stealing that car is just scratching the surface of what that boy is capable of.”

“You can’t keep me from him, he’s my friend!”

“Aiden, he was responsible for the Reilly boy having that accident!”

“No he wasn’t! That was Brett’s fault for being a bad bike rider! He’d tell you that himself!”

“Whose bike was it?” mom asked.

“You’re being completely unfair!” I protested.

“No, I’m being your mother,” mom replied. “Sometimes I have to protect you from danger even if it makes you angry with me.”

“I’m not angry, I just think you’re being a bitch about this,” I replied.

“Sorry you feel that way. It doesn’t change my mind.”

“I didn’t figure it would. I just want you to know my opinion.”

One thing I liked about my mom was that I could lay everything out for her and she’d never get mad at me for being angry. She was wrong about Dustin, but I wasn’t going to press the issue any further. I didn’t tell her just how close I’d gotten to him. I did appreciate that she’d stood up to the principal for me, and that she’d come to get me after the incident, so I didn’t stay mad at her. I would just see Dustin behind her back and not mention him around her. Seemed easy enough of a solution to me! Kids lie to their parents all the time. And if Dustin was so dangerous, would Mr. Hartley have allowed us to grow so close? He would have protected me from someone dangerous.

Mom offered to let me stay home instead of going to school the next day, but I wasn’t going to let a little thing like getting beat up keep me from showing everyone that you might knock me down, but I was going to get back up. I was going to pick myself up and show them that I was not afraid, just like Brett had told me so long ago. I was no one’s bitch.

To my surprise, that was one of the best days I’d ever had in school! People who would have never given me the time of day asked how I was doing. I felt more loved and supported by my classmates than I’d ever felt before. Half of them couldn’t believe that someone would beat me up just for being gay. By taking the fight public, instead of doing shady things to me that only a few people knew about, Tyler had exposed the school to the fact that homophobia was truly alive in our school.

“Which plays right into our hands,” Mr. Hartley said with a sense of satisfaction. “Bishop, you’ve proven to everyone how important it is that we have a strong new leader in this school. The school board is going to drop another shoe at the end of the week that will wake up many others to the prejudice that exists around here. John Taylor is about to overplay his hand, which will only make me an even more attractive candidate for principal when all is said and done.”

“What’s going to happen?” I asked.

“You’ll see. It’s probably the most foolish and blatantly vindictive move he’s made in his quest to see his daughter become valedictorian. He thinks what he’s done is going to help his cause, but in reality, it’s only going to reveal him as the out-of-touch blowhard he truly is. It’s only going to make me look all the better when I bail him out when it seems like he’s blown everything. The key to a great game of chess is to make your opponent make the mistakes, and then to take advantage.”

“Checkmate,” I said with a grin.

“Almost,” Mr. Hartley replied. “We still need Mr. Roberts to ‘cooperate’ with our plans. Speaking of which, how are your efforts going?”

“I’m working on it,” I said, though I wasn’t really working on anything besides getting laid. I was no closer to finding something to help Mr. Hartley than I had been when the whole thing started. I was too busy having sex.

At the end of the week on Friday I found out just what Mr. Hartley had been talking about. A crowd had gathered around the bulletin board and were causing quite a commotion. I squeezed my way through the crowd and saw there was another of the school board’s edicts on the bulletin board.

Attention all students and staff:

It has come to the attention of the administration and the board that there are students who are planning to sabotage this year’s senior prom with activities which are prohibited by our student code of conduct. Therefore, let it be known that any couple wishing to attend any school dance/activity must be a male/female couple. Same sex couples are not permitted to attend school events. Any person who is found in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary measures, including forfeiture of class rank, suspension from all school activities, or possible expulsion from school.

John Taylor, President, MVSD

“What is this, some kind of April Fools Day joke?” a girl next to me asked.

“It’s about time they did something!” one of the boys who had helped Tyler string me up in the locker room said behind me.

Behind me, Billy and Dustin pushed their way through the crowd. They didn’t even notice me standing in the crowd near them. Billy stood there for a long time seething. I’d never seen someone look so angry. He ripped the sign down off the bulletin board and stuffed it into his pocket.

“Dustin, you said your mom is going to pick you up?” Billy asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Tell Mr. Shit-for-Brains I had to go meet with Coach about something for baseball. This school cares more about sports than academics anyway.”

“Where are you going?” Dustin asked.

“I’ve got something I need to do,” Billy replied. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Billy stormed off and the crowd began to break up. I caught up to Dustin as he was walking to his class.

“Dustin!” I called. He stopped and smiled when he saw me.

“Hey dude!” he said.

“Happy birthday!” I said. “We still on for tomorrow afternoon?” I asked, blushing.

“Sure thing, bud,” he replied. “You see that crazy sign about the prom?”

“Yeah, crazy huh?”

“They’re trying to get Billy in trouble so they can take valedictorian from him. Mr. Hartley said they’d be gunning for him.”

“He did?” I asked.

“Yeah. He told me to keep an eye on Billy and let him know if there was anything he could do to help him. I know Mr. Hartley doesn’t exactly like Billy, but he doesn’t want to see Billy lose valedictorian. It’d suck if Sarah got it.”

“Yeah…” I said. “So, I’ll be there tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ll be ready,” Dustin replied.

As soon as Dustin went off to his class I went right to Mr. Hartley’s classroom. It was his free period so I was able to walk right in.

“Saw the notice, eh?” Mr. Hartley asked.

“Yeah, but that’s not what I want to talk about,” I said. “What’s with you telling Dustin you’re trying to help Billy? I thought we were trying to take him out!”

“We are, Bishop,” Mr. Hartley clarified. “I’ve told you our Knight is too close to the situation.”

“So you’re playing me and Dustin against each other?!?”

“Mr. Jackson, I have to do what I have to do. Mr. Smith is not going to willingly betray his best friend, no matter what I say or promise him. His loyalties in this case lie with Mr. Roberts. You’d be wise to remember that. I told you there are certain people who can’t know how involved I am in this business, even my closest students.”

“So you’re using me to take the fall if things go badly.”

“Not if I can help it. I have other pieces still in play. My hope is that we get to the other side of this with me as principal and you as a safe and happy little student who never has to worry about bullies again. If everything goes as planned, no one will even know who was involved.”

“And if they don’t go as planned?”

“Then you’re screwed, Mr. Jackson. All the more reason to get me what I want.”

“I’m going to Dustin’s house tomorrow. What am I supposed to say to him?”

“You are, are you? Well then… Ask him how I’ve been helping him get a scholarship to help him go to college. Ask him how I’ve helped him succeed at school and finally reach his full potential. He could have very easily been in the running for valedictorian himself if he’d had me here all along. I take care of my people, Bishop, and I’ll take care of you. You just have to trust me.”

“Does Dustin trust you not to screw over his best friend?” I asked.

Mr. Hartley sighed. “Don’t grow a conscience at this stage of the game, Bishop. You wanted to take Billy out. You wanted revenge. You wanted to turn his best friend against him. That was your idea, not mine. Now that you’ve gone and fallen in love with the guy you’re getting cold feet.”

“I’m not in love with Dustin,” I insisted.

“Then do your job!” Mr. Hartley replied. “I told you to get close, not to get naked. Worry about your sex life after you’ve done what you said you’d do and get me something useful so we can finish our work together. I trust you, Bishop. Don’t let me down.”

Grudgingly, I left Mr. Hartley’s room and slipped into my English class, late for the millionth time. I had a lot to think about. I hadn’t expected things to get so complicated. I mean, even if I wasn’t in love with Dustin, I did have feelings for him. I didn’t want to hurt the guy. I never thought about how using him to hurt Billy would hurt him too. Now it felt like that was inevitable, and that sucked.

On Saturday, mom came home exhausted from working her late shift, and would spend most of the day sleeping to try to catch up. That would give me plenty of time to bike my way over to Dustin’s house, have some fun, and make it back before she even woke up. I left a note telling her I’d be out and was on my way. I arrived at Dustin’s house after one o’clock, just as Billy was driving away.

“Good timing,” Dustin said. “Being around Billy got me all horny.”

“You tell him?”

“Told him everything. Even slipped in a comment about wanting to bang you.”

“What’d he think of that?”

“He said, ‘If you fuck that little dork I’ll disown you.’” Dustin laughed.

“You didn’t tell him we’d already done it?” I asked.

“You’ve got to know Billy. I could just come right out and tell him, but it’s more fun to mess with him.”

“He’s not the kind of guy I’d want to mess with. He’d kick my ass.”

Dustin just laughed. “Dude, Billy couldn’t kick the ass of a kindergartner!”

“Not physically. I mean, he’s so smart…”

“That’s what makes it fun. He always gets so offended and shocked when he realizes he doesn’t know everything. He gets this look on his face that’s just so funny to see. I’ve already got an idea for school Monday if Em will play along with me. I think she will.”

“Maybe that’s why Mr. Hartley picks on him in class so much,” I suggested.

“Mr. Hartley just wants Billy to push himself more. Billy skates by on his brains too much when he could do so much more if he applied himself to what he’s doing. Billy’s dad used to be the same way with him – trying to toughen him up for the real world. He won’t be able to coast forever. But enough about Billy. I’d rather talk about you.”

“You would?”

“Yeah, why are you still wearing clothes when we could be doing it right now?”

I smiled. “Oh… Whew! For a minute I thought you actually wanted to talk about my life! No one wants to listen to that!”

We went up to Dustin’s room and stripped off our clothes. I was getting so comfortable being naked with him. I was also learning things about him that turned him on. The sex itself was enjoyable, but getting closer to Dustin was what I really wanted. He had me lay on my side while he straddled my leg as he plunged into me. He grabbed hold of my free leg and began sucking on my big toe. I loved everything he did to me. Even as he was filling me I was anticipating when we would be able to meet like this again.

After we finished, I rested against his warm, strong body and just felt the safety of his arms around me. The Tylers of the world couldn’t hurt me as long as I was protected by my big strong lover. I felt so comfortable and secure with him. I fell into the most peaceful sleep with him.

I awoke three hours later.

“Holy shit! We overslept!” I cried, jumping out of bed and grabbing my clothes.

“It’s alright, I can have Billy pick you up and take you home.”

“Oh Jesus, my mom’s going to kill me!”

“You want me to call her?”

“No!” I exclaimed. “No! She can’t know I’m with you. Just… Shit! I’m so screwed!”

I jumped in the shower for about ten seconds, grabbed a towel to dry off and threw my clothes back on. Dustin was sitting on the edge of his bed in a pair of shorts looking at the chess trophy on its shelf when I returned to his room.

“I’m sorry!” I said. “This was great. Maybe a little too great… My mom’s going to kill me when I get home.”

“Where did your mom think you were going?” Dustin asked.

“I didn’t tell her. I just said I was going out.”

“Why can’t you tell her you were with me?” Dustin asked just as I was at the door. I stopped in my tracks.

“It’s a six mile trip on a dangerous road,” I replied.

“It’s not because of my reputation? It’s not because I stole a car when I was just a stupid kid?”

I returned to Dustin and sat next to him on the bed. “It’s none of that. I swear.”

“Have you told her we’ve been together?”

“Why would I?”

“Because I’m asking you to. I want you to tell her we had sex.”

“If I do that, then she’s going to be pissed that I came here behind her back.”

Dustin sighed. “Am I anything more than a cock to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Shit… I thought you were different, Aiden!”

“I don’t understand.”

“Dude, I don’t want some undercover bullshit like Billy and Brett had for all that time. I want to be able to tell people we’re together.”

“But we’re not together. We’re just fucking. I thought that’s all you wanted! You didn’t tell Billy about me!”

Dustin stood up and began pacing between the trophy and the bed. “I don’t know what I want anymore! Maybe I’m tired of being a secret shame. Maybe I want people to be proud they know me instead of ashamed to even speak my name around other people. You want to know why Billy is my best friend? It’s because he’s never been ashamed to be my friend. He’s always stood up for me even when the whole town thought I was a no-good loser! That’s who Billy really is! You only see the outside. You don’t know him and you don’t know me! You’re too ashamed to even tell people you’re with me.”

“I’m not ashamed of you, I love you!” I replied.

Dustin just scowled. “You can’t even tell your mother we’ve been together. You don’t love me. I’m just a cock to you. You just love what I do to you. You’re just like all the others. Just go home, Aiden.”

“I don’t want to go home! I want to stay here with you.”

“I don’t want you here. Get out of my face! For that matter, get out of my life!”

“But I…”

“Dude, get out! You hear me?”

“Why are you doing this? I love you!”

I tried to get close but Dustin shoved me so hard I fell onto my butt. I scurried to my feet and ran out of his room and down the steps. Tears streamed down my face as I fled Dustin’s house. It was hard to ride when everything was blurry. I arrived at home hours later than I should have and mom reamed me out something fierce. We had a huge fight. I didn’t care. Brett Reilly was right – Dustin had broken me. I didn’t care that I was grounded. I didn’t care that my mom had never been so disappointed in me. I just wanted to wallow in my misery and die.