Reconciled - 6. Chapter 6

Tom had his head down, the collar of his jacket up and that magic scarf wrapped around his neck. He was fighting the wind like a boat ploughing through the waves of a stormy sea. It was icy cold and tiny snowflakes had begun to fall, forming a delicate white veil over everything. All he wanted to do was get inside and when he reached the entrance he pulled open the door going straight to the lift without bothering to look around.

When he heard his name, like a question, as if the caller was uncertain, he turned surprised and a little scared. A small figure emerged from somewhere beside the stairs. It was Salem, his white teeth gleamed in the artificial neon light, his arms were wrapped around himself and he looked as cold as Tom was.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked.

If he had stopped to think a moment he would have known the answer.

"Waiting for you, of course." Salem moved close to him.

The lift doors opened and Tom stepped inside with Salem right behind. Tom stood still, not moving. It was an odd situation to find himself in and he was having trouble knowing what to do. Salem reached up and pushed the button. The lift started its ascent.

With little warning Salem moved next to Tom almost burying himself into the damp winter clothes and taking hold of that magic scarf. The long purple and white striped woollen scarf, the same one Arran had grabbed, in exactly the same way. It seemed it acted as an invitation. Perhaps that was its magic. But was the spell Tom was falling under good or evil? Because now he had two boys after him and they both seemed to demand something from him.

The lift jolted to a halt and the doors opened. They stepped out and stood looking at each other. Tom took his key from his pocket, moving to the front door.

"You better come in," he said, and Salem smiled, those lovely white teeth revealed again framed behind small pink lips.

Tom went into his bedroom and hung up his jacket, Salem threw his own on the bed. Neither of them spoke.

Tom thought he knew what Arran wanted; he hoped he wanted to be his boyfriend. Yet when he thought about it he also thought about everything else. He had talked to Vicky because Arran asked him if he could help and his mother hadn't gotten anywhere. Then there was Salem. What was the chance you would meet an online friend in real life? Why was he involved with this boy? Because of Arran. He had asked him to help, but now how would things turn out?

"Are you just gonna just stand there like a statue?" Salem asked.

He didn't wait for a reply before grabbing Tom and pulling him down on the bed.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Tom managed to say.

Salem looked at him with dark smouldering eyes. The boy was so attractive. He couldn't help the feelings he had. Tom told himself not to think like that, but Salem just sat there not moving, taking in the room. Tom said nothing. Finally, the boy turned and looked at him. Salem's tongue played over his lips. Tom wondered if it that was from the cold or the situation they now found themselves in. It was very seductive, but again Tom forced himself not to go there, even if his body was desperately urging him towards other actions.

"Have you sorted things out with Achim?" Tom asked, so as to change his focus.

Salem simply smiled and lay down on the bed, sliding up next to Tom. "I might have a solution. Depends on you."

The boy's head was leaning towards Tom's and those lips were getting dangerously close.

"What do you mean?"

Salem was inches from Tom. "I will take care of your friend's girl problems. But..."

That was it, their lips touched and Salem's dark eyes were begging for the kiss. But Tom pulled back.

"My mum will be home soon," Tom said, almost breathless.

"How long?" Salem asked, as his fingers worked at undoing Tom's shirt.

"Stop!" Tom told him. "It's..." he wasn't sure what to say.

"You like me, don't you?" Salem asked.

Tom nodded.

"So what's the problem?"

"We're friends, Salem. I'm kind of involved."

"Involved? You mean this Arran guy?"

"Yeah."

Salem got up off the bed.

Tom could see he was disappointed, but didn't know what he could do to change that.

"I'll chat to you tonight about it," he said, as he followed him out of the bedroom.

The sound of the lift ascending greeted them as Tom opened the front door, but the metal cube clunked to a stop a couple of floors below. They heard the doors open and close. Salem kissed Tom with a force that reflected a certain desperate need. The lift was on its way up.

"Take the stairs," Tom said, pushing the boy in that direction.

The lift doors opened as Salem disappeared down the stairwell.

"What are you doing?" Tom's mum asked.

"Oh nothing. I thought I heard a noise."

His mother gave him a funny look as he opened the door wide to let her in and helped her with the shopping.

"How's things?" Ali asked.

Arran hadn't seen her come up behind him at the counter, but he recognised her voice and turned around.

"Hi," he smiled, then went back to picking up his meal and choosing a dessert.

They sat together in the canteen, it seemed less busy than usual, maybe because they were both late getting to lunch.

"Not much choice," she returned his smile.

"I wasn't thinking about lunch. My dad was in court this morning, I was waiting for his call."

"And?"

"Postponed, or whatever they call it. Re-scheduled for next month."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's pretty bad having the whole thing hanging over our heads, but it's good if Vicky changes her mind. Gives us more time to hope she will."

"Mmm!," Alison looked pensive, her face showed she was thinking, her lips tight.

Arran knew the sign, he knew her too well. "What are you thinking?"

"She used to be a good friend, but not anymore. I can't understand how we got here."

"How we got here?"

Arran looked idly around the canteen and almost laughed, as if she'd asked how they arrived in the canteen. It was a ludicrous thought, but these days he had lots of those. Like getting Tom involved, the more he thought about it the more he thought it was a bad idea. But he seemed to want to help, he had made the tape.

"Oh, you know, how everything has turned out," Alison had not noticed how distant he was, or she was ignoring it and carrying on a conversation with herself. "I thought things would have turned out different. That you and I would have become a couple. I never imagined you meeting Tom, or that you might be attracted to boys. I'm not even sure, are you sure yourself? I mean, that you are, that that is what you want?"

"Sorry," he hadn't been listening, he only picked up the end. "What I want?"

"Yes, you and Tom. Is that what you want?"

He sighed, a deep breath escaped him, and he pushed his unfinished lunch aside. "I don't know. Right now what I want is for Vicky to admit she's lying and for my dad to get out of this mess. You know, my mum wants me to go and stay with her."

"And will you?"

"No. Not unless the worse happens."

Ali nodded, she understood the worse was his dad going to prison.

"If there's anything I can do." She stood and picked up her tray.

He smiled again, looking up at her as she turned to walk away. He stayed sitting at the table. The place was virtually deserted. It was as he made up his mind to leave that Tom appeared. He looked around, saw Arran, and came over to sit down.

"I thought maybe you might be here."

Arran smiled weakly, but didn't reply.

"What happened?"

Arran was confused for a moment. He was still thinking about Ali. In a lot of ways he regretted what had happened. Now he would have to face his father. He glanced across at Tom. He would have to do his 'coming out,' but would he... was that what he wanted? It could have all been a whole lot simpler.

"The case got put back a month," he said, finally snapping out of his morosity.

"Salem is gonna fix things with Vicky," Tom blurted out.

"How?"

"I talked to him. We chatted online."

"So he will get Achim to tell her to drop the charges?"

"Tell her," Tom raised his eyebrows.

"You know what I mean."

"Have you finished?" The dinner lady was standing looking at them. "Only we're closing up."

"Oh yeah, sorry. Shall I put my tray back?"

She smiled. Arran and Tom stood up. He emptied his uneaten lunch in the bin and walked outside with Tom. It was cold.

"I've a free period. You?" Arran asked.

"No, but never mind. You want to talk?"

"We could go to the library. Can't stand out here, it's freezing.

They found an empty corner, out of sight of anyone, surrounded on two sides by books. There were two reading chairs either side of a low table placed next to the wall.

"I don't know why I got you involved," Arran told Tom. "And Salem, he's just a kid. Do you trust him?"

The picture of Salem lying next to him came into Tom's head and it made the question seem redundant. But it wasn't, only he had never asked himself because he knew Salem so well from the chat room.

"I guess. Anyhow he's got a plan and it doesn't involve his brother."

"I thought that was the plan. Achim threatens her, Vicky admits it's all lies."

"Arran," Tom stared at him. "That's not too subtle. Besides, Achim! Not a good idea. Not for us and not for Salem."

"Why not?"

"I told you where I met Salem. A chat room. A gay... chat room."

"So?"

Tom wondered if Arran was being particularly obtuse or maybe the cold had frozen his brain.

"So, Salem is gay. Achim is the biggest homophobe ever. First, he probably wouldn't do it. Second, he'd want to know why his little brother wanted to help two queers. Then, even as thick as he is, he'd work out there was something odd about Salem asking him."

"Okay. I get it. But what now?"

"Salem knows this guy who could maybe sort this thing out by making a payoff."

"We don't have any money."

They had already been through this, they didn't have any money to give Vicky or to someone else who might somehow fix this. Tom had chatted online for a long time with Salem and he had explained the scheme. Now he told Arran.

"So this guy makes a bank transfer to Vicky. Like in the movies, half now, half later. He pays Vicky, she retracts her charges, problem solved."

"Except! Where do we get the money?"

"That's kinda the easy part. This guy that Salem met online, he'll give us the money."

"And who is this guy? He's doing it just like that?"

"No. We have to do something in return. Call it payment in kind."

"Yeah, what?"

"Porn. This guy makes movies."

Arran sat up straight, his mouth dropped open. "Fuck!" he swore.

"Ssh!" Tom put a finger to his lips.

Arran leant back over the low table and whispered. "You want me to star in a porn movie?"

"Who said star? You get a role, or you want I should do it?"

Despite what Tom had just proposed, which was a shock, and their surroundings, sitting in the college library, Arran felt a twinge of excitement. He wasn't so innocent he had never looked at porn, gay porn no, but porn was porn, and he'd been turned on by it. When he was fifteen he had looked at some glossy magazines with some school buddies. Strangely remembering that event, it had been the guys that got his attention more than the girls, although he had put that down to natural curiosity. He wasn't sure now if back then he hadn't simply been denying his real feelings.

"And Salem? Why is he doing all this?"

Tom didn't want to answer that question. He felt himself blush and his heart started pounding. Arran saw his reaction, it was too obvious that something was going on there.

"How long?" Arran asked.

It was an enigmatic question. Arran meant how long had he known Salem, but it could equally have meant, how long had they being seeing each other.

"I only met him a few days ago," Tom couldn't hide his feeling of guilt. "You know that. Before, he was only a good friend online."

"I need to meet him."

Tom felt himself getting hot again.

"To talk all this over," Arran added.

The bell sounded, announcing the end of the first period. They stood up together, Arran looked at Tom as if he were trying to decide something, then they left and went their separate ways. "See you later," Arran said, in parting.