Jumping Over My Mountain - 6. Chapter 6

Jumping Over My Mountain
by Tiffani Chin

Chapter 6

---------------------------------------------

*************HELAKU************

Sweat dripped down my face as I bent my legs, ready to anticipate Bryce's next movement. We had been playing basketball and this was our second game. The first game Bryce won. He had been so cocky about it that I had to win this one and we were close; I was two points ahead of him. Two more baskets and he would win.

"Give it up Helaku," Bryce called out. "You're not going to win," he said as I dribbled the ball.

Ever since our dinner in mid June we had developed a sort of friendship that consisted of daily lunches together and joking around during meetings and working on presentations together. We had become known as the office team and we were well liked.

Bryce was laughing more and had definitely removed that stick up his butt he had for so long when I first met him. I was even enjoying his company. He had a lot of things to say and was way more interesting that I initially gave him credit for.

And he helped me to take my mind off of Crew.

I still missed him and wondered what he was doing in California. I was sorry for cheating, but the pain wasn't as bad. I was beginning to accept the concept that maybe Crew and I weren't meant to be and considering the possibility that I could indeed get on with my life and stop feeling so shitty.

Bryce helped me bounce back to normal and I now had someone with whom to spend my free time. My Dad was even happy. I was doing well at work and it was rare having my Dad happy about something I did when it came to making a living. I had to admit that this work was less tiring than bartending and made steadier money, along with the more stable hours.

Now here I was playing basketball with my new best-friend-slash-coworker. It was Saturday afternoon and we were playing on an outside court at a nearby park. It was fairly quiet at the park. It was August and many families were away on vacation with their children being off from school and all that.

I dribbled the ball between my legs quickly and turned in the opposite direction to get around him.

He was quicker though.

He anticipated my movement and lunged forward, grabbing the ball from me. Before I could react, he shot the ball into the air.

SWISH!

"Yes!" he cried out, "we are tied, sucker!"

I groaned and threw my head back.

"One more and I win! Dinner and victory is mine!" he taunted.

I flashed him a dirty look and rubbed my head. The sun was beating down on me and I was sweating and feeling flushed from the exertion. It didn't help that my hair was so dark and newly cut; it attracted the heat and I think I got a sunburn on my scalp.

For this job I could no longer have that faux hawk I loved so much. Ah, welcome to corporate life.

"I could still win," I shot back.

"Only in your dreams," he said in a sing song voice.

I smiled. I didn't know he got so competitive. It was actually a very cute quality.

It was his ball this time so he dribbled. He was remarkably fast. I have never before seen hands move that fast. He was extremely well coordinated.

He swung the ball under his right leg, but before he completed the swinging motion, he faked me out by swinging it over his left hip. I tried to knock the ball out of his hands but he had already chucked the ball at the net.

I watched as the ball sailed over my head. I shielded my eyes from the sun and watched as the ball sunk directly in.

"YES!" Bryce called out pumping both fists in the air happily.

I groaned again.

I hated losing.

"I win, you lose!" he said turning to me smiling. He came closer to me and jumped on top of me suddenly. I cradled his hips reflexively and fell to the ground, breaking his fall.

"I am superior to you!" he crowed.

I couldn't help smiling as well; he seemed so overjoyed.

"You won at basketball, but you're still a loser. What happened to being a graceful winner?" I asked.

Bryce never answered me, he just kept grinning, his sweaty blond bangs clinging to his forehead.

"Are you gonna get off of me anytime soon?" I asked laughing.

When I stopped laughing I realized he hadn't joined in with me and was instead peering down into my face. I looked back at him. He looked so serious and I was confused for a moment.

Why did he look so thoughtful and nervous all of a sudden?

Then the moment was gone and he got off of me and offered me a hand.

"Good game," he said.

"Thanks," I said.

"Not many people could have had such a close game with me. Usually I cream them but you kept a good fight--until the end that is," Bryce added.

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, you were this close to being a graceful winner," I said holding up my thumb and index finger together, "and then you lost it."

Bryce burst out laughing and wiped his sweat off his face with his t shirt.

He looked back at me. "So, how bout that dinner?" he asked grinning cheekily.

I groaned.

I really hated losing.

****************

"I thought I was supposed to pick you up and buy you dinner?" I said, thoroughly confused when Bryce showed up on my doorstep with Chinese takeout and soda.

He shrugged and placed the food in the kitchen. "I was tired from all that sun and basketball that I didn't feel like going out and being with a large crowd," Bryce said.

I shrugged. "Ok, fine with me," I said.

Bryce brought a lot of food. He unloaded spring rolls, egg rolls, lo mein, white rice, chicken and broccoli, sesame chicken, honey chicken, fried rice, and eggs and shrimp.

"I was hungry," was all he said when he looked at me.

What was with all the Skylers in the world?

As we ate our food in the living room, sitting comfortably side by side on the couch, I told him about my coming out to my Dad.

"I was so scared to tell my Dad I was gay, but I remember waking up one day junior year in high school and thinking to myself `just do it, no matter what the consequences you have to be true to yourself'. I was willing to risk my Dad throwing me out on the street, but color me surprised when he didn't!" I said.

"My Dad said, `just as long as you keep it to yourself and let your other achievements speak for themselves' and I remember I was so relieved that he didn't hate me. I don't think I would have been able to handle that."

"Did your friends take it well?" Bryce asked popping a piece of sesame chicken into his mouth.

"Well in high school some of my friends weren't ok with it and so we parted ways. Most were accepting even if they didn't agree with it, but that was high school and how often do I see people from high school?" I countered.

"But everyone else in my life was cool with it. Obviously my bartending buddies were because they were either gay themselves or worked in a gay club so they had better been ok with it. And besides college people are just more open minded in general," I said.

Bryce nodded in agreement.

"I remember telling my neighbor, Storm who lives downstairs, and I was amazed at how cool he was with it. He just goes, `That's cool man. No big deal. Wanna play some one-on-one?'"

"Really?" Bryce asked in awe.

I nodded. "Yeah he was totally cool and supportive and so was his twin brother. His twin brother even has gay tendencies."

"Gay tendencies?"

"Yeah, he's been, I don't know, crushing, talking to-whatever-to some friend of my ex boyfriend." As soon as I mentioned ex boyfriend, we both got quiet again.

After a pause, he asked, "So how come it didn't work out with your ex?"

I took my time chewing and swallowed hard.

"I cheated on him and he dumped me," I said, feeling slightly ashamed with that admission.

I looked at Bryce and he didn't seem to be judging me, but instead waiting for me to explain further.

"We got in a fight over how I wanted him to, I don't know how to explain it, let me in, tell me stuff, and trust me and he got all mad and said we needed to take a break," I said, "and I went to a bar and I'm drinking away and some guy hits on me. I told him to back off. He wouldn't and I was about to leave and he offered to just talk and buy me a drink. I didn't even realize we had drunk so much and that somehow he had ended up in my bed the next morning."

"Then what happened?" Bryce asked quietly.

"Well I told him to leave and that what we had done was a mistake. I had a boyfriend who I loved. I was prepared to sleep off my hang-over when Crew came by, just as the guy was leaving."

"Ouch," Bryce winced.

"He ran to the twins’ place. He's really good friends with them too," I said, "and he was hysterical. We were yelling and everything. Finally, Storm told me to leave, Crew said he hated me, and Skyler still hasn't spoken to me," I finished.

"Wow," was all Bryce said.

"Tell me about it," I said shaking my head.

"That's why I needed to quit bartending," I continued, "Every time I was there working I was reminded of my, of my cheating and I hated it. Guys would come up to me and I would always think `what if I hadn't cheated on Crew? Would we still be together?' Or if I was making someone a drink I would think, `what if I hadn't been drunk, would I have walked away and been able to have worked things out with Crew?'

"So now I have a stable job. I haven't been to a bar since and I haven't had alcohol in awhile," I said.

"So you cleaned up your act?" Bryce said.

"Definitely. Cheating was the biggest mistake of my life. I'll regret it forever. I never want to cheat again and I want to eliminate the buffers that led me to my infidelity," I explained.

"Do you still love him?" Bryce asked suddenly.

I thought about that. Did I still love Crew? Or was I just in lust with him when I first saw him?

"I don't know anymore," I admitted. "Crew is a good guy and a great catch and I thought I was in love. Since I haven't seen him in awhile, I'm thinking we may have rushed into something too soon. We really didn't know each other too well and we never had a chance to spend much quality time together. But I did like him a lot and I'm still fond of him."

Bryce nodded as if thinking it over.

"Would you get back together with him if he forgave you?" Bryce asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have the answer to that. Maybe. Maybe not. I'm too ashamed for hurting him and too afraid to hurt him again."

We were silent as we finished the last of our food.

"Hey I have an idea," Bryce said popping the last morsel of his spring roll into his mouth.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Paint something for me."

"What?" I asked raising my brows.

"Paint something for me," he repeated. "You said you would, remember?"

"I remember. You want to do it now?"

"Sure, why not? It's a Saturday night. We’re both tired and stuffed. When is there a better time?" he asked.

"Okay," I agreed, "let me get my stuff."

I walked into my room and dug around my closest for my old paint materials. I found my easel, paper, and my box of paints. But then I realized that the paints had all dried up. I haven't used them in, jeez, who knows how long?

I scrimmaged around my desk and came up with a charcoal stick instead.

"Hey Bryce, my paints are all dried up but I can sketch you something tonight and then paint you something another time," I offered. "I'm pretty good at charcoal," I added holding up the black stick and sketch book.

"Sure, no problem," he said smiling.

"So any requests?"

"Requests?" Bryce asked.

"Want me to sketch something specific or something off the top of my head?"

I clarified.

"Oh," Bryce said. "Um, can you sketch me?"

"You?" I asked. "Sure, no problem. A face sketch or a full body sketch?" I asked turning to a blank sketch page.

"A full body."

"You got it," I said drawing a light line down the page.

"A nude sketch."

I dropped my charcoal stick on the floor and stared at him with shock.

"What?" I asked not sure I heard correctly.

"I want a nude sketch to give to my girlfriend," he said.

"What girlfriend?" I asked curiously. He never mentioned any girl to me.

"I didn't say anything to you because I didn't know if it was going to get serious or not and I don't like to talk about something until I'm positive," Bryce said.

I swallowed hard. "Oh man, I don't know."

"Please," Bryce said.

I swallowed again. "Uh Bryce, you do know I'm gay right. I might pop a woody," I warned.

"Why, do you find me attractive?" Bryce said smiling.

"Bryce," I started.

"Come on, do it for a friend. I am your friend right?" he asked.

"Sure you are," I answered instantly.

"Great," he said. He stood up and began to take his shirt off.

"Wait!" I said.

"Yeah?" he asked looking at me.

"Where do you want me to sketch you?" I asked.

"Is the couch ok or do you want to do it somewhere else?" Bryce asked.

"Um, I don't know. When people visit, they uh, they uh use the couch and everything," I said licking my lips nervously. "We can do it in my spare bedroom," I finally said.

Bryce smiled. "Ok then, lead the way."

I walked slowly ahead of him into my spare room and turned on the light. I couldn't believe I was actually going to do this. I never really thought of Bryce in that way before or had any romantic feelings towards him. He was straight after all, but now he was going to be stripping, in my house.

It was a little erotic and even I had to admit, he wasn't hard on the eyes.

"Umm, I guess you can find a position you want to, uh, set yourself, uh, in," I stammered.

I wiped my sweaty hands on my soccer shorts as I watched him take off his shirt and undo his belt buckle. He kicked off his sneakers and threw down his jeans.

GULP.

He wasn't wearing any underwear.

Shit, he was gorgeous. I can’t believe I never noticed before. It was sad; a guy had to strip naked in order for me to take notice of him. What was my problem? I was gonna be single forever if I continued being oblivious to the hot men around me!

Bryce plopped down onto the bed without any hint of embarrassment. Hell, I was blushing more than he was and I was fully clothed. Since when did he grow so much confidence? I remember he was some awkward babbling idiot when we first became friends.

He positioned himself at a sideways angle on the bed. He had one leg completely extended and the other one bent at the knee, propped up into the air. Bryce placed one hand around his waist, the other hanging off of his knee. He tucked his chin under and looked up at me.

That was the most seductive pose I had ever seen. I was thoroughly turned on by this point.

When did Bryce Whitman get so fucking hot?

Bryce had nicely defined muscles, long, lean, and tight. He had a flat stomach. His ribs poked out, what with his knee and arm lifted. His pubes were a light brown, but his treasure trail was ashy blond like his hair. His blond bangs draped over his face, drawing more attention to his dark eyes, which were burning a hole in me right now.

His cock was soft and all five inches of it hung near his extended leg.

I took a few deep breaths.

"Whenever you're ready," Bryce said.

I tried to mentally collect myself and took my sketch pad and the charcoal stick. I tried to focus on my strokes and forced my hand to remain steady. It took a minute to get the outline of his form down on the paper, but the details were the most difficult to obtain.

I shaded in his pubes and treasure trail quickly and drew in his piece and balls. I shaded the shadow that his elbow and knee cast over his other leg and stomach area. I looked at his face. He was biting his lip now and staring so intensely at me that I felt like running out of the room.

But I quickly drew in the lines for his hair and shaded in his eyes, which from this distance appeared to be dark and full of emotion. I drew in his nose, a faint line to indicate his nice cheekbones, and structured his lips in a small smile.

Almost done, almost done.

I gave my finished result a quick scan.

"All done," I announced, hurriedly ripping off the page and standing up. I held the sketch book over my crotch to hide my very bulging hard-on.

Bryce got up slowly and didn't put on his clothes just yet. He walked closer to me and took the piece of paper from my hand. I looked straight ahead to avoid looking at his body.

He looked at it for a second and smiled. He turned to me. "You did a good job. I love it."

"You're welcome," I rushed out and tried to brush past him to leave but he grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him.

One of his hands reached down and removed my sketch book. He glanced down at my swollen crotch. Bryce looked back up at me and smiled.

"I'm sorry, but I did warn you," I said weakly, trying to move around him again.

Again he grabbed me and held me in place. "Don't be sorry," he said huskily. He inched closer to me. I could feel the heat off his body radiating and I felt suddenly very sweaty.

"I'm flattered."

I swallowed and backed up a step.

"I have a confession to make," he said stepping even closer.

I opened my mouth to suck in some air.

"There is no girl," Bryce finished. He leaned in and kissed me.

**************

Soft lips.

Mm, I forgot how much I really loved to kiss. As our kiss deepened, I instinctively wrapped my arms around Bryce and pulled him closer. His body felt so hot. Our chests were pressed together and I could feel his body heat through my clothing. I also felt the beating of his heart.

Our tongues urgently circled together and I sucked on his lips eagerly. For a guy who didn’t date, he was definitely a good kisser.

My hands roamed down his strong, taunt back, eventually moving down to his muscular ass. I kneaded his ass, pulling him even closer. Our hard cocks ground together and we moaned simultaneously.

Then I came to my senses.

I got bitch slapped by reality.

"Wait, what are we doing?" I asked pushing him off of me. Bryce was panting and staring at me with an unreadable expression. His lips were puffy and red. He stepped closer to me.

"We're kissing," he answered leaning in again.

"No," I said edging away. "We're friends, you're not even gay!"

"How do you know?" he asked standing to face me.

"What? You are?" I demanded.

"Yes," he replied simply.

My head reeled. I wasn't expecting him to say yes. I was expecting the speech of how he wanted to experiment and all that crap.

"Get out," I said. It was the first thing that came to mind.

"What?" Bryce asked shocked.

"I need time to process this," I said;"just go, please."

"Helaku," he said moving to me, frowning. He looked concerned and worried.

"Don't," I said turning my back to him. "What was all this? A seduction or something? I'm just really confused. Can you please go?" I said without looking at him.

I heard silence, but then Bryce sighed. I heard him putting his clothes on and a minute later the door slammed shut.

I sighed and sat on the spare bed. I was confused. Did I have feelings for my former enemy Bryce Whitman? I glanced down at my tented pants, where there was a patch of moisture developing.

Yeah. The evidence spoke for itself.

***************

"You've been avoiding me," Bryce accused when he cornered me in the office kitchen Monday morning. "I've called you so many times Saturday night and Sunday. Why haven't you returned any of them?" he demanded.

I stirred my milk trying to come up with an answer. I avoided his eyes.

"Helaku, answer me," Bryce begged.

"I don't know. I'm just confused," I replied. It was the only answer I had.

He stood back and studied me.

"Did you like kissing me?" Bryce asked quietly.

"Yes," I said immediately, before I was able to fully process the question. But truthfully, I had enjoyed kissing him.

"Do you have feelings for me?" he asked. "And don't say maybe. This is a yes or no."

I stayed silent and didn't answer him. I just stirred my coffee absently. I still avoided his eyes.

Bryce grabbed my cup and steadied my other hand.

"Helaku, answer me," he said in a softer tone.

"Yes," I whispered after a moment. I avoided his stare.

He placed his finger under my chin, looked me in the eye, and leaned in close before placing a fast peck on my lips.

"Good, because I like you too. Ever since the first day you started working here," he added as he walked out of the kitchen, leaving me staring after him.

Bryce turned around and caught me staring. He winked and grinned at me and began whistling all the way back to his cubicle.

Ever since my first day?

What the hell?

*************SUMMER’S END**************

ZEKE:

I clapped Crew's shoulder. "One more week of paradise, buddy. Ready to go back to reality?"

Crew groaned. "No, I love it here. I love the people. I love the weather. I love work, and I love surfing," Crew said pouting.

"I'm not ready to go back to school and working all the time. Boohoo," Crew said like a child.

I laughed. "I know Crew. But we'll come back here again, I promise. Let's just make the best of it before we have to head back home, ok?"

Crew nodded.

"Come on. Let’s make some burgers on the grill before work. And then we can have a late night surf," I said.

SKYLER:

"Oh yeah, last week of work," I said as I filled the printer with more paper. I did a little dance as I ripped open a new package of paper and popped the lid on the machine.

"Having fun?"

I spun around and saw my Aunt smiling at me.

"Yeah, just listening to some music while I fix this," I said holding up the paper.

"What music?" Aunt Jennifer asked confused.

"In here," I said tapping my head.

Aunt Jennifer gave me an odd look and then smiled. "Listen Skyler, I wanted to say I'm proud that you stuck the summer out and throughout it all you had a serious and positive attitude. It's good you're taking some responsibility. Your mom is happy about that too."

I nodded, pretending to listen when I was really tapping my foot to Beastie Boy lyrics: Intergalactic Planetary!

"Now I know the semester is starting in one week and then you're gone, but you better do well in school because your mother and I have already discussed potential winter break plans and next summer break plans for you to work here," Aunt Jennifer said, or in my opinion, threatened.

Damn it.

**************HIRO TAKASHAMI****************

I emptied the last box in my room and placed some of my German books on my bookshelf. I rifled through my Initial D anime comic book, but put it down after a few seconds.

I was feeling melancholy but I couldn't pinpoint why or what was the cause of it. I hated that. If I was feeling sad or happy I would like to know the direct cause of it. The unknown was a real pisser.

Maybe it was a combination of things. After all I had just moved from Colorado to Princeton, New Jersey. It wasn't exactly the next town over and it was an adjustment. My grandma had a car for me to use and I had used it this past weekend to explore. I learned where some of the local malls and movie theaters were, not to mention my new school, Rutgers University. It was a big campus and I still didn't know where everything was, but in time I would eventually figure it out. It was kind of like ‘learn as you go’.

I missed the familiarity of University of Colorado since I had been going there for three years. Unfortunately, now I was finishing my senior year in a new state and a new school.

It was the circumstances; I had to be with my grandmother. The smile on her face when I arrived was worth all the trouble of relocating. Who knows, maybe I'll meet some cool people here. New Jersey was close to the city after all. You never know.

The one thing I disliked was the weather. I wasn't used to humidity or sweltering heat and now in the last week of August, it was hot! Like ‘step outside and you're drenched in your own sweat’ hot. I didn't care much for it.

Most of the time I just hid in my room with the air condition circulating. It was rather nice.

This was my last week of freedom before the semester started. I reveled in it, just lying on my bed staring at the ceiling when my grandmother's voice called out to me, telling me lunch was ready.

**************HELAKU**************

I stared across the table at Bryce Whitman.

He simply stared back at me and let a small smile form on his lips. I averted my eyes. The marketing meeting was going to start soon and I didn't want to be distracted with his smile.

Three weeks ago after that nude sketch incident we had both basically admitted we liked each other. I still didn't know how it had happened.

I guess Bryce had kind of wormed his way in or fought his way into my life. It first started with him annoying me constantly, then that dinner where things really took off. All those lunches, working together, playing basketball together, and then that night when I sketched him naked really got me thinking.

I realized I wasn't just physically attracted to Bryce, although he was really good looking. I really liked being with him and talking to him. We had a lot in common concerning our upbringings and our respective overbearing fathers. I was finding that I laughed a lot when we were together. Our conversations just flowed; it kept going and I never knew how it started, but once it did it could last for hours.

Even though three weeks had passed, we hadn't really hooked up nor had any sex. We just did what we usually did. We ate lunch together, played basketball on the weekends, and sometimes had dinner after work. We never really broached the topic of a relationship. I had the feeling Bryce didn't want to pressure me or rush me into something. So for the time being we were just enjoying each other's company. I liked this ‘taking things slow’. I had never done that before with a boyfriend or fling. I was used to jumping someone's bones or them jumping mine; but Bryce liked me and wanted to spend lots of time with me. It felt nice. Someone really liking me for me instead of just my looks or body.

Yet, I didn't know what to make of my newfound revelation. Should I ask Bryce out? Should we just stay friends? I didn't know what to do anymore or what to make of anything.

I looked up again and saw Bryce watching me. He licked his lips, eyeing me intensely.

I gulped.

**************HIRO***************

I wiped my brow as I walked in the direction of the Food Science building on Cook Campus.

This school was huge. I had some trouble finding my way. Luckily I was pretty good at directions and navigating.

I knew New Jersey and all the other North East coast states had four season weather, but I never knew it could get so sweltering in September. I definitely wasn't in Colorado anymore. Boy did I miss the cold weather.

I stepped inside the lecture hall and sighed with relief. I was greeted with air conditioning. Was there ever a better invention than that device? I scanned the room for an empty seat. The class was half full at this point, so I aimed for a seat in the very back.

I always liked to sit in the back. Even though it was far away from the board, I liked to see everything. Who wanted to just stare at the teacher when you could be admiring genetically blessed people?

I took my seat and looked at my schedule. I had a bunch of upper level courses, but I took this one hundred level as an easy elective. I wanted to have one automatic A without much work. Besides, I heard this professor was pretty easy. Plus, the course itself seemed interesting. It sounded like a good deal to me.

I heard some commotion and my eyes searched for the cause. I was sitting facing the door so I could easily see the people walking in.

I noticed a pair of twins walk in; they were Asian, Chinese maybe or Japanese. They had the pale, creamy complexion and huge eyes. I also noticed that they were very good looking.

And popular.

The one with shorter hair was wearing form fitting jeans and an equally form fitting pale blue shirt. He was greeted with giggles and choruses of hellos from a bunch of girls in the middle row.

The other one had longer hair, covered by a red baseball cap. He wore a red short sleeve shirt with the collar flipped up around his neck. His jeans were baggy. He sported a neon yellow belt and neon yellow sneakers, with a black wrist band with a lightening bolt going across it. He was smiling widely and exchanging "sups" with various guys to my right.

I liked to think of myself as a good judge of character. I could tell these twins were not just popular, but really good people. Maybe it was the way the people they were with hung onto their every word, or how the short haired twin seemed really respectful and the longer haired twin was constantly laughing, in a good natured way.

My eyes drifted towards the door. I constantly scanned the people that walked in, but my attention always came back to the twins. Especially the long haired one. It was probably because he was louder and more outgoing; he just demanded the attention.

And that laugh.

"So check it out," I heard the long haired twin say. "I really needed a ride somewhere and it was so hot that I couldn't stand to walk the twenty minutes to get there." He started laughing before he even got to the punch line. "So I saw this car coming and it was slowing down to let a pedestrian cross. I noticed the person driving was young so I had an idea."

"As the car came closer, I kind of threw myself onto the hood, like an all out body sprawl. My face was in the windshield." He started cackling with laughter. “Let me tell you, jumping onto a car isn’t that easy, especially when you’re trying to avoid injury. I had to use my stomach muscles to propel myself into her car and then tuck in my legs at just the right angle,” he said, motioning to his legs and straightening his body.

I noticed a big portion of the lecture hall was either openly listening or listening while they did something else simultaneously. I was openly listening. This guy was just that entertaining.

"Anyway, the woman jammed on the brakes and I sort of rolled off. Luckily she was going slowly. Then I knocked on her window and asked if she could give me a ride," he continued.

"Shit, Skyler," said a guy he was sitting with.

"The poor girl was so shocked and terrified I might go to the police that she gratefully gave me the ride in exchange for my silence," Skyler finished. He was howling with laughter at this point. Various people in the lecture hall were as well, including his group of friends.

"Did you do it more than once?" one of his friends asked.

"No, I couldn't. Shit, if I did that on a daily basis I would become known as that suicidal dude that likes to throw himself onto moving cars. I would have been thrown in a mental institution! I wouldn't have necessarily minded because I always wondered what it would be like to be a patient, but I don't think my Mom would have been too pleased," Skyler said cracking up again.

I smiled and shook my head. This kid was a fucking hoot.

"But man, let me tell you. I was damned tempted to do it a few times. It was mad hot this summer!" Skyler exclaimed. Then a thought came to him. "Wait, I haven't done that around here. Maybe I'll do it later," he said casually, eliciting more laughter from his admirers.

Just then the teacher walked in and started fussing with the computer. People quieted down slightly, curious about what the teacher was going to say. The syllabi and stuff were passed down the rows.

Skyler was the exception. He kept right on chatting away, without a care in the world.

"Do you want to hit up a movie later? This is my only class for the day and I don't want to rush home to do nothing" a guy asked Skyler. “Plus the weather is so nice.”

"I hear that. Sure," Skyler said at the same time his twin suddenly called over, "No!"

"You have two more classes today, Skyler," his twin scolded him.

"How do you know that?" Skyler demanded.

"I saw your schedule," his twin replied.

"How?"

"I found it."

"You mean you were looking for it," Skyler accused. "Did Mom tell you to check up on me? Make sure I went to all my classes?"

"Skyler!"

"Storm!" Skyler shot back in a mocking tone.

"Fine, don't go to your classes. What do I care?" Storm asked hotly. He turned back around in his seat, frowning.

Skyler got up and sat next to him. "I'm sorry bro. I'll go to all my classes, I promise, ok?"

Storm didn't answer him but he nodded. "So, can I have some money for a soda?" Skyler asked sweetly. Storm rolled his eyes.

"Please?" Skyler begged.

Storm fished out his wallet and handed his twin two one-dollar bills.

Skyler snatched them and stood up. "Thanks, you're the best brother ever."

Storm snorted. "Dude, I'm your only brother. The sad part is that you're my only brother."

Skyler feigned hurt. "That was cruel bro, real cruel. What if I died on my way to the vending machine and that was the last thing you said to me--you'd regret it," he said pointing his finger in his brother's face.

"Just for that comment, I'm not paying you back for the soda," Skyler said in a mock huff and walked off.

I smiled and watched him go. The twins seemed really funny. It was my first day at a new school; it would be great to make new friends. The twins seemed like the perfect people to get to know.

******************

I yawned as I stretched in my chair in my one and only class of the day Friday morning. I was excited for the weekend, not that I had anything special or specific planned. I just loved weekends because it meant freedom from school or work. Everyone was more relaxed and agreeable over the weekends.

Since I commuted, I always got to class a little earlier than usual. It was the only way to secure a parking spot. So I just sat in class, in the back of course, and wrote down some of the assignments I needed to finish.

The first week of classes there wasn't much work to do, but I wouldn't mind getting a head start on scanning some of the materials, just to get the feel of what's going on. Besides I liked the classes I had, especially for my major. I wouldn't mind getting a head start on that work. If I enjoyed the work and it served a purpose, it was a good deal.

People were filtering in as the start time for class got closer. I saw some girls shoot me fridnly smiles. I smiled back politely but turned my attention to the front of the room.

I liked to be left alone in my classes. I didn't want to be chatting with some nosey girl.

About five minutes before class was to start I noticed a guy walk in and take a seat in the front.

For some reason he caught me eye.

I watched as he sat down and took out his notebook and pen and waited for class to start. He was so eager and looked a little nervous. I wondered if he was a freshman, but for a freshman he wasn't taking the introductory courses I thought he would want to take.

I noticed as people came in he didn't really spare them any glances. He kind of kept to himself. People like that always intrigued me. I always found that the quiet people were the most interesting or had the most to offer. Being friends with them made me feel special, as if they were only showing this wonderful side of them to me; it was our little secret.

This guy was good looking too. He was sitting down so I couldn't tell his height or anything, but he seemed reasonably tall, judging from the length of his limbs. He was lean and had muscles in the right places.

I admired his defined jaw and red lips which I could see from where I was sitting, and his rosy colored cheeks were cute. He looked young; maybe he was a freshman, just a really smart, hardworking freshman. His hair color was dirty blond, buzzed kind of short. I assumed he had blue eyes, because the whole blond hair, blue eyed combination, but I wasn't positive. I didn't have a good visual angle of his eyes from where I sat.

The teacher never did roll call. Instead she passed around a sign-in sheet. When it got to me, I followed the pattern the sheet had followed and counted the number of people per row.

I think his name was Crew Jamison.

I smiled, J Crew, like the clothing store. That sounded cute.

I kept my eye on him the entire time. He listened carefully throughout the lecture and wrote down a couple notes. There was something about this guy I liked. I wanted to get to know him better.

After class ended I watched him slowly gather his stuff and walk out the door. I was about four people behind him and heading in the same direction as he was when there was this blur that flew by and jumped directly on top of Crew.

"Oomph!" Crew groaned as he and the guy crashed to the ground with a thud.

Then he started laughing hysterically as the guy planted loud exaggerated kisses on his cheek. Other people were either laughing or shaking their heads. They both got up and I realized that the guy that had jumped on Crew was Skyler from my Food Science class.

"Bitch, how was California?" Skyler asked Crew as Crew picked up his stuff which had dropped when he fell to the ground.

"It was great. I had the best time ever," Crew said smiling widely.

Skyler was about to say something when he spotted me about to walk past them.

"Hey," he called out.

I turned to face him with an acquiring expression. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you in my Food Science class?" he asked. I nodded.

"Hey, I'm Skyler," Skyler said.

"Hiro," I answered. Both Crew and Skyler looked at me.

"You're Japanese?" Skyler asked.

"Partly," I said.

"Wow," Skyler said in an awed tone.

"What?" I asked amused.

"We never get Japanese people around here. Awesome man. Hey, we were about to go get something to eat, you should come," he said wrapping an arm around both Crew and I, without waiting for answer.

He led us out of Scott Hall and down College Ave to the student center. He continued to walk with his arms wrapped around both of our shoulders.

I found it strangely odd, well for me, not for Crew since he obviously knew him well. But Skyler had just barely met me, invited me for lunch and now we were strolling along as if we were friends for years. Skyler didn't appear to be the least bit fazed by this.

"So man, are you new around here or something? I haven't seen you around," Skyler said.

"You know everyone at this University?" I asked smiling.

"Pretty much. I'm one of those people everyone flocks to," Skyler said batting his eyelashes. "Everyone loves me. It's a tough job being the most loved person in the world, but someone has to do it," he added.

Crew and I started cracking up.

"Jeez, I'm fucking starving," Skyler said letting go of us and walking ahead into the student center. He didn’t even bother to glance back to see if we were following him. I looked questioningly at Crew.

Crew just grinned. "One thing you have to know about Skyler. The one and only thing he loves more than himself is food. Don't ever get in his way when it comes to food, he would kill you. One time we were at a pool party and I was in his way to the grill and he chucked me into the pool," Crew said. "He didn't even check to see if I was all right. His twin brother Storm did."

I laughed and Crew joined in. We shared a look and Crew looked away suddenly, staring at the ground.

Blue. His eyes were bright blue. I was right.

I studied him a bit more. He was even more beautiful up close.

"You shouldn't do that," I said softly.

Crew looked at me quizzically as I held open the door to the student center for him. "You shouldn't look down at the ground so much. You have nothing to feel embarrassed about. Plus, you have really nice eyes," I added.

Crew smiled and blushed slightly, but didn't avert his eyes this time.

"Guys!" Skyler cried out waiting on line at Wendy's. "Hurry up if you want to order with me," he said since he was almost at the cashier.

Crew walked quickly ahead and I pointed to a sandwich/salad bar area next to Wendy’s. I selected a turkey wrap and an orange juice. When I finished paying I sat at the table Skyler and Crew had already snagged.

I just sat and ate my food as I watched Crew and Skyler catch up. Apparently Crew had been away for most of the summer, from what I had gathered.

"Yeah, Zeke and I got jobs as waiters. He was right. The money was much better than over here. His aunt's beach house was beautiful and right by the water. I could spend all night at the beach and then walk like ten feet and go to sleep. It was awesome. I had the best time ever," Crew said smiling.

"And now you're back here in good ol' Jersey," Skyler said in a south Jersey accent.

"I know! Zeke and I didn't want to come back. He was like, ugh, Boston and I was all like, ugh, New Jersey." He and Skyler started to crack up.

"Who's Zeke?" I asked.

"Zeke is my best friend from high school," Crew explained. "His aunt had a beach house in Santa Barbara, California and we ended up staying there for the summer."

"I've never been to California before," I said.

"It's really nice. Maybe after graduation I'll move there," he said. Then he looked as if something just popped into his head. He turned to face Skyler. "Oh I forgot to ask, Sky, how did work go over the summer?"

Skyler rolled his eyes. "Just like I thought it would be. It was shit on a stick, man. I had to do all this data processing, input, output, excel, blah, blah, blah. Or I was the official go to errand boy. And don't forget about the dress code," he groaned.

"Come on now," Crew chided. "I bet people were hitting on you left and right when you showed up in your snazzy gear."

Skyler smirked at Crew's obvious jib at him. "You know it baby."

"Well was it a paid internship?" Crew asked.

Skyler nodded. "Yeah it was the only good thing about working there. I made some money and I have something to put on my resume." Suddenly he got a disgusted look on his face. "Eww, look at me thinking and talking like Storm. That ain't right. Let's change the topic, quick," he said seriously.

"Uh, uh, Zeke and I tried surfing in California," Crew popped in.

"Fucking A! Were you any good or did you wipe out?"

"The first few times I wiped out. At first I thought it would be similar to snowboarding, you know the movements and balance, but the waves makes it a lot harder to stay afloat," Crew said.

"You snowboard?" I asked.

Crew looked at me. "Yeah, for as long as I can remember. In fact, Skyler, Storm and I work at Mount Vernon every year when the season starts up," Crew said. Skyler nodded in affirmation.

"I snowboard too. I was on a snowboarding team up in Colorado," I answered

Crew's eyes widened. "Really? That's so cool."

"I knew it! You're not from around here," Skyler said. "When did you move here?"

"Just over the summer," I said.

"How come?" Skyler asked.

"I moved in with my grandmother," I replied. It looked like Skyler wanted to ask more, but Crew jumped in.

"So was your team any good?" he asked.

I nodded. "We were fairly decent. I was good enough but I never pushed myself too hard because all I really care about what having fun," I answered.

"You should come snowboarding with us one day," Crew said smiling. "I'll race you. I bet I'll beat you," he challenged me, raising his brows.

I smiled. He looked cute when he tried to appear menacing. The look didn't seem to suit him.

"Okay, I'll race you. And since you seem competitive, you'll most likely win," I said.

Crew pouted. "Well you have to give it your all. I don't want to be handed a win."

"I will," I promised. Crew smiled again, looking like he got his way.

Skyler suddenly stood up. "I need more food," and he walked to get some pizza.

"So do you like it here?" Crew asked me.

I shrugged. "It's just another location. Everywhere is basically the same. People have the same routine no matter what state or country they live in. Being content just depends on the state of mind. So yeah, I'm great and I like it here," I said grinning at him.

Crew looked at me oddly, like he wasn't sure how to process my reply. But he let it go and continued to eat.

I leaned forward on the table. "You're in my Imperialism class." I said it more of a statement than a question. "Well when we have our upcoming exam, do you want to get together to study?" I asked.

"Sure," Crew said drinking his soda.

Skyler then sat down with a tray loaded with four slices of pizza and he also bought two more fries from Wendy's.

"Uh, you just ate two burgers, how can you fit all that in?" I asked staring with my mouth hanging open.

Skyler was too busy to answer as he had about ten fries stuffed in his mouth, so he pointed to Crew to answer for him.

Crew looked at me. "Trust me, the more you get to know Skyler, the more amazed you'll become," he said smiling.

Skyler looked at me and grinned, but all I saw was a bunch of mashed potatoes.

I couldn't contain my grimace.

***************HELAKU****************

"Miss!" Bryce called out just as I was about to throw my dart.

I missed the target.

"Cheater," I accused turning to him.

Bryce smiled innocently. "I did no such thing. You missed. It's not my fault if you have poor hand eye coordination."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's get some lunch. I'm starving," I said pulling the darts out and reaching for my wallet.

Bryce grabbed my arm and steadied me. He leaned in and kissed me on the lips before pulling back. I reached for his waist and hugged him tightly. I kissed him deeply, enjoying the feel of his soft hair on my forehead, which he had grown out slightly. I pulled back and took a deep breath of much needed air.

Bryce and I officially started dating last night. We went out to dinner Friday night which was a usual occurrence for us. I invited him back in for coffee and then he hit me with the hard stuff.

"Hela, I really like you. I would like us to go somewhere," he said.

"Oh yeah, go where?" I asked playing dumb.

He shot me a pointed look. "You know what I mean. Relationship-wise."

"You want to start dating?" I asked.

"We already are dating," he said.

I frowned. "We are? Where was I?"

Bryce frowned as well. "Come on Hela. We spend every waking minute together. We work together. We eat two out of three meals a day together. We call each other to talk after we get home, and we spend the weekend together. Don't tell me you just want to be friends with me," he said exasperated.

I sighed. "No I don't. I guess this is a little shocking and I'm still adjusting and wondering if it's all real. I mean at first we hated each other; then we become best friends, and then we become boyfriends? I find it surreal."

"I never hated you," Bryce clarified.

"Then why were you such a huge ass?" I asked.

"I liked you," he said simply.

"You liked me?" I asked thoroughly confused.

"Yeah and I didn't know how to act around you without following you around like a puppy. I didn't know you were gay too and I didn't want to out myself. What if I got fired or something?"

"So instead you called me names, taunted me, or ignored me when we were in a large group of people?" I asked. "A little grade school-ish don't you think?"

Bryce smiled. "Like I said, I didn't know how to act. If I acted rude you wouldn't suspect me and in a way I was trying to hate you so my feelings wouldn't get out of hand. I mean crushing on a straight guy, at work no less, just spells disaster."

"So you were happy when you found out I was gay?"

Bryce grinned. "Well after the initial shock and then running after you and then stalking you at your house and begging you to have dinner with me, yeah I was happy. I went home and did back flips."

"Really?" I asked my eyebrows raised.

"Hell yeah, I can do one for you now," he offered.

I held up my hand and smiled. "That's really not necessary."

"So what attracted you to me? Was it my gorgeous looks?" I joked.

Bryce laughed along with me. "Well there was that. You looked damn good in your suit. I wanted to lock us in the meeting room and tear your clothes off." I looked away in embarrassment when he said that. "You have the most beautiful green eyes," he said walking closer to me. "As soon as you started talking to everyone I knew you were a great guy. You were so friendly and open, making jokes, acting as if you knew everyone already. You treated everyone respectfully and you were so smart with such amazing ideas. Basically you were the ultimate package."

He came within an inch of me. "What attracted you to me?"

"At first I was really pissed off at you," I admitted, "but I guess your loneliness attracted me. I could sense it and that was our connection. I love your blue eyes and your shy smile. I love how competitive you get when we play basketball. It's cute."

Bryce wrinkled his nose when I said cute. "I meant dead sexy," I said and he grinned.

"Plus, you kind of grew on me. I thought we were just friends. I never realized my actual feelings or attraction towards you."

"So what sealed the deal?" Bryce wondered.

"You looked really good naked."

Bryce threw a pillow right at my face.

I gasped in mock pain. "That's it, we're over," I said pretending to walk away.

I laughed as Bryce tackled me to the ground, pinned my wrists, and planted a hard kiss on my mouth.

***************HIRO**************

Studying on a Saturday morning. I'd rather pick mud out of my fingernails than study on a Saturday. A rather nice Saturday morning no less. Yet it could have been worse. I could have been studying calculus or chemistry, which I never did understand. I was studying, for the first history exam, with Crew.

Crew was the main reason why studying on a Saturday morning wasn't so terrible.

I had asked Crew yesterday before class ended if he wanted to get together to review materials and he had agreed.

"Want to go to my house or yours?" I asked him.

"Um, I guess mine will be ok," Crew answered.

I smiled. "Good choice. If you went to my house my Grandma would be interrupting us trying to feed us cookies or some cakes."

So now here we were, sitting in Crew's kitchen table with our books opened and our notebooks out.

The professor had given us some specific topics to study and review. She said to know the vocabulary at the end of every section chapter. I watched as Crew concentrated on the terms and wrote them in his notebook. His brow was scrunched and his bit his lip. He had very full lips for a guy.

I glanced around his house and wondered why it was empty. Maybe his family had to go out and do something. His home was nice, small, but well furnished and clean. It had a good air to it.

Even though Crew and I had met about three weeks ago, we didn't get together outside of school too much, although Skyler managed to rope us two into eating lunch about once a week. Crew and I never really talked a lot one on one. Skyler was really the buffer. That kid could talk, but I did love his funny stories.

Crew was still quiet in class and I never went to sit with him. He would nod to me in acknowledgement when he arrived and he would wave when he left. But that was the extent of our so called friendship.

He seemed shy around me, like right now as we studied. I knew he wasn't really shy. I think it was because he didn't know me too well. I couldn't blame him. I was no Skyler. I didn't know how to go all out and start randomly talking to people. I'd always been the quiet loner type myself.

I watched Crew write for a bit more.

"You're quiet," I said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Crew's head snapped up and his eyes met mine.

"Huh?" he asked frowning slightly; confused at my random statement. Then he seemed to process what I said. "Oh, well, you're quiet too."

I smiled. "Yeah I am pretty quiet. I like being quiet. I like to take in everything around me. Loud people are so busy being loud they can't see the other stuff."

"I don't understand what you're getting at," Crew said his frown deepening.

"You're quiet because you're sad," I said. It was a statement. "Why are you so sad?"

"Well, you don't know me that well, so…," he trailed off, not knowing how to finish. He got back to his work. He never answered me and I didn't push him on the subject. We got back to our studies.

****************

"Pizza and donuts?" I asked.

Crew nodded. "Yeah, those are Skyler's two favorite foods in the entire world. He said he had a sudden craving for them," he added closing his cell phone. Skyler had just called and invited us to have dinner at his apartment.

I had been with Crew for the third straight Saturday in a row ever since we got together that first time studying. We still didn't talk about anything too deep and weren't that good of friends. Our grades, however, came back stellar and we figured we made a pretty good study team. We decided to keep up the habit.

"Ok, so when do you want to go?"

"Let's leave now. I can't study anymore, I'm tired," he said rubbing his eyes.

"Ok," I agreed happily, slamming my book shut and stuffing it into my back pack.

We drove over to Skyler's apartment which was pretty close to campus. As soon as we walked in, I was hit with the smell of pizza. I took in the sight of three pizza boxes, three liters of soda, and two dozen donuts.

"Is all this just for us?" I asked in shock.

"No," Skyler said, "Storm's coming too." I looked over at Crew but he didn't seem fazed by the colossal amounts of food sitting in front of us. He simply took a seat.

"Where's Storm?" Crew asked as he reached for a donut.

"He'll be here soon. He had to take Kate somewhere. If you listen carefully," he cupped his ear, "you can hear the sound of a whip being used."

I chuckled. At that moment Storm breezed in.

"Hey guys," he said as he took his seat at the kitchen.

"Hey," Crew and I said.

Skyler imitated the sound of a whip being cracked. Storm looked confused as we all laughed. They all inhaled their pizza slices. Skyler had nine alone, Storm had five, and Crew had four. I only had a measly two.

"How come you ate so little pizza?" Skyler asked curiously as he finished his third donut.

"I don't eat pizza very often," I answered.

Skyler and Crew stopped chewing at the same time and gawked at me.

"Why?" Storm asked.

I shrugged. "I don't eat out a lot or have much junk food or anything processed, for that matter."

"Then what do you eat?" Skyler asked in amazement.

"What else is there?" Crew asked at the same time.

I laughed. "I actually eat a lot of fish and vegetables. Oh, and tea."

Crew looked surprised. Skyler looked disgusted with his lip curled. Storm just looked impressed.

"And you're satisfied with that?" Skyler asked in disbelief .

I nodded. "Well I'm used to it. I've been eating that way ever since I was a kid. I am Japanese after all. That's how we eat," I reminded him.

"What else are you?" Storm asked.

"A whole bunch of things. My grandparents had a lot of Eastern European and mixed Asian descent. But my Mom was pure German and my Dad was a quarter Japanese and Scottish."

"Wow, mix big. So you're only an eighth Japanese then?" Storm asked. I nodded.

"Well you got the cool Japanese name," Skyler said burping loudly.

There was knocking on the door.

"Come in, it's open!" Skyler yelled.

A guy I didn't recognize walked in. He was tall, taller than me, Crew, or even the twins. He had dark tan skin, black hair, and bright green eyes that I could see from here. He looked Native American or maybe some Asian mix. He was handsome.

He walked into the kitchen and everyone became quiet. I was confused.

Skyler just ate, staring hard at the newcomer.

Crew developed an interest in his donut, playing with the frosting.

Storm was the only one that looked and acually talked to the guy.

"What's up Hela?" he asked.

"Hey, my car stalled. Can you give me a ride somewhere?" the guy called Hela asked.

Storm glanced at Skyler and Crew. "Sure." He took his car keys from the drawer and then stumbled back. "Oh by the way, Helaku McAdams this is Hiro--dude what's your last name?" Storm asked.

I stuck out my hand. "I'm Hiro Takashami," I answered.

Helaku looked directly at me and didn't smile or say hi in return. Then his stare shifted over to Crew who was still avoiding his look as if it were his newfound religion.

Then he turned back to me and there was this look in his eyes. His eyes were questioning, filled with hurt, worry, and anger. There was something going on between Crew and this Helaku. I never broke the stare. I just continued to look at him head on. If he wanted to intimidate me it wasn't going to work. I didn't intimidate easily.

Storm noticed the tension in the air and placed his hand on Helaku's shoulder. “Come on, let's go. I'll take you where you need to go,” and he led Hela out.

After they were gone, Skyler and Crew were still quiet. Then Skyler put a smile on his face and the tension literally disappeared.

"Let's watch some Family Guy," he announced heading into the living room.

****************

"Are you sad because of the guy I met at the twins’ apartment?" I asked referring to Helaku.

"Hela?" he asked quietly, not looking up from his notebook.

It was another Saturday morning and we were once again seated in his kitchen table. I waited for him to say something, but he never did go any further.

"I don't want to talk about it," was all he said.

"Ok," I said instantly.

Crew looked at me with surprise, like he was expecting an argument. I just smiled and turned back to my textbook, reading. I felt Crew's eyes on me; then out of the corner of my eye, I saw him return to his work.

I was curious about Crew. I had been to his house for six Saturdays in a row now. Never once did I see a family member around. I never even saw any pictures of anyone that could remotely be his family. Though I did see a lot of pictures of the twins and his best friend, Zeke.

He still was quiet and soft spoken around me and he seemed a little bit down ever since that encounter with Helaku.

I never felt the urge to ask him questions though. Answers were to be given willingly and he obviously didn't want to give any to me at this time.

"Thank you."

I looked up into Crew's blue eyes, which were full of gratitude and relief.

I just smiled and resumed copying down the key terms.

 

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