Volando a Voi

8/13/2019 Volando a Voi

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Volando A Voi(Flying To You)

One:A Different Kind of 'Like'

Adam Ramirez sat in his fourth period cooking class listening to his teacher, Mrs. McKenzie, demonstrate a lab they would be doing the next day for the class upat the demonstration table at the front of the class. She was showing them howto make a recipe called 'Crepe Party Purses,' which sounded just about as absurdto make as their name sounded. While the rest of the class stayed completely focused on the teacher while she lectured, Adam felt his mind begin to wander. Itwasn't necessarily because he was bored- that wasn't it. He loved cooking, though he never thought of going into it for any sort of career. He just liked to cook, and wanted to be better at, so he took the culinary classes his school offered to do just that. He usually was just as attentive to Mrs. McKenzie's demonstrations as the rest of the class was. But today, he felt distracted. Something just felt different about today. But what?

That's when the door to the class room opened, and some tall, dark, and handsomelooking guy came walking in. His hair was jet black and spiked with the finesthair gel (the finest money could buy, no doubt), and he dressed in name brand clothing from head to toe- a red Abercrombie t-shirt that seemed much tighter thanit should have been (to show off his perfectly sculpted body, no less), a pair

of faded, holey American Eagle jeans, and a regular old pair of plain black flip-flops. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder as he approached Mrs. McKenzie up at the front demonstration table. He handed her a slip of paper, and she looked at it for a fleeting second.

"Class, we have a new student. I'd like you to welcome Chase Williams," Mrs. McKenzie said. "Chase, you can sit wherever you'd like. I'm just giving a demonstration for a lab we'll be putting together tomorrow, so look on with someone at their recipe."

Adam watched as the new student strode by and sat on the other side of the roomat a table where three girls sat. One of the girls was blonde, while the other two were brunettes with blonde highlights streaking their hair.

He must be a lady killer, Adam thought. Why else would he choose to sit at a table with 3 of the most beautiful girls in the class? Obviously because he saw them as soon as he walked into the room, and automatically set his sights on them as soon as his copper eyes fell on them. Guys like that annoyed the hell out of Adam, so egocentric and conceited. He'd have loved to take a stick and beat the living day lights out of every big headed prep that he came across. But unfortunately, there were far too many of them to do that to, and even if he could, they'd hire their fancy lawyers and sue his ass ten times til Christmas.

And yet, something about Chase drove Adam absolutely insane. He had just seen him; he hadn't even spoken to the boy yet and he was already being bothered by something concerning him. But what was it? Why was Adam bothered by the mere presen

ce of this boy? It couldn't be because he was drop dead gorgeous. Adam knew plenty of guys that were just as gorgeous and they were all conceited ego freaks aswell, but none of them ever bothered Adam like this. So what was it about Mr. Chase Williams that drove Adam so insane?

He was jealous. He wanted him to sit at his table. But why?

Because he liked him, and he had just seen him just now. How could Adam alreadylike a guy that he had just seen, and had not even been formally introduced to yet? The boy was clad in designer labels from head to toe, and walked with such p


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oise and confidence that Adam knew right away that his head was ten times biggerthan any other part of his body. So how the hell could Adam like him? He was yet another incarnation of everything that he hated, so how could he even begin tothink of liking someone who thought they were bigger than Jesus?

"Mr. Ramirez," Mrs. McKenzie addressed.

Adam snapped out of his daze. Had he been staring at the new kid? Did anyone notice? God, he hoped they didn't.

"Mr. Ramirez, could you repeat what I just got through explaining?" Mrs. McKenzie asked.

Adam looked blankly back at Mrs. McKenzie, and gulped.

"Um.... trim and discard the root ends of the green onions before slicing the white parts into thin pieces?" he replied.

"That's what I thought," Mrs. McKenzie said. "Stop staring off into space and pay attention or you're not going to have a clue as to what to do tomorrow."

"Sorry Mrs. McKenzie," Adam apologized.

Mrs. McKenzie began her lecture once again, but Adam could not refrain from glan

cing back across the room at Chase.

Thanks a lot, Chase. You got me so dazed and confused I don't know which way isup, and which way is down. Nice going, ass.

Although Adam wanted to deny it with every fiber of his existence, he really felt something for this new kid. But what, and why? Whatever it was about Chase that was eating at Adam, was slowly driving him insane. Thank God lunch was comingup soon, Adam thought.

Finally, lunch time. The one time Adam could really socialize with anyone other

than before and after school. He often sat with different groups of friends on different days of the week. One day he might sit with some of his goth friends, another he might decide to chat with his band buddies. He was friends with a lotof people from a bunch of different social cliques, but Adam never really considered himself part of any of them. If anything, he was part of a little bit of all of them, to an extent.

Today, however, he sat alone. He rarely did that, but when he did, he could always count on his friend Ashley Tucker to show up to nag and annoy him about what's bothering him and why he's so glum and whatnot. Although he pretended to be annoyed and tell her that it was none of her business and that he hated her guts and never wanted to talk to her again, it was all in good humor, at least betweenthem. Anyone else would think they had a serious mental disorder and should be

locked up in a loony bin for the rest of their lives.

Ashley sat her lunch tray down at Adam's lunch table, and then sat herself downin the seat directly across from him. She didn't say anything at first, she juststarted to unfold her napkin and sit it in her lap whileshe began to poke at her food and play with it instead of eating it. Finally, she sat her tray aside, and propped her head up on one hand, grinning stupidly at Adam. She always used that same grin when he sat alone, just because she knew it was the only way to get a smile out of him otherwise.


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"Heya, Adam," Ashley said.

"Hey, Ash," Adam replied.

"What's bugging you?"

"Nothing. Just leave me alone and go bother someone who wants to be messed with," Adam said.

"But you're so much fun to bug! Not to mention you always have the most interesting problems. So, what is it this time? Some idiot make you drop your books again? Ooh, ooh! Or did someone shove you into a locker in the halls this morning?"

Adam smirked, and shook his head.

"No, none of that," he said.

Ashley raised an eyebrow curiously, and began to twirl her finger through her light chestnut brown hair subconsciously.

"Oh? So, who is it?" she asked, as if she knew that his problem wasn't with someimpatient louts in the hall, but with one of his many crushes that he often hadsome steam to let out over.

Adam sighed.

"Some new guy," he replied.

"Ooh, a new guy, huh?" Ashley asked. "What's he look like?"

"He's tall, got black hair that he uses way too much hair gel in, and wears shirts that are so tight you can see every detail of his body."

Ashley seemed excited.

"Is he hot?"

"Unfortunately," Adam said.

"And that just makes your blood boil, doesn't it?" Ashley asked.

"Let me tell you," Adam said.

Ashley chuckled in amusement.

"So how many crushes does this make now? 7? 8?" she asked.

Adam rolled his eyes.

"8. And he seems different somehow," he replied.

Ashley gasped in shock.

"Different? However do you mean?"

Adam closed his baby blue eyes, and leaned back in his chair, letting out a deepbreath before he answered.

"I like him."


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Ashley blinked absent mindedly.

"But don't you like all your crushes?" she asked.

"Yes. But still, he seems different. I mean, I can tell by the way he walks anddresses that he's a total egotist, but the entire time I was in fourth period, Icouldn't keep my eyes off him," Adam explained.

Ashley giggled in a squeaky tone.

"Aww, my little Adam is growing up! He's discovering boys! And love!" she shouted.

"I doubt what I feel is 'love,'" Adam said, putting as much bitterness into theword as he could.

Ashley grinned wildly.

"Oh come on, Adam. If you don't hate him, then that must mean you like him! Andif you like him then-"

"No, no, no!" Adam called. "It's different. All my other crushes I only like fortheir looks. Inside, they're nothing but conceited ego freaks who need a serious reality check."

"And what about this one?" Ashley asked.

"He's...." Adam paused, trying to think of the word he was looking for. "He's.... He's...."

"Different?" Ashley asked.

Adam sighed.

"Yeah. But I don't know what I mean by different," he said.

Ashley let out a dreamy sigh.

"What's his name?"

"Chase."

"Chase....? What? No last name? Is he like Cher?"

"Williams. Chase Williams."

Ashley chuckled.

"Chase Williams, huh? So that's the name of your new crush," she said.

"Yeah, and like all the others, he's just that- a crush. An infatuation. NothingI should spend any nights staying up over."

Ashley giggled in her squeaky tone again.

"You're so cute when you're pessimistic," she said.

Adam smiled.

"What can I say? It's my best quality," he said.


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From there, Adam and Ashley moved on to other subjects until it was time to go to fifth period. But even though they were now off the subject of Adam's latest crush, he still found his mind wandering, fixated on that boy from fourth period.

What kind of game are you playing, Chase Williams? And what kind of tricks willyou be pulling out of your hat?It was nothing new to Chase being the new kid around school. His family had moved around enough in his life that he never truly got to know anyone at any schoolhe ever went to. It's not that he didn't want to, but it was just that it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to get a bunch of friends and then end up moving again and leaving them all behind. So needless to say, Chase didn't make very much effort to get to know anyone very well at all, since it would defeat the purpose when his parents decided that they needed to move again.

Chase's father was a military general that went around to military bases and academies all over the country to give lectures and teach cadets lessons about commanding an army and how to give orders under pressure. Since he was basically retired from command, all he could do to fill his days were to travel around the country giving lectures to promising young future commanders and generals. So thatwas why Chase found it best not to make any close friends whenever he moved toa new town and started going to a new school. He wouldn't be there but about a month tops, so what would be the point in making any friends if he would just bepacking up and leaving again?

It wasn't particularly appealing to Chase to have to live a life where his parents were at the beck and call of the military to come give lectures at an academyin whatever state that they were located in, but what could he do? It's not like he had any part in the decision, not that it would matter anyway. But it madehim feel like an outsider when he was around other kids at whatever school he would be going to at the time and not being able to get too close to anyone at therisk of developing some sort of relationship with them only to end up being plucked out of school and being packed up and moved to another part of country where he'd have to start all over again.

To makes matters worse, Chase didn't have a particularly close relationship withhis parents, either. His father was always busy lecturing and teaching classes

at the various academies all across the country, while his mother simply acted as his secretary and kept track of all his paper work and what not. It wasn't that he never saw his parents- because he did, and very frequently at that- but itwas just that he never felt that they gave him the attention that he needed. They never asked him about how he felt about moving all the time. They never askedhim if he had any friends at the school he was currently going to at the momentwhen they were fixing to be moving again. They never asked him about anything that meant anything to him. It didn't really seem to bother Chase all that much, except that it put a block between them.

Even though his parents were usually always busy, Chase never felt that they intentionally ignored him, so to speak. He just never felt the need to share anything with them. What would his parents think if he told them he was attracted to o

ther guys? What would his dad think if he found out? It would tear him up, no doubt. That's why Chase kept everything to himself. He never told anyone more thanthey should know. He never let anyone know how he felt or what he thought. It was just so much simpler to keep everything to himself, and not tell anything toanyone.

But when he arrived at Lake Region High School on his first day in Winter Haven,Florida, he found himself the object of every girl's desire, which was nothingnew to him. He was often chased by the girls at whatever school he was going toat the moments, being asked by girls left and right if he'd go out with them or


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if he'd call them. He found it amusing, but like he did anywhere else, he didn'tlet himself get involved with anyone, since it would only cause him heartache when his parents decided to leave again. But that was how it was at every schoolhe went to: the girls flocked to him, and all the (popular) guys wanted to be his greatest friend, simply because they hoped to hook up with one of the girls that hung off his arm. But even though he seemed to gain instant popularity no matter where he went, he still felt an empty void inside himself. He wanted friends, but couldn't have them because he would just end up having to leave them eventually. And the one thing that he wanted more than anything was a boyfriend, butthat was next to impossible as well, since he'd have to cut it off as soon as his parents decided it was time to move again. So while he could try to form relationships with people at school and leave them behind whenever he was told it wastime to move again, he chose not to. He made the mistake once before, and got too close to someone that he ended up being torn away from. It hurt for the longest time, but he got over it. But ever since then, he never allowed himself the luxury of getting too close to anyone, for it would only mean pain and sufferingfor him.

So it was business as usual on his first day at Lake Region High School. The girls immediately started gushing over how hot he was and asked him if he had a girlfriend, while the guys started trying to befriend him so that they could get apiece of the action. But it didn't seem to appeal to Chase anymore. He used to find this amusing and enjoyed getting all this attention, but now he just wishedhe could be left alone. Of course he couldn't just tell everyone to leave him al

one and stay away from him because he wasn't going to be around long, since he felt that their attention was the only thing that made him feel loved and wanted,and for the most part, accepted. Even though he knew he would never really getto know any of them, he still valued their attention and affection.

Of course, it was hard not to notice the piercing gaze of the blonde headed boyacross the room when he arrived at his cooking class on the first day at his newschool. The boy had the lightest blonde hair he had ever seen; it almost appeared as if it were white instead. Chase could feel the boy's eyes fixate upon himthe moment he walked into the room, and felt them the entire time he was there.He truly became aware of the boy's gaze when the teacher, Mrs. McKenzie, calledhim out and told him to pay attention. What was his name again? Ramirez? That was his last name. But what was his first name? She didn't call him out by his fir

st name, so all Chase knew was his last name. But still, he felt intrigued thathe had captured the eyes of another guy in the room, and an extremely cute one at that.

On his second day at school, Chase sat at the same table with the three girls hesat near the day before during his fourth period cooking class. He learned thatthe girls' names were Madeline, Sophia, and Gabriella. They were rather attractive girls, but they seemed to be the only ones who weren't more interested in Chase than the rest of the class was, which was a relief.

Once again, Chase felt the piercing stare of Ramirez fixed upon him. He tried not to look back at him, but felt the unrelenting urge to do so forcing his eyes up to look back at him. If Ramirez could see Chase looking back at him, he didn't

give any sign of noticing. Chase found himself entranced by the other boy's eyes, which were a light, crystal blue, as they gazed back at him.

Damn he's cute, Chase thought as he glanced up at Ramirez from his table acrossfrom the room. He could definitely feel his heart skip a beat at the sight of the other boy, but he knew it was for naught. Nothing could, or would, happen between them. Chase continually told himself 'he's not gay!' or 'he just wants to bemy friend.' Then Chase told himself what he really needed to hear: 'I can't bewith him. I'd just end up getting hurt like last time.'


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Mrs. McKenzie was beginning to give job assignments to everyone as they preparedto begin their lab for the day. Crepe Party Purses is what they were called, right?, Chase thought. Sounds stupid.

As Mrs. McKenzie continued assigning everyone partners and telling them which kitchen station they would be working at, she suddenly looked over at Chase, thenglanced back at Ramirez. Oh God, don't tell me she's pairing me with him!

"Adam, why don't you work with Chase today. Help him learn the lay out of the kitchens and show him how everything's done," Mrs. McKenzie said.

Adam. So that's his first name. That's nice to know. But how could she put me with him? If she trying to make me fall for him? Too late- I already am. Bitch.

That's when Ramirez spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. McKenzie, but I don't think I'm the best person to help anyone.I'm a lousy instructor," he said.

Mrs. McKenzie stared back at Adam as if he were speaking Babylonian. It was obvious Ramirez didn't want to work with Chase. But why?

"Alright then," Mrs. McKenzie said. "You'll be working with Tabitha then."

Chase felt his heart drop. How could he turn down the chance to help me? Why would he turn down the chance to help me? Doesn't he like me? Or is he scared?

Oh, wait. I'm the one who's scared of him. Only because I'm afraid I'll fall forhim, which I think I already have.

"Chase," Mrs. McKenzie called, "you'll be working with Josh today. He'll answerany questions you have as to what you should be doing."

Oh goodie. I get to work with someone else who will no doubt try to be my friend. This is great. Nice going, Queen Bitch.

A tall black guy wearing baggy pants and a blue South Pole t-shirt walked up to

Chase wearing an apron and hair net. He looked like he could be a senior, but something told Chase that he was a junior like he was.

"Do you have an apron and hair net?" asked Josh Williford, the guy who was assigned to be Chase's partner.

"I have an apron, but no hair net," Chase replied. "But I have a hat."

"That works, too. We have to wear hair restraints so we don't get hair in our food, which is good because I hate going to a restaurant and find a long hair in my food," Josh said with a big grin on his face.

Chase laughed. Josh seemed to be a nice guy. He didn't talk or act like some rap

per thug that was seen all over t.v. and magazines, which was really nice. And it didn't seem like he was trying to befriend Chase either. Josh was just being friendly, and that meant a whole lot more to Chase than to have someone try to beyour friend. Maybe Josh could be my friend, Chase thought. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have one person I could talk to.

Chase and Josh talked all throughout the lab, working on the crepes all the while. It was nice to have someone Chase could talk to and receive honest opinions back from. With Josh, there didn't seem to be any ass kissing. He said what he thought, and let it stand. That didn't mean he was a very vocal guy, because he wa


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sn't. He just didn't try very hard to say anything that would impress Chase perse. But in truth, that impressed Chase far more than anyone who was actually trying to make an impression.

Throughout the class period, Chase could feel the icy stare of Ramirez fixed upon him. It didn't distract him, but did unnerve him a bit. Why was he so interested in him? Why was he constantly looking at him? Chase wanted to just go over and talk to him, but he knew that would be a bit risky, because how could he be sure Ramirez was even actually looking at him? It was stupid because Chase knew hewas, but it would still be dangerous to just walk up to him and ask him why hekept staring at him. If he was ever going to approach Ramirez, he would have tomake a plan first. So when fourth period came to an end, Chase knew that he would have to try making his move the next day.

Alright, Ramirez. You and I are going to talk, whether you like it or not. I just hope I don't end up hopelessly in love with you. I can only hope....Three:Battle of the Egos

Chase had worked on how to approach Ramirez all day the day before, and all morning the following day until he got to fourth period, where he waited for him toshow up. For the first two days at his new school, Ramirez had beaten Chase to class both times. But today was different, because Chase actually managed to beatRamirez, and he got there at the time he always did. Was Ramirez running late?Or was he not at school today? Chase hoped he was, because he'd never worked so

hard on planning a confrontation before. So the least Ramirez could do was showup on the day he was planning on confronting him about his staring problem.

At last, there he was. Ramirez strode through the door, just before the tardy bell rang. Cutting it a bit close, eh Ramirez? The blonde haired boy sat in his usual spot at his usual table, setting his backpack on the table to get his classfolder out. God, was he organized. It seemed that he had all of his folders andbooks in order of the periods he had them. Chase's backpack was stuffed to the gills with folders, books, paper, among other items that just cluttered it up. But it amused him to see someone so proper and organized. Actually, he found thatsort of cute, on Ramirez's part anyway.

No! I can't think that. Then that means I like him! And I can't let myself like

him! Not if I don't want to open myself up to a lot of pain when I end up havingto move again.

Mrs. McKenzie had already started lecturing when Chase stopped focusing on Ramirez and tuned in to what she was talking about. What was she saying about assigning permanent teams of partners today? Great, I missed it, and it was all becauseof you, Ramirez. You really know how to steal a guy's attention. You'd be a killer if you were gay.

"Chase," Mrs. McKenzie addressed. "You and Josh will be permanent lab partners from now on. You two seemed to work well together yesterday."

Chase smiled back at her.

"Okay. Sounds good to me," he replied.

Damn, I was hoping she'd stick me with Ramirez. That sure would make confrontinghim a whole lot easier. But, then it might just distract me from more importantthings. Not good.

Josh sat down at Chase's table, and acknowledge each other with a nod.

"Looks like we're lab buddies now, Chase," Josh said with a grin.


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"Does that mean we have to look at each other now?" Chase retorted sarcastically.

"I'm afraid so," Josh replied.

The both of them laughed while Mrs. McKenzie finished assigning partners to everyone. Chase found himself glancing over at Ramirez again. Damn was he cute. It was no wonder Chase couldn't keep his eyes off of him. Too bad he never seemed tosay much, let alone smile. He must have a smile of an angel.

"Chase, can I ask you something?" Josh asked.

Chase shrugged.

"Sure. Shoot."

"It's sort of personal, so you don't have to answer it if you don't want to, but, are you gay?"

Chase hesitated for a moment, and nodded.

"Oh. Well I noticed you keep looking over at Adam over there, so I sort of figured something was up," Josh said.

Chase blushed.

"I don't like him, if that's what you mean."

Josh grinned.

"I don't blame you. I mean, he's okay I guess, but he can be sort of jerk some times. He thinks he's holier than God or something sometimes."

Chase peaked an eyebrow curiously.

"Really?"

"Really really. But if you ask me, he's just too smart for his own good. He hasthe highest grade in the class."

"That doesn't mean he's smart, or too smart anyway. It just means he's talentedwhen it comes to this sort of thing," Chase said.

Josh laughed.

"I guess. I just signed up for this class so I could eat, but I guess it doesn'thurt to learn how to cook it, either."

"Yeah, I guess," Chase said.

Mrs. McKenzie had finally finished assigning everyone partners. Now she was beginning to give her main lecture. This time it was about yeast breads, which Chasequickly tuned into so he wouldn't miss anything. He had never really had the chance to cook at home, but whenever he would spend time with family or something,he'd always get in the kitchen and cook something. Even though it wasn't something he got to do often, he still enjoyed doing it. That was what got him to signup for this culinary class. It was one thing to cook, but another to actually know something about what you're cooking.


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Perhaps that's one thing that made him and Ramirez alike in some way. They bothliked cooking, and both wanted to learn about it, so they decided to take classes to do just that. But did that make them kindred spirits? Or just people who had one thing in common with each other? It was definitely something Chase thoughtabout. Something about Adam intrigued him. He wanted to learn more about him. He wanted to get to know him and, maybe, at least become friends.

But what got Chase was the deep, burning desire to talk to the boy. He knew immediately that something was going on when Ramirez kept staring at him, and when Chase couldn't keep his eyes off Ramirez, he was determined to figure out what itwas that drove him so crazy about him.

That's when the bell ending fourth period rang. It felt like the class had juststarted to Chase, but now it was already time to go. He saw Adam stuffing his folder into his backpack, and begin to get up to leave. Now was his chance. If hemissed him this time, then he'd have to wait until tomorrow to confront him, which meant Chase would be driven up the walls until he finally got to say what hehad been wanting to say for so long now.

Determined to catch Ramirez before he disappeared, Chase grabbed his back pack,slung it over his shoulder, and went after him in a hurry to catch up to him before he lost him in the crowd of students flooding the hallways.

Adam could hear someone calling out to him from behind as he headed out into thehall leaving fourth period.

"Hey! Adam! Wait up!"

He stopped and waited for whoever it was that called out to him to catch up. That's when he saw Chase charging through the hall like a football star, pushing people aside so that he could get through, rushing towards him in a frantic rush.Adam could feel his face turn red as the black haired egomaniac hurried up to him.

"Hey," Chase said.

Adam didn't say anything.

"I was just wondering....," Chase said, short of breath, "....why you always look at me like I'm some sort of movie star or something during fourth period."

Adam closed his eyes, and resisted the powerful urge to laugh as loudly as he could in Chase's face simply to embarrass him. It didn't surprise Adam that Chasehad thought that he was looking at him like a movie star, but then again, that'sjust typical ego freaks for you. Especially oneas gorgeous as Chase, who thought the entire universe should bow before him simply because he had model-like qualities. While he may have the face and body of a famous teen idol or superstar,he had the personality of a cardboard box- a closed cardboard box, and one that

wouldn't open because it didn't want to realize that it was nothing but a plain,dumb old cardboard box instead of some magnificent piece of architecture.

Chase was still standing before Adam, awaiting a response from him. Adam figuredhe'd left the poor little idiot standing long enough, and decided he'd answer him. He was lucky he was even getting one.

"You want to know why I'm always looking at you?" Adam asked.

Chase nodded.


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"Because I know your type, and I've been around enough of them to know that you're nothing but a conceited jerk who thinks the universe is meant to revolved around them. That said, you should probably consider taking a good long look in themirror and realize that you're not the most gorgeous guy in the world, and start acting like a normal human being. Of course, that's probably too hard for yourtiny little mind to wrap itself around, so never mind," Adam said.

Chase stood before Adam with his eyes wide open, and his mouth opening and closing as if he were trying to speak, but nothing was coming out.

Maybe I was a little too harsh on him, Adam thought. He hasn't really done anything to really justify a response like that, so maybe I was a little too hasty inmy judgment. He thought about it for a split second. Nah, he got exactly what he deserved.

Chase had finally managed to recollect himself to respond to Adam's verbal assault. He tried to remain calm, cool, and collected, but Adam could see that it wasnothing but a facade. He wanted to lash back out at him, but knew Adam would beable to completely trump anything he tried to dish back to him.

Ah, one of the many pleasures of having a higher intelligence than the all of the narrowminded masses that plague this world.

"I didn't deserve that, but whatever I did to make you think that way about me,I'm sorry," Chase said.

Adam felt like laughing in his face again.

"The nice guy act is really cute, but it isn't working. Face it, you're nothingbut a conceited jerk that thinks you can win people's approval simply by pretending to be nice to them, only to use them like tools to get your way. Well, newsflash: it isn't going to work on me."

Ooh! That made a spark go off in his eyes. I'm really getting good at this. Maybe I should try using this to earn a living somehow.

Chase grinded his teeth for a few moments, and let out a deep breath.

Oh, look at that! He's trying his hardest to stay calm. Maybe one more slap of truth will really set him off!

"Adam, I don't know what you hate so much about me. You've never spoken to me until now, and you don't know anything about me. So I don't know where you get offmaking all of these accusations about me. If anything, maybe you should take anice long look in the mirror and realize you're just a lonely little boy who feels like he's something when he mouths off to people he doesn't even know. Maybethen you'd realize just how much of an ass you're being," Chase said sternly.

Adam felt as if he had been slapped. Did Chase really just snap back at him? May

be there was more to this egocentric jerk than met the eye.

Chase started walking away before Adam could say anything else. He wanted to call out to him and make him stop, but he couldn't. He had just lost this little battle with the egocentric maniac Chase. And damn did it sting.Depths of DefiniteDespair

Adam had never been burnt by words before, so he never knew just how much they could really sting. And boy was he feeling it. He sat alone during lunch after his confrontation with Chase, and just stared out in to space when Ashley walked u


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p and sat down. She did her usual ritual of unfolding her napkin and placing itin her lap, and then started poking around at the mystery meat chicken that saton her tray, and the odd colored greenish-brown broccoli. Finally, she scooted her tray aside, and smiled cheerfully at Adam.

"You look glum," she said. "Even more so than usual. What's wrong this time? Somebody ruin your souffle?"

Adam shook his head grimly.

"Over salt your casserole?"

Adam shook his head again.

"Scorched your soup?"

"No," Adam replied.

Ashley seemed confused for a fleeting second, and then grinned.

"Ah. I see. Is it about your boy toy? Chase, was it?"

Adam let out a deep sigh, and nodded.

"What happened? Did he ruin your souffle? Over salt your casserole? Scorch yoursoup?" Ashley asked.

"No, it doesn't have anything to do with food at all," Adam replied.

Ashley sat for a moment, blinking in confusion.

"So, what did he do then?" she asked.

Adam buried his face in his hands, and began massaging his temples with his fingers.

"He approached me, and I immediately sank my teeth into him," he said.

Ashley grinned slyly, but Adam put his hand up to her mouth before she could saysomething obscene.

"No, I don't mean like that," Adam said.

Ashley pretended to be disappointed.

"Aww, shucks," she said, snapping her fingers. She returned to being serious now. "So, what exactly happened?"

"Like I said," Adam replied, "he stopped me after class to talk to me, and askedme about why I always looked at him during class."

"And? Did you tell him?"

"I told him.... that it was because I could see him for the fake he was and thathe wasn't the king of the universe," Adam stated.

Ashley restrained herself from laughing.

"And then what?"


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"He remained relatively calm and told me he didn't know why I was acting this way towards him, but I continued mocking him and telling him the nice guy act didn't work on me," Adam said.

"And....?"

"Then he struck back, and pretty much gave the finishing blow."

Ashley seemed unusually excited by the situation. She began to giggle and bounced up and down like a child during Christmas. Adam seemed confused by her reaction, and raised one eyebrow curiously.

"What's all that about?" Adam asked.

Ashley grinned from ear to ear, and crossed her arms cooly.

"You're feeling remorseful for what you said to Chase," Ashley said. "And that means you must really care about what he thinks of you. And since you went on anall out offensive without him doing anything to deserve it, you've just earned yourself a big slap of reality and a bad first impression on the guy you had yoursights set on."

Adam sank down in his chair, and groaned miserably.

"It doesn't feel so good when you realize the truth, does it?" Ashley asked.

"No," Adam replied, closing his eyes.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. What should I do about it? Does it even matter what I do?"

Ashley shrugged.

"That depends on if you want to try making things right with Chase or not," shesaid.

Adam sat up, and gulped nervously.

"You mean.... I have to go up to him and apologize to him, even though he walkedup to me and opened himself up to my verbal abuse?"

Ashley laughed.

"Duh. That's the idea. Besides, it was you who struck the first blow. So shouldn't it be you apologizing in the first place?"

Adam blushed.

"Yeah...."

"And don't you want to try getting to know Chase better before you really make afinal decision about his character?" Ashley asked.

Adam shrugged.

"I don't know. Does it really matter? I mean, it's not like we're ever going tobe best friends or go out or anything like that."

"But do you know that for sure?"


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"Know what for sure?"

"That you won't be best friends or end up going out?"

"I don't know...." Adam said. "What are the chances that he's gay? And what makes you think he'd want to go out with me or be my friend after my little displayof elitism today?"

Ashley smiled.

"Adam, you've had your eyes glued to this guy for three days. You felt like something was different about him. Even though you let your ego take control of yourbetter judgment, don't you think he's worth the risk?" she asked.

Adam paused for a moment, and thought about what she had just said. True, he hadfelt as if there were something different about Chase when he first saw him, but he let his ego get in the way and place the same stereotype on Chase that he applied to every guy with a pretty face and hot body. That made Adam realize thatmaybe it was he who had the big ego. He may not be conceited like most of the people he accused of being so, but he sure as hell had a big ego. And now it wasbruised because he let it take control of his better judgment and make a mistakehe was now regretting. Now, he had lost any hope that he might have had of getting to know Chase by merely opening his mouth when he should have just stayed si

lent. But there was no use in fretting over the past. What's done is done, and there's no use in wishing you could change it after all is done and said. The only thing he could do now was try and make amends with Chase in hopes of maybe oneday getting to know who Chase truly was, and what he was really like.

Was he worth the risk? Was he worth the trouble? Adam wasn't sure. He had neverfelt this way for anyone before, so how could he know for sure that he wouldn'tbe pursuing some unattainable goal? That was the risk of it all. There was no way of knowing how things would turn out if he actually started pursuing any typeof relationship with Chase. The only way to find out was to try, and the only way to start was to apologize.

So was Chase really worth it? Adam curled his lips up into a smile, and nodded w

ith new found confidence.

"Yeah.... he's totally worth it," he said.

Ashley smiled back at him proudly.

"Go get him, tiger."

Chase returned home after a long day at school, totally exhausted and morbidly depressed. He didn't recall feeling this down and out since he had been forced tomove away from his first boy friend back in Minnesota. That had been the lowest

point in his life, and he never thought that he would end up there again. But alas, there he was again, moping over a guy that he had admired, only to find himself being hurt emotionally. Of course, this was completely different than the last time, but it still brought back the painful memories of life after Hunter.

As Chase plodded up to his room, tossed his book bag onto the floor, and ploppeddown onto his bed, he put his right arm over his eyes, and unwound after his stressful third day of school.

Adam had no right to talk to me that way, Chase thought. I had done nothing to h


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im to deserve such a verbal lashing. All I wanted to do was talk to him, and heturned around and spat his poison in my face. And he lectured me about being a conceited, egocentric maniac? He's the one who thinks he's so high and mighty andcan look down at people from the end of his nose and speak down to them as if they were nothing but a piece of trash. I can't believe I actually thought I wasfalling for him.

Chase let out a deep sigh as he closed his eyes and began reminiscing about hispast experiences with Hunter. They had dated for about a month and a half beforeChase's parents decided it was time to move again. By that time, Chase and Hunter had already become emotionally involved to one another, and ultimately becameattached as well. When the news came that Chase's parents would be moving soon,Chase wanted to keep the relationship with Hunter going. He proposed that theycall each other, chat over the internet, and maybe even write letters through the mail on occasion. But to Hunter, the only way a relationship could stay together was if they were physically together, and if they weren't able to hug and kiss, and just generally be together, then Hunter didn't want anything to do with it. And so it was that which ended Chase's first, and only, relationship.

Afterwards, Chase entered a deep state of depression. He couldn't talk to anyoneabout it, because he had no friends that he could talk to over the phone, or chat with on the internet. His parents weren't any help, either, since they were always busy for one thing, and would be totally devastated to learn that their one and only son was a homosexual. So Chase had to keep it all inside to himself.

It took a while for him to get over Hunter, but when he did, he vowed never to get involved so emotionally with anyone ever again. At least until he could makecertain that he wouldn't be torn away from his lover again.

So why did Chase feel this terrible pit of depression growing inside of his stomach? He hadn't gotten involved with Ramirez, and it was a good thing he hadn't.Otherwise he'd feel even worse about the whole situation. So why was he so tornup over Ramirez? What was he hoping to achieve by confronting him in the hall way? Was he hoping that he would open up and confess his love for him? Was that truly what Chase wanted from Ramirez?

Chase began to feel himself drift off into a daze. As he began to fall into theembrace of unconsciousness, he breathed the only words that his mind would give

him.

"Adam."The 'Chase' Is On

It was Friday, and Adam waited all morning for the chance to catch Chase to apologize for the day before. He felt guilty for having dug into him the way he did,and even worse for having judged Chase before getting to know him. Adam knew that if he wanted to make things right with Chase, he would have to get it all right the first time. Otherwise, he'd be on his blacklist for good. So if he didn'tchange Chase's mind now, he was as good as gone.

All morning long, Adam practiced what he was going to say mentally. Each time heran it over in his mind, he added and subtracted lines, finding new ways to imp

rove it each time. But as time for fourth period drew near, Adam began to panic.He still hadn't settled on just what he was going to say to Chase, and knew that if he didn't think of something quickly, he'd be grasping at straws when it came time for him to approach Chase.

For the first time since Adam could remember, he actually feared going to his fourth period cooking class. What had usually been his favorite class was now theonly class that he dreaded going to, at least now anyway. His heart was racing,his stomach churning like the sea during a storm as he made his way to his fourth period class. There he waited in painful anticipation for the one who he had b


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een waiting to face all morning.

Adam's stomach constricted once he saw Chase enter the room. He knew that he hadto face him now, or he never would. But for some reason, he felt as if he werefrozen in place, like he couldn't get up, or even move for that matter. He was paralyzed with fear, and was hopeless to conquer it.

Chase had already sat down at his table with Josh, and Adam was still frozen inhis seat, staring at the other boy apprehensively. If Adam was going to do whathe had to do, now was the time to do it, or else he'd have to wait until Mondayto talk to Chase. So, overcoming his paralyzation and finally getting up out ofhis chair, Adam slowly and mechanically made his way over to Chase's table. Hishead felt like it was swimming, making Adam feel as he were about to fall over.Each step he took felt as if a weight were tied to his feet. Finally, he was standing at Chase's table, fighting to remain standing as he cleared his throat tospeak. Chase and Josh both turned their attention to him.

"Chase.... I.... have something.... I want to....say to.... you," Adam stammered, his speech slurring ever so slightly.

Chase and Josh looked at each other as if Adam had gone insane. Had he? It certainly seemed like it to them.

"What is it, Adam?" Chase asked monotonously.

Adam gulped nervously, and lifted his hand up as he went to speak.

"I just.... wanted.... to say...."

Chase peaked an eyebrow with intrigue.

"What?"

Adam could feel his lungs swelling. He couldn't breathe, and any attempt he madeto speak just caused him to make inaudible squeaks.

"What's your problem, Adam?" Chase asked.

While Adam stood before Chase, struggling to remain standing, everything began to turn fuzzy as a black tunnel began to block his vision. Before he knew it, everything had faded into black. Adam hit the floor with a loud thunk, gaining theattention of everyone in the class.

A bright light blinded Adam as his eyes opened to find himself lying in the school infirmary with Ashley sitting at his bed side. He rubbed his head where it had smacked the ground, and groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," Ashley said with a smug grin.

Adam felt a large bump where he had smacked down on the ground when he passed out in class. His whole head ached now, which was only intensified by the grogginess of just waking up. He glanced over at Ashley, and let out a sigh.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You fainted right out in the middle of the class, that's what," Ashley stated.

Adam groaned.


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"Oh man," he said. "How did I get here?"

The smug grin on Ashley's face grew even wider as she began to giggle.

"Come on Ashley, who brought me here?"

"Take a guess," she said.

Adam let out an agonizing moan as he fell back on the bed.

"You're telling me Chase brought me here?"

"Sure enough. You did faint right in front of his desk," Ashley replied.

Adam closed his eyes, rubbing them vigorously, hoping that this was all just a bad dream. To his dismay, it wasn't.

"It's sort of romantic, don't you think?" Ashley asked. "The man of your dreamscarrying you to the infirmary after you faint in his presence."

"Far from romantic. It's pathetic," Adam said.

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic. You were being held in his arms. How many chances

do you think you'll have to be carried like that?"

"Probably never again, after all this," Adam replied cynically.

Ashley chuckled.

"So, what were you doing in front of his desk anyway?" she asked.

Adam shrugged.

"I was trying to apologize for yesterday," he said. "So much for that."

Ashley cackled insanely.

"You're so cute, you know that? If I were Chase, and you fainted because of my presence, I'd go out with you in a heart beat!"

Adam laughed sarcastically.

"Gee, thanks. That's so reassuring."

"Isn't it though?"

"Not really."

Ashley sighed dreamily as she sat staring at Adam for a long while, until she fi

nally began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Adam asked.

"Oh nothing. I was just imagining you and Chase together," Ashley replied.

"You mean you saw him?" Adam asked.

"Of course. He stayed with you for a while until I heard you were here and cameto sit with you."


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Adam immediately sat up on the bed.

"What did you say to him?" he demanded.

Ashley cocked her head to the side innocently.

"Why, whatever do you mean? I would never dream of trying to steal your man fromyou," she said, trying to restrain a mischievous grin from breaking out.

"What did you tell him, Ashley?" Adam demanded sternly.

"I swear to you, Adam. I didn't tell him anything. All I did was ask him who hewas. That's all."

Adam stared Ashley square in the eyes, and could see that she was telling him the God honest truth. He sighed, and buried his face in his hands in misery.

"So much for making amends to him," he said.

Ashley's smile returned as she rested her hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Aww, don't take it too hard. You'll have plenty of chances to make it up to him. Besides, I told him you were sorry about yesterday anyway."

Adam snapped his head around as fire began to burn in his eyes.

"What!" he called, his face turning bright red.

"Relax," Ashley said. "He said it was all good."

Adam settled down a little bit.

"Seriously?"

"Would I lie to you?" Ashley asked.

"Yes."

"Well I'm not."

"Unless you are."

"Right, but I'm not."

Adam groaned.

"I want to go home," he said.

"Too bad. We still have an hour and a half of school left," Ashley said.

"And I have to work tonight," Adam said.

Ashley smiled, and stood up.

"Well, since you're all better now, we should get back to class," she said.

Adam sighed, and got up from the bed. If he could have one wish, it would be forthis day to have never happened. Unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky. Now he hadto face Chase having the fact that he fainted while trying to make a simple apol


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ogy. If that wasn't pathetic, he didn't know what was.

You better be worth it, Adam thought. Or else I'm never going to live this down.

While waiting for the bus after school, Adam sat on a bench under a large metalcanopy on the side of the school, his legs bunched up to his chest with his backagainst a pole that supported the overhanging canopy, reading a book. His bus was usually late, so he was always one of the last few kids left waiting for their bus. As he waited, Adam heard someone sitting on the other side of the pole behind him. He didn't look to see who it was, figuring it was someone he didn't know and wouldn't talk to. But when the unknown person started speaking, Adam feltall the blood leave his face.

"So, do you always faint when you go to apologize to someone?" Chase asked.

Adam didn't want to turn around, but knew that he had to or else he'd only end up offending Chase again, which wasn't at all what he wanted.

"No," Adam replied, closing his book as he slowly began to turn himself around to talk to Chase.

"Your friend Ashley told me you wanted to tell me sorry about yesterday," Chase

said.

Adam gulped, and nodded affirmatively, not saying a word.

"I told her that I assumed that's what you had come up to me to do, but then youfainted. So I said to her that if you really wanted to say sorry, that you'd have to tell me yourself," Chase explained.

Adam felt his vocal chords constrict and his lungs swell once again as he felt the churning of his stomach begin to nauseate him.

"Don't push yourself," Chase said. "Don't need you fainting on me again."

Adam tried to relax himself enough so that he could communicate clearly with Chase. After a few moments of closing his eyes and breathing in and out slowly, hisvocal chords became less constricted, and his lungs less swollen. His stomach still churned, but not quite as rough as it had been before. Slowly, he started to speak.

"I.... was wrong to judge you like that yesterday," Adam said. "I didn't mean tosnap at you like that."

Chase took a moment to respond.

"Didn't seem like that to me," he said. "It sounded like you had come to all those conclusions as soon as you laid your eyes on me."

Adam swallowed nervously.

"You're right," he said. "I based it all on a simple stereotype. I thought thatsince you dressed in name brand labels and walked like a king and looked like a-"

He froze.

Chase raised an eyebrow.


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"Like a.... what?"

Adam cleared his throat.

"What I'm saying is, I came to a conclusion before I got to know you, and I waswrong. I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did, and I'm sorry."

Chase took a moment to look Adam over, and finally smiled. Adam felt like melting.

"That's alright," Chase said. "Just try not to do it again. At least not until you actually know the person you're going to be judging."

Adam nodded, and smiled sheepishly.

"Alright," Adam said. "I'll do that."

Chase's bus arrived, and as he stood up to get on, he smiled down at Adam.

"See ya, dude," he said.

Adam smiled back.

"See ya."

Chase got on the bus, along with a few other students, and was gone in minutes.Adam was now left with three other students as they continued waited for their bus as well.

Adam smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

I did it, he thought. I swallowed my pride and apologized. Now if he can only prove my initial assumptions about him wrong. What's you're next move, Chase Williams?Six:Riding on the Wild Side

At last, the weekend had arrived. Chase returned home from school Friday afternoon to find himself alone, as usual. But today he didn't mind it so much, since his day ended well after finally talking to Adam without all the hostility. Now that he was on what he saw as 'good terms' with him, he had nothing bearing downon his conscience. Chase would finally be able to rest easy knowing that Adam didn't hold a grudge against him after their argument the day before. All he wanted from the start was to talk to Adam, and at last he got just what he wanted.

But that didn't mean Adam was clear yet. After his little display of open hostility towards him, Chase was still leery to get too close to the boy. The last thing he needed was to find a knife stabbed in his back. Regardless, he felt confident that he and Adam would get along a lot better from now on. It seemed to Chase that Adam couldn't be that fierce, given the fact that he fainted while trying

to apologize to him during class. Anyone who did that couldn't possibly be toodangerous. Maybe Adam had a little bit of fire in him, but certainly not enoughto burn him. He had to be careful how he approached him though. Chase couldn't risk giving Adam any reason to truly despise him, so he'd have to do all he couldto prove that he was in fact a nice, simple guy.

Why am I still thinking about Adam?, Chase thought. It's the weekend! I should be finding something to do to keep me occupied!

That's when the phone rang. Chase immediately went to answer it, and checked the


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caller id to see that it was Josh. Speak of the devil, he thought. Chase answered the phone to see what Josh was calling for.

"Hey, dude," Chase said.

"Hey. Do you have any plans for tonight?" Josh asked.

"Not really. Why, you wanna take me out on a date?" Chase asked sarcastically.

Josh laughed.

"Sorry, dude, not like that," he said. "I was wondering if you'd want to go to aparty with me at Austin Henderson's house. It's supposed to have a lot of food,beer, and girls. Or, in your case, guys."

Chase hesitated to answer.

"So you in, or not?" Josh asked.

"I guess I'm in. Not like I have anything better to do," Chase replied.

"Sweet. Well, if you need a ride, I can pick you up if you want."

"Great. What time do I need to be ready to go?"

"I'll be there about 6:30."

"Alright. I'll be ready then. See ya then, dude."

"Okay, see ya."

Chase hung up the phone, and let out a deep sigh.

My first party at my new school. This ought to be a blast, Chase thought. He decided to go ahead and get a shower and all so he'd be ready to go whenever Josh showed up. This should get my mind off Adam for a while.

It was another busy Friday night at Richard's Coffee in downtown Winter Haven where Adam worked. Like every Friday night, it was open mic night to any one who wrote poetry that wished to share it with other poets. The shop was usually filled with goths, emo kids, or the strange crowd of people who didn't quite fit under either category, who were just artistic in the way of poetry.

Adam wasn't particularly fond of poetry, but it was still fun listening to otherpeople read their poems up on the little stage that was set up for the occasion, and then watch the crowd's reaction to their poem. It never seemed to get old,no matter how many times someone was booed off the stage. However, tonight it just didn't seem to interest Adam at all. His mind was elsewhere, particularly on

his meeting with Chase earlier that day. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that they were on good terms now, but regardless, he was still extremely distracted for some reason.

As the night wound down and people started going home, it was soon just Adam andhis friend Robert DuBois, who also happened to be his supervisor. They were busy cleaning the shop up and taking down the stage while they talked to one another, as usual. It wasn't until they had actually started disassembling the stage that Robert finally addressed Adam on his peculiar behavior that evening.


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"Adam," Robert said.

"Yeah, Rob?"

"Is there something bothering you? You've been sort of.... offish all night. What's eating you?"

Adam sighed, and shrugged as they folded the collapsible stage up.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just.... some guy."

Robert peaked an eyebrow as they both lifted an end of the folded stage and began carrying it back into storage.

"Some guy, huh? Some guy as in someone you like, or some guy as in someone who'smaking your life a miserable hell?"

"Someone I like," Adam said. "And a little bit of #2, I guess."

Robert gave a dazzling white toothed grin as they reached the storage room and sat the folded stage up against a wall.

"Ooh, so young Adam's got himself a suitor, huh?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Adam said. "It's just.... I like him. More than anyone I've ever liked before."

"Even more than me?"

Adam laughed.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied. "But anyways, when he transferred into my class Tuesday, I automatically jumped to the conclusion that he was just another stupid,conceited, egotistical jerk, and when he tried talking to me yesterday, I snapped at him, only to have him snap back."

"And you felt bad about it?" Robert asked.

Adam gulped and nodded.

"Yeah.... in fact, I tried going up to him during class today to apologize, butended up.... fainting."

Robert couldn't help but bark out a laugh. Adam blushed like a cherry after admitting that embarrassing event to the guy who was almost like his big brother.

"Oh, Adam, that's rich!" Robert exclaimed. "So, what happened after that?"

"Well, I saw him when I was waiting for my bus, and we.... talked."

"So you're on good terms now?" Robert asked.

Adam nodded.

"Well, that's good. So what's the problem now?"

"The problem is.... I don't know what to do about him. He seems genuinely friendly, and hasn't given me any reason to dislike him yet. So I guess my problem is...."


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"You just can't accept that he might be a decent guy, can you?" Robert asked.

Adam gulped, and nodded.

"Listen, Adam, don't worry yourself over stuff like that. Talk to him, get to know him, and if you feel he's worth going after, then by all means, go for it."

"What's the point if he's not gay?" Adam asked.

"You said he walked up to you and wanted to talk, right?" Robert asked.

Adam paused for a moment.

"Yeah."

"So, my point is, no normal straight guy would chase you out into the halls to talk to you like he did. So obviously, there's something different about him," Robert said.

"You think he's-"

"Gay? Possibly. You can't always base that conclusion on the way somebody looks.I mean, for the most part, I'd never suspect you were gay if I had never met you before and just bumped into you on the street. While there are people who are

obviously gay and really put it out there, you're not one of them. And who's tosay Chase isn't like that, either? He wanted to talk to you, which means he wascurious enough about you to actually try talking to you. So there is reason to suspect that he's gay, too," Robert stated.

Adam swallowed, and smiled weakly.

"So what should I do?" he asked.

"Get to know him. Pass subtle hints to him. If he's gay, and is really into you,then he'll obviously pick up on your signals, and respond accordingly," Robertreplied.

Adam chuckled, and raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"You seem to know an awful lot about gay guys to be straight," he said.

Robert grinned.

"Hey, I learned all this from being around you. You passed all sorts of subtle hints to me when we first met, and even though it took me a while, I still got em."

Adam smiled, and sighed softly.

"So.... you think I should try hitting on him then?"

Robert laughed, and shrugged.

"Maybe not hit on him. Not yet anyway. Just get to know him, and pass subtle hints to let him know you're into him. If he is, in fact, gay, then chances are he'll respond to it. So don't try too hard. Just let it come naturally. Otherwise you might just overwhelm him and scare him off."

Adam sighed, and nodded.


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"Alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

Robert punched Adam on the shoulder playfully, and grinned.

"Let's finish cleaning up, and I'll give you a ride home," he said.

Adam smiled back at Robert.

"Okay."

Chase had been a party animal ever since he could remember. Ever since he had entered high school, he filled the empty void of his weekends up with various parties. Given the fact that he moved every two months or so, Chase was able to experience dozens of parties at dozens of different people's houses in dozen's of different states and cities across the country. Though he couldn't remember any one party he'd been to better than any other, since he had been to so many. They all began to run together and seem exactly the same to him. A party was a party,and that always meant there would be mass amounts of alcohol involved, which wassomething else Chase was well adjusted to.

Austin Henderson was a star baseball player at Lake Region, and Chase knew him from hisP.E. class. They had talked before, and seemed to be on good enough terms

with each other, so Chase didn't feel the least bit awkward about being at oneof his parties, not that he ever let that stop him from going to a party before.Most of the time he ended up at parties that he had no idea who had thrown it to begin with.

The party had already start when Chase and Josh arrived. Countless teens were already partying it up all throughout Austin's house and backyard. It seemed Austin's parents were pretty well off, given the size of the house and the pool outback. Everywhere Chase looked he saw kids from school that he had never seen before, and some that he had, with cups or cans of beer in hand. Music blared at themaximum volume as people sat in the den making out or socializing. In the kitchen, all the counters and tables were covered with drinks and food, free for anyone who wished to help themselves to it.

No sooner had Chase arrived, has found himself being tossed a can of beer and being greeted by a bunch of crazy guys and girls who shook their beers and let them spew out all over one another as they opened them. It was all in good fun, andChase even participated in the spraying of his beer.

As the night went on, so did the party. After about five or six beers, Chase started getting a bit crazy himself. He threw his shirt and pants off and went screaming through the house and outback to the pool, where he promptly jumped in. Hewas soon followed by a score of other drunken teenagers who started mimicking his drunken display of idiocy. Girls. Guys. They all stripped down to whatever they had on underneath their clothes (those who hadn't already stripped down, anyway), and came jumping into the pool, laughing hysterically all the while.

It was getting close to midnight now, and the party was beginning to die down. Though there were still plenty of people left who weren't quite ready to head home, most had already left and went home, with nothing but a hangover from their binge of alcohol to look forward to the following morning.

Chase, however, remained at Austin's, even after Josh had already left. By thistime, he was downing his eighth beer, and was feeling mighty tipsy to boot. He had managed to find Austin and a few of his friends hanging out on the back patio. Though he didn't know what he said or how it happened, Chase found he and Aust


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in going up stairs to his parents' vacant bedroom to have a little privacy, awayfrom the rest of the guests.

Neither Chase nor Austin seemed to be aware of the fact that they were making out with one another. If they did, they didn't show any sign of it. They had fallen back onto Austin's parents' bed, where Chase arched himself over Austin as hewrapped his arms around Chase while they kissed. In the midst of their drunken passion, Chase found himself staring down at the baseball star, who's offish blueeyes and bleached blonde hair sent the fleeting image of Adam through his mind.But the image was quickly expunged as he began to press his lips down against Austin's, forgetting about the object of his desire in exchanged for one night ofdrunken bliss, which he would mean absolutely nothing.

At least, not in the morning.Seven:Hang-Overs and Hand-Overs

It was still early when Chase awakened to find himself still lying next to Austin, their arms wrapped around each other like lovers. At first Chase thought it was just a dream, but upon wriggling out of Austin's grasp, he was instantly assaulted by a skull splitting headache. He couldn't recall much from the night before, other than the fact that he had more than enough beer, and wound up sleepingwith Austin, whom he hardly knew at all.

When Chase checked the clock, he saw that it was still 7:03 AM. Great, maybe I c

an sneak out and he won't remember anything, Chase thought as he slowly and quietly crept out of bed, careful not to awaken the other boy who was still slumbering peacefully. Once Chase had managed to round up his clothes and get dressed, he was gone.

Chase hadn't intended on staying out all night, but perhaps it would have been for the best. It would have beat riding home with one of his other drunken buddies and risked getting in a fatal car wreck, and it also beat having to go home for his parents to find him drunk out of his gills. They never seemed to mind himdrinking, but they didn't want him coming home that way, let alone driving homewith someone else who might have been drinking. So if he didn't show up at home,they assumed he was staying the night some where until he wasn't drunk anymore.After that, if they hadn't heard from him or he hadn't come home yet, they'd st

art calling around and getting worried, which was a nice change, since they never seemed to worry about him any other time except when he's drunk off his ass.

The morning sun shined down into Chase's eyes as he walked home, his head pounding like a drum all the while. He always ended up walking home after leaving a party where he stayed the night at. It was a good way for him to clear his mind and sober up. It wasn't always the easiest method of getting home, but it beat having to call his parents at 7 AM asking them to come pick him up because he's toohung over to walk home.

On his way home, bits and pieces of the night before began coming together for Chase. He remembered taking his clothes off and running into the pool like a madman, and he remembered drinking at least nine cans of beer. Yet he still didn't r

emember how he ended up sleeping with Austin Henderson. That was, until he thought of Adam. Then the whole scene played out again in his head. He and Austin were drunk, and were just chilling out. Then all of a sudden they ended up going upto Austin's parents' room and made out, where they spent the night together. And it was then that Chase recalled looking down at Austin in the heat of their drunken passion and seeing Adam staring back at him- not Austin.

Now Chase felt a deep stab of guilt as he cursed himself for sleeping with another guy when his heart was with Adam. Though he and Adam had just recently gottenon good terms with one another, Chase still had his heart set on getting closer


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tant, be going at someone's throat for looking at them the wrong way or merely looking in their general direction. No, Adam wanted nothing to do with drunks oralcoholics. He'd dealt with enough of that in his life, and didn't want to be reminded of the past that he had only recently managed to put behind him.

So there he was, sitting at the foot of his bed, staring at his bedroom wall, pondering what he should do to pass his weekend by. Suddenly, a knock came upon his door, and his mother stuck her head inside to see if he was awake.

"Good morning, dear," she said, smiling sweetly at her son. "I have to go to Lakeland today. There's a sale at Dillards on all women's winter wear, and I'm needing some new pants and sweaters before the cold weather starts blowing in. You wanna come along?"

Adam looked up at his mother, and shook his head.

"No, I have to go in to work at 10," he replied.

"Oh, well, I'll try finding something nice for you, too, okay?" Maria, Adam's mother, asked.

Adam smiled, and nodded.

"Alright, Mom," he said. "If you can, I need a new jacket. Mine's worn out, and

just about bursting at the seams as is."

"Okay. I'll see what I can find, dear. Have a good day at work," Maria said.

"I will. Have fun shopping," Adam said.

After returning from his long walk home from Austin's house, Chase was surprisedto find that his parents were still in bed asleep themselves. They were usuallyup at the crack of dawn on weekends. Apparently they must have been out late themselves, because it was unusual for them to still be in bed at 8:30 in the morning. But at least now he wouldn't have to have his parents complaining to him ab

out staying out all night without calling. Since he was the only one up now, hedecided that he'd jump in the shower to wash the smell of beer off of him, and maybe, hopefully, help ease the skull splitting headache that pounded in sync with his heart beat.

Standing in the shower under the hot, soothing water, Chase closed his eyes as the water trickled down his dark tanned body. He allowed his entire head to get wet as he stood directly underneath the shower head, hoping that the heat of thewater would help ease his headache. After a few moments, he gently massaged hiseyes, which ached from the pressure inside his head, making it feel as if his eyes were about to burst from their sockets. This was the worst hangover Chase remembered having in a long time. But that was the price that had to be paid for having a good time, he supposed.

After his shower, Chase decided that he needed something to help perk him up, and decided to get dressed and walk over to the coffee shop just a few blocks awayto get himself a cup of coffee. It was just what his aching head needed. His parents still weren't up after he got dressed and started to head out. So before he left, he wrote a note and left it on the kitchen counter so they didn't assumehe was still gone and hadn't come home and start freaking out. Once he had finished his note, he headed out the door and started on his way to Richard's Coffeein Downtown Winter Haven.


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The morning shift at the coffee shop was much slower and laid back than the night shift, and Adam was sincerely grateful for that, after having to work the lateshift the night before. Since the usual morning rush ended at about 9, he wouldpretty much be idling while he waited for customers to come in. For the most part, he was bored out of his mind. There weren't but two or three customers inside the shop at the time, and very few came in after 11.

While Adam messed around at the counter, trying to keep himself occupied while he waited for customers to come in, he heard the door open, and the bell ding assomeone entered. He immediately stood up, and started to spurting his usual greeting as customers came in, until he realized who it was.

"Welcome to Richards! Can I help-"

Adam paused midway through his greeting as he found himself staring face to facewith Chase.

"Hey, Adam," Chase said casually.

Adam blushed, and cleared his throat nervously.

"Hey.... Chase."

"I didn't know you worked here," Chase said.

Adam couldn't respond. All he could do was smile and nod foolishly.

"Well, I'll take a hazelnut cappuccino, if you don't mind," Chase said.

Adam nodded.

"Will.... that be all for you?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm just needing something to wake me up, that's all," Chase replied.

"Alright. It'll be right up," Adam said, trying his hardest not to stammer.

"Don't I need to pay for it first?"

Adam paused, and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It's on me," he said.

Chase smiled, and took out his wallet anyway.

"Thanks, but I insist on paying for it."

"No, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it," Adam jested.

"Alright then. At least take it for yourself then," Chase said.

Adam gulped, and surrendered to Chase as he gazed at him with his amber coloredeyes. He took the three dollar bills that Chase had laid on the counter, and rang his coffee up on the register as he gave him his change.

"Keep the change," Chase said with a smug grin.

Adam felt himself blushing harder with each passing moment. Did Chase notice?


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"O-Okay," Adam said, sticking the change back in the register. "I'll.... go fixyour coffee."

Chase chuckled, and nodded.

"Okay."

Adam could feel Chase's eyes fixate upon him as he headed towards the back to fix his coffee. He felt like kicking himself for acting like such a dork in frontof Chase. Not only was it embarrassing having Chase see him working at a coffeeshop, but it was mortifying to have him insist on paying for his coffee after Adam had offered to take care of it for him. He didn't take it offensively, however. For some strange reason, Adam felt a connection with him at that moment. He couldn't explain it, but he felt something during their little back and forth over Chase paying for the coffee. It wasn't until Adam had finished making Chase'scoffee that he realized what it was that he felt between him and Chase.

Oh my god, Adam thought. I was willing to do whatever Chase told me to do. And Imanaged to do it without feeling like he was controlling me. Does that mean....I'd do anything to please him? Or....

Adam brought Chase his coffee, and smiled as he handed it to him.

"Here you go," he said. "I hope you have a super fantastic day."

I did NOT just say that, Adam thought.

Chase smiled, and gave a nod good-bye.

"See ya, Adam," he said.

As Chase left, Adam felt as if he could melt onto the floor. He wanted to kick himself for acting like such an idiot in front of Chase.

SUPER FANTASTIC!? What the hell is super fantastic!?, Adam thought, cursing himself for his lapse of better expression. No use worrying about it now. He's proba

bly laughing his ass off at me right now.

Adam let out a deep sigh as he buried his face into his arms, leaning against the counter.

God, he's so worth it, he thought.It was Monday once again, and Adam eagerly awaited fourth period, simply so he could see Chase again. The past several days, he had feared coming to fourth period simply because he knew Chase would be here,but after their little chat Friday after school, and their little rendezvous atthe coffee shop on Saturday, Adam could hardly contain his excitement. He didn't remember ever feeling as excited over seeing a guy before now, and it almost scared him to think that he was actually letting himself be sold on the idea thathe and Chase would end up being something more than just 'friends.' But if it t

urned out to be a mistake, then Adam would just take it as a valuable lesson andmove on. He wouldn't let himself linger on the heartache of losing a lover. Lingering too much on one thing was a sign of weakness, and he did not want to perceive himself as being weak.

Of course, he also vowed he'd never let himself get too excited over a guy, buthe knew how that turned out.

First period seemed to go on forever as Adam continually looked up at the clockon the wall, and checking his watch to see if one or the other was moving slower


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than he thought. But to his dismay, they were both pretty accurate, only a fewseconds difference between either of them. So it was obvious now that in his excitement, Adam felt as if each second that passed by was a minute, and each minute an hour. Oh how he wanted to go to fourth period. Oh how he wanted to see Chase again.

Chase, Adam thought. You've been plaguing my mind for days now, and look what ithas wrought. You really are a charmer. Now lets hope that you're not also the cobra.

Chase's third period was personal education, the class that he had with Austin.He hadn't thought much about Friday night until now, when he saw Austin in the boy's locker room dressing out for class. At that very moment, Chase felt his innards constrict, and a nauseating growl began to come from his stomach. The memories of that night flooded back to Chase like a bad dream, and guilt gripped himharder than he could have possibly imagined.

Oh God, I hope he doesn't remember anything that happened Friday, Chase thoughtto himself, watching as Austin roughhoused with some of the other boys in the locker room. It appeared that he didn't seem bothered by the fact that he and Chase had made love Friday night after they had each consumed mass amounts of alcohol, so maybe he was cool with it. Or maybe he just didn't care, or just forgot ab

out it altogether? Chase hoped and prayed that nothing would come from his reckless behavior on Friday night, and would have no repercussions whatsoever. He could only hope.

It wasn't until they had gone out to the track to warm up and run their laps that Austin noticed Chase, and went over to talk to him. As he approached, Chase could feel his bowels churn.

Oh shit, oh shit, he thought, panicking as Austin approached. But his mind was quickly put at ease when Austin smiled at him, and put his hand up to five Chase.Phew, that was close. Chase fived Austin, and they started to talk while they stretched.

"That was some party I threw the other night, huh Williams?" Austin asked as hestretched his calves.

Chase laughed.

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever been to a party that crazy before," he replied.

Austin chuckled.

"Yeah, you were pretty insane yourself," he said.

Chase felt a stab of guilt bear down on his heart. Jesus Christ, if you rememberwhat happened, just tell me!, Chase felt like screaming, but restrained himself

as to not attract any unwanted attention from his classmates.

"The great thing about parties is that you can screw someone, and not even remember who they were," Austin continued.

Chase felt the blood rush out of his face, but continued smiling innocently.

"Oh?" he said.

"Yeah. I think I screwed this really hot chick Friday night. But, damn, I was so


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loaded I don't remember jack shit," Austin said. "All I know is that it was funas hell."

Chase let out a light sigh of relief, and laughed.

"Sounds like you had a blast," he said.

"Hell yeah, dude. I throw the best parties around!" Austin exclaimed.

Chase didn't say anything else. He simply smiled and nodded as Austin rambled on, and silently praised God for this blessing.

Thank you! Thank you, God!, Chase thought.

What had happened Friday night had been nothing but a freak accident, caused byChase and Austin's complete lack of inhibition due to their mass consumption ofalcohol. Austin couldn't be gay, not the way he talked about girls. He was either straight and was simply too drunk to tell the difference when he and Chase made love, or he was bi and didn't care either way. Regardless, Chase could breatheeasier.

For now.

At last, fourth period came around, and Adam was eagerly awaiting Chase to showup. After what seemed like three eternities, the class that he so eagerly anticipated had finally arrived, and in any second, Chase would be walking through thedoor and Adam could smile and greet him as if they were good friends or something. Adam anxiously twiddled his thumbs, nervously awaiting Chase to come striding through the classroom door as if he were a knight, mounted on his noble steed,coming to rescue Adam from his intense longing and desire to be with him.

Finally, two minutes before the tardy bell rang, Chase arrived. He and Adam madedirect eye contact, smiled at each other, and simply nodded to greet one another as Chase took his seat at Josh's table. Adam felt like squealing like an obnoxious thirteen year old girl that had just been kissed by the boy of her dreams,

but suppressed the urge, careful as to not attract any attention from his classmates. Instead, he simply grinned wildly from ear to ear as his eyes gravitated towards Chase.

You're too perfect for words, Chase, Adam thought. You're just too beautiful tobehold.

After the tardy bell had rang, Mrs. McKenzie stood at the front of the class, quieting everyone down so that she could speak. Once everyone had shushed themselves, she began.

"Class, I have an important announcement to make. The county has selected our school to compete in this years annual county chili cook-off, where we will square

off against nine other schools in the district for the grand prize," Mrs. McKenzie stated.

Everyone let out a few hoots and clapped at the news. Mrs. McKenzie quickly helda hand up to quiet them down.

"However, we need to assemble a team of four students to enter for the chili cook-off team. The team will consist of a head chef, an assistant chef, and two chef's assistants. The head and assistant chef will be responsible for cooking and pr


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eparing the chili, while the assistants will be responsible for gathering everything for the head chef and the assistant chef, as well as whatever else they areinstructed to do. So, I'm looking for a volunteer to be head chef for the chilicook-off team. Any takers?" Mrs. McKenzie asked.

At first, nobody was raising their hands. Adam considered raising his hand, butdidn't feel comfortable entering a competition like this. It wasn't that he couldn't do it, because he could. It was mostly the responsibility that would be placed on him, and he didn't want to have to bear the heat if something went horribly wrong during the cook-off. But that's when, from the corner of his eye, Adam saw Chase's hand go up.

"Chase? Are you willing to be head chef for the chili cook-off?" Mrs. McKenzie asked.

Chase nodded confidently.

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

"Alright then. Now we need an assistant chef. Any volunteers?" Mrs. McKenzie asked.

Adam's eyes were fixated on Chase, and almost without thinking, his arm shot upimmediately.

"I'll do it," Adam said.

Mrs. McKenzie raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Are you sure, Adam? I don't want you passing out in the chili," she said.

The class laughed. Adam smiled, taking it all in good humor.

"Yes ma'am, I'm sure," he said.

Mrs. McKenzie nodded.

"Alright then. Chase and Adam are the head and assistant chef's. So now we needtwo chef's assistants. If anyone wants to earn extra credit, I suggest you figure out who wants to take these positions," she said.

As the class erupted into a boom of chatter, Adam still gazed over at Chase, whosuddenly looked over at him. For the first time in his life, Adam felt his heart melt as Chase smiled and winked at him.

Oh stand still, my beating heart, Adam thought, for I have just been touched byan angel.

After class, as everyone got up from their seats and start herding out of the room, Chase waited for Adam outside the door. As Adam came out of the classroom, Chase cleared his throat to get Adam's attention. He turned, and smiled nervouslyas he and Chase started walking down the hall together.

"So, you ever been in a chili cook-off before?" Chase asked.

Adam shook his head.

"No. Have you?" he asked.


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"No, but I have competed in a baking competition before. I lost, but still. It'snot that bad," Chase said.

Adam blushed a little.

"I guess you were the best candidate for head chef then."

"I guess so," Chase said, smiling. "I was expecting you to raise your hand, butwhen you didn't, I thought, what the hell, and put my hand up."

Adam laughed.

"Ah. Well, I'm not much for being put in the hot seat, so you were welcome to take the position anyways."

Chase chuckled.

"I see," he said.

Adam and Chase had stopped at the bottom of a staircase leading up to the secondfloor of building 4, where Chase would be heading to his next class.

"Well, I have chemistry for fifth period," Chase said.

"Ah," Adam said. "Well.... I guess I'll see you around then," Adam said.

Chase smiled, and started up the staircase on to his next class. Adam let out adeep breath as he started on his way to lunch. He couldn't help but smile the entire way.

This ought to be a recipe for disaster, he thought. Let's hope it doesn't.Drive Me Nuts

Tuesday morning, Adam was up at 5:30 taking a shower and getting ready for school. For some reason, he was excited about going to school today. There wasn't anything special going on today that he knew of, so there really wasn't any reason

for him to be excited. Except for the fact that he'd see Chase again, and they would be practicing for the chili cook-off which would be taking place the next Wednesday. Shouldn't that be reason enough to be excited?

The thought of working with Chase sent chills down Adam's spine. He would be working side by side with one of the most gorgeous guys he had ever laid eyes on. At first he felt awkward thinking that way about Chase, considering he had neverfelt this way for a guy before. Yet he quickly found himself setting his pride and ego aside so that he could feel what it's like to desire someone more than anything he had ever wanted for the first time in his life.

Adam wasn't one to consider what to wear to school just to please or impress someone else, and yet he found himself putting on and taking off multiple outfits,

continually asking himself 'What would Chase think of this? Would Chase like this?' Adam had always laughed at Ashley, or anyone else who dressed to

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