“No Quent, don’t say it.”
“I wish he’d rot with his money!” He held on to his granddad and burst into tears.
“You must forgive your dad.”
“I can’t.”
“You’re young Quent. But you must gradually let go. ”
“I’ll try.”
“It’s for your own good. Hate and bitterness is never good for the heart. It eats into you like a cancer. Let go and move on with your life. We love you very much, Quent. God sent you to us. And never forget that you’re unique and have a lot of great qualities.”
Quentin felt much better.
“Your mum was a great woman and he would have loved for you to be happy.”
Quentin was so thankful that he had come to stay with them. They were so kind and in their own way had become the family he never had.
He had been getting into a lot of trouble in Indiana, especially his penchant for driving at breakneck speed. (Quentin had a Warrior Y motorbike and a Nissan 370z.) He did this because he was starved for the attention that he desperately wanted his dad to give him. He was unwilling to provide this and as far as he was concerned Quentin was a wayward ungrateful son who was complicating his immense professional reputation.
His grand dad, had been an ex Marine and his partner Mathias had worked as a medic. They were kind folks who doted on him and showered him with the love he had never received from his high flying dad. They understood that he had had an unhappy childhood and it would take time for him to process his painful life. They were however determined to bring him up in a healthy way so he could become a well adjusted motivated teen. Marines who went on missions never gave up on their targets easily, Bradley said. With Quentin they’d work to help him process his issues even if they had to die trying.
As Quentin drifted off to sleep, he made up his mind to cut off all ties with Byron. It just wasn’t worth it. Byron was going through his own issues and the least he wanted was to complicate his life.
Chapter 4: Confrontation
A group of students were milling round Russ and his friends. He was holding on to the collar of Quentin’s shirt.
“I don’t like your face. It doesn’t look straight.”
Quentin looked downcast. He could have spoken up for himself and defended himself but he wanted the students to show their support by coming to his aid. He wanted them to speak out rather than just being silent onlookers frightened to commit themselves. Was there not even one student who could stand her / his ground?
“Let him go Russ,” Byron said coldly.
Quentin felt a positive tingling sensation when he heard his voice. Byron intrigued him because he looked so delicate and would never be able to beat Russ if they had a fight. But there was inner strength inside him that seemed to be built on strong values. He had always wanted to get to know Byron better but found that he was always uneasy with him. Quentin just wanted to know him because he admired him and wanted some of that inner moral strength to rub off on him. Unfortunately things sometimes got misconstrued. Although Byron was at great pains never to show it, he was uneasy because he thought Quentin wanted something more.
Russ looked at him with contempt. He was much taller and muscular than Byron and could knock him out cold if he wanted to.
“I see that you haven’t learnt your lesson.”
“I thought I was the one who taught you a lesson to respect others. You shouldn’t be bullying. He hasn’t done anything to deserve this?”
“Are you going to defend his kind again?” Russ asked waving his hand contemptuously at Quentin. “His parents aren’t straight.”
“I don’t care one way or the other if someone is vertical or horizontal. It makes no difference. I just care about people not being bullied. What’s uncool about that?”
“A rebel with a cause,” Russ spat out the words.
“We’ve got to have some values. We can’t just go on in life hassling people.”
“So you’re going to fight for him?”
“You’re too big for me. But yes I’m going to defend him even if I get hurt in the process because I think your phobia is wrong.” Byron’s face clouded.
Russ’s was rattled by this line of reasoned arguments. He knew he could beat Byron to pulp but he wanted to do so with the students’ support. At that moment there was a murmur of support for Byron from the crowd that was gradually growing bigger.
Abruptly he waved Quentin away and looked directly at Byron. “We haven’t finished this yet,” he said darkly. “I know how your devious mind works.”
“I don’t have a devious mind. I’m just a teen trying to make it through life, if you really must know.”
“You need to be taught a lesson. It’s going to come in your Iphone,” Russ whispered cryptically.
Byron was about to say that these kinds of hacking could backfire but kept quiet. It would be good for Russ to learn his lesson in a practical way. He couldn’t tolerate Russ and was surprised that students let him do whatever he wanted without showing their dislike or contempt.
Russ and his gang had spray painted a school wall. Byron had used fluorescent paint to write, “Russ you’re a bully. Stop all this and grow up. Get help.”
He knew that Byron had written over his graffiti and was waiting for the right time to pay him back. He was frantically working on trying to hack Byron’s facebook password. He was planning on writing some very embarrassing ‘admissions’ under Byron’s file. These hacked posts would put out to the world that Byron was rabidly gay, that he hungered for c__ks or something sounding like that. These thoughts gave him a very pleasant feeling.
What Russ didn’t know was that Byron had already seen the fake message Russ was going to post in his timeline. He had hacked into Russ’s account and was going to place it on his timeline instead. He had also added, “I will stop being a bully and stop hitting girls.”
Russ walked away abruptly.
The crowd cheered and clapped.
Chapter 5: Byron and Quentin
The locker area in the hallway was a busy hive of activity like a fish market as students rushed in to pick up texts or throw in stuff they didn’t need immediately. There was a terrible din of clanging and banging that sounded like an army of raw recruits hurriedly on the move. Above the clanging one could hear students talking, shouting, screaming, laughing and arguing.
In the midst of these commotion and gentle crash of young bodies Byron saw Quentin.
“Hi,” he smiled.
Quentin didn’t look too pleased. “Look thanks for helping me out. I know I owe you big time for the two times you’ve helped me but I can now manage on my own.” He had made up his mind that Byron was hetero and that he was pushing his luck by trying to date him. He was definitely not gay. He was better off without Byron.
“Let me explain,” Byron said as he followed him down the hall.
“Look I’ll level with you. I was so hurt when you told me in the park that I was coming on to you. You were cold and shivering and I held you. Coming on to you? Sheesh! I’d appreciate it if you moved on and left me alone.”
Noticing that Byron was still following him, he stopped abruptly and turned back to him. “Didn’t I make myself clear?”
“I heard you clearly but I want you to at least hear me out.”
Quentin went into the bathroom and washed his face.
Byron leaned on the wall and watched him.
“I just want you to hear me out and then I won’t get in your way again if you don’t want to see me.”
Quentin concentrated on his face.
“Okay have it your way. I guess I’ll have to post that you hugged me and acted like my.. I don’t know how to say it.”
Quentin’s irritation evaporated and he burst out laughing, “Are you usually this irritating?”
“I’m really sorry. I was so rude and hurtful that evening and I feel bad about it. I apologize.”
He held out his hand.
Quentin relaxed
and shook his hand.
“You have a great sports car out there.” He paused. “My dad has bought me a motorbike. And if I behave myself a car later.”
“That’s cool for you.”
“I’d really love to go for a spin.”
“During lunch time?”
“If that’s okay?”
“And I’ll show you some of my maneuvers?”
“That’ll be awesome. I’ll get two passes for the free period.” Tracey High allowed students to leave the campus and either go to their homes, or to the shop. He forgot to mention that going on a fast spin in a sports car was not condoned.
“Hope we come out alive.”
Byron was not sure if he was joking.
As they walked, there was an announcement on the intercom that juniors would go to Griffin Observatory for a field trip at 2.00pm. Students were asked to be prompt.
Chapter 6: Conflict
“Byron!” Russ screamed at him during lunch period. “I’m sick of you.” His face glistened with rage.
Other students milled around in the hall way.
“You hacked into my phone,” he screamed.
“You hacked mine and put in this message about me being gay and wanting to do it with the world,” Byron said without raising his voice. He held up his Iphone. “I merely put it back in your timeline.”
“You called me names,” he shouted.
There was a murmur of nervousness from freshmen, sophomores and juniors who were milling around. This could take a turn for the worst.
“I can’t believe you did this,” he said.
“You can’t believe that your plan backfired.”
“You humiliated me, you fag lover.”
“Okay I’m sorry. I’m a kind of rebel with a cause. I’m sick of the way you terrorize everyone and deface school buildings so I added to your message and posted it,” he paused. “Maybe I was wrong to hack your phone because two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“I’m going to humiliate you just as you humiliated me.” There was an evil glint in his eyes. “You’re going to take off your clothes and walk only in your underwear from here to the bathroom. I think that’s only fair for the humiliation you caused me by hacking into my phone and calling me a bully.”
There was a collective gasp from the bystanders, growing ever larger.
His gaggle of goons loved this. It was an ingenuous punishment.
“Please don’t do it Byron,” Quentin said. “You can walk out of this.”
“You stay out of this,” Russ said sharply.
“Quent don’t worry. I can handle this,” Byron reassured him.
“Byron you don’t have to do this.” He turned to Russ. “I challenge you to a fight. If I lose Byron does what you tell him.”
“My fight is not with you lover boy.”
“Quent, it’s okay. I can handle this my way.”
“I haven’t finished with you,” Russ said angrily as he looked at Quentin. “You’re going to get your fight before the end of the day.”
“Russ you’ve always hated me so I’m going to do as you say but you must agree to two things.”
“What?”
“One, stop bullying. Two, stop terrorizing boys on empty street corners.”
“Lord Byron has become a knight in shining armor,” he said to his gaggle of goons who cackled. “And he’s a fag lover to boot.”
“That was really cruel of you. No one deserves to be bullied.”
There were murmurings of support from the crowd.
“Once and for all, I humiliate myself and make you very happy. But you must stop your bullying. Get counseling or whatever. Get a better life. Act normally.”
“What if I want to humiliate you and continue with the bullying?” he sneered.
“If you don’t agree, then we’ll shoot this out.” There was a dangerous tone to Byron’s voice that Russ sensed immediately. Byron was well known for being such an excellent marksman and he was not keen on a shootout. Besides, walking half naked in the school would bring him so much shame that he would not be able to live with it. It was a win-win situation for Russ and he smiled slyly. He had the upper hand.
“Agreed,” he smiled confidently.
Byron took of his sweater and jeans and sneakers until he was only in his underwear. There was a collective gasp of admiration from the onlookers as he walked slowly and confidently to the bathroom. Byron was handsome with a perfectly chiseled body and he was also a hero for standing up for the downtrodden and those who were bullied.
Students cheered him as he walked to the bathroom about 20 feet away and looked contemptuously at Russ and his goons.
As he walked a freshman asked, “Can I have your weight training program?”
“Sure,” he said.
“If you need a friend let me know,” a junior with long dark hair said.
“I’m kind of occupied,” he said politely.
“Thanks for standing up for guys like me,” Quentin said.
“Be glad to.”
Cell phones clicked furiously. The students recognized a hero in the making.
Too late, Russ was consumed with impotent rage. The punishment had backfired. Byron had not been humiliated. He had become a star at his expense!
Byron dressed and came out to a hero’s welcome as students milled around.
Quentin came forward and Byron’s first impulse was to hug him to make up for his shabby treatment of him. He wanted to show Quentin that he cared but he didn’t want to come off as being patronizing. He’d heard about his gay grandparents and was anxious not to say or do anything that might be seen as being socially incorrect. He wanted to relax and just chat with Quentin but worried that he might say something that was misconstrued as insulting to his family.
Russ and his goons were nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 9: Fast driving
Lunch period was for half an hour so they had only a short time for Quentin to demonstrate some racing car maneuvers.
“Impress me,” Byron teased.
Quentin drove fast but within the speed limit then abruptly he turned the sports car sideways. Byron felt himself being thrown forward but was held back by his seat belt. He was sweating with excitement. Quentin was very calm and did not stop or lose control.
Quentin had started driving in Indiana as a way of overcoming his loneliness. His maneuvers were a window to his inner troubled world and the way in which he tried to come to terms with it. For Byron, this rollercoaster kind of ride was like being inside Quentin’s risk filled mind. It was as if unseen forces were trying to harm him and he was taking evasive action. Byron was disturbed because it was like a mirror in which he saw his own stormy life. He couldn’t keep avoiding it. He felt he needed to confront his fears, his concerns, his trials and his search for identity. He was glad he had confronted Russ because it showed that he was on the right track in dealing directly with his issues.
He was going to ask Quentin to teach him these maneuvers but knew he would be unwilling to do so because they were quite dangerous for someone just learning to drive.
“Okay let’s go back to school otherwise we’ll miss the next period,” Quentin said breezily.
Byron was sweating and his head seemed to be pounding.
“What’s with you?” he asked good naturedly. “You walk around fearlessly like Tarzan in school but you’re shaking inside here.”
“I’m impressed.”
‘With my car?”
“Yes. But more so with your driving. It’s like riding inside your mind.”
Suddenly Quentin jerked the steering wheel and Byron was flabbergasted that he was not using the brakes! He swerved furiously and Byron thought they were going to crush. Then he steered very quickly without being too fast. Instantly he corrected the car’s direction and they moved back to school.
“You’re one crazy son of a gun.”
“But never ask me to teach you to drive like this. It’s dangerous.”
&nbs
p; “You remind me of a legend.”
“Who?”
“James Dean.”
“Rebel without.”
“No,” Byron added quickly. “Rebel with a cause.”
“Why ‘with a cause’?”
“I guess I’m trying to find some deeper meaning in life. Trying to search for the right identity rather than just having a good time.”
“You mean rather than just going with the flow of drinking, sexing and having a blast? That’s cool.” Quentin pressed a button and Carly Rae came on loud and clear.
“Your guardians are gay,” Byron said as a way of making small talk.
And then Quentin misunderstood. It seemed to him that the whole purpose of this ride was not to be impressed with his driving but to quiz him on his sexuality. It touched a raw nerve because he had exposed a sensitive side of himself through his driving. Yet Byron had the cheek to ask him nonchalantly whether his grandparents were gay. It was too much for him.
“What is it to you?” he asked as they came to the car park. Immediately he regretted his response and his tone of voice. He had not meant to sound confrontational but it came as a blunt question as if Byron was baiting him. The situation was made worse by Carly Rae’s song Call Me Maybe booming loudly in the confined space. In his own brave way, Byron had stood up to the biggest bully in school.
He could feel Byron’s anger as he looked at him sharply. “I was just asking. I meant no disrespect.”
Carly Rae oblivious to what was going on sang about ripped jeans, skin showing and the hot night. It seemed to echo the incident the previous afternoon with Quentin and Russ and Byron’s comment about ‘coming on to him!” Quentin’s choice of song further antagonized Byron who thought he had played it to show his inner feelings of wanting to come on to him!
Byron lost his temper, “You strike me as another frisky guy with a fast car and I bet a faster motorbike.”
Carly Rae’s voice came clearly about ‘just meeting you and this is crazy but here’s my number.’
“You jerk! You think I’m coming on to you?” Immediately he regretted that howler of a response. He should really think before he spoke, he thought wistfully to himself.
Trouble (YA Gay Coming of Age / Romance Series) Page 2