True Blue

by Connie Bailey

  “See, Newcombe.” Allerton punched Logan. “That’s class. Case cleans up after himself.” “Whatever.” Logan shrugged. “Let’s run.”

  The trio left the locker room and joined the other team members on the track for a few minutes before they broke away. As they turned onto the sidewalk that led to the bridle path, they saw two pedestrians ahead. At six foot-three, Astor Aldrich was hard to miss, and he had his arm around the shoulders of a familiar dark-haired figure.

  “What a you want a do, Allie?” Logan asked eagerly.

  Allerton eyed Astor’s long frame for a moment before he answered. “Go around,” he said grudgingly. The three runners parted, taking to the grass as they passed the couple on the path. Blue and Astor stared after them, a little startled by the suddenness of their advent and their departure. In their wake, Blue imagined he could smell Heydn’s unique scent.

  “Are you cold?” Astor asked when Blue shivered. “We could go inside and have a hot chocolate or something.”

  “No, I want to walk. I like looking at the trees when the leaves are falling, seeing the skeletons poking through.”

  “I knew you were a Goth.”

  “Shut. Up.”

  “Oh, come on. You’re really into all that bare branches against a bleak sky with a dead bird in the gutter kind of thing. Admit it. You have a journal in a drawer full of poems about despair and alienation.”

  “Nope.”

  “Really? I do.”

  Blue poked Astor in the ribs. “Did you even notice that my eyeliner has become quite discreet?”

  “Well, you don’t look like a raccoon, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Ha-ha.” Blue poked Astor again. “For real though, I just don’t feel the need to provoke a response from anyone anymore.”

  “You provoke a response from me. I like to call it the Blue Elevator.”

  Blue pretended to contemptuous. “What kind of foolish name is that?”

  “Well, Blue is you, of course, and elevate is what you do to me.”

  “I make you go up?” “Exactly.” Astor stopped as soon as they were out of sight of the campus. He took Blue’s mittened hands and brought them to his chest. “Hey, I know you’ve been worried about Peyton, and I wanted to do something for you to cheer you up.”

  “Peyton is the one who needs cheering up. They threatened his grade point average.” “According to him.”

  “Well, whatever the administration said to him worked. He’s keeping a low profile right now.”

  “It’s hard for me to believe that the deans would deliberately trash a student’s record. If he really did have evidence that an instructor was being inappropriate with a student, he’d have them over a barrel.”

  “I’m not sure what’s going on between Peyton and the staff. After bitching me out about never spending time with him, he doesn’t have time for me.”

  “That gives you more time for me.”

  “No hardship there. I hope we start on a new play soon so we can work together again.”

  “I’d love to play Romeo opposite you.”

  “They both die though. I’m not into tragedies as much as I used to be. It’d be really cool if Peyton finished his play soon.”

  “That’s right. We were talking about taking your mind off poor pitiful Peyton.”

  “No,you were.”

  “Yes, I was. What are you doing for Christmas?”

  “Same as usual. I’ll go to New York, buy myself some presents, see a show, stay in a really nice hotel and come back here.”

  “Why don’t you ever go home?”

  “I don’t really have one. I have houses, but no home.”

  “Your mom and dad?”

  “Gone. A long time ago.”

  “Do you have any family?”

  “Not living.”

  “Wow. I never thought to ask. I just assumed that since you didn’t mention them that you didn’t get along with them or something.” “I barely remember them. They got into my dad’s private plane the day after my second birthday to fly down to Rio de Janeiro. I’ve been told my dad was a good pilot, but something malfunctioned and they went down in the ocean.”

  “I’m sorry, Blue.” “Seriously, it was a long time ago. I don’t like broadcasting it, because people always treat you different when they find out you’re an orphan. You can practically see their eyes welling up with tears and you know they’re thinking, ‘oh, you poor thing.’”

  Astor let go of Blue’s hands and put his arms around the other young man. “Yeah, I know how it can be. You know they’re just trying to be nice, but you want to scream at them to leave you alone.”

  “Yeah.” Blue rested his cheek against the soft fabric of Astor’s jacket.

  “So, if you can bear to break with tradition, would you like to spend Christmas with me?”

  “No, I wouldn’t like that…. I’d love it.” Blue laughed. “You should have seen your face.”

  “I don’t have any defenses where you’re concerned,” Astor said. “So take it easy on me, okay?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “I’m kidding.” Astor kissed Blue’s forehead. “Well, half-kidding anyway.”

  Blue looked up and rubbed his nose against Astor’s. “I would never do anything on purpose to hurt you.”

  Astor slid his hands inside Blue’s long coat. “You can turn me on so easily,” he said. “The first time I saw you, I wanted you.”

  “When was the first time you saw me?” “Orientation two years ago. You got out of a limo and stood there looking like a character out of a ghost story. I could never get your image out of my mind after that. I never thought we’d end up involved, but I always thought you were intriguing.”

  “Intriguing,” Blue repeated. “I like that.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go to your room where it’s warm?”

  “You’re only saying that because you know I don’t have a roommate and you want to be inappropriate with me.”

  “Yes, I certainly do. Let’s go sit on your bed and make out for a couple of days.”

  “Well…” Blue pretended to consider. “I do still owe you a blow job from Thanksgiving.”

  “I love you,” Astor laughed, as he leaned in to give Blue a brief kiss.

  “Aren’t you afraid someone will see us?” Blue asked, avoiding the issue of saying the words back to Astor.

  Astor looked around. “We’re out in the woods, and if someone did see us and had the bad taste to mention it, I’d just say I lost a bet or something like that.” Blue shook his head in admiration. “You’re so cool,” he said. Astor had been hoping Blue would say something else, but he accepted the accolade graciously. He had no illusions that Blue felt the same way that he did, but he did hope that would change. Brooke Barclay was someone that Astor could imagine spending the rest of his life with without ever being bored. He told Blue that he’d never marry a woman, because it would be a sham, and he refused to treat the bond of marriage so shabbily. If the laws ever changed, he would marry Blue, if Blue would have him, for he also knew that he was not meant for a solitary life. He needed a companion to share his joys and sorrows and, for whatever reason, his nature dictated that the companion be male. “How did you get so far under my skin so fast?” he murmured against Blue’s hair.

  “I can’t lie to you any longer,” Blue said dramatically, as he moved away, tugging on the end of Astor’s muffler. “You have already guessed the truth. I am a vampire, a child of the night, with powers beyond those of mere mortals. It is a little-known fact that vampires inject an anesthetic anticoagulant when we bite. That’s why you didn’t feel the fangs going in.” He continued walking backward down the path.

  “I knew it was something like that. Am I going to rise from the dead too?”

  “I don’t plan on killing you. I’m going to keep you around so I can suck you whenever I want.”

  “That works for me.” Blue and Astor went to Blue
’s room and spent the next hour in languid play. Astor never tired of watching Blue’s face as he caressed him; they had developed a game of stretching out the foreplay until one of them surrendered helplessly to his climax. Blue usually lost because Astor was very good at maneuvering them into a position where he could fondle Blue, but Blue was hampered. There were times when Blue protested the unfairness of it, but being loved so completely was a heady thing and mostly he was content to let Astor get his fill of touching and looking until the tension in his groin became unbearable. He didn’t even have to say anything; a single look and Astor slid down to take Blue in his mouth and finish him off, swallowing like a man taking communion. Afterward, Astor was happy to lie on whatever surface was available, holding Blue until their time was up. The only difference this time was the banging on the door right after Blue came.

  “I know you’re in there, Barclay. I can smell brimstone and sulfur,” Peyton hollered.

  “Give me a minute. And keep your voice down.”

  “I can’t. I’m too excited. Open the damned door.”

  “I’m not alone, Peyn.”

  “Duh, you big slut.”

  Astor zipped up, yanked his shirt down over his head, and opened the door.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Peyton said.

  “Who’s a big slut?”

  “Please.” Peyton brushed past the taller boy. “As if you weren’t just enjoying the benefits of my friend Blue’s generous sexual nature.”

  “That’s none of your business.” “If you say so. Hey, Blue, when you finish getting dressed, have a look at this.” Peyton held up a disc.

  “What is it?” Blue left off buttoning his shirt.

  “Pop it in and see.”

  “Tell me you finished your play.”

  “I finished my play.”

  Blue threw his arms around Peyton’s neck and hugged him exuberantly. “Congratulations!”

  “Save the compliments until after you read it.”

  “I guess you’d like some time alone now,” Astor said.

  “What?” Blue looked up from loading the disc in his laptop. “No, you don’t have to go. I doubt if Peyton minds, since you’ll probably have a part in this.”

  Peyton shrugged. “I hate throwing a man out in the snow right after he’s gotten some.”

  Blue rolled his eyes at Astor. “Peyn thinks he sounds sophisticated.”

  “Only compared to everyone else at this school,” Peyn said.

  “So it’s calledMenagerie ?” Blue asked, turning his gaze to the screen.

  “Yeah. It’s a strictly candy-ass name. My original title wasFlesh in Common , because that’s the theme.”

  Blue gave Peyton an inquiring look over his shoulder. “Well, you know, even if I like guys and Rhodes likes girls, we both bleed red. That’s what all humans have in common, no matter what we choose to believe, or who we choose to love. We all feel pain and that alone should give us more compassion for one another.”

  “Wow,” Astor said, sitting down on Blue’s bed. “That’s what your play’s about?”

  “That’s my theme, yeah.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  “Me too,” Blue said. “And I’m only on page two.”

  Peyton glowed quietly for about two seconds. “Thanks, but I really hate the title. EvenFlesh Menagerie would be better.”

  “Why’d you change it?” Blue asked. “I told Mr. McIntyre about it while I was on the way over here in an exalted state. I’ll need his permission to put this play on. He was excited about doing a play written by a student, but he insisted that the name had to go.”

  “I agree with him,” Astor said. “You want to be provocative, but you don’t want to put people off. If the play was on Broadway,Flesh in Common would be a great name, but at Acton…”

  “Say no more,” Peyton waved a hand in Astor’s direction.

  “This is really good,” Blue said. “It reads like a fable.”

  “Good, because itis a fable. Still want to be my Foxboy?”

  “I’d pay you.”

  “No need for that.” Peyton turned to Astor. “I need someone tall,” he said. “Care to participate?”

  “As long as I’m not Mooseboy or Giraffeboy or something like that.”

  Peyton smiled. “I wish I’d thought of that, but no, you’re one of the Bear Boys. Not one of the Bully Bear Boys though; you’re a Sugar Bear.”

  “Now you’ve really got my interest,” Astor said, standing and reading over Blue’s shoulder.

  “It’s about a village populated by nothing but young men between the ages of thirteen and nineteen and a few wise elders,” Peyton said. “Or would you rather just read?”

  “I wouldn’t mind a quick synopsis,” Astor said. “I have a student council meeting at seven.” “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” Peyton quoted. “So we have this isolated village of boys and they spend their time learning to be men. They absorb the wisdom imparted by the elders and compete in tests of mental and physical skill. They’re encouraged to win at all costs to ensure that they’ll be strong enough to go out into the cold, cruel world beyond the walls of the village. Into their midst comes someone different; he’s not a Bull or a Bear. He’s Foxboy: smaller, faster, and a little cleverer than the rest. Naturally, the others resent him when he refuses to compete in their games. They shun him at first, but later, they begin to persecute him.”

  “Persecute?” Astor interrupted. “I know that’s a strong word, but it fits. Eventually, they drive Foxboy out into the cold to starve. One day the youngest Sugar Bear falls into the river. It’s freezing cold and he’s going down for the last time when Foxboy appears. Foxboy jumps in and saves him, but Foxboy is exhausted from not eating and he drowns.”

  “Wow,” Astor said. “That’s really sad.”

  Peyton shrugged. “It’s supposed to be.”

  “Does it end with the Bulls and Bears being sorry they picked on Foxboy?”

  “I just told you the ending. Foxboy drowns.” “I don’t mean to be critical, but shouldn’t the bullies learn a lesson?”

  “Not in my experience.”

  “This is your play. Make it happen the way you want it to.”

  “Why don’t you write your own play?”

  Blue looked up from the monitor. “Hey, guys, let’s not get into some big literary discussion, okay? Let’s talk about the rest of the cast. I can’t wait to get started learning my lines.”

  “Are you in, Aldrich?” Peyton asked.

  “All the way.”

  Peyton grinned. “This is going to be the most epic event in the history of this miserable place.”

  “It’ll raise a few eyebrows, that’s for sure,” Astor said. “I gotta get going.” He leaned over and kissed the top of Blue’s head. “Call me before you go to bed.”

  “Don’t I always?” Blue said as Astor went to the door.

  “Goodnight, Peyton,” Astor said. Peyton waved and went back to looking over Blue’s shoulder as the door closed. After a few minutes, he found a bottle of water and picked up one of Blue’s comic books. He flipped through the flimsy magazine and stood up again. “This is torture,” he said.

  “Go for a walk or something.”

  “I’d better not. Since I’ve been given my freedom, I keep running into trouble whenever I go out.”

  Blue looked up in alarm. “What kind of trouble?”

  “I phrased that badly. I just seem to run into people I don’t particularly care for.”

  “You’re not going to let me read, are you?”

  “I ran into Heydn Case a couple of nights ago, just before I got off confinement.”

  “Is this random, or are you coming to a point?”

  “I just thought you’d like to know that he looked terrible. I heard he got suspended from the track team over that car thing.”

  “As if Heydn would steal anything. I really appreciate you letting me know as soon as you heard about it. He doesn’t belong in a cell.”
>
  “Neither do we, but look where we are.”

  “Stop being melodramatic.” “I can’t. It’s in my blood. Don’t forget that Mommy was an actress.”

  Blue turned 180 degrees and rested his arms across the back of his chair. “Before I get too into this… are you sure the school will let you do this play?”

  “Mr. McIntyre read the synopsis and he’s excited, to put it mildly. I was careful to keep the story in allegory form so nothing is explicit, but people with a brain will get the message.”

  “I really want to do this, but not if it’s going to get you into more trouble.”

  “Life would be boring without challenges.”

  “You’re not going to listen to me, are you?”

  “Why do you keep asking me questions you already know the answers to?”

  “It serves me right. I didn’t listen when you warned me about Heydn.”

  “This is different.” Peyton paused. “You and Astor look like you’re getting along well.”

  “He’s nice…and a lot of other things. I don’t want to talk about Astor.”

  “Why not? He doesn’t seem shy about the way he feels about you.”

  “Why can’t you understand that some things are personal?”

  “I understand plenty and I can tell when you’re lying. You don’t want to talk about Astor because it makes you feel guilty.”

  “And why would that be?”

  “Because you’re using him to get over Heydn.”

  Blue was silent for a long moment. “That hurt,” he said at last.

  “But it’s true, isn’t it?”

  “No. I’m not using Astor to get over Heydn, because that’s never going to happen. I’m with Astor because being with him keeps me from going crazy.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Why are you being such a dick? Do you think this is how I want it?”

  “I’m just being honest. Truth hurts.”

  “Yeah.” Blue sighed. “Do you ever wish you could be like ten or twelve again?”

  “God, no! How horrible!” “I just think life was easier then.”

  “No, it wasn’t. You’ve just forgotten what it was like.”

  “You’re really depressing me now. Let’s talk about the play.”