Cory's Little Friend

The Matthews house had always been a place of refuge for Shawn Hunter. Whenever his world felt as if it were crashing down around him, he knew he could go to the Matthews to find solace. There even the worst of problems felt like walks in the park. Shawn didn't know if it was because the Matthews didn't have problems or if for some reason the family was immune to feeling the weight of them.

Cory, the middle child and Shawn's best friend was always able to see the bright side of any situation. Allen and Amy, Cory's parents were a great example of the type of marriage Shawn hoped to have someday; solid and ready to face any challenge. They treated him like a son and Shawn was grateful for their unwavering kindness toward him; the boy from the other side of town. Shawn always had a soft spot for Morgan, the baby sister who was quick witted and seemed to think in pink everything. He felt very protective of her. The only member of the Matthews family that Shawn had trouble connecting with was Eric.

Eric was the eldest of the siblings and carried that status like a badge of honor. The charming, bright-eyed and devilishly handsome young man looked down on his little brother through the eyes of annoyance, rarely ever offering any sentiment. Cory was to be tolerated by Eric, while Shawn was barely acknowledged. Over the years whenever Eric did refer to Shawn it was in the phrase, "Cory tell your little friend." Cory tell your little friend to clean out the sink, it isn't a trough, or Cory tell your little friend to keep his peanut-buttered hands off my stereo, or Cory tell your little friend we have a door and stop tracking tree leaves in our bedroom. Even though Shawn hated it, he learned to accept that Eric was at the most indifferent toward him. But something changed during Shawn's 7th grade year.

Schoolwork wasn't easy, but Shawn tried his best. He had mastered the social scene and secured a cool kid spot among his peers. He had no shortage of girlfriends though after a few kissing sessions he tended not to know what to do with girls. It was his family life however that was causing him grief. His parents teetering marriage looked to finally be crumbling. Any interaction between them was more often than not marred by screaming matches.

Shawn found himself escaping to the Matthews more and more due the constant fighting in his home. He'd even show up in the middle of the night just to sit on the back porch, under the tree. He'd listening the quiet night and pray that one day he too could live in a place where the house was silent in the middle of the night. He did this often, and it kept him from doing something stupid which he always found himself fighting the urge to do.

On one particular fall night Shawn escaped to the Matthews while his parents fought over money problems. Shawn hated those fights the most. He had heard Mr. and Mrs. Matthews discussing money problems but they never screamed at each other or called each other names. Shawn knew this meant that money wasn't as important as his parents made it out to be, but for some reason their fights about money were the worst. It was 12:30 am, way too late to call and ask to stay over. He thought about trying Cory's window but couldn't bear the thought of waking the boy up. So he sat on the back porch bench and leaned up against the tree. He looked up at the night sky, which was bright in the light of the moon. Before he knew it, Shawn was fast asleep. It was the soft whisper of his name and a gentle nudge that woke up.

When Shawn opened his eyes he looked up to see the moonlit face of Eric. Eric's eyes sparkled from the light of the night. They were full of concern, which was odd considering that they were being directed at Shawn. Eric's overall appearance was disheveled. His light brown hair was a mess, his shirt was wrinkled, his face looked tired and his lips were taunt and reddish. Eric, Shawn figured, had just come home from a date.

"What are you doing out here," the older boy asked. Shawn rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked at his watch and saw that he'd only been there for 30 minutes or so. His neck ached and he found that his right shoulder had fallen asleep.

"Nothing," he finally replied. He found himself suddenly ashamed "I couldn't sleep at home." Eric furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. he stood there looking at the boy with a face of disapproval. Shawn felt small as Eric surveyed him. His skin tingled and he found that it had become very hot in the cool autumn air.

"Your parents fighting in the middle of the night again," Eric finally said. Shawn looked at him with slight shock. He didn't think Eric knew anything about his parents, let alone their fighting habits. All of sudden Shawn felt a wave of emotion come over him. He didn't understand why, but it was overwhelming and he couldn't stop it from coming to the surface. It started as a sniffle, then a huge gulp in his throat, then hot tears began streaming down his face, and finally a soft but audible sob escaped his mouth. Before his knew it, Shawn found himself being wrapped up in Eric's arms; his face buried in the nape of Eric's warm neck. Eric tenderly caressed Shawn head and shoulder. He was whispering something, but Shawn couldn't hear it over the sounds of his own muffled crying.

What could have been a moment felt like an eternity. Shawn felt completely safe, like nothing in the world would ever go wrong again. The boys stayed in this positon even after Shawn stopped sobbing. The only sounds left were of the crickets in the garden, the whistle of the wind through the trees, Shawn's involuntary sniffles, and the soothing sound of Eric breathing. It was steady and unlabored. Shawn felt he could fall asleep to it, and probably would have. Suddenly a bright light blared through the moonlit darkness. It was coming from the house.

Eric quickly stood up, leaving Shawn feeling abandoned. Mr. Matthews was standing in the door frame of the backdoor. His arms were tightly folded and though it was hard to tell, Shawn knew he had a stern look on his face. "Dad," Eric stammered.

"Shawn," The older man called out in confusion. "What are you doing here?" He came over to Shawn with a concerned look in his eyes, the one Eric had before. Shawn wanted to speak, but knew if he did the crying would start again. So he just hung his head avoiding eye contact with the man. Mr. Matthews caressed the boy's head and sighed. "Eric, take him upstairs." He said.

Shawn found himself back in the arm pocket of Eric, as the older boy led him into the house. They walked through the kitchen and up the staircase and into the boys' room. Cory was fast asleep, snoring with a whimper. Eric sat Shawn down on his bed, and quietly began to maneuver around the room. He was grabbing a blanket, and a pillow. He neatly laid the items on the window nook, also known as Shawn's bed. Shawn peeled off his over-sized leather jacket. He then fumbled out of his tattered-sneakers. Shawn found himself to be extremely tired. Eric walked back over to the boy and helped him over to the nook. Shawn laid down on his back, facing the ceiling.

'You're not going to be comfortable in those,' Eric whispered, Shawn wasn't exactly sure what the older boy meant, until Eric knelt down and began undoing Shawn's pants. Shawn became very still. His skin became flushed and a tinge of excitement reverberated all over his body. Eric tenderly pulled down Shawn's jeans over his slim hips, and past his plush bottom, down his scrawny thighs and bugling knee caps, and finally over his gaunt calves, onto the floor. His legs where pale in the moonlight with light patches of hair covering them. He was wearing a plain pair of light blue boxer shorts. Shawn immediately felt embarrassed when his realized the tenting going on underneath them. However, he was still too afraid to move. He'd never experienced this type of care before. Eric didn't seem to notice the growing bugle in the underwear. He commanded younger boy to sit up, as he tugged the green long-sleeved shirt up Shawn's lean torso and over his head in one motion.

There Shawn was, practically naked, and petrified with anxiety. It felt so strange to be so close to someone that Shawn assumed, didn't like him, but was now treating him like the most precious of things. Eric's final act of sweetness was taking the warm cotton blanket and pulling it over Shawn's body, up to the chin. Eric looked down at Shawn with soft eyes and for a moment the two boys just stared into each other's eyes. Shawn thought for a moment he could see into the older boy's soul. Eric swept away a stubborn strand of hair from Shawn's face and let his warm fingers linger on Shawn's cheek. Shawn worried that the older boy was going to kiss him, then he hoped that he would. The thought scared him, but he felt his erection pulsate even more.

However, Eric didn't kiss Shawn. He simply smiled and said, "goodnight Shawn." Then Eric got up and disappeared into the bathroom. Shawn wanted to cry again, he wanted to squeal. He replayed the moment in his head, arguing with it, agonizing over it, becoming completely in awe of it. He never felt so confused, and joyous and bothered in his life. Every time he pictured Eric's face his heart leap and he broke out into a sweat. He fidgeted with restlessness at the thought of how sweetly the older boy cared for him. Before long Shawn found himself asleep again. He dreamt of Eric and only Eric the entire night through. But his dreams weren't just strict recounts of the night, but altered moments that came into Shawn's mind with a fever pitch. Eric kissing him under the tree in the moonlight, Eric kissing him while stroking his hair. Eric touching Shawn's body, Eric undressing Shawn, Shawn undressing Eric, Eric wrapping Shawn up in his arms, moving his hand underneath Shawn's boxers.

"Shawn," the shrill sound of Cory's voice yanked Shawn from his lustful dream. It was jarring and Shawn's body wasn't prepared for it. He was shaking, and drenched in sweat, and could feel the familiar runny, gooey warmth underneath his boxers. The dawn light was seeping into the room through the curtains giving the space a pale blue hue. Shawn slightly raised his head and looked toward Eric's bed. It was empty. He then looked over at Cory's bed. The small curly-headed boy was sat straight up, eyes half closed with a distorted look on his face.

"What do you want Cory," Shawn asked with a dry and scratchy voice.

"For you to shut up," Cory replied. "It's 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and you're moaning in your sleep." With that the boy turned over and nestled himself back into his pillow.

"Sorry," Shawn whispered out. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes again, but it was too late. He was awake and thinking of Eric.