Through physical education, Davis ran his hardest, trying to put as much distance between himself and Tai as possible GOCC GOCC 2 4 2001-10-16T15:21:00Z 2001-10-16T15:25:00Z 4 1697 9675 GOCC 80 19 11881 9.4402

Flirting with trouble

Through physical education, Davis ran his hardest, trying to put as much distance between himself and Tai as possible. They were playing basketball, and he and Tai were on opposite teams. Which meant that Tai took every opportunity to stand as close as possible to him, a devilish gleam in his eyes. The older boy seemed to be enjoying himself, but Davis wasn't.

After class, he purposely took a long time taking care of equipment for the teacher, so that he wouldn't have to shower with Tai, or any of the others. It was one thing to hide his growing problem with clothes on, but standing naked in water with Tai would be pushing things over the edge.

By the time he made it into the locker room, most of the others were gone, including Tai. His tempter was talking to the teacher, who also happened to be their coach, about a game that was coming up. That left Davis by himself in the showers while two other guys changed.

He was nearly finished when he heard somebody stop just around the corner of the doorway. He looked at it warily, half-hoping, and half-dreading that it was Tai. Carl Flowers stepped into view, with Lester Grable. They didn't have his class, but they could have been excused early to get ready for practice. "Hey, guys." He turned his back to them, and stuck his head under the spray for a quick last rinse.

Two hands shoved against his back, and he barely caught himself from being run headlong into the wall. He turned quickly, and dodged the blow that Carl sent his way, moving quickly out of arm's reach. Lester started to close in from his other side, and he stared at them, knowing that he wouldn't be heard from the gym.

"Maybe we can talk about this?" He ducked as Lester jumped at him, and spun away. Carl blocked the doorway, and Lester was getting ready for another attack. These were his teammates, and he knew what they were capable of. He was quick, but Carl and Lester both had the upper body strength to beat him into the ground. "What is coach going to say?"

"I think something along the lines of 'you're off the team, phobic.'" Carl fell to his knees as Tai kicked the back of his legs. "He's calling the vice-principal as we speak to come deal with you boys." He tossed a shirt to Davis, and waited while he put it on.

"I would have preferred to have my underwear." Davis moved carefully around Lester, and then stepped around Carl. He looked down, and the word 'BOY' stared up at him, written in flames.

"I like you better this way." Tai walked behind him as he made his way to the bench where the rest of his clothes still were.

"I bet you do." He rolled his eyes, and leaned over to pick up his boxers, before standing up quickly and glaring at Tai as the older boy stepped forward. "I really don't need your help dressing, Tai."

Tai sighed sadly. "Are you sure? I'd be more than willing to help."

Any sarcastic comment that Davis could have come up with for that one was cut off with the arrival of the coach and vice-principal. They let Davis get dressed, despite Tai's silent protests, and then led all four boys back to the principal's office.

After Tai and Davis had explained what happened, and Carl and Lester were suspended for two days, they were told that the coach had excused them from practice. Davis was relieved. He didn't want to face the rest of the team, not after two of their teammates were suspended because of him.

"I wonder why they decided to attack you." They walked to Tai's car much the same way they had walked from it that morning. Side-by-side, and in-step.

"I don't know. Maybe they're homophobic, and objected to seeing your hands on my ass before class." Tai grinned at him.

"It could have been your tongue down my throat before school started today." They reached the car, and Tai opened his door. "Anyway, you enjoyed having my hands on your ass, so quit whining about it."

He got in, leaving Davis to gape at the top of his car. He slid in slowly, and buckled the safety belt, then turned to stare out of the window, wondering if Tai knew exactly how much he had enjoyed the kisses and embraces they had shared. The radio filled in their silence.

It took several minutes for Davis to realize that they weren't heading towards his house. They were driving in the opposite direction. "Tai?" Guarded brown eyes met his. "Where are we going? This isn't the way to my house."

"I know. We're going to pick up something to eat, and then talk. I figured, this way, we can drop any pretenses, and act normal." He smiled slightly, the reassurance not reaching his eyes.

"Sure." Davis turned back to the window, pressing his forehead against the cool glass. "Whatever you say, Tai." They went through the driveway of a fast-food restaurant, and Tai drove them to a park he knew. By the time they arrived, it was four o-clock, and Davis was asleep.

Thoughts and conversations in a park

The car pulled into a small suburban park, and Tai cut the engine. He turned to look at his passenger, who had shifted to face him during the rest of the drive. Davis' lips were parted, and brown eyes flicked over his face to rest on them. He leaned forward; unconscious of what he was doing until a warm breath brushed across his own lips.

He jerked back into his seat sharply, leaning his head back and glaring at the lining above it. Matt had told him to go forward if he thought that Davis was worth it. During school, when only one person had made an attempt to hurt him, it had seemed feasible, even easy. But after Carl and Lester tried to hurt Davis, he wasn't sure if he could handle the daily pressure.

If the coach didn't remove them from the team, they'd both have to deal with the unbearable pressure of playing with two guys that hated them. It was also quite possible that more of the team would be against them if they started to date for real.

He looked back down, studying the way the orange locks spiked out, brushing against his forehead in some places, and standing on end in others. "Are you worth it, Davis?" He asked the sleeping form, lifting his hand to run it through the tangled nest. It slipped like silk through his fingers, curling ever so slightly against his palm.

Tai shifted his hand down, over the smooth complexion of his cheeks to cup his jaw. He smiled as Davis pressed his face into his hand, mumbling unintelligibly in his sleep. He pulled his hand away, and then slapped him gently.

"Yo, Davis! Wake up, man!" His head jerked back, and he opened sleepy dark eyes to scowl at him. "Hello, Sleeping Beauty. Did you have a nice nap?" Tai flashed his usual cocky grin.

"Asshole." He yawned, raising his arms above his head to stretch. "Couldn't you let me sleep?"

"No. The food is getting cold. Food that I paid for, I should remind you. Don't waste it, or I won't ever buy you dinner again." He tossed the bag into Davis' lap, watching as his eyes brightened from sleepy black, to alert, dark brown.

"Hollow threat." He opened the bag, sniffing the air appreciatively. "You and I both know that I'm the only other person we know that will eat half of the food you buy."

"That's because you'll eat anything." Tai peeked into his own bag, then started pulling out his food, and setting it in his lap.

"Where are we?" Davis was unwrapping his first roll (maki roll: wonderful thing with cabbage and stuff. Try it!), his mouth watering hungrily. "I can't believe I let you pull me out of lunch."

"Quit whining and eat." He grinned as Davis obeyed him, shoving half of the roll into his mouth. "We're in a little park on the outskirts of the city. No-one comes here very often, because it's mostly a retirement community around here."

The orange head bobbed in understanding. His hands were quickly unwrapping the rest of his food. They finished eating in silence, both concentrating on their food. When it was gone, Tai collected the trash into his bag, and threw it behind the seat. "The backseat is the trashcan."

Davis smiled, and undid his safety belt. He opened his door, and got out, leaning his back against the top of the car. His brown eyes scanned the empty equipment. He heard Tai's door open, and felt the rocking of the car as he got out and leaned against the roof as well.

"I'm sorry about being such a jerk about that kiss." Davis looked at him over his shoulder in surprise. He had his arms crossed on the metal top, and was scanning his face with a serious expression.

"Don't worry about it. I went overboard." He turned back around, watching as a swing moved slightly in the wind.

"If a French kiss is overboard, then grabbing your ass sunk the ship." Dark brown irises flipped back over his shoulder, and he caught Tai's teasing grin.

"Let's just put it behind us. We'll start fresh tomorrow, and forget about today."  He frowned as Tai shook his head.

"Today was fun. It was a first. I enjoyed myself today, even if we did get a little carried away, and I was shoved into the wall, and Carl and Lester almost did whatever they were going to do."

"You were pushed into a wall?" Davis' eyes narrowed, and Tai sighed. "By who?"

"Nobody. Another thing we have in common: selective hearing. We only hear what we want to deal with." He was referring to the part about enjoying himself. Davis looked away.

"You really had fun today?" His voice was flat and Tai frowned at him. He thought for a moment about his words, and then rolled his eyes.

"Yes. Maybe not everything was fun. For example, my arm has a two-inch bruise. But the rest of it was pretty okay."

"'Pretty okay'? What does 'the rest of it' include, exactly?" Davis kept his back to him, his voice a combination of resignation and hope.

"'The rest of it' being all the things that didn't hurt today." Tai swallowed, realizing exactly where the conversation was going, and unable to decide yet if that was what he wanted. "Come on. I'll take you home before your parents worry. Practice should be about over."

He got into the car, and waited while Davis thought for a moment, He didn't rush him, simply sat with his hands on the wheel, and his head against the backrest. When the younger boy sat down and shut the door, he started the engine, and backed out of the parking space.

In a few short moments, they were whipping down familiar streets, passing the buildings they passed each day on their way to school. The radio was the only sound once again, a habit that was becoming increasingly familiar. Tai could remember times when they would talk during the entire ride, never growing tired of exchanging information.

As he had two days before, and the weekdays before that, for weeks on end, he stopped in front of Davis' apartment building. He didn't stop the engine, simply shifted into park and turned toward him. Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for several seconds without talking. Finally, Davis lowered his eyes, and reached for the door handle.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Tai." He pushed the door open.

Tai put a hand on his arm to stop him. "I'm going to be a little later, so we may have to rush. Be prepared."

"Thanks for the warning. Bye, Tai." He stepped out, and slammed the door. Tai watched for a minute as he ran to the door, and threw it open in his hurry to get inside.

"What the hell have I got myself into?" He put the car into Drive, and headed to his own apartment, hoping that his sister was visiting elsewhere, and Matt was free. He had some serious issues to work out, and spending time alone with Davis hadn't helped. "And what do I have to compare him to, to figure out if he's worth it?"

It was time to do some heavy-duty soul-searching. He had less than twenty-four hours until he could decide without breaking Davis' heart needlessly.