REASON THEY HAVE NOT LEFT YET: Ryo really shouldn't just take him Aunt's
car and drive off with it and leave it at the airport. The reason that they
can drive to go out to eat is because there is a return trip planned.
I love my readers, I really do! But this cliffy was such a good one, I had to use it!
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Dee closed the car door and looked over the restaurant. It was rather old. My parents were good friends with the grandchildren on the original owners. It had stayed in their family and was now being run by the great grandchildren. The gravel parking lot had not changed and it was still the biggest meeting for the drug-ys, who are little more than light alcoholics in this town. The last interesting thing that happened here was before it was even founded.
My parents death had sent ripples through this town. Here, everyone knew everyone, and family secrets were closely guarded. No one could ever talk about how Mary's aunt got a divorce, it was a family secret. If there were ever a more conservative town, I am yet to find it. Here the police's biggest case is when the McDugal's cat runs away.
I was already receiving glares of hate as I walked through the door with Dee. The little bell on it run and the room became silent. I intertwined my fingers with Dee's and waited for service. A waitress walked over to us without a word and led us to our table. I thanked her and took a seat. Some people, after seeing that we did not plan on leaving, stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Bobby, who had had his morning coffee here every day since I started kindergarten, walked off without finishing his drink. I was more than they could handle.
I took a deep breath and looked at Dee. He watched the room behind me and chuckled "You should see some of their faces. This one person looks like a grape that got left out in the sun too long but isn't a raisin yet." I smiled as well and kept my eyes on Dee.
Verdant orbs watched my every move. Dee suddenly looked up. The waitress, an old friend of mine named Tiffany, Tiff for short, was back for our orders. "I'll have the waffles, and could I please have tea instead of coffee?"
The waitress rolled her eyes and jotted it down. Dee placed his order, eggs and bacon with extra bacon. "You know, you would be so much prettier if your attitude matched your body." Dee went back to what he was doing after his snide remark.
She sighed and walked off. Halfway to giving our orders to the kitchen, she was stopped by a man in a gray coat with a stiff brown hat. It was Mr. Jenkens, the old man who lived on High St. in a small house. They talked for ages, Tiff not being able to hide her outgoing attitude for any longer. She had always been able to talk and talk, which is why her silent treatment surprised me.
"Don't think about it Ryo. Now that you have started you cant give up." Dee took my hand in his and leaned closer. "If you walk out of those doors, you are telling them that they have won, you now think that it is wrong to follow your heart. The Ryo that I know loves me. Please tell me that you didn't shove him in a ditch on the way over here."
I had to laugh. Dee's eyes held more happiness than ever and I could understand why. He saw that I was willing to put up with other people knowing about our love and rejecting it. I was no longer the timid little Ryo who turned tail and ran whenever I might step out of the social norm. It was I a fear that I had carried with me from growing up in a small town where people were ostracized for their second-cousin-twice-removed's bad behavior.
"Dee, I'm really sorry about everything that Uncle Rick said." I tried to start up a conversation. The glares were stand-able, but the silence was killing me.
"Don't be, babe. You aren't responsible for his behavior, and if I were you, I wouldn't be worried about his behavior as much as what you said." His face formed into a smile, right up to his eyes. "You just told your uncle to fuck off! Now if I'm not rubbing off in you then I don't know what that was! No, I know what it was, a classic Ryo outburst."
I felt my cheeks getting hot. His hand reached up and touched my face calmly and made me look up. He leaned in close and gave me a quick kiss. My jaw dropped some and I was ready to hit him. He knew that I wasn't ready to do that in front of people who had known me before I was out of diapers!
He smirked as he pulled away. All eyes were fixed on us now. My breath caught in my throat. Something like this was inexcusable. My mouth tried to form words but instead I caught myself leaning in and kissing him. I caught his lower lip between mine and made use of it. Some people looked away, others muttered about what the world was coming to today.
I was shocked with myself, not knowing what caused me to act like that. Dee ran his fingers through my hair and caressed my cheek. "See Ryo, that wasn't too bad, now was it?" He saw my eyes dart from his and around the room. "Don't look at them. Ignore them right now. Until I say otherwise, it is only you, me, and food that is floating towards us because there are no other people here."
The slamming of plates stopped his methodical voice. Left unchecked, I could listen to it for hours on end. It didn't matter what he said, only that it was him saying it. Although his hand had dropped from my face, it still made its self useful. He rubbed my hand as I did ate the most difficult meal I had ever had.
The restaurant was known for having some of the best tasting food around and I had been there enough to know that they deserved it. This time, however, everything tasted worse than mud. Dee's eggs, which he specifically asked for them fully cooked, were runny and his bacon was replaced with the extra charcoal delight. My waffles were deformed. One of them was lukewarm and the other was ice cold. My tea could not steep because it was not hot enough. They just turned on the hot tap water instead of boiling it.
I was ready to keep my mouth shut about it. We had done wrong in their eyes and this was our punishment. Dee's mind was different. He called the waitress back and demanded to know what was going on. "Ryo said that the food here was good! If you feed this kind of food to everyone here I don't know how they could get through the day without keeling over from food poisoning. Ryo and I want a decent meal, not this shit."
"You will take what you get and be happy with it, got it queer?" Mr. Jenkens grumbled before turning back to his paper and coffee. Several diners nodded or agreed in some way. The dull roar that ran around died quickly. It was me against them. They could care less about Dee, he was only a gay from New York, what trouble could he cause other than corrupting me? I, on the other hand, was raised right here alongside their children. As far as they were concerned, I was a black spot on their town's record. No matter how far back in history, there were only two open gays in this town and they were both my age and were now dead. One was killed and the other committed suicide afterward.
There were others, but no one had the courage that it took to stay here. Other than those two boys, everyone else ran away from this town and was soon forgotten about. Now I was here, I wasn't leaving, and I had brought Dee with me. I was a disgrace to the town.
"No! I will get decent food like the rest of you." Dee stood up and looked Mr. Jenkens in the eye. Many people were frightened by the strange old man. Growing up in the slums taught Dee not to fear someone, at least not on the outside.
"Dee, sit down, you are causing a scene!" I pulled on his shirt as I pleaded. He had to stop.
"No, not until I get something to eat that will stay in my stomach. This is a case of sexual harassment and discrimination. The comment that oldie in the coat said is the one to bump it up to harassment."
"Calm down there, boy. You don't know what you are talking about here." Mr. Jones, the local police chief stood up, taking a deep sip of his coffee. " Why don't you just leave now and stop causing trouble."
"Shove it, I have seen rent-a-cops with more credentials than you doughnut boy. If you think that I, a detective in the homicide division of the 27th precinct in good ole NYC, am going to be frightened by some fat cop who has nothing better to do than sit around and drink coffee all day then you have another thing coming. If I can take on the street like of NYC I think I can handle you!"
"Watch it lily ass!" Chief Jones slammed his cup down. "Some people don't know when to quit, I assume that you are one of them! You win right now, but you wont feel so good after we finish. Tiff, be a good little girl and bring Mr. big shot over there some damn food."
Dee and I ate slowly. I could feel the eyes burning into the back of my head but I did my best to ignore it. Soft chatter filled the room behind me and I tried to play it off as just people talking about their day to day lives, not the local scandal.
We walked out the restaurant together, hand in hand. I was worried about what would happen when we got home. Maybe my uncle would realize that I was and adult and could make my own decisions, which translated to my aunt telling him to be nice.
"Ah shit!" Dee turned around "I forgot my coat and it's damn windy today! I'll be right back." Dee went back into the restaurant and I waited outside of it, watching the door and waiting for him to return.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Something was not right about this. I spun around and was face to face with Jered, the big man who had lead to the death of Jett, the gay who was killed. Everyone knew it but nothing happened. The town had wanted to move on.
"Hello Ryo, you didn't think that we would let you get away with this, did you? Time for you to pay!" He jumped me, knocking me to the gravel. It tore into my back, ripping my shirt to shreds. Two of his cohorts grabbed my arms and held me down. I tried to kick at them but they stayed out of range. "Is that all you have got faggot? Go queer ass fighting moves?" Jered began pounding into my chest and stomach with his fists. He sat on my legs to hold them still.
As much as it hurt, I didn't cry out. I had to prove that I could handle it. I couldn't just call for Dee, it would only make it worse. One of the men holding my arms yanked me up. The other man mirrored his movements. Their rough hands pushed me into the back seat of the car. Jered climbed into the front seat followed by the man who had been on my right side. The left side man came back with me, ready to prevent any trouble.
As they lifted me up I had gotten a look into the restaurant. Chief Jenkens was holding Dee's coat and generally pissing him off. He had been in on this too. He had been in with the plot to kill Jett too I'll bet! The similarities shot through me and turned my stomach. I was going to die. Bikky would be alone! I couldn't do that to him, he had already lost one father. What about Dee? Would he find my body? Could he get over it if he did? There were too many questions and not enough answers to go around.
I couldn't see where they were taking me but I could hear everything. They pulled out of the parking lot and zoomed around the roads. I heard them pass the playground and begin to slow down. God, don't let them do it there! Don't let some kid see this. I could see it now, a small child is traumatized after finding a dead body under the jungle gym.
They were not slowing down to stop, only to turn. A sigh of relief passed through me as the sounds of giggling children passed into the distance. They should never have to deal with finding a body, not even as adults.
When the car did stop it was in a secluded area. I could hear the sounds of birds chirping, the rustle of deer being frightened away, and the babbling of the brook. I knew this place. It was nicknamed Lover's Hideaway and was the most romantic spot to take your date. Oh did they have a sense of irony! Being killed for my love where countless people declared theirs. I was laughing now!
"Get out of the car fag." The left man gripped my arm again and started to drag me out. The place was just as I remembered it. A clearing with a large willow tree and a small brook passing under it. Under the branches of the tree was a small stone bench forgotten by time and polished by all those who sat on it. A fat branch had broken off of the tree and the part still attached served as a stepping stone to climb into the large branches. It was the perfect spot to nestle into if the bench was too cold or not private enough.
They pushed me onto the ground and tied my hands behind my back so that I couldn't struggle. They lifted me to my feet and pushed me at the branches. The leaves whipped my face and I just about hit the bench. I turned myself at the last moment and hit a root.
The three men pushed the branches aside and stepped in. "Time for a little fun faggot." They stood overtop of me, looking down as I looked up. All of the defenses that I had learned to become a cop left me. Shear panic took their place. They started to kick me. It wasn't hard at first, but it hurt. This must have been what they did to Jett. He had suffered just as I was now.
One of their feet collided with my stomach. All of the food that I had fought for was now laying on the ground and greeting my eyes for the second time. They turned me over to avoid having to kick the disgusting puddle and started up again.
A car pulled up and the door opened and shut. The three criminals ran away, but not after one last kick. It was not too hard of a kick, but it knocked my head back into the stone bench. My vision blurred. I saw someone running over to me, I couldn't tell who it was, and reach downward. Before they reached me, my vision went black.
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ooh! Who found him? Was it his uncle who has realized his wrongs? His aunt who has done the same? Dee who doesn't have to realize his wrongs? A friend of his who heard about the plot? Just some random person who has no idea what they are doing in a fanfic? JJ who thought that it was Dee? Riz trying to make it into another panel (Riz- a person who appeared in the third book for an entire panel to say hello to "Randy" thought it was a guy, now not so sure because he looks like a girl but has an extremely flat chest.)
Ok, apology time! Sorry for not updating. As usual, I have an excuse. Last time it was the laptop cord thing, this time it is the musical! Give me a small break here. Practice doesn't end until nine, soon it will go even later, and the only days off I have are Friday, which is reserved for working on the green sword, and Sundays. On Sundays I am dead and anything that I want to do that isn't absolutely required, such as going to my friend's b-day party, ends up getting shoved onto Sunday. Any time that I have away from the musical/green sword is reserved as sleeping time because I need it! I almost fell asleep during a history test and I love my history teacher because he joined the green sword.
Anyway, that is my excuse until April 4th the day after the cast party! So happy! Anyway, I will try to update before then, mostly because there isn't much of the story left!
I love my readers, I really do! But this cliffy was such a good one, I had to use it!
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Dee closed the car door and looked over the restaurant. It was rather old. My parents were good friends with the grandchildren on the original owners. It had stayed in their family and was now being run by the great grandchildren. The gravel parking lot had not changed and it was still the biggest meeting for the drug-ys, who are little more than light alcoholics in this town. The last interesting thing that happened here was before it was even founded.
My parents death had sent ripples through this town. Here, everyone knew everyone, and family secrets were closely guarded. No one could ever talk about how Mary's aunt got a divorce, it was a family secret. If there were ever a more conservative town, I am yet to find it. Here the police's biggest case is when the McDugal's cat runs away.
I was already receiving glares of hate as I walked through the door with Dee. The little bell on it run and the room became silent. I intertwined my fingers with Dee's and waited for service. A waitress walked over to us without a word and led us to our table. I thanked her and took a seat. Some people, after seeing that we did not plan on leaving, stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Bobby, who had had his morning coffee here every day since I started kindergarten, walked off without finishing his drink. I was more than they could handle.
I took a deep breath and looked at Dee. He watched the room behind me and chuckled "You should see some of their faces. This one person looks like a grape that got left out in the sun too long but isn't a raisin yet." I smiled as well and kept my eyes on Dee.
Verdant orbs watched my every move. Dee suddenly looked up. The waitress, an old friend of mine named Tiffany, Tiff for short, was back for our orders. "I'll have the waffles, and could I please have tea instead of coffee?"
The waitress rolled her eyes and jotted it down. Dee placed his order, eggs and bacon with extra bacon. "You know, you would be so much prettier if your attitude matched your body." Dee went back to what he was doing after his snide remark.
She sighed and walked off. Halfway to giving our orders to the kitchen, she was stopped by a man in a gray coat with a stiff brown hat. It was Mr. Jenkens, the old man who lived on High St. in a small house. They talked for ages, Tiff not being able to hide her outgoing attitude for any longer. She had always been able to talk and talk, which is why her silent treatment surprised me.
"Don't think about it Ryo. Now that you have started you cant give up." Dee took my hand in his and leaned closer. "If you walk out of those doors, you are telling them that they have won, you now think that it is wrong to follow your heart. The Ryo that I know loves me. Please tell me that you didn't shove him in a ditch on the way over here."
I had to laugh. Dee's eyes held more happiness than ever and I could understand why. He saw that I was willing to put up with other people knowing about our love and rejecting it. I was no longer the timid little Ryo who turned tail and ran whenever I might step out of the social norm. It was I a fear that I had carried with me from growing up in a small town where people were ostracized for their second-cousin-twice-removed's bad behavior.
"Dee, I'm really sorry about everything that Uncle Rick said." I tried to start up a conversation. The glares were stand-able, but the silence was killing me.
"Don't be, babe. You aren't responsible for his behavior, and if I were you, I wouldn't be worried about his behavior as much as what you said." His face formed into a smile, right up to his eyes. "You just told your uncle to fuck off! Now if I'm not rubbing off in you then I don't know what that was! No, I know what it was, a classic Ryo outburst."
I felt my cheeks getting hot. His hand reached up and touched my face calmly and made me look up. He leaned in close and gave me a quick kiss. My jaw dropped some and I was ready to hit him. He knew that I wasn't ready to do that in front of people who had known me before I was out of diapers!
He smirked as he pulled away. All eyes were fixed on us now. My breath caught in my throat. Something like this was inexcusable. My mouth tried to form words but instead I caught myself leaning in and kissing him. I caught his lower lip between mine and made use of it. Some people looked away, others muttered about what the world was coming to today.
I was shocked with myself, not knowing what caused me to act like that. Dee ran his fingers through my hair and caressed my cheek. "See Ryo, that wasn't too bad, now was it?" He saw my eyes dart from his and around the room. "Don't look at them. Ignore them right now. Until I say otherwise, it is only you, me, and food that is floating towards us because there are no other people here."
The slamming of plates stopped his methodical voice. Left unchecked, I could listen to it for hours on end. It didn't matter what he said, only that it was him saying it. Although his hand had dropped from my face, it still made its self useful. He rubbed my hand as I did ate the most difficult meal I had ever had.
The restaurant was known for having some of the best tasting food around and I had been there enough to know that they deserved it. This time, however, everything tasted worse than mud. Dee's eggs, which he specifically asked for them fully cooked, were runny and his bacon was replaced with the extra charcoal delight. My waffles were deformed. One of them was lukewarm and the other was ice cold. My tea could not steep because it was not hot enough. They just turned on the hot tap water instead of boiling it.
I was ready to keep my mouth shut about it. We had done wrong in their eyes and this was our punishment. Dee's mind was different. He called the waitress back and demanded to know what was going on. "Ryo said that the food here was good! If you feed this kind of food to everyone here I don't know how they could get through the day without keeling over from food poisoning. Ryo and I want a decent meal, not this shit."
"You will take what you get and be happy with it, got it queer?" Mr. Jenkens grumbled before turning back to his paper and coffee. Several diners nodded or agreed in some way. The dull roar that ran around died quickly. It was me against them. They could care less about Dee, he was only a gay from New York, what trouble could he cause other than corrupting me? I, on the other hand, was raised right here alongside their children. As far as they were concerned, I was a black spot on their town's record. No matter how far back in history, there were only two open gays in this town and they were both my age and were now dead. One was killed and the other committed suicide afterward.
There were others, but no one had the courage that it took to stay here. Other than those two boys, everyone else ran away from this town and was soon forgotten about. Now I was here, I wasn't leaving, and I had brought Dee with me. I was a disgrace to the town.
"No! I will get decent food like the rest of you." Dee stood up and looked Mr. Jenkens in the eye. Many people were frightened by the strange old man. Growing up in the slums taught Dee not to fear someone, at least not on the outside.
"Dee, sit down, you are causing a scene!" I pulled on his shirt as I pleaded. He had to stop.
"No, not until I get something to eat that will stay in my stomach. This is a case of sexual harassment and discrimination. The comment that oldie in the coat said is the one to bump it up to harassment."
"Calm down there, boy. You don't know what you are talking about here." Mr. Jones, the local police chief stood up, taking a deep sip of his coffee. " Why don't you just leave now and stop causing trouble."
"Shove it, I have seen rent-a-cops with more credentials than you doughnut boy. If you think that I, a detective in the homicide division of the 27th precinct in good ole NYC, am going to be frightened by some fat cop who has nothing better to do than sit around and drink coffee all day then you have another thing coming. If I can take on the street like of NYC I think I can handle you!"
"Watch it lily ass!" Chief Jones slammed his cup down. "Some people don't know when to quit, I assume that you are one of them! You win right now, but you wont feel so good after we finish. Tiff, be a good little girl and bring Mr. big shot over there some damn food."
Dee and I ate slowly. I could feel the eyes burning into the back of my head but I did my best to ignore it. Soft chatter filled the room behind me and I tried to play it off as just people talking about their day to day lives, not the local scandal.
We walked out the restaurant together, hand in hand. I was worried about what would happen when we got home. Maybe my uncle would realize that I was and adult and could make my own decisions, which translated to my aunt telling him to be nice.
"Ah shit!" Dee turned around "I forgot my coat and it's damn windy today! I'll be right back." Dee went back into the restaurant and I waited outside of it, watching the door and waiting for him to return.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Something was not right about this. I spun around and was face to face with Jered, the big man who had lead to the death of Jett, the gay who was killed. Everyone knew it but nothing happened. The town had wanted to move on.
"Hello Ryo, you didn't think that we would let you get away with this, did you? Time for you to pay!" He jumped me, knocking me to the gravel. It tore into my back, ripping my shirt to shreds. Two of his cohorts grabbed my arms and held me down. I tried to kick at them but they stayed out of range. "Is that all you have got faggot? Go queer ass fighting moves?" Jered began pounding into my chest and stomach with his fists. He sat on my legs to hold them still.
As much as it hurt, I didn't cry out. I had to prove that I could handle it. I couldn't just call for Dee, it would only make it worse. One of the men holding my arms yanked me up. The other man mirrored his movements. Their rough hands pushed me into the back seat of the car. Jered climbed into the front seat followed by the man who had been on my right side. The left side man came back with me, ready to prevent any trouble.
As they lifted me up I had gotten a look into the restaurant. Chief Jenkens was holding Dee's coat and generally pissing him off. He had been in on this too. He had been in with the plot to kill Jett too I'll bet! The similarities shot through me and turned my stomach. I was going to die. Bikky would be alone! I couldn't do that to him, he had already lost one father. What about Dee? Would he find my body? Could he get over it if he did? There were too many questions and not enough answers to go around.
I couldn't see where they were taking me but I could hear everything. They pulled out of the parking lot and zoomed around the roads. I heard them pass the playground and begin to slow down. God, don't let them do it there! Don't let some kid see this. I could see it now, a small child is traumatized after finding a dead body under the jungle gym.
They were not slowing down to stop, only to turn. A sigh of relief passed through me as the sounds of giggling children passed into the distance. They should never have to deal with finding a body, not even as adults.
When the car did stop it was in a secluded area. I could hear the sounds of birds chirping, the rustle of deer being frightened away, and the babbling of the brook. I knew this place. It was nicknamed Lover's Hideaway and was the most romantic spot to take your date. Oh did they have a sense of irony! Being killed for my love where countless people declared theirs. I was laughing now!
"Get out of the car fag." The left man gripped my arm again and started to drag me out. The place was just as I remembered it. A clearing with a large willow tree and a small brook passing under it. Under the branches of the tree was a small stone bench forgotten by time and polished by all those who sat on it. A fat branch had broken off of the tree and the part still attached served as a stepping stone to climb into the large branches. It was the perfect spot to nestle into if the bench was too cold or not private enough.
They pushed me onto the ground and tied my hands behind my back so that I couldn't struggle. They lifted me to my feet and pushed me at the branches. The leaves whipped my face and I just about hit the bench. I turned myself at the last moment and hit a root.
The three men pushed the branches aside and stepped in. "Time for a little fun faggot." They stood overtop of me, looking down as I looked up. All of the defenses that I had learned to become a cop left me. Shear panic took their place. They started to kick me. It wasn't hard at first, but it hurt. This must have been what they did to Jett. He had suffered just as I was now.
One of their feet collided with my stomach. All of the food that I had fought for was now laying on the ground and greeting my eyes for the second time. They turned me over to avoid having to kick the disgusting puddle and started up again.
A car pulled up and the door opened and shut. The three criminals ran away, but not after one last kick. It was not too hard of a kick, but it knocked my head back into the stone bench. My vision blurred. I saw someone running over to me, I couldn't tell who it was, and reach downward. Before they reached me, my vision went black.
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ooh! Who found him? Was it his uncle who has realized his wrongs? His aunt who has done the same? Dee who doesn't have to realize his wrongs? A friend of his who heard about the plot? Just some random person who has no idea what they are doing in a fanfic? JJ who thought that it was Dee? Riz trying to make it into another panel (Riz- a person who appeared in the third book for an entire panel to say hello to "Randy" thought it was a guy, now not so sure because he looks like a girl but has an extremely flat chest.)
Ok, apology time! Sorry for not updating. As usual, I have an excuse. Last time it was the laptop cord thing, this time it is the musical! Give me a small break here. Practice doesn't end until nine, soon it will go even later, and the only days off I have are Friday, which is reserved for working on the green sword, and Sundays. On Sundays I am dead and anything that I want to do that isn't absolutely required, such as going to my friend's b-day party, ends up getting shoved onto Sunday. Any time that I have away from the musical/green sword is reserved as sleeping time because I need it! I almost fell asleep during a history test and I love my history teacher because he joined the green sword.
Anyway, that is my excuse until April 4th the day after the cast party! So happy! Anyway, I will try to update before then, mostly because there isn't much of the story left!