Wow! It's been forever. I'm really sorry about this taking so long, about a month ago I'd promised tobiasdomink to have the next chapter out in a week. As you can see, that didn't go too well. On the plus side, I made five batches of sugar cookies just in time for April schoolbreak. Real life's just been...hectic and I haven't had the time, and frankly the modivation for most of my fics, like this one. But I wrote it, and I like it.

So here it is. Thanks for support from: leev, Nikana, LaBOBuren, Webkistune, The Original Marisa, Snake Mistress and Estel Baggins. Please review!


Jimmy: Richie's Story
Chapter Two


"Hey Richie!" Virgil yelled, looking up at me from the basketball court below, ball under his arm. Sweaty happy Virgil couldn't be more at home playing a normal average cut-throat game of high school basketball. He grinned up at me as he added "Wanna shoot some hoops?"

Everyone stopped.

His face crashed and I could see the thoughts form. 'Shit Virgil, you just had to open your big mouth. He has a bullet wound in his leg- duh he can't play hoops. Stupid." I couldn't let Virgil feel bad.

"Naw." I yelled back, forcing my face into a wide grin. "I'd feel too bad about beating you on crutches."

The guys all laughed and Virgil smiled as I waved down to him before hobbling on my way down the halls. I'd finally gotten the hang of these evil crutches. Swinging my wierght wasn't hard- it just took so long. Maybe I could put rockets on then end…

I snorted at myself, "yeah right Richie, I'm sure rockets on the end of wooden sticks is a great idea. Why don't you torch the whole school while you're at it."

'Shut up.' I thought. 'Virgil likes my inventions.'

'That's because that sheet thing was a good invention. This is not. This sucks.'

'Yeah, well, you suck.'

'Dumbass.'

Then I stopped, because, well... I'd just called myself a dumbass and not many people to that, and because I'd crutched into something.

A railing. To the stairs.

I stared at stairs. Sure, let's have the elevator break down and put the psychologist's office on the second floor. I don't mind. It's not like I have somewhere to be or that I hate school and have stupid horrible evil crutches that are just about the heaviest things on the planet and just came from a torture session with an crotchety old lady that enjoys her job waaay too much.

You can do this Richie.

Step down. Move the crutch down- carefully, because if it was on the edge I've be falling down the entire thing. And that would suck. Really really suck. About ten minutes past and I was down three steps. Only about five thousands left to go.

A sudden sound made me look up from my studious effort of getting down the stairs- if I put this kind of effort in school, my father would never rag on me again. I'd ha-

Virgil stood at the bottom, staring up at me. "Hey." he said, looking a bit down. Sad? Why? He held his books in one hand, an awful lot just for our next class. Shit! Math! I was gonna be so late.

"Hey yourself." I answered, shining him a smile before slowly concentrating on getting back down. Maybe if I went fast enough I could make to the end of Math.

"You know." He said, suddenly next to me. Stupid moving people with legs. You never realize how hard it is to move until there's a stupid cast that tells you you can't. Did I mention I hate these crutches? "I never thought you'd ever look like a kitten."

I stopped and stared at him. A kitten? A wimpy little weak kitten? Those things that went meow? I don't think I've ever been so insulted… "Dude, you think I look like a kitten? And here I thought you were my best bro."

He grinned at me, suddenly really close. He smelled good. Really good...

"I am, who else would do this?" And then he scooped me up.

Crutches and all, I was being carried down the stairs in the arms of my best friend. How whacked out could this get? How much more girly could I be, arms wrapped around his neck like some little kid? How much more perfect could this get?

I mean, I know I'm gay, gay and horrible fixated on one person. coughcoughVirgil coughcough

But he's…not... and if anyone saw him and me like this… like a married couple off to their honeymoon….I don't want to think about it. Even if he didn't like me, he's saved me- there I go again, like some weak damsel in distress. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can't whup ass! That fact that I'm a wimpy geek means I can't whup any ass.

I sighed and Virgil gave me this cute puzzled look. Virgil's my best friend, my almost brother, the guy I'm hoping to still hang with 92 years from now. I should at least warn him about the whole people-thinking-you're-gay-idea thing. Not that he would be really feeked out, but he doesn'y knows about me. I just… haven't gotten around to telling him.

Still, I should tell him about this, just so that he'll put me down before I start to purr or something. I opened my mouth and started "Ah….", but it went downhill from there, with him still looking at me with those puppy brown eyes and then his arm moved just a bit, so it was warm againest my bare skin and I almost did purr like a kitten.

I don't want to ruin this.

It's a moment, one of those ones you want a Kodak camera for, to burn it into your brain, and I know that I'm not ever gonna feel like this again. I think this is the closest we've been since I got sh- since Jimmy. Everyone'd been steering clear of me, giving me room, but too much room so that I was walking around wondering if I'd gotten a really gross zit or something that was making everyone back so far away. Funny, how I cursed these stupid crutches, but then forgot they're even there the next moment.

But right now, being carried down the school stairs by Virgil , these crutches aren't too bad. Not too bad at all.


What do you think about Richie's character? I'm not quite sure I got him right.