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DIR Return to: All-American Boy (a novel by Jack Wells)
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#Post#: 30480--------------------------------------------------
All-American Boy
By: Jack Date: February 25, 2025, 2:28 am
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All day Thursday, I kept waiting for something to happen. I
mean, Walker and I had shown Mr. Keegan that we weren’t going to
be bullied, and legally there was nothing they could do, but
that didn't make me feel better. You know those movies where
you know something’s about to happen, and you feel like you’re
about to jump out of your skin waiting for it? I felt like
that, except I was in the movie instead of watching it.
By lunchtime, I was starting to relax a bit. Not being paranoid
does seem to make the day go more smoothly.
In Theater, I told Carrie that I just couldn’t get into the
play, so I wanted to withdraw from auditions. I told her that
I'd be happy to work at whatever backstage position she wanted
to put me. Her response was to try to convince me to audition
anyway.
I agreed to try, and spent the period rehearsing.
It was good to get back to the dojo and really have a chance to
work out. It felt weird without Jake there, and everyone was
kind of treating me gently, but I ignored that and tried to slot
back into my regular routine.
I started with a good warmup on my own, until Coach Petersen was
ready to start the class, and then I did our regular warm up
with them. Muay Thai is more like boxing than karate, in that
it doesn’t have colored belts. However, you can tell that some
people are more skilled than others.
Coach took most of the class for some light sparring, but he
pulled me and Rick aside. Rick and I were both pretty good, and
I think we were ahead of most of the class, so I wasn’t sure
what I was expecting when Coach told us to work with Mark.
Besides working in the office, I’d noticed Mark was pretty good
with BJJ and Muay Thai, so I wasn’t surprised to see him doing
some coaching. What did surprise me was where he took us.
Instead of one of the sparring rings, he took us over to where
there was some - as far as I knew - new equipment set up.
“These,” Mark explained, “are Mark Two body action systems.”
They were actually pads like you use to practice punch and
kicks, but instead of someone holding them for you, they were
mounted on a reinforced stand at about head and torso level, and
they had padded ‘arms and legs’ which would interfere if you
didn’t come in at the right angle.
“Real simple,” Mark added. “Coach wants to test these and the
two of you, so I’m going to be calling combos. We’ll start with
just punches and kicks, and work in elbows and knees as we go.
Let’s see how you two keep up.”
An hour later, I was covered in sweat and exhausted. My hands
and feet ached, and my arms and legs felt like wet noodles.
“What did you think?” Coach Petersen asked.
“I loved it,” I told him honestly.
At least Dillon was picking me up, because I don’t think I’d
have made it home if I’d been on my bike.
I felt much more comfortable at school Friday. Things went by
smoothly, and I managed to keep ahead of homework, so at the end
of the day I didn’t have anything to do at home. What I did
have to do was… sing.
Adam’s audition was just before mine, and both of them were
right after school ended. We could have left then, and that’s
what I was planning on, but then something amazing happened -
Austin and Tanner walked in.
This, I had to watch.
I had planned on buying all of us dinner or something, but the
two of them had pretty early auditions. Of course the cousins
were scheduled back to back.
Adam, Walker, and I sat quietly and watched the auditions
between ours and the kids. We only left to make a quick trip to
our lockers, and I went and got us drinks. It didn’t take too
long before it was Tanner’s turn. I was a bit surprised when
both of them walked up to Carrie, but Tanner spoke to her, then
Austin walked over and sat down at the piano. The accompanist
looked surprised, but she got up after Carrie okayed it.
Austin hit a couple of chords, ran a scale, and then looked over
his shoulder.
“Hey Snoopy, are you asleep or something? I’ve been standing
here for a minute with your supper dish. It’s suppertime.”
And Tanner broke into a speech, including moves.
“Okay, there’s no need for a big production,” Austin said, and
then broke into the music, and Tanner began to sing and dance.
I don’t care if it was an audition, I applauded.
After Tanner had sat down with us, and Carrie had made some
notes, it was Austin’s turn. He introduced himself, and then he
broke into a song without all the production, but that was even
more amazing for being just his voice.
Herregud! My little buddy was incredible.
Walker later told me it was ‘One Knight’. It was from
Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure, and it was an awesome
love song - kinda.
As assistant director, Walker was staying for all the auditions,
but the rest of us left after Austin was finished. The other
guys couldn’t call their parents yet. It was a nice evening,
but already starting to get dark, so I called Linda, and she
came and brought us all home, and they called their parents to
pick them up there. We talked for a while about what everyone
was doing for the weekend, and I ended up changing my plans for
the weekend a bit.
Dillon suggested we were going to order in again, but I was
struck by a sudden craving, and I had the guys move into the
kitchen with me. Sure enough, we had the ingredients I wanted,
so I told Dee I’d handle it.
You’d think with people like Guy Fieri and Gordon Ramsey, a guy
cooking wouldn’t be that big a deal, but the kids were looking
at me like what I was doing was amazing. Adam had heard the
story before, but I told Austin and Tanner about how Hilde had
started teaching me to cook, after it had begun to look like I’d
have to move to America. That led into a few stories about
Emil, and we were talking about Oslo in general when Angie
showed up to take them home. After they’d left, I turned to
Adam.
“I’m making extra. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“It smells delicious, but I have homework to do, and if I don’t
want to be grounded again, I have to get that and my chores done
before I go out tomorrow. Besides, Mom should be here any
second. Rain check?”
Right as he asked, he got a text saying his mom was out front,
so I agreed. We exchanged a modest kiss before he left, leaving
me in a very good, and only slightly frustrated mood.
Thirty minutes later, Dillon, Linda, and I were sitting down for
a pleasant meal of Kjøttkaker, which is Norwegian meatballs in a
rich gravy which I served over mashed potatoes, with
citrus-roast carrots as a side (I’d gotten those off a website,
because Hilde’s carrots always came out kind of soggy).
It was nice sitting down with Linda and Dee. After they
complimented me on the meal, they started talking to each other
about the work week and their weekend plans. They didn’t make a
point of including me, but they didn’t exclude me either. They
were just having a conversation that I didn't need to
participate in, and it was okay if I did, and okay if I didn’t.
Once their weekend plans were decided, then they started
actually talking to me. Not that I had a lot of plans. It was
still funny to me that they worried about leaving me home while
they went dancing or went to a friend’s house to play cards. I
don’t know if they didn't remember when they were kids, or if
they just thought iGeners weren’t competent. Then again, they
probably didn’t realize that I’d been in school with people
living in hybels, basically renting a room in someone else’s
home, because they lived too far away to attend a videregående
skole. Either way, I was as happy to have a movie night with
them or just to sit around reading, as I was for them to go out
and let me have some real private time.
After deciding that, I mentioned how the audition had gone, and
then we talked about what Monty had suggested.
“What were his four points he wanted you to think about?”
“Well, he said a lot of dances have themes, but that seems
pretty easy - pride. He said we have to think about selling
food or drinks, and how much we want to do, and additional clean
up. He said that, if I don’t want to bother with that one, his
youth group can do most of it, and we could split the proceeds
with their summer camp program. Ummm… he said we have to think
about the date, but he and I already talked about that and
decided when would be good, so he could look at the schedule and
see when would be possible. Then he talked about advertising,
and we already have part of that covered.”
“Covered how?”
“Well, Jim said he could mention it on his radio show, but that
goes out pretty wide, so it might get unwanted attention. That
reporter I talked to said she can have it mentioned on our local
page and link it to that interview I did. Also, they have to
announce it at school like they do other events or they’re
violating the Equal Access Act, and they have to let us hand out
flyers as long as we don’t do it in class. Plus, there are a
couple of kids Walker knows who are really good at social media
and they’ll help us get the word out.”
“Flyers?” Linda asked.
I don’t think she noticed Dee roll his eyes but I remembered
those great Christmas cards she’d designed, and I knew exactly
what she was thinking.
“Yes, and I’d be grateful.”
“For what?”
“Don’t tease. You were going to ask if you could help design
them?”
She smiled.
“Well, okay, since you asked so nicely.”
Since I cooked, they cleaned up, so I went on to my room. It
was barely 7:30 by the time we finished eating. I’d planned to
go to bed early, but that seemed a bit ridiculous. Instead, I
fired up my computer. Once again, I had quite a few emails
stacked up, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been for a few
days.
After answering the emails, I just played around for a while,
catching up on some Youtubes, checking a few favorite sites, and
reading some of my favorite web comics. Finally, about nine
o’clock, I decided to go to bed and read for a while. I wasn’t
stressed or sore enough to really want a bath so I just
showered. Twenty minutes later, I stood in front of my bookcase
for a couple of minutes until I finally found something I felt
like reading, and I crawled into bed.
#Post#: 30481--------------------------------------------------
Re: All-American Boy
By: Jack Date: February 25, 2025, 2:28 am
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The next morning was sad.
It started off normally. I did my regular warmup routine then
ran. When my run was over and I’d cooled down, I fixed
breakfast and lingered a bit.
It was only on my way to the dojo that I realized it was going
to be my first real BJJ workout without Jake. That kind of took
some of the enjoyment out of the day.
I think Coach might have been expecting something like that.
Instead of my usual routine, he pulled me aside and drilled me
through a heavy warm up. When Eddy arrived, he paired us up and
ran us through some pretty intense drills while one of the other
purple belts drilled the blue belts and kids. I was already
feeling a bit tired by the time that was done and Coach Hall
responded by pairing me up, one after another, with every other
purple belt in the group.
I was exhausted, but I’d forgotten to be depressed, so I guess
it served its purpose. After I’d done a slow and gentle cool
off, I was feeling pretty good but not ready to do any more
workouts.
After class let out, Coach Hall and Coach Petersen pulled me
aside together. It turns out that my little interview had an
unexpected side effect, and they’d had a number of new inquiries
and enrollees.
“So, we were wondering if you’d like to help teach some of the
younger classes. We could waive your membership fee.”
“I’d love to,” I responded. “But I just can’t. I have
this,Theater, Youth Group at church, the Pride Organization
we’re trying to get started. It’s a lot.”
“Ouch. That does sound like a pretty full schedule.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “And, those unreasonable teachers at the high
school even expect me to do homework.”
They both laughed.
Back home, I was running a little late but not too bad. I was
torn between rushing through the shower to make sure I was ready
and taking my time to make sure I worked out all the sore
muscles before they tensed up too bad. I tried to cut it short,
but I guess I spent a bit too long in there.
I was picking which jeans to wear when the doorbell rang.
“Should I get that?” Dee called.
“Yes, please,” I answered, shoving my favorite pair of Levi’s
511s back in the closet, and pulling on my well-worn Asket
jeans.
A moment later my door burst open and Tanner and Austin came
barrelling through. Austin was behind his cousin, and nearly
knocked him over when Tanner came to a sudden stop.
“Pick up your jaw, Tan,” Austin chastised his cousin. “You’ve
seen guys shirtless before.”
“Yeah, but…”
I quickly did the last two buttons on my jeans, then hurried to
my dresser.
“Hey, Seig,” Austin called.
“Hva skjer?” I replied.
“See,” Austin said, turning to his cousin, “I told you you’re
embarrassing him.”
“No you didn’t,” Tanner snapped, then turned back to me.
“Sorry, Sieger. Hei.”
“Hei, Tanner. It’s all right.”
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just didn’t know… You’re in
really good shape.”
“Thank you, and you didn’t embarrass me.”
“Yes, he did,” Austin asserted. You only talk Norwegian these
days when you get really uncomfortable about something.
Really? Well, sh‍it. This little drittunge knew me way
too well. Good thing we’re friends, I guess.
I don’t know how Tanner’s parents ever discipline him. He’s
normally so cute and cuddly and energetic and happy, that when
he’s down or discouraged it makes me feel bad too.
I dug through my t-shirt drawer for a moment to find the one I
wanted, pulled it on, then turned back to the boys.
“Hey,” I said to Tanner, taking his chin in my hand and lifting
it, “I’m not upset at you. I’m sorry I didn’t react well.”
“I’m sorry for staring,” Tanner replied. “I didn’t mean to make
you uncomfortable.”
“I don’t know why it did. I eat right and work out hard to stay
in good shape, I just…”
“You just don't think of yourself that way,” Austin suggested,
“so it surprises you.”
No, actually it was that Tanner was not only two years younger
than me, but about fifteen centimeters shorter. Back home,
under sixteen was statutory ra‍pe, no matter how old the
other person, and it’s actually a reason Emil and I waited,
instead of just having safe sex at first. And even in Texas,
where a two year age gap meant we were legal, he was still
enough shorter than me that it didn’t feel right.
The truth is that Tanner didn’t feel like boyfriend material.
He felt like a little brother. There was no way I was going to
share that tidbit with these two though. I liked them both
enough that anything that could be an insult to their stature
wasn’t going to escape my lips. Instead, I just agreed that
maybe he was right.
“You do have a good body,” he added.
“Thanks. And thank you, Tanner. We still friends?”
He nodded and held his fist out. I bumped him, then pulled him
into a hug.
I went back to my dresser and started loading my pockets.
“Is that a dabbing, rainbow unicorn?” Tanner asked.
I glanced down at my t-shirt, then up into the mirror and
nodded.
“You like it?”
“It’s awesome.”
Right then my phone chimed with a text from Adam saying they
were about to pull into the driveway. I quickly grabbed the
yellow and black flannel shirt I was going to wear, stepped into
my black trainers, and pulled on my black watch cap with the
Norwegian flag, and I was ready to go. The three of us headed
out the door.
“I’ll call when we’re ready to come home,” I called as we headed
out the door.
“All right,” Linda called back. “Have fun.”
We started off at this local burger place the guys had been
telling me about last night. I’d heard of it but never been
there. I was really torn, because everyone told me they had
great burgers, but I ended up ordering the jalapeño and fried
portobello mushroom with bacon and mustard.
The burgers weren’t even the big draw though. Two people
brought out our meal, and before they put our burgers down, the
first person put down a basket of fries, a basket of ‘spicy
Texas fries’, a plate of chili cheese fries, and a basket of
onion rings.
There wasn’t much to discuss. We’d been together just last
night. We’d discussed the auditions and what parts we hoped to
get. We discussed a few ideas for fundraising and naming the
group if we ever did get it going. The problem was, the four of
us were sitting at a booth, and Jake’s death lay on the table
between us like a mine field. I don’t think Austin had ever
even known him, yet he’d seen how it affected the rest of us. I
think Adam was coping, and I know I was starting to adjust, but
none of us wanted to be the one to set anything off.
We quickly settled on comics as a safe topic. Not that there
was a lot for us to discuss there, because we didn’t read the
same things for the most part. Still, Austin had gotten into
some of the non-super hero stuff that’s my main reading
material, and which Adam liked, and all of us can always talk
about the MCU.
The guys had sworn the milk shakes here were incredible, but
there was no way I was getting anything else down. The other
guys agreed with me. After just sitting for a while and
enjoying the afterglow, we paid the bill and headed over to the
comic store.
It was nice. Usually, when Walker brings us over after school
on Wednesdays, we’re kind of in a hurry because we all have
homework and chores to do. Today, we had time to really browse
around a while and look at some stuff we normally didn’t see.
That’s the whole reason the other guys wanted to come with me.
Well, except maybe Austin, who definitely came for the burgers
and company.
I’d just gone in to look around and pick up the next books in a
couple of series I was reading, but there was a guy named Chad
who worked there. I hadn’t met him before because he was a
college student and he only worked weekends. Turns out he and I
read a lot of the same stuff, and I let him talk me into reading
a couple of new titles.
We were there around an hour. Linda or Dee was going to pick us
up, and we were going to hang out at my house a couple of hours
until time for them to leave for their role playing game.
That’s what we did, but we decided we had room for milk shakes
before we went home.
I’d thought maybe we’d do something out back - work off some of
those fries - but the weather was getting colder and the sky was
looking rainy, so we went inside. We ended up in my room looking
through my bookcase. Tanner found my copy of Werewolves of
Montpellier and propped up on my bed to read it, even though
it’s in Norwegian. Me, Austin, and Adam got to talking about
books Austin might like to read.
Of course, Tanner got bored trying to figure out what was going
on in his book, so he launched a sneak attack on Adam, knowing
that I’m not very ticklish. When Austin started helping Adam, I
felt honorbound to help Tanner, and we got loud enough that
Linda came to check on us.
We never did get anything constructive done before time for them
to leave, which seems like a pretty good use of a Saturday
afternoon to me.
I woke up before the alarm Sunday morning, so I think I might
finally be catching up on my sleep. I didn’t really feel like
going to church, but I felt like I probably should, since Monty
was going out of his way to help us. Plus, Kevin was really
nice, and we’d already arranged for him to give me a ride.
The storm that had been threatening finally broke while we were
in church, which kind of cancelled my plans for a run. Instead,
I placed my weekly call to Emil, then, after lunch, Dillon spent
Sunday afternoon beating on me. I am never playing that man in
anything that has the name ‘Mario’ in it again. After Linda
finished with their laundry, I threw mine in the machine, we
scrounged some dinner, and spent the rest of the evening
catching up on TV shows that we all liked.
Monday was just fine at school. Mr. Keegan hadn’t said anything
else, and all the fuss seemed to have settled down. It was just
back to school - for good and for bad. The biggest thing that
had happened was that Austin, Tanner, Adam, and I had all made
call backs for the play. It wasn’t until school ended that the
big thing happened.
Tanner, Walker, and I had scampered out to Walker’s car, trying
not to get too wet. I let Tanner have the front seat since he
had further to go. Once I was settled in and buckled up, I took
out my phone and turned it on.
There was a voicemail from Monty. The Bishop had approved our
request and a date.
#Post#: 30482--------------------------------------------------
Re: All-American Boy
By: Jack Date: February 25, 2025, 2:45 am
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With that phone call, everything changed.
I had homework in maths and history, so I put those on my desk,
changed out of my school clothes, and went to talk with Linda.
The weather was so cold and miserable, she was happy to join me
in some coffee and waffles, and while I cooked, we talked.
Linda had already done some basic design work on the flyers, so
we just needed to adjust for the details. Before we even
finished eating, I called Angie Douglas - Austin’s Mom. She’d
volunteered to donate some printing to get us started. I let
her know what was going on, and she gave me her email addy and
told me what format she’d need it in.
My next call was to Monty to confirm a few details. He assured
me their Youth Ministry would handle the concessions, as we’d
discussed, and he gave me a ballpark figure on when and how many
we’d need to handle the clean up. From there, I called Jim, who
promised to mention it a couple of times on his program and to
contact the reporter for me. And I placed a call to Officer
Berg, who promised to talk to some of his friends at work and
call me back.
At that point, I grabbed a notebook, and started listing things
I needed to do or delegate, and things where I’d need to follow
up. As I started writing an announcement to give the office, I
decided to prioritize my homework, both because Linda apparently
enjoys being a stern taskmaster, and because I hadn’t been
grounded in almost a year and really wanted to keep it that way.
The next morning, I remembered what Mamma used to say about
discretion and valor, and I took Adam along as an impartial
witness. It ended up that I was just borrowing trouble. Either
Mr. Keegan wasn’t in yet, or he was in his office. Either way,
Mrs. Swinson - the head counselor - was in the main office. I
started talking to one of the front desk ladies, but Mrs.
Swinson overheard and came over. She was very excited about the
entire thing, and said it was past time we had an organization
like that. The problem had been that the only way to get it
done was probably the way we were approaching it now.
“There’s not a lot I can do from my position right now, but if I
can help in any way… Do you need chaperones?”
“I… have no idea. Maybe you could call Father Cavanaugh at…”
It turns out that she knew Monty very well. She actually
attended Trinity Episcopalian, but she preferred the traditional
service, which is why we’d not seen each other.
School wasn’t so bad. Classes were pretty much back to normal.
I had a lot of pressure off me. I was all caught up on homework
and mostly staying ahead of it. It’s just that my thoughts kept
going back to the dance and everything I needed to get done for
it, and I couldn’t really concentrate.
By the time I got home from the dojo, Austin and his mom had
dropped off about one thousand flyers, mixed between black and
white and color. Angie and Sara had each kept about a hundred
to pass out to businesses around where they worked. After
dinner, Dillon and Linda sat down and helped me divide up the
flyers between the real nice ones, which would be going to
businesses that agreed to display them, nice ones done with
some color, which were going to be handed out, and black and
white ones, which we could leave around various places to be
picked up if people were interested.
The next morning, after my shower, I stood in front of my
dresser and made a decision. I dug into the t-shirt drawer and
pulled out one that had been my Christmas gift from Walker that
year, but which I’d never worn before except to try it on. I
shook it out, pulled it over my head, and had to admit, it
looked good. My 511s were a no-brainer, and I went with a dark
blue and green checked flannel, black hi tops, and my old olive
drab jacket. It was pretty cold outside, but I did not feel
like either arguing with every teacher whether a watch cap was a
hat or having my hair look like a bad pile of hay, so I just
went hatless. I’ve really gotta get a haircut.
No one noticed my shirt when Walker picked me up, but when we
got out, and my jacket opened, his eyebrows went up. Austin and
Tanner both appreciated it, but no one said anything specific
about it until we met up with the rest of the guys.
When Aiden commented on the t-shirt, I spread my flannel and
jacket open, exposing the t-shirt, which was the Norway flag
flying over a rainbow flag.
“That’s pretty direct, isn’t it?” Adam asked.
“When I first moved here, all I wanted to do was keep my head
down, avoid attention, graduate, and move back home.”
“Not anymore?” Devon asked.
I shook my head.
“That’s still kind of what I want. It’s just no longer an
option. When I moved here, I was scared of hate crimes and
school shootings. Now… I’m still scared of those, I guess, but
I’m more scared of just hiding when things I know are wrong are
happening. I’m more scared of losing myself.”
I think all of them understood what I meant.
We divided up the flyers, made sure everyone knew what to do,
and went to work.
I went back to the office and caught Mrs. Swinson there. She
took some of the black and white flyers for the event tables,
and took eight of the really nice ones, promising to have an
assistant put them in the upcoming event displays that morning.
Some of the other guys were already hanging them in the less
formal places around the school, so I headed on to my locker.
Classes went better than I expected. There were a few insults
in the hall, but the only comments to my face were
complimentary. I’m not sure what I’d really expected - burning
crosses or lynch mobs? - but there was nothing but some quiet
support. The worst reaction I got to the flyers was from guys
who knew they’d have to take their girl friends to the dance.
And the dance was actually mentioned in ‘upcoming events’ during
the daily announcements, which I knew was required by law, but
still kind of surprised me.
No, things were pretty calm until lunch.
I was running late, because I’d received a note from Carrie,
asking me to drop the fancier flyers by the band and choir
halls, so they could display them there. When I came in, I
quickly realized that our usual table was the center of
attention.
Of the four as‍sholes I’d fought, three of them had been
moved to the Disciplinary Alternative Campus, and they weren’t
allowed anywhere near our school. However, Lynch was a minor,
and he hadn’t actually hit or choked anyone, so he was allowed
back when his suspension was up. He’d kept things pretty quiet
since coming back, but today, he was making himself heard loud
and clear, along with a few friends of his.
There were already some flyers on the floor, and Lynch was
screaming at Walker, but he was hovering over Adam and Tanner.
Tanner looked pretty panicked, which hit me exactly the wrong
way. The other three guys were on the other side of the table,
glaring down at Devon, Aiden, and John. None of them were as
tall as Devon, but all three of them were big and definitely
outweighed my friends.
The entire cafe was silent and watching as Lynch yelled.
“The last thing we need is a bunch more fa‍gs like you
coming outta the wood work,” Lynch yelled. “Whole lotta y’all
need the sh‍it beat outta ya.”
I glanced to my left and right, and saw Maria from my history
class. I nodded at her, then to my backpack, silently asking if
she’d watch it. She nodded, and I set it down next to her,
then stepped up closer to Lynch.
“Considering you still have a cast on your arm, some people
would think even you would be smart enough not to pull this
sh‍it.”
His friends looked up but didn’t move. Lynch turned slowly to
look over his shoulder.
“This isn’t none of your business, Euro.”
Euro? Was that supposed to be an insult?
I shook my head.
“You think I care. Those are my friends, I’m making it my
business. Now, pick up those flyers, then you can put your legs
on your neck and go hide.”
“Fu‍ck you. You think I’m scared of you?”
“Yeah, I do, but let me ask you this. I heard you talking about
them needing their asses beat when I walked in here. Are you
ready to get your ass whipped by a fa‍ggot again, and this
time in front of half the school?”
The poor moron looked confused.
“You think I’m scared of them?” he responded, waving his hand
behind him.
I rolled my eyes, but someone else - someone not sitting with my
friends - kept me from having to answer.
“He means himself, idiot. He’s the faggo.. Gay guy.”
I spread my jacket and shirt wide, exposing my t-shirt, then
held my arms to my side. There was actually some clapping and
cheers, which really surprised me.
“Now, are you going to pick those up and get out of here, or…”
He didn’t pick them up, but he and his friends all stalked out
of the cafeteria with their tails between their legs.
As soon as the door shut behind them, I turned to Adam.
“And as for you…”
His eyes went wide and he pointed to himself.
I nodded and held up one of the flyers that had scattered on the
floor.
“Have you heard there’s going to be a big Pride Dance in a few
weeks to get a new LGBT-straight group started at this school?”
speaking like I was on stage, so everyone in the caf probably
heard me.
“Yeah,” he replied dryly. “I think I’ve heard of it.”
“Well, they told me last night that, since it’s my idea, I have
to give an opening speech, then lead the first dance. In order
to lead a dance, I have to have a partner.”
I did a big side step towards him, spun, and finished with a
knee slide that brought me right up to him.
“Adam Rowe,” I continued in the same voice, while holding my
hands to him in supplication “would you be my date for the Pride
Dance?”
Adam shook his head.
“You as‍shole,” he answered quietly, but he also stood,
took my hands, and pulled me to my feet.
“I’d love to.”
I leaned towards him just a bit, tilted my head, and raised my
eyebrows. He nodded. I grabbed the back of his head with one
hand and wrapped the other around his waist, then pulled him
tight against me, and forced my tongue against his lips.
I admit, I lost myself. I’d been wanting to do this, without
doubt or hesitation, for so long. Now, blood was pounding in my
ears and my dick, and I didn’t let go until my legs were weak.
Once I did let go, I realized the noise I’d heard hadn’t all
been blood rushing. The other students were actually clapping
and cheering. Adam blushed and sat back down. I have to admit,
I was blushing too, but I took a bow, then went to get my bag.
“Sieger?” Maria asked when I picked up my backpack.
“Yeah?”
“This is my boyfriend, Steve,” she said, waving at the guy
sitting next to her. “Do you think you could teach him to kiss
like that?”
“Hey,” Steve said, sounding slightly offended.
I looked at him. He wasn’t bad looking, though maybe he needed
better acne medicine, but… Not bad.
“I could, but we’d probably have to practice to get it right.”
Steve’s mouth came open, but he didn't say a word. Maria did
though.
“Never mind. I like him straight and I don’t want to risk it.”
The poor guy still had nothing to say, but now he was beet red
in his silence.
I bumped him on the shoulder with my fist, thanked her, and
walked away.
The table was sitting in a shocked silence as I sat down and
opened my matpakke. They watched quietly as I prepared
everything, but Aiden waited until I’d taken my first bite of
cream cheese and country ham to say anything.
“Is no one going to say anything about that?”
“About what,” I asked.
“About wha… Well, for one thing, did anyone else here know you
were gay?”
Everyone else at the table admitted they did.
“Weren’t you there when I announced it to the group?”
“Yeah, but not like this.”
He nudged Devon.
“What,” Devon protested. “I’ve seen the way him and Adam look
at each other and act around each other. It don’t mean they’re
gay, but if it quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck....”
“So, any other questions?” I asked after taking another bite.
Aiden looked around at the rest of us, then leaned down and put
his head on the table, before waving a hand at us.
“No, no, y’all go on. I’m just going to sit here and feel dense
for a bit.”
I continued eating until Adam leaned into me and spoke quietly.
“That was some kiss.”
“My knees were shaking,” I admitted.
“So, this date - is it a one time thing?”
“I hope not. I don’t want it to be.”
“What about Emil?”
“Emil made his decision before I ever moved. This was always
about me not being ready to move on, never about what he’d
think.”
He was quiet a minute.
“Sieger?”
“Hmmm?”
“I know what you’ve said about Emil, but… Do you love me?”
“God yes, I love you. I’ve loved you for months, even when I
wanted to deny it. But Adam… Do you believe I can love you and
Emil both? That you’re both special to me?”
He hesitated a long second, before he nodded.
I leaned forward and kissed him, but lightly this time.
He giggled, which was not the response I’d expected.
When I pulled back, he wiped at his mouth.
“That Kaviar you like is salty.”
“The way things look,” Walker volunteered, “I’d get used to
eating salty stuff.”
“Ignore him,” I told Adam, while flipping Walker off without
looking.
He did, and this time, Adam leaned towards me.
“I love you too, Sieger.”
#Post#: 30485--------------------------------------------------
All-American Boy Chapter Thirty-Nine
By: Jack Date: February 25, 2025, 3:01 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I stood naked in front of the mirror and turned my head from
side to side. My hair was… well, as perfect as it ever got. A
little light pommade had controlled most of the curls, it was
over my ears, the bangs were drifting down onto my forehead
without making me look like a sheepdog, and the cut had been
just long enough ago that the white stripe around my neck and
ears had faded.
I dug around my drawer for a fairly new pair of boxer briefs and
debated for a moment if color even mattered, before going with
the dark green pair that looked good with my skin tone.
Undershirt, dress socks, and I had everything I needed from the
dresser.
My suit was hanging on the closet door. As I walked over there,
it occurred to me that it had been a month since I’d asked Adam
to the dance, and what a month.
We’d agreed that day that we were definitely dating, but it
would be hard to tell by the past month. We had a nice dinner
at a Mexican restaurant he liked, and then caught a movie after
it. It was a little bittersweet, because it was a horror movie,
and I think Jake would have liked it, but Adam and I held hands
through most of it, and I let him snuggle under my arm when it
started getting really scary.
I was sick the next weekend. Nothing too serious, but sick
enough I didn’t want to go out, even if Linda hadn’t threatened
to tie me to my bed if I tried.
The week after that, Adam got grounded again because of undone
chores. Apparently he might have thrown a bit of a fit about
not being able to put off the chores another day, and he might
have mentioned how unfair it was that the two of us were
officially dating, but not getting to date. Somehow - and I’m
not making any accusations here - Linda and Dee found out, and
when Adam was caught up on his chores, the six of us had to go
out to eat and go bowling.
It’s not that I don’t like bowling. It’s just that it’s not
easy to steal a kiss from your boyfriend when his parents and
your guardians are making you feel like a mouse at a hawk party.
Adam was sick the next week.
At least we were able to have a short date on Valentine’s Day.
Adam, Tanner, and Austin all made the play. Carrie told me we
had too many good people, and I could have a bit part if I
wanted it, but she really wanted me as the technical director.
If you haven’t had courses in theater, that basically means I
was tied for number two in the production. Carrie was in charge
of course, and Walker was in charge of everything that happened
on the stage, but I was in charge of all the backstage stuff.
It was actually pretty challenging, since it meant I had to do
the same job I’d done in the fall, but also learn how to do
stuff like the lighting and sound systems, just in case. It
kept me busy, but it also meant Adam and I had the occasional
chance to find a bit of privacy every once in a while.
Coach Hall and Coach Petersen were both asking me to do more
tournaments. I told them I’d be happy to schedule some for
after the play was over.
Adam had confessed that he’d had a little bit of backlash at
coming out so publicly. No one had threatened him or anything,
but he’d had a few slurs yelled at him and a couple of notes
dropped in his locker.
“That’s weird. No one’s bugged me at all.”
“Seiger,” Adam responded, “did you know you could be a little
dense from time to time?”
“My dad used to tell me that on occasion. Why?”
“Because the only time anyone around here knows about you
getting in an actual fight, it was four on one and you sent
three of them to the hospital. The next time you had trouble,
three of them were football players, and you chased them off.
Who exactly do you think is going to give you a hard time?”
I still don’t believe all three of them had to go to the
hospital, but it wasn’t much use arguing the point.
I had been a bit worried about jackasses hassling people at the
dance, but Officer Berg had come through for me. He and several
of his friends were providing security for us at no charge:
their donation to the cause.
Once I was dressed, I carried my coat back over to the dresser.
A burgundy tie matched my belt and shoes, and I only had to tie
it three times to get the jævlig thing to hang right. Gold and
steel cufflinks, gold and steel tie tack, a plain gold collar
bar and chain, and Jan’s nice gold watch, and I was almost ready
to go. I added my pocket stuff, made sure I had our tickets,
the package, and my notes for the speech, then checked the
mirror. I started humming ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man, but I
kept getting lost when I tried to re-write one line.
“‘Cause every boy’s crazy about a sharped dressed... boy?
Another sharp-dressed boy? Every man’s crazy about a
sharp-dressed... “
Never mind. I guess there are no songs about sharp-dressed gays
because they assume we’re always fabulous.
Of course, none of that was even a patch on the two big events
that had happened in the last month.
The afternoon high had been seventeen. The low was supposed to
only be five, but we’d be home way before that, and it was still
fourteen. I decided to risk not taking a coat and having to
keep track of it.
I looked around the room. My laptop was ready with a romantic
playlist, and already hooked up to the speakers. I just had to
turn it on and we were ready to go. I checked the candles, and
made sure Pappa’s old Zippo was still where I’d left it.
I checked the time again, grabbed my coat, and headed for the
front door. I stopped halfway there and patted my pockets
again. Everything in place? Good.
I opened the front door, looked into the driveway, turned on the
porchlight, started to turn around, and stopped.
“No, no, baby boy. We don’t rub my legs when I’m wearing a
clean, dark suit.”
I bent down, stopped Mr. Whiskers, and scratched his ears while
staying a safe distance away. I’m pretty sure there’s an
algebraic equation that predicts how affectionate a cat will be
based on how much you care about looking good, and how much
their fur contrasts with your outfit, but ear scratches weren’t
good enough for Mr. W right at that moment.
“Sieg, do you want me to get him?” Linda called.
“Please?”
I saw lights shine and I jumped up, but it was only someone
driving by.
Dillon laughed.
“You’ve still got a few minutes, Sieg. Why don’t you come sit
down?”
I was having enough trouble standing still, and he wanted me to
sit down? Still, I’m pretty sure I knew what was coming.
“What time are you going to be home?” Dee enquired.
“One thirty?”
“One thirty?” Linda objected. “I thought…”
“Hang on,” Dee interrupted her. “Why that late?”
“Well, they’re going to start closing things down at midnight,
and Monty wants to lock up at 12:30. I should stay that late,
just in case. It’s not that far, but we don’t teleport either,
and what if we want to get something to eat?”
“You could eat at home,” Linda pointed out.
“Lindaaa…” Dillon said.
She looked at him, then relaxed.
“Fine, that’s just my parents talking. 1:30, but not one second
later, and call us if anything happens.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “Thanks.”
Lights shined in the yard again, but this time they came into
the door, as the car pulled into the driveway.
I started to head for the door, but Linda stopped me.
“Don’t even try it, mister.”
“But Linda…”
“Nope, we promised pictures to Jim and Debbie and Hilde and
Magnus, and we’d like some ourselves. You can just suffer.”
I sighed, but waited for Adam to come to the door. He started
to ring the bell, but I pushed the door open before he could.
“You are… is it okay to say you’re beautiful?”
He blushed a bit, but didn’t tell me no.
I kissed him lightly.
I knew he had planned to dress more casually than I was, since
he didn’t have to give a speech or anything, but he still looked
incredible. He was wearing pleated and cuffed khaki pants, with
a pink shirt, and a navy blue blazer and bowtie.
He looked at me.
“Du er kjekk,” he said.
“Thank you. You know, I love that you’re doing that.”
He smiled back at me.
“I know.”
We went into the living room and posed for a number of pictures
before Dillon finally made Linda let us leave.
“We do have a little gift for you boys, before you leave,”
Dillon said.
I was as surprised as Adam, so we waited with excitement as
Linda hurried to their bedroom and came back carrying two clear
plastic boxes.
They had bought matching rainbow silk boutonnieres for us.
After pinning them on, Linda insisted on one more picture before
releasing us.
As we walked to the car, I reflected on what was probably the
single biggest change to us personally in the last month. He
pulled the keys from his pocket and climbed into the driver’s
side, while I walked around.
“I can’t believe Debbie let you use her car.”
“I still can’t believe I finally have my driver’s license,” he
replied, as he put the car in reverse. “I just wish Dad had let
me use his. I mean, I appreciate him giving me his old one,
instead of trading it in, but…”
“Don’t worry. I’m almost positive he loves you more than the
new car.”
“Don’t bet on it,” he answered. “At least, I’m not going to
risk finding out.”
I was fairly quiet as we drove, letting him set the pace for any
conversation. Since I’d never driven, I wasn’t sure how much he
needed to concentrate. Still, we weren’t going that far, and
soon enough he pulled in and found a parking spot.
“Looks like we already have a line starting, that’s great,” Adam
said, reaching for his door.
I stopped him.
“We’re still early,” I pointed out. “Can we talk out here for a
minute.”
He turned to face me.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Look, I know this is a really weird situation. You know I
never wanted to come here, and you know I still love Emil.”
He nodded his head.
“I know,” he answered, “and I told you I can live with that.”
I nodded, but kept going with what I’d planned to say.
“I still hope to graduate next year, and I still probably want
to go to the University of Oslo. The thing is, right now, I’m
here. Right now, I’m with you - not with Emil, not with anyone
else. You and I both know that we don’t know what’s going to
happen tomorrow. We can plan and hope, but there are no
guarantees.”
I paused while he nodded soberly. He was listening closely, but
I think he was a little bit confused.
I reached over and turned on the interior light.
“You’re not my rebound guy. I’m not making do with you. I love
you, because you are a special person, and I’m with you because
I want to be with you. I want you to be kjæresten min - my
boyfriend - and I want to be with you, and only with you. And I
want you to wear this to remember that.”
As I was speaking, I’d reached into the suit’s jacket pocket and
pulled out the ring box. I popped it open as I held it out to
him.
Adam took the ring and held it up to the light.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It matches my bracelet.”
“It matches your eyes.”
He smiled up at me. Then he handed the ring back.
I started to feel sick and didn’t know what to say, until he
held out his left hand. I nearly shook with relief as I took
the ring from the box and slid it onto his hand. He ran his
right hand across it a couple of times, then looked up at me.
“I love it, but I love you - ring or no ring.”
He leaned forward, and we kissed, long, but gently.
As we broke apart, I laughed.
“What?” he asked.
“Just being glad we don’t have to worry about smearing anyone’s
makeup.”
#Post#: 30486--------------------------------------------------
Re: All-American Boy
By: Jack Date: February 25, 2025, 3:01 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Even just while we sat in the car, the line had gotten longer.
It was wild, because I wouldn’t have believed half these people
would be here. Sure, there were people in average street
clothes and people wearing the rainbow in one way or another,
but there were also guys and girls there dressed in Levis,
boots, and cowboy hats, there were people there in… is it still
Emo or is it something else now? There were people there
dressed just like Emil and I would have been for the disco.
There were people there in neon clothes with glow sticks like
they were going to a rave. It was pretty wild.
As Adam and I walked past the line, more than a few of them
called out to us. A lot of it was just hello, some of it was
definitely support.
I really wonder, were there that many people really wanting to
support the new group, was this a way to poke a stick in the
school administration’s collective eye, or were there this many
people who really just wanted a chance to dress up, get out of
the house, and dance?
Adam and I greeted people as we walked by, shaking some hands
and bumping some fists.
We got to the door, and there was actually an officer in uniform
there, and one of the college students with the youth ministry,
who was dressed really sharp.
“They’re on the list,” he told the officer with a smile, while
winking at me. “Hey, Sieger. Who’s this?”
Damn, now I had to remember….
“Hey… Robbie?”
He nodded.
“This is my date, Adam.”
“Hello, Adam. Nice to meet you. I only have one question.”
“Oh?”
“Who’s going to lead?”
“Hopefully him,” Adam said. “I’ve never really danced before.”
They both laughed.
There really wasn’t much for me to do inside. We had about ten
minutes before we were supposed to open, but everything looked
done. To be honest, I think that Monty and Heather - Mrs.
Swinson - had taken care of setting most things up. We’d
finished the decorations and stuff the night before. The
volunteers from the youth ministry were ready to serve the food.
Adam and I had made the rounds greeting everyone.
“You know what’s going to happen, Sieger?”
We reviewed everything and Monty nodded.
“We might as well let ‘em in then,” he said, waving at the
chaperones who’d been waiting near the front door.
As soon as the front doors opened, Randi started some generic
dance music. Randi was the deejay Jim had found for us. She
specialized in LGBT+ parties and events, and she was more than
happy to work at a church and to donate some time to a good
cause. I’d been surprised at how few restrictions Monty had put
on the music she could play, and so was she. I’d had very few
requests and almost no demands, and she’d been happy to fill
those for me; though she was a he at that point, which I’d found
confusing, so Randy had explained to me the difference between
being transgender and being a drag queen.
Adam and I got drinks before the crowd made its way over to us,
then we mingled.
Most of the dance floor was roped off for now. The first few
minutes was just for getting people in the door. The worst
thing was, even with as big as the room had seemed earlier, I
could see they were already having to turn people away at the
doors. I mean, maximum occupancy was enough people for
fundraising, but it was sad we didn’t have room for everyone who
wanted to come.
After about fifteen minutes, the room was getting full and
people were getting restless, so I signaled to Randi. She
nodded, and I made my way up to the small stage where she was
set up. She let the song finish, then played a bit from David
Bowie’s ‘Dee Jay’, which cut off after only a few seconds, and
she introduced herself.
“I am the Awesome Randi, and I’m here tonight to guide you on
your musical trip across the floor and into the rainbow. I see
all kinds of people here, and I’m going to play all kinds of
music. However, before we get started, I’m told we have a
chance to hear a few words from the founder of the feast.”
I glared at her, but she didn’t seem to notice. I didn’t want
to be up here. I’d tried to talk Walker or someone into doing
it. I’d sworn I wasn’t going to do it. I’d even threatened not
to come. These Texans just don’t play fair and they got Dillon
and Linda to badger me, then Adam, and even Tanner. I’m pretty
sure if I hadn’t given in then, they would have had Julbamse
giving me a hard time. Still, I was here, so I took the
microphone.
“First of all, let me thank you all for coming. I know you’re
really here to dance and have a good time, and I hope everyone
does, but, first and foremost, this is a fundraiser, and we
appreciate all of you.
“Second, I am not the ‘founder of the feast’ or anything like
that. I have almost nothing to do with all this - I was just
lucky to know people who wanted to help put it together. As a
matter of fact, my friend Walker has been working for years to
get an LGBT-Straight Alliance or support group of some type
going, and friends of his for years before that.
“However, since they made me stand up here, I want to take the
chance to clarify a few issues and formalize a few
announcements.”
I paused a second to savor the other biggest thing that had
happened over the last month, when the lawyer Walker and I had
contacted reached out to the superintendent and school board to
discuss a few of the issues that we’d recorded.
“I’m sure most of you know that, since Mr. Keegan was dismissed
as principal a few weeks ago, there have been a number of
changes at the school. For us, the biggest one is that
Acting-Principal Swinson,”
I paused to motion towards Heather, and she waved back.
“...has informed me that our group has been approved,” I
continued. “That’s much faster than we expected, and it was
done without having to put down any down payments or security
deposits. We are hoping to have a meeting next week to put
together a committee that can prepare the foundation for the
group, and start official meetings after Spring Break.
“The other thing that means is that we never needed to have this
fundraiser. We - the club that is - will be keeping a small
amount of the money to cover any expenses that come up while
we’re getting things set up. At our first official meeting, in
a few weeks, we will be voting on what to do with the rest of
the money - by which I mean, voting where we’ll be donating it.
For personal reasons, I’m going to be lobbying for the Trevor
Project.
“And with that - thanks again to all of you for coming. There
have been some sad times that led us here, but this is a
celebration of Pride in all of us, gay, straight, undecided, or
anywhere else. And I’ve been told I have to start the first
dance, so… Maestra?”
I turned the microphone off and handed it back to Randi, stepped
down, and held out a hand to Adam. Both of us blushed when
people began applauding, but I tried to ignore it, while Randi
began playing Missio’s “I See You”.
People waited, so Adam and I performed a few steps, I twirled
him, then dipped him, and pulled him back up to more applause.
That was all the fancy moves we’d practiced, so I just pulled
him tight, one hand on his shoulder and the other around his
waist, as people joined us on the floor.
After a moment, I asked him, “So, when this is over, and we get
back to my house, what do you want to do tonight?”
He blushed, then looked down at his feet, but looked back up at
me, and leaned forward to whisper in my ear.
“That sounds… wonderful,” I answered a moment later, “but it’s
not going to happen tonight.”
“It’s not?” he asked, a bit shocked.
“Well, at least listen to my idea first,” I suggested.
“Okay,” he replied suspiciously.
“Tonight, when we get home, I’m going to light some candles and
put on some music, then we’re going to kiss, and undress each
other, and kiss, and stretch out on my bed, and kiss some more,
and then we’re going to talk.”
“Talk?”
“Talk,” I confirmed with a nod. “We’re going to talk about our
favorite books, our favorite movies, our favorite music, and our
favorite foods. We’re going to talk about things we love, and
things we hate, and things that make us laugh, and yeah, we’ll
talk about what we want to do in bed - what we’ve done before
and liked or didn’t like, and stuff we want to try…”
“And more kisses?”
I nodded.
“Lot’s more,” I promised. “And I have some strawberries and
cream if we get hungry, and it’s just possible I might find some
pinot noir if we want to risk getting in trouble.”
He smiled and kissed me lightly.
“I like this idea. Is that all?”
“Well, it kind of depends on how long we talk, and how long we
can stay awake, but I imagine something else might possibly
happen.”
“Oh, I definitely like this idea.”
I leaned in for another kiss, but the song ended before I could
collect it. And then… Randi had promised she’d play a mix of
music, but mostly focusing on either gay anthems or music by
known LGBT+ performers, which this was, but seriously… “Wake Me
Up Before You Go-Go”?
We danced to that, and “YMCA” and some song by Taylor Swift. I
was about ready to get off the floor when Christina Perri’s “A
Thousand Years” came on, and we did one more slow dance.
“By the way,” I said to Adam as we swayed around the dance floor
again, “there is… Well, news I have to tell you and a question I
have to ask.”
“Okay,” he said, his head resting on my shoulder.
“I’m going to go ahead and do the online driving to get my
learner’s permit, and I’ll do behind the wheel this summer, so I
can get my license this fall.”
“Great.”
“However, I’m still planning to spend at least a lot of the
summer back home.”
“Oh,” he said, suddenly a bit down. “How long?”
“I think summer is ten weeks. Behind the wheel is one week.
Maybe six?”
“That’s a long time.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“So what’s the question: will I wait for you?”
“No, do you have a passport?”
“Umm, yeah. We went to Mexico on vacation when I was twelve, so
it should be good. But what does it matter if I have a p… Are
you serious?”
“About you, vennen? Always.”
The Beginning
*****************************************************
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