Halo IV
Resurrection

By: Micah Diablo
(© 2010-2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 1
Six Billion Souls and All I need is One

Scene A

“Ugh, it’s a new school year already?” Ky asked me, yawning as he walked into the kitchen. “I can’t believe school is starting in two days.”

“Well, this year is special,” I said with a laugh. “SENIORS 2011, baby.”

“Yeah, I guess this is a great year to be going to school,” Ky said taking a seat at the counter beside me. “I just want to make the best of this year. As you know the past year and a half…”

“…is over,” I said cutting him off. “Ky, you got a brother here with a 4.7 GPA and first in class…With my help and Carmen’s, I think we’ll get your 2.9 up to something high.”

“Thanks,” he said trying to stifle a yawn. “It feels so good being back home now.”

Ky and Nick agreed to move back into their respective homes after the incidents to be closer to their families but agreed to move back out on their own when they were ready.

“Have you heard from Josh lately?” I asked him.

Shortly after our release from the hospital, Josh decided to get help and entered into a military style training rehab to beat his drug addiction.

“Nah, he just disappeared out of nowhere,” Ky said with a shrug. “No more emails. No more letters. Which sucks because you know I hate writing anything besides my name on a check. Maybe they shipped him off to Iraq.”

“Maybe you’ve been sniffing some paint,” I said laughing. “They aren’t going to ship a drug addict over there.”

Ky yawned again. “Hey, you know my brain doesn’t work when I am sleepy.”

“Then you must be in a coma, mister,” I said getting up from the stool.

I ducked as he tossed an apple at me.

“Ha, missed,” I said sticking my tongue out at him.

 I turned and walked into the wall which made him laugh.

“Shut up, dork.”

Scene B

“You’re what?” Darek asked his brother shocked.

“I’m transferring to Atlantic City, bro,” Damien said with a bright smile. “We are going to be going to class together.”

Darek looked at his parents and then his brother. “I knew that you were going to summer school to catch up since you failed freshman year but why my school? Why not go back to your own college?”

“Because I hear they have a bunch of cute guys at yours,” Damien said sipping on his orange juice. “Do you know any?”

“I wouldn’t know, Damien,” Darek said with a sigh. “Mom…Dad…Somebody help me here.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Mrs. Bouzakis said. “I mean he got into way too much trouble at Blair that he not only failed his senior year, but he was kicked out, too. Maybe he needs a school where expectations are not as high for its students.”

“Gee thanks, Mom,” Darek said sarcastically. “Okay, then send him to St. Joe’s. Rowan. Rutgers…Anywhere but my college.”

Damien looked at his little brother with a faux hurt look. “Why, Little brother? I thought we were closer and that you like spending time with me?”

“We are close, Damien, but I already said I want this year to be as drama-free as possible..”

“As do I, little bro, as do I,” Damien interjected.

Darek looked at his parents. “This is one of those things that I have to kind of suck it up and deal with, right?”

Mr. And Mrs. Bouzakis nodded their heads and Damien smiled at his brother excitedly and hugged him tightly.

“Who knows? Maybe I can help find you a guy and change you from being a dreadful hetero,” Damien said with a shudder.

“I happen to like being a hetero,” Darek said looking at his brother, still not liking the idea.

“And I happen to like having the possibility of grandkids from one son,” Mr. Bouzakis chimed in as the doorbell rang through the house.

Darek got up to go answer it just as Damien said, “Dad, those Japanese babies my rich husband and I will adopt deserve to be treated like your own.”

Darek shook his head and opened the door and his mouth dropped to see who was standing there.

“Hey, man,” Nate said with a nervous smile. “Can I come in?”

Darek looked back in and heard his brother going on and on about wanting to find a boyfriend. He shook his head and pushed Nate down the stairs and shut the door behind him.

“Dude, what the fuck happened to you?” Darek asked annoyed but happy to see his friend. “After I got checked out of the hospital, I went to your house to check on you and your mom said you left and that you didn’t want anybody to know where you had gone. How could you do that to your best friend? Better yet, your only friend.”

“True but remember as popular as we were last year…I was your only friend as well,” Nate said with a small smile.

“Good point,” Darek agreed. “Carry on.”

Nate sighed and took a seat on the steps outside of The Bouzakis residence. “It was too much for me. I found out that I was falling in love with a guy and that wasn’t him. It was his split personality. And I hurt the girl that I loved at the same time because I thought I was in love with Coy…”

“Marco,” Darek corrected. “Trust me, that bastard that you were fucking was not Coy. At least he didn’t shoot you in the middle of a park.”

Nate looked at him confused.

“Don’t ask. Still as much as I hear you and I understand where you were coming from, you could’ve told me where you were going.”

“No, because I knew you would try and stop me,” Nate said sadly. “I fucked up royally and I needed to go away for awhile. So I went to my grandparents out in Kansas and went to school there, and then I went to football camp this summer in Pittsburgh...” 

“The Steelers camp? Man, I wanted to go but leave it to me to depend on my brother to do anything right,” Darek said annoyed. “He forgot to mail it off for me when I asked him to do it, so they never got my application. Let me tell you about Damien and what he did the night of Giselle’s and my anniversary party. This dude decides….”

Nate smiled as he listened to Darek go on and on about Damien’s antics over the past summer and how he wanted to choke his brother. He really had missed his best and only friend.

“…I swear he really has 666 engraved somewhere on him,” Darek said finishing up. “Is it fun being an only kid?”

“Nah, I envy you having a brother to argue with,” Nate said sadly. “It gets lonely and boring being alone all the time. Although, here lately it’s been worse.”

Darek sighed and stood up. “Dude, you are really different,” he said pulling his friend up. “Still short but different.”

“I just realize how much of a fuck up I am,” Nate said sadly.

“Join the club,” Darek said to his friend. “I’ll be president and you can be vice president of the “We’re Fuck Ups” club. So you know what our first order of business is?” 

“What?”

“Redemption,” Darek said as he pulled Nate inside the house with him. “Till then, I need a reason to get away from my family.”

Scene C

“Best friend!” Giselle said rushing up to Carmen as she sat in the Food Court of Hamilton Mall waiting for her to show up.

“Hey,” Carmen said with a smile hugging her friend. “Look at you. A blonde and still late as usual.”

“Well, I have to fit the stereotypes completely,” Giselle said playing with her hair. “Do you like it? Really?”

“I like your black hair better but you make a better blonde than I did,” Carmen said taking her seat. “Gosh, so much has changed over the summer. What else has changed.”

Carmen had taken a much needed vacation and spent some time in Europe trying to recover from the craziness…Josh’s near suicide attempt, Reverend Taylor and Tony’s drama, and Nate’s heartbreak.

“Well, Darek and I are doing great as usual,” Giselle said with a smile. “I love that boy. Coy and Matt are probably the best they’ve ever been. Which means drama is coming soon for them.”

“Let’s hope not,” Carmen said shaking her head. “Those two have had their share of drama. Let’s hope this year goes perfect for them.”

“Nick and Ky are still together and going strong,” Giselle continued. “Everything is good.”

“No word from…you know,” Carmen said, embarrassed to even ask.

“It’s okay, Carmen, if you still love Nate,” Giselle said grabbing her hand softly.

“I don’t…know,” Carmen said with a sigh. “I don’t know why I care. But I do. Have you heard from him?”

Giselle shook her head. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“Whatever,” Carmen said forcing a smile. “I refuse to let thoughts of Nate ruin the last hours of my summer vacation. Didn’t hear from him before he left and I went on vacation so it shouldn’t matter now.”

“Exactly; that’s my girl,” Giselle said excitedly. “Have you talked to J. Jax lately?”

Carmen smiled as she remembered the name that we all had given Josh awhile back.

“Sadly no,” Carmen said with a sigh. “I hope he’s alright.”

“Any chance that you two peeps will get back together?” Giselle asked hopefully.

Carmen shrugged. “I don’t know. I need to focus and get my head straight for this year. So much has happened with Josh and Nate…”

“They both are kind of equal if you think about it,” Giselle said. “I mean, they both screwed your best friend more than they screwed you.”

Carmen pinched Giselle. “Thanks for making me feel better,” she said sarcastically. “I just need to get my mind off of everything. What better way to get my mind off things than…”

“PARTY!” Giselle said excitedly. “A party.”

“Well, I was going to say shopping but okay,” Carmen said noticing her friend’s mischievous grin. “I can tell this is going to a party to remember.”

“Would you expect anything less from me?” Giselle asked as she pulled out her cell and began to text people to let them know of the party.

Scene D

“What are you doing?” I asked Matt as I looked up from the book I was reading for English to see him gyrating in front of me.

“Trying to distract you with my sexy body and sexy moves,” he said as he continued gyrating. “What do you think?”

“Sexy body…Yes, it’s most definitely sexy,” I said with a smile. “Sexy moves…Well, thank God, you don’t do that in the bedroom or I would never get it up.”

Matt laughed and took a seat beside me on the bench. I rested my head on his shoulder.

“What are you reading?” he asked grabbing the book out my lap and flipping through it. “Looks boring.”

“Looks and is boring,” I said with a sigh. “I got to read it for class.”

“I don’t know if I ever told you, but baby…you’re a nerd,” Matt said scrunching his face up.

“I thought hot nerds turned hot jocks on?” I asked him with a smile.

“They do have the best brains,” Matt retorted and I laughed. “Hey, Baby, can I tell you something? All jokes aside?”

I lifted my head off his shoulder and looked at him. “Yeah, of course.”

“I just wanted to tell you that I love you,” he said kissing me on the lips. I was addicted to those soft, tasty lips of his.

“How much?” I asked him as our eyes locked into each other’s. “Do you love me as I much as I love you?”

“I want to do something different,” he said to me. “To prove that I love you.”

“Different? What do you  mean?” I asked him.

It was funny. I always hated looking people in the eyes, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Matt’s beautiful brown ones.

“I’m always on top, but tonight I’m on the bottom,” he said singing Usher’s trading places song. “We’re trading places…”

“Don’t sing, you suck,” I said with a giggle. 

“When I can’t take no more, tell me you ain’t stopping,” he continued. “We’re trading places….Coy, I’m serious.”

I searched his eyes for any sense of joking or whatever.

“Matt…are you sure?” I asked him, still unsure. “I mean…I never did it before.”

“I never did this before, either,” Matt laughed and I could tell he was nervous. “But I want to show you how much I love you. I told you I would never do it. But I want it to happen with somebody that I love. I love you. Only you. You will be my only one.”

I smiled at him and kissed him on the lips. “I love you,” I said, nervous but honored he was allowing me to be with him this way. “I just hope that I can get it in the hole.”

“Well, think of it this way,” Matt said handing me my book back. “We both will be like virgins again.”

I looked at him as he turned my playstation on. For the past two years he had been a top and I was okay with that…Now he wanted to try bottom and I was nervous…But equally, excited.

Scene E

“What in the hell?” Anthony asked as he walked onto the field for a football meeting, followed behind by Ky, Matt, and Nick.

Darek and Nate looked up from talking to see the four boys walking towards them. Darek stood up and in front of Nate.

“Wait, Anthony,” Darek said before Anthony could have the chance to get at Nate. “We should really talk this out.”

“Just when I started liking you…here you go hanging around the enemy,” Anthony said folding his arms. “I had high hopes for you, Darek.”

“What are you doing back?” Ky asked Nate. “I thought you went all M.I.A and left after you got out of the hospital.”

“I needed to clear my head and get away,” Nate said nervously.

Normally, he wasn’t one to be afraid of anything, but he wasn’t the same person he had been six months ago. A lot of things had changed, and he forced himself to realize he had a lot of issues to work out. He was still working them out on a daily basis.

“Get away from what, exactly?” Anthony asked still annoyed. “The fact that you are a complete ass and fucked over Carmen last year? Dude, if I wasn’t now convinced I was no longer bi but gay, I would’ve so jumped on that. Carmen is like the classiest girl ever and you fucked that up.”

“Ant, let him talk,” Nick said, always wanting to give a person the benefit of the doubt.

“I don’t understand how you can give me so much grief when Darek, Josh, and Ky were screw-ups,” Nate said trying to hide his anger.

“Way to throw me under the bus, man,” Darek muttered to Nate.

“Hell, from what I heard, you all screwed over people you cared about,” Nate said to them all.

“Darek, Josh, and Ky don’t count,” Anthony said stepping closer to Darek who was still standing between the two.” Darek and Ky were corrupted and manipulated by some weirdo and Josh was fucked up on Drugs. Those are extreme circumstances that changed them into bad people.”

“Okay, but he does have a point,” Nick said to Anthony. “I mean, Matt cheated on Coy sophomore year. Even before Reverend Taylor, Ky was an ass back then. I will give you Josh and Darek though.”

“Look, let’s not remember that we hated this dude even before we found out he was fucking Coy last year,” Anthony said throwing his hands up in the air.

“Marco,” Matt corrected.

He didn’t like thinking about last year and especially two boys being with the love of his life.

“Look, He’s back and as a spokesperson for the fuck up club…cut him some slack,” Darek said standing up for his friend.

“All in favor that Nate should have stayed where he was and never come back,” Anthony said raising his hand.

Ky really didn’t like Nate and his cocky attitude so he raised his hand.

Nick raised his hand only siding with his brother and boyfriend.

Matt didn’t like Nate since he had come around last year so he raised both his hands.

“Well, looks like it’s four to one,” Anthony said with a smug look. “Sorry, looks like we have a one asshole turned free per century. That’s Darek. Fuck you Nate and stay the hell away from us.”

Anthony, Ky, Nick, and Matt walked past Darek and Nate and towards the rest of their team.

Nate was seething in anger. He knew that when he came back, things were going to be hard.

“Fuck this,” he said annoyed.

“Nate…” Darek said noticing his friend’s angry face.

Whenever Nate felt attacked, he attacked back. He didn’t have much ammo on Anthony, Ky, and Nick. All he had was ammo against Matt and while he wasn’t directly mad at Matt, that was better than no one.

“I still love Marco,” Nate said suddenly.

Matt stopped in his tracks and turned around with a smile.

“Well, that’s fine because you can have Marco,” Matt said trying not to let Nate antagonize him like he knew he was trying to. “But he’s dead. I got Coy, remember that.”

Anthony smiled impressed at Matt’s control of the situation.

“But for how long though?” Nate asked shrugging off Darek who tried to stop him. “I mean, the same story goes for you two. You get together. What happens? You cheated on him because he was raped and wasn’t putting out for you. Then he got placed in that hospital got all fucked up and then that’s when Marco came into the picture. He loved Josh and then I took him. I’m almost positive that I can take Coy from you. I’ve been gone six months. I say you two are long overdue for…”

Nate didn’t have a chance to finish because in two lightning-fast steps Matt had tackled him to the ground.

“So much for control,” Anthony muttered as he noticed some guys who were ‘friends’ of Nate come around.

“Here comes the Nate squad,” Ky said noticing the guys walking towards them.

“Break it up, guys,” Nick said pulling Matt off of Nate as Darek pulled Nate back.

“I swear, you talk about Coy again and I will fucking kill you,” Matt spat out.

“Touchy are we?” Nate asked laughing. He shrugged Darek off. “Trust me, we will finish this later.”

“Trust me, anytime, anywhere,” Matt said as he watched Nate walk off with his goons.

“You know that was his misguided attempt to try and attack one of us,” Anthony said to an angry Matt.

“Well, I seriously hate that dude,” Matt said angrily and looked at Darek. “Don’t talk to me if you’re going to be friends with that ass.”

Darek stood and looked at Matt’s angry face as Anthony, Ky, and Nick stood by him.

No matter how much they had forgiven them, he wasn’t an original member of their circle. He was somebody they kept out at arms length.

“So that’s how it is?” Darek asked them angrily. “I can’t be friends with you guys and friends with Nate? He was my friend when I wasn’t friends with you.”

“That was your fault, Darek,” Ky said to him. “You made us your enemy. You would think that you would do anything to be friends with us.”

“Seriously? You make yourself sound like you are gods or something.”

Darek scoffed at the audacity of Ky and his remark.

“Look, I already said my apologies and worked my ass off for you to forgive me,” he said to them. “But you forgave me and I respect that because I like being your friend. But friends don’t dictate and tell friends who they can associate with.”

“That’s because we were never friends,” Matt said angrily. “Just associates. I associated with you because Coy and Ky forgave you.”

Matt noticed the hurt look on Darek’s face who masked it with anger. He really didn’t mean to say that he was angry at Nate…Not Darek.

“Wait, Darek…”

“No, fuck it and fuck all of you,” Darek said to them all. “Fuck all of you.”

He turned to leave but turned and faced them again.

“I used to think you all were really cool people and it felt good to pretend to be apart of this circle,” Darek said to them. “But you guys are jackasses just like me. Like I was anyway. You hurt people. Maybe not the same way. But you hurt people. And Nick, you never speak up. You never stand up for what you believe in. You always allow Ky and Anthony to dictate what they think and agree with them. I know you of all people blamed me for what happened with Ky even more than Ky himself and you forgave me first. Do you think this is right?

Nick looked at Darek and noticed his friends eyes burning into him like lasers, searching his face for an answer.

“Darek, you caused a lot of pain for all of us and we forgave you,” he said not looking Darek in the eye. “If you want to be friends with us, all we asked was for you not to be friends with Nate.”

“You couldn’t even be man enough to look me in the eye,” Darek said sadly. “Like I said, fuck you guys.”

Darek turned and went in search of Nate. He was glad that he had a great friend in him even if he wanted so much to be apart of the circle.

“Do you think he is going to join another cult?” Anthony asked after a few moments.

Nick looked on sadly as his gears started churning in his head as he thought about things.

Scene F

“Wow, Giselle surely outdid herself,” I said as Carmen and I climbed out of her car and headed towards the shore where the party was being held.

“You sound surprised,” Carmen said with a laugh. “It’s Giselle after all. A bad party for Giselle is like Josh not ever being on drugs in the first place. Never going to happen.”

“You miss him don’t you?” I asked her.

She sighed and looked at me. “I don’t want to, Coy,” she said to me with a sad look on her face. “Looking at you makes me think of…”

“…Marco and what he did,” I said sadly. “Carmen, I am sorry…”

“No, don’t be,” she said to me. “I shouldn’t have said it like that. Coy you are amazing and you had a bad experience and that was not you. I don’t want to miss him.”

“But you love him,” I said rubbing her back. “Carmen, it’s okay to still love him.”

I wiped a tear from her eye and pulled her chin to face me.

“Josh is a good person and he, like I did, went through an extremely dark and bad period,” I said to her. “Forgive him. Because carrying all that hate inside will hurt you even more. Trust me, I know.”

Carmen sighed in frustration. “With Nate being gone, it made me think of Josh even more because Nate being here and us being together kind of made me forget about Josh because I thought I was happier with Nate.”

“Well, I guess Nate being back really throws a wrench in your thinking,” I said off-handedly.

“What? He’s back?” Carmen asked shocked.

I looked at  her with a confused look. “You didn’t know?”

She shook her head no. “How long has he been back?”

“Um, I really don’t know,” I said shocked that he hadn’t come back to see her. “I heard Ky and the boys had an altercation with him and Darek at football today.”

“Darek too?” she asked me. “See, he is corrupting Darek after he changed into this sweetheart. Oh, my God. What am I supposed to do if I see him?”

“I don’t know, but think of something,” I said noticing Nate walking towards us. “Because he is coming straight for us.”

Carmen turned and saw Nate walking with two drinks in his hand.

“Hey, Carmen,” he said handing her a drink. “Looking beautiful as…”

Carmen threw her drink in his face and stormed off leaving Nate and me standing together.

“If I give you this will you throw it in my face?” he asked me with a half laugh.

“No because actually I am thirsty,” I said taking it from him and then I stopped. “You drink first.”

“What?” Nate asked confused and noticed the serious look on my face. “Um…okay.”

He drank some and I smiled at him.

“Sorry, after Tony and the whole drugging-me thing I never really can be too sure,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Oh, yeah, it’s no problem,” he said to me. “I understand completely.”

Nate and I stood there in awkward silence not sure of exactly what to say to each other.

“Um…”

“Yeah,” I said feeling the same awkward feeling he was.

Scene G

“You okay?” Ky asked Nick as he sat on the beach not really interacting with anybody. “You been staring at the water for the past half hour.”

“I’m fine,” Nick said forcing a smile. “I just got a lot on my mind right now.”

“I hope it wasn’t what Darek said at the football field today,” Ky said taking a seat beside his boyfriend.

Nick sighed and looked at his boyfriend. “I know it’s stupid, but I don’t know. It just made me think.”

“Well, we are at a party where you aren’t supposed to think,” Ky said handing him a beer. “Think when school starts. For now, drink a beer.”

“Baby, you know that I don’t drink,” Nick said pushing the beer away from him.

“Oh, drink up, fag,” Ky said with a laugh. “Seriously, it really would make me feel better. Because it sucks being around you and you’re sober. It really kills my buzz.”

“Gee thanks,” Nick said and realized Ky already had been drinking heavily, thus far, as he smelled it on his breath.

“Just drink and shut it,” Ky said handing Nick the beer and looking at him expectantly.

Nick noticed Darek with a smug look on his face passing by and then looked at Ky’s face. He hated disappointing Ky.

He popped the tab and took a swig on the beer and forced it down and smiled and kissed his boyfriend softly on the lips.

“Good, drink it up,” Ky said jumping up drunkenly before falling to the ground. “Ow! I should really go drink some more. Remember, Coy is our DD so it don’t matter how drunk you are.”

Nick watched his boyfriend stumble around towards where people were playing Bong and his brother walking off to a dark area of the beach. One more sip, a grimace, and then he got up and threw his beer in the trash.

“I don’t see how people could drink that shit,” a familiar voice said from behind Nick.

Nick turned to see Daniel walking towards him and gave him a hug.

“Danny Boy,” Nick said happily. “I haven’t seen you all summer, Man.”

“I know it has been awhile since I breathed in this Jersey smog and been at the boardwalk,” Daniel said with a laugh. “I have been over in Barcelona doing a lot of stuff with painting over there.”

“I hope this was also a vacation,” Nick said to his old friend as they begin walking along on the beach. “You work too much during the school year. You need to relax once in awhile.”

“Yeah, it was a vacation, too,” he said with a laugh. “But I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about. Something I need advice on.”

“What about, dude? Is it anything about government, painting, or any gay stuff that I probably should know as a gay male but don’t?” Nick asked him.

“Ha, no” Daniel said to him with a laugh. “It’s a little more normal. Something everybody probably has trouble with. Well, girls, and…gays anyway.”

“Okay, shoot then,” Nick said as they sat on the shore together.

Daniel sighed and cleared his throat. “Well, there is this guy that I like. You know. He is really a sweet person. Kind of a hard-ass but underneath it all, a softie. Beautiful hazel eyes. Oh, he’s so incredibly hot and…”

“Okay, let me stop you there,” Nick interrupted. “You do know I am with Ky though, right?”

Daniel looked at him confused as to what he was talking about.

“I’m flattered that you like me but I am sorry that could never happen between us,” Nick said continuing on with the whole entire convo.

“Um, Nick I wasn’t talking about you,” Daniel said with a nervous chuckle.

“But you pretty much described me to a tee,” Nick said confused. “Like it sounds just like me. Unless you were talking about…Oh, my God! You like my bro.”

Daniel blushed in embarrassment.

“Oh, that is so cute,” Nick said pinching his cheek. “Haha, blushing over ol’ Ant Pagan.”

“I’m blushing because it will never happen probably,” Daniel said dejectedly. “I mean, Anthony…and…well…you…are some of the hottest guys in our grade and he hasn’t seemed to have had a relationship in the past two years I have known him.”

“That’s because year one he was chasing after Coy in hopes of him and Matt not working,” Nick explained. “Last year…I don’t know. But I do know that you shouldn’t count yourself out just yet, D Rod.  I’m serious. Because you are a good-looking guy yourself and Anthony isn’t talking to anybody now so it’s worth a shot so I say go for it. I doubt he would turn a hunk like you down.”

Daniel smiled at Nick. “Thanks, man,” He said giving him a hug. “Have you seen him lately?

“He should be down there where Giselle’s piñata is,” Nick said to him. “I saw him walking in that direction earlier.”

“Okay, thanks Nick,” Daniel said giving him a hug and running off to find him.

Nick jumped as somebody fell beside him and he saw it was Ky.

“Baby, you okay?” Nick asked him rubbing his back.

Ky groaned loudly. “My head hurts baby. Can you take me home,” he said in a baby like voice.

Nick smiled and sighed. He hadn’t wanted to leave but Ky did look bad off.

“Okay, babe,” He said half-heartedly.

Scene H

“Great party, Giselle,” some girls yelled out to her as she passed them. She smiled in amazement and appreciation and realized that she was having such a good time knowing others were.

“Oh, I think I know what I should do after I graduate,” she said walking up to Carmen, Matt and Darek. “Throw killer parties and charge a fortune. Idiots will pay crazy money to get into my events.”

She noticed Darek and Matt staring each other down and a confused Carmen.

“What’s going on?” she asked the two boys.

Without breaking eye contact with Matt, Darek spoke up.

“We are no longer friends with Matt and his gang which by extension means Coy,” he said simply.

Giselle was confused. “Wha…”

She looked at Carmen for answers who shrugged.

“Something happened today,” she said feeling the tension around the boys.

“Boys, this is crazy,” Giselle said to the two of them. “You are supposed to be good friends.”

“‘Were’ is the word you need to use,” Matt said to him. “If Darek wants to stand by Nate now that he is back…”

“Wait, he’s back?” Giselle asked shocked and looked at Carmen who shook her head.

“It’s not much else I got to say on this subject,” Matt said with a sigh. “Coy, and I, and the guys will stay

away from you two. I can’t control Carmen. Speaking of, Carmen have you seen Coy?”

“Yeah, I left him with Nate when I ran off from him,” Carmen said and noticed Matt’s face of panic and he took of running.

Darek looked equally panicked. He knew that Matt was very self-conscious about Nate and he knew Nate was going to antagonize Matt even more.

“I got to find Coy and Nate,” Darek said taking off running.

Giselle rolled her eyes and threw her arm over Carmen’s shoulder.

“Who said this year was going to be drama-free?” she asked Carmen. “Well, they lied.”

Scene I

“Oh shit! I’m going to cum,” Anthony screamed out as he lay back getting a blowjob. Five seconds later he came straight in the guy’s mouth. “Ah! Oh shit!”

The guy released him and set back with a smile on his face. “All better?”

“Much better,” Anthony said breathlessly. “So much better.”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” a voice said from above the two of them.

Anthony looked to see Daniel on the hill looking down at him and the guy. He felt ashamed for some reason and rushed to grab his pants and pull them up.

Daniel lost his step and slid down the hill right at Anthony’s feet. He quickly got up.

“Who is ‘clumsy susan’ here?” the guy asked with a laugh.

“He’s my friend,” Anthony said. As he tried to reach out to Daniel, he pushed him away.

“How could I be so stupid?” Daniel asked hitting himself on the forehead. “Of course you aren’t the kind of guy to be interested in a guy like me. You like slutty guys at parties that I’m sure you don’t know.”

“Hey, I resent that,” the guy said. “I prefer the really friendly guy or pressure reliever.”

“Dan…I…I…” Anthony didn’t know what to say.

“What’s his name, Ant?” Daniel asked folding his arm. He looked disgusted at the two but more so hurt.

“I…I don’t know,” Anthony said embarrassed and sad. “I really don’t.”

“Well, to end the confusion, I am Damien Bouzakis,” The guy introduced himself.

“Bouzakis?” Anthony asked him. “As in Darek Bouzakis’ brother?”

“The one and only,” Damien said with a laugh. “I see you guys know my brother.”

“Unfortunately,” Daniel and Anthony echoed to each other.

“Well, this is fun but I better go find some booze,” Damien said grabbing Anthony’s cell out of his pocket.

Anthony moaned slightly while Daniel rolled his eyes. Damien took the cell and put his number in.

“Call me, text me if you wanna beat me,” Damien said with a sly smile and handed it back to him and he walked towards Daniel.

“Sorry, bud, but I don’t share my future dick quest,” he said before walking off and leaving a hurt Daniel looking at an embarrassed and confused Anthony.

“I gotta go,” Daniel said as he walked off leaving Anthony lost in his thoughts.

Anthony sighed frustrated. He really had no clue about exactly what had just happened.

“Matt, No!”

“Dear God, what now?” he asked running toward the yelling.

Scene J

“Why the hell are you talking to him?” Matt asked me angrily.

“Because I was trying to get to know him,” I said flabbergasted at this whole situation.

I was holding Matt and Nate alone and I knew he was only letting me keep him from getting Nate for my sake.

“So you can have sex with him again?” Matt asked angrily.

“That wasn’t me, Matt,” I said to him hurt that he would bring that up.

“Same ass, same body,” Matt said aggressively.

“And I fucked the hell out of it,” Nate said and that was it. Matt pushed me to the side and started fighting him.

“Break it up, Coy,” Giselle said as she, Darek, and Carmen ran up behind me as Anthony, Nick, and Ky ran up on the other side.

“Do you not remember the last time I tried to break up a fight?” I asked her. “At one of your parties. I almost drowned.”

Darek locked eyes with the three boys. This was how it was always going to be.  Nate and Darek versus Ky, the twins, and Matt.

Anthony, already frustrated, took a step towards Darek as some other people that were cool with Darek and Nate started walking over.

“Do something,” Anthony said antagonizing him.

Darek looked at Giselle who was pleading for him not to do anything.

“Or does your bitch got you love-locked down?” Anthony asked him.

Darek tackled Anthony to the ground as Ky decided he wanted to fight and shoved some dude around him.

“Ky, what the hell,” Nick said to his obviously drunk boyfriend.

Nick tried to stop an impending fight between his boyfriend and guy but somebody pulled him into a fight of his own.

“This is awful,” I said as all the partygoers were either engaged in the fight physically or as a spectator.

“Guys! Stop!” Giselle said trying to calm everybody down. “This is supposed to be fun. This is supposed to be a celebration. End of the summer. Come on, guys.”

Giselle got pushed back towards the crowd and pouted.

“I am so getting security guards next time around,” she muttered.

After five minutes of a brawl, somehow everybody involved was pulled apart.

Matt shoved the two guys holding him off and pushed past them and walked towards me, breathing hard.

“When you are done here, meet me at the car,” he said gruffly before storming off.

“Your lip is bleeding,” Ky said to Nick as he tried to come over to him.

“It’s your fault,” Nick said angrily. “Get a ride home with your brother. I’m leaving.”

Nick stormed off angrily while Ky laughed drunk-like and cheered.

“Nate, why did you do that?” I asked him. “I was really trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and learn about you as myself and not as Marco.”

“There isn’t much to know,” Carmen said standing behind him. “He’s a jerk and an asshole. Not worth my time dating and not worth your time being friends with. He fucks you over in the end.”

“Maybe you should go,” I said to him as he looked at me sadly.

“And so should you,” Giselle said to her boyfriend. “I am calling the party ‘over’ after this Street-fighter-type brawl.”

While Giselle wasn’t exactly mad, Darek could see that she was disappointed in him and that hurt the most.

“Come on,” Darek said to Nate as he pulled Nate and headed towards their cars. “I’m drunk anyways. I need a DD.”

I turned and looked at Giselle who looked like she was going to cry.

“We were all having such a good time,” She said sadly. “I worked really hard getting this party together and it got ruined.”

Carmen and I rubbed her shoulders sympathetically.

“Do you need me to stay and help you clean up?” I asked her and she shook her head.

“No, but thank you,” she said with a small smile. “You know me. Too lazy. I hired help to do that.”

I smiled back at her and gave Carmen and her both a hug. “Alright, I love you girls. Let me go deal with my Rocky.”

“Drive safe,” Carmen yelled out after me.

She looked back to see a disappointed friend. “Giselle, who says you should let those loser dudes ruin your party? We are beautiful women. I want to keep partying and you should, too.”

Giselle laughed at Carmen’s sudden personality change. “You seem less sad about Josh and Nate and more…me like. I kind of dig it.”

“Well, one of us has to always be the stronger one,” Carmen said throwing her arm over her shoulder. “Besides, I am tired of being sad. Josh isn’t coming back. Nate is back and still the same person. Now I want to be happy and have fun.”

Scene K

Matt followed me up my driveway and into my house. Parents were gone as usual, and Ky lay sprawled out on the couch. He chose to get a ride home with Anthony so they could trade stories about fighting.

“We should place him on his stomach,” Matt said looking at Ky.

“Hmm,” I said without much feedback or anything.

I went into the kitchen and poured me some soda and sighed as I heard Matt walking in behind me.

I didn’t have to look at his face to know Matt was sorry.

“I am not mad at you for fighting,” I said without turning around. “I am mad that till this day, six months later, you still see me as Marco.”

“Wha…No, I don’t,” Matt said with a sigh.

“Matt don’t lie to me,” I said to him. “Yes, you do.”

He looked at me sad and angry….confused, conflicted.

“Can you blame me?” he asked me. “Can you really blame me? I look at you and I see the boy I fell in love with almost two years ago as a sophomore but I still wonder if the other boy that I hated will take you away from me again.”

“Matt…”

“Coy, it’s always something with us,” he said to me. “Always. We have never had an easy relationship and honestly, I’m okay with it always being something. At least it never gets boring. But I look at you, look at us. I wonder what’s going to be next? You almost died. You were tortured and broke off into a second personality. I was an ass who didn’t understand that you needed to tell me something in your own time and I put my needs before yours. It’s always something and I’m so afraid that I’m going to lose you. I’m afraid he is going to come back.” I grabbed his hands and pulled him into a tight hug. I could feel him shuddering as he let his tears go and cried on my shoulder. This was the first time he had really had the chance to express these emotions to me.

“Matt, first of all, Marco is not coming back,” I said to him. “I felt him die and I realized he was only created because I needed strength. And I realize where you are coming from…how you feel. But you can’t think like that. You can’t always focus on what is going to happen tomorrow. What is going to happen to Coy and Matt. I don’t know. I honestly don’t want to know. I want to enjoy the time right now. In this moment. In this second. Let whatever may come and do its worse and watch us survive like we always do. Because I love you, Matt.”

“I love you too, Coy,” He said with a small smile. “Can I have another hug?

I opened my arms and allowed him to hug me tightly.

“Come on,” he said pulling my hand and leading me upstairs to my bedroom. “You got any condoms?”

“Over in the dresser there,” I said taking a seat on my bed. “First drawer.”

He pulled a condom out and walked back to the bed. I lay back as I got ready to do our usual routine but he reached out and handed me the condom.

“Are you sure?” I asked him. “I am going to suck probably.”

“And I am going to scream like a bitch probably,” he said to me with a smile. “But it’s all good.”

I still wasn’t sure about this but I was honored he was allowing himself to be with me in this way.

“Okay,” I said with a smile. “Let’s do it.”

Scene L

“You feel better?” Carmen asked Giselle as they walked to where the cars were parked.

“Much better,” she said to her best friend. “Gosh, our friends are some idiots.”

“At least we got some good ones like Coy and Nick to balance them all out,” Carmen said thinking about it. “Us included.”

“How do you think Coy and Nick would do as a couple?” Giselle asked them. “Hypothetically, I mean.”

“Hmm…I don’t know,” Carmen answered thoughtfully. “They are too nice, and combined together, there would probably be no conflict. Conflict is good though. Just like Matt and Ky wouldn’t work because it’s too much conflict and neither would want to compromise.”

“Good point,” Giselle agreed. “Coy and Anthony.”

“Well, that is Anthony’s dream but honestly I don’t think Anthony could handle all Matt and Coy have been through with the same determination Matt has,” she said and looked to see a shadow by her car. “Oh my God. Is that somebody around my car?”

“Oh shit. What do we do?” Giselle asked nervously. “I don’t want to have rape in common with Coy.”

Carmen felt as if she recognized the figure. She walked closer.

“Carmen…” Giselle hissed out.

Carmen walked closer and then she finally recognized who it was. The hair might be shaven and he looked a lot buffer than before. But she knew who it was.

“Josh,” she said as her breath caught. 

To be continued...

Author’s Note:

Halo is back with Halo 4: Resurrection.

In this season of Halo 4, it’s like a restart. The first 3 Halo: Beginnings, Angels & Monsters and Marco and the short story, Halo: Crossroads of the Soul told the story of Coy James and his battle against the one boy who made his life a living hell, and then he became his own worst enemy in Marco.

Ky James also faced a conflict of his own when he turned to a psychotic man for help with curing his sexuality and wound up nearly dying twice because of it.

And Josh, his storyline became an integral part of Book 2 and most of Book 3, and now he’s back at the end of Season 4.

Three Books and a half, these 3 characters have dominated the story and in Halo 4 we explore more of our other characters.

Coy and Matt’s relationship will face some funny times as they evolve within their sex lives as well as facing struggles now that Nate is back and determined to cause more havoc, even though he claims to have changed.

Anthony finds himself with a new problem of heartache and heartbreak…when he is the cause of it.

We learn more about both Daniel & Damien in this book and just how evil Damien can be.

Finally, near the end of this Book, a shocking secret is discovered by one of the characters.