Halo I
Beginnings ?

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 4
Sixteen at War

SCENE A

The sun shinned in my eyes, waking me. I smiled to myself realizing how beautiful the morning was. I felt movement behind me and realized that hands were wrapped around my waist and that somebody was spooning me.

"Oh, my God!" I yelled jumping out of the bed. I realized it was Matt and he awoke with a startled look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked sleepily. He looked at me with a confused expression.

I realized that I was breathing awfully fast and that I was shaking. 'Come, on, get a grip,' I silently said to myself.

"Coy?" he asked me with a concerned look on his face. "You don't remember? I came back home with you after the party last night? We just slept here, I promise that's all that happened."

"I know, I'm just…" I was still shaken. "Sorry, haven't shared a bed with anybody besides Ky in awhile."

He reached over and pulled me back to bed. "Come back and lay down with me," he said. "We got a little time before we have to go to school. I say more making-out is due, Mister James."

He leaned to kiss me but I placed my hand over his face. "Morning breath," I said, kissing him on the cheek. "You need to get home and shower and all."

"Ah, 'Dad', do I have to?" he whined. I smiled at him as he pouted. I pulled him out of the bed and handed him his clothes.

"Yes, my Greek Adonis, you have to," I said as I watched him dress.

Just like I was going to have to face my own demons pretty soon.

SCENE B

"So to commence our one month anniversary coming up, I think we should do something special?" Carmen said to Josh as they sat in Homeroom.

"What's more special than mind-blowing sex?" he asked her, looking up from the homework that he was supposed to have done last night.

"Spending some quality time with you're amazingly hot girlfriend," she said, hitting him upside the head. "Then … possibly … some mediocre sex."

"Ha, you got jokes, li'l Mama," he said, flicking her off. "Are you sure it was mediocrity after I had you screaming my name?"

Carmen smiled at her boyfriend. "It's called 'Faking it'," she said, sticking her tongue out. "Anyway, luckily for you, we have a week-and-a-half to plan a good night. On the short-term of things, Coy and Ky's birthday is Sunday."

"Oh ,shit!" Josh said, hitting his head. "It's been so long since Coy and I were friends, I had actually forgotten the little Virgo's birthday."

"Yep, August 24th," she said, noticing the bittersweet look on her boyfriend's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered, shaking his head and then sighed when he noticed Carmen's stern look. "It's just … I missed a few birthdays with Coy because of how dumb I acted. We always had the most fun on his birthday."

"Well you can't change the past, baby," she said, grabbing his hand. "But you can make sure the twins' 'Sweet 16' is one day they will never forget."

"Yeah," he said with a big smile. "Yeah, I can! God, Carmen I love you."

Carmen looked at him shocked and Josh flashed her an equally shocked look.

"Josh … You…"

"Gotta go," Josh said, grabbing his binder as the bell rang and he went speeding out of the class.

SCENE C

"Coy," Anthony called out to me as I walked towards my locker. "Coy! Just one minute; please."

I turned around to face him. "Come to push me into more pools?"

"I didn't mean to," he said looking at the floor. "You know I would never try to hurt you."

"Really? Because rumor has it that the Pagan brothers really don't care who they hurt," I said folding my arms.

"You're different though," he pleaded. "You can't tell me that you didn't feel the intensity … the connection from the past few days."

"You preyed on me because I was hurt and vulnerable," I responed angrily. "Just like you do with your victims. I'm not going to be a part of this any longer. So stay away from me." I turned to continue onward towards my locker.

"I know about you and Matt," he said, quiet enough for me to hear. I stopped cold in my tracks. "I saw the two of you after Nick and I left the party. It was a hell of a make-out show."

I turned to look at him and I saw the dark look in his face. "You can't deny that you aren't attracted to me," he said firmly. "Just like I can't deny that I'm attracted to you."

"The attraction is all for the wrong reasons," I said turning to leave. He grabbed my arm roughly.

"I always get what I want," he said to me. "I want you, Coy. I am going to get you."

"What you going to do?" I asked him snatching my arm away from him. "Hurt me? Hurt Matt?"

"No," he said to me with a smile. "I can do this 'Good-boy' thing and show you I'm not such a bad guy after all. But as far as hurting you, I will let Matt do that."

"Wha…" I began but noticed where he was looking behind me. I saw Matt and Giselle walking down the hallway.

"Stay away from me," I said flashing him a disgusted look and walked towards the couple.

"COY!" He said in shock and dropped Giselle's hand. She looked at him weirdly.

"Matt … Gisellle … here … together … holding hands …" I said looking at both of them.

"Of course," she said, wrapping her arm in his. Matt had an uncomfortable look. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"No reason," I said with a tight smile. "Excuse me; I've got class." I pushed past them and headed toward the front office.

"Coy is cute and all, but he is really weird sometimes," she said to an oblivious Matt.

Matt was thinking about what was going to happen next.

SCENE D

"What's up, yo?" A voice behind Ky asked, startling him.

He hit his head on the hood of the car he was working on in Auto Mechanics. "Shit," he said, rubbing his head. "Damn, Nick, you fucking scared me."

"Sorry," Nick said sheepishly. "I just wanted to apologize for the events last night. I didn't want to fight you."

"I didn't want to fight you, either," Ky replied as he leaned against the car. "But you were beefing with my friends."

"I understand," Nick said nodding his head. "Just wanted to make sure we're still cool."

"Cool as whip," Ky quoted their famous phrase they had made back in 5th Grade.

"So, if I remember correctly, a set of twins are turning sixteen this weekend," Nick said as the two began to work on the car together.

"Yeah, I'm so fucking happy," Ky said with a big smile. "I get my Ls now. So I'll be driving to school."

"That's the best thing about being sixteen," Nick said. "License … and of course  … parties."

"Parties as opposed to any other parties we have every week?" Ky joked. "I don't really like birthday parties. Coy does, though, and that's the only reason I suffer through'em."

"Yeah, Anthony likes birthday parties," Nick said with a laugh. "Ice cream cakes from Dunkin Donuts are his favorite things. Just give me the money and gifts and get the fuck on."

"I know right," Ky said, flashing him a smile that made Nick's breath catch. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Nick said with a smile. And a thought popped in his head. "Hey, I wanna show you a good time for your birthday this weekend."

"Really?" Ky asked him. "Well … I mean, I'm sure Carmen and company have something planned, too…"

"Come on, PLEASE!!!!" Nick said with a sad puppy dog face. "Besides this is my way of also paying you back for being a complete dick."

Ky smiled at his friend. "Fine," he said, "Only if you promise I will have fun."

"With me? When is it ever not fun," Nick said with a sly grin on his face.

If Anthony could seduce one James brother, then so could he.

*******

"So you're gonna just sit there and ignore me?" Matt asked me as I washed my hands. We had just gotten through doing an experiment in biology.

"Yeah, pretty much," I said, pushing past him to head for my desk. He followed, behind, and took a seat beside me.

"What are you spazzing about?" he asked, confused.

"Because you were standing there all lovey-dovey with Giselle this morning like you didn't have your tongue crammed down my throat not even five hours before," I hissed.

He looked around nervously. "Will you shut up?" He said angrily at me. I rolled my eyes.

"You're worried about thirty other kids in this class finding out about you?" I asked with a half-laugh. "You should be worried about Anthony. He saw us kissing each other last night."

Matt looked at me shocked. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "That can't be true. I got so much to lose."

"You're right," I said as the bell rang. "You do have a lot to lose … starting with me."

"Wha…" Matt was about to ask, but became speechless as he watched me walk out of the room.

SCENE E

Josh watched Ky and Nick as they walked out of the locker room. It was just after practice and he was waiting for Ky, seeing how Matt pretty much blew him off to go … God knows where.

"Please tell me you are not friends with this prick," Josh said folding his arms as the two walked over to him.

Ky sighed in frustration. "Josh, come on; let's not do this," he said, stepping in front of Nick.

"You gotta protect him now, Ky?" Josh asked, pulling him back. "He too much of a bitch to handle himself?"

"Nah, far from that, but I don't want to mess up my friendship with Ky, here," Nick said calmly. "Ky has been a friend of mine forever."

"Forever?" Josh scoffed. "Dude, it's been a few years; that's all. I've been his friend forever. Like brothers."

"Look, you're both my friends," Ky said to the two boys. "Can't we just squash this shit and talk about getting wasted for my birthday weekend?"

"You can't be my friend if you're friends with him," Josh said defiantly.

'I guess we can't squash this,' Ky thought to himself, before saying, "Josh, come on. You're being a little kid."

Josh shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave. Nick started laughing. Ky gave him a strange look.

"Hey, Jackson," Nick said pushing Ky behind him. "Wanna tell Ky the real reason we hate each other?"

Josh froze in his tracks while Ky flashed a confused look to both boys. Nick, however, continued to laugh.

"Don't," Josh said still not turning around. The three noticed Carmen walking towards them.

"Hey, boys," she said with a warm smile. Sensing tension, her smile faltered. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing really," Nick said to her. "I was about to tell Ky, here, why Josh and I just can't seem to get along."

"I said, 'Don't'," Josh yelled, shocking the three by his outburst. He was shaking.

"Oh come on, Joshie boy," Nick said tauntingly. "You been friends since FOREVER! No secrets. Well, let's share. The other day, I made a pass at Josh in the hallway."

"I knew you were gay," Carmen said at the same time that Ky asked, "You're gay?"

Nick walked right up to Josh with a confident stance. "You wanna know why you despise me so much? Because by accepting that I was gay, you would have to open your close-minded little brain to realize that it's okay that somebody besides Coy was gay. Even still, you try to admit you're okay with Coy. But you aren't."

"Coy's gay?" Ky asked with a dark look on his face. He backed away from the trio. "No … he can't be."

"Ky…" Carmen said, reaching out for him but he pulled away from her. He took off running in the opposite direction. Carmen walked over to Nick and slapped him with all her might.

"He didn't know Coy was gay," she said to him as she ran to try to catch up with Ky.

Josh looked at Nick with a sad look on his face. "Why do you and your brother have to cause trouble wherever you go?" he asked quietly. "Yesterday, Anthony nearly killed him and today you might have killed a relationship with two brothers."

"I … I didn't know," Nick said in shock of everything.

"You know what? You were right," Josh said in a soft voice. "I do got a problem with gay people. It's not natural to me. But Coy is like my brother. More than that. I am willing to work through my issues for him and to understand. But you … you just disrespected me the other day and that wasn't necessary."

Nick just stood there processing everything.

"Watch you're back," Josh said to him. "Because if I ever see you alone, I am going to do whatever is in my power to beat you to within an inch of your pathetic life."

He bumped into Nick hard as he walked off. Nick Pagan realized something. He might have made a dent in the twin's relationship but he would be there for Ky to vent.

"Who knows?" he thought to himself. "I might get what I want, after all."

SCENE F

Ky rummaged through my room looking for any information. Any signs … clues … evidence to give him answers. He knew that he didn't have much time. I would be home shortly from Student Council.

"I can't believe this shit," he said to himself as he rummaged through my binders and folders of papers from school. "God, Coy, you're such a nerd. Only you would save work from last year."

My instant messenger chimed, scaring Ky. He looked at my laptop and hesitated. There was the possibility of proof right there, less than thirty feet away from him. But could he really invade his brother's privacy?

"Fuck it," he said as he put the folders back the way he found them. He walked towards the door and was almost out when it chimed again. Against his better judgment, he went over to the laptop and opened it. It was from Matt.

MattyG: Coy … Please don't be mad … This is still new for me. Being gay and all.

MattyG: Before I came here, I was fine with Giselle … But the more I'm around you, the more I want you. I don't know what to do, but I know I don't want you to shut me out.

"Oh, my God," Ky said, covering his mouth.

"Ky?" I said as I walked into my room. "What's going on? Why are you in my room on my laptop?"

He got up from the chair. "You're sick," he said to me. "You're sick."

"Nah, I think I am pretty healthy," I said with a chuckle. "You're avoiding my question. What are you doing in here?"

"You're sick," he kept repeating.

I gave him a confused look. "You already said that," I said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

"You're sick," he said pointing to my laptop. I walked over to my laptop to see what he was talking about. I read the IMs and turned around slowly to look at my brother.

"Ky … let me explain," I began, but unsure of what to say to him.

"Explain what?" Ky said throwing his hands up. "That you're a fucking homo?"

"Ky …" I said, feeling hurt. "Please don't call me that."

"Would you prefer … Queer … Faggot … What?" he asked as he grabbed me by my shirt.

"Let go of me," I said, trying to pull away but he had a tight grip in his eyes and slammed me up against the wall.

"This is your fault," he growled. "I fucking blame you." He tossed me across the room and I hit my head on my dresser drawer.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, rubbing my head. He bent down in front of me. I cowered, thinking he was going to hit me.

"You're contagious," he said to me. "You're fucking contagious, because whatever made you gay, I caught, too."

"What?" I asked, confused. He stood up and headed toward the door.

"I'm a fucking fag, too," he said as tears rolled down his face. "I'm fucking disgusting. You're disgusting. We're both disgusting."

"Ky, it's okay," I said getting up off the floor. I walked toward him but he pushed me away.

"Don't," he said to me. "Just don't fucking touch me. You caused enough problems."

"You're blaming the fact that you like boys on me?" I asked with a shocked laugh.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know who to blame," he said simply.

"There's nobody to blame," I said firmly. "There is nothing wrong with us. We're normal."

"Normal?" Ky scoffed. "This is what you call normal? You want to know why I always have a different girlfriend every other week? Because they can't suck my dick like a guy can. They won't let me ass fuck them like a guy would. They want me to fucking eat their pussy. I don't want to do that. So I get a different girl. Hoping that somehow … someway … they will make me normal. Because this is not normal … this is a sickness."

I stood their shocked by his revelation. "You've … You've done stuff with guys?"

"Yep," he said nodding. "I gotta get out of here. I need to think."

"Where are you going?" I asked him. "Where in Atlantic City can a fifteen-year-old boy stay?"

"I think I know where," he said. "Just tell Mom I'm okay and staying with a friend and will be back on Sunday for dinner and whatever else."

We looked each other in the eyes. It was then that I realized. I didn't know the boy who was standing in front of me. He looked just like my brother. He dressed just like my brother. But this wasn't Ky. Whoever this was … had nothing but anger and confusion on his face. He turned to leave, but stopped.

"I don't hate you," he said to me. I smiled a little. At least he could still read my mind. Maybe Ky wasn't completely gone.

He walked out of my room and down the stairs. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out to see it was Matt.

"What is it?" I asked shortly.

"Can we talk?" he asked me. "Please … I want to talk with you."

"Fine come on over," I replied. "Front door's open."

I hung up my phone and tossed it on the bed. It took a second but then I just broke down and collapsed, crying on the floor.

SCENE G

"Coy?" a voice said waking me up. I opened my eyes to see Matt standing there.

"Hey," I said to him softly. He bent down and sat Indian style in front of me.

"You've been crying," he said and then laughed. "Well, that's obvious. But why? Because of me?"

"Partially," I said to him as I wiped my face. "And the fact that Ky just found out I was gay … and then outted himself to me … and is now like … I don't know what he is. He just isn't himself right now."

"Ky's gay?" he asked, shocked. "As much as he hits on Giselle? I never would've guessed it."

"As much as you're on Giselle, I almost forgot YOU were gay," I said angry at the mention of her name.

He grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Look, I'm scared," he said. "Giselle is safe … But she isn't you … Coy, we connect … We understand each other. We're supposed to be together."

"What are you saying?" I asked him. He leaned over and kissed me.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked nervously. I looked in his face, searching for any deception … any trace of lying. All I saw was a genuine need and want of me.

"Yes," I said softly. I smiled at him. "Yes, Matt;  I'll go out with you."

He looked relieved when I said yes. "Thank you," he said,pulling me up and sitting me on the bed. "So …What now?"

"Now, you just spend the night and lie here in bed with me," I said to him.

He got up, shut the door, and locked it. "Oh somebody's a little horny, huh?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"That somebody is you," I said with a laugh. "Seriously, I just want to lie here. I need to feel safe, and I feel safe in your arms."

"Fine," he said, scooping my thin body into his big muscular build. "We'll just lie here … and I'll protect you."

"Um … can you not touch me?" I asked, pulling away.

"What?" he asked with a hurt look. "You don't want me to touch you?"

"Just lie here beside me, please," I said, lying on the bed.

Hurt, Matt lay beside me. I grabbed his hand to let him know I didn't mean it so bad.

"It's okay," Matt said with a small smile.

He knew there was a secret that I wasn't telling him, and he would wait till I WAS ready.

SCENE H

"Ky?" Nick said, shocked to see him standing on his front porch. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you home alone?" Ky asked him. "Where are you parents and Anthony?"

"Anthony is … well … wherever Anthony goes to get his head clear … My parents are out of town for this weekend. Why? What's up?"

"How good are you at sucking dick?" Ky asked hungrily. 

Posted: 12/31/10