(John Peters)
(Grandstand in the Square).
(Willows on the Riverbank).So, you guys like your brother’s burgers do you?” Grant sat down on the grandstand seat next to the, eating, red-heads.
“What? Oh, Hey, Grant. Yeah, we like them.”
“Hey Diane. They’re great burgers, aren’t they?”
“We think so.”
“We do too. Sit down, John. You’re making the place look untidy. The chips and coleslaw are great too, but they didn’t make them, did they? These are just bought chips.”
“They are and they aren’t,” Brian grinned across at them. “They bought a truck-load of chips, from the factory down by Timaru, but then they soaked them in the oil and baked them themselves. They’ve got some sort of rock-salt on them too.”
“Oil? I thought all this stuff was healthy food?”
“Yes, oil – canola oil. At least they’re not cooked in fat. Taste good too.”
“Anything tastes good if it’s free,” Grant snorted. “Did they make the coleslaw too? This really is good stuff.”
“They did actually,” Dianne said.
“They’ve been bloody busy then,” Grant nodded. “Look at all these people here. Everyone’s eating. That’s an awful lot of burgers and stuff.”
“They had a lot of helpers,” Dianne said. “And they’re really keen.”
“Really keen on each other too, aren’t they? What do you guys think about your big brother leaving home and moving in with a boy?”
“Justin’s not just a boy,” said Dianne. “He’s Superboy.”
“And, everybody loves Superboy. Right?”
“Damm right they do!” Brian said. “Especially Billy.”
John was looking with new eyes at this red-haired kid. (‘He’s got no problem with that?’)
“What if he wasn’t? What if Justin wasn’t Superboy, but just another kid? Would you still be all right with your brother being with him? What would the Carvers think?”
Brian stood up. “I suppose it’d be all right, as long as we liked him, and Billy liked him too of course. The Carvers would probably kill him though, for screwing with Ma’s no.1 grandson.”
“Oh?” said John, feeling strangely disappointed.
“No, not really. The Carvers are not monsters. They’re just people like everyone else. Well, maybe not quite like everyone else. We’re just going over to the Dodgems. You guys want to come and check them out?”
“Yeah, why not? Come on, John-Boy.”
There was a huge crowd waiting on the Dodgems, so they went on the Ferris wheel instead. Grant and Dianne took a seat together, leaving John and Brian to get the next one. As they got in and fastened the safety-bar across their knees, John looked up at where Grant and Dianne were happily swinging their seat vigorously.
“Don’t you start doing that, Kid, or I’m out of here!”
The wheel started with a jerk and Brian asked, “How would you get out anyway?”
“First I’d puke everywhere and then the guy would stop the wheel and throw us out.”
“I’d better not do that then. Bit nervous are you, John-Boy? Bit of a wuss?”
“I’m not a wuss. I just don’t like heights, that’s all.”
“Yeah. I know you’re not a wuss. I saw you scrapping that day, over there, where Superboy smashed the rubbish-tin. You were going for it. That one was just sitting on the ground, crying, wasn’t he?”
“Well, yeah. But Grant was hurt. I thought they’d broken his arm – bastards! I was going to go down, but then Superboy came to the rescue.”
“Yeah. Justin’s great, isn’t he?”
“He sure is. Simply the best. Your brother’s lucky to have him.”
“You think so? Really? I think Billy’s lucky too.”
John glanced at this good-looking kid beside him and wondered what he meant by that. Could it be that he was like his brother, in more than just good looks? He didn’t know what to say, but he had to say something.
“Yes, really.”
“Wow! Look at that, Man. I can see right over the roof of the frigging grandstand! To tell the truth, I’m not that keen on heights either. So, why did those bullies attack you guys that day anyway?”
“They just . . umm. They saw us with our arms around each other’s shoulders and started calling us faggots.”
“Oh? And were they right? Are you guys gay?”
Now John was stuck. How was he going to answer that? He couldn’t just say that he was. But, he was attracted to this kid. He’d never really looked at him before, but, close-up, he was beautiful! All fiery hair, smooth milky-white skin, intense blue eyes and a glorious smile! Thick red lips.
And, if he said he wasn’t - ? He looked down at the pair ahead of them. Still rocking away, Grant and Dianne were laughing and cuddled up together now.
“What do you think? Does that look to you like my friend’s gay?”
“No, that doesn’t look like it. Your cousin’s gay though, isn’t he? The Guitar-man.”
“Yeah, Daniel’s definitely gay, when it comes to Tony he is.”
“And what about you, John-Boy?”
John turned and looked at the intense blue eyes looking back at him, and gulped nervously.
“I. . . dunno. Are you gay?”
“I dunno either. Maybe.”
(‘Maybe? That’s not a no!’) John grinned, “Maybe? Yeah, maybe me too.”
“Cool.”
They rode in silence for a while, and then Brian spoke up again. “So, do you want to kiss me and find out?”
Boom! Butterflies and cold sweats!
“Umm. No, I don’t want to kiss you. Not here where the whole frigging world can see us.”
The kid looked crushed, and he sank down in the seat. He’d taken a chance and he’d been shot down. John felt so sorry for him. He liked this kid and, yes, he was attracted to him. So he took a chance himself. He reached over and took the boy’s hand off the safety-rail and dropped their clasped hands to rest on the seat between them.
Brian sat quietly, beamed his sunny smile and squeezed his hand. John squeezed back. They rode on in sedate silence for a while, sitting there, holding hands discretely.
Brian said, quietly, “We could go and do it in the men’s toilets down behind the grandstand. The whole world couldn’t see us in there.”
“Uh, uh. Those old loos are disgusting and they stink. We’re not going in there.”
“Where then?”
“Dunno. You know anywhere?”
“Not around here. No, dammit.”
“Yeah, dammit.”
“Are you sure we couldn’t try the loos, just for a minute?”
“I’m sure. People are dumping in there. We could go for a walk somewhere. The rest of the town must be empty.”
“Yeah, I reckon. Let’s go down by the river.”
“’Kay, we’ll do that. Tell the man that we want to get off.”
“Don’t think so. We’ll just wait.”
It seemed ages, but their ride eventually came to an end. The wheel stopped and started as each seat was cleared and refilled with eager new passengers. They sat waiting, impatiently, just a few feet up in the air, while Grant and Dianne were released, then they sank down to the platform for their turn out.
Now John was worrying about how they were going to get away from the others, but it turned out not to be a problem. As he came off the ramp, Grant grabbed his arm.
“Listen, John-Boy, we’re just going to go off somewhere. Will you be all right if I just leave you to hang with the kid?’
John smiled, delighted. “Sure. You go and do your thing. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, John-Boy. You’re a bloody great friend you know.”
“Course I am. You’re not so bad yourself. Catch you later, Grant.”
He watched Grant and Dianne disappear into the crowd, and then turned back to his new friend. “Okay, that’s cool. You still want to . . .go for a walk somewhere. . . down by the river?”
“Yeah. You still want to?”
“You’d better believe it! Come on.”
They walked away from the park, across the road and around the corner, heading for the river.
“You’ve been friends with Grant Todd for a long time?”
“Well, yeah. All our lives really.”
“That’s cool. I’ve never really had a friend – not a best friend anyway.”
“Really? Why the hell not? Great kid like you, I thought you’d have lots of friends.”
“No. I’m a Carver remember. Carver kids only get to hang out with each other – with our brothers and cousins. No-one ever wanted to know us. Not until recently, that is, that’s all changed now. We’re actually allowed to be part of things now that Superboy’s our friend.”
“Well, Kid,” John said nervously. “I’m no Superboy, but I’d like to be your friend too.”
“Cool. I’d really like a friend. And, you are a Superboy you know – junior version maybe.”
John felt pleased about that, but embarrassed as well. It wasn’t true anyway.
“Naah. Wipe your chin, Kid. Now you’re talking shite.”
They walked along Brigham Street and across the main street. It was quiet but it was far from empty; not everyone was around at the Square eating Billy’s burgers. They went over the railways station platform and crossed the multiple tracks of the railway yard to reach the river-side wharf.
They looked down along the wharves towards the river-mouth. There was a cement company boat tied up by the tall bulk cement silos, but there didn’t seem to be much activity about.
The other way, upriver, there was a tangled mass of willow trees extending along the banks after the wharf ended, so they walked back up that way. They followed the narrow track along the bank, crossed over the tidal creek onto ‘the island’ and diverged off to climb around the masses of roots and tangled tree trunks.
John found a spot where a trunk lay, more or less, parallel to the ground, a few feet up from the black-mud surface. He scrambled up there, sat down, and then offered a hand back to the other boy to help him up.
Brian grabbed the hand, pulled himself up and sat down next to him. They sat quietly for a minute, side by side, feet dangling off the tree trunk and still holding hands.
“This is nice,” said John, trying to find a way to break the silence.
“Yeah, pretty cool. Private anyway. You still going to kiss me?”
“You still want me too?”
Their eyes were locked together now and both stomachs were fluttering.
“Oh, yes,” Brian sighed and leaned forward.
Their lips met and pressed together. They held still for a short time and then John put one hand behind the other’s head, parted his lips slightly and began kissing him in earnest. The tip of his tongue parted Brian’s lips and slid into his mouth, probing around, exploring and enjoying the essence of the boy.
Brian grabbed his shoulders and responded. When they broke apart, he breathed, “Wow! If that’s what it’s like to kiss a boy, I like it!”
“You think you might be gay then?”
“Dunno. Maybe. Maybe we’d better try it again.”
“Yeah, maybe we’d better!”
Later, they sat there face to face, with their legs hanging astride the trunk. They both had obvious boners tenting their trousers.
“You’re really good at this, John-Boy.”
“I’ve been practicing with Grant. Just practicing for when I could find someone of my own. You’re not so bad yourself, Kid. I like it too!”
Brian blushed. “I’ve never done this with anyone. You want to practice with me from now on?”
“I’d love to practice with you. We can practice until we’re perfect.”
“Oh yeah! Sounds good. You want to be boyfriends then?”
“Boyfriends? I don’t know. I hope so. Maybe we should start as friends, close friends, and see where we go from there.”
“That sounds cool. I’d really like a boyfriend though and not just someone to have sex with.”
“That’s great! That’s just what I want. I don’t know anything about you, apart from the fact that you’re hot and I like what I see.”
“I like what I see too. What do you want to know about me?”
“Well, everything. For a start, what the hell is your name?”
“You don’t know? It’s Brian – Brian James Mathieson.”
“Really? Cool. My name is John James Peters, so we’ve got that in common.”
“Yeah, that too. I think we’ve got lots in common, John James.”
“I think so too, Brian James.”
How old are you, John James? And what class will you be in this year?”
“I’m fourteen, well almost, and I’ll be in year 10. What about you?”
“I’ll be in year 9 – first year of Highschool at last. I’m twelve.”
“You’re what?” John pulled back from him. “You’re twelve? Shit, you’re just a fucking kid!”
“I am not! I’m nearly 13. You’re only one year older. Superboy’s a year older than Billy. Us Carvers, we grow up fast. I’m not a fucking kid. Maybe I’d like to be though – fucking, I mean.”
“Fuck, Brian. I don’t know. You’re so young!”
“So are you, John BOY. What’s a year?”
“Well, okay. We’ll see how it goes. I do SO want to be your friend. We’ll take it slow and easy.”
“Cool. We’ll be, like, kissing friends then?”
“Yeah! Kiss me quick.”
“What? Oh, Hey, Grant. Yeah, we like them.”
“Hey Diane. They’re great burgers, aren’t they?”
“We think so.”
“We do too. Sit down, John. You’re making the place look untidy. The chips and coleslaw are great too, but they didn’t make them, did they? These are just bought chips.”
“They are and they aren’t,” Brian grinned across at them. “They bought a truck-load of chips, from the factory down by Timaru, but then they soaked them in the oil and baked them themselves. They’ve got some sort of rock-salt on them too.”
“Oil? I thought all this stuff was healthy food?”
“Yes, oil – canola oil. At least they’re not cooked in fat. Taste good too.”
“Anything tastes good if it’s free,” Grant snorted. “Did they make the coleslaw too? This really is good stuff.”
“They did actually,” Dianne said.
“They’ve been bloody busy then,” Grant nodded. “Look at all these people here. Everyone’s eating. That’s an awful lot of burgers and stuff.”
“They had a lot of helpers,” Dianne said. “And they’re really keen.”
“Really keen on each other too, aren’t they? What do you guys think about your big brother leaving home and moving in with a boy?”
“Justin’s not just a boy,” said Dianne. “He’s Superboy.”
“And, everybody loves Superboy. Right?”
“Damm right they do!” Brian said. “Especially Billy.”
John was looking with new eyes at this red-haired kid. (‘He’s got no problem with that?’)
“What if he wasn’t? What if Justin wasn’t Superboy, but just another kid? Would you still be all right with your brother being with him? What would the Carvers think?”
Brian stood up. “I suppose it’d be all right, as long as we liked him, and Billy liked him too of course. The Carvers would probably kill him though, for screwing with Ma’s no.1 grandson.”
“Oh?” said John, feeling strangely disappointed.
“No, not really. The Carvers are not monsters. They’re just people like everyone else. Well, maybe not quite like everyone else. We’re just going over to the Dodgems. You guys want to come and check them out?”
“Yeah, why not? Come on, John-Boy.”
There was a huge crowd waiting on the Dodgems, so they went on the Ferris wheel instead. Grant and Dianne took a seat together, leaving John and Brian to get the next one. As they got in and fastened the safety-bar across their knees, John looked up at where Grant and Dianne were happily swinging their seat vigorously.
“Don’t you start doing that, Kid, or I’m out of here!”
The wheel started with a jerk and Brian asked, “How would you get out anyway?”
“First I’d puke everywhere and then the guy would stop the wheel and throw us out.”
“I’d better not do that then. Bit nervous are you, John-Boy? Bit of a wuss?”
“I’m not a wuss. I just don’t like heights, that’s all.”
“Yeah. I know you’re not a wuss. I saw you scrapping that day, over there, where Superboy smashed the rubbish-tin. You were going for it. That one was just sitting on the ground, crying, wasn’t he?”
“Well, yeah. But Grant was hurt. I thought they’d broken his arm – bastards! I was going to go down, but then Superboy came to the rescue.”
“Yeah. Justin’s great, isn’t he?”
“He sure is. Simply the best. Your brother’s lucky to have him.”
“You think so? Really? I think Billy’s lucky too.”
John glanced at this good-looking kid beside him and wondered what he meant by that. Could it be that he was like his brother, in more than just good looks? He didn’t know what to say, but he had to say something.
“Yes, really.”
“Wow! Look at that, Man. I can see right over the roof of the frigging grandstand! To tell the truth, I’m not that keen on heights either. So, why did those bullies attack you guys that day anyway?”
“They just . . umm. They saw us with our arms around each other’s shoulders and started calling us faggots.”
“Oh? And were they right? Are you guys gay?”
Now John was stuck. How was he going to answer that? He couldn’t just say that he was. But, he was attracted to this kid. He’d never really looked at him before, but, close-up, he was beautiful! All fiery hair, smooth milky-white skin, intense blue eyes and a glorious smile! Thick red lips.
And, if he said he wasn’t - ? He looked down at the pair ahead of them. Still rocking away, Grant and Dianne were laughing and cuddled up together now.
“What do you think? Does that look to you like my friend’s gay?”
“No, that doesn’t look like it. Your cousin’s gay though, isn’t he? The Guitar-man.”
“Yeah, Daniel’s definitely gay, when it comes to Tony he is.”
“And what about you, John-Boy?”
John turned and looked at the intense blue eyes looking back at him, and gulped nervously.
“I. . . dunno. Are you gay?”
“I dunno either. Maybe.”
(‘Maybe? That’s not a no!’) John grinned, “Maybe? Yeah, maybe me too.”
“Cool.”
They rode in silence for a while, and then Brian spoke up again. “So, do you want to kiss me and find out?”
Boom! Butterflies and cold sweats!
“Umm. No, I don’t want to kiss you. Not here where the whole frigging world can see us.”
The kid looked crushed, and he sank down in the seat. He’d taken a chance and he’d been shot down. John felt so sorry for him. He liked this kid and, yes, he was attracted to him. So he took a chance himself. He reached over and took the boy’s hand off the safety-rail and dropped their clasped hands to rest on the seat between them.
Brian sat quietly, beamed his sunny smile and squeezed his hand. John squeezed back. They rode on in sedate silence for a while, sitting there, holding hands discretely.
Brian said, quietly, “We could go and do it in the men’s toilets down behind the grandstand. The whole world couldn’t see us in there.”
“Uh, uh. Those old loos are disgusting and they stink. We’re not going in there.”
“Where then?”
“Dunno. You know anywhere?”
“Not around here. No, dammit.”
“Yeah, dammit.”
“Are you sure we couldn’t try the loos, just for a minute?”
“I’m sure. People are dumping in there. We could go for a walk somewhere. The rest of the town must be empty.”
“Yeah, I reckon. Let’s go down by the river.”
“’Kay, we’ll do that. Tell the man that we want to get off.”
“Don’t think so. We’ll just wait.”
It seemed ages, but their ride eventually came to an end. The wheel stopped and started as each seat was cleared and refilled with eager new passengers. They sat waiting, impatiently, just a few feet up in the air, while Grant and Dianne were released, then they sank down to the platform for their turn out.
Now John was worrying about how they were going to get away from the others, but it turned out not to be a problem. As he came off the ramp, Grant grabbed his arm.
“Listen, John-Boy, we’re just going to go off somewhere. Will you be all right if I just leave you to hang with the kid?’
John smiled, delighted. “Sure. You go and do your thing. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, John-Boy. You’re a bloody great friend you know.”
“Course I am. You’re not so bad yourself. Catch you later, Grant.”
He watched Grant and Dianne disappear into the crowd, and then turned back to his new friend. “Okay, that’s cool. You still want to . . .go for a walk somewhere. . . down by the river?”
“Yeah. You still want to?”
“You’d better believe it! Come on.”
They walked away from the park, across the road and around the corner, heading for the river.
“You’ve been friends with Grant Todd for a long time?”
“Well, yeah. All our lives really.”
“That’s cool. I’ve never really had a friend – not a best friend anyway.”
“Really? Why the hell not? Great kid like you, I thought you’d have lots of friends.”
“No. I’m a Carver remember. Carver kids only get to hang out with each other – with our brothers and cousins. No-one ever wanted to know us. Not until recently, that is, that’s all changed now. We’re actually allowed to be part of things now that Superboy’s our friend.”
“Well, Kid,” John said nervously. “I’m no Superboy, but I’d like to be your friend too.”
“Cool. I’d really like a friend. And, you are a Superboy you know – junior version maybe.”
John felt pleased about that, but embarrassed as well. It wasn’t true anyway.
“Naah. Wipe your chin, Kid. Now you’re talking shite.”
They walked along Brigham Street and across the main street. It was quiet but it was far from empty; not everyone was around at the Square eating Billy’s burgers. They went over the railways station platform and crossed the multiple tracks of the railway yard to reach the river-side wharf.
They looked down along the wharves towards the river-mouth. There was a cement company boat tied up by the tall bulk cement silos, but there didn’t seem to be much activity about.
The other way, upriver, there was a tangled mass of willow trees extending along the banks after the wharf ended, so they walked back up that way. They followed the narrow track along the bank, crossed over the tidal creek onto ‘the island’ and diverged off to climb around the masses of roots and tangled tree trunks.
John found a spot where a trunk lay, more or less, parallel to the ground, a few feet up from the black-mud surface. He scrambled up there, sat down, and then offered a hand back to the other boy to help him up.
Brian grabbed the hand, pulled himself up and sat down next to him. They sat quietly for a minute, side by side, feet dangling off the tree trunk and still holding hands.
“This is nice,” said John, trying to find a way to break the silence.
“Yeah, pretty cool. Private anyway. You still going to kiss me?”
“You still want me too?”
Their eyes were locked together now and both stomachs were fluttering.
“Oh, yes,” Brian sighed and leaned forward.
Their lips met and pressed together. They held still for a short time and then John put one hand behind the other’s head, parted his lips slightly and began kissing him in earnest. The tip of his tongue parted Brian’s lips and slid into his mouth, probing around, exploring and enjoying the essence of the boy.
Brian grabbed his shoulders and responded. When they broke apart, he breathed, “Wow! If that’s what it’s like to kiss a boy, I like it!”
“You think you might be gay then?”
“Dunno. Maybe. Maybe we’d better try it again.”
“Yeah, maybe we’d better!”
Later, they sat there face to face, with their legs hanging astride the trunk. They both had obvious boners tenting their trousers.
“You’re really good at this, John-Boy.”
“I’ve been practicing with Grant. Just practicing for when I could find someone of my own. You’re not so bad yourself, Kid. I like it too!”
Brian blushed. “I’ve never done this with anyone. You want to practice with me from now on?”
“I’d love to practice with you. We can practice until we’re perfect.”
“Oh yeah! Sounds good. You want to be boyfriends then?”
“Boyfriends? I don’t know. I hope so. Maybe we should start as friends, close friends, and see where we go from there.”
“That sounds cool. I’d really like a boyfriend though and not just someone to have sex with.”
“That’s great! That’s just what I want. I don’t know anything about you, apart from the fact that you’re hot and I like what I see.”
“I like what I see too. What do you want to know about me?”
“Well, everything. For a start, what the hell is your name?”
“You don’t know? It’s Brian – Brian James Mathieson.”
“Really? Cool. My name is John James Peters, so we’ve got that in common.”
“Yeah, that too. I think we’ve got lots in common, John James.”
“I think so too, Brian James.”
How old are you, John James? And what class will you be in this year?”
“I’m fourteen, well almost, and I’ll be in year 10. What about you?”
“I’ll be in year 9 – first year of Highschool at last. I’m twelve.”
“You’re what?” John pulled back from him. “You’re twelve? Shit, you’re just a fucking kid!”
“I am not! I’m nearly 13. You’re only one year older. Superboy’s a year older than Billy. Us Carvers, we grow up fast. I’m not a fucking kid. Maybe I’d like to be though – fucking, I mean.”
“Fuck, Brian. I don’t know. You’re so young!”
“So are you, John BOY. What’s a year?”
“Well, okay. We’ll see how it goes. I do SO want to be your friend. We’ll take it slow and easy.”
“Cool. We’ll be, like, kissing friends then?”
“Yeah! Kiss me quick.”
7 comments:
New love. Isent it grate.
Jerry
I just love how these lives all entertwine(is that a word?).I think its about time Westpoint gat a gay club for teenagers. What do you think?
Your bud,
Jim
James - yes, it's nearly a word. "Intertwine" is a word.
Personally, I think Westpoint is more in need of a straight club for those rare unfortunate teenagers condemned to heterosexuality! Mind you, there wouldn't be too many members! ;-)
Alastair
The party is really still going. Hope we're going to hear a lot more of John and Brian's tentative love.
Thanks Guys.
Jerry - great!
James, Alastair - yeah, entertwine, intertwine - whateva. Their tales are entangled - it's a small town.
A gay club? We're working on it, you'll have to wait & see. Heterosexuals? There are a few around - poor things :) Okay, that's enough couples. Well, maybe one more - there's some loose ends to tie up.
(Minds above belts!)
Tom, John & Brian will be around - they're family!
cheers,
By the way David--What a beautiful boy!!
Jim
Jim,
He is that! I just came across the pic & thought OMG! - That's John.
cheers
Post a Comment