Gimme Shelter, 7

(Here we go - last part. There should be a part 2 where everyone lives happy ever after, but i dunno if that's going to happen).

Time went on and they were making no progress at all on where Ronnie, kind-of, wanted to go, but it was still good. Boy was a good mate and they were becoming really close friends.

Summer was coming, they both turned 13 within weeks of each other and their families celebrated in their separate ways. It was a good time in their lives; everything was fresh, new and exciting as their childhood world opened up, though they didn't realise that at the time. Ronnie was to look back later and think that those were his Golden Days. They ended all too soon.

Boy arrived at the cottage door, unexpected, early one Saturday evening. Ronnie was delighted to see him, as always, and they went through the corridors and up to his reading room.

There'd been changes made up there, not a lot, but some. The old couch had been ejected, dragged downstairs and into the old shop. A couple of old mattresses, heaped with big cushions, took its place. They made a sort-of big couch/day bed – a great place for two boys to stretch out side by side, to read, to talk and sometimes to sleep together.

They went up into the room and flopped on the mattresses together.

“Ronnie, we hafta talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“About us. Can I stay here tonight?”

“Sleep here? Yeah, of course you can.”

“Cool. Thanks. Have you had dinner?”

“Yeah, we're just finished. Have you eaten?”

“I've had some. I'm not that hungry anyway.”

“You're not? You sick or something?”

“No, I'm not sick,” Boy laughed. “I'm just not hungry. I stuffed myself at lunchtime and I'm a bit nervous.”

“You're nervous? What about?”

“About us.”

“Us? I'm not with you.”

“Ronnie, well, we're mates, right?”

“Yeah, sure we are. Best mates forever, you and I.”

“Best friends, yeah. But I'm not so sure about the forever part.”

“But . . Why not then?”

“Because. Ronnie, sometimes life gets in the way and things don't go the way you want them to.”

“They don't?”

“They don't. Look, remember when I told you that I'd had sex?”

“With your brother, yeah, I remember.”

“Mostly with my brother. But remember that I said I'd like it if it was with you?”

“Oh yes, I remember that! But we haven't done it.”

“No we haven't. It's about time that we did. You do want to, don't you?”

Ronnie grinned and kissed him on the lips. “I want to,” he whispered.

“Cool!” Boy beamed his wide smile. “Let's do it then – right now!”

“Boy, I, umm. I don't know what to do.”

“Lie back there then and I'll show you. I love you, Ronnie.”

“I love you too. Show me, Boy.”

He showed him, oh man did he show him! Ronnie thought that he knew about sex, in theory anyway – he didn't. Boy showed him more that night than he'd ever dreamed of.

He didn't go home afterwards, which was choice. They slept together in a sweaty tangle of arms and legs and, even better, when they woke in the morning they did it all again. Ronnie thought that he could SO get used to this; he'd never had a better time in his life.

Later, they cleaned-up in the old bathroom up there. There was no hot water, only cold, but they used it, sponging themselves standing in the bath, drying off quickly and diving back into bed where it was warm..

They could've gone downstairs to shower in comfort but Boy wouldn't. There was no need to, he said. However, he did come down to Gran's underground kitchen at lunchtime. “Well – you hafta eat!”

They didn't move again for the rest of the day. Why would they? They had everything they wanted up there in Ronnie's reading-room. Thgey missed dinner because they were sleeping and no-one woke them up. That was a first!

Finally, at 10.30pm, Boy said that he had to go home. “No, no-one will be looking for me. They probably don't even know I've gone. But if I'm not there in the morning the kids won't get to school.”

“Really? But that's your mother's job, isn't it?”

“After a party weekend, she'll be lucky to get herself out of bed, never mind anyone else. No, I've gotta go, Ronnie. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, okay – if you have to.”

“I have to.”

They dressed and Ronnie went downstairs with him, to open the front-door and let Boy out into the street. Before he did that, he took hold of Boy's head and kissed him one more time, because he could. “Bye, Boy. Sleep well.”

“Oh, I will! Bye, Ronnie and thanks!”

“Thanks? Thank you! Really thank you, it's been great.”

“Oh yah!”

Back to school next day and Ronnie was happy. Very happy. It was an effort to keep the big soppy grin from breaking out on his face, but he tried. Only dorks walk around grinning all day.

They ate lunch together, sitting on the edge of the sportsfield at the back of the school. They were all aone there but in full view of the whole school, so there was no kissing or anything. Worse luck.

After school, Boy left with his cousins, riding on the back of his uncle's old truck. They had things to do, but he wasn't saying what. Ronnie went home alone. It was kind-of okay, he was used to it. Just as well too, because it happened again on Tuesday.

Wednesday was different though. Boy walked home with him and he was staying the night – sleeping up in the reading-room of course. It was all his idea, but Ronnie wasn't complaining. It was choice! Shame he couldn't come and stay every night.

They ate with the family, in the cottage, which was nice of his gran. She didn't understand it either, but she knew that Boy didn't like being down in the underground rooms. After dinner, they went for a wander up and down the main street, and then went up-top, stripped their clothes off and slid into bed together. It was a great night – the best ever. The last ever. Damm.

They woke in the morning, had sex one more time, and then went downstairs to shower and eat breakfast. They walked into the kitchen, Gran looked around and smiled.

“Good morning, Boys. I'm doing pancakes, or trying to anyway. Just take a seat, they're nearly done. Did you sleep well, Boy?”

“Yeah, I did thanks, Mrs. Martin. It's a lot quieter here than it is at home.”

“Well, good. What's the weather like up top?”

“It's pissing down out there.” Ronnie answered.

“Watch the language, Ronnie. You know I don't like you talking like that. Why can't you just say that it's raining?”

“It's more than raining, Gran. It's hosing down out there. We're going to get soaked on our way to school.”

“Not necessarilly. I'm going to the Home to see my mother this morning, I'll drive you all to school if you like.”

“Oh, yeah, we'd like that! Thanks, Gran.”

“You're welcome. Are you coming with us, Reggie?”

“No. I'll just walk, get cold and wet and catch a cold and maybe even the flu and spend the rest of the week in bed, sick.”

“Really?”

“No, not really. Of course I'm coming. Don't ask silly questions, Gran.”

“Smartie-Pants. Be careful or you will be walking.”

“Right. Love you, Gran.”

“You'd better!”

Lunchtime at school, Ronnie and Boy sat on the covered verandah outside the library, it was sheltered there and out of the wind. Only trouble was, about a dozen others were there as well. Ronnie did his best to ignore all of the others, but it wasn't easy because people kept talking to them. A couple of Boy's girl cousins and, over and over, kept chanting, “Hey Boy! Told him yet?”

“No! Not yet.”

“Oh? Hey Boy! Told him yet?”

“Shut up, Queenie. I'll tell him when I'm ready.”

“Better hurry or you'll be too late. Hey Boy! Told him yet?”

“Maybe you'd better tell me whatever it is,” Ronnie grinned.

“'Kay, I'll tell you. We're moving.”

“Oh? Where are we moving to? Not out in the rain, I hope.”

No, Ronnie. Not us, you and me, but us all the family and me – we're moving. We're going tomorrow.”

“Where are you moving to?”

“Patamahoe.”

“Patamahoe? Where is that? Never heard of it.”

“Damm, you're an ignorant honky! It's a small place, south of Auckland. It's where our family are from. Koru has decided that he's dying, so he wants to go home and be buried on the marae with the ancestors.”

“And you're all going?”

“Of course. Koru won't go on his own. He wants his whanau with him.”

“Fair enough, I guess. But you're going tomorrow? That doesn't give us much time. How long have you known and why didn't you tell me?”

“He decided last Saturday and I didn't want to upset you any sooner than I had to.”

“Thanks, I think. So you knew before you came around to mine on Saturday?”

“I knew. That's why I came. I always knew we were going to do it one day, so we did before it was too late.”

“Damm! Well, at least we did it. Thanks, Boy.”

“Thank you. I'm glad we did too.”

“You're going tomorrow? When will you be coming back?”

“Umm – we won't be back.”

“You won't? Not ever??”

“Probably not. We're going home, back to where we belong.”

“You don't belong here?”

“No, I never did. Ronnie, I've got no choice. The family are all going so I have to go with them.”

“Shit! I wish you didn't.”

“I wish I didn't too, but I have to.”

“I guess. It's goodbye then?”

“It's goodbye tomorrow. We've got tonight and that's all.”

“We've got tonight? Know what? We have not got tonight, you can fuck off! We've got nothing!”

Red in the face and insanely angry now, though he was not quite sure who he was angry at, Ronnie yelled as he rose to his feet not caring who was looking at them.

Boy stood up to face him. “Ronnie, don't. What're you mad at me for? It wasn't my idea.”

“Yeah? Whose idea was it not to tell me. Damm it, Boy. You've known all bloody week. What were you going to do, leave and not tell me at all?”

“I was not. I was going to tell you but I knew you'd be upset, so I kept putting it off.”

“I'm upset! Why aren't you too? Don't you even care?”

“Of course I care. Settle down, you'll blow a fuse.”

“And that's how much you care – not much. Fuck you, Manawatu. Fuck you and fuck the horse you rode in on!”

Ronnie stormed away and left him there. He walked straight out of the school and went home in the rain. Oh joy! His life sucked. He was, kind-of, hoping that Boy would come running after him, but he didn't.

Yeah, he should've known that Boy wouldn't come crawling, he wouldn't do that, it wasn't in his nature. Well, he wasn't crawling to him either. Fuck him.

Boy didn't come around after school either, or that night. Ronnie slept up in the reading-room in case he showed up, but he didn't.

Next was a brilliantly fine day. Ronnie walked to school, alone as usual, Reggie was busy somewhere else. There were a lot of missing faces at school. As the morning went on, Ronnie realised that not only was Boy not there, none of his family were either.

So they really were going. He believed Boy when he said they were, but it was different to have it confirmed.

He didn't go back into class after lunch. It didn't look like Boy was coming to say goodbye, so he'd better go to him before it was too late.

It was too late. When he got there, there was no-one there, the house was empty. They'd gone. Boy had left without even saying goodbye. Screw him anyway.

That was the end of his first relationship – nice while it lasted. Was it worth it? No, not really.