Miki looked up from the book he was reading as he heard one of his friends calling him. Smiling, he set the book aside and waited for them to join him on the school’s lawn. The one who had called to him was William Reay, the school’s tall and lanky star athlete with a deplorable knack of getting himself into fights. Short blonde hair framed a round face set with blue eyes. Dressed in a plain white t-shirt and a pair of rumpled jeans, Will looked like he had come to school in whatever he had fallen asleep in. Knowing Will, this was probably the case. While not nearly the brightest person in the school, he made up for it in charisma and personality. He was immovable as a rock when he had his mind set on something, but also very easy to get along with. He almost always had a smile on his face and a kind greeting for everyone he met.
Next to Will was Teresa Quinn, Will’s long-time girlfriend. None of them really remembered when the two had began dating, only taking it for granted that the two had been and always would be together. Teresa stood out in stark contrast to the man next to her, dressed completely in black from head to foot with various necklaces and bracelets hanging off her body. A Wiccan pentacle was showcased in the center of her neck, hanging down from a black choker. Miki had long ago stopped counting the number of piercings she had, joking with her that he would always be able to find her with a metal detector if she was lost. Teresa was the school’s outspoken activist of gay rights, women’s rights, religious freedom, the environment, and whatever else happened to be the controversial topic of the day. She had long ago sunk her teeth into the school’s newspaper, using her power as editor to get her voice heard through her own column in the weekly publication. Surprisingly enough, her column was one of the most popular features of the newspaper and a great source of income for the small publication.
Trailing them was Bill Kasper, shoulder length purple hair accenting equally purple eyes. Miki was amazed by what Bill would do with contacts and hair dye. It seemed as if he changed his hair and eye color on a monthly basis. Dressed in a shimmering blue shirt and black pants, Bill looked as if he was about to go clubbing instead of preparing to eat lunch. Bill was undoubtedly the most popular person in school. His sense of style and silken voice won him many admirers, mostly among the female crowd. Never one to settle down for too long, Bill was constantly going from one relationship to the next in an endless succession, switching between either sex for whichever caught his eye at the moment. He was president of the student council, one of the richest and most influential people in the school. He had long been into politics, rapidly moving up the ranks of the school government from the moment he had first set foot in the school.
The four of them had been friends since kindergarten and Miki still thought they were the oddest combination possible. He waited patiently as the others joined him by the tree that was their favorite meeting spot. It was far enough away from the school and its busy crowd to provide them with some privacy, but near enough so as to be easily accessible. They weren’t the only group of students eating lunch on the lawn, but they were the only ones within easy listening range.
Will flopped down next to him on the grass, a muscular arm slipping around his shoulder in a familiar way. “Where’d you run off to the other night? You just vanished on us at the club.” Bill and Teresa joined them on the grass, though a bit more gracefully, both giving him inquisitive looks.
A ghost of a smile graced his lips as he spoke, offering a quiet explanation for his disappearance. “I left early.”
His words were met with three confused looks. Bill was the first to speak up, his smooth voice tinted with humor and a trace of curiosity. “Oh? Alone or with someone?”
Miki’s smile broadened as he delivered his next words, sharing a happiness that couldn’t be contained. “With someone else.”
Expressions ranging from shock to disbelief met his words before Will broke out laughing. “Male or female?”
“Male, of course.” Miki’s voice held mock-indignation that his friend would suggest otherwise. He was openly gay and had been for years.
Teresa leaned forward with a sly grin, enjoying every second of the conversation. “Anyone we know?”
“Do you remember the lead singer of the band that was playing?”
“What!?” Teresa gaped at him in awe. “You went out with the lead singer of 'Sable Poison'? You’ve got to be kidding!”
Miki smiled at their shock. It was true he hadn’t been on a date in a while, but that wasn’t from lack of interest on the part of others. He was enjoying the chance to tell about his new relationship, still a little giddy from the weekend’s events. “Correction, I’m going out with Chris. No past tense.”
Will clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him over in his exuberance. “You mean our little virgin Mikael finally has a boyfriend? Maybe there is hope for you after all.” Similar congratulations echoed from Teresa and Bill.
Miki couldn’t help but throw in a final blow to add to his friends’ pleased shock. “I don’t think the term ‘virgin’ applies to me anymore.” He couldn’t help the slight blush that crept to his cheeks as he spoke.
“You got laid?” Bill’s voice was filled with shock. “The world really is coming to an end.”
Miki mock-pouted at his friends, who had broken out in laughter from Bill’s comment. “You don’t have to act so shocked. It’s not like I’m the ugliest person alive, you know.”
Teresa smiled at his expression. “We know that. It’s just that you always seem so...”
“...uninterested, reserved, asexual, aloof... any of these sound familiar?” Bill filled in, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Besides, you having sex right after agreeing to go out with a guy seems so out of character for the school’s stereotypical quiet academic.”
Miki’s blush deepened in embarrassment as he mumbled his next words, though not low enough that his friends didn’t hear him. “Actually, we agreed to go out after we had sex.”
His friends laughed at his embarrassment before Teresa chirped in with a sinister tone in her voice. “So, are you going to tell us the details or do we have to drag them out of you? What’s this guy like and when do we get to meet him?”
Miki laughed as he was bombarded with enthusiastic questions from all sides.
Chris slowly sipped a glass of water to soothe his vocal cords after the long rehearsal. He wasn’t surprised when Lewis McFadden leaned against the wall next to him, a slight leer on the keyboardist’s face. He was more surprised that his band mates had waited until after rehearsal to question him about the weekend’s events. Curly red hair framed sparkling green eyes set in a round face as the older man spoke, his tone full of mirth.
“Hot date? You left the last gig in a bit of a hurry.”
“Yeah, something like that.” They weren’t extremely close, but Chris still considered his band mates to be good friends. They had their trouble spots and tension points, mostly involving Chris’ ex-boyfriend Jacob Alexander, but Chris considered them something akin to his family. He was kind of surprised to see that the self-centered drummer, Jacob, was listening intently to the conversation. Last he knew, Jacob hadn’t cared what Chris did after he had dumped him. With close-cut black hair, dark hazel eyes, and a thick, muscular build, the other man made an imposing figure. Combined with an egotistical and argumentative temperament, the man was near-impossible to get along with.
“Wouldn’t happen to have been that spicy brunette you were staring at all night?” Chris wasn’t surprised by Daniel Montgomery's comment. The bassist was perhaps the most perceptive man he knew, aware of his surroundings at all times and seeing into deeper levels than most cared to look. His long blue hair and sky blue eyes belied his serious nature, his thin build making him seem gracefully detached from the world around him.
“Bingo.” Chris’s smile matched Lewis’ as he answered, thoughts once again drawn back to his enchanting lover. Ever since that night, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Mikael. His heart had been thoroughly captivated after just one night with the younger man.
“No wonder you left in such a hurry, that guy was hot! Was he any good?” Lewis spoke with a merry chime to his voice, genuinely glad that their morose vocalist had found someone he was interested in. It had been evident early on in the band’s formation that none of their members were straight.
Chris smiled broadly at his friends’ interest. Such conversations were commonplace among the three of them, Chris and Lewis often trading stories back and forth about whoever they happened to be dating at the moment while Daniel was content to merely listen to them. “Hell yes! In fact, I’m going out with him again this Thursday.”
Danny chuckled at his comment. “You really do move fast.”
“You have no idea.”
Chris parked his dark red GT in front of the white house Miki lived in. Exiting the car, he had barely started to close the door when Miki rushed out of the front door to meet him. Smiling at the other’s sudden appearance, he crossed to the other side of the car to hold the door open for the youth. Returning to the driver’s seat, he leaned sideways to plant a light kiss on his lover’s full lips before starting the car and pulling away from the curb.
“You weren’t waiting long?”
“No, just a minute or two.” Chris couldn’t help but smile at the happiness evident in the other’s voice as he spoke. Releasing the steering wheel to drive one handed, he let his other hand entwine itself with Miki’s. “Where are we going?”
“There’s this nice Italian place a couple of blocks from my apartment. I think the name was ‘Fredrick’s’ or something like that.”
“What!?” Chris smiled at the shocked look on Miki’s face. “Isn’t that place supposed to be really expensive?”
Chris shrugged. “It’s not that expensive. I’ve been there before several times. It’s a really nice restaurant.”
“But...”
Chris cut the other off before he could begin to protest. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat. I’m not going to go broke from one meal.”
Miki remained silent, but he didn’t look happy. Chris laughed at the sullen pout that painted his lover’s features, making the other man look irresistibly adorable. Pulling into the restaurant’s parking lot, he escorted the other from the car. His arm slipped naturally around the slender waist next to him and he leaned over to plant a light kiss against the other’s smooth cheek as they walked in an attempt to soothe ruffled feathers. The restaurant was elegantly furnished, dark hues complementing the dim lighting of the interior. They waited at the entrance for a few moments before a waitress led them to a secluded table.
Chris couldn’t help but stare a little as Miki glanced around the room nervously. Cocking his head to the side, he gave the other an inquisitive look. “Something wrong?”
Miki blushed and immediately focused his attention back on Chris. “Sorry. I have a friend who works here and I was just trying to see if he was working tonight.”
“Ah.” Chris motioned to the menu. “Order whatever you want. You don’t have to hold back on my account.” Chris couldn’t help lightly teasing his younger lover. His smile widened at the light flush that painted Miki’s face as the other started reading over the menu.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
Chris gave his lover an odd look as the other man winced upon hearing the waiter’s voice. “I’ll take a Pepsi.”
Miki hesitantly looked up from the menu, giving the waiter a semi-embarrassed look. “Can I get an iced tea?”
The tall blonde waiter grinned smugly as soon as Miki looked up. “Sure thing, coming right up.”
Chris waited until the waiter was out of earshot before tilting his head in the direction the waiter had gone. “I take it that was your friend.”
Miki nodded. “Yep, that was William. He’s a friend of mine from school.”
“Known each other long?”
“A couple years.”
The object of their conversation chose that moment to reappear with their drinks. “Can I get you something to eat or would you like more time to decide?”
Chris smiled easily at the blonde. “I’ll have the chicken alfredo. Miki?”
“Caesar salad, please.”
“No prob.” The younger man wrote down the order before grinning at his friend. “So, Miki, you gonna introduce me to your hot date?”
Chris smiled at his lover’s embarrassment. “Chris, this is my friend Will. Will, my boyfriend Chris.”
Grinning broadly, Will reached out to shake his hand. Chris was a little surprised at the other’s firm grip, Will was stronger than he appeared. “Nice to meet you.” Turning back to Miki, he winked conspiratorially. “I’ll go get your food and leave you to your date.”
Miki flushed at the other’s tone, waiting until his friend had left before dropping his head to the table. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.” Miki’s voice was slightly muffled by the table.
“Oh? I thought you two were friends?”
“We are. He just likes to tease me about certain things, my relationships with others, or lack thereof, for example.”
Chris laughed out loud at the other’s statement. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Miki looked at his lover in exasperation. “He introduces me to others as ‘Miki the virgin’.”
Chris blinked in surprise. “You were a virgin?” His answer was found in the bright crimson flush the covered the other’s face as he nodded slowly. Grinning in response, Chris couldn’t help but tease his lover. “I take it he’s stopped?”
“Thankfully.” The aggravation in the younger man’s voice amused Chris to no end.
Smiling, Chris decided it would be best to change the subject. “So, how old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Eighteen. You?”
“Twenty-one. That’d make you a senior in high school, right?”
“Yeah. I go to Lakeside High over on Walnut Street.”
Chris nodded as he remembered the place Miki spoke of. “I think I’ve been by there once or twice. How long until graduation?”
“A little over six months.”
Chris grinned impishly as he posed his next question. “Can I come?”
Miki gave him a surprised look before nodding hesitantly. “If you want to.”
“Is the valedictorian already decided on?”
Another light flush colored his cheeks as Miki looked away to study a point on the table. “Yeah, it’s pretty much final at this point. There isn’t really anyone close enough to change the rankings, not this late in the year.”
Chris raised his eyebrow at the other’s expression. Chris needed to remember that his lover embarrassed easily, he could have a lot of fun with that. “Oh? Someone you know?”
Miki’s next words were spoken in a low murmur. “Me.”
Chris smiled broadly. “Impressive.”
Miki shrugged in reply. “Not really.”
“So everyone at your school is a bunch of morons, eh?” Miki stared at him in shock, his look of horror softening when he noticed Chris’ joking grin.
“No, of course they aren’t. There are a lot of very smart and talented students.”
“Then being valedictorian is something to be proud of.”
Further conversation was cut off as Will appeared with their food. Miki thanked his friend quietly and the two were left in silence as they started eating.
“Do you have any plans for after graduation?”
Miki paused to swallow a bite of salad before replying. “I’m not really sure. I haven’t given it too much thought. My parents want me to go into law, but I’m not really sure what I want to do.”
“Well, what are you interested in?”
“History, dancing, music...”
The last item perked Chris’ interest. “Really? Do you play any instruments?”
“Just the piano. My parents insisted that I take lessons for it, but I’ve grown to like it.”
“I hope you don’t mind my asking, but are you any good?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m decent at it.”
“Ever tried playing a keyboard?”
“I’ve played around a bit with one before, not much though.”
Chris gave the other an evil grin. “In that case I have a friend I want you to meet some time. He runs a music shop over near main street.”
Miki smiled at Chris. “That sounds like fun. I’d love to meet one of your friends.”
Chris reached across the table to entwine his hand with Miki’s, rubbing his thumb gently against the other’s palm. “Tomorrow afternoon sound good? I could pick you up from school and we could head over there. If you wanted, you could spend the night at my apartment.”
Miki looked at him questioningly. “Don’t you have a gig tomorrow night?”
Chris shook his head. “Nope. Danny’s going out of town, so we had to cancel.”
Miki smiled. “Ah. In that case, do you want to go to a football game with me? I promised Will I’d go and watch him play.”
Chris echoed Miki’s smile. “Sounds like a date.”
Previous | Index | Next