When Love Beckons

Disclaimer: These characters are copyrighted to me, as is what\'s in the story.
A/N: For those of you who read my Wishing fic before, you\'ll realize I changed the names. It\'s still the same ones, and I suggest reading this story first before my Wishing. Sorry that these chapters might be a little short at first and slow to update.
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When love beckons to you follow him
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions
May wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
As the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you
so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth
So is he for your pruning.
-- The Prophet, Graban Khalil Graban

I had declared to myself this morning that today was going to be good. In high school, that really never lasted longer then an hour or so, but I tried, at least. And maybe today would be good; my mom wasn’t suffering from a hangover, had the baby in her arms and even smiled (though slightly) at me when I came downstairs.

I wolfed down my breakfast of cereal and orange juice, than dashed back upstairs to throw on something that didn’t smell like something had died in it. I added a bit of cologne just to make sure, then slung my bag over my shoulder and went downstairs, shouting a goodbye to my mother.

I trotted at a brisk pace down the sidewalk, enjoying the crisp morning air. The sky above was cloudy, but if it was going to rain, it looked like it would hold off for a few hours. I took a shortcut through the small tangle of woods located beside the park; it was quicker, even if a few of the sophomores had spooked the freshmen about tales of some murdered, vengeful ghost that haunted the walking paths, looking for heads to snatch off to replace his own, somehow lost in a freak storm. I had lived here since I was born and gone through the woods with my older brother when I first started school and, so far, I hadn’t seen the ghost they talked about.

I reached the three-story brick building with a good twenty minutes to spare. Maybe I wouldn’t be late to first hour for once. Two good things to add to my day.

“Hey Devin!”

I turned around at the sound of my name, and was nearly knocked over by the hearty slap on my back from my friend, Bailey.

“What’s up, man?”

Bailey was a junior, like me, with blond hair that always fell in his eyes and a grin that brightened even the dimmest mood. He had been my friend since preschool and I considered him the older brother (even if I acted more mature and I was a few months older) that had walked out on me when I was seven.

I walked with him up the stairs to my locker; after twirling the lock I opened it, and automatically stepped back to avoid the tumble of papers and books that spilled out of it. Bending down to pick them up, I yelped and nearly hit my head on the top shelf when I felt a smack on my ass.

“Hey gorgeous.” Lauren, her brown eyes twinkling, curled an arm around my waist and squeezed, then glanced down at the mess at my feet and raised her eyebrows. “Ever heard of clean, Dev?”

“Ever heard of personal bubble?” I retorted, playfully elbowing her aside and this time crouching to pick it up. I had met Lauren the beginning of this year and was permanently attached to the hip.

After shoving my things back into my locker and pulling out my first hour book and binder, I closed my locker and flopped down against it. Lauren sat beside me and Bailey wandered off, vaguely saying something about asking for help on a Calculus assignment. Both of knew he wouldn’t.

“Hey,” Lauren said suddenly, looking up from picking at a loose piece of thread on her jeans. “Have you seen the new guy yet?”

“Hmmm?” I asked, looking up from doodling on the corner of my paper. “What new guy?”

Lauren’s eyes widened in mock horror. “You haven’t? He’s almost as hot as you!” She smirked and squeezed my knee. “And I think he’s one of you.”

‘One of you’ translated to gay. I had only told a couple of my closer friends, Lauren included, about my preference, but my family was still in the dark. That perked my interest. “Really?”

We talked for the remaining ten minutes, and when students began drifting towards their classrooms, I heaved myself to my feet and helped Lauren up.

“You wanna grab a smoke during lunch?” I asked, and she nodded.

“I’ll catch you then.” Leaning up on her toes to kiss my cheek, I dodged another slap aimed at my ass and headed towards first period.

Halfway through morning announcements, the door opened and a guy stepped in. This must be the one Lauren was talking about; he had curly brown hair that fell in his eyes, a bright green when he tossed the curls out of his vision. He wore a t-shirt and jeans, but even beneath that I could tell he had a good body.

“Excuse me? Mrs. Roe?”

Our teacher looked up from her gum-smacking perusal of grades to the new student. She glanced at her computer screen, then back up at him. “Riley Klavis?”

He nodded and shifted his books against his chest. “Yes ma’am.” He passed her the slip of paper he held in his free hand, and she took it without looking.

“Sit by Devin.” She pointed to an empty desk beside me, and I gave him my friendliest smile as I leaned over to take my things off of the desk.

“… Soccer tryouts will be held after school in the field,” the monotone voice of the vice principal went on. “If you’re late Coach Reynolds will exclude you. Remember to support our football players Friday night at…”

I toned his voice out (like I would care about those self-absorbed jocks and whether or not they won) and instead leaned over to Riley.

“Hey,” I whispered. “You want me to show you around?”

He looked at me, swiping a fine-fingered hand over his forehead to get his hair out of his eyes, and smiled, revealing a row of dazzling white teeth.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

Three things to add to one of the best days of my life.