The Violet Corridor

Chapter 2: My Heart is Made with Leaves of Gold (Part 1)

Warnings: Slash (that's pretty much it for now. Stories are going to get a little more graphic as time goes on.)

Summary: There are many strange things in the forest. On what seemed like a boring hiking trip, Stephen finds a young boy in the woods. There's something very odd about him.

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I never knew why I liked trekking out into the middle of nowhere. Hell, I didn't look like the type ready for day of fun-filled physical activity. But for some reason, the forest had felt more like home than any other home I had ever known. My mom and her new husband, Robert. Where extremely excited to be going on their little week-long getaway up to the mountains. And of course, ever the 'momma's boy' I found myself tagging along on what should've been their honeymoon.

Robert and my mother had married about three or four days before Rob had announced that 'we' (not 'them', as I was suspecting) where going to the mountains. An uncle of his owned a cabin, and was going to let us use it for a week. I supposed that saved Rob's uncle of going through the expense of buying a wedding gift. My mother worried that I would be bored without some sort of technological entertainment. So, during breakfast, on the morning of our departure she sat down across from me, her worried hazel eyes burning a hole through my skull.

"You don't feel silly do you?" she fretted, "Coming along with us like this? It's just that...Rob really wants you to feel that just because he's here, it's not like... I'm going to forget about you or anything. Rob wants to make sure you still feel like a family."

Still feel? When had I felt like I had a family? I never met my real father, who had split the scene long before I could remember, and my mom, the poor confused thing, flitted helpless from one guy to the next. Some where too nice, some weren't nice enough, and others--well, I could afford to not talk about those.

However, I kept all of those aforementioned thoughts to myself, which I learned to do long ago, to spare my poor mom's rather peculiarly sensitive feelings. Instead, with a bright and extremely forced smile I replied, "I'm more than happy to go with you. Besides I could really use some of that fresh mountain air."

Okay, so it sounded a little more sarcastic than I meant it to but it satisfied my mother nonetheless. With her still-worried look, she went back up our old, creaky stairs to finish her packing.

***

I haven't even introduced myself yet. Well, I might as well, seeing as I'm sure all of you are wondering anyway. I used to go by Stephen. Stephen Thaddeus Worne. I used to. I'm sure you're wondering what I go by now. But I'm not going to tell you just quite yet.

My mother Debra, formely Worne, and now Trent. Debra Trent. My mother still goes by that name. A rather kind-hearted woman, she has spent most of her life trying to help those less fortunate than her. She started working at social services before I was even born, working on cases domestic violence, child abuse and the like. You think her job would've given her some experience and how nasty humans could be and yet, she never saw it coming. Most of the time.

I remember waking up in the middle of the night hearing her screams, her pleads.

I hid in my pillow and sobbed.

Suddenly Robert appeared like a knight on a white horse (or something equally cheesy) to save my mother from all of the woes of previous bad (what an understatement) relationships.

I'm sure you could see where I would be a little skeptical.

From the beginning, Robert tried to ease my worries and mistrust. Constantly trying to make time with me and talking to me often and asking me how I felt about their relationship. I always answered in the same way. That it was really none of my business to begin with.

The first time I said that, I could see how disappointed Robert looked. Sure, he wanted me to be jumping for joy at my mother's luck at finally finding a guy that didn't show his affection by throwing her down a flight of stairs. But she had had those kinds of guys before. She couldn't stay with them for very long. She couldn't stay with anyone for very long. After my father, she never seemed to find a man that she could ever completely fall in love with.

I felt sorry for Robert most of the time honestly. He felt like he had found the love of his life. My mother would probably just lose interest. It might take a couple years, but it happens eventually. I don't mean to sound like I've got a bad attitude, but when you've known someone for your whole life, without seeing them even try to change a little, you tend assume their habits don't miraculously change overnight.

But Debra seemed to do just that. I didn't see the sadness that use to be ever present in my mom's eyes. When she was with Robert she looked fifteen years younger. So, needless to say when Robert asked me for permission to marry my mom, I told him: "Please do. I know it'll make her happy."

I realize that's all I've ever wanted in life. For my mother to be happy.

Me? I have always been happy enough. Sure I wasn't popular, cool, or anything like that. I had my own circle of friends with that I was content to play fantasy games with on Saturdays. Yeah, I'm one of those geeks holed up in a basement all day pretending I'm an elf. Get over it. That's not even the important part of this story, you know.

And sure I was never that good looking either. Maybe even a little awkward actually. Throughout my life I was picked on. I was tall and gangling, with awkward long limbs and an extremely thin face. I had brown hair, that no matter how much mother mother combed or gelled, had a mind of its own. My eyes seemed to change color on a daily basis from blue, to green to some unnameable color. Did I mention I am as pale as a sheet of paper?

The teasing was almost unforgiving until about seventh grade. When puberty slowly began to hit all of us, like some sort of contagious disease. I felt like, in almost one night I had grown about four inches, the next night I felt the same way too, and the night after that. Soon I was towering above most of my peers and teachers and didn't seem to stop growing until high school. I was sixteen and 6'4. I felt like a hulking tree through the crows of endless teenagers. I rarely got picked on except for a few comments on the fact I did look like a tree...a very pale, sickly tree with bad eyesight. My thick glasses seemed to complete my look of a social outcast I would be stuck with for the rest of my school career. Not that it mattered much to me honestly. Unlike most kids. The teasing hardly ever stung, unless punctuated by a cuff across my face or a sharp push on my back.

Most of the time I found myself staring out the window of class rooms longing to be playing with the rustling leaves, feeling the cool breeze and the sun caressing my face. I still managed to make decent grades with all this day dreaming. Although I probably could've done better. that's what mother says anyway.

I'm not sure why I'm telling you all of this. This isn't the interesting part. But don't worry, I'm getting to that.

The drive to the mountains was hell, let me tell you. Especially with someone like me, who gets so easily carsick. Robert had to pull over his white minivan to the side of the highway several times. I pulled desperately at the handle until I tumbled out of the backseat coughing and retching. Robert stepped out of driver's side, concerned. My mother stepped out as well, her demeanor less sympathetic.

"Well, Stephen, if you stopped reading in the backseat then maybe you wouldn't get sick." she scolded, her hands on her hips in a rather motherly fashion.

I knew that. Of course I did. It's just it was really great book with faeries, dragons and well, you know, that kind of stuff. I coughed one last time wished I had a breath mint on hand. I'm sure the kids back home would say that I always needed one all the time or something equally oh-so-clever. I didn't want to think about them now. Not with my mothers happiness only a few hundred miles away. I turned from the mess I had left. "I'm fine, " I said to Robert. "Let's keep going."

He raised his eyebrows. "You sure? You look pale."

I rolled my eyes as I situated myself back in the over-packed minivan. "It's natural."

The rest of the trip went pretty much uneventfully. My mother and Robert played some of the old songs that they liked. I didn't know the words to most of them.

'Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality...'

After three hours in the car I was thankful when my feet thudded against the solid earth. And gods did the air smell good. It smelled alive.

The cabin itself was nothing amazing. It had probably been build a good thirty or so years ago and could use some fixing up. It would suffice for me as shelter anyway. Seeing as how I was planning spending as little time indoors as possible. I'm sure my plans would surprise my mother and especially Robert. Seeing how he probably thought I was a pale nerd that just sat inside and played D&D all day. But I do have other interests, it's just that they're pretty much equally as geeky.

I found out the cabin had no electricity. So night was going to be filled with candles and flashlights. No problem. The lack of light would give me a better view of the stars and the moon. At least there was running water, and the small stove was heated by firewood. Oddly enough, I was pretty stoked and could hardly sit still at dinner. My mother still seemed convinced that I was going to hate it and was nervous at the table.

"Tomorrow, Robert and I are going through a hike through the woods," she toyed with her potatoes. "Would like to come?"

"Yes." I answered almost too quickly startling my mother and earning a laugh from Rob. "I mean, unless you guys want to be alone or something. I mean, this is your honeymoon after all."

Rob smiled. "Of course not. Your mother and I would love for you to come with us. It's funny I never pegged you as a nature lover Stephen."

I grinned. "There's lots of things about me you don't know."

And I was right, there was lots of things about me that Rob didn't know.

Then again, there was lots of things about me I didn't know.
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