Nanowrimo 2008

ANS: Here you go.


Darren was the first one in the auditorium, or at least he thought he was until he saw Kyle and Alex sitting in what looked like a very, very tense silence. He was not expecting Kyle to be here, and was a little taken aback. “Hi Kyle. Hi big brother.” Despite the obvious tenseness in the air, they both smiled warmly. “I was not expecting you to be here Kyle. I thought for sure you would want to rest today.”

“I didn’t go yesterday. I couldn’t let you down again.”

Darren shook his head in amazement. “It was special circumstances. I would have understood.”

“That is what your brother said, but I want to give you 110%. By the way, by any chance, did you see my backpack when you found me passed out?”

Darren thought back to the day before. “No.”

“Shit. I do not know what happened to it. There was nothing important in it. There was no money or anything. My script was in it though.” He finished the sentence cautiously.

“You think someone stole your backpack?” Darren asked incredulously. Who would steal someone’s backpack without telling anyone that the person was passed out? Darren could not comprehend that thought process.

Kyle shrugged. “All I know is I had it when I passed out. I am not sure what happened to it afterwards. Do you have an extra copy for the script?”

Darren nodded, while going through his folder. “You’re lucky. I always keep a couple of extras because someone is always forgetting their script.”

Darren handed Kyle the slightly beaten up script. “This one has been used quite a bit as you can see.”

Kyle smiled. “Thanks Darren.” Kyle stood up carefully. “I am just going to run to the bathroom before play rehearsal starts.”

“No running.” Alex said to Kyle’s retreating back. The latter boy did not even respond by looking at him. He left for the lobby bathroom as more teenagers were filling into the auditorium.

Darren raised his eyebrows at Kyle’s cold attitude towards Alex. “So, what did you do to upset Kyle so much?”

Alex rubbed at his forehead temples. They were aching. “I told him about my multiple partners.”

Darren sat next to him. “I’m guessing he did not react too well, but wasn’t this mentioned to him when you guys first met?”

“Yes, but we weren’t almost in a relationship when we first met. Anyways, it was the fact that if we were to get together, I would not give up my other partners.”

Darren was flabbergasted. “Don’t you care about Kyle?”

“He asked me that too. You know I do Darren. You know I care about him deeply.”

Darren shrugged. “This is my opinion. It also seems to be Kyle’s opinion as well, but it seems that if you truly cared about him, you could give up your other partners. All you should need is him. Did you say anything else to upset him?”

“He figured out that I had missed his first call yesterday because I was with Steven, if you know what I mean.”

“He is that guy from Anything Music, right?”

“That’s right.”

Darren shook his head. “I do not blame him for being mad at you.”

“I know he has a right to. I just wish he would trust me enough to give me another chance.”

Darren sighed, deciding to try to make Alex feel better. “Kyle is not the kind to hold grudges. Hell, I gave him a hard time since the day we met, and we still became friends. He forgave me for everything I did to him.”

“What I did to him was worse though.”

A scream came from the lobby propelling Alex and Darren into action. They both run up the aisle and busted through the doors. Eric had Kyle trapped at a wall. He was clutching where his broken ribs were, shaking in fear. Eric was working on Kyle’s pants when he was abruptly pulled away.

Alex was seeing red. Eric had some nerve, cornering him again. He straddled Eric on the floor. It was identical to the position they had been in the day before at the hospital before Jonathan had interrupted them. “I thought you learned your lesson yesterday. He is off limits to you, you sick bastard. This time, your big brother is not here. Who is going to save you?”

Eric struggled. “Get the fuck off of me. He is a fucking slut and deserves to be punished.”

“First of all, how is he a slut? He has not slept with anyone. Second of all, no one deserves to be beaten, no matter what the reasoning is. And finally, he was punished. Thanks to your rough treatment of him, he has 3 broken ribs. Tell me why I should not hurt you right here right now?”

Darren had run to Kyle to make sure he was alright. Kyle was so scared; he could not even make a sound.

Eric smirked for an unknown reason to Alex. He felt a tackle from behind and landed face first. “Alex!” Darren screamed out. Kyle stood stick still as Darren ran to his big brother’s side. It had been Aaron.

Aaron helped Eric off the floor. “Are you ok?”

“Yes, thanks babe.” They shared a long kiss.

Alex was just now standing up. “How quaint, two sexual harassers seem to be in a relationship together.”

Aaron smirked. “Are you jealous?” Aaron swayed his hips over to Alex. “We are not exclusive after all. We have as many partners as we want.”

Out of the corner of Alex’s eye, he saw Kyle visibly flinch. Realization was starting to dawn on Alex. That was the reason Kyle had a problem with Alex having different partners. His brother had probably been into that for awhile. Alex was paying for how Eric acted which made him even angrier.

He pushed passed Aaron to get to Eric when Kyle let out a small cry. Instead of pounding Eric like he really wished to, Alex rushed over to Kyle’s side and gathered the younger boy into his arms. “Is it your ribs?”

“They hurt. Eric pressed his hand into them.”

Alex sat on the ground and gently moved Kyle to his lap. He held Kyle as the younger boy softly cried on him. He supported Kyle’s back with one hand. With the other hand, he grabbed the bottle of pain killers from his shirt pocket. He was thankful he had brought it with him. He showed the bottle to Darren, who instantly understood what Alex wanted. Darren disappeared into the auditorium to grab his water bottle that was still a quarter filled. He brought it back to the lobby and handed it to Kyle, who already had 2 pills in his hand.

Kyle took the pills and let out a couple of sniffles as they slid down his throat. Aaron and Eric had already fled. They probably realized that Alex mad was not a good thing and it would go against them. They had cut a lucky break when Kyle needed help for his pain.

Darren smiled at the couple as Kyle laid his head on Alex’s shoulder. “You guys better get to Alex’s apartment. I don’t think you will be rehearsing Kyle, not after taking those pills. You will be out like a light soon enough.”

Kyle lifted his head up to look at Darren. “You need a drive home. I can wait.” Just then, Kyle let out a loud yawn.

Darren let out a short laugh. “Yeah, you can wait. That yawn sure made me believe that.” He said, the words dripping with sarcasm.

Alex shook his head at Kyle. “Kyle is right though. I am not letting you walk home by yourself when it is dark. Kyle can dose during the drama rehearsal if he needs to. I will even carry him to the car. No matter what, you are being driven home.”

Darren laughed. “I will not argue. Maybe you can just drive Kyle back to your place. That way, he can sleep without being disturbed.”

Alex nodded. “That’s one idea.”

In a small voice, Kyle said, “No.”

Alex looked down at the boy that was clinging to him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Darren kneeled down in front of the two. “Are you scared Eric is going to come after you the minute you’re alone?”

Kyle nodded. “I’m scared.”

Alex pulled Kyle closer. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. Kyle, we will stay here and you can just fall asleep in the chair when you feel the pain killers starting to work.”

Kyle smiled at him, for a short time only, forgetting the argument they had had in the car. “Thanks Alex.”

“Don’t sweat it.” Alex caressed Kyle’s cheek briefly before standing up. He helped Kyle to a standing position. Kyle’s legs wobbled briefly, and Alex held on to him until Kyle regained control. The three of them walked back to the auditorium.


ANS: R&R