Hey guys, I know its been a couple of days till updates, but the days have been really stressful. I'm kind of at an on-off period with my boyfriend( its a long story), and my own family has been causing stress by causing some problems. It revolves around my brother and his friends, and its really been getting to me. My brother and his friends watched Bruno or some movie, and they really started getting into insulting LGBT, especially gay guys, when I was there. I'm out to my family and its really pissing me off, but whatever.
Also, this story hasn't been getting as much attention as I believe it would have, so PLEASE tell your fellow JUBers about this story, and hell, even tell your non-JUBer friends about this story. Anyway, here is the next installment, in my new (slower) writing style.
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Today, most college students were home with their families. The main college building was a ghost-building, and every hour, you could hear someone (mostly janitors) walk around the building. My dorm building had 19 people left, mostly girls who had something to do with the Thanksgiving concert. I was leaving the college to get home tomorrow. I wondered what my mom would think about my twenty pound weight loss. She was already pissed at me when I told her I was going to come home a day late. Then, she asked me why I was coming home a day late, and I told her it was just to get myself together.
Boyfriendless and (almost) fatless, I needed some time to buy some new clothes that weren't 12 sizes too big for me. I went to the normal stores, JCPenney and Nordstrom, but couldn't find anything that I liked. Then, I went to Abercrombie and Fitch, which is haven for me.
The scent of cologne sprayed repeatedly would make me breathe twenty times faster than normal. The pictures of half-naked men would make me horny, but it was not working today. Clothes that were overpriced made me feel self-confident. I decided to buy two small shirts (which were still TOO big for me). One was long sleeved and baby blue, while the other shirt was short sleeved and was sky blue. Both had A & F on the front of the shirt in white. No one else except two girls and three employees were in the store. The guy at the check out desk was the one at James dorm in the elevator, except today he was totally preppy, and had some pulling force to him. I handed him the shirts and took out a 50 dollar bill and 4 ten dollar bills. I was a dollar short still, so I used 4 quarters for a dollar.
" Thank you for shopping at Abercrombie and Fitch." He said joyfully, as if he hadn't said it twenty bililion times already.
" Were you the kid I saw in the elevator at a- Berkley dorm?" I asked.
" Yeah! I remember you! You and uhh-- James still going out?" He asked.
" Uhh... No.... How did you know?" I asked, with my 'smile' going back to a frown.
" You think Steve can keep his mouth shut?" He said, and looked at me. He noticed my frown.
" Sorry about that... I didn't mean to make you ... uhh sad. By the way, my name is Akash." He brought his hand out to shake.
" My name is Sean." I shook the hand lightly.
" Hey, my shift ends in a minute.. Are you going back to the college?"
" Yeah. Why?"
" Are you taking a taxi or the subway?"
" Dude, the subway is closed for holidays, remember?" I said.
" You are taking a taxi.... right?"
" I guess."
" Do you want to split the fare for the taxi? My shift is over like... now. I just have to clock out!"
" Yeah. Just c'mon."
I saw him walk back to the employee only area of the store, and then I heard a beeping sound, and heard him moving some bags. When he came back, he was wearing a loose leather jacket on top of his 'uniform'.
" Whats the rush?" He asked me, with a smile. He had dimples, and a very cute face. But, he was probably just a more liberal guy, not gay.
" I have to... uhhh eat. I'm hungry!" He frowned , and maybe caught my lie.
" Of course you are! Gym rat! I always see you in the gym and in the joggers park running, but I have never once saw you at the school food court! I only saw you at Salad City, once! Do you want to eat with me at Taco Bell?" He stared at me, when he saw my mouth drop open. " As friends???" He added on.
" Sure I guess." He put his arm around my shoulders, but this was common with Indian guys. I always thought this was a gesture of friendship. We got weird stares a woman stationed at Jun Jin's Korean Kimchi Palace Fast food, which was at the exit of the mall. Then, nervously, he pulled his hand back. I knew that Akash was a typical straight guy, and certainly wasn't going to ruin our 'friendship' that way.
" What?" I suddenly said. " Do you think that I'm anorexic?"
" No. But an extreme dieter! 20 pounds in 5 weeks? Isn't that a little too much? You need to eat!" Who the hell was this Akash kid to tell me gain weight? Who the hell was this Arjun kid to invite me to EAT at his dorm? And yet, I guess I had a fond liking for this guy!
He hailed a yellow cab, and he put his arms around my shoulder again. The taxi driver gave us an awkward stare, but stopped. He opened the door for me like a gentleman, and said, " You first." I sat down on the cold, soft leather seat in the taxi, and Arjun came in behind me.
" Commerence road." He said to the taxi driver.
The driver started driving, and we were on I-94 , the main road of our city. A few minutes in, I think I was tired, and put my head against Akash's shoulder, and I just completely fell asleep. When I woke up, I was still leaning my body against him, and he smiled at me.
" We're almost there." He said.
" How long have we been in this taxi?"
He glanced at his watch. " Just about twenty minutes, but don't worry, we're just under twenty dollars in the fare." Then, Akash looked out of the window, as we exited I-94 on to Commerence Road.
" Go forward, and turn into the taco bell parking lot, please." He said. Still, he had showed NO sign of discomfort as I leaned against him.
" So, where did you live before college?" He asked me.
" Uhh.. Riveting Hills, New Jersey."
" Oh really? I used to live in East Hills, like 2 miles west of Riveting Hills High school! I'm actually on a flight back to Jersey tomorrow!"
" So am I! What airline?"
" Westnorth Airlines, flight 298, i think... The departure time is 8:30 Pm!"
" We are on the same flight!" I said.
" Wow! Here, give me your cell number, maybe we can share a taxi again." All of a sudden, the taxi driver pulled into the Taco Bell parking lot. He left through the left side of the taxi, and then he opened the right side passenger door up.
" Cmon, lets eat." He payed the taxi driver the full amount.
" Dude! Why did you just pay the full amount?" I asked.
" Because, I felt like it." He put his hand on my shoulder again, and smiled.
" Maybe you have to pay for the taxi tomorrow!"
" But the airport is seven miles away, and the mall was thirty four!"
" I know!"
" I'll pay much less than you did!"
" Okay, so what?"
As soon as we walked into Taco Bell, there was a HUGE line. It was free taco day, and I had completely forgotten! Akash just looked at me like he thought of something great.
" How about we eat at my place?" I felt his hand go a little tighter, and then I moved closer to him and smelled his Abercrombie cologne.
" Sure..." I said, in a daze.
In the next minute, we were on the sidewalk and walking towards his dorm. He wasn't letting go of me, and I decided that this was the closest that I would get to him, without knowing his orientation.
" Are you gay?" I asked, keeping my eyes trained on the empty commerence road, and glancing at the Eight Eleven across the street. I waited for his answer, but he wasn't talking. He swallowed some saliva.
" No! I'm not a FAG!" He said. The word FAG echoed everywhere, and he still wouldn't let go of me. FAG was now echoing off of an billboard, and finally he started talking again.
" So. Sorry? I know you're-" I cut him off.
" Its fine. People have said that to me before anyway-" My voice started cracking, and I couldn't hold the tears back anymore. I started crying, and I tried making them stop.
" I can't... hold...it... anymore.... all this time... i've been the one who went through the pain!" That was the one thing that I managed to say, before he pulled me into an embrace. However, since he was four inches taller than me, I ended up crying on his shoulder, and making his leather jacket wet.
" No... One... Cares... About me! All this pain and no one even stopped to ask me if I was okay!" The tears wouldn't stop, and I knew that I couldn't control myself anymore. He pulled me tighter, and I feel his leg hair rubbing against mine. His shoulder was hard as a rock, but at the same time, soft as baby skin.
" I'm here for you. I'll be here.. As your Best Friend.. I'll protect you.. I won't let anything happen to you!" He said, and his arms dropped lower. Now, his arms were inches away from my butt. But, they drifted lower, and lower, and lower, until his arms were at my butt. Was this guy gay? I cried and stood there for fifteen minutes, when hunger eventually stopped my tears. We stood there and I could feel someone walking towards us. I recognized the footsteps, but I couldn't remember who's footsteps they were.
Then, it hit me. James. James. His name was spelled out in my head in HUGE letters. I remember James telling me that he was staying at college for thanksgiving for the concert.
The next thing I knew, James was standing next to me and Akash.
To be Continued