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March Short Story Challenge-- guys on a train - Stories
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by
Sammy Goode
(new)
Feb 29, 2012 04:32PM
Calling all Writers--especially those whose stories have only been seen by their diary!!! Here is your muse---No let the bunnies loose!!
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A few reminders:The story should reflect it's muse, i.e., the picture above.
The story can run any length.
Remember this is a YA thread...as such the story should reflect that, please.
Lastly, when commenting please be respectful of the author's work--no snarky comments please!!
Happy Writing AND Reading all!
Are we imposing a sports theme on this or just going with whatever occurs to us?
Oh God no, please not a sports them :S :P
Please no sports with this... it's not saying sports at all to Rupert...
K wrote: "Please no sports with this... it's not saying sports at all to Rupert..."You muse's name is Rupert??? Cute! ;)
Rach. wrote: "Oh God no, please not a sports them :S :P"LOL I would happen to agree... Usually, if it's a sports night over here and everyone's catching the train there are no spaces to even stand :| haha
Kat wrote: "You muse's name is Rupert??? Cute! ;)":) He's my plot bunny (and general story spinner as well as occasional mediator between the voices in my head)
Do we know where the picture is taken?... I am trying to work out potential cities that have tube stations/subways (call them what you will)
No--no sports theme--let your bunnies hop free and proud!!!
K wrote: "Do we know where the picture is taken?... I am trying to work out potential cities that have tube stations/subways (call them what you will) ..."I was wondering this too - I don't recognize it but have only been on 5 or 6 of them. I won't let it inhibit my story if its the wrong city, but I'm curious.
Meagan wrote: "I think I might take part of this short story challenge. Henry and Seth... I wonder why I always have a Henry or a Seth in my stories?"I like those names. (Duplicate names within the same story are a problem for me - thank heavens for observant beta readers.)
Meagan wrote: "Within the same story bugs me too. My mom used to tease me for having a lot of Henry’s, Seth’s and Bastion’s, but I never had more than one of those character’s names in a story...."
For me it's the minor characters in a long novel where it can happen - like the werewolves where you have three packs with a total of maybe 50 guys. Plus all the other characters - I had two Curts and two Nicks in the first draft of one book. Although realistically in real life 50 guys might have some duplicates. Still not good in fiction.
I'll let this percolate overnight and see if anything comes of it.
Kaje wrote: "K wrote: "Do we know where the picture is taken?... I am trying to work out potential cities that have tube stations/subways (call them what you will) ..."I was wondering this too - I don't recog..."
It doesn't look familiar to me. I've been on subways in Toronto, Rome, Washington D.C., and Singapore.
Thorny that was awesome. What a great coming out story
Oh wow, Thorny. You get so much emotion, so clear a back-story, the difference in the characters, and the love at the heart of this, in so few words. Damn, I think I'm a little jealous. Thank you for writing that for us :)
Thorny wrote: "I hope it's OK to post the story here since this is the first time I've done something like this. Here it is :)======
It's late and there's only three people in the car when we board. Just three..."
Ah Thorny--that was absolutely lovely!!! So tender--pretty cool Thornton how you managed to convey such depth of emotion in such a snippet--a little sip. But Thornton--now I want more please--LOL! Perhaps this could be your next novel after you finish the one you are working on?? I shan't be greedy or impatient--I will wait--cause you know what they say--good things (good books) come to those who wait!
Sammy2006 wrote: "Thorny wrote: "I hope it's OK to post the story here since this is the first time I've done something like this. Here it is :)======
It's late and there's only three people in the car when we bo..."
Yay, I'm not the only one that wants to know more. How the met, how long have they been together. Are they out to their families... All those and so much more.
Thorny wrote: "I hope it's OK to post the story here since this is the first time I've done something like this. Here it is :)======
It's late and there's only three people in the car when we board. Just three..."
That was really lovely - definately expecting to see more stories!!
K
I was in the middle of doing something entirely different this afternoon when the bunny bit quite hard and wouldn't let go... so, here you go.....Reconnecting
Looking up at him from where I lay, my head on his legs, I couldn’t help but smile as Chris’s long fingers ran through the coarse stubble on my chin. He’d been my first crush, my first true friend, and until earlier that night I had never thought I’d see him again.
One of the biggest problems about being an army brat was that you never got to stay in one place long enough to make friends. You’d settle in to a new home and a new school, get almost past that awkward phase of getting to know someone and before you know it one or other of you would find the family were moving to another base, sometimes another country. Before I’d turned thirteen it didn’t bother me it was just how friendships worked, you picked them up when they arrived and dropped them when they left. After my fifteenth year I didn’t even try, making friends bought back too many painful memories of loosing them. Even now, twenty years old, independent and away from anything to do with army life, I still struggled to make friends.
We’d been stationed at the East Yorkshire base for a couple of months when Chris and his family moved into the house next door. I was star-struck from the start. At almost a year older than me he was smart, had a wicked sense of humour and in my thirteen year old mind the coolest tastes in music and clothes. Best of all to me was that Chris was an only child, whereas I was the middle child and lived with the constant bickering and teasing that comes with having an older and younger sister. It’s kind of embarrassing looking back on it now, but at the start I followed him round like a faithful puppy. Whether he noticed or not he never said anything, but as we spent time together a genuine friendship grew between us.
It wasn’t long until we were virtually inseparable. Out of school, when the weather was good we were out riding our bikes around the base, when it rained we’d play on the computer he had in his room with the stereo on full blast until his mother came up to tell us to turn it down. We talked about anything and everything, from school and what we wanted to do when we grew up, our families, the music and movies we loved. We shared confidences and secrets; the only thing we never talked about was girls. That wasn’t to say girls didn’t notice him, in fact my elder sister had a huge crush on him and when she wasn’t asking me about him she was finding excuses to go round to see him.
Whether girls noticed me or not I didn’t know, and didn’t really care. I put it down to living with my sisters, both of whom had large groups of friends who would frequently invade our house. To me they were nothing more than a nuisance who teased me and made my life difficult. It was shortly after my fourteenth birthday that something happened to make me think that my indifference towards girls might be more than just because of my sisters.
We were upstairs playing on the computer when Chris’ mum called for him to come downstairs. As he left I paused the computer game we were playing and then must have hit something else with the mouse. I was shocked at the image that came on the screen, a beautiful young man, completely naked, posing against a whitewashed wall with everything on display. Shocked yes, but not horrified, or squicked out, and it wasn’t the picture itself that shocked me, it was my body’s reaction, an unexpected warmth in my face and tightening of my underwear.
Other boys at school occasionally passed round magazines with pictures of virtually nude girls, I’d glanced at a couple but they’d just made me feel uncomfortable, certainly I could never summon up the excitement they seemed to get from those pictures. Yet I was definitely getting a reaction from the picture of the nude man on the screen.
I couldn’t be sure how long I looked at the screen for, but hearing footsteps on the stairs I panicked and started pressing buttons on the keyboard, not wanting for Chris to know I’d seen it or for him to know what it did to me. As soon as he came into the room I picked up my jacket, mumbled some excuse about the time and ran. It was nearly a week before I dared to face him again. I was sure he’d know what I’d seen, what it had done to me, but if he did he never mentioned it and we slipped easily back into the familiarity of our friendship. Life continued as usual around me, but inside I was frequently asking myself questions I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.
Six months later something happened that finally brought the subject up. It was my older sister’s birthday party and my parents had bravely allowed around thirty kids between the ages of thirteen and sixteen to take over their house. A range of non alcoholic drinks had been set out in the kitchen, together with a buffet of party food for people to help themselves as they wanted. Music blared from the stereo in the lounge, where the furniture had all been pushed back to the walls so people could dance.
A couple of hours into the party I was starting to feel uncomfortably warm, plucking a can of Pepsi from the kitchen I slipped out of the backdoor into the garden to cool off. I wasn’t alone in the garden, some of the other party goers had coupled off and were using the limited privacy of the garden to make out in the more secluded corners. I lent back against the fence and closed my eyes for a second, not wanting to watch. A hand on my arm made me jump, my eyes flying open. Marie, my sister’s best friend stood in front of me, one hand on her hip and her head tilted to one side.
“Hi,” her smile widened as she spoke and for a second I had a sudden image in my mind of a crocodile. Without warning she stepped forward into me. I could feel every curve of her body as she crushed herself against me. Her lips sought out mine, soft and tasting strangely of fake strawberries. I froze, completely rigid, I could feel my heartbeat accelerate, but it wasn’t racing for any good reason; I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do, and I felt nothing, or at least nothing good. She stepped back away from me, a confused, hurt, expression crossed her face.
“I’m sorry, I,” I babbled, before thrusting my half drunk can into her hand and running back into the house. I didn’t stop until I reached the safety of my bedroom. I didn’t come out till the following morning.My flight through the house hadn’t gone unnoticed; neither had Marie’s tearful return to the party and for a few days after the party we were the main topic of gossip and speculation throughout the school. The only person not to say anything, either to or about me, was Chris. Occasionally I caught him watching me with a strange expression on his face, which would suddenly change and he’d look away quickly.
I’d never been happier to get to the end of Friday afternoon and freedom from my schoolmates for a couple of days, when hopefully something else would happen and I could return to my usual level of obscurity. As usual, after tea, I went round to Chris’ house to hang out. His mother, long used to my regular appearances at the back door, just waved me through telling me Chris was in his room.
The door was closed, which itself was unusual, but I didn’t think anything of it, just pushed it open and walked in. Seated at his computer, his hands in his lap, Chris flushed bright red as he glanced at me, before jumping out of his seat and spinning round so that his back was towards me.
“Give me a minute,” he choked out, his voice sounding hoarse.
Blushing wildly, I backed out of the room and closed the door behind me; but not before I noticed what he had been looking at on the computer screen. It wasn’t the same one I’d seen before, this time a naked dark haired boy was standing under a shower, running his hands over his body.
I stood outside the bedroom door not sure if I wanted to go back in or to run away. I could feel the heat building in my face as my imagination showed me exactly what Chris had been doing in front of the computer. When the door opened again Chris didn’t say anything, just walked back into the room and slumped down on his bed, not looking me in the face.
I sat carefully at the other end of the bed, balancing just on the edge. For a long time the only sound in the room was the hum of the fan in the computer.
“I didn’t kiss her,” I said eventually. His eyes finally came up to meet mine and his mouth turned up into a half smile.
“I didn’t think you had,” he replied quickly.
“I don’t, I mean, I,” I was babbling, I really didn’t know what I wanted to say. We both lapsed back into silence again.
“You saw what was on the screen?” he asked
“Yes,” I managed to whisper the word, my face flushing again.
“Are you okay with it? With me being,” he didn’t finish the sentence, I could see the fear in his eyes. I couldn’t help myself, I laughed. He tensed immediately, his expression showing his hurt at my reaction. “Maybe you should go,” he said coldly.
“No,” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really, it’s just, I mean, well, I think I might be too,” I finished lamely, suddenly not able to look him in the eye.
And that was it, just about the only conversation we ever had about it. We both knew we were gay, and I’ll happily admit that more than anything I wanted more than just friendship, but it was the importance of that friendship that stopped us from ever taking things further. Not, as it turned out, that it mattered. Two months after that conversation, my father got deployed to Germany and, like the good army family, we moved. Then, in the two years after moving to Germany we moved a further four times.
We stayed in touch for a while, but contact grew more infrequent until it fizzled out altogether. I missed Chris desperately at first, I had no one to talk to, to confide in, no one who I could share my secret with.
I never thought I’d see him again. He was part of my past, a good memory. Until tonight.
I’d been following the band for years; in fact it was one that Chris had introduced me to in the small bedroom of the army house in East Yorkshire. So when they announced the gig at Camden’s Round House I’d queued for ages on the phone for tickets.
Tonight, standing in the middle of the crowd, letting the beats wash over me I closed my eyes and swayed to the music. The sound was as familiar as it was totally unexpected, not far away from where I stood in the crowd, Chris’ voice singing along with the band. Not really wanting to believe it could be possible that I would remember his voice after all this time, I opened my eyes and scanned the crowd around me.
He was taller than when I’d last seen him, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his black sweater tied round his waist. Slowly I edged my way towards him and stood just behind him, waiting for the song to end.
“Chris?” I asked as the last riff of the drums died down. He turned quickly and looked directly at me.
“Adam?” his dark eyes widened in surprise.
We stood side by side throughout the rest of the band’s set and then when it was over we walked and talked for hours. There was an easy familiarity, as though we’d been apart for six days rather than six years. We didn’t talk about relationships, or even whether we were out, but by the time we found our way to the tube station we were comfortably walking hand in hand.
The carriage was almost empty. Chris sat back on the hard plastic seat as I slumped lengthways along it resting my head in his lap. He ran his fingers through my hair, then traced the stubble down my cheek to my chin. We didn’t talk; he rested one arm across my chest, the other over the top of my head. Looking up into his eyes I realised that I had no intention of ever letting this man go again. I smiled at the thought as I reached up my arm under his and stroked the back of his neck.
He raised an eyebrow as if to ask what I was smiling at but before I could answer he’d bent forwards, bringing his lips to mine with a kiss I felt like I’d waited half a lifetime for.
Aww, K, what a sweet friends-to-lovers. Just perfect. Thank you.
Damn K, that was really good. I totally liked how it's set in the UK too. Yay for awesome stories.
K wrote: "“I’m sorry, I,” I babbled, before thrusting my half drunk can into her hand and running back into the house. I didn’t stop until I reached the safety of my bedroom. I didn’t come out till the fol..."K--so damn sweet--made me tear up--really--just lovely!!!!
Thank you :o) Really glad you all liked it.I enjoyed writing it (though I have now gone back and cleared up some stupid mistakes I found!...there are probably more, there usually are :o) )
Elci - Most of what I write (apart from the fantasy stuff) is set in the UK - it's just easier for me to set a story somewhere I know
Hi guys. I was inspired by this photo as well. I really enjoyed the stories you posted. Hope you'll like mine, although I'm a total beginner at writing and English isn't my native language.Gee... I'm nervous ^.^I looked down at him sleeping with his head in my lap. My fingers itched to touch his soft dark hair, but I restrained myself. Not because I was afraid of who might see us or what people might think. No.. I was scared that he’d know the minute my shaky fingers would touch him, that he’d see all the bottled up feelings that threatened to spill out of my heart.
For several months now he’d been the only one on my mind. It had begun slowly,without me even realizing it, like all romance stories do. I met him on campus, we found out we liked the same movies, the same sports, the same cars, even the same clothes brands. We became best friends in a matter of hours. But then, as more time passed, I started seeing him as a man. Maybe because Jason was simply the most gorgeous guy I had ever met or maybe because he’d been there for me when I found my boyfriend engaged in a hot threesome with his neighbors. Who knows?
I allowed myself a brief smile thinking of how stupid I had been falling for a cheater like that. But the me now was a new person. I could even look back and laugh about that jerk without feeling pain ripping my chest apart. And it was all due to Jason. He had changed me. He had turned me into a better man, a more confident man.
So what kept me from being with him? I was single. He was too. I knew I wasn’t ugly, although maybe I wasn’t exactly his type. Still…
“Mhm…”
Jason groaned softly, his plump lips parting. Man, he looked so fucking kissable. I rested my head against the seat and put the back of my hand over my eyes to keep myself from looking. Jason was starting to wake. I could hear him rubbing his sleepy eyes. He always did that; it was his little routine. He let out another, louder groan.
“How much did I sleep?” he asked with a hoarse voice raising from my lap - fortunately, because I was on the verge of another painful hard-on the minute I heard his husky voice.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and coughed a little in an effort to readjust my voice.
“Just about ten minutes.”
“Oh… Shit! Does that mean we missed our stop?”
He looked at me with panicked eyes and I nodded somberly in response.
“What the heck? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“But you slept so peacefully.”
Jason gave me a pointed look crossing his arms. “Tyler, when are you going to stop mothering me?”
“Geez. I don’t know. When you start taking care of yourself, maybe?”
He huffed giving up on arguing with me since part of him knew I was right. Jason’s part time job kept him too busy and, between working and studying, he hardly had any time to rest. I really couldn’t understand why he was exhausting himself so much. It’s not like he lacked money.
“Anyway… let’s stop at the next station and walk on foot OK?” he crossed his ankles and looked at the ceiling, his hands behind his neck. “It’s not very far from campus.”
I nodded. A sudden yawn escaped my mouth. Odd… I hadn’t even realized I was tired.
“You idiot. Instead of worrying about me, you should take care of yourself,” Jason said, his tone becoming gentle.
His arm came to rest on my shoulder and he patted it softly. A wave of heat ran down my body and settled in my stomach. Abruptly, I shook him off. Then realizing I must have come off as rude I turned to look at him and apologize. Jason wasn’t looking at me though. His hand was already back behind his head and his eyes were surveying our surroundings as if nothing happened. I shrugged and followed his example.
The subway was half empty at this hour of the night. I looked at my watch. Based on my calculations we would arrive at the next stop in about 15 minutes.
“So…” Jason began. I noticed him playing with his hands, rubbing his fingers against each other. Was he nervous about something? “Do you have plans for the holidays?”
I rolled my eyes. “Besides sleeping and clubbing? Obviously not.”
He hummed, looking pensive.
“why?”
Jason rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well, I was thinking we could go somewhere, just the two of us.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“You know, maybe a trip at the beach or at a mountain resort if you prefer,” he continued. His eyes lightened up with sudden excitement.
“Jason,” I pointed out huffing. “I have no money for that.”
Jason gave me an exasperated look. “Duh. What do you think I’ve been working my ass off all these months?”
I knew I must have looked like a gaping fish because Jason burst out laughing pointing at my face.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Was he saying what I thought he was saying? That he exerted himself for 6 months to pay for a 2 person summer vacation?
“Are you crazy? Why would you do that?”
Jason looked a little hurt. “Why not? Aren’t we best friends?”
“But…” I shook my head. “No, I can’t possibly accept that.”
“See? I knew you’d say that so I’ll make you a deal.” His lips parted in a smug grin. “I’ll pay for this summer vacation and you’ll pay for next Christmas holidays.”
He nestled his head in my lap again, looking up at me with an expectant expression. Well, damn, he had me there. How was I supposed to lose the opportunity of spending two holidays with him? Just the two of us… Fuck, I was so screwed.
“What? You don’t want to?”
Jason must have took my silence for reluctance. He pouted cutely letting out a weird sniffing sound.
“Argh, stop it!” I growled, his cuteness making my heart beat way too fats for my own liking. I wished I could hit him over the head, but the position made it quite difficult so I settled for covering his face with my hands. He giggled.
All of a sudden, our playful banter was interrupted by the car stopping.
“Shit, let’s get off.”
I tried to push Jason off me but he wouldn’t obey.
“Jason, the doors are closing.”
“Mmm… Let’s stay a little longer!” he pleaded. “I like laying my head in your lap.”
The way he said it sounded more like a pick-up line than anything. I barely suppressed a groan. The doors closed.
“I’m going to kill you! You’ll have to piggyback me back home.”
Jason wiggled his tongue. I hoped he wasn’t aware of my rapidly growing erection but I had the feeling that if he wouldn’t stop his cutesy acts I’d soon be in deep trouble.
“Come on… stop being mad at me. I’ll piggyback you, all right?”
I sighed. There was no use fighting with him. It was a losing battle since I couldn’t be upset with him for more than, let’s see… a maximum of 5 seconds.
“So? Are we settled then? Are you going to spend your summer with me?”
I nodded, unable to suppress a smile.
“Yey!”
Abruptly, Jason’s head rose and his lips touched mine. It was over in a matter of seconds. Just an innocent touching of lips, but my mouth was burning. My heart felt like it would explode. Jason was grinning widely, settling comfortably back on my lap.
“Wh…”
“Oh, stop being so shy, will you?” he finally said rolling his eyes when I was still unable to recover my speech abilities even after a minute had passed.
“You like me, I like you. And I’m kinda getting tired of waiting for you to make the first move.”
“Huh?”
Jason gave me a confused look.
“Shit… did I get it wrong? You don’t like me that way?”
“You like me?”
I must have yelled a little louder because a man sitting next to us huffed giving me an annoyed once-over. I ignored him looking back at Jason.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He was giving me that look that said “you’re a complete moron”.
“It is?” I mumbled.
“God dammit, Tyler. How can it not be? I’ve flirted with you since the moment we’ve met.”
“Really?”
Jason groaned. “You really are hopeless.”
A wave of relief passed over me. The invisible grip vise that seemed to permanently clench my heart disappeared in an instant.
“So do you like me or not?” Jason finally snapped bringing me back to present. He looked a bit irritated and I couldn’t keep back a beam.
“Duh.”
“What the heck took you so long?” He grinned back at me. “You’re not saying it just to make me feel better, right?”
“Hell no!”
“Good. Because you know that whatever happens to us you’re still my best buddy, right?”
The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t lying. At that moment I realized why I hadn’t allowed myself to confess until now. God, I’d been such an idiot!
I nodded and finally let my fingers bury themselves in his chestnut hair. I let out a long moan.
“I like you, Jason. I really, really like you.”
Jason smirked . His hand went around my neck and he lowered my head until our lips were a mere inch apart.
“I really, really like you too, Tyler.”
Then our lips finally met in a real lovers’ kiss.
Aw, so sweet, the hope/uncertainty there. I'm so glad you gave them that kiss at the end. Tyler is great, and way to go Jason.BTW, you don't need to worry about your writing skills - that was excellent. You know, it's a little astounding, you folks who write so well in a second or third language. My hat is off to you, because if you hadn't said so, I absolutely would not have been able to tell.
I just love the emotions and the reality in these stories. I think you did a great job Andra, very sweet!
Andra that was a really sweet little story. I wouldn't have known English wasn't your first language. I read a fair few Scandanavian crime stories and your story was way better than some of the so called professional translations.Looking forward to seeing more from you in the future
All of the stories are wonderful!
Andra, that story was fab. What a talented group. =)
John Marvin wrote: "do i just post the story here?"You do! And John? I've noticed you have books of poetry? You may want to open a thread here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Hi--I'm Sammy--a moderator here--I was wondering have you gone to introduce yourself yet??--that would be great and give folks here a chance to say hi to you as well!
John Marvin wrote: "do i just post the story here?"Yep, if you're ready just post it up. Wonderful - a new writer :)
Phew. Thanks for the praise guys. You really gave my confidence a boost :D@Xandra - it's my first story on Goodreads, yes. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do just that :)
John, can't wait for you story!
@Angel & Kat - thank you both :)Looking forward to seeing more stories from people!!
Okay. can I post something really dark? I have a story I am finishing today. I will make it available as a free ebook. It is a story of how the world was created by God and his children, of a treaty regarding giving another second life to suicides, of a disturbed soul, a failed abortion, of cannibalism and of course, someone jumping out of the window. And also a short footnote about why angels necessarily have to be cannibals. =P
John Marvin wrote: "Okay. can I post something really dark? I have a story I am finishing today. I will make it available as a free ebook. It is a story of how the world was created by God and his children, of a treat..."That would probably be best posted on your own author thread--did you see the link I gave you?
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Read this and set up a self-promotion thread for your work--that way people can come there to see it.
You are VERY welcome to post a story here--but normally we use the picture as a prompt for the story--tie it back to the picture--it certainly can be as dark as you want it to be--no problem with that--it is your creation and we will just love reading it! So--does all that make sense?
Andra wrote: "Hi guys. I was inspired by this photo as well. I really enjoyed the stories you posted. Hope you'll like mine, although I'm a total beginner at writing and English isn't my native language.Gee... I..."Ah god--this is really sweet--and english is NOT your first language--amazing really!! Thanks for sharing it with us!!!
Ah. All the pieces are finally in place. Expect mine this weekend some time.
Ibis3 wrote: "Ah. All the pieces are finally in place. Expect mine this weekend some time."Looking forward to it Ibis
