North Star Ch. 02

I looked up over the hood. The ground dropped off at the end and joined the forest twenty yards away. Through the trees, parallel to the lot, was cut a trail. It wound its way around huge oaks and pines before curling deeper into the forest. Frolfing stands were set up periodically. Noah didn't like this trail so I hadn't expected to run into him, but there he was. Alone. He probably couldn't see me; the light was dying and there were trees obscuring the view. But I watched him. His arms tensed and relaxed as he loosed Frisbees toward their targets. I watched his blond waves fly past those electric blue eyes. His light green shirt pulled and clung to his body as he moved to torque and then release his torso, arms, and hands. When he straightened, I could see the shape of his nipples poking through. My eyes roamed down to watch how the fabric fluidly rolled, covering his chest and following his shape down to his slender waist. The white mesh of his shorts pooched out between his legs as he moved. Peeking below the hem were tan, powerful knees; I watched, fascinated, as they flexed and straightened as he walked. His calves, strong and proportional, lifted his feet. He was beautiful. Was that weird to think? Why did I care so much? I tore my eyes from his finely tuned machine.

That's when it began.

I hadn't noticed the first assailant move from a hiding place in the trees, but I did see the other three waiting to block Noah's retreat. The huge guys were dressed in all black and their faces were hidden behind ski masks. Noah looked confused when the first approached to block his path. Noah scooped up his discs and began to walk briskly back the way he'd come. That's when the others abandoned their hiding places along the forest path. I saw Noah stop and look around. He seemed alert, and unafraid. They approached to within 10 feet from him, in a circle. It all became slow-motion as I watched Noah drop the discs and say something. As he spoke, he turned and addressed each. One of them must have responded; I couldn't hear. But I next saw Noah raise his fists and charge the largest black mass. I watched in shock as they all rushed at him; Noah shook off initial blows to the kidneys and ribs, and he landed a few uppercuts to whichever jaw he could find. It was only a matter of seconds, though, before one of them tackled him. His head hit the ground hard. I finally kicked myself out of my momentary shock, as I watched him struggle to get back up; but they had him surrounded and some were kicking and some were using their fists... I could no longer see him! My whole body shook with anger.

Oh look at you? Going to save your boyfriend? They'll kick the shit out of you too. You couldn't beat them. You'll just get beat up too. Noah can handle it.

Cowardly, I stuck to my seat. What could I do?

The assailants straightened up, and I watched them walk away. In the dim light I searched for what they had left behind; the blood... I reached for the door latch. I could go get him now. He might be dying. But... I stopped. My eyes unfocused as thoughts poured in: He would know I'd watched the whole thing! He would know I hadn't helped him fend them off! He would know... that I am weak! When I opened my eyes to look again for his body, by then he was standing. One hand to his bleeding nose, Noah bent over reaching for his discs. He gathered them and slowly staggered away out of view.

"Did you see that? It was terrible I wonder who he pissed off?" A snakeskin miniskirt slipped into the passenger seat.

"I told you not to do anything! I told you! Why the fuck did you do that? What the fuck, Jill?!"

"To show you what happens when you don't do as you're told, Ryan!" She spat. "You are all mine and I can't let some faggot, with the taste of your dick fresh in his mouth, pretend he hasn't done anything wrong."

Too little, too late. "You are a fucking piece of shit, Jill. You hear me? Get the fuck out of my car before that face gets messed up."

"Ryan, I did this for us," she whined. "Mine is the only mouth you need."

That did it. My body finally moved with determination: I opened my door, stormed over to the passenger side, tore the door open, and pulled her out of the car by one of her oily limbs.

Screaming in anger, her body uncoiled as she twisted and stood upright, green eyes piercing mine. "I can't guarantee this news won't extend beyond the school. I hope Noah's parents don't find out about anything. That would get ugly."

"Get the fuck out of my face."

She turned, straightening her skirt, and I watched her stomp back toward school.

How could I have let this happen? Everything was my fault. How could I face Noah now? Could I tell him any of it? How could he ever forgive me, if I did? How could he ever trust me?

You can't, you won't. And he never would. You came onto him, and you told Jill it was the other way around! You let them attack him, and even if you can't, won't, tell him; now Jill is going to tell everyone! You have lost. You have failed. You are a miserable, gay idiot. What are you going to do? You can't do anything right! Why even try?

The forest was right. I hadn't done anything to help the situation; I had exacerbated it at every turn. I had refused to take action, all day, and... My negative thinking had destroyed Noah...and me. I couldn't do that anymore! I couldn't let anything else happen to Noah. I had to try and mend this!

Terrified, and determined, I tore at breakneck speed to our room. When I reached the door, I stopped to breathe, and then slowly entered the room. There lay Noah, on his bed. Blood covered his hands and most of his face. Bruises had started to form on his torso.

"Noah...!" I tried to begin

"Hey..." Noah grunted. "You'll never believe what happened..." Noah's voice was a croak. "Some guys just came out of nowhere and ambushed me on the east frolf course. I don't know if they're from school or not but don't go over ther—"

"Noah," I interrupted. "It's... This is my fault."

"Stop, Ryan. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," I heard him insist.

"No." I pressed on. "I told Jill...about us. I told her you came onto me. I think she got them to do this." I couldn't look at him and instead stared at my feet.

"Ryan." His voice sounded steadier now. "I should have been honest with you. When you talked to me after Mrs. D's class... I was afraid you were mad at me. I ran away and pretended it didn't matter to me. But it did. You're all I thought about all day. I was so worried you regretted last night."

"I don't though! Or ... at least I hadn't thought about it like that at all. I was so confused this morning—"

"And that's my fault, Ryan. I pretended to be asleep when you got up because I was afraid. I should have helped you understand."

"Understand what? You didn't do anything!" I waited, readying myself for his response, for him to realize what I was saying and that it was okay to blame me. He didn't though. I saw bright blue eyes search for mine from behind his tousled locks, his cheekbones and jaw perfectly resisting smooth ... touchable ... skin.

We stayed like that: staring at each other, blinking occasionally, and breathing. The world settled around us, the silence pressed down. At first the air felt warm, then oppressively hot; all-too-quickly it turned to molasses, then concrete. Strong enough to paralyze us, yet fragile enough to shatter with one word.

"I think I'm gay, Ryan." He blurted first. The spell was broken. He continued more slowly, waiting for the words to come. "You were my first, and I don't regret it. You didn't do anything I didn't want, if that isn't weird to say."

"No, not at all. I...I don't know why I did it. I just wanted to make you happy. You were so sad, staring at the stars and all. I didn't know what to do. Then we started wrestling and I just...it just...happened."

"Ryan. This isn't your fault. I'll be okay."

How could this not be my fault? "But...but I...I told Jill."

"Stop beating yourself up. There are enough bruises to go around." He half-grinned from behind the wad of Kleenex smothering his nose.

How could he be this amazing? There he lay, body broken, yet he forgave and, on top of that, offered a joke. It should have been the other way around: me trying to find a way to help him.

"Let's get you cleaned up," I finally said.

"Mmmm," he groaned as he moved to sit up, then stand.

I helped him out of his shorts and ... there was nothing to it but to cut off and discard his shirt. I draped his body with a clean towel and followed him to the empty showers. He stepped inside a stall under the warm water; I undressed, and then joined him. No one was around to see four feet slowly jostle and sidestep awkwardly in the small stall. As my hands rubbed his body, trying to remove the stubborn blood, Noah watched and smiled. His nose was swollen and his left ribs were tender. I avoided them and didn't mention the obvious...that they might be broken. I gently and steadily worked my way along his back and good side, up across his powerful chest and then down each arm. His collarbone I massaged gently, and then moved on to work on cleaning the blood from his neck. Blood caked his hair and eyebrows. I worked without looking at him, removing hardened bits of blood from his face where it wasn't swollen; until I noticed that he was watching me intently. My eyes met his and he smiled a little. I weakly smiled back, pulling my eyes back to work. I felt strong hands reach around my body, as Noah pulled me in. I felt one hand on my chin, as he turned my face back to his.

"You have such a great smile," he murmured. The weighty stillness threatened to paralyze us again as we stared at each other.

His hand pulled my mouth to his. Our lips parted and I closed my eyes. His mouth was the world, my mouth the sky. Our tongues chased each other over the horizon for years.

I finally pulled away, he laughed, and I continued my work. Was I gay? I hadn't considered it, but why not? He was amazing and his body was incredibly sexy. Why did it matter what I was or wasn't? Maybe all I had to be was with Noah.

We finished up, dried off (me with my clothes since I'd forgotten a towel), and walked back to the room.

When the door was safely latched and locked I tore off Noah's towel and kissed him hard. He groaned in pain.

"Sorry! Sorry."

He laughed. "It's okay, I can handle it." We kissed and I undressed, never letting his lips go. I laid him gently on his bed and climbed over. Gingerly at first, I leaned down to slowly join our hips. He began to moan into my mouth as our cocks rubbed against one another and stiffened. I felt his hands explore my body roughly, feeling all my muscles. I moaned and melted into his body even more.

His hands moved to my butt. Slowly he spread my ass; then I felt his fingers as he reached down and rubbed my hole. His hands were sure and unshaking. I moaned and laid my head on his chest. He laughed quietly. As he pushed on my puckered hole with his fingers I took in his scent. Under his arms a hint of sweat broke through the mask of fresh soap. His chest, powerful and heaving, smelled manly. I felt him slowly become covered in a film of sweat as he continued to tease my ass.

"Do you think you could play with my ass, Ryan?" He whispered.

"Mm-hmm." I nodded and moaned. We kneeled in front of each other and my hands explored his bruised body. His round, sculpted ass was willing when my fingers slid down his crack. He moaned as I pushed on his hole. I rubbed it, teasing him gently to open it. I felt it pull in and swallow my finger. Noah groaned, loosing focus on my ass. His breathing was shallow. Each exhale was a low groan.

"Oh, Ryan." I kissed him again. "Oh, I'm going to come, oh God." His body seized and his hole tightened around my finger, which had been massaging a tough round mass within him. A rope of his manliness shot to my chest and covered my abs. His eyes were open, staring doggedly at mine. He gripped my neck with one hand as his body tensed and relaxed. His cock pulsed out wad after wad of thick spray.

When his orgasm had finished he smiled at me and lay back down. I moved to join him, but froze when he shook his head. I felt a strong hand grip the base of my throbbing cock and begin pumping up and down. It felt good having such strong hands massage my cock. I gasped when a warm mouth swallowed the head.

"Mmmm," Noah groaned. "You taste so good." I groaned. My penis was so hard it was straining inside my skin. My balls ached to spend their product and I felt muscles deep within me start to expand and contract. Noah gave my balls some much-needed attention by pulling them gently and massaging between my legs. I spread my thighs to give him better access, and he took advantage. Deftly, his middle finger curved up between my cheeks and found my hole wide open. I felt him explore my gut with dexterity; slowly at first, I humped his hand and face, impaling myself on his willing digit. With every thrust, a jolt a pleasure hit my spine and hardened my nipples.

I knew what was happening. "Noah, I'm going to cum," I gasped.

He confirmed with his mouth full, "Mmm-hmm...!"

Deeper and deeper we continued until I felt the pumps load and fire, over and over. I screamed as Noah's hand and mouth remained true to the cause; his throat muscles swallowed again and again, until we were both exhausted.

When he slowly removed his hand, I let out a long sigh. My body hit the bed, and my cock hit my body. Noah looked down and lowered his body onto mine. His hairy legs rubbed against mine, a sensation I had never felt before. It felt nice. I felt safe with his strong body covering mine. I wrapped my arms around his wide shoulders and licked his ear.

"S-s-Stop," he giggled. He bit my nipple.

"Okay! I give up."

We both surrendered.

In another world, Noah's phone buzzed where it lay on the couch.

"Hey," I nudged Noah. "You going to get that, fatty?"

"Mmmm." He nuzzled into me. "No. You're too comfy. And besides, it's probably just Dad bragging about some poll's results. Goodnight, sexy," he muttered into my chest.

"Goodnight."

It was my turn to stare out through our lone window, into the darkness. Above the forest, pinpricks of light had begun to jab through the night sky.