Angst

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not write about frank sexual situaions, nor do I have any desire to.

This is a story about teen love and discovery. Still though, it is a gay work of fiction.

If such work offends you or you are not old enough to read in your area, then do not continue reading.

Please do not copy and paste onto another website without emailing me first. In most cases I'd be glad to let you post on another site, as long as you ask first!

Angst Episode 42 "The Prom"

Vanessa knew they were staring. She could feel the eyes of all the people around her as she walked down the halls.

She hated feeling like she was being watched. Like her every move was been kept track of.

She thought she'd left that life behind her when she came to Meadowbrook. But apparently, as she had the unfortunate displeasure of finding out just last night, she just couldn't get away.

Her old life would always be a part of her.

She knew it now, and so did everyone else.

She tried to do her best to hide....the....bruises. But for some reason, she still felt all the eyes in the hall fixated on her. And as she approached her cousin and friends, the feeling only increased as they made notice of her.

"Vanessa hey...how'd it go with Tom last night?" Jade asked.

"Extremely well cuz she didn't even come home last night," Krystal cooed as she tried grabbing her cousins arm in a playful manner.

Only, Vanessa pulled away, turning her back to Krystal.

Michelle, Jade, and Krystal exchanged glances.

Krystal walked over to Vanessa and leaned over to face her.

"V....you're not...I mean...you don't still think-"

"That's not it Krystal!" Vanessa snapped.

She hadn't meant to snap at her, but thinking about what the problem really was just made her feel more frustrated.

"Look, if you need another bodyguard-"

"Look, Krystal, I didn't need one to begin with, okay? I was stupid to think I was being followed," Vanessa replied, turning to face her friends with a fake smile "That's just paranoid."

"Sweetie, obviously something is wrong," Michelle spoke.

"Yeah and were your friends, we just wanna help," Jade added.

Looking at her friends and cousin, Vanessa thought back to the previous day and what Luis had told her would happen to her if she told anyone about what happened.

She wanted to, but she couldn't. She cared about her friends and family too much to let anything happen to them.

But above all, she valued her own life as well. Too much to want to face death.

"I'm fine, really," Vanessa replied, putting on a fake smile.

Why oh why?!

Why?

Why in the hell couldn't he have just let me run away? Or better yet, why had I allowed myself to let Chris talk me into coming back with him?

If I was halfway to Godknowswhere by now, like I should have been, then I wouldn't have come back and faced John.

John.

I hadn't expected to see him ever again.

Granted, I did know all along that there was a good chance that he'd survived the car accident, but I kinda figured he'd have gotten a facial makeover, changed his name, and moved to Canada.

Not hiding in some abandoned apartment complex, or wherever he'd been hiding, waiting for the day that he could torment me again.

And torment me he did.

I was kinda starting to piece together that John was great at playing with peoples minds. As long as he had you mentally, he could easily affect your emotions and as long as he could affect your emotions, you were screwed.

Or I was screwed anyway.

It's a weird feeling not knowing if he was coming back or not. I knew John could be pretty resourceful. He'd already popped up in my school bathroom when I thought he was a figment of my imagination at the time.

But oh was he real yesterday.

Psycho John, in the flesh.

And all I knew was that if John put so much effort into trying to get into contact with me, then it couldn't be good.

Something was coming, and I was afraid to think of what that something could be.

But as I noticed Chris approaching me, I decided to try and act as though nothing was bothering me, even though as he got closer, I knew he could tell that something was.

"And home is where the heart is, said the fleeting bird," he spoke with a smile. "I take it you aren't exactly happy to be home then?"

"Why would you say that?" I asked, turning and opening my locker.

I heard Chris chuckle next to me and noticed him turn to lean on the locker to my right.

"You know, when I asked you to come back, I didn't think you'd agree just to run away again," he started.

"Chris, I'm not planning to run away again, okay?" I spoke.

Although, with John being nearby, the thought actually had crossed my mind again.

"Okay, well if you're sure..." he replied.

Actually, I wasn't. But he didn't have to know that.

"So are you as hyped up about the prom as everyone else is?" he asked.

Ah yes the prom.

It almost skipped my mind as I had been dealing with a storyline straight out of a soap opera the past few weeks.

It had been a long time since I could just be normal and do and think about the things seniors in high school were supposed to be doing and thinking about.

Instead I was stuck wondering about whether or not the psycho that tried to kill me last year would be back to finish the job soon.

But the prom was coming up in a couple of weeks.

The funny thing about my school was that when it came to school dances, word didn't really spread until shortly before the actual dance.

Parties thrown by Michelle or other people however....

"Well, it's just another thing to go to really...." I replied.

I guess because I lost my memory, I was somewhat detached from feeling all that excited about my prom.

I knew that it was the second most important day of our senior lives, next to graduation of course.

But other than that, I really just saw it as more money I had to spend on another school dance.

I was excited to finally be going to something with Adam as my date though!

"Let me guess, you're going with Adam right?" Chris asked, looking just a little peeved.

"Chris, he is my boyfriend-"

"Yeah, you're right. And I guess I just have to support the two of you right?" Chris replied.

Support was definitely what I was gonna need now. Now that my life was being turned upside down.

I had to wonder how my life would have turned out if I hadn't met John at all.

Granted, I had my fair share of problems before he came along, but after he came along is when things just changed for the worse, for me and everyone else.

But I didn't want to invite myself to another pity party hosted by myself.

For the time being, I just had to put John to the back of my mind.

Not out of my mind completely, as I didn't want to be caught off guard when it came to him again.

The one thing I knew for sure though, I couldn't tell Adam or Chris or anyone about John being back.

It would only cause more drama and I cared too much about my friends to let anything happen to them.

Plus I also kinda wanted to keep my memory the way it was now and not forget everything again.

Yeah, that would be nice too.

"Come on. I'll walk you to Government," Chris spoke as I shut my locker.

Even though I hoped to never have to see him again, a part of me was wondering where John was and what he was doing this very moment.

"Hello?"

Luis looked over at the clock next to him.

It was barely 10 in the morning.

The only people that knew he was here in Texas were his brother and Vanessa.

His brother was at work and he knew Vanessa wouldn't be calling him for more than one reason.

So he had to wonder who the hell was calling him, waking him from his slumber.

"Luis Santiago....I heard about you."

"Who is this?" Luis asked, sitting up.

Luis was slightly panicked. Maybe, he figured, Vanessa called the police. Maybe he was going to jail and the cops were waiting outside for him.

"Well...let's see if you can figure it out. You're from California, Los Angeles to be exact. You used to date a girl named Vanessa Sanchez, whom you...well....let's just say..let slip through your fingers. Only you tracked her down and now you're here to bring her back home with you."

"Say who the fuck-"

"John...my name is John....and don't bother trying to figure anything else out, because trust me, you don't have the resources I have."

Luis was already pissed off that this John guy had waken him up so damn early in the morning, but to assume he knew everything about him when he didn't know anything about John.........

"So, what do you want?" Luis asked, getting up and looking out the window next to the bed.

"Well....the very fact that you're still here in Texas tells me that you haven't exactly accomplished what you came here to do," John replied.

"I do my own thing," Luis replied. "I know what I'm doing."

"That may be, but with my help, you can know what you're doing and actually accomplish your goal as well."

Luis thought it was a bit strange that this conversation was even happening.

It was obvious that John needed him for something. But without ever having met him, he had no idea what it could be.

Deciding John wasn't watching him from outside somewhere, Luis turned around and began walking through the house....just in case.

"Did Vanessa tell you about me? I mean, are you one of her friends or something?"

"I don't think so," John replied. "But, I do know someone she does."

"Krystal?"

Luis listened as John didn't reply for quite some time.

"Hello?"

"What's your schedule looking like today?" John asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Luis asked, looking in another room in the house, once again, just in case. "How do I know you're who you really say you are?"

"Does that really matter?"

"Hell yeah! I mean, you know everything there is to know about me right?"

"Not entirely," John replied. "But that's why I think we should meet up."

"Why?" Luis asked.

"We're two people who have...similar interest. I think coming together to discuss a common goal would be in the both of our best interest," John replied.

Luis finally settled himself on the couch in the living room, propping his legs up on the coffee table in front of him.

"What exactly do you need me for?"

"Luis...I'm sensing some.....hostility here....we don't have a problem do we?"

Luis chuckled to himself.

"Fuck yeah we got a problem!"

Luis could hear John sigh over the phone, but he was already riled up enough to tell John how he felt.

"Some bendejo wakes me the fuck up at ten in the morning talking like he fucking knows me or some shit! Asking me to meet him somewhere like this shit is normal and you expect me not to have a problem?"

"You wanna calm down for a moment-"

"No chingas puneta!"

"Okay...I didn't wanna have to bring this up but I see I don't have a choice," John started.

Luis continued to mumble curse words in Spanish as John continued.

"If you don't do exactly as I tell you to, I'll not only tell Vanessa what you're up to, but I'll help her get so far away from you, you'll never hear from her again."

Luis stopped mumbling as he thought about what John was saying.

There was, of course, a slight chance that he was bluffing. But if he had found out all he had about his plans and life, then it was possible that John meant what he was saying.

"You wouldn't...."

"You'd be amazed what I'm capable of doing when I'm desperate enough," John replied.

Luis knew that he was in love with Vanessa. He was fucking pissed that she had left without telling him. It took him too long to find her.

But now that he had, he wasn't willing to be without her anymore.

He needed her.

And as he was realizing, he needed John too.

He ran his hand over his face and let out an annoyed sigh before replying.

"Alright man...where and when, then?"

As I expected, talk surrounding the prom had only increased as the days flew by.

Now that it was only a few days away, people had all but abandoned schoolwork in favor of talking about, planning, and talking about the prom some more.

My own circle of friends was included in that group as well.

"So I'm thinking of switching my dress for this Donna Karen I saw at Bloomingdales yesterday," Michelle started. "It's on sale for two thousand, but I'm not sure if alterations and stuff will be ready by Saturday."

"Michelle, our prom is in three days and you're thinking about switching your dress?" Krystal asked.

"Prom comes once. It has to be absolutely perfect," Michelle replied.

"I agree," Adam replied, kissing the top of my hand, which was clasped firmly in his.

"I still can't believe you guys are finally back together," Jade spoke. "You guys'll be so cute at prom."

"Yeah but which one is the dude and who's the girl?" Alex asked.

"Shut up Alex!" Jade exclaimed, tossing a fry at his head.

"So Gino are you going with Sam?" Michelle asked.

I looked over at Gino who sat back and crossed his arms.

"I might not go to prom," he replied.

"What? Oh come on Gino, you might be a fag, but don't act like one!" Alex spoke.

"Yeah, prom is the second most important day of our senior lives," Michelle spoke. "You fuck up prom, and graduation goes to hell, true story."

"Thank you for that Michelle," Jade sighed.

"Sam and I are...well having a few problems," Gino replied, sounding a little annoyed.

I noticed he wasn't really looking anyone directly in the eyes.

"Again? Man I swear, you two are worse than Alicia Reynolds on her period," Michelle spoke.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Gino actually looked up at me before sighing and looking back down.

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you...I mean, I don't want you feeling all bogged down days before prom," Gino replied.

I had this feeling that, if Gino was going to tell anyone about his situation with Sam, it would be me.

"Gino....."

I looked him in the eyes to show him that I was serious, but at the same time I could also feel Adam's grip on my hand tightening.

"Babe...would you come with me to get-"

"Adam...please-"

"Brandon!"

I noticed everyone else looking anywhere but at the three of us. I guess it was just the day for all the gay people to have problems.

"Adam-"

"No it's okay Brandon....there's nothing to say really.." Gino replied.

"No, Gino, just come with me and tell me," I spoke, standing.

Adam let go of my hand and stood up as well.

Gino looked over at him as did I.

"What? Just trying to make sure the two of you don't make plans to re-visit Tokyo without telling any of us," he replied.

"Adam, do you not trust me?" I asked.

Adam looked me in the eyes before glancing over at Gino and looking back at me.

He got close enough to me so that he was standing away from me, but so that only I could hear whatever he had to say.

"I trust YOU....but him?"

"Adam, he's my friend-"

"He's a desperate loser that's in love with you!" Adam exclaimed.

This time he had said that a bit loudly.

I looked back at my friends, who were still avoiding eye contact with me but obviously had heard Adam's outburst, as did Gino, who was actually now looking a little upset.

"Adam....do we have a problem or something?" he asked, standing up.

Adam rolled his tongue on the inside of his cheek as Gino approached him.

"Wait a minute...Gino-"

"Yeah...I think you're still trying to steal my boyfriend!" Adam replied, now getting in Gino's face as well.

"Wait guys, before you do something you'll regret.." Alex spoke standing up.

I noticed Ryan and Stephen also looking ready to help stop a fight if necessary.

"Adam...Gino..." I started.

"I have a boyfriend, remember?" Gino asked.

"Really? Does Sam know that?" Adam asked.

This was getting bad, fast. People around us were starting to stop what they were doing to pay attention to Adam and Gino, who obviously looked ready to fight.

"I don't like what you're getting at, here Adam," Gino growled. "I don't like it all!"

That was the last straw as Gino shoved Adam hard.

I guess Adam was ready for it, as he stopped himself before he could trip over the chair behind him, instead coming back with a punch that Gino was ready for, who grabbed Adam's fist before it even connected with his face, and flipped him over his shoulder.

Alex rushed over to Gino, who'd jumped on top of Adam ready to start beating him, but Ryan and Stephen jumped up and helped pull Gino off of Adam.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Gino shouted.

"Oh god, he's gonna get Adam suspended from prom!" Michelle muttered.

I couldn't believe this was happening and that's probably because I didn't want to believe that it was. But it was happening alright.

"Come on, just chill before someone gets some teachers or something!" Alex exclaimed.

"Come on guys..." Ryan spoke.

"..the fuck off me!" Gino spoke, pushing Ryan off of him and storming towards the door, me turning to go after him.

"Brandon!" Adam exclaimed.

"You were way outta line Adam!" I shouted. "And completely wrong! Gino isn't in love with me anymore and he's not trying to steal me away from you!"

I'd be able to tell if I was being 'stole' by Gino, and as far as being in love with me...well he had Sam, regardless of how things were going with him at the moment.

When I entered the hallway, I couldn't find Gino.

I realized I had two choices.

Either I could go look for him or go attend to my boyfriend, who just been flipped to his back by Gino, and could have been hurt.

I wanted to talk to Gino...but things with Adam and I...I'd wanted him for so long.

And now that I had him, I didn't wanna screw things up.

Chris had helped me to learn that the bad things that happened in my life weren't always my fault, even if it felt that way.

That still didn't mean I didn't want to try and help fix the problems that occurred whenever something did go wrong.

And right now, I needed stability. The kind of stability that only a boyfriend could offer me.

So without having to think about it any further, I decided to turn back around and go see about fixing things with Adam, but didn't have to as I noticed him coming out of the door to the cafeteria next to me, alone.

"Hey.." I started, not really sure what to say.

I'd basically made it clear to Adam that I didn't trust his judgment and that I'd pick Gino over him given the choice.

Or at least, that's how I'm sure he probably was feeling at the current moment.

"Where'd the little fucker go?" Adam asked.

He was holding an ice bag to one of his eyes, looking down the hallway.

"Your eye..." I started, reaching for it.

Adam took the bag off it to let me see and touch it lightly.

It wasn't bad, thank god, and you could barely tell really. Although, I'm sure it probably hurt like hell.

"He sucker punched me...caught me off guard," Adam replied.

"I know...I'm sorry....about what happened in there," I replied.

"So you believe me then?" Adam asked.

I sighed and Adam put the bag back up to his eye.

"Adam....."

"You know how much I love you....I'm just trying to protect you."

I knew that. But I just didn't want to believe Adam, even if he was right.

"Just promise me you'll be careful around him."

I smiled at Adam and took his hand,

"I promise," I replied. "Now maybe we should get you to the nurse about this eye..."

"No, Brandon-"

"I'm not taking a guy with a black eye to prom," I replied.

Adam looked over at me as I did my best to look serious.

"Yeah, we should definitely go..yeah," he replied, leading me towards the nurses office.

"Dammit!" Gino exclaimed, kicking the door to the furthest away restroom he could find and walking inside.

He was breathing heavily and was really upset.

He realized he had a problem.

Before, he could work easily, as Brandon and Adam weren't together.

But now they were, and with Adam thinking he was up to something, it just made his scheming that much harder.

He couldn't talk to Sam as he was away for a game he was playing against a district high school later.

But he knew that he needed to think fast, and act even faster.

Friday would be the first of April, which meant that he only had one and half months before school was out.

Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem. But he was still unsure of what Brandon's plans were for attending college after they graduated.

If he went away.......

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Gino shouted, stomping towards the urinals, freezing when he saw someone that he'd seen quite a lot in the restrooms this year.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Chris asked, zipping up. "Or would you prefer your father? I'm sure he would-"

"Shut up Chris," Gino mumbled, moving over to a wall, window above him. "I'm not in the mood."

"I guess that roofie I slipped you before third period didn't work then huh?" Chris joked, turning on one of the faucets at the front.

Gino just snorted as he crossed his arms and let out an annoyed sigh.

"So I'm guessing you and that ball bouncing boyfriend of yours got into an argument of some sort?" Chris asked, beginning to wash his hands.

"What do you care?" Gino asked.

"I don't," Chris replied casually. "I hate awkward silences, that's all."

Gino rolled his eyes before uncrossing his arms and placing his hands in his pockets.

He was just frustrated enough to start blurting out things to Chris.

"My problem more or less lies with the school's super couple," he replied.

Chris looked briefly over at Gino.

"Well....I guess I'm out of the running," he spoke. "Damn, having beef with Gino is such an awesome prize, too."

"God, you're a jackass-"

"New breed too," Chris replied, turning off the sink and heading for the towels. "But you having problems with Brandon slash Adam...what else is new?"

"Well, I'm not having problems with you currently..."

"Who would have thought the day would come!" Chris spoke, sarcastically. "Please. Gino, you and people problems...isn't exactly a new thing. It's actually just kinda pathetic."

Now Gino was offended. And still upset.

"Coming from a guy with his own share of problems, that's priceless," he spoke.

Chris shook his head as he dried his hands, back to Gino.

"Yeah well, nobody's perfect-"

"You especially. I mean, what, did you decide you wanted Alex a little bit more than he wanted you and he.....kicked you to the curb like a piece of old furniture?"

Chris froze and turned around to face Gino.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"So enlighten me. What's the deal with you and Alex then? For real?"

Chris glared at Chris with a scowl on his face without responding.

"Exactly. Think again before you go off calling someone pathetic," Gino replied, leaving Chris for alone in the bathroom for once.

"Vanessa...there you are," Krystal spoke, rushing up to Vanessa, who was at her locker putting some books away.

"Krystal...ready to go?" Vanessa asked.

"Actually...I needed to talk to you about that," Krystal started.

Vanessa took notice of the desperate look on her cousin's face, deciding immediately that she wouldn't like whatever she had to say.

"I need to stay after to work on some last minute prom stuff...." Krystal replied. "So do you think you can try and find a ride?"

Vanessa sighed.

"I guess..." she replied.

She knew that she couldn't ask Michelle as she was on the Senior Council with Krystal and would probably be staying after as well.

And Jade had to work with Stephen.

Gino ran off somewhere.

Brandon and Adam were...out of the question.

But she knew some people. She figured maybe if she got to the parking lot quick enough she could find one of them.

"I'll see you later," Krystal spoke, leaving just as quickly as she had come along.

Vanessa shut her locker and let out a deep breath before heading to the parking lot.

Upon getting there, she noticed that a lot of people were already gone.

Since there were so many students in the school, parking was divided up upon lots according to classification. There never were many freshman or sophomore cars, so they were all gone mostly.

Juniors were the most reckless drivers and if she valued her life, she'd pass on asking any of them to give her a lift.

And the seniors usually had jobs or early release.

Basically, if you drove, you were gone within five minutes of the bell ringing, or already gone before it.

Vanessa didn't want to allow herself to feel discouraged with the thought and started looking around.

Most of the seniors parked in the areas closer to the school, which was located right next to a woodland area full of trees.

The sun was out today and Vanessa had to squint as she looked around.

Because she was squinting, she'd almost missed seeing...him.

She blinked and looked back over to the woodland area where she knew for a fact she'd seen Luis.

It didn't look like he was around now.

Panicking, Vanessa started walking in the opposite direction, back towards the further end of the parking lot, hoping that she was wrong and hadn't really seen Luis.

When she looked back she didn't see him, but she almost felt as if she were being followed. As if he was still around.

She picked up the pace and started walking faster towards the other end of the lot.

That was when she could almost swear that she heard breathing behind her.

She started walking so fast she was almost running.

She looked behind her for a moment, the next thing she knew, she was slamming into someone.

"Oh...shit, Vanessa...sorry..uh-" Ryan started, reaching down to help Vanessa up.

Vanessa wasn't really paying attention.

She looked all around behind her before allowing Ryan to help her up.

"Ryan...sorry...."

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked.

Vanessa looked behind her again before thinking for a moment.

She didn't really know Ryan.

She knew that he was Brandon's friend and that's about all.

But at least he was a familiar face.

"Uh...yeah," Vanessa replied, swallowing. "Um...would you mind giving me a ride?"

Vanessa hadn't looked at Ryan when she'd asked the question. Instead, she was still looking around.

Ryan looked over where Vanessa was and looked back at her.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Hm?" Vanessa asked, turning around to face Ryan.

She noticed the look on his face and did her best to try and relax.

"Oh. Uh....nothing...Krystal she's...working on some prom stuff so I was just wondering if you could give me a ride?"

Ryan studied Vanessa for a moment before putting on a friendly smile.

"Sure...hop in," he replied.

Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief, and after taking another look behind her, got in on the passenger side of Ryan's car.

"Ugh....is it supposed to be this tight under the arms?" Alex asked, looking himself over in the mirror in front of him.

He, Adam, Ryan, Stephen and I had all gone to pick up our tuxedos that the girls had made us all pick out a few weeks back.

"Hold still," I said, walking over to Alex and looking him over.

Alex had picked a black over coat with two long tails in the back with a white vest that had gold buttons on the front. The pants were black with a small white line going down the bottom end.

He'd also decided to go 'pimp' and picked himself out a top hot and cane to go with it all.

"It's like all bunched up under my arms," Alex replied, as I pulled his tux overcoat down.

"Maybe you got fat," Stephen spoke. "High school football hero goes fat for prom....I like it."

"Says the junior lucky enough to be dating a senior to go to the prom with," Alex spoke.

"Well, it does look a little tight....maybe we should see if they have a larger one on the rack," I spoke, looking Alex over.

"After three individual alterations and this is what I get," Alex sighed, stepping down from the stool in front of the mirror.

"Oh wait, Brandon you haven't even tried on your tux yet," Adam said.

I'd been so busy trying to make sure my friends and boyfriend all looked perfect that I had yet to move on to myself.

"Here, we'll all go help Alex get straight while you try on your tux," Stephen spoke.

"Or you guys can go...I wanna see some eye candy," Adam said, a gleam in his eyes.

"Come on perv," Alex spoke, dragging Adam along.

I watched as they left and shut the door behind them.

I didn't really like dressing rooms.

Besides the fact that I sorta thought the mirrors were some type of camera, I also hated how the walls didn't go completely all the way down to the floor.

So basically, if he wanted to, Dirty Old Harry could get his jollies watching me change.

I just shoved the thoughts out of my mind however as I started to get undressed.

The room was fairly large as we were all in a high end shopping boutique that Michelle insisted we all rent our tuxes from, so there was enough room for the dressing rooms to be large, but for the to be several dressing rooms as well.

I was alone in the room until I saw the legs and feet of someone outside my room walking past. I noticed whoever it was get into a dressing room next to me and shut the door.

I didn't particularly care about whoever it was and started putting on my tuxedo.

"Boy, the prom.....crazy times huh?"

Since I was alone before whoever the guy was that had come into the room came in, I knew that he had to be talking to me.

But...there was just something with the voice.

Like I'd heard it somewhere before.

So I just didn't say anything, instead waiting to see if the guy would say anything else so I could see if I really knew him or not.

But he didn't.

I looked down at his feet.

He wasn't even moving.

"Er..." I started.

"I mean...I won't be getting to go to my prom thanks to you...but whatever.."

Because of.....

"John?"

"The one and only," I heard him reply.

Instantly, I felt like my entire body was shrinking. Almost like my lungs were closing and I couldn't breath.

Like I was back in that river trying to get some air but realizing I couldn't because I was sinking deeper and deeper and deeper.....

I tried to remain calm and decided to think smart.

I slowly reached down to the pants that I'd taken off to retrieve my cell phone.

I knew John was crazy, but I had my friends here. All of them being guys who could easily kick John's ass enough to make sure that he didn't come back.

Maybe before I felt like I didn't want to involve them.

But I was still coming off of thinking about running away and curses and the like.

Now I knew that my friends would believe in me no matter what, especially when it came to John.

"Call anyone and Vanessa dies," John spoke.

How did he....

And Vanessa?

"What?" I asked, slowly standing back up, giving up on getting the phone.

"Not that you need to anyway, I'm not gonna do anything in a public place like this.." John replied.

It was easy to see how my friends might have missed seeing John come into the store as there were multiple levels and entrances, even to the changing room itself.

I just knew that all I wanted right then and there was to see them. Any one of them.

Adam more so.

John scared me, and I had every reason to be afraid of him.

"What did you mean when you said Vanessa dies.....?" I asked.

I heard John chuckle to himself and finally noticed him moving in his stall, still staying in it however.

"Tuxes for prom...which reminds me...you gonna be busy that night?" he asked.

"John-"

"Of course, its prom! It's supposed to be a special night that you're supposed to share with the person you love, which I'd be able to do with Gino if....well we've been through this enough."

I swallowed hard and shut my eyes, opening them slowly after a few moments.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"What do I want? Brandon, you of all people should be able to answer that for me!" John exclaimed.

He was getting more pronounced in voicing his frustrations, but was still smart enough not to be loud.

"John, you need help...you're sick-"

"Sick? Really? Is that what you I am?"

"I don't know why you won't just leave me alone...I don't even remember what I did to you!"

"Keep your goddamn voice down!" John exclaimed.

"Brandon...you done yet?"

It was Adam.

I'd heard him and obviously so had John, who'd shut up.

"Come out and let me see!" Adam called from the front of the room.

I looked over at the wall as if I were looking John face to face. Almost as if I were trying to debate whether of not I should attempt to leave.

Then a sudden rush of confidence swept over me, deciding for me.

I exited the stall and headed for the front in a controlled rush.

"Hey, wow...you look hot!" Adam exclaimed, looking me over.

I pulled Adam aside and looked around before saying anything.

"He's here!" I whispered.

Adam's smile faded as he caught the serious look on my face.

"Brandon...who-"

"John...in the dressing room," I replied.

Adam's eyes widened before he left my side and headed into the changing room so fast, I'd have missed him going if I even blinked.

"Hey, what's up with Adam?" Alex asked, joining my side with Ryan and Stephen.

"I....John's here," I replied.

"What?!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Who's that?" Stephen asked.

Alex took off as well.

"Stay here with him," Ryan spoke before leaving me too.

"What's going on?" Stephen asked.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to get Stephen involved.

I considered him a good friend, and he didn't need to hear about my problems with John.

"Fucker's gone!" Adam exclaimed.

Alex and Ryan rushed passed me and started searching the bottom floor of the store while Adam put his arm around my shoulder, holding me close to him.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he spoke.

In his arms I did feel safe.

And I loved how no one thought twice about questioning me about John being around.

But I had to wonder where the hell he'd gone off to.

The rest of the week had been stressful for everyone.

While we all still had prom to contend with, everyone also had the added worry of John showing back up to deal with as well.

Gino had offered to hire more bodyguards for me, but I turned them down.

Because I had done that, he, Alex, Ryan and Adam had all insisted on being with me all day, every day.

All of them had stayed the night over the house every day since I'd seen John, and one if not all of them was always with me every hour of the day.

I felt like I was some important celebrity that had gotten an assassination threat and now had to be looked after constantly.

While I did feel smothered and annoyed, another part of me felt relieved to have friends that cared that much about my safety. So much so that they were willing to forgo their own plans in order to keep an eye on me.

But now that it was prom night, I'd pretty much tried to push John out of my mind.

I wasn't about to let him spoil my night.

"Aww...don't the two of you look so handsome together!" my mother spoke, blinding me a flash from the camera she'd used to snap the umpteenth picture that night.

"Mom, I'm officially blind now!" I spoke, blinking to try and regain my sight.

"I want to remember the day my baby went to his prom, that's all!" my mom replied.

"So do I," Adam's mother spoke, flashing Adam and I with another picture.

"Aren't prom photo's supposed to be staged?" Adam spoke, allowing his mother to fix his already straight bow tie. "I mean, you guys keep catching us off guard."

"Spontaneity, Adam, get used to it around here," I spoke, smiling when my mother playfully shoved me.

"I don't know why you're helping him with that Mrs. Ventura," Alex spoke walking into the room. "I'm the one who needs a bow tie fix."

"He's helpless," Stephen sighed, taking a seat on the couch next to me. "That and the cuff link thing too."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know those things weren't earrings!" Alex exclaimed.

"Be still Alex, honey, so I can do this right," Adam's mother spoke.

I was feeling antsy for many reasons, but the only one I cared to think about was how I was supposed to behave at prom.

It seemed like one giant wedding to me.

You rent a tux and girls spend hundreds if not thousands on a dress. You rent a limo, reservations at a nice restaurant and a hotel room.

And of course there was paying for prom tickets.

Cost of everything probably ranked right below 1 years college tuition at Harvard when everything was said and done, but hey, what did we care? It was just one night.....

"When is Gino gonna get here so we can pick up the girls, already?" Alex spoke, looking up at the clock mounted on the wall.

I was starting to feel nervous again.

Then again, you'd be nervous too if you knew there was a crazy psycho out there..anywhere...most likely counting the minutes until they could kidnap you again.

"Don't stay gone all weekend, you hear me Brandon?" my mom asked.

"Mom!"

"What..I just know you and Adam might wanna-"

Luckily she stopped when the doorbell rang and I was saved.

"Good, let's hit the road," Alex spoke, heading for the door.

I noticed a frown grow on Adam's face as he looked over at Gino while Gino looked away from him and over at me.

"Hey," he said, smiling. "You look nice."

"Hey Gino you look handsome tonight...how are your folks?" my mom asked.

"Thanks. They're still kicking," Gino replied. "You guys ready to go?"

"Been ready, god!" Alex spoke, heading out the front door as if the house were on fire.

I guess he really was ready for prom. Or at least, what was happening after prom.

"You guys should take a couple of umbrellas," Adam's mother spoke. "I heard on the news it's supposed to rain."

"They've been saying that all week, mom," Adam spoke, heading over to the door. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Plus it didn't even look like it was gonna rain. And if it did, it'd probably just be a few sprinkles here and there.

No big deal.

"Alright so we're off," Gino spoke.

Adam made sure to wrap his arm in with mine and walk me to the car as Ryan, Stephen and Gino followed behind.

We all piled into the limo, where Sam was sitting comfortably over by the mini bar.

"Hey guys," he spoke. "Excited?"

"Hell yeah!" Alex replied. "In just a few hours I'll be fucking the hottest piece of ass in the entire school."

"Front page news material, right there," Stephen joked.

"More like didn't need to know," Ryan clarified.

I could feel the tension between Gino and Adam.

At this point, I was more concerned with keeping them away from each other than I was with ever having to see John again.

Which I was hoping I'd never heave to do, especially tonight.

"Makeup, check....hair, check...condoms........er.....," Michelle spoke.

"Michelle..." Jade sighed, putting a few final brushes of makeup on her face.

"What, everyone knows prom is just an excuse to have the best sex you'll ever have...well until your honeymoon anyway," Michelle replied.

"And you wonder why guys think most girls are sluts," Jade spoke.

"With bad hair highlighted whores like Alicia Reynolds running around the world, they'll keep thinking that too," Michelle replied.

She and Jade left the giant vanity mirror in the study and headed for the living room to join Krystal and Vanessa, who were waiting on one of the sofas.

"Ugh, maybe we should have picked them up, huh?" Michelle spoke, taking a seat. "Then we could have stopped at the store to pick up some condoms."

Michelle made sure to simply mumble that last part although Jade rolled her eyes at her.

"So Michelle, what part of the world are your parents in tonight?" Krystal asked.

"Who knows," Michelle replied. "I sent them some pictures of me in my dress over the internet."

"Don't you wish you could like...see them at least some of the time?" Krystal asked.

"Maybe....but a girl with plenty of cash to spend is always a happy one."

Krystal just rolled her eyes at Michelle.

"Vanessa you okay?" Jade asked looking over at Vanessa.

"Yeah sweetie, you're looking a little bulimic," Michelle replied.

"It's anemic, Michelle," Jade corrected.

"They're both diseases that make you look pale, aren't they?" Michelle argued. "Besides, Vanessa knows what I meant."

"No, I'm fine.." Vanessa replied. "I'm just nervous about prom..."

"Don't worry...Ryan may be a skeeze, but at least he's a hot skeeze," Michelle replied.

Vanessa had gotten to know Ryan during the ride he gave her home and had decided to say yes to him asking her to prom.

But that wasn't what she was worried about.

She knew something was coming, but just couldn't shake the feeling that what ever it was had to do with Luis.

"If you're worried about that guy from home coming back..."

"I'm not!...worried..about....look, I just feel like getting there already," Vanessa spoke, standing up and heading for the door.

By the time she'd gotten to it, the doorbell rang.

She opened it and stood face to face with Alex.

"Let's skip the whole picture thing and take care of it when we get there," he spoke.

"Well, somebody is anxious," Michelle spoke walking over to the door. "You wouldn't happen to have any condoms would you?"

"What do I look like, Alicia Reynolds?" Alex asked.

"Can we just go now, gosh," Vanessa spoke, bypassing Alex and Michelle and heading for the limo.

"What's with her?" Alex asked.

"Oh you know..its that time of the month," Michelle replied. "Okay we can go now."

Jade and Krystal followed Michelle and Alex to the limo ready to go as well.

"Senior prom, here we come!" Alex exclaimed.

I guess you should always listen to your mother, even when it seems like she's telling you something crazy.

You know the thing about bringing some umbrellas just in case it started to rain?

It had not only started to rain, but it was pouring. Absolutely pouring, thunder and all.

Prom started at 7, but we'd all gotten here late, so most everyone was already in the stadium enjoying themselves already.

We had to be the unlucky, stupid people caught in the rain.

"Will you come on?!" Alex spoke. "It's just a little rain."

"No fucking way!" Michelle objected. "Do you have any idea how much this dress cost me? And then my hair, makeup and shoes cost just as much!"

"Yeah, Alex..can't we just wait a few more minutes?" Alex's date, Ezra, asked.

Alex sighed and sat back.

I'd never seen him so impatient. He must have really wanted Ezra!

"You know, we can only wait so long and we've been waiting for ten minutes already!"

"Ten more then, " Michelle spoke. "Because there's no way I'm going out there right now!"

I didn't really like rain water myself.

People peed outside. Spit outside. Made weird concoctions and then dumped them outside.

And all of that was evaporated into the air, and eventually mixed with more evaporated water and substances which eventually, fell back to Earth in the form of rain.

Just a theory I had.

Needless to say, I was with all the girls in not wanting to get out of the limo.

"Okay, what if it doesn't stop raining?" Alex asked. "Then you miss the whole prom!"

That had the girls thinking as I noticed them looking each other over.

Michelle looked back out of the window.

"But...I'll get soaked!" she whined.

"Yeah, well deal with it..this is as close to the stadium as were gonna get," Alex replied.

Which was true, as Gino had tried to get the driver of the limo to get as close as possible, but upon getting out, we'd at least get soaked for a few seconds.

"I say we just get out," Vanessa spoke, sounding a bit like she had other things on her mind. "It's not getting any dryer."

There was an unspoken unanimous agreement between everyone for a moment before Alex turned to the door.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Go ahead...open it," Michelle sighed.

I watched as Alex forced open the door to the limo and rushed out, followed by Michelle, Jade, Stephen and everyone else until only Gino, Vanessa and I were left in the limo.

"Come on," Gino spoke.

"You go..I'm coming," I spoke.

I needed to talk to Vanessa about what had happened between John and I.

Gino looked reluctant, but rushed out of the limo as well.

"What?" Vanessa asked, sounding slightly pissed I was even bothering with talking to her.

"I know I'm not your favorite person," I started.

Vanessa snorted at that statement.

"But that doesn't mean I want you dead," I replied.

Vanessa looked over at me with a confused look.

"What?" she asked.

"Is everything okay? I mean with you and whoever you came here to get away from?" I asked.

I was guessing that when John told me that Vanessa would die if I warned anyone I saw him that he might have been talking about contacting her ex. Maybe they knew each other.

I wouldn't put it past him now.

"Why do you care if I end up dead or not?" she asked. "I mean, you didn't care about me when you went behind my back with my boyfriend."

That was a low blow and she knew it.

But if she wanted to be this way while I was trying to warn her, then fine, she could.

Hell if I cared.

"Well then, guess it's prom time," I replied, rushing out of the limo followed by Vanessa.

The prom had been going well so far.

Sure none of us were completely dry but to keep from getting too cold I did a lot of dancing.

It was still raining, even after having been here a good three hours.

It was almost 10:30 and so far I'd been having a pretty good time. I hadn't had to think about my problems at all and that was nice.

It was pretty crowded though. But there were more than 1,000 people here. Our school had almost a thousand seniors alone, but then start pairing them up and....

The guys were all pretty much still trying to keep an eye on me, but I'd let them off the hook really so that they could enjoy themselves tonight, and it seemed to be working thus far.

"So I guess this is the day every little princess dreams of, huh?" Chris spoke walking up to me, a pretty Hispanic girl attached to his left.

Everyone had taken a break from dancing in favor of sitting at our respective tables.

The car raffle was about to start anyway.

A new Mazda RX8 was up for grabs. I didn't care if I won it either way. My feet hurt from all the dancing.

"So, there really is someone desperate enough to date you huh?" Alex mumbled.

"Not desperate, smart," Chris replied. "Because every Chris Murphy comes with a prize in the box!"

Alex stood up and took his dates hand.

"And suddenly I feel like dancing again," he spoke, heading back out to the dance floor.

"Well, just stopped by to say hi," Chris replied. "Off to go see if I can rig the raffle."

"See ya man," I spoke.

I guess we weren't getting that much of a break from dancing because the next thing I knew the people around us started moving tables around.

"I guess it's time for that dance off I planned!" Michelle shouted, as it was kind of hard to hear suddenly.

People started moving through the center of the room, forcing all of us to get to two different sides of the room.

"No wait a second..Brandon!" Adam shouted, reaching for my hand.

Gino, Sam, Vanessa, Ryan, and I had been cut off from everyone else.

But I was actually interested to see what was going on, although I'd rather have been seeing it with Adam.

The lights started to dim and as more people started getting between us, I could see myself getting separated from everyone else.

"Wait a sec.." I mumbled out loud.

I looked around.

Now I couldn't see anyone.

What was going on?

"Michelle...when's the dance off starting?" Krystal asked.

"I don't know....I thought this was it..." Michelle replied.

I was still looking around for Adam or anyone else I knew before I saw it.

Vanessa being pulled out by somebody.

Of course, it didn't look like she was being forced, but I could tell something was up and deciding to go against my better judgment, I followed them.

It was hard to get through the crowd of people and by the time I got out the door I'd seen Vanessa and that guy leave through, they were gone.

I couldn't even stop to try and look around before I felt someone grab me from behind, covering my mouth with their hand and pulling me towards one of the large glass doors leading outside.

It was still pouring rain like crazy outside. So much and so hard that you could barely see five feet in front of you.

I felt myself being dragged along through the parking lot towards the woodland area near the stadium.

And suddenly, I wished I had left Vanessa alone like I should have in the first place.

"Where are you taking me?" Vanessa shouted as Luis pulled her through the rain.

"Shut up!" Luis replied.

Vanessa was crying but as it was raining so hard, the tears really didn't show up.

"Luis, please!"

"I gave you a chance to go willingly, but you fought me-"

"You tried to rape me!"

"I love you, would why I do some bullshit like that?" Luis shouted, stopping in the rain.

"Love me? This is how you show it?" Vanessa asked, appalled at Luis's audacity. "Don't be stupid!"

Luis slapped Vanessa with the back of his hand.

"I won't allow my girl to talk to me like she lost her damn mind!" he shouted.

Vanessa spit at Luis and tried to run in the opposite direction, but he just caught up to her and pulled her the other way, back in the other direction.

"Let go of me...help! Somebody help me!"

"Scream all you want, chica, but in this rain..nobody's gonna hear you!" Luis replied.

And sadly, Vanessa knew that Luis was right.

She just hoped that he didn't plan on killing her!

"Has anyone seen Brandon?" Adam asked.

"Look, people start splitting into two sides of the room and the lights go down for five minutes and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened!" Michelle replied.

No one really knew what had happened. Half the people that had started splitting everyone into two groups weren't even recognizable to anyone in the room.

Something was going on, but no one knew what.

Adam was worried.

"What about Vanessa..." Krystal spoke. "Where'd she go?"

"This is freaky...." Michelle spoke.

Adam started moving through the crowd looking around.

"Did you two have a fight?" Gino asked, stopping Adam in his tracks.

Adam turned around to face Gino.

"I'm not in the mood right now.."

"Apparently, neither was Brandon," Gino replied. "I guess that's why he's not with you now."

"You know what Gino-"

"Ladies and fags...I think there's a bigger problem going on here," Chris spoke, stopping, or almost starting another fight depending on how you looked at the situation. "I just got done talking with the council chair... half the people who rushed in here weren't even from our school."

"What the fuck is going on?" Adam mumbled.

Alex joined everyone else in trying to figure out what was going on.

"Did you guys see all those weird people storm in here and split everyone up?" he asked.

"Yeah and Brandon's missing!" Adam exclaimed.

"Vanessa too," Krystal added.

"Wait a sec....you don't think John or Luis......"

Everyone looked each other over.

"Split up, everyone look around," Adam spoke. We have to find them, now!"

I think my leg hit a rock when John threw me to the ground once we reached the forest area outside.

I wasn't sure what his deal was but I was afraid of what he had in store for me.

"You're not very bright are you, Brandon?" John started, rolling up the soaked sleeves of his long sleeved white button up shirt. "I mean, I basically TOLD you this was gonna happen, but you still came anyway! I guess you have a death wish."

I didn't know what to say or what to do.

Who would hear me if I screamed?

It was raining so hard, I could barely see anything in front of me.

Who would see me with John at all, especially considering where we were?

"What's wrong with you John?" I shouted over the rain. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"

"What am I doing to you Brandon?" John shouted. "Nothing that's any worse than what you've done to me."

"Gino isn't going to take you back....it's over!" I shouted.

"No!" John shouted. "It's not over until I say it is!"

That was when he pulled it out and pointed it at me.

A handgun.

"John-"

"Shut the hell up, Brandon!" John shouted. "I don't feeling like listening to you talk anymore!"

Here he was kidnapping me again and holding a gun to my face, yet I was still feeling like I wanted to help him. Or at least help him to help himself.

I honestly couldn't understand how a person could turn out the way John had.

So obsessed with a guy that the things he did made no sense and didn't seem to have anything to do with his problems.

John needed help, plain and simple.

But, looking down the barrel of the gun in my face, I came to a conclusion.

He may have needed help, but I didn't want to give it to him.

I valued my own life more, so I acted fast.

I tripped John to the ground, who dropped his gun in one of the puddles in the mud.

I tried to get up and run, turning the other way first, but John grabbed my legs, causing me to fall in the mud on my face.

I wasn't about to give up though, and I quickly turned around, kicking John in the face.

John fell back, but grabbed me again as soon as I tried running.

I kicked him a couple more times, harder this time, causing him to actually fly a few feet away from me.

It was hard trying to get up, as the rain water and mud had caused my clothes to become considerably heavier.

I was tripping over myself but I managed to stand up completely and started running the way John had brought me into the forest.

I could hear gun shots going off behind me, which let me know that he was after me.

I just kept running until I could hear what sounded like screams coming from somewhere towards the other end off the far edge of the forest.

I wasn't sure why I'd thought it, but I knew that it had to be Vanessa and whomever I'd seen pulling her out of the stadium earlier.

If I was right, and it was Luis working with John, then it meant that she was in trouble.

I guess I wasn't going to learn my lesson any time soon, as instead of heading back to the stadium like a sensible person, I headed towards the screams.

"Didn't I say to shut the fuck up!" Luis shouted.

Vanessa continued to cry as Luis had since tied her arms behind her back.

Luis had agreed when he and John met, to help John. Part of the deal was that he wait for John to arrive with whomever he was supposed to be getting before they took off.

But getting frustrated that he wasn't coming, Luis grabbed Vanessa, forcing her to her feet.

"Come on," he growled.

"No, please-"

"Hey!" I shouted, stopping once I saw what was going on.

Luis had Vanessa's hands tied behind her back and he was dragging her along like some piece of trash.

I noticed Luis's eyes scan the area, probably looking for John.

"Leave her alone!" I found myself shouting.

Only I didn't know what I would be able to do really.

Besides the fact that Luis looked nearly twice as large of me in muscle weight, John was still coming and I didn't have a plan.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you puto!" Luis shouted.

"Maybe not...but I'm not gonna just stand here and let you take Vanessa away," I replied.

Luis chuckled before taking out his own gun and pointing it straight at me.

When I saw him look behind me, I could tell instantly that John had finally caught up to the me and was probably pointing his own gun at my back, meaning I had two guns pointed at me.

Not the first time I'd had to deal with having a gun pointed at me, and considering how often it seemed to be happening, it probably wouldn't be the last.

If I survived this night.

I didn't know what to do or what to say.

Instinct told me to at least move, however, which is exactly what I'd done.

And just in time too, as the next thing I knew, John was being tackled to the ground by someone.

John's gun had gone off in the process, which after I'd moved out of the way, had been pointed at Luis, who fell face first into the mud.

I looked over to see who'd tackled John to the ground and saw that it was Gino.

Gino had come to save me!

I rushed over to Vanessa and started to untie her arms but stopped when I saw Gino's body being flung towards my own, and John pointing that damn gun at Vanessa, Gino and I.

"Gino..." John started, sounding considerably less menacing than he had earlier.

"I don't understand this John.....why do you have to keep doing this?" Gino asked.

"I'm doing it for us...."

"Us....John, there was never an us...there's never gonna be an us!"

"Because of him right!" John shouted, pointing the gun at me, causing me to flinch.

Gino looked over at me and then back at John.

"Just put the gun down and we can talk..."

"I just....I thought if I got rid of him-"

"John...."

"It was all I could do to..."

"John..."

I noticed John lower the gun and look down.

None of us moved as we weren't sure what to do.

"No...I can still get rid of him!" John shouted, putting the gun back up

"John....no amount of scheming or planning is gonna get the person you love to love you back!" Gino shouted.

"Maybe...but killing him is gonna fucking make me feel a whole lot better!" John replied, getting ready to fire.

"John....don't, please!" Gino pleaded.

For a moment, it really looked like John was a bout to shoot me, but then he lowered the gun again.

"So..you really don't love me?" he asked.

"John...I can't..."

John stood there for a few moments before faster than I could even blink, he put the gun up to his own head and pulled the trigger.

I head Vanessa shriek behind me and Gino grab me, pulling me into his arms as John fell backwards into the mud.

My heart was beating faster than it ever had before.

What had just happened was....it was beyond anything I could have ever comprehended.

None of us said anything for what seemed like minutes before finally...

"Are..........are...you guys.............okay?" Gino asked.

I looked up at Vanessa.

"Um..."

"What just happened?" I found myself asking aloud.

But I knew it was a question that none of us knew the answer to.

For the rest of the story and other stories by me, visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoJoPresents-GayFiction/

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Copyright 2005