Pretty Boy Poison (boyxboy)

Chapter 1: Nathaniel

Preface: nine years ago

"Jameson!" I sang, rushing up behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist. He laughed, patting my hands before gently prying me off. "Do you really have to go?" I pouted, flashing the puppy dog eyes in hopes of making him stay. I hated being alone.
​
"High school isn't like elementary school Nat. I have harder classes." He explained, brushing my hair out of my face. I frowned at the floor, irritated that the eyes didn't work. I vowed to work on them while he was gone. "I'll be home from my extra lessons at five. Then I'll come help you practice your piano work, alright?"
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"You promise?" I countered, still having a firm grip on his shirt.
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"Of course kiddo." He answered, wriggling out of my grip and walking out of our shared gate and into the arms of a tall brunette with ocher eyes and lips like mine, pouty and full. They laughed about something and left me there in my front yard, alone.
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I sat down on my porch steps, humming to myself and waiting for Jameson to get back home. My parents traveled quite a bit and as early as I could remember I had spent those long months in the care of my next door neighbors, Jameson's parents. They were off on another biking around Spanish Columbia and weren't do back for five more months. "Hey pretty boy!" I looked up, into the stubby face of an eleven year old from down the block.
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"Me?" I asked, blushing. Even at eight years old I had known... Somehow... That I was gay. I may not have known the word for it, but I knew the butterflies in my stomach when the boy called me that meant that I was different. I was still quite flustered when the first rock was thrown. They chanted as they threw the rocks, a song that frightened me to my core. "Pretty boy, pretty boy, pretty boy poison!"

~~~~~

​"Oh god his face!" Mother sobbed, rubbing just above my temple, at the scar from when I had been stoned by some of the other neighborhood children. "My baby boy's face....you've ruined it!" She cried at Jameson. "You were supposed to be watching him! Why weren't you?"

"It's okay Rebecca. It'll be fine. We'll pay for skin graphs. Thirty grand from now, we won't even be able to tell it happened." My father chided, his phone pressed to his ear. "I'll reschedule his photo shoots for the next six months while we get this worked out."

"You can't hide a scar from the camera Mar." Mother argued, smearing another big glob of cream onto the fresh scar. "I just don't understand why you would leave him outside Jameson!"
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"He-he went out on a date!" His mother sobbed. "Oh Rebecca I'm so sorry! I told him to watch him...I saw him take him outside! I didn't think he would leave him there!"
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"That's not true!" I cried, finally pushing my mothers soft but suffocating hands away. "You had extra lessons, right Jameson, right?" He looked pained for a few seconds before he finally shook his head, not meeting my eye.
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"I just wanted to see my girlfriend. I never can." He sighed. "I'm so terribly sorry. I'll take full responsibility for your son's well being. I don't have thirty thousand dollars right now, but I'll spend the rest of my life paying it back to you. "
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"You...you lied?" I stuttered out, not quite understanding. "Why?"
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"That won't be necessary. Believe me, I understand Jameson." Mother sighed, ignoring me. "You're seven whole years older than Natty. It must be boring spending all day babysitting. I just... I wish you'd had thought more. We had to take him out of school because the bullying was so terrible...leaving him outside all alone..." Mom couldn't speak anymore and proceeded to leave the room. Everyone else followed after her, leaving the object of her despair behind with the boy who had caused it.
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"You lied to me Jameson?" I asked, feeling the tears well in my eyes. "How could you do that to me?"
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"You don't understand anything!" He snapped. "You're so selfish!" I flinched back at the venom in his words, confused as to why he was mad at me. Somehow, my confusion only served to anger me and all that bitterness from being hated by everyone, including Jameson now, bubbled up and out of my mouth.​