Black Rain

Black Rain- Chapter Five

"I think I have feelings for someone." Chris said, picking between the C and E chord on his guitar.

"Who's that?" Stone asked, peeking through a guitar magazine Chris had on his bed.

"Eddie." Chris sighed.

Stone sat the magazine down in his lap. "Eddie? Who's Eddie?"

"The boy we seen on the street." Chris said quietly. Stone let out a laugh.

"Him? Chris, you haven't seen him but what, one time? You couldn't have caught feelings for him that soon."

"Well, I... I've seen him a few times after that." Chris admitted.

"Does he know the way you feel about him?"

Chris shook his head. "I don't think so."

"So, tell him." Stone said, picking the magazine up.

"I don't know... because I really like being with him. If I tell him the way I feel, he might get scared away. Especially if he's not into guys. He'll definitely get scared away, and I... I don't want to be without him."

"Hmm... then trick him a little." Stone suggested. "Like, for example, if you see a girl on the street, ask Eddie what he thinks of her. Either he'll give you his opinion, or either he'll tell you he's not into girls."

Chris bit his lip. "You know, that's actually pretty smart. I may do that, if I find him again."

"If you find him again?"

Chris sighed. "It's just like... hide and seek or something. I'll see him, he'll leave, and sometimes it'll take me days to find him again. It's all like... some little sort of game he's playing."

Stoned smirked. "Oh, Chris, he definitely likes you. He's just playing hard to get is all."

"I don't think it's that. I think he just doesn't want to get too close to anyone. It's like... he's afraid."

Stone shrugged. "Maybe he's just shy. Hell, I've never even spoke to him, so you should know more about him than me."

Chris sighed. "It's just... weird, you know. It's just like I always want to be around him, I always want to hear his voice, I just want to protect him and keep him safe."

"So tell him that. Maybe he feels the same."

Chris sank his teeth into his bottom lip. How could he even come up with the words to tell Eddie how he felt? Besides that, maybe it was too soon, and maybe Chris should just keep his feelings to himself. He wasn't ready to put himself at risk of losing everything with Eddie.

* * *

"I found fifty bucks on the street today." Eddie bragging to Chris. "I watched it fall right out of this dudes pocket."

Chris chuckled. "Well, I suppose that's good. I guess that's how you got the new clothes?"

Eddie nodded his head. "It went a long way, actually."

"If you ever need money, you can always ask me." Chris told him. But Eddie shook his head.

"I don't want to be a bum, Chris. I may bum random people for cigarettes, but I don't want to bum for money."

"So, will you tell me why now?" Chris asked.

"Why what?"

"Why you ran away from home." Chris said. Eddie sat down on a swing and began to softly kick his legs back and forth.

"What else have I got to lose right?" Eddie asked. Chris stayed silent as he sat on the swing next to Eddie, waiting for him to tell him the story.

Eddie sighed. "I... well, Chris... I'm... well... I'm not sure how to say it."

"Just spit it out." Chris told him.

"I'm not really... attracted to the opposite sex, if you understand what I'm saying." Eddie said quietly, looking down at his shoes.

"You're gay?"

Eddie slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, and I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore. Just please, don't call me a fag, and don't try to beat me up for it."

Chris chuckled. "Why would I do that? I'm the same way."

Eddie looked up at him in shock. "You're gay too?"

Chris nodded his head. "Yeah, my parents didn't like it either. They went a bit crazy, but after a few days they were over it. I mean, sometimes they still try to convince me to go out with girls and things, but it's pointless."

Eddie nodded. "Yeah... my parents didn't act like that at all."

"What happened?" Chris asked. "You can tell me, Eddie. You can always tell me anything, and it'll just stay between us."

Eddie bit his lip. "They, uh... well, see, I did have a girlfriend. I tried so hard to convince myself I wasn't into guys, that maybe it was just a phase I was going through. My parents have always been homophobic, and that's why I tried to be with a girl. But ever since I was a little boy I... I got, you know, crushes on other boys. I thought I was just too little to understand. Eventually, though, I accepted the fact I wasn't into girls. I broke up with my girlfriend. My parents started bitching at me, because they really liked the girl. And I mean, she was really sweet and everything. So, in the midst of me being bitched at, I slipped on out and told them I was gay. It seemed like everything after that was a blur. I just remember them screaming and hitting on me, and my father threw me down into the basement. He locked the door and I stayed in there for two days, and they never even bothered to check on me. I, you know, ended up busting out a window and climbed through it, and since then... I've been on my own."

Chris could see Eddie's eyes swelling with tears. He reached his arms out, and pulled Eddie into a tight hug. It seemed like the hug was everything Eddie needed. As he melted into the hug, he held his tears back, not wanting to cry in front of Chris.

"You're not on your own, Eddie. You have me now." Chris assured him. Eddie softly smiled.

"Thanks, Chris. You're the best." Eddie whispered. Just Eddie saying that made butterflies erupt in Chris' stomach.