John collected Danny's school work, packed up some of Danny's clothes and dropped them off at my house. Danny slept almost all the time. When he was awake, we'd cuddle and watch TV together (if he could tolerate it), but that was it. Even though Danny sneaked into my bed at night in his underwear, we didn't do anything but sleep.
Danny's parents called and texted as we expected, but Danny wouldn't return any of their calls or texts. The no trespass order still stood, but my parents allowed visits from John. My parents wouldn't allow any visits from their parents, not like they tried to come over.
Finally, I bit the bullet and decided to go back to school. The doctor allowed Danny to go back, too, but he had permission to leave if he couldn't hack a full day of school.
As if nothing had changed, I picked John up at his house. There was no way in hell I'd drive Caitlyn. I wanted nothing to do with that girl. Instead of her taking the bus, their mother drove her to school. Danny sat in the passenger's side while John sat in the back.
"You guys are like the talk of the school," John said. "You know that, right?"
I laughed to myself as Danny shot his twin brother the middle finger.
"Hey, I'm just giving you the head's up," John said.
"Don't you think we know that?" Danny said, leaning against the door, closing his eyes.
"Are you all right?" I asked Danny. "You don't have to go, you know."
"I'm fine," Danny insisted. "I'll be fine."
"Seriously, man, if you..." John started, genuinely concerned for his brother.
"Shut the fuck up, Johnnie," Danny said with his eyes, still closed.
"Hey," I snapped at Danny. "Stop being an ass. John's worried like everyone else."
"No one else is worried about me," Danny said.
"Forget it, Ari," John said. "You can't talk to him when he's like this."
As I walked down the hall at school, students stopped, stared, and whispered. Not only did I have to deal with the accusation, but now the entire school knew Ari Loew was gay. In today's world, being gay wasn't such a big deal, but it seemed to be a big deal in this school. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Danny Collins was Ari Loew's boyfriend. It wasn't easy being both Jewish and gay in this predominantly white, Christian town.
Once everyone got wind of what Caitlyn did to me, she was shunned and ousted. She was like a pariah.
Caitlyn Collins was the most hated girl in school, maybe in the school's history, maybe even the town's.
My first reaction was, "good, she deserves it" and I somehow felt vindicated.
Caitlyn couldn't even walk down the hall without someone stopping and staring. People would whisper "crazy bitch" as she walked by. Her head was always purposely tilted down. She had every reason to be ashamed and she had her own sick, twisted reasons for why she did what she did.
Call me crazy, but I felt sorry for her. I wasn't as vengeful as some people would have been. She must have felt so alone. If I were her, I would have asked to change schools.
Still, not ready to forgive her, I wasn't about to go up to her and talk to her. I just hoped she wouldn't do anything to hurt herself like Danny did to himself.
"Is Caitlyn okay?" I asked John one morning on the way to school.
"What do you think?" he replied. "No, she's not okay."
"Is she getting help?"
She needed more than a little help.
"She's been in therapy for years," he said. "She's really sorry, you know. She'd take it all back if she could."
I wanted to believe that, but I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to forgive her.
By noon time, Danny had had enough and ended up in the nurse's office. Between the lights and the noise, his head couldn't handle it. I drove him back to my house, then went back to school. I never thought I'd say this, but I missed school.
When I returned home at two thirty, Danny was lying awake on his side in my bed, his back to the door. So much for sleeping in his own room. His clothes lay in a heap on my floor.
"Do you think I'm ugly now?" Danny asked.
"What?" I said, walking toward my bed.
"My hair's all cut off, I have a big gash in the back of my head..."
The gash wasn't nearly as bad as Danny thought. Because the doctor used glue instead of stitches, his hair was a sticky, gooey mess.
"It's not permanent," I said. "I like your hair. I can see your eyes. It's a good thing your hair is short, though, isn't it? You would have had to cut it all off, anyway. You're not ugly. You're as handsome as ever. I mean it."
Looking over his shoulder, he half-smiled. In typical Danny fashion, he didn't believe me.
"Take off your clothes and get in bed with me," he said.
Even though I had tons of school work to catch up on, I did as Danny said, obediently shedding my clothes.
"And your underwear," he said as I was about to get in bed with him.
I slipped off my boxers and got in bed beside him.
"Hey, that's not fair," I said. "You're still in your underwear."
With his back still facing me, I tugged his underwear down to his ankles. After Danny kicked them off, I wrapped my arms around him.
"Happy now?" he said.
"Yes," I replied, kissing his neck.
Placing a hand over mine, he slid it down his front.
"I don't think you're well enough for that," I said.
"I just want you to touch me," he said.
"Yeah, but touching usually turns into something more," I said.
Sighing, Danny rolled onto his back.
"I feel okay right now," he said. "I might not feel okay in an hour, but who knows?"
I propped myself on my elbow as Danny lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. I dragged my finger over Danny's chapped lips. He playfully bit my finger before I pulled it away. In the middle of a giggle, I kissed him. Very quickly he returned my kiss. With his fingers tangled in my messy curls, he kissed me harder, accepting my tongue in his mouth. It felt like forever since we'd kissed like this. His fingers made their way from my hair to my chest. As he squeezed my nipples, I moaned into his mouth. I loved it so much.
"I don't know if you're supposed to be doing this," I said.
"Ssh," he said. "Stop thinking so much. I'm okay."
"Maybe you should talk to the doctor," I said.
"About what? About when I can fuck again? I didn't have a heart attack."
"If you can fuck you should have stayed in school," I lectured him.
"Oh, fuck off, Ari," he said, flinging the covers off. "You can be so boring. You worry too much."
He got up and proceeded to pace around my room, beautifully naked.
"You worry too much. You worry about everything, Ari."
"So sue me for caring," I said, throwing the covers over my body. "Get back in bed."
"You think I'm ugly, don't you? That's why you don't want to be with me."
"I already told you you're not ugly. I'm not a liar."
With his arms folded across his chest, he stood at my far window, peeking through the blinds. He missed his family, notably John, but wouldn't admit it.
"You forgive me, right?" he said.
I got out of bed and went to him. Standing behind him, I brought my arms around him, burying my head in his neck.
"Yes, I forgive you," I said. "And I do want you."
He pulled away from me and turned around to face me. He kissed my lips once and hugged me.
"You're crazy, you know that?" he said. "If I were you, I'd hate me."
"It's a good thing you're not me," I said.
He kissed my lips again, followed by my neck and shoulder and chest, slowly getting down on his knees.
"Danny..." I cautioned him. I didn't want him passing out.
"Stop worrying," he said, looking up at me. "I'm fine...for right now."
On his knees, he held my ass, squeezing it as he took my cock in his mouth. There was no stopping him, not like I wanted him to stop as he sucked my dick. If he hadn't been gripping my ass, I would have fallen over.
The annoying knock on my door halted this amazing blow job.
"Fuck," I muttered as Danny released me.
"Ari, is Danny in there with you?" my mother asked behind my door outside in the hallway.
"Um...uh...yeah," I replied.
"He can't be in there," she said. "Tell him to go to his room or he can go back home."
"I thought he was just supposed to sleep in that room," I said.
"Yeah, and he should be resting right now," she said.
"Fine," I said.
"Don't "fine" me," she said. "I'll give you five minutes."
"Five minutes?" Danny whispered with a giggle, still kneeling on the floor. "I got this."
He took my entire cock in his mouth, deep throating me. That did it for me.
Danny wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, standing back up.
"I'm going to be a good boy now and go to my room," he said.
"Make sure to get dressed first," I reminded him as he headed to my door.
"Oh yeah," he said.
Dizzy, he stumbled as he picked up his clothes on the floor. I ran to him, catching him before he fell.
"I think maybe I should go lie down," he said.
"Yeah, good idea," I said and kissed him before he left.