Val 'n Tyne

by Hans Schreiber and Flip McHooter

Chapter 15

Once Mrs. Hardcastle left the cafeteria to go back upstairs to check on Val, Dane looked at Tyne and asked the question about the elephant in the room, "So are you and Val some kind of item?"

"No, of course not. We're just friends. Val's not gay, you should know that if you're on the team. He's had girlfriends."

"So has Nick, but his newest girlfriend appears to be Noah." Dane smiled and maintained a piercing stare into Tyne's eyes.

"Well, you're off base about Val and me. We're friends – just friends."

"Okay. Cool. Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"That's exactly why I don't want to go back to school tomorrow. Everyone will be jumping to conclusions like that. You just barely told me you'd stick up for me and then you go and ask the exact same question." Tyne could feel his face warming and his heart rate rising. He was losing it and getting defensive like he tended to do. He willed himself to calm down like his Sensei had taught him.

"Sorry. You're right to call me on it. I'm really sorry. I get it. It was just something Val's mom said. I misinterpreted it, I guess. Sorry, don't be pissed at me, please. Sometimes I say the stupidest things at the stupidest times and I wonder afterwards what I was thinking. I don't know if that ever happens to you, but it happens to me all the freaking time and it just pisses me off. Like when coach showed up to practice and I asked him if he got a raise. When he asked me why I would think he'd gotten a raise, I said it was because his new toupee looked expensive. Damn, was he ever pissed. He made me run so many up and backs that I threw up, right there on the center line of the court and then he was even more pissed. I spent the next hour mopping the whole freaking gym floor. That was because I stepped in it before I …"

"Dane."

"…went to get the mop and tracked it all across the floor. I'll never forget that day as long as I live and you can bet your ass I never said…"

"DANE!"

"Huh, what?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. Just take a breath. Anything else you want to ramble on about before we go up and see Val?"

"Um, well, actually… there is one little thing. Well, it's not really little, but …"

"Spit it out, already!"

"Whew, okay. Here goes. Since you said you're not seeing anybody, and I like just came out to you and all, and you're kinda cute and we sorta know each other and all, so, well, do you think you'd wanna go out with me? It wouldn't have to be like a big deal or anything," the dark red-headed boy started blushing, "just like a movie or a coffee or we could even …"

"I don't know, nothing against you or anything, but I wasn't really planning on getting into any kind of high school, umm … you know things. But, I guess just like hanging out would be okay. Yeah, so call maybe. Like friends." Tyne said with mixed emotions. On one hand here was this cute, goofy kid who was really all gay and wanted to date him. On the other hand was Val, someone who he was totally infatuated with but liked girls too.

"… you know, just hang out at my house and watch …"

"Dane! I just said yes. Just as long as we keep it chill. Put your number on my phone and then let's go upstairs and see Val."

"Yeah, I can do that. Awesome! We can definitely keep it chill. The two of them dumped their trash and set the plates and trays in the bins then made their way upstairs via the same elevator. "You first," Dane said holding the door open with a huge smile on his face. "I didn't want to take any chances. Next time you do a face plant on me I'd like it to be less public." That made Tyne giggle. "I hope he's not sleeping. I have to go to work later so I can't stay real long. I just wanted to tell him the guys on the team are thinking about him."

"Where do you work?" Tyne asked as they got off on Val's floor.

"I'm helping my brother at the Subway at the Commons. It's easy work. That's where I saw Nick and Noah last night."

"So much for them being top secret."

When they arrived at the room, Noah was in the middle of a semi-theatrical production over some story about a psycho patient his father had been the nurse for and everyone was laughing at his antics. Tyne spied the creole nurse headed towards them just before they entered the room.

"So then this poor innocent young candy striper comes running out of this guy's room all frantic like," Noah was saying, "and so my dad goes in to see what's going on and this crazy fat guy's laying there with a boner saying, 'The aliens got her. She had the disease. She needed me to inoculate her with the needle. They gave me the antidote. You have to stop her, she'll spread the disease." Everyone laughed as Noah played it up. "So my dad told the wacko that he had a dirty needle and told him they put dirty needles in the hazardous waste container on the wall and pointed to it. He told him if he pulled his dirty needle out one more time, he'd cut it off and stuff it in the container. No more problems from the alien abductee after that. He actually wore a baseball hat lined with tin foil while he was in the hospital so the aliens couldn't track him down. They let him wear it just so he would settle down." Everyone was cracking up.

"Noah, shush. The Voodoo Queen is coming back," Tyne said.

"Oh Lawdy, Lawdy. Hide me from dat Beech. Qvickly, man, afore she crack me upside da head and I gets in mah own coma and hafsta get in dat bed next ta Val here." Everyone laughed again until she actually did show up with a nasty scowl.

"All rights, whud'd I tells ya, huh? Who wants da first crack at me? I'm trowin' yous all out. Family only. Friends, OUT wit ya, an' I don' mean in a minute, I mean rights now. Las' one to leave gets ta be admitted dem own selves after I crack dem upside da head." The fact that she used the same phrase that Noah just had when mimicking her cracked them all up again and she actually smacked Nick on the ass as he scooted past her.

"See you later, Val. Get well quick," Nick called back as he exited.

"Ciao for now, big boy," Noah called out with an over exaggerated wave and added, "Coming Tyne?"

Tyne drooped when he realized he wasn't going to get to visit with Val at all that day and started to leave with the others when Val spoke up, "Tyne, dude, you can stay. You're family."

Tyne stopped and looked at him quizzically. "The nurse said family can stay and you're my brother."

"Oh really? Iffin heez yur brudder, I'ma yur sister. I don' see da resemblance, none."

"Well that's because he's my brother from another mother."

The scowl gave way to a small smile as she said, "Well den, I spose he gets ta stay but only if'n he kips heez voice down low, lawk I said before, man. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tyne said deferentially. He was about to throw in that he'd just arrived and hadn't been the loud one, but thought it better just to drop it. Then he realized he had no ride home. "But, I have to leave anyway." Nodding toward Nick, he added, "He's my ride home."

Seeing the disappointment on both Tyne's and Val's faces, Mrs. Hardcastle agreed to provide Tyne a ride home if he wanted to stay. He immediately brightened and thanked her.

Dane stepped over to Val's bed, bumped knuckles and said, "Guess it'll be a short visit, unless I'm a brother from another mother too."

"Sorry about that, dude. Thanks for coming though. It was awesome of you. Tell the team I'll be back soon."

Dane got an uncomfortable look and glanced over at Mrs. Hardcastle.

"What?" Val asked, recognizing something was up.

"We'll talk about that later, dear, when you're home."

"Talk about what? Don't be keeping shit from me. What's up with basketball?"

"Val, your language."

"Don't put me off. What about basketball? Tell me."

The other two boys, Nick and Noah, had turned around and were crowded in the doorway anxious to hear what was going on as well. The nurse sensed Val's mood shift and decided this was not a good situation developing. "All rights, you threes, ouda here, afore I hafsta crack yur skulls like chikin eggs and scramble yur brains in a skillit."

Dane seemed almost pleased to escape the uncomfortable situation and retreated to the doorway, "Catch ya later, Val. Get better okay?" He shot a quick look at Tyne, and gave him a slight smile and a thumb's up sign.

They all disappeared and the nurse bowed out as well.

"Tyne, do you know about the basketball thing?" Tyne stood there and quietly nodded. "Well, isn't that great? Dane and Tyne know about it, but I don't. Just F'n great! The whole F'n world knows about it, but I have to wait until I get home. That's bullshit. Tell me what's going on with basketball."

"Val, sweetie, calm down. You shouldn't get so upset."

"I'll calm down if you tell me what's going on with basketball."

"All right, I'll tell you. The doctor who examined you said that he saw you had other head trauma from hitting your head at the last game," Val's mom began.

"That was no big deal. All I got was a little headache from it," Val protested.

"A headache that lasted all night and most of the next day. Remember, it was still hurting you up at the lake," Tyne spoke up.

Val flashed him an angry look and said, "Who's F'n side are you on?"

Tyne flashed with a quick tempered sharpness of his own. "I'm on your side -- the side of your safety. There's more to life than basketball."

"What do you know about it? You don't play shit, except maybe the skin flute," Val shot back.

Tyne was cut deeply by that and he retreated back a couple steps on the verge of tears.

"Val, that was unkind. Don't be like that. Tyne's only thinking of your well being."

"Well I'm not quitting basketball if that's what you're saying." Val spit the words out and folded his arms in defiance.

"No, you don't have to quit. The doctor is just restricting it for a month, as long as you recover well. He did say if you were his son, he wouldn't let you play again at all, but we're not saying you can't play again. You just have to be sure it's safe."

"Doctors are over protective nerds. They just don't want to get sued. There's no reason I can't play. I feel fine except for a little headache."

Tyne was scowling and looking at the floor. "It's just for a little while," he said quietly. "It's for your own good."

"I'll miss playoffs. No way. I'm playing. I don't care what the doctor says."

"You can't dear. The school won't let you play unless the doctor signs off."

"They don't have to know. You don't have to tell them what happened. I can text Dane and tell him not to say anything."

"Val, be realistic. You can't hide what happened to you. Everyone will know."

"Oh, that's right. Tyne here shot his F'n mouth off on TV about it. Damn, this whole thing just pisses me off."

Tyne started to lash out at Val in defense of himself, but instead he just rushed out of the room and down the hall. He met Mr. Hardcastle coming out of the elevator and nearly ran him over the way he'd done to Dane. It startled him out of his blind fury and he stepped aside. "Hello Tyne," Mr. Hardcastle said in a cheerful voice.

"Hello sir. Umm, excuse me." Tyne quickly jumped toward the elevator and stuck his hand in to stop the doors. They reversed and Tyne slipped in without another word. The second the doors closed, Tyne started crying. They were tears of anger, frustration, and sadness. He slumped into the corner of the elevator and covered his face in his hands - his soft, petite hands.

In the room, Val's mother was still scolding her son for his inexcusable behavior when Buford bounced in cheerfully announcing, "Mission accomplished. I got your truck and quad out of the river and back home."

"Well that's some welcome news," Polly chirped. "Isn't it, Val?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I have to say, the truck is pretty beat up, but the quad is completely salvageable. A little work and it will be good as new."

"What about my truck? Can I still drive it?"

"No. I'm afraid not, son. I didn't want it to be a big shock to you when you get home and see it in the driveway, so I took some pictures." Val's dad pulled his phone from his pocket and played around with it unnecessarily long in order to locate the pictures. "Ahh, there they are." He held the phone up for Val to see and the color drained from Val's face. He reached up and slowly took the phone from his dad and peered closely at the wreckage.

"It's F'n destroyed! Just like the rest of my F'n life. My truck, my sport, my reputation, my self image and probably what few brains I had will be gone too. I don't even know who I am or what I want anymore. I was just trying to be good and help people and all I got was shit for it." Val dropped the phone on his chest and pressed his fists to his eyes. "My head hurts. Call the nurse and get me some more drugs."

"Val, how do you ask?" his mom chided.

"PLEASE call the fucking nurse and get me some fucking drugs. Is that better?" Val sniped.

His mom stepped back looking wounded and glared at Buford. Buford got the message, recovered from his own shocked state at Val's outburst and reprimanded, "Val, I know you're hurting, but that's no way to speak to your mother. You apologize."

"Are you going to lecture me to? Forget it, I'll do it myself." Val fumbled with the call button until the light outside his door lit up. Nurse Danielle sauntered in, acknowledged the parents and asked what he needed.

"Drugs. My head hurts."

"Let me check." After going back to the nurses' station to take a quick look at his chart, she came back and said, "Okay, I can give you something. I'll be back as soon as I get the keys to the meds locker from that new nurse. She's something else. She keeps saying she's going to start cracking skulls around here." She disappeared and Val's father tried to calm him down by explaining that the doctor warned them about some possible anger and depression with this type of head injury and that Val should try to fight against it like he had been doing.

"Well I've lost interest in trying to be all nice. I'm miserable, my life's F'd up and I just want it all to go away, so if you don't want to see me like this, just leave."

At a loss for words, Polly and Buford held each other and looked sadly on as Val struggled within himself. Danielle returned and shot the magic serum into his IV. She took the opportunity to update his vitals, peeked under the gown without touching and made her notes before leaving. Val's mom and dad sat in mostly silence beside the bed as Val drifted off to sleep.

"I guess we'll let you rest then. We'll see you in the morning," Val's mom said after an hour or so of watching him fitfully sleep. She patted his arm and kissed his forehead. "Love you."

"Mmm-hmm," Val muttered back.

"Bye, son. Get better and don't worry about your truck. We'll figure something out."

"Mmm."

The two left hand in hand. Shortly after they were on the way home in their separate vehicles, Tyne walked back into the lobby having made ten or more laps around the large hospital campus. He'd calmed down and was ready to face Val again. His eyes were red and puffy. He made his way up to the third floor and walked resolutely to Val's room. He was surprised to find it empty of visitors but assumed Val's parents were off doing something together or possibly in the cafeteria or out running some errand. Tyne sat in the vinyl chair and looked at Val who was resting peacefully. Tyne dozed in and out himself for a while until he heard Val's voice.

"Tyne. Hey Tyne, you awake?"

"Hmph. What? Yeah, yeah, I'm awake. Do you need something?"

"Yeah, I gotta piss like a race horse. Can you reach me the bottle? Wait, F the bottle. You know what? I'm gonna go use the toilet like a real human. Will you help make sure I'm okay standing up?"

"I don't know Val. Is it okay with the nurse? Maybe I should go ask first."

"F that. If you don't want to help me, I'll just do it alone."

"No, no, I'll help. I'm just saying we should probably check first."

"Go ahead you nervous ninny. I'll be done pissing and back in bed by the time you get back."

Tyne sighed and moved to Val's bedside as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge. He gripped his IV stand and stood up slowly. Then he sat right back down. "I'm a little dizzy. Stood up too fast, I guess."

"Let me go check with a nurse , please," Tyne pleaded.

"No. I'm all right. Just steady me." Val stubbornly stood back up and Tyne held the opposite arm from the one he was using to clutch the IV stand with. Val slowly shuffled toward the bathroom. Val paused for a minute as he approached the door and then reached out to sort of feel his way along. "Drugs must be messing with my head," Val said. He fumbled his way through the door, clinging to the edge of the jamb and then dragging his IV cart in behind him. It made a sad clanging sound as it bumped over the tile threshold. Tyne stopped at the doorway, uncertain if he should follow him in or wait outside. Val sensed his uncertain hesitation.

"You can come in. Hell, you sucked on it, what do I care if you see me piss out of it?"

"Okay." Tyne followed him and had to actually step one foot in the small shower area in order to fit. Val fumbled with pulling his gown up and holding his dick to aim, so Tyne reached over and held the gown up for him. He watched as Val let loose with a strong steady stream of dark yellow piss. The stream missed the toilet and splashed off the rim and cascaded to the floor. Val overcorrected and piss splattered on his legs. "Dammit. I can't tell where to shoot. Tyne, help me."

With his free hand, Tyne reached down and took Val's dangling hose in his fingers and aimed the flow into the bowl. Val really did have a full bladder and pissed for a long time. Finally, he finished and shook off then Tyne let the gown drop and Val slid over to wash his hands. They maneuvered back out and over to the bed and Val slid back in, sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "I didn't think that would be so hard. Why the F couldn't I hit the F'n toilet? What the F is wrong with me?"

"Like you said, it's probably the drugs you're on."

"Thanks," Val said.

"Welcome. You still mad at me?" Tyne asked as he took paper towels from the bathroom and wiped down the floor and then dried the splattered urine off of Val's legs. Val looked on with surprised appreciation that Tyne would do something so disgusting like that for him without even being asked to. He was pleased Tyne did it so he wouldn't have to confess pissing on the floor to a nurse.

"Hmm, no. What do you mean?"

"For giving the TV interview and the whole date thing that caused this mess to begin with. I didn't want to give that TV interview. She just sort of stuck the microphone in my face and started asking questions. I didn't really know what to do and it just spilled out."

"No. I'm sorry for the shit I gave you earlier. I'm just really frustrated. The whole basketball bomb really pissed me off. Are you mad at me?"

"For what?"

"How I treated you earlier. And, for letting Sylvia rub me down. I saw how you reacted to it. I could tell you were pissed off and I kind of just made a joke out of it. It didn't mean anything. Not really. The nurse really did ask her to help out."

"Oh that. No, I'm not mad. I was kinda hurt by what you said though, but I kind of figured out it was the pain talking or something because you really aren't like that. As for the Sylvia thing, it was just such a surprise and kind of a shock. I was hoping to surprise you with a candy bar and instead I was the one that got the surprise. But, you know, I don't own you. And I'm not your parents. You can do what you want with whoever you want to do it with. That's sort of why I was reluctant to do sex stuff together. I know how I get about things. Like now that Nick and Noah are a couple, if I'd done sex stuff with Noah, I'd be so jealous and hating him right now. So I'm glad we never did anything serious together." Even though he just said that, he wasn't really sure he meant it.

"Nick and Noah are an actual couple then? Shit! Like hooked up and all and doing the nasty?"

"Yeah, they've spent nearly every minute together since the dance. They're probably doing it right now as we speak – Noah on top of Nick and riding him like a rodeo cowboy at the county fair, swinging a cowboy hat and yelling, 'Yee-haw!'"

"That's a pretty funny image. I can totally picture Noah doing that. But wow, Nick. Cool though, right? Good for them, I guess. Not what I really ever pictured my best friend doing, but it's cool just the same – if kinda weird. They were pretty friendly with each other when they were visiting me earlier. I even saw Nick pinch Noah's ass, but I'm not all that sure. I think he did that. I know they kept looking at each other with goo-goo eyes. These drugs make me all sketchy and stuff. But who cares? Unlikely pair, but opposites attract, like they say."

"So they say. And more power to them. Noah needs a man. I was hoping he'd find somebody. Trust me, though, I never imagined that somebody might be a big jock like Nick."

"Are we opposites?" Val asked, after a minute, reaching for Tyne's hand and taking it in his big strong fist.

"In a lot of smaller ways, yeah, I think we are similar. Bigger ways, I'm not so sure. So, was that your way of trying to say you're attracted to me?"

"Yes. I guess I am, in some sort of … well, in a different way. But I'm confused about it, to be totally honest. Way confused, actually. But I like it, and it seems good. At least for now it does."

"Okay, I can sorta get that. This is all new for me, as well. And I like it, too."

"I was surprised that you told your mom about us and what we did up at the lake," Val said after a long pause, out of the blue. "She told my mom about us so I went ahead and confided in her all about it since she pretty much knew already. She's worried what my dad will do or say if he finds out we did stuff together and that I have feelings for you. So am I, to be honest."

"I never told my mom anything about what we did," Tyne objected. "She knows I'm gay but would never say anything about my friends like that. And I certainly wouldn't give her details of my sex life."

"Well then, why did she tell my mom about what we were doing?"

"I have no idea. Maybe you were talking in your sleep or something. I haven't even told Noah, although he keeps pressing me on it and pretty much knows something happened. But I wouldn't do that. Not to her, not to him. This is just between you and me."

"Maybe I misunderstood then. Maybe my mom made it up or something. It was whack how it all came down. I was half out of it when Mom walked in wearing your cologne that she found on the bathroom counter. As soon as I smelled it, I started getting horny for you. Without looking to make sure it was you, I exposed my bone and asked to get it rubbed, but then it turned out to be my mom instead of you and I had just outed myself to her. Plus, she found the two different sized condoms I had stashed in my room for when you slept over and sort of filled in the blanks. So I admitted to her that we messed around together some but didn't actually fuck each other, or 'stick it in our poop holes as she put it' like only she can."

"Oh my god, she called it that? That's gross. I'd curl up and die if my mom said that to me."

"Yeah, I almost did. But I'm sure she said she had already talked with your mom and thought she said your mom told her that you were gay and that we did stuff up at the lake. Maybe I'm just confused. Anyway, the point is, she knows and she's not too freaked by it. We're both kinda worried about what my dad would think and she made me promise to give girls a fair shot before I make up my mind about whether I'm gay or not."

"Pretty much what my parents said when I told them back when I was like twelve years old that I thought I was gay. But I promise you I didn't say a thing to my mom." Changing the subject, he asked, "Did you actually buy two sizes of condoms?"

Val shook his head shyly. "Just in case something happened on the sleepover. No biggie, just being cautious."

"Were you hoping for something to happen or worrying something might happen?"

"Hoping. Worrying. Both."

"I could see from the effect Sylvia had on you that you're definitely giving girls a shot," Tyne said matter of factly, attempting to keep his emotions out of his vocal inflection.

"The boner it gave me, you mean?"

"That's what I mean. The sheet looked like a circus tent when you rolled over."

"That's just the problem. You can bring in the clowns and the elephants because the big top is back up just from holding your hand. It's you, it's her, and it's even the nurse. My mom too. I'm not sure I get what's going on with my dick lately. Check it out. That's why I'm so confused."

Tyne looked away from Val's eyes and down at the sheet and smiled involuntarily. It was indeed standing tall. "It seems like I'm hornier than ever since my accident. Maybe I'm just imagining it, but I don't think so. Do you think that's possible? Maybe I triggered the horny buttons in my head or something, causing a permanent hard-on."

"I don't know. I'm just glad I still have that effect on you. I'm really glad that you're not mad at me and want to stay friends. That's more important to me than anything."

"I'm sorry for how I behaved earlier. I need to apologize to Mom tomorrow when she comes back to see me."

"TOMORROW! She's not coming back tonight?" Tyne practically screamed.

"No. She left with my dad and I'm pretty sure she said she'd see me in the morning. Why?"

"She was supposed to be my ride home tonight."

"Oh shit. That's right, you came with the lover boys. Just call her and have her come back to get you. I'm sure she didn't even think about it."

"No. I don't want to do that to her. I can just have my mom pick me up after she gets off her shift. It'll give us more time together. I'd like that."

"Me too." Val smiled and pulled Tyne's hand that he'd been holding to bring Tyne in closer and reached up with his IV impaled hand and placed it behind Tyne's neck. He brought Tyne down to his lips and they kissed. Val moaned contentedly as they pressed their lips together and Tyne nearly melted into him. When they broke their kiss, Val said, "I … have strong feelings for you, Tyne. Feelings I can't explain, but ones I can't ignore either." This time, Tyne initiated the kiss which they broke off prematurely as the door latch clattered.

An older nurse, old enough looking to be Val's grandmother, came in carrying a stack of towels and a plastic tub. "Are you ready for a sponge bath, young man? I bet you are." Val was anxious to get cleaned up but not at all anxious for this old woman to see him in his current state. She continued before Val could think of an answer, "I'm your new nurse. I went over your chart with Danielle and it seems you're progressing well. You could be going home in a day or two if you keep it up." She walked to the small table in the corner and dropped the towels and plastic basin.

When she had her back to him, Tyne reached out and flicked Val's boner and said, "I'm sure he'll keep it up all right. That's the kind of guy Val is."

Val snickered and pushed his hand away. He playfully scowled at Tyne and pulled the blanket back over him, although it only marginally helped to mask his tent condition.

She took his vitals, made her notes and thankfully bypassed the peek under the covers. Val supposed the last report must have given them comfort that all was good with everything down there. She picked up the urine bottle and looked concerned. "You're not passing enough liquid. Is your bladder full?"

"No, I just peed in the toilet a little while ago," Val answered.

"Oh. Did someone tell you that you could do that?" She asked, not really accusingly.

"No. I just did it. Why, do I need permission to pee?"

"No. It's just that we need to measure your outflow and compare it to your intake to make sure you're not retaining fluids. Please use the bottle until you're told otherwise, all right?" Tyne gave him a hard 'told you so' look.

"Okay. I didn't know that."

"Would you say you went a lot or a little or something in between?"

Tyne spoke up before Val and said, "He went a lot. It went on forever. He might have filled two of those bottles." He purposely left out the part about Val's bad aim.

The nurse gave him a quizzical look as if to ask how he would know that. "OH, I helped him get to the toilet and held his gown up while he went. That's how I know. Sorry."

"Hmm. I see. What a good friend you are."

"Brother. He's my brother," Val said.

"Ahhh, I see. Well then, what a good brother you are." She smiled in a grandmotherly way and said, "How about a nice sponge bath?"

"No offense or anything, but would it be okay if my brother gave it to me? I'd prefer that if it's okay with you."

"Of course it is. I understand that. Let me give you a couple pointers." The nurse proceeded to explain to Tyne how to put towels under Val and how to use the special dry powder stuff for the hair. "I think tomorrow you will be permitted to go take your own shower, after we get you up and walking. You'll just need to be careful of the head wound. Won't that be nice?"

"Very nice. Thanks." She excused herself after drawing the warm water in the basin, opening the soap packet and pulling the curtains around the bed. When the door latched, the two boys smiled and finished their kiss.

"You don't mind doing this, do you? The thought of her wrinkly fingers soaping up my bone, didn't appeal to me."

"Mind? Hell, I'm glad I got this job and Sylvia only got to rub a little lotion on your back. I totally won this round." He chuckled and Val did too.

Tyne pulled the sheet off and took Val's gown off completely so that he was fully naked. His erection returned to full hard-on condition as Tyne helped him roll to one side in order to place the towels underneath him. Tyne dipped the sponge in the warm water, soaped it up and began caressing Val's beautiful body. Tyne handed Val a washcloth and Val washed his own face while Tyne rubbed vigorously under Val's arms, torso and legs. He rolled Val to the side and washed his back, firm buttocks and legs. He spread Val's cheeks with one hand and smiled as the little brown eye winked at him. Tyne washed that special crevice with a separate washcloth and before tossing it, gave Val's puckered "poop hole" a playful little prodding with his cloth wrapped middle finger. "Hey now," Val said.

"Just making sure you're fully clean all over," Tyne joked. He rolled Val back over and gave special attention to washing Val's large feet and between each toe, leaving only his genitals to be done. Val had actually subsided a bit. He was still hard, just not rock hard. Unfortunately, because of the head dressing, Tyne couldn't wash Val's hair and he just carefully combed the dry powder stuff through it that helped take some of the oiliness from it. Tyne asked repeatedly if he was hurting his sore head while he did it. Val just nodded that it was fine.

Finally, Tyne soaped up his hands and began washing Val's large balls and pubes. He massaged the soap into his pubes and spread his fingers happily through them. He moved on to give his balls a gentle soaping and then washed the thick, fully erect tent pole. Tyne loved the feel of his hands slithering up and down Val's large organ. Val started to moan in delight as Tyne worked up and down his strong shaft. Tyne squirmed to adjust his own erection within his jeans. After several minutes of attention, Tyne soaked a washcloth to rinse Val's junk free of soap. "Wait," Val said, staying his hand. "Finish me off with the soap first before you clean me up."

"You mean finish you off like…" Tyne made a jacking motion.

"Duh."

Tyne smiled. "Okay. Your wish is my command." Tyne soaped his hands back up and put one hand to work caressing and fondling Val's nice balls while his other hand gripped the large shaft and worked it steadily into a frothy lather. The sensation of Tyne's soft, slippery hands rising and falling the length of his tender phallus, was just stimulating enough to the head that Val quickly reached the upper limit of his tumescent excitement. With each down stroke, Val's anticipation grew ever more intense for the ridges of Tyne's thin, strong fingers to rise up over the corona and send intense waves of pleasure emanating from the head of his penis.

"Oh my god, Tyne, that's wonderful. Your fingers are making me crazy as they drag across my head. It's so different than having my skin slide up and down. Just having your soapy hand stimulating me is F'n amazing, dude. Go a little faster."

Tyne smiled. He was pleased to bring Val so much obvious pleasure. He quickened the pace and soon, Val tensed up. With each stroke Val blew out a labored breath, "Hahh, hahh, hahh, whewwhh. Oh man, wow. Oh yeah, oh yeah, Aaaahhhhhh!" Thick wads of warm cum splayed across Val's chest and abs as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and grimaced in tortured delight. Then he relaxed – fully, gasping to catch his breath. Before he recovered, Tyne dipped a finger into a puddle and tasted it. He let it slide over his tongue and savored those most intimate trout juices from his large friend.

Val opened his eyes and smiled brightly at Tyne. "That was money. You rocked my world, dude. Thanks." He glanced down and smiled at Tyne's crotch where Tyne was gripping his own raging boner. "Pull it out and finish yourself off. I'd do it but I'm exhausted. I'd like to watch though.

"Really? Are you sure? What if the grandma nurse comes back in?"

"Then stuff it back in quick."

Tyne glanced in the direction of the door, hesitating a moment, then unzipped and fished his dick out of the fly. He spit on his fingers for an improv lube and rubbed himself frantically to fill his urgent need before he got interrupted. His heart was racing and Val was smiling as he watched. After the third attempt to lube it with spit, Val scooped up a glob of his fresh cum and reached over. "Here, allow me." Val spread his slippery cum over Tyne's quivering dick and said, "There, that should help." The touch of Val's hand and the erotic idea of his cum being spread on his dick elevated the experience for Tyne and he moved to the verge of his own explosion very quickly after that.

As the eruption grew imminent, Tyne started searching for a suitable place to shoot. Not seeing one, he cupped his hand over the tip to catch the emission. "Where's a doodle rag when you need one?"

Val spoke up again and said, "Crawl up on the bed and shoot on me. Mix yours with mine."

"I don't know. What if…"

"Stop worrying so much and just do it. It'll be hot watching you cum on me. Go ahead."

Tyne smiled and clamored quickly up onto the bed and straddled Val's legs. He scooped a little more of Val's cum up and added it for more lube even though it was going a bit watery by this point and then resumed his frantic pumping action. Tyne whimpered and thrust his hips forward as streaming blasts of his hot cum sprayed over Val's chest and rippled abs. Four good squirts and some serious oozing afterward, Tyne sat back on Val's legs supported himself with his arms on either side of Val's ribs. He was breathing heavily and smiling wide. Val reached under his arms and pulled him upward to his face. Tyne was careful not to get the cum on his clothing as he dipped his face down to kiss Val. He wished he was naked and could press his naked flesh against Val's, but he was happy to get the kiss at least.

After the tender kiss, Tyne carefully crawled off the bed, gave Val a damp cloth to wipe up with and used a second one to clean his own shrinking noodle. Tyne stuffed himself away and then finished wiping up the residue and evidence as good as possible. He rolled all the damp and soiled towels together and made a pile of them in the plastic bucket after he drained it in the little sink. He helped Val back into the clean hospital gown and pulled the sheet and blanket back over him. Just as Val got comfortable in the crunchy hard bed, the food service orderly came by and smacked something down onto his roller tray that she said was dinner, and then rolled it over on top of him so that he could feed himself. He really didn't even need his hands; it was so close to his face that he could just bend down and eat off the tray like a stray dog eating garbage left-overs.

"What is this stuff?" Val asked, taking a look under the plastic covers. It looked cold and gelatinous. "It looks worse than the stuff we get at school."

The young woman looked at the paper on the tray and said, "Since you not here to fill out own menu, you get standard 'no restriction' meal. Yellow circle is meat, sir. Maybe chicken. Nutritionist make it that way so you get well and go home soon" The young Asian girl spoke softly as she scooted towards the door before Val could ask anything else.

"It's probably the same shit they had downstairs earlier. Dane tried it, but I wouldn't eat it. It looked gross," Tyne said as he plopped into the vinyl chair next to Val and fired off a quick text asking his mom for a ride. "At least it accomplishes one objective. It's nasty enough to make you want out of here quicker."

"No shit. So…" Val started prying the waxy cardboard milk carton open and got frustrated when it just separated on the waxy side and left the carton still unopened. He gave it an annoyed push toward Tyne and finished his question, "You and Dane are friends now? What – you guys sneaking around behind my back?" Val joked. "Should I be worried?"

"What did you just say?" Tyne said, looking up with bugged out eyes. "Did I detect a little jealousy?" Staring at Val now reminded him when Val said 'whoever you hook-up with' yesterday in the hot spring. All of a sudden he was feeling terribly confused and frustrated again. But in a strange way, it felt good that Val was jealous. But then, he couldn't deny feeling somewhat attracted to Dane, too. Besides, Dane didn't have girl issues. He felt totally conflicted. Dane, Val –Val, Dane. Shit!

"Jealous? Hell no. I'm just screwing with you, dude. I know Dane's not gay, especially after the way he went after Nick in the locker room after practice. Pounded on him, actually. I had to pull him off of him. When did you guys arrange to have dinner and why eat here? You should at least have gone to a Mickey-D's or Jack-off in the box." Val asked, shoveling some of the shiny beige glop along with some rice and broccoli into his mouth.

"It was a snack really. I ran into him in the hall when I was leaving after you were being all weird in front of Nick and Noah. He was on his way in here to see you but there were too many visitors. So he followed me down to the cafeteria, that's all. It wasn't like prearranged or anything." Tyne left out the part about running into Val's mother, and about Dane coming out to him.

"That's cool. He's a big goof, but he seems like a good guy. I just know him from basketball, really. We ran in different circles back in elementary and junior high. And, of course, I still have the picture of him palming his stiffy on Nick's phone stuck in my head. That was kinda funny, but I couldn't say so at the time. I'm surprised he came to see me even."

"He seems like a really nice guy. He told me that he appreciated you sticking up for him over the Nick incident. I guess that's why he came by."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm glad he was the bigger man and forgave Nick over that whole F'd up deal."

"Shit!" Tyne said, looking at his phone.

"What's wrong, Little One?"

"It's my mom. She says she has to do a double shift and can't pick me up tonight. Now how am I going to get home? Crap, crap and double crap."

"Chill, dude. I'll call my mom after I finish eating. She'll come get you. She's the one who left you, after all." Just then, Tyne's phone chirped again.

"That's weird. It's Dane."

"What's he want?"

Before he answered Val's question, he read the message quickly to himself: 'Free 2 hang 2 nite? Wasn't needed at work. Thinkin bout u.' Thinking fast, he said, "Dane says he wanted to know how you are doing since he really didn't get to talk with you. Maybe I'll just have him come get me and let your parents relax. They must be tired, too." He was quietly excited that the red-headed jock wanted to see him again – especially so soon.

"Sure, whatever. It's all good." He wasn't really paying much attention, having gotten lost in his two cups of strawberry Jell-O.

Tyne texted Dane back and said to pick him up out front about seven, which left a little over an hour to talk with Val, and to keep him company.

The two of them talked and joked easily for the next hour or so. The kindly older nurse came in once to check on Val. Then the blood guy came in cracking jokes to take another vial or two of blood from Val. When the guy flicked his eyebrows and said in a bad vampire accent, "I've come to suck your blood," Tyne snorted out a small, derisive laugh when Val rolled his eyes. Finally the little Asian girl flitted in and picked up his empty food tray.

Tyne finally had Val all to himself. They shared secrets from each other's childhood and swapped favorite memories about their fathers. Val ended up retelling most of the fish stories he'd told Sylvia earlier. Tyne reminisced on learning to ride a bike and going to the gun range with his father and shooting the big guns, like the AK-47's and a Howell Automatic Rifle that he checked out of the evidence locker at the station even though he wasn't really supposed to. He joked that he didn't think any of the guns he shot with his father was bigger than the big gun of Val's he'd just shot off. They laughed about that. It was therapeutic for Val and indescribably wonderful for Tyne to share those memories with a real friend. But after a while, the conversation became more and more one sided and finally trailed off. Val lapsed back into a dark funk. Tyne tried everything he could to cheer up his friend, but nothing seemed to work. They tried watching TV, but nothing on a Sunday night piqued their interests. They tried watching ESPN, but a basketball game was on and it made Val even more melancholy, so he turned it off.

Around seven, Tyne got a text saying that Dane was out in front in the hospital turn-around waiting to pick him up. "You gonna be okay tonight?" Tyne said, as he got up and started rubbing Val's big gun through the sheet. "Dane's here and I gotta go home now."

"Yeah, I'm just F'n dandy. My headache is coming back like a mother and I'm feeling kinda nauseous like I wanna puke my dinner up. I hate being here. It F'n sucks. Maybe I'll get the nurse to give me another shot to load me up so I can go to sleep. You can go with Dane. Don't think about me lying here. Just gimme that pink bucket before you go, please."

"No, I can stay longer and keep you company if you want. At least until you fall asleep or start feeling better. It's no problem. I can take a taxi home. If you need me to, I can spend the night. My mom won't care. I don't really want to go to school tomorrow anyway. No big deal. I got my mom's credit card. Or if you want, Dane can come up and keep you company too. I'm sure he has some really good basketball stories to tell you. He's a crazy talker, you know."

"It's okay. He's cool, but I don't really know him that well and I'm too tired to keep talking. I'm just cranky, that's all. And I'm really, really tired now. I need to get some rest so I can go home tomorrow or the next day. I really wanna get out of here. I hate this F'n place. I appreciate all you've done already. Go home with Dane. Maybe even go have some fun to get your mind off things, Little One. But not that much fun." Tyne smiled at the use of the nickname. It seemed like a term of endearment when he spoke it.

Tyne leaned down and gave Val a kiss on the check. He tried to kiss him on the lips, but Val turned away. "I'll try and come by and see you after school tomorrow if I can get a ride, Trout Juice," he said, sort of guilty and disappointed. He hoped the use of Val's nickname would help lighten Val's soured mood swing.

"Okay, great. I'll see ya," Val said, as he searched for the button to call the nurse.

"Bye then," Tyne said, as he slipped out the door. He felt like shit - leaving his friend all alone like that, since it was basically his fault that Val was there. He suddenly regretted planting the seeds of jealousy about Dane.

Downstairs at the hospital entrance, Tyne searched in vain for Dane's car, never having seen it before. He was pacing along the sidewalk out front, looking all around for Dane. He was just about to pull out his phone and shoot off a text to him so he could find out exactly where he was parked, when he spotted this retro looking, shiny, beer bottle-green car pull up in the turn-around. It sounded 'ish', but looked really stupid. Tyne noticed the cool rims, hood scoop and tail fin, but he thought it looked like it was a small car trying to be a big car like one of those toddler beauty queens. He wanted to laugh. The car pulled up next to him and the dude inside rolled down the passenger's side window with a hand crank. "Get in! C'mon. What are you waiting for, Tyne?"

"Dane? Is that you? What the hell is this car? Is this yours?"

"It's my dad's pride and joy. It's a '70 Mercury Comet GT. Now get in!"

"What's a Mercury? Something from England?"

"No, you doofus. You wanna ride or not?"

"Yeah, I do. Okay." He opened the door and climbed in on the amazingly bright white vinyl bench seat. He had to admit that he had never seen a car like this – this old and yet this super clean. He thought the green color of the car went nicely with Dane's dark red hair. Kind of like Christmas without all of the carols and presents. It just needed some tinsel hanging from the mirror instead of the fuzzy dice on a rope. Dane kicked it in gear and the car roared down the hospital's driveway towards the street, surprising Tyne with the cool sounds rumbling out from deep underneath the seats. It vibrated his butt cheeks and made him smile. Then he wondered if this old-school bucket could kick butt on Nick's bad-ass Mustang. He thought it just might, which would be sort of cool. "Thanks for picking me up. I kinda got ditched by Val's mom."

"No problem. I hear she's kinda ditsy. I was hoping I would see you again, just didn't figure it would be this soon. But no worries – it's all good. Wanna grab a bite? I could eat a horse!"

"Yeah. But I'm not all that fond of horse meat. I'm surprised you're hungry after all that mystery meat you already had at the hospital. There's a pizza place on the way home that's pretty good. They give you free breadsticks. We can eat there if you want. I'll pay since you're driving."

"That sounds good to me. Anything is better than the stuff back there," he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the hospital. "I must be going through a growth spurt again, because I can stuff it 24/7. Pizza's cool with me."

"Good," Tyne said. They lapsed into silence while Dane paid attention to the road and Tyne looked all around the car. After a minute he said, "If this is your dad's pride and joy, how come you're driving it?"

"He gets a car from the parole department where he works, so he lets me drive this. I just have to be super careful with it, is all. If I scratch it, I'm toast, burnt toast, the kind you can't flake off into the sink. I actually like burnt toast though, which is weird, I know, but there's just something about that charred flavor that appeals to me. I even like my steaks charred – rare in the middle, like bloody, but charred black on the outside. Like I was saying, though, if I ever wrecked this thing, well, I'd be shit on toast. He'd hang me by my thumbs and do some sort of Chinese water torture on me or something like…"

"Dane, you will be toast if you don't slow down on your talking and pay more attention to the road," Tyne said with a smile. This guy's cute, he thought -- chatty, but cute. "I've been in one wreck this week and I don't need to be in another. It's okay to talk to me without looking at me while you do it in the car."

"Sorry. I got that. This was my dad's first car. He got it when he was seventeen. A couple of years ago, my brother and dad restored it because it had been sitting in my gramp's barn for a few years. I just get to wash and wax it."

"That's cool. So your dad is a parole agent?" Tyne wondered if his dad had known Dane's dad.

"Yeah. He's gonna get an early retirement soon. Budget cuts, he says. Then he's gonna do something else. He's looking forward to that. I think he's kind of tired of dealing with all the low life shitholes in the system. He's been at it for a lot of years. He tries to really help his parolees, not just do the minimum, you know? Most of the guys he works with have given up on trying to really help anyone actually reform. They call it human waste management. How sucky would it be to deal with shitholes all day and hate going to work? My dad has helped a few guys break out of the cycle, but most aren't willing to do what it takes to change. Anyway, the 'rents wanna buy a big-ass motorhome and travel 'round the states for a while after I graduate. Maybe go to Canada."

"That would be cool, for a while I guess. I wonder if your dad knew my dad. He was a cop here in Hartsdale, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I heard about him. Sorry he died. But I doubt it if my dad knew him. He works all the way over in Valley Springs. I don't think they knew each other much. My dad purposely put in to transfer over there so the low lifes wouldn't be likely to seek him out or put our family at risk if he had to bust them for breaking P. But I remember him talking about your dad when he got shot. He was in the procession from the Cathedral to the cemetery with all those other police types from all over the state. That's cool that they stand by their comrades. That's good that they band together, you know? Not many occupations do that. I think it's important. But what happened to your dad, well, that was some bad shit. Way bad. I wanted to tell you how sorry I was, but I didn't know how to say it back then. I didn't know the right words. I was way too shy when I was younger. But I'm telling you now. I'm sorry, buddy. Really, really sorry."

"Thanks. That's all right. That was a while ago. Guess you weren't as talkative back then. You seem to be making up for lost time, though. Most kids at school just looked at me all weird and stuff, or just ignored me," Tyne said, feeling sad, but in a strange way uplifted. "I was like the circus freak – fun to look at but not to talk to." He really liked that Dane had called him buddy. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go for it," Dane said, as he turned down the car's stereo. "I'm all ears." He shoved his longish red hair behind his ears when he said that. "See, I really am all ears. Can you believe how big these suckers are? Freakin' Dumbo ears."

"Do you worry about your dad getting shot?"

"Oh, hell yeah! Sure I do, all the time. But then you push it out of your head, you know? You can't keep thinking about it. It'll drive you crazy."

"Yeah, same here. I did that, but I was always still worried about him. I guess I'm just a worry-wort. My dad always said they were trained for everything and not to worry about it. That worked most of the time until he didn't come home one day. Val and I were just reminiscing about our times as kids and I got thinking about him again. You and Val are lucky to have your dad's still. You're lucky to have both parents who have good marriages. I think about that a lot."

"Man, that must have sucked big time. You still miss him, huh?" Dane said, looking over at Tyne. He felt sorry for the guy. Actually, he wanted to scoop him up in his arms and give him a hug and make the pain go away. His dick twitched in his pants when he thought of that.

"Yeah, I do, and it did. It was my worst day ever. Sometimes, I seem to forget I ever had a dad and I don't like that. It's good to remember even though it makes me sad. Even rolling Val's truck doesn't compare to that day. I worry more for my mom, though. She doesn't seem like she's moving on. I worry what she's going to do when I go to college."

"I hear you. My mom has been pestering my dad to take early retirement for years now. He's lucky he can do that since he's still kinda young and in good shape. Well, here we are. This is the place, right? I gotta park under a light."

"Doesn't this car have a cloaking device? That would be so much easier," Tyne said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Nah, it's not Romulan. I told you it's a Mercury, doofus. Besides, the generator's too small and would overheat the dilithium crystals. Even though it's a Mercury, my dad says it's made by Ford."

"Yeah, just checking." Tyne liked that Dane was a Star Trek geek, and that crack made him smile a little. Maybe being friends with Dane would be cool.

They went inside and settled into a big, deep, dark-red vinyl booth, straight out of 1950's. The restaurant was practically deserted, so they talked openly about their life's adventures and generally got to know each other a little bit. Even though they had known of each other for many years, and had crossed paths once or twice like at Knuckle's peep show incident out in the woods by the grade school, they really didn't know each other. For Tyne, it was good to know another gay guy who wasn't a big out-loud flamer. He loved Noah of course, but wasn't attracted to that kind of guy. And even though he was attracted to Dane and thought he was cute, he still hoped that something would work out with Val. He was forced to admit to himself that all the big talk about not being interested in a high school relationship was a load of crap to try and make himself feel better. Of course he wanted one. It was human nature.

For Dane, he was really excited to be out with a guy his age who had intellect and shared common interests, save for basketball. They were both in AP classes and shared a number of dreams together. It also didn't hurt that Tyne was really nice and good looking. He thought his beautiful eyes and clear skin was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He looked like a pop star on YouTube, waiting to make his big break.

On the way home, Dane played some of his favorite '70's songs on the ancient 8-track player that his dad turned him onto, even though Tyne had never heard of most of them. But he loved the way Dane got into them and started to sing along with them. Dane had a good voice and it was fun to watch his enthusiasm. They were weird bands, named Styx, Kansas and Boston. There was one by Santana that really clicked with him. He was really starting to be attracted to this guy, but every time he started to think about that, the image of Val and Sylvia popped into his head. Things were getting complicated, just like he feared they would.

When they finally pulled up in front of Tyne's house, Dane leaned over, to shut off the stereo and asked, "Can I kiss you good night?"