The Halloween Incident Read online

  “You could say that, Danny.” He whispered, “It was never this good with anyone else.”

  “I bet you say that to all the guys.” Danny dismissed the compliment and Tristan looked shocked and then punched him in the shoulder, “ouch! What was that for?” Danny complained, rubbing the reddening area,

  “That was for bein’ an asshole, Danny.” Tristan said, his voice sounding hurt, “Take a compliment, dickhead.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry.” He held up his hands in submission, “I gotta admit, though, I didn’t know I could make someone scream like that.”

  “I screamed?” Tristan asked, suddenly worried, “I hope no one heard us, shit.”

  “It’s Sunday and it’s almost lunch time, Tris, there’s no one around to hear you, believe me. Next time you might wanna consider stuffing something I your mouth though.”

  “Next time?” Tristan asked, smiling saucily, “There’s gonna be a next time?” Danny returned the smile and answered softly,

  “Oh God yes.” He reinforced the answer with a kiss, pressing his lips to Tristan’s. They wrapped their arms around each other and Tristan nestled his head into Danny’s shoulder where they fell into a deep, satiated, and contented sleep.

  Chapter 8: What Happens Next

  What happens when your roommate becomes your lover? What happens if your roommate is straight and you are gay and he suddenly becomes your lover? What happens if you have a bunch of friends who are about to find out that you are sleeping with your straight best friend and roommate?

  All these questions were running through Tristan’s head as he lay wrapped in Danny’s arms on Danny’s bed. Despite Danny’s assurances that he wasn’t confused Tristan couldn’t help feeling that, in the cold light of day, there were going to be some hard times ahead as Danny came to terms with what was essentially a life changing event. Tristan was fully prepared for everything to go belly up, even though he knew it would break his heart to lose Danny as a friend. Losing him as a lover would be equally as heart breaking because Tristan had to admit that the sex had been amazing. Just thinking about it was causing a physical reaction.

  They had made love all Sunday afternoon and it had been incredible. It was now close to dinner time and Tristan was beginning to feel quite hungry since they had missed lunch. His stomach growled as if on cue and he wondered if they should actually get up and go for something to eat. He could hear Danny’s steady breathing, signifying he was still fast asleep. Slowly he lifted his head. He didn’t really want to disturb his friend yet. He did want to look at him though. He looked peaceful and content. Tristan smiled and laid his head back down onto Danny’s chest with a soft sigh. Danny moaned softly in his sleep and his arms tightened their hold around Tristan’s shoulders making him feel warm and comfortable and safe.

  He had always felt like this with Danny, from the very first moment they had met. He hadn’t had many straight male friends who weren’t worried that he was trying to jump them. Danny had been a breath of fresh air and a ray of light. He and Tristan had hit it off from the beginning. He remembered their first day at College, just over a year ago.

  Tristan had arrived at College in style, in a classic VW Beetle that had been a graduation present from his parents. He had finally persuaded his parents that they didn’t need to come with him and they had seen him off at the steps of the family farm house. His mum had been quite clingy, and he had felt really guilty about being relieved to be finally on the road without parents. He loved them dearly and he counted himself very lucky that they were so supportive of him and accepting of his sexuality. He knew others whose parents had not been quite so accepting and open minded.

  As Tristan had arrived he had been practically attacked by a very enthusiastic and very good looking VW lover who had proceeded to talk ninety to the dozen about VW Beetles and Camper Vans and how he came from California and his dad had owned a Camper when he was a kid; and how he had wanted one but hadn’t wanted to bring it to college; and could he take a look at the engine while Tristan registered and found out where his dorm room was?

  Tristan had gone to wade through the organised chaos of a first day at College wondering if the guy ever took a breath. He had returned to his car with the number of his dorm room, the block it was in and the name of his roommate. The amazing looking VW freak, grease monkey was still there with his head stuck in the engine. Tristan realised he still hadn’t introduced himself to the guy, who had now been joined by several other guys and a few girls. As he joined them the enthusiast had welcomed him back with gusto,

  “Here’s the guy himself.” He had called, “I didn’t even get your name, dude,” he held out his hand to shake Tristan’s, “I’m Danny, Danny Taylor.” Tristan stared at him for several seconds,

  “Not the Danny Taylor that is staying in Dorm 727, Block A?” Tristan had asked, reading from the card in his hand,

  “Yeah, why?” Danny had asked curiously,

  “I’m Tristan,” Tristan introduced himself, “Tristan Gillman and apparently I’m your roommate.”

  “Hey, that’s great, two VW freaks together.” Danny had slapped him on the back and a friendship had been forged.

  Danny’s enthusiasm for the things they had in common hadn’t even waned when Tristan had told him, later as they were left to settle into their dorm, that he was in fact gay. He had decided that it would be best to be upfront about it rather than let his new friend find out later and be all strange and weird about it. As it happened Danny’s brother was gay, and Danny had grown up within a family that had been just as accepting as Tristan’s was. Danny was more than okay with it, he was delighted that Tristan was so open about his sexuality and had been his champion and his unofficial protector ever since.

  Tristan slowly and carefully shuffled off the bed to answer the call of nature. When he returned to the bedroom Danny was sitting up finishing off the last of the donuts he had brought them for breakfast,

  “Hey!” he greeted Tristan, his mouth full, “I hope you don’t mind, this was yours, but I’m starving man.” There was no hint of awkwardness in the way he was talking, no shyness, no reaction to the fact that Tristan was standing in front of him completely naked except a slight raise of his eyebrows as Tristan had appeared. In fact it could have been any other Sunday afternoon spent recovering from a hangover and eating each others’ donuts,

  “You’ve got a good right to be starving there Danny,” Tristan observed, his eyes twinkling, “Unfortunately, so am I.” he made a dive for the rest of the donut in Danny’s hand and grabbed it from him before he could take another bite. Before he could get it to his mouth however Danny had wrestled it away from him. They both tumbled from the bed, pulling the sheets off on top of them, laughing and snorting as they wrestled for the donut.

  At some point the donut was forgotten and Tristan found himself pinned beneath Danny, their bodies entwined. They gazed at each other, breathing heavily and not just because of the wrestling match as Tristan could feel Danny’s erection pressing against his thigh,

  “Having a bit too much fun there Danny?” he asked, unable to hide his grin. Danny returned the grin,

  “Can never have enough fun with you, Tris.” He whispered as he claimed Tristan’s lips and they kissed, tongues entwined, passionately and enthusiastically. Tristan’s own arousal was evident between them and things would have progressed as they had before if they hadn’t been interrupted by a loud knocking at their door,

  “Shit.” They both gasped in unison. Danny rolled off Tristan and grabbed his sheets. Tristan found his voice first, although it was slightly high pitched,

  “Who is it?” he called as he dived across the room to his own bed grabbing his pants from the floor as he did,

  “It’s Rueben.” The med student’s voice called from the other side of the door and the two men exchanged shocked glances, “We came to see how you’re doing, dude, and if you’re both coming down for dinner. Is Danny still there?”

  “I’m here.” Dann
y squeaked, then turned back to Tristan with a grimace and hissed, “We?” Tristan shrugged, “How many are there for fuck’s sake?”

  “Shit, Danny, I thought you said they weren’t coming up?” Tristan hissed as he pulled on his pants and jumped into his bed, messing it up to make it look like he had been there all day,

  “That was this morning, Tris.” Danny hissed back as he quickly straightened his sheets and pulled on his own pants, “They obviously got impatient waiting for us to come to them.” He stood at the side of Tristan’s bed and looked down at his friend, “You sure you’re up to this?” he asked, concern etched on his face as he pulled on a T shirt, not noticing if it was his or Tristan’s,

  “I’m fine, Dan, really.” He reached up to touch Danny’s arm, “You better let them in before they start thinkin’ we’re up t’ somethin’.” He smiled.

  Danny bent down to plant a kiss firmly on Tristan’s lips leaving him flushed and breathing heavily. Then he walked as casually as he could to the door to let in Rueben and whoever else had come with him,

  “Boxers,” Tristan hissed in alarm and without even diverting from his route Danny bent to pick up his and Tristan’s boxers, roll them together in a ball and deposit them in the laundry sack they had hanging on the back of their door. Tristan tried desperately not to giggle, but lost the battle and had to stuff handfuls of his sheet into his mouth to stifle it. Danny could feel his own mouth twitching into a grin and physically pushed his face back into a semblance of a normal expression as he unlocked the door and opened it.

  Reuben, Steph, Carly, Jason and Scott piled into the room, which was quite spacious for a dorm room but still pretty crowded with seven people crammed about Tristan’s bed.

  Danny almost lost his composure again when he saw the performance Tristan put on for them. He had managed to pull on a T Shirt, which Danny noticed was actually his, and was sitting up in bed playing the part of an injured soldier. Carly and Steph sat either side of him, hugging him, stroking his bruised cheek and crooning over him like he was a poorly puppy. Danny stuck his fingers into his mouth and made retching sounds as they did to which Tristan’s response was a two finger salute. Danny’s reaction caused Steph to put her arms around Tristan protectively,

  “Shut up Danny, we were all worried about him.” She pouted, “Just because you aren’t the hugging type.” She buried her face into Tristan’s hair and Danny flicked his eyebrows ironically at Tristan who snorted, turning it quickly into a cough.

  Rueben, sitting on the end of Danny’s bed noticed the exchange with some interest but dismissed it as simply Danny and Tristan playing around. Jason and Scott, oblivious as ever to the subtle nuances of social interactions, planted themselves on Tristan’s desk by the window to wait for Steph and Carly to finish their fawning over Tristan,

  “So how are you, dude?” Reuben asked once Tristan had extracted himself from the clutches of Steph and Carly. They both sat at the end of his bed, their legs crossed,

  “I’m okay, bud.” Tristan told him, and everyone, “You didn’t all have to come up here.”

  “Oh but we did.” Carly told him, reaching out and touching his knee. Her dark eyes were full of concern for him, “You didn’t come down for breakfast or lunch. We were all so worried about you.” Tristan gave her one of his winning smiles and she blushed,

  “Thanks, Darlin’” he murmured, covering her hand, “Danny’s been lookin’ after me though. He brought me some breakfast.” No one but Tristan noticed that Danny was blushing as he said this. At least he hoped no one else noticed,

  “You know it’s all over the College, don’t you?” Jason piped up from his perch on the desk. Tristan turned to look at him, some alarm showing on his face as his eyes met Danny’s then quickly looked away,

  “What do you mean, Jay?” he asked. Jason jumped down and sat on the swivel chair, he pushed it to Tristan’s bed,

  “Everyone’s talking about how Troy beat you up. Dude, everyone seems to know. But you know what else is going around?”

  “Jason!” Reuben, Carly, Steph and Scott all said together in a warning tone,

  “What?” Jason held out his hands in a gesture of innocence, “He’ll find out eventually, he should know now so he’s got some come back when someone tells him, or shouts it at him.”

  “What’s going on Jason?” Danny asked his voice low. Tristan groaned inwardly at Danny’s protective instincts. He could see Steph and Reuben, who were the most observant of their group, already putting two and two together. He wasn’t sure that he wanted anyone to know about them right now, and he was sure Danny wasn’t ready for even his friends to know that he was actually not as straight as they all thought. Jason gave Reuben a rebellious look and explained just exactly what he had meant,

  “There are rumours that Troy is going around telling everyone he beat you up because you came on to him.”

  Tristan gave a strangled gasp and Danny couldn’t hold back his own gasp of outrage,

  “That bastard.” Tristan spat, surprising everyone with the anger in his voice, “Asshole, bastard.” He shuddered a little at the out and out lie that Troy was telling about their encounter in the bathroom. Tristan felt his face growing hot and he exchanged glances with Danny, who was itching to sit beside his friend but his bed was already overloaded. Reuben saw the exchange,

  “Did you?” he asked Tristan bluntly, eliciting another strangled gasp from both Tristan and Danny, “Did you come on to him?”

  “No.” Tristan almost shouted, his face a picture of disgust and outrage, “Why would you even think that? I hate his fuckin’ guts, Reuben, why would I come onto a homophobic, asshole, dickhead like him?” Tristan’s voice got progressively louder as he said this. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands as he tried to calm his anger and distress at the words that had hit very close to the mark. He had no wish to break down in front of everyone so he got up and disappeared into the bathroom leaving everyone stunned that he could be so upset by something that wasn’t true,

  “Are they really saying that?” Danny asked Reuben. The tall med student nodded his head,

  “Apparently a lot of people were willing to stick up for Tristan, a lot still are, but Troy came up with that story and some backed down. It still doesn’t excuse his beating Tris to a pulp though.”

  “You didn’t believe it though, did you?” Danny asked them all. Everyone shook their heads. Danny particularly regarded Reuben with narrowed eyes, “Then why the hell did you ask him if he had?” he suddenly exploded, “Jesus Christ, Reuben, he’s had a hard enough time as it is without people, his friends, asking him stupid questions and believing malicious rumours.” He turned and followed Tristan into the bathroom leaving the others to stare at each other helplessly.

  Tristan was leaning against the edge of the sink when Danny entered the bathroom. His head was hanging and Danny could see his shoulders were shaking. He walked wordlessly up to him and wrapped his arms around him. Tristan melted into the embrace and held onto Danny as he fought against the tears that were threatening to come again. This time they were tears of anger though,

  “Why would they think that, Danny?” he asked, “I know I ain’t no angel, but shit, I don’t go outta my way to get beat up. Do they think I have a death wish or somethin’?” Danny shook his head sadly,

  “I don’t know, babe. Maybe you should tell them all what really happened?” he suggested and instantly regretted it as Tristan’s head shot up and he pushed Danny away from him,

  “Yeah, that’s really gonna help, Danny.” He said sarcastically, “It’ll just sound like I’m tryin’ to put the blame on him when everyone, even my friends think that it was me that made the first move.”

  “Hey,” Danny said angrily, forgetting to keep his voice low, “Don’t get angry with me. It’s not my fault that you have a fucking reputation, Tristan.” Tristan gasped and stood, his nose close to Danny’s as he began to shout,

  “So you think it was
my fault too do you?” he yelled, “That’s not what you thought last night or this morning.” He pushed Danny by the shoulders, “Or were you just saying what you thought I wanted to hear so you could fuck me?”