Veracity
                 By Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   It wasn't as though I was unattractive.  In fact, I was actually quite
good-looking.  I just wasn't satisfied with my looks.  Even as I sat in
front of the mirror that Monday morning I was unsure of my appearance. 
Perfectionists get that way, I guess.

   "Damn it," I said in frustration as I ran a comb across my hair once
more.  It hung loosely around my head, only falling to my ears or so.  As
much as I'd been told my hair always looked good, it never looked good
enough for me.

   Thinking back on it, I don't know why I spent so much time trying to
look good when I was fourteen.  I was antisocial and didn't have many
friends.  I was never after girls so there didn't seem to be a point in
looking like a lady-killer.  I just had an overwhelming desire to look
nice.

   "Much better.  Damn, I'm cute," I said to myself, staring into my own
soft hazel eyes.  I tossed my math book into my backpack and pulled on my
blue Nikes.  Taking another look in the mirror, I noticed a pimple on my
chin that had not been apparent before.  I cursed silently and walked out
the door.

   "Kyle, you're going to be late for school again," my mother informed me
as I grabbed an apple on my way through the kitchen.

   "Whatever."  I shrugged her off and walked out the door.  Mom and I got
along fine, don't get me wrong here.  She just had a tendency to nag like
that.  It was more a game than anything.

   I didn't like apples, either.  Taking one in the morning just kept her
from offering one to me.  I only took them because they made a nice
splatting noise when thrown.

   The walk to school was short.  It was less than half a mile away and in
the nice October weather, a pleasant walk.  Of course, being a teenager, I
complained the whole way.

   "Hey, Kyle!" a boy called from a nearby house as I crossed the street. 
I looked over.  Jesse Wildman.  He greeted me every morning as I left home,
but I usually didn't acknowledge him.  It mostly just got on my nerves.  I
spun to the left and threw my apple as hard as I could in his direction.

   "Missed me," he said with a smile as he approached.  I didn't stop
walking, but he accelerated to walk with me.

   "I hit your house, though," I said proudly.  I don't know why, but I had
just always alienated myself from Jesse.  It started in third grade when he
moved in across the street and none of the kids at school liked him.  He
was kind of a nerd, I guess.

   "Mom won't care," he said without concern.
   
   "Your mom doesn't care about much, does she?" I asked sarcastically.
   
   "I guess not.  Happy birthday."  I stopped and turned to Jesse.  He'd
never said happy birthday before.  In fact..

   "How'd you know it's my birthday?" I asked.  I never really told anyone
my birth date because I never celebrated it.  It didn't mean much to me.

   "Your mom mentioned it," he replied.  I shook my head and looked at
Jesse trying to figure him out.  He certainly confused me and despite my
negative feelings for him, I was talking to him.  It had never really
happened before.  I usually just ignored him.

   "When were you talking to my mom?" I asked as if he'd been trespassing
on my territory.

   "Why are you being so defensive?  She came over to talk to my mom last
week and she was talking about your birthday.  She wanted you to have a
party but you didn't want to or something like that," he said.

   "You don't have many friends, do you?" I asked with more sarcasm than
before, trying to change the subject.  I didn't enjoy being called
defensive, despite the fact that I was.

   "Neither do you.  I have enough friends," he said.  "I'd be your friend,
if you'd let me."

   "Whatever.  If you wouldn't be such a nerd, people would like you
better," I explained.  It wasn't that Jesse was a huge nerd, because he
really wasn't any more.  I just got some sort of juvenile pleasure out of
belittling the poor boy.

   "Kyle why are you always so rude to me?" Jesse asked bluntly.  I started
walking again and again he kept pace.  I wasn't going to get out of this
one doing anything short of running.

   "I don't know," I said as we entered the schoolyard.  And I didn't know.
   
   
   
   The hours came and went with little activity.  Despite my easy mastery
of most classes, school bored me and I frequently neglected to do my
homework.  I maintained a B average only because the teachers liked me.  It
was just who I was.

   "What color is your hair, exactly?" came that familiar voice from behind
me.  I leaned forward at the table, allowing my hair to fall in front of my
face.  I set down my hamburger and turned around.

   "You ever wait 'till you're in front of somebody before talking to
them?" I asked in my usual tone.  Jesse walked over and sat down in the
seat next to mine.

   In all the years I'd known him, he'd never approached me at school.  It
was certainly in my nature to avoid him because most others had over the
last six years, but I wasn't sure why.  He'd certainly never tried to sit
with me at lunch.

   "Sometimes.  What color is it?" he repeated the question.  I looked over
at him and a chill ran down my spine.  I realized that I was looking right
into his eyes -- something I'd never done before.  They were a piercing
blue and seemed to catch the attention of everything in the room.  Why had
I never noticed that?

   "Hello?  Kyle?"  How long had I been staring at his eyes?  I wasn't
sure.  I shook my head and winced as though I had a headache.  It certainly
wasn't the best cover I could come up with, but it'd do.

   "Uh..  Dirty blond.  You think maybe I sit alone at this table for a
reason?" I asked.  I felt very ill all of a sudden.  I realized then that
I'd been staring at the eyes of another guy.  Wasn't there some sort of
commandment against that?  I excused myself and left.



   The next day I didn't go to school.  I told my mom I was sick and she
called me in sick.  I lay in bed all day thinking.  Nothing more, just
thinking.  One day I was ignoring Jesse like I'd always done and the next I
was talking to him and staring at his eyes.

   My mind trailed off to his eyes.  When I was alone in my bedroom, it
didn't feel as bad to think about them.  At the time, I was fourteen. 
Sexuality was a new topic and because it was socially correct, I liked
girls.

   Not that I was very social.  I wasn't.  I looked at girls and if such an
opportunity presented itself, I dated girls.  But it meant nothing to me. 
It was empty.  I wanted something more, but was never sure what.  And then
there were Jesse's eyes.



   "Hey, Kyle!" came the same voice from the same house as it did every
morning.  I stopped and waited for the shorter boy to catch up with me.  He
walked up to me and we continued walking.  After several minutes he asked,
"Why weren't you at school yesterday?"

   "Didn't feel like going.  Why are you talking to me so much lately?" I
asked in response.

   "We've walked to school together for years, I just figured we ought to
talk.  I know you could use a friend," Jesse replied.  Could I?  He was
right, but I hadn't walked with him to school by choice.

   Jesse just followed me every day.  In the beginning, he'd tried to talk
to me.  Sometimes I'd answer his questions just to shut him up, but over
time he began to limit the conversation to "Hey, Kyle."

   "You want a friend?  Come with me," I said as I altered my path. 
Instead of following the road as I did every morning, I turned down a path
into the forest that lined the road.

   "We'll be late for school," Jesse reminded me.  I looked over at him and
smiled.

   "We aren't going to school," I informed him.  He seemed a bit shocked.
   
   "But we'll.." he began, but stopped.  I smiled again, but this time to
myself.  For the first time, someone wanted to be my friend and I was ready
to let him.  Even if it was Jesse Wildman.

   "No, we won't.  Nobody will care," I said.  We were silent for the rest
of the walk into the shaded forest.  Jesse looked confused as I stopped at
a tree, but I quickly scaled its branches and he followed.

   "What are we doing here?" he inquired once we were settled in the tree
branches.  The first thing that crossed my mind was that it was a stupid
question.  We were ditching school.

   "Since when can you climb trees?" I asked.
   
   "Why don't you ever just answer questions?" Jesse asked in frustration. 
I smiled at the thought that something I did bothered him, but then
suddenly felt embarrassed.  It no longer seemed right to get pleasure out
of tormenting Jesse.

   "Sorry," I said in a sudden lack of words.  "We're.. uh.. ditching
school."

   "Why?" Jesse replied.  Again, a stupid question, but I might as well
answer.  I wouldn't want the conversation to die.  The last thing on Earth
I wanted was to be stuck in a tree with Jesse Wildman all day without
something to talk about.

   "I wanted to see how bad you want a friend.  We can sit here and talk
until 2:30," I answered.  The response contented Jesse and he leaned back
against his branch and relaxed.  We'd be there for a while.

   The conversation stretched on for hours.  While Jesse complained of
hunger around 1:00, I reminded him that we didn't want people to know we
weren't in school so he'd have to wait.  Other than telling him it was
stupid to ask for food in a situation like that, I was nicer to Jesse than
I'd ever been before.

   Three times that day I found myself looking at Jesse.  Not just looking
at him because I was talking to him, but really looking.  Staring even. 
His chestnut brown hair was cut nicely, but his looked as though he gave it
less attention.  His skin wasn't very tan.  He probably spent a lot of time
indoors.  And despite his nerdy appearance, he had muscle.  It wasn't
over-built muscle, just enough to be attractive.

   'Woah, backup,' I thought to myself.  Had I just called Jesse
attractive?  Even if I only thought it, it caught me off guard.  Jesse and
I had a lot in common.  I'd never realized that before.

   We discussed our entire lives that day.  I didn't think there was
anything about Jesse I didn't know and I told him more than anybody knew
about me.  And despite the six years of bad feelings I'd had towards him,
when we parted at 2:45 that afternoon, I was sorry to see him go.



   "Kyle, are you awake?" came the same nagging female voice that woke me
every Saturday morning at precisely 9:00.  My eyes flickered to life as I
found the sun pouring into my east-facing bedroom.  It was falling in the
wrong place, though.

   "I am now.  What time is it?" I asked, annoyed.
   
   "8:00, honey," Mom replied.  I looked at my alarm clock and pulled the
blanket over my head.

   "It's eight fucking o'clock in the morning, why are you waking me up?" I
asked, more annoyed than before.

   "Jesse Wildman is here.  I didn't want to make him wait for you, you're
so slow in the mornings," she answered.  I sat up quickly and jumped out of
bed.

   I ran my hands through my hair, trying to make it look presentable, and
practically flew down the staircase.  As I entered the living room, my
heart skipped a beat.

   "Hey, Kyle," he said.  I sat in the chair across the room from him and
tried to keep my eyes from popping out of my head.  Jesse was wearing Levis
jeans.  He usually did.  They were torn at the knees, the result of his
mother's lack of enthusiasm to buy new clothes.  He was wearing a striped
shirt, again not unusual.

   What caught my eye was his face.  I don't know exactly what he'd done
differently, but it occurred to me suddenly that the boy was gorgeous. 
This time, however, unlike all the others, it didn't bother me.

   "What's up?" I asked.  Nothing better came to mind, though I found
myself wishing I'd come up with something more to say.

   "You always sleep in your clothes?" Jesse asked disapprovingly.
   
   "Usually.  You always wake people up at eight a.m.?" I replied with a
smile.  Again, I regretted speaking without thinking because my tone was
sarcastic.  Jesse didn't seem to mind.

   "Sometimes.  I been up since six.  You don't even look like you slept at
all," he commented when he saw me yawn.  Something clicked in my mind.  His
tone was almost flirting.  Was Jesse Wildman flirting with me?  No. 
Certainly not.  Guys don't like guys.  But I liked him.  I'd figured that
much out already.  Could he?  Definitely not.  Maybe.  My mind raced.  What
do I do next?  If by some odd twist of fate he was flirting, there was only
one thing to do.

   "You have no life at all, do you?" I asked with a grin.
   
   "I guess not.  Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today,"
he asked kindly.  Did I?  Would I risk being seen in public with this
nerdy, little, beautiful child?  I think so.

   "Lemme shower.  You can wait in my room and play video games till I'm
done," I offered.  Jesse cordially accepted and, seeming pleased with my
acceptance, walked to my bedroom and turned on the N64.

   The tension was killing me as I climbed out of the shower fifteen
minutes later.  Had he been flirting with me?  Why did he want to hang out
today?  Why was he so friendly this week when we'd never had a real
conversation before?  Was I acting different?  Would he notice something? 
I needed answers.

   I walked into my bedroom with a towel around my waist.  We'd showered
for years in P.E. and Jesse had certainly seen me naked before so I thought
nothing of dressing with him right there.  I never looked at him as I
clothed myself for two reasons.  First, I was wondering if he was watching
me, but too scared to check.  Second, I wanted to give him an opportunity
to look at me.  Sound weird?  It gets worse.

   "What do you eat for breakfast?" Jesse asked when I was dressed and
fixing my hair.

   "Fruit loops," I said without giving it any thought.
   
   "Fruit loops, how gay," Jesse joked.  He said it jokingly, but it hurt
me suddenly.  I changed the subject.

   "What do you want to do today?" I asked.  He wanted to hang out, but I
had no idea what that implied.

   "We're going to the mall," he replied.  That sounded good to me.
   
   "Your mom is actually going to leave the house?" I asked with more
insult than I had intended, and certainly more surprise.

   "Not we as in my mom and I, we as in you and I," Jesse corrected.
   
   Mrs. Wildman hadn't left the house much since Jesse's brother and father
were killed in a boating accident the year before.  Actually, I hadn't seen
her leave at all since then.  My mom went over to their house with
groceries once a week and helped with chores because she felt sorry for
them.  We certainly had the money to support them, I guess there was
nothing wrong with helping out.

   "How do you plan to get there?" I asked cautiously.  My mom would
probably drive if I asked, but then I'd be forced to hear her comments on
the whole situation.  And she would certainly have comments.

   "I'll drive," Jesse offered.
   
   "You're fourteen," I reminded him.
   
   "Not like mom needs the car or anything.  I take it sometimes, she never
really cares," he explained.

   "Well, I'm the one who lives dangerously, I guess.  Alright, lets go," I
said.  I gave my hair the finishing touches and we were out the door.



   "So where did you learn to drive, anyway?" I asked once we were on solid
ground and in the local mall.

   "I taught myself.  It's actually pretty easy.  So where do you buy your
clothes?" Jesse seemed in a hurry to do what ever it was he wanted to do. 
I found myself enjoying spending the time with him more and more and did
nothing to protest.

   "Huh?  Oh, Penny's," I answered.  Okay, he wanted to buy clothes.  That
sounded like it'd be fun, for a while.  I actually didn't like buying
clothes, but that was because I always did it with my mom.

   We found the J.C. Penny's store and Jesse chose a whole new wardrobe,
with my help.  We took our bags out to the food court and sat down to drink
milkshakes.  I hadn't eaten anything yet, but I wasn't very hungry.

   "So why the new clothes, anyway?" I asked.  I had been curious, but
didn't want to discourage the kid.

   "You were right, I'm too nerdy," he replied.  Oops.  It suddenly
occurred to me that it was my fault he'd spent nearly two hundred dollars. 
I also hadn't asked where he got the money.  I suddenly felt I had to
apologize.

   "Oh, I'm sorry.  You look pretty good like you are," I offered.  I was
flirting again, but this time not on purpose.  Not wanting to make him feel
bad about buying new clothes, I added "But you'll look great in the new
duds."

   "Yeah, thanks," he said and took a drink from his shake.
   
   "Jess, you aren't really all that nerdy.  I was just being mean," I
apologized.  Well, it wasn't so much an apology, but I meant it to be.

   "Yeah, about that.  Why are you always so mean?" he asked as if
genuinely hurt by my attitude.  He'd never acted as though it affected him.

   "I dunno.  Just insecure, I guess.  I'm trying to be nicer.  It was nice
of you to remember my birthday," I answered.

   "I try.  You want to go play in the arcade?" he offered.  Arcades were
one of my favorite places and I think he knew that.

   "Sure, but not the one here.  It costs too much.  Lets go down to Kikx,"
I agreed.  He tossed his empty milkshake cup into a nearby trash can and we
headed for the door.

   "Since when can you throw that well?" I asked on the way out.  I guess I
was being stereotypical, but I didn't think nerds could throw things more
than a foot.

   "I got a basketball hoop in my backyard.  It's my favorite sport," he
replied.  Well, I guess you learn something new every day.  I had no idea
he played basketball.

   "Why don't you ever try out for the school team?" I asked.
   
   "I have a nerdly reputation to maintain," he said with a wink.  I smiled
to myself as we fell into his car.



   "Where the fuck did you learn to play like that?" I asked after a few
minutes of silence.  It was getting dark outside and we were laying in the
grass on the hill behind my house.  We'd divided the whole day into the
mall, restaurants, and arcade.  He'd beaten me at my favorite video game,
Mortal Kombat 4, nearly every time we played.

   "You really want to know?" he asked, gazing up at the stars as they
began to appear in the sky above us.

   "Yes, I really want to know," I demanded.  I raised my knee and placed
my hands behind my head and looked for the same stars that had his
attention.

   "I seen you play it a few times and wanted to beat you because I thought
it would impress you," he replied.

   "You learned to play Mortal Kombat to impress me?" I asked, stunned. 
Nobody had ever tried to impress me before.  Nobody.

   "I guess so," he replied sheepishly.
   
   "Wow.  Is that why you play basketball, too?" I asked, again stunned. 
The pieces suddenly fit.

   "Yeah.  I just.." he trailed off.  He was trying to say something, but
he just couldn't.

   "You just what?" I asked, encouraging him to finish the sentence.
   
   "I just like you and I don't know why.  But you've always been so.. so
mean to me.  I wanted to impress you so you'd like me, too," he said.  He
looked over at me for a response, but I didn't quite have one.  As I gazed
into his eyes and reflected over the past week, I understood it all. 
Everything made sense to me.

   "I do.  Jesse Wildman, I think I love you," I said.  There was no
deception in my voice, no sarcasm, no concern.  Only the truth.  He knew
that somehow and what he did next nobody could have predicted.  He kissed
me.



   The next week, Jesse didn't walk to school with me.  I suspect that he
drove because I didn't see him at all outside of class.  We avoided each
other, not so much on purpose, but because we needed time to think.  Our
lives were changing around us.  We needed to think.

   That one kiss changed everything I had ever known.  It changed my
thoughts and my way of thinking.  It changed my temper, my attitude, and my
heart.  Things were suddenly more clear than they had ever been.  So why
was I avoiding Jesse?

   Two weeks later, on October 31, I showed up at Jesse's door with a smile
on my face.  He allowed me into the house and led me to his room where we
could talk.

   "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you," I said in a low voice.
   
   "No, it's okay.  I've been avoiding you, too.  I just needed time to
think," Jesse replied.  I felt less shy staring into his eyes, but still
somewhat insecure about it.

   "Yeah.  It's the first time in six years I walked to school alone for
two weeks straight.  It was kind of lonely," I admitted.

   "I know the feeling.  I guess I'm used to being lonely," Jesse said. 
For as strong-willed as I was, I felt my eyes practically boil and a warm
tear run down my cheek.

   "I.. uh.." I studdered.  Jesse put an arm around me and I leaned on his
shoulder.

   "It's okay.  I know exactly how you feel," he said.

   "Yeah."  For as embarrassed as I usually felt about crying, I was
totally comfortable being there with him.  Jesse was somehow different.  He
was my idea of perfection and for a perfectionist, that's saying a lot.

   "Kyle are you a virgin?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.  I
noticed he was rubbing my arm as he spoke.  It felt warm and comforting.

   "Yeah.  You?" I asked.  I'm not sure what prompted the conversation, but
as he rubbed my arm, a stirring feeling in my chest told me where it was
going.

   "Yeah.  Kyle, when you said you love me, did you mean that?" he asked.
   
   "Yeah.  I guess I did," I answered.  I looked up at Jesse and realized
that I would do anything for him.  I suppose I needed to realize that
because I knew what he was going to say next.

   "I love you, too.  Kyle would you do something for me?"
   
   "Anything," I answered with as much heart as I could put into it.
   
   "Would you fuck me?" he asked blatantly.
   
   "Tired of being a virgin?" I asked him, trying to determine if he was
joking around (which he rarely seemed to do) or if he was sincere.

   "Kyle, I've been in love with you for years.  I can't think of a person
I'd rather lose my virginity to," he said.  It made me feel good inside. 
Not good like when I'd insulted him.  Not good like when I'd made myself
look better than him.  Really good.  He thought very highly of him.

   "You mean like now?" I asked, trying to feel clarify the request.  I
realized over the last two weeks that I did want him sexually as much as I
did emotionally.  Hell, I'd jerked off thinking about him.  A chance to
have sex with him wasn't something I'd pass up.

   "Yeah, I mean now," Jesse said as he reached his hand into a box on a
shelf near his bed.  He extracted a small foil package and tossed it to me. 
A condom.

   "Take off your clothes," I instructed as I pulled off my shirt.  I
hadn't actually looked at him naked because until recently I'd thought that
was a little weird, but I had a good idea of how good he'd look without
clothes.  My imagination hardly did him justice.

   Jesse had been working out simply to catch my attention.  He'd mentioned
it to, but I had no idea what to expect when he pulled off his shirt.  He
was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen.  I almost tore my shorts off and
my eyes never left Jesse as I undressed.  When he pulled down his boxers,
he did so without hesitation.

   Up to that point, I'd never gotten a good look at a guy naked.  Without
a computer, I had little access to good pornography and without anybody
living in the house besides my mother, I had no access to even mediocre
pornography.  I'd sneaked a few peeks at guys in the P.E. showers recently,
but nothing that would constitute a good look.

   "My god, you're beautiful," I said as the boxers floated majestically to
the ground.  I only stopped briefly as I removed my own.  Jesse's electric
eyes scanned over my body before he commented.

   "I got nothing on you," he said.  He obviously thought my body looked
better than his, but I personally wondered how anything could look better
than him.  He caught my loving gaze and smiled.

   "Least your cock is bigger," I commented.  Jesse smiled.  We were only
fourteen, but his must have been half an inch longer than mine.  It was
thinner, though.  It didn't really matter to me because, like I said, we
were only fourteen.

   "Yeah, well, how do you want me to be, here?" Jesse asked.  Not really
knowing what I was doing, I motioned for him to lay on his back.  He did
quickly, anticipating what was to come.

   I tore open the condom package and trying not to look too eager, I slid
the latex circle over my awaiting hard-on.  It was cold, almost arctic in
the cool air.  It felt good, though.

   I moved toward Jesse who had his legs in the air and pressed the head of
my cock against his tight hole.  I had no idea what I was doing, having
never seen or tried such an act before.  I simply pushed slowly at Jesse's
ass.  The head of my cock made it in, despite resistance.  And I pushed
further.

   "How does it feel?" I asked, concerned.  It felt good on my end, but I
wasn't the one with a pole stuck two inches up my ass.  I smiled at the
thought.

   "Well, it kind of hurts, actually," Jesse replied honestly.  I laughed a
little.

   "I can stop if you want," I offered, although I didn't really want to.
   
   "No, keep going.  It's fine," Jesse assured me.  He winced slightly as I
pushed again, but closed his eyes as a feeling of pleasure began to sweep
him.  The pleasure wasn't all his, though.

   As my stiff cock was fully engulfed inside my young lover, I felt a
feeling like I'd never imagined.  I pulled out until only the head of my
hard-on was inside of Jesse, then pushed again.  He moaned with pleasure as
I repeated the motion in succession.

   "Oh my God, this feels good," I said as I accelerated the motion.  I
looked at Jesse who was only leaning back with his eyes closed and stroking
his cock and then down at my own tool pushing in and out of his posterior. 
It was stimulating, to say the least.

   "I'm not sure how it feels on your end, but my end feels good," Jesse
said jokingly.  I smiled at him and continued.  The tight feeling of his
warm ass around my cock was certainly getting me going and I wasn't sure
how much longer I could continue without shooting my load.

   Well, I wasn't the only one.  Jesse's hand jerked quickly up his cock as
his muscles tightened.  He shot off all over his chest.  That was all I
could take.  As his ass contracted, it sent electric bolts of pleasure
across my body and I too became rigid as I came inside the condom.

   "You have no idea how long I've waited for that, Kyle."

   Spent and tired, I pulled out at fell forward against Jesse.  He kissed
my mouth warmly and wrapped his arms around me.  Exhausted, we both fell
into a deep sleep.  It was, in all real aspects of the word, Heaven.



   I did a lot of thinking over the next few days.  A lot of thinking.  I
spent hours sitting in front of a mirror looking at myself and
contemplating my future.  Fourteen is an age of confusion.  One day I was
an ordinary kid leading an ordinary life and the next it was turned
upside-down by a boy whose beautiful brown hair fell lightly over his face.

   What Jesse did to me was no small feat.  It could be described as
nothing less than brilliant.  Until him, I never knew what love was. 
Never.  He showed me a side of my personality that I had no idea even
existed just by being around me.  So why was I so scared?

   For every bit fourteen is confusing it is frustrating.  For every bit it
is frustrating it is frightening.  As a self-important teenager, the answer
may seem apparent.  It wasn't.  I had no idea what I was afraid of.  Again,
Jesse could help.

   "Then why won't you go on a date with me?" the boy asked one day during
the next week while we should have been in school.  We were laying in our
favorite tree chatting, as usual.

   "I just don't want to!" I protested, shifting my glance from the leaf in
my hand to the boy relaxing on the next limb.  He looked up at me and
smiled.  There is no single word that describes Jesse's smile, but he knew
it would affect me in ways nothing else could.  As my eyes met his, I spun
my head quickly to the side.  I knew he'd convince me one way or another if
I didn't avert my eyes from his entrancing features.

   "You're afraid, Kyle," Jesse taunted.  I looked back at him and squinted
menacingly.  He shook his head, knowing full well that he was right.

   "Am not," I argued in the most convincing voice I could muster.  Jesse
chuckled a little and tossed a twig at me.  I caught it in my left hand and
twirled it in my fingers.

   "Admit it, hair-boy, you need people's attention," he taunted again. 
Jesse was never malicious with his taunting.  He knew it would get to me. 
He knew how much I enjoyed it.

   "Do not," I argued again.  Jesse only laughed and tossed me another
twig.  He was trying to mock my repetitious replies.

   "You're an egomaniac."  The boy, hardly fourteen, smiled with a wild
vengeance that tore at the very fabric of my soul.  I had exhausted what
few options I had.  I had to submit.

   "You driving?" I asked in submission.  The question seemed to please my
companion as he dropped from his tree branch with the largest look of
achievement I'd ever seen.

   And for the first time in my life, I'd met my match.  I'd met him and I
loved him.

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   As always, I do my best to write a good story.  The title took some
thought, I wanted something that could be emotional or convey the ideals of
the story.  I decided on "Veracity" because I liked the sound of it.  Look
it up in a dictionary if you don't know what it means.
   So, I hope this story got the point across and I hope you like it.  Send 
comments to me at GideonVI@aol.com please.  I like them.  Thanks for 
reading. -Paul