Trouble by Taylor Jamie Beckett Read Free Book Online

ever
larger.
    His
gaggle of goons loved this. It was an ingenuous
punishment.
    “ Please don’t do it Byron,” Natalie said nervously. “You can
walk out of this.”
    “ You stay out of this Nat. I still have to deal with you and
that new kid on the block,” Russ said sharply.
    “ Natalie, don’t worry. I can handle this,” Byron reassured
her.
    Matt ran
up, “Byron you don’t have to do this.” He turned to Russ. “I
challenge you to a fight. If I lose Byron does what you tell
him.”
    “ My fight is not with you lover boy.”
    “ Matt, it’s okay. I can handle this my way.”
    “ I haven’t finished with you,” Russ said angrily as he looked
at Matt. “You’re going to get your fight before the end of the
day.”
    “ Russ you’ve always hated me so I’m going to do as you say but
you must agree to two things.”
    “ What?”
    “ Stop bullying and stop hitting girls. Stop terrorizing boys on
empty street corners.”
    “ Lord Byron has become a knight in shining armor,” he said to
his gaggle of goons who cackled. “And he’s a fag lover to
boot.”
    “ That was really cruel of you. No one deserves to be
bullied.”
    There
were murmurings of support from the crowd.
    “ Once and for all, I humiliate myself and make you very happy.
But you must stop your bullying. Get counseling or whatever. Get a
better life. Act normally.”
    “ What if I want to humiliate you and continue with the
bullying?” he sneered.
    “ If you don’t agree, then we’ll shoot this out.” There was a
dangerous tone to Byron’s voice that Russ sensed immediately. Byron
was well known for being such an excellent marksman and he was not
keen on a shootout. Besides, walking half naked in the school would
bring him so much shame that he would not be able to live with it.
It was a win-win situation for Russ and he smiled slyly. He had the
upper hand.
    “ Agreed,” he smiled confidently.
    Byron
took of his sweater and jeans and sneakers until he was only in his
underwear. There was a collective gasp of admiration from the
onlookers as he walked slowly and confidently to the bathroom.
Byron was handsome with a perfectly chiseled body and he was also a
hero for standing up for the downtrodden and those who were
bullied. He didn’t know it then but he would become a legend in
years to come.
    Students
cheered him as he walked to the bathroom about 20 feet away and
looked contemptuously at Russ and his goons.
    As he
walked a freshman asked, “Can I have your weight training
program?”
    “ Sure,” he said.
    “ If you need a friend let me know,” a junior with long dark
hair said.
    “ I’m kind of occupied,” he said politely.
    “ Thanks for standing up for guys like me,” Quentin
said.
    “ Be glad to.”
    Cell
phones clicked furiously. The students recognized a hero in the
making.
    Too late,
Russ was consumed with impotent rage. The punishment had backfired.
Byron had not been humiliated. He had become a star at his
expense!
    Byron
dressed and came out to a hero’s welcome as students milled
around.
    Natalie
hugged him, “You’re the craziest sonofagun I have ever met. You’re
impossible, Brother.”
    He felt
very tense and hoped that she hadn’t noticed. His overwhelming urge
at that moment was to kiss her passionately. And brothers didn’t do
French kisses. He just hated it when he was hugged for being a
brother. Maybe I should have an ‘attitude’ and look really focused
like Taylor Lautner, he thought wistfully.
    Quentin
came forward and Byron shook his hand uneasily. It wasn’t because
he was wary of Quentin. He’d heard about his gay parents and was
anxious not to say or do anything that might be seen as being
socially incorrect. He wanted to relax and just talk to Quentin but
worried that he might say something that was misconstrued as
insulting to his family. In fact, while walking around in his
underwear, he had wanted to show his support for him by hugging him
but worried that Quentin might have