An Aussie Teen Romance

Declan O'Reilly's teen years had always been miserable, with bullies seeming to line up to taunt him. Sure he never liked sports or "blokey" stuff like most other boys did but no-one else seemed to cop as much shit as Declan did. Even one of his former high-school teachers had called him a sissy, not once but twice.

Declan was a grimly shy 15-year-old boy who had lost his father to cancer when Declan was just a small child. It had been hard yards forever as far as Declan was concerned, and he had never experienced much happiness around other kids. But he was loyal to his mother and stoic in the way he coped with being picked on.

So when Declan's mum moved them from the Melbourne suburb of Aspendale to the country town of Orbost in eastern Victoria, Declan wasn't expecting things to get any better. And in the first couple of weeks at the Orbost secondary college, his expectations were confirmed - he was harassed and verbally abused by several kids in his year-9 class.

Declan remembered the day in February as he was heading out of the school grounds when three boys from his class confronted him. They had followed him as he walked home several times this past week, calling him a pansy and a queer.

This time they seemed emboldened and more menacing. As Declan moved to step around them one of the boys called him a faggot and shoved him hard, and Declan fell to the ground.

Declan had never been physically assaulted before and he felt helpless to do anything about this attack. Out of nowhere a guy from the year 11 class had appeared and offered Declan a hand to get back on his feet.

The guy was pretty muscular, and he snarled at the bully-boy that he'd better not touch Declan again or he'd get his face re-modelled. Then his hero had introduced himself as Robbie, and also introduced his buddy Luke. Robbie had texted Declan his mobile number and told him to call if ever he had any more trouble.

To Declan, Robbie was not just his saviour, he was the most beautiful boy Declan had ever seen. He was strong, good-looking, he had given Declan his phone number. And he had called Declan "Dec". Declan had never liked his name being fore-shortened, but when Robbie called him "Dec" he was suddenly happy to be so called. Declan was awe-struck.

Not long afterwards, Robbie had invited Dec to come with him to Luke's house on a Sunday to train with them. Luke's dad had a gym set up in the garage and they did boxing training with him on weekends. Dec would never have turned up if anyone else had suggested it. But it was Robbie who had invited him so Declan couldn't say no.

Robbie had helped Declan to put on a set of wraps, and Dec felt a scary thrill as Robbie held his hand while winding the wraps onto Dec's hands. Then they had done some cardio to warm up, after which Robbie had helped Dec to put on a pair of bag mitts and they started hitting the big punching bag together.

Dec's arms felt like they were about to fall off, but he just couldn't give up with Robbie beside him. Robbie told Dec he was doing great and Dec felt six foot tall.

Then Luke's dad had said Luke and Robbie would do some sparring, and Dec was horrified that they were going to hit each other. But he soon realised the two boys were keeping their punches light and mostly ducked or blocked each other's punches; and they seemed to be enjoying their combat practice. Afterwards, Robbie had invited Dec to train with them next weekend also, and Dec once again couldn't say no to Robbie.

During the coming school week Declan kept an eye out for Robbie and was crushed when he saw Robbie holding hands with a girl at lunchtime, the two of them looking very "into" each other.

But later in the week Robbie had reminded Dec about training on Sunday so he had agreed to be there. Robbie's mother Angela drove them to Luke's home at Marlo for the training session, and Luke's dad drove them back afterwards. And it was on the way back that Luke had suggested Dec come with him and Robbie to the boxing gym in Bairnsdale on Tuesday afternoon after school.

Dec was massively nervous, but Robbie had assured him it would be just like they had done on Sunday but with more people in the class, so Declan had said he would ask his mother. As it turned out she was keen for him to do something that might build his confidence, as long he didn't get hurt; we had assured her the boy would be safe.

Declan had soon settled into the training routine. Robbie and Luke had both praised his efforts at training and he had begun to feel more confident in himself. Friday was the day when some of the boys did sparring practice, and slowly but surely over the passing weeks Declan began to feel drawn to the idea of trying it out.

After a couple of months Declan finally had a few one-minute rounds in the ring with another boy, and Robbie had put his arm around him and told him he did great. Dec knew he wasn't ever going to be a star but he felt immensely happy that he had finally done something that would have paralysed him with fear not long ago.

During a weekend away in Traralgon when Robbie and Luke had both had a boxing bout, Declan had been able to talk to Luke's gay dad Denis. Dec had admitted he liked Robbie and Denis had realised Dec was crushing on Robbie and reminded him that Robbie was straight. Denis had told Dec he felt sure he would find a boyfriend before too long, but Dec had trouble believing it.

But over the summer school holidays, one of the other Orbost boys from his class had invited Dec to come fishing with him. Dec had no clue about fishing but Rory showed him the basics though he only caught one tiny fish that had to be thrown back into the Snowy River.

Afterwards Rory had walked with Declan back to Dec's house. There was no-one else home, as Dec's mother was at work. Dec had invited Rory in to play a video game, but as they sat side-by-side on the edge of Declan's bed, he soon became aware that Rory had stopped playing the game and was looking directly at him.

Then Rory reached his hand up to Declan's face and ran his fingers over his cheek. Dec had no idea what to do - this was scary, but it felt good. Then Rory had leaned forward and kissed Declan on the cheek, and whispered "I really like you Dec".

Dec's defences crumbled. He said shakily "I like you too" and tentatively returned the kiss. Rory had then wrapped his arms around Declan and kissed him on the lips, this time with some passion. Dec was in heaven.

Despite the social confidence he had gained in the past few months, Declan had no experience of romance. If Rory hadn't made the first move, Dec would never have dared try anything. Now, lying fully-clothed on his bed with Rory holding him tight, Dec was almost over-come with the emotions he was feeling.

As they cuddled together on the bed Rory told him he had never had a boyfriend, and Dec admitted the same. Rory then asked Dec if he wanted to be boy-friends, and Dec had said yes, he wanted that. And for the rest of January they spent most of their time together, discovering each other's bodies and emotions.

Declan was still going for training runs with Robbie a couple of nights each week. He still felt the need for Robbie's approval but had taken Denis' advice that having Robbie as a friend was better than not having Robbie at all. Dec had told Robbie he had been fishing with Rory, and occasionally mentioned other activities he and Rory had undertaken together, but he avoided telling Robbie that Rory was now his boyfriend. It was too soon, and Dec was scared that his new-found happiness might not last.

When college resumed and Dec and Rory started year 10, they were careful not to give away any clues that they were boyfriends. But after school most days Rory would come to Dec's house for a cuddle before Dec's mum got home from work.

Early in their friendship Rory had brought Declan to his house one weekend and introduced him to his parents, Ian and Kate, and the boys had gone to Rory's room to play games. Rory had a lock on the inside of his door so he used it to ensure they would not be interrupted.

Dec had several visits to Rory's house, but the boys were always careful not to give anything away. Then one weekend in late February Rory told Declan he had decided to come out to his parents.

That Sunday over dinner Rory told Ian and Kate he wanted to talk, and then quietly revealed he liked boys, not girls. Rory's parents had been 100% supportive, telling him they had thought for some time he might be gay, and that they loved him without reservation. Rory had broken into tears and his dad had held him tight and told Rory he was proud of him.

They had then asked Rory if his friend Declan was more than just a friend. Rory had said he was in love with Declan, that they had been boyfriends for a few weeks. Ian had then told his son that Dec was welcome to stay overnight whenever Rory wanted him to.

Rory and Declan came to the fight night in Bairnsdale in March, to see both Robbie and Luke compete. They got a lift in with Luke's boyfriend Jake and his dad Laurie. After the show Luke and Jake had gone back to Marlo with Luke's dad, Robbie had gone home with his girl-friend and her dad, and Laurie was taking Dec and Rory home.

Settling into the back seat in the dark, Rory had held Dec's hand, and Dec was hard-pressed not to kiss his boyfriend right there and then. But modesty prevailed. He didn't realise that Laurie had briefly looked their way as he was starting the car and had noticed them holding hands.

The weekend after the fights, Robbie and Luke were taking some time off from training, so instead of Declan's usual Sunday training session at Luke's house, he and Rory had been invited to a barbecue lunch with Luke and his father Denis, and of course Luke's boyfriend Jake was coming with his dad Laurie, so Dec and Rory would get a lift with him.

Dec didn't know the other four already suspected he was in a relationship with Rory. But Rory had told Dec he was ready to tell the other guys, so after the barbecue lunch Dec had revealed that he and Rory were together.

There had been much congratulation and hugs, and then Laurie had confessed that he had seen the two boys holding hands in the car the previous Saturday night, so Declan's announcement hadn't been a big surprise. Then Luke had said "Well go on then Dec, make it official, kiss your man" and Dec had blushed before taking Rory in his arms and kissing him deeply.

Minutes later, Dec's phone buzzed with a text message; it was a "congratulations buddy" message from Robbie, who had just been texted by Luke.

In the space of just a year Dec had gone from being a bullied and lonely kid, to a more confident and contented young man. Friendship and love had worked their miracle.