Gifted Bk 01 Ch 03

You know all the usual stuff, don't read if it's illegal or you don't like sex or sex between two males offends you. All characters are purely fictional, and any likeness is coincidence. Joshua Glynn reserves all rights to this story, the characters, and the world they live in.

This story is about an 18/yo boy struggling with the gifts that he possesses, and trying to find out where he fits in a modern day society.

Joshua moved to Goose Creek, South Carolina, just outside of Charleston, due to some serious girl problems. Now he has met the twins, his next door neighbors, and is feeling confused about his feelings toward them. His first day of school was great until he got into a fight with the school bully

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Gifted: Book One

Soul Mates

Redemption and Confusion

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Carrie

The day had started out as one of the best days ever. Seeing Joshua standing at the back door had made the embarrassment of that morning seem... nonexistent. Josh has to be one of the hottest guys I've ever seen, and he lives next door. Somebody's looking out for me.

I wasn't the only one looking either! The girls in AP cal were giving him the eye too! And giggling! "Oh no you don't, he's mine!" was the look I was giving them. Before I could say anything to them, the teacher walked in and started class.

It's not just that he looks dreamy, or that he has a nice body! There is something about him I can't describe. I can't help myself. I think I'm in love!

Anyway, after class Me, Cas, and Josh were walking together out of the class. I saw one of the girls that had been goggling my Josh, heading his way. (My Josh?) I stood in front of her, between her and Josh, so she could see me, and gave her a very nasty look. She ducked her head and walked away.

I smiled to myself for standing up for Josh, but then it hit me what that must have looked like. I've only known the guy for one day and already I'm laying claims. I don't even know if he likes me yet! I needed to remedy that. I had decided that I would find a way to talk to him this afternoon, alone.

I had just left Josh and Casey at their lockers, and went on to my next class. I'd been daydreaming about Josh. After the dream I had last night it was about the only thing on my mind all morning. Yep, I had it bad! I was about halfway there, when Casey entered my thoughts. 'That's weird' I told myself. 'Go back to dreaming of Josh!' Then it hit me, something was wrong. I had to find my brother quick. We have always known when one another was feeling bad or in trouble. It's just one of those twin things.

So I turned and ran back up stairs, running though people. I think I knocked down the poor girl I frightened earlier. As I approached his locker, I found a large crowd had formed around the locker area. It was the sound of a fight. Cheering! Goading! "Kick his ass Mark!" "Aww, that had to hurt!" A couple of Mark's flunkeys were running just in of front me.

Oh God! Mark was fighting my brother! He'll kill him. I made my way though the crowd just as a hushed silence was falling. The sound of hard breathing was very loud, like someone gasping for their last breath. NOO!!!

I heard a couple of teachers, "A fight, and a little one-sided I'd say. Take this boy to the office."

Mark's flunkeys were pushing their way through the crowd, leaving a path to get though. So I pushed my way behind them until I found my brother crumpled on the ground, leaning against the wall of lockers. "Oh my God! Casey!" I yelled as I ran to him. It was then I noticed Mark, on the ground in a fetal position, gasping for air. His hands were griping his stomach and his head was bloody. A teacher was attempting to figure out what was wrong with him.

I then looked down the hall and saw my Joshua being hauled to the principal's office. Josh!? Josh couldn't have done that to Mark... could he?

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James Kingston

After my Son's message I took an extended lunch break and headed for his school. On the way I received a phone call from Mr. Darwell, The principal at Stratus High.

"Hello."

"James Kingston please..."

"Speaking."

"Yes, this is Hector Darwell, from your son's school. I'm afraid there has been an incident today with your son. I would appreciate it if you could come in for us to discuss it with you and your son."

"Was he in some kind of accident?" I asked feigning ignorance.

"Actually a fight sir, instigated it seems, by your son."

"Well I'm actually in the area talking to a client I'll be there in 2 minutes." And true to my word I walked in the building two minutes later. I headed straight to the head office.

"Yes, is there something I can help you with?" asked the student behind the counter.

"Yes. I'm here to speak with Mr. Darwell."

"Oh, I'm afraid he is busy at the moment. There was fight a while ago and he is seeing to the boy who was injured."

"I'm Mr. Kingston, Joshua's father. That is the reason I'm here. How badly was the boy hurt?"

"Oh... that was fast! I'm sorry, I'm not sure really. The nurse's office is just down the hall to the left. The principal is in there and he is expecting you."

I left the main office and went to the infirmary. Before reaching the door, I could sense the pain and the fury! Entering the room, there was a young man, he was huge, looked like he was 20. He had his shirt off and I could see the damage. It looked as though he had been beat many times in the right ribs. He was bruised from just below the breast to his waistline. His head was also bandaged.

The man beside him stood up, and came over to me with his hand out. "You must Mr. Kingston. Thank you for coming so quickly. As you can see your boy did quite a number on poor Mark here." Mark just moaned

"Yes. What happened?"

"Well, according to students that were there for the fight, Casey Toma, a friend of your son's it would seem, tripped Mark up and then started the students up to laughing about it. Mark, the boy on the table, got up and shoved Casey into the wall, and asked him why he had done it. A fight between them started, but it was two on one, as your son jumped in. Mark managed to knock down Casey, but Josh was too much for him, as he threw him to the ground and began kicking him. Joshua claims different, but I think he is just trying to save himself from punishment."

"Hmm, that does not seem like Joshua to me, not the way you described things."

"Look, all parents think their kids can do no wrong, but I see it everyday. Seemingly good kids at home are little hellions here."

I did a minor probe into the man's mind, looking for surface thoughts of today. I found the three tough looking boys as they explained what had happened in the fight. The other kids around them seemed to not want to say anything, almost frightened. I didn't like it! I can tell when someone is making up a story on the spot, when I see it. Things were defiantly not adding up.

"Let me see my son."

"Of course." He led me down the hall to another room and opened the door. I had seen rooms like this many times, an interrogation room. Josh sat at a single table with a chair at either end, him in one of them. He seemed to make a slight smile as I walked in.

"Leave me a moment with my son"

"Of course."

After he closed the door, "Son, this is bad! Have you seen what you did to that poor boy?"

I thought you said you acted in self-defense. That's not what this looks like.

Dad, I hit the guy once, and put him in an arm bar!

Son, that's kind of hard to swallow. That boy looks like he was assaulted by five kids and you don't have a mark on you.

Ok Dad, just watch this!he then he opened up his mind, replaying the event through our link. I had a sinking feeling as the scene played out.

I understand now son, completely open your mind to me for a moment, please.

I felt the access to his mind open up. I went in deep to his subconscious, found what I was looking for, and suppressed it. I knew I couldn't help my son with this, my father might be able to though. I'd call him later to explain the situation. I thought to myself,

My son has no idea... well this can wait, he's safe for now, and so are the people around him.

Before I could explain anything to my son, the door opened up and Darwell reentered. He was probably hoping to catch some snippet of conversation. "So have you gotten to the truth?"

"Yes! I have, and it sits right where I always thought it would be, with my son!"

"WHAT!!?? But you have seen Mark. You know your boy is telling a boldfaced lie!"

"Is he?? First, the boy in question is a known bully at this school! A fact you forgot to mention. Second, my son cannot lie to me. He's never been successful and I don't think he ever will!" I said smiling to my son's blushing face. "Third, your eyewitnesses weren't even there for the fight. They arrived as the fight was ending. And besides you know damn well they are part of Mark's gang anyway! So Mr. Darwell, my question to you is why are you helping a known bully spread his reputation, by slanting the evidence in his favor?" I began sending strong feelings of embarrassment toward Mr. Darwell to really sink in the facts I had uncovered.

It seemed to be working. The principal was dumfounded. He said meekly "b...but how do you know all of this?"

"I'm a lawyer; its my job to know what the truth is!"

The color drained from Mr. Darwell's face. As much as the revelation that I was a lawyer as from the waves of guilt I was sending him. "Umm... I'm sorry Mr. Kingston. It's just that the injuries sustained by Mark, and physical marks absent on your son. I just..." I had him feeling like an ant right now.

"You assumed he was a new bully in school, staking his claim as the new top dog! Well my son is the farthest thing from a bully, I have ever known. He came to the aid of a friend and tried to stop a fight that Mark repeatedly refused to end. Mark is just the kind of kid that won't back down for anything, because it would ruin his reputation in the school as the number one bully.

"Joshua has been in martial arts since he was six. He is a third degree black belt and has been taught how to roll with punches to alleviate as much damage as possible, not to mention delivering devastating blows. I'm sure my son did not intend to cause the damage that he did, but he was merely trying to defuse the situation before someone else got hurt"

He seemed to believe my explanation and the dawning of his mistake was evident on his face. "I am so sorry for the misunderstanding and the embarrassment this may have caused. We were merely going on the evidence at hand, which I see now clearly indicated Mark as the guilty party." He said, sounding very sincere, well as sincere as a man can that is trying not to get sued.

"Sir, Let me introduce you to your valedictorian for this year! He will win many academic awards for you. Not to mention athletic ones too." Josh squirmed at that, he's never been much for sports, but now he was about to become great! "You need to treat him right or I will take him to a different school!!"

"Yes sir. That will not be necessary. I think your son will come to like Stratus High!" he was now saying with a smile, as he realized I wasn't intending to sue the school for gross misconduct.

"Josh if the principal has nothing else I would like you to go on to your next class please. We'll discus this later when I get home" I said to my son with a smile. He was just beaming. "I would like to have a word with Mr. Darwell."

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Joshua

Oh, my God! I thought for sure I was a goner. After the nurse told me of the damage Mark had sustained, I was mortified. How had I done so much damage to the guy? Was he going to hold a grudge? At that point my dad walked in.

He was concerned about Mark, but more about me. As I was showing him the fight as I perceived it. He was both reassured and disturbed at the same time. Kinda weird huh! He had me stop in a couple of places and took a look around. He seemed to like what he found.

He eventually asked if I would open my mind to him. Wow, what a big request. I haven't done that in five years. So, I opened up, but put a barrier around my feelings for the twins. Luckily, he didn't go anywhere near them, instead he went way back, beyond my conciseness. I'm not sure what he did, but I could feel something was different about me.

Before I could ask what he had done, the principal came back into the room. Let me tell you, my dad was brilliant. I could not believe how he stuck up for me, and he figured everything out in less than five minutes. Damn! I admire his power of clarity. He always seems to know the best way to do something. When I realized that dad was flooding Mr. Darwell's emotions with guilt, I almost burst out laughing.

Dad then proceeded to make me really blush, as he started talking about my achievements. What was he talking about sports awards, about the only sport I like is swimming. He then asked me to go on to my next class, but made it clear that we would talk later today.

I had missed a whole class and it was time for lunch, so I headed for the cafeteria. I was kinda worried about Casey. I should have killed Mark for hurting my... what am I thinking? My what? This is starting to feel really weird.

I entered the cafeteria, with a lot on my mind. Suddenly there were kids all over me. "How did you do it?" "Oh man, I can't believe you stood up to that asshole." "I heard you broke a rib with only one punch." The questions were coming at me in a blur. I was desperately looking for a way out.

A tall blond guy came though the crowd and right up to me. He winked at me, then turned and said, "Ok, come on people, break it up, and give the guy some room. He's just spent the last hour being interrogated and I don't think he can take another hour of it. Now shoo!"

He turned around and said, "Hi. I'm James Carlson. I don't think we've met yet." as he offered me his hand.

This guy was very handsome. Long Blond hair, gray eyes that seemed to look through you, and he was well built, like a brick. I knew I heard his name before... the twins had told me. He was the captain of the football team and the chess team, as well as others. I took his hand. He had a strong, firm grip.

I started getting images from him. He was undressing me and fondling my... Wow, he's gay? I wonder if anyone else knows. If I was gay I would surely have to check this guy out, to say he looked good was an understatement. "I'm Josh, pleased to meet you." The images went away as my words brought him back to reality.

"Well! Why don't you come sit with us?" He motioned over to a table. I saw several kids already sitting at the table looking at us. Casey and Carrey were there too, both smiling at me. I followed him over and sat down right beside Carrie.

"How's the neck Casey?"

"Oh it's fine, he just knocked the wind out of me," he said smiling. "I wish I had been awake to see you take him down though."

"Yea, well I don't like to fight, someone always gets hurt." I said, with a frown.

"You can say that again. The rumor is that you broke one of his ribs" a red headed boy I had not met said.

"Well, it might have been more than one they told Me." someone else piped in. I really started feeling embarrassed.

A lot of ooos and ahhhs coming from all around, "I saw it, I was there, and although he got in a few good hits, that blow to his stomach was a good move. It took him down fast. And you must have nuts of steel! I saw that hit he gave you breaking that arm lock."

"Well luckily he hit me in my ass, just behind the sack. It still knocked me back though." there was some giggling.

Carrie put her arms around my arm hugging it, and laid her head on my shoulder. Oh God that feels good! "I'm just thankful you didn't get hurt and that you saved my brother."

"Gee thanks, I guess I should be glad I at least rate on the list." Casey said smiling smugly. Carrie just smiled.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I had become the schools favorite celebrity. At the end of school day Casey came up to me, "I just want to thank you for helping me today. You know you didn't have to do that."

"Are you kidding me, of course I'm going to help a friend in trouble."

"I just wish I could have seen it. Haha!"

Carrie ran up as we were walking to the bus, "Hey Josh, I was wondering if you have any plans this Friday?"

"Not that I'm aware of. What do you have in mind?"

"I thought maybe we could go to a movie or something."

"Yea, that's a great idea!" Casey said. I got the initial feeling that's not what she meant.

"That's sounds cool", I said.

Carrie jumped up and yelped, "Yea!" She ran up and kissed me on the cheek.

The ride home was very nice. Carrie sat beside me, quite close. I really do like her. I have been thinking of asking her to go on a date one night. The only problem there, are these feelings I have for her brother I can't quite explain. The big thing is not just that I have feelings for him, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have the same feelings about me. Well, it will be nice to go out with them both Friday night.

I wish I could keep my mind open around them. It's kind of strange, I'm so used to getting insights on the people around me and the only time I can chance it around the twins is when we are in a crowd. I have never made friends without knowing what they really feel. This is a new experience for me. I kinda like it. There is a mystery there that I have been missing.

At home I went straight to my room to do some homework. About five o'clock, dad came upstairs. "Hey Son, busy day huh!"

"You could say that. Fight on my first day. Hehe!"

"Yea, we need to talk about that." He came over and sat on my bed, "I understand you were helping out a friend, but you need to be careful when you decide to fight. I think you don't know your own strength. You have been working out a lot lately... You were very helpful during the move, by the way. I just think you need to be careful."

"Yea dad, I had no idea I had done that much damage to the guy. I was only trying to stop him. I hope he's ok."

"He'll be fine after those ribs heal. Just remember what I said and be careful. Oh, by the way, your grandfather is coming down for a visit next week."

After dad left, I got back to homework. A half an hour later there was a knock at my door. So I went downstairs to the door to see who it was, and there was Casey.

"Hey bud, I was going to shoot some hoops. You interested?"

"Sure, let me change clothes." I ran upstairs to change. Just a loose fitting shirt and a pair of basketball shorts I own. I ran back downstairs and we left.

I have always liked playing basketball, but I'm not very good. It has been awhile since the last time I played. However, I kind of surprised myself that I wasn't doing that bad. I made quite a few baskets, not as many as Casey, but I did ok. It had been over a year since I last played. We played one on one, and horse. I lost both times.

I did have a lot of fun though. I just haven't felt as worn out as I was feeling right now in a long time. After it got dark we came back to my place, sat on the back porch, and drank some grape Kool-Aid to cool off.

"You know Josh? I feel like I could talk to you about anything and I've only known you for a couple of days. It seems like we've been friends forever!"

"You know, a lot of the guys back home said the same thing. I knew all of the secrets of my old school because my friends confided the whoppers to me." I smiled sheepishly.

"I've been really confused lately. I find myself really attracted to someone at school. I can't stop thinking about them. The problem is the person I think I like, can't possible feel the same way about me. They don't seem like the type of person that would go for a guy like me." He seemed really nervous. I really wanted to open up a bit to him to get a better read.