“Danny. … Danny what’s the problem, you need to tell me otherwise I can’t do anything about it. Let me help you Danny. Whatever it is that’s making you act like this all of a sudden, you have to talk to me about it you hear me?”.
“I want to tell you Jake but it’s complicated”.
Danny stared into Jake’s calming blue eyes and sought comfort as he saw the understanding, and caring concern from deep inside of the guy he had been friends with for as long as he could remember. He wanted nothing more than to blurt out the entire story, and get it all out in the open. The problem he had was that he was scared of what it would mean if he let go of his secret. He was scared of the consequences that he would have to face, but at the same time, he knew that he could trust Jake, and that however he reacted at first, that Jake would be there for him and support him in the end. Danny had always considered himself very lucky to have Jake as his best friend, he was always there when he needed him, always by his side to comfort and care for him when he needed somebody who he could rely on.
“Danny, it’s ok, whatever it is you can tell me”.
Daniel had heard that line before, just before he told Jake that he was in love with him. That time though, Jake’s reaction was less than comforting and Danny didn’t want to risk them falling out like that again. If they hadn’t fallen out over that the last time, they wouldn’t even be in this mess. All of this added to his uncertainty.
“Okay Jake,” Danny said seriously as he continued to make eye contact, “I will tell you, but you have to promise me that you won’t flip out at me like you did last time. I don’t want this to turn into a huge drama like last time. And I still don’t want you to tell anyone about any of this shit that’s been happening lately ok?”
“Fine!” Jake responded acceptingly. “I won’t say anything”.
Danny took a deep breath.
“Huh,” he sighed, “well obviously, you know that I’m gay”
“Obviously!” Jake replied.
Danny stared down at the dirty gravel covered ground, trying to find the right words.
“Well you … you are the only person Jake … and, and …”
“Yeah I figured that out already from the way you acted that night at the club, but you’ve got to tell everyone sometime right?” Jake asked, “Hey, I’m in the same situation as well, nobody knows about me except you, alright so I’m bi … I guess … and maybe that’s different to being gay, but I’m still going to have to tell everyone.”
Danny interrupted before Jake could say anything further, “Yeah but it’s not that simple for me!”.
“What are you talking about? Of course it is, you just have to explain it to people and they will understand!”.
“But that’s just it Jake! Not everyone does understand, some people hate it, they think that the whole thing is wrong, sick … unnatural!”
“And do you think that?!”
“No, of course I don’t but…”
“But what? Isn’t that all that matters? Danny believe me, if people really care about you, and I know a lot of people who do, then they aren’t going to be bothered by the fact that your gay! As long as you’re happy they won’t care! If people really care about you then the fact that you’re happy is what should really be important to them.”
“BUT THEY WILL FUCKING CARE!” Danny screamed as he burst out crying, tears immediately gushing down his face.
Danny ran off down the road, barely able to see as his vision of the world blurred and distorted as he continued to cry more and more. Jake didn’t understand what was up with him; he just knew that something was clearly not right. He ran after him, still exhausted after the mad day that he’d had.
“Danny!” he shouted, “Danny wait up!”
“Leave me alone, you don’t understand Jake!”
“No you’re right I don’t!” Jake panted, trying his best to catch Danny but failing miserably as he ran, “But, if you … don’t tell me … then … then I never will!”
Danny ran quicker, not wanting to allow Jake to see him in this state, not wanting to talk about the reason why he wanted Jake to remain silent. Faster and faster he ran, picking up incredible speed even though he had been locked in a barn for well over 24 hours, and had been fooling around with Jake in between. He was now running so fast that Jake was unable to keep up with him. He sprinted faster than he’d ever ran before, as if trying to escape from a pack of hungry wolves!
Jake ran as fast as he could to try and keep up with Danny but there was nothing he could do but watch as Danny edged away from him. Then, he watched in horror as a flicker of light temporarily blinded him and he saw it! A truck. `Oh shit!` Jake thought to himself as he came grinding to a halt.
“DANNY LOOK OUT!” he yelled out, almost straining his voice with the sheer volume of his scream!
Danny’s eyes widened and the tears seemed to vanish instantly as his vision became crystal clear. Neither of them will ever forget the horrible, violent, piercing screech which howled through their heads as all of the trucks massive tires locked up and scraped across the surface of the road when the burly truck driver stomped on the brake pedal of the gigantic articulated truck! Danny suddenly reacted and Jake could only stand back and watch, terrified as Danny threw himself into the air using all the energy he had left as he leapt for his life! Daniel went flying though the air! SMACK! He hit the ground, landing flat on his face at the side of the dusty road as the monstrous truck screamed past the spot where Jake was previously stood and eventually slid to a stop. Jake was horrified as the man he loved laid motionless, face down at the side of the road. He started to run again until he reached the spot where Danny was led.
“Danny!” He exclaimed as he grabbed his friends shoulder and flipped him onto his back.
Jake panicked when he saw the blood pouring from Danny’s nose down his youthful face.
“Danny talk to me, please Danny, please just say something, oh god Danny just say something! ANYTHING!” Jake squealed trembling with fear, hoping that his best friend wasn’t badly hurt.
“I’m alright” Danny replied as his big brown eyes opened and stared back at Jake, who now held Danny’s head in his hands. “I think I broke my arm though” He moaned in agony.
Jake wept as he pulled Daniel carefully up off of the ground towards his own body, grabbing both of his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around his best friend, crying in relief as he tried his best to avoid his arm as they embraced. They both knew that Daniel had been very lucky to keep his life, but they said nothing. They didn’t have to. Suddenly their attention was grabbed by the sound of a door closing. It was the truck driver. Danny and Jake looked blankly into each other’s eyes, unsure of what to expect from the big, burly driver as he stomped towards them. Would he be angry that he was forced to stomp on the brakes? Or happy that everybody was ok?
Simultaneously, both emotionally drained young men turned their heads to face the driver, trying to identify from his body language what kind of mood he was in. The driver was a giant compared to Danny and Jake, towering above them and with a much wider build. This made him instantly intimidating to both of them.