About A Friend in Need
Written by Misa Izanaki
35 pages / 12500 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-857-9, 1-60370-857-X
Available file types - html,
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Kevin and Tatsu were best friends at least until Tatsu got himself a new boyfriend and disappeared on Kevin. Late one night, Tatsu shows up on Kevin’s doorstep looking battered and scared. His boyfriend is not what he seems to be and Tatsu is looking for a place to hide, someplace safe. Kevin is more than willing to help, but will it be enough?
Sample
Street lamps flickered on as long, dark shadows crept down the street. Kevin should have been home an hour ago, but he needed to find Tatsu first. He and Tatsu had been friends since they were little, and Kevin always looked out for the younger boy. Granted Tatsu wasn’t much younger, fifteen to Kevin’s sixteen, but Kevin felt weirdly protective of Tatsu and was the first to jump in and protect his friend, even if it meant getting beaten up himself.
They usually walked home together, but Tatsu hadn’t been around when Kevin had left fencing practice. Kevin ran by Tatsu’s house, but no one was there, either. That worried Kevin all the more. Tatsu was a creature of habit, and when that changed, something was wrong.
After checking a half a dozen of their usual haunts, Kevin found Tatsu in the old playground a couple of blocks from his house. Tatsu sat on a large concrete turtle half buried in the sand, his legs dangling over the edge of the turtle’s faded green shell.
"So, this is where you’ve been hiding."
"Hey, Kev, what are you doing here?" Tatsu glanced up and smiled. Kevin could tell it was forced though. Something had to be wrong.
"Looking for you." Kevin sat next to his friend and gave him a worried look. "You didn’t wait for me today."
"I -- sorry… had too much on my mind, I guess." Tatsu hung his head, hiding his face behind a curtain of dark hair. "I-I have a lot that I need to think about."
"Well, spill it. My mom’s going to kill me if I’m late for dinner again."
"I’m serious, Kevin."
"So am I." Kevin hopped off the turtle and stood in front of his friend. "Come on, Tatsu, something’s been eating at you all week. Let me in, already."
"I can’t." Tatsu shook his head. "This is something that I have to figure out on my own."
"Why?"
"Because you might not be my friend anymore if I tell you."
"Tatsu, there’s nothing you can say that will stop me from being your friend." Kevin cupped Tatsu’s slender face in his hands and forced his friend to look at him. "Remember what I promised you?"
"You promised that we’d always be friends. Kevin, we were kids when you promised that."
"It doesn’t matter." Kevin looked into those warm brown eyes. "I meant it then and I mean it now."
Tatsu took a deep breath. It was like he was preparing himself for the worst. "I’m gay."
"What?"