chapter 2

He knew that he'd be a new student, because he had never heard of a James Bellefonte. He figured he must have been new money. He wished he could room alone.

He hadn't had good experiences with his roommates before and he didn't think he could handle another year in fear of someone he'd be sleeping in the same room with. There was Henry Harrison and Yeardley Mijovich, both large boys, who he had fantasized about, but they had been terribly mean. His junior year he was fortunate enough to have snagged the only single on campus, but thy never let the same boy have it twice.

He had been beaten up and called names. Nobody wanted to room with the gay kid. It made a person gay by association, and at an all boy's school, nobody wanted to be gay.

"Hi, nice to meet you," said a hulking blond boy cheerfully. "Ashton, right?" James had a stocky build. He was tall, wide, and handsome. Ashton half dreaded, half loved that he would be rooming with James. James had green eyes and full lips. He had broad shoulders, a thick neck, and beefy thighs.

"Yeah," said Ashton in his manliest tone. "But you can call me Ash." He swallowed and stepped back from him. James looked down at the shorter boy and raised an eyebrow in question.

He thought he was a bit queer in manner. He seemed so nervous and it made James a bit uneasy. If his own roommate didn't like him, who would?

James' father had developed a new line of snack chips and opened up a snack factory. He was new money, and his father felt Hensley was the only place his son should go. He felt his son deserved the best, and even though James would have preferred to stay at his old, public school, he agreed to the transfer.

"Uh, yeah," he said passively, before he gave a slight cough out of nervousness. He was regretting the transfer already. He probably couldn't smoke here either without getting caught.

He didn't even know why it was so necessary for him to come to Hensley. It wasn't as if he was the brightest and he hated team sports so he wouldn't get involved that way either. The thought of spending his final year of high school in what he considered a prison was almost too much for James to handle.

"Well, I'll let you get settled," Ashton said quickly before exiting the room, head down. James sighed and tossed his bag onto his bed. He looked around the room. It was so clean. He walked into the bathroom he would be sharing with Ashton. It seemed small. James went back into the bedroom and sat on the bare mattress.

James asked himself why Ashton didn't care for him. He knew the people here would be total snobs. He told his dad he wouldn't fit in. He pulled out a cigarette and walked towards the window. He hoped there wouldn't be any smoke detectors. He opened the window and felt the warm breeze of the final days of summer.

"Could you please, uh, not smoke?" Ashton asked in a small voice. He should have just left so he could smoke his stupid cigarette. He stepped to leave in case James was hostile. James hadn't said anything. "I'm sorry," Ashton continued. "It's just my asthma will--sorry," he said. "You can smoke; I'll just come back later." He had forgotten the book he wanted to read while he waited for James to unpack.

"No," said James. "I'll just have to quit." He smiled nervously again. If he could just make one friend here he could make it through the school year. He tossed the cigarette out of the window and walked back over to his bed. "So, what do you do around here for fun?" he asked, trying to start conversation with his docile new roommate.

"I don't do much," Ashton replied honestly. "I--I spend a lot of time in the library." Ashton released he sound un-masculine and like a total dweeb. "I like the art department." He scolded himself for his blunder, as the art department was not any more masculine than the library. Ashton realized he should have just lied and said something along the lines of cruising for girls at the mall.

James avoided libraries, but at least he could ask Ashton for homework help. They both sat in silence. James began to empty his bag and put away his belongings. Ashton felt so gay staring at him, but he didn't even care, at least for the moment. James was so attractive he felt it alright to risk ridicule from his new roommate.

It was like James knew Ashton was checking him out. He took off his button up shirt and was in an old t-shirt and jeans. He moved so his belly would poke out a bit and his large, muscled arms ate up the fabric of the t-shirt sleeves. He finished with Ashton wanting to masturbate more than he ever had in his entire life.

"Say, Ash?" Ashton looked up at him timidly. He feared James noticed his staring. "If I'm going to quit smoking cold turkey, can we grab a bite to eat?"