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Chapter Twenty-Five--The Gym

Early on Saturday morning, Damien woke to the sound of hushed conversation. As his consciousness began to rouse itself fully, he noticed that Thomas had already gotten out of bed and the voice he was hearing was Thomas's, speaking lowly in an attempt to keep himself politely quiet.

"...No, I promise I've thought about this," Thomas was saying, holding his phone up. "Well, what if it's not right for me? I mean, maybe there's another... I know, but... I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything." Thomas looked down at Damien, seemingly surprised to see him awake. "Look, Dad, I gotta go, we can chat later... Okay. Bye."

He hung up hurriedly and smiled at Damien. "Good morning," Damien yawed. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Thomas answered. "Just having a little chat."

"With your dad?"

Thomas nodded. "He's still himself and still an asshole."

"Are you alright?" Damien questioned worriedly. "Did you tell him about us?"

Thomas shook his head. "Of course not!" he said. "We were just talking about something else."

"Such as?"

Thomas shrugged. "Not a big deal. But today is your second swimming lesson."

Damien frowned. "Another one? Wasn't the first one enough?"

"Nope," Thomas replied. "We'll need to get your head underwater if you're really going to learn how to swim. And I'm sure you'll learn to love it once we really get into it."

"... Will those other guys be there?"

"I don't think so," Thomas answered nervously. "I hope not..." He sat down on the bed beside Damien. "Honestly, I really don't want them to be there." Damien leaned in nearer, resting his head on Thomas's shoulder. Thomas quickly put his arm around Damien, pulling him close. "Sounds like a mean thing to say about your friends, huh?"

"Sometimes people need space," Damien said. "I can name a few times when Ed and I just..." Damien trailed off as his thoughts went back to Edward Seville. It had been a while since there had even been a text from him.

"Yeah, Ozzy and I have had our falling outs too," Thomas said distractedly. "We might have some too."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Damien confessed. "But we'll work through it, right?"

"Right. Besides..." Thomas moved rapidly, pushing Damien onto the bed. He hovered over his husky, smirking down at him smugly. "Make-up sex is always awesome."

Damien flustered with his next words as Thomas leaned down to lick his neck. "T-Tommy..."

Thomas pulled back. "Want breakfast or sex?"

"Can I have both?" Damien murmured.

Thomas hooked Damien's boxers and lowered them seductively. "If we can have sex first..."

"Then you're overdressed."

A loud banging made them jump and separate. Damien hurriedly reached for his boxers up as Thomas eased the door open just an inch to see who was on the other side. At once, he exhaled in relief, pulling it open just a bit wider.

"Hey," Ozzy said, "you busy?"

"Yes," Thomas said at the same time Damien said, "No."

Ozzy surveyed them curiously. Then, his eyes opened a bit wider. Damien looked down; his attempt to pull up his boxers had been haphazard, leaving them resting far lower on his hips than he wanted. He quickly pulled them up further.

"Oh, you two were about to fuck," Ozzy realized. "Well, that's all fine and good. I'll just leave you two--"

"You already killed my mood," Thomas said, "so what's up?"

"Oh, a couple of the guys are heading to the gym to work out a bit," Ozzy said. "You know, the usual. You interested?"

"Yes," Damien said at the same time Thomas said, "No."

"You two really should be on the same page," Ozzy said. "Well, we're heading over there in a few minutes. If you're interested in coming along, you know where to find us." And he walked off, humming off-key to himself.

Thomas closed the door and looked at Damien in surprise. "You want to go workout?"

"Well, kind of but it's more about you," Damien said. "I figured you ought to spend some time with your friends. We can have sex later." He shifted nervously. "And maybe I can go with you... Explore your world a little bit."

"'My world'?"

Damien shrugged. "I might find it fun?" he offered halfheartedly.

"Not really, you're not a gym rat," Thomas chortled. "Do you really want to go?"

"Why not?"

"You know those other guys will be there," Thomas mentioned. "I don't know if it's a good idea for you to--"

"Let me worry about that," Damien said. "If I don't like it, I'll just come back or go bug my friends."

"If you're sure..."

Damien jumped up and kissed Thomas's nose. "What's the worst that could happen?"

---

The weight room was large and stuffed filled with equipment, more than just weight machines and barbells. Treadmills and exercise bikes also shared the space and the room, despite the attempt at air freshening with aerosols, still smelled, though the stench was not as unpleasant as Damien had prepared for. And a track ringed the equipment, with several people running on the track with music playing in their ears. He walked in behind Thomas, who immediately approached the small gathering of others, many of whom Damien recognized as members of the football team, including Ozzy.

And that bear and mouse, Jet and Frederick.

"Wondered if you'd make it," Jet said, giving Thomas a bro-hug. He glanced over Thomas's shoulders and his eyes narrowed. "You brought him?"

"Yeah, figured he could tag along," Thomas said in a challenging tone. "Hope you don't mind."

"Whatever. If you think that scrawny-ass dog can keep up."

"Bet I can outdo you," Damien muttered, but apparently he hadn't been as quiet as he thought he'd been.

"What was that, pooch?" Jet challenged.

Damien chuckled nervously. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Within fifteen minutes, Damien found himself simply admiring the rest of the group with a twinge of jealousy. Thomas and Ozzy were lifting weights, Ozzy spotting Thomas with words of encouragement--and Damien loved to watch Thomas's buff body move. But the rest of the team, some using weight machines and others on treadmills, were just as energetic and focused. Never before had Damien felt so out of place, jogging at a measly pace on his treadmill while the others ran with their chests out, proud and confident.

And he was already starting to get a bit breathless... Wow, he was out-of-shape...

"You okay?"

Damien glanced over; Ozzy stood by his treadmill, looking up at him curiously.

"Y-yeah," Damien breathed, stopping the treadmill. The moment he stepped off, his legs fell weak and he struggled to not fall over. "H... How're you?"

"Concerned," Ozzy answered with a raised eyebrow. "Why're you here, dude? This isn't your scene."

"Figured it'd be nice to... get to know what Tommy's into," Damien said, his breathing starting to calm. "Never spent a lot of time in a gym before."

"Right..." Ozzy said in a drawled-out sarcastic tone. "You look like you're about to pass out."

"No way, I can go for another hour."

"Oh, really?" interjected a voice. Damien jerked in surprise; Frederick stood behind him, looking cocky. "Think you can keep up with me?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Good. I was thinking I could use someone to race against," Frederick chimed.

"Fred--" came a warning voice; Thomas was approaching.

"No, it's okay," Damien insisted. "Just let me get a drink first and I'll be good to go."

Thomas pushed past Frederick and Ozzy, hurriedly leading Damien just out of earshot. He handed him his bottle, filled with a green sports drink, which Damien took a swig of. He remembered coming across the phrase "indirect kiss" in high school and smiled.

"What're you doing?" Thomas hissed at him. "You don't have to prove anything to them."

"No, I don't but this is just us having some fun, right?" Damien answered.

"Damien, I'm not happy about this," Thomas said. "I think we should just go."

"Tommy, it's fine," Damien assured him. "I'm just trying to get to know your friends and hopefully they'll like me."

"Is that what this is about?"

Damien shrugged and handed the bottle back. He walked back over to Frederick and Ozzy, grinning.

"So, race?" he asked.

"Yep," Frederick said. "You and me. Three laps round the track? You in?"

"Definitely."

"This is going to end poorly," Ozzy sighed.

Damien smiled at him, despite the painful throbbing in his legs. He and Frederick walked onto the track and paused. Frederick grinned smugly and Damien returned it with a weak smirk.

"Three laps, ready?" Frederick asked.

Damien nodded.

"On your mark," Frederick began, flexing his knees. "Get set... Go!"

Damien took off, amazed to find that he had started off faster than Frederick. He began to run, sprinting as much as he could across the track, round the curves and trying his absolute hardest. Out of the corners of his vision, he could tell that he was being watched carefully by not just Thomas and Ozzy; it seemed everyone was interested.

But he was slowing down. As he completed his first lap, he could glance behind him to see Frederick coming up close behind, at his own pace. His heart pounded painfully in his chest and--

He was falling, head-first, onto the track as he heard Frederick's footfalls pass him. But loud shouting also filled his ears as his vision swam and his head rushed with pain. Carefully, he sat upright and soon, someone was by his side, hefting him up kindly.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked.

"Y-yeah, just a little trip."

"Come on, we're going," Thomas said, leading him away.

"Tommy, I'm--"

"Yo, where you going?" Frederick asked, walking up. "Ain't giving up, are you?"

"Fred, you're lucky I don't fuck you up for that!" Thomas raged. "Back off!"

"So, what? The little bitch takes a tumble and you ditch us?" Frederick snorted.

Thomas wheeled around and struck faster than Damien could react to. His fist knocked Frederick backwards and Damien could hear how heavy Thomas's breathing had become. Frederick quickly caught himself before falling over, blood running down from the corner of his jaw, and looked as though he was going to strike back. But Ozzy hurriedly placed himself between them.

Thomas huffed and hurriedly let Damien away, out of the gym and outside.

"You want to tell me what that was about?" Damien asked, pulling away frightened.

"He tripped you! He did it on purpose and I'm just--"

"I'm fine, though," Damien replied. "You ought to apologize to him. I don't want to--"

"Fuck no!" Thomas answered. "I'm not apologizing to him!"

"Tommy--"

"Do me a favor. Go back to the dorm," Thomas insisted.

"What're you going to do? You're not going to start a fight or anything, are you?"

"Please. Just... trust me. I won't start a brawl, I won't get into trouble."

"Tommy..."

"Trust me. It'll be okay."

---

"HE PUNCHED A GUY?!" gasped Edward Seville on the other line.

Damien nodded, then remembered that Edward couldn't see him. His first thought when he had returned to the dorm was to speak to someone and the first number to come to his mind was his old best friend. "Yeah. I don't remember getting tripped, but Tommy said that the guy I was racing against tripped me on purpose."

"Damien, I don't know if it's a good idea to be dating him if he's violent like that," Edward said.

"He's not normally like that. I've never seen him act like that and I don't know what to do," Damien confessed. The memory replayed itself yet again in his mind; he could see Thomas strike, see Frederick's body stumble backward and see the droplets of blood around Frederick's mouth. "Eddie, I'm kind of scared."

Edward breathed heavily into the phone. "Maybe you need to stay somewhere else? Got any friends on campus you could crash with?"

"A few but..."

"Damien, I really don't think it's a good idea to stick around him if you're scared of him."

"Yeah..."

"Are you going to be okay? Want me to head up there?"

"No, I'll be fine... I--" Damien gasped as he heard the lock click.

"Damien, are you okay? What's going on?"

Damien exhaled as the panther walked into the room. "Tommy's back. I'll text you later."

"Okay... Let me know what happens."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye..."

Damien hung up and looked up at Thomas who looked downward.

"What happened?" Damien asked.

"Well... I..." Thomas began. He continued to look downward. He exhaled sharply. "Are you mad at me?"

"A little nervous..." Damien answered.

"Damien, I'm sorry... I know I overreacted and..." Thomas began to move forward and Damien tried his best to suppress his urge to move away as Thomas sat down. "I'm so sorry for if I scared you."

"It's fine," Damien said. "But what's going on? Where'd you go?"

"I went to see the coach... I quit the team."

"What?"

"I quit the football team," Thomas repeated. "Let's face it, it was getting really uncomfortable for me. With the guys really showing how homophobic and aggressive they really are... and with Fred tripping you like that... I just..." He exhaled sharply. "I think it's best for me to not be part of the team."

"Tommy, is this because of me?" Damien asked.

"What? No! This was my choice!"

"But you made it because of what happened to me!" Damien said. "I can't let you just quit." He jumped up. "I'll go talk to the coach for you. Maybe he'll take you back--"

"Don't," Thomas said, gripping Damien's arm. "Please, let's just not make a big deal about this. I've been thinking about this for a little while..."

"But--"

Damien looked down at him. He still hadn't looked up. "Tommy, are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that. You took a pretty hard fall."

"Then why won't you look at me?"

"Damien, I... I don't know what to say. I don't want you to hate me or be scared of me, but I'm... Are we okay?"

"Yeah... I think so."

"Are we really?"

Damien leaned down and tilted Thomas's head up towards him. Their eyes locked briefly and Thomas hurriedly turned his head to look away.

"Why won't you look at me?"

Thomas shrugged.

"If you're going to be like this, maybe I should stay with James and Warren for a little bit."

Finally, Thomas looked up. "Wait, why? I'm fine."

"No, you aren't and you're not really answering me," Damien said.

Thomas stood, pulling Damien close. Damien could feel Thomas shaking, hear him sniffle slightly. "Damien, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I acted like that and I just..."

"Feel guilty?"

"Yeah. Are you mad at me?"

"Not mad, no."

"Please, don't go... I don't want to be alone right now," Thomas said.

"O...Okay..."