A Past Revealed
#3 of Dawn of a New Day
Hey everyone, this is chapter three. Well I have some of the next chapter planned out but my Muse is coming and going. So they might not come out as quickly from now on. Anyway, please leave comments if you enjoy this story or wish to offer some form of criticism.
Yours in Writing
Alexander Shadow Wolf
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Arcadia woke to the smell of brewing coffee and sun pouring through the opened window. Justin sat at his desk reading over the daily news; his short blonde hair was still tousled from sleep. He turned to face Arcadia while taking a sip from his mug. His voice was light as he spoke to Arcadia, who was slowly coming into consciousness, "Morning, Arcadia. There is plenty of coffee in the pot, so if you want some help yourself." Justin smiled and returned to his computer screen while Arcadia crawled out of bed.
A low growl rolled out of Arcadia's muzzle as he leaned backward to stretch out his stiff back. His voice was dry as he continued to flex his sleep ridden muscles, "How are this bright in the morning? Your awake, talking and well fully functioning." Justin smirked and pointed to his mug of coffee; mentioning that it was his third cup. Arcadia got dressed before speaking, then walked around the room gathering his mug and smokes, "Thank you for the coffee, but I'm not much of a morning person until I have had my caffotine. So I'll be back once I smoke and finish this cup." Justin nodded as Arcadia turned and walked out of the room.
Arcadia quickly descended the stairs and once outside lit up his cigarette, taking a drag. The coffee was warm and of a dark rich roast. He savored the flavor as he took a seat on the bench; the sunlight warming his fur against the early morning chill. Arcadia watched as various people walked past him and went about their own attempts at a morning routine. He had always enjoyed people watching while trying to figure them out from what little he could perceive. His mind reeled back to the night before and to his own actions. He noted all his nervous reactions and his bodies response to the mere sight of Mathos. His internal voice rang out as he attempted to piece things together, "Well Arcadia, let's look at this objectively. Let's say that one of your friends relayed this story to you, and asked your opinion. You would point out of he was far more nervous then he usually is when meeting new people; that he had a very... interesting bodily response to almost anything the other male did. Therefore, you would conclude that there was some form of attraction to the other person."
Arcadia's jaw dropped as he finished the final statement in his mind, and taking a quick puff of his cigarette to finish it stood. He pulled his card out of his pocket and swiped it through the reader. "I'm seriously going to need to talk to Alexis today. She will be able to give an unbiased opinion., even though talking to her about that is going to be very interesting." He walked into the room and found Justin still at the desk reading news articles.
Justin turned a somber expression on his face; his voice flat as he spoke, "There was another report of Anti-Anthropamorphic violence. It's getting pretty bad again isn't it?"
Arcadia simply shrugged, in his life he had already seen an ebb and flow of discrimination against his kind. "These things do happen I guess, and it is rather unfortunate. But this is all throughout history that it occurs. In Egypt we were worshiped as the incarnation of deities, and in the Middle Ages burned as agents of the devil. We vie for change and get what we can take."
Justin gave a small snort of disgust and pain before adding, "In Ancient Greece and Rome homosexuality wasn't looked down on; in fact, it was very socially accepted. Hell, Caligula built a miniature palace for his underage male play toy. And if it wasn't him it was someone else, but then came religious dogma against it, later still the holocaust and now well, just look around."
Arcadia's gaze fell on the necklace around Justin's neck, a series of rainbow colored triangle suspended from a non-descript ball chain. The charms would have remained hidden if Justin had been wearing a shirt, but they were colorful smudges against his pale skin. Arcadia's voice held an edge of shock as he looked up to his roommates face, "Your... you're a..."
Justin's expression became cold and harsh as he cut Arcadia off, " A what? Homo? Fag? Queer? You know, of all the people I figured you would be more understanding than most. You're hated for what you were born, so I expected some form of understanding from you. Hypocritical dog." Justin's last words were spit out as he turned back to the monitor. Arcadia took a step forward to lay a comforting hand on Justin's shoulder but it was batted away. "Don't touch me... you might turn gay or get AIDS."
Arcadia sighed and pulled his desk chair to face Justin. He laid his arms across the back of his chair and placed his chin on top of them. "I realize that might not have been the best way to start my thought, and I apologize for that. But I have nothing against homosexuals. You just jumped to conclusions; like I had done yesterday. My opinion of you hasn't changed. And I am a wolf mind you," adding the final comment in an attempt to lighten the mood.
A bright blush spread across Justin's face as he realized what we had said to Arcadia. "I'm really sorry about that. I don't think about what I am saying when I become worked up. And I don't have AIDS,... in case you thought I was serious about that. But you seem intelligent enough to know you can't get it from casual contact. So... anyway how did you sleep last night?"
"I kept waking up because of the same dream. I don't even know what spurred it on." Arcadia said between sips of coffee, the mug running dry. As he refilled his cup Arcadia thought about talking to Justin. "Well he would be a good person to talk to. Not about the exact content of the dream, but generalized questions. Maybe his own past."
Arcadia cleared his throat as he placed the pot back on the burner. "So,... umm can I ask you a few questions?"
Justin closed his laptop and turned to face the chair Arcadia was sitting down in. "Yeah, you can ask any questions you want. But I don't know if I will answer all of them. Why is something on your mind?"
Arcadia looked over the brim of his mug as he took a drink. "No. Just curious because I've never had any openly gay friends. So...umm how did you know? I mean did you just wake up one day with the realization?"
Justin closed his eyes, obviously retracing the years. "Looking back the first sign came when I was about... 13 maybe. My friends and I were watching on of their older brother's pornos. I kept focusing on the guy, while everyone else was talking about the woman. After that I noticed that I looked at guys in the locker room. And as dirty as this makes me sound, if my friends watched porn around me, I would sneak glances at them."
Justin paused to have some coffee while Arcadia intently looked on. "Then came the dreams in early high school, and shortly after that there was this one time," a blush crept up his face as he recalled the event, "I've probably said too much for your taste already."
Arcadia shook his head, no, and remarked about how he wanted to know. "Well, ok. If you promise not to get weirded out." Arcadia simply nodded, causing Justin to continue after taking a breath. "I was 16 or maybe 15. And I was watching a porno with Devon, the one who had the older brother. And all that I can say in my defense is that we watched a lot of porn. But than again in my town there was nothing better to do. Any I've digressed."
"We were about halfway through the porn, and both really worked up. Devon pulled down his pants down to his ankles and I couldn't be help but stare. He caught me and just smirked to himself. Devon had noticed me staring at him before but never said anything, or at least that is what he told me." Justin took another drink and readjusted in the chair, the memory apparently pleasant. "He reached over while looking at me and placed his hand on my inner thigh. We played around that night and many other nights together. He was my first and we briefly dated my junior year until he moved away. But after that first night I knew."
Arcadia managed to hide the blush covering his face and the bulge in his shorts. "That was kinda hot. Did I just think that? Nah." Arcadia glanced at the obviously lost in thought Justin, his voice shattering the memories. "Sounds like you really liked Devon. It's unfortunate that he moved away. Do you still talk to him?"
Justin sighed deeply, reopening his laptop, "No. We lost contact after his mother heard us talking on the phone. He managed to hide who I was, but she took away his computer and cell phone. So anyway that is how I knew I was... well am gay."
Arcadia smiled at Justin, reaching out a supportive hand to his shoulder. "You'll hear from him again. I know that much, and don't be surprised if it is soon."
Justin smiled back at Arcadia, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. "Thanks, Arc. But I really don't think I will. He went to California, why would he want to come back to Pennsylvania."
Arcadia grinned as he felt something with in him part the Veils. "You're here. Just trust me you'll be seeing him soon."
"And just how can you be so sure?" Justin asked with his right eyebrow cocked.
Arcadia got up and gathered items for a shower. A knowing smirk played across his face as he looked over his shoulder. "Call it animal instinct, or Lupine On-Star. Call it what you like, but don't be shocked if I am right." With that Arcadia walked out of the room and towards the shower leaving a stunned Justin behind.