The Rules of Lost Boys

Chapter 2: I Was In Love

•Patrick Heaney •

* I couldn't stop thinking about what I had done with him in that cave. How fragile he was. It seemed like if I moved him the wrong way he'd break. How silky soft and tender his sun glazed skin was. His brown hair had grown long and wavy, stopping just above his nose. I just wanted to run my hands through it once more.

Every time I laid eyes on him, I felt a rush of energy pulse through me. Alec was beautiful beyond words and I had made the mistake of giving into lust for him.

He sat peacefully on the other side of the campfire with his expressive steel blue eyes focused on Noah (Noah Jupe) telling another one of his stupid made up stories.

"What's on your mind Pat?" Athena asked quizzically. Her head was peacefully rested on my shoulder as she latched herself to me. At that same time Alec's eyes rose, falling again when he noticed Athena essentially claiming what was hers.

"A lot and nothing at all at the same time,"I mumbled. There was to much to do for me to be worried about silly emotions or a boy who I had sex with because I had the control of a horny rabbit. I just wanted him to feel better, but holding him like that. Feeling another body against mine. No, feeling his body against mine. Feeling his skin rubbing against mine. Feeling his lips and hands. Hearing his soft moans and cries. Feeling that deep tight heat around me when I slid into him.
I was infatuated. I was obsessed. I was in love. *

...

There was a fine line between survival and finding a way home. Doing both seemed almost impossible, but I wasn't alone and sometimes I needed to be reminded of that.

"Your up already?" Athena voiced from her place on our wood and straw makeshift bed. We lived near the center of camp inside of a clay brick and straw hut that had taken months to construct. We were lucky enough to have someone like Dylan(Dylan Kingwell) who had become somewhat of an engineer and architect. Somehow he knew how to use water, clay dirt, and fire to create hardened brick strong enough to withstand harsh storms.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be meeting with Dylan and Oscar (Oscar "Ozzy" Model) about the poop issue. It's kind of gotten out of hand," I explained, trying my best to keep a straight face. Athena rolled here eyes at my immaturity and sighed.

"Well while your on your way, be sure to wish Alec a happy belated birthday. He was so sad yesterday because everyone forgot," Athena informed.

"What?!" I reacted, not understanding how I could forget such a thing. Maybe that's why he was acting so strangely? He probably thought I didn't care?

"Just check on him. Sometimes I worry about his mental state. After Kyle was murdered he isn't as talkative. It doesn't help that he sleeps alone near the beach either. You should really convince him to move inland a bit. Maybe at least behind the walls of camp," Athena suggested. Kyle's (Kyle Thomas) murder had traumatized all of us in one way or another, but it wasn't the reason why Alec had become anti social. It was my fault.

"I'll talk to him, don't worry," I replied before kissing her on the cheek and exiting the small hut. The sun had just began it's bright ascent into the sky, heating up the gentle air around me. The camp was still quiet, last nights camp fire giving off its last bits of embers.

Our camp was a simple design. There was one main pathway that all the huts lined up on either side and at the center was the campfire where we made most of our meals for the day. The camp itself was fenced in by long femur bones from the animals we hunted and large wooded stakes that we had created with Dylan's help.

I walked down the quiet path taking in the fact that we had actually survived this long. Despite the many setbacks, we were thriving.

I walked to the exit and opened the gate and looked a few feet down the beach and spotted Alec's hut. It was probably the biggest and most well constructed hut on the island. It was the first one we had ever built and used to be home to several people. People who were no longer allowed on this side of the island.

I walked up to it and gently opened the straw door. "Alec, it's Pat. I came to apologize. I didn't know it was your birthday. If I would've remembered..."

"I'm not in there," I heard the shorter boy say from behind me. I turned around and looked at him. He was holding a few oysters in his hands along with a net full of trapped crabs.

"I see you've had a busy morning," I chuckled. Alec ignored my comment and walked right passed me into the hut.

"Hey, I'm sorry okay. I forgot your birthday and I made you feel like you didn't matter yesterday. That's totally my fault and..."

I froze and almost shit myself when Alec grabbed one of the crabs from the net and pointed it's claw at me. "You fucked me and made me think that you actually cared. You made me believe that there was someone left on this stupid island who thought about me," he snapped. It was the first time he had ever said it out loud. That day was forever cemented into my brain and no matter what I did, I could never forget it.

"Alec I do care about you. I want you closer. Closer to me. Move into camp with me and Athena. We have room and..."

"Why, so you can treat me like some side piece when she's away?" He assumed.

"No, of course not. I just..."

"You just what Patrick? One moment your touching me like I'm yours and the next your acting like I don't exist. Do you really think I want to be close to that? To live under the same roof as someone who doesn't know what the hell they want!" He raged, throwing the crab in his hand right near my head out the doorway.

"Ouch! Who threw a fucking crab!" Someone hollered from outside.

"Ughhhh!" Alec groaned, storming off before I could change anything.

"Woah, so I'm guessing he threw the crab?" Dylan questioned when I turned around to see him attempting to pull the crustacean off his already torn shirt.

"You have impeccable timing," I complained as we both watched Alec storm down the beach alone.

"Well it's not my fault our amazing leader can't keep his penis in his pants," Dylan said, revealing the fact that he knew all about it.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"C'mon man. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you two banged. No ones angry enough to throw a fucking crab unless it involves some kind of sex and/or hurt feelings," Dylan replied. He was way to literal at times for my liking. If it was that obvious then there was no telling who knew.

"Please don't tell anyone...at least for Alec's sake. They'll crucify me, but I fear what would happen to him," I explained. Everyone knew that me and Athena were couple and anyone who got in between that would evidently be banished to the east side of the island.

"It's not my secret to tell Pat. I'm just a kid who likes building stuff. I just think you need to decide what you want because Alec won't wait forever," Dylan explained. As right as he was, exposing myself would ultimately hurt Alec. The only out I had was to break things off with Athena, so Alec wouldn't have to watch.