A series about coming of age, and dealing with real-life issues…
Title: Positive…
Story Type: AU
Word Count: 2173
Warnings: Drabble, Love, Understanding, Compassion…
Beta Queen: BigJ52
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are property of their respective owners, including, but not limited to Russell T. Davies, Cowlip, and Showtime. The author of this story is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended…
Story Summary: Gus is devastated, feeling scared and alone…
Chapter Summary: There’s no place like home. Gus and Cole’s vacation in Mexico ends up being a nightmare.
Positive…
Chapter Ten
It’s the last night of their vacation and they plan on living it up with their new friends, Sam and Bobby G. Gus and Cole have a room on the top floor of their hotel, but being an older hotel it doesn’t have an elevator. On their first day they were racing down the ten flights of stairs when they collided with Sam and Bobby G, who were making out on the landing between the sixth and seventh floors. After that they couldn’t help but become friends. By coincidence they were all from Pennsylvania, here on vacation, enjoying their first taste of freedom after graduating from high school.
Over the next two weeks all four of them have become close. Just like Cole, Sam is planning on attending The University of Pennsylvania and it feels good to have already met a fellow freshman. Sam and Bobby G are on the down-low, their parents are clueless to the fact that they’re gay. They just think they’re best friends, and the boys are afraid of how they’ll react when they find out.
For Gus, it’s great to finally get away from all the stress and tension at home. Mel, as he now chooses to call her, is slowly coming around to accepting his decisions, thanks to his uncle Teddy. Lindsay, who he also refuses to call mom, is still sticking to her guns, insisting that he move back home. She claims that he needs her to care for him, then she imposed new rules restricting his freedom. Gus actually laughed at her, causing her to stomp her foot, turning her face beet red. She isn’t used to a rebellious son, and she’s determined to get her baby boy back under her control.
The boys start their last night by having dinner at the beach, watching the other vacationing boys playing volleyball as the sun sets. The drinking age in Mexico is eighteen, not twenty-one like in the States, so after several pitchers of Margaritas they all have a good buzz going. They head out to go dancing at Garbo’s, the local gay nightclub in Puerto Vallarta. It has become one of their regular hangouts, along with La Nache and Paco’s Ranch.
It’s karaoke night, and Gus is just drunk enough to get up on stage. Everyone’s hooting and hollering as Gus sways his hips and belts out the lyrics to the old Lou Reed song Take a Walk on the Wild Side.
Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets
Lookin' for soul food and a place to eat
Went to the Apollo
You should've seen 'em go, go, go
They said, "Hey, Sugar
Take a walk on the wild side"
I said, "Hey, babe
Take a walk on the wild side"
All right, huh
They’re having the time of their lives, staying out late, and closing the bar after drinking a little too much. They walk back to their hotel holding hands, giggling and wishing their vacation wasn’t coming to an end. Gus and Cole stop walking to make out under the moonlight. Sam and Bobby G are walking a block or two up ahead of them, lost in their own romantic moment.
If they were thinking straight they would have been discreet, and not so openly expressing their love for one another. It’s been in all the local papers, and on the news: a group of local homophobic street thugs have been harassing and attacking gay men in the early hours of the morning. They hear the screech of tires as an old pickup truck barrels around the corner. Cole pulls Gus behind a group of the trees as they hear slurs and threats being shouted from the truck. Gus’s first instinct is to run and help Sam and Bobby G, but Cole pulls him back into the shadows.
“Are you fucking crazy?”
“But they’re going to attack them.”
“Gus, I don’t want to die in a foreign country.”
Cole pulls Gus into the bushes as they hear the screams and the sounds of bats cracking. Gus is shaking, scared to death as Cole holds him. Soon they hear the truck coming back down the street. Cole is pulling Gus’s white t-shirt off him tossing it in the bushes and then he pulls his black shirt up over his blond head of hair. They hear the truck door slam shut and one the thugs saying, “I’m sure I saw a couple of faggots here in the park.”
Staying low to the ground the boys scurry further into the park, then they break out running. They run between buildings and down alleys. But the sound of the truck engine is always just off in the distance.
“Why don’t we call the police?”
“Gus, the Mexican police are more likely to join them in hunting us down, than to help us.”
They start running again, ducking into doorways, and hiding behind dumpsters. Cole is an athlete used to running long distances, but Gus is winded, unsure if he can continue. He needs to catch his breath. They’re now in a residential section of town, where they find shelter hiding in a shed in a backyard. The hum of the truck’s engine can be heard idling as it creeps closer. Cole puts his hand over Gus’s mouth to silence his heavy breathing as they hear footsteps in the distance. They’re not sure how long they’ve stayed motionless, hiding from their attackers but they realize that they’re too far from their hotel to try to return.
They take a chance, knowing they need to keep moving. Several houses over they see laundry hanging on the clothesline. Gus finds a shirt that reasonably fits and puts it on. They’ve been running and hiding most of the night, and they’re exhausted. After walking a few blocks, they come upon an all-night café, where they sit at a table near the back so they can see the front door and the street
Last night Gus insisted on wearing his designer pants, the skin-tight jeans look great, but left no room to put anything in his pockets. So in Cole’s wallet are both their drivers’ licenses and passports, because you don’t go anywhere without identification. Checking his wallet he sees that he doesn’t have much money left, and they’ve left their credit cards hidden in their suitcase back in their hotel room. It’s then that Cole realizes that he’s lost his cell phone when they avoided capture last night.
The sun is starting a break over the city, and an eerie calm settles over the boys as they drink their coffee. They’re still gripped with fear as they look around, realizing they’re holed up in a dive in the barrio and the only white people in the place, far from their hotel with no money.
“Why not just call your dad collect?”
“No way. I don’t want them to know that we fucked up.”
“Gus, we didn’t fuck up. We did what we had to do.”
“You don’t understand. Once my moms find out they’ll use it against me. They’ll insist I move back home, saying I can’t take care of myself.”
“I’m sure everyone will understand. We need help, and we don’t have any other options.”
“Let’s just hitchhike back to our hotel. We need to get to the airport so we don’t miss our plane.”
“Gus, we’re a long ways from our hotel, and hitchhiking is a really bad idea.”
“You don’t want to go back to the hotel?”
“Gus, the reason they were so intent on finding us last night is because they think we can identify them. They’ll be searching for us near our hotel. After all it’s the gay district of the city.”
“I’m not leaving without my computer, iPhone, credit cards and designer luggage.”
“Are you really going to pull the pretty, rich boy routine?”
“I just got that luggage for my graduation present.”
“They’re just material things. We’re talking about our lives here.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
“I’m going to call my dad.”
“No, no!”
“Then what do you propose? We walk home from here?”
“How much money do we have?”
“Maybe enough to catch a bus to a major city where someone could wire us some money.”
“God, I’m starving. I can’t think on an empty stomach.”
“Bus ride or breakfast? You decide.”
“Are you sure we can’t…?”
“Don’t! Just don’t!”
“I guess we’re catching a bus, but I still don’t want to call anyone.”
“You want to get jobs and live in Mexico?”
“Very funny.”
They walk to the bus station and buy tickets to get as close to the border as they can. They sleep on the bus most of the afternoon. Finally the bus stops in a small town. They walk around downtown, arguing about calling home, then stop in a park to cool down. They end up talking with an American couple on vacation, and soon they have a ride over the border and into San Diego.
~~~
It’s late when there’s a knock on Leda’s door.
“Oh My God! Gus!”
She pulls him into her arms, hugging him tight, then she does the same to Cole.
“Well you two are a long ways from home!”
She makes them a huge breakfast at midnight, steak, eggs and pancakes. After all they’re growing boys. Once they get settled, Gus sends Brian a vague email saying they missed their flight. Of course by that time Brian, Justin, Mel and Lindsay are hysterical. They heard on the news about a young American teen vacationing in Puerto Vallarta who was beaten and killed. Of course the girls were frantic all day, worrying about Gus and Cole. Lindsay was ranting about how Gus never should have gone there to begin with, and angry that he hasn’t called. Thankfully they left Britin a few hours ago, and Brian doesn’t have to deal with them any longer tonight.
Shortly thereafter, Leda calls Brian after listening to Gus plead, asking her not to call his mothers. She heard the whole story from Gus of their ongoing dispute about him moving out on his own, and of course his health. Leda asks Brian to have Gus and Cole’s prescriptions called into the local pharmacy, knowing they need to stay on their meds. She reassures him that they’re fine and they just need rest. She foregoes telling him about their frightening experience of being on the run.
Brian and Justin take the next flight to San Diego, sending Mel and Lindsay an email, to avoid them insisting on going with them. When the boys wake the next morning or should I say afternoon, they’ve slept until 2 pm. Brian and Justin are sitting in Leda’s kitchen, drinking iced tea and getting the full story of Gus and Cole’s nightmare.
Gus rubs the sleep from his eyes, and seeing his fathers, he stutters, “Dad? What are you doing here?”
“It’s such a beautiful sunny afternoon, Justin and I thought we’d go to the San Diego Zoo today. I hear it’s one of the best in the nation.”
He’s still just standing there staring at his father, a little nervous.
“Gus, I hope you know that you can always call me. You can always count on me for help. You have no idea how worried Justin and I were when you didn’t get off the plane. Then there was your mothers. I never want to be on the end of one of their rants again.”
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t think they’d understand. They’ll probably make me move home again.”
“Gus, you already live at home with me and Justin, at least part time.”
That earns Brian a smile. “I’m sorry, dad. I didn’t mean to worry anyone. We just had a really horrible night, and we just couldn’t deal with anyone else’s freak-out but our own.”
“I’m so sorry you had to experience something so horrific. Unfortunately, we know how frightening it can be.”
“Yeah, I guess you do.”
Brian and Justin get up and pull him into a big hug, holding him tight, letting him know that everything’s going to be alright.
“Did you call Cole’s parents? Are they freaking out too?”
“Yes, but we couldn’t reach them at the hotel they’re staying at in Hawaii. I didn’t leave a detailed message, because I didn’t want to upset them. I just asked them to call us, but he’ll need to call them once he’s awake.”
“What about the lesbians?”
Leda snickers, as she can’t believe that Gus just called his mothers that.
“We sent them an email before we left for the airport, letting them know we received your email late last night. And not to worry, that you two decided to take a few extra days to come visit Leda.”
“Now go and get cleaned up. We brought you and Cole some clean clothes. We’ll go get some dinner before we head to the airport, and you’ll need to call your mothers before we board.”
TBC…
