Hanson Fanatic

-----------

“Toby, would you mind putting down your pen and that book and actually paying attention,” Zac said. “The conductor sent one of his men to look for the woman’s husband. Here she comes.”

“Just wait in here, ma’am,” the conductor said as he guided the older woman into the lounge car currently occupied by Zac and Toby. “We’ll get right back to you on the whereabouts of your husband.”

The older woman simply slumped down at one of the tables and muttered, “They don’t believe. They are wasting precious time. I saw him vanish right before my eyes.”

“I believe you, lady,” Zac said. “Me and Toby will help you look. What do you mean you saw him vanish?”

The woman didn’t even look up or wonder why two barely-teenage boys were asking her questions about her husband. She was so shocked. She simply answered their questions in a low, almost mumbling tone.

“Our compartment is in the last car of the train,” she said, “And Henry was coming down the aisle with a cup of water when he disappeared. It was so strange and so sudden. I thought I was dreaming at first. A few minutes after he had gone for the water, I looked through the frosted glass of our room and saw him coming down the aisle with the cup in his hand. I sat up in my bed and waited. A moment later I thought about how odd it was that he hadn’t reached our room. I looked out again. The aisle was empty. He’d vanished. It was as though I had never seen him a moment before.”

“Maybe you just thought that was your husband,” Toby suggested. “You know, you can’t see much though the glass in those end compartments. I had one of those large suites once. They frost the glass so people can’t see in, but it also blocks so that you can’t see out very well.”

The woman was not receptive. She looked around the room, her features drawn and haunted.

She said, “I know my husband, young man. I drew my robe and stepped out to see if I could find him. The paper cup was lying in the middle of the car.”

“That’s it?” Zac questioned. “Problem solved. He just dropped it and went to get more. See? I told you I would solve this mystery. Where’s my Scooby-Snack?”

The woman continued, oblivious to Zac’s comment. Toby put his finger to his lips and shushed Zac.

“I went back to bed and waited a few moments, thinking the same thing. Perhaps he spilled it and went back for more. He never came back. When I looked out of my compartment again, even the cup on the floor was gone.”

Zac and Toby stared at each other for a moment. Each not sure what to make of the old woman’s story. Was she simply confused or had her husband really been hurt. Maybe the man was as shaky as she was and fell down. In any case, they decided to help.

“Stay here and keep calm,” Zac told her. “We’ll go and look for him.”

The woman’s car was the last one on the train. There were two cars between the woman’s and the lounge. The car closest to the lounge contained the compartments used by Zac, his friends, and a few other people. It was sort of the “first class car” being closest to the lounge, dining and snack cars. Then there was two other compartment cars. The coach cars were farther forward, in the opposite direction.

“You can’t be serious, Zac,” Toby said. “Her husband murdered? Crickey, she’s nuts. Now we’re just going on a wild goose chase.”

“Come on, Tobe. Where’s your sense of adventure? Where’s your gallantry? Where’s your chivalry?”

“Where’s my perfect moment?” Toby muttered under his breath.

“Where’s your what? What did you say?” Zac asked.

“Perfect moment,” Toby responded.

“What is that? More of your New-Age philosophy crap?”

“No, it’s from a movie. Every vacation has a perfect moment. Even if the trip is totally lousy, there’s usually one big moment that stands out and you remember it forever.”

Zac gave Toby a blank stare.

“For example, when my family and I camped out two summers ago, it was seeing a mother bear and her two cubs strolling by just as the sun was coming up. During a trip to Six Flags last year, it was when my cousin got scared on the Batman Ride and wet her pants. Last summer it was when I heard Jaxsper tell Taylor that he loved him. The perfect moment.”

“Aha.... I see. And you’re wondering when your perfect moment is going to happen this trip, huh?” Zac asked.

“Yeah, I travel all the way to an Oklahoma Indian Reservation to see Jaxsper and Taylor get married, but that wasn’t it. It just didn’t feel perfect. I’ll be home in another day and a half. Maybe this will be the first vacation without one.”

“Awww, come on, Tobe,” Zac said, “Don’t give up too easily. We’re on the trail of some pretend murderer. Stick with me. We’ll find this lady’s husband, and we’ll find your perfect moment. I promise.”

The boys walked from the lounge, through the car containing their compartments, and further to the last car of the train. The car in which the old woman was staying. The light from the end of the car shown dimly down the aisle and the snores of several sleeping passengers could be heard droning from their rooms. The snores mingled with the clacking of the wheels on the rails below.

“Be vewwy vewwy quiet. We’re hunting muw-derers,” Zac whispered in his best Elmer Fudd impression.

“Oh stop that,” Toby whispered back. “You don’t really believe that her husband could have been killed, do you?”

“Hey, stranger things have happened. Maybe he’s not even in this car. Why don’t we split up. I’ll finish looking here, Toby and you go towards the front of the train. Maybe he’s back in his room. He might even be looking for his wife or he might have gone to the snack bar for a drink or something. Maybe he needs more than water to put up with that lady.”

Toby headed back towards the lounge as Zac walked to the woman’s compartment at the back of the train. Something caught his attention. It was a door that led to a passageway around the last compartment and to a platform outside on the back of the train. Zac knew all about that from his last train trip with Toby. The door was marked, “No Admittance. Rail Staff Only.” But, that was simply more of an invitation.

“Maybe he really does smoke,” Zac thought. “He went behind the car to have a cigarette and the old woman would never find out.”

The door thudded as Zac tried to open it. Something was blocking it on the other side. A not-so-gentle push opened the door however.

A slow, quiet whine of terror escaped from Zac’s lips. A man in pajamas lay diagonally on the floor just the other side of the door face down. The dim lights behind Zac illuminated the man's gray hair and his tightly clenched hands. His body was inert, lifeless. The man’s head was turned to the side, displaying a wild look of agony in his eyes and a mouth forming a scream that would never come. A section of his white pajamas just below the shoulder blades was moist red. The red glistened like jelly in the ray of light. A piece of paper covered a portion of the wound.

“Stabbed,” Zac thought, “He was stabbed in the back as he came down the aisle. The woman was right he really was murdered. The murderer must have hid here, then jumped out as the man walked towards his wife.”

Zac felt sick. This wasn’t a joke. His hand shook as he reached for the paper on the man’s back. He pulled it from the wound. It made a sucking sound and revealed more of the red stain.

He heard his own whimpered voice reading the note aloud. It said, “The night we met I knew I needed you so.”

Zac suddenly realized the note was evidence, and that he disturbed it. Not only disturbed it but put his fingerprints all over it. He replaced the note and closed the door. He had to find Toby. He had to find a conductor.

As steadily as he could he walked out of the train car, trying as hard as he could to not disturb the sleeping passengers. He found Toby snooping around one car forward.

“T-t-t-toby. You’re not gonna believe this but the old lady was right. Her husband was murdered. He’s in the next car.”

Toby couldn’t believe it. It was too fantastic, but something about the look on Zac’s face told him to be serious.

“Someone must have jumped out and stabbed him as he walked back there. Maybe the killer is watching us now. Waiting for us to make our next move.”

Toby imagined a cobra coiled and ready to strike. He felt his blood run cold.

Zac, though shaken, was suddenly able to tap into a bit of his bottomless amount of self-confidence once again.

When I was little, I used to have bad dreams all the time. My Dad told me they were “insights”. He said that my dreams were like insights into tomorrow because they would usually come true. Some of the dreams were pretty simple, like knowing what I was going to get for Christmas or something. Once I dreamed that an earthquake would hit our city, only to have that come true a day later. I could usually tell the difference between the “insight” dream and just the regular run of the mill dream.

Sometimes the dreams got so scary that, I would have to climb in bed with my mom and dad. My dad would tell me that everything would be ok. When I was separated from Taylor, I dreamed that he was in trouble. As hard as it is for me to face, that nightmare was true. I never told anyone, but before my father died, I had a dream that he would be leaving us. That was one of the nights I climbed into bed with he and my mom. He asked me that night what was wrong. He wanted me to tell him about my bad dream, but I just couldn’t.

When I first met Taylor, I dreamed of the two of us being together and it came true. Mother Windom, the shaman who married us, also claimed to see the gift of foresight in me. She said that there was a bond linking Taylor and me and that if I stay in touch with that bond it will lead us down the right path.

Lately, I’ve been trying to dream of what the future will bring for the two of us. I still haven’t told my Mom about how we got married or anything. I don’t know what sort of reaction we will receive from Taylor’s family. I guess I’ve been trying to preview what it will be in my sleep before the reality hits. Before we let everyone know that we are married. The last few nights I’ve tried to “tune in” to the psychic part of myself, but it’s not like a machine you can turn on and off. Still, in my dream last night, a mysterious stranger appeared in my dream and offered me a look behind the curtain. I woke up before I could actually see what that future would be. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll get a chance to see him again tonight. __________________

I was looking over a couple of the wedding gifts when Taylor walked up behind me.

“Quite a haul, huh? Especially given the short notice,” Taylor said with a laugh.

“Yeah,” I said holding onto the message that my mom had sent to us.

“You still haven’t told her yet, have you Jax,” Taylor asked.

I couldn’t tell her. Not completely. Not over the phone or in an email. I told her to be prepared to meet Taylor Hanson when I got back into town, and she knew that I met Taylor when I was filming The Real World. I told Taylor that it was just hard to come out to my Mom like that. It was hard for me to be so public with my feelings for him.

He took my hand in his and said, “Well, I don’t care what anyone thinks. I love you Jaxsper, and I’ll kiss you anywhere, anytime, and no one can stop me” He grinned did just that, kissing me in that special way that only he can.

Taylor moved his face to plant his lips onto mine. I parted my lips and let his gentle tongue come in to probe deeply in my mouth. His kisses were hungry and full of passion. I kissed back with the same intensity. Minutes flew by but we didn’t notice. We hardly came up for air as we explored each other’s bodies with our hands. Our crotches grinding into one another’s.

Finally our kiss broke.

Taylor looked out of the window and a faint smile crossed his luscious lips.

“What?” I asked.

“I was just thinking of the first time we met. I still can’t believe it’s true.”

“It is pretty unbelievable, but all I have to do is look down at my hand. I’ve got the ring to prove I’m yours and you’ve got the ring to prove that you’re mine. That’s all that matters to me.”

I placed one hand on his chest, the other snuck down to the table of wedding presents beside us. I could feel his heart beating quickly though his thin T-shirt. I let my hand travel down his strong chest and over the cute “speedbump” like abdomen muscles. I massaged his cock though his jeans, all the while looking into his eyes.

Slowly, I unzipped his fly and let my hand slip inside. As my right hand explored the heat of his crotch, my left fumbled around on the gift table, trying to feel out the thing I was looking for. My right hand found it’s goal first, and it closed around the erection straining against his pre-cum damp boxers. I feel his dick throb strongly several times.

I assisted his dick by letting it slip out of the boxers and into the cool air. We both glanced down at his now free, massive erection as it throbbed out in the open.

“I guess you’re happy to see me, huh?” I joked. “Let’s make this a moment that we’ll never forget.”

I pulled my left hand from behind my back and, without warning, a flash temporarily blinds both of us. A familiar “click-bzhhh” sound is heard as I snap a picture with the Polaroid we received as a wedding gift.

“Hey!” Taylor yelled as I ran away from him.

I sat on the couch in our train compartment, placing the camera down beside me. In my hand was the still-developing picture. Laughing, I looked at it to saw that I had a perfectly good picture of Taylor’s hard penis. It was quite a photo.

“Ok, very funny, Jax,” he said, “Just what do you think you were doing?”

“I was just fooling around with the new camera we got as a wedding present. You did want to capture this moment, didn’t you? A picture’s worth a thousand words, Tay.”

He came over and kissed me again, pushing me down on the couch and laying his body on top of mine. As we frenched, he took the picture from my hand.

“See, great picture,” I said, “I think I’ve captured the real you.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t get my good side,” he laughed back.

“Taylor, every side of you is your ‘good side’. Next time though, I think I’ll use the wide angled lense.”

He looked at the picture again and I could tell he was both embarrassed and proud to hear me say that. We kissed again, Taylor grinding his exposed erection into my lap some more.

“Well,” he finally said , “Since you took a shot of me, it’s only fair that I take one of you.”

I thought about it and started to weakly protest, all the while imagining what it would be like.

“Come on, Jax. That way you won’t be able to blackmail me, or sell it to the National Enquirer or anything like that. They would probably pay big bucks for this. I can see the headlines now, ‘Teen Heart-Throb(ing)’ or something dumb like that,” he laughed. “I need some insurance. Imagine I had the only known picture of the famous Jaxsper Finn’s genitals.”

I told him that if he wanted me naked he was just going to have to do it himself.

Taylor agreed in less than a second and began sliding down my body, slowly unbuttoning each button of my shirt with his teeth and leaving a trail of kisses down my chest and stomach. His tongue swirled around my bellybutton. Then, he unbuckled my belt and pulled down my pants, yanking them off and throwing them across the room. His mouth covered my boxers as he licked and sucked through the fabric. It became soaked with his saliva. I was in ecstasy. He took the waistband gently between his teeth and pulled the last stitch of fabric from my body.

“Well, well, well. Looks like ‘li’l Jax’ almost as excited as you are,” Taylor said as my boner snapped back against my stomach then bobbed in the free air.

Taylor retrieved the camera, and told me to lay back further on the couch. I was his model to pose, as he told me to drape on arm behind my head and let one leg fall off the edge of the couch. He told me to spread my legs apart more to show off more of myself. My pulse was racing and each beat of my heart made my dick jump more and more.

“Are you ready?” Taylor asked, “Say cheese.”

Before I could even say anything he snapped the shot. We both began laughing really hard and he flopped back down on my chest, waving the photo in the air in an attempt to make it develop faster. I had never seen a naked picture of myself. We sat there staring at it as it faded in, mesmerized by the site.

“You know, Jax, if your acting career never takes off, you could always have a future in porno,” Taylor said as we both cracked up.

“Now your turn,” I insisted.

Taylor stripped immediately and laid back on the couch, pacing one arm behind him, and grabbing his massive penis with the other. I told him to jack himself a couple of times to “fluff” up for the camera.

“I’m ready for my close up,” Taylor teased as the camera went off. “Hey, no fair! My eyes were closed.”

“We should take some of both of us,” I added. “There’s a cable attachment for the camera. It has a push button so both of us can be in pictures.”

Taylor propped the camera up on a couple of books and aimed it towards the bed and took the cord. He hugged me close, letting his leg drape over mine. I felt his flushed cheek against my own. Our two dicks pressed against each others and fully exposed to the camera. He pushed the button and the flash went off.

For the next shot, Taylor reached over with his delicate fingers and wrapped them around my dick. I returned the favor. The head of his penis disappearing as I stroked it a couple of times. Taylor moaned his approval. His head rolled back, displaying his delicate throat which I kissed as he pushed the button, snapping another picture.

Taylor slid down off the couch to kneel between my legs. He turned towards me and put is face down near my crotch, his mouth just inches away from the head of it. I could feel his hot breath flow onto my penis. I was about to thrust forward towards his open mouth, when...snap, another picture.

“Ooops. Sorry,” I said as I pushed my dick into his mouth.

“Jax, this is a photo shoot. How unprofessional,” he mummbled between gulps of my dick.

Taylor kept the button in his hand and every once in awhile the flash would pop as he took another picture. He gently brushed the swollen head of my penis with his lips. I gasped as I felt the contact again. Taylor let my penis slide further into his face and began to move his tongue slowly around the bottom of it making it slick with his salvia. I heard the camera click and whir again.

He pulled off of me only long enough to open the tiny couch in our train compartment into a bed. Once again his model, I was directed to lie down and he moved into the 69 position on top of me.

The only sounds in the room were the sounds of two mouths eagerly sucking away at two even more eager penises. I temporarily forgot about the camera and the pictures and concentrated on giving him pleasure. The smell of his body up this close was sweet and exciting to me, and I tried my hardest to take all of him into my mouth. I could feel the heat and excitement building up inside of him as he approached the phase, but I wanted something else first.

I rolled him off of me and said, “I want to take you on your back. I want to see your face as I fuck you, Taylor. I want to look deep into your eyes and never break contact.”

I grabbed a bottle of baby oil from my suitcase and stood at the edge of the bed. I spread a thick coating of the oil onto my dick. Taylor’s eyes move from mine to stare at my shiny, hard penis then back up to look into my eyes again.

I crawl back up the bed and knelt between Taylor’s spread legs. I lean forward to kiss him and as I do so, I slide a couple of oil slick fingers into his ass. He tries as hard as he can to relax and allow them in. I’m as careful as can be, gently loosening him for what will happen. When I feel that he is ready, I lift his legs and rest them on my shoulders. My penis moves closer to it’s target slowly, my eyes never leaving his. I gently push against his resistance and in moments the head of my dick is inside. I can feel his ass spasming around me briefly as he tries to adjust. I’m staring into his eyes and he is looking back. I see the initial look of pain on his face, but it passes almost instantly turning once again into the starved-lust he had before.

After a few moments, I rock back and forth against him, each time a little bit more of me eases inside. The feeling is incredible. He is so tight and warm. I can hear the little mews of pleasure he lets out with each thrust and I can feel him relax beneath me as I push even more. All of me slides down deep inside. We’re both breathing hard and sweat covers our bodies.

Taylor looks into my eyes, strands of hair clinging to his sweaty face, and smiles. I know that he loves me, and I hope that he will do so forever. He reaches up and wraps one hand around my waist, directing me to forward to meet his thrust as he lifts his body off the bed with his legs. His other hand moved down to toy with his own throbbing erection.

“Don’t stop. Oh please...don’t stop,” he moans as he flings his head back and forth on the bed, his eyes wide open, staring into mine.

I move out of him again until just the head of my dick remains. Taylor’s whole body reacts to this, feeling the void I left. As I push back in, Taylor lets out a long, heavy moan. Over and over I repeat this motion.

I try as hard as I can to make it last forever but it is impossible. I also try to not break contact with his eyes, but it’s impossible. My eyes squeeze tightly closed with my impending orgasm. My whole body begins to convulse as I explode inside of him. I can feel Taylor squirming beneath me, lost in his own throes of ecstasy.

I collapse on top of him, my penis still throbbing inside. We don’t move for a long while. The only sound is our breathing, gasping really, as we recover. Then, I ease myself out of him and kiss him deeply.

“That was incredible.” he whispers before dropping off into a deep sleep.

I collapse onto the bed beside him, still trying to catch my breath. Eventually I doze off as well, slipping into dreamland.

________________

It’s that dream again, the one with the mysterious stranger. We’re in a carnival I think. It is weird, in dreams everything is images, everything stands for something else, but I think it is the same carnival that Taylor and I went to on our first date. The mysterious stranger points to one of the rides. It’s sort of like a “tunnel of love” ride, with the boat that travels along a path. I climb in.

This time, it’s different. I turn and realize that the mysterious figure is my dad. We talk for awhile as the boat travels along. I tell him about Taylor and all the adventures we had. The extraordinary adventure and the mundane ones I haven’t even had yet. And in the dream, I think I hear my name being called by someone deep in the tunnel, but it’s just the wind carrying it away.

My with Taylor is so transient. There is no constant except change. I miss what I had with my own father. It’s left a gap in my life that I would love to fill. I bet Taylor and I would be wonderful parents. If by some miracle we were to be able to raise a baby, we’d appreciate everything that we went through in our lives to get to that point. I know it’s not exactly cool to say but, a simple life with the man that I love is what I hope for. Not the glitsy, show business that Taylor has, and I work towards.

People who have ordinary lives, they dream of what it would be like to be extraordinary. I’ve had the extraordinary. I’ve been on TV. I’ve traveled the country. I’ve found the love of my life. Someone like me, I envy those who have the simplicity of existence. Who know the small joys: a father who was around when you were growing up, being able to hold hands in public with someone you love, always being with them, not having to hide the fact that you care.

As the boat travels down the tunnel of love, I start to think that the dream means that my life will continue until I get all the things that I truly want. That I just have to keep on a steady course and I’ll have it all. That perhaps, just perhaps, the rest of my life will be a calm sea with smooth sailing. I would like that a great deal.

The boat stops at a funhouse mirror and my dad tells me that if I look inside, I can see the future. I’ve never been one to spoil the surprise, and I hate it when people tell me the end of a book or movie before I can finish it, but I’m tempted to look. I want to see what becomes of Taylor and I and I’m sure that given the symbols in this dream, everything will be ok. Against my better judgment, I peek at the mirror.

No.

Nooooo.

I wanted fast answers about what’s going to happen to me. I just got them. What I saw..... What I saw..... In less than a second I went from knowing nothing to knowing everything and the ultimate knowledge is..... soon it will all be over.

I wake up, my body is cold and shaking. I can’t get the images of a chalk boy drawn in the ground out of my mind. I want to believe that it’s just a dream but no matter how hard I try I know I can’t. I know it could be real tomorrow. I know that soon I am going to die, and that’s not even the reason why I can’t help but cry.

CHAPTER 4

The train was racing down the track. Everyone was warm inside, looking out of the windows at the tracks below, but he wasn’t. He could see the moon.

He had climbed up on top of one of the train cars. It was really pretty easy, if you weren’t afraid. He wasn’t afraid. He had to be brave if he was going to show Taylor how much he loved him. If he was going to impress Taylor well, ‘faint hearts never won fair ladies’... or...boys or whatever. Suffice it to say, he couldn’t let a little thing like a speeding train and a drop to the hard, cold ground below scare him. If only the corpse wasn’t so heavy.

He hoisted the inert form of the dead man up on top of the train to join him. If only Taylor had seen it. It was art. Just as Taylor makes music, he also had his particular art. And, he made his art until someone dies. Zac spoiled his plan though. Taylor’s little brother came upon his artwork, and even now was out raising the alarm. Oh well, he still had one more chance to display his art for Taylor. One more chance to impress him with his talents and bravery.

He looked out past the moon and to the city lights. The city blinked its neon-pale eyes back at him. The train had pulled away from the city and towards the outskirts of town, but the lights could still be seen. The cold wind chilled him and blew in his ears. The first few flakes of snow started falling.

He took a deep breath and pulled the body more, moving forward along the top of the train. The sounds of the train, the bite of the cold wind, the city lights twinkling in the distance all died for him. All he heard and saw and felt was the artwork he dragged behind him. It made an almost rhythmic scratching sound as he pulled it along.

Almost there, he thought. Only two more cars to go.

_________________

Zac looked around. His eyes went from nervous, to determined, to scared, to nervous all over again.

Toby tried to believe him. He wanted to, but it was just too fantastic. How could someone actually be stabbed the way Zac said? It was impossible. Zac must be joking. After all, Zac was goofing about how this was a ‘murder investigation’ long before he even claimed to find the body. It must be a joke, a distraction, to keep both of them busy. Still, there was something about Zac’s eyes. There was something there that Toby had never seen in his friend before. It was fear.

“We gotta go tell the conductor,” Zac said.

“Zac, tell me exactly what......”

There was a slightly scritch-scritch-scratch sound coming from somewhere, but the boys couldn’t tell where. Suddenly, they stopped talking.

“Did you hear that?” asked Zac, his eyes again growing wide like saucers.

“Yup,” Answered Toby, swallowing hard.

The turned like a precision marching team and quickly ran out of the room.

Almost at once, they spotted a conductor. He was the same conductor who had dismissed the old woman’s claims that something horrible had happened to her husband. He was a large man, with a southern accent, slack jawed and chewed on a toothpick like it was his last meal.

“OhmyGod! You’renotgoingtobelivethis...,” they both said at once.

“Alright, boys. Shhhhhh,” the conductor said, shifting the toothpick in his mouth to avoid the finger at his lips. “Don’t you think it’s a little too late for you to be running around? You know, I’ll have to advise you that it’s dangerous to run on the train.”

“Running on the train is dangerous? Who cares about that at a time like this? A little while ago, someone in the last car was murdered,” an over-excited Zac yelled.

The conductor stared at them in disbelief.

“Oh, I get it. Y’all was in the car when Mrs. Dalloway came in. You shouldn’t let what she say concern you. She’s an older lady, boys. Plus, she told us that she and her Mr. Dalloway was having words just before the last stop. We’ve searched the train, and I think maybe he got off at the last station. I radioed back, and one of the rail staff at that station said that he thinks he might have seen an old man getting into a taxicab. Problem solved. I had Mrs. Dalloway take a sedative, and she’s getting off at the next stop. Simple.”

“You’re simple!” Zac said, growing impatient. “What did you say? ‘Thinks that he might have’. How could anyone be that dense. I know what saw, and there’s no ‘might have’ about it. I saw the body.”

Toby grabbed his friends shoulder and said, “Zac, do you really think this is the best way to get some help? Maybe if we all calm down....”

“Are you on the level?,” The conductor asked interrupting Toby.

“Stop acting like a movie detective or Boss Hogg or something. Now, if aren’t going to take that toothpick out of your mouth and do something about this I will.”

“Hold on there, just a minute,” said the conductor, growing even more impatient. “I can’t have the two of you traipsing along the train, poking your noses at people while they’re sleeping. Why do you think I kept this so quiet? Here. If it will satisfy you, I’ll come with you and look into it.”

“Oh, you’ll have a look? Well, that should clear everything up, I’m sure,” Zac said.

Zac mumbled and grumbled all the way back to the last train car. He threw open the door marked ‘Rail Staff Only’, pointed his finger and said, “There. Does that satisfy you?” then gasped.

“Just what am I suppose to be seein’, boy?” the conductor asked.

They stared at the empty supply nook.

“It was there. It was right there. I saw it. There was blood, and a knife. A body.” Zac said, protesting his sanity.

“Ohhhhhh, a body. Was it a large body?” he asked sarcastically.

The conductor took a flashlight from his belt and shined it into the storage area. There were no visible signs of a body, blood, or anything else. He chalked it up to the shenanigans of two bored kids on the train.

He turned to Toby and said, “Did you see this body, son?”

“Well, no. Not exactly. Zac sent me forward...”

“Why did he do that?”

“To look for a body.” Toby said.

“To look for a body? But you didn’t need to look for it. He found it. And how did you boys know to look for some body?”

Zac couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He knew what he saw.

“Look. It was a man. He was right there a minute ago.”

“Well,” the conductor said, his southern drawl showing even more, “Maybe he got tired of waiting and went to bed. Which is what I suggest the two of you do or I’ll go get your parents.”

“You’ll have a hard time with that. They’re not even on the train,” Zac said. “There was a body. Stabbed. A note on it read something about how they met at night.”

“A note? Shame the killer didn’t leave his name and address on the note too, huh? I get it now. Two boys, traveling alone. No parents. Trying to play tricks, aren’t we?”

“Forget it Toby. We’ll never win this way. Let’s go ask Mrs. Dalloway why her husband would get off the train wearing his white pajamas. That will prove that we know what we’re talking about.”

Zac stomped off, his oversized Doc Martens clanging along the hall as he did. The conductor was right behind him.

___________________________

He looked up at the moon again. The body was getting easier and easier to pull along. If he counted right, he should be right where he wanted, just over Taylor’s compartment. Now he could display his art for Taylor to see.

With a shove, his artwork fell in front of the window. He was careful to hook the foot of his art to a piece of metal protruding from he train car. Unfortunately, the body was heavier than he suspected. It fell, sliding down the window and the side of the train, eventually landing on the tracks below. He was sure that Taylor had seen it though, and he knew that he would appreciate it.

He scrambled back towards the back of the train and to the door that would deliver him back inside. Once back, he walked along the train corridor until the sounds of the train, the lights of the city shining through the windows, and the feel of the warmed air came back to him.

_______________________

“Hold it there, son,” the conductor said, taking a hold of Zac’s shoulder. “I told you that I can’t have you running around the train, disturbing people and waking them up. Now, if your parents aren’t on this train, just who is responsible for you boys?”

“Hey, dude, hands off!” Zac said struggling to break the ham-handed grip the conductor had on him. “Don’t you know who I am? I’ve had bodyguards who would have pounded your country-boy head until the grits came out. Take me to my brother. He’ll straighten you out.”

Toby could sense trouble brewing, and he knew that he would need help in stopping the escalating war he was about to have on his hands. He spotted X walking towards them. “Good,” he thought, “At least X can help me keep Zac calm.”

X walked by almost as if he didn’t see them. He seemed distracted, almost lost in his own world.

“X! Hey, X! A little help here,” Toby said.

“Oh, Toby. Sorry. I didn’t realize it was you guys there,” X said, his eyes focusing more on Toby’s hands than his face.

“Is this your brother?” The conductor asked, his hand still firmly on Zac.

“No, that isn’t my brother,” Zac answered, indignantly. “That’s just X. He’s a friend that we met.....long story.”

“Is there some trouble here?” X asked, trying to help.

“No, these boys are just out of sorts. Running around. Causing a commotion. Are you responsible for them?”

“No, that would be his brother Taylor. Compartment 15. Why don’t you take your hands off of him, and I’ll show you.” X said, while grabbing the conductor’s hand.

He firmly, but gently extracted Zac from the other man’s grip. The four of them headed to Taylor’s room. The conductor knocked, and Jaxsper answered almost immediately.

“I’m sorry to disturb you....” the conductor started.

“That’s ok, I couldn’t sleep anyway,” Jaxsper said wiping what everyone but Toby thought was the sleep from his eyes. Toby thought it might have been tears.

“...but your brother was causing a commotion.”

“That’s not my brother!” Zac yelled. “That’s Jaxsper. He’s my brother-in-law....ok, that’s a longer story.”

“Zac?!” Taylor questioned, still in bed and half asleep.

Zac ran into the room and told Taylor all about the old woman and the body and the rough treatment he received at the hands of the conductor, exaggerating the story as only Zac could.

Taylor listened to the whole story with a knowing smile on his face. It wasn’t the first time Zac’s imagination ran wild, and it wouldn’t be the last. The clincher for him was when Zac even had the gall to claim that he could see blood outside of Taylor’s window! Taylor knew then that Zac was just letting his imagination run away with him. He thanked the conductor and X, and ordered Zac and Toby to bed. He promised that they would talk about it more the next morning.

The conductor left, returning to his duties. X had left as well, probably heading back to his own compartment in the confusion. Zac closed Taylor’s door, making sure that Taylor promised to listen to him fully the next day.

Once outside, alone in the corridor again, Zac started feeling funny again. He was able to hide it during his confrontation with the conductor, but with that distraction gone, he was hit with the creepy sensation that they were being watched. Zac stopped so abruptly that Toby ran into him, his body pressing flush against Zac’s.

“Hey,” Toby said, “Watch out!” Not that Toby was complaining much, actually. It was the closest he had been to Zac all day.

Zac didn’t answer. He turned and looked around the train car. The hallway was empty. Everyone was in bed, asleep. That’s what he told himself at least. But, he couldn’t stop thinking that if someone wanted to, really wanted to, he or she could easily spy on him. The person could be hiding around any one of these doorways, or slumped down behind something. There were plenty of ways for that person to watch him without being seen.

“Zac, is there some reason why you’ve decided to stop in the middle of the aisle?”

“Oh, sorry,” Zac said, trying to sound as if nothing was wrong. “You know, I think I’m in need of some quality junk food right now. I think I have some stowed in my suitcase, for just such an emergency.”

He didn’t say anything else. Zac just kept looking around. Someone was watching. He could feel it. He was sure. Someone out there was watching him. He was glad that Taylor’s room was next to his and that X and Quick were only two doors down.

The balled-up wad of paper flew across the room and landed in the wastepaper basket.

“Two points!”

It was followed by another and another and another.

“Two points again, and the crowd goes wild. A cheer sweeps over the crowd. The crowd starts to chant, ‘Quick! Quick! Quick!’ The basketball star remains humble. ‘Thank you. Thank you. No applause, just throw money and babes, and I’ll be fine,” Quick said.

The door opened and X walked inside. He surveyed the room. Seven balled up pieces of paper were scattered around. Three of them in the trash can, another four lie on the floor not even close to the goal.

Quick began his running commentary again.

“Here he comes. He breaks left. He fakes right. No one knew that David ‘Quick’ Xairec had it in him when they brought him up to the pros, but he’s dazzled them all. Some call him the next Jordan. Quick has been crowned the new king of the courts. He lines up his shot, raises the ball. He shoots. He scores! The crowd is on their feet, led by Quick’s attractive friend X who looks on enraptured. His captivating eyes dancing with adoration and...... Oh hell, you know you could at least act impressed, X!”

A smile crossed X’s face.

“I’m sorry, was that in the job description?” he joked sarcastically, “Oh Quick, you’re sooooo amazing. Howzat?”

“Perfect,” answered Quick, “You make me feel almost 6 feet tall. Where have you been? It’s the middle of the night and I wake up and find you out of your bed. I had to do something to pass the time.”

“I don’t think you were bored too long. There’s not alot of paper thrown around here. You must have been doing something else. I just went out for a walk around the train. Besides, I’m not the only one up. I ran into Toby. For some reason, I almost didn’t recognize him until I saw Zac. Stupid amnesia.”

“As long as you don’t forget about me, we’ll be fine.” Quick said.

“I could never forget you, Quick. All I have to do is look at your hands and I would know you. The long, delicate fingers tapering off from your strong hands. It’s a dead giveaway.”

X reached over to take Quick’s hand in his.

“Brrrr! Your hands are cold,” Quick said bending his head to blow warm air on them, “Where’d you go for that walk? On top of the train? Then again, I guess it’s not a bad thing. You know what they say, ‘Cold hands, warm heart’.”

Quick looked up into X’s eyes. He tried to say that last line with so much finesse, but he still felt like he sucked at it. How did Jax and Taylor make it look so easy when they said corny, romantic stuff like that? All he wanted to do was impress X, but it fell flat. No wonder the farthest he got with X was that kiss they shared a hotel parking lot a few days ago. Quick decided he had enough of the mushy-love stuff. He was always a take charge guy. He decided to ask X point blank.

“So, we haven’t really talked about that kiss you gave me before,” he asked, suddenly self conscious all over again.

“There’s not much to talk about. I was just thanking you for helping me. You’ve been so nice. Don’t you ever feel like you need another guy’s help?” X asked.

“Sure,” answered Quick, “When I woke up with a hard on awhile ago, I looked down and I thought, ‘I could sure use some guy’s help....’.”

“Not that!” X said, picking up one of the paper wads and tossing at his friend. “You know what I mean. You helped me off the street. You gave me a place to belong and took me on this train trip with you...”

“Well, to be honest,” Quick said, “Taylor’s the one actually paying for all of this. That brings up something I’ve been meaning to ask you, X. When we found you, you didn’t know who you were or where you were from. You didn’t remember anyone from your past, but you recognized Taylor and Zac almost instantly. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

X wasn’t sure how to answer that. He feigned being tired, turned off the light and climbed into his bunk, telling Quick that he would rather talk about it more tomorrow.

________________

“That was surreal,” Taylor said, turning off the light and getting back into bed. “Good night, Jax.....well at least I think it’s still night. You’re usually on top of these things.....”

I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to Taylor. I couldn’t get the dream out of my head. Dream...yeah right, more like a nightmare actually.

“Hello? Operator,” Taylor said, as he made a fist and gently knocked on my forehead, “I think I’ve reached a number that is no longer in service. You there, Jax?”

I knew then what I had to do. I couldn’t let on to Taylor about my dream. I couldn’t let him know that it was one of those dreams that I have that I just know will come true. I had to protect him from the horrible premonition I had.

“Come on, Jax,” I said to myself, “There’s no way you can let Taylor know that you dreamed that..... No, I won’t even think it. Get ready. You have to fool him. You’re an actor. Now it’s time for your best performance yet.”

I instructed myself, giving my own stage directions so that Taylor wouldn’t find out.

(smile)

“It’s nothing, Taylor. I was just thinking about what Zac said. Do you suppose it could be true? Maybe he really did see a body.”

(Good, good. That’s it, distract him. Talk about something else)

“What? Are you nuts? You know Zac and the stuff he gets into,” Taylor said.

(Now, work the crowd)

“You’re probably right. I was just being silly. You always know best,” I answered batting my eyes at him romantically.

(That’s it. Nothing’s wrong. He won’t know if you don’t let on.)

Taylor squinted his eyes, staring at me. It was one of those stares that he gives me sometimes. The stare that can see right though me and into my very soul.

“Alright, cough it up,” Taylor said authoritatively, “What’s wrong?”

(Abort, abort. Come on, Laurence Olivier. He’s not buying your performance.)

“What.... what are you talking about?” I stammered. “There’s nothing wrong. Now come on, you should go to back to sleep.”

(Kiss him! That’s it. Distract him with a kiss.)

I leaned in to kiss my husband. Ok, it wasn’t one of my best ones. I sort of missed his upper lip completely and landed somewhere between his chin and his full, pink, lower lip. I recovered though, trying to make the kiss as deliciously distracting as possible. He didn’t buy it. Taylor reached over and turned the light back on.

“Now I know something’s wrong, and I know you, Jaxsper. What is it?”

“I can’t imagine what your talking about,” I said, “It’s nothing. I swear.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me that.”

“I said I’m fine,” I answered, turning away to turn the light back off.

Taylor took my face in his hands and kissed me several times again. Little kisses. After each one he looked into my eyes. It was as if he was extracting some sort of information from deep in my brain.

“You’re so determined to turn out the light and for me to go to sleep and yet you were wide awake when Zac showed up.....” he kissed me a couple more times, trying to determine my problem. “It’s a dream isn’t it? You had a bad dream? Is that all?”

Don’t ask me how he does it. He just does. I guess I’ll never be able to hide anything from Taylor. In a way I sort of liked that. I didn’t tell him fully about the vision. A vision of our future. A future terribly near and, I think, utterly inescapable. At any moment, I could lose everything that holds me together as a human being.

“What’s this dream you had?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” I said, trying to downplay it, all the while knowing that I would have to tell him at least part of it if I was going to keep him off the trail from finding out all of it.

“Nothing. Right. Which is why you won’t tell me about it?”

“Exactly,” I said.

“You’re lying,” he said, as determined as I am. “Jax... I’m here. Hold onto me. Talk to me. I want you to tell me what’s going on, and honestly. We’ve always been straight with each other, no secrets, no lies. This dream that you’ve been having, what is it that affects you so much?”

“Ok. You got me, Taylor. I didn’t tell you about it because it’s so stupid. I just dreamed that I was going to lose you forever. I dreamt that I was going to die. I knew it would make you crazy so I didn’t tell you.”

“Is that all? Jaxsper Finn, you can be so silly. That’s the big thing that you were trying to keep from me? A so called, 'psychic dream'? What are you going to tell me next, that some sort of elite corps. of teenagers with psychic abilities are going to ask you to join their ranks, and they’ll teach you all about teleportation and healing and energy control? Honestly, Jax, it’s just a dream. What makes you so sure you’re going to die?”

(act brave)

“I’m not sure....,” I answer.

(truth)

“But I’m going to find out.....”

(truth)

“I know that this must be freaking out you.”

(truth)

“But I can promise you that it won’t last much longer.”

(horrible truth)

“What else,” Taylor asked, “There’s something that you’re not telling me. Jax, as much as I love you, it frustrates me when you try to keep things from me in order to protect me.”

“Taylor, I swear that’s everything I dreamed.”

(horrible lie)

I roll over to turn out the light, and as I look into Taylor’s face one last time before the room grows dark, I can see that he doesn’t believe me. He knows that I am keeping more from him. “Last chance,” I say to myself, “Last chance to make it right. Tell him. Trust him.”

I turn to Taylor and say..., “That’s all I know.”

(Well played, Olivier! How many Oscars do you plan on picking up after that performance?)

“Jax. I know what it is. It’s just the news that you got before we left Oklahoma. Your friend Storm died, and it’s just upsetting you. You’re just fixated on death right now that’s all. Nothing and no one is going to keep us apart, not even death.”

“I know, and I’m going to make sure that is true.”

“Jaxsper, I wouldn’t trade the way you care about me for anything in the world, but I’m pretty capable on my own. You don’t always have to rush to my rescue.”

“Well, I kinda like rushing to your rescue,” I said, smiling. Taylor had a way of easing even my worst fears.

“I know. Why do you think I love you so much?”

“I thought it was because I have a cute butt!”

“Well, there’s that too,” Taylor said, reaching under the covers to pinch my boxer covered ass.

“I love you, Taylor. Okay? That means I want to protect you. I want to keep an eye on you.”

“Whatever rocks your world. I’ll holler if I need help. Besides, you can do all of this to prove your love to me, but it won’t change the fact that I’ll still love you more.”

Taylor really can put me at ease. Even despite my visions and dreams, I still had to laugh out loud. He joked, and played, and sympathized and loved me right out of my ‘doom and gloom’ mood.

“Hold on there,” I said, rolling back over to turn the light on again. “Let me get this straight, you love me more. Ho, ho, ho, that’s rich. I don’t think so. No matter what you say, I still love you more.”

“You might think so, but what would you say about this.”

Taylor turned on the light, got out of bed and bent over to open his suitcase. God, he has the cutest ass! His broad shoulders tapering down to his thin waist and the tiniest peek of the porcelain skin showing just above the waistband of his boxers. He pulled out a CD and tossed it to me.

“It’s the single from our latest album called ‘Idols’. The record company wanted us to come out with a new CD now for Christmas sales, but we wanted to spend more time writing new songs. It was their idea to have us do a CD of covers of songs by previous teen idols. We re-made songs by Debbie Gibson and New Kids on the Block and New Edition. It kinda drove Ike crazy since alot of it is ‘pop-bubblegum’ stuff, but he was satisfied by the fact that we got to do covers from older teen bands like the Jackson 5 too. Plus, this CD buys us a little more time to work on our new stuff. Actually I sort of like the ballads. Guess I’m just a hopeless romantic like you Jax. The record company chose ‘Lost in Your Eyes’ to be our first single, which satisfies me. If you look at the dedications portion inside you’ll see I dedicated it to you.”

I opened it up and turned to the dedications part of the liner notes.

"Hey," I yelled, "I don't see any dedication to me here. Just this weird group of numbers and letters."

"That's the dedication, goofus," Taylor said. "You don't think any record executive would let me proclaim my love for another guy right there in black and white do you? I got the idea from another teen idol who expressed his love for his boyfriend on his latest CD using a code. Pretty smart huh? I’ll show you how to decipher it, and then you’ll see that it says, 'Dedicated to Jaxsper. I'll be found when I am lost in yours eyes.' As you can see, I love you way more than you love me, and I'm going to have the CD sales to prove it."

"Taylor, I'll let you get away with alot, but when it comes to this it's sort of a 'Runaway Bunny' kinda thing. You can say that you love me more than anything in the world or anyone past, present or future. You can say that you'll never stop loving me, ever. But, no matter how much you love me, I'll simply love you more."

We play argued like that for a bit longer. Each of us trying to show how we could love the other more. Even though they haven't created a measurement large enough to measure either of our love, I still know that I was right.

Finally, we decided that instead of talking, a more...physical determination was needed to prove who loved the other more. We turned out the light and did just that. About an two hours, and an endless amount of orgasms later, Taylor fell asleep and I was left with my thoughts again.

Now, however, I had more than just my thoughts. I had a glimmer of a plan. I needed to focus on it and make it work for me and Taylor. My one chance of cheating fate may rest upon, of all things, the teenaged, motor-mouthed, dynamo in the next compartment who was determined that he had seen a murder. God help me, my plan relied on someone who, while at times can be a nuisance, was now once again going to be my salvation. Because even if it's through death, I'll still love him more.

__________________

I didn’t think I would end up involved in something like this. I didn’t know that my trip with Zac would turn out to be this weird. I didn’t see the corpses coming. I was too busy making plans. Making plans to seduce Zac and show him how happy he would be if he just gave it up and loved me. But, my plans didn’t involve being in a major mystery. Seduction! Who has time for seduction? My life is like an express train right now complete with break neck speeds and the whine of a whistle blowing.

Zac opened the door to his compartment, and told Toby to wait outside. He wanted a quick look inside, to protect Toby just in case someone or something was in there waiting for them. Toby was to run if he heard the order from Zac.

He crept over and shoved the tiny closet door open. Zac breathed a sigh of relief when he found it empty. He thought for a second that maybe he should be responsible in a bit and actually hang a few of his clothes in the closet, but he pushed that thought aside as quickly as he pushed open the door. He grabbed a wire hanger from the closet and shoved it under the beds and checked in the bathroom. When he was sure the coast was clear, he told Toby to join him.

Despite Zac’s best search efforts, he did miss something. Toby noticed a white piece of paper sitting on the pillow of his bed.

“Look at that! Maybe it’s a clue,” Toby said.

Both Toby and Zac bent to retrieve the plain white piece of paper at the same time, and BAM! Their foreheads collided like a couple of billiard balls, sending them each sprawling backwards onto the floor.

“Ouch,” Zac cried, throwing his hands to his head.

“I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” asked Toby, massaging the growing gooseegg on his head.

Zac slowly lifted his face to look at his friend. His brow scrunched up, sharing the same pain as Toby, but his mouth curled into a smile. Then, he burst out laughing.

“Oh! Ow, ow, ow! It hurts to laugh,” he said between giggles.

Toby started to laugh too, all the while marveling once again at Zac’s sense of humor - it was bottomless. Zac’s laughter was irresistible. It started with a shriek of delight, followed by a short musical scale.

As Toby helped Zac back onto his feet, he remembered the paper. He picked it up, unfolded it and read it aloud.

“It says, ‘Hey, cutie.’ Weird, huh?” he asked.

“Let me see that,” Zac asked reaching out for the paper.

The note was on the same white piece of paper as the note Zac saw on the murder victim’s body, but he wasn’t sure about the handwriting. He thought that it could be different, and while the other one was longer, this note only had two words on it. This note was closer to a note Toby received yesterday when the everyone was having lunch.

“It’s sort of like the one I got earlier today, I reckon,” Toby said. “I wasn’t sure I was meant to get that one, but here’s another as big as life and sitting on my bed.”

“Yeah, that’s what worries me,” Zac said. “I wonder how someone got in here. You were the last one out of here, Toby. Did you lock the door behind you? I noticed that the doors on this train don’t latch all the way unless you pull on them. I even warned Taylor about that before we found that cut-up, old dude.”

Toby said that he was almost sure that he pulled the door tightly closed when he exited hours earlier.

Zac turned the paper over and over again. The only other markings on the paper, was the watermark showing that it was the train’s stationery. He realized he saw the same marking on the murder victim’s note and when they checked it was also on Toby’s other message. Zac checked the pad in their own compartment and saw that the latest note matched enough to show that it was written in their room, torn off and left on their pillow.

“That means that whoever left this note didn’t premeditate it, or whatever, I guess, Dr. Watson,” he said to Toby. “They came in here on a whim to leave it. Maybe it’s all a distraction to keep us from focusing on the actual murder victim’s note.”

“Why would the killer leave a note on the old man at all I wonder,” Toby asked, “Unless he was trying to show something or brag about something. Besides, I got the first note before any of this started. Who’s to say that they are connected?”

“Maybe we both need some sleep. We’ve been running around all night,” Zac said. “Your eyes look bloodshot, still they go well with that red welt on your forehead where we crashed. Here, let me take a look.”

He leaned in towards Toby to inspect his wound. Zac could feel the warmth of Toby’s breath on his cheek, and smell the subtle hint of shampoo in Toby’s hair.

“Oh, I think you’re gonna have a little bump here,” Dr. Zac said.

He brushed his fingers lightly over Toby’s forehead. Suddenly, whatever pain Toby was feeling melted away. Instead a searing heat traveled down from the top of Toby’s head and down to his heart.

Zac pulled his hands away. Toby took this as he cue and tentatively reached his own hands up to Zac’s forehead.

“I...ummm...I feel something here too. I reckon you’re gonna have a...ummm well...a big lump as well, mate,” Toby said, his voice cracking as he did.

For a few seconds, the boys sat there staring at each other, Toby’s fingers lightly stroking Zac’s brow. Zac’s wide eyes darted from one of Toby’s eyes to the other, as if searching for something. Toby thought it might have been because of the bump, maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, but every breath Zac took brought him a tiny bit closer.

All of a sudden, Zac felt self-conscious - a feeling almost unknown to the teenager. He felt as if Toby could look right through his eyes and into his soul, into his heart, seeing past all the pretense, seeing him as the shy, awkward boy who hides behind a grandiose attitude.

The train whistle startled both of them, breaking the moment.

“Imagine someone walked in right now,” Zac said, pulling away. “They would think we were attempting the Vulcan mind-meld or something.”

Zac pulled the chair from the tiny desk and Toby’s enourous suitcase over to prop them in front of the door.

“That should keep any intruders out, or at least give us a warning if someone tries to come in. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Yeah,” Toby said, his heart droping back into his chest, “Oh, and next time I’ll be more careful. Another bump on the head like that, and we’ll end up with amnesia like X.”

“X.....” Zac repeated quietly to himself as he hopped up to his upper bunk. “Yeah, what do we really know about X?”