Secrets that Kill (boyxboy)

The Construction Worker

Nate paced back and forth behind the serving counter of Ruby's diner, biting his lip anxiously.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

What had he done? This was so not good. Erik had blackmail on him. Sean had blackmail on both him and Erik. And he had...nothing. Either way you looked at it, the odds were stacked against him. At least with Erik he had promised not to tell his secret, although at this point he really wasn't sure how good his word was.

With Sean, though, he was royally screwed. He had no reason not to photocopy that note and post it on every wall of the school, except maybe for Erik's sake. Then again, judging from the look they'd exchanged earlier at lunch, they weren't on the best of terms.

"Nate, table 5!" Nate's boss barked, obviously annoyed by the boy's incessant pacing.

Nate grumbled under his breath, not in the mood to play obedient waiter as he spun on his heels and-

Shit.

Sitting there with three of his jock friends was none other than the source of his current torment, Sean. His eyes were locked on Nate's, a sadistic smile on his face that told him his day was just about to get a whole lot worse.

He could feel his whole body tense up as he cursed under his breath, slowly walking over to the table. He wouldn't even be able to defend himself, not if he wanted to keep his job.

"Hello." Nate mumbled, forcing a pained smile onto his face. "How may I take your order?"

Sean chuckled, nudging his friend sitting to his right as the 4 boys stared up at him like he was some type of circus freak.

"I dunno. Will you be making it, cause I don't want some fag getting their mental defect all over my food. I've heard it's contagious." Sean snickered, his friends following suit as the table erupted in cackles.

Nate's grip tightened on the notepad and pencil in his hand, turning his knuckles white. He kept his teeth clenched together, not daring to open his mouth for fear he might say something that would put his job in jeopardy.

"Actually..." Sean began, his mouth forming a toothy, uneven smile. "I think you might have given it to one of my friends. Erik."

Crack.

Nate looked down. He'd snapped the pencil he'd been holding in half.

"Listen..." Sean said, leaning in close so that only the people at the table would be able to hear what he was saying. "Let's reach a little understanding, Nathaniel. That's what he calls you, right?"

At that moment, Nate wanted to jump across the table and strangle Sean till his lips turned blue and that repulsive little smirk off his turned into a shriek. He'd never wanted to punch someone so bad before in his life. He wasn't sure what had set him off about the last comment. He felt violated, somehow. Almost like Sean had tarnished something important, which was stupid.

He didn't even like his full name. He'd begged Erik not to call him it. Yet here he was, feeling like something valuable and sacred had been taken from him.

"No." Nate growled, his voice hushed as well.

"That's funny..." Sean said, pulling something out of his pocket. "Because right here it says..."

Crap. He had the note.

"Fine." Nate blurted out before he could continue. "Yeah, he calls me that. So what?"

"So." Sean drawled, that sadistic smile of his face growing even wider. "It seems to me that the two of you are getting a little too close. Erik was never like this before. He dated girls. Lots of 'em. He didn't even talk to dirty cock suckers like you." Sean added, a look of repulsion drawing his features taunt.