Like a million other young gay men, Bryan keeps his sexuality hidden because it’s safer that way. Yet other guys know he’s different -- they sense it, and make Bryan’s life pure hell. At home, things aren’t much better. He barely acknowledges his alcoholic father, and his mother has little time to spend with her family. So Bryan is alone, with no support, no shoulder to cry on.<br><br>Years of torture and torment, of name calling and humiliation, have taken their toll. Bryan does what he can to make new friends, but in trying to be something he’s not, he makes a huge mistake. Unable to cope with the repercussions, Bryan spends more and more time in a fantasy world he has created for himself. In this private world he is handsome, an object of desire. He is loved.<br><br>Is the hiding place as perfect as it seems? Or will Bryan go too deep and not be able to come out again?

The Hiding Place

He couldn’t turn around now. They’d seen him. He wished the ground could open up and swallow him. Or them. He inhaled deeply and steeled himself. He kept his eyes on the ground and willed himself to keep putting one foot in front of the other.


“Want a smoke, Brysy?” asked Darren.


Bryan saw a movement from the corner of his eye. He glanced to his right and saw Darren grab his crotch. In the brief moment his eyes were on Darren’s hand he saw the outline of a cock that looked erect. He could have been wrong. He didn’t care. He hurried past and didn’t look up again until he was on the other side of the road and the school building was no more than a few bricks visible through the street trees.


Chapter 3