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

One of the boys kicked him in the side. He slumped back to the ground. Someone came running up to Darren.


“Stop it,” said a girl’s voice. It wasn’t Sharon’s. “Does that make you feel like a man?”


Someone kicked him in the arse, the tip of the shoe connecting with his arsehole. The pain was short but sharp. It felt as if someone had set it on fire and then extinguished it straight way.


“Bet he liked that,” said Craig. “Bet he shot a load in his panties.”


Bryan lifted himself onto all fours. He heard three pairs of feet running away and one pair of feet running towards him.


“Are you alright?” said the girl placing a hand on his shoulder.


He looked up and saw that it was Kylie. He shrugged her hand off and snatched up his pencil case. Against the spinning sensation, he climbed to his feet, staggered and was caught by Mr Moore, the biology teacher.


Chapter 8