Open Hearts

Welcome guys to Open Hearts Part 11.

I would like to thank all the people who continue to email me after each part is uploaded. While I'm grateful for anyone who emails me even just once, it still feels great to have "regulars" I guess you could say.

For anyone who's curious, my email is openhearts1999@gmail.com

My Tumblr page has reached 35 followers already! A humble but satisfying milestone, thank you guys for that. If you'd like to follow me there then you can by searching the username "openheartsworld" ************************************ IMPORTANT NOTE:

I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'm changing the spelling of Bjorn's name once again.

The reason for this is because of Nifty's issue with international characters. It glitches and makes it difficult to edit. Thus, Bjorn will be written as Bjorn for this part. However, it is still pronounced the Norwegian way.

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Once again I'd like to thank my friend Danny who is also a writer on here. He's written stories such as "Even If We Tried" and "Spring Tide" and I encourage you to check them out.

I'd also like to thank my friend Sage, who has helped me with a lot of the Norwegian parts. Anytime you guys see a character speaking Norwegian, it's because of Sage and his contributions.

And finally, I'd like to thank John. He's helped a lot with feedback, editing and proofreading.

Recap:

The boys' day together comes to a head (pun intended) when they decide to take their relationship to the next level.

Impressed by Bjorn's oral ability, Keaton starts to suspect that maybe he's not the first one to receive such pleasures from Bjorn.

His suspicions were confirmed when Bjorn admits a secret that took Keaton by surprise.

The secret fling that Bjorn kept hidden from Keaton, was David.

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Open Hearts Part 11:

"Did you just say what I think you said? David!? David who!?"

"You know... David... from the beach. Good ole David." Bjorn attempted a chuckle to break the tension.

I was not amused.

"What do you mean you and David? What happened!?" I exclaimed angrily.

"Keaton you said you wouldn't get upset," Bjorn said quietly.

"I'm not upset!"

"Then why are you yelling?" Bjorn asked sincerely.

He's right, why am I yelling? I'm angry but I don't know why. I feel betrayed; I feel like Bjorn did something terrible. But... did he?

"I'm sorry... for yelling," I muttered.

"Are you mad at me Keaton?" Bjorn asked in a sad tone.

I was mad at him, but I didn't have any reason to be.

"No... I don't know," I answered. My response was just as vague as I was confused.

Bjorn's eyes darted away from mine and towards his lap instead. I couldn't find the right words to say; there was an awkward silence between us for a minute or two. Suddenly, Bjorn got up off the bed and grabbed the smallest pillow I had and tossed it on the floor. I wasn't sure what he was doing at first, but then he got down on the floor himself and laid his head on the pillow.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still confused.

"I'll sleep down here tonight; I'll leave in the morning," Bjorn answered coldly.

"Get up here, I'm not letting you sleep on the floor," I pleaded.

There was no response from him.

"Bjorn, come on."

Still no response.

Drastic times call for drastic measures.

I got up off the bed and crawled up next to Bjorn on the floor. I swung my arm and leg over his body and clung on to his back.

"Keaton, what are you doing?" Bjorn asked plainly.

"If you won't sleep on the bed, then I'm sleeping on the floor with you," I said in a muffled voice, whispering into his neck.

"Get back in bed, Keaton."

"Only if you come with me."

There was a moment of silence between us, but then I heard him give a deep sigh of frustration and then start to pull himself away from me. He clambered to his feet and I followed shortly after. We both climbed back into my bed, but this time we were lying down completely.

Another awkward moment of silence took ahold of the room. All that was audible was the slight hum and buzz of my ceiling fan. After a while, it became mind numbing. I needed to break the silence.

"I'm sorry, ya know, for getting upset and all that. I'm just surprised. I didn't think you and David were a thing at one point."

"Me and David were never a thing," Bjorn shot back sharply.

His words stung a bit. They were sharp and cold. His tone and attitude almost made me want to shut down completely.

"Then what happened between you two?" I softened my voice the best I could.

"Nothing... It's stupid, I don't want to talk about it," Bjorn said nervously.

My mind trailed back to the time I mentioned his mother and how it bothered him. I had to be patient with him, otherwise, he'll be the one shutting down.

"Okay, how about we talk about it whenever you're ready?"

I tried my best to sound sincere and understanding. I wanted him to know I'll be patient this time.

I couldn't see his face from my position, but judging by his silence, it was obvious that he was thinking about something.

"We don't need to... I mean, nothing really happened. It just... ya know... happened, I guess." He stammered.

I didn't press the matter any further. Instead, I rolled over until I was pressed against him again, my left arm and left leg draped across his body. I pulled him in tight while I laid my head on his chest and waited for him to continue. All the while I was listening to his steady heartbeat; I don't know why, but it was so soothing to me.

Bjorn took my silence as an invitation to continue talking.

"When I came here from Norway, David was my first friend. He taught me how to surf and helped me improve my 'American slang' I guess you could say. After awhile we started sleeping at each other's houses. It was nice at first, but then he started to get a bit... aggressive," Bjorn said softly.

"Aggressive how?"

"Whenever we went to sleep, I could feel him... touch me," Bjorn stammered.

"Touch you?"

"Yeah. At first he'd just pull my shirt up a bit, then he started to go further."

"What did you do?"

"After the third time he did it, I finally confronted him. He denied it at first, but then asked if he could see it. I was kind of uncomfortable, but I was curious, and he was my best friend."

Bjorn sounded a bit flustered at this point.

"So what did you do?" I kept my questions short and simple as I didn't want him to stop talking yet.

"Well, we both showed ourselves to each other. One thing led to another, and I started... you know, ...sucking him." Bjorn sounded increasingly uncomfortable while speaking.

I can't lie, I was uncomfortable too. Bjorn was mine, and I wasn't in the mood to share. Even though what happened with David was in the past, I still felt as though I had lost a bit of my claim to him.

"I'm sorry Keaton, but it was a long time ago, I couldn't have imagined that you would come along," Bjorn stated. It sounded as if he was on the verge of tears.

Here I am worrying about myself, and not even thinking about Bjorn and his feelings.

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. I guess it's not much different from me and you huh?" I said, my voice trailing off at the end.

Even I hated the way that sounded. I didn't want to compare our relationship to David in any way, but it seemed like the best way to make him not feel bad.

"No. It's different. I actually like you. The whole thing with David... I didn't like him like that, I don't like him at all anymore," Bjorn said in a frustrated tone.

"So what happened, you know, after you guys did it. Why did David say all those terrible things if he's gay too?"

"After I did it, I asked him to do it to me, but he said no. He said he'll do me another time; next time I stayed over at his house though, it was the same result. I did it three times, and eventually I got fed up with him not returning the favor."

Bjorn paused for a moment before continuing.

"He said he wouldn't do it because he wasn't a faggot. I thought he liked me, but I guess I was wrong."

Bjorn was back on the verge of tears. In public he was so confident and strong, he looked unbreakable. But in reality, he's just as fragile as anyone else, and the simplest of words could break him down.

"David's an idiot. I'm glad he's an idiot though, because if he wasn't, then we wouldn't be a thing. Not that I'm glad he did that to you... I'm just... you know what I mean right?" I stammered nervously.

Bjorn chuckled a bit before answering.

"Yes babe, I know what you mean. I'm glad too. You're a million times better anyways," Bjorn said while giggling infectiously.

"Only a million?" I looked up and gave my best puppy dog eyes and pouty lips along with my sarcastic comment.

We both were laughing until Bjorn leaned down and kissed me, whispering, "Infinitely better."

"That's more like it," I said while stifling my own laugh.

It just hit me that we were still naked. My flaccid tube was sprawled across Bjorn's leg because of the position I was in, but he paid no attention to it. I looked down at Bjorn's member as well. It looked so cute when it was soft, but I wouldn't dare say that out loud; well at least not yet.

"Babe, I'm tired. You've drained me, literally. Let's get some sleep," Bjorn said while stretching and letting out a cute yawn.

"Aww but if we go to sleep now, then morning will come quicker." I whined.

"Yeah, and what's wrong with that?" Bjorn asked sounding puzzled.

"Well you'll have to go home tomorrow. I want to spend more time with you." I buried my face into his chest in protest.

Bjorn giggled at my childish response.

"Well I'll be here for breakfast. And I'll see you again soon after that. Besides, don't you want to cuddle with me, naked, all night long?"

I looked up and stared back into his eyes with a very serious gaze.

"Oh I'm gonna cuddle you so hard," I said in my most serious and manly voice.

We both broke out in laughter and soon after had our goodnight kisses. We had to get up off the bed in order to pull the blankets down and climb back in. Once we were under the covers, Bjorn gestured for me to lay on my side. The next thing I knew, his bare body pressed against my back and his arm swung around my waist.

He was so warm and soft. More importantly I could feel "little Bjorn" pressed against my bare bottom. When I felt him kissing the back of my neck, I reciprocated by wiggling my butt into his crotch. This got a positive response out of Bjorn who, in return, mumbled a few Norwegian words into my neck. I don't know what they meant but he sounded like he was in pure ecstasy.

"Cut it out dork; don't make me bone up again." Bjorn whispered into my ear.

"I'll stop when you stop teasing my neck dork," I retorted.

We both agreed to just sleep and not do anything to further arouse ourselves. But truth be told, I was already semi-erect just from his kissing.

Even so, I found myself lost in his arms and the sweet embrace of sleep soon took ahold of me. I don't think I've ever had a more peaceful night's sleep in my entire life. We've taken naps together before, but this was different. The combination of our naked bodies, and Bjorn's arm around me, made me feel as if I was melting into him.

***

My eyes were starting to creak open. There wasn't much light in the room; it must not be morning yet.

I was going to close my eyes and drift back to sleep, but a cold feeling sent a shiver down my spine. The back of my neck was cold and wet, and I could feel someone's breath tickling it.

I practically shot up out of bed and looked over to investigate the strange occurrence.

He was hard to see in the dimly lit room, but there was definitely a boy in my bed.

'That's right. Bjorn is here.' I thought to myself.

'But what is this liquid on my neck?'

It only took a moment to realize what it was, Bjorn had been drooling on me.

I smiled softly at the sleeping boy. I can't say it felt great to have his slobber all over me and my pillow, but it was still cute.

I bent over and kissed his face. He seemed like a heavy sleeper, but it didn't stop him from stirring after the light peck on the cheek.

He shifted in the bed a bit before bringing his hand to his mouth and wiping the drool from his lips and cheek.

When his eyes finally opened, he looked up at me in my sitting position.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Bjorn asked sleepily.

He then let his hand drop to the pillow and felt the patch of wetness before looking back at me with wide eyes.

"Babe I'm so sorry, did I wake you up? I didn't me to-" Bjorn ranted nervously before I cut him off.

"Chill babe, chill. It's fine cutie just flip the pillow. I'm not upset." I said reassuringly.

He did what he was asked and flipped the pillow over so the dry side was facing up.

I laid back down in my spot next to him and prepared to fall asleep again. But instead, I felt Bjorn shifting in his spot.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"I'm laying on my back so I don't do it again" He whispered back to me.

"You don't have to dork, that's no fun anyways. I got an idea though."

"What is it?" Asked Bjorn.

"Let me be the big spoon." I stated proudly with a wide grin

Bjorn chuckled but offered no resistance. He rolled onto his side and we scooted into each other until I had his back pressed into my chest.

I couldn't help but kiss the back of his neck. He reciprocated the same way I had before by wiggling his butt into my crotch. He must have got a little excited though because he pushed back into me a few times. I can't handle his wriggling butt in my lap; if he keeps this up, I'll be hard in no time. I have to defuse this situation and quickly.

I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his neck; but instead of kissing him, I bit down lightly until his squirming stopped.

"Ow! What'd you do that for!" He exclaimed.

"Because... I'm a vampire.... rawr."

"No, you're a dork, and vampires don't rawr." Bjørn stated in a frustrated tone.

"Have you ever met one before?" I asked in a serious tone.

"No." He stated plainly.

"Yes you have, you met me, and we rawr."

Bjorn realized he couldn't win this one and just laughed it off instead.

"Fine fine. Go to sleep dor- I mean baby." Bjorn said.

"It's about time you showed me some respect." I said jokingly.

In our new positions we drifted back into dream world for a few more hours before morning.

***

I could see light coming into the room without even opening my eyes. I felt a few shifts in the bed but I was too tired to care. I just fell back asleep for a few more minutes. I guess I was savoring every bit of sleep I could get, still, something was missing.

My boyfriend wasn't in my arms; the space in front of me felt empty. Just then, I heard a noise and stirring at the foot of my bed. Someone climbed onto the bed with me. There was a distinct and familiar smell in the room, I had to investigate. I rolled over onto my back, as soon as I did though, I felt someone straddle my waist.

I wasn't too surprised to see Bjorn there when I finally opened my eyes. What I was surprised to see however, was the mug in his hands. It does explain the familiar aroma of coffee that filled the room though.

I looked up at Bjorn, his hair was still a mess and he was smiling softly at me. He looked so damn cute; the situation was made even better when he extended the mug out towards me.

"Beklager." He said proudly while handing me the mug.

I sat up so I could receive the drink but this left us very little room, so Bjorn scooted back a bit until he was on my legs.

"What's that mean?" I asked sounding puzzled.

"It means 'I'm sorry'." Bjorn responded.

"Sorry about what?" I asked in between sips of the delicious black beverage.

"Sorry about drooling on you. Your mom showed me how to make it by the way, I hope it's good." He said sincerely.

"I told you not to worry about that dork. But the coffee is perfect, thank you babe."

I leaned as far forward as I could to kiss him, but I struggled to make it all the way there. Luckily, he knew what I was intending to do and met me halfway. Our lips met for the first time today.

"Eww... coffee and morning breath" Bjorn chided with a stuck up expression on his face.

"Shut up dork. You have morning breath too." I stuck my tongue out at him playfully.

"The coffee makes it worse, now hurry up and finish it so you can brush your teeth." He stated before scooting off the bed and heading to the bathroom.

'Gosh he sounds like my mom' I thought to myself.

It's true though, my breath did stink. In the movies the actors always wake up and start kissing immediately. That's a bunch of crap. I might love Bjorn but I'm not sticking my tongue in that mouth until it tastes like crest toothpaste. On the other hand, he did taste really good after that milkshake on our first date. So I guess toothpaste and milkshakes are the secret to great kissing breath; not as a combination though, that would be... ew... just... ew.

I heard the toilet flush and Bjorn came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. I was only halfway done with my coffee but I took one last gulp and got up to brush my own teeth.

As I got up though it finally hit me; who's toothbrush was he using?

"Bjorn." I said plainly in a serious voice.

"Uh huh." He managed with the toothbrush still in his mouth.

"Who's is that?" I asked while pointing at the toothbrush.

He went back into the bathroom and spit into the sink before showing me the brush.

"It's yours, why?" He responded casually.

"Dude that's so gross. You're not supposed to share toothbrushes." I exclaimed in disgust.

"Why not, we already kiss each other; it's the same germs." He said before continuing with his brushing.

"I feel like it's not the same, and doesn't that just defeat the purpose?"

"Hush dork. It's just this once, I'll rinse it with really hot water; that should help kill the germs."

I wasn't sure if what he was saying added up, but it's too late to argue now.

Once he was done and my toothbrush was rinsed, I went through my normal morning routine.

I came out of the bathroom with my bladder empty and my teeth cleaned. Bjorn was excited just to be able to kiss me properly now; I of course, was equally excited.

Taking the lead, he pushed me down on the bed and climbed on top to kiss me again. He took advantage of the fact that I was still naked and started groping me as well. He unfortunately was dressed before I woke up, so I couldn't do the same to him. But it was still nice just being able to kiss him.

Our fun was interrupted by a ringing noise coming from Bjorn's pocket. It was his phone. He answered the phone and started talking to his dad casually, all the while his hand was still stroking me. It didn't take long for my 'sail to be at full mast' but judging by Bjorn's tone, it wouldn't get the attention it desired.

He hung up the phone and let out a big sigh of frustration before speaking.

"I'm sorry babe, I gotta get home." He said before letting go of my pole and climbing off of me.

"Aw... why so soon?" I whined.

"I dunno. Something about chores I gotta do. He's always on me about something." He started rummaging through the bags of clothes from yesterday. Before giving up and changing his mind.

"Pick out the ones you want and leave the ones you want me to wear, I can't remember who's is who's and I don't want to mess with it now." He stated.

"When will get yours then?" I asked.

"I'll stop by the morning before school and get changed here if I don't see you before that. Besides, I gotta walk you to the bus stop." Bjorn gave a sly smile before kissing me one last time and heading out the door.

I would show him out, but unfortunately I'm kind of naked, and hard. It's probably best to just let him see himself out; I need to get dressed for breakfast though.

I sped through the rest of my day on autopilot. Breakfast, then shower, then lunch. It was pretty boring without Bjorn around, but I guess it's just because I miss him.

I was sitting at the table eating some crackers when my mom came up behind me and grabbed my shoulders suddenly.

"Keaton, what are these?" She asked in her demanding motherly tone.

She was poking at places on my neck and shoulders that I couldn't see.

"I dunno. What do they look like?" I asked innocently.

"They look like you and your European boy toy got a little too frisky last night." My mother chided

"Mooom!!! Don't call him that." I said angrily.

It was obvious she was talking about the small bruises on my upper body that were in the shape of Bjorn's mouth. I knew what hickeys or "lovebites" were, but this is my first time having one. Actually, it was a lot more than just one. Luckily some of them were hidden from my mother's view.

"Mhm yeah, sure honey. I just hope that's all you two were doing."

"Yes mom." I said half-heartedly.

She glanced over at me as she walked around the dinner table. She didn't seem satisfied with my response but didn't add anything else to the conversation.

After downing my crackers and some juice, I headed back upstairs to find something to do.

Most of my day was spent pretty much texting Bjorn and trying to find something to watch on TV.

School was in two days and there wasn't much to do until then. I feared asking to see Bjorn again so soon. On one hand, my parents might think I'm seeing too much of him too soon; on the other hand, Bjorn might think I'm too clingy. All in all, it would be best to take a break from him until school started.

My self imposed break didn't restrict me from texting him though. In fact, it seemed like I was texting him or checking my phone for his messages every 5 minutes or so. This continued on until night time; then we called each other and talked for hours.

I felt so warm and bubbly listening to his voice on the phone. He would crack jokes and tell stories; it felt like my smile never left my face.

We only stopped talking to take a break for dinner; but after that we went right back to our conversation.

We talked about school for a bit, then about what we wanted to be when we grow up.

"I dunno, I might be a chef or something. I like to cook, I just don't know if I'll want to do it as a job, ya know." Bjorn said through the phone.

"Well I think I want to be a barista first and maybe open a cafe later on." I said enthusiastically.

"You could get help from my dad in that department. He's going to open a new cafe next year, it's been in construction for awhile. I bet he'll even let you start working there when you're old enough."

"Oh yeah! I forgot your dad owned a cafe. That would be so awesome!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, and if I learned how to cook then we could open our own place; I'll make the food and you make the coffee."

And just like that, me and Bjorn had set a goal for our futures. It's probably too early to commit to something like this, but I was too excited to think otherwise. In my mind it was already a definite, Bjorn the chef, and me the barista.

"That'd be perfect, I can't wait." I whispered back to him with a huge grin on my face.

As the night drew to an end we finally said our goodnights and goodbyes to each other. I hung up the phone feeling satisfied, it was a pretty good day even if it was boring. Bjorn made it better, he made everything better. I was about to lay my head down and try to sleep when suddenly my phone rang. Bjorn was calling me back for some reason.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe, sorry for calling again, I just forgot something." He stated in an anxious tone.

"What did you forget?"

"I forgot to say I love you... so... I love you." He stammered through the phone.

"Stop being so cute or I'll have to sneak you over here tonight. Oh, and I love you too." I chided.

We both laughed and said our goodbyes once again before hanging up.

'What a way to end a perfect night' I thought to myself.

I rolled onto my side and settled into my pillow. It wasn't hard to fall asleep in my current mood. I felt so serene; so... at peace. I drifted into dreamland with thoughts of Bjorn flooding my imagination.

Soon after though, they were replaced with something not so pleasant...

***

It felt like deja vu. I could feel the same cold tiled floor beneath me. I was crying again; the hot tears streaming down my face provided the only source of warmth for my freezing body.

It felt like I was trapped in the same nightmare as before until something new arrived; something darker, something worse than just tears. In fact, I'd wager this entity, whatever it was, was the source of my crying.

It swept around me in all directions. I was completely surrounded by this shadow-like fog. From inside the darkness I could hear noises. It was like a melody of pain; tears and screams filled my ears with sounds of pure horror.

It no longer felt like a harmless premonition; this was something much more sinister.

When the shadows got closer I tried to run; but I couldn't move, I couldn't even blink.

Soon the encircling force swallowed me completely and the floor started to disappear. I was falling into a seemingly bottomless abyss now; there was nothing for me to see but black. But I could hear everything; screams, sobbing, malicious insults spewing from the mouths of faceless monsters. It all came to an end when I felt the impact. My back collided with the ground with such force that I could feel my bones crushing inside of me. It all felt so real...

The next thing I knew I was in my room, on the floor, screaming.

Moments later my parents rushed into my bedroom. They found me on the floor next to my bed, curled into a ball, sobbing my eyes out.

My mom was the first to embrace me. Soon after, I felt my father pick me up and carry me downstairs.

My parents always took me out of my room when I had a nightmare, they said it helps calm me down. I guess I should be embarrassed to be crying like this; carried around like a baby after a bad dream at my age and all. But honestly, I was too distraught to feel embarrassment.

My whole body was shaking uncontrollably. I buried my face into my father's shirt to try and hide my tears but soon I couldn't breathe and was gasping for air.

My dad sat me on the couch downstairs and my mother took a seat behind me. She was stroking my back and whispering to me in her calmest voice. I brought my knees to my chest and buried my face into my folded arms. I wasn't sobbing anymore, but I was still upset and the tears were still falling. I could hear my mom still whispering to me, trying to soothe my shattered psyche.

"It's okay baby. You're fine now. Just breathe." She cooed

But it wasn't okay, I wasn't okay at all.

Eventually, my parents had calmed me down enough to let me go back upstairs to my room. They tried asking me what had scared me so badly, but I had no desire to explain it. Instead, I just nodded my head and trudged my way back upstairs.

It was only 4 am, but I couldn't even think of sleeping. The images and sounds of my dream were still haunting me. It took everything I had to resist texting Bjorn. I knew he was asleep; even though I was desperate for his attention, I knew it wasn't a good idea to try and wake him up this early.

I tried turning on the TV, but the noise bothered me. I tried listening to music, but I wasn't in the right mood for any of the songs. I saw my notepad sitting on the dresser across the room. 'It's been awhile since I tried to draw anything.' I thought to myself.

I got up and grabbed my notepad. 'Maybe I'll try to draw what I remember from my nightmare.' My mind was flooded with images of the shadows that polluted my dream. I was about to pick up my pencil and draw what I could from memory, but when I opened the notepad I was greeted with my previous drawing instead.

It was Bjorn, he was gliding across the water on his board with such grace and serenity. I loved this drawing, it turned out just how I wanted it to. My eyes were drawn to the single spot of color on the page. His blue eyes that I colored in so carefully; even on paper they were soothing to the soul.

I sat my notepad down and climbed back into bed. There was no point in drawing a picture of my dream, it would only upset me more. Instead, I'd rather go to sleep thinking about Bjorn. I guess I didn't need to text or call him after all; that picture was enough to remind me of what's important, and not dwell on the past.

Thanks Bjorn.

***

It took me awhile but finally I fell back asleep. Luckily there was no more dreams tonight; just a peaceful and quiet slumber.

I gave Bjorn a short good morning text when I woke up. I opted not to tell him about last night's dream. He'd probably think there was something wrong with me if I told him what happened.

Today was a pretty relaxed day for me. I got up and had my coffee, watched some T.V. in bed, and texted Bjorn here and there. Besides that, not much else happened.

Tomorrow is my first day of school. I'll be finishing middle school this year, but in a whole new place. I know I shouldn't spend anymore time worrying about it; but I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind throughout the day.

I picked out my first day outfit, I even picked out Bjorn's since his clothes were still here. He'll probably try to protest but I know this will look cute on him so I can't let him say no. I'll just use my puppy dog eyes on him, they never fail me.

I was able to keep my nerves under control until bedtime came. I laid back in my bed and stared at the ceiling fan, lost in a trance. My mind was racing. I couldn't sleep with all the scenarios running through my head.

"What if David has the same classes with me, how can I face him?"

"What if Bjorn didn't have any of the same classes and I was stuck as 'the new kid' with no friends?"

"What if my teachers hate me? What if I hate my teachers?"

I guess everyone goes through first day jitters; I didn't have any other choice but to suck it up and try to get some sleep.

Fortunately, I wasn't plagued with nightmares or any kind of dream for that matter tonight.

The only pain I felt was the unnerving and jolting sensation of my alarm clock going off at 6 am. I hadn't been on the best of sleep schedules lately so this was tough.

I barely managed to crawl out of bed after turning off that awful noise. If there's one thing I hate more than nightmares, it's alarm clocks.

I stumbled to the bathroom in my zombie like state. I even banged my shin on the dresser just before I reached the bathroom door. Not a great start to the day if I do say so myself.

First on the to-do list was take a shower. Standing in the warm rain of shower water, I started to sway back in forth; I almost fell asleep standing up.

Once my shower was up, it was coffee time. The fresh wash and the hot coffee were the only things keeping me awake right now.

Soon the well ran dry and it was time to brush my teeth. You always gotta go with coffee first then toothpaste, never the other way around.

The bus gets here at 7:45 and it's a five minute walk to the bus stop. It's 7 a.m. right now so I've got plenty of time to get dressed. Hopefully Bjorn will be here soon.

About 10 minutes later I got a text from him saying he was outside my front door. He didn't want to knock just in case people were still asleep. When I opened the door I saw Bjorn standing there with just a tank top and basketball shorts on. I guess there was no point in dressing up just to cross the street and change your clothes. To be honest he kind of looked cute in his sort of 'bummy' outfit.

For someone so excited and confident about school starting, I expected him to be full of energy.

But he was just the opposite actually. He was leaning against the doorframe, eyes barely open and his hair still wet from the shower. He looked like he could kill over at any moment.

"You alright Babe?" I asked sounding concerned

"Yeah. Fine babe. Let's get dressed." He muttered sleepily.

I took him by the hand and led him upstairs. Without my assistance he probably wouldn't have made it up here. It's obvious that Bjorn is not a morning person.

Once inside my room, it was time to get dressed. The first thing I did was take a towel to Bjorn's hair and dry it fully. Then I took him to the bathroom and helped him do his hair correctly. Once we were done with that, I wasted no time stripping to my underwear and pulling clothes off the hangers for both of us.

I guess the sight of my half-naked body perked him up a bit. The next thing I knew, he embraced me from behind and was kissing my neck while running his hands over my body.

"Cut it out dork, we're gonna be late."

Ignoring my warning, he let his hands travel below my waist and slip into my underwear.

"Come on Bjorn, if you don't stop then I'll have to bite you again." I threatened.

"Rawr." Bjorn whispered into my ear before lightly kissing my shoulder.

It was like talking to a brick wall. A very handsy and horny brick wall to be exact.

"I'll make you a deal. If you get dressed and keep your hands to yourself until after school, I'll do whatever you want when we get back home." This was an offer I'll probably regret later on, but I've got to do something or we'll never catch the bus.

He paused for a moment and then slowly pulled his hands out from my underwear.

"Anything I want?" Bjorn asked in a high pitched tone of curiosity.

"Anything." I said reassuringly.

"Deal." And with that being said, Bjorn started to get dressed in the clothes I laid out.

He didn't even bother protesting as he put the clothes on. I guess this means I made the right choices; or maybe he's just distracted by the dirty thoughts that I knew were running through his head.

When all was said and done, we were both dressed and ready for our first day.

I went with a black t-shirt with blue splatter print on it, matching dark blue skinny jeans and black sneakers with blue trim.

Bjorn was wearing a bright blue shirt, white cargo shorts, and blue vans with white trim.

We weren't matching by any means, but I'd say our outfits complimented each other well.

I went into my closet and grabbed the backpack my mom bought for me when she was out shopping. She stuffed it with all kinds of school supplies, most of which I would probably never use. But hey, it doesn't hurt to have them just in case.

Bjorn was lugging around his own bag but he could barely keep it from scraping on the floor. He still had that sleepy look in his eyes; I needed to do something to perk him up.

I placed my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to my level for some quick little tongue action. I might be breaking my own 'hands to yourself' rule but at least it's for a good cause.

Once we pulled away from each other he finally looked semi awake. He was flashing me his signature smile and I couldn't help but return the grin.

With nothing left to be done we started down the stairs and headed out the front door. I gave some quick goodbyes to my mom who was just getting back from dropping my dad off at work. She offered to drive us but the walk was really short and I'd rather be alone with Bjorn.

We made our way down the sidewalk and on towards the bus stop. The air was crisp and cool this early in the morning. With each breath you could smell the dew on freshly cut lawns. It was a beautiful morning, only made better by my boyfriend who was enjoying it with me.

"Keaton gimme your bag." He stated abruptly.

"Why do you need it?" I asked while pulling it off my shoulder and handing it to him.

"I'm gonna carry it for you, duh." He said proudly as took the bag from my hands.

I blushed slightly and tried to reach for the bag but he wasn't having any of it.

"You don't have to do that-"

"But I'm going to." Bjorn interrupted.

There was no sense arguing with him now, I'll just have to let him carry it.

After a short 5 minute walk, we finally made it to the bus stop. There was a few other kids there but fortunately no sign of David.

I did recognize a short red haired boy though, it was Michael. He walked up and greeted us but honestly I couldn't tell if he was even awake. I thought Bjorn was bad, but Michael was just a zombie plain and simple. His shirt was wrinkled, his eyes were crusty and he only bothered to wear basketball shorts on the first day.

Michael was cute, but it was obvious he didn't try too hard in the 'upkeep' department. Bjorn was well groomed, smelled nice and carried himself like he was older than he was. I guess he spoiled me a bit when it came to my expectations of other boys.

The three of us talked a little bit while we waited on the bus. Michael gave a few odd glances but never said anything about Bjorn carrying my bag for me.

It seems to me that David hadn't corrupted him after that day on the beach. If anything, he was maintaining his neutral stance on the matter.

Me and Bjorn didn't really talk about what we would do around other people. I hoped to avoid unnecessary attention so I'm going to refrain from doing or saying anything that will give us away. I can only hope Bjorn will do the same.

There was three other people at the bus stop, all of them girls. The two girls who looked our age walked over to us and interjected themselves into the conversation.

"Hey Bjorn!" One of the girls exclaimed enthusiastically.

I think we were all taken back by her extreme levels of energy at this time in the morning.

The other girl followed suit with a "what's up Bjorn" shortly after.

"Morning ladies." Bjorn managed to say through his obvious levels of discomfort.

I don't think it's the girls bothering him, I think it's me standing next to him that has him a bit shook up. Bjorn was mine; and even though I want to keep it a secret, I'll scream it from the rooftops if that'll keep the girls away.

"So Bjorn, who's your friend?" The blonde haired girl asked coyly.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see him smirking at me. I was taken off guard by the sudden question, I didn't expect them to direct their attention to me.

"Keaton... I'm Keaton" I stammered nervously.

"Hey Keaton. I'm Grace." The blonde haired girl said.

"I'm Jocelyn" the brunette girl followed up.

"So will you guys be sitting with us in the back?" Grace asked suggestively.

I looked over to Bjorn for guidance on this one.

"Yeah most likely. We'll see though." He answered coolly.

Both girls seemed satisfied enough with the answer and returned to the other girl, away from our conversation.

"So I'm just standing here like chopped liver and you two already got them begging for your dicks." Michael said quietly just out of earshot of the girls.

"Shut up Michael." Bjorn chided.

"Hey if you don't want them then pass them along bro, I won't complain."

"Maybe if you dressed nicer and showered then you could have them." Bjorn retorted.

"Hey! I do shower!" Michael shouted loudly causing everyone to turn their attention to him.

We all giggled as he sunk back down in embarrassment and blushed slightly.

"I think they're after Keaton to be honest." Bjorn said with a sly grin.

"Yeah right." I said with an eyeroll.

"No no I'm serious. They were checking you out big time." Bjorn responded with his face still plastered with that huge grin.

"Yeah Keaton, I think they're looking for some fresh meat." Michael added.

"You guys are full of it." I retorted.

First I had Bjorn and my mother teasing me, now Michael has been added to the list. This is going to be a long day.

I glanced over at the girls, they were giggling and taking turns looking back at us. They were pretty, I guess I should be excited about this attention they were showing me. But then I turned my head back to Bjorn. He wasn't really pretty; he was cute... sexy... funny... the list could go on and on. The only attention I cared about was his.

The flashing red stop sign swung out from the large yellow bus as the door opened with a slight mechanical clang.

I was so engulfed in my thoughts about Bjorn that I didn't even realize it pulled up. I quickly snatched my bag from Bjorn's grip. I had to catch him off guard otherwise he'll carry it all day and that's the last thing I wanted.

The girls got on first, then Michael followed soon after. Bjorn gave me a quick smirk and then headed up the steps with me in tow.

Boys on the left, girls on the right; just like my old school.

I followed Bjorn like a lost puppy down the aisle. There were a few odd glances at me since I was the new kid. I did my best to ignore them though and took my seat, one row up from the last.

Bjorn stopped in the center to let me through so I could sit in the window seat. I prefered it this way, now the girls won't try to talk to me from across the aisle.

I clutched my bag tightly and looked out the window. I stared at the passing scenery as the door clanged shut and the engine roared to life. I wasn't really scared anymore, just a few butterflies floating around in my stomach.

Soon, we would be at the school and start our first day of eighth grade. I could feel Bjorn's leg pressed against mine, just the subtle touch was comforting. No matter what, I'm going to make today a good day. With him by my side, I can do anything.

I felt a hand rest on my leg and give it a slight squeeze. I looked over to see Bjorn with a big smile on his face. He was being bold, but I had no desire to remove his hand. All those butterflies melted away at his touch. Whether it be by luck, or grand design, I was definitely a lucky boy.

"Thank you." I whispered to him.

"For what babe?" He whispered back.

"Everything."

************************************

That's end of part 11 guys. It was a tame part with some story progression. I'm sorry for ending it there, but I want to make part 12 all about there first day and also a little something else.

I'm going to try and get the next part out soon. There will always be a part each week unless stated otherwise but I hope to speed it up and maybe get two a week in the near future.

Let me know what you guys think as always. Also let me know how you guys feel about the length of each part. Is it too short, too long, or just right.

Remember to email me at openhearts1999@gmail.com with any comments, questions and concerns. I'll see you guys in the next part. ************************************

Next time on open hearts:

It's the first day of school! Keaton is determined to have the best first day ever. But with Bjorn not always by his side, how will he fare?

Some new characters will be introduced, some old ones will return, and what will Bjorn ask Keaton to do after school as part of their deal?

Find out next time on Open Hearts Part 12