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Discoveries	By : vinsmouse Category: G through L > Hardy Boys Series Views: 2987 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Chapter List
- 1-Discoveries
- 2-Two
- 3-three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 8
- 9
- 10
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.
Warnings: Angst, Slash, Violence
Rating: FRT
Discoveries
Chapter 9
Joe stared at the mall, nervously licking his lips as he contemplated what he was about to do. A small laugh sounded in the enclosed space; "You're pathetic Hardy," he berated himself. "You've faced down Assassins and here you are too afraid of your friends to tell them about the changes in your life." He took a deep breath. Forcing himself to release the death grip he had on the steering wheel, he slowly opened the door and headed inside.
"Hey Joe, when did you get home?" Tony was the first to greet him when he stepped inside Mr. Pizza.
"Just a little while ago, thought I'd come down and see if any of the gang was here."
"They're all here." Glancing around, Tony was surprised not to see Frank, "Where's Frank?"
Joe frowned, "He went for a walk."
"Something wrong Joe?" Tony couldn't help feeling concerned. Frank had called them after Joe was mugged and told them about his memory loss. Obviously the younger Hardy had regained his memory, but why wasn't Frank with him? It didn't make any sense, the older boy was so protective of the younger that at times he was guilty of smothering Joe.
Joe sighed, "You have time for a break?"
"As a matter of fact I was just about to clock out," Tony replied. "Why don't you go say hi to everybody, I'll be over in a few minutes."
"Okay," Joe quietly agreed. Bracing himself, he walked over to their usual table.
Biff looked up, a grin spreading over his face. "Joe! When did you get back?"
His call alerted the others of Joe's presence, almost as one they all turned to him, greeting him enthusiastically. Joe returned the greetings, quickly answering their questions. Conversation flew around the table and soon Joe was feeling more relaxed, in spite of his fears. A few minutes after he sat down, Tony joined them as well.
"So Joe, you gonna answer my question now?"
Joe swallowed, licking suddenly dry lips, "It's not really something wrong, but you may think it is. Frank thinks it is, that I'm just confused, but I'm not," he insisted. "I know what I want, Frank just can't accept it."
Chet reached over and gave Joe's shoulder a squeeze, "Joe, buddy, what are you talking about?"
Joe's laugh sounded hollow, "Not making any sense am I?"
"Well there's nothing new about that," Callie teased.
Joe responded by sticking his tongue out at the girl, "Thanks Callie." He heaved a sigh, looking down at the table, "I don't know where to start."
The others exchanged worried glances, none of them had any idea what this could be about, but Joe's obvious discomfort had them all concerned. "Why don't you just start at the beginning," Phil logically suggested.
Joe nodded, it made sense, something he would expect from Frank's best friend. Without looking up, he launched into his story, beginning with his father approaching them and ending with the earlier discussion at his house. The blood rushing through his ears was all he could hear as he waited for somebody to break the uncomfortable silence.
Biff's large hand slammed down on the table top, startling them all. "I can't believe you could do something so wrong!" he yelled at Joe.
"Now you wait just a minute Biff, that's not fair," Chet protested in his friend's defense.
"Not fair? What's not fair about it Chet?"
"It's okay Chet," Joe quickly interrupted the two boys before their argument could escalate into a fight. "Biff's entitled to his opinion," he choked out, though it hurt to know that he was going to lose at least one friend because of who he loved. "Anybody else feel the same way?" he asked, finally looking at his friends.
Tony looked away, he had never really thought about homosexuality before, or bi-sexuality for that matter and he didn't know what to say. He knew the church taught it was a sin, a mortal sin, then there was his family. While his parents didn't agree with everything the church taught and he'd never heard them say anything about this topic, he had a feeling they wouldn't approve. His father wouldn't that was for sure. "I don't know how I feel Joe, you kind of dropped a bombshell on us," he finally said when the silence at the table stretched on.
"Well I know how I feel and I'm not going to stay here," Biff snapped. Jumping to his feet, he nearly ran out of the restaurant in his hurry to get away from Joe.
"It'll be okay Joe, he'll come around," Callie soothed the younger boy. Reaching across the table, she gave his hand a supportive squeeze. "Both of them will, they just have to come to terms with it."
Joe stared at Callie's small hand wrapped around his own. If he had been asked, yesterday, which of his friends would be quickest to condemn him, Callie's name would have topped the list. Even now, seeing her hand on his and hearing her words of comfort, he could hardly believe it was Callie. "You don't hate me?" he asked in a small voice.
"Hate you?" Callie asked. "Oh Joe, how could you think...never mind, that was a dumb question. Of course you would worry about that, especially after Frank's reaction." Taking a deep breath, Callie forced herself to calm down. "No I don't hate you Joe," she confirmed. "I admit I'm surprised, but you're my friend and I just want you to be happy. If this Dale makes you happy then I'm fine with it."
"Do you think Iola would be mad?"
Callie opened her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance.
"No!" Chet snapped. "I'm sorry Joe," seeing his friend flinch, he quickly apologized. "Iola loved you, she would want you to be happy, no matter who it was with. Is there a reason you wondered about that?"
"It was something Frank said."
"I don't know exactly what Frank said, but Iola was my sister and I'm telling you she would never hate you for falling in love."
"Thank you Chet," Joe whispered. After his talk with Dale he had been mostly convinced, but hearing it from her brother won over the small part of him that had still doubted. "What about you?"
Chet shrugged, "It doesn't bother me any. It's perfectly natural, but he better treat you right or he'll have me to answer to."
Joe chuckled, "Thanks Chet, you don't know what that means to me."
"How can you say it's natural Chet?" Tony asked.
"I grew up on a farm Tony," Chet grinned. "You'd be surprised at how often I've seen it with animals. I always think it's funny when people argue that it's not natural for men to be attracted to men, then they hold up the animals as proof of that. If they knew how often males of different species have sex with other males," he trailed off with a chuckle.
"You're not making that up are you?"
"No Tony, it really happens. Does that change anything for you?"
Tony shrugged, "It's more for me to think about, but I'm still not sure."
"That's okay Tony, at least you're not rejecting me outright," Joe quickly absolving his friend.
"Well I don't care at all," Phil piped up. "The only thing I can say Joe is be careful and be sure it's what you want before you do something you can't take back."
Joe nodded, "I am sure Phil, but I will be careful." Joe smiled softly, touched by the older boy's concern. "Thank you," he quietly added, though he was looking at Phil, his words were meant for them all.
"For what?" Phil asked, confused by the gratitude.
"Not just you," he replied, glancing around the table. "Thanks for not turning your backs on me, for not hating me," he explained, his voice hitching.
Each of them felt their hearts breaking a bit at the obvious pain in Joe's voice. Pain brought on by both Biff and Frank's rejections. Surprising them all, it was again Callie who took the lead. Standing up, she moved around the table, sitting next to Joe and drawing him into her arms. "We could never hate you Joe and they don't either," she assured him.
"Don't they?" Joe scoffed, leaning into her embrace, surprised and grateful for her understanding.
"They don't Joe, I'm sure of it. They're just confused and maybe a little scared."
Joe looked at her, "Scared? Why would they be scared?"
"It's a big change Joe, that can be scary. They're probably afraid that you'll be a different person. Once they see that the only thing different about you is who you love, that nothing else about you has changed, they'll let go of their anger."
"I hope you're right Callie," Joe whispered. "I can handle losing Biff's friendship, but I don't know what I'll do if Frank keeps hating me."
"He doesn't hate you Joe, I promise you he doesn't," Callie quickly assured him again.
"So what is this guy like?" Chet asked. He might not be Joe's big brother, but he had been a big brother and those instincts were telling him Joe needed to think about something other than Frank.
"Dale? He's great," Joe smiled, lighting his face up. "He loves me, even knowing that I lied to him in the beginning he still loves me."
Chet smiled, he was happy for his friend, "When do we get to meet him?"
Joe looked at him, clearly surprised, "You want to meet him?"
"Of course, have to make sure he's good enough for you don't I?"
"I don't know, maybe soon. I wanted to stay with him in the city but he insisted I come home. He doesn't want me losing my friends and family because of him."
"That's not going to happen Joe," Phil spoke up.
"I'm gonna call him when I get home, maybe once he knows how things went today he'll look into getting a transfer to Bayport."
"What if he doesn't want to do that, or can't?" Tony asked. "Are you going to move to the city to be with him?"
"I don't know yet Tony, I might eventually," Joe honestly replied. "I guess we'll just take things a day at a time."
"That's probably the best way," Callie agreed. A movement at the door caught her eye, tuning towards it, she saw Frank standing there, looking angry. "Excuse me boys, I have something to take care of," Callie mumbled as she rose to her feet.
Joe turned around, the color draining from his face when he saw the look on his brother's face. "No," he whispered. He knew in that instant that Callie was wrong. Frank hated him for loving Dale. His only hope was that in time his brother would be able to accept him for who he was. If he couldn't, then his lover would be proven right and he would lose his family. Though he would still have the love of his parents, with the tension between him and Frank, he would never again have the same family that he'd grown up with.
Seeing the devastated look on Joe's face, Chet let loose a low growl. "I'll be back soon, I need to have a word with Frank." Standing up, the stout boy headed for the door, hurrying to catch up with the young couple who were nearly to the exit.
Callie hadn't said a word to Frank when she joined him at the door; she had simply grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the mall exit. Twice on the way to the door, Frank had tried to speak, but she had quickly hushed him with a heated glare. A part of her wanted to lay into him right there in Mr. Pizza, but she didn't think Joe would appreciate that, so she had led him outside. Reaching the exit, she shoved the door open, her small hand still gripping Frank's arm in an almost bruising grip. Letting him go, she turned to tell him just what she thought of him. She never got the chance; a large form barreled through the door, knocking Frank to the ground with one well placed punch to the jaw.
"How dare you use Iola to hurt Joe," Chet yelled.
Frank glared up at Chet, surprise and anger warring for dominance on his handsome face. "Don't tell me you're okay with him betraying her memory like this," he snapped.
"Betraying?" Chet gasped. "God Frank, you're a real piece of work aren't you? I always thought you were the best big brother in the world, I even modeled myself after you when Iola was alive. I wanted to be as good of a brother to her as you were to Joe, thank God I was better."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Frank asked, climbing to his feet.
"I'm talking about you rejecting Joe because you don't approve of who he's in love with. I'm talking about you refusing to accept him for who he is. I may not always have been the best brother but at least I never rejected Iola or tried to turn her into the person I thought she should be."
"It's easy for you to sit in judgment isn't it?" Frank snarled. "Iola never told you she was in love with a girl and since she's dead you'll never have to see if you could accept it."
"You turn into a real bastard when things don't go your way, don't you?" Chet growled. He took a deep breath, he wasn't ready to let go of his anger yet, but he wouldn't let it rule him. "You're right Iola never fell in love with a girl, instead she fell in love with a Hardy. I knew that just being with Joe would put her in danger and a part of me wanted to insist that she find somebody safer to love. Do you know why I didn't?"
"Because you knew it wouldn't work?"
"No! Because I could see how happy your brother made her and I wasn't willing to make her miserable just so I would feel better."
"This isn't about me."
Chet snorted derisively, "Isn't it? You can't accept that Joe is in love with a man so you do your best to hurt him, to punish him."
"I'm not trying to punish him, I'm trying to get him to come to his senses," Frank insisted.
"Come to his senses, or come to your senses?"
Frank blinked, "Huh?"
"You don't want him to come to his senses, you want him to feel the way you say he should," Chet explained.
"Chet's right Frank, can't you see that?" Callie asked.
Frank looked between them, "Don't you see that there's something wrong with this? Joe isn't gay or bi, he's just confused," he insisted.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why is it wrong? Why do you say he's confused?" Callie clarified.
"He never even looked at a guy that way before this case, he was just pretending to be gay because Dale is gay. It was a way to get close to him, but then he got hurt and lost his memory, so he thought he really was gay." Frank explained, conveniently leaving out the fact that Joe had realized he wanted to be with Dale before he was mugged. "Now he has his memory back but he also remembers the time he spent with that guy and he's confused."
"Frank, do you really think that Joe's feelings for Dale are a product of confusion and memory problems?" Chet asked.
"Of course they are, he couldn't really love a man."
"You wouldn't say that if you'd seen his face light up when he spoke about Dale," Chet calmly countered.
"Chet's right," Callie agreed. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around the dark eyed boy, drawing him closer. "Frank I love you, but the man I love isn't a bigot and he doesn't try to control the people he loves."
Frank was horrified that she thought that of him, "You think I'm a bigot?"
"You're acting like one."
"Oh God, what have I done?" he asked as realization sank in. He buried his face in her hair, though whether he sought comfort or to hide his shame, he wasn't sure.
"Nothing that can't be fixed," Callie assured him.
"How is he going to forgive me?"
Callie smiled indulgently, boys could be so foolish sometimes. "He'll forgive you because he loves you and it's killing him to think that you hate him."
"He thinks I hate him?"
"What else is he supposed to think?" Chet asked.
Pulling away from Callie, he headed towards the door, "I have to talk to him." Stepping back into the coolness of the mall, he didn't see the relieved look that passed between Callie and Chet. It took every ounce of control he possessed to keep from running back through the mall to Mr. Pizza. After what seemed entirely too long, he stood in the doorway of the pizza place, staring in horror at the sight of his little brother being comforted by Phil and Tony. He felt a chill go through him; he had done that to Joe, he had hurt his brother, something he had promised to never do.
Sensing a presence, Tony looked up into the anguished eyes of his friend. Standing up, he stepped over to Frank, grabbing his arm as he headed to the table. "If you're going to be hateful leave now."
"I'm not, I just want to make things right."
"Don't hurt him again," Tony warned as he released his arm. Stepping back, he let Frank pass, but he stayed close in case he was needed. He might not be sure how he felt about the changes in Joe, but the younger boy was still his friend and he wasn't ready to turn his back on him.
Frank nodded, he couldn't even be angry with Tony. How could he when the Italian youth was only trying to protect Joe. Stepping up to the table, he nervously cleared his throat. "May I talk to you Joe?"
Joe nodded, scooting over to make room for his brother. He heaved a disappointed sigh when Frank slid into the seat opposite him, taking Phil's place as the other boy got up and moved away. Afraid of what his brother would say, he kept his eyes on the table.
Frank didn't miss the look Phil shot him, understanding that if he hurt Joe, he wouldn't be dealing with Tony only. "Please look at me Joe," he quietly asked as he took his seat. He winced at the raw pain he saw reflected in his baby brother's eyes, pain he had put there. "I'm so sorry Joe, please say you can forgive me."
"You," Joe swallowed convulsively, "don't hate me?"
"No!" Joe flinched and he instantly regretted his tone. "I never hated you Joe," he continued, softening his tone. "I was scared to admit that maybe your feelings for Dale are real and I was worried about you."
"I told you Dale would never hurt me," Joe repeated for what seemed like the tenth time.
"I know, but I don't know him as well as you do, and I wasn't just afraid of Dale hurting you."
"What then?"
"I was afraid that you would realize later that you didn't really like men but it would be too late."
"Too late? What do you mean too late?"
"That you would go all the way with him and then have to live with the regret of that mistake for the rest of your life. I didn't want you to be hurt."
"So you hurt me instead?" Joe winced at the bitter tone of his question, but his brother's rejection had been more painful than he could have imagined.
"I shouldn't have done that Joe, I regretted the words as soon as I said them. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Give Dale a chance, accept the changes in me," Joe quickly replied.
"I'll accept him, I promise," Frank vowed.
"Don't," Joe waved off the promise.
Frank tilted his head, confused, "I thought that was what you wanted."
"I do, but I don't want you to just accept him because you're trying to make up for your earlier behavior. I want you to accept, if you can, after you get to know him and realize for yourself that he's a good man."
Frank nodded, now he understood, "I can do that."
Joe smiled, "Thank you. Chet or Callie?" he asked, nodding to the bruise on Frank's jaw.
"Chet, but I think if he hadn't Callie would have," he sheepishly replied.
"I'll have to tell them thanks."
Frank glanced up, seeing their friends gathered nearby, ready to come to Joe's defense if needed, brought a smile to his face. "Ready to invite them back over?"
"Yeah," Joe smiled. As their friends joined them, he began to relax among the good-natured, familiar banter. Joining in the conversation, he ignored the feeling of trepidation that gripped his heart whenever he thought of the one friend that was missing.
Across town, Biff sat in his room, his anger growing as he turned the pages of the photo album. "How could he do this to me?" he mumbled, his anger slowly becoming an uncontrollable rage.
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Discoveries