Westpoint Tales
by Kiwi
Entangled Tales - 58 - Tony
He sent a quick reply and told Daniel to phone him, as soon as he could. He really needed to talk to him. He'd had a bitch of a day and he didn't know how he was going to get through this without Daniel.
An hour later, his mum popped her head into the kitchen, where he was scrubbing the greasy fryers.
"Tony, phone for you. It's Daniel, but don't be too long, I'm waiting for a call."
He streaked upstairs and took the mobile phone into his room. His mother was still chattering away on the downstairs extension.
"Oh, here he is now. See you later, Daniel. Be good."
"Or, if you can't be good, be careful," Tony chimed in. June hung up.
"Tones? How are you?"
"Danny, oh Danny." He started crying into the phone. "Danny, I miss you so much."
He proceeded to tell him about his horrible day. Daniel tried to be upbeat about it, but he finished-up crying along with him.
"Oh, Tones. I wish that I could be there for you, I really wish I could. You'll just have to do it - one day at a time. Don't be nasty to people, but don't try too hard either. Fuck 'em. They'll come around, they have to. I'll email some of the guys, tell them to ease up on you."
"No! Don't do that or they'll be calling us gayboys next."
"Well, we are, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we are, but those pricks don't need to know that."
"Why don't you email them yourself? Apologise to Kenny and the others by mail."
"I doubt if they'd even read it."
"Bu they might, if they're at home by themselves and not showing off for their mates."
"It's worth a try, I suppose. I wish you were here, Danny."
"So do I. If anyone else hits you, I'll send Superboy up to sort them out."
"Yeah, right! Next time I'll hit first. Fuck 'em."
"That's the story. Look, I've got to go. I'll talk to you tonight. 9.30., okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Danny. I'll be here - 9.30pm."
"Okay. Don't dress up/ As a matter of fact, why don't we do it naked?"
"Shut up, Danny."
"I'm shutting up. I'll ask Toddy what he thinks too. Bye, Tones. I love you."
"I love you more. Bye, Danny and thanks."
Brian hung up the downstairs extension where he'd been listening in. 'I knew it. Dirty little queers! You're going to pay, Boy. Oh boy, are you going to pay!'
Tony went back to his greasy friers and continued cleaning in the kitchen until his father released him at dinnertime. He was really hungry, he'd had nothing but one glass of OJ all day, but he restrained himself, drank lots of water and ate a moderate-sized meal.
After eating, he sat in his room and did some homework - on the first bloody day back at school! Finished by 7.30pm., he changed his clothes and went out for a run down the main road. It was easy going on the way out but hard work coming back as it was mostly uphill. Still, what doesn't kill you has got to be good for you.
Arriving back home, he was going to shower, but changed his mind - leave it until after Danny called. So he sat at the computer and sent individual letters of apology to everyone in his address book. He tried to say that he was sorry for his recent behaviour and that he'd try to do better in the future. But, still smarting a bit, he tried not to be too groveling either.
Daniel came on line a couple of minutes early, and they talked for an hour before he had to go to his lonely bed. Danny was going to slip across the road to say goodnight to Toddy - he'd give him a kiss from Tony too.
This time he remembered to set the alarm, and he was up early in the morning to go for another run before breakfast. He wasn't going to eat anything, but his mother insisted.
"You've got to get some food in you. You can't go all day on nothing.'
"Don't see why not. He's got plenty of fat to live on."
"Shut up Alex."
Back at school, nothing had changed. He still had nobody to talk to. No-one even acknowledged his presence. Ah well, screw them He'd be back in Westpoint in 89 days. He spent the day, every class, sitting on his own. Anyone would think he stunk or something. Screw them anyway. He had friends - he did - he was just in the wrong bloody town, that's all.
After school he didn't have to work for once - things had finally started to settle down. So he sat in the living-room and started on a project that he'd been thinking about all day. First he found a karaoke site and down-loaded the music of Elton John's "Daniel." Then he recorded himself singing along with his own version of the words. As you do.
"Daniel, you're my star, in the path of the sky."
When happy with the song, he voice-mailed it to Daniel in Westpoint. He didn't see what happened to his song, it was a long time before he found out.
Daniel received and listened to it, and then he spoke to Peter and forwarded it on to him. Peter down-loaded it, damped down the awful background music and isolated Tony's voice. Then Whozzat re-recorded it, playing the backing themselves.
Crispian arranged to have 'Daniel', along with 'North'n west Coast Sun' and 'Simply the Best', and several others that they'd recorded, listed on a pay-site on the internet. As fresh new versions of well-known songs, they sat there and proceeded to make a lot of money.
Daniel kept his own copy on a CD that Peter burnt for him, and it never failed to make him cry every time he played it. "Daniel, I left you that day on a plane."
At Crispian's urging, Whozzat's music was picked up and pushed by several alternative radio stations, especially the Student FX station at Auckland University. He also paid for them to advertise the down-load site.
Word spread of this bunch of kids making music for kids and rebelling against the "business" of the global music business. Gleefully discovering something to protest about, thousands of people supported them and bought their songs. Whozzat, without even appearing on a stage, had several hit songs on their hands. Eventually, even mainstream radio stations started playing their music.
Robbie Keenan. on West FM in Westpoint, played them constantly, proudly proclaiming, "Local music by local kids. Buy it people. Support our own kids. Bugger the businessmen."
They were invited to perform on TV, on the weekly pop music show, but they declined. By that time, their dancing singer had disappeared and no-one knew where he was. They had another singer by then, but these were Tony's songs and it wouldn't have been right to do them without him.
Then they were asked, but they didn't even have a video of Tony singing. Peter, kicking himself once again, vowed that from then on he was going to video everything they recorded.
Back in Warkworth, Tony did his homework, and then talked to Daniel for an hour. They tried cyber-sex but both found it very unsatisfying. They agreed to try again sometime with Toddy joining in as well. Then he went to bed to dream.
They fell into a routine over the next couple of weeks. Tony rose early every morning and went out for a run. They exchanged emails constantly, before and after school. Some were jokey, some affectionate and some downright sexy.
They went on-line most nights at 9.30pm and talked until late, sometimes with Toddy there with Daniel, but mostly just the two of them. They tried computer sex again, but it was just too weird. Phone sex worked well though!
Daniel was enjoying life, apart from missing Tony, and he knew that Tony was not. He was still the invisible man at school, he'd given up trying to talk to anyone and he was very lonely. Daniel tried to keep it light and he talked constantly about Toddy - what Toddy did and what Toddy said about everything.
Tony winced every time. He was starting to feel that Daniel was obsessed and he was losing him to Toddy. Toddy was there, loving him and he was not. How could he compete with the golden boy-in-the-hand? Tony worked all the hours he could get in his parent's café and saved every cent earned for his next trip to Westpoint. It wasn't like he had anything else to do anyway.
Then Daniel had exciting news - Whozzat had a new singer! A new kid, Cody Harrison, had arrived in town and he'd met up with Dee who had brought him to them.
Cody was 17 and not at school, he was really good-looking with hazel eyes and long, dread-locked, light-brown hair. He was openly bisexual, (said he wasn't fussy), and didn't care who knew. He wouldn't say where he was from, just up north somewhere - a bit of a mystery man, and he was a surfer.
He walked into Westpoint with a pack on his back and a surfboard under his arm, and now he was living in a tent down on the North Beach, cooking on an open fire. He always seemed to have plenty of money; he just liked living on the beach.
Cody played guitar and the keyboard and he could sing. He was a great singer and he liked the music that Whozzat loved. He didn't dance like Tony did, but he could sure sing, and he was there. Daniel hoped that Tony didn't mind and said that he'd still be welcome to sing with them whenever he came down.
Tony said that he didn't mind, (though he did really), he was never a member of Whozzat anyway, he was just a visitor. (Dammit).
Now Daniel seemed to be obsessed with the new kid. He talked about him constantly and it was pissing Tony off. Toddy was bad enough, but at least he knew him - now he seemed to be losing Daniel to Cody as well. He was getting worried.
The last straw came on a Thursday night when Daniel said he wouldn't be in touch for a couple of days, he was going away for a weekend trip, with Cody. Cody had bought an old car and they were going to spend the weekend cruising down the coast, checking out the beaches, and he was going to teach Daniel to surf!
Daniel was so excited about his new adventure that he got a bit carried away and he was crushed when Tony snapped at him.
"Fine then. Fuck off with your new boyfriend. See if I care!"
He angrily shut the computer down and glared at it.
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