The Kingswood Complication - Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Monday 29 August 2022

Mikey was smiling before he even opened his eyes, not that anybody would have been able to see it. He had been awoken by the underwear thrown onto his face. He wasn’t sure whether he had been roused by the feeling of it and then taken in the scent, or whether the smell itself was what had shaken him from his slumber.

Either way, it didn’t really matter. He was awake now with a pair of Chris’ underwear on his face. To most that might seem like a nasty prank, but to Mikey it was an absolute gift, one that the used underwear’s owner had given willingly. Had he not already been sporting morning wood, he would have stiffened in seconds. His hand found its way to the rigid prick and gave it a gentle squeeze as he squirmed slightly against the body at his side.

“Morning!” Chris said softly, cuddling against the other boy more overtly now he was clearly awake.

Mikey chuckled slightly as he nuzzled back against Chris and replied sleepily, “Morning!” It was only after his dozy greeting that Mikey noticed something was strange. He reached up to pull the underwear from his face, flinched at the sudden burst of light then glanced at Chris then the dorm as he added, “It’s really quiet!”

“Yeah, everyone else is out already,” Chris explained.

Mikey looked round again. That wasn’t actually what he meant, but nodded his understanding anyway as he saw the empty dorm. He nestled against Chris again and let out a happy mew at the quietness. “Where’d everybody go?” he asked softly.

“Just… out. Some of ‘em are seeing The Lads, some of ‘em are off talking extracurriculars and stuff,” Chris explained. “Danny’s text said he tried to wake me but I threatened to punch him in the balls so he left me to sleep. I don’t even remember it!”

Mikey snorted with laughter.

“Apparently Nicky said you seemed like you needed the sleep so he left you to sleep in too!” Chris went on

Mikey yawned and stretched out, his toes pointing to the foot of the bed while his arms stretched up past the pillow and onto the next bunk, the two beds positioned head-to-head. “Mmmyeah, I think I did!” he groaned contentedly.

Chris rested his hand on Mikey’s bare chest, the skin silky soft and milky white, peppered with little freckles. He let his hand roam it gently, not feeling for anything in particular, or intending to do anything, he was simply enjoying the other boy’s body, an enjoyment shared by Mikey if the happy mew was anything to go by.

It felt nice to be able to be close to him again, not just because of the extra-long summer break in which they had not seen each other, but just where they were with their relationship. Like most, Chris had been a little intimidated by Mikey at first until he got to know him and they became friends, then become closer friends, then boyfriends… and then nothing. At the start of Year 9, the two had not even been on speaking terms, but time can be an incredible healer, especially if the foundation of the friendship is strong.

“I’m assuming these are mine to keep now,” Mikey said as he pulled his hands back down and grasped the underwear he had been woken with.

Chris chuckled and said, “Sure. I have more!”

“For now,” Mikey giggled.

The sound was mesmerising, almost as much as the serene smile spread across his adorable, freckled face. Mikey had often been hailed as one of the cutest boys in the dorm, potentially in the whole Year group, but his frequent bad moods and aggression often turned his boyish, impish good looks into something… darker. It was in these rare moments of joy that the beauty he had on the outside truly matched the kind heart hidden behind the moodiness.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked, trying to stop his brow furrowing too heavily with his obvious concern.

Mikey enjoyed the silence for a few moments and said, “Yeah, I’m good!”

“I don’t just mean now,” Chris explained. It felt a shame to potentially ruin Mikey’s good mood, but it was by far easier to really talk to him in peaceful moments like this. “I mean in general. You’ve seemed a bit… off, like, over the summer and since we got back!” Chris explained.

The smile dropped a little from Mikey’s face but didn’t revert back to the usual angry scowl. Instead, he just looked a little sad. “Some days are not good days. Some days are really bad days. I think today’s going to be a good one!” Mikey said slightly cryptically.

“What… makes them bad?” Chris probed gently, his hand still caressing Mikey’s chest.

Mikey let out a slight moan and nuzzled his head against the side of Chris’ as he said softly, “Can we not talk about that now? I can think of way more fun things to do while we’re alone!”

Chris chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, me too,” he agreed. “Just… so long as you know I’m here on the bad days too, if you need me!”

Mikey stared into Chris’ stunning emerald-green eyes for a moment, the nodded. “I do,” he replied, then leaned over to plant a gentle kiss on Chris’ lips.

Chris’ eyes closed as he felt Mikey kiss him, letting the other boy push against him for a few moments before pushing back. His hand slid down the slender torso and round the back until it cupped a small, pert buttock.

Mikey pulled away and smiled as he asked bluntly, “D’you wanna fuck?”

“I think we both know the answer to that,” Chris said with a broad smile. “How d’ya want me?” he asked, sitting up.

“Actually,” Mikey said, rolling over to turn his back to Chris, before he looked back over his shoulder and continued, “I was thinking YOU might wanna do ME. It’s been a while! If you want to, I mean!”

Chris nodded eagerly as he leaned down to kiss Mikey. “Oh wait, lube!” he exclaimed before quickly scurrying down the ladder from the bunk to retrieve some. By the time he got back up, Mikey had removed his underwear too. “I’ve missed that cute lil butt,” Chris chuckled as he reached down to cup both cheeks briefly.

“They’ve missed you too!” Mikey said dreamily.

Chris squeezed some lube onto his fingers and reached down to apply it to Mikey’s hole as he lifted one leg to give easier access. Not content with just slathering the hole with the slippery gel, Chris spent several moments slowly fingering the other boy, first with a single finger and then two, playfully kissing and nibbling around his back and shoulders as he did it.

“That’s so good,” Mikey moaned happily, seemingly content to let Chris play with him.

Chris continued a little longer and likely would have gone on even longer if not for the fact that they could be interrupted at any time. As indifferent as he was to being caught or watched, he knew it would bother Mikey, so he pulled his fingers out, squeezed out some more lube and stroked it onto his rigid prick. Unlike the fingering, this stroking was purely functional and as soon as he was sufficiently slick, he began to push inside Mikey.

“Unnh, and that’s even better!” Mikey groaned contentedly.

“Yeah?” Chris asked softly. “Isn’t it… a bit small?” he asked curiously.

“Couldn’t give a fuck how big it is, I’m getting fucked by it, not measuring it!” Mikey said gruffly.

Chris smirked a little. He wasn’t overly caught up on size, but with Mark and Nicky in the dorm and Brian as Danny’s ex, there were big-cocks-a-plenty around him and it could be easy to feel inadequate by comparison. Mikey’s comment may have been blunt, but it was also honest. “Okay then,” he smirked as he started thrusting in and out of the moaning boy that he was slowly wrapping himself around.

“This is just a fuck, isn’t it?” Mikey suddenly asked.

“Well yeah, it’s not like I’m looking for my keys in here,” Chris joked, slapping Mikey’s buttock.

“Remind me to laugh at that some time,” Mikey said flatly. “I just mean… y’know… you’re single again and we have a history and… you’re suddenly in my bed!”

“Your bed?” Chris said wryly.

“Fine, Nicky’s bed!” Mikey said, rolling his eyes as one hand reached down to start playing with himself as the other moved Chris’ discarded underwear close to his face.

“Yes, this is just a fuck!” Chris said bluntly. He nearly added, ‘And I’m not single’ but held back. He had told Mark about his relationship with Danny, but he didn’t want to stretch his agreement to keep it secret by telling anyone else, though it did feel strange to hold the fact back from Mikey.

“Good, now hurry up and cum in me. I wanna shoot at the same time and I’m horny as fuck!” Mikey requested, masturbating fervently.

“Gladly,” Chris said as he sped up the fucking. As he reached round, he took over what Mikey was doing for him. The hand that had looped down beneath his neck grabbed the underwear and held it over his face, as if trying to chloroform Mikey with them. His other hand reached over him to nudge the hand away and take over wanking him off.

“Unnh, so good,” Mikey panted heavily, “Gonna cum soon!”

“Where ya gonna shoot?” Chris asked in anticipation.

“Anywhere. It’s not MY bed!” Mikey sniggered.

“So wrong,” Chris laughed. Moments later, he heard Mikey let out a series of moans and grunts as his cock twitched in his grasp and began covering Nicky’s bed with jizz. “Ahh, Mikey,” Chris gasped as he felt the other boy’s sphincter clenching onto his thrusting cock. It sped him along a little more in his eager fucking and a minute after Mikey stopped cumming, Chris began to shoot inside him

Gradually grinding to a halt, Chris started taking long deep breaths as he rolled onto his back, one arm still pinned beneath Mikey. “I enjoyed that,” he sighed happily.

“Me too,” Mikey said as he rolled over and nestled against Chris, resting his head on his chest.

“You wanna go find the others?” Chris asked as he tilted his head to the side to look down at Mikey.

“Hmm, in a bit,” Mikey hummed thoughtfully, “For now I just wanna… enjoy the quiet!”

*****

“So, umm… how many are you signing up for this year?” Nicky asked, unsubtly leaning over to try and look at David’s laptop screen.

David rolled his eyes as he closed his laptop, then looked to Nicky who was painfully obvious in his attempt at nonchalance as Danny and Rob sat holding back smirks. “I know what you’re doing!” he said grumpily.

“I’m not doing anything,” Nicky insisted innocently. “Can’t I show an interest in one of my best friend’s hobbies?” he asked defensively.

David’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Nicky incredulously. They had all been sitting together looking at the schedules and sign-up options for the new year’s extracurriculars, having left The Lads doing some team building exercises with Mr Trent after breakfast. “Well, I… decided to cut back this year,” he started, frowning at the growing look of interest, but rolled his eyes again as he finished, “So I’m just doing eight!”

“Oh… JUST eight, okay,” Nicky said a little sarcastically.

“Yuss, someone owes me a blowjob!” Danny said, jabbing Rob with his elbow. As David scowled at him, Danny grinned and said, “For something… totally unrelated to the number you just said! We weren’t making bets about your choices!” He flashed a cheesy grin that couldn’t have made their betting more obvious.

“I can’t help liking a lot of things,” David said moodily, then muttered, “Although I can clearly cross you lot off the list of things I like!”

“Aww, come on. You know you love us!” Nicky said, throwing an arm around David.

“Yeah, we’re just playing,” Rob insisted. “What’s on your plan for this year then?” he asked, knowing it was a good way to get David back to being perky.

David couldn’t help himself from talking about his interests, especially with an invitation, so he opened his laptop back up and started, “Well I’m sticking with book club, cos… yay reading!” He got a happy nod of agreement from Rob. “And swimming, so they can’t nag me for doing NOTHING physical!” he went on, getting a fist-bump from Danny for the shared activity. “And I’m still sticking with chess, cooking and drama!”

“All good choices,” Rob nodded along.

“I’m also going back to astronomy and debate, cos they’re things I can do with James, and he’s signing up for cooking club and drama for the same reason!” David said happily.

“Aww, that’s cute,” Nicky said, then smirked and added, “Nauseating, but cute!”

“Oh yeah, I’m taking British sign language too!” David finished eagerly.

“Ah, me too,” Rob nodded. “Apparently one in five adults in the UK have some form of hearing impairment! Did ya know that?”

“No, hadn’t heard that before,” Nicky said, holding back a smirk at the bad pun. It got a reluctant chuckle from David who shook his head.

“Actually, I’m probably taking it too, and so’s Chris!” Danny explained.

“Oh, lemme guess, you realised that you were missing out on flirting with a fifth of the population cos they can’t hear you hitting on them?” Rob teased.

“Rude!” Danny scowled. “I’m genuinely offended you’d even suggest that we’d do it for anything so… filthy!”

“Sorry,” Rob said sheepishly.

“We’re actually doing it so we can talk when we’re not allowed to talk without getting told off!” Danny explained with a broad grin.

“Ah, there it is,” David said, shaking his head disapprovingly as Rob and Nicky both laughed. “Well whatever your reasons, it’ll be fun to do together!”

A voice suddenly came from behind David, “Ooh, what ya doing together? You looking at activities?” It was Grayson, new arrival to Year 10. He casually pulled out a seat and sat down next to David, leaning on him to look at his screen. “And we haaaave…” he said, looking along the list as he ran his finger down the screen, “Absolutely zero clubs the same. No fun!”

“Uhh, hi… I’m David!” David said, slightly bewildered by the abrupt arrival.

“Yeah, David,” Grayson said, nodding to David, then nodded to Danny and Rob respectively and said, “Danny, Rob and…” He leaned forward to look past David to Nicky, cocked his head and finished, “Tallboy, right?”

As the others sniggered at the comment, Nicky simply shrugged and said, “If I’m Tallboy then you’re ‘Grey with an E’.”

Grayson grinned as he replied, “Ahh, remembering how to piss me off still counts as remembering me, so I’m taking it as a win!” It got some sniggers from the others as he shrugged and went on, “But yeah, I hate that, so… fine. Nicky it is then!” He looked round at the rest again and said, “Obviously, I’m Gray, it’s a pleasure to meet me!”

“Don’t you mean a pleasure to meet YOU?” David frowned.

“That’s what I said,” Gray said with a shrug and a wry smile as David didn’t know whether to look confused or annoyed. “This place is so cool. So many clubs and stuff. At my last school if you weren’t in classes you were either studying or sitting round having the will to live drained out of you!”

“Wasn’t King Edwards, was it?” Danny asked with a smirk.

Gray shuddered. “Ugh, no, but we looked at that one. I swear I’ve seen prisons that were nicer than that place!”

“True dat,” Danny nodded.

“Oh, are these your GCSE subjects?” Gray asked, still looking at David’s laptop. Without waiting for an answer, he looked it up and down thoughtfully and said, “Wow, we don’t match on any of these either. You’re like… the anti-me. Do we need to be enemies?”

“We could but I’m smart, petty and sneaky so you would DEFINITELY lose!” David replied with a confident nod, getting quick agreements from the others. “But hey, they say opposites attract!” he giggled.

“Oh sure, cos you and your boyfriend are SUCH different people,” Nicky said sarcastically. As Gray looked at him curiously and David scowled, he smirked and said, “They’re as different as night and… a different but basically identical night!”

“Funny!” Gray said with a chuckle, then looked round again. “So what about you lot? Are you depriving yourselves of the pleasure of my company too?” he asked confidently. Before they could answer, he tilted his head thoughtfully and pointed to Danny as he said, “Oh wait, no, football captain, right?”

“Right!” Danny nodded.

“And rugby captain?” Gray added, pointing to Rob.

“Ah, you’ve done your homework!” Rob chuckled. “So which one of us gets to pleasure your company?” he asked curiously, knowing most boys at the school tended to play for at least one of the two main sports teams.

“Don’t you mean…” David started, but realised it was an intentional error as the others started to laugh. “I’m so slow today!” he giggled at himself.

“I’m kinda hoping both. I heard a few guys do that!” Gray nodded.

“Yeah, that’s not a problem. Practices are on different days,” Danny said with a shrug. “And we’re not definitely captains again this year! Nothing’s confirmed yet!”

“Yeah, but you totally are!” Nicky said with a nod.

“How about you, tall… Nicky?” Gray said, just stopping himself short of saying it fully. “You the captain of anything?”

“He’s not. And by the looks of his list he’s barely doing ANYTHING this year anyway,” David said, leaning over to look at Nicky’s laptop. He looked to Nicky, smirked and said, “I assume all that free time will be dedicated to your studies then!”

Nicky started laughing, with Danny and Rob joining in. Gray smirked too as he stood, slapped David on the back and said, “You’re funny. Just a shame we’ll never meet again after today!” He moved along to Nicky and leaned past him to look at the laptop screen. “Huh, Basketball, Martial Arts, Music and Photography,” he read out.

“Martial Arts?!” Danny exclaimed, knowing Nicky’s aversion to violence.

“Just trying something new,” Nicky said, not wanting to mention his therapy or the things he was doing as a result of it in front of the new boy. It was enough of a miracle that he was even able to speak to him, considering his usual pathological shyness with new people!

“And since when do we have a photography club?” Rob asked curiously.

“Since Mr Burnside started it!” Nicky replied with a shrug.

“Since when do we have a Mr Burnside?” Rob muttered, getting a snigger from Danny.

“Well, I have some excellent news for you, Nicky,” Gray said as he sat on the table beside him. “You’re like the anti-anti-me…” he said, then frowned as he seemed to confuse himself. He pointed to David and said, “He was the anti-me, which makes you the anti-anti-me… or… maybe you’re just me! Meh, who knows! Point is, I’m joining all four of those!”

Nicky cocked his head at the new boy, then looked to Rob and said, “Could you call Dr Arkwright please!” As the others looked at him in mild alarm, he smirked and looked back to Gray as he said completely straight-faced, “I may need medical assistance to help contain my excitement!”

“Oh, you’re a funny one too,” Gray said with a knowing smile as Rob, Danny and David sniggered at the comment. “I think I’ll enjoy being stalked by you!” he nodded casually.

“How could I be stalking you? I picked these before we ever met!” Nicky said defensively.

“Mmm-huh, sure,” Gray teased. “Next thing you know you’ll be showing up in all my classes just by chance!”

“Yeah, don’t flatter yourself,” Nicky replied flatly.

“Well he’s doing the mandatory ones obviously,” David suddenly offered up. “Then he’s doing…”

“Wait, have you… memorised my choices?” Nicky interrupted.

“I’ve memorised everyone’s. Nobody’s surprised. Now shh, this doesn’t concern you!” David replied, before looking back to Gray who grinned at the smaller boy. “So he’s doing double award science, Geography, Music, Drama, Food Tech and French!”

“Fuck off!” Gray laughed, shaking his head, “Fuck all the way off. He’s not!”

“Don’t say it!” Nicky sighed, visibly deflating.

“You match?” David asked excitedly.

“Every subject… well, except I’m doing German too!” Gray said with a shrug.

David frowned for a moment then asked, “Wait, instead of French or as well as it?”

“As well,” Gray said casually.

“So you’re doing TWELVE GCSE’s instead of eleven?” David exclaimed. “I… why… I… I didn’t even know that was an option!”

“I hope you realise you’ve just blown his nerdy little mind,” Nicky said disapprovingly.

“Then my work here is done!” Gray said, jumping to his feet. “Buh-bye, anti-me,” he sniggered to David. “See you on the pitch, captain one, captain two!” he said with a quick salute to Rob and Danny.

“I’m captain one!” Rob and Danny both declared at once, then glared playfully at each other.

“And I guess I’ll see you…” Gray started, looking to Nicky, “Pretty much everywhere. Wow, a few days here and I already got a stalker!”

“NOT A STALKER!” Nicky called after Gray as he walked away.

The four boys exchanged bemused glances for a moment.

“Well that was certainly…” Danny started, shaking his head.

“An experience!” Rob said, sniggering as he got a nod of agreement from Danny.

“How the hell is he fitting in twelve?” David muttered as he stared at his class schedule, oblivious to the amusement of the others.

*****

“Any of ‘em dead yet?” Mikey asked with a chuckle as he walked up behind Josh.

“Shhhh!” Josh hissed, pulling back from the doorway where he had been spying on the Year 7s with Mr Trent. “And no,” he said quietly, “Bickering like a bunch of little bitches, but no deaths yet!”

“You planning to stand around spying on ‘em all day?” Mikey asked, eyebrows raised.

“Hey, don’t judge me. Just cos I actually care about mine!” Josh scowled as he started walking away for fear of alerting them to his presence.

“Hey, I care about Leo,” Mikey scowled, “But I’m his mentor, not his fucking mother! Might wanna back off a bit!”

Josh glanced back at the door. He had always wanted to do well as a mentor, but that feeling had grown by magnitudes when he was offered the opportunity to do it for his best friend’s little brother. He knew Mikey was right though. He couldn’t be there for him 24 hours a day. “I guess,” he said with a dismissive shrug.

Mikey started wandering along the corridor as Josh followed along, making it pretty clear he was moving on with or without Josh. “Umm… about what happened yesterday…” he said sheepishly as Josh caught up to him.

Josh shrugged immediately and said, “S’okay, no big deal! We don’t need to talk about it!”

“Yeah, I kinda feel like we do!” Mikey said with a gentle nod. “I think… we maybe do a bit TOO much NOT talking about things sometimes!”

“We do and that’s why I like you,” Josh insisted, patting Mikey on the back firmly. “You’re fucked up. I’m fucked up. We act fucked up together, then move past it in a fucked-up way. That’s our thing!” he chuckled.

Mikey laughed but felt like he probably shouldn’t so he stopped himself quickly and said, “I… umm… I get that, and I guess I kinda like that, but… that’s how I handle things on bad days, and I want this year to have… less bad days!”

“Aww, does that mean less Psycho Mikey?” Josh pouted.

Mikey flinched a little at the name Josh had given to his darker side, to the aggressive, violent side that seemed to emerge when he got upset or stressed. He continued walking but slowed a little as he started, “I don’t… like acting like that and… and if all you like me for is to… play with Psycho Mikey then...”

“I don’t!” Josh quickly interjected, grabbing Mikey’s shoulder to halt him. He huffed, rolled his eyes and shook his head, clearly frustrated to feel forced into sharing. “I don’t JUST like you for Psycho Mikey. I DO like him… well you, it’s still you, but… I like YOU too. You kinda get me in a way most of the others never will!”

Mikey frowned slightly at the first part, unsure how he felt about it, then gave a meek smile and replied, “Yeah, you get me too!”

“I guess we, like… hug or some shit now,” Josh said, very obviously trying to hide the fact he actuually wanted it.

“I guess so!” Mikey smirked, leaning in to pull Josh into a hug.

They stood together for several seconds until, still holding on, Josh asked, “Do we… do more than hug? Or is that only for when we fight?”

Mikey squeezed gently and said back quietly, “I do like doing stuff with you that doesn’t leave bruises!”

Josh sniggered as he pulled back and looked round. “I’m guessing we’re not gonna wank each other off in a corridor!” he said impishly.

“No, let’s do it outside instead,” Mikey said with a grin. He dashed for the nearby door that led out the back of the Home Building.

“To the wanking tree!” Josh said, pointing out across the lawn.

“Yeah, we’re not calling it that!” Mikey said dismissively, “But I’m flattered you remember!”

“Hey, I remember every place we’ve wanked each other off!” Josh insisted as they hurried across the grass. “Well… probably. I guess if I don’t remember one then I wouldn’t remember that I don’t remember it!”

Mikey frowned at Josh, shaking his head as he said, “Sometimes you make me feel so normal!” They both laughed as they came to a halt behind a large tree where they had played together several months before. As he looked coyly at Josh, he said awkwardly, “We could always call it the kissing tree!”

“Oh yeah, our first kiss was right there, wasn’t it!” Josh said, smiling fondly as he nodded at the spot they had been in. “I’m okay with calling it that, but we should probably do it again, just to make sure the name really sticks!” he suggested coyly.

“Makes sense,” Mikey agreed before he started leaning in. “STOP!” he suddenly yelped, reaching up to grab Josh’s face with both hands.

“Whut is it?” Josh asked, deliberately puckering his lips comedically.

Mikey snorted with laughter and shoved Josh away. “Stupid,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re not… like… into me, are you?” he asked nervously, “That’s not what all the kissing and wanking and everything’s for, is it?”

“Eww!” Josh scowled, then shook his head too and said, “Wait, no, not eww to you. You’re hot and kissing you is fun. I just mean… eww to… dating!”

Mikey stayed silent and raised his eyebrows.

Josh sighed and started, “If that’s what you’re after then…”

“I’m not!” Miket interjected, “I was just gonna kiss you and wank you off and then figured we’d go play football or something but I wanted to make sure you weren’t thinking more like kiss, wank, declare undying love!”

“Deffo not!” Josh insisted, “I like your plan much better, so let’s get on with it!”

“Yeah,” Mikey agreed as Josh moved towards him again.

This time their lips met and Mikey leaned back against the trunk of the tree as they made out. For several minutes they just kissed until eventually Josh’s hands made their way down and started groping at Mikey, who promptly returned the favour. Fumbling a little without breaking the kiss, both boys pulled each other’s dicks out and started gently tugging on them as their tongues wrestled.

Josh was first to cum, his load covering Mikey’s hand and dripping to the ground beneath their feet. Mikey took a little longer, but neither seemed to be in any rush. Even after cumming, Josh seemed perfectly content to keep making out until Mikey eventually ejaculated into his hand.

The kissing went on for a little longer before they finally parted, smiling serenely.

“Wow, no bruises and no awkward running off. It CAN be done!” Mikey joked.

Josh cocked his head as they started wandering across the lawn, headed over towards the Sports Complex. “I know I said I like regular Mikey AND Psycho Mikey, but… I think I actually like regular Mikey more!”

Mikey flinched slightly, pausing for just a moment. When he heard nothing but the distant sound of some returning Year 13s round the front of the Home Building, he smiled and replied, “Good. Regular Mikey likes Josh too!”

Josh beamed happily.

“And hey, check me out. I got off with Chris this morning! Two guys in one day. I’m basically Danny!” Mikey said, getting a laugh from Josh.

*****

Danny took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, looking round nervously as his hands fidgeted awkwardly. “This one time, I had a bunch of tests I had to go through,” he started out of nowhere, “And the results of the tests would essentially tell me if I was ever going to walk again or be paralysed for life!”

“That’s… umm…” Mark said, confused by the apparent non sequitur. He just glanced at Chris curiously, who looked equally bamboozled.

“Waiting for those results,” Danny continued, pausing to shake his head, “Literally less scary than this!”

Chris and Mark both smirked sympathetically as they caught on to his anxious humour. “It’ll be okay!” Chris reassured him, stroking his boyfriend’s arm gently.

The Year 13s had been returning throughout the day and while most of the Year 10s had been happy to see their mentors, eager to check in and discuss the new boys they were in charge of, Danny had other concerns – Brian! He had spotted him, from a distance, return a couple of hours ago and had deliberately kept his distance. He had intended to keep doing that, at least for a little while, but then the dreaded text message had arrived – [We need to talk!]

The message, followed up by a location and time, had arrived 28 minutes ago and since then Danny’s anxiety had grown and grown and he now sat in their dorm as a gibbering wreck.

“Look, as the OTHER ex-boyfriend in this messed up drama of a romance,” Mark said, gesturing to the couple, “Trust me, it’ll be fine!”

“Oh, it hardly compares!” Danny scoffed. “You dated for a week. Me and Brian were together for TWO years!”

Mark winced at the comment as Chris frowned disapprovingly.

“Sorry, that’s… that’s not fair,” Danny apologised meekly, “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay. I get it!” Mark said with a nod. “It really isn’t the same, but it’ll still be okay. I know I don’t know Brian that well but he always seemed like a great guy!”

“He is!” Chris and Danny both said together, then chuckled slightly.

“Okay, I can’t wait anymore,” Danny said as he stood up. “I don’t care if I’m early, I gotta go!”

“We’re around if you need us!” Chris insisted as he stood, then gave Danny a quick hug and peck on the cheek.

Danny smiled gratefully at Chris, then accepted a fist bump from Mark before heading out of the dorm. As he got to the stairs, he froze as he saw Brian walking down from the floor above.

“You’re early!” Brian exclaimed.

“So are you!” Danny replied.

The mixture of silence and awkwardness swirled around them both, feeling almost palpable as it weighed heavily on them.

“Good… summer?” Danny asked cautiously.

“Yeah,” Brian nodded, then went to reply but heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. “Let’s not loiter here. You wanna walk?”

“Sure,” Danny replied.

They started down the stairs and eventually found the source of the footsteps, Richard Payne (a.k.a. Dick), one of Brian’s classmates and Josh’s mentor. He smiled as he saw Brian and started, “Alright mate, how’s it…. WOAH!” he stopped mid-sentence as he realised who Brian was with. “Hey… Danny,” he said more sedately. He looked back to Brian, visibly winced and said, “Catch up later, I guess!”

Danny cringed as the older boy passed them, then remained silent until they got outside and started wandering away from the Guest Building.

“So… how was your summer?” Brian eventually asked.

“It was…” Danny was unsure how to answer. It had been great. Better than great. It had been amazing. It had also been tiring and terrifying at times, but great overall, so why did it feel so wrong to admit that? “Fine,” he eventually concluded, “It was fine.”

“Three weeks in a tropical paradise and two weeks in a less tropical paradise and it was just…fine?” Brian asked incredulously. “Really?”

“Okay, it was great,” Danny conceded, chuckling awkwardly. “Yours?”

Brian frowned thoughtfully, inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Not… amazing, but… yeah, actually pretty good I suppose! Spent quite a lot of it with Joe, so… that was obviously annoying!” he explained with a laugh.

“Oof, yeah. Whole summer with Joseph… that sounds… exhausting!” Danny agreed.

Silence closed in again as they slowly traipsed along.

“Me and Chris are together!” Danny suddenly blurted out. He had thought of so many tactful ways to say it, or considered waiting until Brian asked, if he ever did. A million possibilities had floated through his mind as he prepared for the meeting and he just… blurted it out like that. ‘Fuckin’ idiot!’ he thought to himself, shaking his head.

Brian didn’t say anything, he just continued walking, gaze fixed at the ground.

The 39 seconds of silence that followed somehow felt like hours to Danny, eating away at him until he requested, “Please say something!”

Brian sighed, nodded thoughtfully for a moment and said, “I’m happy for you. For both of you!”

“Oh… umm… thanks!” Danny said, still on edge. “I thought you might… be… mad or… or upset or something!”

“Ha!” Brian squawked. “That would be… stupid!” he said slightly pointedly. “I mean… I broke up with you cos I thought you wanted to be together. I can’t exactly be mad that I did the right thing!”

“The right thing for me, you mean,” Danny said back sympathetically.

“And Chris!” Brian added with a stern frown, “It wasn’t just for you!”

Danny bobbed his head in understandingly and said softly, “I… appreciate that.”

Brian went quiet again, but eventually asked, “When?” As Danny looked at him questioningly, he elaborated, “When did you… get together?”

Danny flinched at the question and shrunk away slightly as he said, “Please don’t get mad!”

Brian stopped and stared at Danny coldly. “If you’re about to tell me you were cheating on me with him…”

“No!” Danny yelped. “God, no! I… I wouldn’t… I couldn’t do that!” he said defensively. “But it was…” he paused again and sighed nervously, “It wasn’t THAT long after… us!”

“How long?” Brian demanded. “Days, minutes… hours?”

“Two… two weeks!” Danny explained. “It was… the morning after The Explosion!” As Brian just stared, fairly expressionless, Danny went on, “Well… sort of. I mean, technically it was then, but then we didn’t see each other until, like… the middle of July!”

Brian nodded his understanding.

Danny stood staring at the older boy.

“Look, I… I really am happy for you both,” Brian said sincerely.

“Buuuut?” Danny prompted.

“Fuck, whadda you want me to say?” Brian huffed, turning away.

“Nothing!” Danny snapped back. “I… I mean… YOU’RE the one who wanted to talk!”

“Yeah, I did!” Brian said sharply, before his shoulders slumped and he went on, “But then I saw you and…” He stopped, shaking his head as he stood facing away.

“And what?” Danny asked, stepping closer. He reached out towards Brian.

“Whadda you think?” Brian asked, turning round and pulling away as he saw the reaching hand. “It hurt!” he said mournfully, “It hurt so much I felt like I was gonna throw up.”

“I’m… sorry,” Danny said weakly.

“Don’t be!” Brian snapped, the realised his tone and cringed a little as he repeated more calmly, “Don’t be!” He raised his hands to rub his face for a moment, then dropped them and looked to Danny as he said, “It was my choice to end things and it sucks, but I did it! I wanted you and Chris to both be happy and you are, which is great, because I love you both, I just… couldn’t imagine it would feel like THIS!”

“How can I… help?” Danny asked, gingerly reaching out to take Brian’s hand.

Brian grasped the smaller hand in both of his own and stared down at it, sniffing. “You can’t!” he said, barely above a whisper. “I just… ugh, I don’t know!” he said as he dropped Danny’s hand. “I guess I just need time!”

“Okay,” Danny nodded. “Look, if you need to be mad at me, or… bitter, or bitchy, then just… do it. I won’t blame you. Hell, you could just walk round insulting me all day. You’ll just fit right in with everyone else,” he said with a slight smirk that quickly faded.

“I don’t need that,” Brian said firmly. “I wouldn’t wanna hurt you. I still love you! I know I probably shouldn’t say that, but…”

“I love you too!” Danny interrupted. “And I DEFINITELY shouldn’t say that cos I’m guessing it probably just makes stuff hurt more but… I DO still love you, Brian.”

“Well that just sucks, doesn’t it!” Brian said, smiling wryly as he shook his head. They stared silently for several seconds before Brian smiled meekly and said, “I should… probably go!”

“Yeah, I… I guess I’ll see you around!” Danny said back, then watched as Brian walked away.

*****

Josh kicked the football up into the air once, twice, three times and then passed it back to Mikey who caught it with his foot and repeated the move. They had hoped to find some other people to actually play a game of football, but most of their year were occupied catching up with their mentors or carrying out their own mentoring duties with the Year 7 boys, so they had started just volleying the ball between themselves as they casually chatted.

“What was it like having boyfriends?” Josh asked curiously as he passed the ball.

“Umm…” Mikey hummed as he caught the ball and kicked it back. “D’ya mean what was it like having TWO compared to one, or just what was it like having any?” he asked curiously.

Josh let out a noise that vaguely passed for ‘I don’t know’ as he shrugged and passed the ball. “Either, I guess,” he added.

Mikey kicked the ball into the air and let it hit the ground, pinning it in place with his foot as he contemplated the question. “Having a boyfriend’s kinda cool, cos it’s like… you know sometimes you have people you can talk to about anything, and sometimes you people you just really like hanging out with, and maybe if you’re lucky you have people you like doing sex stuff with? Well, having a boyfriend is just… kinda convenient cos it’s like ALL of that stuff in one person!”

“Cool!” Josh nodded gently, looking thoughtful.

“And having two of ‘em… the best part for me was threeway cuddles cos I liked being in the middle,” Mikey explained, grinning broadly, “But I guess it was also kinda cool knowing that if I was having a really bad day and wanted to be on my own, they’d still have each other to keep ‘em company!”

Josh frowned at the comment for a moment then flopped down to sit cross-legged on the ground and asked, “Wouldn’t having two of them mean they’d be able to cheer you up and make your bad days into good days?”

“Oh,” Mikey said, pursing his lips contemplatively for a moment as he sat down facing Josh. Had it been anyone else, maybe even Nicky, he probably would have just shrugged the question off, but he liked talking about things with Josh. There was a genuine and rather sweet curiosity to him that Mikey always enjoyed indulging. “I guess I don’t mean a bad day in the typical way. Not, like… an annoying day with a double period of History or a, like… bad hair day or something!” He rolled the ball across the ground to Josh.

“Then what… DO you mean?” Josh asked curiously, looking at Mikey quizzically. “What’s a bad day for you?” he asked and rolled the ball back.

Mikey faltered for a moment, getting close to the limit of what he was willing to share, even with Josh. “I guess…” he paused to look at Josh as he thought of the best way to let him understand, then smiled slightly as he thought of it and finished, “A day when Psycho Mikey’s around a lot and it’s hard to… just… be me!”

They continued rolling the ball back and forth as they sat facing each other.

“Wait, does that mean…” Josh started, looking a little distressed, “The… the times I, like… made him come out and stuff, was I… giving you more bad days?”

Mikey could see his friend was a little upset at the prospect, but took a moment to really think rather than just instinctively trying to comfort him. “Not really,” he mused. “You usually help me do the stuff that makes him go away, so… yeah, sometimes you bring him out, but then you make him fuck off, so overall… you definitely help!”

“I help!” Josh exclaimed, grinning as he looked incredibly proud of himself. “Dad always says…” he stopped mid-sentence, like a deer in headlights, desperately hoping his slight slip had gone unnoticed. Ironically, his attempt to cover it only made it more obvious.

The slight slip had NOT gone unnoticed! “Dad? I thought you still called him Jack!” he said, referring to Josh’s legal guardian, who Josh and the other ‘Sons of Kingswood’ stayed with over school breaks. As Josh continued to look alarmed, he smirked a little and said, “You didn’t mean Jack, did you?”

“Umm… I… umm… I didn’t mean… umm…” Josh stuttered awkwardly.

“Oh!” Mikey said, looking vaguely in the direction of the Guest Building. “Did you just… call Mr Rudd dad again?” He barely held back a laugh. It was a mistake Josh had made once before and Mikey had taken great joy in teasing him for it.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Josh pleaded.

“I knew you were close, but not THAT close!” Mikey sniggered. As he looked at Josh, he could see the other boy’s growing distress and his brow furrowed thoughtfully. “That wasn’t a mistake was it? You actually call him that?” he enquired.

Josh remained silent, not wanting to give anything else away.

“You call Mr Rudd dad!” Mikey said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Josh looked distraught, almost on the verge of tears.

“That’s… so cool!” Mikey said happily.

“I…” Josh started, ready to defend himself, then looked at Mikey in absolute shock as he asked, “What?”

“My dad sucks, but at least I have him,” Mikey shrugged. “I know you never knew yours, so…” he paused, thinking about the teacher for a moment, “Yeah, if you’re gonna choose one to pretend is your dad, he ain’t a bad call!”

“Oh, I… I thought you’d… say other stuff,” Josh said in genuine surprise.

“You thought I’d take the piss? That’s really what you think of me?” Mikey asked, looking furious.

“Well… umm… I…” Josh stuttered.

Mikey snorted with laughter as the clearly-fake fury dropped away. “Cos you’d be right. I am TOTALLY gonna take the piss!” As Josh scowled again, Mikey shrugged and added, “Just… not today. Today I just think it’s cool!”

Josh sighed in exasperation as he grabbed the ball and dropped back to lay flat on the floor with the ball above his head as he complained, “You’re such a dick!”

“Oh no!” Mikey said sarcastically, “You gonna tell your dad on me?” He promptly received the football to the face for the comment.

*****

“This is a very long hug,” Joseph said softly, having been wrapped around Danny for a number of minutes now.

“Hmm,” Danny hummed wistfully, “I’ve been saving them up!”

Joseph chuckled as he planted a quick peck on Danny’s neck. “You keep getting taller!” he said with a thoughtful sigh. He hadn’t seen his young protégé for over two months and the difference was noticeable.

“Maybe you’re just getting shorter,” Danny said with a cheeky grin as he pulled away, still gently keeping hold. “Y’know… cos you’re so OLD now!” he teased.

“Hey, I’m still six months off from eighteen!” Joseph scoffed, “I’m not dead yet!” He put his arm around the younger boy and glanced to the Guest Building as he said, “Wanna walk me to my dorm?”

Danny let out a low groan. “Brian might be there,” he said with a heavy frown.

“You’re gonna have to talk to him eventually!” Joseph insisted.

“I already did!” Danny replied with a nod.

“Oof, THAT would explain the long hug!” Joseph said, glancing at the building again. Concerned as he was for Danny, he couldn’t help thinking about Brian and how he was doing after seeing Danny again. “How did it go?” he asked cautiously as he led Danny over to sit on one of the nearby benches.

Danny inhaled deeply, held it for a moment then exhaled slowly as he thought about it. “I guess… not as bad as I expected,” he said with a slight shrug.

“That’s… good then,” Joseph replied with a sympathetic head bob.

“I told him me and Chris got together!” Danny confessed, venturing a very slight smile as he waited to see his mentor’s reaction to the relationship.

“You told him, and it still didn’t go badly? That… actually IS kinda good!” Joseph said thoughtfully.

Danny scowled and said, “That’s all you got to say about it? Aren’t you… surprised?”

“Oh, sorry, one sec,” Joseph said, standing back up. He shook his arms and hands, loosening himself up before tilting his head one way then the other to limber up. He cleared his throat a couple of times and as Danny went to complain, he held out a hand with one finger raised to silence him. Clearing his throat one more time, he yelled in exaggeratedly fake surprise, “OH MY GOD! That is completely shocking news that I absolutely NEVER saw coming. I think I need to sit down to take it in. In fact, call an ambulance. I may actually be having a heart attack from the sheer shock of it!”

“Who did it?” Danny asked, shaking his head. “Who was it that told you that you were funny that made you continue acting like this?”

Joseph snorted with laughter as he flopped back down onto the bench beside Danny. “Sorry, I just… come on… I saw you and Brian coming a fuckin’ year before either of you did. You really think I didn’t see this for you and Chris too?”

Danny pouted as he said, “You could at least say congratulations like a normal person!”

“Congratulations,” Joseph said flatly. As he saw Danny continue to scowl, he reached over to throw an arm around him, pulled him close and planted a kiss on the side of his head. As he let the boy go, he said, “Seriously though, congratulations. It’s been a fucking LONG time coming!”

“I know, right!” Danny chuckled.

“So should I take it you’re both sickeningly happy?” Joseph asked curiously.

“I…” Danny started, but stopped as he shook his head, his brow furrowing.

“Come on, it’s me. You know anything you say stays between us!” Joseph reassured him.

“I’m happy!” Danny insisted. A grin spread across his face as he thought about Chris as he added, “REALLY freakin’ happy. It’s just… Brian!”

“Still in love with him and feeling guilty for not being with him?” Joseph asked.

Danny laughed bemusedly at the comment. “Why does it not surprise me that you already know that?” he asked, always grateful of his mentor’s intuitiveness.

“Cos you know me almost as well as I know you!” Joseph said with a cocky grin. “Look, you and Brian were… intense. You went through a lot together, good and bad. The feelings you BOTH have aren’t gonna go away overnight. They might never go away, but… don’t let what happened in the past stop you enjoying the present.”

“You should write fortune cookies!” Danny smirked.

Joseph rolled his eyes. “Okay,” he agreed, “That was a bit… cheesy, but it’s still freakin’ true. Yeah, Brian’s gutted and he’s gonna feel like shit for a while, but he’s a big boy. He made his choice and he’ll live with it. You need to just… enjoy being Year ten’s new power couple! I’m guessing Chris is loving the attention, right?”

“Actually…” Danny winced a little, “Aside from a couple of people, most of the Year don’t know yet!”

“Why not?” Joseph asked, surprised that the relationship wasn’t the talk of the school yet.

Danny paused for a moment. He had thought about it a lot over the summer, about what people would say when they found out. People already threw snide comments his way all the time and this would only bring more. Worse, they might cause some to go Chris’ way. “Just… not ready yet,” he said, holding back the truth rather than bending it.

“Hmmm,” Joseph hummed thoughtfully, staring at Danny.

Danny hated that look. Joseph was renowned for his insight into other people. It was a talent. He could read people so easily, but when it came to those close to him it was uncanny. Danny felt like the older boy was staring right past his eyes and into his very mind.

“Well… I’m sure there’ll be lots more congratulations when you do start telling people,” Joseph said with a smile.

Danny paused a moment. It was obvious Joseph had other thoughts on it, but he tended to hold them back, to let Danny find answers on his own rather than spoon-feeding them to him. “Thanks,” he said meekly. “I’m really glad you’re back! You make mentoring look so easy!”

“Oh!” Joseph exclaimed, eyes wide. “Shit, I almost forgot. You’ve got your own little idiot to deal with. Avery, wasn’t it? How’s it going so far?”

“I think I need another hug,” Danny pouted.

“Wow, that bad?” Joseph asked in genuine surprise, “What’s happening?”

“They’re doing it wrong!” Danny said, shaking his head, “It’s not going at all like it did for us!”

Joseph sniggered as he shook his head a little. “Did you really think it would?” he asked incredulously.

“Well… yeah… I told him all the same stuff you told me. The others kinda did the same but then… BAM… arguments and fighting every two seconds!” Danny explained.

Joseph nodded thoughtfully again for a moment, then said, “I kinda follow the logic. New group of kids moving into dorm one-oh-one. Give ‘em the same introduction, give ’em the same advice, give ‘em the same time together and you’ll get the same first week you guys had!”

“Exactly!” Danny agreed, “So they’re obviously doing it wrong!”

“I’m not sure they are,” Joseph said shaking his head. “You seem to have forgotten something!” he said cryptically.

“Should I… have had more sex with him? You know I’m not really into, like… younger guys!” Danny said, unable to think of any other differences, “It was weird enough just wanking him off for his appointment with Dr Arkwright!”

Joseph snorted with laughter. “No, ya lil dickhead, what you seem to have forgotten is that they’re not YOU! Of course it’s gonna be different! They’re different people!”

“So… what do I do?” Danny asked, utterly disheartened.

“You remember before the interviews, we told you guys you were ready for this?” Joseph asked, getting an unsure nod back from Danny. “We weren’t bullshitting you. You are!” he said confidently.

“The past two days would suggest otherwise!” Danny pouted again.

“Yeah, and I think that’s probably cos you’re trying to stick an Avery-shaped peg into a Danny-shaped hole,” Joseph explained, then smirked as he said, “And I’m not even gonna make a joke about holes to emphasise I’m being serious!”

Danny sniggered back at him.

“Danny, I know you probably see being a mentor as a job, or a duty, but it’s really way simpler than that. It’s just about helping them, and helping people is what YOU do!” Joseph insisted. “So stop trying to be Avery’s Joseph. Be his Danny instead! Ya get me?” he advised.

“Surprisingly, yes I do!” Danny said with a wry smile. He stared silently at Joseph for a few moments before his smile broadened and he asked, “You fancy sticking a Joseph-shaped peg in a Danny-shaped hole?”

“Aaaaand we’re done!” Joseph said as he stood up, shaking his head disapprovingly despite his snigger. “I’m gonna get settled in my dorm. You… have fun filling your hole!”

“I always do!” Danny said happily.

*****

“I’m going to write a strongly worded letter of complaint!” David said, only half joking.

“Oh sure, it basically writes itself,” Rob said dryly. “Dear school board. We, the students, find it absolutely reprehensible that we have been left without access to the secret underground sex dungeon under our school because the secret entrance on the first floor might be seen by the kids we’re supposed to be mentoring and we can’t access the one on our own floor because you’re still refurbishing it after the school exploded. How are we supposed to engage in lurid sexual activities without access to the range of sexual facilities in the aforementioned dungeon? Please resolve this heinous crime!”

As the dorm burst into giggles, Chris nodded and said, “Reprehensible, lurid and aforementioned all in one rant. You really know how to turn a logophile on!”

“I liked heinous cos it sounds like anus!” Josh said sincerely to Mikey before they both burst into giggles.

“What’s a logophile?” Danny asked curiously.

“Someone turned on by logos, obviously! Duh!” Nicky said dryly.

“Oh!” Danny said, frowning and a little lost.

“It’s someone who loves words,” Chris said, leaning back to put an arm around Danny.

“Oh!” Danny repeated with a knowing nod, then scowled at Nicky who just grinned. “But David has a point. I wanna do something fun, like… naked fun! Today has been WAAAAY too serious!”

“I’m still waiting for a message from The Lads. Something’s gotta go wrong soon!” Mark said, looking at his phone anxiously.

“Chill. I think they’re all argued out for the day,” Chris said with a shrug. “I think they’re calming down a bit!”

“Or they’re smart enough to know they can get away with more if they get better at hiding things from us and Mr Trent!” Rob suggested with a smirk.

“Gee, I wonder where they might have picked that up from!” Danny said, smirking back at Rob.

“Hey, don’t look at me. All I’m saying is they’ve got a Wilson in the dorm and us Wilsons are sneaky!” Rob said with a dismissive shrug.

“They’re cute too,” Josh said with a nod. “Well, except the older one. Eww!” It earned him a dead leg from Rob.

“Totally deserved,” Mark said as he watched Josh rub his leg. “And besides, they look more alike than Chris and Blane!”

“We do NOT look that alike!” Rob said defensively.

“Oh please!” Danny scoffed. “He’s basically YOU in year seven. I think he might actually be your clone rather than your brother!”

“Ooh, two Robs. Luke and Jazz can have one each!” Mikey joked.

“Please don’t hook my brother up with my boyfriend!” Rob said disapprovingly.

The dorm laughed at the comment and as it died down Mark asked Chris curiously, “So do all your brothers look like you… or Blane, actually. I suppose he was around first!”

“Nah,” Chris said as he shook his head. “Well, not entirely. The twins are pretty much the same as us but Finn’s totally different!”

“Yeah, way hotter!” Danny said with a teasing grin.

“Oy!” Chris scowled, mostly just for entertainment. He knew Danny and his elder brother were close, but at school he had always maintained the façade that his brothers were off limits.

“But still, four Blanes… now that sounds like a fun night to me!” Nicky said with a broad smile.

“Can I watch?” Rob added eagerly.

“I’ll be on clean-up,” Danny said, licking his lips as some of the others groaned in disgust.

“Also, back off. The twins are only eight!” Chris scoffed.

Nicky tutted and rolled his head. “I was imagining you all Blane’s age, not as you are now, obviously!” he insisted.

“Oh sure, then by all means, fantasise about an orgy with me and three of my brothers!” Chris said sarcastically.

“Gladly!” Nicky replied, making a show of looking lost in thought.

“Okay, stop that!” Chris said, attempting to maintain a scowl.

“In fact, stop all of that!” Danny insisted. “We want fun, so… any ideas?”

“Truth or dare!” “Strip poker!” “Pin the tail on the Danny!” Chris, Mikey and Nicky all called out at once, getting laughs and murmurs of discussion.

“We could always go skinny-dipping!” Mark said with a casual shrug.

Chris shuddered as he remembered the late-night skinny-dipping he had done with Danny once. They had almost frozen their bollocks off! “Yeah, I ain’t getting NEAR that lake until summer!” he insisted.

“Not in the lake, fuck-knuckle!” Mark said sharply.

“Hey!” Chris whined.

“Harsh… but fair. I’ll allow it!” Rob nodded.

“I meant the pool at the Sports Complex!” Mark explained.

“We’d totally get in trouble if we got caught!” David said with obvious concern.

“Well,” Rob said as he stood, “The simple solution to that is that we don’t get caught!”

“No, the simple solution is to NOT do it,” David said, then paused to imagine what his young protégé would do. They had gotten up to all sorts of mischief at the selection day and it had been so fun. Before anyone else could say anything, he jumped to his feet and said, “But where’s the fun in that? Let’s go!”

“Oh, wait!” Josh said, jumping up. “I’ve not unpacked my PE stuff yet. I don’t have my speedo!”

As Josh hurried to the wardrobe, some of the others went to speak up until Rob raised a hand and said, “Wait, hold up… he’ll get there eventually!”

The seven boys sat watching Josh rummage through the wardrobe for several moments before he stopped and stood up straight. “Oh, wait a second!” he declared.

“There it is,” David smirked.

“Don’t count on it,” Rob said with a headshake.

Josh turned and said, “I can just borrow someone else’s!” As everyone started laughing, he looked round curiously for a moment before he finally caught on.

The teasing was still going by the time they were halfway to the Sports Complex. Sneaking out the back exit of the Guest Building, the boys had headed for the treeline surrounding the grounds, sticking close to it to remain hidden as they continued round towards the other building.

“What exactly do you think you’re achieving?” Mikey scoffed as Josh scurried along, squatting down as he hurried, before performing an action-movie-style barrel roll.

“I’m being stealthy!” Josh insisted, “Like a ninja!”

Mikey frowned and started, “But you’re just…”

“Don’t,” Rob said, shaking his head. “Where Josh has gone, logic cannot follow!” he said seriously.

Once the Guest Building was out of sight, the boys felt safe to veer away from the treeline and head straight for the Sports Complex before heading inside. Their attempts to be quiet were, as expected, making them louder than just walking in normally but thankfully it didn’t matter as the building was deserted.

Hurrying into the pool area, some of the boys were already half-naked before even reaching the poolside. It was Josh who made the first shove, sending Rob staggering into the pool still half dressed. It started a chain reaction of pushes, struggles and throws that ended up with all eight boys in the pool, all still wearing at least some of their clothing.

Laughing and splashing and fighting, they gradually began to peel off the wet clothes that clung to them, throwing them out onto the poolside as they continued playing. Several minutes passed with the boys splashing about wildly before they began to calm a little.

Mikey and Josh seemed determined to try and drown each other, with Rob attempting to keep them at least a little under control. Meanwhile, Nicky and Mark had come up with a game called ‘Pass the David’ that involved basically throwing the smaller boy around like a ball, much to his amusement.

“Hey you,” Danny said softly as he slipped his arms around Chris from behind.

“Not quite as cheerful as the last pool we were in,” Chris said, looking round at the large room lit only be emergency lights.

“Hey, if it’s a pool that YOU’RE in then it’s perfect to me!” Danny said before planting a kiss on Chris’ neck.

“Hey, careful, they’ll see!” Chris said without pulling away.

“I… think I wanna tell ‘em!” Danny said thoughtfully.

Chris span on the spot, still held within Danny’s arms so they were face-to-face as he said, “Really? What happened to keeping it quiet?”

Danny sighed as he shook his head. “That was mostly so Brian wouldn’t hear it from someone else, but I basically shouted it in his face, so I don’t need to worry about that now!” Danny said a little awkwardly. As difficult as things were with his ex, he knew they would be just as hard for Chris, who still had Brian as his mentor for another year.

“Hmmm,” Chris hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, “What about the other stuff?” He knew Danny had been struggling with thoughts of what people would say about them. It wasn’t necessarily that he expected anyone to be mean, it would just be… a lot to handle.

“I just wanna be able to, like… hold your hand or kiss you and stuff like that without worrying who might see!” Danny explained. “And people say shit to me all the time anyway. At least this way they’re teasing me about something that makes me happy!”

“Aww, that’s cute,” Chris giggled. “Kinda sad too, but… cute!”

“Are you… okay with it too? You know they’ll say things to you as well!” Danny went on. He glanced round at the others and said, “Not necessarily these guys, but everyone else!”

“Fuck ‘em,” Chris said with a shrug, then smirked and said, “Though in your case, you probably already have!”

“Oh!” Danny said, dropping his jaw in mock disgust. “So you WANT to get dumped, do you?”

“No!” Chris yelped, gripping tightly onto Danny before giggling playfully. “You… wanna do it then?”

“Mmm-huh,” Danny hummed, then gave Chris a quick kiss on the lips before letting go of him. “Guys!” he called out. “HEY GUYS!” he said even louder when they didn’t respond.

The noise dropped, fearful for a moment they had been caught as they all looked round at Danny.

“I… we… kinda wanna tell you something,” Chris said with a broad smile.

“Wait, where’s Josh?” Danny asked curiously, only counting five other boys looking at them.

Josh suddenly burst from beneath the surface with Mikey’s hand still on his head. “Bastard!” he gasped, panting heavily.

Mikey just sniggered as he said, “Shh, it’s time for a big dramatic announcement probably!”

Chris rolled his eyes at Mikey who just shrugged dismissively back at him.

“So… umm… we just wanted to tell you all,” Danny said, feeling a fluttering in his stomach at the thought of saying it aloud. “Me and Chris… are a couple. We’re together!”

There was an eerie silence for a moment as both Mark and Rob smiled, already aware. The other four all responded at the same time.

“YESSSS! It’s about time!” Josh called out.

“Took ya long enough!” David added.

“Never saw that coming!” Nicky said with a sarcastic smirk.

“That’s amazing!” Mikey said happily.

“Thanks guys,” Danny said, feeling Chris holding his hand under the water.

“You may kiss the bride!” Josh giggled.

“Wait, which one’s the bride?” Mikey sniggered.

“Ugh, I know a Bob Mackie dress Chris’d look FABULOUS in!” David declared, then blushed a little, expecting teasing for the over campness.

As the others exchanged brief looks, Nicky smiled and asked, “Is it… weird that I think that sounds kinda hot?”

“Totally weird!” “Bit weird!” “I wanna see it!” “Kiss the bride!” the others called out over each other.

Danny and Chris looked to each other and smiled briefly before slowly leaning in to kiss. As their lips met, the others began to cheer for them. They made out for a few moments to the applause of their friends before pulling apart a little.

“Now wank him off!” Josh called out.

“Jesus, Josh!” Rob said, sniggering as he shook his head.

“Hey, I wouldn’t complain,” Nicky said with a shrug.

Danny and Chris exchanged another look. On their own personal scales of sexual craziness, wanking each other off in front of their dormmates was pretty low so they reached a silent agreement and both moved back a little to hop out onto the side of the pool. Sitting side by side, they leaned in to continue making out as their hands began grasping for their stiffening pricks.

“Who needs porn when you’ve got Chris and Danny,” David sniggered.

“You watch porn?” Mark asked curiously.

David blushed. Technically he did, though it came in the form of secret recordings of his classmates. Annoyingly he had lost almost everything in The Explosion and subsequent fire at the end of last year, so he had spent the summer without it, but it was still something he was keen to resume. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a secret hobby if he told people, so he shrugged back at Mark and said, “Just a figure of speech!”

“Yeah, that’s it, wank it!” Josh cheered at the two masturbating boys. “Don’t forget the balls!”

“And the nipples!” Rob called out eagerly, but blushed as he received a few smirks as he reminded his friends indirectly of his own love of nipple stimulation.

Still casually stroking each other’s dicks, Chris pulled out of the kiss slightly, but only to start pecking his way round Danny’s jawline and up to his ear before he whispered in it, “Sixty-nine?”

“Fuck yes,” Danny gasped back excitedly.

Chris lifted his legs out and swivelled round slightly to lie on the side of the pool as the others watched curiously. As Danny moved round the opposite way and it became apparent what they were doing, the others began cheering and calling out their support for the show.

“Y’know, if they’re willing to do that in front of us, they might be willing to do it in front of other people,” Mikey muttered to nobody in particular.

“What?” Josh asked curiously, having been understandably focused on Chris and Danny as they began sucking each other’s dicks.

“Nothing,” Mikey said, shaking his head. “Just… plotting potential business ideas!”

“Yeah, well stop plotting and start wanking!” Josh said, his hand very obviously pumping away underwater.

Pinned beneath Danny, Chris continued to happily suck on Danny’s dick while his hands reached up to caress his back. As they worked down towards his fleshy buttocks, Chris let out a happy moan at the feeling of the pert mounds in his grasp. After a few more moments of sucking, he pushed Danny along just a little and craned his neck back as he released the cock from between his lips and instead began to circle Danny’s hole with his tongue.

“Fffck…” Danny grunted, the sound muffled by his boyfriend’s erection he was eagerly pleasuring.

Chris let his tongue keep teasing Danny’s hole, sliding around and around, flicking back and forth and occasionally pushing slightly into it. He could hear gentle splashing in the pool as the cheers and comments had died down as the six spectators seemingly just stood masturbating as they watched. He eventually pulled his mouth away and called out, “Who wants to see him ride me?”

“Fuck yes!” “Yeah!” “Hell yeah!” the others cheered happily.

“Well, if you must,” Nicky said with a casual shrug and a smirk.

Releasing Chris’ cock from his mouth, Danny sat up and asked, “Do I get any say in this?”

“Do you WANT any say in it?” Chris asked back with a grin.

Danny looked down at him and shook his head as he said, “You’re lucky I love you!”

“Awwwww!” most of the others chorused, some sincere, some mocking.

“Ah, shut up and keep wanking!” Danny said, waving the others off with a snigger as he turned round on top of Chris. Though he would have liked proper lubricant, the heavy saliva on his hole and Chris’ cock was enough to let the raging boner slide into him relatively painlessly. As he saw Chris lying with his hands behind his head, he looked down at his own rigid tool and asked, “Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself?”

“Unless there are any other volunteers?” Chris asked playfully.

“Oooh, me, me, me!” Mikey said eagerly as he started rushing forwards. “I’m having a really slutty day and what better way to finish it!”

“Yeah, when I think of slutty, I think of Danny too!” Rob said with a snigger.

“Hey!” Nicky scowled.

“What? Slutty’s not an insult!” Rob insisted.

“It’s okay,” Danny interjected before the mood could be ruined. A moment later, he felt Mikey’s hand grasp at his erection as he reached up out of the pool. His other hand was under the water, stroking himself at a matching speed.

“Jesus,” Danny gasped as he bounced on Chris’ dick and felt his own being wanked.

“Fuck,” Mark grunted as he watched. Even after a year at the school he was still getting used to seeing such overt sexuality, though as he watched he couldn’t help feeling that the thing turning him most wasn’t the fucking, or the wanking, or even the public spectacle of it all, it was the look Chris and Danny were giving each other. Seeing such love and affection made his chest ache.

Danny continued groaning as he bounced on his boyfriend’s cock. As was often the case with group activities, it only took one of them going off to trigger the rest. Understandably, due to the dual stimulation of getting fucked and jerked off at the same time, Danny was first to shoot, happily covering Chris’ chest, stomach and face with his spunk. Feeling the cock throbbing in his hand pushed Mikey over the edge and he unashamedly let out a series of loud grunts as he ejaculated, never the most discrete wanker.

The other boys in the pool went off over the next few moments, each of them ejaculating with different volumes and intensities as they watched Danny continue riding Chris towards climax. Chris was last to cum, letting out a series of gasps, whimpers and moans as his boyfriend’s butt took him over the edge. The first couple of shots pumped inside Danny who quickly pulled off to let the others see the final few spurts.

Letting out a happy sigh, Danny grinned then toppled sideways into the pool with a splash, dragging Mikey down under the surface with him. They emerged a few moments later laughing as Chris rolled sideways to drop back into the water too.

All suitably relieved, they splashed around a little longer before eventually climbing out, exhausted and ready to sneak back to their dorm.

Dressed in the clothes that had managed to avoid getting drenched, and a few soggy items too, they snuck back out of the Sports Complex to start the walk back. They had paired up as they walked, with Chris chatting happily to Mark, David with Rob, Danny with Nicky, and Mikey with Josh.

Hanging back a little, Danny walked quietly alongside Nicky as he watched his boyfriend from behind. “Hey, umm…” he started, but sighed, shaking his head.

Nicky cocked his head curiously but remained silent as they strolled along.

“Look, this might sound weird but, ugh, I don’t know how to put this,” Danny said, sighing heavily.

“Is it… something bad?” Nicky asked nervously. Considering his concerns that Danny was being bullied, he tensed himself slightly, waiting for a comment to confirm Danny was asking for help.

“No!” Danny insisted, shaking his head. “It’s just… me and Chris, it’s… big and it’s new and it’s amazing, but… I dunno, it’s kinda weird cos we’re so close that most of our friends are, like… mutual friends!”

Nicky simply continued to frown, really at a loss for where this was going.

“It’s about Chris,” Danny said, still floundering a little.

“Isn’t it always, with you!” Nicky said with a snigger.

Danny tried to scowl but couldn’t help sniggering back. He slapped Nicky’s arm playfully and said, “Shut up, I’m trying to be serious!”

“Oh, then you seriously need to get to the fucking point,” Nicky said wryly.

“Fine. I need you to be Chris’ friend!” Danny said bluntly.

“Am I… not already?” Nicky asked, no closer to understanding.

“Yeah, you are, but you’re mine too and… I dunno. Look, the way I see it, I’m fuckin’ lucky. I’ve got a whole buncha guys who I’m REALLY close to, so if I have… doubts or worries or get annoyed with the me and Chris stuff, I’ve got a buncha people I can talk to. I’m just a bit worried that Chris doesn’t have that. The main person he would rely on for shit like that’d be his mentor but… I really can’t see him wanting to talk to MY ex about dating me!”

“Ah, yeah, good point,” Nicky nodded, finally catching on.

“So I was kinda hoping YOU could be there more for him. I’m not saying we need to stop being friends, cos… well, that’s just not happening, but maybe… make it clear to Chris that he CAN talk to you… about ME. Get it?”

“Ugh, you make me sick!” Nicky groaned.

“What?!” Danny whined in surprise.

“Being so fuckin’ perfect all the time. Ugh!” Nicky said, then grinned to make it obvious he was just teasing.

“You’re a dick!” Danny said grumpily.

“And proud of it!” Nicky chuckled. As they went silent for a moment, Nicky glanced ahead at Chris then back to Danny and said, “This was always coming!”

Danny frowned as he looked round. “What? Us sneaking out to skinnydip?” he asked curiously.

“No, ya daft cock-gobbler,” Nicky said bluntly. “You and Chris. I hate to sound all Thanos, but… it was inevitable!”

“It was?” Danny asked curiously.

“Even when he was with me, he… he was still so into you!” Nicky confessed.

“That wasn’t… why you dumped him, was it?” Danny asked nervously.

“Pfft, no!” Nicky said with an emphatic headshake. “I broke up with him because I was a crazy, neurotic mess!” he admitted, then smiled as he felt Danny hold his hand. “But I’m slightly less of a neurotic mess now, so it’s okay. Besides, me and Chris always worked better as friends anyway! Basically… he’s YOUR problem now!”

“Lucky me,” Danny sniggered.

“I’d say your luck’s just run out, Mr Davies!” a voice suddenly said from behind.

As all eight boys looked round and they saw Mr Rudd behind them, Josh yelled out, “IT’S THE FUZZ! CHEESE IT!” and started running.

“JOSH! Get back here!” Mr Rudd called out.

Josh stopped and wandered back to join the others as they gathered around the unhappy-looking teacher.

“And what exactly have you lot been up to?” Mr Rudd asked accusingly.

Rob stepped forward and started, “We’re…”

“Wait,” Chris said, grabbing Rob. “What do you THINK we’ve been up to, sir?” he asked innocently, then leaned close to Rob and whispered, “He might not be onto us!”

“I think you’re all out after lights-out, wandering the school grounds when you shouldn’t be, and… based on the smell of chlorine and the…” Mr Rudd paused to reach and touch Rob’s shirt, “… general sogginess, I’d say you were using the pool without proper supervision!”

“I think MIGHT be onto us!” Chris whispered, getting a scowl from Rob and some smirks from the others.

“We’re sorry, sir!” Rob said politely.

“Sorry you did it or sorry you got caught?” Mr Rudd asked flatly.

“The second one,” Josh replied instantly.

“Yeah, definitely the second one!” Mikey agreed.

Mr Rudd shot the two boys a disapproving glare, then shook his head and said, “Well at least you’re honest!”

“Honesty is the best policy!” David said with a sweet smile. “And we promise we won’t do it again, sir!”

Mr Rudd cast his gaze across the group and said, “I understand you’ve had a tough couple of days getting the younger boys settled in and I think making a public example of you at this stage will only undermine that progress, so… consider yourselves lucky!”

“So… we can go?” Rob asked, genuinely surprised.

“This time, yes!” Mr Rudd said, holding back a smile at the collective sigh of relief. “But this is your ONLY warning! Being out after lights-out will not be permitted again, and NONE of you are to go near that pool without a lifeguard on duty again. Do you hear me?”

“Yes sir,” the boys chorused.

“Good, cos I’d like to be in this post at least a couple of months before one of you drops dead!” Mr Rudd said, only half joking. “Now get to your dorm, get to bed and I don’t wanna hear so much as a peep from you all for the rest of the night!”

“Thank you sir,” a few of the boys replied.

“Peep!” Josh added, getting a snigger from Mikey, the two of them running off before the teacher could react.

The others followed, relieved to have gotten away with just a warning.

“Your dad’s the coolest,” Mikey teased Josh as they got back to the dorm. The dead arm he earned for the tease was still with him by the time got into bed and drifted off to sleep.