The Kingswood Complication - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Sunday 25 September 2023

Rob was awoken by a gentle snort beside him, followed closely by an elbow to the ribs. As his eyes shot open and he saw the shock of black hair at his side, the memory of being woken in the middle of the night as Josh climbed onto bed with him suddenly returned. He sighed as he squirmed a little, fighting for room in his own bed.

“Whu…?” Josh mumbled, his head lifting slightly as Rob’s movement woke him.

“Is there a reason you’re in my bed?” Rob whispered, not wanting to let the intrusion also wake up David and Mark at the other end of the dorm.

“Yes!” Josh replied, then cuddled down against Rob.

Rob sighed heartily and asked, “Fine, then WHY are you in my bed?”

“Mine’s uncomfortable!” Josh complained sleepily.

“It’s literally the same as mine!” Rob grumbled.

“No. Yours has you! You’re comfortable!” Josh said, clearly still half asleep.

“Wow, now there’s a back-handed compliment!” Rob said, rolling his eyes a little.

“My hand never moved,” Josh replied before letting out a massive yawn. “You really complaining about cuddles?” he asked, clearly keen to go back to sleep.

Rob sighed and suppressed a smirk. “Fine, I guess not, but if you fart on me you’re out!” he insisted.

“I’m making no promises!” Josh said, then yawned again.

Rob shifted around a little more, getting comfortable with Josh snuggled up to his side. Reaching up to gently stroke Josh’s hair away from his eyes, he paused as the back of his fingers touched the other boy’s forehead. Moving the hair aside, he placed the back of his hand on the small expanse of skin and frowned as he said, “You’re hot!”

“Thanks. You’re cute!” Josh replied sleepily.

Rob might have laughed if he wasn’t concerned. Holding his hand on the feverish forehead, he asked, “Josh, do you feel okay?”

“Shhhhh!” Josh hissed, raising a finger to Rob’s lips, though he missed and just poked his cheek instead as he whispered, “Sleep now! Talk later!”

*****

With everyone in the dorm scheduled for various activities first thing on Sunday morning, except Danny who was always up early for the gym, the dorm was abuzz with activity. Sticking to their usual routine of having breakfast together, most of the boys were sat in their shared living area. Rob and Josh were yet to emerge from their room, but their spaces on the sofas were filled by James, who sat happily wrapped around David, and Gray who had casually invited himself in to join them.

“Well at least there hasn’t been any more punishments,” Nicky said with a shrug as they sat talking, as always, about their Year 7 mentees.

“Axel says they’re all too scared of ending up naked again to even think about causing trouble,” David said with a smirk.

“Hey, the system works!” Chris said with a nod.

“It’s a weird system!” Gray said, shaking his head.

“Oh yeah,” Nicky nodded. “I forget you’re new here. Ya know… cos you act like you’re not!” he said with a sarcastic smirk.

“New is a subjective term. Compared to the life cycle of a fruit fly, I’ve been here for generations!” Gray replied, getting a mixture of chuckles and thoughtful nods. He looked to Mark and asked, “But YOU know what I mean, right?”

“Huh? What?” Mark replied, his attention having been fixed on the door to his bedroom.

“You were new last year. How freaky did all this… like… naked shit seem when you started?” Gray asked curiously.

“Hey, if I had to choose between what they used to do to us at King Edwards and getting naked here… I’m getting naked every time!” Mark replied, the others only comfortable laughing once he started smirking himself.

“Can… can I watch?” Chris asked, grinning excitedly.

“Perv!” Danny said, slapping Chris’ arm before he looked to Mark and added, “But also, me too!”

“What’s it like being a mentor?” David asked the new boy, “I mean, without having had one yourself up til now?”

Gray thought for a moment and nodded as he said, “Kinda cool actually. Raj is such a great kid and we’re kinda learning about Kingswood together. It’s nice!”

David looked to James, sitting at his side and asked, “D’you feel like you missed out on it?”

As he saw Gray frowning curiously, James explained, “I skipped ahead to year eleven after year eight so I never got to start the whole mentoring thing!”

“Oh! Ohhhhh!” Gray said, nodding emphatically. “I get it now. I just thought you were, like, a really stunted sixteen-year-old!”

“Only emotionally,” Mikey said with a cheeky grin.

<<Ha, good one!>>

“Screw you,” James said flatly to Mikey, then shrugged and said, “He does have a bit of a point though. Considering the whole mentoring thing seems to be about connecting with people, and emotions, and stuff like that, it’s probably best I never did it!”

“Yeah, some kid really dodged a bullet!” David said with a grin.

“Wow, someone’s aiming for a C at our next relationship review!” James said disapprovingly.

“Relationship review?” Gray enquired curiously.

“Ugh, don’t ask, they are SO weird!” Chris said, shaking his head. As the other couple glared at him, he smiled back and said, “Adorable but weird!”

“I’ll take it!” David said with a nod.

“I’m gonna go check on those two,” Mark said quietly to Danny as the conversation went on. He opened the door to 2.02 and stepped inside. He saw Rob’s head immediately move to look over at him, a finger raised to his lips. He crept across the dorm and stood beside Rob’s bed, where he was still holding a sleeping Josh. “You guys coming to breakfast?” he whispered.

“No,” Rob replied softly. “Actually, could you do me a favour. I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to make it to practice this morning. Can you ask Jazz to get everyone running some drills and tell him I organised a practice match against Eli and the year elevens!”

“Sure,” Mark replied with a slight nod. Taking a moment to look at the sleeping boy, then to Rob, he cocked his head and asked, “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know,” Rob whispered back honestly.

Mark nodded his understanding. Josh hadn’t really been his usual self since they moved into the new dorms. Though the split hadn’t divided the eight boys anywhere near as much as they had feared it would, it was unavoidable that each set of four boys sharing a bedroom ended up a lot more familiar with each other. Mark, Rob and David had all seen the change in Josh, but put it down to the move, though now into their second week in the new room it didn’t seem to be getting any better. “You know where I am if you need anything,” he said softly, patting Rob on the shoulder before heading back out.

*****

David pouted a little as he looked at the platter in front of him. Cooking club was one of his favourite activities of the week for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was one of the shared activities he got to do with James. That meant they got to spend time together but also ensured James took breaks from his study schedule to relax. Secondly, it was just a fun club to be in, with boys from all Year groups taking part. Finally… there was food. SO much food! Sadly, just like many of the more creative subjects, David was master of theory, but weak at the practical side.

“They look horrible,” David pouted at the misshapen monstrosities that were supposed to be macarons.

“They don’t look that bad,” James said supportively.

“Mate, they look like they’ve already been eaten once!” Mikey said, laughing along with Kyle as they looked across the bench at them.

<<Ha, you’re funny today. Good work!>>

Mr Worthington, science teacher during the week and cooking connoisseur at the weekend, was making his way around the room sampling the students attempts and offering them feedback. As he came to the bench James, David, Mikey and Kyle had been working at he stopped and looked across the four offerings. “An interesting mix,” he said politely. “Care to tell me what delights we have here!”

“Mine are chocolate and pistachio,” Mikey started, gesturing to his creations. “Kyle made cookies and cream flavour, James’ are vanilla cos he’s dull and David’s look like crap but they’re raspberry and they’re SO nice!”

David frowned at Mikey, mildly confused by the insult and compliment in one.

“What?” Mikey shrugged, “Just cos I think they look like shit doesn’t mean I can’t like the taste!”

“Language, Mikey!” Mr Worthington scolded the boy before reaching out to take one of David’s macarons. He took a bite, chewed for a moment and nodded thoughtfully as he looked at the remainder of the small sweet in his hand. “But he IS right. Not the most aesthetically pleasing, but wonderful flavour, David. Judging by the texture and appearance…”

<<You know this!!!!!>>

“I know, sir!” Mikey said, throwing his hand in the air unnecessarily. As Mr Worthington raised an eyebrow, he nodded gently and said, “Go ahead then!”

<<It was the mix and the resting!>>

“He didn’t mix it properly which is why they’re so bumpy and he rested them too long which is why they went wonky!” Mikey declared.

“Spot on,” Mr Worthington said with an impressed eyebrow raise and nod.

<<BOOYAH! We rock. Ah yeah!>>

Mikey smiled proudly as he slid his own macarons to the teacher, continuing to grin as Mr Worthington picked one up and took a bite.

“Ugh, these are magnificent!” Mr Worthington said before shoving the rest of it in his mouth. He quickly sampled Kyle and James’ creations, offering some gentle feedback for James on piping technique and for Kyle on flavour profile. “Good work all of you,” he said politely as he started to walk away, “Mikey, wonderful!”

“Suck up,” Kyle said with a smirk.

<<They only hate us cos we’re amazing!>>

“I’m good at stuff. Get over it,” Mikey said with a dismissive shrug.

“Does this mean we get to try ‘em now?” James asked, eyeing up the highly-praised treats.

“Okay, but only one each!” Mikey insisted. “I wanna save some for the dorm! Pistachio’s Nicky’s favourite and you know Josh loves anything with chocolate!”

“Aww, look at him sucking up to his boyfriends too!” Kyle sniggered.

<<Chill. He’s just kidding!>>

Mikey shrugged off the tease, much to James and David’s surprise. “Some of us don’t feel the need to date every guy who’s nice to us,” he said a little coldly. “I know who I like and I look after them, so bite me, cockface!”

“Well that’s me told, then,” Kyle said with a grin, long past the point of taking Mikey’s insults personally. “Now gimme a macaron!” he said, grabbing one from Mikey’s plate.

Slapping Kyle’s hand away as he reached for a second one, Mikey moved around to David and lowered his voice as he asked, “Everything set for the lotto draw?”

David nodded excitedly. His cooking skills may not have been top of the class, but his IT skills were unparalleled. It had been a week since he and Mikey had launched the Underground lottery and ticket sales had been extensive. “All good. Winners’ll be picked and emailed at twelve confirming their prize. Anyone who doesn’t win’ll get a notification to advise they haven’t won. Money’ll move automatically to the winners and the remainder splits between you and me!” He paused momentarily to frown before he asked, “You sure you want me to have half?”

<<Aww he’s so sweet. Let him have all of it. Wait, no, that’s stupid, then we don’t get anything go with half!>>

Mikey looked away for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yeah, we’re partners! I couldn’t do it without you!”

David grinned as he tilted his head slightly. “Y’know, you’re really nice sometimes!” he said airily.

<<Sometimes!? The cheek of it!>>

“Only sometimes?” Mikey asked, raising his eyebrows before he started giggling with David.

*****

Danny let out a happy moan as he laid facedown with most of Chris’ weight on top of him. He had spent most of the morning hanging out with Adrian, which had inevitably led to the two of them fooling around together after a lot of gossiping about their own relationships and those of their Year 10 classmates. They hadn’t engaged in their usual roleplay shenanigans, mainly because Kyle was occupied at cooking club and it was something the three of them did together. Instead, they had started off simply playing with each other before moving onto a long, slow, pleasurable sixty-nine to finish their time together.

Having just been with Adrian, sex had not been Danny’s intention when he headed to the music room to meet Chris. He had genuinely intended to just go for lunch with him, but a hello kiss had turned into making out, which had developed into groping and ended up with Danny, naked and pinned beneath Chris who was happily fucking him.

“Ahh god, yusss,” Danny hissed, his hands pinned to the ground either side of his head by Chris’ as he felt lips nibbling at his ear and neck.

Chris continued to slowly slide in and out of Danny as he lay atop him, enjoying the close body contact.

“I think I might cum again,” Danny moaned dreamily as he felt his cock pressing into the ground, a wet patch beneath it as Chris’ thrusts moved him gently around.

Chris licked up Danny’s neck, nibbled his ear then whispered in it, “If you do, I’ll make you lick it up!”

“Fuuuuuck, don’t say stuff like that!” Danny whimpered, feeling his cock throb. It was less than an hour since he had cum down Adrian’s throat, but he already felt like he could bust a colossal load.

Chris took a momentary break from licking at Danny’s neck and shoulders to look over at the door as he growled, “Wouldn’t it just be feckin’ awful if somebody walked in!”

“Ugh, fuck, noooo!” Danny whined as the thought of getting caught pushed him over the edge. He felt his cock oozing out a sizeable puddle of warm goo that sandwiched between his body and the floor.

“Shit! FECK!” Chris yelped as he felt Danny’s ring pulsing in time with his ejaculation, then collapsed fully on top of him as he began to shoot too. Panting, sweaty and exhausted, Chris remained slumped across Danny for several seconds.

“Kinda can’t breathe here,” Danny whimpered jokingly.

“You calling me fat?” Chris joked as he slid off to the side but let out a shudder as he touched the cold floor.

“Never!” Danny said, rolling the opposite way so he could face his boyfriend. He reached out to pat the other boy’s stomach and said, “Little bit squishy sometimes, but never fat!”

Chris giggled, but it quickly changed to a frown as he asked, “What if I WAS fat? Would you…”

“I’d have even more of you to love!” Danny interrupted with a grin. He reached out to plant a kiss on Chris’ lips before leaning down to add another one to his belly.

Chris giggled again as he swatted Danny away. “Come on, let’s get dressed. I’m feckin’ starving!” he said as he got up.

“Hold up,” Danny said as he moved down and leaned in to lick the wet patch he had left.

“Eww, no!” Chris objected as he pulled Danny up. “Hot as it’d be, I’ve seen the guys who were in here today and you do NOT wanna be licking anything in here!”

A minute later, the two boys were dressed and hurrying across the grounds heading Home. They were late for lunch, but thankfully not quite late enough to miss it. As they got into the Dining Hall, there was no queue for food so they soon had trays loaded up as they looked for somewhere to sit. Most of their friends had occupied a table which already looked a little over-full, so they shot them a smile before moving on to look elsewhere.

“Oh!” Danny said as he saw two empty seats at a four-seater table… with the other two seats occupied by Joseph and Brian.

The two boys stopped awkwardly beside the seats as Brian and Joseph noticed them. Joseph gave a reflexive smile at the two boys, but it dropped as he remembered the awkwardness and shot Brian a questioning look.

“It’s fine,” Brian said, reaching a foot under the table to gently push one of the empty seats out.

Chris and Danny exchanged looks too before cautiously sitting. Danny had managed to avoid Brian, or rather allow Brian to avoid him, since they first spoke at the start of the term. Chris had not done the same, mostly because the mandatory once-a-week meetings between mentor and mentee still had to take place. They had proceeded exactly like normal, but the overt avoidance of even mentioning Danny or relationships made things awkward simply by their absence.

Silence lingered over the table. It was almost like a black hole that sucked in the rest of the noise from around them too as all four of them absently ate without talking.

“Oh my god, I can’t do this!” Brian declared, shaking his head.

The others had expected him to just get up and leave so they were surprised when he sat back in his seat with his arms folded looking at them all.

“This is not natural!” Brian huffed. “Having you not inanely chattering about everything,” he said, looking to Joseph.

“Inane!?” Joseph recoiled, looking a little offended.

“And you not starting every other fucking sentence with ‘Danny said this’ or Danny did that’,” Brian went on, looking to Chris.

“I’m not that bad,” Chris pouted.

“You’re totally that bad!” Joseph smirked.

“And you…” Brian said as he looked to Danny, pausing for a moment, “Sitting here without talking about the latest ridiculous naked thing you’ve done… it’s freaking me out and I can’t do it!”

“Do you… need to leave?” Joseph asked, unsure where his best friend was going with the rant.

“Ugh, no, just…” Brian started, shaking his head as his brow furrowed. “It’s our last year in this place. I don’t wanna be spending it making things weird!” As the other three smirked at the choice of words, he shrugged and said, “Fine, weirdER!”

Joseph, looked to Chris then Danny, who returned the gesture to look at Chris, who shrugged as he looked at Brian and said, “Danny just had sex on the music room floor!”

As Danny blushed at the slight movement of boys around him whose ears pricked up at the mention of sex, Joseph snorted with laughter as Brian shook his head again and said, “Of course he fucking did!”

“You don’t have to do this,” Danny said softly to Brian with a look of obvious concern.

“I know. That’s what makes me so nice!” Brian said, giving Joseph brief side-eye.

“Ha! I knew you liked it!” Joseph cackled. As Chris and Danny looked a little confused, he smiled and said, “That’s a line from Wicked! I made him watch it with me!”

“Oh, he finally got you!” Chris sniggered. “I bet he loved it, didn’t he!” he said, looking to Joseph in hopes of something embarrassing about his mentor.

“I didn’t hate it and Joseph will say no more about it if he doesn’t want to spend the rest of year thirteen with a permanent dead arm!” Brian said menacingly, but the scowl quickly softened as he said, “But ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ are… admittedly very catchy!”

Danny stared at his ex-boyfriend for a moment, their eyes meeting for several seconds before Danny offered a meek smile and said quietly, “I dunno, I was… always quite fond of ‘For Good’.”

Brian smiled back as he nodded gently, a slight hint of a tear in his eye that nobody at the table was going to mock. “Yeah,” he replied with a gentle sigh, “That was a good one!” Silence returned, but this time a much more welcome one. Brian let out a sudden chuckle as he reached out to slap Chris hard on the back as he said, “Hey, the way I see it, I’m already a fucking good mentor. I’ve taught ya shit-loads. Now I just get one more subject to teach you about…” He paused as the other looked at him curiously, then pointed to Danny and said, “Dating this little weirdo!”

The other burst into laughter at the proclamation, and just like that… normal chatter resumed.

*****

“You didn’t have to come with me, y’know!” Josh complained as he glanced back at Mark who was lounging in one of the many giant beanbag seats Ruby had his art studio filled with.

“Meh,” Mark replied with a shrug. “You know Rob wouldn’t have gone off to sign language otherwise,” he explained, their dormmate having spent the entire day fussing over Josh for being a little unwell. Mark was actually just as concerned, but made a much job of hiding it than Rob. “Besides,” he continued, “It was either this or stay in the dorm and be third wheel to Nicky and Gray!”

Josh smiled at the mention of the names. The amount of time the two boys spent together had gone unnoticed by literally no-one and teasing them about it had become a new Year 10 pastime, even though they all knew it was mostly due to their near-identical schedules. The smile dropped from Josh’s face as his mind flicked back to Rob and he huffed, “I swear Rob makes way too big a deal out of everything. I skip breakfast one time and he’s, like… oh my god, you’re dying!”

“Oh no, someone who loves you and wants to look out for you. How awful!” Mark said sarcastically. “I’m so glad I don’t have to live with such a terrible burden!”

“Okay, fuck off,” Josh scowled at the sarcasm as he disappeared behind his canvas. He immediately popped back as he cocked his head at Mark and added, “And you DO have that. You got me to look out for ya, so shut the fuck up!”

“You’ve got such a delicate way with words, haven’t you!” Mark sniggered, “But thanks!”

“Whatever!” Josh said with a shrug, though he was smiling again as he disappeared once more.

Mark shook his head as he glanced down at his phone, casually replying to a couple of messages.

“I think it’s cos I tried to kill myself,” Josh said, not bothering to peer round this time.

“What!?” Mark yelped, dropping his phone into his lap, causing him to let out a gentle grunt as it landed on his balls.

Josh looked round, sniggered and pulled back. “You know my whole abuse, suicide, big drama thing back in year seven,” Josh said, as casually as anyone else would talk about what they had for breakfast. “Rob was always a bit weird over the fact it wasn’t him that talked me down off the roof. I think he beats himself up a bit that things were that bad with me and he didn’t pick up on it!”

“Oh, so… you think he’s, like… overcompensating?” Mark asked.

Josh leaned out again and frowned thoughtfully, then said, “No, but he’s trying too hard to make up for it!” He disappeared again.

Mark went to reply, to advise Josh it meant the same thing, but decided against it and said, “Well, it’s still not the worst thing in the world. And besides, you’ve definitely been off lately!”

“Ugh, I keep saying, it’s just all the changes. The new bed, the new dorm, the new classes. It’s still weird not being with the guys for everything!”

“You mean not being with Mikey,” Mark offered with a wry grin. He was hit by a piece of charcoal thrown from behind the canvas. “Fine, kidding, sorry!” he chuckled.

“What about you? Picked anyone to do yet?” Josh asked as he ran round, snatched the charcoal from Mark’s hand and said, “Shouldn’t have thrown this, I actually need it!”

Mark chuckled as Josh scurried back, then shook his head to himself as he said, “People keep saying stuff like that, like I could just… have my pick of guys, like it’s that easy!”

“Well duh!” Josh replied bluntly. “Mate, you look, like, two years older than you are, you’re tall, you’re muscular, you’re cute, you’re in a band, you play football AND rugby, and to top it all off, you’re NOT a colossal cunt!

“No, really, you should write poetry,” Mark said with a wry grin as he shook his head.

“Ugh no. Pictures I can manage. Words are hard!” Josh replied, missing the humour in the jibe.

Mark smiled as he sat quietly again, this time contemplating Josh’s words as he put his phone aside. “Have you ever dated anyone?” he asked curiously.

“Not really,” Josh replied absently. “Me and Alex pretended to be dating for a while so he could make out to my brothers he was abusing me on their behalf when really he was protecting me from it, but I’m not sure that counts!”

Mark stared blankly at the back of the canvas for a few moments, blinking as he tried to take it in. “No,” he eventually said, having learned by now it was best to just let things like that slide, “No, it probably doesn’t!” He thought again for a few moments before he asked, “Do you WANT to date?”

Josh’s head popped out instantly as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Are you asking me out?” he asked curiously.

Mark blushed heavily and looked away a little as he said, “N… no… no. I’m not!”

Josh looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded and said, “Well… good, I suppose!” He gave a firm nod before vanishing yet again. “And I dunno. I like guys, I know that much for sure now, which is… progress I s’pose, but…” he paused and sighed, “I’m only two so I’m in no rush!”

“You’re… what?” Mark asked, confused again but this time unable to just move on.

“Oh, I kinda started over when I finally got free of my family. Moved my birthday and everything!” Josh explained. “So suuuuure, like, legally I’m fourteen, but whatever!”

“I turn fifteen in a couple of weeks,” Mark said thoughtfully.

“Yeah, but you already did the whole dating thing anyway,” Josh replied, his voice tinged with just a hint of bitterness at the almost-mention of Mark’s ex.

“I suppose,” Mark sighed. “But I’m not sure I’ve ever…” He stopped mid-sentence.

Josh waited a moment, then looked round curiously. Seeing Mark’s expression had gone from curious to a little dour, he placed down the charcoal and approached. Looking round briefly, he reached for another beanbag but stopped as he looked at the blackness covering his hands and instead flopped down casually onto Mark’s lap with a grin. “Go on,” he urged quietly.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone? Especially Chris?” Mark requested, getting a solemn nod in return. “Well, I’m not sure I’ve ever dated out of actual feelings of attraction!”

“So you only date guys you hate?” Josh asked curiously, genuinely confused rather than flippant.

Mark smirked and shook his head. “No,” he said pensively. “With Greg, I was so scared and alone and he was literally the only other boy who liked boys so I just kinda… latched on!”

“And we all know how that ended up,” Josh growled.

Mark nodded, looking a little guilty at the thought of how his ex had hurt Josh. “And then with Chris, I dunno, I was still settling in here, still felt a bit… I dunno, like an outsider and stuff just kinda happened that made it seem like it was a good idea when I knew it wasn’t! Don’t get me wrong, Chris is one of my best friends and I care about him a lot, but me and him… well, he calls himself my rebound guy and he’s not wrong!”

Josh thought for a moment, nodding along before he said, “That’s kinda sad!” As he saw Mark recoil a little, he quickly added, “In a feelings kinda way, not sad in a pathetic kinda way!”

“Thanks for clarifying,” Mark smirked. “It just seems like everyone else is doing it. Chris and Danny, David and James, Rob with Luke and Jazz!” he explained wistfully.

“You took history, right?” Josh asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Umm… yeah…” Mark said, frowning in absolute confusion.

“Exactly. You’re doing history and most of the rest of us are doing subjects that don’t suck!” Josh said with a shrug. “Well, we’re ALL doing GCSEs, but you chose the ones you wanted and everyone else chose the ones they wanted. The whole dating thing’s kinda the same. Those guys chose… dating, you just haven’t started that subject yet and you won’t til you’re ready for it. No big deal!”

Mark thought for a moment, ready to scoff at the analogy until he shook his head slightly and said, “That’s… surprisingly smart!”

“Oh, you don’t go through as much therapy as I do without pickin’ some of this shit up!” Josh said with a confident nod. “Now unless you want black handprints on you, I suggest you help me up!” he requested, raising his charcoal-covered hands again.

Mark laughed as he helped Josh back up onto his feet and watched him disappear behind the easel again. Taking a moment to contemplate the bizarre advice, he smiled as he returned to playing on his phone.

After a few more minutes, Josh stepped back. “Wanna see?” he asked, grinning proudly.

“Sure!” Mark said as he jumped up. As he walked round to take a look at Josh’s work, his jaw dropped slightly in surprise. “It’s me!” he declared.

“Wow, you’re smarter than you look!” Josh said, getting a narrow-eyed glare in response. “I’m just practicing some skills with simple sketches, and you were there, so I thought why not!” he explained with a shrug.

Mark smiled at the simple but detailed sketch of himself sitting on the beanbag. “It’s amazing!” he said in genuine delight.

“I thought charcoal was the right stuff to use for you too!” Josh explained, looking down briefly at his blackened hands.

“Because… I’m also… small and black?” Mark asked with a wry grin.

“No, because…” Josh went to explain, but just pouted and shrugged.

“Go on. I told you mine,” Mark said softly, stepping closer.

Josh looked at him for a few moments, sighed, pouted again and nodded before he went on, “Well… charcoal’s wood that’s been burned and ended up as something different but still useful.”

Mark frowned, once again lost in one of Josh’s bizarre thoughts.

“And that’s kinda like you. You’ve kinda been burned in the past, but now you’re… becoming something else,” Josh said, feeling a little foolish. “Sorry, it was… stupid I guess!” he mumbled.

“No!” Mark insisted, feeling a strange gnawing in his chest. It was certainly a strange analogy, but a beautiful one that really made him feel seen. “It’s a bit weird, but… so sweet. Thank you!” He stepped forward and pulled Josh into a hug, a trait he had picked up from so much time with Chris.

Josh hugged Mark back for a second, then suddenly let go and jumped away as he yelped, “Oh no!”

“What? What happened?” Mark asked, mildly panicked.

“You… may have black handprints on your back!” Josh said sheepishly.

Mark just snorted with laughter again before giving Josh another hug.

*****

‘Playroom 14 at 6.30pm’. That was the only instruction Nicky had been given. Its simplicity made it even more intimidating. His phone had chirped at midday, but so had just about every phone belonging a Year 9 or older student, much to the confusion of the younger ones. Many had completely forgotten about the Underground Lottery, having entered it earlier in the week when it was announced before casting it to the back of their minds.

Nicky had not forgotten about it quite as readily as the other students, due to his proximity to its two organisers who had been anxious all week leading up to the first prize draw, but he had still been surprised when the notification came through.

“Aww, that sucks!” “Well, I’m not loaded!” “I wanted the money!” Many of the other boys were already expressing their disappointment at the ‘Sorry, you’re not a winner’ messages by the time Nicky looked at his phone. Finding a different message Nicky had quickly read it.

‘Sorry, you’re this week’s grand loser! As per the conditions of the Lottery, you are required to submit to one hour at the command of this week’s winner. Further instructions will follow!’

Nicky had considered objecting, but aside from the fact it would look like obvious favouritism if his unfortunate outcome was overturned by his best friend, he mostly just didn’t want to cause any issues. Mikey had been in a good mood all week and Nicky didn’t want to change it by making him think he had done anything wrong. Nicky also briefly considered simply not turning up, but ‘we always pay our debts’ was one of the most prominent tenets of life at Kingswood, and going against it would not end well for him. Instead, he had tried to mentally prepare himself for what was to come.

He had spent the afternoon, both before and after receiving the additional instruction, trying to find out who the grand winner was, but nobody seemed to know. Part of him hoped it was a system error, that there WAS no prize winner and he would be going to sit in an empty room alone for an hour. As he got there, arriving at 6.28, he did find the room empty, but someone had clearly been there!

Like most of the playrooms in the Underground, Room 14 had its own equipment setup. It consisted of a large, reclinable seat with built-in restraints, which could be locked and released manually or by way of a timer lock. Nicky had used it a couple of times playing with his dormmates. As soon as he got into the room, he saw the note on the chair.

‘Remove your clothes. Set the chair for 50 minutes. Put on a blindfold. Lock yourself in!’ That was it. Simplistic again and only mildly terrifying. Considering the general atmosphere of the school, Nicky knew he was in no actual danger, but it was still a scary thought to leave himself so vulnerable to whoever would own him for the next hour.

Looking round at the door, Nicky hoped someone would walk in. Chris, Mikey, Danny… any of his Year 10 dormmates would be a welcome sight, but he remained alone until he finally built the nerve to just do what was instructed. Undressing quickly, Nicky figured he just needed to get it done and out the way. 12 months earlier, just getting naked would have been a major hurdle for Nicky. Though he was not yet (and likely never would be) fully comfortable just being casually naked in front of people, it no longer triggered his fight or flight reflex and he managed to strip down fully without freaking out.

Grabbing a blindfold, one of many items available in a standard supply in each playroom, Nicky put it on his head, ready to pull down when needed and headed over to the chair. He tapped away briefly, setting it for 50 minutes as instructed, then took another cursory look at the door. Still nobody. With a gentle whimper, he climbed onto the chair and pushed each ankle down into the restraints, triggering them to snap closed before sitting back to put his left wrist in. As it snapped closed too, he took a deep breath, pulled down his blindfold and then pressed his last free limb in place. He felt it close, then heard the beep that indicated the start of the timer.

Nicky had never felt so vulnerable and exposed as he laid there, naked, his thick meaty cock lying on his flat stomach as he remained fully on show for whomever might be about to walk in. He felt a sudden wave of anxiety at the thought that it could be more than one person. Was that in the rules? Was the winner allowed the bring other participants? Or an audience? Could they record him? The thought of being naked on film was terrifying. Nicky could feel his breathing getting deeper and more laboured as panic began to build. He pulled a little at the restraints, knowing they wouldn’t release but still somehow allowing himself to hope they would. He struggled a little more at the restrictive sensation, more scary thoughts running through his anxious mind.

Nicky stopped as he felt a hand on his chest. It just held there for a moment as its owner remained silent.

“Hello?” Nicky gasped nervously.

The hand stroked around gently. The way the fingers slid through the small tuft of chest hair made Nicky think it might be Danny. He had a thing for body hair.

“Danny?” Nicky asked curiously.

There was still no answer.

“Are you gonna tell me who you are?” Nicky asked, caught between confusion and slight annoyance. When there was no reply, he smirked a little and said, “Touch my right nipple for yes and left nipple for no!”

The mystery hand tweaked his left nipple.

“Fair enough,” Nicky huffed. “What are you gonna do to me?” he demanded.

The hand was joined by another, this one on his stomach, caressing the firm flatness, though it deliberately moved around his hefty penis without touching it.

“You’re not… gonna hurt me or anything are you?” Nicky demanded, “Cos if you are, we’re gonna need a…” He was cut off by the hand on his left nipple again. “Good! Okay!” he said with a nod. “Umm… are you… alone?”

The hand slid across and tweaked his left nipple.

Nicky tensed up. He wasn’t alone!? “Who… who else… how many…” he stuttered shakily. He felt the hand tap at the centre of his chest. “One?” Nicky counted. “One other person?” A tweak of his left nipple told him he was wrong before the fingers tapped his sternum again. “Oh. Me! You mean you’re not alone cos you’re with me?”

A ‘yes’ tweak.

“Oh, you’re so funny!” Nicky huffed. “Can we just get on with this then please!” he said a little petulantly.

He was absolutely not used to having someone else in control. His first boyfriend, Will, had been submissive and though Nicky had not been keen to be ‘dominant’ at first it had led to him usually being in control. Then there had been Chris, then Mikey and Chris. There had been an undeniable chain of command in their throuple, with Nicky at the top, Chris at the bottom and Mikey in the middle. Though it was something that had been a regular theme in his therapy sessions, Mikey had put it the best – “You’re an absolute fucking control freak!”

“Look, I’m… I’m… a bit nervous…” Nicky said slightly shakily, but once again the response from the hands was instant. He felt fingers stroke through his hair, just for a moment. He smiled as he felt himself calm just a little. “Well… okay then,” he said, already more at ease. “Let’s… see what you’ve got then! Not literally, obviously!”

*****

David was glad the Year 10s had opted to spend their Sunday evening in their shared Common Room as it meant he was able to sneak away more easily for some alone time. Having signed up for so many extracurriculars, his weekend was pretty full. Chess club on Saturday mornings, drama club after lunch, then alone time with James before dinner and then the evening swimming. Sunday was just as busy, with cooking club first thing, then sign language and book club in the afternoon. It was only the permanent ‘no scheduled activities’ slot on Sunday night that gave him any significant free time.

David wasn’t really a fan of being on his own, having grown up pretty isolated, but had now gotten used to his large group of friends. His secret pastime, however, was one he did not dare share with anyone, not even James! Being back in the Home Building and having got his secret hard drive of recordings back, his voyeurism had kicked up a gear. Having just used the built-in camera on his laptop discretely placed on a desk in their old dorm, or his phone hidden away somewhere, David had managed to record quite a lot of sexual activity, but he knew he could do better.

Over the summer, he had managed to get hold of a couple of more discrete cameras and since returning to the Home Building he had been taking any time he could to set them up. So far he had managed get them in place in his own dorm, as well as dorm 2.01 next door and the shared living area outside them. It meant he would now be able to catch every illicit moment that happened in any of the three rooms. David wanted more. He was already considering where else he could bug. The Year 10 shower room would be a good one, if only for the nudity. The Year 10 Common Room could be interesting, if not overly sexual. David’s ambition far outweighed both his capability and his equipment though, as he dreamed of getting a camera in every dorm and every shower room on every floor. For now, he would have to get by with just three feeds.

Any time he got to be alone now was spent either editing down the footage to ensure disk space wasn’t wasted on non-sexual activity, or pleasuring himself to the things he managed to record. The fact that both dorms still engaged in ‘wank-time’ before bed was itself enough to provide David with a constant supply of masturbatory material, but there was even more than that available to him. Danny and Chris went at it every chance they got. Nicky and Mikey, despite being just friends, were at it almost as much. Josh was a frequent masturbator usually, though less-so since the move. Mark was just nice to look at. Even just watching the handsome, muscular teen change was often enough to get David going.

Having just finished cutting clips from the past two days, David’s hand had just reached down to grasp at his small erection through his trousers when he heard raised voices outside the room. He immediately yanked his hand back, just in time for Rob and Josh to walk in.

“I’m not saying something’s wrong, I’m just saying we should check!” Rob snapped angrily, getting closer.

“And I’m saying…” Josh started but stopped as he got into the room and saw the other boy sitting there, “Oh, hey David!”

“Everything… okay?” David asked awkwardly as Rob walked in and stopped behind Josh, visibly annoyed.

“Yeah, everything’s fine!” Josh insisted.

“Is it?” Rob demanded.

“Yes!” Josh scowled back at him.

“IS it?” Rob repeated.

“Oh my god, I just… ugh, you’re SO annoying!” Josh snapped, “Which is really fuckin’ rude because that’s MY job!”

“Yeah, and you’re doing it pretty well!” Rob growled back at him.

“I should… go,” David said, shuffling forward to get off his bed.

“No, you shouldn’t!” Josh insisted, “We’re not chasing you out of your own room!” He frowned at Rob and asked pointedly, “ARE we?”

Rob sighed and shook his head. “No, sorry David,” he said dejectedly. His brow furrowed as he looked at Josh and said softly, “I’m just worried, that’s all!”

“Shocking!” David muttered. As he got a snigger from Josh and a furious glower from Rob, he shrugged and said, “Well, come on! It’s basically your raison d’être!”

“Mmm, raisin detrah!” Josh said with a smile, “I could go for one of those right now!”

“Tit!” David sniggered, but looked at Rob who nodded his understanding. “And you…” David said as he got off the bed and gave Josh a playful poke in the belly. “Let him worry about you. It’s what best friends are for!”

Josh tutted and rolled his eyes as he said, “Whatever!” though he gave Rob a slightly apologetic look as he said it.

“Now did you two come in here for anything fun, or just to bitch at each other?” David said, discretely putting away his laptop before they could question what he had been doing.

“Mostly the bitching!” Rob answered honestly, “What you doing in here?”

“Just…” David started, eyes widening a little, “Emailing my dads!” He glanced at the door as he made an obvious attempt to avoid any follow up questions and asked, “You wanna head back to the Common Room now you’ve stopped being cunty?” He started guiding the other two back out of the room, which they reluctantly allowed.

*****

“Ugh, this may be the best thing I’ve ever lost!” Nicky moaned happily as he felt the mouth around his dick.

He was twenty minutes into the fifty minutes he had been instructed to set on the chair’s restraints and it had been a slow but pleasurable build. The hands that had started off gently touching him had been joined by a mouth that remained otherwise silent. As Nicky had started to relax, he actually found himself enjoying the touching, teasing, licking and nibbling he was being subjected to. The fact he didn’t know who was doing it actually added a little something extra to the enjoyment too.

It was only a few minutes ago that Nicky’s relaxation had reached the point where his enjoyment and arousal began to show. His dick, already prodigious when soft, had slowly swelled under the eager but gentle encouragement. When it finally reached its full, gargantuan state, the hands and mouth pulled away. Nicky assumed it was to get a good look and hoped it wasn’t to gain photographic or video evidence of his endowment.

He first felt the tongue on the tip, but it began sliding back and forth across his thick shaft as it slowly worked down towards the root. When it reached his balls, they got a thorough licking too before being gently sucked into his mystery boy’s mouth. Soon enough, the sagging scrotum had been released and the mouth worked back up the opposite way until it reached the tip, which it engulfed.

Nicky had assumed the pleasure would continue at a gentle pace throughout his 50 minutes and would be made to climax shortly before release. That was what made the sudden, hurried sucking a little more surprising. Perhaps he would be made to cum quickly, then be forced to suck a dick in return. He was surprisingly okay with that idea, but the creeping concern he could be fucked had started to make its way in, at least until he realised the restraints and his position prevented access to his rear anyway.

“AH, fuck, that’s good,” Nicky gasped as he was sucked closer to release. The sucking kept going, hard and fast. “Yes, fuck, yes! I’m close, I’m close, I’m close!” he groaned, bucking his hips slightly to push himself into the mysterious mouth. “Nooo!” he whined as the mouth pulled away. “I’m not there yet, a bit more, a bit more!” he pleaded, but his throbbing cock remained untouched, lying heavily on his stomach.

The hands returned, moving back to Nicky’s nipples, though this time clearly intended to inflict pleasure rather than communicate. The sensitive nubs were gently tweaked for a moment before the flats of the palms rested on Nicky’s chest, massaging it gently for a moment. They started working their way down his long, slender frame, palms pressing gently into his stomach as fingers grasped and gently teased his sides.

“Ah come on, I was so close!” Nicky groaned, enjoying the touch but annoyed to have gotten so close without release.

The hands continued down onto his legs. Having spent years shaving them (and the rest of his body) to hide his differentness as well as improve his diving, Nicky had stopped some time ago and the dark hair sprouting on his chest and forming a dark trail down his stomach was even heavier on his legs. He felt the hands working his way down his fuzzy thighs, sliding in between his legs and then back out as they massaged their way down to his shins. Every inch of him was being explored by his mystery ‘owner’ and despite his frustration, Nicky was finding the obvious admiration of his body quietly enjoyable.

As much as he liked the touching, he was especially relieved to feel the mouth back around the head of his dick as one hand stroked the base of his shaft and the other cupped his heavy balls.

“Ah yeah, that’s it!” Nicky grunted happily. “Keep it up, more tongue, stroke a bit faster!” It was just like being with Mikey or Chris or Danny. They knew what they were doing, but he still liked to direct them anyway. It was the same here. He could have laid in blissful silence, but the instructions were helping enhance his pleasure. Soon enough, he felt the exciting tingle of an imminent ejaculation and began shuddering in anticipation.

Once again, he was deprived of release at the last moment. He was about to complain and say how close he was when it suddenly dawned on him what was happening. “No!” he insisted. “No, no, no! You are NOT edging me! I hate being edged! I hate it! Just… just do what you like please don’t edge me!”

He immediately felt the mouth return and breathed a sigh of relief at the apparent mercy as he began bounding towards orgasm once again… until he wasn’t.

“You fucker!” Nicky growled as he was held back yet again. “Seriously. Don’t do this. I’ll kick your arse for this if you don’t make me cum!”

Nicky felt a hand pull at the restraints on his ankle. Even without words, the teasing was obvious.

“AFTER I get out, obviously!” Nicky snapped, his temper quickly frayed by the repeated denial. “Just fucking make me cum!” he demanded.

The next eighteen minutes were absolute torture for Nicky, a constant cycle of teasing, stopping and furious demands with the occasional threat. He had worried at times he might end up gagged, but whoever was edging him either didn’t care about his threats or actually enjoyed hearing his anger.

When the edging stopped and the break seemed to last longer than usual, Nicky wondered if his time was up, but the restraints hadn’t unlocked, so it appeared not. Lying there helplessly, he slowly started to catch his breath as his pulse slowed and his dick began to shrivel without the constant touching and teasing.

“Are you still there?” Nicky eventually asked, annoyed at whoever it was, but hopeful he would at least get to find out their identity.

He felt a hand on his leg, confirming his tormentor was still present.

“Don’t I get to cum?” Nicky asked, a little dejectedly. Admittedly he was already thinking about the incredible wank he would have before bed if he wasn’t made to cum now, or perhaps even the impressive load he might shoot into one of his dormmates, but it still felt weird to have been pleasured so much by the lottery winner without reaching the obvious conclusion.

Nicky felt the hands grasp at his dick and balls again, but they weren’t stroking this time. “Oww, hey, what you doing?” he demanded as he felt the unusual sensations. Hardness, coldness, squeezing. It was strange and a little unwelcome, but not scary. As the hands pulled away he felt a slight weight on his cock and he had a feeling he knew what it was, but didn’t want to verbalise it.

About ninety seconds later, after lying motionless and untouched, Nicky heard the beep from the timer followed by the immediate click of the four restraints unlocking. Sitting up eagerly he snatched off the blindfold and looked round, but he was alone once again. His gaze quickly dropped to his crotch as his suspicions were confirmed… he had been put in a chastity device. “Fucker!” he muttered angrily to himself.

Standing up from the chair, he stretched a little, having gotten stiff during his prolonged restraint. Tilting his head one way and then the other, he walked over to his clothes and noticed a note sat atop the pile.

‘If you enjoyed this and want more, keep it on and be back here next week, same time!’

“Well you can fuck right off!” Nicky scoffed as he screwed up the note and started pulling on his clothes. The chastity device felt so alien to him, especially as he felt it slip inside his underwear. While the bulge of it was fairly sizeable, he was used to having a sizeable bulge anyway, so it didn’t even seem that strange, but it definitely felt different. The repeated near-orgasm had left him desperate to cum and he was already thinking of the quickest way out of it.

Once he was fully dressed, Nicky headed for the door. He stopped before he left and looked back at the chair, then pulled the screwed up note out of his pocket where he had stashed it and uncrumpled it. ‘If you enjoyed this…’ it said. Staring into the room, he closed his eyes for a moment, replaying the sensations in his mind. The playful nipple tweaking, the gentle, almost affectionate touch of his hair when he said he was nervous, the annoying but enjoyable sucking. ‘If you enjoyed this…’ it said.

“Fuck!” Nicky whispered to himself as he folded the note up this time to slip in his pocket as he left.

*****

Danny casually wandered into L3.5, the shared living area outside dorms 3.17 to 3.20 up on the third floor. It had quickly been adopted as a house rule that the ‘L’ rooms were open for anyone to walk into as long as the door was open, and only the actual dorms required mandatory knocking and invites in. Danny still felt momentarily awkward as he casually walked into the older students’ living space, at least until he saw Joseph smile at him from the sofas and wave him over.

Joseph had been chatting to Dick and Sam, mentors to Josh and Rob respectively, when Danny showed up. They all gave Danny a casual happy greeting as he approached.

“Evening,” Danny said cheerfully back to them.

“Everything okay?” Joseph asked with a gentle head tilt, “Or you just having a nose at your future accommodation?”

Danny chuckled. The third floor’s new layout was quite similar to the second floor where Danny now resided. The only major difference was the bathrooms/shower rooms, which the third floor had split down even further with each living area now attached to its own private facilities. “Actually, I was coming to see…” he paused, looking at the door to dorm 3.20. “Is he in?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, he was on the phone to his parents but I think he’s probably done by now,” Joseph explained.

Dick and Sam gave Joseph a cautious glance, seemingly unaware of the relative peace reached between Brian and Danny over lunch earlier in the day. Joseph gave them a reassuring nod back as he waved Danny on.

Danny reached the door and knocked, then opened it as soon as he heard, “Come in!” from inside.

“Hey,” Danny said as he stepped inside, closing the door immediately behind him if only to spite the others who he knew would be trying to listen in.

“Hey,” Brian replied, sitting up on his bed as he returned Danny’s meek smile.

“I just… wanted to come check you’re actually okay!” Danny said softly.

“You don’t need to do that,” Brian said with a slight headshake.

“I know, that’s what makes me so nice!” Danny replied, grinning at the repeated use of the line. It got a genuine laugh from Brian that made Danny’s stomach churn a little.

It was so strange to be around Brian again. Danny loved Chris. He absolutely, wholeheartedly and unequivocally loved him and nothing was likely to change that. And yet, he still loved Brian. It wasn’t really a secret. They hadn’t broken up because of a fight or because they fell out of love, so the feelings hadn’t just gone away. Danny had made no attempt to hide it from Chris either. It felt like something so big that, aside from being obvious, could only cause harm if concealed. It was the love that made seeing the older boy in pain so painful! Today, their lunchtime together, the laugh just now, they were all momentary but welcome reprieves from the lingering discomfort.

“I swear I’ve never seen Joe as happy as he was when I used that line!” Brian said with a broad smile.

“I know right,” Danny agreed, “But… I didn’t come to talk about Joseph’s obsession!”

“His LATEST obsession,” Brian corrected the younger boy. “In year nine it was all about vampire movies. Year ten was all about you. Year eleven was his anime year and he didn’t get into musicals til Year twelve. This is the first time an obsession’s carried over from the previous year, so I’m worried we might be stuck with this one!” Brian continued, but Danny’s stare made it clear he knew it was a poor attempt at deflection. He let out a sigh and said, “Could you stop looking at me like that!”

Danny shrugged and said, “Sorry, this is just my face!” He gave a slight, lop-sided smirk as he stepped across the room and sat on the foot of the bed.

Brian just stared at him, very clearly trying to hold back as a tear ran down his cheek. He coughed and reached up to try and discretely wipe it away.

“You don’t have to pretend to be okay if you’re not!” Danny said softly, “I’m sorry if I made things harder!”

“You making things harder is what got me into this mess in the first place!” Brian said with a dirty grin, but it dropped as Danny continued to stare sympathetically. He sighed again as he explained, “I kinda DO have to pretend to be okay, cos so far it’s the only thing that’s made me feel even slightly better!”

“I’m sorry,” Danny said, at a loss for what else to say.

“No, don’t be,” Brian insisted. “It… wasn’t really the pretending that helped, it was… ugh!” He paused, shaking his head. “Look, seeing you… hurts. It feels like… I dunno, there aren’t even words, but seeing you with Chris, seeing you… happy, it helps! It kills me that you’re not happy with me!”

“I WAS happy with you!” Danny insisted.

“I know, but…oh my god, Danny, I swear if you could see yourself now. When you’re with him, I swear you fucking just radiate happiness. It’d be nauseating if it wasn’t so sweet!” Brian explained. “So yeah, it’ll hurt, and it’ll take time but eventually the hurt won’t hurt so much and the happy will be happier and… it’ll all be okay!”

Danny thought about the words for a moment then nodded. Confusing as it was, it sounded sincere, and Brian had always been honest with him. “Well, if you ever need anything. You just… well, you know where I am!”

“Actually, there IS something I kinda wanted you for. You AND Chris actually!” Brian said with a smile. As Danny looked at him questioningly, he asked, “D’you think you’d be free the first weekend of February half-term?”

“Umm… I’d have to check with my parents but probably. Why?” Danny asked curiously.

“Well it looks like Joe’s still stuck on the musical thing, so I just booked tickets to see Wicked as his birthday’s like a week before half term!” Brian explained. “I thought it’d be nice if you and Chris came with us!” he said with a slightly forced smile.

“Oh my god, Joseph’s gonna explode!” Danny beamed excitedly. “And you know Chris loves anything with music!” he chuckled.

“So you’re in?” Brian asked excitedly.

Danny went to reply, but instead just grinned at the older boy. “You liked it!” he said confidently.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Brian said defensively.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You liked the show, you liked a musical! Dress this all up as a birthday gift all you like, but I know you and you totally liked it!” Danny said, pointing at Brian accusingly.

Brian scowled at Danny and said, “Fine, but if you tell Joe, or ANYONE, I will literally kill you!”

“Ha ha haaaa!” Danny said as he stood, still pointing. “Musical lover!” he teased.

“You shut your pretty little mouth before I shut it for you!” Brian said as he reached out to grab Danny’s finger. He pulled it hard, mostly to shut Danny up, but grabbed hold of him, the two playfully wrestling on the bed as Danny laughed uproariously.

They eventually came to a stop wrapped up in each other, face to face.

“I love you, Brian,” Danny said wistfully.

Brian stared back into Danny’s beautiful blue eyes. It took every bit of willpower he could muster not to kiss the boy. Instead, he pulled him into a hug as he said softly, “I know!”

Danny sighed dreamily as he held on tightly. It was comfortable and familiar, the feeling of Brian’s arms, the smell of his body spray and natural musk, the rhythm of his breathing and thump of his heartbeat. It felt nice, but it no longer felt like being with his boyfriend. Whatever they had now, special as it clearly still was, it had changed. Now they would just need time to get used to it.

*****

Nicky wandered back into the living area outside his dorm. He could still hear plenty of activity going on in the Common Room, with there still being about an hour before Mr Rudd would start ushering the boys back towards their dorm, but Nicky felt like avoiding the crowd. The chastity device containing his aching cock felt like it was positively screaming out its own presence.

“…and that’s why you should NEVER put your dick in one!” Josh finished, leaving Mark, David and Mikey looking a mix of amused and bewildered.

“You shouldn’t put your…” Nicky started, but stopped both walking and talking as he raised a hand, shook his head and finished, “Never mind, I already know I don’t wanna know!” As he saw Josh go to explain, he quickly looked to the others and said evasively, “Evening all!”

Josh was lying on one of the sofas with his head on Mark’s lap and his legs over the arm, while David was sitting with Mikey, casually leaning against him. They all offered Nicky eager greetings as he headed for an empty sofa.

“So, you two loaded now?” Nicky asked, trying to get to the question on his mind in a slightly subtle way.

“They are, but I’m not!” Josh pouted. “What’s the point of being mates with the people in charge if they can’t rig things in your favour?!”

“My integrity as a business provider takes a higher priority than any existing relationships, no matter how close they are!” Mikey insisted.

<<Oooh, that was hot. Now talk about gross domestic profit!>>

“If you wanna win, you’ll just have to keep playing!” David added with a smile.

“Lotteries are such a waste of money. You’d have to be an idiot to play!” Mark declared.

Josh tilted his head back to look up at Mark and replied, “You bought five tickets!”

“Hey,” Mark said with a shrug, “At no point have I ever claimed to NOT be an idiot!”

“Fair point,” Josh nodded.

“So who DID win?” Nicky quickly interjected before the subject could move on.

“We don’t get to see that!” David explained. “It’s like the real lottery. People are allowed to protect their anonymity. I think it’s so people don’t, like, target them for demands of money and stuff!”

“It’s hardly the same,” Nicky scoffed. “You’re not making millionaires here. We’re only talking a couple of COK!” he said, referring to the ‘Currency of Kingswood’ which was used to pay for goods and services in the Underground.

“Whatever. That’s just how it’s set up now,” David said with a shrug, “And to answer your original point, we’re not LOADED, but let’s say I’m covered for my beauty treatments for the rest of the year!”

<<David’s kinda cute, isn’t he!>>

“Not like you need them,” Mikey said with a cheerful smile.

“Aww, thanks,” David giggled. “But saying ‘having my pubes ripped out by a stranger’ sounds painful so I went with ‘beauty treatments’ instead!”

The conversation quickly descended into the pros and cons of body hair as well as the various methods of removal available in the Underground’s salon. Nicky just sat back and let it play out, feeling a little uncomfortable from his chastity cage as he moved. So much for his plan of finding the person who had put him in it. He thought for a moment about the week ahead, about not having access to his dick, his favourite plaything for almost half of his life. He felt it throb slightly in the cage and let out a gentle sigh.