The Kingswood Eight - Chapter 1 (Patreon)
Content
Sunday 30 August 2020
“You’ll have to let go of me eventually!”
“No I won’t and you can’t make me!” Chris insisted petulantly. It was the end of Summer break after Chris’ first year at Kingswood. He had not long passed through the school’s COVID-19 checks and been cleared to move on from the testing area. He now stood gripping tightly onto his eldest brother, twenty-two-year-old Blane.
“Unless you’re planning on spending the whole of Year 8 attached to me, you’re really gonna need to reconsider that!” Blane said with a chuckle. He was holding onto the boy as tightly as the almost-thirteen-year-old was holding him.
He could understand his little brother’s reluctance. The last time he had come back to the school, he had ended up staying for five months without any visits home thanks to the pandemic. To make things worse, their eldest sister and parents had both been hospitalized with the virus and both had felt helpless to do anything about it.
“I could do that. I mean, this is Kingswood, weirder things have happened!” Chris reasoned, still gripping tightly, his head resting against Blane’s chest.
“Now that I definitely believe!” Blane sniggered. “But seriously, dude, I think we need to get you inside!” He pulled back a little and glanced down at the boy. It was always a strange feeling looking at him. They were a large family, the eight Smith siblings and their parents and while there were similarities between some – Aisling looked like her Mum, seven-year-old twins Aidan and Cian were not too different from how Chris had looked at their age, but Chris and Blane were verging on identical, albeit nearly ten years apart.
“D’you have to come in?” Chris asked, pouting a little.
Blane gasped dramatically. “You’re ashamed of your big bro?” he asked, feigning hurt.
“Always!” Chris replied with a playful grin. “But it’s the others I’m worried about, not you!”
“I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself!” Blane said as he grabbed a couple of Chris’ cases.
Chris shrugged as he grabbed the rest of his bags. “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!”
They headed across from the car park towards one of the massive buildings. It was an eclectic mix of structures. The main feature was certainly the massive Edwardian mansion that was known to the boys as the ‘Home Building’ or simply ‘Home’. Four stories of sheer stone decadence surrounded by well-maintained (and award-winning) gardens. A long way over to one side was a much shorter and wider structure, a sprawling box of a building that had been sleek and modern thirty years ago but now looked a little dated, while contrasting massively with the classical elegance of the Home Building. It was known as the ‘School Building’ or just ‘School’.
Over on the opposite side of the massive woodland-surrounded grounds, mostly concealed by a large copse was a modern building with sharp lines and a lot of glass and steel, the Sports Complex, surrounded on all sides by a plethora of courts, pitches and fields.
Way off behind the School and Home Buildings was the ‘Staff Building’, used as accommodation for those who worked at the school, built very much like a smaller sibling to the Edwardian Home Building. The last, and newest, structure was one that had been dubbed the ‘Temporary Building’, a name that was growing increasingly ironic as it sat there for its seventh month. While not the most visually appealing of the buildings, it served its purpose. It had been put up quite hastily back in February to be used as additional accommodation for COVID-19 quarantine, made up primarily of two or one-person rooms.
Unlike the previous year when Chris arrived and had been greeted by a student guide, intended to make sure he got where he needed to be and found the right dorm, there was no greeting party this year. A couple of older boys, whom Chris greeted politely, lurked near the front of the building to offer help if anyone needed it, but with the new Year 7s all arrived and settled a few days earlier, it was now just the returning Year 8 and 11 students to come and they all knew their way already.
“Bejesus, this place is huge, even compared to our place!” Blane exclaimed as they made their way up the front steps of the Home Building, towards its massive double doors.
Chris looked round thoughtfully and nodded. “I guess so. I’m kinda used to it!” he said, his confidence swollen by the completion of his first year at the school.
Once inside the entrance foyer, the two siblings headed for the large staircase that led up to the first floor. “What, no lift?” Blane asked with a smirk.
“There is actually, but it’s for people with mobility issues only and being a lazy gobshite isn’t a mobility issue!” Chris answered his brother back cheekily. “Come on!” he added, gesturing to the stairs.
“Lazy?” Blane asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked from the two large cases he was lugging to the smaller bags in Chris’ clutches. “Wanna swap?”
“Nah, I’m good!” Chris said, hurrying up to the large walkway that overlooked the foyer. As he turned and looked at the first door down on the left, labelled ‘Dorm 1.01’ he let out a wistful sigh. “That’s my old dorm!” he said as Blane caught up to him.
“Hnnh, if walls could talk!” Blane chuckled.
“Those ones’d be screaming!” Chris sniggered. “Come on, this way,” he said, guiding his laughing brother down the hallway.
“Ah, Chris. Welcome back!” a man at the end of the corridor said as they rounded the corner.
“Hi Sir!” Chris declared happily at the sight of the ‘Master of the First Floor’. “Mr Trent, this is my brother Blane. Blane, this is Mr Trent. He runs the first floor but he’s pretty cool!”
“High praise indeed,” Mr Trent said with a wry grin. “Nice to meet you,” he said, offering a hand to the young man before pulling it back. “Oh wait, no hand shaking. Keep forgetting!”
“Yeah, me too,” Blane said with a polite smile.
“I hear your sister and parents are doing well. That’s great news!” Mr Trent said with a genuine smile.
Blane nodded back. “Yeah. Aisling’s really bouncing back, you’d never know Dad had been ill in the first place and Mam… hmm, I kinda think she’s just milking it!”
Although he saw his big brother laugh, Chris knew it was mostly for show. Blane had taken the illnesses in the family quite hard, despite his often tenuous relationship with his parents. “Can we get going?” Chris asked, getting impatient. While he had been reluctant to let go, now that his new dorm was in sight, he was keen to get in and see who was already there.
“Of course, m’lord!” Blane said with a subservient bow, getting a snigger from the teacher as he followed the younger boy. “See you later, Mr Trent!” he said, giving the man a quick smile as he checked him out.
“Okay, brace yourself!” Chris said as he stepped through the open door into dorm 1.05.
“Chris!” “Chris is here!” “Heyyyyy!” the shouts came from the others who had arrived before him.
It was barely a few seconds later when new shouts emerged as Blane walked in. “Oh my!” “Hello Mr Smith!” “It’s Blane!” “I wanna touch him!”
“Back off bitches!” Chris declared loudly, taking a defensive stance in front of his brother as he dropped his bags. “Nobody’s touching my brother!”
Looking round the room he could see he was one of the last to arrive. The dorm, just like last year, was home to eight boys. While all eight of the room’s occupants had become exceptionally close, very definite pairs had formed amongst them. David, a small chubby boy the whole dorm had come to see as their own baby brother had become best friends with James, a quiet boy from South Wales whose social graces were somewhat less developed than his impressive intelligence. The two boys had bonded over their shared love of studying and general geekiness and been pretty much inseparable ever since. They were sat together at one of the four desks at the far end of the dorm, poring over the school’s new activity schedule.
Next were Mikey and Nicky. While the two had not been overly friendly early in Year 7, with Mikey struggling with anger issues and Nicky distracted by a passionate but ill-fated relationship with an older student, they had spent two weeks together during the school’s COVID-19 lockdown and their friendship had blossomed rapidly from there. Mikey was a short, ginger Geordie boy while Nicky towered over him as the tallest boy in their whole Year, often hiding half of his face behind his wavy hair. Unlike the rest of the boys in the dorm who had not seen each other all Summer, the pair had spent four weeks together at Nicky’s house. Each of them had been sprawled out on one of the four two-seater sofas in the ‘social’ area of the dorm at its far end, though Mikey had jumped to his feet at the sight of his returning friend.
The third pair, currently sat on top of the two bunk beds to the left of the dorm, were Josh and Rob. The two were undoubtedly best of friends, as evidenced by the way they constantly insulted and berated each other in the way only best mates can. Josh, formerly of South London but now a ward of the school, but still baring the London accent had a mischievous smile but gentle brown eyes. Rob, hailing from nearby Southampton, had started off Year 7 as a short chub but even just a year on was beginning to grow into his bulk, his time spent on the rugby pitch really beginning to show. His grey eyes framed by glasses he tended to wear less often than he was supposed to.
Aside from Chris, the affectionate boy from Ireland with shaggy brown hair and emerald-green eyes who had a tendency to cuddle anyone who stopped moving long enough, the only one missing was Danny, Chris’ best friend.
“You must be Blane, nice to meet ya!” Josh said, vaulting down from his bunk and offering a hand.
“No handshaking!” Chris snapped. “Or any kind of touching, for that matter!” he scowled.
“Oh yeah, Covid!” Josh said with a slight nod.
“Screw Covid, I just know where you pervs have been!” Chris insisted, grabbing his bags to move in front of the wardrobe labelled with his name to one side of the door.
“Chris, be nice!” Blane admonished his younger sibling.
“Yeah, don’t be rude!” Mikey insisted as he headed down the dorm towards them. He gave Blane a big grin and said flirtily, “Looks like you got the manners AND the looks in your family!”
“MIKEY!” Chris snapped as Blane chuckled at the boy’s playful advances. Chris looked down the dorm and shouted to Nicky, “Control your boyfriend!”
“Not my boyfriend,” Nicky replied, a little quieter than usual, as tended to happen with new people around. “Besides, I had four weeks of him. He’s someone else’s problem now!”
“I’d happily be YOUR problem!” Mikey said, still grinning at Blane.
“Okay, you…” Chris said, moving to Mikey and pushing him back gently. “Go do… something. You go with him!” he added, shoving Josh to follow. “And you,” he continued, turning to point to Blane. “Put my bags down, then out, before you get… I dunno… touched or something!”
Mikey rolled his eyes as Josh dragged him back down the dorm.
As Blane put Chris’ cases aside, he looked at the small gathering of boys and said, “Nice to meet you all, see you again soon!”
“Bye Blane!” “Stay sexy!” “I LOVE YOU BLANE!” the shouts came back, partially intended to mess with Chris and clearly working as he shoved his brother eagerly out the door.
“So much for not wanting to let go!” Blane sniggered.
“Shut up,” Chris pouted, grabbing his brother in a hug again. “Don’t let Mam and Dad leave me here alone at half-term again, okay!” he mumbled; his face buried in Blane’s chest. The previous year, Chris had spent the first half-term break of the year at the school when his parents had been ‘too busy’ to come and collect him and left it too late to make other arrangements. While he had ended up having an enjoyable week, Chris loved his siblings and liked to be with them as much as he could during school breaks.
“Don’t worry, we’re not leaving you here alone ever again!” Blane said, suppressing a smirk. He planted a playful kiss on the top of his little brother’s head. “Now you go catch up with your mates, I can find my own way out!” he insisted.
“Thanks,” Chris said, sighing a little as he finally let go. “See you soon, bro!”
“Yeah you will!” Blane chuckled as he headed away.
Chris was just about to go back into the dorm when he heard a familiar voice say, “Hi Blane!” It was Danny. Chris quickly scurried to the corner and waited a moment, hidden out of sight as he heard Blane say a polite hello back. A moment later, as Chris heard footsteps approaching he jumped out and screamed.
The voice that screamed in response to the surprise was very much NOT Danny. Mrs Davies had almost fallen over as she yelled out in shock and jumped away from the unexpected boy. Danny and his father, a few paces behind, were in absolute hysterics while Mrs Davies clutched at her chest, panting and looking a mix of both confused and furious (confurious!)
“Oh… my god… that was too good!” Danny guffawed between laughs.
“M… Mrs Davies… I’m sorry, I thought you were Danny!” Chris said, blushing heavily.
“Always a pleasure, Christopher!” Mrs Davies said, slowly beginning to see the bright side now that the risk of cardiac arrest had passed.
Danny, the golden-haired, blue eyed boy from Norfolk threw an arm around his friend, still laughing. “I am SO freaking glad to be back!” he said as they headed into the dorm.
“Me too,” Chris said happily. “Come on,” he said as he put an arm around the other boy to head into the dorm. “You know Nicky’ll want to take a ‘first day back together’ picture!”
*****
“Okay, quiet down everyone!” Mr Trent requested as the Year 8 boys began chattering again. They were gathered in the Common Room, taking over the booths and tables that lined one side of the large area shared by the Year 7, 8 and 9 boys on the first floor. A few Year 9 boys were across the room using the TV and game areas, while the Year 7s were off doing some ‘getting to know you’ exercises that the Year 8s had done the previous year.
“So who’s excited to be back?” the young teacher asked with a grin. He got a cheer from most of the thirty-two boys gathered before him. “Excellent. And who’s excited to start classes on Tuesday?” Only four of the boys cheered, along with a sarcastic “Yay” from Nicky that got a laugh from the crowd.
“Fair enough, I get it, but you know you’ll love it when it gets going!” Mr Trent insisted. As he got a few incredulous snorts backs he said, “Okay, maybe ‘love’ is too strong a word, but you’ll do it anyway!” It got a few more laughs. “Now if you all check your phones, I’ve just updated the app with your new class timetables!”
The boys all picked up their phones and checked. While on Kingswood grounds, their phone functions were largely limited and instead replaced with the ‘Kingswood App’, which included all sorts of functions from class and activity timetables, automatic alarms to reduce tardiness, access to the school’s library (which was all digital), instant messaging to any students and staff and a whole range of other features, some of which the boys had been told they would get access to ‘when you’re older’.
“Oh god!” Chris declared as he looked at his new timetable. “Sir, whatever we did… we’re sorry and we take it back!” As he got confused looks from both the teacher and many of the other students, he declared, “Double History last thing on a Friday. That’s just… cruel!”
As everyone laughed at the comment and the dorm 1.06 boys realised with dismay they were in the same class, Mr Trent replied, “Sorry buddy, it is what it is. But you should all notice Wednesday afternoons you’ve all got a new class this year!”
“Drama! Awesome!” Harley Edwards from 1.07 declared excitedly, triggering a wave of excited muttering.
“Now that’s a good reaction!” Mr Trent said happily. “That is, of course… my class! So I expect you all to be on your best behaviour. Also, I know some of you are in Drama Club with Mr Warren, so be warned, my classes are a little more… structured than Drama Club!”
“You mean boring!” Mikey muttered with a snigger. “Sorry Sir,” he said, blushing as the other boys laughed at Mr Trent’s disapproving glare.
“Mmm-huh,” the teacher hummed. “You may also have noticed from the activity sign-ups that we have some new sports and clubs this year,” he explained. “On the sports side of it, we’ve got Athletics, Water Polo, Dance and Martial Arts.” He paused for a moment as the boys quickly chattered, many suddenly attempting karate chops on each other, only to end up with sore hands. “Okay, enough with the ‘hi-yahs’. Also new this year we have Movie Club which will take place in here on Saturday nights, Cooking Club on Saturday afternoons and Creative Writing which will be on Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon. As always, think carefully before committing to any activities and do NOT over-stretch yourselves. Have a chat with your mentors or myself if you have any concerns!”
“I like the sound of Creative Writing,” Chris said quietly to Danny who was sat at his side. “I know it’s probably more for stories and stuff, but it might help with writing song lyrics!”
“Awesome,” Danny smiled. “I’m thinking of starting Water Polo. It sounds like fun!”
“By fun, you mean being nearly naked and rubbing up against other nearly naked guys?” Chris muttered with a grin.
“Totally,” Danny giggled back.
Mr Trent went on to talk about changes to the times for extracurriculars and the introduction of ‘free study’ time at the end of each school day, but the boys were mostly engaged in discussing what clubs they intended to join and eventually he gave up. “Okay, make sure you’re all at dinner on time tonight so Mr Everett can do his usual welcome speech and announcements. Your start-of-year meetings with me will be either later today or over the next few days, check your emails for details. I’m hanging around here if you have anything urgent to discuss, but that aside, you’re all free to go meet up with your mentors!”
The boys quickly began to disperse, each of them having made their own arrangements with their mentors. The mentor program was one of the many things the boys loved about the school. Upon arrival, each new Year 7 student was allocated a Year 10 student who took on the role of mentor, acting as a mix of adviser, big brother, confidante and sex education specialist. The relationship continued up until the mentor left after Year 13, by which point the young proteges would be mentors themselves as the cycle continued.
“So we haven’t really had a chance to talk since I got here,” Danny said as he wandered slowly up the stairs to the second floor with Chris at his side.
Just as Chris and Danny were best friends, so too were their mentors. While Chris had always got on well with Danny’s mentor, Joseph, the same couldn’t really be said for Danny with Chris’ mentor, Brian. Ever since their first meeting, almost exactly a year ago now, Brian had been an antagonistic tease, always jumping at the chance to embarrass Danny as well as calling him annoying, ‘cute’ nicknames rather than ever actually using his name. Danny had hated it… until he didn’t!
A series of encounters, involving a glory hole, a science lab, a fake starry sky and a runaway friend had slowly turned their apparent indifference to each other into something significantly more intimate. Danny’s Year 7 had concluded with a declaration of love from the older boy, one that he had much reciprocated. Not wanting to go the whole Summer without telling Chris the truth, they had revealed their relationship to him over the summer break.
“Sorry I… got a bit weird,” Chris apologised sheepishly. ‘Weird’ was somewhat of an understatement. He had basically ignored Danny and Brian for a week until Joseph had intervened and proverbially kicked Chris’ arse to help him realise he was being selfish and a bad friend.
“It’s okay, I get why it’s tough for you!” Danny said, putting an arm around his friend’s shoulders as they got to the top of the stairs. “This way!” he added, pulling to the right as Chris went to go left.
“Oh yeah, everyone’s moved,” Chris said with a slight smile. Like the boys of their own dorm, Joseph and Brian had also come back to a different dorm this year. Chris let out a sigh as he glanced briefly at Danny as he said, “Look, it’ll take some getting used to, but I just need to know two things… wait, no, three!”
“Okay, go on,” Danny said, pausing and leaning against the balustrade that looked down over the entrance foyer two floors below.
“Does this affect us being mates?” Chris asked. It felt the most appropriate to lead with. When Chris had started a relationship of his own the previous year, with their mutual best friend Kyle, that had been Danny’s first question too.
“Of course not. You’re stuck with me!” Danny sniggered.
Chris smiled back. “Two, are you still allowed to play with other guys or… ya know… share a bed?” he asked, blushing a little. While the ‘play’ part was important, it was obvious Chris was more concerned about the bed sharing. Since their first night in the school, the two boys had shared a bed almost constantly. It wasn’t a sexual thing, though ‘playing’ did happen fairly often. It had started because Chris’ fear of being alone and away from his siblings had led to night terrors. Sharing with Danny always put him at ease and had quickly just become the norm. “Or… is it too soon to know?” Chris asked, unsure if that was something the two would have even considered yet.
“I can play, I can share beds, it’s all good!” Danny said happily, getting a relieved sigh in response. “And the third thing?” he asked curiously.
Chris blushed a little, then asked, “Does being with Brian make you happy?”
Danny stared at his friend for a moment then smiled as he nodded. “He does. He annoys the crap outta me too, but… he makes me SO happy!” he explained.
Chris puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled slowly. It was tough. There had been a time during Year 7 where most of their friends had simply assumed they were together, or at least would be eventually. It was something Chris had even allowed himself to think once the aftermath of his relationship with Kyle had died down. He nodded gently as he said, “Well… then you have my blessing!”
“I didn’t ask for it!” Danny said with a smirk as he resumed walking along.
“Well, you’ve got it anyway!” Chris insisted.
“I don’t want it. I’m giving it back,” Danny joked.
“Nope, can’t. It’s given. In fact, I’m giving it even more!” Chris argued back petulantly. “Bless!” he said, poking Danny in the ribs.
“Gedoff!” Danny complained, swatting his hand away, but Chris resumed poking, adding a playful, “Bless!” with each one.
“The fuck are you two doing?” Joseph asked as he peered out the door from his new home in dorm 2.10.
“I’m blessing him!” Chris grinned.
“With your finger?” Joseph asked, one eyebrow raised.
“It makes sense to us!” Chris insisted.
“It really doesn’t!” Danny disagreed, still swatting Chris’ finger away. “Also, hiiii!” he said happily as ran and grabbed Joseph in a hug.
“Hey bud,” Joseph chuckled as he held Danny. He let go and allowed the boy into the room then added, “And hi to you too!” He moved to block the door as Chris went to follow.
“Hi,” Chris said to the older boy, the frowned at the blockade as he asked, “You gonna let me in?”
“Oh you do NOT need to see what’s happening in there right now!” Joseph said, making a comedic dry-heaving noise.
Chris pouted a little as he stared down at the ground for a moment. Joseph was always pretty insightful about the guys around him. He had seen the Danny/Brian relationship coming months before either of them had even the slightest clue. He was also one of the few people who knew Chris’ real issue with the new relationship – Chris was in love with Danny!
Chris let out a gentle sigh and said quietly, “I think I need to!”
“Ah mate, I get it,” Joseph said, reaching out to grab the younger boy’s shoulder. “You probably do, just maybe… not quite yet, okay?” He pulled the door closed behind him and stepped out into the hallway, grabbing Chris in a hug.
“I’m happy for them really,” Chris said with a wistful sigh as he held onto Joseph, trying to convince the older boy and himself in equal measure.
Inside the dorm, neither Danny nor Brian had spoken. The moment Danny walked in, the two had grabbed each other in a kiss and had yet to come up for air.
When they eventually parted, Brian moved back a little, keeping his arms resting on Danny’s shoulders as he looked the boy up and down. “God, I swear you’ve grown a foot since last year!”
Danny looked down at the ground between them, then back up at Brian’s face and said, “Nope, still just two!”
Brian chuckled. “You’re too fucking cute!” he said, leaning in for another quick kiss.
“Thanks, you’re… just cute enough, I suppose!” Danny said back with a wry grin. They shared another brief kiss.
“You know I think these meetings are supposed to be with your OWN mentor… and involve less kissing!” Brian chuckled, letting his hands slide down Danny’s sides to hold him gently.
“I know,” Danny said, glancing at the door. “We will, I just…” he paused and sighed, “I kinda needed to be sure you hadn’t… changed your mind!”
“What? Why would I ever do that?” Brian asked, shaking his head.
Danny shrugged a little and said, “I dunno, cos you’re so… hot…” he placed his hand on Brian’s chest, “And muscley…” his breath shuddered a little at the firm torso beneath his palms, then looked the older boy in the face. “And so cute!”
Brian really was a painfully attractive fifteen-year-old. Even back when Danny ‘hated’ him, he been unable to resist looking at the pictures the older boy had sent him (as a tease), the first just a playful face picture, the second a full-length shot of him as a very scantily clad Spartan for the Halloween costume contest. It was more than just his body though. His hair had the annoying ability to fall perfectly into place without being touched, his smile was alluringly sexy while remaining boyishly impish because of his dimples and his eyes were pools of chocolate brown that Danny could already feel himself getting lost in.
“Shut up, you adorable moron!” Brian said, shaking his head. “Yeah, I’m hot, but so are you… ya know… for a kid!” he teased.
“A kid you’re dating!” Danny replied with a smirk.
“Hnnnh, okay, that one backfired,” Brian conceded. “But still, you’re hot! Although… even if you weren’t… I fell in love with YOU, Romeo, not your face, not your body, not your cute little dick…”
“Oy!” Danny scowled at the use of ‘little’ and ‘dick’ in the same sentence.
“I fell in love with YOU!” Brian went on, ignoring the momentary objection. “Nothing’s changing my mind on that, so… ya know… shut up and kiss me again!” he ordered.
“You’re not the boss of me!” Danny pouted playfully. He felt himself get pulled into yet another kiss and as they parted he giggled and said, “Maybe you are!”
There was a sudden knock at the door. “Get your pants back on lads, we’re coming in!” Joseph declared.
They moved apart as the door swung open, not from fear of being seen, but mostly just to avoid upsetting Chris.
Chris smirked as he walked in, the distance between the two clearly very deliberate. “You’re allowed to be near each other, ya know!” he said, sniggering at Joseph.
Tentatively, Brian moved close to Danny and slipped an arm around him.
“Ugh!” Chris grunted, shaking his head. “They really are annoyingly cute together, aren’t they!” he admitted begrudgingly.
*****
“Whoo, okay, yeah,” Sam gasped as Rob let go of him. “You are DEFINITELY getting better at that!”
“You must be a good teacher!” Rob said happily, licking his mentor’s dick playfully.
“Finish me off and I’d definitely say you’ve earned an unlock!” the naked fifteen-year-old said with a strangely proud grin.
Rob was one of the few unfortunate Year 8 boys (and one of four from dorm 1.05) to still be subject to the school’s chastity policy. Kingswood had a very strong view on sexuality and its importance on turning out mature, well-adjusted young men but one of their key tenets was that self-experimentation should not begin until nature indicated the students were ready. As such, any student not yet developed enough to ejaculate got locked in chastity until such time as development began.
Sam, as Rob’s mentor, was one of the two keyholders. Like many current and past mentor/mentee pairs, the two had an arrangement to unlock Rob on a weekly basis, primarily for hygiene purposes (though the devices were made to be washable) but also for the younger boys to be ‘checked’ for eligibility for permanent release. Thus, Rob had been unlocked once a week in exchange for sexual favours, at least that was what they pretended. In reality, Rob enjoyed the ‘favours’ he gave every bit as much as Sam. The fact it had also served as an ongoing education in sexual techniques was a nice added bonus.
Back at the beginning of Year 7, Rob’s skills had been… less than ideal. In fact, some of Sam’s descriptions of his masturbatory and oral skills included, 'like he was trying to win a thumb war while torturing you for information', 'like a disgruntled housewife jerking off her husband because it's his birthday, but not a big one!' and 'like trying to blow up a balloon that refuses to start inflating'. Since then, he had come a long way… just as Sam was about to.
Rob happily sucked away, getting a thrill from the obvious pleasure he was inflicting on the older boy. Sam was a pretty cute teen, in Rob’s opinion. He didn’t have the classic good looks and muscles of Brian and was a long way off from the geekish adorability of Joseph, he was just… cute, yet Rob had never felt any attraction to him. He had always been just his mentor, his ‘in-school’ big brother… albeit a brother he had sex lessons with.
“I’m cumming!” Sam declared, sounding ecstatic. For so many months Rob had not been able to ‘finish him off’ and Sam had ended up doing it himself, mostly for Rob’s entertainment. So it still came as a pleasant surprise when the younger boy was able to take his mentor all the way.
Rob pulled away and gave the cock a final stroke before holding it still while it shot a modest load onto the floor. As much as he normally enjoyed the sight, his mind was elsewhere. At the End-of-Year party, Rob had been asked out on a date for the very first time. As surprising as it had been for him, what surprised him more was who it came from – Alex Barnes, a Year 9 (10 now) boy Rob had spent most of the year convinced was pure evil. A horrible incident and a shocking revelation later, he had realised how wrong he was and actually became friends with him. The date request had been readily accepted, though Rob now found himself conflicted.
“Oh fuck, I needed that!” Sam muttered, breathing heavily. “Whadda you say? Your turn?”
“Hmmm, sure!” Rob said, a little lost in thought.
“Wow, so much excite!” Sam said sarcastically. “What’s up, big guy? Six weeks without release, I thought you’d be humping my leg by now!”
Rob sniggered at the image, but the smile quickly dropped. “Does this count as cheating?” he asked thoughtfully.
“Hmm, good question,” Sam replied, nodding. “Alex asked you out, but you haven’t actually had the first date yet, right?”
“Mmm-huh,” Rob hummed, nodding.
“So on that alone, I’d say no. But there’s also… stuff with your mentor doesn’t really count, not if it’s JUST for, like, learning or weekly unlocks. It’s kind of an unwritten rule!” Sam explained. “I mean so long as you don’t actually have a full-on relationship with your mentor…”
“Cos we’ve seen how that works out!” Rob sniggered, remembering Nicky’s relationship with his mentor the previous year.
“Exactly,” Sam agreed. “But other than that, I’d say it’s okay. I mean, Alex is a Year 10 now, right?” He got a nod from Rob. “So he’s just started mentoring. That probably means he’ll be doing stuff with the new kid like we did when you started. That’s no big deal, right?”
“Huh, yeah, I guess so!” Rob said, slipping his glasses back on as he nodded, considering it.
“But I think it’s a good sign that I raised ya right if you’d even think to ask the question though, so that’s two things I’m proud of you for today!” Sam beamed.
“What’s the other?” Rob asked, then saw Sam nod down at his cum on the floor. “Oh, yeah, duh!” he chuckled. “Well, if it’s not cheating, then… my turn!”
“I suppose you’ve earned it,” Sam chuckled, stepping over the wet patch to retrieve the key from his discarded clothing. As Rob turned to face him, he squatted down, unlocked the device and removed it. “Hmm, I don’t mean to be rude here but… it’s been six weeks, maybe we could finish this in the shower?”
“Works for me!” Rob said happily, quickly grabbing his t-shirt to pull it on. “See you in there!” He bunched up the rest of his clothes and held them in front of his crotch then dashed out of the room as Sam laughed at the sudden run.
After pulling on his own sweatpants and t-shirt, he bundled his footwear and boxers under his arm with Rob’s device then followed out and down the hall to the shower room. As he stepped inside, a cubicle door opened and a naked-again Rob popped his head out and beckoned him over.
“I got a head start, I figured you’d appreciate it!” Rob giggled, nodding down at his soapy body as Sam stepped into the cubicle.
“So long as that’s all you’re starting!” Sam said, quickly pulling his own clothes back off. As he hung them up, he asked, “You, erm… basically streaked here with your arse hanging out, but covered up on top. Any reason?”
Rob pursed his lips and shrugged.
“Did someone say something?” Sam asked, concerned. Rob had been through phases of doubt in his first year at the school, occasionally beginning to seem comfortable in his own skin, others less so.
“No,” Rob said, shaking his head as he pulled his glasses off and handed them to Sam, sticking his head under the shower. “Just… one of those things,” he added casually.
“If you say so,” Sam said, unconvinced. “We can always talk if you need to!” He got a smile in return. “But for now, let’s start… the other stuff!”
“I think I’m ready!” Rob said with a grin as he turned to face the older boy, his cock already rigid and reaching skyward. His grin grew as he looked down and declared, “That has DEFINITELY grown! Quick, measure it!”
“Sure, cos I always bring a ruler into the shower!” Sam sniggered.
“Well do you think it looks bigger?” Rob asked, excited at the thought of catching up with some of the others. Sharing a dorm with the tallest (and most well-endowed) boy in the Year was certainly no confidence booster.
“Compared to a few weeks ago, probably not. Compared to… like… birth, definitely!” Sam said with a shrug.
“Well, I was 8 centimetres before I started here!” Rob declared, then blushed at offering up the mental image of him with a ruler against his cock.
Sam smiled but resisted teasing the younger boy. He knew when he could take it and when he couldn’t by now. “Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully, taking hold of Rob’s erection. As Rob let out a low moan, his eyes fluttering at the touch, Sam nodded and said, “Yeah, I’d say you’ve grown since then. This is definitely more than eight!”
“Yay,” Rob said, but it quickly changed to an “Unnnh!” as Sam tweaked a nipple. Rob shuddered and leaned against the older boy, his legs going a little wobbly. One of the (many) discoveries the two had made last year was that Rob had exceptionally sensitive nipples.
Sam had actually tried to make the boy orgasm through nipple stimulation alone but never managed it. He suspected the boy’s extended abstinence might make that easier to achieve today, but it seemed unlikely he also had the patience, so he continued stroking the bigger-than-before dick with one hand while teasing a nipple with the other.
“Ah, yussss,” Rob hissed happily as he let his eyes close. The dual stimulation, the warm spray of the shower, the wet naked body he was leaning on, it all added up to an incredible sensation. “Sam, I’m getting close!” he whimpered eventually.
Sam smiled at the euphoric boy and gently nudged him away. As much as their playing was for their joint entertainment, he still had an actual job to do by testing Rob’s ejaculatory function. Remembering his own watery emissions when he started out, he held Rob away from the shower spray as he stroked him to climax.
“Oh YESSSSS!” Rob yelped out ecstatically, head resting back against the tiled wall as his cock twitched and spasmed in his mentor’s grip. Still breathing heavily, he eventually opened his eyes and gave a sweet smile to Sam. “That was… freaking intense!”
“I might know why. You know what this is?” Sam asked, holding up his hand, palm open.
Rob shrugged briefly, then a moment later his eyes widened with realization. “Wait, is that…” he started, staring at the small pool of liquid.
“Mmm-huh,” Sam hummed. “Congratulations, big guy. I think you’re getting unlocked permanently!”
*****
“You guys suck!” James pouted as he sat shaking his head at the rest of the dorm. “I decide to join Debate Club and you all quit!”
“Sorry mate,” Rob said with a shrug. “We tried winning arguments with words, but now it’s time to resort to violence!”
“Huh?” James asked, looking confused.
“Martial Arts. Same time as Debate Club!” David said without even looking up from his own activity planning.
“Really?” James asked, staring at Josh and Rob, the former Debate Club members.
“Yeah!” Josh declared happily, reaching out to either side to put an arm around the other two boys. “We’re gonna be ninjas!”
“Mikey, you should join too. You could be our ginger ninja!” Rob grinned.
“Oh, like that’s a new one!” Mikey said, rolling his eyes.
“You’re quiet,” Danny whispered, leaning against Chris. “Everything okay about… you-know-what?”
Chris smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m getting used to it,” he said with a hint of a shrug. “I’m just… keen to see Mr Beecham!”
“Oh!” Danny said, grinning.
Shortly before the end of Year 7, Chris had misbehaved and earned himself a punishment from Mr Beecham, their Maths teacher and swimming coach. The disciplinary record, as included on his end-of-year report, described it as ‘inappropriate advances towards a member of staff’. The punishment it had earned him, on top of the stint of naked time that seemed to accompany most Kingswood punishments, was the ‘removal of sexual activity privileges’. Chris had been put in a chastity device and was to remain in it for two weeks. Unfortunately for him, that took him into the summer break which Mr Beecham had decided meant he would have to wait until the new term started before being released. As a result, Chris had now been without access to his own cock for the best part of 8 weeks.
“I messaged him but I didn’t get anything back yet and I need it off!” Chris whispered to Danny.
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Danny sniggered.
“No, seriously, I NEED it!” Chris hissed. “I…” he glanced round, making sure the others were still engrossed in their conversation about extracurriculars, “I tried… stuff… to try to… make me cum!”
“What kinda stuff?” Danny asked with an amused grin.
“Like… butt stuff. I… I heard that can make you… ya know… do it without touching!” Chris explained.
“No luck?” Danny smirked.
“It felt…” Chris started, blushing even heavier. “Good! REALLY… good, but…”
“Didn’t quite get you there, huh?” Danny asked, sniggering.
“Stop enjoying this!” Chris demanded. “And no, but it got me… close… and now all I can think about is cumming. I… feel like I could just… go off at any moment!”
“Ooh, sounds like a challenge!” Danny grinned, reaching out to tweak Chris’ nipple through his t-shirt.
“Piss off!” Chris replied, swatting Danny’s hand away. “And hands off! I’m gonna get unlocked, then nobody’s touching me til I’ve jerked off like a million times!”
“Sounds fun. Can I watch?” Danny teased, but got a growl in response and just laughed again.
As the two boys drifted back into the conversation with the others, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. As the boys shouted a collective, “Come in!” the door opened.
“Afternoon lads,” Mr Beecham said happily as he saw the boys collected down the end of the dorm. “Hope you all had a good summer!” A range of excitable shouts came back at him, and he nodded happily, though he couldn’t really pick out any single response from the noise.
Owen Beecham was one of the younger teachers at the school and, looking somewhat younger than his actual age, had occasionally been mistaken for a Year 13 student until he started sporting a hint of facial hair. While his daytime job was Maths teacher, his evenings and weekends were spent coaching the Swimming Club. His love of the pool meant he was in great shape, much to the delight of the boys at the Kingswood. In class, his perfectly fitted shirts showed off every muscle and bulge, his trousers hugging his ample butt. Round the pool he was often in a tracksuit, but occasionally joined the boys in the pool in a standard school-issue speedo. If Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ships, Owen Beecham was the body that launched a thousand cumshots!
Chris had jumped to his feet as soon as he saw the man who held the literal key to his release. He quickly hurried, hoping to get the man alone but Mr Beecham approached and placed an arm around Chris’ shoulder to guide him back to the others.
“Sir, are you here for… you know?” Chris asked as subtly as he could.
“He means are you gonna let him have his dick back!” Mikey called out with a snigger, getting a laugh from the others.
Chris’ punishment was certainly no secret. After all, it’s hard to keep being locked in chastity a secret when you spend most of two weeks wandering the school without clothes! He had still lived in hope the others had forgotten though. Clearly no such luck.
“Mikey,” Mr Beecham said, raising an eyebrow at the boy’s bluntness.
“Sorry Sir,” Mikey said in his absolute best ‘not remotely sorry’ tone.
“But yes, I was coming round to give one of our new Teaching Assistants a tour of the building and figured I’d let you out at the same time!” Mr Beecham said.
The cannier boys in the group noticed something amiss about his expression and exchanged glances.
“Okay, can we… go somewhere private?” Chris asked hopefully.
“Chris, this is Kingswood… what do you think?” the teacher asked, getting another laugh from the boys as Chris whimpered.
Over the last year he had grown to love humiliation, even crave it, but it seemed the summer break had gotten him out of the habit a little. “Fine,” he grumbled.
“Don’t take it personally, Chris. Having your unlocking seen by others is as important as the punishment itself. It’s not only a deterrent for them,” Mr Beecham said, gesturing to the boys watching, “But it also shows them you’ve served your sentence and, hopefully, learned from your mistakes!”
“Yes Sir,” Chris said with a dejected sigh.
“And as an added bonus, it’s a fantastic teaching opportunity for our new staff member,” the teacher added. He glanced round at the door, frowning as he called loudly, “If he ever catches up with me!”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” a voice called through the open door.
“No!” Chris said, eyes wide as he recognised the voice. He looked to Mr Beecham and repeated, “No!”
Before anyone could question his reaction, the new Teaching Assistant appeared at the door and stepped inside. The boys were in immediate uproar. “Alright lads,” Blane Smith said with a huge grin.
“No!” Chris repeated, sounding shocked as he stared at Mr Beecham. He turned to his older brother and added another, “No!” Back to Mr Beecham he added one more, “No!” before shaking his head in disbelief. “Blane. You… you… I… you…”
“Boys,” Mr Beecham said, barely containing his laughter. “I believe you’ve met our new Teaching Assistant, but just in case… please say hello to Blane Smith!”
“Hi Blane!” “Oh my god!” “He’s so pretty!” “Chris is gonna explode!”
“What are you doing here?” Chris asked.
“Chris,” Nicky whispered, leaning over the back of the sofa to tug at Chris’ hand. “I think he’s the new Teaching Assistant!”
The boys burst into laughter as Chris did, in fact, look ready to explode.
“Well, I actually trained as a teacher back home,” Blane explained, looking to the boys and ignoring his befuddled brother. “But I wanted to get qualified to teach here in England and when I saw the TA post here at Kingswood, how could I resist? I mean, Chris never shuts up about the place!”
“He never shuts up at all!” Danny said, getting a laugh from everyone but Chris.
“Well I’m sure you’ll all have a chance to get to know Blane eventually, but for now… we have business to take care of!” Mr Beecham said, nodding sternly.
There was a collective gasp from the boys as they realised that not only was Chris about to be unlocked in front of them, but also in front of his own big brother!
“Does he… need to be here?” Chris asked awkwardly, not even able to look his brother in the eye at the prospect of what was about to happen.
“Chris, this is a place of learning and… Blane needs to learn. Don’t you want him to be good at his new job?” Mr Beecham teased.
“I know what job I’d like him to be good at!” Mikey whispered to Nicky with a giggle.
“Hand or blow?” Nicky asked back.
“Why not both?” Mikey replied, the two boys bursting into fits of giggles.
“Does he really need to learn THIS?” Chris pouted.
“Hmm,” Mr Beecham said, nodding thoughtfully. “I mean, I could always put this off for another day. I think there’s a space in my diary… next Sunday!”
“No!” Chris yelped. Humiliating or not, he could NOT wait any longer. “Now!”
“Well, if you insist!” the young teacher said with a wry grin. “Well come on then, clothes off!”
“All… all of them?” Chris stuttered awkwardly.
“Oh relax, bro. I’ve seen you in your pants plenty of times,” Blane teased, then grinned and added, “And from what I hear, these guys have seen plenty more than that!”
Chris blushed profusely. What exactly did his brother know? How much of his Year 7 had been revealed to him? Not wanting to draw it out anymore, he pulled off his t-shirt, clutching it in front of his chest for a moment.
“WOOO! Who’s got some dollar bills?” Danny jeered playfully.
“We don’t have dollars here!” James muttered under his breath.
“Yeah, make it rain!” Mikey added, bouncing in his seat.
“Would you like to be next?” Mr Beecham asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Kinda,” Mikey muttered, then smirked and said, “No, Sir!”
Chris glowered at the other boys as he undid his jeans and pulled his socks off with his feet. He looked at Blane, hoping for a glimmer of mercy but all he got was a forced neutral expression as he did his best to not visibly enjoy his brother’s humiliation. With a slight whimper and sharp exhale through his nose, he took hold of his boxers. Closing his eyes, he shoved them down to the ground and then stood, doing his best to try and cover up the chastity device.
“Hnnh, and you’ve had that on all summer. No wonder you’ve been cranky!” Blane sniggered.
“We don’t tease!” Mr Beecham said, gently but with definite authority. He, of course, meant they don’t tease openly. It was almost a game to many of the teachers, finding ways to tease the boys without them even knowing. “Now, come closer. You’ll be shown how to take one of these off or put them on as part of your training anyway, but it can’t hurt to get see one in action!”
The boys were now all gathered on the two sofas that backed onto the open spot that Mr Beecham was using for the display, four of them kneeling on the seats and leaning on the back, the other three stood behind them, leaning on the other boys. While they whispered and giggled to each other, none of them overtly teased, more for fear of repercussion than any consideration for Chris. His love of humiliation was one of those open secrets in the dorm, the kind of thing everyone knew but never really discussed.
“Chris, hands at your sides,” Mr Beecham instructed as he squatted in front of him, then glanced up and gave a cheeky grin. “And keep them there!”
One of the less open secrets was the close bond Chris and the teacher had. When Chris had stayed at the school for his first half-term break of Year 7, Mr Beecham, or Owen as he had allowed the seven boys to call him, had been the allocated chaperone. Under the credo of ‘what happens at half-term, stays at half-term’ there had been much fooling around between the boys, which had eventually involved Owen too. While all of them had stuck to their vow of secrecy, the memory of it was still something that lingered.
Chris sighed as he dropped his hands the side, avoiding looking at his brother as Mr Beecham reached up to unlock the device and begin removing it. Now Chris was faced with a new problem. He hadn’t just gone eight weeks without cumming, he had gone eight weeks without a proper erection, the device allowing for some growth, not quite full. His attempts to resist popping a boner proved fruitless almost instantly. The second the front panel was removed his cock began to swell.
As if having his brother see his dick for the first time in years, with an audience, wasn’t bad enough, now Blane had a front row seat to watching it swell.
“Are they normally so… eager?” Blane asked, trying to sound inquisitive rather than amused.
“No,” Mr Beecham said, lying. “They’re normally a little more… restrained!”
Chris let out a moan at the comment, but it immediately morphed into a groan of pleasure as he felt Mr Beecham’s hands on his cock, removing the ring that encircled it. He had to handle it quite a lot to manoeuvre it out while erect, all while giving a running commentary to Blane on what to do. The watching boys continued to just observe and snigger amongst themselves.
“Now, it’s important to check for any sign of injury,” Mr Beecham instructed, taking hold of Chris’ cock and bending it to one side then the other.
As Chris let out another whimper, Danny whispered, “He’s gonna blow!”
“Nah, he’s not THAT bad!” Mikey disagreed.
“Bet ya a blow job he does!” Danny offered.
“Giving or receiving?” Mikey whispered.
“Both!” Danny grinned, getting an amused nod in response.
“You need to be thorough in checking every inch,” Mr Beecham went on, pressing Chris’ cock against his stomach with one hand, grasping his balls with the other. “Any little cut or graze could get infected, so we have to be sure,” he went on.
“Of course!” Blane agreed.
“Maybe… Mr Smith should examine Chris himself!” Mikey suggested politely with barely contained glee.
In a single moment that felt like it stretched out for hours, Chris looked from Mikey to Mr Beecham, to Blane and then down at his own cock as he gasped, “Oh shit!” An expression that mixed utter humiliation, euphoric pleasure and total disbelief spread across Chris’ face as he began to ejaculate. “Oh goddddd,” he whined as his cock throbbed with reluctant pleasure.
Silence filled the room, allowing the gentle ‘splut’ of semen hitting the floor to really carry and once that stopped, all they could hear was Chris’ heavy breathing, accented with occasional moans as he stood in pleasured shock.
“Safe to say it’s all in working order then!” Mr Beecham finally said with an amused grin, a laugh from the boys signalling the end of the silence.
Danny jumped to his feet and put an arm around Chris. “Fucking epic, mate,” he said, giving him a squeeze. The comment triggered a wave of similarly impressed or sympathetic comments from the others.
“I think I see why you like it here,” Blane said with a gentle nod.
Chris glanced down at the spatters of cum on the floor and blushed.
Blane caught his brother’s eye and shook his head, then nodded slightly towards Danny and the others, communicating wordlessly.
A broad grin spread across Chris’ face.
“Why don’t you get showered and then meet us downstairs in the foyer,” Mr Beecham suggested. “You two probably need to talk!”
“Yes Sir,” Chris said with a hearty sigh before heading to grab his towel and a change of clothes.
*****
Dinner had been a strange experience for the boys. They had all gone to eat together, it was a habit that had started right away in Year 7. Three meals a day, they were all together, always, and it looked set to continue into Year 8. What made it strange was where they sat.
The large Dining Hall consisted of seven long tables running parallel to each other, for the students, with another long table running across the head of the room for the teachers who chose to eat there. While the seven tables were not specified to each Year group, it always ended up that way. The Year 8 boys had expected to be on the same one as last year, but that had been commandeered by the Year 11 boys after their old table had been taken over by the new Year 7s.
“I know it’s not, like, a rule or anything,” James complained, “But… it kind of is!”
“Like an unwritten rule,” Rob said, smiling to himself at using his mentor’s words from earlier.
“Yes. Exactly!” James said as the boys wandered back up the stairs. “I mean, they just took it. They didn’t even ask!”
“Well they had to go somewhere, the Year 7s had theirs!” Rob argued back.
“Yeah,” James said, “And that’s part of the problem. Who let the new kids just… take what they want? I mean, they didn’t even ask either!”
“Did we ask when we chose our table last year?” Josh asked, genuinely asking but accidentally shutting down James’ argument as he realised they hadn’t.
“Ugh, fine!” James conceded. “And don’t get me started on this!” he added, gesturing to the door to their old dorm, a short way from the top of the stairs.
“Okay, we won’t!” Nicky said with a smirk, though they all knew it was too late anyway.
“Like, how much further is it to our dorm now?” James asked. “I’m gonna have to re-time everything! Getting to class, showering, getting to meals. All of it! Oh yeah, anyone know if they fixed the out of order shower yet? That’ll affect the flow of people through the shower room in the morning!”
“Yeah, fat chance of that happening!” Mikey smirked. It had become a regular source of amusement for the boys that one of the shower cubicles was marked as ‘out of order’ since before their first day at the school.
“Well that’s one less variable I suppose,” James said thoughtfully.
“Oh… my… god!” Chris said, shaking his head as he grabbed James in a playful headlock. “Mate, you have GOT to learn to relax!”
“Get off!” James said, struggling to get free. “I’ll relax when I…” he continued to struggle, “Know how much longer it takes…” Another pull against Chris’ grip. “To get from the old dorm to the new one!” As he pulled one more time, Chris let go and he went tumbling away. “Dick!” he grumbled as the others laughed at his fall.
“Hey, erm… before we go back in,” Nicky said, stepping ahead of the others and standing with his back to the door to the dorm, “I… kinda did something!”
“Oh, was that you? I figured it was Josh!” Rob said with a snigger, pretending to waft a smell away while holding his nose.
“No, that WAS me,” Josh said with a devilish grin, “But I don’t think that’s what he meant!”
“Oh, you mean the…” Rob said, unsubtly gesturing to Chris and Danny. “THEM thing! Cool!”
“Us?” Danny asked, frowning.
“We can totally undo it if you don’t like it,” Nicky said as he opened the door and backed inside. Danny and Chris followed him, with the rest of the boys close behind.
The beds in the dorm consisted of four bunk beds, two on each side of the room with their heads to the wall and feet towards the middle. Each pair was separated by a gap of less than a metre. In Year 7, the bunks on the right had been home to Chris and Danny on the top bunks, with Mikey and Nicky beneath, while other side was David and James up top with Josh and Rob at the bottom. By mutual agreement, the top bunks and bottom bunks had been swapped for this year, but another change had seemingly been made since Chris and Danny left the dorm earlier.
The bunks on the right of the dorm had been pushed together, effectively making Chris and Danny’s bottom bunks into one large bed, while the ones above were just as close, but separated by the guard rail that surround all the top bunks.
“We figured one of you always ends up moving over to the other, so why not save time and just put your beds together!” Nicky said, blushing a little. It clearly seemed to have been his idea.
“That’s…” Danny went to say, then glanced at Chris. There was a slight moment of awkwardness. They had established that Danny’s new relationship wouldn’t affect their sleeping arrangements, but the hesitation was still there. As he got a slight nod from Chris, he grinned and said, “That’s really cool guys, thank you!”
“Yeah, awesome, thanks!” Chris said, smiling.
“Well go on then. Try it out!” Mikey urged, virtually pushing them towards it.
The two boys climbed on, laying side by side for a moment. “Oh my god!” Danny declared. “I get Chris-cuddles AND personal space. This is perfect!”
Chris chuckled as he rolled onto his side and nuzzled against his best friend. “Yeah, this works for me,” he said happily.
“But what about you two?” Danny asked, nodding towards the top bunks.
Nicky shrugged. “I had his snoring up close all Summer when he stayed in my room. I’m kinda used to it now!” he said, getting a giggle from the others as he put an arm around Mikey.
The other boy rolled his eyes at the comment, trying to look annoyed but as Nicky went to pull away, he kept hold of him as subtly as he could.
“Okay,” David said happily he sat down onto his own bunk. “I wasn’t sure about the new dorm, but we’ve got a Chris and Danny cuddle. Now it feels a lot more like home!”
As the others hummed or declared their agreement, Mikey suddenly pulled away from Nicky and called out, “Wait wait wait wait. Not yet it doesn’t!” As the others looked on in confusion, Mikey ran to his wardrobe and opened up the small bag in the bottom. He quickly scurried back down the dorm, plugged something in and then stood aside.
“Ohhh!” the others said, seeing the digital photo frame they had gotten the previous year, the one that had filled up over the months with pictures of every special occasion and memorable moment.
The screen loaded up, a group picture of the boys appearing as Mikey declared, “NOW it feels like home!” The comment drew a fairly equal mix of appreciation and mockery from the others.
The rest of the evening passed, with a couple of the boys going off for their start-of-year meetings with Mr Trent while the others hung around the dorm, played out in the school grounds or visited the Common Room, playing ‘spot the most nervous Year 7’.
As time for lights-out grew closer, Mr Trent appeared at their door and gave a weary but accepting look to the two bunks pushed together. Seeing most of the boys were already in or on their bunks, he smiled with very visible relief. “Ugh, good to see some things don’t change. Back round in a bit, lads.”
The show of good behaviour was the result of Rob’s suggestion at the beginning of Year 7 to give the impression they were dependable. In his experience, an adult who believed you were always behaved was more likely to cut you some slack when you bend the rules a little. It had proven effective, in that Mr Trent checked up on them substantially less than some of the other dorms. Their habit looked set to continue.
“Enjoying the double bed?” Nicky asked, peering over the side of his bunk to the two boys below.
“So. Much. Space!” Danny declared happily, sprawling out to prove the point and almost slapping Chris in the face.
“Have you realised the other reason Nicky thought of this yet?” Mikey asked, peering down from the opposite side.
“Erm… no,” Chris answered cautiously, giving Danny a puzzled look.
“Well, ya see,” Nicky said, grabbing hold of the guard rail around his bunk. “Having all that space…” he leaned down over the side, holding himself up, his arms straining, “Means that you have…” He flipped round, let go and landed gracefully on the ground, getting polite applause from the other boys. He took a bow and grinned, then finished, “For visitors!” He jumped onto the bed with Chris and Danny.
“Ooh, me too!” Mikey declared, attempting a similar dismount to Nicky and failing miserably. He fell to the ground with a thud a rather loud, “FUCK IT!” before being grabbed by Chris and pulled onto the bed.
The four boys quickly became a tangle of limbs and giggles.
Rob stared over at the crowded bunk and let out a gentle sigh. During the previous year, the four cuddling boys had become exceptionally close. In fact, Rob, along with David, Josh and James had placed bets on which of them would end up as a couple. Rob couldn’t help wondering if sex had been the great unifier of the little group. Chris and Nicky had never been locked in chastity, already beginning their sexual maturity before arriving at the school, while Mikey and Danny had both been released halfway through the first term. Since then, he had seen that half of the dorm grow closer each day.
Now that Rob was on the brink of his own freedom, he couldn’t help wondering if that might somehow give him membership into their little club, although would he need it? He had his first date with Alex to look forward to.