The Kingswood Eight - Chapter 16 (Patreon)
Content
Wednesday 2 December 2020
“So how are we all doing today?” Mr Trent asked as he walked into dorm 1.05.
The boys looked back at him, murmuring a quiet range of unenthusiastic responses. To say the mood in the dorm was low would be the most colossal of understatements. Monday night they had all found out Chris and Danny had gone missing in the woods. Thankfully, the news had been kept from them most of the day, so it was only an hour between them being told and their two friends being found.
The momentary delight at the news of their discovery had been quickly dampened by the revelation that both boys were hurt, especially Danny who was in a critical condition. What followed was a very tearful and sleepless night in the dorm, resulting in a very fraught and irate Tuesday and then yet another unpleasant night while they all awaited more news.
“So I do have some good news,” Mr Trent said, smiling warmly at the six boys staring at him. “Chris is doing exceptionally well, and he may be back here today, or tomorrow at the very latest!”
There was a quiet cheer followed by several happy comments from the boys, in particular Nicky and Mikey, delighted at the thought of having their boyfriend back.
“Sir… what about Danny?” Rob asked, feeling the tension in the room at the mere mention of his name.
Mr Trent nodded solemnly. “Well… there’s not really any news this morning,” the teacher explained. “But… he’s still in a critical condition. It’s too soon to know much more, but his doctors are… optimistic.”
“Is he awake yet?” David asked meekly.
Mr Trent hesitated a moment. It would have been so easy to lie to the boys, to give them bland platitudes or false hope, but in the long run it could well do more harm than good and with honesty being one of the school’s core values, he simply couldn’t do it. He shook his head slightly and said, “Not yet, but hopefully today’s the day.”
“Can we go and see him?” Mikey asked hopefully.
Mr Trent shook his head again. “I’m afraid… things are still a little restricted because of the pandemic so visitors are still very limited. Blane has been staying at the hospital to support Chris but he’s also keeping an eye on Danny, so he’s not alone. Danny’s family are visiting too. Also, from what I’m told, Chris has spent more time in Danny’s room than his own!”
Some of the boys chuckled, unsurprised by the sound of Chris’ actions.
“So they’re really at capacity already,” Mr Trent explained. “I did… have an idea I thought you boys might like though. I thought it might be nice… for those of you want to… to record a message for Danny that we can send to Blane who can play them for him!”
“We should just send a video of Mikey being mean. Danny’d wake up just to threaten to flick him!” James called out, playfully trying to flick Mikey’s ear the way Danny often did.
The other boys all laughed, even Mikey who shrugged as he swatted James’ hand away and said, “Hey, if it helps, I’m in!”
Mr Trent smiled, glad to see the boys weren’t too downhearted. “I tell you what. You just send your videos to me and I’ll pass them on. I promise not to watch them and I’ll make sure Blane doesn’t either so… say whatever you like!” He gave the boys a playful wink.
*****
“Morning bro,” Blane said with a chuckle as he nudged Chris’ shoulder.
Chris snorted and suddenly sat up, blinking for a moment as he looked at Danny, then glanced round at Blane. “Buh…” he mumbled, utterly incoherent.
“You do know if you don’t get proper rest, they’ll just keep you in here longer!” Blane said, shaking his head as he pulled up a seat beside his little brother.
“Good!” Chris croaked, then cleared his throat. “Then I get to stay with Danny longer!” he grinned.
“Sorry pup, you’re going home whether you like it or not!” Blane said, patting Chris on the back gently. He was still being very delicate with the boy. While Chris’ injuries were minor compared to Danny’s, he was still pretty banged up, most of his body bearing either a cut or a bruise from his two painful falls.
“They’ll have to drag me out of here if they want me to leave!” Chris insisted petulantly.
“Yeah, considering the tool you’ve acted so far, it wouldn’t surprise me if they already had plans to do just that,” Blane said, knowing he should probably be a bit more strict but quite impressed by his little brother’s loyalty and dedication to Danny.
Chris sighed as he took hold of Danny’s hand. He had fallen asleep holding it, but it had slipped out while he snoozed at his friend’s bedside. “Blane, I don’t wanna leave him!” he said sadly.
“You’re not!” Blane insisted. “You’re going home and waiting for him to join ya!”
Chris chuckled. “That’s… a good way to think of it!” he admitted.
“And you won’t be the only one either. The others are all missing both of you,” Blane explained. “In fact, they’ve all got some messages for Danny. I thought you might wanna play them for him!” He handed over his tablet, a window open showing seven video files. As Chris took it from him, he stood, leaned down to kiss his little brother on the forehead as he ruffed his hair, then headed out to leave the two boys together.
“Ya hear that, mate?” Chris asked, grinning at the unconscious body as if he were staring back at him. “Messages from home. How many o’ them d’ya think are gonna cry?” He waited a moment and let out a gentle sigh. Every time he spoke to his best friend, he hoped he would wake up with some smart-arse answer, but every time he got nothing. That was never going to stop him hoping though. “Come on then, let’s get comfy!”
Chris moved the chair closer, leaning in as he held the tablet for Danny to ‘watch’ the videos with him.
“Hey Danny!” Nicky said as he appeared on screen. “You’ve gotta hurry back. I know I’ll have my other boyfriend back soon… hey Chris, by the way… but what can I say? Two guys just isn’t enough for a greedy bitch like me. I need my side piece back too. Get well soon!”
Chris chuckled at the message from his boyfriend. The thought of going home without Danny was hard but having Nicky and Mikey waiting for him certainly softened the blow. He clicked play on the next one.
“Daniel,” James stated very formally as he appeared on screen. “Research into whether people in comas can hear or not is… inconclusive and you know I don’t like not knowing things, so I’m recording this message as a test. You’re now part of one of my experiments, which means you have to get better and come back so you can tell me the results. So… p… please get well soon!”
“Danny, you’re such a bastard!” Rob said as Chris started his video. “You… load me up with all this… stuff about needing me and me being the only other sane one in the dorm and then you sod off and leave me with all these lunatics!” He paused, smirking as he shook his head. He sighed as he looked thoughtful and said, “Don’t worry though, I know you believe in me, so… I can do it. I’ll look after these idiots until you’re back to help me! Speedy recovery. We’ll talk when you wake up!”
Chris paused a few moments before starting the next one, staring at Danny, hoping for some kind of reaction. “Fine, be like that,” Chris sniggered as he shook his head and played the next one.
“Danny,” David said, sniffing back tears.
Chris’ hand tightened on Danny’s.
“I know you’re hurt bad and probably in a lot of pain, but if anyone can get through this it’s you. You are the bravest, toughest, kindest guy I know and you’re my hero, so please come back soon. I miss you!” David’s video finished.
“What a little suck-up,” Chris sniggered, wiping his cheek, once again hoping for a reaction. “On we go,” he said as he hit play again.
“Danny, you saved my life,” Josh said, smiling as he appeared on screen. “And since then you’ve just… saved me from so much pain and it sucks that I can’t do anything to return the favour. I know you’ll be back soon though, you have to be. Kingswood isn’t Kingswood without you!”
Chris frowned as he played the next one. Having seen seven, he expected one each from the other boys in the dorm with the seventh from maybe Brian or Joseph, perhaps even Kyle or Adrian, but it was Mr Trent who appeared on screen.
“Hi Danny… and you Chris, because I know you’ll be watching this too. Why? Why is it ALWAYS you two? I swear you go looking for trouble! Although life would certainly be a lot less interesting without the two of you around, that’s why I want you to both hurry back soon,” Mr Trent said, smiling warmly. “Chris, Blane’s told me all about how you looked after Danny when you were stuck and I could not be any prouder of your bravery and friendship and resilience. You did an amazing job, now come back and let US look after YOU while the hospital fixes Danny up. And Danny, you are one tough little git and I look forward to your return. I’ll see you soon, I’m certain of it!”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Chris said, looking at Danny. He narrowed his eyes a little and said, “I still can’t believe you kissed him!” He leaned in close but saw nothing. “Ugh, I was sure that one’d get ya! Oh well, one to go. This has gotta be Mikey. Get ready, he’ll probably shout at you til you wake up!”
Chris pressed the button and smiled as his other boyfriend appeared on screen. Mikey opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, shaking his head a little. He took a deep breath and tried again. It happened two more times, the ginger boy looking increasingly upset on each failed attempt. Finally, on his fifth try he just stared straight at the camera and said, “Please be okay!” There was the slight sound of a sniff as he reached out to stop the video.
“Ugh, Mikey,” Chris groaned, wanting desperately to make the other boy feel better. “Well,” he said, placing the tablet down. “They all did one, so I guess I should too, although you get the live version,” He took Danny’s hand between both of his own. “So… Danny… you’re gonna wake up… and you’re gonna get better… and you’re coming back to Kingswood because… well… because I said so. It’s just as simple as that.” He leaned down, resting his head against Danny’s as he repeated softly. “You’re coming back!”
“Yes Sir,” Danny whispered, squeezing Chris’ hand.
*****
Saturday 12 December 2020
As Chris sat trying to eat breakfast, he continued in his new duty as relay of Danny-related information. Although all the boys in the dorm had video called him over the past week to catch up with him, Chris was still seen as the best source of knowledge, and he was finding Danny’s influence had seemingly spread wider than he ever expected. He had boys from other dorms and even other years constantly approaching him for updates.
Annoying as he found the constant interruptions, it was nice to see his best friend was so cared about and missed. Chris missed him more than any of them, which was what made what he was about to do even harder.
Letting out a sigh as he finally managed to finish his breakfast, he glanced over at the Year 11 table where Brian, Chris’ mentor/Danny’s boyfriend was sat staring sullenly down at his plate. Chris stood and wandered over, greeting the other boys around Brian as he approached.
“Morning Chris,” Brian said, putting on the smile he always seemed to put on around Chris lately.
“How’s Danny?” Sam asked as Chris stood behind his mentor.
“Good,” Chris said, nodding. “Well… good-ish. He’s so freaking impatient! He seemed to think he’d be up and running around like normal by now, but still, he’s recovering WAAAAY faster than the doctors expected,” Chris explained.
“Excellent, can’t wait to see him back,” Sam replied cheerfully.
Chris smiled back at Sam, then looked to Brian and asked, “What are your plans today?”
“Moping around with occasional bouts of brooding!” Joseph quickly interjected, getting a snigger from some of the others and a punch in the arm from Brian.
“Erm… just the… usual Saturday stuff I suppose. Why? D’ya need me?” Brian asked, as worried as everyone else about the impact the whole ordeal might have had on Chris.
“I was thinking you might… fancy a trip to the hospital!” Chris suggested with a sweet smile.
Brian smirked and shook his head. “We already covered this. One visitor per day, that’s the limit. As much as I love the whole ‘sitting on my shoulders in a giant trench coat’ approach to sneak two of us in, I think that only works in cartoons.”
Chris giggled at the mental image, then shook his head and said, “I was thinking maybe you go instead of me today!”
“You don’t… want to?” Brian asked, slightly concerned.
“Course I want to, ya daft gobshite,” Chris said bluntly, getting a momentary look of surprise from the older boys followed by laughter. Smiling at the reaction, Chris explained, “It’s just… I’ve been able to see him in person a few times and you haven’t. So with him transferring to the other hospital tomorrow, it’ll probably be a while, so I thought… it’d be nice for you to see him in person before he goes.”
Brian just stared back, jaw flapping a little as he tried to speak.
“He’s totally gonna cry,” Joseph whispered to Sam. It earned him a spoon thrown at his face.
“Are you sure?” Brian asked, now determined not to cry just to spite Joseph.
Chris shrugged. “He’s my best mate, but he’s your boyfriend. I think I need to learn to share!” he said, giving a meek smile.
Brian stood up and grabbed Chris in an ecstatic hug. “You really are the best!” he whispered.
“I have a good mentor,” Chris chuckled back. He pulled away a little and said, “You’d best go get ready. Blane’ll be leaving soon. I’ll let him know you’re going in my place!”
Brian gave Chris another quick squeeze, kissed him on the forehead then hurried out to get ready.
As Chris stood watching his mentor leave, he suddenly heard from behind him in a fake ‘old person’ voice. “Oh, what a nice young man!” It was Joseph.
“Such a little sweetheart,” Sam joined in, in a similar tone.
“These kids today. So considerate!” Joseph continued to mock.
“Dickheads!” Chris said, shaking his head as he smirked and walked away.
“That’s no way to speak to your elders!” Joseph called after him.
As Chris glanced over at the rest of the dorm, he decided there was something else he needed to do. A quick look at the Year 13 table and he couldn’t see who he wanted, so he headed out of the Dining Hall and headed upstairs instead. He limped along to dorm 3.29, the sprained ankle he had suffered in the accident healing well but still with a way to go. He knocked and waited a moment.
Inside, he could hear a sudden flurry of movement, but nobody came to the door so he knocked again.
“Who is it?” a voice called from inside.
“It’s Chris…” he called back, then figured he might need to offer a little more and added, “Smith… from year eight!”
The door suddenly opened and a relieved-looking Casey Harper answered the door, dressed only in shorts. Casey was a boy Chris had gotten to know the previous year and shared a very eventful week with back in his first half-term. One of the ‘events’ of that week was Casey getting together with Gabriel, a former student at the school who had now come back to work there. Their relationship was legal, but against school rules, so it had been kept top secret, though Chris was one of the few people in the school who knew about it. He suddenly understood the hesitation in answering the door when he saw Gabriel laying in Casey’s bed, naked from the waist up… and probably from the waist down too, though the covers concealed it.
Chris certainly enjoyed the view. Casey himself was a stunningly attractive man. The first day he met him, Chris had compared him to Clark Kent but now, half-naked and without his glasses, he was much more like Superman, with the bulging muscles and classic good looks. Gabriel, while substantially smaller, was also a real looker, with his neatly-trimmed facial hair, beautiful eyes and a well-toned chest peppered with dark hair.
As much as Chris would have been happy to just stand and stare, the illicit pair were understandably reluctant to keep the door open longer than was necessary, so Casey grabbed Chris and pulled him into the room, closing the door behind him.
“And what are you two up to?” Chris asked with a massive grin.
“Discussing whether Michaelangelo really deserves the title of greatest sculptor of all time!” Gabriel answered.
“Wait, really?” Chris asked, frowning.
As Gabriel laughed, Casey shook his head and said, “No ya daft little twat, what does it look like? We were having sex!”
Chris rolled his eyes, having fallen for the sarcastic comment, but then moved to the desk and sat down as he said, “Well don’t let me stop you. I can wait!”
“Chris, we’re not having sex with you watching!” Gabriel said, shaking his head disapprovingly.
Chris’ grin broadened at the response as he replied, “Oh, then I’d love to join you, thanks for asking!”
As Gabe replied with a stern, “No!” Casey offered a cheerful, “Okay!”
The two young men looked at each other for a moment.
“Case, he’s, like, twelve!” Gabe said disapprovingly.
“Thirteen!” Chris quickly interjected.
“Oh by all means, hop in then!” Gabe said, throwing back the covers to highlight his sarcasm, but immediately blushed and covered back up as he realised all he had done was expose himself to the boy.
“Gladly!” Chris said, catching the sarcasm this time but choosing to ignore it. He jumped onto the bed and straddled Gabe, then looked down at him and declared, “Ooh, I like the view!”
“Case!” Gabe said, raising his eyebrows at his boyfriend, hoping to get some assistance.
“Yeah,” Casey nodded, “This isn’t right!” He moved towards a dejected-looking Chris, then smirked as he reached down and pulled the boy’s t-shirt off over his head. “There. Much better!” he chuckled, though he visibly winced at the sight of the cuts, grazes and bruises half-healed all over Chris.
“Not what I meant!” Gabe growled. “He’s a kid… and there are rules!”
“You mean the rules we ignore every day?” Casey replied, standing beside the bed as he let an arm drape around Chris’ shoulders, his hand resting on the boy’s chest. “And if I recall correctly, you had no problem being with Paul when he was not much older than Chris and getting off with a much older guy together!”
“That’s… different!” Gabe tried to argue, watching as Chris playfully pulled Casey’s shorts down.
“Different how?” Casey asked, now naked, pulling Chris against him.
Gabe’s eyes darted between his boyfriend’s hand on Chris’ chest and Chris’ hand stroking Casey’s thigh. “It… just is…” he argued weakly.
As Gabe stared up at him, Casey gave a sad, pleading look, then nodded to Chris as he mouthed, “Please!”
Gabe sighed. While Chris was a very attractive boy and his advances were both entertaining and surprisingly arousing, he still had his concerns about the moral side of what was on the brink of happening. Had it been any other boy, it would have been an outright no, but then had it been any other boy, Casey wouldn’t have been asking!
Casey had been there, ten days earlier, when Chris and Danny had gone missing. Knowing Chris and being involved in the game that led to the accident, Casey had taken the disappearance and news of the boys’ injuries hard. “If I’d just guarded Chris better, they never would have been in a position to wander off into the woods!” Casey had insisted tearfully several hours into the search. This encounter, bizarre as it may seem, appeared to be Casey’s way of trying to make things up to the boy.
“Fine, go on then!” Gabe finally conceded.
“Yussss!” Chris hissed excitedly, immediately reaching his hands out to caress Gabe’s torso. “I like playing with hairy chests!” he declared happily.
Casey and Gabe exchanged glances before Casey asked, “Oh really? And whose hairy chest have you been playing with? I’ve seen the guys in your dorm and you’ve got like ten body hairs between you!”
Chris bit his lip and screwed up his face a little, realising he had given away more than he should. He had no intention of telling them everything, his encounter with Danny and Mr Trent an even stricter secret than his encounters with Mr Beecham, but he could at least give them something. “Well let’s just say Gabe’s not the only rulebreaker working here!”
“Wow, there’s a shock!” Casey sniggered, shaking his head. “Stand up!”
Chris climbed to his feet, putting most of his weight on his uninjured ankle, then steadied himself by grabbing Casey’s shoulder as the older student pulled down his sweatpants and underwear. As he was helped back down into his previous position straddling Gabe, Casey removed the clothing along with his trainers and socks. Chris let out a slight whimper of pain as the footwear was removed from his injured ankle.
Casey looked visibly distraught at the noise, but remained behind Chris’ back so the boy didn’t see. Gabe noticed and reached out to stroke his boyfriend’s arm. Smiling back, Casey climbed on behind Chris and wrapped himself around the boy. He couldn’t help thinking of the first time they had done anything together. Casey had been subjected to a ‘dare’ that banned him from touching himself for the night, but Chris had climbed into bed with him, mainly to avoid sleeping alone, but while he was there he had given Casey the ‘relief’ he needed.
Chris let out a happy moan as he felt the muscular young man’s arms holding tightly onto him, his large, strong hands touching him all over with surprising delicacy. Chris’ own hands continued their exploration of Gabe’s torso. Of all the guys who had been at the school during the half-term break that Chris had met, Gabe was the only one Chris had not been involved with physically, so this felt like he was completing the set.
Gabe stared up at the two figures looming over him. Chris’ pubis looked like it had been fairly recently shaved, with the hairs only just starting to grow back, which only served to highlight his youthful appearance, his cock rigid at its full ten centimetres, one of the few body parts not bearing any wounds. Gabe’s own cock had firmed up quickly at the sight of his boyfriend with the boy. Chris alone did little for him, but seeing Casey with the boy was making him guiltily excited.
“Kiss him!” Gabe muttered, not even realising he was saying it.
Chris leaned to the side and looked back, staring at Casey nervously. They had fooled around together before, but kissing had not been part of it. As the older student’s lips met his own, Chris mewed happily into his mouth as he felt a strong hand on the back of his head, holding him but not forcefully. Chris liked kisses. Every guy he had kissed just seemed so different. Kyle had always been very enthusiastic, tongue darting round quickly as he gripped tightly, as if afraid of it ending. Mikey was firm and passionate. Nicky was much more delicate, his tongue only occasionally exploring Chris’ mouth while his hands tended to stroke rather than hold. Casey, like the rest, had his own style, giving more a series of quick, playful kisses than one long lingering smooch.
“I probably shouldn’t find that as hot as I do,” Gabe growled, shaking his head a little.
Chris giggled as he wiggled back and forth on the young man’s crotch and said, “Wow, you really do, don’t you!”
Gabe let out a low groan as Chris rubbed on his erection.
“Were you two gonna fuck?” Chris asked gleefully. Without waiting for the inevitable answer, he added, “Can I watch? Who’s the top? Or do you switch? Can I see it both ways?”
“Woah, easy there buddy,” Casey giggled, reaching down and kissing the boy’s neck. “We don’t normally even play with anyone else!”
“Oh, I… sorry…” Chris stuttered. “I just… assumed. Should I…”
“Shhh,” Casey whispered in his ear. “Everything’s fine. But I think we’re gonna save the fucking for just us!”
Gabe looked up at his boyfriend and smiled, nodding his understanding and appreciation. “But anything else you wanna do, little man… knock yourself out!”
“Not… literally,” Casey added with a snigger. “You seem pretty clumsy!” He gently stroked his hand down a bruise on the boy’s arm.
“Hnnh, yeah,” Chris giggled playfully. “But… I kinda like the idea of… sucking you both… while you’re making out!”
“Oh, now THAT sounds like a plan!” Casey declared happily. He gave Chris’ neck a parting kiss then flopped down onto the bed beside Gabe. He tilted his head to the side and said playfully, “Hey lover!”
Gabe chuckled back, then leaned in to kiss him.
Chris sat watching them kiss for a few moments, casually stroking his own cock before pulling back the covers to expose the rest of Gabe. He let out a happy moan at the sight of the naked couple. Casey, all bulging muscles and smooth skin with an impressively girthy cock. Gabe so toned and neatly furry with a pleasantly lengthy tool. Leaning down, he decided to start sucking Casey first, more comfortable in the ‘familiar territory’, though he let his hand raise to stroke Gabe’s cock. Both of them felt so different than the dicks of the boys he played with more regularly. His mind wandered for a moment onto how much his own and his friends’ penises would grow, but he soon found his attention back on the two dicks before him.
“Mmm, I like this,” Casey mumbled dreamily as he parted from Gabe. “It’s like we outsourced cock sucking duties!”
“Like hired help, but free!” Gabe chuckled back before they started kissing again.
Chris blushed a little. He knew the two were joking, but being treated like ‘the help’ or some kind of sex object always gave him a bit of a thrill. With one hand on the bed to hold himself up and avoid gagging on Casey’s dick and the other stroking Gabe, it meant his own erection was going without the attention he so desperately wanted to give it. Prompted more by the ache of his lingering injuries than any sexual desire, he switched position and began sucking on Gabe’s boner instead, getting a moan from Casey as the warm wetness of the mouth was pulled away.
Considering his initial reluctance, having Casey’s lips against his own and Chris’ lips around his throbbing hard-on, Gabe now seemed perfectly content with what was happening.
Chris continued his sucking, occasionally switching between the two, gradually pushing them closer and closer to cumming.
“Here, try this,” Casey eventually said, reaching out to grab the boy. He positioned Chris laying in between them, but in opposite directions, his crotch between their heads.
Chris watched in delight as they both moved in, Gabe sucking on his dick while Casey lapped at his smooth balls. He was so caught up in the feeling he stopped playing with their cocks in return until Gabe whipped his hips to the side and slapped Chris’ cheek with it.
After the laughter of the cock-slap stopped, Chris got back to work while the two young men worked his cock towards release.
“Unnnh, guys, I’m gonna cum,” Chris moaned as they worked his small dick.
In a three-way relay of orgasmic bliss, Chris shot first, covering his smooth stomach with spunk, followed by Gabe who spurted his load over Chris’ face and finally Casey who dribbled several hefty spurts of spunk onto his fist and abs as he stroked himself over the finish line. All three lay catching their collective breaths for several moments before Gabe climbed off of the bed.
Chris quickly scurried round as Casey shuffled back to sit upright, placing an arm around the younger boy who happily rested against him.
Gabe was pulling on his clothes already as he watched the two cuddle together. “Well I gotta run, my shift starts soon!” Gabe explained. As he finished doing up his belt, he leaned onto the bed and over Chris’ head to give Casey a lingering kiss and whispered, “See ya later!”
As Gabe pulled back, Chris pursed his lips playfully. Gabe let out a hearty laugh and shook his head. “And I’ll see you around, Chris!” he said, then leaned down and pecked the boy on the lips. Before pulling away he whispered, “I’m glad you’re okay!” He headed for the door, looked back for a moment then left, smiling.
“ARE you?” Casey asked as the door closed, looking down at Crhis. “Okay, I mean!” he clarified.
Chris sighed. “It’s funny, everyone’s acting like I shouldn’t be. Ya know, like I should be all… twisty or traumatised or whatever but… I’m really okay! Well… except for… one thing!”
“Which I’m guessing is what you came to see me for. Let’s hear it,” Casey encouraged Chris, letting his hand casually stroke the boy’s stomach.
Chris sighed even heavier. “Well it’s just… I remember… you telling me that… you used to… be afraid of the dark!”
“Yeah,” Casey said, nodding gently. It was an embarrassing secret Gabe had revealed to Chris and the other boys, but it had actually brought Casey and Chris closer together. “So I take it that means you’re… having some issues with it?”
Chris nodded. “It’s just that… it was so dark down there and… now I… I don’t like it when it’s dark and I know YOU got over it. So I was just wondering… how?”
“MOSTLY got over it,” Casey corrected him. “I seem to remember being pretty grateful for you holding my hand during that power cut!”
Chris chuckled and nuzzled against the older student. “Oh yeah, that was cute!” he said happily.
“I’m pleased I can entertain you,” Casey said wryly. “But if you wanna know how I dealt with it… I dunno, maybe speak to Dr Arkwright if you want proper professional advice, but with me he just got me to think about what I was actually afraid of. For me, and for a lot of people, it was all about… not knowing what was there, not knowing what I couldn’t see.”
“So how did you deal with that?” Chris asked, frowning a little.
“I guess… by remembering that what‘s there when it’s dark is just the same as what’s there when it’s not,” Casey explained. “So, like, if I’m in bed and it’s dark and I get a bit… antsy… I just focus on what I KNOW is real. So… I can feel my bed beneath me and the covers on top of me. I can hear Ryder over there snoring on his bunk, cos fuck me, he can snore. That sorta thing.”
“Hnnh, and that works?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, usually!” Casey replied.
“And when it doesn’t?” Chris asked curiously.
“Then… I normally end up in Ryder’s bed with him, even now at eighteen!” Casey revealed, blushing a little. “And if you ever tell anyone that, I will literally kill you!” he threatened.
Chris laughed and nodded. “Your secret’s safe with me!”
*****
Sunday 13 December 2020
“I’m just a terrible person!” Rob whined, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes.
“I like being able to hang out in here,” Alex replied, glancing round his dorm as he sat on the sofa with Rob at his side.
“If someone told me they were thinking what I’m thinking, I’d think they were a terrible person… I think!” Rob mused, opening his eyes and replacing his glasses.
“And I like not having to hide from my roommates anymore too. That’s a DEFINITE bonus!” Alex went on, having recently reconciled with the peers he had been at odds with for so long. He no longer felt unwanted in his own dorm.
“Are you even listening to me?” Rob demanded sharply.
“Listening? Yes. Caring? No!” Alex answered bluntly before returning to his own point and adding, “We’re not all, like, best mates and stuff in here yet, but things are getting better all the time. Luke and Patrick even invited me to their usual gaming evening. I know it’s not exactly a marriage proposal, but… it’s nice to feel wanted. Doc Arkwright says it’s important to focus on the positives!”
“I’m… happy for you,” Rob said, torn between his genuine happiness for the improvement he had helped bring about in Alex’s life and his annoyance at seemingly being ignored.
“Oh yeah, you really sound it,” Alex said sarcastically.
“And you sound interested in my stuff, do you?” Rob asked moodily.
“No, but that’s because your stuff is just made up in your own head and I think the responsible thing for me to do is not to encourage that!” Alex explained.
“But… but…” Rob stuttered.
“But nothing!” Alex said sharply. He sighed and reached the side, pulling Rob into a quick hug before giving him a peck on the cheek. “Rob, I love you, but you turn teenage angst into an art form… and you’re not even a teenager yet!”
“It’s not angst!” Rob pouted, gently shoving Alex away.
“Okay, one sec,” Alex said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He tapped away for a few moments then said, “Here ya go. Angst. Informal. A feeling of persistent worry about something trivial!”
“A friend being injured to the point of paralysis is NOT trivial!” Rob snapped.
Alex sighed and shook his head. “One,” he raised a finger, “He’s not paralysed, he’s already moving. Two,” he raised another finger, “Your… moping isn’t about his injuries, it’s about you being happy you get to be the one to look after everyone because he’s not around. And three,” he raised a third finger, “Okay, there is no three, so just… shut up and get over it!”
“Fine, well… one,” Rob raised a finger, mocking Alex. “He WAS paralysed, so my point still stands. Two,” a second finger went up, “I think it’s fair to feel bad about being happy a friend’s not around. And three,” he raised a third finger, “No, you shut up, dickface!”
Alex huffed and shook his head. “It’s not like you’re wishing him any harm, you’re just appreciating him not being around. And you know when he’s back you’ll be as happy as the rest of your freaky little love shack of a dorm. It’s okay to think bad things. You only need to worry when bad thoughts become bad actions!”
“Why does that sound like it came from a fortune cookie?” Rob frowned.
“Because it did, but that doesn’t make it any less true! Now, I was saying I like being able to hang out with you in here and you didn’t even have the decency to ask why!” Alex pouted.
Rob sighed and asked, “Why?”
“So I can do this!” Alex said, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend.
As the two boys melted into each other, they slid down on the sofa until they were almost laying together, Alex on top. He pulled away a little and smiled.
“Yeah, I think I like being able to hang out in here too,” Rob giggled playfully.
“And I can do this too,” Alex said, biting his lip seductively as he reached down into Rob’s rugby shorts, the boy already dressed for the morning’s activity.
“Okay, I… unnnh…” Rob grunted, “I really like… being able to hang out… here!”
“I can’t believe I waited months to start doing this,” Alex said, shaking his head.
Rob smirked. “Oh, was it because of all the teenage angst?” he teased.
“Word of advice, little boy,” Alex growled. “Don’t mock the guy who’s literally got you by the balls!” He gave Rob’s balls a playful squeeze.
“Ow,” Rob whined, though the corner of his mouth curled up into a smile to let Alex know he hadn’t really hurt him.
Alex sniggered as he stroked Rob’s dick. “I’m gonna make you cum in your pants,” Alex informed him. “Then you’re gonna go off to rugby and think of me every time you feel the wetness!”
“I already think of you all the time,” Rob said, reaching up to stroke the older boy’s cheek.
“That’s sweet,” Alex smiled, “But I’m still making you cum in your pants!” He continued stroking fast. He froze as he heard the door open. He immediately sat up, looking guilty, but continued playing with Rob as he looked over the back of the sofa to the far end of the dorm.
“Oh hey,” Isaac said as he saw his dormmate pop up.
“Hi Isaac,” Alex replied, raising an eyebrow at Rob.
Rob quickly sat up, flinching a little as he tried to pull Alex’s hand away but it kept hold. “Hey Isaac,” he called out shakily.
Isaac smirked as he saw the other boy pop up. It wasn’t hard to imagine what they’d been doing. “Rob, morning. How you doing?”
“I’m… good,” Rob replied, feeling his imminent orgasm building as Alex struggled to keep a straight face.
“Great,” Isaac said as he threw his rugby gear into his bag.
“Alex,” Rob whispered, trying to get him to stop. All he got back was a wicked grin. “Ahhh!” he moaned, on the brink of release.
“Sorry?” Isaac called out, looking over at the two boys.
Rob, whose cheeks were already flushed turned a brighter red as he thought quickly and said, “Are… you heading over… to rugby?”
Isaac glanced at the clock and hummed, “Mmm-huh. You gonna join me?”
“Yeah, I’m just… coming!” Rob squeaked as he finally tumbled over the edge and into an intense and humiliating orgasm. As much as Rob did his best to not let it show, Isaac would have had to be the world champion of obliviousness to not notice.
Alex burst into laughter at the perfectly timed comment as Rob whined and stood up, grabbing his kit bag to conceal his softening bulge as he headed for Isaac.
“Guess you can skip the warm-up today!” Isaac cackled.
Rob let out a low groan and called back to Alex, “I hate you!”
“Hate you too!” Alex called back playfully.
*****
Thursday 17 December 2020
“Well someone looks happy,” Nicky chuckled as he approached Chris who was eagerly scribbling on a sheet of music paper, his guitar at his side.
“Is it me? Am I someone?” Chris asked with a giggle, grinning broadly.
Nicky smirked at the cute comment as he nodded. “Going well then, is it?” The two boys were at Music Club and spirits were already high with only one day of classes and the Christmas party to go before the boys headed home for the holidays. Chris had hidden away in a quiet corner of the school’s massive music room working on the music for a song he was writing.
“SO well,” Chris replied happily. “How’s your night going?” he asked, feeling a little guilty. Mikey had finally decided to go through with his plans to quit Athletics and join the Music Club instead, intending to spend more time with his exceptionally musical boyfriends. Chris had managed to avoid spending the night showing Mikey around so he could work on his new song which left Nicky to do it alone.
Nicky nodded, clearly holding back a grin. “Well, do you remember Mikey saying he thought music was easy?”
“Let me guess? He found it’s not, got angry, shouted at an inanimate object and stormed out?” Chris sniggered. He knew he shouldn’t encourage their boyfriend’s temper, but now that they knew him better his occasional outbursts were more cute than scary.
“Not quite,” Nicky said, nodding thoughtfully. “You erm… you hear that drumming?”
Chris turned his head to listen. It wasn’t unusual to hear various instruments around the room during the club as boys practiced and played together, so most of them got used to phasing out unwanted noise. Chris nodded as he heard quite impressive drumming.
“Yeah, that’s Mikey!” Nicky smiled.
“What?” Chris asked, eyes wide. “Seriously?”
Nicky nodded the other direction and Chris quickly followed. They stopped as they reached the corner. Mikey was sat at the drum kit set up at the other end of the room, happily drumming away like he’d been doing it all his life.
“Holy shit. He’s… good!” Chris exclaimed in absolute shock.
“Mind the language,” Mr Yaeger, the club’s overseer quickly commented. As Chris gave a quick apology, the teacher asked, “And you’re sure he’s never drummed before?”
“Well he always taps along when we play or when there’s music on, but yeah, far as I know this is pretty much his first time!” Nicky explained.
“A prodigy. It’s been a while!” Mr Yaeger muttered under his breath.
“You know what this means?” Chris asked, casually leaning against Nicky as the taller boy draped an arm around his shoulder.
“Yeah, we’ve got an amazing boyfriend!” Nicky answered.
Chris nodded and said, “Well… yeah, but more importantly… our band’s coming together at last!”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Nicky said happily. They stood watching as Mikey continued to explore his seemingly-natural talent for a few minutes before Nicky leaned in close to Chris and whispered, “Is it just me or do you find him SO hot right now?”
“Oh thank fuck, I thought it was just me. Whadda you say we skip activities for the rest of the evening and just go have lots and lots of sex?” Chris replied, eyes flashing excitedly.
*****
Rob was enjoying a rare moment of tranquillity in the dorm. With Chris, Nicky and Mikey off at music, James and David playing video games in the Common Room, Josh at water polo and Danny away, he had the dorm to himself. Usually he would have taken the opportunity to play with himself, but Alex had grabbed him right after dinner and taken care of those particular needs.
Instead, he was using the space in the middle of the four sofas to practice a kata he would be working on at martial arts club later that evening. Just as he was really getting into it, the door to the dorm slammed open and he was bombarded by the raised, angry voice of David, which was unusual as his voice was very rarely raised OR angry, and especially not both!
“I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!” David snapped angrily, trying to slam the door.
James, who nearly got the door to the face pushed it open again and shouted back, “I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG!”
“Woah woah woah, hold up fellas,” Rob immediately called out, worried he may have to physically intervene, although the thought of the two usually-meek boys fighting actually made him chuckle a little. “What’s going on?” he asked, determined to keep the peace.
“David’s being a crazy person!” James insisted.
“And you’re being an insensitive… prick!” David said, struggling to think of a word, not used to using any kind of profanity.
“Okay, let’s not resort to name-calling!” Rob said, trying to prevent the argument from going any further.
James looked furious, but as he opened his mouth to reply, he appeared to hold back. “Fine, think what you like!” he said, shaking his head.
The lack of anger back at him completely deflated David, knocking the anger right out of him. Though he didn’t look ready to talk to his friend, he at least didn’t seem to want to shout anything worse back at him.
Rob sighed with relief that the argument seemed to be over, even if it wasn’t resolved. Curious as he was to know the cause, he knew bringing it up now would probably not be a wise move. Awkward silence filled the room until Rob finally got an idea to try and break it. “Hey, I’ve been working hard on my tutoring with Josh. D’you guys maybe wanna make a plan ready for next term?”
Though the argument was still fresh in their minds, and feelings still seemingly running hot, David’s love of tutoring and James’ love of anything academic were both too strong for them to resist and they quickly agreed.
As Rob sat down with the two boys chattering away about study plans, Rob found himself wondering if this was what Danny would have done.
*****
Mikey was still on a high following the music club that evening. While his aptitude for drumming was even greater than his apparent natural talent at other instruments, he had no great love for it. What he did love, however, was the attention and praise it got him from the rest of the club, especially when they found out he was untrained and inexperienced. He had lapped up their praise and only got more cheerful as he realised the aphrodisiacal affect his talent seemed to have on his two musical boyfriends.
They hadn’t even made it out of the School Building, venturing into one of the classrooms in their shared sexual frenzy. While Chris was used to such risky places, as well as being unbothered by public nudity or getting caught, and Mikey did his best to emulate the nonchalance, Nicky was much more weary of it all. That was why Chris knew he was in for a good time. For Nicky to throw caution to the wind with such wanton abandon showed just how excited he clearly was.
As they stumbled their way into the classroom, Nicky and Chris were virtually fighting each other away to kiss Mikey, each of them barely getting into it before being shoved aside and replaced. Mikey was loving every second, feeling more wanted than he had ever felt in his life.
Clothes started coming off, each of the boys stripping themselves and each other in a desperate attempt to get access to more and more exposed skin, until all three were naked, grasping at each other with hands and mouths.
It didn’t take long before the three assumed one of their favourite positions, with Nicky fucking Mikey, who was fucking Chris. The main difference from usual was that Chris was laying on a desk with his legs in the air rather than stood in front of Mikey, keeping his weight off of his recovering ankle.
Mikey was happily in the middle, bouncing back and forth, impaling himself on Nicky with each slide back then thrusting himself into Chris on each forward move. All three were just getting into it when there was a beep from one of their phones.
“That’s me!” Mikey declared, reaching out for it. He managed to hook his jeans with his foot and drag them towards him, lifting them up without pulling free of his two lovers.
“Seriously?” Nicky asked, shaking his head. “You’re gonna check it now?”
“It might be important!” Mikey replied, clenching his butt as hard as he could to make Nicky moan and shudder all at once. “Aaaaand…” he started as he opened the message, “It is! Looks like I gotta go. Business calls!”
“You fucking kidding me?” Nicky asked as Mikey disengaged from the three-way fuck.
“What? It’s not like it’s a special occasion or anything!” Mikey said, seemingly unbothered about the insensitivity of the timing as he quickly pulled his clothes back on.
“Yeah, relax, you’ve got him all Christmas, remember!” Chris added, feeling a slight pang of jealousy. They had both been invited to spend the Christmas break at Nicky’s house, but aside from the fact Chris’ parents said they wanted him home, Chris couldn’t skip Christmas with all his siblings. That didn’t make it any easier to think of Nicky and Mikey getting to spend the holiday together without him.
“Oh yeah, good point. I wanna make the most of Chris while I’ve still got him, so you can piss off if ya like!” Nicky said casually.
“Aww, okay,” Mikey pouted. Leaving was fine. Being told to leave felt harsh.
Nicky sighed and held out an arm. Mikey quickly approached and the two kissed. “I’ll see ya later,” Nicky whispered as he let go.
“Hmm, just us then!” Nicky said, moving over to lean onto Chris a little as he lay on the desk and let their lips meet. “Actually,” he said as he pulled away. “As it’s just us, there was something I thought we might need to… discuss!”
“Oooh, ominous!” Chris giggled.
“No Nut November!” Nicky stated bluntly.
“Oh!” Chris said in surprise. He had all but forgotten the month-long challenge he had faced. With the accident happening on its final day, his brief stay in the hospital and then the passionate and fiery reunion he had with his boyfriends, it had been easy to overlook.
“I guess… I’ll need to pay up!” Nicky said, looking immensely uncomfortable, especially as he peered towards the window. Had it been light, he would have been able to see the school’s main driveway, where he had agreed he would fuck Chris as a reward for completing the challenge.
Chris grinned broadly for a moment, then let out a gentle sigh as he sat up. “Actually… you won’t!” he admitted.
Nicky looked at him curiously. “If you, like, had to… jerk off to stay warm while you were trapped, I won’t count that against you!” he offered.
Chris burst into laughter, shaking his head. “God no,” he insisted, “But damn, why didn’t I think of that? No, I… actually lost quite early in the month!”
“You did?” Nicky asked, curiously. He let his hands casually stroke up and down Chris’ sides as they spoke.
Chris nodded as he said, “Yeah, a… a thing… happened… that I can’t tell you about, but… it involved me cumming!”
“A thing you can’t tell me about? Now who’s being ominous?” Nicky chuckled.
Chris grinned. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be, it’s just… I really can’t tell.”
“I’m guessing… it involved Danny,” Nicky said, his face dropping a little.
Chris nodded once more, but frowned a little as he asked, “What? What’s with the face?”
“When you went missing… when I found out it was you AND Danny… for just a minute I thought maybe… you two had… run off together, like… romantically!” Nicky confessed.
“Wh… why?” Chris stuttered. “Why would you ever think that?”
“Because you are SO fucking in love with him,” Nicky said back bluntly. “And he’s so clearly in love with you too!”
Chris pursed his lips as he nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, they’re, um, they’re pretty good reasons!” he had to admit. “And you’re right, I do and… he do… erm, does… but he’s with Brian and I’m with you and Mikey and that’s not changing!”
“Oh I know,” Nicky nodded. “Like I said, it was just for a minute, but… the thought was there!”
“I get it,” Chris nodded, taking Nicky’s hand. “You can’t choose who you love, but you can choose who you’re with and I made my choice,” he frowned for a moment and thought about Mikey. “I made my choices!” he corrected himself.
Nicky chuckled as he squeezed Chris’ hand and let his other one continue to roam the naked boy’s body. “So what do we do about your forfeit?” he asked, then glanced over at the window and added, “Or prize?”
“How about… you just… fuck me right here?” Chris suggested quite bluntly.
Chris didn’t even need to wait for an answer. Nicky was on him in moments, kissing him excitedly. He suddenly stopped mid kiss, pulled away and said, “I love you too, by the way!”
“Thanks, I was wondering where that was!” Chris sniggered before they resumed their kiss.
As much as Nicky would have loved to prolong the moment, he was still working with the ongoing fear of getting caught naked in a classroom. His cock, deflated slightly as they had stood talking, was rigid again within moments of their lips meeting, knowing what was to come. “You sure you’re ready for this?” Nicky asked nervously as he teased Chris’ hole with the head of his large cock.
The first, and only, time they had tried fucking had been back on Nicky’s birthday. That was three months ago, but felt like a lifetime. It hadn’t really gone well, with Nicky calling off the attempt quickly when he realised Chris was in pain. While he had thought frequently about fucking his boyfriend, something he had been doing with Mikey since Year 7, he always had that lingering fear of hurting him again.
“I think so, but only one way to find out!” Chris said, smiling as he stared at Nicky.
Nicky nodded as he stroked some lube onto his rigid prick and began to push into the other boy’s butt.
“Unnnh,” Chris grunted as he lay back on the desk, hands behind his head, eyes closed.
“Does it hurt?” Nicky asked nervously, pausing as the whole of the head was inside Chris.
“Only a little,” Chris replied, opening his eyes as he added, “But… it feels… amazing too. Gimme more!”
“Okay,” Nicky said, pushing in another few centimetres.
Chris moaned, his eyes fluttering. “Okay… you asked… if I’m ready,” he mumbled. As Nicky stared back at him, he gave a lopsided grin and said emphatically, “Fuck yes, I’m ready! Ah, babe this… this is… bejesus!”
Nicky couldn’t help grinning. His fears melting away as he watched the look of sheer pleasure on Chris’ face. He pulled back to the head and then slid in again a little further. He continued, still not daring to go balls deep as he saw the slight wince of pain as more of him entered his lover, so he stuck to just pulling out and sliding about three quarters of the way in.
It was an amazing feeling to see Chris enjoying it so much. The slow pace was unlikely to make Nicky cum, but in that moment the fuck was not about achieving ejaculation, it was about the two boys experiencing each other in a new way, connecting both physically and emotionally as they stared into each other.
After a few minutes, Chris winced a little again and said, “I… know you haven’t… cum, but would it be okay if we…”
“Oh, of course!” Nicky said, not needing to hear the rest. He immediately pulled out, making Chris shudder and chuckle at the sudden expulsion.
“S… sorry,” Chris stuttered awkwardly. “It was so good and I wanna do more, but…”
“We gotta build up. I get it. That was amazing for me too!” Nicky reassured Chris, pulling him up into a sitting position to kiss him for a few moments.
“Really?” Chris asked shyly. “You’re not… upset?”
“I just fucked someone I’ve wanted to fuck for a really long time. How could I be upset?” Nicky asked, putting his hand on the back of Chris’ head as he leaned in to kiss his forehead. “Oh!” he yelped as he felt a hand on his cock.
“But we still need to cum!” Chris grinned as Nicky looked down at him.
“I guess we do,” Nicky agreed, sniggering as he took hold of Chris’ erection.
The two boys stayed where they were, kissing happily as they stroked each other towards release. Their lips never parted as first one of the came, then the other, two heavy loads of spunk spilling between them as they embraced.
When they finally stopped kissing and managed to catch their breath, they began to clean up and re-dress. “I still can’t believe Mikey ran out on us,” Nicky grumbled as he pulled his clothes on.
“Oh yeah, he totally needs to be punished for that!” Chris said with a wicked grin. “How about not letting him cum over the Christmas break?”
“Oh, that’s just evil,” Nicky grinned. “But can you imagine his temper by the time we came back. He might literally kill someone!”
“I’m sure you can keep him under control!” Chris reassured him.
“I dunno. He listens to me, but Danny seems to be the only one who can really get through when he goes full-on… Mikey!” Nicky said with a smirk that quickly dropped away. “I really miss him!” he said sadly.
Chris moved to the other boy and held him loosely as he said back, “Yeah, me too!”
*****
Chris was just drifting off to sleep when he felt movement at his side. Stirring fully awake again, he felt the body at his side nestling up against him, cuddling up to him. For just a moment, seeing the shock of blonde hair, he thought Danny was back before realising it was James.
Chris and Danny slept together. That was just one of the immutable facts of their dorm, like the dorm’s communal, shared mealtimes. It wasn’t just out of habit. Chris had a genuine phobia of being alone and that meant he couldn’t sleep without company, so with Danny away, the rest of the dorm had stepped up and taken it in turns to take ‘Chris duty’ as they referred to it. Each night, one of them would join him in the double-bunk Chris usually shared with Danny. Tonight was James’ turn.
“Hey, you okay?” Chris whispered as James held tightly against him. “You’re not usually this… cuddly!” This was James’ third turn on Chris duty and they had shared a bunk a few times in Year 7 when Chris decided to go on a ‘tour’ of the dorm’s bunks, but all of those times James seemed more like he tolerated Chris’ proximity than enjoyed it.
James just gave an ambiguous hum in response.
“What’s up? You wanna talk about it?” Chris whispered, careful not to wake the others he could hear sleeping above and opposite.
Another non-committal hum from James.
“Is this something to do with things being a bit… frosty between you and David?” Chris asked.
James hesitated a few seconds before humming again, giving the answer without actually giving it.
“Come on, James. Conversation works better with actual words!” Chris sniggered.
James let out a gentle sigh and said, “David thinks I’m being insensitive and only care about schoolwork!”
Chris frowned for a moment, glad the mostly-dark room concealed his expression. “Erm…” he began, unsure how to respond.
“Which, yeah, haha, I know is usually true, but…” James started then stopped and sighed again.
“But not this time?” Chris asked, getting an affirmative hum. “What did you do?”
“Well… David found out I’ve been keeping notes of lessons and activities and things and emailing them over to Danny!” James explained.
“Mmm-huh,” Chris hummed.
“And David said it’s insensitive and that I should just leave him alone to rest and recover!” James explained.
“He could have a point,” Chris said. He knew Danny was nowhere near being ready to start using his tablet or laptop yet and certainly wasn’t ready for schoolwork.
“Forget it,” James said, starting to pull away.
“Hey, get back here,” Chris said, pulling James close again. “What aren’t you saying?”
Another sigh. “Look, you… you KNOW, don’t you?” James asked. “You know how bad Danny’s hurt and how long it could take him to recover, right?”
Chris paused a moment and said a quiet, “Yeah!” While he wasn’t concealing the truth from the others, as Danny really was recovering faster than expected, he still had an exceptionally long way to go.
“Yeah, well… so do I. When he got hurt I started looking into his type of injury, because… that’s just what I do, I learn stuff! But the more I looked, the more… scared I got!” James admitted. Considering his aversion to expressing any kind of feelings, it felt like a big thing for him to say that. “I mean, yeah, I know he’s recovering well and it sounds like he WILL get better… eventually, which is amazing, but… it’s gonna take time and all I could think was… if he misses much more school, then… maybe they won’t let him come back here!”
“Oh!” Chris said, nodding, “So you’re sending him everything he’s missing… so he can catch up?”
“And actually come back to us when he’s ready, yeah!” James nodded.
Chris thought for a moment. “That’s actually really sweet. Why don’t you just… tell David that’s why you’re doing it?”
James shook his head emphatically. “Nuh-uh, no way. I even HINT at Danny not being able to come back or… being away for a long time, David’s just gonna get upset! So if I have to look like the bad guy to help Danny and not upset David then… fine, I’ll be the bad guy!”
Chris laughed a little as he shook his head. “That’s… twisted but freaking adorable!” he admitted. “I didn’t even think you were that close to Danny!”
“Hmm,” James nodded, then went quiet.
“Hey, come on, I think this is literally the longest conversation we’ve ever had. Don’t clam up on me now!” Chris encouraged him.
“Fine,” James huffed. “I’m an only child and I never really had friends growing up. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, I actually quite liked it as it meant I could focus on learning cos it’s what my mum told me she wanted me to do before she died, so I was happy for it to continue, cos I really don’t like change, but… then I came here!”
“Ah, and suddenly you’ve got seven friends!” Chris said, nodding.
“Nuh-uh,” James said, shaking his head. “I think of you more like brothers, because you’re all… loud and annoying and… and stupid!”
“Wow, gee, thanks!” Chris said, suppressing a smirk.
“Well you are, but you’re all… funny and kind and caring too, and… I know you’ll all have my back,” James went on. “But… I’m used to there being seven of you!”
“And you don’t like change,” Chris nodded.
“Yeah,” James agreed. “I know I don’t DO much with you guys, but… you’re always there. I can always… look over and see you and Danny cuddling, or hear Josh and Rob insulting each other or you and Nicky playing your music together. But now part of that’s missing!” He let out a wistful sigh. “I mean, I’ll find him just as annoying as the rest of you once he’s back, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want him back.”
Chris chuckled again and shook his head. “You are one seriously weird little dude, ya know that!” Chris said, “But you’re OUR seriously weird little dude and I’m glad you don’t like change, cos you’re amazing just as you are. Never change!” He gave the top of James’ head a quick kiss then squeezed him tightly.