The Kingswood Effect - Chapter 1 (Patreon)
Content
Sunday 29 August 2021
As the car rounded the corner, the trees fell away and the large looming buildings of Kingswood appeared. Thirteen-year-old Danny let out a contented sigh at the sight of the large Edwardian structure known as ‘The Home Building’, or simply ‘Home’ to its residents.
“That may be the happiest noise I’ve ever heard you make!” sixteen-year-old Brian chuckled, tightening his arm slightly around the younger boy.
“It’s just nice to be back!” Danny said dreamily.
Brian’s mother chuckled, looking at the two boys for a moment in the rear-view mirror as they slowed down to join the short queue of cars for the car park. Glancing at her husband in the passenger seat, she said, “Can you even imagine being THAT happy to go back to school?”
“No, but my school was shit!” Brian’s father said bluntly.
The two boys laughed at the man’s casual swearing, holding tightly onto each other. “It’s definitely pretty nice to see the old place again!” Brian said contentedly.
“Oh, that’s new!” the woman driving commented as she glanced over at the large building to their left, seemingly still under construction.
“Woah, yeah! Danny, look!” Brian said, nudging the boy to point where his mum had glanced.
Back in 2020, part way through Danny’s first year at the school, Covid-19 had struck. As part of an extreme but effective response, the school had implemented several measures to keep the virus out of Kingswood, including the erection of a building dubbed, in the Kingswood tradition of terrible naming, ‘The Temporary Building’. As the next eighteen months passed the name became increasingly ironic, but it looked like it had finally lived up to its name.
The temporary modular eyesore was gone. In its place, a new building stood, a bizarre yet beautiful mix of classic and modern, reflecting aspects of the school’s other buildings.
“Ooh, maybe it’s new dorms!” Danny said excitedly. “We might finally get private rooms!”
“Don’t pretend you don’t like sharing!” Brian said with a wry grin.
Going into Year 9, Danny was entering his third year of sharing a dorm with seven other boys. The following year, he would move up to the second floor, into a four-person dorm, but for now it was still him and seven others. Danny let out a moan distinctly less happy than his earlier reaction to the school. “Maybe not as much as you’d think,” he pouted.
“Trouble?” Brian’s dad asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced back.
Danny shrugged. “Most of my mates kinda fell out a bit at the end of last year and… I dunno. I think it’s gonna be…”
“Dramatic!” Brian teased, raising his hand to his head and pretending to swoon, getting a snort of laughter from his father. As he received a playful punch to the stomach from Danny, he shook his head and said, “You guys’ll be fine. You’re tight!”
Danny hummed thoughtfully, allowing his mind to drift onto his seven friends… or six actually. Just to make things even more awkward, they had a new boy joining them this year. He would be taking the space of James, the resident mega-genius who had been skipped ahead to Year 11. Danny remained contemplatively quiet as they pulled into the car par.
After a number of conversations and greetings with other returning students and their families, Brian finally waved off his parents. “Really is good to be back, isn’t it!” Brian said wistfully as he stared ahead at the Home Building.
“Yeah,” Danny said happily as they walked along. Leaving their suitcases behind, ready for staff to transport them to the dorms later, they grabbed their smaller bags and headed into the building, giving casual greetings as they passed other students.
The Year 10s and the new Year 7s had been back for a almost a week now, while the Year 8s, 11s and 13s had gradually returned over the past few days. Danny’s Year 9 group and Brian’s Year 12s were the last to return, with the term due to start in two days after the August bank holiday, so the building was already feeling pretty full.
As the two teens reached the first-floor landing and Danny went to turn left, Brian grabbed at Danny’s collar and yanked him back. “This way, remember!” Brian smirked, pointing to the right.
“Oh yeah,” Danny giggled. He had spent two years turning left at the top of the stairs, both his Year 7 and 8 dorms being that side of the building. He already knew it was going to take some getting used to as he wandered along, heading for his new dorm.
“I was doing that for months in Year 9,” Brian reminisced as they continued along the hallway. “You gonna be okay?” he asked softly as they stopped at the bottom of the next flight of stairs. He casually draped his arms out over the shorter boy’s shoulders, holding him gently.
Danny peered along the corridor as he let his bag drop to the floor. His new dorm was just around the corner and he had no idea who was already back. He gave a gentle sigh and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said, sounding utterly unconvincing.
Brian leaned in and gave Danny a brief kiss, then held him with their foreheads pressed together. “You know where I am if you need me!” he said softly.
“Yeah, two whole floors away!” Danny smirked as he gave the older boy another kiss then pulled back.
Brian glanced up. “Yeah, that’ll take some getting used to. You think switching dorms is confusing. Wait til you switch floors!” Brian chuckled. Starting Year 12, he would now be living in a two-person dorm up on the Home Building’s top floor. “See you at dinner. Hope everything goes okay!” he said optimistically before heading up.
Danny watched his boyfriend walk off up the stairs, smiling as he turned back to give one final wave before he disappeared. Just as Danny turned to pick up his bag, he felt arms grab him tightly from behind. It took a few moments for him to realise he was caught in the vise-like grip of his best friend, Chris. “Hey you!” he chuckled as he gently patted the arms gripping him, feeling a face nuzzling into his neck.
“I missed you so much!” Chris whispered, still clamped on tightly.
After a few moments, they heard someone beside them clear their throat. Danny looked round to see Mr Trent. While he was also the school’s drama teacher, his main role was ‘First Floor Master’, the staff member in charge of the boys’ day-to-day lives on the first floor. “Everything okay?” he asked with a wry grin.
“Oh, yeah,” Danny nodded, still firmly in Chris’ grasp. “This is like a tradition, Sir. He goes longer every term. I’m worried by Year 13 it may become permanent!”
“And I’m sure you’d be devastated at that!” Mr Trent said with a chuckle. “Anyway, hurry along, you’re blocking the stairs!”
“Yes Sir!” Chris replied, still holding onto Danny as he tugged him aside, stopping when they tumbled into the wall on the opposite side of the walkway.
“Not quite what I meant,” Mr Trent chuckled. “But it’ll do. Nice to see you back, Danny!”
“Oh, but not me? Charming!” Chris huffed, suddenly letting go of his friend to glare in mock annoyance at the man.
“I saw enough of you over the summer!” Mr Trent teased. The previous year, Chris’ eldest brother Blane had come to work at the school and had ended up in a relationship with the young teacher. Over the summer, Mr Trent had spent some time with Blane, Chris and the rest of their family in Ireland.
“And we saw plenty of you last year!” Chris taunted back, giving a playful wink.
Mr Trent just raised his eyebrows and gave his best ‘mind your mouth’ glare. On two separate occasions in Year 8, Chris and Danny had found themselves in very intimate situations with the teacher. Needless to say, they were ‘encouraged’ to be discrete about it.
“Sorry,” Chris giggled.
“Mmm-huh,” Mr Trent hummed, not annoyed but clearly not amused either. “I suggest you go get settled into your dorm!” he said curtly.
“Yes sir, thanks sir, love you sir, bye sir!” Chris called out playfully as he hurried along, dragging a slightly bewildered Danny with him, his bag only just picked up in time to avoid being left behind. They stopped as they got around the corner.
“You two had a fun summer then?” Danny asked with a wicked grin, gesturing back round the corner to where they had left Mr Trent.
“Yeah!” Chris nodded, then caught on to the more intimate intimation and shook his head. “Oh, no, nothing like that. He’s JUST the guy my brother’s dating, that’s all!”
“That’s a shame,” Danny giggled. He glanced over at the open doorway to dorm 1.09. “You ready for this?” he asked nervously.
Chris took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks as he shook his head. “I guess so,” he said unconvincingly.
“It’ll be fine,” Danny said, taking his hand. He walked over to the door. He was more than a little relieved to find the room was empty – they were the first ones back.
Looking into a new dorm was always a little disorienting because they were all furnished exactly the same. Identical but slightly different, like looking into some parallel world. The wall either side of the door was lined with wardrobes, one per occupant. The middle section of the room was made up of four bunk beds, two on either side, heads against the wall, feet out towards the middle of the room. The far end of the dorm housed four desks, two on either side of the room, then four small two-seater sofas, arranged with two facing each way. The far wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, the top half always exposed, the bottom ones lined with heavy drapes.
“Oh my God!” Danny declared as he walked in. “Look!” He hurried towards the bunk beds on the right of the room and turned back to face Chris, grinning. Back in their Year 8 room, dorm 1.05, they had pulled two of the bunk beds together so that the bottom level formed a large double bunk. Chris and Danny had shared a bed almost every night since coming to the school, and that had gotten much easier with the shared double bunk. “They actually put our bunks together again for us! That’s so sweet!” Danny said, grateful for the consideration, likely arranged by Mr Trent.
“Ha, awesome!” Chris said happily as he approached. He blushed a little as he said, “If you’re okay with it, I mean.”
“Am I okay with it?” Danny scoffed, shaking his head. “Shut up, ya wanker. Course I’m okay with it!” He grabbed Chris and toppled sideways with him onto their shared bunk, giggling.
“Barely back five minutes and already got a guy into bed!” they heard from over in the doorway. It was Nicky. “Starting as you mean to go on, Danny!” he joked a little awkwardly.
Danny felt Chris tense in his arms. The ‘falling out’ he had mentioned to Brian’s dad had involved a whole host of different issues, but the one at the very heart of it, the trigger point for the entire fight, had involved Chris and Nicky. They had spent most of Year 8 as part of a throuple along with Mikey, but they had broken up about a week before the end of the year. That in itself would have made things awkward enough, but it was made worse by the fact Nicky had (unintentionally) dumped Chris on stage in front of half the school at a music competition rehearsal. Chris had been understandably upset at the public humiliation.
“Hey Nicky,” Danny said, letting go of Chris as he sat up.
“Hey,” Nicky replied sheepishly, still lingering in the doorway.
“Hi,” Chris said quietly to the new arrival.
“Hi,” Nicky replied, unable to meet his gaze. “So is it… same bunks as last year?” he asked, seeing the two sat in their usual spot.
Danny shrugged. “Don’t know, we never really got to speak about it!” he said with a sigh. The previous year, things had been great. They had chatted as a group so much over the summer about things they were doing but also the upcoming school year. It had allowed them to plan a lot of things ahead. This year, group conversation over the summer had been almost non-existent, despite Danny’s best efforts.
Nicky glanced to the bunk above Danny and Chris, identical to the one he had occupied last year, then looked to the opposite side of the room. “Why don’t I… take James’ old spot?” he suggested.
“Yeah, good idea,” Chris said a little coldly.
Nicky walked to the bunk on the near left, tossed his bag to the top and then climbed up the ladder. “Guess I’ll… speak later or something!” he said as he disappeared from sight to hide away on his new bunk.
Danny shot Chris a slightly disapproving look but got a dismissive shrug in return.
*****
Over the next few hours, most of the others returned one-by-one. Rob was next, greeting all three of the dorm’s occupants eagerly. While Danny was on good terms with ‘most’ of the dorm, Rob had no beef with anyone and had been working hard with Danny to try and reconcile some of the differences. Seeing Nicky had moved bunks, he took the opportunity to seek a move of his own, taking the bunk above Chris.
Mikey was next to return. While he greeted everyone in the dorm quite gruffly, he got a cheerful hello from Rob and Danny, a slightly awkward one from Nicky and a thoroughly frosty one back from Chris, then headed up to the top bunk next to Nicky. Despite the fact he was almost as pissed with Nicky as Chris was, mostly for the same reasons, he was never really a huge fan of change and being next to Nicky was just a step back towards ‘normal’ for him. Mikey’s main focus appeared to be on reminding everyone he longer went by ‘Mikey’. Instead, from now on, he was simply ‘Mike’.
When Josh returned, he seemed a little weary of Nicky, but aside from that seemed his usual, lively, mischievous self. Starting up the ladder to the bunk above Danny, he paused and looked at him as he said, “Relax, I’m not taking a nose-dive off of it this time!”
Danny had done his best to look amused but couldn’t hide his slight horror at the comment. The last time Josh had slept on a top-bunk, his post-traumatic stress dreams had driven him to throw himself off of it in a semi-conscious state. Admittedly that was a long time ago now and Josh was doing better than ever, but Danny couldn’t completely conceal his concern.
Despite having six occupants, the dorm was disturbingly quiet compared to the excitable noise coming in from the other dorms either way down the hall. What little noise there was stopped abruptly when another figure appeared at the door.
“Oh, you must be the new guy!” Chris said politely at the stranger.
The boy who stood there had a heavy swathe of black hair hanging down covering part of his face. As he reached up to brush it aside and take in the room, Danny called out, “David! Fuck!”
The seventh member of the dorm looked so utterly different from the way he had the previous term. He looked to have shot up a couple of inches over the summer, while his weight had visibly reduced, but it was the radically-different haircut that was most noticeable. Long gone was his tidy side parting. Instead, his head was shaved down the back and sides, while the top had been kept long and swept down across his face. It was a little reminiscent of the way Nicky’s had been back in Year 7, before he had been convinced to stop hiding behind it.
David didn’t reply to the surprised exclamation, he just looked around the room, from one boy to the next, taking in their new positions. His old bunk had been on the far left top, now occupied by Mike. Silently, he wandered over, tossed his bag onto the bunk below Mike, then turned and headed back for the door.
“David!” Danny called out, standing up from his bunk.
David didn’t even stop or look round, he just continued out of the dorm.
Danny let out a sigh and dropped down to sit back on his bed.
“I’m sorry,” Chris whispered, moving up and hugging him from behind. While James, or rather his departure, was the fuel for David’s anger, Chris had been the spark that started the fire.
Danny just leaned back against his best friend as he stared at the open door, shaking his head.
*****
“Nice to have you back, boys, and welcome to year nine!” Mr Trent announced happily to the thirty students gathered before him. “Everyone have a good summer?” He got a round of happy cheers. “And everyone happy to be back?” He got a round of less enthusiastic and largely sarcastic cheers. “Ha, I’m with ya there!” he added, getting a round of chuckles.
“So year nine. Exciting times ahead,” the teacher went on, trying to conjure enthusiasm from the group. “The year sevens have settled in well and just like last year, I expect you to set good examples for them and continue to be as supportive as you were to last year’s new batch. You should all have just been sent your new class schedules via the Kingswood app, and you’ll also…” he trailed off as he saw every set of eyes drop from him as they pulled out their phones. “Ugh, don’t mention the app til you’re done with their attention, Levi, rookie mistake,” he mumbled to himself.
Giving the boys a few moments to check and discuss their new schedules, he called out, “Okay, phones down, eyes up!” He waited a moment, then sighed and said, “Harley, that means STOP using your phone, not text without looking! I can see you!” The boys laughed as Harley quickly turned off his phone. “Impressive skills though,” he grinned, getting an appreciative chuckle and grin from the teen.
Mr Trent went on. “As usual, you will all be sent the schedules and sign-up details for this year’s extra-curriculars. You may notice a slight difference from the arrangements for previous years now you’re in year nine. Most activities will now only show as one or two full club meetings each week, while other days will be classed as ‘drop-in’ sessions, meaning you’re welcome to attend at any time, but will have more free time available to you for other activities. This is the usual arrangement for year nine onwards. Don’t ask me to explain it. It’s just one of those Kingswood things that I’ve learned not to question!”
The boys laughed. Kingswood certainly seemed to have a lot of those things, the kind that were just accepted as normal, despite their absolute bizarreness. Enforced chastity, naked punishments, public spankings… the one remaining shower cubicle in the shower rooms that was STILL marked as ‘out of order’ for the third consecutive year!
“As most of you will know, Mr Parker left at the end of last year and his replacement is joining us later today. His name is Mr Rudd. As is tradition, each staff member is responsible for a different extracurricular and Mr Rudd will be starting a new one called Survival Club. Details will be provided along with the rest of the information later today, but I trust you will all make Mr Rudd feel welcome,” Mr Trent explained. “Ah, speaking of fresh meat,” he added with a grin, glancing over at the door.
The boys all turned to see two Year 12 boys walk in, closely followed by two younger boys.
“Yay!” Rob yelped out shamelessly, jumping to his feet. With absolutely no regard for what else was going on and what Mr Trent may have been planning, he ran to the door, ducked around the older boys and grabbed one of the younger ones in an excitable hug, getting a chorus of oohs and laughs from the rest of the year.
One of the two new arrivals Rob had befriended the previous year when they had met during the Southern Counties Inter-School Partnership Scheme’s (SCIPS) rugby tournament. He had known his new friend was joining them at Kingswood but had yet to see him since getting back.
“No fucking way!” Josh muttered as he saw the other new boy, nudging Mike who was sat at his side.
Mike scowled at the boy behind Rob and his new friend.
“Well, I WAS going to welcome the new members of year nine, but Rob appears to be giving them a perfectly good welcome already!” Mr Trent called out.
Rob giggled as he let go, shrugged and said, “Sorry not sorry!” He started walking back to the group, his arm round the grinning newcomer.
“Well anyway,” Mr Trent said, trying to hide his amusement as Rob and the two new boys approached. “Everyone, I’d like you all to give a warm welcome to Jasmeet Laghari…” he said, gesturing to the boy with Rob.
“Jazz!” Rob called out eagerly.
Mr Trent frowned frustratedly at Rob. “Yes, I was getting to that!” he said firmly. “Jasmeet Laghari, or Jazz as he prefers, who will be joining dorm one-ten and also Marcus Reid, though I believe he prefers Mark, who will be joining dorm one-oh-nine. Welcome, boys!” he smiled at the two new arrivals.
As the Year 9 boys stood to greet them, Jazz was already being welcomed by Rob and his new dormmates, while Mark just stood awkwardly beside his new Year 12 mentor.
Chris and Danny approached to give their new dormmate a greeting, then paused as Danny said, “Wait, I know you!”
“Probably slept with him!” a voice from the crowd called out, getting a number of giggles.
“Shut up…” Danny snapped, looking round. Unable to figure out who had said it, he added, “Whoever that was!” He turned his attention back to Mark. “You’re from King Edwards. You’re on their football team!”
“Not anymore, I guess,” Mark said with a slight pout and shrug.
“Well… I’m Danny! Welcome to Kingswood,” Danny said with a smile, offering his hand.
Mark took Danny’s hand and they shook, but it quickly stopped as Chris lunged at the boy and grabbed him in a hug.
“Erm… what are you doing?” Mark asked, blushing profusely as he stared nervously over Chris’ shoulder at the gathering of students who didn’t seem to respond at all.
“Oh don’t mind Chris. He’s a bit special!” Danny said with a wry grin.
“Screw you!” Chris said, letting go of Mark.
“Everybody has!” a voice called out.
Danny glared round again as the crowd giggled at his expense, still unable to pick out the heckler.
“Come on lads, at least say hello,” Mr Trent said gently, trying to nudge the rest of the dorm 1.09 boys to approach.
“No, I’m good thanks,” Mike said, scowling at the unpleasantly familiar face.
“Likewise!” Josh added.
Just as Rob knew Jazz, Mike and Josh were familiar with Mark, though in a distinctly less pleasant way. Mark had been part of a group of King Edwards boys who had said truly horrific things to Josh during one of their football matches, resulting in a violent outburst from Mike in his friend’s defence. While Mark had not done anything directly, he had still been part of it. In fact, the encounter had only occurred because Josh had been worried Mark was being bullied and went to check on him. Considering how things had gone with Mark and his teammates, both Josh and Mike were keen to keep their distance.
David gave Mr Trent a brief look in response to his urging, then stared back down at ground silently, not moving.
Mr Trent gave Nicky a curious look and just got a shrug back as he stood. Despite Nicky’s innate shyness around new people, going to talk to Mark was also opportunity for him to interact with Chris. As he got close, he saw Chris turn, give him an eye roll and then walk away.
Mark noticed the silent exchange and shrank back slightly, but offered a quiet, “Hi, I’m Mark!”
“N… Nicky,” Nicky stuttered awkwardly, barely able to make eye contact with the new boy.
Danny frowned at Chris’ sudden departure and put his arm around Nicky as he said, “This one’s not ‘special’, just shy at first. He’ll warm up! Why don’t you come sit with us!”
Mark smiled and nodded, following Danny to go and sit back down where they had been before. Rob had finally been pried away from Jazz, allowing him to sit with his new dormmates. Returning to his own group, Rob gave Mark a polite hello as he sat down.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll all get to know each other better. Don’t worry, I won’t make you both introduce yourselves, I’m not quite that cruel,” Mr Trent chuckled, getting relieved nods from both new boys. “And one final announcement. Congratulations to Danny. As of last week, he has had the all-clear to return to normal activity following a full recovery of his injuries. Round of applause for Danny!”
The boys burst into cheers and applause. Danny and Chris had been in an accident the previous year, with Danny receiving the worst injuries, leaving him partly paralysed at first. While the boys of Danny’s own dorm had taken the accident the hardest, he was such a prominent presence in their Year group that the whole year had felt his absence and supported him during his recovery.
“When you say normal activity, sir, we’re assuming you mean ending up naked in random places!” Adrian called out, getting raucous laughs from the whole gathering.
“Yeah, I hate you all,” Danny said, though his smirk was undeniable. Realising it was Adrian who had heckled before too, he shot the other boy an annoyed but mildly amused glare.
“Don’t tease, Adrian,” Mr Trent admonished the boy. “But yes, that is EXACTLY what I meant!” he added, waiting for the further laughs to die down before he looked a little more serious and said, “So let’s try and make this your best year yet. And also… maybe let’s try and make it through a year without any big dramas, this isn’t Hogwarts!” More laughs. “Now, time to head down for dinner! Dorms one-oh-nine and one-ten, please look after your new roommates!”
The boys were immediately on their feet, eager to eat as they began filing out of the first floor Common Room. By the time they got down to the Dining Hall, Jazz was surrounded by his eager new dormmates, while Mark was accompanied by just Nicky and Rob. Mike and Josh were continuing to keep their distance, Chris was avoiding Nicky, David was staying away from everyone and Danny had already run off to find Brian.
“I get the feeling you would have preferred Jazz in your dorm,” Mark said a little sheepishly to Rob as they stood in the queue.
“Oh!” Rob said, realising how his reaction had probably made their new dormmate feel, “I love Jazz,” he paused as he saw Nicky smirk at him and quickly added, “I mean, Jazz is great, we’re friends, but I’m okay with having you in the dorm.”
“Not everyone seems to think so,” Mark said, glancing over at the bustle around Jazz, feeling a little dejected at his own dorm’s reaction.
“Oh, erm… yeah,” Nicky stuttered, still not yet at ease around the new boy. “There’s… erm… it’s… things are weird right now!”
“But they’ll get better,” Rob quickly added optimistically.
Mark nodded but looked unconvinced.
One enormous meal later, the Dining Hall was alive with chatter. Rising to his feet, the Headmaster, Mr Everett, call for quiet and the room dropped into respectful silence.
“Well, it is truly a delight to see you all back here, and exciting as always to see the fresh eager faces of our new year seven class. I hope you’re all still settling in well!” Mr Everett called out across the large room. “Now before I move onto other news, please can we have a warm Kingswood welcome for Mr Rudd, who is joining us today as one of our Physical Education teachers.
A man stood up from further down the staff table and there was a ripple of mixed reactions from across the gathering of students. He was a truly imposing figure, not overly tall at six foot, but impressively broad, his shirt barely containing the wide shoulders, bulging pectorals and massive biceps. His piercing hazel eyes peered out from behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, atop a rugged-looking nose that looked to have been broken more than a few times. His smile was sincere but stern, his strong jawline largely concealed behind a neatly-trimmed beard that faded into his short-cropped hair.
“Oh hello daddy!” a boy in the middle of the room muttered, getting a few giggles from around him.
“Jesus, that’s a lot of man!” Mike said quietly.
“Yeah, just a bit!” Josh replied quietly, staring at the large figure.
The initial reaction quickly gave way to pleasant applause as the man nodded to the crowd of boys, then to Mr Everett and sat back down politely.
“Now, as I’m sure you have all noticed by now, the Temporary Building has finally lived up to its name and departed, a final goodbye to the unpleasantness that was Covid,” Mr Everett explained. “In its place, we have constructed a new Visitors Centre. We learned many things during the pandemic, not least of which is the importance of remaining connected. As such, the Southern Counties Inter-School Partnership Scheme, or SCIPS for those of you unfamiliar with it, has received a full overhaul which has resulted in a broader range of activities than in previous years and the new Visitors Centre will be integral to allowing these events to take place. Construction is still underway but is expected to wrap up within the next few weeks, ready for the Opening Ceremony of this year’s SCIPS activities, which Kingswood will be hosting in early October. Signage is in place to indicate areas that are currently off-limits, and I would remind you that entry into a prohibited area will result in SEVERE punishment. Safety is paramount!”
The boys began to quietly chatter, speculating about the building and what this year’s SCIPS would involve. The teachers allowed it to go on for a few moments before Mr Everett signalled for quiet again.
“For those of you who have yet to venture over to the Sports Complex, you will eventually notice some slight changes have been made over there too, with spectator stands added to a further range of courts and pitches, as well as the swimming and diving pools,” Mr Everett explained. “This year presents a wonderful opportunity for all students to get involved as there will be events and activities available to fit you all. Please speak to the organisers of your extra-curriculars for details of what is available. Needless to say, exciting times are ahead, and this is looking to be another wonderful year at Kingswood.”
Danny glanced over at the boys from his dorm, scattered around the year seven table, wishing he shared the headmaster’s confidence.
*****
The moment the door to dorm 2.16 closed, Jazz was shoved against the wall. Rob’s face buried into one side of Jazz’s neck, his boyfriend Luke’s face buried in the other.
“Oh fuuuuck,” Jazz moaned happily at the sensation of the two eager teens kissing and nibbling at him, a hand gently grasping at each of them. “I fucking love this school already!” he giggled.
Rob laughed as he pulled back, raising a hand to run through the slightly shorter boy’s jet-black hair. It had been a while since Rob had been with Jazz in person. It had been the end of May, during the SCIPS rugby finals that they had last been together but it was surprising how much he had changed in such a short time. He had shot up a good several centimetres, though Rob had very much done the same and still remained a touch taller. While Rob had retained much of his girth, actually gaining a little as he grew, Jazz had gone the other way and started to slim a little, the hint of puppy fat around his face gone, leaving a smooth, defined jawline.
“God, I forgot how hot you are!” Rob growled, letting his fingers stroke down the golden-brown of his cheek.
“I didn’t!” Luke said happily, kissing his other cheek.
“I’m so glad you got in here,” Rob said with a contented sigh as he watched his boyfriend kiss the new boy.
“I’m just glad I made it through a meal without someone joking about wanting Indian for dinner!” Jazz said with an eye roll.
“Did that… happen a lot at your old school?” Luke asked, frowning as they finally made their way further into the dorm.
“More often than it should,” Jazz sighed. “They never meant any harm, but…”
“Sometimes the most harmful things are the ones that ‘meant no harm’, right?” Luke suggested.
Jazz let out a happy moan and leaned against Luke as he nodded. “This guy gets it!” he said softly.
Rob frowned and nodded. The lack of racial diversity at Kingswood was an often-discussed subject both for the wider school and in Rob’s dorm, particularly by David… when he actually used to speak! While it was something that seemed to be improving year on year, Rob couldn’t help feeling the distinct lack of understanding he had on it. After all, before Jazz joined their year there had been thirty white boys, one black and one Asian.
“But that’s not why I asked to meet you both!” Jazz said, standing back.
“I think we both know why you wanted to meet us,” Luke said with a grin as he put an arm around Rob, sitting down onto one of the sofas.
“Ha, no,” Jazz smirked, shaking his head at the obvious flirtation. He frowned a little and said, “Actually… yes, but not JUST that, although it’s definitely related!” He undid his trousers, slid them down and then pulled the front of his underwear down to reveal a semi-hard cock and cute little bush of jet black.
“Oh!” Rob suddenly declared at the sight of the penis. He looked to Luke who just looked eager to get started. As Luke gave him a slightly puzzled look back, he declared, “He’s unlocked, dickwad!”
“Oh!” Luke finally caught on.
Jazz’s previous school, The Fothergill Academy, had even stricter restrictions on beginning sexual activity than Kingswood did. While Kingswood boys were kept in chastity until they had matured enough to ejaculate, Fothergill took it a step further and kept their boys locked until they reached the age of consent at sixteen! While the intention was to ensure no illicit activity, all it resulted in was a school full of boys who grew up enjoying the delights of anal pleasure instead or masturbating.
Being five months short of turning fourteen, Jazz had been locked the entire time Rob and Luke had known him, but he had taken great joy in demonstrating to them his understanding of anal stimulation and his ability to cum through just that.
“So you enjoying the freedom then?” Rob asked, his mind racing at the image of Jazz playing with himself.
“Actually,” Jazz said coyly, his cheeks flushing, “I haven’t… done anything with it yet!”
“Fuck off!” Luke chuckled in disbelief.
“I mean it!” Jazz insisted. “I thought it’d be… kinda cool if my first time was with you guys!”
“Kinda cool?” Rob exclaimed with a huge grin. “More like kinda fucking awesome!”
“Yeah?” Jazz replied, smiling meekly. “I was worried you might… I dunno, think I’m inexperienced or something!”
“We do!” Luke nodded seriously, then smiled broadly as he added, “But that just means WE get to give you the experience!” He shuffled to the side as Rob moved the opposite way, then reached out and grabbed Jazz, pulling him to sit between them.
“Oh, I like where this is going,” Jazz said happily as the two boys nestled into either side of him, their hands casually caressing his body.
As Rob and Luke took turns making out with the new boy, they gradually removed his clothes until he was sat between them naked. Their hands began roaming his body while their mouths remained occupied higher up, either kissing him or gently nibbling at his neck and shoulder. Both stayed away from his cock by some unspoken mutual agreement, wanting to simply enjoy having Jazz with them for now before inducting him into the pleasures of penile play.
Once they both felt they had aroused the boy enough, measured by his pleasured whimpers and straining cock, they looked at each other and smiled.
“I wanna suck it!” Rob declared.
Luke chuckled and said, “Yeah, me too,” then shook his head a little and added, “But not yet. It’s his first time. Let’s not give EVERYTHING away at once.”
“Wank?” Rob enquired.
“Wank!” Luke nodded in return. “After you,” he said cheerfully, gesturing to Jazz’s dick.
“Why thank you. Too kind,” Rob said back with mock formality as Jazz just smiled at the exchange.
Rob took a few moments to admire the boy’s dick. Unlike his own, it was uncut, though it was similar in length and girth. While Rob was now sporting a small tuft of dark brown hair above his own cock, Jazz had a much fuller bush – still not huge, but more than Rob, and the same jet black as the floppy hair that Rob reached up to brush off his forehead and give one final kiss before letting his hand grip the straining erection.
Jazz let out a moan of sheer ecstasy as he felt the fingers wrap around his shaft. Panting a little, he slid to the side and rested his head against Rob’s shoulder, his eyes closing.
Rob was careful not to go too fast. He was unsure whether the total absence of past masturbation was going to make him cum quicker, or take longer, but either way he didn’t want to set the other boy off before Luke had taken his turn. It felt like Jazz’s first time should be shared equally between them. After all, they had talked about asking Jazz to join their relationship, and to do that equality had to be key.
No longer satisfied with just watching, Luke slid off the sofa and knelt in front of the two younger boys. As Rob watched curiously, Luke reached up and fished his boyfriend’s painfully-obvious erection out. Getting a momentary curious frown, he said quietly, “Well just cos we’re not sucking him yet doesn’t mean someone else can’t get sucked!”
“Good point,” Rob giggled, then let out a happy moan as he felt Luke’s mouth around his dick. It was quite a wonderful feeling. As much as Rob had been looking forward to seeing Jazz, it was his boyfriend he had missed the most. Staring wistfully at the teen sucking on his dick for a moment, he glanced back to find Jazz staring at him. He gave a sweet smile in return then leaned in for a kiss as his hand continued its gentle stroking. “Unnnh… I’m already close,” Rob complained, annoyed at how quickly Luke’s mouth had taken him to the edge.
“Me too,” Jazz giggled, then added a playful, “I think!”
“Time to swap then,” Luke said as he stood up. He pushed his jeans and boxers down to his ankles then took his seat next to Jazz again, putting an arm around the boy and pulling him close as he said to Rob, “Down ya go!”
“Gladly!” Rob sniggered. He moved round and copied Luke’s actions, sucking on the older boy’s dick. Looking over to the side, he watched Luke stroking the virginal cock. He placed a hand on Jazz’s thigh, caressing it gently as he sucked away on Luke.
As Jazz began to moan once again, squirming in his seat, Luke whispered, “You close again?”
“Yeah,” Jazz replied, almost apologetically.
“It’s okay,” Luke said, stroking his hair gently as he planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Rob, let’s finish him off!”
“Mmm-huh,” Rob hummed, continuing to suck as he slid his hand from Jazz’s thigh to join Luke’s hand, wrapping around the eager boner as he stroked it.
“Oh fuck…. oh fuuuuck… unnnh… yessssss,” Jazz moaned as the two hands wrapped around his dick stroked him over the edge.
Rob sat up and released Luke’s cock as he watched Jazz erupt. The first shot flew high into the air, over his head and landed behind the sofa while the rest shot more directly upwards and spattered down over them, some landing on Jazz, a little on Luke and a slight splash catching Rob in the eye.
“Oh… my… fucking… god,” Jazz gasped as the orgasm subsided, panting heavily.
“Yeah,” Luke agreed, amused by the spectacular display. “Turns out holding it in for a couple of years could almost be worth it!”
“Fuck that!” Rob sniggered, going back to work on Luke, sucking eagerly, keen to make him cum too.
Luke’s hand gripped onto the sofa, the other holding tightly onto Jazz as he felt himself pushed rapidly back to the edge. “Ah fuck, Rob… ahhh yusss,” he giggled happily as he felt himself begin to shoot.
Rob pulled away when he felt the dick stop spasming then opened his mouth to reveal the spunk on his tongue. Quickly climbing up, he grabbed Jazz and pulled him into a kiss, sharing the older boy’s load with him.
“Holy fuck,” Luke gasped, barely recovered from his orgasm and already re-aroused by the show.
“I got an idea,” Jazz said as he pulled away from Rob, the semen dissolved into their saliva and swallowed down. He moved down to the ground and turned to take Rob’s cock into his mouth.
“Oh I like this idea!” Rob sniggered.
“You don’t even know what it is yet!” Luke smirked.
“Tell me a plan that starts with my dick getting sucked that I wouldn’t like!” Rob asked, raising an eyebrow.
Luke shrugged. “I dunno. Assassination attempt?”
Rob frowned and shook his head. “Hey Jazz, you attempting to assassinate me?” he asked, bemused.
“Nuh-uh,” Jazz hummed, still sucking eagerly.
“See, all good,” Rob sniggered. “Oh fuck, I forgot how good he is at that!”
“Close?” Luke asked.
“Cumming!” Rob replied breathlessly with a wry grin.
With Rob spent, Jazz copied his previous movements, kneeling up and opening his mouth to show Rob’s load was unswallowed. He moved the other way and grabbed Luke, pulling him into a kiss, sharing Rob’s load with him.
“Oh my god, that’s too good,” Rob moaned, casually pawing at his still-hard dick.
“There, all done,” Jazz said happily as he flopped back down between the other two, putting an arm around each of them.
“I am SO glad you’re here,” Rob said dreamily as he nuzzled against him.
“Me too,” Jazz said serenely. “I can’t believe I’ve been here one day and I already have two fuck buddies. This is the best school EVER!”
Rob and Luke looked at each other briefly, slightly surprised by his choice of words. “Yeah, you’re off to a good start!” Luke said, forcing a smile. Rob simply nodded.
*****
“Ugh, Danny… ah… yeah… that’s it!” Brian grunted, holding in position as Danny fucked him, having just found the perfect angle.
“Don’t cum!” Danny warned him. “I wanna ride you after!”
“You can’t… say stuff like that… and expect me NOT… unnh… to cum!” Brian giggled between moans as Danny slammed into him.
Having been injured and near-paralysed nine months earlier, Danny had recently been officially cleared to return to normal activity at the school, though the doctors had likely meant PE and re-joining the football team, not fucking the spunk out of his older boyfriend. His stamina was still building back up, but he was determined to show off the full range of his returned capabilities and was giving Brian the fuck of his life.
“I’m gonna cum so fucking hard,” Danny growled, reaching out to grab at Brian’s nipple, giving it a teasingly sharp pinch.
“Fuuuuuck… Dannyyyyy…” Brian gasped.
“What did you call me?” Danny asked, suddenly collapsing against his boyfriend as he began to shoot inside him.
“Sorry… not sorry…” Brian groaned as he felt the seed filling him. Having known the younger boy for two years now, he had almost never used his actual name. For the first year, he had used cute nicknames just to tease and antagonise the younger boy, though when they realised their feelings and started dating, the nicknames had continued purely because it turned out Danny liked it, their own permanent, private in-joke. “I swear I didn’t do it on purpose,” he giggled, then smirked as he said, “But it was hot!”
“Huh, yeah,” Danny chuckled, leaning forward to kiss him, his dick still inside as it softened slightly.
“So… what was that you said about riding me?” Brian asked as Danny pulled away.
The door to the dorm suddenly opened and Joseph walked in, raising an eyebrow as he saw his best friend entangled with the boy he mentored.
“Shouldn’t you knock?” Brian asked, grabbing the bed covers to conceal himself.
“Shouldn’t you be unpacking?” Joseph asked in return. “And fuck off. I ain’t knocking to come into my own dorm!”
Danny pulled away, remaining silent. It was a bizarre insight into his own possible future. While he was still down on the first floor, sharing with seven boys as he had for his first two years at the school, those arrangements would change as he rose through Years 10 to 13. Since Danny had known Joseph and Brian, they had shared a four-person dorm on the second floor and had only just moved up into the two-person dorms as they entered Year 12.
“Yeah well… I don’t want you just… walking in when I’m in the middle of stuff!” Brian objected.
“Mate, come on,” Joseph said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen ya wank,” he pointed to Danny and said, “I’ve seen you fuck dickface over there…”
“Hey!” Danny complained.
Joseph smirked at the reaction and went on, “Hell, we’ve done each other. You think there’s anything left I haven’t seen?”
“It’s not about… what you’ve seen!” Brian objected, reaching down to grab his underwear, pulling them on under the covers. “It’s about… respecting privacy!”
Danny took the addition of clothes as a sign their fucking was done and started pulling on his own with a disappointed sigh.
“You want privacy, don’t fuck in a shared dorm!” Joseph said, rolling his eyes.
“Stop being such a dick!” Brian scowled.
“Says the guy trying to make me feel like I’m in the wrong for walking into MY OWN room!” Joseph spat back at him.
Danny shook his head. He had come here to get AWAY from fighting. He moved towards the door and started, “I’m gonna leave you guys to…” but it was cut off by the older teens arguing. “Yeah, see ya,” he said as he left. He sighed and shook his head as he started down the hall, slowly making his way down the stairs.
As he reached the second floor, he smiled as he saw Rob appear around the corner. “Hey, what you doing up here?” he asked happily.
Rob gave a wry grin and replied, “Hooking up!”
“Ha, same here!” Danny chuckled as they casually wandered along, stopping just before the stairs down to the first floor. They both hesitated. “Don’t wanna go back down?” he asked quietly.
“No,” Rob said, shaking his head. “You too?”
“Mmm-huh,” Danny hummed as he nodded.
“Why does everything suck?” Rob asked downheartedly, casually leaning back against the stone balustrade.
Danny stood at his side, facing the other way, as he looked down into the large atrium below. “I dunno,” he sighed. “I mean, for me… it doesn’t!”
“Yeah?” Rob asked, turning face the same way as Danny.
“Yeah,” Danny nodded. “I mean, Brian and Joseph are arguing, but that’s just them settling into their new dorm,” he explained. “But things with Brian are SO good!”
“Yeah, I can tell,” Rob said, reaching over to tap the promise ring Danny now wore, nudging him gently with his shoulder.
Danny giggled and nodded again. “Yeah, this… makes me SO fucking happy,” he said, casually playing with the ring Brian had given him on their one-year anniversary. “And I’m pretty much back to normal now, which… felt like it was NEVER gonna happen.”
“Yeah, it was a long road, but you did it,” Rob said proudly, giving Danny a gentle nudge.
Danny sighed. “I dunno, with all the Josh stuff in year seven and then the accident last year, I was kinda hoping this year things might be… normal!” As Rob raised his eyebrow, Danny smirked and added, “Kingswood normal!” As Rob raised both eyebrows Danny laughed and said, “Fine, Kingswood normal for dorms that aren’t our shitshow of a dorm!”
Rob laughed at the painfully accurate assessment and nodded. “Yeah, that… I dunno, I was hoping for that too… and I reckon we’ll get there! Just might take some work, that’s all!”
Danny let out a slight whimper. “How much work?” he asked hopelessly. “I love being… ya know… one of those guys who helps fix things but, Rob… I’m SO tired!”
“That’ll be all the sex!” Rob joked.
Danny chuckled but nudged Rob back and insisted, “I’m being serious!”
“I know, but… we joke, that’s how we get through it. It’s what me and Josh do over his whole thing!” Rob explained.
“And how’s that working out for you?” Danny asked but quickly apologised, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound quite so bitchy!”
“S’okay,” Rob shrugged. His brow furrowed as he exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “I know I said things are less… bad between Nicky and Josh, but that doesn’t change the fact Josh was beating up a younger kid. I… don’t know what to do with that!”
“Do you need to do anything?” Danny asked bluntly. As Rob frowned at him he explained, “I mean like Chris and his stuff with David… and Nicky… and Mikey… sorry, I mean Mike!”
“That’s gonna take some getting used to!” Rob smirked.
Danny nodded. “He’s still Mikey to me!” he insisted. “But yeah, Chris has all his shit to deal with but… that doesn’t mean I have to DO anything. Maybe it’s the same with you and Josh!”
“You mean… keep our noses out and let them deal with their own problems?” Rob asked, recoiling a little. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Danny?”
“Ha ha,” Danny said dryly. “Look, I know it’s… weird and probably just doesn’t feel right but… I dunno, it kinda feels like if we always fix everything FOR them…”
“They’ll never learn to do it for themselves, yeah, I get it!” Rob nodded. “I just hate it. I think about how… happy things have been before, and I miss it!”
“I know,” Danny said, reaching across to hold the other boy’s hand for a moment. “Me too, but I guess it’s like you said… we’ll get back there… eventually!”
“How can you still THIS optimistic about things?” Rob asked, shaking his head.
“Kinda have to be sometimes. No other choice!” Danny shrugged.
“Hey, erm… did you mean what you said back during summer break? About maybe spending a bit more time together this year?” Rob asked shyly.
“Nope, totally making it up, can’t stand the sight of you!” Danny said with a wry smile.
“Twat,” Rob giggled.
Danny laughed back at him for a moment. “But yeah, yeah I did,” Danny said with a sincere smile. We should totally hang out more!”
*****
“God, I can’t believe that TWAT’S actually in our dorm!” Mike growled angrily, kicking a loose stone on the path.
“Which twat?” Josh asked with a snigger.
“Hnnnh, good point, we’ve got plenty!” Mike smirked. “But I meant Mark,” he spat the name.
“Oh, yeah,” Josh said, a little awkwardly. “I was kinda thinking about him. He didn’t REALLY do anything wrong, he just…”
“HE WAS FUCKING GREGORY!” Mike snapped angrily. “He was DATING the guy who said you shoulda killed yourself. You’re okay with that?”
“Well no, it’s just he…” Josh started.
“He just nothing!” Mike snarled. “He’s as guilty as that cunt.”
“I get that, but he was being bullied too. And by the same guy… who was s’pose to be HIS boyfriend” Josh insisted. “I think he was just… stuck!”
Mike turned to look at Josh, visibly disgusted. “You’d actually defend a twat like that?” he asked, shaking his head. “Wow, I never thought you’d go full-on pussy!”
“I’m no pussy!” Josh snapped back, scowling.
“So you agree what he did was wrong?” Mike asked, folding his arms expectantly.
“Well, yeah, I guess…” Josh said cautiously.
“Good, right, exactly,” Mikey nodded, starting to walk on. “So that makes him as bad as the rest of the twats in the dorm!”
“Yeah, like Nicky,” Josh growled. He had mostly made up with the other boy, but Mike’s anger was contagious and he found himself strangely inclined to try and keep fuelling it.
Mike’s expression softened for a moment before he agreed, “Yeah! And Chris!”
“Didn’t YOU break up with Chris?” Josh asked curiously. “Why are YOU mad at HIM?”
“Yeah, I broke up with him but that was only cos Nicky broke up with me!” Mike reasoned. “He’s just… a twat anyway, like Danny!”
“Wait, what did Danny do to you?” Josh asked, a little lost, still eager to prolong the anger but mildly confused over its cause.
“The same thing Nicky and Chris did!” Mike spat.
“Which is what? Josh asked curiously. As Mike scowled at him, he raised his hands defensively and said, “Not defending them, I just… if I’ve gotta hate Danny, I’d rather know why! You know what he did for me in year seven!”
“Oh, fucking Saint Danny, hero to all,” Mike spat angrily. “What HE did… what they ALL did was…” he paused, looking at Josh for a moment before he shook his head and said, “Forget it, you’d never understand!” He started to walk away.
“Oh fuck off!” Josh said sharply, grabbing Mike’s shoulder to spin him back. “I wouldn’t understand? Go fuck yourself, tosspot!”
Mikey sniggered at the comment but huffed as he shook his head. “They… tried to change me!” he explained. As Josh looked at him incredulously, he said sharply, “Oh fuck off!”
“No, I… I wanna understand,” Josh reassured him.
“They all have their… things… ya know, Chris being clingy and Nicky being all like, shy and Danny just… fucking anything that stays still long enough,” Mike said, his face screwing up as he talked about the other boys. “And I just had to live with that, but when it came to me, they were all, like, ‘Mikey you can’t be mean’ and ‘Mikey, you can’t just punch someone’ and then when I actually did get mean or hit someone they’d be all, like, ‘oh yeah, it’s fine, they deserved it’ so… so what they were doing wasn’t even about getting me to do the right thing, it was just them trying to control me and… and control what I thought and change me and just… turn me into something I’m not!”
Josh listened, nodding along. It was blurted out so fast and so angrily it was almost impossible to follow, but it seemed to make a weird sort of sense.
“The only person who ever just let me be me was…” Mike started, but stopped, blushing a little.
“Me?” Josh asked, smiling sweetly.
Mike nodded without making eye contact. “It felt like… you… actually got me, got what it’s like to… to just be pissed and to be okay with being pissed!”
Josh pursed his lips as he nodded. “Yeah, I DO get that. I… get angry too and… and Rob’s great, and so’s Danny,” he recoiled a little as he heard a slight growl from Mike at the mention of the name. “Sorry,” he said meekly, “But they can be as ‘supportive’ as they want, but they just don’t GET what it’s like to feel so angry that you could…” he couldn’t finish the sentence. He just shrugged.
“So angry you just gotta hit someone?” Mike offered, getting a nod in return. “Did you… really beat up the Angel kid?” he asked curiously, thinking back to the accusations Nicky had made about him the previous year.
Josh looked exceptionally guilty at the mention of the younger boy, so much so that the nod he gave wasn’t even needed to provide his answer.
“Why?” Mike asked curiously.
“He was a bully. He deserved it!” Josh said, “Well… I thought he was. Turns out he wasn’t, but… I dunno, he was still hurting a friend!”
“Ya know… Nicky thought it was me,” Mike explained. As Josh stared back at him, he went on, “He found out someone was doing something a bit ‘violent’ and he just jumped straight to ‘it’s gotta be Mikey’. What a cunt!”
“Sorry,” Josh apologised meekly. “Wait, that wasn’t… he didn’t break up with you because of what I did, did he?”
“No, he…” Mike started, looking momentarily sad, but it was quickly replaced with anger again. “He had other reasons!”
“Good,” Josh said, smiling meekly.
“Ugh, god, everyone’s just so… fucking annoying,” Mike growled, shaking his head, fists clenching.
“Bet I know what’d cheer you up!” Josh said with a wicked smile.
As Mike looked at him, Josh suddenly lifted his foot to kick him in the balls.
“Unnnh, you cunt!” Mike growled as he doubled over and tumbled to the floor, grasping at his crotch. He took a few deep breaths as Josh stood over him sniggering.
“Aww, did I hit you too hard?” Josh asked in a mocking tone.
“You mean like this?” Mike replied, lunging forward to headbutt Josh in the crotch.
As Josh let out a yell and fell to the floor as well, Mike jumped onto him, giving a couple of sharp jabs to the stomach.
“Ah, get off,” Josh grunted, giving Mike a punch to the ribs, sending him rolling away.
Both boys laid flat on their backs, nursing their sore crotches as they stared straight up into the cloudless sky.
“WHAT’S GOING ON OVER THERE?” a Year 13 boy called over, seeing the two prone boys.
“Nothing!” Mike called back, struggling to sit up. “Just messing around!”
The older student stared back suspiciously, but moved on.
“Just messing around,” Josh mocked, receiving a sharp punch to the arm for it.
“You’re a twat,” Mike said, shaking his head.
“Guess we fit right in with the rest of the dorm then!” Josh sniggered back, getting a laugh and nod of agreement from Mike.