Jack Hamilton

Sorry for the confusion, it seems the way I ended the last chapter made some of you think it was the end, but we're not quite there yet. Thank you all for your ongoing thoughts and feedback, I remain astounded every day by the love you all have for this story. Sadly though, the end is in sight as this is the penultimate chapter! Emails welcome to matterotica@hotmail.co.uk

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Jack Hamilton Is Not A Nice Person

Chapter 19

THEN

Jack's cock felt huge in his hand. He had been ridiculously horny all day. His bedtime jerkoff couldn't come soon enough. As soon as he jumped into bed, he was hard. He let his hand slide down into his shorts and was pumping away instantly.

He had been going a couple of minutes when he began to fantasise. He thought about Annabeth from the grade above him. Her tits seemed to be getting bigger every day. He imagined ripping off her shirt, pawing at the perfect mounds of flesh. His breathing got deeper, faster, the amazing sensations in his cock growing.

He sat up, pulled off his t-shirt, raised his hips to remove his shorts, feeling a slight thrill from the nudity, mortally terrified someone might come into his room any second and discover his nudity. Ever since that day he had seen Elliott stripped half naked by the bullies in the park he had been terrified of ever experiencing anything like it. It did still give him a thrill to do it himself in private though. He lay back down and closed his eyes again.

Elliott. Suddenly there he was. Annabeth and her magnificent rack was gone. In her place, there was Elliott, walking out of the bathroom, towel slunk low, perfect, smooth flesh from neck down to the slight hint of pubes. 'Drop it!' Jack desperately thought. 'Drop the towel!' he pleaded at the image in his mind.

His hand was pumping away again, sliding quickly, lubricated by the near-constant flow of pre-cum that had begun the moment the image appeared in his mind. "Ah, oh... oh God!" Jack mumbled to himself, eyes closed tightly, reaching out to touch Elliott in his mind. Closer, closer, his fingertips mere inches away from the smooth, firm chest. Closer, closer, a spark shot through him as he felt the warmth in the tip of his finger as he made contact.

"FUCK!" Jack gasped as his cock erupted, spunk flying high into the air, landing heavily with audible splats as his hand continued pumping out spurt after spurt. Breathing heavily, his hand dropped to his side as reality began to creep back.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, realising it had happened again. More and more often, Elliott had made his way into Jack's wank fantasies and he hated how aroused it made him. He jumped off the bed, grabbing some tissues to wipe himself down with, a few drops of cum dripping to the carpet.

Cleaned off, he quickly pulled his clothing back on, the fear of discovery even more debilitating in his post-orgasmic state. He jumped back into bed, curling up, eyes closed, willing himself not to think about anything at all.

For the longest time, he lay there, tossing and turning, completely unable to get comfortable. He eventually found a position he liked. He had pulled a pillow down beside him, laying on his side and leaning onto it. Closing his eyes again he tried to sleep. Beginning to doze slightly, Elliott returned, not naked this time, just laying there beside him. The pillow was his chest, Jack dreamily resting against it, imagining his friend's arm around him as he lay there.

Trembling, he could feel wetness streaming down his cheeks. Imagining Elliott like that made him so happy but he knew it could never happen. Jack Hamilton was not gay, he never could be, he knew that much as a completely immutable fact. It was only Elliott, no other guy ever appeared in his mind. Nobody could ever know that he had these thoughts, not even Elliott himself.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" Elliott demanded furiously, Jack's letter clenched tightly in his hand. "How could you just sit there going through all of that on your own without telling your best friend?"

Jack looked back at him, eyebrows raised. Just hours earlier, Elliott had revealed his own secret, that he had lusted after Jack for years, allowed his issues to mess with his head to the point where he had actually considered taking his own life.

"Okay, fair point," Elliott conceded, knowing what his friend meant from his expression alone. "So you liked me and I liked you!" he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Like!" Jack corrected him. He got a puzzled look back, so he elaborated. "Present tense, not past. Like, not liked. The feeling... didn't pass!"

"What!" Elliott said in shock. Jack really still felt that way about him? "So... we could..." he started, leaning in towards Jack.

"No!" Jack said firmly, raising a hand to Elliott's chest and pushing him back. He felt a tightening in his own chest as he made contact but pushed past it. The confused and hurt look he got back was painful and Jack really was tempted to just let go and see what happened, but there was too much in the way now. "Elliott, you tortured me. You humiliated me and hurt me and made me do things..." Jack wanted to say 'things I didn't want to do', but his earlier reaction had further cemented the possibility in his mind that it wasn't entirely accurate.

"What are you saying, Jack?" Elliott asked. He suspected he knew, but had to hear it.

"Anything like that, anything that might have happened... that went away the day you decided to destroy my life!" Jack explained.

"So... that's it? We're done?" Elliott asked, looking distraught.

Jack sighed, let his eyes wander around the area as he contemplated his response. "No," he said with a slight head shake. "We probably should be after what you've done, but I meant what I said in that letter, El. I don't think I could take it if I lost you, so maybe we could eventually be friends again, but anything more than that... I'm sorry."

Elliott swallowed hard. It was tough to hear, but it was fair. If anything, it was exponentially more than he expected. When he started all of this with Ben, he knew that regardless of what version of Jack came out the other side, their friendship would effectively be over but still he had done it. To know now that there might be something salvageable, it was probably the best result he could hope for.

"I get it," Elliott said gently. He looked at the road and said, "We should be getting to school."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, re-starting the car. He grabbed the wheel, but the car remained stationary.

"Jack?" Elliott asked, placing a hand on Jack's arm.

Jack's hands dropped into his lap. "How can I go back there?" he asked dejectedly. "You made me humiliate myself, you turned everyone against me, you made it impossible for me to walk down the halls without being laughed at but all of that I can take. Fuck it, I'm actually getting used to it, but how can I walk back in there with everyone knowing I'm not the Captain any more. That's who I am... or was, without it I'm just... nobody!"

"Jack, do you remember back in freshman year, I think it was when you told me about how Coach Sanders was gonna make you varsity Captain, you promised me that once you were at the top, you'd make things better?" Elliott asked.

"Fuck' sake El, I get it, I fucked it all up. You don't have to keep rubbing it in my face!" Jack replied angrily.

"No, now, that's not what I meant!" Elliott said apologetically. "What I'm trying to ask is... if you made that promise to me again, do you think you could keep it this time?"

Jack stared blankly at his friend for several seconds, deliberating. "I'd... do my best, but it's too late for that!"

"Okay, let's make a deal then. If I can find a way to undo some of the damage we've done, you promise to do your best. How does that sound?" Elliott offered, holding his hand out to seal the deal.

"I think you sound delusional, but... what the hell!" Jack replied, taking Elliott's hand and shaking it.

Coach Sanders leaned back in his chair, staring over the desk at Bryce eyes narrowing. "You missed practice yesterday!" he said accusingly.

"Sorry Coach," Bryce replied apologetically, then added, "But from what I hear, it never actually happened anyway."

"I guess not," the Coach said with a shrug. "Anyway, you're probably wondering why you're here."

"Yes Sir," Bryce said politely.

"Well if you heard about last night, then I'm guessing you know I've removed Jack as team Captain," Coach sanders started. "Shame really, he was a good Captain."

"Yes Sir, he was!" Bryce replied sharply.

The Coach sniggered, shaking his head, "I'm quite surprised to hear you say that. I was always under the impression the two of you weren't exactly on the best of terms."

"We weren't," Bryce replied honestly, "But I care more about what happens on the field than off so regardless of how much of a dick I thought Jack was, he was an excellent team Captain. All credit to you, Coach, but most of our victories have come down to his leadership." Bryce felt conflicted. While he felt good for offering such vocal praise of Jack, he also knew that his decision to let Trent and Evan off of their metaphorical leashes had been what led to Jack's removal in the first place.

"You're not wrong about his skill, but what happens off the field is just as important as what happens on it. You're gonna have to learn that pretty quickly if you're going to be anywhere near the Captain that Jack was!" Coach Sanders said bluntly.

"Me?" Bryce asked in shock. Had he given it any forethought, he would have been expecting this. He was without a doubt one of the best players on the team, the other members all respected and/or feared him and he certainly had the presence to hold a position of power. He had been so caught up in what was happening to Jack that he hadn't thought about it.

"Yes, you. You've still got most of your junior year and all of senior year to make your mark. I think you could do well." the Coach explained.

"I think Jack should still be Captain," Bryce said bluntly.

The Coach stood from his chair and walked round the desk, shaking his head. "Well he's not and I'm offering it to you!" he said, stopping to lean on the front of desk, staring down at Bryce.

Bryce began to object again, "But he should still..."

"HE'S GONE!" Coach Sanders snapped furiously. "He failed, he's weak, he let the team down and now he's gone and if you say even a single word more about it, you will be too, got it?"

"Yes Sir," Bryce said, falling in line immediately, unwilling to risk his own place on the team for what was obviously a futile argument. "Can I go?"

"Yes, and think about it. Someone has to take his place. If it's not you, I'll just find someone else!" Coach said as Bryce headed for the door. "I made Jack and I can just as easily make someone else to take his place!"

Jack looked across at the school from the parking lot. He was outright terrified to approach, sitting in the car motionless. Oblivious to everything happening around him, he didn't even register the conversation mere feet away. Suddenly shaken from his fear by the door being pulled open, Jack looked round to see Elliott, now joined by Ben, Lincoln and Danny.

"Ready to go?" Ben asked with a smile.

Every day for the last week, Jack had walked in alone, the others perhaps a short distance behind to monitor him or to be ready to issue more humiliating commands, but still alone nonetheless. It looked like today that would be different. He walked alone, Elliott and Ben together on one side, Lincoln and Danny on the other.

As soon as they started nearing the other students, the comments started.

"What, no hot pants today?" a sophomore guy called, seeing Jack dressed in his old clothing, albeit sans letterman jacket.

Before Jack could respond, Ben called out, "Sorry, guess you'll have to jerk off to something else tonight!"

The quick retort attracted the laughs of the other nearby students, the sophomore scowling and turning away. Jack and the others laughed too, looking round at the youngest of their group who simply gave a casual shrug, smirking to himself.

Just inside the main entrance, a group of senior girls were huddled, squealing at each other over nothing particularly interesting. "Bored of the whore look already?" one of them called out.

"No, he's just leaving it to the professionals!" Ben replied, nodding to the girls with a snigger.

The girls started screaming abuse back at them, but the group was already down the hallway, laughing at Ben's second surprisingly quick response.

"Damn, you're on fire today!" Lincoln chuckled, moving behind Ben to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, I do what I can," Ben replied with a grin. These were the sorts of things Ben always thought. All the times he had been insulted or abused by Jack or any of the other petty thugs in the school, the perfect responses had always run through his mind but he had never had the nerve to say them aloud. Now though, with the support of the others, he finally found it in himself to let it out. The fact that it was defending Jack at the same time was just the cherry on top.

"Thanks," Jack said as they neared his locker. He paused momentarily, nervous that perhaps all of this was just an elaborate ruse, that something horrendous was about to burst from his locker and start the mockery all over again.

"Relax, it's not trapped!" Lincoln said, getting a chuckle from the others.

Jack opened the locker and retrieved his books before bidding Lincoln and Ben goodbye for now, the two younger boys heading off to their own homerooms as Jack walked along with Elliott and Danny.

"Hey, erm... how's Aaron today?" Jack asked, actually feeling bold enough to hold an actual conversation. The comments and calls from other students were still being thrown around, but they were much easier to ignore flanked by the other two.

"Pretty good, actually," Danny said cheerfully. "They think he might actually be out by the end of the week."

"D'you think... it might be okay if I came to see him again?" Jack asked nervously.

"Sure," Danny said with a shrug. "Can't say he'll be happy to see you, but I guess you can try."

"Great, let's go after school," Elliott said, inviting himself. He felt bad for not visiting their friend more often, but it had been a crazy weekend. It was time to make up for that now.

"Jack!" a voice called from behind them. The three students turned to see Mr Wendell running after them.

"Morning Sir," Jack said timidly. Regardless of how, or why, Mr Wendell was in league with Ben and Elliott, he had still witnessed one of Jack's most humiliating moments. When the dildo had popped out of his shorts right in front of Mr Wendell, Jack had wanted to die on the spot. He felt a hint of that embarrassment creep back in just from seeing the man.

"Could you come with me, please, the Principal wants to see you," Mr Wendell requested. He looked first at Danny, then at Elliott. "You two can go," he directed to Elliott, his tone more than a little pointed.

The two teens looked at Jack and shrugged, heading on towards homeroom.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," Mr Wendell said as they started walking.

"What's your deal?" Jack asked, slightly emboldened by his slightly more tolerable start to the day than usual. "If you're in on it with Ben and others, then you know what they're doing, but you let it carry on!"

"Yeah, turns out I didn't exactly know everything they were doing!" Mr Wendell said with a sigh.

"You... didn't?" Jack asked, frowning.

"Okay, come here," Mr Wendell said, opening the door to a classroom they were passing. It wouldn't be occupied until first period started so they had privacy for now, closing the door behind them.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I swear, if I'd known everything they were doing, I'd have stopped it all right then," Mr Wendell explained.

"So... what DID you know?" Jack asked, slightly confused. "And how are you even..." he stopped, raising his hands in a shrug. There was just so much he didn't know.

"I've been close with Ben for some time now. He saw me without a mask in the parking lot when he first started going to the club, back when he... wasn't doing so well," the teacher said.

The comment should have been the beginning of an explanation, but if anything it just brought up more questions. Jack just stared in amazement. Mr Wendell knew about the club. He went to the club. He and Ben had been friends. When Ben wasn't doing so well?

"Look, Jack, I AM Ben." Mr Wendell started. "Not literally, obviously, but what he's been put through here, that was pretty much my life back in High School, so when we met and he started opening up to me about it all, we bonded quickly and I felt sorry for him. I knew what it was like to go through all of that. So when he started talking to me about getting even with you, I'm ashamed to admit, I was okay with it. I never got to stand up to my bullies at school, but I figured I'd get at least some sense of satisfaction from seeing Ben do it, so I let him. I mean, I was never going to get involved. If it all came out, I could simply plead ignorance. That's a lot harder if you actually get involved!

The man took a few moments to let Jack take it in before he continued. "As far as I knew, they were just playing with you a bit, embarrassing you, knocking you down a peg or two. I mean, the dildo, I figured that was just... harmless fun or something. I had no idea they were making you..." Mr Wendell stopped, not wanting to actually verbalise it. "But then Davis called me and told me everything."

"Wait, Davis... you... you know my brother?" Jack asked. It was all a lot to take in.

"Yeah I do, we hang out sometimes... at the club... like last night..." Mr Wendell said cautiously, waiting for Jack to catch on.

Goosebumps popped up all over Jack's body as he connected the dots. "Y... you..." Jack said shakily, pointing at the teacher and backing away. He was the right build, right colour hair, right age... he was blonde son!

"I swear, Jack, I didn't know it was you!" Mr Wendell said. "And I didn't know they were making you do that stuff. Anything I can do to help make this right..."

"There's no need!" Jack interrupted. "It's over," he said with a sigh, "But... thanks for offering." Jack felt his cock twitch. It was quite different from finding out he had been fingered by his brother. The realisation he had been fucked by his teacher was alarmingly arousing. Yet another feeling to add to the increasing pile of confusion.

"Come on, I need to get you to the Principal's office," Mr Wendell said, heading for the door.

"Wait, he really wants to see me?" Jack asked in shock. "I thought that was just a lie to get me alone!"

"Afraid not, but don't worry, you're not in trouble!" Mr Wendell reassured him as they stepped back into the hallway, just in time for the bell to ring.

They walked along against the flow of students, some still giving Jack mocking smirks, though their comments were muted by the presence of a teacher. As they reached the office, Mr Wendell knocked then opened the door immediately.

"Ah Mr Wendell, thank you," the Principal said warmly to the other teacher, then looked to Jack. "Mr Hamilton, two visits in the last week, this is becoming a habit!" he joked, but his smile didn't returned.

"You can go," the Principal said to Mr Wendell.

"Wait, could he... stay?" Jack requested nervously. He still had no idea what was happening, and it was strange that the teacher who had been the cause of such doubt and confusion suddenly seemed like a potential ally for him, but it was how Jack felt.

The two adults exchanged glances, both nodding. The door was closed and all three of them took seats.

The Principal took a deep breath, looking Jack up and down for a moment. "Mr Hamilton... Jack...firstly, don't worry, you're not in trouble," he said, just as the other teacher had minutes earlier. "I just wanted to have a quiet word with you because we're a little concerned. Coach Sanders informed me you've been removed as Captain of the football team. That alone would be enough to worry us, it's not exactly a secret how important that is to you, your teachers often tell me that keeping your grades high enough to stay on the team is your main motivation for trying in class."

Jack felt a strange warmness. He had never really given the faculty much thought. He figured they were all there, just doing their jobs, getting by, doing what they had to. Did they really discuss him? Was it just him? Did they do it with all students? He realised it was a strange thing to fixate on but after feeling so unwanted, so outcast and rejected for the last week, finding out people actually gave a crap about him was quite encouraging.

"But on top of that," the Principal went on, "There was the incident with young Mr Carson last week as well as your unusual behaviour, in particular, the... unusual clothing choices you've made."

Mr Wendell looked at Jack. He knew that the clothing and all of the embarrassment that came with it had been the handiwork of Elliott, Ben and their friends.

"Yeah, the... football thing sucks," Jack said with a sigh. "And Aaron... that was... that was horrible. The other stuff..." he stopped. This was it. He could turn them in. Thanks to Davis and Mr Wendell, he now had witnesses, people who could corroborate his story, discredit the incriminating footage the others had. He took a deep breath and looked the Principal in the eye. "I lost a bet and that was me paying up. I'm really sorry if it's caused any problems Sir!"

The man in charge looked just a little suspicious, but nodded his understanding. "Okay then. If that's all it was, then that's fine but yes, please avoid doing it any more. The dress code in the school is already hard enough to monitor without throwing in young men in hot-pants!" he said with a slight smirk.

Jack blushed but knew the man was only joking harmlessly.

"I'm sure you've already been advised, but if you need to speak to the school counsellor about anything, his door is always open," the Principal advised. "But unless there's anything else, feel free to get back to class. Hand this to your teacher if they say anything about being late." he handed Jack a small slip of paper.

Jack and Mr Wendell stood and left the office. As soon as they were clear, Mr Wendell looked to the teen. "You could have snitched on them so easily then. Hell, if I was you I'd have told him everything!"

"I guess that's the difference between us then," Jack said, not meaning to sound as harsh as he did. "I don't wanna still be looking for revenge in twenty years time. I'd rather forgive and forget."

Mr Wendell blushed, completely humbled by the boy he had been so ready to dismiss as a brainless bully. "You're right," he said with a gentle nod. "You're a good kid, Jack!"

"And you're a good fuck!" Jack said playfully, with a wink, watching in amusement as the teacher frantically looked round to see if they had been overheard. "See ya later!" Jack said, almost laughing as he ran off to first period.

Jack had almost expected to be taken to the store room at lunchtime so it was a little surprising when Elliott and Danny just walked with him towards the cafeteria. As they got near, Ben and Lincoln caught up to them.

Jack wasn't sure whether the mocking jibes had lessened or if he was just able to ignore them easier while engaged in conversation with the others, either way, he was glad to be able to walk down a hallway without being made to feel worthless. Once again, Ben was on duty as insult-deflector.

They had all sat together again, which was attracting attention in itself. Three seniors sitting with a junior and a sophomore. Two football players sitting with a former player and former Captain. Four straight guys sitting with the known gay. It seemed no matter what the other students saw each of them as, seeing them grouped in that way was unusual to them.

None of them cared though, least of all Jack. They had done this one day last week and he remembered how much he had liked it, actually feeling like he was amongst friends. Of course, that day he had been living with the knowledge that it wouldn't last, that he was likely to be given some humiliating or degrading task at any moment. Today was different, today it was just... normal. No imminent embarrassment, no anxious wait for the other shoe to drop, just lunch, with friends.

Sure, depending on how you wanted to look at it, it was lunch with his captors and tormentors. On the flip side of that though, it was a bully having lunch with four of his victims. As Jack had explained it to Ben earlier, each of them was the good guy in their own story and the bad guy in the others'. Ultimately it made little difference, this was just the first step towards actually being happy again.

Jack felt that just one thing was missing but fortunately, that was about to change... Bryce had arrived. Their eyes met despite the crowds. The corners of Jack's mouth began to twitch, gradually creeping up into a broad smile as he beheld the sixteen-year-old. It was strange, they had been together less than twenty-four hours ago, cuddling in the back of the car on the way home from the club, but so much had happened since that it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Jack stood up from the table as Bryce got closer. "Hey guys," he said as got close.

Suddenly Jack was on him. He threw his arms around the younger teen, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Jack, everyone's looking!" Bryce whispered as he raised his hands to squeeze Jack back.

"Don't care!" Jack insisted, holding on.

By the time they parted, everyone else had returned to their own conversations, the two football players sudden and very public embrace clearly not juicy enough to inspire any real attention.

"What was that for?" Bryce asked, blushing slightly as he took a seat beside the others who were just watching in amused silence.

"Look, I barely know what's happening today. Don't ask me to explain, just go with it!" Jack said, feeling a little light-headed.

Bryce smiled. He wanted to reach across the table and take Jack's hand, but felt that might be pushing things a bit too far, too soon. He looked at Jack, then to Lincoln and Danny. "Hey, erm... so Coach Sanders asked to see me this morning," he started, getting curious looks back from the other players. "He said he wants me take over as Captain!"

"What did you say?" Danny asked, looking somewhat shocked.

"I said Jack should be Captain!" Bryce said, as if no other option was even worth considering.

"You did?" Jack asked in surprise. Even with their increasing closeness, Jack was shocked. It was never a secret that Bryce wanted the position for himself, he had said so publicly on numerous occasions. To think that he would actually turn it down now in favour of Jack, it was incredible.

"Yeah," Bryce said, smiling warmly, but it quickly faded, "Although Coach didn't like it. Pretty much threatened to throw me off the team."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Jack said, shaking his head.

"We need to find a way to change his mind!" Elliott said firmly.

Jack was already appreciating the efforts being made by Elliott and the others to start making things better for him, but his Captaincy was one area he didn't expect them to be able to do anything. He knew Coach Sanders, probably better than anyone in the school. He had seen the side of him he kept hidden from the world and deep down inside, Jack knew nothing would ever convince him to take Jack back.

"That'll never happen!" Danny said, shaking his head. "He's stubborn as fuck and doesn't do second chances!"

"That's an understatement!" Jack agreed.

"Well maybe we should try another approach," Bryce said, looking thoughtful.

Aaron was looking forward to his visitors. It had been an excruciatingly dull day so the thought of company was quite appealing. He was beginning to get frustrated with being in the hospital. He had regained almost complete movement now and couldn't understand why they were still reluctant to let him go. They kept saying they still had to monitor him, but he just saw it as a waste of his time.

Danny was first in, as always. Lincoln and Bryce were close behind, eagerly greeting him with fist bumps. Elliott and Ben walked in next, hand-in-hand. Jack sneaked in at the back, almost trying to hide.

The atmosphere was lively, cheerful almost, something that Aaron really appreciated. It had all been so tense since the accident, parents arguing about long term care plans if Aaron was disabled, Doctors discussing worst case scenarios and while Danny had done his best to keep his friend positive, there had been tears. Now though, it was just a group of school friends hanging out and having fun.

The subject of what they had been doing to Jack was avoided. Aaron had been made aware of everything that had happened and was smart enough not to probe about it. The highlight of the conversation was Lincoln and Ben re-enacting some of the younger boy's most vicious zingers from throughout the day. Ben just kept surprising them all, showing whole new sides to him each day as he slowly blossomed from a silent victim into a cheerful, witty and all-round entertaining young man.

Watching Ben entertain the others only made Jack feel worse. It seemed everywhere he looked was a reminder of the harm he had done – looking at Elliott, seeing him sitting on the bench waiting to end it all, watching Ben and realising he had suppressed this wonderful boy for so long with his bullying, sitting in Aaron's hospital room and knowing the physical pain he had inflicted. It was tough for Jack to stay there, torn between his anger at the others for what they had done to him, but equally furious at himself for his own actions that had led them there.

"I did it on purpose!" Jack suddenly blurted out loudly, stopping the excitable chatter from the others.

As one they all turned to look at him. Some in the room already knew what he was talking about, Danny and Aaron seemed more than a little lost.

"Jack, don't!" Lincoln said, shaking his head.

"What? What's he talking about?" Danny asked, frowning.

"The... the tackle," Jack said nervously. Rather than backing away from Danny as he probably knew was sensible, he stood from his seat in the corner and moved closer. "It wasn't an accident. I aimed for Aaron on purpose and I made it a hard hit on purpose!"

Thankfully Jack's confession had given the others enough warning to get into place and hold Danny back.

"YOU FUCKING PRICK, YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING KILLED HIM!" Danny snarled. "GET OFF OF ME, I'M GONNA FUCK HIM UP!" He struggled against Bryce, Lincoln and Elliott trying to get at Jack, who remained motionless.

"Danny," Aaron said, reaching out to grab his friend's arm. "DANNY!" he snapped loudly when he got no response.

Danny, still struggling against the others turned to look at Aaron, who was shaking his head.

"Stop it!" Aaron requested. "Please!"

His face still screwed up with anger, but he stopped struggling against his friends and backed off a little.

Aaron sighed, looking thoughtfully at Jack. "I know!" he said bluntly. "I know it was on purpose. Well, I didn't KNOW, but I was fairly certain. I felt you grab me while I was in the air and pull me down."

"What? Why haven't you turned me in?" Jack asked, eyes wide. "What I did... that was assault!"

"Yeah, it was," Aaron nodded, the others gradually relaxing as Danny slowly sat back down into a chair. "And what we did to you... that was rape!"

The room was painfully silent as nervous looks were exchanged.

"No, I wouldn't say..." Elliott started.

"Dress it up any way you like, but that's what it was. You guys may be all... I dunno, friendly and all okay now, but we're all rapists and he's a victim!" Aaron said, pointing to Jack. He got nothing but silence back. "Look, I had a lot of time to think in here. For that first day I couldn't even move, all I could do was lay there and think and I started thinking about why I was there. Sure, I knew what Jack had done, but... but I knew what I'd done too. We did awful things and... and maybe... what happened to me... maybe it was God's way of punishing me for it."

"What the fuck? No!" Danny complained. "God didn't put you here, that asshole did!" he said sharply, pointing to Jack.

"Yeah, because he was pissed at us for humiliating him, which we did because we were pissed at him for hurting and humiliating us, which he did because... fuck it, who knows. What I'm saying is, we keep just getting pissed and hurting each other, next time it might be worse!" Aaron explained, sitting up and looking round the group one at a time.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone any more," Jack said weakly.

"About fucking time, you prick!" Aaron said sharply, then gave a cheeky grin.

Jack smiled back but remained silent.

"Geez, and I thought I was the gay one. Get a room!" Ben said with a smirk.

"Shh, you fucked it up, I reckon they were about to kiss," Bryce said, joining in with the younger boy's teasing.

"Fuck you!" Jack snapped back angrily, but with a slight hint of amusement.

"Maybe later!" Bryce replied, looking at Jack hungrily while biting his bottom lip.

There it was again, the twitch in Jack's pants. Thankfully the moment passed quickly as everyone else jumped in, throwing playful jibes and remarks at each other. Once they started getting too loud, a nurse came along to usher some of them out. Aaron insisted they should all go off and enjoy their evening so they all piled out of the room, but Jack remained behind.

"Whassup Jack?" Aaron asked as he saw the older teen hanging back.

Jack reached into his bag and then held out his hand to Aaron, offering a wad of money. "Here,"

"What's this?" Aaron asked, frowning as he took it.

"I... I earned it... at the club. I remember you saying once that you thought a football scholarship was your... your best chance, you know, for college. I know it's not enough, but I'm gonna earn more. You shouldn't..." Jack paused, struggling to find the words. "What I did shouldn't ruin your future."

Aaron stared for a few moments, completely in shock. "Jack, that is simultaneously both the sweetest... and most stupid thing I've ever heard! Do you have any idea how much college actually costs?"

Jack thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Honestly, neither do I, but I know it's a hell of a lot more than this!" Aaron replied with a smirk.

"I can earn more. I'll do it. I'll get what you need!" Jack insisted.

"Jack, you don't have to," Aaron said, tossing the cash back. "I meant what I said before, we need to stop getting back at each other. That means forgiving. I'm not quite there yet, but I don't need you to make it up to me. Keep your cash, from what Lincoln told me, you fucking earned it! Or I suppose... you earned it fucking!" He chuckled at his own pun, getting a reluctant laugh back from Jack. "Don't worry. God works in mysterious ways. He put me here, he'll give me a way out too."

"Okay," Jack conceded. He still disagreed but was respectful enough not to outright say it. "Guess I'll... see you around then."

"Yeah, see ya, Cap," Aaron said.

After leaving the hospital, the guys were slightly at a loss for what to do. It hadn't been long, but they had quickly gotten used to spending their evenings teasing and torturing Jack. Without that, they weren't sure what else they wanted to do. They eventually settled on heading to the park.

As they pulled up in the parking lot, there was a strange feeling hanging in the air. This was where it all started, just eleven days earlier. Eleven days and it felt like Jack's entire world had changed.

They neared the basketball court and Bryce nudged Jack's arm, grinning. "Strip basketball?" he asked playfully.

Jack chuckled, more at Bryce's boyish enthusiasm than the comment itself. He shook his head and waved his hand, "Nah, I'm still pretty achey from last night. I may as well just strip!"

"I wouldn't complain!" Bryce said, winking before running ahead to catch up with Lincoln.

Once they reached the court, Elliott, Bryce, Lincoln and Danny started a game of 2-on-2 while Ben and Jack sat on the sidelines watching.

After a few minutes, Jack felt Ben lean on his arm, sighing. "What's up?" he asked, eyes still fixed on the court.

"I'm gonna miss this!" Ben said softly, letting out another sigh.

"Miss what?" Jack asked, frowning as he looked round at the younger teen.

"This. Us guys all hanging out," Ben explained.

"Why? Is it... stopping?" Jack asked, getting more and more confused.

Ben sat up, raising his eyebrows like Jack had just asked something really obvious. "Duh, of course!" Ben said sharply. "The only reason we all hung out was to get back at you. Now that it's over, you and Elliott will make up and start hanging out together, Aaron'll get out of hospital and he'll be hanging out with Danny and Bryce and Lincoln. I'll just go back to being Elliott's secret boyfriend."

"You're pretty smart Ben, you know that?" Jack said back.

Ben shrugged. "Yup. Brains AND beauty, it really is a terrible curse, but I live with it!" he said with an impish smile.

Jack rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "So if you're so smart, how can you be this stupid?" Ben looked back, curious about his point rather than offended by the possible insult. Jack shook his head again. "You really think they'll all just forget about you?"

"I dunno, it's what normally happens," Ben said. He didn't sound like he was pitying himself, his tone was simply one of calm acceptance.

"Oh my God, they love you!" Jack said bluntly. "Seriously, even I can tell how awesome they think you are!"

"How awesome THEY think I am. Them? Not you?" Ben asked, with a one-sided smile.

Jack didn't know what to say. Despite the things the boy had inflicted upon him, Jack was also beginning to like him as much as the others were, but every time he looked at him, he saw a constant reminder of the years he had spent acting the way Craig and the Coach had trained him to act.

"I... well... erm..." Jack stuttered. There was no way he could explain everything he was feeling. He simply didn't have the words.

"Or does it still bother you that I'm gay? I know how 'wrong' you think it is!" Ben said, putting airquotes round 'wrong'. "Which I think is kinda weird, what with you being gay!"

Jack jumped away from Ben. "I'm not gay!" he said sharply.

"You've done gay things with guys and enjoyed them," Ben said with a smirk. "Look, relax, you know none of us are gonna judge you for it!"

"I'm not gay!" Jack insisted through gritted teeth.

"Jack it's okay..." Ben insisted, confused about why Jack was getting so uptight.

"Fuck you. I'm not gay!" Jack snapped, standing up and running off.

"Jack?" Elliott called out. Having seen the two teens on the sidelines beginning to argue, he had stopped playing and approached them, just in time to see Jack running off. He looked down at Ben. "What happened?"

"I... I dunno," Ben said with a shrug. "I was just talking about him being gay and..."

"Ugh, Ben," Elliott said shaking his head.

"What? I didn't..." Ben started, but stopped, looking upset.

Elliott squatted at his boyfriend's side, brushing his cheek gently with the back of his fingers, allowing his hand to slide round onto the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, it's ok, you didn't do anything wrong, that's just... a touchy subject!" He planted a gentle kiss on the boy's forehead. "I'll be right back, just gonna go and see if I can find him."

Elliott ran off in the direction Jack had run. As it was in the direction of the parking lot, he guessed that might be where he was going. He was correct. He got there and saw Jack sitting in his car, staring blankly ahead.

"Not going anywhere without these!" Elliott said, dangling Jack's car keys in front of him. He had obviously forgotten that he had allowed Elliott to drive his car from the hospital as he wanted to ride with Bryce and Lincoln.

Jack reached out for the keys, but they were immediately snatched away. "Gimme my keys!" he demanded.

"Come and get 'em, gayboy!" Elliott said. His strategy was risky, but he knew Jack. He dashed around to the back of the car as Jack launched himself out of the car, jumping over the door.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Jack snarled furiously.

"Ooh, is the scary gay man all angry?" Elliott asked, smirking.

"ELLIOTT, SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I'LL MAKE YOU!" Jack yelled, poised and ready to dash around the car depending on which way Elliott moved.

"MAKE ME, YOU LITTLE FAG!" Elliott shouted back, not angry, just matching Jack's volume. He took off back into the park.

Jack was straight after him, fists clenched, ready to strike.

"Come on you big queer!" Elliott called back. He had no trouble keeping ahead of Jack. When they both used to play football, Elliott always had the edge when it came to speed. Since Elliott had quit playing, he had maintained his levels of fitness, but had lost a little bulk so he was now even faster. He kept a safe distance ahead of Jack, repeatedly calling back taunts and insults.

They dashed past the basketball court, getting strange looks from the other four who simply shrugged and left them to it.

"GET BACK HERE!" Jack yelled angrily.

"Why? You gonna fuck me up... or just fuck me?" Elliott called back.

"SHUT UP!" Jack snarled, pushing himself as hard as he could, getting more and more frustrated that the gap wasn't closing.

"Hey, you're the one in the park chasing guys!" Elliott said with a laugh, beginning to get a little breathless from the mix of running and shouting. Figuring he had gone far enough, he stopped near the edge of the lake. He turned, expecting Jack to come to a halt and confront him. His eyes widened as he realised Jack wasn't stopping.

Charging at full force, Jack lowered his shoulder, burying it into Elliott's stomach, arms grabbing him around his waist. They both flew back several feet, carried at first by Jack's momentum but then by gravity as Elliott's footing slipped on the wet lake bank.

The water was shallow, but falling in backwards, head-first, it was enough for Elliott to go under. His head popped up moments later, coughing and spluttering, Jack still on top of him.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Jack shouted, grabbing at Elliott's shirt with both hands.

"No!" Elliott said in between coughs.

"TAKE IT BACK. YOU'RE WRONG!" Jack snarled, shaking Elliott.

The prone teen bucked Jack off of him, rolling him to the side and mounting him. "I'd take it back if I was wrong, but I'm not!" Elliott said, grabbing Jack in the same way he was currently being held.

Jack rolled again, putting Elliott onto his back in the mud again, staring down at him. "You are, I'm not gay!" Jack said, quietening a little.

Elliott didn't attempt to throw Jack off, instead he just looked up at him and said, "Okay, then answer one question..."

"What?" Jack demanded pointedly.

"Why are you hard?" Elliott asked with a smirk.

Jack's eyes widened. He looked down, their crotches pressed together. Drenched in lake water and covered in mud, furious from the chase, Jack had barely even felt it, but there it was, a very prominent erection, nestled alongside Elliott's.

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Shaking his head, confused by the conflict between his body and mind, he just stared down at his friend. "I'm not gay," he said weakly.

Elliott raised his hand, wiping a blob if mud from Jack's cheek. "You said... in the car... after the letter... you still like me!" Elliott replied softly. He got a reluctant nod. "Well I'm a guy..." he added, eyebrows raising.

"That's different, you're... you!" Jack said, attempting to justify himself.

"What about Bryce?" Elliott asked, still staring up at Jack sitting atop him.

Jack's stomach lurched at the mention of the name. Suddenly, what he was doing felt wrong, having his boner pressed against Elliott's. He frowned. How could he feel like he was cheating on someone he wasn't even dating, especially if they were both guys!

"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Elliott said, seeing the look on Jack's face. "Look, Jack, don't like, drown me or anything for this, but have you ever considered the possibility that you might just be... bisexual?" Elliott ventured, flinching very slightly, expecting some kind of violent reaction. Instead, all he saw was a thoughtful frown spreading across his face.

"How... how would I... know?" Jack asked, looking a little lost.

Elliott attempted to shrug, but laying back in the lake water it was hard to convey it. "I don't know, but I can do my best to help you figure it out." he offered with a smile.

Jack's eyes widened. "Okay!" he said, then lunged down towards Elliott, their lips pressing together.

The movement was so sudden and forceful that both their faces disappeared beneath the surface of the lake. They popped back up moments later, coughing.

"That... wasn't quite... what I meant," Elliott said coughing up water.

"Sorry," Jack said, finally climbing off. He moved up the bank slightly, sitting on the grass.

Elliott climbed onto his feet too, but remained standing in the water. Looking down at himself, he was covered in mud. He reached down to his waist and started pulling his shirt upwards, Jack's eyes fixed on him.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, looking round nervously.

"Not much I can do about being wet, but I can at least clean off!" Elliott said, peeling the wet fabric up and off of his torso. Once he had it completely off, he leant over, dropping it into the water, attempting to wash the worst of the mud off. Peeking back, he saw Jack was still transfixed. "You're dirty!"

"What? No!" Jack said, blushing so profusely it was amazing the mud caking him didn't bake solid. "I wasn't..."

Elliott smirked. "I meant the mud!"

"Oh, erm... yeah." Jack mumbled. He hadn't got quite as caked in it as Elliott, but he still had thick blobs of it all over him.

"Come on," Elliott encouraged him.

Nervously, Jack stood back up and waded back into the lake. Giving another nervous glance round, he peeled his t-shirt off and started rinsing it. As he stood up, wringing it out, he almost choked. Elliott had removed his jeans and was now washing them off too. Leaning over in his wet briefs, his ass was the first thing Jack saw.

Elliott glanced back and sniggered as he realised what Jack was looking at. He stood up, saying "If you think that's bad, you should see the front!" He turned, revealing his still-erect cock. A massive hard cock in very small, wet briefs left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

"Gay yet?" Elliott asked playfully, grabbing the bulge.

"Ben!" Jack suddenly blurted out.

"What? Where?" Elliott asked, looking round them.

Jack shook his head. "No, I mean... you're with Ben... so we shouldn't..."

"But you want to?" Elliott asked, taking a step towards Jack.

Jack was trembling. He let his eyes wander down his friend's almost naked body and back up again. He nodded.

"So do I!" Elliott said. "But... you're right. I have Ben... you and Bryce might... ya know...so we can't!"

The two stood staring at each other, knee deep in water. They were only shaken from the moment by the noise of a dog barking in the distance, a middle-aged couple appearing moments later. They waded back out of the water where Elliott put back on his jeans and sneakers, carrying his shirt. Jack would usually have put his t-shirt back on, terrified of being seen, but seeing Elliott start walking, casually shirtless, he felt more comfortable doing the same.

They didn't speak on the way back to the basketball court, but it was a pleasant silence, not an uncomfortable one. Elliott had been tempted to push the subject of Jack's possible bisexuality, but he had several thoughts about it, keeping them to himself for now.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Ben asked, seeing the two soggy teens approaching.

They looked at each other. They truly did look a mess.

"We, erm..." Elliott said, grinning, "We just had... a discussion!"

"Geez, you two really do deserve each other, don't you!" Ben joked.

Elliott and Jack laughed, but exchanged slightly nervous looks.

"Glad you're back to save us from this monster!" Bryce said, walking up behind Ben and draping an arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah," Lincoln agreed, coming up on his other side. "Kicked our asses all over the court!"

Ben rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "They think I don't know they let me win!" he said with a reluctant grin.

"What d'you guys wanna do now?" Elliott asked, looking round the group.

Jack shrugged. "I dunno, this would normally be point where you stripped me and made me walk home with a butt plug up my ass. Anyone in the mood for that?" Jack asked glibly.

The comment was meant to be a joke. Instead, Aaron's words from earlier seemed to linger in the air. It had seemed fun to them at the time and Jack himself was now casually joking about it, but their injured friend had been correct in what he had called it.

"Geez, tough crowd!" Jack said, taking a deep breath. Grabbing his bag, he pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Okay, it's still early, I'm hungry. Let's go get food, then figure out what to do after that."

The whole group was somewhat downbeat as they ate. Jack's joke, along with Aaron's comment, had really struck a nerve amongst them. That was when the idea occurred to Jack – Truth or Dare. It was perfect. The truths would give the opportunity to share or confess the things troubling them while the dares would give Jack the chance to get his own revenge against the others.

The group was initially reluctant, particularly Danny, who made an excuse about wanting to check in on Aaron, leaving to see him again The rest reluctantly agreed, simply for a lack of better options. Elliott had suggested going back down by the lake to do it. While the park itself was not that busy in the evenings, that far in there were very few people at all. It wasn't that they were particularly seeking privacy, they could have gone to Lincoln's place for that, they simply didn't want to disturb anyone as it would inevitably get quite loud.

It was starting to get dark by the time they were back down by the lake. Ben had wanted to make a camp fire, but they figured it probably wasn't allowed (quickly verified by a google search) and none of them knew how to build a fire anyway. Instead, most of their cell phones were piled together, lights turned on, providing enough light to see the essentials. A 'twenty-first century campfire', Elliott had called it.

Using Jack's fake ID, they had gone and bought some beers on the way too. Jack felt he had gone far too long without a drink and figured it might help the others relax a little too. Bryce had offered to be the designated driver and wouldn't partake, allowing the others to do so instead. Ben had also declined, mostly because he had never actually drunk before. They eventually settled, gathered around their makeshift campfire, first of the beers cracked open.

"Okay, this was Jack's idea, so he can go first!" Ben insisted. "Whadda you want?"

"Truth of course. Who ever starts with a dare?" Jack said, taking a swig of his beer.

"I've got one!" Lincoln said quickly. "Which bit of the club do you prefer, the stage or the dungeon?"

"Link!" Bryce snapped immediately.

"Ha!" Jack laughed aloud. "It's fine. This is supposed to clear the air, he can ask what he likes! And I definitely prefer the stage. Less spanking!"

The comment got raucous laughter from the others. It felt strange for Jack to joke about, but talking about it really did seem to be helping the worry wash away.

"Okay, Lincoln, truth or dare?" Jack asked.

"Truth!" Lincoln replied, slightly nervous about what might be asked of him.

Ben immediately whispered something in Elliott's ear. Getting a nod back, he cleared his throat and asked, "If you had to choose one of us to fuck you, who would it be?"

"Erm... well..." Lincoln stuttered.

Based on the conversation in the observation room, they knew Lincoln had never been fucked, or had anything up his ass at all, so in a way they were asking who he wanted to take his virginity.

"Well Elliott's too long and Bryce is too thick," Lincoln said slightly nervously. His eyes darted between Jack and Ben. "And you said Ben's a total bottom, so it'd be a crap fuck.... so... I guess I'd have to say Jack!" He was thankful for the twilight hiding his blushes.

"Oh I can't wait for you to pick a dare!" Bryce teased, getting more laughs.

"I guess I'm next," Ben said as he had asked the question. "Go on then, gimme a dare!"

"Okay," Bryce said, grinning. "I dare you to drink this!" he said, holding out a beer, popping the cap.

Ben looked a little shocked. He had expected something like stripping or some other kind of sexual act. He approached Bryce and took the bottle, eyeing it nervously. "I'm not so sure about this," he said quietly. "I don't wanna get drunk!"

"Ben," Jack said firmly. "You're about to have your first beer with your mates. This is, like, a milestone or something. It's one drink, we promise we won't make you have any more!"

Ben smiled shyly. Jack was right, this was the sort of thing he had spent years fantasising about doing. All those years on his own, now seemingly over. "Okay then!" Raising the bottle, he tipped his head back and chugged the whole bottle down. When he finished, he wiped his mouth with his arm and tossed the empty back to Bryce. There was a moment of silence before he let out the loudest belch of his life, getting a mixture of cheering and laughter from the others.

"Woah, that's cool!" Ben said, his head spinning slightly. He stumbled and virtually fell on top of Bryce.

"Ben," Elliott called out, seeing him fall.

"I'm fine!" he insisted. "Sorry 'bout that," he said to Bryce. After shifting round a bit, he came to a rest, leaning against the muscular teen's side. "Okay, I'm good here!" he insisted, gradually beginning to feel the effects of his first taste of alcohol. "You're next," he said to Bryce, grinning.

"Truth," Bryce requested, letting an arm rest around Ben's shoulders.

"Do you wanna fuck me?" Ben blurted out. He looked round the group, shrugging. "What, it's a question. I'm not offering!"

Bryce, Lincoln and Jack all looked to Elliott, who smirked and shrugged too.

"Yes!" Bryce said bluntly at the grinning teen beside him.

Ben's eyes widened with shock. He had been expecting to embarrass the older teen but had clearly failed.

"My turn then," Elliott said, quickly moving them on. He was okay with Ben's playful flirting, but didn't want to let them linger on it. "I'll take... a dare!"

Ben was on it in seconds again. "Kiss Jack!" he yelled out. "Wooooo!"

"What?" Jack and Elliott asked in unison.

"You heard me, kiss him!" Ben said, sniggering.

Jack wondered what Ben was doing. Could the beer have kicked in that quickly and he was just slightly drunk, or was he doing something else? He himself had stated earlier that he knew about Elliott's feelings for Jack. Maybe this was a test, maybe he wanted to see how Elliott would react given the opportunity to act on his desire with no obvious consequences. The two teens stood, facing each other, several feet apart.

"Come on, we don't have all night!" Ben insisted.

Jack took a few steps forward, mirrored by Elliott. They leaned in, attempting to minimise their physical contact. The others watched as they inched closer and closer together. Finally their lips met, eyes closed.

The kiss had been going several seconds when Elliott felt wetness on his cheek. Were they his tears or Jack's? Both maybe? It was everything they had ever hoped for, every daydream, every jerkoff fantasy, every thrilling dream. The years flooded through them, the wasted the years, the time they should have spent together like that, being honest, being in love. It was confusing as it ended, like eternity had passed in a few fleeting seconds. Their eyes met for a scant moment, both grateful that the dim light hid the tears, the longing and the pain from the others. They turned away and returned to their previous positions.

"What, that's it?" Ben demanded, his voice ever-so-slightly slurred. "Ugh, I think I need another!" He reached across to grab another beer from beside Bryce.

Immediately, the older teen grabbed the bottle, holding it up out of Ben's reach. "I think one was enough for you!" he said with a snigger.

"Fuck off," Ben argued back, climbing to his feet to try and grab it.

Bryce moved with him, easily keeping the bottle away from his flailing hands.

"You're not the boss of me!" Ben insisted, smacking his hands against Bryce's chest. "Just cos you're bigger than me..." he smacked Bryce's chest again, this time letting his hand linger for a few seconds, "And all muscley..." another hit, a longer touch. He looked up at Bryce's face. "And really, really cute... Wait, what was I saying?"

Everyone burst into laughter at the tipsy boy, making him look round in confusion. He had genuinely lost his train of thought in his embarrassingly open admiration of Bryce. He scowled, remembering the beer. "Stop treating me like a kid!" he demanded. "I turn sixteen soon, I'm not much younger than some of you!" he insisted.

"Aww, sorry Ben," Bryce said, still chuckling. He handed him the beer and put an arm around him, pulling him into a playful hug.

By now, the bulge in Ben's pants was unmissable.

"Hey, it's not Ben's turn, but I think I got a dare for him!" Jack called out. "Ben, I dare you to kiss Bryce!"

"What? No!" Ben said, looking suddenly panic-stricken. "If I give back the beer, can I have another dare?" he asked nervously.

The boy's request attracted more laughs from the others, particularly Bryce who grabbed Ben, picking him him up so they face-to-face, the smaller teen's legs either side of him. He looked round nervously at his boyfriend, who was standing with Lincoln and Jack, laughing hysterically.

"Fine!" Ben snapped, and lunged forward, kissing Bryce straight on the lips. He wasn't delicate about it either, forcing Bryce's lips apart, forcing in his tongue, his free hand grasping at the hair on the back of Bryce's head. He eventually pulled away and looked to the other three who were now just staring in stunned silence. "Now THAT is how you do a kiss on a dare!" he said triumphantly.

The silence continued for a moment before the others started cheering. Bryce lifted the boy higher in celebration, laughing along with him. As he finally went to put him down, he moved right up to Ben's ear and whispered, "That was fucking hot!"

The comment only made Ben more excited. As he was put down, he took a casual swig of his beer while grabbing at his bulge with his other hand. "Who's next?" he asked, lowering the bottle.

"Anyone you like!" Lincoln insisted. It seemed Jack's impromptu dare had shaken the awkward formality of the game and made it into what it was always meant to be – fun!

The game went on, circling round and round, most of the ideas coming from the increasingly drunk Ben, but plenty still coming from the others too. There was a lot more kissing, which was clearly most awkward for Lincoln who had never actually kissed another guy before. Realising that, he was subject to four consecutive dares, making him work through the whole group.

What followed was fairly inevitable. "Hey Lincoln, got a truth for you!" Ben said with a slight slur and a giggle, "Who's the best kisser?"

Lincoln, who was already bright red from his four sudden embraces, managed to actually look an even brighter red in the low light. A grin suddenly spread across his face. "Obviously... it's me!" he answered smugly.

"Boooo!" the others chorused.

Clothes had been gradually coming off too, until all five were sat around in just their underwear. Even though they were confident of their privacy, none of them dared to stay completely naked, pulling the underwear back on after the (many) naked dares. Even Jack seemed strangely at ease with being on show, a massive change from just a couple of weeks earlier.

Ben gradually began to get sleepy, unused to the effects of the alcohol. He had continued to sit with Bryce, claiming at one point that he was the 'most comfortable'. Eventually, getting towards time to head home, the others began to quiet down too. All sitting round happily, finishing off the last of the beers a strange calm washed over them.

"Any more then?" Lincoln asked, almost disappointed not to be subjected to any more fun challenges.

"I've got one for you guys!" Ben said, grinning giddily. "You... and you," he said, pointing first to Lincoln, then to Bryce, "You said you've never been fucked. I say we change it right now. I dare Bryce to fuck Lincoln and I dare Elliott to fuck Bryce while he's doing it!"

"Whoa, no way!" Lincoln said insistently, waving his hands dismissively.

"Yeah, too far!" Bryce agreed.

Ben looked upset that they weren't going to do it, but said nothing.

"What, so you'll quite happily see me get fucked for the first time, but you guys are... what, too good for it?" Jack demanded angrily.

"No, it's not that. I just..." Bryce started.

"You just what?" Jack asked sharply. "Come on, Ben gave you a dare. You gonna do it or not?"

The tension in the air was palpable. There it was, lingering between them, the fact they had forced Jack into sexual acts, ones they were now unwilling to engage in themselves. Guilt shot through the whole group as Jack kept looking round them all.

Eventually, giving in to the shame and guilt they felt, Lincoln and Bryce started moving together, gesturing for Elliott to come and join them, to complete the dare as it had been given.

Moments later, underwear removed and condoms applied, Bryce was beginning to prepare Lincoln for entry. Although most carried at least one condom (Lincoln was always supplied with many), they had no lubricant so Bryce was reliant on his own spit as he started fingering his friend's hole.

"You sure about this?" Bryce whispered, his body leaning up against Lincoln's.

"Yeah, we gotta do this!" Lincoln sound, his voice shaking slightly.

Bryce nodded and pushed the head of his cock into Lincoln's ass. The other teen grunted at the slow intrusion, but clenched his fists and let Bryce continue pushing into him. Moments later, fully inserted, Bryce held still as Elliott repeated the same actions on him.

Both Lincoln and Bryce knelt there in the fuck-chain, a cock inside them for the first time, Bryce's girth stretching Lincoln's hole and Elliott's impressive length pushed further into Bryce than the younger teen ever thought possible.

"Hey, I don't wanna miss out on this!" Ben said, seeing the action he had instigated. As he stood and removed his underwear, everyone expected him to move to the front, to get fucked by Lincoln. Instead, he moved behind his boyfriend and, after applying a little of his own spit-lube, pushed his rigid cock into Elliott's hole.

They began to move, the four-way fuck slowly speeding up. Jack sat and stared, not looking like he was enjoying it in the slightest. Nor was he looking angry as he beheld his friend-turned-tormentors-turned-friends-again. Instead he just looked sad.

"Guess this kinda makes us even!" Ben joked, looking round at Jack, who just stared blankly back.

The fucking didn't last long. The alcohol, the kissing, the various other dares and new sensations of first fucks had quickly pushed them to climax, both Elliott and Bryce filling their condoms while Ben shot his load inside his lover, the two unconcerned about protection thanks to their carefulness with others and relative monogamy.

Before the other four had even begun to move apart, Jack looked across at his friends, eyes watery. "Okay, I've got one, for Elliott. It's a truth!"

Beginning to recover from the fuck and starting to pull on underwear, the others looked, mildly concerned.

"How could you?" Jack asked sorrowfully, his tone quiet, pleading almost. "How could you do it all to me?"

"Jack, I..." Elliott stuttered.

"No, don't!" Jack said, face screwing up angrily. "I've been awful, to a lot of people for a long time. That's... that's just something I'm gonna have to deal with, but you... you actually wanted to hurt me. You're one of the nicest guys I've ever met and you... you humiliated me and... and degraded me..." he said, standing up, fists clenched, "And raped me! You put me on a stage for your own entertainment, you put me in a room full of strangers and watched them rape me and beat me. You watched my life fall apart and you just.... let it happen!" He had begun advancing on Elliott.

Lincoln quickly backed away as Bryce moved towards Ben. If things were about to get physical, he wanted to be in a position to protect the smallest of the group.

"I was... I was trying to... to help you!" Elliott stuttered shakily.

"DON'T!" Jack snarled. "Even if that was what you were doing.... YOU DON'T HELP SOMEONE BY RAPING THEM!"

Elliott jumped to his feet, backing away from Jack slowly. "I get that we took things... a bit far..."

"A BIT FAR?" Jack yelled.

"And I get that the things we made you do might seem a bit harsh, but... you enjoyed some of it!" Elliott argued back weakly.

Jack lunged forward, grabbing Elliott round the throat. "GETTING A BONER DOESN'T MAKE RAPE OKAY YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"

The two fell to the ground, Jack choking Elliott as he struggled to get free. Bryce and Lincoln were immediately on them, trying to pull the furious teen away.

Ben looked across at the skirmish, trembling.

By the time Jack and Elliott were pulled apart, both were sobbing, overwhelmed by a confusing mix of anger, betrayal and lust. Bryce, kneeling at Jack's side as he pulled him away, attempted to hold him.

"Get off!" Jack demanded weakly, pulling away. "You're worse than Elliott!"

Bryce stared, shaking.

"He set out to hurt me and he did it. You did this for revenge but all you did was make me..." Jack stopped, taking a sharp intake of breath. He shook his head, lips pressed tightly together. He didn't want to say it but he knew he had to. "You made me fall in love with you. You made me think you were my saviour, but you still let all this happen to me!" Jack explained, sniffing heavily.

"Jack, I didn't... I mean... I was..." Bryce mumbled, staring at him, tears welling.

"I'm done, with all of you!" Jack said, walking across to the middle of their makeshift camp. He grabbed his clothes and his phone and started walking away. He stopped momentarily and walked back, looking down at a slightly scared and confused Ben. He took a deep breath and said, "Ben, I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you. You didn't deserve it!"

With that, Jack walked away. Nobody followed, they simply sat in silence, shaken by the words Jack had said. They were true, every single one of them.