Author's Note – This is book three of the Kingswood Saga. Check out Tales from Kingswood and The Kingswood Eight to find out what has happened previously. Thank you all for the ongoing support and feedback.
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The Kingswood Effect
Chapter 37
Monday 16 May 2022
Danny had quickly scoffed down as much of his lunch as he could manage before offering out his leftovers to the others who made the rest of it disappear within moments. He hadn't intended to rush the meal, but as he sat down and noticed someone was missing, he knew he had to go looking, though he suspected he wouldn't have to go far.
As he started up the four flights of stairs, Danny found his mind wandering, most likely just to distract himself from the conversation he knew was coming. Despite the imminent unpleasantness, the stairs themselves provided the fuel for Danny's roaming thoughts. A year ago, he had found taking just a single flight of stairs be a herculean effort thanks to his injury. Now he had flitted up four of them without so much as raising a sweat. He allowed himself a moment of pride before he opened the door onto the school's peace garden, up on the roof.
Danny quickly wandered round, following the meandering paths past the art display that he had helped set up when he conceptualised the garden, smiling at the new works that had shown up in the non-permanent section, a work by Josh. He stopped for just a moment to appreciate the painting. He really didn't know what he was looking at, he rarely did when looking at Josh's creations, but he did find himself strangely moved by it – a testament to the quiet talent Josh was developing.
Moving on, he found who he was looking for, sat alone on a bench. Silently he approached and sat down beside Rob. "Nice day," he said with a nod as he looked out over the swaying tips of the trees that made up the surrounding woodlands, wispy white clouds speeding along above them.
Rob took a deep breath in exhaled slowly, his gaze dropping down to his own hands. "How'd you know I was up here?" he asked quietly.
"I had David plant tracker chips in you all last term," Danny replied. As Rob glanced round at him, looking horrified, he smirked and said, "Kidding. Educated guess. You tend to either come here or go to the lake when you wanna be alone, and I couldn't see you spending half your lunch break trekking out to the lake just to have to come right back again!"
Rob chuckled slightly. Annoying as it was to be so predictable, it was also quite comforting to have someone (other than Josh) know him that well. "If you know I want to be alone, then why aren't you letting me?"
Danny's eyebrows raised as he shook his head, looking at Rob.
"What?" Rob asked, playing dumb.
"I told you what'd happen if you didn't talk to me," Danny insisted. "I gave you a week, which is probably WAY longer than I should of, so this is your last chance. Are you gonna talk to me and tell me what's wrong, or do I have to go speak to Mr Trent?"
"Nothing's wrong!" Rob insisted.
"For fuck's sake," Danny paused, pursing his lips together as he scowled at Rob, shaking his head, "Stop being so... `Rob' about it!"
"Did you just turn my name into a verb?" Rob asked, shaking his head.
Danny shrugged. "English isn't my thing, so I don't really even know what that is, but... yeah, probably. What I meant was you can't just keep sitting on this and keeping it to yourself. You do that WAY too much and it's stupid!"
"Wow, I feel so supported!" Rob said flatly.
Danny just raised his eyebrows as he cocked his head and stared at Rob.
"Seriously, I'm fine," Rob said firmly. "Can't we just, like... talk about other stuff?"
"Fine," Danny sighed. "Like what?" he asked with a shrug.
"Erm, I dunno," Rob shrugged. "Oh, yeah!" he suddenly said as an idea came to him, "Keep meaning to ask how you're doing with year nine's hot new power couple!"
Danny frowned as he shook his head and asked, "Who... who calls them that?"
Rob shrugged again as he smirked and said, "You knew who I meant though!"
"Yeah," Danny replied as he rolled his eyes. Chris and Mark had been together for a week now, and between Chris' popularity and Mark's hotness, they were the talk of the school. "But... I'm fine. I gave those two my blessing ages back. I'm just surprised it took `em this long to get together!" Danny waved it off casually.
"It's okay if you feel a bit jealous!" Rob suggested.
It was Danny's turn to shrug as he said, "Why would I be? I'm in a..." He paused, thinking for a second. "Wow, just thinking about it... I'm not even fifteen yet and I'm in a two-year, long-term relationship. Is that... is that weird?"
"Only if YOU think it's weird, I guess," Rob replied. "I'm well over a year with Luke and, like, 3 months with Jazz!"
"Oh yeah, forgot about your anniversary!" Danny chuckled. As he looked round at Rob, he saw him go a little pale, the smile dropping from his face. "Are you... okay?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh, yeah," Rob said with an obviously forced smile. There was a few moments of silence between them until Rob said quietly, "I... have a question, erm... about sex!"
Danny felt a knot in his stomach. Normally he welcomed the subject. Being more sexually experienced than Rob, he often found himself answering questions about it when they spent time together. Aside from bringing them closer by talking about such intimate things, Danny just found it nice to have his experience be valued rather than ridiculed, like he seemed to get from everyone else. "Sure," he said gently.
"When you do... butt stuff with Brian, does it... hurt?" Rob asked awkwardly.
"I guess a bit at first, but it passes. I think it helps to relax. Joseph told me your butt is like a ring of muscle so if its tense, stretching it a bit can hurt, but if you're relaxed, then it doesn't!" Danny explained, proud to be able to pass on the knowledge.
"So... like... how many times are we talking before it... umm, stops hurting?" Rob asked curiously.
Danny shook his head. "No... times, I mean during the actual, erm... fucking. Like my first time with Brian, it definitely hurt a tiny bit, but by the end... I was seeing stars!" he explained happily, smiling to himself as he remembered the starry sky in the science lab where he had first been with the boy who would become his boyfriend.
"Oh, okay," Rob nodded.
"So... is that... the problem?" Danny asked gently. "Did you and Luke do it and... it hurt?"
"No, I was just curious," Rob lied. "Hey, I'm kinda hungry, I might go grab something quick before the Dining Hall closes. You coming?" he asked as he stood up.
"Yeah," Danny said, now even more concerned than he had been when he came up to the roof. As he stood up and followed Rob back towards the stairs, he considered whether to follow through on his threat to speak to a teacher. It was only when they got down to the third floor that another idea popped into his head.
Mark let out a mew of sheer contentment as he stood kissing Chris. Reluctantly, he pushed his new boyfriend away and said, "Come on, we're gonna be late to science!"
"Pfft, we've got ages yet!" Chris said dismissively as he reached down to grab his phone from his pocket. Showing the screen to Mark, he said, "See, five whole minutes. That's a lot of kissing time! Besides, we have great Chemistry, so do we even NEED a class for it?"
Mark chuckled at the play on words briefly. "Are we even allowed to be doing this?" he asked, frowning a little as he gently held Chris. He gave a brief peck on the lips.
Chris frowned a little at the question, then glanced at the black band on his wrist, a constant reminder of his ongoing punishment. "Well... the rule's no sexual contact. Kissing isn't sex, is it?"
"Well it's... doing this to me," Mark said, pressing the bulge of his erection against Chris' hip, "So... it might be!"
"If things giving you a boner makes it count as sex, then for me, everything is sex!" Chris sniggered. "I mean, I can't really get all the way hard in this thing anyway," he said as he reached down to tap his chastity device through his school trousers, "But seriously, it goes up for ANYTHING lately. I got a boner this morning cos a sausage looked a bit like a dick!"
"Oh, so that's why you deep throated your breakfast. I figured you were just trying to flirt with me!" Mark joked.
"Who needs to flirt when I can just make out with you!" Chris said, leaning in to start kissing again, continuing for several moments as they lost themselves in each other.
As they heard the beep of a message arriving on the Kingswood app, both boys pulled apart and grabbed out their phones. "It's me!" Mark said as he opened it.
"It's not Gregory, is it?" Chris demanded.
"Oh my god, let it go!" Mark said, shaking his head. "I told you already... I'll tell you if he sends me anything else! This is why I didn't want to tell you about the emails, I don't want you worrying about it!"
"Yeah, well maybe I DO need to worry about it!" Chris said back sharply, then sighed as his expression softened. "Maybe I... like being able to worry about you!" He gave a meek smile.
"That's sweet," Mark said, leaning in to give a playful peck on the cheek. "But not necessary. It's just Rob, about rugby stuff! See!" He turned to phone to show the message to Chris.
"Ugh, tournament's over, why does he even care?" Chris grumbled. "Doesn't he know rugby practice is cutting into our valuable kissing time?"
"Oh, if we need more time for kissing, maybe Stage Fright should break up!" Mark replied, holding back a smirk.
"Ugh, the fact you'd put sport over music makes me doubt whether we should actually be together!" Chris said with a smirk.
"Then I guess we're breaking up. Let's get to science and tell everyone the news!" Mark said as he reached for the door.
"Oh, look at that, we made up!" Chris said as he grabbed Mark's hand, leaned in and kissed him again.
They were still giggling together as they emerged from the storeroom.
"Wow, how inconspicuous!" Rob smirked as he and Danny approached down the corridor, seeing the other two appear.
"Shut up, we were... talking about... classes!" Chris lied poorly, smirking at his own inability. As Danny got closer, he frowned slightly and mouthed silently, "You okay?"
Danny nodded back discretely.
Chris gestured subtly to Rob, who had started talking rugby with Mark as they headed for the science classrooms.
Danny frowned a little for a moment then nodded.
Satisfied the other two were far enough ahead and suitably distracted, Chris asked, "Need me to do anything?"
"Nah," Danny said, shaking his head. "I have a plan!" He paused a moment and asked, "Is Mark still pissed at me for telling you about the Gregory stuff?"
"A bit," Chris said with a head bob. "Buuuut... he gets why you did."
"And... are YOU still pissed at me?" Danny asked cautiously.
Chris let out a low growl as he thought about it. "Look, I believe in second chances and all that shit as much as anyone, but after the crap Gregory's pulled, he's on, like... his fifth chance. But... well, it's done now so no point bitching about it, but if he tries ANYTHING ever again, we're turning him in for EVERYTHING!"
"Agreed," Danny nodded.
"Hey, we're having a band practice tonight. You wanna come watch?" Chris asked, grinning happily at the thought of time with the band.
"Maybe," Danny said, "I... kinda have plans for..." he nodded towards Rob, "So it'll depend how they play out!"
"You sure you don't need me to do anything?" Chris asked, gently placing his hand on Danny's back as the bell rang.
"I'm sure," Danny smiled. "I'm getting help this time!"
"You don't love me! You never loved me!" the Year 7 boy cried before dashing out of the significantly-not-quiet quiet study area.
"Oh my god," Nicky said, looking to David and James who were sat beside him.
"I know right! Totally called it!" James said smugly.
"Aww, I was really rooting for them too. Maybe they'll make up for the season finale!" David said with a snigger.
Technically the three boys were supposed to be studying, but David had already finished his homework, James had concluded his GCSE revision for the day and Nicky just had no interest in the homework he was meant to be doing. Instead, they had all sat to enjoy the latest drama from the Year 7s, treating the younger students like a live-action reality TV show.
"Did you guys hear about Jonah and Jamal?" Nicky asked quietly, always careful to avoid being overheard by the sources of their entertainment.
"No, I missed that episode," David said with a playful grin.
"Me too," James nodded. "But I did hear Jonah fell out with Elijah, which was always inevitable, but I don't know why!"
"Well Jonah got unlocked on Friday and guess what the first thing he did was!" Nicky said, proud to have the gossip. As he got blank looks back, he explained, "He went and let Jamal wank him off on the obstacle course when they were supposed to be playing football with Elijah and Travis!"
"But Jonah told Eli he was gonna be his first!" David gasped. "No wonder he's pissed!" He frowned a little and looked to James as he asked, "And what did you mean it was inevitable?"
James rolled his eyes. "These kids are amusing but they're SO predictable! None of this stuff has surprised me yet!"
Nicky frowned at the comment and nodded as he said, "Yeah, for someone who doesn't LIKE people, you are FREAKISHLY good at reading them!"
James shrugged casually as he briefly tapped away on his laptop, then said, "That's WHY I don't like them. Most people bore me cos they're just so predictable!"
"We're not ALL predictable!" David said, then immediately leaned over to grab the front of James' shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
There was an immediate chorus of oooohs from the boys `studying' around them, as well as a disapproving stare from Mr Francis who was supervising the room.
James leaned back in his seat then smirked as he looked at Nicky and said, "Have a look at my laptop and see what the last thing I wrote was!"
Nicky reached out and turned the laptop slightly and snorted with laughter as he said, "It says `David kisses me to prove how unpredictable he is'!" As he looked at David, expecting either annoyance or amusement, he just saw sadness. "Hey, what's up?" he asked, reaching out to nudge David gently. "Predictable isn't always bad!"
"No, it's not that," David said quietly. "That was just... my first kiss since Rose left!" He let out a gentle sigh.
"Sorry mate," Nicky said quietly. "Maybe we can..." He paused mid-sentence as he noticed someone walk up behind him and stop at his side. "Oh, hey!" he said with a smile as he realised it was Angel.
"Hey, erm... sorry to interrupt, can we talk?" Angel requested quietly.
Nicky nodded as he stood, closing his laptop. "Let's go somewhere quiet," he said, then looked round the quiet study room and said, "Well, somewhere more private! See you guys in a bit."
"Oh, no, I'm good now, no worries," David muttered dejectedly as Nicky walked away.
"Haven't you got studying to do?" Mr Francis called out.
"It's project work, sir!" Nicky called back across the room. "On the ABDL..." he paused, realising what he had said, "I mean, then anti-bullying thing, sir!"
As Mr Francis nodded, a few of the other boys began to snigger and whisper. As Nicky made his way out of the room, he had managed to hear a couple of the comments. "They're into nappy stuff!" "Bet he's going for his bottle!" "They're so freaky!"
As they got outside the study room, Angel sniffed heavily, seemingly on the verge of tears before he managed to turn it into anger and growled, "God, they're such a bunch of cunts!"
Nicky just nodded silently. He had not received too much teasing himself because of the slowly-spreading revelation of the other meaning of ABDL, but he had certainly noticed a few comments going Angel's way. Last time they had spoken, Angel had accused Nicky of orchestrating the whole thing to humiliate him as revenge for the bullying he carried out the previous year.
"But I'm guess I'm kind of a cunt too!" Angel admitted awkwardly.
"Yeah, little bit," Nicky said with a nod, gesturing down the hall as they started walking.
"I'm sorry for what I said," Angel said sheepishly. "I know you didn't do this, I was just... ugh... this whole thing's already a fucking mess, but throw in the baby stuff on top and it's... horrible!"
"Yeah," Nicky agreed. "Well... no!" he quickly disagreed. "I mean yeah, the baby stuff is bringing out the worst in some people, which considering the aim of the ABDL is kind of ironic, but... I wouldn't call the entire thing a mess!"
"We've only had ONE person who came to us for actual help and even then he ended up being as much the bully as the victim!" Angel grumbled as they reached dorm 1.05 and went inside.
Nicky always found it weird going to Angel's dorm, as he resided in the same room Nicky himself had lived in the previous year. "That stuffs more of a success then you think," Nicky insisted as he flopped down onto one of the four sofas.
As Angel looked round but settled on sitting beside Nicky, he gave a curious look.
"Well you spoke to those guys about the apparent bullying, and... ya know, how all they were doing was just hurting each other when they're clearly good friends and it made a difference. They're getting on great now!" Nicky explained.
Angel still looked curious as he asked, "How do you... have you... did you check up on them?"
Nicky gave a slightly awkward grin as he said, "I've kinda been watching them... and the rest of year seven. They are SO over-dramatic. It's like a soap opera! I know how weird that sounds, but seriously, it's fun!"
"Yeah, definitely weird," Angel said with a smirk, "But... I really helped?"
Nicky nodded emphatically. "Yeah. Maybe we don't need to fix massive, big bullying problems... because maybe there just aren't any here. Maybe we should just be looking out for... smaller problems, ya know, just little things we can try to fix!"
"So I can still help people?" Angel asked happily.
"I think so," Nicky said with a smile. "We should just be on the lookout for anything that just seems... off, then see if it's something we can assist with!"
"I like that," Angel said with a confident nod. "We definitely need a new name too!"
Nicky burst into laughter, leaning forward to playfully throw an arm around Angel as they giggled together.
Angel let out a happy sigh as he let himself be pulled towards the older boy. He let himself rest against Nicky's slender frame and said, "I've really enjoyed working with you, ya know!"
"Yeah, it's been fun!" Nicky said, smiling down as he nodded a little.
Angel stared back for a few moments, then shuffled up a little to let his lips meet with Nicky's.
Nicky was caught a little off guard by the move, freezing in place for a few moments before he allowed himself to relax and enjoy the kiss. As he held Angel, their mouths opening slightly to allow their tongues to meet, he felt himself relaxing into it and enjoying the embrace. "Wait!" he said, suddenly pushing Angel away.
"Oh my god, was that... was it bad?" Angel asked, blushing heavily.
"No, not at all!" Nicky insisted. "You're... a good kisser," he said with a sweet smile. "It's just... I don't wanna do that stuff with you and... and give you the wrong idea!"
Angel smirked for a moment, but it quickly gave way to proper laughter. "Oh yeah, don't worry, I DO like you, but I know it's not me you're into!"
"Oh good, then... we can do more if you like!" Nicky said happily, kissing Angel once again. It stopped abruptly once more as he frowned and said, "Wait, who is it I'm into then?"
"Seriously?" Angel sniggered, raising his eyebrows. As he saw the confused look on Nicky's face, he said, "Wow, you... don't even realise, do you?" He stared for a moment, still getting a blank response. "Mikey! You are SO into him still!"
Nicky let out a slight whimper as he shook his head. "You're not the first to tell me that," he admitted awkwardly, then pouted thoughtfully.
"Aww, I made you sad!" Angel said, pouting a little, though a wicked grin quickly replaced it as he said, "I'd... love to make you happy again!"
"You already make me happy," Nicky said cheerfully with a slight nod, then matched Angel's grin as he said, "But there's always room for a little more happy!" He reached to the side to grab Angel, pulled him close and said, "Okay, I'm going to kiss you now, but it doesn't mean I wanna marry you, okay?"
"Shut up," Angel chuckled before he leaned in to press his lips against Nicky's.
Nicky slid down in the seat as he turned slightly to the side, lying along the sofa with the younger boy at his side. Holding one arm around Angel, he let his other one slide down the chest to his stomach, feeling the firm torso, only the thin fabric of his school shirt between skin-on-skin contact. He let his fingers slide into the gap between two of the buttons, feeling the warmth of the skin beneath his fingertips and getting a slight groan of pleasure hummed in his mouth in return.
Angel was a little more direct in his approach. His hand had gone straight to Nicky's crotch, rubbing the thick tool contained within, enjoying the gradual growth as Nicky became aroused, the prodigious penis expanding rapidly at his touch. Once Nicky was fully hard, Angel slowed down a little, stroking the bulge up and down with no attempt to free it from the school trousers and underwear containing it.
The two boys seemed quite content lying there for several minutes, making out and touching each other, though they both seemed to realise at about the same moment that their time was running short; the others would likely be returning soon. As much as the boys of dorm 1.05 were open with each other and almost as close (intimately) as Nicky's dorm, there were still some moments that they liked to keep private and this felt like one of them.
Finally parting the kiss, Angel pulled away just a little and asked, "Sixty-nine?"
"Sounds like a plan," Nicky replied with a grin. He chuckled as Angel eagerly jumped up and shuffled round to get into position.
"I wish I could be as big as you," Angel whined as he finally released Nicky's throbbing prick.
"You're plenty big enough," Nicky replied, staring up at the boy's dick that he had just pulled out.
Angel gave the large cock a cursory lick, then pulled back and said, "Huh, I think that's the first time I've mentioned your size and you haven't complained about it!"
"Sure, this seems like the ideal time to talk about that!" Nicky said sarcastically before poking his tongue out to flick at Angel's dangling balls.
"Fair point. Let's suck!" Angel said before taking Nicky's cock into his mouth, though he overestimated his ability and started spluttering as the long dick hit the back of his throat and choked him. He spluttered for a moment, quickly apologised then got back to work.
Nicky laid happily sucking on the cock above him while enjoying the eager mouth working up and down his own shaft, though he couldn't help his mind wandering elsewhere. `You are SO into him', that's what Angel had said and Nicky couldn't really deny it. He had spent most of Year 8 in relationship with his two closest friends, only to end it when he really shouldn't have. While the friendships had recovered, he couldn't help missing what he'd once had. Admittedly Chris was no longer an option, thanks to his new relationship, but Mikey... that was a different story.
While Nicky had rebuilt and re-strengthened the bond with his best friend, he had also seen the other boy began to grow socially, first with Josh and then with Harley, yet both new relationships were (supposedly) non-romantic. Was there a reason? Was Mikey holding back, waiting to... re-kindle things maybe? Nicky dared to let himself imagine it for just a moment before figuring he probably needed to focus on the genitals smooshed in his face!
"Want me to warn you?" Angel asked, stroking Nicky eagerly in place of sucking. "Or you happy to swallow?"
"Warn me," Nicky requested, copying Angel's move, "I don't wanna fill up right before dinner!" he joked.
Angel laughed and then got back to work sucking on the sizeable schlong.
A couple more minutes of sucking later and both boys were letting out the tell-tale moans of imminent release. With neither boy intending to swallow, Angel suddenly pulled back to lie down beside Nicky as they switched to wanking each other eagerly.
"Ah, fuck, Nicky!" Angel moaned as he pulled up the front of his shirt just in time for the dark brown skin of his stomach to get streaked with lines of white goo.
As Angel laid panting his way through the post-orgasmic comedown, Nicky took over jerking himself off, then suddenly sat up and turned just in time to spurt his own ample load onto the younger boy's stomach. As the spurts slowed to a dribble, he started to laugh at the annoyed look on Angel's face and said, "What? No point on both of us needing to clean up!"
"I feel bullied," Angel joked.
Nicky laughed as he climbed off. "That's okay, I know someone you can speak to about that!" he joked.
"Chuck me that towel," Angel requested, pointing to a towel hanging on the ladder of one of the bunk beds. As Nicky tossed it to him, he started cleaning up and said, "So when you're not watching your year seven drama reality show, you're gonna keep an eye out for anything sus, right?"
"Yeah, we'll find someone to help, I`m sure!" Nicky said optimistically.
"Thanks for bringing this to me," Sam said with a sullen nod as he wandered along beside Danny. Sam Fletcher had been mentor to Rob since he arrived at the school and his relationship with the younger boy had gone the same way most mentor/mentee relationships had gone, with gradually less and less contact as the years passed.
"S'okay," Danny said glumly. "I just hope he's not too pissed about it!"
"If he is, that's his problem," Sam insisted. "I been telling him for years he needs to stop bottling shit up. Me being here just means he's not listening, so it's really his own fault!" He looked ahead down the narrow forest path and asked, "You sure he's gonna be here?"
Danny nodded. "Luke's at diving, but Jazz is free, so Rob's totally gonna be hiding and I already checked the Peace Garden!" he explained as they neared the end of the path.
As the trees fell away from either side, the large grassy bank of Kingswood Lake spread out before them. There were a few other students dotted about – two boys down by the bank skimming stones, two far away on the right sitting together on what looked like a date and far over on the left, sitting and staring out over the water was Rob.
Sam and Danny headed over and before Rob even noticed they were there, had sat down either side of him.
"What are you..." Rob started, seeing Danny first. As he noticed Sam, he let out a low growl and said, "You're a dick!"
"And hello to you too!" Sam said with a snigger.
"I only said I wouldn't tell a teacher!" Danny said, not even slightly apologetic.
"He's just wasting your time!" Rob said, shaking his head at Sam.
"Rob," Sam said softly, reaching out to place a hand on the younger boy's arm. "I'm sorry!"
Rob frowned heavily at the comment as he asked, "For... what?"
"For not noticing!" Sam replied. "You're... annoyingly good at covering shit up, but I thought I'd got you figured out, but apparently not, but... yeah, I think we all know something's wrong!"
"No, it's not!" Rob insisted. "Nothing's wrong, it's just... me being... I dunno, overly sensitive or a pussy or whatever!"
"Rob, Danny's... told me a few things and... the way things are adding up at the moment, we're both coming to the same conclusion!" Sam said seriously.
"That you're both making something out of nothing?" Rob asked, forcing a rakish smile.
"Rob..." Danny started, reaching out to touch him.
"It's okay," Sam said, nodding to Danny, obviously wanting to spare him actually having to say it. "Did someone..." he paused, the words catching in his throat. "Rob, did... someone rape you?" he asked seriously.
The lakeside was already quiet, but the question seemed to suck the air and any remaining sound out from the area as it hung heavily between them.
Rob stared blankly for a moment, thoughts racing through his head until he answered, "No!" After a few more moments silence, he quietly added, "I... I don't think so, anyway!" He sniffled slightly, on the verge of tears.
Sam shuffled round to sit in front of Rob, looking up at him slightly as he was sat lower down the sloping bank. "Come on, why don't you tell me what happened!" he said quietly.
"Erm, okay," Rob replied, giving Danny a quick nervous glance.
"Why don't I leave you two to talk properly!" Danny said as he stood up. He gave Rob a reassuring smile and said, "We can talk when you're ready, okay!"
Rob suddenly reached out to grab Danny's leg and looked up at him as he whispered, "Thank you!"
Danny gave another smile, then a nod to Sam before he turned and started heading back towards the path. He paused as he reached the treeline and glanced back to see Rob and Sam hugging. While he was still worried about Rob, he knew Sam would look after him. For once, he felt like he had managed to do the right thing, amongst all the other things he had messed up recently. Satisfied he was leaving Rob in good hands, he turned to continue walking, only to come face-to-face with Kyle, who was being followed by two other boys from his dorm.
"Oh, hey!" Danny said with a smile as he saw the other boy.
"Oh, sorry," Kyle said sharply. "I was just coming to hang out by the lake, but I can go back if you want to steal that too!" It was backed up by a disgusted glare from the other two boys.
"What?!" Danny exclaimed, taking a moment to register. He frowned as he caught on and said sharply, "I didn't steal Adrian! Or Chris either, if that's what you're getting at!"
"Whatever!" Kyle huffed as he passed by, deliberately shoulder barging Danny out of the way.
"Careful, you'll catch and STD like that!" one of the others said, sniggering.
"Hey, just be happy he's got clothes on for a fucking change!" the other said, laughing along as they followed Kyle.
And just like that, the slight glimmer of happiness Danny felt over helping Rob disappeared. He considered chasing the other boys down, confronting Kyle and insisting he played no part in the recent break-up, but he was worried about what he might say. As pissed off as he was about Kyle's attitude, Danny knew he was just hurt and probably a little embarrassed too. He just needed time and space. He let out a sigh and continued back towards the school.
Josh and Harley sat cheering wildly as the band finished up a run-through of their `Battle of the Bands' entry. The four members of Stage Fright took a bow, amused at the unexpected support for their rehearsal.
"Why is it the drummers always get the groupies?" Nicky asked with a wry grin.
"Because we're always the sexiest ones, obviously!" Mikey said confidently, flicking a drumstick into the air and catching it, much to the delight of the two spectators.
"Ya know, for someone who's only in this to... how did you put it... `hit things with sticks', you seem to be getting VERY into it!" Chris teased.
Mikey shrugged as he replied, "What? We're a good band. I'm good at everything, so having other people who are actually as good as me makes a nice change. Figured I may as well enjoy it!"
"Wow, I... think that's the closest I've ever come to compliment from him," Mark said with a smirk.
"If he's not punching you in the face when he says something, always take it as a positive!" Chris joked, slipping an arm around his new boyfriend's waist.
"HEY!" Mikey snapped angrily. "I don't DO that. Not anymore!"
"Geez, okay, chill, I was only kidding!" Chris said defensively, backing away slightly from the aggressive comment.
"Why don't we play something else," Nicky quickly interjected, keen to keep the peace. "I'm sure the Mikey fan club wouldn't mind another song!"
"Whadda you think, something romantic?" Mikey asked, giving Chris a teasing grin. "I mean, you ARE in a band with two ex-boyfriends and a current boyfriend! It kinda fits the mood!"
"Mikey," Nicky said, frowning as he shook his head a little.
"Hey, we should ask Danny to join too and make it REALLY awkward!" Mikey teased.
Chris gave Mark an uncomfortable glance and just got a timid smile back.
"Blinding Lights?" Mark suggested with a shrug.
"Yessss!" Nicky hissed happily. "I love playing that!"
As the others got in position, Chris took the microphone, smiled and said, "This one goes out to all two of our fans!"
Nicky started the song off, with the others gradually coming in on their parts until Chris started the vocals, Josh and Harley both cheering as they sat watching.
They were about halfway through the song when the door opened and Danny appeared, looking decidedly glum. Though he didn't stop singing, Chris looked over and gave him a questioning look, but Danny gestured for them to continue, heading over to join Josh and Harley, though he got a decidedly unhappy glare from Josh as he did so.
As the song came to an end, the growing audience burst into cheers and applause as the band took a bow. "I'll just be a minute," Chris said as he jumped off the stage to head over to the others. "You okay?" he asked as Danny got up to meet him.
Harley and Josh took the break as an opportunity to rush the stage, both gathering round Mikey who happily gave them a demonstration on the drums.
"I'm good," Danny said with a brief smile.
"Did you... do what you needed to take care of?" Chris asked quietly.
Danny nodded. "It's... kinda sorted," he said, knowing the conversation between Rob and Sam was likely just the beginning. He let out a sigh as he said, "I bumped into some of the one-twelve guys too!"
"Kyle?" Chris asked. As he got a sullen nod back, he let out a slight groan and said, "Sorry, that sucks! It's not fair of him to take it out on you. It's not your fault!"
"No, it's my superpower's fault apparently," Danny said, referring the `ability' Chris claimed he had that made everyone he met fall for him, though Danny thought of it much more as a curse than a gift. "I didn't mean to interrupt practice! You guys should carry on. You sound as great as always!" he said, nodding to the stage.
"We're mostly just having fun," Chris shrugged. "Our song for the SCIPS contest is pretty much all good and we haven't picked one for the end of year contest yet, so it's not like we can practice it!"
"Well whatever you pick, it'll be amazing!" Danny offered sweetly.
"Thanks," Chris said happily. "And Mikey'll be happy so long as he gets to keep showing off!"
Danny laughed, then looked over at the stage and said, "Oh my god, how cute is that!"
As Chris looked round, he saw Mikey sat with Harley stood in front of him, reaching round either side to hold a drumstick in his hands, trying to teach him to play. "I swear, I sometimes don't know if Harley's his mate or his pet!"
Danny laughed, then nodded to where Nicky and Mark were chatting together. "You should go hang out with your boyfriend before my curse strikes again!" he said, not really thinking about what he was suggesting might happen. He immediately blushed as he caught on.
Chris blushed back and said, "We're good. He knows we're... complicated!"
"Yeah, about that," Danny said, frowning. "Ya know, the whole Adrian/Kyle thing has kinda got me thinking about when YOU and him were together... and... why you broke up," he said awkwardly.
"Oh yay, good, you know how much I LOVE re-living that!" Chris said sarcastically.
Danny didn't smile. "Yeah, that's what I'm actually worried about. With you and Mark... being together now, is... is the bed arrangement still okay? And are we okay to keep... ya know, just... being... close?"
"Oh, I... didn't really think about that," Chris said with a slight frown.
"Exactly," Danny replied. "And I don't want you and Mark to end up the same way as you and Kyle at all, but especially not because of me! People say enough shit about me already. I need to stop giving `em ammunition!"
"Who's saying things about you?" Chris asked, looking quite unhappy with the comment.
"Doesn't matter," Danny said dismissively. Before Chris could object, he called out, "Who's ready for another song?"
"CHRIS!" Mikey called out. "Chris Chris Chris!" he repeated, jumping up and almost sending Harley flying into the drums. He grabbed a set of bongos and grinned broadly.
As the others looked curious, Chris replied, "Great idea! Everyone grab a seat, we won't need the amps for this!" He grabbed an acoustic guitar and took a seat as the others all gathered, with Mikey sitting beside him. "Mikey wanted to try..." he paused, grinning as he thought about the way the other boy had put it, "Hitting things with sticks, but without the sticks!" It got some laughs from the others as they settled in a circle. "So we tried this song out and it went well. It's not perfect..."
"Speak for yourself!" Mikey said defensively.
Chris rolled his eyes and shook his head as he said, "Whatever! Ready, one, two, three, four!"
Chris started on the guitar as Mikey started up on the bongos. A couple of bars in, Chris started singing, "If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea, I'll sail the world to find you. If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see, I'll be the light to guide you."
"I love Bruno Mars," Mark said quietly, smiling at the song choice.
Chris continued singing, "We'll find out what we're made of, when we are called to help our friends in need. You can count on me like one, two, three, I'll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two, and you'll be there. 'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah!"
Danny listened on, unsure if the song choice was deliberate or really was by chance, but the glumness he had brought into the music room with him melted away as Chris sang. He gave an especially big smile at the line, "If you tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep, I'll sing a song beside you!"
By the time the two boys finished, receiving a well-deserved round of applause, Danny felt like a weight had been lifted off him. Unfortunately, when the song ended and Mark grabbed Chris and kissed him, the weight came crashing back down on top of him.
"Do we really have to do this right now?" Rob asked, hanging back a little in the hallway of the Sports Complex, deliberately trailing behind Sam.
Sam stopped and looked round at the younger boy, giving him a meek smile. "Honestly... no!" he said with a slight shrug. "I mean, if you're really not feeling up to this then we turn around, we go home and we do this another time!" he offered. As he saw Rob go to quickly agree, he jumped back in and continued, "But this has been building up for a while and by the sounds of it, it's ready to break you... and your relationship. You need to deal with this, and I think if you put it off AGAIN it's only gonna get worse!"
Rob thought for a moment then sighed as he nodded gently.
Sam gave a meek smile, glad to have his mentee's silent agreement. "Okay, well you grab a seat in here," he said as he went over to the doorway to one of the consultation rooms, "I'll be back in a sec!"
Rob walked into the room and sat down as he watched Sam close the door behind him. It had already been a tough evening. Telling Sam about his anal encounters with Luke had been hard and every word he spoke felt like he was stabbing his boyfriend in the back. Sam had been understandably worried and on the verge of calling the police at one point, but Rob had been adamant things weren't QUITE as bad as they seemed.
A minute later, Sam returned and quickly rearranged a couple of chairs before taking a seat himself. "Don't worry, I'll do the talking start things off, okay?" he offered, reaching out to place his hand on Rob's.
"Thanks," Rob said quietly.
A few moments later there was a knock at the door, which promptly opened, and a slightly confused-looking Luke peered inside. His hair was wet, and he was dressed in just a speedo with a towel thrown around his shoulders as he had been at diving practice. "Oh, so my boyfriend HASN'T left the school!" he said cheerfully as he walked in. He gave Sam a confused frown and added, "Hey Sam!"
"Hey Luke," Sam said, giving a slightly forced smile to the Year 11 boy, "Grab a seat!"
"What's... going on?" Luke asked as he moved to take the seat Sam had prepared, sitting across a small table from Rob, with the Year 12 boy sat at the end between them. "Rob?" he asked nervously as his boyfriend avoided eye contact.
"Thanks for coming, we're sorry to interrupt practice, but this really couldn't wait!" Sam started.
Luke's worry was gradually turning to panic. "What? Oh my god, what?" he demanded. "Rob, are you okay? You're not, like... sick or something are you? Is that... oh my god, is that where you've been disappearing off to?"
"Easy," Sam said, holding out a hand to quiet the panicking teen. The reaction was, in many ways, a verification of what Rob had told him earlier in the evening. As much as Sam had wanted to report Luke to the police or the faculty, Rob had been insistent that it wasn't necessary, and that Luke loved him. The concern on Luke's face was actually quite moving. "Rob isn't sick," he said, not quite sure if there was a tactful way to say what he needed to.
"Then what is it?" Luke demanded. "Come on, I'm freaking out here guys!"
"Luke, I understand you and Rob recently... erm... expanded your... range of sexual activities. Is that right?" Sam asked, trying to sound discreet.
Luke blushed a little and said, "Erm... yeah, a while back now, I guess. Why?"
Rob continued to stare down at his hands, unable to even look at Luke.
"From what Rob has told me, those... occasions," Sam started, pausing to look at Rob for confirmation as he asked, "Because it's happened twice, right?" He got a nod from Rob then looked back to Luke and went on, "Those... instances may not have been... entirely consensual!"
"What do you..." Luke started, shaking his head. He stopped mid-sentence as the implications of the comment settled in. "D'you mean..." he tried again. His eyes slowly widened as fully comprehended what Luke was getting at. "When you say not entirely... wait, Rob... what? Are you..." He looked to Sam as Rob still wasn't looking and was now crying gently. "Is he... saying I raped him?"
"No!" Sam said, reaching out to place a hand on Sam's shoulder as he heard Rob sniffling. "Rob is actually adamant that you DIDN'T do that, but at the same time, he doesn't feel it was completely with his agreement either!"
"I... I don't understand," Luke said, slumping back in his seat as he shook his head. "I thought... I thought you wanted us to do that. You... you enjoyed it... didn't you?"
Sam let out a gentle sigh and started, "Rob feels..."
"NO!" Luke snapped, cutting him off. His anger had flared for just the briefest moment before his expression returned to the confused sadness that had gripped him. "Sorry, but... but Rob, please, talk to me!" he pleaded calmly.
Rob reached up to wipe both cheeks, but the tears he cleared away were immediately replaced by more as he looked up, sniffing. "Luke, I'm sorry, I... I... didn't enjoy it and I... I didn't want to do it! Either time!"
"But... you said yes!" Luke said, more shocked than annoyed. "You... you let me do it... didn't you?"
"If I may," Sam interjected, getting a nod from both. "From the way Rob's described it, it sounds like he was maybe coerced..." Sam paused, frowning as he shook his head a little and said, "No, that's not the right word, he was..." he paused again, trying to think of the least inflammatory way to put it, more to spare Rob's feelings than Luke's.
"Pressured into it!" Luke said hauntedly, looking suddenly pale. As he got a slow nod back from Rob, he hesitated, panting a little as he took it all in. "I pressured you into it!" he stated, more a self-realisation than an admission to the other two. "Fuck! I... oh my god, is this... you haven't been busy, have you? You've been avoiding me... because of this! Because... I hurt you..."
"Luke, I'm sorry!" Rob squeaked.
"Oh god," Luke said, doubling over slightly as he grabbed his stomach. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I... I hurt you, I... oh my god, I hurt you..." His hands raised to cover his face as he started to cry.
"See, I told you he never meant to hurt me!" Rob insisted tearfully. He jumped to his feet and moved round to try and hold Luke, but the moment he touched the older boy, Luke recoiled.
"No, don't!" Luke said as he jumped away. He lowered his hands to look at Rob, both boys' eyes red and puffy as they sniffled. "I hurt you!" he repeated. "I love you so much, but I... I was..." He couldn't finish as he burst into more sobs.
"I'm sorry, I should have just... just talked to you, or... or said no to you..." Rob started.
"How?" Luke suddenly demanded, shaking his head. "I didn't... I didn't even give you the chance to say no, did I? It was just... it was all I could think about, like... like... some kind of... fucking monster!" He sat panting gently as he replayed the two incidents in his head. Looking from Luke to Rob and back again he said, "So I'm guessing I'm gonna be expelled... or arrested. I should... I should get dressed," Sam said, standing up to turn to the door.
"That's not necessary!" Sam said, standing up to grab Luke's shoulder and stop him. "We're not reporting this. Rob was insistent it wasn't... rape and... and I'm inclined to believe him!"
"No, you need to turn me in! I'll do it if you don't!" Luke insisted. He stared at Rob for a moment and felt his stomach churn. "I hurt you. I need to pay!" he admitted.
"No! You don't!" Rob argued back, sniffling heavily. "I shouldn't have just... bottled it up. This is my fault!"
"It's certainly not!" Sam quickly interjected firmly. "But I also don't think it's entirely yours either," he added as he looked to Luke. "Look, both of you sit back down. Please!" As they both returned to their seats, Sam took a breath and said, "This isn't a straightforward thing and we've got a lot to talk about, but... blame and punishment isn't going to achieve anything." He paused to let the two younger boys think about it.
Both Rob and Luke nodded their understanding gently.
"Luke, I really wasn't sure what to make of what Rob told me and... I was prepared for the worst, but..." Sam paused, eyeing Luke curiously, "I really don't think you meant to hurt Rob!"
"I didn't, I swear!" Luke insisted to Sam, then offered Rob, "I'm sorry!"
"And Rob I already know you're thinking up ways to blame yourself and that doesn't help anything," Sam insisted. It got an immediate nod back from Rob. "So the question now is where we go from here. So, Luke, d'you want to make this right?"
"More than anything!" Luke insisted.
"And Rob, how do you feel? Do you want to move past this and still be with Luke?" Sam asked.
Rob thought for a moment and offered a brief hint of a smile as he repeated Luke's own words, "More than anything!"
"Good, then we will!" Sam insisted. He took a moment to let the other two boys continue to calm, then suggested, "Now why don't you go get showered and dressed while I talk to Rob a bit more, then come back when you're done and we can all try to deal with this together, okay?"
Luke nodded as he stood, giving a timid smile to Sam before he looked to Rob, sniffled again and said, "I'm really sorry!"
"Me too!" Rob replied before he watched Luke leave.
"Well that really wasn't as bad as I expected. How you feeling?" Sam asked.
"Stupid!" Rob replied, blushing a little. As he got a confused frown from Sam, he went on, "It's like you... and Danny... and Josh and EVERYONE always says, I just need to talk, but I didn't and I feel like I've made this... this big thing out of nothing!"
"Hey, no way!" Sam argued back, shaking his head emphatically. "It may not be as bad as you've built it up to be, but there was definitely a problem here! This..." he paused, slowing his head shake as he frowned disapprovingly. "This is really one of the reasons I hate Kingswood sometimes!" he admitted sadly.
"What? Why?" Rob asked, confused.
Sam's brow furrowed as he thought about it. It was something he and his friends had discussed before, something it seemed often became a subject of conversation for Kingswood boys as they moved through their years at the school. He had discussed it once with his own mentor and while he fully expected to one day have that conversation with Rob, he had certainly not expected it quite so soon.
"They treat us like grown-ups the moment we get here and yeah, in most ways that's great. We get more... respect, more freedom, all that stuff than most people our age and in most ways, that's amazing! But at the same time, think of it this way," Sam said, pausing for a moment. "You're a kid. You're dealing with a long term, SEXUAL relationship and having to handle... y'know, issues about consent and pressure and stuff like that, but you're only fourteen! Responsibility is a good thing, but sometimes I think they give us TOO much of it!"
Rob listened to his mentor's thoughts on it, nodding along as he thought about it. "I guess... it's all part of the Kingswood Effect!" he said with a shrug. As Luke looked confused, he elaborated, "It's what Nicky calls it. He talks about this sort of stuff sometimes too, y'know, about what this place is and what it does to you, and that's what he named it – The Kingswood Effect!"
"It's... actually a pretty good name for it," Sam nodded with a slight chuckle. "But you get my point, don't you? You may be mature for your age, but... this is a lot for anyone of ANY age!"
"Yeah, but I've got you to get me through it!" Rob said with an appreciative smile. "I'm... sorry we don't hang out as much as we used to!" he said awkwardly.
Sam chuckled as he shook his head. "Don't be!" he insisted. "This is how it goes. You're in year seven and we're there to hold your hand when everything's big and scary, then you hit year eight and you've started needing us a bit less and by year nine, it's kind of... emergencies only. It always happens and it's not a bad thing. The less you need us, the better you're doing, so not seeing a lot of you just means we raised you right!"
"Huh, I never thought of it that way!" Rob said thoughtfully, venturing a gentle smile.
"Well, until next year anyway," Sam said with a smirk. As he got a curious look from Rob, he explained, "Believe me, once you start being a mentor to a new year seven kid next year, you'll be running to me for every weird problem they bring to you. That's kind of our last job with you, making sure you're looking after the next generation!"
Rob nodded his understanding and as his smile grew and he said, "Guess that's just another part of the Kingswood Effect!"
"Yeah, I guess so," Sam chuckled back, gently reaching out to stroke Rob's arm.
Stage Fright, and their audience of three, were slowly making their way back to the Home Building for the evening having finished rehearsals. Spirits had been exceptionally high when Chris had received a message from Ruby (aka Mr Warren) telling him that they had won second place in the SCIPS drama showcase, which meant they would get to do an encore performance of `A Mid-Summer Night's Scream' at the SCIPS closing weekend in July.
Danny had cheered up a little since arriving, mostly thanks to Chris, but as he thought about heading back to the dorm his thoughts returned to Rob. As he glanced back to look for Josh, he found him walking along chatting happily with Mikey and Harley. He hung back slightly to let the three boys catch up to him and as they got close, he looked to Josh and said, "You got a sec?"
"What?" Josh snapped sharply.
Harley looked a little taken aback by Josh's tone. Being from outside the dorm, he was largely unaware of the ongoing issue between Danny and Josh. Mikey just rolled his eyes as he placed a hand on Harley's back to lead him away silently, allowing the other two to talk.
Danny wanted to shout at Josh but managed to hold back. This wasn't about them, so he just needed to stay focused on what was important. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed anything up with Rob lately," he started, pausing slightly.
The scowl on Josh's face faltered for a moment, his friendship with Rob briefly overpowering the annoyance at Danny. He nodded a little.
"I'm... well, I can't tell you what it is, because I don't really know it all... and maybe I shouldn't even be saying anything to you anyway," Danny rambled.
"Oh my god, what?" Josh demanded, huffing again impatiently.
Danny scowled back at him and said, "Rob might just... need an extra bit of... I dunno, consideration tonight, that's all!" As Josh stared blankly at him, again caught between annoyance and interest, Danny sighed and said, "He might just need his friends close, that's all I wanted to say."
"We're always close!" Josh said, sneering slightly. "He actually KNOWS how to be a good friend!"
Danny felt his fists clench, more out of frustration and anger rather than any desire to actual strike out, though the thought briefly crossed his mind. It didn't last long. "Whatever," he said, shaking his head as he turned to walk away.
"Yeah, you run along," Josh taunted from behind. "Things to do, guys to steal, right!"
Danny paused and glared back at Josh for a moment as he considered the taunt. At least he understood now what this was about. Josh was apparently holding the Adrian/Kyle break-up against him, just like the occupants of dorm 1.12. Either way, he was just too drained to even argue about it, so he turned away again and walked off quickly before Josh could say anything else.
Rob smirked as he finished brushing his teeth, looking at the long queue for the toilet cubicles. Unlike his own dorm, that had progressed to the point of being able to openly masturbate around each other as part of what they called `wank time', most of the other dorms had not made such progress. With the shower cubicles removed the previous year and few other places to get sufficient privacy available, the toilets became quite busy late at night, with an endless stream of boys very clearly going to pleasure themselves before bed.
As Rob headed out the door, he bumped into Danny who was coming the other way, bypassing the queue for the cubicles as he also had no need for it. "Oh, hey," Rob said with a meek but sincere smile.
"Hey," Danny said back, returning the smile. "You okay to wait a minute, I'm just brushing my teeth," he requested, brandishing his toothbrush slightly menacingly.
"Sure," Rob nodded, moving further down the corridor to wait.
A minute later, Danny reappeared past the still-stationary queue and headed over to join him. He nodded further down the corridor and they walked round, coming to a stop by the stairs, which Danny took a seat on as Rob stayed standing.
"How... are you?" Danny asked cautiously.
Rob smiled and nodded. "Better, thanks!" he said sincerely.
Danny stared back as he cocked his head, unsure whether to ask what he was thinking or whether it was best to just leave it.
"Luke didn't... do what you thought he did!" Rob said, lowering his voice, careful not to be overheard, even without using the `r' word.
"That's definitely a relief!" Danny said with a nod, clearly a little calmer.
"He..." Rob started, then looked around nervously again.
Danny stood up and pointed over at the door to the study room, seeking even more privacy than they had already gotten. Looking round to make sure Mr Trent wasn't around, they stepped inside, leaving the lights off, illuminated only by the thin strip of light leaking in around the door.
"You won't tell anyone about this, will you?" Rob requested.
"Nope," Danny replied.
"Even Josh?" Rob asked.
"I... kinda told him you might need a bit of extra... I dunno, attention, but... I won't tell him anything else if you don't want to," Danny explained, then muttered, "Not that I wanna talk to him about anything anyway!"
"Good," Rob said, not prying at the angry muttering. "I know he'd probably understand, but with his... ya know, past stuff, I don't wanna, like, trigger anything," Rob explained.
Danny nodded, then realised Rob probably couldn't see the gesture and said, "Sure, I get it! So... what happened?"
"It was all just... a stupid misunderstanding," Rob sighed. "Well, sort of. Luke kinda pressured me into doing stuff, without really realising that was what he was doing and then I went and... got all Rob about it..."
"Did you just turn your name into a verb?" Danny asked, sniggering at using Rob's comments from that lunchtime back against him.
"Yeah, I guess I did," Rob chuckled. "But yeah, I... I never told him how much I DIDN'T want to do it, or how much I hated it or how much it hurt, so... he just never even knew, but... now he does!"
"You spoke to him already?" Danny asked in surprise.
Rob chuckled and replied, "Yeah, Sam doesn't waste any time!"
"Wow, so... what did he say?" Danny asked curiously.
"He was..." Rob started, but got a bit choked up. "He was absolutely gutted. He's apologised, like, a hundred times already. I think he's more upset about it than I am!"
Danny didn't reply, he just reached out through the dark and pulled Rob into a hug.
Rob let out a happy sigh as he held tightly onto Danny.
"So what have we learned?" Danny asked playfully, still holding on.
"Ugh," Rob huffed. "Fine, I learned I need to open up more... and that I DEFINITELY don't like anal!" he laughed.
Danny chuckled.
"And also that I'm lucky to have you on my side," Rob said a little more softly as his laugh stopped.
"I'm glad someone thinks so," Danny sighed.
"What?" Rob asked as he pulled away.
"S'nothing," Danny said as he reached for the door. "Come on, let's get back before Mr Trent finds us!"
As they stepped out into the hallway, Kayden and Jenson from dorm 1.10 were just leaving the shower room. As they spotted the two boys emerging from the room, Jenson called out, "Always time for one last hook-up before bed, right Danny?"
"We weren't hooking up!" Danny said, stopping to scowl at the other boys as they walked past.
"Suuuuuure!" Kayden replied with a smirk.
Jenson grabbed hold of the towel wrapped around his waist and said, "Hey, don't get any ideas!"
"Hey, back off!" Rob snapped.
"Leave it," Danny sighed, shaking his head as he held an arm out to stop Rob chasing them. "The more you argue the more they do it. I just ignore them!"
"Hey, come on, to your dorms, you dawdlers!" Mr Trent suddenly called out as he appeared around the corner.
"Yes sir!" the boys replied, hurrying along.
"Nicky," Mark said as he approached the sofa where the other boy was sitting. He knelt down as he leaned over the back of it, bringing him down to the same height as Nicky.
"Alright," Nicky said with a nod of greeting.
Mark looked round behind him to the empty dorm, all of the others off finishing getting ready for bed. As he looked back to Nicky he let out a gentle sigh and said, "I'm not really sure if I should be asking you this."
"Ask me and I'll tell you if you should ask me," Nicky said with a grin.
Mark smirked slightly at the silly comment and said, "It's... about Chris!"
"Oh," Nicky nodded, sitting up a little more. "Oh," he repeated. "Are you... asking about Chris, my classmate or Chris, my ex-boyfriend?" he asked curiously.
"Bit of both I s'pose!" Mark said glumly.
"Okay, go on," Nicky urged him, keeping an eye on the door for anyone returning.
Mark frowned thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Earlier, during practice, you know when Chris and Mikey sang Count on Me..."
"Oh," Nicky interjected knowingly with a nod. He had picked up on something during the song, but wasn't sure if anyone else had. "You... noticed that, did you?" he said, feeling a little awkward.
"Yeah," Mark nodded. "I know he was kinda doing it to cheer Danny up anyway, but... he sang it TO him and... barely took his eyes off him," he explained, then sighed again and said, "He... does that a lot!"
"Yeah, he does," Nicky nodded.
"I know they're best friends and after how SHITTY Gregory was as a boyfriend I don't wanna be this... this crazy, jealous psycho boyfriend, but..." He stopped, shaking his head at himself a little before asking, "D'you think we should even be together?"
"Oof," Nicky said, wincing a little. "I... I really don't think that's something I can, or should, answer. I don't think I can tell you what you want to hear, either way, but..." he paused as he reached out to place a hand on Mark's, "All I'll say is... be careful, okay?"
"I will, thanks," Mark said, pouting a little as he nodded.
Danny awoke with a start. The dream had been instantly forgotten, but the feelings from it lingered as consciousness returned. Whatever he had been dreaming, it left Danny too shaken to even consider going straight back to sleep. The bed was moist from sweat though it was not an overly warm night and he threw back the covers to cool off as he caught his breath, panting a little as he began to calm.
Instinctively, he reached out to the side to grab Chris for comfort, but he found nothing but empty bed. He lifted his head and vaguely made out through the darkness a second figure laying on Mark's bunk. Feeling the need to get up and clear his head, Danny cast his eyes over to the windows. Though the curtains were drawn across the bottom half of the floor-to-ceiling glass, the top half was open and bore rapid rivulets of water running down them as rain fell heavily outside.
With Chris no longer an option to seek comfort in, Danny gazed upwards for a moment then over to the door. As quietly as he could, he grabbed a t-shirt and pair of trainers that he slipped on just outside the door, more for comfort and warmth than any sense of modesty. He quickly made his way round to the stairs, headed up, along the second floor hallway and up again to reach the third floor where he quickly made his way to Brian and Joseph's dorm. He began to feel a pleasant sense of warmth as he got close, imagining slipping into bed with Brian, having him wake up and give that beautiful smile and maybe a brief kiss.
As he opened the door to the dorm and stepped inside silently, he froze as he saw the space beside Brian was already taken up by Joseph, the two older teens entangled in each other as they slept. He let out a gentle sigh and backed out of the dorm, closing the door behind him. Sighing dejectedly, he headed back round towards the stairs, but as he reached the top he could hear movement on the floor below. It may have been a fellow student but was much more likely to be Mr Fitzsimmons patrolling.
Keen to avoid being punished for being out of bed after lights-out, Danny paused for a moment before he remembered the safest way back down to the first floor – the secret entrance to the Underground! He crept along and stepped into the shower room, heading to the `out of order' cubicle in the corner and through that to the secret door.
A quick scurry down the stairs and he had reached the first floor, but as he thought about returning to his empty (and moist!) bed, he figured he just wasn't ready yet and instead continued down. He had no specific plans in the Underground, he simply knew it was somewhere he could go where he would not run the risk of being caught by a teacher.
As he reached the main atrium, he was surprised to see other people milling around. It was nowhere near as busy as it was during early evening or at the weekends, but it exceeded Danny's expectation of emptiness. Wandering in, he noticed a familiar figure from behind, sat alone in the small seating area in one corner. "Evening," Danny said as he approached.
Adrian turned at the sound of the greeting, his face lighting up as he saw who it was. "Danny!" he exclaimed in delighted surprise. "What you doing down here?"
Danny shrugged as he got closer.
"So... what? Sleepwalking?" Adrian smirked.
"No," Danny said with a weak smile. "It's just... been a really tough day." He began to sniffle slightly and by the time he started to cry, Adrian was already on his feet and holding him. "I'm sorry, I don't even know why I`m crying!" he whispered as he gripped on tightly.
"It's okay, you don't need to explain. Sometimes you just to let it out," Adrian reassured him.
Danny sniffed deeply, cleared his throat then pulled back as he wiped his cheeks. "Sorry about that," he apologised awkwardly. "Ugh, I was actually gonna ask if YOU'RE okay! I feel like I've barely seen you since... you know!"
"Yeah," Adrian said, nodding slightly. "I... I know what Kyle and some of the others are saying, so I didn't wanna be, like, hanging out with you and giving them more ammunition!"
"Oh don't worry, they've still got plenty!" Danny scowled.
"Sorry," Adrian sighed. Silence lingered for a moment before he asked, "You wanna talk about your day?"
"Really not!" Danny replied, shaking his head. "You know what I do need?"
"A fuck, probably," Adrian smirked.
"I'd call you a bitch for saying that..." Danny started.
"If I wasn't right?" Adrian interjected, grinning broadly.
Danny pouted as he nodded.
"Come on, let's grab a room!" Adrian said, taking Danny's hand to lead him away.
The moment they headed into the private room, clothes were flying. Neither had been wearing that much to start with, but what little they had on was quickly strewn across the floor, leaving the two teens naked.
"You... really are SO hot!" Danny said as he took a step back to look at Adrian.
"I'm not," Adrian replied, "It's just a race thing!" As Danny frowned in confusion, he explained, "You're just used to seeing a bunch of pale-ass white boys! It's not that I'm hot, it's just that I'm different!"
Danny shook his head and said, "I think the race thing is something we should talk about more, cos I'm not you, I wouldn't dream of saying I fully understand how you feel, but... I don't just think you're hot cos you're different... you're just fucking hot." He gestured down to his erection and said, "See, you set off my hot guy detector!"
Adrian chuckled and reached down to stroke his own stiff dick and said, "Well you must be pretty hot too!"
"Nah, that's still you," Danny smiled, waving dismissively, "You're so hot you even set off your own!"
Adrian laughed, grinning broadly as he shook his head. "You're stupid... but cute," he said happily.
"Thanks, I think," Danny said with a casual shrug, "So, how d'ya want me?"
"Oh you LITERALLY want to fuck?" Adrian asked, a little surprised. "I thought we were just gonna fool around!"
Danny blushed a little and started, "We... we don't have to if you don't..."
"I want to!" Adrian said eagerly. His hand was still grasped on his erection, which he gave a quick tug on as he said, "I REALLY want to!" As Danny smiled at the emphatic reaction, Adrian looked round and said, "I want you on your back. You look so hot when you're getting fucked!"
"Thanks," Danny blushed as he moved over to the bench and sat down before laying back, pulling his legs up to expose himself to his friend. "Like this?" he asked with a grin.
Adrian moved closer, wrapping an arm around each of Danny's legs as he looked down at him. "Yeah," he gasped slightly, "So... sexy!"
"Right back at ya!" Danny replied with a wink.
Adrian shuddered and giggled at the wink, blushing a little. "Hnnh," he grunted as he watched Danny reach down to apply a glob of lubricant to his own hole as well as Adrian's boner. "Still amazes me how much things have changed with us!"
"I know right. I still remember when I suggested playing around with you at the Christmas party in year seven and you pretty much ran a mile!"
"Yeah," Adrian said wistfully. "How different d'you think things would've been if I'd just... done it?"
Danny smiled for a moment but it quickly dropped into a frown as he considered Rob. "Doing stuff before you're ready rarely ends well. I'd rather enjoy where we are now than think about where we're not!"
"Ugh, it's so unfair that you're THIS hot AND this smart!" Adrian groaned as he positioned his dick against Danny's hole.
"I'm not smart, I just learn from mistakes... so I've learned a LOT," Danny sighed. "Anyway, shut up a fuck!" he said before Adrian could question the comment.
"Yes sir," Adrian said happily, thrusting in hard. As he watched Danny buck slightly and let out a gasp, he asked, "You did say you could take it hard, right?"
Danny bit his lip as he stared up at Adrian for a moment, then growled, "As hard as you like!"
"Great," Adrian panted, pulling most of the way out before slamming in again, a slapping noise echoing around the room as his body collided with Danny's. Within moments, it turned into a fleshy metronome, audibly making clear the rapid pace the eager teen was setting.
"Jesus!" Danny gasped, reaching above his head with one hand to grab the top of the bench as his other hand lowered to grab the bottom.
"You like that?" Adrian asked, panting heavily as he slammed in hard and fast, over and over.
"FUCK YES!" Danny screamed as his wrapped around Adrian.
"Wank!" Adrian growled.
"Okay," Danny gasped, releasing one of his hands to reach down and stroke his throbbing cock.
"Faster!" Adrian ordered as he watched Danny get started.
Danny let out a shuddery moan as he pumped away rapidly on his straining cock. "Fuck!" he gasped from the dual sensation.
Adrian kept pounding away hard, his eyes fixed on the blissful expression plastered over the other boy's face. "Ah fuck, yes," he growled as he began to shoot inside Danny. He didn't slow his pace, jack-hammering away right up until his cock became too sensitive and he just stopped dead, still inside him.
Danny felt his own hand get slapped away as Adrian took over, wanking him as eagerly as he had fucked him. Moments later, Danny found himself being showered with hefty spurts of his own spunk which shot high into the air before raining down on him heavily.
Both boys panted heavily, staring at each other as exhausted delight slowly turned to amused contentment and finally into pure laughter. Adrian finally pulled out and flopped down onto the bench next to Danny, who rolled onto his side to face him.
Adrian reached out and stroked a few strands of hair from Danny's face, letting his fingers graze the other boy's cheek. "I love you, Danny!" he said wistfully.
"I know," Danny replied. He felt bad for not saying it back and was considering how to explain it when Adrian interjected.
"It's okay, I know... that's not where we are, or... where you are. I just wanted to say it!" Adrian explained. He let out a gentle sigh and said, "It's like you said, enjoy where we are rather than think about where we're not, and I... I enjoy where we are!"
"Me too!" Danny replied, leaning in to cuddle up to the other boy.
After taking some time to cuddle and catch their breath, they both cleaned up and dressed, chatting casually as they did so. Danny finally remembered to actually ask what Adrian was doing down there so late, though the answer he got was exactly what he expected – Adrian had been unable to sleep after dealing with a challenging day of his own. They headed back up to the first floor eventually, parting with a final hug at the door to Danny's dorm as he headed back inside.
As Danny removed his t-shirt back and slipped his trainers off, he heard a whispered, "Danny? You okay?"
It was Chris. He had awoken from beside Mark and was looking over at him. Danny smiled through the darkness and said, "Yeah, mostly!" He headed to his bunk, which had thankfully mostly dried out now and nestled back down into bed.
A few moments later, he heard movement across the room, followed by the covers being lifted as Chris climbed in next to him.
"Hey, it's okay, you can stay with Mark," Danny insisted.
"Shut up and let me cuddle you!" Chris replied as he wrapped himself around his best friend. "You smell like sex," he whispered.
"Oh, sorry," Danny replied, blushing in the darkness.
"I wasn't complaining," Chris giggled, getting a quiet laugh back.
Across the dorm, Mark raised his head slightly as he awoke and felt the emptiness beside him. Seeing the other two nestled together, he let his head drop down and let out a gentle sigh before going back to sleep.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. New chapters will post weekly, so be back same time next week for more!
If you have any questions or comments, my email is always open at matterotica@hotmail.co.uk. Alternatively, I can be found on patreon where I also post my stories, along with bonus content and exclusives, at patreon.com/matterotica
If you wish to read any of my other stories, please see below for links
The Kingswood Saga
Tales from Kingswood (Book 1)– https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/tales-from-kingswood/
Half-Term at Kingswood (Book 1 bonus story) – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/half-term-at-kingswood/
The Kingswood Eight (Book 2) - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/the-kingswood-eight/
A Very Kingswood Easter (Book 2 bonus story) - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/a-very-kingswood-easter/
The Benny Saga (in reading order)
Benny Takes Control – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/benny-takes-control/
The Dangers of Desire – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/the-dangers-of-desire/
Benny's House – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/bennys-house/
Other Series
Possession – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/possession-series/
Jack Hamilton – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/jack-hamilton/
Phil's Naked Adventures – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/phils-naked-adventures/
One-shots
The Art of Seduction – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-art-of-seduction
Jake's Exposure – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/jakes-exposure
Becoming an Internet Master – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/becoming-an-internet-master
Brian's Big Mistake – http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/brians-big-mistake
And Then It Got Worse – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/masturbation/and-then-it-got-worse
Missed Opportunity – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/missed-opportunity
There's a Naked Alfie in the Garden - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/theres-a-naked-alfie-in-the-garden