The Kingswood Complication - Chapter 33

Friday 31 March 2023

“Happy birthday!” Mikey declared happily.

“Thanks,” Todd replied with a bemused smile as he watched Mikey approach, though he quickly added, “But it’s not my birthday!”

“Dammit,” Mikey grumbled, “If it was, you’d think I was all psychic and cool!” As Todd chuckled, he added a quiet, “Instead of psychotic and scary!”

“Yeah, you know that’s not what I think if you,” Todd said, shaking his head. The young worker was quite new to Kingswood and had reached out to Mikey a few weeks ago to offer him support with his recent diagnosis. Though Mikey had kept his distance at first, they had spoken in passing a few times since and finally gotten to the point of arranging to meet.

“I know,” Mikey shrugged, “Just… being silly. Today’s been tough!” He sat down heavily onto the bench beside Todd.

“Oh really? Something bad happen, or is it just a bad day for symptoms?” Todd asked curiously.

“The first one,” Mikey replied. As he saw Todd raise an eyebrow he quickly went on, “Not really having any symptoms since I got back on the meds, which is good I suppose! Do you ever get any symptoms with yours?”

“Mmm-huh, yeah, that was a shameless attempt at a subject change,” Todd said with a smirk. As he heard a low groan from Mikey, he asked, “So what happened?”

Mikey pouted as he folded his arms, frustrated at being called out but secretly glad it meant he got to share what had happened. “We have PE on Friday mornings,” Mikey started, “And a bunch of us got separated off to play basketball, which I love, and I’m one of the best players, but when they started picking teams nobody picked me and even when I was the last one left, they actually argued over which one of them got to NOT have me!”

“Ah, that’s not nice. What happened then?” Todd asked curiously.

“Mr Smith came along and put me on one of the teams, but that didn’t really make it any better,” Mikey explained, “Nobody dared to tackle me or even come near me, so I’d got the guys on the other team scared of me and then my team who were just… using me cos they knew if they could get the ball to me I’d get to the basket and score cos I’m a great shot. I mean… we won and my team were really happy about it, but even when they celebrated, it was like they were celebrating together and I was still just… out on my own!”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Todd said sympathetically.

Mikey shrugged and replied, “Meh, I got the win and I like winning!”

“Do you feel like you won?” Todd asked, eyebrows raised.

Mikey shook his head for a moment then replied, “No, not really!” He let out a groan and asked, “When are they gonna go back to treating me like normal?”

“Afraid I can’t answer that,” Todd replied. He looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly considering adding something further. He took a breath and added gingerly, “You should probably be prepared for the fact they might NEVER go back to treating you the way they used to. Things may always be bad, at least with people who don’t REALLY understand you, like me!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Mikey said glumly, “But… I do have something planned, something fun that MIGHT help!”

“Oh yeah? Tell me more,” Todd said with a curious head tilt.

“Hmm, can’t yet, I need to find a way to describe it that doesn’t just sound crazy and finalise some details. I’m planning on figuring the rest out over the Easter break,” Mikey explained.

“Fair enough,” Todd said with a nod of acceptance, “You looking forward to the break?”

“Hmmm, yes and no,” Mikey replied. Seeing the quizzical look he got in return, he elaborated, “I’m actually going home, to my family’s place for a change rather than my friend’s house and it’s weird cos if I’d said that a year ago, I’d have probably been yelling and getting really angry about it, but now… I’ll miss not seeing my friend’s parents cos they’re great but… I’m kinda looking forward to seeing my own family!”

“That’s really good to hear,” Todd said with a sincere smile.

“I’m also kinda working on some other stuff while I’m at home too,” Mikey said. He shot Todd a furtive glance and added quietly, “Schizo stuff!”

Todd shifted round in his seat to face Mikey more as he asked, “Like what?”

“Well…” Mikey started, then paused to think, “When you were really bad with it, and then started getting better, did you… feel like you lost anything?”

Todd recoiled very slightly, looking briefly thoughtful before he asked, “Do You feel like you’ve lost anything? Like… good things along with the bad?”

Mikey nodded solemnly.

Todd nodded back, offered a meek smile and said, “Me too.” He paused for another moment and said, “There’s a name for them. It’s umm… oh, my brain’s being wonky, what was it?”

“Positive symptoms?” Mikey suggested.

“Yeah, them!” Todd nodded, “Losing positive symptoms can be a tough price to pay, but hey, if it helps you stop believing the cute guy at Starbucks is secretly spiking your latte with drugs to turn you gay, then it’s probably a price worth paying!”

Mikey stared at Todd, blinking a few times as he took in the abstract comment.

“Oh, true story,” Todd nodded, “But we’re talking about you! What is it you feel like you lost?”

Mikey sighed heavily as his shoulders slumped, shaking his head. “Everything I know,” he said sadly, “I used to be good at everything cos I’d, like… go into a lesson and the teacher would ask something and one of the voices would be there telling me all the answers, but now they’re gone and I feel like I’m just… bad at everything instead!”

Todd frowned a little and started, “You do know that they…”

Mikey immediately interjected, “They only know what I know, yeah, they’re me, I get it!” He huffed slightly and explained, “That’s what Nicky says about it too, but… if I DO know all that stuff, why can’t I remember it?” As silence followed, he looked to Todd and said, “Oh, I know that face. That’s an ‘I want to give you advice but don’t want to just give it without you asking’ face. I’ve seen that before! It’s okay, if you have an idea, I’m open to it!”

Todd chuckled, amused that the boy could read him so easily considering they didn’t actually know each other that well yet. “It’s not an idea, more just… general advice,” Todd said slightly cryptically, “Look, you’ve talked a lot about needing to build up other people’s trust in you cos you think they’re scared of you, but… I think you need to build back up a bit of trust in yourself too.”

“I trust myself!” Mikey said a little defensively.

“So if I asked you a really hard maths question now, you’d just be able to answer it, would you?” Todd asked with a hint of a smirk.

Mikey pouted briefly and added a sullen, “No.”

“Exactly,” Todd nodded, “And that’s what I mean. Like your friend said, you know everything the voices knew, I just don’t think you trust yourself to come up with that knowledge. You spent so long relying on them that you never learned to trust yourself. Maybe that’s something you need to work on!”

Mikey nodded contemplatively. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he said thoughtfully. He smiled at the young man and said, “Thanks Todd. I should go, I was gonna skip lunch but I’m hungrier than I thought!”

“Fair,” Todd nodded as he watched the boy stand up, “Nice talking as always and enjoy your break. See you when you get back!”

“Thanks, you too!” Mikey said as he hurried off.

*****

“Am I doing okay?” Avery asked as he stared up at Danny.

“Yeah,” Danny replied honestly, “You seem to have the knack of it!” He smiled down at his mentee, who had been orally pleasuring him, and added, “You don’t have to finish me off, y’know!”

“I know I don’t HAVE to!” Avery said with a grin before giving Danny’s dick a quick lick, “Maybe I just WANT to!”

“Aww, you make me such a proud mentor sometimes,” Danny giggled.

Avery stared up at him, doe eyed. “Do I really?” he asked softly.

Danny’s breath caught in his throat. Avery usually acted older than his age, mostly when he was around his peers, acting confident almost to the point of boorishness, but Danny had learned very early on in the year that it was mostly a front he put on. The real Avery was much calmer, quieter and significantly more affectionate. The side of him he saw now, the sweet, innocent boy (well, as innocent as someone who’s just been sucking your dick CAN be), was a side Danny saw even more rarely.

It made his chest ache, not in the same way Chris used to before they figured out their feelings for each other, more like the same way Danny felt whenever he visited Chris’ family home and heard the twins excitedly scream his name. Those moments made him want to just grab the younger boy and hug him and protect him from the world, and he felt truly blessed to be one of the few people who got to see that side of him.

“Yeah you do, buddy, you really do,” Danny said as he reached down and mussed the boy’s hair.

“Yay,” Avery said happily, bouncing a little before he turned his attention back to Danny’s penis and stated, “Say more nice things to me, but wait til I’m done blowing you!”

“Yes sir,” Danny chuckled, shaking his head at the boy’s candour. He watched as his cock disappeared back between Avery’s lips and let out a low groan of pleasure. Avery had always been fairly good at sucking, but lately he really seemed to be improving rapidly, though that was likely due to the increase in sexual activity in his dorm, thanks to the resolution of the Axel issue.

Avery opened his mouth and spoke slightly muffled with Danny’s dick on his tongue, “Can I swallow?”

“Sure, mate. You do what you like,” Danny said with a reassuring nod.

“Sweet!” Avery said before returning to his sucking. He continued working away at Danny’s dick until he felt it firm and throb just a little. He prepared himself for the older boy’s load and started eagerly gulping it down as it shot into his mouth. Once he had sucked down the last drops, he pulled back and stared up at Danny once again.

Danny knew what he was waiting for and had no intention of withholding it. “Great job,” he said cheerfully, “I meant what I said. I’m really proud of you, and not just for the blowjob, for everything. I hear a lot of good things about how you’re doing with your dormmates now, and a few of your teachers have even commented on how good you’re doing in class too!”

Avery blushed heavily, not something he did very often, but his cheeks reddened as he smiled and said a coy, “Thanks Danny.”

“So whadda you say we do you now?” Danny suggested, pulling Avery up onto his feet. He felt the younger boy tense up in his grip.

Releasing Avery from his chastity device had become increasingly awkward as time ticked on. Six weeks ago, they had discovered Avery was capable of ejaculating, which should have signalled his release from the semi-permanent chastity. At Avery’s request, he had remained locked, mostly because his penis had not yet shown any signs of growth and he was too embarrassed to be seen by his peers. Danny had agreed to go along with it, but quickly began to doubt the decision.

“We could… leave it til we’re back from easter break,” Avery suggested, trying to sound casual.

“If you think you can wait another seventeen days to cum again…” Danny said, trailing off leadingly.

Avery groaned and said, “Okay, fine, go on then!”

Danny had learned from the past few weeks that any words of encouragement at this point weren’t really very helpful. Previous weeks, he had tried, “I’m sure it’ll be bigger soon!” and “It might have started growing by now!” All they really did was get Avery’s hopes up and, realistically, Danny wasn’t actually sure anything would happen soon anyway, so it felt rather dishonest. Today he just unlocked the boy in silence.

“Nooo,” Avery whimpered as the device was removed and his tiny penis appeared.

“Hey, it’s… I mean, maybe after you shower it… might look a bit bigger!” Danny said optimistically, unable to resist trying to cheer the boy up.

Several minutes later, after showering… it did not look bigger.

“This is so unfair,” Avery pouted as he sat on the ground, pulling his legs up to conceal himself.

Danny remained silent for a few moments, unsure whether now was the right time to push this, as he knew how upset Avery could get talking about it. As he remembered his conversation with Joseph, and the encouragement that Danny should follow his instinct, Danny squatted down next to the sitting boy and said, “Avery, I… I really don’t think keeping you locked up is the right move!”

Avery stared blankly for a second before his expression turned to an angry scowl and he snapped, “Yeah, well that’s just cos you’re some freak who’s into humiliation and you probably wanna get off on seeing me embarrassed.”

The words hit Danny hard. In most ways what Avery had said was true, Danny could never deny his enjoyment of humiliation, but he could never enjoy it if he thought someone was actually suffering because of it, especially not somebody he cared about. The part that really stung was being called a freak. As insults went, it wasn’t the harshest, yet somehow it still managed to cut alarmingly deep. “I’m not a FREAK!” Danny said sharply as he stood up, “And you don’t speak to me that way!”

“I’ll speak to me any way I like!” Avery snapped back angrily. “You’re just trying to embarrass me. You… you’ve… you’ve probably told all your friends about me too and had a good fucking laugh at my dick, haven’t you, you fuckin’ pervert!”

“I’d never tell anyone about stuff between us. You KNOW that!” Danny said, feeling his volume raise despite his best effort to remain calm, “And you mind what you’re saying to me!”

“Oh yeah? Or what?” Avery jeered, “It’s not like you can do anything about it anyway. You’re… you… you’re nothing. You’re not a teacher. You’re not even allowed to give punishments. You’re just a pervy freak who gets off on controlling me!”

Danny went to respond but barely managed to hold back. He turned away from Avery with his lips tightly pressed together and fists clenched as he inhaled and exhaled sharp ragged breaths through his nose, attempting to calm.

“Aww, you gonna cry now?” Avery taunted Danny from behind.

Annoyingly, Danny actually felt like he might. He wasn’t used to such anger, either feeling it or having it aimed at him, but he just about managed to hold it together. “I think…” he started, then paused as he turned to face the boy, “I think we should get you locked again and call it a day!”

“Fine! Lock me up and just throw away the key. That’ll show me!” Avery sneered.

“What?” Danny recoiled a little, as he frowned thoughtfully at the taunt. He looked to Avery, his head cocking slightly as he asked, “Is that… is that why you’re acting like this? And saying this stuff? You think… if you piss me off enough I’ll just… keep you locked for longer?”

The angry expression on the younger boy’s face immediately faltered as his jaw quivered and lied poorly, “No!”

Danny took a deep breath and exhaled heavily as he walked closer to Avery and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, we… we can talk about those things you just said another time, because…” He paused, letting the younger boy contemplate it for a moment. Seeing an undeniable hint of remorse, Danny went on, “Because you KNOW that was all really mean, don’t you?” Getting a sorrowful nod in response with no eye contact, Danny finished, “But… if you REALLY want to stay locked for longer, you can! I just…”

When Danny didn’t continue for several seconds, Avery finally looked up at him. He got a meek smile in response.

“Ave, I know it’s a… really difficult thing for you, but…” Danny paused and sighed again, “Look, I always want to be honest with you, but… I don’t wanna upset you anymore!”

“Just say what you’re gonna say,” Avery said glumly.

Danny took a moment, trying and failing to form a gentle way to put it. “Avery, you’re barely even twelve. It’s not unusual to NOT be growing down there yet at your age. There are year eights, nines, even tens who are only just getting started,” Danny explained, “And I know you don’t wanna hear this, but… some people never GET big. I think the average is, like… five inches and I know you’re good enough at maths to understand what an average is! It means that, like, half the people will be LESS than average!”

Avery sniffed and nodded as he squeaked, “I don’t wanna small dick!”

“I know, bud,” Danny said as he finally pulled him into a hug, “But if that’s where you end up, it’s not the end of the world. Size REALLY isn’t everything!” He sighed and thought of something a little more positive to offer, “I know you’re still kinda new to having dormmates you don’t hate, but… they’re a good buncha guys!”

Avery pulled back and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, fair point,” Danny smirked, not even needing Avery say the name ‘Axel’ to know who he meant, “They’re MOSTLY a good bunch. They ain’t gonna take the piss, not when half of them aren’t even unlocked yet either!”

“I just… need to be bigger than HIM!” Avery muttered as Danny let go of him, but immediately looked like he regretted letting it slip out.

“Bigger than who? Axel?” Danny asked curiously.

Avery scoffed and shook his head. “No, fuck that little prick, who cares what he thinks!” he said bitterly, “Forget it!”

“No, come on, it’s me, Avery. You know you can tell me anything!” Danny said, offering a sweet smile.

Avery pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment, then said, “My brother!”

Danny recoiled slightly as he cocked his head one way and then the other. “I… I didn’t even know you have a brother!” he said, suddenly unsure if it was a subject they had ever actually covered. Maybe he had just missed it, misheard, maybe forgotten!

“I don’t!” Avery muttered, then scowled and said sharply, “I don’t wanna talk about him. Can we just… umm… would you be okay… letting me wank before you lock me back up!”

Danny wasn’t quite sure what to make of the comment, but having only just avoided a full-blown falling out with the boy, this really wasn’t the time to push. “Sure, no problem,” he replied casually.

“Good, thanks,” Avery said shyly, “And… I’m… I’m sorry about what I said and what I called you.”

“It’s okay,” Danny replied, then frowned and said, “Well, no it’s not actually, but… we can talk about it another time. For now, feel free to… take care of business.”

“Okay,” Avery replied sheepishly.

Feeling bad for the boy’s unhappiness, Danny reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder again as he offered, “Or I could… return the favour if you like!”

Avery nodded excitedly.

Danny chuckled and said, “Okay, come on then. Let’s get you sorted out. We got a party to get to!”

*****

The Kingswood Battle of the Bands was always a lively and enjoyable night. It was a showcase of the bands and groups wishing to be considered for the Kingswood entry into the Southern Counties Inter-School Partnership (SCIPS) music competition later in the year.

Usually, the previous year’s entries were odds-on favourites going into it, but that wasn’t the case this year. The 2022 entries had been performed by Stage Fright, who had since disbanded, Silent Triumph, who had retired as all of its members were deep into A-Level preparations and Butt Monkey Alpha, whose name had been changed several times since and now went by ‘The Monkey Experience’. Having only one of the previous entrants taking part, the competition was wide open.

“How the nerves doing?” David asked, cocking his head sympathetically at Nicky as he prepared for his performance.

“Actually… completely fine!” Nicky said, looking a little surprised at his own answer, “I guess… I’ve kinda got used to the stage!”

“Or maybe it’s just about who you’re on stage WITH!” David said with a smirk as he glanced over at Gray who was chatting with Jazz and the other members of his band, Triple Jay.

Nicky blushed a little and said, “No, just getting used to it!”

“Sure,” David giggled.

“Is Chris still sulking?” Nicky asked, shaking his head.

“He is, but he also says good luck and that he knows you’ll both be amazing… and also to fuck you both… and also he hopes you win!” David recounted, frowning a little. He shrugged as he added, “It was a strange conversation, even by Chris’ standards!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure his whole thing about being pissed at me for breaking up Stage Fright is just for laughs at this point,” Nicky said with a slight chuckle. “Thanks for coming to check up on me though,” he said, though his eyes narrowed a few moments later as he said, “Wait, are you… just sucking up to try and get me to try and help with the Axel thing!”

“No! That’s… that’d be so underhanded and dishonest, I’d never do that!” David said defensively. As Nicky looked at him incredulously, he sighed and said, “Okay, maybe a bit, but… I did also wanna check up on you. I know it sucks when people just ASSUME you’re okay about things!”

Nicky nodded, unsure if the comment was as pointed as it sounded.

Before Nicky could say anything else, David shrugged and said, “But seriously, good luck from all of us. Break a leg!” He quickly ran off back out to the crowd. As he made his way back to the row where James was sitting, he looked curiously at two nearby empty seats.

Happily taking David’s hand as he sat down back down beside, James saw the inquisitive look on David’s face and explained, “Chris wanted to talk to Danny about something.”

David looked around curiously and said, “That doesn’t sound good!”

Outside the party tent, Chris finally stopped walking and turned to face Danny, whose hand he was holding as they left.

“What is it?” Danny asked nervously, “The last time someone said, ‘we need to talk’, I got dumped!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not dumping you,” Chris said with a smile. As he heard Danny breathe an audible sigh of relief, he cocked his head and said, “But I DO want you to stop being my boyfriend!”

“What!?” Danny exclaimed, looking absolutely distraught. His dismay turned to confusion as he saw the grin on Chris’ face. There’s no way he would be this happy about breaking up.

“Well I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I kinda wanted to do this ages back, but… well… you weren’t doing so well and I thought looking after you was way more important,” Chris explained. As he saw Danny go to comment, he quickly continued, “Which it totally was because looking after you is my first priority, always!”

Danny smiled sweetly at the comment.

“But someone told me recently I need to start looking after me too, which made me think again about this and… well… we kinda skipped a lot of stuff!” Chris explained.

“What… kinda stuff?” Danny asked curiously.

“Dating, mostly!” Chris said with a nod. “I mean… think about it. We were just best mates and then we kissed and then the next thing you know, we’re spending every day for six weeks together as boyfriends.”

Danny nodded thoughtfully. He certainly couldn’t deny the point.

“So I DO want you to stop being my boyfriend and instead…” Chris paused, actually looking nervous for a moment, “Danny, umm… would you… like to go out on a date with me?”

“Ah, I’m really sorry, I can’t, I’m seeing someone!” Danny replied with a grin, mostly as revenge for Chris’ earlier cryptic statement and the momentary panic it had caused.

Chris swatted Danny’s arm gently and said, “I’m serious! I want us to have a first date. Admittedly I already know I want a second and a third and for you to eventually be my boyfriend again, but… ugh, forget it, I’m being silly!” He shook his head as he turned away, blushing shyly.

“Chris,” Danny said as he reached out to grab Chris’ hand and pull him back. Waiting for eye contact, he nodded gently and said, “I would absolutely LOVE to go out on a date with you!”

“You don’t think it’s silly?” Chris asked quietly.

Danny thought for a moment then shook his head and said, “Actually I think it’s kinda perfect. I feel like I’m finally getting on top of… umm…”

“The depression?” Chris suggested, never shy about calling it what it was.

“Yeah, that,” Danny said a little awkwardly, “And starting over with a first date sounds like a perfect way to celebrate that!”

Chris leaned in close and whispered, “I thought you already had a celebration in mind for when you’re happy again!”

Danny blushed at the reminder of his agreement with Mr Rudd and said, “Well yeah, but now I get this too!”

“Great,” Chris smirked, “Well I hope our first date goes well so you can end up happy enough to fuck another guy!”

“Aww, you say the sweetest things,” Danny chuckled, “I can’t wait to date you!”

*****

“And finally,” Ruby continued as he stood on the stage, carrying out his usual duties as MC at the event. “In the category of ‘All-time top Number Ones’, with their… unique take on Bohemian Rhapsody, it’s The Monkey Experience!” he announced.

The crowd cheered for the final selection as the band members proudly took a bow.

“Sorry,” Nicky heard whispered in his ear.

Nicky looked round at Gray, who he had performed with earlier in the night and frowned as he whispered back, “For what?”

“For not winning,” Gray said sadly, which was a strange tone to hear considering the big, fake smile he was putting on to not appear too unhappy to the audience.

“Thank you once again to all of our competitors, it’s been a wonderful evening,” Ruby concluded, “A big round of applause for all of our acts!”

The crowd cheered wildly again as the performers started filing off the stage.

“Maybe if I hadn’t made us do something quite so… out there… we might have won!” Gray continued his apology as he headed backstage with Nicky.

“I don’t care about winning,” Nicky said dismissively, pulling Gray aside to get clear of the flow of other students, “Honestly, if I just wanted to win, I’d still be with Stage Fright… although we might have needed a new drummer. Mikey’s… kind of gone a bit…” He paused and shook his head, “Doesn’t matter. The point is, I really like performing with you and I really like all the weird and wonderful music you’ve been introducing me to. Tonight was fun, and… I’m glad I got to do it with you!”

Gray stared back at Nicky silently for a few moments, then blushed and averted his gaze slightly as he said, “I really had fun too. I’m really glad you put up with me stalking you!”

A grin slowly spread across Nicky’s face as he said, “Oh, so you finally admit YOU’RE the one who’s been stalking ME this whole time!”

“No. Nope. Didn’t say it. You’re clearly hearing things. I would never admit something like that,” Gray insisted, then added a quiet, “No matter how true it is!”

Nicky snorted with laughter as he shook his head and said, “Come on, let’s go greet our fan club!”

“And by that you mean go out and have Chris give me more attitude for Yoko’ing Stage Fright?” Gray asked as they started towards the exit.

“Yes, yes I do!” Nicky chuckled.

*****

Saturday 1 April 2023

“Ahhhh, fuck,” Jazz groaned dreamily as he felt Luke’s cock slide inside him.

Rob chuckled and said, “I love when you make him make that sound!”

“Yeah, I love it too,” Luke said, smiling down at Jazz as he finished sliding into him, his body pressing against Jazz’s butt while he held one leg over his shoulder.

“But maybe I should stop him making any more noises,” Rob said happily as he moved towards Jazz’s head, stroking his dick casually.

“Sure,” Luke said a little dismissively as he was very clearly focused on the fucking, already pulling back.

Jazz smiled up at Rob a little awkwardly, then opened his mouth invitingly. It was promptly filled with cock as Jazz let out another more muffled moan.

Rob reached down for Jazz’s dick and began slowly tugging on it as Luke’s thrusts gradually increased in both speed and ferocity. He barely had to move his hand to wank his lover, as the movement of the fucking did most of the work for him. Closing his eyes for a moment, Rob suddenly felt a hand on his chest, which quickly made its way to his hyper-sensitive nipple. “Ah fuck,” he gasped as he opened his eyes and saw Jazz blindly groping at him. “Fuck, that… that’ll… Jazz… you’ll set me off quick… if you keep that up!” he panted.

Rob’s nipples were both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, they were a constant source of endless stimulation. Pleasure or pain, both worked for Rob in massively turning him on. On the other hand, the excitement from having them touched, teased, licked, sucked, pinched, squeezed or tormented was so exciting it sped Rob towards an almost embarrassingly quick orgasm.

“J… Jazz…” Rob gasped, so weakened by the nipple squeezing that he couldn’t even bring himself to swipe the hand away. “No, fuck, no, not already,” he groaned as he felt himself begin to shoot into Jazz’s eagerly-sucking mouth. He pulled back in time to let a few shots dribble onto Jazz’s face, the white streaks starkly contrasting his soft brown skin. Panting, Rob backed away.

For a few minutes, he just stood back, watching Luke fuck Jazz. The older boy’s hand had replaced Rob’s on Jazz’s cock and was wanking him eagerly as he slammed into his rear. When Luke pulled out and flipped Jazz over, pulling him up onto all-fours, Rob knew it was almost over. Luke liked to finish in that position, cumming inside Jazz as he laid across his back, reaching down beneath to milk him as he did it.

With synchronised guttural groans, both Luke and Jazz shot their loads before collapsing together in a breathless, sweaty heap.

“That was… fun,” Rob said, feeling like he had been a little short-changed as his boyfriends cuddled, “Sucks that we don’t get to do it again for two weeks!”

“Yeah,” Luke said, glancing at Jazz briefly as he clambered off. “Actually, about that…” Luke started.

“Luke,” Jazz hissed, grabbing at the other boy’s hand. The two boys exchanged silent glances for a few moments, seemingly having a slightly heated but unspoken argument.

“What’s going on?” Rob asked, already pulling on his clothes.

“Look, we were… we wanted to wait for the right time,” Jazz said, clearly unhappy to be having this conversation now, but seemingly being forced into it by Luke.

“But I can’t keep putting it off!” Luke said slightly more sternly.

“Putting what off?” Rob asked, feeling his stomach churning at the looks on his boyfriends’ faces.

“Look, I… there’s… there isn’t an easy way to say this, Rob. We’re… we… we wanna break up with you!” Jazz explained.

Rob stared blankly for a few moments, then looked a little upset before he gasped and shook his head, grinning, “Ha, funny. April Fools Day. I’m not quite that gullible!”

“Rob,” Luke said, taking a step towards him, “We… we’re not kidding!”

“Yes, you are!” Rob said firmly.

“We’re really not,” Jazz said glumly.

“Yes… you are,” Rob said, trembling slightly.

“Rob,” Luke repeated quietly, shaking his head slowly.

“Are you… breaking up with each other too, or… or…” Rob couldn’t even finish the question.

“No,” Luke answered, “We, umm… we kinda want to be together, just… the two of us!”

“B… but… you’re MY boyfriend!” Rob said accusingly, He pointed to Jazz and added, “HE’S the third, get rid of HIM!”

“Hey!” Jazz scowled.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Rob said sharply, glaring furiously as he yelled, “DID I UPSET YOU?”

“Rob, please, don’t be mad,” Luke pleaded. This time as he took a step towards Rob, Rob took an equal step backwards.

“Don’t be MAD?!” Rob snapped, “Don’t be fucking mad? You’re fucking dumping me, you… you… pair of absolute cunts!”

Luke sniffed tearfully and said, “Rob, I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you!”

“Then you should have tried NOT fucking dumping me!” Rob yelled back at him. “You know what… fuck you. Fuck you both. I hope you both fucking die!” he snarled furiously before grabbing the rest of his stuff and storming out.

*****

Mark stood outside the door to dorm 1.01, watching happily as Peyton did the rounds saying goodbye to his dormmates. He was the first of them to leave for the Easter break and Mark had come to see him off. He liked to take the chance to speak to whichever of Peyton’s parents had come to pick him up, if only to fill them in on how well Paeyton was doing at the school. This was the first time he had come to walk Peyton out and found the atmosphere in the Year 7 dorm was actually cheerful.

“Try to keep it in your pants occasionally,” Peyton joked to Milo, getting a few laughs from the rest of the dorm at the boy’s well-known promiscuity.

“Yeah, try to get yours OUT of your pants now and then, ya frigid little bitch,” Milo said back.

Mark might have been slightly alarmed, but it seemed that Milo had picked up his big brother’s penchant for communicating affection through insults, something he had witnessed a lot from the amount of time he had spent around Rob and Josh over the past few months.

“And you two,” Peyton said, wagging his finger back and forth between Avery and Leonardo, “Don’t go leaving your homework til the last day. I WILL be checking up on it!”

“Yes boss,” Avery said with a grin, getting a nod of agreement from Leonardo.

Mark continued grinning at the goodbyes. It was so delightfully different from other times they had been through it. He also couldn’t help appreciating the change in his mentee. Peyton had always been shy, almost pathologically, and the months of squabbling and arguing had actually made him retreat even deeper within himself. Now, with the beginning of actual meaningful friendships, he was truly starting to shine. An affectionate, studious boy devoted to his friends and treated like the little brother of the dorm… it hadn’t taken Mark long to realise that his choice of mentee was painfully close to an even smaller version of David!

“Come on, you,” Mark called out, holding an arm out towards Peyton, “Your dad’s waiting!”

“Is this escort service available to all of us?” Milo asked, grinning cheekily at Mark.

“Yeah, you’re welcome to accompany me to the car… if ya get what I mean!” Devon called out salaciously.

“No, I don’t get what he means,” Jorge said shyly. Though Nicky’s mentee now spoke perfect English, almost to the point of completely concealing his natural accent, many of the nuances of the language were still lost on him.

“I’ll let you guys explain it to him,” Mark said with a bemused headshake, “And no. My ‘services’ are only on offer to Peyton, you bunch of little pervs!” He placed his hand on his mentee’s back and said, “Say goodbye Peyton!”

“Goodbye Peyton!” most of the boys called out at once before Peyton could speak, getting a few sniggers.

“Bye Peyton,” a quiet voice spoke from one of the beds.

The noise in the room stopped instantly as most of them glared round at Axel who had been sitting silently on his bunk.

Peyton glanced up at Mark, who towered over him, then round at the other boys in his dorm, most of whom were scowling. “Bye Axel,” Peyton said politely, “I hope you have a good easter.”

“The fuck you talking to him for?” Avery asked, the good mood in the dorm instantly flipped.

“Yeah, shut up, prick!” Devon said sharply as he scowled at Axel.

“Hey, ease up!” Mark called out. While he was every bit as angry with Axel as the rest of his dormmates, it was hard to maintain that anger when confronted with the sight of a sad, lonely eleven-year-old boy who looked absolutely broken.

“Oh, sorry,” Avery said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, “Oh, Axel, I hope you have a wonderful, magical easter break full of sunshine and rainbows and… whatever!” The fake smile he had maintained as he said it dropped instantly as he looked to Mark and asked, “Better?”

Mark didn’t reply, he just sighed and placed his hand back on Peyton’s back to lead him away. As they made their way down the stairs and headed for the exit, Mark asked quietly, “Is it always like that?”

Peyton pursed his lips thoughtfully for a few seconds then nodded. “Well, usually Axel just doesn’t say anything and we all kind of ignore him. That’s how it works best,” Peyton explained, “But if he, like… says anything or gets in someone’s way or anything like that then… yeah, nobody’s particularly nice to him.”

“Are YOU nice to him?” Mark asked, then realised it was a little pointed and added a gentler, “It was nice of you to say goodbye to him so politely.”

Peyton sighed as they headed along towards the car park and said, “I guess I’m nicer than most. Like… I’m not mean to him, but then… he never really targeted me when he was stirring stuff up so I guess I have less reason to be mad at him.”

“I see,” Mark said, nodding pensively, “Well… good for you for not being mean!”

“Thanks,” Peyton said shyly. A moment later, as they got into the car park Peyton called out, “Dad, hi!”

“Hey there lil P!” Mr Granger, Peyton’s father, said with a grin. “Do I get a hug? You’re not getting too old and cool for that, are you?”

“Never!” Peyton said cheerfully as he hugged his father.

“And Mark, hi, hello,” Mr Granger said as he let go of Peyton and held out a hand. “Oof, strong handshake, impressive,” he said jovially as Mark shook his hand.

“Hello sir,” Mark said politely. “Nothing but good news as always,” he said proudly.

“Excellent, glad to hear it,” Mr Granger said with a nod, “No doubt I’ll get a full rundown on the drive home!” He looked to Peyton and got a happy nod. “Get yourself strapped in,” he instructed his son as he opened the car door.

Mark stepped aside along with Mr Granger as Peyton climbed into the car. “You… got the update about his dorm, didn’t you?” he asked quietly. The issues with Axel had ended up proving significant enough to justify the school contacting the parents of the boys in the dorm. Though Mark wasn’t privy to all the details, he knew they had at least been informed of most of it. As Mr Granger nodded, Mark smiled and said, “Well things are so much better now. It was almost a challenge getting him to leave today!”

“That’s excellent,” Mr Granger said, looking visibly relieved, “Thank you, Mark. It really is a help knowing you’re looking out for him.”

“You’re welcome sir, it’s my pleasure, he’s a great kid!” Mark said, smiling sweetly.

“But Peyton aside, how are YOU doing?” Mr Granger asked, his expression solemn, “I know what happened during the last break was… challenging for you.”

‘Challenging’ was an understatement. He had been held at knifepoint before fighting his way out, resulting in his attacker’s eventual death. So yeah, ‘challenging’ was certainly a more succinct way to put it.

“I think I’m doing okay,” Mark said, appreciative of the man checking, “I’m just hoping this break’s a little… calmer!”

“Yeah, I hope you have a good one,” Mr Granger said politely, “Thanks again for everything.”

“No problem,” Mark said before bidding Peyton one final goodbye. After watching the car disappear down the driveway, Mark turned back to face the Home Building. Once again, he was staying behind, though he had received offers from most of his friends to join them for the break. He had turned them all down, mostly so he could stay and keep Josh company as he continued his recovery. “Okay, no murders this time!” he said, laughing awkwardly at his own dark humour.

*****

“Hi Mr Beecham, I had a few questions about the homework you gave us!” Chris said with a grin as he heard the intercom buzz.

“Come on up,” Mr Beecham replied as the door unlocked.

Mr Beecham, or Owen as he was to Chris when they were alone, stood in the doorway of his apartment as Chris appeared from the stairs. “Chris, so what’s the issue with the homework?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“Can’t we discuss it… inside?” Chris asked with a thoroughly unsubtle impish grin.

Owen sighed and rolled his eyes. Shaking his head a little despite his hint of a smirk, he stepped aside to let Chris in. “Just a wild guess here,” he said as he closed and locked the door, “But you’re not here about maths homework, are you?”

“Sure I am,” Chris said as he looked at the teacher, biting his lip. “It’s a really HARD question,” he continued, reaching down to grope himself, “You… plus me… equals what?”

“A criminal record, at this rate,” Owen sighed, shaking his head.

“If they ever catch me, all I say is you’re helping me with maths!” Chris said cheerfully.

“Yeah, but with the amount of ‘help’ you’ve had recently and YOUR grades… even YOU can figure out that one doesn’t add up!” Owen smirked.

“Fine, then…” Chris paused to think, “Fuck it, who cares. Let’s fuck!”

“Sometimes I can really see the writer in you. So eloquent!” Owen smirked.

“I’d rather see the writer in YOU,” Chris said, grabbing his thickening prick, already removing his clothes.

Owen stood watching the boy strip. As Chris shoved down his underwear and let his boner spring free, Owen shook his head and said, “So you’re just going to assume I want sex, are you?”

Chris tilted his head to one side, smiled coyly and gave his cock a few strokes as he asked, “DO you want sex?”

Owen scowled briefly and replied quietly, “Yes… but you still shouldn’t assume!”

Chris giggled at the comment and said, “You’re really cute when you’re…” He frowned thoughtfully and finished, “Well, all the time, actually. You’re very cute! Now get your clothes off, I wanna fuck that cute little butt!”

Owen shuddered slightly as he began to undress and said, “I really wish I knew how to say no to you!”

“No you don’t,” Chris said jovially as he stepped forward to help Owen undress quicker. As he moved behind the now-naked man, he whispered in his ear, “Do you want me to fuck you or would you rather do something else?”

“Actually,” Owen said as he spun round, smirking as his hardening prick slapped against Chris’. He grabbed the boy by the hips and caressed them gently as he asked, “Mind if I fuck you today?”

“Oh no, how awful, please don’t!” Chris said sarcastically, already moving to throw himself onto the sofa. He lifted his legs into the air, holding them back with an arm hooked behind each knee. Looking between his splayed legs at the amused teacher, he asked, “How’s this?”

“Fucking perfect,” Owen said, appreciating the giggle it got from Chris at the unsubtle play on words. As he stepped closer, he cocked his head curiously and said, “Actually, let’s try this!” He stroked some lubricant onto his cock and squatted down to push into Chris, taking his time more for their mutual pleasure than any risk of hurting Chris, who was very used to bottoming by now.

When Owen finally worked his cock the whole way inside the young butt, he wrapped an arm around each of Chris’ legs and stood. Chris’ hips and back rose off the sofa and he got dragged off the seat.

“WOAH!” Chris grunted as he felt like he was falling but found himself gently lowered to the ground. He ended up virtually upside-down, with just his head, neck and shoulders on the floor, his body mostly vertical as Owen fucked down into him. Chris moaned contentedly as the man fucked him, placing his arms out to either side to steady himself as his legs wrapped around Owen, pressing his feet against the taut muscles of his back. “Wank me, sir. Make me cum on my face when you cum!” Chris moaned. He knew calling Owen ‘Sir’ was slightly off-putting to him, but he couldn’t resist the occasional tease.

Owen’s jaw clenched as he resisted saying anything back, but he reached down with one hand to grasp Chris’ rigid prick and began stroking, going slower than the pace of his fucking for fear of setting the boy off too soon.

“Unnnh, yeah, you need to top more often,” Chris moaned dreamily, feeling slightly giddy with so much of his blood rushing to his head.

“I have to… REALLY be in the mood… for it,” Owen replied, feeling his release drawing close.

“And I get you in the mood, do I?” Chris asked with a cheesy grin.

Owen smirked reluctantly, but shook his head and said, “No, I was in the mood already… and you just… happened to stop by!”

“Suuuuuure,” Chris said incredulously, then added an amusingly casual, “I’m gonna cum soon!”

“Fuck, me too,” Owen gasped as he continued to pound Chris into the ground.

“Ahh, here we go,” Chris gasped, then opened his mouth to give Owen a target as his cock began to spasm in the teacher’s grip. The first shot spattered on his cheek and the second on his forehead, but the third hit its target and splashed down onto his tongue, followed by the rest of the spurts. As he finished cumming, he swallowed, then licked his lips and said proudly, “I taste good!”

“Ugh, you horny little fucker,” Owen growled as he finally went over the edge and filled Chris up with his seed, growling his way through the heavy spurts. As he finished, he unceremoniously pulled off with a slight squelch, then stepped aside to let Chris’ body fall to the floor.

“Oww,” Chris grunted, “But also… that was fun!” He reached up and started scraping the errant splatters from his face, licking each drop from his fingers as Owen began re-dressing. “So… are you gonna be okay over Easter?” he asked curiously.

“Ah, Chris,” Owen said, shaking his head as he moved back to the boy and offered a hand to him, feeling a little embarrassed about his previous confession of loneliness. As he helped him up, he explained, “I’m okay, I don’t need you checking up on me all the time. I was… having a low day, but most of the time I’m fine!”

“Yeah, well… I’m always here for the days when you’re not. I’m kinda used to it with Danny,” Chris said, smiling sweetly. “I just want you to be happy,” Chris added as he picked up his underwear and started pulling it on.

“I am!” Owen insisted, “Yeah, I did mean what I said last week, I do get a bit lonely at times, but in general I’m very happy here!”

“Good!” Chris nodded as he continued dressing quietly. After a few moments he gasped and said, “We need to get you a boyfriend!” Before Owen could respond, he added an unintentionally pointed, “One you can actually be seen with in public!”

Owen huffed as he shook his head. He knew Chris wasn’t being judgmental or deliberately offensive so he let it pass without comment. “I can manage my own dating life, thanks!” he said firmly.

“Hmm, well… we’ll see,” Chris said with an incredulous frown. He finished dressing and tidied himself up in the bathroom mirror, then said, “I should go. My ride’s gonna be here soon and I got a few more goodbyes to cover!”

“Are you planning on fucking all of them too?” Owen asked with an impish smile.

“No,” Chris replied flatly, then smirked and said, “Not ALL of them!”

Owen pulled the boy into a brief hug, pecked him on the lips as he let go and then led him to the door.

As Chris stepped into the hallway, he jumped a little as he heard another door open.

Blane appeared and stopped dead as he saw Chris clearly leaving Owen’s apartment. With his eyes his eyes flitting between his brother and his colleague, Blane said sharply, “Mr Beecham!”

Owen stared back and said just as sharply, “Mr Smith!”

Chris waited a moment then matched their tone as he said, “Chris!” As he got annoyed looks from both men, he smirked and said, “Just in case either of you missed it!” Neither of the adults responded, not even a smirk. “Oh… kay then,” he said cautiously, “I’ll just be… running along now.” He scurried off down the hall as he called back, “Thanks for the help on the homework Mr B. See you at the car, Blane!”

*****

Nicky suddenly pulled back as he heard gagging. He looked across to Mikey, who he was currently 69’ing and chuckled a little as he said, “Bless you for trying to take it ALL, but… I’d rather not kill you today, thanks!”

Mikey coughed and spluttered a little, looking slightly embarrassed. “Got carried away, sorry about that” he said, red-faced.

“Oh no, my cute cock-sucking friend got too enthusiastic while blowing me, how awful,” Nicky said sarcastically, sniggering a little before he returned to sucking on the boner beside him.

“Mmmyeah, that’s good,” Mikey moaned, enjoying the sucking for a few moments before turning his attention back to Nicky’s massive cock. He wrapped one hand around the base, nestled into the neatly-trimmed bush and the other hand right above it leaving slightly under half of it for his mouth to enjoy. He slipped it back between his lips until he felt them touch his hand, making a mental note of how much he wanted to limit himself to before pulling his hands away.

Nicky happily sucked away at Mikey’s dick. He had suggested a 69 rather than a fuck as their final bit of fun together before the break partly because it was equal fun for them both, but also because he found it easier to zone out and let his mind wander. He felt like he should have been thinking about Mikey and their upcoming time apart, but his focus kept getting drawn back to… somebody else. It was mildly infuriating to be fixated on someone without actually knowing who they are, but that was the situation Nicky found himself in.

Early in their relationship, he had considered the ways he could find out Locky’s identity. There were a lot. The simple way was to just ask David who had won the Underground Lottery that first week, starting the whole thing off. He knew the other boy would be willing to share the usually-confidential information if he asked. However, Nicky found himself in the same position he had been all those months ago – he didn’t want to just KNOW, he wanted to be told, he wanted Locky to tell him willingly.

What would happen if he did though? How would Nicky feel finally having an answer to the mystery? Maybe it would be like the stories he heard from Danny or Chris or Rob about the romantic declarations of love they had experienced with their partners. Maybe Locky would remove Nicky’s blindfold and it would be love at first sight and they would kiss. Or maybe not that at all. Maybe Nicky would see Locky, feel nothing and their time together would end.

Playing the plethora of possibilities in his mind as he massaged the shaft of Mikey’s cock with his lips, playfully teased the head with his tongue and stroked the smooth pale skin of his thigh, Nicky tried to think about anything else, but his brain simply wouldn’t comply. Resigning himself to living with the distracting thoughts, he sped up his sucking slightly and felt the naked body beside him squirm a little in response.

Mikey moaned something, though the thick cock in his mouth muffled it into indecipherability. Nicky chuckled at the happy sound anyway and reached his hand round to slide across the smooth, firm skin of Mikey’s buttock. Letting his fingertips probe gently into the crack, he let a single digit find Mikey’s hole and circled it teasingly with a fingertip. It triggered another noise, but this one was clearly just a grunt of pleasure rather than any attempt to speak.

Spurred on a little by the noise, Nicky circled the hole a couple more times before letting his finger push into it. It resisted a little at first, then gave way to let his probing digit slide inside. The way Mikey tensed up and uttered another happy groan was all the encouragement Nicky needed to start finger-fucking his best friend.

Mikey began squirming more and more as the fingering and sucking both sped up. Nicky knew he would soon be rewarded with Mikey’s load and when he finally tasted it in his mouth, slowed the stimulation a little, eventually coming to a halt when Mikey nudged him to stop, clearly too sensitive to carry on.

With his work done, Nicky rolled onto his back and Mikey immediately adjusted by straddling his chest to continue sucking on the massive erection still held between his lips.

Looking down, Nicky found himself staring at Mikey’s back and butt. He considered burying his face into Mikey’s crack and rimming him, but instead opted to just gently caress and stroke the other boy’s flawless, pale skin as he felt himself speeding towards his own climax.

When Nicky finally warned Mikey he was about to shoot, he pulled off the dick, still not a massive fan of the taste of spunk. He thrust his own hips forward just in time to let the thick, throbbing tool eject its load all over his own spent, softening prick, which he gave a few casual, cum-covered strokes before finally dropping back to lie down beside Nicky.

“Hi!” Mikey said with a sweet smile.

“Hey,” Nicky replied with a carefree giggle, then gave the other boy a quick peck on the lips, “That was great. You feeling good?”

“Mmm-huh,” Mikey hummed. Although sex was one of the few methods he had found to help himself think clearly when his mind got addled by his condition, it wasn’t necessary today. It was still nice to just enjoy the affection with his best friend though.

“You know, if you said you wanted to come back home with me, you know my parents’d be okay with it!” Nicky offered, adding a slightly cautious, “Still seems weird to not be spending the break with you!”

“I know, and I’m gonna miss your mum and dad, but…” Mikey paused, then propped himself up on both elbows and turned his head to look back at Nicky. He smiled as he said, “I’m actually looking forward to going home!”

“Yeah?” Nicky asked, reaching up to stroke a few strands of ginger hair away from Mikey’s face.

Mikey mewed slightly at the gentle touch, then nodded and replied, “I really am. I… well… I spent so long hating my parents and, well… now that I can actually think straight and I see how wrong I was, I… I kinda like getting to know them again and… they seem so happy when I’m there!”

Nicky grabbed Mikey in a hug, making him flop back down onto the bed as he said a muffled, “I’m so happy for you!” As he let go, he added, “And you get to see Mel, Gaz and Suzie too!”

Mikey blushed a little as he nodded. “Yeah, it’s really cool. I always thought Chris was a bit crazy cos of how attached he was to his brothers and sisters, but now… I… really like them and I think they like me too. Suzie’s so sweet!” As he saw Nicky smiling fondly at him, he winced a little and said, “Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to… I dunno…” He trailed off a little awkwardly.

Nicky shook his head as he reassured Mikey, “You don’t have to feel bad about talking about siblings. I’ll always miss Matt, but it really doesn’t hurt so much to talk about him anymore, and it DEFINITELY makes me happy to hear about you or Chris with your own brothers and sisters!”

“Thanks,” Mikey said with a meek smile that dropped a little as he asked, “Umm, if… if I do, like… start getting, umm… problems or… or symptoms…”

“You call me, any time, any day,” Nicky said firmly. “Or your support worker, obviously, but I’m there for you even if I’m not physically there!” he explained.

Mikey stared for a moment then said frankly, “I love you, Nicky. I couldn’t have got through all this without you!”

“You totally could,” Nicky insisted, “But I’m glad I’ve been here to help anyway… and I love you too, bud. A lot!”

“A very lot!” Mikey said happily as he grabbed Nicky in another hug, getting a chuckle in response.

A few minutes later, the two boys had dressed and headed outside having got a message from Mr Corbyn to say he was only ten minutes away. Having seen him off, Nicky was heading back inside when he spotted Chris walking back from the direction of the Staff Building.

“Aww, is that Mikey gone?” Chris asked as he stared down in the direction of the driveway. As Nicky nodded, he pouted and said, “I wanted to say goodbye!”

“Don’t worry, I gave him extra hugs on your behalf,” Nicky said jovially as he threw an arm around Chris.

Just as they got to the bottom of the steps at the front of the Home Building, Gray appeared. He froze as he saw Chris And Nicky. He gasped over-exaggeratedly as his eyes set on Chris, clutched at imaginary pearls and declared, “Madre de dios!”

“Judas!” Chris declared.

“What… happened to Yoko?” Gray asked, cocking his head as he held back a smirk.

“You wasn’t getting the reference, so I changed it!” Chris said pointedly.

“Oh!” Gray nodded. He shot Nicky a fleeting mischievous glance, then looked back to Chris as he asked, “So… who’s this Judas? Is she a singer or something too?” As he saw Chris look thoroughly annoyed, he looked at Nicky with fake seriousness and asked, “Is she the one who toured with Taylor Swift?”

“No!” Chris said sharply, looking a little irate, “It’s… he’s a he!”

“Oh, sorry, shouldn’t assume pronouns,” Gray said apologetically, “Did HE tour with Taylor Swift!”

“No. NO!” Chris said angrily, “I can believe you not knowing Yoko Ono, but you KNOW who Judas is, you dick!”

“GRAY!” a voice called out from the direction of the car park.

“Sorry, you’ll have to teach me about Judy another time, I gotta get going,” Gray said as he waved over at the man who had called over at him from the car park, starting down the steps.

“You’re a dick!” Chris said moodily, “You’re a dick and I don’t like you!” The anger of the comment was undercut slightly by the quick hug he insisted on giving Gray.

“You are a very complicated boy!” Gray said, shaking his head at Chris. Getting a shrug in return, Gray looked to Nicky.

Nicky looked slightly awkward as he said shyly, “I, umm… I guess I’ll see you in a couple of weeks then!”

“Yeah,” Gray said back equally awkwardly.

They stood in silence for a few moments looking at each other until they were interrupted by another shout of, “GRAY!”

“Yeah, sorry, gotta go,” Gray insisted.

“Oh my god, you two are so weird,” Chris said, having stood by watching the two friends’ awkwardness, “You could at least hug him!” He gave Nicky a shove towards Gray before rushing away up the steps, shaking his head.

Nicky staggered forward and bumped against Gray, who caught him and fell into a semi-accidental hug.

“Yeah, bye I guess,” Gray said a little shakily as he held loosely onto Nicky.

“Yeah, have a good break,” Nicky replied. He suddenly frowned as he took a breath. He had rarely ever been that close to Gray before, but in such close proximity, he suddenly got a waft of the other boy’s scent. Wide-eyed, Nicky pulled back and shoved Gray away at the same time. “It’s you!” he said hauntedly. Staring in absolute shock at the realisation, his arms suddenly speckled with goosebumps, he stuttered, “You… you… you’re… you’re him! You’re… the guy!”

Gray looked like a terrified woodland creature facing oncoming headlights as he stuttered, “Wh… who? No, I’m not!”

“Oh my god!” Nicky said, shaking his head. “It is! It’s you! I… it’s you. You’re…”

“No. I… no,” Gray said, taking a nervous step back.

“GRAYSON!” the voice from the car pack bellowed furiously.

“I have to go!” Gray said as he turned and sprinted away at full speed.

Nicky stood, staring in absolute bewilderment. He had recognised the smell the moment he inhaled it, a distinct scent he had only smelled once before. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind. Gray was Locky!