This story is a continuation of Matt Smith's (matterotica@hotmail.co.uk) fantastic story, 'Jack Hamilton Is Not A Nice Person'. I had often wondered what transpired directly after Jack storms away in the park. This was initially going to be a one-off, but while writing, I have decided to continue the tale that was left untold between Chapter 19, and the '6 Months Later' epilogue we see in Chapter 20. So, for those of you who have wondered what happened in the 6 months after Jack cut his puppet strings...here it is!
I would like to thank Matt Smith for creating the characters in the first place; and for his invaluable advice, input and suggestions which made this sequel possible. Especially discussing his characters' motivations and psychology with me. Please read his story first if you haven't already!
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/jack-hamilton/
An additional special thanks goes out to Jasper Cooper (jax.cooper@yahoo.com) for his input, especially having to do with the kinkier stuff. You can read his amazing story 'The Downfall of Nate Ramsey', the inspiration for Jack Hamilton!, here:
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/downfall-of-nate-ramsey/
Please consider donating to Nifty!
~~THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR, MATT SMITH, WAS NICE ENOUGH TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER'S ENTIRE 'THEN' SEGMENT!~~ This is BRAND NEW material from 'Jack Hamilton' Chapter 18, written just for this sequel! As we know, Davis took both Elliott and Ben into his room to talk to/threaten them. Now we see how it all went down, and why both boys were so shaken by it. Here's a link to the original chapter, for those who need a refresher! The NOW section will be posted later this week! - River Acheron
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/jack-hamilton/jack-hamilton-18
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 12a
"I don't care what you think, as long as it's about me. The best of us can find happiness in misery" (Fall Out Boy 'I Don't Care')
THEN (Written by Matt Smith)
7am. SEPT. 12th 2016. - The day leading up to Jack's departure.
Ben and Elliott were used to just casually making their way into Jack's house, but today felt different... probably because today WAS different. The things they had done, the things that had been said, it had changed so much and yet here they were, doing the same thing they had gotten used to doing each day.
In many ways, Ben was looking forward to seeing Jack. He had helped to fix' him, to right his errant behaviour, to turn him into the decent human being Elliott had been so insistent was underneath the anger and bravado and bluster. It had been a pleasant surprise for Ben to learn his boyfriend was actually right. He had gone into this wanting to see Jack pay for his crimes', yet he had been absolutely enchanted by the sensitive soul they found.
As they wandered along the hallway towards Jack's bedroom, the door to Davis' room suddenly opened and Jack's big brother appeared. He reached out, grabbed Elliott by the front of his shirt and pulled him into his room as he said, "We need to talk!"
The door slammed closed as Elliott found himself face-to-face with the furious looking Davis. "Erm... hi," he said awkwardly.
"Hi?" Davis snapped. "Fucking... hi?" he said, shaking his head as he turned to walk away. He suddenly turned back and snarled, "The shit you've done and you can just give a casual... fucking... hi?"
"Erm... would... 'good morning' be better?" Elliott asked, cautiously risking a hint of a smile.
Davis, who already looked furious, managed to ramp up the angry expression to levels Elliott hadn't even known was humanly possible. "You need to know something," Davis snarled through gritted teeth. "The ONLY reason I'm not beating you to a lifeless pulp right now is because I don't wanna end up in prison!" He panted, actually breathless from his own rage. "Which is where YOU fucking belong for what you did to Jack!" he added in a furious snarl.
"It wasn't just me!" Elliott said defensively, still backed up against the door, afraid to move.
"Oh. OH! Oh, it wasn't JUST you. Oh, that's OKAY then, isn't it!" Davis snapped angrily. He surged forward and grabbed the front of Elliott's shirt as he snarled at him, "You humiliated and abused my brother... your BEST friend... and you're not even fucking sorry!"
Elliott felt a wave of anger wash over him. "Not sorry?" he asked, eyes wide. He reached up, placed his hands on Davis' chest and shoved him away. "You don't think I'm sorry? OF COURSE I'M FUCKING SORRY!"
"Ya know what," Davis said, shaking his head. "I don't care. I don't care if you're sorry, I don't care if you feel bad. I know what you are and it's only a matter of time until Jack sees it too! But this shit is over. You hear me? All of it!"
Elliott felt the words hit him hard. "Yeah, don't worry, it was already over!"
"Where's your phone?" Davis demanded.
"Why?" Elliott asked nervously as he reached into his pocket.
"Reset it!" Davis ordered. "Like, full factory settings reset!"
Elliott frowned and started, "Okay, I will, I'll just need to..."
"No, now!" Davis said firmly. "And let me see."
Elliott tried to object again, "But my... contacts... pictures... I've..."
"I don't care! I just told you that. I don't care what you want, or what you need, or how much of a fucking inconvenience it is to you. Reset it. NOW!" Davis said, taking a step closer again.
"Okay, fine!" Elliott said, scared of what would happen if he actually refused. He let out a slight sigh as he started the reset going. So many photos, messages, numbers, all gone. His life was on that phone and he had to stand watching it wipe away. "Happy now?" he asked as it finished, showing it to Davis.
"When you get home, you delete the website and after that, reset your laptop too, then destroy it!" Davis ordered.
"That's a bit much!" Elliott argued. "And completely unnecessary! I NEVER would have used any of that..."
"I'm not risking you retrieving the data. You reset it, you destroy and you do it ALL on video. If I don't have proof by tonight that you've done it, I'm turning you in," Davis said, sounding calmer but still looking angry.
"Okay, fine," Elliott said, absolutely certain Davis would follow through on the threat.
"Oh," Davis said with a slight smirk as he snatched the phone from Elliott's hand. "I'd best give you my number so you can send the proof. I hear you recently lost some data!" He sniggered as he typed in his number and threw the phone back to Elliott.
"Okay, are we done?" Elliott asked petulantly.
"No!" Davis said firmly. He moved close, so he was virtually pressed up against Elliott, staring down at the slightly shorter teen. "We are NOT done!" he growled. He raised his hand and gently clasped Elliott's throat. Leaning in close, he said firmly, "If you even SUGGEST Jack doing something he doesn't want to do ever again, then fuck what Jack wants, I'm turning you in to our parents and to the fucking police and you can pay properly for what you've done to him. Understand?"
"Yes," Elliott answered shakily.
"Good!" Davis said, eyes narrowing. He leaned in even closer, so he was whispering in Elliott's ear as he added, "And if you EVER do anything to hurt my little brother again, ANYTHING, then fuck the consequences. I will find you and I will squeeze..." he tightened his fingers around the throat a little, "... the fucking life right out of you! Got it?"
"Mmm-huh," Elliott hummed, not really able to talk.
Davis stared Elliott in the eye for a moment, then let go and shoved him aside to open the door. Grabbing the back of his neck, he guided him towards Jack's door as he said, "Now where's your little friend?"
Elliott stopped, grabbing Davis in return. Scared as he was, he felt a wave of courage at the thought of Davis doing anything to Ben. "Don't you fucking dare do anything to him!"
Davis was a little taken aback. Partly by the sudden show of nerve, but also by how obviously protective Elliott was of the younger boy. "Where was THIS Elliott when Jack needed protecting?"
The words felt like a knife stabbing into Elliott's gut.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt him!" Davis insisted. He knocked on the door to Jack's room and as Ben opened it, he stared the small teen up and down for a moment. "Your turn!" he said gruffly. He didn't grab Ben the same way he had with Elliott. Instead, he turned to gesture for the boy to go to his room.
Ben looked at Elliott nervously, but got a slight nod in return. Ben headed down the hallway into Davis' room and gave one quick glance back at Elliott before he disappeared inside.
Meanwhile, as Jack started walking into his room, he saw that Ben had actually chosen an outfit for him, although he had chosen some of Jack's 'normal' clothing, not the embarrassing tight and revealing clothing he had been subjected to so often in recent days. However, sitting at his desk he didn't find Ben as he expected, Elliott was now there, the younger boy apparently gone.
"Oh, hey," Jack said awkwardly.
"Hey, you okay?" Elliott asked. He knew it was a stupid question really, but it just came out. Jack shrugged.
"I guess so," he said calmly. He pulled the towel from around his waist and began drying his torso. It suddenly hit him how freely he had just exposed himself to his friend. A couple of weeks earlier, he would have taken his clothes into the bathroom with him, not returning from his shower until he was fully covered again. Yet here he was now, naked and (relatively speaking) carefree about his nudity.
"Where's Ben?" Jack asked, not sure what else to say.
"Davis wanted a word with him too," Elliott explained.
"Oh," Jack said, frowning as he pulled on his boxers. "Wait, too? He spoke to you?"
Elliott raised his eyebrows. "Threatened, rather than spoke!"
He didn't go into further detail. He was ashamed at what Davis was forcing him to do. He loved his new laptop more than life itself, and he would have to destroy it tonight. Two thousand dollars on a new Alienware...down the drain....and for no reason whatsoever! He never would have done anything to hurt Jack in the first place. But, if destroying all the "evidence" would give Davis peace of mind, then...well, he didn't have much of a choice anyway. Truthfully, he felt a bit uncomfortable even being in this house right now and wondered privately if this was such a good idea after all. Standing before Jack right now, Elliott realized that they could never go back to how things were between them. Not even close. He had destroyed an over ten year friendship....and for what? That alone was losing too much over this short-sighted plan. Now he had to sacrifice his phone and laptop as well...his life.
............
Back in Davis' room, Ben was close to an anxiety attack as Davis stared him down.
"I... erm... I'm really... erm..." Ben stuttered, visibly shaking.
"Don't!" Davis said calmly as he looked at Ben. He took a few deep breaths, composing himself. "Have a seat," he said, watching as the boy quickly sat down on the bed. Davis went over and sat beside him, turned slightly to the side to face him. "So from what I hear, Jack has not been kind to you over the years?"
"Well... no but... he... erm..." Ben stammered nervously.
"Stop. Take a breath. Get your shit together!" Davis instructed. "Jack hurt you, yes?"
Ben did as Davis instructed, taking a couple of deep breaths to compose himself. "Yeah, he bullied me. A lot. He made my life hell."
Davis sighed. Despite his calmness, he was every bit as angry as he had been with Elliott, but Elliott was supposedly Jack's best friend. That was probably why it felt so much worse that he had been involved. Elliott was supposed to have Jack's back, to be there for him, to be on his side. With Ben, it almost made sense... almost! It had been hard to hear what had happened to Jack, but it had been every bit as tough to hear Jack confess the things he had done to `innocent' students like Ben. He knew Jack was no angel, but to hear he had been an actual bully, it had not been easy.
"So this was revenge for you, was it?" Davis asked bluntly.
Ben stared back at the intimidating young man for a moment. "This was how I dealt with an issue that made my life hell!" Ben said with equal bluntness. He paused for a moment, his jaw quivering as tears formed in his eyes. "This was how I make it to the end of the year without throwing myself in front of a bus!" He sniffed as the tears began to roll down his cheeks. "This was my last hope!" he sobbed. He sat crying for a few moments as Davis just stared on. As he began to get it together again, he glanced at Davis and added timidly, "But... I guess... there was some revenge in there too!"
Davis had to admire the honesty of the explanation. It actually took most of his resolve to hold onto his anger at the crying boy. Jack had been very open about how awful he had been, but to hear what it had done to one of his victims -- what it had almost pushed him to -- it was even harder than he had expected. It was only a mental reminder of the things Jack had endured that stopped him from reaching out to comfort the boy.
"Look, I know we took things too far, hell, I think it was possibly too far from the start, but..." Ben sniffed, then paused, shaking his head.
"But what?" Davis asked curiously.
Ben took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly as he shook his head again, wiping his cheek. He shrugged as he said, "But nothing. I got... nothing. It was wrong... but it's over!"
"Yeah, it is!" Davis said firmly. "You need to know, if you or any of your friends try to make Jack do anything ever again, I'm turning you into the police."
Ben just nodded his understanding.
"And if you EVER hurt my little brother again," Davis started, feeling the anger he had inflicted on Elliott flare up again.
"I won't!" Ben quickly interjected. He could see how serious Davis was. If anything, the apparent calmness was actually more intimidating than if he had been shouting. "I promise!" he added, though he knew his word meant nothing. He sniffed again, his tears mostly under control now.
"Good. I'd hate to have to hurt you!" Davis said as he stood up.
Ben chuckled as he stood too, then gulped as he looked at Davis and asked, "That wasn't a joke, was it?"
Davis shook his head silently before leading Ben back to Jack's room.
Jack had finished dressing in silence, the awkwardness between the two friends increasing by the moment. They both breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened and Ben walked in, Davis close behind him. The younger boy looked like he had been crying. Hopefully Davis hadn't been too hard on him. Inexplicably, Jack was actually starting to like the boy and he didn't want to see him upset (any more).
"Morning," Davis said as he saw Jack, scowling as his eyes fell on Elliott once more.
"Hey," Jack said back with a weak smile.
Davis looked his brother up and down, happy to see him back in his regular clothing. "We all good here?" he asked
"Yeah, we are," Jack said, looking between the other two teens.
Little did Davis know that Jack would only be back in his regular clothing for another week, before his younger brother started embracing the gothic lifestyle.
Little did Jack know how easy it is to lie, as he just did.
Little did Elliott know that he was only a couple days away from developing a rather large drinking problem due to the guilt that was only now starting to manifest.
Little did Ben know that in a couple months, he would encounter a bully that put Jack to shame.
Too little. Too late.
NOW (To be continued in 12b)