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 17
Monday 29 November 2021
While Chris had struggled for years with sleeping alone, waking alone was something he had quickly gotten used to. With Danny off most mornings at the gym, he woke up more mornings without his best friend at his side than he did with him, so it was a pleasant surprise as he started regaining consciousness and felt a warm body at his side.
He took a discrete breath in, smelling to confirm the identity without giving away that he was awake. There was every chance it could have been someone else. With things back to `normal' in the dorm, the eight boys were as close as ever, and a couple of times recently he had been woken up by a different boy climbing in for an early-morning cuddle.
Breathing in, the scent was unmistakably Danny, he would know it anywhere. Chris let out a happy mew and pulled his best friend closer. "Shouldn't you be at the gym?" he whispered softly.
"I figured if I'm not seeing you for two nights, I'd get all the cuddles in I can now!" Danny replied, gripping on tightly as he felt Chris' cheek nuzzle against his chest. He heard a gentle whimper from Chris and shook his head slightly. "You're not still worried about it, are you?"
"No," Chris replied, entirely unconvincingly.
"Chris," Danny said, quietly but firmly. He waited a moment then insisted, "Look at me!"
"I can't. I'm still asleep!" Chris replied petulantly, sticking to his usual belief that if his eyes hadn't opened, he was not technically awake.
"Chris," Danny repeated with a slight sigh, barely even audible.
Chris reluctantly opened his eyes, blinking a little at the light filling the room but tilted his head up to look at his best friend. As his eyes began to focus on Danny, he saw he was filthy and bruised, his face and shoulders covered in cuts and scrapes.
"Why didn't you save me?" Danny asked, his eyes cold and vacant. "Why didn't you stop me going back? It's all your fault!" he moaned before he started wasting away before Chris' eyes.
Chris awoke with a start, looking round in a panic at the bed beside him for his dying best friend... and found him laying there, uninjured and blissfully unaware of Chris' nightmare, snoring gently.
"Chris, are you okay?" David whispered through the darkness from across the room.
Chris jumped slightly at the sudden question and looked back in David's direction. "Yeah, yeah... just... a bad dream," Chris said as he lay back down. "Sorry if I woke you!" he added apologetically.
There was shuffling over on David's bunk, followed by a few hurried footsteps before David climbed in at Chris' side. "It's okay, I was awake," David said quietly, "What was your dream about?"
Chris didn't reply, but took a slow breath in then exhaled heavily.
"Danny?" David made an educated guess. He got another sigh in response. "Is it because of the camping trip?" he asked. It certainly wasn't hard to figure out. Though the rest of the dorm hadn't pried in the issue, it was impossible not to see the anxiety it was causing Chris.
Chris just remained silent.
"Don't worry. I'm going too!" David said firmly. "I'll look after him, I promise!"
Chris chuckled a little.
"That's not meant to be funny!" David pouted.
"Oh, I know, sorry," Chris quickly apologised, pulling the younger boy closer. "I wasn't laughing at you, that was just... really, really sweet," he explained, getting a slight grunt of approval. "But... if you're looking after Danny, who's looking after you?"
"I can look after myself!" David insisted. "I always have!"
"Yeah, I guess you have," Chris said with a thoughtful nod.
"But seriously, Chris. It's gonna be okay. It's just a... normal, fun camping trip. We'll be back on Wednesday!" David explained. "Nothing bad's gonna happen! I promise!"
"That's what someone always says right before something bad happens!" Chris pouted sadly.
"Ya know," David said, pausing a moment. He was about to share something he mostly only talked to James about, but it felt appropriate now. "When my anxiety gets really bad, one of the things I found really helpful is, like... fact-checking my thoughts!"
"Hmm?" Chris hummed curiously.
"So, like... if I sit here thinking `I'm gonna fail the test today', I can get REALLY anxious about it, but if I stop and think about it... ya know, like... ask myself how have I done on previous tests, have I done all the revision for it, have I read what the teacher told us to read... doing that kinda helps me to control that fear, cos I end up seeing I'm worrying about an outcome that the evidence suggests won't happen" David explained. "Maybe trying that'd help you!"
Chris thought for a moment. "Well last time we went into the woods, we fell into a forgotten tunnel and... both nearly died," Chris replied. He paused a moment and said, "Nope, not helping!"
"Don't be a dick!" David said bluntly, smiling slightly as he knew the bluntness was a trait he had undoubtedly picked up from James. "This week is the year nine camping trip. They've already done them for years ten to thirteen. Did anyone get lost and die on any of them?"
"I don't think so," Chris said uncertainly. He actually did know for certain despite his answer. He had been asking Brian, Joseph and some of the other older students about every camp-out as soon as they were done for the past month, convinced that even setting foot in the woods was a death sentence for any student. "Ollie in year thirteen twisted his ankle and some guy in year eleven got bitten by a really big squirrel!"
"Exactly, hardly world-ending, right?" David asked.
"The bite might be infected. He could still die. You don't know!" Chris insisted.
"Chris," David said softly, holding tightly onto his arm.
"And it really was a HUGE squirrel," Chris added quietly.
"Chris!" David repeated more firmly.
Chris sighed and nodded as he said, "Yeah, okay, I know you'll PROBABLY all be fine, but... that doesn't make it any less..." he paused, a little embarrassed before he finished, "... scary!"
"It's gonna be okay!" David insisted, giving the bigger boy an affectionate squeeze. "Now get some more sleep!"
"Thanks, bud," Chris said, leaning over to kiss the smaller boy's forehead before settling down to try and return to sleep. As he lay there, still awake after a few minutes, he let out another sigh.
There was sudden but gentle movement under the covers. From Danny's side of the bed, Chris felt a hand slide across, its pinky interlinking with his. He wasn't sure if Danny was awake and had heard the conversation or if this was just movement in his sleep, but he smiled regardless and let himself drift off again.
The hike through the woods had been slow-going, but that was intentional as every part of the day was a teaching opportunity for Mr Rudd. Having walked that specific trail several times in preparation for the camping trips, and already been through it again with the Year 10 to 13 trips, he knew every spot perfectly.
Stopping to show off animal tracks, show different types of plants and fungi, pointing out useful features that the boys could use in case of a genuine survival situation, they barely seemed to walk more than a few minutes without stopping to learn something else.
Excitable as the small group of Year 9s were, they were enraptured by the teacher and the things he was teaching them. That didn't mean they were all perfectly behaved. Halfway to their intended campsite, Mr Rudd had already had to threaten to throw Josh into the lake for annoying others, to demonstrate rope skills on Mikey when he wouldn't stop hitting Josh for annoying others and threatened Benjamin Hill with no food until they returned to the school for stealing someone else's snack. Convinced he would actually follow through on his threats, the boys soon fell in line for the rest of the hike.
"Here we are, lads," Mr Rudd said as they entered a relatively clear area. Geographically, they were actually very close to the school, there just happened to be a lake in the way. Most of the journey had been spent circumnavigating it. "Stick all the bags over here," the teacher instructed, pulling out a large red rope from his own pack.
The boys happily complied, glad to be rid of the heavy packs, particularly the smaller members of the group who looked exhausted already. Mr Rudd started laying the rope out in a circle around the supplies as the boys chatted and milled around, taking in the area.
"Okay, everyone, gather up!" Mr Rudd called out, the boys quickly gathering round him. "For this trip, you will be split into teams of three, and one team of two!" he announced.
The dorm 1.09 boys quickly bunched together, but realised there were four of them – Danny, David, Mikey and Josh. Before they could discuss who couldn't be in the group, they were saved from the probable argument.
"Teams will be as follows," Mr Rudd said quickly. "Team one will be Adrian Rivera, Jeff Turner and Tim Clarke!"
David let out a slight whimper as he gripped onto Danny's arm, partly out of his own fear and partly worried he was letting Chris down by not staying with Danny.
"Team two, Danny Davies, Harley Edwards and Ben Hill," Mr Rudd went on. "Team three, Josh Williams, Jenson Thomas, and Tommy Lewis. Team four, Mike Corbyn, Andy Walker and Rich Jackson. Finally, the team of two, team five will be David Brown and Ewan Thompson!" He watched as the boys began to separate out into their teams. For the older year groups on the previous trips, they were already used to being in smaller groups, having spent time living in four or two-person dorms. The Year 9s were the first group to go on the trip who were still used to the large eight-person dorms, which often resulted in the defaulting to their dorm groups for comfort or safety
Danny gave David a smile and supportive pat on the back before moving over to stand with his new teammates.
With the boys now grouped together as instructed, Mr Rudd smiled and called out, "These packs," he gestured to all of the supplies, "And everything within the red circle are now considered lost!" He paused for a moment as the boys began whispering to each other, some intrigued, some a little panicked. "You do not cross the red rope."
The boys' whispering intensified.
Mr Rudd started walking from group to group, handing each of the boys a small tag bearing their team number. "These tags," he started as he was halfway down the line, "Contain a tracker, but they will be used ONLY in an emergency should you become lost. If you find yourself in any kind of danger..."
All eyes turned to Danny.
"... simply press the button on the back and I will be alerted and come find you. Activate one for no good reason and I'll give you a detention so harsh it'd make a King Edwards teacher flinch!" Mr Rudd continued, getting a laugh at the expense of the notoriously harsh rival school. He looked at his watch and said, "Okay, so if you look around you'll see signs directing you to your team's own individual campsite. Sunset is in just under six hours. You just have one task – get shelter for the night! Bonus points if you can also forage for anything edible and gather what you'd need to start a campfire!" He paused a moment then added sharply, "BUT don't actually START a campfire. As much as I trust you little survivalists, I don't fancy cutting the trip short because of a forest fire!" He got a laugh from the boys. "You should have everything in place ready to survive the night by sunset and then report back here, so... good luck!" With his final words, he stepped inside the red circle.
"Sir, what do we..." Harley began, but Danny grabbed his shoulder and shook his head as everyone looked round.
"We can't..." Danny said, deliberately dramatically. "Mr Rudd has been tragically lost to us," he said as he gestured to the red rope, then grinned as he added, "Presumably in some kind of feral badger attack!"
The rest of the boys all laughed. Even Mr Rudd smirked at the comment, though he was already facing away from the boys, preparing his own camp within the dead zone.
"Come on, bitches," Mikey called out, looking to his two teammates. "We're gonna kick these guys arses!"
"Is that... really necessary?" Ewan Thompson asked, cocking his head curiously at the unnecessary competitiveness.
"That sounds like loser talk, to me!" Mikey taunted back, already heading out of the clearing with two other boys.
"Don't worry about him," Adrian said quietly to his teammates. "It's mostly bravado!"
"Well I'm just glad he's not on our team!" Tim said, shaking his head a little. "I guess we need to make a plan. Should we have a leader?"
"Do we need one?" Adrian asked curiously.
The three boys exchanged glances. None of them really looked sure.
"Does anyone... WANT to be leader?" Adrian asked, certainly not keen to take the role on himself. None of them indicated they did, so Adrian went on, "Okay, no leader. I guess we're a democracy then!"
"I didn't vote for that!" Jeff replied, looking serious for a moment before giggling playfully. Adrian joined in laughing.
"I don't get it!" Tim pouted, making the other two laugh even more.
Meanwhile, team three stood looking a little lost for a moment. "So, Jen-SON," Josh said with a smirk, really emphasising the second syllable of his new teammate's name. "Tommy," he added, looking to the other boy, "What's the plan, fellas?"
Jenson frowned at the pronunciation, but shook it off as he said, "Maybe we split up and see what we can find that might be of use!"
"Good idea, Jen-SON!" Josh nodded.
"Why do you..." the Jenson started, but shook his head, not caring enough to actually ask.
"We should get some water too. We passed a stream a short way back," Tommy interrupted. "I can go and fill my..." he started, but stopped as he realised his water bottle was hooked to his pack... inside the red circle.
"Yeah, mine too," Jenson said, smiling as he caught on to the same realisation as Tommy.
"Well Jen-SON," Josh said with a smirk. "Thankfully some of us are better prepared!" he said, unclipping his own bottle from his belt.
"Why do you... keep saying it like that?" Jenson asked, eyes narrowing a little as he shook his head.
"Well, my brother's name's Jensen, but he spells it the proper way with an E, so he's Jensen and you're Jen-SON!" Josh explained.
"It's still pronounced the same as Jensen!" Jenson insisted.
"Sorry, what was that Jen-SON?" Josh asked, holding back a smirk as he realised how much it was annoying the other boy.
"Hey!" Tommy quickly interjected. "Survival first. Arguing later. Josh, go back and grab some water. We'll look for materials, meet up at our campsite, okay?"
Jenson glared at Josh for a moment, then nodded at Tommy and said, "Okay!"
As Jenson started to walk away, Josh called after him, "See ya later, Jen-SON!" He was already running the opposite way before Jenson could turn round to react.
Team five, the only 2-person team, had immediately sprung into action after seeing Mikey and his team rush off. While neither David nor Ewan really said, much, they both just headed off to the team five campsite.
Over in Danny's group, they had also had a conversation about leadership, but as captain of a sports team, Danny had immediately been nominated to be their leader by Harley and Ben, albeit slightly reluctantly.
"Come on then, Mr Captain," Harley said. The diminutive boy didn't say it with any kind of ill intent or mockery. If anything, he seemed quite happy to have someone with actual leadership skills in charge. "What d'ya want us doing first?"
Danny glanced over to Mr Rudd who already had a tent unrolled, seemingly intending to make himself comfortable while the boys went about their challenge. His eyes narrowed slightly for a moment as he thought. Looking from Harley to Ben and back, he said slyly, "I may have a plan, but it's... risky!"
"Great, a risky plan with someone who's nearly died in the woods once already. What could possibly go wrong!" Ben said, shaking his head.
"Huh, new game?" Mark enquired as he looked at the display on Chris' phone. He took a seat at the table where Chris was already sat with Nicky and Rob.
"Yeah, it's called Psycho Stalker!" Nicky smirked. He prepared himself for the annoyed response from Chris but it seemed he wasn't even listening, transfixed as he was by his phone.
"What have a I missed?" Mark asked, frowning as Rob sniggered at Nicky's comment.
"About two years of teenage drama before we were even teenagers!" Nicky said with a wry grin.
Mark started laughing along with Rob. "You're funny!" he said, grinning at Nicky.
"Yeah, once I get past the debilitating shyness and crippling anxiety, I'm a hoot!" Nicky said with a shrug.
"But seriously," Mark said, frowning at Chris for a moment then back to the others. "Is he even in there?" he asked about the completely unresponsive boy.
"The saying, the lights are on but no-one's home' sums Chris up on a normal day," Nicky said, still hoping Chris would respond to the teasing, "But today it's more like the lights are on, but he's sold the house, moved out and embraced the hobo lifestyle'!"
Mark smirked at Nicky again but clearly looked concerned as he frowned at Chris.
Rob sighed as he explained, "It's Danny, being out in the woods!"
"Oh!" Mark exclaimed, nodding slightly, finally catching on.
"He hasn't moved for a REALLY long time!" Chris said, oblivious to the conversation around him.
As Mark looked mildly alarmed at the revelation, Nicky shook his head gently. "Define `really long' for us!" Nicky he requested knowingly.
"It's been three minutes now!" Chris declared, eyes still fixed on the phone. "No, wait, four minutes!" he corrected himself as the clock changed.
"Mate... seriously!" Rob said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "You're gonna make yourself sick obsessing over it like that. You've GOT to chill!"
"I'll CHILL when he's back," Chris said sharply, but quickly blushed and corrected himself, "When THEY'RE back, I mean!" He turned his attention back to watching the mark on the map that indicated the location of Danny out in the woods.
"I think he needs a distraction," Mark said, getting a nod of agreement from Rob.
Nicky smiled as he said, "I only know two things that can ALWAYS distract him. One of them's out in the woods on the other end of that tracker!"
As Rob smirked, Mark asked, "And the other?"
Nicky flashed the new boy a cheeky grin then reached down under the table.
"Unnh, what are you doing?" Chris grunted as he felt the hand grab his dick through his school trousers.
"Looking for Jesus. Is he down there?" Nicky asked sarcastically, getting a snort of laughter from the other two. "Whadda you think I'm doing?"
"Come on, not now," Chris complained, but made absolutely no attempt to stop him.
Nicky slid down the zipper and let his fingers slide inside, now touching Chris through a single, thin layer of underwear. "Oh, so you... want me to stop..." Nicky started, then leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Do you?"
"N... no," Chris gasped, leaning a little closer to the table to conceal the discrete handjob.
As Nicky fished out Chris' dick, popping it out of the opening, he reached across with his other hand for Chris' phone.
"No!" Chris objected, grabbing Nicky's hand to stop him.
"Please," Nicky whispered, staring into his eyes hopefully.
Chris just stared back for a moment, his fear twisting his face into a pained frown for just a moment before he sighed and said, "Okay!"
Nicky smiled and clicked the power button to lock the screen and then turned the phone over, just to be doubly sure.
"Jesus, is he really gonna wank him off in here?" Mark whispered to Rob, his eyes fixed across the table on the other two, occasionally glancing round at the Dining Hall's other occupants.
"Oh yeah," Rob nodded with a grin. His eye wandered past Mark for a moment, further down the half-empty Year 9 table where he saw Jazz sat with his dormmates.
Sat right beside Jazz was his boyfriend, Kayden, the two of them casually holding hands as they sat chatting with the others. As Jazz casually glanced round, he spotted Rob and smiled, waving a little. Rob waved back, forcing the smile to stay on his face. He sighed a little as he looked back round to Nicky and Chris.
"You okay?" Mark asked quietly, as if speaking up would disturb the undercover masturbation going on in front of him.
"Yeah," Rob said, not entirely truthfully.
"Ugh, why'd you slow down?" Chris suddenly grunted, more loudly than he intended, blushing a little as he looked round to make sure nobody was looking.
Nicky smirked at Chris' embarrassment and said softly, "Who said I was gonna let you finish?"
Chris let out a whimper, though the corners of his mouth curled up into a slight smile. While the thought of Danny was still prominent (as always), he couldn't help but appreciate the moment. A few weeks earlier, he had been feeling a little out of sorts with everyone in his life, like everything had changed and all for the worse, but here he was again... in a potentially humiliating situation, not in control of his own dick, reduced to little more than a sex object in front of his friends. Twisted as it was... it was nice to be back.
"Edging's fun," Rob said, leaning across the table so he could speak in a hushed tone. He reached for Chris' tray, most of his lunch untouched, and grabbed a cookie. Placing it in front of Nicky, he continued, "But how about this?"
"Ah, mate, nice!" Nicky smirked.
"What is?" Mark asked curiously.
"Aww, he's so innocent!" Rob giggled.
Chris frowned and started, "It's okay, they've lost me too..." but stopped, letting out a shuddery moan as Nicky's hand sped up again beneath the table. "F... fuck," he rasped as Nicky's stroking pushed him over the edge. He felt the hand grasp around the head of his dick as he pumped his load into it.
Mark stared excitedly and started, "Did he..."
"Oh yeah he did!" Nicky grinned, bringing his hand up from under the table. As he opened it, his palm was filled with white goo. "And now..." he continued, tipping his hand to the side over the cookie. They all watched as the spunk dribble onto it. "It's time to eat up!" Nicky finished.
Mark stared open-mouthed as Chris casually reached for the cookie, not even protesting. He had seen things like this back at his old school, but that had always been done by force, some unfortunate boy ending up on the wrong side of a bully. While it brought back a few unpleasant feelings, actually seeing it as part of something good-spirited was actually a little uplifting.
"Wait wait wait wait," Nicky said, pulling out his phone. He suddenly gasped and declared, "Danny's missing!"
"What?!" Chris exclaimed, looking mortified.
"Wait, let me finish," Nicky smirked, having deliberately paused to tease his friend. "Danny's missing... a great show... so I figured I'd record it for you to show him when he's back!" He held up his phone to start recording.
"I fucking hate you!" Chris growled.
"Shut up and eat your cum!" Nicky grinned back at him.
"We'd definitely cover more ground if we split up," David said quietly as he wandered along beside Ewan.
"True, but... do YOU wanna walk round these woods on your own?" Ewan asked, shaking his head nervously.
David chuckled and nodded. "Good point," he agreed. He didn't really know Ewan that well, but David had never really ventured much beyond his own dorm when it came to making friends. Admittedly he had gotten to know others through his dormmates, like Adrian and Kyle or Rob's boyfriend Luke, or his friends' mentors, but he had very few friends of his own outside of the dorm... unless you counted James who was now technically an outsider too.
That wasn't to say David didn't know Ewan at all. With the way classes were arranged, every dorm shared at least some of their classes with all the other dorms. In Ewan's case they shared English, History, Geography and Music. Even in class, the boys tended to segregate, with dorm 1.09 boys sitting together and boys from other dorms with their own dormmates. Outside of Survival Club, the only activity David and Ewan shared was Creative Writing, and Ewan tended to keep to himself in that, always hiding away in a corner, busily writing but never volunteering for any readings.
"Kind of unfair making us a smaller team!" Ewan pouted slightly.
"Is that a height joke?" David asked with a slight grin.
"Oh, no," Ewan said, suddenly looking scared he had offended the other boy. "No, I... I was just... I meant..."
"Chill," David sniggered, "I was just kidding. Besides, you've grown about as much as I have this year!" He stopped and grabbed Ewan, standing face-to-face with him as he placed his hand on the top of his head and moved it across, just skimming the top of Ewan's head. "Yeah, we're still about the same!"
Ewan just stared back at David for a moment before he blushed, pulled away and said, "Yeah, I suppose, I just meant... only two of us on the team!"
"It may be more of an advantage than a disadvantage!" David said with a nod.
"How's that?" Ewan asked curiously as they continued walking, looking round for anything useful.
"Well you've met most of those guys," David grinned, gesturing back in the vague direction of the others. "D'you REALLY think putting them together's gonna help them much?"
Ewan giggled and replied, "Hadn't thought of that!"
"Not like us!" David said happily. "Small and perfectly formed!"
"You mean the team or... us?" Ewan asked, sniggering as David laughed back.
Suddenly, from an unknown direction they heard a scream of, "IT'S JENSON, YOU DICKHEAD!"
They looked at each other for a moment then burst into fits of giggles.
"Oooooooh!" the Year 9 boys chorused as Chris was led out of the classroom by Mr Trent, convinced he was in trouble. Chris just scowled round at them all.
As they got into the hallway, the teacher leaned on the wall, staring at Chris expectantly for a moment before he asked, "What's up?"
"Nothing," Chris lied pathetically.
"Chris, even if I didn't know you as well as I do," Mr Trent said, then leaned in close and smiled as he added, "And I know ya pretty well!" He pulled back and finished, "You've got anxiety written all over your face. Your leg was shaking so hard at one point I was worried we were experiencing an earthquake!"
"It's nothing!" Chris objected.
While it was true Mr Trent did know Chris well, he also happened to be Chris' brother's boyfriend. On one hand, it gave them a much more informal relationship than the First-Floor Master had with his other students, but it also meant Chris could sometimes be more reluctant to share his feelings for fear of it going back to his brother. "How about if I guess?" he suggested. "I have a feeling I'll only need one, though!"
Chris frowned, a little annoyed at his own transparency but slightly comforted by how well the people in his life actually seemed to know him.
"Look!" Mr Trent said, pulling out his phone to show Chris the screen.
Chris looked at it and frowned. It was just the standard lock screen, with no notifications. He shrugged and shook his head slightly at the teacher, unsure what he was supposed to be seeing.
"When there's an emergency around here, of ANY kind, we get alerts. Someone scrapes their knee and has to go to Dr Arkwright, it pops up. Someone gets a punishment, it pops up. It helps keep us aware of what's going on, even when we're not around!"
"Which is most of the time," Chris said, venturing a cheeky grin at the seemingly-eternally-absent adult supervision at the school.
"Are you complaining? Or do you want MORE people to witness you getting wanked off in the Dining Hall?" Mr Trent asked, barely holding back a grin.
Chris blushed but didn't respond, unsure whether it was a really lucky guess or if the teachers really did know more about what happened than they let on.
"So if ANYTHING had happened out on the camping trip, I'd have a notification," Mr Trent explained. "I don't have anything, so they're fine, okay!" he went on, reaching out to place a hand on Chris' shoulder.
"Yeah, but what if some... hole in the ground just swallows them up again... or a tree falls on them... or... or a... a... psycho axe murderer shows up in the night!" Chris argued.
"Chris, I know you know the steps we took after your accident. Literally the entire forest was surveyed for the old Kingswood tunnels. What happened to you before is NOT happening again. And I... don't think we have that many psycho axe murderers in the woods," Mr Trent explained. He paused a moment and smirked as he said, "Although that'd be one hell of story to hear when they got back if there was. Like... yeah, we built a shelter, started a fire, caught some fish in the lake... and then got chased by some psycho who we eventually beat! But then he mysteriously disappeared and will totally be back for the sequel!"
Chris stared, jaw slightly agape. "Is that... are you... helping?" he asked, bewildered.
"Sorry, carried away, what can I say? I'm a drama teacher, I like stories!" Mr Trent grinned with a shrug, hoping the levity would help.
Chris' eyes suddenly widened as he declared, "Oh!" An unexpected smile spread across his face.
"What? What happened?" Mr Trent asked, worried Chris had found some new level of anxiety to beat himself up with.
"Inspiration!" Chris declared excitedly. "Are we done? I need to go and write!" he said urgently, already moving for the door.
"Erm..." Mr Trent exclaimed as Chris disappeared back into the classroom. "Sure, go ahead," he said, although Chris was already gone.
Most of the boys had gathered back in the main clearing as the sun was setting. A large campfire had been built in their absence, roaring away as Mr Rudd waited.
"Anyone seen team three?" Mr Rudd asked, considering digging out the tracker to find Josh's team.
As the other four teams went quiet, the question answered itself as they heard a yell of, "JUST FUCK OFF!"
"That MIGHT be them!" David said sarcastically, getting a wave of sniggers from the rest of the group.
Josh suddenly darted into the clearing, headed straight for the teacher and cowered behind him. A few moments later, Jenson ran in, looking furious, with Tommy a few paces behind.
"He just... flipped out on me for no reason!" Josh said innocently.
"No reason!?" Jenson snapped, looking furious.
"Boys!" Mr Rudd bellowed. "Gather up and shut up!" he insisted, shutting the foolishness down instantly.
"But..." Josh started.
"NOW!" Mr Rudd insisted firmly.
Josh moved from behind him and joined the others, but kept Tommy between himself and the furious Jenson.
"Okay, let's start inspecting your work. Shall we start with team one," Mr Rudd said, gesturing towards the sign for the team one campsite. He stood for a moment as they boys all moved, as if waiting to add something.
"Sir!" Mikey immediately called out, looking back. "Didn't you say a campfire should never be left unattended?"
"Finally!" Mr Rudd called out. "Someone didn't fall for my trap. Yes, nicely remembered Mike. Glad someone was paying attention during fire safety!" he said with a smile, getting a proud grin back from Mikey. "Team five, stay with the fire, I'll send another team to relieve you after we're done inspecting team one!"
"Huh, Mikey's pretty smart when he's not being a dick, isn't he!" Ewan observed as he sat down near the fire.
"Technically he's still smart when he's being a dick," David grinned as he sat down beside him, "But I get what you mean. He's... weird, but... I think I like him!"
Ewan let out a gentle sigh as he said, "You're really luck to be in your dorm!"
"You... don't like yours?" David asked sadly. It was surprising. While there had been some early issues in one of the other dorms (dorm 1.04 at the time) things had settled and, compared to some of the other Year groups, there's was one of the more relatively peaceful ones.
Ewan shook his head. "Oh no, no, I love my dorm, the guys are great, but... I dunno... you guys just seem so close that you can talk about ANYTHING!" he explained. "Like, some of the stuff I hear you guys talking about..." he paused to smirk a little then went on, "You're not all as subtle as you think, by the way," he paused again as David giggled, "It just... feels like you guys could say anything to each other and it'd be... I dunno..."
"Safe?" David suggested.
Ewan thought for a moment then nodded pensively.
David was unsure if it was just a general observation or whether the other boy had something specific in mind. He considered asking more but considering he didn't know how long the others would be, he didn't want to get into anything too deep just to have to cut it off moments later. Instead, the two sat in silence, the only noise coming from the crackling of the fire.
The inspections of team one had gone well. Adrian and the rest of team one had made fairly decent shelter, though they had completely forgotten the need to actually have anything inside to sleep on or keep them warm overnight. Team four had come next, and Mikey had unashamedly taken the lead. Despite the slightly aggressive competitiveness, he and his team had done a fantastic job, producing a shelter that Mr Rudd had literally no criticism for. It went fairly similarly for David and Ewan of team five. Two members meant a smaller shelter, which had made their task a little easier and though Mr Rudd offered a few pointers for improvement, he was pleased to tell David and Ewan that they had done a wonderful job.
It was when they got to team three that the trouble really started.
"It was looking quite good," Jenson said, pointing to the pile of debris that may have been a shelter at one time. "But HE messed it up!" he added, pointing at Josh accusingly.
"Me? You're the one that fell onto it!" Josh said defensively.
"Yeah, because YOU tied my shoelaces together!" Jenson said angrily.
"You can't prove that!" Josh argued.
"Me and Tommy were both working together, and you did it to both of us! That's pretty freaking conclusive!" Jenson snapped.
"Whatever, Jen-SON!" Josh sniggered.
"ENOUGH!" Mr Rudd bellowed. Both boys went silent. He looked to Tommy.
"I can't prove it sir," Tommy said quietly, "But what Jen said is true. We were working on something and when we stood up, SOMEONE had pranked us." He glared at Josh.
"Ugh!" Josh huffed in disgust at the snitching.
"AND... Josh has spent all day goading Jen too!" Tommy added.
"It's just your word against mine!" Josh insisted.
Suddenly, most of the other boys called out, joining in on confirming what they had heard or seen throughout the day of Josh's antagonism.
Mr Rudd huffed and shouted, "ENOUGH!" again, getting immediate silence. "Josh, go back and wait by the fire. Tell the other boys to meet us at the campsite for team two!"
"But..." Josh tried to argue, but the glare he got from the imposing man silenced him immediately as he ran off back to the main clearing.
"Come on," the teacher said, gesturing to the boys to follow as they headed along to inspect the final team's attempt.
Danny and his teammates exchanged nervous looks as the group walked along. As they reached the campsite, the boys began to call out and object. Sat right in the middle, was a perfectly erected tent. Alongside it was a small pile of firewood and kindling as well as a selection of foraged goods.
"Hey! They cheated!" Mikey snapped angrily.
"No we didn't!" Danny insisted with a casual shrug.
"Erm..." Mikey said, moving across. He gestured to the tent and said angrily, "Pretty sure you did!"
Concerned another argument was about to break out, Mr Rudd looked to the three members of team two and asked, "Care to explain?"
Harley and Ben both looked to Danny, whose idea it had been. "Well sir," Danny said, a little nervous. "You said the stuff in the red circle was lost... not destroyed, so... we just found it!"
"Yeah, but he also said you can't cross the red line!" Mikey said with a cocky smirk. "You may have FOUND this stuff, but if you crossed the red line to do it then you DEFINITELY broke the rules!"
As Mr Rudd nodded and looked back at team two, Danny smiled and said, "You just said we couldn't cross it. You never said anything about moving it... so we did... then grabbed what we needed and moved it back. You always say you do whatever it takes to survive, right sir?"
Mr Rudd had to take a moment to compose himself, genuinely unsure whether to punish the the boys for cheating or reward them for their ingenuity. "This..." he started, gesturing to the tent, "Was definitely some pretty clever thinking. And you're indeed right. You do whatever's necessary to survive, so well done to team two for that."
"But... but they..." Mikey started but paused as Mr Rudd raised his hand to silence him.
"That said, it wasn't really in keeping with the spirit of the day," Mr Rudd said, slightly disapprovingly as he looked at the three boys. "Clever trick, but in future, stick to the task as intended, okay?"
"Yes sir," team two chorused, looking a mix of sheepish and proud.
"Now, as no good deed goes unpunished, I'm gonna need you to disassemble your tent and bring it back to the main site then put it back up there. The rest of you, go unpack your tents and get them put up around the fire in the spots I've marked out," Mr Rudd instructed.
"We're not using our shelters?" Andy asked, proud of the work he had put in with Mikey.
"Afraid not," Mr Rudd said. "The real test will be seeing if they're still standing come morning, and if they fail I'd rather you not be in them at the time. You have NO idea how much paperwork I have to fill out if one of you dies out here!" The boys laughed and quickly started heading back to the main camp as team two quickly got to work in dismantling their stolen tent.
Nicky smiled as he wandered into the dorm with Mark and Rob, shaking his head a little as Chris, who had run ahead. He was already sat on the floor in the back corner of the dorm, tapping away on his laptop.
"Here I was thinking we were gonna need more distractions and he's gone and distracted himself!" Nicky said, a little pleased to see Chris no longer staring at his phone.
"What's he even doing?" Mark asked curiously.
"No idea," Nicky said, shaking his head. "Normally when he gets like this it's cos he's got an idea for a song, but... I dunno, that usually involves a lot more humming!"
"So we... don't need to worry?" Mark asked as the three of them headed for the sofas. "Or we do? I'm still learning here!"
"Aww," Nicky said, looking to Rob who grinned back at him. "Worrying about Chris, that's so sweet. Do ya maybe like him a bit?" he teased.
"Oh my god, he can hear you!" Mark hissed back at them, glancing back to where Chris was huddled.
Rob smirked, "He can hear you, but he can't HEAR you!" he explained. "Here, watch," he said, leaning over a little. "Chris, the building's on fire, we need to evacuate!"
"Mmm-huh," Chris hummed without even glancing up from his screen.
"Hnnh, cute," Mark chuckled, then stared wide-eyed at the other two who sniggered as he added, "I didn't mean... I'm not saying Chris is... well... I suppose he's kinda cute... but... no. No!"
"You sure?" Nicky asked, feeling strangely proud of the fact he could talk about someone liking his own ex-boyfriend without feeling awkward about it.
"Very!" Mark said firmly.
"Hmm, sounds a bit TOO conclusive!" Rob said, looking at Nicky, eyes narrowing. "Whadda YOU think?"
"Yeah, if he's this sure he's not into Chris then it probably means he's into someone else!" Nicky agreed, giving a wry grin.
Mark's expression suddenly darkened as he looked almost on the verge of tears.
"Ah, mate, sorry," Nicky immediately apologised. "I didn't... I mean... we were just..."
"S'okay," Mark shrugged.
"D'you wanna... talk about it?" Rob asked cautiously.
"No!" Mark said firmly, then sighed a little as he said, "But... I keep getting told... I should!"
Nicky stared across at Mark for a moment, then patted the empty seat beside him.
Mark sighed again as he stood up and went to sit down, joining Nicky on one sofa as Rob sat right beside him on the next one.
Nicky wasn't quite at the `arm around him' level of comfort with the dorm's newest member, but he did lean against him to give a gentle nudge as he said, "Don't tell us if you don't want to!"
Mark stared down at his hands as they fidgeted a little then let out a wistful sigh before he admitted, "I'm still kinda hung up on Gregory!"
"Gregory?" Rob frowned. He leaned forward a little to look past Mark to Nicky and asked, "Do we... know a Gregory?"
"Wait, lemme think," Nicky said. "Tinky-winky," he counted one finger, "Dipsy," he counted another, "La-la..."
As Nicky went to count the third name, Mark rolled his eyes and sighed frustratedly.
"Sorry," Nicky giggled, his penchant for comedy in place of emotion not always welcome. He quickly frowned and said, "Wait, d'ya mean... that cunt from your old school who tried to get Mikey expelled?"
"The one who told Josh he shoulda killed himself?" Rob added as he caught on.
Mark shrank into himself a little, realising the two people his ex-boyfriend had hurt the most were the best friends of the boys sat either side of him.
"Why? Why would you..." Nicky asked shaking his head, but couldn't finish the question. "Just... why?"
"I don't know!" Mark said a little firmly. "I know he's awful and it's not like I'm still in love with him... not really. Believe me, if I knew why I felt like this maybe I could stop, but... I don't. I know all the stuff he did and I know he's... like, he's a horrible person but... you can't just... stop being into someone because you want to, right?"
"Yes you can!" Rob said a little aggressively.
"Sure," Nicky agreed, but he looked to Rob and asked, "How's Jazz?"
"Damn, low blow!" Rob said disapprovingly.
All three sat silently for several moments.
"Wow, do I know how to kill a party or what!" Mark said with a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah, you love an ex who's a bastard and Rob's in love with someone who isn't his boyfriend. You're a great pair!" Nicky sniggered.
"And you're better, I suppose?" Rob asked, raising an eyebrow. "How's things with Mikey?"
"Hey, that's... different!" Nicky objected.
"Different how?" Rob asked with a wicked grin.
"Cos... it's about me, so shut up!" Nicky said, knowing he really had no argument.
Mark chuckled at the exchange and said, "Ya know, Danny told me I'll fit in here cos I'm as broken as the rest of you. I didn't really get it for a while, but... I'm starting to see it!"
"Oh, I'm... glad our broken-ness is helping!" Rob said with a lop-sided grin.
"Oh it really is!" Mark giggled.
The boys had been gathered round the campfire for a while now as the night had drawn on. Mr Rudd had thrown in a few extra survival activities and skills practices, some of which involved a dinner that had ended up edible if a little questionable. Now he had just allowed the boys to sit and enjoy the evening around the fire.
When someone had suggested ghost stories, the response was underwhelming, most of the boys either thinking it would be lame, or already spooked enough from the sounds of the woods at night. Despite the objections, the stories had started and the rowdy teens soon found themselves drawn in.
While it was mostly members of the Creative Writing Club who were `encouraged' to tell a story, some of the others took a shot at it too, with varying levels of success.
It was when it came to David's turn that the small audience really got engrossed. While most of the stories had been set in fictional places or non-descript locations, David had based his story at Kingswood, around a fictional student named Xander. It had started with a slow build, but David had been so engaging that the boys were entranced before the story even started getting spooky. Now, near the end of it, most of the boys were completely on edge. Some moved a little closer to the boys at their sides, some very visibly afraid and holding hands, while others were unbothered by the scariness and just enjoying the well-told tale.
"Xander could hear the footsteps behind him," David recounted. "Yet every time he paused to look back, the quad was empty, not a soul in sight, the whole area silent aside from the gentle whisper of the wind. Still desperate to get to the safety the building offered, Xander pulled the door open and stepped inside, the sound of footsteps behind him once again. As he closed the doors, he felt coldness on his hand. The entire door had frozen, the glass frosted over, but with two words scratched into it – Next Time!"
At David's side, Ewan shuddered and let out a gentle whimper. Bad as he felt for scaring the other boy... and potentially even more of the boys around the fire, it felt amazing to have them hanging on his every word.
"Xander staggered back from the door, terrified that whatever had been behind him was about to follow the moment he turned, but there was no sign of it, the ice on the door already melting away, drips echoing around the entrance hall," David went on. "Finally daring to turn away from the door as he backed up to the stairs, Xander listened, hoping frantically that the footsteps didn't continue to follow. Once again, he only heard the slow drip, drip, drip of the melting ice. Whatever had been following seemed to be bound in some way to remain outside. `Hello' he called out loudly, hoping there was still someone left in the building but the only voice that came back was his own echo. He was alone! Running as fast as he could, he climbed the stairs, running all the way to the top, his heart pounding with every step."
Over by Mr Rudd's tent, the teacher was sat listening in to the story, quite impressed by the boy's apparent spontaneity. At his side was Josh, who was facing away from the group, sulking after getting told off repeatedly through the night for his ongoing tormenting of other students. While he was making out he wasn't interested in what the rest of the group was doing, Mr Rudd could see from his reactions that he was listening to, and engrossed by, every word David was saying.
"As Xander went to the window," David continued his story, "Hoping to see someone else still on the school grounds from his higher vantage point, he saw a lone figure emerge from the front of the Home Building. He banged in the window as he screamed to them GET BACK INSIDE, THEY CAN'T GET YOU INSIDE!' though he knew whoever it was had to be too far away to hear him. Watching as mist swirled around the area, Xander could just make out the shape of the person... and the shadows following him. NO! RUN!' he screamed in vain," David continued, his shouts making the others jump a little.
"The figure disappeared off towards the car park and for a few moments, Xander was sure whoever it was had gone, just like everyone else... when suddenly bright lights burned through the mist. Even so far away, he could hear the roar of an engine. Whoever it was had made his way to a vehicle, but would it be enough, would he be able to escape whatever was hiding in the mist. The lights began to grow brighter as the sound of the engine drew closer... heading for the School Building. He felt a sudden swell of hope. Had he been seen? Was rescue on the way? He dared to let himself hope!" David paused, letting the tension build.
"Xander rushed back out of the classroom, flying down the stairs and back into the entrance hall, the large area aglow from the oncoming headlights. Raising a hand to shield his eyes, Xander could just make out the shape of a body in the driver's seat... just a body... with no head. A shadow clung to the side of the vehicle which careened towards the building, out of control. Xander ran to get clear just in time as the vehicle burst through the glass, shattering it in every direction before hitting a column. With a terrifying crunch and crack from above, the ceiling began to fall. Left with no way to go but out, Xander dived free just in time to avoid being crushed by the collapsing building. Panting desperately at his narrow escape, Xander looked back at the building, but the moment he turned, he heard two words hissed in his ear, "Welcome outside!" David looked round at the pale faces illuminated by the fire. With a grin he added, "The end!"
"Fuck!" Danny gasped, unashamedly clinging to Mikey.
"Wait, what happened next?" Tim demanded.
"Well he obviously got caught by the shadows, ya fuckwit!" Mikey snapped back at him.
"Oh!" Tim nodded at Mikey, then looked back at David, eyes wide and said a much more nervous-sounding, "Ohhh!"
"Wow, erm... so... a story about things that kill you when you go outside... when we're camping... outside!" Adrian said, looking round nervously. "Not at all terrifying or inappropriate!"
"Okay!" Mr Rudd called out, getting a scream from half the group at the sudden noise, followed by laughter from the rest. "That's plenty for one night. You all need your sleep, so... off to your tents!" Josh went to move, but Mr Rudd glared at him and added, "Not you. You're in there tonight!" he pointed to his own tent.
As the boys began to disperse, many of them chatted about the various stories they'd heard. Danny approached David and patted him on the back. "Nicely done," he said proudly.
"Thanks," David blushed. He had rarely built the nerve to tell any of his stories even at Creative Writing Club, so making one up to tell to such a large group had been scarier than the story itself.
"Can't imagine where you got the inspiration," Danny said quietly, smirking.
"Oh, noticed that did ya," David said with a wry grin. He shrugged a little and said, "Well they say write what you know!"
While most of the boys had missed the obvious inspiration, Danny knew David too well to miss the parallels between a mysterious creature that killed you if you went outside and David's agoraphobia. "Is that... really how it feels?" he asked, gently stroking the smaller boy's arm.
David pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Usually, no... but, when it gets bad... yeah kinda!"
Danny grabbed the boy in a hug and whispered, "You're fucking amazing, David!"
"COME ON, MOVE IT ALONG!" Mr Rudd bellowed.
"See you in the morning," Danny said as they parted, giving him a final smile.
David headed for his tent. Ewan was already inside so he zipped it up as he got in. "You okay?" he asked softly.
Ewan nodded. "That was a great story," he said happily, "I may never sleep again, but... it was still a great story!"
"Thanks," David chuckled. "You always seem to write a lot, but... I've never heard one of your stories. What do you like to write?" he asked as he climbed into his sleeping bag.
"Shall I?" Ewan asked, reaching for the lamp. As David nodded, he turned it off, plunging them into darkness. "Erm, I guess... I dunno, I write lots of stuff really."
"But you... don't like to share it?" David asked, genuinely curious.
Ewan let out a gentle sigh and said, "I dunno, I kinda feel like... most of it'd give away things that... I maybe don't want people to know!"
David sniggered a little as he asked, "Oh, like someone with agoraphobia telling a story about monsters that kill you if you go outside?"
"What's fear of spiders got to do with it?" Ewan asked with a curious frown.
"No, I said..." David started, then heard giggling. "Oh, you're messing with me! Rude!"
"Sorry," Ewan chuckled, then cocked his head and added, "But... I didn't know you had that."
David shrugged but realised it wasn't visible in the dark tent so he said, "Yeah, I don't really talk about it outside of... ya know... my friends."
"But you told me!" Ewan pointed out.
"Huh, wonder why that is!" David said, the smile audible.
"Thanks," Ewan said softly, catching the obvious intent.
"Ya know," David said after they had been silent for a few moments, "What you said earlier about things that are... not safe to talk about in your dorm," he paused, "You're safe in here, okay!"
Ewan took a few moments to reply, but just said meekly, "Thanks!"
Danny shuddered a little, the sleeping bag cocooning him and the bodies either side doing a little to stave off the near-December chill, but not quite enough to be considered comfortable.
"Hey," he suddenly heard from one side.
Danny looked in the direction of the voice, but realised it was pointless as they laid in almost total darkness. It was Harley, to Danny's right. While the two weren't exactly close friends, they shared a number of clubs together and had become at least vaguely acquainted with each other. "Sup?" Danny asked quietly.
"Danny, is it true you've slept with EVERYONE in year twelve?" Harley asked curiously.
"What? No!" Danny replied, a little shocked.
"Still missing a few then?" Ben asked from the other side, clearly still wide awake too.
"No. I've... been with, like... two of them!" Danny replied, slightly scandalised. "Who... who told you that?" he asked, wondering why such a rumour even existed.
"Just something I heard around," Harley said a little awkwardly.
"Do all the guys in your dorm fuck you every night?" Ben asked, adding a confident, "That's what I'd heard!"
"Oh my god, no!" Danny said, suddenly sitting up. "Who's... saying this stuff about me?" he demanded.
"I don't think they mean anything bad!" Harley suggested innocently. "It all sounds kinda... hot!"
"Yeah, totally!" Ben agreed. "The closest we have in our dorm is Kyle when he was Chris, until you stole him!"
"I didn't STEAL anyone!" Danny snapped angrily.
"Kinda how it looked," Ben said casually as he clicked on the lamp.
Danny span round to sit at the foot of the tent so he could look back at the other two boys. "I didn't even know Chris and Kyle were exclusive at the time!" Danny defended himself. "Besides, that's, like, ancient fucking history!"
"I guess," Ben shrugged, sitting up too. He looked to Harley and asked, "You got any sluts in your dorm?"
Danny just scowled open-mouthed at the apparent insult.
"Well Jazz was shagging Rob and his boyfriend for a while til he got together with Kay. Does that count?" Harley asked, sounding genuinely unsure. Without moving from his previous position, he propped his head up on one hand as he rolled onto his side.
"What, so anyone who even HAS sex is just automatically a slut?" Danny asked accusingly.
Ben and Harley looked at each other and shrugged, then nodded at Danny.
"Pfft, you're both just jealous cos you're not getting any action!" Danny said defensively.
Ben and Harley repeated the gesture and gave another nod.
"Oh!" Danny exclaimed, a little surprised. "So... do you guys just... not get up to... ya know, sex stuff in your dorms?" he asked, always amazed at what a different world other dorms could be.
Harley pursed his lips as he thought hard about it, then shook his head and said, "I mean, we did the whole... circle jerk thing at the start of the year which was absolutely mental and... sometimes we'll play, like, truth or dare and someone ends up having to, like, get naked or sometimes jerk off."
Ben nodded and said, "Same here!"
Danny frowned at them and shook his head a little as he asked, "Why?"
"Why what? Why do we not fuck anyone who stays still long enough? Because we're not you, mate!" Ben smirked, sounding more like a statement of fact than an actual attempt to be rude.
Danny felt momentarily offended but just looked at him curiously and asked, "Are you really insulting me for doing a thing you've JUST said you want to do yourself?"
"No, I..." Ben started, but frowned as he thought about it. "Erm... yeah, I s'pose I did," he said with a slight smirk.
"How d'you even make stuff like that happen?" Harley asked, sitting up now, clearly curious.
"Well, you just... talk, I guess," Danny shrugged. "I mean, think of it this way. You wanna do more sex stuff, right?" he asked Harley. He got a nod in return and looked to Ben as he asked, "And so do you, yeah?" Another nod. "Exactly. So... if YOU both want more of it then don't you reckon the chances are some – or maybe ALL – of your dorm are thinking the same? Maybe if you just say what you wanna do, it'll happen. Your mates'll either go for it and you're set, or they'll say no, take the piss for a couple of days and then move on, but I GUARANTEE at least some of `em are wanting to do things too!"
The two other boys sat laid staring at Danny, entranced by both the suggestions and the confidence with which he offered them. They both fell quiet for a moment, mulling it over and nodding gently.
"So what if I said I kinda wanna do stuff... now?" Ben asked shyly.
"Wow, such a slut!" Danny teased with a wry grin, getting a reluctant smirk back from Ben. He looked to Harley and smiled as he asked, "And you?"
The smaller boy just nodded with unrestrained eagerness.
Danny looked back and forth between the two. It was strange, all three were roughly the same age, in fact Ben was a few days older than him, but Danny felt very much like their senior member of the group. These two boys seemed so inexperienced in things that Danny took for granted. He paused for a moment to wonder whether they were the unusual ones for not being more sexually active, or whether he was the anomaly, before deciding that ultimately... it didn't matter. "So whadda you wanna do?" Danny asked as he peeled the sleeping bag down his body, like emerging from a cocoon – as a slutterfly!
Suddenly the other two seemed utterly incapable of even making eye contact with him in their awkwardness.
"Okay, well how about this?" Danny asked as he climbed out of the sleeping bag fully before laying it down before him. He pulled his t-shirt and hoodie off over his head as the two boys watched, then shuffled round to pull off his sweatpants, shorts and underwear. Laying down naked between them, he reached for the lamp and dimmed it, hoping the lower visibility might help reduce their apparent self-consciousness.
They both continued to stare, entranced by the sight of Danny's naked body, but equally impressed with the ease with which he exposed it.
"How about you both just... do whatever you like. No need to ask, no need to... say ANYTHING, just do what you like. I'm all yours!" Danny offered, hoping it came off as an attempt to put them at ease rather than a demonstration of his own sluttiness.
Ben and Harley both gulped slightly, almost comedically, at the invite.
"Oh, except kissing," Danny added. "I save that for Brian!" He paused, waiting to see how the other two would respond, so when they didn't move he decided to lighten the mood a little by adding, "One of the only TWO year twelves I've ACTUALLY been with!"
Ben and Harley giggled, albeit a little awkwardly, but it finally broke the ice. Harley reached out and poked at Danny's nipple, like he was expecting to jump back at him and bite, while Ben wasted no time in aiming a little lower, sliding a finger down the underside of Danny's cock as it lay erect on his stomach.
Danny raised his hands and linked his fingers as he placed them beneath his head, leaving himself fully exposed to the other two. He lay for several minutes as their hands slowly explored him, mainly staying around his torso and crotch, but occasionally venturing down to his legs or up to his face.
"Is it... is it okay... if..." Harley whispered nervously.
"Harley," Danny said, releasing one hand to stroke the smaller boy's arm. "I told you, don't ask, just do!"
Harley nodded gently as he said, "Okay!" He suddenly shuffled down a little, laying alongside Danny as he cuddled up to his side, draping one arm casually over Danny's torso as he cuddled up to him.
Danny had expected various possibilities from the two boys, but a cuddle was not one of them.
A moment later, Harley sat back up, pulled off his own top to expose his scrawny chest and slender arms, then lay back down. The feel of skin-on-skin must have been quite welcome as he let out a gentle purr.
Danny stared down at Harley for a moment, then looked at Ben and mouthed, "Oh my god, so cute!"
"I know, right!" Ben mouthed back.
As Harley noticed the slight pause, he glanced up and frowned, looking a little uncomfortable about what he had done.
Ben saw the smaller boy's nervousness and acted quickly to assuage it as he smiled broadly. "Ya know what, that looks like fun!" he said cheerfully.
"Mmmm, it's warm too," Harley sighed, enjoying the heat from Danny's skin.
Ben quickly pulled his clothes off and nestled down on Danny's other side. With them both in place, Danny lowered his arms, putting one around each of them. The one round Harley managed to wrap around his tiny frame completely, making him seem even smaller. Ben was somewhat broader, sporting a similar build to Danny, though Danny found something strangely alluring about the contrast of his own pale arm against the dark brown skin of Ben's back.
Danny briefly wondered if that was as much as they wished to do, which would have been fine, but he soon felt a hand grasp at his erection. He didn't even bother to look down and see who it was. Instead, he just laid back and enjoyed the feeling of the two boys up against him and the hand casually stroking him.
"You wanna go?" Ben asked as he released Danny's dick.
Danny smiled at the question but kept his eyes closed as he felt Harley move slightly, before a smaller, more timid hand took hold of him and began stroking. "Ugh, that's good!" he groaned. "You both were," he quickly added, not wanting to discourage Ben.
Harley slowly began to increase the pace as his confidence grew. Not wanting to be left out, Ben reached down to cup Danny's balls, rolling them gently in his hand. They lay together for several minutes, nestled happily together as Danny got wanked, the other two swapping every now and then to both get more turns.
"Ah, yeah, I'm... I'm gonna cum!" Danny gasped as he felt the orgasm building. He looked down just in time to see both boys pulled their arms back a little, leaving a clear strip of smooth skin between them for Danny to shoot onto. Panting as he spurted up the load, Danny grinned at the two mesmerised faces either side of his chest. "Anyone wanna help with clean-up?" he asked playfully.
"Oh, I think I have some tissues," Harley said, reaching for his bag.
"Mate," Ben said, reaching across to grab Harley's arm. "I don't... think that's what he meant!"
As Harley blushed a little and looked back, he stared in a mix of shock and awe as Ben slid his hand along Danny's torso, pooling up the spunk before scooping it up. He raised his hand and let it drip into Danny's eagerly-open mouth before Danny raised his head to lap the remnants from the other boy's hand.
"Do... you two wanna... ya know," Danny said, gesturing down to their somewhat-obvious erections.
Ben and Harley exchanged nervous glances. Ben seemed to speak for them both when he said, "Maybe tomorrow!"
"Sure, no pressure," Danny smiled. "Now, whadda you say we... share body warmth while we sleep?"
He got two eager nods in return. They quickly unzipped their sleeping bags fully, then re-zipped the side of Harley's to Danny's, Danny's to Ben's and then Ben's to Harley's to make one giant sleeping bag that they all nestled down into, with Danny in the middle once again.
Josh laid silently in Mr Rudd's tent, waiting for him to return from yet another patrol of the grounds. As the large man climbed back in, finally settling in for the night, Josh asked quietly, "Am I in trouble?"
"Yes!" the man answered frankly. "The way you've been acting today, how could not be?" he said, sounding more disappointed than angry. "Care to explain yourself?" he prompted gruffly.
Josh just shrugged, avoiding eye contact.
Mr Rudd stared at the boy. It had taken the man a while to get settled into the school, taking some time before he really got to know all of the students in his classes. Some had drawn his attention more than others, though that had mostly been through attitude or behaviour. Others, like Josh, had drawn his attention because of the history.
Seeing the boy only in the bi-weekly PE lessons and weekly Survival Club gatherings, Josh was easily lost in the crowd, so today had been his first and best opportunity to really see him on a more individual basis and what he had seen was... worrying. He had his own thoughts on what was going on the boy's head. Like all teachers at the school, some level of study in child psychology was required and while it was far from an area of expertise, Josh seemed fairly easy to read, given his past. Even still, Mr Rudd was being careful not to project his own expectations or assumptions on the boy.
"Nothing to say?" the teacher asked curiously. "That's... a bit of a change!"
Josh just pouted a little and shrugged again.
"Well I can tell you for certain, I will NOT be putting up with more of the same tomorrow," Mr Rudd said firmly. "Do you understand?"
Josh nodded slightly, avoiding eye contact.
"I asked you a question, Josh!" the man said gruffly.
"Yes sir, I understand," Josh said, not wanting any more trouble.
Mr Rudd sat staring at the boy for a moment before he asked, "Do I take it you have some kind of issue with Jenson? Should I switch you to another team?"
Josh thought for a moment then shook his head as he said, "No sir, I like him! He's really cool!"
The man frowned, unsure whether Josh was just saying what he thought he wanted to hear, or if this was (confusingly) the truth. "Then why did you spend all day trying to piss him off?" he asked bluntly.
Josh shrugged and said, "Just thought it was funny!"
Mr Rudd sighed as he cocked his head and asked, "Do you think HE found it funny?"
"Maybe," Josh said meekly, knowing it was a lie.
"I don't think he did, and I think you know that, don't you?" the teacher asked sternly.
Josh pouted a little as he said an awkward, "Yes sir!"
"Hmm," the man hummed, wondering once again if Josh was just saying what was necessary. "So what do you think you should do in the morning?" he asked leadingly.
"Apologise, sir. I know! And I will," Josh insisted. This was all so annoying. Why couldn't he have been put in a team with Mikey. Mikey would have got just as annoyed as Jenson, but they could have just fought and then they'd both have felt better after! Or maybe if would have ended up with them doing... the other thing! He blushed at the memory of his shared orgasm with Mikey.
The teacher shook his head slightly as he looked at Josh. "Are we going to have a better day tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.
Josh pouted a little as he avoided looking back at the man but nodded slightly.
"C'mon," Mr Rudd said, reaching out to gently nudge Josh's stomach, "You can do better than that. You're gonna have a better day tomorrow, aren't you?"
Josh giggled slightly as he squirmed at the playful touch and replied quietly, "Yes sir!"
"Come onnnn!" the teacher goaded him, now grabbing his mid-section through the sleeping bag. "Give me more!" he demanded.
Josh started laughing and as he wiggled to get free and called out, "We're gonna have a good day tomorrow, sir!"
Mr Rudd smiled. While intimidation was his go-to tactic when the boys were en masse, he knew in a solo situation boys always responded better to something a little more personable. "Much better," he said happily as he let go of Josh. "Now, get some sleep!" he instructed as he laid down and reached over to turn out the lamp.
Josh got as comfortable as he could while he pulled the sleeping bag up round his neck. He lay for a few moments just listening to the man beside him breathing, still smiling a little at the playful touch. It was a little less embarrassing than last time the man had touched him – he had popped a boner that Mikey had taken great pleasure in teasing him about. While this time was less humiliating, he was glad the sleeping bag sufficiently concealed the fact he was once again in a similar state.
His hand reached down to grasp at his hard dick. With a teacher right by his side, there was no chance of him actually knocking one out before he slept, which was a little frustrating as he found it hard to get to sleep without it. Frustrated by the persistent erection, Josh lay wide awake. "Sir," he whispered, almost hoping Mr Rudd wouldn't answer.
"Mmm-huh," the man hummed curiously.
"I'm... really sorry if I made today... difficult for you!" Josh said sheepishly.
"Well it's really Jenson you need to save the apology for," Mr Rudd replied, then paused for a second to let it sink in before he added, "But thank you for saying that!"
"I didn't... really want to upset anyone," Josh said with a sad sigh.
"Josh," Mr Rudd said, rolling onto his side to face him as he clicked the lamp back on low. "I don't really know you that well yet, but I reckon you're a good kid... when you're not acting like an annoying little shit!"
"Are you allowed to say that?" Josh asked, amused and surprised in equal measure.
"Well I think I just did," the teacher said with a slight chuckle, "And it's true. So do me a favour and don't let messing around screw up your potential, okay?"
"Yes sir!" Josh said, feeling a little bad for apparently letting the man down. He thought for a moment, comparing what he had just seen compared to the man he saw in class. "You're a lot nicer than everyone thinks you are!" he mused aloud.
"Wow," the teacher smirked. "Thank you for that almost-compliment!"
"Well it's something an annoying little shit would say, isn't it?" Josh smirked.
"Oh, you're a cheeky one," Mr Rudd said, shaking his head as he smiled.
Josh laughed, glad to have amused the older man. "And you're really hot too!" he suddenly blurted out. He immediately froze, eyes wide. Josh had once called Mr Rudd `dad' by mistake - whilst sporting an embarrassing erection – and yet somehow, this felt even more embarrassing! His eyes quickly flicked towards the zipped-up exit.
"Nuh-uh," Mr Rudd said, holding out an arm in front of Josh, recognising the obvious flight risk. "I'm not chasing you through the woods in the middle of the night!"
"Oh my god," Josh said, disappearing completely inside his sleeping bad as he rolled over to face the side of the tent. "Can you forget I said that?" he pleaded, the words muffled.
"Oh, absolutely not!" Mr Rudd said with a grin. "It's nice to have something to embarrass you with if you start being an annoying little shit again!"
Josh rolled over and pulled the front of the sleeping bag down, staring at the teacher. He was amused by the repeated use of the insult but still embarrassed over what he had said as he corrected himself, "Forget what I said. You're not nice at all!" The grin that spread over his face gave away the insincerity of the alleged dislike.
"Wow, what a mean thing to say," Mr Rudd said, shaking his head, sounding genuinely hurt. As Josh stared, looking sorry, the man smirked and added, "And to say it to your own dad!"
Josh's jaw dropped. Not only did Mr Rudd remember his previous verbal slip-up, but now he was using it to tease him. "Oh my god, I hate you so much!" he said, shaking his head.
"Nah, you don't!" the man grinned, nudging Josh's stomach again. Josh stared back, frozen in what seemed to be anticipation for just a moment before the teacher's hands grabbed at his stomach and started tickling.
"Ah, no, stop it!" Josh squawked, laughing hysterically, though he actually rolled towards Mr Rudd instead of trying to get away. "You're so mean," he panted as the tickling finally stopped. He found himself leaning against the man's side. He looked up without moving, doe-eyed and innocent.
Mr Rudd smiled as he reached up to turn the lamp back off, then lowered his arm down around Josh. "G'night!" he whispered as he held him gently.
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