Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:58:35 +0000 From: Pink Panther Subject: 'July Through September' Chapter 16 This story is a work of erotic fiction. If reading erotic fiction is illegal where you live, please leave this page now. If you are under age for reading this type of material, please leave this page now. This story contains scenes of sexual interaction involving both underage boys and older guys. If this is not what you wish to read, please leave this page now. The first major turning point in the story has now occurred and all the main characters have been introduced. I will continue to post two chapters each week, with the final chapter (26) appearing just before Easter. Feedback, including constructive criticism, is more than welcome and I always reply to it. To send comments, please e-mail : pinkpanther2@hotmail.co.uk and I will reply as soon as I can. SIXTEEN IAN I can't believe what me and Billy did in the toilets; that was awesome! Just wanking each other off was pretty amazing but when he sat down and sucked me off . wow!! Well now I just have to persuade mum and dad to let him stay with us. I know it won't be easy; they'll think of a hundred and one reasons why we can't; they always do. Shit! If they knew what we got up to at the hospital it would be a definite `no' and that would be the end of it! I put my bike into the garage, lock it up and head into the house. Mum's in the living room, reading. "Hello dear!" she says brightly. "How was he?" I flop down into an armchair. "Much better, thanks mum. But there's a problem. A lady from social services went to see him this morning, before I got there. She told him when he's better he won't be able to go home, `cause of his mum not looking after him properly and stuff. She said he'd have to go into a children's home. He's really upset about it; he said he'll run away if they do that." I take a deep breath. "Mum, couldn't he come and stay here with us? My room's big enough for both of us and it's already got twin beds in it. Please mum!" She smiles. "Ian, I know you're trying to help, but it really isn't that simple. Your dad and I aren't registered as foster parents; there would be all that procedure to go through. Then he'd be living very close to, you know, where it happened. He might not feel safe here. Social services might not agree to it in any case. And that's just for starters." "Please mum; can't we try to see if we can? I'm worried that he'll run away if they put him in a children's home and get into even more trouble. He knows dad; he goes to Central." "Really? Yes, I suppose he would do, living there. Well, we'd better get your dad in on this." She gets up and walks to the bottom of the stairs. "Brian, can you come down, please? We appear to have a little problem to solve." I wait, wriggling in my chair, waiting for dad to come downstairs. My heart's pounding. At least mum hasn't ruled it out altogether. Finally dad appears. He sits down opposite me. "So what appears to be the problem?" he asks, looking at me with those piercing eyes of his. "Dad, do you know Billy Clark?" I ask. "Yes, I know Billy. I taught him a year or so back, when he was in year eight." "That's the boy Ian found coming out of the park yesterday," Mum tells him. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Dad says, sounding concerned. "Nice kid, just never had much of a chance, that's all." I tell him the same as I told mum. He pauses for what seems like ages before answering. "Ian, I'm not sure you've thought through the implications of what we'd be taking on. Apart from getting all the official stuff sorted out, there are other things to consider. There's the financial side of things for a start. We'd get some money for looking after him as foster parents, but nowhere like what the costs would be. That would mean we'd all have to manage with a bit less than we do now. Now are you prepared for that? I don't think we've ever spoilt you, but you don't go without. Now there might be something you want and we have to say, `sorry, we can't afford it now'. How would you feel about that?" "That's just stuff, isn't it? Things; it's people that matter, not things." "Okay," he says gently, "but you have to understand that we may have to be in this for quite some time. I know you feel like this now, but you can't just turn round a few months down the line and say you don't want him here any more. D'you understand?" "Yes dad." "It won't be plain sailing you know; Billy's had a pretty tough life, very different from what you're used to. He's just been through a terribly traumatic experience too. He may find it difficult to fit in. You'd have to be prepared to be very patient with him and hang in there if things weren't going as smoothly as you'd like. Ian, you've only just met him. I've said he's a nice kid, and he is, but are you really sure about this?" "Yes dad. You know it was really weird when I went to see him in hospital just now. After about five minutes I was chatting to him like we'd known each other for years. Thanks for explaining everything to me; I do understand. You've always talked to me about facing up to challenges. I won't let you down, I promise. I won't let Billy down either." He looks across at mum then back at me. "Well, you're obviously quite serious about it, so I've no objection. We can't promise anything though; it still might not work out. You understand that, don't you?" "Yes, dad." "Well, you'd better talk to your mum, she's the one who knows people in high places!" I look pleadingly at mum. "As it happens," she says evenly, "After you left this morning I had a call from Pat Sharpe, the social worker who's on Billy's case. I've known Pat for years. She wanted to know if we would consider helping out. You're not the only one who's worried about him. "Mum!" I almost shout at her. "So why all the questions, pretending like you didn't want to do it?" "We needed to be sure that you were totally committed to the idea, otherwise it was never going to work," dad says quietly. "You're our first responsibility; we wouldn't do anything like that unless you really wanted us to do it. Well, seems like you do!" "I'll call Pat and tell her," mum says. "She'll still have to get it past her boss though." "Thanks mum!" I say, grinning from ear to ear. Wow! I can't believe how cool my mum and dad are sometimes! Mum emerges from the study five minutes later. "Okay, Pat's going to meet us at the hospital at three o'clock. That gives us plenty of time. We'll have a bite of lunch about one, then head off down there." I make my way up to my bedroom. Soon it'll be `our' bedroom; mine and Billy's. Wow! I always wanted a brother, but something went wrong when mum had me, so she couldn't have any more kids. I thought I'd never have one. Somehow that makes this even better. Dad knocks, waits a second then pops his head round the door. "Okay?" he asks. "Yeah, thanks." He comes in and sits on the bed. "Your mum and I are really proud of you for the way you've dealt with this," he says quietly. "You didn't wait to be asked; you saw what needed to be done and just got on with it. I can think of plenty of adults who couldn't have done that." "Thanks dad," I mumble, feeling almost embarrassed that he's praising me like this. Shit! Would he be so proud of me if he knew what we were doing at the hospital this morning? "Dad, did you say you taught Billy in year eight?" "Yes, that's right." "So how old is he then, dad?" "Fourteen, I guess. He'll be in year ten when we go back." "Oh! I thought he was the same age as me!" "Yeah, he's pretty small for his age; doesn't seem to get picked on though. That's another thing we might try to fix up; to have him transfer to Calcroft; it would make things a lot easier for him if he's living here. It might be difficult though; term starts next week. They may not have room in any case; we'll have to see." "Thanks dad!" I say quietly. Dad is so cool, always there; not pushing me, not telling me I've got to do this or not got to do that, but just there, supporting me, helping me, encouraging me. I'm beginning to understand just how important that is. 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 IAN It's ten to three when we arrive at the hospital. I want to go straight up to see Billy, but mum insists that we wait in reception till Mrs. Sharpe arrives. It seems to take forever! She turns up just before three o'clock. She greets mum like a long lost friend then sits down next to me. "So you're Ian?" I nod. "Can you tell me what happened yesterday?" I give her a brief run through about hearing the screaming, seeing the guy drive off in the red hatchback, then Billy coming out of the woods. "So why did you decide to get involved?" she asks. "It was obvious he was hurt. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just leave him there." She smiles. "You did exactly the right thing; if you hadn't Billy would probably have tried to hide what had happened to him. He might have died." She pauses for a moment. "I have to tell you, Ian, that not many people would have done what you did; most people would have looked the other way." We start heading to the ward. What Mrs. Sharpe just said makes me feel sad because I know she's right. That's what Mark would have done if I hadn't been there, and he's a good kid. It's not that he doesn't care; it's this `not wanting to get involved' thing. Mum and dad have taught me right since I was small that if you see someone in trouble like that you help them. Wouldn't the world be a happier place if everyone did that? I think it would. When we get there, Billy's playing on the Gameboy. He seems surprised to see us. "Hey, man!" What are you doing here?" he says, touching fists with me. "I didn't expect to see you again today!" "Hello, sir!" he says, grinning at dad. "Billy," Mrs Sharpe says quietly. "You know I told you this morning about going into a children's home? Well, it looks like you may not have to. Mr and Mrs Parker have said you can stay with them if you want to." Billy's eyes almost fall out. "Oh man! Of course I do; that's wicked! Thanks Mrs Parker, thanks sir! Oh man! I was so worried about being in a children's home! This is just brilliant!" "There are one or two things to consider, Billy." Mrs Sharpe tells him. "As you know, you'll be living very close to where you were yesterday, you know. Are you sure that's not going to be a problem for you?" "No, that's okay," he says firmly. "The police think that the man who attacked you is local; he obviously knew those woods really well. Aren't you afraid he might see you again? He shrugs. "Not really. If I see him I'll just leg it!" "Okay Billy," mum says. "There is just one other thing. You smoke, don't you?" "Yeah; I suppose you saw the cigs in my pocket yesterday when they were getting me undressed." "Would you be willing to give up? I don't mean say you've given up then sneak out somewhere for a smoke where nobody can see you, I mean really give up. Ian's asthmatic; it's most important that he doesn't have people smoking around him. We'll help; get you nicotine patches and that." "I haven't had one since yesterday as it is, and anyway I keep wishing I'd never started. If Ian needs me not to smoke, I won't. That's a promise!" Mum ruffles his hair. "Okay Billy; that's all I need to hear." She turns to Mrs, Sharpe. "Right, I suppose we'd better get the formalities sorted out." The three adults head off down the corridor to a room where they can get all the forms signed and stuff, leaving me and Billy `to get to know each other better' as mum put it. "I can't believe this is happening!" Billy tells me, shaking his head. "Nothing good ever happens to me." "Well, maybe your luck just changed," I say, smiling at him. Wow! He is so beautiful! "Yesterday, when you first saw me," Billy says, "why did you do all that? I mean, weren't you worried? I might have pulled a knife on you, anything." "Dunno; it's the way I've been brought up I guess." "Most people would have said: `better stay away from him, he looks like a right little scumbag'." "Mum and dad have always taught me that when you see someone in trouble, just focus on helping them the best way you can; don't worry about anything else." "Well, I'm glad they did. You were amazing! You didn't panic, you didn't get all in a flap wondering what to do, you just said: `right, we're going to do this' and that was it." "Well, I couldn't leave you there like that." "I might have been dead by now if you had." "I know; Mrs Sharpe told me." We pause for a few seconds; it's not that we've run out of things to say, more that right now we don't actually need to talk. "Billy," I ask, "how old are you? dad says your fourteen." "Yeah, just. My birthday's in the middle of July. I was fourteen a couple of days before school finished." "Oh, right. I'll be thirteen at the beginning of November. I thought you were about the same age as me." "Everybody says that," he says, grinning at me. "Don't worry, I'm used to it." He gives me a mischievous smile. "Fancy going, you know ." I swallow hard. I want to do that more than anything, but it might not be a very good idea. "Mum and dad might be back any time," I tell him. "Anyway, there are loads of visitors around at the moment." I squeeze his hand. "I'll come and see you tomorrow morning; it might be quieter then." He grins. "Cool; I'll look forward to it." Mum and dad come back about ten minutes later. We all chat for a while about this and that, then we say our goodbyes to Billy and head for the car park.