RENAGADES & OUTLAWS

By Pink Panther


I’ve just disclaimed again (yawn!)

This is a short transitional chapter, tying up a few loose end and setting up the story’s next major development, so I’m not really expecting any feedback. However, if you do want to send me any comments, please e-mail them to archimedes294@hushmail.com and I’ll reply as soon as I can.


CHAPTER THIRTEEN


After the week’s holiday, Josh was pleased to be back at school. He headed straight to his tutor group room for morning registration.

“Hi Gaz!” he said brightly, as Gary strolled in and flopped down next to him. “You’re looking pleased with yourself.”

“Yeah,” Gary whispered. “Friday I took Joanne to the disco and the Youth Centre then on Saturday we went to the pictures. It was great!”

“Joanne?” Josh queried.

“You know, Joanne Greening.” Gary said. “We’ve been going out together for a few weeks.”

Josh did know. Joanne was one of only two kids from the estate who was in the top group for every class. She wasn’t a star, but a nice kid and very pretty; he wasn’t surprised that Gary liked her.

“So is your mum okay with you having a girlfriend?” he asked.

“I’ve known Jo since we were little,” Gary said, grinning. “My mum and dad are friends with her mum and dad, so they’re alright with it as long as we behave ourselves.”

Josh stifled a giggle; he knew what that meant.

“But there’s a problem,” Gary whispered. “We’ll have to forget about our get-togethers up in the science block. Joanne’s asked me to walk home with her. I couldn’t think of an excuse to say no.”

Josh felt a momentary pang of jealousy. The real story was the Gary would rather be with Joanne than with him; he just knew it. But it didn’t really matter, he told himself. He still had Tommy; that was the important thing.


0 o 0 o 0 o 0


“Tommy,” Josh asked. “Have you been given a history project to do?”

“Yeah,” Tommy said, “all about what led up to the battle of Hastings; fuck knows how I’m goin’ to get that done.”

“We’re doing the same thing,” Josh said. “What d’you do on Sundays?”

“We play football in the afternoon,” Tommy said.

“What about the mornings?” Josh asked.

“Nothin’ much,” Tommy conceded.

“Why don’t you come round to mine?” Josh asked. “We could work on it together.”

“Won’t your mum and dad be there?” Tommy questioned.

“Mum will,” Josh said. “Dad’ll probably be playing golf. It’s okay; I’ll just say this is Tommy, a friend from school; we’re working on our history project. She won’t say a thing, I promise.”

“Okay then,” Tommy said. “Thanks!”


0 o 0 o 0 o 0


Ashley walked up the short front path and rang the bell. He’d visited Ryan’s house four times since the first time they’d had sex. Each time he’d expected them to go further, but they hadn’t. He hadn’t pushed matters, and Ryan had seemed quite happy just to reprise what they’d done before. But this time would be different; he’d made his mind up.

Ryan opened the door and ushered him inside. As usual, they headed straight for Ryan’s bedroom. Having helped each other undress, they snuggled up on the bed, stroking and fondling each other. Ashley took a deep breath.

“Ryan,” he said quietly. “When you’re doing this with Josh, do you do other things, you know, stuff we haven’t done yet?”

Ryan grinned and nodded; he’d been hoping that something like this might happen.

“Will you show me?” Ashley whispered.

“Are you sure?” Ryan asked. “Promise you won’t freak?”

“Yeah, course!” Ashley said, grinning. “I’m not going to freak!”

“Cool!” Ryan breathed.

He twisted around, leaning forwards to rest his head on Ashley’s tummy. He closed his lips over the slim boy’s cock, sucking it right down to the base. He settled into a steady rhythm, running his hand along the inside of Ashley’s thigh, his fingers reaching out to stroke his friend’s perineum. Ashley lay staring at the ceiling, breathing deeply, his hands slowly opening and closing, the sensations too wonderful to describe. Instinctively he reached down, running his fingers through Ryan’s hair. After a couple of minutes Ryan pulled away.

“So did you like that then?” he asked, grinning.

“Man! That was wicked!” Ashley breathed. “I never knew anything could feel like that!” He paused for a second. “D’you want me to do you now?”

“Yeah, if you want,” Ryan said casually. “We can do each other at the same time if you like.”

“Really?” Ashley responded, eyes widening.

“Yeah,” I’ll show you,” Ryan told him, turning himself round the other way. “Just watch your teeth, yeah?”

It was effortless, automatic; they fitted together beautifully. Ashley sucked eagerly on Ryan’s cock, working his tongue all over it. The previous experience had been wonderful, but this was the ultimate, the perfect expression of how close he and Ryan had become. The tingling in his penis began to build. His legs shook uncontrollably. He held Ryan’s head, his hard little spike swelling and jerking in his friend’s mouth. Ryan’s orgasm followed within seconds, his penis pulsing repeatedly between Ashley’s lips. They lay almost motionless, gasping for air, softening penises gently slipping out of mouths. Finally, they snuggled up again.

“That was somethin’ else, man!” Ryan whispered, looking right into Ashley’s sparkling blue eyes. “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages, but I was worried that you might . . . , you know.”

“No chance!” Ashley cooed. “That was amazing!”

“There’s another thing we do,” Ryan said. “Want to try it?”

Ashley smiled and nodded. Ryan moved in closer, his lips aimed directly at Ashley’s, his tongue pushing insistently into his friend’s mouth. Ashley hesitated for less than a second, the aroma of hot, sexy boy overpowering his resistance. He wrapped his arms around Ryan’s back, drawing him into a wonderful, passionate kiss.


0 o 0 o 0 o 0


“Sorry I’ve not been over for a while,” Mark said as he and the two boys piled into the Mercedes for a trip to the pool. “The band’s been really busy the past few weeks; it’s been pretty mental.”

“Well, you told us the last time you’d got lots of gigs coming up,” Ryan responded. “It’s not like we thought you’d forgotten about us.”

“Everyone seems very bright and cheerful this morning,” Mark commented. “What’s happened?”

“Mum’s got a new boyfriend,” Ryan confided. “Hasn’t she told you?”

“Not a word,” Mark said, “but you’re usually as miserable as sin when your mum gets a boyfriend. What’s different this time?”

“Oh, he’s alright,” Ryan said. “His name’s Jack. D’you remember that course mum went on a few weeks back? They met there.”

“Oh, I see,” Mark said, nodding sagely. “Not down the pub then?”

“Nah!” Ryan responded, grinning.

“And he treats you okay, by the sound of things,” Mark ventured

“Yeah,” Ryan confirmed. “He doesn’t actually do anything; just asks me what I’m doing, so I tell him and he’ll say, “That’s great; make sure you keep working at it,” that sort of thing. He’s okay; treats mum nice too.”

“Excellent!” Mark said. “I’m glad she’s found somebody decent at last. You and your mum seemed to be getting along better this morning than you usually do.”

“Yeah, well that’s definitely down to him,” Ryan said emphatically. “Mum’s a lot happier now he’s around, so she’s not on at me the whole time.”

“I hope you’re not using that as an opportunity to slacken off,” Mark cautioned.

“No way!” Ryan protested. “I’m working harder than ever! I get on much better when mum leaves me alone. Anyway, Ash is dead set on getting into the grammar school and I can’t have him beating me!”

Mark steered the car onto the Leisure Centre car-park and brought it to a halt.

“Sounds good to me!” he said, smiling. “Come on; let’s go swim!”

They made their way inside. As they were getting changed, three boys breezed in, one dark haired, the other two fair. Mark judged them to be a little older than Ryan and Josh.

“Awright, lads?” the dark haired boy said, betraying a strong local accent.

“What are you doing here?” Josh asked.

“Match got cancelled,” the dark haired lad said. “Pitch was waterlogged. Thought we’d come here; fuck all else to do in this weather. Squeak here?”

“Probably already in the pool,” Ryan said. “They usually get here before we do.” He turned to Mark. “They’re Josh’s friends from the high school,” he said quietly.

Mark raised an eyebrow. These three were obviously council estate kids; footballers too from what they’d said. He couldn’t imagine how Josh had become friends with kids like them.

“This is Mark, Ryan’s uncle,” Josh said, addressing himself to the three newcomers. “He often brings us here on Saturdays. Mark, this is Gary, Tommy and Peewee,” he added, introducing them

“Hi lads!” Mark said, smiling. “So are you and Josh in the same year?”

“Yeah,” Gary confirmed. “Me and Josh are in the same tutor group; we have maths and science together too.”

It was a partial explanation; Mark could see that, but it was far from the whole story. Still, the three boys seemed pleasant enough; they weren’t bad looking either, all tall for their age, at five foot three or so they were more than two inches taller than Ryan and four or five inches taller than Josh.

They headed into the pool where Darren and Ashley were already playing on the floating mats. War games quickly ensued. Peewee’s talents came immediately to the fore. Mark was impressed; he could catch all the others quite easily, but Peewee evaded him every time. Not only was he far quicker and more agile than anyone else, he seemed strangely aware of where the danger was coming from, swimming smoothly away as Mark tried to sneak up on him. They moved onto the diving boards. Mark was lost in admiration. While the other boys weren’t bad, compared to Peewee they looked clumsy and awkward. If ever a boy epitomised the phrase ‘poetry in motion’, Peewee was the one.

Finally they returned to the changing room. After a quick shower they collected their stuff from the lockers and began to get dry. Ashley was engaged in an animated discussion with Ryan. Mark took the opportunity to check out the council estate kids. Gary and Tommy had well-developed, uncut cocks, with large, low-hanging balls and a smattering of pubic hair. Peewee, on the other hand, didn’t have a trace of hair on him, his cock circumcised and much smaller than the others, his marble-sized balls pulled up tight in their sack. His demeanour contrasted with the others too. While Gary and Tommy seemed sharp and alert, Peewee wore a permanently vacant expression, hardly seeming to know which day it was. Mark was disappointed; of the three of them, Peewee was an exceptional talent and a very good looking boy. He’d have liked to get to know the lad, but that, he realised, would be very difficult without making his interest far too obvious.

He switched his attention elsewhere. Josh was clearly very good friends with the council estate boys, Tommy in particular, parading naked in front of him, his little spike sticking straight up. The bigger boy seemed enraptured. Mark wasn’t wholly surprised. He’d noticed back before the summer holidays how sexualised Josh was becoming. It was obvious that he was getting it on with Tommy; the sexual energy between them was almost tangible. Mark hardly dared contemplate what Josh’s parents would say if they found out. But good luck to them, he thought, only wishing that he could have found someone like Josh when he was their age.


0 o 0 o 0 o 0


“Josh,” Kate asked. “Your friend Tommy; what’s his surname?”

“Shaw,” Josh answered, somewhat apprehensively.

Tommy had visited the house on three successive Sundays, and although he did speak a bit rough, he’d been quiet and polite. They’d worked on their history project just like they were supposed to; Josh had even set Tommy up with an account on his computer so that they could keep their stuff completely separate. There certainly hadn’t been any problems, so why was his mum asking, he wondered.

“Yes, that’s what I was told. “Kate said quietly. “Do you know about his family.”

“Yes,” Josh confirmed. “He told me. His dad and his brother have done some bad stuff. But Tommy’s not like that. He hates it. He wants to do well at school so he can get out. I want to help him. That’s not wrong, is it?”

“No, of course it isn’t,” Kate said soothingly.

“He’s been coming here to do his homework cause he’s got nowhere to do it at home,” Josh continued. “He works up in my room while I do my piano practice.”

“Oh, I see,” Kate said, somewhat taken aback.

Kate had very mixed feelings. On the one hand she was pleased that he’d been able to make friends with a boy from a very different background from his own, rather than the nice, rather soft little boys he’d associated with at primary school. On the other hand, being friends with a member of one of the most notorious families in the area wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind.

There was something else too. This was a different Josh she was seeing, more independent, more assertive. A year ago he wouldn’t have dreamed of doing anything like that without asking first. There didn’t seem to be anything to be concerned about; he’d settled in well at the High School, he was working hard and was doing very well. He thrived on being right at the top, one of the stars, something he certainly wouldn’t have managed if he’d gone to the grammar school. But she was concerned, and it wasn’t just about his friendship with Tommy, although that was certainly part of it. There was a change in Josh that she just couldn’t put her finger on.


0 o 0 o 0 o 0


November soon gave way to December; the end of the long autumn term was in sight. It was Saturday morning. As usual, Josh and Ryan were jamming in Ryan’s front lounge room when Mark arrived.

“Hi guys!” he said brightly. “Still working well I see!”

“It’d be a lot better if I’d got an electric and I could actually hear myself,” Ryan commented.

“All in the fullness of time,” Mark said cryptically. “How did the exam go, Josh?”

“Okay,” he said, screwing his face up. “A couple of bits just weren’t quite perfect, you know.”

“Well don’t be too hard on yourself,” Mark counselled. “Grade seven is a high standard for someone of your age.”

“Yeah, but I got a distinction when I did grade six,” Josh responded. “I don’t think I’ll have got one this time.”

“So when will you get the result?” Mark asked.

“After Christmas,” Josh told him.

After chatting for a bit longer they trooped into the back lounge where Rachel was working at the computer. Mark gave her a peck on the cheek.

“So how’s my favourite sister this morning?” he asked, beaming.

“Your only sister, you mean!” Rachel countered. “I’m pretty good. Actually, I need to ask you a favour.”

“Fire away,” Mark responded.

“It’s about New Year’s Eve,” Rachel said. “Jack’s asked me to go out with him for the evening. Obviously, with it being New Year’s Eve it’s going to be pretty late by the time we get back. There’s no way I’m going to be able to get a babysitter. I can’t get a babysitter for him anyway,” she continued, looking accusingly at Ryan. “None of the girls round here will look after him any more.”

“Really?” Mark temporised, already pretty sure where this was heading.

“D’you know what he did the last time?” Rachel asked. “You know he doesn’t play the piano very much these days? Well the last time he had a babysitter he played it for nearly two hours, and not pieces either; scales and that; nearly drove the poor girl up the wall!”

Mark stifled a giggle; Ryan certainly knew how to make his point.

“What are you laughing at?” Rachel demanded. “You lads are all as bad as one another!”

“Sorry,” Mark said meekly.

“Well, since then when I’ve been going out, he’s stayed over with either Ashley or Josh,” Rachel went on, “but on New Year’s Eve the whole of Ashley’s family our going out to some friends of theirs so he can’t stop there. Josh’s parents will be out too. I understand that they’re leaving Josh on his own, but I’m not having the two of them left unsupervised till goodness knows what time; I hate to think what mischief they might get into.”

“Mum, I’ve told you we’ll be alright,” Ryan interjected. “That’s a promise.”

“Ryan,” Rachel snapped. “I’ve said no and that’s final.” She turned back to Mark. “I was hoping you might be able to look after him for me.”

“Well, I could,” Mark said uneasily, “but we’re playing The Crown & Anchor that night. I could take him with me, but being New Year’s Eve we won’t be off stage till around quarter past one, so it’ll be at least half past two before we get to bed.”

Ryan’s ears pricked up; this was a possibility he’d never even considered. All thoughts of staying at Josh’s house were instantly dismissed.

“Well, rather that than leave him by himself,” Rachel said with an air of resignation. “And he won’t have to get up the following morning or anything, so I suppose it’d be okay.”

Five minutes later they were on their way to the pool. Ryan was quietly jubilant. On New Year’s Eve, instead of getting bored out of his brain in the company of some babysitter, he’d be watching Mark and his band play live, and better still, he’d be getting to stay up until half past two in the morning. What could possibly be cooler than that?

“You’re lucky,” Josh said quietly as they began to get changed. “New Year’s Eve I’m going to be stuck at home on my own, again! I wish I was coming with you.”

“Mark,” Ryan asked. “On New Year’s Eve, could Josh come with us?”

Mark thought for a moment, quickly realising that it might be better if he did. For one thing, they’d have to arrive at the gig to set up by eight o’clock, but the band wouldn’t actually be going on stage for their first set until almost half past ten. That was a very long time for a lively eleven year old to be sitting around with nothing to do. If Josh was there, at least Ryan would have someone to talk to.

There was another advantage too. He’d always been wary about having Ryan staying over at his flat. Although he had no intention of doing anything, it would be all too easy for someone to start speculating about his motives for inviting him. If both Ryan and Josh were there, any accusations that something untoward had occurred could be very easily refuted.

“Yeah,” he said casually. “That’s no problem, as long as you don’t mind sharing a bedroom. There are twin beds in the guest room so you won’t actually have to sleep together.” He turned to Josh. “I’ll need to speak to your parents, of course, to make sure they’re alright with it.”

The two boys turned to each other, grinning like a pair of Cheshire cats.

“Thanks Ry!” Josh said, gently punching Ryan’s arm. “This is going to be wicked!”