Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 19:37:41 -0700 (PDT) From: Fup Duck Subject: Under Pressure - High School 26 STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Let's see: 1. If it's illegal - don't read this. 2. If you can't accept it - don't read this. 3. If you're underage - don't read this. 4. It's mine - don't distribute without permission. 5. Characters and events bear an uncanny resemblance to people I grew up with and stuff I went through - ooops. ;-) That about covers it. Still here? Wow.... :-) Sorry for the double post on Chapter 25...must have been dain bramaged. Like I said we all do stupid things once in a while...lol Here's Chapter 26...... Fup ****************************************************************************** FROM CHAPTER 25 David shook his head, ruffled Chad's hair, then stood up. "You're full of surprises, you know that?" Chad just giggled and snuggled down further under the blankets. David started walking out of the room, "Want me to close your door?" "NO!" Chad responded emphatically. "Okay, man. No sweat. I'll leave it open." Then he turned of the bedroom light, and left the boy to his dreams. UNDER PRESSURE/HIGH SCHOOL 26 - A Small Problem It was close to 10:30 that night, and David was reading in the Murray's living room, when he was interrupted by a soft call from the top of the stairs. The voice was too low to make out which kid it was, so he put down his book and quietly walked up the stairs. No one was in the hallway, and he thought maybe he had imagined it - his mind tended to work overtime when he was absorbed in a book. Then he heard quiet sobs from the bathroom. Pushing the door open, he flipped on the light, catching a brief glimpse of Chad sitting on the toilet, naked, with tears running down his face. "Turn it off," the crying boy hissed. David turned off the light as requested, then asked, "Hey Chad, what's wrong man?" "You'll hate me." "How can I? I don't even know what you're crying about." He started moving into the dark bathroom. "Stay there, please?" he heard the boy whisper. "You'll hate me." David was confused, and a little upset for the crying boy. "No, I won't, just tell me what's wrong." "I peed the bed," Chad admitted, breaking out into fresh, but quiet sobs. "Hey, hey," David soothed. He didn't know what to do now. He thought he'd just try to settle the boy down a little before he woke up Cindy. He once again started walking toward the boy, only to be halted again. He heard the crying taper off, then, "You hate me, don't you?" "Chad, I told you I didn't." "But I'm a baby, I still pee the bed sometimes." "Chad, ease up man, ok? You're not a baby, remember, I think you're pretty cool." "You probably don't any more, do you?" "Yeah I do. Just settle down, okay?" But Chad was still babbling, "Mom and Dad won't let me spend the night at anyone's house because I can't hold myself sometimes. And I'll never be able to join Scouts cos I won't be able to go camping. I just wish I wasn't such a baby." "Hey, Chad, it's okay man, take it easy. Why don't you just wash yourself off, and come downstairs with me okay?" "You don't hate me?" a small note of hope this time. "Chad, I told you, no, I don't hate you." "I thought you would cos you said I was cool, then I peed the bed." "I did before," David admitted. "I was dreaming I was taking a pee and woke up to find that I was starting to for real. You just didn't wake up." "Mom and dad say that I shouldn't drink anything before bed, but we were playing and all." "It's okay, Chad. I didn't know, sorry." He heard Chad get off the toilet, and saw him walk over to the sink in the dim light. The water started running, and saw the boy begin to wash himself. "Should I like take the covers off your bed?" "I already did, they're in the bathtub." "Okay, well get cleaned up and come on downstairs, okay?" "Okay, you sure you don't hate me?" "I'm sure, kiddo. I'll be in the living room, okay?" "Okay." David walked out of the bathroom and was surprised to see a bleary-eyed Cindy standing in her doorway. "Did he pee the bed again?" David nodded, and she sighed a little, "Sometimes he can't help himself." "That's what he said, why don't you go back to sleep, okay?" She nodded sleepily, and re-entered her room, swinging the door shut. David walked slowly down the steps to the living room. He sure wasn't prepared for this. He felt bad for Chad, but wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He thought he'd turn off the living room light, and turn on the TV since Chad didn't seem to want to be seen in bright light right now. He had just settled onto the sofa again, when Chad came in the room, clad in a fresh pair of briefs. He stood in the doorway, just staring at David with an unreadable expression, then walked over and sat in a chair, hanging his head. "Chad," David said to the embarrassed boy. "What?" Chad mumbled, not raising his head. "It's okay, seriously. Come over here, okay?" Chad reluctantly stood up and walked over to where David was sitting, eyes still on the floor. David bowed his head, and turned it so he could look into Chad's face. Then he grinned. "It's okay, kiddo." Chad nodded, then sat beside David on the sofa, about two feet away. David turned to face him and put a hand on the boy's bare shoulder and squeezed. Chad started pulling away, but David gripped more firmly. "Where ya think you're going?" Chad shrugged, then relaxed. David gave the shoulder another gentle squeeze, then let go, sitting back on the sofa, eyes still on the downcast boy beside him. Chad glanced at him, briefly meeting his eyes, then slid closer against David's side. "Don't worry, I won't pee on you," he stated seriously. David chuckled softly, and draped his arm over the boy's shoulders. "I know you won't." Chad sighed and relaxed against David's side. He sat there a few minutes then gave a slight shiver. "Be right back," he said, getting off the sofa and heading up the stairs. He returned a few minutes later wearing an over-sized t-shirt and carrying a blanket. Handing the blanket to David, he resumed his previous position and David draped the blanket over them both. "I'm sorry," Chad whispered. "Nothing to be sorry about, shit happens," David replied, then gasped a little at his choice of words. Chad giggled a little under the blanket, "You said a swear, I'm tellin'." "Sorry, it just sort of slipped," David admitted. "S'ok, dad uses worse words." David smiled, "I bet." "Can I sleep here?" "Sure, kiddo, get all nice and comfy and go to sleep. Your parents will be home soon, they'll know what to do, okay?" Chad nodded silently, then repositioned himself so his head was resting on David's thigh, the rest of his body stretched out on the sofa. David made sure the boy was covered and laid his hand on Chad's stomach. "Don't tickle," Chad warned with a yawn. "I won't man, just go to sleep, okay?" Then he began rubbing small circles on the boy's stomach, his hand rubbing against the cloth of the t-shirt. "Okay, Dave, night." Soon the boy was sound asleep and David continued rubbing his stomach absentmindedly, watching the program on the TV. After a few minutes, he felt Chad stir and take his hand under the blanket. "Stop," came the whispered voice, "it's making feel like I have to go again." "Okay, sorry." "S'ok," Chad mumbled, slipping back into sleep, his hand still in David's. David saw a flash of headlights wash across the wall and heard a vehicle pull up next to the house. Quiet footsteps walked across the porch and they key rattled in the lock. He pulled his hand from Chad's and placed it on top of the blanket, still resting on the boy's stomach, as the door opened to admit Mr. and Mrs. Murray. The hallway light flipped on and Mrs. Murray looked questioningly at David. Then realization flashed across her face, followed by one of regret. She whispered something to her husband, who grinned sadly at David, slipping his arms under his son and carrying him upstairs. "Oh David, I'm so sorry," Mrs. Murray exclaimed quietly. "Did Chad wet the bed again?" David nodded, "It's okay, I just didn't know what I should do, so I told him to come down with me, he was crying and all." "David, I'm so sorry," Mrs. Murray said again. "I meant to warn you, but I forgot." David smiled a little - this was new - an adult apologizing to him. "Seriously, it's no sweat." "Hold on a second," she requested at her husband's whispered request to come upstairs. She returned a little later with Mr. Murray, who also had an apologetic look. "We really thought he had outgrown that," he admitted. "That's why we forgot to warn you, guess we didn't think it was necessary. It hasn't happened for months now. Usually it only happens when he's real tired, or upset about something. Did he have anything to drink before he went to bed?" It was David's turn to apologize, "Yeah, we ate a bag of chips and drank some soda earlier. Sorry." "You didn't know, David, it's our fault for not saying anything." He was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. He opened it and ushered David's mother inside. She smiled and asked if he was ready to go. "Yeah, I guess." She stood waiting while Mrs. Murray rummaged in her purse, and raised her eyebrows when Mrs. Murray slipped a twenty dollar bill into David's hand. "We really appreciate you doing this, David. We'd like to have you again, if you want." "Umm, yeah, that's cool," David stuttered, surprised at the bill in his palm. Then he smiled, "Just let me know, I had fun." Mr. Murray raised his eyebrows and grinned, "I bet." "Well, uh, thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Murray, tell Chad to call me sometime tomorrow, okay?" "We will, and thanks again." Then Mrs. Murray looked at David's mom, "He was very responsible tonight, you must have taught him well." "We've tried," David's mom responded, not catching David's eye roll. "I'm glad he did well." "He did, and thanks again." "You're welcome," David responded, turning to follow his mom out to the car. He gave the Murray's a wave as his mom backed out of the driveway. "Well, did you have fun?" "Mom, it was babysitting," David replied. "Well, you must have made quite the impression for them to give you twenty dollars, David." "I guess," David shrugged. "And yeah, it wasn't too bad." "Well, I'm proud of you," stated his mom as they pulled into their own driveway. "Better get yourself to bed, you look tired." David yawned, getting out of the car, "Yeah, I'm pretty sleepy. Night." "Night David," his mother answered, locking the door behind them. David stripped to his briefs and climbed in under the covers, rolling onto his side, and almost immediately falling asleep. His dad woke him about 9:00 the next morning, "Come on, David, let's get down to the plant and get this welding done." David roused himself out of bed, getting dressed in old clothes and they were soon driving the car to the place where his dad worked. "One of the guys is going to do the welding today, since no one else is really around." "Cool, thanks dad," David replied, not taking his eyes off the road. His dad chuckled a little, "Don't be so tense, lighten up a little, you're going to choke the steering wheel to death." David gave him a wan smile, but eased his grip a little. The front end of the car bounced a lot as they drove and David was concentrating on keeping it under control. "Wait until we get the front shocks remounted," his father assured, "it will drive a lot better." They spent the morning watching as the shock mounts were welded back in place, and his dad grinned at him, opened the trunk, and pulled out two new shocks for the front. "Don't tell your mom," he winked. After the shocks were mounted and the car was down off the lift, they welded some pieces of metal to the rear fenders to stop any exhaust from leaking up into the trunk. These jobs complete, they thanked his dad's fellow employee and drove back home. The car handled a lot better on the way back, and David relaxed a little. Pulling into the driveway, David was surprised to see Kelly sitting on the picnic table with his mom, both grinning as the car pulled to a stop. "I didn't think you were coming so soon," David grinned. "Well, I didn't want to miss your first wreck," Kelly laughed. David's parents shook their heads at the boys' dialogue, then his mom interrupted. "David, Chad called a little while ago." "Cool," David answered. Then he turned to his dad. "Can I take Kel for a ride?" "Well, the tags are still Richard's," his dad warned. "Just go out the road and back, away from town, and don't do anything stupid." "I won't," David agreed, shooting a grin at Kelly. They slid into the car, started it up and backed out of the driveway under the scrutiny of his parents. David backed onto the road, put the gearshift in Drive, waved to his parents, and slowly headed out the road. Kelly was looking around the inside of the car, "This is so cool, Dave. Your own car, man." "Yeah," David smiled. "But," Kelly snickered, "what a crappy radio." "Yeah, well, I need to get one. AM sorta sucks." The windows down, the two drove to where David could turn around comfortably, then started back. "So how's the little squirt?" Kelly asked. David laughed, "I babysat him and his sister last night. He's doing pretty good. I got twenty bucks for doing it." "Twenty bucks? I need to get a babysitting job," Kelly replied. "Well, we sorta had a problem, and I think his parents thought they had to make up for it." "What problem? Did ya set something on fire?" Kelly joked. David grinned, "Nah, nothing that major." "Well, what?" "Dunno if I can tell you or not," David admitted. "It's sorta personal." "Oh, okay, man, no sweat. Where we going?" David had turned into the Murray's driveway and was approaching the house. He saw the Murray's working in the front yard and grinned at their questioning stares. As he pulled to a stop, they realized who was driving, and grinned, walking over toward the vehicle. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Murray," David greeted them, getting out of the car. "You remember Kelly," he added gesturing toward the passenger seat. "Hi boys," Mr Murray answered, then said to Kelly, "I've heard about you, but nice to put a face to a name. So, this yours?" he asked, nodding toward the car. "Yeah, dad and I just fixed the front end this morning, and he let me take it for a drive." "Sounds like it needs some brake work," Mr. Murray said. "If the squeaking coming up the driveway is any clue." "Yeah, that's what dad said. Guess we'll take it somewhere, I don't know if he knows how to do that." "So, what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Mrs. Murray asked. "Well, mom said that Chad called. I sorta forgot we were doing the stuff to the car today, and I missed it." "Well, he and Alex are out in the woods somewhere. Probably getting into trouble," Mr. Murray chuckled. David and Kelly laughed. "Well, just tell him I stopped by, okay? We oughta be getting back. Dad and mom might think I wrecked or something." "I think I'll walk," Kelly finally joined in the conversation. "My nerves are shot." "See what I have to put up with? I'll babysit Chad anytime so I don't have to listen to this abuse," David laughed. Mr. and Mrs. Murray joined in the laughter, then David and Kelly got back in the car, ready to leave. "Just back up into the yard to turn around," Mr. Murray offered. "I don't think you'll want to back all the way down the driveway." David nodded, following the advice, and they were soon back out on the road. "They seem like pretty cool people," Kelly observed. "Yeah, I'm gonna set you up with Cindy." "Yeah, right, I'm already set up," Kelly snorted. "Oh reaaaalllllly? Do tell," David joked. "Just keep your mind on driving, I don't wanna die before my time," Kelly laughed. David goosed the gas a little, making the car jerk. "Oooops, sorry," he laughed. "Just get us back in one piece, will you?" "Your wish is my desire, oh Great One." "Yep, don't you forget it either." "How can I? You won't let me," David grinned. "Well, when you're good, you're good," Kelly answered smugly. David goosed the gas again, "Oh, really?" "You'd better stop that, we're getting close to your house." David concentrated on handling the car well as the came in sight of his house. His parents were still on the carport, waiting on his return. Pulling to a stop, he shut off the car and got out. Kelly jumped out of the passenger door and knelt on the ground. "It's finally over," he laughed. "Keep it up, Kel, and you'll ride in the trunk the next time." "Well," Kelly answered, thinking. "It might be safer." "Yeah, yeah," David scoffed. Then he turned to his parents, "Thanks for letting me take Kel for a ride." "Well, that's the last time until we get it inspected and your own tags and insurance," his dad informed. "Okay, when can we?" "Well, you probably won't be driving to school until the end of September," his dad replied. "And you ought to think about getting snow tires too." "I think I need a job," David responded wryly. ***************************************************************************** Well, some of you were probably expecting some hot sex between Chad and David. Life very seldom works out that way - contrary to some popular belief I read. :-) That's the problem with expectations, isn't it? But don't fash yourselves, Chad becomes a big part of the story. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback. email: fupduckmd@yahoo.com AIM and Yahoo: fupduckmd Fup