He knocked on the door through which was coming the music. He knocked several times but nobody answered. Then he put a hand on the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door. He looked inside: it was a large hall with crystal drops chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a larger one in the centre and four around it. The whole room was white with slight gold threading forming ornamented panels on the walls.
The floor was of shining white marble. On the walls were six rich curtains that looked like white velvet and that probably covered windows or doors. The hall was crowded with couples dancing to music that seemed to come from everywhere.
Norbert noticed that all the men wore white tuxedos and white shoes, while the ladies wore rich and elegant dresses of many colours. Each pair danced embraced, light and perfectly in rhythm - they seemed to slide on the floor, which reflected vaguely the figures, without ever hampering one or the other.
The boy took two steps forward, watching fascinated that scene like from a movie, and waiting to capture with his eyes the eye of someone, to give him a nod, to ask for hospitality, but nobody seemed to notice him.
He wondered what to do, if go and touch some of the guests to get noticed, whether call, say something...
It seemed that the men were all identical: young, slender, a serious expression on the handsome face, all the same height... the girls seemed instead different from each other and laughed, talked incessantly in a light buzz that rose above the music. Ladies and cavaliers seemed to stare in each other's eyes.
He took two more steps forward, moved closer to the couples who danced and, realizing that no one seemed to have noticed his presence or otherwise cared of him, he tried again to get noticed.
Aloud he said: "Sorry..."
Suddenly the music ceased and the couples stopped. All the faces turned to look at him. Norbert felt deeply uncomfortable for having interrupted the party, and to be watched by all those eyes. And suddenly he was acutely conscious of not being a good show, dressed as he was, wearing clothes soaked with water, his wet hair still dripping...
"Sorry..." he repeated more quietly and was almost surprised to hear his voice raise like a thousand soft echoes in the great hall with glittering lights.
He saw that the girls now were all serious, almost sullen. The young men instead seemed to have a more curious expression in the eyes.
"Sorry..." Norbert repeated, now almost in a whisper, slightly frightened and ashamed.
The ladies slowly receded, crowding on the opposite side of the hall, and they seemed to slip on the floor, because their long colourful skirts hid their steps.
The cavaliers instead moved forward to Norbert, forming a circle around him. Their faces were not hostile, seemed to actually assume an almost smiling expression.
"I regret having interrupted you..." Norbert said in an unsteady voice, feeling nervous, despite the expression of the young men was neither angry nor threatening.
"The fact is that there is a raging storm outside... and..."
Speaking hesitantly, he watched those young men and realized that his first impression that they were all identical was wrong. Perhaps the fact that they were all dressed the same way had given him at first that impression.
"... I've been lost in the forest..." continued feeling uncertain and slightly awed by the silence: none of the guests of the villa had still uttered a word.
Then Norbert noticed something that made him deeply surprised: incredibly, one of those guys looked like Shawn... and another like Joel... one Mike... one Frank... Then he saw another one that looked like the twin of Liam...
It was not possible, they would not even had time to prepare that joke... Then he recognized some of his other friends in the high school, and some of his young neighbours... He slowly turned around to look at them and now he seemed to recognize them all, from the first to the last.
There was the bartender of the campus, the son of the pastor, the younger brother of the constable, the baker's boy... There was the boy of the photocopy centre... one of the employees of the bank where he had the account... the tennis champion of his college... the postman who few days before had delivered him a letter...
He recognized the nurse of his dentist... a boy who attended some of his courses and with whom he exchanged a few words... the young guard who often stood at the entrance of the campus...
He looked towards the one who looked like Liam, and now he would swear that it was his friend that was smiling at him, keeping silent.
"Liam? What joke is this?" Norbert asked astonished.
Then he looked up and saw that the group of girls had disappeared: only a slight movement of one of the white velvet curtains made him imagine that they all went out. Uneasy, he looked again at the guys around him and realized that now they had tightened the circle around him, and were almost elbow-to-elbow.
He felt uneasy, despite all the faces were looking at him smiling. Perhaps those smiles and that silence put him even more ill at ease
"Hey, guys... what joke is this?" he asked uncertainly.
He looked towards the one who looked like... or maybe was really Shawn.
"Shawn? What the fuck is this?"
"Fuck... fuck... fuck..." he heard the echo of his voice.
"Fuck... fuck... fuck..." repeated in a soft tone all the boys around him, not moving, still smiling.
Then the lights seemed to flicker and fade somewhat, but not enough to make the scene less clear.
Norbert opened his mouth feeling deeply troubled: the white clothes of the boys around him seemed to become gradually transparent and Norbert could see more and more clearly the naked bodies appear under them...
"What... what..." Norbert muttered, feeling confused, disbelieving, unable to understand.
He saw the members of the boys appear more and more clearly under the clothes more and more transparent, he saw their smooth, hairless, and perfect breasts, their slender and elegant shapes... and saw the private members of the boys stand up, swell, pointing towards him, threatening but inviting... throbbing and hardening...
The clothes of the cavaliers were gone. A crowd, a compact wall of naked and excited bodies now surrounded him. Norbert turned around, made a complete turn and saw that everyone was in that state...
"Shit, what have you put in my food?" Norbert, who had never taken a drug in his life, asked alarmed.
Yet, as far as we knew, all his friends were clean, no one had ever used drugs. Only Liam once told him he drew a couple of drags of a joint of a friend, but he had also said that he had not liked it...
Increasingly uncomfortable, Norbert unconsciously rubbed his palms on the sides of his pants... and under his hands he felt only the bare skin of his hips.
He looked down and realized he was, he too, completely naked. And he felt he was getting a strong erection. Instinctively covered his genitals with both hands, feeling himself blush, and looked at the tight line of young men around him.
All were smiling, and were so sly, sensual, inviting... and one after another the boys began touching themselves, stroking in a sensual way, masturbating in front of him. Nobody touched his neighbour, each saw to excite his own body, rubbing his nipples, stroking his chest, belly, manipulating his genitals... and smiled, smiled, smiled...
Norbert stepped hesitantly toward the one who seemed to be Liam. The whole circle of bodies around him moved so that he was always the centre of it. It was like a fun game, a strange, absurd game. When Norbert turned and moved in another direction, also the circle of bodies around him moved without altering the distances.
Behind him he heard a whisper: "Norbert..."
He turned and a voice came from his back: "Norbert..."
"Norbert... Norbert... Norbert..." said the voices and he could never see who pronounced his name.
"Touch me..." said a soft voice behind him.
He turned again and another soft voice came from behind: "Kiss me..."
"Lick me..."
"Suck me..."
Norbert continued to turn around more and more confused, more and more upset.
"Let me go!" he almost screamed.
"No... Stay with us..."
"Let's have fun, come on..."
"I want to suck you..."
"Suck me..."
"You have a nice little ass..."
"I want you..."
"You want me?"
"Why don't you fuck me?"
Norbert continued to turn on himself, more and more confused, more and more upset.
"Enough! It's enough!" he shouted, "Let me out of here! What do you want from me?"
Almost in desperation, he threw himself toward one of the curtains: the circle of bodies opened before him and let him pass. Norbert, panting, reached the heavy curtain and pushed it aside: behind there was only a wall, not a door or a window as he had imagined.
He turned to face those guys. In belligerent tone he said: "I want out of here!"
"No... Stay with us... Come on, let's have some fun... you will like it, you got hard... Are we not beautiful? Choose one of us... Come with me..." whispered the voices of boys, one after the other, but Norbert could never see who was uttering those words.
"It's a nightmare! This is a nightmare! What you have done to me? Frank, please..."
"You want to do it, admit it... I saw how you looked at me... and smiled at me... Come on! You want to do it... you feel like doing it... you feel like doing it..." those voices continued to whisper and each time they seemed to come from the opposite side toward which he looked.
"I'm not a fagot, not I! Now, let me alone! Leave me alone!" Norbert almost shouted hysterically.
He moved, keeping his shoulders against the wall, without losing sight of them. He came to another curtain and pushed it aside: again there was only the wall behind it.
"I want to get out..." he almost groaned.
"Why... Come on, let yourself go... Do you not want to fuck me? You have a really nice cock... Your little ass is delightful... Let's do a good sixty-nine..."
Norbert realized that something had changed under his bare feet. He looked at the floor and now, instead of the polished surface of the marble, there was a thick, soft white carpet that went from wall to wall.
"Get down with me... let's touch each other... kiss me... caress me... let's made love... suck my dick... let's fuck..." the voices kept saying, quite obsessive.
Norbert almost jumped to the third curtain but also behind this was just the usual wall. He sought with his eyes the door from which he entered - he looked around, the four walls, but there were only heavy white velvet curtains.
Every time he moved, that compact wall of bodies moved with him, continuing to face him. They did not draw nearer nor receded. They continued to be all smiling, attractive, sensual, their eyes shining with lust.
"Norbert... let yourself go... You feel like doing it, admit it... You like looking at us, admit it... You are aroused, you've never been so hard... Let yourself go, Norbert..."
"I'm not a fag, I am not! Leave me alone! Stop it! Let me out of here!" now the boy shouted, frightened.
"But it is you who want it... you got a hard-on just looking at us... it is beautiful, come on, try it... choose one of us... we're here for you..." those voices that seemed to come from everywhere and from none in particular continued to whisper.
"Stop it, enough!" Norbert screamed and ran to raise another curtain - again a wall. He struck against it with his fists, but it was solid and hard as the others. He dropped the curtain and moved quickly to another.
"You are beautiful, Norbert... I like you... You want to do it, you too, you know... Come on, fuck me... Let me suck it... I like your little ass... Suck mine, make me cum..."
Norbert had the impression that the thousand lights of the chandeliers flickered, drawing evocative and sumptuous shadows from the muscles of the smooth bodies of the boys who continued to face him.
Keeping his hands on the wall, he slid up to another curtain, breathing heavily. He didn't even try to cover his throbbing erection. He just wanted out of there, had to go out of there.
He noticed that two of the boys were lying on the soft white carpet and began to make love. Norbert for a while looked them almost fascinated, then shook himself and tried to reach another curtain.
Two others, standing upright, rubbed their bodies against each other and kissed deeply, passionately. The moans of pleasure of the two couples rose soft and refracted in a thousand echoes in the walls of the large and luxurious ballroom.
The music began to play again lightly, and another couple of boys met and began to make love...
Norbert still groped a curtain after another, without success. He looked at the bodies of the boys who still faced him, then at couples who gradually formed and started making love here and there... Now, two were lying on their sides and were united in a passionate sixty-nine, and Norbert noticed that their faces were smiling...
Norbert thought he already made all the tour of the room, having tried all the curtains, and yet he knew that was impossible: there must be at least the door from which he had entered, and the one from which all the girls had disappeared.
"Stay with us, Norbert... Why are you running away? Let yourself go, come on... You want to do it, admit it..."
"No, I'm not a fag!" Norbert shouted, red-faced, angry.
"A fag... a fag... a fag..." the thousand echoes bounced.
He closed his ears with both hands, to no avail.
"Fag... fag... fag..." his voice kept repeating in his head, inside his brain.
"No!" yelled Norbert and the echoes ceased as if by magic, and heard again the music, now a bit stronger than before.
Like a fury he moved away another curtain to discover another part of the wall, then took it with both hands and tugged until he managed to make it fall on the ground. He ran to another curtain and pulled down that as well, again discovering another section of wall.
"Stop it... let yourself go... Let's make love... let's enjoy together... Aahh, aahh, ahhh, it is so good... I'm cuuuumming... Norbert, Norbert come on... take me... Let's kiss... Oohh, yeah, so... stronger... "
The voices blended, overlapped, and overtook him.
Norbert had already torn away half of the curtains, without finding the door.
He found himself in front of Shawn... or the one who looked like Shawn... and someone finally spoke, Norbert saw him articulate the words...
"Let's do a good sixty-nine, Norbert..."
"Fuck off, Shawn!" Norbert shouted flushed.
He started to nudge him with violence, but that guy was already out of reach and smiled with mischievous eyes, holding his hard member in his hand and shaking it toward him.
He looked at his face again and saw that it was not Shawn, but Liam... Amazed he looked around: Shawn seemed lost... Looked again at Liam and... now the guy who faced him and that was masturbating in front of him, had the features of Frank...
Norbert, feeling beside himself, rushed to another curtain and pulled violently that too.
"You can not run away from yourself, Norbert..." said a voice behind him.
He turned and saw two Joel, side by side, which together repeated him "You can not disconnect from yourself, Norbert..."
He didn't saw double - both Joel moved independently, as a pair of identical twins, one was masturbating, the other stroked his chest and belly and teased his erect nipples.
Norbert ran to another curtain and pulled it too.
"Let yourself go, Norbert, do not be silly..." he heard behind him.
Three stark naked Mike looked at him with a slightly humorous light in the eyes, and the music seemed to increase in volume.
Norbert closed his eyes and shook his head violently. When he opened his eyes, four Liam were facing him moving slightly almost like in a belly dance, strangely sensual and attractive.
"No, enough is enough! Stop!" Norbert almost sobbed looking away from the four images. "I'm not a fag!" almost screamed, and was surprised to hear the shrill, hysterical voice of his own.
"A fag... a fag... a fag..." seemed to mock him the echo that bounced from wall to wall, almost in rhythm with the louder and insistent music.
He rushed desperately to another curtain and tore it away with such violence as to fall on the carpet. Immediately he got up, fearing that one of those guys would try to go on top of him, but no one moved.
He looked around and where he before saw the four Liam, now there were five Frank that smiled inviting him with a lewd expression...
"Go away... leave me alone... You have doped me... What the fuck you want from me?" Norbert sobbed.
"Your cock..."
"Your mouth..."
"Your little ass..."
"Your hands..."
"Your body..." said the five Frank, one after the other.
Norbert tore the last curtain that fell and... and finally he saw a door, a white door with threads of gold and two naked boys with an erect member dashed with gold on both panels of the door.
He pulled them desperately, and they parted, and he finally was able to get out of the ballroom.