Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:06:32 +1300 From: bob charles Subject: Washed Up (Gay / Young friends) chapter 26 Washed Up. Disclaimer: Warning: this story contains sexual content, contact between young boys, and other themes that may offend. If the subject matter offends you, is not to your tastes, or if you are under legal age for your area, then find something else to read. In the following story all names and events are completely fictional. Although I may mention a specific location, place, or person any resemblance to said people, location, or places is completely unintentional. Chapter 26: The world suddenly explodes, or was it the whole universe? I'm not sure but it feels monumentally big, and causes us to moan loudly, well, scream would be a better word. Pierre makes one last lunge, driving his wildly twitching prick as far as he can inside me, which causes him to hit that thing that sends a nuclear explosion of the most wonderful and magical sensations tearing through my violently quivering body. My prick swells up like a balloon, before it erupts bigger than Mount St Helen's, shooting two or three good sized globs of cum high in the air, before arcing back and splattering all over me. It explodes with such force the first blob goes right over my head, and lands on the bed behind me. The same time my orgasm is ripping through me like a rocket going into space, Pierre is experiencing one just as earth shattering as I am. I can feel his prick swell up inside me, before it pulses, pumping out his red hot cum deep into my bowels. I can feel each jet as it blasts out, and it feels so wonderful having his seed fill me up even further. His is shuddering so violently as his climax takes hold of his body, that I'm surprised he can stay on his feet, but somehow he does for his orgasm at least. Our minds are blown away, out of this world, well out of this universe and beyond I would say. It is the most pure and perfect source of wickedly intense pleasure I have ever experienced and I know nothing will ever beat it. We stay in our high for what seems like ages, before we slowly come floating back down to earth, feeling like we are a leaves falling gently from a tree, we are coming down so slowly. Pierre starts buckling at the knees once his climax has receded enough, which ends up causing him to collapse onto me. His deflated and shrivelled up prick slips out of me with a plop as he collapses, leaving me feeling a little empty, but I'm too tired and worn out to worry too much about it, because there will always be another time. The only thing we have the strength and concentration to do, is pull ourselves onto the bed properly, wrap our arms around the other to hug them, and crash into the most magical night's sleep we have ever had. ************ The door to our rooms opens late in the morning, or it could be early afternoon for all we know, as we are still snuggled close together, fast asleep. Our glowing naked bodies are intertwined as we lie on top of the covers, because we had been too worn out last night to cover ourselves. Mum and François quietly enter the room after having opened the door fully. They aren't too surprised with what greets them, although we are glowing far more than usual, but mum is a little slow and doesn't work out why she has been greeted with such a sight. François realises right away what we had done, because of the magical aura encompassing our bodies. He has also spied the empty bottle of lube lying on the bed beside us. "Oh dear... um... I think we should come back later and give them more time to recuperate," François whispers, getting a confused look from mum at the same time, as she has yet to work out what has gone on. "Huh...? Why would they need to do that, because they got to bed early last night?" mum queries, still not clicking onto what François is implying. "Um... well... let's just say that they didn't get to bed as early as you think. On top of that I think they may have had some exercise last night," he replies, trying to make it clear what has gone on, without actually saying it. "What on earth makes you think they got some exercise, it's not like they have any gym equipment... hmm... oh... ahh... but Josh... never... you don't mean to tell me that they... um.. had sex, do you?" mum asks after it finally dawns on her what François was trying to tell her. Her face flushes bright red knowing what we had been up to, yet she still struggles to believe it. It isn't because she doesn't think Alice did a good job in helping me deal with my issues, but more because she still doesn't think I am ready to take the plunge. "Um... yes, but knowing those two, I don't think sex is quite the right word, because I think it was much more than that to them, especially when you take into account how they look now. I should have picked up on it yesterday, because thinking about it, there was something different about how they were together, but I don't think they even had a clue about how they were feeling, because I would have expected them to question us about things. Did you notice anything different about them, or is it just me trying to read signs that weren't there to start with?" he asks, desperately hoping she will agree with him. "Yeah, now that you mention it I did notice odd behaviour from them. When we left you and went for a stroll around the cemetery they suddenly started kissing, right out in open space, where anyone could see them. I thought it wasn't like them, especially how passionate and heated it was. I ended up flicking the back of Josh's head three or four times before he registered I was even there. I didn't think too much of it, just that something had happened and they were comforting each other... Do you think it went well, because I couldn't stand it if something went wrong, especially if Josh couldn't handle it?" mum asks. "Judging by the way they look everything went..." "Awesome mum, indescribably awesome," I say with a hoarse and croaky voice since I'm just awakening, interrupting François in the process. I had heard the last of what mum had said, but François had half answered the question before my brain caught up and made sense of it, otherwise I wouldn't have left it up to him to start answering the query. Instant relief comes over her face, and François's as well, because even he wasn't confident that we had a great experience. "I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, because it means you have got over all your issues from what your father did to you, more than any other reason," she says, but she isn't totally comfortable talking about this due to the nature of what we had done. Of course I don't notice this because I am still half asleep, but also the way I'm feeling doesn't help, since it is like I am high as a kite on the most wonderful drugs. "Yeah mum, it was the best thing ever. I know I'm over everything because I was the one who took..." "Josh, Josh, Josh, please, I don't want to know the details. I'm just glad that you didn't have any problems. I am happy that you are able to express your love that way, but I really don't want to know what goes on," she says with a very uncomfortable sounding voice. I had said a little more than she wanted to know, but what is now dawning on me is that it was a little more than I wanted to tell her, and as a result I'm feeling a bit embarrassed by it. "Oops, sorry mum, I didn't mean to say that much, but I'm feeling on such a high at the moment that I wasn't aware of what I was saying," I say in embarrassment. Despite the humiliation I had caused myself, my emotions are in good order. I didn't feel like crying, or throwing a tantrum or anything, just an overwhelming feeling of love for Pierre and everyone else around me. "It's alright honey, I can tell you aren't with it at the moment. Take your time to clear your head, and come over to my room when you are ready," she says soothingly, making my embarrassment fade away into oblivion within microseconds. Mum ruffles my hair and gives me a kiss on the forehead, before turning around and leaving the room. François also tousles my hair, but then does the same to my gorgeous sleeping partner, before he kisses his hand and places it on our foreheads and follows mum out of the room. I snuggle back up to Pierre as I'm not ready to get up yet, and the feelings I am still getting from him are the most magical ever, so I want it to last as long as possible. I feel miles too comfortable and in heaven being snuggled up close to Pierre, which causes me to fall asleep again. A good hour or so later, I slowly awaken again to the most beautiful sight in the world. Pierre is lying beside me, gazing into my eyes while I wake. They are smiling at me hypnotically, making it impossible to focus on anything else but him. Not that I want to anyway, but even if I did, I couldn't. They are so stunning I soon become lost in them, feeling all the love he has for me through them. I will be honest, and it isn't as great as what we experienced last night, but in its own way it can't be beaten. I'm looking right into the soul of my boyfriend and I can see part of me in there now. Maybe I'm hallucinating, but I'm sure I couldn't see it in there before, so maybe something more did happen last night, meaning our souls are now permanently connected. There had to be a reason for what happened last night, I knew it, but until now it didn't come to me. It wasn't a momentary uniting of our bodies and souls like I initially thought, it was a permanent fusion of them. A part of me is forever in my lover, and I know a part of him is also with me, because I can feel it. It is a wonderful feeling knowing we are permanently together, and will continue to be for the rest of our lives. Nothing will ever separate us now, because I feel that the bond our love has created is unbreakable, so will hold us as one through thick and thin. I know we have already been through more than we ever should have had to go through already, but I feel we could endure a whole lot worse and come out the other side stronger. This is meant to be and nothing can separate us now. "Good afternoon sleepy heads, it's good to see you both in the land of the living again. I don't mean to interrupt you, but I thought I'd tell you that François and I are going to go have a look at Pont D'Avignon. If you want to come along then I suggest you get up. Regardless of whether you're coming or not, you better take a shower, especially after what you got up to last night," mum says, after having quietly opened the door and entered without either of us noticing. Surprisingly she doesn't give us a fright as we are too absorbed in each other to jump when she started talking, but we both listened, despite it seeming like we are ignoring her. Pierre's eyes glow even brighter from hearing mum's plan for what's left of the day. He also becomes very excited about going to see the Pont D'Avignon, which makes me think that it holds a special place in his heart, because I haven't seen him this excited about anything so far. Well, aside from me that is. I can tell how important it is to him, when he releases me from our embrace and jumps out of bed. He then sees that I haven't moved a muscle, as it has all happened too quickly for me to have time to react, so he grabs my hands and pulls me off the bed. "Do you really think it is a good idea to take them anywhere while they are glowing the way they are?" François says jokingly from the doorway, before giving off a little chuckle. Pierre doesn't pay his uncle much attention, just enough to poke his tongue out at him, before hauling me away to the bathroom. The whole thing is a blur to me, because it has all happened so fast I'm struggling to keep up with it. "Well, I think they want to come with us then, at least Pierre is," mum says, chuckling with François at having seen Pierre's reaction. They are both surprised it is him who is so eager to go, because they realise he must have seen the sight a thousand times before, so neither of them thought he would be the one so desperate to see it. Instead they thought they would have got more of a reaction from me. I am excited to go, don't get me wrong, but I'm still trying to catch up with what is going on. I still haven't caught up on things by the time I've been dragged into a nice warm shower, and Pierre has started to wash me. I feel like I'm drugged up on the best drugs possible, which have the effect of numbing my brain, so I'm taking forever to get the picture of what's happening. By the time my mind has finally caught up to me, Pierre has finished washing me and started on himself. I'm not quick enough to be able to take the soap off him so I can repay the favour, not that he is going to let me either. He is too eager to go and see the place we are going that he wants to wash himself, just to ensure it gets done as quickly as possible. He only takes a couple of minutes to have himself washed and the shower turned off. He has to drag me out of it, along with dry me, because I am still unable to keep up with him. Also I like feeling helpless and having him do everything for me, especially given the amount it means he has to touch me all over my body. I know he does anyway, but it feels oddly special being unable to keep up with him, so I couldn't do it myself. His hands are always so tender and soft when he does anything to me, almost like he thinks my skin is delicate and precious, and is scared of breaking me. It makes me feel special, but I also understand why he treats me so wonderfully, because I do the same for him. Well, at least I hope I do, because I try to treat him like a god, the same as the way he makes me feel. Before I know it, he has lovingly dried me, along with himself, and is dragging me back to the main room. Of course we have both been completely naked this whole time and not thought a thing about it, even though mum is in the room. Surprisingly given all the attention I have received, my dickie is still limp, and is bouncing around while I get dragged along. Pierre's is bouncing around too, as he walks hurriedly back into the main room, so he can get dressed. I don't even know why the fact of us being naked even came up in my head, because mum has got so used to it now, that she doesn't care. It has never bothered François either, so it is another case of me overthinking things. I am not really overthinking it, because I have not got myself worried or wound up about it; it was just a random thought that entered my head. I think it popped up because Pierre is doing everything for me, but it is still like I'm on drugs, so anything that I do think about seems to be strange random stuff. I try to stop the random thoughts meandering in my mind, by focussing on what is going on around me. Instantly I feel like the odd one out, due to the fact I'm now the only one standing in the buff. Pierre has already put clothes on without me noticing in the slightest, due to being caught up in strange random thoughts, and concentrating more on his beautiful face than what he was doing. He has put on a lightweight light blue polo shirt, with black rugby league shorts, but I can tell that this time he must have undies underneath, because they are shorter than usual which means if he wasn't then they wouldn't hide all he has down there. In his hands he is holding another set of clothes, which after a couple of moments I work out are mine. Pierre doesn't even bother to give me time to get dressed, because he is so excited about where we are going that he takes it upon himself to dress me as efficiently as he can. He puts my head through the appropriate hole of my plain red tee shirt, after which he sets about dressing my lower half, leaving me to get my arms through the arm holes to get it on properly. He lifts one leg at a time and guides my feet through the holes of some briefs, before pulling them up my legs. He just can't help but to give my pecker a little tug before covering it up with the plain black briefs he figured I should wear. I soon know why when he pulls some black league shorts up my legs and over the briefs, because they feel like they are a couple of sizes too small for me. Without the briefs they really wouldn't cover anything, they are that small, but they feel comfortable enough and my love picked them, so there is no way I would resist having to wear them. Pierre stands back and admires the results, tweaking little bits here and there until he is happy. I'm almost sure he did more than needed, just so he could grope me a little, but hey, I enjoyed it so wasn't going to complain. Once he has finished and is happy with the results, he sets off in search of some footwear, which I decide I had better do as well. My mind has finally caught up to me, so I'm starting to get Pierre's enthusiasm and excitement rub off on me. Don't ask me how or why, but after an extensive search for my jandals I finally find them in the bathroom, which has me stumped as to how they got there since I don't remember ever having worn them in there. I slip my feet into them, before deciding to check out myself in the mirror. I'm surprised at just how tiny these shorts are, because the entire length of my legs can be seen, right up to the bottom of my butt. Pierre had also tucked in my shirt, which feels a little odd since I haven't done that since I was like maybe five. The result almost makes me look like a bit of a geek with the way my shorts are riding so high, except it is obvious I am not deliberately giving myself a wedgie because I have the waistband of the shorts at the normal height which most kids wear it. I'm not far from giving myself a wedgie, but that is because they really are tiny, and I'm half starting to wonder whether they might be Callum's or Manuel's shorts, as they look about the right sizing for them. All in all I actually think I look quite sexy with the way Pierre has dressed me, even if a little on the geeky side, but he is dressed the same way so I'm happy with the way we look. I head back out to the others, who are now waiting for me at the door. Pierre sees me coming, so pokes his butt out at me and wiggles it around. I almost pop a boner right then, because I can see the bottom of his bum due to the way his shorts and briefs ride up. He looks sexy the way he is doing that, and it is starting to take control of my hormones, meaning I have to try everything I can to stop springing a stiffie. Inevitably I lose the battle, but it reminds me I am wearing briefs, so I don't have anything to worry about. I try to reposition my boner in my briefs as coyly as I can, as to not arouse unwanted attention. The briefs do their job in keeping my stiffie up against my body, but the shorts are that tight on me that I can still make out the bulge it is producing. Oh well, not much more I can do about it, so I continue to head over towards the others who are now leaving the room. Pierre waits for me to catch up before he goes out the door, because he wants to be able to hold my hand for a little while, before we end up out in public. I get flooded by beautiful loving sensations as Pierre takes my hand, and almost feel like I'm being doped up again. We follow the other two out of the room, closing the door behind us, hoping it is locked as neither of us can be bothered checking while we gather in the hallway. Mum and François have continued on towards the stairs, not bothering to wait for us because they know we will catch up eventually. Since they aren't looking at what we are doing I decide some payback is in order for what Pierre had done to me. I reach down and grope his crotch which causes him to gasp. He is already hard as a rock which disappoints me a little as I was hoping to get him in that state myself. "Hehehe, I've been hard since washing you in the shower. You really have been out of it today, haven't you?" he whispers in my ear in a cheeky and mischievous tone. "Huh...? Ummm... yeah I have... I suppose," I reply dumbfoundedly, after realising just how out of it I have been. I mean I can't believe I missed something like that, as I idolize him too much to miss such large details. He means the world and more to me, yet I haven't paid him the attention he deserves. "It's alright, I've been feeling much the same way. It wasn't until your mum said where we are going that I started to come out of the trance I was in. The place means so much to me that I can't wait to see it again," he says excitedly. I can see from looking into his eyes how important going to this place is to him. It almost seems to be as important as visiting his parents' graves ended up being. There must be some special connection between Pierre and his family at it, because I can't think of any other reason why he would get so excited about seeing it. He senses how I'm feeling so wraps me up in a warm loving hug to reiterate that he isn't worried about how unobservant and distant I have been today. The hug instantly reminds me why I've been this way, as I quickly get overrun by the most magical feelings, drugging me up all over again. I am full of pure and unadulterated love for my boyfriend, which has become like a drug to me. I can't get enough of being with him, and I hope this never wears off. It is pure bliss and something I wouldn't trade for anything, as I know it is something I won't experience with another living soul. Time always seems to pass us by far too quickly when we are like this, so before we realise it we must have been hugging for a good ten minutes. "Thank you for not taking offense at the way I've been acting, cos I really do love you... We should go though and catch up to mum and François, who are probably wondering what the hell is taking us so long," I say, still in a dream-like state. I give him a quick tender loving peck on the lips. "I love you and that is all that matters, so I'm not worried when you are in this sort of state. After the magic of last night I expect it, and honestly if your mum hadn't brought up where they were going I would still be like you are... anyway you're right and we had better catch up with them, because I've long since forgotten how to get there so we don't want to get lost," he says. I can feel the love behind every word flow through me along with his heart and soul behind it. He releases me from his embrace momentarily, before he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into him. I do the same to him out of instinct, because I'm not consciously aware of doing it. It is about as close as we can get to each other and still walk freely at the same time, but it feels as wonderful as anything else we do. I have no concerns or worries about what people are going to think when we go outside like this. Yes, I'm not planning on letting him go unless we absolutely have to, because I have become totally comfortable with the idea of showing the public how much I love the boy next to me. Screw them if they don't like it, as I feel if adults are allowed to do it, then so should we. I know this is in contrast to how I was yesterday, but last night has had such a pronounced effect on me that my love for Pierre tops anything else. I'm not saying I'm going to go overboard with it, because kissing in public I realise is still not a good thing to do. Not so much because we are still kids, but homophobia is the main problem, and I know people don't tolerate two people of the same sex kissing yet. Holding Pierre in an affectionate embrace should be alright, because it isn't like we are flaunting our affection and shoving it down peoples' throats. No, all we are doing is showing each other how much we care, nothing more, nothing less. It is a little less inconspicuous than holding hands, I know, but I don't think it is over the top in any way. It feels good too, which is another reason I'm going to continue to hold him, because it is far too hard to let him go. Even with how awkward it is for us to maintain our embrace while going down the stairs, both of us ensure to keep a firm grip so we don't let the other go. We get a bit of a funny look from the lady at the reception desk, but I think it is more because we are two kids wandering around with no parents to be seen, as mum and François aren't waiting for us in the lobby. Noticing this has us a little worried that they may have gone on without us, but we continue along in the hopes they are outside the front door. Getting through the front doors is easier than I expect given the embrace we are in, but on going through them and out into the scorching hot sun, we still don't see mum and François. They aren't waiting for us at the entrance, or down on the sidewalk. We stroll out on the sidewalk and take a good looking around, feeling anxious about them having ditched us. We look in both directions and don't see them anywhere, resigning us to the fact they have gone because we took too long. I feel gutted, not so much because I wanted to see it, but more as I know it holds a special place in Pierre's heart. Reminding myself of that, makes me determined to take him there, with or without mum and François, so I decide to go back inside and ask the lady at the reception for directions. As we turn around to head back inside, something catches my eye. Across the street in the huge courtyard I see them sitting on a park bench talking. We instantly feel extremely dumb, because we hadn't even thought about looking across the street since we figured they would have waited for us somewhere close to the hotel. I guess they are still pretty close, but there is a street between us and them, which for most kids is a natural barrier anyway. What is it we kept getting told when we were younger? Not to cross the road without an adult, well I guess the advice sort of stuck, because naturally we don't look across them when looking for someone now. I suppose though, we are at the age where those rules aren't so stringent, meaning we have to take into consideration that a road is no longer a barrier. As soon as we get a big enough gap in the traffic, we scurry across the road and head towards the bench mum and François are sitting on. I don't think they have been waiting around too much for us, more like they are enjoying being outside in a nice relaxed environment. I say this because they aren't even taking any notice of what is happening around them, let alone keeping an eye on the hotel to see whether we are coming yet or not. Instead they are too engaged in conversation, so don't notice us at all until we are standing right in front of them. Even then we stand there for a good ten seconds before they realise someone is there, making me think they were in no rush at all and weren't really expecting us any time soon. "Did you get everything sorted? We figured that you needed a little space to get your head back on, and by the looks of it you have. Although I must say you both still look like you're high as kites," mum says a little mockingly. I know she is joking around, while fishing for a bite from me, but I'm not going to give her the satisfaction. I keep my mouth shut, not that I could think of anything to counter her with anyway because she is right and I am still feeling like I'm on the most unbelievable high. "Right, should we go then? If we don't leave soon then it will be dark before we know it. As it is, it is already... shit... 3:30," François says, as he looks at his antique gold watch on his wrist. Pierre and I stare at it in disbelief and admiration. We can't believe we hadn't noticed the beautifully crafted piece of jewellery. We don't get a chance to ask him about it as he and mum both use the chance to stand up and start to wander off in the direction we need to go in. Pierre and I don't notice them leave at first, because we are standing there like stunned mullets. We soon realise they have walked off, so shake our heads, trying in vain to get them working properly before catching up to them. Thankfully they haven't got far, so we don't need to try to run in order to catch them. All that is required is a short brisk walk, and we are back alongside them, trying to act completely natural. It doesn't work because I can hear them both trying to stifle their giggles, but it doesn't bother us. My mind is a little occupied with a couple of things which are pestering me; one is I can't believe mum hasn't said anything about the way Pierre and I are embracing each other, but I am enjoying that for a change. The second is I still can't understand how I missed the watch François is wearing; normally I'm more observant than that. "Uncle, where did you get that watch, as it looks like one of daddy's?" Pierre asks. He has suddenly realised that he has seen a similar looking watch before; one his dad used to wear on special occasions, but he isn't entirely sure that it is the same one, because it has been years since he last saw it. It suddenly dawns on me, that I too have seen that watch before, at what was probably the last time Pierre's dad wore it. The funeral for Pierre's mum, it is the same one his dad had been wearing in the flashback I had witnessed. It is the same one, I'm sure of it, but why has François got it? He must have acquired it recently, as I am confident now that he hasn't worn it before. "Your father gave it to me at the funeral of your mother. He wanted me to take care of it until you were old enough to inherit it. At the time I was going through a lot, as I was so much in debt... it was about the same time I lost the house... so I had your dad open up a safety deposit box for it here, where we both had to sign for it in order to get it out. You see, your father was in tatters, and worried about doing something stupid and losing it, so he didn't want to take any risks. It had been in his family for generations, and he wanted to see it stay that way, so we both did what was best at the time. With your father dead, we had to arrange for your dad's lawyer to act on his behalf so we could get it out, which is what we did this morning. When I feel the time is right I will give it to you, but until then I will look after it," he tells Pierre, but at the same time he is filling me in along the way. I had forgotten how much he had been through recently, and this was a reminder of how tough Pierre's family have had it in recent years. It saddens me knowing how bad they have had it, because it makes me feel like I have had it easy. To a certain extent over the last two or so years I have, because everything I had been through occurred before that, except for the trial, but that was nothing compared to this. Pierre and François had been through hell, but thankfully both have made it out the other side relatively unscathed. There is still a little more mending to be done for them, a lot like me, but I know we will all fully recover from the horrors of the past. As it is we have come a long way in such a short period of time, so we will get over it. All that is left now for us to heal fully is tying up the loose ends, such as Pierre's father's watch and visiting the Pont D'Avignon, because they have their place in the grand scheme of things; little pieces of important information which are going to help them accept the cards they have been dealt. I know they are both realising that, even though things have been truly horrible for them, the cards have all fallen perfectly into place. I feel the same, because what has happened has all led to this point, which is the start of a new beginning for both families, although in some ways it doesn't feel like the start just yet, more the end. Something is missing for it to be the start of a new life, and not only that but we still have pieces of our old life to fix up before we can move on. I feel that is what today is for Pierre and François; the last pieces of the puzzle for them to finish off with the old and restart afresh. I know my chapter won't end until we are back in New Zealand so I can find out about my dad, and the same goes for Sarah and Callum. Mum is a little different, although she too needs to understand about what went so horribly wrong with dad, but I feel there is more to finish off her story. I don't know, but I almost feel I'm forgetting something. Something big which I know will be the turning point from old to new, but for the moment I'm going to forget about it and help Pierre and François finish off their chapter as best as I can. On our way to the Pont D'Avignon we have to go through the city walls, but before we do mum leads us off towards an information board, telling us about the history of the walls. The board is nicely designed and very informative, with a few pictures of the city wall taken at various spots. The history behind it isn't quite as I expected, as it isn't a Roman built wall like I originally thought. The Romans did build a wall back in the first century, but that was almost completely razed when Avignon capitulated to Louis XIII, the king of France back in 1226, after a three month siege of the city. He then ordered the moats to be filled in and formal restrictions to stop the city reconstructing the walls for five years. In 1234 construction began to rebuild the walls thirty to forty metres beyond the ruins of the old ones. Construction lasted until 1237, but in 1355 Pope Innocent VI started a new phase of construction in order to encompass the settlements which had spread outside the existing walls and these are the walls standing today. The perimeter of the walls measures about 4330 metres and encloses around 71 hectares or 172 acres of land. The walls are about 8 metres high and garnished with the standard battlements and arrow slits of the time, along with 50 high and 35 smaller intermediary towers, of which most are square or rectangular in shape, although there are three circular ones as well. It goes more into the history of the crusades and the era of the popes, but I was impressed enough with the basics. I can't get over how large scale the construction of the walls were, and yet only took three years to complete, and they didn't have the technology we do today. I am still struggling to understand the need for such fortifications as I can't really envisage what life must have been like back then, because we haven't been taught about it at school, not that I would have been paying attention if it had. All I remember is getting taught about New Zealand's history, and we never needed anything like this. There were the odd coastal defences set up during the world wars, but even they were pretty half arsed, because no-one believed there was ever much threat of us being invaded, so were just enough to appease the citizens. I amaze myself at times with the amount I do know about things, and soon realise how much mum has helped me despite my lack of effort at school - all the small excursions to places like this, is where I have been able to explore and learn from my own curiosity and exploration. I think I have learnt far more from what she has done, and as much as I hate to admit it, dad as well, because he had been teaching me the same way when he could. Even when things started to get turned upside down because of his problems, there were days where he would still take us places to learn things, but they became few and far between, much like him being in a good mood. The two of them taught me the way I feel all boys should be taught, through adventure and discovery. I know what we are doing today isn't really either of those, but it is being out here and being able to see what I'm learning about. It is so much easier to understand what I am reading about when I can see it, then allow my imagination to tell me the rest of the story, so being here and trying to imagine what went on during the construction of these walls, has taught me far more than I would have ever learnt reading a textbook. It makes me wonder whether mum should home school us for the rest of our childhood, because I have learnt more from her, and dad, than I ever did at school. I know Callum has benefited greatly from these excursions too, and learnt heaps, which reinforces my idea of being home schooled. The only thing that I know mum is no good at is math, but I'm sure we can work our way around that problem. Pierre has also learnt a great deal, even about Avignon through the activities we have done in the short time we have been here. I know this because I feel it every time he learns something new, although I can't explain how I feel it, but I do. I know when we first arrived he was so looking forward to being able to teach us about his home town, but now I think he has learnt as much about the city as we have. I suppose sometimes it takes a tourist's point of view to see things which locals don't, as they take it for granted since they think they can see it any time they like. Yet again I get so engrossed in my musings I fail to notice what is going on around me. That is until Pierre pulls me in the direction everyone is heading, causing me to stumble from suddenly losing my footing. I feel a little sheepish once I have gained my footing, along with my composure, well, as much of it as I can regain. I can't believe how lost in my thoughts I get, and each time I swear that I'm going to pay more attention, but it never happens. Today is worse than usual, as I am still feeling doped up as a result of last night's magical experience, but I'm definitely not going to complain about that. Mum and François lead us further along the wall until we get to a large tower, which looks a bit different than all the rest. It stands a lot higher than the wall, and looks like it is taller than most of the other towers we have seen, but the main difference is it is wider and thicker than all the others. It has a circular turret on each corner, sticking out from the wall a little, but what seems strange to me is there are no battlements or slits in the fortification, making me wonder if it had a different primary purpose. The sheer size and scale of the fortification makes it stand out and hard to miss, but it fits in with the wall and other towers due to being made from the same stonework. The most unusual thing I notice about it, is there is a door in the structure, but it isn't at ground level. No, it is about halfway up the front wall with a ramp leading to it. As we wander along the ramp to go inside the structure I slowly work out what it is. The biggest key is the three heavy duty chains that stretch from high above the entranceway down to connect with part of the ramp. Most of the ramp is built of bricks, with some sort of cobblestone roadway, but just before you go inside it changes to a smooth thick oak timber surface, which I realise is a door. The structure is a drawbridge, allowing people to come and go, back before parts of the wall were removed to make roads, but also stopped unwanted people from gaining entry to the city. The knowledge has me stumped though, as I thought we were going to see a bridge, not a drawbridge. Pierre's expression doesn't help my way of thinking either, because he looks as confused as I am, and I know there is something special about the bridge to him, so he should know where we are going, right? Once we get to the entrance mum has to pay an admittance charge, which I presume goes to the upkeep of the structure, maybe the walls as well. Once the money has been paid we are given the go ahead, so creep into the dark gloomy interior of the building. It amazes me how dark it is inside given there are open doors at each end, but aside from the light seeping in through those there is no other form of lighting. The best part of being in the building is it is cool, offering a little respite from the searing hot temperatures outside, although I know it will only last until we get to the other end. It doesn't take long to reach the other doorway, but still long enough for our eyes to adapt to the dark, so we are temporarily blinded the moment we get back out into the bright sunshine. Once our eyes have adjusted I get a clearer view of where we are, and it doesn't help a lot. We are on an old narrow roadway above ground level, which stretches out into the distance before it looks like it comes to a complete stop. About halfway along the road it narrows even further as it passes a building built onto the side, so I move over to the right-hand side railing and peer over the edge. We are on a bridge that passes right over the main road which follows the city walls, but a bit further on it makes its way out onto the river where the building I can see is standing. It is built on the support column between the second, and I assume third arches. I have to say assume, because I can't see past the building to tell if there are any more arches after it, but because the bridge continues past the building I think it is safe to say that there is. The building and the bridge are made of the same looking stone, but I think it is from a different source than what was used to construct the city walls and fortifications. The building intrigues me a lot because it seems to float on the water because of the way it was designed, and I can also see a staircase running from the roadway down to the door on the lower level. From the distance I can't work out what the purpose of the building is, but I know I'll find out shortly. We wander away from the entrance to the drawbridge tower to allow other people to pass us freely, because we had been partially blocking the door. We stop once we are about in the middle of the first arch, so directly above the centre-line of the busy road. We stand there for a couple of minutes watching the traffic pass underneath us, along with appreciating the beauty of the area. From this vantage point we get a great view along the banks of the river and across the other side. After the couple of minutes mum hands both Pierre and I and pamphlet, which gives the history as well as some facts about the Pont St Bénezet, aka Pont D'Avignon. "Is this it, the Pont D'Avignon?" Pierre asks, confusing the hell out of me, mum and François. We all presumed he knew all about it with the way he had been acting this morning, so don't understand why he asked if we were there. "Huh... I thought you'd been here before?" I say baffled, and trying to understand how he can have so much connection to a place he hadn't been to. "Um... yes and no... I mean, I've never been on the bridge itself... it will be easier to explain a little later," he replies a little uncertain of himself. He knows what he means but can't quite put it into words as it is more something he has treasured than something he has physically been to and experienced like this. "Well... we will let you lead the way, so you can find what you need to in order to let us know why this place means so much to you. You were so excited this morning about coming here that we want to understand why," mum says, hoping he does know what he is looking for. Pierre nods his head and then heads off in determination. He knows exactly where he needs to go and what he is looking for, which I never had any doubt about. I am just confused about how he couldn't know this was it, because he obviously knows a lot about the bridge. I have to hurry along with him, since we are still embraced in our hold and I don't want to let him go no matter how fast he is walking. The result of deciding this is I stumble along for the first few steps because he left in such a hurry that I wasn't prepared for it, but I soon get my footing under control and walk along with him. Strange to think that this is probably the first time today we have walked side by side, because all the rest of the time he had pretty much been dragging me along since my mind wasn't working well enough to keep up with anything. We walk past the building without any hesitation, so I don't get any chance to inspect or explore it, leaving me a little disappointed. I'm hoping we get the chance on the way back because the place fascinates me, so I want to find out why it is there. I suppose I could read about it in the pamphlet, but I would rather be exploring it at the same time. I don't get any chance to read it anyway since we are walking along the bridge at a great rate of knots. We walk all the way to the end, allowing me to see why it seemed to finish so abruptly. Pierre scans the other side of the river, looking for something I have no idea about, but I use the time to examine the end of the bridge. To me it looks like it has collapsed or something, but I don't get a chance to read about it to see what had happened. "Over there, by that small clearing in the trees. If you look closely you will just be able to see a stone house. That is where I used to live, so I was able to see the bridge any time I liked," he says excitedly once he finally finds what he is looking for. I can see where he is talking about, but I still don't understand why the bridge holds a special place in his heart, because the place I lived in Auckland had a view of a grand old building, but it doesn't mean anything to me now. "That's cool, but what is so special about the bridge?" I ask. "Pierre, does this have anything to do with the nursery rhyme Sur le Pont D'Avignon?" François asks, before he has a chance to answer my question. "Yes uncle, it does. Every evening before it was time for me to go to bed, mum and dad would take me out on the back lawn by the river's edge, and we would all sing it. It was always the three of us, because dad always ensured he got home in time for our evening ritual. I know he was extremely busy at times, but always made the effort because it was our favourite time of the day. It was family time, where we would all cuddle together and enjoy the time together. It is my best memory from my time with mum and dad, but the reason I am so excited to see it is because mum was going to finally bring me here on my birthday. We were supposed to meet up with dad about mid-afternoon, until the day was tragically cut short, so I'm happy to finally come and see it up close, especially knowing mum and dad are with me," he says emotionally. I can feel the waves of different emotions he is going through surging through me, but what I find so touching about what he told us is how something so simple can be the most memorable thing. I never had anything like that, well, I lie. The times I remember best of all are when we used to do things as a family, but I still had nothing quiet as simple yet unique and special. All my memories were about going to the beach and learning to surf, or becoming a junior life guard, but nothing like sitting around as a family and singing songs while enjoying the tranquillity of outdoors life in the evening. Even at Christmas we never just gathered around and sang songs, and it is something I would love to experience as I'm sure it makes you feel a lot closer to your family. "Mum, see that park over there, can we go there tonight and do what Pierre is talking about...? You know sitting there as a family and singing that song? I want Pierre to enjoy it one last time, as well as being able to experience it myself... also do you think there is any chance of getting the rest of the family over, Manuel's grandparents included? I just want all our family here for this," I ask pleadingly, almost to the stage of dropping to my knees and begging. It sounds so wonderful I'm desperate to experience it, and I can tell how much Pierre likes my idea because he wraps me up in the most loving hug, while crying on my shoulder in happiness. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, but I'm not going to make any promises about getting the others here. I will try, but regardless of whether or not the rest can come, we will still do it," she says, making Pierre and me yell out in celebration, even if a little prematurely as we are excited about all the family being here, despite knowing it may not happen. I have a cunning plan to help with that though. "Mum, when you ring ask to talk to Callum and Manuel first," I say, getting a wicked smile in response. Mum instantly picks up on my evil plan, and nods her head to tell me that is exactly what she is going to do. I figure that if the two youngsters know about our plans for tonight, then they will drive everyone crazy until they get their way and come with us. I know it is a bit mean and nasty, especially to Manuel's grandparents, but I have to have my little brothers with me because without them I don't have my full family. I should include Sarah as well, but she isn't as good as the boys at getting over excited about things, and it is that reaction I'm relying on. "I will call them now, so while I do that, why don't you go and explore and learn as much as you can about the bridge?" she asks, not expecting any answer, which is good because we disappear as soon as she said it. I look back briefly as we head towards the building, just to ensure mum is keeping her word and ringing Manuel's grandparents. Sure enough she is, using the cell phone the victim protection agency gave her, which makes me wonder whether she should be using it now or not. I suppose technically we are still in the program until we get our final debrief upon entry back in New Zealand. It's the least of my concerns at the moment, as all I care about is this evening and mum convincing everyone else to join us. She seems to be doing her part so I'm happy, and I turn around to focus on getting to the building without tripping over. The building has a large arch as the entrance, and above it is what looks like was a bell tower, as it looks similar to a tower you see on small older churches. Whatever it was it isn't any more, because there is no back to it, so it is literally just a façade. It stands above the slate roof of the building, but isn't thick enough to have any real purpose other than to make the building resemble a church, so I'm stumped as to why they bothered to build it since it must be a weak point of the building. I decide to have a look at the pamphlet for the first time and find out what this building is all about, and it is as I thought, a type of church, well, chapel to be precise. The chapel is where the bridge's designer St Bénezet was interred after he died. It is called the Chapel of St Nicholas, the patron saint of the Rhone boatmen, who worshipped here up until the eighteenth century. It was then they decided to build a new chapel at the foot of the bridge on the Avignon side, due to increasing concerns of the safety of the building because of its dilapidated state. After reading up about the bridge itself I'm amazed they continued to worship here for so long, because the bridge had well and truly decayed by then. The history of the bridge I find far more interesting than that of the chapel, and it has quite a history. It was originally built between 1177 and 1185, but it is believed the first bridge was a wooden superstructure on top of stone piers, unlike the one we are one now which is entirely made of stone. The reason for this was because during the siege of Avignon by Louis XIII in 1226 the bridge was extensively damaged. It had been rebuilt by 1234, but this time they built it entirely of stone. The arches - which are elliptical in shape as it allowed for a longer span than the Roman arches - often collapsed and had to be rebuilt. During the seventeenth century the bridge finally fell into disrepair when four arches had collapsed by 1644, before a catastrophic flood in 1669 swept most of the remaining structure away, leaving only four remaining arches standing. After having read all that it amazes me that the four arches are still standing to this day, and haven't collapsed or been washed away. We have a good explore around the chapel, taking in as much as we can, and learning as much as possible from our study of the building and bridge, along with the drawbridge tower. It is great being able to explore on our own, and not have mum breathing down our necks. I know she has taught me a lot with the way she explored with us, but the freedom I believe allows us to learn far more than we would have under her control. The main reason for that is we aren't restricted to where we can go, and we make the most of that. We don't do anything which is too dodgy like climbing over the guard rails, but we push the boundaries enough to end up in places we probably shouldn't be in. It is so worth getting dirty and messing up our clothes, because we saw some things most people never see as they are too scared to go places which look a little dodgy. Before we know it we have been exploring for an hour, whilst mum and François are looking for us since it is time we headed away. I suppose, especially given what I planned for the evening, we need to go soon, and by the looks of Pierre and I we need to get cleaned up before we head back out. We are covered from head to toe in grime, dust and anything else we have crawled, climbed or walked through during our exploration. Mum doesn't look too impressed with us when they finally locate where we are, because she hadn't planned on having to make a trip back to the hotel. I can see she still doesn't want to despite how dirty we are, not that we are too concerned as we look at each other and crack up laughing at how the other looks. "Right you dweebs, François is going to take you for a walk over to the park, as we figure it should take you just as long to get there as it is going to take me. I will head back to the hotel to pick up the van, then I will go and pick everyone up, before grabbing something for dinner and meeting you at the park. I would suggest that somewhere along your walk you two jump into the river and try to clean yourselves as well as you can. The sooner you do it the more likely your clothes will dry out, but you are not allowed to jump off this bridge," she says, destroying my plans before I even had the chance to come up with them. She knew I would have thought about jumping off the bridge, so ensures she gets in first and stops me doing it. I am a little disappointed because it would have been so much fun, but there is always another time, right? Pierre and I nod our heads, because there isn't anything else we can do. I mean we could say yes mum, but what's the point as we haven't got any say in the matter. Mum has the plans all made up so there is no deviating from them now, so all we can do is acknowledge that we understand them. Aside from the whole not being allowed to jump off the bridge thing, her plans sound fine to me, although I would have loved to help pick up everyone from the train station. I realise that idea is unfeasible since I presume Manuel's grandparents have come along too, so there won't be enough room in the van for all of us. Well at least not without a tight squeeze. With that said and everyone understanding the plan, we all leave the bridge and start to head on our way. We say goodbye to mum pretty much as soon as we get off the ramp leading up to the drawbridge tower, since she is going straight back to the hotel while we go in a different direction. François, Pierre and I head along the wall towards the gate which the road comes through, before leaving the walled city and trying to find a safe place to cross the busy road so we are on the river side of it. It takes a little while before we are able to cross the road because it is extremely busy being around rush hour, but we do so and safely which is the main thing. Almost as soon as we have crossed the road Pierre and I run straight into the river and plunge under the water. We don't stray too far from the river bank as we are unsure of how strong the current is, so ensure to be in shallow water. The water is deep enough to be able to completely submerge ourselves if lying down, but only just. It is beautifully nice and cool, especially compared to the scorching air temperature, so we feel instantly refreshed being in it. Thankfully for us, given we are supposed to be cleaning ourselves, the river bed isn't muddy or silty, so we are able to wash ourselves pretty well. It is so nice and pleasant I wish I could spend the rest of the day in there, but I know we have a long walk, well, it at least looks like it, so we only have a quick splash around while washing off the dirt. François continues to walk along the sidewalk towards the nearest bridge, not bothering to slow down or wait for us. I know he is reminding us to have a quick splash, but it is hard to do as we are supposed to because the water is so refreshingly cool we don't want to leave. The longer we take the further ahead François gets, so after a while we decide we have been in there too long and scramble back to dry land. By the time we have got out of the river and inspected each other to make sure we are as clean as we are going to get, François is a long way ahead of us. We don't muck around too long before we race each other to see who can catch him first, so sprint off in a mad dash towards our target a good five to six hundred metres in front of us. It is during this run I am glad for the clothing Pierre chose for me, because it is lightweight, dries quickly, but most importantly doesn't weigh me down even though they are waterlogged. The other thing I'm glad about is the length of the shorts, because if I had been wearing the knee length ones I like, then they would be rubbing against the back of my knees and causing a sore chafe mark. They aren't bad so long as the shorts are dry, but those knee length ones are horrible to run in when they are wet, let alone completely saturated. The only problem I have with the shorts I'm wearing is as I suspected, they are at least a couple of sizes too small. This means I can't get in a full stride without fearing them ripping on me, as well as the possibility they will chafe my upper thighs. The good thing is Pierre has the same problems with his shorts, but it allows me to have a good perv at his perfectly shaped butt as he runs slightly in front of me. I can see why he wanted me in such tight shorts, because I figure mine must be doing the same as his are, and that is clinging snugly to the shape of his bum. It makes him look wickedly sexy, and I am starting to feel the effect his gorgeous body is having on mine. It is the last thing I want to happen because of the way it is sitting in my briefs. I know if it gets hard then it will be exceedingly uncomfortable, especially trying to run like that. That is the other problem; I will have to stop to readjust myself if that happens, because it will be far too difficult and dangerous to adjust my package while in full flight. I decide not to risk boning up, so increase my speed and pull ahead of Pierre. It is his turn to check out my butt while I'm running, and I sort of hope it has a similar effect on him, as what watching him did to me. We may have been running for a little while now, but François seems to still be miles ahead, but I've still got lots of energy so I'm not too worried. My prick has also settled down making me forget about it, and increase my speed even further. Pierre seems to match me, but seems to be content staying behind. I have heard about runners staying close to the person in front to use the slipstream created to reduce the amount of energy exerted, but Pierre is too far behind for that benefit, so I assume he is enjoying perving at my butt. I am still in the lead when we close in to within a hundred metres of François, and no change at about fifty metres out. Not long after that point I get passed by a raging Pierre who seems to have hit an extra gear and is burning me up. I try to increase my speed too, so I can try to catch him, but by the time I start to make any headway, he is slowing down because he has caught François. I can't slow down quickly enough so overshoot them by a good twenty metres before I come to a stop, but the good thing is it allows me to catch my breath while I wait for them to catch up. I am so knackered from the run that I bend over putting my hands on my knees, and pant and gasp for air, filling my lungs to their entirety, before releasing my breath. My heart is also pounding hard because it isn't used to that sort of exercise. I have never really enjoyed running, so I don't do it often. That means when I do my body struggles to recover since it isn't used to it, but is no signal I am unfit or anything because I've been like this for ages now. I could struggle to run, and yet have no problem surfing because I did that all the time so my body became geared up to cope with the exertion created by that, as opposed to running, so I take little notice of my reaction afterwards because I know it means nothing. I notice Pierre is panting as badly as I am, once he and François have caught up. I'm glad to see that, because it means he struggled as much with the run as I did, but when I look back on it neither of us had too much of a problem. I mean we both managed to find an extra gear towards the end of our run, but Pierre caught me off guard with his timing, which is why he won. Maybe my running fitness isn't as bad as I thought, but I still don't want to do it as a sport. I will also reserve judgement on how well my body coped with the run until the morning, because I half expect to wake up with sore, ankles, knees, calves and thighs as a result of the exercise. I stand up properly once the others have caught up, take Pierre's hand and walk along with them. By this time we are pretty much at the bridge, so we have come a bit of the way already. My clothes would be dry too, but the sweat created from my run has soaked them all over again, but I figure they will dry out quickly anyway. It takes Pierre and I till halfway across the bridge to catch our breath, and for our hearts to slow down to their normal rhythm. Since we were trying to recuperate we have been walking in silence, but the closer we get to our destination the more our energy and excitement levels regenerate. Pierre and I are so looking forward to this evening, and reliving a part of his childhood with our new and improved family. I want to experience what it is like to have a nice pleasant evening with all the family together, even if some aren't exactly part of it, well, yet anyway. "So... Josh, since I won the race what do I get?" Pierre asks cheekily, finally breaking the silence after having recovered enough to talk. "Hmmm... um... I don't know, what do you want?" I ask in reply. I had been expecting a question like that to come up, but because it took him so long to ask it, I had forgotten any potential answers I had. "Hmmm... well, how about I get one free dare?" he asks, causing me to cringe a little. I'm not sure I like the sound of that, but I gave him the option of what he wanted, so I can't say no now. "Umm... ok, since you won you can have one free dare," I say weakly. He doesn't make me feel any better about this when he gives me the most wickedly cheeky grin in response. "Hehehe... well I dare you, once we get to the park, to take off your briefs and spend the rest of the evening going commando," he says, smiling even more than he was before. Normally I would have no problems with this dare, but I know these shorts are miles too small to contain everything. Well, I know I'm not that big down there, but these shorts are tiny and if I sit down it won't be hard to look up the leg holes to see what I have to offer. "Now, now, now, behave yourselves boys," François says in a semi stern tone, making us wonder if he is serious or not. I feel my heart lift a little thinking I might get out of having to do the dare, well, at least for today. "Awww, come on uncle, please, it's all harmless fun," Pierre pleads. "I never said you couldn't make him do it, after all a dare is a dare. Just don't let it get any further than that," he says, causing my heart to sink again. I'm going to have to go through with the dare whether I like it or not. I know it is for Pierre's benefit, but I'm worried about other people seeing everything, especially since I don't know how busy the park is, but I figure it must be reasonably popular due to how big it looked from the other side of the river. "Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Pierre shouts a little too excitedly. It is like he has won the lottery or something, as he is so elated with François allowing him to go through with his dare. His excitement is infectious too, causing me to forget about my thoughts and start giggling at the way he is acting. François can't help but chuckle at his nephew's antics either. We chatter about everything for the remainder of the journey. I remind myself of Callum and Manuel the closer to the destination we get, because like when those two get excited about something, we are becoming more and more animated and boisterous. François for once has to try and calm us down, which must make a change from Callum and Manuel, but they listened to him more than we do. It isn't intentional to not listen to him, but our enthusiasm is so over the top we can't physically contain it. I never thought I would get so excited over a family event, but this was my idea, so I should be excited about it, but this excited, I never expected that. We make it to the park and the spot mum pointed out to François, while they were making the arrangements, in what seems like no time at all. We have been too busy being mindless loons, chewing François's ears off with our chatter and excitement that we didn't pay any attention to how long we were walking for. We find a nice spot overlooking the river and the bridge, sit down on the nicely manicured grass and continue chatting. I am trying to keep the conversation going as much as I can, because while we are talking I know Pierre has forgotten about the dare and I want to keep it that way. I know that's not the way it's supposed to be, but hey, I don't care, if I can get out of it I will. Pierre gets to see everything I have every night in any case; I just don't want strangers to see what I've got. "Hmmpf, hmmpf... haven't you got a dare to do Josh, or do you want to wait until everyone else gets here before you do it?" François says sternly, catching me completely by surprise, because I had totally forgotten he had fully backed up his nephew with respect to the dare. Still, I never thought he would be the one to enforce it, which instantly crushed all hope I had of being able to get out of it. "Yeah... don't forget about my dare, or I get to make it worse," Pierre says with a menacing smile on his face, letting me know he has much worse planned for me if I don't obey the rules. I have no option but to do it, but I will get my revenge one day, you can be sure about that. I sigh, resigned to the fact I have to do this, and had better get it done before the others arrive. I don't want to give Manuel's grandparents a heart attack if they were to catch me with my pants down, literally. I stand up and take a good look around to see if there is anyone who can see me while I do this; thankfully there isn't and there are also enough trees and bushes around to give enough privacy. If I saw people then I would have gone to find a bush which I could strip off in, but since I can't see anyone I feel safe enough to do it here. We are far enough away from the ruins of the bridge that I can't make out any people distinctly, so I assume they can't see me very well either. I know nudity isn't a huge issue in France, and it is common for kids to get changed in public places, but I feel I'm a little old now to be included in that category; along with the whole puberty thing I feel uncomfortable with the idea. Confident I can't be seen by anyone I pull down my shorts, which is quite a struggle because they are so tight around my waist. Once I have them past that point though, the drop down my legs to my ankles is no issue at all. I step out of them before grabbing the waistband of my undies, but I'm feeling even more uncomfortable than before to remove them. The sensation of dropping my shorts in such a public place has awoken my prick which is hardening rapidly in my undies, creating a bit of a tent until I pull the waistband out to allow it the freedom it needs. I am hesitant to pull them down, so delay doing it by taking another look around, but again there is no-one to be seen. The only people I see are François and Pierre, who is staring at me intently, waiting in anticipation for me to expose myself to him. François is sitting there shaking his head, trying to stifle a laugh, because he can't believe I am so worried about doing this, considering everything else I have done since being in France. I know it seems odd, but it is the first time I have got naked, or partly naked in such a public place, leaving alone the fact it is also in a major city. I try to shake the thoughts from my mind, take in a deep breath and rip my briefs off my waist, before dropping them and allowing them to slide down my legs. I am now standing in the middle of a public park, naked from the waist down with a raging boner, not what I envisioned doing at the beginning of the day, that is for sure. While I am stepping out of my briefs something catches my eye which causes me to panic. Over top of the bushes I am just able to make out the tops of blonde and brunette heads which seem to be heading this way, and fast. Frantically I kick my briefs in the direction of François, before I reach down to grab my shorts hoping to get them up in time before I get ambushed. Without being able to see the faces connected to the heads I saw, I still know it is Callum and Manuel hurtling in our direction at a great rate of knots. I'm not so worried about them, but it is who is following them that I am concerned about. I know once the boys find us I will get tackled by one, if not both of them, which will eliminate any chance I have of getting my shorts on in time. The trouble is I'm in too much of a panic and it is hindering my ability to get my shorts on. I can't even find the leg holes which is frustrating the hell out of me because these shorts aren't very big, so it shouldn't be very hard to put them on. I finally get both feet through the right holes, but it is all too late. Everything happens so fast that all I see is the blonde hair of my brother glistening from the sun, out of the corner of my eye, and then the next thing I'm flat on my back on the ground with him on top of me. I see Pierre gets tackled by Manuel, which is great for not only me, but for those two as well. I'm stoked to see Manuel favour Pierre over me, because I want them to be close brothers, like Callum and I are. I knew it would only be a matter of time before Manuel's fears eased enough to allow him to get to know Pierre, but I didn't expect him to get this attached to him so quickly. I'm happy as can be for them though. I decide I should push Callum off me so I can pull my shorts up; it isn't only that either, because the way Callum is squirming around on me is generating some nice pleasurable feelings in my rock hard dick, so I need to get him off me quickly. He gives me huge kisses on the cheeks and forehead, which renders me useless in trying to kick him off me. I have the feeling he missed me a lot, even though he wasn't gone for all that long, but I suppose it was the unknowing about whether I was ok after the head knock which has made him this way. While he is kissing and trying to cuddle me, I try to reach for the waistband of my shorts, hoping to be able to pull them up without disturbing him too much. I manage to reach them, but can only pull them as high as my upper thighs before his body inhibits any further progress. I give up momentarily and give him a big cuddle and return his kisses, because I know he wants me to show him how much I love him, and I don't want to let the little bugger down. "Callum, do you mind allowing me to pull my shorts up properly...? Um... long story, but Pierre gave me a dare," I say softly in his ear. I figure I had better give him some explanation why I have my pants down, before I get the inevitable questions from him. Thankfully he doesn't ask me anything about it, just slides off me to allow me to pull them up, which I promptly do, moments before everyone else turns up. Once my pants are up Callum resumes where he left off, but this time I can reciprocate the love better, since I'm no longer worried about anything. I can't believe how much he missed me in such a short period of time, but then again that was the furthest we had ever been separated in our lives. I mean we have been separated plenty of times because of things like hospital visits, going to friends' houses, court cases, but never have we been in different towns, or cities to the other. I feel a little bad for not having thought about him since we have been back in Avignon, but after all that has happened during our time in France I thought we had drifted apart a little. I suppose it was because of the amount of time he had been spending with Manuel, while I was too wrapped up in my life with Pierre, so I automatically presumed he didn't need me as much any more. Well, I'm obviously wrong in that assumption, which I am glad about because he is my little brother and has been my best friend for ages, so he is still one of the most important people in my life and I want it to stay that way. "Come on Callum, I know how much you miss your brother, but you need to get off him so both of you can have some dinner. After that I figured we would have a little sing-along and maybe tell a couple of stories before we go back to the hotel. You can cuddle up with Josh then if you feel like it," mum says. Her voice sounds apologetic and a little saddened, because I think she feels bad about making him stay in Marseille, but like me she thought he had drifted a little from me, so didn't need me around as much. The little tyke is still far too dependent on me, which has mum worried because she is concerned he will always rely on me to be there for him, even as we grow older. For me that isn't of any concern as I love him to bits, but I know he will become less reliant on me as we grow older, but it is going to be a step by step process. He was isolated from me for almost two days, with no way of being able to see me and that was a step too far for him. I think he would have coped fine if it had only been a day, but two was too long. Manuel is going to play a big part in helping Callum not be so dependent on me, because as it is he has already done a wonderful job. If it wasn't for him then there was no way Callum would have let us leave him in Marseille in the first place. Unsurprisingly Callum is very slow to stop hugging me, and even slower getting off. I don't think he is going to stray too far from me for the rest of the day, but hey, I'm not worried. In fact I like the idea of him cuddling up to me, because it has been so long since we have had a nice cuddle together. Aside from when something has happened, I haven't had a chance to just hold my little brother and show him how much I love and care about him. We used to do this a lot, especially in the evenings while watching TV before bed, but since Pierre has come along I haven't been spending the time I should with him. It's not Pierre's fault in the slightest, because I know he would be more than happy with me cuddling Callum, so he has nothing to do with it. I'm the one to blame, because I am spending almost all my time with Pierre now, so I had almost forgotten how much he needs me. "Callum, go and get both our dinners then you can sit between my legs so we can cuddle like we used to," I say lovingly, once he is off me and I'm able to sit up again. He gives me the biggest smile, before racing off to where mum has sat down with the dinners to get ours. I think mum heard what I told Callum, because she doesn't waste any time giving him both our meals, but before he comes back I can see her saying something to him and then ruffling his hair. He is still smiling when he returns carrying the containers of food, so I'm no longer worried about what mum said to him, because it can't have been anything that has concerned him. He hands me my container, before placing his on the ground and sitting down between my legs. Once seated, he wriggles his butt until he has shuffled himself as close to me as he can, then picks up his container, pops the lid and starts eating. I also pop the lid of my container, but as I start to dig in I feel someone cuddling up on either side of me. I can tell instantly who is on my right-hand side because of the jolt of electricity I get from the contact, which I know I only get from Pierre. I automatically guess that is Manuel on my left-hand side. "You two looked so adorable that Manuel and I couldn't resist but to come and join you," Pierre says a little cheekily, before giving me a hug and a kiss on the forehead to let me know he is ok with me spending time with Callum. He didn't need to because I knew anyway, but I always love getting a kiss and cuddle from him. We all continue to cuddle up while we eat our dinner. It is a cold pasta salad type thing, but it tastes beautiful, even better with having three boys cuddling me, so I'm happy as Larry. The containers looked small when Callum was bringing them over in his tiny hands, but now I have mine and am trying to eat the contents, it is surprisingly big. By three quarters of the way through I'm already feeling full. Callum and Manuel have only eaten half of their containers, before giving up and putting the lids back on them, so they can save the rest for later. Pierre surprisingly has polished his off, and is now hugging me properly while I struggle through as much as I can. I only make it through a little bit more, before I join Callum and Manuel in giving up. While we wait for the adults to finish their meals we talk amongst ourselves. Pierre and I are keen to find out what the youngsters have been up to over the last couple of days, while they want to know what they missed out on too. We start off by telling what we have done, because with leaving out last night and about the ghosts of Pierre's parents, there wasn't much to tell. Callum and Manuel couldn't contain their excitement when they told us about exploring a fortress at the entrance of the Vieux Port area of Marseille. They had a really good time and learnt lots, leaving Pierre and I feeling jealous, but they were to make it worse when they went on to tell us about their exploration of Marseille's old city. We are genuinely happy that they had a great time, but we wish we had been there enjoying it with them, because their descriptions made it sound totally wicked. I hope Pierre and I get our chance to see everything at some stage. "Callum, do you mind if I go and sit with mum...? It's just something I feel I want to do tonight," I ask. He turns his head around so he can look at me, and I can tell he is a little bit baffled by my question. The main reason for his confusion is I never want to sit with mum, well, not as long as he can remember. He knows that I wanted tonight to be a special family occasion, but he still never expected that from me. He doesn't argue, or ask me anything about it. Instead he obediently shuffles forward so I can stand up. I am very surprised at how little persuasion it took to get him to move, because I had been expecting a little more of a battle. With him out of the way I stand up, which breaks Pierre's and Manuel's hugs in the process, and then head over to where mum is sitting. I copy Callum and sit between mum's legs so I can lean against her while she hugs me. I'm not sure exactly sure why I felt the need to do this, but I think it is because Pierre's story reminded me of the importance of family, and let's face it, mum and I haven't been the closest of people. Mum, caught a little off guard by my move, embraces me in a loving hug, which makes me feel wonderful since I finally feel close to her again, and comfortable that I can just walk up to her and get a hug. I soon find out why Callum gave me up so easily, and that's because he doesn't. Instead he walks, over sits down between my legs, and wriggles himself back into position. I wrap my arms around my cute little brother, while mum hugs us both. It feels a little weird being in a sandwich like this, but it also feels like I have the most loving family ever. Pierre of course wanders over so he can hug me, because I want him to and he wants it as well. Manuel, feeling a little left out has gone to his dad for a hug, so inevitably ends up sitting right beside me, because his dad is already hugging mum. Sarah is with François, as per usual, because they seem to understand each other very well, so Sarah feels safe and comfortable with the older man. I think she feels a little left out, because she honestly doesn't know where her place is in the family, since she is at that in-between age where she is too old for us kids, but too young for the adults. François seems to be the only one who knows how to treat her. I suppose a lot of it is the way she feels like she gets treated by everyone, but for us kids it's hard since we're yet to become teenagers, so don't know how to talk to her. It isn't like we don't try, but at the end of the day we are still little kids compared to her, so act and talk too childish for her to feel like part of us. The adults are worse for her though, because they talk down to her like they do to all us kids. It is like they don't accept her as an adult, but also that they have forgotten what it is like to be her age. I don't think they do it deliberately, especially mum, but they do and it makes Sarah feel even more out of place. François on the other hand is the exception, and for someone who hasn't had kids he does exceedingly well to talk with us at our level. He doesn't do it in a patronising way like most adults do. Instead he has this knack of being so natural at it that we don't really notice that he is doing it. It is like he is an adult who has mutual respect for all us kids, so he doesn't treat us any different to how he would an adult. I know the rest don't mean to but there must be something in their subconscious which makes them think they are better than us; with François we are all equal. "Mummy... um... I wanna discuss something with you... well maybe since everyone is here they can give their thoughts too," I say, once everyone is settled in their places. I remembered what I had been thinking about yesterday morning, but forgotten to ask last night due to her and François turning in early. The way Pierre and I were didn't help me out either, because in the end I had more important things to do than discussing a project I want to do. "Ok sweetheart, what is it you want to discuss? We are all ears," she replies. "Um... how do I put this...? I want to do something to help victims of rape and sexual assault, especially kids, but I haven't got any clear idea about how to do it. I don't want to set up a counselling service as there are already heaps of those. What I want is something different... special, where just anyone can go, but all proceeds go to charities for rape victims. I was thinking something like a resort type thing with lots to keep kids entertained and happy, but also has counselling services on offer for those in who need it. You know so anyone can pay to use the place, but those who I'm specifically targeting get in free," I say, trying as best as I can to explain what's on my mind. Judging by the surprised but confused looks on everyone's faces I'm not so sure I succeeded. "Let me get this straight, you want to design and potentially build a place to help victims of rape... like yourself?" Manuel's grandpa asks, breaking the awkward silence. I nod my head, glad that someone understood what I meant. "You are unbelievable... I mean that in a good way. You are what, twelve? Yet you are already thinking about ways to help others who have been through what you have... here is what I think, leave that idea with Fabien and me since we have a lot more contacts than you will, and we will come up with something. Don't worry, it will still be your project, since you will have all the say, but I don't want you wasting what is left of your childhood worrying about helping out others," Manuel's grandma says, shocking the hell out of everyone, since she was the last person we expected to like my idea. "Once that side has been settled, we are more than happy to donate money to the cause, because neither of us want to see you using your own money for something like this... in fact a better idea would be to set up a website to take donations, but again that would be better once we have come up with a plan," Manuel's grandpa says, continuing on from where his wife left off. I'm starting to understand why they have been together so long, because I can see they can communicate with each other without using words. Like Pierre and I, they seem to sense what the other is feeling. "Yes, we can't have you using your own money. I know this is probably a lot for you to take in, but look at us as your project managers. We feel we owe your family big time, for bringing both my son and grandson back to us, and making me see sense. We owe you a lot, since it was your doing which has helped Manuel out so much, and turned him into this confident, loving child we have today... yes, we have been told what you have done for him since you met. Thanks to your family's kindness and generosity we are all gathered here today, and that is the main reason we want to help you with this. Don't get me wrong, we agree with the cause, and admire your courage, determination and kind heart to want to do this, but it also hits on a more personal level than that," Manuel's grandma finishes off, leaving me feeling stoked about everything. I'm also feeling a little light headed and spaced out, because I never thought about how much my actions have changed things. Manuel needed help when we first met, so I tried to fix his problems. That was all I did, nothing more, and at the time I was hoping nothing less. I just wanted to help him because I knew he was going to be good for my brother, but also I wanted to get to know the real Manuel who was hiding away beneath the shell of the boy I could see. Never had I thought about the follow on effects, let alone notice them, but it seems the actions we did when we first met him moulded the way things have turned out to be now. It is Callum who should be being thanked, because he managed to overcome his shyness to befriend the boy who had been talking to him while he was naked. The more I look at things the more I notice. I mean I had noticed some of the more obvious changes, like with Callum and his nudity issue, but a lot of the others just seemed to happen. I can't believe how much I missed, but I can see their point. If I hadn't done the stuff I had, then this point would never have been reached. The scary part is when I consider how different things may have become if I hadn't been there or done what I did, because I have a feeling I have saved both Callum and Manuel from a world of hurt, especially when I look back to the incident at the swimming pool in Vichy. I shudder at the though, and then try to switch my mind off so I can tune back into the real world. I don't think I missed a lot as everyone is still discussing my plans, well, more Manuel's grandparents' answer, since no-one expected either. Mum seems to be hugging me even tighter, because I think she is proud of me, but I don't care about the reasoning, it is more that I'm loving feeling so close to her again. "Pierre, Pierre, is that you?" a high pitched voice shouts in French, from somewhere around, causing us all to look around to see who is there. We aren't expecting anyone so far as I know, but we are in his home town, so maybe it is an old friend of his. I can't make out the direction it came from, because I'm in the middle of everyone so the sound seems to bounce around a bit, but it also means I'm probably hidden from view of whoever it is. Pierre is a bit nervous as he never thought about the prospect of running into an old friend while he was here; since the city is reasonably big the chances were pretty slim, but then again it was something that had skipped his mind entirely. ************ Comments are always welcome at (pennywise3636@gmail.com). Please keep all comments clean. If possible please kick in a few bucks at the Nifty Website, to keep it up and running. The site puts in a lot of effort and work so that we all have a place to come and contribute or read some fine stories.