Hey! How's it going? Is your new year starting off right? Did you finish the list of 2023 boy stories you wanted to read and are already making 2024's list, hehee. Well, I hope you read Bear & Cub, I worked real hard in it and am real pleased with my first Detective story. I think Counting Down is becoming a huge hit.

I'm thinking about the next story (actually, I'm always thinking about the next story) and could use some of your help. I'm thinking about writing my next story in a different genre. I'm thinking I would classify, Counting as dramatic, and Bear & Cubs as thriller/Detective, so how do you feel about stories that are wrapped around a theme like that? I can write superhero, Magik, alternate universes, space, etc. (I don't do horror, sorry for you horror fans) Email me (Foxfire3730@proton.me) and I'll take a tally then decide where to go from here.

If you do enjoy Counting Down, please read some of my other works on AO3 (TuxEdwards): Counting, Counting Down (the sequel to Counting), Not Capable of Love, Fire (Boys of Grizzly Valley on AO3), Go Bag (Boys of Grizzly Valley on AO3), and Jaded (on AO3). Please take a few minutes to drop me an email to let me know if Counting Down is for you: Foxfire3730@proton.me

 

If you like my stories and want to tip or donate to me, consider buying me a coffee at this link: Thank You

 

"The Universe is Made of Stories, Not of Atoms" -Muriel Rukeyser

 

Principal's Office

Colt

The rickety bench is made of wood and has been decorated with carved hearts, rocket ships, penises, including balls, hehee, and about a million or so student's names that were in the same position I'm in. It's located just outside the principal's secretary office, where every passerby can look and either make fun of you or look at you, like once you go in there, you'll come out as a different person, and that's if you come out at all. I'm sitting out here with three other boys. Ice packs are being held on black eyes, bloody noses, and busted lips that adorn their faces. Even though I'm in a world of trouble, I'm sitting down here at the end of the bench with a little cut under my right eye, smiling, knowing that I made my point and that these three will never call me gay again.

The first of us is called back into the office as soon as his mom gets here. She led him in there by the ear. His screaming and begging for her to let go makes me cringe and daydream about what mom will do when she gets here. The boy sitting next to me, Charlie, begins to cry.

The boy on Charlie's other side, Dale, leans forward and whispers, "Look what you did!"

"What I did? I warned you three to stop fucking with me and cawing me gay. I'm not gay!" I answer with a harsh whisper of my own and then check through the windows to see if the secretary heard us. 

"We were just joking," Charlie manages to get out between sniffles. 

"It's not funny, Charwie! You three even kept it up after I tried to wawk away. I towd you to stop fowowing me and saying that shit or I'd whip all your asses, didn't I?"

"You're such a faggot, Colt, just like your brothers." Dale insults me for the last time. 

I burst from my seat, and he tried to meet me face-to-face, but I'm just that much faster, and my fist connects with his face again, sending him to the floor crumpled up in a heap. It wasn't pretty, showy, or exciting, like fights on TV. Within a blink of an eye, he was on the floor crying, holding his face, before I even knew what I had done. 

"Colt!" My mom yells as she finishes climbing the stairs up to the second floor, where the principal's office is located. She hurries over and helps Dale get back on the bench. Blood drips from his nose and is all over his shirt. I think I might have broken it this time. "What do you think you're doing?" She asks, trying to get Dale to lean his head back to stop the bleeding. 

"I'm trying to get him to stop cawing me a faggot, and I'm going to keep doing it untiw he does!" I practically shout at Dale. Salty tears sting the small cut under my right eye as they really begin to flow. The secretary takes over for my mom, and she grabs me by the arm, pulling me over by the stairs. I do whatever I have to to not look at her. 

"Colt Colter, what is wrong with you? This is the second time I've been here because of your fighting. This has to stop. You weren't like this in Cut Bank," she says with disappointment in her face. "Colt, whatever is going on is affecting the whole family, and we need to fix it. You're fighting at school. You and AJ won't stay in the same room. I even had to move you into the guest room. Don't you miss sleeping with your brothers? We won't even talk about how many times your dad has spanked you; obviously, it's not working."

Since my mom was here, once Anthony came out of the principal's office, it was my turn. This was my second offense for fighting, and normally it would be just detention, giving me one more 'strike' before being suspended for a week, but I beat three boys up, at the same time, to the point where two of them will need stitches, and we're all sure I broke Dale's nose, so Principal Curry suspended me from school for two weeks. 

Mom is not happy. We were told that what saved me from being expelled all together was that the other boys admitted, with their parents present, that they started it and were calling me gay slurs. Charlie even told them I warned them to stop and tried walking away, until Dale pushed me from behind and called me a faggot again. I told him not to say that word. I tell you what, I bet they won't bully me again after the beatdown I gave them.

AJ

7 Days Left

Mr. Carter talked to all the teachers at a meeting they had. Not about me; the subject of me came up though, and so Mr. Carter informed them that he had done some research on me. He told me that they all didn't know what to do with me and were just leaving me alone to do as I pleased. They talked about clinical photographic memory, and most of them didn't even know that I had it. This led to just about every class I've had today bringing me up front and talking about it. 

What a drag. It was so embarrassing, but a lot of students found it interesting, so all in all, today was a great day at school. I got to sit with the band kids at lunch, and Mr. Carter gave me a pass to spend free period in the band class so I could just jam with them. Blues, jazz, classical, soul--I was pretty much the center of attention as I rocked out on the piano. Kye played along with a couple songs, but he's right, he's not very good, but I lied and told him he sounded great. Even Mr. Carter and I played on the same piano. He would play whatever was on his mind on the right side, and I would play something that complemented his song on the left side. It was a lot of fun.

About two o'clock, I'm called to the office. When I get there, I'm surprised to see Colt sitting with Mom. Colt has a cut under his right eye, which tells me he's been fighting again. He's definitely Beau's little brother, that's for sure. He looks away as soon as he realizes I'm standing in the doorway. "What's going on?" I'm not sure what to think at this point. 

"AJ, here, sit down," mom says, scooting over so I can sit opposite Colt. "Principal Curry called me and asked me to come in and talk to him about your classes."

We don't sit there for long when the door opens and Mr. Carter steps out. "Hello, Mrs. Colter," he says, introducing himself. "Why don't you come in, and we'll talk?" Mom and I step into the office, and she tells Colt not to move. I sit down, and mom sits next to me. Principal Curry is sitting across from me, and Mr. Carter is standing next to him. 

"Mrs. Colter, I've asked you in here today to talk about AJ and his schoolwork. It's come to my attention that AJ is a straight A student. He's well on his way to graduating with honors. This being the case, AJ has expressed a desire to `test out' of high school."

"What, why didn't you say something?" Mom is kind of upset.

"I didn't think you would let me. Mom, it's boring here, and it feels like I only come here to be bullied and picked on."

"Picked on, like, name-calling?" She asks a little sharper than a normal question. 

"Mom, someone stole my hearing aid Monday. Who does that? No one here likes me, and I think if I just take the test, I can concentrate more on college."

Principal Curry and Mr. Carter listen to us as mom and I have a conversation we probably should have had by ourselves. 

"How did they get your hearing aid out of your ear?" She fired back. 

I slink into my chair and softly answer her, "Cuz I fell asleep." Which earned me a stern look.

"Mrs. Colter, if I may," Mr. Carter began, "we have no doubt that AJ could ace the test to skip high school all together, but what we are concerned about is his social skills. We believe that he would benefit from testing out of his major classes and coming in for a half day and taking elective classes like shop, acting, pottery, a language, or my class. These classes offer our students a more social environment to learn how to get alone with others and work as a team. We are also suggesting AJ join an after-school club or two like the chess club or the pep-band; this also will help. This offer is something we give our seniors, but AJ is a different case."

Mom looks like she is really thinking about it and then says, "Okay, thank you for your offer. I will talk this over with AJ's father, and you'll be hearing from us soon."

Everyone stands and exchanges shaking hands, and Mr. Carter messes up my hair. "AJ can go home with you, or he can spend last period here and ride the bus," principal Curry says. 

"Please, mom, can I go home? Please, please, please," I whine. 

"Get your stuff, AJ, from class and meet me out front. Hurry now," mom says, and she waves for Colt to stand up and follow her. 

I come bounding down the stairs with the school motto carved in them and hop into the front seat. Colt is in the back seat and looks upset. I think I interrupted a very unpleasant conversation. Disregarding that, I can't help myself. I have to tell mom about my day. "Sure, it was embarrassing at first, but like, every class talked about me, and the other students were interested in what I had to say. No one made fun of me either."

"That's great, AJ," mom says patting my leg. 

"Yeah, it was the best day so far."

The rest of the trip was pretty quiet. We got home about three o'clock, and once we were inside, Mom sent Colt straight to the bathroom to take a shower and told him that she would be up to take care of the cut under his eye.

I drop my backpack next to my stool, and mom gets me a snack and a glass of milk. With a mouth full of cookies, I ask, "How many this time?"

Mom sighs and stands at the sink. "It's not important how many, AJ. What's important is that Colt has serious troubles eating at him, and if I can't get him to deal with them, there'll be many more." She sighs again and wipes at her cheek, as if there is a tear there that I can't see. Then she turns to me and smiles, saying, "Finish your snack, go change your clothes, and why don't you track down the twins until Beau gets home?"

"Okay Mom."

She finishes drying the dishes in silence, and when I'm done eating and drinking my milk, she takes my dishes and puts them away as I slide off my stool and head upstairs with my backpack. I am halfway up the stairs before I get that sudden fear in the back of my mind that tells me I forgot to count the stairs, and they could be different somehow. It's impossible, I tell myself, and I look behind me at the stairs I've already climbed. I don't want to go back down and count them, but something tells me I need to. 

"Honey, is there something wrong?" Mom asks me, heading toward me. She is probably going to the bathroom to help Colt. 

I look up the stairs and start climbing again, ignoring what that little voice is telling me. "Nope, I'm good." I lie to her and promise myself to count the stairs up to my room. Getting to the top of the second staircase, I jump up on the top step and say, "Twenty-six." Suddenly, I get the feeling that I'm being watched. I turn and look down the stairs to see Mom watching me. I swallow and wave at her, and she smiles. I recognize that look on her face. It's concern. 

I hurry to the safety of my bedroom and count the spindles on my wall. (There's forty-eight, just like in my room at Cut Bank.) I take off my clothes, run, and jump on my bed. I squirm and rub my naked body, thinking of how Beau touches me. 

After I get hard, I resist jacking off so he can have all of me tonight in bed. I giggle at the thought of some of the games he likes to play with me and tonight I'm going to let him play all of them. I roll over off the bed and rush to open my dresser. I think I'll just wear shorts and no underwear. Maybe go skinny-dipping later. Slipping on my bright red nylon shorts, the fabric glides over my throbbing pecker, making it ache to be touched. Looking into the mirror, my hard, four-inch cock tents my shorts, and I watch it as it stands straight out from my hips in all its glory. Wiggling my hips, the fabric rubs the tip, and before I know it, a soft moan slips out, and I giggle to myself. 

Grabbing a green t-shirt, I run down the stairs, counting backwards. Right before I go down the stairs to the first floor, I hear mom and a crying Colt talking through the bathroom door. 

"Do you think Dad wiw spank me?"

"Colt, hold still. There is a good chance, don't you think? You beat up three other boys and broke poor little Dale's nose," Mom says.

I can't believe it. He fought three boys at the same time. What the hell did they do to him to make him that mad?

"Do you think he'w be mad?" Colt sobs. 

"Honey, I think he'll be disappointed in you. With all the trouble we had with your brother and his fighting, I just figured you would have learned violence doesn't solve your problems."

"I know, but I'm not gay, and they wouwdn't wisten. They were using the f-word, you know, the gay f-word."

"Then you tell a teacher, Colt. Do not beat them bloody," mom says as a matter of fact. 

Are kids teasing him about being gay like us? No wonder he's been so touchy about us being openly gay. No, this doesn't matter. I'm still mad at him. Beau's friends will never look at me the same and will never be my friends now. I'm just Beau's boyfriend that he fucks until I'm screaming and moaning for mercy. As I descend the stairs, my only thought is that he receives a severe spanking to make up for the embarrassment he inflicted on me.

I take a paper off Mom's desk in the office and write a note for Beau that says I'll be with Zack and Zeke. I leave it on the homework desk so he can see it. He always has homework; I don't understand why he can't finish it at school. Anyway, I get on the CB radio and call Zack, "Zack, are you out there?"

After a little time goes by, I hear the bathroom door open and close. Then, soon after that, mom comes down the stairs, asking "Looking for Zack?"

"Yup, he hasn't answered yet, though."

"Listen, first, I need you to go up and change into jeans. You're going to want to do cowboy stuff, and you can't in those shorts. Second, I sent Colt to your guys' room."

"Mooommm!"

"Andrew Allen Colter Junior," says mom. Ouch, she used my full name: "You will go up stairs and listen to that little boy. I will not have my boys fighting amongst themselves. Change into your jeans, listen to him, forgive him, and remember when you were being picked on and how mad you were because of it. He loves you, looks up to you, and it's really hurting him that you're mad at him."

I hook the CB mic back on its holder and stare at mom, waiting for her to say that she's just kidding. But I get the look that dares me to talk back to her. Scowling, I head up the stairs. I open the door really slowly and can hear Colt crying on the bed. Rolling my eyes, I can feel my anger towards him begin to fade. Taking a deep breath, I walk into the room, and Colt is lying on the bed completely naked. Damn, he's beautiful. His skin is practically lustrous and silky smooth after a shower.

I head to the dresser to get my jeans; I'm still refusing to wear underwear. I turn around to see him sitting up; our eyes briefly meet, and he then directs them towards his inch-long, plump dinker. His foreskin hangs off the end of his soft pecker. It's almost as long as his shaft. I've always wondered what it would be like to suck him. 

"Um, A-yay?" He says bringing me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry for making fun of you. I do it to prove I'm not gay," he confesses softly.

"It doesn't prove you're not gay, Colt; it proves you can be an asshole if you want to be," I tell him as my nylon shorts slide off my cock. As I kick them off, I can feel it thickening up and growing slowly. As I prepare to speak, I notice Colt staring intently at my cock as it droops and pulses as it stretches to its final inch. If I didn't know any better, I think he licked his lips. "Colt," I say, grabbing his attention, "my eyes are up here." He looks into my eyes and blushes instantly. "There isn't anything wrong if you're gay."

"But I'm not!"

"That doesn't matter either. We're brothers; that's what matters. You shouldn't say those things about a brother. You really hurt my feelings. I thought you loved me," I tell him as I pull my jeans up and tuck in my hardening cock inside. 

"I do; it's just. I don't want people to tease me for being gay."

"Do you know what I get teased most about? Kids tease me about being smart and being in high school. They don't tease me cuz I'm gay," I tell him as I fasten my belt buckle, the one with a cowboy riding a bull, and take off my shirt, displaying my muscled chest and my tiny four-pact. Sitting on the bed, I toss my green shirt on the floor, take a deep breath, and ask, "It's just you and me here, and I won't tell anyone or repeat your answer. Do you think you're gay?"

He scoots up next to me and sits on his knees. His little dinker and balls poke out between his legs, and he begins to flick and play with the skin off the tip. Instead of answering my question, he asks, "How did you know?"

"My first daddy decided for me. He always told me I was gay since I was about seven. He said I didn't have a choice. But after I met the twins, I decided for myself that I was gay. I knew I was gay because I loved Zack. I admitted I was gay by kissing him in front of all my friends."

"My brother came out after you kissed him too. Maybe you couwd kiss me so I wiw know."

I am extremely tempted as I smirk at my little naked brother, but I simply cannot. "Colt, I would love to kiss you to make your toes curl, but that's not going to help you decide. I loved Zack for giving me the courage to come out. Beau's love for me showed him through our kiss that he was gay."

I pat him on his leg, and he reasons, "So you're saying I have to wove someone before I know if I'm straight or not?"

"I'm saying, you'll just know. Someone will touch your hand, take off their shirt, say hello, or yes, they might kiss you, and you'll just know. When you realize it, don't be afraid of the answer."

"But if Beau is gay, doesn't that mean I'm going to be gay?

"It doesn't work like that. My sisters aren't gay," I tell him, then head to the door. Stopping at the door, I add, "You know, if you're straight or gay, that shouldn't stop you from joining us when we play around. You can still suck or be sucked."

"Won't that mean I'm gay?"

"It's not a gay thing; it's a brother thing. Brothers do that kind of stuff all the time," I tell him and head downstairs. 

I run through the house, hoping to get outside before mom comes out of the office. Just before I get to the door, I hear Zack on the CB saying he's at Gran and Pop's house. I grab a CB handheld and hook it to my jeans. At the door, I jump up, tipping my cowboy hat off the hat hook. I catch it and open the door, slip it on, and yell through the house, "Mom, I'll be with Zack!" And run to the vehicle barn for a four-wheeler.

Beau

Dad and I enter through the garage door, and I drop my gear in the laundry room to get it cleaned for the game on Saturday. "Like I said, hurry up and go change into your work clothes. The twins have been helping your Gran and Pop box up all their stuff. If we hurry, we can help finish moving them to the condo down town," dad says, looking through the mail. 

I run upstairs to our bedroom, toss my lacrosse stick by AJ's spindles, and head to the dresser to change into my jeans. Hearing a noise that sounds like paper turning in a book, I look over at the bed and see a naked Colt reading. "What are you doing? Why aren't you outside playing?" I ask him as I take off my school clothes. 

"I'm grounded," he simply says, turning a page.

Slipping off my underwear, I notice the bandage under his eye, and I chuckle, asking, "Fighting?"

"Yup."

"How many?"

"Three, I'm pretty sure I broke Dawe's nose."

"Nice!"

"I got suspended for two weeks."

"Ouch, does dad know yet?" I ask him knowing the answer.

"Not unwess mom is tewing him right now," Colt says, dropping his book into his naked lap.

"He and I are heading to Pop's to help them move," I tell him as I tuck my cock safely inside my jeans, away from the zipper. "So he probably won't spank you until tomorrow while me and AJ are at school."

"He's onwy swatted me a coupwe times the wast few times I got in troubwe. Do you think he'ww do more this time?"

"Really? You're lucky; AJ and I started with five, and every time he does it, he adds some more to our total depending on what I did," I tell my little brother, and I slip a green shirt I found on the floor over my head. It's a little tight; it must be AJ's. "The last time mom and dad caught me fighting, dad swatted me twenty times. I do not fight anymore," I say, then I remember knocking Mills unconscious in the locker room and admitting with a smirk, "Well, at least I don't get caught anymore."

Colt slips into deep thought as I head out of the room in a hurry. Coming down the stairs, I see mom and dad go quiet as soon as I get within earshot. Dad messes up my hair when I hug mom and Dad says, "Well, I'll deal with it tomorrow. We're late."

I slip on my boots, and my dad puts my cowboy hat on my head. He kisses mom, and we head over to Pop's in Dad's pickup. When we pull into the Double H, I ask dad, "Is it true that Zeke and Zack get Pop's house?"

"Yup, they're running the Double H now. The house comes with it," he says as he parks the pickup. 

The twins, AJ, and some of the farm hands are carrying boxes into our horse trailer. I run up to AJ, kissing his sweaty face. I slide a hand over his glistening chest and whisper in his ear, "Did you look this good for me?"

He looks at me a little weird and asks, "Is that my green shirt?" I push him back a little, and he laughs at me adding, "How can you even breathe in that shirt?" I ignore the jab at me squeezing in his shirt and hurry over to hug Gran on the porch. AJ follows behind me on my heels. "How was practice, sweety?" She asks and pats my back. 

"It was good; I scored twice," I tell her excitedly. 

"Yeah, he was a lacrosse beast out there, Mom," dad says, coming out of the house with a big box.

"You and Pop are coming to my game on Saturday? You've got to come," I beg.

She laughs at me for being overly childish and says, "We'll see. Right now, I don't see why not."

Zeke approaches me from behind, picks me up, carries me over his shoulder, and firmly swats my ass.

"Zeke!" I whine and laugh as he carries me inside the house. He drops me on the couch, and I jump up, punching him in the shoulder and butt, asking, "Hey Zeke, can we spend the night?"

"Whoa, already asking? I haven't even moved in yet."

"Yeah, wouldn't that be fun?" AJ says, walking backwards in front of him. 

"And what do you two want to do?" He says picking up AJ, making him giggle. He tosses AJ to Zack, who just came downstairs. Zack catches him and spins him upside down. 

"Like we don't already know," Zack says, finishing Zeke's thought. 

"Oh, come on, it's been a long time since the four of us played," I say after I checked to make sure only we could hear me. 

Zeke picks up a box and hands it to me, saying, "Well, if dad says it's okay, it's fine with me." He swats my ass again, and the sting makes my cock pulse, and I fake cry as I head outside. AJ and I drop off our boxes and run over to Dad.

"Jack, please tell your dad to take it easy and let the boys get the boxes," Gran asks dad.

"I'm fine, mama," Pop says, rolling his eyes. 

Dad laughs a little at Pop, and AJ gets his attention. "Dad, dad, can me and Beau stay with the twins? Please, please, please," AJ begs, and I stand next to him watching the master. AJ, to this day, has our dad wrapped around his finger. "Did you two ask your brothers? What about school?"

"We'll make the bus stop. If we don't, then we'll never stay during the week again." I quickly made a promise putting my two cents in.

His eyes look over us, and he asks, "Is this okay with you two?"

"Sure, it makes sense that we five brothers break in the new house," Zack says, and he picks up AJ. 

Zeke exits the horse trailer and closes the doors. He wipes the sweat off his forehead and says, "Don't worry, dad, we'll make sure they get on the bus. We'll be up anyway."

"You will have to stick with these two. It sounds like Colt got into another fight at school."

"Yeah, he beat up three guys," I excitedly interrupt dad.

"And broke a kid's nose," AJ eagerly interrupts me. 

Dad clears his throat disapprovingly, and I quickly follow our statements with, "And fighting is bad. He shouldn't have done that."

"Nice save, buddy," Zack teases me sarcastically and pats my back. 

"Just don't sound so excited around your mother when you guys talk about Colt's fighting. She's not big on `boys-will-be-boys.' Okay, we need to get going, so we can get your grandparents moved into their condo," dad says and herds us into our perspective vehicles.