Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2016 22:36:43 +0000 From: Matt Smith Subject: Benny's House Chapter 24 Thank you all for your ongoing support and emails, I really do love to hear from my readers (even if I am occasionally slow to reply), so feel free to send me a message at matterotica@hotmail.co.uk Also, SPOILER WARNING there is no sex in this chapter, so anyone here for a bit of one-handed reading, move along. For anyone actually following the story, read on, you won't want to miss this! Benny's House Chapter 24 – Return of the King by Matt "Erm... err... Benny... I..." Alex stuttered. As if seeing Benny suddenly returned wasn't intimidating enough, Alex couldn't help but realise that he was currently laying in Benny's own bed. He pulled himself up into a sitting position as he struggled to form a sentence. Benny, still standing on the bed following his expulsion of Zack, calmly dropped down at the foot of the bed, sat with his legs crossed and raised a hand to silence the older teen. He stared at the quivering young man before him, eyes narrowing slightly. Bizarrely, he found himself thinking about Roger. Several weeks ago, he had caught Roger doing something wrong and had somewhat overreacted, a painful reminder of the temper he usually worked so hard to keep in check. That spur-of-the-moment reaction had caused Benny all sorts of problems and almost torn the house apart, so he took a few moments to calm himself to avoid a similar knee-jerk reaction. "Okay," Benny started, nodding calmly. "So here's what I know so far. The guys in the house trusted you enough to put you in charge while I was away. You apparently did a fairly good job... to begin with, but then you... you... I don't know, let the power go to your head or something and apparently went insane. You brought a minor into this house and used him to blackmail my Boys, all while torturing Zane for... I don't know, I'm sure you have a reason." "Benny.... I..." Alex stuttered. "I'm NOT," Benny snapped, deep breaths hissing through gritted teeth as he tried to remain calm. "I'm not done yet! You've hurt my Boys. You've broken my rules. You've completely abused the trust they placed in you. I can't begin to imagine how you could ever defend your actions. But I'll give you a chance. So... do you have anything to say for yourself?" Alex's jaw dropped open like he was going to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he just lowered his head, unable to even look at Benny. Benny was a little taken aback. He had known two different versions of Alex, the angry boy he was when they first met and the more rational young man he had become during his time in the house. However, neither version of him was ever the type to remain silent. "Seriously, nothing?" Benny asked in shock. Alex simply shook his head. "Get dressed!" Benny ordered. Alex quickly jumped out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and pair of shorts, then followed as the Master headed for the door. Benny smiled as they emerged onto the landing. There was Wesley, restraining Zack. The former General had one of the boy's arms twisted up behind his back, suitably positioned so that the slightest application of pressure could cause surges of pain. It was apparently enough to keep him both immobilised and silent. Benny approached Wesley and instructed, "Take him down to the cellar and lock him in the Trash Room." He pointed to one of the spare rooms. "Alex, you go in there and you don't move until I tell you to. Understood?" "Alex you..." Zack started, but a sharp tug on his arm from Wesley and he dropped back into silence. "Walk!" Wesley hissed in the angry boy's ear. Benny watched as Wesley and Zack made their way slowly down the stairs, while Alex disappeared into the guest room Benny had pointed at. As he looked down over the railings into the atrium below, he saw Zane, sitting just beneath the wooden frame he had been secured to until just a few minutes before. He had his knees pulled up tightly to his chest and was rocking back and forth gently. Benny made his way down the stairs. He had a knot in his stomach that seemed to grow with every step he took. Silently, he knelt in front of the older teen and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. The Boy didn't respond. "Zane," Benny whispered. He shook his head and buried his face in his arms as he continued rocking. "Zane?" Benny repeated questioningly. Zane's face raised back up, his cheeks now wet. "I'm sorry," he said weakly. "You're... wait... what? Why?" Benny asked in absolute confusion. "I gave up on you," Zane whimpered before dropping his face back into his arms. Benny stood up and reached down to the sobbing teen. "Zane, get up," he said softly, but with authority. The tone seemed to get the other teen's attention as he looked up abruptly. Seeing Benny reaching down with both hands, he allowed his Master to help him up. Benny pulled one of Zane's arms around his shoulders, then helped him walk across the atrium and into his private lounge. The slight groan of pain from the battered Boy with each step sending ripples of guilt through the young Master. Once they got inside, Benny sat down then pulled Zane onto the sofa beside him, the Boy's head resting in his lap. He gently stroked his fingers through the chocolate brown hair, getting gentle mews of contentment in response. "Go to sleep," Benny whispered. "It'll all be okay in the morning." Exhausted from his ordeal, it took mere moments for Zane to drift off to sleep. They had been sat there for a few minutes before Wesley appeared in the doorway. "Everything okay?" he whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping young man. "No!" Benny replied honestly. "But it will be. Why don't you go get some sleep too and we can sort everything out in the morning." "Okay," Wesley said back with a nod and a warm smile before he headed back out into the atrium. Benny decided he needed some sleep too and shifted slightly in his seat to get more comfortable. He felt something digging into his leg and reached down the side of the sofa cushion to see what it was. He pulled out a small notebook. He knew it wasn't his, so he figured it was most likely Alex's. He opened it up and started reading the first page. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 23rd May 2015 I know Benny keeps a diary. I've never spoken to him about it, so I don't know what he writes about or why or how much detail he goes into, but I've seen him doing it. His diary is actually still here in the house, but I'd never dare touch it without his permission. I'm too much of a good pup (usually) to ever do something that naughty! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benny froze, staring at the page. It wasn't Alex's, it was Zane's. He had been keeping a diary! He suddenly felt torn. He knew that to read the diary was an invasion of the Boy's privacy, but at the same time he wanted to know what had happened in his absence without making Zane go through the pain of reciting it. He decided to read on. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, with Benny away and Alex in charge, I thought I should keep a record of what's been happening, you know, for the history books! So Benny left because his Dad died and needed some time away from the house. That meant we needed someone else in charge. I thought it should have been Roger, but then I suppose I'm a bit biased. Roger wanted to stay as second-in-command though, which I suppose makes sense because he really does do it well. Malik didn't want the pressure of being in charge so that kinda left Alex. Alex in charge. Yeah, it's a scary thought. I love Alex, he's probably my best friend in the whole house (not including my boyfriend and my Master, obviously!), but that doesn't mean I automatically support him. I know about his issues maybe better than anyone and while I know he's come a long way, he's still got an even longer way to go. I didn't want to vote for him to be in charge, but everyone else was behind the idea so I just kinda went with it. Anyway, that was a week ago now and... I couldn't have been more wrong! Putting the pressure of leadership on Alex's shoulders was either going to break him or help him reach the best of his potential and I'm really happy to say he rose to the occasion. He's been great and I'm really looking forward to seeing what else he can do. Tonight should be fun too. Josh is officially joining us and so is Alex's cousin, Zack. They both seem nice, so I think things are just gonna keep getting better. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benny smiled at the entry. While he had been away from the house, he had done everything in his power not to think about it. His feelings about being back were wildly mixed, but it was nice to see that they had gotten by so well without him, at least to begin with. He leafed forward a few pages in the diary, stopping at an entry that caught his eye. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday 26th May 2015 Something's wrong with Alex. He's not acting like himself and it's all because of Zack. Last night, we were in bed together, just sleeping when Zack came in and literally threw me out of bed. Then he... I don't know, he did something to Alex. It was like he just flipped a switch in him and he turned into... something else. I didn't like it. That version of Alex scares me. Maybe it was just a one-off. I'm kinda hoping Alex just comes and apologises today and we can put the whole thing behind us, but Zack never seems to want to leave his side, so that might not be a possibility. I wish Benny was here. He'd know what to do. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 30th May 2015 I thought it was just me that was getting hurt, but now I think it may be the others too. Apparently Taro never slept in his Dorm on Wednesday night and then he's spent the last couple of days limping round in pain. He doesn't seem to want to tell anyone what happened, but I'm pretty sure it was something Alex did and that probably means Zack was involved too. Alex is still being weird though. I mean, right now, as I'm writing this, I'm sitting next to him and he's... just Alex. We've chatted and laughed and it's just like having my friend back. Okay, that's like some kind of divine sign or something. Literally the second I finished writing that last sentence, Zack arrived. Alex pretty much threw me off the seat onto the floor and started treating me like crap, just because Zack was around. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the fact that Zack ALMOST FUCKING KILLED ME! He was pulling on my collar so much I couldn't even breathe. He won't win though. This collar is never coming off. Benny's gonna come back and he's gonna see me still wearing it and he's gonna be so proud of me. You just wait. Any day now! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday 10th June 2015 I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate Zack so much I could just cry. He tortured me again tonight to try and get me to take off the collar and it was horrible. He nearly drowned me. Alex may be a total cunt for letting Zack do this stuff, but at least he made sure the little psychopath didn't kill me! I think the rest of the Boys are getting kinda pissed off with Alex now, especially Robert. The worst thing is, they seem to think I'm on Alex's side. I wanna tell them what Zack's doing to me, but I can't. I try and talk about it and the words just stick in my throat. Also, it kinda feels like running to the others for help is like giving up and letting Zack beat me and that's something I'll never do, not as long as I know Benny's coming back! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 20th June 2015 He's not human. He can't be. No human being can be that cruel. Zack made me break up with Roger, he said that if I didn't, he would hurt him and do much worse things than anything he's done to me! Oh God, the look on Roger's face when I told him, it felt like I was dying. I can't do this any more! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday 25th June 2015 I'm gonna do it. I'm leaving. Tomorrow night, I'm gonna come home, grab my stuff and then I'm just gone. I can't take another weekend of whatever sick tortures that psychopathic fucker can come up with. I'd rather leave and never see any of the guys ever again than let him win and take off my collar. Benny might come back, but he might not. Maybe he's forgotten me, but that doesn't matter any more. I won't let Zack win. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benny finished the last entry and dropped the diary to his side. He wanted to wake Zane up, to apologise for what he had gone through, to tell him he had not been forgotten, that he could never be, but he knew the Boy needed rest. As he wiped away the tears the diary had induced, Benny found himself inordinately glad that Zane's head in his lap stopped him from getting up. If he had been able to move, he suspected he might have gone to Zack and just lost control. Quietly simmering in his own rage, he eventually fell asleep. ********** Sunday 28th June 2015 Benny awoke when he heard movement out in the atrium. There was a loud bang, followed by a voice calling out, "Ah, fuck it!" Zane was still sound asleep. After what he had been through, Benny expected him to sleep for most of the morning. He slipped out, grateful that the Boy managed to stay asleep as he slipped a cushion under his head, then walked out into the atrium, pulling the door closed quietly behind him. "What are you doing?" Benny asked as he saw Wesley struggling with the large wooden frame in the centre of the room. "I wanted to take this down, but it's heavier than it looks!" Wesley replied, supporting one end of the long wooden beam on his shoulder. Benny shook his head and smirked. He appreciated the gesture, but looking at the large wooden structure compared to Wesley's slight frame, it was painfully obvious he would never manage it alone. Thankfully, with Benny's help they had it disassembled and, for now, placed out of the way in the Games Room. "How's Zane?" Wesley asked as the two of them took a seat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, sipping on the coffee Wesley had made. Benny felt the knot in his stomach return at the mention of the name. He shrugged and said, "Right now he just needs to rest. He's really been treated badly while I was away. Best I can tell, he was stuck out there for about thirty hours." "Fuck," Wesley said in shock. "What the hell's wrong with Alex?" Benny frowned for a moment. "What?" Wesley asked, seeing the doubt on his former Master's face. "I don't..." he paused, not sure whether to voice his theory quite yet, but decided to go on anyway. "I don't think this is all on Alex. I think Zack's got a lot to answer for!" Wesley nodded his understanding as he took another sip of coffee. "You think we should go wake everyone up?" "Nah," Benny said with a smile. "It's the weekend, let them sleep in. Besides, I always liked how quiet the house can be in the mornings and it's been a while." "Yeah," Wesley nodded. "Is it weird being back?" "Very!" Benny replied with a sigh. "I was so surprised when Charlie told me you'd left. Sorry to hear about your Dad," Wesley said sympathetically. "Thanks," Benny said, staring down into his cup. "I shouldn't have left." "Maybe," Wesley said with a shrug, "Maybe not. Who knows, it's all in the past. I suppose what really matters is what you do now!" Benny sighed then nodded gently. "Yeah, you're right," he said, then gulped down the remainder of his drink, "So let's go and do something!" Wesley smiled as they both stood up, encouraged by Benny's sudden keenness. They quickly headed out of the kitchen, but paused as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Benny held Wesley back and gestured for him to be quiet, then looked back and mouthed, "It's Roger!" The teen looked terrified. Wesley reached out and squeezed his shoulder, then whispered, "It'll be okay!" Roger reached the bottom of the stairs and walked round, presumably heading to either the kitchen or the cellar door. He froze dead in his tracks as he saw Benny and Wesley standing there. "Erm... hi," Benny said sheepishly. "B... Benny!? What are you.... How are you... Why..." Roger stuttered,suddenly uncharacteristically flustered. "I'm... back," Benny managed to say, barely holding back tears. Seeing the large General was harder than he imagined. All at once it hit him how much he had missed the twenty-year-old man. He was Benny's closest friend, his most reliable General, his most trusted sub and suddenly he was right there. Roger ran forwards, wrapped his arms around the small teen and lifted him up, holding him in a tight bear hug. Wesley smiled at the embrace and headed to the stairs. "I'm gonna go find Malik," he said quietly, but got no response as he headed up the stairs. After a few minutes, Roger suddenly dropped Benny and looked panicked. "Wait, where's Zane?" he looked round nervously. "Relax," Benny said with a gentle smile, wiping a tear from his cheek. "He's okay, he's sleeping in my lounge." "What happened?" Roger asked in shock. He had gone to bed the night before terrified of the things happening in the house and Alex's ongoing reign of terror. To now wake up and find Zane released and Benny back, it was more than a little confusing. "Where's Alex?" Benny felt his face reddening at the mention of the name. Although it was already becoming clear that most of the unpleasantness that had befallen the Boys had been thanks to Zack, Alex had still been the one in charge and Benny couldn't help getting riled just thinking about him. Before he could answer Roger's question, the cellar door opened and Philip appeared. He stared with a similar expression of shock to the one Roger had worn. As Benny took a step towards him, he backed away, turned and dashed back down the stairs to the cellar. "What's he..." Benny started, looking at Roger, but his question was answered before he could ask it. "EVERYONE GET UP HERE!" Philip yelled as loud as he could, his voice echoing through the cellar. The sound of approaching Boys grew louder and louder as they all emerged from their Dorms, roused by the sudden yell. Benny and Roger moved back into the middle of the atrium, right around where Zane had been stood a few hours earlier. As the small crowd emerged from the cellar, Wesley returned from his former bedroom accompanied by Malik who looked just as bewildered as everyone else. "What's going on?" "Why's Benny here?" "Is that Wesley?" "Where's Alex?" "What happened to Zane?" The questions flew from every direction, not aimed at anyone in particular. "QUIET!" Roger bellowed, prompting immediate silence. Benny smirked. It was nice to see that Roger could still command great respect, or fear, maybe both. "Err... hi everyone. I... guess I'm back!" Benny said slightly awkwardly. The silence continued for a few moments longer before the atrium was filled with cheers. Hugs were exchanged, everyone excitedly greeting both Benny and Wesley. ********** Alex had barely moved since being banished to his room. He had heard various noises from the house. Occasionally someone walked past his room. His heart pounded every time, worried that it was his time. He kept bouncing back and forth between self-pity and outright anger. He knew he had let things get out of control and he knew it would have been easy to blame it all on Zack. He couldn't resist his cousin, it had always been that way and yet he allowed Zack to stay there, influencing his thoughts, his actions. Waves of anger built in him. Anger at himself, at Zack and even at Benny for leaving and putting him in the position he had been in. He would get up and march towards the door, ready to burst out, tell Benny how pissed he was, but every time he got close he stopped himself. "You did this, you can pay for it!" he muttered to himself. When the door finally opened and he found himself facing Wesley, he suddenly wished he had simply left. He was overwhelmed with shame knowing that the young man in front of him knew what he had done, so he could barely imagine how it would feel when he actually came face-to-face with one of the Boys... especially Zane. "Come on," Wesley said, attempting to sound casual despite his obvious rage. "What's going on?" Alex asked nervously as he stood. "Just come on!" Wesley snapped. Alex followed as the newly-returned General left the room and headed down the stairs. He had almost expected to see the frame Zane had been attached to still stood there. He thought maybe he might be subjected to it in the other Boy's place. Instead, the atrium was completely empty. He continued following Wesley into the main lounge. As they walked in, Alex found himself face-to-face with the entire household. Benny was sat on a sofa, with Roger and Malik either side. Behind and to the sides stood Quentin, Robert, Charlie, Philip, Taro, David and Josh. The only ones missing were Zack and Zane. Wesley stood off to one side. "Have a seat," Benny said surprisingly calmly, gesturing to the armchair facing the crowd. Alex took the seat gingerly, avoiding making eye contact with anyone. Benny sat forward and took a deep breath. "Okay, so here's the thing. Last time someone in the house did something wrong, I... slightly overreacted." He subconsciously glanced over at Roger before looking back to Alex. "I didn't want to do that this time, which is why I thought we would talk about this whole thing, erm, calmly and... sensibly." He heard a few snorts of derision from behind him, but carried on regardless. "So... who wants to start?" Despite the strong opinions of some of the Boys that Benny had already heard being voiced, nobody seemed particularly keen to speak first. "Fine," Benny said, shaking his head. "Well why don't I just talk through events as I know them and you all feel free to jump in if you have anything to add." He got up and started pacing back and forth in front of the sofa, looking from Alex, to the other residents and back again. "So I decide I need some time away from the house and you all decide you need someone to put in charge. Fair enough, that makes sense." Benny paused as he heard a general murmur of agreement, then went on. "So you all decide between you that rather than simply promoting the second-in-command, the person who knows how things run in this house even better than I do, you chose... him!" He pointed at Alex, prompting him to look up. As Alex caught Benny's eye, then glanced at a few of the others, he flushed an even brighter red then returned to his blank downward stare. "You chose the newest dom. You chose someone who, I'm sure I'm not revealing any big secret here, has more than a few issues! Fair enough. I have to admit, he's made a lot of progress since coming to the house, so I can... sort of understand that." Benny continued as he paced. "Now from what I'm told, Alex was actually quite a good Master... in the beginning at least. Am I right?" "Yeah," Quentin said quietly. "He was!" Charlie said, strongly emphasising the past tense. "So come on. Someone tell me what happened," Benny demanded. "How did we get from 'promising new master' to 'blackmail and torture' then?" Benny already knew the answer. Zane's diary had made it abundantly clear, but he wanted to know if that opinion was shared by the others too. "It was Zack!" Philip said bluntly, confirming Benny's suspicion. Alex looked up at the mention of his cousin's name. "How so?" Benny asked, eyes narrowing slightly. "He's..." Philip started, but then paused and shuddered. Charlie, who was stood beside him, discreetly reached down and took his hand, so he went on. "He's not right. He seemed to get his kicks from seeing Alex being mean, so he kept doing his best to make that happen." Again there were murmurs of agreement. "That's bullshit!" Robert snapped angrily. "Yeah, Zack's a twisted little cunt, but Alex was the one in charge. He decided what happened, this is on him!" "Are you fucking kidding me?" Quentin retorted immediately. Benny was shocked. He had rarely, if ever, heard his former teacher swear, especially so aggressively. "Alex was in charge by title only. You'd have to be pretty fucking blind not to see that demented freak was pulling his strings!" Quentin insisted. "Maybe he was," Roger interrupted, his deep voice silencing the others immediately, "But Alex knew what he was doing. He could have stopped listening or just made him leave at any time, but he didn't. He let Zack stay and he let things get as bad as they did!" The group burst into loud arguments, some shouting their agreement with Roger and Robert, while others were clearly of the same opinion as Quentin. Benny allowed it to go on for a few more seconds before shouting, "ENOUGH!" The din quietened slowly until everyone had calmed down and turned their attention back to the boy in charge. "I think it's time we heard from Alex!" Benny said, turning every eye in the room onto the silent teen who seemed to be shrinking more and more into the armchair. Alex stared at Benny, looking remorseful but remaining unusually silent. Benny stared back, eyes widening. "You... really don't have anything to say? No defence? Nothing?" he demanded. Alex let out a single 'ha', surprising Benny and rest of the spectators. "You really think I could defend anything I've done? They all know what I did and by the sounds of it, they've told you too. What can I say to defend that? I broke your rules, I hurt people and... I let you all down. Do what you need to do!" The comments were a little surprising. Benny had expected one of two things from the older teen – either desperate pleading for forgiveness or remorseless anger. Acceptance and admission had been the last things he expected. Whilst slightly impressed, he also found himself a little disappointed that Alex didn't even seem willing to fight for his position. He let out a hearty sigh then said, "I just have one question. Do you WANT to stay in this house?" Alex's breath caught in his throat. He looked round at everyone else in the room before looking back to Benny, then gently nodded. "Okay. Now I know that this is my house and I could just make the decisions here, but this feels... too personal for me to just do that, so we're going to vote," Benny explained. "Two choices. Either we let him stay and punish him as we see fit for what he's done to you all or he leaves the house. Majority rules. Everyone understand?" "I'm not voting!" Wesley said from the side of the room where he had remained in silence for the entire exchange. "I wasn't here, I don't know everything that happened so I can't make an informed decision." Benny nodded his agreement at Wesley, then looked to the others. "Okay, who says he goes?" Benny immediately raised his own hand, getting a few surprised looks from the others. One by one, Roger, Robert, Josh and David all raised their hands. "Okay," Benny said, taking a quick count. "And who says he stays?" Quentin, Charlie, Philip, Taro and Malik raised their hands in response. Benny let out a sigh as he counted. "Well that's a tie then!" he said. Everyone looked round at Wesley who simply shook his head. A few confused looks were exchanged as everyone considered the result. Before Benny could speak, a voice came from the doorway. "Don't I get a vote?" They all looked across to see Zane walk in, limping slightly. Benny immediately dashed to the older teen's side and supported him as he made his way across the room. He helped him sit in the spot he had vacated earlier. "How much did you hear?" Zane shrugged. "Most of it," he said quietly before looking round at everyone, "And you're all right. It was mostly Zack, but Alex should still answer for it. It wasn't just me he hurt after all." "Yeah, but it was you who he had tied up out there for two days!" Robert interrupted. Zane winced at the mention of his ordeal and the comments triggered a new round of arguments. Zane took the momentary distraction to lean to his side and whisper to Roger, "It was you that came to help me, wasn't it?" Roger smiled gently and nodded. "I couldn't just leave you there. You know, they all wanted to come and help you but I told them I'd do it." "Thanks," Zane whispered back. "And thanks for the hug, it helped more than you can imagine." Roger looked confused. He frowned and said, "I... didn't hug you." "Oh," Zane said, suddenly confused. He had thought both his visitors had been the same person, so if it wasn't Roger, then who was it? He looked to Alex for a moment, his eyes narrowing a little. Could it have been.... "SHUT UP!" Benny called out, silencing the room once again. "Has anyone changed their vote?" Zane asked, getting a quiet chorus of nos and head shakes in response. "Okay, then the deciding vote is still mine and I say... he stays!" Alex gasped, even more surprised than the rest of the room. He stared at Zane, his best friend... maybe now his former friend. Before the room could erupt into more chatter, Benny called out, "Alex will be restricted to his room until such time as his punishment has been determined, but he can stay." Alex nodded and quickly dashed out, returning to the room where he had spent the morning so far. "Okay, as for the rest of you... take the weekend off. Relax, recover, do whatever you need. Normal routine resumes on Monday." Benny instructed, then headed out too. The group slowly began to disperse, some to the far end of the lounge, chatting quietly, others heading down to the Dorms. Malik got up off the sofa leaving Zane and Roger together. "What did..." Roger started, then paused, unsure whether it was a good idea to ask what was on his mind. He steeled himself and tried again. "What did Zack do to make you break up with me?" Zane's mouth opened to answer, but all that came out was a gentle whimper. He sniffed back tears, not wanting to cry any more, cleared his throat and said, "Can we... just be us again? Please?" Roger reached both arms around the teen and held him tightly. "Of course we can." He planted a kiss on the Boy's forehead. ********** Benny had been lurking in the doorway of his lounge ever since he left the others. While he was keen to speak to everyone in the house individually, there was one person he felt it was much more urgent to talk to. "Josh!" Benny called out as he saw his first sub emerge from the other lounge. "Oh, hey," Josh said with a gentle smile as he heard his name get called out. "You okay?" "Can we talk?" Benny requested before disappearing into the room. Josh followed a few moments later and closed the door behind him. "What's up?" he asked as he took a seat. "I owe you an apology. I mean, I owe a lot of people apologies, but... I really owe you one," Benny explained. "What for?" Josh asked with a slight shrug. Benny sighed, wondering whether Josh was being polite and just trying not to mention the issue or if he genuinely didn't understand why. "Before I left, the night that my Dad... died. I said really mean things to you and to Dale." Josh tilted his head to the side and let out a gentle sigh. "Oh that. Don't give it another thought. You were upset. I know you didn't mean it and so does Dale." "Really? You don't... hate me?" Benny asked, his eyebrows raising. Josh chuckled slightly. "Of course not. Come on, I've forgiven you for worse things than that!" A sudden painful silence fell between them. "Sorry," Josh added, "That was meant to be funny, but I guess it... wasn't." Benny just looked completely dejected. He shook his head as he stared down at the ground. "All I seem to do is screw things up!" "Don't be silly," Josh said, standing from his seat and kneeling in front of the Master. "Everyone makes mistakes, but you do good stuff here too." "But it's just... so hard. Sometimes... I just... can't..." Benny tried to talk but started crying gently. Josh moved again, this time sitting beside the boy and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He didn't say anything, he just let him get it all out. As he sat back in the seat, Benny came with him, his head coming to rest on Josh's chest. "I miss the old days," Benny whispered. "The old days?" Josh asked with a slight chuckle. "Benny, you're only sixteen. You're not old enough to even have 'the old days' yet!" Benny laughed gently too and nudged Josh in the side. "You know what I mean. Back when it was all simpler." "What, you mean back when it was just you torturing me, Nick, Corey, Dale and Warren?" Josh asked, thinking back to the fun week they had shared two Summers before. "Well yeah, that was great, but I mean even before that," Benny explained. "Back when you were just my hot babysitter and we used to just hang out and watch movies my parents wouldn't let me see and eat pizza and just... you know, have fun!" "You know we can still do that, right?" Josh said giving the boy a gentle squeeze. "Just cos you're my Master again, that doesn't mean that's all you can be. If you wanna just hang out with me, then we can do it." "Really?" Benny asked, sitting up and smiling as he dried his eyes. "Of course!" Josh said happily. "Awesome!" Benny grinned. "And hey, who knows, maybe it'll end up like that time with you and the others again. That really was fun, you know, til I fucked it up!" "It was. I like Master Benny and I liked Benny the bratty kid, but it was that Benny, the one who... brought out this whole other side of me that I really fell in love with!" Josh explained, blushing slightly. "Josh?" Benny said inquisitively, suddenly hesitant. "Yeah?" "You know back then... when things first started happening and then you met Dale... you told me that you loved me, but that we could never work because I was so young," Benny started. "Yeah," Josh replied with a nod. Benny looked even more reluctant to go on, like he was afraid of what he might hear. "Did you really mean it or was it just a nice way of blowing me off?" "Oh I meant it. Benny, you totally changed my life. Even though you were so young, you just... knew what you wanted and you took it. You were so... excited and energetic and happy and... playful. I honestly don't know how it would have been possible not to love you." Benny welled up again, but this time it was happy tears that streaked his cheeks. "Thank you," he whispered. "No. Thank YOU!" Josh said back as he reached out and gently brushed a finger down Benny's cheek. ********** "Ugh, this is bullshit!" Robert snapped angrily as he quickly got dressed. Being excused for the day he had decided to go out. "I can't believe he gets to stay. And you two actually voted for it too!" Charlie and Philip were laying together on Charlie's bunk. "Look, that's how the vote went. Either get over it or get out," Charlie replied bluntly. "We get that you're pissed, but that's the deal. Who knows, maybe he'll fuck up again right away and he'll just be out and you can be happy. But maybe he won't. Maybe he'll learn from this, become better. I think sometimes it's easy to forget how young him and Benny actually are. I mean, do you think you'd have done any better running this place at their age?" Philip gave his lover a gentle squeeze, silently showing his agreement with the comments. "Whatever," Robert huffed, finishing buttoning his shirt. "I'm going out. See you later!" He walked quickly to the door and pulled it open just as there was a knock on it. "Oh, hey!" Wesley said, surprised to get such a quick answer. "Hey Wesley," Robert said slightly gruffly before pushing past and heading for the stairs. Wesley watched him go, then looked back to Charlie and Philip. "Problem?" he asked, raising an eye brow. "Nah," Charlie said dismissively. "He's just being a moody bitch." Philip leant away from his lover allowing them both to sit up. Charlie jumped down off the bunk while Philip just sat on the edge looking down at the two brothers. "Fair enough," Wesley said with a slight smirk. Then stood facing his sibling in awkward silence. "So... erm... it's great to see you!" Charlie said shyly. Wesley smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you too." The awkward silence returned, broken only by the sudden thud of Philip jumping down from Charlie's bunk. "Wow you two are impossible. If you won't talk for yourselves, maybe I should do it for you!" Philip said, moving to Charlie's side. He cleared his throat then did his best to mimic his boyfriend's voice. "So Wes, I'm so glad you're back. I really missed you. In fact, I never shut up about it." "Phil!" Charlie snarled through gritted teeth, blushing slightly at the unwanted revelation. "Okay, this would be where you say something back!" Philip said, looking at Wesley. When he got no response, he instead moved to the General's side and imitated him. "Yeah, I missed you too bro. I had my time away from the house and it really helped me sort things out!" "Hey, no, I..." Wesley protested, then he paused to think and added, "Yeah, actually I suppose that's about right!" Charlie sniggered. "Yeah, he's annoying but he's usually right!" Philip beamed with pride at Charlie's comment. "Damn straight I am. Anyway, I'll leave you two to talk now. Catch ya later!" He turned and headed out, pulling the door closed behind him. "So... the time away really helped?" Charlie asked hopefully. Wesley nodded. "Look, I know we cleared the air about a lot of the stuff between us before I left, but I still couldn't help feeling angry at you, but the longer I was away, the more I realised that I missed you more than I resented you. I spent half my life with an awesome brother and half my life without one and I definitely know which one I prefer." "Yeah, me too," Charlie agreed. "So you're... back for good then?" Wesley shrugged. "If the house wants me... yeah!" "Believe me, they do!" Charlie said with a grin. "Besides, you're a hero." He paused and stepped back, reaching under his pillow to retrieve a phone. "If you hadn't left me this so that I could always contact you, I wouldn't have been able to call you for help and you never would have got Benny to come back." "Look, don't... tell anyone else about that," Wesley requested. Charlie looked confused. "Why not?" "Benny's had a hard time and I think it'd help him if this looked like a win for him rather than me," Wesley explained. "I don't need the praise, I'm just happy to be back with my family." Charlie nodded and smiled. "Okay, I understand," he said, then pulled Wesley into a hug. "Love you, bro." ********** Alex had been keen to leave the lounge after his verdict had been passed, partly to escape the angry glares, but mostly because he was afraid they might change their minds. It had been close. He had almost been kicked out of the house. He actually felt like he should be, but if they were willing to let him stay he wasn't about to argue with it. Since then, he had been sat back in the solitude of his room. He knew he should be worried about whatever punishment the house deemed suitable for him, but instead all he could think about was what he would say to everyone. He would have to face them all at some point, apologise maybe. 'Apologise? How the fuck do you apologise for torturing and blackmailing someone?' Alex thought to himself. 'Why the fuck did I let Zack talk me into that stuff?' 'It's cos you're fucking weak!' he thought to himself in response, the other side of his personality suddenly kicking in. 'I'm not weak, it's just... he says things and they just... they get to me!' 'If you know that, then why do you listen to him? Why do you let him talk?' 'He's... he's my cousin. He's the only person who's always been there. He's the closest thing you ever had to a friend!' 'You know that's not true. Zane is your friend. Oh no, wait, you've fucked that up too haven't you! Zane WAS your friend!' 'Oh God, he hates me. He has to. The things I let Zack do! But... I tried to help him!' 'You TRIED to help him? You were in charge. If you wanted to help him, you'd have just done it. You'd have stopped Zack from hurting him, but you didn't. You sat back and let it happen.' 'You're weak. You're pathetic. You're a worthless excuse for a person. You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be anywhere. You should just go, leave everyone behind, everything. You don't deserve to be around people. You're just totally fucking useless!' "Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!" Alex whispered to himself over and over. He was curled up on the bed, eyes closed tightly, trying to block out his own voice in his head. "Alex?" The eighteen-year-old jumped as he realised this voice wasn't in his head. Someone was sitting on his bed, a hand resting on his shoulder. Struggling to catch his breath, he looked up to see Zane staring down at him. He tried to talk but nothing would come out, just weak whimpers between sobs. Without a single word, Zane lay down, wrapped his arms around him and just spooned against him. Alex gripped at Zane's hands tightly, squeezing his eyes closed again. It took quite a while for Alex to calm down, his breathing gradually returning to normal as he felt his friend, maybe former friend, pressed against his back, the other teen's breath warm on his neck. "It was you, wasn't it?" Zane whispered, breaking the long silence. When Alex didn't reply, he probed further. "It was you that came and helped me while I was tied up wasn't it. You gave me water and then you... you hugged me and kissed me... didn't you?" "Yes," Alex croaked in response. Zane didn't say anything else for quite a while, he just lay there holding Alex. Eventually, Alex pulled away slightly, then rolled over so he was face-to-face with Zane. "Why did you let me stay?" Zane shrugged. "Because... you're a cunt! Like, most of the time... most of your life actually. But... when you're not, you're awesome. I'd rather live with occasionally having cunty Alex in the house than kick awesome Alex out!" "I don't deserve this. I hurt people, I hurt you!" Alex said, using every ounce of his willpower not to look away in shame. Zane shrugged again. "Well yeah, like I said... you're a cunt!" He smiled weakly and chuckled. Alex attempted to smile but it came out as a grimace. "So... what? We're good then?" Zane snorted. "What, after what you did to me you think some water, a hug and some self-pity gets you off the hook? No, we're not good. But... eventually we might be." Alex nodded his understanding. It wasn't much, but it was enough to silence the voices in his head for now. ********** How long had it been now? It felt like days. Alone in the darkness, only the tiniest sliver of light making its way under the door. The room was tiny, about four feet wide and six feet long, nothing but cold concrete floor and bare brick walls. Empty aside from a bucket in the corner which had, reluctantly, been used eventually for a little relief. There were noises from outside, occasional voices getting closer and then further away, every time bringing the possibility of freedom before fading away again. Zack had tried to sleep, but the cold floor made him shiver and there was no way to lay that gave enough comfort to achieve any rest. He had been thrown into the tiny room by someone he had never seen before. His fiery fury had quickly given way to fear as he realised that he had probably pushed too far. Now the anticipation of what was going to happen to him made him shudder even more than the cold. Once again he heard footsteps approach and found himself desperately hoping the door would open. Two shadows covered part of the narrow line of light beneath the door. Feet. Someone was standing right on the other side. There was a quiet thud as a bolt was opened, then the door swung outwards, flooding the room with dim light that felt blinding after the hours of darkness. Zack raised a hand to shield his eyes, blinking rapidly as he attempted to see who it was, but before he could make out the figure, the door closed again. Sudden panic filled him as he realised the mysterious figure had closed the door from the inside. Zack stood, trembling. As he tried to speak, he felt a hand around his throat, slamming him against the back wall of the tiny room. "You're gonna pay for what you did!" a low, angry voice growled in his ear. ********** Sunday 28th June 2015 Benny had slept restlessly all night. He wasn't sure whether it was all the stress of the last couple of days disturbing him or the nagging feeling of knowing that the bed he now slept in had been occupied by Zack and Alex until the previous night. It was his room and yet their presence had made it feel alien to him. He was only half asleep when he heard his door swing open suddenly, so he sat up and looked across to see David standing there. "What's wrong?" Benny asked, the panic on the young man's face obvious. "You need to come quick," David said shakily. Benny jumped out of bed and followed David as he headed down the main staircase and then down again to the cellar. The Boy stopped outside the Trash room where Zack had been locked since Benny's return. "David?" Benny asked nervously. "I came out to use the toilet and I saw that," David said, pointing to a small red blotch on the floor just outside the door. "Is that.. blood?" Benny asked, eyes wide with fear. "So I looked inside..." David said, pulling the door open. Benny stared in shock. The tiny room was spattered with blood, but Zack was gone. "Was he in here when you looked?" Benny asked, beginning to panic. David shook his head. "Okay," Benny said, nodding. He began pacing. "Okay.... okay... erm... okay." "Benny?" David asked. The Master stopped, took a deep breath and said, "Right. You stay here. Anyone tries to leave their dorm, tell them to stay inside. I'll be right back!" David nodding his understanding as Benny dashed back up the stairs. The anxious teen quickly made his way back up to the top floor, heading straight for Roger's room. Without knocking, he walked straight in and found Roger and Zane cuddled up together in bed. "Get up!" Benny said as he saw Roger begin to stir. "Benny, what's going on?" Roger asked as he slid his arm out from under Zane and sat up. "Get up, get dressed, both of you. I'll be right back," Benny said firmly, then headed back out. Turning left, he went to Malik and Wesley's room, rousing them in much the same way he had with Roger. As he made his way back out into the hallway he found Roger and Zane waiting, Malik and Wesley quickly emerging from their room. "Zack's gone!" Benny said bluntly. "What, he escaped?" Zane asked, subconsciously grabbing tightly onto Roger's arm. Benny shook his head. "I don't think so. I think someone took him and I think it's pretty clear he's hurt. There's... blood!" "Good!" Zane snarled. "NOT good!" Benny snapped in response. "I don't think you realise how serious this is. We were essentially holding him against his will. That's already pretty bad, but we add in assault... or worse... and we're in some serious shit!" "Fuck!" Roger grunted. "What do we do?" "Malik, stay with Alex. For now don't tell him anything, just say I've ordered him to stay put. Wesley, take Zane and check all the rooms on the ground floor, Roger come down to the cellar with me," Benny instructed. Silently everyone complied with the instructions. As Benny and Roger got back down to the cellar, they heard voices. "Benny said to stay in your dorm!" David insisted firmly. "I don't care, I wanna know what's happening!" Robert insisted, trying to push past David just as Benny and Roger reached the bottom of the stairs. "Back in your room. NOW!" Benny snapped furiously. Robert froze, but then stepped back inside and shut the door. "Good work," Benny said with a warm smile, stroking David's arm. "Back in your room for now." David nodded and headed back into his room too. As Benny turned, he found Roger already examining the small bloodied room that had contained Zack. "Yeah," Roger said, looking closely at the door. "No damage to the door. Someone definitely unlocked this, it's not broken." "Okay, have a quick check of the other rooms, I'm gonna see if anyone else is missing," Benny said, heading to Dorm One. He opened the door and looked inside. Robert was sitting on his bunk while Charlie and Philip were both looking down from their bunks. "What's going on?" Robert asked gingerly. "Nothing!" Benny insisted then shut the door. He made his way next door to Dorm Two and did the same, finding David and Taro both standing together talking. He quickly checked Dorm Three as he passed it, finding it empty before opening the door to Dorm Four. Being furthest from the commotion, Quentin and Josh were both still asleep, undisturbed by Benny's sudden entrance. "Anything?" Benny asked as he found Roger finishing his check of the other rooms. Roger shook his head, now looking as worried as Benny. "Well everyone's accounted for," Benny said, frowning as he tried to figure out what happened. "Roger, we've got to find him. If anything's happened to him, it's on me!" "I know," Roger said, placing a hand on the nervous teen's shoulder. "It's okay, we'll find him." "I need to go and talk to Alex!" Benny said. He was hoping they would find Zack and he could avoid a difficult conversation, but now he had to go and break the bad news. He headed back towards the stairs. He looked back to Roger and ordered, "Get everyone upstairs. Someone knows something and I'm going to find out who!" As he reached the atrium, he found Wesley and Zane standing together. "No sign of him," Wesley said with a shrug. Benny continued up the stairs and straight into Alex's room. He immediately looked at Malik and nodded towards the door. The General took the hint and hurried out as Benny sat down on the bed near Alex. "Is this... am I getting punished?" Alex asked nervously. "No, this is... something else. Erm... Alex, I... something's happened... with Zack," Benny said quietly. "What?" Alex asked, jumping off the bed and standing in front of Benny. "What happened? Is he okay? Where is he?" "We... don't know!" Benny replied cautiously. "You... you don't know? How can you not know?" Alex asked, beginning to get angry. "We think that someone either let him out, or took him out but..." Benny hesitated. He was going to mention the blood, but he could already see the panic spreading across Alex's face and couldn't stand the thought of making it worse so he deliberately avoided mentioning it. Alex raised his hands, covering his nose and mouth, deep breaths hissing between his fingers. He dropped them and stared furiously. "Who did it? Who was it?" he demanded angrily. "Alex, please, calm down. I don't know yet, but I'm going to find out," Benny said confidently, despite being completely clueless about how to go about it. "You just... you... GAAARGH!" Alex yelled, turning away and rubbing his eyes. He turned back to Benny. "You have no idea how hard it's been controlling my temper the last couple of days, it's... I just... I want to hurt people. I just... I want to hit things and break things and I'm barely holding it together and now... you... you've lost my cousin. I don't.... I can't..." His breathing got so heavy that even his broken sentences couldn't get out. Benny stepped forward and placed both hands on Alex's shoulders. "Just breathe. Please, just hold it together. I'll get to the bottom of this, we'll find Zack and he'll be fine. Just... hold it together. I think it's best if you stay in here for now, okay?" Alex nodded, taking a few deep breaths, then turned away again. Benny quickly left the room. As he closed the door, he leaned against it, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Okay, you can do this!' he thought to himself, then opened his eyes and headed back to the stairs. As instructed, Roger had got everyone gathered together. By now, word had spread of what was going on, whether from eavesdropping, word of mouth or simply seeing the vacant, blood-stained room. "RIGHT!" Benny snapped as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "One of you knows something. Come forward now and we can deal with this. Make me find out the hard way and I promise you WILL regret it!" The Boys and the Generals all exchanged nervous, blank looks and shrugs. "Anyone?" Benny demanded frustratedly. "Nobody knows anything? Nobody heard anything? Nothing at all?" Still nothing but silence and vacant stares. "Fine. Hard way it is!" Benny said angrily. His eyes scanned the crowd, then fixed on Quentin. "You, with me! Rest of you, stay here!" Benny marched to his private lounge, virtually dragging his teacher by the arm. One by one, Benny questioned the residents of the house. Annoyingly, he found each of them had an alibi. Most of the Boys had spent the evening together in the lounge, even Robert who eventually came home and joined them. As they made their way down to the Dorms for the night, they had gone in pairs or threes until they were all in their rooms where they each vouched nobody had left. The Generals went much the same way, Roger and Zane spending the evening together while Malik and Wesley had barely been apart, the two best friends so excited to be back together. "I don't understand," Benny growled as he sat facing Roger who had been the last to be questioned. "Everyone's spoken for." "Are you sure they're telling the truth? I mean, everyone's got their reasons to hate Zack. I don't think it'd be much of a stretch to think a few of them could be in on it together," Roger suggested. "I'd considered it, but... how can I prove it?" Benny asked, shaking his head. "Besides, the most important thing is finding out where Zack is. I may not be his biggest fan, but I want to know he's okay." He flopped back in his seat, shielding his eyes from the early morning sunlight now flooding the room. "Whadda we do, go out and search for him?" Roger asked. "I don't know. I just... don't know," the young master sighed, shaking his head. "Sounds like they're getting restless," Roger said, gesturing to the door where the sounds of conversation had been growing for the last few minutes. "Yeah, let's get back out there," Benny said reluctantly, standing from his seat. The conversations continued, albeit a little quieter, as the Master and his second-in-command appeared from the private lounge. Before Benny could say anything, they were interrupted by a shout from the balcony above them. "BENNY!" Alex called out, running to the railing and looking over, his phone in his hand. "They found him. They found Zack. He's in the hospital!" Benny headed towards the stairs at the same time as Alex, the two of them meeting about half way up. "The hospital? Is he hurt? How bad is it?" "Come on, you saw the blood. It's gotta be pretty bad!" Alex said, looking distraught. "Yeah, I..." Benny said, pausing and frowning before going on. "I suppose so. Erm... why don't you go get ready and we'll take you to see him." "Okay," Alex nodded, then turned back upstairs. As Benny slowly walked back down towards the gathering crowd, he glanced at Malik. "Can I... talk to you?" he requested quietly before looking to the others. "The rest of you can go." Reluctantly, the group dispersed leaving just Benny and Malik standing together. "When you were in with Alex, what did you tell him about what had happened?" Benny asked, his brow furrowed. "Nothing. Honestly, I didn't say a word," Malik swore. "Why, what's wrong?" Benny looked thoughtful for a moment, staring down at the ground, then smiled at Malik and said, "Sorry, it's nothing. Good job." Ten minutes later, Alex and Benny were getting into a car out the front. Roger was driving. They made their way down the driveway, heading straight for the hospital. Silence filled the car, Alex nervously waiting to see his cousin. They had been going for a few minutes when Benny asked, "Why did you do it?" Roger glanced round at him in confusion, but the teen gestured to the passenger in the back, prompting a "What?" from Alex. "Alex, why did you do it?" Benny reiterated. "Do... what?" Alex asked blankly. "Whatever it was you did to Zack. Just... why?" Benny said, shaking his head slightly. Alex gasped slightly. "Me? Why would I... he's my cousin, I wouldn't..." "You're the only person who was alone last night," Benny said coldly. Alex scoffed. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. Whoever did this is probably lying to try and cover up. I mean, they all hate him, they're probably all in it together." Benny continued to shake his head. He had hoped that Alex was redeemable, but as the pieces began falling into place he was beginning to realise that it was a lost cause. "The blood, Alex. You mentioned how much there was, but I never told you about that." "No, Malik mentioned..." "STOP LYING!" Benny screamed. He took several deep breaths, calming himself. "I've given you chance after chance after chance and you keep just pissing it away!" Roger remained silent, letting the two teens talk as he drove into the hospital car park and looked for a space. "Benny, I really don't..." Alex tried to argue, but the young Master was having none of it. "Don't! Just... don't. There's no coming back from this one, Alex. You're done. Let me know where you and your cousin end up and I'll forward your things on to you, but you are NEVER coming back in my house ever again." Alex looked somewhere between distressed and furious. "Please Benny, no. I... I love it there." As the car pulled to a halt, Benny climbed out and opened Alex's door. "Well you should have thought about that before you did this!" Alex got out and stood facing Benny as Roger walked round to join them. "This is his fault!" Alex said in barely more than a whisper. "Things were great before Zack came along, but he ruined everything. He had to pay for what he'd done." Benny felt a sharp twinge in his stomach. It was terrifying knowing Alex was so out of control that he had apparently assaulted his own cousin, but at the same time it was clear that his sorrow was genuine. Whatever he had done, it was because he loved the house. He sighed and reached out, stroking the other teen's arm. "Alex, you need to get help. I know talking to Victor was making things better, but I think you need more. When you're... doing well, you're amazing. But this other side of you... you have to do something about it, but you just can't do it at the house. I'm really so, so sorry, but I meant what I said. You can't come back." Alex nodded, his eyes fixed on the ground. "I know, and... I'm sorry!" Benny leant forward and kissed Alex's cheek, then got back into the car. Roger got in the driver's seat and asked, "Are we going?" Benny took one more look at Alex, then nodded. The car pulled out and drove off, leaving Alex behind.