Date: Sun, 8 May 2022 12:55:59 +0000 From: Matt Smith Subject: The Kingswood Eight - Chapter 15 Author's Note: If you have any thoughts, comments or questions, you can contact me on matterotica@hotmail.co.uk. You also find me on patreon at patreon.com/matterotica Also, Nifty is a wonderful site that has been home to my stories for over a decade. If you love it as much as I do, please consider supporting them. More info at https://donate.nifty.org/ -------------------------------- The Kingswood Eight - Chapter 15 Monday 30 November (cont'd) "What do you mean, Chris and Danny are missing?" James demanded as he stood beside David. The two had just returned to the dorm to find Nicky, Mikey, Rob and Josh all looking distraught, their mentors looking just as concerned. "Is this... like last year when Chris tried to go home?" James asked, almost hopefully. "No, it's not like that," James' mentor, said softly, approaching his young protιgι. "Come sit down," he urged him, placing a hand gently on his back. "I don't wanna sit down!" James insisted, taking a step back, glancing over towards the door. "If they're missing, we should be looking. That's... that's how you find things that are missing! By... by looking, not by sitting!" "James, please," David urged him quietly, nodding over to the sofas where the others were gathered. James huffed but followed his best friend, sitting beside him as some of the older boys vacated a sofa to make room. "So what's happening?" David asked. The intuitive boy had already caught on to something being wrong much earlier in the day, so finding out he was right was both a relief and a an unpleasant shock. "It... seems Chris and Danny were taking part in a year thirteen PE lesson out in the woods behind the Sports Complex," Evan, David's mentor, explained as he squatted in front of the two late arrivals. "They disappeared partway through the game and nobody's not been able to find any trace of them!" "So they're lost in the woods?" David asked calmly. "Those woods go on for miles. Like... literally miles!" he said, thinking aloud and beginning to sound worried. Evan nodded. "All the school buildings and main school grounds have been searched, just to be sure. They did all of that this afternoon while we were still in classes, so they've ruled out that they might have just come back into the school, so yeah, it's looking likely they're somewhere out in the woods." "Wait, it was... this morning?" David asked, a little annoyed. "They've... they've already been missing for..." he glanced at the clock, "For eight hours?" He got a nod from the older boy. "Well... wh... what are they doing?" James asked, still convinced they should be out looking, the other four sitting nearby, having just been through this very conversation. "The year thirteens started searching right away and the teachers and staff joined them and now they've got the police at it too. They're doing this right, James," John insisted. "There's a full-on search party going. They'll find them!" "They might not!" James argued. He was answered by a chorus of shouts and whimpers. "Shut up, James. You're not helping!" Nicky snapped angrily. "I'm just... being realistic. No sign for 8 hours. That's not a good sign!" James answered back, not trying to be negative, just stating the facts as he saw them. He actually looked a little scared... an expression none of the others had seen on him before. "Nicky?" Mikey whimpered, the boy looking absolutely distraught as he clung to one of his boyfriends. "They'll find them!" Nicky insisted as he held tightly onto Mikey. "It's gonna be okay!" he added, as much to himself as to the terrified boy at his side. ***** 8 hours earlier... Injured, lost, trapped underground, restrained, and sitting in total darkness, it already felt like things were as bad as they could get for Chris, but then he had heard Danny say the words, "I can't move!" and it felt like the world came crashing down around him... again! "W... what... erm... wait, I... whadda you mean?" Chris stuttered shakily, some small part of him desperately hoping it was just a poorly-timed joke. "Well, you know what it's like when you can move? It's like the opposite of that!" Danny said, clearly trying to be humorous, though the fear in his voice was unmistakeable. "Danny, it's not funny!" Chris said firmly. "Can you move at all?" "I don't know," Danny replied. "I can't really... feel anything and... and I can't see if anything's moving!" "Okay, okay," Chris said, taking a deep breath. If Danny really couldn't move, this was bad and an already scary situation was only going to get worse, so he knew he had to stay calm. He shuffled around so that one of his restrained hands grabbed Danny's and instructed, "Okay, try squeezing my hand!" There was silence for a few moments before Danny said, "There, did you... did you feel it?" Chris felt sick, more than he already did from the two falls that had brought them there. There was nothing. No squeeze, not even the slightest hint of movement. Back at the beginning of the year, the two boys had rekindled their friendship with an unshakeable bond based on absolute honesty with each other, something Chris had stuck to religiously for fear of harming their friendship with any more lies. This didn't feel like a moment for total honesty though. "Yeah!" he said with forced cheerfulness. "It... it wasn't much but... it moved!" "Oh thank fuck!" Danny gasped, panting a little, not even realising he had been holding his breath. "Even if I can't walk, at least I can still wank!" he sniggered. Chris laughed back at him as he looked round in vain. There was still no source of light so he couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face... not that he could put his hand in front of his face anyway. "Try not to move your head too much anyway, just to avoid making it any worse," Chris instructed. His first aid knowledge was virtually non-existent, but that much he knew. "Now... I need to get my hands free so I can find a way out!" he mused, sitting up. "It's just rope they used," Danny informed him, having checked out the bindings earlier. "Just find something... sharp, or rough and you should be able to wear it down!" "Okay," Chris replied, shuffling round. The ground was strewn with loose dirt and rocks and it didn't take long for him to find one that felt suitable to start wearing away at the rope. As he sat rubbing the restraint, he started to think out loud. "Okay, so... there was still about half an hour left on the game, which means they won't even know we're missing for certain until then, so we've got at least a little bit of a wait before they come to find us." "If they can find us!" Danny replied. "Hmmm?" Chris hummed, not even realising he had been thinking aloud. "Well look," Danny said, then rolled his eyes and said, "Oops, you can't, but I guess that's kinda my point. Whatever hole we fell through, it collapsed in after us otherwise we'd be seeing daylight, so no hole means they're not even gonna know we're down here!" "Fuck. You're right!" Chris muttered, realising it put even more pressure on him to find them a way out for them both. "Where do you even think we are?" Danny asked. "Like... an old mine or something?" Chris shook his head before remembering Danny couldn't see it and said, "I don't think so. I don't think this was a mining area. Besides, this floor, it definitely feels... I dunno... like a proper floor. I think maybe it's some kind of tunnel or maybe just a... a hidden room! But... why would something like this be out here?" "Oh yeah, a weird secret at Kingswood, that'd be unusual!" Danny said sarcastically. "Heh, good point," Chris chuckled. "Look, we'll be sat here a while until I can get this rope off, but then I'm gonna get you out of here, okay!" "My hero!" Danny said, only half joking. Silence fell between them, the only sound coming from their breathing and Chris rubbing the rope back and forth over the rock. Danny knew he should be feeling cold, being near-naked and laying on a stone floor, underground, but he just felt... nothing. He felt the panic beginning to rise and his inability to move was only making it worse. "Chris... I... I need you to talk," he requested shakily. "Otherwise... I think I might start freaking out a bit!" he added, his voice wavering a little. "Yeah, erm, yeah, okay... well... erm..." Chris stuttered, unsure what to say, still desperately rubbing the rope against the rock. He could feel it fraying a little, but as he tried to talk, his mind just went blank. Danny chuckled again and said, "I normally can't shut you up and now that I actually want you to talk and you've got nothing?" "Sorry," Chris apologised awkwardly. "Well... why don't you tell me about your Creative Writing. How's that going? Got any stories to tell me?" Danny asked, quickly realising that keeping the conversation going seemed just as important for keeping Chris from freaking out as keeping his own growing fear under control. Chris hummed for a moment. "I had the WORST case of writers block ever a while back, but the other day I was doing something and it just kinda clicked and... well, it wasn't a story, but I kinda... wrote a song!" he said, a little shy for once. "Ooh, can I hear it?" Danny asked eagerly. "I love hearing you sing," he added wistfully. "Sure, I'll just grab my guitar!" Chris smirked. "Oh ha ha," Danny grumbled. "Sorry," Chris chuckled. "To be fair, I'm still working on the music part, but I've got the lyrics. You... wanna hear them? Without music it just kinda feels like... a poem." "Well songs are just poems with a backing track!" Danny replied. "Huh, I like that," Chris said, nodding. "Where'd you hear that?" "From you, ya wingnut!" Danny snapped playfully. "Hey, I'm smarter than I thought!" Chris chuckled, wincing a little as he kept knocking his hand as he grated at the rope. "Anyway, you wanna hear it?" he asked, glad of the distraction. "Sure!" Danny said, happy to just have Chris talking again. "So it's called... You and You and Me," Chris explained. "So the first verse goes... I thought I'd have to split my heart in two, The day I realised I love both of you, What you've given me has let me see, That my heart is big enough for three." "Oh my god, did you write a love song... to Nicky and Mikey?" Danny asked as Chris reached the end of the first verse. "Yeah, kinda," Chris blushed, feeling a bit silly. "That's... amazing!" Danny said in genuine awe. "Go on, what's next?" he asked eagerly. "So I kinda have the melody for the chorus worked out and it kinda goes, I can't stop this feeling, Love beyond its meaning, Kisses feel like dreaming, You and you and me, it's forever gonna be, Feelings never ending, Passion unrelenting, So disorienting, You and you and me, it's forever gonna be." Chris finished the chorus and went quiet for a moment. "Ugh, that's too sweet... and kinda catchy," Danny said, grinning. "Keep going!" Chris was almost laughing. He hadn't even let Nicky hear the song he was working on yet, so to have it so well received by the first person he let on it was a truly joyous moment. "Well verse two goes... Girl and boy become husband and wife, It's what they tell you is your goal in life, But boy meets boy and boy meets boy once more, Suddenly I've got two boys who I adore.' Then it's the chorus again and after that is verse 3, which, I dunno... it's gonna sound a bit different to the first two. I'm not sure, maybe a key change or... or just a slightly different tune, but it goes, There's beautiful, funny and caring you, Then fierce and unpredictable you two, Throw into that a pile of crazy me, And what you get is love that's made for three.' After that it's the chorus, then a slightly modified repeat of the chorus to end it!" Chris went quiet again as he let Danny take it in. "Chris, that's... that's SO cool," Danny said, almost tearing up. "So I'm guessing Nicky is the beautiful, funny and caring `you' in the song which makes Mikey the... how did you put it?" "Fierce and unpredictable!" Chris sniggered. Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I reckon he'll like that!" he said happily. "Yeah, me too," Chris replied. "Now it's just the music part I need to work on!" "Erm... well... we got time to kill, so go for it!" Danny suggested happily. ***** Now... "GET OFF OF ME!" Brian screamed as he struggled against Blane. "Brian, stop it!" Joseph urged him, cautiously holding out a hand to place on Brian's shoulder. "No. They can't do this! They can't give up!" Brian insisted, still struggling to get free from the young man's vice-like grip. "We told you!" Blane said exasperatedly. "We're not giving up, it's just getting too dark and we can't have students out there when it's not safe. We don't wanna end up looking for any more of you!" "But more people looking means more chance of finding them!" Brian argued. "FOR FUCK'S SAKE BRIAN..." Blane snapped furiously. Brian lowered his gaze to the ground as Joseph rubbed his back. "I'm sorry, that was... I shouldn't..." Blane said softly, pausing to take a few deep breaths. "I get it. I really do," he assured the teen. "I want to find them too... but every second I have to spend here stopping you from going out and getting yourself lost or hurt is a second I'm not out there looking for my little brother!" Brian stared back at the teaching assistant furiously, but his expression began to soften gradually. He had been so caught up in desperately trying to find Danny and Chris, feeling the double loss of his boyfriend and his protιgι that he had all but forgotten Blane had lost his little brother. Brian sniffed, only holding back tears out of sheer determination as he whispered, "I know. I just... I have to find them... please!" Joseph placed an arm around his friend. It was only his innate need to look after Brian that stopped him being in a similar state. Looking after his best friend was enough to keep him moderately sane for now, and perhaps evade his own fear and grief a little. "We will!" Blane said firmly. "You KNOW how many other people are out there looking right now, but the police AND the school say you can't be one of them. Now I know there's no chance of you going back to the Home Building, but please... please, at least promise to stay here," he said, gesturing to the Sports Complex that had become the base of operations for the search. "We promise!" Joseph answered for them both. He got a momentary glare from Brian but repeated firmly, "WE promise. Right?" Brian scowled but reluctantly nodded. As he looked to Blane he said softly, "Just... go find them, okay!" Blane reached out and stroked Brian's arm comfortingly as he nodded before heading back out. "Let's grab a drink," Joseph said, knowing neither of them had stopped for rest or refreshment since joining the search earlier in the day. As they got something to drink and then lingered back, watching the adults who were co-ordinating the search, Brian said quietly, "I don't think I can handle this, Joe. It's too much!" "It's okay," Joseph said, putting an arm around him. "We've got this, we're tough!" "No," Brian said, shaking his head. "You're tough. I just act it!" Joseph smirked. "Yeah, you're not wrong," he said with a casual head bob. "But in that case... don't worry, I've got enough tough for both of us!" "Thanks," Brian said, resting his head on Joseph's shoulder. After a few seconds he let out a hefty sigh and said, "I love him, Joe. I love him so much... that there aren't even words for it!" Joseph laughed aloud. "Oh well fuck you too!" Brian pouted, lifting his head and folding his arms moodily. "Sorry, wasn't laughing at what you said, not really, it's just... I know you love him. I knew before you did!" Joseph explained. "And it was funny right from the start!" Brian frowned, not really any happier with what he was hearing. "Look, you spent three years at this school keeping everyone away, being the... the confident smart-arse... but I knew it always just because you were scared. I knew that, even if you didn't. I never figured out why, but you... I dunno, it was like you put up a wall around your feelings and stuck a `trespassers will be shot' sign on it!" Joseph explained. Brian shook his head, a little bemused. "I've always loved the way you know just how to kick me when I'm down!" Brian said coldly. "I'm not kicking you. Shut up!" Joseph quickly admonished him. "I'm saying you did all that, but then... I still remember the first day you actually met Danny. It was... incredible. You didn't even know it, but that wall you'd built up all your life... the first brick fell out of that wall the moment you met him. Then every day after that a little bit more crumbled away." "Yeah... well... you could have told me!" Brian pouted, still trying to be mad at his friend despite the niceness of what he seemed to be saying. "Sure, cos you're not petulant and petty at all. I'm sure you'd have just accepted it and not just gone out of your way to prove me wrong!" Joseph smirked sarcastically. "Ugh, you suck," Brian complained, knowing he was exactly right. "I know," Joseph chuckled. "So you really don't need to tell me. I know how much you love him. And I know how much Chris means to you too!" Joseph said, giving his friend a squeeze. "He's my lil bro!" Brian said wistfully. "Yeah, Joseph smiled. "But they're gonna be okay... they have to be! No chance they're dying on your birthday. Not even Kingswood's that dramatic!" "Well at least it's a birthday I'll remember," Brian chuckled weakly. "They have to be okay," he whispered softly. ***** Seven hours earlier... "Yussss!" Chris hissed happily as his hands popped free, the rope finally frayed away. He quickly undid the remnants from each wrist and tossed them aside, stretching out a little with his newfound movement. "Right, let's get this shit sorted and get the fuck outta here!" he said confidently. "Right behind ya!" Danny joked wryly. "Okay, well first things first," Chris said, crawling round on the ground, sweeping his hands back and forth to feel for any larger pieces of debris. "Yes!" he hissed a couple of times as he found what he was looking for. "Right, hold still," he instructed as he felt his way back to Danny, dragging two large rocks with him. "What are you doing?" Danny asked as he felt movement either side of his head. "Well they always put a neck thingy on people when they hurt their neck or back on TV, but we don't have one, so this'll have to do," Chris explained as he placed the rocks. "It'll stop any big head movements that might make it worse." "Yeah, cos I'd hate to get MORE paralysed!" Danny said with a nervous chuckle. "Shut up, you're not paralysed!" Chris insisted, an icy chill even colder than his surroundings gripping his core as he heard Danny's words. "You're just... temporarily lazy!" he said, trying to sound cheerful. Danny chuckled at the description, but it gave way to a gentle moan as he felt Chris' fingers brush against his forehead. He gave a gentle whimper as the hand pulled away, the touch the first thing he had felt since landing. "Don't worry, I'll be right back!" Chris said as he began to move away. With his ankle hurt even before they had experienced the second fall, crawling was the easiest way for him to move as he made his way to the mound of earth they had rolled down after falling in. He began to climb but it was hard going, the soft earth compressing beneath him while the rocks mixed in made dragging himself up it quite painful, especially when he slipped and slid most of the way back down and hard to start over with a frustrated growl. On his second attempt, he reached the top, hoping he could knock a hole through to the surface, but as he got there he was struck by a horrific realisation... there was nothing above him! He had assumed the mound rose right up to the ceiling of whatever room they were in, but it seemed their initial fall had been even further than it felt. Even forcing himself into a standing position, he reached up and felt nothing as he waved his hands above him. The ceiling, and any prospect of getting out the way they came in, was far beyond his reach. The little glimmer of hope he had felt when he got his hands free suddenly fizzled out before him. "Chris?" Danny called out through the darkness. "Are you there?" "Yeah, I'm here," Chris replied, trying to conceal the disappointment in his voice. "How's it going up there?" Danny asked hopefully. Chris had lied about Danny's movement, not wanting to distress the injured boy any more than was necessary, but he couldn't do it again. This was different. "I don't think we're getting out this way!" Chris said, but added a quick, "I'll take a look round. If this is a tunnel or hidden room, I doubt the ceiling was the usual way in!" "Yeah, good point," Danny agreed with the logic. Chris carefully climbed back down the mound and found his way back to Danny. "Okay, you're gonna have to be my sense of direction. I'll head off in one direction til I find something, but you need to keep talking so I can hear where you are and make sure I'm not going in circles. "Okay, I can do that," Danny said confidently. He paused for a moment as he mind went blank. With a slight smirk he asked, "Why is it when you NEED to talk, you virtually forget how to speak?" Chris laughed, having suffered from it earlier. "Just... I dunno, pick a subject and talk about that. Something... that you care about!" "Okay, then... let's talk about the others," Danny suggested as Chris started moving. "So Josh seems to be doing so much better now. I know he's still having the bad dreams about it all, but nowhere near as often! Plus he's FINALLY talking to Rob about all the stuff his brothers put him through, which I know's gotta be helping him deal with it. I still can't believe they let those two cunts just... walk free, but... I guess that's Josh's business and he seems happy with his new family, or at least being away from the old one." Chris continued along, his hands waving out in front of him until he reached a solid surface. Just as the floor gave the impression they were in a man-made room and not a natural cave, so too did the wall as Chris' fingers brushed over a smooth stone surface. He began following it along, trying to memorise the space as he gave occasional verbal nods for Danny to keep going in his casual musings. "I don't know if I should really tell you this," Danny said cautiously, "But Rob's been having some of his own issues lately, but a lot of that was about Josh and feeling like he was relying on me rather than his actual best friend, which... I suppose he was, but Rob never really spoke up about it." Danny paused to sigh before he went on. "He seems to do that a lot, ya know, keep things bottled up rather than sharing or talking about them. Or he did. Maybe he's learned... maybe not. But anyway, he was feeling kinda jealous of us and Mikey and Nicky too and he... he felt a bit left out, ya know, with how close we are and, like, the sex stuff." "Aww, that sucks!" Chris said, originally intending Danny's chatter to just give him an audio marker to keep his position, but slowly getting drawn in. He felt like he knew the boys of their dorm well, but hearing Danny talk, hearing the insight and knowledge he had, it made him realise just how close Danny was to everyone else. "Yeah, but I just kinda told him to... ya know... stop it!" Danny went on. "I told him if he wants to hang out or cuddle or do naughty fun stuff, he just needs to ask. I don't know about you, but... if he's asking, I'm giving!" "Or receiving!" Chris replied with a giggle, though it stopped quickly as the wall gave way to another mound of earth, the ceiling seemingly collapsed in. "Huh, yeah, I guess," Danny chuckled. "I s'pose you'd know more about what's going on with Nicky and Mikey than I do nowadays, but they both just seem so sickeningly happy being together with you. It's sweet actually. I was kinda worried about Mikey for a while... back before he started dating you two, I mean. He definitely seemed to be going back to his old self a bit. I think that's maybe something to look out for in the future. Also, has Nicky quit diving?" "Yeah, how'd you know?" Chris asked. He had only found out his boyfriend had quit thanks to Mikey, who had stumbled across the news by mistake. Chris still didn't know the real reason for it. "He... erm... well he doesn't smell like chlorine anymore!" Danny explained. "Guys who do a lot of stuff over in the pool tend to have the smell linger a bit, but... now he just smells different! I wasn't sure if he'd quit or if he was just, like, trying to small all nice for his boyfriends." Chris sniggered as he continued searching. "I can't think of anywhere except Kingswood where a guy's best friend could tell him his boyfriend smells different and it NOT seem weird!" Danny laughed back. "Good point," he said, then paused for a moment as he continued working his way mentally through the dorm. "I think David's doing okay at the moment. I mean, his agoraphobia's pretty manageable while he's here. It's only when he goes outside of the school grounds that it bothers him too much. He is DEFINITELY getting stressed about not being... ya know... developed down there yet. I swear, that kid seriously wants to wank! He seems to be enjoying tutoring Josh though. I reckon he'd make an amazing teacher one day!" Chris hummed along as he continued around the room, following another wall. "James... I dunno, I've always struggled with James," Danny admitted. "He's always been hard to connect with. Not in a Mikey way. With Mikey, he was just angry and... a bit lonely but he WANTED to make friends and be around people, but James just... doesn't seem bothered," Danny mused. "I know him and David are close... and they're totally doing sex stuff together!" "Totally!" Chris smirked, having noticed it too. "Which I can't even picture," Danny sniggered, "But they seem to like it, but... I dunno, I wanna get to know him better but it's hard when he seems to..." "Look down his nose at everyone he doesn't see as super smart?" Chris suggested, Danny's feelings seemingly mirroring his own thoughts. "Yeah, totally that," Danny agreed. He paused for a moment, the whole dorm covered now. "Kyle's doing good... sort of," he said thoughtfully. "He... erm, recently he told me about some of his... erm... anxiety issues he had... or has..." Chris sighed as he neared a full circuit of the room. "Yeah, I was kinda helping him with some of that until..." he trailed off. "Until you screwed things up royally and got yourself dumped?" Danny suggested. "Hnnh, yeah," Chris agreed. "Ya know, he thinks Adrian's into me," Danny said coyly. "Oh," Chris replied, trying to sound casual. "And he said you agree!" Danny said coyly. "Ah, well... yeah. I mean, he basically wrote a love poem to you back in that naked English class we had!" Chris insisted, referring back to their first naked volunteer day, which had not ended quite so disastrously as this one. "If you say so. It sounded like gibberish to me!" Danny disagreed. He would have shrugged, had he been capable. "Uncultured swine!" Chris scoffed playfully. "I think he should be with Kyle. They're really cute together!" Danny suggested. "Huh, the guy who's into YOU being with the guy who dumped ME... yeah, that's... twisted enough to fit right in round here!" Chris sniggered, though the laughter was a little forced. "It's not that twisted, is it? I mean... you and Kyle! That feels like a lifetime ago now. As for me and Adrian, we've always been just friends, regardless of what more he might want!" Danny went on. Chris used the sound of Danny speaking to find his way back, sitting down beside him quietly. "Well either way, it COULD happen. And it might happen more if you gave them an occasional nudge!" Danny suggested. Chris let out a hearty sigh. He had bad news to give, but he had something else to address first. Something that had been building as he listened to his best friend's summary. "Danny, erm... why does it kinda feel like you're... telling me everything I might need to know to, like... support everyone if you weren't around anymore?" The silence that hung between them was deafening. "Danny?" Chris enquired. Danny sighed. "You didn't find a way out, did you?" he asked. "I could kinda tell that, because of the way you didn't shout `oh my god, I found a way out'. I'm smart like that, ya see!" There were a few more moments of silence. "Come on, please, just tell me," he pleaded. "No," Chris said with a deep sigh. "No way out. This definitely seems to be some kind of tunnel, but... both ends seem to be collapsed." ***** Now... The mood in dorm 1.05 was understandably low. The mentors had left, mostly at the younger boys' insistence, stating that they would be okay and having the older boys lingering just made the whole thing feel even more ominous, so they had left for now. "You know what this feels like, don't you?" James asked, breaking the silence that seemed to fill every corner of the room. "Yeah, just a bit," Mikey agreed. "Mmm-huh," Rob hummed his agreement, but glanced nervously at Josh, not sure this was really the best direction for the conversation. "What?" Nicky asked, a little lost. Josh, who seemed to have caught on to James' intent, gave Rob a slight nod. "Last year, when Josh was... on the roof and most of us were sat in the Dining Hall, just... kinda waiting!" Rob explained. "Oh, yeah," Nicky nodded, catching on now. He had been one of the few boys not in the Dining Hall at the time of `The Incident', having been breaking up with his boyfriend at the time. While Josh and Danny, the main people involved, had been the focus of a lot of love and support following the incident, the four boys from the dorm who had waited out the horrific incident together in the Dining Hall never really spoke much about it. "I hate waiting so much!" James said, scowling. "It just feels like a waste of time. It's, like, they're either dead or alive, we just wanna know which!" He felt the whole room staring at him in dismay. "I mean, I don't think they're... it was just... an expression. Sorry!" The others knew it had to be bad if James was apologising. Many of them were convinced he didn't even know the word. Rob sat looking round the sullen group. While his thoughts were on both of the missing boys, he couldn't help thinking about the time he had spent with Danny recently. Rob had spent weeks feeling like he was not needed, or maybe even not wanted, seemingly exempt from the support and care Danny offered the others. As it turned out, Danny actually saw Rob as his own support. As he had put it, Rob was `the only other sane one on the dorm!' He had not been quite sure the other boy's faith in him was well-placed, but he was determined to do his best not to let Danny down. "Okay, sitting here moping is just gonna drive us nuts. We need to do something!" Rob said, standing up suddenly. "Sure, let's have a party!" James said sarcastically. Rob rolled his eyes and shook his head. He looked to David and said, "If it wasn't cancelled, you'd be at chess club now, right?" "Yeah," David replied. "Okay, well there's your board," Rob said back, nodding to the chess board set up on one of the desks at the side of the room. "Why don't you have a game!" "Hnnh, maybe," David hummed. "You want a real challenge, why don't you and James teach Josh to play!" Rob said with a snigger. "Hey!" Josh complained. "I mean, you're not wrong, it all just looks crazy to me, but still... low blow!" He smirked though, letting his friend know it had been taken it in the harmless way he had intended it. "We could consider it part of his tutoring!" David suggested, seeing James wasn't fully on board. He could see what Rob was trying to do and while he felt positively nauseous as he thought about his lost friends, this could at least help a little. "It can improve critical thinking skills," James nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, I'm in!" he declared. "Excellent!" Rob said happily as the three boys headed for the board. Then he looked to Nicky and Mikey. Though everyone in the dorm was taking it hard, those two were definitely hardest hit. With one of the missing boys the third member of their relationship and the other one as close to a fourth member as they could get, they felt both absences harshly. "Okay, now you two..." Rob said, eye narrowing. "Don't," Nicky said, shaking his head. "I just... wanna wait for news!" Rob nodded again. He had an idea in mind, but it was not one he really loved the idea of... at least the first part anyway, but they clearly needed a distraction before they worried themselves to death. He squatted down in front of them. "Okay, erm... Danny may have already told you this, but... probably not, because he's just... perfect like that and wouldn't break my trust," Rob said, shaking his head a little, amused at his own misplaced annoyance. "But I... might have felt a bit... excluded for a while." "By who?" Nicky asked, frowning. "Wait, us?" Rob nodded. "Yeah, but... I'm not... complaining or having a go at you or anything," he insisted. "I think most of it's on me for not speaking up. Turns out I'm not great at... this talking stuff." "You seem to be doing okay," Nicky said with a warm smile, casually reaching out to rub Rob's arm. "Thanks," Rob smiled back. "But Danny said that if I... wanted to do stuff, maybe I should just ask!" Mikey sat up, looking at Rob curiously. "So... what are you asking for?" he enquired. "Do you remember Kinkswood last year? What... the three of us did after?" Rob asked. The school held a kink festival once a year called Kinkswood – a two-day event made up of mandatory and optional training sessions and panels, displays, stands, demonstrations and entertainment, all designed to help give the boys a varied and thorough sexual education. One particular kink had caught all three of their attention and they had tried exploring it together both at and after the event. "Oh, ruined orgasms!" Nicky said bluntly, nodding. "Yeah, I guess we... never did go back to that, did we?" he realised. As Rob looked at him, his eyebrows raised and he said, "Oh... wait... now?" Rob shrugged. "Got anything better to do?" he asked playfully. Nicky sniggered. "I guess not." It felt a little wrong to do anything other than sit and wait and hope, but at the same time he felt like he was going to go out of his mind, jumping every time he heard a movement in the hallway. "I don't... feel very sexy!" Mikey pouted, cuddling against Nicky. "Shhh," Nicky said, placing a finger to Mikey's lips. "You're basically just equipment to us in this stuff, so that doesn't matter!" He grinned as he said it. Mikey went to complain, but annoyingly (or happily) being treated that way by Nicky, the one boy he was submissive to, actually did get him going. "Hey, we'll be back soon. Message me if there's ANY news!" Rob called out. "It's not called a horsey-thing, it's a knight!" James snapped, clearly already frustrated by Josh. "Knights ride horses!" Josh argued back, waving the piece at him. "Yeah, I'll message!" David called out, rolling his eyes at the unfolding argument. ***** Four hours earlier... "Is it getting colder in here?" Chris asked, shaking. "Muh," Danny mumbled, seemingly almost drifting off as he lay motionless. "Hey, come on, stay with me," Chris urged. "I'm... I`m awake," Danny insisted. "I... can't really feel it... but if you're cold, then I probably... am..." Chris instinctively went to move towards the other boy but stopped himself. "What's wrong?" Danny asked. They had been sat in the dark and the quiet for so long that he had grown sensitive to every little sound Chris made. "I... wanna keep you warm, but... if I touch, I might move you and that might... hurt you!" Chris explained. Chris' natural instinct, to pretty much any bad situation, was to hug or cuddle, so being unable to in such a distressing moment was taking its toll on him. "I think you... probably can if you're careful!" Danny said, unsure if it was true. He just knew Chris needed it, and not just for the shared warmth. "Not that being banned from touching me has ever stopped you before," he joked playfully. Chris let out a wistful sigh. "Sorry. Too soon?" Danny asked. "I mean... it's been..." he paused, counting up, "... almost nine months now. Wow!" The `banned touching' that came from Chris and Kyle going monogamous had been largely forgotten, dwarfed by the other issues that had all exploded at the same time, but it was Chris' continued physical interactions with Danny that had ended his very first relationship. "I'm still sorry about that, ya know," Chris said softly. "I know," Danny replied. Despite the fact Danny had not been the one Chriss cheated on, that honour belonged to Kyle, the two had fallen out because Chris had kept the truth from him. In doing so, he had made Danny complicit in hurting a friend. "Can I... ask you something about that?" Danny asked softly "Sure," Chris replied. Danny took a deep breath. "You... loved Kyle. I know that, I only had to see you together for, like, a minute to just know, but... you... risked all of that, just to... to share a bed with me and do sex stuff with me!" Chris paused for a moment and said, "That's not a question!" "Come on, Chris. Don't be a dick. You know what I'm asking. Why?" Danny demanded. "You... you don't need to know!" Chris said, evasively. "You're right. I don't need to... but I DO want to!" Danny said back firmly. Chris shook his head a little and said, "You know why!" "Tell me!" Danny pleaded, sleepily. "Because I made a mistake. Okay!" Chris snapped sharply, exhaling heavily into the silence that followed. "I did the wrong thing," he went on. "And I don't mean... doing the stuff with you. I mean... last year, at half-term. I was... so upset that I didn't get to see my family and so... scared of being alone that I just... I started something with Kyle when I should have waited." "For what?" Danny asked, gulping gently. "Come on Danny, don't make me say this!" Chris begged. "Please," Danny whimpered. "For... for you!" Chris said shakily. "You were... you were supposed to walk back into the dorm when you got back and say how much you missed me and then I'd say how much I missed you, then... then one of us would say we never want to... to be apart again and we... we would have kissed and... that's what SHOULD have happened!" He sniffed back tears. Danny just lay there in silence. Chris let out another wistful sigh. "By the time I realised I'd screwed up, things were just... too much of a mess. You... hated me for keeping the truth from you. Everyone else hated me for hurting Kyle and I just... knew I'd messed things up," Chris went on. "But then things started to get better. I mean, we started talking again, but then mam and dad and Aisling got Covid and... I couldn't think about relationship stuff, not while they were... whatever. Once they were getting better, it was... it was summer break and I wasn't sure whether to tell you how I felt then or wait til we were back here, but... I was too late. You were with Brian... and not just... with him. You were HAPPY with him and there was no way I could do anything to screw that up. But then... me and Nicky happened and then me and Nicky and Mikey and... I was happy too. And it was great, because that's... that's what I wanted." He waited in a few more painful seconds of silence before adding, "Danny, please, just... say something!" Danny exhaled slowly, sounding halfway to unconsciousness. "I would have done it!" Danny eventually replied. He took another breath and said, "If I'd walked back in, after that half-term and you'd said all this stuff... I would have done it. I would have been in!" Chris let out a slight whimper. "But... you didn't and... things... ARE what they are. And you're right. I AM happy, and I'm glad you are too!" Chris nodded silently in the dark. "And sure, this... maybe isn't the way it was `supposed' to be, but... both of us being happy and still being best friends. I can think of worse things!" Danny said sincerely. "Like being trapped underground and paralysed?" Chris offered, hoping humour might help. "Ah, nuh-uh," Danny quickly interjected. "Like being trapped underground and... how did you put it? Temporarily lazy!" Chris burst into laughter and Danny soon joined in. As it began to die down, Danny requested, "Now come here and keep me warm please!" Chris moved closer carefully, laying at Danny's side and trying to cover as much of him as possible without moving him. The skin-on-skin contact was a warm and pleasant change from the cold isolation that had been creeping in as he sat in the cold, dark chasm. "So have you thought a lot about things and the way they're `supposed to be' then?" Danny asked quietly. "Maybe a bit," Chris chuckled. "Come on then, let's hear it!" Danny said with a snigger. Chris frowned for a moment and asked, "This isn't you... wanting to hear the stuff you're gonna miss out on or anything, is it? You're gonna be fine!" "No," Danny insisted. "More just... wanting to know what I've got to look forward to!" "Okay," Chris replied, gently rubbing his hand up and down Danny's stomach to warm him up. "God there's so much. I mean, picking GCSEs next year'll be fun, cos I'll totally convince you to take some subjects I like and you'll make me take some you like and we'll both end up with the weirdest mix of choices." "Sounds about right," Danny sniggered. "But then we'll move into year ten and we'll have our own little year 7 minions to terrorise... I mean... mentor and screw up in our own special way," Chris chuckled. "And of course, it'll be me, you Nicky and Mikey sharing a dorm up on the second floor and it'll just be like, sex central!" "I like the sound of that," Danny replied happily. "And then we'll totally panic in year eleven when we realise we've got exams to take and we're totally unprepared, ya know, because of all the sex, so we'll have to go begging to James and David to save us, which they will because... they're James and David, super-brains!" Chris continued. "And after that, we get to move up to the third floor and me and you will finally have a place of our own and you just know those beds are getting pushed together and never moving apart and we'll just be, like, proper grownups then and get to see our little mentees learning to be mentors themselves and passing on all the wisdom and sex lessons we taught them." Danny laughed along with the predictions, but then let out a gentle sigh and said, "But then that's the end!" "Ha. No fucking chance!" Chris insisted. "We don't end at year thirteen, ya langer." "We don't?" Danny asked happily. "Nah," Chris said cheerfully. "Look, for a while last year, when I thought of the future, I was seeing... me on the Olympic swimming team, or me married to Kyle, or me on a world tour for my breakout album. How I see the future's changing all the time, but one thing ABSOLUTELY doesn't change. One thing is absolutely, and utterly, without doubt a permanent part of ANY future I see!" "Wanking before bed?" Danny suggested. Chris snorted with laughter and shook his head. "Ugh fine, okay, TWO things are permanent in my future. That..." He paused, looking up towards Danny's face, ignoring the fact they couldn't actually see each other. He let out a slight mew, and finished, "... and you!" "Really?" Danny asked wistfully, starting to sound sleepy again. "Yeah, totally. I mean, I don't know if you're there as my friend, my... my husband, soulmate, fuck, you might just be my dentist or something, but my future has you in it. It's one of the few things I know without any doubt!" Chris explained. "Do I get any say in that?" Danny smirked. "Nuh-uh," Chris insisted. "You remember our first night? I claimed you, remember. That means you're mine whether you like it or not!" "Fair enough, can't argue with that," Danny replied. He lay for a few moments before adding dreamily, "I definitely like it!" ***** Now... "Ruined orgasms or not, I'm enjoying this so far!" Mikey said happily. He was sat naked in a chair with Nicky and Rob stood either side of him, both completely naked. "Yeah, I'm certainly not complaining!" Nicky chuckled. "If we'd known this was waiting for us," he said, gesturing up and down Rob's body, "We'd have invited you over the day you were unlocked!" Rob blushed heavily. "You... erm... you don't have to say that," he said awkwardly. Compared to most of the other boys in the dorm, Rob was slightly on the chubbier side and he especially felt it as he stood facing the tall, slender Nicky and tight, compact Mikey, who was barely a centimetre or two shorter than him but substantially lighter. "Oh," Nicky said sympathetically, immediately catching on. "Body-conscious, are you?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. Realising the question might actually make Rob feel even more conscious he quickly added, "Me too. I hate how I look." "But you look so good!" Rob insisted. Mikey quickly chirped in, "I know YOU think that, but I think YOU look good, but that doesn't change how YOU feel about it, Nicky replied." As Rob looked thoroughly lost and Nicky a little bewildered, Mikey went on, "Rob thought about the comment and agreed. It didn't matter how THEY thought he looked, it mattered what HE thought about himself. You're right, he said, sensing Nicky was someone who really understood his struggle. Their bond grew. They were all happy. The end!" Nicky and Rob stared at each other in bemused shock. "What the hell was that?" Nicky asked, shaking his head. "I was just saving us some time so I thought I'd narrate it for you. It's something Mr S..." Mikey stopped, catching himself just short of saying the name of his (now-deceased-or-gone-away-it-was-unclear-which) imaginary friend's name. Feeling a little awkward, he continued, "A friend. It's something a friend used to do!" "Yeah, I'm definitely missing something!" Rob said, frowning a little. "Definitely. But he does have a point. We can talk body issues later," Nicky said with a nod, then smiled at Rob and said, "We really should, by the way. It'd be... nice to share, but for now... let's make Mikey ALMOST cum!" "Oh yeah, bring it on, boys!" Mikey said, relaxing back in his seat as he placed his hands behind his head. Rob and Nicky got to work, touching, licking, kissing, stroking, basically doing everything they could to get Mikey as horny as possible, his earlier trepidation discarded along with his clothes, though Chris and Danny remained at the forefront of his mind. Despite his worries, Mikey could feel his orgasm building after several minutes of teasing. When they had done this several months ago, they had not even come close to giving Mikey a proper ruined orgasm, instead just triggering a regular one which effectively ended the session. Mikey let out a groan as they stopped again, just short of letting him cum. Rob sucked his dick for a few moments while Nicky kissed him and he felt himself move closer to the edge, but once again got pulled back. The two boys moved around, pushing Mikey to the brink repeatedly in a range of ways without letting him have release. As distractions went, it was a pretty good one. By the tenth edge, Mikey probably couldn't have picked Chris and Danny out of a line-up he was so aroused and desperate for release. "Okay, shall we try?" Rob asked. "You haven't... been trying... yet?" Mikey panted. Rob sniggered. "Nah, this was just preparation!" He looked to Nicky and grinned. "I'm pretty sure we got this, but we should probably have a goal. How many times shall he make him cum?" "Oh erm... I dunno, is... six too much?" Nicky asked. Before today, ruined orgasms had barely even entered his mind. Having two very amorous boyfriends meant his days were already filled with enough regular orgasms! "Nice!" Rob grinned. "What?!" Mikey asked in shock, his bravado seemingly gone as he realised Rob had taken the number seriously. "Okay, here goes," Rob said, stroking Mikey's dick eagerly. "Oh, unnh, I'm close, I'm close," Mikey gasped. As Rob let go, he felt the pleasure continue for a brief moment before dying back down, but felt his cock twitch. While he normally shot a fair distance, cum just oozed from the head of his cock, dribbling down the shaft and onto his balls. "Is that... did you cum?" Nicky asked, staring at Mikey who just shook his head. "Oh my god. What... what now?" he asked, usually the most sexually experienced and actually quite enjoying learning something new. "Stroke him again and stop when I say!" Rob instructed. Nicky nodded and pumped away on Mikey's dick, the semen he had already expelled lubricating it heavily, squelching between Nicky's fingers. "Ah, oh god... no..." Mikey gasped. "Now!" Rob yelled. Nicky immediately pulled his hand away. Once again, his chest heaving and cock throbbing, Mikey dribbled out another load, his face contorted into a mix of pleasure and confusion. It seemed it was Rob's turn next, leaning down to suck the cum-covered dick this time, pulling away just as Mikey spurted out a smaller, third load. He gestured to Nicky to take over and within moments Mikey was gasping his way through a fourth ruined orgasm. As Rob took over to induce the fifth, he reached for Nicky's huge cock and stroked it too. Within moments of seeing Mikey whimper his way through another orgasm-less ejaculation, Nicky spurted his own load over the sitting boy before dropping to his knees. "Okay, this time make it a proper one!" Rob instructed. "Gladly!" Nicky replied. He took hold of Mikey's still-throbbing dick and stroked it eagerly, but reached out with his other hand to pull Rob close and take his erection into his mouth. "OH GOD!" Mikey screamed out as he finally managed a full orgasm, though with his balls drained it was virtually a dry one, though in a way that somehow seemed to make it more intense... or maybe that was just from watching Nicky suck Rob's dick. Still panting from his multiple releases, he leaned forward and nudged Nicky off the other boy's dick a little, before meeting his mouth with his own, Rob's cock sandwiched between their lips. "Hooooo-ly crap!" Rob shuddered as he felt four lips and two tongues all speeding him towards release. With a whimper of pleasure, his dick erupted, adding to the mess of spunk covering Mikey. "Oof, wow," he panted. "Yeah, that was... fun!" Nicky said, grinning. "You made me..." Mikey started, panting, "Cum... six times!" "Oh, yeah, I see the problem," Rob smirked. "Next time it should be at least ten!" ***** 1 hour earlier... Chris lay huddled against Danny, even their shared warmth no longer providing much comfort. He felt himself nod off a little and let out a moan. "Ugh, I nearly... fell asleep..." he mumbled. He didn't hear anything back. "Danny, come on," Chris urged him. "They'll... they'll be here soon... I know it!" Still nothing. "Danny!" Chris said, sitting up. He wanted to shake the other boy awake, but knew doing so risked harming him so he reached out and stroked his hair, hoping the feeling would wake him, but there was no reaction. He was still breathing, barely, but remained unresponsive. "Oh god, oh god, oh god... what... what do I... what do I do? Danny? Please?" Chris begged, blubbering through helpless tears. He had held it together pretty well so far but with Danny passed out, he finally felt alone... a feeling he spent literally his entire life avoiding. He had actually been diagnosed by Dr Arkwright as suffering from autophobia – fear of being alone. And now, here he was, sat on the cold darkness, his best friend unconscious, paralysed, on the verge of... the unthinkable. "HELP!" Chris screamed out, a desperate, guttural yell, all of his fear welling inside him as his tears flowed. He had already tried shouting for help several times, to the point he had grown hoarse, but unless anyone happened to be very close by, there was little chance of being heard. In his panicked state, logic vanished. "PLEASE HELP! SOMEONE! WE'RE DOWN HERE! WE NEED HELP! DANNY... Danny NEEDS HELP! PLEASE!" He raised his hands to his face, sobbing into them helplessly. He reached out to touch Danny again, forcing himself to take a breath. "No, you're... you're here... you're with me," he mumbled quietly to the unconscious body. "It's... it's like when I wake up in the night and I'm scared and you're still asleep, it... it doesn't matter because you're... you're there. You... make it better just by being there. You make... everything better. Danny... please be okay!" he pleaded, sniffing back his tears. "You've got to be okay. I can't do this without you. I can't... do... anything without you. Please Danny. Please. I love you!" Chris whimpered as he grasped Danny's hand. "Love... you too..." Danny mumbled, barely conscious. "Danny, oh my god," Chris gasped. Suddenly he felt the hand squeeze his own ever-so-slightly. Unsure if he had really felt it or just imagined it in his distraught terror, he wrapped himself carefully around Danny again and whispered, "Please just hold on!" ***** Now... "Anything?" Nicky asked hopefully as they headed back into the dorm. David just shook his head silently. "How did chess go?" Rob asked, noticing the three boys were all sat separately, Josh and James as far apart on the sofas as they could manage. "Don't!" James snapped sharply, shaking his head. "Apparently imagination has no place in chess!" Josh sniggered. "It doesn't!" James snapped again. "I... kinda liked when Superman showed up!" David said tentatively. "I will hurt you!" James said angrily. "No you won't," Rob said, taking a seat beside him. He casually put his arm around the moody boy. "What... are you doing?" James asked nervously. "Channelling my inner Chris!" Rob replied, getting a laugh from the others. "Now shut up and enjoy it!" "Fine," James pouted, leaning into Rob before he looked round nervously and whispered quietly, "Thanks!" The others assumed similar positions, with Mikey taking David and Nicky with Josh. "Guys... erm..." Josh said awkwardly. "I just... wanted to say sorry for when you went through this with me!" "Oh shut up, you don't need to!" Nicky insisted, squeezing him. "I know!" Josh nodded. "I didn't hurt anyone on purpose, but... I'm still sorry! I guess I needed to say it, for me!" "Well now you have and you never need to say it again!" Nicky insisted. As awkward silence returned to the dorm, James glanced round at the troubled faces and said, "I guess... Superman did kinda make chess more fun!" "Yesss! I knew it!" Josh declared happily. The boys quickly burst into lively chatter, discussing which other characters could appear in the game and what they would do. As lively as it was, the room fell silent again the moment the door opened. Joseph walked in and stared at the group as he declared, "We found them!" ***** 30 minutes earlier... Chris was crying softly, only his tears keeping him from passing out as completely as Danny apparently had now. He was just on brink of unconsciousness when he heard a voice. His eyes shot open and he sat up. Without any thought, he just let out the loudest scream he had ever produced in his life. No words, just volume, a frantic need to be heard. It lasted several seconds and by the time it stopped, the voices were louder and he heard debris beginning to fall on top of the mound. "WE'RE DOWN HERE!" he screamed up to whoever was there then suddenly thought about how they had fallen in and shouted, "BE CAREFUL, THERE'S A HOLE AND... AND A BIG DROP... PLEASE DON'T FALL. WE'RE HERE!" He turned and placed his hand on Danny's chest, then leaned down and whispered in his ear. "They're here, Danny. They're here, they found us!" The next several minutes were a blur as Chris struggled to even comprehend what was happening. First the hole fell open and torchlight shone through accompanied by voices, a range of shouts above them. The next thing he knew there were people stood beside him and around Danny. "He... can't move," Chris croaked, his voice raspy from the loud scream. "Well... he couldn't... move at all... but... but just now... he squeezed my hand... I think. That's... that's good, right?" "That's a really good sign," someone said back to him, he had no idea who. They began asking him if he was hurt, but all he could say back was, "Help Danny. Please help Danny!" as he drifted off into unconsciousness. ----------------------------------- The end! Ha, not really, be back here next week to find out what happens. New chapters coming every Friday. Stay tuned! Also, if you wish to support me via patreon where I share behind-the-scenes information, updates on works in progress and share exclusive stories, please visit https://www.patreon.com/matterotica For my other stories, please see links below: The Benny Saga (in reading order) -------------- Benny Takes Control – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/benny-takes-control/ The Dangers of Desire – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/the-dangers-of-desire/ Benny's House – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/bennys-house/ The Kingswood Saga ------------------ Tales from Kingswood – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/tales-from-kingswood/ Half-Term at Kingswood – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/half-term-at-kingswood/ Other Series ------------ Possession – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/possession-series/ Jack Hamilton – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/jack-hamilton/ Phil's Naked Adventures – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/phils-naked-adventures/ One-shots --------- The Art of Seduction – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-art-of-seduction Jake's Exposure – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/jakes-exposure Becoming an Internet Master – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/becoming-an-internet-master Brian's Big Mistake – http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/authoritarian/brians-big-mistake And Then It Got Worse – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/masturbation/and-then-it-got-worse Missed Opportunity – https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/missed-opportunity