Date: Mon, 16 May 2022 11:27:00 +0000 From: Andrew Passey Subject: Danny The Bully Part Nineteen (Young Friends) The next morning I woke up alone. I had a shower and wandered downstairs, Peter was there in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. He didn't look like he'd slept much although he brightened when I walked in. "Fancy breakfast Tom, I can make you a bacon sandwich?" I was starving and readily agreed. As Peter started to cook I asked the first question on my mind, but certainly not the last one I wanted answers to. "Where's Danny ?" "He's out. I sent him for a run and to the shops. I wanted a quick chat with you alone." This sounded ominous but it turned out not to be that bad. Peter finished making my bacon sandwich, sat down opposite me and sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Who knows, after what I'd discovered yesterday maybe it was. "Tom, I wanted to say I'm very very sorry about last night. I should have stepped in and stopped it. I should have untied you;. Danny told me the two of you had consensual fun in the end but I wanted to check if that was the case?" I blushed but nodded, "Yes but I needed persuading. It was also the last time we'll do that together. I do feel...let down you didn't stop it." I wanted to say more but that inbuilt wish to keep Peter happy kicked in. "I know, I totally understand that. I should never have put you in the position where you needed to consent. I got carried away. Danny knows all about consent, how important it is. He told me that you won't be having sex together anymore. I think that's for the best. I probably invested too much of myself in trying to make you and Danny a thing. I just wanted you both to be happy. Do you understand?" Honestly I didn't. Why did he want me and Danny to be a thing? Was it to bring me into their sex lives? Or was it because he wanted us to be happy? I didn't really know so I just nodded. He looked relieved and then nervous,"As for the.....other thing we talked about. Please don't say anything to anyone. I don't think they would understand. I don't even totally understand why we do it myself at times. I want to reiterate that I don't force Danny, he wants to do it. But still, I can understand why you think it's wrong. I need to give it some thought. I will talk to you about it in more depth and tell you everything once I've thought about the words to use." This was a big ask of me. Danny was having sex with his Dad. I might have been a bit naive and I knew this thing went on behind closed doors. But let's not beat around the bush, my admittedly poor understading was that this was technically child abuse even if Danny wanted to do it. A line was being crossed whatever Peter said. I finished my breakfast and we chatted about other things. I guess the atmosphere was slightly awkward but at least we'd moved on from the more tricky topics to more mundane ones. Danny got back from his run and I said I needed to get off home. As I packed my bag in his bedroom Danny apologised again. He looked genuinely sorry and I wanted to cut him some slack. "It's fine, I get it. Look, it's been fun but it's over. I'm glad you understand. But Danny...this thing with your Dad. Do you...really like doing it?" Danny sighed, "Sometimes. Sort of. Less as I get older. I know it's wrong but I love my Dad. It brings us closer together. You know what it's like to be alone, to lose a parent." "Yes but he's your Dad! He's not supposed to have sex with you!" I protested. "You make it sound like it's every night!" Danny said, sounding annoyed. "Since you came on the scene it's been a handful of times. I guess you've helped me scratch that itch. Now you're not letting me get off from you then I've got Gaz. And if I stop that because of what you've asked then that's it, all I have is Dad." "Fucking hell Danny, use your hand like most teenage boys!" Danny giggled, "I do! But it's not as much fun." "Look, you can hang out with me and Gaz. As friends, nothing more. We can help you find a boyfriend if you want us too." "Thanks but I'm not gay Tom." "Jesus fucking Christ Danny! You've been having sex with me for weeks, had you dick sucked for months, sucked my dick, had sex with your Dad. I think it's pretty clear you are gay!" Who was he trying to convince? "I like girls too!" He protested, "Well maybe you do but you clearly like boys. That's allowed, to like both. Honestly it's up to you what you do but I will help you if you need. I can't tell you to stop what you're doing with your dad but give it some thought. Really I should go and tell the police about it!" "Don't Tom! I love him, he's all I've got! I know things are a bit...fucked up right now. But please please please I beg you not to say anything." Against my better inclinations I agreed, at least to not tell the police anyway. Danny looked like a lost little boy as he begged me to not tell them. Was that the right thing to do? I didn't know. Maybe I was just being naive, maybe these things are much more common than I knew. I didn't have a Dad after all, maybe they were all at it with their sons? It wasn't like Danny was in imminent danger and if it was just something that happened every now and again then I felt I couldn't just blow things up straight away. However despite Peter's and Danny's request I knew I had to tell Gaz. He'd had those suspicions about Peter before and I guess he was right, to a degree anyway. I needed to confide in someone about all of this and it was also time for me to tell Gaz the whole truth. I would have to get him to promise not to tell anybody before I told him though. Maybe Danny was right, the police wouldn't be a good option. Gaz was at his Grans that weekend so I wouldn't see him until school on Monday and I wasn't quite sure when to do it anyway. Breaktime? Lunchtime? What happened if he just went crazy and shouted it out to everyone? In the end it turned out he wasn't in on Monday. I phoned him Monday evening and spoke to Ruth. Apparently he was ill in bed with flu, likely wouldn't be in until the end of the week. So for now I had to wait. Wednesday I went to see Peter as always. Trepidation didn't begin to explain how I felt. What if all his talk on Sunday morning was just that: talk. Maybe once I was there he'd abuse me or do god knows what!? My instincts though told me that wasn't the case. After all, he could easily have done it before. I had to trust that he still was the person i always thought he was until i'd learned the terrible truth at the weekend. Peter smiled broadly when he opened the door and invited me in as always. I liked our chats but there was a definite awkwardness to this one as we both initially sat there in silence. Peter then cleared his throat, "Tom, I wanted to say I'm sorry again. I crossed a line. I won't ever do that again. There's no justification for what I said or what I did. Please forgive me. I should never have suggested that I would do anything sexual with you. I was out of line. I was....living a dream from a distant past." "Thanks, you um...did scare me. I thought I knew you and now I don't know if I know anything about you. I didn't know if I should turn up today or whether I should next week. I still want to help Danny with his homework." "Thank you Tom, Danny needs the help. He's done so much better thanks to you. I wouldn't want you finding about what Danny and I occasionally do together to have negative consequences for Danny or his learning. He's the most important thing in my life. I'd do anything for him. So please trust me when I say I am exactly the same person you think I am. Just now you know the warts and all." I sensed he was being truthful, I guess I just struggled to process everything. He was asking me to keep a dark secret to myself. I wasn't sure if that was the right approach. But maybe I owed him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay, I think I understand. You're someone I really respect and I just.... I guess it's just a big shock to me" Peter sighed following my fairly non committal reply, "I know. There are bits of the past, when I was your age, well there's parts of it I can never outrun. I don't want to go into details but I didn't have a nice upbringing at times. My Dad was not bothered about little things like consent. I guess it's left me with a weird view of things. I think I need to stop this thing with Danny. I don't know if it's wrong anymore but how long can it go on for? But if I stop it after you've stopped it with him would he cope? Would he go off the rails? That's my concern." This seemed some progress and it gave me an opportunity to provide some reassurance to Peter. "Don't worry, Danny will be fine. We've chatted things through. Whatever happens I'll keep helping with homework. I'll keep being his friend. I'll help him through this and so will Gaz." Peter looked relieved at that, "Thank you Tom. That is a massive weight off my mind, you've no idea how good that is to hear. With you and Gaz there to support Danny, I'm sure whatever happens next he'll cope with it." I thought the phrasing was slightly weird but Peter looked like he was under a lot of stress. Self inflicted admittedly. I was telling the truth though, I would help Danny. We'd been through a lot. He'd been INSIDE me a lot. That wasn't something that you could just forget. It was something that would always link us. There was a nice boy there who at times had gone down the wrong path. The fact he had also lost a parent would always link us. After all only someone who has gone through that at the age we both could understand how that feels. The loss, the loneliness, the missed shared moments that others take for granted. As for Gaz supporting Danny. Gaz might not have known about this yet but I knew if I asked him too then he'd give Danny a chance. But first of all it was time to tell him everything.