"So? What was it? Tell me fast, before they call me in!"
Ethan didn't answer. Relieved to see a friendly face, he fell into Levi's arms. The taller boy was caught off guard at first but then hugged him close and patted him gently on the back.
"It was that bad, huh?" Levi asked, listening to Ethan's shaky breathing. Ethan's semi-hard penis poking his thigh gave him a hint about what he could expect inside.
"Sorry," Ethan whispered after a minute as he stepped back, happy he didn't have a complete breakdown.
"It's fine, dude, all good," Levi offered his fist and Ethan bumped it without enthusiasm. "Any tips before I go in?"
Ethan thought for a moment. Was there anything he would do differently if he could turn back time?
"There's really nothing you can do," he shrugged. "Just go with it and wait for it to end."
"That's a bit vague. Come on, tell me!"
"Easy. You don't have to go there. Actually, you can't. They have this device that... that... Well, it broke down. They're fixing it by tomorrow," he said.
"Damn it. I hate it when things get postponed. I'd rather get it over with now. But tell me..." he started but was interrupted by knocking at the exit door. "It's your guy," Levi whispered.
"Yeah, I better go."
"Go. I'll stay a bit and see what I can find," he replied.
Ethan let Dabrowski lead him back to his cell, not responding to the man's small talk. Once there, he lay on the floor and started analyzing what he had just experienced.
He had tried VR games before and played with some augmented reality apps, but they were nothing like this. What he had seen was indistinguishable from reality. Sounds, lighting, everything matched. And the people it generated... there was no way it could create them so life-like and real on the fly. Somehow, it had figured out what would have the best effect on him, despite him lying about it during the interview.
Ethan realized his hand was in his pants as he replayed the scene of a nerdy boy giving head to his friend. He pulled his pants down to his knees and gave his 4.5-inch member a few gentle strokes, which sent waves of pleasure through him, tempting him to finish the job. It wouldn't take more than a few strokes after all the teasing in the Screening Room.
No playing with yourself.
He wondered if the doctor really meant he would have to stay longer if he ejaculated, or if he was just bluffing. The urge was really strong, but the thought of spending another month here was stronger - and scarier. He hid his member back in his pants and watched a wet stain appear on top of the tent.
During pushup time, one boy collapsed at 32, which was a downgrade from his previous performance. Levi remained the only one who had managed to reach 50 pushups.
Peter dropped after doing only three pushups and it didn't look like he was going to stand up anytime soon.
"Are you okay, dude?" Ethan shook him gently, but the boy wasn't responding.
"Hold on, you're not his babysitter!" Maddox yelled at Ethan. "Levi! Take this corpse somewhere else, it's just getting in the way."
"Yes, Sir," Levi saluted and gently pulled Peter towards the wall.
"Kiss ass," some other boy muttered, covering it with a cough.
Maddox turned back to Ethan and stared down at him menacingly. "What's your name, boy?"
"E... Ethan. Ethan Matthews."
"Congratulations, Matthews, you've just earned yourself another fifty pushups!"
In the showers, Ethan could barely raise his hands to wash his head. His previous groinal hyperactivity had gone and his penis had turned into a pea. He was even too tired to check out the three other boys who were showering with him.
Wrapped in his towel, Ethan entered the changing room to see Levi, who was already dressed in fresh white clothes and seemed to be waiting for him.
"Good job there," Levi whispered. "Come to my room after you're done, I wanted to chat."
"But...," Ethan started to say.
"Just remember to first open the door to your room, then close it. Only then, come to mine. Don't get it wrong," Levi interrupted and disappeared before Ethan could ask any questions.
Ethan was left wondering how he was supposed to get into Levi's room. Pick the lock? Actually, maybe Levi had it figured out. He wouldn't be surprised.
When he finally got the green light to go to his room, he did as Levi had asked. He opened and closed the door to his room, triggering a familiar buzz, and then walked to door number 7. He hesitated and looked around, unsure if it was a trap or if Levi was following Maddox's orders to lure him into breaking rules. But if he wasn't, it could be his only opportunity to talk to someone for more than 15 seconds.
Without much hope, he pushed the door and to his surprise, it swung open without any problems. Levi was lying on the floor on his back, throwing a small ball up as high as possible without touching the ceiling before catching it.
"Close the door. But come inside before you do," Levi said without looking at him.
Ethan looked down and noticed a folded piece of cloth by the doorframe, preventing the door from closing completely. The door buzzed when he closed it behind him.
"It took me a while to get this right. If I put too much, the sensor wouldn't register that the door is closed. If I put too little, it would lock me in here anyway."
Ethan looked around and saw that Levi's cell was just as empty as his, yet it wasn't. There were scraps of cloth stacked in different shapes and sizes in the corner.
"I figured that if the only thing they give us are clothes," Levi said as he stood up, "then it would be stupid to take them for granted." He threw the ball he was playing with to Ethan. It was about the size of a handball and made of even straps of fabric. Ethan caught it and felt its firmness and tightness between his fingers. He threw it back to Levi, who kicked it out of the way, causing it to bounce off the far wall.
"Just wanted to thank you again for caring for Peter. It took some balls with Maddox salivating over our heads."
"Thanks. I don't think I achieved anything though, other than the fact that I can't feel my arms."
"Show me," Levi said and kneaded Ethan's shoulders like dough. "Can you feel them now?"
"Ouch! Yes! Not so hard!"
"That's what she said," Levi chuckled and went down Ethan's arms, using less strength this time. Ethan looked back at his exposed arms and chest. They were broad, full, and well-defined.
"I help my parents on our farm after school," Levi said, as if reading Ethan's mind. "I also do pushups every day. The nearest gym is thirty miles away, so I have to make do with what I have at hand. Where are you from, anyway?"
"New York."
Levi whistled. "We should work on your form, city boy."
"I didn't do that badly."
"You didn't do that well either. But I guess it's too late for that now."
"I'm good at other things," Ethan retorted, his pride hurt.
"Like what? Eating Big Macs?"
"Basketball."
"Convenient. I don't have any basketball hoops. Want to play some footbag?"
"What's that?"
"We play with my brothers," Levi explained. "We use a sack filled with grains so it sticks to your foot. But we can use this one," he said, picking up his handmade ball from the ground. Then he kicked it towards Ethan. Ethan managed to bounce it with his knee, but when he kicked it, it went sideways before settling sadly on the ground.
"You'll be fine. You just need some practice. Let's play," Levi encouraged.
They played in silence for a while and Ethan slowly picked up the game. He couldn't help but notice a long shape swinging from side to side between Levi's legs when he moved. He was impressed, curious, but also intimidated and envious. He still had time to grow but he doubted he'd grow this much.
"How many brothers do you have?" Ethan asked.
"Four. And one sister. They're all older than me."
"Really?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Just asking." Ethan paused. "You give off big brother vibes."
"Then you haven't seen my actual big brothers. They're hella big!"
"I bet," Ethan laughed nervously, trying to keep his eyes off Levi's swinging member.
"What about you?" Levi asked.
"What about me?"
"Do you have any brothers?"
"I have a brother and a sister. They're twins."
"How old are they?"
"Eleven."
"Both of them?"
"Duh, they're twins."
"Just playing with you. I bet they're cute."
"How do you know?" Ethan squinted.
"Haha, try and guess. Anyway, can you tell me what they did to you in that Screening Room?" Levi asked as he lobbed the ball to Ethan.
"This is why you wanted me to come?"
"No. Mostly boredom. I tried to talk to Peter, but whatever they did to him back there traumatized the heck out of him."
"Yeah, I bet," Ethan said and pulled his shirt over his head. This game was making him sweaty. Levi kicked the ball between his right and left foot, glancing occasionally at Ethan's exposed chest. Ethan's body was slim and long, contrasting with Levi's stocky build.
"So?" Levi asked as they resumed.
"They sit you on this chair," Ethan said, not sure where to start and which details to omit. "It's like this weird sci-fi apparatus you see in movies. They cuff your arms and legs and... well..."
"Well what?"
"They put this thingie around your dick that I think is supposed to wank you off," Ethan blushed. "But it malfunctioned and it just oozed this slimy lotion all over my..." Ethan stopped playing to gesticulate.
"Whoa... what do these pervs think they're doing?"
"And that's not all. They put these virtual reality glasses on you and... they show you some AI porn to make you horny."
"Dude... you're sure you're not making it up?" Levi kicked the ball aside and moved closer to Ethan to see his eyes.
"I'm sure," Ethan paused and sat down by the wall to gather his thoughts. "I think they... I think they use AI to generate stuff that makes you horny... and it improves upon itself to make you even more..."
Levi didn't seem to know what to say and he sat next to Ethan looking him in the eyes. "Gosh, man. This is... this is unethical. Holy... poor Peter."
Ethan thought of Peter's red ears and scared eyes. This wasn't right. He knew he didn't take it very well himself either... but it's not something he'd admit to Levi.
"Why do they do it to us?" he asked instead. "Shouldn't this be... for adults? Is this even legal?"
"It's the government and military, man," Levi put his hand on Ethan's bare shoulder. "They can do what they want."
"Then they also talked about some... essence."
"What essence?"
"I don't know... it is supposed to make that... dick tube work again."
"It's called a fleshlight," Levi said knowledgeably.
"It wasn't exactly a fleshlight. It felt... it felt like it was, I dunno, alive."
"Now you're just trying to scare me," Levi asked.
"You'll see for yourself soon," Ethan shrugged.
"I ain't letting some machine make me cum," Levi said with finality. "This isn't ethical and has nothing to do with..."
"With what?" Ethan looked at him curiously.
"With sex. And love. This is not something to be toyed around with." He paused to run his hand through his brown hair. Suddenly, Ethan wished he could see Levi on that chair, tied and naked, trying to resist the machine programmed to milk him to the last drop. What would the glasses show him? Some hot girls, without a doubt. To Ethan, Levi was the straightest alpha stud he'd ever met, even though he couldn't be much older than him. And that thing between his legs...
"Are you listening to me?" Levi asked, waking Ethan from his daydream.
"Uh, yeah, I just..."
"I was saying that I don't want to do it with a stupid robot chair, to some imaginary images."
"Isn't that what watching porn is?" Ethan asked in a moment of clarity.
"Exactly," Levi nodded. "Imagine watching porn like a dirty pervert."
Ethan stared at Levi for a while and then quickly turned away, but not fast enough. Or maybe -- too fast.
"Wait," Levi sang, going on all fours and crouching in front of Ethan. "You don't watch this crap, do you?"
"Doesn't everybody sometimes?" Ethan asked defensively, not daring to look in Levi's eyes. Why did he have to look at him like this?
"Of course not everybody does it," Levi hesitated for a second. "I don't. And I don't think anyone should. That's the reason why folks turn into selfish, lonely bastards." Levi sat back next to Ethan, clearly triggered.
"I get what you're saying but you're taking it too far. Not everyone who watches porn is selfish and lonely. I'm not," Ethan admitted, feeling his cheeks burn. Levi was weird. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about him made him want to talk about all his deepest secrets. He had to remember to keep his guard high, at least for now.
"Give it time, and you'll be just like all of them," Levi said dismissively. "I don't get why people are so impatient these days."
They sat in silence for a minute or two. Ethan wanted to argue but he hadn't given this as much thought as Levi did. He had no words to make a convincing argument. Also, to some extent, he agreed with him, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"I think I'll go now," Ethan said and stood up. "Thanks for..." he stopped, not sure what to thank Levi for. All he knew was that he wasn't trusting himself around the handsome boy and he needed time to process it.
"And where will you go?"
"To my cell... I mean, room."
"It's fine," Levi laughed. "It is a cell when you think about it. The problem is, you can't go back to yours. It opens only once, remember?"
"Oh..."
"Yeah It'll stay locked until the morning. Or whatever time of the day they open them. I promise I'll be a good roommate. I was about to take a nap, anyway."
Ethan stood there, considering his options, realizing they were scarce. He lay down on the floor and stretched his arms and legs. They still hurt after the push-ups, so he let his muscles relax. Suddenly he felt hands on his hair.
"Come on, lift your head," Levi said. He tucked the scrap ball under Ethan's head. Ethan sighed with relief. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think archhunter420@gmail.com