That night, it wasn't my mom or dad who went to my bedroom to say goodnight. It wasn't either of them who checked on me and asked me if I brushed my teeth or if I actually snuck out of my room. Instead, it was me who came knocking at their bedroom door.

"Mom? Dad?" I sounded as I pressed my head helplessly against their door.

There was almost a minute of silence before my mom responded, "Honey?"

"Can I come in?"

I heard footsteps approaching before the door unlocked and showed my mother's worried face. I guess from how I sounded, she immediately knew I wasn't well.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Everything," I miserably told her.

"You know you can talk to us about anything," she whispered as she brought her arms around me. Being their only child, they were pretty much protective and concerned with me.

"You're a bit old to sleep with us, bud," my dad said from where he lay on the bed.

"It's nothing like that, dad," I told him and he just sighed and gestured for me to come in.

My mom led me to their bed where she let me sit beside her with my dad lying behind me. She had her arm on my shoulder and lovingly kissed my forehead.

"Talk to us," she urged.

No matter how I wanted to tell them everything, my mouth remained shut and I couldn't find it in me to just tell them that I had, at my age...boy problems.

"Is this about a girl?" my dad asked and my mom sent him a fleeting look that, I thought, said `shush'.

She turned her gaze back to me and asked, "Is this about Felix?"

My heart skipped a beat when she said that. And I knew quite well that she felt it since she still had her arm around me.

"Felix?" my dad asked. "That boy you grew up with?"

I nodded gently.

I wanted so much to tell a lie, but my mom knew me like the back of her hand. When I scraped my knee when I was little and tried to hide it, she would quickly squat in front of me and pull the legs of shorts up to reveal a bright red spot. I'd flinch right then, but she'd only give me a hug and didn't need to say anything more to let me know that I was in good hands. I didn't need to tell her anything for her to know just what I was hiding.

"I went into your room yesterday" she said. "That thing you put up on your wall was pretty obvious."

Right. Of course. She also had her way of gathering information.

My dad, on the other hand, was there for the manly stuff. We'd play catch, basketball, baseball, soccer, football and go camping. He taught me a little about sex though, but it was only about not doing it until I was old enough to take care of myself and have a job.

"Do you like Felix, honey?" she asked.

I couldn't answer her. Despite trying so hard to form the words from my incoherent thoughts, I couldn't tell her that I did like Felix. And, at 12 years old, I was scared to death to admit that fact to either of them. But...also at my age, I didn't need to say anything for them to get the message. After all, they seemed to understand me better when I cried.

Just like a little child lost in some zoo or who fell hard on the ground, they only needed to hear my whimpers before they would come rushing to my side and lifting me up into their arms.

"He hates me, mom," I sobbed.

"He doesn't hate you," she argued. "Why would you think that?"

"Did you do something to make him hate you?" dad asked. As always, he was the more practical one. My mom was more emotional and comforting.

"I told him I like him," I answered. "After being an asshole to him."

Mom cleared her throat, but I didn't feel like apologizing for swearing. Dad sighed and sat upright on the bed.

When I felt my dad's firm grip on my shoulder, I thought I was in deep trouble. Instead, he made me feel...much better with just that simple gesture.

"Don't worry about what we think, bud," he said. "It's your life and not ours to begin with. Do whatever you want as long as you think it's right."

"Whatever as long as it's right?" I asked, looking back at him.

He nodded as my mom placed her hand on my lap. She added, "Whatever you think is right, but be brave to learn from your mistakes."

I didn't understand all of it completely. If whatever I thought was right included getting back at Dennis, Patrick and Gregory, then there was no problem at giving them a taste of their own shit. But if that would turn out to be a mistake, how should I learn from it knowing that they'd just get back at me in a snap.

"Also," my dad continued, "let Felix do what he thinks is right and let him learn from his own mistakes. You can't dictate what he does and you surely can't make him like you back if he's sure enough that he won't especially with how you've been an ass..."

My mom cleared her throat once again.

"...-ailant toward him," dad said, successfully dodging the swear jar.

"But...he told me he likes me," I argued.

"He did?" they both asked and I nodded.

"Well...what's the problem then?" mom asked.

"He said that he's not s'posed to like me and he wants to get rid of that real soon."

They both fell silent in contemplation as I waited impatiently for their response. My mom moved her hand from my lap to my hands and my dad just sat there with his thinking-face.

"You're too old to be in our bedroom," dad began. "And you're too young to think about all this."

"Think about what?" I asked.

"Love, honey," mom said. "From what your father and I can see, you're in love."

"Yeah, too young for that, but it doesn't mean you're disallowed."

"So...it's okay for me to...uhm...like him so much?"

"Sure. It's all part of growing up," he said.

"So what do I do?"

"Just go with it," dad answered and mom had to slap him gently.

"He means what to do with Felix, hun," she corrected.

"Oh, right," dad chuckled. "Like I said, do whatever you think is right and let Felix do his own thing. Maybe you'll meet halfway, but if not...there's a lot of other...boys out there and you're young enough to meet all of them."

My dad was wrong. Yes, there were a lot of other boys out there, but there was only one Felix Corbel.

"Do what your heart tells you," mom said. "But don't let it get to your head. Think clearly Chase and listen well to reason.

"Listen well to your mom," dad told me.

I nodded and let my mom pull me into a hug while my dad reached out his hand and rubbed his fist on my hair.

"Good job, sport," he said. "You're in love."

Mom giggled and asked, "You need me to tuck you in?"

As old as I was, I gave in to the urge of her tucking me in. I looked at her wonderful eyes and nodded against her chest. She smiled and pulled me up to stand with her. Before long, we were both in my bedroom with me lying on my bed while she sat at the edge.

"Want me to read you a bedtime story?"

"Mom," I whined.

She giggled and said, "Sorry. I just missed having you to ourselves. Now, you're all concerned with Felix and soon we'll have to share you with him."

"Mom, please," I whined again.

"It's okay, baby. No matter who you fall in love with, we'll be here for you. You're everything we asked for and you'll always be our little boy."

"O-okay," I mumbled. "I...I love you. Dad, too."

"We know, honey," she said as she leaned down to kiss my forehead. "We know."

And as eventful that night was, my dream was far too empty to ever be remembered in the morning. What was left to dream about? Where I was right now, I was clearly headed for some terrible nightmares, not that all my previous dreams about Felix turned out so good anyway.

Right after breakfast the next morning, William came knocking at our door. It was unusually early for anyone to come for a visit and add to that, he was dressed as if he was planning to go somewhere and not directly back to their house.

"Dad will be home by lunch," he said. "Just went to his office to get some stuff."

"So you're going somewhere till then?"

He shook his head, his blonde curls softly swaying as he did so, and said, "Nope. We are."

"We?"

"Yep."

"You and me and Felix?"

"Uh-huh."

Great, I thought. This should be one very awkward Sunday morning between Felix and me. So without much disagreement, I took a quick shower, dressed up and met William downstairs. We then walked toward Felix's house but...

"They're not home," William pointed out.

I peeked in through their windows and backdoor, but there wasn't anyone at home. We both tried calling Felix, but his phone was either dead or out of coverage.

"So what now?" I asked.

"We'll just have to spend this on us," William said as he took out some cash from his pocket. A lot of it by my own standards. "I was thinking of going to the amusement park, you know, the three of us, but..."

When he trailed off, his eyes gazed into mine and I felt some sort of heat coming to my cheeks.

"We're not going on a date, okay?" I clarified.

"Yeah, okay."

So it was only the two of us who rode the bus to the amusement park downtown. We couldn't just spend all the money that William had on one ride. It could actually buy us tickets to every ride while still have some left for cotton candies.

Despite the joy of having so much cash, I still wished Felix was with us. However, I couldn't spoil the laughter that was in William's eyes by constantly thinking about someone who wasn't with us.

"Let's go for the roller coaster!" William hollered as he dragged me toward the ticket booth.

We both sat in one of the middle carts and William was so excited that he kept tapping his feet and yelling for the fun to start already.

When the carts started moving, he turned to me and, in a hushed voice, said, "Chase...you know...I'm kinda afraid of heights."

"What?!" I shouted and he smiled so innocently at me, but I noticed how he was going rigid as the coaster went for its first dive.

As we went up and down and in spirals, my eyes were on William who looked so horrified that he hid his blue eyes from the world. I shouted and shouted at him, but he wasn't responding. There was also so much yelling coming from everyone.

"WILLY! OPEN YOUR EYES!"

"I CAN'T!" he finally answered.

"TRUST ME!"

He opened one eye then shut it again, more tightly this time.

"I SAID TRUST ME!"

He opened both eyes and glanced at me, his horrified look turning into glee as soon as he realized that the ride wasn't so bad. His lips curved up and he started laughing hysterically and shouting `woohoo'. I laughed and shouted with him.

When the ride was over, we were both so energized and a bit dizzy, but our laughter continued before it turned to giggles and smiles.

"That was awesome," he said.

"Told you to trust me."

He turned to me and quickly gave me a hug.

"Thanks, Chase."

"No problem, man...but, uhm..."

He pulled back and smiled once more. "I want to conquer the Ferris' Wheel next."

I knew this wasn't a date, but the rides he had mind were most likely made for couples. Why else would a girl scream if her hands wouldn't be held tightly by his boyfriend on the rollercoaster? Or why should they be suspended high above the air for a couple of minutes with such a grand view of the city if not to remember the moment with a...kiss?

I sighed and complied with William's request.

As soon as we were at the highest point in the sky that went over the amusement park, I felt sure that William kept quiet for a reason. He leaned toward the clear glass and looked down while I sat in front of him looking, not at the buildings and shipyard, but at him.

"Willy."

"Yeah?"

"You're not gay, are you?"

He stared back at me blankly and I couldn't read what was in his hazy eyes.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well...all of this feels like a date."

"It does?"

"I think so."

He stared out the glass again as we moved down toward the earth. "I already told you I'm not gay," he said.

"But...do you really mean it?"

"Straight as hell," he mumbled. "That's what my dad says."

"What about what you say?"

He chose to keep quiet and I didn't push further. Our ride on the Ferris' Wheel would've been more special if it was approaching sundown, but our grumbling tummies made us think about lunch or maybe even just some snacks.

As we got off, William was still very much inexistent. He was there, but he wasn't. I walked closer to him and put my arm over his back, pulling him gently to my side.

"Forget what I said," I told him. "I was just hungry."

He giggled slightly and we started heading toward a snack bar. After filling up our tummies and a few more rides, we decided it was time for us to head to his house. His dad should be back by now after all.

We took another bus ride back to their neighbourhood and when we stopped at their front yard, it was then that I realized how freaking rich William's family was. Their house was like a mansion that towered over the other houses that lined their street. In fact, it was as if their lawn could occupy a whole block, but that was not the case. It simply looked humungous. His dad must have big time clients if they could afford to live inside a castle. Or his mom may as well be a Hollywood superstar.

Or pornstar. Whatever.

Surely, his dad was home since William pointed out that the black Porsche that parked in their wide driveway belonged to the man.

"You ready Chase?" he asked as we neared the front door.

Ready? Ready for what, I asked myself and looked at him confusedly.

He took a deep breath in and leaned closer to my side, our shoulders brushing on each other as well as the back of our hands. When William pushed to open the door, he quickly took a tight hold of my hand and led me down a hallway before we stumbled into their living room where his dad, I assumed, was lounging with a cup of coffee and holding a folder in his other hand, facing the large window that showed a scenery of a lonely swimming pool.

"Dad," William said, still holding my hand while I totally forgot to tell him to let go.

"Yes, son?" the man asked, refusing to turn his head toward us.

"My friend is here. You know, Chase."

At the mention of my name, William's dad looked over at us. His framed eyes settled mostly on me before gazing downward and settling on our tightly held hands. The man seemed friendly even without smiling, but his eyes showed more iciness than his boyishly pale face.

"Chase Logan?" he said, as if acknowledging me and I nodded. "You are Willy's friend?"

I nodded again as he settled his cup of coffee on a table beside him. Closing the folder he held, he stood up and walked toward William and me. I was impressed that he managed to keep his eyes unmoving as he closed the distance between us.

"Dad," William almost whined. "You'll scare him."

Indeed, he scared the life out of me. My heart skipped more beats that it did when I was confronted by my feelings for Felix. This man, with just a simple stare from his hazy blue eyes, could rival Medusa and her stony glare.

I feared for my life when William's dad held out the folder and appeared as if he was going to slap me with it. Instead, his arms stopped midway and he nodded, urging me to receive the file.

"Mr Corbel was a failed experiment," he said. "If you could keep all of this confidential, I'd appreciate it. Everything you need to know is in here."

I returned his nod and took the folder with my free hand. William was still holding desperately onto my left hand and I wondered if there was still some blood circulation in there.

Without even introducing himself, William's dad walked past us and went down the hallway. From the short distance, he shouted, "The pool is all yours for the afternoon. Have fun!"

That was the only time when William breathed out heavily and let go of my hand. I turned to him and asked, "What just happened?"

He shrugged and answered, "Beats me." He looked toward the pool with a smile and added, "C'mon, let's cool off a little. It's more fun when I have someone to swim with."

"You've never had anyone over, have you?" That was pretty obvious. Anyone who visited William at their house would have no second thoughts taking a dive into the icy blue water.

"Nope," he said. "It's hard to make friends when you're the new kid."

I doubted that. William seemed like the person who could easily make friends and even have the girls following him around. He was blonde, blue eyed and gorgeous. Anyone would want to see him in just his swimming shorts with his tan chest glistening in the sun and his hair dripping with water as it fell over his flushed cheeks.

"But I didn't bring my swim clothes."

"You can borrow mine," he said. "Or we can just...swim naked?"

On cue, William's cheeks filled with colour and so did mine. His infectious and shy smile made everything in me swell up, including what I hid in my pants. When he giggled and pointed to my crotch with his angelic lips, it only made my head swirl and my tummy tingle.

"I was kidding," he said. Chuckling, he asked, "Am I turning you on?"

I frowned at him and shook my head.

"Let's go to my room and change."

He couldn't stop giggling as we headed upstairs to his room and damn, it was double the size of my own room. And his bed was queen size with lots of pillows here and there. His walls were painted with the sky and filled with all kinds of posters from rock bands to the periodic table of elements.

William left me standing in the middle of his room with my eyes and mouth wide open as he disappeared into his wardrobe. After a few minutes, he walked out and held a red trunks to me. I instantly noticed how small it looked like.

"You sure this will fit me?" I asked.

"Yep," he said as he began taking his shirt off then his shorts then his...

"Woah!" I shouted and turned around. "Dude, give me a heads up, okay! I almost saw your..."

I didn't get to finish before William's hand settled on my shoulders and he violently spun me around to face him once more.

"My dick?" he asked innocently. "You're seeing it now, aren't you?"

Shirt off, shorts pulled down and his white briefs around his ankles, what was left to cover his crotch? And despite how hard I tried to look away, my eyes were drawn to his semi-hard prick that was as tan as the rest of his lean body.

But that was not what sent my heart into overdrive. It was the magnificent outline and detail of his smooth chest and tummy that went down to his groin in a glorious V that had me biting the inside of my cheeks and blushing really, really hard.

William was as perfect as any boy I could dream of.

"What do you think?" he asked.

I couldn't answer while my eyes were glued to his twitching pecker. And his nuts were neatly settled below that I wanted so much to kneel in front of him and see it up close. My knees were giving in, but I refused to go down so easily.

"You...do know I'm gay, right?" I mumbled.

"Yeah. So?"

"You don't mind me...staring at you?"

He sighed loudly and grabbed my hand before letting my fingers brush on his member. I was helplessly welcoming the smoothness of his foreskin and the softly hard feeling that was the rest of his boy-parts.

"Willy..." I gulped.

"We're both boys, Chase. What difference is there?"

It wasn't his voice that echoed inside my head when he said that. Instead, it was Felix's. Shaking my head, I took my hand away from his dick and turned around once more while telling my hard-on to stop being a dick.

"Chase?"

"If you're up to something, forget it, okay?!" I yelled. "I don't want any part of it."

With that, I threw the trunks he gave me to his bed and stomped out of his bedroom. I heard his shuffling feet running behind me and in just a few heartbeats, his hand were on my shoulders again. He easily spun me around and pressed his chest onto mine, pulling me into a tight hug. Nevermind that he was still naked.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I just..."

"Willy."

"I'm scared, Chase," he said, failing miserably to hide his whimpers.

"What?"

"I'm scared," he repeated. "...that I'm starting to like you."

And that was it. I needed a defibrillator to start up my heart again.

"Straight as hell," he mumbled. "But that's not what I think I am."

"Willy...but..."

He shook his head and it was then that I felt wetness on my shoulders. He was starting to cry.

"I know you like Felix," he whimpered. "But...can't you forget him just this time?"

What the hell was he saying? I couldn't easily forget about Felix and the childhood that I lost when I lost him. Every bit of my innocence, Felix took away. Down to the last thread that I used to put my ripped up heart back in one piece, Felix was painfully reopening the wound.

And William, as much as his warm and naked body was pressed onto mine, didn't feel as cuddly as when Felix timidly hugged me with all of his clothes on.

"Chase?"

"I can't," I told him. "I just can't."

I thought William would ask why, but he didn't. Instead, he nodded gently and started to pull away from me. He avoided my eyes as he wiped his tears. With a little smile on his lips, he said, "I'll go get dressed. You can go home if you want. Take the file with you."

"But..."

He shook his head as he covered up his groin with the trunks he was holding. "Sorry. I'll help you out with Felix. Anything I can do, just tell me. Okay? We pinky swore after all."

"Willy..."

"You like him, Chase," he argued. "And he's lucky to have you."

"Shut up, okay?" I almost yelled.

He stared at me wide eyed and I noticed how small he was. Felix was like a couple of inches shorter than me and William was an inch shorter than Felix. In any case, my wingman looked like a lost little boy.

"Is this what you needed help with?" I asked and he looked confused. "When you held my hand earlier, was that because you wanted your dad to know that you're...not straight as hell?"

He nodded meekly and I sighed.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Huh?"

"If you're gonna do anything for me and Felix, I'll do anything to help you out," I told him. "It's what friends are for, right?"

He nodded again and smiled. Despite the beautiful curve of his lips, I knew he didn't feel as cheerful deep inside. I knew William felt the same pain as I did when Felix told me that we should only be friends and no more than that.

I looked down at his covered-up crotch and smiled. "Let's go swim."

"Okay," he said and giggled. He walked back toward his bedroom and fuck, what a sight it was when I saw his cute butt moving along with each of his step.

And damn my fucking mind that I so wanted to rub my hands or even my cheeks on it.

We got dressed inside his bedroom and he respected that I didn't want him to see me naked. When we were finally at the poolside, William hollered before grabbing my arm and diving. We both sank into the deep end of the pool and with everything that happened in his bedroom, I forgot to tell him one very important thing.

Searching for something to grab on, I found his waist and hugged him so tightly that I could feel myself pressing the air out of his lungs. I didn't care. I didn't have any air left in my lungs and I was desperate to live.

William swam up to the surface and he pulled my arms free from his waist before pulling me up. I found his neck and wrapped my arms around it while my legs took hold of his body.

"I can't swim!" I shouted.

He laughed so hard as he was struggling to keep both of us afloat. When I thought he was going to swim back to the edge of the water, I was awfully mistaken. Instead, he took my arms off his neck despite how hard I tried to hold on and he started pushing me away. Needless to say, I was flailing in his arms.

"CHASE!" he yelled. "Trust me, okay?"

I shook my head and held on.

He kept on shouting while I kept on flailing and begging him to bring me to the poolside before I'd drown both of us.

"FUCK IT!" was the last thing I heard from him when he stopped keeping us afloat and pulled both of us underwater. Since I was thrashing so wildly earlier, I didn't suck in enough air to last 10 seconds.

Just when I was sure that the flashbacks would start and I'd be able to see the light, William's bluish faced inched closer to mine before he sealed our lips together and breathed out. Perhaps on instinct, I took his air in. It was enough to last me a few more seconds.

William held my shoulders down to prevent me from trying to swim up to the surface. Moving his hands to my cheeks, he made me stare at him intently. With a gentle nod, he gestured for me to stay focused on him.

His right hand settled on my chest before his finger pressed onto it then pointed to himself.

Trust me, he was trying to say. Trust me. And I nodded.

He pulled both of us up and, this time after breathing out so loudly and panting, I stopped flailing and just settled my hands on his shoulders.

"Try kicking," he said and I did. "See? It's not so hard to float."

"Easy for you to say," I told him. In reality, I was keeping my self afloat by still holding onto him. "How deep is this?"

"Seven feet," he answered.

Seven fucking feet. It felt like a hundred feet.

"I'm gonna drown again," I told him.

"No, you won't," he said and giggled. "Hold on."

I nodded as he turned around and started swimming toward the edge. He was almost giving me a piggy back ride in the pool as he swam like a dog. It took us some time to get to the poolside and I transferred all my weight from his onto the rough edge of the pool.

"Don't you ever do that again," I told him.

"Do what?"

"Drown me! I almost died, you idiot!"

He chuckled and said, "Okay. So that means I can still kiss you?"

As he said that, I blushed. Damn my cheeks for easily changing colours when I didn't want it to.

"I'm kidding," he instantly added. "Besides, I'm not Felix."

Not Felix. He was right. No matter how gorgeous William was, he wasn't the Felix Corbel that I spent my childhood with. Laughing together, listening to some old songs, sharing lunches, saying `but he started it' when we got into some petty fights and so much more were the things that made Felix...Felix.

"You're my wingman," I told him. "I'm not s'posed to like you."

William's eyes were a thousand hues clearer than Felix's. The flinching pain was harder for him to conceal.

"I know."

"But...you're also my best friend now," I continued. "I'll always be here for you."

"And it sucks big time," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Seeing you with Felix...it hurts, Chase."

Dripping wet, I couldn't be sure if he was starting to cry again.

"And there's nothing I can do," he mumbled.

I didn't know what to say to somehow cheer him up. I wanted so much to keep him smiling, but I didn't want my heart torn between him and Felix. Still, with William's sincerity, it made me wonder why I couldn't just return his feelings. Why should I run after Felix when William was already beside me and offering his heart out like he had nothing else to give? Why should I ever remain hopeless and suffer the stabs that Felix gave when he kept pushing me away when William was ready to share the same pain with me?

Quite simple, really.

There was only one Felix Corbel and I've gone through enough hurt and confusion to simply let him run from me.

"Race you to the other end," he said as quickly as his previously downcast eyes glimmered with light.

"I can't swim," I told him.

"Find another way then," he suggested. "Still going to race you."

Without waiting for my response, William pushed against the edge and swam toward the other end of the pool. Since I couldn't swim, I pulled myself up and out of the water before running to the other end, successfully beating William to it.

I knelt down as he surfaced his head and held onto the edge.

"See? There always a way around things," he said.

"A what?"

"There are shortcuts for everything. It's how you take them that makes the difference."

"You're losing me man."

He giggled and pulled himself out of the water, sitting on the edge with his feet still submerged. "If Felix is running from you, don't just run after him. Cut him off before he makes for another turn."

"Riiiight..."

"Like what I did earlier," he pointed out. "Sorry `bout that."

"So...you cut me off before I could reach Felix?"

"Bingo."

Oh. Well that explained how he caught me off-guard with his semi-hard dick and innocent eyes. But how the hell should that same trick work on Felix? I couldn't just strip my clothes off in front of him. Next thing I'd know, he'd be throwing his music collection at me and have me running away from him butt naked.

"You look horrified," said William.

"You want me to strip my clothes off for Felix. How shouldn't I be horrified?"

He giggled and said, "Silly! What I mean is you should find some other way to cut him off before he knows it."

"Like what?"

"Do something...he wouldn't expect."

"Strip naked."

Without any OJ nearby, a splash of water hit my face.

"Don't let him think you're running after him. And when he looks back to see you not there, cut him off. Next thing he'd know, you're already in front of him."

"Butt naked," I added.

He sighed and lay on the rough pool side.

"I'm kidding," I told him. "I think I get what you're saying."

"Good. Coz then, he'd know how lucky he is to have you."

Perhaps. But would he really?

I lay next to William and stared at the clouds that began to gather in the sky.

"Why...," I started hesitantly. "Why do you like me?"

A few seconds of William's inexistence before he answered, "Simple. You're Chase Logan. You're everything Felix could ask for."

"What about what you'd ask for?"

He turned his head to me and I did the same, both of us searching deep in each other's eyes. And, to set things straight, William's eyes were a better shade than the sky on any sunny day.

"Same thing Felix could ask for."

Just what would both of them ask for?

"But what exactly?" I urged.

"To hear you smiling and see you laughing," he said. "To just...be with you, Chase."

Was that really it? Could that be enough?

Quietly, William moved closer to me and lay on his side with his arms reaching over my chest. Without thinking much about it, I let my arm settle under his head and he only managed to move even closer with his blonde hair settling near my collar bone.

"Like this," he mumbled.

"Okay," I said and started thinking of holding Felix in my arms the way William let me hold him.

Just like in my dreams.

After a few minutes of lying there and almost falling asleep, we descended into the pool once more. We stayed on the shallow side this time, only four feet deep, and did what kids our age would do. We chased each other around and splashed water to see who could blind the other. A couple of times, William rode on my back and I'd let myself fall backwards. He coughed a lot of water when he resurfaced and I'd only splash him once more. He tried to teach me how to swim, but it was a failure. So we just settled on seeing who could do a backflip into the water. He couldn't, but I could.

When it was time for us to dry ourselves and get dressed, we headed back to his room while leaving wet trails in our path. He told me that their housekeeper would tidy things up so I didn't need to worry.

"I'll go get dressed first," he said as he took some dry clothes with him and started for the bathroom.

"We're both boys," I told him as I took the clothes I wore earlier and gently pushed him toward the hallway. "What difference is there between yours and mine?"

He giggled so childishly as we ran to the nearest bathroom. How many bathrooms did they have anyway?

Inside, it wasn't William who pulled down his shorts first.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What?" I asked back as I took off my trunks and stood in front of him.

The range of colours that played on William's cheeks was far too amusing for me not to laugh out so loud. His cute little pout was the exact opposite of the smile in his eyes as he saw me up close.

"Wow," he said. "Felix wasn't kidding."

"He never saw me naked, okay?" I insisted.

"No, no..." William shook his head. "He really did see you naked and he's telling the truth. You're humungous!"

Compliment or not, I blushed and rivalled the display on my wingman's cheeks.

"Stop staring," I told him.

"Sorry. It's just...Felix really is lucky."

"I thought you said Felix is lucky just to have me? You didn't say anything about him being lucky to...uh...about my dick."

"Then he just won the lottery," he said.

"Shut up."

"I mean it."

I sighed and went into the shower. Soon after, William stepped in as well and we both started shoving each other while making lots of soap bubbles. Right after the shower, we took turns with the single towel we found. At his insistence, we dried each other off.

What difference was there? We were both boys and it'd only seem like we were drying ourselves anyway.

William made me feel and think that way. Why couldn't Felix let me do the same?

It was William who dried me off first and when he finished with my hair down to my torso, he stole a quick glance at me and wordlessly asked if he could continue. I sighed and nodded. The only difference, maybe, was how William's pecker looked so cute while mine was like a monster. In my own opinion, of course. His boyhood was so much more like a childhood.

He was cute that way.

I wondered how Felix looked like. As quickly as that thought came up, William pressed hard onto my crotch and made me flinch.

"Be gentle!" I yelled. "You're gonna ruin my chances of having babies."

"Babies?"

"My nuts, you idiot! You're pressing too hard!"

He giggled and softened how he dried my privates. And goddamn it. Everything from how the soft towel rubbed on my member to how his hands almost cupped my balls felt amazing. I didn't think he was disturbed that he was drying my erection, but I already felt like I'd wed myself soon.

"Stop," I told him. "You're gonna make me cum."

"Cool!" he exclaimed. "I'd never seen anyone cum before."

"You haven't?"

"Nope. Would you mind if I..."

Ugh. Fuck. Everything from how he stared up at me to how his perfectly boyish face pleaded with his pouting lips and smiling eyes were sending me near my edge. Despite wanting to stop his hand from rubbing me up and down, I let him continue.

What difference is there? It'd only be like rubbing his own dick.

As he kept kneeling in front of me, his hands kept on rubbing the towel up and down my erection. What surprised me was how the towel turned into flesh and I instantly stared at him wide-eyed. His attention was fixed on my dick and his nose was almost just a couple of inches away from the tip of it.

I wanted him to stop, but really...what difference is there?

He pulled my foreskin down and poked with his fingers. His other hand cupped my balls and pinched it every now and then. My back was against the sink and my hand was trying real hard to support my weight on its edge.

I moved my eyes away from him and glared at the wall. Squinting in pleasure, I forced every thought of Felix that made me feel guilty out of my mind. Suddenly, I winced at the wetness that covered the tip of my dick. Looking back down at William, it didn't surprise me that his tongue was already poking its way down my shaft and over my nuts.

Whatever porn my wingman watched, he played the role quite well.

His swallowed me whole back and forth, his tongue swirling underneath and his lips making that succulent sound each time his mouth went over the throbbing tip of my member. And as soon as his tongue travelled down my nuts, nibbling on it before going back up to my dick and resuming his...uh...technique, I was sure that I'd cum in no less than three seconds.

And at the count of three, William's face mildly disfigured as his eyes shot wide open. Nevermind seeing his first cum. He was already tasting it for himself.

I couldn't squirt so much into his mouth and when I finally let go of the last drops, William withdrew my dick from his mouth and stared up at me. As cute as it was, there was a little bit of cum dripping down his bottom lip. He wiped it off with his finger and inspected it.

"That's disgusting," he said. "But it looks cool."

"That was my first blowjob," I told him.

"It was?"

"Fuck."

William stood up and looked at me intently. "Felix is gonna kill me."

"Don't you ever tell him about this."

He nodded and I sighed in frustration. Just then, I noticed that he was still hard and it looked like he could use some attention.

Double fuck.

"It's okay," he said. "I don't shoot yet anyway."

Hearing him say that, it only made me feel guilty. So I reluctantly went down and gulped as I came face to face with his little dick that somehow was twice as large earlier.

"You don't have to," he said.

"Shut up."

I took his erection into my hand and pulled his foreskin down. The sight of it was amazing. Amazingly adorable and I wanted so much to poke my tongue on it. My heart was beating as fast as the thoughts of Felix came pushing into my mind once again. Shaking my head, I got rid of it and finally put my tongue on William's pecker.

It didn't taste like anything at all. Not sweet, not sour and definitely not salty. It was...like...something I could not explain. Surely, it had its own taste.

Thanks to the porn that played out earlier where William played the lead, I knew just how to put his dick into my mouth. I mimicked what he did and he whimpered and moaned and stiffened altogether.

I played with his nuts for a while before leaving a wet trail toward it. I nibbled on it and on his foreskin. Making the exact same sounds that William did when he sucked me, I tried so hard to make him feel the same way I did with his mouth sucking me dry.

"I'm gonna pee!" he shouted after a few more seconds. "I'm serious!"

I pulled away and ducked just in time for he piss to shoot over my shoulder. When it died down to a trickle, a few droplets fell on my chest. So much for cumming.

"That was amazing!" he shouted as I stood back up.

"Except for pissing on me."

"Oops. Told you I was serious."

"And I'm seriously telling you not to say a word to anyone about this. Okay? Especially to Felix."

"Okay."

We both sighed and stared at each other for some time before he started giggling and I did as well.

William, surprisingly, could also make me laugh along with him.

And where was Felix? He was just re-entering my thoughts when I stepped into the shower once more together with my wingman.

After we dried ourselves up and successfully putting on clothes, we headed back to their living room after getting the folder from William's bedroom. His dad was back on his chair staring out the window. His coffee was still steaming hot and I wondered how many cups he had already.

"Dad," William called out. "Chase is heading home now."

His dad was unusually quiet and even then, I felt scared to be in the same room as him.

"Dad?"

"Felix Corbel was a failed experiment," the man uttered. "Try to rewire someone, you'd end up with a completely different person. Different not because of the changes you want to see in him, but because of the damages you failed to notice."

"Dad, please..."

"It's not like defusing a bomb, son. You don't have any wires to choose. Not red, not blue and not green. You just go and cut away everything and that's where I made a huge mistake. I left some wires uncut and the damage is done."

"C'mon, Chase," William said as he held my arm and started pulling me behind him.

"If you can, fix what I did wrong," I heard the man said and immediately stopped walking behind William. He sent me a worried look, but I couldn't care about that. With his voice almost in a whisper, William's dad added, "Mr Corbel is yours to take care of, but my son is off limits."

I quickly looked back at William and saw the fear in his eyes. He pulled me desperately this time and led me out their front door.

"Sorry," he said as he kept his eyes low. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"But..."

"Please, Chase. You don't want to be here when my dad is mad."

"I want to help."

He bravely shook his head and said, "I can take care of it. I promise."

"Willy..."

"Pinky swear."

"No," I argued.

"You'll only make things worse," he insisted. "Just leave and I promise you I'll be okay."

The look in William's eyes told me I shouldn't be arguing. Every second we stalled by their front door only intensified the fear that he failed to cover up. But before I could further insist my desire to help out, he shut the door in my face and I heard his rushing footsteps disappearing.

"Willy!" I called out. "Open up!"

"I'm okay, Chase!" his faint voice shouted back. "Pinky swear!"

I rushed to the nearest window and tried to peek inside, but all the curtains were drawn to reveal nothing. I felt sure I'd hear William's shouts or cried pretty soon, but everything was quiet.

Too quiet for me not to be unsettled.

Just then, I saw a shadow in front of me and I looked up to see William leaning over the rails of their balcony. He was smiling like nothing ever happened.

"You don't have to worry," he shouted. "I'm just gonna hear the usual talk from him. He always does that. Talk and talk and I'd die from hearing it over and over again."

"Don't lie to me, dude."

"I'm serious," he said. "Go home and read Felix's file. Cut him off before he runs away, okay?"

I wanted to stay and make sure that William was alright. But...he sounded and looked serious enough that he was going to be okay. And he didn't have any marks on his body that would hint to getting beat up. Still...it would be a possibility, wouldn't it?

"You worry too much, Chase! Tell you what, I'll text you my Skype and I'll call you later, okay?"

"How will I know you'll be fine?"

"You'll see my face, duh! And anything else you wanna see."

I frowned as he giggled.

"If I see anything unusual, I'm going to tell my mom and dad."

"Yeah, yeah," he dismissed. "See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

Despite feeling unsure as I left their house, I eventually found myself back in our home and lying on my bed with Felix's folder in my hands. My phone sounded off and surely, it was William texting me his Skype ID and telling me he'd call after dinner.

I wanted to make sure so I called his phone and we chatted for a while until my mom came into my room.

"Felix dropped by earlier," she said as she walked toward me.

"He did? Did he want to see me? Where was he? He wasn't at home when we went to their house."

"Slow down, cowboy," she said and sat beside me. "He didn't say anything except telling me to give you this."

My mom handed me a piece of folded paper. It was pretty nostalgic and as I unfolded it, a micro SD card fell into my palm.

"He wanted you to listen to it."

"Is it...is it his playlist?" I asked.

"I don't know, hun," she answered. "Whatever it is, it seems important. I'll call you down for dinner, okay?"

I nodded and she left me there with the memory card still in my hand and the folder lay forgotten beside me. Reaching for my phone, I took out my memory card and inserted what Felix gave me.

Hurrying up to scroll down to whatever was in it, I plugged in my earphones and waited for the single track that was on the list.

A recording, no doubt it was.

A few static sounds later, Felix's voice came on.