Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2017 09:12:48 +1000
From: Storyteller Guy <newstories996@gmail.com>
Subject: Prodigy and Prejudice - Chapter 6

Once again, sorry for the long delay between chapters. My life has slowed
down somewhat, so I hope to be more regular from now on.

I love reading all your emails so please do continue to send them in. Let
me know what you think and I'm always open to new ideas –
newstories996@gmail.com

Please remember to donate. Nifty isn't here for free.
---

PRODIGY AND PREJUDICE

Chapter 6

"So if you double-tap the home button, it shows you all the apps you've got
open and you can close them like this."

Nick was engrossed as Ryan's slender finger swiped up the screen of his
iPhone and closed Safari. In the fifteen minutes that Ryan had been going
through all the features in Nick's new electronic toy, Nick had been
mesmerised. In truth, though, even if Ryan had been talking about advanced
nuclear physics Nick would still have hung onto Ryan's every word without
understanding anything. He just loved sitting next to Ryan on the couch,
absorbing his knowledge, and being soothed by the dulcet tones of his
unbroken yet distinctly teenage voice.

With Ryan, when no-one else was around, Nick felt safer than he ever had
before in his life. He didn't have to think about school, or Dylan, or even
the pressure to be 'normal'. He just had another kid that he got along
really well with who was just like him. It was like the walls of Fort Knox
descended around the two boys, penetrable only by the sound of a car
arriving in the driveway or a slamming door.

Ryan looked down and smiled when Nick nestled his head in Ryan's neck,
resting it on Ryan's shoulder. Smiling, Ryan instinctively placed an arm
around Nick, resting his hand on Nick's side, as he showed the engrossed
youngster a few of his favourite apps. They had to be careful, though, as
there was no wi-fi in the Rabuzzo house and Nick only had a few gigabytes
of download with his prepaid recharge.

Nick was so relaxed he just let his eyes close. He enjoyed the feeling of
Ryan's shoulders against his head, and he felt protected by Ryan's arm
draped around him. He smiled, and inadvertently stopped listening to what
Ryan was saying as he let himself drift away. It seemed like only a few
moments until he fell asleep, soothed by Ryan's excited explanation of what
was unfolding on the screen.

"This one's pretty cool," Ryan said, finding another app he liked, as he
eventually turned his head to face Nick, "it's a-"

Ryan stopped speaking as he looked at Nick's face. The boy looked like he
was in a peaceful sleep as his face sat still, not a single facial muscle
seeming to be engaged. Ryan couldn't help but smile himself, noting just
how cute Nick was when he was asleep. The way his boyish little face sat,
expressionless, and the backbeat of his athletically low resting heart rate
warmed Ryan to his core. Nick's mouth was ever so slightly open, giving
Ryan a glimpse of the entrance into which his young cock had ventured
earlier that afternoon. Ryan, now smirking at the thought, decided he would
let Nick sleep on his shoulder as he configured a few final things on the
phone and put his own number in the contacts.

After a few minutes, Nick's heavy breathing appeared to indicate to Ryan
that he had fully passed out. As a result of Nick's drowsiness, Ryan felt
suddenly stuffed himself. It had been an extremely emotionally exciting
couple of days for both boys, and it was now beginning to catch up with
them both. Ryan, now content that he'd cemented his relationship with Nick
both with and without clothes on, placed Nick's iPhone on the coffee table,
slowly withdrew from Nick (who involuntarily slumped down lengthways with a
light involuntary whimper), and lay in the opposite direction on the old
L-shaped sofa. He closed his eyes, and smiled. Life wasn't too terrible.

Both boys were so out to it, they didn't hear Ray's car arrive in the
driveway almost an hour later; nor did they hear the jingling of keys on
the door. Instead, they both awoke with a start when Fran closed the front
door a little too strongly, and it jolted boy boys back to life.

Seeing the two boys rise from their sleeping positions on the couch made
Ray smile as he addressed them both.

"Big day of nothing for you blokes, then?" Ray said with a sly smile.

"Hi, Mr Rabuzzo," Ryan said angelically, somehow not allowing his awakening
from his nap to affect his voice, as he stood up from the couch. "Nick got
his new phone and we were setting it up."

"Ah, I see," Ray said slowly, as if he'd been waiting forever for Nick to
get a phone, before playfully admonishing his son. "Not much of a host, are
you, mate?"

Nick rubbed his eyes, and still seated, looked up at his father. "Sorry,
Dad, we just crashed."

Ray smiled, and shook his head at the two boys as he turned back to the
kitchen. "You two could outsleep the dead, you know."

Suddenly, from behind Ray, came a familiar voice to Nick. His face opened
into a wide smile when he saw who was approaching the couch.

"Is that a-my Nicola?"

"Nonna! Come va!?" Nick said excitedly as he sprang off the couch and
embraced his grandmother in a tight hug. She always seemed to be in a
lively mood, and warmed the room every time Nick saw her. It was only
recently that Nick had grown taller than his grandmother, which admittedly
wasn't hard, but he was still getting used to looking down to her rather
than up.

As they broke the hug, Nick noticed Ryan standing awkwardly by the
couch. For the first time in his life, just about, Nick felt the urge to
introduce someone without being asked.

"Nonna, this is my friend, Ryan," he said proudly, as Ryan came forward to
shake the old woman's hand.

"Ryan, this is my nonna," Nick said, as his grandmother surprised Ryan with
a traditional Italian greeting of a kiss on either cheek. Rather than being
embarrassed about it, Ryan took it in his stride and reciprocated the
greeting. Nick marvelled at how relaxed Ryan seemed to be in what Nick
assumed to be unfamiliar circumstances. `How the hell is he so smooth?'
Nick thought to himself, and not for the first time.

"You're a skinny boy, just like-a my Nicola," Nick's grandmother said
warmly as she held Ryan by the shoulders and looked him up and down, "you
must a-stay and eat a-some pizza!"

Ryan smiled back, still unsure how to address the old lady. "Oh, thank you
very much, but my mum will have cooked some dinner for me. I had better
head back home, actually, she'll be wondering where I am."

Nick's grandmother nodded and smiled as she moved over to the kitchen, as
Nick looked over at Ryan quizzically. "But you didn't bring your bike,"
Nick said carefully, "it'll take you ages to walk home!"

Ryan playfully flicked his eyebrows at Nick. "I can get the bus to the
bottom of the hill then walk up," he said smugly.

Nick scoffed under his breath. "Rich people ... everything's a bloody
trip."

Ryan beamed back at Nick with a shit-eating grin, getting exactly the
reaction he'd wanted.

"Shame you can't stay, mate," Ray continued to Ryan from the kitchen as he
unpacked the pizza ingredients onto the bench. "You'll have to come back
sometime and try my capricciosa."

Nick scowled at his father and retorted irritably. "No, Dad. No-one likes
artichokes except you and Nonna."

Ryan read Nick's expression, noting his growing frustration, and continued
his ribbing. "That would be awesome, Mr Rabuzzo," he said airily before
turning back to Nick with that same grin, "I like artichokes."

The look of quiet rage on Nick's face only lengthened Ryan's smile. Nick
was fed up not only because Ryan had undermined him, but how he had so
cleverly wound him up on two separate topics without any hint of being
prompted. Seeing how pleased Ryan was with himself, Nick poked him in the
side.

"Dickhead," Nick said under his breath, unable to hide a smile in response
to Ryan's glee.

"Ow!" Ryan said out loud, smiling back at his friend as he theatrically
jumped sideways, rubbing his side.

Ray laughed as Ryan started walking towards the door, closely followed by
Nick. "Told you, Nicky; you're in the minority, mate!"

Nick shot his father a filthy look as he went past to open the door, as
Ryan chuckled and said goodbye to everyone. Once they were outside and on
the footpath of Nick's street, Nick shoved his shoulder into Ryan.

"I hate you," Nick said, unable to hide a smile.

"Well, I don't hate you," Ryan replied sincerely with a smile, looking back
at his friend.

"How come you always know what to say?" Nick asked honestly.

Ryan shrugged. "I dunno," he said aloofly, looking up at the late afternoon
Townsville sky, "stuff just comes to me and I say it."

"You're a wanker," Nick said playfully, "I hope you miss the bus."

"Yeah, well, you're a cocksucker," Ryan said in response as he started
walking up the street towards the bus stop, still facing Nick to observe
the poor boy's quickly reddening face. Content, Ryan snapped his head
around theatrically to face forwards. "Text me later."

Nick smiled and looked on in amazement as Ryan walked up the street. He had
absolutely no idea how someone could be that confident. He almost felt like
he wanted to trade his tennis game for Ryan's confidence, just so he
wouldn't feel so awkward all the time. He'd often wondered what it would be
like to just be a normal kid, without any special talents, that could just
talk to people like a normal person without being prompted or feeling
weird.

Once Nick felt that his face had stopped turning crimson, and with a sigh,
he thought he'd better go inside before someone noticed how long he was
allowing his gaze to linger on Ryan's perfectly-formed arse. By the time
Nick had walked back into the house and closed the big front door, his
nonna had already started making the pizza dough, his father was slicing
garlic, and his sister was pitting olives. It was amazing how quickly an
Italian family all assumed their positions when it was time to start
cooking. Nick stood still and admired it all, until his father caught him
loitering and scolded him.

"Paper's on the table, mate, and it won't move itself," Ray said sternly,
nodding in the direction of the newspaper. "Hurry up and light the bloody
pizza oven!"

"Orazio! Attento a come parli!" Nick's Nonna called out, before elbowing
Ray in the side.

"Sorry, Mum," Ray said meekly, returning to his slicing.

Nick took the newspaper and walked out to the backyard with a wry smile. No
matter how old you were, you could still get in trouble from your mum for
swearing.

---

The lingering smell of wood smoke and charcoal, combined with the smell of
Nick's nonna's special tomato sauce and the aroma of perfectly cooked
pizza, provided the perfect backdrop for a comfortable Saturday night in
the backyard of Palazzo de Rabuzzo. As the family sat around the circular
wooden table, they didn't need the television as they happily chatted about
old times, good times, bad times, and anything in between.

The cicadas continued to chirp away in the background. After the sun had
quietly slipped below the horizon to allow the stars their chance to shine,
the family were well settled into their positions. The adults sipped their
red wine as all four dinner participants slowly melted into their seats in
relaxation.

The first pizza had just come out of the oven and was cooling in the centre
of the table, with the fresh ingredients almost bursting out of the
sauce. After ensuring that everyone had something to drink, Ray took his
own glass and raised it in the air.

"Well, kids, I just want to say that I'm bloody proud of you both – what
a term, hey!"

Nick looked down, almost embarrassed at the praise, while Fran beamed at
her father, lapping up the accolades.

"Nicky, I'm really proud of how you've got yourself going at
Prindiville. You're a bloody good kid, mate, and I reckon you're gonna have
a cracker this year."

Nick smiled back humbly at his father, deeply appreciating the praise he'd
been given. Ray saw the look in his son's eyes and, knowing his son wasn't
one to speak about himself, proudly nodded his head in acknowledgement of
his son's expression.

"And Franny, well, you're a bloody smart girl! You keep going like this and
you'll get that scholarship to St. Agatha's, no worries."

If Nick's sister grinned any harder, her cheeks might well have split in
two.

"Now, who wants some capricciosa!?"

Nick and Fran looked at their father and made faces of disgust as Ray
grinned like a Cheshire cat. He proceeded to slice up the pizza into
quarters, before passing his mother a slice and tucking into a slice of his
own. The kids would just have to watch on until theirs was done, which
would only be a matter of minutes.

"I don't know why you two won't eat this," Ray said with a smile as he
raised his eyebrows, tucking into a slice of his capricciosa and continuing
to talk with his mouth full after a couple of chews, "your mum loved
artichokes."

Nick smiled at his father, pleased that thoughts of his Mum began entering
his head, before answering honestly. "They just taste weird, Dad."

Fran looked seriously at Ray, interested in his previous comment and
forgetting all about the artichoke conversation. "Do you still think about
Mum lots, Dad?"

Ray looked down at the ground, surprised by his daughter's question. He
swallowed, before returning his gaze to his daughter, nodding slowly, and
answered softly and emotionally. "Yeah, Franny. Every day."

Fran was fascinated, as if her mum was a princess that needed to be saved,
and her father was the dashing prince to do just that. She continued her
questioning with earnest. "Did you love her?"

Ray looked up at his daughter, seeing the image of his wife in child form
beside him. He let himself smile, pausing for a moment as the image of his
beautiful wife began to appear in his mind. "Oh, shit yeah. Lots. I still
do, Franny."

Ray's mother frowned at her son's swearing, but let it pass as Fran looked
confused. "How can you love someone who isn't here anymore?"

Ray smiled and took a sip from his wine, before getting up to remove the
kids' pizza from the oven. "Maybe I should tell you a little story," he
started, as he removed the pizza from the oven with his old wooden paddle

Nick and Fran looked at each other, smiled, and watched at their Dad
intently as manhandled their pizza. They always loved hearing stories about
their mum, and subconsciously moved forward in their seats to listen
closely. Ray plonked their pizza on a plate in the middle of the table to
cool before sitting back down and prepared to tell his story.

"It was 1998, and I'd just managed to get a spot in the qualifying at the
Aussie Open. So, I went out for a few drinks at a few pubs in town with my
mates. Your uncle Tony was there, too. I remember at the second place we
went to, I just saw this woman standing with her friends," – Ray paused
to gesture with his hands – "she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever
seen in real life. And, the best bit – she was Italian, like me."

Fran smiled and lightly sighed. She loved her mum even though she'd hardly
known her, and she loved dashing princes. It was as if she was listening to
a Disney story. Nick was just taking it all in, listening intently.

"I just got this urge – I'd never had it before – to go over and just
talk to her. I never was any good at talking to girls."

Fran was absolutely hooked on every word Ray was saying, while Nick smirked
in acknowledgement of his father's comment. Neither was he.

"Was it Mum?" Fran asked innocently, somehow believing that it could have
been anybody else.

Ray smiled and nodded at his daughter before he continued. "I went over to
her, all confident and everything. But, as soon as I got over to her, I
didn't know what to say. I just ... forgot how to speak! She smiled at me,
and I just about fell over. She said if I wanted to stay, I'd have to buy
all of her friends a drink – so of course, I did. Bloody nearly sent me
broke!"

Nick chuckled while Fran was engrossed in the story, impatiently waiting
for the next line. "What happened next?" she inquired.

"We just talked, and talked ... until both of us could hardly hold our eyes
open it was so late. I think the pub must have chucked us out when they
wanted to close. But I remember going home that night, and I just couldn't
sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about her. I was staring up at the
ceiling, and all I saw was her. I kept looking at her number she wrote on a
beer coaster, and waiting until I could call her. And every time I saw her
after that, I never wanted to say goodbye. I loved her from that first
night on."

Nick's smile faded as he began to seriously consider what his father was
saying. There were so many comparisons that he made with his own feelings
that had manifested themselves in the preceding weeks. Fran just looked at
her father with awe.

"So how did you know you were in love, Dad?" Nick asked softly, almost
dreading the answer.

Ray looked over at his son, answering Nick's serious face with his
own. "She made me happy ... a happiness I'd never felt before, mate. She
made me laugh ... she made me think ... she just, you know ... we
clicked. She brought the best out of me. I just couldn't stop thinking
about her. She made me confident, she ... made me complete." Ray's eyes
began to moisten lightly as he talked.

Nick felt like his stomach went through the floor as his mouth
involuntarily opened slightly. He suddenly realised that everything Ray had
said about Nick's mum was everything that Nick felt about Ryan. In his
naivetι, Nick had just thought that he and Ryan were good friends having
a bit of fun, and that it would pass, and they'd move on. But, when he
stopped to think about it, the reality was just so different. It had to be
different.

'Am I in love?' Nick thought seriously, 'is that why the whole thing makes
me feel so weird?'

In an instant, it was like a cannon went off in Nick's head: he WAS in love
with Ryan. He just ... he couldn't come to any other logical
conclusion. His heart rate quickened as the reality of the situation began
to dawn on him and his blinking reflex stopped out of pure fear.

Fran looked at her father in awe, like he was a prince; like he was her
idol. "I hope I get someone like that, Dad," she said softly.

"You will, one day, Franny," Ray said, smiling sadly, "and you'll know it,
too. Deep down, you'll get the feeling, honey. I know you will."

Nick nodded slowly, looking off into the distance, trying to comprehend
everything in his head.

"So will you, Nicky," Ray said, trying to analyse his son's face, "so will
you."

Nick had already got that feeling. But it was for a boy.

Ray saw something there – like the cogs in Nick's brain were turning
over – that he hadn't seen before. Nick was changing, Ray thought; he'd
been changing for months now. Puberty was certainly starting to hit. In the
end, Ray just wanted to be there for his son for whatever he needed, fully
conscious his mother wasn't there.

The way Ray was talking about his wife, though, made Nick feel
terrible. Nick's Dad loved his mum so much; it was clear that he wanted
Nick to feel the same thing in the same way he did – with a girl. But
Nick had fallen for a boy instead. He hadn't meant to, of course, it had
just happened. In fact, he didn't even know how it happened other than
that, suddenly, he was infatuated with a boy, and that boy was seemingly
similarly attracted to him, and then everything between the two of them had
simply fallen into place. In Nick's mind, he couldn't shake the feeling
that he had accidentally and completely betrayed his father through no
fault of his own. He was sure, his brain told him, that Ray would be
shattered.

The questions started firing off in Nick's brain. Was he definitely gay?
Could what he felt for Ryan be anything other than love? Were they just
doing boy things? Would it all stop? And if it was all true, would his Dad
still love him? Nick's thoughts and fears all occupied him so much he
didn't even hear his nonna speaking to him.

"Nicola," she said with a smile, beginning to gesticulate, "you a-never
listen, just like-a your babbo!"

Warmed by his nonna's smile, Nick felt like he was allowed to forget about
everything in his head for a moment smiled back. "Sorry, Nonna," Nick said
softly, "prego?"

"I said, eat-a the pizza before it gets-a cold!"

Ray and his mother smiled as Nick quickly picked up the pizza slicer to
divide up his and his sister's first pizza. Ray's mother smiled because she
thought he was such a sweet boy. Ray smiled because he thought Nick was
just like him; fully preoccupied with his own thoughts. Nick smiled because
finally he had something to think about that wasn't Ryan.

---

Ryan looked down at his phone for the umpteenth time that night. He had
desperately wanted to get a text from Nick, but he knew Nick was with his
family. He didn't want to seem like a desperado and text his friend, but he
still wanted to know that Nick was thinking of him ... and that he was
thinking of Nick.

"You alright, Ryno?" Ryan's older sister asked nonchalantly and almost out
of the blue, her eyes not leaving the television.

One of the great things about the kids living upstairs was that they had
their own television in the upstairs lounge, allowing their parents to
watch the "oldie crap" downstairs. The two siblings often just lounged
about on the spacious couch together, half-watching whatever was on,
playing with their phones, and talking every now and then. His sister
always took the chaise, leaving Ryan the rest of the couch to slouch around
on.

Chelsea had always been close to Ryan. She was sporty, and always wanted to
play with her younger brother; Ryan looked up to his sister had always
wanted to learn more from her. Now that she was 17, and he was almost 13,
she was beginning to read how he acted with the onset of puberty. She'd
been the focus of many a boy in her early teenage years, and for the first
time in a while was single over the holidays – certainly single enough
to watch her brother begin to grow into his skin.

Ryan looked over at his sister with a blank expression and sighed, hoping
she hadn't noticed all the times he'd checked his phone. "Yeah. I'm just
bored."

"Some hot babe not texting you back?" she said with a smirk, still facing
forwards.

Ryan felt his cheeks go red, not particularly appreciating the
interrogation, before looking back at the television and answering
sternly. "No, Chelsea."

Chelsea chuckled. "Some hot boy, then."

Ryan nose-laughed, trying desperately to act cool. "You're an idiot."

"I wonder what it'd be like having a gay brother," Chelsea mused to no-one
in particular.

Cool-as-you-like, Ryan managed to retort casually. "Guess you'll never
know."

It belied the fact that his heart was beating a lot faster than it should
have been. It calmed Ryan, though, when he observed his sister's
smart-arsed smirk. To him, it safely indicated she was only jesting.

The sound of the inane television show was briefly interrupted by the
'bzzt' of Ryan's phone. He excitedly looked down and saw an unknown mobile
number pop up on his screen. Knowing it could only mean one thing, he
smiled widely and opened up the message.

'I ate too much pizza :S'

Ryan had to muffle a little giggle which turned into another
nose-laugh. Only Nick could possibly send that as a first ever message on a
phone. Maybe Nick didn't feel the same sense of occasion that Ryan did, but
nevertheless the receipt of Nick's text send warmth all the way to Ryan's
extremities. It made him feel wanted, and he couldn't get rid of the smile
on his face.

Ryan thought he'd respond in kind.

'Lol, nice first msg. Hello btw :P'

Chelsea looked over at her brother as he locked his phone. She broke into a
wide smile, almost with pride, as she recognised exactly what was going on.

"I know THAT look," she ribbed as she spoke slowly, "there IS a girl!"

Ryan just couldn't stop smiling, so he pretended to his sister that it was
in fact a girl whilst his cheeks went back to the now familiar shade of
red. "Shut up, Chels."

She turned back to the TV. "Naww, little Ry-Ry!"

Ryan shook his head with a smile as his phone buzzed again.

'Oh, hey :)'

Ryan immediately began to type back, before smirking and feeling a familiar
stirring in his underpants.

'Can't stop thinking bout wat we did today ;)'

"Be careful, Ryno," his sister said protectively as she turned back to the
television. "Don't send anything you wouldn't want mum and dad to see. And
DEFINITELY don't send pictures of ... you know ... yourself."

Ryan went a deep shade of red as he considered the text he'd just sent. "I
won't, Chels."

Just as he'd said that, his phone buzzed again, and as he was reading the
first text – 'Me neither, your the best Ry :)' – the second buzzed
through.

'I can't wait to see u again'

Ryan's heart just about melted. He smiled down at his phone as looked at
the two messages from his boy. There could be no doubt, Ryan surmised, that
Nick felt exactly how Ryan did. And now, they had a means by which they
could communicate without having to actually physically see each
other. Whilst that would of course always remain preferable, particularly
after the events of the day, they would at least be able to satisfy their
feelings for one another by text.

'Me neither Nicky :)'

With a satisfied yawn, Ryan got up from the couch and walked towards his
room. His sister looked on with a smile, and couldn't resist the
opportunity to heckle.

"I'm gonna have to meet her soon, Ryno, and check she's good enough for
you!"

Ryan turned his head back briefly as he walked, worried for the time when
he'd have to break his sister's bubble. All he saw was a comforting smile
of a sister who loved her brother; what she saw was an odd facial
expression, a rather forced smile, and a rather uncomfortable turn down the
hall towards Ryan's bedroom.

Ryan carefully closed his bedroom door and sighed as he clicked the
lock. Why was it that everything in his life had to be tempered with a
downside, he thought. When he was alone, when it was just he and Nick, he
felt like he could take on the world. But the minute someone else came
along, he felt like some outcast leper; someone desperately hiding a dark
secret that no-one could ever know. At least he was good at hiding it, he
thought with a defeated laugh. Maybe one day he'd get the balls to just
come out and tell everyone.

He pulled his t-shirt off over his head and tossed it into his laundry
basket. As he looked down at his smooth chest and flat stomach, he
smiled. He always had his physique. He still had those boyish good looks,
those piercing blue eyes, and that mop of sandy brown hair. At least he
wasn't a fatso, or a complete uggo, he thought.

When he hooked his thumbs into his shorts to pull them down, an instant
flashback appeared in his mind from his afternoon's fun with Nick. Just the
two of them, naked, hard, and with one thing on both of their minds; the
control Ryan asserted over Nick, shoving him down on the bed; and that
feeling of euphoria while erupting in Nick's mouth.

Ryan hadn't realised he'd closed his eyes and taken himself to another
planet, until he caught himself and reopened his eyes, standing next to his
bed, completely erect in his underpants. He looked down with lust, slowly
slipping his underwear over his pulsating young teen penis, watching
intently as his cock sprang up to attention, begging to be pleasured. He
slipped the underpants the rest of the way, feeling his long, slender legs,
before tossing them aside in a lustful hurry. With his mind awash with
experiences only encountered hours earlier, he leapt onto his bed, and
settled on his back with his cock and balls bouncing into position. He
looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and started to slowly masturbate
his young member.

He immediately felt a wave of pleasure sweep through his body as his mind
replayed the moment he kissed Nick; the moment he felt his friend's
hardness for the first time through their clothes. He replayed the scene on
Nick's bed, when he launched himself on top of his friend, grinding their
teen dicks together and sloppily tongue-wrestling with burning
passion. Ryan contentedly sighed, opening his eyes as he looked down at
what he was doing, and observed his little patch of pubes bobbing up and
down to the beat of his hand as he pumped himself ever closer to
completion.

He took a moment to slowly slip his foreskin all the way down his cock
head, allowing the purple glans to pop out, before retracting his skin
back. He loved the way his skin felt as it sprang around the tip of his
penis.

Having felt Nick's cock – hell, having sucked Nick's cock – Ryan's
mind decided it was time for a little adventure. Closing his eyes once
more, Ryan pulled his feet up in the air, allowing the air of his bedroom,
and more importantly his fingers, access to his hairless, pink asshole. A
couple of sucks on his index finger, imagining it was Nick's pulsating
dick, was enough to lubricate it and get it ready for action. Slowly,
passionately, Ryan pressed his index finger against his pucker. He frigged
himself even faster when he felt his fingertip enter the ring, imagining it
was Nick pressing his hardness inside Ryan.

There was no pain. There was just endless pleasure as Ryan, with his legs
high in the air and his right hand furiously jerking his cock, slowly and
passionately fingered himself with his left to the thought of his
friend. He explored his butthole, sticking his finger in as far as it would
go as he ferociously masturbated himself, edging ever closer to the point
of no return.

As he felt his balls begin to tighten up, he extracted his finger from his
ass just in time. He lowered his feet, and involuntarily bucked his hips up
as the first wave of orgasm hit him. Despite his efforts at Nick's house
earlier that day, with several groans unable to be muted, he still managed
to shoot a respectable cum load onto his chest and stomach, before coming
down from his significant high with a crash. Panting and exhausted from
such an intense session, he almost fainted as he regained control of his
body. He was only stirred from his position as the blobs of his cum
stationed on his chest began to annoy him.

While wiping himself down with a couple of tissues from his bedside table,
Ryan couldn't help but chuckle. He had just had two of the most ferocious
and passionate orgasms of his life within a few hours of each other, and
both with or about the same boy. The same, sexy as hell, perfect boy. He
just couldn't get enough of Nick. It was a drug, and he was addicted.

When he grabbed his phone and looked at the three messages from Nick, he
just burst out laughing. Nick had found the emojis – and had clearly
just been sliding through the list, and sending random ones he liked. The
first message had a bunch of faces, the second message had a tennis ball
and some cars, and the final message had a bunch of random symbols. Ryan,
feeling cheeky, simply sent one in return. It was the face emoji which was
kissing a love heart.

The waiting period between the sending of the face and the receipt of a
response sent Ryan's mind racing more than it should have; he wasn't sure
if he'd overstepped the mark. However. Ryan smiled very widely when he
received the response – three love hearts, each in a different colour.

Ryan responded with a love heart and a sleepy face, before placing his
phone down, putting on some fresh underpants, turning out the light and
closing his eyes. It was a blissful way to go to sleep, filled with teenage
love.

---

It wasn't so easy in Nick's bed that night. It was all so natural, sending
Ryan love hearts, showing him that he was in love. There was no third party
to ruin it or make it awkward; it was just heartfelt and simple. When Nick
placed his phone down and turned out the light, though, he couldn't shut
his eyes.

All that he could think of was his Mum and Dad. His poor Dad, he thought,
who had given everything for Nick. And how did Nick repay him? By stabbing
him in the back and falling in love with a boy. A fucking boy. Why couldn't
he just be a normal kid, like everyone else in Townsville, and be into
girls? Why did he have to throw everything back in his Dad's face, and just
ruin it? Why was he being so fucking selfish?

Nick turned onto his side and felt tears enter his eyes. He missed his
Mum. They had such a special connection; even though he was only five when
she died, he knew that she was closer to him than anyone else he'd ever
known. He loved his Dad, too, who was like a best friend to him. The last
thing he wanted to do was hurt him. He'd never be able to tell him he'd
gone against his plans and chosen a boy. Even though it hadn't been a
choice, necessarily, he still felt like Brutus.

It was all too hard, Nick thought. It was all too fucking hard. All he
wanted to do was just be with Ryan and spend every waking moment together.
He just wanted to lie next to Ryan, and feel the way he felt this afternoon
– like it was all going to be fine. Like they were, somehow, going to
get there.

Nick tossed, and turned, and then tossed again, thinking and thinking some
more about just what he could do. Restlessly rolling around in angst, he
begged the night to end so the sun could come up again and help ease his
pain.