Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 21:00:40 +0000 From: "Jankin Noff (via Google Docs)" Subject: Riding Out The Storm Chapter 8 This is a fictional story, none of these people really exist. In many areas, states, counties, and countries this is illegal, please check in your area and then do whatever you think is appropriate. This story contains scenes of young teens and preteens engaging in sexual activity, if this offends you then leave now. Okay now that all the prudes are gone let me tell you that this is not a quick jackoff story, I try to develop a relationship between my characters, this story is more about boys coming to terms with who they are not how often they get their rocks off or you get yours. There is nothing wrong with that type of story and there are plenty here on Nifty that do just that, if that is what you are in the mood for go ahead and find one it won't bother me. I would love some feedback on this story, positive or otherwise, if it is otherwise please try to be constructive, tell me what you felt needed to be changed maybe I'll listen maybe I won't but my goal is to become a better writer so most likely I will. You can email me at jinoff930@gmail.com One last thing before you start reading: Donate to Nifty, they need our help, provide a valuable service, and have gotten many of us through some lonely nights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quinn had managed to time it well and got home after his father had gone to bed, his mother was still up, however, and she insisted that he join her for a while. They talked a little about what he had done during the day and he told her a very edited version of the events that he had been involved in. Finally, she goes to bed and Quinn stays up, telling her that he is going to watch a movie but of course he is hoping that Jax will be paying another late-night visit. While he is waiting he thinks back to the incident in Davis's bedroom. He told his friend that it was no big deal, seeing each other's cocks, but the truth is that seeing Davis naked is a big turn-on for him. He doesn't take his dick out of his pants but he does start to rub himself to the memory of that incident when there is a knock at the window. Going to the door he opens it and lets his friend in. "I am so fucking horny." He says to Jax, no pretense of watching a movie or anything else this time. Quinn pulls down his pants and boxers, showing his hard-on to his friend. "Come on, drop your pants, I want to play with your dick." "Woah, you just wanna get right to it tonight. You must be needing some relief tonight." Jax says as he, too, exposes his dick which didn't start off hard but is quickly getting there. "It's that damn Davis, for some reason I can't get the picture of his dick and balls out of my mind. It looked small enough that I probably could get the whole thing, balls and all in my mouth." "Probably, but would you settle for this tonight?" Jax asks as he rubs his cock against Quinn's hip. Instead of answering him, Quinn drops to his knees and guides his friend into his mouth, using his tongue to wash over the slit and across the head before traveling down his shaft. He can hear Jax moan, the volume louder than he is normally comfortable with but in his state, it drives him to even more acts of erotic desire and he stops the blow job to lick his nuts for a while. "I'm not going to last very long at this rate." Jax warns him. Quinn stops for a moment and looks up at his friend. "Just let me know, before you cum, so I can get it all." He says as he licks his lips and then goes back to washing Jax's nuts. Jax tries to remember to keep his volume down but his excitement doesn't make that easy. "I'm starting to cum!", he says a moment later and he feels Quinn dive onto his dick, licking across his slit, picking up the sweet and salty taste of precum just before the first shot of cum shoots into his mouth. Jax feels his cum fill Quinn's mouth and delights in the feeling of Quinn's tongue licking it all off of his shaft. Feeling the suction as he swallows the load in his mouth Jax shoots another couple of "I think that you shot a lot more than last time." Quinn says as he swallows the last of the load. "Maybe finally seeing Davis made you hornier too." He suggests as he stands up, his boner standing tall, the head of his dick looking larger and redder than Jax had seen in the past. "Maybe, all I know for sure is that you licking my balls got me really excited. I don't know if I'm going to be able to top that." He says as he kneels in front of his friend. "But I'll see what I can do." He says with a smile and a lick of his lips as he wraps his hand around the hot shaft. Jax starts by licking around the ridge, and as he is working on making Quinn moan in pleasure he takes his other hand and starts to rub his balls at the same time. He only does that for a moment or two before he changes his tactics. While continuing to lick and suck on Jax's cock he moves his other hand under his balls and starts to use his long fingers to massage his perineum. Once he hears Quinn respond positively to the feeling of his fingers in the area he moves his hand over the perineum using his thumb to massage his balls and spreading his fingers higher into Quinn's ass, forcing his fingers into the crack and feeling his way to his rosebud. "Shit, that feels good." Quinn hisses through clenched teeth, afraid to open his mouth any further in case he can't control his volume. Quinn has been holding Jax's hair, trying to get him to go down lower on his cock but now he takes one hand and reaches around to his own backside, trying to spread his cheeks wider in an attempt to give Jax better access. Jax takes his mouth off Quinn's cock for a moment to wet one of the fingers exploring his ass, using his spit for lube Jax takes his wet finger and circles his tight opening, hearing Quinn moan louder he pushes just a little bit harder and is rewarded when he can feel his finger slip past the tight sphincter to enter the cavity. "Oh fuck!" Quinn says, and he starts shooting into Jax's mouth as soon as he feels his finger entering him. As soon as he is done shooting Quinn collapses on the floor, eyes closed and barely breathing, he lays there for a moment until he can finally sit up. "Holy shit dude! Where did you come up with that idea?" He is talking quieter again, now that he has better control of his thinking and remembers the importance of being quiet. "Saw it in a movie, what did you think? Pretty wild, wasn't it? I tried it on myself the other day and had the same reaction." "I want to do that again sometime, but not in the middle of the night, sometime when I can be as loud as I want to be." "Would you be willing to do that to me?" For the first time in a while, Jax shows a trace of nervousness. He hasn't put himself in such a vulnerable position since they talked about blowing each other and he wasn't sure how Quinn would feel about playing with his ass. He was putting his clothes back on, preparing to leave if Quinn ordered him out of the house. Quinn looks at him, his face unreadable for a moment, and then splits into a grin. "What do you think? That was wild and if I want you to do it again, then yeah I better do it to you hadn't I?" He grabs Jax's boxers before he can put them on. "Why don't you stay here awhile? I'm tired of you always taking off after we have our fun." He says as he throws the underwear across the room. "What about your dad? If he comes downstairs you'll be screwed, hell he'll probably call my folks too after he kicks me out." "Screw him. I'm not talking about you sleeping here or anything, just sitting here and watching some TV with me is all. I'm tired of not having my friends here when I want them." If he is aware of the entendre he gives no sign of it. Then, still naked, he sits back down on the couch. Jax stands there for a moment, knowing that there is the possibility of a lot of trouble if they get caught but also understanding what his friend means. Mind made up he moves to the couch and sits beside his friend. They sit there just watching the movie for a while but eventually they find it difficult to keep their hands off each other and eventually Jax reaches over and starts rubbing Quinn's nipples, when Quinn gets hard he leans over and starts sucking him. Soon he lifts his head and whispers to his friend, "Lay down. We can have some more fun." When Quinn makes himself comfortable Jax shifts position so that when he lays back down they are head to toe and as soon as he starts sucking on Quinn's cock he can feel Quinn taking him in his mouth. This time there is no exploration, there is only the two of them licking and sucking, their mouths going up and down each other's hard cock. Soon they have silently started a game of Simon Says, when one of them does something the other quickly follows, mouths, tongues, and fingers are all involved in the game and soon they are swallowing each other's cum again. As soon as they are done Jax notices that it is much later than he thought and he starts to get dressed to go home. As he does so he notices that Quinn seems to have something on his mind. "What's up?" He asks as he pulls his pants on. "Look, I need to know that this is just staying between us. I don't care if you're doing the same thing with someone else, but just don't go around telling anyone what we're doing." Quinn says. Jax gives him a weird look. "Of course I'm not going to tell anyone what we're doing. The whole thing of us both doing this is that we have dirt on each other, which keeps us both safe. But you already know that. What's going on?" He knows that Quinn doesn't have the best home life and is concerned for the well-being of his friend. Quinn pauses as he debates how to answer that question. Finally, he decides that he isn't prepared for that conversation right now and takes the coward's way out, hating himself as he does so. "I don't want to get into it right now, but I do want to talk to you, maybe tomorrow, away from Davis." "Sure thing, I don't know how but we'll find a way." Jax says, then turns to leave. "Okay then, guess I'll see you later today, right?" He says as he opens the door. "Yeah, the three of us will find some type of trouble to get into no doubt." Quinn says. For a moment Jax gets the impression that Quinn is about to say or do something more, it seems he is about to reach out to him but as he watches he sees Quinn drop his arm and the moment passes. Without saying anything more Jax leaves and hears the door close behind him. As Quinn heads upstairs to his room he hears the toilet in his parent's bedroom flush. "Shit!" He whispers to himself. Their door is closed and he has no idea who is up nor for how long. "Well, I'm not going to worry about it now, if that was my dad he'll be sure and let me know about it later." With that, he goes to his room and falls asleep within moments. Senan wakes up and as he looks out the window he can see that the day is going to be cold and gray. Disappointed because he knows that means that he and Kenneth won't be going anywhere on their bikes, they will be at someone's home, either his or Kenneth's. It doesn't matter which one to him as both of them will have parents there which stops them from having more fun like they did yesterday. Dissatisfied he gets in the shower and then gets dressed before he goes to the kitchen for breakfast. "Hi mom, hi dad." He says as he opens the refrigerator and gets the orange juice out. "Morning son," his dad says as he pours coffee for him and his wife, "you were pretty wiped out last night, feeling better?" He asks as he starts to set the table for the pancakes his wife is making. "Yeah, Kenneth and I played a lot of basketball yesterday. Just really wiped me out last night, but I slept well and I'm hoping that we can do something today." "Well, basketball is out." His mom adds as she looks out the window. "It's starting to rain." She comes over with a platter of pancakes and they all help themselves to the stack. "Maybe he could come over here? After all, I spent all afternoon at his place yesterday so it seems fair." Senan says as he pours the syrup on his stack. "That sounds good, why don't you call him after breakfast?" His father suggests. "We can pick him up if necessary, possibly repay them for feeding you last night." Senan agrees to that idea and says that he will make the arrangements after they finish eating. Kenneth wakes up still exhausted, he hadn't slept well as every time he started to fall asleep his mind went back to the earlier sex play they had engaged in, and before he knew it he was wide awake once again. Finally dragging himself out of bed he looks out the window and sees that the rain is just starting. "Damn," He says dispassionately, "that means our trip to the park is off." With no other places for them to go he knows that whatever he and Senan do for the day, his hope for a repeat of the day before is gone. Going out to the kitchen he sees his parents are already up and have eaten. "Why didn't you call me?" He asks as he looks at the dirty breakfast dishes. "We tried," his mom says. "We even knocked on your door, twice! After the second time we got a response of `Go away' that was very muffled, almost as if you were still under your covers, so I did, and we ate." "I'm sorry mom, guess all the playing Senan and I did yesterday wore me out." He says as he looks around to see what he might make for himself to eat. He looks at the cereal boxes but he has those all week long and always looks forward to a homemade breakfast from his mom on the weekends. "Don't worry," his mom says, finally putting him out of his misery, "we saved some for you." She pulls a plate with some bacon on it out of the stove and asks him how he wants his eggs to be cooked. Not wanting her to work any harder than she already has he asks for scrambled and makes his toast while he's waiting. Halfway through his breakfast the phone rings and his father hands him the receiver. "Hello?" He says he's pretty sure he knows who is calling but doesn't like to make assumptions. "Oh hey, Senan!" He starts to perk up once he identifies his friend's voice. "What's up?" He listens to his friend for a moment and then puts his hand over the mouthpiece. "Hang on, let me ask." He says as he does so. "Hey mom, dad? Would it be okay if I went to Senan's today? We won't play outside, and his folks have invited me to stay for dinner." They look at each other and he can tell that they're doing that "silent communication" that parents do so well. Finally, his father breaks the silence. "You can go," he says to him. "Do you need a ride?" After a short back and forth exchange it is determined that Senan's dad will pick him up, that he is to call them after he is finished eating and has showered and gotten dressed. "Alright, it'll probably be about half an hour or so." He says before hanging up the phone. After that, he hurries through the rest of his breakfast and rushes to get ready to go to his friend's house. Quinn is awakened by the sound of his bedroom door opening and his father gruffly telling him to get up. Once he leaves the room Quinn sits up and stretches. "Well, I guess I know who was up last night." He says to himself as he throws on some clothes and heads downstairs. Walking into the kitchen he sees his mom sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. For a moment he is hoping that somehow everything is alright but he sees no signs of breakfast being made and his hopes sink. Trying to maintain his calm Quinn sits. As soon as he does his dad starts in. "Who was here last night?" He asks his voice filled with suspicion. Quinn tries for a bluff, hoping that his father is not as aware of things as he seems to be. "No one, what makes you think that someone was here? I was up watching a movie, maybe that's what you heard." He tries to keep his voice neutral but doesn't think that he has pulled it off very well. "Bullshit, I heard you talking. Who was here?" His father steps closer to him, looming over him and using his size to try and intimidate him. Quinn tries to look as if he's thinking things over. "Hmm, let me see, I came down late to watch a movie, then I fell asleep on the couch and woke up somewhere around two or so. I mumbled something about how late it was and went back up the stairs and went to bed. I heard someone in your bathroom but that was it." "You must think I'm stupid, if that is all that happened then why did I hear the front door close right before you came upstairs?" "Shit," Quinn thinks to himself. "He knows more than he let on." Quinn prides himself on his ability to think on his feet and hopes that he can use that to his advantage. "I did open the door, I was curious as to how cold it was and if it seemed like it was going to rain today." He cannot bring himself to look at his father, unaware that it is one of the tells his father uses to know if he's lying. His father lets loose with a snort of derision. "It doesn't matter, the rain, `cause you're grounded until you tell me what was going on last night. After breakfast, you'll be in your room until I decide what to do about your lying." Finished, he moves to the coffee pot and pours himself another cup while his wife gets up and noiselessly starts to make breakfast. The kitchen is quiet, Quinn is sitting in a chair trying to ignore his father, who is now sitting at the table drinking his second cup of coffee and staring directly at him. His mom has her back to the rest of the kitchen, focusing on making breakfast. She's doing her best to ignore what is happening behind her. Resigned to his fate Quinn gets himself a drink as soon as he can tell that breakfast is almost ready. Sitting down he looks at the plate that is set before him, greasy strips of half-cooked bacon, runny eggs, and burnt toast. "This is a sign of how upset mom is," He thinks to himself, "mom is usually a better cook than this." After a quiet meal where he doesn't look up so he can avoid the glare of his father, Quinn gets up and goes back to his room. Laying on his bed Quinn hears the shower start, realizing that it's most likely his father in the shower because he can also hear dishes being done in the kitchen, he moves quietly to the phone and brings it up to his room. Making sure that his door is closed he calls Jax immediately. Hey bud," he says when his friend is on the other end of the line. "I'm not going to be able to meet up with you guys. My jackass of a father heard me coming up the stairs last night. I won't tell him what was up so he's decided to ground me." He pauses as Jax asks him a question. "No, as far as I know, he doesn't know about you being here." Another pause then, "If he knew, or even suspected, I would've heard about it by now, probably would've had my butt beat too. I gotta go, need to put the phone back before he gets out of the shower. I'll see you at school tomorrow and we'll figure out a time to get together and talk." With that he ends the call and then, listening to make sure the shower is still running, he goes downstairs to put the receiver back. The only thing that didn't ruin the day for Senan and Kenneth was the fact that they could get together despite the weather. While they were disappointed that they weren't able to figure out a way to have time for the two of them alone, they were happy that they could get together at all. Knowing that they owed that to Senan's father they were both especially nice to him on the way back to his home. Once there the first thing the boys decide to do is go to Senan's room. Sitting down on the bed they look at each other, both remembering the feelings of the previous day but neither wanting to bring it up. "Too bad the weather is so lousy," Senan says to break the ice. "I was hoping we could go somewhere to be alone." "We could be alone here. If we close the door would your parents just open it or would they knock first?" Kenneth asks as he calculates whether or not there was enough room for him to stretch out or not. "My dad likes to just open the door, at least he does when he gets home and I'm in here doing homework." Senan tries to avoid it but he can't help but think about him and Quinn in a similar conversation not that long ago. "You don't have a lock on it do you?" Kenneth looks at the door and answers his own question. "Too bad you haven't had the `I need privacy' conversation with them already, you can't have it now, it would be an odd one to have with someone here and would make them suspicious." He stops talking and looks into Senah's eyes. "Well, we can figure something out if you want to." He smiles at his friend who is stretched out alongside him on the bed. Senan surprises him when he leans up and gives Kenneth a quick kiss. Then, before Kenneth can react, he gets off the bed and moves toward the door. "Come on." He says to Kenneth, laughing at how he is just sitting there with his mouth wide open. "Let's go play some video games." Then he waits while Kenneth gets off the bed and walks toward him. "You're a nut." Kenneth says as he follows him down the hall. He laughs with his friend, happy at the thought that they can still just be goofy together like this, that their sex play hasn't put a damper on their friendship. Once they get their game going that is pretty much where they end up spending the rest of their day. There are a few moments when they detach themselves from the games, once when the rain lightens up and they try going outside to kick a soccer ball around until the rain picks up again and drives them back inside. The other time they stop playing is when Senan's father wants to watch a football game on TV. As neither of them are interested in football this sends them back to Senan's room to play a couple of rounds of Dead of Winter, which creates a silly side game of them both acting like zombies, claiming that only a kiss could cure them of the deadly disease. A kiss or two from each of them and the original game is forgotten by both of them. "Are we safe?" Kenneth asks, not wanting them to get caught or his friend getting in trouble. "Yes," Senan says as he rubs his fingers over Kenneth's chest, "once my dad has a game on he won't move for a while. My mom will stay next to him even though she isn't a big fan of football. She likes to spend time with him though." Kenneth is leaning over him and he lifts his body so that their lips can make contact. "They might come to check on us at halftime so we need to keep an ear out for that." With that, the two of them focus more on each other than the game they were playing. But Senan pays attention to his internal clock and breaks it off after what feels like both too short a time and that they are cutting the time to close all at once. By the time that his mom comes to check on them, they are deep into their game and frustrated that their home base is about to be overrun by zombies. "Are you boys getting hungry?" She asks as she opens the door with no warning. "Yeah mom, would it be okay if we had snacks and drinks in my room, we're almost at the end of the game and don't want to stop playing." Senan says from his place on the floor, Kenneth sprawled out on the opposite side of the game boards. She smiles at them, happy to see them involved in something that isn't a video game for a change. "Sure, what if I heat up some pizza rolls and bring them in along with a couple of sodas?" She says. "Would you mom? That'd be great." Senan is so caught up in the game that he completely misses the sarcasm in his mom's voice. "No, I won't, you know the rules, there's no way I'll let you have sticky soda in your room. Why don't the two of you come get me when you're done killing the zombies, or being killed by them, and I'll get your snack then. She closes the door as she leaves the room. "Okay, mom." Senan laughs as he answers her. It doesn't take too much longer before the boys lose their game, the base that they were trying to protect ended up being overrun by zombies two turns later, and they go to let her know that they are ready for their snack. After finishing their snack and drink they check on the progress of the game Senan's parents are watching. Seeing that the second half of the game had barely started they decided to play the game in Senan's room again, hoping for a better outcome this time. Resetting the boards and choosing a new mission they quickly get into another game, this time they take longer on their turns, focusing on the actual game instead of an excuse for kissing. Thinking each move through to help them win their game as well as being able to complete their individual missions as both of them were smarting from the loss of the first game and neither of them were wanting to experience that a second time. It took them a while but finally, they were able to claim a victory over the zombies with Senan also being able to claim victory of his personal goal as well. "Congratulations," Kenneth says with a smile. "That means you win the special prize for the game." "What special prize is that?" Senan asks, trying to keep from giggling as he is pretty sure he knows what the `special prize' is going to be. Leaning close to Senan, Kenneth purses his lips and presses them against Senan's. It doesn't take long for Senan to respond, opening his mouth, running his tongue against Kenneth's teeth, hoping to be let in. When Kenneth does let him the kissing kicks up a notch as their tongues swirl around each other making Kenneth moan into his mouth. After a moment Senan pulls back from him, removing his tongue from his mouth as well as ending the kiss. "Sorry, but we better stop before we get carried away. Dad's game should be ending soon and either one of them could come in and tell us the TV is ours again." Kenneth spends some time getting his breathing under control. "Yeah, you're right. The last thing we need is to get caught." They spend a few minutes putting the game away and as they finish, Senan's dad does open the door to tell them they can go back to playing their video game. Returning to the video games the boys stay there until dinner time, aware of the high risk of getting caught they behave themselves except for the occasional laughing as they think about them kissing in the bedroom. Senan's mom made chicken alfredo for dinner along with garlic bread and a green salad, one of Senan's favorite meals. Between the four of them, there wasn't much leftover. Before she brought out the tiramisu she had bought for dessert the boys cleared the table and washed the dishes. One of the reasons for doing this is because it is Senan's job to take care of dinner dishes, the second reason for doing this work unasked was to impress his parents with how helpful Kenneth can be, thus improving the odds of him staying for dinner in the future, the third reason is that they overate and wanted some time to pass thus allowing their dinner a chance to settle. While they are washing the dishes his parents go into the other room and watch some TV. Kenneth, after first making sure that Senan's parents can't hear him, brings up a subject that he feels Senan needs to address with his parents. "You need to start asking for some privacy in your bedroom. Do you know how many times your parents just opened your door?" Knowing that they are in the kitchen he keeps his voice low, just in case they come in while he's talking. "So what? We were careful and I don't hide things from them." "It's not a matter of you hiding things, it's a matter of respect. You're getting old enough to have some privacy. Hopefully, soon you'll be going through some changes and you need some privacy to work things out. Plus if you want to beat off you don't need either of your parents walking in on that scene." Senan laughs, "Sounds like you have some personal experience on that one." He says teasingly. "Oh my God, it was so embarrassing. My mom walked in on me on a Saturday, I figured I had plenty of time, no need to get up early. So there I was playing with myself and my mom just opened the door. Boom! There she was wanting me to get up but not expecting me to be up like that." His face turns red at the memory and after a bit of laughter, he continues the story. "So she stammered something I yelled, she left the room, there was no way I could finish but at the same time, I didn't want to go eat breakfast either. "Finally my dad came in and rescued me, saying all guys do it, no need to be embarrassed, mom was sorry, she'll be sure and respect my privacy from then on. It was a rough weekend between me and my mom but the good part? I get to keep my door shut and they knock and wait for permission before entering my room now." "Yeah, but I'm not doing any of that stuff yet, at least not that much." Senan says, still confused about the importance of the issue. "I know but trust me, it's better to get it resolved before you start beating off regularly. Plus this way if they ask you why you don't have to feel like you're lying to them when you don't say anything about beating off. You can give them a more honest reason and, knowing your folks, that'll work better." Senan thinks about it for a while, "Maybe you're right. I need to think about this some more. I'll keep you updated on my thoughts on the matter and let you know my decision when I make it." "Okay, but remember, sooner is better than later." The conversation ends about the same time that washing the dishes does and they join Senan's parents in the living room. After watching some TV and having the tiramisu Jim and Senan take Kenneth home. "Well, that was a nice visit. Did you two have fun today?" His father asks on the drive home. "Yeah, we played Dead of Winter while you were watching the football game. Actually, we played it twice, lost the first game but kicked zombie butt in the second one." "That good then, right?" His father has very little knowledge of the game, having only tried it once and quickly deciding that the game wasn't for him. Senan smiles at his dad. "Yeah, that's good. We're supposed to save people, keep our base from being overrun by zombies, along with a few other things. I met all my objectives, but Kenneth didn't so we both won, but I was the bigger winner because of that." He knows that his father isn't really listening, he's just trying to keep his dad from asking questions about what he's thinking about. He hates those types of questions as he always feels obligated to answer them truthfully and he isn't ready to express his thoughts yet. Fortunately, they get home without any more questions being asked by his father. After arriving home they all watch some TV before it's time for him to go to bed. After saying good night to his parents he gets ready for bed, and as he slips under his covers his mind starts to work on the privacy issue of him being allowed to keep his door closed, however, he falls asleep before he can come up with a solution. The next day, when Senan wakes up, he is no closer to a solution than he was when he went to bed the night before. Getting into the shower causes him to think more about it as he imagines either of his parents walking in on him right now. "It's not that I'm doing anything, I just don't want them to see me naked." He says to himself as he shampoos his hair. Getting out and drying off, it is all he can think about until after he is dressed and gone to join his parents in the kitchen for breakfast. "Morning mom, morning dad." He says as he pours himself a bowl of cereal. As he eats he is deep in thought, not even noticing that his parents are looking at him questioningly, so quiet and out of character he is being right now. He has eaten over half his cereal before he's aware that they are watching him. Self-consciously he stops eating, his spoon lifted halfway to his mouth. "What?" He asks, a little freaked out by their behavior. "We're just wondering what's going on," His mom replies. "You've been very quiet this morning." She takes a drink of her coffee as she answers him. "Nothing's going on. I'm just thinking of stuff is all. Nothing I want to talk about yet but don't worry I'll let you guys know when I do." With that he goes back to eating his breakfast and then when he's finished, he grabs his backpack and heads off to the bus stop. At the stop, he thinks more about yesterday, at first he is thinking about the kissing that he and Kenneth were doing and he realizes that not only can he feel the tingly feeling but also that he has an erection. This quickly gets him thinking about the conversation he and Kenneth had regarding privacy and he realizes that this is another reason for the privacy, how embarrassed he would be if either of his parents saw him with a boner. "I could probably get dad to understand but there's no way mom would." Senan thinks to himself. At this time the bus arrives and he boards, reserving a spot next to him for his friend. Kenneth wakes and looks out his window, happy to see that the rain has stopped sometime during the night. Getting into the shower he is fairly certain that he has enough time to quickly beat off and, using the memory of the previous day, he does just that. After watching his watery cum go down the drain he gets out, dries off, and gets dressed before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. His usual school day breakfast consists of a toasted bagel, with some peanut butter and honey on it and some juice to wash it all down with. After a little small talk with his mom, he heads off to his bus stop, trying to time it so that he only has a couple of minutes to wait until the bus is there. Once he climbs on the bus he sits next to Senan, smiling at his friend. "What's going on? You look like you have something on your mind?" He says as he settles down and prepares himself for the ride. "I keep going over yesterday, all the times that we could have been caught and the trouble it could have caused. The more I think about it the more I realize that I was flirting with danger. I think your advice to me is spot on and now I need to figure out a way to bring it up with my parents." Kenneth is impressed that he is reaching that conclusion so quickly, Senan's usual method is to think about things a lot longer than that, sometimes taking days to make a decision. He's also impressed with the way that Senan was able to talk about it on the bus in such a manner that no one else would be able to figure out what he is talking about. "Well as you know I completely agree with you. Would you like me to help you figure out how to talk about it?" He offers, trying to be helpful to his friend. "That's all right. I think that by tonight I'll at least have an idea of how I want to bring it up to them. Besides it's not like I need to bring it up right away, the only thing I have to do today is my tutoring." He stops for a moment and remembers what happened last week between him and Quinn, then feels guilty as he knows there is no way he can mention any of that to Kenneth. He feels horrible about being less than honest to his best friend but knows that telling him any of that would set Kenneth off and overall make things worse. The last thing he wants to do is stress out his friend and get his day off to a bad start when there isn't a good reason to do so, so deciding that in this instance being less than completely forthcoming is the better of the two bad choices he elects to remain silent. Quinn wakes up in the morning and is almost able to forget about the previous day, then he can hear his father coming up the stairs and it all comes crashing back down. "I want you home right after school." His father says as he slams open the door. "What about my tutoring? I'm supposed to go over to Senan's place after school." He says as he follows his father into the hallway, not caring about being seen in his boxers or with his dick at half-mast. His father doesn't even turn to face him. "Fine, but you aren't eating there, not until you tell the truth about the other night. Until that happens you're still grounded." Then he heads downstairs, ignoring any other cries of protest from his son. Going back into his room Quinn's first reaction is a desire to have a tantrum, release his rage and energy in a destructive fit until he feels it no more. Quinn is smart enough to realize that doing that would make things worse for himself, not only with the way his father treats him but also that the only thing that would do is destroy things in his room and leave a mess that he would be responsible for. Instead, he takes a long shower, using his time-honored technique of staying upstairs until he knows that his father has left for work. Finally, he hears the front door close and he heads downstairs for his breakfast. "Hello son," His mom says as he enters the kitchen, "I don't know why you don't just tell him what he wants to know. That would make things so much easier for you it would end all your problems." "No it wouldn't mom, it would only make things worse. Trust me, mom, he doesn't want to know anything except another way to make my life a living hell and I don't plan on giving him one. Even if it means that I'm housebound until wrestling starts." He grabs the bagel that she has pulled out of the toaster and puts a small amount of cream cheese on it. "You're wrong about him you know. He doesn't want to punish you, he just wants to make sure that you aren't involved in anything bad, like drugs." She offers the explanation at the same time she offers the bagel. "Come on mom, do you really believe that? After all the work I've done to make sure I can wrestle, do you honestly think I'm gonna fu-, mess it up by getting involved in drugs? No, this is about him thinking I'm doing something he doesn't approve of." He doesn't listen to his mom's reply. So certain he is that he knows what her response is he just grabs his school supplies and heads out the door. Once again seeking refuge in his friends, he heads off to Davis's house and waits there until it is time for him to go to school. "You know you should just plan on coming over here first thing, on school days." Davis says as he opens the door to let Quinn in. "Your dad again?" He asks, already certain that he knows the answer. "Yeah, he's still pissed about something that happened yesterday, that's why I wasn't able to come over. Technically I'm still grounded, can go to school, and over to Senan's for my tutoring and that's it." "For how long?" Davis asks as he goes into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. "Until I answer his question, tell him what he wants to know. In other words `til Hell freezes over." He pauses for a bit, watching as his friend makes his breakfast and starts eating. "Is this a good time to talk?" He asks suddenly as he looks around as if to see if his parents are around. "Not really, my folks could come in at any moment. Why? Is there something you need to talk about?" Quinn chuckles lightly. "Not me man, you. It seemed as if you were going to say something the other day before Jax got out of the shower. Do you remember that?" Davis looks at him a little nervously. "No, I don't think so. I think that you were misreading the situation, please drop it." The words and the look on his face tell Quinn that he did anything but misread the situation, but out of respect for their friendship, he lets it go, hoping that Davis will talk to him when he is ready to. "Fine, but if you ever do need to talk about anything I'm here for you, okay?" "Sure, and thanks. I mean that. Now come on, if we don't leave we'll be late for school, I don't want that and I bet you don't either." Meeting up with Jax on the way to school causes the mood to shift between the boys and it isn't long before they are talking about how fun it was, running from the security guards at the mall. Soon all the negative parts of the weekend were forgotten in their individual accounts of what happened. Later that day, at lunch, Senan can hardly keep his excitement in check. "Did you hear the news?" He asks Kenneth as soon as he sees him. "The school is having a Halloween party this Friday night. Isn't that exciting news?" "Woah, calm down some. Yes, I heard about it. I take it you are planning on going then?" "Are you kidding? This will be my last chance to dress up in a Halloween costume, of course, I'm going. Are you?" His exuberance about the party makes it hard for him to stand still and focus on what food is going on his tray for lunch. Despite trying not to, Kenneth can't help but get caught up in it. "I wasn't planning on it. Dancing isn't my thing. Plus I don't have anyone to go with. But I suppose that I could go stag. That way you and I could hang out together and no girl would feel like she was being ignored when we don't dance with them." "Wait, girl? dance? I thought this was more like a party than a dance. Should I find someone to go with?" By this time they have gone through the lunch line and found a place to sit with their food, however, Senan is too nervous to eat. Kenneth tries to calm him down a little. "Look I don't think you need to freak out. At this stage in our lives, some people bring someone they like, others don't. From my understanding either way is no big deal. It just seems like a big deal now, that's all." He tries to eat his lunch but Senan's nervous chatter stops that from happening. "Are others going to be wearing costumes? What if I'm the only one, I'd look like a fool. Would you wear a costume if you were me?" Senan has put his hand on Kenneth's arm, stopping him from bringing his food to his mouth. "Senan, you're freaking out way too much about this. I have an idea, why don't you make a list of every concern you have, call me tonight after dinner and then we can spend the rest of the night talking about it and I'll do what I can to put your mind at ease. Does that sound like a good idea?" Senan thinks about this for a moment and realizes that his friend has come up with a temporary solution to the problem, but one that he thinks it is best to employ. "I guess you're right, the way things are right now I won't be able to focus on school or anything else. Okay, I'll do that, do you have a piece of paper you can give me?" Kenneth laughs, not at his friend, although it may seem that way, but at his exuberance and how his practical thinking ability has shut down. "No, I don't have a piece of paper. Like you all my school stuff is in my locker. You can start this list after we eat you know." With that, he removes Senan's hand so he can start eating his meal. It takes Senan a moment to fully comprehend what Kenneth said and then he digs into his lunch. By the end of the day, Senan has written a list with several things that he is concerned about, as a plus it stopped him from going on and on about every little thought that came up. The bad thing about the list is that now he has a very specific list of things to worry about. He can keep his brain under control during school hours but once school is over and he's on the bus his brain starts racing out of control again. After listening again, to his concerns Kenneth finally reminds him that they will talk about all this tonight over the phone. Then Kenneth changes the topic of conversation to something completely different and refuses to talk about his worries anymore. After Kenneth gets off the bus Quinn moves up next to him as usual. "What is that about? Why didn't he want to talk about what's bugging you?" He asks, truly confused as that seems so out of character with what he has seen Kenneth be like. "No, it's not really like that. He said we'll talk about it later and we will. I'm not worried about that." Senan replies. "Maybe, but you are worried about something, that's pretty obvious. Anything you want to talk about?" He is trying to sound truly concerned, which is a new experience for him, he's not sure if he likes it yet. "Well I do have some questions about things, maybe we can talk about it after we get some of the math work done. We don't have a lot of time before your wrestling season starts do we?" "No, tryouts are next week and the season starts the week after that. I want to make sure that there's no excuse to keep me off the team." Quinn says as they get off the bus. Then tomorrow after class we need to talk to Mr. P, find out if there's anything else we need to work on." By then they arrive at Senan's house and, after getting their usual snacks, they head to his room to start working on the math. After an hour of them struggling with the homework, Senan finally puts down his pencil in frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm no help right now. I just can't focus on the work today." Quinn, thankful for the break, also puts down his pencil. "So what's bugging you? What's on your mind?" He asks, trying to behave the way he thinks a friend would act. "There's so much running through my head right now. I don't know where to begin. First of all, there's the Halloween party Friday night, did you hear about that?" "Yes, I did and before you ask no, I'm not going. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I'm grounded so there's no way I would be able to go to something like that." Quinn answers the question before it can even be asked. "What else is bugging you?" Senan is taken aback a little bit by his brusque attitude. "Well I plan on going, and I know it isn't cool to dress up in junior high but I want to, I'm just not sure if I should or not." He continues talking about what is on his mind, now that the floodgates are open he can't stop himself from continuing. "Another thing is what's going on here at home. I want to ask my parents for more respect but I don't know how to go about it. Kenneth brought that up over the weekend and I think he has a valid point, I just don't know how to bring it up to them is all. Can you help me?" He asks as he turns to face him a look of helplessness on his face. Quinn smiles at him, this is one of the things he's been hoping for, Senan coming to him for help and advice. "Well if it was me, I would tell them how I need more space and that from now on my room is my space. That they need to respect that." Senan isn't sure he is comfortable with taking such an "in your face" attitude toward his parents. "Really, Quinn? I don't see me talking to them like that. Don't get me wrong, I know that for some that will work well, but it isn't like me to talk to them like that." Quinn stops and thinks about it for a minute. "No, you're right, that approach might work for me but I don't see you talking to your parents like that." He stops talking as he gives some honest thought about how to help his friend. "Let me ask you, why is it you are wanting to have this change in how your parents act? Why the sudden need for privacy?" He asks as he tries to help him come up with a way to talk to them. "To be honest, it's because soon I'll be going through the changes of puberty. I'd rather my parents not walk in on me during all that and the things that most people end up doing when they're teens. I think it would be easier if we could establish a new pattern before I go through that than during." "I can understand why you wouldn't want to tell them you want the privacy because you want to beat your meat, what if you just mention the changes you'll be going through, you know, the hair, the boners, stuff like that. Maybe not say it quite like that but that could be the general idea at least. What do you think about that idea?" Senan considers it and realizes that could be a good way to approach it. "Thanks, Quinn, that's not a bad idea. I'll try that and see how it works." Impulsively he leans over and kisses him on his lips. Quinn reacts by leaning into the kiss and putting an equal amount of pressure against Senan's lips as well. Sitting on the high back chairs makes it difficult to kiss well so they break the kiss long enough to stand up, it could be that they are planning to move to his bed but they never get that far. After standing, Senan presses his lips against Quinn's again and as he does so he leans against the older boy's body, feeling his strength support him. Quinn is surprised by his behavior, more aggressive than he was last time he completely catches Quinn off guard. He isn't complaining about it, but he is surprised. After they break a second time Quinn holds him at a distance. "Christ Senan, what brought that on? Not that I'm complaining mind you but it is a surprise." "What? I like kissing you, is there something wrong with that?" He asks as he tries to move closer to him. "There's nothing wrong with that, I like kissing you as well, but isn't this one of the things you don't want your parents catching doing?" "Yeah, you're right, this is why I need to talk to them, but I don't think I should mention this as a reason either." Quinn laughs at his jesting. "No, I think you probably shouldn't. They probably wouldn't like hearing about you wanting to kiss the guy you're tutoring, and I'm guessing you've also kissed your other friend as well?" Senan turns red and nods his head. "Yeah," he mumbles so quietly that Quinn has a hard time hearing him answer. "Hey, it's okay. It's kinda nice to have a friend you trust enough to have that type of fun with isn't it?" "Yeah, it is." He says simply, not sure how best to express his feelings, nor how much they would be reciprocated by Quinn, not sure how serious he is about what they've done so far nor how best to ask him. Suddenly Senan takes the conversation in an odd turn. "Sorry I wasn't more helpful with the math today. As you could tell my mind has been all over the place today. I promise that tomorrow things will be better." They close their books and just as they are about to leave his room the door is opened by his father. "Oh, hey guys, I was just going to ask Quinn if you're planning on staying for dinner?" "I can't today, but thanks for inviting me." He doesn't feel like trying to explain the reason why so he tries to keep his answer simple. "Are you sure? We're making homemade pizza." Tim says, trying to tempt him into staying longer. "Sorry, that sounds really good but I can't tonight, my dad wants me home as soon as I'm done studying." With that, he grabs his backpack and heads to the front door. After telling his mom that they are taking Quinn home, Senan and Tim get in the car and drive him across town and drop off a depressed-looking Quinn at his front door. "It's too bad he couldn't stay for dinner. It seems that you enjoy his company and he doesn't appear to have the best home life." Senan's father says on the ride home. "Why do you say that dad?" Senan was looking out his window but turned to face his dad when he heard that comment. "There are a few things that you notice when you get older, more experienced with how the world works. One of the things that I noticed was that he never talks about his parents, plus he had several rough qualities when he first started eating dinner with us. I'm not trying to be mean or anything Senan but he certainly was a lot different from Kenneth in his attitude and demeanor. Plus he seemed angry about something. I'm not asking you to betray any confidences son, but if you know that there is trouble in his home you'd be doing him a big favor if you talked about it." Senan continues to look at his father as if weighing what he wants to say. Finally, with a sigh he decides what to tell him. "I've only met his dad once and he seemed, upset, or tired. Like he'd just had a really bad day. I know that Senan isn't really happy about things in his life but I don't know what they are. I've never heard him talk about being abused nor have I seen any signs of it. And I don't think that we're good enough friends yet to ask him a question like that yet." His dad takes a hand off the wheel to rub the top of Senan's head, mussing up his hair. "Fair enough, and I'm sorry if you feel I'm putting unwanted pressure on you. I'm not trying to do that but what I see worries me." At that time he pulls into their drive-way and, with the promise of homemade pizza, the conversation ends. After dinner, Senan calls Kenneth as promised. He takes the phone into his room along with the list of concerns he had about the school dance. "Hey Kenneth," he says as his friend gets on the other end of the line. "So here are some of my concerns, first of all, you mentioned something about going with a girl, am I expected to bring a girl? What if I don't want to bring a girl? All I want to do is have a reason to dress up in a costume, can I just do that?" Kenneth listens as his friend starts asking his questions rapid fire. When he finally hears Senan take a breath he starts to answer the questions. "No, you don't have to bring a girl. I talked to my parents about this and they both agree that, while some of the older boys might bring a girl to the dance it isn't expected in the seventh grade. So if you don't want to bring a girl, don't, it's as simple as that." He takes a quick breath but continues talking before Senan can ask more questions. "Next, there is nothing wrong with a costume, wearing one I mean, if you want to. I'm fairly certain that you won't be the only one in a costume there. But I wouldn't make it super elaborate or make it anything that would draw a lot of attention to you, okay? Something simple would be better, but that is just my own opinion, you need to make your own mind up on that one. Now, all that being said, if you want me to I'll go with you. You know, as support and in case anyone tries to get stupid with you. As a friend." He adds quickly. "Of course as a friend," he says to himself, "what else would we go as?" But he makes sure that none of that is out loud. "You would do that for me?" Senan asks as he never thought that someone would be so giving of themselves for him. "I didn't think you wanted to go?" Senan continues his thought, "Why did you change your mind?" Kenneth has a hard time keeping his frustration out of his voice. "You know for a smart guy you can be thick sometimes. I would go because my friend is going and he might need my help. Is that a good enough reason?" "Yeah, I guess it is. It shouldn't surprise me that you would be so giving like that. It's one of the things that I lov- that I like about you." Senan breathes out a sigh of frustration, realizing that he almost slipped up. Kenneth wants to follow up on that slip but he knows that his friend has a lot going on right now and decides that is a conversation for a different time. "So how about your other problem? How's that one working out for you?" Senan is quiet, he cannot think about any other problem he is having right now. "You know, the privacy issue?" He prompts. "Oh, that, I'm working on a way to approach them. I want to make sure that I get the right reasons across, I feel I only have one shot at this and I need to make sure I don't blow it." He responds once his brain is back on track. "That makes sense, but remember, you don't want to wait too long or you'll have that embarrassing conversation instead. It'll get you a closed-door no doubt but at a huge cost of embarrassment." The boys talk for a while longer but all too soon it is time for them both to go to bed. Senan brushes his teeth, strips, and gets under his covers, thinking about what he might dress as for the Halloween party. After Kenneth says good night to his parents and goes through his bedtime ritual he too lays down, but his mind is on the slip that he heard from Senan. "He almost said he loves me." Kenneth thinks, "sure he caught himself before he said it all the way, but that means that he's thinking about it, right?" That night Kenneth's fantasy is the two of them declaring love for each other and being able to realize a fairy tale happy ending. He gets so caught up in his fantasy that he doesn't even masturbate to a climax that night. Quinn spends a quiet night in his room, after eating a cold dinner of spaghetti he goes immediately into his room and doesn't come out until it is time for him to go to bed. He has no idea how long his father is going to punish him but he is willing to wait him out. Quinn feels that eventually, his dad will give up, he won't admit defeat, that is too much to ask for, but he knows that he can outlast his father and that is what is important to him. He doesn't try to bring the phone into his room or anything else to cheat, he understands that to get caught going against his father's rules would give him a reason to declare victory and Quin won't give him that satisfaction. Instead, he spends the night with a deck of cards, playing the solitaire games he learned when he was young and his parents had the time to teach him how to play them. Finally, he decides to go to bed, where he thinks back to the conversation he had with Senan and realizes that he is more sexually experienced than Quinn had thought. Reading between the lines it sounds to him as if Senan and Kenneth have messed around some and he wonders just how much and what they have done together. From there it is a short trip to him imagining himself with Senan and that is the fantasy that he cums too, the thought of Senan sucking on his dick and him shooting his cum in his mouth. Satisfied, he scoops up the cum on his belly, licks it off his fingers, and then rolls over and falls asleep. The next morning Senan is still working out the puzzle of what to dress as for the party, getting ready for school, and eating breakfast is all done as if he is on autopilot, his mom notices the distracted boy and calls his name three times before she finally gets his attention. "Senan, I've been calling your name for the past five minutes honey. What is on your mind that has you so distracted?" He looks at her and feels guilty as he realizes just how unaware of his surroundings he's been that morning. "I decided that I want to go to the Halloween party at school. I'm trying to figure out what I want to dress as. Kenneth says it shouldn't be anything too complicated or that would draw too much attention to me. So I scrapped my original plan of going as a space alien, but now I have no idea what to dress as." He says as he continues to eat his breakfast. "Well, we could make a simple costume for you if you wanted. What about a Superhero of some type? Or you could be a pirate, that way most of your clothes would be close to your normal clothes, just add a couple of things to make you look like a pirate but could be removed easily if you start to feel too self-conscious about being in a costume." She adds, trying to be helpful. Senan's face brightens up at that idea. "Yeah, mom! That's a good idea, something that can be both a costume and not a costume, depending on what else I have on with it. Thanks for the idea. Do you think there's enough time to make something like that?" She smiles and reaches out to pat his cheek. "Of course there is, as long as you have your awesome mom to help." Both of them chuckle at that. "If you want to go as a pirate then I can go out today and get the few things we don't have here already. If you don't mind a woman's influence on your costume?" "That would be okay with me, you have a better idea of what would work for that idea than I do. When can you go?" Senan is showing a lot more enthusiasm than he was when he first walked into the kitchen. "I can do it today, I don't have many clients this morning and it won't take more than thirty minutes or so to get the stuff I need. Then tonight you can look over what I bought and there will be plenty of time to make any changes that you want." Finished eating Senan gets up, puts his bowl in the sink, and then kisses his mom, wrapping his arms around her in a hug at the same time." Thanks for helping me mom, you're the best." With that, he grabs his backpack and then heads to the school bus. Kenneth wakes up untroubled by thoughts about the weekend. He is only going to the dance to run interference in case someone wants to hassle his friend. He knows that this would be the last time that Senan would be able to indulge in a childish pastime and he wants to see that it goes well. After he showers, Kenneth is more curious about whether or not Senan has talked to his parents about the need for more privacy in his bedroom. Reflecting on what he knows about his friend he doubts it. One thing that he knows about Senan is that he has a tendency to focus on one problem at a time and won't let go of that until he has a solution to whatever is on his mind. Getting on the bus he sits next to his friend and is surprised that he is not deep in thought about his most recent problems. "What's going on? You already solve all the world's problems for the day?" Senan laughs at the joke as he answers his friend. "No, but I have solved one of mine, or more accurately my mom has solved it for me. I'm going to go as a pirate, that way if I get to the party and don't want to be dressed up any more I can take off the pirate part of the costume and will just be a seventh-grader at a school party." Kenneth nods approvingly, "That's a great idea your mom has, I'm guessing that you told her to not make it too fancy or anything, right?" "Yeah she understands that it needs to be versatile, she said that she'll only need to buy a couple of things for it so she will get those today. That way, if we need to, there's time to make changes." Seeing Senan so happy gives Kenneth a chance to feel happy as well and, for the rest of the trip to school, they talk about things that only the young find interesting. Quinn is woken up by his father. He swings the door open so that it hits the wall. When Quinn reacts to the noise he hears his father yell at him. Get up! No sleeping in. I'm tired of you avoiding your duties." Then Quinn hears him stomp down the stairs. "My duties?" Quinn says to himself as he steps into the shower. "What the hell is he talking about?" Realizing that there is only one way to find out what he is talking about Quinn rushes through his shower and morning routine to head downstairs before his father leaves for work. "What are you talking about?" He says as he walks into the kitchen. "Since you're going to be around the house more often you can help out with some of the cleaning. From now on the kitchen is your responsibility, I want to come home to an empty sink. You will do all the dishes from breakfast before you go to school, as well as any leftover dinner dishes. You will also make sure that the counters are cleaned and that there is no food left out to attract any bugs. If I come home and find that you haven't taken care of your responsibilities then there will be consequences. I know that wrestling is starting soon and I'm sure that you don't want to miss it this season." Quinn is angry, not at the thought of doing the extra work in the morning but at the threat of not being able to wrestle. He looks at his father and bows his head in acquiescence and he says the only thing he can in this situation, "Yes sir, it will be done, there's no need to threaten my wrestling." His father smiles at him but there is no happiness in it. "Good boy, it's about time you start to understand the importance of listening and obedience." With that, his father leaves for work and Quinn can finally relax. He makes his breakfast and cleans up after eating, then he sits in the kitchen, waiting for his mom to come downstairs and eat her breakfast and get the dishes done. Then he heads out the door to meet up with his friends and walk to school. Jax and Davis immediately pick up on the fact that something is going on with Quinn, he isn't his usually talkative self and he hadn't been at Davis's house before he had left for school. He hadn't caught up with them until they were almost halfway to school. Both Davis and Jax questioned him about the change in his routine but he refused to talk about it, finally yelling at his friends to "Shut the fuck up and quit bothering me!". Needless to say, that puts an end to the conversation and the rest of the journey is very quiet. Quinn's mood doesn't improve throughout the day, normally in a situation like this Quinn would find someone that he could pick on and that would help him get out of his bad mood, but recently he had told Senan that he would try to stop being a bully so that method is currently off the table for him. This doesn't go unnoticed by his friends, as they keep pointing out someone for him to harass and he keeps turning down the options. Finally, Davis can't stand it any longer. "Man, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been in a pissy mood all morning and when we offer you a chance to get out of it you refuse." He yells, not concerned about possible fallout as he is completely exasperated by his friend's attitude. Quinn stops and looks right at him. "My father is a complete asshole, he threatened to take away wrestling this morning, wants me to acknowledge that he's my lord and master and can dictate whatever happens in my life. Well, fuck him!" Quinn says this last loudly and it garners the attention of some nearby teachers. "You need to calm down or it won't matter what your dad wants, your attitude will get you kicked off the team before the season even starts." Jax says, trying to calm his friend down. Davis joins in on the effort to get him to relax. "Come on Quinn, you've worked hard to be able to be on the team this year, don't mess it up now just `cause you and your dad fought." "It's more than a fight! He's thrown more chores at me and threatened to not sign the permission slip for wrestling if I don't become more obedient." He pauses to take a breath and then continues, allowing all the anger and rage that he's been holding inside himself all weekend to finally come out. "You know why he's been doing this? You want to know what set off the most recent round of `I'm the boss and you need to listen'? Because he thinks that Saturday night I was up late and doing something he wouldn't approve of. When he asked me about it I basically told him it was none of his business, now he has me coming home right after my tutoring and doing some work in the morning before school. Look I don't care about the extra work or any of that other crap but I wish I could get him to understand that it's none of his fuc'..." He stops and sees the same teacher still watching and listening. "None of his freaking business. That I'm not doing anything wrong and he should just let me be." Anger spent for now Quinn moves on, both physically and emotionally as he goes to his locker to put away the books he won't need right away. For Quinn, the day doesn't get any better and by the time he is in math class, he doesn't want to do anything but sit and ignore all that is going on all around him. However, he is not allowed that luxury as Senan approaches him as soon as class ends. "Come on, we're going to talk to Mr. P today, remember? To find out what more needs to be done to make sure you can wrestle?" "What's the use? I don't think that I'm going to be wrestling anyway, just go on home and don't worry I'm not blaming you and I won't go back on our deal. I won't be bullying you anymore." He responds, and it is obvious to Senan that he is ready to give up. What Quinn doesn't count on is that Senan isn't ready to give up on him, without Quinn by his side he walks up to the teacher's desk. "Excuse me, Mr.P, I'm wondering how Quinn is doing as far as his ability to join the wrestling team? Is there anything from this class that is stopping him?" Mr. Pandey looks up at him as if he had forgotten about Quinn not passing his class. "Something more for him to do? No, not from me, but I have no idea what the status of the rest of his schooling is. I suggest you talk to the wrestling coach to get a better idea." He then looks back down to the pile of homework that had been turned in by the different classes over the day. Senan goes back to Quinn who is still just standing there next to his desk, he hasn't even bothered to grab his backpack yet. "Come on, we're going to talk to the wrestling coach. I assume he would be found in the locker room right now?" He stands there waiting for Quinn to start moving and when he doesn't he picks up Quinn's backpack and shoves in the direction of the door. "Why are you bothering? I told you I'm done, I'm not even going to try out for the wrestling team this year." Quinn says on the way to the gym. Senan looks around before he replies. "If you'll forgive my bluntness," he says when he sees that there are no adults around, "but that is bullshit. You've worked too hard, come too close, to give up now. Besides if you aren't on the team who am I going to cheer for when I go to the matches?" Quinn stops walking and turns to look at him. "You were going to watch me wrestle? Why?" He says in complete disbelief. "Of course I was, why wouldn't I? Isn't that what friends do? Now come on, we need to talk to your coach before he goes home for the day." Senan continues to walk to the locker room, but he does make sure that Quinn is following him. Right outside the door Senan stops and looks at Quinn, "I have no idea who the coach is, I don't mind talking to him if you want me to but you have to get me to him." "No, I'll talk to him, one thing the coach is big on is personal responsibility." Quinn says as he opens the door to the locker room. "Hey Coach Barrett, it's Quinn, can I talk to you?" He calls from the entrance. It's only when he hears a positive response that he enters further with Senan following. "What can I do for you?" Asks the big bear of a man as he steps out of the coaches' office and into their path. Senan is overwhelmed by his size and presence. Not being involved in extracurricular sports Senan has never interacted with the coaches who teach them, so this is the first time he has ever laid eyes on him, and is surprised with how much bigger he is than even the other coaches. All in all, he is very happy that Quinn said he would talk to him. "I'm wondering what my status is. Does it look like I've done enough to try out for the team or is there something else I've overlooked?" Quinn is nervous talking to him about this but is determined to see it through since Senan is there beside him. "Funny you should bring that up." The coach says in his deep voice. "I was just talking to Mr. Carson about that earlier today." He pauses dramatically, he knows that the boy is intensely curious about this, but can't help to allow his capricious side to come out a little. Finally, he lets the boy off the hook. "The consensus is that yes, you have done enough. Provided your grades stay up during the season. Of course, you also have to make the team. See you next Monday for tryouts." With that he turns and goes back into the office, leaving the boys to leave on their own. Before they leave he calls them back to the office, when they arrive he is standing in the doorway with a piece of paper in his hand. "This is the permission slip, bring it to me no later than tryouts, sooner is better though," He hands Quinn the paper and then looks at Senan, "I only brought one, please tell me you weren't planning on trying out for the team too." To Senan's ears, he sounds scary, but when he looks up and makes eye contact with him he sees a twinkle in his eye and understands that the man is joking with him. "No, sir, not this year." He says with a laugh that the others join in on. "Well, that's good news." Kenneth says as they make their way to the bus area, fortunately, it is near the gym so they don't have far to go. As it is they get there with just a few minutes to spare before the busses leave. "I didn't think you were going to make it." Kenneth says as Senan slips in next to him. "I needed to help Quinn with something first." That is all he says, and even that is enough to upset Kenneth as can be seen by the look on his face, and his quiet demeanor on the way home. "Even with all of that I still need to get my father to sign the permission slip. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that." Quinn says as they enter Senan's room. "I thought that your dad was happy that you wrestled, that it's one of the things he was proud of?" Senan has no idea of what happened over the weekend, only that his father was mad at him for some reason. "He was but with the mood he's in right now I don't know, he's really pissed at me." Quinn says as he relaxes on Senan's bed instead of sitting at the desk to do his homework. "Hold on though," Senan says after giving it some thought, "You don't need it to be signed by your father, just a parent. Why don't you get your mom to sign it instead?" "Even if I can get her to sign it, she'll tell him, then it'll be worse `cause he'll claim that I tried to go behind his back, that'll kill it for sure. No, I'll be better off if I just try to talk to him about it. Who knows, maybe I can get him to lighten up on my restriction." He says, trying to sound hopeful but not feeling that there's much of a chance. "Maybe it's not my business but what did you do to make your dad so upset with you?" Senan wants to try and help his friend but knows he needs more information to be truly helpful. Quinn had been sitting and leaning against the wall at the head of Senan's bed but now he sits up, swinging his socked feet over the edge. "He thinks that I had someone in the house the other night after he had gone to bed. He wants me to tell him who it was and I keep telling him there wasn't anyone there, that he's wrong. That's why I'm grounded because he won't let me have a fucking life." Senan, knowing no homework will get done before this is settled, turns his chair so that he is facing Quinn. "Did you? Was there someone there?" Quinn is frustrated because now he has to admit to the part of the story he doesn't want to. "Yes, there was. But if I admit that to him he's going to want to know who and why. That is none of his damn business. I should be able to have my friends over when I want, and what we do together is something he needs to stay out of!" Quinn is getting more worked up the longer he talks about it. He doesn't want to, but this is the first chance he's had to tell his side of it to someone interested in hearing it and he can't stop. "You need to tell him that. You need to let him know that you need to be able to do the things you want to do without him butting into your business." Quinn looks over at Senan. "You mean like you did with your parents and being able to close your door?" He says quite simply. He doesn't take joy in reminding Senan of the similarity of their situations but he does make the point to the younger boy. "Okay, you've got a good point there. The only difference is that I'm not trying to get on a team that I want to be on. But, I'll make you a deal. I'll talk to my parents tonight and you talk to your dad. Tomorrow we will compare notes, see how it went for us both." "What are the stakes? What if I do this? What do I get out of it?" Quinn is leaning towards Senan now, getting excited about the idea of a contest. "If you do it then there will be no working on homework tomorrow. Taking one day off won't kill the progress you've made. Instead, we will do whatever you want until it's time for you to go home." "What if I chicken out, what do you get then?" He is curious about what sort of prize he wants for himself. "That's simple," Senan replies quickly. "If you don't talk to him then you won't be wrestling, I don't think I need to come up with a worse punishment than that." "No, but you need to get a reward, you need to have something to look forward to as well," Quinn responds, trying to explain how these types of challenges usually work. "Oh, I'm not worried, I know that I'll talk to my parents tonight, no problem." Senan replies. "Fine, then it's a deal. We both talk to our parents tonight. Quinn puts his hand out to shake on the deal and is surprised when Senan leans over and kisses him instead. "Sealed with a kiss, I think that makes it more official," he says smiling at Quinn, "besides that, I just happen to like kissing you." He says as he leans over and kisses him again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just a reminder that if you want you can contact me at jinoff930@gmail.com