The Kingswood Complication - Chapter 28

Friday 24 February 2023

“Okay, give me six laps and stick together. Anyone falls behind and I add more laps, so keep each other going!” Danny called out to the Year 10 football team, who replied with a collective groan.

“You know you could always lead by example!” Adrian called out unhappily as Danny showed no signs of joining them as he stood on the side of the pitch with his mentor, Joseph.

“Hey everyone, Adrian thinks I should join you which means running at MY pace. Whadda you think?” Danny called out in response.

“I think Adrian needs to shut the fuck up and start running!” Kyle said, giving his boyfriend a teasing slap on the butt as he started jogging. It started the team going, as well as encouraging several more butt slaps as they set off, mostly aimed at Adrian.

“Guessing you’re all set for tomorrow,” Joseph said with a smile and a nod towards the team.

“Yeah,” Danny said, giving a slightly bigger smile than he intended. The following day was the first match of the second round of the football tournament, which brought him one match closer to his match against King Edwards, which would include a couple of bets against the King Edwards captain. He shook his head slightly to distract himself from the errant thought and said, “The team’s great. I mean, I can’t wait to get Josh back on the pitch once he’s better cos his speed is unbeatable, but… we’ve adapted and we’re looking good!”

Joseph smiled wistfully as he looked at the younger boy for a moment.

“You’re being weird,” Danny said cautiously as he frowned a little at his mentor.

“Sorry, just… you’re so different,” Joseph said, shaking his head for a moment before he elaborated, “I mean, out here, doing this with your team. You’re so confident, and happy, and sure of yourself and, I dunno, like… at peace or something, I don’t know. I just… I think it’s nice and I wanna figure out how to bring this, back in there!” He gestured back towards the Home Building.

“I’m fine,” Danny shrugged, reverting to his default response to any points like Joseph’s.

“We both know you’re not, but, well, I didn’t come to nag. I know you’re working on it and I’m always here to help when you need it!” Joseph said, stroking Danny’s back gently.

Danny slipped an arm around Joseph and leaned against him gently for a moment before he nodded and let go. “I appreciate it, thanks!” he said contentedly as he stepped away slightly. “So…” he started cautiously, considering whether to even say what he was thinking, but curiosity got the better of him and he asked, “What’s… new in your dating life?”

Joseph’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his mentee. With a slight scowl he said, “I told you, more than once, to stay out of my love life and to not interfere with me and Brian, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Danny said sheepishly.

“And did you stay out of my love life and not interfere with me and Brian?” Joseph asked pointedly.

“I…well… it’s not like I went looking for it. Brian… started talking and I just… had a conversation with him!” Danny said defensively.

“Did you…” Joseph started, looking stern, “… or did you not interfere with me and Brian?”

Danny’s head drooped as he sighed and replied, “I did!”

“Yes, I know,” Joseph said curtly, “You deliberately went against what I asked you to do and stuck your nose in where it didn’t belong and now I need to tell you something VERY important!”

“What?” Danny asked timidly, shrinking away slightly.

“Thank you!” Joseph said as he lunged at Danny and pulled him into a hug, chuckling slightly at the confused whimper it got. “Thank you for sticking your nose in and, I dunno, finally giving us the kick we needed!”

Danny felt the fear melt away as he filled with joy instead, hugging his mentor back. “You’re not mad?” he asked shakily.

“Oh my god, no,” Joseph said as he let go and stood back, shaking his head. “This last week has been…” He couldn’t finish his sentence as the words caught in his throat as tears welled in his eyes.

“Are you crying?” Danny asked, feeling slightly tearful too, “That’s so sweet! It’s… all good then?”

Joseph laughed a little awkwardly as he reached up to wipe his eyes and said, “Better than good. SO much better. It’s… well, you know how you felt after waiting three years to get with Chris? It’s like that, but six-and-a-half years instead!”

“Wow, yeah, I’d be crying like a lil bitch too,” Danny teased, nudging Joseph playfully.

“Hey!” Joseph snapped sharply, “I’m crying like a MAN!”

“Sure you are,” Danny laughed before letting out a content sigh. “So… what’s the plan now?”

“The plan is that there IS no plan!” Joseph said with a shrug. “We’re both waiting on Uni acceptances and we do have one that we’d both applied to, but… a lot that we didn’t but we’re not gonna worry about that stuff til we have to. For now it’s just… studying and A-Levels and… being together!”

“I’m so happy for you both!” Danny said sincerely.

“Pfft, you’re just relieved that your ex doesn’t feel like crap anymore!” Joseph joked.

“No!” Danny said seriously, shaking his head. “You know I love Brian and yeah, I wanted him to get over me and be happy again, but… I love you Joseph and I… I just want you to be happy too!”

“I love ya too, bud,” Joseph said as he pulled Danny into a hug.

“Get a room!” Adrian called out as the team passed by.

“THAT’S AN EXTRA LAP!” Danny called out without letting go of Joseph.

“Fuck!” Adrian grunted as he received several more angry butt slaps from his jogging teammates.

*****

<<This really is SUCH a pointless thing to do. I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, but it won’t work!>>

<<That’s basically his motto for life – I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve but it won’t work!>>

<<That’s funny because you know he’ll fail!>>

<<Fail! Pale! Whale! Gale! Rail! Sail! Mail! Male! Mail for males! Male for male! Damn, now I’m horny!>>

<<Why are you even sitting in the dark? This is literally SO stupid!>>

“Shut up!” Mikey growled, shaking his head. One of the perks of his successful business was that he could afford pretty much anything he wanted in the Underground – use of the salon, toys from the sex shop, access to The Milker – but the thing he had made the most use of this week was one of the Underground’s most basic functions, private rooms!

Any time Mikey didn’t have classes, meal times or extracurriculars, he had headed downstairs and booked a room. Unlike most boys using the facilities, Mikey wasn’t hooking up, he wasn’t exploring his sexual interests, he wasn’t even with anyone, he was just hiding away in solitude desperately attempting to silence, or even just ignore, the voices in his head.

<<As madness swirled around him, Mikey began to wonder how long it would be until somebody noticed, until somebody reported him… until he finally got locked away in the asylum where he belonged! He knew it was just a matter of time, the seconds of freedom ticking away as he hid pathetically alone in the dark, fighting the inevitable!>>

<<Oooooh, what happens next? Car chase? Helicopter chase? Cars chasing helicopters?>>

<<No. Next he gets out of here and goes to talk to Nicky, or Chris, or Dr Arkwright… or anyone! He knows they’ll help him!>>

<<Help him into a strait jacket! Wait… gay jacket? Is that a thing?>>

<<It’s like a strait jacket but made of leather with optional restraints! Ha!>>

<<They’ll help him!>>

“They’ll help me!” Mikey said weakly.

<<HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!>>

<<TOO FUNNY! Tell another one!>>

<<Joke in French is blague and in German it’s witz and in Japanese it’s joku and in Chinese it’s wanxiou which is pronounced like wan-shar but looks like wanx… and now I’m horny!>>

“Just… shut up. Just… stop talking!” Mikey said, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

<<I’ll stop talking if you do what I tell you!>>

<<Me too!>>

<<And me!>>

<<I’m horny!>>

“What do you want?” Mikey asked desperately.

<<What do YOU want?>>

<<What DO you want?>>

<<WHAT do you want?>>

<<What do you wank? I’m horny!>>

“You said you… you…” Mikey tried to reason with the unreasonable, feeling more and more frustrated as the voices started overlapping.

<<Go to Nicky! He’ll be at Music Club. Chris’ll be there too! Just go!>>

<<They’ll hate you!>>

<<You’re so ginger!>>

<<Horny!>>

<<Loony bin!>>

<<Hugs!>>

“Shut up!” Mikey said as he tipped over onto his side, curling up into a foetal position as he cried and tried to block them out.

*****

Exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep ahead of tomorrow’s journey to Fothergill, and match against the Charles Summers Memorial School team, the Year 10s had showered and changed before wandering back over to the Home Building as a group. Chattering away as they started up the stairs, they started to fall silent as they heard the raised voices coming from ahead of them.

“Three guesses who that is,” Aaron Moore said with an eye roll as they heard the shouts were coming from the Year 7 side of the first floor, “But I’m guessing you’ll only need one!”

All eyes fell on Danny. With Josh still not back on the team and Mikey and Mark both skipping the practice for Music Club, he was the only mentor to the dorm 1.01 boys who was present in the group. He let out a long unhappy sigh as he nodded his agreement with Aaron’s comment. It was almost certainly Avery and his dormmates causing the ruckus.

“I’ll see you guys in the morning,” Danny said dejectedly as the rest of the team veered off right to continue up to the second floor while Danny headed left towards dorm 1.01. “Get the fuck outta here,” he snapped at the small group of Year 7 boys from other dorms who had gathered around the doorway to spectate. The younger boys scattered at the sight of the angry-looking fifteen-year-old.

As he stepped into the dorm, he was hit by a wall of sound from several raised voices, including Mr Trent who was physically keeping Declan and Avery apart as they tried to fight. Danny slammed the door loudly and glared down the dorm as everyone abruptly stopped and looked his way. The pause only lasted a second before a couple of the boys burst into more shouts.

“SHUT UP!” Danny bellowed.

“Danny,” Mr Trent said cautiously. Knowing the issues Danny was dealing with, seeing the boy so angry was a concern, not only for his wellbeing, but also because he might be about to make a volatile situation even messier.

“S’okay,” Danny said as he approached the teacher, “I’ve got this… I think!” He stared at the teacher for a moment.

Mr Trent took a moment to look at Danny. While he did look undeniably pissed at yet another argument in the younger dorm, there was a calmness behind his eyes that gave the man confidence to try and let him intervene.

“Okay, shouty boys,” Danny said angrily to the group. “On the sofas, sit down and SHUT up!” he instructed.

“But he…” Declan started.

“They said…” Avery attempted at the same time.

“Zip it!” Danny interrupted instantly, pointing a finger at each of them. He lowered his hands and said, “Do as you’re told and if ANY of you speaks without me telling you to, I will punch you in the balls!”

Several of the boys looked to Mr Trent cautiously.

Mr Trent shrugged as he said, “I’ll allow it, we’ve tried everything else!” Obviously, he had no intention of letting Danny hit the younger boys, but it seemed the threat was enough to silence them for now.

Nervously, the boys took a seat on the four two-seaters at the end of the dorm. The usual factions became apparent as Avery and Milo sat on one sofa with Leonardo right next to them while Declan and Jorge sat on another with Devon close by. The empty spots were filled by Axel and Peyton, the two ‘neutral’ parties in the dorm.

“Now, when I ask a question and point to one of you, you’ll answer the question. Stick to facts, not opinions and if you go off topic and get a punch in the balls. Anyone else says anything, they get punched in the balls. So much as LOOK at me wrong and you get punched in the balls!” Danny said firmly. He didn’t wait for the boys to acknowledge, he felt he had made himself crystal clear. “What are you fighting about?” he asked and pointed to Milo.

Milo scowled at the opposing group and started, “They’re a bunch of wankers who…”

Danny raised a fist menacingly as he said, “I said stick to FACTS. I don’t give a shit how you feel right now, we’ll get to that. Now, what are you fighting about?” He pointed to Leonardo instead as Milo sulked.

Leo huffed slightly, clearly holding back similar thoughts to the ones Milo had attempted to express and said, “Declan, Devon and Jorge were… saying very mean things about my family and about Mikey!”

“No we didn’t…” “We never said…” “That’s not true…” the three boys named in the accusation started, but stopped suddenly, covering their crotches as Danny stepped towards them.

“Sorry,” Devon said sheepishly as he cowered.

“Okay,” Danny nodded, stepping back. “And you lot, what are YOU fighting about?” he asked as he pointed to Devon.

“Those three were talking sh…” Devon paused, remembering there was a teacher in the room. He cringed slightly and tried again, “They were saying really horrible stuff about Jorge and his family and where he’s from!”

Danny immediately glared over at the other three to silence them before they could even object. “Okay, so… here’s the thing,” he said as he paced through the centre of the group. “You lot…” he said, pointing to one group, “…think you lot…” he pointed to the others, “… talked shit about you. And you lot, think you lot did the same!” He gestured back the other way as he spoke. “Now I’m gonna guess that you’ll ALL dispute those facts and I… think you’re all telling the truth!”

Mr Trent stood back watching the whole thing, smirking slightly. Danny had gone full-on Poirot in his presentation, while the younger boys seemed to be responding to him better than they ever had to any teacher-based intervention. More than that, Danny just seemed… himself! After his gradual decline over the past few months, it was rather wonderful to see the sparkle back in his favourite student’s eye.

“Did any of you guys actually HEAR those guys talking about you?” Danny asked Milo’s group.

“I didn’t but Leo did,” Avery said, pointing to his friend.

“No, Milo told me!” Leo said defensively.

“Mmm-huh,” Danny hummed, knowing where this was going, “And Milo, did you actually hear it, or just get TOLD about it?”

“I…” Milo started, seemingly catching on to where Danny was going and said thoughtfully, “No, I didn’t hear it myself!”

Danny had to suppress a smile. Despite the similar appearances of the two brothers, Milo and Rob were very different boys, but in certain moments, Danny couldn’t help noticing the similarities. He glanced to the other group and asked, “Is it the same over here?”

“I… heard from Dec,” Jorge said, pointing to Declan.

“Dev told me!” Declan stated.

“And again, you never actually heard them talking about you directly, yes?” Danny asked the boy confidently, getting a headshake. Danny had already got his suspicions about what was going on in the group. He had heard enough about one boy in particular to believe he was the instigator in all of this. Ready to be proven right, he asked leadingly, “Exactly, so Devon, Milo, let me take a guess here, you both heard it from…”

“Peyton!” Milo and Devon said in unison.

The whole group suddenly turned to look at the timid, terrified-looking boy.

“Peyton, is this true?” Mr Trent asked, shocked that the shy, quiet boy could be the mastermind behind the squabbles.

“Wait, no, that’s not right!” Danny said as Peyton looked ready to burst into tears. He stepped towards Mr Trent and whispered something in his ear.

Mr Trent cast his gaze across the group, trying not to give anything away as he nodded for Danny to continue on again.

The other boys had started quietly mumbling as their collective ire began aiming at Peyton, as Danny approached him. Danny squatted down next to the boy. While he didn’t know Peyton directly, conversations about their mentees were common amongst Danny and his friends, so he had heard plenty about him from his mentor, Mark, all of it good. “Peyton,” he said softly, “I hate to put you on the spot like this, but did you tell the others those things?”

Peyton was trembling as he shrunk inwards more and more with each passing second, barely even able to make eye contact with Danny as he nodded.

“Motherfucker!” Avery snapped angrily.

“AVERY!” Mr Trent bellowed, prompting a squeak of shock and fear from the boy.

“Peyton, I don’t think you’re behind this,” Danny stated honestly, “I know it’s probably scary and from what Mark tells me about you, you’d never want to get anyone in trouble, but… it’s time to come clean!”

Peyton looked over at Axel, not even subtly, then said almost inaudibly quietly, “Axel… told me they’d said those things… and said I should tell them because they deserved to know!”

“What? Me? How did I get drawn into this?” Axel said defensively. “He’s just… saying anyone to get himself out of trouble!”

Danny gave Peyton a reassuring smile and quickly reached out to squeeze his hand before he let go and stood up. “No he’s not, Axel!” Danny said, shaking his head, “You started this, and I have a feeling you’ve started things like this quite a lot.”

“Oh my god!” Milo said, eyes wide as the reality dawned on him.

The others began to have similar reactions. It seemed that now that the idea of Axel’s guilt had actually entered their minds, all the pieces started falling into place.

“No, no, I… I…” Axel stuttered as he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of some truly furious looks.

“Okay, okay, let’s all relax and take a breath!” Mr Trent said as he stepped in. “Thank you, Danny, I think… you’ve given us a lot to think about here!” he said, keen to avoid the whole situation erupting again. “Axel, I think we should go and talk and the rest of you… am I okay to leave you alone to go to bed without killing each other?”

“Yes sir!” the other boys chorused compliantly.

“Come on,” Mr Trent said, looking to Axel as he gestured to the door. “You too,” he added to Danny.

Danny nodded and followed, but looked back to Avery, smiled and mouthed, “Text me!” He got a smile and a nod back. He followed Axel and Mr Trent out of the dorm, then stopped in the hallway as the door closed.

“Okay, you go and wait by my door!” Mr Trent said sternly to the younger student.

“Yes sir,” Axel said dejectedly as he sloped off.

Mr Trent looked at Danny for a moment, nodded and said, “That was… aside from the threats… quite impressive!”

“Not really,” Danny said glumly, “I suspected Axel for a while but… I didn’t do anything about it and I didn’t tell you and I didn’t…”

“Oh my god, Danny,” Mr Trent said, shaking his head, “You’ve got to stop this! You do SO many wonderful things and yet you still remain SO hard on yourself. You should feel very proud of yourself!”

Danny nodded and ventured a slight smile as he said, “I guess… I do feel a BIT proud of myself!”

“Ah, there he is. Nice to see my Danny’s still in there!” Mr Trent said as he reached out and stroked Danny’s arm.

“Yeah, he is,” Danny nodded, “And… I’m working to bring him back!”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you!” Mr Trent reassured him.

“Umm… actually, I was just wondering, umm… because Doc Arkwright says it’s good for me to have goals and things to work towards and objectives and stuff, I was wondering… is your offer still available?” Danny asked cautiously.

Mr Trent frowned for a moment, unsure what he meant at first before he gasped gently and asked, “You mean… to be my best man?”

“Yeah,” Danny said, blushing a little.

“Of course it is, Danny. Do I take it… you’re interested?” the teacher asked cautiously.

“I don’t know if I CAN do it,” Danny said honestly, “But I really WANT to do it, so… yes! If you’ll still have me, I’d love to be your best man!”

“That’s amazing Danny,” Mr Trent said as he grabbed the teen in an eager hug and whispered, “You’ll do great!”

Danny held tightly onto the man for a moment.

“Get a room!” someone suddenly shouted from down the hallway.

“Get a detention!” Mr Trent shouted back as he let go of Danny.

“Dammit!” the mystery voice called back, leaving Danny and Mr Trent both laughing for a few moments.

“Right, I’m gonna go deal with Axel!” Mr Trent said, looking annoyed already.

“Sir, don’t…” Danny started, frowning at his own softness again as he said, “Don’t be too hard on him. He definitely sounds guilty but from what David tells me about him, he’s not a bad kid, just… mischievous!”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mr Trent said before waving Danny off to head to bed.

*****

“You seriously need to chill,” Gray said, rolling his eyes as he stood leaning against the wall in the second-floor main hallway.

“I do NOT and you can’t make me!” Nicky said petulantly. He knew Gray was right, but disagreeing with him was pure instinct by now.

Gray chuckled at Nicky, shaking his head. “If you’re this obsessive over your best friend, I can’t even imagine how impossible you must be to date!”

“Hey!” Nicky whined, looking slightly hurt, “I’ll have you know I’ve always been an extremely chill boyfriend!”

“Yeah, til he dumps you on a fuckin’ stage in front of half the school!” Chris said, appearing from behind him.

“Oh will you let that go, I did it ONE time!” Nicky said with a wry grin. “Where you going?” he asked, noticing Chris was heading away from the dorm so close to lights out, “If you’re looking for Mikey, I’m already on it!”

“Obsessively!” Gray said with a smirk.

“Ha!” Chris laughed, then scowled as he realised who he was laughing at and said, “I mean… shut up, Yoko!”

“Is that… some kind of pokemon?” Gray asked, still feigning ignorance just to piss Chris off.

“Shut up!” Chris said moodily, then looked to Nicky and said, “No, I was looking for…” He stopped mid-sentence as he spotted Danny heading up the stairs. “There he is, the love of my life, the apple of my eye, the… bearer of a really tired expression. Babe, what’s up?”

Danny couldn’t help laughing at Chris’ welcome and happily fell into his arms. “The Lads!” he said, his voice muffled by Chris’ chest. He let out a sigh as he pulled away and said, “I need to talk to David, but I need to talk to you all after!”

“Are they okay?” Nicky asked nervously as he considered his mentee.

“Oh god, don’t give him anyone else to worry about,” Gray huffed jokingly.

“No, they’re good, they’re good,” Danny insisted. “Really, it’s fine, I’ll catch you up later!” he said, then frowned curiously and asked, “What you all doing out here?”

“Well, he’s obsessing over you,” Gray said, pointing to Chris, “He’s obsessing over Mikey,” he continued, pointing to Nicky.

Nicky interjected and pointed to Gray as he said, “And he’s obsessing over me cos he’s a stalker!”

Chris snorted with laughter and said, “Ha. Take that, Yoko!”

“Isn’t that a Japanese boy band?” Danny asked, shooting Gray a playful smirk as Chris looked furious. “Aww, I’m sorry,” he said before Chris could start an angry tirade. He threw and arm around him and said, “Come on, Ringo. Let’s get back to the dorm!”

Chris smiled at Danny getting the reference.

“Oh, and John,” Danny said, continuing the Beatles-related joke as he looked to Nicky, “Paul’s right behind you!” He pointed past Nicky to where Mikey had just emerged from the entrance to the Underground.

“Oh my god,” Chris said at the reference to two more of the Beatles, “If you can name the fourth one, I’ll marry you right now!”

Danny chuckled, shot Gray a playful look, knowing the other boy would appreciate what he was about to say and answered, “I wanna say… Tinky Winky!”

“You ruined it!” Chris pouted and stormed off playfully with Danny laughing behind him.

“What was that about?” Mikey asked curiously as he saw Chris and Danny disappear.

“Just Chris and Danny being Chris and Danny!” Nicky shrugged. “You okay? Where’ve you been?”

“Just… around,” Mikey said evasively.

<<Wow, slow clap for that excuse!>>

“Oh, around, I told you we shoulda looked there!” Gray said sarcastically. As he got annoyed glares from both Mikey and Nicky, he grinned wryly and said, “Well I’m not wasting any more of my wonderful humour where it’s not appreciated, I’m off to bed. See you STUPIDLY early tomorrow,” he said with a sigh to Mikey. He looked at Nicky and said, “I’m sure you’ll be up to wave me off like a good little stalker, so see you in the morning too!”

<<He’s funny! Kiss him! No, marry him! No, eat him, wait, what!?>>

“Not a stalker!” Nicky called after Gray as he hurried round the corner. “I’m not a stalker,” Nicky said a little sheepishly.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself!” Mikey smirked as he started walking, conscious of the time.

<<Nicky smells nice. Get closer. Sniff him!>>

“So where’ve you really been?” Nicky asked, cocking his head.

<<Rocking back and forth in a dark room as you slowly go insane ahead of the inevitable violent rampage that will see you spend the rest of your life locked in a padded cell!>>

Mikey had to physically stop himself from wincing at the horrible thought and instead blurted out, “Wanking!”

“Oh,” Nicky said, a little taken aback.

<<Oh. OH! That was good! Gotta hand it to ya, that was actually a good lie. Simple. Believable. Brief. Really good, bravo. Nicely done!>>

“Is it…” Nicky started, lowering his voice as he looked round to make sure nobody was listening in. “Is it okay now?” he asked cautiously.

<<He means your penis, because last time you were with him it stopped working, like a limp-dicked fucking loser!>>

“I… umm… don’t wanna talk about it, okay,” Mikey said, red-faced.

<<That’s what happens when you turn on us, you pathetic little cunt. WE TAKE SHIT AWAY FROM YOU!>>

“Okay, well… I’m here if you do!” Nicky said with a meek smile, “Now come on, Danny had news!”

<<How does it feel lying to your best friend, you SCUM!?>>

Mikey winced slightly but nodded and followed Nicky back to the dorm.

*****

Danny let out a low, happy growl as he felt the massive cock sliding into him. He had lost count of how many times he had been with Mr Rudd now, but he knew tonight was his third time with both Mr Rudd and Chris. Bringing Chris along had proven to be most enjoyable. He had briefly considered attempting double penetration again, now that he had two willing cocks available, but Mr Rudd’s deliciously thick tool was enough of a challenge on its own. Aside from not wanting to injure himself, squeezing in beside it didn’t really sound fun for Chris.

“Hold still,” Chris said as he got in place. Mr Rudd was lying flat on the bed with Danny impaled on his massive prick, while Chris had straddled the man’s chest and pushed back to take Danny’s cock inside him. He Had slid off briefly as Danny had burst into a particularly vigorous fuck and was just getting back on.

“Okay, now suck him!” Danny ordered as soon as he felt himself back inside his boyfriend.

“Yes sir,” Mr Rudd chuckled before raising his head to wrap his lips around Chris’ dick. The guilt he had felt the first night Danny brought his boyfriend along was still very much with him, but the joyfulness and contentment he saw from both boys after their sessions was making it a little easier on his conscience. There was still something else weighing heavily on his mind though, but being balls-deep in Danny with Chris’ balls slapping his chin, this was probably not the time to bring it up.

Danny happily thrust into Chris, lifting and lowering himself on the teacher’s colossal cock as he did so. It was an intoxicating sensation and one he very much needed after a long day of school and an even longer evening of everything else. He had spoken to David about Axel, and found that he had been having suspicions of his own about the boy’s antagonism. They both shared a collective moment of guilt about not acting sooner, but quickly moved past it as they proceeded to fill in the rest of the group (including Josh by video call) on what had been going on. With Danny, Mikey and Mark due to be away tomorrow, the other five had agreed to keep a close eye on The Lads. After all of that, Danny had been immeasurably keen to pay Mr Rudd another visit with Chris to let off some steam.

Chris closed his eyes and raised his hands to run through his hair, before interlinking his fingers on the back of his head. The feeling of his boyfriend inside him and the hunky teacher sucking his dick mercilessly was already intense, but was enhanced even further by Danny’s mouth on his neck and Mr Rudd’s hands caressing his torso. “Jeebus cripes!” Chris gasped enjoying all of the pleasure while putting in none of the work.

“Whoever cums first is the loser,” Danny joked.

“Respectfully disagree,” Chris chuckled as he felt Mr Rudd’s tongue swirling around the head of his cock. He felt the slight vibration of a chuckle from the man at the same time.

“I shouldn’t… even be doing this…” Danny gasped, panting as he felt his orgasm building.

“Yeah, but Max isn’t exactly telling anyone, is he!” Chris replied with a wry smile.

“Oh, no, not that!” Danny said dismissively, “I just mean… the night before… a big match. I should be… saving up!”

“Oh, right,” Chris giggled, “I’m sure you won’t lose because you shot a freakin’ load!”

“Two loads!” Danny corrected him, having cum not long after they came in as he made the other two lick and kiss him all over before taking turns sucking him.

“Oh, then maybe you WILL lose,” Chris said sarcastically.

“Shut up and fuck his face!” Danny said, leaning round to look down at the cock-filled mouth of Mr Rudd who just raised an eyebrow back at him. “Oh wait, he’s close!” Danny said as he managed to get a glimpse of Chris’ face. He knew the telltale signs by now. He reached round to tweak firmly at both of Chris’ nipples while nibbling at his neck.

Chris let out a long, low groan as he began to shoot, listening excitedly as he heard the teacher swallowing it down. “Fuck!” he gasped as his dick got post-orgasmically sensitive and he had to pull it from Mr Rudd’s mouth, “You’re so good at that, sir!”

“Years of practice!” Mr Rudd replied with a cocky smile.

“A LOT of years!” Danny teased as he clenched his butt and felt the man begin to shoot inside him. “Fuck fuck, shit fuck, fuck yesss!” he hissed as he felt his balls tighten, his cock throb and his seed begin to spill out inside Chris. The near-perfect timing of cumming and while getting cum in was fast becoming one of his favourite challenges/sensations. Flopping forward as he shoved Chris to the side, he fell heavily onto the bulky frame of the man beneath them both, then slid off to the opposite side.

“Well… that’s that then,” Mr Rudd panted, his chest hair matted with sweat and his softening cock covered in his own juices as the two boys nestled against his sides.

“That was fun,” Chris said dreamily, feeling the muscled chest beneath his cheek. He still didn’t share Danny’s penchant for older guys, but Mr Rudd continued to just be a very appealing man, one that Chris enjoyed sharing Danny with.

“No, that was necessary!” Danny stated, only half joking.

“Bless ya,” Mr Rudd said, shaking his head slightly as he stroked Danny’s back, “Definitely sounds like you had a big night!”

“Yeah, Danny kicked arse!” Chris said proudly. “He just… stomped right in there and was all, like… shut up bitches, Danny’s in charge!”

Danny laughed at the explanation but didn’t disagree.

Mr Rudd sighed slightly and said, “Actually, I kinda wanna talk to you about something along those lines!” He looked to Chris and said, “Might be best if we do it in private!”

“No!” Danny quickly interjected, pushing himself up into a sitting position as he shook his head, “I need to keep Chris more involved in my, ugh, I hate myself for using the term but Doc A insists on it, but… my ‘healing journey’ or whatever!” He rolled his eyes as he added air quotes to it. “So… if you need to talk to me… he’s okay to be here!”

“Besides,” Chris said as he sat up, reaching across the man’s naked body to take Danny’s hand, “He’d just tell me everything straight after anyway, so… this just saves time!”

Mr Rudd laughed as he pushed himself up to sit leaning against the headboard. Shaking his head slightly, he reached out to muss both boys’ hair at the same time and said, “You two really are sickeningly adorable together!”

“And we’re a good fuck too!” Danny said, starting all three of them laughing. As it died down, Danny sighed and said, “So… what’s up?”

“Look, okay, so…” Mr Rudd started, looking genuinely conflicted. Thinking for a few more moments, he said, “You told me the other day you’re a little… frustrated with how slow things are going with the Doc and I think, well… you’ve both had sessions with him, you know what he’s like for beating around the bush!”

“Ugh, I know!” Chris scoffed, “It’s like… you’re the Doc, Doc! Just tell me what’s wrong!”

“Totally,” Danny laughed, “I swear, if he asks me the same question I just asked him to see what I think the answer is ONE more time, I’m gonna freakin’ lose it!”

“Exactly,” Mr Rudd nodded, “And look, you have to remember, he’s a trained psychologist, I’m just… a teacher who knows you, so I don’t wanna step on any toes but…”

“Oh my god, step on them!” Danny insisted. “Fuckin’ jump on them if you have to, just… give me a fucking answer!” he said emphatically, still grinning to make clear his frustration wasn’t completely hateful.

“Okay, well, here’s the thing, Danny,” Mr Rudd started, “I think a lot of your issues come down to one thing!”

As Danny stared at the man expectantly, Chris pursed his lips and ventured cautiously, “Control?”

“Bingo!” Mr Rudd said, pointing to Chris. As Danny looked a little confused and almost annoyed, he continued, “Let’s look at a few of the facts shall we. You naturally take on a leadership role in most situations, partly because you’re good at it but also because… that’s just the sort of personality you have. In your dorm, in your year, in your football team, in all of them you’re a leader, and that means you usually have control too!”

Danny wanted to question it but nodded silently for now. He had asked for answers, so he felt now really wasn’t the time for him to be asking new questions.

“Let’s look at the bigger things, like your accident. For a while you didn’t have control. I mean… I know paralysis is a horrific thing for anyone to deal with, but I imagine for you it weas particularly frustrating, not being in control of your own body and not knowing when… or if… you’d recover!” Mr Rudd explained. “But from what I’m told, your recovery afterwards was… rapid and… very determined, probably because you were working on taking back control of your own body and your life. Am I right?”

Danny thought for a moment and nodded.

“It makes sense,” Chris said, then cringed slightly, unsure if he was supposed to talk or not.

“It’s okay,” Mr Rudd said with a gentle nod, gesturing for him to go on.

“Umm…” Chris hummed for a moment, cautious of oversharing, but it did seem Danny didn’t hide much of anything from the supportive teacher, so he went on. “Well think about… the things going on around the time you started feeling like this. Brian breaks up with you because HE thinks we should be together. Then you have to watch your home burn down. Then we go and get together because, well, I know we both wanted to, but let’s be honest, it was also just kind of… expected of us! That’s… that’s a lot of big things together that you really didn’t have that much control over!”

“Yeah,” Danny said, nodding thoughtfully.

“Thanks,” Mr Rudd said softly, patting Chris’ hand as he offered a smile. “And I think… the gym plays a big part in this too,” he explained, getting a confused look from both boys. “Well think about how you felt and how you reacted and what you did when I stopped you going to the gym at Christmas!”

“Oh yeah, I went proper bat-shit crazy!” Danny laughed a little awkwardly.

“Exactly,” Mr Rudd said, feeling a little guilty, “Because I think that’s… kind of your SAFE place. It’s somewhere that you can go when YOU want. You decide how long you stay. You decide how fast to run and how much to lift. It’s a room YOU can control!”

“Fuck!” Danny said softly as he thought about it, feeling his stomach churning as he felt a little tearful.

“And this!” Chris added, gesturing to the three of them. As Danny cocked his head at him, he shrugged and said, “I’m DEFINITELY not complaining about it, but… you have REALLY been in control with us in here, and it kinda sounds like that’s what you’ve been doing with Max all along!”

“Yeah, I guess,” Danny said, feeling a little sheepish for not even realising what he was doing.

“And then there’s the REALLY big one!” Mr Rudd stated. As he saw Danny freeze, slightly wide-eyed he gave him a questioning look, but got the nod to go on. “Josh!” he stated bluntly, the boy who had ultimately brought Danny and Mr Rudd together.

Danny felt himself trembling and almost burst into tears. It was only Chris moving to his side to put an arm around him that helped him hold back.

“I know I wasn’t around for it, but… well, Josh has talked to me about it a lot,” Mr Rudd started, watching Danny closely. “But up there,” he said, gesturing upwards, towards the roof, “You walked into something big and scary and just on pure instinct and wit, you took control of an almost uncontrollable situation and saved the life of someone you love!”

“It was so awesome!” Chris whispered, squeezing Danny gently.

“It was,” Mr Rudd agreed, “And that’s what probably makes what’s happening now into such a big thing for you, Danny.” He paused, getting a shaky nod in response. “Someone you love, someone you SAVED, is facing something that you have absolutely NO way of controlling in any way whatsoever, and it’s something that’s been hanging over you all for months. That… that adds a lot of stress, especially for someone so used to being in total control!”

Danny sniffed and wiped a single tear from his cheek as he nodded again.

Mr Rudd held back, letting the boy take it in for a few moments before he asked, “Danny, has Doctor Arkwright ever talked to you about the stress bucket?”

Danny frowned and said, “He… did mention a bucket at one point, but… I don’t think I was really in the best place to take it in!” He cringed a little as the admission.

“Well just to remind you then, and for Chris’ benefit,” Mr Rudd said thoughtfully, getting a sweet smile from Chris, “It’s like this. Your mind, your… wellbeing, it’s like a bucket and everything you deal with each day fills that bucket up. Things like schoolwork, your friends, your family, your football. They all go into the bucket and gradually it fills up. Now you can only old hold so much before the bucket overflows, and that’s when you break down or feel ill because of it or can’t cope. You with me so far?”

Danny nodded silently.

“Good,” Mr Rudd said with a smile, “Now the tools you develop and things you have around you, things like supportive friends and family, mindfulness, things that help you chill out and relax, they help keep a decent sized hole to drain the bucket and maintain your mental wellbeing. What we aim for is being able to take out as much as goes into the bucket. That way it doesn’t overflow and you can live happily and healthily. Make sense?”

“Why not just blow the bottom out of the bucket? That way, no stress!” Chris said with a grin.

Mr Rudd and Danny both chuckled, but the teacher explained, “That’s… not as helpful as it probably sounds. We do NEED stress in our lives as it’s what can push us on and motivate us. I mean, think about your match tomorrow, Danny. I’m sure you’re nervous about it, but… in a good way, right?”

Danny thought for a moment and nodded as he said, “Yeah, it… it makes me want to do well and push me and my team to try hard!”

“Exactly, so it’s about balance. You want as much in as you take out,” Mr Rudd went on. His eyes narrowed slightly as he said, “That actually brings me onto the other bit we hadn’t really mentioned – the bullying!”

“I don’t know if I’d even call it that!” Danny said, looking quite confused.

“Yeah, I’ve been paying close attention to it since you told me and, honestly, I’m thinking the same!” Mr Rudd said with a thoughtful nod. “I definitely think we should be tackling it to an extent, because I really think it’s doing a number on your self-esteem, Danny!” He paused and got a gentle nod of agreement, “But I don’t think it’s really as big a thing as it seems. Going back to the bucket idea, I think your bucket is just SO full to the brim because of everything else, that every time you hear one of those comments…”

“It makes a bit of a splash, overflows a little bit and I feel like crap,” Danny said, smiling as he understood the analogy.

“So…” Chris started, then giggled. He blushed and said, “Sorry, just… well I’ll ask what I thought of and you’ll see why I’m laughing. I was gonna say… how do we make Danny’s hole bigger?”

The question got chuckles from Mr Rudd and a laugh from Danny, who squeezed him tightly for a moment.

“You know what I mean, though,” Chris went on, “How do we… help empty his bucket?”

“Danny,” Mr Rudd said, taking hold of both of the boy’s arms to make him face him. “Take a moment, think about ALL the things going on and answer this. What… is the biggest thing in your bucket right now?”

Danny took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. He repeated it, taking notice of what he could smell around him, the scent of sex and sweat. And again, allowing himself to feel Chris’ hand on his back, the messy, slightly damp covers beneath him and the gentle waft of air across his body. Fully grounded, he thought it through. He really did have a lot going on. His relationship with Chris, his schoolwork, mentoring Avery, the imminent loss of his own mentor, the football match tomorrow. Despite all of that, one word cut through it all. “Josh!” he stated.

Mr Rudd nodded gently, stroked Danny’s arm and said, “Then I think… that’s where we start!”

*****

Saturday 25 February 2023

“I say this with much love and respect,” Chris said a little flatly, “But I swear, if you look at your phone ONE more time, you can find someone else to fuck!”

Nicky blushed and turned his phone over as he looked sheepishly at Chris. “Sorry,” he said awkwardly, “I’m all yours!”

“Yeah, you’d better be!” Chris said sternly as he lifted himself slightly then slid back down on Nicky’s massive dick. Even after years of fucking, he still couldn’t take the entirety of his friend’s colossal cock, but still enjoyed riding it even though he couldn’t sit all the way onto Nicky’s lap. He let out a happy, shuddery moan at the sensation, followed by a slight sigh at the other boy’s expression. “Relax!” he reassured Nicky, “Mikey says he’s fine, and even if he’s not, Danny and Mark are both with him!”

“I know,” Nicky said, frowning a little as he added, “But those two have their own issues to deal with!”

“You’ve met them, right? You’re not gonna find two people more likely to put looking after their friend ahead of wallowing in their own issues, are you! They’ll all be good, so fucking chill out and fucking… fuck me, okay!”

Nicky laughed at the semi-serious aggression and wrapped his arms around Chris. Still giggling, he buried his face into the other boy’s neck and started kissing and nibbling at it. As he heard a content moan from Chris, he accentuated it with a buck of his hips to shove his dick harder into him.

“Ah fuuuuuck yes!” Chris groaned. It was only about twelve hours since he had been with Danny and Mr Rudd, and while he ached slightly from the vigorous session, time alone with Nicky was something he could never pass up. “Do ya fuck your mystery guy like this?” Chris asked jokingly.

Nicky blushed as he pulled back. Despite the fact Chris had known about ‘Locky’ for quite some time, it was a subject they rarely spoke about, mostly at Nicky’s request. “No, we… umm… we haven’t fucked!” he said a little awkwardly.

“Fair,” Chris said with a casual shrug, just making conversation rather than judging. “D’you even still see him?”

“Technically no, I’m blindfolded,” Nicky said with a wry grin, “But… yeah, we got together on Thursday!” His grip tightened on Chris as he thrust into him again.

“Oh,” Chris chuckled, feeling the enhanced force coinciding with the conversation about the mystery boy, “You clearly enjoyed it!”

“It’s… confusing,” Nicky confessed, “Maybe now’s not the time!”

“Okay, well… you know I’m always around if you wanna share,” Chris said, then leaned forward to pull Nicky into a kiss.

Nicky sighed contentedly into Chris’ mouth. Kissing him could have been weird - Chris was one of his closest friends, his ex-boyfriend AND his friend’s boyfriend after all! Somehow it always managed to sidestep all of the awkwardness and just feel safe and familiar and comforting. That was probably why he had felt so strange when he thought Chris was Locky. Now that he knew he wasn’t, he could return to just enjoying the friendly embrace.

With conversation held for now, Nicky focused on pleasuring Chris as he pushed himself towards release. Thrusting as much of his massive cock as he knew Chris could handle into him with a final grunt, he began to shoot inside the other boy as they gripped tightly onto each other.

“Ugh, that’s so good,” Chris growled as he dreamily nuzzled against Nicky. He hadn’t cum, and he suspected he probably wouldn’t now, but it didn’t matter. This had mostly been intended as a distraction for Nicky and it had worked. Now he just had to hope that his earlier assertion – that the others were all okay – would be true!

*****

The past twelve hours had not been fun for Axel. After six months of secretly stirring up dissent amongst the boys of his dorm, it had all come crashing down around him the previous night. His twisted machinations had been revealed for his entire dorm to see and for the first time the two factions were united… against him!

Axel had been removed from the dorm when it all kicked off thanks to Danny’s intervention and he was yet to face them again. Instead, he had spent a short while the previous night at the mercy of Mr Trent and most of that morning dealing with both Mr Trent and Mr Reeves, the school’s Deputy Headmaster and Head of Discipline. Needless to say, they had not been pleased with him.

Somehow, despite the anger and disappointment of the teachers, and despite knowing the inevitable awfulness heading his way when he faced his classmates, the thing he feared most was someone else entirely – David!

Axel had been sitting alone for a few minutes, waiting. When David arrived, he walked in without saying a word and sat down facing the younger boy silently. David stared coldly at Axel for several hours… or at least that was how it felt to him. In reality, it was barely a couple of minutes, but Axel was clearly feeling the discomfort.

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Axel eventually broke the silence, figuring David had no intention of doing so. “You’re… you’re… gonna say you’re… disappointed and… and angry and annoyed with me!” he said shakily.

David stared silently.

“And you should be. I… I… did bad stuff,” Axel said with a slight nod.

David stared silently.

“Although I could argue that it’s all their own fault. I mean… the stuff I did wouldn’t have worked if there wasn’t, like… issues for me to pick on, right!” Axel reasoned.

David stared silently.

“Okay, fine, yes, poor excuse. If there were… if there were issues I shouldn’t have gone out of my way to make them worse, you’re right!” Axel stated.

David stared silently.

“But you knew I was like this from the day we met and… and you LIKED it. You said I was fun and… and this was… fun!” Axel said with a stern nod that quickly stopped as he said, “Well, not like… FUN fun, it’s not like… y’know…. Ugh, whatever, I don’t know. Just… just say something okay. Shout at me or swear at me or just… say SOMETHING. Please!”

David inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly and said, “Okay. I’m sorry!”

“Oh,” Axel said, clearly caught off guard. “You… well… what!?”

“I’m sorry,” David repeated. “If you’ve been acting like this and I’ve not even noticed, then clearly I haven’t been paying you the attention you deserve and I’ve DEFINITELY not been teaching you the right things! So… clearly, I’ve failed and for that… I’m sorry!”

“No!” Axel insisted, “You haven’t failed. You’re awesome. I’ve learned so much from you. Please don’t think you’ve failed cos you haven’t!”

“Then… what the hell, Axel? Seriously, I know you like pranks, we’ve pulled a few together, but this is…” David paused, shaking his head, “I don’t know, this feels more like bullying or… I don’t know, just… not a prank!”

“I just wanted them to like me!” Axel said, sniffing heavily.

“Okay, you’re gonna need to talk me through that one,” David said, cocking his head curiously, “How do you get from ‘I want them to like me’ to keeping a small-scale war going in your dorm?”

“I don’t know,” Axel mumbled, shrugging as he avoided eye contact.

“Okay, this isn’t the time for ‘I don’t know’, Axel,” David said sternly. “You’re really in a lot of trouble here and I wanna help but I can’t if I don’t understand. Please just… I don’t care how crazy or how stupid you might think it is, just… make me understand!”

“I didn’t, like… PLAN to cause trouble, not completely, not at first,” Axel explained, still staring down at his hands. “I just… I could see what was happening and I could see, like… the others all making friends, y’know… Avery with Milo and Leo, Dec with Dev and Jorge and I got scared because I thought… I thought nobody wanted to be friends with me so… I made something up that one of the others said cos… I dunno, I think I wanted to make sure they didn’t ALL become friends and… and… suddenly they were… arguing with each other and I wasn’t involved and I figured if they didn’t like each other then they’d maybe like me instead so I kept doing it cos it… it meant they needed me, y’know, for information and I felt wanted!”

David nodded thoughtfully for a few moments and said, “Okay, I can ‘almost’ see how that makes a kind of sense but… Axel, this has been going on for SIX months now. You can’t have been thinking that all this time!”

“I was scared,” Axel sniffed, “Like… if they stopped fighting and actually became friends and talked about this stuff they’d… find out how much I’d been stirring so the longer it went, the worse it’d be if they found out so I… had to make sure they didn’t!”

David closed his eyes briefly as he let his head droop, nodding silently to himself for a moment. As he opened his eyes and looked at the boy, he said, “Okay, look… I can’t change how the others are gonna feel about this and I DEFINITELY can’t change any punishment coming your way but… you’ve still got me in your corner, okay. You’re an idiot and a bit of a twat, but you just… made a mistake. A really big, really stupid mistake, but… I get it, and I’m still with you, okay!”

Axel sniffed again and nodded a little tearfully as he said, “Thank you!”

*****

Nicky had hurried down the stairs and out of the building as soon as he got the call. “Please go out to the car park. Dr Arkwright will meet you there!” That was the message he had been given and, considering the coaches were due back from the trip to Fothergill for the football matches, Nicky was understandably concerned by the invite.

“Thanks for coming,” Dr Arkwright said with a polite nod to Nicky.

“Umm, it’s fine,” Nicky said anxiously, glancing at the empty car park, “What’s going on?”

“It seems there’s been an… incident… on the way back,” Dr Arkwright explained cautiously, “One involving Mikey!”

“Is he okay?” Nicky asked urgently, looking around for any sign of the coaches coming in.

“He’s not hurt,” Dr Arkwright assured the anxious boy, “It appears to be related to his schizophrenia rather than any kind of physical injury. He appears to be refusing to let anyone near him… unless it’s you.”

“Okay,” Nicky said, nodding thoughtfully.

“But Nicky,” Dr Arkwright said, placing a hand on Nicky’s shoulder, “I know he’s your friend, but… you don’t have to put yourself in a position you’re not comfortable with. You’re not a doctor and you’re not his carer and we need to look after YOUR wellbeing as much as his own, so…”

“No, it’s fine!” Nicky insisted, “If he needs me, I’m here!”

“Okay, well if things get too much, just say the word and we’ll have you out of there,” Dr Arkwright insisted, “And on the subject of your wellbeing, we haven’t caught up for a while. I’m aware you’ve got a lot going on around you, so my calendar’s always open if you’d like to chat again!”

“Thanks sir, I might do that,” Nicky nodded.

The two chatted briefly for a few moments before the first of the coaches pulled in, carrying the teams from Years 8, 12 and 13. They were quickly ushered off the coach and into the Home Building just in time for the coach carrying the three remaining teams to return. The Year 9s and 11s were hurried away and most of the Year 10s hurried off too, but a handful remained until a threat of detention forced them back towards the Home Building.

With everyone else clear, Mr Cunningham approached Dr Arkwright. He shot Nicky a curious glance but got a nod from the Doctor so he started, “He’s been very quiet and withdrawn all day… all week actually!”

Nicky nodded his agreement.

“But towards the end of the day he started talking a lot more but not really TO anyone. I think it might have freaked out some of the others who made a few comments, but I quickly put a stop to that, but by then Mikey had completely withdrawn. He got onto the coach long before we were due to leave and wouldn’t even respond to anyone and if anyone touched him he screamed at them,” Mr Cunningham explained. “I’ve told him we’re back but… he still won’t move and won’t let me near him. All I’ve been able to make out from what he’s saying to himself is that he wants…” He nodded to Nicky.

“Okay, I’ll go and try talking to him,” Nicky said, taking a step towards the coach. Seeing Dr Arkwright follow, he stated, “I should go alone.”

“Sorry Nicky, but no,” Dr Arkwright replied back bluntly, “I don’t think that’s safe!”

“Safe? He wouldn’t hurt me!” Nicky snapped, “He wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s constantly fucking terrified he’s going to hurt someone! He’d never hurt me!”

“I know,” Dr Arkwright nodded, “I meant his safety, not yours!”

Nicky stared back for a moment. In the time since learning about Mikey’s diagnosis, Nicky had looked into the illness quite a lot. Considering Mikey’s history of violence and the things Nicky had seen on screen about schizophrenia, his first concern was more violence. When he learned that what he had seen on TV and in movies was dangerously misleading, one sentence had stuck in his mind - They're more likely to hurt themselves than anybody else. Knowing that about someone he was so desperate to protect was a scary thought, and hearing the Doctor basically say the same thing was a chilling reminder of it.

“Okay,” Nicky said as he headed for the coach.

“He’s only a couple of rows back,” Mr Cunningham called after them, gesturing for the coach driver to come over and join him as they let the student and Doctor get on board.

Nicky found Mikey a few rows back from the front. His feet were up on the seat, seemingly being hugged up against him, while he had a jacket covering most of him up. From beneath he could hear rapid breathing, almost hyper-ventilating. “Mikey,” he said softly, glancing round to see Dr Arkwright was only a row behind him.

The rapid breathing paused for a moment, seemingly in recognition of the voice.

“It’s not him. It’s not him!” Mikey mumbled before the rapid breathing restarted.

“Mikey… can I… take the jacket off you?” Nicky asked, taking a step closer.

The breathing stopped again, held a for a few moments then resumed, mixed in with some incoherent mutters.

“Mikey, I’m going to take the jacket off now,” Nicky said as he moved forward and gingerly sat down beside the huddled mass. Reaching out cautiously, he pulled the jacket away to find Mikey leaning against the window, eyes tightly closed with a fist pressed to each of his temples. “Mikey, it’s me, Nicky!” he said, reaching out but not quite touching him yet. Getting no response, he let his hand move further and gently stroked his soft ginger hair.

Mikey gasped gently and his eyes shot open. “Nicky!” he said, looking absolutely distraught. “I’m sorry. Please don’t let them take me away!”

“Nobody’s taking you away, Mikey. What’s going on?” Nicky asked, stroking Mikey’s hair gently as it appeared to be calming him a little.

“I’m sorry. I stopped,” Mikey said shakily, “I stopped taking them!”

“Taking… your meds?” Nicky asked, glancing round to Dr Arkwright who was watching intently but showing no signs of needing to intervene.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Mikey said tearfully.

“Why, Mikey? Why did you stop? They were really helping!” Nicky said, trying not to sound accusatory.

“No, shut up. SHUT UP!” Mikey snarled, not looking at Nicky, seemingly talking back to a voice in his head. “No, he won’t do that, it’s Nicky. Fuck off, just fuck off!”

“Mikey, Mikey, come on, look at me,” Nicky urged him. As he got Mikey looking his way, he asked, “Why did you stop?”

“It made my dick not work and it made me stupid and it stopped me being me and I got scared of not being anybody and my dick not working and I stopped cos I didn’t want to be nobody!” Mikey rambled.

Nicky looked round at the doctor who nodded to indicate he wanted to jump in. “Mikey, listen,” Dr Arkwright started quietly, “When you take this kind of medication and stop, it can put you back into an even worse place than when you started but what you’re dealing with now, it’s still just a symptom and it’s still something we can help with, okay!”

Mikey looked at the man suspiciously, but as he glanced at his friend and got a smile and nod, he repeated the gesture back to the doctor.

“As for the side effects that you described, there are things we can do to try to mitigate them without you needing to stop taking your medication, okay,” Dr Arkwright explained.

“You’re not gonna send me away for being crazy?” Mikey asked shakily, wincing at the voices shouting at him.

“Of course not, Mikey. We just wanna help, okay,” Nicky assured him.

“They’re screaming at me,” Mikey said, barely holding back full sobs. “One of them is just… screaming and cos they don’t need to breathe it doesn’t stop it’s…. it’s just… one long… loud… scream and it won’t stop!” he explained as he lunged to hold onto Nicky, crying helplessly as he pleaded, “Please make it stop Nicky. Please, I just want it to stop!”

“We will, Mikey. We will,” Nicky said softly as he held onto the distraught boy.