Chapter 12

D erek angrily stomped from the kitchen back to his bedroom, nearly spilling his soda when he slammed it onto his desk. It had been three hours since he kicked Cory out of his car, and he was still fuming. Cory didn't know what he was talking about. How could he accuse him of something like that?

Derek sat down for a second and then sighed before getting back up. He had left his food in the kitchen. This stuff with Cory had his mind all over the place. He grumbled to himself after grabbing his plate, stalking back to his room, and flopping into the chair in front of his computer.

Sure, maybe it didn't start out under the best circumstances, but it wasn't like he hadn't thought things through. He planned it out because he wanted to make sure it went well, for everyone. He knew what Cory wanted. He just used the beer to get him to relax and open his mind to the possibilities Derek would bring up.

Derek picked up a slice of pizza, the last of the leftovers from the party, and scarfed it down. All that shit about him being loaned out, not being able to say no… Again, it wasn't like Derek didn't know what Cory really wanted. He was just pushing his limits. That was what a good dom was supposed to do, right? That gave Derek an idea: Who better to ask about this than another dom and one of the aforementioned people Cory was "loaned" to? Carl.

Derek wiped the pizza grease onto a napkin and reached for his phone. After the first few emails, Carl had finally relented that, despite his age, he was perfectly capable of using text to communicate. Derek scrolled his contacts to the letter C, selecting the man's name when he found it.

[Derek: Hey, you got a minute? Something on my mind.]

Derek put his phone down and grabbed a second pizza slice as he waited for a response.

His phone buzzed a few minutes later as he finished eating, once again wiping the pizza grease from his hands before picking it up.

[Carl: Hey Derek. Sure, what's up?]

Derek thought for a moment about how he wanted to go about this. He didn't want to claim he was "asking for a friend" because that was never believable. Instead, he opted to just frame his questions around some of the stuff that happened this weekend at the party.

[Derek: Had a crazy weekend. My high school won their championship game, and we threw a big party at my place afterwards. Lots of kids, lots of beer.]

[Carl: Underage drinking aside, sounds like a fun weekend.]

[Derek: It was. But all the alcohol did have me wondering. If a sub was drinking, and you knew that by drinking they would be more open to stuff, would it be wrong to make a move? Not like wasted, just kinda buzzed.]

[Carl: I think you're getting into some murky waters there. You can't expect someone drunk to have the best judgment. It might give them the courage to finally say yes to something, but you also run the risk of them regretting it when they sober up.]

Well, that wasn't exactly what Derek wanted to hear.

[Derek: But what if it was something you knew they really wanted, deep down?]

[Carl: Still dangerous. Alcohol can make a person say or do some weird stuff. I don't think it would be worth the risk, having that kind of cloud hanging over the rest of the relationship.]

[Derek: What do you mean?]

It wasn't until today that Derek felt anything was wrong between him and Cory at all.

[Carl: Well, think about it. A sub might have their inhibitions lowered, but they're also not going to be thinking straight. In the moment, especially like that, they are going to look to their dom for guidance and will probably be willing to do a whole lot more than usual just to please them. When a D/s relationship is new, you're still setting boundaries and figuring things out. A sub needs to know they can talk to their dom about how they're feeling, and not worry about what might happen if they say no.]

Which is exactly what Cory was trying to tell him in the car. Fuck.

[Derek: So, if someone had been drinking, best to not try to make any moves at all?]

[Carl: Some people feel that you shouldn't mix any kind of substance—alcohol, weed, or otherwise—with playtime. The idea being that when you are in a scene, the safest thing is for you both to be totally sober. But I think if you were already an established couple, you'd probably be fine if you had a couple of beers. You already know each other's limits, and you'd probably know how much alcohol you both can handle by then too. But, if you were still new to each other, you wouldn't have that info. You'd still probably be too focused on figuring each other out, testing the boundaries, to make many good judgement calls.]

As Derek read through the giant walls of text—he wouldn't question Carl's ability to text again—his heart sank. He had really fucked up. Why hadn't he seen this before?

[Derek: Thanks, man. That helps a lot.]

[Carl: No problem, Derek. Everything okay with you?]

[Derek: Yeah, all good here], he lied. [Thanks again. TTYL]

He tossed his phone onto the bed as he sat at his desk and started replaying everything that had happened since the first night of the cabin. Fuck. How could he have been so selfish? Cory was his best friend. Cory was more than just his best friend. He was supposed to protect him. He was a monster.

Derek had to fix this. He just needed to figure out how.

Cory awoke slowly in the morning, the familiar pinging of his phone's alarm rousing him from a deep slumber. He stretched his limbs out, running them against the cool sheets as he woke up. As his brain booted back up for the day, memories of the night before flashed into his mind. Nic.

Cory's whole body felt sore but in a good way. He stretched his legs again, reaching down to squeeze his own thighs, the pressure on his sore muscles making him groan and causing his already hard cock (thanks, morning wood!) to twitch. Tentatively, he snaked a finger between them and under his balls, rubbing his equally sore hole. Fuck. Last night was so fucking hot… The way Nic—

Cory suddenly looked to his left, though he already knew Nic was gone. The bed was cold. The sheets didn't even look used. He had been gone a while. Sitting up, the only trace Cory could see of him even being there were the towels they used the night before and some of the slightly bloodied bandage Cory had wrapped his injured hand in. It had come off at some point and Cory had to rebandage it.

Cory reached for his phone and finally turned off the alarm before checking his notifications. Nothing from Nic or Derek. Cory wasn't sure he even wanted to talk to Derek right now, but he knew they needed to resolve what happened yesterday. But Nic… Where did he go? He fired off a quick text—just a "hey"—and waited a few moments for a response. Receiving none and pushing aside the thoughts of anxiety that started to bubble up, Cory clambered out of bed and headed toward his bathroom to start getting ready. It seemed he was getting himself to school today.

After brushing his teeth and taking care of a few other bathroom things, Cory walked to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. When he passed through the living room, he saw some of his mom's things thrown over the back of the couch. She would have gotten in a couple of hours ago probably and was hopefully fast asleep. Maybe that's why Nic left? He was worried about her finding them or asking questions. After the day he had yesterday, Cory wouldn't exactly be surprised. Either way, they'd sort this out when he got to school and hopefully talk some about last night too.

Cory threw some Pop Tarts in the toaster and walked back to his room to get dressed. He made sure any offending items from last night were put away or thrown in the hamper—his mom never went snooping, but with the way things had been going lately, it was better to be safe than sorry. He changed his clothes and picked up his backpack, grabbing his breakfast on the way out the door to the bus stop.

The bus ride was normal enough, at least at first. The closer Cory got to school, the more he found himself checking his phone. It started feeling like there was a knot in his stomach. He could feel his thumb itching to send another text, but he thought better of it. He'd see Nic in person soon enough. Eventually, the bus pulled onto campus, and the students onboard made their way off to start their own school days.

Cory wandered the school's courtyard, looking for a sign of Nic or Derek anywhere. He came up empty outside, though he did notice a few strange looks from some of the students who ran in their circles—likely still whispering about the rumors that had Nic so upset. Cory was beyond caring about that right now, so he turned his search inside and headed to Nic's locker. There he was!

"Hey!" Cory smiled as he walked over and stood to the side of the open locker.

"Oh, hey, Cor." Nic looked over his shoulder as he greeted him before turning back to face his locker, pulling out a book. "What's up?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you." Cory gave Nic a strange look.

"What do you mean?" Nic looked puzzled.

"You know… About last night?"

"Huh? Shit, did I show up at your place last night?" Nic looked like he was struggling to remember something. "I was so hammered, everything's kinda fuzzy."

"Yeah. You did." Is he just fucking with me? "When I woke up, you were gone."

"Oh, man, I'm sorry." Nic gave Cory an apologetic look. "After getting drunk, I think I remember trying to talk to Amy, then wandering around for a while."

"Y-yeah." Cory's voice stumbled. Does he really not remember? "You showed up pretty late. Your hand was hurt so I…" Cory gestured toward Nic's freshly bandaged hand.

"Aww, that was you? Thanks, bro." Nic gave Cory an innocuous smile as he lifted his hand. "I really gotta be more careful. I owe you one. See ya later, alright?"

"Oh. Yeah… See you later." Cory did his best to stop his voice from wavering but fell short.

He turned around before Nic had a chance to see the hurt look on his face and made his way out of the hallway. He turned a corner and headed for the parking lot. His chest was pounding and his face was hot and he just needed to get out of—

"Cory!" Fuck. It was Derek. Nope, he was not doing this right now. Dealing with one selfish jerk was enough. Cory turned and started walking the other way, doing his best to wipe his face—when did he start crying?

"Hey, Cory!" Derek jogged over. "I've been looking for you."

"Go away, Derek," Cory replied coldly and continued walking. "I don't wanna talk to you right now."

"Cory, I'm really sorry about yesterday." Derek stopped in his tracks but kept speaking. "Kicking you out of the car when you were trying to talk to me about…" Derek trailed off, still uncomfortable with the subject matter.

"Yeah, let me know how that feels." Cory couldn't help rolling his eyes and kept walking.

"Cory, wait, please." Derek reached for his shoulder. "I want to talk to you. Really talk, about everything. With you and Nic."

Cory paused his exit at Nic's name. That might be one way to force him to talk…

"Okay."

"Thanks." Derek sighed with relief. "Actually, have you seen him?"

"He's inside by his locker." Cory felt a twinge of hurt as he tried to block out his feelings from their earlier conversation.

"Great. I'll grab him." Derek nodded. "Meet us in the auditorium in a few minutes?"

"Sure," Cory answered without looking up. Not like this morning could get much worse.

"Okay, see you there." Derek looked Cory over. His body language was telling him something was off, but he assumed it was because of what he had said yesterday. Without commenting, he left to go find Nic.

For a brief moment, Cory considered following through with his plan to ditch campus and just leave the two of them there waiting. But, somewhat begrudgingly, he slowly made his way over to the auditorium, shuffling his way through the crowd of faces waiting for classes to start, feeling more alone than ever.

He was there first because of course he was, so he took a seat and waited. That meant he was alone with his thoughts. Did Nic really not remember last night? He wasn't incoherent or anything. And why did he just leave like that? Wouldn't he have wondered what was up when he woke up? Why did Cory even care about this? It's not like Nic was his boyfrie—

The sound of the door opening signaled Derek and Nic's arrival. Cory turned to face them as they walked in, standing to meet them in front of the stage. The three awkwardly stood in a circle for a few moments before Derek finally broke the silence.

"So," he started, unsure of just what was going on with his two friends, "things have gotten a little intense lately."

Cory snorted at the understatement but said nothing. Nic was mostly looking at his feet, expression blank.

"I've been thinking," Derek continued, "between what went on at school yesterday, and some stuff that happened after school, I think it might be best if we took a break from things for a while."

Cory rolled his eyes. Of course Derek wanted out. Probably hoped it would just blow over. Fuck that. "So, you—"

"Yeah, man, I've been thinking the same thing," Nic jumped in. "I don't think any of this stuff has really been for me. I think it's time to end this little experiment."

"What?" Cory wasn't surprised by the words, but they still stung. "Last night you sure seem—"

"Little experiment?" Derek gave Nic side eye. "I was just saying it might be good to back off from things a little and cool—"

"And I'm saying I think you're right," Nic countered. "Stuff is getting serious with Amy. School is gonna be over soon. I've got better things to worry about than this shit. It's just giving me a headache. All this was your idea anyway, man. I was never that into it."

"That is such bull—" Cory again tried to jump in but was again cut off.

"So what, all this is my fault?" Derek sounded offended.

"I mean, I'm not trying to blame anyone for anything but…" Nic shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."

"What the fu—"

" HEY! " Cory shouted over the two, determined to finally speak. "Do either of you give a fuck about what I think about any of this?"

"Cory, sorry. I'm just trying to—"

"No, you're doing the exact same shit you always have," Cory said coldly. "Try to control every little thing about the situation so that it goes exactly the way you want. Without ever actually talking to me about it like a person. Like your equal . That's the way it's always been with both of you."

"Wow, really, Cor?" Nic practically sneered. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"

"Shut the fuck up Nic, or I won't ." When Nic didn't open his mouth to respond, Cory hoped he understood his threat. Asshole. "I'm done. With everything. I want out."

"Cory, wait. I didn't—" Derek tried to explain his actions but was cut off.

"I'm done , Derek." Cory was just staring blankly at the floor at this point. "Take off the collar."

"Cory…" Derek was actually surprised at how much it hurt to hear Cory say that.

" Get the fucking collar off me, Derek ." Cory clenched his fists and struggled to not grit his teeth. "Take it off my fucking neck. Now."

Derek nodded but said nothing as he fumbled for his keys in his pocket. Cory lifted and turned his head away from the two, not wanting to meet either of their gazes lest he falter in his decision. Nic watched in silence as Derek grasped the lock around Cory's neck, more concerned with shielding his feelings than letting them be known. Derek held the lock steady and turned the key until it clicked before stepping away. Cory reached up, unlatched the chain from the lock, and let the collar fall to the floor.

The three boys stood there for a moment in silence, all of them feeling the weight of the moment, but none fully grasping the repercussions. They had been friends for so long…

"Just … leave me alone. Ignore me." Cory was the first to speak, making sure his voice was steady. "Stay out of my life."

Derek and Nic both looked at the collar as it lay on the ground, neither saying a thing as Cory turned around and walked up past the rows of seats and out of the auditorium. The sound of the double doors slamming shut behind him echoed through the room.

"I gotta…" Nic struggled to find an excuse before leaving through a different exit. "I'll see you around."

Derek stood alone in the auditorium, bending over to pick up Cory's discarded collar after he heard Nic leave. He held it in his hand and contemplated how things had even gotten to this point. But as he clumsily stuffed it into his pocket, he knew he could only blame himself.

Cory cried and hugged his knees as he sat in the corner of the auditorium lobby, not having actually left the building. He felt so shitty, so stupid, so lost. He wasn't sure he'd be able to make it through the rest of the day. He should have just gone home earlier when he had the chance.

"You alright?"

Cory's head shot up, the unexpected voice having him instinctively pushing back against the wall.

Oh god. It was Jackson. The dark-haired basketball player was one of the last people Cory wanted to see right now. "Look, can you just leave me alone? I do not have the energy to deal with you right now."

"Ouch." Jackson feigned being hurt but stayed where he was. "Having a rough day?"

"You don't know the half of it…" Cory muttered to himself. "Seriously, can you go? I really wanna be alone right now."

"Do you, really?" Jackson took a couple of steps towards Cory. "I saw your two buddies leaving… They seemed pretty down but not as much as you."

"Are you stalking them too, now?" Cory challenged.

"I deserve that." Jackson chuckled. "Haven't meant to be so … weird about things. Just didn't really know how to talk to you about it."

"Talk to me about what?" Cory sniffled.

"The stuff with you and Derek and Nic," Jackson answered bluntly. "How you were their boy. Like, their boy ."

Cory tried to nonchalantly wipe his face as he eyed Jackson warily, unsure of where this conversation was going. He'd suspected for a while that the guy had figured out what was going on but didn't know what he wanted out of it. Was he just looking for a blowjob or something?

"Hey, not judging or anything, and not looking to tell anybody either." Jackson held his hands up in front of him. "The opposite. I'm into it."

"You have got to be kidding me." Cory couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous circumstances he kept finding himself in. "You are the fifth not-exactly-straight guy I've met in four months. Was this town built on top of a gay burial ground or something? Do I just have a big neon ‘use me to explore your sexuality' sign above my head?"

"Uh, nope." Jackson couldn't help laughing either. "Maybe you just have good luck?"

" Good luck?" Cory snorted.

"Okay, maybe bad luck," Jackson admitted. "It did seem like maybe those guys weren't treating you very well. Taking advantage."

"Yeah. I remember when you snuck up on me in the library," Cory recalled. "You thought I was doing their homework."

"Was I wrong?"

"…About the homework." Cory sighed, sounding defeated as he leaned back against the wall.

"Wanna talk about what's going on?" Taking the lack of any banishment as a sign, Jackson took a seat against the wall next to Cory.

"There's nothing to talk about anymore," Cory stated flatly. "It's done ."

"Ah. I guess that's why they left in a hurry," Jackson reasoned. "Did they bring you here just to dump ya?"

"What makes you think they dumped me?" Cory crossed his arms and sat up, indignant. "I dropped them. Though I bet Nic would tell it differently."

"Wow, look at you." Jackson sounded impressed. "Standing up to your friends like that."

"I don't even know if we are friends anymore. I don't know how to talk to them. And I don't think they know how to talk to me either. Not after…" Cory gestured vaguely into the air.

"Yeah, I guess that's probably not something most friends have to deal with."

"Another understatement." Cory sighed and turned to look at Jackson. "I shouldn't be talking to you about this. Nic would have an aneurysm."

"Well, fuck Nic," Jackson groused. "Whatever you say to me stays between us. He seems like kind of an asshole if you ask me."

"He is an asshole. Derek too." Cory sighed again, feeling like his emotions had finally stabilized. "Fuck. The last couple of days have been so screwed up. There's no way I'm going to class today."

"Wanna get out of here?" Jackson offered. "I've got a car, and I'm not exactly wanting to go to class either. Wanna get some food or something?"

Cory contemplated the offer for a moment. He didn't know anything about him other than his name and the sport he played. And that he was into dudes, apparently. But he was still treating Cory like more of a friend than either Derek or Nic had been lately. "Actually, that sounds great. Thanks."

"No problem." Jackson smiled. He knew waiting around for this boy would pay off eventually. He just had to be patient.

Derek wandered aimlessly as he left the auditorium. He wasn't sure how he was feeling about what had just happened. He wasn't surprised or even angry. He was just … sad. Numb. He could feel the weight of Cory's collar in his pocket as he walked toward his locker. After opening it, he just stood there, staring into nothing, lost in his thoughts. This was not how today was supposed to go. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. Maybe if he'd just—

"Hey, Der." Derek's head snapped up to his left to see Tricia standing next to him. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, hey, Tricia." Derek tried to push down his thoughts. "Yeah, everything's great."

"Really?" Tricia questioned. "Because you look like someone just kicked a puppy."

"Something … happened, between me, Cory, and Nic." Derek sighed. He wasn't great at hiding things from Tricia, not even when they were dating. "Something that is entirely my fault, and I've been trying to fix it. But I'm starting to think I just—"

"—micromanage every aspect of what you're doing, right down to trying to control other people's emotions and feelings because you assume you know them better than they do?"

"I deserve that," Derek said sadly. Tricia's scarily accurate read almost had him speechless. "I'm sorry, Trish. I know I was a shitty boyfriend. I wasn't trying to be such a control freak. I thought I was helping."

"Derek," Tricia started with a sad smile, "you're a smart guy, but you don't know and can't control everything . We're only eighteen. You're already practically on your own, but that doesn't mean you don't still have a lot of shit to learn, just like the rest of us."

"I… I just don't know what to do, Trish." She was right. Derek knew that. "I'm not sure I can fix this."

"Maybe you can't." Tricia was honest. "I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, it's done. You can't go back in time."

"So what do I do?" Derek asked sadly.

"Learn." Tricia gave Derek a small smile. "Learn from your fuckups so you can hopefully minimize them going forward. So that the next person you date, so your friends , won't feel like they're just some kind of pet project for you to work on."

"Thanks, Tricia." Derek took her words in. "Really. I'm sorry I was such a shitty boyfriend. I'm sure the next guy you date will blow me outta the water."

"Hell, yeah, he will," Tricia bragged about her future, currently non-existent boyfriend. "And you'll be okay too. Even if you can't fix this." She gave Derek a semi-awkward hug before leaving him at his locker to head to her next class.

Derek closed his locker, not exactly happy but feeling better about his current predicament. He needed to let Cory, and he guessed maybe Nic now too, have time to figure things out for themselves. And he needed to spend that same time working on himself. And he knew just the daddy to talk to for help.

"You sure your hand's okay, dude?" The question came from Greg, one of Nic's teammates, from the opposite end of the picnic table.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Nic held up his bandaged hand somewhat sheepishly. "Just me being a fucking idiot like usual."

"Seriously. I thought you were gonna put Steve in the hospital or something," Greg joked.

"I'm glad you're feeling a lot better today, babe." Amy squeezed Nic's thigh. "I told you they're just stupid rumors."

"I know, I know. I should have just listened to you; it was nothing," Nic lied because Amy still had no idea that those "rumors" were true. "How about I take you to a movie tonight to make up for it?"

"Ooooooo, yay!" Amy clapped to herself. "You can finally see Wicked with me!"

"Uhhhh. Haven't you already seen that, like, twice?" Nic questioned.

"Yep!" Amy only smiled in return. "It's so good."

"Great." Shit, did his voice just crack?

"You get any calls from schools yet, man?" Greg turned the conversation back to something they both knew.

"No, not yet." At least Nic didn't think so.

There was no way his dad would keep quiet about something like that. He knew colleges had sent a number of scouts to his last game. The way his dad talked about it, it was only a matter of time before they started vying for his attention.

"I can't wait." Greg was practically bouncing in his seat. "Anyone you hoping to hear from first?"

"Heh, I guess there's probably a few…" Oh good, this conversation again. He turned to give Amy a quick kiss on the lips. "Be right back. Gotta take a piss."

"Gross." Amy whacked him on the arm as he stood.

Nic walked into the nearby hall, nearly empty with everyone either in class or at lunch. He entered the restroom, happy to find it empty, and leisurely walked to the urinal. He was in no rush to return to the conversation waiting for him outside. But being alone also allowed his mind to wander. Wander to things he didn't want to think about. Things like what happened with Derek and Cory this morning. Things like what happened with Cory last night.

He wasn't hurt by what happened this morning. He wasn't . It sucked that he wasn't going to hang out with his bros anymore, but things had to change. That's all. They were still friends. He'd see them around school. They were going on winter break soon, and then they only had a few more months to go before graduation anyway. They were going to split up one way or another. Did the reason why really matter? Nic shook himself off and walked to the sink to wash his hands.

Of course, Cory very clearly was hurt. That look on Cory's face this morning by the lockers… He was crushed. And Nic knew it, knew it would hurt him. But he had to do it. Last night was a fluke. He was drunk. Very drunk. And then he went over to Cory's place, and they… He wasn't gay. He would only have been leading Cory on if he … let things continue. It was time to put that shit behind him.

As Nic dried his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror. What he did was for the best, for all of them… Right?

"Wow, right there in the sex shop?" Jackson took another bite of his burger.

Cory and Jackson were sitting in the lobby of a Wendy's eating. Jackson nearly took them to the Burger King Derek had left Cory at the day before, but Cory steered him there instead. It was way too early for lunch, but that didn't stop either boy from getting a burger and some fries.

"Yep," Cory said after he washed down his own with some soda. "It was fun, too. The daddy we met there was sweet. And hot."

"Is that your type: older daddies?" Jackson asked pointedly before taking another bite.

"Uh…" Cory blushed, realizing how frank he was being in public, and lowered his voice. "I mean, I'm not not into it? I haven't exactly had experience with a lot of guys."

"I dunno. From what you've told me, sounds like you've done a lot more than most people do before finishing high school," Jackson reasoned.

Cory blushed further and dropped his eyes to the table, Jackson's words making him feel even more self-conscious.

"Hey, I didn't mean that in a bad way," Jackson backtracked. "I just meant you probably know a lot more about what you like than other people our age."

"I guess you're right," Cory muttered. Then he saw a chance to turn the questioning around. "But what about you? Seems like you know as much about this stuff as I do."

"Internet porn is a magical thing," Jackson explained. "You start off looking at pictures of naked chicks, and somehow you end up watching men being tied up and being spanked…"

Cory snorted at Jackson's frankness and kept up his questioning. "So, are you gay then?"

"I'm open-minded." Jackson shrugged. "Don't see a reason to let labels cut down my options."

"Fair enough. I'm just gay." Cory paused. "I think that's only, like, the third time I've ever said that out loud."

Jackson laughed as he finished the last of his fries before standing to throw away his trash. "Ready to head out?"

"Yeah." Cory threw his own garbage away and followed Jackson out to his car. "You sure you don't mind taking me home?"

"Nah, it's not too far, and it's not like I've got anything better to do." Jackson unlocked his car and the two boys stepped in.

Cory buckled his seatbelt when Jackson started the car and guided him out of the parking lot and toward his apartment. Cory noticed Jackson drumming his thumbs against the steering wheel and smiled. He was kind of cute… Not that Cory really wanted to think about that right now. Lucky for him, Jackson was about to pull into his complex.

"Thanks," Cory started as Jackson neared his building, "for the ride and for just hanging out with me."

"No problem, man." Jackson smiled and patted him on the leg. "You looked like you needed a friend. And it sounds like it's been kinda rough lately."

"Yeah…" Understatement. "Well… See ya tomorrow at school?"

"Yeah, of course. Oh wait!" Jackson pulled his phone out. "Gimme your number."

Jackson fired off a quick text after Cory told him, and Cory felt his phone vibrate. "That's me. Text me anytime."

"Okay. I will." Cory smiled sheepishly.

Jackson just gave him another smile and unlocked Cory's door. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Cory kept smiling as he stepped out of the car, waving as Jackson pulled away before turning to walk inside. Maybe today wasn't the worst after all…

The next few weeks were kind of weird. He rode the bus to school in the mornings, which he hadn't done regularly in years. Classes were fine, except the ones he shared with Derek. Nic seemed fine with the cold shoulder Cory was giving him, but Derek… It was like Cory could feel his eyes on the back of his head. Cory was resolute though and didn't so much as look in his direction. It was nice to be the one with the power for once. And he wasn't alone. He had Stephanie with him at lunch. And then after school there was Jackson, who had been taking him home, where he would spend most nights studying for midterms until bedtime. Cory was keeping his mind occupied.

But now they were on break from school, and Cory had nothing to do. Normally, he'd ask the guys what they were doing, hang out, play some video games… Cory's heart sank a little at the thought of playing Smash Bros. again without them. He texted Steph, but she was nose deep in a book she had to finish before classes started up again. That left Jackson.

[Cory: Hey!]

Oof, maybe that exclamation point is too much.

[Jackson: Hey what's up?]

Cory smiled as the words popped on his screen.

[Cory: You doing anything? Wanna hang out?]

Cory wasn't even sure what Jackson might want to do, now that he thought about it.

[Jackson: Actually, my mom needs me to run some crap to the post office. Wanna tag along?]

Post office? Not exactly Cory's idea of hanging out.

[Cory: Sure.]

But it was better than sitting home alone right now.

[Jackson: Alright, see you in a few, boy!]

There's that word again …

Cory blushed slightly. Then shook his head. Better get some clothes on.

Turns out "some crap" was a few dozen packages. Apparently, Jackson's mom recently started some kind of Etsy business out of the house and was using Jackson to ship everything out. Jackson told Cory that he'd tried to explain to his mom that she could get the post office to pick them up at home, but she was more than happy to have her son do it. He was thankful for Cory's help in dropping everything off.

"Thanks again." Jackson clicked his seatbelt into place. "Guess you are a good boy."

Cory blushed fully this time, remembering the day in the library.

"You're welcome." Should I? I'm allowed to flirt, right? "Sir."

Jackson said nothing, just smiled and pulled out of the parking lot.

"So…" Cory tapped his thumb on his arm rest. "What kind of stuff are you into?"

"Do you mean like, how I like to play basketball ‘stuff'?" Jackson tilted his head toward the window. "Or the sir and boy kind of ‘stuff' we were talking about before?" Jackson tilted back toward Cory.

"I, uh…" Cory stammered for a second. "Both?"

"Well, I like basketball, obviously." There was even a basketball in the backseat. "I'm guessing that's not exactly your thing, though," he teased.

"Nope." Cory wasn't bothered. He knew they wouldn't connect over that. "You play any video games?"

"Some sports ones. The new Halo was cool." Very … straight. "I played a lot with my older cousins growing up."

"Cool." It was certainly better than nothing. "So… What about the other stuff?"

"I dunno. Haven't really done too much." Jackson smiled coyly as he drove in no particular direction. "Not that I'm not interested in finding out. Just haven't really had a chance, you know."

"Yeah?" Cory was pretty sure this was flirting. "I'm surprised. Aren't guys on sports teams supposed to be ‘drowning in pussy,' as Nic liked to say?"

Jackson laughed again. "I mean, I've gotten plenty of ‘pussy,' sure. But high school girls aren't exactly begging to call me sir or anything else."

"Wow, being straight sounds so boring," Cory teased.

"Told you, boy , I'm not straight." Jackson smirked.

"So sorry, sir ." Cory could play too. Flirting was fun!

"You better be."

"How ever can I make it up to you, sir ?"

"Okay, now you're just teasing me."

"Maybe," Cory admitted coyly. "It's fun. Didn't really get to do much flirting with Derek or Nic."

"Well, they're not here now, are they?" Jackson pointed out.

"No. No, they are not."

"So then, how do you want to make it up to me, boy?"

Now the ball was in Cory's court. Not something he was used to. It was just harmless flirting, right? Didn't have to mean anything. Unless he wanted it to. He was the one who got to decide if he wanted to do this or not. And wouldn't it just be awesome if either of those douchebags found out that Cory had already found someone else to fuck… What did he have to lose?

"Why don't you pull into that parking lot coming up and let me show you?"

Jackson did a double-take, not sure he heard Cory correctly, but said nothing as he turned into the grocery store lot, parking under a tree toward the back and cutting off the engine. The two boys sat silently for a moment, neither quite sure about what they were going to do next. Then, still feeling bold, Cory reached across and put his hand on Jackson's crotch. Jackson's breath hitched, but he said nothing, just looked into Cory's eyes, trying to read what was behind them. Cory gently squeezed the growing mound in Jackson's pants, the heavy denim feeling rough in his hands.

"You sure about this?" Jackson asked before letting Cory go any further.

"You want me to stop?"

"No."

"Good." Cory turned in his seat toward Jackson, using his other hand to unbuckle his belt and undo his fly. Jackson's breath hitched again as his cock was squeezed once more, only the thin fabric of his boxers covering him. Once Cory had fished his cock out of his jeans, he bent over and took him into his mouth.

Jackson hissed as he felt the warm mouth engulf him. Instinctively, he put one hand on the back of Cory's head but made no attempts to move him. He felt Cory sucking on him gently as his cock continued to grow to its full length. At a respectable six inches, he wasn't huge, but he wasn't self-conscious about size by any means. If anything, it made stuff like blowjobs much easier.

Cory continued to gently suck until he felt Jackson reach full hardness in his mouth. Then he slowly pulled up before lowering his mouth all the way back down. Time to put those cock-sucking skills to use! And though he'd never say it out loud, he was actually pretty happy to see Jackson wasn't walking around with a giant log in his pants. He could actually deep-throat him without any trouble. It was like his mouth and Jackson's dick were a perfect match.

"Fuck, boy," Jackson hissed as he gripped Cory's hair gently. "You're good at that."

"Fank you, fir," Cory mumbled around the dick in his mouth and continued working.

Jackson adjusted his seat so he could lean farther back, which gave Cory a little more room to maneuver. Pulling off his cock, Cory fished back inside Jackson boxers for his balls, pulling them out as well. After licking his way down Jackson's shaft, Cory nuzzled his face against Jackson's furry sack, taking each one into his mouth and gently rolling them around with his tongue. He felt Jackson grip his hair tighter as he did, and he continued his oral ministrations, switching back and forth between his nuts.

"Careful. Keep playing with my balls, and I won't last very long," Jackson warned.

Well, now Cory had to keep playing with them. He quickly swallowed down his cock, getting it nice and slick for his hand, before diving back onto Jackson's nutsack. Cory stroked his cock steadily, and he licked and sucked on Jackson's balls, hearing the boy above him muttering curses under his breath as he did. Cory smiled, pleased with himself. He could feel Jackson's balls begin to tighten and knew he was getting close.

With his free hand, Jackson gripped his armrest tightly, trying to avoid making too much sound or movement. The parking lot they were in was mostly empty, but that didn't mean they were totally camouflaged. Jackson bit his tongue as he felt himself get closer and closer to cumming, glad that Cory seemed to be able to sense it on his own.

"Fuck. Hope you swallow, boy, because I don't have anything to clean this up with." Jackson gritted as he felt Cory engulf his cock once more, bobbing up and down as he pushed Jackson over the edge.

Cory moaned as he felt and tasted the first shot of cum across his tongue. He felt Jackson's cock pulse with each volley of cum, and he eagerly swallowed it all. Once it felt like Jackson had finished, Cory cleaned him up, pulling the half-hard cock from his mouth with a soft pop as Jackson caught his breath.

"Shit, boy," Jackson breathed. "Wasn't expecting that . Thank you."

"Pleasure was all mine, sir." Cory wiped the spit from his mouth on his sleeve.

"I'll take your word for it." Jackson gave Cory a smile as he tucked himself back into his pants and readjusted his seat.

"I'd say you made up for your teasing earlier." Jackson started the car. "Guess I should get you home now."

"Yeah, I guess so." Cory smiled back sheepishly as Jackson pulled out of the parking lot and headed back toward Cory's apartment.

"That was fun." Cory's smile was a little more confident now. "Maybe we can do that again sometime?"

"Oh, I definitely think we'll be doing that again, boy ." Jackson gave Cory a wink. They were nearing his apartment. "See ya at school tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow, sir." Cory smiled, and with a final wave goodbye, Cory turned and walked toward his door. He felt good. He felt confident. Like he was in control of his life again. He didn't need Derek or Nic in his life to feel good. Fuck those guys.

Jackson watched as Cory walked toward his door and smiled to himself. This went better than he ever could have hoped. He had known it was only a matter of time before whatever was between Cory and his former friends imploded. And Jackson knew he'd be there to pick up the pieces. He'd have to thank them somehow.