Been busy lately, but I'm back now. Here's a new chapter and there's going to be some fun soon. Please comment and let me know what you think. ;)
Tucker was surprised when he saw Danny walking up to him when he was by his locker alone on Friday morning. It had finally turned Northern Midwest cold, so Tucker was spending his time unfurling scarves and removing the ridiculous layers of clothing necessary to survive out there. The night before, a hard frost settled in and a brief flurry swept through town leaving a dusting of snow on all the surfaces. Tucker could handle the cold once he got used to it, but the first week or two of the hard cold always brutalized him. At least, it was Friday, so he would be able to stay inside all weekend in the warmth. Tucker was embarrassed when his coat zipper got stuck.
Danny was there at least. "Let me help you with that," Danny said as he quickly freed the zipper and allowed Tucker to get free.
Taking off his coat, Tucker thanked Danny for the help.
"Well," Danny started, "I was coming here to ask you for some hello with something. You're the only one who can do it…" Danny said, starting to blush as he thought of the implications of his requests. Danny only hoped that Tucker would not put it together the same way he did. Taking the time to think it through, Danny worded the question honestly but without revealing too much. He buttered Tucker up too.
"Yeah," Tucker asked, knowing that this was probably the first step to really repairing his relationship with Danny. "Sure, what is it?"
Danny started, speaking slowly and lowly so that no one would hear him in the hallway, "I know you're a great computer whiz and a better hacker, so I have a job for you. I'll pay you for it too…"
"Pay me?" Tucker asked surprised by the offer and a bit dismayed that Danny was still dealing with him in collegial terms rather than friendly one, "You don't have to do that."
"Well, you don't know what the ask is yet. Could you get me Dash's internet history?" Danny asked.
"What?" Tucker asked. Then he thought of what Danny could possibly want, "You don't think he's cheating on you, do you?"
"What?" Danny asked, "No, no, no. It's nothing like that?"
"Then what is it?" Tucker asked.
"It's his birthday next week and I just want to make sure that I got the right sort of present in mind." Danny said, half lying. There was a material good involved, but also a service. "If you could do it quickly..."
"Oh," Tucker said, not thinking on it any further. "And that's very easy to do, give me twenty minutes and I'll email it all to you."
"Thanks."
"Uh, Danny?" Tucker started as they walked to the cafeteria, to kill the forty-five minutes before he first bell rang for the day. "I don't usually like discussing this stuff at school, but nothing I say will give away any information."
"Sure," Danny shrugged, knowing they could speak freely because they were at the bottom of the totem pole anyway and what they said did not matter to the school. That fact, of course still worked very much to his advantage, tactically and socially "What's up? Nothing bad I hope."
"That's just it." Tucker started to explain, as he was working on Danny's request from his smartphone and PDA (yes, Tucker needed and demanded both). "Nothing has been up for the past few months. When Sam and I weren't you know , I realized that not even once did we have to drop anything for any ghost attacks. I mean maybe the Box Ghost a time or two, but we all he isn't a problem."
"I know, Tucker," Danny said as they walked into the cafeteria, now using initials to mask themselves a bit, and make people think they were talking about a cartoon rather than life and death "My dad's concerned about it too. Something is brewing in GZ (Ghost Zone). And whatever it is, we have to be prepared. Tomorrow, I want you and Sam at the place for training together with D(ash). I'm sure that you two have gotten rusty.
"Yeah," Tucker said, regretting it. "Is he any good at it, at least? He might be good at getting that ball in the endzone, but-"
"Yes he is," Danny said. "And I'm actually saying this objectively.I can show you the test scores. He uses some of his football skills. The strength, the speed, and the agility he has helps him with the physical forms and techniques with ghost fighting. And when it comes to the scientific and academic stuff he gets it. He says it's systematic and logical... just like football. Go figure."
"So he's passed all the tests?" Tucker asked.
"Yes." Danny answered, quite pleased with the whole situation, "Flying colors."
"In this short amount of time? Tucker asked surprised, "I'm impressed… well more impressed. I was speechless when he started speaking a couple of different languages the other day."
"Can't judge a book by its cover," Danny said.
"Who you telling?" Tucker asked. "Well, I'm not going to reveal too much, but Sam's a different story from the cover, if you catch my drift. When it comes down to business, she's not a goth any more, but a real girly girl." Tucker shrugged, "I'm not saying this right, but I guess when people are at their most vulnerable and intimate, all the pretense falls away…:
"Trust me, I understand that, in a romantic way. The cover has been changing on the outside though. In Sam's case, I mean." Danny noted, "Seems like she's getting rid of the goth thing. I only say that because last time she wasn't wearing the makeup, and her clothes are getting less extreme. I actually saw some pink on her that wasn't compulsory from her parents. I'm not going to say that she's going to turn into a housewife, or a- but she has been becoming more 'normal', I guess."
"Well, Danny," Tucker started, "she told me the whole thing felt like an act after you helped us with our little crisis, or I guess crises . She said goth was all about cool detachment for her. She could step out of her life and let everything wash over her, so that she didn't have to feel anything. But now, with all that had happened to us, she didn't have the choice not to feel anythin-"
"And I didn't like feeling anything so strongly either." Sam almost by magic appeared by them and sat down next to Tucker. Danny shuddered, surprised that she could sneak up on him, but relaxed as he listened to her, "Or at least I didn't know what to do with the emotions. When you shut yourself off for so long, the tiniest drop out of the faucet feels like a fucking flood. So, when I was mad at you, I was panicking inside because I really didn't know what to do with what I felt. So, I tried to yell it away, exercise it away, sex it away. I tried anything I could to make it go away."
"A none of that works." Danny said. "I've learned and I guess Dash has taught me in a certain way that you have to just let yourself feel the emotions because you'll always come through fine on the other side. Even if the feeling is hell to go through. It's funny, but I think I taught him that too. He's understanding the strength in yielding to his emotions and mastering them."
"Well, I'm sorry," Sam finally said it unreservedly, "I was a bitch and an ass."
"It's fine, Sam." Danny said, "Water under the bridge."
"Thank you." Sam finally seemed to get back to normal.
Danny started again to clue her into what she missed "Tucker and I were discussing that we need to get the two of you back into training. I'm sure that the skills are just like riding a bicycle. You might get rusty, but you'll never forget completely. Dash has almost finished up and I think he'll make a good addition to the team. If and when the next emergency happens, all the ghosts see four when they used to see three."
"I have to admit this." Sam started. "I'm starting to like him a bit. He's not the complete asshole that he let on all those years. And he's smart too."
"I don't associate with stupid people." Danny chuckled.
"And I trust your judgment." Tucker added.
"So…" Danny started and turned to Tucker. "How's that going over there?"
"Easier than I thought it would be." Tucker said, "I have his bookmarks here. I'm not looking at any of it. I'm just sending it as a folder. And here comes the internet history. The most recent clicks are at the top of the list. Here's the bookmarks…" Tucker was attaching the documents to the email, "And here's the internet history."
"What are you talking about?"
"Tucker is just helping me with my plan to get Dash the perfect birthday present."
"When is his birthday?" Sam asked.
"The tenth, next Friday, so I have to plan something big for him."
"Well," Sam started, "He's a 'meat and potatoes' sort of guy. So get something simple for him. Maybe a signed football. What's his favorite team?"
"His parents have that covered already with the football related present for Christmas probably." Danny said. "He already overheard them talking about it."
"Well," Sam said aloud, "Whatever you have in mind… I'm sure he'll love it."
"I'll be fine, mom." Dash hugged his mother that Sunday evening, November 5th, as his parents were standing on the doorstep. She was reaching up to squeeze him and kiss him like this was the last time she would see him. He knew that they would come back as they always did. Considering how he felt about his parents and how they would feel about him if they knew what he'd get up to in their absence, any time spent away from them was time well spent. He loved them, but the affection sprang from duty, not true feeling.
"It's just that we don't usually go away for this long. And we don't usually go this far away."
"The boy will be fine." His father said. "Besides it's gonna be his birthday on Friday. The last thing the boy wants is for his folks to be in town while he's celebrating it. Isn't it, Dash?"
Dash had to nod in agreement, "I'll be fine, mom."
"You promise that you're not upset?" His mom asked him.
"No," Dash answered earnestly, "I'm not upset. I'll see you in a few weeks. Enjoy England."
"Well she will, but I'll be trapped in that damn city, driving on the wrong side of the road listening to all those fruity, stuck-up, condescending-"
"Don't blow a gasket, Dad." Dash made a calming gesture with his hands, "We don't want you dropping dead right now." (Let's be honest. That statement was only half true. Which half, I leave to your discernment.)
"I'll try not to son, but the fact that I might get held over there for Thanksgiving and miss…" His voice started to grow tense and bitter. "I wanna be home and have a fucking turkey leg. Is that too much to fucking ask? That an American be home for a major holiday?"
"Charles," his mother grabbed her husband's arm. "Don't worry about it." She turned her attention back to her son, "And I'll make sure to take all the pictures I can while I'm in Belgium."
"Just not that Manneken Pis thing. I don't understand why that's considered art. It's just gross, ick . All the Flemish primitives and the mountains and all the cool stuff only. Mom." Dash said. "And stay away from the dikes, Mom." Dash made a joke.
"Fine." She said, chuckling at his joke and giving him a hug. "I will. We'll be back in a few weeks. Make sure the house doesn't burn down. And no parties. And no girls over. And don't forget to wear protection." She squeezed him tightly as she always did before she left.
"Don't worry," his father assured her, "He's a Baxter. He knows what to do when the time comes. Come one, we don't want to miss our flight . That's not a short drive to Chicago. Come, Mom, I'll be fine. Have a good time and come back in one piece."
...
Meanwhile, across town, Danny had finally gotten enough time alone to sit and examine Dash's internet history. The house was empty. His parents were out on another. ghost expedition, Jazz was out with Kwan at a museum exhibition about postmodern Soviet artistic esoterica, whatever that meant. It left him with enough time and space to look through it all, link by link, click by ever-quickening click.
Danny was thoroughly pleased to find that Dash's bookmarks, and history-including the so called incognito mode-befitted that of a normal gay teen. In other words it was porn… porn… porn.
And did I mention the porn.
Danny could deduce from the collection that the computer he used was his and his alone. That would be the only reason Dash would be comfortable enough to use leave the evidence so clearly open. Danny wouldn't be surprised if Dash had… well… a Dash Stash. From what Danny could see in the listings, he could get a great understanding of what, besides him of course, got his boyfriend hot and bothered. He was thankful that what he needed to but to turn Dash's head was cheap. In fact, Danny was going to purchase multiple items of this sort in a vast array of colors and shapes. Then, Danny looked at and examined thoroughly the positions Dash favored from the videos he perused every afternoon they were not together.
"Ooh," Danny said, taking a mental note of a folder that Dash had in his bookmarks labeled "FF". Danny was absolutely delighted to find this folder and did a little shimmy when the initials he thought up turned out to be true. "Looks like we have another thing in common. No wonder you liked what happened in that restaurant, sexy." Danny then proceeded to look down at the correct area of his body. He took care of his entire body, so the correct place(s) was in proper shape.
Another folder called "J&T". It had the most links in it by far from all sorts of competing sites, all mainstream and recognizable as hubs for porn and repositories of X(rated) videos. It was filled up with people who resembled the two of them. A blond jock and a brunette or black-haired twink in a sort of athletic setting, a gym, a locker room, a sauna or an occasional bedroom or bathroom. In about eighty percent of the videos, the blond jock was the top and fucked the twink with 'moderate' to 'rough' thrusting action with rhythmic grinding on the part of the receptive partner. (Again, Danny was being scientific, measuring the rhythm of the stoke, the torque of the action, et cetera.) The other twenty percent involved the jock taking it from the twink character and getting up to the same activity. It all followed the same formula: a terribly written and acted out dialogue, the initial peck on the lips which turned into French kissing, then the bottom would rub the top's bulge, kneel, and get to work. Those acts would continue for a ridiculous amount of time through the use of camera tricks, splicing, and talent. Then, the salami being properly greased, it would be inserted into the appropriate place. Sometimes there would be some 69ing or disgust insertion to prepare the boipussy, prison pocket, or whatever you like to call it ;).
Again, that special twenty percent where the one like him was doing the work intrigued Danny and whetted his appetite. That made Danny wonder if one out of every five times they got together, he would be taking the lead. He had always thought of himself as only wanting to be the passive partner, but he could see the advantages in reversing every once in a while. Reminiscing over their conversations, especially the spicy ones, Danny did remember that Dash had, even if fleetingly, referenced being underneath Danny. It surprised Danny that such a muscular guy would even come close to desiring that, but all that meant was that Dash was really, really gay. The sex would not be about power as much as it was about love and pleasure and connectedness. Simply put, Dash needed a man to pleasure him; a woman couldn't do that.
Another folder was labeled "SB". And from this folder, it appeared that Dash had methodically found just about every brunette and black-haired smooth eighteen year old he could find. And they were all getting up to naughtiness all by themselves. Some only had their hands, some had some toys at their disposal, other's too had toys that were controlled by people's donations. In a few, they had a helping hand from-you guessed it- a blond jock giving a helping hand. All of them were amateurs, and Danny could see a piece in himself in each of them. Dash had a type, and Danny fit the bill.
On Tuesday morning, Danny looked all over and finally found Kwan alone by his locker. Danny was a bit relieved because Kwan was the last person with whom he needed to speak. For Danny's plan to work, he would need Kwan to do a little distracting on Thursday evening. The jock was looking into his locker, so he did not see Danny approaching the
"Uh, Kwan." Danny tapped the jock's shoulder.
"Oh," Kwan turned around, "Hey, what's up?"
"I'm fine," Kwan said turning and leaning on the lockers. "Is there something wrong? Is Jazz o-."
"No, no, no, Kwan, she's fine." Danny answered. "And she's happy with you which makes me very happy."
"So," Kwan started politely. "What can I do for you?"
"Do you have anything planned for Dash on Thursday night? He's lucky. He gets his birthday off as the first day in a three day weekend. So I want to surprise him at midnight at his house.
"Well," Kwan began, shrugging, "I was going to take him to Hooters."
"Hooters?" Danny's nose scrunched up his nose. "Why there?"
"Honestly." Kwan shrugged and said, "He likes the wings. He couldn't care less about the main attraction of that place, the reason I would go to that place. He could be served by robots for all he cared, so long as he gets the wings. And he gets plenty of things on the side because the girls are so attracted to him."
"Fair enough." Danny said, putting some fears to rest, "So do you think you can arrange it for Dash to get back to his place at say 12:00 or 12:15."
"That's doable," Kwan said, "And I won't tell him. I'll just insist that we go out later than I originally planned.
"Thanks." Danny said, and started walking away, "I appreciate the help."
"Wait." Kwan thought of something.
Danny turned around and went back, "What is it?"
"Well," Kwan said looking around. "I was thinking. My family is going on a ski trip over the Christmas break. I talked it over with my parents, and they think it's okay for your sister to come."
"Great." Danny answered. "Have fun."
"Well that's just it." Kwan said, "Would she like skiing, and do you think your parents would let her go on a trip?"
"Yes to the first one." Danny started, "She just as athletic as she is smart."
"Yeah…" Kwan said dreamily as her face appeared in his imagination. Then her nude 'athleticism' came to his mind for a bit, not that he had ever seen it. (She was to modest for him to have seen so soon.) Then he snapped out of it when he realized he was talking to her brother. Kwan was talked and more muscular than he, but the jock suspected that Danny could probably kick his ass. Kwan did not know what exactly gave him that impression, but he knew anyone who could tame Dash probably possessed more power than he cared to ponder. So, to put everything right, Kwan stood up, cleared his throat and asked. "How about the second part?"
"That would be up to my mother." Danny answered. "Jazz already told me that my Dad ghost tested you."
"Don't worry about it. The bruises are gone." Kwan answered, scratching the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry about that." Danny grimaced.
"How'd you manage to get Dash out of being 'examined'?"
"Well, I told my Dad that he had already been 'put to question' so to speak. I made up some results, and Dad cleared him no problem. You were too bold, trying to actually be a man and go to the door." Danny chuckled.
"Fine." Kwan laughed it off, "But I was taught honesty was the best policy, and being dishonest and sneaking around is wrong. I guess now I have some battle scars for my principles."
"Women are supposed to like battle scars. And my sister would appreciate the principled ones. I know they don't hurt any less, but the knowledge of that should…"
"Help." Kwan finished. "I guess it does help." Changing subject, Kwan continued, "So what is this surprise you're planning for my friend?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Danny lied because it was the opposite of nothing for him.
"Gotcha." Kwan seemed to get it, so he bent to Danny's ear and whispered into it, "Just… and I know this sounds terrible, but make sure he feels like he's not forcing you. He still feels a sense of guilt about the way the two of you used to be, homoeroticism and all." Kwan backed up and spoke more freely, "He doesn't ever want to feel like he's taking something."
"I understand." Danny nodded in agreement. "And the way I have it planned out in my mind, he'll know it's a gift. I will be giving him something special."
"And another thing," Kwan whispered again to him, "And I do love him as my brother and friend, but can you find a way to get him to not talk about you two so much. I mean, I know he wants people to know about it and how happy he truly is, but I also know that you want some discretion too."
"Of course." Danny answered agreeing, reveling privately in the fact that he was the center of Dash's world.
"But there's only so much I guy wants to hear about a friend's relationships, especially a straight guy like me. It's not that it's you two, but if I hear your name said all dreamily-like again, I'm gonna scream."
"Fair enough," Danny said, still chuckling.
"You think you might be able to find him some gay guys to discuss this with?" Kwan continued. "Then he'll have someone who can discuss all the details without you know…"
"That's called competition, Kwan." Danny laughed, be he was serious. "And I don't know if Dash told you, but I…"
"Well all the Fenton's have a fiery fierceness to them." Kwan backed up, "I haven't said anything stupid yet to Jazz, but I've come close. And when I may be going astray, she sends that look that could sink a fleet of ships."
"I have one piece of advice. My sister is slow to anger. She is patient, loving, empathetic, and kind, but when you puss her off, oh my God. Just find shelter and wait for the storm to subside. I can also say that she can't get angry with you. She likes you a lot."
"I like her a lot too." Kwan answered.
"So she'd love to go skiing or anything with you. You should come to my house and meet my mother. Let's our parents talk to each other, and I'm sure my mother would permit it. And my mom can keep a secret."
"Thanks." Kwan said, "And Danny?"
"Yeah?"
Kwan whispered a final time. "Have fun on Friday. I know he will."
"Thanks." Danny only managed to blush as he walked away.
