Thank you for the input on the last chapter. I'm not totally happy with this chapter, but I can't sit on it forever or then it'll end up like my other long-running story. Please leave me a review if you enjoy this chapter. I love reading them!

I know that was you in the alley last week.

Seth stared at his phone. He blinked a few times, like that was going to make the words on the screen change. Should he play dumb? Should he admit to it? Should he respond at all? He must've had a stunned look on his face because Roman took notice.

"Are you okay, man?" he asked, his mouth stuffed full of pizza.

"Yeah...uh...I just got a reminder text from another student about a paper that's due soon."

"Hey now, you agreed to no schoolwork tonight! Give me that!"

Roman grabbed Seth's phone and tossed it across the room onto Seth's bed. Seth held his breath for a moment, now that his roommate had made up his mind for him. His exhaled slowly and grabbed another slice of pizza, trying to refocus his attention onto the show.

Hours later, Seth lied in bed, staring up at the bottom of Roman's bunk. Bless him, he seemed to always manage to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep. Seth didn't have it so easy. He'd tried to get some work done, but he couldn't concentrate. His mind kept returning to that text. He'd decided to go to bed instead, but sleep was being scared off by that persistent thought.

I know that was you in the alley last week.

Was Dean upset about it? If he was, then why did he try to be Seth's friend first? Why didn't he just confront him about it to begin with? Was he going to be angry now that Seth ignored the text? Would Seth be able to get away with answering it now and just saying that he missed it earlier?

Yeah...yeah that might be able to work.

He sat up and picked his phone up off his desk. He looked at the text again and gulped. Well, here goes nothing.

He hit reply...and then realized he had no idea what he should respond with. The more he thought about what to type, the more anxious he became. Once he broke a sweat over it, he decided to go with what Roman had decided for him. Just ignore it. Roman is a wise man.

Seth stood outside the doors of the hall where Intro to Economics took place. The other students flowed around hIm, not phased by him standing there hesitating to go inside. He knew he had to attend lecture - he wasn't about to fall into that college stereotype of skipping class - but he also knew that Dean was going to be in there and he was afraid of facing him. It had been less than 48 hours since he got the text, but in his head, it felt like ages.

He took a deep breath and was about to push through the doors when he heard his name being called.

"Hey Seth, how's it going?"

He looked beside him and there was Dean, all slicked back and neat…and looking real good in a tailored suit. Seth's eyes widened and he panicked, pushing through the doors quickly and scurrying to his seat.

Class went by without a problem and Seth left the class as quickly as he could, with zero hesitation. Thankfully, Dean had to stay back to answer some students' questions.

Later that night, Seth received another text.

hey are you alright? you looked kinda pale in class.

Seth grit his teeth. He was torn between wanting to answer him back and ignoring him yet again. Torn between the fondness he already felt for him and the panic he had felt that night in the alley. Then there was also the fear of what Dean might do to him if he felt that Seth would make his secret hobby public knowledge. He sighed and didn't bother to answer it.

Thursday should have been stress-free, but Seth walked around constantly looking over his shoulder for Dean. He couldn't decide if he wanted to stay out on campus where he might run into Dean or hide in his dorm room. His dorm room sounded safer at first, but Dean knew where he lived. He worried that Dean might show up to check on him. He really didn't want to come face to face him right now.

Seth breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the auditorium on Friday and Dean wasn't up front with the other TAs. He would make it through class unscathed.

Once class was over, Seth was about to leave the building when he realized that he really needed to take a piss. He looked around for the men's bathroom and went inside. It was empty, so he stood at the urinal and practically moaned at the satisfying feeling of relieving his bladder. He was shaking off his dick when he heard someone clear their throat next to him. When had someone come in?

He slowly turned his head to see Dean leaning against the wall next to him. Seth opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"You seemed to really enjoy that," Dean smiled.

"I...when...how did you...?"

"It's a public bathroom, Seth. I'm allowed to use it. You must've not heard me because you were moaning too loud."

Dean's eyes fell down to Seth's flaccid dick still in his hand, his smile getting wider. Seth panicked and quickly stuffed himself back inside his pants. Dean laughed at how red Seth's face had become.

"Anyway, I was working in Professor Regal's office a few doors down and I saw you walk past, so I went after you. I was wondering if you wanted to grab some wings or something later."

Seth looked hesitant and quickly tried to think of what to say to get out of this easily. The last thing he wanted was to be alone with Dean, here in the bathroom or later for dinner.

"A couple of my friends and I are going out to eat, and I just thought you might be interested."

"Oh…yeah…that sounds great," he said hesitantly.

Then Seth felt himself relax a little. If Dean's friends were going to be there, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Dean wouldn't confront him about the ignored texts and the act of voyeurism while in front of his friends, right? Unless...

...oh fuck, what sort of friends was Dean talking about? What if he was going out with his submissive and it was going to be a double attack? Seth felt his pulse begin to quicken again. Was it too late to back out now? Could he pull a 'no, wait, oops, I forgot I had other plans'...?

"Cool, bro. I'll pick you up at 8," Dean said with a smile.

Dammit. Seth felt obligated now because of that fucking smile. That sly smile made Seth's will power, and knees, weak.

He swallowed and nodded, frozen in front of the urinal. Dean clapped his hand on Seth's shoulder and headed toward the door.

"Don't forget to wash your hands, dude." He winked casually at Seth and chuckled to himself as the door shut behind him.

Seth sat in the booth of Wingnut, "the best wings in the city", as Dean and the sign outside proclaimed. He felt anxious as he looked toward the door, waiting for Dean's friends to show up. They hadn't been there when they arrived, so Dean said he was going to go grab some drinks and a couple orders of wings so everything would he ready for when they got there. That was 15 minutes ago. Seth was now thinking that either Dean's friends were always latecomers, or that Dean had lied to him. He was pretty sure it was the latter.

Dean returned to the table with two Cokes and enough wings for two people.

"Sorry man, I got a text while I was ordering. Some shit came up and they can't make it. Looks like it's just you and me tonight."

Now Seth felt certain that he'd been lied to. He fidgeted in his seat, feeling very uncomfortable about the whole thing.

"Dig in!" Dean said in the midst of chewing on his own spicy wing. "And don't worry, I got you a Diet Coke. I know it's not really healthy, but I thought you'd prefer that to regular."

Some of Seth's worries melted away with how casual and friendly Dean was being. He grabbed some of the chicken and sunk his teeth inside. It was hot and juicy, cooked to perfection. He quickly filled his mouth with as much meat as he could, sighing in contentment.

"So you never answered my texts," Dean began as he wiped his mouth.

Seth almost inhaled the food down the wrong pipe. He hated himself for letting his guard down when this had obviously been Dean's plan.

"These wings are really good..." Seth said as he stuffed another one in his mouth. He knew that Dean wouldn't let him change the subject, as much as he might try. He was just delaying the inevitable.

"I know you only met me a week ago, but I want you to know that you can be honest and open with me. I'm never going to be upset by something you say, as long as it's truthful. I'll get pissed off if you hide something from me."

Seth swallowed his mouthful of chicken and took a sip of soda to wash it down. As much as he'd been dreading this conversation, everything that Dean was saying made sense.

"...And I just want to apologize for probably scaring you with the texts. I should've let you know how I felt."

Seth was taken aback by how open Dean was with expressing his feelings. He'd never really experienced that sort of communication with another guy. Growing up in Iowa, "real men" kept their feelings to themselves. This was...nice.

Seth looked down at his plate as he began to speak.

"I was embarrassed that you'd caught me peeping and I thought that you were upset about it. And I was embarrassed that I'd peeped at all. That's not like me. I'd become lost trying to go back to my dorm and I should've just turned around and left, but...it was like a car crash and I couldn't look away."

Dean laughed at Seth's admission. Seth slid down in his seat and covered his face with his hands.

"You really are a little puppy," Dean smiled. "You are so fucking cute."

Seth peeked from behind his hand and slowly sat back up in the booth.

"So you're not mad that I watched you and your...friend?"

"No, man. We wouldn't have done anything outside if we hadn't sorta wanted to get caught. The fear is exhilarating and I'm known to have a bit of an exhibitionist side."

"Are you like...a pervert? A sex freak?" Seth asked quietly.

"I guess you could say that," Dean laughed. "But is that a bad thing?"

"Well..." Seth hesitated, trying to balance the morals he'd been raised to follow with not wanting to offend his new friend.

"You we're probably taught that it is. Most people are. But sex is beautiful. I don't let other people's judgement get me down because I enjoy what I choose to do with my body and what others choose to do with me."

Seth was taken aback with how open and honest Dean was talking about this.

"Also...it seems like you might be a little bit of a freak too, hmm?"

Seth opened his mouth to protest, but closed it before he spoke. Was he? He could've left that night, but he stayed and watched. He stayed until Dean finished. He didn't leave when it looked like he was abusing the other person. He didn't even leave when Dean first acknowledged him.

And then there was that detail about how he masturbated to the memory of it later that night. Dean could never know about that.

"I got you thinking about it a little, didn't I?" Dean grinned impishly.

"...Maybe. I didn't hate it..." The pink that appeared in Seth's face was more confirmation for Dean than his words.

"That's part of the reason I brought you out tonight. I hold parties once a month and I have one this Saturday night. I was wondering if you might be interested?"

"Oh, I don't have time for social events. I need to study."

"Trust me, Seth, you'll have plenty of time to study this weekend. Your schoolwork is important, but taking some time for yourself is just as important. It doesn't start till about 9 anyway, so you'll have the whole day. I'd love for you to be there."

Seth tried to hold in the happiness he felt when Dean said that. His stomach filled with butterflies. He really liked this guy, as much as he might want to deny it.

"Okay. I'll go," he said quietly, trying to hide his smile.

Seth stood outside the house that Dean rented. He was hesitant to approach the door, and his anxiety had manifested itself in his inability to decide whether to keep his hands inside or outside of his pockets. The house was ridiculously easy to get to. There was a bus stop right across the street. Seth could conveniently hop back on the next bus headed back to campus and put this whole thing behind him. If he did, though, he knew he wouldn't be able to look Dean in the eyes again without feeing guilty.

Seth couldn't see into the windows since all the curtains were closed, but he could see the pale lighting inside. He could hear the bass of the music playing as it reverberated through the walls. From the outside, at least, this certainly seemed to Seth like how he imagined a college party to be.

He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. It was now or never. He knocked on the door and waited, hoping that someone would hear him through the music. He waited for about a minute before the door opened. A cute woman with jet black hair, in her late twenties, stood before him. She looked at him curiously for a moment before she spoke.

"Seth?"

Seth was so nervous that he found himself at a loss for words, so he simply nodded.

"Oh good! Dean said that you'd be coming tonight."

She stepped aside to let him in and closed the door behind him. Seth found himself standing in a medium-sized kitchen with a small table and some chairs. There were snacks, several bottles of beer, and a tray of shots with a note that read potent. Seth decided that he was going to avoid those ones.

"Do you have any belongings that you'd like me to keep in the kitchen closet?"

Seth shook his head no.

"A man of few words. I like that! Help yourself to the snacks and drinks, the living room is right through that door, and the rooms upstairs are available, but just make sure you sign the sheet before you go up so we can keep track of who's been in. You know, in case something is stolen or the room is trashed, we can hunt you down."

She giggled at her last comment, like the thought of hunting someone down excited her. It did not help Seth's feeling of anxiety. Still, he headed through the door into the living room.

There was roughly thirty people there, Seth estimated, and many were paired off throughout the room, having conversations. He had no idea how anyone would be able to have any meaningful conversation with this loud music playing. He wasn't sure why it was on in the first place. No one was dancing.

He spotted Dean across the room and made a beeline toward him.

"Hey! You came!" Dean exclaimed once he saw Seth approaching him.

He pulled Seth into a hug and it took him by surprise. Dean had been friendly with him, but never this friendly. It made the butterflies in Seth stomach get rowdier.

"Y-yeah. I was nervous, but you were right. I do need to have some social time and relax a bit."

"I'm glad you're beginning to take my advice. Here, let me introduce you to some people."

Dean took Seth's hand and led him around the room. Seth was suddenly thankful for the loud music because it hid the quiet whine he made when Dean's fingers touched his. He politely said hello to all of Dean's friends even though he desperately wanted to hide in a corner. The new people felt intimidating since they looked so comfortable in their surroundings and Seth felt like a baby deer walking for the first time. He had never attended any parties back in high school.

Finally, Dean brought Seth over to a sectional couch over in the corner of the room. There were a few of people over there already, and Seth ended up sandwiched in between Dean and the wall.

"Hey Amanda!" Dean called out toward the kitchen. The woman who had greeted him at the door peeked her head out and looked over at them. "Can you bring us two beers, babe?"

The young woman nodded, disappeared, and then returned to view as she crossed the living room floor. Dean took both bottles from her and then turned toward Seth.

"Here you go, man. You need to loosen up a little. It's like I can hear your ass cheeks clenching."

Dean popped open his beer and took a long swig back. Seth looked down at the cap and pursed his lips.

"Umm…could you open it up for me, Dean?"

Dean stared at Seth, blinking. Seth felt his cheeks burning at the embarrassment.

"Sure thing, little puppy," he said with a laugh.

Seth wasn't sure how he felt about Dean's nickname for him. It made him feel small and weak. It also made him feel like Dean saw him as a little brother to be cared for and protected, rather than a friend or…possibly something more.

Seth took a sip of the now open bottle. He wanted to make a face, as he wasn't fond of the taste, but he resisted because he didn't want to give Dean another reason to not see him as a peer. He sighed quietly and looked around the room. What was he even doing here? Really, he only came because he wanted to get closer to Dean, but this wasn't really the kind of close he was hoping for…

Moments later, two young women entered from the kitchen. One of the women had brown hair, and the other had bright orange hair that made Seth's attention shoot directly to her. Dean cleared his throat, causing Seth to realize that he'd been caught staring.

"See something you like over there?" Dean smirked. "Come on, let's go meet them."

Dean grabbed Seth's hand again and dragged him across the room. He started to protest, but his mouth clamped shut once he found himself in front of the women.

"Hey beautiful, thanks for coming," Dean greeted the brunette. "This is my friend Seth and he was wondering if he could get to know your friend here. In the meantime, you and I…"

Dean then leaned in towards the first woman and whispered something inaudible into her ear. All Seth knew is that it made the woman bite her lip and nod quickly. Dean slipped his arm around her and the two of them walked away towards the staircase. He didn't even excuse himself from the situation. It left a bitter taste in Seth's mouth.

Seth turned back to the orange-haired woman and smiled weakly. She didn't look too enthused herself.

"Uh, my name's Seth. I'm sorry for my friend."

"The name's Becky, and my friend ain't much better." She tilted her head to the side and stared hard at Seth. "You look really familiar."

"I do?"

"You live in Emerson, don't you? Room 315?"

Seth nodded. "How do you know that? Have you been stalking me?"

"No, you dope! I live down the hall in 303. I've seen you pass my room." She sighed and pointed over to the wall. "Well, you wanna go sit down? I might as well talk with you to make the time go by faster."

"So I'm guessing your friend dragged you here reluctantly?" Seth asked once they were seated.

"Yeah. She met that other guy, your friend, on some hook-up site last night, and he invited her here. That sounded sketchy as fuck, so she asked me to come along in case things go wrong and I have to bust some heads in."

She cracked her knuckles and Seth knew she was serious.

"I don't trust those hook-up apps," Becky continued. "If I decide to fuck someone, it's going to be after I meet them, not before. Know what I mean?"

Seth nodded and took another sip of the beer.

"So now that I've met you, wanna hook-up?"

Seth swallowed the beer quickly and coughed. "What?"

"Look, if I have to be here, I might as well have a little fun and you're cute. So how about it?"

Seth looked at her and her eyes told him she was dead serious. She was really hot, too. College was supposed to be about sexual experimentation and freedom, right? Seth hadn't even kissed another woman since he and his girlfriend broke up. He felt nervous, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Dean had abandoned him for a quick lay, so why should he feel guilty about doing the same? It was better than brooding down here around all of the people he didn't know.

"Yes. Yes I would like to."

Becky laughed as she stood up, reaching her hand down to Seth. "You are such a nerd," she laughed. "But I like that."

She signed her name on the sheet by the stairs and handed the pen to Seth. "I'll meet you up there, cutie." She flashed a sly grin and headed up the stairs. Seth watched the way her legs and ass moved as she took each step, and he noticed that his cock was beginning to twitch. He swallowed hard and bit his lip. He finally scribbled his name down and went up the stairs.

When he reached the top, Becky wasn't to be seen. She must been in a room already, Seth thought. He couldn't tell which room, though, because there were two on either side of the hallway. He noticed one was open a crack and he figured that was most likely the one that she was in. He approached the door and was able to hear the voices of the people inside.

"You pathetic slut, this is what you fucking deserve. This is all you're good for."

It was Dean's voice...and it cut over the muffled cries of a female.

Seth's brow furrowed and he pushed the door open a little more and peeked inside. He could see Dean's pants around his knees as he roughly thrust into the woman from down stairs. That, he expected. What he didn't expect was to see the woman's hands tied behind her back, a gag in her mouth, red marks all over her legs, and tears streaming down her face, all while Dean's hand was wrapped around her throat.