The Magic Shop

Epilogue I

Author’s Note: First off, I want to thank all of the readers of my branch of this story for following it to the end. It has been such a fun experience to let my imagination roam free and complete a CYOC story arc to its conclusion. I’ve always wanted to do it, ever since I started lurking here many years ago, but never had the motivation do so until I read the early part of this story. I want to thank the original authors of this story for giving me the inspiration to delve into this world of Freddy and Michael. The stories intrigued me immensely when I first read them and I waited on pins and needles for the following chapters to be posted. One night, almost a month ago, the story that you have been reading up until this point came to me in a dream. I have never had an experience quite like it before. It prompted me to branch off from the original chapters and add my own twist to the story.

The first few days I began typing up this branch of the story, I was writing up a storm, posting six to eight chapters a day. I was extremely inspired to write. However, like with most people, life and time commitments kept me away from posting more regularly. I am happy to say that I was able to wrap this up in less than thirty days. This might be the most I’ve ever written in such a short period of time. It’s really an unbelievable feat that I am extremely proud of. Though the story didn’t quite end up exactly as I originally saw it in my dream that night, I can say that I’m happy with how it turned out, for the most part.

Though I made some changes to the story that the original author probably took note of, such as changing of the name of “Freddie” to “Freddy” (that was a typo in the first chapter I wrote, which I just never bothered to correct), I tried to keep in the spirit of the first few preceding chapters as much as possible. Although the original author may eventually branch their own stories from the spot I took over from, I hope that they enjoyed my interpretation of the characters and plot. I did notice that they gave Freddy’s family the last name “Benson” after I did, so clearly they’ve read at least some of the chapters I’ve written.

This epilogue will not have any options to go in a different direction, as I feel that the loose ends need to be tied up a certain way. If you’ve read this story up until this point, then it’s best to just follow it to its rightful conclusion. This will probably be the longest chapter I have written up until this point, so that’s why it’s taken me a number of days to post this. I’ve also left the option open to write a continuing arc of this story, which I will not be composing in the near future. Maybe, in some distant time from now, I will eventually do it, but for the moment, I will leave the story’s conclusion here with this final submission.

Without further ado, here is the epilogue to Freddy and Michael’s harrowing adventure.


————


In the magical world, the news came quickly that Victor Roskovich, one of the most successful fugitives of all time, had finally been apprehended by the police. Many could not believe that this had actually occurred, as it seemed that he would allude capture forever. The trial became a major event, as sordid details of his past, the identity of his mysterious boss and sworn testimony from his daughter, Sofya, brought an unanimous conviction upon him. The sentence handed down was two thousand years or life in prison, whichever came first.

There were many preparations made to insure that Victor would be safely secured, but because his capture came so quickly, not much time was spent fortifying the facility. Hoping that he would stay imprisoned, Victor would be in a high security, isolated cell where he would be monitored 24 hours a day. This was the best they could do for now, until they had time to prepare stronger measures to insure that he would not escape.

While this was going on, Monday morning quietly came upon the town where all of the commotion took place just hours before. When Freddy arrived at his home earlier in the morning, his parents, not expecting such a late night visitor, were startled to see him standing in their front door, grinning from ear to ear. They hugged them tightly, ignoring his rancid smell, as they brought him inside to take a shower and go to bed. Michael had made his way home while Freddy went inside, trying to sneak in to his own home avoid his parents detection. By some miracle, he was able to get inside and head upstairs without arousing them from their slumber. Quietly, he stripped off his soiled clothes, took a long overdue shower and then headed to bed, falling into a deep sleep.

When the sun peeked into Freddy’s bedroom, it woke him up, despite feeling groggy. He turned to look at his his alarm clock to see that it was only 7 AM. He thought about going back to sleep, but decided that he didn’t want to miss track and field practice today, so he planned on going to school. After showering again, shaving his two day stubble and getting dressed, Freddy went down for breakfast in the kitchen. His parents, sitting at the table, did not expect him to be up so early.

“Freddy” his mother cautiously said to him. “How come you’re up so early? You didn’t really get a lot of sleep last night.”

“I know, mom” Freddy replied while he yawned, as he sat down to eat some food he had served himself from some pans onto a plate. “I just figured that, with this curse finally broken, I might as well start getting back into a normal routine.”

“You know son” his father said, as he read the newspaper. “You could take off today to catch up on your sleep. You could always start school again tomorrow.”

“I know, but I already promised my teammates that I’d be at practice this week and I don’t want to blow them off right before the state championships.”

“Suit yourself.”

Freddy’s father continued to read the newspaper, as his mother looked at him warily. Freddy drank some coffee, which served as a much needed pick me up. Finally, after was done eating and drank a second cup of coffee, he placed his dishes in the sink and began to gather his books and bag to head to school.

“Sure you don’t need a lift?” his father asked, not putting down the newspaper.

“Positive” Freddy replied, as he opened the front door. “I could use the fresh air and the opportunity to clear my head. I have a lot of things to think about.”

Freddy’s father grumbled, as he continued reading the paper. His mother looked at him warily, as he walked out the door.

“I hope he’s making the right decision” she thought to herself. “Can’t see how he’s going to learn anything having only gotten five or so hours of sleep.”

Freddy began to walk towards school, as he used the alone time to think about the events of the last week. In the period of just seven days, he discovered a magic shop, possessed a magical ring, turned into a dog multiple times, bred female dogs, unsuccessfully evaded the advances of a teenage slut, fucked Michael anally in dog form, took on a powerful wizard and nearly died after being shot in the stomach. Such events on their own would traumatize almost anyone, but the combination of them, especially taking place over such a short period of time, was incredibly scarring. It would have long term mental repercussions, especially if such events were to occur again in the future.

“I don’t really know if the curse is actually broken yet” Freddy thought to himself. “I didn’t dog out when my erection poked at Michael last night, but we didn’t try to have sex either, so I don’t know for sure whether we really broke it or not.”

Knowing he wanted to test this out later, Freddy continued walking, before hearing a voice calling to him.

“Freddy!”

Freddy turned around to see Michael running towards him. He beamed from ear to ear, as the two boys embraced and began to passionately make out with each other.

“Hi Michael” Freddy said when he pulled back from the embrace, as he smiled widely. “How are you doing this morning?”

“I should be asking that of you” Michael replied. “You nearly died last night. It’s a miracle that you’re still alive.”

“Well…”

Freddy paused for a moment, as Michael looked at him nervously.

“I guess” he continued “considering what I’ve dealt with this past week, I’m fine.”

“Any pain or problems this morning?” Michael asked.

“Not that I can think of.”

Freddy lifted up as his shirt for a moment, as Michael ogled at it sexually. Freddy smiled, before he pulled down his shirt.

“I appreciate that you like what you see” Freddy said lustily. “However, I was just checking to see if I had any scars on my stomach. It’s like I never got shot.”

“I know” Michael replied, in a tone which suggested disbelief. “It’s amazing how there isn’t even a trace of scarring. It’s like it never happened.”

“Must have been some sort of magic. Maybe the old man had something to do with it.”

“Maybe….”

Freddy extended his hand to Michael, which he grabbed in return.

“Let’s get going” Freddy said, as Michael looked to him and nodded. “We don’t want to be late for school.”

The two boys continued to walk, as Michael felt the urge to press Freddy for more information.

“Did your parents make you go to school today?” he asked.

“No” Freddy replied. “I kind of insisted on going today.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I promised the track and field team that I’d be there for practice today. I bailed on them last week and I feel I owe it to them with the state championships coming up soon.”

“Freddy.”

Michael stopped walking, as Freddy paused his movements and eyed him curiously.

“Haven’t you learned anything from this experience?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Freddy replied with a frown.

“Those guys are jerks. They said all sorts of horrible things about you behind your back and they aren’t very good friends to you. Maybe you should consider hanging out with a different group of people.”

“Michael.”

Freddy put his hands to Michael’s shoulders, motioning him to look him directly in the eyes.

“I admit” he continued. “Some of those guys are jerk offs, but in all fairness, most of those other guys were from other sports teams. The guys on the track and field team aren’t like that.”

“Yes they are, Freddy. Daniel is the biggest jerk of them all and…”

“Well what about Duane?”

Michael paused for a moment, as Freddy stared at him intensely.

“He stood up for me when the other guys wouldn’t” Freddy continued. “He’s a good guy, Michael. Even if you may not like him, you have to admit, he is a good guy.”

“I don’t know” Michael mumbled.

“And the other guys on the team aren’t like Daniel. He’s the one who instigates all the bullying. I guess it’s just peer pressure that made everyone else go along with it, but if I’ve learned anything from this situation, is that I have to stomp it out at its earliest signs.”

“But it wasn’t just Daniel, Freddy. You heard what he said. Duane said bad things about you too.”

Freddy paused for a moment, as Michael looked him sternly. The realization of what was said hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Aren’t you curious about what Duane has been saying about you behind your back?” Michael asked.

“Yeah” Freddy muttered out in reply.

“So he may not be such a good guy after all.”

“Well, I could always confront him about it.”

“Freddy.”

Michael looked at Freddy sternly. Freddy looked down at the ground, feeling embarrassed by the way Michael was speaking to him.

“If you do that” Michael pressed on “you could expose the fact that we were spying on them and that you were a dog. We can’t risk other people finding out what really happened with us in the last week. Daniel already found out that you weren’t really sick, so he’s probably going to blab about it to the coach of your team.”

The truth of what Michael was saying hit Freddy like a ton of bricks.

“He’s absolutely right” Freddy thought to himself. “Daniel already knows that I wasn’t really sick, so he may go blabbing to the coach today. What do I do?”

“Freddy” Michael called to him quietly.

Freddy snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Michael nervously. Michael could see a tear form in Freddy’s eye, before he let out a sympathetic sigh.

“Come here” Michael insisted.

The two boys embraced, as Michael held Freddy tightly in his arms. Freddy sobbed for a minute, before he pulled back from the embrace. He had an idea.

“I think I have a way out of this” Freddy said proudly.

“How?” Michael asked, with a mix of curiosity and suspicion in his tone.

“To confront Duane, I’ll say Sofya told me what he said about me and that she has a big mouth.”

“That’s not a bad idea for that part, but what about Daniel? How do you stop him from confronting the coach about your absences from school last week?”

“Hmmmm.”

Freddy stood to think for a moment, as Michael gently tugged on his arm.

“Think about it while we’re walking” Michael insisted, as he proceeded to walk towards their high school. “We don’t want to be late for class.”

“Right” Freddy agreed, as he continued walking in the school’s direction.

Before Freddy had time to think about how to deal with Daniel’s big mouth, the boys turned a corner and entered the main lawn that lead to the front entrance of their high school.

“We’re actually a bit early this morning” Freddy said, as he lightly grabbed Michael’s shoulder to stop him from walking through the front doors of their school. “Why don’t we sit out here and devise a strategy?”

“People could hear us, Freddy” Michael responded, as he turned to look at his boyfriend. “It’s too late to talk about it now.”

“But maybe I can sit out here and think it over. We could text each other if I want to feel you out on something.”

“We can’t do that, remember?”

Freddy looked at Michael with puzzled expression on his face, before a realization hit him.

“Right” he said. “You lost your phone.”

Michael nodded, before he turned to attempt to walk into school again. Before he could so, Freddy grabbed his arm and turned him around to look at him.

“In any event” Freddy said “it’s probably one of the last nice days of the year where we can comfortably sit outside. Might as well take advantage of it, before it’s too late.”

“I guess” Michael replied hesitantly, unsure of how wise this idea of Freddy’s was.

Freddy walked with Michael to the main lawn and found a spot in the grass by a shady tree. He plopped himself down to sit and motioned Michael with his hand to join him. Reluctantly, Michael bent down and sat in the grass beside his boyfriend. Freddy, wanting to embrace Michael, pulled him into his armpit and placed Michael’s head on his shoulder. Michael looked up at him to try to argue, but Freddy shushed him.

“Put your head on my shoulder” Freddy insisted. “We haven’t done this in a while and it always makes me happy to be the shoulder you can lay on. It makes me feel all manly, like your protector.”

Michael look up at Freddy warily.

“It’s alpha instinct.”

Michael frowned, as Freddy attempted to console him with a kiss on his forehead.

“Just humor me on this. Please?”

“Ok” Michael replied quietly.

Michael laid his head on Freddy’s shoulder, as his boyfriend thought about how to deal with Daniel. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Michael did find Freddy’s strong shoulder to be very comforting. He almost began to doze off on it, before a loud voice called out to his boyfriend.

“Well well well!” the voice boomed from across the main lawn. “If it isn’t Freddy Benson!”

The two boys looked up to see Daniel walking towards them. His arm was in a cast, but you wouldn’t be able to tell of his weakness otherwise. He grinned wryly, as he approached where they sat together.

“So Fred” Daniel began when he stood over them, with a snark to his tone. “I hear that you and Michael were playing hooky all last week.”

“Daniel” Freddy growled.

“Freddy” Michael cooed to him quietly.

“You were cutting class to go make out with that new girl” Daniel continued. “That’s a real dick move, Fred. Not only were you cheating on your boyfriend…”

“I didn’t cheat on him” Freddy snarled.

“Then what were you doing making out with Sofya?”

“She attempted to rape him” Michael answered sharply. “And I went and rescued him.”

“I don’t think it was rape, Michael. If Freddy really wanted to, he would have pushed her off of him.”

“He did push her off, you asshole.”

“Only after you showed up there. Speaking of which, how did you even know Sofya was making out with him the first place?”

Michael glared at Daniel, who had a wide smirk on his face. Freddy sought to comfort his boyfriend, but Michael swatted him away.

“That girl Sofya gave me the creeps and I just didn’t trust her” Michael responded. “Plus, I was worried about Freddy when he didn’t show up at school that day and I couldn’t reach him. I made some guesses and went over to her place. That’s when I found her trying to have her way with him. He didn’t cheat on me, Daniel. She tried to rape him and I protected him from her assault.”

“Protect my ass….”

“Daniel!” Freddy screamed loudly. “That’s enough!”

The students walking into school paused for a moment, as they turned to look at the argument taking place between Daniel, Freddy and Michael.

“Woah Fred” Daniel said, with a mocking tone. “Take it easy, you big dog.”

“Speaking of which” Michael interjected, with a smirk on his face. “How did you end up with your arm in a cast?”

Daniel looked down at the cast on his arm, as chuckles came out of the students watching the scene before them.

“You didn’t happen to get bitten by a dog, did you?” Michael asked, already knowing the answer.

“Uh…” Daniel eked out nervously.

“Yeah Daniel” Freddy replied, with a knowing smirk on his face. “How does a supposed ‘tough guy’ like you get bitten by a dog? You should be powerful enough to take on a mangy mutt, yet you seem like you nearly lost your arm.”

Students observing the scene before them began to laugh, as Daniel’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

“Uh” Daniel replied nervously. “That’s not what happened. There was this wolf see, and…”

“There are no wolves around here” Michael remarked with a sly grin. “And if it were a mountain lion or a bear, the injuries would be bigger than just an injury to your arm. I think that some dog bit it because you were acting like a jerk, like always do it, and the dog wasn’t having any of your bullshit.”

The students laughed, as Daniel became increasingly embarrassed. Freddy smiled as well, knowing that he was responsible for putting Daniel's arm in a cast.

“And frankly” Michael continued “you deserve it more than anybody else.”

Cheers of agreement erupted, as the other students chanted Michael’s name. Freddy beamed at his boyfriend, proud that he was able to stand up for himself.

“Well you know what?” Daniel said, as he backed up to leave. “I’m going to tell the principal that you two were playing hooky this week and you’re going to get suspended from school. You…”

“My parents already got excused absences for me” Freddy replied confidently. “And Michael didn’t skip any classes. He left on Wednesday when everyone else was already excused. You can say what you want, but they will never believe you. You are a liar and no one takes anything you say seriously.”

“I am not a liar!”

“Yes you are!” a voice called out to them.

Duane walked up to the three boys, as Freddy and Michael stood up from the grass to face Daniel head on.

“Duane” Daniel said nervously, as he turned to look at him. “I thought you said you weren’t speaking to me ever again after….”

“I’m not going to” Duane replied curtly. “But I have to say something to you first. You are a fucking piece of shit and it took Michael to make me realize this.”

Michael smiled, as Duane stared at Daniel intensely.

“He got your number a long time ago” he continued. “It’s sad that the rest of us didn’t see it sooner.”

“Jesus, Duane” Daniel replied. “Is Michael’s mussy so powerful that he has all the boys under his spell?”

Duane grabbed Daniel by the shoulders, as Freddy placed his arms around his neck to choke him out. The students oohed and aahed, as Michael quickly tried to get Freddy off of Daniel.

“Freddy” Michael called to him, as he grabbed Freddy’s shoulders and pulled him away. “Stop. Let’s go. Class is going to start any minute.”

“Michael” Freddy replied. “Somebody has to teach Daniel a lesson. He thinks he’s this big tough guy and he’s not. I could kick his ass right here on the lawn and he’ll never act up again.”

“Freddy, being a tough guy isn’t all about brawn. It’s about brain, too.”

Freddy stared at Michael, along with Duane, who still had Daniel’s shoulders in his grasp.

“Being tough is also about character” Michael continued. “We all know you’re physically stronger than Daniel.”

“That’s not true.” Daniel said, before Duane gripped his shoulders tighter.

“It is, Daniel. But Freddy isn’t only physically stronger than you are, you big pussy.”

The students laughed, as Daniel blushed an even deeper shade of red.

“He’s emotionally stronger too. He knows, deep down, that the bigger man lets puny punks like you walk away, because at the end of the day, all you are is bravado. You bully people because you want to look bigger than you really are. In reality, you are a small, pathetic little shit who couldn’t defend yourself in a fight with a real man if your life depended on it.”

The student body roared with laughter, as Daniel’s cheeks got even redder from his public humiliation.

“Freddy doesn’t need to fight you to prove that” Michael insisted. “The way he carries himself, and the way you embarrass yourself, speaks volumes..”

More laughter erupted, as Duane eased his grip off of Daniel’s shoulder.

“Let’s go, Freddy.”

Michael grabbed Freddy’s hand and held it gently. The two boys walked inside, as Duane went after them. Composing himself, Daniel walked into school, scheming about how he would get revenge on Freddy and Michael for humiliating him so publicly just now.

Before the two boys could make their way to class, Duane went up to Michael.

“That was some smooth moves on your end, man.”

“Thanks Duane” Michael replied.

“You really showed that hot shot off, without throwing a single punch.”

“He’s really smart” Freddy added with a smile. “That’s one of the things I love about him.”

“Oh Freddy” Michael said, as a tear fell down his cheek.

The two boys kissed, just as the first period bell rang. In a panic, they broke off their embrace and said “see you later” to each other, as they ran to their respective lockers on the opposite ends of the hall. On the way to his locker, Duane followed Freddy, as they shared the same first period class.

“Your boyfriend really showed Daniel what’s what out there” Duane said, as they sped up to reach their lockers, hoping to get to class on time. “He really got him good.”

“He’s a great boyfriend” Freddy replied, as he opened his locker and gathered his books and other items from inside of it. “He never has a bad word to say about me to his friends and stands up for me when I need him to. Which is more than I can say about some people.”

Freddy slammed his locker shut, as he looked as Duane with a sense of seriousness firmly strewn across his face. Duane, not expecting this sudden reaction, looked back at his friend nervously.

“Duane” Freddy said calmly. “We need to talk about something after school.”

“Uh” Duane replied nervously. “What is it?”

“Let’s talk about this later. Before practice?”

“Uh ok. Sure Fred.”

Freddy nodded, as the two boys walked to their class. Duane had no idea what Freddy might be upset with him about, but he was anxious to find out. He wished he could know sooner, but Freddy didn’t seem ready to talk about it just yet.

At his locker. Michael gathered his books, as a friend walked up beside him.

“Hi Michael” Diya called to him.

“Diya!” Michael exclaimed, as he slammed his locker shut.

Michael hugged Diya tightly, as she recoiled at his embrace. After a quick second, Michael pulled back to look at her with a big smile on his face.

“Diya! I was worried sick about you! What happened yesterday? Are you alright? What about your parents? What…”

“Shh”

Diya put her finger to Michael’s lip, as she scanned the hall for anyone who might be listening in. When she thought the coast was clear, Diya pulled her finger off of Michael’s lip and continued to speak.

“I’m fine, Michael. The real question is what about you? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Diya. Freddy and I bro…”

“Shh!”

Diya looked around the hall again, before she continued.

“I know. I’m aware of what’s been happening, but I just wanted to see how you are holding up emotionally. I thought you would have taken off today.”

“Why would I do that? My parents haven’t been aware of what’s going on. And how do you know what happened yesterday? What’s going on with you? What are you hiding from me?”

“Michael, I can’t tell you right now. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“What?”

“Shhh!"

“What do you mean you’ve been sworn to secrecy?”

Diya grabbed Michael’s arm, as she pulled him to their first period class.

“I just can’t tell you, alright.”

Before Michael could press Diya further, the two made their way into class and began their studies. Classes resumed for the two boys as they normally would. Duane sat next to Freddy and tried to press him on what he was mad about, but Freddy wouldn’t budge. Michael did the same to Diya on what she was hiding from him, but she wouldn’t budge either. The four teenagers did not share classes again that day, so they could only reunite at lunch time.

Waiting in the cafeteria line, Michael picked up a tray and began to place some food on it.

“Michael!” a voice called to him.

Michael turned around to see Freddy, who was further down the line.

“Hi Freddy” he called back.

When he was done getting his lunch, Michael waited off to the side for Freddy to finish getting his meal. When he was done, Freddy walked up to Michael and looked at him nervously.

“Michael” Freddy called to him quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Uh” Michael replied nervously. “Sure. What’s up?”

“I know you like when we sit together at lunch, but today, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I sat with my teammates on the track and field team.”

“Freddy…”

“I just think it’s a good idea to keep an eye on Daniel in case he’s plotting something. Plus, I want to stay in my teammates good graces considering I didn’t attend practice last week.”

Michael thought for a moment, as he looked up at Freddy, who anxiously awaited his response.

“I guess it’s alright” Michael replied calmly. “I did promise that I’d let you off the leash a little and I plan to keep that commitment. Besides, it’s best to see what Daniel is up to anyway.”

“Thanks Michael” Freddy replied with a smile, as he went to kiss Michael on the forehead.

“Freddy” Michael called to him, before he walked towards the tables.

“Yes, Michael” he replied, as he turned back to look at him.

“As soon as you find out what Daniel did this morning in regards to us, find me and tell me, even if you’re in the middle of eating. Ok?”

“Yup, absolutely.”

Freddy beamed, before he turned to head towards the table where his teammates sat. Michael stood for a moment, before he was interrupted by a voice calling to him.

“Hey Michael” his friend Ramesh said to him.

“Hey Ramesh. What’s up?”

“Not much man. We haven’t seen you in a while. We figured you’d sit and chat with us at lunch today.”

“Sure.”

Michael followed Ramesh to a table were Diya, his friend Park and a few other kids were sitting. As Michael shot the breeze with his group of nerdy friends, Freddy carefully listened to his teammates getting into a heated confrontation with Daniel.

“Daniel” one teammate said to him. “We need to have a talk.”

“What is there to talk about?” Daniel asked incredulously, as he had trouble eating with his free arm.

“We’re sick and tired of the way you treat all of us” another teammate replied. “You are a big jerk and we all had a conversation about this yesterday. At practice this afternoon, we’re going to be taking a vote on replacing you as captain of our team.”

“What!? Are you serious!?”

“It’s true, Dan” Duane added. “After your little shenanigans at Sofya’s house on Saturday, I called all the boys together yesterday and we all talked this over. We don’t want you as the captain of our team anymore.”

“Might I remind you, Duane, that I am one of the best captains this school has ever had. I got us a spot in the state championships this year and we could actually win it all on Saturday. With less than a week to go, you’re really going to make such a dramatic change at the eleventh hour?”

“Uh oh” Freddy thought to himself, as he remembered that he had agreed to go with Michael and his father to the father/son softball game for Ralph’s place of employment.

“Even so” Duane replied. “We can’t take the abuse anymore. It’s not worth winning the championship if we have to deal with your shit to get there.”

“And who are you going to replace me with?” Daniel asked sharply. “Hooky Fred?”

“Huh?” Duane asked.

“Oh no” Freddy thought, as he nervously looked down at his tray.

“Yeah, Hooky Fred” Daniel continued, as he got up from his seat and pointed his finger at Freddy accusingly. “Did you guys know that, when we were supposed to be practicing last week, that Fred took off from school to go hang around the whore Sofya and made out with her at her place?”

“Are you serious?” one teammate asked Freddy.

“Is that really true?” another teammate asked.

“Uh” Freddy meekly replied, as he looked up from his tray to his teammates.

“I don’t know what happened to Fred last week” Duane replied in his defense. “Maybe he’s been having a hard time emotionally dealing with some things. Everyone is entitled to take a day off to care for themselves.”

“By ‘taking off,’ you mean abandoning us at a time we need him most?” Daniel asked.

“Daniel!” Freddy growled.

Duane put his hand on Freddy’s shoulder, as he looked up to Daniel angrily.

“What’s done is done. What matters now is that Fred is going to be with us this afternoon. Right Fred?”

Duane looked Freddy in the eyes, who didn’t know how to respond to the question. He wanted to spend more time with Michael, but he also promised his teammates that he would be there this afternoon. It was why he was in school today, after all. After an awkward moment of silence, Freddy finally spoke up.

“I’ll be there.”

“Then it’s settled” Duane replied.

Daniel sat down and eyed Freddy warily, as his teammates nodded and continued to eat their food. When lunch was over, everyone got up to leave for their respective classes. Although Freddy tried to look for Michael in the crowd of students, he could not spot him. He wanted to say that Daniel hadn’t indicated that he said anything about their absences from school from last week to the principal. Not wanting to forget, he pulled out his phone and texted this to Michael. Freddy felt sad when he didn’t get an immediate response from his boyfriend.

When the final bell rang, Michael left his class and made his way to the door of the room where Freddy’s final class took place. When he exited the room, Freddy saw Michael looking at him nervously.

“Michael” Freddy said cautiously. “Did you get my text message?”

“No, Freddy” Michael replied quietly. “I lost my phone, remember?

Freddy slapped his forehead, as it dawned on him in that moment.

“Oh right” he said, with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. “Duh.”

“While you’re here, I was hoping we could talk.”

“Uh….”

Freddy saw one of his teammates motion to him, before he turned to look at Michael.

“Michael, the reason I came to school today is that I promised my teammates that I’d be there for practice after school.”

“Freddy…”

“You can sit in the bleachers and watch us, if you want. I’d love to have your company and I’m sure the boys won’t mind if you were there.”

“Are you sure?”

Before Freddy could respond, Diya walked past them in the hall. Michael watched her quickly move away from them, before he turned back to look at Freddy.

“Let’s meet up after practice” Michael said, as he went in for a kiss on the lips, which Freddy reciprocated. “I need to confront Diya about something anyway. Let’s talk after you’re done.”

“Ok….” Freddy replied nervously, as Michael ran to catch up with Diya.

Seeing Duane walking down the hall, Freddy walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Before practice today” Freddy quietly said to Duane. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I remember” Duane replied, as they made their way to the gym locker room. The boys quietly got changed into their uniforms, before they went outside to begin their stretches. Before they went onto the field, Freddy pulled Duane off to the side and began to confront him on what was bothering him.

“Duane” Freddy said. “You have to be honest with me about something.”

“What is it, Fred?” Duane replied nervously.

“Do you talk shit about me behind my back?”

“What? Fred, what are you talking about?”

“Sofya said that you have said nasty things about me behind my back.”

“That bitch” Duane mumbled under his breath. “I knew she had a set of loose lips on her.”

Freddy stared for a moment, before Duane composed himself and spoke up.

“Fred, to be honest man, I admit I’ve said some things about you that I regret in hindsight and I apologize about that. Sometimes, you do things that drive me a little nuts and I just had to vent about it. But you’re my friend, Fred. You may be one of my best friends and I never wanted to do anything to hurt you.”

Freddy looked at Duane, unsatisfied with this answer.

“What did you say about me?” Freddy asked.

Duane sighed, before he gave his answer.

“Sometimes, you’re a bit of a slacker, Fred. You don’t always put in the work and I wonder how serious you are about being on this team.”

“Duane…”

“Michael pulls you away too much and you’re kind of the one who drags us all down. You’re such a great runner, the best on our team actually, and I feel like you let that all go to waste. In anger, I resented you for it and called Michael a possessive bitch for taking you away from us.”

“Duane…”

“I just want you to commit yourself more to this team, that’s all, which I why I’m going to make you do it.”

“Huh?”

Before Freddy could get a response from Duane, the coach of his track and field team came up to him. He wasn’t that much older than the other teenagers, maybe only eight or nine years their senior. He was a former college runner with a lean build and light pufts of blonde body hair poking out of his skin. Freddy would have found him very sexy, but he almost looked like they could be related, which turned him off. Still, he could be an intimidating leader, despite his more youthful appearance.

“Fred” the coach said to him, as he motioned him over with his hand.

Freddy quietly walked up to the coach, as he began to speak quietly.

“Where were you last week?” the coach asked.

“I’ve been dealing with some stuff at home, coach” Freddy replied.

“Are you good enough to run today?”

“I think so.”

“You know, the state championship is coming up this weekend. Can we count on you to be there?”

Freddy paused for a moment, as the coach anxiously awaited his decision. After a moment of silence, Freddy nodded.

“Yes coach.”

“Good.”

The coach put a firm hand on Freddy’s shoulder and pat it lightly. He summoned the other boys to gather around them and he began to speak louder as they approached.

“Alright boys, as we all know, the state championship is this Saturday. This is our last practice before the race, so we need to spend extra time this afternoon making sure we’re in tip top shape. Are we ready to begin?”

“Actually coach” Duane spoke up. “There’s a matter of business we need to attend to first.”

“Uh oh” Freddy thought to himself, dreading what was coming.

“Oh no you don’t!” Daniel barked at Duane.

“I’m doing this whether you like it or not, Daniel” Duane muttered, as he called on his other teammates to look at him. “As we spoke about yesterday, the majority of us have decided that we need to take a vote on replacing Daniel as captain of this team.”

“You can’t do that!”

“He has to” the coach replied. “You’re in no condition to lead your teammates with that arm of yours in a cast. We need someone who will be able to participate in the race and you can’t do that with your arm out of commission.”

“I don’t have to run in order to still be the captain.”

“This isn’t a temporary replacement, coach” Duane interjected. “This is a permanent one.”

“Huh?” the coach replied confusedly.

“Coach, the team has agreed that we are sick and tired of Daniel’s behavior towards us off the field. He is a bully, he is abusive, he is nasty to our friends and significant others and we don’t think he exhibits the qualities that make a good leader.”

“Yeah!” the other teammates called out in agreement.

“So we decided that we were going to hold a vote on a new captain today and I am nominating Freddy Benson for the position.”

“Oh God” Freddy thought to himself, as he blushed, surprised by the announcement, despite suspecting it.

“What?!” Daniel cried out. “You can’t be serious!”

“Alright” the coach said. “Let’s tally a vote. All…”

“Hold on a second! You’re not going to just replace me like that, are you? After all I’ve done for this team, this is the thanks I get?”

“The boys said…”

“And with Fred? Hooky Fred? Coach, you know why Fred wasn’t at practice last week, right?”

“Daniel” Freddy muttered out quietly.

“I got a note from his parents saying that he was sick” the coach replied. “And…”

“Fred was going off cheating on his boyfriend with that girl Sofya at her house.”

“Daniel” Duane called out. “Stop it.”

“And that’s not the first time he has done this either. Whenever we’ve needed him most, Fred wasn’t there. Fred bails out on us in tough times and now you’re going to reward him with the title of captain of this team?”

“Daniel” Duane replied. “Enough. Let’s take a vote.”

“Fred” the coach asked him. “Is this true?”

Freddy looked down at the ground for a moment, embarrassed about being confronted by this. Daniel smirked at him, as Freddy struggled to give an answer. The coach looked at him nervously, before Freddy turned up to look him in the eyes and gave him an honest answer.

“Yes coach” Freddy replied nervously. “I’ve been having some issues with Michael and it’s been messing with my head a bit. In a moment of weakness, I went off and hung out with Sofya, but I didn’t cheat on him with her, we were just hanging out.”

“Liar!” Daniel called out. “She said you two were about to have sex!”

“We never had sex” Freddy sneered, as he turned to look at Daniel. “We were only hanging out and she tried to have her way with me. It doesn’t make me weak to admit that she tried to force herself on me. If anything, Michael helped me gain the strength to push her off of me and walk away. He is the love of my life and…”

“He’s your master, Fred. Face it, Michael is never going to be ok with you taking on the responsibility of being captain of this team. You’re going to need to give more of a commitment to us than you have ever given before. Is Michael going to be ok with that or is he going to make you turn it down?”

Before Freddy could answer, his phone began to ring loudly.

“Fred” the coach said coldly. “What did I tell you about having your phone on during practice?”

“Sorry coach” Freddy replied, as he looked down at his phone.

Freddy saw Michael’s name scrawled across it, which caused him to beam with a smile, feeling incredibly surprised.

“Hold on a second” Freddy said, as he went to answer the phone.

“Fred” the coach said sternly.

“Michael” Freddy said happily, ignoring his coach. “You found your phone. Where was it?”

“Long story” Michael said on the other end. “Listen, when you’re done with practice today, meet me by the main lawn in the front of the school. I’m with Diya right now.”

“Michael, can I ask you something before I have to go?”

“Uh, sure Freddy. What’s up?”

“Can I put you on speaker phone?”

“Uh why?”

“Please Michael.”

“Uh ok….”

Freddy placed his phone on speaker mode, as his teammates and his coach heard Michael’s voice.

“Is everyone on your team listening to this? he asked.

“Michael” Freddy replied. “The boys are thinking about replacing Daniel as the captain of the team.”

“Wow, that’s wonderful!”

The teammates laughed, as the coach shushed them. Daniel became embarrassed as a result of the mockery by his peers.

“Yeah, well” Freddy replied. “They were thinking of replacing him with me.”

“Oh….” Michael replied.

“And I was wondering if you would be alright with that? It’s a much bigger time commitment, so I thought I’d throw it by you first before I agreed to take it.”

A hush fell across the field, as the team anxiously awaited to hear Michael’s response. Silence was heard on the other end of the phone, before Michael spoke up.

“You should take it” Michael replied. “You deserve to hang out with your friends more. Plus, I should probably be spending more time with my friends as well. Besides, we’ll still see each other plenty. And anything that takes Daniel down a peg is a good thing in my book.”

The teammates roared with laughter, as Daniel’s face got increasingly redder.

“Are you sure, Michael?” Freddy asked hesitantly.

“Positive” Michael responded, though he was not that comfortable with his answer.

“Alright, let’s talk later. Bye Michael.”

“Bye Freddy. I love you.”

Freddy paused for a moment, as a tear fell down his cheek. He was so happy that Michael had remembered to say that, that he almost thought about telling his teammates that he was declining their offer to make him the new captain.

“Love you too” he squeaked out in response.

When he hung up the phone, Freddy looked up at his team.

“So, that’s a yes” Freddy said, trying to sound confident, but not really feeling that way.

“Then it’s settled” Duane replied with glee. “Let’s have a vote. All those in favor of replacing Daniel with Fred as the new captain of our team, raise your hand.”

All of the team, except for Daniel, raised their hands.

“That’s settled then” the coach said, as he placed a gentle hand on Freddy’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Fred. You are the new captain of our track and field team.”

Chants of “Freddy!” rang out, as the boys gathered around and lifted him off of the ground. They dragged him to the field, as Daniel stared at them with an angry expression on his face.

“He won’t last long” Daniel thought to himself, as he went to sit in the bleachers. “Michael is not going to allow it for long, despite what he says.”

Daniel sat down, as he watched his teammates practice running around the track. Freddy found that his speed had increased dramatically since his last practice. The coach noted this and commented that he had broken records that he had never seen before.

“How did you get to be so good so fast?” the coach asked.

“I don’t know” Freddy replied with an honest expression on his face, catching his breath after a particularly speedy run.

Freddy didn’t know if this new found speed of his would last, but he hoped that it would. He could use it in time for the championship race on Saturday. He could bring his team to victory and become the hero they had long desired. After almost two hours of running, the sun began to set, as the boys finished their runs and went in to the showers to clean off. When they were done, Freddy gathered his belongings and made his way to the front lawn of the school. Before he got there, Daniel slunk up behind him.

“Congratulations Fred” Daniel said sarcastically.

“Thanks Daniel” Freddy replied, ignoring the sarcastic tone in Daniel’s voice.

“You know you aren’t going to be captain for very long. Michael will pull you away from the position in no time at all. The minute he thinks you’re spending too much time away from him, he’ll be whining and crying to try to get you to quit. And you’ll do it, mark my words.”

Freddy didn’t know how to respond to this comment. On the one hand, he thought that Michael would be fine with his desire to step up and be a leader for his team. On the other hand, Michael didn’t sound that overly enthusiastic on the phone and he feared that there would be complaints made further down the line. For the moment, though, Freddy didn’t have to grapple with these issues, as Duane came running up to them.

“Piss off, Daniel” Duane said, as he pushed him out of the way to stand next to Freddy.

“Enjoy leading the team while Michael still allows it” Daniel remarked, as he quietly sulked off to go home.

“Ignore him” Duane said, as he followed Freddy to the main lawn in front of the school. “He’s just mad that he got booted from being captain of the team.”

“He’s right, Duane” Freddy replied quietly. “Michael may say he’s ok with it now, but that might just be because he felt he was under pressure and was a little anxious to get some revenge on Daniel. When the reality of what being captain entails sinks in, he’s not going to be ok with this and I’m not going to be ok defying him if he asks me to quit. If push comes to shove, I will step down if he asks me to and you know it.”

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it” Duane replied with a reassuring hand on Freddy’s shoulder. “Speaking of Michael, there he is…”

Duane pointed him out, as Freddy spotted Michael sitting with his friends on the front lawn of the school. Earlier in the afternoon, Michael caught up to Diya in the hall and asked to speak with her.

“Diya” Michael said, as she continued to walk away from him. “Diya I need your help.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now” Diya replied, as she stopped and turned to look at him.

“No, Diya, not about that. I lost my phone yesterday and I was wondering if you could help me find it.”

“Oh, I already have it.”

“What?”

Diya pulled out a smart phone, with a crack across the screen.

“I tracked down your phone’s location and had someone pick it up this morning. They gave it to me just after lunch. I figured I was going to drop it off at your house after school, since you were still grounded.”

“How did you know I lost it?”

“Uh…”

“Diya, what are you hiding from me?”

Not wanting to answer, Diya walked out of the front doors of the school, as Michael followed behind her. She sat down in a spot on the lawn and Michael sat down with her.

“Diya” Michael pressed again. “What’s going on?”

“Michael” she replied. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I was told that I was not to tell you anything and that they…”

Before Diya could elaborate further, their nerdy friends came out the school doors and spotted them sitting in the grass.

“Hey guys!” Ramesh called to them.

“Why are you two sitting in the grass?” another kid with glasses asked.

“Oh” Michael replied. “I was going to wait for Freddy here until he was done with practice.”

“That could take a while” Park replied, as he sat down in the grass with them.

“Aren’t you grounded, Michael?” Diya asked.

“Uh….” he stuttered out.

The other boys joined them on the front lawn in short succession. When they were all seated, they stared at Michael, waiting for an answer.

“My parents won’t be home until later tonight” Michael finally let out as a response. “I’m sure that if I don’t get back too late, they won’t realize that I didn’t come home right away.”

“Ok….” Diya said, with a nervousness in her tone.

“Michael, isn’t the state championship this Saturday?” Ramesh asked.

“Is it?” Michael asked, knowing that the father/son game was the same day, but unsure of whether they were still going to do it.

“I think so” Park replied.

“Oh” Michael mumbled nervously.

“Maybe you should ask Freddy about that” the nerdy boy with glasses stressed.

Michael nodded, as he picked up his phone and dialed his boyfriend’s number, which followed with the conversation about his nomination to be the new captain of his track and field team. When he hung up the phone, Diya looked at Michael nervously.

“Are you really going to be ok with that or were you just saying that?” she asked.

“I don’t know” Michael replied honestly. “We’ll see. I really want to let Freddy have more freedom to do more of the things that he wants to do, but I don’t know if this is too much, too soon. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear.”

Diya nodded, as the nerdy teens began to discuss video games and other nerdy things with each other. Time seemed to pass by quickly, as they enjoyed the pleasant afternoon outside, one of the last ones of the year. As the sun began to set on the horizon, Michael thought about getting up to leave, thinking he would call Freddy to let him know that he had headed home. Before he could do so, however, Freddy spotted him sitting in the grass with his friends and ran up to greet him.

“Hey Michael” Freddy called to him.

Michael smiled, as he got up from the grass to embrace his boyfriend with a kiss. Diya smiled, as she and their other friends stood up from the grass.

“It’s getting late and my mom is probably worried about me” the nerdy kid with glasses said.

“Yeah, I have a lot of homework to catch up on” Ramesh concurred.

“See you later, Michael” Park added.

“Bye guys” Michael replied, as he waved to them while they walked off.

Most of his friends went off into the street, but Diya stayed behind. Duane cautiously walked up to approach them.

“Hey Fred” Duane said to him. “Want to go get pizza with the other guys?”

“No thanks, Duane” Freddy replied. “I already made a big commitment today to be the new captain and I want to make sure that I still get to spend enough time with Michael.”

“It’s ok, Freddy” Michael said. “You can go get dinner with them if you want.”

“No, Michael. I know I asked a lot of you in taking Daniel’s place as captain and it’s a big commitment. I know you’re not really ok with it, so I want to make sure you know that I’m still going to give you the attention you deserve.”

“It’s fine, Freddy. I don’t want to force you to have to be with me.”

“You’re not forcing me” Freddy said, as he went to kiss Michael on the lips. “I want to. I insist.”

Michael smiled, as Diya and Duane looked at them.

“We’re going to go home now” Freddy said.

“Before you guys go” Diya said. “Can I have a word with you, Freddy?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Uh…”

Freddy looked to Michael, who nodded at him approvingly.

“Sure.”

As Freddy went up to Diya, Duane slowly approached Michael.

“While they’re talking” Duane said. “I wanted to say something to you.”

“What is it?” Michael asked curiously, as he looked towards Duane.

“I want to make sure you’re ok with Fred being the new captain and all. I know you two are very close and I just want to feel you out and see if you’re absolutely cool with this.”

“To be honest, Duane, I don’t really know. I have to play it by ear. I don’t want Freddy to let you all down, but I’m not really sure how I feel about this. I know you guys always complain that I’m a clingy bitch who won’t let Freddy hang out with his friends enough.”

“Michael, that’s just Daniel being mean.”

“That’s not true. You’ve all said it. Sofya told me what you were talking about when you were over at her place on Saturday night.”

“Son of a bitch” Duane muttered, as he looked away from Michael for a moment. “I knew that woman had a loose set of lips on her and that this shit would get around and I was totally right. God damn it. Son of a bitch.”

“It’s alright, Duane” Michael said, as Duane looked back at him, with a confused expression his face. “You guys had a point. I didn’t let him spend enough time with you and I know Freddy wanted to. I guess that’s why I agreed to let him take over as the new captain of your team. I know he wanted to, deep down. We’ve just been having a bit of a rough patch and I wanted to give him some space to pursue his other interests.”

“Michael, I know Fred loves you very much. We were all just saying that because I think some of us were jealous about how good you guys have it together.”

“Well, you seem to have it ok, with that secret girlfriend of yours.”

“Son of a bitch! Does that bitch go around blabbing about everything?!”

“It’s fine, Duane. I’m not judging you”

“And speaking of which, whatever happened to Sofya? She wasn’t in school today.”

“You know, I’m really not sure.”

Michael paused for a moment, as he thought about the wizard’s daughter. Although she was a bitch, in his estimation, who tried to ruin his relationship with Freddy, she stood up to her evil father and paid the ultimate price for doing so. If it wasn’t for her help, he wouldn’t be alive right now. Despite how he may feel about her, he felt that he owed her a lot, or at the very least, her valiant efforts made up for her shortcomings.

“Well” Duane replied, interrupting Michael’s thoughts “regardless of wherever the hell she went off to, it’s not like I’m ashamed of my girlfriend or anything. It’s…”

“It’s fine” Michael replied. “I’m happy for you, Duane. You’re a good friend to Freddy and you deserve a good girlfriend. You stood up for him to Daniel and he really appreciates it.”

“Well, he confronted me today and asked me if I was talking shit behind his back, so I don’t know how much he really appreciates my support.”

“I think he’s just trying to figure out who his friends really are and which ones aren’t. That’s something we talked about this week and it’s been a real eye opener for him. But despite this, I think you’re a good friend to Freddy.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, Duane. It doesn’t matter that you see my friends and I as a bunch of nerdy losers…”

“Michael, I’m sorry. I…”

“It’s fine, we don’t have to be friends for you to be a good friend to Freddy. If you make him happy, then that makes me happy and that’s all that matters.”

Duane smiled, as Michael began to walk towards Freddy.

“You’re a good guy for Fred” Duane called to him, as Michael briefly turned back to look at him.

“Thanks Duane.”

“You two will make it. I believe in you.”

Michael smiled, as he nodded at him, before he turned to approach his boyfriend and Diya.

While Michael and Duane spoke, Freddy and Diya had a conversation of their own.

“What’s up Diya?” Freddy asked her.

“I wanted to apologize again for calling you stupid” she replied.

“You don’t have to do keep doing that. I forgive you. In fact, I owe you an apology.”

“Huh?”

“I should have been more discrete in mentioning what happened on Wednesday. I should have talked about something else at lunch when Michael was upset and then asked you or Michael about what really happened after school. I knew everyone was listening to us talking and I acted stupidly. I’m glad you got yourself out of trouble, but I really put you in a pickle, especially considering how much you did to help us out this week. So Diya, I’m the one who really should be sorry.”

“I forgive you, Freddy, and I appreciate you owning up to your mistakes. You’re a really good guy and you are a great boyfriend to Michael. We may never end up being friends, but that’s ok. I’m happy that you make Michael happy and that’s all that counts.”

“I’m happy for you too, Diya. Michael has never said a bad word about you and it shows what a great guy he is that he stands up for you all the time, even when I was critical of you at points. I admire that loyalty he has to you, knowing he does the same for me.”

“Is that really true? Michael has never said anything negative about me?”

“Nope. Even when I was mad about you snapping at me in front of the whole school, he stood by you completely and defended you whole heartedly. I was admittedly a little angry about it at the time, but in hindsight, it’s really admirable. It shows that he practices what he preaches and he’s a good friend, not just a good boyfriend.”

“Wow.”

Diya shed a tear, as she internally appreciated how supportive of a friend Michael really was to her over the years. She thought that their bond would last forever, but challenges in the future would test that resolve. For the moment, though, she smiled, as Freddy looked at her with kind eyes. Before he could speak again, Michael went up him.

“Let’s go, Freddy” Michael called to him.

“Ok Michael” he replied, as he took his hand and held it tightly.

The boys smiled, as they waved to their best friends and walked off into the street. Before they left, Diya briefly spoke to Duane.

“Before you go” Diya said to Duane quietly. “I want to thank you for sticking up for me the other day when Daniel and those other boys were saying that really racist shit about me and my family.”

“Oh my fucking God!” Duane exclaimed. “Does the entire school know everything that went down at Sofya’s house on Saturday?”

“No, only me, Michael and Freddy know. No one else knows anything, as far as I know.”

“How did you guys find out about that? And what else do you know?”

“That there was an orgy and…”

“Forget it. I don’t want to know how you know. I’m going home now. I don’t need to hear anything else.”

Before he stormed off, Duane looked back at Diya, giving her a brief glance, before he spoke again.

“Oh, and I’m sorry I never stood up for you guys before then. You know the deal.”

Diya nodded, as Duane walked off into the street. Diya waited a moment, before she made her way over there as well.

On their walk home from school, Freddy and Michael strolled along at a leisurely pace. After they entered the residential part of town, Freddy began to talk.

“It’s really nice that we have this alone time together now, just you and me.”

“We’re not going to have much of it in the future.”

“Michael.”

Freddy stopped for a second, as he looked at his boyfriend with a saddened expression on his face.

“Sorry Freddy” Michael replied nervously, as he stopped walking as well. “I shouldn’t have said that. I know it’s something you wanted to do and it’s not my place to try to interfere with it.”

“No Michael, it’s ok. I knew you weren’t fine with this and I never should have agreed to it. On Saturday, I’ll…”

“Freddy.”

Michael leaned in for a kiss, which Freddy reciprocated. After a series of tender smooches, Michael pulled back to look at Freddy reassuringly.

“It’s fine, Freddy” he continued. “I’ve learned a lot this last week. About us. About you. And…”

Michael paused, before he spoke again.

“And about me too.”

Freddy stood quietly, as he waited to hear what Michael would say next.

“And one of things I’ve learned" Michael continued “is that in order for us to be happy, you have to be happy. And I know you want to do to this, so I’m not going to stand in the way. We’ll make time for each other and we’ll still see each other plenty. Besides, we’re graduating next year, so it’s only going to be for a short period of time.”

“Well, what if we go away to school?” Freddy asked. “Then we won’t ever see each other.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, lead our school’s team to victory.”

Michael gave Freddy another kiss, before they continued their walk. They walked at a leisurely pace, eyeing each other with smiles planted across their faces. Before they arrived near Freddy’s house, he whispered in his boyfriend’s ear.

“Michael….”

Michael looked at Freddy’s face, which was strewn with an intense look of lust upon it.

“Michael” Freddy continued. “I’ve been wanting to get at that sweet ass of yours for days now.”

Freddy grabbed at Michael’s butt. Michael recoiled playfully at the unexpected groping, to which Freddy chuckled in response.

“Think you can come over to my place tonight so we can get it on?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea” Michael replied nervously. “I’m still grounded, remember?”

“Oh. Right.”

“But my parents don’t usually come home until late, so if we’re lucky, I can sneak you in my place and we can do it there.”

Michael grabbed Freddy’s dick, as he looked into his lover’s face with a passion in his eyes.

“I want that thing in me too” he insisted.

Freddy smirked and then licked his lips. Michael smiled, as Freddy grabbed his hand and sprinted in the direction of his boyfriend’s house. The anticipation was building while they ran, as Freddy grew a sizable erection in his pants. When they arrived at Michael’s house, they could see that there were no cars in the garage.

“We’re in luck, Freddy” Michael said, as he smiled. “They aren’t home.”

“Perfect” Freddy replied, as he went in for a quick smooch.

Soon after, the boys bolted into the house and slammed the door shut behind them. They passionately made out with each other, as they headed upstairs. Freddy had longed to make love to Michael as a human being. Sure, fucking him as Fido was fun, but he didn’t remember much of the experience and he knew Michael didn’t care for it all that much either. It would be a treat to fuck in a way that both boys would end up enjoying.

When they got Michael’s room, Freddy slammed the door and continued to make out with his boyfriend. Freddy threw Michael on the bed and proceeded to take off his shirt. He kissed his lover’s nipples and placed his lips into his neck.

“Ah Freddy” Michael cooed. “Right there. I like that.”

“You do huh?” Freddy asked with a deep tone, as his kisses made their way up to Michael’s ear lobes. “You like this too?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Michael giggled and moaned, as Freddy licked his earlobe with his tongue. Before the boys could go any further, however, they heard a loud banging on the door.

“Michael!” his father yelled.

“Oh shit” Freddy replied, as he rolled off of Michael’s bed.

“Dad” Michael called out nervously. “What are you doing back so early?”

“What did I tell you about keeping the door closed when you have Freddy over?” his father asked.

Michael was surprised by this question. He thought for sure that he was still grounded, so he figured that would be the first thing his father would bring up. It could still come up when he opened the door, but the fact that it wasn’t the first thing he mentioned surprised him.

“Sorry” he called out in reply.

Michael’s father opened the door, just after his son put his shirt back on.

“You know what the rules are about having sex in the house” his father said sternly.

“Sorry dad” Michael replied.

Michael’s father looked down Freddy, who was lying on the floor.

“Hey Freddy” he called to him.

“Hello Mr Scavolini” he replied nervously.

“Excited for the father son baseball game on Saturday?”

“Uh, about that.”

“Wait a second” Michael thought to himself. “Aren’t I grounded for two weeks? What’s with this sudden change of heart?”

He paused for a moment, before Michael considered another possibility.

“What if he totally forgot about what happened yesterday?”

“Mr Scavolini” Freddy said nervously. “I forgot that the big state championship race is at the same time, so I’m not going to be able to go.”

“Oh that’s ok” Michael’s father replied. “Then Michael and I will be at your race to cheer you on instead.”

“Seriously?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, why not? The point was to have father son bonding time. We can sit in the bleachers and root your boyfriend on while he races.”

“As the new team captain” Freddy added with a smile on his face.

“Oh congratulations! Good for you, Freddy. Well, we’ll be there to cheer you on as you lead your team to victory.”

“Are you sure, dad?” Michael asked nervously. “What about the other dad’s from your job? Won’t they be mad that you blew them off?”

“It’s totally fine, Michael. I really didn’t want to go to that thing all that badly, anyway. I’ll just say to them that Freddy forgot to mention that his race was at the same time. They’ll be cool about it, trust me.”

“Ok dad.”

“Alright, I’m going to talk to your mother about my therapy session today. It’s going to take a lot of work to go over everything that’s wrong with me and I’d like to have her supportive ear. No funny business while you’re here, alright Freddy?”

“Sure Mr Scavolini” Freddy replied nervously.

“And good for you, you didn’t ogle me once today. That’s progress.”

Freddy blushed, as Michael let out a cough.

“Dad” Michael said quietly. “We’d like some alone time, ok?”

“Sure, just no hanky panky.”

Michael nodded, before his father left to go into his bedroom. After a moment of silence, Freddy got up and sat next to his boyfriend on his bed.

“We need to leave” Freddy whispered. “I can’t wait anymore. I have to fuck you and I’m sure my parents won’t bother us about it.”

“But Freddy” Michael replied. “I’m still grounded. I can’t leave the house.”

“If you were still grounded, then your father would have thrown me out of the house immediately after he saw me in here.”

“That’s true….”

“And if you were still grounded, then he wouldn’t have offered to go to the race with you on Saturday, now would he?”

“I guess not…”

“So maybe he just forgot all about it or the therapist convinced him to back off on the punishment or the old man erased his memory.”

“Those are all possibilities.”

“So let’s go to my place now. We’ll have more privacy there to get down to business.”

Freddy got up from the bed and extended his hand to Michael. Reluctantly, he took it and stood up to walk out of his bedroom. Feeling a bundle of nerves, Michael slowly walked down the stairs of his house with his boyfriend, as they saw his mother sitting on the couch.

“Hi Michael” his mother said. “Welcome back from school.”

“Thanks Mom” he replied.

“Hello Irene” Freddy said.

“Hi Freddy. How has school been?”

“Fine. Michael and I were just about to leave for my place.”

“Oh ok.”

“Seriously?” Michael thought to himself.

“Just don’t be back too late.”

“Actually” Freddy interjected. “Michael is going to sleep over at my place tonight, if that’s alright with you.”

Freddy looked at Michael and gave a knowing wink. After a brief pause, Michael quietly spoke up.

“Yeah.”

“Oh alright” his mother replied.

“Is Freddy staying for dinner?” Michael’s father called down from the top of the stairs.

“No” his wife replied. “Michael is going to sleep over at Freddy’s tonight.”

“Alright. Well. I’ll see you tomorrow, Michael. And Freddy, can’t wait for the big race on Saturday. We’ll be there.”

“Thanks Mr Scavolini” Freddy replied.

“Bye dad” Michael said, as the boys left the house.

When they were gone, Michael’s father walked down the stairs.

“You know, Irene” his father said. “For some strange reason, I feel like that boy wasn’t supposed to be leaving the house this evening.”

“I’m sure you’re just looking to take your negative feelings out on Michael” his mother replied. “You’ll have to work on that when you go to therapy again next week.”

“It’s not that. I just have the strangest feeling that he did something bad and I can’t remember what it is.”

“His being gay is not bad, Ralph.”

“No, not that. Like he did something he wasn’t supposed to and I don’t remember what it is.”

“I’m sure you’re just imagining things.”

Michael’s father grew quiet, before he sat down next to his wife. The two of them cuddled, as they decided to talk about their respective days and Ralph’s therapy session together.

On the way to Freddy’s place, he and Michael spoke about the seemingly apparent memory loss of Ralph and Irene Scavolini.

“That was so bizarre” Michael said. “I don’t know if my father was just letting the transgressions go or if he just totally forgot.”

“I’m not sure either” Freddy replied. “But let’s not jinx it. He’s in a seemingly good place right now, so it’s not a good idea to try to ruin it.”

“I guess, but I’d just like to know how he went from calling us fags to being ok with us sleeping over at your place in the course of a day.”

“I can answer that” a voice called out to them.

Startled by the unexpected sound of his voice, the two boys turned around to see the old man from the magic shop approaching him.

“You!” Michael said accusingly, with a pointed finger. “Where have you been the last two days? We really could have used your help with the trouble we were facing.”

“First of all” the old man said with a scorn in his voice “don’t talk to your elders like that. And I was helping you, you just didn’t realize it. Or you should have, if you were as smart as you say you are.”

“Huh?” Freddy said with a confused tone.

“So, you’re the one who brought Freddy back to life, then” Michael deduced rather quickly. “Because no one else we know could have done that. Certainly not that bastard officer who apprehended the wizard.”

“You came to that conclusion rather quickly” the old man said, with a pleasant surprise in his tone. “Good for you. Yes, I had a hand in reviving Freddy back from the dead, but that wasn’t all me.”

“It wasn’t?” Freddy asked.

“No. The ring had a hand in it as well.”

“Wow. That thing really was alive.”

“I’m assuming it had to do with the terms of the ring’s curse” Michael said matter of factly. “When Freddy lived up to his end of the deal, the curse was lifted. And I saw a ghost that looked like Fido float into the sky when he was being revived.”

“You did?” Freddy asked quizzically.

“I did, Freddy. So that proves your assessment correct that the dog did have a mind of its own, because the dog was another spirit all together.”

“Very good” the old man said. “All of that is true.”

“So whatever happened to the wizard now that he’s in police custody?” Freddy asked.

“And what about Sofya?” Michael asked. “Is she ok?”

“She is ok” the old man reassuringly. “She helped provide compelling eye witness testimony in the trial and now Victor is serving a two thousand year prison sentence.”

“That was really fast” Freddy said.

“Time doesn’t work the same way in the magical world as it does here on Earth. What seems like weeks there are only a matter of days here. In the time you two went to bed, got up and finished school, the whole trial went from start to finish.”

“So the case is already all done?” Michael asked.

“Yes.”

“So all of our work was for nothing? Why did you need us if all that was required was for Sofya to speak out against her father?”

“Of course it wasn’t for nothing. If it wasn’t for your audio tapes, which served as independent source of evidence, along with creating the conditions that would allow Sofya to speak freely, the court never would have ruled to convict Victor of his crimes. A lot of other stuff came out during the trial as well, which is bringing some questions up about the police force in the magical world.”

“Figures. They did act like a bunch of jerks, like the ones here in the human world.”

“What do you mean?” Freddy asked.

“Well” the old man replied “it was revealed during the trial that Victor’s mysterious employer was bribing the police department to keep them off of his employees trail. That way, he could force Victor to work for him indefinitely, with the threat of arrest compelling him into serving as his personal thief.”

“Wow” Freddy said, with a shocked tone.

“He must have been pleased to hear that” Michael replied sarcastically.

“He was infuriated” the old man continued. “He vowed to get revenge on him when he got out of prison, which is never going to happen.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“It’s a maximum security prison. No one has ever escaped before.”

“Not everyone is Victor Roshkovich either.”

“I’m not worried about it and neither should you two boys.”

Neither Freddy nor Michael were entirely reassured.

“So you two did your part in helping to catch the thief” the old man continued “and making sure the magical items were returned to the museum, which they were just this afternoon.”

“That’s good to hear” Freddy said.

“So you said you were going to explain why my father forgot about me being grounded” Michael said to change the subject. “I’m assuming you erased his memory, like you did for the entire school when Diya hacked the fire alarm system.”

“I did” the old man replied. “I got to know Diya a little bit yesterday when I hid her in the magic shop for a while.”

“So that’s where she was yesterday. She said she was sworn to secrecy and couldn’t reveal anything about it.”

“I only told her that so you could hear it from me first. Yes, I erased your father and mother’s memory so you wouldn’t be grounded for helping me out. And when I found out that your friend Diya was in danger, I went against normal magical protocol and went to her house before the afternoon to take her into my protection. She was extremely shocked to see me, but somehow, she already knew who I was and didn’t seem that bothered by it. When I got her into the magic shop, she handed over all the audio files she had recorded and that’s when I sent them to the police. From there, we did our best to deduce where you two might be and we were able to magically connect with you soon after we sent the audio over. That’s when we did our best to remotely help you fight off the wizard. It was my prompting that got you to send Freddy a telepathic message, Michael.”

“Oh….” Michael replied.

“And it was my prompting that got Freddy to receive it.”

“Oh….” Freddy replied.

“I gave some additional help along the way, like when I warned you not to go into Victor’s bedroom, Freddy. But otherwise, I trusted you two boys to handle this on our own.”

“How come you didn’t help us fight him man on man?” Freddy asked.

“Because I would serve as a more useful ally from a distance, which proved to be the case.”

“How come we weren’t summoned to the magical world to testify against the wizard?” Michael asked.

“Because only witches and wizards are allowed to participate in magical court, just as we don’t answer to the authority of a human court. Sofya, being a quarter witch, was the only one who could speak out against him, which is why the ambulance came to bring her into the hospital to revive her. Her testimony was crucial, so they needed to make sure that she lived.”

“I’m glad she’s alright” Freddy said. “We were worried about her.”

“Where is she now?” Michael asked. “A lot of people at school were asking about her today.”

“I’m not sure” the old man replied “but I’m sure she’s safe now.”

Feeling nervous for Sofya’s safety, Michael hoped that the old man was correct. He looked up at him closely, before he asked another question.

“When you erased the memories of everyone at school about the flooding and the fire alarm malfunction on Wednesday, how come you didn’t clear all of the evidence from the school’s records? Diya said she saw a bill for the plumber for emptying out all of the water from the floors.”

“Because even though they may not remember it, the labor was still done and the workers deserve to be paid for it. No one should have to work for free.”

“We kind of did” Freddy said.

“You paid off the debt for the possessing the ring.”

“You asked me to take it.”

“More importantly” Michael interrupted. “Wouldn’t that bill prompt some questions from the school board, like where it came from and why they were being charged for it? Couldn’t an independent auditor come in and find out that the flood happened, even if no one who was there that day remembered it?”

The old man paused, as he stared at Michael. He didn’t want to admit that it was a very good question, but believed he had a sufficient enough answer to ease his concerns.

“Even if they eventually deduce that it did happen, at least they won’t be able to deduce that Diya was culpable for causing the malfunction and the flooding any longer. That is, as long as he keeps her mouth shut about it.”

Michael, who was satisfied enough with the answer, was startled by the sound of his phone buzzing. When he took it out of his pocket, he could see the broken screen display a message that indicated a large amount of money was deposited into his bank account.

“As I said” the old man continued on “I don’t believe people should have to work for free. That’s for the damage to your electronic equipment and the reward from the magical authorities for helping lead to Victor’s capture.”

“Wow” Michael said, as he gasped at the amount, which was rather large. Michael put his phone away in his pocket.

The old man paused for a moment, before he put his hands in his bag.

“Oh, and there’s something I wanted to give you too, Freddy.”

Freddy looked at the old man quizzically, as he rummaged through his bag. Finally, the bag made some noise, as the old man pulled out a little black puppy.

“Oh God” Michael groaned, as a whimpering puppy was presented to them.

“One of Victor’s magical specialities was the power of time manipulation” the old man said, as he held the whimpering puppy in his hands. “That’s why all the vacant houses he purchased were brought back into shape so quickly. He would simply rewind time backwards to restore it to its original condition and then make changes to modernize where it was needed. Of course, such manipulation has side effects, which Michael smartly noted when he kept asking Sofya about when the kitchen was redone, with my prompting.”

“Oh. So that’s why I was so obsessed with asking her that question.”

“Yes, Michael. I learned a lot about his power and much of it was quite fascinating. Getting a closer look at his magic allowed me take advantage of it as well. For example, when I found out that Freddy was locked up at the pound, I briefly went over there to try to bail him out, but you had already bailed yourself out by that point.”

“Oh Freddy” Michael said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

Freddy put his arm around Michael’s shoulder, to try to reassure him.

“When I got there” the old man continued “this black labrador was staring at me. I’m normally not able to communicate with dogs, but it was as if she was speaking to me and said that she knew you. Knowing her information could be vital to locating you, I adopted her and brought her back with me to the magic shop.”

“Phew” Freddy said. “At least she’s safe now.”

“Ugh” Michael groaned. “That’s the bitch that you banged in the park last week, Freddy.”

“It is” the old man concurred. “And when I did a scan of her body, I found that a litter of puppies, Fido’s puppies, was growing in her womb. After she helped Diya and I track Freddy down to the old, abandoned house, I magically sped her pregnancy along so she could give birth to the litter. It was a beautiful litter of half black labrador, half german shepherd puppies. I sold most of them today to raise money for the shop, but I saved one of them for Freddy to keep.”

“Wow” Freddy said, as he let out a smile. “That’s really thoughtful of you. Thank you for taking her in to your shop and adopting her. I’m glad to hear that she’s alright.”

“Oh God” Michael groaned.

“I’m sure your brother will appreciate him” the old man said, as he handed the cute black puppy to Freddy. “Little do they know that you sired it, but we can keep that our little secret.”

“I think they already know that Freddy has gone around knocking up bitches when he was Fido” Michael said. “They already know that he banged the neighbors dog, Ellie.”

As they spoke, they could hear Ellie barking, as she ran up to them to greet them. Freddy blushed, as he bent down and briefly gave her a scratch behind the ears.

“Hi Ellie” Freddy said.

“Stop doing that” Michael said, as the old man whistled and motioned Ellie to return to her property.

Feeling embarrassed, Freddy held the black puppy tightly to his chest, while he stood up straight. He quietly whispered to Michael.

“I’m sorry.”

“You wouldn’t have resisted the allure of a bitch in heat any better, Michael” the old man said curtly.

“Then you don’t know me that well” Michael replied coldly “because I would have. And I know that because there a lot of guys more attractive than Freddy who I could have easily cheated on him with…”

“Hey” Freddy snapped at Michael.

“But I never would” Michael continued “because I love Freddy and I never would have cheated on him with anyone else. Not even Daniel.”

“Seriously? You wanted to fuck Daniel?”

“Yes, Freddy. Seriously. As much of a jerk as he is, Daniel is extremely sexy. It’s why so many girls trip all over themselves to fuck him, despite how much of a piece of shit he is. But no matter how much I would want to fuck him, I would never do it because I am faithful to you and he’s a total ass clown.”

Freddy smiled, despite knowing the compliment was only half assed, because he appreciated Michael’s vow of monogamy. The old man wasn’t as convinced.

“Not that your resolve will ever be tested in that way” the old man interjected coldly “but you don’t know what you’d do if you were in Freddy’s shoes and had another spirit pulling you off in a different direction.”

“I’m stubborn” Michael replied. “Sometimes, that makes me a pain in the ass, but sometimes, it’s what has literally saved my life.”

The old man stared at Michael, who did not flinch in his response.

“I should be going” the old man said, as he closed up his bag. “Enjoy the puppy, Freddy. I’m sure you’re going to be a great father.”

“Thanks sir” Freddy responded.

“And remember to share some of that money with your boyfriend, Michael. The reward is meant for the two of you.”

“Alright” Michael responded.

A noise was heard behind the teenagers, which Freddy turned to look at. Michael didn’t flinch.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m not falling for that trick again. I know you’re trying to hide how you disappear and I’m determined to learn your secret.”

“Michael” a voice called to him in his ear.

“Huh?”

Michael briefly turned around, before he looked back to the where the old man was. In shock, he had disappeared again.

“Son of a bitch! He did it again! That old man…”

“It’s fine, Michael” Freddy interjected reassuringly. “Some things are better left unknown. Besides, he just gave you what seems like a large amount of money, from how you were reacting just now. You should be appreciative of it, especially since I did most of the dangerous work.”

“I guess.”

“Just remember to send some of it over my way when you get a chance. No urgency.”

“Ok….”

Michael stood for a moment, while he watched Freddy walk into his house with the puppy in his hands. Hesitantly, Michael followed him inside soon after. When they entered, they could hear Freddy’s mother cooking in the kitchen.

“Hi Mom” Freddy said, as the puppy began to make some noises.

“Hi Freddy” she replied. “Glad you got home safe. How was practice?”

“It was fine.”

Freddy entered the kitchen, as the puppy squirmed in his hands.

“Whatcha got there?” Freddy’s mother asked, before she turned around to look at him. “Oh my.”

Freddy’s mother jumped back, as she stared at the cute puppy in his hands.

“Where did you get that thing?” she asked.

“Uh…” Freddy stammered, as he began to blush.

A realization hit his mother, before she spoke up.

“Oh Freddy, you didn’t.”

“Uh….”

“It’s not his” Michael lied, as he entered the kitchen. “Freddy just happened to find it at school and decided to take it in.”

“Hi Michael” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to have you over for dinner tonight. I don’t think I made enough food.”

“Hi Mrs Benson. I stayed and watched Freddy’s practice today and he asked me to come home with him afterwards. And the puppy isn’t his, I swear. We found it by the school and decided to take it with us.”

“Are you sure that’s the real reason?” she asked. “I mean, Freddy did bang up Ellie and she’s going to have his puppies soon enough.”

“I’m positive” he replied, faking reassurance.

Freddy smiled, as he appreciated his boyfriend’s efforts to lie in order to protect him. Suddenly, Freddy’s father and Josh entered the kitchen.

“Hi Freddy” his father said. “How was school today?”

“Great, actually” he replied.

“What do you have there?”

“Dad, life isn’t the same without Fido” Josh sulked.

“Hey Josh” Freddy said to him, as he bent down with a smile on his face. “I found something for you.”

Josh looked to see the black puppy cradled in Freddy’s arms.

“A puppy!” he yelled. “A puppy! A puppy! A puppy!”

Josh clapped and jumped, as his father looked on in disbelief.

“How did you find that thing?” his father asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

“We found it at practice today” Michael replied.

“Yeah” Freddy said in concurrence.

“Dad dad?” Josh asked. “Can we keep him? Can we keep him? Can we keep him? Please please please?”

Freddy’s father looked at his son, trying to read his facial expression. After seeing a reassuring smile, he replied to Josh.

“Sure Josh.”

“Yay!” Josh exclaimed.

Freddy handed Josh the puppy, his own sired puppy, before Josh ran out into the backyard to play with him.

“I don’t know how long we can keep him” Freddy said, as he got up to look at his parents. “But hopefully not too long to upset our neighbor.”

“If you’re talking about Bill” his father replied “he won’t be a problem for us anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Freddy’s parents explained what had happened at the pound and how they reported Bill and the dog catcher to the police soon after. Earlier in the day, they were arrested and charged with bribery and public corruption. Bill, not wanting to further infuriate Freddy’s father, had kept his distance, with a little prodding from his husband, Mark. The scandal would later see the pound shut down after reports came out about the cruelty of the treatment of the dogs that were kept there. In the meantime, the arrest created a safe environment for the puppy to be kept in their backyard. Ellie wouldn’t give birth to Fido’s puppies for several more months, so the fear of heat induced sex was non existent.

“That’s crazy” Freddy said.

“You’re telling me” his mother replied.

“Well I’m glad everything is alright now” Michael said, as he grabbed Freddy by the hand. “We were going to go upstairs to study. We’re not that hungry, so you can eat without us.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive” Freddy replied.

Freddy’s parents nodded, as their son and Michael made their way upstairs. Once inside of Freddy’s bedroom, the two boys made out in a passionate display of lust.

“Finally” Freddy whispered in Michael’s ear. “We’re alone. I can have your ass now.”

“I know” he replied. “I’m ready, but I have a question for you first.”

“Uh…Ok.”

Michael sat down on Freddy’s bed, as his boyfriend joined to sit right next to him.

“What did you do with the collar on your neck?” Michael asked.

“I took it off and threw it into the woods while we were walking back home this morning” Freddy replied. “I’m still surprised that I didn’t take it off as soon as I was human again.”

“That wasn’t the first thing on our minds last night. I’m just amazed we managed to find our way back with it being so dark outside or that we made it home in one piece.”

“Still, it did choke me a bit. I would have liked to have taken it off sooner.”

“I thought it was kind of sexy, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I know I shouldn’t say this, but a part of me likes the idea of you wearing it when you’re naked. The idea of you being my little pet really turns me on.”

Freddy frowned when he heard this. Michael gasped, knowing he had a made a mistake in uttering it aloud.

“Oops” Michael said, as he covered a hand to his mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m so sorry.”

Freddy looked at Michael, trying to reassure him with a positive facial expression.

“It’s fine, Michael. I think it’s best that we got rid of it, so we can say to Josh that Fido was killed or something. That will help him to stop talking about the dog, along with the new puppy.”

“I’m sure he would have forgotten about Fido eventually.”

“You’d be surprised with how persistent he is.”

“Still, I’m sorry I said that. I know you’re very sensitive about that and I shouldn’t have….”

“Shhh!”

Freddy put his lips to Michael’s, as they engaged in a passionate kiss.

“It’s fine” Freddy said, as he pulled back from Michael. “In fact, a part of me kind of likes the idea, in a weird way. Maybe we can buy a dog collar online at some point and role-play.”

“You sure?” Michael asked nervously.

“Positive. Our love life should be exciting. If that’ll turn you on, then I want to turn you.”

Michael looked unsure, so Freddy leaned in for another kiss. Freddy gently laid Michael onto his bed, while he kissed him on his cheeks and neck. Freddy got on top of Michael and stripped off his shirt. Before he could kiss his nipple again, Michael’s phone rang.

“Son of bitch, what now?” Freddy asked.

Michael gently pushed Freddy off, as he pulled his phone out of his pants. He saw Sofya’s name appear through the cracked screen.

“It’s Sofya” Michael said. “Should I take it?”

“Of course” Freddy replied.

Michael answered the call and put it on speaker phone.

“Hi Sofya” he said. “Are you alright?”

“Hi Michael” she replied on the other end of the phone. “Surprisingly, yes, I’m fine. Considering that I was technically dead for several hours, it’s a real miracle that they brought me back to life at the hospital.”

“I’m glad to hear that” Freddy said. “We were worried sick about you last night. You were in a pool of blood and totally unresponsive. We thought you wouldn’t make it.”

“Oh, hi Freddy” she cooed. “Are you with Michael right now?”

“Yes, Sofya” Michael replied curtly. “He is.”

“What happened?” Freddy asked, trying to ease the tension.

“Well” Sofya replied “one minute, I feel that I’m out cold and all of the world turns black. Then the next, I wake up on a hospital bed with all sorts of lights being shone in my direction. Before I know it, a ton of people came in to the room trying to ask me questions and talk to me and what not. It was so overwhelming. I had almost no time to recover, before I was dragged out and placed in a court room to testify against my own father. It was such a painful experience, that I’d rather not go into detail about it right now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Sofya” Freddy replied. “That must have been really tough for you.”

“It was, Freddy. But after that, I was taken to a support counselor who gave me the rundown of where things stand for me and what not. They legally gave me my independence, due to my actual age. Even if my father was able to technically freeze my age by law, the court would have granted me emancipation no matter what, so it wasn’t an issue. Once I gained my independence, finally, they found a magician who was able to undo the age freeze spell my shitty father put on me. I’m going to start aging rapidly soon, but only for a bit. At a certain point, the aging will stop again because I have longevity genes that will keep me alive for potentially hundred of years more.”

“What are you going to do about that?” Michael asked inquisitively.

“I’m not sure yet, but I can worry about that when the time comes. For now, I just want to focus on finding a place to settle down and start a normal life for myself. It’s amazing, really. Despite the pain I’ve had to endure and the fact that I’ve lost nearly everything that I’ve ever owned, I’m finally going to get the one thing I’ve always wanted; my freedom.”

“What do you mean everything?” Freddy asked.

“Well, I wasn’t left with much because my father was a dirty fucking thief, who worked for an ever bigger piece of shit than he was, if that’s even possible. When they did an evaluation on his possessions, 90% of them were stolen and most of the remaining 10% of the things he either purchased legally or were technically my property were absolutely worthless. I sold most of it and scrounged what I could, but I held off on selling one thing in particular that was of more value than the rest.”

“What was that?” Michael asked.

“This pendent from my mother, who turned out to be Catherine de Medici. It’s supposedly worth several million dollars, but it’s the only connection I have to her, so I didn’t want to sell it right away. I have enough money to sustain me for the time being, so I don’t have to make a decision on selling it right away.”

“Where are you now?”

“Well, when I came back to the real world, I found a craigslist post for a roommate in Sacramento and replied to the ad. They surprisingly didn’t ask me too many questions and were eager to have me move in right away, considering the rent was due today. I gave them a years deposit and they didn’t ask me any other questions. That was kind of odd because of my age on Earth, but I didn’t press it with them and neither did they. I don’t have much of anything, so moving in wasn’t too difficult. I’m going to settle down and enroll in a school nearby to start classes again later in the week.”

“You’re not coming back to our high school?” Freddy asked.

“No, Freddy. I think it’s best to start a new life one last time and do it on my own terms this time. Since my shitty father is out of the picture now, I have the ability to settle down and weigh an anchor here. I may not end up settling here permanently, but it’s a nice city for now and, who knows, it could become my permanent home base.”

“It’s a nice area” Michael said. “I’ve considered buying an apartment there with Freddy once we graduate high school.”

“Well, I don’t want to interrupt you two for very much longer. But Michael…”

“Yes Sofya.”

“Can you take me off speaker phone so I can talk to you privately?”

“Uh sure.”

Michael turned off the speaker phone, as Freddy tried listening in to their remaining conversation as best he could.

“Michael” Sofya continued. “I want to apologize for trying to break up your relationship with Freddy and for forcibly masturbating him when he was dog.”

“Don’t you think you should tell him this?” Michael asked.

“Thank you Sofya” Freddy said. “It was rape, though.”

“Michael” Sofya said. “Some privacy please.”

“Shh!” Michael hushed when he turned to look at Freddy, before he spoke to Sofya again. “He’s right, though. It was rape and you’re lucky we’re not pressing charges against you for it.”

“I know that” she replied. “I’m extremely grateful for that. I don’t deserve your mercy, but I’m grateful that you’re giving it. It was fucked up of me to try to come between you two. Whatever issues you guys are having, I’m sure you’ll work through them in due time. Freddy cares for you so much, Michael. He loves you and I’m an asshole for not seeing that until yesterday, when he risked his life to rescue you. I know it’ll never be enough to cure the hurt that you’re feeling, but I’m so, so sorry.”

Michael teared up a bit, as Freddy placed his supportive hands on his shoulders.

“Thank you Sofya” Michael replied through his tears. “It’ll never truly be enough, but I’m glad you’re showing remorse about it. And in the end, everything has worked out for the best.”

“Well” Sofya said “when I get settled into a more permanent address, I’d be more than happy to invite you guys to see the place.”

“That would be lovely” Freddy said.

“We’ll see” Michael added curtly.

“Well, I’ll leave you two boys alone now” Sofya said. “Have a good night.”

Michael hung up the phone, not answering her bid of adieu. Freddy wiped the tears that formed from his boyfriend’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry” Freddy said quietly, trying to be comforting of his boyfriend who was in pain as a result of his infidelity. “I….”

Michael kissed him and rubbed his hair affectionately. Freddy gently placed Michael back on the bed again, before he reached down and ripped his pants off.

“Let’s just fuck” Michael said, with a strong suggestion of lust in his voice. “I want you to fuck me.”

“You don’t know how much I’ve been dying to get into your perky little butt again” Freddy said with a deep growl, while he ripped Michael’s underwear off of his legs.

Freddy stripped off his own shirt, as Michael undid his boyfriend’s pants. After throwing their clothes on the floor, Freddy stripped off his underwear, exposing his erect penis. Michael, feeling incredibly horny, put it in his mouth and began to gently suck on it.

“Oh yes” Freddy moaned. “I’ve been waiting so long for this. Suck my dick, Michael.”

Freddy grabbed Michael’s head and bobbed it up and down on his throbbing dick. After a few minutes of oral stimulation, Freddy took his dick out of Michael’s mouth and gently laid him across the bed on his stomach.

“Let’s get ourselves ready for me to fuck you tonight” Freddy said, as he grabbed a bottle of lotion from his dresser.

Freddy lathered up a large amount of lotion on his dick and then squeezed some into Michael’s asshole. After gently massaging both his dick and Michael’s hole, Freddy laid down on top of his boyfriend and inserted his penis deep into the ass he longed to fuck. After a satisfying plop, the dick sunk in, to the sound of the two boys moaning in pleasure. Freddy paused for a moment, in fear of changing back into a dog in that moment. Michael looked up at him, wondering why Freddy had stopped his movements. After a few seconds passed by, Freddy looked down at Michael and smiled, before he kissed him on the lips.

“The dog is gone” Freddy replied with a smile, as he started to move his hips back and forth. “I get to fuck you now without the fear of changing back into Fido.”

Michael smiled back, as Freddy continued to kiss him. They passionately made love on his bed. After a few minutes of intense, sweaty fucking, Michael came on Freddy’s bed sheets. As Michael’s ejaculating penis caused him to contract his asshole tightly, Freddy’s face tensed up, before he shot a copious amount of cum into his lover’s asshole. The boys forgot to eat dinner or do their homework that night, as they spent the remainder of the evening making sweet love with one another. As the night sky glistened up above them, all was as it should be in their world.

The End

Or is it?

• In the year 2040 O added 3 years ago

• A few days later
• In the year 2026

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