Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2017 13:00:35 -0500 From: Kurt King <kingkurt1339@gmail.com> Subject: The New Life of Matt King Chapter 5 This story may contain sexual acts between males, persons below the age of consent, and relatives. If this offends you or is illegal for you to read where you're at, please close this website and go elsewhere. This story is fictional and entirely the work of the author's imagination. And resemblance to persons, places, or things, real or fictional, are entirely coincidental, and any views stated do not necessarily reflect those of any companies or organizations which do exist in real life, nor necessarily reflect the views of the author. This story is the property and copyright of the author, do not share, reproduce, repost, or any other such act which is illegal to do without the author's permission. You can find my other story at the following link: NLXK: http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/the-new-life-of-xander-king/ Don't forget that you can always contact me to give me feedback! I can be found at kingkurt1339@gmail.com, and I do my best to respond to every email if I can! Any comments, questions, or suggestions are always welcome, especially as I'm constantly changing events that happen in the story, and will be publishing other stories! If you want to be added to my mailing list, let me know! You can follow me on Twitter @KurtMKing now, too! As always – don't forget to donate to Nifty at: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html to keep the archive free! This story is not a quick jack-off story. If you are looking for that, you would be best going to another story. If you are interested in not just the sex, but also the lives of the characters and their romances and dramas, then read on, and I hope you enjoy it! In the last chapter, Matt and Liam made a deal, and it resulted in Liam giving Matt a blowjob, taking Matt out of his comfort zone. After, Matt cooked dinner for the two of them, revealing yet another skill in his set. In this chapter, Liam will take Matt out of his comfort zone once more. Anyway, on to the chapter, and I hope you enjoy! ~~Chapter Five – The Picture~~ [Liam] When I get to school, I get a few funny looks, but no one says anything. I wonder what's up with that. My wonder lasts until I'm passing up Matt's locker on the way to mine. His has "FAGGOT" written on it in big, black letters. Taped to the locker is a black and white picture of us kissing, a big X put through it in red with "Faggots will die" written on it. I'm about to rip it off the locker when Tessa notices it. "That won't do," she mutters, walking over to the locker and pulling out a marker. When she walks away, that lone picture is completely covered in color and the X looks like streamers. I can't even see where "Faggots will die" is, she completely overwrote it with her own. It takes all of my effort to not laugh. She spent thirty seconds at it, and managed to completely change the image. She even put a pink heart around us. "Faggot," Jake coughs as he bumps into me. I ignore him. He'll get over himself and realize his true likings soon enough. "I guess you already know," Chance approaches me. "Ian and I tried reaching you to let you know, but you never picked up." "I forgot my phone at home," I look at him. "Was in a rush getting out this morning. Where'd that picture come from?" "Some jackass from Westbrook Middle School sent it around a little bit ago," he answers. I bet I know who. "There's been a ton of talk about you and Matt, but mostly Matt. It's not good, and...what happened to the picture? I was just grabbing a staff member to have them clean it up. They said it'd be a bit before they could get the custodian to it." In other words, they're going to leave it up all day, so that everyone can see it. "Tessa got to it," I answer. "Let's leave it up for now." He laughs, and we head to class. Matt's not at school, and I'm worried that his anxiety's gotten to him over this. On my way to lunch, I notice a gaggle of girls around Matt's locker, giggling to themselves, and I'm pretty sure I see gold wrapping paper on it. When we're returning to class from lunch, I see the effort of the girls. His locker is covered with gold wrapping paper and a dozen or so pictures of Matt in various situations. Him napping in class, him looking like a deer caught in the headlights when someone approached him, him walking down the hall, him focusing intently on our first test of the year. The girls have been sneaking pictures of Matt. How have I not noticed this? The part that really amuses me is the centerpiece of the design. A large picture of us kissing, in full color, cut into the shape of a heart and backed with red construction paper. There were at least two staff members who helped them with that, because I doubt they carried construction paper on their own, and only the library has a color printer in the school. Unless one of the girls printed that picture up at home. I don't even want to THINK about that possibility. By the end of the day, though, it's been completely ruined, "FAGGOT" written across it, hateful things written. When we're leaving at the end of the day, a custodian's cleaning up, the paper in the trash, and him washing off the letters. On my way home, I take a detour and stop by Matt's house, but no one answers the door. The next day, worse stuff is written on his locker, and at lunch, the girls are back at it. When they finish, it's got even more, including writing about how cute he is and how we're adorable together. End of the day, it's ruined and the custodian's cleaning it up again. No one answers at home, and Matt ignores his texts from me. At martial arts, Sensei Adam's absent, due to 'family issues'. Matt's on full-panic, probably. The rest of the week goes much the same, with an announcement coming over the intercom Friday morning. "This is Mrs. Greer," our principal says. "Your principal. Please pardon the interruption. I would like to emphasize this school's zero-tolerance policy towards bullying and hate speech. Defacing lockers is not permitted, especially when it with hate speech. The students responsible have been suspended, and if we find anyone else involved in the incident, they will face punishment as well. I would like to thank a small group of students for standing up against this," she lists off a few names, all of them from the group of girls that have been taking over Matt's locker. "And the ringleader behind it all, Tessa Martins. For the seven of you, who stood up for what is right and fought hate in a peaceful manner, come to the office at lunch, we've got something for you. Thank you, and have a good day." I have to admit, she chose a fitting word for Tessa in 'ringleader'. I don't think that was missed on anyone. At lunch, I smell pizza, and know exactly what that 'something' is. They got pizza for those girls. After gymnastics, I head over to Matt's, to no response, and then stop over at Tessa's. She answers the door, a big grin on her face. "What's up, Liam?" She asks. "How's the bf?" "No clue," I answer. "He and Sensei Adam aren't answering their phones or the door. I'm worried something happened because of this. Matt's got high anxiety levels, and I found out on Saturday that he's taking meds that help him keep it in check." "He's this bad on meds?" "Yeah," I answer. "It's worrying me. What if he tried killing himself?" "I don't think he did," she says. "I mean, no ambulance has come by, and Sensei Adam didn't look worried when he was mowing the grass earlier." "He was mowing earlier?" "He looked more annoyed than anything," she shrugs. "But then, he usually does. Now that I know he's got Matt living there, I'm sure it's something his brother did." "Did you talk to him?" "I was doing homework when I noticed him," she shakes her head. "I went out to talk to him, but he was already done. When I knocked, I didn't get an answer." "So you guys got pizza, huh?" I ask. "Smelled good." "That was a total surprise!" She laughs. "We all walked in, smelling that, and were like 'no, she didn't!' and she totally did! She ordered us all pizza and got us all ice cream, and said she wanted to thank us, again, for standing up against them. Then she asked where we got all those pictures from. We all got a twenty-five dollar gift card, too, but we're not supposed to tell anyone that." "Even though you just told me?" "You won't spread it around," she grins. "Anyway, I was on my way to bed. Let me know what you hear!" I tell her goodnight, and try Matt's again, but still to no avail, so I head home, worried. In the morning, I go over to his house, and when I get there, I hear a beautiful, sweet voice singing to a guitar. Not sure if it's pop or country, or a mix of the two. When I knock on the door, the music stops, and a moment later, Matt's red face appears in the window, which was apparently open. I knew it was open, since I could hear him, but he clearly didn't know. "You could hear me!" He squeals, slamming the window shut. Martial arts, cooking, and singing. What else can he do? I'm standing here about five minutes, and he doesn't come to the door. I knock again. No response. I decide to try the knob, and it turns open. Matt's in the living room, hiding behind the couch, and the moment he realizes I can get in, he runs over, probably to push the door closed. Too late, though, as I'm inside the moment it's open far enough, and he slams into the door just as I pass by, the door slamming shut. "Hey, cutie," I grin at him. "What's up?" "Why are you in my house?" "What?" I ask. "I can't be worried about why my boyfriend hasn't been in school? You've had us all worried." "I was sick," he shrugs. "I'm better, now. What do you want?" "To make sure you're alright," I answer. "You were sick all week?" "Uh-huh," he nods. "I was puking early in the week, and then was just running a fever until yesterday morning, but Adam kept me home from school to make sure I was fine. And the bugger left the window open and door unlocked when he left. I'm going to beat him up when he gets home." "That was you playing guitar?" I notice a guitar sitting on the couch. "Yeah," his face turns red again. "I suck, I know. It's why I'm mad that the window was open. Who knows how many people heard my awful voice and playing." Martial arts, cooking, singing, guitar. What else can this boy do? Was Sensei Adam serious when he said that Matt can do whatever he wants? "Hey, Matt," I decide. "Let's make a bet." "I'm not sucking you off." "That's fine," I can wait on that, I'll be happy to suck him off until he's ready for more. "But that's not what I was wanting. Actually, it's that you think you suck at singing and guitar. I think you're good. Let's go to the park. If you've got less than ten people watching, and less than two complimenting you, after five songs, then I'll buy you lunch. If there are at least ten people watching, and at least two complimenting you, however, then you have to go shirtless whenever we're alone. Deal?" He thinks about it. A lot. Then he nods, face turning red. He grabs his guitar and takes it upstairs, returning a few moments later in a different shirt over the long-sleeve, shoes, and carrying both his guitar case and violin case. He had a dragon shirt before, but changed it when he went to leave. Does he only wear those around the house? We walk to the park, and he sits down at one of the round, stone tables. He wants to sit as far away from everyone as possible, but I convinced him into a 'compromise' by sitting a distance away, but not as far away as possible. I'd planned on that the moment the deal came to mind. He tunes his guitar and starts strumming it, humming softly to himself. He's stiff and nervous. "Play your favorite song," I suggest, knowing it'll help him ease into it. He starts playing, and after a few lines, I realize it's the same one he was playing when I showed up. A couple of people look over our way. He's still tense and nervous, and isn't playing very well. I like the song he played, though, it's about how crazy dreams can come true, even if it seems impossible. I make a note to ask him later what the song is. "Play another," I tell him when he finishes. He nods, and starts playing. This one's nice, though I think it's a summer song. It's about water. "Do you know any baseball songs?" I ask, watching a dad and his kid tossing a ball back and forth. Soon, it'll be too chilly for that. "Or no?" "There are a few country baseball songs," he nods. This one really does sound like a baseball song, including 'swing batter' in it, and he starts to lose himself into the music. He actually switches straight from it to another song, one of the few country songs I know, "It's America" by Rodney Atkins. He gets so into it that he doesn't even notice that a crowd starts to form. Not a small audience – a crowd. It started building up during the third song, but by the time he moves into the fifth, I'm pretty sure almost everyone at the park is here, listening to this god play and sing. I also know his last song. "Daddy's Money", by Ricochet. That's from the early nineties, and still country. At this point, Matt's completely lost himself, and is rocking away on his guitar as he plays. I notice a few people recording him at this point. The moment he finishes the song, he plays a really weird tune. I mean, I know what it is, but it's really weird. He does the Meow Mix jingle on his guitar. And then he realizes the crowd, and looks at them in fright, eyes widen open, body tense, face pale as a ghost. "I just did that in front of a crowd!" He exclaims, and everyone laughs. His face turns bright red, probably thinking they're making fun of him. I laugh, too, clapping him on a back. "Don't worry, Matt," I grin. "We all know you want to be a cat!" That earns a few more chuckles, and people start talking. One asks where he learned to play guitar. "I taught myself," Matt answers quietly. "Really?" He asks. "You were pretty good, once you stopped being shy." "That's what I was telling him," I grin at the guy. "See, Matt? You're good." "Yeah, but-" he starts to protest. "You play in a band?" Someone else asks before he can finish. "Or you solo? I'd love to hear you again." "He'll be here every Saturday," I grin at her. "Whenever the weather's nice enough out. And he doesn't play in a band, this is the first time anyone other than his brother or I have heard him play." "How long have you been playing?" She asks. "Since I was three or four," Matt shrugs. "I heard Carrie Underwood's 'Crazy Dreams' on the radio, and wanted to learn it. This was right after it came out. So Adam - that's my brother - convinced our parents to buy me a guitar. They were going to sign me up for lessons, but couldn't find someone they liked, and during all of that, I was teaching myself. Are you sure you like me?" I know that look. That's the look that says he doesn't believe her. "You're damn good," she laughs. "Know any other songs? Ones that aren't country?" "Hrm," he thinks for a moment. And thinks. And thinks. Then he starts plucking at his strings, then starts up another song. "I know this one." He plays "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from The Lion King. And he even changes his voices to match the four different parts: Simba, Nala, Zazu, and when all the animals are singing. Damn is he good, he does those changes fluidly, and it sounds right. I wish I had that level of talent. When he finishes that song, he flashes me a hesitant, but cheeky grin. I don't think anyone knows why I'm laughing, but I laugh anyway, and then we head back to his house. "Why did you laugh?" He asks. "Dude, seriously?" I look at him. "Why did you play that particular song?" "Because I thought it was funny," he looks unsure. "And I don't know, maybe a little ironic?" "And you don't think I did, too?" I ask. "And I found it to be more cheeky than anything. The King saying he couldn't wait to be king." Once again, my man flashes me that hesitant grin. [Matt] I go up to my room and put my guitar and violin away in my closet, where I store them when not in use, and then take off my shoes and socks. Adam won't be home for hours, so it's just me and Liam, and I lost the bet. I don't want to take off my shirts and go shirtless around him, but I do it anyway. When I go back down, he just stares at me. "You're actually going shirtless." "I lost the bet." "Yeah," he says. "You don't have to go shirtless if you don't want to, I knew you were going to lose." "I lost the bet," I say. "And we had a deal." "And now I'm canceling it," he shakes his head. "I know it makes you uncomfortable, no need." "It's just you," I say. "I can do it. I think. Let me do it." "You sure?" He asks, and I nod. "Okay. What do you want to do?" "This way!" I lead him downstairs. Adam's got most of it set up for gaming. Video games, board games, card games, and so on. I still don't believe him on dick sizes, but I know I can beat him at any card game we play. I play Adam, and Adam plays seriously. It's the one thing I know I'm good at. Adam says it's a family trait, being good at card games. I find that weird, but then again, it's Adam. We start with Go Fish, and that devolves into Poker, with us betting popcorn instead of money or clothes. After a few rounds of that, he gestures to a room and asks me what's in there. "That's a sound room," I answer. "It's set up so we can record music and stuff." "Seriously?" He asks, and I nod. "Can I see?" "Sure," I get up and lead him into it. It's actually fairly large, but then, all the homes in this neighborhood are huge, so we have the space. "It's got most of my instruments in it." A drum set, a couple of timpani, a marimba, a trumpet, a flute, my ocarina (which I have been looking for all week), a trombone, a baritone, a clarinet, a snare drum, and a few other instruments. That's in addition to the ten acoustic and five electric guitars hanging on the walls, the speakers and amps and microphones, and other equipment. It actually takes up half of the basement. "Got any recordings?" He asks, looking around, and I feel my face heat up. "You do, don't you?" "I've done a few parodies," I admit. "And some covers. But don't go into the file of my own music." "Okay?" He looks at me weirdly. "I thought you wanted to listen to it." "I was just curious," he laughs. "Can I?" "Yeah," I walk over to the computer and pull up the files. "Don't go into the ones with my own music. I locked them all with a password, so you can't get in, anyway." As he listens to music, I play around with my drums, but quietly. After a few songs, he asks me if he can sing with me. "Sure?" I ask. "Music or a capella?" "Can you do a capella?" "I can try," I say. "I've never done it around someone else before. And rap, too." "You...rap?" He asks, and my face heats up. "Cool. Ian and I rap sometimes, when we get bored. If we had the others here, we could go a capella, but not with Jake." "He suck?" "No," Ian makes a weird face. "His parents pulled him out of school this week, they're sending him to Westbrook Middle School now." "How come?" "Don't worry about it," he flashes me a grin, but I can see the irritation in his gaze. Did I do something wrong? "It doesn't matter in the slightest. Okay, so do you know anything that's not country or from a movie?" "Quite a few," I answer. "But I prefer country, and watch a lot of movies. Wanna do 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' from 'The Lion King'? Or we can do 'Under da Sea' from 'The Little Mermaid', if you want that one." He laughs, and we do the former. After a few times, we record it, though only audio. I play a few different instruments, recording each one, then record it with just us singing. I put it all together and play it for him, and he listens, nodding after a few moments. "This is pretty good," he says when it finishes. "Though I might be biased because I'm in it, along with my hot boyfriend." Boyfriend? "Boyfriend?" I ask. "Well," he says. "I mean, I used to fool around with Ian and them, but that was mostly just fooling around and getting off. I like you, you like me, and I was kind of hoping you wanted to be boyfriends." "Okay," I say. "But we can't, under any circumstances, allow anyone at school to find out. It'll be horrible!" "They already know," he states. "They do?" I feel the blood draining from my face. "How bad is it?" "Eh," he shrugs. "There was some hate, but the school made it clear that they don't have an issue with it, and that any students who do can go fuck themselves. That, and Tessa didn't tolerate it." "The crazy girl?" I ask, and he laughs. "What?" "You do know that she lives, like, three doors down, right?" "Yeah," I answer when his phone beeps. He pulls it out and checks it. "Speak of the devil, and she shall know," he says. "It's Tessa. She's asking if I've contacted you guys yet. We've been worried, since you haven't been at school, and no one's been answering their phones. You or Sensei Adam. And no one's been answering the door." "I've been ignoring it," I say. "And Adam didn't get back in town until yesterday." "He left you alone while you were sick?" He asks. "Yeah," I answer. "Happens all the time. See, he doesn't like taking care of me, so he leaves town to go sleep with some slut, and-" "You're bullshitting me," he laughs. "So you were just ignoring us trying to contact you?" "I lost the charger to my phone." "And Sensei Adam?" "Was busy taking care of me or working or something," I shrug. "Probably forgot to listen. Wanna hear my rock version of 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'? I don't promise it'll be good, but I like it." "How the hell do you do a rock version of that song?" ~~END OF CHAPTER 5~~ Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! As always, any feedback is welcome, and you can send it to me at kingkurt1339@gmail.com – I try to reply to all email! Let me know if you'd like to be added to my mailing list for chapter and project updates, too! You can also follow me on Twitter @KurtMKing as well! And seriously, don't think I bite. I've got over 300 emails between me and one reader in the last month. I mean, we talk about NLKX, NLMK, his own attempts at writing, my project another another site, games, and tons more. It literally started with him saying he liked the story and was curious about one little detail. I actually do take reader input into my stories, and it has made me realize, in the past, that there were some huge errors (such as NLCK, for anyone who was around when that mess occurred). If you're one of those people who are afraid to email an author – I DON'T BITE! And constructive criticism is completely welcome! If you don't understand something or don't like something, let me know, and I can explain, and might adjust the story if I get enough people not liking something (or realize I don't like it, either). But please, no more asking to cater to underwear fetishes, I'm not going to have them doing an underwear tease in every chapter. That's just...no. TriviaTime! Westbrook Middle School is the same school that Carter Martins, Tessa's cousin who appears in NLXK, attends, and Carter is the younger brother of a close friend of Jake Weston, from NLZK, which isn't released, but IS the first story in the Kingverse. This is the same Jake that made appearances in the Wolf's Dragon in NLCK. Hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to Chapter 6!