Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 21:43:04 -0700
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Puget Posse  Chapter 43

Welcome back for another chapter of The Puget Posse. Operation
Bullfrog is taking shape. It is now up to Mark to take the next step in
executing the plan. You'll find out in this chapter if he manages to be
successful.

All the original disclaimers apply. Please give to the Nifty Archive to
keep the site free and open.

I love getting reader emails. Douglas. thehakaanen@hotmail.com



CHAPTER 43
PICTURE THIS

"Did you bring it?" Misha asked Neville as soon as he saw him on the
bus Tuesday morning.

"Yes, I have it." Neville was surprised by Misha's uncharacteristic
impatience.

"May I see it?"

Neville pulled a small Nikon Coolpix camera out of his backpack.
"Does this satisfy you?" he asked coolly. It was his camera—he and
Dylan each had received one for Christmas.

"It's perfect."

"I do not understand why I need to use a camera instead of my phone
camera."

"It is because Will's brother said it would work the best. That is all I
know."

"But if I use my phone camera I can sneak a picture. If I use my
camera, he'll know I'm taking it."

"I have one idea," Misha said.

"Do tell."

"Talk to Paul. I think he might be able to help. He knows how things
work at the school."

Neville didn't see how Paul could be of help, but he agreed to talk to
him. Misha, like Patrick, had an uncanny way of being right with his
hunches.

As soon as Neville got off of the bus, he headed up the stairs for the
third floor, which was the domain of the eighth graders. He received
the usual friendly razzing as he walked the hall looking for Paul. He
also received friendly help as Roland Park, who was the eighth grade
president, escorted him to Paul's home room. Roland was also a
guide, being assigned to a team in Mr. Nash's room, and understood
the relationship between the guides and their fifth grade team. Plus
he was a good all-around kid.

"Hey, dude, whazzup?" Paul asked in greeting.

"Hello, Paul. I need to ask you something," Neville said as they
exchanged fist bumps. Neville had pretty much broken his habit of
looking for a handshake.

"Ask away."

"I need to ask in private."

"Okay." Paul drew out the word. It was obvious that Neville was being
even more serious than usual. It didn't surprise him when one of the
other Posse members sought him out, but he never expected Neville
to climb the stairs for a chat. "Hang tough. I need to talk to Mr.
Hernandez."

"He teaches my journalism class," Neville said.

"Oh, very nice. I'll be right back." Paul took off, leaving Neville feeling
exposed and vulnerable. Nobody in the room bothered him, however.
It was understood that Neville was under Paul's protective wing.

Paul returned within a few minutes. "Mr. Hernandez is cool. He knows
how important us guides are. I've got a pass to leave class when you
guys have morning break. Meet me you know where in the
basement."

Neville thanked him and once again walked the gauntlet of eighth
graders, as well as seventh graders on the second floor. The sixth
graders tended to leave the fifth graders alone since both grades
occupied a niche at the bottom of the school food chain, not to say a
few sixth graders didn't occasionally take advantage of their
somewhat higher status. He arrived at his seat a minute before the
bell to start class.

"Hey, Neville, how did it go?" Mark asked.

"How did what go?"

"Your meeting with the big guy." Mark was referring to Paul.

"Misha told us where you were," Matthew said.

"Yeah. Did Paul give you a plan?" Mark asked.

"We are meeting at morning break," Neville told them.

"Oh, cool, he's gonna skip class to meet you. That makes the Posse
pretty important," Mark crowed.

"He has a pass to leave class."

"Well, that doesn't stop us from being pretty important," Matthew said.

"Can I see the camera?" Mark asked.

"It's in my locker."

"Damn. I bet it's cool."

The chatter was stopped by the ringing of the bell. Mr. Jackson took
roll as the Posse worked quickly on the trivia question of the day,
hoping to be first with the right answer.

"G-H-O-T-I is a misspelling for what common four letter word?"
Patrick read.

"W-T-F kind of a question is that?" Matthew asked. "Looks like ghost,
but that's five letters."

"So is spook," Mark added.

"G-H can make the F sound," Patrick said.

"Oh, then it could be a misspelling for F-U-C-K."

"Mr. Kirkwood," came Mr. Jackson's voice from a few feet behind him.
"Mind your manners."

Mark leaned in and whispered, "Between him and Mrs. D showing up
every time I open my mouth I'm gonna go crazy. Neville and Misha
are lucky they don't have Mrs. D driving their bus."

"It would not matter," Neville said haughtily, "since we do not get into
trouble on the bus."

"Well, la-di-da to you, too."

"We need to focus and get on task," Patrick quickly interrupted,
quoting one of Mr. Jackson's favorite adages.

"Does not T-I make S-H?" Misha asked.

"How?" Mark asked.

"Like in nation," Matthew said.

"Since when did you become Mr. Know-it-all?" Mark sneered.

"Since I started hanging around with Misha and got smarter than
you."

"We need to work together," Neville said. As much as he had become
a serious member of the posse, the antics of the twins could still drive
him up the wall. "So, F could start our word and S-H could end it.
What do we have?"

"We don't have shit," Mark said, looking around to see if Mr. Jackson
was close. Neville glared at him, but Mark ignored him. Instead his
face lit up as he had a "Holy Shit" moment. "We need a vowel there
between the F and the S-H, and only I fits."

"But the letter in the misspelled word is O," Misha said. "O does not
sound like I." While Misha was getting used to the incongruities of
English spelling and pronunciation, he still wasn't always comfortable
with them.

"Well, it was a thought," Mark said. "That means we have to be totally
wrong in what we have so far."

"Our discussion time is almost up," Patrick said.

The entire team waited for Neville to say the inevitable "Thanks to the
twins". Instead, he grinned and said, "Put in F-I-S-H."

"Are you sure?" Matthew asked.

Neville nodded.

"How?" Patrick asked just as Mr. Jackson called time.

"Trust me," Neville told them.

Misha wrote the word on their official form and quickly dropped it into
the box. They were the first team to drop in an answer; two other
teams, including the F-Five dropped their slip into the box seconds
before the deadline.

As Mr. Jackson got English started, Neville wrote the word WOMEN
on a sheet of paper and slid it over to Misha who frowned. The paper
went around the group, with Patrick, Mark, and Matthew all giving it a
grin and an understanding nod. Patrick whispered the word into
Misha's ear and his eyes lit up. The Posse knew they were the first
team with the right answer, and might end up being the only team
with the right answer.

At break, Neville headed for the basement and the student council
room. He waited as Paul arrived with his key and opened the door.
Two sixth grade officers were in the outer room munching on snacks
and drinking fruit juice. Paul opened up the inner room and he and
Neville took seats on the couch.

Since they had limited time, Neville explained his problem to Paul.
Paul listened, nodded, and when Neville finished, flashed him a big
grin.

"I might know what you can do to get the picture you need," Paul
said. "And to even get Jeremiah to pose for it."

"How?" Neville asked skeptically.

"It sounds like you have journalism for your Explorer class," Paul
observed. The fifth graders had samples of most of the electives
during the year, which were called sampler or Explorer classes.

"Yes, it is my class right now," Neville told him.

"This is going to be perfect," Paul replied. He told Neville his plan.
Neville found himself hit by a wave of confidence as Paul came up
with a plan that had a good chance of working.

As they got up to leave the room, Paul said, "Do you want to come
down here and mess around some time?"

"No."

"Oh well, I thought I'd ask."

"Does puberty make everybody horny all of the time like you and my
brother?"

"I didn't know you had a brother."

"Dylan Carlson is my step-brother."

"I think I know who he is. He's in sixth grade, right?"

"Yes he is."

"Does he mess around?"

"You will have to ask him."

They walked into the basement corridor. "You did say he was horny
all of the time," Paul pointed out.

"Yes, but that was all I said. Thank you for the help."

"Well, I am an official Posse deputy." He hesitated a moment and
said, "After we go upstairs, how about getting your camera and taking
my picture. We can do it in the lounge."

Neville got his camera and they hustled back to the student council
lounge. Paul posed for a couple of shots and they headed upstairs.

"How did the meeting go?" Mark asked. The fifth and sixth graders
were just returning from break.

"Very well," Neville said. "Misha was correct; Paul had a good plan."
Misha beamed on hearing Neville's praise.

"Well, what is it?" Patrick asked.

"I pretend that I need to take pictures of all of the student council
officers as an assignment for journalism."

"Sweet, that way you will get Jeremiah to pose for a picture," Mark
said. "We'll get a good one."

"Jeremiah might not pose to make things hard for Neville," Matthew
said. "Everybody knows that Jeremiah hates the Posse."

"Paul said he would help if we need it," Neville quickly added.

"It's going to work, I know it will," Patrick said with confidence.

At the end of the day, Mr. Jackson heaped praise on the Posse. He
let the class know they were the only team to solve the very difficult
puzzle. The rest of the class moaned and complained when Mr.
Jackson gave them the answer, saying nobody could figure that out.
Mr. Jackson quickly restored order by reminding them that someone
had figured it out, so they needed to live with it and move on.

Paul's plan ended up working very well. Paul convinced Tyler
Mitchell, the student body president, to help insure everyone's
cooperation, including Jeremiah's if he became reluctant. Giving Tyler
a blowjob in the inner eighth grade lounge was a good way of getting
Tyler to see things Paul's way.

Jeremiah didn't need much convincing. As much as he disliked
Neville, who he saw as a stuck up piece of crap, and as much as he
disliked the Posse, he followed his father's advice and went out of his
way to be nice to all of the Posse members. His father said if he
showed the fifth grade how well he worked with every team, even
with the one his enemy, Mark, was on, his classmates would vote for
him in the spring because of the great job he was doing.

"You won by knocking out your opponent," his father told him. "You're
going to win in the spring because you can show the entire class
what a great job you've been doing. Nobody will be able to defeat
you."

Neville photographed Misha first, to confirm that Jeremiah wasn't the
only subject he wanted. Neville had Misha stay with him for moral
support, along with Patrick. Patrick, with his artistic eye, had
Jeremiah take some extra poses. They wanted to get a picture of him
that was just right for the next part of Operation Bullfrog, and felt
they'd succeeded.

By Friday, Neville had photographed all of the officers. Neville
received an unexpected plus during seventh period when Mr.
Hernandez, who taught his journalism class, asked to talk to Neville.
The teacher had found out from Paul what his meeting with Neville
had been about—at least in part. As a result, Mr. Hernandez talked to
Neville about his photos and said he would accept the project for
extra credit.

At the end of the day, Will checked out all of the pictures, but the
ones of Jeremiah in particular. "I think this will work great," he said. "I
can't wait to see what Gary and J.J. do with these." Neither could the
rest of the Posse.

++++++++++++

The Bobcats had an early intramural game on Wednesday in the new
gym. After the game, Patrick, Misha, Ellis, and Neville were going to
meet at Patrick's house. Misha had chess club at the same time as
the game.

Because Jeremiah's team played one of the late games, Ellis went to
the chess club meeting to watch Misha play. None of the Posse
wanted Jeremiah to see Ellis hanging around them. They were
reasonably certain Jeremiah wasn't going to watch the chess games.
Even if he had, he would have seen Ellis playing a game against
Nate, a sixth grader. Neville went to the gym and watched the
basketball game.

Kristy, the twins' mother, watched the game as well. She was going
to take Ellis, Patrick, Misha, and Neville to Patrick's house before
taking her sons home.

As they left the floor the Bobcats ignored Jeremiah who was
preparing to warm-up with his team. Jeremiah went out of his way to
be cordial to all of the Bobcats and to the twins in particular. He made
sure that anybody within hearing distance could hear how friendly he
was to the boys who were supposedly his arch enemies.

"What a phony," Patrick said as the Bobcats walked to the locker
room. Nobody disagreed.

Since Kristy didn't want to wait around for the boys to shower and
was willing to put up with some boy smell for a while, the three Posse
hoops players dressed quickly. The twins slapped on some
deodorant and handed the stick to Patrick.

"Put it on," Mark said, "it will make you a man, just like we are."

"It will keep your pit from stinking," Matthew added.

"My pit doesn't stink." Patrick told them as he pulled on his polo shirt.

"Our pits don't stink either," Mark said, "but mom told us to put it on."

"And putting it on helps make you a man," Matthew said, echoing
what his brother had told them earlier.

"I don't need deodorant to make me a man, I can make sperms,"
Mark informed them. Patrick shrugged and kept dressing.

"You guys are lucky," Will said as he passed them. He was naked
and heading for the shower. "I have to take the activity bus. The worst
part is I have to ride with Alden and Jeremiah."

"If you lived closer...," Mark said before Will interrupted him.

"I live pretty close to Patrick. Well, not real close, but not real far."

"I could ask my mom if she'd give you a ride," Mark offered.

"Nah, it's cool. Maybe I can be a spy and listen to Jeremiah and
Alden, not that Alden ever talks much."

The boys chatted some more as Patrick and the twins dressed. Will
didn't bother to cover his junk with his towel and Patrick in particular
found Will's naked body somewhat thrilling to look at.

"We'll tell you tomorrow what happened today at my house," Patrick
said.

"Yeah, thanks for helping with the pictures," Mark told Will. "They
came out great."

"I can't wait until Jeremiah sees them," Will said.

"That might take awhile."

"I don't care as long it makes Jeremiah lose his cool."

Patrick and the twins left the gym for the pickup area next to the
school. Misha, Ellis, and Neville were already in the SUV, which the
still sweaty hoops players found toasty warm.

"I wish we could go to the meeting," Matthew said, making sure his
mother was listening. Sometimes it was necessary to penetrate the
wall of silence between the front and back seats.

"Yeah, then the whole Posse would be together," Mark said. "They
need us more than mom needs us on restriction."

"Boys, I don't want to hear about it," Kristy told the two in the
backseat without turning her head. "You know you earned what you
got."

"All we did was put a rubber snake in Michelle's cereal box," Matthew
protested.

"Yeah," Mark added, "and she's the one who earned it. She called us
gross and ugly and stupid. It's not our fault we got boners on naked
day."

"Exactly, we're boys. What are we supposed to do when we get
naked?"

"If you two say any more about it, I will give you another week and
take away naked Monday indefinitely."

"Well, it isn't fair," Mark mumbled, getting the last word in as usual.

"How did chess go, Misha?" Patrick asked.

"I won my one match. Because I had to leave early for my ride I did
not play my second. It was going to be against Cole. We will play the
first game next time," Misha answered.

"That Cole dude hasn't beat you yet, has he?" Mark asked.

"No, but the last games have been very difficult for me. I think he will
defeat me soon."

"I lost my game," Ellis said.

"Ellis and Nate are both new and the game was a good one," Misha
said. "I hope Ellis comes back. I think he will enjoy chess."

"They call Misha the tsar in chess club," Ellis giggled.

"That's because Misha rules." Mark told them, trading a high five with
Misha.

Kristy dropped Patrick, Neville, Ellis, and Misha off at Patrick's house
without further incident. All four boys received hugs from Grannana
whether they wanted them or not, embarrassing both Neville and
Ellis. But, to their credit, they each took their hug graciously.

"Dinner in forty-five," Grannana said. "Come on your own if you wish
to eat, because I will not be yelling for you."

They all retired to Patrick's room. "I hope you guys don't mind if I take
a shower. I'm still all sweaty," Patrick said. Nobody objected so
Patrick stripped naked. He was not ashamed of his body, especially
after his experiences since he started fifth grade. "I'll be quick. You
guys can be in your undies if you want." He left the room and crossed
the hall to the bathroom.

"I am not stripping to my undies," Neville said. "There are adults out
there."

"They don't mind," Ellis said. "I did it last time I was here."

"You guys can do it, but I am not going to."

"I think if Neville does not wish to...um...strip, then we should all do
the same to support our friend," Misha said diplomatically.

"You can do as you wish, I won't mind a bit." Misha and Ellis looked
at each other, a silent message passing between them, and they kept
their clothes on as well.

As promised, Patrick returned quickly. He was surprised the three
were still dressed in their uniforms, but surmised correctly that the
often prudish Neville was probably the reason for it. He put on a t-
shirt, sweats, and socks, but no underpants. The four boys made it to
dinner just as the food was being placed on the table and Brian
arrived home.

After dinner time was devoted to homework. After they finished the
necessities, it was time for Operation Bullfrog. They decided to hold
that meeting in Patrick's room.

Neville had the memory card that Gary and J.J. had put together,
under the "supervision" of Will. Patrick booted up his laptop and
Neville inserted the memory card. The four boys looked at the
pictures of Jeremiah one last time, deciding they couldn't be more
perfect. Neville then placed the memory card into a blank envelope
and sealed it.

He handed it to Ellis, who was sitting at Patrick's little desk.  He
placed the envelope in front of him doing the best he could to
duplicate what he had written on the envelope sitting in Jeremiah's
locker. He ended up tearing open and throwing away five envelopes
before he created one that met his satisfaction.

"It's as close as I can get it," Ellis told the group.

"It is unlikely Jeremiah will notice any small differences," Neville
observed.

"But what about Alden?" Ellis asked. "Everybody says he's the smart
one, and they're right. I've never been able to fool him. It's really
scary how he knows stuff."

"The envelope is in Jeremiah's locker," Patrick said. "Why would
Alden look at it?"

"I don't know, but if anybody figures out the envelopes are different,
Alden would."

"We cannot worry about all of this," Misha said, "or we will never
finish Operation Bullfrog."

The rest of the boys agreed. Ellis placed a strip of cellophane tape
across the flap of the envelope. This was the final step and it had to
be very close to the original one in size and location.

"You're sure about the tape?" Neville asked.

"I put it on myself. I read that you can open envelopes and seal them
back up again so nobody knows, so I wanted the tape over it so they
couldn't do that. If I knew about opening an envelope I was sure
Alden knew. Alden didn't want me to do it, but Jeremiah said it was
okay. I don't think Jeremiah knew what Alden knew."

"I didn't know you could talk so much," Patrick told Ellis.

"I do when I get really nervous."

"Did you write anything over the tape?" Misha asked.

"Oh, wow, I almost forgot. I put an ink line right down the center." He
grabbed a pen off of Patrick's desk and drew a line. "I think that's
right."

"Nobody is sure that anything is right," Neville said. "This is never
going to work."

"You need to think it will work." Misha said, "or you will always be
right when you say it doesn't work."

"That's pretty smart thinking, Misha," Patrick told him.

"It is something I learned at the orphanage."

The envelope was placed into the care of Patrick and the boys went
to the living room. "Are you all done with your clandestine plans?"
Brian asked as he watched the quartet enter the room.

"For now," Patrick said. He hadn't given his father much detail about
what they were doing except to say it was a plan to help Mark beat
Jeremiah in the spring election for class president. Brian decided that
as long as he didn't get the feeling they were going to break school
rules or do something unethical he would leave them alone to their
little conspiracy.

As the boys gathered their books and coats, Patrick took Misha
aside. "Can you spend the night on Friday?" he whispered. "I mean
like do you have anything planned?"

"I have nothing planned. I must ask my parents, but I want to come."

"Well, I need to ask my dad."

"I will ask my parents tonight and tell you tomorrow," Misha said.

Brian took the three boys home. Neville sat in the front seat, while
Ellis, Patrick, and Misha sat in the back. Ellis noted how close Patrick
and Misha were to each other. After dropping everyone off, Patrick
asked his father if Misha could spend the night on Friday.

"It's fine with me," he replied. "Have his mother or father call me."

Misha's mother called that night and everything was arranged for
Friday. Patrick and Misha fell asleep dreaming of each other.

++++++++++++

"Here's the envelope," Patrick said as he handed it over to Mark the
next morning.

"The picture is inside?" Mark asked.

"Duh, that's what that little square thingy is—it's the memory card."

Mark jumped on Patrick and knocked him onto his bed, dropping on
top of him. Patrick was dressed in his white briefs and socks. "I
should tickle you to death for that," Mark said as he started tickling
the little nine-year-old, "but we have to catch the bus."

"Aw, I'd rather be tickled to death than go to school," Patrick giggled.
"Now let me up so I can get dressed." Mark reluctantly allowed him to
dress.

The ride to school was uneventful. Mark put the envelope on the top
shelf of his locker. "All I need now is the right chance, and the next
part of the operation is done," he told Matthew.

"Just follow the plan you told me last night," Matthew said. "It's a good
plan."

"I hope so."

++++++++++++

Misha boarded Bus 2 with Patrick after school on Friday. His mother
cleared it with the school as required. He, Patrick, and Will would
have to sit three to a seat if the bus had a full load. Because there
rarely were after school activities on Friday, that was usually the
case. But, there were two empty seats and he and Patrick would be
able to sit together if Will was willing to sit with Tony in place of
Jeremiah, who was picked up by his father.

"I can sit with Tony. For a Puget Penguin he's pretty dumb," Will told
Patrick. "You and Misha have fun."

Will sat next to Tony who glared at him. "What are you doing here?"
Tony hissed.

"Riding the bus home," Will answered.

"This is Jeremiah's seat."

"I don't see his name on it. And I don't see him on the bus, so I think
I'll stay."

Tony could see that he wasn't going to intimidate Will, so he looked
out the window and sulked. The twins heard the conversation and
traded high fives with Will when he exited the bus at his stop, which
pissed Tony off even more.

When they got to Patrick's house, Grannana received four hugs from
the four active boys who were happy the weekend had arrived. They
were going to vanish into Patrick's room, but the lure of freshly baked
chocolate chip cookies with chocolate milk created a detour to the
kitchen table. After a noisy snack the boys ended up in Patrick's
room.

"We need a Posse sleepover," Mark said.

"Yeah, but with just the main Posse to start," Matthew added.

"The main Posse?" Patrick asked.

"The four of us and Neville with no deputies."

"We can have a deputy sleepover, too, but later," Mark said.

"And a big swimming party in the spring," Matthew said.

"Or maybe big swimming parties."

"Neville told me they are having a swimming pool built in March,"
Misha said. "It will be ready when the weather gets warm."

"Oh, wow, cool," Mark said. "Then he can have big swimming parties,
too."

"Maybe we can skinny dip there," Matthew said.

"Yeah, you can skinny dip in our pool," Mark continued. "Well,
sometimes you can."

"Aren't you guys going to change?" Matthew asked. "I want to see
Misha in his underwear."

Misha grinned. The twins had seen him in less, but he knew where
the twins were coming from. Seeing other boys in their underwear, or
better yet, naked, was thrilling for him as well. He was quickly
stripped down to his boxers. He flexed his arms, putting on a
muscleman pose. For an eleven-year-old he posed very well.

Patrick knew not to try that pose with his skinny body as he stripped
down to his briefs. "Aren't you guys going to undress?" he asked the
twins.

"Mark! Matthew! Your mother's here!" Grannana shouted.

"Not this time," Mark said. "But just so you don't feel like you're
missing anything, try this..." He opened his pants, turned his back to
the other three boys, and dropped them and his boxers to his knees,
sticking out his ass and mooning his friends. He reached back and
spread his boy cheeks, revealing his pink pucker. "Kiss that, guys,"
he giggled. Matthew goosed his brother, running his middle finger
right along his crack.

"Boys, hurry up," came the call from the living room.

Mark yanked his pants back up. "Have fun guys. Don't do anything
we wouldn't do."

"But do everything we would do," Matthew snickered. The twins ran to
the kitchen, grabbed their coats and books, yelled a good-bye to
Grannana, and ran out of the door amidst peals of laughter.

Misha and Patrick remained in their underpants for the evening,
adding a t-shirt for dinner. The meal was baked lasagna, with more
cookies for dessert.

Uncle Ted and his newest boyfriend, Rolando, made a surprise visit
just after dinner. "Sorry we missed dinner, mom, but Rolando had to
work for a couple of hours." Rolando was a student at North Seattle
Community College and had a part-time job at the student union
building. "We can't stay long, but we were in the area and wanted to
say hi."

Patrick didn't like the way Rolando was staring at him and Misha. He
wished they were dressed in more than their underwear. He could
see his Uncle Ted ogle Misha, but that didn't bother him. He knew
Ted was all about looking, but outside of hugging and stroking, not
about touch. Patrick didn't like or trust Rolando.

"Let's go to my room," Patrick told Misha. Misha knew Rolando was
leering at him, but it didn't bother him as much as it did Patrick. He'd
been leered at by adults and older boys at the orphanage. He
shrugged and followed Patrick to his room where they spent the next
hour playing with Patrick's Wii.

When they came back out Ted and Rolando had left. The boys sat on
the loveseat, watching television. Brian noticed they were sitting so
their legs and bodies touched. He wondered if they were aware of
their closeness. He wasn't surprised when Patrick found the front of
his briefs and played with the little package underneath the cotton. He
hoped that Misha might follow suit. He was completely aware of the
fact that the Russian boy was a handsome and sexy eleven-year-
old—he knew that Ted and Rolando had noticed that as well.

After a half hour of television, the boys were bored and restless. Brian
suggested playing Risk, which met with an enthusiastic yes.
Grannana joined in and a rowdy game took up the rest of the
evening, with Brian winning. He saw the makings of an excellent Risk
player in Misha, and knew that in a couple of years both he and
Patrick would become very difficult to defeat.

The boys said their good-nights, took care of their evening cleaning,
brushing, and peeing, and got ready for bed. Patrick watched Misha
pee with fascination, somewhat happy he didn't have to deal with the
extra skin at the end of his penis, and somewhat disappointed that his
penis wasn't complete.

"How do you want to sleep?" Misha asked as they settled into
Patrick's room.

"In bed," Patrick said with a giggle.

"I mean what do you want to wear?"

"Nothing."

Misha smiled. "Me, too."

"Then let's sleep naked." Patrick pulled off his t-shirt before Misha
could answer. Misha followed suit as Patrick took off his briefs, his
little cock standing up proudly. Patrick hoped that Misha noticed he
had a boner, as if his friend could somehow miss the fact. He saw
that Misha was hard even before he pulled his boxers off. In mere
seconds the two boys stood in front of each other, naked but for their
socks, their hairless boy cocks hard and seeking action.

"You have a boner," Patrick said, stating the obvious.

Misha placed his hand around his erection and stroked it lightly. "I like
having a boner."

"Me, too."

"I like what we did together before." The two of them had jerked off
and dry humped each other.

"Me, too. I want to do it again tonight."

Misha grinned, took a couple of steps toward Patrick and cupped the
younger boy's ball sac. "Me, too."

"Did you ever kiss a boy?" Misha asked.

"Yes," Patrick blushed.

Misha moved his face close to Patrick's. Even though he was a year-
and-a-half older, Misha was not much taller than Patrick. "Do you
want to kiss?"

"Yes," Patrick whispered so quietly he could barely be heard. The two
of them were too worked up to deal with any kind of complex
conversation.

Misha knew exactly what he said, however, and leaned in so close
they could feel each other's breath. Patrick felt his knees going weak.
He'd kissed his Uncle Roy and he kissed the twins, but he'd never felt
like this before starting a kiss. His knees started to shake, his body
felt flush, it seemed like his skin was warm enough to heat the room.

Their lips touched and Patrick grabbed onto Misha's shoulders to
keep from falling. Misha increased the pressure, opening his mouth
slightly. Patrick felt Misha's tongue start to explore and opened his
mouth to allow entry. Then their tongues touched and Patrick uttered
a long, quiet sigh of ecstasy.  Patrick had to sit down. He didn't think
his legs could hold him any longer.

Misha felt equally weak. He had wanted to kiss Patrick for such a
long time, and now that the kiss was reality it was even better than he
had imagined. It was better than any kiss at the orphanage, even his
kisses with Nikki. He had no idea a kiss could feel so magical. He felt
Patrick holding on to him as their tongues touched. Before he knew it
the two were on the bed, facing each other, their lips locked, their
arms around each other, their smooth bodies cuddled together, their
steel hard cocklets rubbing lightly.

The two preteens grunted, moaned, gasped, fought for breath, their
lips locked, their tongues battling, their bodies pushing harder
together, their cocks rubbing and humping. Neither boy knew where
they were or how they got there. All they knew was that nothing had
ever felt this good in their young lives. All they felt were their cocks
and balls and each other.

For Patrick it was his first taste of passionate sex as opposed to
messing around. For Misha it was more than a return to his days at
the orphanage. Sex with Vasia, with Joseph, even with Nikki had
never had this kind of life and passion to it. Some of the difference
was Misha being on the onset of puberty, and some of it was the
feelings he had for Patrick—feelings that he didn't understand but
didn't want to have end.

Patrick was still too young to know that he was falling in love, even
though that was the case. Misha was old enough and experienced
enough to know he was in love, but still too young to really
understand those feelings. He was more aware of it now, on Patrick's
bed with his naked friend in his arms, than he had been with Nikki,
but he still wasn't prepared for the depths of feeling that he would
experience with his friend.

The first time they were sexual it had been introductory—it had been
messing around. This time it was sex, passionate sex, and in Misha's
case, hormone-driven sex which put him at an erotic level above
Patrick.

They continued to kiss, hump, rub, moan, and feel each other's
bodies. Misha's finger wandered to the crack on Patrick's little bubble
butt and found its way to the nine-year-old's pucker. Patrick
squawked from the new feeling as Misha pushed his finger in to the
second knuckle. Patrick's ass had never felt so good, his cock
rubbing against Misha's had never felt so good, his lips pressed hard
against his friend—his lover—had never felt so good, in fact his entire
body had never felt so good. He was overwhelmed by the overload of
feelings.

Misha had experienced all of these feelings and more, but never at
this heightened level. He could feel himself ready to cum. He didn't
want to go over the top—he wanted the moment to last forever but he
couldn't stop himself. He pushed into Patrick with a force that pressed
the younger boy into the wall.

He let loose a long guttural wail, his cock thrusting against Patrick's
smooth, hot skin. He felt his entire body explode into shooting stars
as his cocklet twitched and his body shook and each spasm sent
bolts of electricity shooting through him. He was eleven and what hit
him was almost too much as he briefly blacked out from the sheer
rapture of the moment.

"Oh, Misha," Patrick squeaked and he shook from his dry cum. It was
not as intense as Misha's, but it was all his little body and young mind
was capable of, all it could handle. He tensed and spasms of joy
rocked his cock, his entire being.

It took awhile for the boys to recover. They lay quietly, their arms and
legs intertwined. "What happened?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know. That was...I don't know...it was...I don't know what
happened." Misha was at a loss for words. Whatever it was that had
happened, they wanted it to happen again. They were in love, even if
they didn't know they were in love. They would figure it out, but it
would take awhile before they could put the right words and actions to
the feelings coursing through their young bodies.

Early the next morning Brian peeked in on the boys. He normally
respected Patrick's privacy, at least within certain parameters, but
he'd heard tell-tale noises during the night. He saw Patrick and Misha
both facing the outer wall with Patrick's arm wrapped around Misha's
shoulder. Patrick and Misha's bare shoulders showed above the
sheets and Brian could see their underpants tossed on the floor. He
wondered if Misha had been the instigator; being the older of the two
that was probably the case. Then again, Patrick had learned a thing
or two from his Uncle Roy, so maybe he was the instigator. Or, it
could be the two boys just did what boys sometimes do as equal
partners. That was the best choice of the three and the one Brian
decided to stick with. He quietly closed the door, thankful that
Grannana's bedroom was off of the dining room and had its own
toilet. Not that his grandmother would be shocked by boys having
sex.

Brian was pleased he had followed the advice of Patrick's previous
principal and enrolled his son at the Puget Academy. His son had
never been happier, both as far as school went and as far as having
friends went.  He had found great friends like Misha and the twins, as
well as in Will, Ellis, and Neville. He found the latter two to be nice
kids, if a bit strange. But Misha was the boy Patrick talked about the
most as a friend, although the twins were a close second.

Misha and Patrick woke up at nearly the same time to the smell of
frying bacon. Misha rolled over, faced his bedmate, and smiled.
Patrick was so cute, he thought. He was cuter than Vasia and even
cuter than Nikki. He kissed his friend lightly on the lips, waking him
up. Patrick blinked, confused for a moment, then he saw Misha's face
inches away from his own and flashed his trademark wide grin. Misha
felt the warmth flow through his veins—if he hadn't been in love
before, he certainly was now.

++++++++++++

The twins arrived at Patrick's house at their usual time on Monday
morning. They gave Grannana a pair of enthusiastic hugs, grabbed
two bowls and poured themselves some cereal and milk.

"Don't you boys get enough to eat in the morning at home?" Maxine
asked. This was not the first time they'd wolfed down a second
breakfast while sitting at the table with Patrick.

"We were stuffed at home, but we got hungry coming here," Mark
said.

"Yeah, we got hungry for French toast, but all you have is cereal,"
Matthew said.

"You two know that after our two big weekend breakfasts Monday is
usually cereal," Maxine reminded them.

"But not always," Mark retorted. "And sometimes your cereal is hot
oatmeal."

"And sometimes it's French toast," Matthew added.

"Matthew, don't talk with your mouth full," Grannana scolded. The
chatter went back and forth as Patrick and the twins finished their
cereal and scooted to Patrick's room.

"Did you and Misha have fun?" Mark asked as Patrick removed his
ragged t-shirt, which was all he had been wearing at the breakfast
table. "And I don't mean fun, I mean FUN as in F-U-N fun."

"I know what you meant," Patrick said as he took his uniform polo
shirt and blue pants out of the closet. "Yes we did." Patrick and the
twins had exchanged Facebook posts about the visit, but Patrick
didn't mention anything about the sexual aspect since his father
frequently checked his Facebook account.

"Cool. What did you guys do?"

"We messed around."

"That's all you're going to say? Did you have an orgasm? Did he give
you a blow job?"

Matthew continued the questioning before Patrick could answer.
"Yeah, and did you give him a blow job? Did you guys kiss?"

Patrick would have been put out if anybody but the twins had thrown
that line of questioning at him, but he loved the twins as friends and
wasn't bothered by it. On the other hand, he didn't want to spend the
morning talking about it, either. "Yes, no, no, and yes," was all Patrick
would say.

"Damn, now I have to remember what the questions were," Mark
giggled.

Patrick finished dressing. While he zipped into the bathroom to brush
his teeth, the twins headed to the living room to watch for the bus.
Patrick arrived in the room just as Mrs. Deaver brought the bus to a
halt in front of the house.

Will had two questions when he boarded the bus. The first was for
Patrick. "Did you and Misha have fun?"

"Yes," Patrick sighed.

"What did you do?"

"We played Wii and Risk." Patrick liked Will a great deal, but he
wasn't as open with him as he was with the twins. He ranked a bit
lower on the friend pantheon.

His second question was for Mark. "Do you have the envelope?"

"It's in my locker."

"When are you going to do it?"

"First chance I get." Mark knew exactly when he was going to execute
the plan, but he had only told Matthew when that would be. There
was one other person whom he would tell. Even at age eleven he
understood "need to know."

It was Thursday that he executed his plan. He stayed after school
even though he had nothing scheduled. He went to the new gym to
watch intramural basketball. Paul's team was playing on the east
court. After the game he followed Paul into the locker room, mostly so
he could see the eighth grader naked.

Blake's team had played in the old gym and Blake recognized Mark
as he passed by. "Hey, fifth grader, I remember you from the shower
the other day. Want to watch again?"

"No, I have to go."

"Chicken."

"I'm not chicken. Ask me again when I can do it."

"Which will be never." Blake turned to Paul. "What about you, Porter.
Wanna impress the sixth graders here with your cock and cum?"

"Sorry, dude, but I'm helping Mark here with something."

"Yeah, I can guess what kind of help you're giving him. I heard you
love messing with the little kids."

"Fuck you, too," Paul said without malice, since they both knew it was
true. He finished dressing and left the gym with Mark. "Blake is totally
weird," he told Mark as they made their way into the main building.
Students were allowed to enter the main building after basketball, but
the classrooms and other rooms were all locked.

They went to the fifth grade hall and stopped. Mark handed Paul his
backpack. "I'll be watching down by the office," Paul said. "It should
be okay. If a janitor sees you, he'll think you're going into your own
locker."

"I was worried about being caught by a teacher or another fifth grader
or somebody who knows I don't belong there."

"You're going to be as big a worrywart as Neville if you aren't careful.
There are no fifth grade teams playing today, there are no clubs
meeting today; there is, like, nothing today with fifth graders. Isn't that
why you picked this day?"

"Yeah, but, what about...,"

"The teachers all went home or they'd be in their room or something."

"But...,"

"Just shut the fuck up and do it."

Mark took a deep breath. He hadn't felt this out of it since Jeremiah
got him suspended from school. It was time for me to grow a pair and
be a Kirkwood twin, he told himself. It was time to execute the plan.

He had planned well. As a student body officer, Matthew had access
to the afterschool schedule for the  month, and got the information for
Mark. That was one reason why he picked this day. He also picked it
because Paul was playing hoops and staying after to watch his eighth
grade guide play would make a good excuse to hang around after
school. Plus, Paul could be a lookout for him, although once he
entered the fifth grade hall that wouldn't make a lot of difference.

Ms. McCann's room was at the end of the hall, which is where the
lockers would be, of course. He had a piece of paper. The paper had
Jeremiah's locker number and combination on it. Even though he
knew Jeremiah's combination perfectly, he still wanted the paper for
reassurance.

He stopped in front of the locker. The hall was silent, but he swore he
could hear the echo of the beat of his racing heart. He hoped Ellis
wrote down the right combination. He knew it had to be hard for Ellis
to look around Jeremiah as he spun the dial and to see things
properly. If the numbers were wrong, he might never get another
chance. And if the numbers were right, what if Jeremiah moved the
envelope and it wasn't in the locker? Well, he thought, I guess I'll find
out the answers.

Mark's hand was steady as he entered the combination. He wasn't
aware that he was holding his breath. He grabbed the latch on the
handle and lifted it. It was then that he was aware of his breath as it
came out with a loud whoosh when the door popped open.

Jeremiah's locker was somewhat messy, but then so was almost
everybody else's that he saw—except for Patrick's, Misha's, and
Neville's. If they hadn't been his friends and teammates he'd consider
them weird just because they had neat lockers.

Ellis told him that he'd seen the envelope on the top shelf. The shelf
had two books and a great deal of loose paper. The paper, like the
envelope, was white, which forced him to have to paw through the
shelf. He didn't see a sign of the envelope and was about to give up
when he saw a white corner under one of the books. He lifted the
book and saw a sealed envelope, one with markings similar to the
envelope he had on him.

Mark unbuckled his belt and reached into of his pants, pulling the
envelope out from inside his boxers. He'd placed the envelope there
after Paul's game. In his mind, having the envelope riding against his
cock was as close as he could get to pissing on Jeremiah. He pulled
the envelope out of the locker and placed the other one underneath
the book, carefully leaving a corner showing. The locker was messy
enough he didn't think Jeremiah would notice if it was moved some,
but he might as well be as careful as he could. He took one last look
at the corner of the envelope, hoping it smelled like piss, and shut the
locker door.

He folded the envelope he'd removed from the locker and stuck it in
his pocket, leaving the hall as quickly as he could. He didn't want to
run, because if somebody saw him they would think he'd done
something bad and was running away. Paul was waiting for him near
the main doors. A couple of other eighth graders were there, as well
as Blake. The entry way was a warmer place to wait for the activity
bus than outside.

"Did you find that paper" Paul asked, giving Mark an opening.

"No, I guess I left it in on the shelf in my locker," Mark said, thinking
quickly.

"Too, bad; I guess you'll flunk that assignment," Blake said.

"I was almost finished. I'll get it done in the morning." There was no
way he was going to look bad in front of Blake and those others for
something he didn't do.

He took his backpack from Paul, who looked at him questioningly.
Mark smiled and patted his front left pocket. Paul nodded. The plan
had been executed. Ellis was now safe from the clutches of Jeremiah
and Alden.

Next: Be My Valentine.