Sam the Ham

Battle Boys

Prologue

Alec walked into the carpeted lobby his mom trailing behind him. There was a woman sitting at a folding table. He recognized her as someone who had done some of the screenings before so they were at the right place. The big sign out front had been a big hint. A moment later, he darted forward, leaving his mom behind, to stand at the desk. The woman who had been reading something was startled by the sudden appearance.

"Oh, hello," she said. "I'm guessing you are Alec?"

"Yes, I am." He put on his best smile.

The woman filed through some paperwork and turned her attention towards his mom. "Here's the contact information. If he has a cell phone it should work in most places. During filming you can always contact us through those numbers. Will make sure he calls home every night."

His mother hesitated and took the piece of paper reluctantly. She stared at it for a very long time. "Alec, are you absolutely sure about this?"

He resisted the urge to sigh. "Yes, mom I will be fine, it's going to be a lot of fun."

"He will be monitored constantly," the woman chimed in. "It is very safe. If you have more questions we can talk, but perhaps Alec would like to meet the other boys. They're waiting inside."

Alec turned towards his mother wanting permission. He had really just wanted to go into the hotel himself. His mother wouldn't have allowed that though. It was annoying that even at fifteen his parents didn't seem to trust him.

"Well, be sure to call," his mother said, releasing him with her words.

Alec smiled and gave her a hug and a kiss which was completely for her benefit before turning towards the door and adjusting his backpack one more time. He walked into the room and let the door closed behind him without a backward glance.

The room was fairly barren. There were a few chairs and tables spread around along with five others. Two boys, one with a Mohawk and another with dreadlocks, he tagged as the weird hair pair. They were talking by one of the large windows and only gave a cursory glance upon his entrance. The other one was just looking at his phones He had darker hair and skin. Not so much black but he was probably Hispanic. The boy with the dreadlocks was black he was sure. Everyone else was Caucasian including himself. A cute bunch he thought including himself in that analysis.

He decided to try to start a conversation with the one who was on the phone. They had been randomly assigned to a team but he didn't want anyone to feel like the odd man out. Upon approaching, the boy did look up which was promising. His hair had something in it that made it shine and sort of mesh together. Maybe gel or mousse? He wasn't really sure. Would he be considered weird for not having weird hair?

"Hi! I'm Alec."

The boy looked up from his phone again. Hesitating for a second before venturing, "I am Kevin."

Alec smiled. "Nice to meet you Kevin, what are you doing there?"

Kevin tilted the phone so he could see. It was some videogame he didn't recognize. A scantily clad woman with a sword was paused on the screen.

"Dragon Queen, it's a basic platform."

"Never played it. Is it any good?"

"It was free, it's pretty much what I paid for. I'm guessing you're the fifteen-year-old?"

Alec nodded. Each team was made up of four boys from ages twelve to fifteen. "How old are you?"

"Twelve," Kevin smiled.

"All right, have you met our other teammates?"

Kevin shook his head. "I just got here a few minutes ago."

"Let's go introduce ourselves then," Alec suggested. Just as he glanced towards the duo he noticed they were wandering over to them.

"Hey, I'm Max. He's Isaiah." Max nodded, his dreadlocks shifting in a cascade of movement, then he gestured towards Isaiah.

"I prefer Isaac," the Mohawk boy piped in.

"Hi, I'm Alec and this is Kevin. I guess where the Blue team."

"Blue team? No man they're down the hall," Max said with a straight face.

For a brief second Alec was worried he might've wandered into the wrong room before remembering the woman who had greeted him. He smiled and Max mirrored him.

Before any of them could say anything more, a man walked into the room. "Hello I'm Martin the manager for Battle Boys. Would you all mind taking a seat?"

Everybody shuffled around finding different places to sit. Martin waited until everyone was seated. "Well, I know you all had the opportunity to read the information sent and asked questions, but I just want to make sure everything was clear especially since no parents are around."

There was a long moment of silence before Max raised his hand. "Okay, this is like a competition reality show right? Like when we're not doing stuff for the show cameras are going to be around? How much?"

Martin nodded. "Well, yes. Since there isn't any voting off for anything basically if you don't see a cameraman around, it doesn't mean you are not recorded."

Alec smiled to himself. By no stretch of the imagination was he a fan of reality shows. He had seen a few here and there if only in clips. He didn't want anyone filming him when he was sleeping. Besides he was pretty sure Max was thinking about something else. He didn't want a camera around either when he was masturbating. There were no other questions after that, so Martin smiled and clapped his hands together.

"Well then, you are the blue team. We'll be giving you shirts and shorts when you get to your quarters. We're trying to keep electronic devices down to a minimum so try not to flash your phones or anything else you might not want cameras recording."

Martin suggested that they all introduce themselves again and say something interesting about themselves. Alec couldn't help but remember back when he had been in elementary school and they had a new student. Martin pointed to Max to start.

Max must've had similar memories because he stood up unprompted. "Hey, I'm Max. I'm fourteen and I competed in three different contests." He shrugged and sat back down.

Alec stood up next. "I'm Alec, fifteen. I play football since I can remember. I float around on defense."

After he sat down neither Isaac nor Kevin stood up. Martin finally picked Isaac. Alec was hoping he would say something about his Mohawk but he was disappointed.

"I'm Isaac. I'm thirteen and last year my appendix exploded. It's the most interesting thing about me."

Condemned Kevin stood up quietly his shoulders hunched. "I'm Kevin. I'm twelve. I like to play soccer." He sat down quickly.

Martin nodded. "Well if you follow me I'll show you to your quarters."

They got up and followed Martin. The man led them down the hallway and into another. There was a large staircase, the type that three or four people walk up or down without a problem. On either side of the first floor there was a sign above the doorway reading Orange Team and on the other side Green Team. They walked up the stairs and like downstairs there were two also, this time with Red Team and Blue Team.

Martin stopped before he opened the door. "In each room there is a key to the door. Try to keep your phones and everything inside the room. We're going to do a small filming right now though. When you go into here you'll each pick out a room, it's all yours. Just try to act excited."

Martin waited several more seconds before flinging the door open. The five of them then stormed inside. The place had clearly once been a resort but the hallways were fairly narrow. Isaac jumped into the air and bounced off the wall letting everyone else chart through. Alec barely noticed the cameraman at the end of the hallway before darting into one of the rooms. Max was already there though, looking around. The room was essentially a hotel room with a queen-size bed, several pieces of furniture and a doorway that looked like it led to a bathroom.

"My room!" Max shouted.

Another voice called out claiming another room and Alec darted out of the room to the hallway and into another and shouted. "My room!"

"Oh, this is so awesome!" Another voice called out. "You guys have to see this."

Alec darted out of the room and finished up the hallway. The hallway terminated into a larger room. It looked like there had once been two rooms on either side of the hallway. The walls had been taken down and replaced it with a wraparound couch, a thick carpet and a pinball machine. That was just the tip of the iceberg out. There was a smaller table that was covered in different board games, a dartboard and an air hockey table.

In the back of Alec's mind he understood that these were all products probably given by various sponsors. He actually could remember the last time he had played a board game but he tried to look enthusiastic as the rest of his teammates joined him.

"That was great guys," Martin said walking down the hallway and clapping. "Okay, let's do it again but this time try to look a little scared like you're not sure what's going to happen."

They did it several more times. Alec had never realized that a reality show required so many takes. Okay on some level he had always known they were fake to one or another. He knew it would require some acting, but four different takes just to enter a room? By the time Martin left, he collapsed onto his bed. This was going to be a long two and half weeks. At least there was $40,000 at the end of it.

Chapter 1

After about twenty minutes of rest, they were out the door for footage to fill the opening of the show. Alec and the other boys got dressed in the appropriate clothing: blue T-shirts and shorts. They also had a pair of sweatpants but were told to wear shorts. They had been told to come down when they were ready and changed but consciously they all waited until everyone was ready to go and descended as a group. They were shown out of the building and lined up in a row with the other teams. For about five minutes they were shuffled around as they tried to frame the shot. They were asked to squish together as Martin walked back and forth trying to figure out how much distance he should maintain between them.

Finally Martin turned around. "All right boys, here's what we want you to do. We want you smile but not too much like you're forcing it, try to look like you're having a good time. When I say welcome to Battle Boys I want you all to cheer. Raise your arms in the air and stuff like that but don't jump around. Blue team Red team I want you guys looking over at the entry there. Orange and Green team you look over at the sign. Whatever you do, never look directly at the camera unless we say otherwise. Everyone understand?"

There was a litany of yes and understands from everyone and Martin gave them a double thumbs-up before turning around.

"I'm really beginning to hate him."

Alec squashed a laugh glanced over to his right. It was an Asian boy in a red shirt. Alec couldn't guess his age and he looked to be on the other side. "Don't let him overhear that."

"He had us come into our room six different times. It's kind of hard to be enthusiastic for a low-budget hotel room."

"Six, we only had to do it four times. I guess were just natural on camera."

The boy snorted and then somebody started counting down. As the number one was shouted, Martin started talking. "Hello I'm your host Morten Tecumseh and this is Battle Boys!"

They all cheered and then somebody shouted cut. They fell silent and somebody came up to Martin to talk to him.

"You want to place bets on how many times were going to do this?" the Asian boy asked.

Alec smiled genuinely. "I didn't bring any money with me."

"We can bet dessert. I'm Sam by the way."

"Alec. I'll say three or less."

"So if we go over three I win double dessert. I think my epilepsy medicine is starting to wear off."

"What?"

"Okay boys were going to do it one more time," Martin announced.

He did it again but this time when Martin shouted Battle Boys, Sam let out a cough sneeze that almost sounded genuine. Alec would have been duped if it wasn't for the subtle smile when Sam apologized. The third time was far less convincing. The fourth and fifth times went off without a hitch. After that they finally went on to the next segment.

Martin leaned down like he was being confidential with the audience but he still spoke loudly enough that they heard most of what he was saying. "Battle Boys is the new exciting reality show where we pit four teams against each other with competitions both academic and athletic. The team that wins will take away $40,000 and the Winners' Cup. Now before the battle begins let us show you around a bit and meet some of our contestants!"

Someone yelled cut and Alec looked over at Sam. "You cheated."

Sam shrugged. "You didn't say I couldn't ruin a few takes. So does this mean you're not gonna give me your dessert?"

Alec considered it for second. "I will, but I'm going to spit on it first."

Sam smiled. "I've eaten termites, can't be worse."

"Termites? Really? What did they taste like and why?"

"Boy Scout camping thing. The taste kinda like wood."

"All right everybody," Martin shouted. "Red team, please follow this cameraman Blue team you follow this one Orange and Green you can go back to your rooms until you're needed."

"Talk to you later Alex," Sam said as he followed the rest of his group.

"It's Alec!" he called out as they were led away from the building.

The blue team slid off to a large oak tree where a director's chair was already set up. They were asked to say to one side as Kevin was pulled over and sat down in the chair. He was far enough away that they could hear what he was saying.

"So what's with talking to the enemy?" Max said settling up to Alec.

Alec shrugged. "We were just talking."

"I know. Besides it's not like there's going to be much backstabbing like some shows."

"Do you watch reality shows?" Isaac asked.

Max shrugged. "Not really. I tried to look up the type of reality shows that this company produce. You know, to see if I could get an edge but they're kind all over the place."

"They're easy to make. At least that's what I've read," Alec said joining the conversation.

"40,000$ isn't that much compared to some reality shows," Isaac added. "Usually it's like a million or something."

"I read this article on a website a while back about this old reality show called Kid Nation. The winners of that didn't get much either."

"It's age discrimination!" Alec announced.

"Alec you're next," the cameraman called out.

Alec walked over passing Kevin on the way and sat in the chair. The cameraman did some adjusting to the camera before speaking. "Okay I'm just going to ask you some questions. Try not to give one or two word answers. If it's a short answer try to reword the question in your reply."

"All right," Alec paused for a second. "I will try."

The cameraman didn't find it funny or didn't understand the joke. "All right, why did you sign up for the show and how do you feel about it so far?"

Alec had been asked that question a couple times and he went into his usual answer. "I mostly thought it would be fun. I like the idea being on a team and doing challenges. I'm really excited to get started."

"That's a good answer. What do you think of your teammates?"

Alec shrugged. "They seem okay I haven't had much time to interact with them."

"Are you worried about being away from your parents for a while?"

Alec considered. "No, I'm not really worried about being away from my parents."

"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

"Well, I've been playing football for a really long time. Started with flag football and continued on. I don't have any siblings. I guess I'm somewhat popular. I think I'm gonna miss my friends a bit."

"All right, that was the last question. Isaac you're up."

Alec went back over to his teammates and found out that Kevin had been asked the same questions. They talked a little and when Max was done they were sent inside. Half an hour later they were summoned down for dinner. The cafeteria had four tables each color-coded with four chairs at each. The food looked very much like the cafeteria food at school which was not very appetizing. They talked for a little but it was all small talk. Eventually Alec tried to go for something more. "So Isaac you said your appendix exploded, what was that like?"

Isaac was shoving food halfway to his mouth. "It was very painful. I was in the hospital for months."

"I thought having your appendix out was sort of common?" Max asked.

"It is, but mine exploded. I had a really bad stomach ache for a few days and then it went away and I got really sick again. See when you have an inflamed appendix it means it's infected and when it explodes all that junk gets throughout your whole body."

"Doesn't sound like fun," Kevin observed.

"Worst time of my life," Isaac said. "I did get to play a lot of video games in the hospital. That was kind of fun."

"They have video games at the hospital?" Kevin asked again.

"Sometimes. They're mostly supplied by the security called um Child's Play I think."

"Oh, I've heard of them," Alec chimed in. "One of my friends got in trouble for bad grades and had to give away his Xbox One to them."

"That would suck," Isaac said. "They didn't have any of the newer systems when I was there though. Would've been nice to play."

The conversation drifted back to video games. It seemed Max didn't play very many games while Isaac and Kevin seem to be more of the gamer type. Alec was content to listen to the conversation only occasionally chiming in. When he was done with his tray he went to put it back and got his dessert. It was one of those little ice cream dishes and a small cup. He didn't bother opening it but carried it over to the red team and dropped in front of Sam.

"Just so you know I liked it," Alec said before turning around and returning to his table.

He couldn't help but look over at the Red team before leaving. On his way back to the table, he examined the other teams casually. Alec didn't care about somebody's race. He wasn't blind to it though. It seemed like every team had two or three members who were not white though. Given how much paperwork to fill out was needed before going on to the show he guessed that was intentional. He remembered Sam telling him about epilepsy. Maybe that had been a joke. It struck him as odd that on his team there was someone whose appendix exploded. He wondered about the other teams and if they had a special teammate.

After dinner they rolled down the screen and they showed a movie. As the movie played they brought in a cameraman and filmed some stuff but Alec noticed he was only there for a few minutes. After the movie, someone told them they would start filming early in the morning so they should all get their sleep.

Alec wasn't particularly tired and it seemed neither his teammates were either because they just hung out in the main room for a while before one by one drifting off to their bedrooms.

Alec closed the door as he entered his bedroom and rolled onto the large bed. He laid there a moment just reviewing the details of the day. It had been exceedingly strange. Nothing particularly weird had happened except for the filming. On some level he still didn't realize he was going to be on a TV show even though there had been cameras and he'd been interviewed. He remembered how excited he had been when he found out he had been picked and now it felt sort of weird.

Letting out a long breath Alec realized he should shower, but he had something more important to do first. Kicking off his shoes he sat up and pulled off his socks and then his shirt. Undoing his shorts, he pulled them off followed by his underwear. He always liked to be naked when he masturbated. He shifted around a little trying to get comfortable and looked down at his penis. He had a layer of pubic care around it and the first thing he did was run his fingers through it.

His mind raced through the options for his fantasies. He could pick friends from school, someone he and messed around with but the images that were first in line were his teammates. Kevin the youngest was certainly cute. He doubted Kevin had started puberty so he would still be nice and smooth. He could picture him squirming around on the bed, the feelings still probably all new to him. The boy had a cute face that would surely look nice all scrunched up just before he climaxed. He seemed like he would be fun in bed.

Then there was Max. Max was almost as tall as he was and he had always heard black boys were bigger down there, but then again he had also heard that was a myth. As his erection slowly began to grow, he imagined what Max looked like naked. How he would enjoy the big mouthful of cock in his mouth or his butt. Alec could see himself bent over the edge of the bed with Max standing behind him, sliding into him. Alec wasn't too experienced with butt stuff. He wanted be more experienced though. Max would probably be good for that. Alec for some reason had the opinion he would be gentle. He also probably had some hair to and would get a butt full of jizz.

As his erection became fully hard, he wrapped his fingers around it and slowly started to stroke. His foreskin peeled back on the downstroke to cover his tip again on the up. It was Isaac's turn, the last member of his team. His mind had a strange block there. Isaac the boy who had been in the hospital seemed to have some sort of wall around him. The Mohawk was certainly cute in another way. So for some reason Alec remembered more the first time he entered the room bouncing off the wall. Maybe he was a good actor, he seemed the best at acting out. Still, there was something weird about him. He couldn't put his finger on it. He seemed to be cute in a way. He had nice thin lips that Alec wanted to kiss.

His mind shifted to Sam. He felt Sam would either be a really good friend or a really terrible one. It had been kind of funny how he always had a comeback ready. Alec sort of liked that. How would he be in the bed? His mind conjured the image of them hugging each other and kissing rolling around, their erections pressed against each other. He pictured Sam kissing down his neck then sucking on his nipples. He imagined them both climaxing together spewing cum onto their stomachs and then still going at it, their bodies sliding against each other using the cum as lubricant.

Alec spread his legs; his feet slowly rising off the bed. He continued pulling on himself harder. He had a fleeting thought of how many contestants were doing this. Sixteen boys each in their own room. He couldn't be the only one. Were any of them fantasizing about their teammates?

He felt his climax approaching. The strange sensation that vaguely felt like he needed to pee. He pulled his legs in close as he jerked faster. Pursing his lips together he tried to hold back all still going as fast as he could. Those brief seconds right before the climax. He wanted to extend those. The great feeling just before release. Then, it happened. Warm cum shot out from his dick. It landed on his stomach almost his chest. At least the first shot. The second and third were much smaller mostly dribbling out onto his hand. He felt the cum slide over his fingers as he jerked a few more times, his erection going soft. His feet slowly descended touching the bedding again and he laid there for a long moment enjoying the sensation of the warm afterglow.

After a moment he looked up at his hand seeing the white cum all over his fingers. Without much thought he brought it to his mouth slowly cleaning it off. When he had been lucky enough to suck off a friend he had always swallowed. With his hand clean, he looked down at his chest. For some reason the cum that was there was not as appetizing so he left it as he rolled out of bed and made his way to the shower.

Turning on the water he looked down to see the cum wash away. He knew he was gay. He had attempted to hide that fact for a while but there it was pointless. His friends knew he liked to suck and he lost one pal over it. It wasn't that everyone knew. Not all of his teammates knew and his parents certainly didn't. Still he was more than happy with himself. He liked to give more than receive. His mind unclouded by sex, he did the math and realized the chances of another gay boy on the game show were slim to none. Maybe bisexual or curious or would just want to get off, but he doubted he would find a boyfriend. Well he didn't need a boyfriend to be happy

Chapter 2

Alec woke up. For a brief second, he was disoriented until he realized he wasn't in his room. It was something he usually felt whenever he woke up in a place other than his own bed. He slipped out from under the covers and stretched naked before looking down, wondering if he had time to do it. He opted otherwise, getting dressed in shorts and a T-shirt that were provided. As he approached the door to get out, he heard a little thud. He waited a second to hear it again. Shrugging it off, he opened the door.

Looking towards the activity room he saw Kevin dressed in blue and green pajamas throwing darts at the board. Alec smiled to himself seeing his bare feet. He wasn't sure why it was something he noticed but he always did. Maybe it had to do with the fact they usually weren't seen in public. He didn't really know.

"Are you the first up?" Alec asked walking over.

Kevin glanced over his shoulder. "I think so. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No I just got up. How did you sleep?"

Kevin shrugged. "Okay. I don't usually sleep that much."

Kevin threw one of the darts and it hit just outside of the 20 point mark.

"That was close," Alec observed.

"I have one of these at home. I'm pretty good."

Alec stared at the dartboard and noticed a small hole. "It looks like you missed once."

Kevin smiled nervously. "Never said I was perfect. Do you want a go?"

"Sure, I've never played it before."

"Oh, let me show you." Kevin showed him how to hold the dart and throw it. It seemed easy, but when Alec actually tried it went high embedding itself at the very top of the board.

"Well, you're not a natural."

"Shut up and give me another."

Max woke up a few minutes later coming in the activity room clad in boxers and a long T-shirt. Alec was happy to see his bare feet. He felt overdressed. They took turns throwing darts starting an informal game. After about twenty minutes there was a knock on the door and a voice said. "Breakfast is ready." Max and Kevin retreated to their rooms to change and he went to wake Isaac. But before he could knock on the door, the door opened itself revealing a fully dressed Isaac.

"Oh, you're up," Alec said coming to a stop.

"Yeah. I'm going down for breakfast."

"Okay, I'm going to wait for the others."

Alec watched Isaac leave. He wondered why Isaac had not come out of his room earlier. He couldn't have taken all that time to get dressed. After a few seconds of thought, Alec shrugged it off. Maybe, he had just called his mom, which was something he really needed to do too. Well, after breakfast.

He waited for Kevin and Max to emerge then they all went down together. Breakfast was cereal and orange juice. Max perked up a little once he had food in him but Isaac remained quiet to himself. Alec knew he wasn't the leader of the team or anything like that, but he knew they should at least tolerate each other to work together. It wasn't like they were going to be allowed to trade a troublesome teammate away.

Martin came and clapped his hands together. "All right everyone, today were going to have our first challenge right after breakfast. To lead you there we're going to do a little filming first. In a minute, I'm going to come in and tell you we're going to have a challenge today. When I ask you a question just say yes. When I ask are you ready, cheer. Everyone got that?"

There were courses of yeses and 'got it'. Martin left the room. The cameraman came in. Alec tried to ignore them as they moved around the tables. Martin ran into the room and clapped his hands together.

"Good morning everyone. Did you all sleep well?"

Just about everyone answered simultaneously with a loud yes. "Good good. I hope you're enjoying your breakfasts because you're gonna need that energy for today's challenge. What is it you ask? Well, have you ever seen the statues of these guys before?"

As Martin spoke an image appeared on the wall. It was three statues of monkeys. One had his ears covered, the other had his eyes covered and the third had its mouth covered. "Speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil. Well you're all going to get your chance to do a pretty good imitation of it today. Only thing is there are four of you so what should we do with the fourth? Well you'll see when you get there. Finish up and then we can all head out. Are you already Battle Boys?"

"Yeah!" Alec said raising one hand which still had a spoon in it.

"All right!" Martin shouted. There was a long moment of silence. "Guys I think we got that one in one take." Martin walked out of the room and the cameraman followed.

"You know," Max started. "If we don't win, putting up with this might become annoying."

"He's trying too hard," Alec added.

"Yeah, but all game show hosts are stupid," Kevin added.

Alec thought about it for a minute. "It is kinda strange the whole setup. I mean why only boys?"

"Maybe they were scared about having boys and girls together," Isaac said.

Alec shook his head. "No, they could have separated us by Boys and Girls not teams."

"Maybe, but why separate us by teams anyways?" Kevin asked. "They could've put us in like one big room."

Isaac laughed. "Well, they wanted to create competition so they separated us into teams. They couldn't intermix boys and girls so they stuck with boys. Maybe there will be a spinoff: Battle Girls!"

Alec wasn't sure why but he joined in with the laughter.

It took them about 10 minutes to walk to their destination after breakfast. They saw where they were headed before getting there though. In an open field, there was a large blue structure of some sort. As they got closer they could tell it was inflated. When they got there the rules were explained to them. The team had to go into the maze where they would have to overcome several obstacles. Each team would be timed and the team with the lowest time would receive five points. Second place three and third place only one point. There were no points for last.

The complication was that one of them would have to wear a pair of blackout goggles the entire time while another would wear headsets that blocked out sound. The third had to wear a mask which meant he couldn't talk. The fourth member of the team would be strapped into a stretcher and have to be carried by to rest of the other team. The stretcher wasn't like a regular one though. There was lots of padding so even if it rolled over it didn't look like the person inside would be hurt. Alec tested the weight they were given and it was fairly light.

"Okay, how should we work this out, guys?" Max asked.

"I'm probably weighing the least," Isaac offered.

"How much do you weigh?" Kevin asked.

"82 pounds," Isaac answered.

Kevin nodded. "Okay I'm in the 90s."

"All right Isaac on the stretcher," Alec started. "Anyone want to volunteer for anything else?"

"Well you and I should carry the stretcher. Kevin can run ahead and tell us which way to go," Max answered.

"So one of us will wear the goggles and the other will be silent," Alec deducted. "I guess I can be-"

"That's the wrong decision," Isaac said cutting him off. "I agree you two should carry me, but Kevin won't need to talk to work out a few simple hand signals. One of you should wear the goggles and the other should be the silent one. The one person should be in the back so all he has to do is worry about his walking. Max should be in the back, we'll be up front."

Everyone looked at Isaac, wondering why he wasn't looking at any of them. "And how did you come up with that?" Alec asked.

Isaac shrugged as he looked up at him. "Max looks a little stronger than you and I would prefer to have my feet propped rather than my head. If you carry me the other way around I get motion sickness." He smiled. "I don't think anyone wants that."

They were not the first or second team to go through. They were told to sit in groups and not interact with each other. None of them had a watch or a phone so there was no way to tell how long everyone was taking. Alec tried to count the minutes in his head, but it became boring. The red team had been first to go through, the Green team were in there now. So he turned his attention to size up the Orange team.

They didn't seem to be talking as a group so he guessed they already had their plan set up. He knew they had to be the same ages as his teammates were, but they all looked a bit bigger than theirs. Kevin and Isaac were on the smaller side. They appeared to be on the larger side for their ages. He wondered how the show came up with the teams. Would there be challenges were smaller teammates would be an advantage? What would the other challenges be like?

"Blue team you are up," Martin called out.

The blue team climbed to their feet and made their way to a curtain. They were given helmets to wear. Isaac didn't seem to be thrilled either about the helmet or being strapped into the stretcher. Both would probably mess up his hair somewhat. The straps went across his ankles, midsection and then across his chest. When Alec put on the headsets, the world went completely silent. He supposed he was better off than Max though.

Martin stood in front of the entrance and then lowered his hand signaling they could go. Without thinking Alec started forward but Max didn't so, the stretcher didn't move. Alec stopped just as Max started moving and the stretcher bumped into Alec. "Stop!" Alec paused a second. "Okay were starting on three 1...2...3. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot."

They continued on for several feet before there was a split in the maze. Kevin signalled for them to stop before darting one way and then the next. He told them to go right and Alec saw what the hand signals meant. They ended up making several turns and sometimes Kevin would disappear for what seemed like a minute before coming back. They never ran into a dead-end.

After about the fifth turn they found themselves in a little space with a barrier about as high as Alec's hip. Kevin was able to slide over it but it took some fumbling around to get the stretcher over it. After that there was a section of the maze that was covered and it was hard to see where they were going. Max probably didn't even notice the difference though. The last major obstacle was a small tunnel section where they all had to crawl under it and pull the stretcher behind them. That's where they lost most time, but then they were out and they saw an oversized clock indicating the run had taken 12 minutes and 31 seconds. As Alec was helping Isaac out of the stretcher, he noticed that a cameraman had been following them the entire time. He hadn't noticed before. They were immediately pulled over for interviews to ask them how they had come up with what they had done and so on.

The Orange team may have been bigger but it definitely took them longer, that could have just been Alec's interpretation. Martin came around the maze minutes later and brought them all together.

"Okay here's how it's going to go. I'm going to read all the times. Fourth-place followed by third-place than first and finally second. We're mixing it up with a little dramatic tension. Okay everyone get ready."

"Have you noticed he's been telling us the same thing again and again?" Max asked.

"He thinks were stupid," Isaac answered.

Somebody started the countdown and the conversation died. Martin jumped into an action stance. "Now that was exciting. Our teams don't know how well they did though so let's review." Martin paused for an extraordinary long time before continuing. "Now in fourth place with a time of 21 minutes and 10 seconds we have the Green team." Martin paused again for a few seconds. "Now in third place we have the Red team at 15 minutes and 38 seconds." Alec applauded politely mostly because of Sam. "Now, in first place with 11 minutes and 56 seconds the Orange team!" The Orange team jumped up and down at the news patting each other on the back. Almost as an afterthought Martin added. "The Blue team finished with 12 minutes and 31 seconds."

Alec applauded, but he felt a bit let down. It had been a close call but still a loss. Less than 40 seconds of difference. Where could they have made up the time? He was trying to think about it and didn't realize Martin was still talking.

"All right boys you all did really well today. As a reward I want to show you one last thing. You all follow me." Somebody shouted cut they did it all again.

They made their way back to where they were staying and this time there were taken out back. Yesterday Alec had noticed a large barn when they did interviews but didn't think much of it. Now Martin brought them to it and with camera filming, they endure a long speech before pushing the door open.

The inside had been redone. The floor was carpeted but the really cool thing was the amount of stuff inside. There was a big-screen TV with an Xbox one hooked up to it, an air hockey table, other games and a climbing wall. Martin said they could have their downtime here and they all headed inside.

Alec wandered around the game room. He climbed the wall, participated in a tournament with the Xbox and met the other contestants. When he wandered up to the air hockey table, there were two twelve-year-olds playing. One boy he remembered, Scott a redhead and the other was Tyree a black boy who had most of his hair shaved except for the stuff on the very top. Sam was standing off to the side watching the game.

"Do you play the winner?" He asked approaching Sam.

Sam glanced at him. "No, I'm just watching."

"Hey guys can I play the winner?" Alec called out.

Tyree who was in the lead smacked the puck across the table. "You can have the table. Last of five."

"You want to play then?" He asked Sam.

"Sure, do you want to place a bet on the outcome?" Sam grinned.

Alec smiled. "You know I go to this place called Dave and Busters a lot, you're going to get your butt kicked."

"Yeah, well I got one this size in my basement. I'm a master."

"You have one of these in your basement?"

"Yeah, what do you think I had, ping-pong?"

"Ping-pong?" Alec echoed confused. "There's a ping-pong table there if you want to play that. I'm no good at it though."

Sam shrugged. "No, I"m really bad at ping-pong. It's just a thing."

"I don't get it."

Sam hesitated long enough that Alec wasn't sure if he was going to say something. "There's a stereotype that Chinese people are good at ping-pong, that's because they kick ass in the Olympics. Thing is I'm not Chinese but that doesn't stop people from assuming. It kinda ticks me off."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. What is your heritage?"

"I'm an American. Technically both of my parents are Japanese, but ethnically my mother comes from a group of Koreans that live in Japan. So it's a little complicated."

"I'm American. My parents are American. After that it gets a little complicated like one quarter Norwegian, Dutch and like half Irish or something. I'm not good at fractions."

Sam laughed but it sounded forced. "So what should we bet? Winner gets a blow job?"

Alec knew it was supposed to be a joke, but he chose to take it seriously. "Reasonable terms."

"What?" Sam laughed nervously.

"Winner gets a blow job from the loser sounds good."

"That was a joke," Sam blurted out.

"I know."

Sam was silent for a few seconds. Alec wondered if he might've stepped over the line. Then Sam spoke. "You ever, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"We can bet desserts again," Alec offered.

Sam was quiet for a few seconds. "No, let's do it."

Alec smiled to himself and considered throwing the game. Tyree and Scott left the bench to the side and reset the scoring. Alec shot first. Sam smashed it back Alec wasn't able to hit it before it bounced off the back wall just missing the goal. He stopped the puck and lined up his shot. It hit the wall on his side shot across the table and then hit Sam's paddle only to have it go backwards into the goal.

"One zip," Alec shouted.

Sam quickly recovered the puck and shot the puck across the table while Alec still had his hands in the air. "It's tied!"

Any chance Alec had of deliberately throwing the game was lost after that. Scott and Tyree's game was tame in comparison. The puck shot back and forth becoming a blur of black rubber. Sam scored again but Alec answered that point with one of his own. A few other people came around to watch. They both were sweating and the puck flew off the table more than once. In the end the score was 5 to 3 for Alec.

Sam bowed his head as he repatriated the puck one last time and tossed it on the table. "The tables free," Sam said walking off.

Two other boys grabbed it. Alec caught up to Sam. "Hey Sam, you don't have to, you know. I'm okay with it."

Sam was silent for a few seconds and shook his head. "A bet is a bet."

"Okay, but I want to give you a blow job in return." He smiled and slowly Sam smiled back.

Without saying when they walked back to the main building. They paused at the top of the stairs unsure if they should go to the red room or the blue. Alec settled the question by walking towards the blue door and Sam followed. When Alec opened the door, he paused not hearing anything and walked inside. "Come on my room."

Sam followed behind looking around. "So this is enemy territory."

"Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on you so you don't find out our secrets."

They walked into his room and Alec started to pull off his shirt. "What are you doing?" Sam asked.

Alec shrugged and tossed his shirt on the table. "It's a lot more comfortable when you're naked. Wear as much or as little as you want."

Sam hesitated but then pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes. Alec stripped down until he was wearing nothing but Sam stopped when his boxers were still on. "I've never been naked in front of someone before."

"Really, never?"

"Not like this."

Alec crossed his arms in no way attempting to hide his growing erection. "Well I could do with those still on."

Sam seemed to give it some thought and then reached down and pulled his boxers down. His penis was soft, but what really drew Alec's attention was his pubic hair. It looked like it had been trimmed. His pubes were wild and unkempt in comparison. "Did you cut your bush?"

Sam shrugged, obviously resisting the urge to cover up. "If I don't cut if when I sweat it kinda smells."

"Oh, I guess we should get to it then. You want to go first?"

"Yeah, how should I do it?"

Alec grabbed a pillow and dropped it on the floor. He then sat on the bed and spread his legs wide. Sam slowly approached got down on his knees using the pillow as a pad. "Any advice?"

"Yeah, put your hand here and pull back the skin like this. Then you can do anything you want. Lick, suck, kiss, it's all good just watch out for your teeth."

Sam nodded, reached out and replaced Alec's hand with his own. Squeezing very gently Alec's foreskin, he stared at it for one second before leaning in kissing the very tip. He quickly pulled away and chuckled. "So weird."

"It's okay. Give yourself time."

After a few more seconds Sam went back to it carefully looking at Alec's exposed glans. Alec found himself smiling and closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation. Sam's tongue seemed a bit dry, but that just caused it to stick a bit longer and his licks were a little more forceful. Sam's hesitation seemed to fade away. He never got beyond the tip but to Alec that was the most sensitive spot anyways. He began to feel his orgasm build up and for a brief second considered coming into Sam's mouth or at least on his face. He thought that would be sexy, but instead he pulled back saying he was about to cum and finished himself off with his own hand. It seemed a bit stronger than usual; his come shot out like a foundation, up into the air before splashing back down onto his stomach. Sam had scooted back so he got none on him.

"Wow! You always do that?" Sam asked.

"No. It's just better with a partner," Alec said catching his breath. He rolled off the bed careful not to get any of the cum on it and walked to the bathroom. He wiped himself off with toilet paper but didn't bring any back with him. He didn't intend to let Sam spill a drop.

They switched places and to Alec's surprise Sam was already semi-hard. Using his hands he brought his friend up to full mast and then peeled back his foreskin. Sam was definitely smaller than he was, but that just meant he was able to get half of his erection into his mouth with the tip resting comfortably on his tongue. He then sucked out as much air as he could to bring the walls of his cheeks closer to encompass the erection. He slowly sucked letting a little air out, squeezing the erection on all sides.

Sam's feet tensed as did his hands. The younger boy was clearly trying to stay still but his limbs wanted to flail. He felt Sam pull back and he let the erection slide a little out of his mouth. Then almost without warning Sam fired his load. He let out a little moan and fell back on the bed as Alec released him once he knew there was no more to come. Swallowing the load in his mouth he slowly stood up.

"Did you like it?"

Sam laughed. "Oh, yeah." He took several deep breaths. "Sorry for not pulling out, I... I meant too."

Alec smiled. "I didn't want you too."

Sam took a few minutes to recover and then both got dressed. He showed Sam out of his room before remembering he had left the pillow on the floor and went back to get it. When he left the room for the second time, he froze as Isaac was standing in the hallway.

Isaac gave him a glance and a small smile. "Well, that was interesting." Without saying another word Isaac left the room and Alec stood there stunned.

Chapter 3

For the rest of the day Alec was on the lookout for an opportunity to get Isaac alone. He thought the opportunity might come after lunch but instead of more free time they were pulled into something called a sharing circle. They were each told to talk about each other in front of the others which was weird especially since they didn't film it. He did learn that Scott the twelve-year-old redhead on the Orange team was diabetic and the fifteen-year-old on the Green team had leukemia a year ago

He officially decided that was weird. There was no way it was just a coincidence. He couldn't remember the questions he had answered in the pre-screening but they must have covered health issues and the show decided to take those candidates. Why? Alec was self-aware enough that he realized he was using this question to distract himself from the Isaac situation.

That night they had a screening of the latest Pixar movie. This time the cameras were brought in and they were told to enjoy it. Through intense intellectual analysis Alec decided that Disney must be one of the show sponsors. So he left when everyone else did even though he thought Pixar had only been producing okay movies.

With the rec room closed, they retreated to their rooms after that. The four of them messed around on the pinball machine seeing who could get the high score and decided to crack open one of the board games. Kevin was the first to nod off to sleep and Alec was sort of hoping Max would follow suit. Unfortunately Isaac and Max decided together to call it quits. Alec was left to put away the game.

Alec stayed up in his bed for a while trying to convince himself Isaac probably just didn't care. It wasn't like he had said anything all day. So unless Isaac just wanted him to stew for a while he probably didn't care. That was a thought that carried him off to bed. That idea carried him until the next day when Isaac waited in his room until they left for breakfast. He joined them at breakfast. That caught him worrying again. Was Isaac deliberately avoiding him?

"Hey guys," Kevin started. "Have you noticed anything weird?"

For a brief paranoid second Alec thought Kevin was referring to Isaac and himself. "How so?"

Kevin shifted around a little nervously as he poked his pancakes. "Okay, well it's not a bad thing it's just kinda weird. Scott's on the Orange team and he's diabetic. Sam said yesterday he was epileptic and he's on the red team. The Green team has Jason and he had leukemia. We have Isaac who had his appendix blow up. Isn't that kind of weird?"

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that too," Max said glancing over at Isaac.

Isaac shot Max a nasty look. "You implying I know something?"

"No, it's just weird."

"Well, when you think about it, the whole set up's a bit weird," Alec interrupted.

"How so?" Kevin asked.

Alec took a few seconds to choose a pancake before answering. "Well, we're separated into teams so they want us to compete. The way the rooms are set up you would think they would want us to mostly hang out in there but then they give us a rec room. Not only do they give us a rec room but they had that whole sharing thing yesterday. It seemed contradictory."

"Yeah, but what about the thing Kevin said?" Max asked.

"It was designed by committee," Isaac answered.

"What?" Kevin said taking a sip from his orange juice.

"It's an expression of my dad's," Isaac started. "He's an engineer, but sometimes like when he has to submit something to his bosses they all put their input in and then the marketing people put their input in and then they do focus groups or whatever and there's more input. Then something that was very simple and efficient is complicated and not."

"Not following," Alec said.

Isaac sat back in his chair. "Okay look at it this way. Somebody pitched the idea for the show about kids competing against each other in groups. Like survivor or something. They think they can get people our age to watch. So they can get a bunch of sponsors like Disney. Then somebody comes along and says they can't just have a straight up competition show. It needs to have a message. Probably a few messages."

"Like what?" Kevin asked.

"Teamwork," Max said.

"Sportsmanship?" Alec ventured. "They seem to want us to all get along at least."

"Then, why the first thing?" Kevin asked.

Everyone fell silent and only the soft conversation from the other tables could be heard. It was Isaac who finally answered. "I think they want to do an anti-bullying thing."

Alec glanced at Isaac. "Have you been bullied?"

"No, that doesn't mean I can't see what they're doing."

That ended the conversation and after a minute they started up again talking about yesterday in the maze.

After Isaac trashed the remnants of his breakfast he headed upstairs. Alec quickly finished his breakfast and went after him. When he got back up into their rooms he found Isaac playing the pinball machine. Isaac didn't notice his approach until he was standing right next to him.

"Hey, Isaac."

Isaac glanced over at him. "Hey."

For a moment Alec just watched the silver balls bounce around. His points built up on the board. "I never see pinball machines that much. There kind of fun."

"Yeah, I used to have of those little ones," Isaac said. "I probably still have it somewhere."

Alec watched the silver ball slid right down the middle of the board passing both of the paddles. A few seconds later another one shot out. "I was wondering if we could talk about yesterday," Alec said as the ball bounced back and forth.

"You mean the maze?"

Alec wondered about the question. Did Isaac really not know? Maybe he just thought it was weird that Sam was in here. Still, that didn't seem likely. "I was referring to that other thing."

Isaac started another game. "I'm not telling anyone about you and your boyfriend."

"We're not boyfriends, we just were messing around."

"Yeah, you sound like you were having fun."

"Just don't tell anyone."

"I really don't care."

Alec nodded and watched Isaac play for a few seconds. "Are we okay? I mean you're okay with me being on your team and all that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Isaac said losing the ball again smacking the side of the machine.

Alec hesitated. "Well I'm gay; I want to make sure you're okay with that."

"Well, it's not like there's anything we could do if I was. Anyways, my best friend used to be gay so it's fine. Drop it."

Alec took a step back but noticed the words used to be. "He used to be gay? He's not anymore?"

"No, where just not friends anymore," Isaac shot Alec a glare and that ended the conversation.

He decided to leave it at that. Alec didn't consider himself particularly popular but usually he could get along with anyone. Isaac didn't seem like he wanted to get along. Some people are just like that he guessed.

When he got downstairs Martin announced that they had another challenge for the day. He took several minutes for everyone to gather out front. The guy had to go through the introduction three times or at least 2 1/2. He sneezed once. The summary though was they would be taken to another building on the property. This one was a two-story building that was rigged up. It would be like a large danger room. Each team had to choose someone to stay on the outside while the other three went inside to try to solve a puzzle.

Once each person had solved the puzzle they could go and help another teammate. When two of them finished they could help a third teammate. The observer would be able to watch all three of them progressed through the house and help wherever they could. However in each room there would be an instant death thing. If they triggered the event they were out of the game. Some would only eliminate one person on others to take up the entire room.

The scoring for this particular challenge was five points for first place, three point second-place and one point for third. However they had the additional option of a hint button. For each hint they didn't use they would receive an additional point even if they passed the 45 minute deadline. For each one they used they would be subtracted one point. They started off with three hints.

Alec thought it was a tad unfair when he first heard that rule. If some time ran out on somebody they could still take the same points as third place. Then again if you came in first you could have eight points. Then Martin added one new twist.

"Now to add a little more competition to this challenge, the winners of today's challenge will be spending tomorrow at Six Flags!"

This time Alec didn't have to be told to let out a whoop. He loved Six Flags.

The other teams were dismissed as the Blue team was told they were doing it first.

Although he wanted to go in Alec found himself volunteering to be on the outside. He was given a crash course in the controls as the others were fitted with helmet cameras. His three teammates made his way inside and stood by their doors before and air horn went off and the clock began.

Alec looked at each of the monitors in front of him as the doors opened. It looked like Kevin was in a lab while Max had stumbled into a library. Isaac's room was full of boxes. Clearly someone had run out of ideas Alec thought. When Isaac closed the door he did so by turning around so it would shut quietly. As he did so a piece of paper came into view that was taped to the back of the door.

Alec fumbled with the radio to switch it over to Max's frequency. "Max look at the door. There might be a message there." He switched again. "Kevin, there might be a message on the back of the door take a look."

They both did so and started to read the paper. Alec switched his attention back to Isaac. "What did your paper say?"

"Put it back together," Isaac said. "I'm guessing I have to build something."

Alec agreed and switched to Max. "What your message say."

"Find the missing research note." Max slowly panned over the box. "I'm guessing I have to read everything in here."

"No, it's got to be a puzzle or something, just look around."

"Thanks, couldn't have figured that out without you."

Alec shrugged at the sarcastic comment and turned his attention to Kevin who was still staring at his note. "What's up Kevin?"

"I'm not sure. It says redo the experiment. Then there's some other stuff," Kevin said his head moving from side to side.

"Hold still so I can see the note."

Kevin grabbed a hold of the wall to brace himself in a little closer to the note. "Is that good?"

"Sort of." Alec frowned at the piece of paper. It read C12H25C6H4SO3Na + NaHCO3 + CH3COOHH2O. "Those look like chemical names. You know like H2O."

"I haven't taken chemistry yet," Kevin complained.

"Yeah, it wasn't my best subject. Can you look around the room? The chemicals have to be there. I guess we just need to add them together."

Kevin looked around and although there were beakers and all sorts of tubes connecting them together, there were no bottles until he saw a large metal cabinet in the one corner. Kevin started towards it unprompted, but as soon as he was a few steps away the doors opened and a man wearing a zombie mask burst out. Kevin let out a loud scream and quickly scurried back. The zombie man lurched forward but came to a halt after about three steps. He kept leaning forward but there was something holding him back.

"Kevin, are you okay?" Alec demanded.

There were a few seconds of silence before Kevin answered. "Yeah, he just startled to me."

"He's just an actor," Alec said realizing how lame that sounded.

"I know." Kevin started to look past the zombie over-the-counter. There were several containers inside the cabinet. "I'm guessing if the zombie touches me I'm out."

"Yeah, I would say so. Just look around see if you can find something else."

"Okay," Kevin said slowly looking around again.

Alec glanced at the monitors and saw Isaac was making some headway or at least had torn open some boxes. "How's it coming Isaac?"

Isaac was digging through a box of packing peanuts. "I've opened a few boxes but haven't found anything. Looks like it's going to take a while."

When Isaac finished and kicked it across the floor. "Hey wait, go back."

"What?" Isaac said looking around.

"Look at the boxes. The one you just kick!" Alec leaned forward finally feeling like you might be onto something. Isaac walked up to the box and looked at it. Managing with this but he turned it around again. "That's it, look at it a little closer."

Isaac leaned down and tilted the box upwards. In one corner it was clearly labeled LXII. "Roman numerals!" They said almost simultaneously.

"Find number one," Alec advised.

"Yeah," Isaac said.

Alec switched his attention over to Max who was currently going through a desk drawer. "What are you looking for Max?"

"Batteries."

"Batteries, for what?"

Max's head tilted towards something on the desk. "I found this flashlight hidden inside a glow. It was one of those that opened up you know. It's really faint though."

Alec frowned. So far Isaac had needed to pay attention to the little details to discover the numbers and Kevin had to figure out what he was looking for. It seemed odd that a random search for batteries would be the key. "Can I see the light working?"

Max hesitated but stopped rifling through the drawer. "All right, but not sure if you'll be able to see anything." Max picked up the flashlight turning it towards him and turned it on. There was a very fake dark purplish light. It was very faint.

For a second it seemed familiar and then Alec remembered. "That's a black light! You have to get the room dark for it to work well. I've seen them used. The stamp your hand at this one amusement park I used to go too. As long as you have the stamp you can get back in free."

Max looked around the room again and then lowered the shades before turning off the light. Alec watched as he turned the light on and shown it around the room. First he hit all the walls, ceilings and floor but no message revealed itself. Then just about as Alec was about to suggest it Max walked around the desk to the far side away from the door and shone the light on the side. The message revealed itself scrolled on the side. Gordian knot.

"What does that mean?" Max asked.

The name sounded familiar, but it was at the very back of Alec's mind and he couldn't remember. "It sounds familiar."

Max was silent for a second. "Maybe it's in one of the encyclopaedias. Under G." Max walked over to one of the bookshelves. There were maybe twenty or so leather bound books all on one shelf just a little below eye level for Max. He pulled out G and thumbed through it but didn't find anything. "Why don't you ask the others? Maybe they know."

Alec was about to say that was against the rules when he suddenly realized that even though Max could only talk to him he could talk to anyone. Why couldn't he relay a question? "I will Max. Good idea." He went back to Isaac and asked but he didn't seem to know. Then he went to Kevin who was still looking around the room. "Kevin, do you know what Gordian knot is?"

Kevin stopped. "Gordian knot? Yeah I know that."

Alec hadn't been really expecting a positive answer. "What, can you tell me about it?"

"Um... Yeah. It was this really big knot. It was supposed to be impossible to untie. The person who untied it was supposed to rule the world."

"Did anyone untie or try?"

"Well, no. Alexander the great heard about it though and when he went there he just took out his sword and cut it in half. Why do you want to know?"

He felt himself grinning. "Thanks Kevin, I'm gonna be sending you helps in." Alec switched back to Max. "Look under 'A' for Alexander the great or maybe if there's a book about him there."

Max pulled out the A encyclopedia and just as he opened the front cover he saw small scotch tape to the cover. "I got it!"

Alec felt himself grinning. "Okay go to room three. Kevin looks like you need some help dealing with the zombie."

"A zombie?" Max said just as Alec cut him off.

Alec could've explained but he was pretty sure zombie was really self-explanatory. He turned back to Kevin who had found one, two and three. So far he had pulled out a large battery, some wire and a little container of something black powdery that was on a small dish along with a pair of thick gloves.

"What's the problem Isaac?"

Isaac didn't answer at first. Then he picked up a piece of paper that had been folded over a few times. He opened it and there was a small diagram including a warning to wear gloves. "I know what to do, but it's too easy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean they said they would be instant eliminations but I haven't come across anything like that yet. I opened box number four and five but there was nothing in there but peanuts."

"All right, well look around the room again and see if we can see something."

Isaac looked over at the boxes that were stacked two or three deep and another three or four high. There didn't seem to be much else in the room. Then Alec noticed something in the corner. "Isaac, look up."

Isaac stopped and looked. In addition to the lights on the ceiling there were smoke detectors. Not just one but six. That was too many.

"I got it," Isaac muttered.

"What do you got?" Alec asked.

Instead of giving an answer Isaac walked over to one of the boxes of peanuts and turned it over. The content cascaded onto the floor forming a little pile. Isaac then carried the box back over put on the gloves and turning it upside down placed the box over the three materials. He twisted the wires onto the battery and then carefully touched them to the black powder with the box over it. Alec didn't have the best view but he heard the pop of something going off. Then it clicked. The experiment they were supposed to rebuild would've created smoke. It probably would've set off the alarms. A second later there was a dull clock something hit the floor. It took Isaac a second to find the sound, but when he did he found a small case with a key inside.

"Kevin's the only one who hasn't succeeded yet. He's in room three," Alec said. He heard Isaac say okay just before he changed the channel.

Now, two of the monitors were showing almost identical images. Max and Kevin were standing close to each other.

"I mean he supposed to be a zombie," Max said.

"Yeah and why am I the one running in?" Kevin asked.

"I can do it if you want," Max answered.

Kevin hesitated and then let out a sigh. "No, I'll do it."

Then without any more clues to what was going on Alec watched as they started to move. Max moved to the far end of the room and edged closer to the zombie before starting to pound on one of the stainless steel tables. "Over here, over here come and get me!" He started chatting.

The zombie, or the person pretending to be one, slowly started to turn his attention towards Max and then lurched towards him. The chain that was around his waist restrained him from getting to Max but he kept trying too.

As soon as the zombie seemed preoccupied Kevin darted in, ducking into the cabin and pulling something out. He ran back and forth several times not looking at the labels, just removing everything from the cabinet.

"I got it all," Kevin announced just as Isaac came into the room.

Quickly switching back to the channel he contacted Isaac. "Isaac, look at the back of the door. There's formulas there you need to read them off so we can find the right ingredients."

"Okay I'll read on," Isaac said looking at the door.

"Start with the last four letters or numbers," Kevin shouted. "It'll be quicker that way."

Alec watched as the three ingredients were found. Once they were singled out he recognized one of them as baking soda. His mom had the stuff all the time in the refrigerator. The other two things he wasn't so sure of. One look like little crystals and the other was a liquid.

Kevin uncapped the liquid and took a sip of it. "That's vinegar."

"I know what happens when you put vinegar and baking soda together," Max said.

"Yeah me too," Kevin said grinning.

He grabbed a beaker and placed it on the table. Max poured the baking soda into it and Isaac grabbed the other stuff. He shook it around a little mixing it up and then poured the vinegar into the beaker. Alec knew what was going to happen but as the stuff started to foam and rise up overflowing the beaker he found himself smiling. It was still cool.

A few seconds after the reaction stopped there was another sound of a key dropping and the three of them went to the front door. Somehow it had been locked after they had entered and it required all three keys for them to leave. An air horn went off and Isaac pulled off his headsets before noticing the oversized clock. 38 minutes and 44 seconds had passed. He had not thought it had been that long.

After the competition they were told to go to their rooms and stay there for a while as the other teams ran through. The feeling in the room was confident. Then when they were called out and found out they had been in second place again Alec felt like saying a few words that wouldn't have made it on the air.

Chapter 3

For the rest of the day Alec was on the lookout for an opportunity to get Isaac alone. He thought the opportunity might come after lunch but instead of more free time they were pulled into something called a sharing circle. They were each told to talk about each other in front of the others which was weird especially since they didn't film it. He did learn that Scott the twelve-year-old redhead on the Orange team was diabetic and the fifteen-year-old on the Green team had leukemia a year ago.

He officially decided that was weird. There was no way it was just a coincidence. He couldn't remember the questions he had answered in the pre-screening but they must have covered health issues and the show decided to take those candidates. Why? Alec was self-aware enough that he realized he was using this question to distract himself from the Isaac situation.

That night they had a screening of the latest Pixar movie. This time the cameras were brought in and they were told to enjoy it. Through intense intellectual analysis Alec decided that Disney must be one of the show sponsors. So he left when everyone else did even though he thought Pixar had only been producing okay movies.

With the rec room closed, they retreated to their rooms after that. The four of them messed around on the pinball machine seeing who could get the high score and decided to crack open one of the board games. Kevin was the first to nod off to sleep and Alec was sort of hoping Max would follow suit. Unfortunately Isaac and Max decided together to call it quits. Alec was left to put away the game.

Alec stayed up in his bed for a while trying to convince himself Isaac probably just didn't care. It wasn't like he had said anything all day. So unless Isaac just wanted him to stew for a while he probably didn't care. That was a thought that carried him off to bed. That idea carried him until the next day when Isaac waited in his room until they left for breakfast. He joined them at breakfast. That caught him worrying again. Was Isaac deliberately avoiding him?

"Hey guys," Kevin started. "Have you noticed anything weird?"

For a brief paranoid second Alec thought Kevin was referring to Isaac and himself. "How so?"

Kevin shifted around a little nervously as he poked his pancakes. "Okay, well it's not a bad thing it's just kinda weird. Scott�s on the Orange team and he's diabetic. Sam said yesterday he was epileptic and he's on the red team. The Green team has Jason and he had leukemia. We have Isaac who had his appendix blow up. Isn't that kind of weird?"

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that too," Max said glancing over at Isaac.

Isaac shot Max a nasty look. "You implying I know something?"

"No, it's just weird."

"Well, when you think about it, the whole set up�s a bit weird," Alec interrupted.

"How so?" Kevin asked.

Alec took a few seconds to choose a pancake before answering. "Well, we�re separated into teams so they want us to compete. The way the rooms are set up you would think they would want us to mostly hang out in there but then they give us a rec room. Not only do they give us a rec room but they had that whole sharing thing yesterday. It seemed contradictory."

"Yeah, but what about the thing Kevin said?" Max asked.

"It was designed by committee," Isaac answered.

"What?" Kevin said taking a sip from his orange juice.

"It's an expression of my dad's," Isaac started. "He's an engineer, but sometimes like when he has to submit something to his bosses they all put their input in and then the marketing people put their input in and then they do focus groups or whatever and there's more input. Then something that was very simple and efficient is complicated and not."

"Not following," Alec said.

Isaac sat back in his chair. "Okay look at it this way. Somebody pitched the idea for the show about kids competing against each other in groups. Like survivor or something. They think they can get people our age to watch. So they can get a bunch of sponsors like Disney. Then somebody comes along and says they can't just have a straight up competition show. It needs to have a message. Probably a few messages."

"Like what?" Kevin asked.

"Teamwork," Max said.

"Sportsmanship?" Alec ventured. "They seem to want us to all get along at least."

"Then, why the first thing?" Kevin asked.

Everyone fell silent and only the soft conversation from the other tables could be heard. It was Isaac who finally answered. "I think they want to do an anti-bullying thing."

Alec glanced at Isaac. "Have you been bullied?"

"No, that doesn't mean I can't see what they're doing.�

That ended the conversation and after a minute they started up again talking about yesterday in the maze.

After Isaac trashed the remnants of his breakfast he headed upstairs. Alec quickly finished his breakfast and went after him. When he got back up into their rooms he found Isaac playing the pinball machine. Isaac didn't notice his approach until he was standing right next to him.

"Hey, Isaac."

Isaac glanced over at him. "Hey."

For a moment Alec just watched the silver balls bounce around. His points built up on the board. "I never see pinball machines that much. There kind of fun."

"Yeah, I used to have of those little ones," Isaac said. "I probably still have it somewhere."

Alec watched the silver ball slid right down the middle of the board passing both of the paddles. A few seconds later another one shot out. "I was wondering if we could talk about yesterday," Alec said as the ball bounced back and forth.

"You mean the maze?"

Alec wondered about the question. Did Isaac really not know? Maybe he just thought it was weird that Sam was in here. Still, that didn't seem likely. "I was referring to that other thing."

Isaac started another game. "I'm not telling anyone about you and your boyfriend."

"We're not boyfriends, we just were messing around."

"Yeah, you sound like you were having fun."

"Just don't tell anyone."

"I really don't care."

Alec nodded and watched Isaac play for a few seconds. "Are we okay? I mean you're okay with me being on your team and all that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Isaac said losing the ball again smacking the side of the machine.

Alec hesitated. "Well I'm gay; I want to make sure you're okay with that."

"Well, it's not like there's anything we could do if I was. Anyways, my best friend used to be gay so it's fine. Drop it."

Alec took a step back but noticed the words used to be. "He used to be gay? He's not anymore?"

"No, where just not friends anymore." Isaac shot Alec a glare and that ended the conversation.

He decided to leave it at that. Alec didn't consider himself particularly popular but usually he could get along with anyone. Isaac didn't seem like he wanted to get along. Some people are just like that he guessed.

When he got downstairs Martin announced that they had another challenge for the day. He took several minutes for everyone to gather out front. The guy had to go through the introduction three times or at least 2 1/2. He sneezed once. The summary though was they would be taken to another building on the property. This one was a two-story building that was rigged up. It would be like a large danger room. Each team had to choose someone to stay on the outside while the other three went inside to try to solve a puzzle.

Once each person had solved the puzzle they could go and help another teammate. When two of them finished they could help a third teammate. The observer would be able to watch all three of them progressed through the house and help wherever they could. However in each room there would be an instant death thing. If they triggered the event they were out of the game. Some would only eliminate one person on others to take up the entire room.

The scoring for this particular challenge was five points for first place, three point second-place and one point for third. However they had the additional option of a hint button. For each hint they didn't use they would receive an additional point even if they passed the 45 minute deadline. For each one they used they would be subtracted one point. They started off with three hints.

Alec thought it was a tad unfair when he first heard that rule. If some time ran out on somebody they could still take the same points as third place. Then again if you came in first you could have eight points. Then Martin added one new twist.

"Now to add a little more competition to this challenge, the winners of today's challenge will be spending tomorrow at Six Flags!"

This time Alec didn't have to be told to let out a whoop. He loved Six Flags.

The other teams were dismissed as the Blue team was told they were doing it first.

Although he wanted to go in Alec found himself volunteering to be on the outside. He was given a crash course in the controls as the others were fitted with helmet cameras. His three teammates made his way inside and stood by their doors before and air horn went off and the clock began.

Alec looked at each of the monitors in front of him as the doors opened. It looked like Kevin was in a lab while Max had stumbled into a library. Isaac's room was full of boxes. Clearly someone had run out of ideas Alec thought. When Isaac closed the door he did so by turning around so it would shut quietly. As he did so a piece of paper came into view that was taped to the back of the door.

Alec fumbled with the radio to switch it over to Max's frequency. "Max look at the door. There might be a message there." He switched again. "Kevin, there might be a message on the back of the door take a look."

They both did so and started to read the paper. Alec switched his attention back to Isaac. "What did your paper say?"

"Put it back together," Isaac said. "I'm guessing I have to build something."

Alec agreed and switched to Max. "What your message say."

"Find the missing research note." Max slowly panned over the box. "I'm guessing I have to read everything in here."

"No, it's got to be a puzzle or something, just look around."

"Thanks, couldn't have figured that out without you."

Alec shrugged at the sarcastic comment and turned his attention to Kevin who was still staring at his note. "What's up Kevin?"

"I'm not sure. It says redo the experiment. Then there's some other stuff," Kevin said his head moving from side to side.

"Hold still so I can see the note."

Kevin grabbed a hold of the wall to brace himself in a little closer to the note. "Is that good?"

"Sort of," Alec frowned at the piece of paper. It read C12H25C6H4SO3Na + NaHCO3 + CH3COOHH2O. "Those look like chemical names. You know like H2O."

"I haven't taken chemistry yet," Kevin complained.

"Yeah, it wasn't my best subject. Can you look around the room? The chemicals have to be there. I guess we just need to add them together."

Kevin looked around and although there were beakers and all sorts of tubes connecting them together, there were no bottles until he saw a large metal cabinet in the one corner. Kevin started towards it unprompted, but as soon as he was a few steps away the doors opened and a man wearing a zombie mask burst out. Kevin let out a loud scream and quickly scurried back. The zombie man lurched forward but came to a halt after about three steps. He kept leaning forward but there was something holding him back.

"Kevin, are you okay?" Alec demanded.

There were a few seconds of silence before Kevin answered. "Yeah, he just startled to me."

"He's just an actor," Alec said realizing how lame that sounded.

"I know," Kevin started to look past the zombie over-the-counter. There were several containers inside the cabinet. "I'm guessing if the zombie touches me I'm out."

"Yeah, I would say so. Just look around see if you can find something else."

"Okay," Kevin said slowly looking around again.

Alec glanced at the monitors and saw Isaac was making some headway or at least had torn open some boxes. "How's it coming Isaac?"

Isaac was digging through a box of packing peanuts. "I've opened a few boxes but haven't found anything. Looks like it's going to take a while."

When Isaac finished and kicked it across the floor. "Hey wait, go back."

"What?" Isaac said looking around.

"Look at the boxes. The one you just kick!" Alec leaned forward finally feeling like you might be onto something. Isaac walked up to the box and looked at it. Managing with this but he turned it around again. "That's it, look at it a little closer."

Isaac leaned down and tilted the box upwards. In one corner it was clearly labeled LXII. "Roman numerals!" They said almost simultaneously.

"Find number one," Alec advised.

"Yeah," Isaac said.

Alec switched his attention over to Max who was currently going through a desk drawer. "What are you looking for Max?"

"Batteries."

"Batteries, for what?"

Max's head tilted towards something on the desk. "I found this flashlight hidden inside a glow. It was one of those that opened up you know. It's really faint though."

Alec frowned. So far Isaac had needed to pay attention to the little details to discover the numbers and Kevin had to figure out what he was looking for. It seemed odd that a random search for batteries would be the key. "Can I see the light working?"

Max hesitated but stopped rifling through the drawer. "All right, but not sure if you'll be able to see anything." Max picked up the flashlight turning it towards him and turned it on. There was a very fake dark purplish light. It was very faint.

For a second it seemed familiar and then Alec remembered. "That's a black light! You have to get the room dark for it to work well. I've seen them used. The stamp your hand at this one amusement park I used to go too. As long as you have the stamp you can get back in free."

Max looked around the room again and then lowered the shades before turning off the light. Alec watched as he turned the light on and shown it around the room. First he hit all the walls, ceilings and floor but no message revealed itself. Then just about as Alec was about to suggest it Max walked around the desk to the far side away from the door and shone the light on the side. The message revealed itself scrolled on the side. Gordian knot.

"What does that mean?" Max asked.

The name sounded familiar, but it was at the very back of Alec's mind and he couldn't remember. "It sounds familiar."

Max was silent for a second. "Maybe it's in one of the encyclopaedias. Under G." Max walked over to one of the bookshelves. There were maybe twenty or so leather bound books all on one shelf just a little below eye level for Max. He pulled out G and thumbed through it but didn't find anything. "Why don't you ask the others? Maybe they know."

Alec was about to say that was against the rules when he suddenly realized that even though Max could only talk to him he could talk to anyone. Why couldn't he relay a question? "I will Max. Good idea." He went back to Isaac and asked but he didn't seem to know. Then he went to Kevin who was still looking around the room. "Kevin, do you know what Gordian knot is?"

Kevin stopped. "Gordian knot? Yeah I know that."

Alec hadn't been really expecting a positive answer. "What, can you tell me about it?"

"Um... Yeah. It was this really big knot. It was supposed to be impossible to untie. The person who untied it was supposed to rule the world."

"Did anyone untie or try?"

"Well, no. Alexander the great heard about it though and when he went there he just took out his sword and cut it in half. Why do you want to know?"

He felt himself grinning. "Thanks Kevin, I'm gonna be sending you helps in." Alec switched back to Max. "Look under �A� for Alexander the great or maybe if there's a book about him there."

Max pulled out the A encyclopedia and just as he opened the front cover he saw small scotch tape to the cover. "I got it!"

Alec felt himself grinning. "Okay go to room three. Kevin looks like you need some help dealing with the zombie."

"A zombie?" Max said just as Alec cut him off.

Alec could've explained but he was pretty sure zombie was really self-explanatory. He turned back to Kevin who had found one, two and three. So far he had pulled out a large battery, some wire and a little container of something black powdery that was on a small dish along with a pair of thick gloves.

"What's the problem Isaac?"

Isaac didn't answer at first. Then he picked up a piece of paper that had been folded over a few times. He opened it and there was a small diagram including a warning to wear gloves. "I know what to do, but it's too easy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean they said they would be instant eliminations but I haven't come across anything like that yet. I opened box number four and five but there was nothing in there but peanuts."

"All right, well look around the room again and see if we can see something."

Isaac looked over at the boxes that were stacked two or three deep and another three or four high. There didn't seem to be much else in the room. Then Alec noticed something in the corner. "Isaac, look up."

Isaac stopped and looked. In addition to the lights on the ceiling there were smoke detectors. Not just one but six. That was too many.

"I got it," Isaac muttered.

"What do you got?" Alec asked.

Instead of giving an answer Isaac walked over to one of the boxes of peanuts and turned it over. The content cascaded onto the floor forming a little pile. Isaac then carried the box back over put on the gloves and turning it upside down placed the box over the three materials. He twisted the wires onto the battery and then carefully touched them to the black powder with the box over it. Alec didn't have the best view but he heard the pop of something going off. Then it clicked. The experiment they were supposed to rebuild would've created smoke. It probably would've set off the alarms. A second later there was a dull clock something hit the floor. It took Isaac a second to find the sound, but when he did he found a small case with a key inside.

"Kevin's the only one who hasn't succeeded yet. He's in room three," Alec said. He heard Isaac say okay just before he changed the channel.

Now, two of the monitors were showing almost identical images. Max and Kevin were standing close to each other.

"I mean he supposed to be a zombie," Max said.

"Yeah and why am I the one running in?" Kevin asked.

"I can do it if you want," Max answered.

Kevin hesitated and then let out a sigh. "No, I'll do it."

Then without any more clues to what was going on Alec watched as they started to move. Max moved to the far end of the room and edged closer to the zombie before starting to pound on one of the stainless steel tables. "Over here, over here come and get me!" He started chatting.

The zombie, or the person pretending to be one, slowly started to turn his attention towards Max and then lurched towards him. The chain that was around his waist restrained him from getting to Max but he kept trying too.

As soon as the zombie seemed preoccupied Kevin darted in, ducking into the cabin and pulling something out. He ran back and forth several times not looking at the labels, just removing everything from the cabinet.

"I got it all," Kevin announced just as Isaac came into the room.

Quickly switching back to the channel he contacted Isaac. "Isaac, look at the back of the door. There's formulas there you need to read them off so we can find the right ingredients."

"Okay I'll read on," Isaac said looking at the door.

"Start with the last four letters or numbers," Kevin shouted. "It'll be quicker that way."

Alec watched as the three ingredients were found. Once they were singled out he recognized one of them as baking soda. His mom had the stuff all the time in the refrigerator. The other two things he wasn't so sure of. One look like little crystals and the other was a liquid.

Kevin uncapped the liquid and took a sip of it. "That's vinegar."

"I know what happens when you put vinegar and baking soda together," Max said.

"Yeah, me too," Kevin said grinning.

He grabbed a beaker and placed it on the table. Max poured the baking soda into it and Isaac grabbed the other stuff. He shook it around a little mixing it up and then poured the vinegar into the beaker. Alec knew what was going to happen but as the stuff started to foam and rise up overflowing the beaker he found himself smiling. It was still cool.

A few seconds after the reaction stopped there was another sound of a key dropping and the three of them went to the front door. Somehow it had been locked after they had entered and it required all three keys for them to leave. An air horn went off and Isaac pulled off his headsets before noticing the oversized clock. 38 minutes and 44 seconds had passed. He had not thought it had been that long.

After the competition they were told to go to their rooms and stay there for a while as the other teams ran through. The feeling in the room was confident. Then when they were called out and found out they had been in second place again Alec felt like saying a few words that wouldn't have made it on the air.

Chapter 4

Alec's eyes snapped open. He didn't disoriented anymore but when he checked the clock he saw it was just a little past 3 a.m. Intellectually, he knew he should roll over and try to go back to sleep but he could feel he would be awake for at least an hour. He rolled over trying to find a cool spot in the bed and saw a light under his door. He hadn't been the last to bed, so had somebody left the light on?

He debated with himself for a few seconds before slowly climbing out of bed. He tried to be quiet afraid to wake anyone else. But when he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, he saw Max sitting on the couch staring at his phone. He must've seen or heard Alec because he looked up and waved. Alec waved back and started towards him.

"Can't sleep?" Max asked.

"I woke up. Can't go back to sleep."

"Yeah, me too." Max held up his phone. "I thought I could find a friend to chat with but everyone seems to be asleep."

Alec picked a spot a few feet away from Max and sat down. "Well, I'm here."

"Yep."

There was a few seconds of silence before Max asked. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No, how about you?"

"Two sisters. They are both older than me. Jessica is Asian and Ashley is Caucasian." Max glanced over at Alec as he said this. There must've been some weird expression on his face because Max smiled. "We're all adopted."

"Oh, that explains it." Alec had meant that as a joke but he wasn't sure how when it came out.

"We are one big rainbow," Max said turning his phone over to show off the picture.

Alec glanced and saw a picture of Max with two other older girls standing behind him. "So they're older than you?"

"Yeah," Max turned the phone away.

"Are you homesick?"

"Maybe a bit. I called them today."

Alec waited for more but Max didn't continue. "You thinking of pulling out?" He knew they could leave the show at any time. He thought Isaac or Kevin would be the ones to pull out however.

"No, I just missed them a bit."

Alec nodded. He didn't really understand the sibling thing. Some of his friends who had some got along great and others barely acknowledged each other.

"They can be a pain sometimes," Max continued. "When I was really little they used to dress me up in their clothing. They have evidence and threatened to show it to the girls I bring home," Max smiled as he said this.

Okay Alec thought he really didn't understand the sibling thing. "That doesn't exactly sound nice."

"Well I'm like 90% sure they wouldn't actually do it," Max smiled. "So what woke you up?"

Alec shrugged. "I just wake up sometimes. I'm a light sleeper."

"Well that sucks."

"Yeah, well I don't like being in second place constantly. Where only two points ahead of third place and their tied."

"You're a pessimist. Where only two points away from first place and there are four more events," Max countered.

Alec silently admitted Max was right and he was a little anxious not nervous. "Yeah, you're right. Besides we have a pretty good team."

"That's just because I'm so awesome," Max said.

Alec smiled. "We stand in your shadow. What do you think of Isaac and Kevin? Other than just lumps in your shadow."

"They're fine. Kevin is kind of funny. I wish Isaac wasn't afraid of his own shadow but he's fine."

"Isaac? What do you mean?"

Max gave him a look. "You haven't noticed? He's the really nervous type. You have notice he disappears into his room all the time? "

Alec frowned. He hadn't thought of Isaac's as nervous. "I didn't notice." He tried to remember. When he had been trying to pin down Isaac there had been times where he couldn't find him in the game. Was Isaac just hiding in his room when he had brought Sam up?

"Yeah, he does it a lot. I think we should do something as a group outside of the competition. Bring us together. You have any ideas?" Max asked.

Alec was thinking of what Isaac had saw or heard or whatever. Was he the reason Isaac was nervous? He remembered Isaac saying his best friend used to be gay but he could have just been saying that. Then he realized Max was still waiting for an answer. "I don't have any ideas."

Max shrugged. "Well, I guess it's up to me." Max slowly got up. "I think I can get back to sleep. Later."

"Later," Alec repeated. He had thought the Isaac problem was behind him. If Max was right here and misreading the situation. He kind of wanted to kick his own ass at the moment.

The next morning when they were all sitting around the breakfast table Max sprung his question. "Since we have today off I was wondering if you think we should do something together. You know just sort of reinforcing the team."

Alec had known the question was coming but didn't back Max up. He wasn't against it; he just didn't have an opinion.

"Like what?" Kevin asked.

"The first day we were here, I saw what looks like some old trails the other day. Maybe we could try one out."

"You want to go for a hike?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, just a short thing. That's assuming they allow us too."

"It could be fun. I've never really been on a hike before," Kevin said scratching his head.

Alec watched as Kevin's fingers slipped through his hair. It was weird scratching. All of his hair moved almost like it was a helmet. What did he put in it? "I'm up for it."

Everyone's attention turned towards Isaac. Isaac continued to quietly eat his cereal before glancing around the table. "What?"

"Are you in?" Max asked.

Isaac waited a few seconds. "I guess. If you can get permission."

Max finished his breakfast and went to find someone in charge. He came back with an okay as long as they take a cell phone with them and they waited until one shot was filmed for today. As the winners of yesterday's event drove off in a minivan followed by a camera crew to Six Flags they were filmed waving goodbye.

Everyone else went to the game room while the Blue team retreated back to the room to retrieve their phones. When they came down they were handed water bottles and again told to stay on the marked trails. They followed Max around out back. Now that Alec was looking for them, he could see there were several signs for trails marked up high on the hill. Alec followed wordlessly unsure what exactly to do next.

"Okay let's go on that one," Max said pointing.

"Why that one?" Isaac asked. "How long is it?"

"I don't know but we can go down it for an hour and then just turn around and go back."

"Wonderful," Isaac muttered.

Max ignored it and started up the hill. Everyone followed some more reluctantly than others. The initial path opening was a little overgrown but once they were on it they could walk two buy two easily. After they were on the trail for a few minutes Max asked. "So Kevin how do you like being the youngest on the team?"

"It's alright I guess. I was really nervous at first, but it's not so bad now."

Alec thought he was finally picking up on what Max was after. "So you've never been hiking before? Ever?"

"I live in a city. We have a park. Where do you live Alec?"

"Well it's sort of the country, but not really. I mean there's a few forms around but where I live you can actually see your neighbors. Not quite the suburbs but we don't live in the nearby town. What about you Max?"

"Suburbs. It's a not so little development. I think there are 120 houses in it. There are some duplexes but we live near the back. It backs right up to the town park and there are lots of trails there. My family goes on walks together. What about you Isaac?"

"I live in a development too."

Things continued on like that. One of them would pose a question and they would circle around until everyone answered. They had talked before but it had been mostly about what had happened that day. For the first time Alex was actually beginning to like his teammates. Well, that wasn't right. Alec had always liked his teammates for the most part. More accurately he felt like they were becoming friends. That was except for Isaac who seemed determined to give the shortest answer possible. Some of the questions were so shallow that he had to be doing it deliberately.

They paused briefly at the turnaround point when Kevin ventured a question. "Guys, I kinda have to pee."

"You're surrounded by trees. Pick one and call it your own," Alec said with a smirk.

Kevin looked embarrassed. "Can you do that?"

"Yes. Just be thankful you're not a girl," Max answered. "I have to too, let's get off the trail little. Guys will be back in like two minutes."

Alec nodded and watched as Max and Kevin went up the path a little before heading off of it. Once they were out of earshot Alec looked over at Isaac who was leaning against a tree. "Is there a reason you are being a jerk?"

Isaac shrugged. "No."

"So you're being a jerk for no reason?" Alec asked.

Isaac didn't answer. He just took a slow sip from his water bottle.

Alec considered what Max had told him earlier and decided his friend might be wrong. "Max wanted us to become friends, not just teammates. That's why he suggested this. I don't know what you're scared of but we could be your friends."

Isaac leveled a glare at Alec. "When not friends, we will never be friends." With that Isaac pushed off the tree and started walking back.

"Hey, where you going?" Alec demanded.

"Back."

Alec hesitated. He glanced back and Kevin and Max making their way back. He then glanced back towards Isaac. He wasn't running but he was definitely going faster than they had been walking. He was tempted to let Isaac go but he had been distracted a few times in the woods and had gotten lost. He always found his way back by retracing his tracks but he wasn't sure if Isaac could do that. He waved to Kevin and Max then started after Isaac.

As Alec sped up, Isaac picked up his pace. Then Isaac started running. Alec started after him. Going backwards on a path that already walked down could look very different. However, Alec was sure they left the path.

"Isaac! Stop we're lost." Isaac kept going, but then he slowed and stopped. Alec caught up to Isaac in a few steps. "See we are lost because of you." Isaac lashed his fist connecting with Alec's chest. It hurt but not enough for immediate retaliation.

"Why can't you people just leave me alone?" Isaac said throwing another punch.

This time after the fist connected Alec grabbed Isaac's wrist. He twisted around him pulled Isaac forward and twisted his arm around so it was against his back. "What's your problem? We were just trying to be nice."

Isaac continued to struggle and Alec started to worry he might break the thirteen-year-old's arm. He let the arm go. After a few seconds Isaac slowly turned around. "I wish everyone would stop trying to be my friend." He spat the work friend out like it was a swearword. After a few seconds he looked around. "So were lost?"

Alec nodded. "Come on I know a little something about tracking." He looked around the disturbed ground from their little fight. Taking a few steps away Alec pointed towards the ground. "See, that's one of our footprints. We just have to follow them backwards."

"I don't see it," Isaac said.

"Well you don't have to," Alec said. They came out a bit harsher than he wanted but at the moment he didn't care. After a minute of them retracing their tracks he glanced over at Isaac. "So what happened?"

"You care?"

"Care? No. I'm curious."

Isaac made some sort of sound.

"I'll leave you alone but I'm not too good about unanswered questions."

"You won't tell anyone if I tell you?"

"Yeah, and I'll drop it after that."

Isaac considered. "You know anyone who's ever had their appendix out?"

"Yeah one of my friend's little sisters."

"How was that?"

Alec tried to remember. It had been a few years ago. "I think she was out of school for like two weeks. Honestly I don't remember."

"Removing an appendix isn't a big deal medically speaking. Anyway, for me it started with the stomach-ache. It started on Thursday and I came home from school early on Friday. Anyway, I was supposed to stay home that weekend but I snuck out. It hurt a lot but I just tried to power through because well I wanted to hang out with my friends. We were at the skate park and I fell. I don't know if you know anything about skate parks but there's these rails and while I fell on one. It hurt but after that pain worn off my stomach ache went away. So I spent a few more hours just messing around."

"So where is this going?" Alec asked after Isaac didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"You want to hear it or not?" Isaac demanded.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, well later that day I wasn't feeling so good. My parents aren't exactly thrilled with me so I was grounded anyways. I was sent to bed early but it took a long time to go to sleep. I woke up later and I was really sick. The vomiting type. Anyways they took me to the hospital and that's where they found out I had a burst appendix. That fall is probably the thing that pushed it over the edge. The pain was from its swelling and when it burst it started to leak the infected stuff into me. The pressure was gone though so I didn't feel too bad."

"So what happened?" Alec asked.

"Well you can die from a burst appendix. That was what Harry Houdini died of. Of course that was decades ago. Nowadays they can filter the stuff out of you. It just takes a really long time. I was in the hospital for a few months. I was in intensive care for a while. Only family was allowed to see me but I did get a card for my classmates. When they moved me out a few of them visited but not often. By the time I was feeling good enough to go home I had a lot of schoolwork. Two semesters and it was summer. I had to catch up. I could've repeated the grade but I didn't want that and my parents definitely didn't. When I was finally able to get back to normal my friends weren't really there. They were different. Groups of friends had broken up, new interests and best friend had moved away."

Alec was silent for a few seconds. He tried to picture himself in Isaac's place. Being separated from your friends for months then reappearing only to find things were different. "You stay in contact with them through your phone? KIK and all that?"

Isaac shrugged. "I tried too."

Alec noticed the word tried and didn't bring up any further." I think we're back on the path."

"Yeah, I can see that," Isaac said.

They started to walk down it in silence. After a while he ventured a question. "So Isaac, you don't want me to be your friend because you don't want to lose friends."

"Something like that."

"I'm sorry," Alec said.

"Pity friendship is worse than no friendship."

Alec fell silent. Walking forward for more minutes they spotted Max and Kevin up ahead. Alec called out to them and Max and Kevin waited for them to catch up.

Chapter 5

Alec woke to the sound of rain tapping against his window. Yesterday at dinner they been told if it rained the morning they wouldn't have an event that day. He was slightly disappointed by that. So far the events had been kind of fun. He wasn't sure if people would watch the show but that wasn't really his concern.

Reaching down, he scratched himself feeling is morning glory. Squeezing attentively he realized it was just that he had to pee rather than any particularly enjoyable dream. He didn't often remember his dreams, but there were days he woke up as hard as a rock. Slowly rolling out of bed he stumbled to the bathroom and dealt with the problem shooting out a long stream of urine. When he emerged from the bathroom he glanced at the clock and seeing it was too early for breakfast he didn't bother to get dressed just yet. Instead he made his way out to see if anyone else was awake yet.

In the hallway he saw feet sticking out from just beyond the wall. Quietly approaching, he surreptitiously ducked down and tickled them. Kevin let out a yelp and twisted around with a small smile on his face. "I hate that."

"Being tickled? Sorry it was just too tempting."

Kevin gave out a half-hearted kick before twisting back around and continuing to stare out the window. Alec tool a little walk over to the dartboard. Then remembering what time it was he stopped himself. He didn't want to wake anyone else up. "Are you always up early?"

Kevin shrugged. "I never sleep much. My mom said even as a baby I never slept as much as they said I would. Maybe I'm just one of those people who only need a few hours of sleep."

"I thought everybody needed eight?"

"Not what my doctor says." He shrugged. "Can't really complain I get an extra two or three hours a day. Sleepovers can be a bit troublesome though. What about you?"

"I'm just a light sleeper," Alec said as he remembered his last sleepover. Maybe he was getting a little too old for them, but it was easier to get into somebody's pants if they were already in their boxers. "Well, you want to do something?"

Kevin shrugged. "Like what?"

Alec glanced over at the pile of game. Most they hadn't even bothered to open. "I don't know." Sitting down on the couch he stared at Kevin's feet a bit longer before deciding it was rude. He slowly pulled his eyes upwards as Kevin extended a hand and traced the falling of a raindrop. Alec watched until it reached the bottom. Kevin brought his finger up again picked out another one. "What are you doing?" Kevin jumped and looked at him embarrassed. Alec felt bad and forced a smile.

"Nothing," Kevin said after a moment.

"You look like you're doing something." Alec stood and seated himself like Kevin with his knees on the couch staring out the window. "So what was it?"

Kevin hesitated and then raised his finger to pick up another raindrop. "On rainy days like this when I was little like 6 or 7. My mom and I would sometimes race raindrops. It was just something we did sometimes."

"Oh, you miss her?" Alec realized how stupid that was to say.

"A bit," Kevin said reluctantly.

"You call her?"

"Every night."

Alec had called his parents twice so far. He had promised to do it more often, but it slipped his mind. "That's nice." He stared out the window. The rain was coming down particularly hard. You could see it impact in the puddles. It wasn't foreign bubbles or even squashing that much. A drizzle maybe. "So how did you race?"

Kevin gestured to where the two windowpanes overlapped. "You pick out a raindrop here and then you trace it down to the bottom. I used to think if you press your finger really hard could make the raindrop go faster but you can't."

"I'm up for a round," Alec said raising his finger against the glass. It felt cool under his fingertip.

Kevin gave him a glance and then brought his own finger up. The first time Alec thought he was winning but then Kevin's raindrop merged with another and drop rapidly. The second round Alec muttered about his raindrop not moving for a while before it silently shot, straight down. After that they both started cheering on the raindrops and complaining about when it went off to the side.

Alec wasn't sure how many times they did it but Kevin was the one withdrew his hand. "You're different," Kevin announced.

"What do you mean?"

Kevin gave it some thought. "You're nice. Most older kids are not nice."

Unsure what to say to that Alec just glanced out the window away from Kevin's staring eyes. "They did have us to psychological testing. Maybe they wanted nice people." Of course if that was true he wondered how Isaac had slipped through.

"No, it's not an act with you. You don't talk down to me."

Again Alec didn't know what he should say. He stayed silent for a few heartbeats before feeling he should say something. "Well you're easy to be nice too."

Kevin nodded. There was a few seconds of silence as they both stared out the window. Kevin was the one that finally broke it. "I heard yesterday that Owen and Grayson had sex."

Alec stared at Kevin's reflection in the glass. Kevin's eyes were focused on something outside not glancing over at Alec. "Where did you hear that?" Alec briefly tried to remember what Owen and Grayson looked like. They were both on the Green team. Owen was the oldest on the team with a light brown complexion to his skin while Grayson was only a year younger. Alec thought he was Caucasian, but wasn't sure. "Where did you hear that?"

"Wyatt told me. He said they go into their bedrooms and can hear lots of noises."

Wyatt was the youngest on the Green team. He was a very cute blonde. "Well, I don't know if that means are having sex."

"What else could they be doing?"

It took Alec a few seconds to come up with a list. "They could be watching porn or something else they don't want their teammates know about. Maybe they're just jerking off together." Alec grimaced. He had certainly learned all about that stuff when he was twelve, but some of his classmates had been less knowledgeable.

"If you jerk off with another guy does that mean you're gay?" Kevin asked.

For a brief second Alec was relieved that he wasn't poisoning Kevin's innocence. "Well, no. Guys sometimes do it together. Like if they're watching porn or something." He had certainly done enough of that but he had always been more interested in what his friends were whipping out what was on the screen.

Kevin nodded. "If they had sex though, they would be gay?"

Alec let out a sigh. "No. They could be bisexual that you like boys and girls or they could just do it for fun."

"I know what bisexual means," Kevin muttered. "What makes someone gay?"

Briefly Alec wondered if Kevin knew he was gay or was just asking questions. "Gay people fall in love only with some of the same gender." After a few seconds when Kevin didn't say anything more Alec began to wonder. "You know Kevin, I'm gay."

Kevin looked over at him and Alec felt a sudden twinge of fear. He didn't really hide the fact that he didn't want it being blurted out all around.

"You're gay? You're sure?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just don't go spreading it around."

Kevin nodded. "How did you know?"

That was a question Alec was more comfortable in fielding. "I always have been. I think I was in the third grade when I got my first crush on a friend. The idea of kissing a girl wasn't something I liked, but kissing him, that was something I don't think I would've minded. It was just always there. Sometimes I would get a crush here or there and well they were always boys. By the time puberty kicked in well I still didn't want to kiss girls." He tried to make the last part sound like a joke but Kevin only smiled weakly. He waited for a few more seconds before venturing his own question. "What about you?"

Kevin looked way back out the window and spoke in a low tone. "I think so. I'm not sure."

For a brief second Alec toyed with the idea of getting a more definite answer, put pressure on him. "I see."

"Don't tell anyone," Kevin demanded.

Alec smiled. "You really should get me a promise not to tell before you disclose a secret. Still I won't tell anyone."

Kevin looked at him and Alec wasn't sure what he was thinking. His cheeks were a little flushed and at the same time though he was smiling a little. Kevin looked at him through different eyes now. "You ever have sex?" The last word was a little higher pitch than the others.

He considered lying but his mind was coming towards a few other things he and Kevin could do. "Yeah I have."

Kevin grinned from ear to ear. "Tell me about it."

Alec was just about to open his mouth when he heard another door open. A few seconds later Max appeared. "Looks like no fun today."

Yeah Alec thought to himself as he thought he heard Kevin muttered damn.

During breakfast Martin came in and explained because of the weather today's event would be delayed till tomorrow. That was old news. Finding out that the workroom would be closed until it stopped raining was unwelcome news. The fear of one of them getting sick apparently was enough to keep them inside. The amount of complaints actually took Martin back. After the complaining died down, he announced that there would be a dodgeball game for anyone who was interested.

Kevin expressed an interest so Alec assumed they would be talking anytime soon. Everyone else on the team including Isaac said they would be interested so after breakfast they went back to the same room they had first met in. Now there was a white line of tape across and two blue lines a little way back. Teams were selected and soon six balls were flying back and forth. They were the soft foam type. Great for flinging. Alec was really able to dig his fingers in.

Every game they would change the teams people dropped out or wanted to join in. About a half hour in, Grayson appeared. He remembered what Kevin had said and wondered if Grayson was really doing something with Owen. Maybe they could've just been watching R-rated movies together. Maybe they just didn't like their teammates and preferred to hang out together. Maybe Wyatt was just spreading rumors to get revenge over something.

Lost in his thoughts he didn't see the ball coming in from the side until the last second. He tried to duck but the ball hit his shoulder and bounced up towards the ceiling. He made his way to the doorway which was the out zone. The game was still fairly new so there was only one other player out but there was a few other loitering around. Surprisingly he saw Isaac there. "I thought you left?"

Isaac shrugged. "Just checking out a game or two. You're really good."

"I used to have terrible gym teacher. We did dodgeball for most of the winter."

Isaac nodded. "Sounds fun."

Alec shrugged. "It wasn't bad." He turned his attention back to the game. Kevin was still in. He was sweating so much that his hair was starting to come apart. He certainly was attractive. For a few seconds he entertained the thought of Kevin in bed with him. Then he dismissed it. Kevin was the youngest on the team and he was the oldest. If Kevin did want to talk more Alec would, but he doubted Kevin wanted to jump in bed with him. Then an idea occurred to him. He looked over at Isaac. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"We're talking right now," Isaac observed.

"No, I meant in private."

Isaac gave him a suspicious glance. "All right."

They walked a little down the hallway to the side doors. It was still raining outside. Isaac crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "I thought I told you yesterday I didn't want to make friends."

Alec briefly considered hitting Isaac upside the head but that probably wouldn't accomplish anything. "Is it true what you told me? You had a best friend who was gay?"

"Yeah, so?" Isaac asked.

Alec glanced at the group they had left. No one was paying them any attention. "Did you two ever mess around?"

This time it was Isaac's turn to check the group. "You offering?"

That was an answer in itself Alec thought. "We could but I was curious did you to mess around?"

Isaac shrugged. "A bit. I'm straight but you know. He was curious, I didn't mind. An orgasm is an orgasm."

Alec thought Isaac was being a bit too thorough in his denials. "How far did you go?"

"Why do you care?" Isaac demanded.

Alec didn't hesitate. "Yesterday I found out that there's another gay boy here. He's closer to your age than mine. I thought maybe you two could work together. I mean I wasn't sure if you had any experience or inclination so I didn't want to say anything."

"Who is it?"

"I can't say. Let me get his permission and if he says yes I'll introduce you. Is that okay?"

Isaac gave it some serious thought. He glanced out the window and then back at the group. "Maybe."

"Good. I'll see if he's interested."

They went back to the group just in time to see the next game end. Kevin was the fourth the last to be eliminated. Sam, Elliott and Max were the last three standing. Max stood alone on his side of the room as Elliott and Sam and out both with balls in their hand. Max was slowly backing up the balls of his own. His head kept looking back and forth between two opponents as they tried to coordinate their attack.

Then without warning Max sprinted forward and threw one ball at Sam before targeting Elliott. It would've been a great comeback if Sam didn't block the ball and the one targeting Elliott went wide. On his knees Max had no hope of dodging the incoming balls and the game ended. Elliott and Sam became the new team leaders for the next round.

Quickly they picked out teams and by lock Kevin was on the opposite team as himself. When the game started Alec came back instead of rushing forward to try to grab one of the balls. He waited until loose balls were behind the line and picked them up. Perhaps it was wrong to single out his teammate, but he figured Kevin might think of him in the long run. The next time Kevin ran forward to throw the ball Alec started right up to the blue line and aimed for his legs. Kevin felt the ball hit him. For a second he saw that hurt expression over his face and he left the room. Alec let himself get hit soon after.

Kevin had been the first one out of the game but there were still a few other people lingering in the hallway. Walking up to Kevin who was pointedly ignoring him Alec said. "Can we talk from a minute?"

"Why?"

Alec smiled at least on the inside. Why was setting people up so hard? "It's about earlier."

Kevin stiffened a little but nodded and followed him down the hallway right where he and Isaac had the talk. Kevin lifted his shirt and wiped off some of the sweat on his forehead exposing a stomach that looked like it had some fat on it. "What is it?" Kevin asked.

"Remember how you are asking about sex?"

"Yeah," Kevin answered slowly.

Alec was starting to feel nervous. His heart was pumping and he was really starting to feel cold feet. "Well, I found someone around your age who might be interested in doing some stuff. I didn't tell them your name or anything just that I know someone. If you're interested I can introduce you two."

He was hoping for an instant response and the smile or a yes but Kevin just stood there his mouth slightly open. He shifted his weight and looked up at Alec. "Don't want to do stuff with me? Am I ugly?"

Alec smiled a little. "Honestly, I didn't think you'd be interested in me."

Kevin smiled. "I don't really know people outside of my team that well. I trust you. I'm sure whoever you found would be good and all but I know you."

He didn't know what to say. Alec felt sort of weird. So he smiled nervously. "Well, it's Isaac so I guess you know him as well as you know me."

"Isaac?" Kevin frowned. "So much for gaydar."

Alec laughed loud enough that people looked over. He tried to peel the smile off his face until everyone else turned back away. "No such thing my friend. No such thing."

They went back and waited with the group. Isaac got knocked out within the final four and as soon as he was in the hallway Alec tapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to go down the hallway. This time it was towards the stairs. Kevin followed them surreptitiously. When they reach the room where the staircase was Alec stopped. "Isaac, Kevin, Kevin, Isaac."

Isaac turned around to see Kevin a few steps behind. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds. "So you're the one he was referring too?" Isaac said.

Kevin shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot. "Yeah."

"Well, if you two want to do anything now's a great time; Max is still in the game," Alec said.

"How far have we gone?" Kevin asked ignoring Alec's statement.

"I sucked a few times," Isaac answered.

"What about you?" Kevin asked directing his question towards Alec.

Taken off guard Alec took a few seconds answer. "I've done more."

"Okay, I want you," Kevin announced.

Alec laughed. "What?"

Kevin shrugged. "You're more experienced so I would prefer to do stuff with you."

"Great, I get left out in the cold," Isaac muttered.

"You could join us," Kevin suggested.

"What!?"

Kevin smiled at him. "Are you complaining?"

Alec looked over at Kevin and then Isaac. They were both rather attractive. He raised his arms like he was surrendering. "All right."

The three of them rushed up the stairs together. Kevin let out a giggle and Alec had to admit he couldn't help but smirk. He wasn't sure what they would do, but it had been a while since he had a three-way. When they got to the top of the stairs, the Red team's door opened. Tyree and Scott walked down. Alec only spared them a cursory glance and then did a double take. Scott's cheeks were very red. Before he thought more on that, he felt Kevin grab his forearm.

"Come on," he said bouncing up and down.

Putting his thought behind him he opened their door. Alec somehow had become the leader of the little group because Isaac and Kevin followed him in the room without saying a word. Kevin said, "Now what?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure I want to do much beyond sucking," Isaac said.

Alec nodded. "Okay, we can work this out." He stared at his teammates for a few seconds his mind coming up blank. Then he heard a door open again and close. Automatically he opened his door and checked to see who it was.

"You guys up to something without me?" Max said walking down the hallway. He walked up to Alec still staring out his door unsure what to do. "Max looked inside. What's going on?"

"Um, nothing," Alec said weakly.

Max gave him a glare and looked over. "What's up Kevin?"

Kevin looked at everyone before answering. "We were going to have sex." He shrugged and laughed. "I can't believe this."

"What!" Max shouted at Alec. "You're all gay?"

"I'm not," Isaac said. "I'm just here to get off."

Alec finally came back to his senses and tried to explain the situation. It took a few minutes and during that time Kevin just plopped down on the bed and covered his eyes.

"So you were all going to do something sexual?" Max said in a calmer tone.

"Yeah," Alec said with a small shrug. Part of his mind was wondering how much trouble they would get into if they were found out. "You want to join us." Alec had meant it as a joke but nobody laughed.

"What the hell could four guys do anyways?" Max demanded.

"Puppy Pile," Alec answered with a shrug.

"What's that?" Kevin asked from his position on the bed.

Alec wanted to slap himself. "It's where you all rub together. You can do with your clothes on or off. Just no penetrating."

It was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch into an eternity before Max echoed, "No penetrating?"

"Yeah, you interested," Alec asked.

Max shrugged. "Nobody finds out about this." He started to take off his shirt.

Two minutes later they were all naked from head to toes. They were each standing at one of the corners of the bed or at least close to one as they could. Alec's eyes wandered over to tem. Kevin had a bit of a stomach but his brown body was more cute than unattractive. He was switching from covering himself to uncovering his crotch. Unsurprisingly he had no hair and wasn't circumcised.

Isaac surprisingly was well muscled. He had a few visible muscles but nothing that stood out or anything. His body was nice-looking but it was disfigured by a small scar. He guessed that was where his appendix had been removed. He was erect and circumcised. He didn't have any hair either but strangely he was probably the most unbashful about being naked.

Max was standing right across from Alec. He looked fit enough with large nipples that were puffing out a bit. His hands were covering his crotch but it was obvious he was not erect. Equally obviously he had pubic hair. It was thick and black. He wasn't looking at anyone.

Kevin glanced down at himself. His stomach looked pale compared to his arms and legs. He was somewhat hard but not fully erect. He casually stroked himself once and then gave one last look around before climbing onto the bed. Alec slowly looked around noticing everyone's eyes had gone to him. He made his way over to Kevin and grabbed his arm to slowly pull him onto the bed.

Kevin rolled onto the bed and Alec tickled his stomach. He laughed and brought his knees up to protect his stomach. That only exposed part were his feet. Alec targeted them ruthlessly and Kevin rolled away to the corner. Max was smiling now and pretending to go for Kevin. Instead Alec pulled him onto the bed. Max tried to resist a little, his hands leaving his crotch and Alec could see a nice member. It was as dark as his skin with two large balls hanging down. Then Max rolled over and Kevin jumped on top.

Alec rolled over onto his back finding his head right at Isaac's crotch. He held out his hand and Isaac took it both being pulled and jumping onto the bed. The four of them rolled around tickling each other and casually touching each other. Max became erect and he was probably a little bigger than Alec. Alec became curious and pulled Max close to him. Pressing their chest together Alec tried to lineup their erections and saw they were the same size. Max was a little thicker. As he was doing that though he felt somebody's erection press against his right butt cheek and he turned to see it was Isaac. Isaac was smiling and Alec thought he looked kinda cute even with the Mohawk.

They continued rolling over each other. At one point Alec was rubbing his erection against Kevin's foot, his little toes curling. Then he felt his own feet being tickled by someone and he rolled away. At some point both Isaac and Max grabbed his feet and used his big toe and the one next to it to slide their erections along it. Isaac wasn't very big but he could feel the hard shaft separating his toes. Max was much bigger. Before either of them climaxed, he broke free and pushed Kevin to the bed. The two of them rolled around, Alec's erection pushing between his thighs while Kevin's pushed into his stomach.

There was a lot of giggling and laughing and an occasional "let go" from someone. One time when Alec was rolling away from Isaac he accidentally slid off the bed. It was a control landing with his hand shooting out to break his fall before slowly sliding to the ground. He stood up and watched the writhing bodies on the bed. Kevin somehow got Max and Isaac to lie still for a few seconds and slid his erection between the two of them. They then rubbed both of their erections onto his hips.

Isaac made a small sound and rolled away, his erection no longer so hard. Alec got back onto the bed and watched as Max and Kevin rolled around. Kevin ended up sitting up on Max moving his hips back and forth. Alec watched as a jet of cum shot out from Max's penis and landed on his stomach. Pushing Kevin off, Max rolled him onto his back and brought the two erections together. They both pressed each other erections being the major point of contact between the two of them. Alec felt a climax coming and tried with gritted teeth to hold it back. That only made the feeling more intense and he shot his goo onto Kevin's stomach. The white stuff made a shocking contrast on his brown skin. He was tempted to lick it up.

Instead of being disgusted or anything Kevin squirmed out from under him and pushed him onto his back. Alec twisted around only to find Kevin's hand slammed on his ankles. Then Alec felt Kevin's erection slide against both of his heels and he laid still until he heard Kevin finish.

Chapter 6

"I think they're having a problem," Isaac said pointing. "I think that controls the sound."

Alec glanced over and saw several people around the panel. They often had a boom mic hanging over their heads just out of view of the camera. He wondered if the rain from yesterday and the dew this morning was causing the problem. "I hope they don't cancel it again."

"Today's off was more than enough." Max muttered.

Alec glanced over to Max. He was used to Max being in a good mood. He had been a bit surly since he got up. Alec wondered if he wasn't feeling well or if he was just having some delayed reaction to the puppy pile yesterday. It wouldn't be the first time he could see that happen but people usually got over it.

"You're ready?" Martin said. "Okay everyone look excited." He announced over his shoulder. The countdown started and everyone formed into a line shoulder to shoulder with their teammates. Martin waited until he liked their set up and then turned back to the cameras.

"Welcome back to Battle Boys! We have another exciting episode for you that's going to be both physically and mentally demanding for our competitors. Today they're going to go on a scavenger hunt. Now that may not sound challenging, but we put a little twist on it. See in addition to searching for the items they're going to have to learn a few skills beforehand. We're going to have them go on a little hike but they're not going to be on some trail. They're going to have to learn how to use a compass and this one is going to be a long one so they're going to have to set up a camp and cookout tonight. Of course we will give them a crash course in the skills." He paused for a second and straightened like he was becoming serious. "Don't worry though they will be under observation constantly. We'll make sure they don't get into too much trouble." He then gave a thumbs up to the camera.

"Cut!" Someone shouted.

"That doesn't sound too hard." Alec said. "How many of you have been camping?"

"I have. We just go to campsites though."

"My friends and I go camping." Alec said glancing at Isaac and Kevin. At least half the team had some experience. He remembered Sam telling him he was a Boy Scout. Alec didn't know much about the scouts but he guessed that would give the Red team a bit of an edge.

As they were discussing the situations, a wheeled table was brought out and Martin stood in front of it. Alec couldn't see what was on it.

"Positions everyone." Martin shouted. Small conversations stopped. "We're ready?" Martin asked. "Now here are the four skills our boys are going to have to learn. First you need to know how to use a compass. They will need to know how to make fire. How to set up a tent and finally they're going to need some map skills. Now remember only the person learning the skills can do that particular thing. So choose wisely boys. You have five minutes to decide who's going to learn what. Good luck!"

When the filming cut again Martin turned to them. "Okay boys. Pick who's going to learn what. Remember only one person can do the compass work, one person can do the fire. And so on if you help each other with any of those things you'll lose a point. Any questions?"

Someone on the Orange team raise his hand. Martin nodded towards him. "It rained last night. Won't to be hard to find stuff that burns?"

"We'll be providing you with some materials to start the fire."

Sam on the Red team raised his hand. "So how exactly will you judge if we helped someone with one of their tasks?"

Martin smiled. "Well, just don't help anyone with their task. Keep in mind though if you can't read the compass direction you probably won't find any of the items on your list. So it might be worthwhile to lose one point to get the other items. That's your guys call. Anything else?

The Green team raised their hand. "Setting up camp can be a two-person job. Depending on the type. How can we do that?"

"As long as the one person who learned how to set up the tent is the one in charge there won't be a problem. No other questions? All right get to it than pick who's going where."

The Blue team formed a circle. "Okay, who wants to do what?" Max asked. "I know how to set up a tent."

"They taught us to read a compass in school." Isaac offered.

"I think I can do all of that." Alec said.

"So do we double down on our known skills or try to learn something new?" Kevin asked.

"What do you mean?" Max said looking over at Kevin.

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know any of the stuff but it would seem to me that some of them are more important than the others. If you can't find where the steps are located that's more important than making a fire, right?"

"I guess." Alec said frowning.

"So it's better to lose a point if somebody needs help with the compass or the map then to lose points there than any other place. So should we send Alec or Isaac for a compass refreshing course or do we send them to learn a different skill and they might be able to help out if they needed too."

It took Alec a few seconds to understand what Kevin was saying. "Okay I think he's right. I probably could use a little refresher on maps. Usually we camp in the same area so I know the place pretty well."

"Sounds good." Max said. "Isaac do you think you need a refresher course in compass reading?"

"It's not that hard." Isaac said with a shrug. "Alec can always help me. Still I guess it would be best."

"So that leaves fire and tent making." Alec said. "Who wants which?"

"Tent." Kevin said immediately.

Max smiled slightly. "Guess I get to be a Pyro."

***

The crash course lasted about an hour. Afterwards they had lunch and then they were loaded into vans. The three other kids Alec had been learning with were Grayson, Sam and Scott. The first two were on the other side for the teams but Scott was the youngest on his team. As they drove to their destination Alec puzzled over the reasoning why everyone had been selected. Alec assumed Sam knew how to read a map at least a little so maybe his team was thinking along the same lines. He didn't really know why Grayson or Scott had been chosen. Scott was the youngest on his team so he assumed they either picked badly or maybe he had hidden talents. He wasn't able to get a feel for any of them during the whole time they had been learning.

When the van stopped they all got out and picked up their backpacks. They were color-coded for each team. Someone told them to line up on the side of the road. They were in a fairly rural area, but just across the street was a house which seemed weird. They lined up each team about 20 feet away from the other. Martin walked out in front of them with an air horn and a megaphone. When everything was set up, he spoke. "Okay boys I want to wish you good luck. You have to be back here by tomorrow. The cameramen following you along with your backpacks will be caring GPS trackers so if you get lost, you can always turn to the cameraman for help. That will be forfeiting. Now you have five items to pick up. You should be able to do it in a few hours. Good luck. When I blow the air horn you can start." He lowered the microphone and then raised it again. "Oh one more thing. The team or teams that score the highest will get to make their own sundaes after lunch when they come back."

He raised the air horn but lowered it and everyone had to sit through him going through the spiel again. It really killed the mood Alec thought. After the third take he really did blow the air horn. Alec was pretty sure he wasn't the only one who jumped on his team. He started to open the letter that had the directions inside.

"Okay, first we're supposed to head northeast until we reach a stream. Isaac, which way is northeast?"

Every team went in different directions, four different teams in four different shirts followed by a cameraman. They found the stream after about 20 minutes of walking and then had to travel south before they came into a marked area. The place was identified in yellow rope for posts ground.

"We have to find the rock that's painted our team's color." Max said taking over reading the instructions.

They fanned out in the square searching. There was also a large container of water like at a sports game, on the table off to the side. They took off their thermoses before starting the search. Isaac found the Green team's rock. He said he really should just throw it into the woods, but Alec didn't think he was serious. Kevin was the one who found their rock. It was in a pile of other rocks only distinguishable by its color. Then they were off to their next spot.

As Alec stared at the map he realized something. There was a road they were told to cross. Then there was a creek that sort of formed a half-moon shape which sort of formed two more sides. Finally there was a small fence that crossed the creek and went right up to the road. While they might be able to get lost within that space if they kept walking in one direction they would eventually hit the boundaries. He thought that the whole asking the cameraman for directions was just for show.

At that thought he glanced back at the cameraman who had remained silent the whole time. He remembered reading this one story for school where a thief had managed to steal a bunch of silverware by posing as one of the waiters. To avoid being seen, he would pose as a customer. The teacher explained that he was hiding in plain sight. Waiters wouldn't confront a customer and customers only talk to their waiter when they need something. Neither side noticed each other. It had been some heavy-handed social commentary but he realized that the cameraman had become something like that. They blended into the background and he often forgot they were there. He wasn't sure what that said about him.

The next thing he found was a fake apple. They were dangling from a tree by ropes and they had to untie it. He noticed the orange one was already missing. After that, they had three different course changes before coming across the third item. They had to do another search this time for a little statue. It was a gargoyle and looked like the type that his mother bought at the dollar store only painted. They took a break after that. Kevin was starting to drag his feet and Max wasn't looking much better. To his surprise Isaac seemed to be doing fine even offering to carry some of Kevin's stuff and Alec did the same for Max.

The fourth item was an artificial flower in a field of flowers. The last item was wedged between two branches in a small tree. It was a 2 inch peg. Alec was happy to see that both the Green and Orange teams' pegs were still there. He moved off a little and found a nice camping site not too far from there. As they were doing well so far with losing points Alec suggested that Isaac should help Kevin. He went over to Max who was clearing a space and digging a small hole with the collapsible shovel.

"You need anything?" Alec asked.

"No, I think I got it. Just have to go find some dry stuff."

"Where you can find that? It rained yesterday."

Max shrugged. "They gave us a few suggestions where we might find some things plus I got some cotton balls and Vaseline."

"Vaseline?" Alec gave Max a skeptical look.

"Vaseline is also called petroleum jelly. I didn't think would work at first, but it burns pretty well."

Alec was curious so he watched Max work. Once Max was done he stood up and started to look around. Spotting a tree that looked like it had fallen over years ago he made his way towards it. To Alec's surprise he found a few dry leaves and was able to peel off some of the bark underneath the tree where it was still dry. Alec followed him back and watched him pull out a big container of Vaseline. He watched Max cover some cotton balls and place them around in a small circle. He put the dry timber in the center and lined it with the cotton balls. Alec recognized the Swedish FireSteel. He guessed the camping equipment was all donated by some sort of sponsor. After the fourth strike Max got the fire going. It wasn't very big.

After a few seconds when the fire was catching Max jumped up. "We have fire!" Kevin and Isaac were still fumbling with the tent. Kevin gave him a thumbs up and they went back to work. Max watched the fire for a few minutes but without any more fuel it quickly dying down. "I guess there's no point in keeping it going."

"All our stuff is pre-prepared." Alec said apologetically. We could use it for warmth or light but we also have a lantern. He watched as Max poured some of his remaining water onto the embers and then kicked the dirt around it. The ashes were buried.

"I personally always pee on them." Alec said.

"Well, don't let me stop you." Max said with a grin.

It took Kevin and Isaac a few more minutes to set up the tent and by the time they did the sun was just setting. It took them a while to figure out a sleeping pattern that would accommodate all of them. The tent was designed for four so it shouldn't have been hard as it was. Max and Isaac wanted a little more space away from them. Alec didn't say anything at least not with the cameraman around.

When everything was set up they sat around and talked for about 20 minutes as the sun slowly set. The cameraman spoke for the first time that day announcing he would be setting up his own tent about 100 yards away. Alec was glad for the distance as they all went into the tent and turned the lantern on.

They talked for a while before extinguishing the light. In the stillness of the night Alec found he couldn't go to sleep anytime soon and judging by as much movement as the others were making the others would not be either. "Is everyone still awake?" Alec asked.

There was a chorus of yes.

"Okay, well I have a question for all of you. What's up with the hair? I feel like the weird one here."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Kevin asked.

"It looks like a helmet." Isaac said.

There was a sound like Kevin was trying to kick Isaac. "My mom likes it." Kevin answered.

"What about you Isaac?" Alec asked trying to not sound like he was laughing.

Isaac didn't answer it first. "You want the short answer or the long?"

"Short." Kevin said.

"It pisses off my parents."

"They didn't want you to get a Mohawk?" Max asked.

Isaac let out a sigh. "I used to have long curly black hair. My parents like it. Then after I was in the hospital they were really bugging me to get my schoolwork all done and I couldn't just get it done. So I went to the barber and told him I wanted. They weren't happy when they saw it."

Alec wasn't sure if that had been the best course of action but he could understand. He had had a few teachers he always wanted to lash out at for whatever reason. "Don't take this the wrong way but are you Jewish Isaac?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Alec said. "It explains a few things."

"Like what?" Isaac demanded.

"Like you're cut," Alec said his tone rising a little. The flurry of punches that followed was mostly ineffective thanks to the sleeping bag. "What about you Max what's up with your hair?" Alec said when Isaac finally exhausted himself.

"Always had them." Max said.

Alec noticed his tone was rather cold. "Something bothering you?"

Max was silent for a few seconds. "Just don't bring up that gay stuff around me."

"You don't like gays?" Kevin asked.

"No, don't have a problem with them, just don't bring it up."

"You didn't mind it yesterday." Alec said suddenly angry.

"I regret that." Max said clearly rolling over onto his side.

"Well aren't you a dick." Isaac said.

There was a few seconds of silence as it was Isaac who had come to their defense. "What do you mean?" Max demanded sitting up.

Isaac sat up too. "Nobody forced you to do anything. You weren't even technically invited. You did it because you wanted to and you enjoyed it. Now you're all pissed off because you liked it. It's not like you cheated on a girlfriend or anything. Sex is only stimulating nerves and you're getting upset over it.

"What the hell do you know?" Max said.

"Guys, let's just go to sleep." Alec said trying to put a stop to the fight.

Nobody agreed but he heard everyone lying back down and he did so too. It wasn't a very pleasant night sleep.

The next day they collapsed their tent and had to wait for the cameraman to arrive. As they were eating their breakfast Max spoke up. "Guys, about last night. I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. I'm just not used to this whole sex thing let alone gay sex. I thought about what Isaac said and it made a lot of sense so I'm sorry."

No one said anything at first so Alec took the lead. "I think we forgive you, right?" There were nods of agreement and the air between them became less dense. Alec tried a joke. "Congratulation Isaac you found a loophole to guilt free sex."

Isaac chuckled. "I'm an expert at finding loopholes. This one year we were supposed to build boats out of cardboard a piece of paper and some tape. I went to the teacher after class and said that they didn't specify what type of paper we could use. She agreed. When everyone else used white sheets of paper I used wax paper." They all laughed a little.

"One of my classmates did the same thing. He can annoy some teachers though." Max started.

They swapped stories for a few more minutes and when the cameraman finally showed up they were all laughing.

They made their way south back to the road. They were the third team to arrive. They waited for another 20 minutes before Orange showed up. Martin had them line up and they started rolling.

"Well, it seems you all did very well yesterday. Three teams found all five items. So it comes down to who had the most deductions. So the team walking away with five points is the Blue team!"

The result was so quick in coming that it took a half a second for it to reach Alec's brain. They had finally come in first. They cheered and gave each other high-fives and it was only later that Alec would remember which teams had followed up after them. He did remember though to slip out the Vaseline before loading up their backpacks. He could think of a few plans for that later.

When they arrived back at their quarters everyone showered and changed. When lunch came around Martin himself wheeled in a cart loaded down with various toppings and ice cream. They filmed the whole thing as they made their Sundaes but when Alec piled his high he looked over at the others who weren't allowed to make their Sundaes. Some of them were ignoring them like Sam and that hurt a bit. Then he remembered something. "Hey guys. You remember when Isaac said he didn't specify what type of paper for his project?"

Kevin who was already pigging out looked up from his Sundae curious. Whip cream all around his face "Yeah, so?"

Isaac caught on putting his spoon down. "They said they couldn't make their Sundaes. They never said anything about not having any."

There was something fun about usurping rules Alec realized as he called for everyone's attention and explained what they were going to do. Of course making 12 other Sundaes left his a bit melted but he could always top it off.

Chapter 7

Alec had no particular reason to get out of bed. After the camping/treasure hunt, he knew they wouldn't have an event today. At least on the bright side his team had jumped into the overall lead. A position he planned on keeping. Then he thought of the little jar under his bed and smiled even more. Vaseline didn't make the best lubricant but it was the one he was able to get his hands on. He wasn't sure why he grabbed it. He was just sure there wouldn't have been another opportunity.

Hearing more stirring, he eventually gave up his bed and got dressed. It was strange how routine everything had become. A little less than halfway through their stay was almost starting to feel natural. After breakfast, he remembered he had not called his parents for a while and decided to give them an update. As soon as he stepped out of his room he heard Kevin's voice behind him.

"Hey, Alec."

Alec turned and saw Kevin had been sitting on the couch staring down the hallway. "Hey Kevin. I thought you were going to the recreation room?"

Kevin shrugged and jumped up. "I was kinda hoping to talk to you a bit more."

"Sure, about what."

Kevin looked down and it took great effort for him to look back up slightly. "You know?"

"Oh, gay stuff. What do you want to know?"

Kevin giggled nervously. Alec wondered if he had ever been so nervous about sex. "Well, everything. Like is there any way to tell somebody's gay?"

Alec shrugged. "Well you can always ask."

Kevin looked a bit dejected. "I really can't."

"Why?"

Kevin looked down at his feet. "My mom really doesn't like gay people."

"Oh." Alec knew that happened, he just wasn't sure what to say. "So you're afraid to get back to her?"

Kevin nodded.

"Anyways. Is there anything I can help you with?"

This time Kevin looked down his cheeks were on fire. "Could we do more, you know sex stuff?"

Alec grinned the type that exposes your teeth. "Well what did you have in mind?" He raised his eyebrows several times but Kevin wasn't even looking at his face.

"Um, well." Kevin took a little breath. "My butt?

Alec chuckled and Kevin looked up at him mortified. Realizing how it looked, he tried to wave it off. "Not laughing at you. I just managed to obtain some lubricant yesterday. Just a coincidence."

"What's lubricant?"

Alec realized Kevin probably hadn't even had sex ed yet. "Let's go back to my room and I'll explain." Alec wasn't sure how much information to give and he threw in the stuff that he knew about girls too. He explained about foreplay and lubricant. About stretching and preparing. Tops, Bottoms and Versatile. He touched on fetishes but not too much. Truthfully he hadn't realized he knew so much until he had to explain it. Kevin nodded but didn't ask too many questions. Even when he explained it could hurt, Kevin didn't seem dissuaded.

"Well, are you still up for it?" Alec asked.

"Of course."

Alec shrugged. "All right. Stand up"

Kevin stood up and walked in front of Alec. He had a grin on his face. He was swinging in his arms back and forth. "Okay, I'm ready."

Alec pulled Kevin's shirt straight up. Being taller than Kevin he didn't even have to have Kevin bend his arms. As Kevin's arms fell back down he placed a hand on Kevin's smooth chest and slowly slid his fingers to his waistband.

Kevin giggled shaking his shoulders but staying still with effort. Alec needed both hands to undo his button and zipper. The shorts dropped with only a slight tug. After that he spun Kevin around and went to stand on the other side of him. Alec pushed him back onto the bed and Kevin fell bouncing. Grabbing his shorts he pulled Kevin's legs up and undid his shoes and pulled them off. Holding on to his shorts he bent Kevin's knees back. The socks looked fairly clean so he bit the very tip of them and pulled them off one by one. His feet were cute so Alec kissed the bottoms of both of them.

Kevin briefly tried to kick him, but it was playful. Alec pulled off his shorts and rolled Kevin over. Kevin was clad in little white underwear and Alec could make out the shape of his butt cheeks. "Nice cheeks."

Kevin let out a moan of embarrassment. Then he twisted his head around. "Are they really?"

Alec grinned and leaned forward. He patted both cheeks. "I noticed them last time you were naked."

Kevin buried his head into the bed. Alec chuckled as he reached up for Kevin's underwear and slowly pulled them down. His skin was a slightly lighter color there, but still a nice brown. Once the underwear was passed his cheeks he just pulled it straight down his legs and over his ankles.

"Roll over." Alec said.

Kevin did, his hand immediately covering his erection. Alec just stared at that spot until Kevin reluctantly revealed himself. Kevin wasn't hard, but wasn't soft either. Taking a step back from the bed Alec yanked his shirt off and let it drop to the side before undressing himself. Kind of enjoying how Kevin stared at each piece of flesh exposed. His chest, his legs, his crotch. Unlike his friend Alec wasn't hard yet so he gently played with himself as Kevin watched until he was at full mast.

"Kevin."

With an effort of will Kevin looked back up at his face. "Yeah?"

Kevin walked up close to him. "This is going to go inside of you. Are you sure you want that?"

Kevin nodded.

"All of it." Alec said as he slowly pushed his hips out. Kevin reached out like he was afraid it was going to bite him or something. When his hands touched it they went from tentative to unhesitant. Fingertips played along Alec's shaft and even went into his pubic hair. The sensation was wonderful Alec thought and he just enjoyed it for a few minutes. "Put it in your mouth."

Kevin looked up at him. "Why?"

"If it's too big in your mouth it is probably too big to go up the rear. You get a better feeling for its size."

Kevin hesitated and opened his mouth wide. Using his hands to keep it still he slowly lowered his head until Alec felt the mouth engulf most of it and suck. He had had worse blow jobs from amateurs before. Kevin was enthusiastic. When Alec stepped back Kevin followed until the erection slipped.

Kevin was sitting on his knees so his crotch was exposed and Alec could see it was now hard. Alec liked that. "So you still want it in you?"

Kevin nodded. "It's like a banana."

He chuckled and Kevin laughed. It was the hormones. "I'm going to take that as a compliment. Turn around."

Kevin nodded and staying on all fours slowly turned around. Alec walked forward and pulled his legs back so his feet were just hanging off the edge of the bed. He then pulled Kevin's hips back until they are resting on the heels of his feet. Reaching up towards the head of the bed he grabbed one of the pillows and told Kevin to get over it Alec stepped back to look at the sight. Kevin's cheeks were spread a little from his kneeling position and his feet were hanging off the side of the bed. His toes were curling and uncurling. Alec couldn't resist so he tickled them.

Kevin kicked slightly. Kevin resumed the same position without being told. Alec knelt down and grabbed the Vaseline from under the bed. As far the best of use of it. Quite messy, but he hadn't thought to bring any lubricant with him. "All right I'm going to start applying some. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Kevin said his tone flat.

Alec placed one hand above Kevin's cheeks. For a second, Kevin twitched but he settled himself down. Using two fingers he spread the cheeks a little more to get a good look at the hole. It was pink and tight. He slowly brought his hand up with the Vaseline on it and started to make a small circle around it. As soon as he touched Kevin cheeks clenched together briefly and Alec just waited for them to relax again. As soon as Kevin relaxed again he spread more. At first, his touches were very gentle. As he did more circles he put a little more pressure slightly stretching Kevin's hole. He could feel Kevin relaxing and he slowly ran his finger around the rim. There was no resistance so he pushed in a little further sliding easily.

"This isn't bad." Kevin said.

"That's the tip of my finger." Alec said. "Is it okay if I go a little further in?"

"Yeah go ahead."

Alec pushed in, his first knuckle disappearing followed by his second. Kevin's insides were warm and soft. His knuckles were resting against Kevin's butt cheeks he slowly twisted his hand around back and forth. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah. I kinda like it."

"Good. I'm going to slide my finger out and then see if I can get two in there. That okay?"

"Yeah." Kevin answered.

Alec wasn't quite sure if Kevin was nervous or just enjoying the moment. His tone was too hard to tell. He slid his finger out and covered both of them again with Vaseline before spreading the cheeks. He slowly pushed his longer finger in first pushing his shorter one against the bottom of it to compress the skin. He kept going in until the second finger knuckle had passed. He twisted back and forth and Kevin let out a little moan.

"You like that?"

"Very much."

"I think I'm a little bigger than that. You want to try it."

Kevin didn't answer immediately. Then he nodded. "Yes."

Alec withdrew his fingers. His erection was now almost dry from all the saliva. He lined himself up. Kevin's hole was still stretched a bit. The Vaseline glistened as Alec spread the cheeks again, poising his erection at Kevin's entrance. Letting go of one of the cheeks he pulled back his foreskin and then started to push inside. Kevin's hole expanded as his erection slid into him. Alec felt the tight ring of muscle tightening around his shaft. He kept pushing and slowly but steadily his erection was buried inside.

"You okay."

"Yes." Kevin's voice sounded breathy.

"I'm going to start pumping."

"Yes!"

Alec started to pull out until just the tip of his erection was being held by Kevin's tight ring and then he pushed back inside. He moved back and forth slowly at first using long strokes and slowly increasing the speed. After the fifth or sixth time Alec let go of Kevin's cheek and enjoyed the tight ring around his erection.

Kevin was silent during the first few strokes. As Alec's strokes increased his breathing became heavier. By the time Alec was going at it in earnest Kevin was letting out little whimpers. His toes were curling and his passage became tighter. He pushed his hips back just a little and Alec went in a little further.

Kevin raised his head to let out a little cry as he continued to enter him. His pace never turned to pounding. When one of Kevin's hands released the pillow and shot towards his crotch, his back arched Alec knew he had climaxed. He pushed into the tight ring several more times to fire his load. Alec felt himself shoot several times and he kept himself inside Kevin until his erection became soft.

Alec twisted around and dropped on the bed. He stared at Kevin's face which was a bright red. Sweat had even broken out on it. Kevin's eyes were shut. Alec waited until they were open. Then Kevin smiled. "Thank you."

Alec smiled back. "It was a pleasure." For a moment he closed his eyes and just relaxed. It had been a while since he had been the top. Then he opened his eyes. "Okay. We need to get you on the toilet and I need to wash up. Care to share the shower?"

***

Alec was climbing the rock wall. Lunch was in is stomach and instead of only using the red hand holds which would be the most difficult he was using the yellow. He looked up searching for the next hand hold. Finding it he pulled himself up and looked back down to place his foot. He repeated the process until he reached the top. Pulling himself up the final distance he twisted around and looked down at the clock. "A new time!"

"Don't get too cocky." Sam called out from the bottom. "Jack climbs this thing like a monkey."

Alec was very tempted to spit on Sam. From this distance he was pretty sure he could hit him. "Well I have the record time now." Without another word he pushed himself off the top letting the harness slow his descent. His feet landed on the mat. "You want a go?"

Sam shook his head. "I was climbing a real rock face once when I fell. My harness caught me of course still haven't been great with height since."

"Coward." Alec was beginning to suspect that not all Sam's stories were true. The scary thing was some of the tamer ones he found most suspect. For some reason the idea of Sam jumping into a junkyard to grab a hood ornament while being chased by dogs seem to fit. Being scared of heights after that not so much.

"So what are you up to next?" Sam asked.

Alec started to undo his harness. "I don't know."

Sam looked around but at the moment the area around the wall was fairly empty. "I was thinking. Can we do that we did that one day again?"

Alec grinned. "Why not." Sam grinned and gave Alec a little push. "Somebody eager." Alec said over his shoulder.

As they made their way back to the main building Sam asked. "How often do you do this?"

Alec shrugged. "I don't mind doing it. Most guys will either reciprocate or at least jerk you off."

"Yeah, that's not an answer." Sam said as they started up the stairs. He didn't push it any further though.

As soon as they entered the blue room Alec called out. "Anyone here?" There was no response and Alec ducked his head. Kevin's room was the only door that was open. He made sure it was empty.

"We clear?" Sam asked.

"Looks that way. Let's go." Alec pushed his door open and walked into this room. He made the bed after getting out but it was still a little wrinkled from earlier activities. He also realized he forgot to put away the Vaseline. Sam walked in after and closed the door. He didn't notice anything was out of the ordinary.

Alec considered for second looking at the Vaseline. "Would you like to try something a little different?" Alec asked.

"Like what?" Sam asked sounding a little hesitant.

"You want to put it in my butt?" When Sam didn't answer immediately Alec turned. "It was just a thought."

For a few seconds Sam looked anywhere but at Alec. "Have you done that before?"

Alec shrugged. "Yeah, not as often but I have." Alec had had a few people up his butt, but none of his friends seem to be as into it that much. At least they never asked for it. Alec always had to ask. He wasn't sure if that was because his friends didn't like it or more likely felt embarrassed about it. "I can do all the hard stuff."

Sam nodded. "Sure it's worth a try. I mean it's not going to make us boyfriends or anything."

"You're not my type."

"Oh, and what is wrong with me?"

"You come up a little short on important matters." Alec waited just a second. "I could never date anyone who's the same height as me."

Turning around Alec started to pull off his shirt before kicking off his shoes and socks. He was quickly undressed and had to wait for Sam. Sam dropped his last bit of clothing Alec again admired his short pubic hair. He really had to trim his pubic hair maybe cut it off entirely. He had heard of the optic inch. Not that he ever really cared about his own size.

"Okay, now what?" Sam asked.

"Just give me a minute." Alec said grabbing the Vaseline. "Just need to lubricate myself."

Alec lied down on the foot of the bed and slowly rocked back. Locking one of his arms through his legs he popped the container open with his free hand and put a little on his fingertips. At first Sam backed near the door but curiosity got the better of him and he walked down the foot of the bed to watch.

Alec tried to stretch out his upper leg to get better access and felt around for his hole. Finding it he started to smear the stuff around the edge. Sam stood back and watched not saying anything for a long time until Alec started to finger his hole. "No butt hair."

"Thankfully not." Alec said as he twisted his finger around inside. He liked the feeling of fingering himself.

"It looks kind of small. Sure it won't hurt?" Sam asked.

"It will be fine." Alec said pulling his finger out and sitting up. "Come here. I need to get you hard."

Sam approached his arms across his chest a slight smile on his face. Alec reached out his finger still somewhat slick. His fingertips touched Sam's flaccid member and pulled it away from Sam's balls. He ran his thumb up the underside of it. Sam shifted a little and let out a sound like a giggle.

"You like that?" Alec asked glancing up at Sam

"It feels weird." Sam said smiling.

Alec continued to play with Sam's toy. He felt himself becoming harder as Sam move his hand. Having that reaction made him feel powerful. He was causing this. He pulled back the foreskin and looked at the glistening tip. Then he let it go. "You're ready."

Alec rolled back onto his back. He put his arms through his legs to hold them in place. Sam grabbed hold of his erection and guided it towards Alec's entrance. Alec rested his head on the mattress and waited feeling Sam's initial probing. Even with the lubricant Sam had trouble getting the tip in him. Alec could feel his erection sliding around as he tried to push at the entrance. Eventually Alec just lowered his hands down to his butt cheeks and pulled them apart even further. He stretched his hole and then felt Sam's tip enter.

He waited and after a few more seconds Sam realized he had to put a little more effort in. Alec felt his ring expand and tried to push out. That helped Sam sliding further. In some part of his mind Alec realized he had forgot to tell Kevin that earlier. He made a mental note to fix that oversight later. At the moment he just enjoyed the sensation of Sam pushing into him. Even without touching his own erection he could feel it respond to the intruder. That little twinge felt so good.

When Sam stopped pushing into him Alec tried to tighten his cheeks. Sam began to pull out and Alec did his best to resist that. When he started to push back Alec did his best to welcome him. Back and forth back and forth. Sam sped up a little but not too much. The feeling was nice but Alec realized that even though Sam was probably going to get there he wouldn't. He could even feel himself starting to grow a little soft.

"Ahh." Sam said thrusting his hips again. This time he didn't pulled back at first but kept pushing inside and Alec knew that was his climax. Sam stumbled back his softening erection sliding out of Alec's butt. Alec started to jerk himself off. He let his legs fall back his toes just touching the floor. He squeezed his butt cheeks together as tightly as he could, stroking his erection. He gritted his teeth when he felt his orgasm wash over him cum spluttering on his stomach and chest. He felt his face flushed and sat back up. Sam's face was a deep red.

"That was nice." Sam said a grin on his face his back to the wall.

Alec smiled. It hadn't been particularly memorable for him. "Glad I could help. Now let's go wash up.

***

That night they watched a movie had been edited down to PG-13. There was still a lot of shooting and blood. It was pretty obvious to Alec where the sex scenes had been edited out. He thought it was kind of funny really. One time when one of the characters was supposed to swear it was clearly edited out and a different word was used from a completely different sounding voice. Even given all that, the movie wasn't that bad and when it ended and the lights came back on he realized that he was the only one from his team still there.

He made his way up the stairs with Sam and several other Red team members. He was actually quite tired. Two orgasms in a day was more than he usually had. It had not just been the sex stuff though. Jack came back later and beat his time climbing the wall. Alec had become determined to beat him again and then there had been the air hockey tournament and well he was tired.

Opening the door to the blue room he closed it behind him thinking he might be up for a board game before going to bed unsure what his other teammates were up to. As soon as he closed the front door though he saw Kevin's head poke out from around the corner. He was at the far end of the hallway in the general room. Almost as soon as Kevin's head appeared it went away. He heard something but couldn't make it out.

Before he could think to say anything Kevin walked out fully naked. He was followed with Isaac similarly dressed and even Max. Alec stood there completely speechless. They all had their hands in front of them covering their privates but that was it.

Max spoke. "I'm really sorry about the way I behaved at the campsite. To show there's no hard feelings I wanted too..."

"We're doing another puppy pile." Kevin finished for him. "You're overdressed." Kevin's smile was the type that could have lit up the city. Alec let out a sigh and smiled tiredly before kicking off his shoes.

Chapter 8

Isaac paused his food halfway to his mouth. "Why do you ask?"

Alec shrugged. "You just don't seem like the Mohawk type."

Isaac's food finished its journey to Isaac's mouth. "I'm kind of stuck with it."

"How can you be stuck with a haircut?" Kevin spoke up and joined the conversation.

Isaac ran his free hand through his hair. "Well remember what I told you? My parents weren't really happy with it so if I change it too soon..."

"I sort of get that." Max said pushing one of his dreadlocks out of his eyes. "I kinda sometimes want to cut my hair. Something shorter, but my parents like my dreadlocks. They point out that it would take years for me to grow them back."

"I'm right you're wrong. Don't you just love when they undercut your decisions?" Isaac said.

Max shrugged. "It's the only thing they're touchy about."

Isaac didn't say anything. Alec wondered how much Isaac fought with his parents. Well, it really wasn't any of his business.

Before he could redirect the conversation Martin ran into the room. "Well, looks like we have another exciting day ready for you guys!"

***

They were broken up into two teams. As the now leaders at 11 points the Blue team was teamed up with the Green team which was the last place at 7. That meant that they were going up against the Red and Orange team. He had ideas that were good or bad. The game this time was basically an oversized soccer match. The ball was a good 8 feet tall which meant it was towering over everyone. They had been allowed to push the ball to get a feel for it. It wasn't too hard to move it but it was pretty hard to steer it especially since you couldn't really see where you were going. Maybe it was where the other twist came in.

Each one of them was tied to their corresponding member of the other team. He was tied to Owen form the Green team. There was maybe 4 feet of rope connecting the two of them around their waist. It wasn't really rope but some sort of stretching material like a bungee cord. It could double in length if both people pulled and was smooth to the touch. The idea was one of them could push the ball while the other directed the pusher. Thankfully the goals had been increased in size too. There were no goalies, but there was a line they were not be allowed to pass. Of the four pairs two could be on the attack and the other two were on the defensive and one could do either. He was allowed to be on the attacking team along with Kevin.

They had recorded the opening three times along with little interviews about what they thought of this particular game beforehand. By the time they were finally ready to start he was more than eager. Instead of having the ball placed in the center of the field it was rolled in from the side and an air horn went off. A kid tried to take the ball away from Alec, but Max and his partner beat the other teams to it and pushed it over the midfield line. Alec was able to get a hold of it and started pushing it towards the goal before the defender hit the other side stopping him in his tracks. They struggled for a bit and the ball actually popped up going over Alec's head. Kevin and his partner were right behind him and the ball rolled between the two of their ropes.

As the two tried to move the ball another defender came in from an angle and tried to take it away. The little delay allowed Kevin to get the ball moving and Alec went to his side pushing alongside of his teammate. Owen ran off to the side and put it on the wall around the side. That helped them steer and Kevin's partner picked up on the same idea. With the two on the outside steering Kevin and Alec put all their effort into pushing the ball. When Owen shouted for them to stop they did and the ball continued onwards into the goal.

That was an easy goal for that day. When the ball was released again it rolled onto the other side of the field and they had to watch Max and Isaac try to defend. A lot of times the ball would get stuck as one side would try to push or the other. The other team's attackers hit on the idea of more going for an angle when that happened essentially passing it between the two teams. The game slowed down quite a lot the ball finally made it back to their side. He was pretty sure Max and Isaac just wanted to rest. Kevin and his partner got to the ball first but then both sets of defenders whacked it and almost bowled him over as he pushed the ball back over to the other side. Max and Isaac were still clustered on the one side of the field. It gave the other team's attacker an easy goal.

With the score 1 to 1 the ball was released and it drifted over to their side almost right on top of Kevin. Both defenders closed in on them quickly and Kevin pushed the ball off to the side right where Max was. He pushed the ball over the centerline again and this time it was Owen who stopped the ball and did the pushing. Alec went off to one side trying to direct. He thought they had a clear shot for a second before two defenders appeared. Instead of trying to stop the ball directly they separated themselves stretching out the rope between them bringing it taught and low. When the ball hit the rope it shot over it and before it could be recovered it went out of bounds.

That turned out to be a very good tactic. It was used two more times in the first half of the game. Each time Alec thought they had a clear run but even when he was trying to direct the ball there was a lot of the field he couldn't see. After 20 minutes there was an air horn that signaled the first half of the game was over. They were given water in a 10 minute break. They were able to take the ropes off but both teams took separate sides of the fields to sit and drink.

"Well, we're not winning and we're now losing." Grayson muttered.

"That ball is pretty hard to control. I wish it was see-through." Wyatt the youngest member of the other team said.

"That would be nice." Isaac agreed. "It's hard to see where you're doing."

"We need to throw it." Wyatt said after a moment.

"Yeah I will just pick it up and throw it." Grayson muttered. "Just shut up."

Alec glanced back and forth between the two. Apparently there wasn't much love on the Green team.

"It's not a bad idea." Max said. "The ball is not that heavy. It's just awkward. If I could get it off the ground I'm pretty sure I could toss it. Especially if I have a little help." Max gave Grayson a meaningful glance.

"Well when it runs over me it gets pretty airborne." Kevin complained.

Nobody said anything for a moment and then Wyatt ventured. "We could use our knees." Everybody looked over at him and he put down his disposable cup of water before standing up. Then he knelt down with his back sticking out. Alec saw it. The ball at a slower point would ride up on the knee and they could catch it. Wyatt tried to gesture with his hands to show what he meant when no one else seemed to be picking up on it.

"I see what you're saying." Alec said.

"We might be able to get it over that rope." Owen ventured. "The ball looks like it will bounce a few times too."

They talked a little more trying to figure out a strategy but then they were told the rest time was over. As Alec and Owen walked back to the other side of the field he ventured a question. "Grayson and Wyatt don't seem to get along. Is there reason for that?" He only knew Grayson vaguely but he never had any trouble with him.

Owen shrugged. "They get into it sometimes. Don't feel too bad for Wyatt he gives as good as he gets. I guess that comes from having like five older siblings."

Alec nodded. He tucked the little information away in the back of his mind. He wasn't sure how he could use the information or even if he would but it never hurts to have a little intelligence on a competitor.

The air horn sounded again and again the wind favored the other team. Their opponent's attackers got control the ball and started diagonally across the field. Both Isaac and Lee intercepted them at full speed. Smashing into the ball at once and sending it across the field onto the other side. Kevin and Wyatt tried to stop it and it nearly rolled over them. Somehow they got it. They didn't have great control over it and the ball bounced a few times before being intercepted again by the defenders.

The defenders tried to push the ball back towards the other side which gave Alec the perfect opportunity. Running in front of them they knelt with the rope slightly slack between them. The other team's defenders didn't see them. The ball rolled up and Alec pushed it up just a little behind Owen. The ball sailed over the defenders' heads before crashing down and bouncing. For one brief second he thought the ball had a clean shot at the goal. He watched it bounce a few more times and then rolled just the other side of the goal so it was out of bounds.

"Sound tactic, just bad aiming." Owen observed quietly.

As the ball came out again they found out the other team hadn't rested during the break. Max and Isaac managed to pin the ball into a corner with a pair of attackers. So the attackers passed it back to awaiting defender who pushed it back over the line to the free set of attackers. Before Max or Isaac could respond the other team scored an easy goal. Alec kicked himself mentally. The game was loosely based on soccer but didn't have all the same rules obviously. They had to be more alert whenever the other side acts as defenders instead of spectators.

The next time they tried the same tactic Alec was ready. And he pulled on the rope so hard to dart forward between the two. He was nearly pulled off of his feet when he reached his limit. He had forgotten to coordinate his movements with Owen.

The ball went back and forth across the field several more times. Neither side was gaining much of an upper hand. One time the ball sort of got stuck on the centerline with people pushing and pulling on either side. Martin blew the whistle and they reset.

There was an oversized clock that had the remaining time displayed. There was less than five minutes. When the ball was on the other side of the field he tried to catch Kevin's eye. When he did he held up a length of his rope connecting him to Owen and pulled it tight. Kevin stared at him for a few seconds but then seemed to catch on. At least he pulled Wyatt for a little talk. He did the same for Owen.

The next time the ball came their way instead of spreading out to try to get control Owen and himself came in close and pushed it as hard as they could towards the opposite side of the field. Kevin and Wyatt pulled the rope tight but held it up high catching the ball. Squeezing back together they quickly pushed it towards the goal. One of the defenders tried to dive in front to try to block it but it just rolled over him. That point tied them up.

When the clock ran down they were still tied Martin call them in and explained about the tiebreaker. Each team would have one defender and one attacking pair try to score one goal. If both teams failed to score a point they would switch up the pairs and try again. If both teams scored then they would do it again too. The catch was the attacking team couldn't pass the midfield line.

For the first time Max and his partner were chosen to defend for them while Sam and his partner were on the attack. There was no subtlety to their attack. Sam and his partner started way up the opposite end of the field and just ran with the ball. They let it go at the centerfield line. Max intercepted the ball by jumping and hitting it. Max stopped most of the momentum but it slid off to the side rolling over the rope and they gave it a little boost accidentally when they made the rope taught. The ball rolled diagonally and for a second he was sure was going to go into the goal but it hit the post instead and just stopped there. He was pretty sure someone on the other team muttered a word that would be edited out.

Alec and Owen were selected for their team. As they controlled the ball they both agreed they would fully put Wyatt's plan into effect. Casually rolling the ball towards the center of the field they stopped a little before the centerline and knelt down rolling it back onto their knees. They started up together holding the ball as best as they could between them. Alec let Owen do the counting to three and together they threw it. The ball sailed maybe 6 feet before hitting the ground. It bounced high enough that they could see the defenders clearly scrambling. The ball bounced again and the defenders tried to pull the ropes tight to intercept.

The ball was on an upward directory as it came in contact with the rope. Instead of coming to a stop it continued onwards rolling over the rope. Its trajectory changed a little and slowed. Alec wasn't sure what was going to happen his eyes were stuck on the ball willing it to continue going into the goal. The ball slowed but didn't stop. It slowly rolled into the goal before coming to a stop half in and half out. Everybody's eyes went to Martin. Then he raised his hands and shouted "Goal!"

Alec jumped into the air and a moment later Owen and him were surrounded by their teammates. That victory won them a trip to Dave and Busters. Whatever that was.

Chapter 9

Dave and Busters was pretty awesome. Of course they had to be shown enjoying it. The place had opened for them about 45 minutes early but they didn't stop getting shots until about 10 minutes after the place had opened. After that they were each given little cards they could swipe to activate the machines. Alec guessed it was better than carrying tokens or feeding in dollars every time he wanted to play something. They gave out tickets for just about everything too. They had a few copies of games that were on his phone and even they would spit out tickets when you were done depending on your score.

At first they stuck together doing a few group games, four-way air hockey was interesting. Then they drifted over to the shooters before slowly separating. He stuck around the shooters for a while before drifting over to different simulators. At one point he saw Kevin running out of one game and he had to take a look. It was a zombie shooter game but you were enclosed with loudspeakers and it even threw fog at you. When he emerged he saw Isaac carrying around a big stuffed animal which Alec had to smile at. Isaac sort of looked like a punk, but between his age and his personality it didn't really come through. Carrying around a big blue pig didn't help the image at all.

He drifted from game to game until he spotted Wyatt casually leaning against the wall as he watched tickets unravel. He went over there. "You win big?" Alec spoke loudly but he knew the words would barely be heard.

Wyatt looked away from the slowly growing pile. "Yeah, a thousand. It takes a while."

Alec watched for a few seconds as six or seven tickets came out every few seconds. "You been to these places before?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at getting the thousand on the wheel. One time I did it three times in a row."

Alec looked up at the big wheel with a single letter sliver that said 1000. "That's cool."

He stood there for a moment longer unsure why he had come over. The tickets were still coming out. "You're throwing idea really paid off."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for saying it though."

Alec grinned to himself. "You're very modest."

Wyatt shrugged. "I am 10 pounds of awesome in a 5 pound container."

"Yeah, I heard a rumor about you that wasn't so awesome."

Wyatt gave him a look. It reminded him that he was older significantly so. He softened his approach. "Kevin told me you said Grayson and Owen were involved. You standing by that?"

Wyatt grinned and looked away. "Yeah I made that up."

"Not awesome." Alec said in a level tone.

"What do you care?" Wyatt shot back.

For a brief second Alec was tempted to smack Wyatt. Not excessively just two or three times. "I'm gay. It pisses me of that you were spreading that rumor to embarrass them. Find something else." Wyatt swallowed and nodded. Alec stared at Wyatt for a bit longer. Then he noticed there was a change in the ambient noise. He looked around and saw the pilot tickets had finally stopped. "Looks like your tickets are done."

Wyatt didn't say anything but sat on the floor and started to collect them. Alec watched him for a minute before kneeling down and starting on the other end of the long string of tickets. Wyatt didn't say anything but as they met at the halfway point Wyatt offered him the rest of the tickets. "Here. I'm sorry."

Alec smiled. "Thanks but keep them."

Alec played a few games before deciding to get something to eat. They had a section that was soundproof off from the main area. It was mostly abandoned and as he ate and watched a little TV. It was tuned to a baseball game but he hadn't really seen TV a while.

"Hey, Alec." Kevin said coming up behind him.

"Hi, are you going to get something to eat. It's on the house."

"Maybe later." Kevin said taking a seat next to him. "The Yankees are on."

"You a Yankee fan?"

"I am an antiYankee fan so I root for the other team automatically."

"Yeah I really don't get sports." Alec replied glancing back at the TV. He watched as someone was walked to first. He had played baseball but watching it was something else.

And after a while Kevin looked around and spoke again. "I had a question for you. Do you know anything else besides the puppy pile?"

Taken off guard Alec glanced at his younger friend. "What?"

Kevin shrunk down a little in the seat. "You know something we could all do together. The three of us at least maybe all four of us. I know Isaac said he would be in. I don't know about Max."

Kevin hadn't even suspected he wouldn't be up for anything. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. "I'm really not an expert Kevin. I mean I can think about it but I don't know. It's not like I'm encyclopedia of sex."

Kevin grinned and threw a quick look before giving Alec a quick hug. "I know you'll come up with something."

"That pizza is pretty good though," Max announced. "Kind of reminds me of this one place near my house only it's a little crunchier."

"We've got this pizza at this place where I live," Alec started. "They say they can put anything on it you want. I asked for ice cream once, that wasn't a good idea."

"What kind of ice cream did you put on it?" Kevin asked.

"Chocolate."

"That is stomach churning." Isaac said.

"I was like eight and I liked chocolate milk with my pizza." Alec said defending his former self.

"I once had pizza with crocodile on it," Max chimed in. "It wasn't bad. It tasted sort of like chicken, but I think I prefer pepperoni."

"Pepperoni's the best," Alec confirmed before glancing at the fourth member who was quietly nibbling at a square piece. "What about you Isaac? What do you like on your pizza?"

"I've only had cheese pizza before. It has to be kosher."

"Are your parents really strict Jews?" Alec questioned.

"On and off. At least when it comes to food. What about you Kevin?"

"Hot sauce, particularly the pepperoni that has it in it."

Silence fell over the group. Alec knew it was time to bring up the game. Now it would depend on which way, Max jumped "Let's play a game."

"Like what?" Max asked. "I think there's a few four-person player games over there we haven't play," he nodded towards the pile.

"No, let's play something different. How about Truth or Dare?" Isaac suggested.

The three spoke all at once.

"I don't know," Max complained.

"Ok," Alec said.

"I never played it before," Kevin responded.

"We could even make it Ultimate Truth or Dare so we can't gang up on anyone." Alec said.

"Ultimate?" Max questioned sounding interested.

"Yeah," Alec said going into his speech. We each write down a question we want to ask everyone and then we write down a dare below it. We mix them up and then one of us draws. You read the question and anyone who doesn't want to answer or can't answer the question, has to do the dare. It's fun." Actually he had no idea if it was fun or not.

"We couldn't dare to do something dangerous right?" Max asked.

"No, just stuff." Isaac clarified.

Alec offered. "At least one round."

Max's eyes went from person-to-person. "You guys had this planned out. Didn't you?"

Kevin looked guilty while Isaac shrugged.

Alec shifted a little nervously. "We weren't sure how you would feel about it."

Max gave everyone a look before shrugging. "I reserve the right not to do anything." He smiled.

"Great, now you can ask anything you want. Just don't ask a dumb question like what your favorite color is. Just something you would want to know or at least embarrassing." Alec said getting up and getting a pen and a pad of paper that had been used for score keeping. He tore a sheet free for everyone and wrote his question down first before handing the pen to Max. When all four had written their question, he told them to fold the paper in half and put them in the center of the table. Isaac mixed them up.

"I'll go first," Max said and before anyone could object he snatched a piece of paper only to discover it wasn't his once he opened it. "Alright here's the question. Of the four times if we couldn't win, who would you want to win?" He shrugged, "For me it's the Orange Team. Elliot and Jack have been really nice to me and Elliott sounds like he could use the money."

"For me it's the Red Team," Alec said smiling at him.

"I don't know, " Isaac said. "Orange."

"Green," Kevin said without hesitation.

Max glanced back at the paper. "So Isaac your dare is�"

"Hey, I answered," Isaac objected.

"No," Max jumped in, "You said I don't know."

For a second Isaac looked like he was about to argue and Alec knew that would end the game before it started but then Isaac's scowl turned into a sheepish grin. "All right."

Alec smiled as Max revealed the second part of the dare, "You have to suck on everyone big toe." He started chuckling as he read the last three words.

Max was grinning and even Kevin was smiling at the look of surprise on Alec's face. "Fine, socks off," the redhead said.

Everyone peeled off their socks and in sat so their feet were sticking out as Isaac knelt on the floor. Isaac started with Alec, removing a piece of lint before grabbing his heel and putting his big toe into his mouth. Alec felt the second of suction that sort of tickled, but it was over with before he really felt anything other than a slightly warm sensation. The other toe was over just as quickly and then Isaac was onto Max who giggled. Kevin was last and just sort of smiled.

Isaac stuck out his tongue in disgust when he was done, "Disgusting."

"At least they didn't say for a count of ten or something," Kevin suggested.

Isaac made a face and said, "My turn," and grabbed a piece of paper. He squinted for second and said, "What are you going to do with the prize money?"

Max responded quickly. "I'm getting a TV for my room and everything else goes into a college fund."

"I'm giving it to my parents," Kevin answered.

"Spend it," Isaac said.

Everyone looked over at Alec who was hesitating. "I don't want to answer." He thought it would just go to a college fund but wasn't sure anymore

Isaac looked back down on the paper. "So what do we have to do, Alec? Kiss someone."

Alec looked around the room. Kevin would certainly be willing which would be too easy but he didn't want to push Max yet. He pointed at Isaac.

Isaac stood and leaned over the table and he did the same they both kissed each other on the lips.

"You go next, Kevin." Alec said sitting down and wondering where exactly his question had disappeared to.

The youngest boy grabbed the closest piece of paper and unfolded it. He frowned for a second. "Have you ever put a finger in your butt?"

"Yes," Isaac answered immediately.

"Me too," Alec said glad that hadn't been the first question he asked.

After a moment Max shrugged, "No."

"Yes," Kevin said.

Max grabbed the last piece of paper. "Do you like the stuff we do on the show?"

Isaac grimaced at the lame question. "It depends on the event. I mean I had some fun in the maze and a couple of the other events were like cool and weird. Sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's not. I don't like losing.

Kevin chimed in. "That danger room thing was fun. Most of the stuff is okay. That game with the big ball was frustrating sometimes."

"I think some of them have been fun," Alec said. "The best was that little thing we did with the Sundaes."

"Yeah," Max said. "The danger rooms were the best."

"Another round?" Kevin suggested.

No one disagreed but Alec spoke up. "Let's push it a little more. More embarrassing questions."

They all use reverse side of paper and wrote down the questions again. The first question wasn't embarrassing at least to Alec. Isaac read the question. "Have you had sex? That's a yes for me."

"Same hear." Alec answered.

"Yes for me too." Kevin said.

Max looked around at anything. "Are you referring to the puppy pile stuff?" Everyone said no or just shook their head. "I'm the only virgin?"

"We can fix that if you want you." Alec said.

"What?"

Alec shrugged. "If you want I could bend over for you." Alec wasn't sure why he was offering so bluntly, but at the moment it seemed fine. Besides he remembered Max's erection wondering how it would feel like inside him.

Max looked around and met Kevin and Isaac who were grinning. "Did anyone lose their virginity to a girl?" When everyone answered no Max just shook his head. "Sure."

Everyone went back down Alec's room. The air felt electric and everyone seemed to know something was up. Alec stripped without reservation and Max followed slowly after eyeing the two spectators. If Max was nervous his lower half didn't get the message because he was already hard. Alec applied the Vaseline for him. That thick and hard member was exciting to hold. He prepared himself as best as he could with the remainder Vaseline on his fingers. Then he got on the bed on his hands and knees doggy style.

Max slid into him with a little more force than he was used to and Alec had to keep from wincing. Max was a bit bigger than Sam at least when it came to girth. Still when it struck his prostate it had the usual effect. He looked over at Kevin and Isaac who were smiling and giggling. Alec reached between his legs to stroke himself balancing himself on one arm as Max slowly began to push in and out.

Before looking over at the other two again and then gesturing with his head. He had a crazy idea and both Isaac and Kevin caught on. They both stripped quickly and Isaac joined him on the bed offering up his circumcised member for Alec to suck on. Kevin went under him finding his erection his lips and tongue teasing his head. It was hard sucking and still taking the movements while being pleasured in two different ways.

Kevin was using the tip of his tongue to separate his pee slit and as his hand tightened around his member Alec felt himself explode into his mouth. His orgasm tightened his cheeks pushing Max over the edge. He had to be quick not to tighten his teeth because Isaac would agree one circumcision was more than enough. Isaac wasn't too far behind. After he climaxed Alec turned his attention towards Kevin who had been stroking himself and he sucked him off too.

By then Max had recovered and Alec took him to the bathroom to show him how to wash up afterwards as he removed cum from his butt. When they came back out Isaac and Kevin were obviously still ready for more. Being dry the two could recover quicker and were more than happy to keep Max and Alec entertained until they could to. It was a long night.