Drizzle

[HitchingARide]

When my parents said we were moving to Drizzle, Kansas, all I could think of was how horrible the weather would be to have a town named like that. But Dad said his company was going to build a new plant there, and for the third time in the thirteen years I’d been alive, we moved because of my dad’s job. Turns out, the town wasn’t named after a weather pattern. It had been founded by a Walter Drizzle.

The last home had only lasted two years. I hardly knew anyone. It was a small town, and everyone knew everyone. The kids never really accepted me, and at least I could hope that Drizzle would be better. From what I saw as we drove to the new house, Drizzle looked smaller than where we’d moved from.

It started out better than the last move. As Mom and Dad were directing the moving guys on where each box went, I was in my new room trying my best to find places to put my stuff. It was technically a bedroom, as it had a window and a closet, but it didn’t even have a door. That wouldn’t be much of a problem as the only things on the second floor were my room, a bathroom, and what was called a play room.
“Hi,” a young voice said from the opening where a door should be. “Your parents said I’d find you here. I’m Zack West. I live next door. This used to be Fred’s room.”

‘Yeah, hi,” I returned. “I’m David. David Bloom. Nice to meet you. I wish I could go out and have fun, but I’m kind of stuck here putting my stuff away.”

“I know, dealing with moving is a pain in the ass. I just moved here last year, and my room is the exact same as this. Except the game room here is my sister’s room at my house. And having no door is becoming a problem. Emily is 12, a year younger than me, and she likes to sneak over and try and catch me naked. In fact, she has, a couple of times. That I know of.”

I directed the moving guys on where to put my dresser and turned back to Zack. “That would suck. I wish I had a sibling sometimes, but not a girl trying to see me naked. I wouldn’t care for that.” I heard the moving man chuckle as he left the room after putting my dresser where I wanted it.

“Has anyone seen you naked?” Zack asked. “I mean, since you grew up. Obviously, many people saw you naked when you were born and as a toddler.

It was a bit of an odd question, but I danced around the answer. The truth would have been that I’d probably pass out if someone did. It was a fear that I had with each move. But other than being pantsed to my underwear two years ago, nobody has seen my junk except me and a pediatrician.
I started putting stuff in the dresser. Zack came into the room and said he’d help, all I had to do was tell him where I wanted stuff. I was pleased to know that instead of making fun of me or being a bully, Zack was nice and offered to help. Except for his little giggle when he opened a box and saw it was filled with underwear and socks. And a few pairs of briefs that I hadn’t wore in years were on top.

“You still wear briefs?” he asked. “I did too, until we moved here. Just before then, I got pantsed and I had briefs on. Thank god we moved away two weeks later. It was the last time I wore them. Boxers for me now.” He pulled the side of his shorts back so I could see.

I didn’t want to look too interested, so I glanced at him and then went back to the box I was unpacking. But his confession reminded me of a similar event.

“Two years ago, when I was eleven, the same thing happened to me. That was the last time I wore briefs too.”

“So, you’re thirteen. Me too. My next birthday is in August.”

“I’ve got you beat then. July 18th, just five weeks from now I’ll be fourteen.”

We worked until most of my stuff was put away. I was tired, hot, and sweaty. The house had air conditioning, but with the doors open so the movers could come and go, Dad wouldn’t turn it on.

“I know it is your first night in your new house, but if you want to enjoy some air conditioning, I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind. I’ll call and make sure, if you’re interested. Otherwise, we’ll do it some other day.”

“I’m hot and sweaty, and I would love to cool off. Call your parents, and if they say okay, we’ll ask mine. But I need to shower first.”
“You can do it here if you want,” Zack explained. “But my house is identical to this. The bathroom is right across the hall from my room. And unlike your bathroom, mine has a door that locks. I’ve been here before, when Fred lived here.”

“Sounds good.” I wondered what it would be like to be seen naked. I knew I wouldn’t die, but it sure would be horrible.

Our parents approved, and Zack’s parents came over and invited my parents to dinner. I went with Zack up to his room, where he pointed out the bathroom. “Emily’s downstairs, but trust me, you’ll want to lock the door. Otherwise, she’ll claim she didn’t know you were in there and that she had to pee.”

The way he said it made me think it had actually happened to him. I went across the hall and locked the door behind me. Shampoo and soap were already in the shower, so I stripped and got in.

When done, I grabbed a fresh towel from the linen closet and then realized I’d made a fatal mistake. My shorts and underpants were soaked from sweat, and I hadn’t thought to bring any extra clothes. After drying, I wrapped the towel around my waist and prayed that Emily wouldn’t be on the other side of the door. She wasn’t, and I quickly stepped into Zack’s room.

He was just changing and had just removed his shorts. He turned as he heard me, standing there in just boxers.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said, looking relieved. “I thought it was Emily.”

“I forgot to bring clothes,” I said. I was astonished. He stood there in nothing but boxers and didn’t seem the least bit concerned that I was looking at him. He opened a drawer and pulled out a clean pair of boxers and tossed them on his bed. Then a pair of shorts from another drawer.
I was tempted to try and show him I wasn’t afraid of being seen naked, but I just didn’t have the courage to let the towel fall to the floor. I grabbed his clothes and returned to the bathroom and dressed there. I don’t know what I expected when I returned to his room.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know you were shy. Just dump your dirty stuff in the corner. You can wear my clothes until you go back home.”

“Uh, sleep,” I muttered. “I didn’t bring pajamas.”

“Oh.” That was all he said for a few seconds. “I kind of sleep in my underwear. I have some old pajamas, but I don’t know if they’ll fit you. Or I guess we could go back to your room and get yours.”

I didn’t want to let him know how terrified I was at being seen undressed. He clearly wasn’t. I knew I had to grow up and tonight had to be the start.

“No, boxers are fine,” I said, trying to sound a lot calmer than I felt.

It turned out that his sister had been sent to a neighbor’s house to be with one of her friends. Apparently, Zack’s parents were worried that she would embarrass me and took care of the problem. As it got dark outside, we went in.

Zack casually stripped to just his boxers. I did the same, but not casually. I had to override my fear without letting him know I was terrified of the idea. He never even looked at me.

We played games on his xbox until his parents yelled up for us to go to bed. They’d moved a cot into his room, and he offered me his bed and said he’d take the cot, but it was his room and I didn’t want to intrude.

I woke up to an odd noise. The room was dark. I turned my head and I could see Zack had his phone in one hand and his dick in the other. He was jacking off to something on his phone. After a few seconds, he dropped the phone on his belly and grabbed a tissue, and just in time, as he grunted with each burst.

It gave me a boner, but I didn’t dare pull it out and do what he’d done. I prayed I wouldn’t have a wet dream and fell back asleep.
I woke up dry as Jack was hurrying out of the room. He went across the hall to the bathroom, only he didn’t close the door. I could hear his pee for a remarkably long time. I needed to do the same, only I now had a piss boner. There was no way to hide it, and he came back into the room before I could put on the shorts that he’d loaned me. Doing my best to cover my boner, I grabbed the shorts and hurried across the hall. I peed, but not until I’d closed the door first.

We went down and had an excellent breakfast. Then he looked at the calendar on the wall. “I have baseball practice today from 10 until 2. You play ball?”

"Not really. I mean, I’ve played, but not on a regular team or anything. Just gym class and a few guys at times. I’m not really very good.”

“I’ll talk to the coach. We’re not that great either. The team’s record so far this season is 5 wins and 5 losses. But we have the two best teams to play yet. We could always use an outfielder.”

He looked at the clock. “I’ve got to change. Even practice is done in uniform. Mom hates it because then it has to be washed before the next game or practice. I should be home about 2:15 or so. I’ll come over as soon as I get changed.” He walked me to the door.

I returned home and changed into my own clothes. It was boiling hot inside. Dad said there was something wrong with the air conditioner and a repair man wouldn’t be here until tomorrow. The good news was, I had permission to spend the night at Zack’s house again, as long as his parents didn’t mind.

With nothing really to do in my room, I decided to go and watch Zack’s practice. I’d seen a baseball field as we drove in, and headed that way. But somewhere, I either turned wrong or I forgot what direction we came from because instead of a ballfield, I ended up at the edge of a wooded area. The road I’d been on ended there.

There was a path into the woods. It had dozens of shoe prints on it, going in both directions. There were bike prints, and even a pair that looked like a stroller. I followed it, curious as to where it went. It seemed like a good way to meet more of the kids who lived here.
I’d gone maybe a quarter mile when I heard a voice shout from my left.

“There he is! That’s him. Get him.” The girl was pointing in my direction. I looked around to see if she was pointing at someone to my left instead of me. But it was just me and the nine kids including the girl, and they were all running towards me.

I hesitated a bit too long trying to figure out if I was in danger or if it was just a game. By the time I realized they were really after me, the route back to the road was cut off by two boys who looked a little older than me. I stopped moving in that direction and let them catch me.

Only they didn’t just catch me. The first two boys tackled me. Hard. I ended up on my back with my legs in the air. Before I could do anything, the others had all closed in.

“He’s the one,” the girl announced as she got close. “He’s not from around here. It has to be him.”

“I just moved…” That was all I got out before I could feel fingers inside my shorts and boxers and they were pulled down and over my feet. Seconds later, my shirt was pulled over my head. I was suddenly naked in front of nearly a dozen other kids.

“Use his shoelaces to tie him up. We’ll call Marcy and see what she wants to do with him.”

“I didn’t do nothing. I just moved…” This time, I was cut off with a hand over my mouth. “I don’t want to listen to his lies. Find something to qag him with.” The girl really seemed to hate me for some reason. “There, his underwear. Push it in his mouth and that’ll shut him up.”

I tried to fight it, but when they pinched my nose closed and then gave me a hard punch to my stomach, I had to open my mouth. About half of my boxers were pushed inside. I tried to talk, but could only make noise, not speech.

I was lifted up and dragged over between two trees. My shoelaces were used to tie each arm to a limb on each tree, leaving me fully exposed with my arms to my sides. I was going crazy with fear and shame as they all stood there looking at me, and most of their attention was on my dick, which was getting hard.

The girl had her phone out, and I was pretty sure she’d taken a picture of me. “Marcy, we got the boy who attacked you. We’ve got him tied up as you can see. Gather a bunch of kids, especially girls, and come out to the path into the woods. Then we can decide if we torture him or call the cops.”

I couldn’t make out the words from whoever Marcy was, but the girl said, “See you then,” and hung up, putting her phone in her pocket.

“He’s got some hair, and his balls have descended. I’d say he was between twelve and a half and thirteen years old,” a boy said. “He’s really happy to see you, Shasa. Look at his dick jump around.”

“Mmmm mmmmm.” I tried to tell them I was almost fourteen.

The boys soon grew board with staring at me, and all but two younger ones said goodbye to the others. One of them warned Shasa to be careful and not go too far. Now it was just two boys and four girls. And one of the younger girls asked if she could touch me.

“Mmmmmm!” I shook my head no, knowing they couldn’t understand a word I was trying to shout at them.

“Just be careful he doesn’t try and kick you,” Shasa instructed. As the younger girl advanced, the other four and both of the boys moved closer.

“I’ve kind of wondered what a boy’s thing fells like,” another girl said. Then they all wanted to. For the next ten minutes, I had fingers on my dick, by balls, even part way into my butt. It was completely humiliating, but there was nothing I could do to stop them.

“Watch this,” a boy who had wondered off said as he ran towards me with something hidden behind his back. He came right up to me and I saw he had a toothbrush in his hand. He gently pushed the bristles against the head of my dick and gave a stroke.

I rose to my toes and cried out through the gag. It didn’t hurt, it felt so strongly wonderful that I knew I’d be cumming in an instant. But then it stopped.

The boy handed the toothbrush to one of the girls. “Do that, but just for a few seconds. My brother did it to me once. In less than ten minutes I promised him anything he wanted if he’d just let me shoot.”

First, nudity. Then touching. And now, a new method of fear spread over me. I knew that soon I’d be willing to do anything. Except that with my boxers in my mouth, I couldn’t even make any offers.

The girl did it once. Then again. Then she gave it off to another girl, one who looked to be the same age as me. I was shouting into the gag, but no words came out. I jerked around, needing to cum but they kept stopping before I could. I was gasping for breath.

I think they were just about to start another round when one of the two younger boys seated in front of me said, “We’ve got company.”

I did my best to look through my tears. It just got worse. A large group of kids were approaching. Most were girls, but there were three or four boys with them. Now another shame to add to the growing list. I was crying. Sobbing actually. Tears and snot ran down my face. And what had to be most of the kids within a couple of years of my age living in this town were now running towards me as I stood there, naked, hard, and crying.

The toothbrush was run over the head of my dick once again. I couldn’t endure much more of this. The girl was holding my dick as she ran the bristles over the tip. Until we heard a voice from behind me. One I recognized.

“What’s going on?” Zack shouted. “Untie that boy.”

“No,” Sasha declared. “He molested Marcy. He needs to be punished.”

“His name is David Bloom. When did this happen?”

“Yesterday, about two o’clock,” Shasa said. “I guess it’s him. He doesn’t live here; I know everyone who does.”

“Bullshit,” Zack growled. “Yesterday at that time I was with him, in his room, helping him unpack from the move. He does live here, but he just moved in yesterday. You two, untie him.”

The last sentence was directed at the two boys kneeling just a bit to my sides. I looked down and saw they each had a safety razor. I looked down at myself. Yet another shame. Nearly all of my pubes were gone.

“Emily, drop that toothbrush and go home. We’ll talk about this later.”

Shit, his sister had not only seen me but had been one of the girls torturing me. Zack pulled my boxers from my mouth and then shouted at the two boys who were supposed to be untying my arms.

“If he isn’t free in the next thirty second, I’ll strip both of you and tie you up and call everybody back to look at you.”

Having heard that I wasn’t the kid who had done something to Marcy, most of the kids began leaving. They’d seen me. I guessed that some probably even used their phones to take pictures of me.

Moments later, my hands were free. As much as I wanted to put my boxers on, I needed something far more important. Another humiliation. I began jacking off. It only took seconds before I had the longest orgasm of my life. As soon as the last burst shot from my dick, I put my boxers on.

“Where are the rest of your clothes?” Zack asked me.

“I don’t know. I just want to go home. Thanks for stopping this.” The shame at being seen naked had passed. Going home in just my boxers no longer as horrifying as it would have been an hour ago.

“No, give me a minute.” Zack turned and pointed to a boy. “Kevin, you’re the only one here who’s clothes will fit him. Give him your shorts. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“I didn’t do nothing,” the boy protested.

“I know, and that’s why I’m pissed at you. You watched, and I can see you’ve got a boner of your own. But like you just said, you did nothing. Is that going to be your defense when I get home and call the police and tell who I saw out here?”

“I, uh, I don’t have underwear on,” Kevin announced. He turned to the side and pulled the back of his shorts down an inch or two. Nothing showed but white, untanned skin. He’d gone commando.

“It’s okay,” I mumbled as I headed towards the kids who were still hanging around watching. “I just want to go home and convince my parents to get the hell out of this town. I never want to see any of these kids again.”

“Shit, wait a second,” Zack said. “You’re not going home like you are.” He undid the belt, released the snap, and pulled his baseball pants down. All he had on under them was a jockstrap.

“There was a brown pair of shorts and a green shirt in the brush by the road,” a girl stated. “Do they belong to you?”

“Who else would they belong to,” Zack snarled.

“Yeah, thanks,” I said.

“I’ll run and get them,” a boy in the back said. He and another boy took off running. It was less than five minutes before they returned, out of breath. But one of them had my clothes. He handed them to me.

“Thank you,” I said as I quickly dressed. I was about to leave when Sasha stepped up to me.

“I’m sorry. I really am. I guess you want to see me tied up naked now.”

I considered my words carefully.

“Yes,” I began. “I’d love to see you naked, tied up, so I could touch you everywhere. That is the truth. But making you do it; or allowing others to make you do it as punishment for what you put me through would be just as wrong as what you did to me. Unless you are willing, wanting, to let me see you naked, which I’m sure you are not, stay dressed. Find some other punishment that you think you deserve.”

She looked confused. “But I deserve it.”

I shook my head. “If you hadn’t had me stripped. If this was the first time we ever met, would you be willing to get naked and allow me to touch you?”

“No, but…”

“Then doing it as a punishment is just as wrong as when you did it to me. It doesn’t make things right. It would just make you feel as horrible as I do.” I paused. She was still speechless. “I’m not going to punish you. But I think until some punishment does occur, we will never be friends. I’d always hate you for what you did and nothing was ever done to make up for it. So, again, find some meaningful punishment that helps show you’re sorry. Until then, we’re done.”

I turned and headed for home. I’d only gone ten steps when the two boys who had been using scissors to trim by pubes ran up to me.
“What about us?” one asked. “Zack will kick our asses for what we did.”

“He won’t, because I’ll tell him not to. You want to be punished? Strip, both of you. Show me that you don’t have pubes of your own. Look at each other. Let Sasha see you. Maybe she’ll let you see her naked. I don’t care. I’m going home.”

One boy looked at the other. “Do it,” he said.

Out of curiosity, I paused. Both boys stripped. Everything except their shoes and socks.

“See? No hair,” one said. “Sasha, come and look at us so we can get dressed.”

“Get dressed,” she responded without looking towards us. “The new kid is right. Being naked isn’t right. I’m interested, but I don’t want to look. I don’t want you always remembering that I saw you naked.”

As the boys grabbed at their clothes, I continued on towards home. Zack caught up with me.

“I want to help, but I don’t know how. The two boys who just stripped, Craig and Danny, were right. I would have kicked their butts. And probably stripped them as well. Now I know you don’t want that.”

“I don’t know what to do either,” I said. “But knowing you want to help without harming or humiliating other kids shows that you understand. It helps.” I stopped walking and looked at him as a new thought entered my mind.

“If you hadn’t come over, if I didn’t know anything about anybody here, but I came across you naked and tied, I would have watched. I’m not proud of that, but I know I would have. Maybe if the kids had known me it would have been different. I don’t know. So, thanks for helping and thanks even more for understanding. Right now, I just need to process. I’ll call on you later today or maybe even tomorrow.”

I turned and continued walking. From behind me, he responded. “I’ll be looking forward to just being friends again. Visit me when you are ready.”

That evening at dinner, my parents were sure that something happened. They asked if Zack and I had an argument, or if other kids did something. They were just guessing, I was positive they had no idea. I gave vague statements, and eventually they gave up and let me be quiet and sullen. I ended up going to bed early.

Not sure if I even wanted to leave the house, I waited until they were both off to work before I got out of bed. I showered and dressed and made a simple breakfast. I’d just finished when the doorbell rang.

I used the peep hole and saw it was Zack. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

“Come on David, I know you’re in there. You’re probably looking at me through the peep hole. I was sent to bring you back to the woods.”
That scared me. Except that I trusted him, and I hoped the trust was well placed as I opened the door. “I’m pretty sure I’m not interested in returning there today.”

“Shasa Clampet sent me. She said punishments have been agreed to. They need you. I trust her. I’m positive this isn’t a trick.”
I still didn’t want to go, but he insisted. He eventually got me outside and we began walking towards the path into the woods. I questioned what Shasa had decided to do as punishment.

“I don’t know. She said that all the kids who saw you held a meeting, and they voted on what to do. I’m not allowed to go to the clearing; I was just called upon to get you there.” He looked at me and added, “Look, I trust the kids in this town. I am totally positive that this is not a trick or a trap. I think they really have something planned to try and somehow make up for what they did.”
I grunted in response. I wasn’t as sure as him. And I was less than interested in seeing all the kids who had seen me naked, crying, and with a boner yesterday. But I walked along with him. Until we got to where the street ended.

“This is where I wait. I’ll be here when you are ready to go home, no matter how long it takes. I’ve been here a year, and I know and trust these kids. They fucked up yesterday, and they know it. I don’t know what is planned, but again, I really believe it is going to be some form of a sincere apology.”

I still had my doubts, but I gave him a half smile, the best I could do at that point, and said I’d be back. I continued down the trail, moving quietly and listening. I heard nothing except for the wind in the leaves.

Shasa was waiting for me just outside the clearing. And she was totally naked. Her left hand was over her breasts and the right over her hole, but she forced each of them to her sides when she saw me.

“I told you I didn’t want…” I began, but she hushed me.

“Most of the kids who saw you are in there,” she said, pointing towards the clearing. “They are all naked. And shy and scared. We argued about what a fair punishment would be. We ended up with three ideas and voted. All but five of the kids who saw you naked yesterday are here now. Even two who voted against this idea. We are all going to apologize, and let you get to know us. Please, I know you don’t trust me, and you have good reason not to. But nothing is going to happen to you.” That said, she turned and headed around the bend and into the clearing.

I didn’t want to see them again, naked or not. I didn’t want them to do to themselves what they’d done to me. But I either had to give this a try or tell my parents I wanted them to quit their new jobs and move out. I followed her, about twenty steps behind.

They were there. They looked very sheepish and ashamed. At least twenty-five of them. And all of them were naked.

Sasha stood facing me. Her face was bright red, but she managed to keep her hands to her sides. “Hi, I’m Shasa Clampet. Yesterday, I made a serious mistake that caused you a lot of pain. You could have gone to the police, but you didn’t. I know you didn’t want me to choose nudity, and for that reason I voted against this punishment. But it was overwhelmingly approved. We all are asking for you to accept our apologies. Every picture of you has been deleted. Each of us is begging you to not tell other kids what we look like. We swear, when you leave here, this is the last time you’ll have to face us with horror in your eyes. I am sorry. Very sorry. I was wrong, and I asked other kids to harm you. I have accepted that I am responsible for all that happened, and I beg your forgiveness. If you can’t right now, or never will, that will be disappointing, but I would like for this to end with us as equals and move forward.” She spread her arms to the sides, exposing all of her body. “You can look, touch, do anything except hurt me. Again, I am sorry for the stupidity I displayed yesterday.”

I had no words. Five feet in front of me was a naked girl my age. Her ears and cheeks were red. But she stood there, allowing me to look. After a few seconds, I realized I was being as rude as the other kids had been yesterday. I wanted to touch, I wished I had my phone so I could take a picture and use it to jack off each night before bed. And I knew that was the wrong response.

In one of the bravest moments of my life, I stripped. I got as naked as I’d been yesterday. Then I stepped forward and looked at her face.

“Hi. I’m David Bloom. I just moved in two days ago. I live next door to Zack West. And your apology is accepted.”

She stepped aside. It was surreal. Somewhere between twenty and twenty-five other naked kids stood in a semicircle. Next up was Marcy, the girl who had been partially exposed and touched by some kid from an RV park somewhere nearby.

“HI, David. I’m Marcy King. I’m thirteen, almost fourteen. After what was done to me, I allowed and even supported what we did to you. Marcy has convinced all of us that we screwed up horribly. Even if you had been the boy who assaulted me, taking you to my parents would have been the right thing to do. Let adults handle it. We sure fucked up it up royally. I am sorry, and I only hope that you can forgive me.”

I was dumbfounded. I could see the horror in her eyes as mine wondered down to her exposed middle. I forced them back up, and kind of repeated what I’d said to Sasha.

Next in line was Emily West, Zack’s sister. She had a hand over her crotch, but I saw a tear trail down her cheeks.

“Hi. I’m Emily West. You know my brother, Zack. I did some horrible stuff to you yesterday. And after Shasa talked with us, I realize that I’ve been just as bad with Zack recently. I don’t want you to hate me. I’m sorry. I can’t make up for what I did, so I agreed to make me learn how you felt. It was horrible stripping with all these other kids here. Five boys are here, and they all got to see me, all of me.” With that, she managed to move the hand that had been hiding her slit. I saw she had no pubic hair. Again, I forced my eyes back to her face as more tears ran down her cheeks.

“I had hair. But after yesterday, I had Abe and Randy shave mine off, just like I told them to do to you. Now I know how horrible that is. I’m sorry.”

I forgave her. And on and on it went. The ones who had touched me all were next. Then it was mostly boys. The two boys who had tackled me and stripped me. Abe and Rady, the boys who had shaved my pubes. Five or six girls who had just stood back and watched. All apologized. All sounded totally sincere. And I accepted the apology from each of them. And much to my surprise, I felt better for it. The dark silence that had hung over me from the moment that Zack had told Abe and Randy to untie me was gone. I was still embarrassed, but I could see that each of them was too. Yet they stood there, forcing themselves to not cover up.

I went to the middle of the group and looked from side-to-side. “I’m sure that Shasa told you that I said I didn’t want what you did to me to be done to you because it was wrong. But this is different. You had a choice. All of you picked the horrifying one. All of your apologies sounded sincere.

Thank you. I won’t pretend that I can remember all of your names, but that will come over time. Go ahead and get dressed. I know I learned from this, and for the first time in the last fifteen hours, I don’t hate any of you. I don’t want to have my parents quit their jobs so we could move out. I’m glad you made the sacrifice. I hope I’m worthy of it.”

I stood there, twenty feet from my clothes, and watched as they all got dressed as quickly as they could. Well, not all. Shasa walked up to me and handed me my clothes before returning to where hers were. She then started dressing, and I did the same.

Kids started filtering out. I think all of them came and said something, or shook my hand, or at least did something to acknowledge that this was over. With one minor exception. Emily West.

“Don’t you dare tell my brother what I look like,” she said to me as she walked past.

Once everyone except Shasa had left, she looked at me. “I think this was the right choice. I hope you’re not secretly pissed that we did what you said was wrong.”

“No, I get the difference. This wasn’t an act of punishment. It was an attempt to gain understanding of how you all made me feel. It had to take a lot of courage to get naked knowing I was coming. I could never do that for any reason.”

“But you did. You looked at all of us. You felt the lust; I could see it in your eyes. And then you understood. You were better than us. You controlled your feelings. You joined us in being naked. Don’t say you could never do it, you just proved that you’re wrong. From here on out, let’s hope that none of us ever need to fear each other.”

She grabbed my hand and held it tight as we left the opening. Zack was still waiting at the road. He smiled as he saw me holding hands with the girl who just a few hours ago, I hated.

“I don’t know what happened back there, but everyone who left was smiling,” he said. “Almost everyone. Emily couldn’t look me in the face.”

“She told me. She’s seen you naked several times, and now she is upset by that. I think she’s going to try and make up for it.”

“Yuck! I don’t want to see my little sister naked,” Zack spluttered. Then he looked at me. I don’t know what expression I had on my face, but he quickly guessed the truth. “You did, didn’t you. You saw Emily naked.”

“She told me I wasn’t allowed to tell you what she looks like. So, I won’t. But yes, I did.

And then the realization hit Zack. “You and all the other kids were naked. That’s why I wasn’t allowed to come into the woods.”

I nodded. “I can tell you what Abe Byers and Randy Gleason look like if you want to know,” I laughed.

As we headed home, laughing, talking, I realized what a huge weight had been lifted from me. I had such a tremendous fear of being seen naked, and then the whole middle school saw me that way. I lived through it, and I got to see some real character from my new friends.

It was never spoken of again. I gradually learned my way around town. I joined Zack’s baseball team, and even caught a fly ball in right field. Changing clothes for gym, or for sleepovers, no longer was an issue for me. I was home and happy in Drizzle, Kansas.

[hightab]

In the Beginning It was sounding like a gay story but I read on and it got good.

[DrWhoFanJ]

In the Beginning It was sounding like a gay story but I read on and it got good.

I’m not sure I like the implication that it being "a gay story" is somehow not compatible with "good".