Marty

I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm wondering if you read @Talo Segura's previous story, Revealed. This story follows on from Revealed, and maybe reading that one first might make what's happening in this one a little easier to understand.

Whilst obviously delighted that Tom was not actually raped in the back of the van, I'm just hoping that what the police found/saw when they got there made it clear to them that an attempted rape was actually in progress. I'd hate to find out that Achim and his cousins are going to get away with little more than a caution for their actions. Good of Arran to offer to let Salem stay at his house for the time being, but I fail to see how this can become a long-term solution. Sure, Arran's dad saying that he is going to be working in Belgium for at least a few months will mean that his dad won't be there to question the arrangement, but I'm fairly sure that Salem's own family would be looking for him. Leaving aside Achim, I would expect (or at least hope) that Salem's parents would be worried about him going missing. And then there's the fact that he would be expected to attend school, and I'm sure Achim knows which school he goes to. And, if Salem disappears completely (as in not even attend school), Arran could find himself faced with a kidnapping charge as and when Salem is eventually traced. It was good, if not at all unexpected, to see at the end of the chapter just how concerned Tom was for Salem's safety. It was also good to hear Arran ask Tom to come over the next day, and then go on to say that Salem needs Tom. Not sure how well I am explaining myself here - I suppose that it showed me that Arran isn't offering to let Salem stay just so that he can have sex with him. Only two chapters left, eh? Be interesting to see if everything can get reconciled by the end. Especially as @Talo Segura says the final chapter will be short. I'm wondering whether Salem and Sam will meet eventually, and whether there may be any chemistry there..?

Oh my fucking god! You certainly know how to pull a cliff-hanger, @Talo Segura!! Fair play to Salem for calling the police. Hopefully the fact that Tom was at least able to walk when he left the van means that he hasn't been injured too seriously. And hopefully the cops got there before any actual rape occurred. I'm hoping that Achim is now going to be imprisoned pending trial for attempted (or possibly even successful) rape. But I'm still not sure about the rest of Salem's family. Even if Salem didn't give his name when he made the emergency call, Achim is bound to know it was him who called the police, and likely tell his parents that fact. I'll be interested to see how they react.

Arran seems to be his own worst enemy at times. Just as he has finally got up the courage to come out to his father, he then lies about who Salem is. Assuming he and Tom don't split up, I'm wondering just what he's going to tell his dad when he eventually finds out that Tom doesn't actually have a brother, let alone one with a middle-eastern complexion, and not actually called Michael. I said in my comment to Chapter Ten that Arran and Tom need to talk. And they finally do in this chapter. Unfortunately, it didn't really end well, with Arran basically storming out of the room at the end. It seems obvious to me that both boys don't really want to end the relationship. But is also seems obvious that neither is really listening to the other - although that may well be because neither is really saying what they really think, particularly Arran. I'm also left wondering if Tom is just upset about Arran having had sex with Salem (although Tom has done the same himself in the past), or whether it's his assumption that Arran 'beat' Salem, and possibly forced him to have sex. Tom finally realises during the online chat with Salem that Arran hadn't actually beat him, but that it had been just sex play. And it looks as though he will try talking to Arran again. Whether that will be alone before the weekend, or whether it will be with Salem on Saturday, remains to be seen. I'm somehow thinking it might be better if Salem were actually with them when they do try to talk again. Partly because he may act as some sort of mediator (not sure if that's the word I was really looking for there) between them, and partly because I was struck with his unanswered question "You love him?" during their online chat. And finally, we return to Ali's younger brother, Sam. I can well understand his reluctance to talk about things with Arran. After all, he's not only been lusting after him for a while now, but he's also seen him naked in an online sex scene. I'm not sure exactly how old Sam is, but I suspect he's much closer to Salem's age than he is to Arran's. So I'm half-expecting that Ali will call round to Arran's on Saturday to have the discussion she told Sam about, meet Salem, and perhaps hook the pair of them up. Seems almost too easy a solution, but I suspect we are now getting towards the end game of the story - and everything being eventually Reconciled (assuming everything actually does).

Arran is obviously angry about what happened during the second porn shoot. Mind you, I can't really blame him - after all, it appears as though Alesandro has done nothing more than treat him like a piece of meat. And Tom seems to feel that Arran's anger may be directed specifically at him. So much so that he is beginning to question the relationship. He's also beginning to think that Arran is selfish, and only thinks about what is important to himself. Of course, that's not helped by Arran not talking to Tom as they were leaving from the shoot, and by him shrugging Tom away when he tried to put his arm around him. It's easy for the reader to say that the pair of them need to talk things out. But (a) they're male, and guys often don't talk about their feelings, and (b) they're also both young. If Sam has already recognised Arran on the gay porn channel, I'm left wondering if other people Arran (and Tom) knows have seen the video. What a tangled web... Arran has finally come out to his dad. And he also told his dad that he isn't sure where things stand between him and Tom just at the moment. So at least he realises that things are (as he says himself) 'complicated'. As I said earlier, he and Tom need to talk. But I can imagine they won't.

For a chapter of less than 1,800 words, there are a lot of scene changes in it. I'm not complaining about that, as it suggests that the various plotlines are moving along. We are shown the uncertainty of both main characters well. Arran's feeling of depression (possibly even guilt) after the video session ended; and his concern as to how many more sessions may be needed. Tom's uncertainty as to where the relationship between himself and Arran is going; his worry as to what part Salem (and even Ali) may play in it; his feeling of guilt at having allowed himself to be seduced by Salem; and his concern at the end about all the lies he is telling. So, it looks as though Malcolm has met with Vicky and agreed to 'pay her off'. I seem to remember Salem saying that it would be done using a dodgy bank draft. If that's what has happened, I'd expect Vicky to find that out before withdrawing the rape charge. Also, because I am not convinced of his character, I'm wondering if Malcolm might tell the boys that she wanted more than £1,000, in an attempt to get them to make more porn videos. Achim is still a potential threat. Whilst Salem was probably just thinking on his feet when Achim approached him (same as Tom was), I'm now worried that he may have given Achim the idea that he might be able to do the same as his younger brother claims. Salem was right to tell Tom to be careful around him. Finally, I can't help but wonder (and possibly worry) as to exactly who this Alesandro is that will be joining the boys for their next video shoot...

Like @VBlew, I'm not convinced this is a good idea. But, as @Talo Segura says, the boys are young, and therefore likely prone to bad ideas. And just how much should they trust Malcolm? I can't help wondering whether there might be hidden cameras in the room. And once he has images of them performing, I wouldn't be surprised if he were then to start blackmailing them to get them to take part in much more hardcore type porn. And once the images/videos are online who knows just who might recognise either Arran or Tom? I'll just have to see how all this plays out in future chapters.

Scene One - Mark and Jennifer To begin with I thought that a considerable time must have passed since chapter six, and that Vicky must have already received a bank draft when Jennifer announced that she had agreed to go to Brussels, and Mark wondered how she was able to afford it because of the cost of the lawyer. It was only when I read the rest of the chapter that I realised that the porn shoot probably hasn't happened yet (if, indeed, it ever does happen). So I'm not sure just how relevant this scene is to the plot, but I'm suspecting it wasn't written just as a space filler. Scene Two - By the bandstand Salem is obviously upset to find out Arran is Tom's boyfriend. Hardly surprising that he isn't all that keen on actually going round to Arran's with Tom. We find out more about Tom's past in this scene, and the fact that he at least contemplated suicide when he was being bullied in his old neighbourhood. And we are also shown how Tom is feeling almost trapped and not sure how to proceed. He wants to help Arran. He wants to help Salem. But trying to help both of them seems to be bringing extra problems into his life. Hopefully he can cope with the stress better than he did with the bullying in the past. The fact that he seemed to have coped reasonably well with the attack by Achim (in the last book) gives me hope. Scene Three - At Arran's house Tom admits to Arran that he slept with Salem. To be honest, I had assumed that Arran had already realised near the end of Chapter Six that something had happened between Tom and Salem when there was the following exchange in the college library: "And Salem? Why is he doing all this?" Tom didn't want to answer that question. He felt himself blush and his heart started pounding. Arran saw his reaction, it was too obvious that something was going on there. But perhaps I was mistaken. Or maybe Tom didn't actually realise that Arran had seen his reaction to the question and drawn his own conclusions. I'm obviously most concerned (which I'm sure was intentional) by the cliff-hanger we are left with. Is Arran really going to thump Salem? And, if he does, just how badly will he hurt him? Or will he draw back at the last moment? Or could Tom have followed them upstairs, and will he step in to stop the assault? And I'm looking at this sentence: "Despite his aggressive actions, he was very composed", and wondering why, if he is so composed, he would even think about hitting Salem. But, if he really does hit him, and hurts him, what will be the consequences? I can't help wondering if Tom, who has first-hand experience of the effects of bullying, would ever again want to have anything to do with him if he does attack a boy three(?) years his junior.

Hmmm.... Not sure how the law works these days in England, so can't help wondering if Vicky were to withdraw the charges would the case be withdrawn considering it's already going through court. And I'm sure Arran hasn't even thought about that possibility either. Can the guy who "makes movies" even be trusted? Indeed, can Salem even be trusted? I'm also wondering, because Tom hasn't said for certain, whether the porn would be gay porn or straight. I'm assuming gay, firstly because Tom replied with: "You get a role, or you want I should do it?" when Arran asked if he was suggesting he (Arran) should be in a porn movie, and secondly because I'm assuming Salem probably originally met the guy in an online gay chatroom (possibly even the same one he met Tom in). And I can't help also wondering if Salem actually expects to be in the movie with Tom. (Or maybe we'll get the threesome that @BigBob47 was hinting at in his comment to the last chapter...) A tangled web. I'll be interested to see if our protagonists can get out of it relatively unscathed.

All I can say is that I found myself in agreement with Tom. To begin with, using Achim to put pressure on Vicky seemed the most hairbrained scheme possible to me. But to suggest, or at least imply, that Tom might consider seducing Salem in an attempt to get him to persuade Achim just seemed a step too far. I know Arran is getting desperate, but this plan could go seriously wrong in so many ways. Achim's already put Tom in hospital; he could do far worse to Vicky. He's also a sexual predator; Vicky could finish up really getting raped, or even gangbanged by Achim and his compatriots. And does Arran really have such a low opinion of Tom that he would expect him to offer his own body to someone else in an attempt to keep his father out of prison? [Not that it really matters, because we find out later in the chapter that it will be Salem that does the seducing.]

I'm wondering exactly the same thing.

Toby seems to have gone from a 14 year old to a 13 year old in this chapter...

I had the same thought myself. I also think it would have been a good idea for Arran to have made a copy of it before handing it over. Hopefully Arran's dad will not have a problem if he finds out he is gay. I wonder what he may think if he finds out he is seeing Vicky's cousin... Like Mark, I'm also worrying about what Arran might be planning. Personally I think he would be wise to consult Tom before confronting Vicky. But he's young, so I suppose we can expect him to not always do the right thing.

Despite the concern I feel about the perceived threat to Tom from Achim, I also now feel really concerned for the safety of Achim's brother, Salem. I know Tom says that Salem reckons his family would kill him if they found out he was gay. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that's not exactly true but, with a brother like Achim, who can be sure? And so the plot gets even more twisted....

It's good to see that Arran and Ali have managed to remain friends after their breakup. For a while during the previous story (Revealed) I wasn't really sure about her, but she's now coming across as a genuine and caring individual. I was particularly impressed with the way she handled her younger brother, Sam, in this chapter.