It's Not Easy Being a Tree - 16. Chapter 16

God, I was in a mess and I didn’t know where to turn. I was too upset to ride home with Dad. He would surely notice that I had been crying, and he would want to know why.

I went into a restroom and sat down in a stall. I buried my head in my hands, trying to figure out how to get out of the mess I was in. There was absolutely no one to whom I could tell what was happening. Mr. Dewberry was holding all the aces. He knew he was protected. If I told on him, then I’d have to out myself. I would have to explain to my parents and others that I was gay and that I had been involved in online sex.

I was an easy target. I was small and easily intimidated. I tried to maintain anonymity at school. He knew that being exposed would be disastrous for me. He also knew I had a popular brother who was involved in sports, and that I would avoid any type of scandal that might embarrass him.

I had survived his advances today, but I couldn’t be able to do it forever. He was using Brandon as a means of blackmailing me into having sex with him. With the push of a button, he could send the picture of my cock to hundreds of other students. He could do it anonymously so that no one would know who sent them. However, I’d have to explain how my cock had appeared in a text message.

I was ruined. One stupid moment of lust had ruined my life. All I wanted to do was to see Indyboi91’s dick one night. It was to be harmless fun. Now my life was spiraling out of control and I didn’t’ know who to turn to for help. I could talk to Kate or Jeff about it, but what good would that do? They wouldn’t have any more answers than me.

I had invited myself to get into this mess. Under different circumstances, if Mr. Dewberry had approached me sexually, then I could have told a counselor, or even Dad. But I was just as guilty as Mr. Dewberry. I had welcomed him to watch me jerk off on cam. I had watched him and encouraged him to participate in a sexual game. I never dreamed my fantasy would take on a new life- a dangerous life. And now I didn’t know how to end it.

 

It took me an hour to walk home. I was like a zombie as I trudged down the sidewalks. Cars sped by me unnoticed. All I could think about was Mr. Dewberry’s sexual attack on me. And that was what it was. He had taken his cock out and forced me to touch it. When I refused, he tried to grab mine. I hated him. A man I had formerly admired had become a beast.

And I hated Brandon Metzger even more. He seemed to be the one who could present the most danger to me. He had the pictures of me and Jeff stored on his phone, able to unleash them to the world if he wanted. I wasn’t even sure he hadn’t already. If Mr. Dewberry had called him and told him what had happened, then he may have told Brandon to go ahead with their plan. If Mr. Dewberry wanted revenge for my refusal to have sex with him, then I was doomed.

Mom was in the kitchen when I got home. She turned and smiled when I walked in. “Where were you, Honey? Your father said you didn’t meet him today.”

“I had to see a teacher about an assignment,” I lied. “Sorry.”

“Dinner will be ready in an hour,” she replied. “Go upstairs and do your homework.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I hurried from the kitchen to my room. I threw my book bag on the floor and lay across my bed. I closed my eyes and covered them with my arm. I was almost asleep when my cell phone rang. I looked to see who was calling. It said I had a text message from an unknown number.

I opened the message. “Don’t fuck with Nathan.” There was also an attachment. My heart raced as I opened it, although I was sure what it contained- the picture of my cock. It was pointing straight at the camera in all it’s seven-and a half inch glory. Cum covered the tip, so I assumed it had been taken right after I came one night.

How did Brandon get my cell phone number? Only a few people had it. Then I remembered filling out a student form for Mr. Dewberry at the beginning of the school year. One of the lines had asked for our home phone and a cell phone number, if we had one. I wrote it down, thinking nothing of it.

So, if Brandon was able to get my number, then he probably had access to just about everyone in the school who had Mr. Dewberry at some time. It would probably exclude freshmen, since they took general science and Mr. Dewberry didn’t teach it.

I started shaking with fear. Brandon had access to hundreds of cell phone numbers. All he had to do was send it to a few, and before morning the picture would have made it to just about everyone in school- including my brother! If he didn’t have Jon’s number, then surely someone would forward the picture to him, especially if the text said it was his little brother’s dick.

Mom called me for dinner, but I went downstairs and told her I wasn’t feeling well. She did what all mothers do when they think their child is sick- she felt my forehead. “You don’t seem to be running a fever,” she announced. “Go to bed and I’ll come up later to take your temperature.”

I went back upstairs, removed my clothes, crawled into bed, threw the covers over my head and remained there the rest of the night. Mom came in once and felt my forehead, but she left without saying anything.

 

Ross knew something was wrong as soon as he jumped into the back seat. I guess fear was still written all over my face. Connor looked back once, but Ross shook his head slightly. I thought it was funny that no one in my family had even suspected something was wrong with me, but Ross and Connor sensed it immediately.

Ross jumped out of the car with me when Jon stopped in front of the school. The car had no sooner pulled away when Ross grabbed my arm and stopped me. “What’s up, Woody?”

“A bunch of stupid, fucking shit,” I replied angrily as I tried to hold back tears. He pulled me over to the side of the building and looked worriedly at me.

“What happened?”

I pulled out my cell phone and found the image Brandon had sent me. I looked around to see if anyone was nearby. I showed the picture to Ross. “This?”

Ross snatched the phone from my hand and studied the picture. “Is this you?” He gave me a puzzled look. I nodded my head. “Who sent you this?”

“Brandon Metzger.” I wiped a tear that was falling down my cheek. I had held everything in since yesterday afternoon, and I felt I was getting ready to explode with emotion.

“Metzger?” He gave me another puzzled look. “How did he get it?”

I turned to walk away so I wouldn’t have to tell him about what had happened, but he grabbed my arm. “What is going on? You have to tell me.”

I looked around. More students were beginning to arrive and push past us. “Not here.” I headed down the sidewalk and turned left, heading for a quad area. Several students were sitting around, but I walked over to an empty bench and sat down.

“What’s Metzger doing with this picture?” Ross asked as he sat down beside me. He kept looking at the image of my cock. Finally, he closed it and handed me back my phone.

I told him about Brandon’s threat in sixth period and how he warned me that I should see Mr. Dewberry after school. Connor had already informed Ross of my suspicion that Mr. Dewberry was Bidad, so it didn’t come as a surprise. He did become incensed when I told him how he had tried to force me to have sex with him when I confronted him in his room.

“Son of a Bitch!” he hissed angrily. “And fuck Metzger too!”

I grabbed Ross’s arm. “You have to promise me you won’t say anything,” I pleaded. “Brandon will send this picture to everyone in the school if you say something to Mr. Dewberry or him.”

Ross stood up and started pacing in front of me. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He would stop occasionally and look down at me. After a minute, he sat back down beside me.

“We’d better get to class,” he said as he looked at his watch. “Give me some time to figure this out. I’ll talk to Connor. Maybe he’ll know what to do. In the meantime, if Brandon or Dewberry try anything, you come get me. Got it?” I nodded my head.

“But don’t do anything,” I begged again. “It will only make things worse.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, Woody. This is some pretty big shit.”

“Please?” I begged. “Give me a chance to talk to Mr. Dewberry again.”

“Okay,” he responded as he got up and extended his hand to pull me up. “But if you have any trouble, come get me or Connor. Okay?” I nodded my head.

Ross put his arm on my back as we walked into the building. I felt a little bit better knowing that I could depend on Ross and Connor if I needed them. As Ross said, this was some pretty big shit. I was going to need all the help I could get.

Trying to concentrate in class was useless. Even Jeff noticed my nervousness in first period. He waited for me in the hall when class ended. “You all right?” He looked worriedly down at me.

“We’ve got to talk,” I answered. “Something has happened, and you should know about it.”

He suddenly seemed to become scared as he saw the urgent look on my face. “What?”

I looked at the exit. I didn’t want to be in school anyway. However, I wasn’t sure that Jeff would be willing to skip classes. “You want to leave?”

He looked worriedly at me. “Is it that bad?” I nodded my head. We headed for the exit before the bell rang. We needed to get a good distance from the building. If the bell rang and someone caught us skipping, we would be sent to the principal’s office.

There was a McDonalds about three blocks away. We walked silently toward it. Jeff kept looking over at me, but he didn’t say anything. When we entered the restaurant, there were already several other students cutting class. Most were seniors.

After ordering two breakfast sandwiches, hash browns and milk, we sat at a booth away from others. “Now, what’s going on?” Jeff asked as he took a big bite out of his sandwich. “This better be good or Dad’s going to be upset when he finds out I ditched second period.” The school has an automated system that calls a student’s home if he or she doesn’t appear in a class. Like Jeff, I was going to have to come up with a good excuse for missing second period.

“I’m in big trouble,” I said. I then related the same details I had told Connor earlier. Jeff seemed really concerned when I told him that Brandon had a picture of us with our hands around each other’s dick.

“How does he know it’s us?” he asked when I finished. I explained how I had accidentally shown my face on cam. And since I don’t have many friends, Brandon just assumed it must be him.

“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I’m not going to tell anyone it is you.”

“Yeah, but what if he does send out the pictures?” He shook his head sadly. “This could ruin both of us.”

“It won’t,” I replied. “I’m going to try and talk to Mr. Dewberry again. He’s got to understand.”

“All guys like Dewberry want is cock,” he replied angrily. “Do you really think he gives a shit what happens to us?”

“But he’s involved too.” I said.

“He may be,” Jeff replied, “but without pics of him, it’s just your word against his. No one will believe you. Besides, Dewberry is one of the most popular teachers in school.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got his class next.” He looked at me. “What period do you have him?”

“Fifth.” I replied. “But I’m not going.”

“You’d better,” he warned. “If you don’t, Brandon may just send out those pictures.”

“I can’t stand to look at the fucker anymore.” My voice started to quiver. “I hate him.”

“But until we see what his next move is,” responded Jeff, “then you need to act like nothing is wrong.”

“Easy for you to say.” I got up, walked over to a trash dispenser and threw away the sandwich I had left untouched.

“I’m involved in this too,” replied Jeff.

“I wish you weren’t.” I tried hard to hold back tears. “I should never have taken you into that chat room.”

“It’s not your fault,” insisted Jeff. “I forced you to jack off with me. I’m as much responsible as you.”

“I should have been more careful,” I sighed deeply. “Now you’re involved in it too.”

Jeff looked at his watch again. “We’d better get back to school.” We walked out of the restaurant and headed back to school. Jeff spent most of the time trying to convince me I wasn’t to blame for getting him to cam with me. He even asked me a couple of times if I could spend the upcoming weekend with him. I told him I’d think about it; however, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t until I found out what Mr. Dewberry’s next move would be.

I didn’t see Jeff again until lunch. We kept glancing at each other. I could tell Kate wanted to know what was going on, but she was afraid to say anything with Anna at the table. As far as we knew, Anna was clueless as to anything that was going on.

We’d been sitting for about ten minutes when Lucas walked up to the table carrying a lunch tray. He looked timidly down at the table and asked, “Can I join you guys?”

I scooted nearer to Jeff as Lucas grabbed an empty chair and sat down beside me. Ordinarily, I would have enjoyed him sitting with us, but I was too upset to make light conversation with anyone. He and Anna spent most of the time talking about a chess club that was forming. I looked over at Lucas and silently prayed that he really wouldn’t consider joining it. He was much too cute, and I was afraid he would be branded a geek the remainder of his high school days.

I didn’t think much about it at first when he pushed his leg against mine and quickly removed it. However, as he continued to talk to Anna, he let his leg press against mine more often until he finally let it rest. I looked over at him, wondering if he was doing it intentionally, or if he didn’t have any leg room. However, he was sitting at the end of the table, and he could have scooted over if he wanted.

I started to get hard when he moved his leg up and down gently against mine. I was now becoming increasingly convinced he was intentionally letting our legs touch. I gently moved my leg up and slowly moved it down to see how he would react. He was talking to Anna when I did it, and he stopped in mid-sentence and coughed slightly before continuing. He didn’t, though, remove his leg.

After another minute, I removed my leg from his and scooter nearer to Jeff. My life was already in a mess. The last thing I needed was to become involved with someone else. I was beginning to really like Lucas, and I think he felt the same way. However, if things took a turn for the worse and I was exposed by Brandon, I didn’t want Lucas to be involved. Besides, he would probably head for the nearest exit once he found out what I had been doing.

When the bell rang and he stood up, it was obvious he had a bulge protruding from his pants. Like me, he must have gotten hard when we were rubbing our legs together. He noticed me looking down at him, and his face reddened as he looked back up at me. Before walking away, though, I noticed that he looked down at my crotch.

Jeff and I lagged behind the others as we left the cafeteria. “Are you going to biology?” Jeff asked as we exited the door and started walking down the hall.

“I can’t,” I replied nervously. “I’m going to ditch fifth and sixth periods.”

He grabbed my arm and stopped me. “You can’t, Woody. What if Brandon sends out the picture to someone?”

I sighed. “He’s going to do it anyway, sooner or later. He gets his thrills knowing he can push people around.”

“He’s always been a bit of a prick,” muttered Jeff.

“Listen,” I turned toward Jeff. “I’m going to my locker and put my books away. I’ll walk home. I’ll just tell Mom I got sick and left school.”

Jeff shook his head. “I think you’re making a mistake. You need to face Dewberry and see what he wants.”

“I know what he wants,” I said angrily. “He made it plain yesterday.” I looked around to make sure no one was listening. “He wants me to suck his dick.”

“Maybe if you do it once, he’ll leave you alone,” suggested Jeff.

I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you do it once for me?”

“Suck Dewberry’s dick!” Jeff responded excitedly. “I don’t think so.”

“Right,” I replied. “Some friend you are.”

He grinned and replied, “Friendship has its limits.” I started to walk away, but he stopped me. “What if I had a talk with Brandon? I’ve spoken to him a few times in third period.”

“No!” I replied rather loudly. “He already suspects you are the guy I was jerking off Saturday. If you talk to him, he’ll know for sure. Just leave it alone, okay?”

Jeff shook his head. I said, “Listen, Jeff. I’m going home. Just go to your classes and let me figure this out. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I turned and headed toward my locker. When I looked back, Jeff was still standing in the hall watching me leave.

I had just exited the building when someone grabbed my shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going?” I turned and almost pissed my pants. It was Mr. Calloway, the school principal.

“No…where…Sir,” I managed to stammer. He looked at me angrily. He wasn’t very tall, but he was very overweight. The buttons on his suit jacket were tight over his enormous stomach. His face was dark with a small mustache. He tightened his grip as his eyes narrowed.

“What’s your name, Boy?” He spun me around until I was facing him. I was so scared that I was afraid I would fall if he let go of the grip he had on me.

“Woody… Woody Fields, Sir.” He loosened his grip, and I managed to stand upright.

“Fields?” He studied me closer. “You related to Jon Fields?”

“Yes, Sir,” I squeaked. “He’s my brother.”

He smiled slightly. “Fine football player.” His expression once again grew angrier.

“Why are you cutting your afternoon classes, Boy?”

“I’m not, Sir,” I replied without thinking of some good excuse.

“Don’t lie to me, Boy!” I jumped when he shouted directly into my face. “You’re here outside when the bell for fifth period rang over two minutes ago. Now what are you doing out here?”

I grabbed my stomach and faked an imaginary illness. “I’m sick, Sir.”

He reached out, grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the building. “Come to my office,” he ordered as I followed sheepishly behind him. After entering his office, he wrote down my name and phone number. “I’ll be calling your father and letting him know you planned to skip school.”

“Please, don’t!” I begged. “I don’t want to get in any trouble.” I knew Dad would be really upset if he found out. If it had been Jon, he would have laughed it off as senioritis. However, he would probably ground me for a month.

“Should have thought of that before you decided to skip school. You also have three nights detention.” He then turned and ordered, “Follow me.” When we were in the hall, he turned and asked me whose class I was cutting.

Tears started to form in my eyes. “Mr. Dewberry’s.” Again, I trailed behind as he headed to my class. He knocked briefly at the door before barging in. I hung my head as I entered the class behind him. Mr. Calloway faced the class and announced very loudly, “I found this young man trying to skip class. He has three nights detention. So, if any of you have plans to cut a class, be forewarned.”

I had never been so embarrassed, not even when I read my oak tree report in Mrs. Chapman’s class. I held my head down as I made my way back to my seat. I prayed that if there was a god in heaven, he would strike me dead before I sat down in my seat.

I jumped when Mr. Calloway left, slamming the door behind him. I heard Mr. Dewberry in the front of the class say, “Yes, well, Class, let’s continue.” I didn’t look up at him the remainder of the period. In fact, I did little except think about the confrontation I would have at home with my parents after they find out I had attempted to cut school.

I was also fearful of what Mr. Dewberry’s reaction would be since I had tried to cut his class. He already had Brandon send me a text showing my cock after I had fled his room the day before.

If it was even possible, my day continued to get even worse. During sixth period, Brandon Metzger kept giving me dirty looks. Once, he even held up his phone. There was no picture on it, but I knew he was making a threat. I was sure by the time Mr. Dewberry told him about me trying to skip his class, he would send out my picture to everyone’s phone.

When the bell rang, I went to my locker to put away my books. Jeff and Kate were standing beside it, waiting for me. I stormed and threw my books in.

“What’s wrong with you, Woody?” Kate touched my arm, but I pulled it away.

“I got fucking detention!” I shouted.

“What?” Jeff gave me a puzzled look. “What did you do.” I explained to him how Mr. Calloway had caught me trying to leave school, and now I had to serve three nights detention. It cut like a knife when he shook his head and muttered, “I told you not to do it.”

“Fuck it,” I shouted as I turned and stormed off down the hall toward the office. I had never served detention, so I didn’t know what to do. I told the secretary behind the counter I had detention and if I could see Mr. Calloway.

“Go to room 222,” she responded sharply without even looking up. Mr. Lazarus was the teacher in charge of detention. I had him last year for algebra. He seemed surprised when I entered the room.

“Woody Fields,” he smiled as I approached him. Mr. Lazarus is a cool teacher. He is fairly young, probably in his late twenties. He had gotten married last year when I was in his class, and he spoke non-stop about his new wife. I had heard they had a baby this year, so I’m sure his classes were getting bored hearing stories about his child. “You’re the last person I expected to see in here.” I looked around and there were five other students sitting around the room.

“How long I gotta be here?” I asked as I headed for a seat.

“One hour, Mr. Cheerful,” he laughed as I sat down and rolled my eyes. Since I had brought no books, I put my head down on the desk and fell asleep. Later, Mr. Lazarus gently shook my shoulder and told me I could leave.

I thought I would be walking home, but I stopped suddenly when I exited the building to see Dad’s truck out front. He scowled at me when I came down the steps. I trudged over and plopped down in the passenger’s seat.

Dad turned and shouted, “Why the fuck were you going to skip school?”

You know how sometimes you react without thinking? Sometimes words come out of your mouth unexpectedly, and after they do, you wish there was some way you could shove them back in and pretend they hadn’t been said. I experienced one of those moments.

“Why the fuck don’t you leave me alone?”

His face turned about eighteen shades of red. He balled his fist, and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to hit me. After several seconds, I opened them to see him staring angrily at me. “You’re grounded for two months!” he shouted.

I had another of those stupid moments. I started laughing. “Grounded? What are you going to ground me from? I don’t do anything now.” Then the tears started to flow. I turned and looked out the window as Dad started the truck and drove away. He never said another word all the way home.

When we pulled into the driveway, I jumped out before the truck even came to a stop. My mother was waiting for me in the kitchen, but I brushed past her and ran up to my room, threw myself across the bed and cried.

No one came up to check on me, but I could hear them arguing downstairs. From what I could hear, I think Mom was trying to prevent Dad from coming upstairs and punishing me for yelling at him.

I really didn’t care anymore. After everything I had been through the past two days, nothing more could hurt me. At least that’s what I thought.

It did get worse. Right before dinner time, Jon came storming into the room. His eyes were fiery with anger as he walked over to the bed and thrust his phone at me.

He screamed, “What is this shit?” I looked at the image on his phone.