Damien, the Shy Boy - 1. Chapter 1

I was crying. I wasn’t even trying to hold it back. Normally I would but this time, it was the only thing that I hoped could save me from the inevitable.

The summer camp of ‘98 was just one week ahead and I was doing everything in my power not to go. As soon as it was announced, I just told my parents I'm not going and I was sure they would just accept it. That's not a big deal anyway, right? I thought it was up to me how I wanted to spend my summer vacation and the whole camp idea was near the rock bottom of my list. I wanted to stay at home, hang out with my friends from the neighbourhood or just bunk up in my room and read. Or even better, play some games on my NES console.

Well, my parents wouldn’t have any of it. They just asked why I didn't want to go and instead of giving them a smooth excuse, I got petrified. On one hand, I wanted to tell them all about the hell I went through during the last year’s camp. Tell them that I was mocked and punched around every hour of every day and was making marks on the wall to count out the days left. Tell them how being away from my family for more than a couple hours was getting me extremely nervous and incapable of normal social interaction. And that I would rather die than have to endure all this crap all over again.

But I didn’t tell them any of that. I was way too scared to admit the truth. Most of all, I feared being perceived as a victim. I didn’t want anyone to pity me.
So, to my undoing, I just told them I don’t feel like going to the camp this year. I could find no better argument. Of course, they knew I was a shy boy and would rather avoid any contacts with my so-called school friends. But that made them want me to socialize even more.

Just to give you a little more background, I was an extremely timid kid. I don’t know why. Ever since I can remember, I had a hard time talking to new people. That meant that pretty much anyone could feel free to mess with me as much as they pleased. And with me being reluctant to tell my parents or teachers, they were free to go unpunished almost every time. Someone looking at me could think I was autistic. Once, one of the teachers asked if my parents were abusing me. They didn’t, but I could tell where she got the idea.

Inevitably, the dreaded day arrived. I packed my bags and walked for the bus that was to take us to the mountain retreat in southern Poland. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this all happened in post-communist Poland, just several years after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Poland was not a part of it, mind you, but it was one of the satellite countries up until 89). I was 13 years old and it was a strange time and place to be a young teen.

I saw my classmates gathering around the bus and approached reluctantly. Not all of them were bullies but my class seemed to have more than a fair share of them. I mostly hung around with girls or other class losers. They were not my friends, though; in fact, I disliked most of them quite a bit but they at least weren’t bullying me on every step, so we made an uneasy companionship.

I walked inside the bus and nervously started looking for a free seat I could take. Soon, I found myself seated next to Dennis. He was one of the popular boys but wasn’t a bully. And he was damn attractive with his slim but sporty build, dark hair and a handsome face. I was kinda relieved because he was one of the few guys that never made fun of me and was generally wholesome all around. So, off to a good start.

The bus dispatched and we were on our 3-hours way. I was able to relax, which was unexpected but welcome. Everyone was chatting and in good spirits, not caring to bully me, most importantly. I even felt brave enough to joke a little and had this rare sense of belonging.

Just a short while later, people got tired and the conversations ceased. Everyone was either sleeping, listening to music on their walkmans or just staring through the windows. Suddenly, Dennis turned to me and said:

“Hey Damien, do you feel sleepy at all?”

“Yes, maybe a little,” I replied. Dennis said nothing more and just made himself comfortable, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. I instantly felt cosy and got good feelings about the whole trip.

I decided to have a quick nap, too. I laid back a little and closed my eyes. But just after a couple of minutes, I felt Dennis lean on me and his head rest on my shoulder. I got a little tense, not knowing what to do. Did I mention I was super bashful? So yeah, I was also scared of any physical contact. The problem was, it was getting worse. With every minute, Dennis was getting more and more relaxed, eventually almost hugging me and placing his hands all over me. I looked around anxiously but luckily no one was paying attention. I was out of my mind, but Dennis seemed totally comfortable and not bothered at all. Just sleeping there, with his puppy eyes closed, holding me like a teddy bear.

It took me a good while to get used to it but when I did, I felt wanted, cared for and safe. Suddenly I got all these feelings I had never felt in my short life. I tried to get some sleep too, but I felt too agitated. I just sat there with my eyes closed, focusing on the tender feeling I got from being embraced by Dennis.

He woke up an hour later and looked me in the eyes. "I hope you don’t mind I slept on you," he said.

"No, it was cool" I replied, a little nervous again.

"Don’t think I was trying to molest you, I just got very sleepy," Dennis added, yawning.

I forced a chuckle and ensured him that it was fine, although my heart was racing. He gave me his cute, wide grin, then he got up and sat straight in his seat, stretching and looking through the window absentmindedly.

It wasn’t long until we were at our destination. When I said we were going to a camp, you must know it wasn’t an actual camp. We were staying in a cheap hotel on the mountainside. No tents whatsoever. Again, I was relieved when I learned I was assigned to a room along with Dennis and Bartek. Bartek was another boy I liked, although just as a friend. It was turning out to be way better than last year already. Nevertheless, I was still on my guard and a bit weary from being around so many people for so long.

After we had unpacked, our guardians took us to the town where we got some free time to hang out. There were no activities planned for that day since it was almost evening and we would be marching out for a hike early in the morning. With a small group of misfits, we strolled around the town centre, got some ice cream and talked about nothing in particular. After a while, I decided to sit on a bench to finish eating and finally have some alone time to chill and get lost in my thoughts. That was my favourite way to relax. My mind would go running wild, playing tunes, thinking of video games or visualizing I was a character from a book I read.

Suddenly, I was shaken up from my trance by a harsh voice.

"Hey moron, daydreaming again?"

It was David, who was a major bully but also a sort of attention whore. I had zero respect for him but he always hung with a crew of even bigger wankers following his every step.

"Damn, how can someone be so stupid, you forgot how to speak?"

He said, accompanied by dull chuckles from his minions. He looked around, pleased, and luckily that got him all the recognition he needed because apparently he lost interest in picking on me and they walked away.

Considering my mental state, this was more than enough to get me to the verge of tears. He triggered my last year’s trauma and all of a sudden I felt vulnerable and homesick. I turned my head so no one could see and tried to steer my thoughts away. It worked at first but soon, my chin started shaking and single teardrops came running down my cheeks.

Honeymoon is over, I thought. We’re back to my everyday hell, just when I thought this year would be different. I knew none of that would happen if I only had enough guts to fight back. That would probably earn me some respect and save me from being easy prey.

Buried in my misery, I heard gentle steps behind me and froze. Someone slowly came over and sat next to me on the bench. I was still looking away to hide my pitiful state, trying hard so that my sobbing doesn’t turn into crying uncontrollably.

After a few long seconds of silence, Dennis spoke with a soothing voice, “It’s alright Damien”. That made me shiver and let out a loud sob from the mix of emotions I was feeling. “It’s alright, don’t cry,” he repeated and slowly placed his hand on my shoulder making me sob again.

“Thanks,” I managed with a shaken voice. I felt a little better and started regaining my composure.

“Did he tease you and called you names again?”

“Y- Yeah…”

“Fuck him… I mean, why does it even bother you so much? We tease each other all the time with the boys, just try not to take it so seriously”

“I… I know, I’m sorry, I just can’t help it… Every time someone confronts me I feel this way”

Dennis tightened his grip on my shoulder and shook it a little.

“Don’t worry Damien, you are cool. Let’s go, they are already gathering there, we’re going back to the hotel.”

“Okay… Thanks, Dennis.”

I blinked a few times and used my sleeve to wipe my face, trying to hide the evidence of me losing it just a minute ago. After a while, we rejoined the group and a few strange looks I got ensured me my eyes must have been still red. Fortunately, there weren’t any loud comments. David and his helpers were standing safely some 10 meters away, occupied with something else.

I was grateful that Dennis stayed right next to me as we were walking back. We didn’t speak much but I felt he was sorry for me and wanted to make me feel better. We were close to the hotel, when Bartek, our other roommate caught up with us.

“Hey guys, I heard we are sleeping in the same… Damien, what happened, were you crying?”

I just kept my head down in silent confirmation. Bartek looked at me with a confused look which quickly turned into a wide grin

“Hey come on buddy, don’t be sad!”

Yeah, he was a silly and cheerful type. He wasn’t a popular guy; he had the worst grades in class and wasn’t very good-looking but at the time I considered him my best friend because he could be so goofy and careless, which perfectly matched my silent and gloomy personality. Sometimes I would even open up around him.

Next thing I knew, he just took my hand and started jumping and singing some silly song. I was not prepared for it and at first. I even wanted him to stop but his cheerfulness was too contagious. Before long, I was laughing and smirking again.

When we finally got to our room, we unpacked our trunks and put our stuff into the shelves we had next to our beds. Our guardians told us to be ready to hit the showers in 30 minutes. After we got everything done, we just laid back on our bunks and chatted for a while.

The common showers were very crude but clean stalls one next to another, in a large bathroom down the main hall. I took my time to shower properly and wash off the stress of the day. I finally got a little more of the very precious alone time I could hope for. I heard boys cleaning themselves in other stalls, some were talking and screaming. Once done with the shower, I dried myself, put on clean briefs and wrapped myself with a towel in case there were any girls on the corridor. And they sure were, giggling and teasing us as we jogged laughing back to our rooms.

I reached our place and Dennis came right after me, also with a towel wrapped around his waist. I dropped mine and jumped on the bed in just my underwear, feeling relaxed and cool after the washing. Bartek was nowhere around and Dennis locked the door and dropped his towel right after. I gasped loudly when I saw he was stark naked underneath. I immediately turned away, gasping for air, my eyes wide open.

“It’s alright, you can look, we’re all boys here.”

Dennis was clearly amused by my reaction. When I turned back to him, he was just standing there, still naked checking out his Gameboy. It was the first time that I saw a boy my age in all his glory up close. And it was Dennis.

He was also 13 years old but a few months ahead of me. He was beyond perfect. His dark, mid-length, Goku-like hair was still wet from the shower, with spikes coming out in all directions. His body was slim and firm, slightly toned from playing sports every day. I was guessing he was of some sort of Italian or Romanian descent because he had a slightly dark complexion, which gave his skin a tanned look all year round. His belly was flat and a well-visible V-shape led to a decent-sized, perfectly shaped dick. His ballsack was tight and in perfect proportion to his uncircumcised boyhood, with the glans slightly sticking out of his foreskin. There was the smallest patch of very cute black pubic hair just above his penis, hinting that he was already turning into a man. Otherwise, he was almost hairless everywhere else.

I must have been staring like a lunatic. After a minute or so, he looked up from his game and smirked.

“You like what you see, don’t you?”

With these words, he lifted his left leg and put it on a chair next to him, giving me a better view. I swallowed and turned away again, unable to respond. Dennis laughed seeing this.

“Don’t sweat it, Damien, it’s just a dick, we all have one.”

I gathered enough courage to look again. I saw naked people before in the swimming pool lockers but he was so beautiful and so close. I was simultaneously aroused by and ashamed of my reaction.

“I’m sorry Dennis,” I replied shyly, “I just never saw you naked before.”

Dennis looked down at himself and poked it a few times with his index finger, “No worries dude, have a look if you like.”

So I did. His penis was a bit thicker and longer than mine. “Is he more a man than me?” I thought. I was a little shorter and slimmer than him. I could be described as cute, but I was a typical blonde, delicate boy at that point. But at least I did have some hair down there, too.

Still looking at him, I gathered my courage and stuttered, “D-Dennis?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“How do you do it?”

He paused the game and gave me a look, “Do what?”

“It’s like… nothing seems to get under your skin… And you even don’t mind me looking at you naked… Why can’t I be like that?”

“Can’t you?”

“No, I get too nervous. And I would never undress in front of anybody just like that.”

“I see,” he said, “Look, the only thing you need to understand, no one really has time to judge you. People are too busy judging themselves. You do you and as long as you don’t make a scene, no one will bat an eye. Trust me.”

Dennis finished speaking and went back to playing his game. I was speechless. This was beyond my comprehension. It made so much sense, but at the same time, it was so strange. Alien, almost. I was used to overthinking everything about myself and dreaded making simple decisions.

Dennis was still smiling with his cute face. He came a little closer, handing me the console.

“Here, want to play with it?”

It took me a little while to realize he wasn’t talking about his dick but I managed to mumble my confirmation and took the device from him. I started the game but was only pretending to play, stealing glances while the boy went back to drying up his messy hair.

Seconds later, I heard a noise coming from the door and someone started rattling the doorknob.

“Yo guys, let me in! Leeeet meee eeeen!”

Bartek shouted from behind the locked door. I was on the verge of panic again, Dennis still in his birth suit right next to me. I expected him to be startled or something but he just walked to the door, the towel still on his head, and blindfolded he reached to unlock the door. Bartek stormed inside and a laughed out loud when he saw the other boy with his boy cock for all to see.

“What a sexy little body you have there”. He giggled and slapped Dennis gently in the ass as he walked by.

“Fuck off, you perv”. Dennis replied, locking the door again and they both started laughing.

“I couldn’t help it, your butt is so sexy”

I just couldn’t believe that. Thankfully, I was lying there with the Gameboy and could pretend I was playing. I was not used to anyone seeing me naked or seeing someone being so carefree about it. The worst part was, my dick was completely stiff at that point. How come Dennis’s was still flaccid? I crossed my legs to cover it and went back to going red all over my face.

A moment later, it was over. Dennis finished drying his hair and got his briefs on. The rest of the evening was uneventful; we chatted for a while and soon turned off the lights for the night.