Parity - 6. Dom - "Best Friend"

Wednesday, January 31st

The boy underneath him was just so... mmm, perfect. Dom ground his hips so provocatively against the bare flesh underneath him. He locked his arms around his lover underneath him, and he played with the boy's sensitive nipples, drawing out mewls of desire and ecstasy. He pressed a kiss on the back his neck, more down his spine and lowered himself further, squeezing the fleshy globes with his hands as he kissed each cheek and gently grazed them with his teeth, before putting his painfully engorged weapon back against them, rocking back and forth to tease them both.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his voice husky with sheer lust.

"Yes!" Topher pleaded, looking back over his shoulders, his gorgeous blue eyes almost crying with desire and need. "Please! Fuck me!"

Dom hissed with disappointment when his eyes opened up and he saw the ceiling above his bed. Shit. It was just a dream. Shit. He tried to commit it to memory, to keep it real, but the images began to crumble and fade like dreams often did. He could still taste the boy's beautiful pink lips on his own, feel the warmth of his back against his belly and the boy's bubble butt pushing back against his hardness. He moved and frowned, feeling something wet. He threw his sheet off and raised his eyebrows when he saw that he'd ejaculated in his sleep. The fantasy had been so erotic and vivid! He hadn't had a wet dream since he and Veikko started trading handjobs during a curious exploration of each other's bodies at a sleepover. He was still feeling the afterglow from that one. Wow. Intense. Wow!

Why did I have to wake up? Dom looked sadly at the ceiling above him. I was happy with Topher. What kind of joy can I have as a prisoner in my room - not even my own room, a room I have to share with Pop? He needed to brush the spider webs down again. Pop was tall enough, but it hurt his back. Dom didn't mind the spiders, but poor Pop was terrified of them. Six foot five and ready to evacuate the room when a little arachnid was peacefully chilling out on the wall - it was pretty funny. Veikko, total queen, would have to kill or shoo away a moth or butterfly while Reima, total jock, would turn to jelly on the ground. Still, not a lot scared Dominic anymore. Dentists, snakes, the dark, disease; none of that was relevant or scary now that he'd visited the grave and returned. It felt as though he'd left his soul there and come back empty. In truth, the only thing that scared him now was being a prisoner again. Like I am right now.

Dom: < hey. how u doing? >

With any luck, Topher would see the message and reply promptly. He always had in the past couple of days. It was one of the things Dom liked about him. Selena was good at responding too, but the twins were both hopeless! Reima never checked his phone and Veikko would often read it and either forget to answer or just choose not to. Being left on "read." A metaphor for our entire fucking friendship, isn't it? As if by instinct or habit, as he had done every day for the last three years, Dom checked Veikko's YouTube channel for an update - there was indeed a new video up. He decided not to watch it. Maybe later, if he was feeling better. He looked at the comments and furrowed his brow. Maverick Matsuda? The guy who broke Veik's face? You can't be serious. No way, it's a mistake. Surely!

Maverick: < Maybe you need some new friends Carlisle >

Dom's skin crawled at the thought of Maverick. The very air around that creep was thick with malice, and the idea of the Japanese kid's warped mind made him want to scrub himself clean. Drug dealer, bash artist, enigmatic loner. No combination of those should be anywhere near his friends, particularly someone as vulnerable as Veikko. He knew very little about the Japanese twink, but he wasn't daft. Drug peddlers and bullies are nothing more than predators, and in Dom's eyes, that made Maverick a predator to the second power. If he's showing an interest in Veikko, it's not going to be for a good reason; he knew that as well as he knew the sun rose in the east. Veikko's a fucking douchebag, Dom thought bitterly, but I'll kill whoever tries to hurt him.

Topher: < Hey! Sorry, I was in the shower. XD I'm great! How are you? Did you sleep well? Can we meet up before school? >

Oh goddamn, Toph, please don't tease me like that. Dom audibly whined with desire. He could only imagine seeing the boy's body all hot and wet in the shower, his innocent blue eyes twinkling and the gorgeous lips smiling happily.

Dom: < arnt u always great? lol no soz, got chores 2 do, meet u at school gate 10 to 9? >

Dom didn't have chores to do, but he wasn't supposed to leave the house between getting home from work the night before and his father arriving home from work in the morning. Pop had to give him his morning medication so he could see his son take it - he didn't leave a pill behind overnight because he was scared Dom would either throw it away or horde them for an overdose of some kind. I'm not taking them anyway, Dom thought angrily, and he thinks this is all working, so it shows exactly what he knows - sweet fuck all.

He rinsed himself off in the dribbling shower, making sure to scrub the pits and dangly bits with the soap bar. He was so big and broad and the showerhead so inefficient that it always ended up being more of a sponge bath. He hadn't washed his hair in a while and usually just left it tied up so it wasn't too noticeable. He dressed in his simple, cheap clothes and decided on a cheap pair of slip-on shoes for the day. His flipflops were getting worn, and he didn't want them to break - Pop would be upset if they needed to replace them.

He made extra sure to change the sheets before his father got home - sweating all over them was one thing, but he did not want Pop to see the sticky mess his teenage son had accidentally left behind. He'd never forget the talking to both he and Veikko had received when they forgot to properly clean up the cum and lube after an extended, lust-filled sleepover a few years ago. Dom managed a smile in spite of his ill feeling towards his father. At least never stopped loving me for being gay, and he always did love Veikko like a son.

"Hey kiddo," Tayn was weary and exhausted as he slumped his way through the door. "Did you sleep okay? It was a humid night."

"Hey Pop," Dom lumbered over and hugged his father. Tayn was thrilled, squeezing his boy tight and planting an embarrassingly wet kiss on his forehead.

"Oh, you're talking to me again!" Tayn stifled his yawn and cupped his son's face. They were almost the same height now. "Good, because I missed you. Did you eat your brekky?"

"No," Dom folded his arms defiantly. "Not until you either let me take my medication by myself, or you let me take it after school."

"Shit, kiddo, you're not six years old anymore!" Tayn grumbled, shifting past him and unlocking the cupboard he kept his son's prescription in. "You take it in the morning with breakfast. That's what Dr Ferrie says, and we're going to do what she says."

"Pop, I'm not saying 'fuck the system,'" Dom pressed, leaning against the wall and sighing. "I just want to find a way around this pointless morning ritual so I don't have to sit here and wait for you every day. That's all."

"If you're going hungry out of spite, then you're obviously not mature enough to make decisions like this," Tayn popped the pill into Dom's waiting hand. "Have your pill, please."

"What if I don't?" Dom challenged him, emboldened by the fact that he hadn't taken one since a week into his stay at the hospital. The nurses and the psychiatrist never once suspected that he'd been feigning swallowing the pills and dropping them down the sink later on. The fact they didn't notice any change in him when he stopped taking them added to his suspicion that it was nothing more than an expensive placebo. The same went for his clueless father.

"Can you please just behave your age?" Tayn begged him, the lines on his face deepening and his dark eyes pleading. "You've always been a great kid, Dominic. Why did you have to wait until I got old to start acting out?"

"Because you want me to live, but you won't let me have a life," Dom snapped, putting the pill in his mouth and pretending to swallow it. "So, what's the point? If all I have to look forward to is school, work and sitting here without even any fuckin' food in the place, why am I bothering?"

"Shit! I made one mistake!" Tayn laid back on his bed, his fists and eyes both clenched shut. "Now you're happy just to watch our groceries rot and spoil because you want to make this as hard as you can for both of us."

"Yeah, 'coz you're not fair!" Dom argued, despair filling his heart. "I'll go to school and I'll work nearly every night. Fine! But I want to see my friends and I want to go out, Pop. I'm so fuckin' miserable here. All I do is think about ways to hurt myself. If you don't let me get out of here, then I'll just take a dive off the Peatsland roof. Choose."

"Why do you have to keep saying things like that?" Tayn rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He looked older than he ever had before - as though he'd aged fifteen years in the last fifteen weeks. "If I have to drag you back to that hospital to keep you safe, I'll do it, Dom. I'm not letting you go down the same rabbit hole as your mother. I failed her, but I won't fail you. There's no chance I'm losing you too, even if you have to hate me for the rest of your life."

"Do it. I dare you," Dom used his tongue to fish out the pill from the corner of his mouth and made an example of plucking it out and tossing it into the sink, much to the horror of his helpless father. "I'm done being your prisoner, Pop. Either we do this as a team, or I'm not gonna do it at all because you're driving me fuckin' insane!"

"I'm so scared," Tayn whimpered. He was beginning to cry now. Dom's rage began to swirl in his chest and started tasting like guilt and regret. "Every day and every night. All I think about is whether it was the last time I saw you. I'm trying my best, kiddo. I wish you'd do the same. All I want is to do this as a team, but it's so frightening to think you're going to end up like her. I don't know what I'd do, kid. You're all I've got."

Dom, humbled by his father's vulnerability, sheepishly slid onto the bed beside him and locked his huge arms around his father's insanely broad chest. Tayn sighed and used his hand to rub his son's back. I love this about him, Dom thought. No matter how much we hate each other, we still love each other.

"I'll be okay, Pop," Dom eventually spoke when his father's sobs slowed down. "I promise I will be. All I want is something to look forward to every day, you know? I wanna get up early and have brekky with the twins or something. And maybe have a couple of nights without working every week."

"I want you to eat three meals a day, take your meds and to actually participate in your therapy sessions," Tayn relayed his terms of the compromise and broke up their hug. "No more of this 'not taking it seriously' shit. I'm working so hard to make sure you can have all of those things, so I wish you'd stop treating them like a joke."

"If that means I'll have some free time, then yeah," Dom extended his hand. It was customary for them to shake on things. "Even if therapy's a waste of time and money."

"Probably because you treat it like a waste of time and money, kiddo," Tayn looked at him with intensity. "Okay. I'll agree to this - but I need to know we're on the same side, y'know? So if or when you leave early, I need you to text me at eight-thirty - just to give your old man some peace of mind."

"You're serious about this?" Dom asked, almost astonished. 'Compromises' were usually so heavily in favour of Tayn's wishes that he almost didn't want to use that word when they came to an agreement.

"Indulge me, okay? Eight-thirty, every morning," Tayn repeated, but Dom shook his head.

"No... I mean, you're going to let me get out and about?" Dom corrected him, and Tayn let out a heavy sigh and shook on it.

"You haven't given me much choice," the older man's greying eyes fell. "If you think this is the best option for you, then you're free to do that - although I don't think you should be rewarded for being a defiant little shit. This is a privilege, Dominic. If you don't hold up your end of the bargain..."

"I will, I promise!" Dom lurched forward and embraced his father with such force that the two fell back down against the bed, both managing to laugh. The men both ate two pieces of toast coated in peanut butter apiece, and Dom let his father pop a new pill into his hand. Although he convincingly swallowed it this time, it wasn't until he left the house and plucked it again from the darkest reaches of his mouth that he decided to honour his word. If Pop's doing right by me... then I suppose I have to do the same, he thought as he popped it back in and swallowed. This time for real. What do I have to lose? Even if it is just an expensive placebo, at least it makes Pop feel better.

Although the fight had been nasty, the air between them was clearer and the day already lost some of the overcast as far as Dom was concerned. There was more light and more warmth than usual. Tomorrow, he might even be able to harass the twins into getting up early - that is, if Veikko decided to stop with his bullshit - and Vilma might treat them to lovely hot breakfast like she used to when Dom would spend the night once, twice or thrice a week. He missed her a lot. As far as Vilma was concerned, Dom was her adopted son. When Jonna Carlisle lost her fight with cancer at eight years old, Dom felt as though he'd lost his own sister. It would make him happy to get back into that family.

"You look so happy this morning!" Topher beamed at him from the school gate when Dom finally arrived. What an angel, Dom thought, blushing as he remembered the raunchy dream he'd had that morning. He wasn't such an angel when he was begging me to fuck him. He exhaled, putting the thought out of his mind because his sizable cock was beginning to rise and there would be very little hope of hiding it at full mast. It was almost more trouble than it was worth... almost. The way Veikko's whole body quivered and shook in his arms, the sounds he'd make and the expressions on his pretty face when they went the full distance - that made it all the awkwardness and inconveniences worth it.

"Hey Toffee!" Dom laughed, almost skipping his way over to his new friend.

"Toffee?" The blond boy's eyebrows raised and an amused grin crossed those kissable lips. "Why am I toffee?"

"Because it's close to Topher and you're sweet enough to rot my teeth," Dom winked at him, and Topher managed to blush under his generous tan.

"You're always teasing me!" Topher whined, and Dom almost went to hug him but stopped himself. That was close. It could have been awkward. He was used to meeting Veikko before school; they would embrace on sight. Selena and Reima both liked hugs too - but they weren't as open to the full body squeeze, butt grope and occasional tongue kiss as Veikko was. He was willing to guess Topher would be the same way. More's the pity.

"Do you want me to stop teasing you?" Dom asked, a great big smile on his face, and Topher giggled and shook his head. He dressed in fitted, conservative designer clothes much too hot for the weather and his potentially sexy blond hair was combed back. This was a kid who was going to be a twenty-eight-year-old virgin - not because he's odd or unattractive, but likely on God's orders. That guy's such a cock block. Hell, he even made sure Mary got pregnant without the joy of having sex to conceive.

"Oh, be quiet!" Topher's beautiful blue eyes twinkled when he was happy. They reminded Dom of the water by the isthmus where he grew up. He yearned for home - his real home - more than anything, but this was an amazing consolation prize. "Before we go in, I want to give you something."

"Me? Why? I don't do gifts," Dom objected, furrowing his brow as Topher knelt down to retrieve something from the fancy luggage trolley he used as a school bag.

"I know. That's why I didn't call it a gift," Topher turned around and presented Dom with an orange plastic container, and the boy's heart fluttered. "You told me yesterday that you love grapes and that you haven't had them in a long time, so I made a detour to the market this morning and brought you some. I didn't know which ones you liked, so I got both green and purple."

Dom was speechless as he opened it up to see two vines, one green and one purple, both with dozens of plump, juicy fruit. Oh, wow.

"Toph, I don't think I can accept this," Dom hesitated. Gifts and charity always left a bad taste in his mouth, and he didn't want something so sweet to be flavoured by shame and guilt.

"It's not a gift," Topher reminded him, zipping up his luggage trolley and undoing his top button. It was stinking hot already, so he was wondering why the guy didn't just strip his shirt off and wear a nice, revealing tank top instead. Or nothing. That could work. "It's my way of saying thank you. I don't know what kind of mess I might be if you didn't go out of your way to welcome me to Peatsland. Just think of it as a token of my appreciation!"

"Jesus fuckin' Christ," Dom muttered, before covering his mouth and wincing. "Shit, sorry man. I don't mean to do all that blasphemy and stuff."

"I don't know," Topher laughed. "Jesus is a pretty cool guy, so I think He'll forgive you. He might even be flattered that you associated Him with something you love."

"You're such a priest's kid," Dom teased Topher, whose smile and eyes faded with that remark. Oh, my bad. He was still not sure where the lines in the sand were drawn where Topher was concerned. "Thanks, Toffee. You've made my day with this! Will you at least share them with me at recess?"

"I'm not sure if I can get used to Toffee," the boy's smile returned as the pair entered the school grounds together. "But if sharing with you is they way I'll get you to accept them, then that's what I'm going to do!"

I love Peatsland, Dom thought. The education system didn't enchant him much, but as far as the school itself went, he was sure there couldn't be any better. They could have taken better care of Veikko, though. The bullying doesn't get enough attention from the administration. He sighed, remembering all the times he sat with a bruised and bloodied Veikko while the bullies got a good talking to.

Reima always greeted Dom with a hug. The athlete of the twins was quite a character, and Dom adored him like a brother. He stood five feet and two inches, like his brother, and he often wore baggy clothes a few sizes too big as though he was hoping they'd encourage his body to grow. He was a dynamite basketballer, a star player four years ago, but his lack of growth meant that he didn't even make the team last year and he likely wouldn't this year. He was the most secure straight guy Dom had ever met. He often had fun letting Veikko coat his face in makeup and dress him in quirky outfits for the video channel, and was his brother's biggest supporter. Veikko was special to Dom. His favourite. But with the way Veikko was ready to sever the strained hooks keeping their friendship intact, that would likely hurt his relationship with Reima as well. Selena gave the best hugs. Her plump body was just so comfortable to snuggle into, even if Dom was more than a foot taller than her. I'm at least thirty centimetres taller than all of them, he thought suddenly. I'm like Lurch with the fucking Addams family.

"Hey, Koko," Dom gingerly greeted his angry little friend, who looked up with his resting bitchface. He's still so cute, he thought. "How are you doing?"

"Bitch," Veikko's reply could have easily been mistaken for hatred, but Dominic knew that it was his warped way of being affectionate. "I'd be great if you didn't come in with Topher fucking Lynch."

"Don't you think this grudge you've got has gone on long enough?" Dom asked him, reaching over and scooping the tiny body with his arm and cuddling him close. Veikko, as though by instinct, rested his head against Dom's chest. This is nice. I've been missing this.

"You're replacing me with him," Veikko sulked, slowly being sucked in by his affections and scooting across to sit on his friend's lap, putting his arms around his neck and nuzzling close. It felt good to have Veikko back - even if it was just temporary. Selena was firmly calling the shots on this one. Veikko needed to do the mature thing and apologise, or he wasn't permitted to sit with the group during classes or recess periods. Topher was watching them curiously but quickly looked away when Dom glanced over. Nobody else in the room seemed to care. "You're supposed to be my best friend, so I don't know why you're choosing him over me!"

"You know that's not what's happening, Koko," Dom told him firmly, planting a small kiss on the top of his head. "Nobody could replace you. Not even Rei Rei. I like Toph, you know? And I'm pretty sure you could if you only gave him a chance."

"MMM I'm not gonna do that," Veikko suddenly pulled himself away from Dom's clutches and looked at him with a nasty scowl. "You're a jerk!"

"Why the fuck am I a jerk?" Dom asked, getting annoyed. This fight was going nowhere. Veikko refused - absolutely point blank refused - to drop it, no matter how hard Dom tried to talk it through with him. "Because I decided to be nice to another human being? That figures because there's no way you'd know anything about what that's like."

Veikko responded the way Dom knew he would. He splayed his fingers and put his hand up in Dom's face. His signature gesture. Dom was never really sure what it meant, but he knew it was disrespectful. While he'd found it cute in previous years, at this stage, he was ready to break those little fingers off and shove them down the fucker's throat. Veikko turned his back and walked out to the corridor. As Homeroom period was beginning in a couple of minutes, Dom had to question why the kid was so upset that he was storming out from an imminent class.

"What is your fucking problem with him?" He almost shouted at the boy, who spun around with a face full of rage. "We don't need an audience!" He added a little louder. Bystanders had stopped to watch, but they slowly began moving along.

"Who the fuck cares about Topher?" Veikko as good as spat the name in Dom's face. "It's you! You're supposed to be my best friend, and all you do is turn your back on me!"

"Shit man, I wouldn't know anything about that!" Dom growled in response. "It's not like I waited twenty-six days for a best friend who never fucking showed up!"

"My best friend would rather be dead than be with me!" Veikko turned away and used his bare wrist to wipe tears from both of his eyes, and Dom was stunned. Is that what he thinks of me? Is that how I've been making him feel?

"Fark me!" A hoarse, guttural voice commented from behind them, and Dom immediately felt himself fill with dread. He swore he felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck prick up. He's just a person, Dom told himself. A person with a warped fucking brain, but still only a teenage boy. The cold, predatory way Maverick Matsuda went after Veikko in Ninth Year still troubled Dom to this day. Calculated, creative and elaborate by nature. Nope. He'd been thrilled when there'd been a case brought against Maverick to have him expelled from Peatsland, but against all the odds, he managed to ride out the storm and get away with probation. Theft, assault, vandalism and worse, as well as having sex in the art rooms and he'd survived all of them. He was a fuckin' cockroach.

"This is one of the best lover's quarrels I've ever seen," Maverick remarked as he stood between them, lugging a heavy school bag with him. He was wearing a low cut tank top that exposed a lot of the red, green and black of the dragon on his torso.

"Move along," Dom turned to glare at him. "This hasn't got anything to do with you, mate. Go."

"Then maybe stop shouting at him in the middle of the school hallway," Maverick suggested flippantly, stepping next to Veikko, who looked uncomfortable. "It's just my suggestion, anyway. What's got you so riled up, anyway?"

"Piss off, Matsuda!" Veikko snapped angrily at him. "Don't you have somewhere to lurk or someone to stalk? I don't need to see a walking fucking cliché first thing in the morning, kay thanks bye."

Dom wanted to laugh. Maverick only grinned and put his hands up in submission. "Okay, wow! You guys really are havin' a blue, ay? Well, good luck with whatever this is. I'll see ya during recess then, Carlisle. Same time and place?"

Dom watched in cold dismay. The events almost played as though they were in slow motion. Maverick gently and subtly brushed Veikko's arm with his fingers he turned away from the diminutive boy. The one eye left visible by the long hair, nearly black, locked onto Dom's and his grin turned into a smirk. The blue-haired boy then put his hands into his pockets and walked into the 11-B homeroom. It was only very brief, but Dom knew what he saw and it sent chills down his spine. He knew it was for his benefit because Maverick made sure Veikko wouldn't see that. Leopards don't change their spots. Neither do sociopaths. Fucking predator.

"What did he mean by that?" Dom asked, quietly. This wasn't about anger, frustration, betrayal, hurt feelings or selfishness anymore. None of that was important right now. This was about Veikko's safety, and that was always the priority. "Are you hanging out with him? Is that where you've been going during recess and lunch periods lately?"

"Maybe," Veikko folded his arms. "What's it to you? If you guys don't want me around, then you don't get to decide what I do instead."

"Oh, Koko!" Dom rubbed his hands together. He wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with this right now. "This kid spent a whole fuckin' year making your life miserable. Why the hell would you ever want to be around him? He's dangerous! You'd actually rather hang with him than the rest of us if Topher's there?"

"You haven't put a ring on me," Veikko replied with venom in his voice. "You can't tell me who I can and can't hang out with."

"Ergh," Dom groaned and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Okay. Whenever you're ready to drop this bullshit, you know where to find us. If you wanna go and get hurt just to prove a point, then I'll still be here when it turns tits up for you. You know, like I always have been. Always."

As Dom turned away to return to his friends in the 11-A homeroom, he caught a glance of Maverick spectating their exchange from inside 11-B.

You're a real cunt, Matsuda.