Ch. 46 – The Pride Of The Cock

Chapter Forty-Six – The Pride Of The Cock

Walking through the quad at Sunny Hill, flanked on all sides by friends, felt exciting and reassuring at the same time. Maddox had one arm thrown over his shoulders, casual, yet possessive, while Ray stood by his left and held Hanna by the hand.

"Well, at any moment now, I suppose that everyone's phone is going to blow up," Jonathan said matter-of-factly. He had decided that he needed to be at peace with whatever happened, but nonetheless, that didn't mean he didn't feel nervous at all. Indeed, he didn't consider himself ready to face the sneers and the laughter. But his support group was there, and that meant the world to him.

Rusty was the one who kept on refreshing the Xpress page, with a focused expression on his face. "My dudes," he said, "and Hanna," he added with a deferential look toward Ray's girlfriend, "it looks like Xpress is really slow on the uptake."

"Ah, did we make all those cool t-shirts for nothing?" Ray said in a deflated tone.

"We can still have the big reveal, but I think it will only make people confused," Dex offered. "I mean, not that they're not cool, but you know, the message wouldn't make sense."

"Let's just wait," Kane suggested. "How about we sit right there?" He pointed at the group of benches around the statue in the middle of the quad. "Rusty, just keep refreshing that page. In case nothing happens today, we can expect things to blow up tomorrow. We don't know if Xpress is not just a single person way too much into gossip."

Rusty scratched his head and remained standing, while everyone else took a seat. Other students flocked to them now and then, drawn to the Amazing Four like usual, but no one, absolutely no one seemed to know anything about the existence of a certain compromising video.

Jonathan didn't know what to think. Had it all been just a prank, and the blackmailer was backing down, seeing how their bluff had been called? Part of him hoped it was true, but the rest of his brain told him that they were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and that it would happen any moment now.

"Not long, and we should all be heading to class," Jonathan pointed out. "Maybe the mastermind behind Xpress is sound asleep at this hour. A lot of people must have seen me coming back to campus last night, even if it was late." Something about all of this didn't quite make sense.

Rusty paced back and forth, a focused frown on his face. "You know what, guys? I'm doing it. If this blackmailer is such a big ass coward, maybe it's time to show our hand so that they know that we don't give a fuck about it."

"You really want to show off?" Dex asked.

"I'm me," Rusty said and pointed at himself like Dex should have known better than to ask obvious things. "Sure thing I want to show off."

While they debated whether their whole operation should be called off or not, something snagged Jonathan's attention out of the corner of one eye. He saw Connor coming from the direction of his dorm, his hair a bird's nest, his clothes in disarray, as if he had been woken up and forced to hurry somewhere. It took Jonathan some time to understand that he was hurrying after somebody, and quickly identified the girl in the hoodie he had seen before with Connor.

Only that she wasn't alone. Two girls in identical hoodies hurried after her, as well, and the similarity triggered another memory, one that at first he didn't know where to place. The trio came together with flawless choreography, and all three pulled out their phones. Of course, he remembered them, from that day when he had taken Maddox on their first official date. Jonathan frowned, as he heard Connor shouting something at the girls. He was even breaking into a run, and any moment now, he would be able to catch up with them.

However, it seemed like Connor's plans were bound to be frustrated, as other people flocked into his path, forcing him to put more distance between him and the three girls.

As caught up as he was in watching that scene, he missed the growing murmurs around him. Maddox grabbed his hand, and only then, he tore his eyes away. His breath caught in his chest, as it seemed like the entire population of Sunny Hill was busy with a single thing: to pull out their phones and look at their screens.

"Rusty?" Maddox asked.

Rusty shook his head. "Told you, guys. It's not Xpress." He pointed the screen at them to have them see that the gossip column page was still talking about who broke up with who over winter break, and not a word about Jonathan's compromising video.

"However," Rusty continued, "I just got sent a little video by an unknown number. Would you guys like to bet on what it's all about?"

Dex and Kane pulled out their phones, too. A few scattered laughs could already be heard here and there. That was their cue. Ray and Hanna jumped to their feet and shed their jackets, while the others in the group followed their example.

Jonathan felt his skin growing hot as he looked at his friends, all wearing identical t-shirts, on which a hand holding an emoji eggplant stood above the message: The Pride Of The Cock, something Rusty had come up with. The message under it was even more to the point. Laugh if you want a punch in the face. That had been more like a joint venture between Maddox and Ray, and Jonathan had acquiesced with their desire to have anyone who showed any signs of rudeness at least properly threatened with physical violence.

On the back of the t-shirts, the Xpress logo was encased in a circle cut over by a diagonal line.

Jonathan closed his eyes just as all other eyes began to turn toward him. He could feel them, even if they were behind him, burning holes in him. This was the moment he had feared. And indeed, there were laughs and sneers, and he could hear them. He knew who they were aimed at.

"Hey, do you want me to wipe that grin off your face?" he heard Dex threaten someone.

Suddenly, the laughter died, snuffed out like a candle. Dex hadn't even spoken that loudly, but it looked like reputation was above all else, here, at Sunny Hill.

"What?" Dex murmured at Kane, in response to some unspoken question. "I didn't say that I was going to do it with a punch, as Maddox insisted that we write on the t-shirts."

Jonathan took one deep breath and exhaled when Ray snuck one hand into his. "Are you okay, JJ? You know we're not going to let anyone make fun of you."

The warmth growing in his chest was bigger and more overwhelming than the icepick he had felt driven through his heart at the first signs of laughter.

"Cool t-shirts, guys," one girl said. "The Pride Of The Cock? What's that all about?"

"It's about not making fun of people who do nothing that you don't do when you know no one's watching," Dex said promptly. As the biggest of them all, he had taken upon himself the mission of being their mouthpiece. Jonathan was grateful for that, too.

More people flocked to them, interested in their message. No one seemed to be laughing anymore. Jonathan dared to open his eyes and was taken by surprise by a girl he didn't know who hugged him tightly. "Whoever sent that video is a total scumbag," she said and then looked over him at Dex, probably seeking the guy's approval.

Well, that seemed to be a consequence of hanging with the right crowd, and he had no idea how he would express his gratitude in the most appropriate manner later. More and more people, encouraged by the girl's action, began to follow her example, so soon, Jonathan found himself surrounded and almost assaulted in the friendliest way possible.

He had no idea when he got separated from Maddox, but noticed how his boyfriend was willing to set everyone straight by talking to them in the same friendly, yet firm manner, as Ray, Hanna, and Kane. Dex stood there, his arms crossed over his chest, staring down everyone who dared to do anything else but be supportive, once his mission as first responder, so to speak, was fulfilled.

"We knew that someone was blackmailing Jonathan with this video, threatening to release it to everyone on campus," Maddox explained, as he was now in charge of speaking to the masses. Jonathan looked at him with adoring eyes. If Maddox ever wanted to run for president or change the world, he would be there for him. He definitely had the charisma, and something more. A big heart, to go with everything else that made Maddox Kingsley the best boyfriend in the history of boyfriends.

Eventually, Jonathan thought of searching for Rusty with his eyes. Hopefully, the resident kinkster, as Maddox called him, didn't think it was a good occasion to go full monty just for the sake of it. Not that the gathered crowd wouldn't like to see that, Jonathan was sure.

No, that wasn't what Rusty was doing. Instead, he was waving at Jonathan and beckoning him to come closer. "Yo, Hamilton, get busy."

Jonathan disentangled himself from his new and unwanted cheerleading squad and hurried to Rusty. The guy grabbed his arm and made him follow. "It's not Xpress, right?"

"I think not," Jonathan agreed.

"So," Rusty waved with the hand holding his phone, "who's missing from this happy reunion? Look around, and look closely."

Jonathan already knew the answer to that. "It's not Xpress," he said as if he had just realized that. "I think I know who the blackmailer is."

He hurried in the direction he had seen Connor running earlier, with Rusty on his tail. The crowd gathered around the rest of their group didn't pay them any mind while Maddox continued to present the situation, only to be met with nods and sounds of agreement by everyone in the audience.

"Is it your friend Williams? 'Cause I don't see his ass anywhere around," Rusty asked. "Man, that guy's a douche. An eco-friendly douche, but still a douche."

"No, I don't think it's Connor, Rusty," Jonathan said as he broke into a run. He had no idea if he still had a chance to catch them red-handed but hoped for it. A theory was forming in his mind, but he needed to verify it, and a direct confession, straight from the horse's mouth, sounded like a good idea.

"Where are we going?" Rusty asked.

"We're searching for Connor," Jonathan said promptly.

"But you just said--"

"I know, but trust me."

Rusty didn't ask for further explanations. Jonathan almost missed the narrow space between two buildings, but Rusty was ahead of him and gestured for him to follow as he snuck in. The sound of voices reached them, raised and accusatory. They were already far enough from the crowd that it was easy to understand what the voices were saying.

"I told you to forget about that video," Connor was the one to speak first. "I told you over and over again. I thought you understood as much."

"You laughed when you saw it," a girl's voice shot back at him.

Rusty turned to make a hush sign at Jonathan, one finger pressed against his lips. Jonathan nodded slowly.

Connor let out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, but that didn't mean that I wanted to see him publicly humiliated. I have no beef with the guy."

"We have," someone else said, another girl.

Rusty pressed himself to the wall in a dramatic move. Then, he peeked for a split second. "Connor's whole crew is there," he mouthed at Jonathan. "Look."

Jonathan put a hand up. He wanted to hear a little more before revealing his presence.

"Why would you even do such a thing?" Connor asked.

"He dissed you," a third girl said. "Who the hell does he think he is? Don't tell me you weren't hurt that he chose that meathead over you."

"Yeah, he deserves this," another voice intervened, belonging to a male this time. "It doesn't matter if you didn't want him to get punished. Jonathan Hamilton was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but, as a grownup, it looks like he prefers something else." Sneers and laughs followed that little speech.

Rusty nodded thoughtfully and pursed his lips. "The meathead is Maddox," he mouthed at Jonathan.

"No, he doesn't deserve this," Connor said in a cutting voice. "And why did you go over my head with this?"

"We tried to tell you, but you were acting like a total pussy," the first girl said.

The insult seemed to silence Connor for a moment.

That only encouraged the girl to continue. "You kept on complaining about how Jonathan Hamilton prefers Maddox Kingsley, you know, the guy who's everything we all hate. So, we took matters in our own hands."

"Over me?" Connor repeated, seemingly lacking the words to reprimand his crew.

"Yes, over you. We love you, Connor, but maybe you need to do some more growing to be a proper leader. We're willing to wait, you know?"

"I've never asked such a thing from you." This time, Connor sounded a bit creeped out by that weird confession of love.

"It doesn't matter. And it's out in the open now."

"Yes, it is," Connor said. "But for what good? Hurting Jonathan serves who? Aren't we supposed to be the good guys?" It appeared that he was trying to reason with them.

The girl laughed, and the others followed. "Wake up, Connor, baby," she cooed in a sugary voice. "It's all about us against them."

"What are you talking about?" Connor asked.

"We're the outcasts, and they're the popular guys. Let Maddox Kingsley show off now with his cocksucking boyfriend while everyone laughs at them. I bet he'll drop him like a hot potato."

"Why are you talking like that?" Connor seemed shocked by the conversation, even more than Jonathan felt. "I thought we got together because we all believed in something, and it wasn't supposed to be going against the popular guys. It was supposed to be about protecting the environment--"

Harsh laughter interrupted Connor's tirade. "Really? You know, Connor, sometimes I think you should pull your head out of your ass."

"Jeez, Rose, mind the language," Connor reacted.

"Well, let me tell you, and I'm speaking for everyone here. We chose you, Connor, because we needed a guy who could hang out with all crowds equally so that we can find out things about them we could use. You didn't choose us."

"I have no words," Connor murmured, apparently very much shocked by that revelation. "I don't think I want to hang out with you, guys, anymore. I'm going to apologize to Jonathan in your name, but we're no longer friends."

"Seriously, Connor? After everything we've done for you?" The girl now sounded agitated.

"Yes, seriously. I have no intention of being associated with you."

"You're going to regret this, Connor," the girl called Rose said in a sharp tone.

Rusty grabbed Jonathan's arm and hurried him to head out of there.

"What are we doing?" Jonathan asked as soon as they were far enough from Connor and his crew. He was boiling on the inside. "I wanted to tell them a few things myself."

Rusty grinned. "My dude, why get mad when you can get even?"

Jonathan was about to ask what he meant, when Rusty showed him the phone. Quick thinking had to be the guy's middle name.

"Let's watch the ripple effect," Rusty said and tapped on the screen with satisfaction.

Once more that fair morning, everyone began checking their phones. This time, the puzzlement on their faces spoke volumes.

***

"Wow, I have no words, JJ," Ray commented cheerfully while pretending to wash the dishes. "I mean, for real, those scumbags! What do they have against you? Just because you didn't want to get cozy with their pal, the king of douchebags?"

"Connor wasn't part of the blackmail," Jonathan reminded his bestie, but Ray waved like that was a detail that could easily be overlooked. He was about to say something more, when a knock on their front door interrupted them.

"Wow, someone's boyfriend's impatient," Ray commented.

Maddox knew they would be getting together that evening, so Jonathan doubted it was him at the door. He wasn't entirely surprised to see Connor there.

"Can I talk to you, Jonathan?" he asked. He had a somber look on his face and appeared ready to be denied entry.

He had no intention of doing so. After the video taken by Rusty had made its rounds of the campus, Connor's crew had been welcomed by a booing committee when they emerged from their hiding spot. At first, they had been completely taken by surprise, but little by little, they had seemed to understand.

And made a run for it. A literal run in the most literal sense of the word. No one chased after them. If anything, their sudden breaking into a run took everyone by surprise.

Now, as bluntly put before by his friends, he might just get that confession straight from the horse's mouth, only that it wasn't the blackmailing horse who was knocking on his door. Still, he would take it, since he was curious to hear why some strangers would hate his guts so much as to force him to leave the campus and his studies behind.

"Come on in," he replied and stepped out of the doorway, to let Connor enter.

Ray came out of the small kitchen armed with a wooden spoon. "If you do something to Jonathan," he threatened and added nothing more. He just waved the spoon to make sure that Connor understood the message. Jonathan had a hunch that Ray looked up to Dex and mimicked the guy's intimidating ways. As much as Ray looked like it would take several of him to make a Dex Solomon, the technique appeared to work. Connor's shoulders slumped, in an effort to make him appear smaller. "I have no such intentions and never had," he said.

Ray moved the spoon to the other hand and pointed two fingers at his eyes and then at Connor. "I'm watching you."

"Ray, I'm going to talk to Connor for a bit in my room," Jonathan intervened.

Connor walked toward his bedroom at his invitation, with Ray still watching them like a mother hawk. Jonathan smiled at him and Ray nodded, full of self-importance. Who could be afraid of anything in the world with such a guardian angel, ready to intervene at the drop of a hat?

Once in Jonathan's room, Connor refused his invitation to take a seat. Jonathan, however, sat on a chair and crossed his legs, waiting for an explanation that would throw a bit more light and maybe some sense on the blackmail he had been subjected to.

"I have no idea where to start, Jonathan."

There was a bit of a dramatic undertone in that, but Jonathan decided to let it slide. Good thing Ray wasn't sitting in. He would take Connor apart. "How about you start with how your people found the video?" he suggested.

"They're not my people," Connor said with a grimace. "I thought they were good people, not… whatever they truly are."

Jonathan had his own theory about that. Connor wasn't the kind to have friends; he was more the kind to have followers. Hence the problem of never bothering to get to know them properly. But Connor wasn't there for a therapy session, and Jonathan wasn't interested in giving away free advice.

"I found the video," Connor said in one breath. "I was, um, just watching stuff--"

"Porn," Jonathan corrected him. "You were watching porn."

"Yeah," Connor admitted and looked down, embarrassed.

According to Rusty, one hundred percent of people between twenty and twenty-two in the world were watching porn. Of course, Jonathan had tried to get that tidbit out of his head, but Rusty insisted that he knew more about statistics and porn than any other living being on the face of the planet. Jonathan didn't exactly dare to disagree with that, no matter what his thoughts on the matter were.

"It was a crap shoot, I guess," Connor continued. "Imagine my surprise."

"I'd rather not," Jonathan said. Even if Connor wasn't directly responsible for all that drama, Jonathan couldn't bring himself to sympathize with him too much.

"Well, anyway, it was my fault, because I showed it to them."

"Your people," Jonathan insisted.

"I told you, they're not—Anyway," Connor decided to let it drop, "they got it into their heads that it could be used against you. I told them to drop it."

"Was it that girl's, Rose's, idea?" Jonathan asked. "Why does she keep hiding her face? Is she someone famous?"

Connor shook his head. "No, she's just… well, they're not well adjusted people, let's just say that."

"Let's," Jonathan said with a shrug. "Wait, is she one of the triplets?"

"Triplets?" Connor asked, somewhat confused.

"There are three girls. They all seem the same," Jonathan explained. "Are they sisters?"

"Ah, you mean, Rose, Nadia, and Gail. No, they're not, but they do try to be as similar as possible."

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

Connor seemed embarrassed by the question. "As I said, they're not very well-adjusted. Now that I think about it, they were talking all kinds of crazy. They say they want to combine into one person, fool the world, things like that."

"But Rose is the leader," Jonathan pointed out.

"Yes, that's true. Nadia and Gail don't get out of their dorm room a lot, and when they do, they only do it if Rose is present."

"That day, when we met in the cafeteria, it was her, right?"

"Yeah," Connor said, although it felt as if, for a moment, he was wondering if that was true. "I suppose that, in a way, she has always been the real leader of the group. Not me. Otherwise, the others wouldn't have followed her in all this," he waved vaguely, "instead of coming to me."

"Is she in love with you?" Jonathan asked another question he thought legit.

"In love with me?" Connor's eyebrows shot up. "No. I'm gay," he said matter-of-factly as if Jonathan had to be hearing that for the first time.

"Well, that isn't reason enough for her not to love you," Jonathan pointed out.

Connor shivered for a moment, like someone who had suddenly discovered some creepy crawler moving up their leg. "I have never encouraged her."

Jonathan didn't quite believe him, but again, it wasn't his business. However, Rose appeared to be a manipulative, dangerous person. Who thought up blackmails and talked like that to strangers as she had done in the messages she had sent him? So, it was basic courtesy to tell Connor that. "I'm not in any position to give you any advice, Connor, but I think you should stop seeing her. Even if you're not encouraging her, she appears to have certain ideas about you." He hoped his words had been chosen carefully enough to not have Connor believe that he was calling Rose crazy to his face.

"She's a crazy one," Connor said in his stead. "I'm staying away from her. And the rest of them."

"What are they going to do? They're not the ones who've been writing Xpress all these years, are they?" It didn't appear so, but that was just another item to be crossed off the list.

"No," Connor confirmed his guess. "They cannot be. They're not interested in gossip at all, and Rose was quite annoyed whenever I mentioned Xpress."

"For the record," Jonathan said, "it wasn't my intention to turn them into pariahs."

"Well, it was their intention to turn you into one, so I suppose we can call that poetic justice," Connor said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, I wanted to come here and apologize in person. If I hadn't mentioned the video, they wouldn't have had anything to use against you."

It wasn't probably his place to ask, since they weren't friends, but he had been raised like that. "Are you going to be all right?"

Connor seemed surprised by his question, but after that, he frowned. "Of course, I will. I can always make other friends."

Or gather other followers. As Jonathan accompanied Connor out of the room, he thought that at least here was someone who didn't appear to have learned anything from the whole situation and its consequences.

***

Apparently, we were wrongfully accused of some wrongdoings… Ah, our little hearts are still bleeding over it. The Amazing Four thought we were behind the dissemination of a certain compromising video featuring our local royalty, Jonathan Hamilton. Just to make things clear, if we had been in possession of the respective video, we would have never released it. Never. We have standards to uphold.

Maddox held the phone and read the whole thing to Jonathan. "So, how did Xpress get hold of this video of Connor and his gang?"

Jonathan shrugged. "It's some big mystery."

Maddox groaned. "You and Rusty disappeared for like ten minutes or so. Don't think I didn't notice." He pretended to be pissed only so Jonathan would hug him from behind and kiss the side of his neck in apology. "Did you or Rusty take the video?"

"Rusty. I was too busy being outraged by it all. I didn't even have time to agree."

"That's Rusty for you. The sword of justice," Maddox said with a chuckle. "Those assholes. Why the hell did they do it, anyway?"

"Some misplaced sense of loyalty, I suppose," Jonathan explained. "Connor wasn't happy they did that. He even came to me to apologize, although it wasn't his fault."

"It was, in a way," Maddox said.

"How so?"

Maddox turned to face his boyfriend. Jonathan was just too nice and good sometimes. He pressed his fingers against the frown between Jonathan's eyebrows. "Connor gathered this kind of people around him because he likes being worshipped and never questioned. It's not exactly like having proper friends."

"No, you're right," Jonathan agreed.

"So, because he has always been a douchebag, he surrounded himself with like-minded people."

"He wasn't to blame for this, though. I feel sort of bad. He seems lonely."

Maddox snorted. "He'll live. As for the other scumbags, I heard they're considering a transfer. Because of our little revolution, word got to the powers that be. I even heard that the president called them in for a reprimand."

"And Rusty as well, who declared that he made the t-shirts," Jonathan pointed out.

"Don't worry. He only got a little slap on the wrist."

"Well, I guess I'm glad I won't have to run into my blackmailers next year," Jonathan commented. "As much as you think I'm a nice guy, I'm not entirely sure that I'd be able to keep everything I think and feel about them inside."

"Don't worry. For what's left of this year, they're going to keep a low profile. Everyone hates their guts. Even Xpress, and that says a lot."

Jonathan seemed to ponder for a bit. "Maddox, do you really think Xpress would have not released the video if they had it?"

"It's a tough question. But you know, there is something kind of irking me. When the assholes behind the blackmail contacted you, they said that the video would be dropped by Xpress."

"So?"

"That means that they might have tried to get Xpress to go public with it and didn't succeed."

"Yes, but it all seemed to happen very fast. I suppose they were expecting me to cave in," Jonathan reasoned.

Maddox shrugged. "Still. It was easier for them to hide behind Xpress."

"Are we thinking Xpress is kind and understanding now?"

They both burst into laughter at the same time. "I suppose not."

They stared at each other for a few moments. Maddox was glad they were in his room, because that meant Jonathan would be easy to entice to spend the night. And he liked his big bed a lot better than Jonathan's narrow one. Not that they couldn't make do with whatever they had at their disposal.

"You know, I don't remember if I properly thanked your friends for everything they did for me. Dex really put the fear of all things holy into everyone who dared to do as little as smile the wrong way in my direction."

"Don't forget about Rusty running around and pointing at the eggplant on his t-shirt and yelling 'you're all a bunch of cocksuckers, pay your respects to the cock'."

"Funny thing, that was after the entire truth was revealed," Jonathan commented.

"Can you imagine Rusty missing a chance to bask in the heat of the spotlights?"

"Not really, no. I bet he left at least a few guys feeling very confused about the whole thing. Everyone thought Rusty was the cock and needed to be revered."

Maddox laughed and hugged Jonathan tightly. "Everyone's here. Let's go downstairs and you can thank them to your heart's content. Be warned. They might want you to cook for them. Don't cave under the pressure."

"I don't mind, as you know," Jonathan said. "And Ray and Hanna are already here, so the pressure will be pretty high already."

"You know what I think, babe?" Maddox dared to bring it up.

"What?"

"I get it that we're too young and still studying…"

"Hmm…"

"But not for something that is less, let's say, family-involving…"

"Yes…"

"How would you feel about getting engaged? For real?" Maddox finally mustered the courage to ask.

"You think that's less family-involving?"

"Yeah. I mean, we can do it, all official and that, later, but I want something that's just between you and me."

He hoped he didn't sound really lame by proposing such a thing. Jonathan surprised him by cupping his cheeks and kissing him on the nose tenderly. "I don't see why not."

"Good, so it's a given. We're going to do it, this summer."

"Just let me know the date. Wait, so what is this going to be like? If we aren't involving the family--"

"I'm going to think of something."

As usual, it was true that Maddox hadn't thought of all the details. But, with Jonathan, he knew that he would make them up as they went and everything would be great. There was nothing standing in their way, and he'd make sure that nothing ever would.

TBC