FARSIGHT - Ch.1

[Slang]

Alright, so this is the first of seven chapters of this story, exactly as it was when I first posted it on another site in September 2007, intro any everything. It might be kinda long, but I hope that you guys will still read it and give some feedback (good or bad, I can handle it), or any ideas you have. I'm going to post the other parts over the next few days, see what you guys think I guess. It does ned at an inconclusive point, but that's cause I left the whole diaper thing for a while. But I'm back to writing now, a year and half after I've stopped. I'd just like to point out that this story was originally posted on another site (deeker{.}com), and I'm reposting it here. I'm not taking credit for something that's not mine, and if you really want to see the original under my name you can check it out on that site I guess. Anyways, like I said I had stopped writing but I'm going to finish it over the next few months or so. The story will continue, albeit in a different direction that I normally planned, and yeah, I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

FARSIGHT
By: Slang

Author's Note: Hello. I am Slang and this is Farsight. Though this in no way involves events that I have been involved in, the following words are certainly those of a story that is mine. This is not a generic fable of an unfortunate child forced back into infancy or the tellings of a young boy who wishes to experience the younger days of his life again. Such stories are so overly done these days and I find the repetition to be rather tiresome. Thus, I recently set out to write of something, well, interesting. The story is by no means short, as it chronicles the tales of several, and if you have no intentions of going through with the entire thing, it is suggested that you grab hold of your mouse and click the 'back' button immediately. I have grown rather fond of this tale and all of those who create do so for both themselves and others. As such, I would appreciate and questions, comments, quandaries, queries or any general feedback. I am available at my convenience (which always seems to be the convenience of others) at G-SLANG(@)hotmail.com. I have nothing but gratitude to those of you who will read this story, and though I would love to get to know you all, there is simply no time or space for that. So henceforth, you (the reader), shall be referred to as Michael Berg by me (the author), who you may refer to as Slang (though I suppose under such circumstances that Bernhard would also be appropriate).



Moving along as briskly as we may (as it would be terrible manners for me to keep you waiting longer than necessary), I would be more than pleased to share some of the history and other information of the following work with you, Michael Berg. The original plot came to my thinking very near the day of Saint Valentine this past year. I had long planned to pen a fable of more exceptional lengths than ordinary, but the idea was lacked until that time. You see Michael Berg, it is my intention to use this writing to inspire others to perhaps try to create a more original tale. I have been inspired by other stories at least thirteen times, and it is wonderful to feel such a way. If that is not your customs, Michael Berg, than maybe the following work will help you come to some revelation the likes of which only you, Michael Berg, could comprehend. This story was written with only good intentions in my mind, and I would like to defend myself from any offense by saying that it would cause me great pain to upset you all, Michael Berg, as you are investing your well-deserved free time to give this tale a chance. It is with a deep wish of mine that you do enjoy.



Now, Michael Berg, we progress to the topic of the actual story itself. There are many characters in the show, each deserving to have their own background. Therefore, in each chapter, exerts of their past lives will be revealed in sections of writing. The only identification of a change between 'real time' and these, for lack of a better word, 'flashbacks', will be the print changing from regular to italic (see here for example). I do hope that an intelligent person such as yourselves, Michael Berg, will not be confused of confuddled or any other cons. The story is told through the point-of-views of so many, as any given individual's eyes can really only see so much. The taking of the place is revealed but the year is not. It would be in your benefit to know only that the year is around summer two-thousand-and-four. I believe that this is all that you, Michael Berg, will require before entering the world of Farsight. Until again, whenever if ever again may be, I wish you luck in all your doings (which I do sincerely hope will include examining this work). Live well Michael Berg.

Even in madness, I know you still believe

Paint me on a canvas so I become

What you could never be



-Brent Smith

Chapter 1: I Dare You



Calling anything 'the last day' is usually depressing thing, especially when that day marked the end of summer vacation. At least, that's what Jake Austin thought when he awoke. The sun shone through his bedroom window onto his face, acting as nature's own alarm clock, which Jake preferred as it had allowed him to sleep until 11:30am, or so the actual clock on his wall read. Jake got up from his bed, perhaps a little too quickly an ensuing head rush let him know, and headed to the bathroom. Stumbling across the hallway, his mind kept wandering off between thoughts of school and what he would later on in the day. Entering the bathroom, he quickly relieved himself and proceeded to shower. He decided to make it a long one, if only to enjoy the freedom of having the ability to do so.



Fifteen or so minutes later he was done and standing in front of the mirror, examining his 12-year-old body. His short died-blond hair needed no combing. His fairly skinny build showed some muscle definition, if only due to lack of fat. He studied himself, checking to see if puberty had taken its course yet, and was saddened to find he was not yet maturing. He stared up into his own blue-gray eyes. He had always been proud of his eyes, for they appeared cold and careless, which Jake believed made him look tough. Finishing drying off, he got dressed and headed out of the bathroom and downstairs.



Upon arriving in the kitchen, Jake noticed a note. It was from Nicole, saying that she had been called into work and that she wouldn't be back until 5:00pm. Realizing that he would have to make his own meal, Jake set out to find a box of Kraft Dinner. He really didn't mind cooking for himself, Nicole had never been anything near a chef, though she was an excellent parent figure. Jake zoned out as he took a trip down memory lane. Nicole had raised him since he was very young, ever since his mom had died in a car crash. He had never really known his mother, and Nicole didn't enjoy talking about the subject, but then again, neither did he. Mentioning it was probably the only thing that could send the ordinarily quiet and calm kid over the edge. Nevertheless, he was content with his current caregiver and the two of them were very close.



Jake was brought back to reality by a beeping oven. He finished making his brunch and situated himself in front of the T.V. to eat it. As he ate he flipped through the channels, he came across one of his favourite shows, The Price is Right. He watched it absentmindedly, as his mind kept drifting back to the thought of school returning, which was not helped by the all-too-frequent commercials for back-to-school sales. Finishing his meal, he cleaned what dishes he had and decided to go out and find something to do.



Jake headed out the front door into an incredibly bright sun. He let out an uncontrollable sneeze and decided to move along. He looked around and enjoyed the beautiful weather. He lived in a private semi-neighborhood known as Sunrise Place which was really just a large cull-de-sac reserved for families consisting of women and children. He and Nicole had lived there together in the small house now behind him for all the time they had been together. He headed up the street to where Josh lived. Josh was his cousin, or at least he was Nicole's nephew. Nicole's sister also lived in Sunrise Place, where she had raised Josh after his abusive father was sent to prison. Despite Josh being two years older than himself, Jake had always been quite close to him and they hung out just as normal friends would. Jake arrived at the door of the house and walked in as he always did. The fact that they were almost relatives had nothing to do with this, for everyone in the subdivision treated one-another like family. Jake strolled into the kitchen to find Claire, Nicole's sister, cooking something that smelled excellent.



“Hello Jake,” she said in a jovial voice when he entered the room.



“Hey,” he replied, “What are you making? It smells terrific!”



“Oh it's just a cake,” she answered before adding “and no it's not for you.”



The look on Jake's face must have given him away, for it had been one of desire. He then said “I wouldn't dream of taking your hard work away and eating it. I would be no better than some kind of animal, and speaking of which, where's yours?”



Claire laughed and said “I'm afraid he and AJ have gone biking, and I don't expect that they'll be home for quite some time. But you're welcome to keep me company.”



“I think I'll pass” sighed Jake.



“If you'd like, I could send him over when he gets home,” added Claire.



Jake smiled and said “Sounds good. I'll see ya later” and he took off. He began his way back down the street and his mind began to wander. Josh and AJ (another boy who lived in Sunrise Place and was Josh's age) hadn't been around much all summer. After they had come back from camp in July, they were almost never around. Jake wondered whether or not to be suspicious of what Josh was doing in his spare time.



Jake got home and decided to watch some more T.V., despite not much being on. He was getting bored and could think of nobody else to hang out with. His two best friends, Robbie and Tyler, were busy, as Tyler was still on vacation and Robbie was in the hospital, having just had his tonsils removed. Jake could think of nothing to do as he slowly drifted off to sleep...


--


It was Christmas time and the Austen's were heading to a family reunion in Colorado.



It was a fairly long drive from home and Claire was stressed out by the pressure of packing. She and Josh were already late in picking up Nicole and Jake, and the fact that Josh wasn't co-operating was not helping.



“I don't want to Mom!” cried the eight-year-old Josh. Tears were streaming down his red face and he was trembling.



“I don't care whether you want to or not Josh! You are going to put on that diaper!” She was on the brink of screaming, which was not consoling to Josh.



Josh pleaded, “But I promise I won't have an accident.” His tears continued to flow.



“But that's the point, you can't control it! It's a long drive and we aren't stopping until we get there! So you are going to put one on in case you do! Besides, what if you don't and you wet your pants!” Claire's voice was steadily getting louder and more frustrated.



“But what if Jake finds out?” cried Josh, who was now talking through sobs, “He'll think I'm a little baby!”



“Well that is exactly what you're acting like!” Claire nearly shouted, “Now, do I have to put it on or can you be a big boy and do it yourself?”



“But I don't-



Claire cut him off, “Now Josh!”



“But mom-



“Joshua Daniel Austin get that diaper on this instant!” Screamed Claire.



Now knowing that there was no winning this argument, Josh took the pull-up from his mom and sulked towards the bathroom, crying the whole time. He entered the bathroom and stripped off his pants and underwear. He slipped the diaper up his legs and stared at himself in the mirror. He cried even more at how babyish he looked. The pull-up seemed so prominent. It wasn't extremely thick, but it had Toy Story prints on it and the fact it was so loud did not make him feel any better. He pulled his pants back up, leaving a semi-obvious bulge. He walked back out to the living room. His mom was waiting and she pulled back his pants to make sure it was indeed on. She nodded in approval and they headed out to the car and drove down the street to were Nicole and Jake stood waiting. They got in the car and drove away. Josh was comforted by the fact that neither of them knew what he was wearing.


--


Jake was suddenly awakened by the sound off his front door swinging open.



“Wake up, sleeping ugly!” yelled the familiar voice of Josh.



Jake was still a little groggy and couldn't think of a quick comeback so he just said “Shut up.”



“Oh you are the master of insults this afternoon.” commented the arriving AJ, “You'll need to smarten up for school tomorrow.”



“What do you mean this afternoon?” asked Jake, who decided to ignore the continuing insults.



“It's three o'clock man,” said Josh, “And we're going downtown for some ice cream. Now we were thinking about asking you to come, but I don't think your poor brain could take it.”



“Ice cream sounds good.” said Jake, whom was now standing up and stretching.



“Well then get your skateboard and let's get out of here,” said AJ.



So they took off out of Sunrise place and down the street, Jake on his skateboard and the other two on their bikes. Jake had always enjoyed skateboarding. He was fairly descent at it and he found it calming. He often competed in local competitions, which he seldom won but he still gained some small local popularity. The three made a left and stopped at the top of a large hill. This was one of many hills in the city of Hammer Bay. It was a small city in Northern California on the coast. Sunrise place was in the 'good section' of the town which was aptly named after the hills which it was located on. This was where all the rich or better-off families lived. Downtown, however was a different story. Gang wars plagued the streets, and it was never safe to walk alone there, no matter what the time of day.



They sat there for a minute, admiring the view before AJ said “let's race.”



“What?” Jake and Josh asked simultaneously.



“Come on, let's race down the hill,” he continued, his excitement was apparent “Come on, I dare you.”



The three boys were all self-proclaimed daredevils, and the gauntlet had been thrown down. “Alright,” said Josh, “but loser buys ice cream.”



“Deal,” agreed Jake, who was not concerned that he only had a skateboard. He knew he could beat them.



“On the count of three,” said AJ, “1, 2, 3!” And they were off, speeding down faster and faster. Jake was getting a sick adrenaline rush as the passing buildings became more and more blurry. He was going extremely fast and was soon just behind AJ. They were nearing the bottom of the hill. Jake shot him a cocky look just before realizing a car had pulled up across their path. Jake had to bail to the side and was very lucky he landed on grass. The others barely stopped in time, leaving large skid marks on the road. Jake, who was now sporting a cut up elbow was just getting up to yell at the driver when he realized who's car it was. He stopped abruptly as the driver stepped out of the car.



“What the f*** are you f***in' idiots doing!” the driver shouted.



They all knew better than to give a comeback so Jake just looked at the ground and said “Sorry Tyson.”



Tyson was the 19-year-old brother of Jake's friend Robbie, and he was huge. He was ripped and stood at 6'5” at least. He also had a really long braided goatee which he had been growing since he could, which was about the age of 12.



“Sorry? You f***in' idiots could've f***in' killed yourselves,” Tyson continued.



AJ quickly added “Well parking your car there didn't help us out much.”



Tyson shot AJ such a nasty look it almost put a hole in him. If anyone else had said this, they'd most likely be in the ICU within the hour, but Tyson had always liked us. “I oughta crack everyone of your skulls, but by the looks of things you'll do it yourself sooner than later.”



His tone was calming, so Jake knew that they were off the hook. Tyson continued, “What are you guys up to anyway?”



“We're just heading downtown for some ice cream” said Josh.



Tyson looked concerned at this and said “Well be careful down there, there's a bunch of thugs hangin' around and I don't want none of you guys getting' beat up.”



“That's a little hypocritical,” AJ commented, “as you were just threatening to kill us.”



“Just be careful alright,” Tyson said as he stepped back into his car, “and if you need anything just come by the pool hall (where he worked).” Tyson shut the door, but rolled down the window and added “Oh, by the way, watch your mouth...” and he said AJ's real name, which he hated, and he drove off.



“Bastard,” muttered AJ under his breath.



They took off again, taking the main roads to avoid any confrontation with the gangs. Surely enough as they rode down the sidewalk, they came across many shady individuals who looked like nothing more than trouble. Eventually, they arrived at the ice cream store. Josh and AJ locked up their bikes but Jake brought his skateboard in with him so it wouldn't be stolen. They walked in and each ordered what they wanted.



AJ was first in line and when he arrived at the cashier he said “You gonna get this Josh?” Josh gave him a look which implied that implied he could go directly to a much warmer climate.



“Alright, alright,” said AJ, “I just thought you'd pay since you were in last place when we stopped.”



“I just like to be the underdog, ya know?” said Jake “The guy that comes form behind and beats you all by a mile. The press really digs that kind of stuff.”



Jake added “I could beat you with my eyes closed.”



“Ya,” laughed AJ, “'cause you'd be dreaming!”



“Hmm Hmm,” the cashier cleared her throat and she had an impatient look on her face.



Everyone ended up paying for their own.



They decided to eat their ice cream inside so they wouldn't be bothered by anyone. They were enjoying themselves and were just starting to discuss why chocolate is so much better than vanilla and who the idiot was that came up with the pistachio flavour when a loud ringing came from Josh's jacket.



“Oh shit,” cursed Josh. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and began to talk.



“Since when do you have a cell phone?” Jake asked, but Josh merely held up his wands and walked away, talking quietly the whole time.



“Since when does he have a cell phone?” Jake repeated the question to AJ.



“It's for work,” replied AJ, who was looking a little shocked himself about the interruption.



“He has a job?” Jake asked wide-eyed. He hadn't heard a word of this before.



“We do, yes,” continued AJ, before adding “well, it's like a job, but I can't really say much about it.”



Jake went on “and why's that?” Curiosity was consuming him. He felt as though he was learning less and less with every answer he got.



AJ smiled and leaned across the table, “Because then,” he said in a sinister voice, “I'd have to kill you.”



“You are so very funny,” Jake said sarcastically, “but really-



He was cut off by a returning Josh. “We have to go now,” he said to AJ.



“Where?” asked Jake, turning from one to the other, “can I come?”



AJ nodded and said “It must be important, and in answer to your question, sorry but no.”



Jake continued “But I wa-



“Seriously man, this is something kind of private.” Josh said, and Jake could tell that there would be no changing his mind.



“Alright,” Jake complied in a disappointed voice.



“Sorry dude,” said AJ sincerely, “we'll hang out tomorrow, O.K.?”



“Sure,” said Jake, trying to hide the sadness he was feeling. The other two left but Jake just sat there. Josh and AJ had always included him in their doings, so why would hey leave him in the dark for something as important as being employed. It must be part of growing up, thought Jake as he got began to walk outside. Looking around, he saw gang members and thugs scattered everywhere, looking dangerous and hateful, and Jake knew he had never felt so alone in his entire life.



--



Josh was pouting when they arrived at the house his mom was not helping hi attitude.



“Josh come get your bag now, it's the third time I've asked you.” Claire was still upset about their confrontation that morning.



Josh simply walked around and grabbed his bag. His head was down and his lower lip was sticking out. He was no happy camper.



“Come on,” said the overly excited Jake, “let's go see grandma!” Jake grabbed his arm and dragged him along.



“Let go!” shouted Josh as he pulled his arm back. Jake looked a little confused, apparently unable to comprehend how he could not be so ecstatic. So he decided to go along alone, running up the stairs to the front door. He knocked as hard as he could until the door was opened by an elderly woman.



“Why hello there!” said Jake and Josh's grandmother, “And how are you Jacob?”



“Good!” shouted Jake as he hugged her, but quickly moved on to his grandfather, who was further back inside.



“And how's my other favourite grandson?” She said looking at Josh.



“Be polite,” Claire whispered from behind him.



“Good,” replied Josh and he put on a fake smile and hugged her.



“My, my, you are getting big aren't you?” She asked. Josh nodded and moved on.



As it was late, there was little time for talking with the other family members, so after a quick drink, Jake and Josh decided to head to bed. As the two headed downstairs to where the rest of the kids were asleep, Josh stopped and said “I have to see my mom.”



“Alright,” said the still hyperactive Jake.



Josh walked into his mom's bedroom where she was unpacking. She looked up at him and stared for a moment, wondering why he was there before coming to a quick realization.



“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry honey,” she said rushed over to him to help him take off his pants. Soon revealed was the wet diaper which he had been wearing for the better part of the day. She quickly took it off and put it in a garbage pale. Sounding as though she really felt bad, she went on “I'm so sorry I forgot Josh,” she paused and examined him, “and it looks like you might have a little diaper rash. We'll have to get cream for that. I think grandma will have some.”



Claire looked up and saw tears trickling from his eyes. She hugged him for a long while. After some time she stood up and said “I'll be right back”. Josh just sat there, half naked, still sobbing quietly. When she came back she had some cream with her.



“Now Josh, you'll have to wear a real diaper tonight because we didn't bring pull-ups and you're little cousins happen to have some here. I'll also have to put it on you because you won't be able to do it by yourself. Is that alright?” Josh merely nodded, and he was still crying.



She laid him down on his back and lifted up his legs. She slid the diaper under him but before strapping it on she covered his entire private area with cream for his rash. She then flipped the diaper up and taped the straps. It was very babyish and it had Barney prints on it.



Unsatisfied, Claire said “I think you'll need two, just in case.”



Indeed the diaper, though just barely big enough, would most likely not hold all an eight-year-old had to offer. She repeated the process of diapering. With two diapers on now, Josh felt very much like a baby and he continued to cry. The double-diaper seemed huge. Claire hugged him and told him to go to bed. He slipped his boxers on over the diapers, leaving a large bulge. He cried even more.



“Everyone will find out,” he sobbed.



Claire then asked “why don't you sleep up here with me?”



Josh nodded and he and Claire laid down in bed and soon were both asleep, the long day taking it's toll on them. Josh was comforted by the fact that his problem was private. But he was mistaken, as Jake sat outside the bedroom door. He was shocked at what he had just heard while waiting for Josh. His older cousin needed to wear diapers to bed!



--


Jake stood there looking up and down the street, wondering what to do. He couldn't call Nicole to come pick him up and there was no way he was walking home alone. After all, Tyson had said not to. That was it! Jake thought. He would head over to the Pool Hall. It was only a few blocks away, but he would have to take some back streets, which did not excite him. But seeing no other option, he got on his skateboard and rolled off.



His heart was pumping at 100 miles per hour. As he rode down the sidewalk as fast as he possibly could, he saw all sorts of people staring at him. H was feeling terribly nervous and he accelerated. The turn off to the Pool Hall was coming up quickly. He was almost there. Jake turned around a corner and off the main street he was on and immediately saw the last thing on earth he wanted to see. A group of five guys standing against the side of a building, all wearing blue, the colour of the most dangerous local gang. His skateboard came to a screeching halt and he stared at them in fear. His heart pumped even faster when they stared back, and it almost came out of his chest as they began to come towards him. Jake could see his destination at the far end of the street. The thugs came closer and closer. Jake was beginning to sweat and he had no idea how he was going to get past them. Suddenly, his eyes fell upon narrow alleyway between two nearby buildings. Without knowing where it would take him, Jake picked up his skateboard and ran down the alley as fast as he could. He could hear the guys chasing him so he sped up. Now Jake was never really athletic, but he managed to reach near-Olympic speeds that day as he ran for health if not life. He heart was pounding and he had never been so scared in his life. The alley turned right so Jake changed his direction and continued sprinting. His heart lifted at the sight of the back of the building he knew was the Pool Hall. He jumped over a fallen garbage can ran faster still. He was almost there. 20 feet. 15 feet. He saw the back door. 10 feet. He knew he'd be safe soon. But then the sudden impact of one of the gang members pouncing on him brought him to the ground. Jake fell hard and he could feel his skateboard break under him. He knew he was going to get hurt now. He almost began to cry, but he didn't. He wanted to look strong.



“What were you running from gringo?” asked an arriving thug.



“Just let me go please.” Jake pleaded “I got no problem with you guys.” They just laughed and the guy who tackled him picked him up and held him still. Jake struggled but he was helpless against them.



“If you got no problem with us then why were you running?” the one guy asked again.



“Maybe he's from the North Shore.” said a fat thug who had only recently caught up.



“Is that it?” the apparent leader and questioner asked, “are you one of those North Shore punks?” Jake knew that they would beat the hell put of him if he was, for their rival gang was from the north side of town.



“I, I'm from the Hills,” Jake stammered. He was terrified and his heart was trying to get in as many beats in as it could in case this was the end.



“Well,” the leader continued, “what is a rich bitch like you doing downtown. Trying to act tough maybe? Well lets see how tough you are.”



Knowing what was coming Jake screamed for help but was silenced by a punch to the face. Jake fell to the ground and the thugs were on top of him, kick and punching him as hard as they could. Jake just took it, knowing there was no way he could fight back. And then it was over as soon as it had begun. Tyson and a few other guys came running out of the Pool Hall wielding pool queues and other such weapons. They chased off the gang and managed to get a few good hits in as well. When they were all gone Tyson came over to Jake, helped him up and took him inside.



When they got in Jake was taken to the back room and laid down on a couch. Tyson but an small bag of ice over his eye. Jake was crying quietly and he could tell he would have a black eye tomorrow. His lip was bleeding and his wrist was really sore. After getting him as comfortable as possible, Tyson began to question him.



“Where the f*** are the other two?” he asked in a half-scared-half-angry voice.



Jake responded trough tears “They left me at the ice cream place because they got called into work. I decided to come hear because you said to but then I saw those guys and they chased me down and they broke my skateboard and they beat me up and-



“Whoa whoa whoa slow down buddy,” said Tyson. Jake was silenced and he continued, “Where the hell do they work?” Jake shrugged and Tyson went on, “And they just left you there alone?”



“Yeah,” Jake said. He was still shaken up.



“Those f***in' idiots!” Tyson yelled as he punched a nearby wall. “What the hell were they thinking? I told you guys to stick together and they f***in' leave you there!”



Suddenly realizing that he was not helping Jake's condition, he calmed down and said “Look, you're going to be alright for the most part, but I think your wrist might be broken and you're a little cut up. I'm gonna call Nicole and she's gonna come pick you up and take you to the hospital, alright?”



Jake nodded and looked up at Tyson. He had just chased of a group of dangerous gang members and he looked as though nothing had happened. Jake knew that he had never been in a gang but he also knew that Tyson could start and finish any fight he wanted to. Most people wouldn't risk their lives to help some kid, but Tyson was different. Jake knew he didn't like to admit it, but he was.



“Thanks,” said Jake.



Tyson looked back at him and said “Yeah sure. Whatever,” and then he left the room.



As Jake sat there nursing his wrist he thought about where Josh and AJ might work. He was considering possibilities such as a fast food restaurant or convenient store, but if that where so why would they make it a big secret? Jake thought about things they would want to keep private and nothing came to mind. The more he wondered the more confused he became. What could be so important that they had to leave him alone downtown? Jake wasn't really mad at them but for doing so, but he was still curious. Jake then realized how much trouble they would be in when their parents found out. He wondered if Josh and AJ would be mad at him for rating them out. They might never speak to him again. Why would they? After all, they were already leaving him out of their current affairs. Jake began to feel worse and worse, and he was sore allover.



Just then Tyson came back in. “How you doin'?” he asked.



“Not so bad, considering what happened.” replied Jake.



“I talked to Nicole, she'll be right here.” Tyson went on, “I told her that you came down here to play some pool and you got attacked. I didn't want to get those other two into too much trouble, though they might deserve it.” he added in a bit of an angrier tone.



“Thanks,” said Jake, “I was just thinking about that.”



“Yeah, well, I'm still gonna talk to them about it.” Tyson said and it was clear the 'talking' would be more of a yelling.



“Don't go too hard on them,” Jake said quickly,“ I know they didn't mean for this to happen.”



Tyson looked at him like he was crazy before saying “You're a good kid, and they are too, but they need to learn some damn responsibility.”



Jake didn't continue to argue, so he changed the subject. He and Tyson talked about cars for awhile and then Nicole showed up. To say she was freaked out was and understatement. When she saw Jake she couldn't stop hugging him, but after thanking Tyson for the seventh time they left for the hospital.



“Are you gonna be alright, kiddo?” Nicole asked as they drove toward the hospital.



“I'm not sure, but isn't that why we're going?” Jake asked in a drowsy sort of voice. The pain was terrible and it was kind of making him feel dizzy. Nicole let out a small laugh but Jake could tell that she might be feeling worse than he was. Her freckled face was very pale and her long brown hair was in a mess.



“So these guys just attacked you?” Nicole questioned for what seemed like the hundredth time.



“Yeah,” Jake replied, “I decided to skateboard downtown to play some pool 'cause I was bored and they jumped me.” Jake hated lying to her, but he thought it was for the best.



“Well you know better than to go downtown alone.” Nicole lectured him.



“I sure do now,” Jake said flatly.



Nicole gave him a stern look. “That's not funny Jake. You could've gotten hurt a lot worse. You're pretty lucky you only-



“Nicole!” Jake yelled as she was about to miss the turn off to the hospital. She quickly spun the car around and drove right down the exit. The whole thing looked quite amazing, considering it was in the middle of a busy street.



“That was sweet!” said Jake excitedly.



“Let's just go.” Nicole said as they parked and got out.



Jake hadn't been to the hospital in some time though is hadn't changed. It still felt like a dreary, morbid place. They checked in and Jake was quickly taken to get an x-ray. The nurse doing this was a bitter old lady who almost seemed sad to tell Jake that it wasn't a very bad break and he would only need a cast for about 4 weeks. He was excited to get a cast, as he had never had one before. The entire process of this was long and quite uneventful, until they returned to the lobby.



“Miss Austin?” a voice questioned from behind them. Jake and Nicole wheeled around simultaneously to see two police officers standing right before them.



“May I help you?” Nicole asked curtly.



“No,” the same officer replied, “but Jake here might be able to. After you informed the nurse here about what happened, she did the right thing and called us. We would just like to ask Jake about his attackers.”



“Oh, sure.” said Jake. For a second he thought this might be about Nicole's car stunt outside so he was caught a little off guard. One of the officers took out a notebook and was ready to write the information down. Jake started, “Um, well they were all wearing their blue gang colours. I didn't really see all of them, there were five, but the one guy holding me was pretty big, and his head was shaved. There was also a fat guy and the guy that hit me was kinda short.” The cops exchanged looks and Jake new his description wasn't very helpful.



“What nationality were these men?” asked the officer with the pen.



“I dunno,” said Jake “they were mostly white, I guess. One guy might have been Hispanic, but I'm not sure.”



The other officer then asked “were there any distinguishing features on any of the individuals?”



“I don't think so, but then again I didn't check. I was a little preoccupied.” Jake was getting annoyed. How the heck was he supposed to know? He didn't stop to check what his attackers looked like.



“Anything else?” asked one officer in a less patient tone.



“I don't think so.” said Jake.



“Thank you for your time.” said the officer with the pen. “We'll keep you updated.”



“No problem,” said Jake and they left.



“You handled that well,” Nicole said from behind him.



He didn't even have time to respond. As soon as he opened his mouth somebody ran up to him and semi-tackled him. Jake stumbled but did not go down. He looked to see who it was and found his friend Robbie holding onto him. He could tell because he was shorter and nobody else wore there hair in a ponytail and shaved the sides of their heads.



“Don't resist dirt bag!” said Robbie “You're under arrest!”



“It's nice to see you too,” Jake said as he pushed Robbie off of him, “You sound terrible.” It was true, his voice was raspy and unclear.



“I know, it's my stupid tonsils, or lack thereof. I feel fine though and I get to go home tonight.” Robbie stated and then asked “what's with the cops and the cast?”



Jake had been ready for the question and quickly replied “I got attacked downtown by some thugs and they beat me up. Your brother saved me though, and the cops just wanted to know what they looked like.”



Robbie stared at him wide-eyed. “You got attacked by a gang? That is so awesome!”



“Oh yeah, it was fantastic,” Jake said sarcastically. The two continued to talk for several minutes while Nicole signed some papers at the front desk.



“We gotta go,” said Nicole a while later and she added “It's good to see you're doing better Robbie.”



“Thanks,” he replied, “I'll see you tonight.”



Nicole began to walk off and Jake whispered to Robbie “I'll tell you the rest later. Come to the tire park at 8:00.”



“There's more?” Robbie asked, “That's awesome!”


--



Jake couldn't believe what he had just heard. He lay in bed thinking about it for what seemed like hours. Josh, his older and tougher cousin, had to wear diapers to bed. That was so weird. He knew that lots of kids had problems with wetting the bed, but he would have never expected that Josh did. It was unbelievable. He then thought that maybe this was only temporary, that Josh was just sick or something. Jake temporarily convinced this to himself and he finally managed to drift off to sleep.



Josh woke up early the next morning. Claire was still asleep beside him. He could feel that his diapers were wet. He reached down his boxers and felt that surely enough the first one had soaked right through with pee and the second was quite full. He felt bad that he had wet again. This seemed to happen three or four times a week ever since his dad had gone away. Claire had been tolerant for the first two weeks or so but she later decided to put him in pull-ups, which is devastating news for any 5-year-old. Now, three years later, he wet the bed uncontrollably. He seldom had accidents during the day, but for road trips and other such things he had been forced to wear his pull-ups. He had been to the doctor and to a psychiatrist but they all said it was simply part of growing up for some kids. Claire had tried alarms and waking him up in the middle of the night but noting else seemed to work. So Josh wore pull-ups, which he was still small enough for. Josh thought they were just diapers that a kid could put on by himself, and he had once asked about wearing Goodnites. Claire was not keen on the idea, stating that they were more expensive and that they were thinner and would leak. Josh had seen commercials for them and thought they would be less embarrassing, but Claire had her mind set. Josh was to wear pull-ups until he could go a month without an accident, which didn't seem likely to happen any time soon.



Josh hated laying in bed awake, especially when covered in cold urine, so he got up, took off his boxers and began to strip the diapers off. Seeing them at his feet and knowing he had to use them just like an infant didn't make him feel any better. He began to scratch his rash, which he refused to acknowledge as diaper rash as he considered that to sound infantile.



His movements awoke Claire and she got up slowly. Seeing Josh standing there, she asked “You had an accident last night?” Josh nodded. “Would you like me to put some creme on it?” Josh nodded again.



It was embarrassing to have his mom rubbing creme around his privates, but if it made the itching go away, he didn't care. She was soon finished and he got dressed and headed to the kitchen. Claire went back to sleep. The hall was quiet and Josh wondered just how early it was. When he entered the kitchen he saw his grandpa sitting there drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper.



“An early riser, eh?” His grandpa asked.



“Yep,” said Josh and he took a chair across the table from him. “What time is it?” He wondered aloud.



“Oh, about 7:30,” he answered. “Everyone else is asleep still, but I've already been to the store and back.”



“Wow,” Josh exclaimed.



His grandpa continued, “Yeah, I always get up early. I had to with work and when I retired I thought I would sleep in all day. But here I am, awake since 6:00. I guess old habits never die.”



Josh was about to comment when Jake entered the room. He looked shocked to see it's current occupants.



“Two of ya!” grandpa laughed, “And why are you up at this hour Jake?”



Jake kept staring at Josh as he took a seat and said “I couldn't sleep much.” His voice and appearance showed that this was true, as he looked very tired.



Josh felt uncomfortable with Jake staring at him and they sat in silence for what seemed like ages. The silence was broken when their grandpa decided to make them breakfast.



“What do you wanna do today?” Josh asked Jake. His only response was a shrug. Josh was curious as to why Jake was acting so weird.



Jake however couldn't get over the fact that his cousin who wet the bed was now so normal. He felt bad for thinking it but he believed that Josh would be acting differently, at least, more babyish. But here his older cousin sat, acting the same as always. Jake wondered why he found this so strange and it began to bother him. He was brought back to reality when his grandpa began to speak.



“I think you kids are going into town to do some last-minute Christmas shopping with Claire and Nicole.” He said from behind the counter.



“Cool,” said Josh, but Jake didn't say anything.



Later that day they did go into town. They looked around in all the local shops which both kids found very boring. Eventually this became apparent to the other two.



“The kids are bored Claire,” said Nicole in a hushed voice, “Why don't I take them to get a snack while you get the other stuff?”



“Sounds good,” Claire answered. “So we'll meet back at the car at four.” Nicole took the boys and began to walk down the street with them.



“Where's my mom going?” Josh asked.



“Oh just to get some Christmas things,” Nicole replied.



“Presents!” shouted Jake “She's going to get presents.”



“Oh sorry Jake,” Nicole said sadly “you don't get any presents this year.”



“What!” Jake yelled in a fury.



Nicole looked at him blandly and said “It was a joke, Jake.”



“I knew that!” Jake shouted, as if volume would convince them.



“Did not.” said Josh.



“Did too!” Jake replied more angrily.



“Stop it.” Nicole said firmly, “You're both acting like little babies. Now settle down and let's find something to eat.” This comment silenced both kids, Josh because of the apparent truth of the statement, and Jake because he knew full well what that truth was.



--


After stopping at Mcdonalds to get some supper, Jake and Nicole returned home. Nicole had wanted Jake to stay home and get some rest, citing that he had had a long day and school started tomorrow, but Jake insisted on meeting Robbie. In the end she let in and let him go.



“Be home by quarter-to-nine!” She yelled from the kitchen as he walked out the door.



“Alright!” he called back, and he set off for the tire park.



The tire park was a small playground on the edge of a local park. It was located close to between downtown and the Hills. It was usually a safe place to be until sundown, when the gangs occasionally came there to fight. It was also the hangout place for Jake and his friends. It was pretty much just a field with nine or ten massive tires standing in random positions in the center of it. It was actually pretty cool. When Jake arrived he found Robbie already sitting on the tallest tire.



“You're late!” exclaimed Robbie.



“You're just early,” Jake replied, “and besides, you live closer.” Robbie actually lived on another on of 'the hills' which was reserved for more wealthy people. Robbie's parents were both doctors and they were well off, but Robbie would be just as happy if things were different. He didn't care about money, his only interests were wrestling and skateboarding.



“Soooooo,” Robbie continued, “Tell me the about the rest of your little mishap today.”



Jake was getting pretty tired of retelling the events which he probably would have proffered to forget about, but he had said he would tell Robbie and he did. He recounted the whole story, of how Josh and AJ had mysterious jobs and that it had been so important to them that they go back. He explained in as much detail as possible how he had been chased down and that Tyson had saved him.



“Tyson never saved my life,” said Robbie after Jake had finished.



“He actually doesn't seem like the hero type,” Jake admitted before adding “but I'm sure lucky he came.”



“If I see him, I'll give him your regards” he said. Tyson didn't live with Robbie. He had his own apartment with some girl downtown.



Changing the subject, Jake said “So, how 'bout school tomorrow?”



“It sucks,” Robbie said drearily, “At least we're not the youngest anymore. Grade seven should be sweet. Though we gotta put up with Mr. Jameson again this year.” Mr. Jameson had been their vice-principal the previous year and he didn't enjoy their daredevil attitude.



“Maybe he lightened up a bit over the summer.” Jake suggested.



“I doubt it,” Robbie shook his head, “I think some people are just born mean.” Jake laughed a little and they began reminiscing all the crazy stunts they had pulled the previous year, which included trying to back flip while jumping from a swing and riding there bikes through the gym. The latter had gotten both suspended for a week, but it had been sweet. Freaking out the teacher while the class cheered on was always a good time. The sun began to slip down the horizon and Jake and Robbie noticed two people approaching from the street.



“Who is that?” Jake asked.



Robbie looked closer and said “I dunno. Think we should go?”



“No, wait, I think it's Josh and AJ.” Jake said, though he had to strain his eyes to tell. Surely enough, it was those exact two walking towards them.



“Hey,” Josh said once they arrived.



“Hey,” said Jake, unable to read either of the newcomers emotions.



“How's your wrist?” AJ asked quietly.



“Oh, it's fine I guess.” Jake replied slightly confused. “How did you know about it?”



“We just, uh, talked to Tyson,” Josh replied. His eyes were staring at a fixed spot on the ground. “He told us everything. How you got beat up 'cause we left but you covered for us anyway. That was cool. Thanks.”



“Whatever. It's no big.” Jake shrugged but inside he was immensely happy. He had expected the other two to be mad at him.



“Ya, it is,” Josh said “You got hurt pretty bad and it could've been worse. We never should have left you there.”



“I'm sure whatever you were doing was important,” said Jake. He wasn't trying to be bitter, he sincerely believed that whatever their job was it was a big deal to them, and he told them that.



“Still,” AJ said, “Are we cool?”



“Of course!” Jake replied, smiling. An awkward moments then occurred. Josh went to give Jake their signature handshake (which they had adopted from 'The School of Rock'), but this was made impossible due to Jake's cast. They all laughed and began talking about how good summer had been.



After a while, a car pulled up and Tyson came out. He walked over to the group and looked around. “You're all idiots. Do you know what time it is? It's f***ing 9:30. Mom sent me to get you,” he said in reference to Robbie, “and I damn well know you should be home.” he said as he stared a Jake.



“Nicole is gonna kill me.” Jake groaned, “I better go.”



“Yeah, we should go too.” said AJ. Jake noticed that neither Josh or AJ was looking at Tyson and he knew that he must have given them a hard time before.



They said their goodbyes and headed home. The walk home was much slower since it was all uphill, and soon Jake began to get cold.



“Take my jacket,” offered Josh as he handed it to him.



“Th-thanks,” Jake said as he shivered.



Eventually, they got back to Sunrise place. AJ headed back to his home after promising to make it up to Jake. They soon arrived at Jake's house. Josh and he said goodnight and Jake knew that he and Josh were on good terms.


--



Nicole, Jake and Josh soon arrived back at the vehicle. They were still eating the goodies they had bought from a chocolate shop and there spirits were high. Claire had been waiting for them. They drove back to their grandparent's house and Nicole and Claire begun to unload to back of the car. Jake was told not to look as there were presents. Jake got excited at hearing this. He couldn't see what was in the bag now, but he planned to check later.



After eating that night, Josh and Jake went downstairs to play video games with their older cousins. They didn't do very well but they were having a great time. He felt like he and Josh were a team again. Jake soon came to realize that just because Josh wet the bed and wore pull-ups didn't mean he was a baby. He was just an ordinary kid who had a slight problem. Jake still considered Josh not only his favourite cousin but his best friend as well.



Later on, when they were getting ready for bed, Josh got called upstairs.



“Josh, come get ready for bed!” Claire's voice rang from upstairs.



“I, um, my Mom wants me,” said Josh nervously.



“Whatever,” said Jake. He knew full well that Josh was going to get diapered but he didn't care anymore.



Josh ran upstairs and Jake decided to go brush his teeth. As he stood in the bathroom, something caught his eye. He opened the door slightly and he saw Claire going into a closet. Jake then noticed that the presents were in there. Jake tried to sneak a look at what his presents might be but the first thing he saw shocked him more than anything he thought he would find. There, half-sticking out of one of the bags was a huge pack of Huggies boys pull-ups. Jake then knew that Josh would in diapers for a long time.



--

Jake walked inside to find Nicole sleeping on the couch. He woke here up and she wasn't angry, she just told him to go to bed. When he got to his room Jake realized he was still wearing Josh's jacket. As he took it off, though, some stuff fell out of the pocket. He leaned over and picked them up. They were pictures. Jake turned them over and was shocked to see what he did. There, in front of his eyes was Josh, as he looked now, wearing a huge, puffy white diaper. It was giant. Jake was dumbfounded even more when the look on Josh's face showed pleasure.



Hello...

[Matrix]

Hmmm, interesting story, it's like two for one. Just a little piece of advice: A lot of folks around don't like to see anything that has to do with deeker, so maybe it'd be better not to mention it next time. Just advice, you can take it or leave it. I definitely liked it, and will hold my breath until the next chapter comes out Keep up the good work.

[Slang]

Originally Posted by Matrix

Hmmm, interesting story, it's like two for one. Just a little piece of advice: A lot of folks around don't like to see anything that has to do with deeker, so maybe it'd be better not to mention it next time. Just advice, you can take it or leave it. I definitely liked it, and will hold my breath until the next chapter comes out Keep up the good work.

I'm not such a big fan of the dude's site eather, but that's where this originally was. I didn't want someone who might have read it there to say that I just ripped this from that site, ya know? Unlikely scenario, but you never know.

Glad you liked the story, this is actually one of the worst parts in my opinion. Not that I don't like it, there's just some stuff in here that I was originally going to build on and never did (nothing big), and some of it's kinda seems contrived just to introduce characters (ex. meeting Tyson on the Hill in a city of thousands by coincidence, and Jake running into Robbie at the Hospital), but whatever. Thanks for commenting man.

[Slang]

Alright then kids, this is the next chapter. Apologies (of the most sincere kind) for double posting, but I figure this is more convenient than busting out a new thread for every chapter, and while I've never posted stories in a forum before, the norm seems to be doing it like this so I hope it's cool.

I think this chapter is better than the previous, but that's just me. In case you missed something in the intro above, I wrote this in fall 2007. It is the second of seven chapters. The parts in italics (like this!) are flashbacks, because I'm as cool as Lost or something like that. I figure it just adds some extra dimmensions to the story.

Anyways, I would really like to hear what you guys and gals think of my work. Good, bad, positive comments or angry rants are all cool. But nothing in the middle. Nah, I'm just playing, you can sit on any fence you fancy I suppose. I just want to hear what you think. Now normally I'd be down with hearing suggestions too, but like I said, it's already been written. But I am presently working on its sequel series, so if you think you can tell how to be a better writer, or tell me what I'm doing right, then that's dandy. Thanks in advance, and here is chapter two for your viewing pleasure.

It was often talked about
It was often raised
But nothing was ever done about it.
To hear the way they talked about it
No one could be saved
But nothing was ever done about it.

-Steven Page

Chapter 2: Maybe You're Right


“Hold it right there mister!” she ordered. AJ stopped dead in his tracks. He cursed inside his head, knowing he had almost made it out the door.



“Empty your pack out.” she said coldly.



AJ did as he was told. He took his pack of his back and unzipped it. He then flipped it over and watched it's contents spill to the floor. Included in this were clothing, a flashlight and a toothbrush. AJ looked up to find that she was not fully satisfied at what had come out.



“Aren't you forgetting something?” she questioned.



“Please don't make me mom.” AJ pleaded childishly, but it was futile.



“Go back upstairs and get one now,” his mother commanded in a calm but forceful manner.



Knowing that there would be no winning this argument, AJ headed back upstairs and into his room. At the age of ten years, he had already learned that in some way or another, moms always won. Opening his underwear drawer, he then reached to the back and felt his hand clasp the all-to-familiar shape of a Goodnite. He picked up the thing he hated so much and carried it back downstairs. He should have known his mother would catch him. Casting her a spiteful glare, he dropped the diaper in his pack which he then through back over his shoulder.



“Lose the attitude,” she said, “you know that you need them. Besides, it's for your own good.”



AJ could have mouthed the last part of that sentence with her. He had been hearing it almost nightly ever since she had forced him into the dumb things. It wasn't even his fault that he wet the bed. It was all just some sick mishap. But he decided not to think about that anymore. He was off to have a good time at Josh's tonight and he would not let his mom, painful memories or even an over-grown diaper ruin that.



“See you tomorrow,” his mom said as he walked out the door.



“Later,” he called back over his shoulder.



AJ headed down the street to where Josh lived. It was a short walk but he ran quickly as it was raining pretty hard, as it did often in coastal cities. Along the way he passed Jake's house, where through the window he saw the unmistakable sight of Jake and his friend Robbie wrestling over what appeared to be a chocolate bar. He laughed to himself but did not slow. He was already quite wet. Soon he reached the door of Josh's house and he let himself in. Josh's mom just happened to walk by at the time.



“Have you ever heard of a rain jacket?” she asked.



“In this weather, I think a dam would be a lot more helpful.” AJ replied quickly.



Instead of laughing, she just shook her head and said “He's in his room. Glad you could spend the night.”



“Thanks,” AJ said and he went down the hallway towards Josh's room. He didn't bother knocking, he just walked in.



“Dude,” Josh said, “Come on.”



“What?” AJ asked with a puzzled look on his face.


“Come on,” Josh continued, “We gotta get going.”



“Go where?” AJ was seriously confused.



“We're gonna be late!” Josh almost yelled.



“Late for what?” Josh yelled back.



“For school, you idiot, now wake up!”


---


The last command brought AJ back to the world of the living. Josh stood beside his bed looking flustered. AJ just smirked at him before seeing his clock over his shoulder. According to it, he had to at school in fifteen minutes.



“Oh crap!” he yelled as he hopped out of bed, blew past Josh and headed for the shower.



“Not too bright this morning, are you?” Josh asked in a mocking voice. “Though today did mark the first time I actually argued with someone who was asleep.”



“Shut up!” called AJ's voice from down the hallway. “I forgot to set my alarm.”



AJ thought that his friend had said something else, but his voice was drowned out by the hissing of the water now pouring from the shower. AJ stripped off his clothes and hopped in the freezing water. It didn't take long for him to wash his short jet-black hair, and in no time at all he was drying off again. He sped back towards his room wearing nothing but a towel around his waste and found Josh sitting on his bed and playing his guitar.



“Get out man!” AJ said urgently, “I gotta get changed!”



“Alright, alright,” Josh said as he dropped the instrument and exited the room. “You should hurry up though. The teachers tend to frown a little when you show up late the first day of school.”



“Screw you!” Shouted AJ and he heard Josh laughing at him from outside.



“You know what else teachers hate?” Josh asked as AJ came out about 30 seconds later.



“What,” asked Josh impatiently.



“When students show up with no pants on.” Josh said as he pointed down.



AJ stared down to find he was indeed only wearing a shirt and boxers. Cursing under his breath, he went back to his room and came back seconds later with some shorts on.



“Let's just get out of here.” AJ said when he was finally ready.



“What a great idea!” said Josh sarcastically.



They jumped onto their bikes and peddled as quickly as they could towards their school. The bus they took had left about 20 minutes before hand, and they were left with no choice but to bike an ordinarily 10 minute long bike ride in about 3 minutes. They failed, of course and as they reached what AJ would call the half-way point, they were already late. Increasing there speed they arrived at the school shortly afterwards, locked up their bikes and ran inside.



They quietly entered the gym where the start-of-the-year assembly was being held. They snuck into the third row of the bleachers and acted as if they had been there the whole time. The principal was giving his long speech full of lousy metaphors and dopey cliches that he gave several times every year. It was increasingly painful to watch, and nobody was complaining when it ended. As AJ and Josh headed off to their first class, they were stopped by the vice principal, Mr. Jameson.



“Don't think that I didn't see you punks come in here late.” He said almost gleefully. He seemed to enjoy punishing kids. “Why don't you two head down to my office. I think you'll find some familiar company.”



“But it's the first day!” AJ protested.



“So there's no excuse for it then!” Mr. Jameson barked, “To my office now!”



The volume of his voice had attracted attention to them and people started muttering. Mr. Jameson began to escort them to office until someone yelled “Way to stick it the man, guys!”



“Who said that?” the VP yelled. The crowd merely laughed and they continued on. The two friends would later find out that a rumor had spread that were late because they had gotten into a fight with a gang, but they were pleased to hear that they had come out on the winning side of this 'fight'. Upon arriving in the office, AJ and Josh were indeed greeted by familiar faces, those of Jake and Robbie to be exact, though today Jake looked a bit different. The left side of his face was swollen and his eye was wickedly black, while the other side had a long scratch etched into it, all of these injuries suffered in his fight the previous day. A few people had also signed his cast already. Josh thought that his younger cousin looked pretty hardcore.



“Hey.” said Josh just as casually as he would in any other situation. It was no surprise to find his cousin and his friend in the office. They often 'pushed the limit' when it came to school rules.



“Hey,” the other two said almost simultaneously.



“Have a seat gentlemen,” Mr. Jameson said as though they were important business clients. They did as instructed.



“Well, it looks like you four couldn't wait to be the center of attention again this year.” he continued, thoroughly enjoying every moment, “You know when I was your age we dealt with troublemakers a lot more harshly than nowadays.”



“And just look how you turned out,” AJ muttered under his breath. The others snickered.



Mr. Jameson pretended not to notice and continued, “As it were, I've decided to quell the threat your little gang imposes on this school immediately. Not only will you all receive a weeks' worth of detention, but you will all be separated into different classes.”



“Oh, and I was really looking forward to taking grade seven again with Jake and Robbie.” AJ pouted mockingly.



His comment was not ignored this time, and Mr. Jameson stared at him and said “Keep it up and you will be back in kindergarten. This is no matter to be taken lightly.”



This time it was Josh who commented “Being late never is, sir.” Again the others laughed.



“Make it two weeks detention,” he sneered, “for all of you. I'll have the secretary change your courses to whatever fits. Now get out.”



As they walked out of the door they all burst out laughing, with the exception of Jake who was kind of quiet. Normally this would have caused some attention, but everybody else had gone to class. Some irate teachers did however close their doors rather forcefully as they walked by.



“That was awesome,” said Robbie, who was almost in tears from laughing, “He was so pissed! The way you mouthed him off was sweet!”



“What did you guys do to get in their anyway?” AJ asked. The question had been more directed at Jake, but he was really paying attention.



“We tried to jump our bikes over that little bench by the front door.” Robbie said casually, “You think they would've let it slide since we did it's the first day, but they were kinda mad.” They all laughed again.



“Mr. Jameson is really gonna be pissed when he finds out our first term is all essential courses.” Josh admitted.



“Yeah,” said AJ, “I don't think he could've changed it anyway. You know how the secretaries are. Once they make those class lists they are done.”



“To bad for you guys though,” Josh said. Then realizing that Jake was zoned out he snapped his fingers in front of his face.



“What, uh, oh yeah,” Jake said as he snapped back to reality. He then through his arm with the cast around Robbie's shoulder before saying “Nothing could separate us. We're the best team to walk the face of the earth.”



“Better than the Freebirds and the L.O.D. Combined” Robbie declared proudly. It was not unusual for him to reference the wrestling world, with which he was infatuated.



“Whatever,” said Josh, who was wondering what was going on with his younger cousin. “Anyway, AJ and I better get to math before Jameson comes looking for us.”



“See you suckas later!” called AJ in his best gangster voice. Jake and Robbie just shook their heads before the headed for strings and Spanish class, respectively.



“Wait up,” AJ said as he ran to catch up with Josh. He was glad they wouldn't be separated. Mostly because they were best friends, but partly because Josh was good at math and AJ was good at copying.



As they seated themselves at the back of the class, AJ began to think about his dream, which was more of a reminiscence, the night before.



AJ and Josh ran downstairs at the sound of the doorbell. The pizza had arrived and they were starving. After Claire had paid the delivery man, they sat down at the table and began to eat. At first they didn't say much as their mouths were very busy engulfing any food that came too close. After several pieces, they finally began to slow down. Claire, who had only just finished her first, stared at them in awe.



“You know sometimes it's good to taste your food.” She said half-disgusted half-amazed. “Especially when I have to pay for it.”



Remembering his manners at last, AJ said “Thanks Claire.” and went back to eating.



“It's really good mom,” said Jake though bites. Some of the pizza flew form his mouth as he spoke.



“That's just fantastic,” she said dully “If I had wanted seafood, I would have ordered that instead.” AJ laughed and Josh would have too, but he was afraid more food would fall out, so he just smiled.



They continued eating and after they were done they helped clear the table, and with some serious convincing (or telling) by Claire they helped with the dishes. After everything was spick and span they went back to Josh's room. Video games had been the choice of entertainment, and despite what some parents and 'experts' say, a night of co-op Halo on legendary can be quite fulfilling and healthy. The two of them stayed healthy by not bothering a working Claire all night. But eventually it got late just as all nights do and the boys were told to go to sleep.



“It's time for bed boys.” said Claire as she poked her head in the doorway.



“We're almost done mom” said Josh absent-mindedly as he shot his enemy through the head.



“Now Josh.” she said sternly and he quickly shut the game down. His mother was a little stressed out from work and he was not looking for a fight.



The two boys decided to both sleep on the floor since Josh didn't like making his friends feel like they were in anyway inferior to himself. They rolled out their sleeping bags and through down their pillows and were just getting changed for bed when Josh looked up.



“I think my mom called me,” he said slightly shiftily.



“I didn't hear anything.” AJ admitted truthfully.



Josh had been acting a little suspicious over the last few minutes, but AJ had hardly noticed. He was trying to think of some way to sneak his Goodnite and himself into the bathroom undetected. His mind had thus far come up blank. On their previous sleepovers he had done it earlier in the night, but on this occasion they had become so tied-up in the game that he had forgotten until they had stopped playing all together.



“I think I should go check,” said Josh.



“Maybe, yeah,” AJ agreed. He wasn't going to miss what could be his only opportunity.



Josh exited the room and AJ did the same after grabbing the diaper from his pack. He headed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He stripped his boxers off and unfolded the Goodnite. He stared at it with mixed feelings. He always complained about wearing them, and he often tried to get out of it. But he knew he needed them and he was happy he had brought one. What if he had an accident and he wasn't wearing one? Then Josh would find out he was just like a big baby. He had also felt a strange mixture of enjoyment and anger when he thought of when he had first been put in them again, a few years back.



AJ then remembered he has supposed to be hurrying and he quickly used the toilet. He then lifted the Goodnite up over his privates and felt the diaper enclose around him. That was something else he enjoyed, the feeling of a warm, tight diaper around his 'area'. He thought it was just the coziness of it and the feeling had nothing to do with the fact that it was a diaper. He observed himself. He thought the combination of a shirt and a diaper looked infantile, so he pulled up his boxers, flushed the toilet, washed his hands and went back to Josh's room. As usual he was a little nervous that Josh would find out everything, but he went on in only to find that Josh was already laying in his sleeping bag.



“Could you get the light?” he asked from the floor.



“Sure,” said AJ.



As AJ walked over to where the lamp was turned on he felt Josh's eyes follow him. He always thought that Goodnites were loud but he was fairly certain that his crinkling wasn't being heard. He flicked the switch and proceeded to get into his sleeping bag.



Just as he was about to get comfortable, Josh asked him “Do you wanna have some fun?”


---


The bell shocked AJ out of his daydream and he quickly picked up his stuff and left the class with Josh. The hallways were overly crowded, but being in grade nine, which was the oldest at their middle school, they found it easier than most to navigate through the sea of faces. They both found it funny how the grade six students traveled in small packs, but if anybody older or bigger walked towards them, they would scatter like scared mice.



“I think they're even shorter this year,” commented Josh as the pair finally reached their English class. “It's almost unnatural.”



“I blame the government,” said AJ passively, for this was his answer to most of his problems.



The two of them sat with a group of their friends at the back of the classroom again and spent the rest of period joking around and aggravating the teacher. Years of experience had thought the teacher to ignore these disruptions and to continue on with their job for the benefit of the eager, but it didn't stop him from casting the occasional glare at the group. Eventually, the lunch bell rang and AJ and Josh mosied to the cafeteria. They got their lunch, which looked so terrible and smelled worse, and sat down with the same lot from their previous lesson. AJ saw Jake across room. At the moment he was drinking milk though his nose for the amusement and amazement of his peers. AJ just shook his head. Though he and Josh hung out with Jake at home, they hardly ever did at school. It wasn't that such a thing was considered uncool, it was just that they had other friends too.



“So,” asked a guy named Dave who was the sort of 'leader' to their posse, “Why were you two late for school?” Dave also loved to know things about other people. He was a nice guy and all, but he seemed to relish power.



“We were just late and missed the bus,” replied Josh as he played with the food he so badly wanted nothing to do with.



“Oh,” said Dave sounding disappointed, but he changed the subject, “How's your cousin? I heard he got beat up pretty bad.”



“Yeah, he got his face messed up and they broke his wrist.” Josh said, and it was obvious he still felt guilty.



When the surrounding group heard this, they all began to question Josh and AJ about it. Neither of them felt like talking about it, but they were assisted by Dave, who seemed to have a pretty good idea of what had happened (excluding the reason Jake was downtown alone). Some of the girls who were listening went to console Jake, which Josh thought would make him feel pretty good.



Much to their dismay, AJ and Josh spent most of their lunch hour retelling the story and when the bell rang they weren't so happy.



“What a waste of f***ing time!” AJ cursed loudly enough to scare some younger kids.



“Whatever,” Josh shrugged, “at least we have chemistry to look forward to.”



To any kid in any other school, chemistry was a boring and hard subject, but when you had a teacher like Dr. Gibbons you looked forward to it. This man looked like he was ex-Hell's Angels and he was crazy enough to have been part of the infamous biker gang. He talked in a 'bluesy' slang and he enjoyed blowing things up daily. His class was hardly spent writing notes of doing worksheets. He preferred the hands-on approach and the class often did lab experiments. He was the favourite of most students.



They entered his classroom which had both posters of chemicals and Lynyrd Skynyrd, his favourite band. They found seats at the front this time and prepared to enjoy at least part of their day. But they were soon horrified when Mr. Jameson entered the room. He observed the students and they fell silent under his cruel gaze.



“I'm sorry to report that Mr. Gibbons have fallen ill and he will unfortunately miss the first week of school.” he announced near-monotone. “In the mean time I will be substituting for him as I major in Chemistry. I know that some of you are used to something of a 'slack time' in this course, but I assure you I will instruct you to the best of my ability and you will thank me by doing the work I assign and to behave maturely. Tardiness will not be tolerated.”



As he said the last part, his eyes fell on AJ and Josh. They both stared back defiantly. He broke the gaze and instructed them to open their books. They were then put to work for the rest of the period. The term 'saved by the bell' never rang more true. The class flooded out the door as their freedom was heard. Any other day they would have another class, but the first day of school was shortened for the student's pleasure. The two friends got up to leave as well, but they were soon stopped.



“Hold on boys,” Mr. Jameson said moodily, “I hope you haven't forgotten about your detention. I think you,” he pointed at AJ, “can stay hear and clean up the classroom. And you can come with me.” he finished pointing at Josh.



Josh and Mr. Jameson left and AJ began to 'clean' the room. He put up the chairs and brushed off some counters, before deciding to leave. He was near the exit of the room when Jake entered.



“Hey,” said Jake, “I got sent to help you clean up.”



“Well you're too late man” AJ said showcasing the classroom behind him, “I already took care of it.”



“Sweet deal.” Jake said as he nodded and they decided to go and find their friends.



“So what did you think of those girls at lunch?” AJ asked as they walked down the hall.



Jake smiled sheepishly and said “It was pretty cool. Check this out.”



AJ looked and saw Jake's once green-wrapped cast turned black as it was covered in signatures and messages, most of which were now indistinguishable.



“Wow,” AJ said wide-eyed, “that's pretty awesome.



“That's not even the best part!” Jake continued “Some guy came up to me and told me he heard that I liked to skateboard and that my skateboard got broke, so he gave me his!”



“That's sweet,” said AJ before asking “who was it?”



Jake shrugged and said “I don't know, some long-haired kid about your age. He looked like the surfing type to me.” AJ didn't know anybody who fit that description.



“That's pretty cool though,” AJ admitted “Have you told Josh yet?”



At the mentioning of his cousin's name, Jake facial expression changed from happy to that of someone confused. “I was meaning to ask you something about Josh.” He said slowly and AJ knew that whatever his question was, it was serious. He was getting ready to get into some deep conversation when Josh and Robbie rounded the nearby corner running.



“Let's get out of here!” said Josh as they ran by.



AJ and Jake didn't bother to ask why they were running, they just followed and the four of them soon escaped the school. The group headed home, Jake on his new skateboard and Josh and AJ rode their bikes while. Robbie doubled with Josh. They decided to stop at 7-11 on the way home and get Slurpees. They were all having a good time, even Jake. But AJ wondered what it was Jake had to say. He didn't want to ask about it in front of everyone else so he decided to wait.



After they finished their Slurpees and continued on, Josh decided to give Robbie a ride up to his house. It was a short distance so he didn't mind. As the two of them sped away, AJ asked Jake about what was on his mind.



“Oh, uh, that,” Jake said awkwardly. “Forget about it.”



“No,” said AJ sternly, “Something’s bugging ya and it concerns Josh, so it's got to be important.”



“It's not something I need to bother you about,” Jake said, looking away.



“Dude, c'mon” AJ said in a friendlier tone. “You can trust me.”



“Promise you won't tell nobody? Especially Jake?”



“I promise man.” AJ said sincerely.



Jake submitted. “O.K., well, last night when we were walking home Josh gave me his jacket, right. So when I got back to my place I noticed I still had it. I took it off to go to bed and some weird pictures fell out.”



“What kind of pictures?” AJ asked. He was listening intently.



“These kind,” said Jake as he pulled them from his pack and handed them to AJ.



AJ looked through the photos and saw his best friend standing before him in nothing but a big white diaper. It went up to his belly button. Josh was otherwise just standing there smiling, like it was any other picture. AJ looked at the next one an it was of Josh sitting on the ground in another diaper but this time he had a babyish look on his face and he had a pacifier in his mouth. He was also playing with blocks. The third picture was Josh curled up on the floor and he was sucking on a bottle. In this photo, it was obvious Josh had wet the diaper and that he had messed it to as it was bulging on the back side. But he looked content. The final picture was that of Josh in normal clothes (though he had no pants and still had a diaper) lounged back in a chair. The look on his face looked like he wanted to look tough, but this was counter-acted by the fact that he was infarct wearing a dirty diaper. AJ was shocked.



“I think it is really important that we keep this between us.” AJ said after he was done looking at them.



“Definitely.” Jake agreed.



“But I am going to talk to him about it.” AJ said.



“But you can't!” cried Jake, “You promised!”



“Don't worry,” AJ comforted him, “I'll tell him that I was the one that found the pictures. He won't even know that you know.”



Jake was silent and he simply nodded.



“In the mean time,” AJ continued, “Just treat him like you would normally. He is your cousin after all.”



“You're right,” said Jake, “Thanks AJ.”



AJ just shrugged but Jake knew that he was a great friend to him and especially his cousin.


---


“O.K.,” said AJ, “let me get this straight. One person says some random thing that they've never done. It the other person had done it, they take a drink, and if they haven't done it, the person who asked drinks?”



“That's about it. But you have to tell the truth no matter what.” Josh confirmed, “So do you wanna play?”



AJ though about it. It was already 11:30, but he wanted to have some fun.



“Sure,” he finally agreed. “But you go first.”



Josh smiled almost wickedly and said “Alright, I already have one. I've never been south of California.”



AJ glared at him as Josh passed him a water bottle. He knew that Josh knew that he had been to Mexico before, but he took a swig anyway.



“Your turn,” said Josh enthusiastically.



“I've never played in the snow before.” AJ said after thinking about one for quite some time. Josh drank from his own water bottle.



“Good one,” Josh admitted, “but this one's better. I have never learned to rollerblade.” AJ had been an avid rollerblader in his younger days, so he took another drink..



“I've never been hunting,” said AJ.



“Well that's too bad.” Josh said slyly, “'cause neither have I.”



AJ eyed him suspiciously and asked “Didn't you go a few years back with your grandpa? Remember you have to tell the truth.”



“That was Jake, dummy!” Josh laughed as AJ took another drink of water.



The game went on for a couple of hours and they had finished as many water bottles as they thought they could. They were running out of questions fast and the few they had were either far off or pretty personal, but they were still having a great time.



“I've never not kissed a girl.” said AJ proudly. This was the first question he had been able to come up with in a while.



“I'm not sure double-negatives count,” Josh said.



“Sure they do,” AJ assured him. Remember that question about the pie and that song about the walrus?”



“Oh right,” Josh recalled, “Well I'm not sure that kiss really counted. You were like eight years old and it was just part of that dumb school play.”



“Just drink ya big baby.” AJ said growing a little impatient. He did so begrudgingly.



“I really gotta take a piss,” AJ went on. He was standing up and Josh pulled him back down.



“I just got one more for you.” he said in a bit of a quieter tone. “And you have to tell the truth. No matter what.”



“Fine,” AJ agreed, “I'll do it.”



Josh continued, “You have to promise to tell the truth and I promise no matter what the answer is I won't get mad or laugh.”



Having no idea what the impending question was, AJ said “I promise that I will tell you the absolute friggin' truth but would you please hurry because I really gotta go!”



“Alright, alright,” said Josh. AJ could tell that this was pretty hard for Josh to do. “I've never worn a diaper to bed.”



The shock of the question hit AJ like a sledgehammer. His eyes were wide and he was speechless. How did Josh know? How long had he known? He felt so embarrassed, but he had promised to tell the truth. AJ slowly took a small drink of water. What shocked him even more was that Josh did too.



“What... I mean when... how long have you known I did?” AJ asked dumbstruck.



“Just since tonight,” Josh said with an air of relief that AJ was not freaking out, “I noticed them under your boxers when you came in the room earlier. But don't be mad or anything, I wear them too. I have since I was little 'cause I always had accidents.”



Josh then stood up, pulled down his boxers and exposed a thick, white youth diaper.



“Wow,” said AJ, “I never even noticed. I was always kinda embarrassed about it, but now...” his voice trailed off.” AJ then copied Jake, exposing his Goodnite.



“I had always wanted to wear one of those.” Josh said glumly, “But my mom always made me wear actual diapers”



They both just sat there for a long while before AJ said “I really gotta go.”



“Well,” said Josh hesitantly, “Why don't you just go right in your diaper. I don't care if you do.”



“I don't know,” AJ thought aloud, “I mean, I've never used them when I was awake. It seems kinda weird.”



“Don't worry about it man,” he was assured, “Sometimes, I go when I have one on and I'm just laying in bed.”

AJ thought some more. He had always been a little curious as to how consciously wetting his diaper would feel. Now was the perfect opportunity to find out. Plus, Josh had confided so much in him, it would almost be mean not to humour him. So AJ just let it go. He could feel the pee spreading around his crotch, slowly at first, then very quickly. It was warm and it soon soaked the diaper. AJ had never felt so good. The feeling of a warm diaper for once was phenomenal. He got a little hard.



Josh could tell he had enjoyed it and he said “See, what did I tell you?”



AJ sat down next to him, enjoying every bit of his drenched diaper. He was having a great time. He squished the diaper and moved it around and it all felt great. He had just noticed that Josh had wet his diaper too. AJ smiled.



For the next while they talked about their diapering experiences. From the highs (the few there had been before that night) to the lowest of lows (which was pretty much the rest). They also soon discovered that deep down neither of them really minded wearing diapers, and now that they had found this new chapter in their friendship, they decided they might be able to enjoy them. Another hour or so passed and they were both quite tired.



“We should get some sleep,” AJ suggested finally.



“For sure,” said Josh, “But I'm not going to bed in this cold diaper. I'm gonna grab another one and put it on first. You want a new one?”



AJ contemplated this. He had wanted to try on an actual diaper, like with the tapes and everything, but he didn't know how he would get rid of it once he used it. He always took his wet Goodnite's home and threw them out there. He asked Josh about this and Josh said that he would deal with it.



“O.K. Then,” said AJ, “grab me one too.”



“Sweet,” said Josh and he left the room as quietly as he possibly could.



A few minutes later, he returned holding two fresh diapers. He tossed one to AJ.



“I'll get changed in the bathroom,” AJ volunteered.



So he crept down the hall and into the bathroom. He shut the door quietly and stripped off his wet Goodnite, putting it in the shower in case it began to leak. He then laid down on the floor and began the task of diapering himself. He sprawled out on the ground and slipped the diaper under his butt. It was a lot bigger than he had anticipated, which was good. AJ then flipped the front up and fastened the tapes as tightly as the diaper and his skinny waste would allow him to. He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like an overgrown baby. When he wore his Goodnites, they were mostly covered by his shirt. But the diaper prominently stuck out far and went down a a third of the way to his knees. It seemed gargantuan. And it was so thick and comfortable. He kept staring at his reflection. His boner got stiffer and stiffer. He loved this whole look. In no way did he care that he looked like a baby.



AJ went back to the room and found that Josh had already fallen asleep. AJ desired to join him and he crawled into his own sleeping bag. The diaper crinkled loudly, but he didn't mind. AJ then knew that to have a friend share a problem with you and have that same friend want to face it together was an amazing experience, even though this whole thing had become much less of a problem. AJ was slowly drifting away, but before he fell asleep he released what urine there was in his body into the diaper. The warmth and feeling was so awesome. He enjoyed all he could before he shut his eyes and slept.



--


“Would you like some desert?” Nicole asked Jake after they had finished eating their supper.



“Um, no thanks,” he replied. One could only handle so much of her food over such a short period of time.



“So what are you going to do tonight?” she asked while clearing away the dishes.



“I think I'm gonna go see AJ, I need to talk to him.” Jake answered. He was curious to know whether AJ had spoken to Josh yet.



“Didn't you get enough time with him in detention?” she laughed.



Earlier, Mr. Jameson had called the house and told Nicole about Jake and the others' detention. When she found out he had two weeks for trying to jump a bench on a bike, she had broken out laughing and hung up on the vice-principal. She wasn't even mad, but she refused to try to get Jake out of trouble because she said he was the teacher's responsibility at school and as such they were allowed to punish him how they saw fit.



Jake let out a fake laugh and left the kitchen with Nicole still chuckling behind him. He put on his shoes, got on his new skateboard and rolled down the road to AJ's house. He stopped outside the door and proceeded to walk in. Looking around, he found AJ's mom wasn't home, but he heard voices coming from the bedroom. He walked closer and found that they belonged to AJ and his cousin. Jake was about to enter when he realized what they were talking about.



“Dude, what the hell are you going to tell him?” Jake heard AJ Say through the door.



“I have no freakin' idea!” Josh's voice replied loudly, “I didn't really think I'd have to explain this to anybody, especially Jake!”



“Well he knows now and we can't change that,” said AJ, “I don't think he's told anybody else, but we gotta tell him something.”



“Well it can't be the truth,” said a frustrated Josh, “I can't just go up to him and say 'Hey Jake, ya know those pictures you found of me? Yeah, well it turns out I like to wear diapers!”



Jake was suddenly very aware of what they were talking about, and he was shocked. It had seemed obvious before, but now that his cousin had admitted to the whole thing, it was just so weird. He wanted to leave right then and just forget about everything he had seen and heard over the past two days, but curiosity compelled him to stay and continue listening.



“We could tell him it was part of some stupid dare or something,” AJ Suggested after a short-lived silence.



“He might believe that.” said Josh optimistically, “but we may need something better.”



“I'm really not sure then,” AJ sighed.



“Maybe I should talk to him,” Josh said, “I guess I could try to explain it to him. He can be pretty understanding.”



“You can't talk to him about it,” snapped AJ, “He doesn't want you to know that he knows, remember? He wanted me to tell you that I found the pictures.”



“Oh yeah,” said Josh before adding “and he for sure doesn't know that you like diapers too?”



Jake didn't even wait for a response. He could've ran into that room and exposed himself, but instead he fled the house as quickly and quietly as he could. It was almost unbearable. First he finds out that his cousin has some bizarre passion for diapers and it turns out his friend does as well. It almost seemed wrong. He needed to know what was going on.



Jake rode his skateboard back to his house with his brain screaming for answers inside his head the whole time. When he got back to his house, he almost slammed the door and went straight to his room. He flung himself on to his bed and began to think. What the hell was going on? Everything was so messed up. Why was Josh infatuated with diapers. Jake recalled Josh having to wear them when he was younger, but he had always hated that. He tried to find something, anything, to explain this strange behavior, but absolutely nothing came to mind. A quiet knocking came from the other side of his door.



“Is everything alright?” Nicole asked sincerely.



“Just fine,” Jake lied. It was only then that he had found out that he had been crying.



Obviously sensing distress, Nicole continued. “Do you want to talk about anything?”



“Not right now,” Jake answered, I just wanna think about something for a while, O.K.?”



“Alright, kiddo,” she responded, “But if you're angry or sad or something, you should talk about it.”



“Maybe you're right,” Jake said more to himself, “but I don't think so.” He finished his sentence so quietly it was almost a thought.



“If you need me I'll be in the living room.” Nicole finished and walked away.



Jake returned to his thoughts, this time focusing on the conversation he had recently overheard. Josh had been quite upset. His cousin hadn't wanted Jake to know anything about this. Had he known that he would react this way? Could Josh have predicted that he would be so confused and even angry that he had chosen a different lifestyle? Jake's racing mind settled on the previous thought. He was angry with Josh, but why? This was his cousin, his friend. This was the same guy who had always stuck up him in the past and yet, Jake now was furious at him for being different. Now Jake was mad at himself. He knew he should accept somebody no matter how they choose to live. He shouldn't judge Josh just because he enjoyed doing something that was alien to Jake. After all, no matter what Josh liked, he was still the same kid that Jake had grown up with, and nothing could change that.



It was then that Jake stopped caring about what Josh liked doing in his own privacy. He decided to get on with his life and to treat Josh normally again. It was the right thing to do and Jake knew it. Josh was his cousin, and Jake had to treat him like it.


---


AJ has to leave for a doctor's appointment at around 11:00am the next morning. He wanted to stay and hang out with his Josh, but his mom wouldn't reschedule. He was packing up his stuff while Josh sat on his bed.



“So you wanna have a sleepover next weekend?” Josh asked.



“You bet I do,” AJ replied excitedly, “You could actually try on a Goodnite.”



“Sounds awesome!” said Josh, “I can't wait.”



“Hurry up AJ!” yelled his mom from the hallway.



“Neither can my mom I guess,” AJ laughed, “See ya later!”



“See ya!” Josh said as he left.



The next few days were almost painful for AJ. He wanted to have another sleepover. He had found out his best friend also wore diapers, and since that was out in the open both kids could now explore the world of diaper-loving. AJ could hardly wait.

[nappies4fun]

Very good. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Slang]

Alrighty then, chapter three. Few things to note, first and formost being that I DID NOT WRITE THIS CHAPTER. Yeah, you read that right... I think, though it's hard to tell from over here. Anyways, between chapter two and chapter three, there was a two-ish month gap in which I didn't think I'd even bother to finish writing it. Kinda gave up on diapers for a while, which I would do again later anyways. Whatever. So yeah, I came back to finish the story after that sabbatical, but I found myself in a rut. I had already written most of a chapter three, which I had tossed when I decided not to finish the story. When I returned to do so, I just couldn't making the writing happen. So I contacted a good friend of mine and fellow writer, Austin (The Dance, The Hooligan... both excellent stories), and he said he'd help me out and write the chapter. So much thanks to him, especially since he has edited every chapter since then and acted as something of a creative consultant. Without him, there is no Farsight, so yeah, props to Austin. Anyways, I didn't write it and I'm pretty sure it's one of the better chapters, so I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks to the guys above for their feedback, and to the numerous others who have failed to do so, I WOULD STILL REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE STORY. Good, bad, whatever, it helps me out a lot as a writer. Really, it does, so yeah... anyways, here's Chapter Three, which lacks the lyrical quote because again, I didn't write it.




Chapter 3: Speedway
Jake couldn’t sleep. It was turning out to be one of those nights where the more Jake wanted to sleep, the less tired he was getting and his mind would not stop. The conversation between Josh and AJ was running a continuous loop in Jake’s head, holding him on the edge of sleep, still too conscious to not think. Groaning, Jake finally pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of his bed. It was not a dark night. The moon was shining in through his half-closed blinds and a soft breeze was blowing in through the window. Fall in California is by no means cold, and the weather was still quite nice. Jake decided to go for a walk.



He gingerly put on a hoody and shorts over his boxers and t-shirt. Jake grimaced as his bruised and battered body made its way into the clothing. Throwing on sandals, Jake made his way out into the warm, moonlit fall night.



All was quiet in suburbia, it was peaceful. Jake walked down the middle of the street, looking at each house as he walked passed. He found himself listing off his neighbor’s names absentmindedly. Jake had lived here so long, every wrinkle of Hammer Bay was forever imprinted on his brain. It had treated him well, Jake decided. Despite not having real parents, Jake lived a good life. Nicole took great care of him, allowed him freedom to grow up, but still protected him. He also had some great friends, though a bit weird, he’d just found out. Jake kicked at some pebbles and watched them bounce their way down the asphalt. Weird. Diapers. Weird. Where’d that come from anyways? Why would anyone like them? Jake shook his head in disbelief.



He looked up and found that he’d made his way to the ridge on the edge of the subdivision. It was known by the local kids as the cliff. From that vantage point, you could see for miles. The city lights and beyond that, the ocean. The moon was so bright, the light reflecting off the water could be seen. Jake took a deep breath of the California air. It smelled nice. The summer’s fires had left the air with a thick, pungent burning smell. Lots of people didn’t like it, but Jake did for some reason, especially at night.



Jake began thinking about his friends again. Even though he didn’t want it to be, Jake knew he wasn’t going to be as close to Josh as he was before. Josh and AJ had always been closer, being the same age and all, but Jake had always felt part of them. But now, Jake wasn’t so sure. They had a connection he could not replicate. Well, he always had Robbie. Robbie was a good kid. A bit timid, but fun loving and willing to do crazy stuff, which was important.



Jake and Robbie had always gone to school together, but hadn’t always been great friends. That started a couple of years ago in fourth grade. Robbie had asked Jake, out of the blue one day, if he’d like to go fishing with his family. Jake hadn’t really known Robbie before that, but liked the idea. Not having a father around and Nicole not having the time, Jake had never really had the chance to go camping. So one summer, when the boys were just about to start fourth grade and nine years old, they went out into the woods. Just the boys, Robbie’s older brother Tyson, and their dad.



It had been a great trip and Jake had become really close with Robbie’s family. At one point, Jake had fallen down while he and Robbie were playing on some rocks. Robbie’s dad had fixed him all up, being the doctor that he was. Jake remembered thinking how nice it must be to have a father around. Robbie had been gone for a couple of weeks after that, Jake remembered. But once school started, they had become fast friends.



Jake stared out across the city lights from the cliff and suddenly felt like crying again. What was it with crying tonight? Must be the moon. He felt like he wanted to think about his parents, but put up the mental block. A sort of impenetrable prison he put around the memories he would not touch, at least not right now. Jake threw a rock and watched it crash and bounce its way to the bottom of the hill where the road he and his friends had almost ran into Tyson the other day. The road wound its way into the city. He grimaced as his tattered body protested the sudden movement.



Despite the pain, Jake threw rocks until the sky turned gray and watched as the sun raised itself above the eastern rises and bathed the coastal valley in the soft warm glow of morning. Still wide awake, Jake made his way back home, wondering how long he was going to stay awake in class with no sleep.


--


Safe under his bed, Robbie held his hands tightly to his ears to block out the sound. He closed his eyes tight and hummed his favorite song. It was a hymn. Robbie wasn’t sure where he had learned the tune, but it was beautiful, so beautiful. And when he was scared, as he was now, he sang it softly with his eyes closed and everything seemed ok.



Robbie hummed it now, louder and louder his humming grew, and tighter and tighter he clinched his eyes. But still the noise, the yelling, the crashing, the hostility seemed to permeate his surroundings and find its way inside his defenses.



Nine years old, Robbie still easily fit under his bed. The floor was dirty. Old hardwood, the joints separating as the glue disintegrated over time, leaving spaces in between each piece of sanded, shiny cedar. Crayons fit easily in each space. So did coins and the wheels from his toy cars. Plenty of toy detritus littered the spaces and suddenly Robbie gave up humming, gave up closing his eyes, and instead picked out a blue crayon. He was bored. He was tired of the fighting, of the humming, and the crying. What happened to his happy family? It seemed something had gone terribly wrong.



Now his parents were never around, and when they were, they were fighting. Robbie’s older brother was never around either. He had his own friends and Tyson did not like his younger brother, Robbie was sure it, at least when his friends were around. He was pretty nice when he was alone. But that wasn’t often, so Robbie was learning to live by himself. At nine years old, he could make a sandwich, fry an egg, and record his favorite TV shows on his dad’s treasured VHS tapes. But his dad didn’t seem to notice.



Robbie took the crayon and found a scrap of paper which was also under the bed. He drew a lake. Finding a green crayon, he drew a tree and a mountain. Robbie smiled. He was going camping the next day with his dad, Tyson, and his new friend Jake. He spotted a yellow crayon and after carefully extracting it from the floor, he drew a fish with a smiley face. “Catch me,” he made the fish say.



Hearing a creaking that sounded very near, Robbie peaked out from his bed and saw his door slowly opening. A pair of Converse basketball shoes walked slowly into the room. They were red and white, dirty and untied. Tyson’s shoes.



“Robbie, you in here, bud?”



Robbie tried to quickly crawl out from under the bed. “Yeah,” he said as he struggled to get out. He felt a strong pair of hands grab his shoulders and pull him easily out. Tyson stood up Robbie and started brushing the dust from his clothes.



“You piss your pants again, Robbie?”



Robbie looked down and sure enough, a large wet spot had appeared on his pants. Robbie shrugged.



“How come you always do that when mom and dad fight?” Tyson asked softly. Robbie avoided his eyes. “Shoot, buddy, who’s going to take care of you when I leave.”



“You’re leaving?”



“Soon.”



“I can take care of myself,” Robbie said softly.



“Sure you can,” Tyson said with a smile as he ruffled Robbie’s stringy brown hair. “But for now, I’m around. Let’s get you into some dry clothes.”



“How come you’re nice when your friends are gone, but when they’re here, you’re such an ass hole?” Robbie asked quietly, standing in the middle of the room while Tyson gathered pajamas and fresh underwear from the chest-of-drawers.



“Am I?”



“Yeah.”



“Well, it’s cause you need to toughen up. The world is harsh and mean and if I don’t make you a man, no one will.”



A loud crash came from downstairs and the yelling rose to a shivering crescendo. Robbie jumped slightly. Tyson put a reassuring hand on his younger brother’s shoulders, then bent down and unbuttoned the red plaid shirt Robbie had tucked deep into his dark blue jeans.



“Look’s like you’re all dressed for the woods. Getting ready for camping?” Tyson asked gently as he changed Robbie into dry clothes.



“Yeah,” Robbie said with a smile. “It’s gonna be fun, huh?”



“Yeah, buddy, gonna be great.”



It came as no surprise that Jake had a terrible time trying to pay attention at school. Exhaustion, confusion, and learning do not mix. Jake made a point of avoiding any direct contact with Josh and succeeded for the most part. During lunch he’d avoided the cafeteria all together, opting instead for the grassy hill that led down to the track where all the drama and goth kids congregated. It felt nice to be unknown and ignored for a while.



--


On the way to sixth period, though, Jake ran into Josh. It was one of those unavoidable hall exchanges. You look up and see the person who you want to talk to least walking directly toward you. They see you and it’s too late to duck off into the bathroom. The conversation was strained. Jake, after way too many hours without sleep, was irritable and for some reason even just seeing Josh made him angry. After a couple of one word answers, Josh got the hint that Jake had no intention of being amiable.



After Josh left confused and slightly put off, Jake kind of felt bad, but pushed the feelings aside and fell asleep in biology instead. As soon as Jake made it home after classes concluded, he went right to bed and didn’t wake up until the sun rose the next day.


--


And what a camping trip it was. Glorious in every way every boy dreams. The woods, rocks, trees, water; add nature to a boy’s imagination and fun is inescapable. It was an exhilarating few days, and Robbie was sad when his dad dropped off Jake at his house. Robbie dreaded going home, knowing all that was waiting was more fighting and fear. Why couldn’t life always just be like camping?



But things were weirder than usual at home when the men of the house returned. There was a note on the kitchen table. Robbie had seen his dad read it, Robbie had seen his dad turn an ashen white, then a deep crimson. Robbie didn’t wait around to watch as his dad start screaming and smashing his mom’s fine china. No, Robbie just went up and crawled under his bed. It was much safer there, and there were still some crayons that needed to be saved.



Robbie must have fallen asleep under the bed because the next thing he remembered, his dad was pulling him out from under the bed and telling him he was staying at his aunt’s for a while. His dad grabbed the bag that had Robbie’s camping clothes in it, put both the boy and the bag in the car and drove straight for two hours. Leaving Robbie standing bewildered on the porch of his Aunt Margie without even saying a word, he disappeared. Luckily his aunt found him a short while later, crying, scared, and lost.



“Oh dear. Robbie, is that you?”



Robbie sat up on the porch and looked toward the voice. He saw his aunt peaking out of the doorway, staring surprised down at him. Robbie nodded.



“Why didn’t you knock?”



Robbie processed the question and realized he didn’t know why. He was old enough to knock. He’d seen his parents do it many times. Realizing he had no idea, he shrugged and continued crying.



“Well, come on in, honey.” Aunt Margie took the boy by the hand and led him into the house, pulling in his bag after him. She quizzed him about why he was on her porch, crying and scared. Robbie explained the best he could why one moment he was happily camping, and the next he was here. After five minutes of stuttering and tears, Aunt Margie finally stopped him and told Robbie she’d just call his dad.



“Either you’ve cried so hard you’ve gotten your pants wet, or you’ve had an accident, Robbie,” Aunt Margie said after she’d gotten the boy calmed down. Robbie looked at his pants and sure enough, a wet spot graced his pants which were still dirty from camping. “And you, being nine years old?” Aunt Margie said in a voice that was meant for a baby. “I don’t think nine-year-old boys are supposed to wet their pants.” Robbie had no idea when he’d wet his pants. Probably while he was under his bed as usual. The spot was almost dry, so it wasn’t fresh.



“Tell you what, what you need is a warm bath to get all this grime off of you,” Aunt Margie said softly, using her thumb to wipe away the tears from Robbie’s face. She took his hand and led him into the bathroom. After turning on the water, she turned her attention to the boy. “And while you’re soaking, I’ll unpack your things and call your dad, ok? I’ll find out what is going on, don’t worry.”



Robbie didn’t know his Aunt very well. She was his dad’s older sister. Divorced years before, she now lived with her only son, Cody, who was six. Robbie only saw Cody and Aunt Margie a couple times a year, like at Christmas, then once during the summer. She was nice enough and Cody, despite being younger than Robbie, was a pretty cool cousin.



“Why don’t you get undressed and get in when the water’s ready, ok?” Aunt Margie said. “You going to be all right if I leave you alone?”



Robbie rolled his eyes. “I am nine,” he said sternly.



“Well, ok,” Aunt Margie. “Call if you need anything. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”



Robbie gingerly crawled into tub which was now filled with steaming bath water. He realized that he hadn’t had a bath in quite some time. Years, actually. With both his parents being doctors and working all the time, Robbie had moved on to showers far too soon, he now realized. This was nice! He laid back in the soothing water and closed his eyes. He felt younger than his nine years, and it felt nice. When his head was under the water, he couldn’t hear anything. No yelling, no crashing. Just nice peaceful…water noises. It sounded cool.



After fifteen or so minutes, Aunt Margie reappeared, a large green towel in her hand. Robbie took a second to look at her from the vantage point of the bathtub. She was a good looking woman, he realized. He could see traces of his dad in her face, the sharp nose and well defined jaw bones. Definitely his dad’s sister. Her hair was down, it looked soft and brown. Probably smelled nice too.



“All done?”



Robbie nodded.



“Was it nice?”



“Yeah. Haven’t had a bath in a while.”



“Oh, well, you didn’t smell that bad.”



Robbie laughed, “No, not like that. I mean that I always take showers now. This makes me feel like I did when I was younger.”



Aunt Margie eyed him carefully. “Do you like it?”



Robbie shrugged, suddenly a little self-conscious that his aunt was seeing him naked.



“Well, all your clothes were dirty and they smell like campfire. Does your mom wash your clothes?”



Robbie nodded, “Yeah, but we just got back from camping, and dad didn’t pack me any new clothes.”



“Oh dear, well, I’ll wash them. For now, looks like you’ll have to wear some of Cody’s clothes. You look small for your age, so you should fit them. They might be a bit small. Here, get out.”



Robbie didn’t want to argue, so he stood up and stepped out of the tub, now standing completely naked in front of his aunt. She wrapped the towel around him and led him out of the bathroom.



Cody’s room looked fun. Robbie had to admit, even though he was older, all the toys crowding the walls of his cousin’s room looked inviting. It looked like he had everything. Aunt Margie must have noticed his interest.



“Don’t worry, you can play with all of them. Cody will let you.”



Robbie nodded. “Cool, thanks. Where is he?”



“Oh, at camp. He’ll be home later,” Aunt Margie said as she rummaged around in the closet. First she handed Robbie a pair of briefs, which he slipped on. Then Aunt Margie came out of the closet holding what looked like full-bodied pajamas. “Here, you can wear some of Cody’s pajamas while I wash your clothes.”



Robbie felt his eyebrows rise. “Aren’t those baby pajamas?” He heard himself ask, and immediately felt bad. He knew that was disrespectful. If his mom were here, she would’ve slapped him. He looked at the ground. “Sorry,” he mumbled.



“Oh, don’t worry, honey. And no, they aren’t for babies. Boys of all ages wear footed sleepers.” She held out a foot for Robbie to step into. Robbie was about to say something about being able to dress himself when he realized the pajamas were backwards. The zipper was on the back. He allowed Aunt Margie to get him into the sleeper and as she was zipping him up, he asked, “How come the zipper is in back?”



“Oh, I had them special made so that Cody wouldn’t get into his diapers at night.”



Robbie almost choked, not sure if he’d heard his Aunt properly. Diapers? He looked up at her and she rolled her eyes. “Oops, probably shouldn’t have said that. But, you were bound to find out eventually if you were going to stay the night.”



Robbie was too shocked to say anything, so he just nodded. He stood there and looked down at his now sleeper clad body. They were red with white on the feet. A patch of a teddy bear was sewn on the right chest. They were very childish, Robbie decided. He ran his hand along the front. The lack of any seam on the front made it seem like some sort of Halloween costume.



“How am I supposed to get out of ‘em?” Robbie asked.



“Oh, just come and get me if you have to. Now, I’ll bet you’re hungry.”



After eating lunch, Robbie found himself getting quite tired. Aunt Margie seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense what Robbie was feeling.



“Are you sleepy, honey?” She asked. “Yeah,” Robbie replied. Aunt Margie took Robbie into the living room. “Why don’t you just sleep on the couch, ok?” She set Robbie up with a pillow and covered him with a pillow. In no time at all, he was fast asleep.



Robbie wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep. Maybe an hour or two. He awoke with a start, confused about where he was. It took a moment, but he soon remembered the day’s events. Aunt Margie’s, right. He looked around the room. The TV was on, some ridiculous cartoon character dancing in spasmodic circles singing a crazed song. Robbie looked down at himself and remembered his outfit. They sure were comfortable, these footed sleepers. Robbie stretched and was feeling pretty comfortable when he realized he had to pee, really bad.



He stood up quickly made his way to the bathroom. Robbie reached the toilet and was thinking how he was glad he found it so soon because he really had to pee now when he saw there was a very big problem. Staring down at his pajamas, he realized there was no way to pee with them on. Frantically, he reached his arm as far as it would go behind him trying to reach the zipper. Robbie could just touch it, but couldn’t get a grip to pull it down. He tried bending every which way and stretching his arm until it hurt, but it was of no use. Robbie could not unzip his pajamas. He was hopping about when he finally gave up and went to search for Aunt Margie.



This was very bad. Robbie felt like each step, he was going to pee. He felt tears well up in his eyes. His first day at his Aunt’s house, and here he was, about to pee in his little cousin’s pajamas.



“Aunt Margie!” He yelled. Robbie couldn’t hear very well as he was running about. So he stopped and listened as hard as he could. “Aunt Margie!” He tried again. He heard a reply, his Aunt yelling that she was downstairs.



Desperately, Robbie scampered his way down the stairs, finding his Aunt in the laundry room. She was bent over, pulling clothes out of the laundry. Robbie sprinted in. “Aunt Margie!” He stood there hopping from foot to foot.



“Yes, what is it?” Aunt Margie asked, not looking up.



“Can you unzip me?” Robbie nearly shouted. “I’ve gotta go!”



His aunt stood up with a huge load of dry clothes in her hands. She looked down at Robbie over the clothes. “Oh dear, yes, here, let me put these down on the couch. Show me that you’re a big boy who can hold it when he needs to.” She pushed her way past Robbie, who hands had clasped his crotch through the sleeper in a last ditch effort to keep his pajamas dry. “Please hurry,” Robbie pleaded. Aunt Margie set the clothes down on the couch and turned her attention to Robbie, but Robbie suddenly was still.



To his horror, Robbie felt his bladder release just as his Aunt turned his direction. He felt the warm urine drip down his leg and soak the front of the sleeper. Aunt Margie just stood in front of him and shook her head. “Oh dear, looks like you and Cody are a lot alike. You should get along while you stay with us.”



Robbie just stared at the ground, crying and scared. His aunt took his hand and led him up the stairs and into Cody’s room. Robbie had no idea what she was going to do to him.



“You see,” Aunt Margie said when she had Robbie up in Cody’s room once again, “Cody can’t keep his pants dry either and I’ve gotten fed up with doing all his wash.”Robbie nodded, not able to think of anything else appropriate to do or say. “And it seems like you’re the same, so I’ll treat you like your little cousin.”



“How’s that?” Robbie asked softly.



“Well, let’s start with getting you out of these wet pajamas. I promise you, this is the last time you’ll get your clothes wet at this house.”



Aunt Margie undressed Robbie out of the pajamas she had just put, then had him lay down on the bed. Robbie heard it before he saw it, and when he looked up, his suspicions were confirmed. Aunt Margie was now leaning over him holding a disposable diaper in her hand.



--


Jake woke up feeling refreshed. The sun aroused him from his slumber and the clock read just after six. With all the time in the world, Jake took a long, steaming hot shower. After fixing himself some breakfast, he sat at the table and did the homework he should’ve done last night while he was sleeping. Nicole woke up soon after, and soon after that, left for work. Jake finished his homework just as it was time to head to school. As he was about to head out the door, he heard a knock. Peaking through the curtains, he saw Josh standing on the front porch.



Jake temporarily considered not opening and pretending like he’d already left for school, but knew that was far too cold a move. He opened the door and tried his best to smile at his cousin and best friend, for all intents and purposes.



“What’s up dude?” Josh said cheerily.



Jake nodded. “I was just about to leave, hold on a second.” Jake finished closing up the house, and soon he was skating down the road along with Josh, who was on his bike.



“Ok, so let’s skip,” Josh said as they rounded the corner at the end of the block.



“Huh? Why?”



“Since when have you needed a reason to miss school?” Josh asked harshly.



Jake didn’t answer. Josh was right, it was unlike him to question anything rebellious. What was holding him back?



“I dunno, with just breaking my wrist and all,” Jake started. “Nicole really wants me to do good in school this year, you know?”



“You going square on me, Jake?” Josh asked, glaring down at his younger cousin.



“Don’t say that, dude,” Jake replied. Really, Jake just didn’t want to be around Josh. It was too uncomfortable. All Jake really wanted to do was ask Josh about his curious desires, but he didn’t feel like he could. “Well, what are you going to do instead of go to class?”



“AJ and I were going to go to the beach. Get some last rays of summer, you know?”



“Cops are patrolling that this year, I heard.”



“Oh, they do every year. We won’t get caught, c’mon.”



“What am I going to tell Nicole?”



“We’ll worry about that later.”



Jake didn’t like the idea one bit, but he felt his resistance sliding away. Finally, he told Josh he’d go. Josh excitedly whooped and took off pedaling towards AJ’s. Jake apprehensively followed.



Once they had picked up AJ, the boys made the trek to the beach. It was a bit of trot, and it took a little longer since Jake was on a skateboard. By the time they arrived, the sun was high in the deep blue sky, and they all stripped down to their shorts to cool off in the ocean. The beach was pretty crowded for a weekday. A bunch of twenty-somethings lying in the sand not sure what to do with their life. The boys looked out of place, much younger than their beach-bum compatriots, and they were sticking out, especially Jake. Luckily, no one really cared. Once of the benefits of California, most people could care less.



After they were satisfying cooled off, the boys set out across the beach in search of entertainment. However, the weather-perfect day began to change as a strong wind unexpectedly hit the beach.



“It’s not supposed to rain today, is it?” AJ asked.



“Nah,” Josh replied. “The only way we’re getting wet today is in the ocean.”



A gust of wind blew off the waves and hit the beach. With terrible timing, Jake also lost his footing temporarily in the sand. Clumsily, he fell over, eliciting a volley of laughter from AJ and Josh.



“Don’t blow away, Jake!” AJ crooned. Jake glared up at him as he brushed off the sand and slowly stood up.



“Yeah, you’ve got to grow, Jake, put on some meat. You’re scaring all the girls away,” Josh said, laughing.



This was nothing new; Jake was used to getting picked on because of his size. But today, it was rubbing him wrong. He wasn’t finding anything even remotely funny about his two older friends’ antics.



“Although, you do look cute all babyish like ya are,” Josh said, roughly pinching Jake’s cheek. There were so many things Jake wanted to say back. Mostly about who was the real baby. Who wore diapers and liked them? But Jake held his tongue, and instead stomped away, leaving Josh and AJ’s yelling behind.



“Aw, come back man.” Josh tried, yelling after Jake. “I’m sorry, you know I don’t mean it.” But Jake ignored him and continued walking away. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Jake went back to where their clothes were piled up and threw back on his shirt and shoes. Comfortably covered, Jake made his way to the asphalt and jumped on his skateboard.



Soon Jake was cruising comfortably along the beachside road. He slowly relaxed and was even considering rejoining Josh and AJ when he heard a sound that made his heart jump. The quick flash of a siren nearly made him crash to the ground. He quickly dismounted from his skateboard and turned around. Pulling up next to him were two cops, smugly staring at Jake from a patrol car.



“How old are ya, boy?”


--



Before Robbie could fully comprehend what was going on, his aunt had him diapered and standing befuddled in the middle of his cousin’s toy filled room. He didn’t know what to do. He stared down at his diapered body and felt like it wasn’t his own.



“Now, you’re clothes aren’t quite done yet.”



Robbie felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. A sneaking suspicion that his situation was about to get a whole lot worse. “So, you’ll have to wear Cody’s clothes again.” Robbie didn’t even want to know what it was going to be this time, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. Aunt Margie reached into the closet and came out holding a pair of overalls. Not bad, Robbie thought. Aunt Margie helped the now diaper clad boy into the overalls. She didn’t give him a shirt, so all he had on was the diaper and the denim. He felt childish, but knew it could’ve been a whole lot worse.



“Now,” Aunt Margie said, “I think it’ll be easiest if I just treat you and Cody the same while you are staying with us.”



“How’s that?” Robbie asked.



“You’ll stay in diapers. That way we have no danger of an accident.”



“And what if I have to use the bathroom?”



“It all depends. If it’s convenient, you can use the toilet, if not, you can use the diapers like they’re meant to be used.”



Robbie felt weird. That was the best word to describe it. Just weird. The diaper was encasing his middle and exerting a pressure that wasn’t bad, just noticeable. He followed Aunt Margie back into the living room, where he plopped back down on the couch to watch some more cartoons. His aunt brought him out a snack and some juice, which he promptly ate. As soon as he had finished the food, Aunt Margie announced that it was time to go pick up Cody from camp.



In the car, Robbie saw a huge baby car seat and a booster. Temporarily he was scared that his Aunt was going to have him sit in the baby seat, and was slightly relieved when she told him to hop into the booster seat.



“I’m big enough to just use a seat belt,” Robbie protested, knowing that it was of no use.



Aunt Margie just shook her head and patted the seat, like she was beckoning a dog to come. Robbie obeyed and was soon strapped in with a seatbelt to the booster seat. Everything he did felt weird with the diaper on. Sitting, standing, walking. And now in a booster seat (which his parents never made him use, even though they were doctors), in addition to the overalls, he felt extra childish.



It didn’t take long to get to the soccer complex, but it felt like forever for Robbie because half-way there, he felt a cramp in his stomach. It went a way for a second, then came back, and next thing he knew, he really had to poop. It made for an uncomfortable ride. This seemed unusually. Robbie never had trouble holding his bodily functions, except for the occasional wet pants when he was scared under his bed, but he felt like he was having serious trouble holding his bowels shut. He shifted around uncomfortably and hoped they would quickly make it home.



They arrived and Aunt Margie parked and got out of the car, telling Robbie she would be back quickly. Robbie watched her walk over to a group of moms and children. He could see his little cousin, dressed in a blue soccer jersey, black soccer pants, blue socks covering his shin guards, and black soccer cleats. Very color coordinated. Robbie was jealous. He wished his mom signed him up for soccer camps instead of leaving him home alone all the time. Aunt Margie seemed to be in no hurry, just chatting away, and Robbie started to silently curse her, using words he’d heard his brother and parents use. But it didn’t make the growing nagging in his bowels go away. He shifted around again in the booster seat, hearing the diaper crinkle beneath his childish overalls.



Finally, to Robbie’s relief, Aunt Margie finally took Cody by the hand and started walking towards the car. Then, much to Robbie’s chagrin, he noticed that another mom and another boy were following. The pressure in his stomach grew and Robbie did not like the way this situation was shaping up. He watched the group approach. He observed Cody carefully, wondering if he was diapered. Cody wasn’t walking funny, like Robbie had with the extra padding between his legs, but then again, he was probably used to it.



The sliding door of the van opened and Robbie looked shyly at the four faces staring in at him. “Hey Robbie,” Cody said, waving, “This is my friend Joey, he’s going to come play with us.”



“Hi,” Robbie said, then groaned and leaned forward, straining against the seatbelt as he squeezed his bottom muscles as hard as he could. What must have been Joey’s mom asked if he was ok. Robbie looked up and wanted to let her know everything that was wrong, a whole litany of complaints against the way his life was going right now, but instead just forced a smile and said he had a stomach ache.



“Oh, I’m sorry honey,” the mom said. She seemed nice.



“Cody,” Aunt Margie said, “Since you are the biggest, I’m going to have you move to the very back so Joey can have the booster seat.”



“Oh, here, let me go get Joey’s from the car,” Joey’s mom said, trying to be helpful. Robbie groaned. Terrible idea, he thought, just hurry!



Robbie realized he was fighting a losing battle. There was something serious wrong with his intestines, his stomach, or something, because he had to go. Joey’s mom returned a minute later carrying another booster seat which the two women secured in the back. Joey and Cody were soon fastened. Cody was indeed using the baby car seat, which he apparently fit in, but Robbie wasn’t really interested at the moment. The pressure was growing to a painful crescendo and just as Joey’s mom patted him on the arm and said she hoped he’d feel better, he squeezed his eyes shut tight and let loose.



A warm, solid mass immediately filled his diaper and spread to his front, enveloping his boyhood. The sound was undeniable, and what had happened obvious. Joey’s mom pulled back, unable to hide the look of surprise and disgust that flashed on her face. Robbie didn’t notice, his eyes were still shut tight and he had no intention of opening them any time soon.



--



Jake considered running. He looked around, thinking if he just sprinted to the beach, he could lose himself amongst the crowd. Bad idea. “Twelve,” he replied softly.



“What? Can’t hear you,” the officer who was driving said roughly. The cops had on aviator glasses, and the one in the passenger seat was chewing obnoxiously on a tooth pick.



“Twelve,” Jake said louder.



“You got a home school permit?”



“Nah,” Jake replied.



“Well, get in,” the officer said, motioning to the back of the car.



Jake raised his eyebrows. Weren’t they supposed to arrest him or something? Oh well. Jake hopped in the back seat, trying to sit comfortably on the unpleasant plastic seats. “What school?”



Jake told them and off they drove. Along the way, the officer with the toothpick gave him a lecture about not missing class. He took down Jake’s name and home number and after dropping him off at the front of the school, gave him a warning. Get caught again and he’d be in big trouble. Jake thanked them for the ride, deciding that, on the whole, they were pretty cool cops. He considered telling them to go look for Josh and AJ, it’d be a nice way to get back at his cousin, but decided against it. Instead, he made it inside just in time for third period.

[Slang]

Chapter four! Yay! Well, not actually. Farsight was originally going to be like ten chapters, and I shortened it to seven. As a result, sometimes a lot of information gets crammed into a generally insufficient amount of space. As such, below you’ll find about 11,000 words, not all of which should have been put together… but they were, and I can’t undo time (well I could change it, but I won’t). Anyways, some of its decent, some of it’s good and some of it sucks (in my opinion, though I’d hope that you would make up your own). I’m pretty sure that the part in the nurse’s cabin is the worst thing I’ve ever written, and I’m not sure what I was thinking when I wrote it. I don’t want to spoil much, but I will say that if a nurse or doctor ever tells you that mild amnesia isn’t a problem, you find a new freaking doctor and get yourself a malpractice suit or something. Anyways, the next chapter is better I guess, and the one after that’s pretty solid, and then there’s the big finale, so it only gets better from here I guess. Hope you guys enjoy it, and I appreciate any and all comments, criticisms and feedback. Really, makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Also, shout out to Austin for editing this. Here it is…

When the heart is cold, there’s no hope and we know
That I am crippled by all that you’ve done
Into the Abyss will I run

-David Draiman

Chapter 4: Stricken
A cool breeze pushed its way through the thick wilderness as nature itself seemed to exhale. The wind was a welcome change to Josh and AJ as they stepped out from the unbearably hot vehicle and onto the gravel road. Surrounding the boys was massive extent of forest that encompassed their current position for miles. In front of them was an old worn sign that read welcome to Camp Stonewater, a place named appropriately after the nearby lake. The two friends walked to the back of the car as Claire, Josh's mother, popped the trunk. Reaching in, they pulled out their packs and sleeping bags which they proceeded to fling over their backs.

“Man it feels good to be out of the city.” AJ exclaimed as he took a deep breath of the unusually fresh air.

“Definitely” Josh agreed as he struggled with his luggage.

Claire hopped out of the driver's seat and walked towards them while lecturing “Now you boys had better behave yourself. I don't want any phone calls about some ridiculous stunt this year.” The two of them laughed as they recalled a rather memorable event from the year prior. “Seriously, behave. Oh, and have fun too.”

She bent down and kissed Josh on the forehead.

“Mom,” Josh complained, but she simply laughed and went over and hugged AJ, who didn't bother to resist.

Claire strolled back to the car and jumped back in. She waved goodbye and blew her son a kiss, which only made him blush more. AJ chuckled at Josh. She soon sped away, leaving the friends alone. Josh was still having difficuilty with his pack.

“You need a hand with that?” AJ asked while laughing at his friends awkward attempts.

“Nah, I'm good.” Josh claimed as he finally managed to fit the strained straps of his hefty pack around his shoulders. “I just got too much junk in here.”

“Did you pack any diapers?” AJ questioned him as they made their way along the path towards the camp.

“No, I didn't bring any,” Josh replied, “Might be too risky, with a cabin full of other guys. Why, did you?”

“Nope. Figured I could go a week without them, and I knew that if you had brought any, you'd be kind enough to share.” AJ said.

“Well actually...” Josh had started to say but he quickly held his tongue as they came to an extremely crowded field. There were people everywhere. The boys peered over the countless heads. An aging structure at the far end of the space was known as the camp hall, where the kids ate their meals and did other such activities. A few other wooden buildings that also appeared to be far past their prime lined the rim of the field; their purpose was to house the numerous staff and to act as offices. The camper's cabins could be found on a path that twisted through the forest on the near left of the hall. The rustic demeanor permitted a very isolated feeling that could not be replicated by even the most beautiful of mountain resorts. Josh and AJ were by now familiar with the setting, having been to Camp Stonewater every summer for the past four years. They both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was nice to escape the city, if only for a week every year. Jake had always opted to stay at home, claiming that camping was for Canadians and tree huggers. Josh's younger cousin had no idea what he was missing out on.

The boys carved their own route through the masses of people. Some faces were completely unrecognizable to them while others were those of acquaintances from past years. A quick hello was the only greeting given to these old friends as Josh and AJ had no desire to stop moving. They knew that if they did so, they would be engulfed in the sea of people and it would be increasingly difficult to navigate their way to the hall. Soon they were at the front entranceway.

“Almost lost ya there,” Josh said as they walked into the building.

“We'll have to be more careful in the future.” AJ decided and Josh agreed. “Hey, did you see Tim back there?”

“Yeah man, I can't believe he cut his hair that short!” Josh exclaimed.

The two of them talked away about Tim and other campers they had just seen. They stood in a surprisingly short line (considering the number of people outside); waiting for their turn to find out which cabin they had been assigned to. A short time later, they found themselves in front of a jovial man named Frank, who had acquired the nickname Newman due to his similar appearance to the Seinfeld character of the same name. He was one of the directors at the camp, and he had been their as long as Josh and AJ could recall.

“Hello boys!” Newman greeted them gleefully. “How was your year?”

“Oh not bad,” Josh answered for them. “And yours?”

“Simply wonderful.” He responded as he fingered his way through a stack of papers. Upon finding a specific sheet, his face lit up and he acclaimed “There you are!”

His personality was always overly upbeat. Newman seemed like the type of guy that would get on your nerves, but sooner or later everybody accepted his constant happiness and appreciated him for being 'ray of sunlight on a stormy day'; at least that is how Newman might describe it.

“Are we together?” AJ asked, though he was almost certain he knew the answer.

“Oh yes,” he said “and in Cabin 18. You guys must be growing up, how old are you now anyways?”

“Thirteen,” the boys responded simultaneously.

“Oh, your last year of junior camp. How exciting. You know I remember my last year of junior. It was marvelous.” Newman sat back in his chair, caught up in his obviously wonderful memories. It was a little awkward to be standing their, completely ignore by the man as he strolled down memory lane. He soon returned to reality, “But no time for stories now. There's a line behind you two that needs tending to, so if you don't mind, scat.”

“Fine then,” said Josh feigning a sense of abandonment. “We'll just be on our way then.”

“See you around!” called Newman's voice from behind the flock of people now to the rear of Josh and AJ.

“I think that guy's on ecstasy.” AJ said as he tried to become accustom to the bright sunlight which was drastically opposite from the dimly-lit building they exited.

“That might explain things.” Josh reasoned, “But I still say he's an alien.” They both laughed.

Cabin 18 was the farthest one away from the field. Because of this, it had been considered the most senior cabin, and it was always inhabited by the oldest campers of that particular year. It was almost an honour to be placed there, because it meant you were either very lucky or considered to be mature. Josh and AJ somewhat expected it to be the first reason in their case, but chose not to complain. The two friends were quite ecstatic about the whole thing.

They arrived at their cabin and pushed open the door. Its hinges squealed as it swung forward, allowing light to flood into the cramped room. Thee bunk beds lined the walls, which seemed to have been brown at some point but chipping paint and foreign stains and marks that probably each had their own story left only a collogue of dull colours for wall covering. On the immediate right was the counselor’s bed, which unlike every other mattress (save the two that were Josh and AJ's) was empty. This seemed strange as the counselor was usually there beforehand. Thinking little of it, the boys tossed their gear on the two remaining beds, which happened to be two top bunks.

“Guess we got lucky.” Said Josh as he rolled out his sleeping bag. “I've never been early enough to get a top bunk before. They're always gone by the time I show up.”

“I know whatcha mean man.” AJ said as he began to unpack some of his belongings.

The door bust open suddenly, causing the hinges to let out a shriek of agony. Josh and AJ jumped into the air in surprise, both of them hitting their heads on the ceiling. Josh soon recovered at looked towards the sunny entrance. The light revealed the perpetrator of their alarm, a boy obviously their age with a small build and short hair that lifted into a row of spikes at the front, almost like a wave. Tears welled in his eyes which were found behind glasses that didn't seem to suite the child. At first Josh thought he might be crying but he soon realized that he was laughing.

“Man,” the boy struggled to say through gasps, “You guys were sooooooo funny there! You were all like 'ahh' and then you hit your heads and ohmygosh it was freakin' hilarious.”

As Josh tried his as best he could to decipher the slur that had just erupted from the newcomer, AJ rose, rubbing his head.

“What the hell man?” questioned AJ through clenched teeth. “You shouldn't go around kickn' in doors like you're some kind of cop.”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” the boy said as began to get a hold of himself. “I'll try not to scare you in the future.”

The boy hopped up onto the other top bunk which was right beside AJ's.

“And I'll try not to knock your teeth down your throat.” AJ returned with a menacing glare in his eye.

The boy considered AJ and his threat only for a moment, then laughed once again and gave AJ a playful punch in the arm. The latter was taken aback by the almost complete stranger's confidence in hitting someone he never met. AJ thought about snapping, but decided against it as he had to spend the next week with the guy anyways.

“You're alright.” the boy proclaimed, “What's your guys' names anyhow?”

“He's AJ, and I'm Josh.” Josh responded for the both of them.

AJ reached over and shook the boy's hand and asked “And yours?”

“I'm Dustin.” he replied as he shook the hand vigorously. "Where yo guys from?"

"Hammer Bay." AJ responded.

"No way!" Dustin exclaimed, "Me too, what part of town? I'm from the North Shore myself."

"Neat the Hills." Josh replied. These were at opposite ends of the city, so it was sensible that they had never met before then.

Dustin nodded and said “This is my first time here. How 'bout you guys?”

“I dunno,” Josh shrugged, “I guess about four years. Yeah, that sounds right.”

“Well,” Dustin said grinning, “I can already tell it’s gonna be great.”



---



Jake had to sneak his way into his Socials Studies class upon his late arrival. All-to-vigilant hall monitors lurked around every corner and he did not want to have a run in with any of them. He really didn't need the extra stress right then. Jake was awfully pissed off about the day's prior events and he would have preferred to just go home and ignore the world. Make it all go away; the meeting with the police, his inevitable argument about that meeting with Nicole if she found out, and of course this ordeal with Josh and AJ. The thoughts of these engulfed his mind as he cautiously made his way through the almost empty hallways. Eventually, he reached the classroom and managed to creep inside undetected.

Jake took his usual seat in the back corner beside Robbie as the teacher wrote away that day's notes on the board. His back was turned to the students which allowed them to pass notes between each other without their instructor noticing. Robbie, who had been lying half-asleep on his desk, sat up suddenly as Jake quietly slipped into his chair.

“Wake you up?” Jake whispered to his friend.

“Guess so,” Robbie replied through a yawn, “Where you been this morning?”

“Me and Josh and AJ were skipping down at the beach,” Jake began but soon noticed that Robbie looked dismayed at being left out their school-missing adventures. He continued, “Don't worry, you didn't miss anything...”

Robbie cut him off, “How is that 'not missing anything'? I don't care what it is, it's gotta be better than here.”

Robbie's voice had become increasingly louder so that the teacher had noticed. He had momentarily stopped writing to let them know that they had been disrupting the class. Both boys fell silent until he began to write again, at which point they resumed their conversation, making sure to keep quite.

“Can I finish?” Jake asked in slight annoyance.

“Be my guest”, Robbie replied, obviously still a little upset.

“Well,” Jake continued, “We went down to the beach to hang out or whatever, and then Jake and AJ started acting like a bunch of ass-holes, so I left.”

Robbie interrupted him, “What's going on with you two anyways? You don't talk much anymore or hang out or nothing.”

Jake considered it. He had kept as much distance as possible between his cousin and himself ever since he had found out about the diaper thing. It was just way too strange. He didn't want anything to do with it. Actually, their relationship had been progressively more strained since Josh and AJ's return from camp that summer. They had been off together doing whatever it they did (most likely diaper stuff he thought) and at their job, whatever that was. Jake thought it may have been part of their growing up, or willingness to be independent. He wasn’t sure at all. All he did know was that they liked to use diaper (, and he didn't. He couldn't comprehend it, so Jake decided to continue what he had been attempting to do for the past few days; ignore it.

Snapping back to reality, Jake looked at Robbie and said “I don't know. Just some stuff I guess. Kinda weird.”

“What kind of weird?” Robbie questioned curiously.

“The 'drop it' kind of weird.” Jake stated firmly.

Robbie knew better than to push the matter. Jake was undoubtedly in a bad mood and he thought it best not to pry any further. There were a lot of things with Jake that you had to be careful with. Talking to him could be like walking through a mine field if you discussed certain matters. His parents, for example, were a topic that anybody who valued their own well-being would not touch. Not even Nicole talked about it much. Whatever, Robbie thought, it didn't matter anyways.

“Okay,” Robbie said, “So you just decided to come back to school? Why didn't you just go home?”

“I was getting there,” Jake said as he punched Robbie in the arm for again interjecting. “Anyways, I was leavin' the beach and two cops pulled up and found me. I didn't have a pass so they told me to get in their cruiser and they brought me here.”

Robbie was now staring at his friend with his eyes so wide it made his face look likes that of a disfigured owl. Jake laughed at him.

“You got arrested?” Robbie asked almost inaudibly.

“Well not really.” Jake shrugged, “They just told me to get in the car, so I did. One of them gave this big lecture about staying in school and then they asked for my name and number and stuff. It actually wasn't that bad.”

“But still man, that's pretty huge. You're like the biggest badass in the school. Wait 'till everyone finds out. You'll be a legend.” Robbie said this all in such amazement Jake almost felt like he was some kind of hero.

“No.” Jake said, “Don't spread this around. I don't want anyone to know. I'm already screwed if Nicole finds out, which she probably will. And you better not tell Josh and AJ. It'll just mess things up more than they already are.”

Robbie through his arms in the air and exclaimed, “Dude, you're crazy. You're just crazy. You could be like everyone's hero. You know that right?”

“Whatever,” Jake said. “Let's just get these notes down.”

Both boys turned to the front of the classroom and copied down the seemingly irrelevant words that were scrawled across the board. Some crap about global warming. Stupid hippy teacher, Jake thought. But it was a serious problem. It was September and aside from a devastating thunderstorm at the beginning of the month, the weather had been blisteringly hot. It had been that way all summer, and proof of this could be found in the now scorched California. Jake was writing down something about increased rainfall and he had to hold back a laugh. It had rained about four times in the last three months. He decided that most people didn't actually understand the problem, they just complained about it. Finishing his assignment quickly, Jake soon found himself laying his head on his own desk and resting his eyes.

“Hmm hmm,” the teacher cleared his throat to bring the students to attention, though Jake believed that it had been primarily targeted at him. “Today class,” he continued in a near-monotone voice “We will be taking a different approach to current affairs by watching the news and discussing the modern problems and stories of our nation. We will be watching a taping of last night's national news.”

A large groan was emitted by all the students with the exception of the enthusiastic few at the front of the call who almost appeared to be thrilled. This deterred the teacher in no way and he waddled as quickly as one with his gigantic stature could towards the television in the far corner of the room. He inserted the tape into the now primitive VCR and the face of a young woman who looked like a living lie to herself flashed into focus on the dusty screen. At first her lips moved to no affect but the teacher quickly adjusted the volume so that her speech echoed throughout the classroom.

“... not looking well for the Bush Administration.” her voice became audible in mid-sentence. “And, in our top story tonight, a young boy at a Chicago middle-school stopped one of his peers during an attempted school shooting.”

This grabbed the students' interest as there had been a shooting at a school in a nearby city the year before. The television now displayed a picture of the school with police cars surrounding it. A field reporter gave an overview of the situation.

“We are here live at Second City Jr. High, the location of a recently attempted school shooting.” The young man's voice was overly enthusiastic, as though he was trying to impress somebody. “Outbursts of violence such as this are an epidemic that is becoming commonplace among the schools of America. It is certainly a problem that needs close consideration in the near future. Most of these incidents result in the injury or death if many young peoples, but in this case, a small light has shone on this dark subject. We are here now with young Coby Pearce who managed to stop the would-be-shooter from committing any harm. Coby, how does it feel to be a hero?”

The camera turned to face a young boy who could only have been twelve or thirteen. He had short brown hair and sharp features. He wasn't skinny, but well built for his apparent age. But the most distinguishing feature were his eyes. They looked cold and were not quite blue, but rather a distant, merciless grey. Robbie turned from the TV. screen to Jake, then back, then back again.

“He looks just like you.” Robbie exclaimed as quietly as he could.

Jake stared at the boy shown and concluded that they did have some similar physical traits, most peculiar of all the eyes which Jake had always considered to be the one thing that set him apart. But this was surely coincidence.

“Maybe he's my evil twin.” Jake whispered back.

“Or maybe you're the evil one.” Robbie suggested with a wicked grin on his face.

“Shh!” One of the more interested students at the front hushed them. They fell silent and again directed their eyes towards the news.

“I don't know about hero,” Coby started, not even a little camera-shy, “I mean I just did the right thing. Like helping your neighbor take out the trash when they're sick, ya know? This just happened to be a bit bigger of a deal.”

“But still,” the reporter continued, “You halted an unstable student in his path of destruction. You've got to be proud of that.”

Coby's eyes flashed with a hint of anger and he said “He's not some 'deranged student'. His name is Phil, and he it wasn't a path of destruction. It was a wrongfully attempted outlet to get out the anger caused by a bunch of jerks that needed a freaking wake up call. Phil had every right to be pissed off, because some feel the need to belittle others for small downfalls that are easily targetable by those deemed powerful and important in today's culture. It’s B.S., and I only stopped him because he might of hurt some else too.” Colby walked away from the camera hastily.

Both reporter and the students viewing the tape were dumbstruck. They didn't know whether to be more astounded by the rant, or the fact that such a complicated and opinionated speech could be given by a person so young. The reporter on the screen quickly gave a closing statement and then the news continued with a story about a pregnant panda bear at some zoo.



---


Josh was pulled into the Hall by the seductive scent of spaghetti. Admittedly not an authentic 'camp' type food, the out-of-place dinner would undoubtedly be delicious, as the food at Stonewater always was. Arriving early, Josh was soon at the front of the then short line receiving a massive helping of pasta which was drowned in a thick red sauce. The steaming plate was soon complimented with meatballs and a lesser helping of a rather ordinary salad. He carried his plate almost triumphantly, as though it were a prize, to the nearest table where he wasted no time waiting for his cabin mates to arrive. Josh tore through the scrumptious meal rabidly, sparing no noodle. He was starving from an afternoon that had been packed with random activities and he ate with an almost feral speed. By the time the rest of his cabin showed up, he was half finished.
"Nice of you to wait," Dustin said upon his arrival. "You display the mannerisms of a neanderthil."

"Neanderthal." AJ corrected him before taking a seat and diving into his own plate.

"Whatever." Dustin shrugged, "Man was that a great afternoon or what?"

Nobody at the table responded, obviously much more content with eating than speaking. This did not deter the overly enthusiastic Dustin.

"Did any of you guys go swimming? Man the water was awesome. It was warm but a little cold too so it was good because it’s so hot out. When I first jumped in I felt like I was in a Nestea commercial, ya know, where they like take a drink and then there’s the pool behind them and they fall in. It was just like that man. It was so nice I was there for like a half-"

AJ clasped his hand around Dustin’s mouth, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Talk less, eat more." He grunted menacingly.

Everybody at the table, including Dustin laughed at this. The crowded table, which was built for four, now had five bodies crammed around it. Besides Josh, AJ and Dustin, this group included a scruffy-looking guy named Carson, who’s ripped clothing and scratched features were a result of his wild and extreme ways, and Quinn, a good ol' country boy who was generally didn't say much unless he thought it was with saying. This made up the entirety of their cabin. Earlier in the day, Newman had informed them that their councilor had suddenly fallen very ill and would not be able to make it to camp. Normally, they would have been able to find a replacement, but for whatever reason there had been nobody immediately available for the job. A limited camp staff had left no other option but for Newman or one of the other directors to fill in, or at least this would have been the case if the boys had not convinced Newman that they would be well enough alone. This had only worked after an extraordinarily long period of pleading. And so it was that the boys of cabin 18 had been left for the most part in charge of themselves. They were all aware that this left many avenues for open for a more exciting camp experience.

The now full Hall hummed with the voices of the many campers and rather than be drowned out, the group continued with their meal in relative silence. Dustin would occasionally bring up stories of his adventures that day, but that was about the only discussion there was between them. The five star foods was the only thing that seemed to matter to their mouths at that time. After a second helping or third for the truly hungry few, the campers who did not have to stay and help clean marched slowly back to their cabins.

"I ate way too much." Josh admitted as sauntered down the path.

"I know what you mean." Carson said as he grasped his stomach. "I think I might explode."

"Quit your whinin'" Quinn ordered the pair, "That's the stuff ya need in yur body. Helps ya grow."

"Then I guess you could use some more." AJ said as he stood walked beside the much shorter Quinn.

Quinn's only return to this was a playfulish punch in the arm. He stood a bit shorter than the rest of the guys, except maybe Dustin. It had been established earlier that day that Quinn didn't particularly like people bringing up his size, and AJ, being the person he was, tended to exploit this on a semi-regular basis.

"Geez, I was just screwin' with ya." AJ laughed.

"It’s better to be short than stupid." Carson said in an attempt to brighten Quinn up. It worked to some affect.

"Would you all just quit your arguing!" Josh stated loudly.

"Uh oh," said Carson in a scared tone, "I think we made him angry."

"Nah," AJ chimed in "He's just looking out for our better interest. Just like a counselor. Maybe you could be our counselor! Would ya like that Josh?"

AJ had to duck under Josh's hand as it swung backward to hit him.

"I oughta beat your dumb ass." Josh said as he turned around. "But I wouldn't wanna make you cry if front of the guys."

AJ laughed and challenged him "Anytime you wanna fight, you got one."

"That so?" Josh questioned as he poised to tackle his friend.

"Yep, that's so." AJ coolly said while trying to keep a straight face that could support his tough moniker.

With that Josh tackled him to the ground. They rolled in the dirt wrestling one another. The rest of the boys stood around them, Carson was egging them on while Quinn just laughed. Dustin looked on in an almost horrified manner.

"Are they actually fighting?" He asked shakily.

"No ya dipshit they're just wrestling." Carson said as he shook his head at the dumb question. They redirected their attention to the brawl.

AJ took advantage of Josh being wrapped around his waist and he tucked his head under his shoulder and wrapped his forearm around his neck. He began to choke Josh.

"Tap or sleep!" AJ cried quite loudly.

"Forget...about...it" Josh gasped as he stood slightly and explosively jumped backwards, sending AJ rocketing over his shoulder as his vice grip around his throat was released.

AJ rolled across the path and turned just in time to see a recovering Josh charge at him. Reflex occurred faster than sensible thought and AJ quickly dodged his friend’s efforts with a movement to the side. As he did this he wrapped his legs around Josh's ankles and twisted, causing Josh to fall forward with a great speed that came to a sudden halt as his head collided with a fallen tree with a sickening crack.. Josh lay dazed momentarily but soon came to and spun around to continue. He found AJ sitting with a surprised look on his face.

"Come on." Josh said fiercely. "Let's finish this."

"Umm," AJ staggered as his face went pale, "It’s done man. You're kinda bleeding. You know the rule."

"What are you talking about?" Josh asked puzzled.

The rule to which AJ referred was one which the two of them along with some of their friends had instated long ago: stop any fight at first blood. But Josh wasn't bleeding, or at least he didn't think he was. Reaching a hand to his head to check he soon felt the warm liquid oozing from an open gash at the right corner of his forehead. Only after touching it did he fell it, and it stung with a passion. The blood soon began to gush down his face but Josh simply sat there with his hand across his head, eyes wide with bewilderment. Maybe it was the constant blood loss, or the shock and confusion, but the following minutes were virtually a big blur to him.

Carson and AJ had helped him up, and to the nurse's office. Though the actions of his body were apparent to him, his mind seemed elsewhere, as though watching the events in slow motion on a fuzzy television screen. The nurse met them on the way over and Josh was lying on the hospital-like bed in no time at all. He felt a cold cloth on his visage, and the hushed discussion of others. He thought he heard Carson say something about falling on the path. He would have to remember that as a good cover story was always necessary to keep people out of trouble when a situation got bad between friends. Josh tried to focus the many faces swirling above him but it was almost impossible. He concluded that it was too much, and decided to close his eyes. Rest. What a delightful idea. Josh's eyes fell like the sun at night, and similarly darkness engulfed his world.


---



The remainder of the school day went by without incident. Jake's mood had not improved, but the hours had passed quickly and now he was free to go home. If home included a phone call from the police and a fight with Nicole, then so be it. That was life. Jake was satisfied with being away from school; away from all the people. He wanted to be that way right then; isolated from everybody, especially Josh and AJ. Jake walked past the bus he would normally ride home. He lived far enough away from the school that walking was inconvenient, though he would occasionally ride their on his skateboard. Today, he felt no desire to take the bus and Jake opted to walk home instead, if only to avoid people.

Jake's mind flashed back to the last time he had walked somewhere alone. His cast was a painful reminder of the events, as well as the black eye and cuts that only now began to fade. But this was a safer neighborhood, he reasoned subconsciously, and began the on the long distance home. The houses siding him went by without notice; he was unfamiliar with the folks that inhabited them. Most of them looked quite similar, only varying between three or four different designs. Jake hated how generic the modern architecture in cities had become. When he grew up, the houses that he lived near were for the most part all different, each with its own story. The people that lived inside soon began to look like the buildings in which they lived, or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, it was much more interesting than the blue-grey structures that looked like lines of uniformed students. Jake's mind continued to wander, though he never allowed it to go so far as to consider his cousin.

Within a short period of time that felt like mere minutes Jake was walking up the path to Sunrise Place. He knew that he would have to sneak around to avoid being seen by Josh or AJ, so he moved as quickly as he could around the bushes that lined most of the yards of his neighbors’. Jake soon reached his own house and he sprinted inside. He was glad to see Nicole was not yet home. He threw his pack down on the couch as he strolled by and wandered towards the fridge. He opened the door and reached around until his hand clasped around a cold can of Coke. Jake removed it and made short work of the beverage. It was still hot as hell outside, the sun had beaten down on him as he trekked home, and Jake was certain he would have a nice burn to thank him for it. The drink had been a nice refreshment but he was still hot and covered in a thick sweat. Deciding that there was not much better to do, Jake went to shower.

Shortly thereafter, a cold fountain poured down Jake's bruised face. It was so refreshing. The water washed away the sweat and dirt which was a result of the beach that morning. At the same time, it felt as though it was washing away all the stress that had accumulated over the past week. Jake stood in the shower, completely relaxed. He didn't think he was supposed to get his cast wet, but he did not let it bother him. His short blonde hair streaked back with the force and the oppressing heat which had gripped the city had no affect on him now. Jake was truly at ease.

Then suddenly, his peaceful world shattered around him. Through the nearby open window Jake could hear Nicole's car pull up. It seemed a little early for her to be home, but not suspiciously so. Jake wondered if she knew already. So what if she did, he thought. It was no big deal. He had skipped school plenty of times before. He had just been unlucky that time. Its wasn't like he had been put in prison. All it had been was a glorified lecture. These were all points that Jake hoped Nicole would understand. Then Jake's mind took a u-turn.

“I'm overreacting” he thought aloud.

He mentally agreed with himself. Nicole would seldom get really upset about something Jake did. Often she would just laugh at his antics, while other times she would let him know when he had pushed the limit. Still, Nicole had never done this in a mean or harsh manner, she was just firm. On the rare occasion, Jake had done something so rotten that he had made Nicole angry. Usually, they both felt terrible afterwards; Jake for aggravating her and Nicole for yelling at him. Their relationship was hardly ever strained. It wasn't as much a mother-son sort of thing as a really good friend, or something like the bond one had with an older cousin. They both preferred it that way.

Jake could hear the front door open and Nicole enter. He listened to see if he could dictate whether or not she was upset by the amount of noise she made. He knew that this method usually worked, and he was almost surprised when he could hear no over dramatic slamming of doors or windows or anything of the sort. Perhaps, Jake thought, the cops hadn't talked to her. Maybe they wouldn't. The whole meeting with the cops could have mostly been for shock value, to scare him into behaving. Or maybe they were waiting to phone; biding their time in order to get this type of reaction out of him. Torture, Jake concluded as he shut off the shower.

The phone's ring came like a bullet as it rang throughout the small house. Jake could here it as he stood exposed in the middle of the room. It rang again; another bullet, this one even more painful. That was the police. They were calling and he was in trouble. Nicole cutoff the third ring midway as she picked up the receiver and began to speak. Jake tried to make out what they were saying. His heart lifted when he heard Nicole answer 'Hi Claire'. He was saved, for the time being.

He stepped out and proceeded to dry himself off with a nearby towel that felt much too big. He dried the water from his face and looked in the mirror. He saw that the black eye was for the most part gone, even though it was still painful. The cuts that had marked his face looked to be leaving no scars, except maybe a small one by his left ear which was taking a peculiarly long time to heal. Jake finished up and put on the new set of clothes which he had previously grabbed. He stepped into a ripped pair of jeans that had massive wholes where that allowed his knees to be completely visible. Jake affectionately referred to these as his Zakk Wylde jeans. To complete his music related attire, he slipped on a Motley Crue t-shirt with sleeves so short it was almost a muscle shirt. Checking once more in the mirror to make sure his hair was how he liked it, he quickly exited the bathroom.

“Hey,” Nicole greeted him as he entered the kitchen. She had just hung up the phone.

“Hi,” Jake said nervously, and then correcting his voice to appear calmer continued, “How was work?”

“Same thing, different day.” she replied as she too grabbed a drink from the refrigerator. “How was school? Anything important happen?”

She was fishing, Jake thought. She knew. She had to have known. No, he reasoned with himself, it was just a simple question about his day.

“Fine, I guess. Not much special though.” Jake said trying to keep his wild thoughts inside his head.

“Oh, that's good.” Nicole responded.

She looked like she had been let down, like she had been expecting something that she had not received. Jake considered that maybe Nicole was aware of what had happened and but she wanted him to confess. That was not going to happen any time soon.

Jake headed to the couch and flopped down in a half-laying-half-sitting position. He turned on the television and searched the channels for something to watch. He wanted to end the conversation, believing that in doing so he could drop the subject forever. Nicole, apparently, had different plans.

“Hey Jake.” she called from behind the open counter that faced the living room where Jake was.

“Yeah,” he said back with a little fear traceable in his voice.

“You would tell me if anything was going on, right?” Nicole asked, “I mean, if something big was happening, or something was buggin' ya, you'd let me know, right?”

He stalled, paralyzed by fright. She definitely knew. He had no clue what to say. He could come clean, but he chose not to. Instead Jake pulled out the 'innocent' card; pretend that he didn't know anything was wrong.

“Um, I guess so.” He answered tentatively, “Why do you ask?”

Now Nicole hesitated. Again she seemed hurt that she had not gotten the answer she desired. Jake felt guilty when he saw a look of disappointment spread across her visage.

“Well,” she began slowly, “That was Claire on the phone just now.”

“Oh.” said Jake, pretending to act surprised, even though there was no reason that he should have been.

“Yeah,” Nicole continued, “She feels like Josh had been acting, well, kinda weird lately. Have you noticed anything?”

“Not really, no.” Jake lied, still unsure of where this was going.

“Well,” Nicole went on, “Claire said that ever during summer break he kind of changed. She said he hasn't been talking to her much and he's home less and less. She doesn't know what's going on with him, so I just thought that you might know if something was up.”

Jake sat silently for a moment. He was, for the most part, relieved. He was glad that it had not been the police and even though they may call later, he felt it was not much of a big deal any longer. The initial stress was over. But deep down, he had a growing concern for his cousin's situation. Josh's strange behavior was obviously not just affecting their relationship, but also that which he had with his mother. Jake wasn't entirely sure what to make of the matter. It had snowballed into a large problem for a lot of people.

“No, I haven't noticed a thing." Jake said calmly.

"Oh, well, okay then." Nicole half sighed. "Claire wanted me to ask you to talk to him. Could ya do that for her?"

The last thing that Jake wanted to do was talk to Josh. The situation had awkward written all over it. There would not only be the diaper thing looming over their thoughts, but the general strangeness that occurs when two people who just fought are forced together under peaceful terms. The idea seemed terrible. What was he supposed to say anyway? Jake's mind danced around these and other inner dilemmas. He wanted to say no, but his reason was replaced with either compassion or ignorance.

"Sure," Jake complied, "I'll do it. I could go over there right now if ya want me to."

A decision had been made and all that was left for Jake to do was cope with whatever consequences may arise. His previous comment was for a statement to himself, as though he had to prove to himself that he was ready to break down the walls of unfamiliarity that had been structured between he and Josh's friendship.

"No, I think we'll go over there tonight, after we eat." As Nicole said this, Jake could notice a hint of a proud smile creep across her features. Great, Jake thought, plenty of time to dwell on it. And he did. Sitting in front of the television for the next hour or so, his brain played out his future conversation with Josh over and over, each time resulting in an unfavorable ending. Jake was no longer concerned with the call from the police. It was no longer on the top of his priority list, or rather, list of things to worry about. He worried a lot, about all sorts of things. AJ had once suggested he take up marijuana. Then there was a new problem. How would this affect AJ? Had his mom noticed anything different about him? Surely, Jake surmised, that if Claire had come to he and Nicole for assistance with Josh she had also contacted her son's best friend. Maybe not, he reasoned. Perhaps he was taking this matter too heavily. Claire might have been doing the exact same thing. This might have been part of Josh's growing up. Who knew? But it was without a doubt becoming a troublesome ordeal.

Jake had hardly touched his meal. Nicole hadn't bugged him about. She could see through his lies. She was aware that Jake had noticed the changed behavior of his cousin. It was painfully obvious. The pair had without a word agreed to eat in silence. There was no need for further tension.

After they ate, Nicole decided to do clean the few dishes alone, and Jake went to his room. He lay down on his bed and attempted to clear his buzzing skull of everything. It was futile. The same conversations spun around, sometimes colliding to create brand new problems. An inaudible wringing from his head was deafening, the sound of a mind punishing itself with no motive, save perhaps fear. Fear of what the night would hold. Jake had conceived so many expectations and yet none of them were expectable, within a reasonable standpoint that is. His temples pulsed, harder and harder with each new concept created until salvation arrived in the form of a knock at the door.

"You ready kiddo?" Nicole's voice came through the soft wood and under the crack.

"Yeah, I guess." Jake replied as he opened the door.

He and Nicole slipped on their shoes and walked out the door and down the road. The sun was still merciless, and it had now commanded the sky to share its blazing glare. Small beads of sweat trickled down Jake's neck, and this was no fault of the heat. The distance that lay between the two houses felt like it was miles long, and that still was not enough. Jake's clustered mind, no matter how hard it worked, could not slow time and the pair found themselves at the doorway of their destination in mere moments. They entered and announced their presence. Hurried footsteps could be heard approaching.

"Hey guys." Claire greeted solemnly as she rounded the near corner. "Josh and I just had a fight; he took off about ten minutes ago."

She looked like she was about to cry. Nicole walked over to console her. For some reason Jake felt like this was his entire fault. He was aware that that was illogical, but he felt that way nonetheless. He wanted to help.

"I'll go try and find him." Jake said as much to his own surprise as the other two.

"No Jake, I don't want you..." Claire began but Jake interrupted her.

"No, don't worry about it. I think I know where he is anyways." He lied about the last part. He had no clue where his cousin would be.

"Thanks Jake." Claire said with only a hint of a smile.

"Don't go anywhere dangerous!" Nicole called as he exited the house. Jake ran down the street to his house and grabbed his skateboard. He thought his aching mind was going to explode. First the cops, then having to talk to Josh and now this. He had had to worry about so much. But Jake realized that this was not about him. It was about Josh and whatever was going on in his strange little world. Jake wasn’t sure what he would do if he found him. A part of him wanted to strangle his cousin for all the stress and anxiety he had caused, but deep down, Jake just wanted to clear it all up. He would confront Josh and then go with the flow. Come whatever may, he said to himself.
Jake rolled down the hot street absolutely focused until a familiar voice derailed his train of thought.

"Where are you goin'?" AJ said from a sitting position on his front porch.

Jake contemplated ignoring him and just continuing his search, but instead he swerved into his friend's driveway.

"To find Josh." He answered, "He got into a fight with Claire and ran off. I'm gonna find him."

"Listen, man," AJ began, "About this morning, we were way outta line. We shouldn't treat you like that."

"That doesn't matter right now." Jake stated venting a little bit of his frustration.

"You did what you did. Whatever. Right now I don't care. I'm going to find Josh and deal with this damn mess. You're welcome to help."

AJ considered Jake for a moment, and then said "Let me grab my bike."


---



Josh awoke in a state of wild confusion. The room around him was foreign; he did not recognize it at all. The numbing sensation in his head was not helping, either. He sat up slowly and glanced around. He was in a small office. The bed was placed in the corner farthest from the door. Beside him were a sink and a large cabinet. He stared down towards his feat. Wonder once again seized his mind as he saw a table at the end of the bed with two tall stacks of unopened youth diapers. Josh stood up and walked over to the diapers. It was weird; at home he and AJ always had to struggle to get diapers. It had been easier for both of them when they had had ’problems’ at night, but at thirteen they had now overcome their nighttime incontinence and they had to find other means of getting them. That usually meant going to the grocery store in a far part of the city or something like that to buy the diapers without being caught by an acquaintance.

Josh reached out and picked one of the packages up. It was Attends. The picture on the front depicted that it was the pull-up type. The weight bracket was 120lbs - 145lbs. It was a perfect fit for him. He considered taking it, but that once again brought up the problem of not knowing where he was. It was obviously a nurse's office. He reached a hand to his aching head. A large bandage coved his tender forehead. His touch stung viciously and he quickly retracted his hand. He decided it was best to go and get some answers. He was on his way out the door when it opened for him. A middle-aged woman in white walked in, most likely the nurse, accompanied by AJ.
"What are you doing up?" The nurse screeched as she forced Josh back onto the bed. "Have you known sense about you?"

"What's going on?" Josh asked a bit annoyed.

"What going on," the nurse replied, "Is that you cut your silly little head open and you should be resting because you're probably a bit delirious."

"What?" Josh questioned. He couldn't recall anything.

"You know," AJ said, "When we were walking back to the cabin and you fell and hit your head on the log. Remember?"

"No." Josh returned nervously. "Last thing I remember is... spaghetti. Real good spaghetti."

Though Josh had a savory look on his face, the nurse and AJ exchanged worried glances.

"Is it bad that I don't remember?" Josh asked.

"Maybe," the nurse responded. "We'll have to see how extensive the damage was."

She marched purposefully to the cabinet and extracted a tiny flashlight and some other equipment. She came back to Josh and flashed the light in his eyes. She monitored his pupils and then checked his reflexes. She proceeded to carry out the usual tests any doctor would perform at a regular check up. After some thorough testing, she backed off her patient looking quite dismayed.

"How does your head feel?" She wanted to know. "A little dizzy, but I don't think it’s a concussion or anything."

Josh answered. "Well," she began, "I don't think there'll be any long term problems. I didn't have to give you stitches, the cut wasn't very big, but you bled a lot. You should definitely drink some juice or water. I'm going to let you go to your cabin, but no shenanigans, alright? You just go straight to bed."

"Sure." Josh replied happily at the good news. "Now..." the nurse was interrupted by a knock at the door.” I’ll take it outside; I'll only be a moment."

The nurse exited the room. AJ walked over to help Josh up. He was about to say something when they heard the conversation outside.

"Oh, hello Mr. Hardy." The nurse greeted somebody.

"Hey," the voice of Quinn replied nervously.
"Here to see your friends?" She asked politely.

"Um, no." He answered quietly. "I, uh, I have a note for you."

There was a momentary silence as the nurse was probably reading the note over.

"Okay then." She said boldly. "Well it’s just inside."

"But aren't Josh and AJ in there too?" He was almost choking on his words. He was certainly scared about something.

AJ and Josh quickly pretended that they had been in a deep conversation when the nurse came back inside to hide the fact they were eavesdropping. She came back into the diminutive office and walked straight over to the stack of diapers. She was about to open the package when she turned around.

"Well, nothing to be ashamed about." She said to Quinn, beckoning him to come in. Quinn stood in the doorway, whiter than a ghost.

"Fine then." she said bitterly. "Young Mr. Hardy here has a problem at night. He must wear diapers for this problem. Do you follow?"

Her cruelty was unimaginable. Josh felt absolutely terrible for Quinn, who was now paralyzed.

"Actually," said AJ slowly, "I wet the bed at night too. I was supposed to ask you for some diapers, but I was too embarrassed."

Josh caught on quickly and said "Maybe I should take one. You know, in case I my head acts all weird and I have an accident."

The nurse gave a hidden smile to Josh and AJ and all three saw Quinn lighten up.

"Perhaps I'll just give you the whole package." She suggested as she tossed the diapers to AJ. "Just in case anybody else in your cabin suddenly has a problem."

"Thanks." Josh said as he arose. The nurse bade them goodnight as the three of them followed the dark path back to their cabin.

At twelve o'clock, it was past the campers’ curfew. Lights out had been a half-an-hour ago. For awhile, they said nothing. Quinn still seemed shocked, so it was surprising to the others when he was the first to speak.

"You didn't have to do that for me." He mumbled.

"Do what?" AJ questioned seriously. "It’s true man. I've been wetting the bed since before I can remember."

Quinn simply nodded, not actually convinced. Josh knew that AJ had outgrown his need, if not his want for diapers a while ago. It had been awfully generous of him to throw himself out there like that for Quinn, and he was glad that he had. The almost-too-often sarcastic Josh apparently had a kind side. The boys reached their cabin and entered. Carson was playing with a knife. Dustin looked up curiously.

"Where you been?" the latter wondered aloud.

"Nurse's office." Quinn responded. Dustin was about to ask something but when the other two came in he became much more interested in them.

"Josh!" He shouted, "You're back! What have you got there?"

"Diapers," Josh replied flatly.

"What?" asked Dustin, taken aback by the answer.

"I gotta where diapers to bed tonight because of my head injury thing." Josh started, "The nurse is making me. I didn't wanna 'cause I figured you guys would bug me, but AJ and Quinn offered to wear them too so I wouldn't feel bad about it."

"Oh." said a wide-eyed Dustin.

Josh tore open the package and grabbed a diaper out. He climbed up to his bunk where he could put it on with some privacy. AJ did the same, followed by Quinn who seemed even more surprised that Josh too had covered for hm.

"Well, if it the cool thing to do, why not?" Carson said as he got out of his bed and grabbed one of the diapers.

"Yeah." Dustin agreed as he did the same. He looked to be a little more uncomfortable with this, or maybe excited. The five boys stripped their off their pants and boxers and each of them slide the pull-up on their bare legs. Mixed reactions were imminent around the room. Josh, who received the same rush that he usually did, got an erection. Looking around, he saw AJ was in the same state of mind. It was just so great to have the thick white cushion between his legs. He enjoyed the crinkling which was provoked by his slightest movement. He saw that Quinn was already accustomed to the extra padding around his groin, but Carson was waddling around clumsily.

"This thing's crazy!" Carson exclaimed as he groped around and felt it. Doing this would normally be quite embarrassing, but he was comfortable exposing himself to the others in just a diaper and his muscle shirt. "It’s so weird but it’s cool. Like being a big baby."

Quinn blushed at the last comment. Josh redirected his sights to Dustin. The boy's face was contorted to a mixture of glee and shock. He looked to be enjoying himself a lot. Josh wondered if he too liked to wear diapers. He had the look of a child on Christmas morning.

"Well, I'm tired." AJ announced.

The rest agreed with his sentiment and decided to turn in. Carson walked over to light, still laughing at the feeling of the diaper and turned off the lights. Darkness swallowed the room. Despite just being out for a few hours, Josh fell asleep first, still tired from the wound or the long day they had had. Carson soon did, followed by Quinn. AJ took a while longer, but he too eventually fell into a deep slumber. Only Dustin lay awake, and he did so for hours. Curiosity was gripping his thoughts. He was so puzzled as to why he was enjoying this so much.


---



Several laps around their main hang out areas downtown proved futile, and Jake and AJ were beginning to lose hope in their search. They had just checked the Pool Hall and were now down by the beach. The sun had begun to set and the skies dimmed. The heat remained like a vengeful memory. Jake stared across the endless ocean, noting its size and how small he was in comparison.

"Where the hell could he be." Jake questioned even though he didn't expect a helpful answer.

AJ didn't say anything for a long time. He just looked around, surveying the buildings and warehouses that were on the round at the far end of the beach, and then glancing back up the way they had come. Eventually he broke the silence.

"I've got a favour to ask of you." He started.

"What?" Jake asked irritably.

"Well, you're not gonna agree with it or want to do it," AJ continued, "But you gotta. If you wanna find Josh, you gotta do this for me. Or for him. Whatever."

"Just tell me what it is!" Jake demanded with aggression imminent in his voice.

"I need you to stay here well I go get Josh. I'm pretty sure I know where he is." AJ said very quickly.

"And I can't come, right?" Jake questioned cynically.

"Right." AJ answered quietly.

Jake was about to say something, but he held back and paced a little. He was already furious, the anger was just starting to seep its way through his skin.

"Let me guess." said Jake slowly "This is some bull shit to do with your 'secret job', and I can't come because I'm not special or exclusive or some shit. Am I in the ball park here?"

AJ was afraid to say anything. It was cutting wires for a bomb. One wrong choice and he would explode.

"I just wanna find him." AJ said. "Just trust me."

"Go." Jake said coolly as he glared with his cold grey eyes at AJ's forehead, the latter would not make eye contact. AJ began off in the direction of the warehouses. Jake waited until he was gone and then let loose. He screamed at the empty beach, kicking up sand. What was going on? What had happened to him and his happy clique of friends and family? It had been shattered by a silly obsession. Secrets and withheld opinions suffocated the conversations they had. Josh and AJ had left Jake out of... something. He wouldn't take it anymore. Jake wanted to know. No more lies. He was going to open the curtain and find the man. Jake was going to find out just what the hell was going on. He took off after AJ.

After the beach cut off and AJ's trail disappeared, Jake had to guess which way he had gone. He opted to search around the various warehouses scattered around the area. This feat was becoming increasingly more difficult now that the sun had set. Jake was very much aware of the fact that he shouldn't be around that part of town at night. None of the gangs had actually claimed it, it was owned by rich business men from big offices in other cities. But the dark alleys that fell between the ominous structures were dodgy and mysterious, the typical place for unfortunate mishaps. A few homeless folk were scattered about, but they didn't pay any attention to Jake as he rolled along slowly. Most of the warehouses were dark; all the workers had gone home. It was because of this that Jake became curious when he saw a light shining through the basement window of a small building. The glow imitated not from a warehouse, but an old office building whose three or four upper floors looked to be condemned. Deciding to investigate, Jake stepped of his skateboard and crept towards the structure.

He moved slowly, the deserted street gave the sense that there was someone watching him in secret. Jake snuck around the side and froze. Lying by a small door was AJ's bike. Adrenaline flooded his body as his heart accelerated unnaturally. What the hell is this? He thought to himself. Could this be Josh and AJ's job? Jake decided he was going to find out then and there.

Dropping to his stomach, he peeked into the nearest window. His eyes quickly landed on a young man, probably early twenties, Jake thought, speaking to Josh. They seemed to be arguing about something. Between them on a table were some papers and some pictures, which Jake couldn't make out clearly. He wanted to hear what they were saying, but the window made this impossible. Jake concluded that this was useless and began to get up so he could try and find another window. However, just as he began to push his body off the ground, the door in front of him swung open. Jake was stricken with fear.

Two people casually walked out. One handed a cigarette to the other and lit both. Jake looked up at the pair, who had yet to notice him. Jake surprisingly recognized one - a boy from his school who had been their when that kid had given him his skateboard on the first day of class. The other guy was obviously a bit older, most likely 18. He sported a short blonde beard that covered his face and a cowboy hat. They both took long drags in silence. They quickly dispatched of their smokes and the bearded one again lit two and passed on to the opposite kid.

"So anyway," the bearded one began after inhaling another long drag, "I said to him 'If you don't take that damn thing down, I'll shoot you in the neck.'"

The pair laughed uproariously and once again went to their cigarette. After the familiar one had finished his second smoke, he flicked the butt to the ground where it unfortunately bounced into Jake's face. He let out a short cough, which revealed him from his hiding place.

"What the hell?" The younger one said as he bent down to see Jake. "What are you doing there on the ground?"

Jake didn't answer.

"Well, help him up ya moron!" The bearded one commanded; his orders were obeyed.

Jake stood in front of the two absolutely terrorized. He didn't move a muscle.

"Are you all right buddy?" The bearded on asked as he stared at Jake from head to toe.

There was no response.

"Well he still hasn't answered the first question." The younger one stated. "You've confused him. So, what were you doing on the ground?"

"I was, uh..." Jake mumbled.

The bearded one stared past Jake into the window and saw the meeting going on between Josh and the other guy. His face suddenly fell into a more hostile state.

"You weren't spying, were you?" He questioned suspiciously.

"N-no" Jake stammered, "I was just, um..."

"Check him out. Careful with his wrist." The bearded one growled as the other guy grabbed Jake by his collar and pulled him closer.

"What the hell!" Jake cried "Let go!"

The one holding him felt his chest and back. He searched Jake's ears and examined his pockets. He even ripped of his shoes, looking for whatever.

"Clean." The young one said, keeping his grip tight on the struggling Jake.

"Let me go you bastards!" Jake said angrily. The one holding him stared at his partner awaiting instruction.

"Nah," the bearded one said, "I think you better come inside for a bit."

Fear swept over Jake as the adrenaline almost made him dizzy. He attempted to escape but the bearded on just grabbed his legs up and they carried him inside.

"Quit moving around." The bearded on ordered sternly. "Who knows, maybe you'll have some fun down here."

He let out a twisted laugh as they carried him down a dark stairwell.

[Slang]

Alright, apparently I posted Chapter 4 twice, but I've now edited in Chapter 5, which I'm pretty sure is the shortest chapter. Thanks to the dude who pointed this out, and yeah, hope you guys enjoy this.

I wish I could be the one
The one who won’t care at all

Confided in me was your heart
I know it’s hurting you, but it’s killing me

-M. Shadows

Chapter 5: Unholy Confessions
Josh paced frantically across the small office. The empty chair in front of him was in no way desirable, he was uneasy. He had been waiting for almost an hour. This had gotten way out of hand. First Jake had found out and now his mom was suspicious. She thought that he had joined a gang. He almost laughed at the prospect of that; lower middle-class white kid becomes a thug. If she found out what this really was, well, he didn’t know what she’d think. His mom would probably be pissed, or freaked out. Josh thought he might end up at a shrink’s. AJ’s mom was most likely worried too. It was out of control, but Josh was going to change that.

He became still as the door behind swung open allowing a much needed draft into the stuffy room. A single man entered, looking somewhat exhausted, as though he had been in a rush. The entering man quickly reformed himself to become more presentable. He then walked around Josh to the other side of the desk that was situated in the middle of the office and took a seat in the chair on his side. Across the desk were scattered pictures and papers none of which had any immediate relevance to either party. Upon taking his seat he considered Josh with expecting eyes.

“Sit down.” He beckoned Josh into the chair that was in front of him.

“I think I’ll stand, Louis.” Josh replied, only barely hiding the animosity in his voice.

Realizing that something was on the other’s mind, Louis again stood up, walked to a small fridge in the corner and retracted a bottle of vodka from it. He raised it up as an offering to Josh, who declined. He took a swig for himself and again observed Josh.

“Relax, man. What the hell’s wrong with you?” Louis laughed at Josh’s anxiousness.

“My mom,” Josh started slowly, “She knows something’s up. She doesn’t know what, but she’s wondering. She’s convinced I’ve been shanghaied into some gang.”

He was interrupted by Louis’ laughing; apparently he found it funny too.

“I’ve gotta cut back, Lou, or someone’s gonna find out what I’m doing here.” Josh continued.

“What do ya mean ‘someone’? Anyone else wondering what you’re up to?” Louis asked after he took another drink.

“Yeah,” Josh replied hotly, “my friends all wanna know what I’m doin’ and my cousin is suspicious as hell. It’s not like all this money I’m getting just fell from the sky.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Louis asked as he too became increasingly upset.

“I told you Lou; just give me some time off.” Josh said, exasperated.

“You know I can’t do that.” Louis responded defensively, “Besides, you’re everyone’s ‘favourite’. You’ve got like five times the hits of everybody else.”

“I don’t care about that.” Josh said as though he had been insulted by the fact that Louis had thought such a thing would matter to him.

“Well I do. A hit equals money, simple math tells us that means more hits means more money. That’s the same money that keeps you employed.” Louis was getting frustrated.

Josh began pacing again, deep in thought. Louis watched him, apparently in the same state of mind.

“What if I could find somebody else?” Josh asked after a few minutes. “Just to take like one of my shifts. I could still come in once a week and they could come in to do my other one. Just for awhile.”

“Got anyone in mind?” Louis asked.

“Yeah, I think I know a guy.” Josh lied. He was just excited that Louis seemed to be into the idea.

“I’ll tell you what,” Louis said after considering it. “You bring in this ‘guy’ of yours in and if he’s any good then you got yourself a deal.”

Josh was just about to thank him when there was a loud knock on the door.

“What?” Louis called.

A bearded young man in a cowboy hat walked into the room hastily.

“What’s up buddy?” He asked nodding at Josh.

“Not much Shawn.” Josh replied as he got up to leave. He had a feeling their meeting was over.

As he exited the room, he could here the two begin to speak behind him.

“There’s something you need to see.” Shawn told Louis quietly.

“Dude, I don’t care right now. I got to get back to the place, some guy wants to talk about some new, uh, stuff. So just deal with it.”

“Fuck that.” Shawn said angrily. “I think this is something you’ll want to see.”

“Well, what do you want anyway?” Louis asked.

Shawn stared at him and said “Only your thoughts on what to do with this kid we found outside.”


---


Dustin lay in is bed wide awake. It was reaching wake up time, but that mattered little to him. He hadn’t slept at all except for when his runaway thoughts had become short dreams. His mind had been overwhelmed by this new… love, or perhaps desire. Dustin was not yet sure of what to call his ‘whatever’ for diapers. All he knew was that he was really enjoying the one he had on him. It was a deeper than some bizarre fetish. It just felt right, the regression back to his childhood. He wanted to go back, he wanted to a baby again. All night thoughts of this had consumed his mind. If only he could reverse time, but that was impossible. Dustin’s only solace was this diaper. He couldn’t explain why it had brought up this want inside of him, but it did and he would not deny his desires.

A lack of a clock or watch left knowing the time to one’s speculation. The sun was up, but that meant nothing as it usually rose at about six a.m. and the wake up siren was at eight-thirty, so it was somewhen between then. Dustin guessed about half past seven, but the time passed slowly against the waves of confusion in his cranium. His thoughts were then abruptly interrupted by the waking Quinn. His early rise was probably a result of his farm life, or so Dustin reasoned. He watched from his top bunk as Quinn sat up and yawned. There was suddenly a look of shock on the other boy’s face, which passed quickly as if he was accustomed to whatever phenomenon had swept over him. Quinn scanned the room and Dustin feigned sleep. He was certain that his being awake would provoke conversation between the two of them and he didn’t want that presently. After Quinn looked to have confirmed that everybody else was asleep, he stood up. Dustin saw that like himself Quinn had removed his shirt to cope with the treacherous heat during the night. He arose from his bed and stood in the middle of the room clad only in a diaper. Dustin observed this through half closed eyes in shock. Quinn’s diaper was absolutely soaked. The thick white diaper had swelled an extra one-half of its size with urine, the scent of which became more imminent in the room now that the diaper was not concealed by his blanket. Quinn waddled across the room with more difficulty now that his diaper was full. He opened the window in an attempt to waft out the smell. Returning to his bed, Quinn opened his suitcase and pulled out a small plastic bag. He stripped off his drenched diaper which squelched with this action and placed in the bag. Wrapping a towel around his nude self and tying the bag, Quinn left the cabin, seemingly for the shower as he had also collected a toiletry bag.

How strange was it that Quinn had used the diaper? He asked himself. Maybe he needed the diapers too. Though what he had just witnessed had shocked him, Dustin was much more surprised at what happened next. He developed an erection. He was somewhat appalled. Had he just found Quinn attractive? He didn’t think so, but there was something about seeing the other boy in a fat wet diaper that was simply fantastic to him. He wanted so badly to wet his own. The thought had previously occurred to him during the night, but he dismissed it. If the other boys discovered that he had wet his diaper, well he wasn’t sure what they would do. How he longed to use the protective underwear that was wrapped tightly around his groin. He had already reached one stage of his journey back to his childhood; that would be the next. Dustin wanted to reach that destination more than anything. It all seemed unreal, but he knew what he desired. He had questioned whether or not this was just a phase, but it didn’t feel like it. It felt like it was a deep part of him that had just been unearthed. Dustin slowly began to nod off again, the hours he had been deprived of sleep had begun to catch up with him.

As soon as his eyes had shut, they had been torn apart by the trumpeting call of the camp siren. It was wake up time. The first alarm signified a wake up call while a following ring which would go off in a half-an-hour would mean breakfast. Dustin bolted up at the alarm, shaking his drowsiness off easily. He saw that the others did so, some with more difficulty than others. Josh was most notable, looking wide awake but quite skeptical to actually get out of bed. Carson climbed out from his lower bunk, still in his diaper, which was dry. He quickly dispatched of it and threw on some shorts.

“Well,” he announced while grabbing his towel, “I’m off too the shower.”

At most camps, the boys would not be concerned about showering, but as they were the oldest ones there and they wanted impress the few girls that were there, the shower was the most flattering form of attraction they could accomplish. AJ yawned to announce his arrival into consciousness.

“I’m awake.” He declared.

“Hey.” Dustin greeted him.

“Where is everybody?” He asked after observing the half-empty cabin.

“Both off to shower.” Dustin answered as he swung his legs so they could hang off the side of the bunk, a position that left him exposed to the world in only his diaper. He was not embarrassed; he wanted AJ and Josh to see. The idea excited him. AJ watched Dustin with interested eyes, though the latter was unaware.

“What’s the matter?” AJ asked Josh as his gaze fell upon the forlorn face of his friend. “You feeling’ alright?”

“I, uh…” Josh struggled.

“What, did you wet your diaper?” Dustin questioned jokingly.

Josh looked across to the pair with a painful stare. His eyes gave away the feeling of a kid who had lost something combined with a sad guilt.

“I didn’t mean too.” Josh admitted quietly.

Both AJ and Dustin were shocked. AJ and Josh had often discussed how cool it would be to be incontinent. To have to rely on diapers; it would be incredible. But now as AJ stared at his friend’s devastated face, he knew only a strong sense of pity. Dustin, on the other hand, had become wildly aroused. Again he had experienced another using a diaper. He wanted to join in, to experience the sensation of wetting himself, but he couldn’t. Not then.

“Hey man,” AJ said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s probably just your head thing, you’ll get over it. That’s what you had ‘em for anyways.”

“It wasn’t me that was supposed to have them.” Josh corrected him.

“Still…” AJ trailed off unable to argue the point.

So the diapers had been for Quinn, Dustin concluded. It didn’t actually matter, Josh had used the thing.

“Nobody’s going to find out.” Dustin comforted him. “We’re not telling nobody, and it’s not like Quinn or Carson will either. We all wore them, so we’re all in the same boat.”

“Thanks guys.” Josh said wiping a developing tear from his eye.

“Come on,” AJ said, “We should get ready for breakfast.”

---


Josh entered the small sitting area after exiting Louis’s office. He was surprised to find that AJ was standing against the far wall, waiting.

“Hey.” Josh greeted as he sat down on a near sofa exhaustedly.

“Dude, we gotta go.” AJ said impatiently.

“What are you talking about?” Josh asked.

“You mom sent Jake to go find you. I decided to give him a hand. We’ve been looking for like the past hour man. She’s worried and Jake’s pissed.”

“Damn it!” Josh cursed loudly as he stood up and pulled his hand through his hair in a state of anxiety. “You didn’t bring him here, did you?”

“Who, Jake?” AJ asked. “Nah he’s still at the beach waitin’ for me, or us I should say.”

“How long has he been there?” Josh asked as he rocked back and forth on his heels.

“I don’t know, about ten or fifteen minutes.” AJ responded. Josh nodded and AJ continued, “Why’d you come down here anyway?”

“I had to get away from my place. Me and my mom had this big fight. She thinks I joined a gang.” Josh paused so AJ could laugh. Freaking peanut gallery he thought. “I also wanted to get some time off, ya know? I was thinkin’ that maybe I could get somebody else to do half of my shifts. “

“You mean Lou was thinking.” AJ guessed correctly.

“Pretty much.” He sighed, “Ya know anybody interested?”

“How about Jake?” AJ suggested.

Now it was Josh’s turn to laugh. Jake had spent the last week virtually hating Josh about this whole damn secret job. He imagined how that conversation would go and chuckled to himself. He was certain that would never happen. It’s funny how wrong some people can be.



A short while earlier yet not directly pertaining to the actual series of ‘flashbacks’…



Jake was carried into a small storage room that was really more of a glorified closet. His two captors discarded him onto the cold cement floor and walked back toward the door. Jake got up to follow them but the bearded one pushed him back down onto the ground forcefully.

“Now if you stay put and keep quiet things won’t have to get nasty.” He said looking directly into Jake’s glaring eyes. The latter did not move as they left him alone.

Jake could not here anything through the thick door that separated him from freedom. He didn’t struggle to escape nor did he scream; he knew it would be useless. He had seen that this was the only occupied building around when he had arrived there a short time before. This contributed to the helpless feeling that had enveloped his heart. Jake was terrified. He didn’t have a clue what this place was or why he was dragged down into the smelly basement of a crappy old building. Jake’s only hope was that either Josh or AJ would find out he was there and save him. But maybe they would be too pissed off he thought. What if they got angry because he had followed them to their ‘secret hideout’, so to speak. Jake began to shake as he hoped against hope that he would make it out of there soon.

After a short wait the door was opened. The bearded guy walked in followed by another slightly older man. The second looked to be in his early twenties. The bearded guy stood at the door while the other came and sat down on the ground next to Jake as though they were old friends.

“Do you know what Bedlam is?” He asked abruptly.

“W-What?” Jake stammered.

“Do you know what Bedlam is? Not the actual definition or concept, either. Are you aware of the deeper meaning of what I’m talking to you about?”

Jake shook his head from side to side, he didn’t want to speak.

“You checked him right?” The man beside Jake asked the other.

“Thoroughly.” The bearded guy replied flatly.

The questioner didn’t look convinced. Turning back to Jake he asked “How is it that you ended up with the cast and the cuts on your face?” He asked almost caringly.

“I… I got jumped by some gang down by the pool hall.” Jake answered slowly.

“I heard about something like that actually.” the bearded man commented.

“Good news for you then.” He said to Jake, “I’m Louis; this here’s my brother Shawn.” He finished nodding at the bearded one. He extended his hand which Jake shook reluctantly, not sure what to think.

“I’m Jake.” He said quietly.

“Well Jake,” Louis continued, “It’s good to meet you, even if it is under such, uh, unfortunate circumstances.”

Jake was silent. There was something about this Louis guy that made him instantly likeable; the kind of guy you want to be around. Despite his current condition, Jake found himself almost trusting this new stranger.

“Jake, I’m not going to lie to you; it seems to me that you and I have a dilemma.” He proceeded as he looked down at Jake, “You’ve stumbled across something that you probably shouldn’t have. That can’t be changed. Now I could just take you out to the dock and shoot you in the head.” He paused as he saw Jake begin to panic. “Relax, it was a joke, but we are going to have to solve this most precarious problem.”

“I won’t tell nobody.” Jake insisted nervously.

“Tell anybody what Jake?” Louis asked, “What exactly did you see here tonight?”

“Not much.” Jake stated this more like a question, hoping that it would be the answer that his interrogator wanted.

“Alright then,” Louis proceeded “Why were you here tonight?”

“I was looking for my cousin.” Jake responded simply.

“And why would your cousin be here?” Louis wondered aloud.

“I dunno,” Jake shrugged, “You’re the one he was talking to.”

A look of understanding spread across Louis’ features.

“Ohhhhh,” Louis said as he began to realize “You’re Josh’s cousin. Or rather, Josh is your cousin. It doesn’t matter either way but it is interesting nonetheless.”

“Does that mean you’ll let me go?” Jake questioned him hopefully.

“I don’t see why we would keep you locked in here so yeah, I guess we could let you out.” Louis said as he stood up. “Shawn could you go deal with the guy at our place? I’ve got some more pressing matters.”

“Whatever.” Shawn apparently agreed and went on his way.

He helped Jake to his feet and the three of them left. They entered into a short hallway that opened up into a much larger square room which was full of sofas. There was a single door on each of the three walls that compromised the rest of the room. Josh and AJ were standing in the middle of the room deep in a conversation. They were oblivious to their arrival until the other of Jake’s original abductors came in through the door on the left.

“What, we letting the captive free already? I didn’t even get to torture him yet.” He said as he flung himself onto one of the couches.

“Jake?” Josh asked nobody in particular but more in a state of shock.

“In the flesh.” Jake replied.

“What are you doing here?” AJ and Josh asked simultaneously.

“You know him?” The boy on the couch asked the pair,

“Well, as fun as ‘twenty questions’ is I would like to speak to you Josh… privately.” Louis added as he directed the flabbergasted Josh into his office which was behind the door on the right.

“So what are you doing hear?” AJ asked once again.

“I figured I’d come find you since you were taking so damn long.” Jake responded smartly.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” AJ told him.

“Why not?” the other boy asked, “Don’t you like our happy little family?” He got up and shook Jake’s good hand, “I’m Zack.”

“Jake,” he replied “I’m Josh’s cousin.”

“I’ve seen you before.” Zack reconciled as he and Jake sat down.

“On the first day of school,” Jake said, “Remember? I almost hit you and your friends with my bike and one of you guys yelled at me and then chased a bird around. Your friend gave me his skateboard.”

“Oh, right.” Zack nodded, “Well, sorry about the whole ‘drag you into the cellar’ thing. Necessary precautions considering…”

“Quiet.” AJ commanded.

“What’s wrong mom?” Zack asked AJ with some underlying hostility in his voice, “Do we not trust poor Jake here?”

“No offense Jake,” AJ said as he turned to him, “But the less you know the better. Trust me.”

Louis came back into the room right then.

“Jake, why don’t you go talk to Josh for a bit. I think you two have got some stuff to work out.” He suggested.

“I agree.” Jake said as he walked into the office.

“Shows what you know,’ Zack mocked AJ.

Jake’s heart was just about to erupt through his chest. The collogue of emotions he had experienced over the past day had taken a tremendous toll on his well being. He figured that he had lost about a year off of his life just from the stress. But he was excited at the same time as he entered the diminutive office. Jake was finally going to get the answers he wanted.


---



The last day of camp had come so shortly that is it was almost as though it had not been a week in the wilderness at all, but rather a few short days. While the others wear out around camp bidding farewells, Dustin remained in the cabin, citing that he needed to finish his packing while everyone else had already completed this task. The full suitcases of his cabin mates lay on their respective beds. For the most part it had been a lie, but the truth was he planned to pack a little something ‘extra’. A half-empty package of youth diapers was situated on the unused councilor’s bed. This was the third pack that the boys had gone through, having each worn one to bed each night. The diapers had been resupplied by the nurse at their awkward request for more. With the exception of Quinn and Josh nobody had used them. Everyone in the cabin was aware of both their night time problems and this had lead to no confrontation. Things had, however, become a bit more awkward for Quinn when Josh regained control of himself part way through the week, but it had still been no issue. Dustin grabbed the entire package of diapers and crammed it into his overflowing pack with some difficulty.

Like a sickness the desire for diapers had consumed him that week. All his thoughts revolved around them. He wished that he could regress back to his early childhood. Dustin absolutely adored the firm squeeze of the absorbent padding around his privates. The feeling of freedom he got of not needing to rush to the bathroom but being able to go right there at any time was amazing for him. Dustin craved the diapers when we was without them, and when he did have one secured around his waist he was blissful. He knew that he couldn’t bear to be separated from them after camp so he had decided to take them home. Dustin was certain that the others wouldn’t notice, except perhaps Josh.

Josh had appeared to have been aware of Dustin’s infantile attachment. He hadn’t come right out and said it, but the look in his eye when he regarded him was all to knowing. It was because of this that Dustin should have been able to for see the following confrontation he would experience.

As Dustin struggled with the zipper of his suitcase he heard the door open behind him as Josh walked in.

“Oh, uh, hey Josh.” Dustin greeted him nervously as he fumbled with his luggage.

Josh sat on his bunk and stared from the empty councilor’s bed to Dustin.

“You really like ‘em, huh?” He asked.

“No, I was just, um… what?” Dustin responded in a state of alarm.

“Come on man, don’t play dumb.” Josh went on, “We both know what’s in there.” He nodded at Dustin’s suitcase.

Dustin was quiet. He had nothing to say. It wasn’t like he could just come out and admit his love of diapers.

“It’s called a DL,” Josh said, “Or maybe a TB for you. That’s diaper lover and teen baby, respectively. You were pretty easy to figure out; you were always so interested in the diapers and you kept staring at Quinn and me when we woke up wet.”

“How do you…” Dustin began, “What are you talking about? Like, how do you know all this?”

“Well,” Josh replied, “Maybe because I like diapers, too.”

“Really?” Dustin inquired.

He was astounded. He had led himself to believe that he was probably the only kid in the world who liked diapers, and here was his newest friend admitting he had the same passion. Dustin wondered how many other kids shared their secret.

“Well, me and AJ both to tell ya the truth. We both used to wet the bed and we each wore diapers, well, goodnites for him, to bed every night. Then we found out about each other and we agreed that it was nothing to be ashamed of and we could have some fun with it too. AJ was kinda into it first, he got me to use them when I was awake. I liked it. I don’t know why but I did, and I still do. We just sort of explored it, ya know? There’s some cool websites you can check out and stuff.”

“Wow,” Dustin exclaimed, “You’re serious?”

“Totally.” Josh answered.

The two continued to discuss diapers until they had to leave. Josh said that if he ever had the chance he’d give Dustin a call, seeing that they were only half a city apart. Josh later told AJ about Dustin. AJ claimed to have known all along. Josh didn’t argue. He was happy to leave camp with a new friend, while Dustin was leaving camp with a whole new perspective of life.


---


Jake and Josh sat opposite each other, the desk a barricade between them. The tension was brutally evident which only magnified the stress level of both. The awkwardness of the conversation they would soon have was nearly embarrassing for both boys. They didn’t speak for some time; the proverbial breath before the plunge. Jake had gone into the room excited to end all this discomfort, but he now found himself engulfed by it. He began to subconsciously question whether or not he could handle whatever seemingly unholy confessions Josh would belay on to him. Jake fought against the tides of unease that battered him, just struggling to commence with the conversation.

“So…” he finally managed to croak out.

“So what?” Josh asked.

“Can I ask you something?” Jake wondered aloud.

“Please do.” Josh requested shortly.

“So you uh, like to wear diapers, right?” Jake asked.

He already knew the answer, but he wanted everything out in the clear.

“Yep,” Josh replied quite simply, as though it were nothing. “But you already knew that didn’t you?”

“If you knew that I knew,” Jake questioned, “Why didn’t you say anything.”

“I dunno,” his cousin answered distantly as he appeared to zone out. “I figured maybe it would all just disappear. I don’t think I actually believed that, but I wanted to and I guess that was enough to convince myself that you would just forget.”

“And yet here we are.” Jake interjected.

“Right.” Josh agreed. “I’m sorry we left you out of this, but I was pretty sure that you wouldn’t get it.”

“I don’t.” Jake admitted.

“I never expected you too.” Said Josh “I can’t conceive how you could possibly understand. It’s something I like that's probably just out there to you. I just want you to appreciate that I like it, well not even appreciate it. Maybe just accept it, because I sure as hell can’t change it.”

“Fair enough,” Jake complied, “But you gotta cut down on whatever it is you’re doing because you know damn well that it’s screwin’ with your life.”

“I know; it’s just…” Josh sighed and then trailed off.

Jake looked around the room with consideration and asked, “So, what is this place anyway?”

“This is work.” Josh answered.

“What is work?” Jake asked a little frustrated by the response.

“WhatHidesInside.com,” Josh annunciated slowly. “We’re an offshoot of Bedlam.”

“That Louis guy mentioned that, um, Bedlam thing.” Jake remembered, “What’s that?”

“Oh it’s a lot of things,” Josh began in a tone that indicated his dislike for the topic, “It’s an anarchistic, nihilistic radical group who believes in the removal of all boundaries in life and the true expressions of ‘freedom’ and hedonism. It’s also seriously screwed up and a waste of time. Don’t repeat any of that, by the way.”

“If you don’t like it, why don’t ya quite?” Jake asked.

“Because, only Lou is affiliated, and I guess Shawn is a little bit too.” Josh continued, “We’re just exercising our right of expression via the internet.”

“How so?” Jake questioned.

“By posting pictures of our diapered selves on the site.” Josh admitted forwardly. “Again, I don’t expect that you can accept that, but I enjoy it. I know its weird, and I’m not doing it so some pedophile can go whack off at night either. I’m doing it because I want to.”

“I’m fine with that.” Jake said after some consideration, “I’m not gonna freakin’ disown ya because of what you like to do.”

“That’s good of you,” Josh said, “Because if you hated me for it I’d be interested to see how you would treat AJ and Robbie.”

“What?” Jake asked in a state of shock.

“AJ and Robbie both do this too.” Josh proceeded cautiously.

“I knew about AJ, but Robbie too?” Jake asked quietly.

“Um, yeah man.” Josh said scratching the back of his head, “I guess he’s had to wear ‘em at night or something and I found out and, well, now he’s here. I’m not sure he likes it like we do, but he comes anyways; probably for the money.”

“How much money?” Jake asked still dazed by all of the information he was getting hammered into his skull.

“Well. We get a hundred bucks for each shoot, and there’s about one or two each week.” Josh replied, “I think that they make way more off the pictures getting downloaded but they use a lot for the rent of this place and to help fund Bedlam. A hundred bucks is great anyway.”

“For sure.” Jake concurred and then asked “How’d you, uh, find out about this place?”

“An old friend.” Josh replied.

A short silence ensued in which both boys considered the other and what they had just discussed.

“That about all you wanna know?” Josh asked his younger cousin.

“I guess so.” Jake responded.

“So are we cool now?” Josh questioned hopefully.

“Definitely,” Jake replied, “Thanks for telling me all that.”

“After how we treated you, you deserved some answers.” Josh said.

“Yeah, well don’t worry about that…” Jake trailed off.

“One more thing,” Josh warned him, “Lou actually sent you in here so I could convince you to pose for the site. I need a replacement to cover some of my shifts, and he suggested I get you to. I’m not asking you to, so when he asks you to, don’t.”

Jake paused for a bit. His mind was entering a whole new frame of thought. What if he tried it, the diaper thing? All of is friends were doing it, so why shouldn’t he give it a try? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He had never considered wearing diapers, but he didn’t want to be narrow-minded about the matter. The depths of his consciousness rebelled against him, reminding him that he had been disgusted and appalled by the same thoughts earlier that day. Jake ignored his gut instinct. The drive for acceptance into a new world can be a powerful one.

“Maybe I’ll give it a try.” Jake said suggestively.

“What?” Josh asked, quite surprised.

“I think I wanna do it.” Jake repeated. “I mean, I can’t bash it if I don’t try it, right?”

“You don’t have to man, really.” Josh insisted.

“Maybe I do.” Jake said as he walked out of the office.

Jake emerged into the opposite room with Josh following suite. The other three looked up as he did so.

“So,” Louis began, “Are you in?”

“Sure.” Jake replied.

“How’s Tuesday sound?” Louis asked.

“What?” Jake questioned.

“For your first shoot,” Louis clarified “How does Tuesday sound?”

“Oh, um, fine I guess.” Jake shrugged.

“Great.” said Louis. “Now would you kindly all exit the premises so I can lock up and get out of hear?”

Jake, Josh, AJ and Zack all left shortly afterward. Zack’s house was in the opposite direction so they soon parted ways. The remaining three made their way back home slowly, though they kept a mutual silence. Jake had thought that partaking in the whole diaper thing would bring Josh and him together, but his cousin hardly said another word to him that night.


---



Another year had passed and the Josh and AJ once again found themselves at Camp Stonewater. This time they were part of the younger group of campers as this was the senior age group. Though they longed to return to cabin 18 which held so many memories for them they had been assigned to cabin 10, the youngest boys cabin.

The boys reluctantly entered the cabin and tossed their luggage on their respective bunks, which were both on the bottom. They found that the councilor’s bed was occupied this year; another dream shattered. The door was suddenly flung open. Josh and AJ stared at the supposed intruder as he came in, finding a face that was only vaguely familiar gazing back.

“Last year when I did that you two almost died.” The new boys said.

“Dustin?” AJ asked in surprise.

“Always will be.” Dustin answered.

The once small and annoying boy had grown into a young man. He had increased to about 5’11’’ and looked his age now at fourteen. His previously spiked hair now grew straight and a fair ways down his neck. He still wore glasses, though they too had evolved into a more intelligent looking set of specs.

“Hardly recognized ya.” Josh admitted. “Ya look a bit older.”

“Still the same kid at heart.” He laughed as he placed his pack on the remaining bed.

“So, how’s life?” AJ questioned him as he unpacked some of possessions.

“Good enough.” Dustin responded, “Still in Hammer Bay, how about you guys?”

“Same deal man.” Josh answered.

“Do you guys, uh, still like to, um, ya know… where diapers.” He whispered this as though it were a matter of national security.

Josh and AJ exchanged glances. “Yep,” Josh replied, “Why do you ask?”

“I can’t say much,” Dustin continued, “But when we get back to Hammer Bay I’ll show you guys something that you’re never gonna believe, if you’re interested.”

Hints of the old excitable Dustin were imminent in his voice. This was obviously something pretty huge.

“What do ya mean by that?” Josh questioned him.

“Well, you’ll have to wait to see.” Dustin admitted. “It’ll make it more special or something.”

“Can you give us clue?” AJ asked curiously.

“Well I guess so.” Dustin agreed. “Have you guys ever heard of a group called Bedlam?”

[DLDisturbed]

ok, I'm on my iPod so I can't quote, but I have some complaints. I'll start with the obvious one, there are only 4 of 7 chapters and it is in the finished section... and you posted chapter 4 twice.

you also mix up similar sounding words, but they aren't homonyms. like near the end of chapter 4 you have "imitated", and I think you meant "emanated". You also mixed up there and their a couple times

there was a mistake in the first chapter that really bugged me but I can't remember what it was. I read it last night and should have written it down.

enjoyable read, get a new editor(no offence) and have fun. I like it, I'm just a stickler for detail.

[Slang]

Hmmm, weird that chapter four is posted twice. I'll just edit the fifth on into where four is or something. Also, story is finished, just posting chapters one day at a time, cause that's how I roll. Mixing up words sounds like something I'd do. Hope it doesn't take away from the story too much. Also, no offense taken man, this is the kind of feedback I really appreciate. Still find it weird chapter four is there twice though... whatever, I'll fix it.


Edit: Alright, all better. Not the spellng mistaykes, but whatever, I'll let those slide and maybe the day will come when I actually bother to go back and check for them on my own.