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Benny's House
Chapter 14 – House of Cards
by Matt
From the diary of Benny Harrison
Monday 6th April 2015
I'm writing today's entry early, it's currently lunchtime, as I'm likely to be busy this evening. Most of the guys in the house are off work, so I'm going to really have some fun with them. Of course, some of them probably just want the day off, which is understandable. They're in my house to serve me, but everyone needs time off now and then. I'm starting to think Roger might need a break too. He's been getting more and more distracted every day. He insists he's fine, but I know him well enough to know otherwise. I keep hoping he'll just talk to me, but it's looking like I may have to force it out of him! Anyway, everyone's down in the basement having some fun, so I think I'll go and join them.
Benny smiled as he awoke, feelin the warm body to his left. He immediately remembered that it wasn't Charlie. His lover had requested to spend the night in his Dorm, so Benny had chosen someone else to keep him company. For the first time ever, he had chosen Alex! In a way, it had been a test. Alex had changed so much during his months in the house, mellowing, relaxing, coming to terms with his seemingly endless pit of anger.
Every day he seemed to grow more patient and tolerant, but when it came to showing any kind of affection, he still struggled. By inviting the newest General into his bed, Benny had wanted to gauge his reaction. Sharing the bed wasn't about dominance and subordination, it wasn't about sex and desire, it was simply sharing a different kind of closeness.
Alex had seemed uncomfortable at first, particularly when Benny had pulled him close and lopped an arm around him, but he soon settled into it. Just as the two of them had been drifting off to sleep, the door had creaked open. Benny immediately knew who it was, but Alex almost jumped out of the bed.
As Benny had expected, it was Zane, sneaking in to cuddle up to his master. It had become a rarer and rarer occurrence of the last few weeks, but the Boy still tended to do it occasionally. Even through the darkness, Benny could make out the smile as Zane saw who else was in the bed. Despite the regular, and sometimes outright vicious, arguments that the two seemed to have, Alex and Zane really were exceptionally close so it was no surprise that the thought of sharing the bed with both his Master and best friend at the same time made Zane happy.
Sometimes Benny would still make the Boy sleep on the floor across the room or beside the bed, if only to remind him of his position, but that thought never crossed his mind last night. Instead, he welcomed the Boy in and quickly fell asleep with Zane snuggled up on one side of him, with Alex on the other.
Benny had a tendency to wake up early, even when he didn't need to, so he was awake long before other of the other two stirred. Not wanting to disturb them, he remained still, letting them sleep in his arms. He let his mind wander, planning the day, thinking about Charlie, considering everything the day might have in store.
Charlie awoke in his own bed for a change. Since his relationship had started with Benny, he had spent most of his nights with the beautiful young teen. Now though, he was back in his bunk. As he lay on his stomach, his hand stretched up under his own pillow and onto Philip's bed, where it was grasped firmly by his friend's.
They had fallen asleep whispering to each other late into the night. They weren't holding hands when they feel asleep, so it must have happened some time during the night. Things were a little tense between the two friends. Three nights before, a night that had originally been planned as a way for the two friends to spend more time together had descended into something else. They had kissed, and not just once!
The first kiss had ended suddenly, with Charlie pulling away, racked with guilt. He loved Benny, both as a Master and as a lover, yet he had lay there with his best friend in the house and felt the strongest desire to kiss him. They kissed again a short time later, a slower, gentler kiss. After staring into each other's eyes for several moments after, a third kiss had followed. Then the guilt had got too much for Charlie and he had turned over to go to sleep.
The worst thing was, neither of them could bring themselves to talk about it. The desire was there, that much was clear in the compulsion they both felt when they looked at each other, or when they were alone together. Now, Charlie had woken up holding his best friend's hand in his sleep. He let go as gently as he could, hoping not to disturb Philip. Alas, he failed. The other young man's eyes opened just in time to feel Charlie's hand leaving his own.
"Morning," Philip whispered quietly, not wanting to speak too loud in the case their other room-mate, Robert, was still asleep. He smiled awkwardly.
"Morning," Charlie whispered back, smiling back just as uncomfortably. He forced himself to look away from his friend, then leaned over the side of the bed to check on Robert. He was gone. "It's okay, we don't need to be quiet, he's not there."
"Oh... okay," Philip replied, not sure what else to say.
Charlie looked back at Philip and unintentionally sighed.
Philip scowled and shook his head. "Charlie, just... ugh, I can't do this," he snapped, still shaking his head. He swivelled round and started down the steps from his bunk.
Charlie quickly jumped down to intercept him. In a way, that made it worse. They now stood facing each other, both naked and both sporting fairly ample morning wood. "Phil, wait," Charlie said as he stood in his friend's way. His eyes scanned up and down his friend's bare body. "I... I'm sorry."
"For what?" Philip asked sharply, keeping his eyes fixed on Charlie's face through sheer force of will.
"For... for... ugh... I don't even know!" Charlie snapped in frustration. "Just... for this weirdness."
Philip shrugged. "It's okay. I know you didn't choose to make all this happen, but... you've got to figure it out."
"Figure what out?" Charlie asked, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.
"Me!" Philip replied frankly. "Or rather... us. Either you like me in that way and we can... see what happens, or you're happy with Benny and we can go back to being just friends. But either way, you've got to decide because being stuck in the middle like this, it's hell!"
"I... I..." Charlie stuttered, lost for words. He reached up and placed both hands on his friend's shoulders. He looked painfully conflicted.
"Come here," Philip said. He knew that it probably wasn't the most sensible thing to do in the circumstances, but his friend was clearly suffering and comforting him was simply instinct. He pulled the taller young man into a tight hug, their naked bodies pressing together.
Charlie's arms wrapped tightly around his friend, his head resting on his shoulder. Their erections had begun to subside a little as they stood there, but pressed together, they soon came back to life.
"Oh God," Philip muttered. The bare skin pressed against his own, Charlie's cock sliding against his own, the beautiful young man's breath on his neck... it was all just too much. He suddenly pulled away before his base desires took over. "I shouldn't have done that!" he insisted as he backed away.
Charlie stepped closer. "Yes you should!" he insisted, eyeing his friend hungrily.
"Charlie..." Philip attempted to resist, but the words caught in his throat.
"Tell me to stop and I will," Charlie said weakly as he followed Philip who continued edging backwards. He lunged forward, slamming the young man against the back wall as his lips made their way into the nape of his neck.
"Oh God," Philip repeated as the lips on his neck were quickly followed up by strong hands grabbing at his hips.
They remained silent, like all words had lost any meaning. All that existed now was their two naked bodies, slowly entwining together as Philip's hands began to explore his friend's body.
Before they could go any further, they jumped apart at the sound of the door opening. Robert walked in, still drying himself with a towel. He paused as he saw his two room-mates standing together at the back of the room looking massively suspicious.
"What's... going on?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. Seeing their erections and terrified expressions filled in the blanks quicker than either of them could reply. "Oh," he said in realization. He closed the door then turned back to face them. His eyes darted back and forth between them as they edged away from each other. "Be VERY careful!"
Both Charlie and Philip considered objecting to the obvious conclusion he had reached, but it would have served no real purpose. It was undeniable. His words, however, filled them both with immediate dread.
Nodding guiltily, they both dashed out of the room together. Once the door was closed, their eyes met once more, but the earlier list and hunger had abated.
"This can't happen again," Philip said sternly. "You're with Benny, and we're just friends... okay?"
Charlie indicated his agreement before turning to head for the stairs while Philip want towards the shower room.
Benny had just started to nod off again when he felt one hand grab his cock, the other cupping his smooth balls. His eyes shot open as he looked down. Zane and Alex were both awake, grinning at each other across his chest. Simultaneously, both eighteen-year-olds moved to take a nipple between their lips.
Benny gasped with pleasure at the sensation of a mouth on each nipple along with the hands on his cock and balls. "Did I... tell you to do that?" he asked breathily.
Zane momentarily released the nipple from his lips and said cheekily, "You didn't tell us to stop!"
Benny chuckled at the comment. The Boy was right. He lay back and just let them carry on with what they were doing, throwing back the covers. While he missed waking up with Charlie, this certainly wasn't a bad way to start the day. He nuzzled his head against the top of Zane's, getting almost as much pleasure from the closeness to his Boy as he did from the physical stimulation he was providing.
Alex and Zane were slow and sensuous as they built him gradually closer orgasm, obviously wanting to enjoy having the Master to themselves before the rest of the house got him for the day.
"Mmmm, oh God..." Benny moaned as he lingered on the brink of cumming. Only moments away from release, he was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Not yet!" Benny called out.
"Who? Us?" Alex asked, momentarily releasing Benny's nipple.
"No... the... the door!" Benny gasped, spurring Alex and Zane to continue.
"Aaah, I'm cumming!" Benny called out excitedly.
The door opened and Charlie stepped in. "Did you say come in?" he asked before he realised what was going on.
"No, I said... I'm... aaaaah!" Benny called out. Completely thrown off guard by Charlie's sudden appearance, the stimulation from Alex and Zane got too much for him and he erupted.
Charlie just stood and stared. He knew that his lover was 'The Master', which meant that he would sleep with any of the Boys in the house, but actually seeing it happen was something else entirely. After what had happened with Philip, he had wanted to come and just lay in Benny's arms so it was a little disturbing to find the position was already occupied!
As Benny spasmed his way to the conclusion of his orgasm, he sniggered at the two eighteen-year-olds grinning up at him, satisfied with the work they had done. When he looked to Charlie, he expected to see a similar look of amusement. Instead, he simply looked lost.
"Charlie, are you..." Benny started.
"Sorry, I'll come back later," Charlie interrupted, then turned and dashed out.
Still pinned down by the other two occupants of his bed, Benny was unable to follow him. He was also hesitant to just suddenly abandon them too, still attempting to avoid putting his relationship with Charlie ahead of his duties as Master.
"You okay?" Alex asked, seeing the obvious concern on Benny's face.
The younger boy quickly smiled. Charlie could wait. Benny looked at his newest General warmly. He found himself thinking about the unpleasant, cocky fifteen-year-old he had met years earlier, then the aggressive young man he had turned into by the time he came to the house. Laying there, smiling up at him, he was like a completely different person.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Benny said with a gentle nod.
"Do we have to get up yet?" Zane asked. From the way he was nestling back against Benny's side, it was clear what he wanted the answer to be.
Benny chuckled. "We probably should," he said non-committally. When he heard a slight, puppy-like whimper from Zane, he shook his head and grinned. "Well, maybe ten more minutes."
"Yay," Zane said slightly sleepily.
Alex settled back down too on the opposite side, one of Benny's arms holding each of them close.
Malik was making the most of the first day of his week off, sleeping in late. He would have stayed in bed longer, but he had rolled over and looked across the room at the empty bed that used to be Wesley's. He knew he was going to miss his friend, room-mate and fellow General, but had not ever suspected it would be quite so much.
In an attempt to distract himself from the loss, he got up, showered and headed downstairs. He heard Roger coming out of the dining room and approached him.
"Morning," Malik said casually. Wesley had always been a little cautious around Roger, fearing his imposing stature and aggressive personality, but Malik had never really been fazed by it. Even though the large man was Benny's second-in-command, he was still just another General, so Malik really had no need to fear him.
"Morning," Roger replied curtly.
Malik frowned slightly at the sharp tone but decided to let it slide. He had noticed Roger getting more and more on-edge for the last few days and figured that whatever was bugging him was the cause. If he hadn't already been feeling down about the loss of Wesley, he might have probed a little to see if he could help. Instead he simply decided to carry on as normal and asked, "So who's home today? And what have we got planned for them?"
Roger thought for a moment, compiling a list in his mind before answering. "Well everyone is off this week aside from Taro and your Uncle. Benny's left it in my hands to assign tasks, but it's proving a bit difficult."
"Why? What's going on?" Malik asked, wondering what could possibly be so problematic.
"Well nobody knows what they're supposed to be doing, so I've hard a hard time tracking people down. Alex and Zane are still in Benny's room, I found Robert and Philip in their Dorm so I've got them standing by for orders, Quentin's in the dining room, but he's getting some of his marking and lesson planning done, but I've got no idea where David and Charlie are."
Malik nodded his understanding, thinking for a moment. "Well why don't you go get started with Philip and Robert and I'll go find the other two. When I find them, I'll send them down to find you," he suggested. It was obvious Roger was getting a little frustrated. It was well known that he liked routine, so having things so messed up was inevitably causing him stress.
"Okay, good plan, thanks," Roger agreed and immediately headed for the basement stairs.
Malik quickly looked round, wondering where he might find the two missing Boys. Benny's private lounge was immediately ruled out for obvious reasons, and presumably Roger would have found anyone else in the Dining Room, so Malik started systematically searching the rest of the ground floor.
He started with the Games Room as it was closest but immediately found it to be empty. Next door, the main lounge was empty too. Quickly making his way across the atrium, he briefly considered peering into Benny's Lounge, just to be sure but thought better of it. Even if it was done in search of a missing person, going in uninvited was likely to get him punished. He found himself shuddering slightly as he considered the last punishment Benny had inflicted upon him.
Bypassing the forbidden room, Malik made his way into the Play Room. It was strange seeing the Play Room so empty. He normally only went in there on Saturdays when he was edging the unemployed Boys. Finding it empty, he went back out and headed for the kitchen. Another empty room. Malik was about to turn and head back out to the atrium when he noticed the back door was slightly ajar. Walking over to it, he pushed it open and peered outside.
There was Charlie, sitting on the floor, back against the side of the house staring down the back garden. He didn't seem to notice Malik emerging from the doorway.
"Hey, there you are," Malik said casually, approaching him slowly.
Charlie glanced round at him silently then returned his gaze to the garden.
"What's wrong?" Malik asked, sitting down beside him.
"Nothing. It doesn't matter," Charlie said dismissively.
"Uh huh, right," Malik said disbelievingly. "What is it?"
"Really, it doesn't matter," Charlie said weakly.
Malik looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before smiling gently. "You know, before Wesley left, he asked me to keep an eye on you," he said softly.
Charlie looked round at him, looking slightly surprised. "Really?" he asked.
Malik nodded. "He did," Malik replied. "His exact words... He's only tough on the outside."
Charlie smiled and sniggered slightly. "We were apart ten years and he still knows me so well."
"That's what he does, he knows people," Malik said, thinking fondly of his absent friend. He allowed himself to reminisce for just a moment before bringing his attention to the matter at hand. "So what's wrong?" he asked again.
The smile dropped from Charlie's face and he sighed. Shaking his head slightly he said, "I'm going to hurt someone. I've got to make a decision about something, but whatever I decide, someone gets hurt."
"Well that sucks," Malik said, not really sure what else to say.
"Yeah, just a bit," Charlie agreed.
"Do you know... what choice you're going to make?" Malik asked cautiously.
Another sigh came from Charlie. "I know which decision I SHOULD make, but that's not the decision I want to make," he explained.
Malik rested a hand on his should reassuringly. Charlie raised his hand and placed it on Malik's, smiling at him. He was thankful for the General not probing further into what the decision was.
"I came to find you because Roger's stressing about what everyone's doing. Want me to tell him I couldn't find you?" Malik asked, standing up.
Charlie shook his head, climbing to his feet too. "Nah, maybe it'll make a good distraction."
The two of them made their way back into the house and headed down to find Roger. Once they found him, Malik saw that David had turned up too. Roger was putting them all through a vigorous workout. He barked an order at Charlie as the Boy entered the room, ordering him to work at double speed to make up for the time he had missed.
A short time later, Alex and Zane also appeared. Roger seemed to lose his composure for just a moment as he saw his lover appear, but quickly pulled himself together. He put Zane to work along with the others, but was careful not to overwork him for fear of triggering an asthma attack. Once he was satisfied with what everyone was doing, he left the Boy to continue while he led the other two Generals back out into the hallway.
"I'll speak to Benny later about putting some kind of formal routine in place for the rest of the week, but for now, Alex, can you take David and Robert, Malik, you take Charlie and Philip, I'll have Zane and if Quentin finishes with what he's doing, I'll take him too."
"Anything in particular you want us to do?" Malik asked.
Roger shrugged, as if planning anything was a waste of time. It was painfully clear how the lack of routine was continuing to bother him. "Just do whatever you like," he said dismissively as he led them back in. "Robert, David, go with Alex. Charlie and Philip, with Malik."
The Boys immediately stopped what they were doing, mostly looking sweaty and exhausted from the workout they had just gone through. The ones whose names had been called out followed the relevant General and left the room, finally just leaving Roger and Zane alone.
An awkward silence lingered between them. They had hardly seen each other since the incident on Friday with Alex. Neither of them seemed to be in any hurry to make eye contact. It was a little disturbing for them both. Since their relationship began, any chance to be alone had been grasped eagerly.
"Why did you do that?" Zane finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Do... what?" Roger asked gingerly.
"Try to... I dunno... rescue me, on Friday," Zane said, scowling.
"I thought... you were in pain," Roger replied weakly, cautiously stepping a little closer to his lover.
"I was, but that was MY problem, not yours!" Zane snapped.
"Wait, are you mad at me... for being worried about you?" Roger asked, looking a little confused.
"Yes!" Zane snapped, then thought for a moment. "No. I don't know. It's just... think about how I feel. I bet nobody else in the house has ever needed to be rescued, have they? How weak does that make me look?"
"I... I..." Roger stuttered. He knew Zane was right and he was about to apologise when a sudden burst of anger bubbled up inside him. "Yeah, well how do you think I felt?" he snapped angrily.
Zane took a step back at the sudden outburst.
"All this time I've been in the house," Roger snarled, "And I've never felt like I wanted to protect someone like that. I've always... I don't know... managed to detach myself from it. Suddenly here you are, making me fall in love with you and I... I don't know how to detach myself from that. I don't think I can!"
Zane nodded gently. "I know it's gotta be hard for you, but... you've got to find a way. I'm gonna get hurt, I'm gonna scream, I'm gonna do everything I can to avoid saying that safe word ever again, but that's for me to worry about. When I'm being one of the Boys, I am NOT your concern."
"Okay," Roger said sheepishly, before smiling cheekily. "But when we're alone, you're all mine?"
Zane nodded again. "Yeah, that's right."
"Alone.... like we are now?" Roger asked, his smile turning into a full-on grin.
Zane smirked. "I guess so!"
Roger charged at him, literally sweeping him off his feet. The younger man was slammed against the wall, with Roger's body pressing against him. The large man's lips pressed against Zane's, who raised his legs and wrapped them around Roger's waist as he kissed back.
Malik could immediately sense the tension between Philip and Charlie but did his best to push through it. He had put them to work on one of his usual games, using the Boys under his control against each other. Charlie and Philip had been ordered to start jerking each other off and been told that whoever ejaculated first would be punished.
Normally, with any of the other Boys, that would have simply encouraged them to stroke faster, trying to make their opponent cum quickly, but the sneaky General knew how close Charlie and Philip were and used it against them. He knew neither of them would want to be responsible for their best friend receiving a punishment, so what followed was some incredibly slow stroking. The two were virtually edging each other, going fast enough to keep Malik satisfied, but slow enough to avoid making each other cum.
Malik was sitting back enjoying the show. The two Boys were banned from talking, but it was clear that they were attempting to communicate non-verbally. They were both trying to convince the other to make them cum, both willing to take the punishment themselves rather than inflict it on each other. As entertaining as it was, Malik found himself more intrigued by the yells coming from down the hallway.
"Okay, you two carry on. No talking and no stopping!" Malik snapped, finally giving in to temptation and heading out into the hallway. He left the door open and headed along to the source of the yells, opening the other door.
As he looked inside, he saw Alex was there with David and Robert, using the new toys that had been delivered the previous week. Malik had not had much chance to experiment with them yet so he was very curious to see them in action.
"Mind if I watch for a while?" he asked quietly as Alex turned to look at him.
"No, that's fine," Alex said happily. As if intending to show off, he turned up the dial on the milking machine that David was strapped into, making the young man's whole body buck.
"Fuuuuuck!" David yelled out as the machine shot up to full speed. Alex had been using it to tease him ever since they came into the room, speeding it up to the point of near-orgasm, then dropping it to its lowest setting. Over and over David had felt the machine gradually speed up and milk him closer to cumming, only to be denied again.
David wasn't a fan of edging, he liked his orgasms to be quick and hard. While the spanking he loved was painful, he found it exciting at the same time. The milking and edging was painful in a whole other way. His balls ached, desperate for release.
"Please let me... aaah... cum, Sir!" David begged weakly.
Malik was transfixed. His eyes had briefly wandered over to Robert who was strapped down on another bench, a machine thrusting a large dildo in and out of his exposed rear, but the machine-assisted edging of David was clearly more appealing to him. His mind was racing, thinking of the possibilities the machine brought to his particular style of dominance.
Meanwhile, back in Malik's original room, Charlie and Philip continued as instructed, standing together in the centre of the room, stroking each other's cocks.
"You okay?" Philip asked quietly.
"We're not supposed to talk," Charlie said back. It was clearly an attempt at avoiding a conversation, rather than a desire to follow the rules.
"Well we both already have," Philip said, immediately shooting down the argument, "So are you okay?"
Charlie stared down at his cock, Philip's hand slowly stroking up and down it, thinking for a moment. "No," he finally conceded.
"Want to talk about it?" Philip continued to probe.
Charlie laughed incredulously. "What do you want me to say? You know what the problem is already."
Philip shrugged, his hand dropping away from Charlie's erection. "Yeah, I do, but I don't know how you're feeling."
Charlie's hand dropped away too, his eyes still fixed downwards, his head shaking slightly. "How I'm feeling? Truthfully? I feel like... I might be the worst thing to ever happen to this place."
"What? Why?" Philip asked in shock. It was definitely not the reaction he had been expecting.
"This house, all of it, it was great. It was happy, it worked just fine and then I come along and fuck it all up!" Charlie explained. He turned away from Philip, taking a few steps towards the wall.
Philip immediately followed, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You haven't fucked anything up!"
Charlie scoffed again. "Of course I have. Think about it. I turned up and Wesley ended up leaving because of the shit I did when we were kids. Benny fell for me and ended up neglecting most of the house and that ended up making Stanley, Anthony and Henry leave. Now I'm in a relationship with Benny, but at the same time I'm.... I've... grr... I've got whatever this is with you. So now I have to either choose to be with you and break Benny's heart, which is bound to fuck things up more, or choose to be with Benny and probably fuck up the best friendship I've got. It's just... it's... it's fuck up and fuck up!"
Philip could see his friend was moments away from bursting into tears, so he reached out and pulled him into a hug. Charlie's head rested on his shoulder, breathing heavily but managing to hold back any tears.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, these things happen," Philip said, attempting to comfort him. "And just so you know, if you choose to be with Benny, it won't fuck up our friendship. I value you too much to let something like this come between us."
Charlie took several deep breaths, taking in his friend's words of comfort before whispering back, "I'm not choosing Benny."
Philip suddenly pulled away, staring at Charlie wide-eyed. "What?!" he exclaimed in shock.
"I... I love Benny, I really do, in so many ways, but... it's you. I need to be with you... I... I love you." Charlie said, leaning in and kissing Philip.
They parted a few moments later. "Charlie, I..." Philip started, but before he could say any more, they heard movement over by the door.
They both turned, expecting to see Malik returned from the other room. Instead, there stood Benny, looking horrified.
"Benny... I was..." Charlie stuttered.
"Don't!" Benny snapped, horror quickly turn to anger. "Just... don't!" He turned and marched out.
Benny had come down the basement after filling in his diary, hoping to find Roger and see what everyone was up to. He had been distracted by the open door to the other room and went to investigate. Now he headed back towards Roger, instinctively seeking the support of his friend.
Slamming the door open furiously, Benny stormed in. "Roger, I..." he started, but once again froze.
Laying there on one of the benches was Roger, naked, with Zane laying on top of him. The two were kissing passionately, but quickly stopped as they heard the sudden intrusion. The expressions on their faces matched those of Charlie and Philip only moments earlier. Benny knew Roger, he knew the sorts of things he normally did with his Boys and this was... something else!
"Are you... fucking... kidding me?" Benny snarled through ragged breaths.
Charlie and Philip had followed the young Master, hoping to calm him down. They, too, froze when they saw Roger and Zane together.
Benny was almost hyperventilating. He turned, pushing Charlie and Philip out of the way, then ran for the stairs.
"Fuck." Roger muttered, sitting up as Zane climbed off of him.
"What's going on?" Alex suddenly asked from the doorway. He had heard the brief commotion and emerged from his room, followed by Malik.
"Benny just walked in on me with Philip!" Charlie explained.
"But you were just doing what I told you," Malik said quickly.
"No we weren't, we were... together," Charlie replied.
"Fuck, that's not good!" Alex muttered, then looked over at Roger who was quickly getting dressed and a guilty-looking Zane beside him. "What did you do?" Alex demanded, knowing from his friend's expression that something else had happened.
"Me and Roger are together too," Zane said.
"Zane!" Roger snapped angrily.
"Oh, like we can hide it now," Zane replied flatly.
"And Benny... found out? Just now?" Alex asked, getting solemn nods from everyone else in the room.
"I need to go and find him," Roger said, doing up his jeans.
"No, you don't!" Alex said firmly. He looked round at everyone, a look of steely resolve on his face. "Malik, could you go and release David and Robert then stay in there with them. Zane and Philip, back to your Dorms. Charlie, go wait in Dorm Three. Roger, you wait right here. DON'T move!"
Roger normally would have objected to being ordered around like that, but Alex's tone made it clear he wasn't to be messed with. Instead he simply nodded as everyone else followed his commands.
Alex left the room and headed upstairs. Taking a quick look around the atrium, he figured Benny was most likely to take refuge in his private lounge Alex headed straight there, not even bothering to knock before going in.
"Go away!" Benny shouted as soon as the door started opening.
Alex ignored the yell. He closed the door behind him then looked round to see Benny sat on the sofa, rocking gently back and forth as he stared at the ground.
"I said go away," Benny said again, much weaker this time without even looking up to see who it was.
"No," Alex said bluntly.
Benny looked up at the sound of his voice. He had expected Roger to follow him, or maybe even Charlie, so hearing Alex was a bit of a shock.
"I won't bother asking if you're okay," Alex said with a slight shrug, taking a seat next to Benny.
"You know what happened then?" Benny asked.
"I got the short version, but yeah, I do," Alex said with a nod.
Benny looked round at the older teen, then burst into tears. Alex pulled him into a hug, holding him as he cried. They remained there for several minutes, the silence broken only Benny's gentle sobs.
Benny sat up, wiping his eyes. The sadness on his face gradually contorting into something much darker. "I trusted him!" Benny said through gritted teeth.
"So Charlie's with Philip, then?" Alex said, more a statement of his own surprise than an actual question.
"I didn't... I didn't mean Charlie," Benny replied, scowling, as if resentful at the mere mention of the name.
Alex shot the younger teen an inquisitive look.
"Roger," Benny said bluntly. "I trusted him, above everyone else and he's breaking one of my biggest rules."
"Yeah, but so are you!" Alex replied with a shrug.
"I..." Benny started, but he knew Alex was right. He scowled once again. "Well this is my house and I make the rules. That's the rule I made and Roger knew it. In fact, it was him that suggested it in the first place." Benny paused, sighing. "Go and get him."
"Are you... sure?" Alex asked, leaning back slightly. He could still see how angry Benny was, so a confrontation so soon was likely to be more than a little heated.
"Alex, I appreciate you coming in here to check on me, but don't forget who's in charge here," Benny insisted.
Alex's eyebrows raised as he considered replying again, but thought better of it and stood up, heading for the door.
Benny sat alone in silence, waiting for Alex to bring Roger back. Thoughts kept running through his mind as he waited for his two generals to return. What could he do about this? What should he do? It suddenly occurred to him how much it hurt that the person Roger had been sneaking around with was Zane. He had grown so close to the newest Boy, his adorable little pup. The Boy had spent so many nights curled up in or beside his bed, yet he too had been breaking the rules behind his Master's back.
Benny was shaken from his thoughts by the door opening. In walked Roger, closely followed by Alex.
"You can go," Benny said, dismissing the smaller General.
"You sure?" Alex asked, but the look Benny shot him answered more clearly than any words could have. He quickly turned and dashed out, leaving Roger standing there on his own.
"Benny, I just..." Roger started before being cut off.
"How long?" Benny demanded. When Roger just frowned, Benny stood and slowly paced closer. He repeated his question, "How long? How long have you been breaking my rules? How long have you been keeping this secret from me?"
Roger exhaled, but the breath trembled slightly. "Just... just over a month," he said nervously.
Benny took several deep breaths as he stared at the larger man. Finally, he responded, "Leave."
"Okay, I'll just... I'll go to my room," Roger said, surprised that Benny didn't say anything more as he reached back and pulled the door open.
"No, I mean... leave. Leave the house. Get out!" Benny clarified, his fists clenching at his sides.
"What?" Roger asked in shock. He couldn't believe what Benny was saying. "You don't mean that."
Benny charged at Roger. Despite the large size difference between the two, Benny managed to catch him off guard, making him stagger through the doorway into the atrium. "I DO mean it!" Benny snapped furiously.
Roger looked distraught. "You... you can't. This house.... it's my life!" he insisted.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have broken the rules!" Benny snarled.
Roger frowned now, dismay giving way to anger. "What, you mean the rule you've been breaking too, your 'secret' relationship with Charlie?" Roger shouted back, adding air-quotes.
The raised voices had started drawing attention. Quentin emerged from the Dining Room. Having been in there the whole time, he had no idea what was going on. At the same time, the residents from the basement started coming up the stairs, despite Alex's insistence that they all stay down there.
"This is MY house. I do what I want. I'm under no obligation to follow my own rules, unlike you. You knew what you were doing was wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have hidden it," Benny yelled as the crowd formed.
Roger wanted to yell back, but he knew that Benny was right. He had broken rules, he had kept things secret and worst of all, he had let personal matters get in the way of his duty, and now it had cost him everything. As anger turned to despair, Roger stared at Benny and begged, "Please, Benny... Sir... Master... please don't make me leave. Please."
Benny stared at his most trusted General, listened to him pleading for mercy, then his eyes fell on the crowd over by the stairs. They mostly looked shocked, particularly Zane who had turned almost ghostly white.
"No!" Benny said sharply. "I trusted you. I relied on you to enforce the rules of my house. You were meant to be the best, but you let me down. Now get out of my house!"
Roger started pacing towards the door.
Zane dashed forward from the crowd. "Benny, please don't make him leave. I love him," Zane pleaded.
Benny felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Telling his longest-running sub, his most loyal General, his best friend, to leave the house had been almost physically painful. Now, seeing the Boy he had become so fond of pleading for him to change his mind, it hurt. For a moment, he wavered. He considered letting Roger stay, punishing him some other way, but as he looked back and forth between Roger and Zane, he couldn't get the image of them together out of his mind. It triggered a new wave of bitterness and anger.
"If you care about him that much, maybe you should go with him," Benny said venomously.
"Are you... telling me to leave too?" Zane asked nervously.
"No," Benny replied. "I'm saying it's up to you. Stay here, get punished and carry on as normal, or walk away right now and go with Roger. It's your choice."
There was a collective intake of breath from the people watching as every eye fell on Zane. Roger stared at his lover, hands trembling.
Zane looked around the room, his head reeling from everything that had happened and the sudden ultimatum.
"Well?" Benny demanded. "Stay... or go?"