The Tent Boys

Life hasn’t always been good to Lucas Bryan (his parents were country music fans). Lucas’ parents were killed in a car crash on an Indiana interstate when he was 3. With no other family to take him in, he ended up in foster care. To his knowledge, he was an only child. He ended up with a great family for most of his life. They didn’t have any other kids and gave him all of the love and attention a boy could need. He lived an incredibly happy childhood – until he turned thirteen. That was when the family he was with would also end up dead. They were murdered by a crazed man in the process of a robbery at a roadside gas station. Lucas saw much of it happen. He ended up back in foster care. 

The next family Lucas would go to were not good people at all. They collected foster kids for the money. They treated the kids poorly and barely gave them enough food to live on. They frequently beat their kids and made them do hard labor around their farm. Two kids had run away from them, yet the authorities still placed Lucas there. They said it was too tough to place a thirteen year old. This was rural Indiana, after all. Not much thought went into these things.

As Lucas grew older, he started to realize he was different from the other kids he knew. He was very attracted to boys and men. He had to hide these feelings, but his appearance made him a target for bullying. He never felt as if he were like any of the other boys. He was so slight and appeared to be even younger than he was. He wasn’t very strong or aggressive and was only able to defend himself by running away. 

He also didn’t quite feel right as himself. He couldn’t pin it down and didn’t really understand how he felt. He loved to watch the girls in school and always wanted to join them. He thought better than to try. He didn’t really enjoy being around the boys since they were always making fun of him. He sort of helt that being a boy wasn’t enough for him. He never really knew what to do about any of this and certainly had no one to talk to about it.

Lucas dealt with his depression like many teens do - he was a cutter. He didn’t cut deep or even long, but made slight cuts in his arms just to feel something other than sorrow. 

The foster family life was wearing on him. He was not strong enough to handle the labor he was being forced to do. He was frequently beaten, not only by his foster parents, but also his siblings. Of the nine kids that were a part of this strange family, three of the boys decided they were going to target Lucas for a particularly vicious attack.

Ricky, Ben and Stanley were the foster brothers that had been at the farm the longest. They were nearing their time to leave as Ricky and Ben were 17 and Stanley was 16. They were awful boys and they were very mean to the rest of the foster kids. Abusing their siblings was like a hobby to them, a form of entertainment. Boys or girls, it didn’t matter, they abused them. The parents were well aware of this activity and did nothing about it. The checks kept coming, that’s all that mattered to them.

For whatever reason, Lucas managed to avoid his fate for almost a year. That ended one Sunday afternoon, the week Lucas turned fourteen. Lucas was unloading bags of fertilizer from a truck and carrying them into the storage shed. Stanley came out to check on him and stood by watching Lucas struggle handling the heavy bags that were beyond his strength. He soon wandered over to the door of the shed and blocked Lucas from leaving.

“You need to turn around sissy boy,” growled Stanley.

“Um, I…uh, s-s-still h-have bags to unload,” a very nervous Lucas replied.

“I don’t give a fuck. I think I’m feelin’ like it’s your time, boy.”

Lucas backed up into the shed and began to cower. He knew that something bad was about to happen.

Something bad definitely happened. Stanley grabbed Lucas and carried him over his shoulder to another shed. There, Ricky and Ben were waiting. Stanley threw Lucas to the ground. He was picked up and brought over to a table that they threw him over. Ben grabbed his hands and began tying them to the legs of the table. Ricky was tying his legs to the other side of the table. At this point Lucas was in tears and begging for them not to hurt him. That just made the boys even more angry and aggressive.

They started out by paddling Lucas’s ass with boards. Each boy had their own board and one by one, they swung at him and hit him harder and harder. The pain was excruciating. From there they whipped Lucas with their belts. Ben came at Lucas with a scissors and violently cut off Lucas’s shirt. They whipped his back with their belts, beating bloody bruises into the poor boys back. Ben then cut off Lucas’s pants, exposing his ass. They went on for a long time beating his bare ass with the boards and their belts. Lucas sensed that this wasn’t going to be the end of this.

The boys, laughing at their conquest, were playing rock-paper-scissors to determine a pecking order. Lucas knew what was about to happen next. He braced himself and mentally prepared himself to lose his virginity. It was brutal. After a while, the boys began to lose interest and left Lucas tied to the table while they went back to the house.

Lucas was beaten and bruised. He was sore all over, especially his ass. He just cried not knowing how he’d get out of there, wondering if he’d just be left there until the boys came back tomorrow. He felt for a moment like he’d die there. Fortunately, one of his other siblings came out. It was Amy, the girl who had been there the longest. Amy ws tough and didn’t take any of the boys shit. She was also the kindest person in the house. Lucas had no idea why she remained there.  

She didn’t say a word and signaled to Lucas to be quiet as she cut the ropes off of his scraped up wrists and ankles. She whispered in his ear where he could find a bag of clothes that she had put aside for herself and explained to him how to escape once it was dark. Lucas protested.

“This sounds like this is your escape plan!”

“Yes, it is, but you need to take it. They will kill you. You won’t be able to handle whatever those sadistic bastards have planned for you. I’ll be OK. I can deal with them, I always have. Don’t worry, I’ll be out of here soon. Maybe someday our paths will cross. I have a feeling about you. You need to go find someplace to figure out who you really are.”

She pulled a rag out of her pocket and wiped Lucas’ face. She kissed Lucas on his head and wished him luck. Then she ran off.

Lucas felt like he couldn’t move for the longest time. Other than his shoes, he was naked. He was in pain. It was finally dark and everything seemed quiet. So, he decided he needed to make his escape. He felt bad for Amy and hoped nothing bad would happen to her. He got through the fence behind the shed and found the bag she told him about. He wrapped himself in the blanket that was in it. He then ran to the area of the second fence she said would take him off of the property. He ran and ran as far away as he could. He finally came to a place he felt he could stop. It was near a creek where he was able to clean himself up.

He stripped off the blanket, took off his shoes and slowly lowered his naked, battered body into the creek. He let the water run over him and tried his best to clean up his wounds. He climbed out and dried himself off with the blanket. He reached into the bag and pulled out the clothes Amy had put there. It probably didn’t occur to her that she was sending Lucas along with girls clothes - or maybe it did. In the bag was a long, flowy, dress in a flower print, panties and a bra. Lucas knew he really didn’t have a choice, so he put it all on. It felt good to him.

Lucas was exhausted. He laid there and cried himself to sleep with the thoughts of what had just happened to him, all of the loss he’d had, the crazy thoughts in his head that he didn’t understand, and wondering what would happen next. He was especially sad that his first time was not the beautiful romantic experience that he’d dreamed of. This made him very sad. He feared he could never trust anyone ever again. 

At least he was free.

***

The journey took Lucas more than eight miserable months. It was so bad that Lucas often thought he should just end it all. He managed to find more appropriate clothes for a boy. Not knowing where he was going to go, he knew he wanted to see the ocean. It was what kept him going. He loved water and thought it would be peaceful and beautiful. All he knew was he had to keep going East and he’s eventually hit water. 

Obviously, Lucas’ dreams were dashed for now. He didn’t really want to be anything in particular. He thought he might like to make music. He was always making up songs in his head. He knew he wanted to take care of someone. He wanted a man he could love and give himself to. It always seemed odd to think about, but he really wanted to be someone’s wife. Since he really didn’t understand himself, he had no idea what to make of his strong sexual desires. What had just happened to him was not how he envisioned things. He did like the idea of giving up control and letting a man do what he wanted, but that just wasn’t right. He wanted romance.

He eventually found himself in Washington DC. Lucas had walked and walked with no idea where he was going. He literally walked over 1,000 miles over all that time. There was little evidence of the horror he had gone through, though he did have a few scars from the experience. He avoided cutting himself so he could stay sharp and focused on his journey. He managed to survive by standing on highway exits and street corners begging for money. He found more boys' clothes in donation bins he encountered along the way. He didn’t want anyone to beat him up for being dressed like a girl, even though he felt really comfortable that way. He did keep the panties and wore them on occassion. He ran when he saw cops – there was no way he was going back to any kind of foster life. It wasn’t easy and it really weighed on him, but he kept going. DC seemed like a place he could figure something out.

Being on the streets was tough. He had his things stolen from him. He got beaten up a couple of times. He could barely find food. He was already skinny enough, not eating really didn’t help. The whole experience was painful to him. He went back to self-harm to help cope with the pain he felt. He met a couple of folks who gave him some advice or helped him out a bit, but everyone was pretty much only willing to help themselves. He didn’t make any friends and had no one to really protect him. Lucas definitely needed protection. One of the boys he met suggested that he turn tricks. He told him that older pervs liked young boys and would pay him for his time. This sounded icky to Lucas. He also was afraid to have sex after what he endured earlier in the year. The boy told Lucas to give it a try, that it might save him. He told him about the bar where men looked for boys for hire.

Lucas reluctantly decided he needed to try this way of making money. He went to the bar and hung out. Sure enough, an old guy came out to see him. The man looked to be in his 70’s or even older. He asked Lucas to come to his apartment. Lucas was so nervous, but he went anyway. They guy was nice enough. He put $50 on the coffee table and asked Lucas to strip down and jerk off for him. Lucas did as he was asked and the man said to take his money and go. The next several instances were not as nice. Because Lucas was so thin and emo looking, men were rough on him. In one case Lucas had to run off when the guy wanted him to do something super gross. He got stiffed out of his cash on one trick. Lucas hated this. 

He celebrated his 15th birthday by buying himself a present - a cheap, used guitar. Lucas loved music. He seemed to have some natural talent. He sat on corners and played and people threw money at him. It made less than tricking, but it felt safer and Lucas felt better about it. He would only hustle if he really needed to.

Late one night, as Lucas was packing up his guitar on DuPont Circle, some thieves came by, knocked him down, smashed his guitar and stole his money. Beaten down, Lucas wandered off into a doorway of a building under construction and fell to the floor. He cried again, something he found himself doing a lot. He just couldn’t understand why everything was so awful for him. He pulled out his pocket knife and did what he always did when he felt bad. He cut himself. After a few cuts he pulled his sleeves down and went back to the bar. He was pretty broken down.

Maybe tonight I will finally hook up with the guy who puts me out of my misery, he thought to himself. He went inside, sat at the end of the bar and ordered a glass of water. The bartenders here were pretty nice to most of the boys, knowing exactly why they were there. The bartender delivered Lucas a screwdriver instead, and told him it was no charge. Lucas smiled and thanked him. It was only 10:30. The place wasn’t very busy yet. After about an hour, a young man sat next to Lucas. He was a clean-cut, solid, military looking guy who seemed nice enough.

“I’m Kevin,” the guy cheerfully said as he stuck out his hand.

“Lucas. I’m Lucas. Hi.”

From there, Kevin talked Lucas into coming back to his hotel room. He didn’t even wait for Lucas to say an amount; he just offered $200 right away. Lucas was not about to turn down that windfall. Lucas nervously followed Kevin out of the bar.

“You look scared. I promise you, I’m not like these other guys. I’m nice. I just want to have a little fun. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Ok,” Lucas said shyly. He’d heard that before.

***

“Seriously? You want someone to join us?”

“Yeah, why, is that an issue?”

“Um, it’s your money dude. You only get me alone for that price. A third is going to be a little extra.”

“Blaze. That is not something you need to worry about. I’ll pay you for your time. I’m going to head over to the bar. It’s a little late...“

“...or early depending on what you’re looking for.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure there’s another boy like you that I can enjoy tonight.”

“Have at it, buddy. Am I waiting here?”

“Yes, I trust you. Order room service. Chill out. Watch a movie. Just don’t get dressed.”

Blaze wasn’t about to turn down free food and a comfy place to hang. His earlier plans had him paying for this on his own. He was also going to get some more cash. This would give him the chance to take a break and just chill for a few days. Kevin left the room and Blaze got comfy under the covers. He ordered the kind of food that a seventeen year old orders when they’re alone – nachos and cheese fries and a two-liter of Dr. Pepper. He found a Teen Titans marathon on the TV, Blaze loved cartoons and superheroes. He settled in and awaited whatever else the night would bring him.

A little more than an hour later, Kevin walked in with this tall, skinny boy. This kid looked way younger than Blaze expected. He was certainly not anyone Blaze was familiar with from hustling at the bar. The boy had a sad, desperate look on his face. He looked like he didn’t want to be here at all. He was a bit of a mess. Blaze was kind of surprised Kevin brought this kid back. He must have felt bad for him or something.

“Hey Blaze! This is Lucas!” Kevin cheerfully offered. Kevin was frequently too chipper, it didn’t match his look.

“Hey kid,” replied Blaze as he smiled at the boy trying to make him feel more comfortable.

“Hi,” a very shy, quiet Lucas responded.

Lucas was really tall and skinny, about 6’4”, with long, dark, floppy hair, dark eyes and pale skin. He had that dirty looking scruff that teenage boys grew on their faces. He was so slight; he looked frail, like you could break him. He was wearing the filthiest of clothes and looked like he’d been sleeping in mud. He carried himself as if he wanted to crawl in a hole.

Kevin offered Lucas a beverage. Lucas refused. He motioned to Lucas to sit on the other bed. Lucas sat at the very edge looking very cautious and unsure. Blaze really began to feel bad for this kid. He debated saying something, but also knew that the nicest trick could turn into a monster if he thinks he’s no longer in control. Kevin sat down in the chair across from Lucas and just looked at him. 

“Stand up and come closer,” Kevin asked Lucas.

Lucas got up and walked over, now with his back to Blaze. He stood in front of Kevin and just looked down on the ground. This was a different approach than Kevin had taken with Blaze.

“It’s ok Lucas. I just want to look at you. Please relax. Take your clothes off, slowly.”

Kevin had a reassuring tone in his voice. Hopefully, Lucas understood that, though he looked unsure. He turned and looked toward Blaze, who nodded affirmation at him. Lucas slowly took off his clothes. The poor thing was nervous as hell. He was shaking. Once Lucas removed his shirt, Blaze was shocked to see how truly skinny he was - and how filthy he was too. When Lucas dropped his pants, Blaze saw thin scars on his legs. He also noticed scars that looked like hash marks on his arms. There were some bruises on him as well. This kid had been through something awful. Blaze wanted to stop this, but didn’t want to make anything worse. He just carefully monitored the situation. Kevin seemed nice enough, hopefully he was genuinely good. Kevin suggested Lucas take a shower. 

As Kevin walked Lucas to the bathroom, Lucas looked over at Blaze. Blaze just smiled and nodded as if to say it would be ok. 

“Lucas. I know you’re nervous. I’m not going to do anything to you. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not a creep,” Kevin said in his softest, most comforting voice, “You can leave if you want. I’ll still pay you. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. I promise, it will be ok.” Kevin seemed genuine. Lucas just stood there a moment, bewildered by the way he was being treated.

Lucas looked at Blaze for guidance, even though he had no idea who he was or even if he was in on what was happening.

“Kid, it’s ok. He’s cool. He’ll pay you. He’s really nice. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

Blaze didn’t know if that was a step over the line, but he felt he needed to say it. Kevin looked at Blaze and mouthed ‘thank you’. Lucas, standing there vulnerable and naked, looked around the room, then back at Blaze, then over to Kevin.

“I’m ok. I’ll stay. I’m ok,” he said, barely audible, as if only to reassure himself. They walked into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, it was very similar to what Blaze and Kevin had done. Kevin told Lucas to just take a shower and to be sensual as he cleans himself. Lucas wasn't sure how to do that, but he did his best. Kevin just sat on the floor and watched. Lucas thought this was a little weird, but he didn’t want to upset the man. He’d already had bad experiences when he did. Lucas took a bit longer to get clean - he was a filthy mess. He had to wash his hair at least three times. The dirt coming off him was visible on the shower floor. Kevin really felt for this boy. Blaze got out of bed and quietly went to the door of the bathroom. He could see that everything was ok, it was no different than his experience. Blaze went back to the bed. He felt comfortable with what was going on. 

Lucas started to feel much better. No one had ever given him this kind of attention. No one had ever been this nice to him, at least not in a very long time. He relaxed a little and stepped out of the shower. Kevin stood up and handed Lucas a towel. He watched the boy dry off and then walked him back to the room.

Kevin brought Lucas back to the other bed. He offered him a drink again. Lucas asked if he could have some wine. “Is there anything...sparkly?” Lucas immediately felt bad for asking for something. “Nevermind. Whatever you have. Forget it. I don’t nee…”

Kevin cut him off. “Yes, there is something sparkly,” he said as he removed a bottle of prosecco. He handed it to Blaze to open. Blaze thought the whole exchange was adorable and smiled at Lucas.

As Blaze opened the bottle, Kevin let them know his plans. “I want to watch you boys enjoy each other’s bodies,” Kevin whispered, “but first I want to watch Lucas by himself.”

“It’s your show dude.” Blaze responded dryly as he got up to hand Lucas the prosecco. Lucas just stared at the impressive stud from the other bed. 

“Blaze, please stop hiding under those covers. I want us both to see your beautiful body.” Blaze did as Kevin asked. He looked over at Lucas and instructed him just like he did Blaze earlier. 

“Please, just rub your hands all over your body. Enjoy yourself. Explore yourself.”

Lucas looked over at Blaze and thought he was hot. He used that vision to pleasure himself. As he reached for his cock, Kevin stopped him.

“No, don’t masturbate. Just your body. Just touch your body.”

Kevin simply sat there, nursing his drink and watching Lucas, just as he did before. Blaze just sat quietly and watched the boy do his thing. He was obviously not experienced with this, he was even a little awkward. Blaze felt like he needed to help this boy out. He also found him kind of cute. Not really his type, but cute enough. 

By now, it was almost 2 am. 

Kevin happened to notice the clock on the nightstand between the beds. “God damn it. I had no idea it was so late.” Kevin was clearly annoyed at this development. “My flight is at six fucking fifteen.”

“Like in four hours?” asked Blaze.

“Yes. Well, as much as I want to watch you two play, I should probably put an end to this fun.”

Lucas suddenly looked very disappointed. Blaze knew this was the usual sign that it was time to go. He started to get out of bed to go find his clothes.

“Oh, wait! You don’t have to go. I have a late check out. This room is yours until 2 tomorrow. Please, stay. Sleep. Shower. Order room service. Whatever you want.”

“Really?” Lucas asked hopefully.

“Yes, really. It doesn’t make sense for me to sleep now. I’m going to shower, get dressed and go. You boys have been amazing. I hope I can track you down again.”

“You’ll find us,” Blaze responded, “we’ll keep an eye out for you.”

Kevin got himself together, handed each boy $300 and took off. Lucas was laying in his bed, Blaze in his. Lucas looked sad again.

“Do you want to come over here?” Blaze asked.

“Can I?”

“Sure. No strings. Just to cuddle. For now.” Blaze smiled a devilish smile that made Lucas melt a little.

“I don’t think I’d mind strings with you, though I think you’d break me in two.” Lucas smiled back and went over and climbed under the covers with Blaze, who lightly laughed at Lucas' remark about being broken in two.

Blaze wrapped his arms around Lucas who sighed contentedly. It was nice to be held. No one had ever done that for him before. Lucas just wanted to stay just like this forever. Blaze felt like this boy needed some comfort and was in no hurry to do anything else with him.

“This is the best I’ve ever felt. Ever,” said Lucas as he let some tears fall from his eyes.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” a concerned Blaze asked.

“It’s ok. This is so nice. You’re nice. I don’t know how tonight happened. You both are so nice. Nobody is ever nice to me. I’ve been out here forever fighting to just stay alive. It sucks. I just want to die. I’m never going to make it as a homeless kid. Nobody is ever nice to me. People are mean. I hate my...”

“Dude. Whoa. Look at me. Nobody is dying here. No fucking way. Especially not you. Look. At. Me.” Blaze took Lucas’s head and turned it toward him, “I don’t know anything about you, but I do know that you can’t be alone. I don’t like that. You can’t be alone out here. I’m not going to let you be alone. Of course I’m being nice to you, you’re a cute, sweet boy. You deserve that. I’m pretty sure, without knowing you or anything about you, that you deserve someone to be fucking nice to you.”

Lucas burst into tears and hugged Blaze tightly. For the first time since his good foster parents, he felt like someone gave a shit about him. He felt like he met someone special, someone he might be able to actually trust. Blaze also felt some things too. Once again, just like he did with Claes and Garrett, he felt emotion, like his heart was beating again. He felt like he had a new purpose, to take care of this boy and keep him safe on the streets.

“Don’t worry little buddy. I got you. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I will protect you. No one better fuck with you. No one. And I hope you don’t have to do this ever again,” Blaze said as he gently ran his hands over the scars on Lucas’ arms.

Lucas looked back at Blaze, wiping his face, and said, “Friends forever?” He had no idea where that came from; it kind of surprised him to be so forward.

Blaze shrugged. There really was only one acceptable answer at this moment. “Fuck yes. Friends forever!”

The boys cuddled with Blaze as the big spoon and Lucas as the little one. They fell asleep with both of them knowing that finding each other was the best thing for both of them right now and not knowing how much more was ahead of them.

 ***

Blaze took Lucas to the encampment. He introduced him to the other guys there and got him settled in the tent. They spent some of the money they earned on a few new things at the thrift store for Lucas, and a sleeping bag. They walked by a comic book store and Lucas saw a poster for some anime thing he liked.

“Tokyo Ghoul! Can we stop? Please?”

Blaze was taken aback at how suddenly excited and animated Lucas was. It was really cute.

“Um, sure. You do you.”

“YAY!!” Lucas squealed as he grabbed Blaze’s hand and dragged him into the store. The boys both bought themselves some comic books. Lucas, the anime ones and Blaze, Teen Titans and Spiderman. Thanks to Garrett, he had sort of a fetish for Spiderman.

Blaze guided Lucas through the ways of the streets and kept a close watch over him. He told Lucas he didn’t have to trick if he didn’t want to, but he did have to figure out some way to support himself. Blaze could help, but couldn’t do it all. Lucas decided to go the busker route. He bought another cheap guitar and played on street corners and on the Mall.

Lucas’ confidence grew stronger. He was still shy and quiet, but he managed to enjoy himself. He stopped cutting himself. He and Blaze developed a fairly intimate relationship, as a way of helping each other manage their insatiable desires. He still felt different, but he continued to suppress it. It was getting harder for him to do. He was figuring himself out. Blaze was sort of aware something was up, but he didn’t say anything. Lucas was afraid to say anything to Blaze. He didn’t want to scare off his only friend. Lucas developed a crush on Blaze. 

It wouldn’t be long before Harrison would show up. Things continued to change for the better for Lucas. He had friends, people he considered family. He was happy - for now.

Now that we have some background on the boys, things will continue where we left off in Chapter eight. Claes, Garrett and Kevin may return again, and we’ll meet some other new characters in future chapters. Next up, Blaze and Harrison tear it up in the gay clubs. Thank you for reading and please comment with your thoughts.