Doug Moves In (m/m)

[drawscore]

DOUG MOVES IN

The sullen teenager sat in the back seat of the station wagon, and, barely audibly, groused "It's not fair!"

His mother turned from the right front, and said "Give it a chance, Doug. You'll have a bigger house, a bigger room, a bigger back yard, . . ."

"And no friends!" Doug cut in. "C'mon, Mom, I had a whole lot of neat friends, I went to a great school, and I just made my First Class in scouts. All that's here, are kids I don't know, and I don't know if there are even any kids my age in this new neighborhood."

"I'm sorry, Doug." said his father. "But I couldn't turn down the promotion and reassignment. I had to give up my friends at the office, too, and your mom had to give up her social club membership. Besides, if you're a first class scout, you should know that part of the scout's law is that a scout is cheerful."

Doug quit his grumbling, and said that he'd try to make it work, but the scowl never left his face. He fluffed a pillow, and stretched his slender frame across the back seat, and tried to catch a little sleep. For Doug and his parents, it had been an early day. Their house had been emptied by the movers the previous day, and they'd spent last night in a hotel. They'd also gotten up at 4:00 a.m., and after breakfast at an all night diner, were on the road by 5:00.

Now, the 400 mile trip was nearing it's end. The new new superhighway across two states had made the journey fly by. No more stopping at every little town along the way, and the trip that once had taken almost two days, now took just six or seven hours if they drove straight through, and kept pace with the 75 mph speed limit. With a few short stops, and a longer one for lunch, it was around eight and a half hours when the wagon pulled off the highway, wove its way through a new maze of streets, and turned in to a wide driveway in front of a two story house on a tree-lined avenue.

Doug roused himself from his nap, and, for the first time, smiled. He immediately liked this new house, at least from the outside, and bolted for the open front door, where movers, who had arrived earlier, were carrying in their belongings. Doug set out to explore this new abode, and quickly found the kitchen, master bedroom, and a combination den and rec room on the ground floor. Upstairs, he found a smaller bedroom, which he correctly deduced would be his, and another, smaller bedroom, which he thought would be a guest room for when one of his aunts and uncles came for a couple of days.

"Watch it, kid!" came a gruff voice from behind a large cardboard box. Doug quickly moved out of the way, and allowed the mover to put the box into Doug's new room. "This stuff goes in here, right?"

"Yeah, that's mine." Doug answered, realizing that he was underfoot, and that it might be a good idea to get out of the way.

"Mom, I'm gonna go look around the neighborhood." he called.

"OK, but don't get lost!" she called back.

"Aww, c'mon, Mom! I'm 13 years old! I'm not gonna get lost!" Before any reply could be made, the slender teenager, whose mood had brightened somewhat, was out the door.

Doug's brightened mood started to revert back to its original sullen state. He noticed several young girls who looked to be between 9 and 15 as he walked down the street, and he even waved at two of them, who apparently were a little shy, because they giggled, and ran into their house.

Doug was about to give up and go back home, when he heard voices coming from behind a house. He cut through the yard, and found himself staring at a large patch of woods. A path caught his eye, and he started into the lush green forest, straining to hear where the voices were coming from.

He'd gone about 40 yards down the path, when he came to a clearing. There, he saw something that caused him to blink, rub his eyes, and blink again, because he could not believe what he was seeing. There, sitting on the ground, was a boy about Doug's own age, with his hands tied behind his back, and his ankles tied together.

The tied boy was struggling, and didn't notice Doug when he walked up. "Are you all right" Doug asked, and the captive snapped around.

Not recognizing Doug, the response was not quite what Doug expected. "Who the hell are you, and where the hell did you come from?" the tied boy asked.

"I'm Doug Atwood, and I just moved here." Doug answered. "Who are you, and why are you all tied up?"

"I'm Scott Bradford, and I'm tied up 'cause me, my brother and our friends are playing hide and go seek."

"Do you want to be untied?" Doug asked.

"No!" Scott emphatically replied. "They didn't tie me very good." To prove the point, he pulled his hands from behind him, and began to untie his feet.

"I could tie better than that!" Doug said, as he watched Scott clear the rope from his feet.

"So could my friends." Scott replied, "But the fun of the game is being chased. I'm 'it,' and whoever is 'it' never gets tied good. We want him to escape and chase the rest of us."

"Wha'da'ya do when you catch one of them?" Doug asked.

"Bring 'em back here to the base, and tie 'em up." Scott answered. "And they get tied a lot better than they tie me, or any other 'it.'"

Scott stood up, and at the top of his lungs, yelled "Free ins! Free ins!"

Moments later, several boys appeared from various directions, and gathered in the clearing. All of them had bright pieces of cloth hanging from the waistbands of their jeans. "Awwright, what's with the 'free ins' call, Scott?" asked a curly haired boy who looked close to 14.

"We got a new kid in the neighborhood." Scott announced. "His name is Doug!"

The curly haired boy stepped forward, and said "I'm Ronnie. And this little termite is my brother, Mark."

"I'm Kevin." said another. "They call me 'Little Kevin' 'cause there's another Kevin, and he's almost 16. He's called 'Big Kevin.'"

Another boy stepped forward, and said "I'm Red Jeff." Doug took one look at him, and knew why. His hair was flaming red.

Finally, the last boy stepped up. Doug noticed he looked a lot like Scott, and figured that they were brothers. It was confirmed, when he said "I'm Allen, Scott's brother."

"Cool!" Doug said. "Scott told me about the game. You guys catch each other by pulling flags?"

"Yeah!" said Mark. "Wanna play?"

"Sure!" said Doug. Then something else caught his eye. "A couple of those flags look like scout neckerchiefs. You guys scouts?"

"We all are, except Mark." Ronnie said. "He ain't 11 yet. He's still a cub scout, but we let him hang around."

"You mean you drag me along." Mark grumbled.

Ronnie looked down at his little brother, and said "Quiet, pest, or I'll tie you to a tree."

Scott pulled Doug aside, and said "Don't mind them! That pair fights like dogs and cats, but we think it's all a huge act. They're brothers, and they're a lot closer than they let on."

Doug grinned, and said "Yeah, there was a couple like that in my last neighborhood the same way."

Scott pulled a neckerchief out of a nearby bag and gave it to Doug. "Since you're the new guy, you get to tie me up. But as soon as I get loose, I'm gonna chase you and the others down."

"Cool!" Doug said, then picked up a six foot length of rope, and tied Scotts's hands behind him. He remembered what Scott had told him earlier, and purposely did not tie his captive as well as he could have, but figured that if he was any good at all, he should be free in three minutes, five tops.

A moment later, Doug had tied Scott's feet, and the rest of the group was poised to take off into the woods. All that was needed, was for Doug to yell "Go!" But instead, Doug pulled Scott's neckerchief from his belt, rolled it up, and tied it over Scott's mouth. "In my last neighborhood, whenever we tied someone up, we always gagged them." Doug explained to his new friends. “The kids in my old scout troop used to say that a prisoner isn't really tied up unless he's gagged, too!"

"Cool idea, Doug." said Ronnie. "Maybe we'll make that a rule here." The others, even the tied and gagged Scott, nodded approval.

Ronnie nudged Allen, and said "I like this new kid."

Allen had a funny look on his face, sort of like a half smile and a half frown, and said "He's got a good idea, but let's see how he plays the game."

Doug shouted "GO!" and the boys scattered into the woods. As luck would have it, Doug wound up close to Little Kevin, and while the both of them were hiding, Doug whispered "What happens if Scott catches me, and I get loose?" Kevin replied that it was OK if he could get loose on his own, but he could not get any help, either from other captives, or from someone who had not been caught. "Neat!" Doug replied.

It did not escape Doug's notice that Allen and Scott were similar in build to him, in that they were tall and slender. One thing Doug knew from experience, was that kids who were tall and slender, were fairly decent escape artists, because they could slide their hands under their butts, untie their feet, step through their tied hands, then bring their hands up to their mouths, and chew loose the knots. At least that was the way Doug did it. But Doug's problem was that he loved an audience, and he couldn't very well show his new friends how well he could escape, unless they were watching.

Scott had easily freed himself, and was now on the hunt. Doug put a finger to his lips, an indication for Kevin to be quiet. But Kevin broke cover, and was quickly run down by Scott. The young captive was taken back to the base, where Scott tied his hands and feet, and, remembering what Doug had said earlier, used Kevin's neckerchief to gag him.

Finished with Kevin, Scott headed back to hunt down the others, and it did not take him long to find Red Jeff. Jeff joined Kevin, and both were joined several minutes later by Ronnie. That left Allen, Mark, and Doug, And Mark, not as skilled in cover and concealment, wound up being the fourth of Scott's captives.

Doug took it all in, and figured that he now had a "captive audience," so when Scott came close, Doug deliberately broke from his hiding place. Scott was quickly on him, and grinned as he walked back to the base, where Ronnie, Kevin, Mark, and Red Jeff were still sitting there, tied and gagged, and waiting for help.

When Doug had tied Scott, he'd deliberately done a poor job, as the object of the game was for "it" to get free and chase down the others. But Scott did not return the favor. Doug's hands were tightly bound behind his back, and his feet were just as tightly tied. Scott didn't slouch on the gag, either. It was tight, but Doug could have easily pushed it out. Still, none of the others had pushed out their gags, so he thought maybe they had read his mind. In his old neighborhood, it was a rule that gags could not be pushed out, except for an emergency.

Scott went back out after the last player - his older brother, and left his captives, confident that they would be there when he got back with Allen. Scott had tied Doug well, but not well enough. Doug put that skinny frame to work, and while the others could do nothing but watch, Doug did what he had learned a year and a half ago. He pulled his hands under his butt, untied his ankles, stepped through his hands, pulled down his gag, and untied his hands with his teeth.

By the time Scott got back with Allen, Doug had vanished back into the woods. "Where'd he go?" Scott demanded, but the only answers he got, was several "mmmppfff's" from his captives.

"Where do you think he went?" Allen laughed. "He got loose!"

Scott looked at the others, and demanded "Any of you help him?" Again, he got several loud "Mmmppfff's," this time accompanied by four tied and gagged captives vigorously shaking their heads.

Scott tied and gagged his brother, and just as he finished tying the gag over Allen's mouth, Doug walked up to the edge of the clearing, and hollered "Come and get me, you big turkey!" Allen heard it, and thought that he was really starting to like this new kid. He was brash and confident, and maybe even a little arrogant. Just the kind of kid that would make a good addition to their scout troop.

Allen was a pretty good escapist in his own right, and had easily escaped from Scott, and from all the others on numerous occasions. Now, after being tied, he pondered whether he should go ahead and escape, or sit and wait for Scott to come back with Doug, He decided to go half way, by escaping as Scott came in with Doug.

The wait wasn't long. Allen and the others heard Scott yell "Gotcha!", and Allen immediately began his escape. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick enough, and when Scott brought Doug into the clearing, Allen was just getting his hands under his butt, and starting to untie his ankles.

Scott laughed, and said "Too late, Allen, but go ahead anyway! Doug's the last one caught, so he's 'it' for the next round.” Allen really didn't mind. While Scott tied Doug's hands behind him, Allen finished escaping, and untied the others.

Doug had forgotten the funk he'd been in earlier in the day. He couldn't remember when he'd had this much fun, and began thinking that maybe the move to this new neighborhood wouldn't be all that bad.

Scott wrapped a length of rope around Doug's feet, and whispered "Catch Mark last this time."

"Why?" Doug whispered back.

Scott smiled, and said "We always let Mark be 'it' for at least one round. It annoys the hell out of Ronnie when his little brother gets to tie him up."

Doug nodded, and Scott tied the neckerchief over his mouth, then hollered "GO!!", and the boys all scattered into the woods. For the next hour and a half Doug and his new friends played this odd version of "hide and go seek," and as they played, the bonds of friendship were forged and strengthened.

The sun hung low in the sky when the game was declared over, the the boys trooped out of the woods, and headed for their various homes. "I'll see you tonight." called Red Jeff, and Doug asked what that was all about.

"Jeff's sleeping over with us tonight." Allen said. "Me and Scott are gonna help him pass his first class." "Hey, why don't you come, too?" Scott said. "We got room."

"I'll have to ask my mom." Doug said, "But she and Dad are pretty good about letting me sleep over with friends. Still, they'll want to meet you, so can you take a few minutes to come over?"

"I guess so." said Allen. "Where do you live?"

"About a block and a half around the corner." Doug replied. "There was a moving van there earlier today."

"That's Donnie Simmons' house!" Scott said. "His dad got transferred to Hawaii, and they left last week."

The three boys raced for Doug's new house, but just before getting there, stopped short. "Hey, that's our mom's car." Allen said. "What's it doing in front of your house?"

Doug shrugged his shoulders, and said "I dunno. Why don't we go in and find out?"

Doug and his two new friends burst through the front door. "Mom, I'm home!" he yelled.

"Doug, you charge in here like a bull in a china shop, and yell at the top of your lungs. I have perfectly good ears. I can hear you."

"Sorry, Mom." Doug answered. "Where are you?"

"In the kitchen, dear." she answered. "We have company."

Doug led Allen and Scott to the kitchen, and introduced his two new friends. "Mom, this is Scott and Allen, and they invited me to spend the night at their house. Can I?"

Before Doug's mother could answer, Allen recognized his own mother, and blurted out "Mom! What are you doing here?"

She smiled, and said "Honey, you know I run the neighborhood welcome van. I'm here to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Atwood to our neighborhood, and to invite them to the welcome social at the country club tonight."

The two mothers huddled for a moment, and Doug's mom said it would be all right for him to stay the night with Allen and Scott. With that, Scott and Allen said they were going home to get cleaned up, but their mother said "I have some news. You two are going to get a roommate for a year. Your uncle Robert called, and told us he's taking a job halfway around the world, and is going to be paid a boatload of money! He's taking your aunt Julie with him, but there are no schools, so your dad and I agreed to let your cousin, Charlie, stay here for the year they are overseas."

Allen was elated; Scott was ambivalent. Charlie was close to Allen in age, just three and a half months apart, with Charlie being the elder. "It'll take three or four weeks to clear everything up, so expect Charlie early next month." their mother told them.

Doug saw Allen and Scott to the door, and said he'd be over as soon as he finished dinner. "What should I bring?" he asked, as his two new friends started home.

"Just a change of clothes." Allen said, with a hand over his mouth to hide a broad grin. Then, the two started home. But Scott returned, saying he forgot to get his scout neckerchief back from Doug.

After exchanging pleasantries with his and Doug's mothers, he was directed to Doug's bedroom. Doug was getting ready to take a shower, and had just pulled off his shirt when Scott walked in on him. "Allen's trying to screw you." Scott said.

"How?" Doug asked.

"He said all you needed was a change of clothes, but you need to bring a pair of pajamas, too." Scott said. "If you don't, either me or Allen will loan you a pair, but we have this rule that if you borrow, whoever is there gets to tie you up wearing what you borrowed. In short, if you borrow a pair of pajamas from one of us, then me and Allen and Red Jeff all get to tie you up while you are wearing them."

"Thanks for the heads up, Scott." Doug said. "I'll see you guys in about an hour." Scott nodded and left, and Doug headed down the hall to the shower.

Doug pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a white T-shirt, and as an afterthought, threw a red hooded sweat shirt into his overnight bag, along with a couple of bandanas and neckerchiefs. What he didn't pack, was his pajamas, and his grin was a mile wide as he zipped the bag closed.

END

[Xtc]

How about a link to the chronological order of the stories?

[drawscore]

Edited to note length. The number in parentheses indicated the number of pages.

01. Doug Moves In (9)
02. Welcome Charlie (6)
03. Afternoon Adventures (19)
04. Doug 1 (7)
05. How Mark Became the Troop Mascot (6)
06. The Portal (6)
07. A Day with Doug and Scott (6)
08. A Night in a Ghost Town (12)
09. Doug and Scott's Excellent Adventure (40)
10. The Pajama Indians (11)
11. Allen's Adventure (6)
12. Wayne 1 (8)
13. Allen's Portal Fantasies (4)
14. Big Chris 1 (13)
15. Big Chris 2 (5)
16. Tony (7)
17. Mark 1 (7)
18. Best Friends (6)
19. Lessons in Weaselry (8)
20. A Night at Kevin's (4)
21. Doug 2 (8)
22. Kevin's Calamity (22)
23. Kevin's Revenge (12)
24. The Mystery at MacAlpine Manor (14)
25. No Cubs (11)
26. A Day in the Neighborhood (5)
27. Silly Summer Dreams (9)
28. A Night with Mike Hayworth (10)
29. Doug and Mike (8)
30. Mark 2 (2)
31. Doug's Dirty Trick (4)
32. Kidnapped (39)
33. Ronnie's Revenge (12)
34. Mark and Kevin Get Schooled (8)
35. The Initiation (15)
36. Indian Day (25)
37. Mark Turns 11 (30)
38. Aftermath (8)
39. Kevin and the Portal (7)
40. Revenge on Mike (5)
41. Wayne 2 (10)
42. A Ghost Town Adventure (9)
43. TV Fun (35)
44. The Amazing Game of Team Chase (7)
45. Little Kevin and Charlie (4)
46. Another Lesson in Weaselry (17)
47. Wayne 3 (9)
48. Doug 3 (15)
49. It's All in the Mind (29)
50. Neighborhood Adventures (17)
51. Mascot Tryouts (30)
52. What a Weekend! (19)
53. The Twins' Portal Adventure (37)
54. The Haunting (19)
55. Unexpected Guests (12)
56. Kevin's Cousin (37)

[Xtc]

Thanks for the list.
We mjust try to clome up with a good way of using it.

[drawscore]

Don't know how the list could be "used" per se, but they could be broken down into:

1. Short - 8 pages or less
2, Mid length - 9-16 pages
3. Long - 17-24 pages
4. X-Long - 25-32 pages
5. Short novel - 33 pages or more.

The first three I could probably post to the site. The last two might be better if I e-mailed the file to a requestihg member.

Those that enjoy the antics of Doug, Scott, et al, could also request a story by length.

Drawscore

[Xtc]

Speaking personally, it would make more sense to post them in chronological order (bearing in mind that some have been posted already). Any longer stories could, perhaps be borken doen into parts. People seem to prefer that.

[drawscore]

Well, there is the order in which they were written, which might be not quite in sync with the actual time line. They are close, though.

I'll see what I can do about breaking down the longer stories. The two longest, are 37 and 40 pages long. Meanwhile, I've posted another, shorter story.

Drawscore

[Xtc]

Keep 'em coming!