All the couples in Boystown are getting a shake-up in week 4 of BOYSTOWN Volume 7! Catch the launch of Volume 8 on Monday, May 6 with guest writers writing the first week!

CHAPTER 16 - BETTER
When Robbie woke up, Ben was sitting by his bed in the ICU.

"Where am I?" Robbie asked groggily.

"You're in the intensive care unit. You had a very bad stab wound."

"That girl... "

"You're lucky to be alive. What happened to you?"

"Some guy in a hoody stabbed me. He looked so familiar... it happened so fast... "

"Did you run away? From your foster home?"

"How did you know... ?"

"I'm Charlie Parker's boyfriend."

Robbie's eyes widened with fear. "You can't send me back there."

Ben took his hand and flipped his arm over to reveal the cigarette burns. "Did they do this to you?"

Robbie began to cry. "Do you ever wish you weren't gay? None of this would've happened to me if I weren't... "

"Never," Ben said, stroking Robbie's hand. "Not in a million years. This didn't happen to you because you're gay, it happened because people are ignorant and hurtful. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it's gonna get better. Look at me. Look at Charlie. It will get better."

"Did your parents disown you?"

"No," Ben answered quietly.

"Did Mr. Parker's?"

"No."

Robbie sobbed quietly. "I wish... "

Erin rushed in. "Dr. Finn, 303 is coding."

Ben stood up abruptly, but continued to hold Robbie's hand. "I'll be back. It's going to be ok."

After a couple of hours of bringing 303 back to life, Ben rushed back to Robbie's side. But the bed was empty and Robbie was gone.

##

CHAPTER 17 - THE KID THAT TOOK THE PICTURE
"I'd like to report a hate crime," Alex declared as he stepped up to the sergeant's desk.

"What is the nature of the crime?" the desk sergeant asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Not to you T.J. Hooker." Alex began to wave frantically to the handsome officer coming in from patrol. "Officer! It's me! Do you remember me? I need your help."

"Fitz!" called the desk sergeant, getting up to let Fitz sit.

"Oh hi," Fitz said. "I remember you. You were looking for your lost friend."

"Yes!"

"Yeah, turns out we were looking for him too. See my boyfriend's roommate got in trouble because of this picture... "

"Mr. Parker?! You know Mr. Parker?"

"Yeah, he's... wait. Are you the kid that took the picture?"

Alex groaned in frustration. "Why does everyone think that? That's actually why I'm here. I know who did it!"

"I thought you said you were here to report a hate crime."

"Isn't it though? Bullying or whatever? Look how many lives it's ruined."

"I don't see how... "

"It was a student. His name is Steven Albright. He's got this big chip on his shoulder against gays. He tried to start some shit with me but I put him in his place."

"Oh really. How'd you do that?"

"I... um... have some incriminating photos of him. With another guy."

"And how is THAT not bullying?"

"Whatever. Can you help me or not?"

"How do you know it was him? What evidence do you have?"

Alex quickly rummaged in his bag and pulled out the print outs of the school computer log Brandon had helped him acquire. "See, the source of the email with that picture of Robbie and Mr. Parker being sent? It was a school computer and he was the only one logged into one at the time."

"The school gave you access to the their computer log-ins?"

"Well, no... "

"Then how did you... ?"

"I just. Did."

"Ah. So you would like to report a crime that isn't a crime with evidence that was illegally acquired?"

"OMG, I thought you wanted to help!"

"I wish I could. Look, here's my card, if something more substantial comes up... "

Ben came rushing in, almost knocking Alex over. "Fitz! We gotta find him, he's missing."

"Who Charlie?"

"No, Charlie's student. The one mixed up in all that drama. He was in the ER, he was all beat up and stabbed... "

"OMG," Alex cried out. "Robbie! Is he ok?"

Ben noticed Alex for the first time. "You know the kid?"

"That's another one of Charlie's students."

"Are you the one that took the picture?"

"Why does everyone think that?!"

Fitz grabbed his coat. "You can ride in the car with me. If he just went missing, he couldn't have gone very far."

Alex watched them rush off. "Wait! You're dating Mr. Parker's roommate?! Is it Tyler?"

##

CHAPTER 18 - EXES
"We've got get out of here," Tyler said, looking up from his appetizers and seeing an oh too familiar painting hanging in the restaurant. In a moment, he knew all the angst and frustration Charlie felt about his ex. Brad quickly threw down some cash and chased after Tyler who was already out the door.

"Hey!" Brad called, grabbing onto him. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, just... a reminder. Of an ex."

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"It's cool. I got a reminder of one not too long ago."

"Oh yeah? Who was he... ?"

"She. Becka. I saw her last week at Traverna when I was waiting for you."

"You never said anything."

"It was awkward and so not worth it."

"Does that happen a lot? You running into exes?"

"Well... there's only the one."

"Becka? I thought you'd been with guys before."

"Yeah, just been with."

"Oh. So I'm the first... ?"

"Yeah. Does that scare you?"

"A little. I mean, you're only my third. I don't know, I just... have you ever wanted to date any other guys?"

"Not really. I met you. Life happened and now we're... "

"What? What exactly are we?"

Brad shrugged sheepishly. "I don't even know what I am yet. Can we just... "

"Yeah. It's cool. Whatever. No need to rush anything I guess."

"Hey," Brad said, giving him a quick kiss. "Does this scare you?"

"No," Tyler lied.

##

CHAPTER 19 - TRADITIONAL
"We should do this more often," Charlie smiled as David refilled his and Ben's glasses of wine.

"I can't believe all the awful things that happened to your student," Other David said as he came in from the kitchen with dessert.

"It's horrific," Ben said, sipping his wine. "First his father, then kids at the foster home, now... and the Republicans say us gays are gonna fuck up traditional family values."

"Babe," Charlie warned, rubbing his hand.

"How do you mean?" David asked, taking a bowl of trifle from his better half.

"Well... um... and no offense David, but... the extreme right is going on and on about how we can legalize gay marriage because it'll mess up traditional family values. But some of them are doing a bang-up job doing that without our help. I mean, what's the value in beating your kid? And of course, they'd probably still say Robbie was better off in that more traditional family then with a gay couple who wouldn't hurt him."

"Well I think the argument for ‘traditional family values' is more the moral model that has stood the test of time," David said.

"Has it though? I can't even think of anyone I know whose parents aren't divorced."

"Ahem," said Charlie.

"But the majority babe. And the hypocrisy! Divorce is right there side by side with homosexuality in the Bible on big bads, but somehow, a blind eye gets turned from that. Really? Those are the values they're trying to protect?"

"Well, it's true that as society has evolved, the church's views try to match... "

"So why not on this? Look how many celebrity marriages last mere hours or are purely for publicity sake. How is that inline with traditional family values? Yet here you guys are, a committed gay couple, completely monogamous, together for years... that's wrong? I tell ya, that's fucked."

*

Other David stood at the sink, arduously scrubbing the plates.

"Leave those to soak and come to bed," David said, kissing his better half on the cheek.

Other David stopped. "We should probably talk about Josh."

##

CHAPTER 20 - TRADE
It was a slow night. Nobody was biting. He should still be riding high from his last conquest, but it'd been weeks and he was jonesing. Ready for one more. He tried to score with some easy trade on the street, but the trick recognized him. So he did what he had to do and moved on.

11 PM. Nobody was biting. Correction: nobody that was his type. All the muscle dudes that tried to talk to him got the brush off. All the old uglies got the cold shoulder. He wanted young or at least youthful. He wanted skinny and pretty. He wanted vulnerable. He wanted someone who wouldn't fight back.

He thought about changing his picture, but it'd worked before. Fucking faggots were so fucking predictable. A bulging chest with a little fur and they're throwing themselves at him.

Except tonight. Nobody was biting.

Midnight. The fucking drunk in the next room was beating his old lady against the wall. Whatever, not his problem. He needed to get his fix. And just like that, a message chirped from his Grindr.

"Hey," messaged the slight little twinky boy.

"Sup."

"Got any face pix?"

"For trade."

"K."

When he received twink's pic, a slow smile crept upon his face. He was perfect.

"Cute," said twink when he'd received JacksonMaxium's pic.

"thx," he messaged back, ready to reel him in.

"I'm Alex, BTW"

##

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We'll be back for Volume 8 on 5/6, with guest writers writing the first week!

Just joining us? Catch up here:

Volume 1 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five

Volume 2 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five

Volume 3 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five

Volume 4 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five

Volume 5 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five

Volume 6 -
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five



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