You think you're real cool? (Jackson)

[Jacob Tapper]

Jacob Tapper slammed his locker shut and, not satisfied with the level of sound it produced, opened it and slammed it once more. It was cathartic, like he had pent-up energy or anger or lust or something that needed to be released, and the sound of metal on metal and knowing he'd caused it was that release. He placed a hand on the now-closed locker door, shuffling his feet back so that he could shift his weight onto his hand, head bowing down towards the ground like the Earth had been taken off Atlas' shoulders and placed onto his. What the fuck was that, Tapper? He asked himself. What the fuck was that?

He had just been upstairs in the gymnasium after one of his basketball games had ended. He'd been approached by the girl who had sneaked into the locker room earlier that week, bearing cookies as some kind of peace offering. He hadn't really accepted her apology, and then Jackson had arrived just in time for her to become visibly upset. It had essentially deteriorated from there into some kind of strange peacocking ritual between the two boys, each trying to pry this little girl's attention off one another and onto themselves. In the moment, it had felt like the right thing to do, like getting this girl to like him would have proven to himself or to Jackson that he was in charge. In charge of what, he knew not. It was clearly a matter of pride, but in retrospect it now just seemed stupid.

Whatever: what was done was done, and he'd walked away because he and Jackson were clearly throwing invisible daggers at one another and the girl was a gender-shifting mess and he wanted no part of any of that. And yet, he did: these basket cases he seemed to be surrounded by made him feel strong by association. Dominance was something he found he liked, and submissive personalities fed his ego.

The water cascading out of the shower head was warm against Jake's body. He closed his eyes, allowing it to flow down his nude body as he simply stood there in the locker room's communal showers for a few moments. He could actually feel the sweat washing away from him, like a physical manifestation of whatever regrets or misgivings he had about the events of the previous week. He rationalized that he'd essentially gotten everything he wanted - most of his homework done for him, a blowjob, and some apology cookies - so if he didn't feel great for whatever reason, that was on him. He had won. All he ever did was win.

So why did he kind of feel like a loser?

[Deleted]

It took a bit of time for Bunny to calm down, but not half as long as Jackson expected. The girl was surprisingly resilient, simultaneously being as quick to smile as she was to cry. Hopefully, she could fend for herself without Jackson for another good while, because the blond boy she often fawned over was about as sick of those superficial mood swings as much as he was with Jake trying to curb her affections towards the older boy. What was that about anyway?? Wasn’t Jake gay? Jackson unfortunately lacked the gaydar that some of his other peers had. He couldn’t even admit it to himself, after all, how was he supposed to see it in others?

Anyway, Jackson left Bunny on the bleachers and told her to wait for him while he changed into his street clothes. Hopefully, she was a girl by the time he got back. She probably would be.

His, Bunny’s and Jake’s “conversation” had lasted only a short while, but it was long enough that most everyone else had vacated the gym and the surrounding area by the time Jackson headed down to the locker room to wash up and change out. Jackson roughly pushed open the door to the locker room, still feeling a build-up of tension from his interactions with Bunny and Jake, in addition to his failing display of ‘skillz’ on the court. When he expected to hear at least the gregarious chatters of his teammates still lingering in the locker room, there was instead only the sound of the shower. He was the last one again wasn’t he? That was just fine with Jackson.

It took but a minute for Jackson to strip down to nothing but a towel around his waist(people who wore their underwear into the showers were douchebags). He grabbed his bathing supplies and went to go join his ‘teammate’. Imagine his surprise when he found that the lone person left before him in the showers was none other than Mr. Douchebag himself. Jackson ‘s first reaction came in the form of a red-faced blush as he recalled the intense stare that Jake had given him just prior to leaving the gymnasium. That dominant stare was, in all honesty, Jake’s greatest weapon against Jackson and he didn’t even know it. Or did he? Was that why….was he expecting Jackson to….?

Jackson didn’t dare finish that thought and instead proceeded onto his second reaction, which was the outright, indignant scowl of a sore loser. Jake had stolen things from Jackson and Jackson intended to get back full compensation for his losses, one way or the other. He stepped onto the wet tile and took the shower immediately next to Jake’s. Jackson spoke first. Venomously. “So I don’t keep my promises, do I?” he said, tackling Jake’s earlier accusation headfirst. “Remind me, who was doing who a favor again?”

[Jacob Tapper]

Jake would have pegged it at about 50-50 whether Jackson would come into the locker room while he was still in there. On the one hand, the kid had to shower and change just as much as Jake had to, so it would make sense for him to make an appearance in the near future. On the other hand, when he'd gracefully exited their conversation moments before, the blond had seemed pretty wrapped up in trying to make Bunny - or Beau, as the case may have been - feel better. So he wasn't expecting the Asian boy to show up, nor was he terribly surprised when he did.

Of course, it had to be while he was in the shower.

His teammate's bold move of choosing the shower directly next to his was noted, but not outwardly acknowledged. The brunet had decided to try to remain coolly detached until he'd sorted through his own feelings on the other boy and their most recent exchange. Jackson evidently had other plans though, as he immediately went for the guttural. Jake looked over at him briefly, quirking an eyebrow before directing his attention back to his cleaning regimen.

"Nope," he replied to Jake's first question. He said it casually, verging on dismissiveness; he sensed Jackson was angry (he would have had to have been a real idiot not to have), and he knew his own lack of anger would only infuriate Jackson all the more.

The second question merited a more detailed answer. "You didn't do me a favor," he said, turning more fully to the other male. "You offered a service in exchange for payment, which I gave you." He ran his hands over his face to ensure there were no suds. "At any rate, even if it was a favor, you didn't do it." He would continue holding the incomplete assignment over Jackson's head as long as he could.

[Deleted]

Jackson was sure of it. This guy was self-centered and completely full of himself. He hated that he was even the slightest bit attractive. “If that’s how you remember it, you’re even more of an idiot than I thought,” he pointed out, making a disgusted sneer as he removed his towel and turned the knob for the hot water. Jackson shivered and tensed as it came out cold first, then breathed in the mist as it gradually warmed up into a steam.

He tilted his neck to give Jake a sideways look of contempt. “As far as I can tell, it was an equal exchange. A shit service for shit service.” Although they hadn’t exactly specified what the ‘service’ Jackson was supposed to get in return was, his suggestion of ‘sex’ moments before it tried to happen was indicative enough that there was a mutual understanding to it. ‘Tried’ to happen, yes, because Jake had tried…and failed.

“And need I remind you,” he continued, turning to the taller brunet showering beside him, “that after ‘it’ was done, you said I could finish your service another time.” Jackson held his hands up patronizingly. “It’s almost as if you knew you couldn’t follow through.” Jackson turned back to the wall and grabbed his bar of soap from the small, aluminum ledge.

[Jacob Tapper]

If Jake's eyebrow could have risen any further, it would have - but as he was already looking incredulously at the other boy, he simply shook his head at the blond's insult. He wasn't an idiot: the fact that he was bad at math did not detract from his abilities in other areas. He did his best to let the boy's words slide off his back, though it still ruffled his feathers nonetheless. How could it not? Jake was proud, and Jackson's diss was a blow to his pride.

He frowned at his teammate's next words. Yes, apparently he was never going to hear the end of his... early ending. Was it honestly that big a deal to Jackson that their encounter hadn't lasted longer? Hell, he'd only offered sex as a joke in the first place, and now he was going to be a pressed little bitch because it was short-lived? The brunet could hazard a guess as to why Jackson was still so bent out of shape about it.

"You want it so bad," he stated evenly, as though it was less a guess and more a statement of proven fact. "You still do." He shook his head again. It seemed like one of those cases of 'the woman doth protest[ing] too much.' Obviously Jackson was fixated on their brief hookup, and Jake couldn't think of any other reason why that might be than that he was bummed he hadn't gotten more out of it.

The brunet sighed, running a hand through his short brown hair to make sure there was no shampoo remaining in it. He didn't like arguing; it was against his laid-back nature to get worked up over things. "You know, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting either." This was some kind of verbal peace offering, though it was spoken like it made him tired just to say it. Yes, he was aware that he'd underperformed, but what the hell was he going to do about it now?

[Deleted]

Jake’s response was unexpected. Actually, his whole ‘cool and calm’ demeanor was, as Jake hoped, only getting Jackson even more aggravated. Why was he letting this guy get to him anyway? Jackson wasn’t usually so unruly. In fact, Jackson rarely let it show that anything seriously upset him. He would normally take it with a laugh and try to make a joke and keep things as light as he could manage, while silently cursing the opposing person. That’s what he’d tried to do upstairs just moments before, but somehow it had turned into some silent machismo competition. They may as well have been having a pissing contest!

Jackson lathered up his hands, rolling his bar of soap between his hands, and washed off what was probably several hours of sweat and grime, not just from the game that day. “So what if I do?” he said sourly, his face growing more red not only from Jake’s accusation, but Jackson’s admission to it. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t have been disappointed if I just….I don’t know, walked out halfway through.” Because as far as Jackson was concerned, that’s essentially what happened.

Jackson frowned at the so called ‘peace-offering’. “What exactly didn’t you expect?” he asked slowly, quirking up an eyebrow, curious as to what Jake was referring to exactly. “Lying there like a limp dick as soon as you got off?” Jackson honestly didn’t care that Jake couldn’t hold out longer, that was just weapon for him to use against Jake at the moment. Jackson was just bitter that he’d let himself get all riled up from Jake’s posing, and then ended up having to do all the work himself(in addition to doing half of Jake's homework). In what universe was that considered a fair trade?

[Jacob Tapper]

Jake smiled inwardly. Even though he had guessed that Jackson's lingering anger was due to his still wanting Jake, hearing the other boy's confirmation still made him feel good. It was an ego boost, to say the least, but there was also the fact that Jake wanted Jackson - or at least wanted to experiment with him some more - so this meant that any ongoing sexual interest wasn't one-sided. He wasn't going to give that away so easily, though. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders, as though he wouldn't have been bothered in the slightest if Jackson had blue-balled him. Just as before, he wanted Jackson to think this meant nothing to him, like he could care less whether Jackson was interested, or whether he was underwhelmed by his performance. It was a power play, plain and simple. the truth of the matter, of course, was that he felt sort of lame for finishing so quickly, and was kind of bummed he hadn't had sex.

At Jackson's insult, Jake glared at him. It wasn't one of the sexy glares he'd come to understand made Jackson obey his every word; it was an angry glare, one that virtually dared the blond to say another word about it. "That's enough," he stated sternly and with such finality that it almost seemed to single-handedly consign the subject to the dustbin of history. If Jackson was actually still interested in having sex with Jake, then constantly bringing up his poor performance was not getting him any closer to his goal.

He was essentially done bathing, but he didn't get out of the showers yet. He watched Jackson cleaning himself for a moment, not gawking blatantly but not hiding it either. "Far as I can tell, neither of us really upheld our end of the deal," he said with a tiny shrug, voice back to its normal volume now as his eyes remained on the Asian's body. "If you want another chance to prove you're a man of his word, I guess that could be arranged." His lips spread into a cocky smile; yes, he was essentially suggesting they go for it again, but he wasn't going to be the one to ask. That was his teammate's job. Jackson asked, Jake told.

[Deleted]

Jackson had been looking forward to something good, and he’d gotten crap for it. He still defended his not finishing the homework as being fair for not getting ‘paid in full’ for the whole job. Did he want Jake, though? That was a hard question to answer. Yes, he wanted sex. Did he want sex with Jake specifically?

………yes. If he really thought about it, then yes, he did want to see what Jake really had to offer. Jake was attractive, to say the least. He had a body that was covetable by the shorter, slightly more unfit Asian, and Jackson wanted it pressed up against him as hard as it had been that day. Jackson wanted to feel Jake’s strong hands against his skin, and pushing him this way and that with the force of a serious dominant. Just the memory of that brief interaction had Jackson wanting to see how it would have ended had Jake been more…..if he hadn’t…!

Jackson shirked back at the glare, startled by such hostility behind it. It wasn’t the same sort of stimulating gaze that Jake occasionally gave Jackson when he was asserting his dominance over the younger boy, but instead one of true anger and disdain. Jackson’s face paled as he realized that maybe he had gone too far, pushed too hard, and now the likelihood that nothing between them would ever happen again was much higher. Jackson didn’t want that. He kept his eyes up on the brunet, though seemed to shrink back as he uttered out a quick, “sorry.” Jackson dropped his gaze again, growing quiet as he continued his shower, rinsing himself of any remaining soap and then his hair.

He could feel Jake’s eyes on him still, making him self-conscious now that he was successfully ‘put in his place’ by the other boy. Jackson breathed in relief when Jake’s tone returned to normal, though to say Jackson wasn’t still shaken would be false. Jackson nodded, but said nothing to the first statement. To the second, Jackson looked up at Jake in surprise, his mouth even gaping at the proposal. Another chance!? Yes! “Yes! I mean, I can, definitely!” he urged, as though it were Jackson who was the one at fault the whole time. “I’m good for it, anytime! Anytime you want!”

[Jacob Tapper]

Of course there was another chance. Angry as he had been about Jackson's continued taunting over his inability to perform, Jake still wanted to fuck this kid. Well, he wanted to fuck someone, and Jackson was as good a target as any. Better, even, since he was generally submissive to Jake's desires and was experienced enough to know what he was doing in bed. That could prove useful to a boy who talked a big game but was completely lost when it came to actual sex.

He smiled complacently at the blond's eagerness for round two: yes, he had been correct in guessing that Jackson still wanted him, and it was as obvious now as it had ever been. It was almost as though Jake had told Jackson he was taking him to Disney World, for how excited his teammate was. "Good," he said with a single nod, reaching over to turn off his shower. Still dripping, he stepped over towards Jackson, quickly eliminating the distance between them.

"I'm going to fuck you this time," he said, looking down into the shorter boy's eyes. The way he said it almost sounded like a promise: he wasn't letting anything stop him from going the whole way next time - especially since now he had his own credibility at stake. He chuckled inwardly at the thought of Jackson practically begging the brunet to have his way with him. "But I'm not just gonna fuck you," he added, leaning in slightly. "I'm going to own you." He leaned in a little more even, and to the side, his mouth approaching Jackson's ear, the warm breath from his nostrils tickling the blond's earlobe.

"I'm gonna make you my bitch."

[Deleted]

So he was excited? Who wouldn’t excited about sex? Jake apparently, but Jackson wasn’t so sure given all the mixed signals he was getting from the brunet. One minute he was nonchalant and uncaring, the next he was offering Jackson a ‘second chance’, and then….then he was piercing Jackson with that gaze of his again, causing the telekinetic to freeze in place, unable to do anything more than breath and stare back up at the taller boy, like a prey caught in the sights of its predator. Only this prey wanted to be eaten.

And even as Jake approached, Jackson couldn’t take his eyes off him, not even to admire the droplets of water sliding down the boy’s toned arms, down his neck and pecs and abs. Jackson lifted his eyes again, having scanned them down anyway, as Jake settled himself just outside the radius of the blond’s shower where he once again was getting drizzled on by the occasional stray droplet. Jackson stiffened upon hearing Jake’s declaration, and he nodded. Yes…yes, Jake was going to fuck him. He could already picture it, and the image what came to mind had him hitching up his breath in anticipation. He nodded again. Yes….own me, he thought silently.

Jackson’s eyes were already alight with excitement, though they fluttered shut upon feeling the breath of the older boy gently blowing over his ear. His words evoked a full body shudder from the young boy. If he wasn’t before, then he was definitely worked up by now, and it was plainly obvious. “Yes……okay,” he uttered somewhat deliriously. No….those weren’t the right words. It was…

Jackson opened his eyes. “Please,” he begged. “Do it.” He really was a bitch….and Jackson didn’t care.

[Jacob Tapper]

Jake didn't really get 'excited' about things; it wasn't in his nature to get that worked up, for the good or for the bad. Blame it on his father, who was rarely happy let alone ecstatic, and his soft-spoken, traditionalistic mother. But he was most definitely interested in having sex with Jackson, and the way he approached the other boy and the words he had spoken had likely made that apparent enough. Still, he wanted Jackson to want it more than he did. Evidently the blond was not above begging to be taken, and that was just fine with the brunet, who wanted to hear how badly Jackson craved him.

Jake brought his hands to the boy's hips, letting them float just micrometers from his teammate's skin. He trailed his hands lightly up the boy's sides, as though narrowly defeating the temptation to place his hands on the other's body, but his fingers never graced Jackson's soft skin. Even when they reached the shorter male's shoulders, he simply let them remain there for a moment before pulling them away. "Not here," he said, softly but with finality. He didn't know about Jackson, but he didn't want to risk someone walking in and finding them in the throes of passion. Besides, he wanted his first time to be a little... neater.

"Swing by sometime," he instructed, a small smile growing on his face as he took a few steps back. "Soon." He stood there for a moment, biting his lower lip as though making perfectly sure he really wanted to wait. Yes, it was for the best. "You know the room." He turned and headed out of the shower area and towards the lockers. Jackson would have to come to him, and would have to reassert his desire to be dominated by the older boy. Perfect.

[Deleted]

In his current state of mind, Jake could probably have gotten Jackson to do anything he wanted. He could have gotten Jackson to say anything he wanted. To agree to anything he wanted. Later, Jackson would shake his head and call himself a fool for lacking so much willpower…though just the same, it was a sweet nectar to him - commanding words, being servant to someone like this….what did he get out of it anyway? It was twisted, he knew, and he didn’t really understand why it affected him so much. Pondering over it wasn’t going to change it, however, so he chose not to focus on it. At least not right now.

Right now, Jackson was too busy trying to keep himself from going crazy. He was expecting Jake to touch him, right there in the showers, to slide his hands over Jackson’s bare skin like he’d done during their ‘study’ session before. Only, instead of feeling skin-upon-skin, there was only the tickle of anticipation surging inward from the areas where Jake passed his hand over, missing physical contact by only the slightest bit. It was just enough that Jackson could feel the brush of his fingers over the upright hairs on his arm. He longed for Jake to close that short gap, but the blonde dared not move even a millimeter from place. Jackson nodded again, having been successfully teased and taunted into his resolve to seek out Jake on their next day off…or sooner. While he did want it now….Jake was the more rational one at the moment. Not even Jackson would want to be walked in on in the middle of the locker room. Especially not Jackson, actually.

It was deja vu for Jackson, watching Jake walk out of the showers leaving Jackson in a daze while the hot water of the shower continued to pound down on his back. It took a moment for the boy to find the will to move from that spot, looking down once again at the effect Jake had left on the Asian. Jackson sighed. Damn…he got him again. Jackson turned off the shower, grabbed his towel, and headed to the bathroom stalls in silence.