Grizzlies

Gabe groaned as he kicked at the pool water. Here he was, stuck at a hotel with his dorky little brother Gavin and three of his best friends. They were right over there, splashing in the pool and being the most obnoxious sixth graders imaginable.

"You're only two years older than him." His dad always said, but to Gabe, it was the biggest gap in the world. He was fourteen, much too cool to be splashing and playing in the pool like Gavin and his friends were. He had not even brought his trunks. That was how cool he was. All he did was sit on the side of the pool, soaking his feet and trying to look suitably detached to the girls who were sitting in the hot tub.

"Why aren't you swimming?" Gavin called across the pool. Gabe only shrugged. He did not owe the little dork any explanation. Gavin shrugged back. "Cannonball!" He jumped in, the waves hitting Gabe in the shins.

"Major dork." He muttered. He pulled his feet out of the pool, adjusting his shorts. Maybe he would wander up to the hotel room.

It was, he had to admit, pretty neat that they had their own room while the dads chaperoning their trip to the hockey game were in the room next door. They had all been told that, as long as they behaved, they were trusted to be on their own. Gabe assumed deep down that that meant he was unofficially in charge, being the oldest. It meant he needed to be responsible.

"Quit splashing." He called, but Gavin and his friends were too busy to pay him any mind.

"Why aren't you swimming?" Gabe nearly jumped, spinning around to find Ayden standing behind him, towel wrapped around his shoulders.

"Forgot my trunks." Ayden nodded.

"Why didn't you say something? I've got extra."

"You do?"

"Yeah, my dad always makes me pack extra stuff, just in case." Ayden seemed a bit embarrassed. "And they'll totally fit you." It was Gabe's turn to seem a bit embarrassed.

"It's fine. I was just gonna head up to the room. Maybe watch TV or something."

"We're gonna be swimming until dinner. Won't that be boring?"

"Naw, I'll be fine." Gabe turned to go, but found Gavin, Joe, and Ethan standing behind him. He could not shake the feeling that he was surrounded. The girls in the hot tub had left and the whole pool area was deserted.

"Grab him!" Ethan exclaimed. Gabe tried to get free, but there were eight hands coming for him. Gabe's attempts to fight did little to stop them from dragging him over to the pool bathroom, pushing him onto his back on the bench that separated the shower for rinsing from the toilet.

"Let me go!" He yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Watch me shut him up." Gavin said with a grin. "Goochi, goochi, goo!" He said, tickling the bottoms of his brother's feet. Gavin's friends cackled as Gabe squealed and squirmed.

"Stop! Stop!" Gabe tried to kick Gavin away, but that only delivered his feet to another boy, who took over tickling. He was helpless as the onslaught went on and on, the boys egging each other on. Being five boys with the minimum of adult supervision, they had all drank their fair share of soda and Gabe was no exception. He whimpered and tried to get free as he felt his bladder begin to ache.

"Goochie, goo!" Ayden said, handing Gabe's left foot to Ethan so that the two of them could tag team him.

"Stop! I'm gonna, I'm gonna" a dark spot formed on the front of Gabe's shorts. Silence hanged in the air for a moment before the assembled twelve year old's began to laugh.

"Holy shit! He actually wet himself!"

"Only cuz you tickled me." Gabe whimpered, fighting back tears. That only encouraged the boys more. Joe tugged Gabe's shorts down to survey the damage and they all started laughing as they saw Lightning McQueen and Mater on the fourteen year old's boxer briefs.