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Chapter 6: How the Hell Did This

Derek made the varsity basketball team at 15 years old. He was a sophomore, and he was so excited. He'd been training for months with the help of his good friend Camden, getting stronger and more skilled at the game which he loved. His dad and uncle were both proud of him and ran drills whenever possible. Peter was the first to congratulate him and Cam when they got home after the first practice.

"Congratulations boys! I'm so proud of you." he said, clapping them both on the shoulder. Camden smiled big and reached down, grabbing Derek's hand.

"I couldn't have made it without Derek, here." Derek smiled big back, squeezing Camden's hand.

"We're going upstairs to study and then we might shoot some hoops until dinner." Derek said to his uncle while dragging Cam towards the stairs. Peter nodded slowly and watched the two as they left.

A few weeks later the boys were in Derek's room finishing up their homework. Camden was talking excitedly about a WWE event he got to go to over the last weekend.

"Oh my god, D! It was crazy. The guy stood up on the ropes and was all "DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?!" and then he jumps off and just slams his elbow into the guy's neck! I know you guys can heal from that, but this shit was intense, it looked like it hurt!" Derek shook his head and laughed.

"All that stuff is fake. It's all choreographed for show." Camden crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes looking at Derek.

"You take that back, Hale! The Rock is fucking genuine, and I won't have you say anything bad about it. Or else the Caminator is gonna have to stop being polite-" Cam stands on Derek's office chair, balancing precariously on the edge as he aims his body towards Derek on the bed, "-and start getting motherfucking real!" He launches himself off the bed and falls in a graceless heap on top of Derek who simply lets out an 'oomph' and starts laughing.

Camden isn't offended by Derek's lack of injury and decides to use another tactic by tickling Derek until he's begging and pleading for Camden to stop. The mischief in Derek's eyes let Cam know he was about to retaliate, so Cam tried to pin Derek's hands to his sides.

"If you tickle me I'll kiss you!" Cam yelled out. Derek stopped moving and looked up at Cam with sparkling silver eyes.

"Wha-what?" Derek asks, eyes still sparkling.  Cam was still laughing, but sobered up enough to repeat himself.

"I said, if you tickle me, I'll kiss you, and you know, you don't want that because maybe my breath smells or something." He said, suddenly sheepish. He'd already let go of Derek's wrists and had both fists anchored on either side of Derek's head. Derek laid his hands on Camden's thighs.

"Your breath doesn't smell." Derek said, almost in a whisper. Camden smirked slightly and leaned forward. At the same time Derek dug his fingers into Camden's sides, causing him to holler out. Camden leaned all the way forward and pressed their lips together, not closing his eyes, but watching Derek the whole time.

Derek watched back, but finally closed his eyes as he tilted his head and ran his tongue along the seam of Camden's lips, seeking entry. Cam's eyes closed as he gave in.

Derek didn't know what to do with his hands so he left them where they were. Camden seemed even less unsure so he simply framed them over Derek's face as they kissed each other gently exploring the other's mouth.

"Boys?" Both boy's heads snapped to the door where Peter was standing. After the last time Peter caught him kissing a boy, and the whole situation was his cousin Matt, Derek knew that wasn't a good expression on Peter's face, though he tried to keep it as neutral as possible for Camden's sake.