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“Oh dash it! I have to run.” Gregory grabbed his hoodie and slammed the door on his way out of Number Five. He had agreed to meet Gareth for a night of Halloween fun. They had scored tickets to Nightmare in Mayfair, a new Halloween show set in one derelict building that would be demolished the following year. Tickets were sparse and in high demand. He had been lucky Kate had been able to secure some tickets for him. She had always had his back.
The show was a combination of live stage combat and original immersive theatre, with all the best interactive scares and special effects. Instead of seats, you went through the building as part of a group and you had to do whatever the lead actors told you to do. If they said “Run”, you had to run, it was that simple.
The show was loosely based on a Dickensian novel, with demonic corporate greed and hellish working conditions, as well as creepy puppets, ghoulish chefs and an owner that may still have a human inside of him.
At the end of the show, there was a terrifying haunted maze to finish a night of gore and ghoul. It would be a great night of fun, at least that’s what Gregory hoped. He had known Gareth since they had both entered Eton, they shared classes and outdoor activities, but lately something had been off. Or maybe it was just him.
He followed his usual route from Bruton Street down to Barlow Place, through Hay Hill up to Dover Street to Clair House. It was busy on the sidewalk. A lot of spectators had come to look at the different Return of the Pumpkin People displays.
Halloween had truly landed in Mayfair. Every neighbour tried their best to outdo their neighbours by building bigger and better scenes with pumpkins. There was one garden with a pirate ship and several pumpkin pirates were climbing the net. Besides pumpkin people, Gregory spotted the occasional skeleton lurking in the garden and ghosts hanging in the trees. With the sun setting and darkness settling in, the scenes were quite spooky indeed.
At one house, Gregory even spotted a skeleton playing the piano in front of the window, while another skeleton was sipping a cocktail, standing next to it. He chuckled at the ingenuity of these scenes, and decided he must bring Gareth to this area after their show. With all the soft lighting illuminated by carved pumpkins, Gregory thought the area was rather lovely. And then he turned the corner and saw the display outside Clair House.
The tableau of the Pumpkin People in the garden depicted a murder scene, one pumpkin lying on the ground, a kitchen knife in his back. Another pumpkin was dressed as Sherlock Holmes with his famous hat, trench coat and pipe, while Watson was nearby with his looking glass.
The stairs to Clair House were adorned with carved out pumpkins, but not the usual carvings of witches or smiling faces. The pumpkins were carved with warning signs that said “STAY OUT” or“GO AWAY”, or they had spiders, rats, and bats on them.
The porch was hung with spiderwebs, there were dead flowers everywhere, and ghosts were hanging on the stairs to the front door and also behind the windows. The whole entrance was screaming ghoul and ghosts, and it was clear to every trick or treater passing this house to stay the hell away from it.
Gregory was shocked at the display in front of him. The other houses in the neighbourhood had seemed spooky and fun, but this was not fun. This was scary. Gareth had told him, reluctantly, about his very absent and unloving father, and this scene was giving him reason to believe every word Gareth had ever said about him. Frankly, it gave Gregory the creeps.
Warning signs notwithstanding, he should probably pull the bell and let Gareth know that he had arrived. They had a date, after all. He had been confused lately about his feelings, so even if it wasn’t an actual date, he did have an appointment with Gareth to go to the theatre. Gregory carefully walked up the front steps and took a breath before pulling the bell.
The minute he pulled the bell, the door opened and he got hit by a bucket of ice cold water, while a man dressed like Scrooge was laughing like a hyena. Scrooge was still cackling in the hallway, clutching his belly for laughter, when he looked at a shocked, dripping wet Gregory on the porch and it was enough to give him another fit of conniptions.
He hadn’t had so much fun in years. Every year, the baron told him to get rid of pesky children who were trick or treating, making the house look uninviting for anyone who dared to pull the bell. He had even been told to wear one of the older suits and to look like Ebenezer Scrooge, so that there could absolutely be no misunderstanding what a miserable old geezer lived in this house.
Guilfoyle had wondered why he even bothered with all the extra work, because it had been a long time since children dared to pull the bell. But he was glad he had listened today. The baron had been right to go the extra mile. Oh, what fun he had. He wheezed again while he tried to regain his breathing.
Gareth heard the bell being pulled, followed by some commotion and hysterical laughing. He ran down the stairs to see what was happening, mortified at seeing a very wet, dripping Gregory standing on the porch.
Guilfoyle was absolutely useless, still laughing at Gregory’s shocked face. Gareth moved to the porch and pulled Gregory inside. “Just come on in, you’re absolutely soaked.”
“Good idea.” Gregory finally found his voice again, shivering, still shaken from the cold water dripping from his body and the laughing hyena in the corner. He looked Gareth up and down. He had wanted to make an impression, and this was not it.
“And who might this be?” the baron asked as he stepped into the hallway from his study, annoyed by the noise. “I didn’t know you had any friends,” he sneered at Gareth.
“Father, this is Gregory Bridgerton.” Gareth answered as politely as he could, not wanting to give a wrong impression to Gregory.
“Gregory Bridgerton? You mean the fourth son of the Viscount? He is of no import, you should focus on getting to know more important people if you want your life to mean anything.”
Gareth wanted to find a hole and jump in it, embarrassed by his father’s rude behaviour. But the baron was not done. “Guilfoyle, stop laughing.” The butler had started giggling at the whole scene. “Guilfoyle, have you been nipping my sherry again?” the baron asked irritatedly.
“Eh, no sir,” Guilfoyle replied, finally sobering up from his laughing fit, thinking about that very nice glass of brandy he had taken while preparing for Halloween. The very expensive brandy the baron thought no one knew about.
“And will you please stop dripping on these fine carpets!” the baron barked at Gregory, before he walked away, slamming the door of his study shut. Gareth was still looking for that very deep hole to swallow him alive.
“Let’s go to my room, I bet I can find you something dry to wear,” Gareth murmured, still ashamed of the horrible encounter with his father. He had preferred to not introduce Gregory to his father, but what was done was done. He only hoped Gregory would not hold it against him.
Gregory walked up the stairs, with Gareth in tow. “To your left, second door,” Gareth guided, when Gregory stopped in the hallway, not knowing where to go from here.
When he stepped inside Gareth’s room, he took off his soaked hoodie and noticed his shirt was also soaked. There was a big wet patch on his trousers too, and he sighed. Just bloody brilliant, he thought.
Gareth turned towards him, looking shyly at the floor. “I’m so, so sorry for my father’s behaviour. It was a stupid idea to ask you to pick me up from my home. I should have known he would be an ogre.”
“Gareth, hang on—”Gregory tried to stop him from talking.
“God, I hope we can still be friends, after the way he treated you. It was unforgivable.”
“Gareth! I am freezing, can we please focus on getting me dry and warm again?”
“Oh, of course. Take off your shirt and trousers, I will get you a towel.” Gareth disappeared through the door, while Gregory took off his shirt and trousers, looking at the posters of music bands and movies on the wall. He walked over to the LP-collection and chuckled; it figured Gareth was old school with his music. He was leafing through the collection when he felt a warm towel on his shoulders and two hands started to rub him dry. Gregory sighed when the warm towel touched him, suddenly realising how cold he was.
Gareth pressed himself to Gregory’s back, while his hand stole around him, rubbing his chest dry. He felt Gregory’s pebbled nipples under the fluffy towel responding to his circling motion to dry him off.
Gregory’s breath halted when he noticed his body responding to Gareth’s close contact. Not only his nipples responded, but his cock began to rear his head as well. He felt uncomfortable and ashamed. Why did this happen to him? He had dreamed about Gareth several times, and he had stolen glances when they were under the shower after their outdoor sports. But he liked girls, too. He had kissed a girl once, had gotten to second base, and it had been heaven. He was so very confused, and now this.
Gareth stepped closer, his hands stroking from his chest down over his belly. Gregory, shocked at the downward motion, tried to evade the hand moving to his groin by jerking his hips back. They collided with Gareth’s front and Gregory immediately felt he was not the only one who was affected by the stroking hands. He tried to make light of the situation. “Is that your mobile phone or are you just happy to see me?”
“I am very happy to see you. I am even more happy to be close to you,” Gareth murmured in his ear, while his hands stalled around Gregory’s belly button. He planted his lips firmly on Gregory’s shoulder, waiting for Gregory’s response.
Gregory slowly turned around in Gareth’s arms, surprised to see Gareth had discarded his shirt. He must have done that when he was getting the towel. Gregory smirked before he looked down shyly. He was still confused, but also happy.
Gareth looked at Gregory, searching his face for clues on how he felt, focusing on his lips. Those lovely lips were begging to be kissed, so Gareth leaned forward and planted his lips on Gregory’s, so softly it felt more like a brush. Gregory grabbed his face in both his hands, answering the kiss hungrily.
Gareth dropped the towel and it fell down, hanging perfectly on Gregory’s erect penis. They both looked down and started laughing at the silliness of the sight. Gareth pecked Gregory on the cheek again, happy they had kissed, but the moment had passed. He hugged Gregory, naked skin on naked skin, inhaling his scent and Gregory wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him tight.
They shared a few more kisses, exploring each other’s mouth, while fingers caressed naked skin. Their foreheads pressed together and their breaths mingled while their hearts were beating fast from the excitement, arms wrapped around each other’s waist.
Gregory was the first to form words, saying, “I just don’t know what I feel, I’m so confused—but this— us— it feels good and I would like to explore further.” He stopped talking, waiting for Gareth to let his words sink in, to come up with a response. A response Gregory hoped would be positive and in his favour.
Gareth looked at Gregory’s swollen lips desperate to kiss them again, and he lunged forward, kissing him, while pushing Gregory onto the bed. He lay next to him, stroking Gregory’s chest. “I would love to explore us further,” he whispered.
And they did just that, kissing for many hours, totally forgetting about Nightmare in Mayfair, ghouls and ghosts, and other autumnal festivities.