DUCT TAPE Chapter 1
by Ebonhawk

"Rowen, if you don't stop, I swear I'm going to wrap you in duct tape and toss you in the dumpster!" Cye squawked, narrowly avoiding the hand that zipped in at his shoulder only to have the other hand sting his bare thigh. He was thinking that maybe wearing shorts to the park hadn't been a good idea - not with the mood Rowen was in. Several red marks were scattered over his arms and legs and anywhere else the unusually hyperactive blue-haired boy had landed his playful slaps. He wondered if Rowen maybe hadn't had enough tea in his sugar that morning.

"Ah, come on, Cye! You'd never catch me!" Rowen paused for a moment. "Then again, I'd like to see you try...might be fun!" He dropped a loud smack on Cye's ass and jumped away, laughing.

Snarling, Cye spun on Rowen and cried, "That's it! I'm not taking anymore of this, you pervert!"

Smothering his grin when he saw the seething anger in Cye's sea-colored eyes, Rowen held his hands out toward his friend in placation. "Uh, I'm sorry, Cye... I was just playin' - honest." He backed away slowly, a single step at a time as Cye advanced, reddish hair falling in his face, doing nothing to obscure his fury. Rowen squeaked and bounced back nearly a yard when Cye lunged and missed, falling hard to the blacktop of the basketball court. Rowen nearly collapsed to the ground himself in his mirth, bubbling with laughter.

When Cye pushed himself back to his feet, Rowen's indigo eyes popped open wide and he swung about to run down the court. Cye was quick on his tail. "I'm going to kill you, you blue-haired freak!" Rowen was too far ahead for him to catch, though, and the boy turned around, skipping backwards, smirking wide and just *knowing* that he'd gotten away.

That was when strong, thick arms wrapped around his middle, trapping his own arms at his sides, and lifted him bodily from the ground. Only one person that was with them would do that.

"KENTO, LEMME GO!" Rowen shrieked and began to struggle, flinging his skinny legs back into Kento's own rock solid pair. Kento's sudden involement boded no good...not with the wicked grin Cye suddenly leveled at him. "...help..."

Sage glanced up from his notebook at the commotion. Sitting just off the blacktop on the dark green grass, he'd been making idle scribbles and jotting down the odd thoughts that occurred to him since the others had started their impromtu game. He smiled in pity at Rowen, for he understood better than his friend what torment awaited him.

Lowering his silvery blue gaze, he somehow managed to hide his amusement. He blinked hard as his eyes sparkled against his better judgement. Rowen was trapped and Sage wasn't going to do a *thing* about it.

"Go get that tape, Cye. It should be in the trunk somewhere," the Chinese boy said, holding the twisting body in his arms easily. Rowen could squirm all that he wanted but he wasn't getting loose. He'd been swatting at Cye the whole game, just for the sake of amusing himself.

Cye gave a quick salute and scampered off to the beatup old car that sat along the curb nearby. He was visible the whole time, except for when the trunk seemingly swallowed him during his search for the heavy roll of grey tape. Then, much to Rowen's horror, he was back.

With a sigh of profound happiness, Cye pulled the end away from the roll, rejoicing in the not-quite-tearing-of-cloth sound it produced and the way Rowen's eyes bugged out. He'd lived through enough of Rowen's crap, pranks or otherwise, that he was going to enjoy this immensely.

Ryo watched the happenings with a frown. He wanted to finish the game - especially since he and Rowen were winning. It didn't look like that was going to occur, though. Oh well, he thought. Shoving the rough-skinned orange ball under an arm, he sat next to Sage in the grass. The blond ignored him, continuing to write or whatever in his notebook.

Shaking his head at the antics of the other three, he flopped down and stuck the ball under his head, sprawling across the soft green grass to wait until Kento and Cye were done mummifying Rowen.

"NO!" Rowen screamed, jerking his ankle out of Cye's hand. If he let them do this, it would be rather painful getting out of it. Duct tape was not friendly to bare skin and he was in shorts and a tanktop. "Ryo! Sage! Help me!"

A short strip of tape was slapped across his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

"Hold still or we'll strip you *naked* and then wrap you up," Kento warned his wriggling captive. He was grinning...Rowen could feel it...hear it, even. Rowen whimpered but didn't move as Cye wound the sticky strip over the socks that had fallen about his ankles. The second lap around brought the tape in contact with his pale skin.

The tape continued climbing his legs, soon reaching above his knees. Cye'd wrapped him good enough that he couldn't bend them. Then he groaned, his eyes pleading with Cye, who'd realized that maybe he'd wrapped the tape a little too tight on one loop...several loops *below* his current position.

"Ah, he'll live," Kento said from behind Rowen. He set the other boy down on his feet, knowing that there was NO way he'd be able to run from them now. Being smarter than the average bear, though, he continued to keep Rowen's arms trapped against his sides.

The tape climbed higher.

Ryo stared hard at Sage. He could've sworn the other's shoulders were trembling. "What's wrong, Sage?"

There was no reaction to the question.

"Sage?"

The blond fell to the side, gasping for air through a fit of giggles. Sage was laughing. Ryo didn't need to ask what about when he looked back to the blacktop. He was soon clutching at his sides to keep himself from bursting, rolling in the grass next to Sage, tears streaming down his face.

"There we go. All done," Cye pronounced with a satisfied nod, smoothing the end he'd just ripped off the roll against Rowen's shoulder. He had been tempted to keep going but he really *did* like Rowen's hair - although he wouldn't ever say that out loud - and the tape would really have done a number on it. So, he'd stopped high on his shoulders. Getting over his arms had been the tricky part and he'd never have accomplished it if Kento hadn't been helping. He shoved the roll of tape around his wrist and stepped back to admire his work.

"Looks good," Kento commented.

"A masterpiece, if I say so myself," Cye returned before heading back to the car to replace the much smaller roll of tape where he'd found it. Turning back to the court, he found Kento hefting Rowen over his shoulder. "Kento, what are you doing?"

"Tossin' him in the dumpster. That was the second part of your threat, wasn't it?"

"I didn't mean it," Cye told him. Still, he just watched as the larger boy carried his load over to the dingy, snot green, metal monstrosity that waited not too far from the blacktop. "Kento-"

Rowen landed in the dumpster with a heavy thud that echoed through the nearly empty thing.

"Now who's going to get him out of there?" Cye inquired of Kento. "We can't leave him in there."

Kento grinned while he closed the lid and said, "We won't. I'll get him out before we head home. Now, let's eat that lunch Mama packed for us."

A loud bang sounded from the dumpster behind them. Apparently, Rowen wasn't wrapped so tight that he couldn't kick at the side of the thing. Kento laughed and dragged Cye along behind him.