Our Boys

The Troll King

"And then we went to the supermarket to buy food but we had to go to the shop waaaay over near the motorway cause Mr JJ said he didn't want to bothered by fan...fangirls...."

Simon glanced up at his boyfriend and smiled at the guilty shrug he received in return. He shook his head, and turned back to finish tying Josh's laces while Ethan continued his very long-winded story of his morning activities.

"Yo lads, is it almost time for this one's escape?"

Deji sauntered into the room closely followed by Cal and Tobi. No formal plans or agreements had been made to gather at the hospital; but it was a sign of the closeness of the group that such an arrangement just came naturally.

Josh smiled shyly at the new arrivals and gave his toy cat a tight squeeze. It was really happening! He was really going to live with Simon and JJ and Tobi and Ethan and get to see the countryside for the first time in his life since his mum died... Excitement had kept him awake long after his bedtime but it had also caused him to wake with the first light of the new day. A wonderful, quivery kind of happy feeling had bounced him out of bed and kept him moving all morning.

After listening to his chest one last time, Dr. James had patted him on the back and told him to watch out for mole hills and road apples, which was a little confusing but Josh had correctly taken it to mean that he was getting to leave. After that, all the nice ladies had been by to give him hugs and tell him how much they were going to miss him. They had also given him lots of advice about eating his vegetables and staying warm and doing what Simon and JJ told him.

And Simon had been with him most of the morning and had just finished getting all his presents into bags ready to be carried out when JJ had arrived. Now he was dressed and it looked like it was finally time to go.

"Hey, look Josh! It's the troll king!" Ethan pointed to the folded newspaper that Cal had placed on the foot of the bed.

Cal glanced at the portion of the front-page image that was visible and saw that it was a picture of Dean Everton, a fairly popular local political. "Guy seems a bit fake for my liking, but then most politicians do...looks more like a weasel than a troll though."

"Oh, he don't look like the other trolls but he tells them what to do. Ain't that right Josh?" Ethan clambered to his feet and stood on the bed, one hand resting on his hip and the other pointing a finger at Cal. "And when he gets mad he shakes his magic ring at them and yells really loud until they do what he says."

Silence filled the crowded hospital room following Ethan's demonstration. Josh looked around at the men and felt his chest tighten in fear. Reaching up, he grabbed his friend by the arm and yanked him back down. Something Ethan had said was making everyone upset and that couldn't be good. It might even ruin their chances to live with Simon and JJ. Panic gripped him and he reacted almost without thinking.

"He's just making it up! We never saw a troll king at the shopping centre!"

"But Josh..."

"Shut up Ethan! There's no such things as trolls. Tell'em..."

Simon placed his hand on Josh's shoulder in what he meant to be a comforting gesture to calm the boy. When Josh jerked back, his eyes wide and terrified, Simon knew he had made a mistake. Easing back while holding his palms up, Simon spoke softly but with a firm voice.

"It's all right Josh. You're both coming to live with us and nothing Ethan can say will change that. Now just settle down and relax." Glancing at the paper still lying on the bed, Simon reached over and unfolded it to reveal the full picture.

"Oh fuck," JJ's surprised exclamation was a feeling shared by each of the adults. The image revealed was that of Dean Everton shaking the hand of the Chief of Police. On Dean's right hand was a thick gold ring set with a large, square gemstone.