The Richland High Lions had won their first game. In a crushing victory over the Pierce High Warriors, The Lions football team ended the night with a 34-13 score that had each of them on a winner’s high. The small army of sweaty jocks made their way onto the bus to head back home with enough adrenaline to run all the way there as they hooped and hollered with excitement until Coach Aaron Hecker joined them on the bus. “Good game, fellas! That’s what kind of teamwork and dedication I wanna see the rest of this season!” Hecker congratulated with a proud smile that showed off how handsome he really was as he gassed his players up even more.

“Now I know this is a big victory and The Warriors are a big rival but don’t rest on this win; we still have a whole season to go and I don’t wanna see any slacking or too much celebrating. Stay focused and keep playing like you did tonight and we’ll have a hell of a year” Hecker added before the team cheered in response and pounded into the seats with overflowing energy before the bus geared up and they headed back to Richland. 

By the time the team got back to the locker room the initial hype had died down a good bit but of course there were still plenty of guys not ready to settle down. “Damn, my boy JD really did the damn thing tonight, didn’t he?” Chris pointed out with a chummy arm around JD’s shoulder while the others around them echoed his sentiment. “Yeah I did alright, not perfect but good enough I guess” JD answered as if he didn’t want to gloat. “Come on, don’t be humble now, man…that arm is laser accurate I swear” Chris added now that he and the new quarterback were good friends. 

“Shit, and Joe knocked that one guy flat out! Please tell me everybody saw that” Chris continued, getting a smirk from Joe as he put his stuff in his locker. “You must’ve been drinking Red Bull tonight instead of water” Joe teased and got a laugh from the surrounding players but Chris wasn’t phased, if anything proving him right. “We kicked so much ass tonight in fact that I think we should throw a party tomorrow night to celebrate” Chris announced after standing on a bench. 

“Chris, you know what Hecker said about partying” Eric chimed in as the voice of reason, knowing first hand now that their new coach wasn’t messing around. “Whatever, if you guys wanna play by Hecker’s little rules then go ahead but I’m throwing a party at my place tomorrow. My parents are gone for the weekend and I’m taking advantage of it while I can. JD’s in, aren’t you?” “...yeah, I’m down” “Hell yeah! If you don’t know my address, text me and I’ll see everybody tomorrow night!” Chris added loud enough to reach the whole locker room and Joe and Eric exchanged looks of concern, fearing what repercussions could follow this time but they both had known Chris long enough to tell that he wasn’t backing down. 

The next night The Hilbert’s house was ripe for a classic high school party with pizzas and a lack of adults just like Chris wanted. The Lions’ captain had even scored some beer from a friend who’d graduated a few years earlier to ensure a fun time had by all. “Whoo! Hell yeah, Reggie GO GO GO!” Chris cheered on one of the other players as he downed 3 pieces of pepperoni stacked on top of each other on the back deck and another player decided to up him by trying to eat four at once. “Haha oh shit, now that’s impressive” JD added with a strong buzz going already.

“Yeah, Zac is a beast, man…but he hasn’t actually gotten four pieces down at once before. He tries at almost every party. Shit, that’s right. You’ve never been to a Lions’ party have you?” Chris realized. “Nope, first one” JD confirmed. “Well that means we all have to get extra fucked up tonight then” “Is that like, a rule?” JD laughed. “In my house it is” Chris answered and suggested they start playing drinking games, another first for the transfer student but he was excited to get a taste of this side of high school life. 

Nearly 15 minutes into beer pong Chris and JD were losing horribly to two other players with JD taking the brunt of the loss. “Dammit! That’s your 6th shot in a row” JD complained in disbelief. “Drink up, new guy” one of his opponents replied and JD reluctantly took the plastic cup to down the lukewarm beer. “You guys are gonna kill my boy down here” Chris added after seeing the look on JD’s face, recognizing it as him slipping from tipsy to drunk. “Yeah no shit” JD added as he picked up the ping pong ball and prepared to take another shot.

“The only person that’s worse at this game is Eric; that dude couldn’t make a shot if it was worth a million dollars” another guy chimed in. “Where is Eric…and Joe now that I think about it?” a second guy interjected. “They’re being little pussies and listening to Coach Hecker instead of hanging with us” Chris answered. “I guess that tickling punishment is no joke” JD added like he didn’t take it all that seriously, especially after listening to Chris mock the whole thing. “Maybe if they weren’t so damn ticklish it’d be ok…I mean I saw a girl try to paint Joe’s toenails on a dare one time and that man couldn’t stay still for nothing” Chris enlightened. “Sounds like he’s pretty bad off” “Yeah but Eric isn’t any better; he’s as smart as he is ticklish. Shit, I could handle a childish punishment like that; they’re just babies” Chris assured with his standard arrogance as the game continued. 

The party only got more lively as the night went on, full of a few more drinking games until several people were wasted with JD getting particularly twisted. But the somewhat shy quarterback ended up being the life of the party, coming alive once he was good and drunk, so much in fact that other people recorded him on Snapchat and Instagram Stories. Various girls posted pictures with him clearly faded and other players posted videos of him playing the games and drinking until JD was out like a light. Perhaps the Snapchat Story that made the rounds the most was one of Chris filming with him after having passed out and saying that ‘you never forget your first Lions party’. That proved very true the next day with JD’s hangover but come Monday, it was back to school and back to football practice once again. 

“Hustle, fellas, hustle!” Coach Hecker shouted from the sidelines as his team ran the last play of practice. Roughly half the team was solid as usual but the other half were still struggling a bit from Chris’ party two days earlier. “Don’t tell me you let Chris get you drunk the other night, Maberry” Joe teased as they ended the play, noticing JD’s subtle slacking. “You never forget your first Lions party” JD answered, getting a laugh from Joe and Eric before Hecker blew his whistle and they headed into the locker room. 

“Missed you guys the other night” Chris added with a cheesy grin as they dressed out. “Sorry, I was busy banging your mom” Joe answered and Chris started to throw his cleat at him just as Hecker showed up. “Maberry, stop by my office on your way out” “...ok, sure thing, Coach” JD answered, surprised by the request as Aaron left. “Oh shit, you’re in for it now” Chris teased. “Shut up, man; he probably just wants to talk about that new play” Eric added, easing JD’s initial anxiety but by the time he made it to Coach Hecker’s office after practice, he was nervous again. 

The apprehensive brunette knocked on Hecker’s door frame and pulled his coach’s attention from the desk up to face him, “Maberry, just the guy I wanted to talk to. Follow me” Aaron instructed with a smile JD didn’t really trust and followed suit, walking behind Hecker in the now empty locker room until the storage door unlocked and he realized the stories were true. A menacing looking chair sat in the middle of the abandoned room with straps and stocks he could tell would be perfect for keeping any tough jock perfectly helpless. 

“Uhh, I actually do have to be home soon. My dad and I are supposed to be working on something” JD stumbled over his words to hopefully spare himself from what was coming. “I take it you know what I have in mind…just take a seat; this won’t take too long” Aaron pressed as he put an arm around JD’s shoulder and guided him closer to the device. “...really, I can’t uhh…be late or anything” JD tried again. “You’re a bad actor, Maberry. Unless you wanna be off the team, you’ll sit down and do what I say” Coach Hecker didn’t back down and JD had always struggled to defy any kind of authority, convincing him to obey and take a seat in the infamous chair. 

“Great, now we can get started” Aaron added before locking the stocks around JD’s ankles and getting him to lift his arms up for the straps. The unassuming 18 year old didn’t know how to navigate the situation; he hadn’t been tickled in a long time but the fear of how ticklish he was struck a terrifying chord with him. He was a member of the top tier of the school now, a football star and among the elite of Richland High; guys like him weren’t supposed to be ticklish. JD had a hard time forcing a toughness as his arms were locked in above his head but he thought about Chris, how he would handle it and remembered what he’d said at the party about the bizarre punishment.

“Ya know, I’m not even ticklish really…so this is kind of a waste of time. I don’t even know why I’m here” JD did his best to convince. “I was curious how long it would take for word to spread about my disciplinary methods. I’m surprised Marquez and Orlowksi even told anyone; I figured they might be too embarrassed about being so ticklish to admit it to anyone, especially their teammates. “So what is this about, coach? I didn’t cheat” “Yeah I know you didn’t but you did get drunk at a party Saturday night” “What? Who said that?” “Nobody had to say anything; it was all over Snapchat. I saw plenty of pictures and even videos of you downing beer after beer until you were passed out drunk as a skunk.”

JD couldn’t hide the surprise on his face and it got a laugh out of Aaron, “You think I don’t see you guys’ social media? I mean most people your age accept anyone on Snapchat or Instagram; it’s a great way to keep tabs without anyone even knowing who I am” Hecker explained like he was proud of his strategy. “So what now? You’re gonna punish me for partying like Joe?” “Not exactly; you see, I just wanna know who threw the party. I have a few ideas but I wanna hear it from you” Aaron laid out. “...I don’t know; somebody else invited me” JD quickly answered. 

“Sorry, Maberry…like I said; you’re a bad actor. But if you wanna do this the hard way we can” Hecker assured as he took the heels of both sneakers in his hands and tugged them so his shoes weren’t secure. “No! Come on, I don’t know!” JD doubled down with a spike of anxiety as the shoes were pulled off until his big socked feet sat in front of Hecker. JD pulled on the straps and jerked his legs in the stocks like his teammates had but he couldn’t get loose either. He really didn’t wanna have to get tickled but he didn’t wanna rat Chris out; he was his closest friend at Richland and betraying him would surely ruin that. 

Aaron watched JD’s toes scrunch and flex in the gray-toed Hanes socks like his feet didn’t know what to do but he soon fixed that problem by wiggling along the length of both cotton covered soles. “MmhmMaAhamMmhm” JD giggled through his tight-lipped attempt to resist but Hecker didn’t slow up, dancing back up the size 12s with even more pressure until JD was squirming in the chair like a pot ready to boil over. “Come on, Maberry…I just need a name. Nobody will know it even came from you” Aaron insisted while watching him slip up more and more with longer bits of laughter. JD’s tan face grew red and his fists clenched to hold out longer but Aaron switched his technique after only a couple minutes, widening his fingers and clawing back down with another drawn-out stretch until JD’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. 

“AAohAOHNNoOH!! AohAohAAhoSSTtohOHOpPp!! AohAOhACCoOMEEoOnAohAOHacCOoOaaAACCChH!!” the impressive quarterback fell apart just like Hecker wanted. “I thought you weren’t ticklish” “AAohAooKOOkAohAOIIiAAmM JJuUuSSTSSTThOhOPpiIITT!!” JD confessed but it was really more of a surprise to him than to Aaron that his feet were so sensitive. “Well now that we’ve established that, we can really get down to business” Hecker informed before taking the edges of both dirty socks between his fingers and yanking them off before JD could even try to hold on with his toes. 

Maberry’s eyes lit up with fresh panic now that his feet were so incredibly vulnerable and tried protecting one with the other for a temporary defense only to realize they couldn't reach each other. “Is that your way of volunteering your right foot?” Aaron asked before turning his focus to that side. “No! I wasn’t! I don’t know who threw the party, seriously!” “You seem like an honest guy, Maberry but I think you do know and you’re just protecting someone. I guess you’ll have to decide if it’s worth it” Aaron added before raking down the right foot with all ten fingers, one hand for each side of his peach soles. 

“AAAhAohA! NNnoOO!! AohAOoAHAOhAOhADDAAAmMiiITTAHoahaA” JD was mad at himself for not being able to hold back but man his feet were ticklish. Like Eric before him, he’d been wearing shoes all day and had spent a few hours running around during practice so his feet were at their peak softness and sensitivity, meaning Hecker running his nails on them was fucking unbearable. Aaron kept firm control over the wiggling foot and refused to let him jerk away as his short nails dragged down from the toes over and over in an attempt to loosen JD’s lips. 

“Do you really think whoever threw that party would go through this for you? Hmm?” Aaron questioned to put his loyalty into perspective. “AHohAOAIIiDDoOoNnnTTkKKNnoOWW AaAnnNyYTTHhiiINnGG!” JD reassured with a permanent smile now on his tan face but Hecker just re-adjusted his approach. Suddenly the double raking ended but only for a quick moment before both feet were getting his full attention once again, this time with continuous, swirling nails all over both satin soles. “OohaoAOhAOhAOAHAFFuUuCCkKAOhAOhA! AoOAhoHAaYYyOouUGGoOTTAASsSSTTAAOhoPP!! AohAOHACCCoOoAACCCHHHPPPPLlEeAAsseEE!!” JD laughed even harder and bucked in the chair, giving away how much worse this attack was on him. 

“I know you’re new here and making friends is hard but a real friend wouldn’t have let you get drunk like that, not when it’s against the rules and you’re the star quarterback” Hecker explained to tempt JD into changing his stance but the senior transfer proved more loyal than he imagined. “AAAsSSkKSSOOmMEEoOnNEELLLSSEEE!! JJuUuSSTTGgEETtoOoFFmMYyFFEEETT!” Maberry fired back like surely there was another player or student he could find this out from. “I was hoping my new star would be more concerned with his football career and future than naming who threw some party…don’t prove me wrong, Maberry” Aaron answered while moving faster on the smooth feet and watching JD grapple with giving up a name or continuing to suffer. 

Hecker knew he may have seemed unreasonable to some of the team, especially the ones he’d punished but he understood his players better than they realized. He knew JD had become friends with most of the team and wouldn’t want to snitch on anyone out of fear of losing friends or even gaining enemies but this was his team now and he was gonna tickle JD until his loyalty waned and he told him what he wanted to know. 

“I can always try your toes; they look especially ticklish” Aaron threatened, getting a sharp look of sudden fear from JD. “IiiTToOoLlLlDDyYYooUUU iIIDDOOnNnTTKKNnoOooWWW AhohAOhAARREeAALLly!!” “We’ll see about that” Hecker answered as he inched toward the plush toes until breaching JD’s curled defense and exploring the new territory. “AaAhAHAOhAOhANnOOnNoHAoAOhaOhA!! AohOhAAOHAOhaSSEeErRIiOoUuSSLlY!! aHoAHohAAIiicCAaaNNTTHAohAOHAA” JD thrashed in the chair and yanked on the straps harder than before like Aaron had really hit a nerve but the big reaction was all Hecker wanted to keep going. 

Aaron’s fingers lined up with each of the desperate toes and used his nails to really focus on each underside for their own special treatment, delivering quick scratches along all ten at the same time until JD’s laughter ballooned higher. “OOoHaohAohAANNNooOTTThHEETToOoeESS!! SSSTThoHOpPPiIiTT!! PPLLeEEAasSEE!!” “I’m not a bad guy, Maberry…if you just answer my question I’ll back off and you’re free to go. Simple as that” Aaron reminded to persuade JD to change his mind and the new coach really thought he was ready to crack by the looks of it. “AohAohAIIiICCAAAnNnTTTTEEEllLLYYyoOUU!! JjuUSSTTOOOpPpTTiICckKLiIinNGGMmEE!!” JD answered with a look of ticklish desperation similar to the one Joe and Eric had shown, the uniquely humiliating admission of supreme ticklishness that most guys, especially a football jock, hated to experience. 

“So, you do know but you’re just not telling” Aaron pointed out like JD had slipped up, convincing him to leave the feet. “...coach, come on…it was just a party” “You want to go into law right? “...yeah, so?” “Do you think law schools like for their students to get wasted at parties and for it to be all over social media? That kind of thing can really ruin your chances of getting into the right schools, kid…and I know you think it’s just high school and it doesn’t matter but those types of videos have a tendency to show back up when you least expect it” Hecker warned as he stood up from the stocks and started moving around to JD’s upper body. 

“Oh my God, no…come on” JD’s body tensed with anticipation and his fists tightened again as if to brace himself. “I’m just waiting on you to come around; I’m basically killing time” Aaron taunted to imply it was only a matter of time before JD broke before standing next to him and launching toward his armpits. But Hecker stopped short just to mess with JD and make him cringe with fear but the momentary relief left JD off guard when Aaron went after his stomach instead. 

“AaoOhaOhAaTThhAATTsSsfFuUuCCkKEedDuuPPP!!” JD burst with another wave of laughter like he wasn’t prepared for the psych out but it was all part of getting to him and wearing him down. Hecker wrapped his hands around JD’s slim frame and used mostly his thumbs to knead into the lean abs with a massaging motion. “AAHAnNNoONnOAOhAohAA! SSSTThOhOhOpP!!” “Tell me what I wanna know and I will” Hecker reminded as he dug in a little deeper and his thumbs moved faster to crank JD’s reaction up another notch. 

Maberry looked like he wanted to talk, almost like he was surrendering to the fact that he couldn’t outlast the tickle interrogation but he planned to hold on as long as he could, knowing if he gave up his friend what kind of punishment awaited him. “What about under here?” Aaron asked as he flipped up the bottom half of JD’s shirt and started wiggling a single finger in his bellybutton. “ooHaoHAohAohAohOOhOOHhSshHiiTTOhAOHAnNoOnNoaohASSTTOhoPP!!” he yelled with a higher-pitched laugh this time and Hecker couldn’t help but smile at his hilarious reaction. “If you told me you left your old school because they found out how ticklish you are, I’d believe you” Aaron teased while cleaning out the tight bellybutton and watching JD wrestle with his own worst weakness. 

Instead of stopping and starting again somewhere new, after a few minutes Aaron jumped right to his next target without giving JD any kind of warning or time to prepare. While Maberry was too busy dealing with the belly attack, Aaron’s ruthless hands pounced into JD’s armpits, left totally exposed thanks to the cut-off tank top. “AAAHAAHAhAnNO! AohAOhACCOoOAACCHh!!” was all JD could seem to say once he felt Aaron digging around in his underarms, successfully taking him by surprise and contorting his handsome face with another overwhelmed expression. “If you didn’t want me to get to your pits, you should’ve just told me a name when I was at your feet” Aaron pointed out like he’d brought it on himself and continued dominating the hairy underarms. “AAhoAOhaIiICCaAAnNnTTTeeEELLYYyoOOUUu!! PPLllEeAASSEeAhoHAoHAAohAA!” JD tried to explain, hoping Aaron would finally understand his situation. 

“This isn’t up for debate; you’re giving me a name, Maberry. Right now I wouldn’t be thinking about your friends; I’d be thinking about saving myself” Hecker added before repeating the same thumb-focused attack from before and really making JD howl. “AAAAOhAOhAAOHOHFFUuCCKKAohA! AohAOhANNOONNNOoahOAHA!!” The Richland High newbie jerked around in every direction that the chair would allow and tried again to rip his arms out of the wrist straps but if Joe didn’t bust out, he surely wasn’t going to. Hecker’s thumbs made circles in both pits to get deep into the meat and give JD his worst but the quarterback still wasn’t talking, surprising the new coach. Part of him was impressed by how loyal he was to whoever had thrown the party but he needed that name and wasn’t going to let JD walk out of there without giving it up. 

“I’ve seen your grades so I know you’re a pretty smart guy but it’s dumb to think you can last longer than I can. You may think you can handle it or I’ll get tired of trying but I don’t back down and it can always get worse” Hecker made clear before one hand went after JD’s neck with quick wiggling fingers. “AaohAONnOOnAOhAOHOahAOoA!!” JD let out as he tried to block the neck tickling but the other hand soon joined in, driving him even crazier. JD’s head bobbed around and he was getting more frustrated by the second but Hecker’s hands started rapidly switching between his neck and his pits, alternating at random to keep JD guessing and unable to prepare for the next attack. 

“AhoAohAOhAaOHAsSSTTohOHAAOAPPP!! SshhIIITTAOhaAaOAOACCoOmEeoOnN!CCOoAAACChH!!” “Tell me a name!” “AoAHoaAohAANNnnoAOAHohAOA!! “Tell me!” Aaron pressed before proving it could really always get worse by zeroing in on the base of his pits each time and really teasing his neck as mean as he could like an evil big brother that just wanted to see how bad he could make it. JD could hardly keep his eyes open for clenching them shut and his toes curled with ticklish overload, his face sweaty and his neck red from getting tickled so viciously until he couldn’t take it anymore. 

“AHOAAHoOoOKOOkOkKAOhAOhaa ILLlTTEeLLyYYoOuU!!” “Alright, who threw the party?” “AAHoAHAOhAohACCHHRriISSS!! iITTWwAaSSsCChHrRIIISsS!!!” JD admitted after his ticklish misery finally outweighed his loyalty to his new friend. “Hilbert huh? So he thought it was a good idea to throw a party after I specifically said no partying, even after he heard about what happened with Marquez. I don’t know if he’s too cocky to care or too dumb to think I wouldn’t find out” Aaron answered while JD caught his breath in the chair and felt a new sense of guilt for giving Chris up. “You can’t tell Chris it was me…please!” “Don’t worry; he won’t know a thing. Besides, if he’s half as ticklish as you or your friends, he’s got bigger things to worry about...”