The king of Richland High had been humbled. The captain of The Lions football team had finally been taken down a few pegs thanks to Coach Hecker’s unconventional and devastating punishment, a feat Chris Hilbert didn’t think possible. The cocky 18 year old had thought himself invincible as so many teenagers do and it made sense; he stood at the top of the high school food chain and did basically whatever he wanted without as much as a question from really anyone. He was objectively handsome, his body was built from a steady gym routine, and his peers rewarded him with things like junior prom king the previous year and making him captain of two different sports teams. Chris was untouchable and unbeatable, that was until Coach Hecker took over. 

The new, young coach’s tickling tactics had gotten his senior Lions in line just as he planned. They didn’t cheat, they didn’t party, and they didn’t challenge him; it was perfect. Of course Chris had put up more of a fight than JD, Joe, or Eric could’ve hoped to but even Chris was too ticklish to not surrender to Aaron’s cruel fingers and unrelenting will to break his players as much as possible. Chris’ session had gone on longer than anyone else’s and he’d never been more exhausted in his life, not from a football practice or wrestling match or crazy workout. In a way, cracking Chris told Hecker that his bizarre punishment could work on any of his players; Hilbert may have been the mouthiest of them but he was also arguably the toughest and if he could be wrecked, the rest of the team didn’t stand much of a chance. 

Weeks had passed since Chris’ session with Coach Hecker and just like Aaron had predicted, his Lions were in top form by their third game against The Newson Knights, the Homecoming game at that. Their record was already 2-0 and tonight was shaping up to be their third win in a row with JD’s throwing arm on fire and his running game just as impressive, of course aided by his teammates like Eric, Joe, and Chris throughout the entire game. Coach Hecker stood on the sidelines like they already had it wrapped up, not anxious or doubtful of their victory now that he knew his team was working as a unit under his leadership, especially with the captain finally obeying his orders. By the sound of fourth quarter, The Richland Lions had defeated The Knights in a brutal 28 to 6 score and the whole team was flying high on the win. 

The next day JD still had a lingering smile on his face from the night before and hurried down stairs once he heard his doorbell ring, practically sliding around in his white socks on the hardwood floor. “I’m honestly surprised you don’t have a hangover right now” JD greeted Chris as he opened the door. “Well since Hecker outlawed parties I didn’t get to really celebrate the win last night” “Good thing my parents are out of town this week then” JD added while leading Chris through the den. 

“Damn, all these trophies and awards are yours??” Chris asked after laying eyes on the literal wall of accolades. “Yep; most of them are from football over the years” JD explained while Chris admired the collection spanning since JD was old enough to even play a sport. “I guess all this explains why you’re so good of a quarterback now. Shit, did your parents just give you a football when you were born or what?” Chris joked. “That’s actually not too far off. My dad was a quarterback at Texas A&M and pretty much didn’t give me a choice to do anything but follow him up” the Richland High transfer answered and Chris realized they were more alike than he thought. They were both the golden child of their families with a lot of expectations on them to succeed, especially when it came to sports.

“Since we can’t have a real party, what about a drink now?” JD offered as he presented his dad’s decanter like he was on a game show. “Haha, what even is that?” “Some kind of fancy scotch; my dad loves this stuff” “He won’t notice if there’s less in there when he gets back?” “Probably not. He goes through so much of it he’ll probably just refill it with another bottle” JD assured as he poured two glasses of the brown liquor and Chris took one for himself. “I’m just gonna shoot this because I have a feeling it tastes like shit; expensive stuff like this usually does” Chris admitted before throwing it back and JD laughed in agreement before doing the same, very comfortable by now following his lead. 

Within the next hour the boys had moved down to the basement and it was just as nice as the rest of the house, another indication of JD’s upper-class lifestyle. With a large pizza on the coffee table in front of them, Chris and JD sat on the couch talking about the latest news in Coach Hecker’s crusade to make sure all of his players knew just how serious he was about whipping them into shape. “Did you hear about Marcus Lee?” Chris asked. “The JV running back?” “Yeah, apparently Hecker tickled him until he pissed himself right there in the stocks” Chris explained and JD nearly spit out his drink, now able to laugh at the strange punishment since it wasn’t them in the stocks. 

“Yeah and Dallas McKeethan gave up after only five minutes! One of the sophomores told me Dallas’ armpits were so ticklish he didn’t even give Hecker time to tell him what he was in trouble for before he was losing his shit” Chris added as they got a kick out of how the methodology had spread, knowing first hand how brutal it was. “That’s rough but I mean that shit was actual torture for me; that’s the worst experience I’ve ever had” JD confessed and Chris laughed in solidarity but the admission had planted an evil idea in the captain’s head he was suddenly eager to indulge. 

“Hey, you wanna play a game? I’ve got MLB The Show 22” JD asked as he grabbed two controllers from the TV stand. “Only if you feel like getting your ass handed to you” “Yeah right!” JD laughed and tossed him one of the controllers before firing up the game. Chris and JD played like they had thousands of dollars on the line, both of them fully focused and their fingers working the controls as fast as they could so it turned out to be a fairly even game. “What the fuck!? How did my guy not catch that pop up?” Chris exclaimed. “Too bad the game doesn’t let you discipline your players like Coach Hecker” JD added. “Haha right? That’d be wild.” 

“Just imagine the menu that’d come up after your team loss; you can either start a new game or tie one of your players up and tickle them into submission” Chris joked and they both laughed at how ridiculous the idea would be. “I wonder how Christian Yelich would handle that?” JD asked. “Shit, what about somebody like Gronk? He would probably end up busting out of the whole thing and breaking Hecker’s stocks” Chris answered, adding fuel to their laugh riot in the basement. 

By 8 they had moved onto Madden 22 and this time it wasn’t as evenly matched, with Chris taking the edge in their second game. “Shit! How did I screw that play up??” JD beat himself up on the right end of the couch and Chris decided it was the perfect time to act on the idea he’d had earlier. “I think we should raise the stakes a bit” Hilbert suggested with a sly, confident smirk. “Oh yeah? Like what?” “The winner of this game gets to tie the loser up” “What? Haha that’s kind of weird, dude” JD rejected. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re gonna puss out on me now, Maberry!” Chris pressured, always having been talented with getting people to do what he wanted. “Alright, fine. You’re on” JD reluctantly agreed, ready to prove himself to Chris. 

“Where are you going?” Chris asked once JD started up the stairs. “Just hold on a minute” JD answered and left before returning with some rope that looked like it was from an old western movie. “Where the hell did you get that?” “When my dad was growing up in Texas he lived on a ranch and was something of a cowboy before he moved away. He brought this with him and ended up teaching me a few lassoing tricks” JD explained like Chris had bitten off more than he could chew. “Shit, Maberry, alright haha. Now we’re talking” Chris answered and the two returned to their game with even more concentration than before with the bet over their heads. 

The game went on for another 10 minutes until finally Chris managed to score a last-minute touchdown and JD sank into the back of the couch with dread, in disbelief that he’d lost. “Hell yeah!! 36 - 30!” Chris gloated with a playful slap on JD’s knee. “Fuck me, man…” JD groaned as Chris grabbed the rope from the table and started swirling it around like he was ready to catch a bull. “Alright, alright…you won” JD begrudgingly got on the carpeted floor on the other side of the coffee table, still in front of the long couch. “Haha I can’t believe you agreed to this” “Yeah me neither” JD answered with a bit of attitude before Chris started tying his arms behind his back and then connecting his bound ankles to them for a classic hogtie position. JD assumed Chris would do a poor job at restraining him, figuring it’d only last a few minutes before he wiggled his way out but as he started moving around, he made the startling realization that it was very solid rope work. 

“How the hell are you so good at knots?? Some kinky secret life I don’t know about?” “I was in the Scouts back in the day; I guess it stuck with me” Chris answered while watching JD struggle to get loose. “Alright, you got me, you can undo this shit now” “I don’t know…maybe I’ll just keep you tied up like this all night, could be fun” Chris suggested with a devious tone that JD didn’t like. “Dude, come on, just untie me. You can’t leave me here all night” “I mean, I could…I don’t think you’re gonna be able to stop me, not like that” Chris pointed out with a dose of reality that solidified JD’s brewing anxiety. 

“Fuck that” was all JD said like he accepted the challenge to break out before tugging and fighting with the ropes with genuine effort this time. He may have been tight with Chris now but he didn’t like the idea of being so helpless around him for any length of time and squirmed on the carpet with an increasing urgency the longer he was tied up. JD failed to get very far at all with the hogtie before he heard Chris plop down behind him on the floor, commanding the quarterback’s attention. “Hey JD, what size are your feet?” “Why?” “Just wondering” “...12, they’re a 12” JD answered with a nervous throat like he could feel his buddy’s eyes on his socked feet. 

“That’s funny…your jersey is number 12” “Yep” JD spat back while still trying to get out. “So tell me, are your 12s really that ticklish?” Chris asked with playful curiosity, triggering JD’s internal panic button. “Shit, dude, don’t fucking tickle my feet! Come on, that’s not fair!” “Haha I was just asking a question” Chris tried to dismiss as the socked feet wiggled around in place but the fellow senior got his answer a few seconds later with a few quick strokes down the upturned soles. “AAH CcHhRiISs! Dude, come on! Don’t do that! Please! I can’t take it!” JD pleaded without the kind of attempt to lie about it like Chris would. “I guess you shouldn’t have lost the bet, man” Chris answered with another flutter down the trapped feet and JD’s toes curled tight in the white ankle socks for dear life. 

Chris flashed a wicked smile from behind JD and reached forward to rip off the socks, striking new fear in the transfer student now that there was nothing standing between his horribly sensitive feet and probably the last guy on the team he’d want them at the mercy of. “NO! Chris you can’t, you fucking can’t! My feet are legit my worst spot, you’ll kill me!” JD warned in hopes of eliciting some kind of understanding or empathy but his plea came off more like an invitation to Chris, enticed by the alarmed nature of his buddy’s begging. “Good to know” “I’m serious!!” “You can’t expect me to let feet this ticklish just sit here tied up in front of me and not have a little fun with them can you?” Chris asked before having his way with the size 12s like he could hardly wait to really test them out.

“HAahFuUCCKK! NNOOH!! aohAOhAohAOHSSTToHoHPP!!” barreled out of JD as his body extended as far as it could in the hogtie like the string of a hunting bow but the knots didn’t budge. “Oh shit, you weren't kidding!” Chris laughed with sadistic glee at the big reaction and continued scratching along the fresh bare feet. “Keep fighting the ropes all you want, I didn’t win best knot tyer award for nothing” Chris taunted to reassure JD there was no way out. “CcCCHHRRiiSsPPLLLEAASSEeAHaHaHA iiICAAnnNtTT!!” “Where’s that Lions spirit? ‘Can’t’ is for losers” Chris teased while spidering up and down the supple pink soles with all ten fingers dragging in short, brutal bursts. JD had indeed been raised with a ‘can do’ attitude and his dad’s strict rules had resulted in quite a few punishments for JD over the years but this was far worse than anything he’d ever gone through, aside from his time with Coach Hecker of course. 

Chris soon widened his approach and began grazing up the length of both feet with a long raking motion and JD’s toes fanned out at the shockwave of sensations, putting a bigger smile on Chris’ face. “NnOOHOHO!! aohAADDOooNnTTDDoOoTTThhAAATT!! PPlLEEAASSEAhaCCooMMEEOONN!” JD begged with no interest in protecting his ego at this point, too ticklish and helpless to worry about that. “You lost the bet, dude; I’m just making the most of it. You’re the dumbass for letting me tie you up in the first place” Chris pointed out with another sinister laugh as he dragged down the trapped soles again to hear his teammate lose it some more. 

JD rocked from side to side and his arms pulled between the waves of roaring laughter to break free but Chris really had made sure he wasn’t gonna go anywhere. His big feet were already crazy ticklish but something about being tied up made it worse, even more intense than it’d been in the locker room stocks somehow. “You know what the real trick to winning video games is don’t you…? Fast fingers” Chris enlightened before blitzing into a rapid-fire scribbling all over JD’s smooth feet. “AAAhAHAHAFFuUCCK! FFUUCCkAohAOhaNNOoNAOhAOhaohA!! SSTThohOOHp!! MmOoOTThheERRFFuUCCKKEERRAHaha!!” JD erupted with a higher pitched, manic laughter like he wasn’t expecting the sudden avalanche but that’s exactly the kind of reaction Chris was hoping for. 

The vicious tickler wrapped an arm around JD’s ankles for an even better hold and quickly launched back onto the deliciously ticklish feet with the same scribbling and JD fell apart just the same. “AAhAohACCHHhRRiIISS FFuUCCkKiIInNnGGGSSTThoOhpPP!!” the fellow 18 year old tried to convince but there didn’t seem to be any deterring Chris and his devilish fingers. JD bucked on the floor and did manage to move Chris around a little but The Lions captain held on like a pro as he ravaged the soft soles like they were enemies instead of friends. “AhoAHAGGEeTToOoOFF!!!” JD howled like he truly couldn’t handle it but Chris wasn’t satisfied yet. 

“Come on, JD. I’m just being a good friend and giving you a laugh. It’s a lot of pressure being quarterback and keeping up with your grades at the same time; it’s the least I could do” Chris answered, knowing it would only get under JD’s skin more. “FfUUUCckKYYOouUU!!” Chris just laughed and changed his position again after nearly getting kicked in the face, this time sitting up and wrapping his legs around JD’s. “Oh my God - enough! I can’t laugh anymore” “Bullshit” was all Chris said as he made use of his new hold and started back raking along the flawless feet, this time adding more pressure and dragging his nails faster in both directions. 

“AAAAAHAOOHHOmMYGGoODOdAOh!! SSTThhOoahOP!! SSTTHoAOHAOHOPP!!” JD practically screamed and he jerked around on the floor as much as he could but nothing saved his feet from Chris, not even as much as a brief avoidance now that they were locked between his legs. “I’m starting to see why Hecker thought tickling would be a good punishment; he might be onto something” Chris added, now with the privilege of being the tickler instead of the ticklee. “PPLLLEEAasSEeAHAHAHA CCChHRRiIiSsAoAohAhA SSTThohpP!!” JD begged to end the friendly torture but Chris reliazed he enjoyed being begged almost as much as he enjoyed wrecking his friend’s feet, persuading him to keep up the relentless raking. 

“Damn, Maberry you were really about to let me forget your toes?” Chris asked after another few minutes and drifted down to both rows, sparking fresh panic in JD but Chris was already indulging in the tender toes before they could crunch or even try to protect themselves. “AAhAHANNooNnnOOAhoHAohAA!! MMEERrCCCyyY!! YyYYOouuUVVVEeGGOoTTTAASSTTHoHOOPP!!” “Do I now?” Chris challenged while scratching along the ridiculously soft undersides and watching the bits of sock fuzz fall from them as they tried to get away. He tightened his legs a bit more to really subdue the ankles in one place and amped up the toe tickling like there was a prize if he could make JD laugh until he cried, forcing the bound jock into squeals of ticklish desperation as he terrorized the bubbly toes until finally shifting gears with a new idea. 

JD’s body relaxed the second Chris left his feet but not feeling his legs uncurl from around his own prevented Maberry from accepting any kind of relief just yet. “I know Hecker tested Eric with calculus problems after he helped us cheat so I’m gonna test you on some plays” Chris announced, unable to see the massive eye roll from JD. “No, no more tickling! Chris, you can’t!” “You’re a hot shot quarterback, right? You can finish some simple plays. Just consider it practice” Chris doubled down and a wave of dread washed over JD once the captain didn’t back down. 

“I’m gonna draw X’s and O’s on your feet and you have to tell me what the best move is to prevent the other team from scoring. Let’s go with The Lockwood Panthers” Chris explained and JD exhaled with frustration but he knew he didn’t have a choice but to play along; at least this time he had a chance of saving himself from any more tickling. “And I thought Hecker was ridiculous” JD added before Chris prepared to begin.

“So you’ve got your defensive line over here” Chris laid out on the left foot with several quick circles along the middle of the sole and JD couldn’t stop the giggly outbursts from escaping his lips. “And then the offense over here” he added with a series of sharp diagonal lines down the right foot, getting loud yelps from JD with every stroke. “Now, if the offense passes down the field and there’s only 20 feet to the end zone, what’s the best move to block the touchdown?” Chris asked while dragging his pointer finger along the edge of the right foot until he landed on the pinky toe. 

It took JD several seconds after the ‘play’ to stop laughing but even then he struggled to think straight, realizing even with his skill as a quarterback he couldn’t get a good idea of what was going on without being able to see it. “Uhh…try to intercept the ball” “Ooh, bad move, buddy. The Panthers just scored because you didn’t realize it was a fake out pass!” Chris explained. “What?! That’s not fair!” “You never know what another team is gonna do on the field. That’s 6 points for The Panthers” Chris announced with another sigh from JD but he didn’t have much time to sulk before the fingers were back drawing on his feet. 

“So this time, the defense lines up this way” Chris started and drew circles all the way from his left heel to his big toe and JD bounced around on the carpet the whole time with more bubbly laughter. “And the offense lines up like this” he added with another pattern of straight lines all over the opposite sole while JD’s toes curled and expanded as if to lessen the blows but it didn’t really matter once Chris started running along both feet to illustrate the play. “oohOHAOhNNoNnOhAOHaSSTthoHOhPPIITT!” JD protested with just a few nails dragging along his feet but it was more than enough to keep him floundering around. “So after that, what should the defense do now?” Chris asked. “How the hell should I know?? I can’t even see the play!” “Is that your final answer? I should mention that each point The Panthers score counts as another minute of tickling after the game” “Ok ok wait! The defense should uhh…they should go after the running back” JD answered and hoped he’d made the right call after Chris didn’t react for a few seconds. 

“So close! The Panthers score again!” Chris announced with a single finger scurrying along the balls of the right foot. “You can’t score without a touchdown dance right?” Chris teased as he milked the scenario for as many laughs as he could until finally stopping. “Holy shit…I think you’re worse than Coach Hecker” JD suggested after realizing how much joy his friend got from torturing him. “Don’t be a sore loser…it’s not my fault that The Panthers are winning” Chris answered with another sharp grin as he tightened his legs around JD’s and laid out the next scenario. 

“You’re enjoying this way too much” JD added before he felt another familiar string of O’s cascading down his left foot, refusing to tickle any less each time. “The Panthers line up against The Lions in a mirrored formation…” Chris explained with more X’s along the opposite foot and JD’s body relaxed once he realized that part was at least over but suddenly a rogue finger started running back down toward his heel. “The offense is pulling something different, a trick play!” Chris announced with the same ‘player’ darting back and forth while JD writhed around in every direction. “NnOo! AOhAOHAFFUuUCCkKOoOFFFMmAAanN!!”

“Hut hut! The ball gets handed off and ran all the way down the field! Nobody can catch him!” Chris narrated with the same finger stroking down the right foot and the fingers on the defensive side spidering all over the left sole to show the whole Lions defensive line trying to stop him. “AHAOhANnONNoAHohAOhAASSTTThOhOOHOAHoPP!!” JD raged with renewed desperation until Chris made him decide what to do but this time didn’t stop tickling his feet to let him choose. “Do The Lions risk hurting their best defensive player to tackle The Panther player or do they let him score?” “AAHOAAA IiIDDOONnNtTKNNOOOWW!! ahAHAJJuUSSTTSSTTOhOpp FFOORRAAsEEEeCCOoNnNDD!!” “Time’s running out on the clock - it’s now or never!” “AAHAohaOhAOAhOOkOokK!! TTAACCkKLLEEhHHHIIIIMM!!” JD shouted through the severe laughter but The Panther player scored and Chris added another victory dance along his toes this time to celebrate. 

After another 30 minutes of testing JD’s game play, Chris finally stopped and let the handsome bare feet rest in front of him. “Well, that’s the game folks; Lions - 0, Panthers - 63” Chris announced and JD caught his breath with relief that it was all over. “That means 63 minutes of tickling for The Lions quarterback!” “What?!? Oh my God, no you can’t be serious…” JD tried to stop with genuine dread in his voice. “That’s the deal, man” Chris reminded before returning to the upturned soles and punishing his new best friend for the humiliating loss. 

“NO! Chris come oONNAohAohAAohAohAhoAhAohA!!” JD’s whole body jolted against the hogtie with insane laughter but Chris’ added leg lock kept his feet from earning even a moment of escape. “It’s like riding a bull!” Chris teased with a laugh as he scribbled all over both feet as mean as he could with an emphasis on his nails this time to really show JD how bad things could get. “AAAhAh!! PLLeEEAASSEE! AhAHANNoonNOAOhAOhaohAAA SSTThOhoHoPPP!!!” JD begged once again while dipping into embarrassing squeals every few seconds. “I guess you’re just gonna have to study up on your plays” Chris answered without an ounce of sympathy, far too high on tickling the quarterback feet as much as he could. 

JD had been around his fair share of jocks and knew how playfully vicious guys could be when they got around each other but Chris took it to another level. “I guess I could check out some other spots; you do still have 50 minutes left” Chris decided as his legs pulled back and he stood up. “No! No more!! I swear to God! Chris!” JD argued as Chris forced him onto his side and went after his ribs with both hands. “AhoOhOHSshhIiIiTTAohAohAAOhGGETToOOFFF!!” “Oh man, the ribs too? You’re a regular Tickle Me Elmo” Chris taunted while digging up and down the side of his ribs while JD overflowed with relentless laughter. 

“What about your stomach, huh?” Chris proposed as he found out for himself, using one hand to dive into his tight belly after noticing the t-shirt had fallen away from his abs. “NNoOoHAOhAOhaA!! FFuUcCkAohAohaAohaASSTTOhoHOPPp!! SSTTOhOhOhpPP!!” JD buckled with fresh, wide-eyed laughter once Chris was wiggling in like he was trying to count his muscles. “3 for 3!” Chris announced as if realizing his buddy’s feet were far from his only weak spot was fueling his enthusiasm. He switched to daggering into the ribs with stiff, harsh fingers that seemed to know just how to work between each one and his other hand became a claw shape to really dominate JD’s impressive stomach. 

“I’m glad your parents are gone for a while…I’d hate for them to interrupt. Maybe we’ll try some more plays on your feet later to see if you can do any better” “AhAhAnNOO!! aohAOhAaPPLLEEAASSEE!! AhoAHOAHACChHhRRIiSS SSSTToOPOppPTTiIIcCCkKlllliinNGGMMMEE!!” “That’s it, keep begging, new guy…maybe it’ll start doing some good in a few hours.”