Chapter Text
the creek
“Tanner, come on! Stop being a pussy.” Walker said, one foot in the ditch and one foot plunged into the muddy grass, looking up at Tanner who was still atop the hill, apprehensive to follow in Walker’s footsteps.
“I don’t know, Walker, this is where that fish bit my toe in 2023.” Tanner said wearily.
“That wasn’t a fish, that was a tadpole, you retard.” Walker trekked further into the 6-inch deep water.
“Walkerrrr” Tanner whined, before Walker shut him up.
“Tanner! Get the fuck down here or I’m going on without you.”
Tanner sighed and began descending the steep hill.
“If I get hurt it’s your fault,” Tanner said.
“Yap.” Walker replied, already on the other side of the ditch.
After nearly losing a shoe in the sediment under the water, Tanner made it to the other side of the ditch as well, joining Walker.
“Come on, it’s just up here.” Walker said, swiftly scaling the hill ahead of Tanner.
Coming out on the other side of the shrubbery, Walker came out to the small field he’d visited months earlier. Here, he’d found all kinds of awesome stuff. But there was only one notable finding that he wished to share with Tanner.
“Over here, Tanner!”
Tanner scurried to keep pace with Walker.
Walker lead Tanner to a rectangular piece of the ground that was partially dug out, with a chunk of some rusty metal peeking out slightly from the surrounding dirt.
“What is it?” Tanner asked, as the two boys looked down into the hole.
“It’s a hole I started digging in May.” Walker replied.
“Why’d you stop?” Tanner asked as his second question in three seconds.
“Ha, that’s what she said. I got busy. Ha, that’s what she said.” Walker joked, seemingly to find genuine humor in a double ‘that’s what she said’ joke. Even Tanner, who’s humor is saying things like and reposting tiktoks about soiling one’s pants, found it a tad obnoxious.
“Anyway, at some point, I found a pipe. That was around when I stopped.” Walker explained.
“Oh. Cool. I like pipes.” Tanner said.
Walker looked at him, sincerely trying to stifle laughter.
“Walker,” Tanner whined.
“Fag.” Walker said quickly before continuing on with his statement. “Wanna finish digging it with me?”
Tanner figured he didn’t have a choice, so he elected to give a concise “yes.”
“How do we know when ‘finished’ is?” Tanner asked.
“I want to be able to see the bottom of the pipe. Like, all the dirt around the pipe’s undercarriage needs to be dug out.” Walker said.
“Okay. Yeah.” Tanner said, looking down at the roughly 6x4 foot hole and nodding.
“Well, grab a stick, kid, let’s get to work.” Walker said, smacking Tanner on the bum.
All day, the boys worked in the heat, digging and scooping dirt up and out of the hole. They were dirty, hot, sweaty, but not even close to done. Having felt a bit idle over the summer, only attending SDCC in July, Walker felt like this was his first time making good use of his summer freedom. And Tanner was getting a big tired of seeing his friends everyday, much like Walker. Needless to say, the two boys needed to switch it up. And what better way to do so than to channel their Shia LaBeouf, take to the fields of northern Pennsylvania and start digging a hole, old-fashioned style?
Tanner jumped from the hole to deliver more dirt to the pile of dug up, loose material that they’ve flung out of the hole in the digging process. Walker, dug at the tough, dry lumps of dirt around the pipe.
“Walker!” Tanner yelled from the dirt pile, which was about 15 feet away from the hole.
“Yeah!” Walker’s voice reverberated out of the hole, though Tanner couldn’t see him at all.
“Wanna switch?” Tanner shouted.
“Like, I fling dirt and you dig?” Walker asked.
“Yeah!” Tanner yelled.
“Sure!” Walker replied, cracking up for no reason.
So, Tanner returned to the hole. Walker began flinging dirt. The two worked furiously, their work showing well, as the pipe was now mostly exposed.
“So, do you have a girlfriend?” Walker asked Tanner.
“I’m talking to a few girls, but not yet. I want one.” Tanner said.
“I get ya, man. You know I’ve had a few, and at some point… I don’t know, it just becomes a burden. Don’t try to get a girlfriend too early, especially if you don’t really want one, you just want other people to see that you have one.” Walker said, becoming randomly prophetic on a dime. “Damn. That hits hard.” Tanner replied.
“It’s what I’m here for.” Walker said, flinging dirt out of the hole.
“Ah, shit, I got it in my eye!” Walker said, having accidentally slung a considerable amount of dirt right into his left eye. “Sorry, dude, I gotta go wash this out in the stream.”
“Okay,” Tanner said. “No problem.” The stream was only a handful of feet that way, so Tanner didn’t think it was any big deal.
After Walker was gone, Tanner was chiseling away at a large deposit of moistened sand which formed a shell around looser sand, and was one of the only remaining large lumps of dirt around the pipe. As dirt fell against Tanner’s stick, little round droplets of some dark liquid ran through the dirt, eventually taking formation in a thin streaming line, like lava flowing from the base of a volcano. Tanner paused until Walker would return.
At the stream, Walker penetrated the bush and descended the hill, hardly being able to see but so incredibly desperate to get the dirt out of his eye. His eye was wetter than one of his hook-ups, making it look like he was crying. Though, his body wasn’t too far off— he certainly wanted to cry. It hurt, it burned, and it was about to be over. Walker knelt down at the bank of the stream, and swiftly reached down with his hands in the formation of a bowl, making absolute sure not to catch any of the sand and mud from the floor of the stream in his hands. The water flooding into his makeshift cup looked like holy water, and Walker wasted no time shoving 100% of it into his eye like a maniac.
He saw relief, but not fully. He went back in for seconds; this time, he got more sand out. By a third attempt, his eye was clear of all sand. Red, bloodshot, and probably a bit inflamed, but entirely clear.
While Walker basked in his clarity, he began to barely make out the sound of Tanner’s baby voice shouting his name over and over.
After the 8th or 9th time of Tanner unmistakably yelling Walker’s name, borderline screaming it, Walker rushed to return to the hole and see what was wrong.
He ran as fast as his feet would carry him until he was close enough that Tanner could hear him.
“What! What’s wrong?!” Walker asked.
“There’s this weird dark stuff all through the sand, just in this one area.” Tanner said, as if he hadn’t just been screaming desperately to get Walker to come to him.
Walker let out a deep sigh. “Tanman, I thought you were hurt. Don’t yell like that unless you’re in trouble.”
“Okay. Sorry.” Tanner said sincerely.
Walker jumped down into the hole. “So, you said ‘weird dark stuff’?” He asked.
“Yeah, look, all these things.” Tanner pointed to the small orbs of dark material and then to where he supposed the source was, where the dark substance had become more of a small puddle than isolated bits of material. “And I think this is where it came from.” Tanner finished.
Walker quickly inspected the area before giving Tanner his orders.
“Grab your stick. Knock the dirt and sand off that piece of the pipe.”
Tanner bent down and scooped his stick up off the ground. He gripped it like a pen and knocked off a bit of sand. Then another chunk. Then one more, and then, the final chunk he needed to fully expose the source.
That was when everything went awry.
A thick jet wash of the dark material— some cross between motor oil, squid ink and satan’s diarrhea— sprayed the two boys, fully coating their nearly naked bodies, soaking through their thin shirts, shorts and underwear. The stream continued for roughly 6 seconds, and when the boys felt it was safe to open their eyes, they were in utter disbelief. They were totally covered in the thick, smelly stuff. A final spurt of the oily substance shooting from the pipe insulted Tanner and Walker as they sat, absolutely speechless.
“What… just happened?” Tanner asked.
“We just got doused in whatever was running through that pipe.” Walker answered concisely.
“Alright, then.” Tanner said.
“Does it burn?” Walker asked Tanner.
“No.” Tanner said.
“Okay. Good. I don’t want this to give us chemical burns, or something.” Walker said.
“Yeah, I know, right?” Tanners voice was shaky.
Walker looked over at Tanner. He knew the shift in Tanner’s voice all too well.
Tanner began to cry.
“Oh, come on, dude. Don’t cry.” Walker said, rubbing Tanner’s back lovingly. “I’d hug you, but I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.” Walker said, cracking a smile.
Tanner turned around and continued crying. Walker couldn’t contain his laughter when he heard him stop crying, sniffle, and then resume crying.
“I… uh… I think we should go home, Tanman.” Walker said after allowing Tanner to let it all out for a moment.
“Yeah…” Tanner sniffled. “You’re probably right.”
Walker gripped Tanner’s shoulder to turn him around and gave him a smile, having wiped most of the oil off his face while Tanner was crying. The boys exited the hole one by one, trying not to slip on the oil which had not only coated them but the walls of the divot as well.
After about 20 minutes, the Scobell boys found themselves back at the Scobell compound.
“Is Leena home?” Walker asked. “Maybe she could let us in.”
“I don’t know.” Tanner replied.
“Dammit.” Walker exclaimed. “Who’s showering first?” He asked.
“Uh, me? Duh.” Tanner said.
“Why you?” Walker asked.
“I got sprayed first, and it was your idea to knock the sand off the pipe where the oil was coming from.” Tanner said.
“Oh, shut up, loser. I’m showering first.”
As the boys walked on, they left a trail of pitch-black nastiness behind them on the decorative stone walkway leading up to the house.
When they reached the porch, the door mysteriously opened in front of them— and out came their father.
Standing at no less than 5’11, the ex-military, MAGA, traditional, white, heterosexual, north Pennsylvanian family man, Pete Scobell, stood before the two boys, his sons. He opened the glass storm door and stepped out. “What the hell did you two get into?” Pete said.
“It’s a long story. Can we come in?” Tanner said.
“All that—“ Pete gestured to the oil which coated ever inch of Walker and Tanner’s bodies—“is not coming in my house. Or going down my shower drain. Come round back, you two.” Pete turned around and marched back in the house.
The boys looked at each other. They knew what was coming.
In March 2022, Tanner was feeling a bit depressed due to Walker getting so much attention because of the Adam Project’s release. The breaking point was undoubtedly Walker flying to L.A to be on the Ellen show. In all his honesty, Tanner was still a bit salty about that even in the big ‘25. Anyway, feeling beyond left out, Tanner asked his parents to hang out with some friends. Naturally, they said yes, and Tanner was off within 15 minutes. Tanner and his friends decided they wanted to go to Walmart close to closing time to grab some snacks for a sleepover that they were having that night. Somehow, through some twisted concoction of the cumulative thoughts of 4 pubescent and teenage boys, the group birthed a killer brainchild; for Tanner to get naked, get covered in green paint, and make 12 laps around his neighborhood to celebrate his upcoming 12th birthday which was in two short days. Tanner reluctantly agreed, and come roughly midnight, all the boys stepped outside the Scobell residence to enact their plan.
In the expansive front lawn, Tanner peeled off his shorts and hoodie, and then his boxer briefs until he was totally naked. Having never needed to shower at school, this was his first time being totally naked around people who weren’t his family. It felt strange, but he carried on. Two of his friend plunged their hands into the bucket of paint and got to work, rubbing it all down Tanner’s sides, chest, butt and legs. Tanner even let his closest friend rub it around his private area, so, yeah, Tanner’s penis was green. Leaving only his face untouched, soon Tanner was fully covered.
“Alright, brotha, be free.” Tanner’s friend said. Everyone chuckled as Tanner took off from the front yard, taking to the sidewalk. Before the group knew it, the green boy had made his first lap around the neighborhood. Then his second lap. Then his third lap.
Soon, after nearly tripping and falling and seeing three of his neighbors peering out of their windows, Tanner was on his 9th lap. Only 3 to go until he could stop mooning old women he’d known for all his life. While approaching his house, Tanner was chopped in the throat by a hand coming out of the darkness and gripping his neck tightly and quite literally lifting him off the ground. From the shadows, his father’s face emerged. “You stupid fuck. I can’t believe this. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Pete was furious. Possibly more enraged than Tanner had ever seen him.
Pete dropped him, but then began dragging him back to the house by his bicep.
Pebbles and uneven pavement dug into Tanner’s back as he was dragged. He was sure they were piercing the skin, but he could hardly focus on that— he was 10x more terrified of what his father might do to him. Tanner eventually closed his eyes out of fear, then felt familiar sidewalk, then grass. Tanner opened his eyes; he was in the vast backyard of the Scobell compound.
Tanner’s mind immediately went to; “is he going to make me sleep out here?”
“Stand up.” Pete said. He felt a bit embarrassed being totally naked in front of his father. More than he was when it was his friends, curiously. Tanner stood up. “Walk over there. Put both your hands on the wall. I want your both your palms flat against the house.” Pete commanded.
Petrified, Tanner obliged. He stood in position, waiting for… something.
Like a thunderclap, Tanner felt the feeling of ice cold needles being jabbed into his back, paired with the pervading sound of a crashing waterfall. Tanner was being sprayed down with the hose.
He was sprayed for at least a minute and thirty seconds, Pete said; “turn around.”
Tanner obeyed. He now had his belly, arms, legs and privates sprayed off.
Once Tanner was adequately clean, Pete extended him the courtesy of chucking a towel in his general direction before tossing the hose in the grass and walking inside without another word. By the time Tanner had dried off, the backyard lights had been turned off by Pete.
Tanner, still totally nude, slid open the glass door and stepped into the house, freezing cold. As Tanner quietly made his way across the tile and to his room, a crinkle of food wrapper broke the silence. Tanner whipped his head around like a deer who just heard a twig snap, and saw Walker sitting on the couch in the den, in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, munching on a package of Oreos, as if it were noon time. “Shame.” The older boy said.
Tanner did feel ashamed, so he continued onto his room without bothering to speak to Walker.
Now, in present day, standing on the walkway, Tanner panicked. “Tanner, do you remember the jolly green giant incident of 2022?”
“Against my will,” Tanner said.
“That was hilarious. Your ass was so green.” Walker mused fondly. “Anyway, I think that’s what dad’s gonna do right now.”
“What?!” A look of fear overtook Tanner’s face.
“Don’t freak out! It’ll be okay.” Walker reassured Tanner.
“I promised myself I’d never get naked outside, ever again! I only started taking my shirt off at the beach again recently.” Tanner said.
“Tanner, it’ll be fine. Just… come on.”
The boys walked around to the back of the house and stood dripping in the grass.
Pete walked out the back door and descended the deck steps.
This was the moment of truth; the defining gesture as to what the solution to Walker and Tanner’s probably was going to be.
Without saying a word, Pete walked over to a seemingly random spot in the grass and fished the garden house out of the sea of green.
“Alright, clothes off, boys! I want two full moons.”
The boys groaned as they began removing their soaked rags.
Once the boys stood totally nude, their father barked another order.
“Hands flat up against that wall, please.”
The boys adhered to their fathers demands, getting into position. They stood with both arms extended, their palms flat against the wall, about a foot and a half apart. Walkers cut penis and balls hung between his legs. Tanner couldn’t help but feel a twinge of amazement mixed with jealousy, especially seeing the way in which so many short hair follicles peppered his brother’s pubic area.
The two Scobell boys looked at each other and chuckled, finding immense humor in the situation, when they were sprayed with an intense jet wash without warning. The boys examined each other as the oil— or whatever it was— ran down their body and exposed their white skin once again. Soon, four creamy white cheeks gleamed like they used to.
After a bit more assault via hose water, Pete broke the silence left in the wake of the water being turned off temporarily.
“Turn around, you two.”
The boys once again obliged, although a bit shy about their father seeing their family jewels.
“Give me a break, you fags, I’ve seen dicks bigger than your forearms in all my years in the military. Hands at your sides.”
Pete resumed the unrepentant shower of ice cold water until the boys bellies glowed angelically once more. Tanner still felt a bit of the oil under his flaccid foreskin, but he decided he’d get it in the shower later.
Walker tapped Tanner on his cute little white butt lovingly as he began to walk toward the deck.
“Alright, bud. I’m gonna go get some clothes on.”
“Oh— ok!” Tanner said, as he stood shivering and dripping in the grass.
Tanner looked to his left at his father winding the hose back up.
“Quite the throwback to the midnight green bean incident of ‘22, huh?” Pete said, smiling as he returned to his winding.
Tanner loosened up enough to let out a chuckle. He did the same as Walker, reentering the house. As much as he enjoyed ‘Au Natural’, he wasn’t quite at his father’s level of shamelessness regarding nudity.
Once in his room, Tanner hardly managed to lazily put on a pair of his favorite boxer shorts before a wave of intense narcolepsy struck him, and he collapsed onto his bed, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.
As Tanner snored, Walker waltzed past his room and let out a soft snicker before continuing on.