P A R T T W O
A few days after Christmas …
Joshua’s L.A Apartment
“Why do I have to be tied up?” Joshua asked.
Matt lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug, threading two thick lengths of white rope between his fingertips.
“I guess to stop you from stopping me?” He knelt down, tying one of the lengths to the top right hand corner of Joshua’s double bed, “You’re freakin’ ticklish, dude. You’ll smack me in the mouth.”
Joshua covered his face with both palms, sitting in the cross legged position in just a pair of jeans and white sports socks.
“Man, this is gonna suck.”
Matt chuckled, standing back up where he walked around the bed to the opposite top corner of its structure.
“When it gets too unbearable, just think: ‘It’s for charity’ … “
He knelt down on the carpet and began to tie the second length of rope to the beds underneath.
“The longer you last, the more money you raise,” Matt reassured, “And bro, if you can handle this for the full thirty minutes, it’s gonna make your already golden boy credibility shine even brighter …”
Matt got back to his feet in a huff, dusting off his knees, “… I can see the headlines already, ‘Joshua Bassett, tickled for money, raising thousands for homeless charity at Christmas’… I don’t see Johnny Orlando doing this kinda shit, do you?”
Joshua widened his eyes as his hands slid down to his lower lip, where he pinched it with his thumb and index finger.
“… Thousands? I don’t think I’ll be able to take it long enough to raise that amount,” he sighed, shaking his head, wishing Disney had never approved such a stunt, “But if I’m all strung up I guess I don’t have much choice …”
Matt began to position the standing tripod at the end of the bed, taking his iPhone out of his trouser pocket where he began to open up Instagram.
“I just can’t believe how quickly those videos went viral,” Matt attached his iPhone to the top of the tripod, angling it so that it faced the mattress, “I had no idea people were filming us,” he laughed into the back of his hand as the memories of Joshua sat in stocks, his feet and pits tickled by a Masked Elf, as well as Matt himself, came trickling back through his mind, “We totally messed with you! I swear, in one of the videos it looked like you were about to cry …”
Joshua ran his hand through curls of hair.
“Well, can you blame me? One minute I’m, I’m racing a damn go-kart, the next I’m, I’m being sponged, and then you’re tickling the shit outta me, with that … That damn elf,” Joshua winced at the thought, swallowing down a bubble of anxiety as the reality of his new situation began to settle in, “At least this time I’ve consented to this, this level of … Insanity …”
Matt reached into his rucksack, pulling out another two lengths of rope.
“Dude, I’ll be honest - half of the world now knows how ticklish you are,” Matt began to tie the third length of rope to the bottom right hand corner of Joshua’s bed, “You won’t be able to walk down the streets of L.A without someone jabbing at your side or, I dunno, touching your feet when your shoes are off,” he then crawled to the bottom left side of the bed, “You’re gonna have to get used to it, till people forget I guess. Or, use it to your advantage, like you are today.”
Joshua threw his upper body backwards where he landed on the sheets with a gentle bounce.
“Shit—“ he cupped his mouth, always keen not to swear, “I mean, dang … You’re right. I’m fu—“ he squeezed his eyes shut, “—I’m screwed,” he admitted, staring at the ceiling in defeat, “This is my life now.”
If only the public hadn’t filmed what had happened to him and shared it on social media.
If only he’d won the race and Matt had ended up getting sponged instead of him.
If only that strange, rogue Masked Elf hadn’t of introduced the tickling aspect …
Joshua had ‘endured’ things for charity before.
Giving up pizza for a month, being slimed at the MTV Awards, stroll around Times Square in just his underwear …
But this? Being restrained and tickled for a full thirty minutes?
Man, Joshua thought.
I don’t know if I can even—
—Joshua glared over his chest at Matt as Matt picked up Joshua’s right ankle.
“Wait, we’re starting now?”
Matt nodded, tying Joshua’s socked foot to the right bottom corner of the bed.
“Yup. The charity have just joined.”
Matt gestured over to the iPhone screen, where the live recording had been split into two; the top half was Joshua, currently waving on the bed to one hundred, five hundred, one thousand and counting followers …
And the bottom half remained completely blank, with only the charity’s logo shown.
The charity’s logo was a red illustration of a house with leaves floating around it.
“Uh, hey guys!” Joshua threw fire on his doubt and turned on his charismatic Disney charm, offering the camera a bright white smile, “Welcome to what is probably going to be the worst half hour of my life,” he laughed enthusiastically, rolling his eyes dramatically, “But the best half hour for you guys, I guess!”
He allowed Matt to tie his left foot to the left corner of the bed, where he pointed at Matt with an over the top expression of concern.
“As you can see, my buddy Matt here is tying me to my own bed, I assume it’s so I don’t hit him or, or … Anyway, as you know, from the video you saw at Winter Wonderland, uhh, I’m pretty damn ticklish …”
He then laid down on his back as Matt began to tie either of his arms to the top corners of the bed.
“… Oh wow, okay, I’m uh, pretty stretched out …” Joshua looked down at his bare torso, his long stomach, he flashed eyes at either of his armpits, armpits that now felt suddenly exposed, extremely open, a ticklish part of his body displayed in a way he hadn’t expected to feel so displayed.
“Dang,” he said, laughing nervously, “They’re really ready for the, uh, taking …”
Matt stepped back, taking in the sight of Joshua now tied in the starfish position, unable to move or escape even if he tried his hardest.
He then wiggled his fingers at the camera with a grin, whilst also taking in the live sessions viewer numbers.
Eleven thousand, twelve thousand, thirteen thousand and counting …
“Whoa, dude, so many people are joining,” Matt climbed onto the bed, crawling over Joshua where he then grabbed at pillows and cushions, throwing them onto the bedroom floor, “I think we just start?”
Joshua flexed his fingers in panic.
“No! Wait, wait… Hold up,” he then peered over his chest, addressing the camera with another enthusiastic smile.
“Don’t forget, press the ‘$’ button at the bottom of the screen where you can donate five bucks, ten bu—“ Joshua flapped his arms automatically as Matt’s index fingers began to stroke around the thick curls of his armpit hair, “—bu, bu-huhuh-hucks—”
He shot an angry glare up at Matt, who now sat behind Joshua with his head in his lap, “Damnit, Matt, don’t touch them yet, don’t just— seriously!”
Joshua held back giggles as Matt ignored him and continued to stroke around his armpit hair.
“Bro, ser, seriously! Guys, just, just, just donate as much as you can, make this, make this worthwhile for me, please!”
He began to squirm, the giggles leaving his mouth in a desperate roll as Matt applied additional pressure, “Please, damn, okay, alright, donate, plea-ee-ee-eheheeh-ehehehease, plea-ehehehe-ehehehease— do, do, do, dona-ahaha-ahahate—“
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Emojis, messages and additional followers began to arrive as the live session began, donations reaching fifty bucks, eighty, one hundred and fifty all within a few seconds.
Matt sat in a prime position, able to look down at Joshua whilst also having clear and easy access to Joshua’s underarms, neck, chest, sides, stomach and hips, all whilst Joshua kicked his feet and giggled into the ceiling.
“This is so awesome!” Matt declared, thrilled with his role in all this.
He tickled Joshua’s armpits, wiggling his fingers inside their already sweaty, warm depths, sending Joshua into a maddened state in less than five minutes.
“Please, please, please, please—“ Joshua heaved, taking in air, already breathless and writhing across the mattress, from left to right, side to side, his arms pinned above him by bondage, “—Go easy, go easy, go easy, bro, please, please, please, please—“
Matt shook his head, “You think going easy on you is what’s going to raise the money?” He blew his lips together, “Pfft, you gotta work for it, Josh!”
Joshua squeezed his eyes shut, his armpits totally open, his body bound in a way it had never been bound before … An extremely sensitive and highly ticklish area of his body entirely exposed for Matt to explore as relentlessly as he liked.
At Winter Wonderland, Joshua had the ability to clamp his arms to his sides …
Here, he did not have such luxury.
“Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay—“ Joshua clenched his teeth, his giggles non stop and high pitched, his face creased with hysteria, “—This is worse than I thought it would be Ma-Ma-Mahahahahahah-ahahahat bro it’s too much—“ he glanced at Matt’s right hand, pressing down repeatedly into his armpit, his eyes showcasing a sense of pure disbelief.
How can I be this ticklish?
How did I let this happen?
Is this seriously going to go on for thirty damn minutes?
“—Wow!” Matt cheered, his eyes leaving Joshua’s red cheeks and shooting up to the iPhone screen, “He really can’t take this, guys! Donate as much as you can, I don’t think he can last any longer than an hour…”
Joshua’s head bounced over Matt’s lap.
“AN HOUR?” He almost screamed, “We said thirty minutes, max!” He twisted his waist, bucking his body over the mattress, “We said thir-tehehehehee-hahahahaha-hahahahahah-ahahaha minhuh-huh-hahahahahahh-hahahahah-e-ee-es ma-ahahahaha-ahahaha-ahahaaaaaax!”
Matt winced, careful to reveal the session's truth, so as not to alarm Joshua in his current state.
“Oh, I uh, I spoke to the charity in secret, Josh…” Matt took his tickling fingers around Joshua’s armpits, deeper inside their ticklish crevasses, Joshua’s body at a now thrashing state, “… They said to go on until you reach at least fifty thousand bucks …”
Joshua sent a frantic look up at Matt as Matt persisted in invading his underarms.
“WHAT!” He shouted, “Wait, no, come on, man, bro, seriously, my, my, my followers don’t have that kinda cash!” He coughed and spluttered, his eyes widened, his mouth stretched open, “My followers don’t have that kind of cah-ahahaha-ahahahah-ahahahaha-aah-ahahahahaa-aaaaahahahah-ahahaha-ahaha-ash—“ he repeated, in a long, uncontrollable, bellowing howl.
Matt narrowed his eyes, looking at the iPhone screen, acknowledging a message from the charity popping up at the bottom.
“… ‘Keep going’… ,” Matt read the message out loud, “… ‘Tickle harder’…”
Matt jolted in surprise, “Oh bro! Olivia Rodrigo has just joined …” he cheered in excitement, “… She says, ‘Go for his sides, that’s a weak spot’… Well, alright!”
Joshua scrunched his jaw into his collarbone, his panicked face glaring at the iPhone as Matt’s tickling fingers left his armpits and began to travel down to his ribcage.
“NO! NO! NO! NO!” Joshua yelled, spit leaving his mouth, “DON’T GO DOWN THERE, DON’T GO DOWN THERE, DON’T G—
—Joshua rolled around in his spread eagle position, the ropes keeping him in place, his sides ravaged by Matt’s tickling, merciless fingers, fingers that travelled from hip to waist, up each rib and over his chest, back to his armpits and then over his neck, where they would return to his sides once again, per Olivia’s suggestion.
The bed creaked, the sheets fell to the carpet, sweat began to drench the mattress and Joshua’s laughter and giggles echoed around his bedroom.
“He thought his time at Winter Wonderland sucked!” Matt addressed the live audience, “Believe me guys, he can’t stand this at all!”
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
More donations, more emojis, more followers joining.
@LCILF: ‘Tickle his feet!'
@tchalamet: 'Damn, I'd lose my mind.'
@son_of_magic: ‘Go at his armpits harder, don’t hold back’
Ping!
Ping
Ping!
@tom_daley: 'Aw, give him a break! Poor guy 🙈'
@twinkfeet_01: ‘Get baby oil and a hairbrush and use it on his soles!’
@zacefron: ‘Totally tickling the crap outta Josh the next time I see him’
Matt read each comment and message, raising his eyebrows, impressed by some of the ideas and directives.
“Man, these guys really wanna see you beg,” he chuckled, his fingers returning to Joshua’s armpits, taking inspiration from Instagram user @son_of_magic, where they infiltrated the soft, hyper ticklish area with stronger force than before, “I’m going hard like you asked, man! Gonna make him go crazy!”
Joshua began to laugh along with Matt, finding this entire ordeal both hilarious for its unique set up and simply because it really did tickle too much, “You love this, don’t you, you son of a—“
His words were taken from him, thanks to Matt’s increased intensity.
“—Son of a be-ehehe-hahahaha-hahahaha-hahahaha—hahahaha—hahahahaha—“
Joshua’s armpit hair became the space Matt’s fingertips occupied for the next forty minutes in a non stop, stroking assault, sending Joshua into a realm of mind numbing hysteria, distorted squirming, manic grins and deep, hearty laughter.
The harder he pulled at his restraints, the more he realised he couldn’t escape, and therefore the more strained and flustered his face appeared …
The deeper Matt’s fingers invaded his armpits, the more thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars landed in the charity’s pot.
“Where a-a-ah-ahahahahahahahare we with ti-hahahahahah-ahahaha-ime—“ Joshua breathed in through flared nostrils, gathering more air to formulate words, “—how, how, how mu-huhuhuhu-hahahahahahaha-huh-huch longer have I—“
He couldn’t complete his sentence, his ability to talk overshadowed by shambled, incessant giggles and disordered laughter.
Matt leaned over Joshua’s head, still tickling his underarms, looking at the iPhone screen in focus.
“Uh, you’re on forty eight grand,” Matt gasped in disbelief, “Bro, George Clooney has donated ten grand to help you get to fifty!”
Joshua looked up at Matt, his face full of despair, “Ple, please, Matt,” he whispered through clenched teeth, “Ple, please, turn, turn the camera off, stop this, bro, I, I, I can’t take it, just, just pretend you’re,” he twisted to the right, as Matt landed on an exceptionally ticklish area of his pec, “Bro, bro! Dude, dude!” He cried, lowering his voice straight after so that the viewers couldn’t hear, “Pre, pretend, pre, pretend, just pretend tickle,” he muttered frantically, “I’m, I’m, I’m gonna fucking die, you’re fucking killing me, man!”
Matt grinned sadistically.
Just like at Winter Wonderland, he knew he’d pushed Joshua too far as soon as Joshua started to swear.
“Alright,” Matt decided, “How about we go someplace else …”
Finally, Matt stopped tickling Joshua’s pits.
He slid away from behind him, where Joshua’s sweaty head landed onto the mattress with a bounce.
“Jesus,” Joshua licked his lips, his shining torso lifting, dropping, lifting, dropping, lifting, “Thank you, thank you Jesus …”
As Joshua caught his breath, Matt looked at the iPhone screen, reading the charity’s next message out loud.
“… ‘What are you doing?’…”
Matt frowned, looking down at Joshua, “… I uh, I had to give him a break, guys. He, he can barely breathe! But don’t worry, I’m gonna work on his right foot, I think it’s more ticklish than the left …”
Joshua pulled at his wrist restraints, kicking his legs, scowling at his bedroom ceiling.
“No! Nope, nope, no way, no more, no feet, no, no touching my pits, no, no tickling, no, no, no, we’re done, forty eight is enough, turn the camera off” he turned his focus to Matt, his voice filled with giggling, nervous anguish, “… Please Matt, untie me, bro, I’m done! I can barely speak, I’ve got tears in my eyes come on …!”
The friend in Matt began to untie Joshua, starting with his arms.
Joshua sighed in relief, rubbing his right wrist as soon as it had been freed.
“Yes, thank you, thank you …” He then rubbed away itchiness over his left wrist once Matt had untied the rope.
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
More messages from the charity …
As Joshua sat up, tidying curls of hair, Matt leaned closer towards the iPhone.
He kept the charity’s message to himself.
He smirked, nodding in understanding, untying Joshua’s right ankle …
But, before untying his left, Matt returned to Joshua’s right foot and picked it up quickly, throwing it into a firm armlock.
“Matt, wait, no, don’t!”
Joshua reached forwards with aching arms and flexed out fingertips, but Matt sat too far at the end of the bed for Joshua to stop him and with Joshua’s left ankle still tied to the bed, it made any attempt at escape challenging to say the least.
Matt yanked off Joshua’s sock, where it landed on the carpet with a plop.
Joshua gasped, his foot suddenly bare, his sole facing the camera.
Suddenly, and without warning, Matt began to scribble his fingernails all over the sole of Joshua’s right foot, dancing from toe to heel, toe to heel, toe to heel at a speedy, non stop pace.
Joshua threw his head backwards, howls of laughter forced out of his already burning lungs as Matt actioned a ruthless tickling over the fleshy, silky soft expanse of skin.
Joshua’s foot twisted and scrunched, it writhed and it squirmed … His toes curled in a maddened stretch.
In an attempt to keep it still, Matt hooked his chin over Joshua’s toes, trapping his foot in place, caught neatly in the tight hold of Matt’s armlock.
In this position, Joshua couldn’t move his foot at all, nor could he kick his bound left leg.
He had no choice but to simply scream and laugh, beg and shout, the bellows of hysteria taking over, reducing him to a loud, flustered, uncontrollable shambles.
He grabbed at pillows and cushions, clawing at the bed sheets and the mattress itself, throwing whatever he could at Matt in a dire attempt for Matt to stop tickling his foot …
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Fifty thousand, fifty thousand one hundred, fifty thousand two hundred and twenty …
Joshua bit into the bed, his laughter warming the mattress’ surface, his abs tight, his throat thick, his eyes bloodshot.
He had never laughed like this before, heaving in every few seconds to take in breath before expelling further hysterics whilst he shot a scowling, insanity riddled look at Matt’s back.
He tried to grab at Matt’s shoulders and arms, his fingers scratching at Matt’s waist, his clutch always slipping away due to his scrunched up torso dealing with the hysteria leaving its centre.
He flopped around on the bed like a fish out of water, unable to kick his bound leg, unable to free his right, his toes squashed under Matt’s chin, their wiggling tickling them further as their silky lengths rubbed against the sharp but light hair of Matt’s jaw stubble.
Matt’s fingernails travelled the entire landscape of the bottom of Joshua’s right foot, never pausing, even for a few seconds, their constant scratch devious and unrelenting.
Joshua only experienced minimal relief when Matt had to reposition himself on the bed, perching on the corner, tightening the arm lock, pressing his chin down harder over Joshua’s toes …
“Matt, okay, alright,” Joshua spluttered, “Let go of my—“ and again, Matt’s fingernails returned, this time attacking Joshua’s high arch, sending Joshua into a shrilling frenzy, where he grabbed hold of his thick curls of hair as if dealing with a wild, unruly, ferocious feeling in the centre of his mind that he couldn’t get rid of.
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Despite his vision being partially blurred, Joshua could see that the donations had now reached over seventy thousand dollars …
“We’re past fifty!” He cried, “Stop, stop, stop! We’re past fifty!”
Matt persisted.
Joshua threw himself forwards, his arms wrapping around Matt’s waist, where he actioned a form of defence he didn’t want to action, and only would action if he felt like he truly had to.
It was his ‘emergency button’, the one thing he knew would make this stop.
He buried his face into the bottom of Matt’s back and bit into his skin.
Matt yelled out in pain, jolting forwards, letting go of Joshua’s tickled-beyond-words foot, where he stumbled onto Joshua’s bedroom floor, landing with a heavy thud.
Joshua showed no hesitation in his escape.
He untied his left ankle, pulling both of his feet in, hugging his knees as he continued to giggle into the bedsheets, his eyes watering, his stomach aching, his mouth enduring the taste of Matt’s dry cotton t-shirt.
“I can’t believe you bit me!” Matt staggered to his feet, twisting his head over his shoulder in an attempt to look down at the bottom of his back, “Damnit, Josh!”
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
The charity continued to message.
Matt yanked the iPhone off of the tripod as Joshua sprawled out on his front, panting into pillows, his lips swollen, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.
“… ‘Keep going’ …” Matt frowned as he read out the charity's message, “… ‘Or else’ …?”
He ended the live session with a tap of his index finger.
“What the hell?”
Joshua focused on catching his breath, rolling over so he laid on his back.
“What happened?” He asked, “Were they happy? Please, for the love of God,” he sniffed, “Tell, t-t-tell, tell me I don’t have to go again …”
Matt tapped thumbs over his iPhone screen, scrolling through Instagram where he finally landed on the homeless charity’s page.
“No, you did it, bro … You, you raised the money …”
Regardless of achieving such an extraordinary amount, Joshua still couldn’t help but feel like he had done something wrong.
He sat up, shuffling over the bed, sitting on its edge.
“Matt, what’s up?”
Matt turned the iPhone around, facing the screen towards Joshua.
“You, you raised the money … I’m just not sure who for …”
As Joshua narrowed his eyes, he realised that the leaves surrounding the house on the charity's logo were not leaves at all.
They were feathers.
JOSHUA’S STORY CONTINUES IN ‘JOSHUA’S WORSHIP’