Travis - Part 2: An Old Pair of Clippers by Lavro

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Travis - Part 2: An Old Pair of Clippers

With a plastic grocery bag in his hand, Derek eagerly pushed aside various miscellaneous objects from the workbench in the barn, clearing a space and searching for the power outlet. His hair hung, obscuring his face as he emptied the contents of the bag on the dusty wood top, revealing an old pair of hair clippers and a few plastic guards. The clippers were off-white with a black trim, with a sharp metal blade attached. The lever was broken off, a jagged edge protruding enough to make it usable, if the boys had known its function.

Nick, with his bright orange fringe hovering above his eyes, managed to pull a small stool from the piles of junk in the barn that hadn't been removed yet. A timid crease in his brow betrayed him as he plopped the short stool down in the middle of the large rectangle of sunlight streaming in from the barn door just in reach of the clippers.

By the time Travis arrived in the barn with a white towel, James was already seated with a grin on his face. James was naturally the first to kick off their buzzcuts. He was used to it, since he buzzed his hair semi-regularly. He couldn't possibly have had more than two inches of hair all over once he took off his hat and threw it to the ground like a frisbee.

"I don't know what these numbers mean," Derek confessed as he fidgeted with the clipper guards. "James?"

"Uh, I usually cut mine with a 3," James responded, taking off his shirt, revealing the tight frame of a young farmer.

"You cut yours really short though," Travis added, trying not to sound nervous, handing James the towel to cover his exposed shoulders.

"Well, I don't even have a 3," Derek said, looking over the four guards, squinting. "I have a 6, 5, a 1, and a 2." Derek tucked a dangling brown lock behind his ear.

"OK, a 2 it is," James said confidently, sapping his hands and rubbing them together. "For all of us."

Travis held his breath, desperately hoping for a rebuttal from Derek or Nick. He could feel his pulse in his ears as Derek just shrugged and snapped the #2 guard on the clippers. Nick looked wide eyed at Travis, but he didn't say anything. Strangely, Travis felt a sense of excitement, an excitement that threatened to reveal itself physically. Something about James sitting there, shirtless on a stool, a towel over his shoulders, his legs spread, and Derek stepping towards him with the hair clippers… Travis liked it. The moment Derek clicked the clippers on made his throat run dry, even as he focused to control his external excitement.

James' head was level with Derek's stomach as he stood behind him, placing the clippers at the corner of his forehead and running them front to back, leaving a line of close cut hair, the rest falling to his shoulder. All Derek could do was smile, it being the first time he had ever cut hair, even if James seemed used to it and unmoved. He passed the clippers again from front to back, through the middle, then again, revealing his forehead completely.

"No way, that is so short," Nick finally said grabbing his own shaggy locks.

Travis just stared at James, who gave Nick a mocking side smile. The buzz was alarmingly short, leaving a soft fuzz with pale scalp just showing through. Derek kept at it, moving quickly, knowing that they had to be fast. He ran the clippers up the back, around the ears, depositing chunks of hair onto James at each pass. At James' command, he took the guard off and completely cut down his neck fuzz. Only a couple of minutes had passed before James was done. At the sound of the clippers turning off, James rubbed his head several times, loose hairs flying all around him in the sunlight. He stood up, sending more hair tumbling to the ground. He pulled out his phone, using it to look at his fresh haircut.

"Yeahhh boys, this is short. Feels great!" He rubbed it again. "Travis, you next?"

But Nick plopped down on the stool and took his shirt off. He was not as fit as James, but was lean, with a lot of freckles on his shoulders. Travis found himself admiring his pale body, and the orange happy trail that run up to his bellybutton. His body made Travis think of Blair.

"I'll go next. I'm freaking out and just want to get it over with." Nick said, his angular face turning bright red. "Travis. You're staring at me like you want to do it. Get over here. Hurry up."

"Don't cut his ear off," Derek laughed as Travis stepped up, and reluctantly took the clippers from him.

He looked at them for a minute, the teeth still holding on to severed strands from James, who continually rubbed his own fresh buzzcut. Travis stood to Nick's side rather than behind him. An intense excitement welled up inside of him as he looked at Nick's hair. It was not as long as his or Derek's, but was much longer than James had been, covering his entire forehead and flaring up slightly at the back and sides. Travis flipped the switch with his thumb, the hum of the clippers filling him with a sense of power. Thinking of the thrill he had the night before, he pressed them at Nick's sideburn and connected with his bright red hair, feeding the clippers.

Nick winced when the clipper sound deepened as it encountered thicker hair. One pass, then another liberated his sideburn and temple, the scalp underneath even more pale than James. Locks nearly four inches fell onto his lap as Travis continued around the ear and up the neck and back of his head. Nick took the fallen hair in his fingers and sighed deeply.

"I'm so stupid. I should not have let you guys talk me into this." Nick started to shake his head, but Travis used his free hand to hold it still.

"Too late," Travis said with unexpected confidence.

Overcome by the urge, Travis suddenly let the clipper teeth feed on his fringe, starting closest to where he had already cut the sides and chipping away, not front to back in clean swipes, but rather horizontally, executing six small passes of the clippers, completely buzzing down Nick's fringe. He let out an "oh my god" as his long hair fell past his eyes, piece by piece, piling into his lap.

"I can't wait to cut your gay ass hair off," Nick said while Travis continued to clipper down the top with focused precision.

Travis didn't respond as he passed the clippers around the swirl of long hair at the back of Nick's head. By the time the rest of Nick's hair was evenly buzzed, his orange hair clung to most of the surface of the towel. Unlike James, his neckline had a thicker tail. Travis did what he had previously watched, and took off the guard. He had never lined up a neckline before. He pressed the naked clipper at the top of the tail and ran it down. He felt a moment of alarm, as he had actually cut well into the neck line. But he wouldn't tell him. In fact, it excited him as he carved a sharp line across his neck, clippering in tight corners. It was too high, and a little sloppy, but overall even. Travis decided the severity of it was hot, just like his own shaved sideburns, and Blair's shaved sides. With the job done, the clippers went silent again.

"Dude, you look so different," Derek said looking on in surprise as he snapped a picture of Nick and turned it for him to see.

"No way," Nick was in disbelief as his blush came back. "I look so dumb, what the hell?"

Travis watched as Nick leaned in, looking at his picture and bringing his hand to his head. He recoiled at the first touch, and looked sadly on the floor at his orange locks. His hair had become short bristles that looked even shorter with his pale scalp and forehead. Still, his long jaw and handsome face was complimented by the frame of his hairline. Travis observed the reality of his situation. Why did he do that? Now there was definitely no way out of this for him.

"I hope you had fun," Nick said with frustration in his voice. "I'm about to mess you up too. Sit down."

Travis felt his heart sink the second Nick stood up and his loose hairs fell all around him, completely covering James brown hair on the barn floor. Nick held out his hand, demanding the clippers from Travis. The look of surprise on his face made Nick smile.

"Come on, princess," he said with snark.

Between Travis and Nick was the empty stool and a carpet of cut hair. Derek and James snickered at the tension. Travis looked at James, then Nick, both with their hair freshly cut off with that short #2, both smirking at him as if he were a pansy. More than anything, Travis wasn't ready. He felt a nervous sweat come over him as he extended his hand slowly. Nick snatched the clippers from him. He put a firm hand on his shoulder and pushed him down in the stool.

"Hat and shirt off. We don't have time," Nick demanded.

Compelled by the situation, he took off his hat, releasing his long, dark blond hair. As Travis took off his shirt, he thought he glimpsed Nick looking at his body, but he wasn't sure. Nick slung the towel from his shoulders and haphazardly wrapped it around Travis muscular neck and arms. Derek reached over with the #2 guard and clipped it back on for Nick.

Consumed by erotic tension, all Travis could do was close his eyes tight and accept his fate. He felt Nick's hand firmly on his head, followed by the aggressive click of the on-switch, and the loud threat of the clippers humming to life…

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