by -{BM}-

Chapter 10: The 'Real' World

22nd July 2004

The characters and plot in this story are copyrighted by the author. However the concept of 'The World' is not. I take no credit for this; the credit belongs to Bandai Entertainment who used the concept in the animation series .Hack//Sign, .Hack//Dusk and .Hack//Liminality. (Pronounced Dot Hack)

Sorry I haven't updated for so long. There will probably be another long break between this chapter and the next as well as I've decided to concentrate solely on my `Harry Potter and the Unwanted Thirst' story as it seems to be the most popular. Oh, and for all intensive purposes Aunt May did have a key to the front door in the last chapter. Enjoy!

***

We all slowly walked back to Cam's house and I held Michael in my arms every step of the way. As I looked around I appreciated that the crowds had dispersed and we were only receiving glances of sympathy every now and again. There was no laughter or teasing coming from anyone and I smiled to myself, thanking whatever God was really up there for allowing me to stumble upon this place, it truly was an Elysium. If a scene like that had occurred outside this place then I'm sure Michael and I would have both been nearly lynched. I looked over at my love and he was staring at me with wide eyes,

"Thank you so much Jim," he said with quivering eyes. "I was so afraid that you wouldn't want to come near me when you found out about..."

"Shhh baby, it's alright now," I said quickly. "Let's just get back to Cam's house and then we'll talk there. I love you," I added as I kissed him on his forehead.

He just nodded his head and then lowered his eyes to the ground as we walked. I guessed that he might have been embarrassed after our scene in the street but there was no need to be. From the looks of things everybody in this place had gone through hardships for what they were and they could understand our situation better than anyone ever could and those who weren't gay wouldn't really care because they have no hatred towards those who are different. If they did then obviously the doorman must have been slacking off when he let them in!

I glanced around at the group following behind me and they were watching silently, I was hoping that all of us together could somehow come to some sort of a solution to end all of Michael's pain.

The fact that he was so ready to end it all by taking his life before I stopped him in the street scared me more than anything else. I hadn't even known him for a week yet but the thought of losing him caused a great hurt to erupt in my chest every time I thought about it. Suicide, I'd be lying if I said that the thought of ending all of the pain and humiliation in my life hadn't crossed my mind at some point... actually a few points over the past year but I always said to myself that things were going to get better, and now they were. I had a boyfriend, even if we'd never actually met in real life and I was happy. The beatings from my Dad still hurt as much as they always did but now that my life actually had a purpose, I found that the mental anguish that hit me every time I met or thought about my Dad didn't hurt as much.

I opened the door to Cam's house with my spare hand and we all trooped in and sat around in a large circle. I sat on the small sofa next to Michael and everybody else grabbed a chair. My sorcerer staff was still leaning up on the wall next to Michael's and I suddenly realized there was no sign of Romero anywhere and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence and then Cam finally broke the ice,

"Michael... you live in Detroit, right?" he asked.

"Y-yes," he answered nervously.

Cam sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments. "I-I just don't know what we can do," he said with a sad expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" I asked quickly, there had to be something we could do to help him!

Cam sighed again, "Look Jim from the tears I saw outside I could tell that Michael has it pretty bad in his real life, and believe me when I say we would all do anything to help him. However, we are all still kids, and the fact that Bill and I live in New York, Ian lives in Chicago and Hugh lives in Boston kind of puts a spanner in the works."

"I live in Detroit, I can help him. I just need to know what I should do," I replied.

He looked at me for a moment as if he was weighing up his options and then smiled.

"I didn't know that," he replied with a grin. "Well this changes everything; I thought that no one here lived close enough to even attempt to help him so I thought it was impossible to help. The fact that you two live in the same city does help, however I reiterate the point again that we are just kids. A fourteen year old boy can do little in a world that believes that you have to be an adult to have a say in anything."

"I'll do anything, anything to help him Cam," I said as the tears started to well in my eyes.

"I know that Jim, and I believe you. However we need a little time to think about what to do."

"What so we're just gonna let him continue to live like this?" I asked angrily.

Cam sighed and I could have sworn that I saw tears in his eyes too, "Unfortunately Jim, we have to."

The whole room went silent for a minute after that and the only sound that could be heard was the odd sniffle from Michael.

"It's alright," Michael suddenly added out of nowhere. Everyone looked at him in surprise, "I can take it. I've been taking it since I was twelve so a little longer shouldn't hurt."

Cam looked at him with a serious expression on his face, "I know you can Michael and I'm sorry that we can't help you right away but I want you to promise me something," he said as he leaned in closer to us both.

"What?" Michael asked timidly.

"I want you to promise me that you will never think about suicide again. Suicide is a long term solution to a problem and there's no turning back. It is better to see other ways around your problems."

"I promise you all and especially you Jim," he said as he turned to me, "That I will never take my own life."

I took his hand and squeezed it; I was so relieved to hear that!

"Okay, now that we talked about that there is something else that has suddenly come to my attention that I believe is of great importance. Bill, Lucy and I just received an email from the creator telling us that earlier today a new character had entered Elysium without having to seek permission from the doorman to enter."

"But how?" asked Hugh with a look of confusion on his face. "I thought there was no other way in."

"That's what we all thought when we received the news. But apparently this character was able to enter by using other means," Bill answered.

"Other means?" I asked, wondering what they could be.

"We're not sure what `other means' is yet but the creator said that he's looking into it," replied Lucy. We all sat for a few moments in silence and then Lucy suddenly rose from her seat saying he had to go and find her boyfriend who was in a house a few blocks down from ours. We all said our goodbyes to her and then when the front door of the house closed Cam spoke,

"What worries me is that if one person can bypass the system, then that means that others can too. I don't know what I'd do if this place was shut down," he sighed.

I suddenly realized that everybody, including myself would be devastated to see this place shut down or overrun by other players. As I looked around the lit room I realized how much I'd grown accustomed to the privilege of kissing my boyfriend in front of other people without negative consequences.

"Well, we can't do anything about it at the moment anyway," Ian said suddenly. "The creator is looking into it and when has he ever let us down?"

"He's right," Cam added as he jumped out of his seat. "I think we should all go out and fight a few monsters to take our minds off things."

Everybody agreed and we all hopped up and made our way to the door. I stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around and saw the hand belonged to Cam,

"Jim, can I speak to you alone for a second?" he asked.

I looked at Michael and he nodded at me, "Sure" I answered.

"We'll meet you guys at the gate in Midge Village" Cam yelled to the retreating backs of Michael, Ian, Hugh and Bill.

"Ok, don't be too long babe," Bill said as they walked out the door. When the door closed I turned back to Cam,

"Listen Jim, I know I may not have sounded totally optimistic about helping Michael before but I just want you both to know that I will think of something... It's just that it might take a while. But I was thinking until then, how about you and Michael meet up somewhere in Detroit?"

His question sparked many thoughts, meeting up with Michael in real life sounded like a great idea but then on the other hand I was locked in the house by my Dad and there's also the possibility that Michael may be under `house arrest' by his Dad as well. Michael told me earlier that he lived in South Detroit, the problem was I lived in the northern suburbs so I would also need transport, I could always take a bus...

"Anyway," Cam said, breaking me from my thoughts, "It was just an idle thought. But I think it would be beneficial for both of you to meet outside the game. It is an experience, trust me."

"Did you know Bill before you met him in the game?" I asked.

His face broke out into a wide grin, "No, I met him in here a year and a half ago when `The World' wasn't very popular yet. Elysium had just been created and I was approached by a weird guy who I found out later to be the creator who asked me if I wanted to be a moderator for a new area. I accepted immediately, not knowing anything about the area I was going to moderate so when he took me to the shop with the portal I was a bit suspicious and nearly told him to forget it.

"Thankfully I didn't and I walked through the portal to find a world beyond my wildest dreams. A world where I could take off my heterosexual mask and just be me for once. When I arrived here after a strange conversation with the doorman the creator told me everything about Elysium and also to only to tell those who I can trust about how to enter it. He then introduced me to Lucy and Bill who had already been told everything I had and when I first saw Bill something clicked and we started talking. I remember how pissed Lucy was that day since we kind of forgot about her," he added with a laugh.

"Wow, so that's how this place begun," I said in wonderment as I looked around the room.

"Yeah, the creator instructed us to only invite those who we could trust or those who suffered as a result of what they are. That's how Michael first entered this place, I was walking along with Bill one day in Lut Kalen and I saw him sitting by himself crying so I approached him and offered him an invitation to Elysium, which he readily accepted once he realized he could trust me. The place started to fill up when all three of us personally invited people over the net who we knew we could trust and when they grew accustomed to the place then they invited those who they trusted and so on.

"It took a while before Bill and I actually told each other about our `real life' and we were both shocked to find out that we went to the same school and the rest is history..." he finished with a satisfied sigh.

"So you guys meet each other outside `The World' everyday?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're still in debate on whether sex is better in real life or in here. Bill thinks that in here is better while I believe the opposite, he added with a giggle.

I suddenly remembered that Michael and the others would be waiting for us in Midge Village, "Should we get going?" I asked.

His eyes widened, "Oh, I forgot about that, yeah, let's go," and he picked up his sword and I picked up my staff and we both left the house.

***

Dave had a wide grin on his face as he looked over the hundred or so people standing before him. His group had spread the word that they needed as many people as possible to get revenge on the fags and the response was overwhelming! Most of that was due to the post Dave had made on the `God Hates Fags' forums inviting those who play `The World' to meet him here.

Mr. C had built a large area which would exist for a few hours so Dave could tell everybody his plan without arousing suspicion from the Knights. Those who said they were in received instructions on how to reach this temporary place which looked like a large courtyard in the middle of nothingness. He decided it was time to get things underway,

"Ok listen up everybody," he yelled and was pleased when the place went silent and everybody looked up at him. He realized that he could not see Peter anywhere in the crowd and made a mental note to ask him where his loyalties lie later.

"We are all gathered here because there is one thing that we all have in common, our dislike for the faggots. We have become aware of a secret area with an entrance program that somehow only allows fags and fag-lovers to enter. After discovering this fact we also found out a way to enter without having to meet this program. We know this way is valid because earlier today I personally sent one of my close friends Adam," he said as he gestured to the small boy in the front row who had a proud grin on his face, "To investigate and he was able to enter this place. What Adam found was a place of sin where homos could freely act out their sick desires towards the same sex." Dave paused for effect as a few disgusted whispers broke out from the crowd.

"What I am asking for is your co-operation, tomorrow night at nine we plan to enter this place they call `Elysium' and destroy everything and everybody inside it."

"Yeah fuck yeah!" a voice yelled from the crowd, "Let's get rid of all those fucking fags so they never log onto this server again!"

As every person nodded and shouted in agreement Dave grinned to himself, "You're gonna pay now Articus," he muttered under his breath.

***

Cam and I made our way through the busy main street of Midge Village ignoring all of the shoppers who were admiring the wares in the shop windows. As we approached the chaos gate I saw Michael, Bill, Ian, Hugh and Romero who had evidently just logged on waiting for us. I smiled and waved at Michael whose face lit up when he saw us coming. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a somewhat familiar voice behind me,

"Ummm... Jim?"

I turned around and saw another ice sorcerer whom I had never seen before. He had flaming red hair and wide green eyes,

"Ummm... Sorry do I know you?" I asked in confusion.

The sorcerer grinned, "Well you do know me, just not this character. It's me, Peter."

It took a few seconds for it to register and then it hit me, "Peter?" I gasped. "But, you're, you're different."

Cam must of realized I'd stopped and he quickly joined me at my side, "Who is this Jim?" he asked while eyeing Peter with suspicion.

"This is Peter," I answered, still staring at him in amazement. "He's in Dave's group but he's a good guy."

As soon as I mentioned Dave I saw Cam's expression darken and I looked over and saw everybody else walking towards us.

"What's going on Cam? I thought we were going to go out into one of the fields?" Bill asked as he approached us. "Who's this?" he asked, gesturing his wrist blade towards Peter who was now blushing and looking very uncomfortable.

"This is Peter," Cam answered in a neutral tone, "He's in Dave's group."

"Well I'm not anymore," Peter said nervously looking around at everybody. I felt someone take my hand in theirs and I looked over at Michael who was smiling at me, I smiled back and leaned over and gave him a kiss on his ruby red lips.

"So what do you want Peter?" Cam asked.

Peter looked at me and looked down at Michaels hand in mine and he blushed even harder, "Well I'm all by myself and I was wondering if I could join you guys today."

"The Peter I remember had a different character, why the change?" Bill asked.

"W-well I wanted to get away from Dave, you see he's planning something, something big and I didn't want any part of it. I knew he'd be angry if I didn't turn up to his meeting he's holding right now so I decided to change my appearance so he wouldn't recognize me."

"What's Dave planning?" I asked, worried that something big may mean something bad will happen to me.

Peter shook his head, "He didn't tell me, the only thing he said was that it was going to happen tomorrow night."

"Hmmm..., well I guess that since you've broken away from his group there's no harm in you hanging with us for today."

"Can I, can I go with you guys to Elysium?" Peter asked hopefully.

"Quiet!" Bill hissed as everybody looked around to see if anybody else had heard him, thankfully it seemed that the people around us were too busy shopping to worry about us, although I did notice a few glares every now and again directed at me, probably because I kissed Michael in public.

"How do you know about that?" Cam asked angrily as he advanced on Peter who flinched.

"D-Dave," he answered timidly, "He knows about everything, the doorman, the creator who the moderators are and I think his plan involves something to do with Ely... that place," he said, not wanting to say the word again in case somebody hit him.

Cam and Bill exchanged worried looks and I felt a sharp jolt of fear course through my body.

"So I take it the person who hacked into the server earlier today was Dave?" Bill asked.

"No, it wasn't Dave; it was one of his friends Adam. Somehow Dave found a way to bypass the security program and he wanted to test it so he sent Adam just in case it didn't work."

"Bastard," Cam hissed as he looked up at the sky. "Well I guess this puts a damper on our plans, Bill we've to go back there and warn everybody."

"Do you want us to go with you," Ian asked them both as they turned and started to walk away.

"No, you guys go ahead and have fun. We'll meet up with you later," Cam yelled.

When Cam and Bill disappeared from sight we all just looked at each other. I could tell Peter was as nervous as hell and for some reason Romero was too.

"Ummm... So are we going to go out into the field or what?" I asked finally breaking the awkward silence.

Peter just nodded and everybody else agreed so we made our way to the chaos gate.

"So where are we gonna go?" Peter asked nervously.

"How about the Tree of Woe? I haven't been there for ages," Hugh replied.

"Sounds good," I said and as I said the words I felt the familiar pulling sensation as I was transported by the chaos gate.

***

"... and that's the story we were told by Peter. What should we do now? New line, Cam, Bill and Lucy. Send." Cam finished as he sent the email to the creator. When he had finished he turned to the two other moderators who were in the room with him, "Well that's all we can do for now. We'll have to wait for instructions."

"Do you think we should start to organize some sort of a defense strategy for tomorrow night?" Lucy asked.

Cam sighed as he sat down on his lovers lap, "I-I don't know what we're gonna do. It all depends on how many people Dave has following him. We could repel his attack with ease or we could be crushed, I wish that Peter knew what we're up against here."

"Well he told us all he knows, and that's enough," Bill said as he ran his hand through Cam's silky head of hair. "At least we know its tomorrow night, could you imagine the slaughter that would occur if we never knew anything?"

"Fuck I hate Dave!" Cam snarled.

***

This area was amazing! It was just one giant tree and there were hundreds of players walking on its branches fighting the monsters that appeared. Romero, Peter, Ian, Hugh, Michael and I walked around for an hour destroying any monsters that appeared but I didn't use any powerful spells as I didn't want to attract any attention. It was when we were walking along one of the main branches when we saw a large hole carved into the trunk of the tree creating an entrance to the inside that was nearly fifty meters high and ten meters wide.

"Hmmm... They must be having some sort of a special event in there," Ian said as he noticed the entrance.

"Event?" I asked. Damn! I really have to get around to reading the rest of the manual! Romero gave me a look that made me feel like a complete idiot and started to explain,

"Yeah, the CC Company holds special events every now and again usually in the form of competitions that are judged by the moderators for each area. Prizes are rare items that you cannot find in shops and sometimes they even power up your character."

"Cool," I answered as I looked at the crowds that were walking through the entrance.

"You wanna go and have a look?" Ian asked.

The word yes immediately popped into my head but then I remembered what Bill had told me about meeting Michael and I decided that this time would be as good as any to ask. I looked at Michael who was by my side and he gave me a look that told me the decision was up to me, "Ummm... No, me and Michael want to walk around a bit more and do some exploring," I lied.

"Oookay," Ian said as he gave me a weird look and then turned to Romero who was standing beside Peter, "What about you two?" he asked.

Romero looked at Peter who gave him the same look Michael gave me telling him it was his call, "Nah, I think we'll do some more exploring too," he answered.

The look Ian gave him was even funnier than the look he gave me, "Oookay, looks like it's just us babe," he said as he took Hugh by the hand and they both walked towards the entrance.

"Okay, we're gonna go this way so we'll see you two later," Romero said as he grabbed Peters hand and walked along the branch that lead to the top of the tree. As they walked away Michael turned to me,

"Is it just me or do they both have it bad for each other?" he asked with a grin on his face.

I laughed, "You could read the signs too huh?" I asked in return and just before the two of them disappeared behind a leaf that was as large as a car I saw Romero's hand timidly come to rest on the small of Peters back.

"So where do you want to go?" he asked, as I stared at him I found myself breathless. His sparkling blue eyes were partially hidden by the locks of his silky brown hair which kept falling down onto his face every time he moved his head. After a few moments of taking in his beauty he started to blush,

"Quit staring, you're freaking me out here," he said with a giggle.

I snapped out of my trance and took his hand with mine and started to walk. "Sorry," I said, "It's just that you're so... so...," I stammered.

"Ugly?" he said with a grin.

"Hot, totally hot," I said correcting him.

"And you have the cutest butt I've ever seen," he retorted playfully.

"Pervert."

He just smiled and I decided it was time to ask him, after all the worst he could say is no, "Michael, I've been thinking... How about we meet up, in the real world?"

The amount of emotions that flashed across his face in the two seconds after my question nearly made me dizzy; surprise, fear, sadness, excitement just to name a few. I could tell that his mind was working overtime to come up with an answer.

"Well?" I asked, eager to break the silence between us.

"Okay," he whispered seriously. "But we're gonna need to plan this, I'm not supposed to leave the house."

"I'm not supposed to go outside either," I answered truthfully, "So let's start thinking."

***

An hour later we both decided it was time to go, I didn't want Dad coming home and catching me on my computer and Michael was starting to get bored. We both agreed to meet up at a major shopping mall that was roughly half way between our houses tomorrow afternoon after school. Once we had started to talk and plan Michael remembered that his Mum and Dad would be working and his sister had cheerleading practice so he was free to go where he pleased. He would just have to sneak out over the back fence of his garden so that nobody saw him leave. It seemed that his Dad `enlisted' the help of his neighbors to make sure his son stayed home, just like mine did. Michael would bus it to the mall and then hopefully be home before his Dad and sister was.

My plan, well my plan was a little more complicated. The fact that we didn't have a back door or a backyard complicated matters but I decided to steal some of Dads work tools he keeps in the basement and then take the screen out of my bedroom window. I would then pray that no-one is watching while I jumped out of the window, climbed down the drain and made my way to my local bus stop and then bus it to the mall and meet up with Michael. Thankfully Dad's new shifts kept him working until twelve at night so I would have no problem making it back in time.

It was funny, once the seriousness of planning was over all I could feel was bubbly excitement at the thought of actually meeting my boyfriend for the first time. As we passed a clump of leaves we heard a rustling noise and we both pointed our staffs at the moving brush prepared to defend ourselves from monsters or other players.

"Icy Wind!" I yelled as I pointed my staff at the leaves, an icy gust of wind flew out the end of my staff and blew the leaves off the branch, leaving a bare end of the branch with two very pissed off teenagers who looked to have been making out behind the cover.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" a very pissed off Romero hissed as walked towards us with a blushing Peter in tow.

"Sorry," I said trying to keep a straight face. I saw Peter looking around frantically to see if anybody was looking at them. Michael started to giggle uncontrollably and I felt a smile start to form on my face. The look on Peters face was classic, he looked like a little kid with his hands caught in the cookie jar.

"I thought you two were a monster waiting in ambush," I giggled.

"Yeah well next time say something before you blow our cover," he snarled.

"Why don't you two go to Elysium?" I asked.

"W-we were going to but... we didn't make it," Peter answered with a nervous smile.

"Well we're going back to Midge Village so do you guys want to join us?" I asked politely.

Romero grumbled some incoherent response and Peter picked up his spell casting staff and they walked with us back to the chaos gate. When we reached Midge Village I took a quick look around to see if there were any Knights on the street and when I saw there wasn't I gave Michael a quick kiss and we both logged out. As I felt myself leaving `The World' I smiled when I realized the next time I'd see Michael again would be for real!

***

When I arrived back to reality I decided to go down and cook myself some two minute noodles. I skipped all the way down the stairs into the kitchen and filled the kettle. I heard an engine outside just as I had finished making my meal. I looked out the front window and groaned when I saw my Dad's car pull up in the driveway and another three cars pull up behind him. It looks like he's decided to bring some of his friends home for a few drinks after their drinking escapees, though from the way they were driving, it looks like they don't need anymore.

I heard the front door open and my Dad and his friends stumbled in laughing and each holding a beer. I decided to grab my noodles and go upstairs to my room as I didn't want anything to do with any of them. As I passed them one of his friends laughed and pointed at me,

"So how is the little faggot?"

I felt myself blush, my Dad's friends all know about my so called `problem' and I remember the embarrassment I felt when I first found this fact out. I couldn't believe that my Dad would just out me like that to somebody else.

"Jim, go to your room!" my Dad said, not wanting to be embarrassed by me. I wish he know how I felt about his friends knowing.

"I'm on my way," I replied bluntly, not wanting to get into any confrontations tonight. The tears started to well in my eyes as I walked with my noodles in hand, the only thing that stopped me from crying was the fact that I knew I would see my boyfriend tomorrow for the first time ever.

"Geez, I can't believe you're son is a homo John," I heard one of his friends remark as I climbed the stairs, "Your sperm must swim backwards or something." Loud laughter followed that comment and I knew that I would be the one who will pay for my Dad's embarrassment of me later. What really annoyed me was that if he didn't want to be embarrassed by me, then why tell his friends? I guess he would want any excuse to beat me.

As I lay in my bed that night trying to ignore the loud music and talking coming from downstairs I smiled, I can't wait to see what he really looks like!

***

I awoke the next day and stepped over the many bodies passed out on our living room floor on the way to the kitchen. I could tell that I would probably never enjoy alcohol after looking at the scene that presented itself to me as soon as had come downstairs. For some reason the idea of drinking copious amounts of a substance and waking up the next day feeling like shit just didn't appeal to me. Before I left I slipped into the basement and stole a few different sized screwdrivers and hid them under my mattress in my room so that I would have them accessible after school. After taking a brief look at my window last night I decided that I would only need screwdrivers to unfasten and knock out the screen. The climbing down the drain would be the hard part so I also stole an old pair of gardening gloves to give me better grip and protect my hands.

That day school seemed to go for even longer than usual. The taunts and shoves I received in the hallways and in class just bounced right off me and a few of my tormentors were surprised to see a smile on my face. The thought of meeting Michael kept me going like some sort of a wonder drug and it felt good!

When school finished I rushed to the bus in nearly record time and was nearly bouncing on my seat during the trip home. I received a few weird looks from the other kids on the bus but I didn't care, for once I was actually looking forward to making it home. I just hoped that my Dad would just let me into the house and then go to work so I would have plenty of time to get ready and make my escape.

I ran all the way from the bus stop to my house and when I stepped inside I expected to see my Dad waiting for me so he could lock the door once I was inside and then go to work. But he wasn't there,

"Dad?" I yelled, wondering if he'd already left for some reason.

"Don't fucking yell, I've got the worst headache and I'll fucking hit you if you make it any worse!" a voice replied from upstairs.

Wondering what the hell was going on I bounded up the stairs and cautiously approached my Dad's room, his door was shut and I gently knocked on it.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"A-aren't you supposed to be going to work right now?" I asked nervously.

"I'm too hung over to even drive today so I called in sick. Now stop fucking disturbing me and go and do your homework," he answered grumpily.

I turned and walked to my room, wondering what the hell I would do now. Michael would probably be leaving his place right now, but with my Dad here I was in two minds on whether I should still go or not. I didn't want to stand up Michael but if my Dad found out I went out behind his back he'd kill me. I sighed, why can't I get a clean break, just for once in my life?

I sat down on my bed and weighed up my options, and after a few moments I decided to go out anyway. Hopefully my Dad would sleep all afternoon as a result of his hangover and I could go out and come back before he woke up. The good thing was that I could just sneak out the front door and not worry about climbing out my window and down the drain as my Dad hasn't locked the front door yet. I got up and closed my door slowly and started to get ready, the butterflies in my stomach were now caused by both fear and excitement.

After changing out of my school clothes I put on some more deodorant and even some cologne that Aunt May had given to me for my last birthday. I snuck down the stairs and from the snores that emanated from my Dads room as I passed it I took it that he was fast asleep again. I opened the front door and hesitated before I took the first step outside, this is it, the point of no return. I stepped out and quietly closed the door behind me.

***

Dave smiled as he noticed how many people were starting to show up already, it was only 4pm and yet there were already twenty-eight people just lulling around the deserted area of the wasteland. Mr. C had decided that this would be a good place to put the portal after he hacked into Elysium. Dave's instructions were to lead everybody with him through the portal that would appear at 8pm and then crush everything on the other side, then Mr. C said he would reward him with a super rare item. Dave really didn't care about the item, he would have done all of this for free to get back at that nancy little faggot that embarrassed him before.

Dave had made it clear at his meeting earlier that the strong ice sorcerer was to be left to him and him alone. He didn't receive any argument about that as many could still remember the huge ice creature that had decimated them with only a few attacks. Dave smiled as he saw a group of ten people teleport in through the chaos gate, soon the army would be ready, HIS army.

***

I jumped off the bus and walked the rest of the way to the mall. It felt strange being out in the real world just like a regular kid again. Thoughts of my Dad kept hitting me as I walked, was he awake yet? Was he pissed? Was I dead? As I reached the automatic doors I threw all thoughts of my Dad out of my head, it was time to see the boy I loved for the first time. I made my way towards the center of the whole complex, to the large fountain that we' arranged to meet at yesterday. I was so nervous I was stumbling every step of the way, I received a few weird looks from people around me who must have thought I was high or something but as I saw the fountain in the distance, I stopped caring about anybody else and increased my pace.

There were around twenty people sitting around the fountain, some were just looking into the running water and others were just sitting down, taking a rest from their shopping. I looked around for any kid my age and spotted a chubby kid sitting around the other side eating a hotdog, I walked over to him,

"Michael?" I said timidly, the kid just gave me a weird look and got up and walked away.

"I-I'm Michael," I voice said behind me at a tone barely above a whisper.

I turned around and the kid standing in front of me took my breath away. He was a little smaller than me and his whole appearance gave him a look of innocence somehow. He had longish jet black hair and large wide blue eyes that seemed to express everything he was thinking. He was fairly skinny but not to the point where he looked unhealthy and he had a small scar on the side of his neck and a few scattered freckles around his cute little button nose.

I just gawked at him for a few moments and then put out my hand,

"Hi, my name's Jim, nice to meet you."

***

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