Breaking Free (ManxMan)

Chapter 20

Another chapter of the wonderful Alan's POV. Makes you want eat grilled chicken hearts and fried duck tongued. Yum :3

©All Rights Reserved 

(Sky/Alan's POV)

"What to do today....." I mumbled as I laid on my love seat couch, my head hanging off the armrest as I stared out the window and stared at the gray, cloudy sky with boredom. Shadow was running around the apartment, Mochi chasing after him with his little body gliding in the air. Their version of tag.

It's been a few days since the little episode with Jack at the restaurant and I'm not surprised to see my phone filled to the brim with texts, missed calls and voice mail from Jack. Of course I didn't listen nor answer any of the messages and texts. Well, that's a lie. I did read a few texts and they were all about him him apologizing to me, that he loves me, and to text him or call him back.

I turned off my phone and let the electronic device sit on my coffee table. What was done has been done. There is no rewind button, only the start button of our lives, from the day my dad's sperm fused with mom's egg, to the very last breath I take before I'm in the realm of the dead.

It was so quiet today, well as quiet as it could be in a busy city like San Francisco. The muffled sounds of cars moving along the streets, to the murmurs of people walking to their next destination, the clock as it ticked every second, and every other little thump, thwack, and crack. I don't exactly enjoy the noise of the city, but it's way more better than the ominous silence of the countryside, where the only sound was your breathing and maybe a cricket.

So it was very terrifying when my door suddenly burst open to reveal my crazy twin, blond tornadoes and a blushing Ian in the back of the two. He was probably embarrassed by the twin's sudden appearance and invasion of my home.

Shadow growled from the sudden noise, his hackles rising as he stood in front of me, protecting me from the sudden intrusion of our home. His growl was like rolling thunder, a warning to all to protect themselves and proceed cautiously through the upcoming storm. Once when Shadow caught the familiar scent of the three and recognized them from sight as well, he then quieted down and slowly relaxed back against my legs, his growls seizing slowly until it became purrs when i reached down and scratched behind his ears. He made sounds of enjoyment as he curled himself by my feet. Mochi perched himself on my shoulder and washed his puffy cheeks with his spit and tiny paws, the daily grooming an adorable sight to behold.

I blew out a breath I didn't know I was holding and glared at the three intruders for making me lose a part of my life from scaring the hell out of me. "Did you break my door?" I asked as I stared at the wooden door, which the knob slammed so hard against the wall, there was a dent on the plaster and cracks on the paint. Some of the paint chipped fell to the floor.

Rydia glanced at the wall and winced at the property damage. "Sorry about your wall and no, we didn't break your door. We just sort of... picked the pock as quietly as we could?"

"You mean you, not we." Lydia pointed out. "I told you to be a civilized lady and knock on the door, but noooo, you had to be 'adventurous' and 'bring excitement' into every little thing." she chastised to her twin, who opened her mouth and began to fire back words, causing my front entrance to be an all out verbal war.

Ian scooted his way into my apartment, avoiding any contact what-so-ever from the twins and made haste to the protective distance where i was. He crouched on the floor and reached out slowly to rub Shadow's back. "Hey there buddy." He cooed as Shadow lifted his head to nudge his knee. "Sorry we busted into your home Sky." He apologized with a small smile.

I chuckled at his embarrassment. "It's okay. I'm getting used to Rydia's antics. I don't think that's a good thing though."

Ian nods and gets up to sit with me on the love seat. "So, how have you been doing?"

I stretched, hearing my joints pop wonderfully. "Good. Got my day off and having a lazy day staring at the sky." I sighed as I slumped onto the cushions of my love seat.

"Good. Good." Ian said with a bit too much enthusiasm, forced enthusiasm.

I stared at him suspiciously, watching him fiddle with his fingers. The pulse visible on his neck sped up an I can see that he's chewing on his tongue a little. "Okay, spill." I commanded.

Ian stared at me with wide eyes. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." He stuttered.

I slowly crawled up to him, watching as he scooted back on the love seat until his back hit the armrest. "Tell me or I'll poke you to death." I raised my hands and wriggled them for emphasis.

Ian raised his hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay. I wanted to know about what happened with you and Jack. You never told me, not that you are obligated to tell me about your personal life or anything." He added on quickly. "I mean it is your life and you are entitled to your privacy. I'm just worried about you and you're my friend so..."

I patted his cheek lightly and got off him, placing myself in a sitting position on the love seat once again. "No need to be nervous. Just relax okay? And I know you are my friend, so you have permission to poke into my private life."

Ian sighs in relief. "Cool." He began to fiddle with his fingers again. "So....what did happen?"

I was about to say something when the twins appeared right beside the two of us. "We want to hear too." Rydia chirped in.

I only shook my head at the two and started talking. "Well, it seems that Jack wasn't as faithful as I thought. He told me about this huge project and how he was pressured by his team and boss on getting on this guy's good side so he did by fucking him behind my back. For almost a month. He also straight out told me that his job is way more important than our relationship and put some lame excuse about how he was thinking about me while he was jumping the shit out of the guy. So I dumped him in the restaurant and went back to work."

There was a second of shocked silence before the death threats came, mostly from Rydia, who was giving me some very gruesome details on how to get revenge on Jack. I don't want to say anything since it was that bad, but I will mention it has something to do with Jack's family jewels and a swarm of flesh eating bugs. Made me want to cover up my manly bits and cringe. And that's not the worst of them.

Lydia raised both of her hands in the air. "Settle down everyone. We didn't come here just to verbally kill and torture Jack, who by the way, should have his balls shrivel up and rot off his needle-sized prick. We came here for another reason."

Rydia brightened, clapping her hands together. "You're right. I was so caught up with my death threats, that the real reason we are here flew through my mind." She stuck her tongue out in embarrassment. "So Sky... wanna go out and have a little fun?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I stared at her suspiciously. "What are you planning? And it better not cause physical, mental, or emotional trauma."

Rydia threw her hands up into the air in exasperation. "Why is it that you always believe my plans are lethal?"

I gave her an 'are you kidding me' look. "Because ninety-nine percent of the time, it is lethal, dangerous, or just plain wrong."

Lydia patted her sister on the shoulder. "He's right you know."

Ian seemed to grow wary as he glanced at Rydia. "Okay, now I’m scared."

Rydia slapped him on the arm. "Quit being such a big baby."

Ian rubbed his arm. "Child abuse! Assault!" He cried loudly.

Rydia poked his cheek. "Shut it boy or i will show you the real definition of child abuse." she warned as she gave him an evil smile.

Ian hides himself behind me and peeks over my shoulder, a bit frightened. "Yes mam."

"So what's your plan?" I asked as I braced myself for what would come out of her mouth.

"So there's this new club that recently opened up down at Castro--" Rydia started.

"No." I answered right when I heard the word 'club.'

Rydia shook my knees. "Aww come on Sky. It'll be fun." She whined like a little child.

"You know how I am with crowded places, especially full of strangers." I told her with a pointed look.

Rydia flopped back onto the couch. "I so know that, but you have to face your fear at some point and besides, we will be there if anything goes wrong." Lydia and Ian nodded in agreement.

I glanced at Ian with a raise eyebrow. "You're coming too? But you're underage."

Ian shrugs. "Rydia said she has it all planned out. Besides, it's not as if I'm going to drink anything other than water and I know the rules of stranger danger in a club. I'm young, not stupid." He pointed out.

"What about your parents?" Surely they wouldn't let a minor in an adult club.

Ian tensed a bit before relaxing against the love seat. "They are on a little trip and won't be back until Monday."

"How long were they gone?" Lydia asked with concern.

"About two days." Ian replied absently. "Including today."

"And you didn't say anything to us about this?" I was a bit pissed off, but not at Ian, but at his parents for letting him stay at home all by himself. And all the times i came over to visit his place, his parents were absent. I don't know what kind of parents they are, but all i know is that i don't have a very good impression of the two.

Ian rests his head on my shoulder and poked my side softly. "Hey, don't go all mother hen on me. Besides, I’m a big boy and even though i can't cook all that much, they still gave me money for take out and emergencies."

"You've been living off take out for two days?" Now i was outraged. No one, especially a growing boy like Ian, should live off that. Sure, having take out every now and then isn't all that bad, but eating it for two days straight? No.

"Yeah. I always forget to go to the supermarket to get some groceries." Ian said as if it was no big deal.

I know i was blowing this out of proportion, but really, Ian is like a little brother to me. And i wouldn't let any of my family eat junk food and take out for TWO DAYS, not if i could help it. "Okay, you're staying with me until your parents get back." I told him with finality, as if i solved the world's problems.

Ian gaped at me. "You're kidding, right?" When i didn't reply back, just kept on staring at him, he sighed. "You are serious."

"As serious as i could possibly be for this situation." I replied back firmly.

Lydia and Rydia only grinned in amusement as they watched the two of us.

"On the bright side, you don't have to pay for take out anymore and save the money for something else, and You will be at walking distance from all three of us." Lydia pointed out.

Rydia nods in agreement. "Yeah. And here's closer to your school than your own house. You're saving gas and time."

Ian bites his lip, nibbling on the soft flesh as he thought over what we were offering him. He finally agrees with a smile. "Then I’m happy to take your offer."

We all gave each other goofy grins. I hooked my arm around Ian's shoulder and brought him closer to me. "Then let's get your things packed and brought over here."

Rydia jumps off the couch. "Let's go!"

Ian nods. "Yeah."

"Wait, let me change first." I announced before i rushed into my room. "I'm not going out in my pajamas."

"Then hurry your cute ass up." Rydia yelled from behind.

"Don't rush me woman." I yelled back, a smile on my lips as i grabbed whatever article of clothing from my closet and stripped out of my clothes in a blink of an eye. Then i slipped on whatever i grabbed, took my keys, wallet and cell phone and headed back out. Shadow and Mochi were asleep on the love seat, curled up against each other and i had to stop for a second and stare in awe at the cuteness.

It only took a few minutes to lay out food and water for the two, already knowing that the two would behave while I’m gone. So i locked the door and met up with Rydia, Lydia and Ian, who were standing by the elevator entrance.

"You're not bringing Shadow and Mochi?" Ian asked, his eyebrows scrunched up as he looked around me to see if the two would appear.

"Nah. The two are taking a nap and i know they won't misbehave while I’m gone." The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside and headed down to the parking lot.

We all took my car to Ian's place, since Rydia's is small and compact, perfect for speed and parking in small spaces, but doesn't have the capacity to fit all four of us comfortably. So mine it is. Ian was also picking up his car -- the one i gave him -- from his place, him wanting to drive himself to and back to school since he got his permit and all.

I stayed in the car while Lydia and Rydia followed Ian into his place. I was softly humming to 'King For A Day by Pierce The Veil, featuring Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens when all three came back out. Ian had a huge hockey bag hanging from his shoulder, and his school bag hanging off another. Rydia opened the trunk and helped place the bags securely inside before slamming it down and slipping into the car, everyone else following.

"Okay, so what are we doing now?" I asked as got of the side of the road and began to drive down the lane.

"Food. Then we get ready to go clubbing." Rydia announced as she pumped her fists in the air, jerking her body to some imaginary tune in her mind.

"As i said, no clubbing for me, but i will agree to the food part. Let's go grocery shopping and I’ll cook us up some grub at my place." I said, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel of another rock song blasting from the stereo.

"Skyyyyyyyyyyyy." Rydia whined, acting yet again like a child.

"No."

"C'moooooooooooooooooooon."

"No."

"Please?"

"No"

"Pretty please?"

I rolled my eyes and caught a glimpse from the rear view mirror. Lydia and Ian were trying their best to not laugh out loud, causing their cheeks to grow red from the effort. "No."

"Pretty please with ice cream and sprinkles and chocolate syrup and whipped cream.. well maybe not whipped cream because that's very unhealthy and fattening, but some other type of cream or maybe honey, the good kind of honey or maybe even jam, like strawberry jam like the ones Jeff makes because his jams are so yummy and--"

I slapped my hand over Rydia's mouth, cutting off her rambling. "Alright. I'll go." I muttered, defeated because i know that if i say no, she'll bug me for the rest of the day and most likely tomorrow until i gave up. The only time i could get her to back off is when i either have a very good excuse -- being sick or work -- or i have some type of dirt on her, which i don't. Damn.

Rydia kissed my palm sloppily. "You are the best-est friend ever!" She cheered.

I wiped my hand on the leg of my jeans and grumbled dark things as we set off to the nearest supermarket, where i handed everyone a small list of easy items to find. I even wrote down the brands. I took care of the vegetables, fruits, and meat since those three don't really know how to differentiate good and fresh foods from the ones who sat there all day or are too far along the 'fresh' value of food to be kept for long and be a waste of money.

It was hilarious to see Rydia hitting up the cashier, seeing the lanky young man squirm from her blatant attention towards him. Although it was a bit more difficult to see from his dark skin, i can tell he was blushing up a storm. The employee bagging my purchases was having fun watching his junior When my purchases were bagged and ready, everyone took one paper bag and carried it off to the car. Rydia left the guy with a playful wink before sauntering after us. The poor guy became another Rydia victim. At least he got off easy.

We headed back to my place, the twins helping me bring up the groceries while Ian lugged his bags around. Once when I unlocked my door, we instantly got started on unloading the bounty of purchases. Ian went to the love seat where he placed his bags on the side, out of the way but easily accessible. The twins and i got started on dinner.

We made quite a feast, the aroma of the many dishes thick in the air. We all ate at by the living room, where we watched mindless reality television where these blonds were fighting over this one guy who wasn't as hot as he should be to garner these dumb bimbos into bitch slapping each other until their peanut-sized brains rattled in their close to empty heads. Rydia took some sick kick from the show, cheering when two mothers were having a scream match while their family and friends held them back, reluctantly from the rage in their eyes as they stared at the others on the opposite side of the argument.

After we finished, we all washed dishes quickly before Rydia and Lydia ran into Rydia's apartment like a whirlwind. Ian and I were left in my apartment, a bit scared when they warned us to be ready for them to dress us up and make us 'twinkalicious' which isn't even a word. And I’m not a twink. I'm a grown man, who is short and looks like he should be in high school still....

Ian and I took turns taking a shower, the two of us having a premonition of the twins shoving us into the shower if we didn't and torture us just for their amusement. Once dried and clean, i wrapped a fluffy robe around my nude body and stepped out, the robe so big, it consumed my tiny body and left extra material to wrinkle up on the floor like a extra-large dress. Ian giggled when he saw me, then hopped into the shower with his things.

I went over to my room and laid on my bed, waiting for the twins to come back so we can all get this whole dress up thing done and over with. After fifteen minutes of doing nothing but stare at my blank ceiling, i rolled off the bed and headed out to the kitchen to make some snacks for later in the day. I have a feeling the twins will be drunk of their minds and wouldn't eat a thing, so best be prepared.

Suddenly, my phone rang, causing me to jump a few inches off the floor in surprise. I thought i left the dang thing off, but i guess i accidentally turned it on again. Sighing, i placed the balls of dough into the oven and set the timer before heading over to my phone.

Ian was lounged on the loveseat, Shadow on laying on his lap with his tail swishing back and forth while Mochi glided around the room. I grabbed my phone and checked the ID, relieved when it wasn't Jack calling for the umpteenth time in a row.

"Hey Chase, what's up?" I greeted right when the twins came back into my apartment, all dolled up in clubbing clothing and ready to rumble. The flint in their eyes scared me and I hope Lydia and Rydia's boyfriends get here soon to rein them in, but I highly doubt anyone can rein Rydia down.

"Just wondering what you're doing tonight." He replied back, his voice had a bit of static meaning bad reception.

"Oh, well the twins are dragging me to a club against my will." I sighed as the twins grabbed a hold of a terrified Ian and dragged him into my room.

"A club? Never thought you would ever go to a club."

"I did say against my will so it's not as if I'm all sunshine and daisies about going." I muttered as i heard Ian yell something, before there were a few thuds and crashes, freaking me out in the process and i stared wide eyed at the closed door of my bedroom, dread and horror of what was happening in that small room.