Punk Rox!

After two days of driving back to a place I didn’t think I’d have to see again for a long time, I’m standing in the driveway of Hell.

“Wow...” Andy seemed...dumbstruck. And I couldn’t blame him.

My house wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small, either. It was an older home, open red brick supported the structure from the first floor, the second was your average, everyday white painted wood. A giant silver cross sat square on the door. A ‘Welcome’ mat at your feet. The grass around here was growing back, but a couple months ago, it really looked like a desert land. However, it was beginning to look a bit like a jungle now after the massive rainfall.

I looked to my left, seeing the wide open space, fenced off to keep our cattle and horses from running rampant. Two black Appaloosas, a white and reddish Paint, a grey Quarter horse, a young chestnut colt whose breed I never figured out, and his mother, a red mare. Again, the breed escapes me. And then there was the cows. Multiple black, white, red and brown heifers of several breeds, the most prominent was Abondance and Randall mixed with the common Texas Long Horn. They were...colorful. We didn’t to have any grown bulls yet, but I was sure that would change by summer.

I sighed as I heard the usual yapping from inside. My mother’s bitch Yorkie...rotten little beast... But I quickly looked up at the sound of meowing. Lilo, my kitty was standing on the roof, looking down at us. And around the corner comes one of the biggest dogs you’ll ever meet.

“Holy shit...” Andy awed at the Greyhound with a chain around his neck.

“Hi, Ruthie,” I called around my chibi. The dog bounded over and slid to a stop at my feet, after Andy had jumped out of the way, of course.

“That dog is fucking huge!” Andy gaped at Ruth, who just sat there and wagged his tail.

“This is Ruth, he has the ability to eat you, but he won’t ‘cause he’s a vegetarian. Play nice.” I stood up straight after scratching Ruth behind his ears.

“I’m not putting any part of my body near him...”

“He’s the nicest dog in the world, Andy, I would know. I wanted a guard dog, but that didn’t really turn out the way I’d hoped...” I grumbled, Ruth was a major pussy despite being the size of a mini-horse.

“That’s okay, I’d like to not risk any of my fingers, thank you.” Andy stepped back further away from Ruth. The door suddenly opened to a large man with rock-hard abs and big arms.

“Hi, Dad,” I stared up at him while Andy’s eyes widened and his jaw set. Daddy was pretty big. Bigger than Andy by at least three inches. Not to mention the obvious muscle advantage my father had over him.

“Hello, large sir,” Andy then bowed dramatically. I resisted the urge to facepalm. Dad narrowed his eyes.

“I thought you were ‘very sick.’” I mocked.

“What? We can’t tell a few white lies to see our baby boy again?” Dad put his large hand on my hand.

“No.” I growled.

“Jess! Jess! JESSE! ANDY!” Came Ethan’s voice as he ran up the drive. Yes, Ethan came with us. I was personally relieved.

“Hello, Ian.” Dad never really learned my friends’ names.

“Ethan,” The brunette corrected, “Anyway, hey Mr. Ford.”

“And you are?” Dad glowered down at Andy.

“U-uh,” He began laughing nervously. Daddy was kind of intimidating.

“Dad, this is Andy. Andy, this is my father, Jack.” I stepped in and saved his ass.

“Hi... Hello...sir...” Chibi stuttered out, extending his hand, which my father ignored.

“Right, come on in,” Daddy stepped aside and Ruth went rushing inside while my mother’s Yorkie, Leon came running out.

“Leon, get back inside!” My father’s voice bellowed and the little brown rat went flying back into the house, barking the whole way.

“How old is Leon again?” I was hoping he’d be dead soon. I can’t stand those little yappy lap dogs.

“Six.” Dad answered.

“Damn,” I swore under my breath as I walked in. Ethan basically skipping in after me and Andy doing his best to avoid any contact with my father as possible.

“Ms. Sarah!” Ethan shouted in the kitchen, looking for my mother. He loved her because she was a great cook.

“Hello, Ethan! I’ll be out in a second!” My mother called, assumedly from the bathroom. I sighed again, dropping my bag by the table and plopping down in one of the seats. Andy leaned back against the wall, looking around the conjoined room. It was a country style kitchen and dining room, painted pure red. The kitchen was walled off so you just walked around the side to get to the fridge and such. There was a hole in the wall so you could see the stove and oven. It reminded me of a jail cafeteria where the cook could just pass the food through the window to the inmates. Weird comparison? I guess that’s how much I thought of this place as prison.

The dining room was more impressive, aside from the beautiful red, there was pictures of pretty flowers hung up on the walls. A glass door led out to the deck, painted a healthy mahogany. The floors inside were all laminated wood, except the living room, or den, or whatever you want to call it. It started out tile and then the floor raised a step and switch into wood.

My mother soon walked out from the bathroom at the foot of the living room and stepped around the wall. She froze seeing Andy. It really wasn’t everyday you saw a 6’2 man dressed all in black. And with such stunning blue eyes. Sigh.

My mom, or “the bitch,” as I prefer, has curly, shoulder length brown hair, an average chest, evident curves, a “nice butt” as she always told me, and stood a relatively normal height of five-foot-seven. She was still taller than me. She had brown eyes while my father had blue. He was thickly built, tall, scary and balding with white specks throughout his black hair. Believe me when I say, I have no idea where my naturally blonde hair came from.

“Hello,” The bitch greeted stiffly.

“Hi, um, ma’am,” Andy offered his hand, which she took politely, unlike my father.

“Ms. Sarah!” Ethan hopped up and down like an excited rabbit.

“Hello, Ethan,” She softened for him.

“I’m starrrvvviiiing!” He whined, I smirked.

“You’re always hungry,” I muttered.

“Hello, Honey,” The bitch came over to me and gave me a bone-crushing hug.

“Mom!” I objected.

“Sorry, dear,” She smiled. Yeah fucking right.

Leon came scampering up to me and tried to jump in my lap.

Oh hell no, you little curly-haired rat! I told him “no” and pushed him back to the floor as Ruthie placed his head on my leg. I give... I laid back in my chair and sighed. Again.

“So...you have a giant horse-dog and a tiny rat-dog all living under the same roof? That must’ve been a disaster in the beginning...” Andy sized up Ruthie and Leon.

“Leon is not a rat, he’s a toy,” My mother corrected. A toy dog, one of those small, fluffy, curly, brown little dogs that never shuts up and needs a hair cut every month. We had a toy poodle similar to Leon a few years ago, but that one got hit by a car. My mom likes small animals.

“Where’s the wind-up key?” Andy mused, the bitch was not. Ethan snickered.

“You wanna look for it?” He and Andy started laughing.

“Not really, but if you find one, don’t crank it.” I had to agree with that one. My mother huffed, reached down and picked Leon up.

“He’ll be less loud when he gets use to you.” And with that, she walked to the kitchen, most likely to work on dinner.

“Come on, Ruth, let’s go watch the Long Horns destroy Kansas State,” My father pat his leg for Ruthie to get the idea and walked to the living room. And I prayed Kansas would come through just to piss off my dad.

“So, what’s for dinner?” Ethan leaned over the stove. I rolled my eyes and stood up. The only reason anyone seemed to come over my house was for my mother’s cooking. I grabbed my bag and walked down the hall, passing the guest room which Ethan would no doubt be sleeping in, and the computer room where we, Pünk Rox, uploaded so many of our videos on YouTube. The hall was just a straight shot passed those two rooms to the stairs, leading to mine and my parents’ rooms. My room was the first door on the left, the bathroom right across the hall, and my parents’ room at the end of the hall.

I barely noticed Andy behind me until he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek. I, being the girl I am, blushed and rested against his chest.

I was so not ready for this. Not ready to deal with my parents. Not ready to face my neighbors again after setting their barn on fire- BY MISTAKE! Not ready for anything.

“You’re really short,” Andy mused, a small smile came to my face at the revelation that he probably had to bend down pretty far to be in this position.

“I’m sorry,”

“And you look nothing like you’re parents, just so you know.”

“Yeah, I know,”

He kissed me again and let me lead him to my room. It was still as dark and empty as I left it.

“Why are your windows taped over?” He asked.

“Because I don’t like sunlight in the morning.” I stated simply.

“You are such a weird kid,” He shook his head. I closed the door, plummeting us into near total darkness.

“It got dark.” I could just hear the amusement in Andy’s voice.

“Really, Chibi? How do you figure?” I joked, making my way easily over to my still made bed even in the blackness.

“Is there, like, a light in- never mind,” Andy cut himself off when I turned on the lamp beside my bed.

“What happened here? It’s like...”

“Empty?” I finished for him.

“Yeah...”

“Well, I never planned on coming back,” I told him quietly.

“I see,” He sat down beside me.

“Is that the only light in here?” He asked next, I nodded. I wasn’t big on light.

“You’re a little nosferatu aren’t you?”

“How do you figure?” I asked rhetorically. I looked up to my chibi, sighing silently in the process.

He was just so...so...handsome? Pretty? Hot? Sexy? All of the above? His ocean blue eyes were fixed on the glow in the dark stars that were still stuck to my ceiling, but had since stopped glowing. A bit of leftover makeup still ringed those pretty blue orbs. His skin was a flawless white, like cream.

Yum, cream!

Focus, Jess...

Andy suddenly pointed to the ceiling, “It looks like a bat,”

I looked up, too, watching as he traced the shape of a bat in the plastic stars. I giggled lightly, of course he’d notice something related to Batman that wasn’t actually there. An amused smile on those plush pink lips made me go back to focusing on his face. From those absolutely kissable lips, to those long, dark lashes framing his blue eyes, and to his pitch black hair that was starting to curl around his face from a couple days of not being able to straighten it. He was like a god to me, I’d never quite seen anyone like him before. Never met anyone like him. Someone so determined and driven, doing anything in their power to chase and catch their dreams. So intelligent, and even through the fame, staying so grounded and headstrong. Never wavering and staying so confident in themselves and in what they do. He was so different from me, but he was amazing. An amazing guy, an amazing musician. I loved him so much; from little quirks, to just the way he was.

“I love you,” I said aloud, my voice hushed. He turned his attention from scoping the ceiling to me.

“I love you, too, Jesse.” He leaned closer and gently kissed my lips. It soon escalated into a full make out session. My arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and his hands gripped my waist. He began leaning back until I was right on top of him and he was laying on the bed. It didn’t stop us or even slow us down. I just craved to be near him.

Now it’s up to us to,
Show them strength,
Remembering the days that were counted,
Don’t leave anything, stay grounded.
Counting,

Counting days on the back of our hands,
Waiting,
Praying for the sands of time to turn,
Changing who we are,
What we are,
For what we’re for.

I won’t stand much longer,
Tired of sitting idle,
Watching them stay mild,
Turning pages,
Hiding behind their cages.

Now we turn the pages,
No longer for the ages.
We lie awake...

The words just suddenly flowed through my head. I ran the words over and over in my mind, placing a beat and melody. I liked it and it was all that was going through my mind while Andy and I kissed. Well, he was pawing at me like a horny dog, but we were still kissing!

“Jesse! Jesse’s friend! Dinner’s ready!” My mother’s voice thoroughly interrupted us and ruined the mood. And would it kill them to learn my friends’ names? This one was my boyfriend for fucks sake! But they didn’t know that...and couldn’t know that...or we’d wake up one day tied to a cross...

“Is my name that hard to remember?” Andy must’ve been thinking similarly to me.

“Not in the slightest,” I reassured, which only added to my agitation with my family. How fucking hard is it to remember ‘Andy’? It’s fucking four letters!

“So...should we go?” He asked, making me realize he was still pinned beneath me, as if he couldn’t just pick me up and move. I honestly didn’t want to go anywhere, but Andy was like Ethan, constantly hungry.

“I...guess,” I sighed, pushing myself off of him.

“We can stay here if you want,” He offered, I shook my head.

“I know the second you smell steak, you’re gonna be scratching at the door like a dog. And besides, the bitch won’t allow it.” My face fell straight.

“... There’s steak?” Cue sigh.



“How old are you?” My dad asked Andy once dinner was finished. And in no time at all what with three men in the house excluding me.

“21,” Andy answered, Ethan and I were busy throwing peas at each other.

“Boys, knock it off!” My mother scolded, we pouted. It wasn’t like anyone was going to eat them anyway! Who the fuck likes peas? They’re awful! And tiny!

“So, you’re pretty young still,” My father continued.

“I guess,” Andy shrugged.

“With such a large list of injuries and broken bones so far, it’s kinda hard to believe.” I chimed in.

“Yeah, I can easily say I never expected I’d end up breaking my tailbone or knocking out a tooth with my own mic.” Andy mused at his own misfortune.

“Breaking your ass, that’s nice,” Ethan laughed.

“Yeah, not that fun,”

“You’re missing a tooth?” I asked, Andy nodded.

“It’s in more towards the back, but yeah,”

“Mh,” I thought, I never even noticed. If you know what I mean. Giggity, giggity.

“What else could you have possibly broken?” Oh, Dad, you have no idea.

“Let’s see...my nose, my ribs, my knees, oh, I knocked myself out on stage with the mic once...” He began listing.

“Aren’t you danger-prone...?”

“There’s others, I guess those are just the most prominent.” Andy laughed a bit at his own misfortune.

My father nodded, my mother was just kind of staring at them like they were crazy. I guessed she didn’t quite understand why men just basically threw themselves into danger’s line of fire.

“And, you know, I look forward to breaking a bunch of other bones. Kind of. Not so much the hospital visit because going to the hospital in your stage makeup is just... When I broke my ribs, I half-consciously finished the show, and then was taken straight to the ER. Body paint and all. And I’m almost certain the doctors there thought I had some kind of skin-disease. Like, I went to shake one guy’s hand and he backed up pretty fast,” Andy went on, clearly amused, “I tried to explain to them that I was in a band, but they were like, “No, you look like a crack head...” and I’m still sure, even after I washed the paint off, they were just certain I was on drugs and didn’t believe a thing out of my mouth until my manager came by.”

“At least you have some stories to tell people, right?” I think my father was actually starting to like him.

“That’s pretty much how I think of it. I’m not gonna sit around and think “Aw, I shouldn’t have done that,” I’m gonna wear my scars proud and think how awesome it was. And stupid, granted, but I’m not dead so why slow down?” Andy shrugged, “I mean, I’d like to say I’m gonna think more before doing something, but that wouldn’t really be me. Where’s the fun in that, anyway?”

My dad actually laughed!

“Right, right, I know what you mean. I work down at the construction yard and with all these big tools and large objects being swung around, you’d expect I’d be super cautious of my every step? Not at all. I’m just mind-set on getting it done, and getting it done right. And I will, maybe after a few nails gunned into my hand, or slapped in the face by a stray board, I’ll still get it done.” My father shared, making Andy laugh. Getting slapped by a wooden board can’t be too pleasant.

“Gives you some nice stories to tell the wife and kids when you get home,” Dad finished.

“Speaking of...” My mother chimed in, “Andy, what are your thoughts on children?”

WHAT THE FUCK?!

“Um,” Andy seemed a little taken aback, while my jaw almost hit the floor.

“Mother!?” My voice got shrill from shock. WHAT THE MOTHER FUCK WAS THAT?!

“No, I’d really like to know,” the bitch leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands.

“Uh, I’ve never really been asked that by-... Doesn’t matter, um, I guess I want kids one day. Just not right now.” Andy answered anyway. I respected him for that.

“Hm,” My mother narrowed her eyes and continued her interrogation.

“What about marriage?”

“Mom...” I growled, “I’m not your fucking wild-child daughter dating this badass rockstar with no morals...”

“Jesse, language, we’re at the table, not the barn.” I rolled my eyes.

“That’s a good question Mrs. F, what are your thoughts on marriage, Andy?” Ethan only added to the chaos. So, of course, I brought my hand down over the back of his head, creating a thorough ‘SMACK!’

“Owwwww!” He whined, gripped his head, “You’re meeeeean!”

“You are so not helping...” I resisted the urge to bang my head on the table.

“Really, Andy, what are your plans for the future? Marriage? Settling down?” Bitch just wouldn’t stop!

“Uh, I know you probably won’t like this answer, but I don’t know. Who’s to say what the future is going to be? I hope to be able to keep doing what I’m doing now because this has been my dream since I was young, but who knows how the future will turn out?” Andy kind of danced around the main question, which I don’t blame him for.

“Yes, Sarah, men don’t really think about the future. Especially not those in the music industry, they’re too busy with now than then.” My father intercepted any further questioning.

“It’s not that I don’t think about it, it’s that I’m more concerned with what’s happening now. I’m more concerned with getting our next album out, or playing the show to the best of my abilities for the fans.” Andy was definitely doing his best to appease my mother without downright lying.

“That’s great and all, but what about the future? What about marriage and kids? You can’t raise children on the road,” My mother went on, I was just staring at her in disbelief now.

“That’s why I said I didn’t know. There’s still more of the road to travel, maybe once I’ve gone far enough, I’ll think about starting a family, but not right now. There’s a lot going on now and it’s still pretty much the beginning. There’s a long time left to go, a lot of things left to see and do, I don’t wanna slow down yet. I’m sorry if I’m too reckless or something for you, but I don’t have all the answers and I’m just living my life to the fullest extent that I can.” I could tell that was Andy’s finishing line, that anything else she asked wouldn’t be answered to make her happy, but would be the straight up truth, no candy-coating.

“That’s the mind of a man, Sarah, now stop treating Andy like the delinquent on the motorcycle who’s managed to trick our daughter, which we don’t have, into falling in love and ruining her life.” My father saved Andy from any further interrogation. But I can’t say the wording was...favorable...

“Fine,” The bitch finally gave in.

“Thank you,” I sighed in relief. Andy didn’t appear very fazed, which made me relax a bit.

“What about marriage?” Ethan poured gasoline all over the embers.

“GODDAMMIT, ETHAN! HOW STUPID ARE YOU?! SHUT THE FUCK UP! WE JUST FUCKING MANAGED TO GET OUT OF THIS! ARE YOU TRYING TO TIE US UP AGAIN?! GODDAMMIT!” My strings snapped for a second before I was able to reattach them. Everyone was looking at me, shocked. I huffed and settled back into my seat.

“... Anyway...” My father broke the stunned silence.

“So, Andy, you like sports?”



I huffed, falling onto my bed. I was just relieved everything was over. Andy sat down beside me, taking my hand in his and began stroking the back of mine with his thumb. What a fucked up day. And it was only eight thirty.

“You okay?” He asked when it probably should’ve been me asking him.

“Yeah... No...fuck no...” I sighed, closing my eyes.

“Your dad’s cool,” He tried to make me feel better.

“Yeah, and my mother wants you dead, and so will he when they find out we’re...” I trailed off and lifted our entwined hands. Andy only leaned down and kissed the side of my head.

“That’s okay, as long as I have you, they don’t matter.” He made me feel so stupid for being so crazy about this. He was just so laid back and chill, it was like nothing bothered him.

“How do they not bother you?” I asked aloud.

“I just don’t let them. Because they just don’t matter, Jess. What does matter is me and you, everyone else can go to hell.” I couldn’t help but smirk. Yeah, he just basically told everyone in the world to go to hell. Oh, how I loved him and his audacity.

“They can only get to you if you let them,” he told me, “don’t worry about me, I can handle myself. I’m just working on making you happy right now. I’m not concerned with anything else,”

“You’re such a romantic,” I teased, he let out a small laugh.

“I’ve been told. By several people. I’m just too brooding to not be romantic.” He played.

“Yes, you are so deep, Andy,”

“I am! I’m deeper than the sea! That didn’t sound right...” I laughed at his accidental perverseness.

“How deep are you?” He asked me, I slapped his arm.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I pushed our conversation further.

“Is Stewie straight?”

“I have no idea!”

“Yeah, me neither...”

“So does that mean you don’t know if you...want...to...know?” Whut? :3

“Know...if...what?” We both began laughing. Oh yes, it appears we both have the attention span of a goldfish.

“Hey,” I sat up, an idea forming in my head. Run for your life.

“What?”

“I think you’re cute,” I leaned over and pressed my lips to his, “And I want to take you somewhere,”

“Really? Where?” We were still kind of playing the oblivious teenagers in love game.

“Come on,” I hopped off the bed and grabbed Andy’s hand. Going into ninja mode, I opened the door to my room and peeked around the corner. We quietly started down the stairs, pausing at the bottom and scouting the room before us.

“Jess?” My mom called from the computer room, directly across from us.

Burn...

“RUN FOR IT!” I screamed and ran for the door leaving Andy standing there, confused and dumbstruck.

“Come on, retard!” I called back from the doorway. Andy seemed to get it now and ran outside with me. Ran into the night like a couple of idiots with no light.

“Where are we going?” Andy asked, stepping in front of me.

“There,” I pointed to the barn.

“A barn?”

“Yes, what did you expect? A five star restaurant? This is Texas, bitch,” I joked, taking his hand and leading him towards the barn.

The fields really had grown a lot since I was last here. The grass was past our ankles and some patches reached half way to our knees. Well, my knees. And there, waiting at the gate was a herd of hungry horses.

“Is there a reason they’re staring at us like food?” Andy asked.

“They’re just hungry and I used to be the bringer of their food.” I explained, pulling him into the massive barn.

“Wow, it’s hot in here,” Andy observed, looking around as I turned on the portable lamp resting on a random hay bale. The hens began clucking.

“I hear chickens,”

“Really now?” I giggled at his obviousness.

“Come on King Obvious.” I took his hand and lead him to the ladder that went up to the almost empty hay shoot.

“I’m probably gonna break something else here,” He sighed dramatically, I laughed.

“Quit bitching and climb,” I called down to him.

“I’ve never had someone say that to me before, it’s usually me saying that to other people,” He joked, I giggled as I reached the top and moved back to make room for Andy.

“It’s dark,” He felt the need to point out.

“Really now?” I vaguely saw him move onto the platform.

I reached out half blindly into the darkness and grabbed his shirt, leading him back further onto the hay shoot. When it seemed we were sitting facing each other, I carefully reached out and took his face in my hands, leading him to my lips. Once that was established, guidance was no longer needed for either of us. It was good to be able to be alone for a while. Ethan wouldn’t miss us, he’d just go into the guest room and crash.

Andy and I just needed to break away from the insanity of my family for a while and be with each other. And we wasted no time with that. Andy was on top of me, my arms wrapped around his neck entangling his hair with my fingers, while our tongues fought for dominance. Which I lost. Of course.

The feeling of his tongue in my mouth was enough to make me moan. With that, he took his chance and I felt his hands begin to run up my shirt. I shivered, his seemingly ever-cold hands running over my virgin skin was very new, but I definitely wasn’t complaining. He pulled back and started kissing down my neck. I moaned again, intimate contact like this was something I was so unused to, adding that with my virgin sensitivity equals me being completely at the hands of Andy and whatever he did to me.

I just laid my head back and enjoyed the feeling of his lips on my neck and his hands skillfully running over my skin. Enjoying his touch. I didn’t fight or object when his hands went lower, I jumped a bit when he grabbed my ass, but I didn’t expect that. I squeaked.

Andy chuckled, “That is the strangest reaction ever,”

“Sh-shuddap...” I panted, “I-...”

He shut me up by locking our lips. The blush over my cheeks slowly began fading, but I couldn’t seem to control my breathing any longer. Not with Andy’s hands all over my thighs and running over my skin under my shirt. I kept my fingers tangled in his hair and I’m pretty sure he was having fun experimenting with what drew what sound from me.

I gasped when he started grinding his hips against mine. Unable to hold back, I moaned again with the pleasure he gave me. Kissing back when he kissed me and, no longer able to fight, let him explore my mouth with his tongue. I was just putty in his hands. But I trusted him, no matter how new the pleasure was to me. I loved him and I believed him when he said he loved me back. And nothing was going to change my feelings about him. Except maybe finding out he’s a mass murderer, that’s a bit of a turn off...

“JESSE!” Andy and I both almost hit the ceiling.

“Jesus Christ, bitch, what the hell!?” I shouted back, she was somewhere outside the barn.

“Get down here, now!” She nearly howled. Fuck did I do?

Oh yeah, I just cussed her out...

“Goddamn...” I huffed, completely not ready to face anyone. One, I was hard - utterly and totally turned on. Two, she’s clearly pissed off, and who the hell wants to talk to an angry, screaming bitch? Three, Andy was soooo warm! And gentle and sexy and tender and...stop...gotta stop...can’t make this any worse than it already is...

I groaned and started climbing down the ladder. I so did not wanna do this. Andy managed to get down and stand beside me without breaking anything, too.

“Come on,” The bitch gestured with her hand go over to her. I wanted to say no and run, but instead I turned off the light and dragged my feet over to her. What now?

“When were you planning on telling us?” She hissed. What?

“Huh?” My eyes widened.

“When were you planning on telling us you were so sick?”

I froze.

“HUH?!”

“Jesse! Jesse, run! They found one of your diaries!” Ethan skid to a stop several feet away. My world stopped. I THOUGHT I TOOK ALL OF THOSE AND BURNED THEM! Unless... Oh, shit I forgot about under my bed!

“Come on, Honey, don’t worry, we’ll fix this.” She took my wrist and started pulling me away. Reasonably, I began to struggle.

“WHAT!? Hell no!” I managed to pull my wrist free of her grasp.

“I promised you, Honey, remember? If you ever became sick, I’d take you to get cured,” She reached for my arm again, but I turned and ran back into Andy’s arms. It was a fight or flight response, I didn’t think, I just knew I didn’t feel safe with her so I did what any frightened animal would do; I ran to where I did feel safe.

Andy wrapped his arms around me protectively, honing in on the fact that I was scared. “Let him go, Andy, I’ll take you to get cured, too.”

Oh, no she didn’t.

“We don’t need to be cured, but you need a good slap in the face if you seriously think love is a disease.” I see he didn’t need any help in knowing what was going on.

“That’s the thing, this isn’t love. It’s just sinful lust, okay?” She sounded like she was talking to an animal, “Fairies like you need to be brought back to the path of God,”

That’s it bitch.

“You know what?” I swung around, “I’ve been afraid of you fuckheads for years! Afraid my own parents would hate me for something I couldn’t control! I’m gay! Andy’s my boyfriend! And, you know, for once in my life, I’m actually happy! FUCK YOU if you’re going to try and take that away from me!” I fought, tears filling my eyes.

“I suspected as much, I saw the picture of you too committing your sin behind that building...and in broad daylight...” She shook her head. My vision got fuzzy and I just exploded.

“Bitch, you are seriously off your fucking nut! Love is not sinful! Love is love! Love is beautiful and the best feeling in the world! It’s for anyone! Man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, anyone can love! And anyone can fall in love! I’ve fallen in love with Andy,” My breathing was heavy, unable to control myself, “If your god hates me so much for falling in love, then fuck you and fuck your god! A true loving deity wouldn’t hate his own children for sexual preference. And you know what? Jesus loves all! Murderers, rapists, drug addicts, everyone and without judgment! So, I’d rather follow Jesus, thank you. And I’d happily burn in Hell for eternity if it meant staying as far away from your bastard, hateful god as possible!” I couldn’t stop the tears streaming down my face. I turned around and buried my face into Andy’s shirt, taking assurance when he held me tight in his arms.

The bitch seemed dumbstruck. It took a while for me to realize my father was there as well. Standing near Ethan, both were silent, shocked.

“You little gay disgrace...” The woman finally broke the silence.

“Oh and that’s another thing!” Oh, no, I wasn’t done yet.

“I’m not a fairy. I’m just prettier than you!”

And with that, I stomped off, dragging a shocked Andy with me, who was trying to hold back laughter. Ethan burst out laughing when we passed him and ran to catch up with us.



We never really unpacked so, we just grabbed our bags and left. I was sure to leave a note for my “parents” to give to my cousin, who let us borrow his car, so he could pick it up at the airport whenever. We just crashed at a motel until morning and flew back to California the first chance we got.