Freak - Chapter 2

[warning]: Contains Boy's Love


Freak - Chapter 2



It hadn’t gone that wrong for a first day. Matthew felt relieved in a way. It wasn’t exactly easy clicking with a new band on the first rehearsal; he had to meet the members and was yet to find the right tone in the songs on top of that.
He wasn’t sure why they had started needing a new guitarist, they had two already if he counted with the lead singer, but better for him he guessed. If it wasn't for that he’d never have found these guys and truth was he was glad he had. He really liked the music; all the band members were seemingly pleasant nice guys; and they were much in accord with his own personal sense of style.
The rehearsal was almost over and he couldn’t help being nervous to either getting the props for being good, or being reprehended for sucking at it by one, or more, of the guys. He thought he’d done well. But you never know what others make of your effort.
He took a quick look to a pair of chairs in the corner, in one of which there was a guy sitting. Even if they hated him, at least it had been worth it. Who was him…? Matthew didn’t know what to make of him; there was just something about the guy… He couldn’t really tell how tall he was since he was sitting, but he could tell he was skinny, with these piercingly greens that hypnotized him. For some reason, the guy didn’t seem aware of it; he tried to hide them behind a messy looking hair that covered his face making him look innocently cute. He wasn’t aware of Matthew looking at him either, but he didn’t dare to stare much more; he couldn’t risk being noticed.
They were done. The rehearsal had just ended. Matthew took the guitar stripe off of him and laid it on the floor against one of the amplifiers. Now was the daring moment of truth.
‘Nice job dude! You’re good.’ A tall guy had come to him. He was very cute and Matthew asked himself why he hadn’t noticed him that much. ‘I’m Spike’- a wide smile opened in the guy’s face as a leaned a hand towards Matthew- ‘I got here a little late today so I didn’t have the opportunity to introduce myself and all that. I’m the drummer here… and you are…?’ He looked at Spike curiously, finally letting out his own hand and shaking Spike’s in greeting. That was a rather interesting guy, and his blue eyes were something to equal the stranger’s greens.
‘I’m Matthew, but I usually go by Matt. I'm...'- he pointed to his guitar- …the new guitarist; and that’s my Princess…-he smiled a little shyly, as if afraid he’d exposed himself too much for letting Spike know about his “princess”.
‘I noticed… and she’s beautiful men - Spike winked at him and smiled understandingly. He was sure now it was no big deal-…so you met the guys?’- Spike pointed out to the other and members whom were either storing their instruments or talking to the mysterious guy in the corner he was yet to meet. The boy was now standing and smiling. Matt couldn’t help to notice how gorgeous his smile was.
Looking up, he realized the other boy, Spike, was still waiting for him to answer. ‘Huh, let me see…’ – he thought about it for a little trying to remember the introductions that took place a few hours before . ‘The guy with the blond and black hair is the lead singer, Isaac!’- Matt looked up in search of approval in Spike’s eyes, which he found, and carried on- ‘The one with all the piercings and green hair is Oly…’ Oly waved nicely in approval from across the room and started walking towards them.
‘Go on…’
‘The one with the striped hoodie next to him’ – he pointed out to the person next to Oly – ‘blond and black hair; that’d be...’ – he thought about it for a second before answering – ‘Isaac, our lead singer.’
Spike nodded consentingly and allowed Matthew to carry on. ‘And then we have Zack, tattooed all over’ – he let out a soft laughter that didn’t mean he either disapproved or mocked the fact. This was clear to Spike, who understood the smile and smiled back at him- ‘he’s our guitarist number two and screamer.’
Matt knew he had it right on the names and patiently waited as Oly drew near them, in what seemed to him as slow motion. He was still thinking about whom that was, the mysterious guy that had now caught up with Oly and was approaching them as well. He felt an awkward something inside and stood there, silent. He had to ask who that was, and time was running out as they approached. Matt certainly didn’t want to look embarrassed or make a fool of himself when they were introduced, so he had to know pre-hand, or first impression would be a total waste.
‘So....’ – He gave a particular tone to that “so...”, hoping he didn’t actually have to finish the question and that Spike would instinctively understand, but as soon as he looked at him inquisitively Matt knew he had to. ‘Who’s “him”?’
Spike’s eyes turned slowly and fell upon him. He could feel them scanning his own, trying to penetrate his mind and figure out his inner thoughts. He quickly looked down, trying to secure himself from the penetrating gaze before Spike could figure him out. This was a stupid thought all for itself, but nonetheless he felt insecure. He was supposed to be the one able to scan people that way, not someone else being able to scan him. Spike straightened his head and made a brief pause, his eyes unreadable with an apathetic expression, and then looked behind himself as his friends approached.
‘Him?’ Spike gave a subtle turn to his head in the unknown character’s direction. He could tell Spike knew who he meant, but was for some reason not wanting it to be true. Oly and the boy stopped side to side with Spike, and as the boy drew a wide, beautiful smile on his lips, Oly remained in a wise like peaceful expression and limited his greeting to a slow blink of his eyes and an unspoken “hello” drawn in his lips.
‘This is Alex’ – Spike’s arm flew around the boy’s shoulder before Matt even had the time to process the newly come information. Alex showed a little embarrassment with the embrace, but that only made Spike hold him tighter. ‘He came with me...’ – an accentuating edge was given to the “me”. Oh...- ‘my best friend.’
Oh... Right away Matt understood it, and saw his chances being washed away, like a sand grain under tropical rain. Looking at Spike’s face now he understood him. It was no longer unreadable but rather quite clear; without a doubt, pure jealousy. He acted like a mother not wanting to let go of her son once she realized he’d grown up. The situation going on there was crystal clear, and though Alex didn’t seem in any way aware of it Spike sure was. And he wasn’t letting anyone take away, or even approach for that matter, his “baby”. Or in this case, the boy he was in love with.
He unconsciously sulked with his realization but quickly returned to reality and looked at the newcomer. ‘Nice to meet you Alex’ – he laid out a hand, carefully studying his own movements so he wouldn’t do anything to trigger Spike’s defensive mode.
‘Oh, hey!’ – Alex, whom was looking curiously at him, gave a quick shake to his head and a cute expression was drawn in his face –‘Nice to meet you,…’ – Alex’s words searched for a name, insinuatingly pleading for Matt to finish his sentence. Matt on the other hand, was only feeling frustrated for having to control the sudden urge to hug him and kiss him. It was unusual for him to be so strongly attracted to someone.
‘Matt…’ – he finished the other boy’s sentence, pulling away from his thoughts – ‘I’m Matt, the new guitarist.’ He took a quick look at Spike, somehow assuring it was okay for him to even state that. Since no defiant glare thrown in his direction he asked casually – ‘How did you end up here?’
‘Oh, Spike’s staying over at my place for the weekend…’ – Alex slightly turned his head in the direction of the person he was embracing, looking up at him. Spike looked back in an assuring manner, and Alex spoke at Matt again – ‘…so I came to the rehearsal instead of just staying home and sleeping. I actually had to get him out of bed to come here’ – Alex laughed softly and rolled his eyes up at Spike happily. Something in his eyes shimmered brighter, an almost worship gaze could be noticed in them.
‘I’ve been meaning to come for quite a while now, so yeah…’ – the boy scratched the back of his neck shyly, looking cute.
‘Oh, I see. That’s… cool.’ He looked from Alex to Spike for a couple of seconds. The guy seemed to be enjoying himself, taking pleasure in the fact that Matt knew he could do nothing about it. He was defiantly not letting go.
‘So, why don’t we all go grab a cup of coffee or something?’
Matt’s gaze turned the opposite way, only to realize Oly was there with them, looking at him in a questioning but pleasant manner. He’d forgotten all about him. Truth was, he hadn’t really noticed the green hair, full arms tattooed, face pierced boy, but for some reason it felt like the boy’s eyes had been scanning him for quite a while.
Matt was observant when it came to people, he had to be. In fact he’d learned how to be over time so he shouldn’t have missed that detail. Mistakes were a risk followed by high consequences, and for his own good there was no affording to make them. He was now questioning what it was about Oly that he was seeing. Matt was usually very good at reading people but this one, this one was clearly a hard one. Besides, all those initial thoughts on Alex were pointless. That battle was lost before it started.

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‘So guys, me and Alex are gonna head back home ‘kay? It’s running late…’ – Spike’s smile was a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Half for being there and half for being the one to call them back to reality.
While Spike had been talking to the rest of the guys and with Alex, who was drawing something not quite perceptible and loosing himself in the now dark ocean ahead of them from time to time, he and Oly, strangely enough, had failed to notice the time running past them.
Matt looked up, only to notice the already orange-pink sky turning into a dark blue, meaning the afternoon was over, and the conversation forcefully ended. He looked a little embarrassed at the guy’s comment and couldn’t help but feel that they somehow knew something he didn’t. Something about either him or Oly was undoubtedly getting through to them.
‘Yea we’re heading home too guys.’ Isaac said that with the same tone he had noticed, and hated, in the other boy’s voice seconds ago.
One by one, everyone started distributing handshakes and goodbyes; deciding who was heading where and walking away to random directions. Matt’s mind slowed down during the process. He was only vaguely aware of all the commotion happening around him. It all got through to him as a quick flash.
‘Are you okay Matt?’ Oly’s voice sounded distant, but approaching, like guiding him back from a deep sleep, into a vivid dream.
‘Sorry’- Matt had a way of blacking out from time to time. ‘You were saying?’

Usually when a conversation was being held he was fully concentrated, barely noticing anything other than what was being said, whereas there was no way he could keep up with a mix of crossed dialogues, especially when directed at him.
It was actually not a bad thing sometimes, especially when it was his father babbling and yelling at him.
When Matt was little, about four years old, his mother left him and his father. He had never found it in himself to forgive her, for as far as he could tell his father never was parental material. He’d learned to trust only a few people, and even those were in no need to know everything. Since his mother’s departure, all his dad did was drink, yell and sleep. When he slept, Matt almost imagined he was living alone, on his own account, taking refuge in the only still sane division in that house, his room.
Though an evident mess, with all kinds of band posters spread randomly across the walls and ceiling, he had covered the wooden floor with black tapestry. On the wall further from the door a sole mattress was carelessly placed in the floor. Though it did seem to be a bed, if closely looked at, it wasn’t one. Someone, him, had just covered it in a way that it all worked together, and that small detail was easily dismissed. If there was something in that room that you could tell about Matt’s interests, that something was art.
Art was all over everything e owned. The walls were literally written on with all kinds of colours, sizes and contents, with paintings and drawings placed in them. A various number of canvases were lain around in the floor. Piles of papers were stacked in a little desk and on the surrounding floor, all with countless amounts of texts and drawings.
Brushes were abandoned all over, and everywhere stains of colourful dye had been spilled, not only on the walls, but on the tapestries below them as well. On another corner there was a special space for his princess, the only lady ever considered in his life, his guitar.
That was another thing about him, and he had no problem saying it. No lady had ever come into his life. Matt considered himself to be bi, though everyone he’d ever liked were boys he didn’t remain indifferent to all girls. His dad had long realized it and had uselessly yelled before giving it up and deciding not to care, as he did face everything else.
Coming to think about it, the only reason the house was still holding in place was him. He cleaned, he cooked, and he paid the bills. Since the age of twelve, when his father was once and for all fired from his life job, Matt had had to find a way to fix the situation. His father wouldn’t. He’d worked in various jobs alongside with school. For quite a while now he had a stable job working as a chef on a little pasta house every day after school and on the weekends. And that was about it.
Matt didn’t have much free time for things most of the time. Truth was he didn’t have much of anything to allow himself to the luxury of having friends, for he was always too busy.
The sad truth hit him from time to time, though he had learnt to ignore it. Ironically, he was actually really good at dealing with people; dealing with them and seeing right through them. A big motive for his lack of people to go to also laid on the fact that in his school there was a non existing stack of good people, and most of them looked at him sideways. He could kind of understand them though. He was unlike anyone else in that school, and his will to follow the cloned, status quo obsessed army was equal to none.
Maybe deviant was what they thought. Matt on the other hand saw puppets. He could almost see the little strings attached to them, not their bodies though, their brains. Think alike mindless dolls, despising the new and the different, fearing to actually be someone worth knowing, worth talking to; not striving to be more than a mere waste of space and actually make a difference.
Such wasted minds made him think about whether or not humans had evolved, mentalities had evolved, until he realized, as he always did, that some things would come back and forward and remain unchanged, unfortunately to us all.
Eventually Matt would meet someone that caught his interest. Most of the time some random guy or girl who got fascinated over him, not that they understood him at all, and whom he’d date for a short period of time, just until it became evident that they too were mere puppets, trying to play a different game, but eventually being uncovered as “do-as-everyone-else-does” types of individuals, with no individual thing about their boring selves.
During these "relationships", though you can hardly call them that, Matt usually remained unharmed. He was always cautious not to get too close and let people know him.
Though lacking human contact, so to say, Matthew was one of those people who simply understood, and saw right through everything, the why his words, when put into paper, sounded so wise and ancient.
Just a week ago, when going to a local gig, Matt heard that the band in question was searching for a new guitarist and saw there a brilliant opportunity. He had always planed on making it in some artistic career, the music business being considered as such, and his thoughts quickly took over him right then and there. The thought of taking part in a successful band, to earn money for his talent, not work for someone else, blew him away.
He tried it. He auditioned. And he made it. Though one of the members was missing on the day he was admitted, he soon got to know everyone. One thing he already knew from the gig, at the very least, those guys were good. And the opportunities presented for him then were more than he’d ever imagined.


‘Good I lost you again…’ – Oly sighed deeply and caught Matt’s gaze in his, continuing – ‘Do you get like that very often?’
‘Quite often, yes.’ Matt was still looking blankly into the never-ending dark ocean ahead of them while answering, before being caught by Oly’s piercing eyes. - ‘But anyways…’ - he turned his head quickly - ‘…what was that you were talking about?’
‘Right.’ Oly slowly run his fingers through the back of his head and, Matt could have sworn, almost blushed, before he put on a face that Matt had by now found to be so characteristic in him; a calm and serious expression. He spoke again.
‘I was thinking of a possible way to solve your freedom problem…’
Without realizing it, Matt had confided in that person and had told him about how he wanted to change places as soon as possible. It was very unlike him to do so, and he had just realized what he’d done. Though he may come through as a very talkative and trusting person, always casually hidden under a "happy" loving person cover, inside he was much like Oly, an apparent wall of the heaviest metal keeping him safely sheltered inside. The difference was that Oly, unlike him, purposefully distanced himself from outsiders.
‘It may sound weird since we’ve practically just met and all, but I’ve been looking for a roommate for quite a while now…’ Oly’s eyes seemed intrigued and uncertain, but still distant, and maybe misinterpreted as cold, while his voice, sounding absolutely normal, seemed to Matt to be as unease, uncertain and fearsome as his eyes, longing expectantly for the answer. After all, he always saw right through people.
Oly carried on while Matt paid extra attention to his every word.
‘I have a quite spacious apartment. My parents aren’t exactly what you’d call "poor"... But I’m paying the bills myself. I don’t want any more of their help. Everyone I interviewed for it to the date was too... well let’s just say I didn't quite picture us getting along that well.’ Oly looked for approval, or disapproval, in his face and, unable to find them, proceeded, sounding less and less certain.
‘You, on the other hand, sound like and seem like a very decent guy. And we’ll be playing together from now on and all...”
He started to vaguely show an increasing interest for the other boy’s case. ‘What do you say? The rent is what you’d call fairly low. And attending to the size and location, it’s a real bargain. Besides, you’d gain a friend and a roommate.’ – Oly cocked up an eyebrow and for once looked slightly amused, drawing a teasing smirk – ‘Up for it?’
The proposal floated in his mind for a good minute, one that seemed to him like a full hour. All the information started rushing to his mind, tracing links, connecting dots, until it finally hit him. What the guy had said minutes ago. “…a way to solve your freedom problem…” The words echoed in his head and a glow, a natural and joyful glow started showing in his eyes, and in his smile. But this time, Matt was glowing on the inside too. He could picture his life becoming easier to bare. “…besides, you’d gain a friend…”
He opened his mouth slightly. First to draw a smile, that he quickly covered up by biting on his lower lip, while he looked into the boy’s eyes to check for truth and confirmation; then to ease his newly made friend’s mind and say:
‘Where do I sign in?’