Fabricated Bliss (Ch. 3)
Meh, a bit late, I forget to post here...specially since I'm pretty sure no one gives a damn. But whaatever, I remembered now, so here's chapter three of Fabricated ^^ It's got some typos...but I'm to lazy to fix them..and they arent so bad that you cant figure out what I meant >.>;
Lev groaned a little as he woke, pressing closer to the warm body beside him in an attempt to escape the cold pressing at his back. He opened his eyes slowly, waiting for his mind to wake up and remind him where he was. Lev dropped his gaze to the person curled against him, black hair standing out against her pale face. Sam, it was Sam’s place; that’s right, he remembered now.
He smiled softly to himself as she shifted in her sleep, her legs nudging the knot they’d made with his. Sam always had been just as good at tangling herself up with someone in her sleep as he was, it was surprising that they could undo the mess at all. Lev wrapped his arms around her and dropped a light kiss on the top of her head.
He remembered a time not so long ago when they had woken up this way. A time when things went beyond the simple comfort in a shoulder to lean on and a gentle touch. When they had betrayed her parents trust in them with longer nights and more heated ‘good mornings’. Lev wasn’t even sure how things had gotten to be that way, when things had changed from a comforting hug to an intimate embrace. He wasn’t sure when things had gone back to normal either.
It seemed to him that one day they had just woken up feeling more than usual and then things slowly faded back to how they’d been. Now it was as though they had never been any closer than friends; tightly meshed friends, but only friends. Now he wouldn’t even think of waking Sam with a heated kiss or a teasing caress. Nor would he wake to her pressing soft kisses into his neck and running fingers through his hair. Those days seemed so surreal he wasn’t entirely sure he believed them to be real at all.
“Mmmnn, stop thinking, you…” Sam groaned against his chest, arching her body slightly in a small stretch.
“What makes you think I was awake before you said anything?” Lev smiled as Sam scowled at him through slit eyes.
“I know you…besides your such an idiot I can hear the gears turning in that head of yours.” she let a small smile ghost over her face before curling up tighter against him. “Now go back to sleep, it’s too early to be awake.”
Lev laughed softly and decided not to point out that it was already nine, and that he‘d already slept in more than he liked. He new she didn’t appreciate his late nights coupled with early mornings, speak up and he was liable to get his face torn off. So instead he contented himself with lying in place and studying her room, even though he already knew every inch of it, carpet to ceiling. Thoughts of a certain bartender slowly seeped into his mind.
Damon sprawled out across his bed, burying his face in his pillows. Today should’ve been a free day. Sleep in, maybe get some sketching in, sleep some more; then go to Dissonance. Honestly, who would go to a club with a name that screamed horrible noise? But today his illustration teacher requested he come fill in for him on a beginner’s class. Sleeping in went out the window and a seven o’clock session of loud, wannabe cartoonists had clambered in.
Now here was, feeling sleep deprived and steadily building a migraine. That meant the imminent club induced migraine would be all the worse. Damon growled slightly into his pillows, that kid would probably show up. That was guaranteed to make his head ache twice as much. Though he loathed to admit it, he was still a little interested in talking to him again. Despite certain habits that he disagreed with, Damon couldn’t help but take a liking to Lev’s smart ass attitude. He had to give the kid points for persistence.
Besides, he hadn’t lied when he’d said he’d consider giving Lev a chance when he was older. Damon might’ve accepted the kid’s offer now after he got to know him more, but he had no interest in getting screwed over by sleeping with a minor. That didn’t change the fact the Lev was attractive. And it seemed like there was something there to be uncovered, something in those smiles that didn’t hold true.
Damon didn’t consider himself nosy, though he supposed that’s what others might call it. He just took an interest in people when seemed like maybe they had something worth taking an interest in. Lev’s bad habits piqued his interest just because he was curious as to how anyone could be that blatantly…whorish. He wasn’t certain if there was anything beyond the simple desire for the pleasure, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be. He didn’t know about Lev, but it just didn’t seem right to him.
Lev leaned against the front door of his house, hanging on to the few extra moments he could before going inside. He was tempted to just turn around and walk back to Sam’s, take her family up on the offer to stay another night. But he knew he couldn’t stay away forever, and the longer he stayed gone the worse it would be when he did come home. He felt like he spent too much time with them anyway.
Who was he kidding, it was probably better if he just stayed away for good. It was probably safer. He had gone full weeks at a time without coming home, but his father had called the cops on him a few of those times. But he couldn’t do that, he still felt like he needed to be here. Still wanted to be able to come home.
Lev drew in a deep breath shrugged his backpack back onto his shoulder and quietly opened the front door. He listened carefully as he shut the door behind him, straining to hear where his father and Lisa were. He wasn’t keen on having a repeat of the other night. The house remained silent and he quickly made his way down the hall to his room, always listening for signs of movement.
He made it to his bedroom and nudged the door shut behind him, leaning against it with a small sigh. His father could easily come into the room and deal out any anger he felt necessary, but his room had always seemed a sort of safe haven. His father had never hurt him if he’d made it there before being found, or withdrawn there before a situation got out of hand. Sure his father had drug him in more than once, but he hadn’t ever hurt him there.
Lev raked his fingers through his hair then dropped to a crouch to sift through his back pack. He pulled out his dirty clothes from the day before and reached for the bag he kept his dirty things in. He growled when he saw it empty and glanced over to see neat stacks of clean clothes on his bed; Lisa. He hated when she washed his clothes for him, not that he minded not having to do it himself…but he didn’t like the thought of her touching his things. He stuffed the clothes from his pack into the bag then dropped his pack by his desk before shoving the clean clothes into his dresser.
Lev fell back onto his bed when he finished, closing his eyes and stretching out in the small space. He figured his dad was probably asleep, it was his day off after all. That would explain the eerie quiet of the house; his father’s snoring didn’t quite carry through the door of his bedroom when it was shut. Now Lisa, on the other hand, might be anywhere in the house. She was pretty quiet, harder to keep an eye on.
He felt another burst of anger at the thought of the woman. Lev wished she would just leave, leave him and his father. She wasn’t doing any good, some days she was more trouble than help. No doubt if his father had been awake he would’ve gotten torn into for being mean to his dear Lisa yesterday morning. Sweet little Lisa. Lev wondered if his father was really that dumb these days, or if he was just too drunk to give a damn. Lisa was a lot of things, and maybe she sugar coated herself, but she was definitely not sweet.
The soft click of his door opening and closing again sent a stab of irritation and dread through his stomach. He kept his eyes closed as he waited to see if she would leave, think he was sleeping or something. When a weight settled on his hips, straddling him, he decided she obviously wasn’t going anywhere with out a hassle.
“Come on Lev, I know you don’t sleep your days away. Not like your father.” Lev didn’t miss the note of disdain in her voice. “He fell asleep without giving me any attention.”
“So, maybe I’m tired today, Lisa.” He opened his eyes halfway to look up at her, scowling slightly.
“Liar.” She leaned down, resting her forearms to either side of his head. She was so close that her short brown hair brushed his face as she spoke. “Why don’t you play a game with me?”
“Sorry, I can’t afford to pay you, and I don’t think it would be fair if I got you for free.” Lev smiled.
“Why not? I do your father for free.” She arched a brow then pressed a few hot kisses against his neck.
“No you don’t. He gives you a home, food, all you’re overpriced makeup-.” Lev pushed Lisa’s shoulders up. “And you don’t even stay faithful to him. That’s not free.” He glared at her, her hazel gaze holding his with a mocking smile.
“Aw, but sweetie, I help keep your home picked up and tidy. Since you’re mother left you, this house would go to hell without me.” She pushed his hands from her shoulders and pressed them into the bed above his head. “And besides, you owe me. If I wasn’t here, who would keep your father occupied so that he doesn’t kick you around this place non-stop? Who would fill in for that selfish mother of yours?”
Lev froze, forgetting that he was about to pull his hands free. He stared blankly at Lisa as she leaned down close to him again, a familiar stab of pain lanced through his chest. He didn’t fight her as she pressed her lips to his or when a her tongue gently but firmly pressed into his mouth. For a moment, he let his mind stay empty and he started to respond to her tongue against his.
It wasn’t until he felt her shifting against him, her hips rocking against his, that he realized what he was doing. He had to keep himself from biting her tongue or wrenching his arms free and smacking her like he would any other forceful lover. Instead Lev rolled her beneath him and pulled his arms free to pin hers.
“I said no Lisa.” He growled, hating that she had gotten this far. “That means you let it go and leave. That doesn’t mean try harder.” He ground out through clenched teeth.
“Didn’t feel like you were fighting very hard to me sweetie.” She smirked at him, not bothering to pull out of his grasp.
“You played a nasty card Lisa, you took advantage of me. Someone withdrawing into themselves isn’t an invitation to keep going.” He squeezed her wrists a little tighter in an effort to keep from strangling her. “It wasn’t a sign to go ahead and relieve you’re sluttish urges.”
“Don’t say that like you’re innocent. Your father might be too drunk to acknowledge what you do when you’re gone. You’re just as much of a slut as I am. Maybe even worse.” She pulled her hands free, scowling at him as she pushed him away.
“I’m not like you. I’m not.” Lev glared at her as he allowed her to get up and head to the door. “You use people, you do it just to get what you want. Just like you’re using my father.”
“Honey, you use them too. Obviously they wouldn’t let you stay in their homes if you weren’t giving them something in exchange.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Actually, you maybe you are worse than me. You don’t really get anything from anyone. You don’t have a permanent home, or cash, or anything to show for your endeavors. Looks more like they’re using you sweetie.”
Lev glowered at Lisa as she slipped back out of his room with a triumphant smile. She was wrong, he wasn’t like her. He wasn’t. He hated getting anything for what he did with someone. He didn’t take anything because he didn’t want it. He just needed a place to stay, somewhere safe, that’s all. He wasn’t selling himself…or giving himself away like she’d implied. Lev burrowed beneath the covers of his bed and pulled his pillow over his head. He was tempted to ‘sleep the day away’, it might be better than lingering around the house with Lisa on the prowl.
Maybe he should just leave again, though that would be risky. Who knew what Lisa would say once he’d left. Then again, who knew what she’d say if he stayed. Lev would never admit it, but he was scared to death of what might happen when his father woke up. But he was even more afraid of what would happen if he was gone. He didn’t have the drive to find somewhere to stay anyway…Tomorrow he could stay gone all day easy though. School was the one thing his father still supported in Lev, so he would have something to do and a place to be for a little while at least.
Damon slowly rubbed at his temples, willing away the headache building there. When it became obvious that the headache wouldn’t give in he reached into his pocket for some Excedrin and swallowed them dry. He looked out over the club. Business was so dead tonight that it wasn’t even amusing. Alvin had left him to watch things alone for a bit while he did inventory in the back since there were so few people there. Even Damon had to admit that things were downright boring on nights like this. He growled quietly to himself and glanced at a clock high on one wall; he could go home soon at least
The lack of business to distract himself with left him with time to think over the few odd spots in his life at the moment. In other words, Lev was crawling back into his mind. He found that he was a little disappointed that the boy hadn’t shown up at the club or the park for the past few days. He told himself that he was glad not to have to deal with Lev, but he had to admit that he’d kind of been looking forward to it. He was something different in his slow life.
Damon wondered what it was Lev did when he wasn’t at Dissonance or at that friend’s place. He wondered just what kind of relationship Lev and his friend had. And, much to his displeasure, he found himself feeling a little jealous of this friend.
“Helllooo, anybody home?” Damon snapped his head back to the counter to find none other than Lev sitting before him. “I thought maybe you’d just decided to shut down in there, or maybe there was something special about that clock.” Lev grinned up at him.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about something.” Damon scratched at sheepishly at the back of his head. “So what’re you doing here? I’ve been expecting you to show up for the last few days and I didn’t see you around at all.”
“Aww, you missed me didn’t you?” Lev cooed. “If I had known you wanted to see me so badly I would’ve come by sooner.”
“Not exactly, just surprised that you weren’t harassing me every time I turned around.” Damon smiled, refusing to admit that he had been hoping to see Lev around more.
“Yeah yeah. Well, if you must know, I only come here once or twice during the week. You know, when I’m looking for a place to stay.” Lev smirked. “Otherwise it’s easier just to stay with Sam or at home. Less work to get to school that way, ya know?”
“Yeah…” There was Sam again, Damon noted to himself; ignoring the little flair of emotion the name incited. “So you actually go to school?” he flashed a smirk of his own.
“Of course, doesn’t pay to be an uneducated idiot these days.” Lev grinned. “Gotta at least get through high school, maybe work on college if I can afford it. Do you really think so lowly of me that you’re surprised I go to school?”
“Nah, you don’t seem that bad; but you never know with people.” Damon shrugged as he spoke. He didn’t really think Lev seemed bad enough to be skipping school, but just as he’d said, sometime you just can’t tell. He was rather happy to find that he had more common sense than he let on.
“That bad huh? You think I’m bad at all?” Lev laughed quietly. “ Just because you caught me in the bathroom that one time, I even told you I didn‘t like getting money.” He rolled his eyes and smiled.
“Well, what can I say. I’m not sure if it’d be worse for you to be accepting pay for it, or that you’re giving yourself away like that.” Damon laughed a little, but stopped and frowned slightly at the look Lev gave him.
“I’m not - I’m not like that alright…I’m not giving myself away. I’m not.” Lev was staring hard at him as he spoke, but the last words came out so softly that they seemed as though they were for his own benefit.
“Hey, whatever you say Lev.” Damon said quietly, getting the feeling that he’d stirred up something a little worse than he’d meant to. “You do whatever it is you think you need.” He smiled softly and ruffled Lev’s hair, attempting to bring back that flashy smiles of a few moments ago.
“Yeah…” Lev smiled, smaller than before, but a real smile nonetheless. “So…What’re you even doing now, doesn’t look like much is happening here tonight.”
“Well, when you showed up, I was counting the minutes ‘til my shift is over. Otherwise…absolutely nothing.” Damon laughed.
“How long do you have ‘til you’re through with your shift?”
“Ohh,” Damon glanced back at the clock, “About twenty minutes.”
“How kind of you to offer me a ride home.” Lev’s smile broadened as he looked up at Damon.
“I don’t remember offering you a ride home.” Damon laughed, arching an eyebrow at the boy.
“Oh my mistake, you must’ve said you’d let me sleep at your place tonight.”
“I don’t think I said that either. But if you need a ride home I suppose I could give you one.” Damon didn’t really care; besides, at least he knew the kid wasn’t sleeping with a stranger.
Lev stayed at the counter talking to Damon while he served the few people that stopped by the bar. He hadn’t expected to get into Damon’s house, nor had he really expected to get a lift home. He was happy that Damon would do it though. He was happy that Damon seemed to be enjoying his company more than the first night.
Though, he had been bothered by that comment. He hated that Damon had brought up the same point Lisa had. He wasn’t worse than her, he wasn’t. Lev hated that Damon was thinking that…that he thought about him that way. But he’d forget it, he’d seemed sorry enough afterwards; and that was enough.
When Damon’s shift was done he waited while he grabbed his bag and jacket, then followed him to the parking lot behind the club. There were only a few cars , not surprising since there weren’t too many people needed to run Dissonance. Though he was surprised when Damon led him to a sleek black motorcycle.
“Wow, I would never have guessed the bike was yours.” Lev laughed. “That’s just-wow.”
“Yeah well, I like it.” Damon chuckled as he secured his bag in the small compartment on the bike. “I only have one helmet, so do you think you trust me enough to not get you killed?” He turned to face Lev as he spoke.
“Yeah, not like it makes much difference to me whether I get killed.” Lev smiled and watched Damon pull the helmet on.
“Alright then,” Damon was about to through his leg over the bike, then paused and turned back to Lev. “On second thought, here, you were the helmet.”
“You sure?” Lev asked, surprised, slowly taking the helmet from Damon’s hand.
“Yeah, I trust myself not to get us killed, but if something happens I’d rather you were wearing it.” He answered as he got on the bike.
“Whatever you say.’ Lev smiled and put the helmet on before climbing on behind Damon.
“Alright, hang on, because even with the helmet it’ll hurt like hell if you fall off once we get going.” Damon said over his shoulder before starting the bike up and heading out of the parking lot.
Lev had no problem with holding on to Damon, he kept his arms looped tightly around his waist. After only a few moments he reached up with one hand to tug the helmet from his head and tuck it on his lap between Damon’s back and his stomach. With it gone he leaned forward a bit and pressed his face to the nape of Damon’s neck.
Damon was hot compared to the cold air whipping past them and he pressed as tightly to him as he could with the helmet between them. Despite the cold, he thought he wouldn’t mind staying like that for a while. He almost regretted having explained how to get to his home before they left, if he hadn’t they could’ve wasted more time stopping since there was no way Damon could hear him over the roar of the wind.
All too soon the bike slowed to a stop at the end of his street. He was reluctant to let go and slide away from the comforting heat of Damon’s body. He forced himself to, and carefully got off and handed the helmet back to him.
“The point of me giving this to you was for you to wear it you know.” Damon gave him a crooked smile.
“Yeah…well I decided if one of us was going down then we both were.” Lev smiled back. “It’s only fair, ya know?”
“Fine. You sure you don’t want me to just take you the rest of the way?” Damon offered.
“Yeah, I just live a few house down.” Lev gestured to his house. “I don’t really want my dad to see you dropping me off, not too sure what he’d do…” Lev smiled a little, hoping Damon would take it as a normal concern rather than the real fear it was.
“Yeah, I guess that’s a good idea.” Damon smiled. “Well, I’ll see you around then…” He pulled his helmet on and gave Lev a wave before driving off.
Lev watched until he couldn’t see Damon anymore. He really wished he could go with him, go back and spend the night with him. He didn’t even want to sleep with Damon, or he didn’t want to go for that reason alone. It just seemed like it would be safe there, safer than what he was facing now. He wanted to think that Damon wouldn’t let anything hurt him.
But he had to go home…Who knew what would be waiting there for him tonight. It wasn’t very late, but that didn’t always mean it was safe. There was nothing left there to protect him. Nothing waiting for him there but broken bonds, false emotions, and twisted relationships.
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Hope that was satisfactory to anyone reading here...which I doubt once again XD