Seeing him there passed out on the couch filled Brian with rage. The man stirred. He opened his eyes slightly and spoke to the boy.
"Hey sonny boy…" he slurred.
"….how bout helping your old man out."
He obeyed. He propped his father up so he was sitting straight up.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"One in the afternoon."
"Why aren't you in school?" drool spilled out of his lips as he spoke.
"It's Saturday dad."
"Oh…right."
The boy left to go upstairs to his room. Loathing filled him. He hated him. He hated that he hated him. The phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Brian, where have you been? I've been trying to contact you all day. Are you ok?"
"Chill Mikey, I just went out for a bit. I'm here now aren't I? What do you need?"
"I just wanted to know if you wanted to come over today and hang out."
"Is that just because you're bored and you have no other friends?"
"No…."
"Right…I'll be right over. What's your mom cooking?"
"Macaroni Casserole."
"Be there in 5."
With that he hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket and headed downstairs.
His dad was still there.
"Where you going?"
"Michaels."
And with that he was out the door. He didn't care what his father had to say. Anywhere was better than being home.
He walked into the house.
"Brian!! Michael must have told you we had casserole." The red haired lady said.
"Yup"
He went into the kitchen and sat down at the table with Michael's Uncle Vic.
"Michael, Brian's here!!!" she yelled.
In seconds there were footsteps rushing down the stairs.
"Hey ya Mikey."
"Hey. You sure came fast."
"Had to get out of the house"
Michael understood.
"So what do you boys have planned for this fine day?" Vic asked.
"Um I was kinda hoping we could go down to Buzzy's and read the latest issue of Captain Astro? If that's ok with you Bri?"
"We were there yesterday."
"So?"
"So let's go someplace new today. I think I know somewhere."
"Where's that?" Debbie asked.
"Oh I dunno just a place I heard some guys talking about."
"Ohhh rigghhtt." She gave a wink at Vic.
"Well you boys have fun."
As they walked down the street to this new place Michael asked
"So does the place that we're going have a name?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"Liberty Avenue."
Michael knew all about Liberty Avenue. His mom had worked there since he was 12. It's basically the gay district. Gays, Lesbians, Trannys, Drag Queens. It was kind of like the circus with rainbows.
Brian knew he preferred guys way back when he was younger. He guessed that the whole girls have cooties thing just never went away. When he got to middle school he had all the girls swoon over him. It bugged him. He hated it. Then when he took his first athletics class he knew he wasn't like everyone else.
Michael on the other hand didn't really know he preferred guys over girls until he was about 13 when he met Brian. Brian made him look at the male species in a completely different way. Brian was sculpted and chiseled. He had a beautiful tan body and eyes that made Michael melt. His voice was addicting and his presence was intimidating. Girls were nothing compared to Brian Kinney.
It was gym class, the class Michael hated, where they first met. He wasn't an athletic person. He didn't play sports when he was younger. In his class were all jocks. The coach told them they were going to play football for fun for the first day. Michael's stomach sank. Then the coach announced that they were going to pick teams. Michael almost died. The team captains were Josh Lockhart and Brian Kinney.
Michael wasn't surprised when it was just him and scrawny Jimmy left. It was Brian's turn to pick and he was almost 100 sure he was going to pick Jimmy.
"Him" Brian said pointing to Michael.
It took Michael a few seconds to realize Brian was pointing at him.
"Me?"
"Yes you. Get over here."
Michael got up and went to go stand with his team. During the game Brian saved Michael's butt. He covered for him and helped him any way he could. This puzzled Michael. Back in the dressing rooms some of the guys were talking about which chicks they've fucked and how easy it was for them to get the girls drunk and do them.
"Yea man she completely went for it. Anyway she was too drugged to know what was going on anyway." A jock named Clayton said.
"What about you Brian…what have you done to get into a girls pants?"
"I don't need to do anything to get laid."
The guys didn't really know how to take this or how to respond to his answer. Michael smiled to himself.
"What are you grinning about Navoteny?"
"Hm…oh nothing."
"Come on, how many chicks have you laid?"
"Probably none." Another boy said. "He probably likes dudes. Fuckin faggot."
"You a faggot Navoteny? Hmm…You probably suck dick and take it up the ass don't you?"
"No..." Michael said quietly.
"I bet if you could you would suck all of us right here."
He pushed Michael.
"Faggot"
"For saying he's a faggot you sure know a lot about what they do." Brian interrupted.
"You stay out of this Kinney." He warned.
"And if I don't."
"Well….if you don't…then you must be a faggot too." He said unconvincingly.
"Oh wow great comeback. Now you leave him alone or else I'm going to tell your girlfriend about that little incident in 4th grade. Remember…..in the tree house…at night…..when I…"
"Alright, just shut up. I'll leave him alone."
"Now that's a good boy….now you run along and go play with your jockstrap."
The bell rang. Clayton gave Brian the most menacing glare he could possible give. His eyes were yelling 'you're a dead man Kinney'. Brian just stared back. Emotionless.
Then he turned to Michael and told him to come with him. Michael obeyed.
"Thanks…" Michael stuttered.
"For what?"
"For saving my ass back there?"
Brian just kept walking.
When they arrived at Liberty Avenue It was getting dark. Michael had never been at Liberty Avenue at night. It was like it completely transformed. Different people. The buildings were lit up that were bare and empty during the day. The atmosphere was completely carefree. He felt free.
Brian had snuck out to Liberty Avenue at night before. He's even snuck into Babylon, but only twice. Tonight he wanted to bring Mikey and have him experience what he's been missing for 17 years.
"Wow" Michael said.
"Welcome Mikey, to the other half of society."
They both smiled at each other and Brian took Michaels hand. They were unstoppable.
The people there were something you could stare at for weeks and still find them fascinating.
The thing that Michael remembered the most is the hair. There was giant hair that was every color of the rainbow. He even saw one that he sore was cotton candy.
Brian saw the look on Mikey's face and smiled to himself. For him Liberty Avenue was his life. It was him. It was all that he knew and all that he cared to know. He didn't give a shit about the world outside it. Everything else in his life just didn't matter. He was here with his best friend away from his dad. Nothing was better than this. Well maybe one thing but it was pretty close.