Life Lived Again Chapter 1 - Breaking away

A/N: Hey there. Liz here. This story is written about the neopet I own, named Jack. Most of it follows along the lines of truth. I decided that there are way to many 'perfect' neopets out there. Neopets who dream of winning the beauty contest, or becoming stars. Who never use bad language, smoke, drink, or do drugs. I decided the pet Jack should be different. Out of the millions of pets out there, not all of them can either be perfect, evil, or pitiful. Please note: the pets in this story are mostly real pets. And they're in anthro form. This story also contains heavy language, drug reference, and alcohol reference. Mkay, with that said, please enjoy "Life Lived Again" and please come visit us at the account Codeman1. :)
Jack Tobin sat at what was left of the old table in his kitchen, hunched over it like an old man.

'I am an old man.' He thought with a faint smile. Carefully, he tried to make his shaking hands pour another round into the wine glass in front of him. His eyes were red from whatever drugs he had been doing earlier; he couldn't remember what the man had called them. They hadn't worked very well, and he was starting to feel sick. Alcohol was the only way he knew how to wash away all feeling and emotion. but the wine was bringing back memories. Memories he had tried so hard to forget.

* * * "Good morning, love!" a petite blue Aisha called to him in a singsong voice. She was making something in his kitchen, and he walked towards it, as if in a trance.

"What are you fixing me this morning?" He asked, hugging her from behind.

"Uh. don't be too eager. I just kind of put whatever was in your fridge in this frying pan and hoped it wouldn't kill you," she laughed.

"How nice," Jack said, and went to his couch to see if he couldn't sleep for a few more minutes. "Ow." he muttered. What was that? Slowly, he lifted up the couch cushion and removed a small gray box. "Oh. Right," he whispered to himself. Opening it, he looked tenderly at the small diamond ring inside. He decided he'd ask her tonight. Or. tomorrow. Eventually. Yeah. That was the plan. Smiling to himself, he tried to drift off to sleep again.

"Jack? Could you come in here for a minute?" called the girl in his kitchen.

"What is it? Did you catch breakfast one fire? Because I know this place down the street and-"

"No. Jack, I've been meaning to talk to you. About us." She looked him in the eye.

"You have beautiful eyes," he said quietly. He favored her purple ones over his dull gray eyes.

"Not now, Jack. Uh. I know it isn't right, just telling you randomly and all." she muttered.

"Just get on with it," he told her, wanting to eat.

"I think we should be friends. You know. start seeing other people. Of course, we-" she was cut off.

"What? What are you talking about? We've been going out for seven months now! SEVEN! And. and things were good, and we were happy. What'd I do wrong?" he jumbled his words together, hardly making sense. Running his hands through his messy hair, he turned around. "I can't believe it." * * *

"That was eleven months ago. Why can't I just let it go?" He asked his empty apartment. Why was he talking to himself? "Hehe. I sound like an idiot," he laughed. He could already feel the wine starting to take its hold on him. Finally. He finished his glass and let it drop to the floor, shattering into several pieces. He put the whole bottle to his mouth and finished it off in a few gulps. Blinking a few times, he made his was to his old red couch, nearly falling before it. Jack fell into a dreamless sleep.

* BANG BANG BANG *

"What.. the. fuck?" Jack muttered, wincing as he tried to get up. Somebody was at his door. "My head. ow." He opened the door to reveal several of his friends with cases of beer in their hands. He laughed. All of them were underage.

"Jack, we decided that you were bored, so we came to make you un- bored!" shouted a random person. They shoved pass him and claimed their places in his family room. One popped in a movie. He yawned and shut the door. 'What friends I have.'

"Why won't your dvd player work?" Somebody shouted.

"Because you haven't turned it on?" he asked, sitting down on his big beanbag chair.

"Oh. Right."

Jack laughed to himself, momentarily forgetting the metal fork stabbing his head. Why was that? Oh yeah. Wasted last night.

"Jack, pay attention and watch the movie. It's funny as hell," somebody commanded him. He could barely make out who was who. His head was killing him, and his stomach was feeling weird. Weird like.

"Oh shit." Jack got up and rushed to the bathroom. His friends laughed, assuming he just had a late night with some fast girl downtown.

"Holy." Stumbling out of the bathroom and back into his chair, he tried to watch the movie.

"Late night last night, Jack?" asked somebody to the right. He couldn't see straight anymore.

"Huh? Oh. yeah," Jack told them. It was a better excuse than the truth.

"Was she pretty? Or were you just too wasted to tell?" laughed the curious guy.

'You should be shot.' Jack thought to himself, not stupid enough to say it out loud. "Yeah. She was hotter than any girl you could ever score with. Now shut up and let me watch this movie."

His friends laughed. Why did he even call them his friends? He never went out with them unless he had to, or people were starting to think that he was just some loser who hung out in his apartment watching TV all day. Which he did, but that was beside the point. He needed a human to pay for all his things. He hated work. Loathed it. Somehow, he had met a group of pets that didn't have 'owners.' They were the messed up group. He made up his mind.

"Um. yeah, I'm moving. You guys can have whatever I leave behind," he said lazily. He knew that giving them his extra items would keep the questions from arising.

"Bummer. We'll miss you. Don't get shot," a random person said.

'Heh. Great advice,' he thought. "I won't, dumbass." More laughing. Hell, he could cuss every single one of them out and they'd laugh. No wonder he hung out with them. "Yeah. Get out of my apartment, I need to pack."

"Already? Fun. See ya later!" a girl called. Jack wondered if he had dated her.

After the door slammed shut, he got to work gathering his things. For some reason, he needed to get out. He hated this apartment. He never wanted to see it again. It was the same apartment he had shared with her before the breakup. He hated himself for what he had said, but there was no going back.

* * * "So. this whole relationship was a joke to you?" Jack asked, becoming infuriated.

"No! Of course not! I just. well, I met somebody else. Please don't hate me, Jack," she whispered. Jack stopped. She had met somebody else?

"OH! So . so you met somebody else. Somebody better. I see. I don't know why you told me sooner. And don't make up some gay-ass excuse. Things are becoming quite clear. You fucked me over, there's no other way to put it. Get out of my fucking apartment before I. I don't know. Just get out," he yelled. He surprised himself. Never before had he yelled like that. She was crying. 'Good,' said the voice in his head. 'She deserves to cry.'

"You really are a dick, you know that?!" she said to him, her voice cracking.

"I did nothing wrong. Just get out," he told her quietly. And she did. She ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Jack went back to the couch and removed the ring intended for her. After looking at it for a bit, he threw it in the trash. * * *

Jack looked at his bed. A suitcase lay there, half filled with clothes, a toothbrush, and other random things. He looked through the Neopian Times. Finding an apartment downtown shouldn't be too hard. After a few minutes of skimming, he found an affordable apartment for 1k per month. That wasn't too bad. He called a moving company to pick up his extra things. Nearly running downstairs, he informed the landlady of his departure, and paid his final rent. He threw the suitcase into the backseat of his car.

'God, I hope this shitty thing can actually make it downtown,' he thought. It was old, but he was pretty sure it'd be fine. He sped away, going way over the speed limit.

20 minutes later, he arrived. The outside wasn't much to look at, and he hoped whatever was inside would be better. He checked in with the landlady, who was an unbelievably fat Elephante. Climbing the stairs, he finally reached his room. Lovely. It was horrific.

"Well. it's better than what I had," he told himself.

'No it wasn't. But go ahead, it's yours now,' said the voice in his head.

"And now I'm talking to myself. I'm going crazy," he muttered.

'Plenty of people talk to themselves,' the voice responded.

"Not like this."

'. You're right. You're going crazy.'

A few days later, everything was in order. He had a place to live in. He had a secure job as a photographer for the Neopian Times. Well. secure enough. He was away from his old life. Yet. he didn't have a human. He remembered when he did have one. It was okay. it fed him. Where's the harm in that? He decided to make that his top priority. eventually. Now, he needed food. He had beer, vodka, and instant ramen noodles. Perfect.

Extras: Hey, it's me again. I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter. I also hope you aren't brain-damaged from reading it. ;) In case you were confused, here's some extra stuff to clear any questions up.

Jack: Brown Aisha, 22 years old, drinking and drug problem.

Girlfriend who I haven't given you the name to: Blue Aisha, 20 years old at the time.

Random Friends: All around the ages of 18-20- a few older than that. I didn't feel like naming them, due to the fact that that's the only time you'll see them. I probably should name them "People who bring Jack to his senses" . but that's just gay. Look for the next chapter: Finding Hope. I hope to see you there. Well. hope to see you reading it. Or. reviewing it.

. Yeah, I'm going now.