Iggy was lying in the middle of the park, a mile away from his old house, the orphanage and the high school.
He was lying on his old sleeping bag, his arms behind his head, staring up at the stars.
Iggy was just falling asleep when he heard a light thud. He sat up and looked around.
"Hello?" he said, pushing his glasses up.
"I…I didn't know anyone was out here." A tall boy with an Irish accent said, dropping down from a tree.
Iggy fell back in relief.
The Irish boy picked his backpack up off the ground and walked over to Iggy. He towered over him.
"I'm Damian McGinty." He said, sitting criss cross in the grass, his backpack next to him.
"Iggy Larsen." He said, sitting up.
Iggy held his fist out to Damian. Damian punched it.
"Might I ask what are you doing out here? It's early winter, not the best time to be camping." He said, wrapping his arms around his knees.
"I have…home troubles. I lived a mile or so down the road from here." Iggy said, trying to figure out what and what he couldn't tell this kid.
"So, you're a runaway?" he asked.
"Yeah." Iggy said. "What's your story?"
"I'm an orphan from Ireland all of sixteen years." He said, showing no emotions whatsoever.
"Why ain't you an orphan in Ireland?" Iggy asked, rubbing his cold arms.
"Because I was living on my own in Ireland. My parents kicked me out and I moved here." Damian said.
"Why the kick you out?" Iggy asked.
"A number of reasons." Damian said, pulling his jacket off and holding it out to Iggy. A gesture totally natural and involuntary.
Iggy stared at the black jacket, wanting to take it but not sure if he should. If he did, that would mean more then he was just cold. Right?
Iggy gave into the cold and grabbed the jacket.
"So, what's your story? Why were you kicked out?" Iggy asked again, liking the warmth of the jacket.
"I'll tell you mine if I hear yours first." Damian retorted pulling a knit hat on.
Iggy thought for a second. "Okay. Deal."
Damian nodded, waiting for Iggy to start talking.
"First off, I don't got a real home. I'm an orphan. Me and my little sister. Our parents were murdered. By who, I doubt we'll ever know. There are these kids from around the neighborhood, about a year younger then me, who pick on my little sister. She's autistic, and a really easy target. She doesn't fight back, she's weird, out of place. You know?"
Damian nodded.
"Well, I beat the shit out of them and they more or less left her alone. But Penny wasn't too happy about it. That's my social worker. After that happened, I was sent away to the orphanage here. For delinquent boys and assigned a parole officer." Iggy continued, not meeting Damian's eyes. "And, I'm tell you man. It fucking sucked there. Clearly, I'm not that big. I was an easy target, but I'm a fighter. Was constantly getting in fights. Not the best place. I needed a break for a while. I bailed. I'm just counting the days till I look eighteen so I can get a fake ID, get a house and get my little sister back. What's your story?"
"Longer." Damian smiled.
Iggy smirked and shook his head.
"Okay. I guess this started when I told my parents I liked singing and that I wrote my own shit. They don't approve of much creativity, think it's a waste of time. To get away from them, I usually hung at my girlfriend house." Damian smiled remembering the old days. "And we did what any teenagers would do. We fucked. She got pregnant. I told my parents. They were pissed, to put it lightly. Her parents forced her to get an abortion. Mine were happy and didn't really care that I was upset.
"I started hanging out with this guy I knew since I was little. We were best friends. And…he became my boyfriend. I'm not gay, just to clarify. I'm bi. Anyway…my dad was at a business meeting and my mom was supposed to be visiting her sister and the new baby. So I had Keith come over. We were in my room making out with the door open and both my parents walked in. They fucking freak out. Well Dad did. Screaming and yelling. Saying that they knew Keith would be a bad influence.
"Then they kicked me out. They gave me an hour to get what I needed. My dad set a timer. So I pack a backpack and a duffle of clothes, grabbed my guitar and went downstairs. My parents were in their bedroom, not wanting to look at me. I saw my dad's wallet on the counter. I grabbed his bankcard and all the money he had, which was close to two hundred euros. I screamed at them I was leaving. I saw Mom at the top of the steps as I was leaving. She was crying.
"After I left I headed to the bank and emptied mine and my father's bank accounts. I had a total of €280,00. Which was about $193,000. I spent a thousand on a plane ticket to Chicago. I didn't want to spend my money on a hotel or anything, so I spelt in the park in a tree. Which is a crime. I didn't know that. I got arrested, and when they learned I was minor they sent me to an orphanage a town over. I walked here yesterday cause I didn't like it. Yeah I got free room, and food. But I was surrounded by a million other kids."
"So you should still have a lot of money?" Iggy asked, knowing not to ask questions about the things he wondered.
"In my duffle in the tree. And I make money on the streets. It's easy. People down town are so willing to give money to a kid who can sing." Damian smirked. "I've almost made my plane ticket back."
"If you have money, why don't you just stay at a motel? They cheap, bruh. And you can always make the money back."
"Hold on. Bruh? What's that mean?"
"It's like bro and homie." Iggy explained.
Damian gave Iggy a confused look.
"Dude, man, friend, buddy, pal." Iggy continued.
"I got it. And I can't leave a paper trail. My mom probably already left dad, and they both have probably been trying to find me since I left a year ago. For different reasons of course."
Iggy opened his mouth to talk.
"I'll get to those reasons later on." Damian said.
Iggy's stomach growled loudly.
"But, until then. Let's get some food. Know any place good around here?"
"IHOP." Iggy said, standing up.
Damian nodded and stood up. He held out his hand for Iggy, but he refused. Damian curled his hand into a fist slowly one finger at a time and put it in his hoodie pocket. Iggy stood up and the two walked down the street together.
Author's note. This will be a good story, but this is the story that Damian is bi in...as stated above. If you are offended by that or don't like it. I apologize. I just wanted to have Cameron and Damian in one story. It makes me sad to to think of Damian in the arms of a man instead of my arms. That's why he's bi and not fully gay. I would cry if he was gay. I hated making him bi, but I just loved the Dameron bromance on the Glee Project. But I didn't want him with Cameron on my Glee Project story, I have other ideas for him love wise in that story ;). So this story it is. If you don't like, you are not obligated to read it. I'm just saying I hope you do. It will be good I promise. That's all.
- Shelby