Down the Rabbit Hole Chapter 36 – Killer Queen

A/N- The song for the title is sung by Queen. For those who may not know a John is the guy hiring a hustler for sex. Trick is the act of hiring a hustler it is also a noun used in gay society for someone you sleep with, with no strings attached, "Girl, where's your trick at?" Tricking, is when you're actively looking for a one-night stand, it could also be called cruising, "Leave her be, she's tricking." Trade is a noun used when a man who identifies as heterosexual sleeps with a gay man, "How was that trade last night girl," they could also be called rough trade if they are very masculine or overly butch, i.e. construction workers, army guys, cops.

Alice lay in her makeshift bed upon the floor with the comforter that covered her pulled up over her head to hide her from this cruel and unforgiving world. Peeking out from under the covers, she looks over at the clock upon the wall and see that the hour she was due in at work was fast approaching, but still could not find the energy to get up out of bed to start her day. The last two and a half weeks of disappointing pay and hours had drained her will to enter that building and face those people one more time. The list of atrocious tasks they had her do had only grown since the first day of her employment and showed no signs of stopping. From scrapping off used gum from under their tables in the dinning area, to ensuring that the employee bathroom was spotlessly cleaned for the upcoming health inspection. Each task she had been assigned to only taking two hours or less to complete and at which time they would send her home, paying her at the end of her shift the reduced pay she had received on her first day.

She only received a glimmer of hope once in the three weeks that she has been working there, when they asked her to tidy up the basement storage area, which should have given her a full eight hours of work. She knew that the basement was notoriously a disaster area for this small business, as she had been sent down there several times to retrieve a tool she would need for the work she was doing and spent nearly twenty minutes trying to find it each time. However, that illusion of hope quickly evaporated to the harsh realities of life and the greed of man. For whenever her work day would come close to the three-hour mark, Cyrus would slowly make his way down the basement stairs carrying a small envelop with her pay in it and send her home. Essentially taking a job that should have been done in one day and extending it into four, causing her to start to believe that three hours was the most they were ever going to work her in a given day.

And today, she was certain, was not going to be an exception to that rule and the shear thought of the task ahead of her further drained her will to get up out of her bed. For today they were going to have her clean the clutter around the dumpster located in the back of the building, as well as to hose out the area. For God only knows what manner of micro-organisms might be lying in wait to get into eyes, nose or mouth if any water should happen to splash back into her face as she cleans.

A knock at the door draws her out of her thoughts and back into reality, the coming hour was now close at hand and she groans as she throws the blanket back over her head to hide again. The door opens slowly as Trixie peeks inside the room, "Baby boy, its time to get up, you're going to be late."

"I'm not going," Edd replied from under the covers.

She steps inside the room and closes the door behind her before making her way over to sit on the floor beside the mat he was laying on, "Why not?"

Edd flips back the covers and looks her in the eyes, seeing Adam looking back at him, "Because the hours suck, the work sucks and the pay, sucks," pulling the cover back over his head he was determined not to leave this room all day.

She rubs his shoulder soothingly, "Have you talked to Leo?"

"No," he mumbles, "He's never there when I am, only Cyrus is there."

"You know if you don't show up they'll get rid of you, and you'll be right back where you started," what she meant was that he would be back looking for work again, which it was hard enough to find this job the first time.

But his overly active mind in its current frantic state took it as meaning that he would be back on the street to fend for himself again. "It doesn't matter," his voice was shaking, and he swallows hard to try and steady it, "I've only been able to save $45 and won't be able to pay my half of the rent, so I'm kind of screwed anyways."

She could feel his shoulder tremble as she continued to rub them, "It will be alr…"

"How is it going to be alright," his attempt to control his emotions had failed and she withdraws her hand from his shoulder. "I owe you all so much and I'm not going to be able to make good on that debt if things continue the way that they are. I just, I just don't know what I can do."

She had noticed that the boy's anxiety and worry had been increasing over the past few weeks with each time that he has been sent home after only a few short hours of work and understood his situation quite well. But enough was enough, "Eddward Rockwell, you stop that whining right now," her mother's words coming back to her, "Feeling sorry for yourself has never helped no one fix nothing." He brings the covers down to his nose and looks at her, seeing a very stern looking Adam staring back at him, "You can only reach your goals by getting up and taking that first step."

Edd wipes away the tears that had yet to fall from his eyes and coughs to clears his throat, "I know that, but I just don't know how right now."

Her countenance softens as she lets out a frustrated breath, she felt sorry for him for the situation that he was in but being soft on him wasn't going to help him. "Edd, I'm sorry but you have to find a way to take care of yourself," She sees his brow furrow and knows that he took what she said the wrong way. "What I mean is, that we're not always going to be around to help you and you need to be able to stand on your own feet, ok." She leans over and ruffles his hair, "Now get up, it's going to be alright," leaning back she looks him in the eyes once again, "Trust me." She stands and heads out of the room as he begrudgingly throws off the covers to get ready for his day, dreading that she was going to drag him to his work anyways. He could hear her open the door to the other room, "Dylan, get up, we're going out for breakfast."

"I don't wanna," he groans out half asleep as he adjusts in the bed, rubbing his face against the pillow.

She climbs into the bed next to him and whispers into his ears, "We'll get pancakes," he hums sleepily in delight, "Sausage, scrambled eggs with cheese and coffee."

"You drive a hard bargain you know," he stretches and blinks his eyes as they adjust to the light pouring into the room from the open door, "I'm up," he coughs, "Just give me a minute."

Stepping out of the room again she was stopped by Edd who protested, "Trixie, I don't have the money for that, so I'll just stay here."

"Nonsense," she wasn't going to take no for an answer, "It's my treat, a growing boys got to eat more than just ramen." He looks into her eyes and accepted the fact that she was going to be stubborn about this and steps over to the drier without another word and takes out the only set of clothes that he owns and heads into the bathroom. As he lays them down on the bathroom counter he notices that the hem of his pants was starting to show signs of wear from being washed every single day and sighs at his bad luck.

Stepping out of the bathroom after taking a quick shower he is greeted by Dino as he walks down the hall to the living room as he pulls his shirt over his head and down his torso, "Not going to work today?"

Edd shakes his head no and Trixie could be heard from the other room, "He's taking the day off."

"Is that going to be ok?" Dino looked from Trixie to Edd, cocking a brow in his direction. He came off as being an ass with his tone and demeanor, but he was truly concerned, since he knew that Edd wasn't doing to well financially with his current job and might need every penny he could get from them.

"Drop it Dylan," Trixie scolded him, "It'll be fine," he looks back over at her and see that the look on her face matched the tone in her voice and walks into the living room without another word. Grabbing her keys from the hook she had put them on last night, her features soften once again as she speaks, "Now, who's hungry?" Getting into the car they made their way to one of the nearby Shoney's in town where Trixie ordered them all the breakfast bar. Sitting down to enjoy their meal, the two of them marveled as they watched a very hungry Edd as he went back to the bar four times before he was finally sated. "Feeling better now," she asked as she brushed a few stray hairs out of his face and back behind his ear.

He hums his gratitude as he leans back in his chair to allow his stomach to digest his food in comfort, "Much." This feeling of contentment wasn't to last long, as all the troubles of his life were still there and not far removed from his thoughts, "But I'm still worried. I know that it's only fair that I help out since I'm staying there, so don't get the wrong idea because I skipped work today, because I'm not expecting a free ride from either of you." He looks Trixie in the eye with a serious expression on his face, "And I will pay you back for the meal."

She waved his offer off with a gesture of her hand, "You don't have to do that."

"No, I mean it, I will become someone that the two of you can count on, I know how I can make the money I need, I'm just" he pauses for a brief moment, "Afraid."

"Edd," Trixie breaths out as she searches for the words she knew he needed to hear to give him the strength to get through this.

"I get it dude," Dino cuts in, shaking his head slightly with a nervous laugh as he continues "I so totally get it, I didn't want to get fucked in the ass by a total stranger either. I mean just the idea of some old hairy fat guy I didn't even know ramming me from behind scared the shit out of me," he points with his thumb to Trixie, "Just ask Adam."

"He was a mess," she confirmed, "Before this he was a total top."

"My ass was exit only," he reinforces her statement, "So I did what I was comfortable with and eased myself into."

"How?" Edd asks as the elderly couple that was sitting behind him gets up out of their booth, the holy rollers casting judgmental glances at the three of them as they made their way passed them towards the doors of the establishment.

Trixie giving the couple the one fingered salute as a thank you for their hypocritical ways then turned her attention back to Edd, "He only let his Trick's suck his dick in the beginning."

Dino lowered his voice in a shy manner as he continued to explain, "And I experimented with being a bottom with Adam."

"And now he has joined the ranks of the power bottoms," she teased her boyfriend playfully.

He leans over and kisses her smiling face, "I'm versatile baby, you know that."

"So, there are guys out there that will be totally ok with just getting to suck me off?" He was a little confused, wasn't the main goal of gay sex anal penetration?

Trixie and Dino look at each other and laugh as memories of some of their more exotic encounters flood their minds, "You'd be surprised what some people are into," she informed him, "Believe me, your John being a submissive cocksucker is mild."

Dino leans in and as though he was trying to be discreet about the conversation but failed epically, "I once had this Trick take me back to his hotel room, get completely butt ass naked then ask me to tie him up with the rope on the bed. Once he was happy that he couldn't get free he says, Your moneys in the draw by the bed, once you get it, you can leave."

Edd's eyes went wide with disbelief, "And did you?"

"Absolutely," Dino chuckled as he leans back in the booth, "He paid me $200 just to tie him up and leave him there."

"God that's kind of messed up," Edd pondered this as he spoke.

Trixie explains, "It's kind of a domination thing where he is forced to live out this humiliating experience by get caught in such a vulnerable state by the staff, it gives him a rush."

"But Edd," Dino draws his attention back to him, "I don't want you to think that we're expecting you to start working the streets with us just because we've told you all this." His eyes were soft and imploring Edd to understand, "It's still your choice, ok, I'm only letting you know how I started out."

Edd was going to let them know that he understood and that he wasn't feeling pressured by them but was interrupted by the manager as he approaches their table, "I'm going to have to ask you all to leave."

Trixie looks up at him with disbelief and asks, "Why?"

"We've gotten a few complaints from the other guests, that some of the topics that you are loudly talking about are making them a bit uncomfortable," the man was also looking uncomfortable for having to do this.

Dino was already standing as Trixie starts to shimmy out of the booth, "Fine, we'll leave." Then looks around at the eyes upon her and raises her voice, "But if your guests would learn to mind their own god damn business, they wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable now would they." Snatching back up the money she was going to leave as a tip she storms towards the door as she says, "Come on girls, let's go," just to put a cherry on top the other patron's unease at their presence. Dino tips over one of the glasses on the table in front of the manager before he left to follow her. Dropping their bill on the counter she kept her mouth shut as the cashier took her money and handed back her change without a word, as it was clear that if anyone had said one word to her, hells furry would have been unleashed upon them.

The walk to the car was brimming with her furry as she muttered profanities under her breath, emphasizing her displeasure with the business when she slams her car door shut. The trip home was quiet as she slowly calms down, Dino's hand in her own to help ease her furry. It is an awful feeling to know that some people in this world make it their mission in life to try and make sure that you stay as far away from "normal" people as possible. That the simple fact that you are in the same room as them, or buying something from them, some how will affect them in a negative way. "Utter bull shit," She exclaims as they enter their apartment, "Those fucking bastards," she plops down on the couch and brings a pillow up into her lap, holding it tightly to her chest.

Dino comes over and sits next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder, "You alright baby?"

She curls up on the couch and leans back into his embrace, "Yeah."

"Don't let them get to you," he kisses the top of her head tenderly.

She takes in a deep breath filled with his scent and lets it out slowly, letting go of her frustrations and anger, for if they couldn't see the love they had for each other and only saw them as perverted homos, then fuck them. They would never see them again anyways, so why did their opinion of them even matter, why should she allow it to do to her exactly what they wanted it to do to her, strip away her confidence and give them power. "I'm not, fuck them," she lets out another deep breath and the tension in her shoulders relaxes. The rest of the evening before work was spent forgetting the experience and pondering how best to help Edd if he has decided to take up the business.

"Dino," Edd calls from the archway of the hall at fifteen till eight.

"Yeah dude."

"Can I borrow some clothes?"

"Sure," he replies as he removes his arm from under Trixie's head and gets up off the couch, "You got some hot date tonight?" He teases as he passes him, giving him a gentle back hand smack to the stomach before leading the way to his bedroom.

"Not really," Edd answered him as Dino opened the closet door, "I know that its almost time for the two of you to go to work and I was thinking about coming along." This decision hadn't been an easy one for Edd as his nerves were now shot with anxious anticipation over what was to happen tonight.

"Ok," he raises a brow questioningly, "If you're sure, then cool."

"I am," his words were betrayed by the nervousness in his voice.

"Alright, so trashy rough trade or high-class trick?" Edd fumbled for a moment as he tried to discern which look would be better for him. "Trashy rough trade it is then," Dino decided for him as he begins to rummag through his clothes and adds, "Not like there is really any other choice in here," lightly laughing at the end of his own statement. Finding what he was looking for he hands the shirt and pants over to Edd, "Try these on, I think they'll look good on you."

As he heads to the bathroom he examines the shirt he was given and sees that it could hardly be categorized as such. Entering the room, he closes the door and takes off the shirt he was wearing and slides the tank top over his head, finding that his suspicions were correct as the piece of fabric barely hide any of his skin. The garment had been ripped down both sides, exposing the sides of his abdomen and chest to the world. In truth the only part of his torso that this tattered piece of fabric covered effectively was his naval and he was pretty sure that if he moved in anyway it to would become exposed. The jeans that Dino had provided for him had several holes in varying sizes, the most prominent of which was positioned right at the bottom of his right ass cheek, teasing those who would see it with a glimpse of his boxers.

The door to the bathroom pops open, and Dino's voice calls from around it, "Edd are you decent?" Not waiting for a reply, he peeks around the corner of the wooden divider and sees that the boy was dressed and comes on in, "Here put this on," handing over his leather jacket for Edd to wear. Doing as Dino suggests, he puts his arms through the sleeves and adjusts the jacket on his shoulders, trying to cover up as much of his flesh as possible which the shirt was failing to do. Coming up behind him, Dino looks in the mirror as he made his own adjustments, reversing what Edd had done and exposing just a little bit of his skin, "Perfect," he declared. "You've got to sell it man," he instructed turning his head to look at Edd, "Tease them just a little so that they are drooling for you," he smiles while biting his bottom lip as he inspected his work once again, he slaps Edd twice on the right shoulder as though giving him his seal of approval. Turning his head toward the door he calls out, "Trixie," and waits for her to acknowledge him before continuing, "On or off?"

"Off," she calls out from their room.

With her agreement he snatches the beanie on top of Edd's head, allowing his shoulder length hair to tumble free, "Hey,' he protests.

"No arguing," Dino chided as he grabs a brush from the counter and hands it to him, so that he could brush out the knots in his hair that being under his beanie had caused. Turning around he leans into the tub and starts the water to allow it to warm up as he begins to strip for his shower. Seeing Edd tense up out of the corner of his eye as he drops his shirt in the floor, he teases, "Dude, I'm just taking a shower, so you don't need to get all nervous." Leaning in close, he whispers in his ear in his husky voice, "It's not like I'm going to bend you over and fuck you," pulling away he chuckles, "So chill, you act like you've never seen another naked man before."

"Sorry, I'm just on edge," Edd looked at him through the mirror.

"I get it, you're nervous," he says as he drops his pants then straightens up and looks over his shoulder at Edd again, "Just take a deep breath, ok, you'll be fine." Stepping into the shower he looks him over one last time before closing the shower curtain before saying, "And lose the boxers." As he finishes brushing out his hair Dino calls out with one final suggestion as the sound of the water rinsing out his hair splashes against the bottom of the tub, "There's some cologne on my dresser, feel free to use it if you want some." Setting down the brush on the counter he grabs up his beanie and makes his way out of the bathroom calling out his thanks as he left.

Entering Dino and Trixie's bedroom, he makes his way over to the dresser as Trixie exclaims, "Lord, you're lookin fine baby boy." He turns his head and looks in her direction, giving her a weak and nervous smile as thanks. Noticing that his nerves were on edge she reassures him, "You know you can change your mind Edd, it's not too late, we won't think any less of you."

"I'm fine," he replies as he grabs the little black bottle of Drakkar Noir.

She returns her attention to her eye liner as she speaks, "Alright, if you're sure, just listen to us and everything will be ok."

He pops the cap off the bottle and spritzes himself a few times with its contents, "Thanks." Putting the bottle back on the dresser, he makes his way back to his own bedroom, throwing his head gear onto his bedding then proceeds to do as Dino had suggested, going commando for the evening. Having to adjust himself so that his package was to the right as there was a hole in the left leg that exposed the fabric of that pocket.

Once Trixie and Dino were ready they all loaded up into the car and made their way to their usual spot on fag hill in Autumn Park. But as they rounded the last corner they spot a lone individual standing under the tree that they usually sat under, "Lets go to the Bear," Dino suggests.

"Why," Edd asks as he leans forward and they slowly made their way closer to the hill.

As they neared the person under the tree, "Because," Dino rolls down his window and shouts, "I smell beacon," rolling it back up as he continues, "That's why."

Looking to Trixie as she accelerated the vehicle he asks, "So what's the bear?"

"It's a bar in Old Summerville," she informs him.

"But we're not going in," Dino adds.

"We're bared from there," she explains.

"Something about them cleaning up their image and kicking out all the hustlers," Dino elaborated, "But they can't stop us from sitting across the street."

Twenty minutes later they are pulling into a poorly lit parking lot behind a local Walgreens that was also nestled between two other buildings. The side street of Garvin, which was where the Bear was located, was the only other access point into the lot other then the alleyway that they had taken, making it secluded and obscured from view of passing vehicles on the main thoroughfare of Oak Street. Finding a spot away from the main entrance they park and shut off the engine, "Alright, tell me what I just told you," Trixie says as she turns around to face Edd with Dino following suite.

Edd looks up as though it would help him to recall what she had said. "Don't allow anyone to tie me up or blindfold me, don't get into a car with anybody who asks to many question because they might be a cop and always trust my gut, if they make me nervous get away from them." He knew he was forgetting something, "Oh, and if the deal seems to sweet then something has to be wrong."

"Because?"

"Because they might think that they can get anything they want with money, even if it makes me uncomfortable."

"Exactly."

"Always be upfront with what you're willing to do," Dino adds, "And don't be afraid to tell them what you're not willing to do. You're never do something that will make you uncomfortable even if they flash more money at you, it's not cool and you'll hate yourself in the morning."

"And we both know that you're probably uncomfortable already, and we understand that, so just remember that if you decide that you can't do this, at any time, it's ok, you don't have to." As Trixie finishes her sentence Edd nods his head to let her know that he understood her, "But if you go forward I want you to do what Dino said and stick to what you're comfortable with, ok."

"Yes ma'am," he replied seriously.

"Alright, lets get out there," she opens the door and steps out of the car, pulling up her seat so that Edd could climb out. At the edge of the parking lot on either side of the entrance way from Garvin Street stood a pair of short brick walls, apparently the cities failed attempt to spruce up the place. In reality it only gave the hustlers some place to sit while they waited on a trick to exit the bar across the street. Sitting upon the wall, Dino takes out his pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket and pulls one out with his teeth then lights it, passing it over to Trixie before he lights himself another one. Bumping Edd on the shoulder with the wrist of the hand that was holding the pack, he offers the young man a cigarette, to which the boy happily accepted his offer in hopes that the nicotine would help calm his frazzled nerves.

The three of them sat in silence enjoying their smokes, as the tension coming from Edd left little possibility to strike up and hold a decent conversation with him. They didn't have to wait long before the door to the Bear opened and for someone Dino knew to come walking towards them. Jumping down from the wall he puts his arm around Edd's shoulder and whispers, "Alright, just take a few deep breaths, it'll be alright, he's cool," as his hand begins to play with the strap of Edd's tank top. Unbeknownst to the boy was the fact that Dino was slowly moving his shirt so that the nipple of his left breast, and the defined muscles he had gotten because of swimming, were now being displayed to the man walking toward them.

"Dino," the man calls out as he stops in front of them, blowing out a puff of smoke as he talks, "It's been a minute," looking pointedly at the young man, "You were supposed to call me."

"How's it hanging Jack," he replied with a warm flirtatious smile, avoiding the man's accusation of ignoring him.

"You know, to the left and halfway down my leg," the man chuckles as he puts his cigarette back up to his lips.

"That's my Jack, always a comedian," Dino chuckles with the man.

His eyes shift from Dino to the lady on the other side of Edd, pausing for a moment on the boy, "You still keeping this hooligan in line Trixie?"

Returning his gaze to their young companion as she responded, "Only Jesus can help him now," taking the boys measure from head to toe with a short pause upon his exposed flesh.

Bringing his eyes back up to meet Edd's he asks, "And who is this fine young man that is accompanying you this evening?"

Dino searches quickly for a name to give him as they had both forgotten to come up with an alias for Edd, "Tristan," Trixie provided quickly, "He's a friend of ours, from out of town," she elaborated incase Edd decided to back out at the last minute.

Offering his hand for Edd to shake, he turns his wrist as soon as he had ahold of him, "Enchanté," and bends down to kiss the back of his hand.

Dino could tell that Edd was slightly uncomfortable with the gesture and tried to distract Jack from him as he comes back up to stand properly, "So how's the crowd in there, Jack?"

"You know," he waves his hand flippantly over his shoulder towards the building behind him, "The same old desperate queens trying to fill their dance cards with the same trash they snubbed last week. It's all rather pathetic if you ask me," he takes a drag off his cigarette and shifts his eyes back to Edd, "But perhaps your friend would like to dance."

Edd was about to say yes, being oblivious to exactly what the man was meaning, when Dino cuts in, "That depends on what kind of rose your offering him."

Trixie leans in to whisper and explains, "He's asking him how much he is willing to pay."

"How does sixty sound?"

Dino looks to Edd who was still debating on if it was worth it or not and leans in to whisper, "It's a fair price for what your offering." As he pulls back, Edd looks him in the eyes and knows that Dino was sincerely just trying to help and would not steer him wrong in these matters and nods his head in agreement. Turning back to Jack he explains, "It's cool, but he's only into getting head."

"That's fine," the man agrees, "But is my car ok for the dirty deed?"

"Yeah," Dino again takes the lead, "We'll keep an eye out for you."

The man flicks away his cigarette with his left hand as he fishes out his keys with his right, "Come on Tristan, lets see what you're made of."

As the man leads the way, Trixie gives him a last few words of encouragement, "We'll be right here, ok, I won't leave until you get back. Just focus on something else, but don't close your eyes as a rule of thumb."

Dino looks over his shoulder and sees that Jack is already at his car waiting, "He's going to get impatient."

Edd starts to head in the direction the man was standing, looking at them as he waited, as Trixie softly calls out, "Good luck," as he leaves.

"Hmm, looks like I'm popping a cherry tonight," the man quips as he unlocks his door and climbs in. Opening the door once Jack hand reached over to unlock it for him, Edd climbs in and shuts it behind him. Leaning his seat back he focuses on the roof of the car as the man leans over to take care of business, filling his mind with thoughts of other people he was attracted to, to help keep his arousal and not disappoint his first client. Even going as far as to let out a few soft moans and gentle thrusts to further give off the illusion that he was enjoying, let alone interested in, what was happening to him as he reached his climax.

Putting the seat in its upright position once it was all said and done, he puts himself away and zips up his fly as Jack reaches into his back pocket to retrieve the money. "Thank you, young man," he stuffs the three twenties into Edd's pocket, "I really enjoyed that."

"No problem," was all that Edd could say at the moment.

"I hope your stay in Summerville isn't to brief," Jack continued, oblivious to Edd's demeanor, "Because I would really like to see you again."

"Maybe," Edd replied.

"And perhaps we can try other things next time."

"We'll see," he reaches for the door handle and opens it to quickly exit the car and make his way back to his roommates.

Trixie could tell that he was a little off when she sees him again, "Are you alright?"

"I feel numb," he replied softly.

"You'll be alright dude," Dino said in a soft voice as he puts his arm around Edd's shoulder, his expression was not as confident as his words.

"Do you want us to take you home," Trixie asks as she looks him over.

"No, I'll be fine," he reassured her as he had come to a decision, this was something that he could do for money in order to survive in this world. He might not be attracted to most of the clients he would be with, but he had discovered that it didn't matter as he could will himself into action. This initial shock, however, was only brought on as he was saying farewell to his innocence and childhood naivete.

A/N- Oh and a power bottom is a dominate person who enjoys being a bottom. Think reg Kevin being the bottom while reg Edd is the top. He would still control the flow of the sexual situation, just not be in the perceived sexually dominate position.