Freak on a Leash
Chapter 4-Feeling Like a Freak on a Leash
Ash awoke to the same sounds he opened his eyes to every morning. But today felt different. Today…he felt happy. Happier than he had felt since coming here. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so joyful.
"How long has it been?" Ash wondered aloud. "Three weeks, maybe," he answered his own question. Yeah, three weeks since Misty and Gary had become his friends. He wondered if Gary would tell Misty the reason behind his cruel behavior yesterday. Speaking of…
"Kid," Jesse said, "that girl came by today. She just stopped, telling me to give you this."
She slipped the plastic container and a bulky envelope through the bars. Ash knew that container well—it was the one Broke had given him for the past couple of weeks when sending over food. He tore open the top and grabbed the confection inside of it, stuffing it in his face.
"Slow down!" Jesse said. "Gosh, you're going to choke!"
"Sphoree Wess," Ash replied through a mouth full of food.
"Gosh, didn't James and I ever teach you any manners? No eating with a mouth full of food. You chew, then swallow, then talk."
He did swallow and grinned sheepishly at Jesse. "Sorry Jess. I guess I'm just too excited today."
"Why, what's up?"
"Oh, not much," he said, putting the food aside and moving to the letter. "Just woke up feeling happy." He pulled apart the paper envelope and unfolded the note inside.
Ash,
Gary told me about what you said yesterday. He was right—you ARE a dummy! Friends are forever, doofus!
Anyway, I will take what you did to heart. I'll pass some stuff along through one of your caretakers, including Brock's famous cooking. Also in this letter, I included a special treat. I hope you like it!
Your friend,
Misty
Ash was touched by her words; he thought he might cry again. He bit his lip, reading it over again and laughing at the lines. Man, he was a doofus. A chocolate bar lay on the ground next to him, forgotten for the time being, along with the food.
This friendship thing could really be worth all the shit he had gone through. Ash's luck finally seemed to be turning around. Jesse smiled, admiring the boy's happiness. She stuck her hand through the bars and ruffled his hair. "You take care, kid." And she walked away.
Ash sighed, falling backward onto his mattress in the cage. "Maybe things will be okay from here on out…"
Or so he thought. His calm thoughts were interrupted once again by Giovanni's violent screams.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted. Ash shot up at the commotion, afraid that Giovanni was headed for him, and had found out about the treats he had been getting from his friends. But he was nowhere in site. Puzzled, Ash lied back down, closing his eyes.
His peaceful atmosphere was again interrupted. He heard more screams. But they were screams of pain and agony. Someone begging their captor to stop. He heard another cry, and realized there was more than one. He scrambled to the other end of his cage, peering through the bars to see if he could see anything.
Two men. And Giovanni's wrath. There was kicking, punching, screaming, begging. And then a bright flash of light.
"What the hell is going on out here?" Jesse said, running out from the tent. She looked at Ash, who only stared back at her just as confused. "Ash, what's happening?"
"I don't know! Over that way! Giovanni is doing something," he said.
She ran toward the direction Ash had pointed. He was so confused. What was happening?
James followed Jesse out of the tent shortly after, but stopped again as he passed Ash.
"Why does everyone think its me?" he asked James.
"Eh?"
"Everyone keeps stopping to look at me, like it's my fault for what's happening. Honestly, I don't know what's going on!"
"It's not your fault, kid. Jesse and I were just checking on you. We know how Giovanni likes to get on your case."
"Yeah, I guess," he sighed.
"We just worry about you sometimes, that's all," he said. "Look, there's Jess!"
Jesse looked very depressed, as if she had seen something that really wasn't necessary. Her hair was a bit messy, and the dirt on her arms and face suggested she had gotten into a scuffle trying to stop whatever it was Giovanni was doing.
"For Christ's sake," she said, "I feel embarrassed just for working here! Those poor people…"
"What happened?" James asked. Jesse put a hand to her head and cocked her hip to the side, like she didn't want to explain. "I don't know. In my opinion, Giovanni has lost his mind. Really, getting all worked up over that."
"What is it?"
"He saw two men go into the tunnel of love. So he waited for them to come out and…well, things got pretty ugly…"
--Flashback--
A red and a blonde haired man, the red head much taller than his counterpart, came out of the infamous tunnel of love. They were looking pretty cozy, holding each other's hand and walking close together. The two were in true bliss as they stared into each other's eyes.
That is, until Giovanni came.
"Can we help you, sir?" the blond asked politely.
"Shut the hell up," he said, malice in his voice, " and get the fuck out of this park."
"Excuse me?" the blond said, taken aback by his foul language.
"Let me handle this," the red head said, a hand against the blonde's chest. He stepped forward, glaring at Giovanni.
"Now buddy, we don't want any trouble. And we have a right to be here. So if you please just leave us alone…"
"You don't have a right to be here, you fag."
"What the hell did you just call me?" he spat back, obviously getting enraged by Giovanni's comments.
"You heard me. You're a fag. And so is your little lover boy over there. A sorry, good for nothing faggot."
"You shut the hell up and leave him out of this," the red head said, throwing a punch at Giovanni. He ducked and backed away from the maddened red head, smirking as he reached for his belt for his Pokeball.
"Please, stop it! Hun, this isn't worth the trouble! Let's just leave."
"Just stay out of this!" he yelled back at the blonde.
"You two sicken me," Giovanni said, pulling up the red and white ball. "Nidoking," he said, calling out the Pokemon as it came out of the ball. "Go get those two fags."
It roared, and charged at the red head. He dodged the attack, only to be caught by surprise as the Pokemon turned around swinging its tail making contact with the man's stomach. He gasped and fell to the ground, and the Nidoking stomped down on his arm. The red head winced in pain, screaming as he felt the bones in his arm break.
"No! Please, stop it!" the blonde yelled, tears running down his face. "Leave him alone! We'll leave, I promise!"
The Nidoking turned to the blonde. Giovanni let out a loud chuckle. "Nidoking," he smirked again, "Hyper Beam."
Nidoking began to charge up, the blonde almost too stricken with fear to move. "Run, damnit!" the red head yelled, and his feet began to move. Nidoking's gaze followed him, and with each step he took the unleashed attach grew stronger. The blonde made the mistake of running past Giovanni, and fell to the ground over the foot he had stuck out in his path. The blonde fell to the ground, Nidoking just about to throw his attack at him.
"NO!" yelled the red head, ignoring his pain and running toward the blond. Nidoking's mouth opened and the bright light shone through his teeth, it moving closer and closer to the blond as it left its jaws.
The red head jumped and landed in front of the blond just as the attack hit. The blonde screamed in fear as his significant other's cries of agony traveled throughout the atmosphere.
Jesse arrived on the scene only minutes later.
"Have you gone mad?" she yelled at Giovanni.
"Shut up!" he yelled, slapping her and knocking her into the dirt. She winced as his cold hand connected with her cheek, sending her head sideways as it slammed against the ground. She got up, unharmed from the hit, and walked toward the two men.
"I'll call an ambulance," she told the blonde. "I'm so sorry about this."
The blonde had tears in his eyes as he held his taller lover in his arms. She sent a glare at Giovanni, only to be met by another murderous glare. She ignored him, taking out her cell phone and dialing 911. "He'll be okay, I promise," she said before the phone on the other end was picked up. "Hello, we've got an emergency here."
--End Flashback—
"That's horrible!" James said. "Are you alright, Jess?"
"Yeah, just pissed is all. God, I can't stand working here anymore! James, we need to quit!"
"We can't, Jesse. We have nowhere else to go. We're stuck here until…until…"
"Until we die!" Jesse screamed, heading into the tent. She muttered to herself, James chasing after her. "Jesse, wait!"
Ash looked frightened at all of this. Giovanni had gotten upset because two men were together? But that didn't make sense. He had never seen him go off his loop when he had seen other couples go into the ride. Unless…were two men not supposed to be together?
"So, that's it. That's why Gary left last night. It's because he can't do that," he thought. A tear fell down his cheek, his head lowering.
"Fuck," he said to himself. His arm slung back, then bringing it forward as he punched one of the bars of his cage. There was no way he'd ever be able to feel any differently about Gary. Or was there?
…No, it was hopeless. He was in way too deep. Never in his life had he felt such love, such companionship from someone. Like he had said earlier, the bond between Jesse and James and him was a more familiar one. The tear traveled down his cheek and onto the floor of the cage.
"I…I really am a freak."
--
That night, Ash was in his cage as always, his head tucked against his knees as he sat in the fetal position off to the corner. He rocked back and forth, muttering to himself words.
"I'll be okay by myself," he said. "It was meant to be this way. I was meant to feel like…like…" he sobbed, his cries muffled into his arms. "Feeling like a freak on a leash."
Ash Gary approached, he only slightly heard the soft cries coming from the cage. He looked puzzled, wondering what had happened today that had the boy so upset. As he grew closer, the volume of the cries didn't increase—it was obvious he was trying to hide them. "Maybe he's upset because he thinks I wouldn't come back…"
He smiled. "Well then I'll make his day!" Gary said, now running toward his friend. He couldn't wait to see the excited glow of Ash's face when he realized that Gary had been true to his word and had returned. And he couldn't wait to see him absolutely thrilled when he told him the news.
With each step he took, he prepared his introduction. "Hey Ash, how is it going?" he started. "No, no, that doesn't sound good." "Ash, great news!" "Ugh, that was more horrible than the first one." "I've got a secret!" "What am I, five?"
His introduction, however, was far from anything he had imagined. The boy in the cage had seen him approaching, and a smile had not appeared on his face like Gary had planned.
"What's wrong?"
Ash couldn't help it anymore. He was breaking down.
"Go away."
"Eh?"
"You heard me," he said, almost shouting. "I said go away."
"Ash, not this again. Look, no matter what Giovanni says, we're still going to be friends…"
"Are you deaf? I told you to get out of here!"
Now Gary was getting really frustrated. "Look, I'm just trying to help. Everybody needs somebody."
"Not me. I don't need any help. Now just leave!"
Gary glared at him, and replied with a rather defiant, "No."
"What part of 'get out of here' do you not understand?" he screamed.
"Ash, you need to settle down. If you continue speaking that loud…"
"I don't fucking care!" he shouted, his cries getting even louder. Gary, now more confused and angrier than ever, crawled underneath the cage, his hands searching for the latch that would let him in.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm coming in!"
"I don't want you to!" Ash lied, sitting on the door. "Leave me alone, damnit!"
"I'm not leaving!" he pushed at the latch once he had unlocked it, trying to get Ash to move. "Were you always this heavy?"
"Gary, just leave!" he yelled.
A shadow quickly approached. "You brat." The cold voice said, sticking an arm through the cage.
Gary froze, no longer pushing on the cage door. He listened in fear and anger, his fists tightening with every word he spoke.
"Giovanni, please!" Ash begged. But he felt a hand wrap around his neck, the grip incredibly strong around his small collar. The air escaped him as he choked.
"I told you to be quiet," Giovanni hissed. "So shut up."
Ash's face turned from pale to blue, blending in with the darkness of the night. His hands waved in frenzy, not daring to grab onto Giovanni. The seconds seemed like hours as he struggled for air, but none came to his lips. His lungs grew dry as the color in his face darkened. Gary stared in horror and anger at the man's feet, wanting to just grab his legs and start beating him. Then maybe he'd feel how his Ash felt.
"Wait, MY Ash?" Gary thought to himself. This only confirmed what he already knew, that he was indeed infatuated with the boy. Sure, it wasn't looked upon too happily in some parts of society, but he couldn't help how he felt. He was determined to stay calm, knowing that Giovanni would put him down sooner or later. But as the seconds went by, he became more and more nervous.
Finally, after what had seemed like forever, he let go. Ash's limp frame crashed into the wooden floor. Gary listened and heard the boy gasp for air, the struggle of the other leaving almost a calming effect. He seriously had thought that Giovanni was going to kill him.
"Now get to sleep." He saw the feet move, the crunching of the grass underneath his shoes signaling he was moving farther and farther away. Only when he was sure he was at least an adequate distance from the cage did he let out a sigh of relief. The older man was still in sight, but there was no way he could have heard it.
He waited another minute, and then another, hearing Ash's now silent sobs penetrate the night air. Only Gary could hear them, and with each cry he grew angrier. He opened the door, slowly approaching the distraught boy.
"Ash…"
"I'm a freak, Gary. You shouldn't be around me."
"You're not a freak," he said.
"Yes, I am, Gary!" he shouted quietly, as not to bring Giovanni out again. "I…I…" he said, sputtering out cries in between. His eyes were runny, and his choked out reply made it even harder for him to breathe. Gary put his arms around him, pulling him into a hug. He rubbed his back, soothing his worried cries with calming words.
"What's wrong?"
"Gary, I'm…I'm…" he couldn't say it, but keeping it held up inside was suffocating him. He grew closer to the boy, his watery eyes going right past his as he whispered in his ear.
"I…I love you."
Gary gasped, not from just the warmth surrounding his ears, but by the words Ash had just muttered into them. Time stopped for a moment, as Gary's eyes grew wide. He pulled Ash even closer, his chocolate brown hair tickling the boy's face as he buried his head into his shoulder.
"I love you too, Ash," he whispered. Now it was Ash's turn to act surprised, his tears of pain and suffering turning into tears of happiness. And then, the warmth of Gary disappeared.
But only for a moment. Gary had let go of Ash, bolting to the other side of the cage and opening the door.
"Gary?"
"We're leaving."
"We?" Ash gasped. "Gary, I can't leave. If I leave, then I…"
"Well I'm not letting you go through this alone anymore, and I sure as hell ain't staying here. The only option—we're leaving. Now come on."
"Wait, Gary!" he whined. Gary paused, half of his body already on the other side. "What is it?"
"I…I want to say good-bye to Jesse and James."
"No time, we need to go now."
"No, but Gary!" he said, scrambling over to the other side of the cage, grabbing his wrist. "I need to say good-bye. I'm not leaving unless I do that."
Gary sighed. "Fine, but we gotta make it quick," he muttered, offering his hand to Ash as he slid through the door. His feet hit the ground and he ducked so he could crawl underneath the cage. "C'mon, easy now," Gary said, helping Ash through the tight squeeze. They moved with ease, and as Ash's body met the ground, he took in a deep breath.
"Something wrong?"
"No…the grass…it feels nice." He took another deep breath and smiled.
"Alright, now come on. We need to go and tell them and get to my house before sunrise."
"Right."
The two continued creeping along, searching for the tent that Jesse and James resided in. Tent after tent, they peeked inside until finally, they came to the right one. Slowly, they opened it up, Gary holding the tent slightly open for some moonlight to come in. Ash watched his step going in, tiptoeing around any objects he could see. Approaching Jesse, he poked her lightly, whispering to her ever so quietly…
"Jesse, wake up."
"Ugh, go back to bed James," she said, turning over to her side and pulling the covers over her head.
"Jesse, it's me."
"I know its you, James, now get back sleep!"
"This is Ash, not James."
Her eyes opened wide as she shot forward from her bed into a sitting position. It was hard to tell exactly what she was feeling; shock, fear, relief, as well as a mixture of other emotions clouded her face. "How did you get out?"
"There's a latch underneath the cage. Gary helped me crawl out."
"Well, get back to bed. I'm sorry, kid, but if Giovanni finds you out, he's going to have a fit."
"I'm not going back. I came to say good-bye."
There was absolute silence between the two, as Jesse looked at Ash in confusion. The silence was eerie, and scared Jesse considerably. She coughed, clearing her throat. "You're leaving?"
"Yeah," Ash said. "I wanted to say good-bye to you and James…and thank you."
"Thank you? What for?"
"You two treated me like a real person over the years, while everyone else saw me as this circus show. You're," he paused, holding back some tears, "you're the only family I can remember."
"Aw, hey kid, now don't cry," she said, opening her arms to him. He ran into her embrace, clinging to her as she softly pet his hair. "James," she shouted from across the room, "Get up."
"Thank you for the new bottle caps, Mr. Sprinkles!" he said in his sleep. "But I cannot take them—these ultra rare soda caps from the 1900's are yours! I could not possibly…"
She sighed, letting go of Ash and bending down over her bed. She searched the floor for something to throw—something hard.
"Ah, this will suffice!" she whispered, aiming a shoe at her sleeping friend. She threw it over at him, and you could tell it made contact by the whimper he made before waking up.
"Hey!" he yelled. "Who threw that?"
"Shhh! Get your hiney over here! The kid's come to say good-bye."
"Good-bye? What for? Is he leaving?"
"Thank you, Mr. Point Out The Obvious," Jesse snickered at him. "Now give him a hug before you ruin the mood."
He got out of bed and yawned, groggily walking over to Ash. "So, you're really hitting the road, huh?" Ash nodded in response. "And with him too," he acknowledged Gary waiting over by the door, and he nodded again. "It's just like when a father and mother walk their daughter down the aisle and into the arms of another man."
"Good grief, James," Jesse mumbled, as James gave Ash a hug. He added a firm pat on the back, letting him go. "Take care, kid."
Ash nodded. "I will. And thanks for everything."
He turned around, looking back at Gary with a beaming smile on his face. He would finally be free.
"Hang on one second," Jesse said. Ash paused and turned around, as she tossed a small device at him. He went wide-eyed, thinking he would miss, but he was relieved when it fell into the palm of his hand.
"Take my cell. No doubting Giovanni will get pissed and come after you. We'll give you a heads up so you can get moving if he comes to find you."
He clutched it in his hand, the bead charm running over his fingers. He nodded back at Jesse and James, glad he had had such good family in his life.
"Bye guys."
And with that, he slipped out of their tent and ran with Gary into the dark night, whispering under his breath.
"I'm free. I'm free."
TBC
Awww, now isn't this a happy ending….
But wait, this isn't the ending.
The song is only half-way through. There is still much in store for Ash and Gary. The next chapter is not done—hell, it isn't even started, but I haven't posted in awhile, so I'll come up with something and use it in the next chapter.
Ch. 5- You And I Were Meant To Be
"Misty!" Ash said as he ran into her arms and accepted her hug. A huge smile spread across his face as he was wrapped in the red head's embrace.
"Ash, I haven't seen you in forever!" she said excitedly, ruffling his hair. She let go of him, holding him in front of her at arms length. "You're here! We need to go somewhere!"
"But we just got here Misty…"
"I know, but we need to go somewhere. There's so much you haven't seen—all this cool stuff in the world that you've been denied for years! We need to get as much in as we can!"
Ash smiled at Gary's sister. He was really lucky to have a friend like her.
"Brock is in the kitchen—Gary called and said you were coming, so I got him over here so he could make you something good to eat."
At the mention of food, Ash's stomach did a back flip, and he raced into the kitchen so he could greet his friend and his stomach could greet his friend's cooking.
I don't know if it will stay exactly like that…. but it'll be close. Anyway, read and review, over and out! -Nibzo