Friday

Adam buys them both lunch. The bite marks are fresh on Tommy's neck, and he's got a little redness on his cheeks from them. But you know what? No one's paying any mind to them, and the boys take a booth in the back of the McDonald's by their high school. It's almost routine for them, to come here for lunch most every day. They come, they order, they pay, they sit, and they talk. They could talk for hours and hours really, but they only have forty minutes before they have to go back. But today's different. Today, they can talk for as long as they desire.

Tommy's really enjoying his day of no school.

With his guitar leaning against the wall in the boot, Tommy is biting into his McDouble. He sighs softly, chewing delicately and swallowing. He's gotta savor this. He doesn't always get the chance to eat dinner. Sometimes there's no food. Sometimes he's not hungry. Sometimes his dad's beating him too much to care about the natural pangs of hunger that he feels. So he treasures the food he gets during the day (if he gets any). Taking a large gulp of his soda (Coca cola for the win), he glances up at Adam and smiles. The ginger's got a light blush on his cheeks, and Tommy can still feel the phantom teeth digging into his neck. At first, when he'd realized what Adam was doing, he was afraid. Afraid because he knew his dad would see. But then he remembered the plaid over shirt he's wearing, and he's not worrying about it now.

Tommy rests his hand on the table, and Adam slides his over, their fingers lacing. In a silent agreement, back at the circle of trees, they made themselves official. One simple kiss and they were one. And they're happy. Who cares that they've only been really hanging out and talking for a week. There's a connection between them that no one else can try to comprehend. Tommy often wonders the intensity. He wonders why, of all people, Adam's attracted to him.

'Maybe he knows, and this is a pity romance.' He mentally shakes his head. No. This isn't pity romance. This is real. This is something that they share because they care about each other. It has to be…

"Babe?" Adam says, his voice soft. "You okay?" Tommy blinks once and nods, a smile tugging at his lips. He's more than okay. He's just thinking too much, is all.

Adam gives Tommy's hand a gentle squeeze, keeping his fingers laced. Tommy's glad that Adam doesn't let go. He remembers the rush of cold he'd felt the first day he met Adam, when the ginger removed his arm from his shoulders because of a bit of pain. He doesn't want to experience that again, to be honest. It wasn't the best feeling in the world.

Tommy takes another bite of his food, thankful that today, McDonald's is a pretty quiet place. He hates crowds a lot of the time. Too many potential things to go wrong. Someone could bump into him, cause him pain, someone could decide to rough him up, put him into an even worse spot… He's not even sure of all of the reasons, but he knows that he hates crowds. He likes being alone with two or three people. And in this case, he's really loving it. It's just him and Adam in a quiet corner. And they're holding hands. Bonus.

Tommy's lost in a bit of thought, taking small, slow bites of his food and gulps of his soda. He's not sure what he's thinking about; perhaps spacing is the best word because he blinks and sees Adam waving a hand in his face. He swallows and chuckles, embarrassed. The ginger is laughing and smiling so brightly that Tommy forgets all of his embarrassment. He takes another drink of his soda, before blinking once and looking up at Adam.

"There you are— I was asking what your plans were for this weekend." Adam says.

'Trying to survive.' Tommy thinks, but he clenches his jaw on his tongue, keeping himself from letting the sentence slip. That would be a really, really bad thing to say in front of Adam. In front of anyone, for that matter. Tommy takes another drink.

"Probably nothing. Chilling at home more than anything. Maybe I'll clean my damn room, practice my guitar or something." He says. It's a lie though. He knows that. The weekends are never a time to chill, clean or practice. It's always a boatload of pain, making Monday's the worst days ever. He mentally shakes his head again. He doesn't want to think about it.

The look in Adam's eyes suggest that the ginger is suspicious of the blonde's answer. Shit. "Hmm. I was wondering if… Maybe you wanted to hang out… this weekend?" Adam looks so innocent…

"I can't." Tommy says a little too quickly, and he feels a stab of regret in his heart at the look on Adam's face. Shit. "I mean— I'm sorry, I should explain. My dad doesn't really like me going anywhere on the weekends." For a moment, Adam looks a little angry.

"Why?" The ginger asks, and if Tommy listens hard enough he can hear his teeth cracking from a clenched jaw. Shit.

"Because… Sometimes he needs me to do house cleaning," 'Sometimes he wants to beat the shit out of me and my mother,' "or he just doesn't want me going anywhere." 'Or he feels like he's in the mood scream and yell at me while breaking bottles all over my room.' Has Tommy ever mentioned how much he hates lying to Adam? Well he does, and right now he's losing his appetite because of it.

Adam sighs softly, nodding once. He's obviously a little upset about the fact that Tommy can't go, and the blond wishes dearly that he could. But he can't risk his mother's life. He can't risk anything more than he already has. And yet, all the same, the sad look in Adam's eyes sets a fire in his stomach that makes him want to risk it. He really, really wants to spend the weekend, even part of it, with Adam. If Richard wasn't in the picture, Tommy knows for a fact that he would be able to. But he just can't…

They sit and eat in silence for a little while longer. It's a little unnerving, to be honest, the only sounds being of drinks drunk and food devoured. But that's how it is. And it's driving both of them insane. Four minutes into the awkward silence, Tommy feels Adam's thumb drawing circles into the side of his hand, and he shifts his gaze, watching. It's comforting, the way Adam's skin rubs against his. He smiles slightly, taking another drink before Adam squeezes his hand. Tommy looks up at the ginger, finding Adam smiling at him.

"Tell you what, maybe some other time we'll spend a weekend together?" He suggests, and Tommy grins. He'd love that greatly.

"Gotta run it by my dad, but it sounds good. He prefers things in advanced, you know?" Tommy lies, feeling the food roll over in his stomach, and he fights the bile that's rising. Ugh.

The light in Adam's eyes shifts to suspicion again, but it fades quickly and Tommy looks away, grabbing the wrapper from his burger with his free hand and crushing it into a ball, leaving it on his tray as he takes another sip. He hates the awkward silence and the rolling of his own stomach. He's really hoping that he doesn't puke right now. That would suck major balls.

They finish their food without much conversation. Grabbing his guitar, Tommy holds onto Adam's hand (the light blush still on his face) as they walk back out into the warm, smoggy Los Angeles air. But it's nice. A breeze kicks up Tommy's bangs, and they blow into his face. He tosses his head, and they disappear back to their proper place. He smiles slightly as they walk. They're not sure where they're going, exactly. But then again, they don't really care.

"So, what are you planning to do today?" Tommy asks. Adam blinks once before responding.

"Monte and I are supposed to get together and just chill today. Maybe jam a little bit. Wanna join us?" Adam asks, the tension from McDonald's clear from his eyes. Tommy bites on the inside of his cheek for a moment, before responding.

"I wish I could. Dad needs me home in a few hours…" Tommy says sullenly. No, Dad doesn't need him home, but he has to be. Dad believes that he's at school right now, and will be expecting Tommy as soon as school gets out. Adam looks a little miffed again, but doesn't push it. Tommy's somewhat thankful of this. He doesn't really want to keep lying.

Tommy pulls his hand free from Adam's grip and he pulls out his guitar again, the case hanging loose across his back, the guitar strap over his shoulder as he rests his hands into place. He plucks a few chords, smiling as Adam hums along softly. He wasn't sure what to make of the idea, but he's glad he decided to start playing as they walk. It releases the tension, he realizes. It's relaxing the stress in Adam's back, and the ginger is walking more naturally now. Yay.

He strums a little harder, and Adam smiles as he sings. It's obvious the ginger knows this song. It shouldn't surprise Tommy that he does, but he's still a little blown away by it. Don't tell me you're done for, I don't need to hear you're done for. You can tell me what you are running from. I need you more than you need you. I can see you're really, really running. Can I ask you where you're gonna run to? Tommy keeps playing, keeping his head low as they walk, but his heart is pounding in his chest like a motherfucker and he wants to cry right about now.

But he doesn't. He keeps playing, holding back his angry tears as Adam continues to sing. We all feel like we're breaking sometime, but I won't let you go tonight. Stay awake, stay awake, survive. I've got nineteen stars that I gave your name tonight. I wanna scream, wanna scream your name, starlight, my life can save, you're my wish tonight… He feels a tear slip, and he glances over at Adam. He's lost in his own world of music and beauty. Thank God.

Tommy strums the bridge, skipping the second verse. What? He's allowed to do that. But he wonders if he regrets it as Adam sings, not missing a beat or throwing him an odd look. He simply sings. No one can catch me the way that you catch me, the way that you keep me when I'm out of time. What if I need you when I can't see you, when I'm running out of life. He gnaws on his bottom lip, strumming harder and into the chorus quickly. Stay awake, stay awake, survive… I've got nineteen stars that I gave your name tonight… I wanna scream, wanna scream your name, starlight, my life can save… You're my wish tonight.

Tommy stops playing after a moment, feeling the California heat drying his tears. He's really hoping that Adam doesn't look over at any given time. He's really, really hoping. He pushes his guitar around so that it hangs off his shoulders, strung across his back with the case. A breath escapes his lips and he looks up, confused for a moment. They're almost to their neighborhood. He blinks a few times, keeping his head down as if he's intrigued by his guitar. "I thought you and Monte were supposed to hang out today?" He asks softly, wondering if his voice sounds pained or not. He can't tell.

"Yeah, he's picking me up at home." Adam says gently, wrapping his arm around Tommy's waist and pulling the blond in tight. Tommy fights a cringe as Adam grips a bruise, and he gnaws on his bottom lip in protest. He can't show that he's in pain right now. He can't, he can't.

"Ah. What time is it?" The blond asks, and Adam shifts with his free hand, grabbing his phone and checking the time.

"Almost four." Holy shit they've been out for a while.

"Oh, shit." Tommy says suddenly, his heart pounding heavy in his chest. Adam looks concerned as he turns his head to face Tommy.

"Oh shit? Why, what's wrong?" Tommy swallows the lump in this throat.

"My dad was expecting me at three, I didn't realize we've been out so long…" He trails off. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Adam's arm tenses and Tommy winces softly. He looks over at Adam through locks of his hair, and the ginger's got ferocious blue eyes locked on his face. Oh. Shit.

"There seems to be that a lot your dad expects of you." Adam hisses low, and he pulls Tommy closer still, unknowingly squeezing the blonde's hip. Tommy bites down on his tongue, fighting the urge to squirm out of Adam's grip. It's hurting so badly…

"He's just— a little overprotective." 'Overprotective to the abusive side.' No. Don't think about that now.

"Tommy, I'm concerned about you. Sometimes, at school, I see you walking stiff and you don't like people touching you. I can understand personal space, but baby—" Adam stops Tommy, one hand gripping the blonde's shoulder the other cupping his face. Tommy's face heats exponentially, and it's not from the sunlight. "You've gotta let me know what's going on. I'm worried."

Moment of truth— he can tell Adam everything right now. They're not on their street. They're nowhere near Tommy's house yet. He can break down and fall into the ginger's arms right now and all the pain he's been suffering will finally go away. He can be free. He and Allison can have a new start, a new life. They can get out of their shit neighborhood and they can find a new place. Though the idea of leaving Adam sets a rock in his stomach, Tommy wants to get out of Los Angeles. He wants to leave it all behind because he hates it. And all it's going to take is the wave of tears he's holding back and a few words about his father. That's all…

"Tommy— please, tell me. What's going on?" Adam asks, his voice a little desperate. Tommy's heart is pounding like a motherfucking jackhammer in his chest and he can feel the scream of 'help me' rising in his throat. He wants to, he wants to, he wants to, he wants to…

But can he?

"Baby—" Adam doesn't say anything else as Tommy's hands cup the ginger's face, and he kisses Adam so gently. There's no tongue, no hair pulling, no nothing (though they've done such heated actions before). Just chaste and sweet. Tommy feels a tear swelling and spilling over from his closed eyes, and it rolls down his cheek, sliding like a work of art.

If anyone were to see them now, they'd be stared at. Fortunately, gayness isn't so frowned upon, but it's still a little awkward in some people's eyes (and Tommy firmly believes that they can go suck it if they have a problem with it). But there's no one else around. It's just them, on a sidewalk near an empty field. It's just them…

The hand of Adam's that's gripping Tommy's shoulder removes itself and cups his face as Tommy's hands slide down, placed firmly on Adam's chest. Slowly, Adam's tongue glides across Tommy's bottom lip, tasting like a cool treat to the blond. He opens his mouth slightly, shivering as the ginger's tongue slips inside. His heart is beating up into his throat, screaming at him to tell Adam anything and everything. Just to end the nightmare. To end the torture. But the fearful side of himself is saying no. 'If you tell, you're father will hunt you down. He won't stop until you and Allison are de—.'

Adam holds the kiss for a moment before pulling away, resting his forehead against Tommy's gently, breathing hard. Tommy's hands are trembling, and he wants to curl into his baby's arms and cry. God. It takes just a few words and a few tears and then this'll all disappear like a cloud of smoke. A few uttering's of the past and he'll be living somewhere warm and safe.

'I love you.'

'I. Love. You.'

"Everything's fine, baby. I promise."

'I'm sorry…'