Pitch: Second Season 3 Chapter 3: Home Days

Where did that leave me?

I didn't have anyone to talk to. After Wes and I escaped from my mother's house, I had to take a few days to wrap my head around it all. Sorting through the good and the bad of what my Summer break was shaping up to be was a lot to do all on my own. I couldn't talk to Wes about dating him. I couldn't talk to Wes about Bj because they never liked one other. I didn't have anyone to be excited about my job as Beth's a.s.sistant. I didn't have anyone to air out all my s.h.i.t with. I didn't have friends anymore.

Lucky for me, taking the job as Beth's a.s.sistant meant I was done with the internship. I only had to show up three days a week for my new position until something big enough to take up more time came along. With my schedule opened up, I took the opportunity to do absolutely nothing. I needed those days of sleep and hanging out at home in my underwear. It was good to have people in my life, but sometimes room to be alone was necessary. I had to process.

I desperately missed sleeping in, but I should have known I wouldn't get too much rest.

It was Friday. I woke up around ten that morning believing I was alone. Leaving my room, I immediately recognized something was off. And then he walked by.

"Dad, you're home," I exclaimed.

Dad was never home during the middle of the day. Even on his off days, he'd sleep well into the afternoon, leaving me to do what I wanted basically. But there he was lugging a bag of charcoal from the front door to the backyard. I followed him.

"I took a few days off," he said.

"You can do that?" I questioned.

"Yes, I can do that," he said with a laugh as he sat the charcoal on the concrete ground outside. He was getting ready to use the grill. I couldn't remember the last time dad used the grill. I couldn't remember the last time he made something that didn't come from his job at the drive-through.

"I missed your show," he said.

"It wasn't anything special," I debated to belittle the importance of the showcase.

"I saw the newspaper."

I looked away and tried to hide my embarra.s.sment.

"Ok, so it was a little special," I joked.

You can't get into fights with holiday heroes like Santa Claus without being seen. Still, I had hope that my dad would overlook all the news coverage.

"I'm sorry I missed it," he continued to say while he lit a fire on the grill.

"It's alright I didn't think you'd make it," I said.

That came out wrong. That came out so wrong and so sad. I didn't mean to guilt him like that, but at the same time, I was being honest.

"I'm going to be around more. You're not the only one who's been making changes," he stated.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You've been keeping yourself busy and making an effort to do something with yourself, well I'm doing something too."

"But what," I pressed further.

"If everything goes well, I'll be the new owner of the drive-through in a few days," he said with his hands on his hips in a triumphant superman pose.

"The owner!" I exclaimed happily for my father.

"Nothing's official yet, but there's a chance I could quit the garage, might have some more downtime, and I'll even get to set my hours," he said.

"When will you know for sure?"

"When I go in on Monday. The current owner is deciding between one other person who he'll sell to and me."

"I hope you get it," I said.

"I do too."

If dad owned the drive through it would change everything.

He sent me to check the mail while he finished getting everything ready to grill. I had to put on actual clothes, more than just my boxers and a T-shirt, before walking outside.

There was a time when magical creatures were myths and unseen legends. Back then, they were called monsters. Even satyrs and fairies were seen as dark nameless things, but as magic became an everyday norm, creatures started to come out of the woodwork. Eventually, there were so many new races of people walking around that government's had to recognize them as citizens. That created another problem. There were many creatures happy to become a part of human civilization, but there were also plenty who wanted to stay independent. Trolls became a part of normal society around the time I turned nine years old. Even into my teenage years, I saw they weren't accepted around humans to the same degree elves were. A lot of creatures didn't feel like going through the ha.s.sle of convincing humans they were safe. That's why it took so long for so many of them to come around. Goblins were new. They'd only just recently agreed to a.s.similate rather than living on the outskirts of towns and cities hidden in the woods.

That being said, it was a shock to see a goblin standing in the yard next door. As I walked outside to check the mail, I noticed he was standing there. Like most creatures, goblins had stereotypes that couldn't be confirmed or denied until actually meeting one in person. He wasn't wearing rags. He didn't have claws. He wasn't fat like an orc, or skinny like a troll. Still, he had light green skin and pointed ears as rumors said. For the most part, he almost looked human. The most noticeable thing about him had to be how short he was. He wasn't leprechaun size, but anyone I could naturally stand eye level with had to be relatively short.

"You want something," he said.

It's at that moment I realized I had the mail from the mailbox in my hands already. I must have stopped dead in my tracks just to stare at him. It felt awkward after I jumped back to my senses. I didn't mean to alienate the guy or watch him like a sideshow. It didn't matter how many creatures I had experience with. It was always something different when meeting someone or something new. I went back inside the house and hoped I didn't make a bad impression.

Rejoining my dad out back, I saw he was about ready to start the cook.

"When did we get new neighbors?" I asked.

"Oh, the Gridleys moved in a few days ago," he said.

He knew their names already, but I completely missed whenever they replaced our old neighbors. I must have really shut the world out during my days of solitude.

"I was thinking of having them over," my dad added.

"Really?" I said.

"They're nice people, and I thought you might help their son adjust."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because we want to make a good impression, and you remember what it was like when we moved here," he said.

Daybreak was a special place, but it was never easy on outsiders. There might have been an unwritten rule that newcomers had to go through a period of outcast status before being accepted. I went through it, Wes went through it, even Bj with her money and successful family history had to go through it. We were still going through it in our own ways.

"Why don't you go next door and let them know our door is open," my dad request of me.

My dad was too nice of a person sometimes, or maybe I was too cynical. I had nothing against the new neighbors, but I was enjoying my time of reflection, and I knew Dad needed rest more than anyone. Entertaining guests felt like work we could do without. Still, if he felt like having people over, I wasn't too consumed by my alone time to potentially enjoy a few new faces. All I could hope for was a better relationship than the one I had with Lance or Bj, for example.

I went next door.

Our old neighbors never invited my dad or me over. They knew about my particular problem and kept their distance. Most of our neighbors did. Naturally, it was my first time being on that side of the gra.s.s. Walking up the steps of the front porch and knocking on the door, I felt like an intruder, an invader of sorts.

I waited for someone to answer the door, and when the wood finally swung open I was greeted by a face I met earlier.

"You again," he said.

It was the same guy I saw when I checked the mail. He had to be the son my dad was talking about. I wondered if all goblins were around his height or if he was just short. I s.p.a.ced out thinking over the oddly specific thought.

"Did you need something," he said, snapping me back into the moment.

"Sorry, my dad and I are grilling and thought if you and your family wanted to come over," I said before promptly being cut off.

"We'll pa.s.s," he answered before I could finish extending the olive branch.

"Oh."

"We still have all these boxes," he said.

"I understand."

"Not that we wouldn't like to, but," he continued to say.

"No, I get it," I said, already starting on my way off the porch.

He started to shut the door, but before he did, I heard something I knew I wasn't meant to.

"Who was that?"

"Its nothing, mom."

"Was that Rick's boy?"

I froze as I eavesdrop on the conversation. Suddenly the door opened again, and Mrs. Gridley stopped me from walking away.

"You must be Pitch," she said, walking over and closing some of the distance between us.

Behind her back, her son stood in the doorway looking at me like I did something wrong.

"What brings you by?" She asked.

"My dad and I are grilling and thought if your family wanted to," I started to say.

"Oh, we'd love to, just the thing we need after unpacking all these boxes," she said, cutting me off much like her son if only in a friendlier fashion.

She was taller than her son, so I guess he was just short.

"We'll be right over," she said before rushing back inside.

I stood with one foot on their steps as the son eyed me in what seemed to be disgust or maybe disinterest. He rolled his eyes and shut the door. I took a moment to take a breath before going back home.

Later that evening, I found myself sitting at a table in the backyard. Dad was still grilling, but he had Mr. and Mrs. Gridley to keep him company. I found myself faced with their son once again as he came to sit across from me. He didn't say anything for a long while. He was focused on his phones because he had two of them strangely enough. He used them simultaneously. The mult.i.tasking ability was impressive until I realized he was pa.s.sive-aggressively ignoring me. Had his parents made him come and sit with me? Were our parents setting us up or something? It felt possible, why else would he come to sit with me only to avoid me.

"Did I do something?" I asked.

"I know who you are," he said without looking up from his screens.

"And who am I?"

"Danger Rabbit," he said.

"You just moved in, how do you already know about...,"

He used one of his phones to show me a video of the fight I had with Santa.

"That's...," I said before becoming speechless, thinking of a response.

"My luck is bad enough without hanging around a walking time bomb," he said, finally putting his phones away.

I couldn't think of anything to say. I sipped from a soda, and he did the same. He held eye contact with me. I tried not to, but it's like he was purposely goading me for a response.

"You're not gonna call me an a.s.shole?" He said, insinuating he wanted me to.

"Why would I? You're not wrong," I said.

"So, you get into trouble like that often?"

"I can't control it," I said.

I wasn't about to lie or mislead anyone about my condition. If those meant lines were already drawn, then so be it.

"And I thought my life was s.h.i.t," he said.

I wasn't sure, but I thought he was joking. He chuckled just enough to make it seem like a joking tone. He wasn't being serious.

"Sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"For being an a.s.shole," he admitted perhaps to himself as much to me.

We exchanged a mutual awkward grin. Our parents were definitely setting us. Like most first encounters, it took us a while to feel each other out enough to get past small talk, but we got somewhere. We left our elders outside to talk inside while we grabbed a couple more drinks from the fridge.

"So, are you really strong?" I asked.

"No," he said.

"Super smart?"

"I'm smarter than you," he said confidently.

He had an ego on him, but he stayed aware of it enough to keep it from being obnoxious.

"Is there anything you can do?" I asked.

"I can f.u.c.k with people," he said with a straight face.

I wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious. He'd already proven that skill if he was being honest.

"I'm kidding, its more of a 'me thing' than a 'race thing,'" he corrected.

"No extra powers or abilities at all?"

"Sorry to disappoint," he said.

It's not every day that I met new creatures. Most days weren't like STR, where unique breeds were to be expected. Daybreak was home to creatures, but not many of them. I was curious to know about goblins. I knew satyrs were athletic and could talk to animals. I knew elves were super smart but physically weak. I knew trolls were vegetarians, orcs had lousy eyesight, and fairies were basically on a constant high from birth to death. I knew nothing about goblins, but from what my new friend told me, they didn't seem unusual at all. If not for the green skin and pointed ears, they could have been as ordinary as humans.

"You never gave me your name," I said.

"Its Velmer. What's yours?" he said.

"I thought you knew me already."

"I knew Danger Rabbit, not you."

"I'm Pitch," I said as we left the kitchen to walk around the house.

There weren't many people who got to see the way Dad and I lived. Our house was old and in need of repairs here and there, but we did our best to keep it looking presentable. Still, having someone new looking around and seeing our shortcomings put me on edge. When we got to my room, I came close to insisting we go back outside. The last thing I wanted was to have the new kid on the block ridicule me over my lack of video games, or how basic my clothes were. Then again, he hadn't said a single word about my being a human rabbit hybrid at all so far, so maybe I was paranoid. Perhaps I was overly self-conscious.

"So why didn't you invite your boyfriend to this?" Velmer asked as I let him wander around my s.p.a.ce.

I could have picked up my dirty clothes from the floor or organized a few things, but that might have called attention to them. Maybe a little mess was typical for guys our age, I hoped. Was he my age? For all, I knew goblins could have aged super slow.

"How do you know I'm seeing someone?" I asked.

"You were making out with some guy in your driveway a few days ago."

"You were watching us?"

"We were moving in, and you weren't discreet, but why didn't you invite him," he reiterated.

The Gridleys had been around since Monday, but I hadn't taken notice of them until that Friday. I guess I was more distracted than I thought I was. I couldn't see any reason not to be honest, so I took a chance and opened up a little.

"We've been spending a lot of time together, I thought he'd want a break," I said.

"He wants a break, or you do?" he asked suggestively.

"Little early to poke and probe me like that, don't you think?" I said, taken back by how forward he was.

"Slow is boring, and you're deflecting."

"Yea, I wanted a break. He used to be my best friend, and we'd do everything together, but now whenever we're together there's this tension between us."

"And you don't like it?" He dug in deeper.

"No. I do. I really like it, but as long as its there, it's hard to go back to just spending time as friends," I said.

It was funny. Not too long ago, I had a hard time seeing Wes as more than a friend, but already we were well beyond that.

"So he was your only friend?" Velmer probed further.

I don't think he understood we just met, and he was asking me personal questions. Thing is his lack of awareness of how forward he was being made it easy to keep being honest.

"I had another friend, but we're not talking right now."

"I guess you needed me," he said, finally turning around finished with his impromptu inspection of my room.

"What? Are you declaring yourself my friend?"

"You'd be so lucky," he said, and I somewhat agreed.

I'd taken my days to process things on my own, but nothing felt like quite the relief I found talking to Velmer. That wasn't to say he was a guru or very deep, but he was something different. He was a stranger after all, but someone other than Wes or Bj. He could have been the friend that I needed.

Later that night, after everyone got to eat, it was just my dad and me again. He tried to be the friend that I needed. After the Gridleys went home, we had some time to catch up. I never faulted my dad for not being around more. He had to work, and I got into some things I couldn't always talk about. Nonetheless, it felt good when he tried to keep close. Even if I didn't expect him to be around, I never had any doubts that he would if he could be.

Dad was washing dishes while I stuffed all the leftover food into the fridge. I was happy to have met Velmer, so much so I wished he could have hung around longer. Dad outdid himself cooking so much food we could have fed twice as many people. We sent the Gridleys home stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys. It was a good day.

"Your mother tells me you're seeing someone," Dad said.

And just like that, my happy aimless thoughts were shot. He shocked me, but not because he mentioned Mom. I wasn't ready to tell him about Wes yet. I nearly choked on my tongue trying to swallow my initial reaction.

"Its nothing serious," I said with the refrigerator door acting as a barrier between us keeping my face out of view.

"You've never had a girlfriend before," he said.

"I've had a girlfriend before," I debated.

"Paulina from your 1st grade English cla.s.s doesn't count."

How did he know about Paulina?

"Tell me about this girl," he said before walking over to make me close the refrigerator.

There wasn't any more food to put away.

"Well," I said nervously.

"You can talk to me; your old man has been around."

"The thing is," I stumbled.

"Go on," he said patiently, waiting.

I would have given anything to have the ceiling fall on my head at that moment.

"It's not...," I couldn't say it.

I didn't know if I was gay or bi or whatever else. I wasn't sure if anything going on between Wes and I would last very long. Sure, when we were together it felt good, but it could have been a phase. Did I want to out myself over something that might have been a phase?

"It's not a girl," I said.

He didn't react, or if he did, it wasn't in a way I expected.

"I'm waiting," he said.

"That was it."

"Haven't I always said 'I wouldn't care who you bring home'..."

"...' as long as I don't bring home a baby,'" I finished his sentence.

Of course, I remembered his rule, but I didn't think he'd take it so smoothly.

"So who is he," he asked, leaning against the kitchen counter sipping from a beer that must have been warm from sitting out in the sun all day.

"Its Wes," I said nonchalantly.

I believed there was nothing to worry about, so I dropped the bomb like an apple. He spat his drink across the room harder than a bottle rocket

"I thought you said!" I exclaimed.

"No, no, it's fine," he said, trying to backtrack from his clear and distinct reaction.

"Is it?"

"Yes...but why, and when ...and why?" He asked.

"Dad," I exclaimed again.