Home wasn't always a terrible place, it could always be much worse than it actually was, and Isaac had accepted this fact a long time ago. Isaac knew how to avoid his dad, he knew how to sneak in and out of his house without, he had learnt the hard way to do all of this, but now he was better off knowing it all. Unlike before when he was kid, he had to watch out for both his mum and his dad, now he just had to watch out for his dad. His mum had always been a flight risk but when he was thirteen she had disappeared for good and Isaac never worried about his drug addict mum again. His dad though, he had always been a problem. He had always been a drunk, for as long as he could remember. He remembered picking his dad up off the kitchen floor when he was eight, his mum wasn't around then, he remembered being twelve and his uncle turning up. His uncle fucked his mother and then got him to sneak into an alley he could fit down because he was small and break into a car. He remembered crying at Freddy's when his uncle told him he couldn't go live with him.

Isaac had never had a simple childhood, he remembered the bad more than he remembered the good. There had always been more bad than good. Isaac had been a hopeful kid, he believed that his parents would sober up and that they loved him, but now he knew his parents would never sober up and that they probably didn't love him, it was a fact that he had come to live with. There were many facts that Isaac had learned to live with, whether he liked it or not.

With all of this said, Isaac sneaking in at two o'clock in the morning, was something Isaac had perfected, however, Isaac sneaking in at two o'clock in the morning with a hickey on the side of his neck was something he had not perfected, and it had not expected his dad to still be awake. His dad was sitting in the chair that Isaac had learned to avoid, but it was a chair that often had his dad asleep in it. Not this time. His father was wide awake and from what Isaac could tell his dad was sober, which did not happen often.

"Where have you been?" His dad grumbled, leaning back in his chair, "I've been waiting for you to come home for hours."

Isaac didn't move, he stood still in the hallway, "I was out."

Isaac's dad stood up and he stalked towards Isaac, grabbing Isaac by the chin and twisting his head sideways, so the hickey on the side of his neck was staring his dad in the face, "I can see that. Did he fuck you or was it the other way around?" The sneer evident in his dad's voice.

"There was no fucking." Isaac snapped back, he hated when his dad did this. Coming out to his parents had been the biggest mistake of his life and he had wished he had known that, when he was a kid.

"I'm sure. You know it's wrong. A man isn't meant to be with a man." Isaac rolled his eyes, he had heard this a thousand times, he didn't care what his dad had to say anymore.

"What did you want? You said you were waiting?" Isaac asked, wanting to get this over and done with.

His dad dropped his chin, "I'm out of booze and I got no money. Give me some."

Isaac snorted at his dad demands, he was so fucking obvious, "I've got twenty, that's it."

That seemed enough for his dad who held out his hand, Isaac finished at the twenty quid he had in his back pocket, he placed it in his dad's hand. His dad looked at him, patted him on the cheek and pushed him down the hallway. Isaac sighed, tired and annoyed, he fell backwards onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had been in such a good mood, he had a good time with Jake and his fucking father had to ruin it, it wasn't fair.

Isaac knew when he was getting ready that morning that his friends would ask questions and tease him, but he couldn't help it. He had deliberately not worn his trademark leather jacket just, so he could show off his hickey. He wanted everyone to know, he couldn't help, something about Jake's hickey being on the side of his neck was making Isaac hot all over. Isaac knew he was going to somehow show it off in front of Jake. He had to, just to see his face. Isaac would die if he didn't.

Isaac couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face, when his friends saw him. While Freddy looked unimpressed, everyone else though, was teasing him. He knew it was stupid, but he was happy, and his friends knew it. Benji was making the whipping noise again and Isaac didn't care.

"You fucked him?" Gabby asked, looping her arm through Isaac's as they walked down the school hallway.

Isaac laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Benji lopped his arm through Isaac's other arm, "Yes we would. Freds especially, if you fucked him, he's gonna beat the shit out of him." Benji laughed, while Isaac and Freddy frowned.

Isaac pulled his arms away from his friends, turning on his heel to face Freddy, "I didn't fuck him."

Isaac grabbed Freddy by the arm and pulled him down the hallway, pushing him into the toilet. Isaac had, had enough with Freddy's bullshit. Freddy needed to get over himself, he liked Jake and Freddy couldn't do anything to change that, even if he wanted to. Freddy crossed his arms defensively, an eyebrow raised at Isaac, who looked equally pissed off.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Isaac spat at Freddy.

Freddy scoffed at his best friend, he was so angry at Isaac and Isaac didn't understand why, "This is what's wrong with me!" Freddy shouted, jabbing a finger at the hickey on Isaac's neck, "He's going to break your fucking heart and you know it."

"I don't care! I like him, and he likes me. You can't protect me from everyone!" Isaac yelled, he couldn't believe Freddy was being like this.

"I have to, Isaac. I'm the one who's going to have to pick you and put you back together afterwards." Freddy looked so tired and Isaac almost felt bad, but he was too angry to care.

Isaac started to pace, "You don't get it, he's not like that. Jake is nothing like Simon."

Freddy stepped away from Isaac, he leaned on the wall, he looked softly at Isaac, reminding Isaac that Freddy had always been there for him and that Freddy was the first person to have really cared about Isaac, "I know, but Simon he almost killed you and I don't want another guy to do that to you. It almost killed me watching you like that, I promised you I wouldn't let that happen again."

"I know, but Jake's the nicest person I know."

Freddy stood up straight, he walked over to Isaac and stood in front of pointing a finger at his face, "He maybe, but his friends did that to you."

Isaac felt his blood run cold as Freddy left the bathroom, leaving without saying another word. Freddy maybe a dick, but he was a dick that was usually right. As, Isaac stood there in the bathroom staring at the spot where Freddy had stood. He was afraid because he needed Freddy, without Freddy he would be alone, no one else would understand him the way Freddy did. He needed Freddy to understand, he wanted Jake, but he also needed Freddy to understand he was different from when he was fourteen. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes again, he had learnt how to survive. Growing up with parents like his taught him how to do that, he had learnt how to survive after Simon had torn him down again. Isaac was a survivor, he always had been. Nothing in the world would change that, but despite all of that Freddy was Isaac's support. He could survive without Freddy, but it didn't mean he wanted to. He didn't want Freddy to be mad at him, he didn't want Freddy to leave him too.