Black Fox: The Awakening - 8. Chapter 8 - Takes on Violence

I’m a mutant.

That was my first thought after opening my eyes the next morning.

Like if I wasn’t different enough already.

The thought was paralysing.

Act naturally. Do what you usually do.

Ryan’s words rang in my head. Act naturally. How was that even possible? I didn’t feel like the same person anymore. I didn’t remember what that old person even used to be or do.

I cheated on Owen.

That was my second thought and I had to cover my eyes with my hands.

Why? Everything seemed so unreal back there in the forest. What was I thinking? It couldn’t be undone. I will always be a boy who cheated on his boyfriend right after making a scene because of something that had happened before we were even a thing…

And what did Owen do after I ignored him for two days straight? He just showed he cares for me even more. I looked at the whistle resting peacefully on my night shelf and sighed.

Fucking childish, selfish, stupid hypocrite. Ugh…

It was time to face my new reality.

Yesterday after the "gym", I was on my best behaviour for the rest of the day. I cleaned up my room and when I was done, I went to clean up the bathroom. I spent two full hours there, scrubbing the bathtub and the toilet until they were squeaky clean even in the farthest hidden corners.

After dinner, I ran to the kitchen to do the dishes before anyone else could even think of standing up. Mum and Dad never openly acknowledged my good boy stance but I saw in their eyes that they were softening. When I asked them if we needed any groceries, they said "no" but I could hear in their voices that the ice was breaking.

Sometime during the day, Ryan called and asked about things. It all led to him saying that our job was far from done and we needed way more sessions to get me under control. I told him that I'm grounded and that we need to find a safer way or else they would lock me down in the basement for good. All I could do was to keep up being a good son and hope Mum's and Dad's hearts would melt before the weekend. And it was already Thursday.

Cayden called me later that evening.

“Hey Alex, buddy, you didn’t return my calls,” he scolded me.

“Ah, sorry, I lost my phone. I found it now. I’m sorry I didn’t call back.”

“Okay, so you know we don’t play any gigs this weekend but we thought you could come and hang out with us and jam.”

“Oh, um, I’d love to,” I said, looking for an excuse but decided that the truth was the best one. “There’s just one problem… I’m grounded at least for the rest of the week.”

There was laughter on the other end of the line. “You? Grounded? What did you do? Forgot to say “thank you” after breakfast?”

I wish I could find it as hilarious as he did. Cayden was almost 16 but he and I were pretty similar in terms of body type and overall looks. The main physical difference was that he was dark blond. Our characters couldn’t be more different, though. He was a typical straight jock trapped in the body of a boy.

“Didn’t come home for the night,” I said.

“Fuck, dude. We’re a bad influence on you. If your mum asks, blame it all on me, she loves me and she won’t hold a grudge.”

That actually wasn’t a bad idea. My mum hardly knew the boys but all adults seemed to like Cayden for his babyface even despite his rash rascal personality. There was also his angelic smile that he managed to fool everyone with.

“I’ll consider it. Anyway, I’m grounded so let’s hook up during the week. I miss playing with you guys.”

“We miss you too, Puppy Fox. Tell your mum I said “hi”.”

“I will, Aussie Fox, bye!”

I let out a deep sigh after he hung up. I was getting used to my boyband nickname even if it sounded childish and silly. Luckily, the guys weren’t overusing it. I think secretly they would be embarrassed as hell if people knew what we called each other sometimes.

On Friday, I woke up feeling like Alex, thinking about being a wolf boy.

I cleaned up after breakfast and was about to go back to my room when Dad stopped me.

"What do you want?" he asked.

I froze in my tracks. “Uh, nothing?”

“Drop the act. It’s nice that you’re helping but you’re grounded and you won’t charm your way out of this one. What do you want?”

Fuck. I wasn't surprised that he'd seen right through me but I was hoping to have this conversation after he's had his coffee. He and Mum were still sitting by the table and it didn't feel like they were about to terminate my punishment just yet.

Oh, screw it all.

I fell on my knees and folded my hands together.

"I know I screwed up," I started. "I'm very, very sorry. You know I never caused any problems. This was a one-off, I promise. But see, Owen and I had a date planned tomorrow since like, forever! He wants to take me out and it means a lot to me. It's fine if you want me to stay grounded but, uh, would you please consider letting me go?"

I made my best puppy eyes, showing as much remorse as I possibly could. My hope sparked but quickly faded as my parents' faces stayed cold and serious. Mum spoke first.

"It's true that you never caused any problems. That's why when you disappeared without a word like that, we were fearing for the worst. And then lying to us that you were with Owen. I'm still wondering what you're not telling us."

"Do you have anything to add?" Dad asked.

I didn't. They were too perceptive. Of course, what did I expect? I handled it so poorly it's a miracle I didn't let the cat - or wolf - out of the bag about turning into a red-eyed beast from time to time. Now, I had to tread lightly because they were clearly suspicious that I wasn't telling them everything.

"Besides," Mum added, "we're all going to visit my parents tomorrow. We're coming back on Sunday."

My heart sank. No date for me. Just when I needed it so badly. What if I turn into a fucking wolf when we're on the highway? Mum will cause an accident for sure and we'll all die.

"Okay," I said. There was no opening to bargain at this point.

Dad stood up and went to the coffee machine.

"If you keep behaving as you do," he said without looking at me, "we'll consider ungrounding you before the next weekend. For now, think about your life priorities because I don't like what I'm seeing."

Oh yeah. Way to show up twice a year and complain.

"I'll go to my room," I said instead.

"We're worried about you, Alex," Mum said but I didn't stop to answer her.

***

I knew that no matter what, I couldn't stop being a good boy. I kept helping around the house and planned to pretend to have a blast while at my grandparents’ house. I abandoned all hopes of going out with Owen tomorrow but the stakes got even higher.

Mum and Dad are onto something.

They were too smart to be satisfied with my story about a one-off drinking escapade. I was aware I’ve been acting differently and they were watching my every step. I had to do all I could to stop them from digging deeper. I was a terrible liar and if they chose to corner me, they would eventually make me admit to everything. Then, they would burn me at the stake as I deserved. I even came up with the last resort plan to admit to taking drugs just to give them something else to worry about or send me away to rehab.

Hopefully, it could all be prevented. I spent my afternoon cleaning the kitchen and then vacuuming the whole house. Mum was away at work and Dad left to meet a client. He and Chris were supposed to start a new project on Monday. That was good because I was fed up with Dad sitting at home all day. Then, the project will end and they will move on somewhere else. I knew I would miss Chris, though.

By the time my parents got home, I felt drained. I appraised the fruit of my work and I wept, for there were no more places to clean. The house had always been clean and neat in the first place so it's not like I had to scrub ancient stains and rust deposits. I had some mowing to do but I saved that for tomorrow.

I had a short chat with my parents after dinner and asked about their day. Then I went back to my room and undressed to prepare for the shower. I took off the silver whistle that had been hanging around my neck at all times and put it on the top shelf as I always did. I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to shower with it but I didn't want to risk it. It saved my life once already. I smelled my armpit. Damn, I need that shower badly.

I didn't hurry. It’s been a while since I last had a chance to shampoo my black hair properly and they urgently needed attention.

Once done, I dried and wrapped myself with a towel and got back to my room. I put on a fresh pair of briefs and went to pick up the whistle. It was there, resting peacefully on the middle shelf. I stared at it for almost a full minute, feeling a tight, invisible grip around my throat. I looked around as if expecting someone to be right behind me, but the room was empty and peaceful as always.

"Hey Chris," I said after knocking at the door to his room. "Were you in my room when I was showering?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, nothing. Did you hear someone else go in?"

"No, I had my headphones on," he gestured at them. "What happened? Is something missing?"

"No," I said and left.

Later, we were watching TV and after the movie ended, Mum turned to me. I didn’t like the look on her face and I tensed.

"Dad isn't coming to my parents with us tomorrow. He’s staying home," she said.

I looked at her and felt my heart beating faster. This didn't sound like it concerned me but something in her tone suggested otherwise.

"I have a few more meetings with the clients and I have to be available the entire weekend," Dad added.

Mum sighed. "We didn't forget what you did but we appreciate your efforts to make up for it. We talked about it and decided we can let you stay home, too, if you want."

I didn't dare to say a word because it sounded too good to be true.

"And yes," Dad continued, "you can go out with Owen, if you want."

This… coming from him. I couldn't believe it. I felt a lump forming in my throat.

"Thank you," I managed, barely audibly and my voice broke. Tears filled my eyes. I didn't know how much I needed it.

Dad cleared his throat. "I'm driving you both wherever you’re planning to go and then picking you up, not later than at 10 pm."

I didn't know what possessed me. I jumped to my feet and gave my father a big hug.

"Thank you. Thank you," I repeated.

"Easy now," he said and patted me on my back. "We're willing to trust you because you're our son. Learn from what you did."

I let go of Dad and went to hug my mum.

"Thank you," I said again. "And I'm sorry."

I'm sorry for who I am, Mum and Dad.

***

The next morning, I was mowing like crazy. You'd think I'd take it for granted, relax and wait for the special evening with my boyfriend but you'd be wrong. Knowing Dad, he could change his mind anytime no matter what I do so at least I didn't want to give him any reasons. I took off my t-shirt to catch some sun while I was at it. I waved to Mrs Gowan who lived across the street. She was almost eighty and I pictured how she would react if I transformed into a wolf right now. It would certainly upset her morning coffee very much.

I had spent almost two hours on the phone with Owen last night. First I told him that our date was a go. Then we argued a little about where to go because I loved Italian food and he didn't. We agreed on Italian. Then we talked about all kinds of stuff and he made me forget that I was a shape-shifting mutant. Then we jerked off together, talking dirty and listening to each other's quickening breaths. Thank god being grounded didn't include a phone ban.

I began raking the cut grass but it was too wet. I had to wait until the next day and let it dry in the sun.

I went to shower wearing the whistle necklace and I put it on the washing machine before stepping into the stall. I decided not to take my eyes off it for a second.

After lunch, Mum and Chris left to visit her parents and left me alone with Dad. I felt nervous for the rest of the afternoon, expecting Dad to come up with something to destroy my evening. I was sure he would and I was ready to hate him for the rest of my life.

But he did nothing and thirty minutes before it was time to go, he even told me not to be late. I wasn't going to. I made sure I was looking perfect and my bow tie was fixed and I waited downstairs for Dad to be ready.

"Looking good," he said when he saw me. "All the girls will be jealous."

"Stop it, Dad," I said but I couldn't help but smile. Maybe he's had a change of heart after all.

While we were driving to Owen's house, I got a text from him.

"I'll be ten minutes late. Come inside."

I told Dad I’d be right back and stepped inside Owen's house. I realised I didn't even knock and his parents just smiled at me. I scolded myself for the intrusion. They were nice enough not to force smalltalk on me and they were busy around the house anyway. His mum just commented on how good I looked to which I blushed and mumbled thank you.

I sat on the couch and just looked around, waiting for my boyfriend. After a while, I noticed his sister standing in the doorway. She was grinning like a typical curious kid. I smiled back at her and then looked in the other direction. It surprised me when she spoke.

"Are you going on a date?"

"Yes," I said.

"Where are you going?"

"To a restaurant."

"What restaurant?"

"Italian," I said and chuckled, smiled at her.

"Which one?"

"Near the mall, I don't remember the name. Ask Owen when he comes downstairs."

She didn't say anything else for a while and I thought I put a stop to the stream of questions. But then she giggled.

"Will you be kissing?"

I looked at her, not sure what to say. She was sure getting her kicks out of imagining us kissing.

"I hope," I said with a shy smile.

She giggled even louder and ran away to her room. I shook my head. Good thing I didn't have a younger sister because I would have no idea how to handle her at all. And Owen seemed to have even less patience for her than I did. She was barely younger than me, I realised. Maybe that’s how I look in Owen’s eyes.

He came downstairs a few minutes later and I almost gasped. Owen was looking even sexier than at his birthday party. His blue jeans and the black shirt fit him perfectly but my attention got quickly stolen by his haircut. The change wasn't huge but somehow my dick stirred when I saw it. It - the hair, I mean - was longer at the top and shorter on the sides and that was enough to change him from a grunge kid to a model. I wasn't bad-looking myself but suddenly I felt almost inadequate. He really put some effort into his looks and what did I do? Wear a bowtie.

Owen stopped in front of me. "Shall we?" He said and extended his hand. I felt magical. I considered asking him to go straight into the bedroom rather than to a stupid restaurant but then Dad was waiting in the car.

Luckily, it wasn't a long drive because the silence was uncomfortable. I promised myself it's the first and the last time my dad is driving me to a date. It was a relief when he disappeared around the corner, leaving us standing in front of the place.

“Remember, 10 pm,” he said before driving away. “Don’t be late.”

“Yes dad,” I said.

Finally, alone.

We drew many eyes as we walked in. The restaurant was pretty much packed and I don't think it was possible to find a place without making a reservation. Good thing we had one. I felt a little shy but above all I was proud. All the men and boys were probably angry at us for making their wives, girlfriends and sisters look at us with watery eyes. I felt a little bit self-conscious, but it all passed as soon as we were seated at our table. The feelings of inadequacy passed as well when I saw the radiant smile Owen was looking at me with.

Then there was the smell. It was overwhelming. All kinds of scents attacked my sensory system and I started drooling. Garlic, meats, grilled veggies. This was a change I could get used to but I had to remind myself to behave.

"What are you going to get?" Owen asked after we were given the menu.

"I don't know yet, you?"

"I don't know either," he chuckled.

A few minutes later, a waiter approached us.

“I’ll have carbonara and sparkling water,” Owen said.

I cleared my throat and swallowed the drool. “What’s the soup of the day?”

“Minestrone.”

“Okay, then I’ll have… the soup and then penne bolognese.”

The waiter smiled. “Just warning you that this soup is a standalone serving.”

“Amazing!” I beamed. “Oh, and I’ll have tiramisu for dessert.”

“Wow,” Owen said when the waiter left.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged. “Ryan was right. I’m not feeding you enough sausage.”

“Feed me now, then.” I maintained a straight face and pretended to dive under the table to get between his legs.

“Stop it!” he laughed, “people are looking.”

“I like it when someone watches,” I said, hoping Owen will just think it’s a joke.

In the meantime, our drinks arrived. "How does it feel to be grounded for the first time?" Owen asked.

"Sucks. The humiliation I had to go through to make them let me go… Don’t get me started."

"You got some tan on your face."

"Really?" I asked. "Is that good?"

"Yes."

"Thanks," I said. "You look amazing, too. Too bad we can't spend the night together."

"I know, right?" He winked at me. "We'll make up for it when you're ungrounded but tonight, we can do it like we did yesterday."

"On the phone?"

"Yeah. Or, we can Snapchat."

"Nah, just call me when you're in bed, I like that better," I said and winked back at him. Whoever was paying us any attention could have little doubts about who we were to each other. Then Owen reached for me with his healthy hand across the table and even those doubts ceased to exist.

I was happy that while he didn’t like me to showcase us on social media, he wasn’t shy to act like boyfriends in public. I hoped he wasn’t doing it just for me. Or maybe he just felt the magic of the moment. It didn't matter. It was only the two of us here. Well, him, me and my cock, that boned up in seconds after our hands met.

Then our food arrived and we had to let go. I finished my soup and the main course and Owen was still only halfway through his pasta. I scolded myself for giving in to my instincts instead of cherishing the moment.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I said and stood up when Owen finished.

I didn't even have to pee but I had to wash my hands because they got all sticky. Way to make a mess when eating pasta with a fork.

When I came back, I decided to push things a little further. Instead of sitting down, I approached Owen from the back, embraced his neck and made a few selfies with my phone. His smile was genuine if a little shy but they came out super cute.

"Send me the best one," Owen said.

"Sure."

"And Alex…"

"What?"

"Are you going to post it?"

"Well, I didn't think about it yet," I lied, "why?"

"Could you please not?"

"Well… sure. If you don't want me to."

"So you did want to post it."

"Well, it turned out cute, you know. I don't want to hide you from the world," I said.

"I don't want to hide you either but those thousands of people who react to our photos… we don't know them. I don't feel like showing them anything."

“We don’t know the people in the restaurant, either.”

“Alex… please.”

"Alright, alright," I backed away.

"I'm sorry Alex, I just don't feel like sharing our special moments with the Internet."

I stared at my empty plate for a minute. I knew Owen was right but I kind of liked the attention. I looked up and smiled at him.

"How about we share not so special moments. Sometimes."

Owen rolled his eyes and smiled back. "Maybe. Look. There's also one more thing to think about. I'm getting lots and lots of DMs from strangers. I don't read most of them and I don't reply to any."

"Same," I said. It wasn't all true because even though I wasn't replying, I was sure reading all of them.

"But then," Owen continued, "this guy from my school texted me. He said congrats on coming out, you have a cute boyfriend and so on. It surprised me because I thought he was homophobic. He's super handsome I guess, and has a new girlfriend every month."

"Okay, so what of him?" My smile faded. Somehow I didn't like Owen talking about hot guys even if they're straight.

"I said thanks for your words and such and then we didn't talk for a few days. Then yesterday he texted me again around midnight."

"Okay…"

"Yeah, and he said how are you, what are you doing, and so on. Then he sent me a pic of his face and said he's drunk."

"Then," Owen said, "he outright asked me if I wanted to exchange nudes. And before I could answer, he sent me a fucking dick pic."

"What?"

"Just what I said. I deleted it and texted him to sober up. But what I'm trying to say is this exposure is giving me a lot of attention I'd rather avoid. So I hope you understand… Alex?"

He must’ve noticed that I wasn't listening anymore. I was boiling inside. And when my head spun, I recognized the feeling.

"Excuse me," I blurted and ran back to the bathroom. I barely made it and people probably thought I was about to throw up. But something way worse was about to happen.

The bathroom was thankfully empty. The colours were melting before my eyes.

I put my head in the sink and turned on the cold water. It sobered me up a little but I still felt dizzy. And then, when I thought I had it under control, I blacked out.

I woke up on the floor. The world looked strange. Owen was standing at the bathroom door and looking down at me with panic in his eyes. The water at the sink was running as I left it.

"Alex"! He shouted and ran to kneel above me.

He took my hand and grasped it tightly. I looked at it. He was holding a human hand. I cried and melted in Owen's embrace.

***

Owen spoke to the waiter and we managed to sneak out through the staff exit. It was a nightmare. We found a piece of secluded green area and sat on a bench. Owen never stopped hugging me closely.

"I was so scared," Owen whispered after a minute. "I thought you were having a seizure."

"I'm fine. I think I ate too much. Just hold me."

While I've never been further away from being fine, I knew I couldn't last a single second without his embrace.

It had almost happened. I'd been on the verge, I knew it. In front of all the people. I had just narrowly escaped death. And it came out of nowhere. It could happen again anytime. It will happen again, I realised with terror, it was just a matter of time. As the gravity of the situation was slowly dawning on me, I shuddered and embraced Owen even tighter, holding to the last hopeful chunk of reality I knew.

Minutes passed. I felt a bit better.

"Owen, there's something I have to tell you," I said slowly.

"I'm listening, babe," he said, gently scratching my head. I knew he was worried shitless and still could be a fortress I could feel safe in.

Even more minutes passed and I was collecting myself to say what had to be said.

"Owen… I… I messed around with Ryan."

He backed off his head as if to see if I'm being serious. "What?"

"I know, I'm so sorry, but it's true. I don't know why I did it. I mean, I know, I was jealous and Ryan sort of said it would… oh god… what am I talking about? I cheated on you."

A few cars drove by in the distance.

"Owen?"

His face was stern and as serious as ever.

"Owen? I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was out of my mind."

Owen suddenly looked deflated, staring away from me. Is that it? Did I fuck up for good so early? I sure fucked up our first real night out. I was meaning to tell him about the wolf thing but I couldn't get it out of my mouth. It almost felt like a relief to tell Owen about Ryan instead. I forgot to consider the fact that it wouldn't feel like a relief to him.

I caressed his cheek and he finally turned to me.

"It's fine,” he said.

“W… what?” I let out.

“It’s fine. You had every right to be mad. As long as you never do it again… it’s fine. We’re even, in a way.”

I stopped for a while, remembering that Ryan used the exact same words.

“We’re not even, Owen. You didn’t cheat on me. I cheated on you.”

“It’s fine, Alex. I thought I would be jealous, but for some reason, I’m not. I don’t want to suggest a triangle but I only regret that I couldn’t see it.”

“Well, we didn’t do much, we just…”

“Shhh,” he said and put his index finger on my lips. I expected him to say something but he just kept looking at me with a slight smile on his face.

I licked his finger. Then I licked it again, never losing eye contact.

Then he kissed me.

I’d never wished to be in a fucked up relationship and I still didn’t but at that point, I doubted it was possible anymore. Probably I should appreciate what I had. And try not to die in the process. At least we were getting better at kissing. I felt Owen push his tongue inside my mouth and I sucked it eagerly. Then I pushed back and for a while, we tongue-wrestled before he let me inside his mouth. I reached down with my hand and felt Owen was hard. The place we were in was dark but hardly secluded. It didn’t matter. I was ready to pull us down onto the grass and dry hump until we both cum in our clothes.

But then there was a camera flash.

I looked in the direction it came from. In the dark, I saw a small frame, possibly of a kid. My reflexes acted before my brain could and I jumped and ran towards it. A part of me wanted to drop on all fours but I stopped myself. When I saw the surprised face of this kid Ian from the party, I felt anger. He was about to retreat but he dropped his phone and I connected with him when he was trying to pick it up. I grabbed his arm. I wasn't that much taller than him but I was stronger and he struggled to free himself with no effect.

"Let me go!" He yelled. But I wasn't going to.

One second later, Owen was next to us and his face was red from anger. I knew he didn't like the little shit in the first place but now he was furious.

Then, he did something even I didn't expect. He took a wide swing and slapped Ian with his open hand. From the look and sound of it, I doubt he was holding back at all. Maybe he was using his weaker hand but I heard the slap echo from the nearby buildings. I’m not sure how much it had to do with my enhanced senses but the blow had to be strong because the kid's body became limp and he fell on the ground. I watched Owen with awe. I couldn't remember seeing him in such rage, ever! I wasn't a strong supporter of violence but the little shit had it coming.

Seconds later, I heard weeping as Ian went into a full breakdown. Owen knelt down and I thought he was going to help the boy but instead, he picked up his phone. It was still unlocked and in camera mode so he went into the gallery to delete any pictures the kid managed to make of us.

"There was only one," Owen said. "But I'll go back and delete those he did at the party."

I knelt down and checked on Ian who was still crying.

"Hey, you okay?" I tugged his shoulder. His face was wet from tears and his right cheek was burning red. I hoped we wouldn’t get into trouble for hurting him.

But Ian ignored me and looked at Owen, who was still going through the boy's phone.

My boyfriend's eyes were wide open. "Well I'll be blowed!" he said.

"Give it back!" Ian moaned through tears but was still unable to get up.

"What's this?" I asked and stood up to see what surprised Owen so much. "Oh, holy crap!"

As with every kid's image gallery, this one consisted of countless selfies of him and his friends plus some random stuff. But then there were drawings. Yaoi-style pencil drawings, presenting boys in different affectionate positions. But most were presenting me and Owen. I had no doubt. Some of them I recognized from the Instagram fan account but others I saw for the first time. There were a few that were clearly unfinished. Which could only mean one thing.

"Did you draw all that?" I breathed out.

Ian's eyes were in full panic mode now but we didn’t need him to confirm.

Next to me, Owen chuckled. "So you’re also a big fan of Justin Bieber, huh?"

I looked at the screen and gasped. Sure there was a nice pic of Justin Bieber. But it was one of those fake ones with his face photoshopped over a naked muscled teen body with a 7-inch boner.

That gave Ian an impulse to stand up and try to grab the phone but Owen put it high in the air.

"Give it back!" The boy shouted.

Owen just smiled at him. "Easy, I'm not done deleting pictures you took of us. You can keep the drawings, though, they're pretty good. Just make sure your Mum doesn't find them. Or the Bieber stuff."

By then, the boy's face was evenly red, effectively masking the slap mark.

Owen was clearly amused, making funny comments as he kept going through Ian's gallery. There were quite a few pictures he took of us at the party but in the process, we stumbled upon even more Bieber.

"Bloody hell," Owen laughed, "at least you don't like him for his music," he added, swiping past even more Bieber boners.

Eventually, Owen extended his left hand and handed Ian over his phone, but when the boy was about to take it, Owen withdrew it.

"Uh uh uh! Not so fast," he said. "Your Bieber secret's safe with us, but you have to promise not to stalk us anymore. Okay?

Ian looked as he was about to die but nodded.

"I want to hear you say it," Owen said.

"I… I won't stalk you anymore, please give it back."

"Okay. We trust you. But if you do it again, we'll go and have a quick chat with your parents. Maybe suggest they should start checking your phone or even install parental controls. Got it?"

"Yes," Ian sobbed.

Owen handed Ian his phone and the kid took it, hastily hid it inside his pocket and turned around to leave.

But as he made the first step, I stopped him.

"Ian?"

He turned around, still looking like a rabbit in the headlights.

"How did you know we'd be here?" I asked.

He turned his eyes to Owen. "Sarah told me." We shared knowing looks and I turned back to the kid.

"Okay, get going, shoo! It's late."

***

In a way, it was a relief to sit back in Dad's car.

"So how was it?" He asked.

"Great," I said.

Nothing else was said. I felt there was pressure on me to say something more but I was sure my emotions would betray me. Up to a point, it was great, so yeah.

“Where is Owen?” Dad asked.

“He said he’s going to hang out with Mike for a little. He lives nearby.”

There was a full minute of silence.

“You didn’t tell me he wasn’t going back home.”

“I didn’t know! He’s not grounded, is he?”

Dad said nothing in reply. After being nice to me all day, he seemed serious and gloomy all of the sudden. At least it was after our date, not before it.

When we arrived home, he let me through the door first. I clicked the light switch but it didn't work. The light bulb must've died.

Then I felt something heavy hit the back of my head and my lights went off, too.