Sunny's Angel - 1. Chapter 1: New Neighbors

He lay there in confusion as everything around him seemed to be flashing blue and red in continuous intervals, the low squabble of voices squawking over radios as people around him kept talking to him, trying to tell him something important. He just couldn’t figure out what it was that they were trying to tell him, or why he should care, when all he so desperately wanted to do was escape the pain.

He didn’t really care about the physical pain, his body had become numb quite some time ago, it was the emotional agony that he wanted to get away from.

The lies and alcohol that had become his life, the constant partying and pressure, the sheer loneliness that was within his heart. He’d finally done something to escape from it all, and it was with sheer force of will that he at last found himself able to focus on the faces surrounding him, strapping his body into something.

“I win,” he stated clear and slow, watching as the faces turned their attention to him with a look of utter disbelief. “I win,” he repeated once more in a soft whisper, hearing what sounded like his family in the distance bursting into broken wailing sobs just as the darkness finally claimed him.

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Sunny looked around, staring from the back of the moving van towards the house that he was moving into with annoyance. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice really, he knew that, he just didn’t see why Peter couldn’t pack up his life and move back home rather than making him pack up his life and move out here.

“Sunny come on!” Peter shouted with a fair amount of exasperation in his voice, “it isn’t the end of the world, and it certainly won’t kill you to give this place a chance, besides, it will…”

“It will do some good to get a change of scenery!” Sunny huffed, echoing his older brother word for word.

“Fine, let’s just get this stuff unpacked so I can go back to bed,” Sunny growled.

Grabbing the first box at hand he headed towards the new house that his brother had just bought, ignoring the other houses around them with their luxurious swimming pools, neat trim, nice cars and big green lawns.

Peter sighed in slight irritation, and deciding not to make a big deal out of his little brother’s crankiness, grabbed a box from the back of the u-haul and followed him into the house as two of the movers came out to grab more stuff. Peter was just glad of one thing, and that was the fact that his little brother seemed to be coming out of his shell as more time passed. Three months ago Peter had received a horrendous phone call that had changed everything, for everyone.

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Devin got up from where he was sitting in a lounge chair by the swimming pool in his backyard, hearing a couple voices in the neighborhood that usually weren’t there at this time of day. He moved through the back sliding doors into the large kitchen and around towards the front where he was finally able to peer out one of the side front windows at the neighboring house, where he saw a big moving van and a group of people.

Devin smirked, finding his attention turning towards the youngest of two guys that was closer to him in age, the most significant feature on him being his corn silk colored blond hair that hung in fine strands about his face, unable to tell much more from this distance. He continued his assessment of the young man, noting the lack of something on the face that just seemed like it should be there. It took him a while to figure out what was missing, but once he did he decided he was correct in his assessment. The kids’ brother, Devin also decided, looked pretty much like him, just more built and taller.

The shorter one had no smile.

Devin turned around and moved towards the kitchen just as a loud wailing seemed to echo through the house. He looked at the caller I.D. before finally picking it up.

“Hello?” he asked softly.

“Hey Honey, How’s everything going?” Devin rolled his eyes at the sound of his mother’s cheerful voice.

“Fine Ma.”

“Good. Listen, your dad and I are going to be home early for dinner tonight, we wanted to know what you and your brother wanted to eat,” she stated.

“I dunno Ma, Dallas ain’t home, he’s out somewhere. Just pick up some pizza or something… Say, you know we got new neighbors?” He asked emotionlessly.

“Yes dear, I know we got new neighbors. That’s usually what it means when a sold sign appears in the front yard of a house that’s been on sale for awhile. Why don’t you go over and invite them over to dinner, we’ll cook on the grill tonight, okay sweetie?”

“Yes Ma,” Devin muttered.

“Thanks Darling, Your dad and I will see you in a bit then, love you.”

Devin looked at the phone as the last words poured out of his mothers’ mouth, finally hanging it up without a word back. Sighing as he stretched his arms above his lithe frame, he reached into the cupboards above his head until he found what he was looking for.

Pulling the cap off the bottle in his hand he took a hearty swig, taking note of the time before reaching into another cupboard for a glass, got some ice and reached into the fridge for another bottle. His drink finally made he put everything back, deciding that he had no intention whatsoever of going next door to invite anyone over for dinner.

Slamming down the rest of his drink he scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper, leaving it on the refrigerator for his younger brother to find when he got home. Opening a drawer he grabbed a pill bottle that he didn’t look at before he had the cap off, and two pills down the hatch.

Sleeping would be a better way to spend the rest of his afternoon, he decided. Heading downstairs he reached his bedroom, stripping down before promptly sprawling face first into his bed, his mind fading away into sweet darkness.

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Dallas ran inside his house, heading for the kitchen, hoping that his parents weren’t home, knowing he shouldn’t have left without permission. He was too late, his mom was already home.

“Uh--,” Dallas stuttered, looking at the back of his mom’s short and slightly obese form, the dark hair curling a bit down the middle of her back.

“Hi Honey,” his mom said.

“Uh,” he continued, not quite knowing what to say.

“It’s okay dear, your brother already said you were out, he left a note for you on the fridge.” She turned around, smiling at him with a strained expression on her face.

“I’m sorry Ma, it’s just…” he stopped, not quite knowing how things would go over for him if he continued.

“It’s okay Dally, I know you have a life of your own, and you shouldn’t have to be stuck here babysitting your older brother. We’ve had this discussion before, and while I don’t like it I guess I kind of agree with you.” She finished.

Discussion his ass, he thought to himself. It was closer to a weeklong argument that only ended once Devin got tired of listening to it and spoke up, effectively ending the argument. His big brother may have been a lot of things, but one thing for sure- he seemed to get everything he wanted, when he wanted it.

Half the time it seemed like everyone walked on their tip-toes around him because they were afraid of upsetting him. But it was never a big deal for Devin, and Dallas never really got jealous, because all Devin seemed to want anymore was to be left the hell alone.

Dallas sighed in relief, and nodded to his mom before going to the refrigerator to look at the note.

Dally,

Go next door to the place that was for sale and invite the new peepz to dinner for ma. Didn’t wanna do it.

Devin

Dallas sighed, turning towards his mother as he asked, “What’s for dinner ma?”

“We’re barbecuing outside, gonna do burgers and hotdogs, with home-made potato salad, is that okay?” she asked quickly, standing by the stove in front of a couple large pots of boiling water.

“Sounds perfect Ma, I’ll go over and invite them,” Dallas said excitedly before grinning at his ma, loving it when she actually made home-made potato salad. Turning around he quickly dashed out the front door into the new neighbors’ yard.

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Sunny looked around, noticing how quickly everything had gotten set up. All the boxes had been previously labeled and put in their designated rooms, and his bedroom for the most part was set up. The living room and dining area had been last, boxes stacked off to the side. Way to many boxes, he thought to himself, before wondering what they were going to be doing for dinner. He couldn’t cook, and he definitely didn’t think his older brother could cook either.

A ding-dong noise echoed through the house.

“Hey Peter! Did you order pizza?” He shouted over his shoulder, making his way towards the front door.

“Uh…” a half mumbled reply sounded from the kitchen. Looking in Peter’s direction, Sunny saw the confusion on his face. Sunny sighed, turned around and opened the front door, and gawked.

Exquisite face, nice jaw line, a medium shade of brown hair streaked with highlights and a pair of light blue eyes the color of tropical waters, all sitting on top of a fantastic swimmer’s body, around his height and size. Sunny blushed, realizing the face was looking at him weirdly and holding out his hand as if it wanted something.

“Uh…huh?” Sunny grumped slightly; feeling his face heat up as he quickly took the hand and shook it.

“I said hi…My name’s Dallas?”

Sunny blinked at the guy again in confusion, nodding his head while completely distracted and unsure of what to say.

“Blondie here is Sunny, and I’m Peter, his older brother,” Sunny sighed in relief as his older brothers voice came from behind him.

“Yes, what he said,” Sunny parroted in agreement, finally stepping out from the doorway and moving behind his older brother.

Peter frowned down at Sunny’s head, standing a whole 5” above him, putting him a couple inches above six feet, slightly amused and a little bit worried as Sunny decided he wanted to be shy and hide. Shrugging slightly to himself, Peter decided that he would talk with Sunny a bit more later on, and turned his attention back to their guest.

“Welcome Dallas, how can we help you?” Peter asked curiously.

Dallas turned his attention back to Peter while staring curiously at the younger man who seemed to be extremely shy, his thin build easily hiding behind the bigger build of his older brother, who looked like he could easily lift the two of them and break them in half.

“It’s my mom; sir. She asked me to come over and invite you both to dinner, we’re having hamburgers and hotdogs, grilled with potato salad,” Dallas said, putting the most charming smile that he could muster on his face. A gasp from behind Peter turned Dallas’s attention back to Sunny and his bright red face, peering at him from behind his big brother.

“Uhm, I don’t kn…” Peter started to say

“We’d be delighted, what time did you say dinner was?” Sunny blurted out, interrupting Peter with a squeak in his voice that almost had Peter laughing in sudden amusement, as he finally begun to wonder what was wrong with Sunny.

“It’s at six sharp,” Dallas said, smiling at Sunny. “You don’t really have to bring anything if you don’t want too. If you do though, I’d suggest Ruffles: Sour Cream and Onion.” Dallas said, hope in his voice as he put on another charming smile fully directed at Sunny.

Peter found himself grinning down at the young man in front of him, and nodded his head in agreement, amused at the unabashed suggestion that came from out of his mouth. “Ruffles: Sour Cream and Onion.” He repeated to himself. “Sounds good, we’ll see you in an hour and a half.” Peter finished saying after looking down at his watch.

With that Dallas smiled, then dashed off towards his house.