It's a Hard Life.

Chapter Three: I Want To Break Free

"I'm telling you Tommy, the old man gets worse each day, I just, he don't see any good in me and I don't know how to take it... says I'm never gonna amount to anything..." Dutch mutters as he takes a deep breath and looks up through the canopy of trees over their treehouse in the backyard of Tommy's house.

"He's just an idiotic old man Jan, don't listen to him, you are something," Tommy mutters from beside him and rolls over to look at him "You know what you are?" "A lousy excuse for a —," Tommy puts a hand over Dutch's mouth to stop him from talking, then slides only one finger over his friend's lips, and shakes his head gently "You're my best friend, and that counts for everything..."

They're about fifteen and sixteen.

There's a few things that Dutch thinks in those few moments that his friend hovers close to him, finger gently dipping over Dutch's lips, where Tommy's eyes keep going, looking down at Dutch with fluttering eyes, hiding nerves.

There's a deep breath and a few words.

And then there's a kiss, one that's brief, but stays in their minds, one that Dutch pretends he won't remember the next day, a mistake that he doesn't want to really take back or acknowledge.

He pretends it's the alcohol laced in his veins, he pretends it doesn't mean anything, but he lies to himself, and the feeling inside him doesn't help.

Then Jimmy's climbing the ladder, and the moment is broken.

Tommy's closing the shutters over his feelings, and Dutch is striking up a conversation with the new arrival, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut, and the way he — no, he won't say it, won't even think it — Jimmy's saying something about a deep blush growing over Tommy's face, and Dutch looks away, down to the beer in his hand.

Jimmy's started wondering what happened, and he's staring Dutch down, and Dutch is staring right back with an intensity that makes the brunette want to look away...