Watch Your Back

.:Chapter Three:.

   The sun flooded in through the open bedroom window, waking the brown-eyed man from his deep slumber. He drew in a deep breath, rubbing his eyes and groaning softly as he sat up in bed and checked his phone. It was 12:43 pm, and he had two text messages from Zacky. Strangely, he felt his heartbeat speed up as he saw the hazel-eyed man's contact name. Why was he feeling like this? He never felt like this around any of his other targets, so why Zacky?
   >Hey, get up! It's 12:30 haha. We're still hanging today right?
   >Whoops, I sound demanding in that last message.. Text me when you get up if you wanna! (:
   Brian smiled widely, bringing up his keyboard so that he could reply to Zacky's text messages. His thumbs worked swiftly against the screen as he typed, eager to reply for whatever reason.
   >Hey, sorry, I overslept! I'll be there in thirty. Haha.
   Once the message sent, Brian locked his phone and hopped out of the bed, bounding over to his closet. He ripped the door open and tugged down an old sleeveless Guns N' Roses shirt, then he went over to his dresser and pulled open the second drawer. Sifting through different pairs of jeans, he found the ones he was looking for; dark grey in color, ripped at the knees and about halfway up the thighs, so much so that you could see his boxers if he wore the right pair. He quickly dressed himself and then made his way into his bathroom, running his straightener through his feathery black hair a few times. Once he was satisfied with his hair, he encased his eyes with a thin layer of black eyeliner, then he slipped on his shoes, grabbed his keys from his coffee table and headed out of his apartment.

   Zacky sat down at the picnic table, swinging his feet back and forth slowly as he waited for Brian to show up. There was something strange about that guy.. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the brown-eyed man almost seemed.. Observant. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.. He thought, pulling a cigarette out of his pack and lighting it. He took a refreshing drag, flicking the ashes onto the top of the picnic table. Suddenly, he perked up as he saw the tall, familiar man walking towards his picnic table in that sexy saunter he walked with.
   "Hey! Sorry I'm late," Brian smiled apologetically, sitting across from the hazel-eyed man. He pulled out his own cigarette and lit it, taking a drag. "I had kind of a rough night last night." He muttered after exhaling the smoke from his cigarette.
   "It's okay!" Zacky piped cheerfully, his hazel eyes bright and happy. "D-do you wanna talk about it?" He suddenly asked, referring to Brian's bad night. The brown-eyed man shook his head with a soft grin, sending locks of feathery black hair fanning around his face. "Alright.. So what's up with you? Done anything interesting these past few days?"
   "Not really. Sat at home, talked to some of my old friends, the usual." The other man replied, studying Zacky's handsome face. "What about you? What have you been doing?" He offered a kind smile, hoping that he looked at least mildly interested. He was, he really was interested in what Zacky had to say, but he'd never been good with matching his facial expressions and his true emotions.
   "Same old, same old. Work." He replied with a somewhat breathless laugh. "You should come in sometime. We've got some cool merchandise that I think you'd like there."
   "Sounds like fun." Brian grinned, and suddenly, he turned his gaze towards the playground area of the park with a raised brow. Zacky raised his own brows in suspicion, searching Brian's face for any hint of what he was thinking. "We should go on the swings. It's been forever since I've been on one!" He declared, hopping up from the picnic table and sprinting over towards the swings.
   "O-okay, slow down!" The hazel-eyed man called, cackling as he chased his enthusiastic new friend over to the swing set. Brian quickly sat down on one of the swings, and he began pushing himself backwards with his feet. "Hold on, hold on, you're not doing it right!" Zacky giggled, giving him a few hard shoves on his back so that he'd start swinging.
   "You get on one, too!" Brian called as he swung back and forth, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
   "Alright, alright!" The hazel-eyed man hopped on the swing next to his friend, pushing himself off with his feet. He swung his legs back and forth, and soon enough, he and Brian were swinging in a rhythm. "I dare you to jump off!" He called after a few moments, looking over at the brown-eyed man with a wide grin on his face.
   "I'll do it!" Brian laughed, and in one swift movement, he let go of the swing chains and flung himself out of the swing while he was as high in the air as he could go. He seemed to hang in mid air forever, and then, to Zacky's horror, he hit the ground with a sickening thud, then he laid limp.
   "Brian?!" Zacky cried, putting his feet to the ground and skidding to a halt. He bolted over to the man that was laying face down on the ground, putting a hand on his back. "Brian!" He called, turning him over onto his back and looking into his face. He shook the man's broad shoulders, desperate to get any sign of life out of him. Oh God, oh God, could that have really killed him?!
   Brian barely cracked one eye open when Zacky wasn't looking, trying his damn hardest to keep a grin from cracking across his lips. When he was sure Zacky was in a panic, he bolted upright with a loud scream and then pinned the frightened hazel-eyed man to the ground.
   "Jesus!" Zacky squealed, his face turning red as he realized that he was, in fact, pinned down. "You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were dead!" He shoved Brian off of him, sitting up on his knees and dusting himself off, chuckling a bit nervously.
   "Whoopsie." The brown-eyed man smirked, his eyes tinted with playfulness. "Oh, come on, you know that was funny! You were terrified, it was adorable!" He insisted, shaking Zacky's shoulders back and forth lazily.
   "Yeah, yeah, jerk." Zacky pouted cutely, but on the inside he was reeling from being called adorable by this gorgeous being. He couldn't help letting his heart pound every time he looked at Brian.. Sure, they had just met a few weeks ago and had only seen each other a few times, but it didn't stop Zacky from feeling butterflies every time he saw him.

   The two men continued to play around on the slides, on the swings, even on the see-saws, until finally, the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees. Zacky would have to get home soon; he never liked being out after dark, especially because of his past.
   "Well, I should be getting home.." The hazel-eyed man murmured shyly, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head held low. "I really had fun today, Brian. We should hang out again sometime." He finally looked up at his brown-eyed friend, wearing an apologetic smile. He hated that he was so afraid of the dark..
   "Sure thing. Do.. Do you want me to walk you home?" Brian asked bravely, his cheeks painted a faint shade of red as he looked into Zacky's stunning hazel eyes. He could sense that the younger man was nervous, and for some reason, against his better judgement, he wanted to protect him right now.
   "That would be great, but I'd hate to-"
   "It's not trouble, so don't even say that. C'mon, let's go before it gets too dark." He smiled, gesturing towards the edge of the park. Zacky nodded thankfully, falling into step next to Brian as they began the short trek towards his home. The two men were mostly silent on the way there, aside from the occasional remark about it being cold, or something they saw.
   "Hey.. Can I ask you something?" Zacky finally piped up as they turned onto his street. Brian raised his brows over at the shorter man, taking a second before he nodded, slowing their pace so that Zacky had time to talk. "I-I don't really know how to put this.. Um.. You don't have a problem with me being gay, do you?" The words came out in one big wad of a sentence, earning a soft chuckle from the brown-eyed man.
   "Not at all. I'm actually bisexual, so there's not a problem there." Brian grinned, glancing up at the house that they were standing in the driveway of.
   "Right.." Zacky muttered, a strange feeling spreading through his body at the realization that Brian liked men. Why was he feeling like this? He just met this guy! "Well, I'm gonna get inside.. Text me when you get home, okay? I know this place gets weird at night." He smiled bravely, and suddenly, he was pulled into a tight hug. He widened his eyes, shrinking away at first, but once he remembered that it was Brian, not the other person that he was terrified of, he returned the tight embrace.
   "I'll see you some other time, okay?" Brian murmured in his ear, giving him a soft, slow peck on the cheek before he let go of the shorter man and sauntered off.
   "S-see you later!" Zacky called after Brian was already halfway down the street, then he went inside and shut the door behind him. The brown-eyed man grinned widely, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made the short walk back to his apartment, ready to soak in a warm bath and then fall asleep in his bed and get a good night's sleep for once.