DEMOLITION LOVERS

Let Me Be The One To Save You

Fun Ghoul quickly learned that the farther they were from Battery City, the more freedom there was.

It turned out no one in town gave a shit about Draculoids or Korse, and rules were kinda loose on this part of the country. Many of the habitants here were Battery City citizens escaping from their miserable life there. People here liked color and art.

He almost freaked out the first time he walked back home and heard music playing inside someone's house. Or when he noticed the colorful posters on the diner's wall. 'You look like you've seen a ghost,' his coworker Maddie said when she found him staring at the posters one morning.

He pointed at the posters. 'You guys have live music? Is it allowed?'

She laughed at him. 'We don't give a shit about BLI around here. Some of us were came here trying to escape from that.'

'You too?'

'Well, my dad.' She seemed nice, Fun thought. 'You're from Battery City?'

He nodded.

'So you're new here, then. I think you're gonna like this place, then.'

He knew he would.

***

In the meantime, Party Poison wasn't having such a good time. While Jet and Kobra Kid managed to get a job at the car shop, Party had to stay home and take care of Grace. While he liked playing and taking care of her, he missed his old life, full of adventures.

When Fun came home, he tried to have dinner ready so they could spend as much time together.

'Hey, babe,' Fun said as he walked in the kitchen and kissed his husband. 'How was it, today?'

'Same old, same old.' He didn't want to admit how much he hated the monotony of their lives. He knew Frank loved the normalcy of it all.

'Are you okay?' He kissed the back of his neck, and ran his fingers through his now brown hair. Not even his hair was as fun as it used to.

'Yeah, just - tired.'

'Don't lie to me.'

There was a second of silence. 'Frank -' He knew the moment he used his real name, it meant a serious talk. 'Don't you miss it? Our old life? Being rebellious and running away from Dracs?'

Frank did. Though he was enjoying the peace they had now. But he knew Party wasn't born for this. And he hated seeing how he felt trapped and he obviously wasn't happy. 'I do. But we need to protect Grace.'

'I know.' Party then walked away with his head down, and straight to their room, and Fun Ghoul's stomach turned. He knew Party was dying a little inside, and it was his fault.

The next day, as he was leaving, she called his name. 'Hey, Frank.' He was still not used to that. 'You like music, right?' That was like asking if he liked breathing, Fun thought to himself, but just nodded. 'You wanna come over? My dad has some records, and I thought you might like them.'

He considered it for a second. He knew Gerard and the rest were waiting for him, and he knew they would all love to join, but maybe he could tell them later, and Maddie could invite them next time. And he was kinda excited to listen to music. 'Yeah, sure.'

She led him a couple blocks away from the diner, to a tiny house at the end of the street. It was quiet and cozy. Even though they didn't seem to have much, it felt like a home. 'You want water?' Maddie asked.

'Yeah, thanks.'

She came back and handed him a bottle of water, and they sat in front of the turntable, and Maddie pointed at the record collection. Fun went through it, reading every title, and looking at the covers. 'Sgt. Peppers! This brings me so many memories!' he said with a smile, holding in the tears. 'Before this whole thing started, back home, my dad put this on all the time.' He put it on the turn table and teared up before With a Little Help From My Friends even started. He told Maddie about his dad being a drummer, and how he got a guitar for his twelfth birthday, just before the war started and they moved to Battery City.

He had never told that to anybody, not even Party. But there was something about music that just made him emotional, and brought all these memories and emotions he hadn't even thought about.

She listened attentively, and then out of nowhere, she leaned in and kissed him.

Fun didn't even know how to react. He didn't want to be rude and pull away, but he didn't kiss her back. But as soon as she pulled apart, she noticed his reaction. 'I'm so sorry,' she said. 'I don't know why I did it.'

'It's fine. I'm just – I'm very gay.'

Her face went red.

'I'm sorry, I thought it was obvious.'

'I'm so stupid,' she said, hiding her face with her hands.

'No, no! You're not, I just thought we were friends and I never mentioned it because it's always been kinda obvious to people.' He hugged her. 'But don't feel bad, we can still be friends.'

'Okay.' So they talked a little bit more, and listened to some Bowie. She told him about her childhood, and when her dad decided to move there, and how is life far away from Battery City and the Zones. 'At first we were scared. We thought they'd come for us. But I guess they don't give a shit about this place as much as we don't give a shit about them. It felt safe for once.

He knew what she meant. He felt safe too. For once in a long time.

But he felt guilty too, because this safety was killing the love of his life.

They were laughing and so focused on their conversation that they didn't hear the electric wheelchair coming from the corridor. 'Maddie, you didn't tell me you invited someone,' the man said.

'Dad,' she said, jumping off the floor. 'Sorry, I thought you were –'

'You know we can't just trust anyone.'

'I know. But he's –'

'Say goodbye to your friend.'

'I'm sorry, sir,' Fun said. 'I didn't mean to. She just invited me to listen to music.'

'You told him about the records?!'

'He's cool, dad! He just got emotional seeing the posters for this show.' Fun shot her a look.

'You're new here, kid?' her dad asked, and Fun nodded. 'Where you coming from?'

He hesitated. He knew no one trusted people from Battery City. And he wasn't sure if he should trusted them either. 'Here and there. We were living in the desert.'

'We?'

'My family. My husband, his brother, a friend, and this kid we're all raising together.' He paused. 'We were looking for a safe place to stay.'

'Then welcome to our home.' He held out a hand to him. 'I'm Danny. You are?'

'Frank.'

'You like music, then?'

'More than anything.'

'I might need some help with some stuff around here. Can you come back tomorrow and help me out?'

He nodded.

'And I expect you'd be at the Mad Gear and Missile Kid concert on Friday?'

Fun didn't know who they were, but it was live music, so yes, he'd be there.

He ran back home, and told Party about Maddie's dad. 'We're going to a concert!' he said excited, and he could see a faint spark in Party's eyes. Maybe he could bring the old Poison back. 'I think it's time to re-dye your hair.'