"It was a just dream right?"

☆

"I need a drink." Isaac says rather decisively as they head into a small town, with the sight of a pub coming into view.

Adam glances at Isaac in the passenger seat with a frown, before looking back once again out of the window. "Are you sure?" His idea of going for another drink didn't sound so good after the drink he had just had.

"Can I at least stop for just one?" Isaac insists, eyes latching on to the drinking house in the hope that it would somehow drive the car in that direction and pull him in. "At least this place looks within the realms of normal." He looks back at Adam. "Aren't you at least hungry? It looks like they do food." 

Adam exhales a sigh. He did feel hungry, now it has been brought to his attention. Admitting defeat, he slows down and turns the wheel, taking in the pub restaurant, which looked like the modern world had passed it by. "As long as they have something other than chicken in a basket." He utters as he pulls into the worn out car park, littered with potholes. 

"Chicken in a what?" Isaac looks at Adam with confusion. 

"Doesn't matter." Adam shakes his head, smiling to himself. The engine gets switched off. The moment is quiet as the distraction of food gets lost once again. Overridden by the thought of those screams. It echoed in his ears like a tinnitus in the silence of the vehicle. 

"Hey...hey. you ok?" Isaac tilts his head to one side to catch the other male's wandering attention. 

Adam forces a smile. "I'm fine."

Isaac puts a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Maybe you could do with a drink too."

"I'm driving." Adam gestures towards the steering wheel still within his grasp. 

"I can drive. Come on." He removes his hand and gets out of the car, leaning into the open door space when he sees Adam still not moving. "Let's go." 

Adam is finally spurred into action. As he gets out of the driver's seat. He closes and locks the door, heading around to the front of the car, where he throws the keys for Isaac to catch. "Are you still paying?"

Isaac pockets the keys. He laughs at the question. "You know you are honoured. Not even Zander gets this treatment." 

"Then I guess I must be special. Plus it was part of the deal." He looks at Isaac and it is as if Isaac had almost forgotten that moment when they had first laid eyes on each other, until he was reminded once again. Those eyes, looking at him as if to draw him in. Like something in that moment had aligned where at other times, it had just missed the mark. 

Isaac finds his hand pull at the collar of his shirt as he feels the sudden heat in his body rise. "Right now I need to cool down." He mutters to himself.

****

There were no chickens in baskets inside the place. The choice of food had thankfully moved with the times as Isaac pulls a triangle slice of pizza from the plate, with the cheese refusing to part from the rest of it. He lifts the slice up high as he lowers it into his mouth, with the last cheesy string finally giving up the fight. He looks at Adam. Face slumped over his pint glass as if he were staring at his own reflection in the golden liquid. "I know I said you probably needed a drink, but you should eat too." He says with a mouthful. He pushes the plate of pizza towards him, but the other male pays no mind to it, choosing to drink some more instead. 

"I'm not that hungry after all." He says as he looks up as Isaac, who was going in for a second slice. "You have it. It looks like you are anyway."

"Remember you have that five a side match tomorrow. Just go a little easy on the drink." 

"I've changed my mind." Adam mumbles. "If you're not doing it, then I'm not either. " 

Isaac rests his pizza back on the plate. He looks at Adam in thought as he finishes his mouthful. "What if I came along tomorrow?"

"To play?" Adam looks surprised. "You said you don't play sports."

"No,  just to watch. To cheer you on." I am still not playing. You may have me offering to drive and a free meal out of me, which you are not eating, but you're not getting me on a football pitch." 

Adam felt a content feeling inside of him for the first time in a while. He finally takes a slice of pizza from the plate. "Thank you."  He looks at Isaac, lowering yet another cheese filled pizza into his mouth. It seemed the man's presence was doing him good. 

"I'm ready to listen now." Isaac says all of a sudden. 

"Listen?" Adam questions.

"At the house. I just wanted to get away, but I sense you wanted to talk about it." Isaac recalls. 

"Is this why you got me to drink?" Adam raises an eyebrow. "Will this let my guard down?" 

"Who else can you talk to? The police?" Isaac leans in a little more, lowering his voice. "I don't think you're crazy, remember?"

Adam hesitates, the memory painful, but Isaac was right. Who else could he tell? "I saw what was making the screams. It was right there. Right in front of me, and I did nothing. I just stood by and watched." 

"It was a just dream, right?" Isaac interrupts. "Did any of it seem familiar to you?" 

"No. I don't think so." Adam shakes his head.

"There you go then." Isaac smiles. "That drink,  whatever it was, just messed with your fears. That's all." 

"Then why didn't you see anything?" Adam argues. Are you not afraid of anything?" 

It is now Isaac's turn to feel that open vulnerability. "My fear is the darkness. That my stupid heart will stop if I dare to feel any emotion. So me seeing nothingness is pretty accurate. " He takes a napkin to his lips. "Are you gonna eat that last piece?"

Adam emits a chuckle as he shakes his head. "You go ahead."  He watches the final slither of pizza disappear, finding himself enjoying the moment of there just being the two of them.  He had been alone in the city for too long. People would never see past his looks. They would never really get to know him, let alone stick around if they knew what went on in his mind, but there seemed to be a connection between him and Isaac. Maybe it was the baggage they both carried. Perhaps that old lady knew something they didn't. Maybe it was how Jojo kept on pushing them together. Or maybe it was that Adam just liked Isaac.