That’s what Matt’s first thought was when he woke up Monday morning. The sun streaming through his open window blinded him with his eyes closed, and even though he’d kicked off the blankets hour ago, he was still sweating. With a moan, he slapped off the annoying buzzing alarm and blearily looked at the luminescent green numbers. Six o’clock. He groaned again and pushed the clock off his nightstand as it began its annoying buzzing once more. It hit the floor with a dull thud and continued steadily buzzing; then the sound was muffled by the thick blankets he kicked off the bed.

Next the phone began to ring. Matt groaned and hid his head under the blankets. "I’m not here," he told the phone blearily. "I’m still out partying with Kent, I spent the night with him, and I’m not home. It’s Monday, and I have classes in an hour, and I’m not here."

The telephone blissfully ignored him and carried on its cheerful chiming. Beneath that annoying sound he could still distinctly make out the angry buzz of his alarm.

Who are you trying to kid, asshole? his conscience pricked. It’s been three months since Kent moved out, two since he’s found somebody new, and you can’t afford to miss another class. Get up, lazy bum.

"Yes, sir," he moaned and blindly reached out from under the pillow for his phone. Twice he nearly dropped it while he tried to carry it the entire three feet to his ear.

"’Low?"

"Matthew? What are you still doing in bed? Don’t you have a class?"

And now I have Jeri on my case… "Yes, Jeri, I do."

"So get out of bed. I’ll be up in a few minutes with your breakfast, since the gods know you can’t cook for yourself." There was a click and the phone was disconnected.

"I can cook fine for myself, thank you for asking!" he retorted anyway, then hung up. No sooner had his hand left the receiver when it began ringing again.

"What?" he snapped before picking it back up.

"And turn off that damn alarm," his friend ordered and hung up again.

Matt groaned and dropped the phone down with his alarm. "God save me from well-meaning females." Wearily he pulled himself up into a sitting position and pushed his chocolate brown hair from his chestnut eyes. Yawning, he kicked the alarm and phone under his bed and stumbled into the bathroom.

A few splashes of cold water on his face later he felt much more refreshed and ready to face the day. It also helped that some kind soul had set his coffee pot the night before and now the vanilla-flavored brew was sitting, hot and ready, on the machine, just waiting to be poured.

"Bless you, Jeri," he muttered as he sipped the pungent drink, feeling slowly revitalized.

Speak of the devil, he thought as he heard his front door open. Only the peppy brunette would have a key and the nerve to use it so early in the morning.

"Good morning, Matt," she said cheerily as she breezed into the kitchen. As usual she was dressed in her early morning jogging suit, headphones to her Walkman hanging around her neck. Her short black hair was pulled into a ponytail high on the back of her head, bouncing with her steps. Bright green eyes beamed at him as she set about making him pancakes.

Jeri tisked when her keen ears sounded out the alarm still buzzing rudely under his bed in the room all the way across the house coupled with the monotonous ring of the phone unhooked.

"You know, you really ought to start taking vitamins; then we won’t have to go through this mess every day," she remarked, walking past him. She disappeared down the hall and he heard the clock being properly turned off.

"You know," he mimicked, scrunching his nose and tossing his head back with a haughty air, "you really ought to start taking vitamins. Well excuse me for breathing!"

"I heard that!"

Matt sighed and dropped his head against the table. "Of fucking course you heard that, wench," he told the table patiently. "You hear every singly tiny sound the whole world makes."

Jeri breezed back in and dropped a change of clothing over his back. "Damn straight I do. Now, you get up and into the shower, get ready for class."

He sighed again, resigned, and stood up. Jeri smiled sweetly at him as he set the clothes on the table and stretched then caught her up in a swift hug.

"Bless you, sis," he said gruffly.

She laughed and hugged him back, then swatted him gently with a towel. "Always glad to help, dear. Now, go on, get you into the shower. College waits for no man."

Laughing despite himself, Matt walked into the shower and stripped out of his pajama pants, then turned on the hot tap. As the steaming water poured over his body, he began to relax and actually smiled. So what if Kent’s out there screwing the brains outta what’s-his-name? At least I’ve got family to support my lazy bum and make sure I get to class on time.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed and rubbing the towel against his ebony locks, Matt looked around the kitchen. No doubt Jeri was still lurking somewhere in the halls just to make sure he didn’t skip again.

Of course, he thought as he heard her moving around in his room. Probably making the bed. I never saw any purpose to that, even when we were kids and Mum and Pop made us… Oh well.

Now dressed in ironed—more of Jeri’s handiwork. Personally, he couldn’t give a damn if his clothes were ironed or not—blue jeans, a black skintight t-shirt and pristine white socks, freshly shaved and with his hair still damp and tangled from his shower, he sat down at the table to eat his breakfast. Still-warm pancakes, bacon and eggs were waiting for him beside his coffee cup and a glass of ice cold milk.

Bless you, Jeri, he thought again as he dug in, suddenly ravenous. The plate was clean within minutes. His sister breezed into the room while he was washing the dishes.

"Classtime, come on, shoo." She made waving motions at him and all but pushed his bookbag and jacket into his arms. He barely had time to put on his sneakers before she was shoving him out the door.

Matt laughed as he stood outside his house. Jeri always did that—breezed in, shoved him in the shower, made him food, and shoved him out the door. But she got him moving and energized. Still shaking his head at the love his sister openly showed him when he was shunned by a good percentage of his family, the young man began walking the six blocks to his community college.

Matthew Gatz, nineteen years into his life, was a freshman at the Deary County Community College, better known as ‘Dreary Ed.’ Tall for his age, he was over six feet, very thin, and strong. Mahogany eyes very nearly matched his brown-black hair, accenting one another well. He was almost alone in this world now, ever since he and Kent had split up. All he had now was Jeri, and even she had a seven-year-old at home with her husband. Most of Matt’s family was uneasy around him, and it was all because he was at peace with his homosexuality. He didn’t flaunt it, mind you, but he didn’t try to hide it.

Muttering the words to a song under his breath, Matt strode down the block and crossed the street. A looming four-story building stood before him. He whistled softly under his breath.

"Six o’clock already, I was just in the middle of a dream… Heh, I can totally relate. I was kissin’ Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream. Only if he’s cute and single, missy. But I can’t be late; then I guess I just won’t get paid. These are the days when you wish your bed was already made. Close enough, I got Jeri to make it for me." He walked past the secondary school and down the street to the university.

"Just another manic Monday… I wish it was Sunday… Cus that’s my fun-day. My I-don’t-have to run-day. Just another manic Monday. Oh, hell, it is Monday, gotta pick Ricky up from the high school after class. Doctor’s appointment." He nodded and filed away that mental note as he jogged up the steps to the college.

Ten minutes to spare. He grinned. You know what that means… Smiling devilishly, he made his way to the women’s bathroom.

Jeri made sure the doors were locked when she turned off the hall light, closed the front door, and tap-danced down the front stairs. The headphones of her Walkman were firmly over her ears, soft rock music floating eerily into her ears. Standing at the bottom of the steps, she zipped up the navy blue top that matched her almost-black jogging pants and pulled the headphones up over her ears.

"All right," she muttered to herself as she jogged down the street towards her home a mile away. "Cecil needs his breakfast and dropped off at school, Jacob should be at work, Matt’s going to pick up Ricky for the doctor’s appointment. I heed to go grocery shopping tonight. For dinner I’m making soup and sandwiches. Gotta get up again tomorrow and make sure Matt hasn’t sunken back into his Black Sea." She ticked off the little jobs on her fingers as she counted them. "Yep, that should be about everything.

Her ponytail swished with her steps, every so often swinging around to slap her in the face. Laughing softly, she relaxed and let Bon Jovi’s "Blaze of Glory" carry her off.

At an old, rundown bar across the street, an agitated customer sat at a window seat. A dozen empty bear mugs sat scattered about him. Drinking this early wasn’t his thing, usually, but today he wanted to make sure… Yep, that slut was leaving the gay’s house. Who gave a damn that they were blood—didn’t stop some people. Maybe he wasn’t as gay as everyone thought.

Or maybe they weren’t sleeping together. Who cared? As he ordered another round, Jacob Forrester smiled to himself. She needed punished anyway. Who better than her husband to do it?

~*~AN: Yuck. I hate Jacob. I feel so dirty now. *Shudders* But he’s an essential part of the story, so please bear with me, and if you don’t like abusive, sicko husband/fathers, please join my club. *Passes out fliers* Don’t worry, he’ll get what’s coming to him later, I promise. Now if nobody minds, I need to take a shower. *Shudders* :NA~*~