A/N: This is a story I started writing in the airport. It's not part of the Welcome To My Life/ As Lovers Go series and has new characters. Updates are going to be slow I warn you, I'm concentrating on As Lovers go at the moment and I'm not sure where this one is even going. Tell me if you think I should carry on with it.

Lyrics don't belong to me, they're from 'Hands Down' by Dashboard Confessionals (The song that gave me the idea) and I borrowed without permission >

Chapter One

"My hopes are so high, that your kiss might kill me…So won't you kill me?… so I die happy…"

The radio blared the song out loud enough to drown out everything in the house and Frey grinned as he caught the sound Janie's voice singing along terribly. She always played music loudly because it drowned out her completely tone-deaf singing and no one laughed at her. Well, no one but Frey did anyway.

It was the perfect opportunity to tease her but the fact that he was leaning over the bath as she rinsed hair dye from his hair while he choked on the water she was accidentally spraying into his mouth made it a little difficult.

"My heart is yours to fill or burst… To break or bury, or wear as jewellery… whichever you prefer…"

Crystalline blue eyes watched the foul smelling dye wash down the plughole and tried not to laugh as Janie hit a note that previously didn't exist. He was concerned at the colour of the water though, she'd talked him into letting her dye his mousy light brown hair blond but surely the water shouldn't be green…

Janie trailed off when the radio was turned down and she opened the door angrily, soaking Frey carelessly with the showerhead, "Hey what gives asshole!"

"Its shit and you know it," Gavin shouted up the stairs.

Frey saw Janie bite her lip as she realised how she was wearing old baggy clothes as well as covered in hair dye and that Gavin was going see what a mess she was.

"Go get changed, I'll finish rinsing," he suggested quickly, ever the helpful friend, but before she nodded the third member of their trio strolled into the bathroom.

Frey bit his lip when Gavin burst out laughing and Janie swallowed, instantly scaring Frey because Janie didn't have that look on her face unless she'd messed up drastically.

"Oh shit man," Gavin sat on the edge of the sink, still laughing, "Your hair is like green."

…Green?

He scrambled for the mirror, which was readily provided by Janie, who tried to sneak out as he gawped at his bright, vibrant green hair. His hair was green.

"Janie!" he couldn't believe his eyes, "My. Hair. Is. green."

Gavin just gave another hysterical laugh and Janie scrambled from the room when Frey grabbed the showerhead and sprayed her with water. Once alone with Gavin he dropped down to sit on the toilet seat and put his head in his hands. His hair was green.

"It's not that bad," Gavin sniggered, giving Frey a small sense of hope, "It could be pink…"

"Gavin?"

"Yeah Frey?" his friend's voice still help traces of his amusement but he at least attempted to sound serious.

"Shut up!"

The green haired teen growled at his reflection as Gavin went into another round of hysterical laughter and he sighed.

It took another hour for them to do as much damage control on Frey's hair as possible and as there was nothing they could do to get the permanent dye out Gavin was sent out to buy another bottle so they could redo it and make it as vivid as possible. At least that way it didn't look like an accident.

"You have to admit its funny," Gavin took a gulp of beer and Janie shot him a nasty look for stealing her brother's drinks, he ignored as he usually did.

"I look like I made a wig out of grass," Frey muttered, twisting a lock of hair round his finger, "Will you stop laughing at me."

"Would you rather I cried for you?" Gavin joked, sniffing dramatically, "Want me to wail about how terrible you look when you look fine? I'll get my portable violinist to stand in the corner and add effect with screeching music."

Frey bit his lip and tried not to laugh as Janie's thrown cushion hit him directly in the face as he took another sip from the bottle causing him to pour the alcohol down his front, ruining his t-shirt. He gave up on his hair issue when the two started wrestling over the cushion and joined in, helping Janie.

"Aww man we haven't done that in ages," Gavin breathed as their laughter finally stopped and Frey tried to scramble out from under the two, he was smaller and lighter than both and somehow always ended up under them when they wrestled like that.

"Only because you decided we were too sophisticated once you turned eighteen," Janie remarked and giggled as Gavin started to tickle her, making her squirm and kick out.

Gavin was the eldest of them and tended to be more of a leader whereas Janie and Frey willingly went along with his decisions because it was easier than to argue with him.

"I need top go home," Frey sighed and ran a hand through his hair nervously, "Do you guys think my parents are going to kill me?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks Gavin."

"No problem," Gavin grinned and helped Janie up from underneath him, "Oh yeah, my brother said to call him when you get in."

XxX

To say Robert Harrison was wary of his visitor was an understatement, in fact, it was a downright lie. He couldn't imagine any possible reason that the Andrew Richardson, most ruthless business man of the year, was sitting opposite him drinking the dish water his secretary tried to pass off as tea and talking amiably about the hopes for the Olympics that summer was surreal.

"Mrs Hawthorne called to say that she wasn't going to be able to make her appointment tonight and made one for next Monday," Claudia placed anther two cups of tea and Robert was hard pressed not to laugh at the almost visible wince that came from Richardson.

"Thank you Claudia," Robert gave her a smile and she smiled before leaving.

He watched his guest pick up the next cup of tea and averted his eyes to his own cup. If it weren't for the fact that he already had an immunity to the tea he'd be sympathising.

"You don't have to drink it," Robert smirked, "The pot plant appreciates it more than the average drinker."

Richardson's eyebrows rise and he leans over and starts to tip the drink away with a deliberate action, as if waiting for Robert to tell him joking. He didn't, after all, he was telling the truth. The poor plant had been almost dead the first time the tea had gone into the pot, courtesy of Frey's complete and utter disgust at the dishwater, and since then clients and visitors had been feeding the thing daily. Oddly, it was thriving and threatening to take over the office.

"You have a son in his last year of school do you not/" Richardson speaks up and Robert nodded slowly, unsure of why Frey was an issue and why the world's nastiest business man wanted anything to do with him.

"What's he done?" Robert asked warily, mind racing at the possibilities of what his son could have done.

Then again, Frey was a straight A, outgoing, friendly, reasonably popular, sort of responsible young adult. Was he involved in drugs and borrowing money from Richardson?

"I was given his name by his school," Richardson explained wearily, "My wife's son from her first marriage has moved in with us and once there was no way to give him back the boy's father decided to announce that Nixon still needed to finish school."

"And there was a problem with that?" Robert frowned, not liking the irritation that flashed in Richardson's eyes.

"None of them will take him," the man growled, "He's been expelled from twelve schools and even offering to pay them hasn't worked."

"I see," Robert answered, not seeing. What the hell did that have to do with Frey?

"He needs to do his exams and pass because my wife is ready to pull her hair out, not a pretty sight," Richardson elaborated, "Your son's school suggested I offer your son a job as his tutor."

Frey was a straight A student. But did he want his son to end up involved with Richardson and his stepson?

"I'll have to ask him," Robert shrugged, "It's his choice in the end, I won't force him."

"I'll be drawing up a contract and paying him," Richardson pushed, "Generously."

"Leave your number and he'll call with an answer tonight."

XxX

"Anna…"

"Yes honey?"

"Our son's hair is green…"

"Hmm," she balanced Ella on her hip and tried to stir the pasta, "I hadn't noticed."

"How can you not notice that?" Robert demanded, eye fixed on the sight in the living room.

Frey was sprawled on the sofa talking happily on the phone, absently twisting a lock of green – very bright, vibrant, practically luminous green – round a finger, smiling shyly at something the other person had said. He was on the phone to Ant then, Robert frowned. Ant was the nearly-twenty-year-old boyfriend.

He accepted Frey's sexuality without a care; he was still his son no matter what or who he chose in life. The fact that the boyfriend was twenty in a couple of weeks and the suspicion of what he and Frey used the house for when it was empty was another matter. He couldn't help worrying that the Frey was being pressured into things because his boyfriend was much older. He was just thankful that they hadn't had sex yet.

"It is quite bright," Anna said thoughtfully, glancing over her shoulder, "I just didn't think about it before."

No surprise there, Anna was the modern day super mum/business woman. She worked in the city for four days a week, Wednesday to Saturday and spent the other three working from home, while Richard spent five days a week in the office. They were both lawyers, it was how they'd met, and both very good at their jobs but Anna was better and involved in some very high profile cases. The result was that sometimes she was so distracted with a case she'd miss the most obvious things.

"How long has he been on the phone?" Robert demanded, he'd tried to call home three hours before but the line had been engaged, it better not be the same call.

"I have no idea honey, you should ask him," She placed Ella in her chair and ignored the very loud protests, "Dinner's ready anyway."

Robert smiled as his wife gave him a hello kiss and turned back to dish out bowls of the best spaghetti bolognaise he'd ever known. He returned to watching Frey and sighed, they already had one hell of a phone bill without adding to it.

"Frey get off the phone," he called and the teen jumped in surprise before nodding and saying goodbye, Robert was relieved he didn't start acting girly and try to get the other to hang up first.

Dinner was its usual affair, Ella threw food at everyone, Anna ignored the bad behaviour in favour of asking her husband about his day and Frey spend most of it staring at his dinner and the clock, waiting for something.

"I had a visitor today Frey, Andrew Richardson," he started when Anna finally got fed up of ducking globs of mince/pasta/cheese and told Ella off, "He's offered you a job."

Frey's deep blue eyes immediately darted up from his food and he blinked, they all knew who Andrew Richardson was. The prat had sacked over fifteen thousand people the previous year because he was fed up with one of his companies and now most of the parents of the kids at school were struggling to make ends meet due to lack of jobs.

"What sort of job?" he questioned suspiciously, making both Robert and Anna proud that he wasn't blindly accepting.

"As a tutor to his step son," Robert took out the card Richardson had left, "He agreed to draw up a contract and let me check it over before he showed you."

"I need a contract to give his son extra lessons?" Frey's eyebrow rose, mirroring Anna's expression perfectly, "Why doesn't he just get extra help from his teachers?"

"The schools won't accept him because he's a trouble student," Robert shrugged, "You will be his teacher and hopefully get him through his exams."

"Why doesn't he pay a professional then?" Frey was clearly reluctant and very suspicious, "Unless he's been blacklisted…"

"Let's just say Richardson was desperate enough to offer it to you and leave it at that."

"I don't want to," Frey shook his head and started to pick the plates up to wash up, "If he's that bad I won't stand a chance."

"Hmm," Anna cleaned up Ella's face absently and watched her son, "But you still owe us five hundred for last month's phone bill and two hundred from the one before…"

Frey hesitated and cringed when Robert's eyes narrowed dangerously, his mum had kept the exact amounts from his dad with the agreement that Frey pay her the money and now he was going to really get it.

"You're taking the job," Robert stated coldly, "And you can tell Ant that if he's that desperate to talk to you he can come over and see you instead of running up our phone bill. You're banned from using the phone as well as the car, as you still owe me one-ninety for the new bumper."

Frey was just relived that he wasn't grounded. Hell, he'd love for Ant to come over more often and that was going to give him the perfect excuse. He was lucky he wasn't going to have to take on more shifts at work though because there was only so much time you could spend in a supermarket without wanting to strangle the customers.

"Sure dad, I'll go over to Richardson's office in the morning," Frey sighed and Robert handed him the card.

"One phone call, make an appointment to see him and do not sign anything until I've looked over it first," his dad told him firmly and handed him the last plate.

Frey took the plates and expertly carried them through to the kitchen in order to do his usual job of washing up and winced when he heard his parents start to bicker about the bill. Things had been strained lately, mainly because of money, and Frey was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt that he'd run up such a huge bill.

-

So there it is, tell me what you think guys