Angelo is on the streets of Sunset Boulevard, looking over his shoulder. He still cannot believe that happened. How he managed to push that man to a very far distance causing him to damage a car and his back is beyond the reach of knowledge.
Now he has three people he's running from. The robber-if his back heals-and the strange Doctors that wanted to do God knows what to him.
What if they noticed something strange about him And oddity that they wanted to fix? Or maybe they wanted that oddity for themselves.
He has so many questions, a lot like how he's still alive after jumping from that bridge how he went through that wall and how he transported himself from a supply closet to an alleyway.
Did he die and go to hell? No, he grew up catholic he knows what hell is. In hell people suffer, they don't get superhuman strength and the ability to walk through walls and teleport from one place to the other.
He'd read stuff like this in his best friend's comic book, that's before his best friend took his life last year.
Joshua was the quiet type but when it came to comic books he would talk and talk and talk. Joshua was the one who introduced him to the world of comic books. Joshua was the only person he could trust about his sexuality.
Angelo felt like he had someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on. That's until he killed himself.
Everyone wondered why and while his parents told people they didn't know why he killed himself, Angelo knew the reason and he knew the Hardings were lying. They did know why Joshua hung himself in their garage but they didn't want people to know that he was a sexual deviant plagued with demons.
That word demon, Angelo thought he hated that word before but he hates that word more now that his father had called him that.
Catholics believe all homosexuals are possessed but Angelo never felt possessed. He felt normal even if society tried to make him feel like he wasn't.
But what if he is? What if he is a demon? The super strength, the teleportation. There has to be some explanation. He does not believe he's a demon.
His dad can go fuck himself.
He's still a little bit weary that someone might be following him. Maybe the robber who wants revenge or those doctors, or his parents want to send him to the nearest church so that they perform an exorcism on him.
No, his father made it clear that he was done with him for good, there wasn't going to be an exorcism and he wasn't going to be seeing his parents anytime soon.
His fretfulness subsides when he sees a bunch of black kids rapping on the streets. Angelo starts bobbing his head as he joins the crowd to watch as the petite black guy with the cornrows spits his verse.
He looks younger than Angelo, about thirteen or fourteen and his opponent looks older, he's tall and has a neat Afro on his head. The younger one is good, Angelo thinks.
People have put their money in his beanie and they smile and bob their heads to his rap and the beat made by his friends with their mouths.
He's a hundred per cent sure that a record label will spot him and sign him and Angelo will be seeing him on MTV. That has always been Angelo's dream, for his music videos to be on MTV.
Maybe he'll have one of his songs featured in his favourite TV show Friends.
His parents might have signed him up for guitar and piano classes and he was in the choir in his church but his parents always thought that his hobby should only be a side thing and they never believed music could be a career.
"Not everyone can be Michael Jackson." his dad would say. But he doesn't want to be Michael Jackson per se, he wants to be Angelo Hernandez. He wants to have his sound. While Michael Jackson is the king of pop. Angelo wants to be known as the Prince of ballads. He's obsessed with love songs, that's why he loves Celine Dion so much.
Maybe now that he's alive he could live that dream, get signed by a record label, release his first album, sign a few CDs and go on tour. He'll laugh at his father's face when he becomes the first Mexican gay artist to win a Grammy. Oh, the dream.
He has high hopes for this black kid though, he believes that he can do it. Maybe they'll release a collab together someday. Angelo continues walking. How badly he wants to listen to music right now.
As if the universe hears his cry, he spots a music store right across the street. He takes a step forward but he stops. He realizes he has no money to buy a Sony Walkman or a cassette tape.
Oh, Dang!
He wants to walk away from there but then he remembers something and then an idea pops into his brain. Looks like he is going to be getting into the store after all.
He crosses the street and makes his way into the music store where CDs, Cassette tapes and vinyls are sold. There aren't many people here and the store manager is a Gothic girl who looks like she doesn't care about what happens in the store. Angelo isn't going to take any chances still.
He smiles at the Gothic girl. "Nice evening isn't it?" he says to her but she ignores him and continues to look at the magazine in front of her.
Angelo looks away in embarrassment. He finally finds a Sony Walkman and takes it. He looks at the Gothic girl and she's still not looking his way. Angelo is assured that this is just going to make this so much easier.
He just hopes that it works this time.
He sees a bunch of CDs.
There's the Mariah Careh album, Mariah Carey. He takes it, the Michael Jackson album, Thriller. He takes it, and a CD with a collection of upbeat 80s songs. He takes that as well.
He thinks that's all he's taking. He doesn't want to steal all the albums in here even though he feels like it.
Other people are addicted to cocaine but Angelo's addicted to music, which is way better than being addicted to anything else.
There aren't many customers here and there aren't any CCTV cameras either. It's almost like the manager thinks no one's going to steal from him. Because who would steal Michael Jackson's thriller album?
Angelo moves toward the back hovering. The plan is to either transport himself from here or walk through the wall which will probably take him through the back outside. What if both don't work? What will he do now?
At least no one thinks he's trying to steal. Angelo thinks that the Gothic girl has forgotten about him. So he tries his best. No one's around he has to focus. How did he get himself out of that morgue? Did he use force? Did he clench his fist?
He remembers being frightened by those Doctors, especially the male one. So should he make himself scared?
"Hey, are you okay? Do you need something?" A man walking toward him asks. He panics and then finds himself almost falling off a tall building.
He screams looking down from the building. It's a very tall building and he's a hundred per cent sure that if he falls from it he's going to die for good, there won't be coming back from the dead this time.
If he falls from this building his head is going to split in two and isn't going to be healed. He stumbles to the ground and he moves away from the edge as quickly as possible.
He begins to pant. For someone quick to kill himself yesterday, he seems pretty scared to die. The fright on his face looks like someone who has watched a compilation of all the horror movies ever made. He tries to swallow his fear. But that encounter with death was the scariest thing ever.
He looks to his right and the Walkman is still with him. It's not damaged, it's in the perfect condition that it was when he got it.
He puts his hands in his pocket and the CDs are still in there. He brings out the 80s pop songs CD and sighs when he sees it. He rests his head on the floor. His whole body is lying flat, but this isn't a floor, this is the roof of a very tall building. How is he going to get down from here?
He rises to his feet and he looks around. Yes, there is nowhere to escape.
"Shit, that's not good." He says with his arms resting on his waist. If he tries teleporting again what if he finds himself falling into a volcano? Or he finds himself in the Bermuda Triangle. He can't stay here forever. He has to leave this place.
He can't imagine what that man back in the music store must be going through. After seeing a teenage boy with a Walkman disappearing out of thin air. Angelo wants to know if he left a bright light after he teleported just like what he sees in cartoons. Or if he just disappeared without leaving a trace.
He has to try to leave this place.
So he tries to concentrate. He closes his eyes and thinks but he can't have a clear mind because all he's thinking about is his father chasing him out of the house.
He sucks his teeth and opens up his eyes. He doesn't want to be thinking about that, he doesn't want to think of his family at all. Is he going to be haunted by that memory for the rest of his life? What is he to do now?
Then it clicks. The only time he doesn't think about the hardship of the world is when he's listening to music, so why doesn't he just put the Sony Walkman he stole to use?
He Puts the 80's CD into the Walkman and presses play. The first song starts playing and he hails as soon as he recognizes his jam.
In My House By Mary Jane Girls
He begins to jog on the spot getting ready to teleport. He does and he finds himself in another building. He laughs throwing his hands in the air.
He teleports again and is taken to where his mind wants to go. He finds himself in a clothing store. He's picked a few clothes to try on and he begins to put them on.
He settles for a black shirt, blue jeans, black shoes and a cap on his head. He teleports out of there leaving his old clothes behind.
He walks down the street and spots a pastries shop. He walks through the wall taking one, two, three or two four. He is indeed hungry.
"HEY!" A big man who he thinks is the shop manager catches him. Angelo freezes and then makes a run for it, the big man chases him and Angelo teleports again, taking him from Malibu to Beverly Hills.
He stands in front of a jewellery shop with his cupcakes staring and the jewels behind the neat glass. He's not going to steal anything he's going to buy those jewels when he gets rich.
He winks at the jewels and mouths 'I'll be back for you someday, don't go anywhere' he walks away from the window.
After eating his cupcakes he teleports himself to an alleyway where he hears loud noises, it's a noise of people beating up someone. He turns to his right and he spots a bunch of boys behind a large trash can beating the crap out of another boy. The poor boy begs for them to stop but they show him no mercy.
"Take that queer!" one of the violent boys says. Angelo hates bullies, so he angrily walks toward them. He prays that pushing that robber toward the car wasn't a one-time thing.
"HEY!" he yells and they all stop kicking the boy to face the owner of the voice. "Leave him alone!"
The boys exchange looks and then burst into laughter which makes Angelo angrier, he clenches his fist. Now he doesn't pray that he has the strength to beat these boys up. He's sure he's going to beat these boys up.
"What are you gonna do?" one of them asks with a smirk and his arms folded.
"And why are you defending him? Why Danny, is he your boyfriend?" the leader of the gang asks the boy on the floor. His friends laugh like that's the funniest thing they've ever heard in the world.
Angelo walks toward the one with the questions and punches him. He goes flying in the air and lands on his butt right across the street. The other boys who are in a group of five watch as their leader cries after hearing a bone break. The boys look at Angelo in fright.
"Do you want to end up like your friend?"
They all shake their heads.
"Then beat it," he warns and they all go running toward their friend. A car almost hits them and both Danny and Angelo laugh at them.
The boys move across the street successfully and they help their leader who is still in tears.
"How is that guy so strong?" one of them asks.
"I don't fucking care just take me out of here." the boy cries. The boys leave
Both Angelo and Danny laugh louder. Angelo takes out his hand and helps Danny up. Danny's way shorter than Angelo and he looks thirteen. He has short brown hair and his glasses cover his beautiful sky blue eyes.
"Thank you so much." He says and Angelo waves him off.
"No biggie us queers have to stick together." Angelo winks.
"You're queer too?"
"Mhmm."
"Wow, thanks again."
"Do you have anywhere to be? Maybe with your parents."
"Yeah, my parents are gonna be so mad when I tell them those idiots beat me because I'm gay."
Angelo looks at this petite boy in shock. "Your parents know you're queer?"
"Yes, at first I was scared to tell them but they were very accepting."
Wow.
Angelo had forgotten that not everyone acts uncivilized when their kid comes out to them as gay. He's a hundred per cent sure that this boy's parents aren't religious either that or they're one of those progressive Christians that believe in the saying Love your neighbour and come as you are.
"Anyway, thanks again uhm…"
"Angelo, that's my name."
"Thanks, Angelo. Would you like to come see my parents?"
"Nah, I have to head home, my parents are probably worried." He lies.
"It is such a privilege to have parents who are worried about their gay children's safety."
Angelo looks away. "Yeah."
"Okay then. Bye Angelo." He waves and Angelo waves back.
"Bye. Stay safe Danny!" He goes back into the shadows. He tries his best not to be sad at the fact that somewhere out there is a gay kid whose parents love them no matter what, a kid like Danny.
Angelo is not one of the few kids who have accepting parents. Some gay kids are fortunate enough to have loving parents and then there are kids like him. The unfortunate one.
The demon.