Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tuesday, June 4th, 2018.

Talking. All the teacher was doing was talking. Chalky registered none of it. After testing and college applications, he couldn't bring himself to pay attention to much else for the rest of the year. Every class was coming in, sitting idly for an hour and a half, leaving, and rinse and repeat.

His class was about to end soon. He could tell as soon as the class began to disperse, moving to talk to their friends. He wasn't really friends with anyone in his last class. He knew about everyone, but he couldn't really strike up a conversation without it dropping dead a few sentences in.

He set his head on the desk, the talking, the yelling, the laughing .. was all white noise. Though, it all served the opposite effect. He couldn't help but flinch when anyone screamed a bit too loud, and then got yelled at by the teacher to quiet down.

He wanted to leave, so so bad. However, he knew what was waiting for him back at home.

Class ended. Chalky threw on his bookbag and left the classroom as fast as possible. He only looked forward to the end of the day because he got to see the guy he had a crush on.

Broomer. Oh, Broomer. Chalky has had a crush on him since at least sophmore year. They had talked a little more than once in a while, but he never seemed like he reciprocated.

Broomer was walking around the hallway with his eyes glued to his phone. Upon seeing him, he walked over to him speedily.

"Broomer?" Broomer raised his head, and he smiled upon seeing Chalky. "Hey, what's up?" Broomer stopped walking and put his full attention on Chalky. "Oh, not much ... It's just, school has just gotten really boring and slow. It's hard to even stay awake during a lesson."

Broomer chuckled, "Heh, yeah. It's always been that way for me though. I barely do anything in school, I do most of my work at home and hope for the best." Chalky nodded in acknowledment, he twiddled his thumbs.

"Uhm ... By the way, which college are you planning to go to?" Chalky's voice grew quieter as he went on. He wanted anything to just continue this conversation, he liked talking to Broomer a lot.

"University of Pragma. That's the closest one near us, and ... I'm not really in the situation to be moving anywhere else for college." Chalky silently cheered before sharing his happiness verbally.

"Me too! Nice to know we're going to the same place. It'll be nice to see you." Broomer nodded, He gave him one last smile and began to walk away.

Chalky's smile slowly faded away as he walked farther. What made him the most upset was that they had to go to different exits, due to their varying ways of getting home.

Chalky walked to the front of the school and exited through the door. Chalky's house was near the school, but sometimes he wished it wasn't as short of a walk.

Chalky was standing at his front door. He did not want to go in. It was always a gamble going in his house. He took his keys out from his pocket, and slowly unlocked the door.

He walked in, and was surprised by the pleasant aroma. The house smelled better than usual, like his dad actually bothered to spray air freshener this time.

"How was your day?" Chalky froze as he heard his father's deep, gruff voice. ".. Good." Chalky rushed to his room, and hurriedly, but gently, closed his door.

Chalky dropped his backpack and sighed. He was lucky he even got a response when he came in today. His dad wasn't necessarily abusive, but he had bad mood swings, and the outcome of most of his lows never turned out well.

Chalky sat on his bed, he hated how sterile his room looked. He desperately wished to go back to his mom's house. He checked the date and sighed, it's like the days were getting slower.

He stood up to go to his bathroom, there was a dent in the wall near the doorframe where his dad had punched once. He started noticing the many other things around his room that his dad had influenced.

The blood on his bathroom rug that he never knew how to clean, scratch and slash marks on different parts of his furniture, and how part of his bathroom mirror was cracked.

Despite all this, Chalky had never tried to escape nor sneak out. He was too worried about what would happen if he was caught anyways.

He brushed his teeth, brushed his hair, and changed into pajamas. He didn't eat at lunch that day, so he snuck out of his room to get a snack from the kitchen. Luckily, his dad wasn't out there anymore. He got a bag of chips and made it back to his room.

He didn't know what to do. There was no school work he could do, there was nothing to look at in his room, there wasn't much to distract him on his phone, and he wouldn't dare to even try to talk to his dad. He finished his chips, crawled under his blanket, and went to sleep.

Wednesday, June 5th, 2018.

Broomer stretched as he woke up. His mom knocked on the door. "Come in." His mom came in and set down a basket of laundry. "Glad to see you're up early." Broomer rolled his eyes playfully. "Thanks mom."

Broomer got up and headed into the bathroom. He took off his bonnet and brushed his hair into a ponytail. He picked up his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth.

There was a small crack in his mirror from when one of his brushes slipped out of his hand and slammed into the corner too hard. He usually forgot it was there though.

He thought about Chalky; he always seemed quite timid at school. But somehow, he could swear he saw a twinkle in his eyes and he could hear his voice get a bit more energetic whenever they had a conversation. He thought it was kinda cute.

He spat out the toothpaste. He went back into his room and put on a fresh pair of clothes. He wandered out into the living room. Toys were scattered all around and were currently being picked up by his mom.

"Your sister made quite the mess in here last night. Dad already took her to school." His mom was practically breathless with how much bending she was doing. "You need help?" His mom shook her head. "I got it honey." 

Broomer picked up his backpack and waited by the door. His mom heavily sighed. "Coming." She picked up her car keys, put on her shoes, and headed out the door with her son. Both of them got in, and Broomers mom revved up the car.

On the way to school, his mom striked up some conversation. "Broomer, it's about time you get yourself a job soon, maybe get your own license."

Broomer stayed silent, he never really liked these conversations, too much to think about. "You could have one over the summer, part-time." Broomer clenched his backpack strap, he was glad their house wasn't far away from school.

"Bye honey." Broomer waved as he got out the car. He walked into school and made his way into the cafeteria. He sat at a table near the entrance. There was always almost no one in there when he got to school since he was always there so early.

People started to pile in as time went by. Among the crowd, he saw Chalky. He waved him over, and he saw that twinkle in Chalkys eyes again when he excitedly walked to his table.

"Hey, the rest of my friend group hasn't come yet, but they're always pretty late ..." Broomer scratched the back of his head, he took glances to the doorway every so often.

"Oh... I don't mind. It's better if I try to talk to more people anyways. I know about everyone here, but I'm not really friends with any of them." Chalky took a seat near Broomer. 

"Makes sense, this town isn't too big." Feather ran over and hit Broomer on his back. "OW! What the hell?? Oh." Feather giggled and took her seat. "Heyy, sorry for being so late." Feather glanced at the less familiar face.

"Hey Chalky, don't usually see you over here. Didya invite him over, Broomer?" Broomer chuckled awkwardly, "Well, I saw him walking in and wanted him to sit here." Feather groaned, "I get itt, you like him or whatever." Feather peaked to see the expression on Broomers face. He looked confused, but also ready to punch her face in. 

".. I'm just playing, jeez, calm down." Broomer sighed, then pasted a smile back on his face. "Are the two lovebirds coming?" Feather giggled then checked her phone. "They should be, texted them not too long ago."

Chalky sat awkwardly as they talked, he had no way to work himself into the conversation. He never really sat with Broomer in the mornings. The last time he did, he did not remember all of this happening.

Broomer noticed how nervous he was and leaned in to whisper to him. "Sorry for getting so heated, we kind of get in the zone." Chalky looked down to prevent him from seeing the blush forming on his face. "It's fine." Broomer pat him on the back.

Poison and Gumball Machine (GM) came in holding hands and sat at the table. Feather smiled at them when they came in, but promptly started her teasing. "Finally! I was wondering when you two would come in. Were you too busy cuddling outside?" Poison rolled her eyes while GM giggled nervously.

GM noticed Chalky at the table and gave him a wide smile. "Hi Chalky! it's nice seeing you here! I always see you in the hallways but I've never gotten to talk to you!" He was pleasantly surprised, it felt a bit difficult to talk after keeping silent.

"Oh, uh, hi! I've seen you too..." GM was so optimistic. She was like a ray of sunshine that warmed your skin, and by extension, your mood. "We don't see you often! Do you want to sit here for the rest of the year? There's not much left."

Chalky thought. If he got to sit next to Broomer in the morning for the rest of the year, he wouldn't have a problem with it. "Sure ... as you said, there's not much of the year left."

"Yayy! That's so exciting!" GM reached out and enthusiastically shook Chalkys hand. He reciprocated, yet he was in a little bit of shock from the sudden energy. Poison gently put her hand on GM’s arm. "You're scaring him, babe." GM pulled away with wide eyes. "Sorry..." Chalky smiled, "No its okay, just... not used to it."

The rest of the group talked a bit more before the bell rang. Everyone went their separate directions on the way to classes. Broomer was on his way to history, he hated history.

The final bell of the day rang, and Broomer hurriedly left his classroom. He tried to scope Chalky out, and quickly saw him among the bunches of other students ready to go home. "Chalky, hey. You want to come over to my house? My dad is driving me home today. You don't gotta stay long, It'd be nice to get to know you a bit more."

Chalkys face was overcome with a conflicted expression, "Uhm... I’m not exactly sure how my dad would feel about that. I don't even know what'll happen if I come home late. I appreciate the gesture though."

Broomer let out an "Aww..." But tried to not make his disappointment too obvious. "Maybe another time? Here, let me give you my phone number. Give me your phone."

He handed his phone over. Broomer punched some numbers in, gave himself a contact name, and gave it back. "You can text me that way."

Chalky looked at him with admiration. "Yeah. Thanks..." He smiled and headed towards the other exit. Chalky held his phone to his chest. He was almost scared to see what Broomers contact name was.

He went through the front doors of the school, and started his walk back home. When he was at about the halfway point on the walk back to his house, he unlocked his phone to see what his crush had left in his contacts.

He looked at his phone to see "broomer💪" on the screen.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, June 5th, 2018.

Broomer got in his dads car. His dad started conversation as he drove out the car rider line. "How was your day? Whisks was a doozy." Broomer shrugged. "Eh, it was okay, I talked to Chalky and the rest of my gang in the morning though. Oh, and I also gave him my phone number."

Broomers dad nodded. "You two... boyfriends or something? Everytime I've seen that boy with you, he's always acted so shy." Broomer side eyed his dad. "..No. What made you think that?" His dad shrugged. "Do you have a crush on him?"

Broomer looked back out towards the road. "No. Not really. He seems nice though, I've been wanting to get closer to him." His dad stayed silent for a moment. "Well, no matter. Even if you did, I wouldn't care." Broomer playfully rolled his eyes. "Thanks, dad." 

"Mhm." The rest of the trip was silent.

They got out the car and headed towards their house. Broomers dad turned to his son. "Your mom wouldn't mind either." Broomer chuckled awkwardly. His dad unlocked the door and they went in.

Broomers sister perked up as soon as they came in. "Daddy!! Broomrr!!" She ran towards her dad and gave him a big hug. "Hey Whisk, hope you didn't miss me too much." Whisk then ran to give Broomer a hug. "Hi Whisk..." She smiled up at them both. "Me an mommy got somethin special for you Broomrr!"

Broomer tilted his head in confusion as he saw his sister run to the couch. She came back quickly with a card covered in glitter glue and crayon; it seemed somewhat organized despite how much there was on it.

"Here!!" Broomer took the card and opened it up. The inside was just as bright as the cover. 'We love you!! :)’ Was written in colored pencil. Whisk and her mom smiled warmly. These kind of gifts were common, but it never made him any less happy.

"Aww, thank you." Whisk giggled and gave him another hug. She ran away afterwards to play with her toys. "Thanks mom." His mom gave him a side hug and a pat on the back. 

Broomer made his way to his room and dropped his backpack right near his door. After closing it, he opened his bedside drawer filled with all the other cards his sister made for him. He put the newly received card on top.

He flopped down on his bed and took his phone out his pocket. It didn't hit him until now that he forgot to put Chalkys number in his phone. However, he had saw it for a moment when he was putting in a contact for himself. He thought for a moment, and started to type a phone number in.

Chalky nervously entered his house. His dad was watching TV. He snuck his way over to his room and gently put his things down. He heard his dad yell his name from the other room.

He ran over to his dad, shaking. "Yes..?" His dad looked over at him with an impatient expression on his face. "I need you to make me a bowl of cereal. Don't overdo it on the milk like how you did last time."

Chalky gulped and slowly nodded. He was used to his dad asking for things like this, but it always gave him the worst anxiety. One mistake and he'd be yelled at.

He got a bowl, cereal, milk, and one of his dads favorite spoons. His dad threw a fit if his utensils and plating weren't the exact same every time. He poured the cereal, then the milk.

He poured way too much milk; he always made this same mistake. He tried to pour out some of it back into the sink, and he lost some cereal in the process.

He stirred the rest of it up and started to walk back to his dad. Unfortunately, he tripped on... His shoelace? something on the floor? He didn't know. He immediately froze when some milk fell to the floor.

To make it worse, his dad heard his tiny gasp and whipped his head to look back at him and his mistake. He braced himself. "Are you serious right now? I just spent SO LONG CLEANING THIS DAMN FLOOR, AND YOU JUST RUIN IT??"

Chalky couldn't do anything, he was like a deer in headlights. His dad stood up and ripped the bowl from his hands. "Gimme this damn bowl. That way you cant spill any more of it." Tears pricked at Chalkys eyes, he clenched his fists.

A ding came from his pocket.

"... And what's that now? Got more important people to talk to?" Chalky looked away. "Uhm..."

"Go away. Just go away." Chalky started speedwalking to his room. 'Don't have to tell me twice.' He closed his door and slumped onto his bed. He took out his phone and saw that broomer texted him.

'is this chalky?'

He typed back.

'yeah'
'cool! i was able to remember your phone nubmer!'

Chalky smiled a little, he didn't know a response could be so cute.

'did u even put my number in yours ? i wasnt expecting you 2 text first'
'no.. but i remembeered yours'
'thats .. nice ? didnt know you had such a photographic memory'
'i dont.. just tok a wild guess'

"... And that wild guess turned out to be right. I can't say I'm not impressed though." Chalky typed back, hyperfocusing on the sound of his fingers tapping the screen. 

'and it turned out to be right ?? thats .. impressive'
'ikr, proud of me'

Chalky chuckled.

'you should be !'
'shit. i gotta go help my parents with dinner, ill talk to you later!'
'bye !!'

He put his phone down. Weirdly, he felt happier in that moment than he had this whole week. Chalky wished he could feel like that more often.

He sighed and laid down. A few more hours till he had to remind his dad for dinner. He figured he'd take a nap in that time. He closed his eyes, and slowly drifted to sleep.

Chalky awoke to banging on his door.

He quickly scrambled off his bed and clumsily twisted his doorknob open. "It's dinner time, wake the fuck up and make something." Chalky nodded.

It terrified him whenever his dad talked to him in that voice. It was so stern, on the verge of being uncontrollably aggressive.

He watched as his dad walked back to his room. Chalky didn't know how to make much, nor did his dad, so they relied on microwaveable dinners most of the time.

He took one of them out of the freezer and popped it in the microwave; 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

He pressed the start button. His dads dinner came first, or else he'd be "starving" him.

2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Chalky fidgeted, he tried not to focus on the timer. It would just go slower that way.

1 minute and 45 seconds.

He walked away from the microwave; he hoped facing his back towards it would make it go faster. He picked at his skin, scratched his head and accidentally pulled out some of his hair.

55 seconds.

He glanced over at the TV, it was off; it was always off if his dad wasn't in front of it. He was always watching sports... or some weird show he could never take interest in.

15 seconds.

He took it out of the microwave, it seemed warm enough.

He poked around to make sure there were no cold spots; he didn't feel any. He got a fork and took the tray with him to his dads room.

He knocked on the door, gently. His dad's gruff voice responded. "Come in." He opened the door and gave his dad the tray. He walked out of there just as quickly as he had entered.

After the stress of waiting for just a single tray of food, he just picked out a cup of applesauce and his water bottle full of orange juice from the fridge. That would be his dinner.

He got a spoon and walked back to his room. He sat on his bed; he thought about texting Broomer again. He picked up his phone and sent a text.

'hello ?'

He opened his applesauce and took small spoonfuls. He heard a ding.

'hi! whars up?'
'not much .. im eating dinner lol'
'ooh! whatcha eating?'

He looked at what little he had. He debated even telling the truth.

'a cup of applesauce and some juice , wasnt rlly in the mood to microwave anything'
'thats not much... you okay? i could totally give you some of my familys leftovers tmrw'
'you dont gotta do that , im fine'
'no i insist, did yo even eat anything 4 lunch?? thats not healthy'

He started eating less and less between the intervals of every text. Was it really that bad?

'i mean .. if you wanna you can , but i promise im okay'
'im def gonna, dw you'll like what we got, its nothing too ocmplicted'
'thanks'
'you dont gotta rhank me! its the least i could do'

Chalky felt so isolated suddenly, like there was nothing else happening except this moment. He felt drowsy. He couldn't tell if it was the lack of food, or someone actually noticing the lack of food.

'i gotta sleep soon, ill see you at school!'
'okay ! gn !'

He set his phone down. He silently finished the rest of his 'meal'. He put the cup on his bedside drawer.

He took a big gulp of his juice before laying down. He closed his eyes, one thought crossed his mind before he slept.

'Why does he care?'

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 6th, 2018.

Broomer was on the way to school in his moms car. All he'd usually bring was his backpack, but he had an extra item with him this time. "Who's that for?" His mom glanced at the tupperware container, which contained a cheeseburger with lettuce, and a few strawberries.

"It's for Chalky." Broomer looked down while tracing different patterns on the lid. His mom nodded in acknowledgement. "That's your new friend right? Assuming he likes burgers, I'm sure he'd love it. We made them ourselves after all; nothing but love."

She dropped Broomer off at the front of the school. After making his way in, he noticed that one of the cafeteria doors was closed. He pushed the door open; it was a bit harder to do with only one arm free.

He sat down at his table; his spot was open, as always. He heard footsteps towards the table and looked back. Any excitement he had on his face was nearly gone when he saw Feather come in.

"Heyy!! Momma drove me here today, so I'm earlyy!" She perkily walked over to Broomers table. "Ooh! What's this you got here? Finally brought your own lunch? Maybe got something for mee?"

Broomer shook his head and hugged the container close to him. "Don't even think about it, they're for someone else." Feather rolled her eyes. "You're no fun."

Meanwhile, outside, GM and Poison had caught up with Chalky on his walk. GM ran over to him and waved energetically. "Hi!! how're you doing Chalky?" He flinched a little at the sudden movement, but quickly relaxed once he saw who it was.

"Oh, hi! I'm doing okay... You?" GM smiled and went back to holding her girlfriend's hand. "Amazing! I was able to catch Poison as she left her house!" She nodded, confirming GM's exclamation.

"You're so quiet... say hi babe!" Poison waved her hand. "No, no it's okay. I'm pretty sure you made up for both of our hi's." Chalky nodded aggressively in agreement. "See, he agrees." GM pouted a little at the comment but went back to smiling.

"Anyway... Come on! Walk in with us!" Chalky walked alongside the two as they walked in the building. This was a better start to his morning at least.

Upon walking in, he saw Broomer waving to him the second he noticed him. He awkwardly smiled as he walked towards the table.

"Hey! Got you a little somethin." Broomer pushed the tupperware over to Chalky. He stared in awe before opening the container.

"Strawberries and a burger?" Broomer nodded, he sat up triumphantly. "Yeah! its what me and my family made last night, and we just bought strawberries a day or two ago."

Chalky pulled out a strawberry and ate it slowly. Of all the fruits he'd eaten, strawberries weren't ones he'd eat often. His dad always said they went bad too fast, so he never asked for any.

"...It's good, really sweet. I never really have strawberries though." A shocked expression immediately came on Broomers face. He tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean? You mean you've never had sugared strawberries??" He shook his head. "I've gotta make those for you next time, they're really good, trust." Chalky smiled warmly.

"Sure! It sounds pretty good. Oh! Thank you by the way... This was sweet." Broomer threw his arm around Chalkys shoulder and gave him a tight side hug. " 'Course! Just want you to have enough food is all." He leaned into the hug, it felt nice.

Feather turned to the other two girls, The attention was clearly off them, and that definitely wasn't something she was used to. She silently whispered to Poison. "You thinking what im thinking? There's no way there isn't something between those two." Poison nodded. The bell rang.

"Bye guyss! I'm texting you later, Broomer." He gave her a thumbs up. He turned back to Chalky. "By the way, I'm able to walk home today, so I can walk with you a bit on your way home."

Chalkys eyes brightened, "Yay! It's better than walking with no one." Broomer smiled before heading off to his class. Chalky picked the tupperware up off the table. He hugged it close to his chest on the way to his first class.

Broomers English class was always doing anything other than English. It just got worse in the last few weeks. He felt a vibration come from his pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked at the notification; It was from feather.

'r u two a thing or somethingg?? yall were getting awfully close to eachother'

He rolled his eyes. It felt like this happened with every male friend he had. 

'no, not anything like that is happening. i didnt even excpect him to stay that close to me tbh"
'sounds like he likes youuu, dont think someone would stay that close to someone they dont like'
'mayve .. i might tslk 2 him abt it when im going home'
'go get em tiger'

Broomer put his phone back in his pocket. He thought Chalky was more shy than anything. He didn't think that there were any romantic feelings but... He never really picked up on that stuff well. He rested his head on his hand, there wasn't much to pay attention to anyway.

Did Chalky really like him? There was no way. If he really liked him, he probably would've noticed by now.

The day ended; Chalky had eventually finished the burger at lunch and finished the strawberries in his 4th period. Upon leaving his classroom, he already saw Broomer standing a few feet from the door. Chalky walked up to him and talked with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Yup. Wanna start walking as early as possible!" Chalky smiled as he handed back the tupperware container. They walked out of the front of the school, bumping into some students on their way. He turned his head to Broomer as they walked.

"Why'd you even get me anything? I told you I was fine." Broomer shrugged. "I dont know, I was worried. Applesauce and juice for dinner just doesnt sound healthy."

Chalkys head fell, his vision got blurry. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay man, I just want you to be healthy, you don't gotta apologize for anything." Chalky reached up to wipe any forming tears from his eyes.

His house was in sight. "..We're close to my house. You'll have to start walking back to yours soon." Broomer put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll walk you to your door before I even think of heading back to mine."

Chalky appreciated the sentiment, he really did. Though, he had no idea how getting into his home would be like. He couldn't imagine his dad catching him walking home with someone.

"No really... You can start when we hit my house." Broomer sighed in slight disappointment. "If you say so." They both got closer and closer to his house.

He really didn't want this moment to end, but God knows what would happen if he even thought of coming back home later than he usually did.

"...We're here. bye Broomer!" He waved goodbye as Chalky stepped up to his door. He sighed heavily before walking in.

His dad wasn't in the living room. He was most likely in his room then. He shivered before walking to his room. His door was already cracked open, and he could hear shuffling. He peeked in his room. "...Dad? What are you doing?"

No response. He was going through his drawers. His water bottle from last night was on the floor. Infact, anything that was on top of something was now on the floor. He set down his backpack. He was mostly confused, but he was also mildly scared.

His dad aggressively pushed the drawer closed. He looked at Chalky with a menacing glare. "You aren't hiding anything from me, are you?" Chalky slowly shook his head. His dad groaned in annoyance and pushed him out the way when walking out his room.

He held his shoulder in slight pain. He forgot how strong his dad was sometimes. He was grateful his dad never went beyond a few aggressive pushes... Not including the one or two physical fights where he had to defend himself.

Chalky closed his door. He hugged his arms to his chest before dropping to the ground against the wall. All he could do was scratch and pick at his skin. He was practically paralyzed. His head fell forward to his knees.

He was never loud when things like this happened. He was too scared to cry too loud, to whine too loud, even at his mom's house. He felt his body shake, he felt like he was shaking internally too.

Hot, stinging tears fell from his eyes. His eyes always felt like they burned when he cried, and that always made him cry more.

That isolated feeling was back. He felt so alone. He felt completely helpless.

He slowly got up and started to walk to his bathroom. He hyperfocused on details about everything in his room.

Some of his clothes were on the floor, it looked like his drawers got ransacked. He hated that, it made him angry. He couldn't deal with his things getting rearranged without his knowledge. It stressed him out beyond belief.

He finally got in the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He analyzed himself. His face was red, his hair was messed up, and... The crack on his mirror wasn't just a crack. It came from a punch. It was small enough to be from a knuckle collision, and a crack formed beyond that.

His breath was heavy. It bothered him that it was uneven. What was the point of it being so far on the left yet it wasn't on the right?

He needed to fix it.

He stared at his hand, then the mirror. He compared his knuckle to the crack. It was big enough. He dragged it to the right and made an exact area to punch.

He went over every outcome in his head. So many thoughts rushed in his head at once, but he needed to complete what had to be done.

He took a deep breath in, and punched, hard.

Nothing. Nothing happened. His hand hurt, but there was no crack. He tried again. Nothing. More and more frustration built up inside him, he needed it even.

One more punch, he heard it break.

He sucked in a deep breath. He pulled his hand away. His knuckle was bleeding, bad. Tiny glass shards had broke through his skin and blood was pooling out. He saw bits of his blood on the mirror as well.

He stared at his hand; he didn't know what to think. The only thing stopping him from whining in pain was the adrenaline. The cracks on the mirror were more or less equal at that point, but he had something new to worry about.

His blood was a deep red. Almost the color of a strawberry.

As he gripped onto his hand to take a closer look, a drop of his blood dripped onto his rug, adding a new blood stain he would never be able to get out.

He smudged some away, but it just kept coming. It was finally starting to hurt. It felt like he just pushed the glass deeper in his skin. "Eughh..." He gripped his hand hard.

He didn't know where the band aids were, he didn't know if he had any at all. He ran his hand underwater, it stung. He covered the cut with his shirt, heavily applying pressure and just hoping the bleeding would stop.

He started crying again. He really wanted to go back to his mom's house, he didn't want to be here anymore. He didn't feel safe here anymore. He didn't want to be anywhere but near someone he felt safe with, someone he loved.

Someone like... Broomer.

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 6th, 2018.

Broomer was walking back home. He was still somewhat worried about Chalky after how dismissive he acted.

He could've swore his eyes looked glassy, as if he were about to cry or something. He sighed; his house was about a ten minute walk from where he was. It'd be a while.

He barely ever walked home; it was a lot easier to get driven but he wanted to talk with Chalky on his way at least once. He'd done it with all his other friends, and he would be included. He never excluded new friends. 

His house was in sight when he felt his phone vibrate, he pulled it out. His eyes widened once he saw the preview.

':(( can i talk to you ??'

He unlocked his phone and texted back.

'sure whars wrong??'

'something rlly rllyl bad happened ,, im bleeeing ir really hurts'

Broomer hurriedly went to text his mom. He needed to help him.

'hey mom? can i walk for a bit longer?'

'Sure, just be back by 5:30.'

He started to walk back to Chalkys house. He couldn't just let this happen. He texted him back.

'omw, hang in there'

Chalkys dropped his phone in shock. What did he mean he was on his way? What if he tried to come in through the front? What would happen then?

He picked his phone back up and shakily sent a text, having no care to how many mistakes he made.

'plspls come in through a side window, theres a window in my room it s on the lef t of the house pls dint come thru the fonrt'

Luckily, Broomer saw the message right as he came up on Chalkys house. He ran to the left side of the house; there were many bushes and small trees in the way, but that wouldn't stop him.

He knocked on the window. Chalkys head popped out from his bathroom and he saw the top of his head. He jumped up and quickly opened the window. Broomer threw his backpack in the room first. "Uh... I'm gonna need some help for this part Chalky."

"Okay! Uhm... There's some ridges you can hop on to, and... I can try to pull you in." Broomer jumped up and hooked half of his body on the frame of the window. Chalky grabbed both of his shoulders and tried to slowly shuffle him in.

Broomer kicked himself over one more time, and he fell in. Chalky stepped back in shock. "Oh my gosh... Are you okay?.."

He pushed himself back up into a sitting position. He didn't feel like he hurt anything important. "I'm fine. But you don't seem like you are. Come here."

Chalky sat down alongside him and shakily showed him the hand that was bleeding. There was blood smeared all over the backside of his hand and Broomer could see stains of it on his shirt.

He took a closer look at it, it shined. It looked like whatever caused it was still in the wound. "What happened?.. This is bad." Chalky couldn't muster up a response, explaining how he punched a mirror willingly made him feel stupid.

"...You can tell me later, lets just... Fix this. Luckily my mom always makes me carry band-aids and stuff. Give me a second."

He shuffled through his backpack, and eventually found a pack of band-aids in one of the pockets. He ripped one open and carefully put it over Chalkys knuckle.

He pat it gently and smoothed the wings of the bandaid. "That's better. Now, what happened?" Chalky shrunk, tears started to form in his eyes. He choked out a response.

"...If I tell you.. I'll sound dumb..." Tears rolled down his cheeks. Broomer reached out to wipe a tear away, and softened his tone as he spoke. "Hey, Don’t say that. I'm not gonna judge you for anything." Chalky scratched at his pant leg. Painful, stinging tears kept flowing out.

"My dad... He went through my room while I wasn't here. And... I had a really bad moment and punched my mirror." Broomer gently stroked his thumb over where the band-aid was. "That's not dumb at all. I understand why you reacted that way."

'No you don't.' He regretted thinking that, but Broomer didn't understand. He didn't understand him or his issues at all. 

More and more tears fell out of his eyes. He felt like he was overreacting. He had no reason to be crying as much as he was. He felt so stupid.

"Aw, don't cry." Broomer held his hand out to stroke Chalkys back, but then stopped. "Can I?" He nodded. Broomer started to gently caress his back. He leaned in a bit closer as he set his wounded hand on the ground. "It's gonna be okay, alright? I'm here."

Chalky shook his head. "No. No its not. Not while I'm here it isn't." He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It's just... My dad isn't the best. This week hasn't been great so far. Almost every week isn't. I just wanna go home."

He pulled away from Broomer and put his knees up to his chest. "I wanna go to my mom. I don't wanna be here anymore."

Broomer kept a safe distance from him. He could see Chalky's phone on the floor of his bathroom. He turned back to him. "Can you text your mom? Tell her you wanna go to hers?"

Chalky shrugged. "My parents agreed that they'd pick me up and switch houses every week. I don’t know if I can go any earlier than Saturday."

"Can you try to at least text her?" Chalky sighed, and slowly got up. He went to get his phone from the bathroom. He unlocked his phone and sent his mom a text.

'mom ? is it ok if you pick me up earlier this week ?'

A minute later, he got a response.

'Why? is something wrong?'
'something bad happened at dads and i dont wanna be here anymore'
'Hmm, let me get off of work and i can come pick you up.'
'thanks mom'

He looked up from his phone. "She said she can come get me when she gets off work." Chalky sighed and slumped down near his bathroom sink. "That's at like, 5:00. You probably have to leave by then." Broomer walked up to him and crouched down.

"My mom says I gotta get back to my house by 5:30, I got time." Chalky scratched his arm. "You might wanna leave before that though ... Because my dad's gonna come out of his room once she gets here."

Broomer looked disappointed but understood. Chalky looked at the time. "It's 4:35, so you can stay a bit longer if you want."

He wanted him to stay longer. He needed him to stay longer. He couldn't deal with this by himself.

"Of course I'm gonna stay! I don't wanna leave you alone." He sighed in relief.

Broomer looked around at his room. He didn't notice just how bland it was. No color on the walls, no special decorations, there was barely any personality in his room.

"Uh... Does it always look so... Sterile in here? There's barely anything in your room." Chalky hesitantly nodded. That's the one thing he hated about his room. Anything out of place stuck out like a sore thumb, and it stressed him out.

Broomer started sharing how his own room was like,  and hoped it would brighten the mood. "In my room theres like, a buncha posters of boy bands and stuff. Mostly 3 member ones, but theres a huge variety of them in my room."

Chalky "Ooh" 'ed in interest. He started sharing the things he had in his room at his moms house. "I have a lot of posters also! I have a lot of figurines and stickers on my walls. My walls are .. A lot more colorful at my mom's house. There's a lot more stuff there that makes me feel comfortable."

Broomer gasped. "Figurines?? Like, real ones? No bootleg stuff?" He nodded excitedly. "My mom spoils me a lot. It's quite the difference from my dad."

He nodded in agreement. He needed to see what Chalky's other room looked like. He grabbed onto his hands impulsively and shook him a little. "You think you could send me a few pictures of your room? Please?"

Chalky froze; but he quickly calmed down. "Sure!.. I'd be happy to!" He heard a ding come from his phone.

'Just got off from work! Heading over there now'

"Oh shit. Broomer, you have to leave." He recoiled back in confusion. "What, why?" Chalky shoved his phone in his pocket and stood up. "My mom's on the way here. You have to leave, back out the way you came."

Broomer hurriedly grabbed his backpack and looked at the open window. "Dang... can you help me then?" Chalky hastily helped him throw his backpack out the window, and then helped him shuffle his way out the window again.

Broomer peeked his head over the frame of the window. "See you at school!" He waved before running in the other direction towards his house. Chalkys eyes followed him, up until he was out of his sight.

He got everything he felt he needed and packed it in his backpack; his water bottle, his blanket... That was about it. He checked the time. 5:08. His mom would be here any minute now.

He walked out of his room and quietly made his way out the house. After closing the door he sat on the concrete steps and waited for his mom.

Luckily, it wasn't long before he saw her car pulling up in the driveway. He quickly got up and gave her a hug once she stepped out from the car. "Aww. Hi, my baby. Are you okay?" Chalky nodded against her. All he cared about was that his mom was here now.

His mom pulled away and pointed to the back seat. "Go on in, I'm gonna have a talk with your father. You didn't lock the door right?" He shook his head. "Good."

Chalky jumped in the back and put his backpack on the other seat. He had a hunch that his dad might've been getting yelled at, but he didn't know for sure.

He saw his mom come back out. Her expression didn't reveal much. She got back in the car and revved it up. "Don't worry honey, you're safe with me now." Chalky gave a sigh of relief.

He sat back in his seat, and his eyes fluttered. He was safe now. He was finally going to the place he had been dreaming about for the past week.

After what felt like months, he finally felt at ease. He closed his eyes and started to snore softly.

Chapter Text

Thursday June 6th, 2018. 5:18 pm.

Chalkys mom gently shook his shoulder. "Honey... You need to wake up." He stirred in his sleep, and his eyes began to flutter open.

"Hmm?..." His mom ran her fingers through his hair. "We're at my house, it's time to get up."

Chalky sat up and threw his backpack over his shoulder. His eyes scanned his moms house. Her house was quite big despite it was only her living there. He wondered what she'd need the upstairs for if both their rooms were on the first floor. He had never thought to go up there though.

However, that wasn't what he cared about; he wanted to go to his room. He internally cheered once he reached the door. He giggled quietly to himself.

He ran to his room right after his mom entered. His door was already at a crack, so he burst into his room and jumped on his bed. It felt the same as it always did, soft and cushiony.

He peeled his backpack off his body and looked around his room. He sighed in relief. Everything looked the same.

Nothing was out of place; it was left untouched when he switched to his dads house for the week. He remembered that Broomer had asked for a picture of his room.

He took his phone out his backpack and took a few pictures of his room; his bed, his posters, his stickers, and close ups of his figurines. He sent them to Broomer with an extra message.

'pictures of my room since you wanted some :))'

He put his phone in his pocket. His mom peeked her head in his room. "Hi honey! Are you doing okay?" He nodded excitedly. She walked her way into his room.

"Something I forgot to tell you, on the way to pick you up, I saw a boy running across the street in the other direction. He was going too fast for me to see any distinct features, but he looked like he had the most gorgeous blonde hair."

Chalky could practically guess who she saw in a heartbeat, but he didn't want nor need to tell. He stood up from his bed and formulated a response. "That's... different. Did he look like a highschooler?" She nodded. "Most likely, he seemed quite tall though."

Broomer was tall. Chalky thought he was tall-ish, but he definitely beat him by a few inches.

He walked up to his mom and gave her another hug. He couldn't express in words just how much he missed her. She reciprocated the hug, but questioned the sudden affection. "Where's this coming from sweetpea?"

He closed his eyes and hugged tighter. "I just... missed you a lot. I'm sorry for coming here so early." She patted him on the back and pulled away a bit to look at his face. "Oh, its nothing to worry about. I'm just glad you're safe."

His mom caught a glance of the band-aid on his knuckle. She grabbed his hand and inspected it. "What's this for? Are you hurt?" Chalky pulled away hesitantly; luckily she didn't insist on holding his hand. "I just... Hurt myself and my knuckle started bleeding."

His mom made a 'Show me your hand' hand motion and he raised it to show her. She sighed and kissed lightly on the band-aid. "Be careful alright?" Chalky nodded somberly.

"How about i fix you something to eat? How do you feel about that?" He nodded, "Yes please." She smiled and walked out of his room. She closed the door behind her.

Chalky looked back down at his band aid, He peeled part of it off of his skin. It was still red and fresh. He swore he saw glass in his wound shine in the light from the window. Or maybe, that was just how his blood looked. He pulled out his phone and opened Google. 

'can tiny pieces of glass get stuck in a wound?'

'Glass fragments lodged in soft tissues may result in numerous complications, such as infection, delayed healing, and persistent pain.'

Infection.

Getting a wound infected would just greaten his problems. He couldn't let that happen.

'how to remove pieces of glass from a wound'

'Use tweezers cleaned with rubbing alcohol to remove the object.'

Chalky put the band-aid back on and opened his door to yell out to his mom. "Mom! Do you have tweezers?" He popped his head out of his door and craned his neck to get a look at his mom.

"Yes, there's a cup with them in the bathroom by the sink. Check behind the mirror if they're not there." Chalky quickly walked to the bathroom and closed the door.

The tweezers were near the sink, but he needed rubbing alcohol. He checked behind the mirror; it was there. He didn't see any washcloths or paper towels, so he slowly dribbled it on the tweezers over the sink.

He uncovered his wound again and squeezed the wound. It stung, bad. He kept squeezing and  attempting to get whatever it was out of his skin.

His skin was red and irritated after a few attempts, but he saw that same shine on the tweezers. He washed it off under the water and ran his knuckle under it. He rubbed his hand on his shirt and put the band-aid back on. He was going to need a new one soon. On top of that, he also needed a new shirt. 

He walked out of the bathroom, and he could hear sizzling sounds coming from the kitchen. He walked over to see his mom cooking a grilled cheese. She looked over at him and smiled. "Hello, just making something simple. I'm almost done. Go sit at the table."

Chalky walked over to the big, rectangular table and sat in one of the chairs. This was a tradition in her house. She wasn't fond of eating meals anywhere else but the dining room. He heard his meal being plated before it was set in front of him.

She sat in the chair next to Chalky as he began to eat his food. "Forgive me for asking, but, what exactly happened that made you so eager for me to pick you up?" He chewed slowly. He didn't want to answer, but she kept staring at him. He gulped.

"...Uhm, when I got back from school today, I saw dad going through my room; and he had messed up the order of everything... So i got really stressed out." She tilted her head, "And then?"

He clenched his fist. "Uhm... I punched something, and my knuckle started bleeding... And I had a mental breakdown." She reached her hand out to gently hold his.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you honey. I knew something had to be up, but I wasn't quite sure what. That talking to I gave to your dad was deserved." Chalky smiled a little at the last part.

He took another bite of the grilled cheese. His mom always used higher quality cheeses, and he could taste it. He loved the food at his moms a lot more, but he always felt hesitant to ask for more than needed.

Because of that, he'd find himself sneaking her food in the middle of the night. He hated himself for it, but he lacked food so much at his dad's he overindulged at his moms. 

His phone went off, he checked his phone screen. It was Broomer.

5:06 pm.

The adrenaline he felt coursing through his body was almost impeccable. He didn't exactly know why he was running. All he knew is that he had to leave Chalky's house, and fast.

He passed the school. One checkpoint. He saw a big black... Car? Van? He didn't know. He didn't care enough to see who was driving either, but they probably saw him. 

He could see his house was in the distance, and he finally slowed down. If he kept running, his legs probably would've given out. He panted heavily as he walked to his house.

The more he focused on it, the more he realized he needed his inhaler. He grabbed it from his pocket and took a big puff of air. He remembered why he hated running.

He put his inhaler back into his pocket. He checked the time on his phone once he got to his door. 5:14. He had more than enough time left.

He took out his keys and unlocked the door. Luckily, there wasn't much of a response when he came in. Just a wave from his dad and a glance from his mom. He could go and sit in his room in peace.

He dropped his backpack on the floor and flopped on his bed. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He raised his head from his faceplant and saw the boyband poster he had right above the head of his bed.

It wasn't a well known band. There were three members, and most of their discography was love songs. Despite that though, he thought the members and how they all sung was the most interesting of all other aspects.

'Milkyway heart', 'Your boyfriend hates me', and 'I love you' were his personal favorites. He sat up and looked at the keyboard and bass cases in the corner of his room gathering dust.

He was really interested in the idea playing and making a few songs himself, but he never knew where to start.

Whisk burst into his room, pulling around a wagon full of dolls.

Broomer jumped back and was stuck in that position. Whisk waved energetically. "Hi!! I was waitin for you to com back... I wanna play!!"

Broomer groaned to himself. He wasn't fond of playing with his sister, especially since he was always assigned a role that wasn't particularly enjoyable.

"Uhm... Can't you ask mom or dad?" Whisk stomped her feet. "They can't play! Too busy..." Broomers head drooped down. Guess he had to.

"Okay... But only for a bit, ok?" Whisk jumped up and down and gave him a doll.

Several minutes of just pure torture on Broomers end. On the other hand, Whisk was having the time of her life.

In the middle of their hard-to-follow roleplay, Broomer felt his phone go off. He held his hand out and put the doll down when trying to get it out.

"Wait, Whisk. I got a text." Whisk pushed his hand away and tried to force the doll back in his hand. "Whisk, stop–" She eventually threw the doll at Broomers face, and he groaned in pain.

He looked at his sister with pure annoyance, and got close to her face to whisper to her. "if you don't leave, I'm gonna tell mommy." Her eyes widened, and a pout formed on her face. She whined before taking her doll back and solemnly walking out of Broomers room.

He got up and closed his door, but he didn't slam it. He didn't want to deal with the consequences of that.

He saw his phone had fallen to the floor in the whole ordeal. He picked it up and clicked on the text. His eyes brightened once he saw who and what it was.

Chalky had sent him photos of his room.

He took many minutes analyzing and looking at the pictures in awe. His walls were painted a shade of blue, sky blue he was guessing, and his blanket was a much darker shade of blue, with white stars felted into the fabric.

His pillows were big and plump and looked amazingly soft. He had stickers from varying shows on every wall, and he saw vines hanging around also.

But his favorite part, the figurines. They looked so clean and polished. They all looked so shiny and well taken care of. He noticed a few miniature instruments on his drawers as well.

He felt the need to text back, especially since it had been so long since Chalky had initially sent it. 

'this is so cool! your room is amazing!!'

While waiting for his response, he looked through the pictures once more.

Chalky smiled at his response. He loved his room, and he was happy someone else did also. His mom glanced over at his phone. "What'cha smiling about?"

"I sent one of my friends a picture of my room. He thinks it looks cool." His mom smiled. "I think it looks pretty awesome also, I'm happy you went in such a direction." He texted Broomer back as his mother talked.

'thanks ! thats why i love being at my moms lol'

'i rlly wish i had the chance to see tour room in person.. id love to see tjose things up close'

Chalky thought for a second. He wouldn't mind Broomer coming over. He looked up at his mom. "Hey mom? You wouldn't mind if he came over right? My friend, I mean."

She thought for a moment. "Is he trustable? You do know his true intentions, correct?" Chalky nodded. "Then, I don't have a problem with it."

Chalky texted Broomer back, set his phone on the table, and finished the rest of his food.

'you can if you want !! my mom doesnt mind :3'

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 6th, 2018. 7:28 pm.

Broomer excitedly switched recipients on his dm list to text Feather.

'feather! guess whats happening soonn??'

'ure gonna get a haircut?'

'no. im gonna be able to go to chalkys house tmrw! 4 a sleepover'

'nawt surprising.. very expected'

Broomer rolled his eyes.

'i mean.. happy 4 yall hope yall have a good time. just dont text me every detail of yalls gayass sleepover'

'yeah yeah wtv'

'also btw can you give me chalkys number? i have yours and since you seem 2 have a lil somethin going on might as well be posted with the other partner'

'okkk wjateverr, but stop calling us that, hes just my friend'

He texted Chalkys phone number to her. He had a dull, lingering feeling she was gonna do something crazy; but they had known each other for a while, what's the worst she could do?

'sure but thanksss! dw im not gonna do anything bad'

'yw'

'i gotta get ready 4 bed, i got a longg routine, gn'

'gn feath'

Broomer quickly shifted his attention back on his and Chalkys texts. He read them all again; he just couldn't believe this was happening.

'like?? fr?? i could??"

'yeah ! i just asked my mom and she says its ok :3'

'so like?? when??'

'most likely tmrw , since its friday and the year will finally be over so you dont have to worry about leaving in the morning'

'uhhh would me coming over at like 5pm work?? so you got timeto get reayd n stuff??'

'mhm :3'

'ok!! ill ask my mom and see what she thinks'

There was a 5 minute time gap.

'she said i can!'

'yay !! im so excited :3'

'me too!!'

'aww :( mom says i gotta start cleaning up for bed .. forgot she makes me sleep early'

'thats ok!! ill see you tmrw!'

'okok , byebye !!'

'baiii!'

He loved texting with so much energy. It made him happy. He liked talking to his friends, but he would never show this amount of himself if he were talking to anyone other than Chalky. Though, he wondered why. Especially since he hadn't known him nearly as long...

He shook his mind out of it and decided to text GM about it as well. He knew she'd be happy about such news.

'heyy guess whats happeing'

'ooh! let me guess, its something about chalky??'

'howd you gues?'

'do you see the way his eyes light up when he sees you? hes totally head ovr heels!!'

Broomer looked away from his phone for a second and thought. Really? Chalky head over heels, for him? He'd noticed some odd behaviors, but he'd never thought of it like that. 

'never thought abt it like that.. but anyway, me and him r having a sleepover tmrw!'

'oooh yay!! im happy 4 you both!'

'ty ty'

'ughh now i wanna plan a sleepover with poison.. thanks 4 the idea broomer'

'lmaoo youre welcoem'

'i rlly hope you have fun tho!! tell me what happens!'

'noted ✔'

'hehe ttyl broomer!!'

'baii'

Talking to GM was definitely a different experience, but both recipients basically meant the same thing. They just expressed it differently. Broomers mom knocked on the door. "Come in."

She popped her head into his room and reminded her son of the time. "It's 7:35. You gonna eat anything for dinner?" He shrugged.

"I'll just heat up some leftovers, thank you ma." She smiled and closed his door.

Broomer got up and stretched. Their family usually made dinner together at 5 so it'd be done near 6-7, but some days were just leftover days. He walked out of his room and thought about what'd he'd have for his (Late-ish) dinner.

Chalkys mom tapped the table to catch his attention. "Are you done talking to your friend honey? It's time to start getting ready for bed." Chalky looked up at his mom. She always made him get ready for bed pretty early.

"Well... Let me tell him." His mom nodded and stood up from the table. "I hope you're done by the time I come back out here."

Chalky texted his goodbye and put his phone in his pocket. He got up from the table and went to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and brushed his hair.

Before leaving he looked at himself in the mirror. He never took care of himself this much when he was at his dads. The weeks that he went to his moms house were the only thing keeping him sane.

Before he delved further into his thoughts, he left the bathroom.

He went back into his room to change into pajamas... Or the closest he had to pajamas. He never asked for specifics, but there were definitely clothes he wore in the house that he wouldn't wear outside.

For example, his shorts. His legs weren't stick-like, but they weren't necessarily big either. Despite that, there was always something about his legs that stopped him from wearing anything but long pants in public.

While his mind was on the topic, he actually wasn't very fond of showing most of his skin in public. He was always wearing long sleeves or something to cover his arms.

He didn't think he was ... Anything, body-wise. Mid-size maybe, but there were still parts of him considered "Skinny."

He tried to shake his mind off it. He didn't need anything else to worry him right now.

He laid down on his bed. He heard his mom knock on his door. He raised his head. "Come in." She opened up the door and popped her head in.

"I just wanted to say goodnight. Goodnight honey." He laid back down. "Goodnight mom." She gently closed the door.

He heard his phone buzz and took it from his bedstand. An unknown number texted him.

'have fun w your boytoy tmrw'

He swiped it away before he had any more time to think about it. He set his head down and tried to get some sleep.

____________________________

Friday, June 7th, 2018. 8:55 am.

"Bye ma." Broomer waved to his mom as he entered the building. One more day, and school was over. More importantly, he had a sleepover to go to. What made it better? It was right after school.

He'd never felt so excited to be at someone's house, even Feathers or GM's. That was probably just because it was a new house. New opportunities and things to look at. He just had to make it through one more school day, and he'd be free.

He didn't have much to look forward to on the last day, especially since he wasn't a senior. Yet.

Broomer sat down at his table and rested his head on his hand. This high school didn't do many special last day activities unless you were in your final year.

Whatever, he had something better to look forward to.

His eyes only rested on the spot right in front of him. Where Feather sat. He felt like she was gonna be the first to pop in the door that day.

He heard other people piling in. He didn't necessarily expect people to be coming in so early on the last day. He looked around.

Moonstone, Clay, Latte, Headset, Mango. He talked to Moonstone once, but only because they'd been paired together on a forgotten project in one of his classes. 

Clay was always known for throwing several parties right after the school year ended. He'd went to one at the end of his sophmore year. If they were to throw one this year, he'd totally be down.

He heard a bunch of aggressive footsteps. Had to be Feather. He heard them gaining up on him. He braced himself for some stupid joke she would pull.

Instead, he felt a warm, gentle hug instead. He froze, Who was this?? Couldn't be Feather. She would never.

The person backed away, but Broomer heard a voice he recognized. "Hi! Sorry to scare you Broomer..."

Chalky.

He turned around. He was met with such a warm, genuine smile. He didn't think he had ever seen Chalky so happy.

He found it so cute.

But at the same time, why did he hug him? He didn't think he did anything that rewarded that. Whatever, it was just a hug. He liked hugs. 

Broomer waved back at him. "Hi! You kinda spooked me a bit, but I'm fine." Chalky took a seat next to him.

Broomer couldn't take his attention off such an expression, he found it almost endearing how someone would be this happy to see him. He felt his face get hot. 

He'd seen people happy to see him before. One time it was even more than this. He found it weird how and why he was reacting this way to his friend. 

Chalky perked up and pointed near the door, "I saw Poison and GM out there, but they were so far away it felt awkward to wait for them... So I came in here instead! I got here a lot faster since my mom drove me to school. I said I was fine walking, but she insisted she drove me."

Broomer tilted his head in confusion, "Your mom drives you to school?" Chalky nodded. "Her house is kinda far, so..." He thought it made sense. She probably just wanted him to be safe on the way to school.

Feather came running in, and slammed her hands on the table once she reached the two. "Heyy, you two ready for your sleepover today? I would say have a fun time, but... that's just not how I roll."

Chalky was confused. She knew? How?

Broomers face grew hotter. He leaned foward and closer towards Feather. "Can you shut up?? You're so obsessed with me it's insane. Do you want an autograph or something??"

Feather shook her head slowly. She turned her attention towards Chalky. "Did you like my text to you last night? Sent it right before I slept."

He looked visibly confused. "About your boytoy here.." She pointed towards Broomer while doing a not-so-subtle whisper towards Chalky.

"WHAT??" Broomer immediately yelled. It was finally clicking in Chalkys head. An "Ohh..." Came out his mouth once he realized. "That was you?" Pride was plastered all over Feathers face.

"Yup. The one and only. That's why your pal here likes guys." Broomer groaned. "That's why you like girls." Feather shrugged, "Touché."

Chalkys facial expression was just a "?" at this point. Broomer liked guys? It wasn't that hard to guess, but now it was confirmed. He didn't know what to think. If he liked guys .. then ..

GM and Poison came in. GM looked happy as ever. She waved to the group energetically and took her seat. Her girlfriend, on the other hand, analyzed the situation that was happening right before their presense was known to the group.

"Something heavy just happened here. What on earth what were you guys talking about?" GMs eyes lit up. "Ooh! It it about your sleepover?"

Broomer buried his face in his hands. He didn't know why this was so embarrassing. He was looking forward to it after all. GM realized her mistake (That wasn't meant to be malicious) and leaned over the table to get closer to him.

"You okay Broomer? Sorry..." He deeply inhaled as he raised his head back up. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Chalky was so confused why both of them knew about their sleepover. If anything, he was a little scared.

This whole situation was a little overwhelming. So much loud talking, so many exaggerated reactions... He needed the bell to ring.

Poison tilted her head to look at him. "You good? You look like you're spacing out over there." He snapped back into reality; he hesitantly nodded. She looked at him a bit longer before directing her attention away from him.

Chalky started fidgeting and picking at his skin. It wasn't long until the bell rang.

Beoomer looked over at him, and then back at the rest of the group. "Yall are scaring him! Tone it down just a notch. Mainly you, Feather." There was only a hint of silliness in his words; the rest of him was genuinely worried about Chalky.

Feather rolled her eyes. "If you weren't such a gayass and didn't tell me and GM maybe I would've 'taken it down a notch' Broomer." GM giggled nervously. "Sorry Beoomer... Sorry Chalky... I just got excited."

Broomer looked back down at Chalky. It seemed like he was even more stressed out than the last time he looked at him. The bell rung. "Andd that's the bell! See ya losers later." Feather quickly sashayed away to her first class.

GM waved goodbye and walked with Poison. Broomer got up and Chalky clung onto his sleeve, but he quickly let go. He turned around. "Hm?"

Chalky got up and shook his head slowly. "It's nothing... I'll see you after school Broomer." He waved and quickly walked to his next class.

Guilt was all that hung over Broomer on his way to class.

Chalky would normally prefer to see Broomer after his last class, but he still felt embarrassed from earlier.

He hated how he instinctively clung to someone whenever he was scared. It'd been a habit that never stopped since he was a child.

He couldn't do that at his dads house. He couldn't cling onto anyone there. He didn't feel scared at his moms house, and this was the first time he had ever actually been scared in front of a group of... friends.

The only person he could grab was Broomer, and he completely embarrassed himself.

He'd just stay in here until most of the kids were gone. He'd be walking home anyway.

He rested his head on the table. He'd try to take a small nap and wait it out. There was a few minutes of class left anyway.

He closed his eyes for what seemed like a second, and then he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He raised his head. It was his teacher.

"You gotta wake up. All your classmates have left." He groggily stood up and walked out of his classroom.

He walked out of the school and back to his house. He saw very little students roaming the halls when he left.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. 4:08. He had time to get ready before Broomer came over to his house. He sighed.

He just hoped the sleepover would be better then the events leading up to it.

Chapter Text

Chalky walked up to his moms house and knocked on her door. While waiting for her to answer he checked his phone again. 4:15. He had time to get ready at least.

His mom opened the door, "Hi honey! Hope you're excited! I already got some snacks for you and your friend. Just clean up your room." He nodded and walked into his house.

He set his backpack down in his room and looked around. His room wasn't messy in his opinion; if anything, he found it clean.

Everything was just organized chaos, maximalism. The only problem was his bed, which he promptly went over to smooth out his blanket and sheets. After that, he adjusted and fluffed out his pillows.

That was basically all he needed to do. Everything else was ready, so decided to just sit down and wait till Broomer showed up. He sat down and slowly laid half of his body on his bed to avoid messing up the work he just did.

While looking around to double check his room, he noticed that the symmetry that normally was there wasn't anymore. He sat up and looked at his walls.

The posters bothered him the most. There were supposed to be 3 on each wall, but that didn't look like that was the case. There were 2 on the left, 4 on the center wall, and 3 on the right. He got up and took a poster from the center wall to the left wall.

That was much better. He hated things out of place. He never knew why exactly, but disorganization (to his standards) caused him to think about horrifying things. From hurting himself, to hurting others....

He shook himself out of his thoughts. He didn't have time to focus on that right now. 

He looked at the vines, they seemed fine. The figurines, not so much.

He had always needed them in a triangle formation, but they looked like they were slipping into a square-ish one. He moved two of the figurines. Slowly and carefully. He moved them centimeter by centimeter.

He stepped back to see how they looked like now, and they seemed... Better. Not perfect, unfortunately.

His mom came near his room to see how he was doing, and saw him standing over where his figurines were. She stayed silent and waited till her son was done with whatever task he was fufilling.

Chalky moved one of them just a bit and stepped back again. Much better. He looked back to see his mom staring at him. He stepped away from the figurines. "Uhm... Hi mom."

She waved. "Just checking on you. How long till your friend gets here again?" Chalky took a second to think. "Uh, at about 5. That's what he said."

She gave him a thumbs up. "I just want to meet your friend before you go about your merry way." She smiled before walking away.

Chalky checked his phone again. 4:30. He still had time.

The miniature instruments looked fine. The curtains on the frame of his bed? Not so much. He adjusted each one and made sure that all of them had equal amounts fabric both scrunching up and spreading out. 

His curtains were the easiest to fix to his surprise, especially since the fabric was so light that he was scared that they would easily be blown or moved out of place. He'd have to get new curtains soon. 

Everything was okay now. Everything was bearable to be around and look at, and that's what he needed the most. He loved order. It brang back his sanity for every piece of furniture or object he put back into place.

He still had a little less than half an hour till Broomer came, so he sat on his bed. He thought back on to his moms comment earlier. If she had already got snacks, then... 

He tiptoed out of his room. A big bowl of snacks were already set out on the counter. He grabbed 5 mini chocolates, opened them all, and shoved them all in his mouth. He'd normally act out his eating rituals, but he couldn't risk his mom catching him. 

If he couldn't do them now, he'd just make sure to not mess up any of them up later. He threw all of the wrappers in the trashcan. 

He got a text. 

'heyy... im gonna be there a little bit ealrier then expexted if thats ok'

'sure ?? we're not doing much anyway'

'sick!! im kinda already on my way anyways lol' 

Great. Absolutely wonderful. He didn't mind Broomer coming early, if anything he was ecstatic, but that wasn't the original plan. He texted his address (Because he forgot to send it earlier.) and put his phone back in his pocket.

He leaned against the kitchen island as he waited for his friend crush to show up. 

About 5 minutes later, he heard a knock at the door. Must be Broomer. His mother got to the door before he did, and he could only see half of his face. The other half was being covered by his mom.

He seemed to have gained a nervous smile once he saw Chalkys mom. He probably didn't think that would be the person to welcome him into the house.

His mom gave him a smile, "Hello, you're here to see my son, right?"  Broomer nodded. His mom looked at him a bit closer. That hair color seemed familiar.

"You look familiar... I saw a student who's hair had such a gorgeous golden color just like yours on my trip to pick up my son. I didn't catch what exactly he looked like, however."

Broomer froze. That was the car he saw? Chalkys mom was the one who saw him running like a maniac? He hung his head down in embarrassment. "...That was me you saw."

Her eyes widened but softened immediately. "Well, your hair is just gorgeous! Is it natural?" Broomer looked at Chalkys mom in surprise, but nodded. "It looks pretty healthy, you must take good care of it."

Kind of. He brushed it and his hair held on to moisture pretty well, but he could not remember the last time he washed it. However, he wouldn't tell someone he just met that information. 

He just tried to accept the compliment and go into Chalky's house already. "Heh, thank you ma'am." She stepped out of the doorway and let Broomer come in.

Chalky waved happily; he waved back. His mom closed the door and tried to catch their attention before they went off to do anything else.

"Hey, I need to go over some ground rules. First off, you're allowed to go in my kitchen, just please don't raid it. You," She pointed to Broomer.

"I don't care where you sleep, just please don't make loud noises after 8. Lastly, please keep everything appropriate, at least when I'm in earshot. I don't want to hear bunches of profanity when im near."

Broomer nodded in acknowledgement, "Okay, got it." She made a waving hand motion, signaling it was okay for them to frolic. Chalky showed him the way to his room. 

Broomer looked around the vibrant room once he opened the door. It was better than it was in the pictures.

There were colors that were much more vibrant than they appeared on camera. Being surrounded by the new environment caught him by surprise. He looked in awe at all the things Chalky had along the walls, on his drawers, everything.

He caught Broomer gawking at his room. "Are you gonna be okay?.. Is it a lot, or..." Broomer immediately shook his head. "Everything's fine, I just, really like your room."

Chalky giggled. He offered to take his bag off for him before setting it on the ground. "Don't touch anything without letting me know please... I don't mind if you do, just tell me first."

Broomer nodded. Something clicked in his mind before turning to Chalky. "Where AM i gonna sleep?" He shrugged. "We have a guest room, but it's pretty far away." Chalky ran his fingers against the wood designs on his dresser.

At whatever attempt he was doing to try and convince Broomer to stay in his room, he hoped it was working. "... But my bed is pretty big so, I don't mind where you sleep."

Broomer took a quick look at his bed. It was pretty big. As long as they kept their distance, it wouldn't be too awkward. "I dont mind sleeping here." Chalky looked up at him, "Then neither do I. I'm gonna get some snacks."

He walked out of his room over to the kitchen to get the snacks that were so graciously set out by his mom earlier. He took a few sneaky glances to the contents of the bowl before deciding against popping some more chocolate into his mouth.

He came back and put them on a fold up table in his room. Chalky pulled out his phone, "I don't have a TV in here, but I can ask my mom where the projector is."

Broomer perked up. "You have a PROJECTOR??" Chalky looked at him in confusion. "You don't?" He shook his head. He could only have a projector in his dreams.

Chalky looked down before poking his head out the door to yell out to his mom. "Mom! Where's the projector at?"

A beat of silence. "In the hallway closet!" Chalky ran out of his room all the way to the hallway. He opened the closet, and the projector box was sitting perfectly on one of the shelves. He picked up the (heavy) box and speed walked back to his room.

He sat it down on his bed, and questioned where he was gonna set it down. His most empty wall... Was the center wall. He'd have to put it right in front of his bed. But... he already put the snacks down, and he did not trust a bowl on such an uneven surface. 

He went in his closet to see if he had any other fold up tables, and luckily, he did. He set it right in front of his bed and unboxed the projector.

Chalky traced a star with his finger on the top of it. "Luckily, this is a bluetooth projector, so all I need to do is connect it to my phone." Broomer watched as he sat the projecter on top of the table.

Chalky turned the projector on, put his phone into pairing mode, and connected. He looked at Broomer. "What movie do you wanna watch?" He scratched his chin, "Indiana Bones?" Chalky turned his attention back to his phone, no hesitation whatsoever.

Broomer was so used to a bit of banter when it came to his movie preferences, so he was shocked he had absolutely none of that now. It perplexed him.

"Old or new ?" He thought for a second. "Older." Chalky clicked on a movie. "Turn the lights off please."  Broomer ran over to the light switch and flicked it down.

Chalky brought the snack bowl closer to his bed. "You can sit on my bed, just please dont get anything on it."

Broomer carefully sat on the bed and tried his best to not interfere with the curtains on the bed frame. He got excited as the intro for the movie played.

Chalky sat on the other side of the bed. He had barely any idea what Indiana Bones was, but he didn't want his guest to feel bad. He valued him, and his happiness more.

The movie ended 2 hours later. It was dark outside.

They had exchanged words about the movie as it played, but now it was done. Half of their snacks were gone too.

Broomer stretched, he didn't realize how bad his posture was till he had to fix it. He looked towards Chalky as the credits rolled. "I really like the movie series, but I'm never able to binge it. I know I'll pay attention to something else in the middle of it anyways."

Chalky nodded at his words, he was still processing what he watched. He was way too tired to ask any further questions though.

Broomer set a chocolate wrapper into an empty bag, "Soo... What else do you wanna do?" Chalky yawned. "To be honest... I'm kind of tired. This is usually when I'd start getting ready for bed."

Broomer popped his last chocolate into his mouth. "Should I go change then?" Chalky nodded, "I'll change in here. You can go in our bathroom. It's like... two doors from mine."

He got up and searched for his pajamas in his backpack. He walked out of the room in search of the bathroom.

He saw a door at a crack. It was pitch black inside. He assumed that's where it was. He felt for a light switch before walking in the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

This bathroom was definitely different from his. There were shell designs for about everything. The towel racks, the accents of the tiny knobs, it was subtle, but it also wasn't.

He was so focused on the different design he hadn't realized he had already changed.

He threw his other clothes on top of his shoulder and took a final look at the bathroom before leaving and turning the light off.

He walked back to Chalkys room, but his door was still closed. He figured he was still changing and stood next to the door patiently. He heard the doorknob click after a minute or so. Chalky stared at Broomer for a second after opening the door, but then opened it fully.

He couldn't help but notice that Chalky was wearing shorts. He had never saw him wear anything but sweatpants. He didn't comment on it; he didn't want to cause unnecessary worry.

The snack bowl and discard bag were still on the foldup table, but it was pushed farther away from the bed. The projector was put back in its box. He couldn't tell if it was just him, but the bowl was significantly more empty and the bag was filled with new wrappers. 

He took his attention away from it. Chalky sat down on his bed and rubbed his eyes. "You sure you wanna sleep on my bed?.." Broomer nodded and sat on the bed as well.

He got beneath the covers. He yawned and turned to look at Broomer. "Would you prefer we sleep in opposite directions?.. I don't really care..." Broomer got beneath the covers as well. "We can face each other." Chalky laid down facing him. 

Broomer never thought he would see him so tired. School tired and bedtime tired were two different things, and he never thought he'd see this side. He thought his sleepy voice was kinda cute. It showed a different part of himself in a way.

Chalky nuzzled his head into his pillows. "Goodnight." Broomer pulled the blanket higher over himself and set his head down. "Goodnight."

The pillows were softer than he had ever imagined.

Chapter Text

Friday, June 7th. 11:45 pm.

Broomer woke up, but kept his eyes closed. He was not used to sleeping this early, and his sleep schedule was definitely messed up because of this.

If he could sigh right now he would, but he didn't want to wake up Chalky.

Speaking of, he heard breathing. It was louder than he remembered. He knew he couldn't hear it that well when he first slept.

In fact, he could FEEL it. He sneaked a peek, and realized Chalky was a lot closer than before.

He froze. He was really, really close. He tried to move, but felt the edge of the bed on the first shuffle back.

He had no choice but to stay in that spot. Of course, he had to be way closer to the edge than when he first decided to lay down.

This situation was so awkward. He couldn't even imagine his reaction in the morning if he woke up to them like... Cuddling, or something. He felt worried to breathe in his face, so he debated turning around.

... But spooning seemed more awkward in his opinion.

He just buried his head in the pillow, and then tried to shift his head around in different directions.

As comfortable as the pillows were, breathing became a problem. He eventually made it to his original position.

Chalky stirred in his sleep; his breathing stopped. He started to move closer to Broomer, and nestled against the pillows at every stop he took. This pattern continued until their faces were barely an inch apart.

He wished he was done, and that hopefully their faces wouldn't be touching by morning.

He wanted to move. He wanted to move so badly, but it felt cruel to just leave the bed; What if Chalky felt the difference? What would happen then?

He decided to just bite the bullet and try to get up, but he felt a gentle hand on his forearm pull him back down. He looked down at Chalky. His eyes were half lidded and most likely half asleep.

Something about his eyes. It made him not wanna get up anymore. He wanted to stay right where he was.

Chalky pulled at his arm. "Please don't get up... I'm really cold..."

Broomer was stunned. He gently set his body back on the bed. Chalky glided his hand up to take a firm hold of the other boys hand. He settled back down into the pillows.

Broomer figured he could try to wiggle a question in. "...Why do you want me this close?.. Isn't it awkward?" Chalkys eyes fought their way back open. "...You're warm, and its cold..."

Broomer noticed a shine in his eyes, only being somewhat visible by the glow in the dark stars he saw on the ceiling. He didn't know how he just now noticed.

He gulped. He wanted to ask a question he would most likely regret, but the window of Chalkys consciousness was slowly closing.

"Is that why you... Didn't mind me sleeping in your room? Cause I'm... Warm?" Chalky thought for a moment. "I don't know... But I don't care. I just... Don't want you to leave. Please stay this close. Please."

He didn't know what to do. He was super conflicted. This was the last person he would've expected to be in this kind of situation with. He didn't have a crush on Chalky, but... He was having a variety of different thoughts on how to react to this unaware, very tired version of his friend. 

His voice was so soft and gentle. It almost sounded like he was going start crying if he even moved an inch. He wanted to do something to aid this, but he didn't know what.

His thoughts for what to do were immediately cut off with Chalky moving his body even closer. "You're like... A heater. I'm always cold at night... You don't understand how nice it feels to finally be this close to something so warm."

Broomer allowed himself to relax a bit. "You're a lot more expressive when you're half asleep."

He just accepted defeat at this point. Chalky most likely wouldn't remember this conversation when he woke up. He clearly wasn't thinking about what he was saying, but there were truth to his words... Like he was drunk on sleep or something.

Chalky shrugged. "I go off... How I feel." Chalky held his hand tighter. "And what I feel right now... Is that I want you close to me, because you're warm..."

Broomer hesitantly reached out to stroke Chalkys head. He gently ran his fingers through his hair. He settled down and closed his eyes again. "That feels nice..." He leaned into his hand and began to lightly snore.

Broomer eventually pulled his hand back. He didn't know anyone could ever be this cute. He sounded so soft, even his voice could be a lullaby. He tried to settle down himself, and eventually sank back into those soft pillows.

Maybe Feather and GM were right. Maybe Chalky did like him, and... Maybe he liked him back.

Saturday, June 8th, 7:33 am.

Chalkys eyes fluttered open. Usually, he would lay down a bit longer to enjoy waking up, but... Seeing Broomer right in front of him prevented him from doing so.

He shoved himself back and just sat there, frozen. Why was he so close to him? Why did he just stay there? Surely Broomer knew he was that close, right? 

He got off the bed slowly. His legs were shaking. The only thing he knew that fixed that was pacing around his room.

He began to walk laps around his room. All the while still questioning why or how he had gotten in such a position with Broomer.

It was way too early for this. What would he do? Just explain that he was barely centimeters away from the guy he had a crush on for a little more than a year?

He stopped and stared when he saw Broomer start to wake up. He couldn't move. He wouldn't move even if he had the choice.

Broomer stretched above him and saw Chalky looking at him from across the room. "Hi. Good morning. Nice to see you're already up..." He waved blankly, not sure of anything else to do.

Broomer scratched his head and took the blanket off of him. "You look all vigilant over there... You ok?" He shook his head.

Broomer thought the best idea would be to just stay on the bed. Whatever issue he was experiencing, he didn't want to rile him up on.

He tried to think of reasons why he looked so shell-shocked. He looked back into his eyes, "You have a nightmare or something?" Chalky shook his head. "Uh... You see something creepy?" He shrugged. He saw something, and it definitely spooked him. In a general sense, it wasn't necessarily creepy. 

It clicked. "Uhm... Was it cause we were close when you woke up?.." Chalky hesitantly nodded.

Broomer chuckled awkwardly, "Well... Believe it or not but, you were the one who came closer to me. I'm assuming you don't remember much, do you?"

Chalky looked confused. Panic began to fill him. He?? Got closer to Broomer?? Why? Did he do something he wasn't supposed to?

"By that reaction im assuming you don't. Uhm... I woke up in the middle of the night, and you got like, really close to me because you were cold. You said I was like a heater, and then you just kept getting closer."

That made more sense. Chalky always felt cold, and it only got worse at night. He'd usually hug a pillow and hope for the best, but... Apparently his subconscious found an opportunity and took it.

"Are you good? You're not... Talking or anything." Chalky nodded. He was better now, but still shocked from this new information. Broomer moved over and set his feet on the floor. His eyes were still set on Chalky.

"Are you uh... mad? Or like, upset? You seem okay, but I can't really read emotions well." Chalky shook his head. If anything, for the short time he felt his warmth, it was nice. He could never be mad at that.

He would never say that to his face though.

Broomer got up and went through his backpack, "Ma says I have to be back by 10am, so I'm just gonna change into another pair of clothes. You can keep on the ones you've got if you want." He pulled out his clothes and went towards the bathroom. 

Chalky closed the door. He had put on his "pajamas" the other night, but he was seriously debating swapping out the shorts for sweatpants.

On one hand,  Broomer didn't say anything about it. On the other, what if he didn't say anything because his legs looked bad?

He looked down at his legs. They didn't look bad to him, but that was him. He would rather kill himself than live with the fact that his crush for over a year secretly hated parts of his body.

But that didn't seem like the case. He didn't seem to mind as much he did. He had never said anything bad about him... As far as he knew.

On top of that, if Broomer was willing to stay close to him just because he said so... Maybe he didn't have much to worry about.

Maybe he was just thinking the worst all for nothing. Maybe he'd have at least a smidgen of a chance with him.

A knock. A weak voice came out of him. "... Come in." It was Broomer. He came in and put his pajamas back into his backpack. He turned back to Chalky. He still had a hint of the expression he had when he woke up.

Broomer walked closer to him, and walked in front of him to get a clearer look at his face. "Seriously dude, are you okay? You still look bothered."

Chalky stiffened. He responded with the same bleak tone. "It's... embarrassing, and personal. It'd make no sense to tell you..."

Broomer took the tiniest step back. He didn't want to pressure him, but he was genuinely worried. "... You don't gotta tell me anything if you don't want to, but im still worried about you man."

Chalky held his hands together. His mom always told him letting things off his chest would make him feel better, but how did he know that it was always true?

He gulped and looked back up at Broomer. "Um... I'm just... Worried about how my legs look. You've never seen me with shorts until now and..." He choked back tears.

"I refuse to wear them in public because im just... So self conscious about them. I feel like they look ugly." Broomer wanted nothing more than to just hug him in that moment, but he didn't know if it was okay.

"Chalky. Your body is perfectly fine the way it is. I don't see any problems with you whatsoever." Chalky sniffled.

"You mean it?.." Broomer nodded, "Mhm. I think you're perfect the way you are. There's nothing wrong with you at all." Tears poured out of Chalkys eyes.

"Can I please hug you?.." Broomer nodded and held his arms out, which Chalky ran into immediately. He cried and buried his head into his shoulder. "You’re so kind... I don't deserve this."

Broomer held him tighter, and slowly caressed his back. "You deserve all of it, Chalky. You and everyone else deserve all the kindness someone has to give."

Broomer wanted to continue. He had never been in this kind of situation with anyone before, but these compliments came to him so naturally. He decided to throw something in that hopefully would make Chalky feel better, and hopefully wouldn't embarrass him. 

He pulled his head back, but still had a hold on Chalky. "You're pretty. Don't ever question yourself on that, alright?" Chalky nodded as tears rolled down his cheeks.

He was feeling so much at once. He didn't want to let go. He wanted to just stay in his arms.

This was the first time outside of family that he had ever felt truly cared about.

He wanted to hold on forever.

Chapter Text

Saturday, June 8th, 9:25 am.

Broomer threw his backpack back on and walked out of Chalkys room. His mom met him on his way out and checked in with him for the final time.

"I really hope you enjoyed your stay! I'm sure my son treated you well." Broomer chuckled. He definitely had a great time, but it was more vice versa with that last part. "Yeah, he was great."

She smiled and reached in her purse. She gave him a piece of chocolate. "Here, here’s a little snack for the road."

Broomer accepted it gratefully. "Thank you ma'am." He turned back to Chalky and waved before heading out the door.

His mom turned back to her son and ruffled his hair. "You have a good time sweetie?"  Chalky giggled as he answered, "Hehe, yeah. I had the best time ever." She tilted her head and pulled her hand away.

"Nothing bad happened, correct? Nothing troublesome?" He shook his head. Anything negative that did happen was solved almost at once.

She smiled and walked near the door to put her shoes on. "Well, I'm gonna go to work, and you can have the house all to yourself. Let me know if you do leave the house though, alright?" He nodded. She opened the door and waved. "Goodbye honey."

The door closed. Chalky was all alone. He was used to this when he got back from school, since it was only about an hour wait. However, now he had to wait for 8 whole hours. There was not enough to do at his house for that long.

He would ask Broomer to come over, but he was already on his way back. But... that didn't stop him from going over to his house. He took out his phone and went to text his mom.

'mom are you okay with me going to broomers house ?'

'Is that your friend? If so, sure!'

'thanks mom !'

Perfect. He had his moms approval, now to text Broomer. He pulled up his texts and began to text him.

'hii !! my moms out for work and i was wondering if i could come over'

'sure man! im still kinds on the wakl back but im pretty sure my mom will ler you come over'

'okok !!'

Everything has been going well so far, but now he needed Broomers moms' approval. His mom seemed pretty chill with how he described her, so he wasn't all that worried.

He put his phone back into his pocket, but quickly took it back out to check his texts. He was worried he'd put too many "i" or "!" 's . He counted two "i"'s and two "!"'s for each message.

He sighed in relief and put his phone back into his pocket. He just needed to do something in the meantime.

He didn't feel like going into his room and having another meltdown about the way his things were arranged. It was way too early for him to deal with that right now.

To pass the time, he spent several minutes tracing different shapes onto his skin. His nails were somewhat long, so the scratch lines were visible enough to make a coherent pattern. 

5 minutes of this passed by, and he finally got a text back from Broomer. He finished the pattern on his arm and pulled his phone out.

'ma says you can !'

'yayy ! im omw rn okay ?'

'alr alr'

He rushed to the front door to put his shoes on and walked out his house. He wasn't necessarily ready, but there was no turning back now.

On the walk to Broomers house, Chalky realized he wasn’t fully aware of where he was going. He saw him run in the direction away from his dads house, but he wasnt fully sure on where to go from there.

He didn't even know what Broomers house looked like. He could've passed it for all he knew.

He took his phone out again.

'what does your house look like ?? just realized i dont know what it looks like lol'

'big brown house, its like bricks n stuff but they look brown now, theres a hugeass tree right near it, its a pine tree im pretty sure'

'big brown door with one of those small doorhandles, theres a nunmber on the fonrt. its 444'

'i think i mighve passed that one .. ill walk back'

'okay!'

He turned around. He was on the lookout for big pine trees and a big brown house. He looked about 3 houses down and saw it. He understood where the tree guess came from.

If he wanted to be more specific, he could've said it was a sugar pine. He speed walked to the house and knocked on the door once he stepped up on their porch.

He could hear someone running to the door. He also heard someone talking, and also a kid whining? Broomer opened the door. He waved ecstatically.

"Hi! Welcome to my humble abode." He bowed and walked out of the way. Chalky giggled at his antics and walked in.

He saw a young girl with a sad expression, which he assumed was his younger sister. She was still pouting, presumably from whatever Broomer had said.

Chalky turned to him, "Is that your sister?" Broomer walked over to her and nodded, "Her names Whisk, she's like..." Broomer crouched down. "How old are you?" She held out four fingers, "This many."

"Aww, she's four? I would’ve thought she was like, six or something. She talks well." Broomer did a so-so hand motion.

"She still slips up sometimes, but shes still young. It's easy-ish to understand most of what she says anyway." Whisk walked over to Chalky and looked up at him. She pointed to his face. "You tall."

He giggled, "Yes, I am tall." He squatted down to get on her level. "This better?" Whisk smiled, and then tilted her head. "Whas your name?"

"Chalky, my names Chalky." She looked confused, and then tried to sound it out. "Chal-ly ?" He shrugged, "Close enough, good job."

He held up a hand for her and Whisk quickly met hers with his. She giggled, and then hopped to her room.

He got up from his squat and smiled at Broomer. "I wasn't expecting her to return a high-five. Your sister's smart."

Broomer looked somewhat surprised, "I wasn't expecting you to be so good with kids. She usually doesn't just, walk up to people like that."

Chalky thought about it. He'd been around younger kids many times, so he knew how to act around them. When his mother used to work at a daycare, he would volunteer a lot and help out with the younger kids.

The other adults always called him a magnet. The kids always gravitated towards him for hugs, stories, or just to babble to.

"... I'm used to it. My mom used to work at a daycare, and when I was younger the kids always came up to me." He started to scratch his arm.

"My mom always suggested I be a babysitter cause of that."  Broomer did an agreement nod. With how well his sister took to him just now, he'd suggest that too.

Broomer put his hand on his shoulder, "C'mon, let me show you my room." Chalky followed behind him, and he focused on several aspects of his house as he walked through the living room and hallways. 

There were orange accents about everywhere in their house. He saw tiger and leopard print on the pillows, accent lamps, and chairs. Additionally, he saw a glowing, golden light lamp right before they entered the hallway to his room.

His house was chock full of warm colors. It made him realize just how full of cool colors his mom's house was.

And just how grey and neutral his dad's house was.

Once they hit his room Broomer opened his door and made a big, dramatic hand motion to his space.

He had band posters on every wall, his bed had black sheets with white pillows, it was painted the same shade of orangey brown as the rest of his house, and he could see two big instrument cases at the corner of his room.

He looked over and pointed, "What's in those?" Broomer glanced towards them, "Oh, that's just a keyboard and a bass. I'm really into boy bands and stuff, and I asked my mom for em cause I was interested in making music of my own. Unfortunately, I just kept forgetting."

Chalky walked up closer to the cases and looked at how much dust was gathering on them.

He squatted down and drew a star on the top of the keyboard case. He got back up, "Sorry. I like drawing shapes on stuff." Broomer walked over to take a peek at it. It was pretty symmetrical, had to give him credit for that.

It was one of the stars you drew when you were bored, not an actual star shape. He couldn't blame him. Those types of stars were impossible.

"It looks good, I don't mind. Not doing much with them anyway." He chuckled and sat on his bed. "My pillows aren't nearly as soft as yours, but I'd like to think they're still pretty nice."

He laid on his bed. The comforter made up for what the pillows lacked.

Chalky sat beside him and looked around his room. "You have a lot of band posters. I recognize some of them."

He pointed to one, "Especially that one." Broomer picked his head up to see which one he was pointing at, and his eyes lit up.

"I love that band! It's one of my favorites! I mainly like it for the titles and members though... The songs I can't relate to that much." He grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his chest. He began to look at his other posters of the same band.

"Almost all of my posters are from them... I really like how one of the members look. I think he's pretty." Chalky looked at the 3 guys on the poster.

One of them had long blonde hair, another looked like his hair was almost platinum blonde, and the last had a small ginger afro. He turned back to Broomer, "Which one?"

He pointed to the one with the platinum hair, "That one." Chalky didn't think much of it, but the more he looked at that member, the more he thought it looked like him.

He shook the thought off. Not every person with whitish looking hair looked like him.

He still thought it was a bit off, though.

He looked back at Broomer, "I have a question." He turned his head back to look at Chalky. "I know you like, DO swing that way. But, do you like... Only like guys?.. Do you like girls as well?"

He shrugged. "Not really. i've found them cute before, but I wouldn't wanna pursue a relationship. The last time I’ve even remotely liked a girl like that was in like, 3rd grade."

He chuckled, he thought it was funny. The thought of dating a girl was almost repulsing to him now. "What about you?"

Chalky pondered the question. He really didn't know what to expect after asking a question like that. 

"Uhh... I'm not really interested in girls at all if im being honest. I think they're pretty and all, but the thought of dating a girl..." Made him want to throw up. But, that sounded too harsh.

"... I'm just not the biggest fan of it. At all." He started to scratch his arm. Broomer only thought deeper into it.

"What about people that aren't a boy or a girl?" Chalky paused. He'd never really thought about it. They weren't girls, so that was something he enjoyed.

They weren't boys, but that didn't bother him at all, actually. He'd seen people around their school who had identified that way, and some of them still looked a little masculine. There were also others where he just couldn't tell at all. 

He wouldn't mind dating someone like that. He couldn't see any problems with it. Chalky took a nervous breath before he spoke. "I don't think it'd be so bad. They're not girls, so..."

Broomer nodded in agreement, "Same. I'd date anyone as long as they're not a girl to be honest. But... If they seemed more feminine, I think I'd pass."

He paused. He sat bolt upright.  "I'm pretty sure there's a word for that." He pulled out his phone and searched something up.

'what does it mean if you'd date men and non binary people'

'Cinthean is a term used by men, men-aligned nonbinary people, and unaligned nonbinary people who are attracted to men, men-aligned non-binary people, and unaligned nonbinary people.'

Broomer showed him the screen, "This sound like you?" Chalky read the screen, unsuccessfully. "Can you uh... Read it out for me? I have trouble reading stuff without a screenreader." 

Broomer tilted the screen his way. "Oh shit, sorry. The term is 'Cinthean', and it basically means you're a dude or non-binary and you're attracted to dudes and or non-binary people." 

He thought it over. It made sense to him. He'd say it'd fit him enough to go by it. 

"I'd say it does, yeah." Chalky looked at the flag that came up with the search result. "The flag is pretty... Kinda reminds me of a sunset."

Broomer turned the phone back at him to look as well. "Yeah, it looks nice. Whoever designed this knew what they were doing."

He put his phone back in his pocket and laid back down. The silence between them was almost deafening.

Chalky hesitated before speaking again, " ... Do your parents know?" Broomer nodded, "Oh definitely, they know I'm gay inside and out."

He chuckled, "My mom kinda knows, but... She doesn't understand it well. I won't even try to tell my dad about it while I still have to live with him."

He fidgeted with his hands, "... But I'm grateful my mom at least tries." Broomer nodded in agreement.

His eyes wandered to his dresser. He remembered something that his mom had gotten him a long time ago, and it would be perfect for this moment.

He sat up. "Wanna listen to some music?"

Chapter Text

♪ Are you sick of me? Would you like to be? ♪

♪ I'm trying to tell you something, Something that I already said ♪

Chalky hummed along to the song. He had heard this song in passing before, but he had never actually stopped to really listen.

♪ You like a pretty boy, With a pretty voice ♪

♪ Who is trying to sell you something, Something that you already have ♪

Broomer picked up the mp3 player. "I'm not really a big listener of this band, but their songs are still pretty good."

He shuffled through some other songs.

♪ I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, But heaven knows I'm miserable now — ♪

♪ When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city — ♪

This cycle went on for a while until he finally found a song he wanted to listen to.

He put down the mp3 player and began to hum and quietly sing along to the lyrics.

♪ You think im going strong, But I'm still holding on, My hearts been breaking when I think about you ♪

Chalky recognized the song. He didn't sing along, but he tapped his foot to the beat of it.

The lyrics were sad to him in a way. They seemed almost desperate for the person it was meant for to come back, to hit rewind if you will.

♪ This is it, Yeah I'm going crazy, No I'd ever ask you to save me ♪

Chalky closed his eyes and focused on the lyrics. They missed what they had with that person, they want to go back to those times; that's what he got from it anyway.

The lyrics almost felt personal to him, but he didn't know how.

He had never had anyone in that kind of way, so there's not really any type of specific memories he'd miss.

Maybe it was the 'I'd never ask you to save me' line. He definitely would, but who would he ask?

♪ I keep on writing songs, You never sing along. I keep on writing all these songs about you. ♪

He opened his eyes as that lyric played. Broomer was zoning out, but he felt guilty about not humming along with him.

As the song went on he adapted to the beat and began to hum to the lyrics.

♪ I think I've lost my mind, I'm running out of time ♪

♪ I really hate all these songs about you. ♪

Broomer paused the song. He put the mp3 player down. "I think that's enough music for now... C'mon, you wanna see around my house?"

He was confused but agreed. He got up from the bed and walked out of his room.

Just as they went through the door, Whisk noticed them immediately. She ran up to Chalky and looked up at him with prayer hands and pleading eyes.

"Can we playy? Pleasee??" He saw Broomer frantically shaking his head in the corner of his eye.

He bent over with a huge smile, "Sure! I don't mind at all!" She exclaimed in joy, and grabbed Chalkys hand to rush him into her room.

She showed him the many dolls she had on and in her drawers and in her dollhouse. He was nothing short of astonished.

Chalky sat down in the place she had pat at, and she handed him a doll. "I like to play stories wit these... they're vrry fun!" He smiled, "I'm sure they are! What story would you like to do?"

Whisk tapped her chin as she thought, and gasped (rather dramatically) once she thought of one. "Garden!" Chalky giggled, "Garden? Okay!"

It was slightly easier to tell what was happening when Broomer was watching the story; infact, it didn't seem all that complicated. It was just Whisks doll gardening and Chalkys doll started conversation.

He was astounded by how much fun Chalky was having. It was the happiest he'd looked in a while. He never expected so much joy to appear just by playing with dolls.

A pause in the story came up, and Chalky turned to face him. "How come you never told me about your sister? She's so sweet!"

Beoomer slowly shook his head. "No... Not with me, she's a menace."

Chalky found it hard to take him seriously, "Aww, no she's not! She seems too sweet and playful!"

Whisk got his attention back and Broomer whispered under his breath. "Maybe a little too playful..."

During their playtime, Chalky got so consumed into his role that he forgot about anything and everything going on around him. Broomer decided to do something else to take up his time.

He walked out of the room to say hi to his dad. Ever since school had gotten out, he had to change his hours.

He knocked on his dads door. He heard a bit of shuffling before he heard his dad's voice. "Come in." He walked into his room and left the door at a crack. He sat on the side of the bed.

His dad's eyes were glued to the screen, but he still striked conversation. "How's it with your friend? I'm assuming the attention is off you if you're back here."

Broomer nodded. "He's having a lot of fun with Whisk. Apparently dolls is a lot more interesting to him than it is to me."

His dad laughed, "Your sister is willing to play dolls with someone she hasn't met? Shocker."

Broomer exclaimed, "That's what I was thinking! On top of that, she seems so sweet to him too... Kinda jealous if im being honest."

his dad raised an eyebrow. "Of her or him?" He twiddled his fingers. "Of her. It's a lot of attention that he's giving her."

"You always were like that, getting jealous over the little things. I knew you had a friend over, but your mom didn't tell me the name. I honestly doubt you'd bring Feather over after what happened last time."

... He forgot about that. The last time she was over she made Whisk cry. He still didn't know if it was on purpose or not.

His dad chimed in, "Didya get to show him your room at least, or did your sister's charm get to him first?" Broomer chuckled, "We went in my room. We listened to some music."

"That's good." There was a beat of silence, and he turned to his son. "Sorry if im being invasive, but what happened at that sleepover?"

Broomer tensed up; there wasnt much to hide, but saying that one of your friends snuggled up to you in the middle of the night was a pretty weird thing to tell your dad. 

"It was... pretty normal. We watched a movie, ate some snacks..." He trailed off.

His dad glanced at him. "And then?" He fidgeted, "...I woke up in the middle in the night, and he kept getting closer to me cause he was cold."

His dad raised an eyebrow. "Nothing weird happened! He just got... Really close. It was like we were almost cuddling, but we weren't."

His dad stared at his son. An unbreaking glare was shared between them for a minute. "And... You're sure he doesn't have a crush on you?"

He gulped. "I don't know? Maybe? Probably?" 

This topic was so sudden. He really did not pay attention to that kind of thing. Even if he did, he couldn't read certain actions well, so it's not like he'd know until he was told outright. 

On top of that, they'd only started to get that close in the last week. There'd be no possible way he'd have that heavy of a crush. 

"I'll just have to wait. He might tell me sooner or later." His dad sighed, and directed most of his focus back to the tv.

"Go out there and talk to him. I'm sure he misses you." Broomer got up from the bed, and closed his dad's door behind him.

He walked back to his sister's room. Both of them were doing their own thing. Whisk was dressing one of the dolls up in new clothes, and Chalky was braiding one of the others' hair.

He perked up and waved enthusiastically when he noticed Broomer, and then went back to braiding.

He wasnt sure of what to do, so he just sat on his sister's bed. He noticed Chalky wasn't doing just a regular braid, but multiple.

He figured that if Chalky had a hair tie, that doll would've already had a professional hairstyle by now.

Eventually, he finished his braiding session and showed it off proudly to Broomer. "You like it? I used to braid my mom's hair all the time, so im kind of skilled at it."

He couldn't deny that part. It looked like some complex braid he didn't know the name of. He clapped for Chalkys achievement.

"Good job, I love it!" Chalky smiled warmly, and set the doll down carefully. He got on the bed right next to Broomer. "Sorry for ignoring you like that... I was in the zone."

He shook his head, "Nah, it's okay. You seemed like you were having fun and I didn't wanna impede on that."

Chalky smiled bashfully, "Mm... I was. But, I wanna hang out with you now, and we should probably leave your sisters room for that." Whisk looked back at them for a moment, but went back to styling her doll.

He followed Broomer as he walked out, and he closed the door behind them. He looked at Broomer, "So... What do you wanna do? My mom doesn't get back till 5, and it should be almost 11."

He glanced towards his room, but he figured Chalky wouldn't just want a repeat of what they did earlier.

Chalky followed his eyes. "You wanna go back in your room? If you want, that's fine by me." He hesitated, but nodded. Chalky smiled as they went back towards his room, and Broomer sighed deeply.

11:25 am.

A selection of music from the mp3 was playing again, but Chalky didn't bother to listen. He was too focused on how his crush looked. Broomer slowly swayed his head to the music, and his eyes were closed.

Chalky could only pick up certain words. They might as well have been listening to the instrumentals of the majority of the songs, because the music was the only thing his mind could grasp on to. 

He admired Broomers features. He looked so calm and relaxed, like he barely had a care in the world. He wished he could feel like that.

He gazed at things he had never directly put his attention on. His hair, his facial features, how he had a tiny bit of stubble on his chin. 

His eyebrow looked like it had a slit once before, but it was clear it'd already started to grow back in. 

His hair seemed soft, and well groomed. He could probably his hair as a pillow if he wanted to. That’s probably why he kept it in a ponytail all the time, so it could be a pillow that was attached to his head.

His eyes glanced to his arms. Because of just how short sleeved the shirt was, he could see the small definitions of muscles on his arms.

He wondered what it'd be like to be picked up by those, to be tightly cuddled by those.

He could see his chest go up and down as he breathed. So serene. So calm.

Broomer got up from his laying position as he was buried in his thoughts, and he looked towards him.

"You want something to drink? I'm kinda thirsty." He snapped back into reality and nodded slowly. "Sure. Where's your kitchen anyway?"

"Follow me." Broomer got up from the bed and motioned for Chalky to follow him. He followed him into his kitchen, and Broomer got down some cups from the cupboards. He opened the fridge and scanned for options.

"We got milk, orange juice, water... That's about it. The sodas are in the pantry if you want any, though." Chalky shook his head. "Waters fine."

Broomer took a pitcher full of water and a big jug of orange juice out the fridge and set it on the counter. "You can pour it."

Chalky took the pitcher and lined it up with his cup. It was going as planned until a huge flow of water poured out incorrectly and made a puddle on the counter, which started to drip onto the floor.

Chalky set down the pitcher quickly. His eyes widened as he covered his mouth. Broomer glanced over at the mess. "Aw... I'll clean it later, not that big of a deal." He froze once he heard Chalky start to sob.

His face burned. His eyes immediately started to glaze over with stinging tears.

He kept looking at the puddle of water, and how much of it was dripping onto the floor. His breath was shaky, and he could barely talk.

His eyes strayed to the ever growing puddle on the floor, and he managed to choke a few words out. "I'm... I'm so sorry..." His voice cracked; he took tiny steps back from the counter.

Broomer walked closer and put a hand on his shoulder, which he immediately recoiled from.

His breathing got heavier and more ragged. Fear stayed in his eyes, and he inched farther away from Broomer.

He could only deduce one thing from this. From how he spoke of his dad, and what he saw from the tiny moment of being in his house, there wasn't much left to the imagination to assume what Chalky was used to at home. 

He left his hands in the air. He started to speak in a gentle voice as he reached for the paper towels. "It's okay. I'm not gonna do anything. You're safe. I can clean it up, don't worry."

Chalky stood idly as he watched him wipe up the water. He began to slowly walk next to him again.

Broomer finished cleaning and threw the used paper towels in the trash. "You don't gotta be sorry. It was an honest mistake. It happens to me all the time when I use that pitcher, I'm used to it." Chalky stayed silent. "I can pour it out for you if you prefer." He nodded. 

Broomer poured more water into his cup and handed it to him. Chalkys hands were shaky as he took it from him. He took a small sip.

He saw Broomer pour out his own drink before taking a huge gulp from the jug. 

He put the two drinks back and turned back to Chalky. "You okay?" He hesitated, then nodded. "Good. C'mon, I'll let you choose the songs this time."

He took another sip of water as he followed Broomer back into his room.

He hoped desperately he wouldn't make another mess.

Chapter Text

Chalkys cup came up to his mouth every other second. His sips were tiny and non-filling. Broomer looked up at him from his laying position. His back was turned towards him. He was still thinking about how Chalky reacted earlier. 

He had spilled a lot of water using that pitcher, but no matter how much he spilled he never had such a... Visceral reaction. He wondered what else could've ever happened to him to make him react so intensely.

He passed the mp3 player to Chalky and tapped his shoulder. Chalky looked back at him, and he pointed to the mp3.

"You can play whatever you want. Just shuffle till you find something you like." He went back to his original position and put his hands behind his head.

Chalky put his water on the bedside drawer ontop of a coaster (That was suggesed by Broomer.) He shakily picked up the mp3 player and shifted through different songs. He eventually found one he liked and sat it down next to him. He pulled out his phone to make himself seem busy, but he barely had anything to look through.

♪ When the stars stop falling from the sky, I will hold your hand and hold you tight. ♪

♪ And the lights outside they'll never die, So I'll wait for you one more night. ♪

He mindlessly scrolled through his phone. He went through his gallery (filled with pictures of outside), clicked on different apps and then immediately left them, and just stared at his phone for minutes on end.

♪ With your voice in my head, And your heart in my bed, I don't know if I'll ever be free. ♪

He clicked on his messages. His most recent contacts were Broomer, his mom, and his dad. He hovered his thumb over his dads contact.

♪ And your voice is so slow, It says 'Don't let me go', I don't know if I'll ever be free. ♪

He clicked on it. He scrolled through the messages, the majority of them were requests from his dad.

He stopped on a particular message.

"Come here. Now."

It confused him. Most of his messages never came off that aggressive. The message was only from a few weeks ago. He tried to remember what could have gotten that kind of request out of him.

But then, it clicked.

Chalky was analyzing one of the many rocks sitting on his bedside drawers. He had collected many of them, and there was now a myriad of them on his dresser.

He studied the shape, the color, and the cracks. everything about rocks and crystals fascinated him and he loved comparing the ones he found. His phone buzzed. He put down the rock and checked his phone.

His eyes widened once he saw the notification on his screen.

"Come here. Now."

He set his phone down and quickly walked out of his room. His dad wasn't in the living room, so he was most likely in his room. He carefully opened the door, and he was met with his dad glaring back at him.

He walked in silently. His dad stared at him for a bit longer before he started to yell at a booming volume. "I'VE BEEN CALLING YOU FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG. WHAT WERE YOU DOING THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT YOU COULDNT LISTEN TO ME, HUH??"

He froze. He couldn't respond. No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't. His dad scoffed, "Whatever. I was calling you for a snack, but with how you've been acting, it better be something good."

He nodded before quickly walking out his room and into the kitchen. He looked through the cupboards and searched for any type of snack. He pulled down a cylindrical pack of oreos and headed back to his dads room.

He handed the pack over, and his dad snatched it away. Before Chalky could even step away, he gripped onto his arm tightly and dug his nails into his skin. "You better not ignore me like that again, you hear me?"

He nodded, and his dad let go. He quickly walked out of his room, and held onto his arm once he shut the door behind him. It was firm enough to hurt, but not enough to leave a bruise. He solemnly walked back to his room and closed the door.

He sat back down on his bed. He wasnt interested in looking at the rocks anymore. He didn't think it was fair to pass on his bad mood over to them.

Living in his dads house was the equivalent to living in hell in his eyes. He couldn't wait till it was time for him to switch to his moms house.

Chalky set his phone down. The song had switched, but he didn't care. He hugged his arms close to his torso, pushed up his sleeve, and started to scratch deeply into his skin. He had started to cry, but he didn't make a sound, he didn't dare to.

Pale white scratch marks covered his arm, and his skin started to rise. It hurt more and more to continue, but he kept going.

Broomer looked over at him. He could barely see what was happening from his position. He sat up to try and get a better look. He stopped scratching his arm and slowly tugged his sleeve back down once he felt the shift in weight.

Broomer tilted his head and saw just a glimpse of his arm before it was out of sight. He tapped on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Chalky shook his head.

They sat in silence before Broomer spoke up again. "Are you fine with me hugging you? You don't gotta say yes if you don't want me to." Chalky nodded. "You sure?" He nodded once more.

Broomer put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in slightly. A few seconds passed by before he felt Chalky put his hand on his.

They sat like that for a few minutes. They both reached a state of security and serenity. Unfortunately, it'd be too much for Chalky to handle soon. 

Eventually, his voice broke the silence. "Can you let me go please?.. Sorry..." Broomer let go of him, but still stayed close.

"No, its fine. You don't have to hug me for long if you don't want to." Chalky started picking at his skin. 

Broomer spoke up, "Hey, if you ever wanna talk to them, I can give you my friends phone numbers. They seem to have liked you in that last week you hung out with us." Chalky nodded. "Sure." 

"Great! I can put their numbers in your phone right now, if you want." Chalky unlocked his phone before handing it to him.

He didn't realize, but he had never exited out of the conversation with his dad.

Broomer didn't mention it, he didn't want his bad mood to get worse. 

He found where to create contacts, and put in GMs and Poisons numbers. He renamed Feathers contact from a random number to her name. He handed Chalkys phone back.

Chalky put his phone down again and didn't say a word. Broomer was worried that this wave of emotions was going to go on for even longer if he didn't do something about it.

"Hey, you want something to eat? I can get you something." He nodded. "You want something sweet? Something cold?" Chalky thought to himself for a moment.

"If you have ice cream... That would be nice." Broomer gave him a thumbs up before leaving his room.

It went silent again once he left the room. He left the door at a crack, so he could see him up until he turned to leave the hallway.

What happened earlier still had an effect on him, and what he just remembered didn't make it any better.

He didn't look Broomer straight in the face, but it wouldn't take an idiot to figure out that he was crying.

He wiped his face off with his sleeve. The scratch marks stung a little in contact with the fabric. 

He felt like a burden with the prolonged sadness he had been providing Broomer with. He was so happy not that long ago, but it was all just washed away with the most simple mistake.

He didn't deserve to be here anymore. He'd just bring the mood down.

He reached for his phone, but in that moment Broomer came back in.

"Hi! I'm not exactly sure what kind of ice cream you like, but I got you cookies and cream to be safe." Chalky returned his hands to his lap and looked up.

Broomer sat on the same side as him and handed him the bowl.

He adjusted his position on the bedside to get a better look at Chalky. "Are you okay? You seem a bit better now, but I don't wanna assume." He stirred the ice cream around with the spoon. He nodded.

Broomer sighed in relief, "Well, thats good." He stirred the ice cream around more, it eventually looked more like a paste the more it melted. 

Broomer was nothing short of confused. "Are you not hungry? or do you need me to spoon feed it to you?" He giggled a little at his own comment but paused to see Chalkys reaction.

He stopped dead in his tracks. He stopped stirring. He might as well have stopped breathing with how quiet it was.

Chalky turned to face him. "Really?" Broomers eyes widened. He scratched his head. "I mean, I was just joking."

He looked Chalky back in the eyes. Those dumb, pleading eyes. He couldn't say no. He gulped. "But... I don't got a problem with it if you don't." He looked back down at the bowl and handed it to Broomer.

He swirled the spoon around a few times to get a reasonable amount of ice cream, raised it up, and looked at Chalky.

He didn't see any complaints. He looked back at the spoon, and a smile formed on his face. "Here comes the airplane!" Chalky giggled as he did airplane engine noises, and fought a tiny bit to actually get the ice cream. 

Despite the play, it seemed... Weird. At the same time, it felt so weirdly affectionate. He felt abormally vulnerable, but he was sure Chalky felt the same way.

... Weirdly enough though, that didn't bother him.

Hs gathered more ice cream in the spoon and fed Chalky again. And again, and again.

The longer it went on, the more he felt a type of bond grow with Chalky that he could never form with anyone else.

He felt like he could do this forever, and he wouldn't have a problem with it.

Chapter Text

Broomer was rinsing the bowl that was used earlier. The ice cream residue mixed with the water and gave the it a grey-ish hue. Chalky looked over his shoulder. He still felt flustered from their moment earlier.

He wouldn't be surprised if his face was pink right now.

He put the bowl on the drying rack and turned to face Chalky. He fidgeted around with his sleeve as he tried to figure out what to say.

"Uhm... Dude, were you like, cool with that? It was all like, up close and personal... I still don't know if you were completely chill with that or not."

Chalky smiled. "Yeah! It was definitely different... But that's okay!" Confusion filled Broomers face.

He wasnt expecting such a positive reaction; if anything, he didn't know what he expected. He raised an eyebrow. "I was literally treating you like a 6-month-old."

Chalky made the same expression back. "Ok? And?" He chuckled a little, "Is that a problem?" Broomer stared at him for a while. This was weirdly out of character. His mind was completely blank. Just then, he got the perfect idea.

He swept down and reached under Chalky to pick him up bridal style, or in this context, like a 6-month-old. Chalky yelled as he was swiftly taken off the ground and looked around in shock.

He eventually registered what happened, and he exclaimed out, "Oh my god! Jesus, Broomer..." He chuckled and spun them both around in circles, which got more playful screams out of Chalky.

Whisk ran out of her room, curious of the noise, and gasped dramatically when she saw what was happening. She pointed and giggled as she spoke, "You're holdin him like a baby!!"

Chalky covered his face in embarrassment. He felt heat rise to his face. Broomer giggled before putting chalky down. Whisk got a few more snickers in before running back to her room.

He gave Chalky a pat on the back and tried to get a look at this face. "You good?" He waved him off while attempting to cover his face. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, i think I'm okay now."

Broomer chuckled. He had never seen something like this from Chalky before, and it made him laugh. It seemed like every other minute he saw something new about him.

He threw his arm over Chalkys shoulder and started to lead him back to his room. On the walk back, the whole situation played in his head again.

He was spoon feeding Chalky like a child, but he seemed like he took so much joy out of it. It was almost like he was waiting for something like this to happen.

He shook it off. He'd ask about it more in detail once they got to his room.

He pushed his door open and left the tiniest crack once they both got in. Broomer took his arm off his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Seriously though... What we did earlier? Are you sure you were okay with it? Like, how did it make you feel?"

It felt like he was asking himself more than he was asking him. Obviously Chalky didnt mind it, he'd made that almost painfully clear. But, how did he feel about it? 

Chalky sat on the side of his bed. "I mean... I felt vulnerable, but I didn't mind it. Especially since I was with you." His voice went quiet at that last sentence. He paused and looked at Broomer. He looked back with a bewildered expression. "... What did you say?"

Chalky giggled and waved his hand at him, "Nothing! I had no problems at all! I don't even mind if you want to do it again." Before Broomer could respond, he grabbed the mp3 player and shuffled through the songs.

Chalky got frustrated after the first ten or so songs. He handed it to broomer. "Here, you choose one."  Broomer laid down at the foot of his bed. He shuffled through the list.

Chalky crossed his arms and faced away from Broomer again, imitating their positions from earlier. 

He sat the mp3 player aside with a new song playing, one that hadn't played before.

♪ Baby, please try to forgive me, Stay here don't put out the glow ♪

♪ Hold me now don't bother, If every minute it makes me weaker, You can save me from the man that I've become, oh yeah ♪

They sat, unspeaking, as the song played. Chalky's mind hung onto every word. He always tried to find subliminal messages everywhere around him, and he was thinking about all the reasons why Broomer chose this song. 

He snapped out of it. He was probably thinking too deep into it anyway. 

1:18 pm.

Broomer turned on his phone. He got a text from his dad.

'You wanna go outside with your 'friend' for a bit? Maybe go out to shop at a convenience store?'

He didnt appreciate the quotes. That'd be nice though. They'd be able to get out of the house for a while, and wouldn't have to worry about his sister bothering them. He turned on autocorrect.

'sure, i dont have much money tho'

'I can give you some. $20 work?"

'yeah thats fine'

'Alright, get your friend and pop by my room.'

He turned his phone off and put it in his pocket. He had put a movie on, and Chalky was laying on his bed fast asleep. He gently shook him, and softly called out his name.

"Chalky... Chalky... Wake up, we need to go somewhere." His eyes twitched but stayed closed. His breathing sped up, but he turned away from Broomer. His face dropped in slight annoyance. He walked around the bed to face him.

He tried to think of ways that others had woken him up before. GM had always gently tapped him awake, but clearly that wasnt working. Poison never tried, and Feather always aggressively blew air into his face.

He could try that, but he'd put more care into it than Feather ever would.

He leaned closer to Chalky. He gently blew air into his face. Chalkys face scrunched up, and his eyes fluttered open for a moment. "Chalky. Wake up." He whined and rolled over again.

Broomers eyes narrowed. He brought his arms under Chalkys, and picked him up. Chalky yelled in response, and looked around frantically. He pried himself away from Broomers grip, and just barely calmed down once he realized who was picking him up.

He immediately felt like he messed up.

He sighed quietly and held his arms out. "I'm sorry. Come here." Chalky hesitantly crawled across, and he hugged him tightly with his knees still on the bed. Broomer ran his fingers through his hair.

If he had a crush on him now, he thought it wouldn't be too awkward to do crush-like things. Though, this felt much more like a relationship type thing. 

But they weren't in a relationship. This was just normal crush things. At least he thought it was. He hadn't had a crush on anyone in a while. 

Chalky wiped away any tears he had and pulled away.

Broomer felt super awkward. "Sorry for waking you up like that, nothing else was working." 

"Sorry for not waking up any other way. Next time you try, just be a little gentler about it. I usually wake up kinda slow." Broomer nodded in understanding.

"Anyway... I was trying to wake you up because my dad said we could go out. Go shopping or something." Chalky rubbed his eyes and stood up from the bed. "Okay."

He followed broomer out of his room. He turned to Chalky before they reached his dads. "My dad is offering to give me some money if we buy something." Chalky gave him a thumbs up.

Broomer knocked on his dads door. His dad opened it a few seconds later. "Was wondering when you'd show up, took you a while." He handed a 20-dollar bill to Broomer, waved, and closed his door.

Luckily they were able to get out before Whisk noticed them both. They were walking to the convivence store right up the street. They had no idea what they were getting, but 20 dollars at cheap stores could get them at least a handful of things.

They opened the door and the bell atop the door rang when they entered. A friendly "Hello!" came from behind the register.

The store wasnt really that big, you could walk in a circle around the entire building in under a minute. Broomer looked at the freezers near the back and looked at Chalky. "You want anything cold?" He shook his head.

They walked around the aisles. Every once in a while, Chalky would sneak glances to the alcohol freezers. They reached the candy aisle and started scanning. Broomer took something from one of the hooks. "They got york candy here dude! These are amazing."

Chalky shrugged. "They seem good... Maybe. I'm not a big fan of candy that makes your mouth feel cold." Broomer clutched the bag next to him "Well, I like them, and we're getting them." Chalkys eyes fell on the gummies. He pulled a pack of gummy sharks from the hook.

"I really like gummies. I mainly like the chewing aspect though... The taste is a hit or miss depending on the flavor. I only eat blue raspberry when it comes to candy like this."

He picked up a bag of jolly ranchers as well. "And these! We can share if you like them." Broomer nodded excitedly, "Absolutely! I love jolly ranchers."

They brought their candy bags to the counter. The cashier smiled at them. Chalky took a long, hard look at her before pointing at her. "Moonstone? Is that you?" She recognized him in return. "Chalky? I wasn't expecting to see you here of all places. Isn't your mom rich or something?"

"Well – Yeah, but, I'm here with a friend, Moon!" Moonstone started to scan their items. She squinted at Broomer. "I worked with you on a project! Your name was Broomer, right?" He nodded. "Yup. I remember you too." 

"Wow, if I were to see anyone together I'd never expect it to be you two." She bagged their items. Chalky didn't say anything in response to her comment. If anything, he'd never expect them to be together, either. 

"Yo, is that Latte back there?" A worker who was sitting on a spin-around chair turned around to face the party. His eyes were still glued to his phone. "Hey."

Moonstone clicked around on the employee computer. "Weren't you guys a thing back in like, 8th grade?" Chalky hung on that sentence. Latte and Broomer? A thing? Whatever. It was back in 8th grade and they would be entering their senior year. It didn't matter. 

"Yeah, but we ended it off on good terms. He acts more or less the same when we're not dating vs when we were." Moonstone giggled. "So true. You barely see anything but monotone out of him. Your total is $7.50." 

Broomer put his hand in his pocket and handed her the 20. "You got sent here with a 20? Don't tell anybody, but I'll just give you 13 back." She handed him the change and their bag. 

"Thank you. Oh, by the way, do you know if Clay's throwing a party this year?" She tapped her chin. "Oh yeah! They are. I'm definitely going, you?" 

"You know it. See you there." Chalky sputtered as he tried to respond. "U-Uh, see you later, Moon." 

She waved goodbye as they both walked out the door. 

Chalky immediately pulled a gummy sharks out of the bag. "Clay throws parties?" Broomer looked down at him with confusion, he thought it was common knowledge. "Duh. They throw some every summer right after the year ends. You wanna come with me to one?"

Chalky gulped down one of the candies. "Sure. I bet... It'll be fun." Truthfully, he had never been to any party outside of birthdays. But, as long as Broomer was with him, it'd be fine.

Chapter Text

Saturday, June 8th, 6:30pm.

'so? how was the sleepover?'

'oh hey gm. it was pretty good, we mainy just chiled and watched a movie'

'thats nice!! he do anything that seemed crush-like to you? ik its kinda hard for u to pick up on that stuff but did he??'

'wow. that was quik. but uh'

'... does cvuddling up next to me in the middle of the night count?"

'WHAT??????'

Broomer covered his face in embarrassment as his phone laid in his lap. Even if they weren't face to face, this was almost as humiliating. He picked his phone back up.

'yeah yeah ik. i wasnt expecting it eithr, but he was like half asleep and he was all close to me'

'u know the phrase 'drunk words are sober thoughts'? thats basically what just happened to you but he was just tired'

'goddddd. u fr think he has a crush on me? like deadass? like i JUST found out the dude is gay'

'yes??? there is absolutely NO way that boy doesnt have a crush on u. please get ur mind together i beg'

'i mean we also hung out again today. something weird happened also. jesus maybe i am dumb'

'did he suggest that yall kiss???'

'no. i fed him like a baby bro.'

He placed his phone face down. He took a big, deep breath. Whenever GM interrogates him, it's like she suddenly loses all her optimistic cheer, and it instead gets replaced with a modern Sherlock Holmes.

He flipped his phone back up and reluctantly looked at the screen.

'i need you to think LONG and HARD about this broomer. go eat dinner so your mind can think straight'

'alright alright whaterverrr'

That was right. He had excused himself right after making dinner. Maybe he did need to eat something. He was hungry anyway.

"NO! WHY?"

Chalky had just recieved the most terrible news ever.

"Well, since I picked you up so early in the week, and we made a mututal agreement to switch you every Saturday, I... unfortunately have to bring you to your fathers." Tears started to form at the corner of his eyes.

"But I wanna stay with you! Please mom, you can't make me go back there!" His mom brought him in for a tight, long hug.

"I'm so sorry honey. I would love to keep you, but, it just can't work. Plus, your dad has been asking for you anyway."

Yeah. To be his slave. That's all Chalky was to him. "But I don't wanna goo..." He cried into his moms shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Go and pack anything you want to bring to his, okay?"

He unwillingly pulled away from his mom. He dragged his feet as he walked back to his room. His beautiful, colorful room.

He grabbed his comfort blanket and his water bottle. That was about all he could trust to bring to his dads house. 

If his dad were to break any of his figurines... He would honestly be more willing to fight his own father.

He looked longingly at his most prized items. He'd have to kiss them all goodbye for another painful week. He slowly closed his door and faced back to his mom. "...I'm ready."

He wasn't, but it's not like he had a choice.

He blinked. He was in his moms car. He stared at the many houses as they drove by. He could see Clay hug their parents goodbye before they both got in the car.

That was cue for a party soon. He could see Moonstone head back into her house.

He saw Broomers house. A faint orange glow came from the front window. Before he knew it, he was at his dads house. He groaned. His mom opened her door. "C'mon honey."

He walked out of the car with his mom. He gave her one last hug before unlocking the door to the house he dreaded the most.

Monday, June 10th, 8:05 pm.

'clay, dude. whens ur party gonna start'

'like... in a few minutes. were almost ready getting everything set up. my bros gonna leave soon after i let everyone in'

'ur parties are open invite right?"

'yeah duh. they always are.'

'alr cool, ill be there soon'

Broomer switched recipients.

'u need me to walk with yo for clays party???'

'no i know where it is , ill be fine'

'if u say so. see u there'

He put his phone back in his pocket. Everyone in his house was asleep by now. He sneaked around the house and locked the door once he got outside.

With the sun not shining directly down on him, and the weirdly cool breeze, it made the humidity not nearly as unbearable.

He saw the colorfully lit windows of a house not too far down the road. That was what he was looking for. As he got closer, he noticed the many other students in the shadows.

About everybody was here. Guess you really couldn't resist a Clay party.

Soon, the door opened. "Come on in everybody!" All the students filed in at once. As he walked in, he was reminded of why these parties were always thrown at their house.

They had these high, cathedral ceilings, a huge kitchen island, a flat screen tv, and a huge pool in their backyard. They had it all.

To be honest, it was pretty similar to Chalky's house. Except, he doubted he'd allow that many people into his house at once.

There was a second story, (which wasn't blocked off) and a hallway connected to the living room (which also wasn't blocked off, but Clay's room was labeled.) He saw his friends, acquaintances, and even some complete strangers.

He had already seen a few chug down whatever beverage they got their hands on. If it was a high school party, there had to be alcohol somewhere.

He wasn't much of a drinker, but he did occasionally have a smoke once in a while. Speaking of...

"Hey Clay, you got any cigs around here?" They felt around their pockets. "I... I think I have some in my room. Don't be scared to try the drinks this time, yeah? I don't just have beer. I poured a buncha fruity cocktails out if you wanna get your hands on them."

They looked around. They got closer to him and whispered. "I also got a few bottles of stronger stuff in the cabinets. Stole em." They flashed a smug smile before running down the hallway.

He walked towards the kitchen counters. There was a punch bowl. He grabbed a cup and poured some and then took a swig. Tangy and somewhat salty. He took a glance near the door, and saw Chalky awkwardly walking in.

He rushed towards the door to meet him. "Hey! Nice to see you!" Broomer saw him cautiously look around at his new surroundings. "Yeah, it's a lot to take in when you first go to one. You'll get used to it though, don't worry."

The two walked further into the house, and Clay came back with the promised cigarettes. "Here, man. You can have the pack; I got more in there. Here's a lighter too." Broomer graciously accepted the items, and they ran back to mingle with other partygoers.

"You smoke?" Broomer sputtered. "U-Uh... Only sometimes. It's really only like a special occasion thing. This is a special occasion." Chalky looked up at him with uncertainty.

"Uh... I'm gonna go out on the porch. I don't trust smoking around an active pool, nor do I want to go over there in general. You wanna stay in here?"

Chalky sighed. "Sure. I'll find something to do." Broomer pat him on the back. "I shouldn't be out there for long. Don't go too far." Broomer walked out of the house.

He was left by himself, and he analyzed the sheer number of activities going on around him.

A group of people were piled up on the couch watching some type of tv show, people were congregated around the kitchen, red solo cups in hand, and through a clear sliding door, he could see multiple people taking fully clothed dips in the pool.

"Hey! Chalky! I didn't expect you to be here!" He turned around to see Moonstone, a cup in her hand. "Oh, hey Moon. Me neither, heh. I'm only here because my friend is." Moonstone grabbed her friend's hand. Her tone was more elated than usual.

"Y'know... I've missed you." He tried to pull away, but she was insistent. "I uh... Missed you too. We haven't talked in a while." She wobbled a little. "We should... We should talk more often." Chalky raised an eyebrow. "Are you tipsy?"

She smiled. "Maybe. I've had like... two, three cups, maybe. Cocktails don't really get you drunk that quick. I'm also a pretty frequent drinker, I think."

Well. That was new. "I've uh... never drank before. I only know the effects cause my dad does." She covered her mouth. "Oh no! You don't have to if you don't wanna. If anything, I don't think you'd enjoy it."

She leaned in closer, but only to do a whisper-yell. "I heard something about like... Mentally ill people are like the most affected by alcohol and stuff."

"...Okay. Good to know." Moonstone giggled. "No problem! Stay safe!" She walked away from him, a few stumbles along her way. He wasn't planning on it, especially since he'd inferred he'd be a lightweight. But, for some reason, he was drawn to the drinks on the counter.

He stared down at the drinks. A punch bowl, and several beer and hard seltzer cans. He glanced down at a cracked open cabinet below him. He opened it to see small bottles of vodka, whiskey, and tequila. 2 of each. He had seen all of these and more on the floor of his dad's room.

He crouched down to grab the vodka and poured a small amount into one of the red cups (due to the fact there weren't any shot glasses around.)

He inhaled. He gulped it down. He cringed the moment it settled. It stung, but it was manageable. He poured a small amount in his cup again. He cautiously put the bottle back in the cupboard. He gulped down his cup again.

Same stinging feeling again. But his chest started to feel a bit warm. He resisted reaching back into the cabinet for another shot. He walked away from the kitchen, and to the living room.

He recognized the show they were all watching, but he could not for the life of him grasp onto the theme. A sudden shot of pain plagued his head.

He blinked a few times, and a few people had already left the couch to do something else. He sat down next to Latte. "Sooo, how're you doing?" The white-haired teen glanced up from his phone to look at him.

"Could be better. This party is so mainstream. I'm here for whatever drama occurs." Chalky could only wonder what that meant.

He looked back up at the TV. Was this still the same show? He couldn't tell. "Welll... Have fun with that." He let his hands feel the couch. It felt oddly soft.

He looked over at the slide doors. People were jumping in the pool. They all seemed so happy.

He got up from the couch. He was gonna go out there and take a look. Maybe he'd jump in the pool, too. His balance felt tampered with as he tried to make it past the other dancing partyers. Just then, he could hear someone call out his name.

"Chalky! Chalky, where are you?" He looked back to see the body connected to the voice. Broomer! He walked over to him quickly, almost tripping. "Hi! I was just about to go to the pool! Ooh, what's that?"

Broomer looked down at his half full cup. "Uh, just some cocktail, why?"

"Can I have some? Pleaseee?" He hesitantly handed the cup over to him. "You can have it if you want. I'm not a big drinker." Chalky took it with enthusiasm. "Thank you thank you!!" He chugged down the entire thing. "Woah. Are you good?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" Broomer put a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful with the drinking and stuff, alright?" Chalky pulled away and was ready to head to a new destination. "Yeah yeahh. Whatever."

He rubbed his temples. "So, I'm gonna have to deal with a drunk Chalky tonight. Great."

The room spun. Chalky only remembered the warm feeling of more alcohol entering his system. He couldn't remember just how much more he had. He was on the couch right in front of the TV.

The house was loud and bright. He struggled to look over at the person next to him. Micro. He hadn't seen him in a while. At least he didn't think he did. His words were drawn on as he attempted to speak.

"Heyy... Micro, is t-that youu...?" The other teen looked at him cautiously. "Hey Chalky. You okay?"

"Yeahh... Are you having funn?" Micro looked back at the TV. "Yeah, this is pretty standard for Clay's parties. I'm a bit buzzed, but I haven't drunk much."

Chalky was suddenly enthralled by his looks, his face. They had dated a long time ago, but he didn't remember how long they even lasted.

Maybe he still liked him? What did people even do with the people they liked, anyway?

"I... I think I'm unaffected. I'm probably jus tired." Micro dryly chuckled. "Sure, buddy." Chalky still kept his focus on his face. They eventually wandered down to his lips.

People kissed the people they liked. Maybe if he gave him a kiss, he'd know.

It's not like anyone would notice. Everyone was too busy doing something else anyway. He got closer, grabbed Micros' face, and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Micro was freaking out. "Chalky?! What are you --" He gave him another. He wasn't sure what the first one made him feel. He got pushed away. "Chalky, I... I don't see you like that anymore. Just, I'll see you later."

Chalky started to cry. His body was half laid on the couch. Barely a second later, Broomer was over him, flustered. "Chalky, WHAT are you doing??" He couldn't speak. He was too worried about his new-found sadness.

He could feel himself getting picked up. "Maybe I should just take you home..." Before Chalky had a chance to react, they could hear loud chants coming from near the middle of the house.

They looked over to see a crowd of people making a circle around Feather and Poison. The chants were too loud to be able to hear the duo's words to each other.

GM was standing on the outside of the circle. A random partygoer yelled out, almost deafeningly. "These two souls are now combined together in one! Happy marriage!"

A phone had been raised to take a photo, or maybe it had already been taking a video of the entire thing.

Both Feather and Poison questioned the "priest." Poison could see her girlfriend walk away from the circle.

Broomer cringed. "Ooh shit... that's gonna be a real interesting thing to deal with later." He shared an almost second long look of concern with GM before he saw her walk out the house.

He looked back down at Chalky. "It's about time we do the same. C'mon." He put his arm over his shoulder. Chalky whined. "Nooo... I... I don't wanna go home. Dad is gonna beat me and yell at me againn..." His eyes widened. "Huh?"

Tears started to fall. "He's gonna be so mad... A-and then he'll punish me and be all mean and he's gonna lock me in my room for the entire week." Broomer walked out of the entrance with him.

"Fine, then I'll... I'll take you home with me. But, I'm gonna have to wake you up early or sneak you out. Or worst comes to worst, hide you and then sneak you out."

"Whatever... Jus... Don't make me go back to himm..." The two walked down the road together. Despite the assistance, he still stumbled and couldn't make out anything happening around him. He looked at Broomer (or at least in his general direction.)

"I... I love you." They stopped. "Huh?"

"I love you... You're... so nice." Broomer looked back at the road. "Thanks. You're nice too. Let's get you to my house."

He closed his eyes. Hopefully he'd be laying down soon.

Chapter Text

Monday, June 10th, 8:05pm.

'u need me to walk with yo for clays party???'

'no i know where it is , ill be fine'

'if u say so. see u there'

Chalky put his phone in his pocket. He took a deep breath. This would be the first (and hopefully last) time he'd sneak out of his dad's house. He opened his window and evnetually hooked his body over it.

If Broomer were here, it would've been so much easier. He dropped himself from his window. He rubbed his shoulder, the one that unfortantely made contact with the ground first.

Clay's house was pretty far from his dads. It'd take a while.

He started his trek. He secretly hoped that the party were to have already started once he got there. It'd be kind of awkward for a bunch of people he knew to approach him just because he was attending a party.

The breeze tonight was nice. Cold breezes at night where they were from weren't very common.

After about 5 minutes of walking, he could see colorfully lit windows, and could hear loud music booming from the inside. This was the house.

He walked up the steps of the houses porch. He opened up the door. The music got that much louder, and the colors he could only slightly see from the window got that much more vibrant.

Broomer noticed him. "Hey! Nice to see you!" He must've noticed him shooting his gaze all over the place, since he got a bit closer and spoke with a more hushed tone.

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in when you first go to one. You'll get used to it though, dont worry." He gulped and followed him further into the house.

Suddenly, Clay came around the corner with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in hand.

"Here, man. You can have the pack, I got more in there. Here's a lighter too." Broomer accepted the items with a smile. They ran back to join with the other members of the party.

Chalky looked up at him. "You smoke?" He seemed caught off guard. "U-Uh... Only sometimes. It's really only like a special occasion thing. This is a special occasion."

He looked at Broomer with uncertainty.

"Uh... I'm gonna go out on the porch. I don't trust smoking around an active pool nor do I want to go over there in general. You wanna stay in here?"

He didn't, but he enjoyed the fumes of cigarettes less. "Sure. I'll find something to do." Broomer pat him on the back.

"I shouldn't be out there for long. Don't go too far." He walked out onto the porch.

He lit the cigarette. He put it to his lips, inhaled, then exhaled. Smoking gave him a sense of relaxation (compared to his friends, which said it gave them a buzz of energy.)

The dimly lit streets, and the still audible music, reminded him of the older parties at this house.

There wasn't much to focus on, but that honestly made the smoke go by faster. A partygoer walked out on the porch with him. "Hey."

"Oh, hey Latte. Can't say I'm surprised you're here. But don't you like, barely ever drink though?" He leaned against the house.

"I'm here for drama. Something always happens at these parties. It makes for awesome Insta stories."

"Hm. True." He stared down at his drink. He swished it around. "I'm pretty sure that you dont drink either." Broomer chuckled. "I'm just here cause I've started coming every year. Plus, it's an excuse for me to smoke."

Latte shrugged. "I'm gonna go back inside. I just needed a breath of fresh air. Fresh starts of a party always unsettle me the most." He headed back into the house.

Broomer finished his cigarette after a while and extinguished the butt with his shoe. He headed back inside. He decided it'd be better to call for Chalky than aimlessly wander around the house looking for him.

"Chalky! Chalky, where are you?" He could hear the footsteps of Chalky quickly approaching him and could see him almost trip right before reaching him. That was different.

He swore he had to have left him alone for 5 minutes at the least.

"Hi! I was just about to go to the pool! Ooh, what's that?" Broomer looked down at his half full cup. "Uh, just some cocktail, why?"

"Can I have some? Pleaseee?" He hesitantly handed the cup over to him. "You can have it if you want. I'm not a big drinker." Chalky took it with enthusiasm. "Thank you thank you!!"

He chugged down the entire thing.

"Woah. Are you good?" Of all the things he'd be expecting to see tonight, Chalky downing a drink was not one of them.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" Broomer put a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful with the drinking and stuff, alright?" Chalky pulled away and was ready to head to a new destination. "Yeah yeahh. Whatever."

Chalky headed over to the pool. Maybe he'd meet a new friend there.

"I don't know dude. I'm contemplating just accompanying him the rest of the night. Of all people, I would never expect him to get drunk so quickly."

Clay shrugged. "If you want to you can. It would've been better if you had done that about 5 minutes ago. Two or three and he'd be done for." Broomer rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, dude. If anything, I'm surprised you're not drunk." They scoffed. "I never get drunk if I'm the one hosting the party. My parents may be out, but I don't need to be dealing with a hangover the morning after and cleaning up a mess a bunch of wasted teenagers made."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go find Chalky and see if he's okay." Something caught Clay's eye.

"Yeah, you go do that. Looks like a circle is forming. I'm gonna go check out what it's about." They ran over to the growing group of people.

He walked around the house. He saw Chalky pulling Micro in for what seemed like a kiss.

Suddenly, he couldn't think straight.

He quickly walked over to the scene. He could see Micro push him over and leave the couch. He didn't register what he said. He didn't care.

He stood over Chalky. "Chalky, WHAT are you doing??" Only a few whimpers and whines came out of him as he turned around on the couch, tears were falling from his eyes.

He picked him up from below his arms. "Maybe I should just take you home..." Before he had any time to fight back, they turned their heads to the loud chants coming from near the middle of the house.

 They looked over to see a crowd of people making a circle around Feather and Poison. The chants were too loud to be able to hear the duo's words to each other.

GM was standing on the outside of the circle. A random partygoer yelled out, almost deafeningly. "These two souls are now combined together in one! Happy marriage!"

He could see a familiar phone raised from the crowd, taking a video.

Both Feather and Poison questioned the "priest." Poison could see her girlfriend walk away from the circle.

He cringed. "Ooh shit... That's gonna be a real interesting thing to deal with later." As GM was walking out, they shared a look.

His was full of concern and sympathy. Hers was filled with betrayal and sadness. She left the house.

He looked back down at Chalky. "It's about time you do the same. C'mon." He put his arm over his shoulder. Chalky whined.

"Nooo... I... I don't wanna go home. Dad is gonna beat me and yell at me againn..." His eyes widened. "Huh?"

That was definitely new. He had inferred some toxic family relationships between the two. But he didn't think it went that far.

Tears started to fall from his eyes. "He's gonna be so mad... A-and then he'll punish me and be all mean and he's gonna lock me in my room for the entire week."

Broomer walked out of the entrance with him. "Fine, then I'll... I'll take you home with me. But, I'm gonna have to wake you up early or sneak you out. Or worst comes to worst, hide you and then sneak you out."

"Whatever... Jus... Don't make me go back to himm..." The two walked down the road together. Despite the assistance, he still stumbled and stepped on Broomer's feet occasionally.

Out of nowhere, he heard a sentence. A sentence he swore was just his imagination.

"I... I love you." They stopped. "Huh?"

Drunk words are sober thoughts. He heard it, exactly in GM's voice.

"I love you... You're... so nice." He looked back at the road. "Thanks. You're nice too. Let's get you to my house."

He couldn't dare utter that sentence back. Especially not to someone drunk. Maybe he'd tell him much, much later. When he was sober.

All he needed now was to get him to lay down.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, June 11th, 9:05 am.

Chalkys eyes fluttered.

Boom. An intense, skull-crushing headache immediately hit him.

"Ow..." Broomer looked down at him. "Nice to see you're awake. I got you some water. You remember anything from last night?"

Realistically? No. Absolutely not. Broomer opened up the bottle of water and handed it over to him. "Not really..." He sipped the water.

"My... My memory kinda stops at when I saw you leave the house. I think I had a few shots." He took another sip of water.

"The way you were acting, it was more than just a few. You chugged down my cocktail, and I had to stop you from drinking vodka straight from the bottle. Did you even eat before you came? It looked like it hit you pretty hard."

"No... I don't think so." Broomer sighed. "I have to remember you've never been to a party before. Number 1 rule, you gotta eat something beforehand so you don't crash out 5 minutes into a party." Chalky groaned. "Would've been nice if you told me..."

"You better be glad I know how to deal with hangovers. I got my curtains closed for a reason. I really hope you're not that nauseous, I don't have a bathroom connected to my room, nor am I having you throw up in a bucket."

He turned over. "Well don't say it! That'll make me think about it!"

He reluctantly drank more from the water bottle. "I feel like shit... I'm never drinking again." Broomer rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what they all say."

Chalky sat up (albeit with a lot of struggle.) "Why are you being all snappy with me? I don't remember shit from last night, so how am I supposed to know what's wrong with you?!"

Broomer turned to face him with more than a hint of aggression on his face. "You-!" He took a deep breath. He turned back away from him. "I saw you kissing someone last night." His eyes widened. "Who?"

"Micro."

Crap. Fuck. Of all the people it could've been, he kissed HIM?

But, why did it bother him? Could it be?..

"Ok. Before I say this, I do not like him. Used to, but not anymore. Why does that bother you?" Broomer bit his lip.

"Cause. You could've gotten in trouble. Drunk people always kiss people they have no chance with."

Weird. "Whatever." Chalky drank more water. "So, what am I supposed to do? I really don't want to go back to my dad's house while I'm like this. Everything feels like it's doubled in volume... And that would suck if I had to deal with my dad yelling at me."

Broomer stood up. "I don't know. I might have to keep you here till tomorrow if that's the case. Hangovers last a while." He took a deep breath in. "Sorry for being all aggressive. It's not cool of me. I should be helping you out."

Chalky drank more water before setting it on his bedside table. "It's fine. I might be a little rude too... I kinda get that way when I'm irritable."

The silence, if only for a brief moment, felt sickening. Broomer broke the silence.

"My mom is already at work. Dads started to leave a bit earlier too, so I'll be able to make you something to eat in a bit." Chalky groaned.

"I don't know if I could even stomach down anything right now..." He closed the water bottle for him. "Well, you're not gonna make it through the day without at least some carbs."

"If you say so. If he's gonna be here any longer, can I just take a nap till then? I'm so tired..." Broomer waved him off. "Go ahead. I don't care. Just don't leave my room."

"Alright." He laid his head back down. In his last few seconds of consciousness, he could see him walk out of the room.

He woke up to dinging from Broomers phone. He rubbed his temples. He weakly turned his head to face the bedside table.

It seemed like it was going off every 5 seconds. It was better his phone than Chalkys. If it was his phone, then he'd really be in trouble.

Broomer came in with a plate and a glass of orange juice. "Got you some toast, eggs, and juice. Try to at least have some." He sat up and took a look at the food plated in front of him.

He took a small bite of the toast. He gagged a few seconds after it went down. "Please tell me your dad is gone by now. I need to throw up."

"Fuck. Come on." Broomer helped him get up and practically pulled him to their bathroom. "I'll let you do this in here. Call me if you need any help."

He quickly closed the door and leaned against the wall on the other side. Even with the door in the way, he could still hear his violent retching. And the occasional tired groan.

On Chalkys side, his throat and mouth burned. After a certain point, he wasn't even throwing up food or drink anymore, just straight stomach acid. He spit up any of the traces in his mouth that he could get with his tongue.

He weakly panted with his face in the toilet bowl, eyes closed, to avoid him throwing up again from just the sight of it. He stood up and flushed the toilet.

He opened the door. "I'm done... For now." Broomer pat him on the back. "Come on." They headed back to his room, to which he was then pushed to take another bite of toast. Which, this time, he didn't throw right back up.

He took a sip of his juice. "Did anything else happen I don't know about? Your phone was buzzing like crazy when I woke up." Broomer glared at his phone before quickly picking it up.

"Shit. Okay. So, at the party, someone decided it'd be a great idea to "marry" Poison and Feather, and GM walked out of the party very... Upset." He covered his mouth.

"They seemed like a nice couple! There's no way she'd take some probably drunk guys words as serious... Right?" Broomer gripped and pulled at his hair.

"I don't know. I doubt she had any idea of what was going on, or if a circle was even forming. Since you couldn't hear them over the music and everybody else yelling, I don't think she knows that it was a misunderstanding."

Chalky couldn't eat. His newfound friends were already falling apart. Broomer frantically texted. He put his phone to his ear.

"I'll try calling her. You stay and try to eat or drink something." He rushed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

He could hear distressed pleading and almost yells from the other side. He stared down at the food, getting colder and colder the more he let it sit.

His eyes stayed on the door, wondering when it would stop.

It never did.

10:15 am.

The toast and eggs were thrown in the garbage. Chalky sipped on his orange juice (that was previously refilled.) He took a deep breath. "So, how are they?"

"GM is still mad, Feather is trying to reassure Poison, and Poison is being reassured. I couldn't tell you how close to the textbook definition her 'reassurance' is." Broomer put his face in his hands.

"They're gonna try... And meet up. Rehash stuff. I don't know when that'll happen though. It's kinda hard to get her to calm down."

"Well, at least they're making an effort to fix things." Knowing himself, he'd be too anxious to even talk about it, or think about it, for that matter. Well, with a level head at least.

"I wonder what'd that even look like though. Feather seems aggressive, Poison was always kinda standoffish... And it seems hard to imagine a mad GM." Broomer chuckled dryly. "Oh boy. If only you knew the ups and lows of freshman year."

He sat up straight. His eyes were unfocused. "We were friends back in 8th, and then in freshman year, those two started dating. If someone even looked at Poison the wrong way, she'd knock their skull."

Chalky looked at him in shock. "For real? Like, actually?" He nodded. "She's lucky her parents have 'connections', or else, she woulda been expelled."

"She calmed down sophomore and this junior year though. If anything, the part I'm most afraid of is GM reverting back to freshman her when they get back together." Chalky raised an eyebrow. "When?"

He snickered. "Yeah. They've had their breaks from each other, but something never lets them stay apart for long. It's like, a forever blessing or something." Chalky could find his own mind become more optimistic.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe... This summer would be decent.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, June 12th, 12:45pm.

bandboy_: so when r yall planing to do this???

shimmernshine: friday, i think. idk am i correct on that??

Toxicc_: Yeah. We both agreed on Friday. Around noon.

shimmernshine: alrighttt great. cant wait to see yall.

bestbabysitta: im still not happy, but ill be looking foward to see your explanations.

bandboy_: good luck

Broomer put his phone in his pocket. "Well, are you ready to go home?" Chalky sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be." He put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, If you need to talk, you have my number."

Chalky reluctantly walked out of Broomers room, and in extension, his house. He felt nauesous. Not because of a hangover, but pure fear.

He hadn't been home for a whole day and a few hours. He was lucky if he ended up alive after looking his dad in the face. He had never snuck out before, and his dad wasn't afraid of yelling at him, or hitting, or pushing him then. What would happen now?

He felt his limbs shake. His legs were wobbly, and he could feel the twitching of his fingers as he walked closer and closer to his house. He took a deep breath.

Upon walking up to his door, he realized his house keys were inside. He had snuck out after all.

He scurried to the side of the building, and was met with a calico cat curled up near the base of their house. He gazed at it, and took tiny, small steps before carefully squatting down.

The cats ears perked up, and looked towards Chalky. It stood up and walked towards him. "Hey there... How are you?" It took a few more steps closer. "I'm sorry I dont have any food for you. You were a surprise."

The cats ears twitched. It began to nuzzle its head up against his leg. "Aww, hello kitty. You like me?" He cautiously began to pet its head, which it reacted positively to.

"Good kitty." He continued to coo at and pet the cat, which it seemed to be loving. "Do you belong to anyone? You take to me awfully well." He checked its neck for any collars or any visible signs of ownership. He saw none.

"You must meet a lot of people if you're this okay with me. Though, I wouldn't want you to stay a stray..." He thought for a moment. If he could get this cat to bond enough with him, maybe he could own it.

"I'll give you a name for now. I don't have any collars, so... A name will have to do." He gazed at the cat. "Well, you're a calico, and most of them are female. But... I don't think your gender should influence your name."

He scraped his mind for ideas. He wasn't looking for anything too complex. Maybe something simple would do.

"How about... Mr. Whiskers? I know you're a girl, but, I think it rolls off the tongue." He pet Mr. Whiskers. She leaned into his hand. "You like that? Mr. Whiskers?" She meowed.

Chalky giggled. "Okay, Mr. Whiskers it is." He continued to pet and praise his new cat.

He sighed. "I'm not sure if you'll be able to come in the house... I'd have to sneak you." He gazed up at his window. "Stay right here, I'll be right back." He stood up and started his misson.

He used the ridges of the side of his house to climb up, and then pushed himself in his room. Luckily, it wasn't that bad of a fall. Now, all he had to deal with was his dad.

He creaked open the door. His dad was fast asleep, snoring and everything. He took a quick look in the fridge. No cat food, but they did have some turkey. He hurriedly took some out and rushed out of the house.

He went around the side again to see the cat still there. He held his hand out. Mr. Whiskers crawled towards it in curiosity. She took a curious bite, and then took it away from him.

She chewed and ripped at the piece until she had finished the entire thing. Chalky reached out to pet her. "Good girl. I think I might be able to keep you. Lets take a photo."

He pulled his phone out and took a selfie with his new cat. He opened up his chat with Broomer.

'guess who i met today :3'

"I hope he likes you as much as I do. You're adorable." He glanced back to the front door. "C'mere baby, I'll bring you inside." He extended his hands out towards her, which she promptly came to. He used both hands to pick her up, and carefully made his way back into his house.

He successfully made it to his room and set her down on his bed. "Now you just need to stay in here... I don't know how long it'll take for dad to realize you're here. I really hope it's not soon."

He moved one of the pillows to be positioned right next to her head. "I don't know if you're sleepy, but I hope it's comfortable enough. Let me see if I can get you some more food." He left his room and closed the door behind him, only to be met with the person he wanted to see the least.

His dad was bent over looking in their refrigerator.

Once he closed it and looked back at Chalky, a terrifying grimace appeared on his face. "And just where have you been for the past day?"

Nothing he could come up with would get him out of this. He knew better. No possible response could save him from what would happen next.

"I..." He gulped. "...I snuck out."

Heavy, aggressive steps approached him. "Say that again."

His breathing got uneven. "I snuck out."

His dad put his hand on his shoulder, and squeezed. "You know better. I know you know better." Chalky choked.

"Y-yes. I know. I'm sorry." A tear rolled down his cheek. Within the next second, he felt a quick, rough hit to his face. He couldn't move.

"You think about what you did. I gotta go get groceries." His dad turned away. His hand shakily went up to cup his cheek. He hadn't remembered the last time his dad slapped him so hard.

He watched in unmoving silence as his dad walked out the house. He stared. Not anywhere in particular, he just stared. In the silence, impulsivity took over him. He began to roughly hit himself in the leg. Each word he said was complimented by a rough strike. "You. Fucking. Idiot."

He closed his eyes tightly. Something was telling him to go into his dads room. He trudged his way over to his door. He opened it to reveal a messy, unruly space.

He looked around in awe at the area. But then, something caught his eye. Two little plastic bags sat on his messy bedstand drawer. One bag filled with white powder, another filled with various vibrant colored tablets. He took a closer look at them.

Cocaine and ecstacy. He had learned about drug safety his freshman year, and these ones were painfully distinct. His gaze was stuck on them for a long time.

He inched closer and closer to the bedstand. In the height of his episode, he snatched them away.

1:08 pm.

Broomer checked his phone. He was surprised to have seen a message from Chalky already, and it was a few minutes old. He tapped on the notification.

"Aww." He lovingly looked at the selfie he had sent. "That's such a cute kitty. Didn't know there were cats around here." He texted a response.

'aw theyre so cute! i dont think ive ever seen a cat around lol'

He looked at the photo again. "Especially not a calico."

About half an hour later, he got an odd text.

'ii think km high'

Said message was also sent of a close-up of Chalkys face.

Well, this couldn't be good.

art made by @nikowaffle on twt <3 give him some love

Chapter Text

Broomers phone rang. And rang, and rang. Even though he had dialed only once, it felt like Chalky was taking forever to pick up the phone.

After what had felt like a month, he answered. He had immediately started speaking in an over-exaggerated, mushy tone.

"Hi Broomerr!! How are youu?" His words were long and drawn out, and that made him even more concerned. "What did you do, Chalky?" A beat of silence.

"What do you mean? Ohh, do you mean the text I sent you? Yeah! I found some ecstacy in my dads room and took it. I think it's starting to kick in."

Broomer listened in silence as his words began to solidify. Before he could respond, he started talking again. "I feel super... awake. Like, sleeping feels impossible. I'm also wondering about what my dad will do when he comes back and sees all his drugs are gone."

"Wait, like, you took ALL of them?" He heard a giggle. "Noo, of course not! I just took both the bags. I took like... one of them, I think." Broomer sighed in relief. He really didnt need his friend going to the hospital, especially not over this.

On the other hand, if he remembered correctly, even one tablet would still hit him pretty hard.

He heard him sigh dreamily. "I feel so happy. I don't know where or when my dad got this stuff, but whatever it was must've been the good kind. I haven't even really thought of the coke yet. Though, I kinda remember them telling us that it was dangerous to layer drugs..."

He jumped in. "Yeah, do NOT do that. That'll make it worse." He heard another giggle. "You mean... just how much I'm feeling right now? I suppose I wouldn't want my first experience with drugs to be bad..."

Broomer sighed. 'About every experience with drugs is bad. Especially when you come down from it.' He tried to get a word in before Chalky inevitably rambled on again. "I suggest you try drinking water soon. Ecstacy makes you dehydrated sooner or later."

He could hear shuffling, and then the whooshing of air. If he had to guess, he was probably whipping his phone back and forth from dancing, or any equivelant to it. 'And that's exactly why...'

Once the whooshing stoppped, he could hear panting. "Woah, I sweat so much easier..." A gasp of air. "But I feel so energetic! And... I feel so much more alert. You know how dogs have like super hearing? I feel like that right now."

"Did you even hear what I said earlier?" Chalky somehow made a very obvious confused noise, and he could hear it loud and clear. "Huh? What did you say? I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. Just, make sure to drink water soon. All that dancing and moving will make you tired." He heard a gasp. "How did you know I was dancing? Are you watching me?"

He rushed to respond. "No, no. Of course not. I just came to the conclusion since I heard you whipping your phone everywhere."

"Ohh... you can hear that? My bad." Broomer chuckled. Despite the fact he knew he was talking to a non sober version of his friend, the way he delivered some of his words just made him giggle. "It's fine."

He tried to think back on their drug safety unit. They didn't cover ecstacy much, but he did remember that it made the other person sociable...

"Stay on call with me. I think it'd be better having someone to talk to through all this." A happy giggle. "Well, of course I would! I love talking to you... Plus, I don't wanna talk to my dad. Bleh."

He loved talking to him... His mind hung on that sentence for a while. Eventually, Chalky's voice broke him out of his daze. "Soo... what do we talk about? I don't know when my dad is coming back. He's going on like, a grocery run or something."

He found it a pattern for Chalky to keep on rambling before he could get a word in. Because barely a second after his question, he was talking again. "Mmm... Just thinking about him makes me remember his slap. When I think about it, it kinda stings..."

"He slapped you? For what?" Chalky groaned. "Cause... of me sneaking out, or whatever... I don't really remember anything else beside how much it hurt. My leg hurts also."

Awh crap. He was the reason he got in trouble. "Dude, I'm so sorry. I didn't know your dad would do something like that."

"It's not your fault. It's mine for going to the stupid party anyway... It's already happened now, nothing we can do... Ugh, I keep shaking." Broomer sighed. "Can't really help out with that one, bud."

Despite them being on the phone, he could feel his eyeroll. "Fuck off." Broomer adjusted his position, and got his mouth a bit closer to his speaker. "You know, you're a lot more vulgar whenever you're not sober."

"If I'm correct, theres like, this big ol' complex reasoning behind that... I don't remember it though."

"I doubt you would." He could hear Chalky huff. "Why are you being so mean to me?! I didn't even do anything..."

"I'm not being mean, I'm just responding the only way I know how to someone who's high. I can't really sugarcoat anything." More sounds of annoyance came from the other side of the line.

"You can 'not sugarcoat anything' without being mean." An abrupt pause. "Oh. That's... not good." Broomer raised an eyebrow. "What's happening?" There was a long, drawn out whine.

"I feel nauseous... I'm gonna go to my bathroom." Broomer could hear his phone being dropped. Silence. A few bouts of retching. Silence. A minute or so must've passed before he could hear Chalky's voice again.

"I don't think I've eaten today. Nothing came out." A shaky sigh. "It feels like... so many things are in my mind at once. Like, I can't see like I usually can."

"Your vision is blurry?" A sound of affirmation from the other line. Broomer looked up the side effects. He had remembered some from class, but like any other subject, there were things he forgot.

"Theres a big list of stuff that you'd feel. I'd ask if you'd want me to read it out, but..."

"Do it. I... kinda wanna know what I'm in for."

He inhaled. "Increased activity, alertness, tremors, teeth clenching, nausea, sweating, euphoria, blurred vision, confusion, anxiety, depression, severe dehydration, sleep problems, and drug craving."

He tried to get another sentence in before Chalky could react. "Also says here that some girl who took it got auditory hallucinations and disorganized speech not too long after she took it."

"Awh... That doesn't sound like any fun. How long does this even last for, anyway? Hope it goes as fast as the alcohol did..." Broomer went searching once more.

"About three to six hours. The only 'good' part you can look foward to is when it peaks about 90 minutes in. Supposedly you feel a euphoric high."

Chalkys tone started to get more loud, and his words more fast. "Well I was feeling some type of happiness before I started thinking about all the stuff *you brought up."

"Hey, calm down. I just don't like knowing this is happening to you. But since you already did it, I'm trying to let you know as much about it as I can."

The same inflection never left his voice. "Let me enjoy this the way I want. You're just... ruining everything!"

Before he could another rebuttal in, Chalky hung up.

He hugged his knees close to his chest. He glanced at his door. He didn't like the idea that his dad could come home any moment.

The anxiety he'd usually feel when thinking about his dad felt like it'd tripled. His breathing got faster by the second. He looked at the two plastic baggies thrown on his bed. It'd be better to return them. His dad wouldn't notice if only one tablet was gone.

His eyes fixed on them. They were the forefront of his thoughts, everything else was blurred.

At the same time, he didn't want to return them. If he kept them, he could take them again, and maybe he'd get a better experience.

Chalky shakily stood up to pick up the bags, and then threw them in his bedside drawer.

They were his now.

2:48 pm. (Actually, lets go back a bit.)

2:00 pm.

Chalky was playing with the rocks on his bedstand drawer. He had started a fleshed out (but incomprehensible) roleplay between a more polished rock and a jagged rock.

His words were pure mumbles, and if you weren't him, you couldnt understand it.

For the past 20 minutes, this had been his nirvana, his state of nothing but happiness. Nothing had went wrong, nothing was out of place.

Until, he had heard the opening of the front door.

He stopped dead in his tracks. Nine times out of ten, that was his dad. His happiness was replaced by fear and paranoia. He stayed still, frozen like a statue.

His thoughts raced, unable to grab onto and focus on a single sentence. All that registered? Dad = bad.

He forgot to breathe.

Coincidentally, he had completely forgotten about his new cat.
She crawled next to the edge of the bed and stared at Chalky. She was just as aware of the surroundings as he was.

Her ears twitched as she heard footsteps heading towards his door.

Once Chalky noticed, he inhaled sharply.

The door opened.

2:48 pm

Chalky laid down fetal position on his bed, completely unmoving. Every once in a while, he'd remember just how much his jaw hurt from his teeth clenching together.

Somehow, his head was completely silent. He had nothing to say, nothing to think about, nothing to remember. He closed his eyes. His mind tried to play back the events that had happened.

His dad had yelled at him, hit him, and rummaged through his room. His eyes went to look at the now opened drawer near his bed, the two baggies now taken out. Upon reminisicing, he clenched his stomach.

It felt like the punch was still fresh. He was convinced that if he were to have looked down at his torso, there'd be an indent.
Mr. Whiskers carefully walked along the bed, and perched herself right in front of Chalky. He weakly smiled. He reached out to pet her.

"Hi kitty. You hid from dad..." She began to purr.

"I'm glad... you're here." Another wave of pain hit him like a truck. He felt dizzy, and nausea started to come to the forefront.

"I need to throw up, but... I haven't eaten anything. It hurts..."
His petting had less and less energy as the seconds went on.

"And... I can't see. Everythins blurry. I'm not sure... where I am."
His hand dropped. Mr. Whiskers moved herself closer to Chalky. She nuzzled up against his belly.

"Hehe... Nice kitty." He sighed. "So thirsty... and so hot..." He glanced towards his door.

His body ached as he stood up to open it.

Chapter Text

Thursday June 13th, 12:34 pm.

Broomer sat hunched over on his bed. He stared at his message history with Chalky. A bunch of incoherent blurbs, voice messages, and his concerned replies, which never received an answer.

He had woken up later than he usually did. He stayed up far past midnight just waiting for any type of communication from Chalky, but they never came.

Of course, he had to send them all 2 hours before he woke up.

He contemplated pressing the call button. Even with his keyboard-smash-like messages, he couldn't shake off the feeling that they were urgent. He inhaled deeply and pressed the call button.

It rang. And rang, and rang. No answer. He tried again.

It rang, and rang. Chalky picked up the phone. "...Hello?" Broomer gasped. "Chalky! Are you okay?" A beat of silence. "...I think so. I don't remember."

"Like, anything at all?"

"Yeah... I don't remember if I slept or ate or... anything. The last thing I remember was laying in bed with my new cat."

Cat. Right. He had a cat now. "Well, what are you doing now?"

"Laying down. I don't think I can move." His words were quiet and had a twinge of sorrow to them.

Broomer sat in silence for a minute. He had nobody to help him. He had nobody to aid him after potentially putting his health at risk. His fist clenched at the thought.

He stood up, got his keys, and started to head towards his kitchen. "...Your dad home?"

"I don't know... Probably? Please don't tell me you're coming over. That'd just make everything worse, please don't."

He grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. He put his shoes on once he reached the front door.

"I've come to your house without your dad finding out. I bet I can do it again. I'm on my way."

He opened the door and locked it behind him. He quickly ran in the direction of Chalkys. He heard whines on the other end of the phone. Useless pleas.

Soon enough, he had gotten to the side of his house. The window was left wide open. He gripped onto the lower frame of the window.

He could now hear whines from Chalky, not just on the phone, but right in the room as well.

He hung up and put his phone in his pocket. He hopped onto the ridges of the house and dragged himself into the room. His body dropped to the floor. "Shh! My dad might hear you..."

Chalky had propped himself up on his elbow and looked at him in shock. Broomer stood up and wiped himself off. He stumbled to his bed and gave him the water bottle.

He spoke in a hushed tone, abiding by Chalky's wishes. "Here, I made sure to get something for you right before I left."

Chalky could only stare at it. The outside was starting to condense and got water droplets on his bedsheets.

He marveled at it, like he had just discovered gold. Broomer tried to read his expression. "Uh... You okay? It's just some water."

His pupils shifted randomly and erratically, Broomers voice broke him out of his trance.

"...Yeah. Thanks." His hand shakingly grabbed the waterbottle and showed some struggle trying to open it.

He put it to his lips, and drank it with the same shakiness he had picking it up; some water dripped onto his shirt.

By the time he was done, half the bottle was gone. Broomer gawked at him. "Damn, you musta been really thirsty." Chalky gulped.

"I don't remember if I even drank water..." His eyes fluttered. "This tastes, really good though." Broomer chuckled, "Water tastes good? Guess I got one of the good brands then."

Chalky took a shaky breath. He clutched at his stomach. "Ow..." Broomer hunched over to look at him. "What's wrong? Are you good?" He weakly shook his head.

"My dad... He punched me, I think. Right in the middle..." Broomed recoiled in shock. "Are you serious? Did it happen this morning?"

He shook his head. "No... It was, yesterday, I'm pretty sure. Ugh..." The fabric of his shirt was clumped in his hand.

Broomer sighed. "It was... because of the drugs, right?" He rolled over on his back. "Probably. He seemed really mad..."

Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "He... he was yelling, and..." He wiped his tears. "He punched me right in the stomach. All I could do was... lay down." He perked up. "Kitty."

He struggled to sit up. "Kitty, where are you?" He looked around his room, no cat. He turned his head to look at Broomer once he had heard an "Aww..."

"Is she under the bed?" He nodded. Chalky sighed in relief. "She must've gone under there when she heard you drop in. She... did that when my dad came in, too."

Broomer tilted his head. "I think cats naturally do that at any surprises." He crouched and held out his hand. "Let me see if she's okay with me." Mr. Whiskers sniffed his hand and slowly came out from under the bed.

Broomers eyes sparkled with mystification. "Woah, I've never seen a calico in person before. She's adorable. What's her name?"

"Mr. Whiskers." He raised an eyebrow. "Mr? Isn't she a girl?" Chalky shrugged and laid back down, now with closed eyes. "I don't think her gender should define her name. I think it's a nice name."

"For a cat, it isn't bad. I've heard worse pet names." Mr. Whiskers nuzzled against Broomers hand. "Ooh, they're a lot softer than I thought." Chalky giggled. "Yeah, cats are really soft..."

Broomer gazed at Mr. Whiskers, lost in the new experience. But then, it'd hit him why he came here in the first place. "Chalky." He opened his eyes. "Hm?" Broomer hesitated. "Are you... gonna do drugs again?"

The silence lasted a long, long time.

"Maybe."

Broomer sat dejected on the side of Chalky's bed. Mr. Whiskers was curled up in the middle with her owner. His lecture (that had to be put in simple words so Chalky could understand it) went one ear and out the other.

Chalky insisted the entire time that "just one more experience" wouldn't be harmful, which they both knew was bullshit.

He watched as Chalky silently stroked his cat's back, eyes closed, unfocused, and most importantly, calm. He hated how silent it was, how nonchalant Chalky was about such a dangerous habit, but at least he hadn't shoved him away this time.

He drew in a breath and broke the silence. "I really hope you get better, Chalky." His rhythm became periodically uneven and messed up as he tried to formulate a response. His eyes remained closed, but he responded. "Thanks."

Mr. Whiskers' ears perked up. She stood up and started inching off the bed. Broomer raised an eyebrow.

"Hm? Where is she going?" Chalky opened his eyes, and panic started to fill him. "Oh my god. You have to hide."

He recoiled. "Huh?" Chalky sat up and pushed him. "Go to my bathroom and close the door. Go in the bathtub and cover yourself with the curtain. Go."

With no second thought, Broomer scrambled to the bathroom, and shut the door with hurry, but little sound.

Before he even made it to the bathtub, he could hear his door slam against the wall. He hated being so curious, but he silently tiptoed to the door and put his ear up to it. He heard a voice so loud, so aggressive, it made him shiver.

"Who the fuck were you talking to?" Chalky responded almost immediately, his tone worlds different from when they were talking. His voice was now shaky, ridden with fear. "My- Myself."

"You talking to yourself? Am I raising a schizo now? I clearly heard another voice." He heard Chalky's voice get more desperate, more erratic. "I-I um... I was watching a video. On the internet." He heard a long, heavy groan.

"I know bullshit when I hear it. What? Is he hiding or something?" Broomer froze, he rushed to the tub before his dad could finish his sentence.

He covered the bath with the curtain and backed himself into the farthest end of the tub.

He covered his head and shut his eyes tightly. He heard the door open. His breathing stopped. Footsteps. They approached the tub slowly, as if he expected someone to jump out instead.

The curtain was violently ripped to the side, but Broomer didn't feel exposed. He heard a huff, and then footsteps out of the bathroom.

As he walked out of his room, he could hear his threat clear as day. "I'm watching you." The door closed as violently as it was forced open.

More footsteps, the complete opposite of the kind earlier, approached the bathtub quickly. He turned to look behind the curtain.

His voice was now hushed and cautious. "Oh my god, I thought he found you. Whisper."

Broomer cautiously crawled out of the bathtub. "So, he's... that bad?" Chalky wiped his eyes. "All the time."

more amazing art by nikowaffle on twt <3

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 13th, 1:15 pm.

Chalky was left silently stroking his cat. Broomer had gone a bit less than 10 minutes ago, and Mr. Whiskers had finally come out of hiding.

His head still hurt, and he still found it hard to move.

Despite being in a relatively calm situation, his mind wouldn't stop racing; all he could think about was if his dad would come in and yell at him again.

Or worse, beat him. He probably deserved it anyway. He stole drugs, got high, let someone sneak in, and lied to him. He was a terrible son. He'd yell at and beat himself too.

He started thinking about the dull pain in his right leg from yesterday. He reached under his blanket and started hitting his left. Might as well make it even.

Mr. Whiskers stirred from the movement, and he quickly stopped before she started getting too startled.

He sighed heavily. He reached for his phone, which he had promptly turned the brightness down for when Broomer called him earlier. (His eyes still hurt.)

Somehow, his mind landed on the fight from the aftermath of the party. GM and Poison were broken up. His eyes started to well up with tears at the thought.

Apparently, GM was either super silent, or super loud and aggressive when she was mad. He opened up his contacts and scrolled through the numbers.

A random number. Upon clicking on it, he recognized the message.

'have fun w your boytoy tmrw'

That was Feather. He stared at the message, his mind was suddenly quiet.

His thumb hovered over the keyboard, and he started typing.

Feather rested her head on her vanity desk. The events from Monday night still hadn't left her mind.

She had no energy to do anything, as all her mind could occupy was the fact that she had possibly separated her friends.

A ding from her phone perked her up. She checked the notification.

Chalky.

She clicked on it.

'hey i know we havent known each other long , but i just wanted to see if you were okay .'

Out of all people, Chalky texts her? The same guy who had gotten almost blackout drunk on that night? (Broomer had told her.) She quietly scoffed at the message.

'im fine. assuming broomer told you anything, weve got it figured out.'

She lightly slammed her phone back on her desk. If anyone were to bother her about this issue right now, it shouldn't have been Chalky.

Her eyes flicked to her screen, and saw him already typing up another response. She rolled her eyes. Their conversation was over. He had no reason to drag it.

Her eyes widened a little as she read the message on the screen.

'i dont remember much , but i know that you didnt mean to do whatever you thought you did . hope it goes well .'

She felt tears start to prick at her eyes, but quickly blinked them to get them to go away. She took a minute to respond.

'thanks.'

She turned her phone off. Friday.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow she would have to have the conversation she dreaded the most.

She looked at herself in her vanity mirror. Her hair was ruffled, and her mascara was still smudged from last night.

She had tried to go to another one of Clay's parties, but just the space itself made her nauseous. She barely made it 30 minutes in before she was bent over the toilet, throwing up and crying.

She had come back home early that night and went straight to bed. She barely had enough energy to change into her lounge clothes this afternoon.

She tried her best to not cry again and put her head back down on her desk.

Her stomach turned as she imagined how their meeting would go. It was something between her, GM, and Poison, but (she would never admit this to anyone) she had slightly begged Broomer to come along with her.

She could hold up really well in front of others, but absolutely broke down in solitude.

She weakly got up from her desk, phone in hand. She walked to her bedside drawer and pushed miscellaneous items out of the way.

She pulled out her lighter and a pack of cigarettes. She pulled out one, hid it again, and sneakily made her way through her back door.

She sat on the bench in their backyard. She lit the cigarette, and inhaled, then exhaled.

She had started because of Broomer, and he had to convince her not to do it every day. Some days, though, were harder than others.

2:00 pm.

'ure still coming with me right. please dont let me go alone'

'yeah ofc feath i wodklnt bail on u like that'

'you better not. idc how strong i can seem gm is fking scary when shes mad and i cant deal with that by myself'

'dont worry im gonna come w yall. its at the park right??'

'yeah. ikr most original place to have deep conversations at.'

'calm down were gonna be fine. youre good im good were all good'

Feather stared at her phone. The cigarette from earlier laid extinguished in the ash tray next to the bench. She debated on telling Broomer who had texted her earlier.

After a bit of mental back and forth, she started typing out her response.

'chalky texted me today'

'??? whad he texr you??'

'asking if i was okay or something. didnt think him of all people would'

Her heart beat a bit faster as she waited for his response. Mentioning Chalky in front of him never garnered a normal response anymore.

He'd wonder just a bit too much, and ask a bit too many questions.

Ever since their sleepover, something about the way he acted about Chalky changed.

Maybe she was right, and he had finally recognized the feelings Chalky had for him that everybody else around them picked up on.

Or maybe, he had finally started to reciprocate.

'chalkys a pretry caring person last time i checked, i dont think its that surprising'

'just saying cause me and him have like never talked'

'i get that. dont do anything too crazy before tomorrow. you gotta be sober and all that'

'does smoking a cig count lmao'

'as long as its one it doesnt. dont go and do molly or something'

That was oddly specific. However, she didn't push it.

'i dont even got my hands on that stuff. ill be fine. ughhhhhhh see u tmrw'

'see u tmrw feath'

She put her phone in her lap. She looked out at the scenery around her, still bright with the sun in the middle of the sky, and the grass green.

She took a deep, shaky breath. She wouldn't spend her afternoon like this.

She got up, and closed the back door behind her.

Chapter Text

3:08 pm.

Feather gently rubbed her face with the washcloth. She had just finished taking a shower and had done her hair and put on clothes.

All that was left was washing her face before she put on makeup. She wrung the wet cloth into the sink and threw it on one of her hangers.

She made it to her vanity and started her routine. Most, if not all, of her normal products were already on the desktop, so she didn't have to worry about opening and closing drawers.

Just as she got to her mascara, she glanced at her phone. She wondered if she should've surprised or warned Broomer of her new plans. She opened up the tube and started applying it to her lashes. It'd be a surprise, she could wait.

She finished her makeup and stood up to look at herself in her full-length mirror. Fabulous, as always.

She rummaged through her drawers and shoved her cigarette pack and lighter into her jacket pocket.

She picked her phone up from her desk and plugged Broomer's address into her maps app.

She always remembered what his house looked like, but she could never remember the directions. She silently walked out of her room, and then out the front door.

Thankfully, she didn't have to deal with her mom asking fifty questions about where she was going this time.

She followed her phone's directions, and (luckily) noticed his house before her phone registered as "reaching her destination." She turned off the directions and ran up to Broomers door.

Quicker than she thought, Broomer opened up the door. A certain light in his eyes went away as he saw who was on the other side. "Oh, hey Feather. What are you doing here?"

"I wanna hang out. I am not spending the day in my backyard again." Broomer sighed but smiled. "Sure. Let me just tell my momma real quick."

He closed the door at a crack, and despite knowing he was farther away, could hear him yelling for his mom clearly.

"Momma! I'm gonna go out for a while, is that okay?" A response that was a little harder to hear rang throughout the house. "Be back no later than six! Love you!"

"Love you!" Broomer came back to the door and closed it behind him. "Okay, we're good." Feather scoffed.

"Lucky bitch. I can't make it anywhere near the front door without my mom asking me like thirty questions about where I'm going."

They both walked down the porch's stairs. "But she just doesn't say anything when she notices you're gone?" She shook her head. "I don't even have her number, so she can't call or text me."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? You never told me about that before." She sighed. "Well, now you know."

They got to the road. "So, what do you wanna do? Did you even have a plan before this?"

"Psh, of course I did. Do you think I'm stupid? C'mon, follow me." Broomer blindly followed her, and they eventually reached a park. "So... you went from not wanting to sit on a bench, to sitting on another bench?"

"No! Well, it's a different kind of bench. Plus, almost like nobody is here so there's nobody to enforce the 'no smoking' rule." Broomer side-eyed his friend. "Smoking? Thought you were only having one."

"Right before we have to have a conversation so heavy? Absolutely not. I brought mine from the house." She went and sat on one of the benches, Broomer followed suit.

She took out the pack and handed him a cigarette. "Have one, you're gonna have to deal with it tomorrow." He hesitated but took it from her hands. She handed him the lighter, and he lit his first. She lit hers directly after.

She brought it to her mouth, and took a puff. She exhaled. She looked over towards him and hesitated before asking the thing that had been nagging at her for weeks.

"Do you like Chalky? Like, like like him? I know I tease you about it a lot, but you've been different lately."

The silence between them seemed never-ending. Broomer puffed out his smoke. "He's my friend. I do normal friend stuff with him." She raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like... we had a sleepover, he came over to my house..." He trailed off. "...And?" Broomer took another puff.

"I may or may not have woken up next to him in the night, and... fed him... but those are one-off things. Silly stuff like that isn't serious." Feather closed her eyes tightly. She grabbed onto her nose bridge.

"Broomer, don't piss me off." He threw his arms up. "What? He may be gay, but, I don't think I ever did anything to like... suggest anything."

She threw her hand down and whipped her head towards him. "You fed him? You woke up next to him on your sleepover? What did you do then, did you cuddle up closer because he was just 'so cute'?"

Broomer scratched the back of his neck. "Uhm..." She scoffed in disbelief. "Great Glub, I knew you were dumb, but I didn't know you were actually stupid!"

"What?! What do you think then, huh? Since you're so smart?" Feather groaned before taking a long inhale of her cigarette. She blew the smoke out. "Do you cuddle up to friends? Would you ever cuddle up to me?!"

Before he could respond, she continued to berate him with questions. "Would you ever feed your friends?" She growled, "What have you done for him that actually 'friend-like'?"

He struggled to find his words. He took a deep breath, and then a deep inhale of his cigarette. Smoke escaped from his mouth.

"Like, give him food because I didn't think he was eating, tried to reassure him about his looks, just like, hanging out with him in general. The non-gay things outweigh the gay ones."

"But they still happened. I want you to really think about how Chalky makes you feel. Don't talk again till you realize." Suddenly, there was nothing but silence between them.

Feather took more puffs of her cigarette. She had enough time to finish hers and crush it with her shoe. She looked to Broomer, who had just dropped his.

"Well?"

He silently looked over. "I think..."

"No, I know I like him."

"Like him, or love him?"

"Love him."

Chapter Text

Broomer grabbed at his hair as he and his friend walked alongside the road.

"Dude, what the fuck am I gonna do?"

"About him? He already likes you enough, I say tell him." Broomer stopped in his tracks and clenched his fists. "I don't mean about him, idiot. I mean my parents!"

Silence. Feather stared at him blankly before bursting out in laughter.

"Hahaha! Are you serious? Aren't your parents like, the chillest when it comes to gay people ever?" Broomer growled in frustration.

"I don't care! They can say they don't care, but how about when I actually get a boyfriend? Parents like to be deceiving and shit."

Feather clenched her stomach and wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. "Now I know you're paranoid. There's no possible way you think that the same people who let a LESBIAN couple in their house IS HOMOPHOBIC!" The louder her voice got, the more it felt like mockery.

He groaned. "Feather, I'm serious." He begrudgingly started walking alongside her again. "I love my folks, I really do, but what if they just say that stuff so I can feel comfortable? Sure, they may be okay with others being gay, but what happens once it's their own child?"

Feather deeply inhaled. "Broomer. Listen to me. I've met both your parents, I'm like, 100% sure they're not gonna turn homophobic on their child."

He stayed silent for a moment. "You promise?"

"Ugh. Yes, I promise." Another beat of silence. "You pinkie promise?" He held out his pinky.

"Shut up, dumbass." Despite her words, she curled her pinky around his.

5:30 pm.

The two of them were walking back to Broomer's house. Feather let out a defeated sigh as he finished his lecture. "You don't have to tell me twenty times that everything's gonna be okay. I already know that this whole conversation we're having is gonna come and go."

He interjected with a grumble. "Hypocrite. You were doing that to me earlier." She threw her hands up. "Yeah, but that's only because you were freaking out over it!"

Broomers voice got aggressive as he tried to defend himself. "And so were you. Guess we're in the same boat here." Feather huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Glad you're going home, can't stand you anymore." Broomer lightly punched her in the shoulder. "Can't stand you either." Feather grabbed her shoulder and playfully gasped. "Wow, can't believe you'd hit a woman."

They rounded the corner to his house. "Calm down, didn't even hit you that hard." They began to walk up the porch. "Seriously though, you ready for tomorrow?" She sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Well, if you need to talk a little more, you have my number—unlike somebody else you know." He chuckled as he unlocked his door. Feather waved him away. "Alright now, get back in your house, you piece of shit."

They both waved goodbye and Broomer shut the door once he was inside. Feather exhaled. Broomer was gone, but she could still roam around, wasn't like her mom would be on the edge of her seat trying to call her.

However, there was someone who she could talk to. As she walked down the porch, she opened up her contacts. She clicked Chalky's name.

'hey.'

She kept her messages open. Soon enough, she saw him texting back.

'hi , how are you ?'

Ugh. Small talk. The thing she hated the most. But, she had already gotten herself into this mess.

'fine. just got finished hanging w broomer. im just kinda roaming around now.'

'oh ! broomer came by earlier today, we couldn't do much since i don't feel so well'

No wonder he looked so disappointed. Maybe he wished Chalky had come by instead.

'youre sick?'

'sure'

Sure? What did "Sure" Mean? Was he just not aware of what he was sick with? Was he just saying sure to get it over with?

Before she could type a response, he started up again.

'i just feel really sluggish is all , kinda hard to get up from my bed'

'relatable'

Feather continued walking. Unless he had something new and interesting to bring to the table, she didn't plan on talking anymore.

As she walked down the sidewalk, the events from Monday night replayed in her mind. The crowd, the priest, how loud it was, how confused they both were...

She just wished GM could've seen it start to finish, and not the convenient moment where he yelled out to the party just how "married" they were.

Her hand clenched tighter around her phone. She remembered seeing Broomer and Chalky walk out together also. She was certain they caught the butt-end of it too.

The scenery wasn't helping to calm her nerves either. It was just the regular old houses, the regular old road, and the plain lawns of this side of the neighborhood. Nothing about it was interesting, nothing about it was pretty, it was all just boring.

She couldn't stand it. The only reason she was able to ignore it earlier was because she had a distraction.

She pulled her eyes back to her phone screen. One new message.

'do you smoke ? ik a few people around our age do , and i wanna know how i can get it'

What an odd question. Especially from him. She wouldn't lie, though.

'i mean yeah. i just steal it from my mom. she buys so much that she doesn't notice when a pack disappears'

'my dad would notice if i did i think . do you have any other ways ?'

'steal. i mean the convenience store sells cigs and because most of the workers are our age they dont care lol'

'if thats the case wouldn't they let you buy them ?'

He was... very persistent. It unsettled her a little. What did he need cigarettes this bad for?

'nah ive tried, they have to id you but if you steal they'll turn a blind eye'

'good to know , ill keep it in mind'

She put her phone in her pocket. Why did goody-two-shoes Chalky need to know how to get cigarettes?

The same guy who was part of a 'no-drugs' program, the same guy who avoided conflict, the same guy who literally put a PowerPoint together in their sophomore, junior, and senior year on why you shouldn't smoke?

Why would somebody want to hunt out the thing they advocated the most against?

A pit of worry started to form in her stomach. She wasn't used to caring this much about someone she barely talked to.

Something in her, though, couldn't shake away the feeling that there was probably something much deeper going on than him just asking for a pack of smokes. Her stomach ached.

She slightly regretted giving him advice.

Friday, June 14th, 11 am.

Feather groaned into her pillow. Today was the day, and she was dreading it. She peeled her body off of her bed and looked at herself in her mirror. This wasn't a day to dress out, and she definitely looked like it.

She grabbed her hair brush. If she was gonna wear just a regular comfortable t-shirt and jeans, the least she could do was make her hair and face look pretty.

She brushed out her hair, put some mascara and blush on, and sprayed some perfume all over. She took a second look at herself. Much better.

The group agreed on noon, but that probably meant all of them would be there by noon. She put her phone in her pants pocket and walked out to the living room. She craned her neck to look at her surroundings. No sign of her mom, probably sleeping.

She quickly walked out the door and started her walk to the park. Luckily, it was the same park she and Broomer had gone to yesterday. She wasn't going to pop by his today, he could come by himself.

At least, she really fucking hoped he stuck to his promise.

After a few minutes of walking, she found herself at the park. And, of course, the one person who she was terrified of seeing the most was there. Poison. Sitting on the same bench she was yesterday.

Why, of all people, did she have to come first? They were "caught" together on Monday, and now they were going to be caught together again. Feather sighed heavily.

"Hey... When's GM coming?" She shuffled to stand next to the bench. "She said she'd come around noon, as far as I'm aware." Poison's hands were shoved deep into her pockets.

Feather looked towards the park entrance. Her eyes glanced over to look towards Poison every once in a while. No matter how many times they had rough spots in their relationship, the rehashing of it never got any easier.

The longer she waited, the faster her heart beat.

To Feather's relief, Broomer was the next person to come. She waved him over. Once he walked over, she grabbed his sleeve for him to be close enough to whisper. "If you didn't come I would've burned you alive."

He pulled away. "Woah, woah! I just got here, chill out." He noticed Poison and leaned into Feather's ear again. "Poison looks... happy." She punched him in the arm. "Shut up. GM says she's coming at noon. Which, of course she would, because we all assumed to come before then."

"It's only like..." He checked his phone. "11:53. She'll be here soon." Feather stared at the entrance. "Speak of the devil."

GM walked in their direction. Feather could feel her heart beat harder the closer she came. She made it to the group and scanned every one of them before speaking.

Her head dropped, and she sighed heavily. "Hi. Just, explain what happened to me. I'm not looking for a bunch of theatrics," Her head raised a bit to glare at all of them. "just tell it to me straight."

Poison and Feather looked at each other. Feather looked away first.

With a heavy sigh, Poison sat up and began explaining.

"And when he was done... I already saw you walking away. I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to you at that moment, so, I decided this would be the best option."

Throughout Poison's monologue, GM's face barely changed until she got to the 'shoved into the circle' part.

At the end of the story, her hand was on her chest, and her eyes were gentle. "Aww. babe, I'm so sorry."

She went in to hug Poison, and she happily returned the embrace. Broomer leaned near Feather's ear. "Told you it'd be fine." She jabbed him with her elbow.

She quickly interjected once she saw them both pull away. "Sorry for the... misunderstanding, GM." In replacement of her earlier cold demeanor, was a now happy, smiling face with tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

"You're fine! If Poison is innocent, I know you are too." She put her hand on Feather's shoulder. "It should be me who's apologizing. I'm sorry for blowing up over this. You guys didn't deserve that." On her final sentence, her eyes slowly shifted towards Broomer.

As she did that, she felt less tense. It felt like she could finally breathe. GM was scary when mad, sure, but she was so genuine and soft-spoken whenever she comforted someone or realized her faults.

"It's okay." She looked down, averting her gaze. "Apology.. accepted." GM pulled her hand away and looked back at her girlfriend.

"So... you wanna go somewhere? To my house maybe?" For once, in the whole time she was there, Poison smiled. "Sure."

She stood up, grabbed her hand, and they both went walking out of the park. GM turned back to wave. "Bye, guys! We'll see you soon!" Feather waved, and Broomer flashed a smile.

She sighed heavily as the two exited out of earshot. "I swear, I can't stand them sometimes."

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 13th, 5:50 pm.

Chalky put his phone down. The word "steal" repeated on and on in his head.

He couldn't do that. He was the good kid. He was the kid who always promoted no smoking, the same kid who would advocate for better alternatives and people to talk to.

...But, he was also the same kid who stole drugs from his dad, snuck out to go to a party, and was now contemplating stealing cigarettes.

If he had already dug himself in this deep, what was the point of stopping now?

He gave himself a feeble hug. He could move more than he could this morning, even though he was still lethargic following his "adventure" yesterday. He turned to see his cat curled up in a ball, resting soundly. He wished he could've been that calm.

He looked back at his phone. He picked it back up to search for something he had been begging to know the answer to.

'how long do molly withdrawals last'

'Ecstasy withdrawal starts about 24 hours after the last dose, with symptoms like depression and fatigue. Acute withdrawal lasts 3-5 days, while protracted symptoms can persist for months.'

...Surely, that was only for people who regularly took it. He only took it once, so he had to be fine at least the next day.

Or, hopefully, before his mom picked him up on Saturday.

He sighed defeatedly and dropped his phone back down on the bed. Something in him wanted –no– craved to get his hands on more, but he couldn't possibly let his mother find out. He wouldn't let her find out.

Maybe... he'd switch to a different drug. Something... less intense.

He picked up his phone for the 3rd time.

Friday, June 14th, 12:05 pm.

This was Chalky's second trip to the convenience store this month. He had brought money with him (just in case he did get caught), but he was planning to steal today.

His body still tingled with ache, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was on Thursday. Nothing could be as bad as Thursday.

His bag hit against his side with every step he took, and the summer heat wasn't helping with his state either.

Just as the feeling of passing out almost overtook him, he made it to the building and went inside. He took a deep breath of the cool air.

He scanned the store and found his target right next to the cash register. The advice he got echoed in his head. 'Steal. Just steal it. They don't care. It can't be that hard.'

He shakily walked over to the clear plastic case and opened it. Nothing. He quickly snatched a pack of cigarettes and shoved it deep into his bag. Nothing. No complaint, no call-out, nothing.

He closed the case and walked away from it. He walked over to the shelves that held some of the lighters. If he were to get a pack, he'd need a lighter too.

He grabbed one of the lighters, and just let it exist in his hand. He stared at it hard, with an undetermined emotion bubbling up inside of him. Suddenly, a cashier yelled out to him.

"Hey! You gonna buy that, Chalky?" He swiftly turned around to find Moonstone standing at the pay counter.

"U-Uhm, yeah. This is all, actually." He walked over to the register and placed it on the counter. If he were to steal one thing, he could at least pay for something else.

He carefully grabbed his wallet out of his bag (to avoid showing his stolen merchandise) as Moonstone rang him up. "Your... singular lighter is $1.99." He reached into his wallet and handed her the money, but she paused.

"I know, by the way. You're good, though." She grabbed the money and put it in the register. "You're good to go on your way. Have fun."

He grabbed it and put it in his bag. Chalky kept his eye on her as he wearily walked out of the store. Still, nothing. No calling anybody, nothing.

He walked away from the store and eventually found an area directly across a park to test his new purchase. He pulled out the pack of cigarettes, unwrapped them, and flipped open the top.

He gazed at what was inside. Seven in each of the three rows. He was perplexed by the nearly inexplicable odor. It reminded him most of a blazing bonfire, if anything. He took out a stick and then the lighter, shuddering as he did so.

His hand shook as he struggled to spark the igniter. Once the flame finally showed up, he put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it. Luckily, for him, he looked up how to properly do this beforehand, no matter how many times he'd seen his father do it.

He inhaled, held the smoke, then exhaled. Albeit a few failed attempts and borderline choking, he got it after a while.

The effects of this were much more preferable than the violent symptoms of his other attempts at different substances, but... something in him craved more. He craved new, intense feelings. Whether it was out of pure curiosity, or something else.

Just before he finished his cigarette, he saw GM and Poison happily walk out of the park entrance. His breathing stopped, and he shuffled back slightly. Thankfully, they hadn't noticed him.

Though, after they left, he focused more on the park and the people who were in it. His eyes widened as he saw the people still inhabiting it. Feather and Broomer.

He dropped the cigarette, snuffed it, and ran away.

Broomers head whipped over to face the entrance of the park. "Did you hear that?" Feather looked at him confusedly. "No? What did you hear?"

He cautiously took his eyes away from the front. "Thought I heard like... a bunch of footsteps. Like someone running away or something." She took a quick glance at the entrance before shrugging. "I think you're just crazy."

He gave her a gentle hit on the shoulder. "Shut up. Let's just get back home."

Chalky's back was shoved against the side of a house. His eyes darted about, keeping an eye out for anyone he recognized. He promptly took out his phone and opened his search engine.

'dispensaries near me'

The results gave him 3 different buildings, all less than two miles away from him. He checked the rules of each one. Luckily, one of them only required ID.

He checked his surroundings once again and quickly fell to the ground and went behind a bush once he saw Feather and Broomer walk down the other side of the sidewalk.

Once enough time passed, he got up and opened up his map app. He plugged in the address and followed the directions.

An evergrowing pit in his stomach made him more and more nauseous as he approached his destination. If there was anywhere he could've been, it shouldn't have been here.

But, by the time he had finally wanted to turn back, he was face to face with it. He shakily exhaled and entered the building.

The store was quite empty, around the same size as the convenience store, and most of the merchandise was placed along the walls in the cash register's view.

There was one person tending to one of the racks. Chalky remained on the opposite side of the store, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

However, when he looked at the options, he realized he had no idea how much dosage he actually needed. He stared at the many bags and packages, containing edibles varying from 10 mg per sweet, to as high as 400 mg.

He clutched at his bag strap. He'd hate to embarrass himself further and look it up, but the worker had already approached him.

"Hey, you need some help there?" Chalky froze. He turned to look at the man, who was quite taller than him, standing with his hands in his pockets.

"Uh... yeah. I-I'm new to this, so I don't know what to choose." The worker approached him and took a close look at the items in front of him. "Well, I wouldn't buy those."

He pointed at the larger packages which showed higher amounts of THC per mg on the front of the bag. "If you're a beginner I recommend lower doses. Like these."

The worker grabbed a bag of THC gummies. "I wouldn't suggest high doses till you're a bit more experienced. These are 5 mg per gummy, I'd suggest only taking one of these at a time if you're trying to get high."

Chalky grabbed the package from the worker. He inspected the bag before looking back up at him. "How much for this?"

He pointed towards the bag. "That's normally $10, but because you're a newbie, I'll give it to you for $7. Come on." He waved Chalky over to the register.

Chalky cautiously put the bag on the counter, and his hand wandered into his bag, ready to grab his fake ID.

And, just as expected, "Because you look a little young, I'm gonna have to ask for some ID." Almost instinctively, he reached for his wallet and pulled out the handmade ID and his money.

As he inspected the ID, his breathing stopped, and his heartbeat quickened. Just as he was about to bail, the worker handed him back his ID, scanned the item, and put the money into the register.

"Have a nice day sir." Chalky gulped. He took the gummies off the counter and walked out of the store. Once he made it out, he took a deep, shaky breath. He gazed at the bag and clenched it.

Despite the guilt eating at him, he longed for the high. He craved that feeling more.

Saturday, June 15th, 8:35 am.

Chalky carefully but hurriedly placed his lighter, cigarettes, and gummies into the bottom of his backpack, which he then covered with his other bag, blanket, and water bottle.

He zipped it up and slung it onto his back; his mother was waiting patiently outside for him, and he had gotten up late. He dashed out of his room and out the front door and locked it behind him.

He opened the door of his mother's car and got in the back seat. Once he had put on his seatbelt his mother put her foot on the gas. Her eyes flicked up to look at her son through the rearview mirror.

"Hi, honey. How was your week?" Chalky fidgeted with his sleeve. If he had been honest, he would've unnecessarily worried his mother and gotten another lesson about drug safety that he already knew all the words to.

"It was nice. I talked to my friends a bit. Didn't do too much." Liar.

"Well, that's swell. I missed you a lot, you know."

Truly, he did too. He missed her so much, in fact, he had to take every worst path he could so he could focus on anything but missing her.

"I missed you too." He looked at the road as she drove. "I was kinda... counting down the days till you'd come get me again, heh."

His mother chuckled. "Aww, aren't you sweet? I'll make sure to do something extra special for you when I get back home from work." Chalky smiled. This was what he missed about his mother, her gentle voice and her kind gestures...

...And the fact she could at least take a second thought before yelling at him.

He tried to not focus on his thoughts.

He saw them pulling up to her house, and his excitement grew. As she parked, she turned to face him fully.

"You go ahead and go into the house, I'll be home from work around 5." He nodded solemnly. Before he opened the door, she reached out. "I love you, honey." Chalky smiled. "I love you mom."

He got out of her car and dashed inside to unlock the door to her house. He took a deep breath as he walked inside.

Now that she was gone, he was free to do whatever he wanted.

His mind kept fixating on the items shoved deep into his backpack. He started to slowly walk towards his room.

Once he reached it, he closed the door and ripped the backpack from his body. He quickly took the other items out and stared down at the remaining objects.

The same objects that allured him also felt like they were mocking him at the same time.

The rational side of him begged for him to get rid of them, to destroy them, to burn them, to never see them again.

However, his impulsive side was drawn to the items within his reach. If he had already ruined his purity streak and broken his vow, what was the point of pretending nothing ever happened, knowing full well what did?

Chalky took the package containing the gummies and ripped open the top. "One at a time", the worker said.

He pulled out a gummy and popped it into his mouth.