Chapter Text
“Bye, Ex! Call me when you get home, alright?”
“Yeah! I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a grin, he was gone, and David was left to drag his backpack and gifts to his room.
It had been a horrifying Valentine’s Day to say the least, though he was thankful it wasn’t like last year. He shudders at the memory of screams chasing him down. Man, freshmen could be crazy sometimes.
Miraculously, he manages to fit through he door and carefully makes his way up the stairs to dump in his bed. There’s no way he’s letting his father see and lecture him about girlfriends and such. God only knows how many times he’s received that talk about responsibility and focus. While he does appreciate it, he really knows that his father would approve, and maybe even hope, for him to have a girlfriend soon.
That’s sort of how he and mom met anyway.
The idea of high school lovers always struck oddly with him. I mean, what’s there to like about drama, busy schedules, and oh, did he forget to mention? In the end, his parents got divorced (which, regretfully, good riddance). Honestly, devoting himself to one person so soon seemed scary and downright wrong.
But hey, free chocolates, right? He hummed as he tore open a package, scanning for any common allergens. He felt a little bad about taking them and sharing them with his best friend, but the girls no matter how clearly he rejected them, would beg him to keep it.
As he popped one into his mouth and chewed (huh, not bad), the phone rang. The noise echoed still as David flung his body down the stairs, throwing himself into the direction of it before picking it up.
“H-hello? This is David Miller speaking.”
“Oh, David! Happy Valentine’s Day, honey.” He breaks into a grin at the voice.
“Mom! What’s up?”
“Oh, well your father told me he’d be gone with Linda for today. Did he tell you anything about that?” David brings the phone away from his ear as his smile dims. You’d think after living in the same house as his only child, he’d tell him something.
He shrugged idly before curling his fingers with the wire. “Must’ve slipped his mind.”
He can hear her on the other end of the line positively cursing while pitying the poor woman. “God, William I just can’t believe you wouldn’t—“
“Aha, so what did you want to talk about?”
“Oh! Sorry, dear. I just wanted to ask if I could pick you up? I haven’t seen you in a while and I was hoping we could treat each other. What do you say?”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. Besides, the idea of spending a moment longer in an empty house on Valentine’s Day…
“Of course, mom.”
“I’ll see you soon, alright? I love you.”
“Love you too.” Once the line died, he sprinted back upstairs, frantically packing his duffel bag. He always did miss the way his mom would embrace him the way his dad couldn’t. Another wistful sigh as he finished before peering back at his bed. The treats still laid mostly untouched except for the one he tried out. He looked around guiltily (as though the girls would miraculously pop out somewhere), and stuffed a few into his bag. It wouldn’t hurt to visit Exer, right?
He startled from his thoughts as the phone rang once more. With the duffel bag in hand, he rushed downstairs and yanked it.
“David Mil—“
“Day? Is it you?” His friend’s voice boomed through the speaker, and at recognizing it he had to quickly move his face away from the phone to prevent himself from blurting something stupid right there.
“‘CoURse it is, man.” He winced at the voice crack but continued. “Why, what’s up?”
A sheepish chuckle on the other side, and then, “Brenda told me you’d be going to your mom’s. Okay if I drop by?”
The very thought of his friend being near him outside of school on Valentines Day had him feeling more ways than one, but desperately forced them from his mind.
“You know I’m always ok if you’re there.” Even if he knew Exer wasn’t there, he still tries to hide the shy smile that grows on his face with the back of his hand. He’s sure there’s blush going on, too, so he just stands there taking the now prolonged silence. Distantly he notices the too loud beats of his heart and prays Exer can’t hear it over the line.
A honk jolts him from his overthinking (seriously, what was this all of these distractions). He squints through the windows and beams at the sight. His sister waving all too excitedly mouthing his name as his mother is seated beside her, a grin matching hers.
“Ah, sugar! My mom’s outside now! But uh, of course if you still want to come you’re welcome to visit anytime today?”
“Hah, you know it.” A beat, and then before he could prevent himself:
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ex.” Wide eyed in disbelief, he finally slams the telephone back in its place. The duffel bag is barely hanging to his shoulder as he fumbles for the keys, effectively locking the house. A cheer erupts from the car’s open window and he’s inside, breathing all too quickly for just a quick sprint outside.
It takes all of his self control to not stop, drop, and roll his body into a pile of unarticulated limbs. It’s even harder to smile and follow the conversation his mom starts, instead placing his hands on his face and willing the warmth to go away.
He doesn’t realize the quizzical look he’s getting from Brenda, and he definitely doesn’t realize the direction of his mother’s conversation until they pull up in the driveway.
“You know, honey, I figured since you haven’t been able to visit Exer outside of school, I invited him over for dinner. That’s ok, right?”
And just when he calmed himself down from the earlier conversation. His mind worked frantically to translate her words while pushing the memory to the side, wincing at the chocolates sitting (and probably melting) at the bottom of his clothes.
“Uh, I thought I was here to spend time with you guys?” He chuckled awkwardly, missing the eye roll Brenda gave behind him. His mother only smiled gently before smacking him lightly.
“And you will,” she promised, “but I thought he could use some company, hon. He’s family, too.” At that note, she turned away and hummed, leaving David to wallow in his muddled thoughts.
Brenda just stared, seemingly unfazed at his expression.
“Come on, David.” She grabs for his duffel bag before he can protest and drags him by the wrist to their shared room upstairs.
“What are yo—“
“It’s Valentine’s Day, and to make the most fun out of it, I’ll be doing makeup.” He yelps as she pushes him to the floor, the sound of the duffel bag being discarded somewhere to the side. The sound of clattering continued until she returned triumphant with her bags of makeup.
“That’s great, Brenda.” He eyes her face, noting the obvious makeup applied beforehand. Why would she need more? An ominous air make his skin prickle as she begins taking out the supplies.
“So are you going to remove your makeup or add more?” He makes the mistake however of looking up from the floor as her gaze snaps to his. An involuntary gulp is the last thing he manages before he finds himself in his sister’s grasp staring at the mirror. His reflection showed his face akin to horror as Brenda began brushing his hair out of his eyes.
“Actually, I was thinking I’d try some makeup on you for a change.” She giggled devilishly and tugged once more on his hair.
“Hey, cut it out. That isn’t necessary, Brend—“
“You will be reborn,” she continues seriously, “and you will be beautiful once more!” A cackle erupts from her on a particularly harsh brush that has his head swerving to the side.
“Bre—mmph?” His eyes widen at the sudden intrusion in his mouth before realizing they were chocolates.
“Sit back, pretty boy. Your sister’s got you.” With a wink, she drowns out his worries through loud music and awful karaoke, and for a moment be allows himself to relax with her. In fact, by the time she’s started brushing up on his face, he can’t remember what he was all worried for. For now, it was just them and the music, and maybe the chocolate, too.