Chapter Text
He kicks the pebble along the sidewalk, glaring as it barely moves a few inches. He huffs and kicks it again with much greater force, satisfied when it flies down the concrete.
He shoves his hands into his jacket, keeping his head down as he walks. He hadn’t wanted to leave his gang early. One of the guys named Matheo had gotten his hands on some alcohol and they all drank and played poker. Well, the poker was fun. The alcohol, not so much.
He had tried one of the drinks Matheo had brought. It had tasted awful. But he had swallowed it with a smirk and pretended he liked it. He faked drinking the rest of it before getting the text from his mom to come home. At least he wasn’t drunk. His mom would be devastated. He had already come home once high as a kite with a police officer firmly gripping his shoulder. He wasn’t planning on doing it again anytime soon.
He looks up as he approaches the apartments where he and his mom live. He holds back a sigh and makes his way towards the building. He walks up the stairs and fishes for his key in his pocket.
He pulls it out and the door opens with a click. He walks inside, shutting the door behind him, and toeing off his shoes.
“Mom! I’m home!” He shouts.
“Deuce! Perfect timing.” His mom says as she comes around the corner.
Deuce looks up and feels his mind go blank. His mom is wearing a nice navy jumpsuit with frills along the chest. A diamond necklace he has never seen her wear before adorns her neck with matching earrings. He knows he probably looks stupid, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
Finally, he’s able to jumpstart his brain and speak. “W-Wow, Mom. You look beautiful.”
A bright smile he hasn’t seen on her in so long splits across her face. He can’t help but smile with her.
“Aw, thank you, sweetheart.”
She opens her arms, and he obliges, hugging her tightly as she places a gentle kiss on his hair. She gives him one more firm squeeze before pulling away.
“You going on a date with Eric again tonight?” He asks
“Yes. That’s actually why I wanted you home.” Mom says, pulling him to the couch so they can sit down.
“Eric and I were talking. And we…well, we wanted to get a bit more serious with our relationship.”
Deuce’s eyes widen. “Oh. Um, ok.” He says, unsure of what to say.
“I figured you’d want to meet him. So, he’s invited you to join us for dinner tonight.”
“Wait, really? You sure I won’t be intruding?”
Mom laughs. “Sweetheart, I wouldn’t have brought this up if we both didn’t want you to be there.”
Deuce looks down at his hands, so many feelings swirling around in his gut. There’s a bit of excitement in meeting the man who seems to have infatuated his mom. There’s also apprehension. What if he doesn’t like Eric? Or what if Eric doesn’t like him? There’s also protective determination. His mom has already been hurt by someone else before. He may not be the world’s best son, but he still cares about his mom, and he wouldn’t let some guy hurt her again.
He realizes that he’s been quiet for too long and his mom is waiting for an answer. He looks up to meet her eyes and offers her a hesitant smile.
“I’d like to meet him.”
“Great. Go freshen up and change into something nice.”
Deuce nods and walks to his room, closing his door behind him. He walks over to his closet and looks inside. He doesn’t have many nice clothes. Not like he and his mom had the money to even attend nice events anyway.
He grabs a pair of black jeans and a nice white dress shirt, along with a black leather jacket he has. He figures it’ll work. He takes a quick shower before changing. When he comes out, his mom is ready to go, heels in her hands and a nice purse that he knows she hasn’t had before hanging from her shoulder.
His mom’s boyfriend definitely loves spoiling her. Deuce silently approves, seeing how happy his mom looks to be able to dress nicely.
Mom puts on her sandals and turns to face him. “Well, don’t you look all nice and put together.” She says.
Deuce feels his face heat up. He looks away a little bashfully. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Let’s head out now. I don’t want to keep them waiting.” His mom says, already heading out the door.
Deuce follows before her words fully sink in and he stops as he’s halfway out the door. “Them?” He repeats to himself with a frown.
He closes and locks the door behind him before quickly rushing down the stairs to where his mom’s car is parked. As soon as he’s seated in the passenger seat and pulling his seatbelt on, he decides to ask.
“You said them. Is someone else eating with us?”
Mom’s eyes widen and she smiles. “I can’t believe I forgot to mention him. Eric has a son! He’s about two years older than you. He’ll be joining us for dinner tonight as well.”
Deuce bites the inside of his cheek as his mom begins to drive. A son.
He can't help but imagine what he must be like. He wonders if he likes blastcycles like he does. Maybe he can do magic too. Maybe Deuce could make a new friend. It was childish, and he was very much aware of that. But truth be told, he has no real friends. The guys he hangs out with aren't really his friends.
Not in the slightest.
Deuce’s eyes widen as they begin to approach a restaurant. A very nice restaurant. There is a valet at the entrance, and he can see people walking inside dressed in expensive-looking suits and sparkling dresses. Deuce suddenly feels extremely underdressed. He didn't even know a restaurant this fancy existed in the Queendom. This seemed more like those expensive restaurants he would see on Magicam in Maquillaville.
He knows Mom’s boyfriend is rich. After all, he has to have a good job to afford all the gifts he clearly loves to give his mom. But this? His insides twist with nerves.
As Mom pulls up to the valet, she changes out of her sandals and into her heels. She gives him a smile, clearly excited. “You ready?”
He is doing this for Mom.
He smiles as well. “You bet.”
Someone comes over and opens his door. He nods in thanks and walks over to the entrance where he waits for his mom, who is handing over her car keys to someone.
She makes her way over to him and squeezes his shoulder before leading him inside. His jaw drops as he looks around.
Diamond chandeliers hang from tall, dome-shaped ceilings. Waiters and waitresses dressed in black suits walk around with trays perfectly balanced in their arms. Tables filled with patrons are decorated with golden-trimmed dishware, sparkling wine glasses, and little lamps giving the whole restaurant a golden glow.
Deuce is incredibly underdressed.
His mom walks forward to where the hostess is, giving her a smile.
“Welcome to The Rose Garden. Do you have a reservation?” The hostess asks.
“Yes. It should be under the name Schoenheit.” Mom says.
Deuce pauses. That must be Eric’s last name. Why does it sound so familiar?
“Schoenheit…yep. Here you are. The other two guests are already here. Right this way, please.” The hostess says with a smile and leads the two of them through the restaurant.
Deuce can’t help but clench and unclench his fists, mentally preparing himself. It's just his mom’s boyfriend and his son. Who are both wealthy enough to afford dinner at a place like this. And he is wearing black jeans, a white button-down, and a black leather jacket.
He can do this.
Up ahead, he can see a man with light blonde hair, dressed in an incredibly nice suit with a purple tie and pocket square. There’s a boy to his left also with blonde hair, the tips dyed a light purple. He is wearing dark pants and a light purple shirt with a low V-neck, long frilly sleeves, and a necklace that brought attention to his neck. He looks incredibly handsome.
So this is his mom’s boyfriend and his son. Deuce looks at the boy a little longer, trying to figure out why Schoenheit sounds so familiar and why the boy looks so familiar, until he pauses, eyes wide and jaw on the floor.
He quickly grabs his mom’s hand and tugs it. She leans down so he can whisper in her ear. “You didn’t tell me your boyfriend was Eric Venue and his son was Vil Schoenheit! You’re dating a famous actor?!” He whisper shouts.
His mom playfully rolls her eyes. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal.”
“It’s a huge deal!” He retorts.
He doesn’t get the chance to elaborate as they approach their table, the hostess wishing them a wonderful dinner before walking back to the front of the restaurant. Eric Venue, or should he say, Eric Schoenheit, stands up with a warm smile.
“Dylla.” He greets his mom with a smile and a kiss.
As she pulls away from the kiss, she motions toward him. “Eric, this is my son, Deuce.”
Deuce looks up at the man, floundering stupidly. He finally remembers his manners and holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Please, call me Eric. Your mother has told me so much about you.” Eric says with a smile, shaking his hand. It doesn’t make Deuce feel better in the slightest.
Eric lets go of his hand and walks over to his son. Vil stands up, confidence and poise oozing off of him. His hands are perfectly folded in front of him, a polite smile on his face. “Dylla, Deuce, this is my wonderful son, Vil.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.” Vil says.
“It’s lovely to meet you too, sweetheart.” His mom says, shaking Vil’s hand.
Deuce does so as well and feels his face heat up as Vil shakes his hand with a raised brow, his palms suddenly sweaty.
Deuce quickly pulls his hand away and tries to subtly rub his hand against his jeans. The four of them sit down and look at the menus.
Deuce has no idea what any of the fancy words on the menu mean. And he knows for a fact he wouldn’t be able to afford any of this. A waiter comes by a few minutes later to take their drink orders and asks about appetizers.
He’s silently grateful that Eric handles it because he doesn’t even know where to begin. Deuce watches as Mom and Eric talk. His mom really does look happy with him.
He can’t help but feel happy that his mom is happy.
He doesn’t say anything to Vil. Truth be told, he isn’t sure what to say. How does one speak to world-famous actor and model Vil Schoenheit? Vil’s accomplished more at the age of 7 than Deuce has in his entire 14 years on this planet.
And besides, Vil is the exact opposite of him. He’s a delinquent and he knows it. Vil is accomplished.
Even just sitting silently, Vil looks so sure of himself. Deuce looks down at his hands, picking his nails.
“How old are you?”
Deuce quickly looks up, surprised to hear Vil speaking.
“Me…?” He asks, hesitantly pointing at himself.
“Who else would I be talking to?”
Deuce feels his traitorous face burn red. He clears his throat. “Fourteen. You?”
“Seventeen.” Vil replies.
Deuce slowly nods and looks away, his arms crossed over his chest. He can feel Vil’s eyes leave him, his shoulders subconsciously falling at no longer being watched. He’s sure Vil’s a decent guy. But…he can't help but feel like the movie star was judging him. His bleached hair. His clothes. The way he presented himself. His piercings on his ears and tongue.
As if to make Deuce feel more embarrassed than he already feels, his stomach lets out an audible groan. His face flushes, feeling Vil’s eyes fall back onto him again.
The food hasn't even arrived yet, but Deuce still feels like this dinner wasn’t very good.
Deuce glances at his mom. The way she laughs at something Eric says. Her face is so bright. He hasn't seen that in a while. And he is part of the problem. But here comes Eric and his perfect son Vil, successful and polite, just like his father.
Deuce has no problem with Eric. But what if his mom began to favor Vil over him? After all, Mom had said that she and Eric wanted to get more serious with their relationship. What if that meant moving in together? Mom would see Vil more often. Get to know him better. And surely she would choose Vil over him. Heck, Deuce would choose Vil over himself. After all, he was just some screw-up delinquent who did drugs, stayed out past curfew, got in trouble with the cops, got piercings without permission, and acted out all the time.
And the worst part is…Deuce doesn't want to stop acting out either. He isn't smart enough in school. Nobody believes he has it in him to make it in this big, wide world. He's heard the gossip of the neighbors. How the son of a single mother who works all the time to provide would not be able to be a good mother to her son. How he would end up a delinquent. And, well, at that point he felt like he had no choice but to be what the world saw him as.
Even still. At the end of the day, he may be a delinquent and the worst son ever, but he still loves and cares about his mom.
As the waiter comes back with appetizers, Deuce can't bring himself to grab anything.
He subtly glances at Vil, talking to Mom with a smile. Deuce’s grip on his arms tighten. Deuce knows that his behavior is bad. And yet, he doesn't want to do a thing to change it.