Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

November 8, 2018

Finally, school was over. Alfred already knew where he was going to go. He pedaled faster to feel the wind fly past his face. He liked that feeling. It made him feel like he was flying. Like he had no worries in the world. The breeze moved the tall grass and the long branches on the trees. The sun beat down onto his skin. The pebbled, dirt road made his bicycle shake slightly. I should deflate the tires…I’ll do that when I get home, he told himself for the third time this week.

After about thirty minutes, he finally got there. He stopped his bike and hopped off. He grabbed the handle bars and walked over to a tree, letting it lean against it. He looked around and took a breath of the familiar pine scent. It was a fairly secluded area. A big large, surrounded by tall trees and overgrown grass. Although the did see people here every now and then, it was usually empty. Mainly because the road leading to it was too narrow for a car and people didn’t want to walk all that way.

A few feet away was a dock. It wasn’t too big but big enough for a few people to sit on. Made of old wood, algae clung to the part of the pilings that met the water. He walked over to the dock and sat down, letting his legs dangle off the edge of it.

He sat for a few moments, letting the sound of the wind and crickets fill his thoughts, before he let out a sigh. His shoulders relaxed and he closed his eyes. The weight of his backpack slightly pulled him backwards so he shrugged it off his shoulders and put it beside him.

Getting annoyed with the silence, he started talking. “Oh man I’m soo tired. At least I can always come here and chill though!” he said to himself. He didn’t know who he was talking to. He just wanted to fill the quiet. He waited for a few seconds, hoping someone would respond. Nothing.

He shifted his position, starting to get uncomfortable. Not noticing how his hand was under his backpack, he lifted it. His backpack quickly fell off the dock and plunged into the water. It took him a few seconds to realize what happened. “Oh crud!” he yelped and leaned over the edge of the dock, hoping to see his backpack. His hands clenched the side of the dock as he leaned further. Realizing that his backpack was really gone, he let go of the edge and slouched, hanging his head. “Dude my bag…that had my homework in it! This sucks…” he groaned.

Too busy with mourning the loss of his backpack, he didn’t notice the bubbles that rose to the surface of the water. A few seconds later his backpacked got flung out of the water and landed on the dock beside him. He jumped and let out a totally manly yell. “Well that was unexpected,” he mumbled. He stared at the backpack for a few seconds until he realized, how did it fly out of the water? “How the…” he started but got cut off when he looked at the lake.

It was a person. Only the top half of his head was above the water. That’s odd. There weren’t any bikes here so how the heck did he get here? And the closest building was a half-mile away so he didn’t think anyone would walk here. “Hey! Thanks dude but I don’t know if that water is clean to swim in!” he shouted. Obviously, that was a lie but he was too lazy to correct himself. The person stared at him for a bit longer before going back underwater. Who the heck was that? he wondered. He got snapped out of his thoughts, as he saw a tail come out of the water. It looked like a fish..? No way a fish that big exists! Unless…

“I- wh- WAS THAT A MERMAI- MAN?!” he exclaimed. The tail went back underwater as quick as it came up. He froze, unsure of what to do. Holy- those things are real?! No way… I need to get a closer look! he told himself. He laid down on the dock horizontally and reached one arm out towards the water. He tried to touch the water but he couldn’t reach it. Curse my short arms…

“Dude! Hey! Come back! I didn’t mean to scare you! I’m sorry!” He kept his hand hovering above the water. He started to lose hope until bubbles surfaced. Wet. He felt something wet. He squinted his eyes to see more clearly. It was the person. His hair flattened under his hand. A bit awkward but ok… “Heyy…uhm…” Alfred mumbled. He wasn’t sure what to do or say. The person continued to stare at him, unblinking. Alfred stared back but with softer eyes. Now that he was staring directly at the person, he was able to see better.

He had a somewhat round face with pale skin. His hair was slightly overgrown and tangled; it was an ashen blond color. His eyes were a light shade of violet. They stood out against his white eyelashes. A soft shade of pink lightly dusted his cheeks.

Alfred never seen anyone like him before. Probably because it’s not everyday you meet a merman. His fingers mindlessly twirled his hair. He shifted his position so he was resting his head against one of his hands while the other continued to twirl the other persons hair.

“Honestly I’m not sure what you are but you’re cool..? I’m Alfred by the way,” he said as his smile slightly widened. After a few seconds, he retracted his hand and sat upright with crisscrossed legs. They stared at each other some more until the person brought a hand above water to point at himself. His hand was scarred and seemed almost claw like. “Ivan,” he said in a quiet - almost hush - voice.

“Woah. You talk?” Alfred replied in slight surprise. At first he hoped that Ivan could understand him but now he could speak English too? Perfect! “Da,” Ivan said. “Awesome!” Alfred was starting to think this Ivan guy wasn’t that bad! He grabbed his backpack and moved it to the other side of him. He quickly patted the spot on the dock next to him and said, “You wanna come sit with me?” Alfred wasn’t even sure if he was able to go out of water - he hoped so.

Ivan narrowed his eyes at him. He seemed to be deep in thought. After a few seconds he nodded and grabbed the edge of the dock to pull himself up. It took him a while to balance himself but he eventually got it. He looked over at Alfred just to see his jaw dropped. He tilted his head, not understanding Alfred’s reaction.

Alfred couldn’t move. Was this a dream? It had to be! He snapped out of his thoughts to ask something. “Holy crap dude! I figured you were a merman thing but now that you’re actually here, I don’t know what to think!- And why are your eyes purple? What’s with the accent? Are you gonna die if you stay on land too long? And what about…” Alfred continued to ramble. His voice was loud. He spoke as if he didn’t think of what to say, he just said whatever was on his mind.

Ivan stared at Alfred in confusion as he rambled. He wasn’t to sure what he was saying. Halfway through Alfred’s rambling, he decided to speak up. “Err…you talk…fast. Don’t understand,” Ivan said timidly.

Alfred froze. That’s probably the first time he heard Ivan say a full sentence(kind of). He blinked and rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh- yeah sorry ‘bout that! I tend to talk a lot. My dad says I’m a chatter box,” he laughed to himself. Ivan nodded and silence fell upon them. “So…” Alfred started after a few moments, “what exactly are you..?” Ivan darted his eyes away and shrugged. “Uhm…not sure,” he said nervously.

He didn’t know? Alfred thought that was a bit weird but shrugged it off. “Well…I’ll help you figure it out’ ‘Cus I’m the hero!” Alfred said with a grin, pointing to himself.

Ivan giggled at how cheery Alfred acts. He never met someone that acted this…happy? He couldn’t quite place the word. He’ll probably figure it out later. “Da, you are,” he said unable to hold back a smile.

Alfred felt a warm feeling spread through him as he saw Ivan smile. He looked nicer when he smiled. Noticing that Ivan got distracted with staring at the fish in the lake, he took the opportunity to look at him more closely. Like his hand, his entire body was scarred. He wanted to ask him about it but they just met and he figured it’s probably a touchy subject. The most noticeable one was the scar that wrapped around his neck. His gut churned at the sight. Ivan looked to be about his age too. He directed his gaze away from the scar(s) to look at his tail. There were two small pectoral fins (on the side of his hips) that were a dark violet color. His tail was a light purple that faded into a soft lilac color. The small scales on it glistened in the bright sunlight. The caudal fin was also a soft lilac color and had thin spines that kept its shape. Alfred looked back at his torso and noticed three pink, curved lines on his sides. He assumed they were gills and brought his gaze back up to Ivan’s face. Slightly poking out of his messy hair were his ears. Like his tail, they were purple and had three small spines

Alfred shook his head in disbelief and averted his gaze to the fish that Ivan got distracted looking at. Maddie is never going to believe me. He thought about what his sister would think of this. Alfred, sitting on a dock, with an actual mermaid. She probably wouldn’t believe him but play along. She always did. His dads didn’t even know he came here. No one does except his few friends; Gilbert, Lovino, and Sadik. He had more friends but there were the ones that came to the lake with him. This was their not-so-secret hideout. They usually came here in the summer to swim and explore the woods but they also came during the school year to relax. I should show them Ivan, next time they come here! That’ll totally like blow their brains out!

“Alfred?” Ivan said and Alfred blinked to look back at his face. “Huh? Yeah dude?” Alfred asked. “I was saying name a lot. Didn’t respond,” Ivan huffed. He was saying Alfred’s name? He didn’t even notice! “Oh sorry dude! I was like totally zoned out y’know?” Ivan stared at him and nodded slowly. He was most definitely clueless about what Alfred just said. Ok maybe some English lessons are required…

So they talked. For hours. The sun started to set and the stars slowly climbed into the sky. The wind now longer howled, for it went into hiding. Crickets sang louder, as they hid in the tall grass. Alfred led most of the conversations they had while Ivan nodded half the time and pretended to know what he was saying.

“And then-“ Alfred got cut off with a yawn “-oh man…I’m tired. What ‘bout you?” He turned to look at Ivan. “Da,” he replied with a curt nod. Alfred tore his eyes away from Ivan, after what felt like hours, to look at the sky. The sun was resting atop the trees. Towards the East the stars started to get higher and higher. “Dang, the sun is setting…I should head home,” he said with a twinge of sadness. He turned to his side to grab his backpack before Ivan spoke up.

“Be here tomorrow?” he asked. He didn’t want Alfred to leave, but he knew he had to go. Alfred couldn’t stay here forever, he had a family and friends to go back to. “Hm?” Alfred looked over his shoulder to see Ivan. “Oh! Yeah dude! I’ll stop by here everyday, if you want me to! You want me to visit, right?” Ivans eyes slightly widened in a panic, “I- da!” Alfred nodded and stood up, tossing his backpack over his shoulder. “Good because I was gonna come anyway!” he paused and looked away, “well uh…I should go now.” Ivan looked up at him and let out a small sigh, “mm…da..”

They both went silent, as Alfred looked back at him. Like most times whenever they both went quiet, they stared at each other. Neither of them bothered to look away. It didn’t even seem like Alfred noticed it. Ivan stared back but with slight confusion. “Hello?” Ivan said to break the silence. Alfred blinked then frantically looked away. “I- uh yeah sorry! Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow!” Alfred turned and started to walk away. He looked behind him and waved at Ivan. “Bye!” he said with a wide smile. “Bye.” Ivan replied back and awkwardly waved to him.

Alfred walked over to his bicycle and grabbed the handle bars, moving it away from the tree. He hopped into it and started to pedal away from the lake. He looked behind him to see Ivan still looking at him. He shrugged and turned to look back at the pebbled road, surrounded by tall grass. He pedaled faster so he could make it home before it got dark. His dad’s usually worked late so he was able to go out to place before they came home. Fireflies started to dance in the sky, around him.

Well today was…unexpected, to say the least. I wonder what excuse I’ll tell the teacher about my homework. “Sorry Mr.Edelstein I dropped my bag in a lake and a merman saved it!” Yeah right!

So as Alfred went home and Ivan sat upon the dock, they both wondered what surprises tomorrow would bring - for the both of them.

Chapter Text

November 12, 2018

Alfred slammed his locker shut and turned to see his friend, Gilbert, looking at him. Like always, he had that stupid huge grin plastered on his face. His red eyes were a large contrast to his white hair and pale skin. He was a bit taller than him - mainly because he got held back 1 year so he was the oldest in the grade.

“Gilbert! What’s up dude?” Alfred said with a smile. “Oh y’know nothing much. I just got back from talking with Maddie so I’d thought that I’d say hi to you too,” he replied. Alfred frowned. “Dude stop telling me that you’re flirting with my sister. It’s weird!” He whined. Gilbert cackled and shook his head. “Ok ok fine, I’ll shut up! It’s just she’s-“ “DUDE!” Alfred cut him off. “I’m gonna be late for class. I’ll see you later, ‘kay?” Gilbert nodded and waved him off, “yeah yeah. Cya Al!” Alfred waved back and walked to his next class - English.

He tried to walk into the classroom unnoticed but ultimately failed, when he dropped his book on accident. A loud thud echoed through the classroom and everyone’s head turned to face him. He hated it when people looked at him and only him. He froze and gave an awkward smile before he quickly grabbed his book and hurried to an open seat in the back. The teacher sighed and continued on with the lesson.

The entire time Alfred was only able to think about Ivan. His hand mindlessly wrote down the notes, while doing so. Is he ok? What does he do when I’m gone? What’s he thinking right now? Should I skip school and go hang out with him? Thousands of thoughts filled his mind. It wasn’t until he heard his name being called did he look up.

“Alfred, what is the answer to question 8?” His teacher called. His stomach dropped and he glanced at someone else’s book to realize he was on the wrong page.

“Huh?”

“Excuse me, Mr.Edelstein?” His teacher corrected.

“Oh. Uh…excuse me Mr.Edelstein?”

“What is the answer to question 8?” He repeated with narrowed eyes.

“I…uhm…it’s..” he mumbled, as he frantically flipped through his book, trying to find the right page. Mr.Edelstein sighed and turned to ask someone else.

Alfred slumped in his chair. Again, people stared at him but turned around to pay attention. Alfred hung his head and stared down at his notes, realizing it wasn’t even the correct notes but only a bunch of doodles. More importantly, doodles of Ivan. The past few days he’s been visiting Ivan at the lake. His grades were already bad so he didn’t care that he was skipping homework. Although, he did feel a bit bad for Maddie. She always went home alone now. He pushed the guilt he felt down and continued to think about Ivan. During the weekend he visited Ivan too. They’d hang out the entire day. Alfred always brought some stuff to show him: action figures, comics, and his polaroid camera. Ivan didn’t like how the camera flashed so he made a mental note to never bring it again. At least he had a funny photo of Ivan squinting at the camera now. It currently laid on his desk at home.

After about 20 grueling minutes, the bell finally rung. He immediately stood up and grabbed all his stuff before darting out the door. He pushed through the crowd of people that filled the hallways to get to his locker. He shoved his books into his locker and grabbed his backpack. He headed to his homeroom and tossed his backpack into his seat. Across the room were his friends Gilbert and Lovino.

“Gil! Lovi!” He smiled and walked over to them. “Al! Hey!” Gilbert waved. Lovino frowned at the nickname Alfred gave him but didn’t comment. “We were planning on going to the arcade today after school. Wanna come?” Gilbert said. Alfred shrugged, “I dunno. I plan on helping Maddie with cooking dinner so I’m gonna be busy. Maybe some other time I can come?” Lovino narrowed his eyes at him, “I thought you hated cooking?” Dang it I forgot about that, he thought. Alfred wasn’t the best liar. “I just wanna try it again. Maybe cooking with my ‘sis will be more fun than cooking with my pa,” he said quickly. To quickly. Lovino turned to face Gilbert and he shrugged. “Oh well, your loss. Maybe during the weekend we can all go?” Gilbert suggested. Alfred nodded and the bell rung. He went back to his desk and prayer sounded through the speakers. After prayer he grabbed his backpack and ran out the room, not bothering to say bye to neither Gilbert nor Lovino.

While walking towards the exit door, he stopped in front of Maddie’s homeroom and waited for her. After a few seconds, she finally walked out.

“Maddie!” He grinned and gave her a hug. “How was that big test you were freaking out over?” Maddie gave a small smile, “it wasn’t too bad. I probably got a 90 on it but whatever.” Like always, her voice was timid. She was just a shy and quiet person in general. Alfred stepped backwards and slung his backpack onto his shoulders. “I’m sure you did fine. You always say that and then get 100. Don’t worry ‘bout it!” He parred her shoulder, “also I’m going to the lake again today. If you need me I’ll be there, ‘kay?” Maddie nodded and another thought came to Alfred mind, “oh! By the way, if anyone asks, I went home with you to help you cook dinner.” She furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to talk but Alfred already turned away and exited the school.

Alfred walked over to the bicycle rack and took his off the rack. He swung his leg over it and sat on the seat. His foot rested on the pedal, until he started pedaling. He raced out of the school parking lot and onto the sidewalk. He usually didn’t go this fast on a bicycle but he really wanted to see Ivan. Shades of red, orange, and brown zoomed past him, as he went faster. Leaves slowly fell from trees and littered the ground beneath him. Very few cars sped past him on the road. A few roots poked out of the concrete sidewalk, making the ride bumpy. The road he takes, from his school to the lake, cuts through a forest. On rare occasions, an animal would cross the road and cause him to come to an abrupt stop.

About 17 minutes late he got to the lake. He quickly got off his bicycle and tossed it onto the ground, uncaring if it broke or not. He walked towards the dock and sat down, putting his backpack next to him. This time he made sure it wasn’t too close to the edge. Every time he sat on the dock he always left a bit of space next to him for Ivan. He looked around on the dock and spotted a stick. He reached over and grabbed it. Looking back at the water, he waited a few seconds to see if Ivan would come up. With a sigh he reached towards the water and stirred it with the stick. He spun the stick a few times but eventually got bored and tossed the stick into the water. It floated for a bit before it sunk. He criss-crossed his legs and slumped. Where is he…

A few seconds later the stick got tossed out of the water and hit his face. He frowned at the cold water that now was on his face and out the stick into his backpack. He looked to his left, just to see Ivan there. His face lit up immediately. “Ivan! Dude I didn’t even hear you get outta the water, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” He laughed and lightly punched Ivan’s arm. Ivan laughed awkwardly and lightly punched Alfred back. One thing that Alfred learned, the hard way, was that Ivan was freakishly strong. So that meant that a light punch still hurt. Thankfully, Ivan realized this and now whenever they nudge each other he makes sure to not hit Alfred too hard.

“Oh, dude, I brought another cool thing to show you,” Alfred said as he turned toward his backpack and reached inside. Ivan looked at him curiously, wondering what’s inside. Alfred grinned and pulled out a brown paper bag. He handed it over to Ivan. Ivan stared at it in his hands, confused. “Uh…what is this?” He darted his eyes between the bag and Alfred. “Just open it,” Alfred said impatiently. Ivan eyed him suspiciously before giving a shrug and opening it. Inside was an apple. Ivan stared at it before grabbing it - gently. He looked at Alfred with furrowed brows. Alfred smiled, “it’s an apple. I dunno if you ever had one before. I like them. I think you will too though!” Ivan nodded and went back to looking at the apple. He probably doesn’t know how to eat it.

Alfred sighed and reached over to grab it. Ivan stared at him as Alfred bit into it. He handed it back to Ivan, “there. Eat it like that.” Ivan turned the apple in his hands, observing it. He eventually shrugged and bit into it. The second his teeth pierced the skin of the apple he made a face and spat it out. He looked over at Alfred with a large frown and a scrunched nose. “Gross,” he said flat out. Alfred laughed at his reaction, “dude, you should totally see your face right now!” Ivan mumbled something under his breath and handed the apple back to Alfred. Once the apple was back in his hand he stared at the spot Ivan bit. He noticed that Ivan didn’t even fully bite into it so there were just a few dots of where the teeth met the skin. Unlike his - a human - bite, Ivan’s bite was a bunch of slightly spaced lines. It reminded him of a piranhas bite, in a way.

He chucked the apple into the tall grass. It’s good for the soil. He turned back to face Ivan. “Random question but uh can you open your mouth? Just for s second,” he mumbled. He wasn’t sure if it was something he could ask but he did anyway. Ivan tilted his head - he did that a lot, Alfred noticed - but obliged to his odd request. He opened his mouth, not fully because he felt a bit awkward, but still did so. Alfred slightly leaned forward to see better. Everything seemed normal, except for his teeth. They were ever so slightly yellowed but what surprised him the most was how they looked. They were all pointed like a shark’s. “Holy carp,” -  I’m hilarious! - “, dude! That’s cool as heck!” Alfred exclaimed. Ivan shut his mouth and furrowed his brow.

“Carp? I- huh? What is cool?”

“Your teeth! They’re all pointy ‘n stuff!”

“How is that ‘cool’?”

“Well I mean- everything about you is cool!” Alfred said almost immediately.

Ivan’s cheeks got a bit pinker but Alfred didn’t notice. “Hm. You are ‘cool’ too, Alfred.” Alfred grinned and pumped his fists into the air, “awesome!”

After that they talked and debated over many things such as; if Ivan was colorblind (they still aren’t sure if he is or not), if Alfred could win in a fight against Ivan (he can’t), what their favorite food is (“You never had a burger?!? I’m starting to think you live under a rock- literally!”), etc. At one point, Alfred pushed Ivan off the dock and into the lake. Ivan wasn’t upset about this - mainly because he’s a merman - but he then grabbed Alfred’s ankle and tried to pull him in. That resulted in Alfred trying to kick him away while yelling about how he can’t get his uniform wet because his dads will ‘kill’ him.

After that, Ivan just stayed in the water and listened to Alfred rant. He gave commentary every now and then. Alfred started to get slightly bored and stood up. He walked off the dock and back onto the solid ground. Ivan stared at him, confused. Alfred gaze was focused on the ground until he grinned. He crouched down and picked up a few - flat - rocks. He stood back up and walked back to the dock, placing the rocks in the dock beside him. He kept one rock in his hand. “Alright, I have an idea! We’re gonna play a good ‘ol game of catch. Basically I’ll throw the rock…in the water? Yeah! And you’ll have to get the rock and throw it back at me! And so on. ‘Kay?” Ivan nodded and ducked underwater to wait for when Alfred would throw the rock into the water. When Ivan was out of sight, Alfred’s smile faltered. He shrugged it off and chucked the rock into the water, a few yards away from him.

Alfred stood there for a few seconds before a rock shot out of the water at lightning speed. It practically flew past his head and landed on the grass. Out of shock, he couldn’t move. Ivan resurfaced with only his head peaking out of the water. “Everything is ok?” Ivan tilted his head slightly to the side. Alfred blinked and relaxed his shoulders. “Yeah dude everything’s fine! Just maybe don’t…throw it as hard next time.” Ivan nodded and went back underwater. Alfred sighed and picked a rock from the small pile next of his foot.

Again, Alfred threw the rock into the water, far away. This time Ivan came above the water to ask, “I throw back now. Da?” Alfred gave a thumbs up and Ivan went back underwater. A rock shot out of the water immediately after. Thankfully he didn’t throw it as hard this time. Alfred moved slightly to the left and caught the rock between his hands. Ivan resurfaced and looked at Alfred, who was grinning. “Dude, did you see that? That was totally awesome! Alright I’ll throw it back now.”

They went back and forth with tossing the rock. One time Alfred tried to catch the rock and nearly fell off the dock. They played it for a while until the rock hit Alfred in the face.

“OW!” Alfred yelled as he stumbled backwards and covered his face. Ivan looked up and stayed near the edge of the dock. He didn’t go on it. Alfred sat down onto the dock and rubbed his eye. “Are you okay?” Ivan said quietly. He was scared that Alfred was going to be mad at him and never talk or visit him again. “Ugh…yeah I should be fine. It just hurts a bit.” Alfred moved his hand off his eye, “how bad is it?” There was a dark bruise under his right eye. Ivan winced and darted his eyes away. Noticing his reaction, Alfred sighed and gave him a reassuring smile. “Dude it’s ok don’t worry! It’s probably just a small scratch. I feel fine. I swear!”

Ivan frowned. “You are bad liar, da? Go home. It doesn’t look like ‘small scratch’. Just say you dislike me and go,” he mumbled and was about to duck back underwater before Alfred called his name. “Ivan! Wait don’t go! I’m not lying! I would never lie to you Ivan, you’re my friend! I’m not gonna leave you just because you accidentally launched a rock at my face. This stuff happens all the time. Don’t worry ‘bout it man, it’s no biggie,” Alfred said frantically. Ivan froze and stared up at Alfred with wide eyes. Did I say something wrong? Oh man he’s probably gonna say he hates me, Alfred thought in a panicked tone. After a few seconds, Ivan finally spoke up.

“Friend?” He said quietly.

Oh. So he was just confused about being called his friend. That made more sense, assuming he didn’t have any.

“Yeah dude! We’re friends! I visit you literally everyday and we hang out ‘n stuff! I mean- I would consider that being friends.”

“Hm. Da, you are right. We are friends then.”

Alfred smiled and so did Ivan. It was settled then. They were friends.

~~Later~~

Alfred punched the code into the garage and took a step back as it opened. He walked his bicycle inside and put it aside, against the wall. He pressed the button on the side of the wall and waited for the garage to close. After that, he opened the door and wiped his shoes on the carpet. Only a few lights were on. Papa and dad probably are asleep by now. Maddie might be awake right now. Yeah, I’ll go check to see if she’s awake! He took his shoes off, not bothering to untie them. He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of chips from a cupboard. He quietly walked upstairs, trying not to wake up his parents. Gently, he opened the door to his room and walked inside.

He tossed his bag onto the floor next to his bed. Letting out a sigh of relief, he flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. Geez…I can’t believe I can home so late. What time even is it? Peeking one eye open, he looked at his opened laptop on his desk to see the time. Holy- 9:15 p.m.?! Oh man thank God everyone else is asleep- I’d be in a ton of trouble if they weren’t!

He groaned and pushed himself off the bed and got changed out of his school clothes. Afterwards he turned to his bag and took his books and folders out. Lazily, he tossed them onto his desk beside his computer. He pulled his chair out and plopped himself into it. “Can’t believe I’m actually doing my homework for once,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” A voice from behind him said.

Alfred froze. Oh God. He slowly turned to look behind him, at his doorway. It was his Dad. Dang it.

“Oh…hi Dad..!”

“What are you doing up this late? I heard the garage opening and came to check.”

“I uh…forgot my homework…outside..yeah.”

His dad stared at him with an unamused expression.

“You’re a horrible liar. Tell me what really happened or else-“

“But dad I swear that’s what-“

“-you won’t be able to bike home. Even better, leave the house after school.”

Alfred immediately snapped his mouth shut and his father scoffed.

“Just what I thought. Truth. Now.”

“Ok ok fine! I…” - he darted his eyes away, not wanting to see his fathers’ expression - “…I was down by the lake. I got distracted and lost track of time.” Not entirely true but not entirely false.

“For 6 hours? Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously! I swear to God I’m no-“

“Alfred. What did I say about using the Lord’s name in vain?”

“That we shouldn’t because it’s disrespectful…”

“And?”

“And I’m sorry Dad.”

“Good. I’ll let it slide this time but next time I find you coming home this late you will receive punishment. Okay?”

“Yes Dad.”

“Now go to bed,” his dad said before he turned away and closed the door.

Alfred finally looked up, wearily, at the door. Today sucked. He missed Ivan. At least he didn’t get his bicycle taken away. He looked back at his desk to see the picture he took of Ivan leaning against a small, empty vase. A faint, genuine smile appeared on his face. Honestly, he had no regrets. He wasn’t even sorry! That was a complete lie he told! He winced at the thought of lying. Man…he did that a lot today, huh? To his Dad, Gil, Maddie, and Lovi. He’ll apologize later. Maybe. Probably not.

He let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding in and looked at his laptop. He saw his reflection in it. His hair was all messy and pointed in different directions, his eyes were slightly sunken, and the bruise from the rock was no ‘small scratch’ like he hoped it to be. At least Dad didn’t mention that either. He probably thought that was…another thing he did and ignored it.

Alfred put his finger up to the bruise and winced at the contact. I should put a bandage over this. I can’t deal with anymore questions from anyone else about my wellbeing. Learned my lesson when I used to wear short sleeves shirts.

He opened one of the drawers on his desk and pulled out a large bandage from it. He was thankful that past-him prepared for stuff like this. He quickly but carefully put the bandage over the bruise. It concealed it perfectly.

He closed his laptop and shut his drawer, trying to ignore the feeling of falling back into old habits. He froze and stared at the now closed drawer. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. No. He won’t. It’s been weeks. He won’t start again now.

He got up from his chair and collapsed onto his bed. He quickly slipped under the covers and practically curled into himself. Darkness enveloped his bedroom, with his laptop no longer providing light.

So as he started to drift off to sleep he tried to ignore the burning tears that streamed down his face.