Work Text:
The swing beside him creaked in the wind. Empty in the setting sun’s glow cascading upon the playground. Beside it sat a boy, about nine swinging slightly looking at the canvas above him.
His hair a light blonde reflecting the red and gold hues from the sky. His skin tanner than a normal nine year old’s should be. His clothes were dirtied up in some places, a large mud stain streaked across the lightning bolt on his shirt.
A 1971 Chevy Camaro turns a corner and parks itself in a cracked parking spot, it’s black paintwork seemed freshly polished. It’s door opened and a sophisticated man steps out, his deep chocolate suit framed him as if it was custom made for him. (it was)
The young boy looked up at the man in the parking lot who looked almost strikingly identical to him. The same colored hair, down to the beauty mark on their necks.
“Ezra Bringer, over here now.”
The boy slowly slid off the swing set. His posture perfect as he stood infront of the man, presumably his father.
The man’s eyes lower bit as he scratches the boy’s head.
“Get in the car and don’t get dirt on the leather, I just had it redone.”
The boy nodded and put his hand on the black door handle and pulled. He slipped into the back passenger seat and buckled himself in.
As his dad drove, the boy picked at his nails looking out of the car window at the sky, now fading up into a navy speckled with the first few stars of the night.
Ezra was never a talkative kid, he didn’t know weather it was being homeschooled up until second grade, or his dad being a well known politician in his state and not giving Ezra the right outing to make friends.
He looked into the rear view mirror at the man who was his father. his eyes sunken in from exhaustion and problems Ezra didn’t yet know about. His brown eyes move back to the gradient that was the sky.
“Picture perfect” his dad would say to him, he had never known anything more or less than the two people in this world.
Rebels that go against their beliefs. and them, what was right in the world. No flaws, no broken rules, just a picture framed in gold with the words “the right way” on a plaque below them.
The car rolled into a perfectly paved driveway framed with a gorgeous flower arrangement that led up the sidewalk to a light blue, two storied house. It looked…
perfect.
to his dad, to himself, to the bikers that come up and down the street on Saturday nights, to everyone. it was perfect, and so were they.
•<~>•
the fourteen year old lay there on his queen sized bed, looking up at the political poster that held his fathers face. “Vote Fabius Bringer for State Mayor this fall! The perfect opportunity awaits!” it read.
god perfect this, perfect that. was this world really all his dad made it up to be?
he turned to lay on his side, a tanned arm fell over the edge of the bed. his eyes closing as he remembered memories from his last year at middle school.
he had known instantly the minute he stepped into the school and became a storm chaser, who the diseases were, who was polluting the perfect urban school. then who the cures for said diseases were. the people like him. the perfect people. the example setters, the perfect grade people, the ones his dad told him were “keepers”
but, is it really perfect when they have hidden problems no one knows?
is it really perfect when their family doesn’t care like they do?
Ezra had realized a few months into sixth grade that the world his dad promised wasn’t even visible on the football field. hell, it wasn’t even at the concession stand serving frozen hotdogs with stale ass bread. he had come to the conclusion that the picture perfect people, and the rebels on the streets had intertwined overtime.
he opened his eyes and slowly moved off of his bed and looked out of the window onto the street where two kids about his age were skating around. they had figured out the truth about the world ages ago, way before him. he had recognized them from his school, just from the hallways.
the one girl was valeriana. a tall, tan girl with short brown hair who was on yearbook committee that past year. the other girl he didn’t know. she was skating as fast as she could, her dark skin was framed with even shorter black hair. he had a feeling this was valeriana’s best friend, ashley or something like tha-
“Ezra.”
he had heard his father enter the room before he saw him. he turned around to look at his father with his blonde hair slightly streaked with grey. his posture straightening instantly as his fathers eyes looked into his own.
“Yes father?” was Ezra’s response every day. and it never failed him for, it was expected. a perfect son should always listen to his father.
Fabius moved his eyes to the window behind his son where he saw the two girls he would call rebels, who deserved punishment of some kind. he scoffed at looking at them.
“disgusting, the whole lot of them. promise me you’ll never be like that son.”
it wasn’t said like a kind father telling his son of drug impact or some shit like that, no. it was a warning that if he became like them, his dad would be right beside him gripping his shoulder and looking at him with disappointment, anger, and disgust. Ezra couldn’t stand his dad viewing him any less than perfect.
“of course father! i wouldn’t dream of ever being an imperfect son!” a fake, rehearsed smile falls onto Ezra’s face. he struggled not to flinch as his dad puts his hand on his shoulder squeezing slightly.
“good. that’s what i like to hear from someone who’s a Bringer.” not even a glint of a smile crosses his face as his dad speaks. he turns around to exit Ezra’s room.
“your mother will be home about twelve tonight, if you wish to speak to her.” and with that he left Ezra alone in his room. he drowned in the silence as his father left. the smile on his face slowly fell into a slight frown as he turns over the words him and his father just shared, what he had agreed to.
he would usually not think twice of it when his father would make him promise to be perfect. today felt different for some reason. he turned around to look at the girls on the street again.
seeing them not struggle to have a perfect image all the time stirred something deep within him. he wished he was a normal teenager who didn’t have a bitch ass politician as a dad and a mom who’s never around for him anymore.
Ezra moved back to his bed and sat on the edge. his leg bouncing up and down as he scans the clean floor. he was starting highschool next year and he still doesn’t know what his purpose was.
sure his father had requested politics so he could follow in the whole family’s footsteps but, it’s not what he himself wants.
he falls back onto the bed looking up at the poster again. up at what he didn’t want to be at all. his eyes closed and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
•<~>•
“GOD YOURE IMPOSSIBLE EZRA!”
he flinched as the words sliced through him, like a fighter jet through the sky. it’s not his fault he couldn’t do his part of the project that previous night because of some circumstances…
Ezra’s breath was stable enough for him not to choke as he looked up at his bio lab partner, Anastasia Banks.
Anastasia was a nice girl but she hid an absolutely ugly temper underneath her mask. rumor had it that she kissed that Valeriana girl freshman year.
“i told you that i wouldn’t have time to do it Ana.” he slowly pulled his hand through some knots in his hair. “you know who my dad-“
“doesn’t give you the excuse to not do the project!” she stood in front of her chair that faced him. her dyed purple hair pulled back in a green claw clip.
“i mean, how does your dad being a politician effect you and your schoolwork?”
that’s the thing that was hard for other people to understand that hadn’t been through what he had. especially hard for someone who only talked to him for the project to understand.
he noticed Anastasia tilt her head to the side inspecting him before she spoke once more.
“maybe i spoke on something i didn’t know…” she looked off out of the window next to their desk. her arms crossed in front of her torso as she lets out a breath.
“how about i work on the part you were supposed to do tonight so you can work on this one?” she looked from the project notes to Ezra’s face.
he stayed quiet, but nodded nonetheless.
the project was what made up their semester grade. if it wasn’t perfect like him-
he looked at Anastasia as she sat back down and opened the textbook to take notes on what he should be doing.
she wasn’t perfect he noticed.
he assumed she didn’t have to be.
people liked her for her.
not an act she had to put up.
her authentic self.
and that alone should be perfect for most the world,
but not Ezra.
not the Bringers’ family.
the “perfect example”
•<~>•
the bell rung, signaling the end of the school year. the year before he had to figure himself out and graduate.
the spring sun beat down onto the courtyard, as his classmates experienced euphoria at the whole summer ahead of them.
but what did Ezra have to look forward to?
not much, that’s for sure…
Ashley and Valeriana walked near him laughing about some theater camp they were going to. he caught Ashley looking at him and she looked away grinning slightly.
Ezra watched them pass him. the envy slowly creeping up his spine, why couldn’t he have a best friend like that? a person that he could show his flaws to and not be yelled at.
he heard jingling behind him then a tap on his shoulder.
Anastasia stood behind him smiling, withdrawing her ringed hand and putting it in her pocket. her hair was now blue with green highlights at the ends.
well, maybe he had one friend he could be himself around. kind of.
“hey Ana!“ he smiled down at her as she came in stride beside him.
two people that should hate each other, a dude on the football team, and a gal that practiced witchcraft in her free time.
“can i come over to yours on Saturday?” she sputtered out wasting no time. he let out a snort.
“just make sure you wear your get-up so my dad-“
“yeah yeah so your dad doesn’t call me a slur.” she laughs as she makes her way to her car pulling out her keys, unlocking the it.
“see you then Ezra!” she said as she opened her car door and hoped in, slamming it behind her. he waved and let out a breath. god he didn’t want to be stuck with his father most of the summer…
•<~>•
the feeling of the kiss was… not what he expected it to be.
what normal boys should feel is fulfilled or happy, not empty.
but there Ezra was, on the edge of his bed looking up at Anastasia. her usual witchy clothes were replaced with a white t-shirt and black shorts, what her usual wear was around his dad.
“i’m sorry Ezra-“ she moved her hand away from his face and ran her fingers through her hair. as much as he wanted, NEEDED, to say it was alright. the words wouldn’t come to his lips.
“i know we kind of just became official but-“ she laughed and sat next to him. he could hear Anastasia’s voice but didn’t listen.
why was he so empty? surely a pretty girl kissing him should be sort of filling to the heart. he looked at her sitting beside him.
“it’s fine Ana,” he said before he could stop himself. “i liked it at least.”
did he though? or was he obligated to say that because she was his girlfriend? nonetheless, he took her face and kissed her back to try to fill the emptiness he felt in his heart.
and that’s where they stayed for the next hour. laughing, talking, and kissing. like a normal romantic relationship.
a perfect one.
at least that’s what Ezra was taught. a boy and a girl, forever together. anything else was unnatural and against Fabius Bringer’s beliefs.
and Ezra would never go against his father’s beliefs.