Princess // gawsten ✓

09.

"Where the hell were you?" Geoff's mother's voice penetrated the air as he stood, practically frozen in the doorway of their house. Her hair was pushed into a messy bun on top of her head, and her eyes seemed tired. "I had to send Amber to Mama's for the night because you weren't answering any of my calls."

Geoff couldn't tell if his mother was truly angry, but he kept his comments buried in his chest, his fists clenched near his side. "I slept over at a friend's house, Mom. I made it out okay." He gestured at his lack of t-shirt, trying to at least make his mother crack a smile, but it was a poor effort, if Geoff had to be honest.

His mother said nothing else, just exchanged disappointed glances towards her son as she fell in a heap on the couch. "Can I trust you—just once—to watch Amber while I go down to the office?"

The office was what his mother called the unemployment center. Geoff's heart began to crack as he realized what had happened: Mom lost her job. "Uh–Of course, Mom. I've got it handled." His eyes cast downwards, tears welling in the creases of his eyes as he felt his mother's arms encompass him.

"All I have ever wanted for you and Amber was a good life, and I will go down to the pits of hell and back just to give that to you guys." His mother's voice sounded cracked and delicate, like a glass structure on the brink of collapse.

Geoff wrapped his long arms around his mother's body and stood stoic as he felt her tears soak into his bare skin, dripping down his body. He stayed put even as his own tears trickled down his face. He couldn't let his mother see him so vulnerable. That had already happened, hadn't it?

————

"Go ahead, I got my share of it last night." Awsten handed the finished blunt over to Jawn, who took it gratefully and began lighting it. "How're you doing?" The blue-haired boy's voice was meek as he watched his friend take a deep inhale of the smoke, blowing it out in front of the both of them.

Jawn stole a glance at Awsten as he sprawled over the outdoor couch, his legs and joints popping loudly. "Didn't try to commit suicide last night, so I guess I'm not doing too terrible." He took another drag, trying to suck the words back into his mouth but failing.

Awsten's hand provided a supportive seed, which planted itself in the nape of Jawn's neck and spread its roots throughout his body. "She shouldn't have done that to you, and it pisses me off just fucking thinking about it."

"Tell me about it, Aws." Jawn continued nipping at the blunt, taking both small and large puffs of the smoke. "So—" He sputtered on a huff of too much smoke. "—Tell me about Geoff, right? Seems to be someone you're quite fond of, huh?"

The blue-haired boy's cheeks burned with redness as he continued the soothing massage on Jawn's neck. "Why do you want to know? I thought we were here to forget about love."

Jawn held up an objective finger as he finished his drag of smoke, blowing it into the air as he glanced over at Awsten. "I said to forget about my love life. That doesn't mean I want to know about yours."

"Well—" Awsten hastily tore the blunt from Jawn's lips and took a soft drag, calming his nerves immediately. "We went to a party last night at Jack's, to which he got extremely fucking drunk and threw up everywhere, including on me. And then I just—" he paused, taking in another drag of the blunt. "I let him in, kind of."

Jawn's eyes widened as he stole the blunt back from his friend, resting it on his lips. He knew his friend better than anyone else, and to hear that he opened up so willingly to a stranger surprised him. "Let him in how? What'd you tell him?"

"Just that I'm defensive because people have fucked me over, nothing and nothing less." Awsten shrugged and crossed his leg over his knee, leaning back against the outdoor couch and staring out over his backyard.

The calm waters of his family's pools ripples quietly as a calm wind blew through the air. A couple bees swarmed the flower garden his mother kept in the back of the house, buzzing incessantly for some taste of the pollen embedded in the petals. The cool pre-springtime weather was calming, perfect for kicking back and relaxing.

The blunt had long burnt out by the time the two talked again, which was to the disappointment of Jawn. "You know, I can tell he likes you too." His soft voice bumbled into the wind as he flicked the snubbed end of the blunt into the ashtray next to him.

"Just a fling, remember?" Awsten chuckled halfheartedly as his fingers pinched at the corner of his lips.

Jawn chuckled too and shook his head, gazing out over the backyard as the wind stopped blowing through. "Right, just a fling."