Unexpected (MxM) (Completed)

Chapter Fourteen- DCFS

Chapter Fourteen-

Moth

The mural was beautiful. Frankie thought so too. It was a girl with a big afro and all sorts of colors. It was a statement incorporating pride flags of many varieties, a feminist symbol, and the letters BLM. I'm glad I got to see it.

However, I'm not too happy that Caspian conveniently forgot to mention that the mural was more like graffiti considering she didn't get permission to paint on the side of that building.

One thing led to another and that's how we winded up here. Frankie and I are sitting in a holding cell together.

"He's going to kill me." Frankie mumbles, sniffling as tears stream down his face.

I shouldn't have taken him there. Maybe we should've run when we heard the sirens, but I know Frankie isn't like that. He's a good person, and maybe I am dragging him down. "It'll be okay, Franks. Noel is coming to get you, right?"

"Yeah, I called him. I've never done something like this before. Is this going to go on my record? What if I can't get a job or I get kicked out of school? Sawyer's gonna hate me." He leans over and puts his face in his hands, crying more.

I know he won't say it, but it's my fault. Sawyer was right; all of this is my fault. He's sneaking out and talking back. He's riding on a motorcycle he used to call a death sentence, and his grade in math dropped from 100 to 99 after he missed a few questions on the last test. We didn't do any of the graffiti, so I'm sure they'll let us go when we get picked up, but I know the situation is still bad enough for everyone to be upset.

I scoot closer to him and run my fingers through his hair to soothe him despite my own emotions starting to bubble up. I push them down, reminding myself that after putting him through all this, I have no right to cry about it. Crying because I feel guilty sounds stupid.

The door buzzes and clicks, making us both look up. The guard opens it letting us see Noel and Fizzle standing there.

"Come on, Franks."

Frankie wipes his face with the back of his hand and stands with me. Caspian and his sisters' dads came to get them earlier along with Cory's cousin who he lives with, and Laila's babysitter. The Dupree's would be too embarrassed to get their kid from a cell, so it didn't shock me that they didn't show.

"Sorry," I mumble to Fizzle as Frankie and I walk to them. Fiz shrugs it off, waiting for Noel and Frankie.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know who else to call, and I-"

"That's enough. It's fine Frankie. Get yourself together and stop crying. It's not going to help anything." Noel comments. I wanted to say the same thing but after thinking about it, I figured it would be insensitive. "You're not going to be perfect all the time. That's not how life works."

"Thanks for coming. I didn't want to call Sawyer." He confesses while wiping his face.

Noel sighs and kisses the side of his head. "I know. That's why I did it."

Frankie's eyes snap up to meet his. "You told him? Noel, I said not to tell him!"

"He was going to find out eventually, better now than later. The good thing is that we didn't have to pay bail because you didn't do anything wrong." Noel looks at both of us. "I'll try to talk to him for you, but I don't know how he's going to feel about you guys dating. Look, I think your love is really cute, but you have to see where he's coming from. None of this stuff has ever happened before. Not with you at least, Frankie. He's scared you're going to pull away like I did and that half the time he won't know where you are or who you're with."

"I'm not trying to rebel. Stuff just keeps happening. It's not his fault either. I'm the one making decisions for myself and they're not all that great in hindsight, but you guys can't blame that on him."

"It was my fault, Frankie," I admit, making him, Fizzle, and Noel all look at me. "I was the person who asked you to come to the show we had and I'm the one who kept you out all night. I'm the person who didn't want to break up with you when Sawyer told me to. I'm the one who brought you to see the stupid painting, and all of it backfired. I'm sorry. I never meant to cause such a huge rift between you and your family. I'd never do that on purpose, but just being with you is ruining everything you want for yourself. I know you want to do the right thing and I'm clouding your judgment."

As the words spill out of my mouth, I realize how much I believe them. I love Frankie. He makes me feel good about myself and seeing how amazing he is makes me want to be a better person, but I can see how I'm making him worse. His grades are still amazing but they're falling because of me. He's lying to his parents and distancing himself from his family. We got arrested for god's sake. Staying together just because it's what I need is selfish. I have to think about what's best for him.

"That's not true." He argues, reaching out to take my hand. I pull away and walk past Fizzle to the lobby of the building, stopping in my tracks when I see Sawyer and Teagan waiting as well.

Sawyer glares at me as Teagan sighs and gives me a look that shows he regrets being on my side.

"Moth, please. None of this is your fault. You're not making me do anything." He glances at Sawyer and Teagan before taking my face in his hands. "You don't have to do this for them. I don't care what they think."

He leans in to kiss me, his rosy soft lips pressing against mine, reminding me how much I don't want to let go. I want to hold him and keep him forever, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm not the best thing for him. I kiss him back, but after a minute, I pull away.

"I love you," He whispers.

I love him too, but I don't say it back. I just press my lips to his forehead and mumble a response of my own. "I think we just need some space. Just for a little while, okay?"

Frankie sniffles as I use my hands to wipe the tears streaming down his cheeks. I hate that he's crying because of me.

I step back, not sparing a glance at his parents as I leave, Fizzle following me. I notice Andrew sitting in his truck with my bike in the bed of it. I guess they stopped to pick it up before heading here.

"Moth..."

"Did you tell mom?"

"I tried calling, but she didn't pick up. I texted her. Andrew and I have a dinner event tonight, so we're going to drop you off there. Do you want to talk? Why did you break up with Frankie?"

"It's not forever. I just want him to be happy, and my being around isn't helping him at all." I mumble, leaning against the window once I get in the truck. Andrew stays quiet as he drives me home. He's usually so playful, but he's good about knowing when to get serious.

Fizzle doesn't ask any more questions either. We all sit silently until they pull up to my house. I tilt my head when I see a black car in the front and the door wide open. That doesn't look normal.
I climb out of the car as Andrew gets out to take my motorcycle out of the bed. I leave him to do that while walking inside.

"Hello? Mom?" I call out, stopping when a stranger walks up the steps from the basement. "Hey, you can't go down there."

"You must be Timothy. I'm Angela with DCFS. We got a complaint about your living situation here. We just stopped by to check the house and make sure it's suitable." She tells me. She's in a nice black shirt and slacks.

"Who complained? I didn't, and I know my mom didn't either. You can't just walk in and start looking through my stuff. Did you touch anything down there? Those instruments are expensive and they don't all belong to me. Where's my mom?"

"It was anonymous, so I can't say. I didn't touch any of the instruments either. Your mom is giving a statement at the police station, and I'll need to take you there too, sweetheart. There were a lot of things we found that need explanations."

"I'm not getting in a car with a stranger who doesn't even have a badge. Besides, I just came from there and I didn't see her."

She pulls her wallet out of her pants and opens it to show me her badge. Sure enough, it says DCFS right in the front.

Shit.