Trust (Interactive Book)

Two- Axel

How easy was it to make a friend? That easy.

In one week, he'd already gotten one, and he'd been over to his house. Yeah. That easy. It truly was. Axel wasn't taking shit from this new school like he'd taken from the last one. Nico was... different, anyway. He seemed sweet, strangely so. But not in an untrustworthy way. He was just so fucking perfect, it was sort of insane.

It had been a week since Nico had come over, and Axel was lounging on the floor of his bedroom,  working on homework as he blasted BLACKPINK in the background (mostly to keep him awake so he didn't pass out from boredom). Justin was out getting the groceries- finally- and so it was Axel, his three siblings, and his dad at home.

Thee came a knock at the door, and Axel quickly paused his music, jumping up to open his door. Standing there was his step brother, Conan, holding a neatly wrapped box.

"Bought you a present," Conan said cheerfully.

The two were only related through their fathers' marriage, but they couldn't have been closer even if they had been biological brothers. Conan was only a couple months older than Axel, born in April rather than August, and they were basically twins.

"Again? What'd you find?" Axel stepped aside to let him in. Conan was one of the few people that really seemed to get Axel. Anytime he was out, if he found something Axel might like, he'd buy it. No wonder he was broke.

Axel knew why Conan had been doing it lately, though. And it wasn't just because he cared about him.

"Open it." Conan handed him the box. Axel gave him a suspicious look, sat on the couch, and opened the box slowly. Conan stood nearby, grinning. When Axel saw what was in the box, a huge smile crossed his face, and he giggled.

"Thank you."

Of course Conan had gone broke to buy him a new CD player. But no matter, Axel was glad he'd listened when Axel had mentioned that he needed a new one. 

At the bottom of the box were also four albums Axel didn't own, and he found himself on his feet suddenly, hugging Conan. He couldn't have asked for a better step brother. His sisters, Annie and Quinn, never seemed to understand him in the slightest, and he was forever grateful that his dad married Conan's.

"You're the best. Thank you, thank you," Axel mumbled, pulling back. Conan chuckled.

"Course. I knew you've been wanting one lately, and with everything happening I think you deserve a little gift." He ruffled Axel's hair. "You doing okay, by the way? You didn't eat dinner last night. Need to talk?" Axel pursed his lips. It was a Conan thing to come through with a gift just to pry his troubles out.

"Not really. I just wasn't hungry. You can ask Nico, I ate lunch. I was full." Axel shrugged, though he knew that wasn't what Conan was really worried about.

"Right..." Conan picked up the box and set the CDs on Axel's shelf, the CD player on the bedside (or couch side, perhaps?) table that they'd taken from Quinn's room the day before. "But, uh... anything else? Are you... um, you know?"

"If I was worried about my mom, I'd call her to make sure she's not dead. And I haven't called her," Axel shot back, slightly frustrated. He was angry with everyone in his family being worried about his stupid mother, who he was just trying to forget. Didn't his dad divorce her for a reason? To erase her from their lives? Why was everyone pushing this on him?

"Yeah, but she's still your mom."

"Conan, I'd rather some fucking psychopath kill her! Leave me alone, okay?" Axel roughly kicked aside his homework, sitting down hard on his couch. "Thank you for the gift, now get out." Conan stood still uncomfortably, chewing on his bottom lip. Axel's eyes teared up.