As Close as We Can Get Without Burning

Chapter One

"You did what?!"

The cry of an angry young man was heard from the Graham family's house, and in there stood Robin Graham, fuming with anger that was directed towards his parents. Though he was still trying to fully process the information he had just been given, the anger continued to deepen with every second that his parents tried to reconcile with him.

"Robin, if you'll just calm down!" his mother wailed, placing her hands on her son's broad shoulders, "You can come visit them every summer, we'll even get you a phone so you can stay in contact with them!"

Robin was as close as he could be to pushing his mother away from him. The fact that she and his father wouldn't even take into consideration his feelings just made him want to lash out at him, but he knew that even trying wouldn't be wise in the slightest.

His gaze shifted over to the man that was his father, watching as his face contorted into that of annoyance. His father was a rather large man, but by no means was he one to become easily angered or vexed, so his current actions drove Robin to surprise. He backed up a few inches, crossing his arms over his chest before spouting another bout of synonyms to "I'm not leaving."

"Robin Alexander Graham, you will listen to your mother and I!" his father shouted, stepping forwards a bit towards the boy who had just been backing up. He gave a huff as the boy's antics ceased, finally being able to speak his mind. "We understand that you don't really wanna do this, but I promise you, it's for the best. Like your ma said, you can come and visit ever summer. It's not really your decision in this matter, though, so I think we'd all really appreciate it if for once you would just go along with your mother and I's decisions without whining about it!"

Robin's expression must've changed drastically, for as soon as his father said that, his face shifted into one of regret at his words. He was really a soft man at heart, and hurting his son like that really did hurt him as well.

"You guys can do whatever," Robin said after a long bout of silence, "but I'm not going."

With those words, Robin rushed up the stairs to his room and locked it before either of his parents could catch him. He sat there for a while, staring at the simple square shaped living space that was completely packed with his personal belongings from his fourteen years of living. He didn't want to even think about leaving the house, but he thought he had an idea of what he needed to do.

He unhinged his window and opened it, removing the screen from his path, and jumped out. He stumbled a bit as he reached the ground, looking down and realized that he forgot to put on his tennis shoes, and instead subconsciously slipped on his Toms instead. He gave a huff of annoyance, but began to rush out towards his closest friends' house.

There, he'd reveal his slightly dangerous plan to them, and pray that they'd be willing to tag along with him.