of fake relationships and obsessive love

chapter three

matt felt the familiar feeling of dread pool up in his stomach as his feet, clad heavily in snowboots, carried him towards his brightly lit home (even though it was ths middle of the afternoon and there really was no need for lights).

the small town hadn't changed a bit since his last visit, not really, and the people, slightly quirky but for the most part kind- hearted, had also remained the same. for matt, walking into his village was like walking into a time loop where, day after day, everything remained the same.

mrs. clark's bakery was stil as crowded as ever, even more than usual perhaps, smelling of the delicious christmas cookies she baked especially for christmas every year. old man john still took his daily  morning walks, waving cheerfully at everyone who passed him. all the stalls were full and bustling with people doing their last minute christmas shopping, kids still built snowmen and passed around tales (which seemed to get wilder and funnier as the years passed) about the little girl's ghost which inhabited the forest nearby. well, the "forest" was really just a small area of pine trees clumped, but to all kids who grew up in that little town, it was as good as the forbidden forest from harry potter.

next to matt, ashlee was jumping up and down like a kid offered a candy cane.

"oh my gosh i'm finally gonna meet the people who bIRTHED YOU THIS IS SO GREAT OH MY GOSH I'M SO EXCITED THEY SEEM AMAZING."

"uh hey ash, please don't ever say the word "birthed" again, it gives me the creeps," matt tried to sound casual, but it wasn't really working. he hadn't told ashlee yet and just the thought of her finding out made him feel sick. he had had several chances during the countless bathroom breaks they had taken (no thanks to ashlee) (THAT WAS SARCASM HE OBVIOUSLY MEANT _ALL_ THANKS TO ASHLEE C'MON), but he hadn't had the courage.

matt briefly wondered if he could pull ashlee behind a tree (not for THAT, get your mind out of the sewage honestly they're just best friends) (also matt doesn't really swing that way) and explain the entire situation to her. she would probably throw a fit, but she would agree in the end... wouldn't she?

all thoughts of everything else, however, flew out of the window as mrs. oakley flung open the front door and threw her arms out in the air, before running towards matt and flinging them around his waist (looking back on it, that was probably where matt got his flair for the dramatic).

matt groaned as his mum tackled him, thanking his lucky stars that he hadn't fallen down. he reciprocated the hug and, for a second all his worries left him and were replaced by the smell of slightly burnt cookies and the rose perfume his dad had gifted his mum on their 6th anniversary. 'this is what hugging a giant teddy bear feels like,' thought matt.

miranda oakley was an unusually short woman (4'9" to be exact, though she always told everyone 4'10")  with wide green eyes and a messily cut fringe who always complained about her back paining or her ankles hurting. but when she wanted to, she was scarier than fucking godzilla. suddenly pulling out of the hug, she twisted matt's ear and yanked him down to her level.

"ouch, mum, stop."

"MATTHEW ALEXANDER OAKLEY," she barked. "don't you dare try to tell me what to do. do you have any idea how much i worry about you? you never call, you never visit- it's like you've forgotten us!"

matt sighed, and a moment later the pain increased.

"IM SORRY MUM I PROMISE I'LL CALL EVERY SINGLE BLOODY DAY CAN YOU JUST PLEASE STOP," he panted, but the force still remained the same- his mum was like a hound when it came to sniffing out insincerity in apologies.

"alright, you can tuck me in every day i'm home, shower me in endless wet kisses and hug me till my bones break, i won'tcomplain one bit but  just PLEASE let me go- OW!"

miranda gave his ear one last tug before releasing it and planting a wet kiss on her son's cheek, smirking as she saw him trying his best to curb the urge to wipe the spit off his face.

she then turned to ashlee, a smile forming on her face.

"oh darling, i'm so glad to see you!" she exclaimed, pulling ashlee into a hug. ashlee looked shocked for a second before hugging her back with equal affection.

"no, please, mrs oakley- "

"call me miranda, sweetie."

"right, uh, miranda, the pleasure is all mine!"

"oh please, honey, there's no need to get formal! i'm just surprised matt didn't tell me he was dating a girl till just a few weeks ago, and a cute one at that!"

she winked at miranda before pulling her in yet another hug, facing her back towards matt.

ashlee shot matt a 'what the actual fuck' look, while he simply shrugged and clasped his hands together, pleading her to just go with it.

she hesitate, but gave a slight nod, right before showing him the finger, and relief flooded matt at the simple action. he had been stupid to worry about it.

after all, they were best friends and had helped each other through so much and he knew that if there was anyone he could trust apart from his family, it was her.

that was when matt spotted the evil look she was giving him.

oh, it was not going to be a fun christmas.

okay so this chapter was written like two weeks ago and then the whole thing got deleted and then i had to type the whole fucking thing again yay -_-

no but like yeah, um vote and comment if you liked it please? (pls i typed it out twice)

also holy hell this is like a 1000 words do you have any idea how much that is its a lot okay

and uh yeah there's gonna be no punctuation in this story bc fuck grammar :)