Social Suicide (BxB) / On Hold

Chapter 4

"Ugh!" Alex gasped, turning over in his sheets as sunlight clawed at his face like a wild animal. The last tendrils of a horrifying nightmare clung to his mind like a spider's web, and he listened to the monotonous sound of his alarm clock as it echoed throughout his room. Realizing that his dirty blonde locks were hanging across his face like a curtain, Alex swiftly brushed them from his vision. He was going to have one of his infamous bad hair days today, that was for sure.

His phone buzzed, forcing Alex to roll over and fumble for the object. Sighing, he flicked the phone open, taking a few seconds to adjust to the piercing brightness of the screen. He had gotten a text from an unknown number. It must be another spam caller. Fingers reluctantly entering his password, Alex rolled onto his stomach and gazed at the screen; it was better to check just in case.

'Hi, is this Alex?' The message read.

'whos this??' He responded, but after receiving no immediate answer, Alex cast the message from his mind.

Glancing around his room, Alex noticed a messy assortment of notebooks, clothing, food, and other such items littered clumsily on the floor. Shit. His room was significantly messier than he realized.  Slowly but surely, he pushed himself out of bed, letting his feet hit the cool, wooden floor. He'd deal with the mess later.

Biting the bullet, Alex wrenched open his blinds, hissing as the sunlight hit his face. He eyed the sky nervously; clouds that had been wispy and white days ago were now darker and more dense. Alex would have to catch the bus to school. This was not the day to be caught in another downpour, and Alex was sure that there'd be no Ashton to save him today.

Ashton. Since when had he ever thought about Ashton Spears outside of school time? Alex shook his head as if to free himself from his thoughts and made his way sluggishly to the kitchen. 

"Sleep well, hun?" His mum was already at the kitchen, seemingly focused on her menial task of preparing breakfast. Alex vaguely nodded, sitting down before his mother could bother him more. Instantly, he noticed that his Dad's cup was sitting, finished, on the clean, marble bench. He must have headed off for work early. Typical.

A plate of steaming, rich food was laid in front of Alex within seconds, and he looked up, surprised and slightly cautious. His mum only cooked on special occasions. 

"Listen," she began, "I have to tell you something. I would be telling your brother too, but he decided to leave early today for some school project." Oh right. Alex didn't even realize his brother was missing in the first place. "I've been contacted by my boss this morning. He's giving me a new task; one that will require me to go in more often." She hesitated, "That means that I won't be here on weekends." 

"So..?" Alex piped up. How did this concern him?

His mum sent him a look. "Well, I've decided that it would be completely irresponsible for me to leave you here alone, what, with your father working overtime himself. You're a teenage boy. I understand that you want your freedom, but I also can't trust you having the entire house at your disposal." Alex didn't like where this was going. "So, I've spoken to one of my friends, you remember Mrs Blake, don't you? She recently moved down the street, and has agreed to let you come over on the days where I can't be here."

"What!?" Alex nearly yelled; how old was he, three? He was far past the age of babysitting by now! 

"Listen, she has her nephew living with her too. He's about your age, I think; maybe a bit older." Alex began protesting but was quickly cut off by a harsh look from his mother. "This will be good for you. It'll give you an opportunity to get out of the house, make friends."

By then, Alex had enough. Breakfast left forgotten on the bench, he stormed from the stuffy room. He was sick of his mother babying his every move, and the last thing he wanted to do was to listen to her hollow justifications for the next 10 minutes. Grabbing his coat and hurling his backpack onto his shoulders, Alex threw the front door open loudly and trudged to the bus stop. It wasn't long before the familiar yellow-brown schoolbus approached, and Alex gladly stepped inside. Anywhere was better than at home right then.

But, as fate would have it, the bus was much, much worse. Loud, obnoxious students yelled and laughed, and Alex gritted his teeth in annoyance. He forgot how horrible the bus was. As if to add fuel to the flame, a kid - probably 13 -  tumbled into him, causing him to grunt in annoyance. This day was just turning out spectacularly. Alex exhaled through his nose as the familiar sight of the school came into view. Ignoring the other students' glares, he shoved through the crowd and was the first off the bus. Finally. 

The clock on his phone told Alex that there was still half an hour before school began. Great. Alex, aiming to kill time, walked to the local cafe down the street. The bitter, rich aroma of coffee engulfed him as he walked inside, and Alex stopped to savor the feeling. Apart from a few men and women grabbing a takeaway on their way to work, the cafe was practically empty. 

"Can I have a medium Cappuccino?" Alex asked the waitress after pausing to study the menu. 

"Sure, that's $4.50." The woman at the counter had a chirpy voice. Alex couldn't help but be reminded of some sort of bird. 

"Uh..." A grumbled noise exited his mouth as Alex sifted through his wallet rapidly. Crap. He didn't have any money. Well, this was embarrassing.

"Are you alright?" The cashier queried, a concerned expression crossed her face as she shifted awkwardly. 

"Sorry, I don't... I can't afford that, sorry." Alex smiled apologetically, willing for the earth to come up and swallow him whole. This was yet another establishment that he could never set foot in again, Alex thought. He was just about to make a break for it when -

"I've got it. Can I also add a hot chocolate to the order?"