AFTER FINALLY GETTING onto the bus, Austin and Grizz decided to sit next to each other ( which nearly made Austin express a delighted squeal if he's not denying it ) both falling asleep in a matter of seconds, the Hebrew phrase still faintly lingering on their minds.
Hours later, Austin felt himself being gently shaken in and out of consciousness by a pair of large, soft hands encasing his shoulders. Muffling a groan, he eventually open his eyes, adjusting to the bright lights in the bus before realising that everything seemed slightly rotated to a different angle. Lifting his head up, Austin suddenly noticed that his head wasn't resting on the back of the seat — but Grizz's own shoulder.
❝Austin. Hey, Austin.❞ Grizz waved a hand in front of the Hernández boy's face, snapping him out of his gay panic and back into reality. Unable to speak, Austin only nodded his head in response, feeling the pink flush emerging on his cheeks. ❝The driver's taken us back home, something about roadworks I think.❞
Still too embarrassed to fully take in what Grizz had said, Austin finally croaked out an, ❝Okay.❞ Before rushing to pick his bag up and practically running away from the other boy left dumbfounded at Austin's reaction.
As soon as Austin got off the bus, recognition washed over his face, finally taking in Grizz's words. The driver's taken us back home. The sentence echoed through his brain as he scanned the many teenagers scattered across the plain, green grass outside the school in the midnight hour.
But if they were back home, where the hell was his Mom?
Austin then found himself walking over to no other than Harry Bingham and his girlfriend, Kelly Aldrich who was currently pacing in a circle with her phone placed to her ear. When Austin originally decided to be open about his sexuality to everyone at his school, he'd felt no struggle with Kelly since she and him had always been quite close from the first semester of freshman year and on top of that, she was a kind and caring person.
Harry, however, was another story. Despite just like Kelly, the pair had been great friends for a long time, a hint of doubt constantly found its way to worm back into Austin's mind that the Bingham boy would leave him alone, slandering him in front of the whole school just because of who he liked. But Austin knew that Harry wasn't that type of person, maybe it was the idea of how popularity can twist a person to look so devilish even though they aren't truly.
❝Hey, Harry, Kelly.❞ Austin announced his presence to the couple quietly, not wanting the disturb Kelly on her phone before continuing. ❝Do you know why our parents aren't here?❞
Harry shook his head, annoyance knotted in his eyebrows as he fiddled with his phone uncomfortably. ❝No fucking clue.❞
❝And to make it even worse,❞ Kelly added, turning back around with a face full of worried; those words and their faces triggering his own trepidation. ❝Neither of our parents are picking up.❞
Silence fell between the three as Austin contemplates what to say. Neither of their parents are picking up? The Aldrich and Bingham family treasured their children to bits — this had to be sort of mistake.
Eventually, Austin shook his head, an optimistic smile blooming onto his face as his pulled his own phone out of his backpack. ❝I'm sure it's all fine.❞ He reassured, dialling his own Mother, ❝My Mom always loves a chat so I'm ninety-nine percent sure she'll pick up.❞
Austin Hernández wished he'd said a different number, fifty percent or something around that. It would have made him look a lot less silly. It would have made him feel a lot less scared. Because as he's stood frozen, with a tight smile, it grew smaller and smaller with each ring.
His smile disappeared when it went to voicemail.
Hearing her beautiful, joyful voice, the thick Spanish accent laced in each word. Despite her only saying something that was completely pointless to Austin — it was music to his ears. Austin almost had to stop himself from crying at the sound of his own mother's voice, but he doesn't know why. He's just be pathetic, paranoid; Maria Laban will be at home, asleep. Unaware with the message spread by the school because after a long, hard working day, she decided to get some rest somewhat earlier.
The next sound he heard was Kelly. ❝Austin, are you okay?❞ She asked, causing Austin's eyes shifting to view Harry and Kelly starring at him with concern, signalling that Austin had obviously forgotten to hide how he was truly feeling to the pair.
❝Yeah. . .yeah, I'm good.❞ He lied with a false smile, hoping that it seemed believable enough. But, by the eye-contact conversation Kelly and Harry quickly had — Austin got the hint that it wasn't. ❝It's just weird. My Mom usually answers the phone all the time, especially to me.❞ He added abruptly, praying that the approach of being slightly honest would justify his solemn face.
Kelly and Harry seemed to leave it at that, not bothering to pester the Hernández boy which made him quite glad as the pair walked off home. He almost feels himself calming down completely until he spotted the boy he was dreading to see after making an absolute fool of himself in front of walking straight towards him. Austin knows he can't escape not seeing him, it only is look stupider, feel more embarrassed and seem as if he didn't want to be around Grizz — which was the complete opposite to what he really wanted.
❝Hey, Austin.❞ Grizz called out, his face also plastered with concern and confusion. ❝Is everything alright? You just ran straight off the bus without any explanation. . .not that you need to give me an explanation or anything, it's totally fine if you don't want to tell me because I—❞
❝I'm fine, Grizz.❞ Austin cut off the Visser's boy weirdly adorable rambling with an awkward smile, ❝It just. . .um, wanted to see my Mom, that's all.❞ He justified with a stutter as an uncertain Grizz raised an eyebrow, searching the crowd for any parents in sight.
Scrunching his nose up in confusion, ( which Austin believed might be the cutest thing ever ) Grizz parted his lips to speak, ❝Well I don't think she's here, can I walk you home?❞
Austin's doe eyes widened at the heartwarming question, he couldn't help but grin like crazy as the warm pink tint flowed back into his cheeks. ❝Yeah, I'd like that.❞
AUTHOR'S NOTE after a month of not updating this book it's back with more panicked gay austin and soft graustin
also tysm for 2k on this book!! ily all <3
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