Contrasting Styles Hide Matching Scars [Lams Pastel/Punk! au]

♡°•~《Chapter Fifteen》~•°♡

"I'll go home," John told her, feeling a huge weight crash down onto him the minute those words left his mouth. Still, he flashed his mother a happy smile in return to the bright one she now wore, even if his wasn't entirely genuine.

His mother shot up out her chair and went to hug her son, but quickly stopped herself. "Is it... okay for me to hug you?" She asked slowly in a soft- maybe even a bit nervous- voice.

John stood and wrapped his arms around his mother, hugging her tightly.

Even if he was scared to go home, he still missed her. She was still his mom, after all, right?

She let out a quiet gasp and quickly hugged him back; John swears he felt a few tears hit his shoulder after a few moments of the embrace.

His mother pulled away, smiling happily. As John suspected, she was indeed tearing up.

Her attention drifted over to Alex who was silently watching. She walked over and gave him a tight hug, as well. "Thank you so much for looking after him, Alexander," she mumbled with a grateful smile.

Alex let out a tiny squeak at the sudden contact, he wasn't really used to hugs from anyone except John. The boy hugged her back despite the awkward feel, though that feeling was easily glossed over by the sense of pride and joy her thanks gave him. "Eh, wasn't any trouble at all, miss."

Now, okay, maybe that was a teeny tiny lie. But even if it wasn't the easiest task to keep John in his cramped, messy, falling apart house without his mother noticing, it didn't matter. John was worth every bit of time and energy it took, in Alex's mind.

John's mother went back to her son. "Do you have anything you need to get?"

He silently nodded, looking down at the floor.

"Okay, let's go get it then! I'm assuming it's at-"

"Alex is gonna bring me to get it..." John cut his mother off, speaking in a quiet tone.

"Oh... okay. Uhm, be careful and I'll... see you at home then." She muttered.

John winced at her pained tone and the dry smile she gave before walking away. Sighing he padded over to Alex, who wrapped him up in a hug.

"You okay?" He asked in a soft voice.

The younger boy gave a quick nod as he muttered, "Let's go get my stuff."

The two teens made their way out the cafe and back to Alex's place.

"Shit," Alex sighed when he pulled up to the house. His mother's old, rickety car sitting in the driveway.

"What's the matter..?" John questioned as Alex helped him off the motorcycle.

"Mom's home."

Oh, fuck.

The freckled boy was hit with a wave of panic as he tried to figure out a solution, but eventually just deciding on "getting it another day."

"No, Jacky. I said I'd get your stuff and I will just... wait out here for a minute, yeah?"

John nodded with a hesitant, "okay."

The older boy gave him a quick peck on the cheek before running inside.

After a few minutes of waiting John decided to situate himself on the steps, making sure to sit down as careful as he could on the old planks of wood.

Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong step as not even a minute after sitting there the rotting plank broke. A loud shriek leaving John as he fell through the newly made hole, getting stuck. The broken wood scraping and stabbing into his skin as he tried to free himself.

The front door the the Hamilton home slammed open. John turned around to see a woman, short in stature and skinny to an unhealthy extent. Her clothes a tattered mess, her eyes sunken-in looking, many scents wafting out the house, a strong one being beer.

Alex's mom.

The boy looked at her with a fearful, worried expression, frozen still, until Alex came dashing down the steps and outside, John's bag slung around his shoulder.

"What the Hell was th- OH SHIT, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Alex shouted as he ran over to help John out from between the wood.

"Alexander! Watch your language!" His mother said in a furious tone, a fit of coughing following after. "Who is this?" She added once John was safely up and on the porch.

Alex sighed heavily. "He's a friend. I was just getting some stuff for a project we were working on at his place."

John was confused, but chose to simply nod and go along with it, agreeing when Alex's mother asked if that was true.

She started coughing hard again, that is when Alex helped her back inside, telling her to go lay back down. He said they would be careful and that he would call her if he was going to be gone late before the two started the drive to John's house.

Like usual, Alex parked a few feet before the house so Ms. Eleanor wouldn't see her son on the "dangerous" motorcycle.

He carried John's bag despite the smaller boy's whining to let him do it since it was his stuff. "I'll let you carry it if you give me a kiss," he offered with a smirk.

John rolled his eyes, lips curling into a smile. He got up on his tippy toes and gave Alex a quick innocent kiss, hands cupping his cheeks.

As agreed, the older handed over the bag. A bright smile on his face as he followed John, the two holding hands until they reached the front steps.

Alex could see John tense up as they stopped at the front door. "Just breathe, babydoll, it's okay," he told him in a soft voice, grabbing his hand again. "Nothing bad is gonna happen."

John nodded and took a few deep breaths before slowly opening the door and walking in. The house looked the same, everything in order, but he still got a wave of nervousness as he stepped in. Having Alex with him made it a bit easier to handle, though.

Alex always made everything better.

"Mama?" He called out, making his way into the living room. Footsteps down the stairs could be heard, his mother appearing at the bottom of the staircase soon after. A relieved smile on her lips.

If John was being honest, a part of him was overwhelmed with joy to see his mother, just the part remembering That Night seemed to be drowning it.

The freckled boy stepped closer and hugged her tight. She was still his mother and he knows she's been worried. He would do his part to get things back to normal in their home.

"I'm happy you're back... And I'm sorry about the last time you were here."

John hugged her tighter. "I told you it's okay, Ma," he muttered before pulling away. "I'm gonna go put my stuff up."

His mother nodded and let the two boys up the stairs, telling them she would be in the living room if they needed anything.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Alex told him, looping an arm around his shoulders.

John rolled his eyes and shook his arm off, Alex simply moving it around the boy's waist instead. "You know how I feel about the touching when we're out in the open," the freckled boy whined quietly.

"So, if we're in the room I can touch all I want then?" Alex asked in suggestive tone with a mischevious grin.

John blushed and shoved him away. "Would you just shut up for once in your life?" He groaned and walked into his room, trying to hide the smile forming on his lips.

"I didn't hear a no!" The Hispanic cheered following him inside.

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Okay kids. Small, and I mean SMALL update. I'm just gonna post what I can when I can instead ofwoerying about the length of each chapter. I can always fix that another time. Hope this isn't awful but I wanted to give you guys something, it's been too long ;-;