"Hey, Mum."
Carter rapped softly against the wood of the bedroom's open door, peering cautiously into the gloom. Once again, the stench of old bedsheets and body odour permeated the air, and Carter steeled himself against it as he entered the room beyond.
"Hey, Carter," Gloria rasped, shifting against the headboard. A shaky smile quivered along the edges of her drawn mouth. "How was school?"
Carter settled atop the covers and stifled a sigh; every conversation with his Mum seemed to be the same exhaustive pattern, a series of shallow questions that, in actuality, served no deeper purpose. "School was fine, Mum," he murmured, grasping her hand in his. "We're doing a lot of tests at the moment; they're trying to prepare us for exams."
"Oh, good. Are you studying hard?"
At Carter's affirming nod, Gloria's smile widened, until her entire jaw trembled with the effort of maintaining it. Her eyes seemed to brighten, and there was an-almost clarity within them that Carter hadn't seen in a long time.
"That's excellent," she mused aloud, the joy evident in her voice, "David was always an academic. He used to say no child of his would have bad grades." She gave a sudden, girlish giggle and wrapped a lank piece of hair around one finger, twirling it.
Carter felt his heart drop to his stomach. A deep, aching pain seemed to fill his chest, pressing against his lungs until he could hardly breathe.
"Mum-"
He broke off, but the words seemed to choke him, crawling up his throat and dancing perilously close to the tip of his tongue.
Why do you still talk about him? Why do you care? He was awful, a monster, and yet you never protected me. Why? Why do you still miss him? Aren't you glad he's gone? Aren't you glad I got rid of him?
...Aren't you happy?
With a firm shake of his head, Carter inhaled sharply and stood, carefully placing Gloria's hand across her chest. "I'm going out, Mum, to study with a...friend. I'll be back around dinnertime." He moved swiftly to the door, needing to get out, to get away from the stench of the room and his mother's eyes, once again dull and glassy. "I'll bring something up for you then, okay?"
He paused by the door to his Mum's bedroom and stole a final glance over his shoulder. Every breathe he took within that room seemed to cut and pierce his lungs as though he were breathing in lungful's of broken glass.
"See you later, Mum. Have a shower, okay?"
Gloria gave no response.
Anthony was already hunched over his History textbook by the time Carter arrived, but as soon as Carter approached the table, his head shot up, and he gave a broad, welcoming grin. "Hey, Carter! Have a seat."
Carter gave a tentative smile back and ran a hand through his hair, flattening any wayward strands. "Sorry I'm late," he said, dropping into the chair opposite Anthony. "So, where did we leave off with the table?"
"Actually," Anthony began, "I thought we'd start off with some food first." He picked up a pair of menus and offered one to Carter with another blinding grin. "Can't study on an empty stomach, eh?"
"Oh, I'm sure he couldn't possibly." Ryu, who was opting to stand behind Carter rather than taking his customary seat atop the table, gave a loud, disbelieving snort. "No, he has to eat food with you first."
Carter didn't bother to respond. "In that case, I'll just get a hot chocolate," he told Anthony, giving the quick once-over as he set it beside him.
Anthony smirked, all messy hair and dimples. "Cute. Well, I'll just get a coke and some fries." When he turned to signal a waiter over, Ryu clicked by Carter's ear.
"What?" Carter hissed under his breath, glancing over his shoulder.
"This guy's such a bore," Ryu whined, brows furrowed petulantly. "Can't we just ditch him?"
"No," Carter snapped, a headache already beginning to form at the corner of his temples. "No, we can't."
"Did you say something?" Anthony inquired as he turned back to Carter, a waiter retreating swiftly behind him.
"N-No," Carter stammered, face flushing furiously. "There's just an annoying bug buzzing by my ear." He steadily ignored Ryu as the demon shot him a glare. "So, should we continue the table?"
"Sure." Anthony hummed good-naturedly as he grasped his History textbook, then set it back down as a sudden excitement came into his face. "Oh my god, I almost forgot! Carter, guess what happened to Ms. Jenson today! Guess!"
"Er..." Carter blinked, momentarily taken aback by Anthony's enthusiasm. "Did she finally burn that old coffee-stained sweater?"
Anthony barked a laugh, the sound sharp and sudden. "God, I wish. You're funny."
Carter flushed further, feeling his ears redden and heat, but before Anthony could continue the story, a bored voice drawled, "I have two orders of fries, a coke and a hot chocolate?"
"Oh," Carter interjected, "actually, there's been a mistake, we only ordered one-"
But the waiter was already gone, and Anthony was smiling a secretive, self-satisfied smile.
"Did you do this?" Carter asked, encompassing the second bowl as it was pushed towards him.
Anthony shrugged and raised a fry to his lips, biting into it with that same sense of self-satisfaction. "Maybe."
"I'll pay you back," Carter said at once, reaching tentatively for a fry. "I can-"
"Don't worry about it," Anthony cut in, waving a dismissive hand. "My treat."
Ryu muttered a long string of grumbled curses, most of which Carter couldn't decipher, although he thought he recognised 'fuck off' and 'fucking asshole.'
"That's really nice of you," Carter began, hesitating, "but-"
"Carter." Anthony's voice was firm, his gaze steady as he placed his hand atop Carter's on the table. "I want to do this. Let me?"
A lump seemed to form in Carter's throat, and he felt his face burn even brighter. Slowly, he gave a single, short nod. "Thankyou."
An unspoken thing hung over them, warm and filled with promise.
Then Carter cleared his throat, and the spell was broken. "So, er...About this table?"
The pair worked in companionable silence for a while, only speaking when communication was necessary, but there was a calm understanding between, the kind that glinted warmly in Anthony's eyes when their gazes met over the textbook.
Thankfully, Ryu remained silent, although Carter could practically feel the fury radiating from him.
After about half an hour of work, Anthony paused suddenly and leaned back in his chair, muscles popping loudly as he stretched. "Damn, I'm tired." His eyes landed on the pair of empty bowls, sighing loudly at the obvious lack of fries. "Need a refill? I think it's fry o'clock again."
Ryu gave a loud, pained groan that Carter resolutely ignored.
"I'm okay," he told Anthony, with a reassuring smile. "But we can take a break if you need."
Anthony hesitated, squinting as though Carter were some strange kind of anomaly. "Aren't you tired?"
Carter shrugged. "I can keep going," he said honestly.
Anthony was quiet for several moments, his gaze curious and appraising as he sat back in his chair, eyes sweeping over Carter's hunched form. He seemed to be holding some internal debate; his mouth opened, closed, then opened again.
"Are you and Margo dating?" he blurted finally, apparently unable to resist the question anymore.
Ryu made a sudden choking noise.
"No," Carter replied calmly.
"Oh." More hesitation, and then Anthony added, "Why not? I mean, you guys seem pretty close."
"Well, for one thing," Carter began, "I'm rather incurably gay. And for another, Margo doesn't like people that way. She's Asexual." They'd spoken about it a few times on the phone, whispering secrets to each other through their screens into the early hours of the morning.
"Oh," Anthony said again, gaze brightening considerably. A slow grin began to tug across his mouth, until he was practically beaming as he added, "Well, now that you mention it, I'm actually-"
A sudden loud, piercing ring began to emit from Anthony's phone, startling them both.
Anthony flashed Carter a sheepish glance as he fumbled to answer it, and the irritation in his voice was clear as he greeted the person on the other end.
"Carter," Ryu hissed, pouncing on the opportunity Anthony's distraction provided, "let's get out of here. Please."
Carter opened his mouth to retort, but Anthony's apologetic sigh cut him off.
"I'm so sorry about this, Carter," he muttered, standing and fishing his wallet from his pocket. "I've gotta run. Family troubles, you know?"
"I do know, actually," Carter muttered. "Are you sure you want to pay? I can-"
"I'm sure." Anthony dropped a handful of bills onto the table and tapped Carter on the shoulder as he passed, eliciting a snarl from Ryu that was more beast than human. "Don't worry, I'll make tell Mr. Cooper about the glossary table and get him to give us an extension."
He went to leave, then paused mid-step, something unreadable in his eyes. "It was nice hanging out with you, Carter. See you at school." He winked, gave one last, final grin, and exited the café.
"That bastard," Ryu growled as soon as the door closed behind him. He slid immediately into Anthony's empty chair and propped his feet atop the table, scowling in the direction he'd gone. "What an arrogant, smug, self-entitled little-"
"Ryu, just stop it," Carter groaned, burying his head in his hands and leaning his elbows atop the table. That headache was still pounding at his temples, seeming to worsen with every passing second. "What is your problem with him?"
"I...I just don't like him," Ryu muttered, sounding agitated. "I can't explain it, I just...get a vibe."
Carter moved his arms and sat up to glare at Ryu across the table. "Oh, like how you had a feeling about Margo?"
Ryu matched Carter's scowl with one of his own, but his gaze averted, and he stared, muttering irritably, at a spot in the distance behind Carter.
"Ryu, look at me." When the demon refused, Carter gave a loud sigh, suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion "I appreciate that you're looking out for me, or whatever it is you're trying to do, but you've gotta stop meddling in my relationships, okay?"
When Ryu just kept muttering, Carter hissed under his breath and snapped his fingers impatiently. "Ryu!"
"Fine," the demon spat, standing suddenly. There was something fierce in his eyes, and his jaw clenched, taut with anger and tension. "Fine. Can we leave now?"
He proceeded to stomp as far away across the restaurant as he could, and Carter watched him go with that same sense of bone-deep weariness.
Somehow, he felt as though this conversation was far from over.
A/N: Please feel free leave a comment and/or vote if you enjoyed!