Bostyn's POV
"Bostyn! It's time for dinner." Danielle- I mean.. My mom yelled from the kitchen.
I close my sketchbook and toss it under my bed. I nearly trip over some shoes that were on the floor as I set out some homework assignments and powered on my laptop to make it seem as though I was working on my schoolwork.
"What'd ya make?" I ask casually, sliding my usual dining room chair out and sliding my phone into my pocket.
Jeff gave me a stern look, one I knew meant I needed to watch my manners.
"Grilled chicken and kale salad." Danielle replied, smiling at me before picking up her fork to eat.
Dinner was always the same. Danielle would make some weird tasting, "fresh" meal, we would all ask how each other's days went, and then they would get on me about school and homework.
"How's AP calculus going?" Jeff looked up from his meal and towards me before picking up his glass of water.
"Oh... It's good. Great." I lied. But what's new.
Danielle set her fork down and looked up at me, "you don't sound so sure about that."
I shrugged, "just takes time to get used to it I guess."
Danielle nodded and continued to eat quietly, Jeff, however, he talks about school for hours.
"Bostyn you need to make sure you're getting good grades. Your principal says as long as you maintain your grades you'll be valedictorian."
"I know I know. I'm doing okay right now. Calculus is my worst class. I'll have my grade up by the end of the month." I looked down at my plate.
The rest of dinner went along as usual. The same old questions about my classes, sports, and music. I had become so accustomed to the conversations in my household that I didn't even have to think of answers anymore. I just spit them out immediately, with almost no emotion, like a lifeless robot of some sort.
Once done with dinner, I helped with the dishes (again, as usual) and then sprinted back up the stairs and to my room.
I closed the door quietly, the ran to grab my beats headphones.
I'll admit, I am quite fortunate, I guess some would say spoiled. Don't get it wrong though, I'm very thankful and don't ask for much.
I plug them into my phone and play some Panic! At The Disco. Danielle and Jeff probably wouldn't approve of most of the music I listen to, but music is one of the few places I can have a little taste of freedom.
Once the music is on full blast, I open up Google again, searching the all too familiar name now: Sydney Sykes.
All that comes up is the story of the fire, I've read nearly everyone by now, but they only mention her death.
Even though I was only five at the time, I remember that day very vividly:
"Bos, how's the ice cream?" My father asked, smiling at me from the mirror in the car.
We were on our way home from soccer practice, my favorite sport at the time.
"Yummy." I giggled and continued to eat my chocolate dipped ice cream cone.
On the car drive home, I had fallen asleep. My father opened the car door and carried me inside to my room.
My eyes flickered open when he laid me down and tucked me in.
"Mom is going to start making dinner okay? I'll wake you up when it's done." He kissed my forehead and I nodded sleepily.
He left my room, the door cracked open still.
For some reason I couldn't fall back asleep. I kept trying to but nothing would work.
That's when I noticed a peculiar smell in the air. Something was there, something that blurred my vision a bit.
Suddenly my sunny life was cloudy, and I couldn't have been more terrified.
Beeping. Beeping everywhere. My dad ran up the stairs.
"Daddy! What's this?" I screamed as he carried me towards the door.
"Bostyn I need you to calm down, sweetheart. I want you to go to the neighbors and tell them to call 911 please." He seemed panicked, yet he still smiled softly at me before kissing the top of my head, "I love you, Bos."
He set me down outside before he returned inside. I ran to the neighbors and knocked on the door as loudly as I could.
Our neighbors were a little older than my mom and dad and had a daughter named Sadie who was 12 and another daughter named Sophie who was 8. They had always been very nice so I knew they would help me out.
"Hello Bostyn! How are you hun?" I didn't know her name at the time, but I knew she was Sophie and Sadie's mom.
"My daddy told me to come here. He said call 911." I told her.
She looked towards my house and grabbed my hand. She led me inside.
Sophie was playing with some Barbie dolls in the living room and told me I could play too, so I did.
Her mother went to the kitchen with her husband with the phone.
Sadie came from the kitchen and just hugged me. Sadie had hugged me before, but it was just weird this time. She looked sad.
I heard sirens in a couple minutes and rushed to look out the window. There were two fire trucks, an ambulance, and a cop car.
I turned to look where they were going. That's when I saw my house engulfed in flames.
I flung the door open and ran back towards my house.
"Daddy! Mommy!" I screamed.
A police officer saw me and ran over to get me before I could go inside my house.
"Hi sweetie. What's your name?" He asked with a smile as he knelt down to me.
"Bostyn. Why are you happy?" I looked at my house, scared. Confused.
"Bostyn you can't go inside yet. You need to stay here and be safe."
"But-but. My mommy and daddy are in there." I didn't even cry. It's strange. You'd expect someone so young to cry but I couldn't.
Instead I just stared in horror at the firemen rushing into my house, trying to put out the fire, as a single tear rolled down my cheek.
My mom and dad never walked out of that house. Rather than being reunited and finding a new house with them, I was put in a foster home with lots of annoying children. I was there for only a couple months. And that's when I met Danielle and Jeff.
Every since I moved in with the Hoffmans, life was completely different. I quit soccer. I couldn't do it anymore, it was me and my dad's thing.
Instead, Danielle signed me up for gymnastics and dance classes. At the age of eight, Jeff signed me up for swimming lessons.
Aside from those, I was also put into violin lessons, which I hated, so Danielle let me take piano lessons instead.
Eventually, I stopped gymnastics. I took on dance and swim more since they still wanted me to take part in sports.
I also stuck with piano, but I also enjoyed singing occasionally.
Through the years of recovering from my parents death, I became more creative. In middle school I had become fascinated with art, but Danielle and Jeff told me I couldn't take art classes because I needed to focus on my academics. I drew anyways, just in private. In an old sketchbook I had gotten from Sadie before I went to the foster home. It had been hers but she said she wanted me to take it.
I never used it until I was 12, but it had suddenly become my life. I found myself constantly drawing things related to my parents and my life before the fire, as if that could change things back to how they used to be.
After years of wanting to take art as an elective, my "parents" finally decided to let me take it. Not because I wanted to, but they said it was a "reward" for my good grades last year.
Now I'm finally breaking the old mold of discipline. Art class is my escape, and though it's distracting from some of my other subjects, I love it.
I guess you could say I've become somewhat rebellious.
I've stopped caring so much about my grades. I'm tired of being the "perfect child". I just want to do what I want. I want to find real happiness.
I've also started a little project at home. I'm trying to learn more about my parents.
You see, the police had told me that they both didn't make it out of the fire, but everything I've ever read about it hasn't mentioned my father's death, only my mother's.
So that leaves me wondering... What if he's out there still?
I've been living some fake, artificial life when I could be with him.
People always say senior year is crazy. But I never imagined all this would be happening.
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A/N: Hey guys. So first off this isn't that good but it's just kinda some background on Bostyn. Also, this book is inspired by xlosermuke fan fic Non-Existent. One of the characters in her story is Bostyn (kinda based off me in a way) so I decided to make this from her POV mostly. Check out her story bc it's amazing. This is a 5sos fan fic btw, but it'll take me a couple chapters until I get to them, I hope you understand.