It was pretty safe to say that Matt had a problem.
A big problem.
You know when a situation goes bad so you tell a lie to fix it? Well, that's been a coping mechanism for Matt since he was a child, since his unruly behaviour often caused mishap. One lie would stretch to another until a web of lies began to weave over his life, which only got worse once he started pre-school.
It started off as small things, like him lying about being related to Abraham Lincoln or lying about having nine hamsters. It was amusing, definitely- but the more Matt lied, the better at lying he became. By the time he was ten, he was known as the kid who accidentally ran into Kanye. By the time he was fourteen, he was known as the teen who climbed Mount Everest. By the age of sixteen, he was known as the man who impregnated two girls on the same night.
His lies definitely darkened over his adolescence, due to his parents' predicted divorce. They said it wasn't him and Matt knew that was the truth. His dad was not a nice person, to either him or his mum. He escaped from his troubles easily with a simple statement that made people's mouths drop to the floor, the clambering for more information followed like water flushing away the spider. However, Matt was quick to spin up another web of a lie, always having some end of the web to connect to another.
It was coming up to Matt's seventeenth birthday and nothing scared him more than that.
Why, you might ask? Easy. He hates cake.
You might not think that's a problem but to his annoyingly great mother, she's adamant now that everything Matt says is a lie and so every year, she gets a cake to Matt's despair. The sight of the vanilla sponge reminded his mouth of the taste of chewing on velcro, the icing forming a cement that would clog up his mouth until finally swallowed several minutes later; don't get him started on the sprinkles!
So, Matt laid on his bed, haunted by the cake's cakiness, wishing that the world would skip a day, specifically his birthday. Tomorrow is just another day, Matt told himself, maybe an anniversary of his infamous Kanye meeting? C'mon brain, think of something for tomorrow... maybe mom will forget?
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She didn't forget.
"Wakey wakey, honey! It's your big daaaay!" Matt's mother sang as her head peeped through his bedroom door. The brunette opened his eyes dozily before a giant huff escaped his lips. Why, oh why? His mother edged her way in the room, tray in hand, before setting the tray down on his bedside table. "Hey, grumpy pants! Eat up quick, I let you lie in. Get ready for school!"
Another long, disgruntled groan came from Matt as his mom mimicked him, going too leave the room before she spotted something on the floor, pushed under his bed just hidden from sight. "Matthew Patrick?" The boy peeked open his eyes again lazily, sitting up to see what was happening before his eyes widen. "Mom, that's private, it's mine!" He complained as he pushed the skateboard further under his bed, glaring at his mom who simply chuckled. "Are you seeing someone, Matthew, or are you now a better skater than Tony Hawk?"
"Shuddup, it's just a stupid skateboard," He told her, taking his interest to the croissants on the breakfast tray and took a bite. Matt's mother shrugged but a devious smile was still evident on her face and no matter how silly, it always made Matt smile. "Well, whoever it is, they can come around for tea tonight," She spoke warmly as she began to leave the room. Matt rolled his eyes but called after her, "You forgot to give me birthday bumps!"
Her laugh was heard from downstairs as Matt properly got up and dressed for school, a croissant half in his mouth as he tugged on his favourite hoodie and plain jeans. Just another normal day, it's gonna be just fine, just you wait and see...
The truth was that Matthew really did have a boyfriend, an engineer apprentice named Mark Fischbach who dawdled outside of the local 7/11 after school ended to fool around with Matt. He was sweet and pretty damn handsome, but Matt still lied to him too. See, telling Mark something is like trying to explain quadratic expressions to a three year old.
Matt realised this too late as the school day ended, Mark pouring out a double cup slushie for just himself and saying the odd 'uh huh'. It was evident Mark was pre-occupied with his beloved slushie that Matt had to take all the straws away before Mark noticed anything. "Did you listen to a word I just said?" Matt asked angrily, only irritated further by Mark's mindless shrug. "Um, you aced a science test? That's great, can I have a straw now?"
Matt stared icily at his boyfriend but loosened his grip on the straws, letting them go as Mark practically pounced for one. "I said that we can't go out tonight, it's my mum's birthday. In fact, I shouldn't even be here right now so the least you could do is listen." Mark looked up at him and spoke as they walked up to the cashier, "Look, just grab some crappy card now and say that's where you've been. I'd say get some cake but it seems you've already got some." Mark chuckled as he nimbly slapped Matt's ass, making the brunette look at him with discomfort. "I said to stop doing that, I don't like it," Matt whispered with a small blush as he was aware the cashier directly in front of them.
"I'm just sayin', for my birthday next month you better make sure I have a bite of that cake," Mark's deep voice said nonchalantly but to Matt, it was as if it was being shouted out loud. "Shut up! And stop talking about fucking cake!" He hissed, avoiding the cashier's concerned look. Mark frowned and was about to argue back before the cashier asked for the cash, to which he searched his pockets. He handed over a dollar. "Sir, they raised the price from a dollar to two dollars and a quarter."
Mark took one puppy look over at Matt, who huffed and took out a ten dollar note, handing it to the cashier. "Keep the change," He spoke bluntly and stormed out of the 7/11, already gone as Mark looked at the ten dollars and bought a couple extra items. (//Dick move, dude)
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Matt collapsed onto his bed, covering his face with a pillow as he let out a long, much needed bellow of a cry. What a fucking douche bag! In front of everyone at the shop too, I can't believe he did that! Oh God, what am I gonna tell mom? Freak accident and he died? He swallowed a bee and has internal stings? What's the point, she can look through all my lies and just see me empty. I'll sleep and she'll hopefully leave me alone...
Matt turned onto his side and dragged his blanket over his body, beginning to fall asleep. Before he could asleep though, there was something he needed to do- Matt reached under his bed and with all his strength, he managed to snap the board not so neatly in half. That's better, he thought as he found himself slipping into sleep.
Later on once he woke up from his nap, he could make out a tray beside him. Groaning, he sat up and turned the lamp on, expecting a ghastly cake but he was surprised to see a pile of doughnuts stacked up on a plate instead, along with a note that read: "This year's cake looks odd, doesn't it? Out for work, enjoy! XXX"
Best. Mom. Ever! But we're missing something, definitely diet coke... I'll watch a movie, so I'll get some snacks too; ahh, candles too! Matt nodded happily as he brought the tray of doughnuts into the living room, quickly setting up a comfy blanket-infested seat before going to the local 7/11.
Diet Coke, Kit Kats, maybe some pringles, definitely pasta and meatballs, I'll grab those candles too- that milkshake looks nice as well... With an armful of food, Matt made his way to the till and politely set down his items. As he set up his bag, he heard someone talking to him and looked up at the cashier. Shit, it's the same guy from before! Okay, just act natural...
"...so I hope you're okay." Matt blinked and paused for a moment, before asking embrassed, "Sorry, what was that again?" The cashier chuckled, which really highlighted the cute dimples in his cheeks. He was actually extremely good-looking and quite young, which caught Matt off guard as he found himself staring at his dark brown eyes. "I served what seemed to be your dick boyfriend, if you don't mind the language. It was really uncomfortable and God knows how you felt, so I hope you're okay." He repeated, a genuine smile on his face.
"No, I don't mind at all," Matt chuckled, putting the items into my bag as he spoke. "I'm quite good, just planning for the rest of the night to just be calm." The cashier raised his eyebrows and gave a shrug. "Candles for your "mum"?" He asked with quotation mark hands over the 'mum' part. He obviously overheard all of their conversation earlier and Matt returned the shrug. "It's not for my mum, it's my birthday. But how'd you figure that out?" Matt said suspiciously, not even thinking of lying to the cashier.
The cashier made spooky hand gestures that made the brunette laugh before he spoke, "Maaaagic! And a very hyper woman came in ordering doughnuts and spoke about her son being upset on his birthday. It's been a long day." This made Matt laugh as he really thought about how great his mum actually was. " It has been a long day, Mister...?" He asked, to which the cashier responded with 'Nathan'. They exchanged names and chatted for some time, since the shop was empty and close to closing time.
"So Nathan, what are you doing after your shift?" Matt asked, finally taking hold of his bag ready to leave. "Oh, nothing much. And you?" Matt didn't even need to lie anymore. "Watching a movie and pigging out completely. You wanna go full pig mode with me at my place?" Nathan laughed as his face tinted pink, a nod following. "Yeah, let's become actual pigs, you doofus."
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Matt's mother returned to the house exhausted, taking off her coat to hang up until she peeked into the living room, spotting her son cuddled up with the cashier boy snoring on the couch and covered in doughnut sugar. She gave a warm smile and tucked another blanket on top of the sleeping couple before going up to bed herself.
He liked the doughnuts, she thought...
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//Bo-hon hon-jour!
//It's not Mother's Day in England but I figured I'd write this since unlike my mum, Matt's mum learns from her mistakes and gets doughnuts for Matt
//Everyone loves doughnuts!
//Peace out, Jonathan the smelly Writer
//p.s. I'm addicted to Tik Tok