Is He Really Worth It? ( *Pico x Keith* )

Welcome home

I was startled from the immediate hand grab, and stared at John's hand for a moment. There was a weird and awkward silence between all of us, but I hesitated before shaking his hand back. "Hi.. I'm um.. My name uh.."

I noticed how all three of them were staring at me, wondering if I was alright. I could read Pico's expression, he looked embarrassed. Was it From me? I would assume it was my fault. I gulped, and told him my name. "Keith." I finally got out after a second. Pico's parents smiled at me, and John let go of my hand. "So, are you just not a talker? That's fine, I understand." John said. I jumped and replied rather quickly.

"Wait--No, no, no! I-I talk it's just um.." My sentence got quickly finished off by Pico's other father, Steve. "You're just nervous or have social anxiety or have whatever young ones like you have nowadays." I would assume they both knew my age by now, but I assume Pico hasn't said much about me to his parents. Afterall, I just finally reunited with him a few days ago. I'm still worried. I really shouldn't be here. I should be with my mom and dad, but then again, that'd also be a bad idea. However, hiding even longer just puts me at higher risks. I quickly shot up and fanned my hands off at them. "Yeah.. Um.. Aha-.. You're right I suppose. I um.. I need to go."

"You're gonna leave already? We just got her-" John replied, however Pico grabbed my wrist gently, stopping me from heading out the door. "Keith, I will not let you go back to them." He told me harshly, but not in a way to scare me or force me to stay here. I could already tell that his parents must be very concerned about what's going on between us, and just like I knew, Steve asked Pico, "Are you guys okay? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing Dad, it's just um.. Things." Pico responded back to him. "I mean, if the boy has to leave, he has to leave-" John said. "No no, you don't understand. It's too dangerous for him to leave right now. He'd be screwed." Pico let go of me, but sorta stood in the way of the door so I couldn't go either way. I didn't want to just leave him just like that from the backdoor, but I feel as if I have no other choice. I don't want to go home, but I also don't want my parents to kill me, or even worst, Pico. They saw me with him. I know that they were definitely going to be pissed off.

"So, is Keith like.. A criminal of the state? Is he wanted?" John obviously took what he said the wrong way. "No, of course not! He's wanted from someone else though." Pico said back. "So.. Where is he supposed to be and why not let him go?" Steve asked, holding his helmet in his arm. "Dad, he's-Um."

"I have to be going home to my parents. I'm SURE they're VERY WORRIED for where I am. I haven't told them where I went." I responded since John and Steve were not taking in anything Pico had said to them. Pico's face dropped and he tried to walk around what I said, trying to keep me here. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to keep me safe. But I was also trying to keep myself safe. I don't know how I'm gonna say why I ran, why I was at a bar, why I was with Pico, or anything else, but I knew somethin' was going to happen to me for it.

Pico and his parents continued having their talk and I grabbed enough courage to start running out from the backdoor. I could hear Pico shout my name from behind me, and I knew he was obviously going to follow me from behind. I didn't want to look behind me to find that out though. I'm sure Pico trying to convince me to come back and the pounds of his footsteps hitting the sidewalk was enough to alert me where he was and how close he was to me.

I ran beyond my limits. It was hard, and I could feel as my chest had that ice-cold and tight feeling to it. I was almost to my house. I didn't really hear Pico anymore. Was he still following me? I stopped. I looked behind me. Pico wasn't there. Nobody was around. It was quiet. I could only hear wind and my own heavy breaths surround me. Suddenly, I saw a faint tint out in the distance. It looked to be about Pico and his parents, however, I noticed there was one more person. It seemed to be a woman. I don't know who she was, but I continued to run home. It was a good thing they were pretty far behind.

I quickly turned my doorknob and forced myself inside, pushing the door shut as soon as I was inside. I could feel as chills rattled down my spine, making me shiver. I heard my mom and dad upstairs. I was scared. Slowly, I began to walk up the steps, holding onto the railing for comfort. Each creak from my stairs was another moment I had cringed.

I went to their room and knocked on the door. The room was silent, not a single sound. It's like I cancelled the entire argument. I listened to my dad's loud footsteps walk up to the door, and I watched as he quickly opened it with force. He looked down at me and stared into my eyes, in a angry like fashion.

He however took no time to grab me by my shoulders and push me against the wall. I gasped out of the pain since my body was always achy. "AGH!- Dad, please—" My father didn't want to hear anything from me. I knew he wasn't going to listen to a thing I said. My mom walked out of the room and stood behind him with her arms crossed. "WHERE WERE YOU!? WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY WITH THAT BOY THAT WE TOLD YOU TO NEVER TALK TO AGAIN!?" He shouted at me. I felt a lump in my throat. It was hard not to cry. I turned my head away from him as he was yelling at me, and I could feel my eardrums thump after each word he had said.

Before I knew it, he took his hand to my chin and quickly yanked it over to him. "ANSWER ME, DAMNIT!" I didn't want to answer him. What was I even supposed to say? He saw everything. I knew running away was a horrible idea. I attempted to form a excuse in my head from what happened and turned it to make it seem like it was Pico's fault. I hope this would work. I feel bad for lying about Pico's end. "W-well, it wasn't MY fault I ran! Pico had my arm and continued running, so I escaped his house and—"

"WHY WERE YOU AT A BAR WITH HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE, IDIOT?" My dad interrupted me. How was I gonna answer that? I had no excuse. There was a quick pause between us both, and my dad took my arm and dragged me to my room. When we got to my room, he shoved me inside and slammed the door.

<That could have gotten more violent.>
<<Yeah. Shockingly, it wasn't though.>>
<<<If it had gotten more violent, you'd be dead. Why would you blame it on Pico? Are you SELFISH?>>>
<...I wish I didn't say that.>
<<<THAT WAS THE WORST EXCUSE YOU'VE EVER MADE.>>>

My mind was right. It was stupid. I went ahead and laid on my back. My parents didn't take my phone, which I knew I could take it to my advantage. I'm scared to know what they're gonna do to me. Oh well, I did what I could. I heard my phone buzz in my hand rapidly. It was most likely from Pico. Why do I do this to myself? Why am I so dumb. I feel bad. My ears were ringing. My body was sore. My mind was numb and blank. What can I even do now.

I'm going to sit here until the day I die, maybe? Is that even possible—I don't think it is. Too bad for me I guess. I just wish I could live like Pico. His parents are proud of him. Pico is smart. I'm not. I want to be him. But then again, I would never swap my body with him. I would never want Pico to suffer through the same pain I'm in. I'm only trapped in a box. Maybe if I was born a girl, I would be loved and cared about. I'm sick of this. I can't even speak my mind. One day I'll be able to do what I want.

One day.