The Boy Next Door

My Muse

!TW! Drug use

Anthony shut the door behind him, walking straight passed Elisabeth and upstairs, muttering aggressively under his breath the entire time. Elisabeth watched him nervously until Alastor's door was slammed behind him. "Oh goodness..." she muttered, slowly climbing the stairs and opening the door. "Angel dear, did everything go well at your father's?" She asked. Anthony turned back to face her, nothing short of an unamused glare. "No. No Elisabeth. It didn't." He snapped back. "I see, anything I can do to help?" Anthony mumbled something under his breath before he answered properly. "Unless you can magically normalize everything about my life, No." he said simply, sitting down at Alastor's desk. Elisabeth nodded her head a few times, before she looked up at him quickly. "Do they-" "molly knows...she isn't like my dad, but the conversation wasn't exactly...encouraging." Elisabeth bit her lip. "Well...I'm sure everything will be okay. Molly loves you very much and I'm sure she is only looking out for you." She said solemnly. "It's whatever...support the idea or not, I got all the support I need in here with me." He said with a forced smile. Elisabeth nodded and closed the door.

Anthony knew for a fact she would assume he was referring to Alastor. But no way in hell was he talking to Alastor about this. No no no, what he meant was his... 'personal' means of emotional support. Grabbing his bag and taking out his smaller bag of his newly acquired "Angel dust". That was what he needed in that moment. Just quick relief. He sat there waiting on the effect for about fifteen minutes. "Angel dust...Angel, hm." The blonde smirked. "I think I put that together..." he said with a smile. He got up and walked downstairs. "Elisabeth, I figured it out." He said with a smile. The woman quickly noted his change in attitude and smiled. "Figured what out dear?" She asked. "The whole Angel-Anthony thing. Anthony is my dad's kid...and Angel is yours! Their like two different personas!" He said with a grin. Elisabeth huffed a small laugh, shaking her head. "Well...that's a funny way to think of it. I like that. Angel is my son." Anthony smirked at her reaction, before he felt almost numb. The feeling quickly became like something was wrong, gripping the counter quickly, letting it support his weight for a moment. "Angel?" Elisabeth was a little caught off guard by the suddenness of it. "Angel, are you alright?" She asked quickly. Anthony nodded his head a few times, shutting his eyes. He had almost completely forgotten about the pcp. "Yeah...I'm fine. Might just go upstairs." Elisabeth cautiously walked over to him and gently grabbed his arms. "Okay...do you need help?" She asked. Anthony gave her a smile through slightly clouded eyes. "I feel fine Elisa! I can make it on my own. I'm twenty-one for goods sakes." Elisabeth hesitantly let go of him, watching intently as he walked away.

Alastor arrived back at his home around one thirty as usual. Walking into the kitchen to greet his mother. "Yes, afternoon Alastor. How was work?" She asked quietly. Alastor's smile faltered at her tone of voice. "Mama is everything alright?" He asked nervously. "Yes, Angel has just been acting a little... concerning. That's all." She explained simply. Alastor glanced at the doorway towards the stairs. "Is he okay?" He asked quickly. Elisabeth shook her head. "He's fine, just acting different. I think he had a bad time at his other home. And is trying to forget it." Alastor bit his lip. "I'm gonna go check on him. I'll see you soon mama."

Walking up the steps and opening his door, Anthony was laying on the bed, one leg hanging off the side, arms stretched out towards the ceiling as he examined his hands intently. "Anthony?" He called quietly. The blonde didn't respond, so Alastor walked over and waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Anthony darling as you in there?" He asked quietly. Anthony quickly turned his head to look up at him. "Your back!~" he said happily, reaching his hand up toward him. Alastor gently took his hand and examined it, just seeing if his lover was looking at something or if he was just dazed. "Yes, how...are you?" He asked hesitantly. "I'm doin great." He replied quickly as he sat up. "Gimme kiss." He asked, more demanded, staring up at the brunette. Alastor sat on the bed next to him and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. On pulling back he simply watched the blonde for a few minutes. His eyes kept darting to the side, but there was nothing he possibly could have been looking at. Overall he either seemed too focused of not focused at all. Alastor raised a his hand and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. "Are you in there dear?" He asked hesitantly. "...Hm? Yes! I am." That wasn't exactly a very convincing response, but at least it was one. "Have you...been drinking?" He asked nervously. Anthony had only been twenty-one for about a month. And he had never seen him tipsy so he didn't know if this was it. Anthony stared at him, but it wasn't like he was looking at Alastor, more just had his eyes open. In that moment he honestly couldn't tell if Anthony was in his head at all. "Anthony...Have. You. Been. Drinking?" He asked, being sure to be as clear as possible and hold the blonde's gaze, clearly loosing his focus over and over. "No....I don't drink here. But I do-" Anthony shut his eyes for a second. "But I do smoke, why ya askin babes." He asked, tilting his head and cupping the brunette's cheek. Alastor now knew what his mother meant by 'concerning behaviour'. What was going on with him? "Anthony, mon amour...has something happened?" Anthony scoffed, lowering his hand and standing up. "Nothin, why? Somethin wrong?" He asked quickly. Alastor stood up and grabbed his shoulders. "You aren't acting like yourself. What's going on?" He gently pulled the blonde back over and sat him down on the bed. Anthony shook his head. "What'd'ya mean, I feel fine!" He replied with a smile. Alastor shook his head, glancing down at him for a moment. "Okay love, how about you just stay here for a while and tell me what is going on, the truth if you don't mind." He suggested. Anthony shrugged his shoulders. "Nothin to tell ya." He snapped back. "Cher..." "Alastor. Everything is fine, I would say you need to back up and relax! Nothing is wrong here, or with life." Alastor bit his lip, he was going to remain patient with him, but this was only becoming more worrisome, Anthony is a lot of things, but he's a terrible liar, especially if he wasn't in a good mood. "How about we just calm down, you're sounding a little bit crazy and-" Anthony immediately pulled away from him, backing against the headboard. "I'm not crazy!" He yelled, eyes wide and stuck on Alastor. At least he was focused now? "I know that Cher, what's going on?" The blonde shook his head. "No no! You listen to me! I'm not crazy!" The brunette slowly reached out for him, Anthony staring at his hands in nothing but fear. "Anthony, you aren't crazy..come here please." He requested in the gentlest voice he could.

Alastor walked back downstairs and into the lounge staring at his mother. "What is going on with him?!" Elisabeth looked up, smile falling into a concerned look. "Goodness, it's still going on?" Alastor walked over and sat next to her. "I have....no idea what's happening. Which isn't normal, I usually am very good at reading people. I don't understand why he's acting this way. We've seen him upset...it's not whatever that was." Elisabeth bit her lip, shaking her head. "So, what are you gonna do?" She asked. Alastor looked at her, forcing a very unsure smile. "Wait." He said simply. "Wait?" She repeated, cocking a brow. "I'm not getting anywhere with him right now. I'm gonna wait until whatever is going on passes before I try to get actual answers." Elisabeth nodded a few times. "Alright...what do we do in the mean time." Alastor glanced at the sunlight shining in through the windows, then to the opposite directions, to the shadow he was casting. "Maybe."

Anthony blinked his eyes, he was in that void again, accept this time it felt different. It was much hotter, and mind numbingly loud. "What the fuck- again?!" Alastor's shadow in human form appeared a few meters in front of him, immediately covering it's ears. "Anthony what is going on?!" It yelled, he almost couldn't hear him. "You don't know?! This is your void!" The shadow glared at him. "And this is your mind! What's going on with it?!" It shot back. "I-I don't know!" The shadow shook it's head, looking around. "What are you doing?! I don't think this is normal!" Anthony shut his eyes, almost hurting to have them open. "I don't know!"

Anthony opened his eyes, breathing heavily. He was sitting on Alastor's bed again, the shadow just in front of him. "W-what was that?" He asked nervously. The shadow cupped his cheeks, staring into his eyes before disappearing. Reappearing in front of Alastor. "Never ask us to do that again! That was terrible." It yelled. Alastor stared at it blankly. "Terrible? What happened?!"

The next morning, Anthony walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Taking a glass of water and walking into the lounge. His head hurt, but not unbearable. Looking up he saw Alastor was sitting and staring at him. "Uh...good mornin?" He called nervously. "Anthony...would you like to tell me what happened yesterday?" He asked, motioning to the couch. "...what do ya mean?" He asked nervously. Alastor sighed shaking his head. "Anthony darling, don't lie to me. I don't know what was going on with you, but it gave me and mama quite the scare. Please tell me." He explained simply. Anthony frowned. "I was just upset, okay?" The brunette sat down on the couch, Anthony sitting next to him. "What happened?" The blonde sighed. "Molly uh...Molly knows, about us." He said reluctantly. "And while she ain't mad, molly doesn't care that I'm sick. But she didn't exactly...react well." Alastor's expression faltered into more sympathy. "What was her reaction?" Anthony bit his lip, nodding his head a few times, not for any particular reason. "What were her exact words...oh yeah. 'Are you insane?' Or somethin like that." Alastor felt something along the lines of dread building in his gut. "I see...I'm sorry ange." Anthony glanced up at him, clearly about to make a comment on the nickname, before he hung his head. "Who cares at this point? My dad and Lucio both think I've lost my mind, why not add her to the list too?" Alastor watched him for a second, remembering his reaction earlier. "Anthony, I'm sure it was just in that moment, Molly surely doesn't think you're insane...I don't either" Anthony looked up at him, before he scoffed and slumped back against the couch. "Yeah, sure. Moving on." Alastor took a breath, laying back against the couch next to him. "I'm asking for your sake Cher, nothing else." The blonde glanced over at him. "I know. Just not somethin I wanna think about." Alastor bit his lip, before reaching to cup his cheek. "I love you." Anthony's expression softened. "I love ya to baby."

Walking upstairs, Anthony quickly took the bag of pills and shoved them underneath the rest of his things. "You idiot! Too close." He muttered to himself, shutting the drawer. "Note to self, never do that here." He pushed the hair out of his face before walking downstairs. If not in Alastor's home, where would he be able to do it? This was his safe haven. Well... Anthony glanced out the window at the house next door. They made him numb to the world, he would feel nothing. "Maybe I have a reason to go home after all..."