They head back to Mrs Brown's just as the sun starts setting and the sky turns dark pink.
Mrs Brown's house is in the more wealthy side of town. Purpled knows the only reason she has such a nice house compared to everyone else, is because she inherited it from her mother. Otherwise, Mrs Brown would be living in some shared apartment that has a dodgy reputation. Mrs Brown has made it explicitly clear that she does not work, nor does she intend to work, for anything she has. That includes the boys.
When they arrive at the house(five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a gigantic kitchen and garden that seems to be bigger than every room in the house combined), they can smell food.
Purpled wonders if Mrs Brown has actually made them anything this time; last night she didn't.
"Mrs Brown!" Dream calls out. "We're home."
"Not that you care." Punz mumbles under his breath.
The kitchen and dining room are both at the back of the house, and as the siblings walk closer, they hear voices; high pitch and happy giggles.
Purpled walks in first, confused at the commotion. At the dining room table, is sat Mrs Brown with greying hair done up nice, and a most revealing dress plastered to her body, and opposite her, a man that Purpled has never seen before.
"Mrs Brown?" He asks.
"Oh boys, Tom these are my boys, uh, Pete, and uh, Dan and... Paul." She's probably had a drink.
"Not even close." Punz mutters. "I'm Punz, that's Dream and that's Purpled.
The guy, Tom just nods, like he understands, but as he opens his mouth, Purpled can tell immediately that he doesn't.
"There's nothing wrong with your names."
Dream frowns, and opens his mouth to make a smart remark.
"Since when did we say that there was?" Purpled interrupts.
"Don't be rude Paul."
"Purpled."
"Tom here is a guest, and we treat him with respect just like I taught you."
Dream scoffs. "You haven't taught us shit, you don't even know our fucking names."
There's a terrifying silence amongst everyone. Mrs Brown's face turns an ugly shade of red.
"Boys, what have I taught you about using that kind of language in the house!?"
"This, I think, is the most conversation we have ever had." Purpled remarks.
In seconds, everything seems to explode...everything being Mrs Brown.
"Right, that's it, I'm calling Sam. I want you gone before the morning, go to your rooms, I don't want to deal with any of you. I give you a roof over your heads, a place to sleep and food on your plates, and this is what I get in return? Nobody would ever want to look after children like you. No wonder you are all over the place all the time. You are incapable of being loved. Get out of my sight!"
It's nothing they haven't heard before, but it still hurts. Sometimes Purpled wonders if they will ever find their happy ending. He knew Mrs Brown was temporary purely due to the fact that she treated them more like cats then kids. She feeds them, and the rest they do themselves...although sometimes she forgets to feed them at all.
He feels a strong arm over his shoulder, and Punz guides him towards the stairs. Despite the journey to their shared room being only short, Purpled doesn't remember walking up the stairs, or being sat on the bed. It's as though one minute he was being shouted at in the kitchen, and the next he's sat between Punz and Dream, both of which are holding him together.
"Do you think she meant it?" He asks, voice timid and scratchy. Punz uses his sleeve to wipe at a stray tear on their youngest brothers face. Purpled doesn't realise he's crying.
"She's just angry. She tried to show us off to some prick and we didn't play along. It's not our fault." Punz assured.
"I meant when she said that we are incapable of being loved."
Dream playfully smacks his brothers leg.
"Dude, you've got me and Punz, and even though we never really say it, we love you. We aren't going anywhere."
Purpled nods and they fall into a comfortable silence.
"We should probably pack."
The atmosphere as they pack isn't bitter. They were never going to be in the care of Mrs Brown forever, but it was nice to walk through the streets of a wealthy neighbourhood knowing that they were supposed to be there...they just didn't necessarily belong.
They have all their belongings packed within half an hour, and it takes Sam three hours to get to the house. Sam is a nice guy. The siblings love Sam, and as they are called downstairs to meet his exasperated face, they can't help but smile. The poor man tries his best, and even though he gets irritated by their trouble making antics and bad behaviours, he has a soft spot for the chaotic trio.
They don't say goodbye to Mrs Brown. They sit in the car and wait for Sam, who is having a conversation with a red faced Mrs Brown. They don't know where Tom went.
When Sam finally gets in the car, he heaves a sigh.
"Almost two months. You were so very close to two months."
Punz, who is sat in the front seat next to Sam just shrugs. "Are we going back to that shitty place again?"
The Esempii is a group home for kids who had yet to find a foster placement. It wasn't a bad place, and the people are usually quite nice, but it had its bad days, which usually involved a lot of fights, theft and vandalism.
"Nope, you're staying with Ponk and I for the night. Esempii is currently full, and it's too late for you to go to the next foster placement I have lined up for you. I'll take you there tomorrow, possibly the afternoon."
Ponk is Sam's husband. They have been married for only three months so far, following a five year engagement. They have been together since they were teenagers through thick and thin. An accident three years ago had caused Ponk to lose his left arm. Purpled remembers seeing Sam, a father figure, look broken and fragile. The siblings, at the time, were the only people Sam opened up to about the accident. He claimed it was to encourage them to open up about themselves, but secretly, Purpled likes to believe it's because Sam sees them as his own kids.
As they drive through the night, the orange streetlights on Purpled's face begin to lull him to sleep. He feels himself slump against the window, and before his mind shuts down, he wonders what it's like to have parents as cool as Sam and Ponk.
YOU ARE READING
Reputation
Fanfiction"Dream legs it down the alleyway, bag gripped tightly in his hand. His cheeks are already red and angry from the bitter cold wind and his feet numb inside his shoes. He can hear rasped shouts from behind him, and forces his legs to move faster." Or:...
