𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 // 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐨

𝟎𝟗 - 𝐮𝐡, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐬?

Arthur Antonio Brook loved his nephew, he really did. But sometimes, the  boy confused him more than their neighbour, - who was, by the way, a very strange lady. - Boni had always been a bit... different, from the others, you could say. When he was a child, he hated it to leave Arthur's or Betty's side. The boy was really shy, which was not directly a bad thing, but sometimes it was just hard to work with, especially in the beginning, when the boy just lived with them.

Arthur always thought it was because of Boni's past. Hell, the man still didn't know, what really happened in Ohio, but he suspected the worst. Boni still refused to talk about his parents, or even life in Ohio in general. Arthur tried to understand him, he really did, but it was just hard when he didn't know enough to understand. He knew it was not a good idea to ask Boni about it, so he didn't. But the curiosity would always be there. There had to be a way to find out what happened. Maybe he could contact his broter, Boni's father. Of course, he hated the man with everything in him, but if it meant he knew what happened to Boni, he wanted to do it.

Arthur hadn't seen his broter in ten years, since Boni moved in with him. The man had always been a bit strange, also when they were younger, but Arthur never expected him to be this cruel, especially to his own child. It was just sick. The man deserved jail, Arthur thought. 

Sometimes, the thoughts of Boni's past kept him up at night. He clearly remembered the first night Boni was with him and Betty. The boy flinched at almost every movement. Just thinking about that day broke Arthur's heart. It was the saddest, but also, in a way, the most beautiful day in his life. It was the day he finally saved his nephew from the hell he had to call home before. It was the day Boni was finally protected from his parents. But it was also the day Arthur realized Boni's childhood was completely fucked up. Arthur tried to make it better with everything in him. Of course, he couldn't change what already had happened, but he could make the future for the boy better. And he did. It was so beautiful to see the boy who was so broken, finally smiling after a few months of living with them. It warmed Arthur's heart. 

Boni felt more like Arthur's son than his nephew. He and Betty basically raised the boy. And hell, did they do a good job at it. Boni was the most amazing young man Arthur could ever imagine. Boni was sweet, talented, funny and so much more. Boni was everything Arthur could ever wish for. But still, sometimes Arthur just didn't understand the boy.

Now was one of those moments. It was already past midnight, when Arthur was woken up by Boni's yelling voice. The bedroom was completely dark, making it very hard for Arthur to see his surroundings. With a sigh, he rolled over, trying his best to ignore his nephew. He closed his eyes, hoping to get some more sleep. Life as a baker wasn't one where you could get a lot of sleep, not at all.

Arthur gave up after five minutes. He slowly got up from the comfortable bed, where his wife was still asleep, quietly snoring. Betty didn't wake up easily, a skill Arthur was quite jealous of. Especially with a screaming teenager in the house.

With heavy eyes the man looked at his alarm clock. It was 03:20 A.M. why was Boni still up?

He decided to take a look and started moving through the dark bedroom. The only light source he had came from the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was just enough to make it to the door without tripping.

Now Arthur was closer to Boni's bedroom, he could finally hear what Boni was saying. "Ranboo look out!" His nephew screamed on top of his lungs. For a moment, there was silence, after which Boni started wheezing.

He never heard his kid talking to someone this loud before. Not even Simon or Louis. It was weird to hear the boy talk like that. Normally, he was a very quiet boy, unless he was streaming.