Things Have Changed (a Ryden Fanfiction)

Chapter One - Things Have Changed.

Brendon looked out of the car window. The wind blew in, throwing his hair about, and while he sat there, thinking about all of the times he had had in the small Georgia town he was leaving, he drifted into an uneasy sleep, trying to erase the stress that was building in his mind.
He woke up a few hours later when his mother tapped him on the shoulder to ask him what he would like to eat for lunch. They had entered a suburban housing area and were about five miles from a town with some fast-food restaurants and local cafes.
Brendon was hungry, but the nostalgia he felt for his home of sixteen years was too overwhelming for him to even think about eating. He didn't want to worry his mother, though, who was going through the same amount of stress, if not more, that Brendon was, so he decided on a small salad at whatever restaurant his mother wanted to go to.
Once they got to the Wendy's in town, though, he could hardly even stomach the salad. Every miniscule detail of the place would drag him into another memory. The salad reminded him of the time he and his best friend, Pete, decided to cook dinner at Pete's house and got into a lettuce throwing fight. The young woman at the counter reminded him of his friend Haley, while the ketchup made him think of the old-lady-next-door's homemade ketchup she had always brought over for him as a small child.
Now, though, he realised just how distant the past was. He was moving to Chicago, hundreds of miles away from where all of his friends would spend the rest of their childhoods, hundreds of miles away from all of the memories that small Georgian town held. Hundreds of miles felt like light years, though, knowing he wouldn't see Pete again for another few months, knowing Haley would have to deal with her abusive parents all alone, knowing that everybody he had ever loved was being left behind for a new life that he had never planned on. Pangs of guilt spread through him, burning his conscious like every memory was another lit cigarette being placed against his skin.
While his thoughts drifted from memory to memory, Brendon's mother could see the look of worry that painted his face. She had done everything in her power to keep from moving, to keep the next two years of Brendon's childhood somewhat stable, to keep from hurting him any more than the death of his father already had. All she wanted was to make him happy. Keeping his life normal had been difficult enough before she had lost her job, before she lost her house, and, most important, her husband.
Brendon's father. The only man he ever looked up to. His role model, his inspiration for life. All that Brendon had ever aspired to be was based upon his father. He loved him more than anything. She loved him more than anything. He was the glue that held their household together. He was kind, loving, the most caring man she'd ever known; she was lucky to have married him.
She reflected upon the thought of him for a while, silence overtaking the table, until Brendon spoke to her for the first time since they had entered the Wendy's.
"So, what's Aunt Margerie like?" Brendon inquired, speaking of the relative they were moving in with while his mother found a job.
"Well," His mother began, "She's actually quite nice. She can be.... Strange, at times, but other than that, she's always been there for me. She took me in after Mom kicked me out for getting pregnant with you, and she didn't judge me for it. She helped me wean you onto the bottle and off of my boob, actually." She chuckled on the last thought, trying to sound positive. Brendon didn't get the vibes she was trying to put out.
He looked down at his half finished salad. That was the most it was going to be eaten. "I'm ready if you are, Mom".
They boarded the car again and headed down the stretch of highway that lead to Brendon's new home.