The Fill-in Boyfriend // DNF

-~5~-

George hurried out the door the next morning, the ordeal from last night already faded and stuffed to the back of his mind as he racked his brain for any schoolwork he might have missed.

He didn't want a repeat of yesterday of being late and he had already skipped school that day and was probably behind a lot. He didn't have anybody there to help him out on missed work so it was twice as difficult to get back into the swing of things whenever he missed school.

And he still needed to buy a new phone.

George sighed in relief as he slid into his first hour seat. Now that he was here on time, he could finally let the rest of his body catch up with him; and unfortunately for him that was mainly lack of sleep. He hadn't been sleeping well the last few days or eating much for that matter, mostly due to the fact that it had been the most eventful week of his life.

He smiled fondly at the memory of last night, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he tuned the professor's lecture into mere background noise; only returning back to earth every few minutes to scribble a few important notes down on a stray piece of paper.

It wasn't long before the entire day had gone by and George was at his locker, packing up to go home again. A hand on his shoulder startled him and he snapped his head up to see who the intruder of his personal space was. To his surprise, it was his ex-girlfriend's best friend, Hailey.

She smiled slyly at him, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder and snapping her gum once. Her hand remained on his shoulder as she began to speak and George—none too kindly—shrugged it off. "Heeey, George." She drawled out, blinking one too many times.

George squinted at her, already bored of the conversation. He slammed his locker shut and glanced at the time. He was going to be stuck in traffic forever at this rate.

"Do you need something, Hailey? Or are you just here to bother me?" He asked, sighing irritably at her.

Hailey widened her eyes innocently, "Me? Bother you? Never." She said, pretending to look offended, "Nah, actually, I wanted to ask you something." She said ominously.

George waited impatiently for her to continue, shifting from one leg to the other. "What?"

Hailey crossed her arms, "Emi is having a party next Friday." She said bluntly, but what she was hinting at as she said that escaped George.

"And? You know we aren't together anymore, right?" He asked, frowning at her. He knew she knew that, but she was acting so weird.

"I never said anything about you guys being together or not." Hailey said casually, she eyed George up and down once. "I just said she's having a party this next Friday, a beach one, and you–" She jabbed a finger in his chest once, "--are invited."

George blanched internally, "What? Why?" Was Emi still not over him? He had dumped her after he found her cheating on him with his ex-best friend—the one that made him never make a friend again—he had been so heartbroken; he hadn't dated since.

Hailey shrugged, "Hey, don't shoot the messenger." She held her hands up in mock defense. "Hope to see you there though. Don't forget, next Friday, 6:00, beach party, oh and also a plus one if you want a friend to come along." She counted off her fingers as she listed the important reasons he couldn't forget about. And then she spun on her heel and stalked off.

George stood there for a moment, processing her words before shaking his head and hurrying out to his car. There was no way he was going. Emi most likely wanted to get back with him and he had no desire too.

He sighed in frustration at his mess before a thought hit him.

Dream owed him one.

He smiled slightly as he thought about it. If he showed up at Emi's party with a boyfriend she would realize he was taken and would hopefully back off. His problems would be solved.

Now all he needed was a new phone and the money for it.

–

George was lost in his thoughts as he entered his house, which was always a bad idea. He needed to be more careful whenever he came inside, more alert.

Today, apparently, was one of his dad's bad days, and he didn't realize until too late.

"George Henry Davidson! Get your lazy ass over here!"

George cringed as his father's voice rang out from the living room; he was quick to heed his call.

"Yes, dad?" He asked cautiously, hugging himself with his arms as if to protect his smaller frame. He hated how weak and vulnerable he seemed in front of his parents. All he wanted in the world was the courage to stand up for himself, but he had tried it before and it never ended well whenever he tried.

His dad glared daggers at him, "Why were you so late today? Huh? Where should you have been 15 minutes ago? Answer me, damnit!" He shouted, spit flying from his mouth as he yelled.

George spotted his sister fleeing up the stairs and he wanted to sigh in relief as he realized that she was safe from their father's wrath.

"I got caught up in school by someone. I'm sorry." He apologized, rubbing his arm and staring at the scuff on the carpet beside his foot.

A hand roughly yanked his collar, pulling him forward harshly. "Look at me when you speak to me." His dad said slowly. George felt nerves shoot through his stomach and into his tongue, the taste almost metallic, from the change in demeanor in his father.

It was never a good sign when he grew quiet.

George flicked his eyes up to meet his father's.

"Now, where were you really?" His dad asked again. He still had a tight grip on George's collar.

George swallowed thickly, "I was caught up in school by someone, I swear." He repeated, wincing as his father shoved him back—hard—onto the floor.

"BULLSHIT! You were out doing God knows what and ignoring your mother who has been texting you non-stop to pick up some more beer for me!" He shouted, throwing his hands up and pointing at the kitchen door where his mum stood quietly. She stared emotionless down at George on the floor.

George shot a glance at her and then returned it to his father, "M-my phone's broken! I haven't gotten a new one yet!" He defended, curling into himself as his father kicked his legs.

"If you won't tell the truth then you won't be getting any food tonight. I don't want to see you out of your room at all tonight. And you'll listen to me if you value your life!" His father spewed angry words from his mouth, refusing to listen to reason as his anger consumed him. He stomped on George's foot, causing the brunette to cry out.

"I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!" George cried, struggling to his feet and limping towards the stairs. He scrambled up them and into his bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him. He clutched his throbbing foot as he slid to the floor and let the tears spill.

He was sick of being bullied constantly by his parents. Sick of being hurt over and over again. Sick of being told he was a liar.

He crawled into bed, not bothering to change and huddled under his covers. He didn't want to ever wake up again. 

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