The In-Between

Family

(Mentions of domestic abuse and violence)

After Casper finished their conversation with Clyde, the moon reached its peak, and the brunette dozed off into sleep.

Waking up was the same, seeing Clyde had woken up a bit earlier than them and had already gotten dressed, though this time, their urge to venture outside their room was becoming more strong, though they stayed put, scared of the unfamiliar place and people. They decided to pass the time by asking questions to Clyde, wanting to know more information about what walks past their safe haven and what to expect.

"So.. I've heard about Serge and Alex before" The smaller figure started, Clyde nodding.
"And I want to know, what are they to you? Are you friends? Siblings?" Casper questioned.
"Oh no, we are just friends, but I guess I see them as brothers sometimes. My mob is back on earth, I haven't seen them since I came here five years ago" The Australian seemed to go a bit sombre for a split second, his aura drastically changing.
"Did your family mean a lot to you?" The brunette asked in a sympathetic voice. The light blonde male nodded silently.
"It's fine though, I've found my people again, even if we're not blood related." Clyde reassured himself, and secretly, Casper too, smiling once more.

Casper smiled back, though their mind was quite frazzled, and the new found curiosity inside of them was killing him. "What was your life like on earth? Where'd you live?" they asked. Clyde's face, once again, went slightly dim, though he still answered thoroughly.
"I lived in Australia with my parents and younger brother and sister. I had a lot of cousins and they would visit quite often" The light blonde haired male replied.
"When i was your age, i was a complete douchebag funnily enough" His smile came back once more, more brighter and reminiscent then the last. Casper chuckled slightly at the language Clyde used.
"I would always stay away late exploring abandoned houses with my cousins and make heaps of unnecessary noise. I can still remember the chastisement my parents would give me" He laughed near the end of his sentences, reminiscent of the memory. The brunette smiled as they could somewhat relate, surprised to think that Clyde used to be a rebel.

"I always wanted to explore abandoned places," Casper stated, remembering all the forgotten buildings they would see, overgrown with vines, soon to be knocked down. Clyde snickered slightly at them.
"I'm sure you will be able to one day, a lot of us do at your age" The taller male responded. Casper hummed in agreement.

"Well, enough about me, what was your life like on earth Casper?" Clyde questioned. Caspers heart sank at that question, going slightly numb. they opened their mouth to speak, but no words could come out until a minute of thinking was done.
"I don't remember much of my early life.. I remember sending letters to my grandma who lived across the road, running away a few times, um... I had a phase where I drew a lot and skipped a lot of school.. I don't remember much else, I'm sorry" Casper purposely drew away from all the negative things they could remember, not wanting to cry a second time.

"You ran away?" Clyde repeated what the teenager said, Casper nodding. The dark skinned male looked at them a bit concerned, not really knowing how to respond.
"The cops always found me though, so i was never homeless luckily" Casper smiled as Clyde's silence stretched for a bit longer than they anticipated.
"Were you safe where you were living?" The light blonde male seemed to become immensely worried now. Casper was a bit taken back by the question. The brunette didn't answer.

".. Casper?" Clyde pushed a bit harder to get a reply out of the kid, their head now hanging low, facing away from the blonde. The taller male ducked down to see the brunette's face, though Casper moved it away just in time. He soon put his hand on the kids face lightly, guiding it gently to look at Clyde, seeing it all red and puffy.

Casper had cried multiple times already, but only twice in front of this man, and it was over extremely quickly. Now, the brunette could sense this one wasn't a small one, this one was trying to release all the weight that they had had to bear from the years being screamed at in what was supposed to be their own home, not that they would call it that.