Sweet Boy (rarl)

Vol. 2 | Ronnie

Ron sat in the graveyard next to his mom's headstone. It was a beautiful marble that he had always liked.
Jessie, his mom, had died while giving birth to him. She was only seventeen at the time, and it makes Ron feel weird that he's older than his mom ever got to be.

The sun was barely up, casting that beautiful light only a sunrise can.
"I got a game today. I think we'll win." Ron said to his mom.
"I don't know if dads coming or not. Probably not." He said, fidgeting with his hands.
He sat for a moment in silence, as if he was listening to his moms response.

Ron put on some headphones, listening to Ronnie by the four seasons on repeat.
He had been told that it was his mom's favorite song. Ron would say it was his too.
And, obviously, it's where his name came from.
Pete had told him that they had decided to name him Ronnie the day Jessie found out she was pregnant.
Whether he was a boy or a girl.

"Well, I've gotta get to school. I'll tell how the game goes. I love you." Ron said, getting up.
Even though he never meet his mom, and Pete barely talked about her, ron really did love his mom. He always keeps a picture of her in his phone case.

——

Carl sat in his English class, barely paying attention to what the teacher was saying.
He was too busy looking at Ron.
Ron sat in front of him in this class, which was why it was secretly one of Carls favorites.

"I'm pairing you for this project. You will not get to pick your own partner." The teacher said, causing a collective groan from the class.

"Jason, you're with Gabriel. Leon and Angie.
Harry and Lilly. Carl you're with Ron." The teacher was giving her pairs.
Ron raised his hand, unhappy with his partner.
"No Mr. Anderson, you can't be with someone else." The teacher said, not even asking what he wants.
"Fuck." Ron whispered to himself, making sure the teacher wouldn't hear.
Carl smiled, hoping he could get Ron to open up for once.

——

"Hey! So about the project." Carl said, catching up with Ron in the hallway.
"What about it? Can't you just do it?" Ron said, not wanting to have to spend time together.

"No. Not by myself." Carl said softly, not wanting to anger Ron.
"Why the hell not? I'm sure it's not that hard." Ron said dismissively, just wanting him to go away.

"It's... a really big project. I don't think I'll be able to finish it on time by myself." Carl said quietly, holding his backpack.
"You stupid fucking bitc-" Ron was saying, stopping himself.

"Fine. I'll come over to your house tomorrow then. We'll get it done." He said instead, just wanting this over with.
"Ok. That can work." Carl said with a smile, honestly excited.

—

"And she fucking paired me with Carl! Can you believe that shit?" Ron said, talking to his friends.
"That sucks man." Mikey said, looking at his phone.

"Are you even paying attention? Carl fucking Grimes. He's my god damn partner." Ron said, getting angry.
"Yeah of course! I said it sucked. Carls the worst." Mikey said, looking up from his phone.
"What are you going to do?" Henry asked, leaning on his locker.
"The project, I guess. I'm going over to his house tomorrow so I can just get it done. It's going to suck so bad." Ron said, shaking his head.

"I bet. I got Lydia as my partner." Henry said with a smile.
"Lucky! She's so hot man. Don't waste this opportunity." Mikey said, trying to encourage Henry to flirt.
"I never wast opportunities with women, ok?" Henry said.