● never grow up ●

chapter one

third person pov

Audrey sat in class, staring blankly at the board in front of him. It was the second lesson of the day and Mr. Grey was teaching them a new math topic. He wasn't sure what Mr. Gray was talking about or what the numbers on the white board meant. He tried to focus, Audrey really did, but he couldn't help his blank mind. 

He had been up late last night cleaning the house after dinner. On school days it was like that since Audrey was gone all day. His foster parents expected a clean and orderly home, and unfortunately for Audrey, they didn't expect to get that by themselves. Since he entered their care about a month ago things have been rough. From the beginning Audrey was expected to get the house cleaned, prepare the food, and care for the younger children in the home. It was difficult but Audrey tried his best to be good. After all, it was the best home he'd been to in a while.

The chores were hard but he had a mattress and a small room all to himself. Sure, the room was more like a closet, but it was his, all his. Once all of the work was done he got to be alone, and he loved that the most. So he didn't complain. 

It could be worse, he thought. He could be being hit like in his other homes but that wasn't happening, yet. 

"Audrey, hon, are you with us?" Audrey shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard Mr. Grey's soft voice reaching out to him. His eyes wandered towards the voice, finding his teacher knelt on the ground next to his desk. 

"Y-yes sir. Sorry sir." He quickly replied being sure to rub the tiredness from his eyes and attempt to focus on the lesson. He guesses it must have been finished though after he finds the classroom to be completely quiet, every one of his peers working on their math paper.

"Nothing to be sorry for. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay." Audrey preened under Mr. Grey's words. He was always so sweet and attentive, something Audrey wasn't used to from adults.

"I'm fine, sir." He said, looking down at the empty worksheet on his desk. 

"Are you sure, hon? You look a bit tired." Mr. Grey pointed out and Audrey swears he almost started tearing up at the words. No one ever notices things about him, let alone whether he's okay or not. He's a child. An unwanted, abandoned child. He knew that, so why was Mr. Grey always so nice?

All Audrey could do was shake his head as he moved to pick up his pencil and finally start on the worksheet for today. Mr. Grey stayed there, watching the young boy fidget with his pencil for a moment before reaching out to grab it out of the child's hand. 

"A-am I in trouble, M-Mr?" Audrey asked, his stutter coming out more and more as his worry progressed. He wasn't sure what he did but it had to be something, right? He always does something wrong. The words stupid, stupid, stupid, replayed in Audrey's head as he reached up, grabbing his shaggy dark brown hair in his tiny fists and pulling at it harshly. His breathing got louder with each gasp of air he took in, beginning to draw the attention of his classmates.

"Woah, woah, sweetheart. No ones in trouble here, you did nothing wrong, Audrey." Mr. Grey spoke in a hushed whisper, hoping that his students would get back to their work quickly and not make Audrey even more anxious. As the pulling on his hair got more intense, Mr. Grey reached out and carefully grabbed Audrey's hands in his own, halting the movements and startling the young boy from his minds' spiral. "You're okay, hon. Just breathe with me, in and out." He instructed as he lowered Audrey's hands back onto the desk. 

Audrey listened to Mr. Grey's voice, letting it lull his breathing back to normal and soothe the sting at the root of his scalp. 

"I was just gonna see if maybe you wanted to go do your work in the reading corner. I hear the couch is nice and comfy." His teacher says with a small smile on his face. 

Audrey didn't understand why Mr. Grey was being so nice to him but he didn't want to draw even more attention to himself so he agreed. The man picked up Audreys' work and pencil and walked over to the cozy corner of the room. 

Audrey always loved the reading corner in the classroom. It was super cute with its soft, off white couch and the fairy lights hanging on the light purple walls. There were fluffy pillows strewn around and throw blankets hanging off of the back of the couch. He longed to go in the corner all of the time, he was just too shy to go over there usually. 

He was super excited that Mr. Grey was letting him sit over there but he couldn't help questioning why he got the chance and not the other kids in class. He's sure there were other children more deserving of the corner time. 

Despite his concerns, he found himself drawn to Mr. Grey. He wanted to be good for the man, so he complied, moving to sit down on the couch as Mr. Grey placed his supplies next to him. 

"Let me know if you need any help, hon." Mr. Grey spoke quietly. His eyes were warm as he looked down at Audrey, making the young boy actually believe the sincere gesture. 

"Th-thank you, sir." Audrey said as he moved to pick up his pencil and hopefully get some work done. Mr. Grey gave him a warm smile before turning away and slowly walking back to his desk. 

The classroom was quiet as Audrey tried to focus, the only sound being the lead sliding against everyone's paper. The boy found it soothing. 

Audrey sunk further into the pillowy couch as he absentmindedly dropped his pencil to his paper and let his hands fall flat on the couch at his sides. He rubbed the soft fabric, the feeling calming his thoughts and his worries. The boy always was one for soft things. 

Before he knew it his eyes were drifting shut. Audrey tried to fight it, he really did, but with his recent mood swings and his lack of rest he couldn't help it. Within minutes the small boy was asleep. 

~

authors note

hi lovelies!! so, this is my new story, i hope you all like it so far :) this will be a non shifter, found family, gay romance. if you have any questions about this book please let me know! 

let me know what you thought of this chapter and i hope you enjoy the rest of the book! i'm hoping to get on a weekly updating schedule, however, updates could be more frequent (hopefully not less). 

don't forget to vote and i hope you all have a lovely day/night!!