● never grow up ●

chapter five

third person pov

"Audrey, honey, could you stay back for a minute?" Mr. Grey's gentle voice stops Audrey in his tracks. The bell had rung just a few moments ago, signaling the end of the boys unexpectedly amazing day. He never wanted it to end. But the good things in his life always did.

The teacher and student had been broken from their sweet little bubble at the end of lunchtime when the herd of children had stumbled back into the classroom.

The rest of the school day went normally after that, Audrey seemingly staying in a bit of a blissful haze. The boy was happy in the presence of Mr. Grey, his worries staying away while they were in the same room close to each other.

There was a trust there that wasn't solidified before; he was comfortable. That probably had something to do with Mr. Grey's scent. Audrey had noticed it before but that was prior to him letting his guard down a bit. The boy let himself bask in the scent, it was wonderful and it made his insides feel all warm and gooey. He was happy, if only for a few hours.

"Sweetheart, are you with me?" Mr. Grey spoke, startling Audrey from his reminiscing.

"Y-yes, mister." The boy could feel the warmth slip away as he spoke. He'd hoped the teacher would say something special to him. Maybe he'd ask if he could whisk him away, take him to a real home with a real family. Maybe he'd tell him that he knew what was going on, that he wanted to help and he would stop the mean adults in his life from ever hurting him again; especially the alphas, as they tended to hurt the boy the most.

Audrey just wants to be loved but he knows that's not very realistic. So instead he expects his teacher to be mad. He expects anger and a punishment, most likely.

"I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need anything, I'm always here. And I mean anything, hon." But he never expected to hear that.

"W-what?" Audrey's sure he must've heard Mr. Grey wrong.

"I care about you, Audrey, and I want to make sure you're safe." He listens to his teachers' words, letting them sink in. But he can't seem to shake the confusion. "Are you safe?" Greyson asks carefully.

Audrey wants to say no. In fact, he wants to scream it from the rooftops.

Someone cares. Someone finally cares.

Mr. Grey makes him feel like he can tell the man anything. Like he can talk about the horrible foster homes and the terrible men and women who have hurt him. Like he can finally let go for good and not just temporarily like today.

You're wrong.

He doesn't care about you.

No one cares about you.

The words of his past tormentors come back to haunt him like they always do, and they're right. Mr. Grey can't possibly care, he's wrong. He was painfully wrong. But this time the boy doesn't scream, the boy doesn't cry; he simply shakes his head as calmly as he can.

He won't break down again.

"Are you sure, Audrey?" Mr. Grey asks once again, and for the second time the boy shakes his head. "Okay. Well, just in case I want you to have my phone number. Use it if you need it, hon. I mean it." His teacher says with a hint of sadness in the words as he hands a small, folded piece of paper over to the boy.