Basic Instinct [stranger things]

17. Broken Compasses

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BROKEN COMPASSES

The next morning Aaron was awake and ready much earlier than he would have been had he not have been so stressed.

He'd made his bed neatly, showered, dressed, packed his bag full of 'necessities' needed for the day ahead of him and cleaned his room thoroughly despite the fact it wasn't really needed. Aaron was now in the kitchen, a room which he had also thoroughly cleaned that morning. Except now he was attempting to make pancakes, bacon and eggs all at the same time.

Somehow, he had managed to cover himself in white flour as-well as pancake mix, the two somehow painted over his cheekbones and his clothes - much to his horror. Despite this, the blond boy did his best to ignore it for now.

Sighing contently, he placed one stack of pancakes as-well as bacon and eggs on one plate, repeating his actions onto the plate next to it. Swiftly, he took the first plate and placed it gently on the spot at the kitchen table in front of his usual seat. He then sniffed thoughtfully and began making his way upstairs with the second plate.

Aaron did his best to keep his balance as he climbed the stairs, the plate of food in one hand and a glass of water in his other.

Eventually, he reached his older brothers bedroom door, carefully placing the cup of water on the ground and knocking gently.

Moments later, and Steve had swung his door open, the look of sleep on his face transparent. Aaron ignored the look of annoyance his brother was sending his way and smiled at him.

It may have been stupid of him to think, but seeing his friends with their families the day prior had shifted something inside him. Suddenly, he was more resentful of his family situation than he had been anytime in the past. The boy was now set on mending his relationship with his brother, he wanted to have a close friendship with his brother, the type where the two could talk about anything together.

"I made you breakfast." Aaron said with a smile still tugging on his lips. "I brought it up to your room because I wasn't sure if you'd want to eat up here or not, but I've kept mine downstairs in case you wanted to eat with me. Uh- I mean you don't have to sit with me for breakfast, but I set your place at the table and I think it'd be nice if-"

"I'll just eat it here." Steve cut him off by saying, the older one of the two reaching down and picking up the glass of water before walking back into his room and placing it on his drawer.

"Oh," Aaron mumbled in a small voice, cursing himself as he felt his smile of content crumble. Aaron did his best to push down any feelings of sadness rising in his chest. "Okay. That's fine."

Aaron went to follow his brother into his room and place the plate of food he had made on the dresser along side his drink, but was quickly stopped.

"It's fine, I've got it." Steve dismissed quietly, grabbing the plate off him and setting it down himself before turning and making his way towards the door, forcing Aaron to take those same steps backwards until they were both back in the same positions as earlier with Aaron just outside the room.

Aaron bit the inside of his cheek as the door was closed in his face, taking a breath before he retraced his previous footsteps downstairs and into the kitchen where he took a seat alone at the table. However, just as he raised his cutlery and went to take a bite of his food, he paused, standing abruptly and making his way to the desktop and sink where he'd left his mess.

He began to clean and scrub the dishes and desktop frantically, unable to relax until he knew he had cleared up the slightest of messes.

It didn't really surprise Aaron that Steve hadn't immediately wanted to rush downstairs to have breakfast with him, but that didn't mean he hadn't been hurt by it.