The Bad Idea

➕ Bonus Chapter: Peanut Butter

Mature Rating Reminder: This story is rated Mature and the following chapter contains explicit sexual content. You can safely skip over that section if it's not your thing.

Enjoy. 🫶

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Twelve years earlier...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Aubrey

It was our first day of high school, ninth grade, and I was a nervous fucking wreck.

Todd kept telling me it was going to be great, but I wasn't so sure. He was always like that -- blindly optimistic. But he didn't ever have anything to actually worry about...

Todd grew up with amazing parents in a well-off family. He was great at anything he did. He had looks too, and he easily kept straight A's without so much as stressing out about a single exam.

He didn't know what it was like to be me.

He didn't know what it was like not having parents, being the shortest kid in class, not being good at school or sports, or being stuck in the closet with an obsessive crush on your best friend. He didn't know what any of that was like.

"Aubrey, where's your lunch?" My grandpa groggily scratched his head, looking around the kitchen counter.

I told him he didn't have to get up to see me off today, that no one else's parents did that for them in high school, but he didn't listen.

"It's in my bag."

He looked at me, and I could tell he was already worried by the furrowed brow above his soft, tired eyes.

"...What did you pack?"

"...An apple, and two of those croissants you made yesterday --"

"Aubrey, that's not enough food."

I rolled my eyes and sighed dramatically, holding on to my backpack straps and looking up at the ceiling.

"Don't give me that. Maybe if you ate better, you wouldn't be so short."

My mouth dropped open and I glared at him. He laughed, shooting me a glance with a smile as he opened the fridge to peer inside.

"No! Grandpa, that's not even true! What?!"

"Relax short-stuff, I'm only teasing. But you need more than that for lunch, Aubrey. Here." He pulled out some ham and cheese slices and threw them on the counter. "Turn them into sandwiches and you're better off."

I made a face.

"What now?!"

"I'm vegan, grandpa."

His eyebrows shot up. "Since when?"

"...Today."

He bit his bottom lip and I could tell he was trying so damn hard not to laugh at me... My heart raced.

"Alright. Well, we'll see how long that lasts..." He mumbled.

I shot him another glare.

"Aubrey, pick something else to take with you... You're not just eating an apple and two croissants for lunch. Those have butter in them, by the way --"