Reunion In A Restaurant In Michigan

Alfred's Origin Story Part 1

Yes. Set before Alfred and Mattie meet Ivan in the church. TW for Alfred's mother. Also tw for Alfred having undiagnosed eBPD. I will try my best to write it respectfully. 

Alfred POV

From a young age, there were always a few screws loose in my head.

I had anger issues for as long as I could remember. My rage burned like a volcano, exploding at the worst times.

As I turned eight, it became more and more difficult to function. Everything was harder. I forgot my assignments, overslept, forgot to eat some days.

Around the same time, Mom and Dad began fighting. Mom kept walking out, each time like a knife to my chest. And no matter how many times I cried, she never said sorry.

My vision began deteriorating when I turned eleven. I squinted in class, and eventually told Dad, “I can't see, dude.”

He scheduled me for an eye appointment the next day. After a half hour, I was diagnosed as nearsighted and given glasses. I named them Texas after one of my favorite US states at the time.

I tried to join sports, but I was too aggressive, too angry. I was immediately taken out, and I resorted to going to the gym with Dad and Mattie. Mom went once and promptly threw up from exercising too hard.

As muscle grew on my teenage body, I began to notice myself in a different way. I wondered as I looked in the mirror if girls noticed the baby fat still on my cheeks and stomach. I stared at Mattie and wondered why I was still so short.

Then…my growth spurt hit.

I became nearly as tall as Mattie. I lost a bit of weight, my acne cleared up, and suddenly, girls were winking at me. My libido was raging, and I was desperate for a girlfriend.

So that's why, in the back of the middle school at thirteen, I kissed a girl for the first time. It was awkward and rushed and sloppy, but I was over the moon. I couldn't wait to see her every day. I must admit, I became obsessive. Which is why, after a month, she broke up with me, through her friend.

The blond girl bluntly said, “She’s breaking up with you because she says you're too possessive and crazy.”

I spent the entire week after that crying in my room. I barely ate, and honestly, though I never told anyone, I wanted to die.

The second kiss wasn't a girl. The resident emo boy whose name I kept forgetting kissed so well, I dreamed about it for weeks. That is, until his dad found out, grounded him, and then the boy tearfully told me, “My dad said I can't kiss you again.”

That night, I went for a long, long run. When I came back, I still didn't feel better. I sat in the shower, sobbing. I didn't feel like living again until Mom made burgers, and took me to the mall to get comic books.

Mattie walked in on me kissing the third person, a boy named Jason. He quickly left after we were caught, and Mattie smiled a little. “Didn't know you were into boys.”

I was quiet, still with fear. His face softened and he sat next to me. “Alfred…you do know I'm not judging you?”

I blinked. “But…I'm a fa-”

Mattie sternly scowled. “Don’t even say it. Just because kids at school say it doesn't mean you are one.”

I began to sniffle and quietly sob. I didn't understand my own feelings, which only made me cry harder. “I…I don't know why I'm crying.”

He patted my shoulder. “You thought you were wrong for liking boys. It's okay, Alfred. There's nothing wrong with you.”

I smiled through my tears. “Okay.”