Oneshot Collection ((just garbage))

Thrills ((Jalex))

A/N: I've been working on this off and on since last June so I cut it short so I could be free.
•••

"I can't believe you," his mother spat, a mournful tone buried beneath her anger.

"C'mon, it's just a candy bar," he replied earnestly, folding his arms defensively. "Not even a good one either, wouldn't have been worth it to pay anyway."

"I really thought you were better than this Jack; smarter than this," she told him as she physically closed herself off as well. "How many times have you done this before now?"

"Well, uh..." he began quietly. "You know how they say you have to do something seven times before you get caught?"

"Seven times!?"

"Well, six. This time was the seventh." He glanced around the room as her voice got louder and louder with every word.

"Oh, as if that's any better! What else have you stolen!?" She was fuming now. How could her own son be a thief? He was only fourteen. This wasn't how it was supposed to turn out for him.

"A lava lamp, a skateboard, some sunflower seeds, like three guitar picks, and I think I shoplifted a bottle of Powerade once," and as soon as he finished, his mother was seething with rage.

"You don't even have a lava lamp!"

"Yeah, 'cause I got it for Jepha."

"Did he encourage you to do it?" she interrogated weakly.

"Well, no, not really..." he trailed off before beginning again. "I mean," he paused again, trying to find the words to describe the situation. "He told me that it'd be cool if he had one, and then I told him that I could get him one, and he was so excited, and he believed me so whole-heartedly, but I didn't have enough money?" He finished it as more of a question, not even fully believing himself.

The woman standing across from him raised her eyebrows, silently asking him to carry on.

"So like, I stole it? It was easier than I thought it would've been, honestly. That's actually kind of how it got started."

"Jack," she sounded so defeated; so deeply disappointed. "How long ago was this?"

He stopped to think, looking up at the ceiling fan looming above their heads. "Like February, I think?"

"So six months ago," she said, more of a statement than a question.

"What month is it now?"

"July."

"Then yes, about six months ago."

"Why didn't you just ask me to buy one? If you had said that it was for a gift, I would've said yes." She was on the verge of tears now. She could barely believe that it took her this long to find out that her son was shoplifting, let alone stealing in general.

"Well, seeing as you're a single parent and you don't have a very high-paying job, I assumed that it'd be easier on the finances and all that." His sentence drifted off into a much quieter and sorrowful tone.

She sighed and dropped her head, bringing her fingers up to rub at her temples. "Well, it's too late to bring it up to anyone, and with your latest theft, as you said, it's just a candy bar; but if I find out that you've stolen one more item after this discussion, you're not allowed to go to any stores until I think you're ready again. Understood?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Now go get some sleep," she said gently. "You look like you need it."

•••

He stopped by a convenience store on his way home from school. He should've known that he would be tempted to take something, but of course, he stopped by something he wanted, he didn't have any money, he looked around briefly to make sure no one was watching, and he put it in his jacket pocket.

"You don't need to steal that." He jumped when he heard it. It came from behind him.

He turned around to see a boy with brown hair and a leather jacket that seemed to suit him really well. He looked to be the same age as Jack, but perhaps the slightest bit younger. They both looked at each other for a moment, just thinking.

"Come on," The boy said, a smile edging onto the corners of his mouth. "I'll buy it for you."

Jack began to panic; He couldn't just let a stranger pay for something so small. "No, you don't have to do that."

"Well, I don't suppose you'd rather risk getting caught and have to pay three times what that thing is actually worth?"

Jack sighed, giving into what he knew was inevitable. "Fine."

The other kid's face lit up. 'I've helped a criminal revert from his ways!' he thought. Of course, it wasn't that simple, and he knew that. He was just happy that he had kept this person from committing yet another petty theft. Even so, they continued to shop around a little more just for fun, playing around with empty water-guns and pretending to shoot each other in the middle of the store. And eventually they were done and began to head their separate ways, but not before Jack asked the boy's name.

"It's Alex," he smiled gingerly. "And you are?"

"Jack."

Then they both left the store with their heads in the clouds, thinking about where this newfound friendship may lead. Perhaps they'd meet again at school, or maybe at this same store. But it was certain that they would eventually see each other again.