The Silent Boy [Boy/Boy] (Some characters from I Ran Away to Vegas...) - 2012

Chapter 4: A Tree in the Park

The Silent Boy [Boy\/Boy]: Chapter 4: A Tree in the Park

AJ's POV

               Asher grabbed a bottle from his backpack and took a swig. "Here, you look like shit." 

I took it and drank, not bothering to ask what it was but still welcoming the pleasant sting as it slid down my throat. "What is this - Vodka?" 

"Of course." He snatched it back and offered it to one of the girls sitting next to him. 

"Do you guys always have to follow him?!" I hissed, alarming everyone. 

Asher quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the group. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" 

"Nothing." I muttered quickly. 

His eyes slit in an uninterested fashion. "I've been your best friend since kindergarten; I know when something is bothering you." 

"I got mad at Lyss the other day and she still won't let me near her." 

"She gets mad at you all the time. Why is this time different?" He chuckled. He didn't know about her past, Lyss wasn't like me - she had to endure unfit parenting. 

                I leaned against the wall with my head in my hands, my fingers tangled in my hair. "I threatened to beat her." I choked out. 

"-and?" He spoke monotonely. 

"You don't get it!" I cried, knowing he never would. I had no right to tell anyone about her first five years of life and I was already on thin ice. "I gotta go." 

"AJ." He grabbed my arm and pulled up my sleeve. 

"Fucken Asher - let go." I struggled against him, his cheeks flushing in effort to remove the bracelet. He knew I cut and he hated it. He was fine with my drinking, smoking, and pill popping but cutting was his limit...go figure. 

"You cut didn't you - you little piece of shit." He finally gave up, bracelet still intact. 

I slightly laughed. "I'm the little piece of shit? That's rich Ash." I left him standing in the hall, making my way toward the back fence. I wasn't in the mood to sit through the next three hours of teachers droning and I didn't care if I got spanked for skipping. 

I leaned against the park tree, fighting the urge to cry. I hated crying - it was a weakness that I couldn't show. I couldn't get Lyss' small face out of my mind - the hurt in her eyes. I was a monster and I didn't deserve her as a baby sister, she deserved someone better. I could feel my body trembling as I buried my face into my arms, blocking out all the mid-day light. I was a horrible person for forcing her to remember all the memories that haunted her dreams. 

There was aloud thud and a serenade of ruffling as a notebook was dropped at my feet. I slightly jumped as it hit the ground just centimeters away. I grabbed it and instantly recognized the writing. 'Are you okay?' 

"Do I look like I'm okay?" I spoke to the air. His pencil fell from somewhere above me then Nate himself. He was dressed in a plain pair of black jeans and a turtle neck. The fabric struck to his, showing how his thin frame, his rib and collar bones protruding noticeably. He picked his pencil up off the ground and held his hand out for his notebook. I relinquished it as he began to scribble again. 

'I know you don't know me but I'll listen if you want to talk about it...I promise I won't interrupt you.' I slightly laughed before I realized he meant it literally. For one reason or another he couldn't talk - or wouldn't. I looked up at him, his soft skin glowing in the sun's rays. He was actually kind of beautiful for a boy. He had translucent grey eyes and shaggy black hair that barely fell over them. He had three piercings in the lobe of his right ear, two in the left, a bar pushed through his eye brow and spider bites - I wasn't a big fan of piercings but they seemed to fit him.