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"HOW MUCH PERECENT WOULD that be?"
chase scribbled little circles on the corner of his finished worksheet and retraced then to make them thicker. it was almost the end of second period and chase was already done with the school day. he corrected his answer as a kid announced the right one and resumed his aimless drawing. circles were practically the only thing he could draw since he wasn't artistic at all.
as the bell rung the teacher asked to see him and he slowly put his stuff in his backpack before making his way up to her desk. she was one of the younger teachers in the school named miss. eisenbell. her curly blonde hair rested at her shoulders and she had a slim body. chase knew he would definitely be attracted to her if he was straight. he was sure half of the guys jerked off to her yearbook picture.
"you've been quiet lately." she stated and he shrugged his shoulders. "is everything alright?" he didn't answer as he looked at his shoes. they were his favorite pair; black adidas high tops. "do you want to talk about it?"
chase gripped the strap of his bag and looked at her. her green eyes caught chase's blue ones and he shook his head. "i'm fine."
miss. eisenbell was unconvinced, but nodded anyway and gave him a pass for the following period so he wouldn't be marked late. he didn't really care because he was late quite often, but he thanked her anyway and left the classroom. he went to his locker and put away unneeded books, retrieving the ones that he needed.
"mr. chase oxlem!" the voice of amara phillips caught his attention and he turned to her with a small smile sketched on his face. "why am i not surprised that you're still in the halls after the bell rung?"
he shrugged his shoulders and straightened himself up. "you know, the norm."
she laughed, "well get to class before i have to right you a detention slip." she playfully pointed a finger at him. juniors and seniors had the option to be hall monitors on their free period and amara took the 'job' because she loved stopping and intimidating people in the halls.
chase saluted her with two fingers before heading towards gym. he didn't even bother changing and straight to the gym where he handed the teacher his late pass and sat in his spot on the floor next to matteo. his brother didn't even question where he was as chase started playing with the hem of his shirt. periods were short since it was a half day because of teacher conventions, so they were all staying in the gym to play basketball or dodgeball. since chase didn't change he sat up in the bleachers to watch. he may have cracked a smile or two when his brother almost got hit directly in the face with the ball.
the brunet had been moody since he came home from wes' house a few days prior and he just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. it wasn't the first time he had felt that way and no one ever noticed his mood since he was a naturally grumpy person.
within the four days that had happened alec began talking to their mom about moving out. chase knew it was because of him and he didn't want him to leave. he figured he should since it was his fault that alec was even thinking about leaving. he knew where his biological mom lived, so he thought maybe he could go stay with her for awhile.
that idea was completely off the table as he stood across from his mom at the island later that day. she looked upset and angry all in one when he said he wanted to be with his real mom.
"it has nothing to do with you. you're a great mom and everything, but i just feel like i need to be away for awhile."
angelica shook her head and looked back down at the chicken she was cutting up. "you're not allowed to be near your mom. do you not remember what she did to you?"
chase clenched his jaw and tapped his fingers impatiently on the counter. "i remember."
"i don't want you going back there, ever. you're my son now and i forbid you to go anywhere near your birth mom." she placed the knife down and sighed. "it's not safe for you there. talk to me; what's the problem? what's going on here that's making you want to leave?" she looked behind chase and pointed a finger. "you, get over here." chase rolled his eyes as alec stood next to him. "what is going on with you two? you suddenly want to move out and you want to go back to your mom. it doesn't make sense."
alec looked at chase with wide eyes. "are you fucking crazy? why the hell would you go back to that abusive piece of shit?"
angelica shook her head. "language, alec."
"i don't care!" alec exclaimed, not taking his eyes off chase. "chase," he spoke calmer. "she beat you. why would you want to go back to that?"
chase answered, "i figured if i left you wouldn't have to. you're only leaving because of what i said, but i should be the one leaving because i'm not really family."
the red haired boy shook his head. "i wanted to leave because my friend was getting an apartment and needed a roommate to help with rent and stuff. it had nothing to do with you, chase. i love you no matter what and you are real family, even if it's not by blood."
"chase," angelica sighed, "please don't think like that. alec is right, you are real family and we love you just as much as everyone else."
chase remained silent and gave them both a nod before turning to head off to his room, only to be stopped by pippa and lacey coming out of their shared room attached to the living room. "hey chase, wanna play basketball with us?" pippa asked.
a small smile formed on chase's lips and he nodded, "sure." pippa tossed him the ball and chase turned to look at his older brother. "you in?" a smile formed on alec's face and he nodded, following the three younger kids outside as angelica shouted that dinner would be ready in about an hour. chase looked over at alec and shrugged his shoulders. "i guess i love you too."
alec laughed, pulling his brother into a side hug before chase ducked away and dribbled towards the basketball net, easily making it into the basket.
