ART | chris schistad

thirteen

[ trigger warning: talk of suicide ]

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the rest of the day no one said anything to belle. she was receiving quite obvious stares though, but she hadn't heard her name being used in the hallway once.

isaac and cassie stayed at belle's side for the rest of the day; both refusing to leave. iben and her friends weren't seen for the rest of the day and aiden had apologized to chris for punching him in the face.

nothing out of the ordinary had happened until belle's last class of the day when she got a text from chris.

the text read,
after school, at 4:30, meet me at the café down the street from your house.

belle raised her eyebrows upon reading the text but just shrugged. after she practically dragged him in front of all his friends the least she could do was see what he was going to say.

after school belle went home with aiden, painted for about a hour, and begin getting ready. the outfit she chose was a fairly simple yellow t-shirt and black skinny jeans.

she quickly got all her belongings and left her house.

+++

belle decided to walk instead of drive to the café. mainly, because aiden had taken her car because his was in the shop. she walked down the sidewalk that was covered in leaves, kicking rocks as she went.

halsey, an american singer belle enjoyed quite a lot begin playing through her earphones as the café came into view.

eventually she reached the café and walked in, instantly seeing the brunette boy in a small booth located in the corner of the room.

belle turned off her music and stuffed her headphones into her pocket, then walked towards him.

his lips curled into a small smile when he saw belle, two dimples displaying on both sides of his faces.

"hello christoffer," belle said as she placed her hands on top of the table.

"hello belle araya," chris said with a pleased smile.

"so, why did you ask me to come here for?" belle asked, intrigued.

"ah yes about that. i just wanted to apologize for what happened today. it was, well a shit storm." chris said laughing.

"wow, the christoffer schistad is apologizing to me. this is a miracle!"
belle said as chris kept laughing.

"no but in all seriousness it's fine. it's not your fault at all. us females are supposed to stick together and i guess iben didn't get the memo," belle said shrugging as a blonde waitress came to their table.

"hello, may i get you guys anything?" she asked, holding her notepad tight in her hands.

chris responded with a "no thank you." the waitress then turned to belle before speaking, "the usual?"

belle responded with a "yes please," the waitress soon leaving the table after that.

chris raised his eyebrows at her as she smiled at him, "i come here almost every week."

after belle's coffee came is when the two really begin talking.

"so, how have you been since your mother's death." chris asked giving belle his undivided attention.

"um i'm still in the process of coping even if it's been awhile. i don't think the pain will ever go away really. it's always going to be there expect now it's easier to deal with." belle said.

chris sent her a sympathetic smile before asking her one last question, "aiden told me about your dad, have you talked to him?"

he watched as the girl squirmed in discomfort. he panicked before speaking again, "oh no. you don't have to talk about him if you don't want to! i completely understand i-"

"chris, it's fine relax. after he left he would send aiden and i letters every 1-2 months. um, aiden always sent him letters back talking about all his achievements meanwhile i did at first but i stopped after my mom's death. i couldn't find the words to say to him anymore but thanks for leaving me with my insane mom! the month my mom passed he sent aiden and i letters talking about his life and how he's doing. i sent him a letter back and told him my mom overdosed. i assume he was happy when he saw i had sent him a letter but was upset when he read that the woman he left us alone with had died. he hasn't written me any letters since." belle said before taking the last sip of her drink.

"i do miss talking to him sometimes but he has his own life now so." belle concluded.

chris didn't know what to say so he simply held her hand on top of the table. he watched as she looked at their interlocked hands before smiling. he didn't know why but he found himself finding the youngest vega more and more intriguing everyday.

"you know, i've told you all about my life but i hardly know a thing about yours. do you have siblings?" belle asked.

chris shook his head before responding, "nope, it's just me which is probably the reason why i'm really close to william and your brother. i see them as my own brothers."

belle smiled at him before continuing. "tell me everything about your life. i'm all ears." chris shrugged before responding. "my life isn't that interesting really. i pretty much live alone because my parents are never home. they're constantly arguing and it's just, don't they see what that's doing to me! i don't know my life is just more fucked up then interesting. i guess why i always fuck around with random girls is because i don't know how to love them. my parents didn't show me love so i don't think i'm capable of loving someone without hurting them." he said, his voice slightly cracking at the end.

a sympathetic smile was placed on belle's face as she squeezed his hand. "i'm always here chris. i will always be here for you. despite whether i'm mad at you or sad with you you can still always come to me. my house door is always open if you want to escape your parents." belle said.

chris smiled. it was nice seeing that someone other then aiden and william cared for him. "thank you. you're a good person belle araya vega." he said.

belle just smiled. the two talked for the next hour before agreeing it was getting late and they should head home. belle didn't even realize how late it was until she walked out of the café and saw that it was dusk.

chris gave her a ride home and got off the car before she could walk into her house. belle looked at him with confusion before he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

he smelled very good, a smell she couldn't explain. she smiled before hugging him back, her arms wrapping around his neck.

the two stayed in that position for awhile before finally heading their separate ways.

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national suicide prevention number: 1-800-273-8255