Pathways // Gawsten [Book 2]

01 - Houston Vs London

"AWSTEN!" is the first thing he hears in the morning, be yelled at him from upstairs. Whatever Grace needed, it probably wasn't going to be worth it.

"WHAT?" He yelled back, voice muffled by his pillow. He hoped whatever it was didn't involve him getting out of bed at all, after all, it's not like he had any proper reason to.

"CAN YOU FEED EVERYONE PLEASE?" Grace yelled and Awsten groaned. Of course it was going to be that. But he couldn't say no, he loved their animals - especially Godfrey - and he loved spending time with them. Recently, he'd flown back to Houston for his sisters birthday and come back with his own cat, Jet, which he was very happy about. So now, they had another animal to take care of. Not that either of them minded. 

"FINE, WHATEVER." 

He pulled the duvet away from his body and flinched at the coldness of his room. Winter was on its way again and with winter came the painful reminder that his room had no heating. Realistically, he could've moved into one of the rooms upstairs, but they needed a spare room and he couldn't bare the thought of moving into Geoff's room.

Awsten slumped into the kitchen and immediately heard the sound of paws running down the stairs. First into sight was Godfrey, who ran up to him quickly and started licking at his hands. Jet and Flynn went to their individual cat trees, as if they didn't care at all, and watched Awsten get their food. 

By now, they had an entire cupboard for animal food, and an entire wall for their bowls. Next to their outside door, on the only spare wall in the house, were 8 bowls (each personalised curtesy of Grace) that were spaced out as much as possible. Again, neither of them minded. The animal's décor added to the room and they both liked how it made the place look more like a home opposed to a house. 

Awsten put all the food down for the animals and just watched them for a minute, thinking about his life. Everything was good. It was just him and Grace and their four pets. Grace had a job in their own town at a hair salon, where Awsten also worked part-time dying people's hair. He knew he'd never be able to do anything 'normal' because of Waterparks, but he still wanted to do something. He also went back to doing guitar lessons, as it was something he enjoyed and it would still bring in money. 

Awsten sometimes wondered how they could still afford the house. When they first moved, Equal Vision agreed to pay for 70% of the house (each of the boys then having to pay 10% each) while they were still being an active band. But now, with Geoff and Otto gone (and presumed dead to Awsten) and with the band on probation, Equal Vision was only paying a very small amount for the house. He knew at some point they were going to have to move to a smaller place - after all, why do two people need a three story house - but he couldn't bare to part with this place, even with all the bad memories. 

Although, what Awsten didn't know was that because Geoff and Otto were still alive and bringing in income, Equal Vision was paying a lot more than a little bit. And, Geoff and Otto were paying in so much every month, which Grace seemed to 'miss' every month when looking at the bills. But that didn't stop him worrying about the house.

It had been nearly a year since everything had happened, and it had taken him a long time to get over it. Through all the bad memories of his best friend dying and his boyfriend disappearing too, he and Grace had managed to create great memories too. They still held some pictures of the boys on the wall, but now it was mainly them and their own friends. 

After Geoff had gone 'missing' too, Ellie and Tom became close friends with Awsten and Grace. Not so close as any of their other friends, but at least twice a month they would have dinner with them. Unbeknownst to Awsten, Grace had told Ellie and Tom that Geoff and Otto were still alive. She may have twisted the truth a little, but they knew and it helped them give support to both Grace and Awsten. Awsten couldn't help but wonder when his life became so domestic sometimes.