Fall Away [UsUk oneshot!]

Fall Away

The sun was shining over the dusty trails of Texas, illuminating the ground and making it feel as if everything was going to burn beneath Alfred's feet. Not a single trace of wind, what a misfortune. To believe he forgot to bring his sun hat and protect himself from the zenith heat, as if he hadn't lived in the Lone Star State all his life and wasn't used to the fierceness of its sunshine. Drops of sweat rolled down his forehead, his white t-shirt uncomfortably sticking to his back, thank goodness he didn't wear black today. That would be an even bigger failure. Running his fingers through his hair, he noticed it was just as wet as if he had just taken a shower. He must have looked awful, he thought to himself. Days like these were when he hated living in Texas and wished he could jump into the coldness of the Baltic sea to cool off. Yes, Finland seemed like a dreamland on days like these. Too bad it was more than an ocean away.

Who was he, anyway? And why was he stupid enough not to bring a bottle of water with him into the sun?

His full name was Alfred Jones, a nineteen year old boy who loved horse riding more than anything in this world. He knew he must have disappointed his father by dropping out of college to pursue his dream, but it didn't matter much. Whenever the man complained, Alfred would just pull out the card and say that he did the same, and ended his education just to get married. Of course, that would bring them back into a fight at the mention of his mother who wasn't with them anymore, but the boy didn't care. He had a sharp tongue and his comebacks hurt when he wanted them to. That was why he spent most of his time outside of the house lately - he didn't want to be around his father much while they were on bad terms.

Alfred nearly always had a smile on his face. Despite having a past that would put most people into a spiral of negativity, he had more of a futuristic mindset that didn't get caught up in sadness too much. Instead, he replaced any pessimistic thought with a brighter one, such as the fact he had a lot of friends who were always there for him, he was living his dream, and whatever happened when he was younger wouldn't happen ever again. Not many people have the ability to think like that, so he considered himself grateful for it.

"How can you laugh so carelessly? Doesn't it hurt, the thought of what she used to do to you?"

No, it didn't hurt him anymore. His mother might have been an emotionally unstable person who lashed out all her anger on her two sons, Alfred and his older brother Matthew, but he didn't wallow in self pity. Because of that, plenty of people looked at him with admiration.

His brother, on the other hand, didn't feel the same about it. Matthew often felt like his younger sibling was simply hiding his emotions not to hurt the people around him, but that wasn't the case with Alfred. He was just a happy person, a natural optimist, there wasn't much more to it. If only the people around him could understand that kind of mindset.

Right now, he only cared about getting underneath some kind of shade and going back to the town of Kingsville to get himself something to drink, because he felt like he was about to die of heat and dehydration.

"It's so fucking hot. I wish I had the power to control the universe, because I'd make it rain so heavily. Right over me." He muttered underneath his breath, his movements lethargic and drenched in fatigue, just like his entire body was now drenched in sweat. Averting his gaze to the bright blue sky and placing a hand above his eyes to shield himself from the sun, he took a deep breath and only then realized his chest was hurting, and he needed to get back as soon as possible. "Just give me a sign I'll make it out alive, alright?" He jokingly asked towards the heavens, letting out a tired chuckle.

He wasn't a person of religion, but sometimes he would randomly ask God for small favours if there was nothing else he could do in the situation. When he was younger, he made up a game - if the prayers came true three times in a row, he'd start believing and going to church willingly. Since it never happened, he just sighed and dragged along behind his parents as they had to listen to priests endlessly bullshit about something he thought was completely meaningless. That was another bad side about living in Texas, nearly everyone was religious. In all honesty, it wasn't quite a progressive state, and he sometimes wished to live somewhere else so he could finally get to loudly express the fact he was gay and be proud of it. Hiding was just too much mental effort for him. He was the only one of his friends who didn't have a first kiss or a relationship yet.