Missing You (Gawsten)

Loose Ends

Trigger Warning: Panic Attack.

***

"What was it you said about loose ends?"

"Your dad's gang is still around," Alex explains, and the sentence sends chills down Geoff's spine. He knows what it means. More chills invade when he realizes that he can't go without Awsten like that again.

"We can do recon if you want us to-" Patty begins, and Geoff immediately nods. He'd felt Awsten tense up at the mention of the gang, and all he wants is for Alex and Patty to find out if they're safe or not.

Alex nods and both he and Patty stand. "We'll go get started on that. It may be nothing to worry about, seeing as the gang stayed dormant after the first round, but we just need to be sure," Alex explains. Geoff nods again.

"See you guys later, we'll be in touch," Patty says as he leads Alex off of the porch. Alex sends back an easygoing wave. This isn't really a hassle for him- he does this type of thing for a living, and so do the other boys.

Awsten, however, does not. As soon as he hears Patty's 'we'll be in touch,' his tummy drops.

He has nothing against these boys, but what if they call Geoff in the middle of the night again? What if Geoff leaves with them again? He won't be able to handle it, especially with his new-found knowledge of what Geoff has been up to.

He can't take it- Patty's goodbye was so open-ended. What if the gang does something this time? They apparently didn't do anything the first time this happened, but Awsten wasn't even aware there was a gang the first time. His knowledge of that mission all those years ago is limited- all he was focused on was Geoff's dad being successfully put away. After hearing that he had been, he didn't pay much attention to anything else.

The boys were only sixteen when that happened, and now here they are, 5 years later, dealing with the same shit again. This time is different, though- Geoff is way more involved.

As soon as the Mustang backs out of the driveway and disappears down the road, Awsten removes his head from Geoff's shoulder. The brunet tries to grab his hand, but he misses.

The purple-haired boy quickly slips through the screen door and quietly climbs up the stairs. He's in his room with the door locked before Geoff even gets through the screen door. Otto looks at him, confused, and Geoff shrugs.

He follows Awsten's path up the stairs with Otto at his heels, and silently approaches the light green door. Otto hangs back at the top of the stairs while Geoff lightly knocks.

No answer.

Geoff looks at Otto with an 'I don't know what to do' face, and Otto mouths, "talk. Ask him what's wrong."

Geoff nods and turns his eyes back to the door. The pale jade paint is getting more ominous by the second. He knocks again before speaking. "Awsie? What's goin' on?"

"Go away!"

Geoff eyes widen at the voice, and Otto drifts closer. Awsten's voice doesn't sound mad like Geoff had expected- it sounds scared. His voice is high pitched and panicked.

Otto recognizes the tone and takes over for a moment. "Aws, come on, open the door. Everything's alright, bud."

"No, it's not!"