Walkman [Lashton AU]

Chapter 2

October, 1991 I he wears trouble like a crown.

"Mum, please."

"No."

"But, the bus is so boring!"

"I said no, Luke. And no means no."

Luke groaned, leaning over the island with a pout on his face. "Mum, c'mon! It's just music. I don't think it's that big of a deal. I won't even tell dad that you let me use the Walkman."

She turned to him with a tilt to her head and eyebrow raised. "Luke, you're grounded. Which means no electronics. No Walkman, no Nintendo, no television and no radio. Now what would be the point of being grounded if I just let you have your things back? It's barely been a week. I said one month."

"I wasn't even drinking or smoking! I just went to a party. Its very normal to party during school," Luke dead-panned.

It was so unfair. Everyone gets away with things but he's stuck with parents that are so old- fashion. It wasn't a big deal. The party didn't get out of hand and he was decently responsible. Luke barely ever drank any alcohol, unlike most of his friends. He's considered the 'stingy' one in the group but he hated the taste of beer.

His mum tsked and placed her spatula down from when she was making pancakes. "I'm not mad that you went to the party, Luke. I'm mad that you lied about it. If you would have simply asked me if you could go, I would have said yes."

He glanced up in surprise, "Really?"

She hesitated, then said honestly, "No."

"See?! And that's why I lied! I knew you would say no," he groaned. "It's so unfair! My friends always go to parties and they already think I'm lame, mum! I had to go and sneak out cause I don't want them thinking I'm some loser who never has fun."

"Do you even like parties?" she scoffed, placing a hand on her hip.

For a moment, Luke thought about it. He's been to a couple and well, they were a little boring. Mainly because girls flirt or ask to dance and he felt forced to agree, only to keep up a 'I like girls' image. His friends usually abandon him to flirt with other girls and then after ten minutes he wants to go home and play video games or something.

He admitted,"Not really, but it's part of my image."

"Lukey, honey," she cooed, cradling his face in her hands despite him being basically a foot taller. "You don't have to pretend to be something you're not just to impress your friends, sweetie. If they're really your friends, they would not pressure you to act this way. True friends like you for who you are. And they wouldn't make you do things that you'd get in trouble for nor would they leave you as soon as you get caught."

He frowned a bit, remembering Michael and Calum ditching him once his mum saw Luke. He did feel rejected from that, like they abandoned him. However, Michael and Calum are alright. They seem very nice and he just...feels like he has to impress them. However, he knows he needs to impress the other guys on the team and the cheerleaders because they're more about images than Michael and Calum, who go with the flow.

"You don't get it, mum. Things are different than they were in your time," he murmured, gently moving her hands away.

Before she could argue, his dad walked in and greeted them with a grunt of exhaustion. He ruffled Luke's hair, causing the boy to whine and move away from his hand. Mum greeted dad with a peck on the cheeks and he smiled sleepily at her, thanking the woman when she handed him his plate of breakfast.

Luke gathered his books and placed them in his bag, he turned the small TV on to see the weather, which was the only time he's allowed to watch TV for the next month. Sometimes his parents allow him to watch one episode of a show or a movie with them. Other than that, he was forbidden which made him so pissed off.