Long Live the Kids (an All Time Low fan fiction)

Come Home

**TRIGGER WARNING**

I stopped at home first, planning to drop off my things and take my own car to my parents place. Once I got inside, though, I found Nate in the living room with a somber look on his face. "In your room," he said, like it was supposed to be an explanation.

"What's in my room?" I asked him. "And why are you in my house?"

"He called me and said that he needed to be let in, and I couldn't say no. He sounded miserable, and I figured you wouldn't mind, so I ran over and unlocked the door for him, but I stayed here to keep an eye on him."

"Thank you, Nate," I said, pulling him out of his spot on the couch and hugging him tightly.

"Anytime, Liz," he said into my hair, squeezing me tightly before letting go. He kissed my cheek quickly before leaving.

I jogged up the stairs, straight into my room where I found Austin asleep in my bed with a book tucked against his chest. It was Hate List by Jennifer Brown, which was Caroline's favorite book. She'd read it when they'd first started dating, borrowing my copy. She wasn't a big reader, but she'd read my copy, then bought her own and read it a few more times, writing on and highlighting the pages. Mine didn't have that much of her in it, but it definitely had enough of her in it for Austin to pick it off my shelf. I peeled the book out of his hand, and his eyes opened the second that I put it back in its place.

"Give it back," he ordered, his voice sounding dry and miserable. He didn't look to great, either. His eyes were puffy and his hair was a mess. He seemed paler than usual, and he really just seemed exhausted. "I want it."

"I'm sorry, Austin," I said quietly. I sat on you bed next to him, and he pulled my blanket over his face. He took a deep breath, and then pulled the blanket back down. "What can I do to help you?"

"Don't make me go home," he mumbled, taking another deep breath. "I haven't told Mom and Dad yet."

"You're going to have to tell them at some point," I reminded him.

"Can you do it? I don't want to talk to anyone else about it. You and Riley are the only ones."

My heart warmed for a split second. When we were younger, Austin had been an absolute terror. He'd fed my food to the neighbor's dog and dumped my clothes into the pool and pulled my pants down at school functions. He'd made fun of me at least 22 hours out of every day, and I'd done all of it back. Before he was old enough to torture me, I'd tortured him. I was bigger and older and smarter, so I ate his cheerios when my mom wasn't looking, I painted his nails while he was sleeping, and I'd dyed all of his white clothes pink in the laundry. Now, though, something's changed. We were so close, and I hadn't dyed his clothes pink in almost 7 years. I loved this kid, and I loved that he wanted to talk to me about things.

But there were so many things that I'd never told my parents in my teenage years, and so many that I hadn't even told Austin. So how could I tell my parents something that wasn't even mine to tell?

"If you really want me to. And you can stay here as long as you want to. I'll call Riley and have him say that you're sleeping at his house for the next couple of days, and then I'll call Mom and Dad after the tour is officially over. They should have no problem with you staying here for a few days."

"That much lying takes too much effort. Just call them now, go over there if you want to."

"I'll call them in a little while. I'm going to guess that you're not going to school for a couple days." Today was a Saturday, so he only had around 34 hours until he had to wake up and head to school.

He pulled the blanket back over over his head, and I heard a hard sniffle. He took another deep breath, and then I felt the bed start to shake with his sobs. "I don't ever want to go to school again," he cried. "Please, don't make me. I don't think I can face that."