Little Street Boy

Chapter 4 - Pick Up

Notes:

*please read*

YES! I DID IT! I wanted to upload this chapter during Christmas... then I realized I wasn't happy AT ALL with how it turned out, so I decided to re-write it, promising myself that it would be finished and posted before the end of the year... Which I did :D

Anyway! For those of you who wanted to go with the second option ("pick up" and "ignore") here you have it! I hope you will enjoy it and that it will have the outcome you were shooting for :D

For those who DON'T wish to play in this fanfic roulette, please scroll to the very bottom of this fic. I will write which ending this chapter has at the end Notes, so you can check that out before reading and still choose the ending you want ^^

I hope you will enjoy~

(See the end of the chapter for more Notes.)

Never in his life had Loki felt this content, this carefree. He simply could not stop smiling, listening to the stories being told, to Thor and Hela teasing each other like true siblings, or rather like true five-year-olds. A warm, fuzzy feeling rested in his tummy as he watched Frigga and Odin holding hands, the older man lovingly caressing his wife's fingers with his thumb.

For the first time Loki felt like all was right with the world, forgetting about his abusive parents, about a man's greedy hands moving over his body in a dark alley.

For a moment he forgot all that was his life, that was until he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He looked down, his smile instantly fading as his face went pale as the snow outside.

His mother was calling him.

The raven looked up, eyes wide with fear. He slowly slipped from the table unnoticed, a skill he had honed to perfection after living with his abusive parents for so long. He sneaked into the hallway, closing the door behind him and picked up his phone. 'Mom...?'

'Loki,' relief sounded in Fárbauti's voice. 'My baby, where are you, darling? Mommy misses you so, so much. I have been worried sick!'

Loki could already tell that his mother was under influence, though he wasn't sure whether it was alcohol or drugs. 'I- I'm working, mom. You know, earning my food?'

'No, no, no! Loki, I want you to come home, right now.'

'I can't,' he tried to keep his voice down, not wanting to be the center of drama for Thor and his family. He really did not want to ruin their holiday. 'I haven't earned enough money yet. Dad will never let me in...'

'But I need you!' his mother started to sound like a spoilt little child now, nagging to get her way. 'Loki please, please come home! I'll die without you!'

The teen rubbed his temple, his head instantly throbbing. 'Mom listen to me, please. Where's dad? Maybe he could help you-'

'Your father is a useless piece of shit!' Fárbauti was shouting, the whining in her voice instantly replaced by hatred. 'Loki, he- he-' She burst into tears, sobbing blatantly. 'He cheated on me!'

Loki felt deflated, all his energy lost to his mother's crying. It was a lament he had listened to so many times yet never seem to stay with Fárbauti when she was intoxicated. It was exhausting to listen to her, to comfort her, and to get blamed for all that was wrong with their marriage.

Loki knew that he was a mistake, that his parents never wanted him. His mother had told him over and over again, sober, drunk and high, how she wished he had never been born. How having a child, having him, was the worst thing that had ever happened to her.