LOOKIN' FOR COMFORT

003

— 🩹🕊🔭 " LOOKIN' FOR COMFORT "
chapter three | the one where he walks out

corbyn made his way into the kitchen where jack and his father spoke quietly. when he sat down next to jack, the two looked at him with a sympathetic smile. "how're you feeling, bud?" his father asked with a frown, noticing the grimace on corbyn's face. "'m alright." he picked around his food, the fork scraping against the plate. saskia and ray sent eachother a look, one that held strong thought— as if they could speak without muttering a word.

"just alright?" ray asked once more and corbyn nodded silently. the man sighed, taking a bite of his dinner with frustration bubbling. "ray." saskia spoke quietly, jerking her head towards the living room— a universal sign telling him to follow. "we'll be back in a moment, boys." the two walked out, their voices soft and quiet; too quiet to understand from where corbyn and jack were seated. the curly haired boy seated next to the blond sat quietly, taking small bites.

"you can talk you know, say whatever you have to say. i don't care if it offends me." corbyn spoke abruptly, causing jack to flinch in his seat. "corbyn— i never mean to offend you." jack sighed, pushing his plate towards the middle of the table. "and where has that gotten you?" corbyn sent jack a look, holding an emotion the shorter boy couldn't understand. "listen—" "listening."

"i just—" "you just what?"

"goddamnit, corbyn. just let me fucking speak!" this time, corbyn was the one to flinch. jack's outburst was unexpected and although his voice remained quiet, corbyn had genuinely gotten scared. he bit his bottom lip, trapping them between his teeth. "'m sorry." he muttered, his thumb twisting around his silver ring. jack sighed, his hands rubbing over his face. "i never mean to offend you, corbyn. i don't know how this shit works and i don't wanna take chances. i don't want to be the one to cause an- an alter or whatever to front. i'm afraid i'll hurt you... or you'll hurt me."

jack's voice grew softer towards the end of his sentence and corbyn couldn't bring himself to look up. his mind whirled with thoughts, some, admittedly, not so nice. "i won't hurt you. is it so hard to just... learn the basics? do a little research? i can help." the shorter boy growled, placing his hands on the table in front of him. "what?" he spoke in disbelief. "corbyn, i don't even know who i'm talking to right now! how do you expect me to learn and be able to understand this?" jack exclaimed, standing up from his seat.

"you're a psych major, jack. and i just said i'd help you!" corbyn's voice was awfully soft, but held strong frustration. he stood up aswell. "what's so scary about this? we've been friends for almost two years! what's changed that caused you to be so afraid of me? i'll- i'll stop." corbyn watched as jack backed away from him, his eyes widened and furious. "you! you've changed! i don't even know who you are!" corbyn closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as his heart beat quickened. his bottom lip trembled, but he stayed still.

"jack, stop. please. you're my best friend, i don't want you to be afraid of me." he spoke softly, eyes refusing to stay focused on one singular thing. "i'm sorry, corbyn. once you decide if you're corbyn or charlie, or- or fucking colton? then i'll come back." and he left. just like that. corbyn stood silently, a slow tear trailing down his cheek as his best friend walked out on him. he could hear the door slam before his parents returned. "corbyn, why did jack just run out with- corbyn." saskia's eyes softened as she saw her son with misty eyes.

it's okay, corbyn. he was no good to you anyway. corbyn could hear ben's faint voice as his mother wrapped his arms around her son. "that little b-" "ray, just start cleaning up for me, okay?" corbyn's mother spoke, walking with her son to the living room. "bud, what happened?"

he sat silent for a moment, his fingers pushing at the skin under his nails. corbyn bit his lips, sniffling lightly. saskia only held his hand in hers, allowing him to collect his thoughts until ray came in. "if that kid comes around here again, he'll have it coming." he threatened, sitting down next to his wife, who gave him a harsh glare. "don't talk about him like that, ray." she sighed, knowing corbyn wouldn't want to hear something like that being said about his friends.

"momma?" his voice was soft and bashful. his eyes darted around, focusing on anything but his parents. "yes, bud?" he sighed, "i think i want a service dog." saskia smiled kindly, pressing a motherly kiss upon his forehead. "i knew you'd want one eventually. don't think of it as a bad thing, corbs. think of it as getting a new pet. you've always wanted a puppy... ever since you were a little boy."

corbyn couldn't help but smile softly, leaning into his mother's touch. his eyes felt heavy, just as they had earlier. "you'd had a rough day, huh." she spoke sadly, brushing her fingers through his hair as she sent a glance to ray. corbyn nodded. "how 'bout you go rest and we'll figure something out, okay?" ray spoke, patting his son's leg as he stood.

"'k, goodnight. love you." he spoke, rubbing at his tired eyes. "we love you more."