LIGHTS Fanfiction – By Charlie Quinn
This fanfiction is in first person perspective from the point of view of Beau Bokan, her current husband, in this story, he is not in Bless The Fall, and is living at home with his Mum (Mom?) whilst working at Starbuck's. Thank you to anyone who reads this! Names of family/friends are fictional, any relation to real life circumstances or names is coincidental – Charlie
Chapter 1 – The wake up
The alarm pierced through my dream, awakening my senses to the materializing room I'd become so familiar with as a child, but the warm wall paper has become cold to my tiresome eyes. Soon after my alarm had faded, my bedroom door is burst open. "Beau! Get up, you have work in an hour!" I grunt accordingly and she leaves the room. As I slowly adjust to the room around me, the band posters begin to take shape, faces fall into perspective, and I arise from my cream coffin. Slipping on my clothes is a drag, I brush my hair through a couple times and step into some shoes, my Paramore tee is covered in my apron, and my hair suffocated by my cap. Before kissing mum goodbye, I grab some toast and leave the house. Work is only a couple of blocks away, but time slows as I drag my tiresome body.
I walk into Starbuck's, check the time and spend 5 minutes drinking a coffee before slipping through the counter door and start my shift.
The greetings get boring, and the place get cold as I serve person after person during my shift. Girls walk through, most wink at me, try to flirt with me, in a hope that I'll knock off a fraction of the original price. I tend not to beckon, but every morning, I fall to the pressure of an elderly couple. I watch them take their tray and sit opposite with each other, sipping at their cappuccino, one with chocolate in the shape of the heart I so willingly crafted myself. They always tip too, which is just an extra welcome, once the tip went to someone else, and they filed a complaint and wouldn't leave until I got the tip, say what you want about the elderly, but they sure know how to make a guy feel special.
As I walk home my phone starts vibrating and my ringtone begins to play – All Time Low, Damned If I Do Ya begins playing. As the music is replaced by my greetings, a crying woman is heard on the other end, begging me to come home because "He's done it again." The only words I can muster are "Bolt the bathroom door and don't move."
The race home begins.
Chapter 2 - My Face Hurts
My heart races as I curse under my breath at the man I call my dad, I turn corners, jump fences, run through block after block until I sharply turn, I clamber the picket fence, barge open the door, and find him, blood on his fingertips, fists clenched with my mothers hair in hands, and threatening to kill her. Instinct drives my charge into his bulging back as I drive my shoulder as forcefully as I can into his frame. His body responds to the force and he is pushed into the wall, but it's not long before he's up and running at me, I freeze until a bloody fist connects with my jaw and I'm sent into the floor. He turns and punches her until her crying is finally put to an end. I charge once more, this time my fist connects with his lower rib cage from behind, a move that he once taught me, before I know it, my guard is up and I'm fighting exactly the way he taught me.
"Dad, what the fuck is this?" I question. "Beau, stay out of this, this is between me and your mum." He responds. "Hardly fucking fair to hit her? What you can't just fucking talk like a normal person?" My voice trembling due to a combination of concern for my mum and anger. "Son, you don't understand." "Don't call me your fucking son, you were never a father to me!" I could see life returning to my mothers body, with the last strength she has, she dives behind me and lies on the floor, her body now completely drained of all energy. "She started this!" His voice booming around the room. "And hitting her is the way forward? Tom, what kind of person does this, look at her!" My voice begins softening to its original state. "She's been cheating Beau! With her boss Craig!" "You truly believe that the woman you've been married to for 13 years is gonna cheat on you just like that? Tom, I think you need to leave. Go back to your apartment, I'll speak with you later, you're lucky I'm even giving this chance." He silently brushes past us both, leaves through the door and shuts it quietly. I call an ambulance and talk to my mum, bringing her back around from concussions until the ambulance arrives. The paramedic examines me too, and identifies a broken nose with plenty of bruising to show for it, he patches me up and tells me to keep my face from the floor.
American health insurance is genius in this day and age.
Chapter 3 – My so called father
As I knock on the door, I am welcomed into the disgusting environment and another cup of coffee awaits. "No thanks. What do you want? If it's money I don't have any, so don't bother." I begin to turn. "Sit down, Beau." I sit opposite him. His face is bruised, and his posture is lacking, but he still remains still, no shakes, no nerves, just a deadly calm in which I find all too disturbing. "She really did cheat, I caught them." "Stop. Dad, I don't know what you saw, but it wasn't mum, her boss is female, to start with, she's been off work for four months to finish her studies, you advised her to stay off!" "It was her, I saw it, I know I did." "But why does that even concern you? You've been arguing about this for months, it's this kind of thinking that got you in this shit hole in the first place!" "Son, enough swearing, I've heard enough of your shit." "Dad, don't come home, file a divorce already, she can do whatever the fuck she wants to, it's her life. Just stay away."
I get up and exit the apartment, Checking my phone as I leave, looking down as I text Mum telling her everything is okay, when the phone is knocked out of my hands and a voice is quickly apologizing. "I'm so sorry, the screen is cracked and everything! I'll fix it, give me your numbe- oh… shit." "It's okay, it happens." I tell her, looking down at my phone as she picks up the glass from the broken screen. "So, how can I contact you? Where do you live? Not in like a creepy way or anything…" "Oh, I live on Mumford Avenue, it's a couple of blocks away." My focus turns from the phone to her, her long boots and skinny jeans capture my attention, along with her Taking Back Sunday shirt, which matched mine. "I like your shirt, you have epic taste" I nervously exclaim. "So do you! I like your face, you have good bandage taste." "Yeah… not the most attractive thing to wear on my face." What a lame response. "Well, I think your face would look just as good without the bandage." She said, smiling at the ground. "I have a purse, for some money, in my apartment? Its on the end, I'll show you? In a totally… non creepy way." I follow her through to the end of the doorway.
"So what can I call you, bandage face?" She enquires, whilst opening her door. "Beau, my name's Beau Bokan, and yours, phone breaker lady?" "Lights, Lights Poxleitner." She responds, as I walk into her apartment.
Chapter 4 – Lights Poxleitner.
I become overwhelmed in cool stuff, energy swords, world of warcraft posters, light-sabers, and a lot of retro gaming tee's pinned to walls, doors and even canvas'. "Whoa… Dude… This place…" "I'm kind of a nerd, my family hate me, want something to drink? I have soda, and lots of it." "Sure, makes a change from coffee." I'm drawn to keyboards, electronic drums and to a half built computer tower. "Feel free to snoop around, this place is pretty much a haven of mine, and I owe you, so a snoop is nothing in comparison to a broken phone." "Dude, forget about that, come here?" "Um… Okay?" "Your computer tower, I know a few improvements?" "Go on..?" "Well, you've got a lot of fans, but they aren't wired in, so they're basically gathering dust, want me to hook 'em up?" "Good looking and a computer whiz? What else can you do, mister multitasker?" I connect wires up to a motherboard circuit, and soon the fans are running in no time. "There, that should keep it clean, all you need is a graphics card and an audio card, should come to around $80… Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to like, intrude or anything." "No, no, it's perfectly fine, thank you for the fans. Hey… Do you want some coffee?" "Sure, I've got time."
We drank coffee, spoke, laughed, and got to know each other. "So… what happened to your face, Beau?" She enquired, sipping her coffee. "Well… It's a really long story, and we've just met, so I don't wanna creep you out." "Wait… Let me guess… You were fighting the Horde in a battle-ground and got hit too hard?" She said, laughing quietly. "Oh god, don't tell me you play Alliance?" "Pfft! No! Alliance is for noobs! Warcraft humour for the win!" She said, raising her mug, I clashed mine gently against hers, and we both sipped. "So seriously, what's the story?" "I have to call my mum, I said I'd be home a while ago." "Sure, wanna borrow my phone?" She passed me her phone, and I began punching in numbers. "Hello?" My mothers voice pushed through the ear piece. "Hey mum, it's me, I'm safe, I'm with a girl I met in Tom's apartment block." "Good, I'm okay, I've gotta stay overnight, could you find someplace to stay? I don't want you in that house alone, in case he comes back." "Mum, I can handle him if he does come back, besides, I have no place to stay tonight if you don't want me in the house." Lights looked up at me, with a flash of concern in her eyes. "Well, I don't want you staying there Beau, just find somewhere, I'll give you money, just run an overdraft on your bank account?" "Okay, Mum, love you, rest up, okay? I'll come visit you in the morning." "Okay honey, good luck, I'm sorry I can't let you stay at home tonight. Love you too. See you tomorrow." Her voice is replaced by a flat tone. "Thank you, Lights, for the phone call, that is." She looked back at me "You need a place to crash?" "Yeah, but I don't really know where to go, she said she's sort out an overdraft thing for me when she's out of hospital or something." "You can crash here? On the sofa? I mean, you don't have to or anything." "Could I? It'd be such a big help." "Of course! Now, would you please at least tell me why all this is happening? And no stalling, either." She said, with a hint of pleading in her voice. "Okay. This is how it all started."
Chapter 5 – My Story
"It started with my dad, Tom, his name is. Him and my mum have been together for 22 years and have been married for 13 years, they had me when they were both 18, and it was an accident, but he stuck by her, even though they were both alcaholics, and drug addicts, they stood by me and took care of me as best they could, I didn't have much of a childhood, my dad's addictions were a lot worse than my mums, to say the least. He would hit her, and me, when I was like 10. I never understood why, but it turns out he feared anyone with a different opinion, when I started disagreeing with his views and his notions, he started hitting me, and hitting mum when she stood up for me. In any-case, as a kid I was never really one of the popular kids, I'd rather sit and listen to music than socialize and play sports, I was nerdy and dorky and no one really wanted to be around me. I've had a couple of friends, but none of them really stuck with me after school ended. I ended up getting bullied, so my dad taught me how to fight, I could already take a hit pretty well at this point, the fact that I could still pass math was more than enough evidence to support this. Needless to say, I managed to survive my childhood. Anyway, a couple of years ago, he got back into drugs, he stopped for a while. So yeah, the paranoia kicked straight in, and he though Mum was cheating on him, so he hit her, beat her up when I was away on a regular basis, I work at Starbuck's, and he would beat her when I was at work and leave when I got home, I'd like to think it was because he was scared of me, but the reality is that the bar opens at 5.00pm, five minutes before my shift ends." I continued, even though she sat there in silence, taking in everything and it seemed like she was genuinely understanding.
"So yeah, we had him move out, he and mum split, he took drink and drugs, mum took me and the house. It's a relatively simple story from here on out. Today, he was beating her to death's door, so I punched him and went back to his place, he tried convincing me that she's really cheating on him, even though they aren't together. I told him to stay away. Then I met you, Lights Poxleitner. And ended up staying at your place."
She sat almost in awe at my story. "Holy shit, you've had such a hard life." "Dude, honestly, it's nothing really, I'm lucky to be alive, if It weren't for my mum, I don't know where I'd be right now." "I know that feeling, it's getting late, you should sleep, blankets and pillows are in the cupboard on your left, goodnight." She got up and kissed my cheek lightly and looked into my eyes. "It'll all get better, you can stay as long as you want, I don't mind." She kissed my other cheek and left, exiting into her bedroom. "Thank you, lights, so much." I got the blankets and pillows, and slept soundly on her sofa.
Chapter 6 – Good morning, sleepyhead.
Yet to be written.
Credit goes to Lights Poxleitner and Beau Bokan for existing. My fingers for being fingers. My girlfriend for making me incredibly happy, and my friends for just being awesome enough to put up with me. ..
… And Jo. For giving me her laptop and her opinion ;)