Empty Rooms
pairing: PepSquee :P
Rating: PG (will increase greatly)
Warnings: Reference towards physical and drug abuse
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me, but to Jhonen V. who is mightier.
Beta: Rational Lunacy (my bff)
Chapter One
Todd sighed heavily, staring into his 20 gallon fish tank. Danny the gold fish wasn't looking so good recently. He watched as the two ghost shrimp swam happily, bypassing their suffering tank mate.
Turning his attention from the seemingly empty tank, he tried to focus on gathering his school things. Spring break had ended and Todd would be returning from one hell hole to the next. At least Pepito was back from... where ever he had gone. Trapped at home for a week had been familiarly terrible. Just like the year before and the year before that, and the year before that. His mom had O.D.ed and spent the week in the hospital while Mr. Casil was upset over the bills for his wife's "vacation". Naturally he took out his frustration on Todd. A full week of mental abuse apparently hadn't been enough, there had been a need for the physical as well.
Standing for too long was difficult on the injured ankle, but it wasn't as terrible as laying. This caused his bruised rib cage and head to throb. Sitting was his preferred state of rest currently.
Checking the clock, Todd noted that it was almost time to leave. No harm in leaving early. Pulling on his worn out sneakers and book bag he casually called over his shoulder, "Bye Bob, Bye Cracker! Hang in there Dan." before climbing out the window gingerly. The shrimp only continued their happy wiggling.
Using the window was great for Todd. His parents remained undisturbed and he didn't get the verbal assaults as often. Wincing slightly on every other step, the 17 year old padded off to hi skool, humming as he went.