I hope my first fic (just a small piece to test the water with...(or is it?)) isn't so bad. ^^'
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Wished upon a star; clearly didn't work. X( T'is very sad...
xxxxx
I would say something along the lines of "Guaranteed to be loaded with sweet-strawberry-covered confectionary! XD" But, uh...let's just see how this goes, shall we? (Plus, that's not really how one would describe this story O.o)
xxxxx
"Austin," a hissed whisper lanced through his multilayered dream, a finger poked him irkingly in the shoulder. "Austin!"
"Mnuh..." he answered brilliantly, trying his best to ignore the voice. He shrugged off the slender, prodding finger and burried his face back into the warm cozy nook he'd been laying against.
"Pssst! Hey!" The finger jabbed him once more.
And again.
And again.
And a- "OKAY, I'M AWAKE!" Austin jerked awake, flailing about. His wild burst of inertia promptly sent him tumbling back, losing his balance and faceplanting into the hardwood, oak-paneled floor of Sonic Boom.
Silence. And then a plaintive whimper drifted up to meet the ears of the bystanders. "Owwwww," he whined.
"Smooth," someone commented caustically, their voice a faraway echo against the pusling in his ears. The girl chuckled, obviously delighted that he'd hurt himself.
Glad my pain amuses you, he thought sarcastically.
His heart beat fast. Yeah, the jarring crack of his head hitting the floor kinda had that affect.
The voice who had initially been waking him let out a shocked little "oh!" and the sound of boots clicking against the floor in a flurish raced toward him. "Oh, Austin, I'm sorry!" the voice- Ally, Austin's groggy mind finally decided- neared him and thin spidery piano fingers gently gripped his upper arm, helping him up. She frantically started patting his shirt down, dusting him off, splutterig apologies at double speed. "I'm so sorry, I'm so so-"
He flinched back from her touch. "S'okay, I'm fine, Ally! Really!" he reassured quickly, waving his hands in a "don't panic!" gesture. He didn't want her to be upset. It wasn't her fault."I just-" he pried open his eyes for the first time... bad idea. His world exploded into a brilliant white nova of blinding agony. "Ohmygod! It burns!" he complained, clapping a hand over his poor, unsuspecting eyes and flailing his other hand dramatically.
Someone laughed.
Well... switching from dark to light really hurt the eyes...
His eyes stung for a moment behind his lids, and it was a long time before he even dared to peek again. He squinted against the harsh fluorescent light bulbs glaring in the room. The blurry silhoette of Ally slowly focused as the black dots lining his vision danced about. Wide-eyed, she smiled nervously. "Um..."
"Man," he grumbled around an ear-ringing yawn as he slipped back into the seat in front of the counter and leaned his elbows on it heavily. He let his hands cradle his head as it was still throbbing from the impromptu tumble. And he was sooooo tiiiiirrred.
"You know you drooled all over Dez, right?"
"I droo- what?" frowning, he peered up at Trish, whom was grinning like a loon, eyes luminous with amusement. She hoisted herself up to take a seat on the counter next to him, ebony ringlets brushing her shoulders.
"Yeah. It was entertaining. Look left."
He did.
Dez was sitting next to him, arms crossed with his head resting in them. He was sleeping in a peaceful repose, clad in his usual attire; a highlighter green shirt and pants, yet another ridiculous outfit that'd probably contravene any code of conduct.
His sleeve was wet with drool. "Ew..."
"You two looked so adorable," Trish teased in a not-so-gushy-but-kinda-gushy way. "You were all cuddled up with him, using his arm as a pillow. Here." She plucked a tissue from the box next to her and handed it to him. He stared at it as if it might suddenly sprout ten heads and a bunny tail.
When no explaination for this action was forthcoming, he finally blinked. "Um... what do you wan-"
"You're supposed to use it, moron," she prompted, waving it through the air curtly. "Wipe your face. You look like a freakin' glazed doughnut."
Heat exploded across his face as Ally giggled and he obliged, embarrassed, wiping his face off, wading up the tissue and leaning- very gingerly- over Dez to toss it in the waste basket. His eyes lingered on the red-head. He tilted his head in consideration before he moved the other's arm in an attempt to coax him gently into a more suitable position for sleeping. He smiled when Dez mewled groggily in his sleep and a small smile graced his lips, verifing he was comfortable.
Trish raised an eyebrow.
Austin shrugged innoccently. "Just showing chivalry," he claimed.
Ally chuckled quietly. "I'm surprised your sad little crash and burn there didn't wake him up."
He shrugged again, nonchalantly and tacked on a grin as he rubbed the offending knot on his head. "Yeah, well... You don't know Dez. He could sleep through a nuclear detonation."
Trish sat up, brightly. "Really!"
Ally grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down, donning a knowing look and letting out a warning sigh. "No, Trish. There's no setting off bombs in the store."
"It's not like I was going to test the theory..." She slumped and pouted, folding her arms indignantly. "There's no sign for that anyway," she mumbled almost inaudibly. It didn't go unnoticed by Ally. She glared at her short friend.
Austin grinned his dimpled grin. He loved his friends whacky antics. Casting his bleary vision across the room, he suddenly frowned. "Dude... what time is it?" A dull orange glare spilled through the window into the room from the streetlight outside, painting the glossy posters on the walls in neon colors. The shadows of the room splashed against the floor and walls... pointing east.
The sun set in the west.
"Crap!" he shot out of his seat, grabbing Ally by the wrists and imperatively rambling. "Ally, what time is it?"
She blinked her doe eyes, her dark hair whipping back and forth as Austin shook her frantically. "It's Seven!" She replied, frightened. "That's why I woke you, I'm closing the store for the evening."
"Ughhhh," the blonde groaned, his head falling back and his shoulders slumping. "I gotta get home! I'm late!" He wrung his hands together, a nervous habit of his.
"What's the hurry, White Rabbit?" Trish cocked her head to the side and Ally gave him a baffled look.
"Yeah, Austin, is everythi-"
"No, no!" He gave an odd little bounce, waving his hands wildly in dismissal, plastering on a meek smile. "Everything's fine! It's just..." he chewed on his bottom lip. "My dad's coming home from work early and I...need to be there?" It sounded like a question, like he was trying to convince himself. "Yeah," he nodded. "So...I'll see ya guys tomorrow! Bye!"
With that, he shot like a rocket out of the store, leaving bemused girls in his wake.
"Well, then..." Alley trailed off, her finely arched eyebrows knitting together. "That was...odd."
"Pfft!" Trish flicked her hand. "He's an odd boy!" She hopped off the counter and ran around it until she was behind Dez.
"Don't do it," Ally shook her head distractedly as she started locking up the vault where they kept their money. Her expression though, wasn't very chiding...
So Trish did it anyway. "BLAH!"
Ally jumped, startled, head jerking up to stare wide-eyed at her friend while Dez continued to snore.
Trish's face fell. "Darn..."
That did nothing to lend credense to Austin's theory...
xxxxx
The door to his house was locked but the garage wasn't vacant. His father's car occupied it. His father was home.
Sighing forlornly, Austin extricted the key from his keychain and stashed the keychain in his pocket before he inserted the key in the lock and turned it. It made a hollow clunking noise that seemed too loud to him.
During the walk home, the sky was benighted and now the dark air nipped at his skin like icy teeth, making him shudder and giving him goose flesh.
The cold wasn't the only factor causing his sudden tremoring...
He quietly entered the house. The foyer was hauntingly quiet and the lights were off. "Dad?" His voice barely rose above a whisper as he plodded reluctantly into the living room. "Daddy?"
Jerking to a halt as soon as he saw his father, he stopped breathing for a moment before he felt the overwhelming urge to sigh in relief. Frowning at the sprawled wreck, face down in the pillow, arm dangling limply into the bucket beside the sofa, he folded his arms angrily. Dad had another night on the town...
He shook his head. But he was relieved. A passed out father meant one less he had to confront. He went upstairs to take a shower.
xxxxx
He emerged from the shower in a cloud of vanilla scened steam, avoiding the mirror at all costs. He simply set to work, drying himself off, eyes cast down, swaying lithely to some silently pounding bassline in his head. The melody sounded so familiar but it was too much of a far away echo for him to recall the lyrics. He focused on that.
The habitual motion of the song worked through him like freezing water, driving off any other thoughts in his mind, focusing on just the low, repetitive thumping of the bass.
This was good. He didn't want to think.
Humming softly, he shimmied his hips to pull up his panda-dotted pajama bottoms, the obligitory drawstring pants sliding up with ease after only sticking to his damp legs once.
He paused once at the door. By the mirror. He had to fight the urge to look at them.
The bruises.
The cuts.
After a few seconds of silence, he shut out the light and closed the door to the bathroom, slipping on his shirt, the starched fabric hugging him softly.
He collapsed on his bed, the soft comforter at last, blue patches of quilt rising like water to fill the hollows of his eyes, his mouth, his nose. He breathed it in once and then again, feeling himself contract inside his own skin into a tiny thing, a molecule spinning on a vast and empty plane, adrift in an endless body of water.
I want to see the ocean, he thought, half dreaming already. A new thought. He fought to focus on that and not the fact that his father was in the next room. Maybe Dez will go with me to the beach tomorrow.
His phone emitted a polyphonic beep. Sighing, he fumbled clumsily without looking, groping blindly as he chased the vibrating phone across the top of the bedside cabinet. He snatched it up and peeled open one eye to read the message.
New Message: Dez: I fell asleep in Sonic Boom. I woke up with a tissue wadded up in my mouth. I'm blaming Trish. -_-
Austin laughed quietly. Speak of the devil... He quickly typed his reply.
Sent: U dnt know 4 sure it was her.
New Message: Dez: Yeah, sure. Fine, then, who else could it be?
New Message: Dez: Miss Pennyworth, Ally's imaginary friend? XD
Austin shook his head, smiling happily. Just th distraction he needed.
Sent: Dude, would it kill u 2 type the txt lang?
New Message: Dez: I'll try...
New Message: Dez: OMG! WTF! BBQ? LOL!
Austin laughed so hard he nearly peed himself. Dez. His best friend.
He was always the perfect distraction.
The only one allowed to touch him.
Because no one else has been with him this long without knowing. A perfect relationship and he could never ruin it by letting Dez know about his father.
Never.
Dez will never find out...
xxxxx
Okay, yeah, it sucks but... oh well! Hoped you liked it anyway! XD Please review and give me any constructive criticism you can offer~ Thanks for reading~!