Welcome dear readers! See, I've been shipping Butch and my F!LW so bad since the first time I played Fallout 3. Tbh this story is one of my fav from others I've wrote and I haven't decide to continue this story or just end it like that pf. So, enjoy the story and please R&R! :D
"Yeah, now run along to daddy. I'm done with you, Nosebleed," Butch mocked carelessly as he leaned himself on the wall.
Kaslee stood there in silence, scowling with hand formed into a fist tightly. Butch DeLoria will always be Butch DeLoria, nothing will change him. Unless the end of the world is near she thought. Kaslee took a deep breath, as much as knows she'll enjoy hitting him, but it's no use, she's not going to waste her energy on a scum like him.
"Fuck you, DeLoria," was all she said before storming away from him and his Tunnel Snake gang furiously, which Amata simply followed behind her.
"Pff, whatever, loser."
Butch then motioned his Tunnel Snake friends to follow him down to the cafetaria with a winning smirk. As they entered, he found Christine Kendall and Susie Mack sitting on the stools, he met Christine's eyes then winked at her, he could see she's blushing all over now. Everyone knows Christine has a crush on him ever since they were probably like nine, so that was about ten years ago. Though he admitted she's kind of cute, but she's not really his type.
Susie and Christine joined their table now, they're all laughing, and he swore to himself he would do anything in his power to protect all of his friends if something happened. He loves them, because… Well, he has no one else. His mother probably loves her drinks more than him now, while his dad... He tastes the word in his mouth. Dad. The taste of bitter and pain hit him as he swallowed then suddenly he remembered his last words to Kaslee.
"Yeah, now run along to daddy. I'm done with you, Nosebleed."
She doesn't know how lucky she is; having a dad who cares wholly to her. And that is only one thing he envied from her. See, she is everything he's not: a bright student, a teacher's pet, and has a father who loves her to the moon and back. And he hated her for that, her perfect life. Even without the G.O.A.T. everyone knows that she'll end up working with her old man in the clinic.
Frankly, it used to be fun picking on her, but now they've grown, he hates to admit it that he felt guilty sometimes, but then his ego washed over his guilt by thinking her only life's burden probably studying and being bullied by him anyway.
Kaslee quicken her pace into her room furiously as Amata followed silently, she hopped onto the bed and sat there in silence, she could hear Amata closing the door then sit in front of her. Eyes watching and waiting for her to say something.
"Amata, I don't want to be rude, but can I have some personal space for a moment?" she asked kindly, not wanting to sound like shooing her away. But she needed to be alone with her thoughts now.
She smiles kindly. "Of course, Kas. If you need anything, just tell me, alright?"
Kaslee smiled weakly. "I will. Thank you, Amata."
Amata hugged her and left seconds later. Once Amata is within earshot, Kaslee dropped herself to the bed cry. Amata is like a sister she never had and sometimes a mother, and that applied the same to Amata since both of them drawn together by the common bond of not having known their mothers for their whole life. She loves her father so much, but still a girl needs her mother, someone to talk to about boys, puberty, sure her father is a doctor, but isn't that rather.. uncomfortable?
"Mother, I'm sorry if I disappoint you. I'm-I-I'm sorry that I took your life," she whispered.
She began to sob uncontrollably then. Her eyes filled with water as she could only stares helplessly to the steeled wall ceiling. "I wish I could have known you. God, I wish you were here."
She curled up on her bed, wishing she could stop crying but she couldn't. Her tears kept falling and falling until finally it stopped producing no tear anymore. She'd been hiding her feelings all this time without no one in this Vault could guess what bothers her the most, not even her father or Amata. How being bullied by Butch and his friends depressed her, how she fought so hard to maintain a good grade at school though her brain is only a few clicks away from exploding, how she need a mother figure in her life—her real mother in her case. This is something that she'd rather keep to herself.
Kaslee then turned her attention to her Pip-Boy then tune into the Vault 101 PA System, and she could hear Chet Baker's Someone to Watch Over Me playing softly from the radio. She closes her eyes and let her mind set peace with her body.
"There's a somebody I'm longin' to see I hope that she, turns out to be someone who'll watch over me,"
She smiled at the lyrics. Somehow the words kind of reminds her of her mother, oh how she really do hope her mother would watch over her and her father here.
"I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood, i know that i could always be good to one who'll watch over me,"
She opens her eyes and turns her head to the left to stare at the photograph of her parents on her bedside table.
"Although I may not be the man some girls think of as handsome to her heart I'll carry the key,"
Suddenly, a tear escaped her emerald eye.
"Won't you tell her please to put on some speed follow my lead, oh, how I need someone to watch over me."
Mom, dad, I'm sorry. She said to herself
"Someone to watch over me."
As she closed her eyes the song ended. Kaslee then let her mind at ease and drift to sleep.
Butch went back to his apartment after saying goodbyes to Paul and Wally, he puts his hands in his pockets as he entered his apartment door.
Back to the living hell, he thought.
He checked the couch, the couch where his mother usually passes out while drinking, but no sign of her. He took a glance on his Pip-Boy to check the time, it's only 12 am. Strange, usually at twelve his mom was on her third bottle or more. He simply shrugs his curiousity off before making his way to his room when he noticed her mother's room lights still turned on. He gave an annoyed sigh at that,
"Jesus ma, do I have to do everything?" He muttered sourly as he walks to her mother's room.
Butch then opens his mother's door, and then he saw the most terrifying sight on his life. He could see her mother's wrist cuts open. Butch widen his eyes at the sight and gasped.
"Ma?!" he ran onto her side hurrily then. He could see a small pool of blood on the floor from her right wrist as well as the razor blade that lays near the pool. He panicked, he looked at her eyes and he could see there's a sign of life but the color of her skin had drained drasticly, so he thinks fast; first he threw the damn razor blade away across the room before he stood up and then ran hastily to the only people he could only think of, the Montgomery.
As soon as he arrives, Butch quickly banged the apartment's door while holding his urge to shout help since it's practically twelve and he doesn't want the security or the others to find out about this incident, until a familiar face showed up.
"Butch?" Kaslee Montgomery shows up behind the door, looking tired as well as surprised as if she couldn't believe who showed up at her door at twelve am.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as she rubs her eye.
"Kas, you gotta help me, it's my ma! She- she-" he was in panic, he couldn't even form the words.
"Your ma? What happened? What's wrong?" Somehow he could see she looked panic as well.
Butch swallowed heavily. As much as the shame he is feeling right now from asking help from the person he always make fun of, he simply told himself to screw his pride and focus on her mother's life. Finally, Butch formed the words right.
"She cuts herself." He spoke. He even could feel his tears starting to form.
Kaslee lets out a loud gasp and stares at him in the eye in sadness before she quickly make her way straight to her father's door with Butch.
"We gotta wake him up, c'mon."
The two of them then violently banging the door and call for him. A few seconds later a tired looking James Montgomery showed up then Kaslee shook his shoulders to wake him up.
"Dad! Dad! Butch said his mother cuts herself! We have to save her!"
At first, James only gave his a daughter a questioning glance before he widen his eyes in horror. Finally processing the information.
"Ellen? Shit." Was all he said before he quickly went straight to his room to take his medical bag then shout to Kaslee to call for Jonas.
Butch didn't know who to follow at first, but then he decided to follow James to his apartment. He led the doctor into his mother's room and James made his way to her side with his doctor bag in hand.
"Butch, grab a cloth or something to press her wound from bleeding." he ordered him.
He does as he told and grabbed his mother's t-shirt from the drawer and began to pressed her wound while James put on his gloves. He could see his mother winced in pain as James doing his work.
"Do you think she'll survive, Doc?" He's worried now
He could see the doctor sighs before turning his head over his shoulder to meet his eyes with a frown. "I hope so, Butch, I hope so. I'm doing everything to save her."
James now began to clean the wound area while he shot a glare at Ellen. "What the hell were you thinking, Ellen? It's only fortunate that Butch come to get us in time!"
A few moments later Kaslee and Jonas arrived, with a doctor bag in his hand, Jonas went to Butch and took over his position. He looked into his mother's weak eyes and he could feel his blood boiled in anger.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, ma?!"
Kaslee moves an inch closer to him, just to be cautious if he started to do something he will regret later.
"First this father of mine, and now you're going to leave me here too?!" He nearly shouted. "What did I do wrong that makes you hates me this much, huh?!" Now he's clearly shouting.
"Butch, please if you keep shouting the security will hear us!" James reminds him.
Butch exhales sharply as he glared into his mom's eyes. "You know what doc, just leave her be, if she wanted to die this badly so be it."
"Butch DeLoria!" James barked.
"Kas, take Butch out of here for a minute will you?" Jonas eased the tension between them.
"S-sure, I will." There's a hesitation in her voice but then she managed to drag Butch out of her mother's room into the living room. Her hand still clutch on his arm when he violently shook it off and stormed off to his room. Kaslee sighs, she puts her hands on her hips then, thinking. She dealt with an annoying Butch DeLoria before, but what about an angry Butch DeLoria? Well, she's about to find out.
Kaslee checked his door, good, he forgot to lock it. So, without invitation, she went inside and saw him sitting on the edge of his room with his head clung down. To be honest, she felt pity for him, she didn't know he had such hard life at such a young age. Yes, he is an asshole—especially to her, but for this moment, she's going to put aside all of her feelings for him.
It took a lot of courage for her to sit right next to him, he seemed didn't notice she's next to him though.
"Butch?" she called for him softly. But ding dang, no answer.
"Butch, I'm so sorry about your mom, it's a good thing you found us before it's too late."
To her surprise, he scoffs. "Why do you care, Nosebleed? You don't have to pretend to feel pity for me."
Kas knits her eyebrows. "Wow, I'm just trying to be nice and I do fee-"
"Then stop being fucking nice!" Butch shouted before he stood up and managed to sit on his bed with his hands on his hair, it seems he doesn't give goddamn thing if his hands is ruining his hairstyle.
Kas let out another sigh; why now this is complicated, but she couldn't just leave him here alone. What if he will do the same thing like his mother?
Kaslee stood up then. She walks slowly to him but decided to not sit next to him.
"Butch, will you at least try to be civil here?" She asked politely it's almost a whisper.
"I know maybe you think that I will never understand what you've been through here. But I just wanted you to know that.." She hesitated at first. She couldn't believe she is going to say this, to him.
"Well, I'm here for you, you're not alone."
He shot a funny stare to her. "Huh, Really? So your father is an asshole like my mother?" He stood up from the bed then. "He's a drunken father who passes out every midnight then let his daughter do all the clean ups? The kind of father who doesn't even care for his own daughter?" He's starting to walking towards her now.
"N-No, that's not what I meant." She stammered.
"Then stop comparing our lives like yours are mine!" He raised his tone.
Kaslee gulped nervously as she dropped his gaze.
"Tell me what do we have in common that makes you think that you know exactly how I feel?" He's challenging her now.
Butch is only a few inches away from her now, she could see his raged face straight looking at hers. At this point she's scared of him, this is something she never encountered from Butch before. She almost wanted to touch his face and says calm things to him. Almost. But she could only looked down to the floor and curled her feet nervously, she swallowed hard and then looked him back in the eye tenderly.
"We all have problems, Butch. That, we have in common."
He snorts, laughing at her in a mocking way. "You? Have problems? Didn't know you're a comedian, Nosebleed."
She furrows her brows at that. "Well, I do have problems, we all have. What makes you think that I have none?"
"Oh well, since you put it that way, let me make the rundown for you; let see, oh, you are our class' top ranking student, and, oh right! You are Brotch's favorite student, yeah, you and that little friend of yours. And, we forgot to add that you have a father you cared for you wholly." He rundowns all the things dramaticly.
"So stop telling me that you have real problems, Dumbass. Unless you have one." He turned his back around her then. Elbows on his head as suddenly he could hear her spoke.
Kaslee widen her eyes in disbelief at what he said. Was this the reason why he hates her all this time? Because he envied her? Because he thought she was happy?
"Wait, all this time you've been thinking that I was happy all the time?"
Suddenly, Kaslee could see Butch freezes in the place. As if he was surprise at her question.
"And because of that "Rundown" that you gave me, you thought that I don't have my own problems?"
Butch spun his body around slowly to her then, eyes staring at her with a frown.
"Butch, I studied because I am this Vault's physician's daughter. Once I failed him when I was in the fifth grade, and then everyone in the Vault talked about me as I was a failure of him, sure my dad didn't think that I failed him, but I heard everything! Everything those people said! That's why I can't fail again," Kaslee sighs softly before she lowers her head and spoke quietly. "I can't fail him again."
Tears started to fell from her eyes, but she still keep her tone steady. "And I am the reason why my father lost someone that meant the whole world to him, and-and you! you've been making my life harder each day!" Tears sprang out as Kaslee finished her words.
Butch, just stood there still with his eyes one hers with a frown as she could hear he sighs heavily. The next thing she knew, he walks slowly to her, never leaving her eyes even though now he's standing in front of her. Butch looked like he was about to say something when all he could come up is a sigh.
"Kas… Jesus... If- if only I knew…" he began.
She shot him a glare then. "You never cared to find out my problems. So stop judging people like you know them, because you don't know them. You don't know me!"
"You're right, I don't. Never were." He sighs again then. There's a silence between the two of them then. Suddenly, he puts his palms on her cheeks, which she nearly jumped at the contact, and lifts her head so he could meet her Emerald eyes. Kaslee could see as if he is forming something to say to her in his mind.
"God, I feel like a complete asshole right now. All this time, I thought by picking on you every day, I could figure you out. I thought I knew you, but how I was wrong. I don't know who you are at all Kaslee Montgomery. And if only, God, if only I could take back everything I ever said to you."
"I'm sorry, Kas. I'm so sorry."
Kaslee could only watch him as he spoke. She was surprised at this, frankly. She never thought someone like Butch would apologize to her like this. She soften her gaze on him as they look at each other.
Kaslee nods her head to him then.
"I forgive you," She said quietly.
Butch gives her a small smile when suddenly he pulled her into his arms. She widen her eyes at this, and swore she was about to melt in his touch, she could smell a hint of his cologne, a pomade and smoke on him. She likes the smell, it felt good on him. It felt good on her. She began to cry again then, this man is one of the reason that the burden on her shoulders increased, but at the same time, she felt safe with him now. They both stayed like that even when she already stop crying, but someway somehow why he didn't want to let her go? She doesn't mind anyway, so she simply closed her eyes and let the embrace shroud her.
Butch parts his body from her then. He still has his hands on her cheeks when she opens her eyes. The two stares at each other again then, which she simply gives him a small weak smile. Butch didn't reply her smile, but only stares at her more intensely as she could see he closes his eyes and draws himself closer to her. Her lips part and her breaths quicken at this, and her mind is screaming at what he is trying to do. Would she let him do it? She asked herself, though she knows there's no harm from this. He said he was sorry, he regretted everything he ever did to her, and Kaslee could sense the truth from his word. So would she let him do it? Right now, the only answer she could come up is yes. She doesn't know why, but she's kind of wanted him to.
With lips part, Kaslee could feel Butch's forehead rested on hers. His breath tickling her as their faces has no distance now. Their lips was about to meet, when they could hear a footstep heading towards their direction, he let her go with an annoyed sigh which Kaslee gave a small chuckle at that. Then he smiled at her, genuinely, something that she have never seen before in her entire life.
"Butch, we already patched your mother, she's going to be okay now. Just make sure she'll visit the clinic tomorrow, okay?" Her father announced the news as he entered Butch's room.
Kaslee could see Butch's smile grew even wider. "Will do. Thank you for everything, Mr. Montgomery."
James simply nods. He was on his way but when Butch calls him. "Mr. Montgomery, can-can I ask you for a favor?" There's a slight hesitation in his voice. "About my mom. I-I'm only asking you please, will you keep thi-"
Her father raises his hand. Knowing exactly what Butch wanted to say. "No need, Butch. I'll assure you this will be a little secret for the five of us, you don't have to worry." James smiles as he puts his hand on Butch's shoulder.
"Thank you, doc. It means a lot."
"Anytime, Butch. Anytime." Kas then could see her father meets her in the eyes.
"C'mon, let's go home, Kas," Her father spoke as he already made his way out of his door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Butch." He added.
Kaslee still stood in her place awkwardly as she meets Butch's eyes. She smiles softly to him before she starting to walk slowly to follow his father out of his room. The two had their eyes on each other as she went passed by him before she nods her head.
"Good night, Butch," She bids softly, earning her a weak smile from him.
"Good night, Kas." He replied almost too softly.
She gave him one last smile before she walks out from his room with heavy sigh. Kaslee had this urge to look over her shoulder to see Butch again, but as her mind is still racing from what happened between the two of them back then she decided not to. And for this, she knows that the feeling she had for Butch will forever change from now on.