This is really, really bad.
My writing style has change alot since the last chapter so... sorry about any major differences!
Loud beeping, Dave's favorite sound. He groans loudly and hits snooze, not quite ready to face the world yet. 5 minutes later the beeping goes off again. Still asleep, he presses snooze. Then, 5 more minutes pass and the lovely beeping visits again. This time it's accompanied by an angry voice.
"DAVE! Get up and let me sleep! Fucking hell. Hitting snooze three times is enough! E-fucking-nough." It's just then Dave realizes Bro is home. It's not too hard to miss with him yelling from the other room. To avoid pissing him off further he turns off the alarm to begin getting ready. First, an obligatory morning shower followed by the brushing of hair and teeth. Once he's adequately dressed he goes to the kitchen to scavenge up food and coffee. It takes awhile to make the coffee up to his standards but once that's done he makes a few pieces of toast for John. Bro peeks over the futon with a questioning look.
"Why're ya makin' breakfast. Never made breakfast before." His voice is heavy with sleep, texan accent showing through.
"It's for the kid I've been hanging out with."
"Right. So yer makin' toast for the kid you pick up for school everyday?" Dave nods and Bro laughs. "I think you've got yerself a lil' crush."
"No, don't even go there."
"Then why're ya goin' outta yer way to make 'em toast n' shit."
"You're making this weird!" He blurts out, "I just…" Bro is watching him expectantly and Dave knows he has to elaborate or he will continue to question. "Ok. It's just the kid is bullied by some people at school and I want to make sure he doesn't pass out or something." Before Bro can comment Dave says he has to go to school and leaves with his coffee and the plate of food in hand. He just chuckles to himself, quite amused by this new development.
Dave climbs into the truck and sighs, he just left the apartment 15 minutes early to avoid further questioning from Bro. What is he supposed to do now? Pulling out his phone he sends a text to John. He better be going to school today, after their little feelings jam yesterday he hopes all the weird avoiding stuff is over. John is woken up by the buzzing of his phone. Trying to sit up he recalls falling asleep without turning his alarm on. Sitting up isn't working so he turns his attention to the message that woke him. Dave wants to pick him up? What time is it? Looking at the clock it reads 6:45 AM. Shit.
'can i pick you up early'
'i just woke up, you can go on without me.'
'naw can i come over'
'i'm going to shower but the front door will be unlocked.'
That's all the confirmation Dave needs, putting the plate on the passenger seat he starts the car and drives in the direction of John's house.
John attempts to get up again, this time with more success. He grabs a blue striped shirt, sweatshirt and grey pants, leaving them in the bathroom. Stumbling down the stairs he unlocks the door before going back to the bathroom to start getting ready. Halfway through the shower he hears the front door open and close. Dave calls to him, telling him he's here and something else he can't quite make out. He gets done showering and finishes getting ready quickly. He's going to have hell to pay for being late. Honestly he's not sure he can make it through another fight. He grabs his backpack and jacket from the bedroom and heads downstairs, trying his best not to fall on the way down. When he reaches the ground floor he finds Dave in the kitchen. This is not good. He seems to have been going through the cupboards. He watches hesitantly until Dave realizes he's behind him.
"I was looking for a cup, kinda thirsty. Could you hook me up?" Dave asks innocently, even though he was just checking if there was any sort of actual food in the kitchen. His search has come up empty except for a box of cake mix, coffee, various spices, flour, sugar, some butter and an empty box of crackers. John goes to the sink and pulls a cup out of the dishwasher, filling it with water and handing it over. He drinks the whole thing in one go and hands it back.
"We should probably get going. If we leave now we'll only be a few minutes late, the teacher might even take pity on us and not say anything. I brought you some toast, it's probably cold by now but it's better than nothing." They walk out the door, John locking it behind him. Once they're in the car Dave shoves the plate into his hands and stares until he begins to eat. It's only then he starts the car and drives to school.
They get to first period a few minutes late and as predicted the teacher takes pity and counts them on time. John feels a large weight lift off his shoulders with those words. Class goes by with doodling and small talk, much like any other day. John feels alittle silly for making such a big deal out of everything earlier. When the bell rings John goes to the teacher with Dave in tow. He hands the teacher a note that reads, 'I'm sorry for the absences. What have I missed over the last 3 days?'
"John yes, are you alright now?" They ask and John nods. Dave catches them staring at the bruise with a somber expression. "Right, let me get you the worksheets. It's basically all review so I'm sure Dave can help you with anything you don't understand." He hands the papers over and looks at him sadly, "But if you need anything, feel free to ask."
In English they have presentations on certain assigned books. John enjoyed watching Dave act like he knew what was going on. It's astonishing that if you just act charismatic enough people will believe what you're saying. All of the groups weren't prepared creating a very pissed off teacher. But when the duo walk up to her desk after class the mood drastically shifts.
"Oh honey, you're roughed up again." She says sadly and Dave stares. Has he come to school like this before? "And here I thought people weren't bothering you anymore. Are you okay?" He nods confidently and she smiles sadly. "Don't worry about the assignments. I'll excuse you from them so it won't impact your grade. Look after yourself dear." John writes a quick note of thanks before they're on their way out the door. Once lunch starts John eats the first real meal he's had in 3 days. Toast is great but it doesn't offer much sustenance. Dave is going on and on about a new video game he's playing and how the reviews gave it too much hype. Then, literally out of nowhere, he changes subjects.
"Do you wanna come to my house after school?" John stares at him, obviously shocked.
'i don't know if I can.' He really doesn't, who knows how Dad will react to such a request.
"You should ask. We could chill and watch movies. You can even stay the night if you want." There is a gap where John thinks about his chances. He might be better off at Dave's house. It would ensure at least one day of healing. Hopefully with food.
'are you positive?"
"Yeah it'll totally be great." Dave is smiling, beaming with hope. He really has no choice.
'i'll see if I can.'
He pulls out his phone to text his dad, it's now or never. While debating what to say he notices someone enter the library. Looking up he sees Vriska walking to them. Instantly he freezes and Dave becomes 10x more intimidating. She stops a few feet away, putting a hand on her hip.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot." She states simply.
"Wow, you're a smart one. Are we talking about before or after I found out you guys enjoy fucking with John?" Dave asks confrontationally, eyebrows raising above his shades.
"I suppose both." She comments somewhat jokingly. Dave's having none of that.
"You're a class act aren't you?" He says, voice dripping with sarcasm. The smug grin on her face is now replaced with a frown, "Well sorry honey, nothing you say will make me think you're anything more than yesterdays fucking trash. Now leave." Vriska turns bright red and retreats out of the library. Mumbling things under her breath on the way out.
"They don't know when to quit, do they?" Dave grumbles, letting out an annoyed breath.
John is sitting on Dave's bed, feeling completely out of place. It was a miracle his dad let him go out. Up until now he had never stayed at someone's house, let alone overnight. His surroundings were so unlike anything he had experienced before and he didn't know how to behave. His first question is why are there puppets everywhere? Does Dave secretly like really creepy puppets? Is this some weird ironic thing he can't understand? Faintly, he heard Dave talking to someone. He assumed it was his brother.
"You got a friend over?"
"Yeah, so don't do any weird shit."
"What's their name?"
"John."
"Alright, only a few smuppet traps then."
"Bro." Dave says seriously, "Don't fuck with him." There is a long pause before Bro sighs.
"You're serious aren't you. Shit, alright lil man, I'll mind my own damn business. I expect an explanation though."
John hears the freezer door open followed by the crinkling of plastic bags. Dave's conversation is a lot more muffled, he can't exactly make out what's being said. In the midst of his thinking he wonders what's taking so long. Dave was talking to Bro about the situation he found himself in. Making sure to speak quietly so John couldn't hear what he was saying.
"So what's up?" Bro says and Dave puts his finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet.
"Remember when I was telling you about the kid who gets bullied at school?" Bro hums in confirmation and Dave continues. "Well that's him. But yesterday I figured out something else… atleast I think so."
"What did you find?" Bro asks curiously.
"You gotta promise not to do anything, at least for now." Bro nods and Dave huffs.
"I don't have conclusive evidence but I think his father abuses him." Bro stiffens, standing alittle straighter once he hears those works.
"Dave. That's a big deal. How do you figure?" He asks seriously.
"Yesterday I went to his house because he wasn't at school for 3 days. When I saw him he had a large bruise on his jaw, you'll see it when he comes out of my room. He didn't have that bruise the last time I saw him and he doesn't seem to leave the house so I don't know where he could have gotten it. There are also smaller bruises on his neck that look way too much like finger marks to be anything else. I'm not even going to mention how tiny the kid is, I honestly think he only eats at school."
"Is that why you're making almost all of the pizza rolls?" Dave makes a small gesture of acknowledgement. "Alright, I won't do anything weird. But if shit gets too hot to handle let me know." He smiles, happy with the answer, a few seconds later he remembers something.
"Oh, one more thing. He's mute so he won't be able to respond to you. He talks through type or paper." Bro stares at him momentarily before nodding, going out the front door. He thinks he's going to the roof for a smoke and to reflect. He was just told some heavy shit. By the time the conversation is done so are the pizza rolls. He pulls them out of the oven and dumps them onto a large plate. Next, he grabs two sodas from the fridge and makes his way back to his room. Once the door is open John is staring at him, sitting in the exact same place he had been in when he left.
"I got food and soda if you wanna watch a movie in the living room." John looks down awkwardly but he continues, "C'mon man Bro won't mind, he won't even say anything." Finally, after a bit more prodding, John nods and stands up following him into the living room. Once they're situated he starts eating, hoping John will follow suit.
"What do you want to watch?" John shrugs and Dave frowns. Thinking back to the first time they hung out he recalls John liking Ghostbusters. That might work. "Wanna watch Ghostbusters?"
John smiles and nods enthusiastically. He can't help but smile back, his reaction to movies is adorable. It's also nice to see him happy for a change. The movie turns out not to be on Netflix but thankfully Bro has a copy mixed in with a bunch of random CDs. With the movie playing John decides to eat and he mentally pats himself on the back. About 30 minutes into the movie the front door opens and John literally jumps, falling right off of the couch in the process. Instantly Dave is beside him, helping him off the ground and back onto the couch.
"Dude it's cool, that's my brother." John takes in a nervous breath and nods, waving to Bro with jerky motions. Bro clears his throat, a little alarmed to be honest. That was a very violent reaction to something as small as the door opening. The bruise on his face is darker than he was expecting and the kid is tiny. So fucking small anybody could carry him. Dave is looking at him with an expression he can't quite place. He thinks it's telling him not to fuck up.
"Hey kid, I'm Bro. Didn't mean to startle ya." He says and disappears into another room, leaving them to go back to watching the movie. John is a lot more nervous now, he's tense and not touching the almost empty plate of pizza rolls. Dave sighed inwardly and looks at the clock. It's nearing 11:30 PM. Maybe they should go to bed after this movie.
It's almost 1 AM when the movie ends and John is nearly falling asleep next to him. Once the dishes are put away they go to his room. It's only then John realizes he has nothing to sleep in. Also, he's going to have to sleep with Dave. In the same bed. He silently prays a nightmare doesn't come to taunt him tonight. Somehow sensing John's lack of clothing issue Dave fishes out a long sleeved shirt and pajama pants for him. He knows John wouldn't sleep in a short sleeved shirt and there was no benefit in making him uncomfortable.
"The bathroom is the door right next to my room, you can change there." John leaves and goes to the other room. The light in the bathroom floods the area with an orange tint, puppets here and there creating an even more ominous feeling. He quickly changes, deciding he doesn't want to be in this room for longer than he has to be. Before he goes he takes a look at his stomach, the bruise is still nearly black, only turning yellow and purple in some spots.
When he exits the bathroom he's greeted by the sight of Bro in the kitchen. On instinct he freezes, not sure what to do. The two look at each other until Bro turns around, returning to whatever he was doing previously. He quickly goes back into Dave's room. Dave has stripped to his boxers and an old band tee. He's sitting on the bed scrolling through his phone when he tells John to sit, patting the space next to him. He crawls on the mattress, sitting between Dave and the wall.
"My clothes are even bigger on you than I was expecting." He comments, not mentioning the dark marks on his neck that are now completely visible. It's worse than he thought. "Well, let's go to bed I guess." Dave lays down and John apprehensively lays down next to him. Once the lights are off John tries to calm down while Dave pays attention to every movement and breath.
It's obvious John is nervous and Dave wonders if this is the first time he's stayed at someone else's house. He tries not to dwell on it, it makes him alittle sad honestly. John is such a nice kid, he wishes people didn't fuck with him. He didn't do anything to deserve such harsh treatment. After awhile his breathing evens out and he falls into a light sleep, Dave following close behind.
It's dark, you're surrounded by a cracking universe and you can't help the feeling that this is your fault. You don't know what you were doing before all this happened but it seems much less important in comparison. As you wander broken planets and shattered temples litter the dead space around you. Eventually, you come across a planet that is still somewhat intact. Looking closer you see movement, maybe you can meet up with someone there.
You're almost to the surface when you spot a slab of stone that looks like a bed, somehow you know it's called a quest bed. You float to it's location and what you see makes you want to throw up. There, lying seemingly dead is the dog eared girl you spent so much time with on the ship, and on top of her with two large holes in his torso is Dave. You want to cry, you want to flip your shit but all you can do is stare at them. Somehow, this seems normal. Like you've seen them dead like this before. You fly away from the bodies in search of something, you're just not quite sure what.
John wakes up with a silent gasp, shaking while small tears threaten to fall from his eyes. He keeps them closed, trying to focus on his breathing like the voices always tell him to. Next to him Dave shifts, making him twitch. He silently hopes he isn't awake but when a soft voice is heard he knows luck is not on his side.
"John are you awake?" Dave whispers and John stays in the same position. He knows there is no way Dave hasn't noticed him shaking but some part of him thinks if he stays unresponsive for long enough the other will go back to sleep. Of course, that doesn't happen. He sits up and tried to roll John over so he can get a better look.
When John finally opens his eyes the tears fall down his cheeks before he quickly tries to wipe them away. He puts little thought into the fact that Dave's eyes are bright fucking red, basically glowing in the darkness, and instead tries to maintain composure. Dave lays down again and pulls him into a light embrace, absentmindedly running a hand across his much too prominent ribs. He tries to ignore the bruise on John's wrist, where the long sleeved shirt has lifted, but fails. Using the softest of touches he tries to unlatch John's hand from his shirt to take into his own. Eventually John gives up and lets it be commandeered. He lightly brushes his thumb across the bruised skin, pushing up the sleeve to exposes more discoloration. Once again, John twitches but doesn't pull away.
"You should let me help you." Dave murmurs, pulling John's sleeve down again. John just shakes his head, refusing to look up. He doesn't know why he let Dave see his arm, it was such a bad idea. He tells himself to stop letting Dave in, stop letting him see what his life is really like. But it just keeps happening, with or without his permission.
"Please let me help, even if it's just coming to my house often. I don't want you to feel like you need to hide from me anymore and I really don't like seeing you hurt. I won't tell anybody anything so please, just let me know what's wrong." Dave was pleading, hoping that maybe John would open up to him. He knew it would take a long time to actually gain his trust but you have to start somewhere.
John doesn't respond, he only scoots a few inches closer. Dave finishes the motion by pulling him into another hug, holding tighter this time. When he feels lanky arms wrap around his waist and John's head rest on his shoulder his stomach does a flip, face turning red. At that moment Dave realizes he might have developed a tiny crush.