February 11th

Bo Baxter had made good on his promise to have a 'talk' with Buster. Buster had managed to delay it on several occasions, the best excuses being that the last time his father had dropped by it was the holidays and Bitzi would never allow anything negative to interfere with the season. So he'd made it through Christmas and New Year's Eve but once that was over he needed new excuses. On the days his dad would fly in to town Buster made sure he had several plans made or 'suggested' to his mom that all three of them spend some family time together. Sometimes he would just say he was too tired or had a lot of homework to catch up on. But his father caught on quick and working with Bitzi arranged to have Buster meet with him the day before his birthday, if not he'd lose his driving privileges for a month.

Buster hadn't been happy with that and of all dates to pick, but he knew if he didn't get it out of the way his dad would only hound him until he agreed to do it. So he'd begrudgingly agreed to meet him and that's why he sat outside a small café in town with his father awkwardly fidgeting. Buster took a sip of his coffee nearly laughing at his father's raised eyebrow. "It's just coffee," Buster said taking another sip. "I know I just never knew you drank it, personally I think you're kinda young for it," Bo replied nervously. Buster resisted the urge to roll his eyes, his mom had known from the beginning and she was fine with it.

"So um how's school going," Bo asked earnestly. Buster shrugged, "fine can't wait to get out." "Mmm was that why you got in that fight back in October," Bo said in a serious tone."Ugh you're not gonna bring that up again are you," Buster groaned. "Well it was a pretty big deal," Bo pointed out. "You know why it happened," Buster said bitterly. Bo nodded, "yes but that's not the only thing I'm concerned about, well your mother and I are concerned about." He paused watching Buster's reaction, he looked irritated. "We're concerned about your recent behavior," Bo continued trying to formulate what to say. Buster raised an eyebrow, "and exactly which part are you concerned about?"

Bo inhaled sharply, "Buster this fight between you and Arthur was bad enough but then learning the reason why, I mean you didn't just hit on this girl you slept with her and to learn she wasn't even your first." Buster frowned, "so you're worried about my sex life?" "We're kinda worried that you have one," Bo explained, "and we're wondering if there's anything else we should know." Buster resisted the urge to scream, he knew his lifestyle wasn't ideal but he wasn't in the worst shape possible. He wasn't dealing drugs, wasn't involved in any gangs, he didn't even have a damn speeding ticket.

"What exactly do you wanna know dad huh, my party habits, the names of the girls I've slept with," Buster replied angrily. Bo held up his hands in defense, "no of course not but we do wanna know that you're safe." "Well duh of course I'm being safe, trust me I've had a few years to figure it out," Buster shot back his blood rising. Bo's eyebrows shot up like rockets, if he interpreted that correctly then Buster's reputation went back further than he thought. "What do you mean 'years,'" Bo asked hiding his anger. Buster was starting to wish he had something stronger than coffee, this conversation was not going as he'd expected. "Buster how long," Bo pried concerned.

Buster just stayed silent sitting back in his chair, arms folded across his chest and his gaze off to the side. "Buster you better tell me or we'll just keep having these meetings until you…" "Alright fine you wanna know the truth here it is," Buster snapped, "I was 14 the first time I did it and I haven't stopped. I like the rush, I like not being attached and any girl that gets with me knows the deal before I even approach them." Bo was shocked how had Buster been getting away with this when his mother hovered over him like a hawk? "Buster why would you…so young…" Buster just shook his head, "I know that's early but what can you do."

"Buster why would you even do it that early," Bo asked still in shock. "I dunno curiosity, hormones, anger, peer pressure, I don't even remember," Buster answered flatly. The truth was Buster did remember why and while hormones could certainly play a part they weren't the main reason. Bo on the other hand couldn't understand why Buster would do it out of anger, hormones and curiosity made sense and hell even peer pressure although Buster wasn't one to follow the crowd. A sudden thought struck Bo and he wondered if maybe he'd been partially responsible. "Buster did this happen after that phone call where I said I would be away for at least half a year and had to cancel the holiday season with you and your mother," Bo asked his heart racing.

Buster looked him straight in the eye, it was almost like looking at a stranger. "Yeah happened that night, I was angry so I called a girl I'd been sorta seeing and I went over to her place and well you can imagine how it went from there," Buster explained coldly. Bo felt his stomach drop, he'd always hated how his career kept him away from his family it had been one of the countless reasons he and Bitzi had divorced. Now he was finding out it was also partly to blame for why Buster's behavior changed so drastically over the years. Bo looked across the table at the almost 17 year old and he didn't recognize him.

Buster always had a big smile on his face as a child, always making jokes and even when he was angry he didn't stay mad for long. Bo tried to find a hint of that little boy in there somewhere, even just etched on his face but he couldn't see him. Instead the teenager in front of him looked tired, irritated, and distant. "Buster I…" Buster held up a hand, "wasn't always your job that drove me to do crazy shit, now it's second nature to me." Bo wanted to cry, he wanted to pick up his child and hug him tight. Bo swallowed hard, "what else have you done?" But Buster wasn't willing to say anything else, he already felt like he'd said too much. "Not really much of anything else," Buster lied. Bo knew that couldn't be the truth but getting Buster to admit what he did took a lot and he seemed to be fine otherwise.

"Well alright but just so you know your mother and I will be keeping an eye on you," Bo said at last admitting defeat. Buster nodded, "figured you would." The reality of it was Buster knew they couldn't keep tabs on him all the time, his mother already hovered over him and yet she had no clue about his activities before the big fight with Arthur. His dad was even more in the dark and Buster had become an expert at hiding his girls and his drinking. So what if they knew about the girls, not like he could take that back. The drinking on the other hand that he'd have to be extra careful of, even though he hadn't been caught so far. What he didn't realize was that it wouldn't be long before that became the least of his problems.