Okay, so a couple of you have told me the link to the playlist doesn't work and I didn't realize that the website would delete the words that don't have a space after a period!

So you gotta go to open. Spotify user/kittenkat92/playlist/59Frqw1epMbdyVwZDmYPH3

BUT PLEASE DELETE THE SPACES IN BETWEEN! It should work then :)

It was just his luck. Report cards were being sent home that day. He knew his average wasn't going to be good—his recent test scores would be to blame.

He was struggling and he needed help. He just didn't know how to ask.

Shawn sulked home—his backpack feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds. There was no doubt his parents knew that it was report card day—they got alerts in their email. He wasn't surprised to find the house empty and quiet as he walked across the threshold of the front door. Most days, his mom would be home around five, so he was usually alone for a couple of hours.

Wanting to avoid the inevitable, Shawn threw the envelope on the kitchen island where the rest of the mail was piled. Slowly, he trekked up the stairs and dropped his bag in his room before heading for the shower. As he undressed, he noticed newer bruises beginning to litter his chest and back, different shades of blues, purples and yellows all over. Although he kept them covered, it surprised Shawn that his parents had yet to notice. There was no doubt that he limped around the house sometimes and was out of breath after walking up the stairs most days. Maybe he was playing off his pain better than he thought.

He let the hot water rain down on his body, soothing his aches and pains. The water dripping from his short brown hair mixed with the tears flowing down his face. It felt like his pain was being washed away, only for more of it to settle into his body. He didn't know how much more he could take—he was tired of it all.

Hearing the front door open, Shawn quickly turned off the water and made his way out of the shower. Wiping the steam that had accumulated on the mirror, he noticed the red blotching on his face, making it obvious that he had been crying. He turned on the tap and splashed cold water on his face a few times, hoping that it would help.

"Shawn?" Erin knocked on the bathroom door. "Shawn are you in there?" She knocked again after receiving no answer.

"Yeah… yeah, What's up?" He called out, voice muffled from the door.

"Did you eat yet?"

"Uh, no. Not yet, why?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted a snack or something?"

"Sure, I'll be out in a few minutes."

He quickly dried himself off and gave himself a once over—checking that he looked normal—before making his way out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen.

Luck was not on Shawn's side that day.

Jay made it home from work earlier than usual. He went through the pile of mail while Erin cooked dinner. His brows furrowed when he noticed the yellow envelope and opened it immediately. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Jay said as he flipped through the pages.

"What?" Erin turned from the stove to face her husband. "What's wrong?"

"Shawn's report card… did you see it?"

"No, I never got a chance to ask him about it." Erin approached Jay and took the papers from his hand, skimming over them. "What the hell?!"

"Shawn! Come down here please!" Jay called out, baffled from what he had just read.

Shawn's heart dropped into his stomach, immediately knowing why he was being summoned. He wasn't sure what he would be walking into—frustration, anger, disappointment—but regardless of that, he mostly feared the consequences. The last time he was grounded, his parents made him spend an entire weekend helping his Grandpa Hank tear apart and rebuild his deck.

When he turned into the kitchen, he spotted his dad standing with his hands on his hips, a blank look on his face. His mom stood nearby, looking absolutely dejected.

"Care to explain?" Jay said after a while, rage evident in his voice. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the island. He watched Shawn shrug his shoulders, continuing to stare at the floor. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Jay yelled out in frustration.

"Jay…" Erin warned as she shot a disapproving look towards him. Erin returned her attention to their son. "Honey, what happened?" Shawn didn't speak, he could only manage to look at his parents.

"You're failing EVERY. SINGLE. CLASS! How do you manage to do that?!" Gone was the loving father from the night before only to be replaced by an angry one. Jay tried to calm himself down but he knew his explosive anger could get the best of him sometimes. He had never raised his voice at Shawn before. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Have you been studying?" Erin asked, motioning for Shawn to sit down on one of the barstools. She knew at least one of them needed to stay level-headed for this conversation.

"Yes, Mom. I swear."

"Then what's wrong? Are you not sleeping properly? Is something wrong at school?" Erin worriedly surveyed her son's face, looking for any sign that he needed help. "Are you stressed?"

"Mom, no. I'm fine. It's just been tough, heavier workload and all."

"You're failing P.E. How? All you have to do is show up…" Jay said, his voice more relaxed than it was before. "Are you even showing up?"

"Yeah, I am." Shawn retorted angrily, his voice rising. "It really shows me how much you trust me when you're asking me that!" He quickly got up from his seat and walked out of the kitchen.

"Shawn, stop. I'm sorry." Jay called out feebly. He could already hear the teenager making his way up the stairs to his bedroom before he heard the door slam.

Jay and Erin looked at each other and listened to the charged silence surrounding their home. It was usually filled with laughter and joy but lately things had been tense. They hardly ever fought, and when they did, fights were resolved within the hour. It was a foreign feeling to them.

Whatever had changed recently needed to be fixed.

Everything in his life was falling apart.

His grades were slipping, his relationship with his parents was strained, and god, his body hurt like hell.

After slamming and locking his bedroom door, Shawn made his way to his desk and pulled out a notepad and pen. He had thought about doing this long ago, but he held onto hope that it would get better someday.

He was just being naive.

He stared at the lined paper, not knowing what to write. There were a million things that he could say, but he decided to go with something short and simple. Just as he scribbled out his message, he heard a soft knock on his door.

"Shawn?" His father called out softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." Jay waited to hear something—anything—from the other side of the door but was saddened to hear nothing. "Can you open the door?"

"No."

"At least come and eat dinner. Please." Jay begged.

"I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure?" Jay asked, hoping that Shawn would change his mind.

"Yes."

"We'll put a plate in the fridge for you if you get hungry later, okay?" All Jay got was a grunt in response before he turned away from the door, unaware of the turmoil happening on the other side.

After the final bell on Monday, Shawn stuffed all of his notebooks and textbooks into his bag. He ripped off all the pictures and articles he had taped to his locker door and left it open for everyone to see the emptiness.

His backpack evidently weighed him down on his way home so he arrived later than usual. Erin was there to greet him and ask about his day, only to get short answers in reply. They hadn't seen much of Shawn that weekend—he would sneak out of his room long after both of them had gone to sleep to get food and water, even though Erin had offered to make him some of his favourite foods.

"You look like you've got a lot of homework." Erin said nonchalantly as she noticed her son struggling with his bag.

"Yeah, well my parents think I'm a failure so I guess I should make it more obvious that I actually do go to class and study."

"We don't think you're a failure, Shawn." Erin sighed as she turned her full attention to him.

"Yeah? You might wanna make sure Dad understands that." He replied coldly. "I've got a lot of homework. I'll eat dinner when I get the time." Shawn didn't wait for a reply as he made his way to his room, and closed the door behind him, dumping his books on the floor.

He looked towards his desk where his notepad was safely stored under other books—a place where his parents wouldn't look without his permission. He was lucky that they respected his privacy. They were too busy with work to pay much attention to what he did anyway. He was a good kid, they knew that.

Maybe he would've been better off if he hadn't been so aloof about everything that was happening.

Whatever, it was too late for thoughts like that now.

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule

I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black

And I held my tongue as she told me,

Son, fear is the heart of love, so I never went back

- I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie

If you haven't realized, the big event takes place next chapter. Leave me a review please.

(Also, this is quite unexpected but I need to go on hiatus because my mental health isn't doing so well right now and everything is just a bit overwhelming.)