I don't own the Breakfast Club

A/N: Just a little note that this chapter has some trigger warnings.

Enjoy!

Brian was in his room sitting by his desk as he scribbled down an answer for a math question. No matter how much he tried to distract his thoughts from his upcoming detention, it always went to the same topic. When his mother picked him up this afternoon, she had given him an earful. Brian wished that he could vanish in thin air and not have to hear her words, but the car had such a limited surface area that there was no place where he could hide.

"I can't believe this…your reputation ruined just because of a stupid decision…this is the worst thing that you have done to yourself…how could you?...what is the matter with you?...what do you have to say for yourself?...what's wrong with you?"

Those questions were the ones that Brian didn't know the answer to. If he could only have the courage and tell his parents why he had done it. He had looked at his mother as she spewed those question and all he saw was a judgmental woman. Where was the kind and nurturing mother that he had before? What about his father? Where had his kindness run off to?

"Brian!" he heard his mother calling downstairs, "young man get down here. Dinner is ready."

Brian flinched at her tone of voice. Even joining his family for dinner sounded stressful. He pushed back his chair and headed downstairs. His father was seated at the head of the table on the right and his mother on the left. His little sister was already seated at her seat and Brian set across from her. Beef stroganoff and a salad on the side. Brian would have enjoyed it if he didn't feel so sick to his stomach.

Ever since he had tried to do it, the days that followed he contemplated how things would be if he was not here anymore. He wouldn't see his family, he wouldn't see his friends, he wouldn't even be seating at this table. He took a good look at his family as his father forked food in his mouth and his mother took care of his sister. There would be an empty chair at this table…and he didn't know if it would be present or if his parents would have removed it.

"Why aren't you eating?" he looked up when his little sister asked him that question.

Such an innocent question…and he hoped that his sister remained that way when she reached his age. The last thing he wanted was for his parents to turn her into another version of himself…he would hate them for that! "I will in a bit," he said to her with a small smile, "the food is too hot."

Indeed it was. Steam from the food wafted into the atmosphere around them. "You better eat it before it gets cold young man," his mother said, "I didn't slave away in the kitchen to have you eat it cold."

Am I also a disappointment for not eating food at the right temperature? Brian wanted to throw his arms in the air and give up. However, he didn't want to make a spectacle out of himself in front of his parents or his sister. "Sure mom," he said as he picked up his fork and began to eat the food. His tongue burned the moment that the food touched his tongue, and he pushed through the pain and swallowed.

So that was like what the words that his parents flung at him today felt like. Scorching hot and painful.

"So Brian," his father spoke up and looked at his son, "through all of this, what lesson did you learn?"

Brian was caught off guard when he heard those words. It wasn't the usual question of 'what did you learn in school today, son?' but more like 'what did you learn from the fault that you inflicted upon yourself, school property, and your family?'

"Well?" his mother spoke up, "answer your father young man!"

Brian slightly flinched at his mother's tone of voice. "I learned that it wasn't a good idea to bring a flare gun into school."

His mother shook his head and looked at her husband. "I don't know what possessed him to do that. Brining a flare gun to school."

"Despicable," his father commented with a shake of his head and forked some more food into his mouth.

Brian wanted to give both of his parents a glare from the comments that they made. However, he kept his eyes focused on his sister who was not bothering to pay attention to the conversation. She had no curiosity about what was going on…and Brian was glad about that. There were just some things that she didn't need to know, let alone this whole situation that he had bought upon himself.

Brian's mother looked from her husband and then at her son. "Well, what have you got to say for yourself?" she asked him.

Can't you please just leave me alone? he wanted to ask her. However, he couldn't find the courage in those words to speak up. "I'm sorr—" his voice cracked and then he cleared his throat before saying, "I'm sorry."

His father lightly scoffed at that. "I wish I could accept your apology, but it's not going to fix anything."

"It's going to take a long time for us to trust you again," his mother jumped into the conversation. "Now finish your food and finish your homework."

That was exactly what Brian did. He finished his food and didn't bother to get a second helping of the dinner. After he was finished, he headed straight to his bedroom and shut the door behind him. He sat down by his desk and before he knew it, he could feel his eyes starting to well up. He placed his hand on his head and grabbed a handful of his hair as if that would stop him from crying.

Why couldn't his parents see that the words that he inflicted upon him were not going to make him any better than he already was? Why couldn't they just be happy? Why couldn't they understand that they were the reason that he was willing to do it?

The bedroom door slowly creaked and Brian turned around to see who it was. It was his little sister as she walked into his room. "Mary what are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I came to say goodnight," she said to him wish a small shrug. When she saw her brother lightly smiling at her, she asked, "Brian, what does des—des…picable mean?"

The way she tried to pronounce the word was endearing but the fact that she had heard their father say that was another story. "It means someone who's awful," Brian explained to her.

"I don't think you're awful," Mary said to him.

At least he had someone in the family who didn't think of him to be that way. "Thanks sis," he said to her, "now head on to bed before mom and dad find out you're not there."

It's like she knew that something might be going on with him. The next thing she did was approach Brian and give him a quick hug before skipping off to her room. Even though dinner had its own tensions, he was glad that he had someone in the family who was showing some form of kindness.