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 Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 8:47 pm
At this, Elliot just laughed softly. “Sorry, I didn’t even think about it. Not having a mom’s not a big deal to me. I never needed one. You haven’t mentioned your mom, either,” he pointed out, but only because it hadn’t seemed abnormal and he might not have even noticed until he thought about it.
“I’ll have to be better about making sure you know which dad I’m talking about. It’ll be easier once you meet them both. Thank you for always saying such nice things. You didn’t get that from your father, did you?”
It wasn’t a jab. He didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Chad was sweet, but if anyone had taught him that having two fathers was wrong, it was probably the guy who got rid of all of his art, or didn’t think it was important to make sure he spent enough time in the hospital after falling down the stairs.
He pursed his lips and reached into the bag, pulling out another tupperware container–garlic butter green beans. “--Oh, I like these. It’s just canned green beans, but they taste really good. There’s a cupcake in here, too. And some fried chicken. You can have the legs, those are the best. Oh, unless it’s not your favorite? It’s all good. I’ll let them know you said thanks. We always have a little extra, I’m glad we got to share. And we didn’t have to go anywhere to get it! Which is good, I really did want to get you something to eat but I didn’t want to leave you alone, or make you walk all the way there.”
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 9:00 pm
Chad pushed his feet against the ground so he could swing a little while he ate, although he was already very interested in the other food Elliot mentioned. He seemed a little surprised by how many options there were, but then again, Elliot had a lot to share at lunch, too.
“My mom had a really rough time,” Chad explained. “I don’t remember her much. Dad wasn’t very nice to her. They got into fights a lot. My grandma, dad’s mom, took care of me the most. But she passed away when I was in fifth grade, so, um… three years ago. My dad’s girlfriend lives with us, but she doesn’t really like me, I don’t think.”
It was probably why she gave him difficult things to eat. Maybe they want him to run away or… something…
“Dad’s a cop,” he admitted after a few moments of pushing what was left of the macaroni to the side so he could make room for the green beans and chicken legs, grateful to Elliot and his dads for being so kind.
“Grandma had health problems, otherwise she wouldn’t have lived with us. She said she wanted to take me away with her, but she couldn’t. I thought about running away before, but… if I did, I would only get in trouble. I don’t think dad likes me, either,” he confessed, his head lowered in shame.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 9:25 pm
There was a brief moment when Elliot’s nose wrinkled. “Sounds like your grandma was the only one with any sense. If you run away, come stay with me. My dad–Oliver–ran away and stayed with my other dad for a while. Then they moved to Destiny City together. If your family is giving you a hard time, all the more reason to just stick with me. Here,” he passed over a drumstick first, “So the skin’s still crispy, have this first.”
He still had to finish his macaroni and cheese so hastily took another mouthful and spoke around it, “I’m sorry about your grandma. She sounds like she really cared about you.”
His father should have cared about him. And his father’s girlfriend. Instead of giving him cans of corn for lunch, or–Elliot was angry. He didn’t understand all of it, but he understood that Chad had been treated unfairly, and he was confused about how anyone could be so cruel.
Honestly, his whole mind felt a little scrambled, and his face was hot. He hoped Chad knew that most people weren’t like that, but–then, maybe that was why he was so nervous around anyone? It didn’t make sense. At all.
“What was she like?”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 12:56 pm
“Oh, she was very nice,” Chad said as he graciously took the drumstick and poked at the skin. He took a little bite since Elliot said the skin was crispy, as though if he wasted too much time he wouldn’t be able to experience the full taste. It was delicious when it was crispy, and he felt a little guilty when he took a bigger bite and had to make sure he swallowed before continuing.
“She was a ballerina when she was younger, but then when she got married she ended up staying home to raise the family. Grandpa died before I was born. I never met my mom’s family. But Grandma loved all things art and music and dance. She liked seeing musicals and plays. We used to watch them on the television since she couldn’t leave the house much. I tried putting on plays for her, but it was difficult as one person, so I made puppets. It wasn’t really good, but she seemed to like it.”
He smiled as he spoke about her, but it was obvious that he missed her. There was definitely less of a barrier between him and his father now.
“Thank you, Elliot. You barely even know me but you’ve been so kind to me already. I’d be afraid of what would happen if I ran away and I was found hiding at your house. I don’t want anything to happen to you or your dads.”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 1:09 pm
Elliot had moved onto a chicken wing; it wasn’t the best piece in the group but he’d picked it for a reason. “Well. Then we’d just have to make sure you didn’t get found,” he shrugged. “But I understand. Just, you’re not in this alone, okay? I’m sorry your dad doesn’t understand. He doesn’t sound like he wants to. But I don’t have to know him to know that you deserve better.”
He didn’t know Chad. Hardly at all. He was a thousand mysteries wrapped up with a small, shy little smile, and Elliot wondered why he’d never thought to get to know him before. He had all these little puzzle pieces but he was still missing so many.
He didn’t know Chad. But he wanted to.
It was exciting to meet someone new. Sort of. Familiar but unknown. There, but unseen. Maybe a part of him felt guilty because they hadn’t met before now. He was friends with nearly everyone in his class, and even though Chad wasn’t in his class, he felt like he had a lot of time to make up for.
“It was really sweet that you did so much for her. It sounds like you’ve always been creative. I’m–I’m really sorry about all of your art. Is there anything I can do? You know, I’ve got some art supplies at home, I could bring them to school tomorrow. They’re not the best, but I don’t really do anything with them.”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 5:20 pm
Chad glanced up from his chicken, considering Elliot’s offer. But he ended up shaking his head.
“Um… would you mind if you kept those things at your place? And… maybe I could come over… I don’t have a lot of time during school, and nowhere to really do any art once I get home, so… Oh, but I mean, if you want to get rid of things, I can definitely take them. Thank you for offering! I would love to use them. That’s really kind of you.”
He was upset about losing all his art, or at least everything he’d been hiding in his room. But he would just take it as an opportunity to do better. And if he had someone to do art for, then he was sure it would be a million times better than it was before.
“It’s not your fault, Elliot. I should have been more careful, but… I know he would have found everything sooner or later. I didn’t know he would take everything if he saw it. Sometimes he acts like he doesn’t care, and other times it feels like he wants to make sure I’m only doing what he wants me to do,” he said quietly, and then jumped a little as a loud frog croaked nearby. He laughed, of course, because it was silly for him to get so startled.
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 5:39 pm
“Oh,” Elliot said, squinting into the darkness, but he laughed too. “That spooked me, too. It gets creepy at night. What with all the wild animals. Bears and all.”
There weren’t any bears, he knew it was just his imagination. But still.
“That whole thing with your father sounds really confusing. And really stressful. I just don’t think you did anything wrong so it’s hard for me to think it could have been your fault at all. So–yeah, we can keep the supplies at my place, of course you can come over and use them. I’ll keep your art safe.” Which was even better than him giving them to Chad because it meant he could come over! “And we can study, too. I mean, if you don’t have to go home after school, you can come over. We’ll have a snack. My dad–Oliver–can help, too. See if he can teach you things to make testing easier. You’ll have all the cupcakes you want. And maybe we can play video games or something. Watch movies. You know, friend things. Just have fun. I’ve told my parents about you. Not much! Just, you know. That I made a new friend.”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 5:57 pm
“I thought you might have since your dad knew my name,” Chad said a bit sheepishly as he smiled at Elliot before taking another large bite of his chicken. He’d definitely needed it to get some energy back.
Chad wasn’t sure what was going on with his father, but he knew that his father didn’t like him, and his girlfriend didn’t like him either, so he tried to stay away as often as possible, but if he stayed away for too long, he would be reprimanded. He didn’t think he would be punished too harshly since he’d just been in the hospital but--
Well, no… they hadn’t given him anything to eat all day, so he supposed that was punishment enough. Being able to go to school and see Elliot was probably Chad’s biggest motivation at the moment.
“I would really like that,” he admitted. “I haven’t done any of that before, so I hope you won’t mind teaching me?”
And he hoped he wasn’t keeping Elliot away from his other friends. Chad didn’t want to seem selfish and keep Elliot all for himself. Although he really wanted to.
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 6:14 pm
“Any of that?” Elliot asked incredulously, but was quick to reassure, “I won’t mind spending time with you, if you haven’t done any of that before it just means that I have the pleasure of introducing you to it all. So we’ll have a good time. I still want to hang out at school, though. Maybe when you get comfortable with me I can introduce you to my other friends? Although, I suppose the school year will be up soon. Do you know what high school your dad wants you to go to? I wonder if it’s too late to get you enrolled in Azure. It would be nice to have a friend going to the same school as me. Most of my friends are going to Meadowview. To be honest, I am a little jealous. But my parents are excited. It’ll be easier on them if I go there, since they both work there.”
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and swung with a bit more enthusiasm–a little dangerous, given how he was still balancing all of the food, but he seemed confident that he wasn’t going to spill any of it. “I guess on the plus side, I’m guaranteed a spot on the baseball team! And track. It’ll be better for my education and all, but. If we’re being honest, I’m a little anxious. You know, Valleyboys and all. But at least the teachers there like me. We’ll still be friends even if we go to different schools, right? I mean, we live so close to each other, anyway. And we’ll have all summer, too.”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 6:25 pm
Chad flushed, because he had obviously watched movies, but he hadn’t done it with a friend. He didn’t have any video games to play, and friend things…? What even was that?
But Elliot didn’t seem to mind that he was not experienced in many things. He appreciated that a lot about Elliot. He never made Chad feel bad about it, even if he probably suspected that Chad was exaggerating. And maybe he was a little, but he certainly didn’t have a lot of things associated with friendship.
He was afraid of his father finding out, but… maybe they would be lucky.
“Oh… I’m going to Meadowview. Dad wouldn’t want to pay for Azure, and my test scores were too low for any scholarships,” he admitted, feeling a little defeated now that it was even more of a reality that he probably wouldn’t see much of Elliot during the school day. And then what if his parents had work to do and kept him at school?
“That’s exciting that you get to be on the baseball team though! And track, of course. I’ll be sad I won’t be able to see as many of your games or track meets… or debates… but I’ll try to see as many as I can!” And he would try to not be upset about it.
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 6:42 pm
“It’s not too late to try and fix your grades. I don’t know how much nepotism plays a hand in Azure–probably a lot, let’s be honest–but. I don’t know. We’ll see how things go.”
He nibbled a bit more, mindful not to ever take a large mouthful just to make sure he could keep talking around it. “High school’s only four years, anyway. Maybe by then you’ll have figured out what you want to go to college for. Once you turn eighteen it won’t matter if your dad doesn’t like art or not, you can do whatever you want. Even if you go to Meadowview, I hope you’ll be able to come to some of the after school programs at Azure. Even if that means I have to drive over to Meadowview and pick you up when I turn sixteen. But my dad–that is, Asher–and another teacher have an after school program there. Like, to help you prep for adult living and all. There’s a lot of resources, like not just financial aid and all? But they can help you find scholarships, and internships, and part time jobs. Help you with college applications, figuring out taxes, you know. All sorts of adult things.”
Of course his father had packed two water bottles, and he couldn’t help but smile as he passed one over. He was pretty sure he could stay out here for as long as Chad wanted to, but he wanted to at least make sure he got to eat, and maybe take some medicine to make sure he was more comfortable.
Even if he didn’t know Chad well, it didn’t lessen how much Elliot wanted to know him–or wanted to help him. They didn’t have to know each other that well for him to want to be a friend. Elliot would have done it for any of the friends he’d already had if they needed it, but Chad was different. He knew he was special. Sweet, in a way that made him want to make sure he was happy, and–
Well, he didn’t understand it. He didn’t really think he had to, either.
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 6:51 pm
He didn’t want to get his hopes up. He regretted that his grades weren’t that good, because now that he knew Elliot was definitely going to Azure, Chad felt miserable. It was a good thing for Elliot, of course! So he wasn’t going to complain. But he was sad that he would once again have lunches by himself and have to wait until after school to see him.
That was really selfish of him, though. He knew he should just support Elliot in going to Azure, but it didn’t stop his heart from feeling like it was breaking.
“That’s really nice that your dad helps teach things like that. I definitely don’t know how to do anything. Anything I’ve learned I’ve either figured out for myself or -- I mean, teachers at school, yes. But, um, my dad isn’t really big on teaching me important life skills.”
At least none that would help him succeed.
He was happy, listening to Elliot, though. He was eating a nice meal and not feeling so weak any more because of it. Chad didn’t like feeling that way, but he suspected it was intentional…
“I’ll do my best to be wherever you are. I like being with you,” he admitted, his face still a bit red. “And not just because you always have really good food,” he added with a laugh.
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 7:02 pm
Elliot couldn’t help but laugh when Chad did; it felt natural. Comfortable. It was easy to laugh with him, like it just bubbled up. That time, he didn’t have to worry that he was laughing too loud or too enthusiastically, it just came out gentle.
“I like being with you, too. And if your dad isn’t big on teaching you important life skills, my dads will. I don’t know what it is about you, Chad, but. I don’t know. I can’t figure out why I never talked to you before. I wish I had, though. You’re really sweet. And I feel really bad about all of your art, and that you got hurt, too.”
Even if it wasn’t his fault, he still felt bad. His friend was sad, and hurt. It didn’t have to be more complex than that.
“I know it won’t bring back your old art, but I’m glad we can go make some new art. I’m not good, maybe you can teach me some, too. It’ll be fun.”
Was he dreaming too big? Maybe. He was still in the pleasant glow of having just made a new friend–someone he liked, and who he still had so much to learn about. He’d found himself thinking of Chad often, wondering what he was doing, what he might like. Worrying about if he was doing okay.
“We’ll spend lots of time together. Especially if you’re not doing anything over the summer? We’re only gone for a week and a half or two, then I don’t have any plans. I mean, I’d like to go to the reservoir some. I like to go hiking. And swimming. I like to spend time outside. But there’s a lot we could do. Maybe we could go to a gallery sometime, or see a musical or a show or something. If you liked those things!”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 7:10 pm
Chad was glad it was dark. He wasn’t sure if the redness in his cheeks would die down any time soon. Not when Elliot was saying such nice things to him and calling him sweet and wishing he’d talked to him before.
“I would really like to spend time with you. And it’s not your fault about my art,” he promised with a smile, his voice soft. He was still pretty flustered, but his heart felt warm. “I could have tried talking to you, too. I’ve… I’ve always admired you. I hope that doesn’t sound weird. I’ve always thought you were a good person.”
Maybe that was too much for him to share. What if he was going to scare Elliot off? What if Elliot thought he was some weird stalker? He wasn’t! Well, he did watch Elliot from a distance, but it wasn’t like he knew where he lived until now! Not that he was going to go bother him all the time, but it was a relief -- and Elliot offered!
“In third grade, some of the boys were picking on me because my hair was longer back then. My grandma didn’t care if my hair was long, unlike my dad. He always said it made me look like a girl. Um, anyway. They tried stealing my backpack which… okay, yeah, it had some flowers on it, and I guess usually girls like that stuff. Oh, but the point is… you were with your friends and came to my rescue. Told them to knock it off and got my bag back. But… after that, grandma thought it would be safer for me to cut my hair and get a more, um, traditional backpack. So… I was embarrassed and didn’t get a chance to say thank you.”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 7:23 pm
Elliot remembered. He hadn’t put the two things together; it was a distant memory in a sea of choices. His eyes snapped to Chad. “Oh! I do remember you, yeah! That was a while ago!”
A long while ago. He wondered how much it must have meant to Chad for him to remember it like that. It had faded significantly in Elliot’s mind, it had just been the right thing to do.
“I hope you weren’t too embarrassed, it wasn’t fair. They were ganging up on you. You had pretty hair. I mean, your hair looks nice now, but I thought you looked really pretty. But not like a girl. Just pretty. I don’t remember the flowers on your backpack, but I’m sorry you had to get a boring one. I also have a boring one. But I like it, it was my dad’s. Oliver. He said every time I wear it, it’s like he’s giving me a hug.”
At this, Elliot laughed. “I really liked that when I had to go to school. I missed them a lot. So I’d just run around with this really big backpack so I could pretend it was him hugging me. I guess it sounds silly. But,” he just smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know, I don’t even care if it’s silly. I still think that way. That’s really flattering, um. You know, the things you said. My head’s kinda swimmy after hearing that. Thank you.”
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