[chris sturniolo x fem!oc]
"You got a lighter by any chance, sweetheart?"
𝘰𝘳
in which Chris's disobedience lands him with a girl beneath the stars.
> rated mature for swearing, smoking etc. no sexual content.
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*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Chris had a habit of getting into bad habits, the poor thing couldn't help it: it was just simply in his nature. Especially when he hit a low, though. His mind scrounged for something to drown out the white noise that cursed his ears day by day and when it found something it clung to it like a newborn to its mother, hooked on the feeling. Addicted if you will. It was just a tad bit worse when the habit was illegal, and would most definitely send his parents into an irreversible state of mania. They were always so worried about him, knowing he was prone to falling into the wrong crowds and they prayed every day his brothers didn't follow suit. Watching over one like a hawk was enough let alone three. Chris never liked to scare his parents, the guilt would swallow him whole whenever he'd hear his mum crying to his dad because she didn't know what to do with him. And that's exactly why he went an extra couple of miles to hide his habits now.
Not even Matt or Nick knew what he was doing these days, it just simply wasn't a risk he was willing to take. They were once the rock that tethered him to the ground and kept him from floating away, but two teen boys could only do so much. Not to mention they were concerned too, Nick was always on his ass about how unsafe his antics were and Matt tried convincing him to rejoin the Lacrosse team he'd quit just to give him something else to do. They both knew he was phenomenal and could probably go pro but Chris hadn't a care in the world for the sport these days. It was a sad ordeal, having grown up playing all through middle and high school alongside his brother, his spark just wasn't there anymore. There wasn't a spark for anything in the boy anymore. The sweet twinkle to his eye and the ray of sunshine that was his smile was long gone, leaving nothing but an empty, soulless face to bear the world.
"Oh, Christopher"
The second he'd finished locking the door behind him, a sort of hushed shout startled him from the kitchen. His head shot up to see his mother nursing a mug of what he could only assume was the herbal tea she always drank in the evening with a book to hand, though now she'd folded a corner and put it down so she could wipe her eyes and glasses. She wasn't crying, her eyes simply ached from being wide open for so long, but Chris knew it was only a matter of time before the floodgates lost their grip. Every night ended like this, with him sneaking through the kitchen door to find someone waiting impatiently for his return which was almost always his mother. On occasion his father joined her for comfort and out of his own fears for his son, even Nick and Matt sometimes did despite having school with him barely a few hours later. His family's faces always got to him, making him choke on his breath and his heart stutter with guilt when he saw the distressed tears and the sighs of disappointment. He couldn't bare to look up at his mother let alone make eye contact with her but he could feel her burning stare and the longing for their eyes to meet just made his chest ache more and more.
"Why on earth are you soaking wet, where's your jacket? Silly boy..."
It'd started absolutely pouring with rain on his run home. The forecast had lied to him and said there was no rain for the next few days so the gentle stroll he planned for his return had turned out to be a marathon and a half while the weather took its anger out on him. Yeah, giving Tori his hoodie was definitely a bad idea looking back on it, but how was he supposed to predict the rain? He'd rather be soaked and dripping all over the kitchen tiles than let her freeze and get hypothermia or some illness Chris could never pronounce. It was a crazy statement sure, sacrificing your own health and your parents' homely decor for a girl you'd spoken all of ten words to was some batshit crazy behaviour if he'd ever seen it. Yet, he couldn't care any less.
The boy closed his eyes as his mum gently scrubbed his hair with a towel he hadn't even noticed her grabbing to stop it from dripping everywhere; she tried to be gentle because despite all the pain he caused her each day he was her baby boy and she couldn't bare to hurt him even if it was a simple accident when drying his hair. She must admit it was a difficult task though what with Chris being still and unresponsive as a mannequin, the lack of free-flowing movement meant she had to be a little rough. He seemed to pay no mind as his eyes fluttered shut, feeling the exhaustion of the night begin to weigh down on him and leaning into his mum's hold. The rain was still dripping off of his soaked clothes and the feeling of sopping fabric on the woman's skin made her cringe and grit her teeth but something so minuscule didn't actually matter in moments like these. Chris was an affectionate person at heart, he just found it so hard to show it when he was in a free fall. Fleeting moments of love and pure joy were his favourite things in the world, the ones with his mother always meant more though. Nothing mattered when she held him in her arms, not any of his foolishness or the tears she shed, the world was silent. He just wished life was always like that.
His mum had cried into his shoulder for a while and neither of them said a word, mostly because although he'd never admit it the boy had shed a few tears too and both were choking on air in between. Afterwards, she'd sent him to bed with the promise of yet another conversation tomorrow, one he'd completely zone out in and his father would probably raise his voice, so he wasn't looking forward to that. What he was looking forward to was snuggling up in the warmth of his bed even if it was only for two hours before he had to wake again. On the way to his room he'd passed the bathroom where a light was on, unusual for the household at 4 am, so he peeked inside and found Nick brushing his teeth. The older had been up editing their next YouTube video even though he'd planned to have gone to sleep hours before as Matt had, he was kind of grateful he did now though because he'd finally beat Chris.
