Mr. Melancholy (Gus x Matt)

10. Nemesism

(⚠️TW!! Mentions of alcohol and adults being drunk!!! Language ⚠️)

Gus:

Throughout the movie, Gus kept glancing over at Matt. He couldn't help but worry about him. First, he wasn't there during lunch; Second, he was acting really strange during history; Third, he just had a fucking panic attack and came to him for help;

Gus wanted to help Matt, and if this was how he could help, then he'll do just what he's doing now. Gus glanced over at Matt again. He and Matt made quick eye contact before both of them looked away immediately.

Matt:

All too soon, the movie ended. Matt did admit, he felt better, but not much better.

Gus looked at Matt, he looked like he wanted to say something, but hesitated. "Are you okay Gus?" Matt asked, turning to face Gus.

Gus looked embarrassed and nodded. "I was just wondering..." Gus hesitated again before asking, "what happened? I mean- you don't need to tell me; it's just that you've been acting weird all day and I'm kind of worried..."

Matt suddenly felt guilty, he didn't want Gus to worry about unimportant things like that. "It's not important, really," Matt stated, fidgeting with his hands.

"Oh, sorry," Gus apologized.

"What are you apologizing for?" Matt asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Oh, well I just- I don't know. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize Gus."

"Sor-"

"Shh," Matt whispered, putting his finger to his lips, "you don't need to apologize for anything. If anyone needs to apologize for anything it's me."

"What do you need to apologize for?" Gus asked, tilting his head sideways the same way Matt had done moments prior.

"Well, it was my fault that I had a panic attack and came here and made you all worried and I disturbed you and-" Matt's rambling was cut off by Gus.

Gus put his finger up to his mouth and said, "Shh, you don't need to apologize for that. Plus, it wasn't your fault. And that's what friends are for, helping each other when they need it."

Gus flashed Matt a comforting smile which made him relax.

The two boys sat in silence for a minute.

Gus piped up first. "Not to be invasive or anything, but do you want to talk about it? About what happened? I just know that sometimes it can help to talk about whatever is on your mind sometimes and... I don't know if it'd help you at all but yeah." Gus asked his question calmly and cautiously, careful of his tone and speech.

Matt thought about it for a bit. "Maybe another time, it's just... a lot for me to process right now, y'know?"

"Of course, I understand," Gus assured.

"I'd love to stay, I really would, but my mom is probably going to want me back home..." Matt sighed, standing up.

"It's okay"

"See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," Gus said with a smile, "Just remember that you can always come to me if you need help with anything."

Matt nodded and quietly mumbled, "Thank you so much."

They waved goodbye to each other, and once Matt was walking down the sidewalk, Gus slowly closed the door.

Gus stayed by the door for a while, he was secretly hoping that Matt would come back and they could hang out more, but he knew that he was being ridiculous.

After about 5 minutes of Gus standing silently by the door, he walked over to the couch and grabbed the blankets. He took them back up to his room, tossing a random one in his closet and wrapping the other one around himself.

"Well, I guess you didn't scare him off Gus," he mumbled to himself, burying himself in the orange blanket. He turned on his scroll and texted Willow, wanting to get his mind in the right headspace.

Matt:

Matt dreaded returning home.

It was bad enough that his mom was dating someone, but now she brought him to the house!

Matt cursed silently at his mom before he opened the door to his house. When he opened the door, he wasn't surprised when he saw his mom drunk on the couch snuggled up next to her new boyfriend, who was also drunk.

"MatT! WhEre weRe yOU," his mom slurred, lazily turning to him.

"I was at a study group," Matt responded, keeping up with his lie from earlier. He heard his mom say some rather bad words and she went back to her boyfriend.

Matt rolled his eyes and walked upstairs to his room to escape what was going on downstairs. Once he got to his room, he closed the door and got out his makeshift door lock. He placed it by the door so his mom couldn't come into his room.

Matt tiptoed over to his bed and hid under the covers. "Why me," he whispered to himself, burying his face in his blanket.

Tears began to form in the eyes of the brown-haired boy. He let them flow down his cheeks as he silently cried.

He cried because he hated his mom.

He cried because he hated himself.

He cried because he hated himself for hating his mom.

He just wanted to be better, to be loved...

Just as Matt was about to drift off to sleep, he heard a *ding* come from his scroll. He wiped his eyes and checked to see what it was. He smiled when he saw it was a message from Gus, it read:

Gus: "I'm sorry that today was rough. Hopefully, tomorrow is better, and if it isn't, you can come over to my house again and we can watch another sitcom :)"

Matt: "Thanks, that would be nice :)"

Matt's eyes filled with more tears as he reread Gus' message. For some reason, Gus' kindness seemed to make his heart hurt even more.

Tears spilled down the scrawny boy's face and he clutched his scroll close to his chest as silent sobs wracked his body.

Matt heard a small "mrow" as Estelle leaped onto his bed, concerned for her person. She sauntered over to his face and sat down in front of him. She slowly bent down and sniffed his face. She spotted an opening in the blanket and crawled under the covers. She circled around a few times before poking her head out of the hole and laying down.

Matt smiled slightly at his cat, she was the best cat anyone could ever wish for. She always knew how to cheer him up when he was at his worst, and he would always be grateful for that.

(End scene)

No notes for this chapter again, hope you enjoyed it!

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