Please Don't Tell My Parents - Espresseleine Highschool Au

♡Chapter 8♡

Almost every day after school, Espresso took the bus with Madeleine to his house. He loved his house so much more than his own. Every time he stepped into his house, he felt so relieved to be greeted by no TVs at full volume or drunk parents on the couch. It was the best.

And Madeleine's mom was so nice too. She was kind and caring and let Espresso stay over whenever.

Espresso sat at Madeleine's desk, organizing a bunch of papers for the presentation. Today was Friday, and it was deep in the evening. The sun had begun to set and was casting a beautiful red glow into the room. Espresso smiled. "I can't believe we've made this much progress," He said.

"I know, right? We're just amazing like that." Madeleine grinned, doing a goofy little hair flip as Espresso laughed. Madeleine glanced at the time before looking back at Espresso. "Do you want to take a little break?"

Espresso nodded. "I do need to get home soon, though," He said as he stood up, stretching. "My parents won't be too happy if I stay out late."

Madeleine stepped over to his bed, lying down on it. Espresso sat next to him.

"So," Madeleine said. "Your face looks like it's healing."

Espresso reached up to touch his face. It was still cut slightly from his father, but the cuts and bruises were healing, thankfully. "Yeah," He mumbled.

Madeleine thought for a moment. "That's so terrible people would hurt you."

Espresso looked at him, blushing. It sounded like Madeleine really cared about him.

"I don't get why anyone would hurt you. You're kind... And really smart! And it's all because people think we're dating." Madeleine shook his head. "That's so stupid..."

Espresso nodded. "I agree," He said, leaning back on Madeleine's bed. "It is stupid." He hesitated for a moment before sighing. "I hate the rumors. I'm so worried my parents will find out."

"My mom knows," Madeleine said. "I told her."

"You told your mom?!" Espresso gasped. "And she's not mad?"

"Of course she's not mad." Madeleine sat up, looking at Espresso. He tilted his head slightly. "Why would she be mad? They're just rumors. I told her we weren't actually dating."

Silence filled the room as Espresso processed those words. "...My parents would kill me if they found out," Espresso said as he tensed up a little. He didn't want to think about what would happen if Mother and Father found out about the rumors. "They wouldn't believe me if I said they were just rumors."

"Are your parents homophobic?"

Espresso nodded. "Yeah," He whispered. "Especially my father. I remember one time he threatened to throw me out if I ever turned out gay."

Madeleine's eyes widened. "That's terrible! Your father sounds scary."

Espresso looked at him, regretting having brought up his father. He knew Madeleine would be worried now. "H-He's a little scary," Espresso mumbled. "But it's okay. He just... Mean sometimes. Only sometimes, though!" He reassured him. His breathing got faster as he tried to shut himself up. He was making this whole thing worse.

Madeleine stared at him as he noticed how scared he was getting as he talked about his father. "What else does your father do?"

"Nothing," Espresso quickly said, looking down at the floor. "Nothing. He's... He's just a little strict, that's all." Tears stung the backs of his eyes as he tried to calm his breathing.

Madeleine stayed silent.

"I-I should probably get home." Espresso stood up, putting the papers back in his backpack with a shaky hand. "My... My p-parents wouldn't like it if I stayed out too late." He tensed up. "I shouldn't have said that." He thought. "I shouldn't have mentioned my parents again."