BOYS OF SUBURBIA [boy x boy] [Wattys 2018]

✗ FOURTY-FIVE ✗

His results finally came.

They weren't great. While he certainly wasn't rock-bottom failing, he definitely did not achieve the pinnacle of what he used to be able to perform. Amongst the many average marks of Bs and Cs and As, there was only three A stars. Disappointment welled in his stomach and he crumpled his report, stuffing into his drawer of miscellaneous things and hoped his mother never asked what he got. With Greg's frequent absences and lack of sobriety, his mother didn't need any more heartbreak.

He wondered if he should retake any of his exams- okay, maybe all of them- and then put those results to decide what he wanted to do for his A Levels. Puffing out a deep sigh, he shelved the thoughts of exams and considerations of becoming a hobo to a place in his mind where he'll touch it later. Then his phone lit up, his lock screen igniting with a new notification.

With a jolt, he leaned over to see who had messaged him and it turned out to be...Arissa?

She hadn't spoken a word to him since she asked him to come to Denise's funeral. The blood etched in his fingers suddenly turned cold at the philandering thought of Denise straying into the conscious part of his brain. God, it's been almost three months since her death.

He unlocked his phone to see the message. Hey, we need to talk.

Why?

Luckily, she was online so she typed back just as quick: I'll tell you why. Just meet me at Mamounia.

Confusion muddled in his mind but he grabbed a sweater tossed indifferently onto his chair. He zipped himself up, slipped his phone and wallet into his pockets, then head out of his room. As he closed the door to his room, Violet was coming out as well, all decked out in black and lace tights. Fuschia smeared her lips marvellously. "Where you going?" she arched an eyebrow, her electric blue eyes, identical to his, narrowing on him. "Out to do your boyfriend?"

He rolled his eyes at her, pursed his lips, and replied with a clipped tone: "I'm just meeting a friend. She's a girl."

"Aren't you gay?"

He flipped her the bird before he picked his way down the hallway of their house. Violet snickered, "I'm just joking!"

His middle finger made a second reappearance and he could practically feel Violet smirking, "Love you, brother."

Since it was May, the chilly weather of Bristol was balmy and bearable so Sebastian took it upon himself go headfirst into the brisk morning air. He pulled his flannel tighter against himself as another gust of wind rustled his hair and roused some pink into his cheeks and nose. It was one thing if you were waiting in the cold for the bus, but it was a whole different story when you were walking into the belly of the beast - more like the ice cube up Mother Nature's ass.

It was weird how different a landscape could appear from night to day. He'd walked - well, ran - this same stretch of the neighborhood last night when he and Niko was racing each other across his neighbourhood, with a bottle of stolen Smirnoff hid under Niko's jacket from the convenience store, running like their pants on fire and collapsing into laughter when they reached his bedroom, filled with the disbelief they managed to pull that off. He remembered drinking straight alcohol, kissing Niko till their lips were purple and then Rae- Niko's sister exploding onto Niko's phone, demanding Niko to come back home immediately because a two-nights sleepover at Sebastian's place was simply unacceptable.