debauchery *gawsten* ✓

Chapter Sixteen

12.28.17
edit: 8.19.20
IT'S OTTO'S BIRTHDAY Y'ALL WOW WHAT A MAN

1,151 words

geoff p.o.v.

i followed otto back into the house with my head hung low. the very last thing i wanted to do was hurt awsten. i had a feeling that otto would watch me like a hawk for the next couple of days.

"oh, otto, geoff, there's somethin' i need to tell you two," mrs. wood said, stopping us in the kitchen.

"what is it, mum?" otto asked, already furrowing his eyebrows.

"awsten's badly hurt, you know." she said. "and...well, i don't think he can go to school tomorrow."

"mrs. wood, it's the last day of school before break." i said. "awsten would hate it if we had to miss it."

"i know he would, geoff, dear." she sighed. "and it'll just be him missin' school. i expect otto to still go."

otto groaned. "i know, mum."

"i just don't know what to do about it." she explained sadly. "i think he's keepin' somethin' from all of us. i can tell he's hurt more than he's lettin' us on to...haven't you noticed?"

"of course i have, mum." otto said indignantly. "he's my best friend; i hate that he's not helpin' us help him."

"do you want us to break the news for him?" i asked.

"would you, dear? i've got to get dinner ready."

otto and i dragged our feet when we walked to awsten's 'room.' i knocked on the door gently before i pushed it open.

awsten was facing away from the door. "awsten, are you awake?" i whispered. he turned over as a reply. even in the dimly lit room from the hall light, i could tell that he was crying.

"dude, what's up?" otto asked.

awsten closed his eyes and shook his head. i stepped closer to his bed to put a hand against his forehead. it wasn't hot, so he wasn't sick like i thought he was. awsten grabbed my arm with both blanket covered paws. he pulled me down onto the bed with him and pressed up against me.

"awsten, we have somethin' to tell you." otto said gently. awsten nodded against my chest.

"mrs. wood said that you can't go to school tomorrow." i told him. he moved his head back so that he could look in my eyes. "she thinks that you need to rest and go easy on your injuries." i continued.

awsten shook his head and started to push away from me. "awsten, don't even try to argue with her, we already did." otto said.

awsten pouted. "we'll still go," i assured him. "but maybe it's best if you stay and-"

rest? he signed. that's all i've been doing. i want to go to school.

"awsten, please just trust us on this." i begged. "i-i don't want you getting hurt anymore."

he watched me carefully. it was impossible to know what the natural blue was thinking. all otto and i could do was wait.

fine. awsten signed after what seemed like forever. whatever.

i got up from the bed to leave, but awsten grabbed my arm. otto had already walked out.

"what is it?" i asked awsten. he just looked at me with wide, sad eyes. "i can't stay in here, mrs. wood wouldn't like that very much."

awsten's puppy dog look increased. "i'll come back once everyone is in bed, okay?" i added. "that could be like, six hours though. are you alright with waiting that long?"

awsten shrugged and let go of my arm. i smiled and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. when i backed away, his eyes were closed.

******

i tiptoed down the stairs, my bare feet hardly making pitter noises on the wood floor. i just walked into awsten's room because he refused to have the door closed.

awsten was sitting up, playing on his phone. "that doesn't look like resting to me." i joked. he jumped at the sound of my voice and dropped his phone. he stuck his phone behind him, undoubtedly thinking that he was being slick.

"awsten, i saw your phone." i chuckled. i crawled onto the bed and sat under the blankets next to him. he instantly wrapped his arms around my neck, catching me completely by surprise.

awsten never made the first move to show anybody any sort of affection. he didn't seem like the affectionate type because he was always shying away from people who were.

"aws...what's up?" i whispered. "do you want to talk about it?" he shook his head and buried it in the crook of my neck. "hey, aws, look at me."

he did so without any further encouragement. then he did another thing that tossed me over the moon with surprise.

awsten knight closed his eyes and kissed me. i took only a few seconds to recollect myself before i kissed back. i cradled his face in my hands as his arms wrapped around my neck.

the kiss only lasted about ten seconds. i wasn't too bummed because i knew that this took a lot of courage for him to do. when i opened my eyes to look at him, there were tears glistening in his eyes. my heart sank.

"what happened? did i do something wrong?"

awsten shook his head. he kissed me again briefly and laid down facing me. i laid down too and held his hands that he had close to his chest. he scooted closer to me and pressed his face into my chest. it was another moment before i felt him shake and my shirt getting a little wet.

"woah, woah, awsten, slow down." i held him closer to me. for once, he didn't go rigid or try to push away when i touched him. "awsten, kissing isn't bad, okay?"

sometimes it was rough with awsten never talking. he didn't just up and tell me what was wrong. he just expressed it through tears and sign language.

i opted for just rubbing his back, which was not a good idea. awsten's back arched and he hissed, scaring me.

"awsten, what happened yesterday?" he shook his head vigorously. his sobbing got louder. "it isn't okay, whatever happened. you need to tell someone."

again, he shook his head. he had let go of my hands and started to ball his fists into my shirt. "will you tomorrow, when you've calmed down and rested?" i asked.

he shrugged, making me huff. "awsten, this is tearing you apart. it isn't good for you to keep it bottled up forever. i'm always here to listen, okay?"

he nodded. i knew that was going to be the most i would get out of him tonight, so i pulled the blankets closer around us and held him closer too. "lets both try to get some sleep, okay? i still have school tomorrow."

in no time, i heard soft snores come from awsten. it broke my heart to relive the past ten minutes. "i'll always be around." i whispered to him.