Death's Middle Name {boyxboy}

Chapter Three

~Tuesday 28th November 2017~

Alwynn liked Tuesdays, other than the weekend, they were his favourite days. His parents left for work early and returned late, he got to walk to school, and only had to stay there until lunch. Even though it did mean he had to work a longer shift at his job, he didn't really mind.

He locked the front door upon leaving, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, scolding himself for not picking up a pair of gloves. It seemed by the low temperatures that there might actually be snow by Christmas, unlike the past three years. As a child, Alwynn would have loved that, and didn't care to admit that, at seventeen, he very much still would.

Beginning his walk to the elementary school, Alwynn felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He debated ignoring the text until he had reached the school, not wanting to expose his hands to the freezing air, but wasn't sure whether it was urgent or not. Sighing, he collected the device from his back pocket and looked at the text.

Hudson: You couldn't come in an hour early, could you? Jeth's gonna be late, I'll double your wage. Alwynn rolled his eyes, wondering when his boss would finally pluck up the courage to actually fire Jethro. He may have been a good friend of Alwynn's but he was a terrible worker, always late or caught arguing with the customers.

Alwynn: I should be able to, might be a couple minutes late though. Alwynn had been told once by an old friend that he was the epitome of a doormat, allowing everyone to take advantage of his good, kind-hearted nature. He didn't believe them, yet the comment had stuck with him, and it resurfaced every time he agreed to something that, really, he didn't need to.

Hudson: You're a star, drinks are on me next time you come with Wist. Alwynn smiled, slipping his phone back into his pocket and rubbing his hands together, trying to stimulate the blood flow. He may have been a doormat but, the majority of the time, that worked in his favour.

Alwynn was particularly thankful for the overactive heating system the school had that morning, wading through the sea of children to hang up his coat. Alani and Dakoda seemed to be giggling together, looked as though both had already forgotten about Fate. If only that was how the real world worked, Alwynn thought to himself.

"Wynn, guess what?" Harrison tugged on Alwynn's sleeve, grinning up at him.

"Hmm, let me think," Alwynn crouched down, a smile seeping out onto his face, "is it someone's birthday today?" Harrison's jaw dropped open.

"How did you know?!" he exclaimed, completely awestruck.

"I have my ways," Alwynn chuckled, not wanting to ruin the little boy's excitement by mentioning that he had read the birthday chart their teacher kept, "come on, let's go get you a badge and you can pick something from the birthday basket," Harrison spun on his heel, bounding into the classroom and straight over to the back cupboard. Alwynn followed at a far more leisurely pace, despite the boy's pleas for him to be quick.

"What colour badge would you like, Harrison?" Alwynn asked, collecting the little box of stickers from the top shelf. Pin badges weren't the best idea with young children, stickers may fall off but at least they didn't draw blood.

"Orange!" Harrison insisted, sticking out his chest when Alwynn peeled back the sticker and bent down to press it against the navy fabric of his jumper, "thank you," he said in a far more subdued tone, grinning down at the circular sticker.

"And I'll let you pick something from here," Alwynn put the stickers back where he had found them and collected the blue basket filled with a variety of little items for the children to choose from on their birthdays. Of course, Harrison chose the stegosaurus, thanking Alwynn swiftly before running off to show his friends.