Hard To See (Gawsten)

twenty-one

Holy SHIT this is so long overdue!! I'm so sorry!! So much has happened irl it's been crazy.

I wanna say a direct apology to everyone who commented asking for an update that I replied "coming soon" to. That was such a lie omg I'm so sorry.

Anyway, let's get back to it!!

***

Geoff unlocks the door and makes his way into the downstairs apartment by himself. He dumps his bookbag on the couch and goes to the kitchenette. Grabbing a granola bar, he surveys the empty apartment.

Something feels off. Not exactly in a bad way, but just in a different way. The brunet just can't put his finger on what it is, though.

Awsten is staying after school for tutoring. It's a one-time thing since he's only slightly behind. A lot has been happening and retaining information is hard when things are going on in the background. Jawn suggested the tutoring and Geoff encouraged it. That's not what's different, though.

The basement is so quiet. It's missing something. The brunet sits down with a book and decides to let it go. He assumes that whatever is missing will find it's way back.

***

Gerard's phone goes off, and Mr. Way- his brother- sends him a stern look. "Awsten is trying to focus, Gerard. Mute it."

"Okay, Mikey," the red-haired boy mumbles out with an eye-roll. He silences his phone and tries to entertain himself while his brother goes over another latin dec-whatever chart with Awsten.

After another thirty minutes, Mr. Way makes his way out of the room to grab a textbook from the storage closet.

Awsten sits quietly and waits for him to come back. Gerard looks up at him, and the blond boy sends him a friendly smile. The two share a class together, and Gerard has been his partner on multiple projects in the past.

"So did Kellin ever beat the shit outta Geoff, or?" The red-haired boy asks, and Awsten's smile drops. Huh?

"Uh, not that I'm aware of. What d'you mean?"

Gerard kicks his feet up onto a desk and tilts his chair back. "Kells was after him a while ago. Said he had to handle a situation with him. From what I heard recently, it was about you."

The blond boy shrugs his shoulders as Mr. Way comes back into the classroom.

Gerard turns his attention back to his phone, and Mr. Way places a textbook in front of Awsten- who makes a mental note to text Kellin later.

***

The red-haired boy and his curly-haired counterpart bounce into the quiet apartment. They'd just found their way back from a visit with Patty.

Not much had been discussed about Awsten- it was mainly just a hang out session. Jawn, Otto, and Patty had gotten kind of close while trying to help a certain blond boy.

"Where have you guys been?" Geoff asks, realizing that the two other boys are what had been missing when he first got home.

"Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy," Jawn replies, and Otto rolls his eyes.

"We were at Patty's," the curly-haired boy says, and Geoff nods.

The name sounds familiar, but the brunet doesn't know a Pa-