rebel | leah clearwater

01

Arlo hates his mum. He hates his dad even more. And he cannot stand his sister at times - well, half sister. Perfect Isabella moved in with their father a year ago, giving his mum the idea that he could move there too. And now Arlo has become too much for her, that's exactly what she's done. So now he's been sent to father dearest. Oh the joy...

He grabs his bag off the luggage thing, throwing it over his shoulder before he trudges out of the dingy little airport - at least it isn't sunny here. He can't stand the sun, or hot weather. A week or two for vacation, sure! But to live in it? Ass-sweltering heat? No thanks. Forks rains like 9 times out of 10 anyways, so he's sort of happy there. Everything else? That's pissed him off.

Charlie leans on the cruiser waiting, awkward as usual. He hasn't seen Arlo properly in years but they last saw each other about 10 months ago when Bella had some freak accident. She's only recently just returned after running off to Italy for god knows what reason so he's also on edge about that too. But what could be more fun for him than the son who he's never bonded with? Yay!

Arlo clears his throat as he nears, stopping a few feet away. "Hey..."

Charlie forces a smile as he straightens up. "Hey, kid, how were your flights?"

Arlo shrugs. "Alright."

Charlie nods once and takes his sons bags, placing them in the trunk; both men are silent as Charlie begins to drive, Arlo staring out of the window. "So, uh, you ready to start school?"

Arlo shrugs. "Guess so."

Charlie sighs heavily. "Arlo, look..."

"Don't. Don't give me the 'let's try and get along' talk, I don't want it. I'll keep to my own business, you do the same." He snaps, turning away more to make his point clear - leave him alone.

Charlie gives a heavy sigh and decides to leave it there for now - he doesn't want to push the boy too far too soon. The drive is a little awkward after that. When he eventually parks up, he grabs on of Arlo's bags silently and leads him inside. "So uh, I hope this is okay. Your mom said you like dark colors." He says.

Arlo looks around the room, a dark grey on the walls with a few posters of bands he likes on them, some dark blue bedding on the bed and a battered computer on the small desk. "Fine. Thanks."

Charlie nods and leaves, letting him be. Arlo drops his bags and lays back on the bed, exhaling heavily as he closes his eyes for a moment. Breathe. Just breathe. He reminds himself. All he has to do is survive a year or so and he can leave, never have contact again.

He's never gotten along with anyone in his life, not his mum or sister, certainly not his dad. He had a couple friends back in Doncaster and he was happy with that, he fit in there - mostly. And now to have to start the school year with so short of a time left? In such a small town? He's gonna be called a freak. And not to mention hes evidently not from around here.

He came to be from a one night stand his mum had while she was visiting America once upon a time. She met Charlie a couple of towns away from here and I'm sure you know what happened. His mum, Louise, planned on never speaking of it again - then he came along. He's spoken to his dad a couple of times before, visited once or twice, but not much else.

"Knock knock?" A small voice says.

Arlo leans on his elbows and sees his sister peaking around the door, a small smile on her face. Now, even though they've never truly gotten along, he is a bit happy to see her. A familiar thing in this godforsaken place. "Hey." He smiles small and sits fully up. Bella and he spoke more than he ever did with his dad; he even went to stay with Bella and her mother, Renee, a handful of times over the years. While he isn't her biggest fan, she's a familiar face to him.