Chapter Six | All The Parks

"the clutter always exists"

...

WESLEY DID NOT know how to feel. His emotions were cluttered, like multiple paint brushes dipped into the same clear water while being cleaned. When the collection of colors mixed into the water, they swirled together into brown. He didn't precisely know why he was angry. Perhaps it was because he missed them so much that it hurt or that it finally caught up to him that they willingly left him. He couldn't deny his excitement to see the pair, though.

Throughout the years, he had convinced himself that they were never coming back. He blocked himself out of everything. He was dead set on what was in store for him. And within the span of four hours, there they were. Invading his heart and making his emotions reach a whirlwind. The ideal expectation would be that he went back to his cold demeanor, corresponding with his leather jacket and permanently smirking expression. As if he didn't have a care in the world. If only it was that easy.

"Wesley Roberts! If you don't get your trasero downstairs this instant-" His mother trailed off, uttering swear words in Spanish. "I will not be responsible for the murder charges, young man." Wesley sighed, flinging his ballpoint pen across the desk. His analysis essay on the novella Of Mice and Men was due tomorrow and his procrastination had finally caught up to him. All that was visible on his paper were stabbed pen marks. He didn't know- or care enough to know- how Lennie was different than the other men on the ranch. In his opinion, Lennie killing the woman was dumb, and it didn't deserve to written an entire analysis about.

"What did that pen ever do to you? Oh yeah, and mom's calling you," he unclenched his fists and spun in his chair to see Savannah by the doorway. He hadn't even noticed that he had a new ball point pen in his hand, this time a red one. Not that the color mattered since he knew that in a few minutes, the new victim would be discarded in the pile of pens on the other side of the room. His tendency to fling pens had always annoyed Savannah, whose hobby was to organize pens in rainbow order instead.

"Like I didn't hear her myself," he growled, shoving himself off the gamer chair. He dropped the pen on the floor and pushed his way out the door, slightly shoving Savannah on the way. The smile was wiped off Savannah's face at Wesley's reply. She was hoping for some change now that the twins were back, but... nothing.

Wesley's feet slapped the stairs with as much force as possible as he marched down. Savannah gritted her teeth, following behind. Wesley made his presence known by scraping the dining chair across the floor and sitting backwards on it. He rolled his shoulder lazily.

Their mother looked up from the mixing bowl she was holding. The mixture of fruits were almost mashed together. Kiwis, bananas, and blueberries, her latest creation. Her eyebrows furrowed and wrinkles appeared on her forehead when she caught sight of her son. "Wesley. It has been ten minutes since I called you. Do you ever get out of your own head?" His mother's swedish accent was clear as day. It tended to reveal itself when she was angry. It seemed to be quite often nowadays. Wesley didn't mind his mother's words. He twirled his phone in his hand, wishing she would just leave him alone. He knew he was a disappointment and didn't need to be reminded of that anymore.

"And Savannah, that World History test? How are you ever going to get into UC Berkeley if you can't even have an A in history? These high school years are crucial in your academic success. Are colleges going to wave you in when they see a B on your transcript? No, they won't even give you a second glance. If you don't get into UC Berkeley, how will you ever become an optometrist? Do you even understand how important it is to-" And that was where Wesley zoned out.

He never understood his mother's obsession with UC Berkeley. From a young age, his mother had always shown him and Savannah pictures of the campus and found practice applications online. When the twins were only in first grade, he remembered his mother handing them a UC Berkeley sun hat, claiming that it would be their future school some day. Wesley had been given up on as soon as the calendar hit middle school, but he knew his sister was his mother's prime victim. What he also knew was that Savannah didn't want to become an optometrist. And because he would do anything for his sister's happiness, he shredded his mother's UC Berkeley Summer Internship pamphlets as they arrived in the mail. His mother always questioned their disappearance but he was never a suspect. Wesley knew that when it was time to apply for colleges, he would do anything in his power to make sure Savannah got to do what she wanted. No matter if she knew it or not.

Wesley realized that escaping now was smarter over listening to his mother's pointless lecture. Though it wasn't directed to him, he hated hearing his mother's wrath on Savannah. He preferred it directed towards him. Truthfully, he didn't care, unlike Savannah who would do anything to make their mother happy.

Interrupting his mother, he pushed himself off the chair. Both his mother and Savannah's eyes turn towards him. "Where are you going, young man?"

"Out," came the man in question's vague grunt. Throwing his hoodie on, he shoved his hands into his pockets. Ignoring his mother's continuous calls, he flung the door open. Air rushed into the house. The door slammed behind him, leaving a void of silence.

The autumn air was chilly that evening. The fall colored leaves were starting to sway off the trees and the sidewalks were covered. Each step he took crunched the leaves underneath his boot. He snuck his way to the group's night hangout spot, the park. It had been years since he last came here. He always thought it brought back too many memories. There used to be an invisible force preventing him from coming here without his friends. Today, he was able to break the forcefield.

The swings were now rusty against the steel stained rods. The slides were exactly how they were seven years ago, but the color was slightly wearing off. The clouds that gloomed over him shifted into shapes. He sat on the swing, exhaling a puff of air. The chains clanked against each other as the seat moved on its own accord.

"Wes," a voice called. His head shot up as he looked around surprised. He hadn't seen anyone when he first arrived.

"Lucas," came his grim response when he spotted his friend. Lucas was standing by the jungle gym bars, leaning on the connection pole. His hood was pulled up all the way, but his shaggy hair was still blowing upwards. Wesley stood up off the swing, but made no move to approach Lucas. Though it was his choice to distance himself, he couldn't bear the awkward silence. He remembered that there had once been a time where they couldn't go two seconds without talking when they were together. "What's up with the hood?"

Lucas scoffed good naturedly. "You know this town. The moment someone sees us, especially that creepy grocery store lady, we'll be all over that gossip paper." Wesley couldn't help but crack a smile. He knew far well how creepy that lady was. He had been the victim of her gossip on multiple occasions.

"Poor old ladies will get tired of seeing your faces, hm?"

Lucas shrugged his hood off, forming a peace sign with his hands. His imitation of a selfie girl failed when his mouth twisted upwards. "You mean this face? I don't think it is possible to get tired of this hotness," he smirked.

"Still an egotistical asshole, I see," Wesley couldn't stop the corner of his lip from turning up at their usual banter. He really had missed this.

As if reading his mind, Lucas left the jungle gym and approached Wesley. He threw a hand around his shoulder in a strange bro-hug. "I really did miss you, man." Not the best at showing his emotions, Wesley didn't respond, but the look in his eyes was enough of a response to Lucas. No words had to be exchanged. He missed him too. 

author's note: well, the wait took w a y longer than I expected. I have/had finals this week and it's been a nightmare, and mixed with writer's block that I can never seem to get over; I sincerely apologize for the wait on this chapter and with summer starting, i'll attempt to get chapters done faster. i'm not giving up on this story but figuring out how it progresses may take a bit... thank you for sticking around and reading :)