CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
UNAPPEALING SURPRISES

Two days later and Aaron was making pancakes in the kitchen of his family home with Kimmy.

It was closer to noon than morning, and he wasn't particularly hungry. However, Kimmy had clearly wanted to make them so he went along with it and acted like he desperately wanted them, knowing she wouldn't suggest that the two make pancakes in fear she came across as rude when it wasn't her house.

The blond still hadn't found out what had bothered her so much when she'd showed up to his house trying not to cry.

Aaron had tried to get it out of her, but he didn't think she'd picked up on his hints regarding the matter. He didn't want to ask her straight out, she obviously was hesitant to tell him so he figured asking her without actually asking her was best, that way she didn't have to say anything she was uncomfortable with.

However that didn't mean that he didn't want to know. He did want to know, the situation had been stressing him out much more than it should have.

He hated seeing her crying. The girl only ever cried when something was a big deal to her, which was rarely. That was what worried him. She wasn't someone who would like others to see her cry, Aaron knew he too was included in that.

It frustrated him. He didn't want her to ever think he thought she was embarrassing or that he'd tell anyone anything she told him - because he wouldn't. He just wanted to make sure she was okay.

Aaron was pretty sure Steve was still upstairs but he couldn't be sure. He hadn't seen his older brother that day and it wasn't particularly late so he could have still been asleep, however Steve would also go out quite early when he had plans and he rarely said goodbye to the younger boy, so Aaron really had no idea.

"Okay," Kimmy sighed frustratedly, Aaron tilting his head to look at the girl next to him. "I think we need to start over."

Aaron was stirring the big bowl of batter and Kimmy was rereading the instructions on the box, the girl suddenly doubting their skills.

"Don't be ridiculous, Kimmy." Aaron shook his head at her, still stirring the mixture as he spoke. "It looks fine, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Hm..." Kimmy trailed off, biting the inside of her cheek while shrugging her shoulders and finally placing the box down on the counter. "Fine then, but you have to try the first one."

The boy with sandy blond hair simply raised his brows, too focused on making sure his pancake mix was perfect.

"Okay," he told her calmly, still stirring the bowl of mix until the last possible moment. "I think it's ready. We just have to keep an eye on it so we don't burn-"

The sound of the front door slamming closed caused Aaron to look away from the girl and instead snapped his gaze over to look at the open door of the kitchen, waiting to see Steve walk past so he could ask where he had been.

Aaron felt his heart drop at the sight of his parents walking past the room, physically tensing as he placed the bowl of batter on the table.

His mom and dad had been the last people he expected to see that morning.

The boy could feel himself begin to panic.

He hadn't spoken to his parents in so long and the last time he had spoken to either of them it hadn't exactly gone how he'd wanted.

And to top it all off, Kimmy was there - his girlfriend. The blond didn't want Kimmy to meet his parents, fearing that it would go terribly wrong.

To be fair it was the most likely outcome.

Aaron knew he would be on edge whether Kimmy was there or not, however the fact that she was there only added a thousand times more stress onto him.

Kimmy must have noticed his discomfort because he felt the way she tapped his arm to get his attention, resting her hand on his bare arm as she spoke to him quietly.

"Are you alright?" She asked him in a low voice, not wanting to advert any attention onto the boy next to her.

"I'm fine." The boy told her in a serious voice, his green eyes never leaving where his parents stood as if waiting for them to notice him.

He then grabbed the big bowl of pancake mix and began mixing it again despite knowing he didn't need to, he just wanted a distraction. Biting the inside of his cheek he focused all his attention onto the bowl he held. He could not think of a more frustrating situation to be in.

"Steven?" His mother could be heard yelling, a hint of excitement added to her words. "Steven!"

There was a brief pause, the only noise being his parents mumbling amongst themselves. Although soon enough the sound of a door closing and slow steps down the stairs could be heard.

Aaron glanced over at the interaction taking place, his mother wrapping Steve into a tight hug the second she got the chance.

The blond caught his older brothers eye while his mother hugged him tightly and his dad patted his back with a laugh, Steve sending Aaron a scrunched up expression as if to say he had no idea what was going on.

Aaron fought back a frown, knowing that neither his mother or his father really cared about greeting him the way they greeted Steve. There was a reason Steve was the only one they had called for upon arriving home.

"Okay, yeah, nice to see you too." Steve nodded awkwardly as he managed to pull out of his parents grasps.

Steve widened his eyes at Aaron as he made his way into the kitchen, his parents trailing after the older boy.

Aaron watched as his parents seemed to do a double take at the sight of him before both of the adults allowed their eyes to drift in Kimmy's direction. There was a slight silence, almost as if they were trying to decide whether or not they should say hello to her.

In the end they didn't. In fact it was like she wasn't even there, the two adults completely blanked her.

Despite the fact she smiled and waved, the girl clearly got the hint and stopped herself from saying hello to them, knowing she'd most likely be ignored.

"Oh!" His mother gasped to Steve dramatically with a wide smile on her face. "And look, Aaron's making you breakfast. How nice."

The blond watched his parents with a blank expression, almost expecting more.

Wondering if that really was it? That was how they greeted him after not seeing him for months? And to make matters a million times worse, they hadn't even spoken to him when they'd seen him - they'd spoken about him.

No smile, no hug, not even an hello.

He'd tried to convince himself that he wouldn't have cared how his parents thought about him or treated him if it wasn't for how they treated his older brother.

Aaron bit the inside of his cheek roughly as he watched his parents take a seat with Steve at the kitchen table, clearly under the impression that the younger boy would be making their breakfast also - rather than for himself and Kimmy.

The blond turned to face the clearly uncomfortable girl stood next to him, trying to smile reassuringly at her as if to say sorry for his parents behaviour.

Kimmy forced a smile back at him, trying to calm him down before he really got panicked, already knowing he was stressing out.

Aaron noticed the girl was stood with her hands clasped tightly together and she had a look of diluted panic and concern, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"What are you doing home?" Steve asked his parents bluntly, clearly drowsy from sleep.

"Are we not welcome in our own house?" Aaron heard his dad laugh loudly in response, the blond boy holding back an eyeroll.

Steve didn't reply, simply shrugging in response.

"So," Aaron heard his mom speak up with an elevated tone. "How's your job going?"

There was a pause, Aaron holding back a snicker as he watched Steve send his mother an unimpressed expression as if to ask if she was serious.

"Oh... it's going great." Steve told the woman sarcastically, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Especially since the mall shut down and I lost my job. It really has been nothing but-"

"Well, have you found another job?" The blond boy turned his attention away from the pancake mix he had been pretending to be interested in at the sound of his father's voice.

"Uh- no, I haven't." Steve retorted, his tiredness clearly taking a toll on him and his mood. "Believe it or not but I have had other important stuff-"

"More important than finding a job after you got cut off?" Aaron snickered, teasing his older brother with an amused grin.

"Excuse you, Aaron." The boys father snapped, shaking his head disapprovingly at him causing the blonds smile to drop. "Unless you're part of the conversation, then you keep your opinions and jokes to yourself. Do not interrupt."

Aaron simply blinked at the man, a slightly fractured expression as he watched his father glower lightly back at him.

Aaron bit the inside of his cheek in disappointment. "I was just joking-"

"Well don't." Was the answer that he received in a sharp tone.

Abruptly, the boy grew furious. The second he watched his dad turn away from him to laugh with Steve, all previous disappointment faded and was replaced with pent up anger. 

How could it possibly be okay for Steve to speak to his parents the way he did, but Aaron couldn't even joke around with his brother when his parents were there in case the older boy got offended?

His parents were just home and already they only cared about Steve and how he had been since they'd left. It was like they didn't even try to hide the favouritism anymore.

Aaron suddenly slammed the bowl of batter onto the counter roughly, ignoring the startled glances of the four with him.

The boy then grabbed Kimmy's hand and dragged her out of the room, blanking any words of disapproval from his parents.

...

Later that day after returning home, Aaron was determined not to speak to either of his parents. Although he assumed this wouldn't be difficult, they were most likely already in bed. He and Kimmy had stayed out the entire day, it now being well after dinner.

Aaron was absolutely sick of it all. He had to leave earlier before something went wrong while Kimmy was there, because whenever Aaron was involved something always went wrong.

Sure, nothing had really happened, there hadn't been any argument and maybe Aaron had overreacted. However he wasn't going to stay and wait for something to happen.

It may be selfish for him to say, but he preferred it when his parents weren't home.

"Where did you run off to?" Steve snickered from his spot in the kitchen, the boy eating a peice of toast as he made his way over to the kitchen door to talk to Aaron.

"Out with Kimmy." The boy shrugged vaguely, wanting to go to his bed.

"Well you made quite the exit." Steve continued to laugh and tease his younger brother. "Literally over nothing. Why were you so annoyed?"

The blond hesitated, not wanting to start any sort of arguments. "It was nothing-"

"Well obviously it was something." Steve rolled his eyes, still eating his toast as he continued to taunt his brother.

"Well obviously I wasn't needed there." Aaron shrugged nonchalantly, trying to put an end to the conversation while still saying what was on his mind. "Clearly mom and dad only care about what you have to say-"

"Oh, my god." Steve sighed in a low voice. "That's why you left? You're so dramatic, they were just talking to me-"

"It's not dramatic." Aaron snapped abruptly, frustrated that his brother couldn't see what he was so hurt over. "I didn't even get a hello! You're the only one they care about-"

"They had only just got home! You didn't even give them a chance!" Steve yelled at him, not liking the way Aaron was so dismissive of their parents.

Aaron hesitated, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself speaking. Maybe he had overreacted, maybe it wasn't that big of a deal.

But then why did it bother him so much?

Maybe Steve didn't think Aaron being ignored was a big deal, but it was a big deal to Aaron. How could Steve speak on how Aaron should feel when he wasn't the one experiencing it?

"You're so set on them ignoring you, it's like you want them to." The older boy continued in a pissed off voice. "You need to stop reading into stuff so much. So what if mom said hello to me first? It doesn't matter! You're not treated badly, you just think you are-"

Aaron was suddenly hurt, incredibly taken aback by his older brothers words. "I don't just think I am-"

"No one in this house has ever treated you badly, you just look into stuff so much." Steve continued in a quieter voice. "Look I'm not going to argue with you, you're acting ridiculous-"

"Are you serious?" Aaron asked hesitantly, not knowing if his older brother was trying to get a reaction or if he actually felt that way.

"Yeah, I'm serious." Steve shrugged as he finished his toast. "You act like you've been treated bad when you haven't-"

"Yes I have!" Aaron suddenly yelled at the older boy, his frustrations taking over him. "You can't even try and say that mom and dad don't like you more-"

"So what?" Steve retaliated in a harsher tone. "Every parent has a favourite, you don't see anyone else freaking out like this over it."

"Yeah, because their parents don't hate them!" The blond retorted angrily. "They don't even talk to me! And don't act like it's just mom and dad, you used to act-"

"Don't try blame me because you and mom and dad don't get along." The older boy shook his head, folding his arms over his chest.

"I said used to!" Aaron exclaimed frustratedly. "And you did! You used to treat me like shit and you never once said sorry for it! The only reason we get along now is because of me, because I forgave you without even getting an apology! And you now think you'd never done anything wrong anyway!"

"Why are you brining this up if it was ages ago?" Steve questioned roughly, seeming almost hesitant in the question. "I never ignored you-"

"But you did other shit to me." Aaron shook his head instantly. "You know you did."

Aaron waited for Steve to say something in response - anything. He didn't even need an apology, he just wanted wanted Steve to know how he'd hurt him previously.

"Well... I'm sorry, okay?" Steve trailed off reluctantly, trying to move on from that part of the conversation. "But that doesn't have anything to do with you storming out earlier, you're completely changing the subject."

Aaron looked to his older brother blankly, not knowing how Steve couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

The blond wanted to speak up once more, but he didn't. Knowing it would end in an even worse argument than they were already having. It wasn't worth it.

Aaron moved past his brother and climbed the stairs, heading to his room. The boy couldn't win, whenever he tried to convey his feelings it was twisted and he ended up feeling like the asshole for doing nothing.

Aaron sighed as he closed his door, knowing nothing would change. Maybe he just had to learn to live with it.

...

So SO sorry that this chapter is so late but I've been so busy this week I've had hardly anytime to write.

I hope this doesn't seem too rushed but I tried to make it seem realistic but idk if I managed this LMAO.

Anyway hope everyone is having a great day!!!

-AJ :)