Idk what to do with this prompt so it sucks-

"I don't need another stupid book!" Keefe yelled as he skidded the book his father gave on the marble floor.

"You will do as I say as long as you stay under my roof!" Cassius picked up the book. "Stupid, ignorant child," he muttered underneath his breath.

Keefe took a shaky breath. "Well maybe I'll just leave this stupid house,"

"I don't care," he sneered. "Mistakes aren't welcome in my house."

Keefe clenched his fists as anger rose up. His fists shaked. His breathing got faster and so did this hearbeat. It thumped in his ears like a siren. In his head, he imagined him slapping his father and ripping the book apart. But he didn't. It would just escalate the fight.

                                               * * *

"Hello?" Tam asked, annoyed.

"Uh, hey," Keefe said awkwardly. "Mind if I come in?"

Tam eyed Keefe mischievously but nodded. "Sure, but why?"

He shrugged. "Daddy issues as always,"

"Well that's relatable," he muttered. "Why not Sophie's house? You're friends with her." Keefe didn't know why his voice sounded a bit sharp - or was he just imagining?

"You know Grady. I doubt he'll let me into his house."

"Why not the others? Why here?"

"Okay, fine," Keefe scowled. "I'll go somewhere else if you hate me so much."

"Wait - no," Tam grabbed his wrist when he started to go out the door. "I mean, you're welcome to stay . . . if you'd like."

"Oh, thanks," Keefe mumbled. "Sorry about the outburst. Bad day."

Tam shrugged. "Family problems are the worst,"

Keefe noticed Tam was still holding onto his wrist. Keefe blinked at his hand and turned to face Tam. He quickly let go of his wrist, turning red when he realized what he was doing.

"I'll go check on Linh, tell her you're here." he stuttered. "I'll be right back."

When Tam came back from the kitchen, he pointed outside. "Wanna go outside?"

"So . . . " Keefe said when Tam lead him to a tree. "What are we doing?"

"I built a tree house up there last summer. I've been using the place to gather my thoughts, but no one really knows about it," he replied, climbing up the ladder he built.

"Cool," Keefe raised an eyebrow when he was done climbing. "I would have done better than you, but . . . "

Tam rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, mop hair."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, what happened?" he asked.

"It's stupid, actually," Keefe sighed as he ran his hand through his precious hair. "He wanted me to read one of his stupid books and become a real Sencen. And I didn't oblige and basically called me a mistake, which is true."

"You're not a mistake," Tam said, taking a step out of the box of sarcastic replies that Keefe created to guess what Tam would say. "You're not."

"You know I can feel the sarcasm even from here," Keefe fumbled with his fingers.

Tam sighed. "I'm not saying sarcastic things right now. My parents also called me a mistake. I've been down this road," he said. "The thing is . . . love is overrated."

"Huh?" Keefe wondered.

"People think love brings happiness and joy but I don't," he paused. "Love also causes heart break, depression and all kinds of other things. Like your problem with your dad."

"I didn't realize Bangs Boy had a brain to think like this," Keefe smirked.

"Oh, trust me," he laughed, "there's a lot of things you don't know about me."

"Ooh, really?" he crossed his arms. "I bet . . . you like rainbows."

Tam shrugged. "Rainbows mean a lot of other things than unicorns and sunshine."

"Hm. True," Keefe's stomach growled. "Anyway, I'm hungry. What are we having for lunch?"

"I asked Linh to bake some custard bursts," said Tam. "You're welcome to stay here whenever you like."

"My favorites! And thanks."

"I know," Tam smirked as he jumped off the tree house.

"Wait, what, how - "

Tam ran to his house with Keefe tailing behind him.

*super cringe* I promise to make it better next time....