I hadn't seen a lot of Laurie since his emotional episode earlier that day. I didn't particularly want to cross paths with him, knowing that a simple action could cause him to erupt into a volcano of anger. I bit my bottom lip, tucking my legs under my body as I sat on my bed. I had been staring at the wall for a considerable amount of time, and I had a lot of things circling my mind – mostly thoughts regarding him and my mother. I had always seen it in their eyes, that the two of them were in love. It wasn't until he told me that he wouldn't fight for her, that my heart sank.

I sighed, standing up, figuring that I would take the time to call my mother. It had been a few days, and I was beginning to miss her a little. We had never really been completely attached to each other, due to her work, but when she went away I always felt a sense of emptiness. She been one of the only constants in my life, and I owed it to her to be a constant in hers. She was my mother, after all.

It was mid-afternoon, and I had done nothing since waking. I rubbed my face, crawling to the edge of my bed, flopping to the floor. If Laurie wasn't going to teach me, I would go out. I would venture out of the house and go for a wander. I needed to clear my head before I spoke to my mother, thoughts were orbiting it as though it was some important star. I laid there on the floor for a moment, staring up at the blank ceiling, trying not to bury myself deep in an existential crisis. Rolling over onto my stomach, I stared at the door, wondering if I truly could be bothered to venture outside. Shaking my head, I mumbled to myself to shut up, stretching my arms above my head.

I pulled on my usual running gear, figuring that it was way too hot to walk around in jogging bottoms. I desperately hoped that I wouldn't run into anybody, as I wasn't particularly in the mood for talking. If anything, I wanted a little alone time.

I jogged down the stairs, the sounds of music filling my ears. Laurie was in his office, doing whatever it was that he did, listening to one of his old records. For a youngish man, he spent a lot of time dwelling in the past. He had pretty much no knowledge of music from the present, and would scoff whenever my mother and I would listen to something from this decade. Thinking about him and his quirks nearly made my eyes roll out of my head, so instead I ignored him, and opened the front door.

The heat from outside hit me as if it was a brick wall in my path, I grimaced, slamming the front door shut. I looked up at the bright sky, the sun almost blinding me as I did, before jogging to the end of the garden path. I turned to my left, heading towards the woodland towards the edge of the gated community. It was where I got the most solace, and there would be a degree of shade there. The prospect of being cool spurred me on as I jogged along the path, watching as everybody went about their days. Doors slammed, dogs barked, children squabbled. I made up little stories for them in my head as I went, trying to distract myself from reality.

I heard somebody shout my name. I stopped, hoping that it wasn't Laurie, I turned on my heel. It was Theo, he too was dressed for the weather, he was wearing short and was lacking a shirt. I was trying my very best to act naturally as a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach grew more and more intense. I smiled at him, confidently looking him in the eyes. "How come you're not inside? You know, locked in your dad's study doing whatever it is that you do." He joked, his smile spreading further and further across his face. My eyes travelled the length of his torso, before I forced them to latch onto his again.

"He's not my dad, he's my stepdad. And, I woke up late." I said, rubbing the back of my neck, looking up at him. I knew that I was small for my age, but standing in front of him made me feel like I was the size of a kindergartener. He chuckled, walking closer towards me.

"How come you were watching me last night? Were you curious?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at me. I felt my cheeks begin to burn as they turned bright red; I began to chew my fingers.

"I just saw you outside your house with a small person and I wanted to see what you were doing." I said with an ounce of courage, dropping my hands to my sides. He nodded, pulling a face at me, crossing his arms across his tanned body. The feeling in my stomach was still there, but I was trying my best to ignore it. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was enjoying himself.

"The small person lives a few doors down that way," he said, pointing in the direction behind me, "and he's a bore. Sure, he's sixteen and I'm eighteen – but, he's just boring. There's nothing about him. He stays inside all day and does nothing of interest." He shrugged. I chewed the insides of my mouth. Clearly, he thought that I was closer to his age, and I had no idea why he would think such a thing. I looked like a twelve-year-old at the best of times. I shook my head with a smile, trying to find some humour in his situation.

"Why did you bother?" I asked, tucking my hands into my pockets, staring at his chiselled stomach as he tried to come up with a valid reason. He shook his head, holding his hands in the air as if to suggest that he had no true reason. He let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"I met him at one of my parents' barbeques. He seemed interesting, clearly there's something wrong with him." He suggested, pulling a face at me. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. He looked around us, as if he was on the lookout for somebody, before he looked at me again. "Maybe I'll see you at one soon. You and your stepdad. My parents throw them a lot. Nice seeing you." He said, patting me on the shoulder. He ran ahead of me, sprinting off to wherever it was that he was supposed to be. I held onto my shoulder for a little while, before walking in the same direction.

When I got back home, I could hear Laurie's music even louder. It was as if he was trying to drown out the entire world. I slammed the front door, running a hand through my hair, feeling as though I was about to melt.

I made my way to the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards to find a glass. I filled it with water, drinking half of it in one go. I closed my eyes, scrunching them shut, before placing the glass down. I heard Laurie's music get louder, and shuffling in the room. Opening my eyes, I saw him leaning in the doorway, his arms folded like a disapproving dad. I cocked my head to the side, as if to ask him what I had done wrong this time. He stood there staring at me through angered eyes, the expression on his face blanker than I had ever seen. He still had no shirt on, and the same shorts from earlier. My eyes were focussed on his tattoos when he spoke. "Did I or did I not warn you about talking to that young man? He's no good, William. He's going nowhere." He said in a low tone. I picked up my water, blowing bubbles in it before taking a sip from it.

He stood up straight, walking over to me, moving the glass out of my reach, scowling at me. "Laurie, I just talked to him. I'm not going to instantly fall into a downward spiral from saying a few words, am I?" I said, putting a hand on my hip. He inched closer to me, his chest rising and falling. He dwarfed me, making me feel small.

"You'd be surprised at the length of time it takes for somebody to change, William," he began, reaching out to lift my chin with his index finger, "how about you go and ring your mother, like a good by, hm." He said quietly, I felt butterflies in my stomach. He cocked his head to the side, smiling at me, squeezing my cheek. Chuckling, he let go of me, going over to the fridge.

I held my cheek as I walked from the room, the butterflies in my stomach refusing to settle down. The way that he had looked at me was something I had never experienced before.

I hurried to the lounge, sitting on the edge of the couch, my hand shaking as I picked up the receiver. I could still feel his hand against my skin as I typed in the number to my mother's mobile phone. I wasn't allowed my own, my mother thought that I couldn't be trusted. I shook my head at the thought of her words, listening to the dial tone.

"Hello?" I heard her say, she seemed happy already.

"Hi mom, its Will. Laurie told me that I missed your call." I said with a sigh, listening to her chuckle on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, he told me that you were sleeping. I hope that you've been studying well. Has Laurie been looking after you?" She asked, her voice was saturated with worry. I heard footsteps behind me, as Laurie emerged, a plate in his hand. He sat on the couch opposite me, smiling, picking up the sandwich that he had placed dead in the centre of the plate.

"Y-yeah. He has. How's things going?" I asked, my cheeks flushing red as I held onto the receiver with both of my hands. He was watching me as he ate, staring at me as I tried to listen to whatever it was that she was saying. I caught the odd word. 'clothing', 'beach', 'Milan' – but not enough to form any useful information. I made noises of acknowledgement, nodding as if she could see me, as Laurie and I stared at each other.

"Have you been studying hard? You know that my expectations of you don't lower when I'm away." She said, I could feel the serious tone of her voice wrapping around my brain.

"I've been trying my best." I said simply, chewing my bottom lip. I heard her sigh, before going through the reason why I should take my education seriously, and how I had to get to college one day. I nodded along, uttering a 'yes' or 'I know' every now and again.

Eventually, she gave in trying to encourage me, telling me that she loved me and that she would call again in a few days. She made kissing noises over the phone, and I told her that I loved her, before she hung up.

"What did she say?" Laurie asked, placing the empty plate on the ground, cracking his knuckles. He had ruffled his blonde hair, and his blonde eyes were carving holes into my forehead.

"She just asked me if I was studying as much as she expected, so I told her yes. That was all that I listened to." I said, earning a snigger from Laurie. I scowled at him, folding my arms.

"Well, that's a lie isn't it William? You didn't bother to wake up this morning." He said, holding his arms up in the air. I rolled my eyes, looking away from him, knowing full well that he enjoyed teasing me.

"Not entirely." I said quietly, he sat on the edge of the couch.

"Don't talk back. Your dinner is in the kitchen, I expect you to eat it all." He said as he stood up, taking the plate with him.
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Day Five: A song that needs to be played loud- Morning Glory by Oasis

A.N
Alright boys and girls, it's taken me a while to find the time for this chapter, but things are gonna start to get juicy from here. I wanna take it slow with this one, I don't wanna just have them smash all of a sudden- not gonna happen, man's gonna drag that out <3

I'd love to know all of your thoughts so far!

As you were x