Forums » General Roleplay » New Start(1x1)

There was that smile again. Howie was thankful for it. He wondered how it would be for him, fitting into a family without having to move. He watched the branches sway, feeling more content with life then he had in a while.

Alex looked up at the sky, smiling up at the stars and bright fireflies. "Mr. Daniels doesn't really mind if we're out here during the nighttime?" Alex asked, looking up at Howie. Alex really wasn't trying to fit in with the family, he was just being himself. He believed that you shouldn't change yourself for someone else.

Howie shrugged and returned to his candy. "He doesn't know half of the time, but he'll only really be cross with me when it gets cold or something." He ate in silence for a moment. "He won't mind too much, now that you're here to keep company. He always worried about what exactly i did out here on my own all the time. Atleast i have you to clear things up and prove that i'm not trying to poison the water or start World War 3, as he tends to accuse."

Alex looked at Howie with a "Are you serious?" look. "He needs to be a little be easier on you. I bet if you two talked to each other more then it would be easier for you two to get along." He shrugged. He knew if he didn't try to talk to his father on a daily basis, they would have acted like strangers to the world.

Howie laughed, a cold, bitter thing. "I don't think i could talk to him if i tried. He just has that...aura around him. It sets me off more than any other human. He doesn't give a care about me for all i know. He wishes he had a better son." Howie got quiet and looked away, at the stars that shone between the branches. "A son who could play sports and shoot guns. A son who could bring honor to the family name." He frowned and ate a handful of sourpatch kids. "Not me, of course."

"How do you know that for sure? If he didn't care, then he wouldn't have you living under his roof. You're seventeen so he could kick you out at this point and he is worried about you becoming closed up and recluse, that is why he adopted me, as I see it, he is hoping that you will open up and stop closing off. If he wanted a different son, he would've adopted a child long ago and toss you to the side like trash." Alex shrugged, looking up at the sky. "That is how I see it, but you will believe what you want. I still think you should at least give him a chance to be your father, not someone you live with." Alex knew this really wasn't his place to say because he really didn't know about Howie's father, but he knew that was what his father would've done if Alex become a recluse and didn't speak to his father at all.

Howie turned and looked to Alex as he talked, resting his chin in one hand. He knew what he was talking about, for sure. But Howie had never thought about it that way. All this time he figured his father felt guilty for Howie's mother and raised him because of it. Maybe he did care, somewhere in that chest of his.
"Well, i suppose what you're saying could be true. Maybe it could be worth a try." Saying it with confidence was a lot harder than actually taking action, and he knew that. Getting over his fear of his father would be much harder than anything else Howie had faced before. Bit something told him Alex was right. So he would try.

Alex smiled at hearing that. "Good, and, if you want, I'll be there with you." He looked at Howie was a bright smile. "You should know that if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always come to me." Alex saw Howie as a great friend, even he is was Howie's adopted brother, they both got along well even with the different personalities, history, and life choices. Alex thought it was best to let Howie know that if he ever needed someone, he could turn to Alex, no matter how small or big the problem.

He was greatly surprised at what left Alex's mouth next. What? He was startled for the longest time, into silence. No one had ever..said something like that before. Howie had never even pondered having someone to rely on other than himself. It was so odd, but it also filled him with a feeling he hadn't yet learned to understand. He suddenly felt the urge to scoop Alex up and hug him, squeeze him tight. And Howie was definitely not a touchy person. His own thoughts surprised him, and he quickly buried them. This was not the time for that.

It took a good while for his brain to haze back to focus, although in reality it only took a second.
"Oh.. I.."
Howie felt his cheeks tingle and he realized he must be blushing. How embarrassing! He turned away and pretended to cough, although it formed into a real one when he sucked in too much air.
Howie sniffled and looked at the ground below.
"I thank you again for being so kind to me. You really are a simple blessing to have had happen to me today. I'll remember your words, Alex."

(I just love how Alex surprises Howie at ever turn.)

Alex started to get worried when Howie didn't say anything to him, but then he looked at him and saw the shocked expression on his face. Hadn't he heard that before? Alex didn't think that Howie would have no one to rely on when it came right down to it. Alex always had to move around a lot but each time he found someone who relied on him and he would rely on them as well. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to keep all his emotions bottled up and never be able to vent.

When Howie finally did speak, that caught Alex by surprise. Only his parents called him a blessing before, no one else. "I really wouldn't call it that. I'm just your adopted brother, it is normal for brothers to have each other's back, whether they be brother through blood, marriage, or adoption."

(goodness gracious, i know!)

"Call it what you will, but I will still see it that way." He emptied the plastic bag and balled it up, stuffing it into his pocket to recycle later. "I've never had a brother or sister for that matter..or anyone to rely on, actually.I'm not a person to believe superstitions, but i might venture to say I'm very lucky today." Howie felt that way at least. He was thankful for Alex. His father had made the right decision for once. He would have to thank the man for that someday.

Alex shrugged. "I am just another person, you might feel lucky to meet me, but I am sure there are other people out there who have similar personalities to me, you just need to look past the outside." Alex had never in his life saw himself as anything but a person. Yes, he did have the blood of a witch and demon hunter running through his veins, but he didn't really showed signs of being either. His father didn't hesitant to kill what he thought was evil and showed no mercy to that creature and his mother really didn't have a evil bone in her body, she was just shy and quiet.

Howie shrugged. "I have yet to meet someone like you. It seems people like you are hard to find in this tiny town." He felt something hit his nose like a shard of ice, and another on his shoulder. Then they were everywhere, little pricks of freezing water falling on the two of them. It had begun to rain. He sat up in the tree and sneezed, brushing his quickly soaked hair from his eyes. "Goodness."

Alex shrugged. "It is more likely to find people like me in small towns than big cities." He felt the rain falling too and shook his head. Once the rain came down faster, his hair was soaked as well as his clothes. He sat up in the tree and jumped out of the tree, landing on his feet. He looked up at Howie. "Are you going to climb down or do you want me to catch you?" He asked. He already knew that Howie wouldn't jump out of a tree, seeing as it could easily break a bone if you fall wrong or sprain your ankle.

Howie looked down to Alex and smiled. "You don't think you could possibly hold my weight? That's insane! I could possibly hurt you in the procce-" he felt his foot slide out of underneath him and then there was nothing supporting his body. Howie fell from the tree with a quiet gasp, and a curse at his utter clumsiness.

Alex was surprised at what Howie said and grinned, but that disappeared when he saw him lose his footing. Before Howie fell to the unforgiving ground, Alex caught him. He put him down on the ground, a small grin on his face. "Now, what was that about not being able to catch you, again?"

Howie stood up fast and froze for a second to let it sink in. His face got very red and he had to put a hand on his chest to keep his weak heart form acting up.
To his own surprise, he began to laugh. It was the first time Howie had honestly laughed in a while.
After his bit of fun, he smiled and looked at Alex. "Well, after seeing that, I'm not sure what to believe!" It was true; how did this boy manage to hold his weight like that? It surpassed any laws of science and threw Howie into the loop. Alex simply kept amazing him at every turn. For a second it seemed that he forgot how drenched they both were and let himself be happy for once.

Alex didn't know where he got his strength form, he believed it was either form his father making him work out to be stronger or a spell his mother put on him to protect him. He smiled and laughed with Howie, glad to see that Howie was just having fun and not worrying. "There are many things in this world that you would be surprised to find out is real." A lot of people would think Alex crazy for saying that, because all humans were protected by the belief that all the monsters and demons in stories were nothing but myths. "We better get home before you get sick form being in the rain."

"Oh please, you're starting to sound like my father."

On their way back through the woods, Howie pondered what Alex had said. Was it true, even? His entire fragile existence had been built over what he thought to be solid truth and reasoning. Could it be that even this wasn't true? His mind filled with questions that needed answers, but he had no one to answer them. Howie decided to leave it be, he figured the answers would come on their own time.

Once they got home this time Alex held the door open for Howie, knowing that he didn't need to get out of the rain as fast as possible. Alex knew people that would never believe him in a million years that witches and demons were real, and he was fine with that. "You should go ahead and get in the shower. I'll get changed into some dry clothes." He suggested once they were both inside.