My Song Has Not Been Sung

He knew he was screwed. Screwed by every joke Jack made, every story he told, every thing he did. Alex knew he was screwed from the idea the other boy put in his head after asking him about his sex life, the thoughts he had after Pete made that comment he only vaguely understood, the blush that still remained on his face after Jack told off his father. But none of these things held a candle to how badly screwed he was about to be.

Peter Gaskarth was still stood in front of his desk. His phone was in hand but he hadn’t so much as glanced at it since Jack and Alex had re entered the office. His eyes moved from the now closed door to his son. And he held that gaze for what felt like hours, not speaking or even moving. Alex eventually looked down at his feet, too frightful and ashamed to maintain eye contact.

“Would you like to explain yourself?” Peter demanded.

“I’m sorry, Father. I shouldn’t have left the building without informing you, it won’t happen again.” Alex apologized.

“You’re right, it won’t. You will not be doing your school work here at work with me until this case is completed and you will not leave our home without first getting explicit permission from your mother or I.” Peter stated flatly.

“Wait… but I won’t leave again! I always come to work with you, why do I have to stop now?” Alex pleaded.

“You have clearly demonstrated that you can’t handle being around clients like… this. Therefore until I get a case involving a different class of person, you will remain at our home.”

“‘People like this’? You mean poor people, right? Or kids that don’t live with their parents? Wait, it’s the fact that Lynn’s gay, isn’t it? You’d rather lock me in the house for God knows how long this trial is going to take than let me have a friend just because his best friend is a lesbian!” Alex argued.

“You don’t need that kind of influence in your life! Your mother and I have always raised you in a good home, provided you with almost anything you could possibly need or want, and home schooled you so that you didn’t have to associate with other classes. Where we live may have changed but our beliefs have not. You will go home immediately and if you try to fight with me for any longer you will certainly want to remain in the house for some time.” Peter bellowed.

Alex stood there in shock for a moment, trying but failing to hold back the small tears that were escaping from his eyes. After only a few more seconds, he rushed out the door and through the building as fast as he could. He made it out into the cool air, gasping from the short sprint he had just ran and ignoring the stares from the few people that remained near the courthouse.

What have you never seen a teenager run out of a courthouse while crying?

Alex leaned against one of the pillars and wiped his face harshly. When he was satisfied that the only moisture left on his skin was from his sweating hands, he pulled out his phone to get the directions back to his house.

Of course it’s dead. That’s my luck.

He put the phone back in his pocket and started walking down the steps and back to his apartment building. After forty minutes of walking in circles around the same two blocks and not seeing anything that looked remotely familiar, Alex gave up.

The sun was nearly completely set, leaving the street with no light except for what shinned from the occasional passing car’s headlights. Alex scanned the streets, looking for someone he could ask for help. Eventually, a young man, probably only a few years older than Alex, stepped out of what looked like a bank building.

“Excuse me, sir!” Alex called as he broke into a light run.

The man turned his head towards the voice, “Can I help you?”

“I’m sorry but could you tell me how to get to the Walker’s building on Glenora? I just moved to town and I got a bit lost trying to get home.” Alex asked.

“Yeah the accent was a bit of a give away on the ‘new in town’ part. Go up three blocks then make a right turn, you’ll be able to spot it.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah no problem, quick question though. If you’ve got the money to live in Walker’s then couldn’t you have just called a cab or something?”

“I would have if my phone wasn’t dead and I had my wallet on me.”

“Oh, sorry man.”

Alex gave the man a small smile and a wave before heading back up the dark street. He walked for less than twenty minutes, following the directions he was given, until he spotted the building.

When he walked in, the doorman recognized him from earlier that day. He received a polite nod and immediately returned it despite the rising pit in his stomach.

Alex knew that his mother was home from work and that his father had likely called to inform her of his new punishment. She might be less angry with him. Might. She may usually be nicer but she wouldn’t be any more lenient about the matter than his father was.

The seventeen year old moved to the elevator and pressed the button for his floor. As he rose higher up the tall building, his anxiety rose with him. When it finally dinged, Alex jumped at the sound. Once the doors opened, he was tempted to just stay and allow them to re-close.
However, he knew he would already have to face harsh consequences for the amount of time it took him to get home and extending that time wouldn’t do any good.

Alex finally brought himself to step out of the elevator and into the hallway. He dragged his feet to his door with his head hung. After digging through the pockets of his rumpled suit, he found the key he had grabbed earlier. As he turned the lock open and pushed on the heavy door, he heard the familiar sound of high heels hitting wood floor approaching.

“Alexander, your father called. I’m assuming the events he described may have something to do with how dreadful you look at the moment. If you would like to come in and further explain exactly what it is you did today, I would consider forgiving how long it took you to come home.” Alex’s mother stated flatly.

Alex simply nodded and walked past Isobel into his home. He toed off his shoes by the door and made his way to the living room couch. His mother sat in the armchair across from him.

“I was doing my schoolwork when Father’s new client basically burst in with her friend, well actually the friend was the one who kind of threw the door open, and Father obviously had no interest in talking to talking to the client’s friend so he had me take the friend, Jack was his name, out of the room. We went into a conference room to wait for Father but I was hungry and Jack knew about this good pizza place so we left the courthouse but neither of us had any money on us so we stopped here so I could grab my wallet then we went over to get pizza then it started getting late and we walked back to the courthouse and Father did text me at some point but I forgot to check it so when we got back he was upset with me. For that and for leaving without letting him know in the first place. And if he called you I’m sure you know about the rest.” Alex explained quickly.

Isobel sat silently for a moment, thinking about what her son had said, “Because you decently explained yourself, I’ll allow you to go to bed without any punishment tonight but your grounding still holds. You are not to leave this apartment without permission from your father or I and you will not be going to work with your father until this case is completed.”

“Well what am I supposed to do if I can’t go to the courthouse? I’ll go nuts if I have to do all of my schoolwork in here all day long.” Alex complained, knowing that his mother would be more tolerant and might try to find a solution.

“If you get hungry you could always walk to wherever it is you want to eat, some fresh air and exercise will be a good break from your schoolwork. We could also see if there are any cinemas nearby if you want to see any films. And don’t forget that you have your studio room upstairs, I’m sure you can fiddle around in there during some work breaks.” Isobel proposed.

“Yeah, I guess” Alex replied, “I’m pretty tired and it’s late so I’ll just go shower and go to bed.”

“Good night, son.” Isobel answered as Alex stood up from the couch.

“Night.”

After a rather long shower, Alex finally toweled himself dry, put on his pajamas, and crawled into his bed. The day had been very draining, physically and mentally, and he needed a long rest. But as he slept, his mind kept wandering to the skunk-haired boy with the wide smile.

Notes

Title Creds: Return The Favor - All Time Low

Your Boy, PJ