Running from Reality

[Matthew Moreau]

Matthew raised an eyebrow at Andy. "I'm glad you helped him out. But helping someone out of a potential fight doesn't take hours." Had he been so snarky as a teenager? He went silent then. Answer the question. Andy was probably perfectly capable of getting the homework done at Dare's place, but letting him come to the school had seemed a good option with the teen's obvious boredom.

[Andy Moreau]

Andy glared up at Matthew. He'd just saved someone from a hospital trip, was trying to connect the guy to family he'd never met, and all Matthew could think about was dumping on him for not doing his homework. "Whatever," he said, and turned back to Samson. "I'm sorry he doesn't care about your long-lost family," he said for Matthew's benefit, "but I'll tell your uncle for you. And if I'm ever allowed to come back I'll probably see you in the dorm."

Andy had been running wild for years, getting physically punished for small things, yelled at, and told to keep out of the way. He'd done more or less whatever he wanted when his foster family wasn't around and the idea of being scolded for not doing his homework was laughable. He was getting A's and E's on his report card, and though he had no idea what E meant, A was good. He'd been failing classes his entire life. Matthew's attention to one homework assignment made no sense at all. The guy had to be seriously anal to care.

"Anyway, if you see those guys again try to make sure they don't see you. Wankers like them won't give up just because they got their arses handed to them."

[Matthew Moreau]

"I'm all for helping your friend," silent friend, "find his family, however my first priority is making sure you do what you're supposed to," Matthew pointed out. He and Andy didn't always see eye-to-eye, but he was determined to do this whole thing right. Or try to, at least. "I can't just take him to visit Ariel, anyway." It was still a safe house, even if they were allowed to leave sometimes. "However, we could try to set up a meeting, if they both wanted to."

[Andy Moreau]

Andy, his back still to Matthew, rolled his eyes theatrically. How long was he going to have to listen to the man b~ and whine about having done something for someone else instead of his damn homework? "I didn't ask you to take him with us," he said, talking over his shoulder without actually looking at his foster dad. "I told him I'd show him where the bookstore is. It's right there," he added for Samson, gesturing toward the shop.

[Samson Callahan Koster]

Samson's eyes were wide. He always hated being around families when there were disagreements, and a new friend made it a little more weird. "Thanks," he muttered, looking away from Andy. Awkward moments were one of the worst things for him, and he always wished he could just sink away into a crack in the floor or something. "I'm going...to go see what they have..."

[Andy Moreau]

Andy sighed heavily. "All right, see you around," he said. When Samson had gone into the shop, he steeled himself to face Matthew. He set his jaw, pushed down his shoulders, and finally turned with an accusatory glare that peeked out from under his fringe. He folded his arms and cocḳed his hip.

"Your priorities are like, so screwed up," he said.

[Matthew Moreau]

Matthew took a deep breath, something that had often saved him from spouting off with something that would make things ten times worse. "My priority is you and Tam, then dealing with other things. I wasn't going to ignore your friend." Besides, Andy was already behind in classwork because of starting so late, so the focus on homework was understandable, he thought.

[Andy Moreau]

"Yeah? Well if I'd tried to ignore it I'd have probably gotten my arse kicked too! It was two guys with their wands out and he didn't know they were about to hex him. Ugh, why am I even bothering? Are you going to take me back to that stupid house party or what?" Maybe he'd talk to Rhys. Rhys didn't have a stick up his arse over trying to play daddy.

[Matthew Moreau]

Another breath. "I'm glad you helped him," Matthew said. "Maybe you can see him again tomorrow. Take my arm." He held out his arm to apparate. It was best to just ignore the pissy comments. After almost a year together, he knew that responding to and trying to explain too many things would just complicate matters. "You can go find Ariel when we get there."

[Andy Moreau]

Andy glared a bit longer, then eyed Matthew's arm as though it was considering swinging at him rather than waiting for side-along apparition. Just one more moment to declare that it was his decision and not Matthew's order, and Andy finally complied. Maybe he would find Ariel as soon as they got there. He could always complain to Rhys later.