Howardās sister had offered to help him move all his stuff over, but heād turned her down. She was home from University for the holidays and he hadnāt wanted to put a damper on her spirit. He knew the whole affair was going to be rather depressing, and heād rather just get out without all the fuss. His parentsā¦ hadnāt offered to help. What Howard had neglected to tell Vince was the entirety of how theyād reacted when heād told them that they were moving in together.
Howardās parents didnāt care that it was for work.
Howardās parents didnāt care that there was nothing going on between him and Vince.
And Howardās parents especially didnāt care that Vince was really quite sweet when you got to know him.
All Howardās parents cared about was that their son was moving in with another man, a man who they had steadily disapproved of for over half a decade. A man who wore makeup and flamboyant clothes and they called āeffeminateā and ācampā. A man who they were sure had corrupted Howard to skip his GCSEs a year before and had ruined his chances at a successful life, when if anything it was the other way āround.Ā
āI canāt believe youāre doing this,ā his mum had said.
āYouāre going to regret it,ā his father added, not even bothering to look up from his work.
āI wonāt,ā Howard had said, before returning to his room and staying there for three days.
Months later, when it was finally time for him to start packing up his stuff, he was less sure. Quitting school had seemed like a good idea at the time. Vince had been behind him all the way, saying that university was a waste of time for anyone other than rich lawyers anyway. Howard too had spent weeks making lists of what to bring and what to throw out and what to just leave behind. Heād been so sure this was the right thing to do.
āIndependence,ā heād told Vince one drunken night, sitting by the rail tracks, āIs so much more important than school? Right? Like, my mum keeps trying to tell me that itās not worth it, not sustainable, that I need practical skills but do I?ā
He couldnāt remember exactly what Vince had said, but he just hoped it was something motivational and inspiring rather than just drunken rubbish (although knowing Vinceā¦ it was unlikely).
- From my current WIP!!! Iām actually really excited for this one! I think itās currently around three thousand words so Iām aboutā¦ half done? I donāt know yet but weāre getting there :)
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