Private RP with @Fraust

(Np! Dw about it, I don't really have any specific plans lol. I might have Lucas have a fight with his dad and ask to spend the night after he gets home if that works for you)

Lucas was having some trouble focusing on practice. His performance didn't suffer too much as a result, but if anyone noticed he blamed it on being rusty from the summer. Really, he hadn't noticed most of what people said; he was pretty oblivious most of the time. But… he did occasionally catch a whisper about them and it made him think about his and Melissa's relationship a little more than he would like to. Of course he was happy just being friends with her… right? He sighed softly, shaking his head a bit to try to clear his thoughts unsuccessfully. He knew deep down that as much as he denied his crush on her and insisted that he was happy with how things were, he wanted more. But he didn't think that Melissa felt the same way and he didn't want to force his feelings on her, and so he would be content with the way things were.

After practice, he took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair, smiling softly when they bumped the hair clip he'd forgotten about. He flushed lightly upon realizing how he was acting and quickly tried to compose himself before meeting up with Melissa. "Hey, sorry we ran a bit long. Maybe you got some homework done early though, yeah?" He laughed softly as he jogged up to her, tucking his belongings under one arm. He could properly shower when he got home; he'd only really rinsed off in the locker room.

(🕺)

"Don't worry about it. Glad you got some done." Lucas laughed awkwardly as well and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He led her away from the bleachers and started walking back in the direction of their houses. "Practice was fine. We messed around for a bit, but I think we got a little bit done, at least." He shrugged and adjusted his bag on his shoulder, humming softly to himself. "Might check over your notes later if that's okay. You always organize yours better than I do." He chuckled softly, finicking with the hair clip a bit too try and keep it where it was doing its job.
As they drew nearer to his place, his smile fell and he looked noticeably more tense, but he didn't say anything about it. "Um… I'll see you tomorrow, I guess. Have a good night, Mel." He offered a weak smile as he headed towards the door.

(Figured I'd let you reply before I do the whole thing so we don't have to do super long responses lol)

Lucas flushed lightly when Melissa hugged him, clearly taken aback, but managing to hug her in return before she pulled away. "Right… yeah. Of course. See you soon, Mel." He smiled weakly and headed inside, sighing and deflating as soon as he was in the house.
He headed further into the house and put down his things, calling out to alert his father that he'd returned. Flint came out from wherever he'd been drinking and narrowed his eyes at his son, grumbling in distaste.
(Tw for Lucas' dad generally sucking)
"Where the hell have you been all day?" He barked at Lucas, who sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I've been at school, dad. Then practice. School started up again, remember?"
"Don't give me that tone!" Lucas stared down at the ground, mentally retorting that he hadn't had a tone, but keeping quiet to avoid more conflict. "Why do you have that stupid thing in your hair? You sure as hell better not be gay, boy." Lucas blinked a couple times, clearly bewildered.
"Ah? No, of course I'm not. Melissa gave it to me since my hair was bothering me." Of course he would be like this…
"You're always hanging out with that stupid bitch. Stop wasting your time!" Lucas seethed at that, his hands clenching into fists.
"Don't call her that! And I'm not wasting my time!" That set his father off even more and the two of them got into another screaming match. Flint yelled at Lucas and brought up things that were far too personal until he was nearly in tears, and so Lucas stormed off to pack a bag for the night. He continued yelling back at his father as he walked out and slammed the door behind him, huffing indignantly.

Tears started to roll down Lucas' cheeks as he walked, still furious and very stressed. His heart was racing and his vision was blurred, but even so, he could see his hands shaking badly. He shook his head and tried to rub his tears away before he knocked on Melissa's door, but it was still pretty obvious that he'd been crying.

(Long reply anyway I'm sorry lol asdghjk)

"H-Hey, Mel… do you mind if I stay the night…?" Lucas asked weakly, adjusting his grip on his bag. "Just— just the couch or whatever is fine, I-I just… I can't deal with my dad right now. Fighting, or… whatever, I… sorry." He laughed nervously, looking anywhere but Melissa's eyes. His cheeks and under his eyes was pink and blotchy from crying, and he definitely looked more disheveled than the last time Melissa had seen him. His stomach growled; he'd neglected to eat since he'd spent that time fighting with his dad. He honestly had no idea what time it was right now, he just knew that he couldn't stand to be around his father at the moment.

He exhaled shakily and looked over his shoulder as though he expected to see someone following him. His chest rose and fell a bit faster than it should, and his eyelids kept fluttering as he forced back more tears. He didn't want to cry in front of Melissa if he could avoid it. "I-I'm sorry for the short notice… did I interrupt anything? I'm… I'm sorry. I— I should have called to give you some… something."

"Thanks…" Lucas whispered, heading inside with a shaky sigh. He allowed Melissa to take his bag from him and sat down on the couch, anxiously tapping one foot on the ground and still frequently glancing to the door to make sure his dad hadn't come after him. He didn't really think that he would, but he couldn't shake the anxiety about it regardless.
He looked up at Melissa at the question and held his breath for a moment, considering. "Ah, well… um… a lot of the usual stuff, he just— he took it too far." He started, his voice stilted with nerves. "Bringing up Claus and stuff, you know… b-but what really bothered me was when he started talking about you. He— h-he barely even knows you, he has no right to be… t-to be…" His breathing hitched and he apologized softly, rubbing at his eyes again. "He's just a stupid, drunk bastard… I know he's hurting too or whatever, b-but he has no right to be taking it out on me or you or— or anyone else." He rubbed at his arm with one hand and winced, staring at the carpet at his feet with a distant expression.

Lucas relaxed a little when Melissa locked the door, but he was clearly still worked up. He held tightly to Melissa's hand, using his other hand to keep his tears at bay. "I… it's been so long since I've seen him sober. I-I don't know whether or not he actually believes anything he's saying, you know? D-Does he actually hate me? Does he… does he really wish it was me instead of Claus?" His voice fell to a whisper, and he was having more trouble holding back his tears. "God, I hope not, I… who says that to their own son anyway, though? Christ… no one misses Claus as much as I do, b-but I don't go around telling my dad I wished he'd offed himself instead. He's basically the whole reason I…" He paused, a couple tears rolling down his cheeks only to be quickly brushed away. "Nevermind… I'm just sick of dealing with it, you know?"

Lucas winced when Melissa pushed the topic when he tried to brush it off, but looking at her expression, he didn't want to lie to her. "Um.. h-he's why I've got issues, more or less…" He replied, hoping the vagueness both carried the message and implied that he didn't really care to talk about it further. "I-I don't want to leave for good. Well, I… I do, I just… don't want to lose him. Don't want to lose the only 'family' I still have." He exhaled shakily, brushing away a few more tears. "He'll drink himself to death if I'm not there to fight him on it. It's just so… exhausting. I-I don't know how much longer I can put up with all this. Why am I the only one who cares enough to try at all? Why am I trying so hard to keep him alive when all he really wants is to see me dead too? God, I just… I c-can't let myself think that he really believes that… but it's hard not to."

Lucas sighed, running his fingers through his hair as an anxious habit. He was still shaking and his vision shifted in and out of focus, and his breathing hadn't slowed either. "I-I don't… I dunno, Mel… I feel like if I leave, I— it'll be my fault if something happens to him, you know? Like I wasn't— wasn't there to stop him. But on the other hand, god, I… I'm so tired of hurting all the time. Verbal, emotional, physical, whatever, it just hurts… all the time…" His breathing picked up more and he started tugging at his sleeves, looking conflicted and like he was considering whether or not to do something.
"I'm… I'm sure you've made your assumptions, b-but I never really flat out told you that he was… w-what he does to me." He tugged more insistently on his sleeves, feeling hot and cold and clammy and like he quite possibly might throw up. After a few seconds of fighting with himself, he pulled off his sweatshirt. He had an undershirt on, but the bruises and bandages on his arms were enough to show what he meant. Bruises also peeked out of his shirt around his collarbone and stomach, where his skin was briefly visible.

Lucas paled and cowered when Melissa started to get upset, his heart racing faster. "I'm… I-I'm sorry, I should've— I should've told you sooner, I-I just… I didn't…" He floundered, trying to placate Melissa as well as he could. "He— he'll only be more angry if I don't come back… he'll come looking, a-and I don't have my stuff anyway, and… god, it's just a lot all at once, I'm not— I-I'm not ready. I'm not ready." He was hyperventilating by now and his gaze kept flicking around, anywhere but Melissa's eyes. He hated when she was upset, and he knew it was his fault this time, and his judgement was starting to cloud. His lip trembled and he fumbled to put his sweatshirt back on as though that would fix the problem, but lifting his arms only made him grimace and, being as stressed and shaky as he was, he wasn't able to do it. He kept whispering apologies even though he was breathless, and more tears stung his eyes, threatening to fall down his ghostly white cheeks.

Lucas whimpered and screwed his eyes shut, holding one hand up to his mouth as he struggled to breathe. His heart and stomach fluttered, and he wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't going to throw up. He could feel waves of terror traveling throughout his body, starting with a sinking feeling in his stomach that then spread outward and made him shake more violently. His chest felt like it was under an immense amount of pressure, as though someone were sitting on it, which only made it harder to breathe. His throat tightened and he looked up at Melissa with his eyes wide and shining with tears. He couldn't speak, but his eyes conveyed how scared he was without him having to say so.
It took him a few minutes to be able to breathe a little more normally again, breath that he was using to apologize some more. He still wasn't sure if he was going to throw up or not, but he definitely felt shaky and queasy. "It's just… a lot, Mel…" He whispered. "I-I don't know if I'm ready…"

Lucas rubbed at his eyes and sighed, looking exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and crying had drained what little energy he had left anyway. The adrenaline he'd had before was gone, and he was left running on empty. "I… I-I know it's probably hard for you to see me like this. I'm sorry for putting you through this, it's just… it's hard. This is all I've known for years now, and even though he hasn't done a damn thing to deserve it, I still love my dad, in some twisted way… I'm so stupid. I know that I should leave, obviously. I want to be away from him more than anything. B-But I guess I'm just so desperate to not lose anybody else that I'm willing to put up with an alcoholic asshole like him."
He coughed a few times and wrapped his arms around himself, feeling very self conscious and exposed with his wounds out in the open like this. Judging by the neat bandages, he'd done this many times before. "I'm just so tired, Mel." His voice broke and tears welled up in his eyes again. "I can't— I c-can't do this anymore. I'm sick of being stuck here, and— and conflicted, or whatever. I just don't want it to be… I dunno. I don't want it to be my responsibility anymore. I want to be free of him, but he's my dad. It's my job to take care of him when he's compromised like this, right? Even… even when I'm compromised too."

"B-But… if I leave, I'm abandoning him." Lucas whispered weakly, rubbing at his eyes with one fist as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "I shouldn't leave him. I'd be a… b-bad son." He drew in a harsh breath and coughed, trembling and curling in on himself on the couch. He was quiet for a bit as he listened to Melissa, hearing what she was saying, but not processing it very well. His emotions were so shattered and scattered right now that it was difficult to piece himself back together to form a coherent feeling. He could think, but connecting any feelings to his thoughts was difficult at the moment.

"I… don't want to go back." He murmured softly. "I-I don't wanna be around him. But… but he's my dad. But… I'm scared of him. He's… he's so mean sometimes. He's an awful man. But all my things, a-and he would be so angry with me. I don't want him to be angry with me, Mel… he's dangerous when he's angry. H-He hurts me when he's angry." He was pretty much just rambling at this point, but he was managing to get some of his thoughts across in some convoluted way. "I haven't slept properly in ages, Mel. I'm so exhausted. I-I don't… I don't feel safe there, so I can't ever sleep. I hate my room so, so much. I can't stand to be in there. It's unbearable… n-no matter what I do, I can't stop seeing him. I feel like he's watching me…" He hugged himself more tightly, his eyes welling up with tears again. This time, he wasn't referring to his father when he said he'. This was about Claus, but Lucas had barely given Melissa any details about his death when it had happened. It hurt too much.

"I… I dunno. I probably should." Lucas sighed, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. Now that the adrenaline from his panic and fear was fading, he was pretty much just exhausted. He'd run out of tears by this point, and he could barely think. Even sleeping on the couch here was infinitely better than sleeping in his own room at this point. He'd brought enough things in his bag for a night or two, but if he was going to stay here, he'd have to go back to his house and get it. And his father never left the house, so he'd have to get lucky with him being asleep or passed out.

"Is… is the couch fine? I don't want to get in anybody's way… should we tell your parents I'm here? Is it too late right now?" He asked. "God, what time is it even? I didn't check the clock before I left…"

"No, no, I'll stay on the couch. It's totally fine, I really don't mind." Lucas insisted. He definitely would feel terrible if he made Melissa sleep on the couch while he was sleeping in her bed. He would definitely be more at ease here, and either way, it had to be more comfortable than his pathetic mattress back at his house. Anything was better than being back in that room. He figured he'd be answering more of Melissa's questions tomorrow when he felt more stable, so he started to prepare himself mentally for that. Sleep would definitely help a lot, though.

"Alright… um… we should probably go to sleep then, huh?" He laughed weakly and sighed, yawning again. At least staying here would probably help me in school… could stay awake and be more aware to get stuff done. It was nice to think about staying here, but he still wasn't completely convinced he could do it.

Lucas laid down when Melissa left, moving his bag so he could get more comfortable. He closed his eyes, but looked up when he heard her return. "Oh, thank you…" He sat up to help her make the couch more comfortable and then flopped back down with a sigh. "I don't need anything else… thank you, though. For everything." He offered a tired smile to Melissa, which fell quickly as he closed his eyes and turned his face to the ceiling. "I'll see you in the morning, Mel…" He huddled up under the blankets, hugging a pillow close to his chest. It normally took him a while to be able to get any sleep, but a combination of his exhaustion and feeling more secure here caused him to pass out pretty quickly.

(Feel free to skip to morning aha)