Axel's POV

I jump out of my seat as I hear the last bell ring, signalling the end of the school day. I run out of the school like Satan himself was chasing me, and look around for Jack's car.

I spot it across the parking lot, and walk over. I lean on the car as I wait for Jack to come out. After about five minutes, I see Jack walking out of the school while talking to a girl. She was cute and petite, with her dark, wavy hair and tanned skin. I laugh at how flustered Jack looked, it's rare to see him like this. 

Jack seems to have spotted me across the parking lot, so he bid the girl goodbye and jogs over to me.

"So, who was that?" I ask with a smirk as Jack turns different shades of red.

"A girl I've been talking to recently, and my lab partner" he replies sheepishly with a small shrug.

"And why haven't I heard of her?" I ask with a hand on my heart, feigning offence.

"I wasn't sure if it was serious or not, so I didn't want to tell you and jinx it" he replies, walking around the car to get into the driver's seat.

"Sureee" I say with a smirk. He's clearly got a huge crush on her, I don't see the point in hiding it.

"Whatever" he replies annoyed, and rolls his eyes. I lightly punch him on the shoulder while laughing. He laughs along and we get into his car. The rest of the car ride was filled with us laughing and singing off-tune to the music on the radio. It's always a fun time whenever Jack's around.

When Jack pulls up onto the driveway, we get out and Jack goes to unlock the door. Before he could open the door, I burst through, "HONEY, IM HOME!" I yell and I could see Jack roll his eyes through the corner of my eye.

I hear a gasp from the kitchen, and Macy, Jack's mom, peeks through the door way. She smiles as she sees me and comes to hug me tightly.

"Oh, Axel, honey! I haven't seen you in so long! How've you been?" She asks as she releases me, a huge grin plastered on her face.

I laugh, "I've been doing great Mace, better after I moved"

She looks at me with a sad glint in her eyes. "I'm sorry hun. As I said, you're always welcome to stay here"

I shake my head, "Nah, it's cool. I'm adapting" I say with a small smile.

She pulls me into a tight hug again, "It'll get better soon, I guarantee it" she says and I hug her back, and we stay like that for a while. It felt nice getting this much affection. Though, someone just had to ruin it.

"Wow, I feel like a guest in my own home" Jack says behind me, wiping a fake tear from his cheek.

I smirk and play along. "Mace, I brought a guest today. I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Jack. He's SUCH a jerk, you wouldn't BELIEVE all the sh-"

Jack punches me in the shoulder and scrunches his nose playfully. "Screw you man, as if I would ever date you, you weirdo"

Mace laughs and pulls Jack into a hug. "Hi sweetie, how was your day?"

"It was good mama, thanks. How was yours?" Jack answers as he hugs her back. She smiles.

"Better, now that you're both here. Axel, are you staying for dinner?" she turns to look at me.

I shake my head, "Nah, I have leftovers in the fridge I need to eat tonight before they go bad"

She nods and gives me a tight-lipped smile, "Okay, next time then. You boys head on upstairs, I'll be in the kitchen" she says as she walks into the kitchen and out of sight. Jack and I head up to his room. Mace was always like a second mother to me, and she took care of me when I needed it. I owe a lot to Jack's family.

When we get into Jack's room, he closes the door. He turns to me, "Are you sure you're okay? Living alone isn't easy, especially at our age. You can talk to me dude"

I lay down on his bed, as I feel tears prickling my eyes. "Well what can I do? It's not like I can go find my parents when they voluntarily left me. It's not like I didn't try to stop my mom from leaving my dad for another man. It's not like I didn't try to stop my dad from leaving me because I remind him of her. I tried to convince them not to leave, but they did.  They decided it was enough to just leave me some money every month to make sure I have food so that I don't die. They decided to just buy me a house so that I have a place to live, and they wouldn't have to deal with me anymore"

I look up at Jack, tears welling up in my eyes. "They abandoned me, Jack. My dad didn't even look back when he left. How could they just do this to me? Did I do something wrong? Was I that bad of a child that they had no regrets as they left their only child in a house to survive on their own? I got perfect grades to please them, but it wasn't enough. I'm tired Jack, I don't know what else to do..." My voice broke on the last sentence, as tears started pouring from my eyes uncontrollably. I promised not to cry anymore, but thinking about them hurts. I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks, hiding my eyes with my sleeves.

I feel the bed dip beside me, as a warm pair of arms engulf me in a hug. It wasn't that Jack was big, I was just small for my age.

I sobbed into Jack's shirt, as he hugged me tighter. "Don't blame yourself, it was never your fault. They were just asshole parents who made selfish decisions, completely disregarding your feelings. You never did anything wrong Axel, it was their problem that they couldn't deal with, so they tossed all the consequences of their relationship onto you."

Jack squeezed me tighter, "Never, ever even think that it was remotely your fault. You're an amazing person Axel, and they're just too blinded by their self-indulgence to see it. So don't cry, okay? They don't deserve your tears"

I wipe the tears from my eyes and I look up at Jack, and he gives me the warmest smile. "You could always move in with us, we'd all love that."

I smile and shake my head, "I can't, I can't become a burden on you guys. And before you say I won't, just don't. I will, it's not gonna be easy for your parents to take care of another teenager. Plus, my dad still gives me money, so I'm not at a total loss"

Jack frowns, but nods. "I'll be here for you, every step of the way. Don't ever hesitate to ask us for anything ok?"

I nod, "Well at least my dad didn't stay and become abusive, because that'd be so cliché"

------------

A/N: Hey guys! How'd you enjoy this chapter? Axel hasn't been living a good life, so let's hope someone'll come and save him ;) Any thoughts on the chapter? 

Sorry for the short chapters. They get longer later on, so just keep reading :)

Have a nice day!