Can You See Me? (Chapter One)

He pulled his other leg out onto the outside windowsill when he felt something tap his foot.

If his sister didn’t stay up so late, he’d have just been able to leave his room through the door, sneak downstairs, maybe grab a sandwich or something of that nature, and there we go, Bob’s your uncle.

There were a couple of other people there, too; some he knew, some he didn’t.

Sion soon spotted him, lifting his arm up into the air in recognition, a can of cider in his hand

Maxxie slapped his head, resulting in the two boys laughing.

He never really drunk much.

Besides, it was a hell of a lot more fun to see the other guys (get?) drunk, and then being able to make fun of them the next day.

It was like they were part of another world; no dad, no school, no one ordering him around, no worries.

The things they did constantly gave him an adrenaline rush. He supposed that because of that, he wasn't really doing much wrong. Everyone told him not to give into peer pressure, not that he shouldn't mess about because he wanted to. It made perfect sense.

As the teenagers spoke, steam rapidly burst out of their mouths, showing how cold the air really was. There were some trees dotted around the car park, all of which were thin and bare, their branches stretching out like a witch's fingers.

Where was the alcohol...?

He’d only ever done this once before, but he had a fair idea of what the best thing to do was.

He shrugged. Darren wasn’t here now, so technically, he wasn’t taking anything from him.

Remembering that there were five guys outside waiting for him, he reached out for the six packs of cans. He could almost feel the excitement pumping through his veins. Perfect.

As he passed the sweet aisle, he picked up a Mars bar and a packet of Skittles.

Maxxie’s eyes followed the clocks’ arms, slowly ticking forward.

They turned to his dad as he walked inside.

He glanced at him, his teeth gritted, before stopping at where two police officers were standing behind a counter.

He soon saw his dad walking towards him, shaking his head. Following behind was the police man who’d taken him to the station. His dad sat down beside him, not looking at his son for a second. The police man stood above him.

He soon saw his dad walk towards him, head shaking. Following behind was the police man who’d taken him to the station. Maxxie dad sat down beside him, not looking at him for a second. The police man stood above Maxxie.

Um, the thirteenth of the eleventh, nineteen ninety five...

“What is wrong with you?”
¶
Here we go.

“I don’t even know what to say to you.” For the first time, his dad locked eyes with him.

I just wanted to check the windowsill for mould and dead bugs

His fear of reaching …He sighed heavily. He never had liked heights.

Realising that he was only wasting more time, he zipped up his jacket

“Oi! Max!” he called, sipping the cider before placing it onto the concrete ground.

He smoothed his hair back down as a smile crept onto his face.

He tapped hisMaxxie’s knees

As the teenagers spoke, steam rapidly burst out of their mouths, showing how cold the air really was.

"We won't!" Maxxie called back as he winked. "I need to make sure I've got enough energy left for you!"

Pinky wrote:P.S. You are my 450th review. Congrats! *throws confetti*

If his sister didn’t stay up so late, he’d have just been able to leave his room through the door, sneak downstairs, maybe grab a sandwich or something of that nature, and there we go, Bob’s your uncle.

He never really drunk much.

Besides, it was a hell of a lot(lot of) more fun to see the other guys drunk, and then being able to make fun of them the next day.

He supposed that because of that,(No comma needed) he wasn't really doing much wrong.

The Both of them started laughing, lifting Maxxie's spirit a little.

He watched helplessly as the shopkeeper described recent events to the man on the other side of the phone.

The sound of the girl giggling echoed in his ears as she laughed over by the counter.

Skins wrote:
Can You See Me? ~ Chapter One

Maxxie warily stepped one foot the choice of words is a bit strange here. Try: Placed one foot out of the window, glancing back into his bedroom for a moment. One small slip up, one noise, and he'd be screwed. Turning back around not that necessary, the cold air hit his face The window is open. So he'd already be feeling the cold, thus making this part a bit out of place. Or did you mean that the cold wind hit his face?. He looked down at his front garden. His heart slid up his throat a little I understand what you're trying to get across, but again the choice of words is a bit strange. Wouldn't: Butterflies fluttered in his stomach or something sound somewhat better?. Stop being such a woman, he thought to himself Maybe it's just me...but that's a weird thing for a boy to think. Wouldn't he say something like: stop being such a wuss/ baby or be a man? I don't know, maybe that's just me. Do you want a good time or not?
He pulled put. By using pulled, you're giving the impression that he is physically pulling his leg with his hands, almost as if it's broken or elastic or something his other leg out onto the outside windowsill You need to get rid of either out or outside here. Just one of them is fine. when he felt a sudden scraping feeling jolt through his ankle Scraping? In his ankle? Are you sure you didn't mean against it?. His foot slipped, almost causing him to lose his balance. This might sound better as: He slipped and nearly lost his balance. Just a suggestion. Bloody windowsill.A loud yelp escaped from his lips, followed by a curse. Did he want to wake the entire house up? He glanced down at his ankle to see a long scram Scratch? mark; the wound was slowly dripping with blood 1) What did he scratch his ankle on?[ 2) If he was upright, the wound wouldn't be dripping. Great.
Maxxie waited by the window for a moment, his heart racing. What would he have said if anyone came in? I just wanted to check the windowsill for mould and dead bugs? He certainly didn’t think that his dad would have appreciated that answer.
He shook his head. Why was he even thinking about that? He could have been on the ground by now. Trying to forget about the drop below him The use of below him is sort-of redundant because you've already used drop, he grasped onto the drainpipe that led down the front of his house. He should have been used to this by now; he did it practically every weekend. He sighed heavily. He never had liked heights. These two sentences would have fit better straight after the first sentence in the first paragraph. It would have explained Maxxie's wary sigh. Loosening his grip slightly, Maxxie carefully slid down the side of his house as silently as he possibly could.
The moment his feet touched the moist ground Oh! Is that why he slipped? Because the windowsill was wet? , he exhaled heavily. He was seriously going to have to find a better way of getting out of the house. If his sister didn’t stay up so late, he’d have just been able to leave his room through the door, sneak downstairs, maybe grab a sandwich or something of that nature, and there we go, Bob’s your uncle. He’d have been out of the house in no time.
Realising that he was only wasting more time, he zipped up his jacket and strolled up Shouldn't this be down? the driveway. The sad thing about this is that it isn't even twelve o’ clock yet. Hardly late. Fair enough, it might be kind of late to be going outside, but it is way better than being cramped in my room all night. He let out a long breath, shutting his eyes for a second or two.
Turning the street corner, Maxxie shoved his hands into his jean pockets. He was almost sixteen; why did his dad have to treat him like such a child? He supposed he should have been used to it by now.
Not allowing his mind to delve deeper into the subject, he cursed under his breath. Why was he thinking about that now? The only reason he snuck out of his house at night was to get away from all of that crap. The first sentence of this paragraph should really be the last sentence of this paragraph. What I mean is that the first sentence talks about him refusing to think about the subject any longer. But then he does for two more sentences. So perhaps you should put the first sentence after the other two instead. He paused. It was his birthday soon... Great. He shoved Shoved sounds a bit out of place here, maybe pushed would be better the thoughts out of his head and continued walking.
The tall street lights brightened as he reached the centre of the small town. Soon enough, he spotted the newsagents. Almost there. He then noticed Sion, the one friend he’d known since childhood, sitting on the steps by the car park. A car park next to the newsagents? There were a couple of other people there too; some he knew, some he didn’t. Sion soon spotted him, then lifted his arm up into the air in recognition recognition or acknowlegdement? , a can of cider in his hand.
“Oi! Max!” Sion called, sipping the cider before placing it onto the concrete ground.
He jogged across the road to meet Maxxie, who was now wandering in his direction.
Sion messed up Maxxie's already scruffy hair as he greeted him, laughing. Maxxie smoothed his hair back down as maybe you should use while here. As sounds a bit repetitive from the previous sentence a smile crept onto his face. Sion was always able to cheer him up with one simple action or comment.
“Your old man didn’t catch you then?” Sion lead Maxxie, who shook his head, back towards the car park. “The guy’s a prick. It’s like you can’t have a blooming life.”
Maxxie shrugged. “He’s not that bad.”
“Maxxie, he practically has you on a leash.” Sion tapped his knees, telling Maxxie to roll over. He soon burst out laughing.
Maxxie slapped Sion's head, resulting in the two boys laughing even more. They sat down on the car park steps, Sion grabbing his unfinished can of cider from the ground. He offered Maxxie a can, but he simply shook his head. He never really drank much. Besides, it was a hell of a lot more fun to see the other guys drunk, and then being able to make fun of them the next day.
A few of the guys said hello to him; the ones he knew cracking the odd joke, which he just went along with. It didn’t take long for Maxxie to relax, talking to the people around him with ease. Besides his brother, they were the only people he could really speak to comfortably. It was like they were part of another world; no dad, no school, no-one ordering himthem around, no worries. Nothing. It was wonderful.
His mind traced back to the countless amount of lectures he'd had in school. They were constantly warning him that he should never give in to peer pressure, never do something he didn't want to, blah, blah, blah. He wasn't doing any of that though; he wanted to hang out with these people. The things they did constantly gave him an adrenaline rush. He supposed that because of that, he wasn't really doing much wrong. Everyone told him not to give into peer pressure, not that he shouldn't mess about because he wanted to. It made perfect sense.
As the boys spoke, steam rapidly burst out of their mouths Steam? I thought it was cold out? I could have sworn that steam could only be hot. There were some trees dotted around the car park, all of which were thin and bare, their branches stretching out like a witch's fingers. Maxxie shivered.
"Hey, Max, you all right?" Sion's voice caught him by surprise.
Maxxie turned to his friend who was drinking the remains of his can. He watched as Sion shook the drink, checking that there wasn't anything left.
"You seem a bit off," he continued. He glanced around the group before turning back to his friend. Maxxie shrugged. "Come take this to the bin with me for a sec." Sion held the empty can up.
Not giving it much thought, he followed Sion as he began to wander over towards the end of the car park.
Maxxie highly doubted that his friend needed any help to put a can of cider in the bin, but he followed him anyway. He probably wanted to talk to him about something that he wouldn't have liked to have been asked out loud. Probably to ask him if he was okay again. That was his guess, anyway.
While the boys headed over to the bin, they heard one of the other guys, David, call behind them. They spun around to see him grinning.
"Don't make out for too long!"
"We won't!" Maxxie called back as he winked. "I need to make sure I've got enough energy left for you!"
Both he and Sion laughed as they reached the bin. Sion dropped the can in before leaning against the bench beside it. Maxxie eventually did the same.
"So, yeah, what's up, Max?"
He shrugged. "Birthday soon... You know."
He didn't need to say any more than that; Sion knew exactly what he meant. A gentle smile spread across his face as he tapped Maxxie's back.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "Besides, I'm getting you something epic. I should get you a puppy or something... One of those shaved ones."
The both of them started laughing, lifting Maxxie's spirit a little. If there was one thing he hated about the end of the year, it was easily his birthday. He'd spent the last couple over at either Sion or Aiden's Who is Aiden? house just so that he could avoid being at home.
Maxxie stood straight as he tapped his friend's shoulder, signalling to follow him back towards the others. The strong stench of the bin was getting a bit too much. Sion jogged up to him as he strolled back towards the group at the other end of the car park.
Once they reached the others, David unsurprisingly this sort-of ruins the flow of the story a bit. Maybe you should just scrap it? The sentence is fine without it made a few comments about them spending every other night at each other's houses, sleeping with scented candles and a jasmine incense. He was chuckling when there was a sudden gust of wind, blowing the The is too specific, almost as if they had been discussing empty food packets empty food packets around the road and pavements street. Short. Sweet. Simple. .
“Hey, Sion,” David called. “Go and grab another pack of cider? We’re completely out.”
“I’ve already been in there without ‘buying’ anything,” Sion replied. “They’re going to notice if I go in again.” He turned to Maxxie. “You go and grab some, Maxxie.” He handed him his old sports bag. "Well, if you want."
The rest of the guys turned to him, expecting an answer. He felt his face light up His face lighting up would be something that someone else would notice, because it's a description of him looking happy. It doesn't make sense if he describes his face looking happy as he smiled. Why not? Another adrenaline rush.
“Yeah, sure,” he answered, taking the bag.
He put it over his shoulder before putting his hands into his pockets. He glanced back and forth at the road, checking that there weren’t any cars, not that there really would be at this time of night. It wasn’t long until he was on the other side of the road. He could hear his friends behind him, continuing with their chattering, not taking much notice of Maxxie as he entered the shop.
He looked at the posters on the walls for a moment. The biggest one read Now open 24/7! The rest of them seemed to be advertising some local dance club or something. Maxxie turned his attention away from the walls and glanced around the shop. Where was the alcohol...?
The middle-aged man behind the counter watched Maxxie as he made his way to the back of the shop. He could feel the man’s eyes on him, observing his every move. By the time he was out of sight, Maxxie had reached the refrigerated beverages at the end of the small shop.
He’d only ever done this once before, but he had a fair idea of what the best thing to do was. Besides, the riskier it was, the better. Darren Christopher, the shop owner, was good friends with Maxxie’s dad. If he found out about this whole situation, all hell would break loose. He thinks it's better because he could get in more trouble? Weird kid. Oh, take no notice of this comment. Maxxie shrugged. Darren wasn’t here now, so technically, he wasn’t taking anything from the shop owner. Great reasoning on his part.
Remembering that there were five guys outside waiting for him, he reached out for the six pack of cans. He could almost feel the excitement pumping through his veins. Perfect.
“Don’t you dare take my daddy’s stuff!”
A high-pitched voice almost made Maxxie whack his arm against the giant fridge as he pulled away from the cans. Spinning around, he was welcomed by the face of a young, pale girl. Her eyes were narrowed and her black plaits reached the top ofher hips.
He realised that he’d just had the living daylights scared out of him by a little girl. A bit embarrassing. As he bent to the side so that he could see the shopkeeper, he sighed in relief. The shopkeeper wasn’t even looking in their direction. That relief soon vanished, realisation kicking in. Maxxie groaned, turning back to the girl. Oh, God... Not another one...
At that moment, Maxxie knew that he had to do this quickly. Her bright eyes still blazing, the girl that barely reached the middle of his torso, continued with her rant.
“Why are you people always naughty! Your friend was bad enou-”
She suddenly stopped talking. She must have been staring at Maxxie for a good part of a minute before saying anything else.
“Wait... You can see me?” Her voice was shaky.
No shit, Sherlock. Maxxie couldn’t help but chuckle at the young girl’s reaction. The reactions were always something similar to that.
Maybe he could fool her... It could have been fun. Ignoring the girl this time, Maxxie reached his arm out again and grabbed the cans. The little girl shouted in his face, half telling him to answer her question, and half telling him to put the alcohol down.
Trying not to show the frustration of having a kid shouting in his face, he quickly shoved the six-pack of cans into the bag. He was about to turn back around when the girl subtly pushed Sion’s phone out of the bag that contained the alcohol. Can she physically move objects? And even if, how did she push it out of the bag? Don't you mean she took it from the bag or something?
Cursing under his breath, Maxxie put the bag onto the refrigerator before he reached down. He could hear the girl giggling beside him as he picked up the phone. Still bent down, he subtly popped his head around one of the aisle’s aislesagain, relieved to see that the shopkeeper hadn’t noticed anything.
He put Sion’s phone into his jean’s pocket, grabbing the bag once more. Like it was placed when he’d walked inside, Maxxie lifted the bag over his shoulder. Did you mean he carried it like he did before here? As he passed the sweet aisle, he picked up a Mars bar and a packet of Skittles. He then made his way over to the counter. Now for the best part. It was time for him to see if he had the man fooled.
He could feel the dark-haired girl beside him, but he didn’t dare turn to look at her. The man behind the counter scanned his items. Ninety five pence and not an ounce of suspicion. He fiddled in his pocket until he found a pound coin, and handed it to the man who gave him a five pence piece in return. Maxxie happily thanked the man before turning to leave.
In a split second, the dark haired girl appeared beside the shopkeeper. Her arms were crossed now, her eyes still filled with anger. She frowned. A quick shudder ran down Maxxie's spine.
"Put them back," she said simply.
Maxxie avoided her glare, concentrating as best as he could on the man behind the counter. He could feel the girl's voice; hear it like a harsh whisper in his ear. The girl's eyes dug into him. He almost reached into the sports bag, and almost pulled the cans out. Almost.
The shopkeeper muttered something inaudible, not that he was listening anyway. He was more concentrated on avoiding the young girl's deep eyes. He shut his eyes for a few seconds. All that he needed to do now was to reach the shop door.
Maxxie's heart rate had evened out by now, and by the time he’d reached the shop’s door, it was almost beating at its everyday pace. Almost there. Suddenly, there was a loud clinking sound. He froze. Lying on the floor were six cans of cider, the side pocket of the bag hanging open.
Maxxie stayed in the spot, remaining frozen for a moment. The next thing he heard was the shopkeeper’s voice, shouting, his senses returning.
“Oi! Stay there!” the man called.
Even if he had wanted to, Maxxie couldn’t have moved an inch. He’d closed that bag... He’d zipped it up as tightly as possible. He knew he had. How come the cans fell out? Just his luck.
The rugged man aggressively grabbed the bag that was still hanging over his shoulder, opening the main pocket this time. Maxxie’s eyes widened as the light revealed a pile of items he hadn’t even thought about putting in the bag: more alcohol, a lighter, sweets, chocolate, even some kind of pastry snack. Those things were not in there before...
The next thing he heard was a soft giggle. Shifting his eyes, Maxxie saw the little dark haired girl, a smirk on her young face. She hadn’t...
When the phone fell out; when he bent down to pick it up, leaving the bag unattended. He groaned. He had zipped the bag up properly, someone else had just unzipped it again. Someone an everyday person couldn’t see. In the meantime, throwing in a bunch of other stuff.
The shopkeeper shuffled through the bag, revealing its contents clearly. Maxxie couldn't believe it. He'd probably been so focused on grabbing the stuff and going, he hadn't even noticed that the bag felt too heavy to just be carrying six cans of cider. The shopkeeper ordered him to lift the bag off of his shoulder, and he did as he was told. Crap. His dad was going to kill him. The adrenaline wasn't worth that...
“You kids are disgusting!” the shopkeeper spat in his face. “No respect for anyone anymore!”
Maxxie could feel his cheeks reddening as he swallowed. He'd really let the excitement of the situation take over him. Why had he been so stupid? He'd done this before easily. Mind you, there wasn't some meddling little girl there then.
He tried to think of something to say... anything that would have been able to justify all of this. He hadn’t even taken half of that stuff.The man pulled out a mobile phone from his pocket, his eyes locked onto the teenager in front of him.
“No, please!” Maxxie tried. “I can explain...”
Ignoring his plea entirely, the shopkeeper held his phone to his ear after pressing the call button. The phone eventually stopped ringing.
“Yes,” the man said, “police please.”
He watched helplessly as the shopkeeper described the whole situation to the man on the other side of the phone end of the connection. Maybe he could have ran still run? Maxxie scratched his head.... No, that would have been too risky. It would have been cool to do though...
Placing the phone back into his pocket, the man glared at Maxxie, interrupting his thoughts. The shopkeeper's lips were curled, his unshaven face appearing a lot more rugged than it normally would have. His clothes were loose, making him look even bigger. The apron that covered his round belly was dotted with bland Is that a colour? coloured stains. He aggressively took grabbed (again, short, sweet n' simple) the bag from Maxxie's clammy hands.
“Are you even eighteen?” The shopkeeper dropped the bag onto the floor with a loud thud.
His mouth dry, all that Maxxie could do was shake his head. The sound of the girl giggling echoed in his ears as she laughed over by the counter. She waved at him, loosely kicking her legs over the counter This part of the sentence lessens the effect .

*****

Liam stopped the car, causing an ear shattering crunching sound. He desperately needed a new car. He pushed the door open, sighing heavily. Duw Eh?, it was almost one o' clock. The winter air wrapped around his body as he rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up.
Once he'd reached the concrete steps, he hurriedly jogged up them. This was ridiculous. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to be at a police station in the early hours of the morning. He inhaled heavily as he slowly pushed the building's doors open. Here we go.
Liam was welcomed by a powerful waft of alcohol. Scrunching his nose in disgust, his eyes turned to a large man sitting down on one of the plastic chairs. His hair was long and knotted, and his eyes were distant. They stared at the plain wall in front of him as though it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Liam's eyes soon shifted to the light haired boy beside the jagged man. He clenched his jaw.
His teeth gritted together, Liam turned to the desk in front of him. There were two police officers stood behind it. Strangely, he didn't recognise the two men. The town was tiny; it was unusual to meet someone you didn't know. It showed how rarely Liam went out nowadays.
Judging by the two mugs full of strong coffee and the purple colour under both of the police officer's eyes, Liam doubted that they were used to the late night shift. He leaned on the desk.
"Liam Bevan," he muttered. "His father."
Liam nodded at the teenager beside the drunken man. The smaller officer glanced down at a book on top of the desk. He scanned it quickly before looking back up at Liam.
"Maxxie Bevan?"
Liam nodded once more.
The man began to explain what had happened. As the story went on, Liam could feel himself getting smaller and smaller. Despite everything that had happened fifteen years ago, he had tried to be fair with Maxxie. Why did the damn boy have to throw it back in his face? What was Liam doing wrong? What was he supposed to do? He scratched his head. Eirin would've known what to do.
After explaining why Maxxie was here, the officer made his way around the desk. Liam followed behind as they strolled over to his son. Like the drunken man beside him, Maxxie was staring at the wall. Along with his son, Liam turned his eyes to the wall as he sat down in the seat next him.
“Can I ask you a couple of questions now that your father’s here?” It was more of a statement than a question.
Liam's eyes were on the police officer's face now. The man was watching Maxxie as he pulled out a pen from his pocket, holding it above the clipboard in his hand.
“Name?” the police officer asked.
“Maxxie Dai Is that a pun on die? Bevan,” Maxxie mumbled.
“Date of birth?”
“Um, the thirteenth of the eleventh, nineteen ninety five.”
The questions continued, and Liam hoped that they were forcing Maxxie to realise how irresponsible he had actually been. His sister would never have even dreamt of doing something like this. Why couldn't Maxxie be like her?
Once the questions had finished, the police man thanked Maxxie before popping his pen back into his pocket. The clipboard in hand, he headed over towards the desk, still keeping a close eye on Maxxie.
“What is wrong with you?” Liam's eyes were still locked on the police officer.
Maxxie turned his head to see Liam shaking his as he stared at the officer. He despised looking at his son's eyes; they were exact copies of Eirin's. He could stay angry with her.
“Everyone’s overreacting anyway,” Maxxie flatly responded.
“I don’t even know what to say to you.” For the first time since he'd been here, Liam locked eyes with him, making his heart wrench for a moment. He turned away again.
He didn't hate his youngest son. He just... He found it so hard to even look at him. It was impossible for him to have the same love for Maxxie as his other two children. Liam hated himself for that. It wasn't because he didn't want to; he wanted that more than anything, but because he struggled to even try. He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his head.
Neither he nor Maxxie said a word, not even turning to look at each other again. Liam could hear his son shuffling beside him, coughing every couple of minutes. Liam's feet began to tap against the floor then, his eyes wandering around the room. He must have been staring at the same withered plant for a good five minutes.
To both Liam and Maxxie's relief, it wasn’t long until the police man returned. He started speaking then, but Liam's son wasn’t listening. Something else had caught his attention. Sitting in the seat to his left was a young girl with long, dark plaits. When she noticed that Maxxie had spotted her, she smiled softly and winked at him. Liam's eyes remained on the police officer as the girl's lips parted. She looked at Maxxie.
“I told you not to take my daddy’s stuff.”

Skins wrote:
I warily stepped one foot out of the window, glancing back into my dull bedroom for a moment. One small slip up, one noise, and I’d be screwed. Turning back around, the cold air hit my face. I looked down at my front garden as my heart slid up my throat a little. Stop being such a woman, I thought to myself. Do you want a good time or not?
I pulled my other leg out onto the outside windowsill when I felt something bang against my foot. The next thing I heard was an ear shattering thud. Cursing under my breath, I looked inside of my room to see a snow globe lying on the floor just underneath the windowsill. You idiot! My panic was soon replaced with relief. It was cool; none of the globe had smashed apart.
I waited by the window for a moment, my blood pumping rapidly around my body. What would I have said if anyone came in? I just wanted to check the windowsill for mold and dead bugs? Yep, that would have been an epic excuse. Top notch. I smirked. I certainly didn’t think that my dad would have appreciated that answer.
I shook my head. Why was I even thinking about that? I mean, seriously? I could have been on the ground by now. Trying to forget about the drop below me, I grasped onto the drainpipe that led down the front of my house. I should have been used to this by now; I did it practically every weekend. This was the one part of sneaking out of the house that I plain old failed at getting used to. Whatever happened to facing your fears will conquer them? Loosening my grip slightly, I carefully slid down the side of my house as silently as a guy possibly could.
The moment my feet touched the moist ground, I exhaled heavily, shooting a silent fist pump into the air. I was seriously going to have to find a better way of getting out of that house. If my paranoid sister didn’t stay up so late, I’d have just been able to leave my room through the door, sneak downstairs, maybe grab a sandwich or something of that nature, and there we go, Bob’s your uncle. I’d have been out of the house in no time. Easy.
Why did I have to be such a paranoid freak when I made my way out of my bedroom window? I’d hoped by doing it often, I'd eventually get over it and maybe even begin to enjoy it. I'd done so many riskier things than sliding down a drainpipe before; those things sent electricity through my body, but why was I so creeped out by a chunk of plastic? I sighed heavily. I never had liked heights.
Realising that I was only wasting more time, I zipped up my jacket and strolled up the driveway. The sad thing about this was that it wasn't even twelve o’ clock yet. Hardly late. Fair enough, it might be kind of late to be going outside, but it was way better than being cramped in my room all night. I let out a long breath, shutting my eyes for a second or two.
Turning the street corner, I shoved my hands into his jean pockets. I was almost sixteen; why did my dad have to treat me like such a kid? He practically spoon fed me, and damn, did that make me feel cool. I supposed I should have been used to it by now.
I thought back to the first time I got chucked out from the pointless waste of time my dad called school. He didn't want to hear my side of the story. It was unfair though; he hadn’t even given me a chance to do well in school. It was always, At least try to do as good as your sister, or You're only embarrassing yourself if you mess up. I laughed bitterly and clicked my tongue. That was before I even went to secondary school.
I cursed under my breath again. Why was I even thinking about that now? The only reason I snuck out of the house at night was to get away from all of that crap. I paused. It was my birthday soon... Great. What a load of bull. I shoved the thoughts out of my head and carried on walking.
The tall street lights brightened as I reached the center of the small town. Soon enough, I spotted the newsagents. Almost there... Booyah. I noticed Sion, the one friend I’d known since childhood, sitting on the steps by the car park. There were a couple of other people there too; some I knew, some I didn’t. Sion soon spotted me, lifting his arm up into the air in recognition, a can of cider in his hand.
“Oi! Maxxie!” he called, sipping the cider before placing it onto the concrete ground.
He jogged across the road to meet me as I was wandering in his direction.
Sion messed up my already scruffy hair as he greeted me, laughing. I would have done the same to him, but the whole skin head look the guy had kind of stopped me. I smoothed my hair back down as a smile crept onto my face. Sion was always able to cheer me up with one simple action or comment.
“Your old man didn’t catch you then?” I shook my head as he lead me back towards the car park. “The guy’s a prick. It’s like you can’t have a blooming life.”
I shrugged. “He’s not that bad. He just kicks off a lot...”
“Max, he practically has you on a leash.” He tapped his knees, telling me to roll over. Sion soon burst out laughing.
I slapped his head, resulting in the both of us laughing. We sat down on the car park steps, Sion grabbing his unfinished can of cider from the ground. He offered me a can, but I just shook my head. I never really drunk much. Besides, it was a hell of a lot more fun to see the other guys drunk, and then being able to make fun of them the next day. Throw in a comment about Sion’s hairless head, and it would be heaven.
A few of the guys said hello to me; the ones I knew cracking the odd joke, most of them being ones I’d heard about ten times already. It didn’t take long for me to chill out, talking to the people around me with ease. Besides my brother, they were the only people I could really speak to comfortably. It was like they were part of another world; no dad, no school, no one ordering him around, no worries. Nothing. It was pretty darn good.
My mind traced back to the countless amount of lectures I'd had in school. They were constantly drilling into my head that I should never give in to peer pressure, never do something I didn't want to, blah, blah, blah. The usual. I wasn't doing any of that though; I wanted to hang out with these people. The things they did constantly gave me an adrenaline rush. I supposed that because of that, I wasn’t doing much wrong. Everyone told me not to give into peer pressure, not that I shouldn't mess about because I wanted to. It made perfect sense.
As we all spoke, ghostly steam burst out of our mouths, showing how cold the air really was. There were some trees dotted around the car park, all of which were thin and bare, their branches stretching out like a witch's fingers. Naked trees always looked the creepiest.
"Hey, Max, you all right?" Sion's voice caught me by surprise.
I turned to my friend who was drinking the remains of his can. I watched as Sion shook the drink, checking that there wasn't anything left. There wasn’t. It was Sion, after all.
"You seem a bit off," he continued. He glanced around the group before turning back to me. I shrugged. "Come take this to the bin with me for a sec." Sion held the empty can up.
Not giving it much thought, I followed Sion as he began to stroll over towards the end of the car park.
I kind of figured that my friend needed any help to put a can of cider in the bin, but I followed him anyway. He probably wanted to talk to me about something that I wouldn't have liked to have been asked out loud. Probably to ask me if he was okay again. That was my guess, anyway. The kid was sweet, fair play.
While ewe headed over to the bin, we heard one of the other boys, David, call behind us. We both spun around to see him grinning.
"Don't make out for too long!"
"We won't!" I called back as I winked. "I need to make sure I've got enough energy left for you, Dave!" Boy, did he like that comment.
Both Sion and I laughed as we reached the bin. He dropped the can in before leaning against the bench beside it. I eventually did the same.
"So, yeah, what's up, Maxxie?"
I kicked the bin lightly with my foot. "Birthday soon... You know."
I didn't need to say any more than that; Sion knew exactly what I was getting at. A gentle, kind of freaky smile spread across his face as he tapped my back. There was always something about a guy smiling at me that felt plain old weird.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "Besides, I'm getting you something epic. I should get you a puppy or something... One of those shaved ones."
The both of us started laughing, lifting my spirit a little. If there was one thing I hated about the end of the year, it was easily my birthday. I’d spent the last couple over either Sion or Aiden's house just so that I could avoid being at home. Anywhere was better than that place.
I stood straight as I tapped my friend's shoulder, signalling to follow me back towards the others. The strong stench of the bin was burning my nostrils, and I couldn’t have been dealing with that. Sion jogged up to me as I ambled back towards the group at the other end of the car park.
Once we reached the others, David unsurprisingly made a few comments about us spending every other night at each others houses, sleeping with scented candles and a jasmine incense. I wasn’t sure what his life had to do with me and Sion, but hey, I just went along with it. He was chuckling when there was a sudden gust of wind, blowing the empty food packets around the road and pavements. I shivered.
“Hey, Sion,” David called. “Go and grab another pack of cider? We’re completely out.”
“I’ve already been in there without ‘buying’ anything,” Sion replied. “They’re going to notice if I go in again.” He turned to me. “You go and grab some, Maxxie.” He handed me his old sports bag. "Well, if you want."
The rest of the guys turned to me, expecting an answer. I felt my face light up as I grinned. Why not? Another adrenaline rush.
“Yeah, sure,” I answered, taking the bag.
I put it over my shoulder before putting my hands into my pockets. I glanced back and forth at the road, making sure I wouldn’t soon be road kill, not that there really would be any cars at this time of night. It wasn’t long until I was on the other side of the road. I could hear my friends behind me, continuing with their chattering, not taking much notice of me as he entered the shop.
I looked at the posters on the walls for a moment. The biggest one read Now open 24/7! The rest of them seemed to be advertising some local dance club or something. I turned my attention away from the walls and glanced around the shop. Where was the alcohol...?
The saggy faced man behind the counter watched me as I made his way to the back of the shop. I could feel the man’s eyes on me, observing my every move. Dude, who did he think I was? Peter Parker? Yep, because I looked like the kind of guy who wore tights, Lycra and a red and blue spider outfit. By the time I was out of sight, I had reached the refrigerated beverages at the end of the small shop.
I’d only ever done this once before, but I had a fair idea of what the best thing to do was. Besides, the riskier it was, the better. Darren Christopher, the shop owner, was good friends with my dad. If he found out about this whole situation, all hell would break lose. I shrugged. Darren wasn’t here now, so technically, I wasn’t taking anything from him.
Remembering that there were five guys outside waiting for me, I reached out for the six pack of cans. I could almost feel the excitement pumping through my veins. Perfect.
“Don’t you dare take my daddy’s stuff!” A high-pitched voice almost made me whack my arm against the giant fridge as I pulled away from the cans.
Spinning around, I was welcomed by the face of a young, pale girl. Her eyes were narrowed and her black plaits reached the top of her hips.
I realized that I’d just had the living daylights scared out of me by some little girl. I was just so cool. As I bent to the side so that I could see the shopkeeper, I sighed in relief. The guy wasn’t even looking in our direction. That relief soon snuffed it, realization kicking in. I groaned, turning back to the girl. Oh, God... Not another one...
At that moment, I knew that I had to do this thing quickly. Her bright eyes still blazing, the girl continued with her rant.
“Why are you people always naughty! Your friend was bad enou-”
She suddenly stopped talking. She must have been staring at me for a good part of a minute before saying anything else.
“Wait... You can see me?” Her voice was shaky.
No shit, Sherlock. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the young girls’ reaction. The reactions were always something similar to that.
Maybe I could fool her... It could have been fun. Ignoring the girl this time, I reached my arm out again and grabbed the cans. The little girl shouted in my face, half telling me to answer her question, and half telling him to put the alcohol down.
Trying not to show the frustration of having a kid shouting in my face, I quickly shoved the six-pack of cans into the bag. I was about to turn back around when the girl subtly pushed Sion’s phone out of the bag that contained the alcohol.
Cursing under my breath, I put the bag onto the refrigerator before I reached down. I could hear the girl giggling, almost squeaking like some budgie, beside me as I picked up the phone. Still bent down, I subtly popped my head around one of the aisle’s again, relieved to see that the shopkeeper hadn’t noticed anything.
I put Sion’s phone into my jean’s pocket, grabbing the bag once more. Like I’d had it when I’d walked inside, I chucked the bag over my shoulder. As I passed the sweet aisle, I picked up a Mars bar and a packet of Skittles. I then made his way over to the counter. Now for the best part. It was time for me to see if I had the man fooled.
I could feel the dark-haired girl beside me, but I didn’t dare turn to look at her. The man behind the counter scanned my items as quickly as a corpse would have. Ninety five pence and not an ounce of suspicion. I fiddled in my pocket until I found a pound coin, and handed it to the man who gave me a five pence piece in return. I happily thanked the man before turning to leave.
The shopkeeper muttered something inaudible, not that I was listening anyway. I was more concentrated on returning safely to my friends. All that I needed to do now was to reach the shop door.
My heart rate had evened out by now, and by the time I’d reached the shop’s door, it was almost beating at its everyday pace. Almost there. Suddenly, there was a loud clinking sound. I froze. Lying on the floor were six cans of cider, the side pocket of the bag hanging open. Yep... I was screwed.
I stayed in the spot, remaining frozen for a moment. The next thing I heard was the shopkeeper’s voice, shouting, my senses returning.
“Oi! Stay there!” the man called.
Even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t have moved an inch. I’d closed that bag... I’d zipped it up as tightly as possible. I knew I had. How come the cans fell out? Just his luck.
The man aggressively grabbed the bag that was still hanging over my shoulder, opening the main pocket this time. My eyes widened as the light revealed a pile of items I hadn’t even thought about putting in the bag: more alcohol, a lighter, sweets, chocolate, even some kind of pastry snack. Those things were not in there before... Why would a guy like me have wanted a sausage roll?
The next thing I heard was an annoying giggle. Shifting my eyes, I saw the little dark haired girl, a smirk on her young face. She blooming hadn’t...
When the phone fell out; when I bent down to pick it up, leaving the bag unattended. I groaned, rubbing my temples. I had zipped the bag up properly, someone else had just unzipped it again. Someone an everyday person couldn’t see. In the meantime, throwing in a bunch of other stuff.
The shopkeeper shuffled through the bag, revealing its contents clearly. I couldn't believe it. I'd probably been so focused on grabbing the stuff and going, I hadn't even noticed that the bag felt too heavy to just be carrying six cans of cider. The shopkeeper ordered me to lift the bag off of my shoulder, and I did as I was told. Crap. My dad was going to kill me. The adrenaline wasn't worth that...
“You kids are disgusting!” the shopkeeper spat in his face. “No respect for anyone anymore!”
I could feel my cheeks reddening as I swallowed. I’d really let the excitement of the situation take over me. Good job, Max. Real clever. Why had I been so stupid? I'd done this before easily. Mind you, there wasn't some meddling little shrimp there then.
I tried to think of something to say... anything that would have been able to justify all of this. I hadn’t even taken half of that stuff. The man pulled out a mobile phone from his pocket, his eyes locked onto my face.
“No, please!” I tried. “I can explain...”
Ignoring my plea entirely, the shopkeeper held his phone to his ear after pressing the call button. The phone eventually stopped ringing.
“Yes,” the man said, “police please.”
I watched helplessly as the shopkeeper described recent events to the man on the other side of the phone. Maybe I could have done a runner? Bolted up the street? That always worked in action movies... I scratched my head.... Nah, that would have been too risky. It would have been cool to do though...
Placing the phone back into his pocket, the man glared at me, interrupting my thoughts. He aggressively took the bag from his clammy hands.
“Are you even eighteen?” The shopkeeper dropped the bag onto the floor with a loud thud.
My mouth dry, all that I could do was shake his head. The sound of the girl giggling echoed in my ears as she laughed over by the counter.

*****

My eyes followed the clocks’ arms, slowly ticking forward. It felt as though the grey walls were gradually closing in on me. I glanced to the side of me to see a bloke sitting a few seats away. His eyes were bloodshot and I could smell the booze on him from where I was sitting. Yum...
I glanced back at the clock, hoping to see that time had hastily passed. Not even a minute had gone by. All of the exhilarating feelings had definitely disappeared by now. The sound of the police station’s door opening turned my eyes away from the walls. They turned to my dad as he walked inside.
He glanced at me, his teeth gritted, before stopping at where two police officers were standing behind a counter.
“Liam Bevan,” he muttered, nodding at me. “His father.”
I scratched his head, avoiding to look at my dad’s face. The two men began to discuss something as I strained to listen to what was being said. I couldn’t hear a word.
I had no idea what had happened to Sion and the others. The only thing I was sure of was that they weren’t here right now. I wished that I hadn't done it now. If only there was a way I could feel those heart fastening feelings without screwing a load of things up.
I soon saw my dad walking towards me, shaking his head. Following behind was the police man who’d taken me to the station. My dad sat down beside me, not looking at me for a second. The police man stood above him.
“Can I ask you a couple of questions now that your father’s here?” It was more of a statement than a question. I hardly had a choice.
I swallowed before nodding slowly. My dad still wasn’t looking at me. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the police man’s face. And he wondered why I thought he batted for the other side.
“Name?” the police man asked, pulling out a pen form his pocket, preparing to write on a clipboard in his hands.
“Maxxie Dai Bevan,” I mumbled.
“Date of birth?”
“Um, the thirteenth of the eleventh, nineteen ninety five.”
The questions continued, forcing me to realize how irresponsible I had actually been. This wasn’t the first time I’d ever been in trouble with the cops, but I knew that I was in deep this time.
Once the questions had finished, the police man thanked me before popping his pen back into his pocket. The clipboard in hand, he headed over towards the desk, still keeping a close eye on me as though I was planning on mugging the drunk guy next to me.
“What is wrong with you?” Here we go.
I turned my head to see my dad staring at the wall, his teeth remained clenched. He shook his head and laughed bitterly.
“Everyone’s overreacting anyway,” I flatly responded.
“I don’t even know what to say to you.” For the first time, my dad locked eyes with me.
I stared back at my dad’s aged eyes. They were much older than they should have been for a man in their early forties. I supposed it was a mix of stress and just about everything else.
Why was my dad always on everyone else 'side? Never mine? If he hated me that much, why didn't he just tell him? It wasn't like it would have come as a shock; he was always like this. Mind you, he hardly treated Aiden in a godly way either, although it was a lot better than the way he treated me. He could have at least pretended to five a damn.
The both of us remained silent then, not even turning to look at each other. I almost missed the police man’s company. I could feel myself sweating, wishing that this whole thing could just be over with.
To my relief, it wasn’t long until the police man returned. He started speaking then, but I wasn’t listening. Something else had caught my attention, not that it took much to do so anyway. Sitting in the seat on my left was a young girl with long, dark plaits.
When she noticed that I had spotted her, she smiled and winked at me. I glanced at my dad before turning back to the girl. Her lips parted.
“I told you not to take my daddy’s stuff.”