FicWad

Author: Strings393
Fiction Title: Beautiful People
Chapter Title: Beautiful Outcomes
Pairing: None
Rating: Hell if I know, let's do this by ear.
Warnings: Language, Angst, Drama
Summary: How could you come from this? How could you be so caring? Do you remember? Were you as scared as I am?
Disclaimer: Like Finding Hope, this is based on a personal experience, yet it's not a Mary Sue. I use the same thing that was said in Story of My Life, but also like Finding Hope, this story is meant to help people going through similar experiences. Please excuse any racist jokes or comments in here as they're not meant to offend anyone here. I don't own Good Charlotte, Monty Python or Blazing Saddles. Enjoy.

Paul's POV
"Get your ass off the computer, go outside and pull fucking weeds!" my dad yelled after bursting into the computer room. I quickly obliged to what he demanded, thinking that he was just in one of his bad moods again. I met my sister, Wendy, outside and pulled a trashcan over to us.

"Hello, I'm Raphael the Gardener...apparently I'm a Mexican today." she said in a sarcastic, low voice. I shook my head at her racist comment, but couldn't help but smile. We worked together pulling weeds for about thirty minutes until our dad came back out.

"Get in the garage, I need to tell you something. I might as well kill two birds with one stone and get you on level playing ground." he said. My sister and I looked at each other, but got up anyway and followed our father into the garage. "I'm fucking miserable here...I can't stand living with you all anymore. You two and your mother make my life miserable and I don't think I deserve that. So...your mother and I are getting a divorce and I'm going to fix up the house and sell it; cut and dry, simple as that. Get back to work." Without hesitation, Wendy and I went back outside and went back to pulling the obnoxious plants out of the ground. After a few minutes, I realized she was crying.

"Don't worry about it, Wendy...he doesn't have enough balls to leave. Just you watch. He'll still be here and nothing's going to change in this house. You just wait and watch." I told her. She threw the handful of weeds she had in the trashcan and looked at me.

"How do you know that, Paul? If he leaves, we won't have a home...we won't live here anymore...we'll have no money." she ranted. I shook my head.

"He won't though. I know he's never threatened to leave us before, but knowing him...no. He wouldn't, but if he did, then most likely, we'd go live with Aunt Cassie and mom will go with Granny. As for the money bit...we'll work something out." I replied.

"How are we going to afford it though? New houses these days are so expensive...we'll never be able to buy a new one. What about college?" I shrugged and went back to pulling.

"I don't know about the house situation, but with college...they have money saved up for us."

"No they don't, Paul. I was talking to Mom about it a few weeks ago and she said that they didn't have anything saved up. They were lying to us."

"So I'll get a job. If I have to, I'll take on two jobs and quit school. I don't care."

"That's not fair to you. You need your education. What are you going to do?" I shrugged again.

"Just get me a bass and let me learn to play a little better...then Joel and Benji and I can get things rolling in the band. We'll play gigs and get money that way." Wendy hugged me and cried on my shoulder.

"Thank you so much Paul, but I wouldn't let you do that. Your first job is being a part of this family, your second is school. You need to stay in until you graduate." I nodded and we got back to work. Somewhere around noon, Wendy stopped and looked at me. "Someone needs to go check on mom and see if she's okay."

"I'll do it. You need to stay down here and calm down." Without another word, I slipped through the sliding glass door, went upstairs to my parent's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Paul."

"Come in."

"I wanted to make sure that you were okay." I said, walking into her bedroom as she was getting ready to go to the store.

"Oh, I'm fine. He's been threatening this for so long, I'm just like, 'Fuck it...fine...leave already. That would make me a hell of a lot happier.' Don't worry about me. Are you and your sister okay?" I nodded.

"So Dad's really leaving?" I asked.

"I doubt he will. He says shit that he can't live up to and quite frankly I'm sick of him." I didn't know what else to say, so I left and went back downstairs to pull weeds with Wendy. Dad came back out and complained that we missed a few spots out front. This snapped me. His family was falling apart and all he cared about was his fucking yard looking pretty. But then again, that's how it always was with him. If the family had a fight before we went out, he'd force us all into happy faces so that everyone would think that we were fine.

"You fucking bastard. How could you just sit there and watch as your family is crumbling underneath you? Don't you even care about us? You say we/ make /your life miserable? How? You're never around long enough for that! You're never here for us when we need you and when a real problem sprouts up like this, you go and bury yourself in a bar or go and hide at a friend's house and drink there! How could you just let a marriage that's lasted for twenty-five years and a house that's been standing for seventeen years just fall like this? How could you just walk away and leave your kids stranded? When I make it and you're kissing my ass for money, I'm going to fucking laugh in your face and say, 'Fuck you!' If you think you do that to your family now, don't you even fucking think for two seconds that one of us, if not all of us, won't do it right fucking back! Not only do I hate you for doing this to our family for no fucking reason, but I've hated you for years and it's about fucking time you knew." I yelled. He clenched his jaw and went back inside. As soon as he left, I started to cry and muttering apologies to Wendy and how I didn't really mean it. My dad emerged seconds later.

"Can we go inside/ please...where the neighbors can't hear us." he said through gritted teeth. Wendy and I quickly went inside and sat down at the dining room table where he motioned for us to sit. Once he shut the sliding glass door, he started yelling. "How dare you! How fucking dare you say that to me!" He banged his fist down so hard on the dining room table that it nearly snapped in half as one side flopped up, but right back down from all the weight it held./

I sat straight up in my bed, drenched with sweat and panting hard. I ran a hand through my matted hair and looked around my room, realizing that it was all a dream. My sister wasn't next to me crying and I didn't hear any yelling in the background. I laid back down and hugged the stuffed bear next to me, thinking back to the dream I just had. That fight happened four days after my fifteenth birthday and the day after the party celebrating me and my Grandma's birthdays. I remembered how after I yelled at my dad, everything seemed to get worse and I felt as if it were my fault. I remember calling my girlfriend at the time and telling her what happened. I remembered shaking and not being able to stop. Worst of all, I remembered my sister coming in my room as my parents fought, curling up next to me on my bed and crying her fucking eyes out. I tried not to cry either because I always felt that I had to be the crutch of the family; the one that everyone would turn to when shit went wrong. I had to be the strong one for situations like this and I'd been doing my job since I could remember. When we were younger, Wendy and I, our parents had a big fight like this. I was about five and Wendy was around seven...she came into my room crying because she didn't like it when Mom and Dad fighting. I could recall opening my door a crack and yelling; 'Daddy, you better say sorry to Mommy right now!' and then slamming it shut again. Despite Wendy being two years older than me, I always comforted her. I slid back into an uneasy sleep only to awake for school a few hours later.
***
"Wow Paul, you look like hell man." Joel greeted me. I smiled and shook my head.

"And a happy hello to you too, Joel! I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Yeah, you look a little pale." Benji agreed. "Sick even...has everything been alright?" I nodded.

"Oh yeah! Yeah...everything's fine. So tonight's show is going to be at Harry's, right?" I asked.

"Yep! Three hundred dollars per band member, biatch!" Benji exclaimed. "Fuck, this is going to be the most money we ever made at a show. I'm really psyched."

"We can tell Benj." Joel replied, rolling his eyes. "He hasn't shut up about it since we got booked to play. It gets annoying when this happens for every. Show. We play." I let out a little laugh and started to walk to class as the bell sounded. This is what I liked about school; I didn't have to put up with constant fighting. I didn't have to listen to people always shouting at each other out of anger. I loved being with my friends because I was always guaranteed fun.

In lunch, I watched as Benji terrorized what we called 'Abercrombie Girls' by running up behind them, picking them up, spinning them around and then dropping them, only to run away screaming and laughing like a lunatic. He had Joel and I, as well as a few other friends, in a laughing riot. Soon it was the part of the day that I dreaded; going home. I met up with Wendy in the parking lot where she drove us home in the truck that our Aunt Karen so graciously sold to her for a dollar. There was no radio, but we entertained ourselves by recited our favorite parts of movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Blazing Saddles.

Dad wasn't home when we got there, as usual. Even after the fight we had, Dad and I put it in the past and we were actually becoming really good friends. Our bonds grew stronger when we would talk about music and different effects we notice in songs or how certain performers would play their instruments life and stuff like that. Mom got home at her usual time and made dinner, which was excellent. Dad came home in a shitty mood, so I gave him a hug to brighten his day. Even after that, he still went around slamming doors, which I ignored to the best of my ability. I was just killing time on the computer I got for Christmas the year before when it happened. My mom opened the door to my room and said; "I'm fat, I'm ugly and I'm unattractive. You're father's living out in the trailer from now on." and shut my door again. I sat there for a few minutes confused before I went out to the kitchen to find out what the fuck she was talking about.

"Mom...what happened?"

"Your father said I was fat and repulsive, so he can sleep out in the trailer. I don't want him in this house anymore." I closed my eyes in frustration.

"Can you give the events that led up to his outburst?" I asked, trying to keep my patience. Before she could answer, the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Oh, real fucking mature, Rachael...real funny; locking me out of the house." Dad said loudly.

"I didn't lock you out, I told you I was shutting the garage and the front door has been locked since the kids came home." I just stood there, trying to process what was happening in front of me in my head. Dad looked over at me and then to Mom.

"Sure, bring the fucking kids into this, Rachael! This doesn't involve them." he said loudly. I shook my head and went back into my room, shutting the door. I started to cry again. It seemed as if I were crying a lot lately. A girl I loved with all my heart broke up with me a while ago and I still wasn't over her, so I was still depressed about that and now this shit was happening.

"Not this..." I whispered. "Not again...please God, not again." I paced my room, trying to calm down and stop shaking. I called the only person that came to mind who I knew had it worse than I did.

"Hello?" was he distracted reply.

"Benj, hey man...you busy?"

"Um, no, are you okay?"

"My parents are fighting again and my mom kicked my dad out."

"Whoa! Back up! What happened?"

"Dad came home in a bad mood and called Mom something along the lines of fat and repulsive. She kicked him out and now he has to live in the trailer. I don't know what's going on, Benj. Mom didn't have enough time to tell me what went on before Dad came back in the house. He started packing beers in a plastic bag, so I guess he's going over to a friend's house now." I said, freely crying and trying to keep calm.

"I'd tell you to come over, but Joel and I aren't home. We're at work." I nodded, forgetting that he can't see me.

"I have to go check on Wendy and make sure she's okay."

"Call me if shit gets worse and Joel and I will be over there in two seconds flat. Trust me, I'll be driving." I chuckled lightly, knowing that Benji drove like a fucking nut. We hung up and I cautiously left my room. I heard someone coming downstairs, so I stopped and saw that it was my dad.

"Get back in your fucking room!" he yelled, pointing to my room, but falling backwards on the stairs as if he were drunk. Without question, I retreated and grabbed my cell once more. Dialing my sister's number, I waited for her answer.

"Yeah?"

"Wendy! Did Mom come in and yell at you too?" I asked.

"No, why? I hear them yelling, but I wasn't really listening."

"Shit happened and now Dad has to sleep out in the trailer."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...I just wanted to make sure you were. I don't know where Mom and Dad went though, I don't hear them yelling anymore...they're probably out in the garage."

"Yeah, well I'm coming downstairs now, so I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Yeah, bye." We hung up and I went back to messing around on my computer, letting myself daze out from everything happening around me. Wendy came in and we talked, but she soon left due to having homework that needed to be done. A little while later, my mom came back in.

"You have dishes, Paul. The dishwasher's clean." Mom said.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"You're father's a prick. Just do the dishes please." I nodded and got up, heading for the kitchen. The house was quiet now that Dad was outside, Mom was upstairs in her room and Wendy was in the computer room, doing her homework. I did the dishes in peace, crying silently as the thoughts of my parents verbally ripping each other apart replayed in my mind.

Dad came in and grabbed his guitar, only to retreat back to the trailer. While he was heading back out, he said; "Don't look at me, don't talk to me. Talk to your psycho mother. I'm the evil one here, so I'm out of here." With that, he slammed the door shut and went into his trailer.

"I didn't say anything." I whispered.

"What did he say?" my mom yelled from upstairs.

"Do not get me in the middle of this. Fuck you if you think I'm going to be the middle fucking child and tell you what the other one is saying. Don't you fucking get me into this." I yelled back, slamming the cabinet door.
***
"So how did things go last night?" Benji asked as soon as I got within quiet talking range. I replayed all of last night for him in words and he just shook his head.

"Don't worry, man. Everyone goes through it. Some have it worse, some have it better...that's just the way shit has to go."

"I feel like shit whenever I have to tell you about this because I know that compared to you, I have nothing to bitch about. You've got it so much worse than I do. You've been evicted...your dad left...all this shit and yet you're still a happy kid." He laughed and looked away from me.

"Walk with me, Paul. I will tell you things I haven't told even my closest friend outside of the family. Let's go...we're ditching our classes today." He guided me over to the fence where busses usually entered in and out of school grounds and we walked all the way over to his complex, which wasn't all that big. "Lucky I live close or cops would have been all over our asses by now." he said as he held the front door open for me. I walked into his apartment and looked around. "Sorry it's a mess, it's kind of hard to keep things clean with the whole family here, you know? Damn it! Sarah forgot to turn off the TV again...that uses too much fuckin' money." He turned off the black and white, tiny TV and rummaged around, picking up plates of old food and dirty clothes.

"It's alright. My house isn't the cleanest either." This was the first time I had ever been to this residence of the Combs twins. The walls, ceiling and floor were tinged rust brown from the years of built up filth. There were about four sleeping bags and pillows behind a worn and battered sofa in front of the TV. It was really just a one roomed apartment with a bathroom and kitchenette. There wasn't even a dining room table or chairs because the room was so small.

"Have a seat Paul." I sat down next to him on the couch. "Get ready to hear my past...it might be a little long, I don't know because I never told anyone before now." I nodded. "This is my house, Paul. This is where Joel, Sarah, my mom and I live. We eat here, we sleep here, we bathe here. This is our home. It's not the best, but we make it work because it's the best we can afford. Mom's out working two jobs to support the four of us so Joel and I are pretty much on our own when it comes to taking care of Sarah. She can be a brat most of the time, but we put up with her because we know the situation. The happiness I have at school is temporary. Whenever I'm out of this hell hole and with my friends or on stage, I'm the happiest kid in the world. When Dad left, he fucked us over. He reduced us to this...and this fucking sucks. Sure, Joel and I fucking hate him now, but we know that one day we'll get over it. Yeah, he used to hit us and shit, but that made us stronger. You...the problem that you've got going for you now is really fucking bad for you because you don't have to go through all of what I have. For your life, what you're going through is Hell and you want it to go away. I know that inside you feel the same way I do when I'm alone. I hate being alone, especially here. If you think for one minute that you're giving me a burden by talking to me about what's going down over at your house, then you're fuckin' stupid. You're my friend and I would die for you. I love you Paul, you're a great fucking guy and I know that what you're going through now will just make you stronger in the future, you know? When we're living it up on MTV or something, you'll look back on all this and smile. You'll look back on it and be like, 'Damn. That sucked, but look where I am now.' You know?" I nodded again. Benji smiled.

"Thanks Benj."

"No problem, dude. If you ever need me or Joel, well...now you know where we live despite how badly we wanted to keep it from our friends. This shit is fucking embarrassing. I mean, we can't even eat as a family at a table because we had to sell it last month for rent money."

"Well, the favor is mutual. If you or Joel or anyone else in your family need something, you know where I live." He smirked and hit my shoulder.

"We're going to do great things, Paul."

"Yeah we are."

"We're going to get through this shit."

"Right."

"And we're going to look back and laugh. We're never going to do this to our families."

"Never." We both laughed. We were happy that no matter how bad shit got, we'd always be able to focus at the light at the end of the tunnel.

/Fin./