Chapter Text
Sprout grumbled while walking down the hallway, dragging his feet knowing he’d reach his inevitable doom soon. It was Shrimpo’s own fault anyways! Nobody messes with Cosmo on his watch, Cosmo was the most important person in his life after all.
How was he going to explain this to his mother? His father was already disappointed at this whole fiasco but the second his mom found out he wouldn’t be able to do anything for weeks! He and Cosmo had plans this weekend too… guess they had to reschedule.
Sprout finally made it to his destination, the head office. Seems like his dad called them because Mr. Walton, the principal, was already waiting for his arrival at the doors.
“Sprout Seedly, come on in. We have a lot to talk about.” Mr. Walton said while having his arms crossed and staring with a “no-nonsense” expression.
“It’s just Sprout.” Sprout said whilst gritting his teeth before walking through the doors.
Walking inside Mr. Walton sat down at an old worn out desk with his name embedded in it. Sprout stood off to the side of the office before Mr. Walton gestured to a chair opposite to him.
After Sprout sat down and got situated, Mr. Walton began. “Sprout, care to explain from your perspective the incident that just occurred in the gym?”
Sprout took a breath before speaking. “Shrimpo was being an asshole like he typically is and hurt Cosmo, so naturally I had to step in!” Sprout said in a sure tone.
“First off, language. We don’t speak of our peers like that. Secondly, according to our cameras Shrimpo was just playing the game before you came onto him. You should know better than this Sprout.” Mr. Walton replied.
Sprout sighed and rolled his eyes before staring at the floor.
“Sprout. I’m worried for your wellbeing as a student, you’re always in here and every time it’s the same story. I have no choice but to suspend you two weeks, and the next time you violate the school code? A month.”
“Wait a minute you can’t be serious!” Sprout exclaimed. “What about all of my schoolwork? My clubs? I’m the stage manager for theatre!”
“You will take online courses for the 2 weeks until you are able to come back to school, and you aren’t eligible for any school activities until your suspension is over.” Mr. Walton explained with a sigh.
“Are you gonna tell my mom?” Sprout asked nervously.
“Yes, in fact you’re going to tell her yourself. Come over here.” Mr. Walton gestured towards the phone.
Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, Sprout dialed his mom’s number. His hands were shaking as the phone rang.
After a few moments, he heard his mom through the other line. “Hello?” His mom asked through the other line. He looked over at Mr. Walton nervously and then focused himself back on the phone.
“Hey mom… I kinda- er, beat up a kid today because he hurt Cosmo.” Sprout blurted. “And I’m getting suspended for 2 weeks.” He added quickly.
“Sprout. I thought I raised you better than this, you’ve always been such a charming boy and now you do anything you want to ruin your reputation! I knew that cake roll was a bad example.”
“Mom! He has a name and it’s Cosmo! And also, for the record, Cosmo’s done nothing wrong. I did this on my own accord.” Sprout explained.
He heard his mom let out an annoyed sigh on the other line. “Does your dad know?” She asked.
“Yeah… it may or may not have happened in his- um, class.” Sprout said nervously, stuttering a bit as he did.
“My goodness Sprout! What’s gotten into you?” He could practically see the expression that was no doubt plastered on his moms face, disappointment with a mix of worry. “You’re lucky you’re staying with your dad tonight. When I get you this weekend you’re in for it! Hand the phone to Mr. Walton now. I need to talk to him about this.” She demanded.
Sprout gave the phone to Mr. Walton before sitting down at his chair again. After around 5 minutes Mr. Walton put the phone down but Sprout was too invested in his thoughts to notice anything. He could vaguely hear him calling his name but didn’t snap out of his thoughts until Mr. Walton shook his shoulder. Sprout apologized before Mr. Walton told him he had to go and apologize to Shrimpo.
Sprout gave a simple nod and stood up, letting Mr. Walton lead him towards the nurses office, where Shrimpo was.
…
“Don’t worry Shrimpo, you’ll feel betta reel soon!” Sprout heard Finn when he walked in. Shrimpo was sitting in a chair off to the side with Finn next to him, holding an ice pack up to Shrimpos bandaged up nose. Looking over to the desk he saw Ginger, the nurses assistant taking blots temperature.
After a moment everyone turned towards the door, Sprout suddenly feeling very awkward from the attention. He looked at his feet for a moment before looking back up and giving a small wave to Ginger, she smiled softly and gave back a wave of her own.
Sprout walked over to Shrimpo before apologizing. “I’m sorry Shrimpo, I let my emotions get the better of me and I didn’t actually mean to punch you.” Sprout said whilst looking at the floor, ashamed.
Shrimpo offered a grumble in return and crossed his arms.
After a moment Sprout realized that he wouldn’t be given an answer and turned back towards the door, still feeling guilty and awkward after the fiasco.
…
For the rest of the day, Sprout was stuck in that tiny office. He didn’t realize it earlier, but it was quite stuffy in there. After the last bell rang for the day Sprout stood up and started walking towards the gym, where he knew his dad would be waiting for him.
On his way, he saw Cosmo looking around with a worried expression, undoubtedly for him. Once Cosmo had locked eyes with Sprout his emotion softened immediately.
“Sprout! Oh my god I thought I wasn’t going to see you again!” Cosmo exclaimed.
“That’s the thing,” Sprout said. “You won’t.”
“Wait what?” Cosmo asked, confused.
“I got suspended and you know my dad and mom will never let me see you! My mom hates you as is.” Sprout explained sullenly, trying to not look at Cosmo and instead his shoes.
Cosmo just stood for a moment before wrapping his arms around Sprout in a tight but comforting hug. Sprout was stiff before melting into the hug himself and sobbing softly. Although Cosmo was much shorter than Sprout, he rested his head on Cosmo’s shoulder. These two weeks were going to be absolutely hellish, for Sprout especially.
After crying quietly for a few minutes, Sprout pulled back and wiped off his face with his arm, smearing his eyeliner he had on.
“You should get going, don’t want to miss the bus now, right?” Sprout said, his voice hoarse and cracking from crying. Cosmo gave him a soft smile before nodding and walking over to the doors.
After watching Cosmo go out the doors, he continued towards his original destination, heart pounding and thoughts racing. This car ride home was going to be awkward.
Walking into the gym, he found his dad waiting for him. His arms were crossed and his foot was furiously tapping on the floor.
“Now WHERE have you been Sprout Seedly? School ended 15 minutes ago, and what do you have on your face?” His dad poked at him, suspicion obvious in his tone.
“Um yeah… Mr. Walton kept me a bit longer… and it’s eyeliner.” Sprout mumbled, even with his eyes still watery Sprout could make out the disappointment in his father’s face.
“Eyeliner? Son, makeup is for girls! I won’t be raising no homosexual in my household!” His dad shouted at him, the loud noise making Sprout flinch.
Sprout took a shaky deep breath, not being able to reply he just turned his head down and started crying again. Typically he would be able to have a comeback to his usual put-downs, but he was so overwhelmed he physically couldn’t.
The warm, salty tears that felt shameful on his skin as he cried, his eyeliner leaving streaks on his cheeks as they made their way to his chin. He sniffed once before facing his father. His dad wore an annoyed expression on his face as he creased his eyebrows.
“Pick up your bag, we’re going home.” His dad said, voice neutral even as his own son cried.
Sprout realized his bag slipped off of his back sometime during when he was crying. He knelt down and picked it up before starting towards the door, where his dad was already walking towards.
…
The car ride home was… awkward, to say the least. Sprout had to give his dad his phone and headphones, which meant he had to hear his father’s cruel words targeted towards him. He pretended like he couldn’t hear him and looked out the window.
Now that he was home, he started taking off all of his bracelets (besides his and Cosmos matching ones, of course) and clothes, trading his typical emo attire for a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a graphic tee he got when he was younger. Looking in his mirror, he realized how much of a mess he looked. His eyeliner was all over his face in distinct tear lines and his petals were messy.
After readjusting his petals and wiping off his eyeliner, he looked a bit better. He thought about calling Cosmo before realizing he didn’t have his phone anymore. Feeling saddened over the realization he made his way over to his un-made bed and laid down, trying to let sleep overtake him.
A few hours later he woke up to a loud knocking on his door before it was rudely opened, banging against his wall with the force of it.
“Dinners ready.” His dad was in the doorway for a moment more before walking back into the kitchen. After a moment Sprout sat up, realizing he had drooled in his sleep. After wiping the drool off of his cheek he walked into the kitchen. His dinner was already on a plate and waiting for him to come and eat. It looked like some kind of vegetable and chicken? He couldn’t tell, his dad’s cooking wasn’t the best.
After sitting down and picking at his meal for a few minutes, his dad spoke.
“Son, I want you to join a sport. That “theatre” stuff you do is neat and all but it’s brainwashed you into doing things a male shouldn’t.” His dad had a stern expression as he cut his chicken, the meat tough and dry.
Sprout simply nodded as he picked at his dinner, not having an appetite at all. He didn’t know how to tell Cosmo and the rest of the theatre he was being forced to quit. These next few weeks truly were going to be hell.