Chapter Text
A suit case laid out on the bed, half filled with unfolded clothes, and a jar of cash he’d saved up from his shifts at local pizza shop. Waiting tables for his mother’s best friend had given him a pretty penny. One he might spend on a vehicle once he arrives back up north for the final time.
It was hard to find any clothes that would actually be of use to him after he climbed off that plane. South Texas was often clear sky’s- temperatures ranging from 70 to 90 on an average. Even winter was tolerable. All you ever needed was a t-shirt and a light jacket. None of these clothes would be useful in Washington state.
Stanley could say he was going to miss the fair wether in El Paso. Sure the greenery was technically beautiful where his dad lived, but he definitely preferred his afternoons not being rained out of skateboarding. His mother- yeah, they had always been super close.
Despite spending every summer together, David felt like a stranger. Evelyn, his mother, had divorced his father when he was very young. It could have been for a number of reasons, such as bills piling up, or different career preferences, or hobbies that didn’t align, and different visions for their lives….it wasn’t made to be and sometimes that just happened. Regardless, every time the temperature rose at the end of a school year, Stanley was put on a plane to go sappy ass ran town. The most depressing place on the continent.
Yeah, he had never seen a clear day in Forks before. It was icky sticky mud and puddles. The population maxing out at less then one thousand people didn’t help either. Literally everybody knew everybody in a pile out outdated houses surrounded by a dense forest with god knows what crawling through it. As a child- he would dream about it.
Because there is nothing like waking up in the room of barren blue moon light after a vision of small town folk standing outside David’s house watching one sleep. And a huge black fog pouring out of the woods across the street threatening to swallow the child whole was the cat’s pajamas. How thoughtful of them to call his name in unison.
Stanley swiped his cracked I-phone open as it pinged. Another message from Mom warning him he was going to miss his flight. Followed by another message asking him if he was purposely trying to miss it. He just sucked at packing. Stanley texted a message back saying that he would be on his way down soon.
He was only going there so that his mom could sell their house in Texas to move into the small condo her new husband owned. Harry lived in Dallas, working as a radio host for some jazz station the tall blond knew almost nothing about. But he had made his mother happy though, and mom always choose Stan.
Besides, what is two years right? He would be back in the south west attending university before he owned a coat. As for what he would study, well, you could rain check that.
The suit case got zipped up with pace after some random shoes where chucked inside, slid off the bed and began clattering down concrete porch stairs to where Mom was waiting to drop him off at El Paso International.
They road in silence, the Jazz channel Harry worked for playing in the background. Evelyn smiled and turned it up every time his voice came on the radio, and when he was done speaking, she would turn it down. Evelyn preferred rock music, Jazz was a little slow for her liking. It was a short ride, traffic wasn’t to bad. A woman with graying hair escorted her now sixteen year old boy in and waited in those hard plastic seats at the gate until his flight was called. When it was time to go- she asked to many questions, cried a bit, claimed a divider could be put in the condos bedroom. He promised to call and text, and said he would be back to visit on holidays.
“Okay. I’ll call you when you land!” She said jabbing a tear out her eye.
“Not if I beat you to it.” The tall blond smirked before turning off, his smile dropping instantly.
Stanley climbed through the terminal gate with a carry on. The book bag carried a charger, laptop, empty water bottle, a spare pair of socks, and other random things his coddling mother forced in there. The seat waved hello with insincerity and stan immediately took the laptop out loading up a document to take a record of everything that happened while he was on the plane.
During the trip he recorded the couple who looked as though they where planning on making love in the sky bathroom, a screaming toddler and the father who gave him a spanking, then himself.
He wrote a very little about himself ‘The people of Forks are ugly, pale and weird. I am going to kill myself before I graduate.’ Then his laptop died. The rest of the flight looking out the side window at the sky beside him with narrowed dry eyes.
But, flight number blah blah, did not get hijacked and forcibly flown to a sunny location. Instead it landed safely in Seattle, where then sun was out, and no way! Clouds where passing by. . . It must be a foreshadowing. This was a warning to turn back now before they smothered his skin with pale blue tints. He didn’t though, he walked through the terminal and found him.
Hair was graying, a little bit of a pot belly, clearly drunk to much beer during his son’s time away. David had on that tan sheriffs uniform with a large smile. He approached Stanley who now out ranked him in height with a hug. Stanley hugged the other half of his DNA as if there was something beyond social expectation operating upstairs.
It was a slow drive in the take a vehicle home program. A blue and white house that once belonged to a young couple with a baby awaited three or four hours away. A noose tightened around his neck as the buildings disappeared in the passenger side mirror. On the way they stopped at a McDonalds in some town he wasn’t going to remember the name of. After using the bathroom, he went back out to the Clallam County sheriffs car..
A bag was passed over by the old man, opened by the teen and a burger was pulled out- eating took place in silence.
“So, you still skate boarding?” David asked trying to make small talk.
“Left my board at home because Forks doesn’t exactly have the terrain for it.” Stanley said food filling his mouth.
“That’s no way to get around anyways.” The sherif waved off the idea of his son riding around a town like forks in a poncho on a board- zooming through puddles and ruining his clothing.
“Yeah, I actually have some cash saved up for a car. Do you know anyone selling something for around 2 grand or less?” Another bite was taken, and cramping filled his chest cavity knowing this would be the last time, in a very long time, he would be eating anything that didn’t come from the limited supply grocery.
He might just try to order grocery via Amazon if David would let him.
“Ugh, Byakuya is trying to sell his old truck, he doesn’t drive anymore- had a horrible accident about a year ago, got his legs crushed.” David said.
Stanley remembered Byakuya, his dad’s best friend and fishing partner from the reservation. When he was a kid he’d get hauled out to sit on the beach with Byakuya’s kid, Sai, while they cast lines out over the shore. Sometimes Sai’s cousin Ryusui would be there too. Sai was surely old enough to drive now though… why didn’t he take his dad’s truck?
“Why didn’t he give the truck to Sai?”
“Sai is a little, entitled now, you might say. He’s decided he is building his own vehicle.”
Stanley thought of the bratty brown haired kid he used to argue with about sandcastles during the summer. He had always been entitled. How was this even news to David? “How old is it.”
“It run’s real good.”
“That doesn’t answer the question Dad. It’s old isn’t it.”
“It has a new engine and he is basically giving it away.” Hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“I need something that will get me to and from.” The money he had saved wasn’t going to be enough after all. “Who is hiring in town.”
“Actually, I already talked too Maya, and she is willing to take you on at the diner if you want to make some extra cash. Told her about your experience at the pizza shop and that your a really hard worker.” Dad essentially created a spider web out of forks.
Getting hired because your sheriff's son, trendy. Couldn’t turn down the opportunity for employment though, could he? “Thanks Dad.”
“No problem. She said you can come in after school and get started, even started you off at eight teen an hour!” It was obvious that the man loved him.
“A whole extra dollar.” Stan said. “Awesome.” He smiled.
“More then what most of your peers are making.” David said patting the wheel to some song that plaid on the radio of the cruiser.
The rest of the drive was silent, greenery and the mud underneath folded around Stanley and his father as they drove on the thinning road. Clouds became more and then more apparent. He looked out the window a stomach bug moving in as he neared closer to Forks. Maybe it wasn’t just a childhood phobia, maybe the town actually was creepy. A rusty worn sign with the town name on it- not even a ‘welcome to’ above it stood too proudly.
David honked his horn as he passed one of the police cruisers, and received a honk back.
Sherif Snyder was a town celebrity that recused Ms. Fitzgerald's cat from a stray dog. The dog appeared out of nowhere one day, no collar no owner. probably some tourist passing through abandoning the unwanted luggage. Mr. Snuffles, now lived in a blue house on a lonely street across from the woods.
The paraded through town, people waved at the car and looked a little to closely to inspect the passenger seat. Stanley was pretty sure everyone in forks knew who he was thanks to David. There could be a bench with his name on it.
The cop car made it to drive way of the two story blue house. Forks, being the echo chamber it was, reverberated Snuffles barking and paw pounding to the tree’s behind them. This isn’t what had Stan’s attention though. It was the hideous, red rust they had parked next too.
David had already purchased the truck that could not go above ten miles per hour- hypothetically of course.
“Surprise!” The sherif said as if this was in anyway a good thing. Oh, how the popularity points where raking in and he hadn’t even stepped into the school yet.
“Wow! Can I see it?” He glued that smile on tight.
“Yeah- check it out!”
Stanley got out and pretended to inspect it thoroughly. It looked like scrap metal with new tires. To show his appreciation, he looked through the windows, admiring the torn leather seats. “Thanks! I love it!”
David offered a weak smile. “I tried to clean it up before you got here, put some new tires on it too.”
“It’s perfect! I can’t wait to drive it!” First of many many lies.
“Why not now?” David pulled a pair of keys out from his coat pocket and chucked them to Stanley.
Now way out now sucker, he unlocked the car’s door and sat inside the vehicle. It didn’t even have a radio. Keys went into the ignition with a turn, the engine screamed a verse to a black metal song.
“Yeah- Sai took the radio out and did something with it before I bought it.” David explained.
“No its cool, I don’t like music much anyways.” He had a blue tooth speaker it would be fine
David nodded his head at this. “You should take it around the block.”
Stanley threw the vehicle into drive and pulled out. All three houses on the street could probably hear the cluttery clanks. When he pulled back into the drive way, David had let the rottweiler out of the house to run around.
The dog was so excited to see him when he got out from behind the wheel. “Hey buddy!”
Snuffles stood on Stan’s shoulders, with the horrid stench of wet radiating from his fur. The dogs breath was even worse- which left the blond wondering what his dad had been feeding him.
“Come on.” David pulled the dog off of his son. “Give him a break Snuffles.”
“I’m gonna...take my stuff upstairs and get settled.”
“Sounds good!” David said. “I actually have to get down to the station.”
Stanley nodded and thanked his dad again for the truck, before grabbing the dog by the collar and getting him back inside. David had already set his suit case by the stairs. As soon as the Sheriffs vehicle was leaving- he let out a sigh of relief, frowning.
The dog however was still happy. Stanley shewed it away by throwing the toy it brought over, then rushed up stairs to his childhood bedroom with the suit case. The door was shut behind him, locking, as the dog started climbing the steps to get to him.
Then the horrible whimpering started outside. Stanley sat on the wood planks and covered his ears. He wanted to yell at the beast to shut up- but was afraid of his dad coming back and hearing it. Stan waited for what felt like an eternity covering his ears until the beast finally gave up and went back down stairs.
His childhood room was much the same as it had been during the summer, pastel blue curtains, solid white walls, a wooden full size bed frame with a heart carved into the middle, his plaid comforter spreading across it. In front of the window was a wooden desk with a glass cup, pens and pencils inside. There where some sports posters he wasn’t really that into hanging up, but other then that the room was bare.
Stanley stood up chucking the suit case onto the bed and began unpacking his things. He took the summer clothes out walking them over to the closet. His wardrobe was filled with winter clothing already. He looked down at the pile in his hands and shut the closet with a handing mirror over the door. The summer clothing went in the pull out drawers under the bed frame.
The jar of cash was set on the window. Now that a vehicle had been purchased, Stanley didn’t know what he was going to do with it. For now it might just be best to leave it for college. He could get new clothes and decorate his dorm room with things that where not posters of mildly attractive athletes.
Stanley laid down on the bed after this- feeling exhausted from the flight. He opened his phone to find a missed call from Evelyn- no actually three. His mother was probably already looking up news reports for plane crashes. He rung her up in quick succession, the woman responding on the first ring.
“Stanley?” She asked.
“Yeah mom I’m good, just settled in.”
“How is it?” Evelyn sounded excited.
“Great! David bought me a new truck so I wouldn’t have to walk to school.” He said in his best happy tone.
“I new you’d love it. Harry and I pitched in to help him get it for you.”
Stanley should have known that it was a coordinated gift. “Thanks mom.”
“Your such a good kid Stan, you deserve it.”
The line was quiet for a few minutes as his eyes went open and shut over the stale smelling comforter.
“You seem tired.” Evelyn said.
“Yeah…” Stanley tried.
“Well I’ll let you get some rest. Let me know how your first day goes!” The line was cut.