The pair were sitting on the steps outside of the school when Mrs. Angela Simms pulled up to the front, cheerily waving at her daughter from the driver's seat.

Rather than waiting for her daughter to get in, she put the car in park and got out, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders. Laura, laughing, returned the embrace.

"Now a bad time to tell you that I got three more detentions?" Laura smiled sheepishly.

Mrs. Simms smacked her daughter on the arm, "THREE? Laura Simms what on earth did you do?"

"Your big brother is out of his mind," she began to explain, "but I guess I did kind of deserve two of them..."

"What about detention number three?"

"I called him out for being a biased asshole."

To Bender's surprise, Mrs. Simms let out a peal of laughter.

"Was it worth it?" she laughed.

Laura grinned at her mother, nodding, "All three of them were."

Bender was just beginning to sneak away, feeling out of place in the presence of a functional family when Mrs. Simms spoke up again, "Who's your friend, Laura Bell?"

Laura rolled her eyes at the nickname but took a step forward to grab John's arm and pull him back, "Momma, this is John Bender. John, this is my mom Angela Simms."

Mrs. Simms smiled warmly at the boy - one look told her he could use a little warmth - and stuck her hand out for him to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Simms," he greeted awkwardly.

She grinned, "Call me Angie. The pleasure's mine."

She turned back to her daughter, "How's chicken for dinner?"

"Chicken's great."

She cut her eyes back to the disheveled boy, lowering her voice, "Would you like to ask your new friend to join us?"

Laura grinned happily at her mother, "I was just about to ask if it was okay."

"Hey John," Laura started, "Mom and I were wondering if you wanted to stay for dinner this evening. What do you think?"

John Bender was gobsmacked, Laura wanted him in her home? More than that, her mother, who had just met him, was willing to welcome him? What kind of people were they?

The normal kind, he supposed.

"I'll have to make sure dad doesn't need me or something," he mumbled, looking at the ground.

Angie tilted her head at him. Something was up with this boy. He seemed nervous at the mention of his father.

She smiled again, placing a hand on his elbow, "Well, why don't you come on home with us and you can use our phone to call and ask. I can give you a ride back if he needs you."

He glanced back towards Laura, who smiled and nodded enthusiastically. He felt entirely out of place, and he found that he wasn't sure what to do next, or how to handle the situation he found himself in. It was a change from his usual. He had learned to be one step ahead for most everything else.

Still, it would mean he got to spend more time with Laura, and her mother did seem to genuinely want him there, so he murmured his consent, smiling despite himself when both women excitedly led him to the car. Angie even threatened to put him to work cutting up chicken breasts, which Bender found he didn't mind the thought of.

The house wasn't large or particularly special, but there was an upstairs and a downstairs and it felt warm and welcoming indoors, no doubt due to the nature of its inhabitants.

His father was shouting at him over the phone and John was doing his best to keep his composure as Angie and Laura were there in the kitchen, glancing back at him every now and then.

"Get your worthless ass back home now," his father threatened, "or the beating you're gonna get is gonna make you wish you were never born."

"Already do." he muttered under his breath.

His father shouted more obscenities at him and he leaned his forehead up against the wall, flinching when a warm hand came to rest on his shoulder. Mrs. Simms gestured for the phone, which Bender tried to decline, but she looked at him with such a pointed expression on her face that made him realize where Laura had gotten her headstrong kindness from.

He handed it over, apologizing in advance.

"Mr. Bender, yes, hello," she paused, "No, your son isn't bothering us. We invited him."

There was another moment as she listened.

"Angela Simms. No, I took the phone from him. I insisted, in fact." she twirled the cord between her fingers, raising an eyebrow, "Well, to be frank, Mr. Bender, I didn't like the sound of some of the things coming out of the receiver. We are happy to have your son here and he's more than welcome to stay as long as he likes."

Had his father been that loud?

Laura gently put a hand on his bicep, leading him toward the small living room. He was embarrassed by everything that was happening, and now Laura knew that his family was fucked up. He was fucked up too.

He pulled away from her.

Laura wasn't having any of that. Her hand reclaimed the place it had been before and she led him to sit down on the plush sofa before her hands took hold of his. He hadn't even realized they'd been shaking.

"Just breathe, John," she tried telling him, "Momma can be a bitch when she needs to be."

She smirked, bobbing her head toward the older woman, who was whispering sharply into the receiver.

"John Bender is not a waste of space," Mrs. Simms spat at his father, "And shame on you for ever making him believe he is. Now, just because you can't seem to get through a sentence without slurring your words, and the only way you can get control of a situation is to belittle the people around you, and you made nothing out of your life, don't you take it out on him. Don't you dare."

She roughly hung up the phone, muttering something about the nerve of that man, while two young faces looked on. Her daughter was in impressed awe at her. The boy on the couch seemed confused and a little frightened.

He would never, ever, tell them, especially not after they'd helped him so much, but Mrs. Simms likely just guaranteed him the beating of his life. He probably would have gotten that for being late home anyway.

Still, it was sorta nice hearing someone stick up to the old man. It was nice having someone stick up for him, too. Both of the Simms ladies had done that today.

Angie took a breath before putting her smile back on and announcing to the two that John would indeed be staying for dinner and that she'd also told his father that John had the option of staying the night if he wished to. She went back into the kitchen, casting a knowing glance at her daughter before disappearing behind the wall.

Laura focused her attention back on Bender, who had resumed studying one particular spot on the rug, breathing deeply, elbows on his knees. She sat down beside him, their shoulders touching.

"...Will you stay?" she asked after a few minutes.

He could only shrug. He feared that if he spoke no sound would come out. It felt like his voice was stuck in his throat.

Laura studied him, recognizing his unwillingness to look at her as shame for causing them trouble, and embarrassment at how his father had behaved. She'd also noticed that he seemed to have a hard time with people being kind to him, likely because most people weren't.

In truth, he wasn't even sure what he was feeling, and that terrified him to no end. He was embarrassed and ashamed, and scared, and grateful, and happy, and angry. Being out of control was not something he was used to.

He felt safe here, though. He found that he didn't want that to end.

And the girl sitting next to him. Laura Simms, who in nine hours had given him more than he'd got from his parents in his entire life, who did not run from his anger, not freaked out by his attitude, not disgusted by the old clothes he wore, not frightened away because of the life he was forced to lead in private. He didn't deserve her, but he didn't have it in him to pull away from her again. She'd probably just pull him back anyway.

Something wet dripped onto the rug.

What made her and her mother treat him so well? The dinner invitation was more than enough in his book. They didn't have to do everything that came with it. They didn't owe him a thing.

His hands were not the only part of him that was shaking.

Laura slowly scooted closer to the boy, sympathy for him growing by the second, and angled her body towards him before pulling him close. He didn't try and fight her this time. He didn't have the strength to. Instead, he let her hold him, rocking him back and forth, holding his head against her chest and whispering "It's okay," over and over into his hair.

When dinner rolled around, he found himself laughing and smiling with Laura and her mother, and enjoyed the feeling of a full stomach. After some insisting from Angie, he did agree to stay the night, and Laura went to grab some of her dad's old clothes for him to wear.

When he asked where he was, Laura smiled sadly and pointed to the urn on the mantle, and Bender thought he would die of embarrassment, but Laura patted his shoulder and told him it was okay, that Thomas Simms had been gone a long time, and that he wouldn't mind if John borrowed some of his things.

He didn't want to think about what would happen tomorrow when his welcome finally ran out, when he had to face his father again, so he tried not to. Tonight was what mattered, away from his parents and with food in his stomach, and a warm place to sleep, and a shower.

He would enjoy tonight as long as it lasted.