#being scolded and bullied despite attempts to Be Good and earn Approval

[faunabel]

apparently i also put tolerate it by taylor swift on my playlist for vene....... i also see it. perhaps in a looser sort of way.

[lovelahela]

❛ high road ❜ ─ mother of the year.

⇢ entry for choices march challenge ! @choicesmarchchallenge

⇢ pairing: hailey young + astra young, thomas mendez x mc (hailey young)

⇢ genre: fluff, humour

⇢ prompt: high road ++ kindness

⇢ description: in which astra is paired up with ajax for a school project and seeks life lessons from her mother on how to deal with it.

⇢ word count: 1597

⇢ notes: i’m going to try my best to participate at least every other day if not every day for the rest of the month in hope of spreading positivity during these difficult times. i really do hope i'll manage to put a smile on someone's face and these dark moments just a little bit easier.

if you want to be put on my moty tag list, tell me!

❛ it's my way or the high way! ❜

❛ that... is not what i meant when i told you to take the high road, sweetie. ❜

Soft laughter and the aromatic scent that insinuated the presence of baked goods in the outdated oven filled the quaint apartment on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A brunette with a petite frame struggled against the hold of a noticeably taller and broader man wearing the goofiest grin on his handsome face. Hailey shrieked in surprise when Thomas smeared the coccoa filled batter across her rosy cheeks.

"You've crossed a line! THIS MEANS WAR!" She emitted a surprisingly powerful battlecry for such a small woman, shocking her captor into released her from his arms. He stared at her for a few seconds, dumbfounded, before he burst into laughter so genuine that Hailey's feigned angry expression softened into one of admiration and awe.

Thomas braced himself against the counter and his shoulders and entire body shook as sounds of joy interrupted the short period of silence. A small smile stretched her small, plump lips and eyes the colour of rich soil sparkled with fondness. Once his laughter died down, he coughed awkwardly upon noticing her staring and their closeness, and he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Uh — you have a pretty strong battlecry for someone so tiny." He grinned yet again, a playful glint in his steel blue-gray eyes.

Hailey whacked his shoulder jokingly. "Rude! I'm not that short, for a Korean woman."

"Emphasis on the for a Korean part." She poked his ribs, receiving a surprised yelp as a response. He raised his arms defensively. "Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing. Wouldn't wanna lose you — people of your stature are in short supply."

Hailey gasped, but couldn't fight the wide smile that practically stretched from ear to ear. "You did not!"

"You're right, I didn't." He looked at her with a wicked expression. "I wouldn't dare insult you — you're a little intimidating — and yet very good at small talk!"

She squealed in mocked offense and slapped his rather muscular arm multiple times, ignoring the fact that he showed little to no reaction to her attempted physical attacks. "You're just jealous you'd never be able to measure up to someone as amazing as me!"

Thomas cackled evilly at her choice of words. "You know what, Hailey Bear? You're right. I might need to knock myself down a few inches. Maybe lower my expectations a little bit."

At that point, she couldn't fight the giggles that bubbled out of her lips against her will. "I walked myself into that one!" Her laughter bounced off the words, chaotic and jovial, but like a melody to his ears. While he appeared distracted with her, she seized the opportunity to smear batter across his cheeks in retaliation. He gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"Traitor!" He lunged at her menacingly, and with a surprised squeal, Hailey attempted to flee from impending doom. However, he was too fast for her, and grabbed her arm with a satisfied "aha!"

Without realizing his own strength, he pulled her body up against his own, suddenly putting mere centimetres between their faces. Granted, she had to tilt her head upwards to fully look him in his widened eyes — which she realized were rather gorgeous up close. His lips were parted, shocked by the sudden turn of events, and his breathing was laboured as his heart hammered against his ribcage.

A fuzzy feeling that, as much as she hated to admit it, only ever showed up around the adorable yet dorky lawyer settled in Hailey's stomach. Blood rushed to her already reddened cheeks and ears as she tried to ignore the feeling of her chest pressed against hers. They were either too shocked to move, or they didn't want to — maybe a little bit of both.

The sound of a door being flung open snapped them back into reality, and they sprung apart from each other. The two dissolved into a fit of embarased coughs, each avoiding the other's gaze. Two small girls shuffled into the living room, oblivious to the tension between their parents. Luz, Thomas's fiesty daughter with lovely, curly hair had her arms crossed across her chest defiantly with a determined look on her adorably scrunched up face. However, Hailey's daughter Astraea, whose messy bangs shielded her eyes shamefully and gloomily, had her shoulders slumped in defeat. Hailey's motherly instincts kicked in almost immediately, completely forgetting her previous interactions with Thomas.

She rushed forward and kneeled down, gently placing her hands on her petite child's shoulders. A frown distorted her gentle features. "Hey, hey, what's wrong, sweetie?"

Though her voice was calm, it was laced with concern. Thomas furrowed his eyebrows worriedly and glanced at Luz for an explanation.

"Astra's still sad that she got partnered with that buttface August for our science project."

"Luz! Language!"

"Hey! You weren't supposed to tell!" Astraea pouted at her best friend's betrayal, bottom lip quivering inconspicuously. Hailey almost didn't notice it.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier, Rocket?" The corners of Astraea's lips quirked upwards at the use of the nickname her mother and her beloved neighbour Levi began calling her, but the smile faded as quickly as it came.

"I didn't want you to talk to the teachers, or anything. People will think I'm a snitch — and snitches get stitches," she whimpered, ashamed of keeping it a secret from her mother.

"That — that assbutt will get stitches if he doesn't watch out!" yelled Luz angrily.

Hailey bit down her laugh when Thomas choked on thin air behind her, imagining the horrified look on his face. "WHERE ARE YOU LEARNING THOSE WORDS?"

"Look, August may be a little mean — " she ignored the scoff from Luz, knowing she couldn't truly express what she thought about that little twerp " — but he wouldn't risk failing to bully you. If he tries to annoy or tease you, just take the high road. Do you know what that means?"

Astraea thought back to the time she heard her mother use a similar phrase when talking to someone on the phone, and scrunched up her face in determination with an exaggerated nod. "Yep! Thanks, mom!"

Hailey ruffled her daughter's shoulder-blade-length, jet black hair and fixed the bangs so she could see her beautiful irises, a warm brown with specks of a soft blue you could spot if you looked hard enough. After her messy divorce with her ex-husband Guy Ledford, those blue specks reminded her of his despicable eyes until Astraea made them her own.

Once the duo rushed back into Astra's bedroom, Hailey stood up and absentmindedly turned to face Thomas. Nervous butterflies ate at her insides as memories of their exchanged flooded her mind.

"I — Uh — We — "

" I mean — Um — We could — "

Upon accepting that neither of them could formulate a full, coherent sentence, they let out a single cough simultaneously and resumed their baking activities, subtly smiling to themselves despite their flaming cheeks.

The following day, Hailey drived to Bernhardt academy, anxious about seeing how Astraea handled her day with the pompous child that made her put up with incessant teasing and occasional bullying. Her blood boiled whenever she thought of him and his mother, Vanessa Blackwood, who had been throwing comments with underlying hints of racism and homophobia at her. Although his twin brother Ajax was more bearable, he was too meek.

The students began filing out of the school and ran into their parents' waiting arms. Hailey stood on her tiptoes, her eyes scanning the crowd of little ones to find her own. Finally, she spotted Astraea walking out in a fast pace, arguing with a familiar boy while clutching her books against her chest in a knuckle-whitening grip. Hailey frowned at the sight of the two bickering heatedly and waited for them to get closer to listen to their conversation. Luz and Thomas walked up beside her.

"Everything okay, Hails?" asked Thomas gently, his arm around his child's shoulder. Said child cracked her knuckles menacingly while glaring at the bully walking beside her approaching best friend. "Time to kick some butt!"

He sighed, but decided against scolding her for the time being.

"You're wrong! That would be totally uncool! We should build an airplane!" argued August relentlessly as his brother trailed behind him nervously.

Finally, Astraea whirled around and glared at him fiercly, very red-faced and teeth clenched.

"For the last time, the theme isn't aerodynamics!" The volume of her voice heightened with each uttered word, drawing the fleeting attention of near parents and children. Hailey gaped at the sight of her sweet little daughter snapping at someone, and despite the proud feeling that welled up inside of her, she warned her like any other responsible adult would do, in theory. "Astra! Inside voices!"

Even August appeared shocked at her outburst. "You can't talk to me like that!"

"Yes, I... I can!" Her voice and resolve wavered at his equally furious and intimidating gaze, worrying her mother. However, she squared her shoulders and retorted confidently. "It's... It's my way or the high way!"

No one spoke for the following seconds, unsure of what to say at her uncharacteristic choice of words. Upon processing the context behind them, Hailey snorted, earning a look of disapproval from Thomas while Luz whooped in approval at Astraea's decision to stand up for herself aggressively.

She cracked an involuntary smile, beaming proudly at her daughter. "That... is not what I meant when I told you to take the high road, sweetie."