Closed A Shoulder to Lean On

[Nolan Burke]

It had been a couple of weeks since they were back at school and Nolan was a little glad to be back at school. He was a bit reluctant to go to school earlier, not so much now. Him coming out to his parents and sister had been a mix of emotions. While his dad and Molly were all supportive, his mother absolutely hadn't been. She hadn't really been supportive of most things about him recently, which included his future career in music. He really tried to make up for it by trying to get good grades but that hadn't worked and she wasn't impressed. His prefect badge had come in a couple of days later after he had come out and his mother still wouldn't speak or look at him when he had told her about the prefect badge. The whole dynamic of the family was starting to change a bit, his younger siblings were completely unaware of the situation and Nolan didn't like the feeling one bit.

Nolan sat by the lake, underneath a tree and sitting on a log. It was before dinner time and Nolan watched as the sun was slowly starting to set, trying to clear his head from the past events. He remembered when he was younger when he and his dad would watch the sunset together, and he still did them with him during breaks. Nolan also watched the sunset almost every day at school as he felt homesick when he reached school sometimes.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly had been worried about Nolan for a while now. Not as worried as she was before, but still worried about him. She had seen what had happened between their mother and him, and it was not the greatest sight to look at. She hadn't seen her mother this angry in her life. She remembered the tears running down Nolan's face that night and how he disappeared into his room sadly as their mum had kept yelling at him. He tried yelling back, but the poor boy was too upset to say anything. She remembered the face of shock on their dad's faces as he watched their mum's outburst, and being so angry with their mother as soon as Nolan left the room. Her brother was just sad and mopey now, but she could see some of his happiness coming back, but not much.

Molly had been looking for Nolan everywhere. The two grew a little closer as well, which she liked. She enjoyed her brother's company, even if she herself wouldn't shut up and spoke nonsense most of the time. He hadn't been in the common room, student lounge or the arts room, where he normally would be. She then thought of the lake as she remembered that he would watch the sunset sometimes. She quickly made her way down to the lake and smiled gleefully when she noticed the familiar figure. Molly happily skipped towards the slightly older boy and took a seat next to him. "Hey Nollie, how are ya? and watch doooiinnnggg"

 

[Nolan Burke]

Nolan looked beside him when he heard his sister. He tried his best to not cringe at the nickname that Molly had given him. "You need to stop calling me that you know" Nolan joked lightly a little, as he nudged his sister with his shoulders playfully. Nolan shrugged and frowned a little at his sister's questions. "I was just looking out at the sunset. Like dad and I usually do when we're... home" Nolan says with a sad smile, though he struggled a bit at saying the word home. He didn't know if that was something he'd call home. "I'm... doing okay. You should stop worrying about me though, that's not your job..." Nolan says with a shake of his head, as he then looked towards the distance as he watched the sun slowly starting to set. He felt it should be his job to worry about Molly. Nolan then frowned in thought for a bit, as he continued to watch the sunset. "Has... mum written letters to you at all?"

 

[Molly Burke]

The younger sibling pouted jokingly. "But it's fun calling you Nollie... Nollie" Molly said as she then burst into a fit of giggles. She didn't know why, but she thought it was funny. She always thought her lame jokes were funny. Molly smiled sadly as her brother spoke about a memory with their dad. They really loved their dad. Though frowned a little as he hesitated on the mention of home. She decided not to ask or push it. "Not my job? You're my brother, so I'm gonna worry about you whether you like it or not" Molly says with a shrug. She was always worried about all her siblings, not just Nolan. She practically felt like a mother hen worry about her kids.

Molly frowned a little at her brother's next question. "She's only written once or twice to me... Not as often as before. Telling me to keep up with my grades and focus on a good career, and blah blah blah" Molly says with a small shake of her head as she continued to frown a little. Ever since what had happened during the break, she had felt more pressure from her mum move on her from her brother. She knew Nolan didn't want to pursue in the career their mum wanted him to. "I know mums been writing a lot to Conan though. Apparently, she's been asking how I'm doing... I asked Conan if she's mentioned you. But nope, she hasn't mentioned or asked about you at all" Molly explains with a slight frown. "Wanna bet that Conan or Fiona are her current favourites?" Molly joked. The older siblings often joked about who were their parents' favourites.

 

[Nolan Burke]

Nolan chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully as Molly continued on with the nickname. He had the nickname since he was very little. His sisters would call him this and the nickname sorta stuck. Even if it was annoying for him sometimes. Nolan frowned at Molly's statement. "Yes, not your job. I am the older brother, so it should be my job to worry about you" Nolan informed his sister with a chuckle. But he knew that all the siblings worried about each other.

Nolan frowned again as Molly explained about the letters their mum had been sending her. It had made him a little annoyed. "Of course, she's sending you those letters... She did the same thing with me. Just... Try and not that affect you at all. She's now pushing all that grade stuff towards you because she knows that I'm not gonna listen to her and such" Nolan says with a small shrug. He felt bad that the whole career and grade pressure was on Molly's shoulders and not his. He wasn't surprised that their mum was doing this though. Nolan nodded sadly at the fact that their mum has been in contact with their youngest brother, but had become sadder with the fact that their mum hadn't even asked how he was doing. Not even asking about his prefect duties, which he had assumed his mum would be proud of. "Oh... I see" Nolan says with a small frown. "Those two troublemakers being mum's favourites? I don't think so" Nolan says jokingly with a small smile. Deep down he knew that their mum always seemed to have a favourite child, though it seemed to change a lot.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly shook her head jokingly at her brother's statement. She was gonna ignore him anyways and was going to continue worrying about him. He was her brother after all. She frowned a little at her brother's statement. She didn't realise that her mum had also sent her brother those sorts of letters. "She's mean... I mean, I get she wants us to have good grades, but she can't force us" Molly says with a frown. The Hufflepuff girl wanted to spend her time with her friends and not so much studying. She giggled at her brother's statement about their younger siblings. Fiona and Conan were slightly more troublesome compared to Molly and Nolan. She noticed the earring that her brother had on. "I'm surprised you still have that on. Has mum seen that?" Molly says teasingly and jokingly as she pointed to the earring that was on her older brother's left ear.

 

[Nolan Burke]

Nolan chuckled a little. "Yeah, she's mean... That's how she is..." Nolan says awkwardly, not really knowing what to say about their mother. He was still upset and mad with his mum. He was afraid of his mum too, and he didn't really know when or how he was going to face his mother. But it defiantly wasn't going to be anytime soon. He frowned in confusion as his sister pointed at his ear, which made him touch his left ear before he realised what his sister was talking about. "Oh! Yeah. It's kinda growing on me" Nolan says with a chuckle, as he fiddled with the earring that was on his left ear. His friends back home had dared him to get his ears pierced during the break. He had hung out with his friends a lot more after the reaction of his mother when he came out to them. Nolan was unsure about the dare at first, knowing how strict his mother was. But decided to pierce his ear anyway, as it was a dare. "I dunno if mum's noticed, to be honest. She hasn't really looked at or spoken to me since everything"

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly nodded after her brother responded, sensing the awkwardness about bringing up their mum. The whole situation with their mum was just awful and she didn't really understand the way her mother was acting. But she was glad when she decided to change the subject somehow. "The earring looks cool on you. I'm surprised you went with the dare. Mum's defiantly going to murder you when she finds out" Molly says jokingly with a small giggle. She knew their mum wouldn't approve of it. "Are you going to come home during the break?"