Your Ghost Is Scratching at My Skin

"Kellin! Get up, it's almost time for your party!" It was the sixth time his mother had yelled up the stairs at him, but he continued to ignore her. He didn't want a party. He didn't want to be celebrated. He just wanted to leave. Two more days, then he'd be on a plane to London and his mother would be clueless until it was too late. He was pulled out of his thoughts by his door swinging open. "Kellin, get up. Now. It's half past one in the afternoon. Your guest will be arriving soon." He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"You mean your guests. This party is just another way for you to flash your money and make people feel inferior to you." His mom scoffed and straightened her dress.
"I am the mayor, Kellin. These people are inferior." He rolled his eyes as he stretched.
"You are the mayor of a backwoods town in Michigan, mom. Don't go putting yourself on the same level as the Queen. You went to school with all these people. You grew up with them, and the only reason anyone voted for you is because that felt bad for you when dad split with his secretary." He felt the sting before he knew she'd slapped him. She started to stutter out an apology immediately, but he shrugged her off as the doorbell rang. "Go, you guests are waiting."
"We are not done with this discussion Kellin."
"Seeing as how the discussion was for me to get out of bed and go downstairs, and that is what I am in the process of doing, I think it is. Though, if you want to discuss your habitual child abuse, I'm sure that would be an entertaining dinner topic." She grabbed his chin.
"I have had it with your disrespect. The minute you start doing for yourself and your out from uder my roof you can speak your mind, but until then keep your thoughts to yourself." She turned, heels clicking monotonously as she made her way down stairs. He threw himself on his bed.
"I've been doing for myself since I was twelve." He one last self-pitying sigh, he got dressed and walked down stairs.
***
"And the trainer says, 'I don't know ma'am maybe it's a sprain!" The table erupted into fake laughter, jeweled fingers resting against designer suits and gowns in a show of entertainment. Kellin rolled his eyes.
"Wow, Dr. Lawson, that was some joke. Please, tell another." The old man laughed and launched into another joke as his son elbowed Kellin.
He turned to whisper to Kellin. "Why would you do that?"
"It's better than my mom spewing stories of my first spelling bee or science fair." Jesse shrugged.
"I don't get it. You worked your entire high school years away to be valedictorian. Why are you acting like it isn't what you want?" Kellin's eyes flicked to his mother, who was in deep conversation with Mrs. Gaskarth, the mother of the salutatorian.
"Because it isn't. I just wanted to go to California and start a band." He slid his chair back, standing up and pulling Jesse with him. His mother's head snapped up.
"Kellin, where do you think you are going?" He straightened his tie.
"We're finished, so Jesse and I are going to hang out in my bedroom."
"You haven't even thanked your guest properly." He pasted on a fake smile.
"Thank you all for coming to a dinner party I did not want, and for presents my mother will deem unworthy when you leave. It's been a real pleasure, but I can't stand to sit here one more minute." He left the room of slack-jawed adults, pulling Jesse up the stairs to his room and out to the balcony. He sat down and slid, letting his legs dangle over the side. When Jesse sat down beside him, he laid his head on his shoulder. "Do you ever want to disappear?"
"What do you mean?" He reached down, blindly lacing his fingers with Kellin's. Kellin sighed.
"I just mean, sometimes I think it would be easier to just disappear. Everything is so complicated."
"It doesn't have to be." Kellin let out a shallow laugh.
"My mom wants me to go to college. I don't want that. At least, I don't think I do." Jesse turned to look at him.
"But I thought we agreed on Berkley. We both got in, and you got a full scholarship. I got a partial-"
"I'm going to London in two days." Jesse dropped his hand, turning to look at Kellin fully.
"No. No your not." Kellin just nodded. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have bought a ticket too."
"Because this," he gestured between them. "Is complicated." Jesse stood up glaring at him.
"What is so complicated! I could understand it being complicated in the eighth grade. I could understand it being complicated freshman year, and sophomore year, but it's been four years Kellin! How in the hell are you still fucking confused." He rushed back into the room and out of the door before Kellin could respond. Kellin heaved a sigh before getting up to follow him.
He ran downstairs, past the giggling drunks dancing to nothing in the dining room. When he got outside, Jesse was nowhere to be seen. He stopped in the middle of the street. "Jesse! Can we talk just talk about it! I'm sorr-" his words cut off with a screech of brakes and a thud.