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your-kris-is-in-another-castle · 4 years

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Live Until Love Chapter 1

The Peeking Dawn

Victor walked out the front door without further incident and set off for school, a piece of toast smeared with strawberry jam in his mouth while another was in his hand. The morning sky was clear, allowing the sunshine to wash over him, and despite having the scarf snuggly wrapped around his neck it felt pleasant to Victor.

Munching voraciously on the toast, Victor pulled out his cassette player and slipped on his headphones, the eccentric sounds of Yes greeting his ears. Both were in rough shape, and he knew he was going to have to find some way to patch them up again soon. As Victor made his way through the neighborhood others began exiting their homes and heading off for work, but there was no one his age to be seen. They were most likely still asleep, or now just rising from their beds. Most likely they had the luxury of a bus or car to get them to school, but Victor wasn’t so lucky; his foster parents were already spending money to send their son, Jonas, to a school downtown, and refused to spend any more on another bus pass when Victor’s school was so close, so he had to be awake earlier than most and make the four mile walk every weekday.

But it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. In fact Victor enjoyed his morning walk very much. It was one of the few times in the week he could reliably get a bit of peace, listening to his music as he made his way. Being the only young person awake and on the move gave him a sense of wonderful solitude, and it helped keep him sane, especially after the nightmare he had the other night. He kept eating the toast, finishing the first slice as he walked.

As he made his way out of the suburbs and into the metropolitan area Sacramento was quickly coming to life. Before long cars, trucks, and buses filled the streets, and people milled about the sidewalk, some in a hurry while others leisurely moved about. But to Victor, off in his own little world of music, they all seemed so far away as he walked down the street, surrounded by others and alone all the same. Before long Victor could see his school, Evergreen High, in the distance. As he approached the vicinity of the school he tucked his cassette player and headphones away in his backpack, knowing better than to approach the school grounds while he was distracted.

“Hey, kid.” Victor turned to see a scraggly looking middle-aged man dressed in a tattered coat and torn jeans slouching against a brick wall. Victor guessed that he was homeless “Y-yes?”, Victor mumbled in response, taken aback by the man’s skeletal appearance. “You gonna finish that?” The man cocked his head lazilly towards the remaining piece of toast in Victor’s hand. “I’m real hungry, and could use a bite.”

Immediately Victor felt his stomach rumble; he’d only eaten the other piece for breakfast, and he was still very hungry. But then he thought about lunch in a few hours, and realized that the homeless man might not have anything to eat for the rest of the day. Victor held the piece of toast out to him.

“Here, y-you can have it. I-I’m not that hu-hungry anyway.”

The man stared at the toast then back to Victor, a look of surprise on his face before snatching the toast out of Victor’s hand and biting half the slice. “Hey, thanks buddy, thanks a lot.” He said between mouthfuls. “You’re the first person to give me anything. You’re a real nice guy.”

“Th-thanks.” Victor felt his stomach rumble again, but he tried not to pay it any attention. “A-anyway, h-have a nice d-day.” The homeless man waved but said nothing in response, continuing to gobble down the rest of the toast.

Victor approached Evergreen, which by now was teeming with activity as students and teachers arrived at the school. Cliques of students filled the hallways, cramping up the narrow alleyways as friends met up with each other and chatted, some for the first time since summer break had started. The ambient chattering all felt so overwhelming to Victor as he made his way past the bodies of his classmates, keeping his head down and making his way to the front office. Once there Victor was given his lock for the year, his homeroom number, and the location of his locker, which he immediately set off to find. He couldn’t help bumping into some of the other students along the way, the hallways only becoming more packed as the morning dragged on, but they paid Victor no attention, even when he muttered an anxious apology. He just had to get to his locker and homeroom by first bell, and he would be in the clear.

Victor turned a corner, nearly at his locker, but he came to an abrupt stop and stumbled back around the corner, pressing himself against the wall in a panic. There on the other side was a group of boys talking amongst themselves. They hadn’t any notable look about them, in fact most were dressed in a fairly generic Californian fashion, save for the one leaning cross armed against what Victor knew to be his locker. His shirt was a crisp white button-up while his jeans were black, and a gold chain dangled around his neck. He sported a neatly trimmed goatee and mustache, while in contrast his head was entirely shaved, the scalp not unlike porcelain with how the light bounced off of it. And his eyes, a muddy brown, periodically swept across the room in search of something, or maybe someone, while his friends conversed amongst themselves. The thought of his gaze falling on him made Victor feel small.

“Hey Kyle, when do you wanna head for class? Day’s gonna be starting soon.”

Kyle sighed. “Guess we can split. Thought for sure he’d show up before first bell.” He sounded disappointed as he stood up. “Ah well. Cmon, guys, let’s get outta here.” Kyle stretched, rightening himself out as he and his posse made their way down the hallway.

Victor sighed in relief, whipping away the beads of sweat on his forehead. He hurried over to his locker and opened it up, dropping off his backpack and gathering the necessary supplies for his first class of the day. He locked the door back up with a small smile, grateful he’d managed to get through the rest of the morning without incident.

“You.”

Victor’s breath caught in his throat as he whipped around in fight. Behind him, with a fiery head of hair and thick rounded glasses, stood Kat. She glared piercingly at Victor, immobilizing him completely under her gaze. She took a step towards him, and he took a step back in response, back pressing against the cold locker door. Kat pressed a hand beside Victor’s head as she leaned in, keeping her eyes locked on him all the while.

“I’ll make this simple; don’t be a creep this year, and we won’t have any problems, you got that?”

Victor said nothing, nodding his head slowly when words failed him. Kat’s eyes narrowed and she leaned in closer, making Victor feel a touch claustrophobic, “And don’t think I won’t know if you try anything. Kyle tells me everything. Don’t you forget that.”

And with that Kat walked away, leaving Victor to collect himself. All in all, the whole interaction could have gone much worse; so far he’d managed to avoid a black eye. But before he had a chance to calm down and collect himself the bell started to ring, so Victor ran down the hallway for his homeroom, barging into the classroom as the door was being closed, running head first into the teacher, knocking her onto the ground. Victor’s heart sank as she stood back up, eyeing him with disapproval before picking up the clipboard she’d been holding. “Late on the first day, are we?” She huffed. “I’ve half a mind to mark you as late.”

“I-I’m sorry, m-ma’am, I was-”

She cut him off, “Don’t give me excuses. It’s your job to get up on time and make it to school early. Now find a seat.” Victor nodded his head at the order, eyes shifting to the floor in embarrassment at the scolding. “Now, where are you…” The teacher’s eyes scanned down a clipboard a moment. “Ah, here we are; Flanagan.” She clicked her pen to mark Victor present, and he couldn’t help frown as he sat down; Flanagan was the name of his foster parents. He couldn’t remember what his parents’ name was, but Flanagan would never be his name, no matter what some piece of paper said.

“Now if Mr. Flanagan’s finished with the theatrics, we can get started with today’s lesson. Everyone, turn to page 1.” The class collectively groaned at the prospect of jumping right into work on the first day of school. “That’s enough of that! You’re seniors, so start acting like it. Now everyone open your books.”

Victor noticed that everyone had a worn textbook on their desk save for him. He looked across the shelves for a free one, but found there were none left. Nervously he raised his hand.

“E-excuse me, ma’am? Th-there aren’t anymore textbooks, a-and I-I don’t have one.”

The teacher sighed irritably. “Of course you don’t. That’s what happens when you’re late, Mr. Flanagan.” She pinched her nose with another sigh. “You there.” She pointed at a girl sitting beside Victor with brown hair tied back into a short ponytail.

“Yes, ma’am?”

”Move over and share the textbook with him so we can get started.” The teacher didn’t wait for any kind of response, turning around and picking up a piece of chalk to scribble something half legible on the blackboard. The girl wordlessly scooted her chair over to Victor’s desk and opened the book up so they could both look it over as the teacher launched into her lesson.

“Sorry you’re st-stuck with m-me...”, Victor mumbled bashfully, feeling his cheeks flush. The girl looked up from the page, and to Victor’s surprise she smiled. “Oh, no problem! I don’t mind, really.” That was strange, usually people were annoyed when they had to deal with him. “I’m Ashley, by the way.” Victor said nothing, keeping his attention on the lesson as it began. “I really like your scarf! The red is so vibrant.” Victor muttered a small thanks while trying to keep his focus on what the teacher was saying. “I don’t think I caught your name?” Victor felt his cheeks get a bit warmer at the question, “I-it’s nothing special...” Ashley frowned, refusing to give up. “Aw, please?” Victor tried to avoid her hazel eyes, but the pleading look she was giving him was too much for him to bear, “I-it’s V-Victor-”

“Mr. Flanagan, it’s bad enough you were late on the first day of class, but now you’re interrupting my lesson.” The teacher had turned to glare at Victor, and he felt like he was shrinking down smaller and smaller with each passing second, “Since you clearly can’t comprehend basic respect, why don’t you join me for detention after school?”

“B-b-but-!”

“You could visit the principal's office if you’d prefer.”

“N-no, ma’am…”, Victor slumped down into his chair, trying his best to hide from the looks everyone else in class was giving him. “I’m...s-s-sorry.”

The teacher turned around, continuing where she left off. Ashley frowned. “Sorry...I didn’t mean to get you in trouble, Victor.” She whispered hastily. Victor didn’t look like he was in the mood to talk anymore, so Ashley turned her attention back to the lesson, feeling terribly guilty. Victor tried to keep his attention fixed on the lesson, but from the corner of his eye he noticed someone looking at him, and with an icy sensation running down his back he realized who it was.

It was one of Kyle’s friends from earlier, and he was sitting on the other side of the room. He looked back at his book when he realized Victor had seen him, and Victor felt his heart pound in his chest.

One of Kyle’s friends had seen him talking with a girl.

The rest of class progressed without incident, and when the lunch bell rang Victor practically launched himself out of the room and down the hallway, leaving Ashley behind. She felt terrible about getting him in even more trouble during class, and had planned on apologizing again once class was over, but he was gone in the blink of an eye. Once everyone else had left for the cafeteria Ashley placed the textbook back on the shelf with the others, stopped at the teacher’s desk as the teacher pulled some tupperware from her bag. She swallowed down a lump in her throat. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

The teacher looked up from her bag, looking a bit annoyed at being kept from her meal, “Yes, Miss Moore, what is it?” Ashley felt herself stiffening, her breath catching in her throat. All she had to do was explain the situation from earlier, simple. So why was she having so much trouble finding the words? “Miss Moore?”, The teacher tapped her fingers, snapping Ashley out of her trance, “Was there something you needed?”

“Oh, um...no, ma’am. I...just wanted to thank you for the lesson this morning.”, Ashley smiled, though it felt only half genuine. Meanwhile the teacher’s face brightened, and she smiled for the first time in the day. “Well, that’s awfully kind of you to say. Enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Moore.”

Ashley couldn’t help the off-feeling smile from stretching further, hesitantly saying “You too, ma’am.”, before nodding her head in a kind of awkward bow and walking out. She sighed, feeling disappointed with herself as she made her way down the halls towards the cafeteria, a cacophonous buzz filling the air as she pushed open the doors and walked in. Students of all ages filled the room, most sat at a table talking with their friends while others were standing in line with a tray in hand, waiting to be served. Ashley scanned her eyes over the heads of her fellow teens, trying to spot one of her friends, hoping dearly it wasn’t falling to her to find them a table.

“Yo, Ash!”

Ashley turned in the direction her name had been called, seeing a dark haired boy with lush green eyes and a choppy haircut waving at her from a table, which to her relief she noticed he was its sole occupant. Waving back, she made her way through the crowded cafeteria, being careful not to bump into anyone. “Hey, Shawn!” Ashley happily greeted her friend as she arrived at the table. Shawn beamed at her tiredly as she approached. “So, good news.” He spread his muscular arms wide, gesturing around him. “I found us a table. Benefit of the bagged lunch.” Ashley rolled her eyes playfully, wrapping Shawn in a hug from behind, and enjoying the firmness of his chest to herself. “I noticed.” He reached back to return the hug with a chuckle, albeit in a bit of an awkward way. She took a seat across from Shawn as he tried to hide a yawn.

“Tired?” She asked. “A little, yeah.” Shawn responded, rubbing his eye. “Didn’t get much sleep last night. Must’ve been too excited about a whole ‘nother year.” Ashley giggled. She looked around the cafeteria, trying to pick out the missing member of their table. “Oh, Ronny’s not here yet.” Shawn yawned again, having noticed Ashley’s anxiousness. “How much you want to bet he’s getting a talking to for mouthing off to someone?” Ashley clicked her tongue and gave Shawn a disapproving look. “Come on, Shawn, give him some credit. He’s not that bad.” Shawn raised an eyebrow, suspicious of Ashley’s claim. “Well not on the first day, at least!” Shawn leaned forward on his arms, utterly unconvinced. Ashley stuck her tongue out in response. “You’re mean!”

Shawn simply shrugged, chuckling to himself. “Well, I guess you’d know. So, you planning on getting in line? It’s looking pretty loaded.” Ashley looked over her shoulder, and frowned when she saw how long the line was now, and only getting longer. “Oh, and I didn’t bring anything from home.” Ashley bemoaned. “I should’ve listened to Daddy after all…”

“Scuse me.” Both Shawn and Ashley turned to find a boy they guessed was in their year standing at the end of the table. “Mind if I pull up a seat? I was supposed to find a table for me and my friends, but, well, I guess you can tell how well that went.”

“Oh! Sorry, but we’re actually waiting for a friend too.”

“Sooo is that a no oooor...?”

“Well, um...it’s just that he likes it when it’s just us, and it being the first day…”

“Aw c’mon, it’s just one dude. There’ll be plenty of room.” Ashley squirmed, unsure of what to say. She turned to Shawn, silently asking for his help. “Sorry man, but it’d be a good idea to listen to what the lady’s saying. Our buddy can be a bit of a handful.”

The boy at the end of the table scoffed. “So who’s your ‘buddy’ then?”

“A bigger deal than you.”

The boy at the end of the table turned around to find a boy a half-foot taller than him with golden blonde hair that went past his shoulders and azure blue eyes standing directly behind him with a tray in each of his hands. Ashley facepalmed in embarrassment while Shawn leaned back casually to greet the new arrival. “Yo, Ronny.”

“Yo.” Ronny replied, keeping his eyes on the boy in front of him. Without thinking the boy at the end of the table took a step back, feeling unnerved by the intensity of Ronny’s blue eyes staring unwaveringly at him.

“Something up, guy?” Ronny smirked, taking a step forward and keeping his eyes trained on the one in front of him. The boy at the end of the table cleared his throat, chuckling uncomfortably under the scrutiny. “Nah, nothing’s up, my man. Was just looking for a place to sit.” Ronny took another step forward. “Oh, I gotcha. How’s that going?” The boy at the end of the table tugged at his collar, feeling the chill of Ronny’s icy gaze run up his spine. “Ah...was hoping I could grab this table, actually. W-with you and your friends, I mean.” The boy chuckled again.

Ronny hummed, shaking his head. “Mmm. Well, sorry, but I don’t think there’s enough space for us all, and, y’know, we were here first.”

“Well...yeah, you were, but-”

“We also like our space, know what I mean?”

“Ronny, stop it.” Ashley looked disapprovingly at Ronny.

“What?” Ronny tilt his head “I’m just letting the guy know what I think. You don’t mind, right man?”

The boy at the end of the table held his hands up, surrendering. “You know what? I’m just gonna find another table. You guys, uh...you take it easy. And with that he left, chancing a look back as he went. Once the boy was gone Ronny took a seat beside Ashley, setting the two trays down. Ashley shook her head in bewildered disappointment. “Did that really need to happen?” Ronny waved a dismissive hand at Ashley, unbothered by that which was bothering her. “Well you clearly weren’t getting rid of him. What were you planning on doing, getting skater boy there to give him the old heave ho?” Ronny chuckled as Ashley threw her hands up, exasperated. “Oh yeah, this is for you.” He slid one of his trays in front of Ashley. “Aren’t I nice?”

Ashley sighed, but eventually did crack a grateful smile. “Thank you, Ronny.”

The three friends started eating; while Shawn and Ashley were munching away pleasantly, Ronny was shoveling food into his mouth so fast you’d think he was starving. It made Shawn’s face scrunch up to see such uncivilized behaviour, especially from one of his friends. “So, where’ve they got you guys locked up this semester anyway?” Ronny asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes, making Shawn sigh audibly. Ashley either didn’t notice her blonde friend’s lack of manners or was simply used to such things. “Room 512 for me.”

“Yech!” Ronny made a grossed-out face. “You’re stuck with that crotchety old bag?” Shawn smirked. “Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.” Ashley clicked her tongue again, looking between the two boys disapprovingly. “You guys are the worst! She’s not that bad, you know. Although…” Ashley trailed off. “There was this boy that showed up late to class, and she just wouldn’t let him live it down-oh!” Ashley stood up suddenly, startling her friends. From across the cafeteria she could see Victor sitting against a wall, eating what she guessed was an apple. It was thanks to the redness of his scarf that he stood out.

“That’s him over there, actually! Hey, Victor! Victor!” Ashley strained to make herself heard over the ambiance of the cafeteria, and waved her hands overheard as she called out to Victor in the hopes that it would catch his attention. She seemed to be in luck; he looked up from his lunch in Ashley’s direction, but to her confusion he became quite alarmed, scrambling to his feet and hurrying out the cafeteria doors. She was about to go after him when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, was that guy over there bothering you?”

Ashley turned to find another boy her age, but sharply dressed, with a smooth head and dirty brown eyes. He smirked when Ashley said nothing and pulled his hand back, shrugging apologetically. “Sorry, I startled you, didn’t I? Why don’t we do this over; I’m Kyle. And you are?”

Standing in front of Kyle, Ashley felt the floor rush up to her, and for a moment she struggled to find her voice as he kept his eyes on her. “Ashley. Um, not to be rude, but did you want something from me, Kyle?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t happen to be Ashley Moore, would you?” Kyle’s face seemed to brighten when Ashley nod her head. “Y’know, I’m pretty sure we have a class or two together later in the week! How’s about that, huh?” Ronny swallowed audibly, dropping his spoon back onto the tray which clattered loudly. He twist around, gazing sideways at Kyle. “My friend here wants to know why you’re bothering her.”

“Bothering her?” Kyle parroted. “I just wanted to ask her about her morning. Do you mind, Ashley?” Ashley opened her mouth to say something, but Kyle wasted no time letting her answer. “The reason I’m curious is because a friend of mine’s in your homeroom class, and he saw that you had to share a book with Victor Flanagan. You know, the guy that walks around all year with a red scarf on?” Ashley slowly nod her head. "Well, I came to tell you that he’s bad news.", Kyle said, his look shifting to that of concern, “Has been for as long as I’ve known him."

"Trouble?" Ashley tilted her head. “Mmhmm.” Kyle hummed. “First time I saw him, he was throwing rocks at a dog tied to a pole. I wanted to go over and make him stop, but, well, I didn’t want him to start throwing them at me. Always felt kinda guilty about that. And don’t even get me started on the stuff he’s done since then.” Kyle shook his head with a sigh. “Anyway, when I heard about this morning, I just wanted to come over and make sure he hadn’t done anything like that to you.”

“Oh… Well, thank you, Kyle. That’s very thoughtful of you.” Kyle smiled at Ashley’s thanks. “Hey, just doing what I can to look out for my classmates.” He said with a wink. “I’ll let you guys get back to your lunch. Catch you later in the week, Ash.” With that Kyle walked away with a wave which Ashley returned before sitting down. As Kyle walked down the cafeteria aisles Ronny kept his eyes locked on him, a strange feeling in his gut.

“So did that Victor guy say or do anything weird this morning, Ash?” Shawn leaned in on his elbows. Ashley frowned, shaking her head. “No, nothing like that at all. He was so quiet and stuttering. Actually I...wound up landing him in detention with the teacher during class. When I saw him I was going to apologize.”

“Huh.” Shawn leaned back, rubbing his cheek in thought. “Weird that he just bolted. Wonder what made him do that... What do you think, Ron?” Ronny said nothing, still staring after Kyle, though by that point he had long since disappeared into the crowd of students. “Ron?” He was pulled out of his stare by Shawn’s words and leaned in towards his two friends.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that he mentioned feeling guilty about not helping the dog?” Ronny’s brow furrowed in thought. Shawn rubbed his cheek again. “Now that you mention it, it was kinda outta nowhere.”

“Maybe he was just trying to clear his conscience?” Ashley offered. “With a bunch of randos though?” Ronny countered, turning back around. “It was like...like he wanted to make sure we thought he felt guilty. Like…” Ronny trailed off, trying to connect the dots in his head but coming up short. He sighed. “I dunno.” Ronny grabbed his tray and stood up. “I think I’m gonna head to class now. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

“Oh, okay. We're still gonna meet after school to work out?” Shawn asked. Ronny smirked and nod his head. “For sure, man.” Shawn smiled, and the two bumped fists before Ronny walked away to drop off his tray, Ashley calling good-bye after him.

Outside the cafeteria doors, Victor was propping himself against the wall, panting, and loosened his scarf a bit to help him cool down. When he’d seen Kyle walking up to Ashley, he knew that one or two of his friends were probably sneaking up behind him to catch him off-guard. He knew what would happen if they got a hold of him, and he wanted to avoid any unpleasantness for his first day of senior year. Victor decided he could eat some other time, after all it wasn't like he’d gone without before. But as Victor made his exit, he felt a burst of pain explode in his abdomen, and he doubled over with a choked gasp.

“What’d I tell you?” Victor strained to look up, and to his dread above him stood Kat with a look of loathsome fire in her eyes. “I told you ‘don’t be a creep, and we won’t have problems’. It’s so simple, but you just don’t get it, do you?” She grabbed Victor by the collar and forced him to stand up straight, and his eyes closed involuntarily from the pain in his side. “Did you think Kyle wouldn’t tell me you were trying to get that girl in trouble this morning? Huh?!” Kat shook Victor as she spoke. “B-but…” Victor tried to open his eyes, fighting back the tears that wanted to fall from them. “S-she was t-talking-”

“Shut up!” Kat pushed Victor against the wall, and he felt like she was starting to lift him up off his feet. “Don’t try and pin the blame on her!” Kat let go of Victor’s collar, and with a surprised cry he fell down hard on his bottom. Kat loomed above, crushing Victor under her glare. “I tried being fair with you, but you just couldn’t help yourself.” Kat knelt down to look at Victor eye level. “I’m warning you, Flanagan. The next time you decide to act all gross, I won’t be so easy on you.”

And with that, Kat stood up and walked off, leaving Victor crumpled on the floor. Of course Kat had found out, how could he have been so stupid to not realize that? The bell rang and soon the student in the cafeteria emptied out into the hallways, each failing to take notice of Victor on the ground. Eventually he picked himself up, wincing as the spot Kat had punched him started to bruise, and was able to drift into the current of bodies flowing through the hallways. After stopping at his locker to get whatever supplies he’d need, Victor made a beeline for his next class. The rest of the afternoon progressed without incident; Victor was relieved to find that neither Kyle, his friends, nor Kat shared his next class with him, which allowed him to nurse his lunchtime injury while only half paying attention to what was being taught.

When the bell rang Victor dutifully made his way to his homeroom. When he arrived the teacher stood and walked over to Victor, and before he could say anything she thrust a piece of chalk into his hands. “You’re punishment is very simple, Mr. Flanagan; you’re going to write some lines for me.” She turned and gestured to the blackboard behind her. “One hundred to be exact. ‘I will not be disruptive during class.’ Do you have any questions?” Victor felt his side ache looking up at the board but shook his head obediently. Satisfied, the teacher turned to return to her desk, and Victor got to work, silently wincing from the pain of stretching his bruised muscles.

Not long after Victor got started on his lines, a boy with a mess of dirty blonde hair and sky blue eyes, dressed in simple enough clothes sauntered into the classroom. “Yo, teach.” He smirked, casually holding up two fingers in greeting. “Soaked up some of that summer sun, I see.” The teacher rubbed her head with a sigh. “Mr. Sparx, why am I not surprised. Well, what was it this time?” She held a hand out expectedly and the boy reached into his pocket, pulling out a slip of paper and placing it in her hands. “Fighting on the first day, are we?”

The boy shrugged. “I tried to warn the guy, but he just wouldn’t leave Tommy alone. Y’know how it is.” The teacher shook her head. “Have a seat at the front, Mr. Sparx. You’ll be here for the next hour.”

“Sounds good to me, Teach.” The boy plopped down in the nearest chair, leaning back with his arms behind his head and feet atop the desk, looking completely relaxed. Meanwhile, Victor continued writing the prescribed lines, but realized that he was going to run out of room short of the one hundred. As if reading his thoughts the teacher walked over and erased the board completely. “Start over, Mr. Flanagan, and be more aware of the space you have to work with this time.” She returned to her desk without another word, and after a moment Victor resumed writing out the lines, while behind him the boy lounging at the desk silently spied on him.

The phone rang, and the teacher answered. After a few short words she hung up and stood. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Mr. Flanagan, you’re not to leave until there’s one hundred lines on that board, understand?” Victor nod his head morosely. With that the teacher walked out of the room, and no sooner had she left did Victor feel a hand on his shoulder. It was the boy that had been relaxing. “Hey, want a hand with that, man?”

“I-I don’t th-think you’re allowed to h-help…” Victor looked down. The other boy blew a raspberry. “So what? Here, gimme that.” Before he could object the other boy grabbed the chalk out of Victor’s hand and snapped it in half. “There. Plausible deniability.” He said with a wink. “Now scoot over. I’ll work ahead of you.” He started writing under Victor’s own work, carefully matching his letter sizing and spacing. Figuring it was pointless to argue, Victor continued on.

“So you got a name, ‘Mr. Flanagan’?” The boy asked with a slight chuckle.

“V-V-Victor.” Everyone seemed to want to know his name today.

“Wicked name!” The boy said with a smile. “Well, I’m Levi. Happy to meet’cha, Vic.” Levi held a fist out to Victor, which he stared at momentarily. “You’re supposed to tap it with yours now, man.” Victor blushed, and timidly tapped Levi’s fist with his own. It made Levi chuckle, and his eyes remained on Victor a moment before he got back to work. Between the two of them writing the lines were nearly finished. Hearing footsteps approaching the classroom, Levi hurried back to his seat, throwing the chalk away and resuming his earlier position. The teacher walked in as Victor finished the hundredth line, and after a quick count gave him permission to go. As he went Victor noticed Levi looking at him with a small smile, making him smile awkwardly in turn.

The hallways had long since emptied of the other students. In place of the omnipresent chatter was an eerie silence that Victor felt reverberate in his chest, and it made him scurry along the school corridors. Approaching his locker, Victor noticed a shadow darting away from the corner of his eye, sending a chill down his back. Something was telling him it was time to head home, with or without his backpack, and Victor knew better than to ignore his instincts by this point. Spinning on his heels, Victor quickly spotted the nearest exit and urgently made his way towards it when all of a sudden he was roughly shoved to the side, nearly falling over as he felt two pairs of arms hook under his shoulders and haul him off his feet. It didn’t take long for Victor to realize who had him; it was two of Kyle’s friends from that morning. They dragged him towards a door as Victor tried to regain his footing, but that just earned him a jab in his bruise, making his eyes squeeze shut in pain.

Victor felt himself being brought through a door as the pain subsided, and not a moment later he was shoved to the ground. After collecting himself he realized he was in one of the school locker rooms, surrounded on all sides by a party of boys that looked down on him with sneering expressions, with none other than Kyle sitting right in front of him.

“Look who it is, guys. Our buddy, Victor!” Kyle sneered, his posse laughing alongside him. “You’ve been one busy bee today, haven’t you, Vic? Trying to get poor little Ashley into trouble.” The bald boy shook his head. “Naughty naughty. I know Kat wasn’t happy to hear about that. She told me all about how she ‘taught you a lesson’, but I think that you could use a bit of a refresher.”

Victor took a deep breath. Really, he should’ve expected as much out of all this. There was no way in hell that Kyle wasn’t just going to attempt and make his day worse. “Well, since we’re all here, no point beating around the bush.”, Kyle said, standing up and walking around Victor, eyeing him like meat on a rack.

“J-Just get it over with, I-I need to g-go home…”, Victor stuttered out, shifting his eyes to the floor. “Tch, got a mouth on you today, huh?”, Kyle asked, stopping in front of him. “Look at you. It’s sad, you know that? Sad you can’t even bother looking me in the eyes when you try talking back.” Victor kept his eyes lowered. The last thing he wanted to see was Kyle’s face. “You wanna know what it is about you that always gets my goat, Victor?”, Kyle asked, his face mere inches from Victor’s. His eyes drifted downwards to rest on Victor’s neck. “You’re always wearing that stupid scarf. I mean it’s the middle of August for christ’s sake.”

“Maybe we oughta do something about it.” One of the guys holding onto Victor suggested. “Y’know, help our buddy out!” Victor felt his blood run cold. “N-No, please!”

“Eh?”, Kyle said, a little surprised by Victor’s sudden outburst. “I-I-I-I-”, Victor tried to speak, but his mouth simply couldn’t form the words. He stifled a cry as he was smacked from the side. “Heh, was that any help?” Asked one of Victor’s captors. “Works on my CD player when it starts to skip.” Victor couldn’t quite respond, still dazzled by the blow to his head. Before he could say anything else, Kyle grabbed hold of one end of his scarf and yanked it off of Victor’s neck, choking him a little as his tormentor continued to pull.

Outside in the school gymnasium, Ronny and Shawn were making their way to the locker room. Shawn was panting, his arms bulging and slightly red while Ronny clapped him on the back. “You did good today, man! Ten extra pounds on the first day back is crazy!”

“Thanks, Ron.” Shawn chuckled, still a bit winded from the workout. “I was squeezing some in during summer vay cay, to tell you the truth.” Shawn rubbed his shoulder. “Guess that’s kinda cheating, huh?”

“Yeah, it is, and you oughta be ashamed of yourself. Pretty soon me and these pipe cleaners are gonna be one lousy spotter.”

“What do you mean ‘pretty soon’, goldie locks?” The two boys shared a laugh as they opened the door to the locker room. As they walked in, a pained cry echoed from somewhere in the room, catching Ronny’s attention. “The hell was that?” Ronny asked rhetorically. “Sounded like someone having a bad time to me.” Shawn responded. “Yeah...a real bad time.” Ronny’s face became hard, focused. “C’mon, let’s check it out.”

“Wait, what? Ron, where’re you going?” Ronny had taken off, seemingly deaf to what Shawn was saying. The dark haired boy hurried to catch up with his friend. “Ron, it could’ve just been a guy slipping in the shower.”

“Then why don’t we hear a shower running?” Ronny kept his eyes forward as he walked. Shawn sighed. “Okay, but can we at least get changed outta these rank clothes before we go Nancy Drewing?” Suddenly Ronny shushed Shawn. The dull roar of laughter could be heard, followed by another pained cry. Both sounded close. Ronny’s brow furrowed, and before Shawn could say anything his friend took off faster than he had been a moment ago. He came to a stop at a corner, looking behind him for Shawn. Sure enough the dark haired boy was there. “Got my back?”

Shawn nod his head. “Yeah, I do.”

The two round a corner to find a group of boys in a circle, one which they both recognized as Kyle, tossing a scarf back and forth between themselves overhead, while in the centre was Victor, trying desperately to catch it. Ronny grit his teeth, feeling his face beginning to heat up. “Hey!” He shouted out at the boys. They hadn’t noticed the two arrive, so the sudden outburst along with the sight of a tall blonde boy and his muscular friend made them freeze in surprise. Ronny took a step forward, glaring at the whole of the group contemptuously. “What do you think you’re doing to that kid?”

Kyle was the first to recover from the shock of Ronny and Shawn’s arrival. “Oh, it’s you guys again. Fancy that.” He grinned. “We were just having a bit of fun with our pal here. Monkey in the middle, you know, it’s our favourite.” Neither of the boys said anything. Shawn’s eyes were on Victor, while Ronny glared at Kyle, his blue eyes becoming wild and primal. He noticed the scarf in the hand of one of the other boys.

“Give him his scarf back.” The boy was a bit unnerved by the look Ronny was giving him, but he maintained his cool. “Get lost, asshole. We’re just having a bit of fun.”

Ronny sucked a breath in, letting it out slowly. His face softened, and he let out a hearty laugh. “My mistake.” He took a few steps towards the boy, a smile plastered on his face. “What I meant to say was-” And then in the blink of an eye Ronny took hold of the boy holding the scarf, and the smile contorted into a vicious snarl. “Give him the fucking scarf back NOW!”

“You really should.” Shawn stepped out from behind Ronny, his face stonelike while the boy holding the scarf remained paralyzed in Ronny’s grasp. Nobody seemed sure what to do, but recognizing his chance Victor scrambled to his feet, grabbed his scarf from the boy’s hand, and bolted out of the locker room like a bat out of hell, bursting through the first door he saw and taking off from the school grounds, not stopping for man, myth, or legend.

But in peeling out as fast as he did, Victor unknowingly knocked over a stout girl with emerald eyes and rich auburn hair. With a cry she fell on her bottom and her books scattered. “Ow ow owww…” She groaned, rubbing her behind. “What was that?”

“Hey, jerk!” A voice belonging to a raven haired girl dressed entirely in black called after Victor. “Watch where you’re going!” She held out a hand to her friend on the floor. “You okay, Shannon?”

Shannon took her friend’s hand, and she was hauled up off the ground. “Yeah, I’m fine, Claire.” Shannon collected her books and readjusted her glasses. “He was sure in a hurry.”

Claire scoffed. “He bowled you right over.” The corner of her mouth pulled back, unimpressed as she looked towards the door Victor had rushed out of. “Tell me about it. I wonder what he was running away from...” Shannon felt her curiosity itch. Claire simply shrugged. “Dunno, but I’m heading home. You coming?” Claire didn’t seem to be waiting for a reply, because she was already on her way out when Shannon realized she was being left behind. “Yes, I’m coming! Bitch, will you wait up? My legs are shorter than yours!” Claire couldn’t help laughing a bit to herself as her friend hurried to catch up with her.

As the two girls walked they passed Kat, walking home alone. Her house was a ways away, but she liked making the trip every day; it helped her get in some regular exercise. After arriving at home she fixed herself some dinner her mom had put in the fridge, took a nice hot shower, and by the time she dried herself off she had crawled into bed and before drifting off to sleep, she took one last glance at the golden chain hanging on her bedpost. She smiled at the memory of her father gifting it to her so many years ago, and dreamt pleasant dreams that night.

#LiveUntilLove #Angst #teen drama #2000s

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