ALEXANDER

How fucking dumb was it that prom was two weeks before school actually ended?

Prom was supposed to be the end after everything and now I had to go to classes for one more week and do my exams for the other week.

I just wanted to get the hell out of here. Be done with everything and start my life with. . . Alone.

Since I was going to be alone, I figured that I might as well just get a dorm room instead of an apartment. There was no use to pay extra for an apartment when I'd be alone.

I didn't even bother taking a shower and just got dressed, before I walked down the stairs.

I could literally feel the shift in the house. It was the same, but just felt so different.

Layla was watching her morning show on the television, but her smile wasn't there. She just wasn't the same.

I knew she needed her older brother, but I couldn't be there to comfort her when I needed comforting myself. From one person in particular.

"Layla, did you eat this morning?" I asked Layla and she just nodded.

I walked into the kitchen but none of the food seemed appealing so I just grabbed an energy drink and left to go to school.

It was like life was purposely against me.

Cars were being extra fucking slow on the road, people were more mad that usual, their road rages almost leading me to get out of the car and fight them.

I made it to school still early though, and Justin was in the cafeteria alone.

"Where's Elena?" I asked him, sitting down next to him.

"With. . ." He paused before he could say her name. He knew what had happened because I called him yesterday. He knew the bitterness I had towards her.

"You can say her fucking name." I groaned. Please don't say it, I thought.

"She's with Sky. I think they're going to be pretty much together the whole day." He said.

Her name struck a dark part in me. "So she's here?" I found myself downing the blue energy drinking fast.

"Yeah."

"How is she?" I asked, running my hands through my hair.

"She seemed fine. Normal." He responded, not knowing how bad that would make me fucking feel.

"Chill bro." Justin looked alarmed as he watched me.

It was then that I noticed what I was doing. I was running my hands through my hair uncontrollably, bouncing my legs up and down and drinking the almost empty energy drink profusely.

"You need something to calm down." Justin told me.

"What?!" I snapped. I would do absolutely anything to help relieve the stress just her name brought to me.

"Go see Mosby." Justin suggested.

Mosby was the school drug dealer. He hung out out with all of the other delinquents at this school, usually behind it.

I nodded and took my bottle before running to the back of the school. He was there with his friends, smoking and drinking.

He looked at me. "Hey, Scott! The basketball star!"

Mosby seemed to be even slimmer than the last time I saw him, it must've been because of the drugs.

"Sell me something." I went straight to the point.

"What do you need? I've got pills, lean, meth. . ." His voice became distant when I caught a pair of eyes on me.

It was those of a really small girl with short pink hair. She eyed me curiously while smoking the joint that was between her fingers.

"Just give me something that will calm me." I cut off his long speech when he started to talk about Fentanyl.

"Here." He gave me a small bag with a joint inside. "On the house."

"Thanks." I mumbled. I brought it to my lips and realized I didn't have a lighter. Before I even knew it, the pink haired girl lit my joint that was between my lips. "Thanks."

I inhaled the smoke, letting it reach my brain. It relaxed me instantly, so I just kept smoking it.

"I'm Brianna." She introduced herself. "Alex, right?"

"Yeah." I responded.

"So what brings you here?" She asked, going to sit down on the side of the van again. I followed her, not knowing if I was supposed to or not.

"Stress." I responded, inhaling another large puff of smoke.

"Tell me about it. . ."

"What the fuck could be stressing you out? All you guys do is hang around here all day." I pointed out the obvious.

She laughed. "Family stuff."

"Tell me about it." I repeated her words.

"And I do go to my English class sometimes." She giggled.

Maybe it was just my heartbroken mind, but her giggle sounded just like Sky's. Of course though, it didn't have that same affect.

I lost track of time talking to Brianna and the rest of the low lives and smoking three blunts, until it was literally the third period class.

It was the class with Sky, so I didn't know why I decided to go to that one.

"I gotta go to English class." I got up from the van and Brianne surprised me when she got up and walked beside me.

"Yup, we don't want to be late for English." Brianna said.

"You're in my English class?" I asked, completely shocked because I had never even seen her in my class.

Now that I thought of it, I didn't know half of my class because Sky owned my eyes. Fuck, I was obsessed with that girl.

"Yes. But I'm really quiet. That's why you've never noticed me." She laughed.

"Hm." I hummed before leading the way to the other side of the school.

I felt absolutely calm because of the three joints I smoked. The stress I had because of Sky completely erased.

That was until I saw her.

She was sitting at the back like usual, with Elena sitting beside her.

Sky was wearing a big black hoodie, with her hood on. She had her head low and listened to music from her earbuds.

Elena whispered something in her ear which caused her to look up from the desk and up at me.

She did seem normal, but that was just on the outside.

Justin didn't know her from the inside like I did.

So I knew that she was hurting.

Just like I was.

Her big eyes looked at me, then switched to Brianna, then back at me before she looked away back down, with an even more saddened expression.

I sat down on the other side of the room next to Brianne, but kept my eyes on Sky for half of the class.

I watched her slowed movements, listened to how quiet he voice was when she answered questions about Shakespeare and how she would periodically wipe the tears under her eyes.

It angered a deep part of me. Being so close to her while she was upset and not being able to go to her was the fucking worst.

"What do you think, Brianna?" The teacher said.

Oh Brianna, that's her name.

I looked away from Sky for the first time in the past forty five minutes and looked at Brianne beside me. She was sketching in her notebook, but her fingers were shaking because of her new exposure to everyone.

"W-What?" She stuttered.

A few people laughed at her.

The teacher repeated the question, but she stayed silent. We were going through some Hamlet discussion question and I wasn't even listening either.

"Fucking loser." Some stupid boy at the front of the class laughed at her.

Brianna's shoulders lowered, and she put her nose into her sketchbook. The teacher finally gave up on her and continued teaching.

The boy was still chuckling, and I smiled to myself.

I was so fucking pissed because of Sky, so he was the perfect golden opportunity to relieve that anger.

"What are you laughing about?" I asked him. The whole class went absolutely quiet.

The boy looked stupefied, and didn't say one word. "I asked you a question, man."

He stayed quiet, not feeding into the anger I wanted to release.

So I did the one thing I was good at, I quickly got up from my seat and rushed over to him.

Before I could even fight him, I was pulled back by the teacher. My anger was through the fucking roof, I didn't know what the hell to do.

Then I looked at Sky.

And it never changed.

Her face still calmed me like it always had.

She just had the warmest features on her face, that somehow cooled down my raging body.

I gave Sky one last glance before rushing out of that classroom and never looking back.

* * *