Bloodstream

Prologue

I was at home when it happened.

It was an ordinary day, the sun was out and kids were playing in the street. I had arrived home from school, unpacked my things and started my homework, just like I did every afternoon.

I remember every detail of that afternoon like I knew the back of my hand, I had taken a break from my work, algebra- we were studying quadratics at the time. I had walked up to the fridge and grabbed a bag of crisps; plain and salted, just as I liked them.

I remember staring at the clock and seeing the time crawl to five-forty five. That was the moment when I first started worrying, you see, my parents worked in insurance, they always got home at five-thirty, no earlier, no later. Mum would usually be carrying groceries in her arms while dad drived.

Eventually the clock crawled past six… and then six-thirty, and then seven. It was seven-eighteen exactly when the phone rang.

"Is this the Murton residence?" The officer had asked solemnly.

"Y-yes." I had replied, voice quivering with a fear of the unknown.

I could almost feel the officer catch his breath, I could almost feel tears welling up in his eyes as he knew what he had to do next.

"Finn… your parents… they were in a car crash, it's not looking good, I don't think they will make it."

I had dropped the phone, letting it dangle by its cord. I didn't cry, not then, I don't think I had quite realised the seriousness of the situation, it hadn't quite sunk in that I would never see my parents again.

Minutes later I was picked up in a Police car and driven to the local hospital. I didn't say a word for the entire ride, the officer in the car didn't even try to start a conversation, I think he knew that I would rather be left to think over what had just occurred.

We arrived at the hospital and I was led to a room by one of the nurses, it was then that I was informed that my mother had near-fatal wounds and that she had been put on life support to allow her to breathe.

Dad… Dad was dead, his spine severed, his nervous system damaged beyond repair.

The officer dropped me back at my place. I entered the house and went straight up to my room, I stared at the photos of my parents and I, all smiling, all happy. One of us at the zoo, another at an amusement park and another of Dad teaching me to ride a bike…

There were going to be no more photos with them, no more memories, I was never going to feel the touch of their embrace ever again, I was never going smell Dad's strong cologne or taste Mum's amazing cooking. I would never hear them say they love me ever again. They were gone.

"Arghh!" I let out a scream of rage, lashing out at the pictures of my past and sending them crashing into the ground, shards of glass scattering across the ground.

My fists were cut and bleeding, but I didn't care, no cuts could possibly match the pain I was feeling in my heart.

I was fifteen, old enough to take care of myself, the life insurance money coupled with what my parents had managed to save would see me through to the end of the year.

I strove to try even harder at school, I took up kickboxing and poured all of my energy into perfecting my skills.

But everyday after school I would visit mum, see her lifeless body hooked up to the machines that kept her breathing. Everyday I would bring her flowers, praying to Glob that she would wake up, that she could come home.

But she never did. A month after the crash I walked into her ward only to be stopped by a Doctor.

"Kid…" He had said, his voice wavering. "She wasn't going to get better, we switch the life support off this morning."

I tried to kill myself that night, I took almost three jars of sleeping pills but just woke up in the morning with a massive headache.

I didn't see light in anything anymore, not like I used to. Kickboxing was my only escape from the real world, I could let myself go in the rigorous training, allowing myself to focus on just one objective, but it wasn't enough, I needed something for when I wasn't engrossed in sport, something that would take me away from the darkness of reality.

One of the guys at my school got me hooked on heroin, at first I hated myself for doing it, but then I realised that it took the pain away. I was injecting myself with it every chance I got, letting it take me to that happy place where everything was fine, a place where I didn't have to worry about life.

My life began to fall apart, my grades fell and I started getting into fights. I was arrested on four separate occasions for illegal drug use and public displays of violence.

Unsurprisingly I failed my end of year exams, was told I would have to repeat my grade… I didn't care, it wasn't like I had any friends that would move on without me. They had all ditched me early on, didn't want to deal with my drug abuse I guess, can't say I blame them.

As my funds were about to dry up, my step-brother, Jake contacted me. He said he was in Uni now and had gotten a couple of part time job as a mailman. He said he could give me a place to stay until I graduated from college.

I agreed instantly. I needed to get away from this town, this school, this house. It all brought back to many memories of my destroyed life. A fresh start is what I needed, a new beginning. I could bring my life back around where no one knew of my troubled past, I could get back to focusing on my studies, no one would need to know that I was repeating the year, it would be a perfect opportunity to make friends who didn't know about my addiction.

And there I was, the night before I start the next chapter of my life at Ooo High. Lying awake in my small bed in Jake's apartment, looking back at all the mistakes I had made in the past year, but more importantly, looking ahead at what would become of my future.

Hey all, LivingTorch here with my first attempt at a high school AU fanfiction. Yeah, I know it's a bit on the darker side at the moment but it'll get much more lively and romantic as the story goes on. Anywho, I'll definitely be setting Finn up with a certain someone in the fic that you'll probably guess in the first few chapters, but hey, at least it's a surprise for now.

If you have some criticism of my fic so far, or at any point along the road, please leave me a review telling me what I can improve on, that would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for reading! ~LivingTorch