I don't know where you're going

But do you got room for one more troubled soul?

I don't know where I'm going but I don't think

I'm coming home

And I said I'll check in tomorrow

If I don't wake up dead.

This is the road to ruin

And we're starting at the end.

-"Alone Forever" Fall Out Boy

Matthew Williams was used to being ignored. He was accustomed to being the quiet kid in the back of the class. Hoodies and skinny jeans were about 90% of his wardrobe, and staying silent was his greatest skill. Matthew didn't have many friends, and the only person he talked to on a daily basis was his cousin Alfred.

So when he stepped into the auditorium where auditions for the fall play were taking place, everyone ignored him, and the teacher assumed he simply wanted to help with the lighting. (The teacher wasn't going to let him anywhere near the costume department with his fashion sense)

The blond didn't complain as he was shuffled up the stairs to the lighting and sound booth, though no one heard him when he said he was auditioning for a part.

And so he was left in the room alone. Matthew sighed and went over to the window that over overlooked the auditorium, watching as students filed in with their friends, all excited for auditions.

A deep, bored breath left his lips, and he simply observed the auditions, everyone below performing the bit they were asked and then quickly scurrying off the stage. It was a long while before someone seemed to notice Matthew resting on the window, and he watched someone lean down to talk to the teacher that was acting as their director, just loud enough that the sound echoed back up to the blond.

"Hey, what about that kid up top?" the other teen asked, and Matthew tried to get a good view of his face, a dark crimson beanie covering his hair and just enough of his face that it was out of sight.

"What kid? Oh, him? He does lighting every year," Matthew couldn't argue with that; it was true that his previous two years of high school had been spent doing the lighting for every play. He was surprised the teacher even remembered that fact. Last year he had scared the living daylights out of the older man by simply being in the room above the seats, running through the music for their play to make sure they were good copies.

Still, he had been actually wanting to try this year. The boy turned then, and Matthew was in awe of the brightest, most unusual appearance he had ever seen. Snow white hair peeked out from under the hat, falling in slightly spiked locks over his forehead, managing to perfectly frame crimson eyes.

"Hey! You trying for a part?" he called out, and for a brief moment Matthew was awestruck, before he nodded and the other waved him down. "Come on, then!" he smiled brightly, seeming proud of himself for including the quiet lighting kid.

Matthew nodded eagerly, heading down to where everyone else was sitting, and almost immediately the taunting began. "Make him do Juliet! He looks like a girl anyway!" Someone called out, and everyone joined in on it, until the were all simply chanting out: "Juliet! Juliet!"

Matthew felt his face flush with anger, and he marched up to the stage, looking down at the teacher expectantly. "I'll do it then," he announced, crossing his arms over his chest with a slight frown, "Which lines should I do?"

The teacher shrugged a bit, and the white-haired teen stepped up onto the stage along with Matthew. "Here, I'll do Romeo's part. How about the balcony scene?"

Matthew nodded. Of course he knew the scene. He had it memorized. The other was the first to begin, nodding over at Matthew before he began to speak. He zoned out for a bit, though Matthew knew by now when he was to come in.

"The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night See how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

The other's face melted into one of pure longing as he looked over towards Matthew. His heart thumped loudly in his chest at the look. He was definitely a good actor.

Matthew took a deep breath and they continued on, both getting lost in the roles of their characters.

"I would not for the world they saw thee here," Matthew said aloud, truly getting into the spirit of Juliet's character.

The pale teen smiled at Matthew, stepping closer to him and looking at him with a surprisingly real adoration.

"I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes; And but thou love me, let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love."

Matthew only vaguely heard the teacher start clapping, ending the two of them at that point. Everyone in the auditorium had gone quiet, their jaws slack and eyes wide in surprise.

"That was amazing, Matthew!" The teacher called out, and the blond tore his eyes away from pure crimson pools, looking over at the older man. "Th-Thank you," he muttered, his face flushing.

Everyone else began to clap then, the noise nearly deafening. Matthew jumped in surprise when he heard someone yell his name. "Whoo! Mattie!" His cousin yelled from the door, several other students having come into the room.

Matthew's face flushed much darker and he ducked his head down. The teacher cleared his throat then, gathering everyone's attention away from the blond. "Alright, well we're out of time for today… I'll think about who I'll choose for each part and then post the list on Monday," he announced, " Oh, and Matthew? You may want to start teaching some of the freshman to work the lights and sound board."

The blond smiled brightly, nodding and jogging over to grab his backpack, only to be approached by the paler teen with a lazy grin. "You made a good Juliet," he said honestly, holding his hand out, "I'm Gilbert. I have a feeling we'll be getting the lead parts," he sounded so confident, and just a tad bit full of himself.

Matthew smiled faintly and shook Gilbert's hand. "I'm Matthew. You did really good too. I have no doubt you'll get the part for Romeo, I'll probably just get an understudy."

Gilbert shook his head quickly, the two of them walking out of the auditorium and heading out towards the parking lot. This was usually the way Matthew went to walk home, but Gilbert seemed to look over at him worriedly every time he slipped on the ice. Matthew squeaked in surprise as his feet slipped out from beneath him, and his tailbone hit the ground.

"Geez, just let me give you a ride home before you get hurt," Gilbert insisted, helping the blond to his feet. He tried to resist, but Gilbert was having none of it, leading him over to the black van that he drove

The vehicle's interior was immaculate, even though it was clearly an old automobile. "Where do you live?" Gilbert asked, slipping into the driver seat. The van started after a few tries, and he began to pull out after Matthew had given him the address.

"Thank you," Matthew muttered, fidgeting in the seat and lightly playing with the hem of his sweater. Gilbert nodded, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "Yeah, it's no problem, really. I'd rather you didn't fall and break your leg. That term isn't meant to be taken seriously," the pale teen joked, laughing slightly.

Matthew rolled his eyes at the dumb joke, looking away and snorting slightly. "Ha ha, very funny," he said almost bitterly, looking back at Gilbert and raising an eyebrow, "Why do you care? I'm just the lighting and sound kid."

Gilbert shook his head. "You're also most likely going to be he Juliet in our school's play. I'd say that makes you pretty important."

Of course. It was only his role that made him important, He was only remembered when someone needed him to do something for them. Matthew sighed deeply, looking away. "And if I decline the part? Maybe I don't want the attention."

The red-eyed teen looked at him seriously then, pulling up in front of Matthew's house. "If you didn't want the part you wouldn't have auditioned, and you definitely wouldn't have done so well," he muttered and Matthew froze for a brief moment, before he nodded and unbuckled his seat belt.

"Fair enough. Thank you for the ride… I'm sure we'll see each other tomorrow," he said quietly, opening the door and climbing out. He heard a brief call of "Tomorrow's Saturday!" before he closed the door of the van and headed up to his own front door.

Gilbert stayed there until Matthew managed to pull out his keys and unlock the door, slipping inside after giving the pale teen a small wave.

Matthew leaned back against the door once it had closed, letting out a deep breath and closing his eyes. He was drained from the day, and his head was beginning to pound with a headache. It didn't help that he was still flushed and warm from his earlier performance.

It was Friday, wasn't it? The blond smiled faintly and pushed off from the door, walking upstairs to his room and dropping his backpack onto the floor by his desk. Matthew sat down on the edge of his bed, grabbing his laptop and opening it, resting the electronic on his legs.

He logged onto his blog and scrolled through his dashboard for a short while, reblogging a few things and making a post about the day's activities.

Matthew rested his laptop back on the bed next to him, falling back and staring up at the ceiling in though. He had no idea what he was going to do for the rest of the weekend.

He spent quite a while simply lying there, staring up at the ceiling before he finally got up and went downstairs to the empty living room, bringing his laptop with him.

Matthew settled on the couch and turned the tv on, putting a movie on and curling up in one of the blankets they left on the couch.

He spent a while simply watching movies and scrolling through the internet on his laptop. After his first movie ended and he had put on a second one, he faintly heard the sound of the garage door opening.

His dad was home. He knew it was his dad, since his mom didn't usually get home until much later in the evening. As if he had been cued, his dad walked through the living room then, slipping into the kitchen.

He hardly even noticed Matthew, and didn't say a word to him. His father simply went into the kitchen, most likely to get a drink as he usually did.

The blond sighed and snuggled further into his blanket cocoon, closing his laptop screen a bit so that if he passed his father wouldn't be able to see the screen.

Dad was drinking; this was definitely going to be a long weekend.

Matthew ended up spending his entire weekend in his room, marathoning horror movies and avoiding his parents' arguments. They fought often, really. Whether it was because of Dad's drinking or Mom working unexplained late nights, Matthew would never know.

Monday morning he dreaded waking up, not wanting to go to school. For a while he laid in bed, wondering if he could pass as faking sick, or simply stay in bed and see if his parents would realize he hadn't left.

He didn't want to deal with school; to see his name in his teacher's horrible scrawl next to a neatly printed Juliet. He didn't want to face Gilbert's piercing red eyes and knowing grin.

Eventually though, he got out of bed and got dressed, ran a brush through his hair, and headed down to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast.

His parents had already left for work, so the house was deadly quiet except for the sound of him munching on his cereal. There was an annoying ringing in his ear, so as soon as he finished eating he ran upstairs to grab his backpack.

Matthew headed out the door into the snow, making his way to school in the early morning chill.

My newest Prucan guys, I know it's been a... really long time since I've written anything, but I'm getting better with that (hopefully) I've made a tumblr blog where you'll be able to get updates on my fics in progress, and ask questions about the characters and their backgrounds, pretty much everything about htem. I'll be doing the same with ever story I have, so hopefully there will be a lot on the blog: .

Please review or go to the blog and ask questions, I love hearing what you guys think, and you all always give me the motivation to continue writing.

-Rain