Chapter One
Guess Who
'I look like a drug addict,' I thought. Or, at least that's probably what other people thought of me. A pale skinned goth kid who just lost a whole shit ton of weight. My parent think I'm doing drugs too, so maybe I should. I smiled to myself as I stepped onto the porch. I just finished my morning jog and the sun had just risen. I breathed in the cold, crisp air and look out to the horizon. It looks so beautiful.
"Hey Nick."
I turned to the voice. "Oh, hi Bert."
Bert was a grungy looking teenager, with long, stringy hair and he was always covered in dirt. And even though he always was bothering me, he was still my friend.
"So Nick, I was uh… wondering…" Bert started.
"No Bert!" I said with a sigh. That might have sounded rude to some people, but this was the fifth time this morning he tried to ask me out, and I'm kinda getting sick of it. "I'm not gay Bert." I said rolling my eyes.
"I promise if you just go out with me tonight, I'll never ask you again!"
I looked at him with a serious face and then sighed. "Fine, I'll go…"
"Yay! I'm going to take you to the movies." He said with a big smile. Bert wrapped his arm around me and nuzzled his head into my neck. I put one arm around his back and patted it awkwardly. 'I can't believe I just said 'Yes' to Bert.' I thought.
"Um Bert, I gotta go get ready for school, so uh, I'll see you later?" I said with Bert still hugging me tight.
"Oh yeah, sorry." He said.
I waved at him and turned to leave. "Bye."
"bye." And he walked off and lit up a menthol.
I walked in through the door and shut it quietly so my dad wouldn't wake up. But as soon as I walked into the living room, my nose was assaulted with a glorious smell. Sticking my nose in the air, I stood there like an idiot and just took it all in. I moved to the kitchen and saw my mother making bacon and eggs.
I frowned and turned away from the food. I took the blender away from its spot on the counter and shoved some fruit in it. Looking back I saw my beautiful, thin mom make horrible, greasy food for my seriously overweight dad.
Sighing, I flipped the blender on, making my morning smoothie.
My mom jumped at the noise and turned to me with a startled expression. "Oh Nick! Why on earth didn't you say anything! Give your poor old momma a heart attack." She said holding her chest.
I shrugged. Turning off the blender, I took the plastic jug of the base, and poured the fruity mixture into my travel mug that I had gotten from starbucks. I wish I could still have those amazing brownies they sell, their just a clusterfuck of amazingness, I swear. But seriously? The calories in those things? Yeah right.
I pouted, because there was a cute coffee girl there who I tried to flirt with, so I'd buy a lot of brownies just to talk to her. And I always wished she would give me the sexy smile she gave to other guys.
"Are you okay sweety?" I shrugged again and started to leave the kitchen, but a hand reached out and grabbed my elbow.
"Darling… " My mom spoke again, "I'm worried about you."
"There's nothing to worry about, I'm fine." I said with a weak smile.
"You know you can talk to me about anything." She said rubbing the part of my back that wasn't all sweaty.
I smiled at her. "I know."
X
I was in the bathroom, waiting for the shower to heat up, before I got in. The scalding water felt good on my body. I started to recap the morning to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Take my 2 weight loss pills
Jog for an hour
Drain a fruit concoction of only fruit.
Take shower.
I smiled about how my first day of school would go. I hope people would notice my drastic change in appearance. But I really hope Amber noticed.
Smiling even bigger, I grabbed a towel of the rack and dried myself off, and then wrapped it around my waist.
Peeking out the bathroom door to make sure no one was in the hallway I ran across to my room, quickly. Once I was safely in my room, I slammed the door and went over to my closet. I thumbed through my clothes. Oddly enough, I enjoyed shopping and plan to do it again once I hit my goal weight in a few months, or less hopefully.
I tugged on a shirt with a pentagram on it and slipped on some black skinny jeans. I checked myself out in the mirror. I looked pretty good, but I needed to be thinner. I shrugged my shoulders, torn between being proud and beating myself up about my appearance.
I just decided to try and forget about itand get back to the mind set I had earlier. After finishing everything else that haqd to be done before school, I walked out to the bus stop. Angel and Bert were already standing out there talking.
"Hey Nick." Bert said smiling widely. Angel rolled his eyes and looked at me.
"WOW. Nick! How much weight did you lose?" He cried in astonishment.
Angel was on vacation for most of the summer so he hadn't noticed my sudden drop in weight like Bert had. Plus angle is even gay, so he probably had less chance of noticing, unlike Bert.
"Ummm…well a lot I guess." I said, embarissed.
"I need to do what ever you have been doing cause its obviously working." He said laughing.
Angle and I were the fat kids back in the day, back when we were in kindergarden, and now I felt bad. I should have asked him to join me in my quest to get thin.
"Its pretty simple, I'll help you." I said smiling. Reassuring him that I wouldn't just leave him and all his fatty-ness.
"that would be cool, thanks!"
It wasn't until after the silence hit us that I noticed Bert staring blantantly at my crotch.
"Umm dude?" I said while turning my body away from his prying eyes.
"What?" Bert said, "You can't really blame me."
"Pft, yeah I can, Get ahold of yourself!" I said with a nervous laugh.
Bert grinned and Angel turned toward me. "Oh my god, I forgot, I found someone for our band!"
I grinned and started to jump around. "WHO IS IT? TELLL MEEEEE!"
"Wow Fag alert!"
Everyone turned to see a big jock guy standing there. I rolled my eyes and turned to Angle again. "Who-?" I started to say but I was cut off by a hard shove to my back. I feel into Angle and I heard Bert start to yell.
"Dude fucking stop!" He yelled and started to get in the guys face.
The guy got scared for a second, but then quickly gathered himself and shoved Bert into me and Angle.
Out of nowhere I became a worried parent and caught Bert before he hit the ground. Bert quickly went for the jock again but I reached out, gripping his arm and I yanked him back.
"Awwww, she must really love you." The jock said while looking at Bert and I, then he turned and walked toward a bus bench a little ways from the actuall bus stop.
Bert watched him slink away, then whipped his head around to glare at me.
"I could have taken him."
"Bullshit." I said letting go of his arm.
Bert looked back to the jock. "All that fuck head can do is wrestle on a mat, I'm a fucking scrapper." He said while trying to look like a gangster.
"Sure Bert, lets just say that." I laughed.
At that moment, a big yellow vehicle pulled up known as the bus and we all piled in. Angel and I sat together and Bert sat across from us.
"So who did you get for the band?" I questioned.
"Well, okay so… he used to go to our junior high and he uh… almostkilledusall." Angel said the last part in such a rush I had trouble understanding. Before it finally clicked.
"WHAT? You got wiL?" I said alittle frightened.
"Don't worry man he got help. He's better now."
I sighed. "Well we are so having next practice at your house."
X
Getting to school I walked over to our group of friends, I started to run up behind a pretty blond with coon tails of many colors, sexy purple jean shorts and a neon pink shirt. Her shoes were purple vans. This girl is Amber. The girl I cant stop thinking about. I reach my hand up and cover her eyes.
"Guess who." I whispered.
"Umm…! Umm…! …shit…um…shit I dunno!" Amber mumbled.
"Come on, think hard." Angel said.
"Shut up, your gunna confuse her!" Jimmy, her current…something or other, yelled.
"Say something again, I forget what your voice sounds like. I need to figure this shit out!" Amber said franticly.
"I love mountain dew." I said while giggling.
She gasped in surprise. "I would know that giggle anywhere! Nick!" She turned to me and hugged me so hard I thought she was gunna break my rib, then stopped and backed up, still holding onto my sides.
"What the fuck did you do to yourself?" She asked laughing.
"I lost weight."
"Well DUH! You're all sexy and junk!"
I blushed and tried to hide my face.
Amber turned away from me and started to talk to Jimmy after she giggled at my pink cheeks. Jimmy was a tall and lanky guy, with green spiked hair and matching lime green combat boots. He was confident in himself, in fact all of Ambers boyfriends are. Maybe that's why she never notices when I try and flirt with her. Ugh.
"Oh Nick! My parents wondering if I could stay at your house for a few days." Amber said quickly.
"Oh, umm okay. Sounds like fun." I said smiling.
She smiled back at me before turning to Jimmy and hanging all up on him. Her parents probably think I'm gay or something. They never think of me as a threat, always going to be the best friend.
~CLASS BELL~
"Oh shit, time to go to advisory."
Advisory was the only class I know for sure I have friends in. Amber, Angel and I were all in the class, but we sat away from each other because our bitch of a teacher Mrs. Umma hates it when we talk, which is all the time. I looked back at Amber who sat behind me and saw her pointing at a kid next to her, and then handed him a note. I watched the note pass through the hands of almost every kid in the room before it landed on my desk. I unfolded it while making sure Mrs. Umma wasn't looking.
!NICK! I think I might break up with Jimmy. I'm so sad.
~Amber
I looked back at her and gave her a sad smile. She tried to smile back but she ended up working on a random assignment she had that was due soon.
"Class, everyone listen up!"
Everyone looked up at the sound of Mrs. Umma's voice with odd looks. She rarely ever talks so it was always something important when she did open her mouth.
"I'm passing out a letter to all of you to take home and show to your parents. If anyone has any concerns there will be a meeting tonight here at school." She said as the letters got passed around.
Everyone started talking once the note was passed out. When the stack finally reached me I took one and passed the rest to the next kid. I quickly scanned the note. There was a new student who would be enrolling in the school and I guessed it was wiL. The kid they explained on the letter was troubled and shouldn't be messed with.
Thinking back, wiL had brought a bunch of guns to school and his plan was to kill everyone and then himself, but he chickened out and turned himself in. Then he was taken to a psychiatric hospital. And I haven't heard from him since.
The bell signaled again to let everyone be dismissed from advisory. Amber bounded up to me with a huge grin. "This is crazy! But exciting!" She said.
"Yeah totally." Angel spoke when he caught up to us.
"I hope wiL doesn't freak out again." I murmured.
"Wait what? Who?" Amber asked.
Angel glared daggers into my face and I sighed. I knew he didn't want me to spill the metaphorical beans everywhere, cause that would take a long time to mop that shit up, and by the look he was shooting me. Basically it was a 'If you say one thing about wiL I'll go Frodo on your ass and then no one will have the power.' Then I sent him a look that read, 'No not my precious!'
Amber snapped her fingers in our faces when she got frustrated with our look language.
"Helllllo?"
"Um well, wiL is this guy at Home Depot that I'm thinking about going gay for." I smiled.
Angel nodded his head when he heard what I said and deemed it worthy. I had the power. And what Angel doesn't know is that 'Home Depot' or any other place of establishment is code for 'Tonight in the tree house.', and 'Im thinking about going gay for.' Or something about my sexuality is really 'I will tell you all you want to know.'
Happy with what happened I noticed Amber and Angel were both gone.
So I turned to go to my class and suddenly I had the wind knocked out of me. "Oof!" I cried. And then I knoticed I ran into aother kid.
"OMG Im soooo sorry!" I stuttered out, and yes, I really did say "OMG."
I I looked down at the person I ran into. It was a boy, who was a lot shorter then and whose face looked really soft and so cute. I knew Amber would want to meet this kid.
"No no no! I'm… I'm the one …. The one wwwho…. rannn into… into yooooou…" The kid stuttered worse then I did.
"Aww" I cooed.
"What?" He questioned.
"What? Nothing… Um hey do you need help finding your class?" I asked.
He looked surprised, before nodding. "Umm y-yeah… My name… my name is P-patrick.." he said as he passed me his schedule.
I saw he had Horticulture next, and as it turned out I had it to. The study of plants! I smiled and thought that now I have a clas with someone who was shyer then me! I immediately wanted to take him under my wing, but I had none so I settled with my arm instead. I could teach him the ways of the ninja and I could call him grasshopper! I was giddy with excitement.
"Okay so you have horticulture with me next!" I smiled.
"Ooooh… really?" He questioned.
"Would I lie to you?" I said.
He looked puzzled. "Umm… I don't know you."
"Oh well whatever, come on don't wanna be late." I said grinning. "Im Nick by the way."
The bell rang again just as we stepped inside the room. I immediately went to the back of the class and Patrick followed me like a lost puppy, and then sat in the seat across from me. He smiled when he saw I was staring at him, and I smiled back.
"So what grade are you in Patrick?" I said, flashing my sexy smile at him, but not too sexy. Don't want him to freak out on me and loose the only person I know in the class.
"Im… Im a soph.. sophomore…"
"Oh cool I'm a senior." I said.
His eyes widened before he replied. "Oh umm you don't… have to sit with me … if you don't … want to that is. I mean you can! I just thought.."
"Whoa whoa speed racer! Its okay, I'll sit with you."
He smiled at me then his smile turned to a puzzled frown. "Whats that?"
I looked to where he was looking and saw a folded triangle of paper sticking out of my book that was passed out to me.
I took it out and saw the front.
To: Nick
From: Anonymous