I sigh for what probably has been the hundredth time today. I glance over to my mother, who's driving, my brother and sister are chilling in the back seat. We are meeting my father, who's already in California, at our new home. He drove out a few days earlier than us taking the moving van and my car attached to it by a tow bar.
"Are you all right Rylan?" My mom asks me.
"No, I still don't understand why we have to move to California."
I'm very upset. I was supposed to start my senior year of high school in a few days. I had to leave my friends, what very few I had, and everything else I knew and loved back in Jersey.
"I'm sorry Ry but your fathers job moved him out here, you know that."
"Yeah, it's just I miss my friends and stuff."
"You'll make new friends." She says reassuringly.
"I don't want new friends. I want my old ones. I was a social outcast in my old school, what makes you think it'll be any different in the new one?"
Before my mother can argue the point I put my head phones over my ears, hit play, and crank the music up.
"Smell the burning embers night flickering away. Timeless but soon gone. Timeless but soon gone. I can find myself alone with just my thoughts. As time crumbles away. As I crumble away." I sang along with the CD.
My best friend had given me the CD. Her father works for a record label and brought it home the one night. She listened to it, made a copy, and gave it to me. She told me it wasn't her type of music, but I loved it. Unfortunately it's only a demo with five songs on it and I don't even know the name of the band that did it.
I must have dozed off cause the next thing I know my sister, Morgan, is shaking me awake.
"Ry, wake up we're here." She says and I climb out of the car and look around my new neighborhood. My father comes out to meet us and opens the moving van so we can finish getting our belongings.
" Holy shit dad they moved us to fuckin snob hill!" I exclaim.
"Rylan watch your mouth, and they most certainly did not."
"They did too. Just look at the size of these houses!"
I go to get the my stuff from the back of the van and suddenly I hear loud laughter. I turn around and see five guys walking out of the house next to ours. They're rocker boys, hot rocker boys at that. They stop and look at me, after a moment I feel very uneasy. I hop up into the moving van and start digging for the boxes with my name on them. I glance over to where the boys are sitting on the porch, talking, but occasionally they would glance over at me.
"Why are they looking at me?" I think to myself. I guess I am a bit of a shocking sight, with my black and neon green streaked hair, black eyeliner, dark eye shadow, corset top and tripp pants.
"Rylan! Come see your room!" Morgan shrieks from the doorway.
"Alright I'm coming." I sling a bag over my shoulder and pick up a box and head inside.
Morgan's right, my room is awesome. It's much bigger than my other one and I can't to paint it and cover the walls with my posters. I set the box and bag down against the wall and head back out to get more of my things, my bed and dresser are already inside. As soon as I step outside I notice my parents talking to a man and a woman.
"Rylan!" My mom says as soon as she notices me. "Come here and meet the Haners."
"Hi." I say walking over.
"Well aren't you a pretty little thing. I'm Suzy and this is Brian. That's our son over there with his friends." One of the boys sticks his hand up and sort of waves. "His names Brian too. Him and his friends go to the same high school your going to. They're all seniors, well except for Jimmy, he's the really tall one, he got expelled, oh and Johnny he's only a freshman."
"That's cool, it was nice meeting you, but I'm gonna go finish unloading the van now, so I'll see ya around." I head towards the van and grab another box of my stuff and carry it up to my room.
"Hey Ry, wanna go swimming?" Morgan asks me after a few hours of me trying to get all my things put away.
"Yeah sure." I grab my black bikini with red cherries on it and go to change.
When I come downstairs Morgan's already in the pool. I slip my towel off from around my shoulders and suddenly feel like I'm being watched. I look over and see Brian and his friends, chillin by his pool, staring at me again.
"They want a show? I'll give em a show." I think to myself.
I walk down to the diving board at the end of the pool and go to the edge. I throw up the Hardy handguns, do two bounces on the board and do a Swanton Bomb (For those of you that don't watch wrestling, a front flip.) I come up to the sound of applause. I just laugh and swim over to play fight with Morgan.
3 DAYS LATER
I crank my stereo as I drive to school. I'm not looking forward to this. I pull into the parking lot and I'm already receiving dirty looks. I find a space and walk into the building. I know the first thing I need to do is get my schedule. It had been sent to my house but got lost in the mail and I need to get a new one. I was told to pick up a new one in the front office. I walk down the hallway and with the looks people are giving me you's think I'm public enemy number one. Someone makes a comment, something about the sun and bursting into fire, but I shrug it off I'm comfortable with the way I am. I finally make it to the front office just as the first bell rings.
"Great now I'm gonna be late." I think to myself.
"Can I help you?" The woman behind the desk asks.
"Yes, my name is Rylan Carter, my schedule got lost in the mail and I was told to come get a new one."
"Alright." She types on the keyboard. "Ok got it, it'll just take a moment to print."
"Cool" I say as the second bell rings.
"Here I'll write you a pass." She grabs a late slip, fills it out, and hands it to me with my schedule. "There you go. Your first class is Marine Biology, it's right down this hallway fifth door on the left." She says pointing.
"Thank you." I say and walk to class.
I open the door and all the heads in the class room shoot up to look at me. Talk about feeling awkward. I hand the teacher the pass.
"Ah, Ms. Carter, thank you for joining us. Why don't you take a seat next to Heather." He motions to an empty seat at one of the tables next to a preppy blond.
"Mr. Smith she can't sit next to me, she might try to suck my blood." She whines, the class laughs, and I shake my head.
"Heather." He says in a disapproving tone.
"It's ok I'll sit somewhere else." I say not wanting to make a scene. I notice Brian and two of his friends sitting in the back and he is sitting alone. I walk back to him and point at the chair. "Can I sit here?"
"Yeah sure." He says smiling at me as I sit down. We don't talk at all after that, but on occasion I catch him glancing over at me.
"Psst, hey new girl." I hear from behind me, it's one of Brian's friends. I look back at him. He has short spiked up hair and snake bites. "How you doin?" He says trying to sound like Joey from Friends. I smile, shake my head and turn back around. "I'm Zacky, this is Matt, that's Brian." I turn back around as he points to himself the guy next to him and Brian.
"Rylan." I point to myself he smiles and I turn back around again.
The bell finally rings and I go to find my second period class, English. Once again I get looks as soon as I walk in. The only desk that looks open is right next to Heather. I roll my eyes and sit down in it.
"What are you doing out during the day time? Won't you melt?" She asks laughing along with her posse.
"Vampires don't melt you fucking moron they burst into flames."
"What did you call me?" Sha asks standing up.
"A fucking moron. Did I stutter?" I say standing up as well.
"Alright class settle down." The teacher says walking in.
"To be continued." I growl. I don't feel like getting in trouble the first day of school.
The rest of the period flys by as did the the rest of the periods and I now find myself sitting in the lunch room. I sit alone at a table. I see Brian and his friends sitting at a table directly across from me. He notices me and smiles. I smile back at him. He points to me and then the empty chair next to him. I just shake me head no. I think he was about to protest but I hear Heathers annoying voice. Her and her friends had sit down at the table next to me.
"I'm suprised your not drinking blood." She laughs.
I just shake my head this chick is really asking for it. I sit there ignoring her for the rest of lunch. I go to seventh period math. Heather walks in, she seems to be in all my classes. I sit in a desk two rows over from where she is sitting. I open the front pocket on my backpack and notice I have my Scarecrow fangs in the bottom of it, left from when I had packed. I take them out of the case and quickly pop them in my mouth and use my tounge to snap them in place. I'm gonna show this bitch not to mess with me. I see her and her friends whispering and looking at me.
"I'm suprised you don't have fangs." She says finally.
"You mean like these?" I ask hissing and I jump over the desk between us to get to her. She starts screaming bloody murder.
"Ms. Carter! Detention! Now!" The teacher yells at me. I just laugh and gather my things.
"Well worth it." I say going to get the detention slip from the teacher. I walk down the hallway to the room used for detention. I open the door and walk in. I notice the person who's supposed to be watching the class is an old woman and she's asleep.
"Sweet the new girl gets detention on the first day." I hear a voice say. I turn to see Zacky, Brian, Matt, and Johnny sitting in the back of the class. "Just put the slip on the desk. She's not gonna wake up." I put the slip down and go take a seat in the back with the boys. We're the only ones in there.
"So what are you in for?" Brain asks me.
"Ah, he does talk. Well if you must know I jumped across a desk to go after Heather." I laugh.
"Whoa are those fangs?"
"Yup, you should have heard her scream bloody murder." They laugh." So what are you guys in for?" I ask taking out my fangs.
"Smoking in the boys room." Zacky replies.
"I'm guilty by association." Matt whines.
"Matt stop your whining, you get to do nothing for the next period and a half." Brian says.
"I'm bored." Johnny sighed.
"Anybody got any tunes?" Zacky asks.
"Yeah I got it covered." I say reaching into my bag and getting my CD player and portable speakers out. "Any objection to Pantera?"
"Fuck no." Brian says.
Sudden there's a loud bang at the window. Jimmy pushes it open and climbs in.
"Knock knock fuck heads, what up new girl." He asks."Bet you sorry assholes are glad to see me."
"And why would we be glad to see you Jimmy?" Johnny asks.
"Cause I come baring a gift." He says pulling a Poland Spring water bottle out of his pocket, only there wasn't water in it. It was some dark liquid.
"Sweet." Zacky says grabbing it and taking a drink before passing it to Brian.
"Here." He says handing it to me after taking a drink.
"What is it?" I ask.
"It's root beer." Jimmy replies with a laugh.
"Root beer my ass." I say taking a sip." Oh, it's Jack awesome." I say taking a mouthful and passing it to Johnny.
"This girl is so in." Zacky says."She likes Pantera and Jack Daniels."
"And she hates Heather." Johnny adds.
We sit, talk and drink while listening to tunes and ever once in a while I catch Brian looking at me he sort of smiles and looks away.
"Oh my god." I say suddenly."You guys have to listen to this band. I don't know who they are, where they're from, the name of the songs, or anything. I just know they rock."
"Ok well put em on." Matt says. I grab my cd case and put in the CD. A few seconds after the first song starts the boys start to laugh. I stop the CD.
"What's so funny?" I ask angrily.
"Nothing." Brian says laughing still."Where did you get the CD from?"
"My friends father works for a record company. He brought it home and she made a copy of it for me but didn't write a name or anything like that on it."
"Well that song is called Darkness Surrounding, and the band is Avenged Sevenfold."
"How do you know?"
"Well your sitting in the room with them. We're Avenged Sevenfold, that's our demo CD we sent out."
"Oh, well I feel like an idiot." I laugh.
"No, don't feel like that, we're glad you like it. It's always nice to meet a would you like to come to our band practice? We're actually having one today after school at my house."
"Fuck yeah that would be awesome."
"Sweet, now press play I wanna hear my totally awesome guitar riffs." He laughs. I push play and we start to sing along.
We're having a good time, I'm almost sad when the bells rings for us to leave, but I remember that I was still gonna hang out with them afterwards.
"Hey Rylan." Brian yells after me down the hallway. I stop and wait for him to catch up." Do you think I could get a ride home?"
"Yeah sure." I smile at him.
"Cool." He throws an arm across my shoulders." Let's get out of here." We start walking down the hallway to leave when I see Heather coming up the hallway from the other direction.
"Freak." She says as she walks by. That was it.
"Get over here bitch, I'm gonna teach you not to call people names." I scream grabbing her by the hair and slam her head against a locker. "Obviously you're a hard learner." I let my fist fly and connect with her left cheek. "You will never pick on anyone again, do you understand me?" I let my other fist go into her other cheek.
Everyone in the hallway had made a circle around us and were chanting."Fight fight fight."
"Oh shit the principal's coming." I hear someone say as I punch her in the stomach. She bends over as Brian grabs me and pulls me away but I manage to catch her in the face with me foot.
"Come on, let's get out of here." He says half dragging me out of the school. "Go go go get in the car." The principal bursts out the door as I slam my car in drive and speed off. I know I'm gonna be caught either today or tomorrow. "Holy shit that was the coolest thing I've ever seen in my entire life." He laughs.
"Liked that did ya? Well the bitch had it coming." I laugh." God that felt good."
"I bet, I don't think she'll give you anymore trouble."
"She better not or I'll just have to kick her ass again." I say and he laughs. We're home after only a few minutes, I pull into the drive way.
"Wanna come help me set up before the guys get here?" He asks.
"Yeah sure let me just drop my bag in my house."
"Ok cool I'll be in the garage just come in."
"Ok cool" I head inside and put my bag down."Mom?"
"Kitchen dear."
"I'm going next door to Brian's, we'll be in the garage."
"Ok. Have fun." I run out of there quickly. I don't want to be around when the call comes.
"Hey." I say walking in.
"Hey, that was fast."
"Yeah, I don't wanna be home when that phone call comes."
"What makes you think you'll be caught?"
"Come on, it's not hard to pick me out of a crowd." I laugh. He looks at me.
"No I suppose it's not." He laughs too. "Ever set up band equipment before?"
"Of course." I say as I start to untangle wires.
"I'm almost done over here." Brian says after about fifteen minutes. "How you doing?"
"Almost done too." I say plugging in a guitar to the amp.
"Awesome." He says walking over behind me so that when I stand up his face is only inches from mine." Rylan there's something I wanna do, promise you won't get mad at me?
"Well what is it?
"Just promise you won't get mad."
"Alright I promise." He nods and gently presses his lips to mine. I'm a little shocked at first but after a moment I kiss him back.
"Rylan!" I hear my mother calling me. We separated.
"Damn there's that phone call." I laugh.
"Yeah." He laughs too." Guess you gotta go huh?"
"Yeah, I'll see you later." I kiss him on the cheek before heading over to my house. I'm smiling, even if I get grounded right now, I know my senior year is gonna rock.