Heeeeeeeey what's up everyone!? Davross here, finally back again with a new flash drive after I lost my other one, and with brand new(Sort of) content that I can finally get out to you. This one, though, is actually... not young...? I guess? ...Question mark...? Anyway, I wrote this a long time ago, actually near the start of my "career" on FanFiction, so please be at least a little easier on it, because I wasn't so experienced in writing at the time. I can't really think of anything else to say right now that won't just seem like senseless ramblings and whatnot, so i guess, without further ado... LET'S DO THIS!
...Good lord, it's been ages.
Groaning in annoyance, Rusty shot his hand out, smashing the snooze button on his alarm clock, before sitting up in his bed. Raising his arms high above his bed, he gave a huge yawn, stretching himself as he did every morning, giving satisfied grunts as he felt his spine pop in several places, and with it went a considerable amount of tension in his back. Heaving a nervous sigh, he shook his head, throwing his bedsheets off of himself and stood.
'No sense putting it off,' he thought, albeit unhappily; today was his first day at his new High School, and like always with all things school, he wasn't looking forward to it. His parents had bought a new house larger than their last, which was all well and good, except it was too far for him to keep going to his old school. He didn't like the fact, though not because he would miss all of his friends. He didn't really have any of those anymore anyway. It wasn't because they got into fights and split up, and nor was it the fault of any of them. There was absolutely nothing that he had against them at all. They had simply grown apart as time passed.
When it happened, when they had all changed and gone their separate ways, Rusty made sure to stay the same. He acted like more the loner type as time wore on and on, and he ceased gaining any friends as well. His parents had grown concerned for his wellbeing, but were put at ease when he reassured them that there was nothing wrong, that it was no doubt just a phase, and that he'd one day suddenly come home with stories about how many friends he'd made earlier that same day in school. They were relieved that their son was doing alright, and that he wasn't going through anything bad.
Truth be told though, he was lying through his teeth. He wasn't alright at all, he knew it wasn't just a phase, and he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be getting any new friends for a while. He was still hopeful though, because he was going to a different school, and something told him that this year was going to hold excitement aplenty for him. After getting completely ready for school with ten minutes to spare for student orientation, he grabbed his satchel( full of textbooks, multiple journals, a sketchpad, and his laptop), threw the strap over his shoulders, and gave himself a once-over.
"Student I.D., pocket, check… School stuff, satchel, check and check… Reading glasses…" Pausing for a moment, he picked up the case, carefully inspecting the contents, then slid them into his pocket. "…Check… Ready to go… Nah, but what the hell? Let's do this thing!" With that out of the way, he rushed out the door, sliding his phone into his right pocked(His glasses are in his left), closed and locked the front door behind him, slid his sunglasses(He called them shaders, though to this day, he still couldn't tell you why), and started sprinting full-tilt towards his new school, deciding to test himself in his free-running.
For the past few weeks, while his family got situated in their new home and got his schooling all set up, he'd spent all of his time either playing his Assassin's Creed games(He owned all of them), or doing the free-running he saw in them. It took plenty of time, effort, dedication, and lots of physical training to make him able, as well as practice at free-running itself to get where he was now. He paid the closest attention to the system used in Assassin's Creed Unity, as that was the most intuitive and challenging system to master, so he put off doing it until after he'd gotten well enough at the other methods.
Evidently though, Rusty was one hell of a fast learner, because he caught on to each system with remarkable speed, even adding his own moves and motions to the mix. Effectively free-run while burning up only a small bit of energy over a long period of time, while still having plenty to burn later on when it was needed, became such a simple thing and small worry in his mind so quickly it was astonishing to him... Astonishing, and a so very curious, considering doing so well in free running, endurance, and the like took years to develop so far, yet, soon enough, here he was moving fluidly along in this art, barely used any energy at all as he went, could go on for hours on end and still be able to sprint for the next twenty minutes straight, then still have it left in him to put up a good fight later(He assumed, considering it had never happened).
Having reached just outside of his Prep school, Lakeview high, he smoothed out his school-regulated suit, straightened his Bowtie, and made for the front doors. Truth be told, there were so many hundreds more who would love, or dare he say kill, to be lucky enough to gain the spot he was in now, and there was actually those who even dreamed of it.
'Well, they can have it," he thought bitterly. He hated going to the Lakeview schools, which he'd been attending for years. It wasn't that he had anything against them, and more the fact that he just didn't find anything about it to be worth enjoying. The place gave him absolutely no motivation whatsoever, no drive, and no wish to strive for anything. By going to this school, he was already guaranteed spots in any classed he wanted at any college of his choosing, and that was simply because he was attending a Lakeview school at all, and an absolute certainty since his grades were always perfect.
The reason that he hadn't looked for any friends in any of the other students was because they took the school they were in as a sign that they were better than everyone else, and acted on those beliefs every day, speaking as though they had an I.Q. larger than they were tall, acting regal, and treating anyone who didn't attend any Lakeview schools as trash. Rusty didn't want anything to do with them, and wanted even less to be seen or even exist in the same general area as them,
As he did every day, he blew through all of his classes with ease and distaste, wishing for something different, wishing for a change. Hell, he would even go to the public high school, Thunderstone High, just to escape this awful place!
When the end of the day finally rolled around, Rusty didn't even bother Free-running home. He wanted to just walk, take his time, and calm down before he walked through his front door. The cool air felt nice against his face, and the quiet of his general surroundings put him at ease.
At least, that is, until he felt an explosion of pain in his shoulder as a fist collided with it. Acting on instinct, he whirled around, using the same arm to deliver one hell of a punch to the gut of his assailant, then a rough shove, sending him back away a few feet. Rusty stayed tense, ready for a fight if he had to, but was overcome with confusion when his assailant relaxed his own posture, laughed a bit, and stretched
"Not bad, man!" he said, catching Rusty off guard again. Walking forward into the street lights, he revealed himself to be another teen about Rusty's own age, and extended his hand, grinning. Rusty didn't know what to do, so he just stood there a tad awkwardly, glancing between the other boy's extended hand and his face, confused. Catching on, he softened his smile, making it seem less crazy, and wiggled his fingers. "You know, you can shake my hand. I don't bite." Not wanting to upset the other boy, Rusty extended his own hand, grasping the boy's and gave it a firm shake.
"Who are you?" he asked, wondering just who he was dealing with.
"Oh!" the other boy exclaimed, smacking his forehead. "Sorry about that! I'm Greystripe, from over at Thunderstone. Nice to meet you!"
"Um… Nice to meet you too, I guess. My name's Rusty."
"Rusty, huh? Cool!" Greystripe grinned again, raising his hands and putting them behind his head, lacing his fingers together. "From the getup, and the fact that I've never seen you before ever, I assume you go to Lakeview?" At this, Rusty's mood plummeted again, and it must have showed, as Greystripe blinked in confusion and took a step back, to which Rusty just raised a calming hand.
"Unfortunately, yeah," he said, glaring off into the stars. "If you want to go there, then I advise you stop dreaming; place isn't all it's cut out to be."
"Whoa, really? Bummer…"
"You have no idea." They stood there in silence for a few moments more, shuffling their feet awkwardly, before Greystripe piped up again.
"Look, I'm sorry about hitting you," he said, making Rusty look back to him in confusion. "Truth be told, I only did it on a twenty dollar bet from those two back there." He pointed over his shoulder, and following the gesture, Rusty looked back to see that there were indeed two more guys standing at the end of the street. Unfortunately, though, the streetlamp they were standing beneath flickered, then went out, as it tends to do sometimes, blanketing the two others in shadow and preventing Rusty from getting a good look at them. Upon seeing Greystripe point them out and Rusty look over, they waved and called for their friend. "I'm coming!" he called back to them, before turning back to Rusty and patting his shoulder. "Look, I gotta go, but you should definitely look into joining Thunderstone if you aren't happy at Lakeview. I know a certain club that would absolutely love to meet you! I think you'd really fit in well!"
With that out of the way, he turned and ran back to his friends, shouting a quick goodbye and throwing a wave over his shoulder, and together, they took off to… wherever they were going. Rusty, though, shouldn't help but smile. Thunderstone didn't have the cleanest reputation from what every student at Lakeview sees them as, but from what he just saw, suddenly it seemed like it wasn't all that bad a place after all. Turning around, he started walking much quicker towards his home, eager to get back and speak with his parents, albeit nervous as to what they would think and say about his decision.
