Todd was walking down the street of Bayville, just thinking. He used to do this all the time when he was younger, it helped him somehow. There was nothing weird about it in his mind; after all, he was just walking. But sometimes, when he was going out the door, and Lance or Pietro caught him, he just couldn't explain to them where he was going. It was like he didn't know himself. So, while the silence grew thicker, Todd tried to think of an answer. But, he found he couldn't. So he just shrugged and went out the door. The first few times they tried to talk to him, but he just ignored it. So eventually they just stopped caring. It was easier that way. Sometimes he would walk through the streets where he used to live. Other times he would walk through the back streets of the city, or the abandoned buildings. It didn't matter, as long as he was walking. The street he was on now was almost covered in darkness, with infrequent intervals of sickly yellow light that melded, seamlessly with the shadows.

He hadn't done this in a while though. He didn't do a lot of the things he used to do, come to think about it. He never went to the park or drew in his ratty old sketchbooks. He never listened to music or played on the Nintendo with Pietro. It was like he had just... stopped. And he didn't know how to start again. He sighed, pulling his crappy jumper tighter around his body. He was getting thinner come to think about it. He just didn't feel like eating anything. It was funny really, because they had food at the house for a change. Months of scraping up enough money, just to buy crappy, generic food that was on sale, months of feeling his stomach cramp and watching everyone else have enough to eat. And then, when Lance finally got a job offer, and the money started rolling in, he wasn't hungry. What the hell kind of irony was that? He laughed weakly, hunching down and shivering while a sharp wind tried to blow him over. It was spring, but it looked like the weather hadn't gotten the message. Shivering, he turned around and started to walk back to the house. It was getting dark, and he wanted to have at least a bit of sleep before the alarm woke him up.

...

The bell had rung by the time he had finally gotten up the strength to go to school. Stragglers were running across the front yard, hoping that their teachers hadn't arrived yet. Todd didn't run. There wasn't a point. His first teacher was Ms Mathew, and she wouldn't care what his excuse was. She'd give him a detention anyway, sodding mutant hater that she was. He walked down the empty hallway, shoes squeaking against the linoleum. He didn't have any books. Didn't need them. Just a pencil and an exercise book. He walked straight through the door of the classroom, no point in knocking. He walked down the main pathway that the desks made, avoiding the feet that were stuck out; ignoring Ms Mathew's calling for him to explain himself. He just went to the back of the classroom and sat down on the chair, resigning himself to another day of taunts, abuse and beatings. It was easier to accept what he was in for, rather than lie to himself. Wait. The screeching was getting louder. Why was it getting louder? He lifted his head off the desk, ignoring the twangs of pain signalling a headache. Blinking his eyes, he tried to hear where the noise was coming from.

"ARE YOU LISTENING, MR TOLENSKY?"

Oh.

Todd scrubbed at his eyes, trying to alleviate the blurriness. He looked up, wincing at the unexpected light, and wished that he had never gotten up that day. Ms Mathew's was right in his face, screaming about the latest 'black mark' to his record. Like she cared. The old cow just wanted to see just how much she could make his life a misery. If he didn't have much of a headache, he'd be calling her a... "fuckin' bitch".

Waitaminute...

"WHAT DID YOU SAY? MR TOLENSKY, IF YOU DO NOT TELL ME WHAT YOU SAID RIGHT THIS MUNUTE..."

Ah, screw it. It wasn't as if things could get any worse.

" I called you a fucking bitch, MISS Mathew's. Although why anyone would ever want to fuck you, god knows. I mean, for the love of god! You sound like a harpy! What did you do? Gargle nails while you were giving yourself your usual dose of bitch potion in the morning? Or did that metal rod of yours just get shoved up extra hard?"

The deafening silence swept along the classroom. Every person seemed to be holding their breath as they watched the teachers already red face turn steadily purple. Todd stood up before the teacher started to yell, wincing at the pain that jabbed at his body. Just what the fuck was wrong with him? His body had started to ache a couple of days ago. Sighing, he picked up his stuff and headed for the door. He already knew where he was going.

"MR TOLENSKY, I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO THAT WAY! GO TO THE PRINCIPALS OFFICE!"

Right on target.

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A/N: so, first fic... my god I've procrastinated this. I've had an account for like what? A year? Anyway, please review.