Sorry this took so long to update. I only just recently got back into writing again. Anyway, here it is, Chapter 2!
My eyes crack open and I give a soft moan of disapproval as I'm gently shaken awake. I lift my head off of my now painfully numb arm and let it fall to my side as I straighten up, moving to stretch my other arm, my legs, and my back.
"We're home." Dad says, matter-off-factly
I glance out of the windshield and at the scenery that was the inside of the garage surrounding us. A small yawn makes its way past my lips as I rub my tired eyes.
"Right." I reply "I see that now."
I shift my seating and unbuckle my seat belt. I slip it back into it's place beside the seat, before I move to reach into the back to grab my bag. Casually, I tug it into the front and slip it over my shoulder whilst I turn and pop the door open again. Dad was already standing beside the truck with his door shut by the time I was finally climbing out. Once my feet hit the grey concrete, I throw the door shut behind me. Whilst he took a moment to lock the car, I just bent over and touch my toes in a last resort effort to make my back crack, since it hadn't done it before. And, it worked, thankfully.
I stand back upright as my dad makes his way over to the garage door and follow after him. He whistles his usual tune of whatever KMFDM song he had been listening to on the radio on the way over here. I knew which one it was, just not by name. He ascends the three steps leading up to the screen door and the white door behind it. It was the only thing that connected the garage and the house together. After standing there for a moment, finishing the cigarette he'd lit at some point, he stubs it out in the clay ashtray that rested atop the shelf. Mind you, the shelf that was just a wooden slab connected to a couple of black metal bars that held it up against the wall.
Finally, the screen door is opened, extending outward and prompting my Dad to step aside. I take the handle on my hands whilst he pushes the white actual door leading into the house open. He kicks the dirt off his brown workman's boots against the small gap between the top step and the bottom of the door before stepping inside. I make sure to do the same.
Walking inside, a familiar thumping of big paws hitting the carpeted floor immediately graces my ears as I shut both of the garage doors behind me. With a smile, I stop beside the back room to remove my shoes and put my bag on the hook whilst Dad kept on his merry way, walking through the den and into the living room. Now, the den and the back room weren't all that special. But, then again, neither was any other room in the house.
Mind you, the den itself was twice the size of the living room. Inside it contained a nice short carpet that was colored in the same shade egg nog was colored in. The walls were a dark wood, and were covered in family photos and other things. The only windows were the two in the back and they were covered in shades and long white drapes. It had a couple lazy boy chairs in it. The one on the right was soft and as dark green as the plant life in the rainforest got when it was shrouded in light shadows, and the other was more firm and a gentle shade of red. Between them was a single end table, wooden with glass in the middle of it, and a single shelf. It had a lamp on it along with other things. Even though the ceiling fan hanging above had its own set of working lights. In front of the chairs was the fireplace, a beautiful stone thing that was built extending almost completely out of the wall, like the house was built around it. Behind both that and the chairs was the rarely used pool table that Dad kept from his college days. It had all the poles and balls scattered atop it, since we still had yet to hang them back up.
Meanwhile, the back room was in the same state as the garage, except the walls were painted a gentle lilac. It was filled with our washer and dryer, along with a couple metal shelves that were covered in separately in chemical things that we couldn't fit underneath the sink and unused towels, sheets, blankets, and pillow cases. The floor was still concrete though, but that was because Dad had to rip up the wood floor last summer when the washer had broke and flooded the room.
But nevermind that, I needed to go to my room and get my homework done.
"Hey Simon," He greets the source of the thumps
Simon barked cheerfully at my Dad as he disappeared behind the archway connecting the den and the living room. At this point, I had barely managed to get one shoe off and put my bag on it's hook when Simon had come barreling through the archway connecting the living room and the den, barking at me in excitement.
"Simon!" I exclaim, cheerfully
I extended my arms out to happily accept him as he jumped on me, knocking me back against the wall because of his size. He sniffs at me as I rub his face and scratch behind his ears, grinning ear-to-ear as he jumps up every minute or so to lick my face.
"Yes hi! Hi! Hello!" I greet him "I missed you too, Simon!"
"Simon! Come here!" I hear my dad shout "Let [First Name] get settled!"
Simon jumps up to give me one last lick before he disappears back through the den and into the living room. I wipe the slobber off my face and return to taking my other shoe off. After kicking it into the rubber shoes tray with the other one, I turn to pull the flap of my bag open and take out everything that I'd need for tonight's homework. After shutting and re-buttoning the bag closed, I finally make my way into and through the den, almost tripping over one of Simon's dog toys as I went. Believe it or not it'd been almost half an hour since I'd gotten home at this point, according to the antique black and white cat-themed analog clock that hung high up next to the archway.
Upon coming to said archway I pause. The living room was a bit dark and the only light source was whatever sport was currently playing on TV, coupled with the faint light that managed to creep it's way in through the shades and curtains of the two windows up front behind the couch. The ones that faced the front yard. I glance over at the aforementioned couch that was colored an oak tree bark brown. It was where Dad was sat comfortably with his head rolled back and his mouth wide open, allowing quiet snores to sneak out. He sat with his legs crossed over one another atop the coffee table and with one arm hanging over the back whilst the other remained draped around Simon, who had his head lying on Dad's leg. He peaked up at me, letting out a small woof that I quickly shush. With a small roll of my eyes in response to my Dad's antics along with a mental note of where I get my ability to fall asleep anywhere nearly instantaneously; I gently pat my thigh and Simon jumps down from the couch after weaseling out from under Dad's arm. He follows after me as I make my way over to the front door that the stairs faced. Quietly, I trudge up them with Simon by my side.
Now, I would've gone into the kitchen, but judging by the clinking coming from that room behind the couch, Mom was too busy for me to pester at the moment. Well, that and I don't think I want to get chewed out for the dirt on my clothes just yet.
After just barely trudging a few steps down the short hallway that if you continued straight down, you'd pass the guest room and the first bathroom; I turn right. Upon reaching my personal sanctuary, I contemplate kicking the door open in a theatrical fashion, but instead opt to turn the knob instead. Simon was the first of the two of us to head inside. Since he'd made a move before I got the chance to take even a single step forward. Upon shuffling inside after my doggo, I quietly shut the door behind me with a small sigh of relief.
I shortly consider leaning back against the door and sliding down into a sitting position. Just like I'd done last Tuesday in order to have a good cry about how much I hate school. However, I quickly tuck that thought away into a dark corner and decide that I'd be better off getting on the computer for the rest of the day and pretending that I don't exist. 'Cause yaknow, that's healthy too.
Before heading over to my computer, though, I bend over to pet Simon with my free hand for a moment. Before sending him over to my bed where he jumps on top of it, taking a second to get comfortable among my messy blankets, pillows, and sheets. All the while I make my way over to my computer.
I plop down into my desk chair, setting my homework down beside my mouse, and lean over to the tower, pressing the power button. It whirrs to life as I straighten back up and turn on the monitor. I lean back, swinging from side to side patiently whilst I wait. It takes a moment of the screen doing it's thing before it comes to the screen asking for my password. I sit up and type it in before finding myself waiting once more for it to load. Soon enough, though, I was finally in and almost immediately after all my desktop icons finish loading up, AOL opens up with a series of pings.
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Pretty Boy: so
Pretty Boy: hey
Pretty Boy: i hope this is the right user
My eyes widen in surprise at this. I had completely forgotten about earlier!
But just as the surprise starts to register, I grow to feel a little suspicious. I was one of the loneliest kids in Derry, so how did I know that this wasn't some sort of prank?
After clicking the message box, I begin typing back an answer.
[Username]: Depends
[Username]: are you the person who left that note in my locker?
Ping!
Ping!
Pretty Boy: yeah that was me
Pretty Boy: sorry if it was a bit strange but I gotta be all mysterious n shit
[Username]: I guess so.
[Username]: But since we aren't in school right now can I ask who you are?
Ping!
Pretty Boy: im just a random person from school
[Username]: well yeah, but who?
Ping!
Pretty Boy: it's kind of a secret
I let out an annoyed huff at that answer. Of course I should've known that it was gonna be like this. This random person gets to know who I am, but I don't get to know who they are.
My fingers hover over the keys, completely still as I read the message over and over a few times, trying to figure out what I want my response to be. Soon enough I was typing back.
[Username]: I hate secrets.
Well, that wasn't completely true, but that didn't really matter. I wanted answers.
[Username]: listen buddy, if this is some sort of cruel joke then just get it over with
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Whoa, he's pretty defensive.
Pretty Boy: its no joke!
Pretty Boy: i swear I genuinely wanna talk to you
Pretty Boy: you seem pretty cool yaknow?
Goddammit, it was a joke. I knew I shouldn't have given out my account name!
[Username]: Okay so this is definitely a prank then.
[Username]: Nice try.
[Username]: Maybe do some work on your lying skills for next time
[Username]: Goodbye.
Ping!
Ping!
Pretty Boy: WAIT!
Pretty Boy: isnt there any way i can convince you this is serious?
Damn, someone's determined.
[Username]: not really
Ping!
Ping!
Pretty Boy: okay, how about this
Pretty Boy: maybe just give me a chance?
I stare at the screen, about to type some strongly passive-aggressive message back to this guy. But, I got stopped by another message from him.
Ping!
Ping!
Pretty Boy: you can delete me in a week or so if you decide that im not really up to your standards
Pretty Boy: i promise its worth your time
I sigh and place my head in my hands. Sure, this was pretty obviously a joke, but did I actually have anything to lose at this point? I had no friends, I barely told my parents anything that was more than a lie, I never did much outside of pc gaming—
Ping!
Pretty Boy: please.
Ah fuck it. I have nothing.
I finally start typing back.
[Username]: Okay fine.
[Username]: But only because you seem like you have your heart set on this
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Pretty Boy: so what if i do :P
Pretty Boy: anyway i gotta go
Pretty Boy: my friends are waiting for me outside
Pretty Boy: maybe ill talk to you later? i dunno when ill be back
[Username]: Maybe.
Pretty Boy has gone offline
I push myself a bit away from my desk to swivel around. I glance over at Simon, who was still lying on my bed.
"I don't know about this, Sime." I confess
He picks his head up and stares at me, his tail wagging as his tongue droops out of his mouth.
"Aw, who am I kidding." I sigh "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try, huh?"
I smile softly as Simon gets up and hops down from my bed so that he could walk over to me. I reach out to pet him as he jumps up so his front paws were on my lap.
"What do you think?" I question
Simon licks my cheek a couple times, catching my by surprise as my face crinkles up with my laughter.
"Yeah, maybe you're right." I say, continuing to pet him
After casually losing myself in thought, I find myself stargazing around my room after a moment of staring at his cute face. My bed was even messier than before thanks to Simon, but I didn't really mind. My posters were all in place, as were the band and gaming shirts, the large picture frames containing even more family photos, and the dream catcher that hung slightly crooked over my bed. The walls were still their usual [favorite color] shade and my wooden floor was still mostly covered by my [color] carpet. My dresser was still beside my bedroom door, and the end table that matched the one in the den that I used as a nightstand was sat right next to it, underneath my bedroom window that showed the front lawn when the [color curtains] were brushed aside and the shades were moved as well. My dresser was still between the door leading into the hallway and the door to the bathroom connected to my room was still covered in random junk. My trashcan was still under my desk, and my bookshelf was still tucked into the corner.
Yep, everything was in place.
But.. something inside me made me feel like there was something I was missing.
With a dismissive shake of my head, I turn back to Simon, who sat in front of me, staring at me patiently, as I had apparently stopped petting him at some point. I reach out to him, resuming petting him for a moment before I turn back around to my desk. I still had homework to do, after all.