(Luka's POV)
"Get up."
I woke up to my father kicking the end of my bed. I glared at him and got up. He was glaring down at me.
Where were you yesterday?" he questioned me menacingly. I sighed and sat up.
"Is this really what you wake me up for?" I winced as a loud hard strike blow to my face was given. My father's rage was always violent. This was him trying to contain it. I hated him. I couldn't even leave the house for school without him beating me up for it later. It was emotionally and mentally draining. Holding my face and waiting for him to stop yelling at me, my thoughts tried to cool themselves down.
When he finally left I went into my bathroom and washed my face. I stared at my reflection for a moment. The dark bags under my eyes from my insomnia were pretty seriously dark. My eye looked dead and my skin was sickly pale. My hair was a mess. My swelling cheek was becoming a deep red now. The frustration was too great. If it bruised then it would be hard to cover it up. It made me hate myself that bit further.
Off to the shower it was. I grabbed a maroon button up shirt with some old worn out black jeans, briefs and socks. I dumped them all on my bathroom floor and went to remove my black converse from under my bed. I checked the time and cursed under my breath. We would be late to school at this point. Stress took over and hurried along to find my things and placed them in the bathroom. I quickly stripped and jumped into the shower.
The cold water hitting me was relaxing on my face but the rest of my body hissed. My pale arm reached for the hot water and then the shower hissed. The hot water then burned through the ice cold water.
An hour passed and I was ready for school. I left without a single word to my father or a piece of toast for breakfast. My situation was more complicated than that of most people in my age group. The majority of them had something comforting to go back to from school. Maybe they had a pet, or peace and tranquillity. That was not the case for my brother and I.
Home was like any other place. The sense and warmth of a family had long faded and vanished with no return. All that was left was the cold distance between an alcoholic and his two sons. There was no comfort done by either side. There was just an abyss that dug itself deeper with every strike given. Silence was thick. Interaction was only done with harsh coldness. One could only drown in the sea of their own suffering in that house. I hated it more than the violence.
"Lukas!" I turned to the sound of Emil's voice. He was running to catch up. I sat on my bike outside of the house. He was carrying his bag that was half open with books in it and some pages threatening to slip out.
"I thought you had left already." I looked at him. He was texting someone. I sighed out of frustration. "Hurry up, we are going to be late." Staring at my watch it was only five minutes before the first bell went and we were still outside the house. He closed his bag and put on the spare helmet I always bring along with me. He sat behind me and grabbed on tight and I practically sped out.
To say that we were late was an understatement. I managed to get Emil into his class without trouble however I had detention to attend now. That would be the fourth time this week. Sighing, I left the main office with a green slip. It was practically morning break now. I had missed out on a double of maths. Great.
Walking in the crowded hallway wasn't the most pleasant thing. I guess my bad reputation did help in that case— it made people move out of the way. Today, I wasn't up for bullshit to begin with. After a bit of walking around, I got to my locker and dumped my stuff inside. My locker was fairly neat most of the time. I decided to take out my wallet and lighter and go to where I usually sit with Tino and Yao.
When I got to the table I saw the usual. Tino and Yao sitting there probably talking about music and bands. It seemed that today would be no different from the rest of the usual days. At least that's what I had decided it would be, despite knowing the infinite possibilities.
"Like I said their music is amazing." Yao had one earphone in one ear and the other was in Tino's ear. Tino nodded concentrated on the music. They both looked up as I took my seat in front of them.
"One Ok Rock again?" I asked, almost certain. Yao grinned a little. He had been converting people as of late. The band was Japanese, and Kiku had the blame for converting Yao into a fan to begin with. They were siblings, so they shared a lot of things.
"They are amazing." Tino stared into space with sparkle in his eyes. Both of these two and myself, dressed in a lot of blacks, reds, blues and the occasional whites. We were what people classified as 'punk/goth', which, I would like to point out now, aren't the same thing. They are two different styles that had a few common areas but it was like saying maths and biology were the same.
Tino was wearing a grey Apocalyptica shirt with ripped black jeans that had a few chains on them and black combat boots. Today he was toned down a fair bit. He was only wearing a few of his piercings. He had three on his ear lobe and two on his left eyebrow.
Yao had a different style. Since he was lucky enough to be able to travel to Asia a lot he could get tattoos over there and so he had a few on his back and arms. He didn't have piercings but Tino was still trying to convince him to get one. Today, he wore a leather shirt and black jeans along with a black sleeveless studded collar jacket. As for shoes, he was wearing black combat boots as well.
As for myself, I had both tattoos and piercings. I had the same piercings as Tino with the addition of a few lip piercings and a nose piercing. My back and arms had tattoos neatly planned out.
I worked to pay for these all on my own. It was a rare luxury now that dad didn't have a job. Emil and I both worked for the food and bills whilst 'Dad' blew his money on booze and God knows what else. I worked everyday, and on the weekends I would work at two different places. Emil only worked Wednesday through Friday, and studied the rest of the week. He was still young and despite our situation, I wanted him to be able to go out with his friends and to make something better of himself. So, I took up the responsibility of making money and he took care of the house and studied.
"Lukas? Are you okay?" Tino's concerned face stared at my blank one. Yao had a similar expression. I vaguely nodded and dismissed the subject. I didn't often voice the troubles I have. They were all spoken but only rang in my mind with echoes that turn into pitiful silent cries that are only ever heard in my head.
"What class do we have next?" I asked, quickly changing the subject, showing no interest in talking about the previous one. Tino frowned a little, but hummed as he tried to remember.
"History aru." My phone beeped just as Yao had answered. I took it out and saw it was a message from a number I didn't recognise. Two stares were on me. As I looked up, I saw both Tino and Yao looking at me with faces of curiosity. It was the 'oooooh~who is it?' face. I simply shrugged and open the message.
Hello Lukas
This is Mathias Kolher (/O3O)/
You know, the geek you're paired with.
I was wondering if you were at school today
(Since you weren't in maths and stuff -)
I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you
But I want to know so I can get work sheets or notes for you and stuff =u=
Anyways I shall return to being a weirdo~
Have a nice day if I don't get to see you
I stared blankly at my screen and took a couple of blinks before biting my lips together, trying not to laugh at the oddness of the message. Sniggers betrayed me and escaped. The other two at the table watched completely surprised if not shocked by the response. Maybe today would be different after all.
Thanks for reading!~
||Ame
