This is actually the second part of chapter 2, but it wasn't flowing the right way so I cut it. (Which is why its so short) The reason for wanting to strangle me is in here, don't worry. :)
Saying goodbye to his family and his home hurt. It hurt like swallowing shards of glass. Oz powered through it, embracing his sister and his mother and walking the great halls of where he grew up before finally slipping out and leaving. The ride back to his school-issued apartment was silent, neither him nor the driver speaking. Stepping back into his apartment was like walking into a world that would never be his, but merely borrowed for a short time. The carpets were the same light beige, the tapestries still hung on his walls, his line of cacti and succulents still sitting in a neat row on his windowsill. Everything felt different, cast in a different light. It made him ache for the purple lights of the void.
The shadow being sighed, dropping his bags wherever he was standing, before going into the kitchen. Still pristine and organized, as he had left it. There was still a picture of him, Brian, Amiri and Vicky. Oz laid it flat on the counter, not wanting to look at his friends' faces and be reminded of what had happened. The microwave clock stated that he was home about an hour earlier than he'd planned - which was fine. The extra time was used taking a shower and changing out of his royal clothes and into a soft yellow, knitted sweater and a pair of his usual black pants and black shoes. It felt nice, to be back in the clothes he found comfortable. Royal clothes had always felt too heavy for him, had too many straps and button and things that just didn't make sense.
After checking on his plants and giving them a bit of water and plant food, Oz found his school bag and his books. He knew it was still too early, that he had promised to be there in the afternoon and not eleven in the morning, but he was eager to get back. Surprisingly, he wanted to go back to dull classes and games of dodgeball and horrible events that ended in fires and explosions and sometimes cults. It was probably a bad idea.
Still, he wanted to go. Wanted to see his friends before he had to deal with Damien and Vicky. Straitening his back, Oz ran his hands through the smoky tendrils of his hair, picked up his school bag and left to catch the bus to school.
Fuck letting his mother-approved driver take him to school in the void powered limo.
Sneaking into class an hour late was, not so shockingly, very easy. Polly was making a fuss at the front of the class, giving Oz a chance to slide into an empty seat next to Brian. Luckily, neither Damien or Vicky or Vera was in the classroom. He didn't bother taking notes, instead getting Brian's and Amiri's attention by shooting rubber bands at them. They spent the last twenty minutes catching up and chatting about Oz's family. It felt good. It was better when Liam and Polly realized he'd snuck in without either undead being noticing him.
Hands in his pockets, bag slung over his shoulder, he had an easy smile, the result of listening in on Brian and Liam's far too mushy conversation. A part of him was jealous, desperately wanting to have that with someone else - he still hurt over what Damien and Vicky had done to him, even if he tried telling himself he couldn't blame them for his own cowardice. Although, noon was fast approaching. He shouldn't chicken out, but goddamn he wanted to so badly. He wanted to run the other way and pretend he had never met either one of them. That he hadn't secretly been in love with Damien the moment he had met the hot-headed pyromaniac while hiding out in the bathrooms.
He heard Vera's voice and the usual sound of her stilettos and looked up. He regretted it. Just a few paces ahead of him was Vera, Damien and Vicky, huddled shoulder-to-shoulder in what appeared to be a very intimate conversation. The red demon had his arms around both girls', and Oz could see from his viewpoint that his ex-friend had her hand on Damien's back. It looked affectionate. It made his blood boil in the way treason against his mother did. Perhaps it was the similar feeling of betrayal. Perhaps it was how personal it was, how it felt like being stabbed in the back repeatedly.
Oz sighed, rubbing at his eyes, feeling too thin and too see-through; he veered off down some hallway, letting his nimble feet take him into an empty classroom. He felt like breaking down. In this dusty, prehistoric looking room with the ancient computers and yellowed textbooks, no one would bother him. He was free to fall to the floor and wail.
Which he did. Dropping his bag and sliding to the floor, the Void prince tried to muffle his sobs with his hands, thin shoulders shaking with the effort. His friends would wonder where he went, probably. He wasn't expecting them to go after him, even Liam knew he was better left alone while upset. And right now, he was beyond upset. He was furious. He was full of absolute rage and a thirst for a beheading.
Another thing he didn't expect? Damien himself walking into the room. Blessedly alone, no Vicky or Vera in sight, but just having his object of affection in the same room with him while he was crying on the ground - it fucking hurt. The two stared at each other, Oz still with ghoulish tears spilling down his face, and Damien with the most shocked face he'd seen on him. Oz? Oz was angry. He was fucking pissed and wanted someone to pay for his own emotions. Unfortunately, the only person in sight was Damien.
Oz slowly stood up, ignoring whatever Damien was saying, the sound of his own heart beating the only thing he could hear. The surface of his face, the clear space below his nose creased, then ripped as he opened a sharp tooth-filled mouth. The lights above them shattered, the windows cracked and dusty desks were sent flying into the walls, breaking and sending shards of metal and wood all over. The part of him that hated this saw a scared shitless, oddly aroused Damien, and hated himself more for it.
"Get the FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Distantly, he recognized the terrifying, demonic tone of voice his mother used when he was in trouble, now screamed by him in a fit of rage and heartbreak. More lights shattered, sending them into a hazy, tense gloom that perfectly fit the turmoil of stupid emotions whirling within his head. He grabbed the nearest object in arms length - a damn school chair - and threw it towards Damien at an alarming speed, the red demon screaming and dodging the object. Oz grabbed something else, screaming again for the other teenager to just fucking leave, and Damien turned and bolted out the door like Oz had thrown more than just a simple chair at him.
The shadow being stood there, chest heaving and hands shaking, slowly closing his eldritch-worthy mouth. Slowly, so slowly, he slid back to the floor and started sobbing harder than before. He was breaking. Bit by bit, piece by piece, he was breaking apart with every single day. He regretted coming back. He should've stayed in the void.
"I don't belong here." He sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve, hiccupping out another sob. He looked down at the little blobs of darkness worriedly staring up at him. "I never did."