A/N: Here is the next chapter of Secret Crowds! I hope you like it!:)
I woke to the sound of my alarm clock going off bright and early. Sitting up, I realized that I was still in Preppy Kendall world. It was five in the morning, and I really just wanted to fall back asleep, but I didn't know how long it usually takes me to get ready for school here, and plus I have to take extra time to find school.
Pulling the laptop from off my nightstand, I pulled up Google and typed in; directions to Denfeld High School, Duluth, MN. A webpage popped up quickly, giving me a map and turn by turn directions to the school. I wasn't sure which school Katie went to, so I would just have to ask her for directions there.
After a few more minutes of just laying there, I finally got up and made my way to the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, I saw that my hair was sticking up in about twenty different directions. Pulling one of the many combs out, I started to work on trying to place each hair in the right direction like I did every morning back home. Back home... I guess this is home now. After I got my hair to look decent, I brushed my teeth, and then I moved on to the closet.
My mind went on automatic overload. There were so many clothes, so many colors, so many brand names. Seriously? I am going to have to go shopping for some plaid shirts if I am going to live. Sifting through a few of the sweaters, I turned my nose up at every single one of them. Sweaters just weren't my style. I was more of the plaid shirt, skinny jeans, and Vans type of guy; not preppy sweater, boots, and fancy jackets kind of boy. I kept looking through the clothes, hoping that somewhere I might be able to find a plaid shirt. Getting down on my knees, I sifted through a pile of clothes tossed on the floor, and right as I was at the bottom of the pile, I hit the jackpot; a plaid shirt. Picking up the familiar red artical of clothing, I felt more like myself. It was a little wrinkled, but I knew that if I threw it in the dryer that it would come out looking perfect.
Taking the shirt and throwing it on my bed, I went back into the closet in search of an undershirt, pants, shoes and a jacket. Looking through the jeans, I found a pair of dark wash skinny jeans that looked like they had been worn more than once, unlike the many before, and I tossed them on the bed with the shirt. Next came the shoes, which I wasn't too fond of the choices I had. It was either dress shoes or these really funky looking boots in an asortment of colors. Finding a pair of the black boots, I unwillingly sat them at the end of my bed and trudged back into the closet. I quickly found a black undershirt, and then I moved on to the jackets. The first one that caught my eye was leather, and I fell in love with it as I pulled it off the wrack.
Not even bothering to look for a beanie, because I could never imagine Preppy Kendall wearing one, I moved out of my closet, and my foot hit something. Looking down, I found a black backpack. There was some fancy name scribbled ontop of it and I didn't really care who designed it as I unzipped the zipper. Pulling out a couple of folders, I flipped through them and found a class schedule.
Yes! Now I don't have to go to the office and ask for a copy!
Opening the smaller zipper on the front of the backpack, I found a set of car keys. They looked nothing like the keys that went to my 2002 Isuzu Rodeo, and I wondered what kind of car I drove here. It must be something fancy and new if it's anything like my wardrobe...
After finding my entire wardrobe, my keys and my schedule, I prayed that I was going to be able to pull all of this off. Pulling on my jeans, my undershirt, and a pair of socks, I made my way down stairs with my plaid shirt in hand. Walking down the hallway I made it to the laundry room, and I threw my shirt in the dryer, and after I made my way to the kitchen where something that smelt good was being cooked. Walking around the corner, I found dad standing at the stove with a skillet in hand.
"Good morning Dad!" I said cheerfully as I sat down on one of the barstools in front of him.
"Well good morning to you too! Why are you up so early? Usually I am having to drag you out of bed at six."
"Eh, I just woke up and decided just to go ahead and get ready." I lied easily.
"Oh, well I'm making your favorite; bacon and hashbrowns!"
My mouth watered just from him saying it. Even though I was only six the last time dad made me breakfast, I could still remember the way it tasted. Mom tried a couple of times after he died to make some for me, but it never tasted the same, and then she became distant and unattentive, and I had to make my own breakfast.
"Yummm."
"It's going to be a little bit longer, so if you need to go finish getting ready or something, you have enough time."
"Nah, I have nothing else to do."
"Well, could you go wake up Katie for me real quick?"
"Sure thing." Right as I hopped off the stool, the dyer went off, and before making my way up the stairs, I stopped and grabbed my shirt.
Throwing on the warm plaid shirt made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Taking the stairs slowly, I finally made it to Katie's room. Knocking on the door before entering, there was no responce, so I pushed the door open and peeked my head in. There was Katie in the middle of her bed, hair all over the place, and limbs sticking out every which way. Walking over to her bed, I lightly tapped her on the face like I usually do, and she sturred in her sleep.
"Kendall? Why are you poking my face?" she asked as she swatted at my hand.
"It's time to wake up Munchkin! Dad's making breakfast, so get ready." I started to walk out the door but then remembered that I was driving her to school, "Oh, and mom had to go into work early, so I'm taking you to school. Do you know how to get there?"
"Uh, yeah... You know how to get there too."
"Well, today let's play a little game while I drive. I'm going to drive, and you shout out the directions, and at the last minute I'll take the turns! Doesn't that sound fun!" To this, she gave me a unamused look.
"Umm... It's ok. I'll just ride my bike to school."
"Oh, well if that's what you want to do..." I quickly left her room before she could change her mind.
When I got out into the hallway, I started to do my signature Happy Dance. Right in the middle of the dance, I turn around and find Katie standing there, trying to keep her giggles in.
"What? You've never seen a person dance before?"
"Not that badly..." She smirked at me as she walked past and made her way down the stairs.
Shrugging my shoulders, I followed after her. Walking into the kitchen, dad was putting the food onto plates and setting them on the table. Taking my seat, I emediately started to dig in. The warm food filled my stomach and like before with my shirt, I felt all warm and fuzzy.
"Well, somebody was hungry." Dad says as he puts more food onto my plate.
"I've really missed your cooking dad!"
"I was only gone for two days this week. You act like I've been gone for years." He chuckled and I gulped.
Kendall, you're acting all squirly again. Play it cool.
"Yeah, it just felt like a really long time..."
He smiled down at me and then took his spot beside me. Katie kept giving me weird looks throughout breakfast, and I tried not to pay attention, but she was kind of freaking me out. While I was still eating, Katie took her leave and went to get ready for school. After I finished eating, I got up and put my plate in the sink, and when I turned around, Katie was right behind me, looking all dolled up. Ok, she is definetly not the same Katie.
"What's wrong with you?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"You're acting all weird, you styled your hair differently, you're wanting to play weird car games, and you're wearing plaid?" she said it as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world.
"I-I just needed a little change."
"I think he looks nice Katie." Dad piped up from the table.
Katie gave me one more weird look before dashing back upstairs to her room. I mentally wiped the sweat from my brow and then also made my way upstairs. Looking down at the clock, it was now 7:15. Deciding that it was probably the best time for me to leave for school and get there in the appropriate amount of time, I picked up the backpack that was sitting on my bed, grabbed the keys beside it, and made my way back downstairs.
"Dad, I'm leaving!" I yelled as I stood at the front door.
"Ok," he came walking into the little foyer, "Wait, where's Katie?"
"She said that she wanted to ride her bike to school today."
"Oh, well then, have a good day."
I sat down my backpack, and wrapped my arms around him tightly, hoping that I was still in this world by the time that this day was over; or even that I was still here for the rest of my life.
"I love you dad."
He ruffled my hair a little in the back, and pressed his lips to the top of my head.
"I love you too Kendall." Looking up I saw a little tear falling down his check, "Now you better get going or you'll be late."
"See you this afternoon." I said as I picked my backpack back up, and walked out the door.
"See you then!"
Walking over to the garage, my jaw fell to the floor. Sitting in the garage were five vehicles; a silver Porshe, a yellow Jeep Wrangler, a green FJ Cruiser, and two motercycles sat off to the side. I pressed the unlock button on my keys, waiting to see which car was mine. The lights of the FJ Cruiser blinked on and off as the doors unlocked and I smiled. Not too shabby!
Hopping into the driver's seat, I quickly started the engine, and it roared to life. Letting my eyes scan over the inside of the car, I got more and more excited. Looking below the radio, I found a GPS, and I typed in the adress to school. A voice started saying directions in a monotone voice, and I pulled out of the garage, out into the driveway, and started on my way to school.
The high school wasn't too far from my house, and I made it there in about thirteen minutes. Turning into the school parking lot, I looked around for any other teenagers in cars so I wouldn't accidentally park in the teachers parking lot or something. Following a red truck that appeared to have a teenage boy with spikey red hair in it, I found the student parking lot. Teenagers roamed around, mostly talking and hanging around in their cars, and I wondered if I was friends with any of them. Searching through the faces, I didn't really remember any of them. I remembered seeing a few of their faces in the yearbook, but that's all.
All of a sudden there was somebody tapping on my window, and I instinctually jumped, scared out of my mind. A brunette, pale boy stood outside of my door, a grin plastered across his face. He looked familiar, and I automactically recalled his name in my mind; Logan. Am I starting to remember stuff from this life?
"Kendall! Aren't you going to get out of the car?"
I nodded my head slowly, and grabbed my backpack before getting out of the car. Shutting the door, I turned around to find Logan staring at me, a weird look on his face.
"W-what's wrong Logan?" I asked, my voice quivering, testing his name to make sure I was right.
"Nothing, it's just that you look... different."
"Oh, yeah." I ran a hand through my hair and looked down at the ground, "I'm-I'm trying something new."
"I like it! It says 'I just threw this on'!" Phew! Dodged a bullet with that one! "Now come on, I want to get good seats in English!"
Looking over Logan as we walked towards the school, he looked like he had walked through Preppy Kendall's closet. His purple, designer V-neck under his black coat contrasted with his skin in a good way, while his dark washed jeans were tucked into boots that look simular to mine. He sounded like he could be really preppy at times, but just mostly sounded and acted like a jerk. The way he was walking by people and giving them high-fives left and right, I assumed that he was very popular. Walking into the school and down the hallways, I felt comfortable. It wasn't like walking through the hallways of my school in Colorado, but it was kind of the same. Everyone shouted out Hey Kendall as I walked by, and I gave them a nod of the head and a smile, hoping that is how I would usually react.
"Hey Logan." I turned to the brunette boy as I realized I had no idea where my locker was.
"Yeah?"
"Will you come with me to my locker?"
"Uh, sure." He said a little confused, but continued to walk, and I followed a little behind, letting him lead the way.
We stopped in front of a locker, and I looked up at the number: 261... That's the same locker number as the one I had in Colorado! Maybe my combination is the same. After turning the lock, stopping at the numbers I remembered from my other life, I pulled down on the lock, and to my surprise, it opened. Opening the locker, I pulled out a binder labled English, since Logan had said he wanted to get a good seat in English, and shut it back closed. Walking into the classroom with Logan, I sat myself beside him, thinking that this would most likely be my regular seat.
"So, how was your weekend?"
"Umm... It was ok. I caught up on a lot of sleep."
"Yeah," Logan leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, sighing, "Me and Carlos did a lot of... sleeping also."
"That's nice." I said nodding my head, not really sure what to make of that. Wait, Carlos? That was one of the names in my phone. "Uh, is Carlos here today?"
"Yeah, we'll see him at lunch. He has to go get a shot for tryouts during Physics."I nodded my head, wondering what kind of tryouts were being held, but turned to the front of the room as the teacher cleared her throat.
"Hello class, I'm Mrs. Bure, and I'm filling in for Mr. Jones. He's getting ready for the school play, and he didn't really leave a lesson plan, so you can just visit if you keep your voices down." The brunette woman said as she took a seat at the teacher's desk.
The room automatically filled with chatter. Kids a few rows away from me pushed their desks together and started playing cards, as Logan switched his desk around to where he was facing the opposite direction on me. Swiviling around in my chair, I looked over to the two girls and guy that he was now in a deep converstation with.
One of the girls was very petiete, with dark brown hair that fell down to her waist in ringlets. When she talked, her whole face was full of animation, and her brown eyes sparkled with intrest; Camille. The girl sitting beside her was reletively the same size, but she had bleach blonde hair that was pulled off into a braide. She wore a letterman jacket that had drama masks on the arm, and I guessed that she was in Theatre Arts with me; Jo. The names came instantly to my mind and I felt comfortable around them, but I couldn't remember anything about them.
My eyes then moved over to the boy that was sitting closest to me. My stomache automatically filled with butterflies as he looked at me, his hazel eyes bordering into mine before he gave me a big, cheesy smile. Smiling back, I looked over him. He was largely built, muscles placed perfectly under his natural tan skin. His hazel eyes were hooded by chestnut locks that he swooped over to the side with the flick of his head. He was truely breathe taking.
It was no secret that I was gay in Colorado, but what if nobody knows here? Is Preppy Kendall even gay at all? He has to be. With the wardrobe and fifty billions combs in the bathroom, he has to be. I'm going to have to figure it out before I make a mistake or something.
Looking back at the boy, he looked so familiar, but unlike the others, his name didn't come to mind.
"What's up with you Small Fry?" he asked, pulling on the sleeve of my jacket.
Small Fry? I am anything but!
"Who are you calling Small Fry?"
"You?"
"Don't call me that." I snapped.
"Are you ok Kendall?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said a little too rude. Calm down. You're actting too much like your Colorado self.
In Colorado, I could tend to be a little on the rude side when someone made fun about my hight and size. Just because I'm smaller doesn't mean that I'm useless. Looking into his hazel eyes, I could tell that I had hurt his feelings.
"You sure? You seem different today."
"Yeah, I was just trying something new." I said a little sweeter.
"I like it." He shot me a wink, and I could feel my face turning red and I knew that I was forgiven.
"Thanks." I smiled at him, and then adverted my attention to the other side of the room.
My eyes set on a person sitting in the very back of the room, and I felt my heart stop. The dark hair and glasses were so familiar, and the face that was hidden by them was a face that I never thought I would see in this life. Turning to Logan, I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey Logan, do you know that kid over there?" I asked gesturing to the boy that appeared to be my best friend from my other life.
"Oh, his name is Dustin. He moved here from Colorado the other day. He lives down the street from me." He said before turning back to talk to Camille, Jo, and the unnamed boy.
It can't really be my Dustin can it? The day before I ended up here, he told me he was going to move to Minnesota. I was so upset because my best friend was moving out of the state, but is it possible that we ended up here the same way? Does he remember life in Colorado? Does he know who I am? Sure I look different, but I do also look the same. He has to know it's me.
I was joilted out of my thoughts by the bell ringing. Dustin shot up like a bullet and was out of the room before I could stop him. Also hopping up and running out of the room before I had to talk to the hazel-eyed beauty, I made it out into the hallway before taking out my schedule. I started to turn around in cirlces trying to find Room D, but I was completely lost. Then somebody looped their arm in mine, and I looked down to find Camille.
"What is going on with you and James?"
James. The name mached his face. I remember being close with him, but he was different than that of my other friends here. I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I saw the way he was tugging on your sleeve and being all flirty and then you blushing. But why did you snap at him? Is there something I should know about?"
"No... We're just friends." I lied, not really sure myself.
She dropped the conversation as we entered the next class; Spanish. Walking in, a boy with brown hair and a charming smile waved us over; Dak. We took our seats beside him, and before he could say anything, the teacher was calling attention to the front of the room. After forty-five minutes of trying to keep up with the lesson, and failing miserably, the bell finally rang. As I stood out in the hallway, Jo walked up to me and hooked her arm in mine, and it felt fairly repetative. I assumed that we walked to class together every day during this period, so I let her lead the way. College Algebra was easy seeing as I was a math genius in Colorado universe, and then after Jo lead me to Physics as we chatted comfortably. Physics wasn't that hard, but when the bell rang, I was so releived.
Walking into the cafeteria I found my group all sitting at a table together. Dak and Camille were being all cozy sitting in one chair together, as Logan had his tongue shoved down a Latino boy's throat, who I remembered being Carlos. Do they not have teachers here monitoring the PDA? James was just sitting there, staring at the door, and when I walked in, a huge smile graced his face. Is something really going on between him and me? Shaking my head, I walked over to the lunch line, got my food, and then made my way over to the table. James patted the chair beside him, and I took it, smiling at him.
The make-out sessions had ended, and now everyone was sitting around talking.
"Hey Kendall," Logan turned to me as I sat down, "Did you bring your script today? I forgot mine at home, and Jones will freak if I don't have some sort of something to skim before we go on."
I picked up my backpack and dug through it, and in the front pocket sat a little book type thing that has some fancy cover. Logan snatched it from my hands and then flipped through it before standing up.
"I'm going to go to the office and make some copies of this. I'll be right back." And with that he was off.
Moving my mind back to the conversation going on the at the table, I heard the word hockey, and was immediately sucked in.
"Coach said that fifty-two guys were trying out Thursday." Dak said before taking a bite of his food, "Some of them are returning varsity, but over half of our starting players graduated last year."
"Well are there at least some promising looking kids trying out?" Camille asked, "Because you know I love coming to watch you play, but I don't want to have to deal with you if y'all lose a lot because you lost all of those players." Dak poked her in the ribs, and she laughed, but she was totally serious.
I bet I could make the team easily. Sure in this universe I have never really played hockey, but I'm sure I still have my amazing skills; they're probably just buried deep down. Maybe before deciding to go out for the team, I should go to the ice rink and try skating around a little...
"I don't really know. All I know is that Kellan and Coach are going to break a lot of hearts when they have to make cuts." James interjected
Kellan; that's the only person in my favorites list that I haven't met yet.
Before I could ask where this Kellan person was, Logan came rushing back and sat the script back down in front of me.
"Thanks buddy, I owe you one!" he wiped invisible sweat from his brow and everyone laughed.
"You ready for the play Kendall?" Jo asked, leaning over the table.
"What play?"
"The one that we are preforming tonight..." I choked on my food and her face dropped, "Don't tell me you don't know your lines! Kendall, you need to pull your act together!"
I barely heard her yelling at me as I sunk lower into my chair. My stomache flipped uncomfortably and I felt as though I was going to throw up. James rubbed my shoulder, and I looked over to him.
"You ok Small Fry?"
"I-I don't feel so good... I-I don't think I'm going to be able to do the play." I stuttered out and Camille reached over an felt my forehead.
"You do feel a little warm, maybe I should take you to the nurse."
"No, I'm fine. I think I'll just skip the rest of the day and go home and rest..." I stood up, and Jo stood up with me.
"Well, I guess that your understudy can take over. Will you at least come watch?""
"I'll try." I nodded weakly.
"Good, and don't worry about Jones, I'll break the news to him. He will probably want to rip your head off, but maybe by the time you get here, he will have cooled off. But just in case, act really weak and stuff."
I nodded my head again, and then made my way out of the school. The cold air outside hit my face and I felt a little better as I hopped into my car. After I got about five blocks away from the school, I had to pull over because I couldn't see for the tears that had welled up in my eyes. Pulling off on to the side of the road, I laid my head on the stearing wheel, letting the tears fall.
I'm tired of this. I'm tired of not knowing who I am, who my friends are, how I should responde to stuff. I mean, I like this life with my dad and a happy, attentive mom, but I just wish I knew what the hell was going on. Why can't I just be Hockey Kendall instead of Preppy Kendall?
It felt good to cry. I'm not usually the type of person to show emotion like this, but I didn't care as the tears continued to fall down my face.
There was a sharp knock on the passenger side door, and then the sound of it being opened filled my ears. In my state of fear, I mentally kicked myself for not locking the doors. My body instinculally got ready to fight as I leaned up and rared back my fist. My eyes focused on the figure through my tears before I launched forward, and I stopped as I saw James pulling a black motercycle helmet off of his head.
"Whoa, Small Fry. It's just me, calm down." My body relaxed at the sound of his voice and I leaned back into my seat.
I wiped away at the tears, not wanting him to see them. He slid into the passenger seat and shut the door, and he situated himself to where he was facing me. He reached for my hand, but I quickly wrapped my arms around me, and looked away, tryng to ignore him.
"Kendall, can you tell me what's wrong?" I shook my head, trying to keep the tears that threatened my eyes in."Well if you won't tell me, will you at least let me drive you home?"
I nodded, and he got out, making his way over to my door. He opened my door, and tried to help me out, but I didn't make any contact with him as got out and walked to the passenger side. When I got situated in my seat, I looked over and found that he wasn't there. Looking around the car, I found him over by some trees and bushes, hiding his motercycle. He got in the car and started driving. The whole way there, I stayed quiet, not wanting to talk to him about any of this. I could tell that he wanted to ask me again what was the matter, but he too stayed quiet. We pulled into the driveway, and my dad was in the garage working on one of the motercycles. As we got out of the car, he walked over to us, looking confused.
"What are you two doing out of school?"
"Kendall wasn't feeling good, so I thought it to be best if I brought him home." My dad looked down at me, asking for confermation.
"Yeah, I think I caught a stomache bug or something. I'm just going to go up stairs and lay down."
"Are you going to be able to be in the play?"
"No. Jo said that my understudy would take over. But if I'm feeling better I'm going to go and support them." My dad nodded his head and I took that as go up stairs and get some rest.
Before I left, I walked over to James, and hugged him. He seemed a little shocked, but hugged me back gently.
"Thanks for bringing me home."
"Any time Small Fry."
Letting go of him, I made my way into the house. After getting to my bedroom, I looked out the window and found my dad and James still talking. They dissappeared into the garage, and then I watched as they drove off in the Porshe, dad probably taking James back to his bike.
I walked over to my bed, and without even changing clothes, I fell on top of it. I closed my eyes and sleep quickly took me under.