Author: Skytate17

Title: Pressure

Summary: They say high school changes everyone..

Note: I Know some of you have waited for this... Sky's turn ladies and gentleman. Enjoy!

Chapter 4 - Whisper To A Scream

Finally, I have an excuse to leave the hellhole I call home. I actually like going to school, but for reasons that no one else has.

Home is hell. Seriously. My mother's dead. She's never coming back. My dad's never home, and when he is, I always wish he wasn't there.

He's an alcoholic fucker. Yes, I call my dad a fucker. He is one. I hate him. Most people in the world take the word hate for granted, but I don't. I hate my father. My mother would too.

Ever since she died, my father's turned for the worst. First, he lost his job, and got a new one. He settled for the crappy janitor job at Richardson's company. My dad is a janitor. When other kids are asked about their father's jobs, they get to say 'doctor' or 'teacher' or 'manager'. I get to say 'janitor'.

Humiliating.

Ever since I was seven, my life has been worthless. I sometimes wish I were dead.

My dad hits me. He doesn't just hit me. He abuses me.

With chairs, knifes, belts, desks, tables, cars. You name it, he uses it.

When I was little, I used to scream my way out of it, and he'd stop for a while. Now, I'm older, and I hold it all in, so the beating lasts longer, which makes it worse to bare. But I'm not going to be a wuss, and screech like a 5 year old out of it. I'm a man now. I won't let myself.

I go to school with bruises on my face, arms, legs. People ask. I lie. They believe me.

How fucking stupid of them. Can they at least figure out that I come to school with different hand marks on my face every week? Don't they realize I use the same excuse every time?

They don't. They just listen to me, because I'm that believeable.

I don't really think I am.

Although it's only the teachers who ask me, because I have no friends, except for a few, who are dropouts. I hardly hang out with them anyways.

I hang out with myself. Me, myself, and I. It's fun.

Can you tell I'm being sarcastic?

I hate being alone. I hate being the outcast in the classroom. I'm always in the back corner, with my hood over my head. My teachers never call on me, but somehow, I do good in school. Don't ask me why, because I don't know how I do.

I'm quiet on the outside, but inside, I'm different.

All I want is a friend. One single friend, to confide in. That I can talk to. Hang out with. Do stuff with.

I'll never get one.

My dad and I just moved here, so once again, I'm going to a new school where no one knows me. I'll have no friends again. No one will talk to me.

I'll be a loner, it's nothing new.

At school..

Sky walked down the the strange hallway of the school. It was his senior year, which he was very thankful for, because in one year, he'd be out of here. Out of this city. Out of this state.

Away from his dad.

He approached his locker, and slowly opened it, throwing his empty backpack in it. He slammed his locker shut, and turned to his first class. As he walked down the hallway, a girl tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?," he snapped, turning around.

The girl smiled at him, and waved. "Hi!"

Sky stared at her, but managed to smile a little. "You're Sky Tate, aren't you?"

He nodded.

The girl let out a squeal, which made Sky jump a little. "Yay! I found you! Your dad works for my dad."

"Cool."

"You don't talk much," she said, "but I just wanted to let you know that your homeroom is the other way. Why do I know this? Because we're in the same homeroom! Want me to show you there?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

The girl smiled, and pulled on Sky's jacket, forcing him to walk her speed. They walked, side by side, and slipped into homeroom just before the first bell rang. She pushed Sky into a seat, and sat next to him.

"None of my friends are in this homeroom," she said.

"And I'm your friend?"

"You could be!," she grinned.

"I don't know your name," Sky said.

The girl laughed, flipping her hair to the other side of her neck. "I'm Sydney Drew."

"Well, then, Sydney Drew," Sky began, "thanks for being my friend."

"So we're friends? SWEET! My goal for today was to meet someone new, and I did. YAY!," Syd giggled.

Sky was broughten aback by the overly perky girl. It made him feel happy for once, to know that he had met someone like her, to brighten up his life.

Now he had a friend.

The bell rang, and the students rushed out of the room into the hallways. Syd followed Sky to his classes, showing him to each one. After 4th period, Sky went to his locker alone, and when he shut it, someone accidently bumped into him, making him fall to the floor.

Flashback..

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?," Sky's father angrily screamed from the other side of the kitchen. Sky gripped onto the sides of the entryway.

"I was watching a movie with Drew and Boom! I'm sorry dad! I'm sorry I'm late," Sky pleaded.

"I TOLD YOU TO BE HOME BY 10. IT'S 10:05."

"That's only 5 minutes," Sky said. Sky's dad threw the beer can in his hand to the ground, and ran toward Sky. He grabbed both of his arms before Sky could start to get away.

"Only 5 minutes?," Sky's dad gritted his teeth. He forced Sky's hands to let go of the doorway, and pushed him to the ground, slamming his head onto the wooden floor. He soon crawled ontop of him, and rapidly started punching him in the ribs. Punch by punch, the pain became more unbearable. Sky bit down on his tongue, and soon felt the taste of blood in his mouth. He squirmed, as his dad pulled him off the ground, and threw him against a wall. He put his arms above his head, making it so Sky couldn't run away.

"You will never stay out past the time I tell you to again, RIGHT?," Sky's father screamed into his face. The smell of his beer-filled breath surrounded Sky now.

"Right," Sky murmured.

"WHAT? LOUDER PLEASE," Sky's dad said.

"RIGHT!," Sky screamed.

Sky's dad took Sky off the wall, and nearly pushed him up the stairs. "Go to bed, and don't come out until the morning."

Sky ran up to his room, and slammed the door shut. He crawled into a corner, and brought his knees up to his throbbing chest, and began to cry. He rocked back and forth, hitting the wall with his back each time. He looked to the ground, and picked up the picture of his mother he'd always look at after a beating.

"Mommy, make it all stop .. please," he repeatly whispered through his sobs, "make it stop."

Now..

"MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!," he screamed in the middle of the empty hallway. His body was moving around, as someone tried to force his body down.

"Dude, dude, are you okay?," a guy said into his ear beside him. Sky jerked his body up, and shot a glance to the guy.

It was Landors's son. He'd met him only once, but he recongized his face. Sky nodded, and Jack offered him a hand. He quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry I bumped into you. You started freaking out afterwards. What was that about?"

Sky shook his head. "It's nothing."

jack gasped as he saw Sky's side. His shirt had lifted up, to reveal a large black and blue mark covering the right side of his waist.

"Dude .. what happened to you there?," Jack asked, a worried gaze filling his eyes.

"I fell down the stairs at my house."

"Oh. Okay. I'll talk to you later? Maybe at lunch?," Jack smiled.

"Yeah. At lunch."

Once again, no one realized how badly Sky was lying. Except for the girl who was standing behind all of the lockers, watching it all happen. She knew he was lying. She saw it in his eyes. She realized what was going on as soon as he started screaming on the floor, when he was flinging his arms all around.

That girl was Syd.