A/N: So so so so sorry about not updating. I've been busy with everything. Also, I've been sick.
John thought back to the time when he was less happy. Back in Washington, in middle school, he'd been considered an outcast because of his (slightly ridiculous) interest in horrible movies and science. He wouldn't have been so unhappy if he'd had friends, but he was shunned from even the other outcasts. He'd caught the tail-end of the "nerds are uncool" movement. Everyone in Washington had wanted to be cool, so even the other science nerds hid their true identities. John was lonely, but he made the best of it. He learned to draw pretty well and made little friends in his notebooks. The teachers always complimented him when he turned his notebooks in. The doodles were no substitute for real, true friends, but they helped. However, one day, after another science class where John had every answer, some of the older kids cornered him. John recognized them as the kids everyone whispered about. The Slackers, the ones held back. The terrified boy looked into the faces of all of them and saw malicious smiles and evil glints in their eyes. One of the older kids grabber him by the shoulder, squeezing enough to cause pain, but not enough to make John cry out. A few words from the bully made John turn from a bright but lonely child to a silent, friendless, mysterious student.
John kept quiet until the day that all the bullies were carted off to juvie for the vandalism to the school. Everyone noticed that John's aura of lonliness and sadness had lessened when the bullies left. However, John, while free from the opression from the Slackers, still had no friends to speak of. No one wanted to get to know him because he seemed incredibly dull. Not a single person in all of middle school wanted to even greet him in the morning, but John still went out of his way to be incredibly kind to everyone. In his freshman year, John's dad remarried, but his new wife left him. Her one daughter was John's age, cared for by her grandfather. Her name was Jade Harley. She lived on a little island in the Pacific, but when her grandfather died, she went to live with her mom. However, poor Jade was unused to her mother's strict ways. No guns allowed, no pets (Jade had a protective dog named Bec), no crazy midnight adventures. Jade was miserable.
John met his step-sister when they were both going into high school. At first, they were awkward; neither of them had had much human contact for a really really long time. However, after realizing that they both had more in common than first thought, they warmed up to each other. They had four classes together, and they always ate lunch together. For a while, both of them were happy. Then sophomore year rolled around.
Jade was incredibly excited, because her ball had said a cute thing would happen with a guy and ohmygod I'm so happy and I can't wait. John, however, was dreading another year with only Jade as his friend. While his step-sister was a fun ball of energy, John wanted a guy friend. There were rumors circulating that John was gay. A guy friend would put an end to that. He had no issues with homosexuality; he just didn't like being assumed as gay just because his only friend was a girl. Of course, the second he walked into the school with Jade in tow, the rumors gained new life. The warning bell rang as Jade gave John a quick hug and skipped off to her homebase. John trudged to his classroom, he noticed a blonde boy looking confused. Or so John thought; the boy wore mirrored sunglasses.
For some reason, John's feet propelled him toward the blonde.
"Are you lost?" The boy looked up from the planner in his hands.
"Yeah. Where's Mr. Kirk's classroom? He's my homebase teacher." John smiled, flashing the boy his buck teeth.
"He's my homebase teacher as well. I'll show you." John took the boy's hand and let him through the emptying halls to their homebase. And John met his first friend.