Throughout the remainder of the first few months, Alfred and I developed a routine:
Ride bus to school together.
Walk to classes together.
Eat lunch together.
Ride bus home together.
Do homework at either my or his house, depending on the day.
Weekends were spent in the following manner:
Friday nights were movie nights in my parlor. Always scary movies, even though Alfred always got so bloking scared...
Saturdays we walked down to a small coffee shoppe a few blocks away, even though it got to me that it was run by a Frenchman.
Sundays were the only day we didn't spend together; my mother and I went to church while Alfred wasn't all too religious. Truth be told, neither was I... Oh well.
Today was now Monday, and students were flowing into the auditorium for an assembly. People were griping about it being too early in the morning for a lecture, even though it was already the middle of fourth period. As I stepped in, I saw Alfred flagging me down. He was standing, waving his arm spastically and shouting, "Artie! Artie over here!"
I felt my ears turning red, and rolled my eyes. I still complain about that nickname almost every time, but unfortunately he never listened to me. I walked over, taking a seat beside him. "I hate that nickname, you know."
"Huh?" Alfred looked at me innocently. "Since when do you not like it?" His lips twitched up into a smirk that told me he was fully aware. With a sigh, I leaned back against my seat.
"Whatever, Al." I muttered, sighing but smiling. He copied my position, crossing his arms as well. Glancing at him, I saw him smirk once more. I sighed, and so did he. I ran my hand through my hair, and he copied me. I leaned forward, chin in my hand. He copied me, giggling. I sighed and sat back up, him still imitating me. This went on throughout the whole assembly.
"And finally, what I've been saving for last!" Our Principal, Mr. Bangcock, exclaimed. Everyone leaned forward, anticipating the end of the half-hour long lecture.
"We will be having a dance this Friday. Fliers will be passed out in homeroom tomorrow with more information. Alright, dismissed!" The mass of people all stood at once, babbling, and the sudden rush of noise nearly brought me a headache. As I stood, Alfred imitated me. He stretched as I did, laughing.
We then set off for lunch, Alfred babbling about who knows what. I wasn't really focused on what he was saying; my mind had wandered to the latest nightmares I'd been having. All of them consisted of either my father or Alexander. Sometimes even both. Whenever I awoke, I'd grab my knife. My wrist now had light scars decorating it, along with new cuts that joined them.
"Artie!" Alfred whined. "Are you listening to me?" He gave me a pouty look, making me laugh.
"Sorry, but you look so childish when you make that face... As for listening to you, I was preoccupied by some things. I'm sorry, Alfred."
"Well, learn to listen to me next time! I was telling you about my super awesome new video game! I saw it and I was all, "It has hero in the title so it's gotta be good!", but it's better than good! It's super awesomely heroic!" He began jumping around, making lazer noises, and attracting unwanted attention. I just kept walking.
~~!~~
That night, I dreamed of Alexander once more.
"You're it!" A hand pressed into my back, and I jumped. Alexander was behind me, grinning."I'm back from the damned ortho!"
"How much longer do ya have?" When I asked, he sighed. "Really that bad?"
"Hell yeah!" He cried. "I'm stuck with these damned braces until high school!"
"Really that long?" I gaped at him. "B-but why?" He blew a bubble with the gum he was chewing, pointing to it. I gave him an aggitated sigh. "You screwed your braces with that damned gum again?"
"I only ripped off a couple a brackets this time!" He protested.
"And last month, you ripped out a spring. And the time before that you snapped a wire. You'll never get them taken off if you don't start giving up the gum!"
"B-b-but it's what I need! I can't calm down without it!" He whined, his eyes sparkling.
"Whatever," I sighed, giving in. "Don't come crying to me when you're stuck with them until college!"
The scene changed, and once more we were on my couch, him crying into my chest.
"F-For how long?" I managed to ask. "Will you... ever c-come back?" I was terrified of what the answer could be.
He looked up at me then, his face reddened from the tears. Large drops made their way down his cheeks as he spoke. "W-we're never... C-coming back...!"
As tears welled in my eyes further, I choked on my next question. "W-will I... Ever s-see you... Again...?" When he shook his head, I squeezed my eyes shut and held him. We sat like that for a long time, and he slowly stopped crying. I refused to allow myself to cry; I had to be strong.
When I awoke, tears trying to flow down my cheeks, I retrieved my knife. I merely carved a single letter into my untouched wrist.
Awesome people review my stories. Are you awesome? xD well, I may not update fer awhile, cos chapter seven's being an A*****, so I'll update when I can... Luv you guys.