So I've decided to write my stories ahead of time and setting a date to post a new chapter, instead of just writing and posting one chapter at a time whenever I feel like it. So this is going to be set during the movie and will contain massive changes to it altogether. So here's the first chapter.

He jolted awake with a gasp and a shudder as his alarm went off, forcing him to lift himself up and silence it. He was about to let himself drift back off into a sweet, peaceful dreamland when he felt a slight unwelcoming chill overtake his body when his blanket got pulled off of his bed and there stood inside of his nearly bare bedroom - with little to none, besides a dresser, a nightstand with a lamp and sleep apnea apparatus, his closet, a desk and chair and finally a poster of his favorite death metal rock band, Nörthfölk - was a goat. A goat with horns that pointed in opposite directions and a black and gray body of fur with his blanket in his teeth and staring back at him with that thousand-yard stare.

"Alright, I'm getting up. Thank you, Gnasher." The boy groaned as the animal bleated a response back. He removes the mask of his CPAP off his face, then he lifts his slumber-heavy body off the bed, taking back the blanket and starting his morning routine - showered, teeth brushed, his long auburn red/brown hair combed and brushed and finally dressed. And not without grabbing his things for school.

Kris Bengtsson, age 14, marched himself downstairs where his two grandpas rested right there on the couch in front of the television set as usual. There was the father of his dear mother, Prof. Morten Bengtsson, who was a college professor of mythology and folklore back at Oslo; a scrawny old man with a small pair of glasses resting on his head and there's the father of his late father, Carl Anderson, a lieutenant officer of the police force; a hard-faced, round, African-Canadian man with a mustache and black hair that was beginning to gray.

"Morning, grandpas." Kris greeted them cheerfully.

"Morning, Kris." Grandpa Morten responded back while Grandpa Carl just 'harrumphed' and waved back. Then the two returned their attention to the screen, which was on the news channel, the only thing they ever seem to watch on television.

"There you are, big man." greeted his mother, Elsa.

"Hey, bro." muttered his adoptive brother, Stig Falkenberg, 14, monotonously sitting at the table, chewing on some toast in his usual listless mood as ever. One important aspect to his character was his apparent love for the color black. He practically wore it like a glove. Not to mention his long, smooth black hair that draped over his shoulders and shielded his eye from view like a final curtain of death. And his clothes were all black as well; the sleeveless black shirt with a green skull on it, black jeans and black converse. And the black shading to his eyes that make him out as a living corpse.

Oh, and let's not forget to include Fang. Who's he, you ask? Well, Fang is Stig's pet green snake. Kris never knew what breed it was, but he just hoped it wasn't venomous or dangerous, though he wouldn't be too surprised if he was since Stig always had a weird fascination for deadly animals that could kill you. Perhaps it was a goth thing.

Now Stig's story dates way back before the Bengtssons moved to Canada. For starters, Kris and his parents were visiting Denmark one December to spend the holidays with a relative of theirs. But along the way, while they were driving down a lone road through the mountains, they happened upon a small boy near a car wreck. That's how they found Stig and took him in. Why he insists on keeping his original surname 'Falkenberg' remains to be known.

"Hope you two are ready for school." Elsa replied as she poured some food in the food bowls for the goats. Meanwhile, Kris was taking his morning medication.

As if on cue, both Gnasher and another light gray-furred goat named Grinder barged in, having another one of their little playful tassels, butting their heads together as most goats do. First off, Gnasher was the tough and strong type. Was like a second parent or babysitter to the boys. Always helped keep them in line and took care of them. Grinder, on the other hand, was a bit more lenient and coolheaded, mostly just following Gnasher's lead.

"Knock it off, you guys. Seriously." The mother ordered the animals sternly while gently pulling them apart while they dove into their food, albeit chuckling a bit while doing so. Their antics still amused her nonetheless.

"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" Stig bragged as their mother gave him a hard look, though she was pretty used to his snarkiness.

"Just afraid that I'd have to drag your big brother out of bed again." Elsa remarked, shooting the other boy a knowing glance, which then softened up. "Nightmares again?"

"I…..yes." He sighed in defeat, knowing it was pointless to keep her in the dark about this tense subject, let alone sugarcoat it. His mother only gave him a comforting hand on the shoulder.

"Well, please know that if you ever need to talk about it, I'm always here." She told him.

"And us as well." Grandpa Morten called from the living room. "We'd really like to know if our grandson is doing okay these days, especially after-"

When Kris was occupied looking around his bookback, Elsa nonverbally signaled for Morten to stop talking with a look of panic on her face, to which the old man got the message and wisely clamped up.

"Anywho, will you be taking the bus to school today?" asked Elsa in order to circle back.

"Oh, yeah. I got some bus fare." Kris immediately answered, to which his mother gave him a teasing smirk.

"You're only riding it because Mei will be on it, right?"

"Uh…." This caused him to suddenly blush red in the face and she giggled in response. "Maybe. I just like riding with her, is all."

"Oh, riiiiiiight." Stig commented sarcastically. "So I guess I'm riding with mom, then."

"That you are, mister." Elsa replied. "Now get your stuff ready immediately."

"Alright, alright." The goth boy sighed.

"Okay, bye, then. See you after school." Once he grabbed his things, Kris was immediately heading for the door until Grandpa Carl had to pop the most glaring question of all.

"Aren't you gonna be working at the Lee Temple after school?"

This made Kris freeze in his tracks and bring something of a look of unease in his features. Must've slipped his mind.

"Oh, yeah. I sure am. Forgot about that." He nervously chuckled. "Don't want to be late or else Mrs. Lee will get mad at me."

"Why the hell do you even bother working for her at all? When all she ever does is nag you and stuff?"

While his second grandfather understood his reasons for working at the temple to begin with, he cared more about his grandson's wellbeing and self-esteem and was even worried that he was possibly being mistreated or taken for granted.

"Well, I have to help mom somehow. I kinda owe it to her. Bye now." Without another word, Kris was out the door within seconds.

"Hmph. That woman's gonna eat that boy alive." grumbled Carl under his breath.

"Try to be positive, Carl." Morten stated.

"I'm being realistic."

As Kris waited there at the bus stop, while he was excited about seeing Mei again, he was less so about his shift at the temple after school. Long while back, his mother was struggling to find suitable work with reasonable pay to help support her family. He's currently between opportunities at the moment, but long ago, Kris took it upon himself to find a part-time gig to at least offer some support for her until she found a full-time job herself. Employment-wise, Elsa was currently studying to become a nurse.

He and Mei have been friends for two years now. Their friendship goes all the way back to the third grade when his family had just settled into Toronto, making it the first relationship he's ever had in a while since the move and they've been practically inseparable ever since. However, her overbearing, strict and overprotective mother, Ming, made it clear that she did not like him at all. In fact, when Mei first introduced him to her mother when they were still yea-high, Ming only scoffed at the boy with disdain and dragged her away from him, saying that she shouldn't be cuddling up to boys until she was older. Kris didn't understand it at the time because he was so young, but looking back now, it should've been clear from the get-go that Ming obviously didn't approve of her precious daughter associating herself with other children, especially boys.

Of course, this didn't stop them from hanging out with each other, regardless of what her mother said as she was the first friend he's ever had ever since…the incident long ago.

But that's a different story for another time.

The bus finally arrived and Kris boarded it, giving the driver his fare, then looked around the sea of people for a place to sit.

"Kris! Kris! Over here!" called out a familiar voice that the boy recognized almost instantly, bringing a smile to his face.

There she was, Meilin Lee, 13, the young Asian girl with the shoulder-length dark hair held back with a barrette, the large, circular glasses she always wears - which Kris admittedly thought looked cute on her -, the red sweater over a light pink polo, dark blue skirt, leggings and sneakers. It's always a treasure seeing her. Mei was the child prodigy, the mother's little girl, but nevertheless, the smart, confident, driven, nerdy, slightly full-of-herself and proud little Grade-A overachiever and top-performing student in her grade, striving for success and perfection. Although it concerned Kris that the girl just poured herself into her mother's expectations, he always admired Mei's confident energy or as she puts it, 'doing what she wants, saying what she wants, 24/7 365'.

"Hey, Mei!" Kris responded, now suddenly sitting down next to her. His friend smiled back.

"Ready for today?" She asked.

"Yes, and also kinda nervous." He admitted, which made her chuckle.

"Relax, I'm sure it won't be another pop quiz, even though I'm secretly hoping it is." answered Mei, scribbling something down on the paper in her hands. Another one of those crossword puzzles, Kris imagined.

"It's not really that. I mean my shift this afternoon after school." His smile had all but vanished.

"Oh." And so did hers. "It's okay. M-my mom is still getting used to you. She does appreciate your help. She just…..has a funny way of showing it. Just don't let her get to you, okay?"

"I'll try." He stammered.

Keyword was: try.

They finally made it to Lester B. Pearson Middle School after the bus dropped them off. Mei had her violin in her case with her, no doubt for her music class. Before entering, the girl couldn't help but do a little dance as a way to pump herself up. Kris just watched with amusement as she moved her body around rhythmically in a silly manner, then even shook her butt from side-to-side, unaware of her friend standing behind her. Kris gulped and quickly averted his eyes, his face reddening up upon seeing Mei shake her derriere like that.

It's a little known fact that Mei seemed to enjoy gyrating her body in such a way, possibly because of her love for 4*Town and their dance moves. Though, the little man inside Kris's mind had to admit that Mei certainly had a fine-looking rear-end. She'll certainly have a lovely figure when she grows up.

"Alright, let's do this!" She declared with full confidence as she grabbed her friend's hand and practically yanked him with her as she and Kris ran to the school's entrance as Mei burst through the doors as what is made to appear, at least in her head, as a grand entrance.

"Besties, assemble!" She cried then pointed outward with her violin case in her teeth. "Miriam!"

Miriam Mendelsohn, 13, one of the four girls that make up the quartet of girl pals, the 4*Townies; a tall, lanky, tomboyish-looking girl with braces, a green sweater and beanie and a shirt with the word 'SK8TER BOI" on it and she had curly brown hair in two ponytails. Miriam was almost like an older sister to Mei and Kris and was like the mother hen to the group. In spite of her tomboyish interests like skateboarding, she still had some girly tendencies like a particular affinity for boys and boy-bands, specifically part of the reason why she and the other girls make such astounding friends in the first place. The girl was munching on some crackers when her name was called, then rushed over to her buddy, Mei as they cheerfully did their handshake and bumped their butts together.

"Kris, hey!" Miriam shouted, tossing herself onto Kris, bringing her arms around him in a tight embrace and Kris hugged her right back.

"Mir-Mir!" Kris chirped as they broke apart.

"Priya!" shouted Mei.

Priya Mangal, 13, another one of Mei's amazing friends; an Indian-Canadian girl possessing a dark and mysterious aspect to her character, always with an apathetic expression on her face, though she was still easygoing and caring when it came to friends, mainly her girl squad. Although she didn't look the part, Priya was most definitely a goth of her own design. She had a mane of dark brown, fluffy hair, wore black-rimmed glasses and had on an orange-ish/yellow attire; a long-sleeved, yellow collared shirt and light beige pants. She was reading one of her favorite novels, Nightfall (you can probably tell what that's about) when she heard her gal-pal call to her. Closing her book and joining the rest.

"Yo." She droned out in a deep tone that matched her gloomy complexion with an unchanged face, everything about her reminded Kris of Stig. That doesn't go without saying that she's probably a more toned-down and chiller version of him.

"Kris." The goth girl smiled a bit at him as she did the handshake with him, too.

"Abby!"

And now onto the fourth and final member of their quartet: Abby Park, 13, a wild and hyperactive young, plump Korean girl. Everything about her just screams party and adolescent destructiveness. Chaotic, aggressive, tough, zany, energetic; the girl was like a feral kitty cat. Cute and cuddly on the outside, but fierce and deadly on the inside. You'd be very lucky not to get the girl's bad side, especially when she starts screaming in her native tongue like a madwoman. And there she was in typical Abby fashion, scolding and ranting at some students in Korean for littering when she noticed her buddies.

"What's up, Mei! Hi, Kris!" She answered, striking a pose before marching over, then launching herself at Kris like a cannonball, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a lifeline. Unlike Miriam, it was a bit more forceful and with her body weight, it was like being hit by a car, causing Kris to almost lose his balance.

"Hey, Abby." Kris wheezed as she hugged the air out of him.

"Chill, Abby. Chill." Mei informed her friend, patting her head while forcing back a chuckle as seeing the boy struggle against the ultimate power of the attack hug, but then Abby finally let him go and the four girls did their signature friendship hand-wiggle together.

"You guys ready to change the world?" Mei asked excitedly.

"So ready." Miriam grinned.

"I was born for this."

"LET'S BURN THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND!" screamed Abby wildly with an almost deranged countenance, making Kris inch backward from the volume of her exclamation. He truly enjoyed the girl's company, but she kinda scared him a bit at times.

"See you in class, Kris!" Mei and the girls all embraced the boy at the same time in a brief group hug, which to Kris, felt like he was being smushed together by four soft clouds. Then they all took off together down the hall before Kris wandered off to find his locker before looking for his own gang. And there was Stig, casually standing by his brother's locker as if waiting for him since their mom dropped him minutes before Kris and Mei finally showed up.

"And lo and behold, his eminence arrives." The dark-clothed boy remarked.

"Yeah, hey, Stig. Mom pack you a lunch again?" Kris remarked back to him, knowing his brother didn't enjoy having his lunch made for him.

"Oh, yeah. I'm gonna eat like a king today." replied Stig sarcastically, then taking on a hard and firm glance. "I got a banana and PBJ. The same old stuff since I can't have lunch money."

"Maybe I can share my lunch with you. Only if you'll kindly allow me."

"If they're serving Boston baked beans or creamed corn again, I'm calling it a day."

"So that's a 'no' on the sharing, then?" asked Kris flippantly. Stig grunted back.

Then passing by a hallway, there seemed to be a small crowd forming by some of the lockers where a towering, round figure stood with two skinnier forms standing with it. Kris and Stig, right away, knew instantly what this meant and they rushed over, squeezing through their classmates until they stood before the bane of their existence: the Monroes, the school's legion of doom, the trio of absolute pain. Melvin "The Moose" Monroe, 15, - the bulldozer, the barbarian, the bully to end all bullies; a large, obese kid with black, curly locks and the twisted face of a wild gorilla - stood tall, proud and tough as intimidating as he could be while hanging from his fist by their underwear in his painful namesake, in a move lazily known as "the Melvin", was his latest victim.

Rudolf Stein, 13, one of Kris's best friends; a young brown-skinned boy of Inuit descent with black, spiky hair, wearing light blue winter garb for whatever reason, complete with the puffy coat, mittens and toque. He was like the youngest sibling of the group. Scatterbrained, cowardly, naive, but lovable in every way. He wasn't a fighter, but he was a lover, which, unfortunately, made him an easy target for the Monroes. The poor guy in great agony as the strongest of the trio held him in such a vulnerable position, nothing more humiliating than the wedgie.

Moose's two younger siblings stood by his side as his partners-in-crime and subordinates. There was Bruce Monroe, 13, a wimpier-looking brat with a hearing aid on his left ear who was like Moose's right hand man and Debbie Monroe, 12, a smaller, skinnier, dirty blonde girl with her hair in bunches. Each of them possessing some injuries of their own from a black eye to missing teeth, a clear sign that these three were just a couple of violent, brawny meatheads who loved roughhousing.

"Ya make this too easy, twerp." Moose cracked with a shit-eating grin with a Brooklyn accent.

"Yeah, twerp!" Debbie parroted with her own wicked grin.

"Ya tighty-whities could use some colah, bah the way."

"Okay, okay, you got me, Moose. Please stop." Rudolf pleaded as he winced in pain in such a high voice.

"You wearin' lady'th underwear." Bruce quipped with a lisp in his voice.

"Yeah, lady's underwear!"

"Hey, that's quite enough!" screamed Kris, ready to put an end to this nonsense. "Put him down! Right now!"

"Oh, oh, oh!" The Moose mocked, pretending to look scared, then turned to poor Rudolf. "Look at dat, Pee-Wee Herman. Ya knights in shining ahmah ah here to save ya! What a moron!"

"Yeah, what a moron!"

"Just put him down, Moose! Or else." warned Kris, trying to be brave for his friend.

"Or what, dweeb? You gonna punch me?" The lumbering brute dared back. "Well, do it, then. Right now! Sock me real good! Give me yah best shot!"

"Pfft. You ain't got the ballth." Bruce taunted.

"Yeah, balls!"

But Kris wasn't too big on violence. He's never been one to resort to violence, though he hated seeing his friends suffer. Stig knew this for himself as he suddenly boldly stepped in, unafraid of the trio of doom.

"Oh, go eat shit, Monroe."

"Whatcha say?!" He hissed, snorting like a bull.

"Yeah, you heard us." Kris smirked, playing along. "Besides, do your parents know about your secret collection of nudie magazines?"

Then all of the sudden, all eyes widened as they redirected straight towards the gallumping giant, whose air of fiery intimidation instantly died down at the mention of his secret shame, his dirty little secret. Even his two siblings gasped in shock and stared at their big brother with surprise.

"That's right. I've caught a glimpse of some mags with pictures of naked women on them along with a couple other things that I probably shouldn't bring up here. I mean, seriously, are you really that stupid to even bring all that to school full of other kids and adults to begin with?" Kris continued on and one, reveling in the horrific look of terror on his Moose's face.

The other students around them all suddenly flew into a curious chatter, some of them giggled a bit while some were expressing their repulse at one of their classmates, let alone Moose of all people, bringing such racy and disgusting materials to school with him. Moose's horror was then replaced with hellish fury as he finally dropped Rudolf on the floor, growling like a beast and marched up Kris, sizing him up and getting all up in his face.

"Youse got some real nerve, Bengtsson. Ya gots no right peepin' into mah personal business!" He snarled and thundered, then gripped Kris's shirt and lifted him up ready to give him a taste of his own medicine, lifting up a huge fist. "Prepare for my power move: the Crunch!"

Everyone around them gasped and backed away a smidge. If there's one thing you don't want to receive from the Moose, it's 'the Crunch', the worst of all beatings. Bruce and Debbie even began cheering their brother on, but before any brutal punishments could occur, the first period bell rang and one of the teachers arrived at the scene.

"Hey! That's enough! Both of you!" Mrs. Leech shouted strictly as she forced Moose to relinquish Kris. "Enough of this childish lollygagging! Get to class now! All of you! I mean it! That goes for you too, Melvin."

"Yes, Mrs. Leech." He sarcastically answered with a faux innocent tone as soon as everyone dispersed, heading off to their classes. Then he gave Kris a threatening glare. "Youse got lucky, punk! But ya won't be next time. Count on it!"

Then the Monroes were gone finally, making Kris breath a sigh of relief. Rudolf picked himself up and rearranged his underwear.

"Thanks guys. I could've been dead meat if you hadn't shown up." He said.

"What happened this time, 'Dolf?" asked Stig.

"Nothing." Rudolf answered instantly. "I just bumped into him and said 'How's tricks?'. Then asked him about his morning."

"You should know better than to patronize the Moose." Kris reminded him gravely. "We all know that guy's like a ticking time bomb. He'll go for anything that squeals and yelps that easily, even on a good day."

Then there came a banging on the locker door next to the three and a voice from inside asked.

"Is he gone yet?"

"Yeah, Roar, my man. Coast is clear." Rudolf assured as he unlocked the door to free their fourth friend. Roar Wagner, 13, was cramped inside of the locker, undoubtedly, by the Monroes. He was a tall, skinny dude with glasses, curly mop of hair, a light shirt, a hoodie tied around his waist and green pants. He was the most athletic of the bunch, so he was able to handle being inside a cramped space for a long period of time. He cared about his friends and always had their backs, like Kris. Kris and Stig then helped the boy out of the locker.

"Wassup, man?" Roar said as he and the brothers hugged each other, then all four of them walked down the hall to class together like they've always done.

"You know, I'm glad you didn't punch Moose back there." admitted Rudolf. "Things would've gotten ugly fast."

"Like hanging from your underwear in front of everyone." remarked Stig sardonically.

"Hey, a wedgie's not the worst thing compared to the Crunch. You'd be a goner!"

"All in all, though, Kris, sooner or later, you really oughta step for yourself." Stig replied. "You keep letting everyone step all over you like a doormat. Like Karenzilla for example."

"Do you really need to call her that?" sighed Kris at his brother's indifference towards Mei's uptight mother.

"That's all it says to me." The goth nonchalantly sassed with a slight shrug. "Think about it, all she ever does is nag, whine, gripe and complain about everything, no matter how trivial it sounds. Thinks she knows everything, is always right and always plays the victim. Total Karen vibes."

"Don't let her hear you say that out loud." Roar joked.

"I'll have plenty to say to her if she ever does." retorted Stig. "Kris is the one working for her. She has no right to be such a b-"

"Hey! No boo-boo words around here." Rudolf silenced him before he could finish that sentence, playfully wagging his finger at him like a scolding parent. "Don't make me get a bar of soap out, mister."

"Ah, shut up, Dolf." Stig grumbled.

Now that we've been introduced to all of Kris's friends, the rest of the school went completely as usual. Mei, like the gamma she was, pretty much excelled at every subject in school, from mathematics to learning French to naming several Canadian cities in different provinces to shredding on her flute. Always coming out on top as the smartest girl in school, earning the ire and some respect from her peers. Some have addressed her as many things, a 'very enterprising, yet mildly annoying young lady', a 'major weirdo', or even an 'overachieving dork-narc'.

That last one being the words of the unwise, nobody other than the little prick, Tyler Nguyen-Baker, the girls' arch-nemesis and rival who is already with the tease and mock them at every chance he has, just because he can. Granted, he wasn't any greater of a threat than the Monroes, but still a real pain in the ass, regardless. And Mei? Well, you tell her and she'll accept and embrace all the labels with zeal. Kris's day wasn't too appealing like Mei's. He did well on his school work, no doubt. It was more about survival for him. Avoiding dangers like the Monroes.

Once school was over, everyone left the building with their things. Kris watched Stig get into the car with Elsa, though he, himself, remained since he still had his shift at the Lee Temple.

"See you after your shift?" asked Elsa.

"Yeah. You too." Kris called back. Afterwards, they drove off and Kris made his way down the sidewalk to look for the nearest bus stop. However, he was suddenly stopped and grabbed by the Monroes, who yanked him into an alleyway close by and shoved him against the wall. Kris was now at the mercy of the Moose, who was ready to pay him back for his deviance in school earlier.

"It's Crunch time, Bengtsson." He grinned villainously, pounding his fist against his hand. All three of the siblings prepared their fists for the wallop of a lifetime and Kris was helpless and powerless against them.

So now we've all met Kris personally.

To set the record straight, he lives a rather mediocre life compared to Mei's. He is a total loser with barely enough luck and he pretty much lets certain people walk all over him because he's too soft to stand up for himself. Luckily, he has his adopted brother, by his side and his two friends, Rudolf and Roar. Even Mei and her friends make good company as well. Kris is meant to juxtapose Mei in character. Mei is a model student and a over performing overachiever; confident, smart, excels at extracurricular subjects like an absolute pro while Kris on the other hand is secretly miserable, troubled, has an average so-so academic performance, suffers from night terrors and psychological distress and is an easy target for bullies.

The way I'll be portraying Ming in this story is on purpose. I don't hate Ming, I just can't stand her or her ways. However, by dialing up her personality in this story, it's meant to make her the catalyst for what's to come later on in the story and also set her up for something cathartic and rather karmic in future chapters. Ming is obsessed with not only molding Mei into the perfect, achieving daughter that she wants her to be, but she smothers the heck out of her to the point where she despises anyone she interacts with with a fiery passion, like Kris for example. And yeah, I more or less made her the main antagonist for this story, but that doesn't mean she will change for the better on a latter date.

On the other hand, though; Kris, unlike Mei, has a mother who loves him unconditionally and his life is devoid of impossible expectations. And just a fair warning, there will be graphic scenes of violence, blood, implied gore, depictions of psychological trauma and some suicidal thoughts in this story. If that's too sensitive for you, turn back now.

Also, I'd like to mention that the inspiration for Moose's character was primarily from a bully character from The Black Phone horror film, a minor character also named Moose. Also, try to imagine him sounding like Boog from Fanboy and Chum-Chum. His brother, Bruce, is like his right-hand man and Debbie mostly just repeats the last word(s) of her brothers' sentences like a parrot, which will kinda be a running gag for her.

Next Chapter: A year prior, Kris wanted to help his unemployed mother support the family by getting a side job until she found full-time one herself. Luckily, Mei was able to convince her mother to hire him as the cashier for the Temple's gift shop. Despite his tolerant work performance, Ming does not take him seriously at all because of his lifestyle.

Next Update: February 10, 2023