What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, a Big Mouth fanfic

by AC1DR3FlUX5UCK5

Picking up where season 7 ended, the teens deal with new schools new situations, dilemmas, and romances.

2. Chapter 2

So here we go with chapter 2. In this chapter, we see the kids adjusting to their new schools, or in the case of Missy, homeschooling. To be exact, we see Jessi cutting class to get high, and meets her Addiction Angel, Andrew cutting school to avoid Pumbaa, Jay working in the basement with Judd and the vocation club where he hears about the school talent show, and soon locks horns with another magician. Nick waits tensely for school to end so he can go on his apology tour, and Missy finds out homeschooling is more boring than she thought. Also, Devin gets her heart broken, but finds a new calling. Later, Nick sets out on his mission.

Anyway, let's dive right in, shall we?

Jay's POV

Jay had never looked forward to school in his life. Indeed, he had just barely managed to graduate Bridgeton, and had had to attend summer school to skirt by. But now he had a reason to look forward to high school, a new purpose, a reason to get on the noisy, smelly bus and take the boring 15 minute ride to his new high school: the vocation club in the school basement.

He'd discovered the class during the field trip to Bridgeton High while running from his older brothers, Val and Kurt, who wanted to welcome him to the school in a very... creative way.

So Jay had decided to stay down in the basement, hanging with like-minded, lost souls. At least for the first week or so, to see how it went.

Besides, the basement had EVERYTHING: cars to take apart and reassemble. A forge to make stuff. On his first day Jay had fashioned his own sword, which he had carefully hidden in his room, lest his brothers find it. Nick's brother Judd also worked down there, and Jay wasn't surprised to find him already down there as he walked down the stairs. Judd was already hard at work, leaning over a welding table, blowtorch in hand as he held the flame over a strip of metal he would turn into a license plate for the car in the corner. He looked up as Jay entered.

"So, you decided to come. Good. We could always use an extra set of hands."

Jay smiled. "Awesome!! I want to make another sword, or maybe a sweet suit of armor this time!!!"

He walked over to the forge, where a few other students were working. He could feel the heat from the furnace as he stepped close. He looked at the many different things they had already made on the tables. He saw ashtrays, trash can lids, car doors and hubcaps, traffic signs, brass knuckles, what looked like a couple maces, and wrenches and ratchets of different sizes. Some of these things were perfectly made, some twisted or bent, or looked lumpy or flat, as if they were badly baked cookies instead of pieces of expensive metal. Jay was glad his sword had come out perfect.

"Hey guys", Jay called out as he walked closer. "What you making now?"

One of the guys smiled. "Just some knickknacks right now. But later we're going to make our own pyrotechnics for the talent show. "

Jay gasped. "Talent show?!! Oh wow, maybe I should enter. I can do a magic act!! I've been working on some new tricks."

"Yeah, but Tanner is already doing a magic act. He was bragging on the bus just this morning about how he plans to levitate all the chairs in the audience, with everyone IN them!!!"

Jay gasped again. "Wait, this school has other magicians??!!!"

The boy scoffed. "Tanner Coolidge is this schools ONLY magician. Or WAS, till you came along. He's ALWAYS doing lame shit. The usual: pick a card. Where'd the coin go. The thing where you shuffle the cups to find the bead. Stuff like that. It's quite annoying, though some chicks are actually impressed. " He scoffed again.

Jay couldn't believe his ears. Back at Bridgeton Middle he had prided himself on being the school's ONLY resident magician. He knew his obsession with magic had annoyed, or perhaps even alienated, his fellow students, but he had never cared. Magic was his whole purpose, his PASSION, in life. Ever since seeing David Copperfield on TV when he was like 5 years old, he had basically ate, slept, and breathed magic. He was good friends with the Sorcerers Of The Square Table, who hung out at the local Panera, who Jay idolized and hoped to one day join their ranks. He never thought he'd meet another TEEN magician like himself, much less go to school with one.

'But, maybe this is a GOOD thing ', he thought. 'If I do my own show, and outdazzle this other magician, I'll finally show my old schoolmates, and my NEW ones, that magic is the greatest force of nature, and also that I, Jay Bilzerian, am the BEST magician in school. No, in the COUNTY. Then I will finally get the respect I've been waiting for. Maybe my own family will finally love me too.'

Now, why we can't say what made Jay have that LAST crazy idea, the thought of Jay being recognized as the best magician in the school and county gave him enough confidence to decide to enter the talent show on the spot. He turned to the boy he'd spoken to. "This sounds great. How do I sign up?"

The boy, busy pounding a strip of hot metal he'd removed from the furnace with a hammer, pointed while holding the strip to the table with a pair of tongs, gestured to the stairs with his head. "There's a sign-up sheet by the lockers. Just put your name and act on the paper. They'll call all the students who sign up to present their act later. Me and a few others are doing a fire dancing act. My name is Avery by the way."

Jay nodded. "I'm Jay. You probably know my brothers Val and Kurt. "

Avery nodded. "Yeah. Fucking assholes. Don't know how they haven't been expelled. You seem cool though. "

Jay laughed. "I'm not only cool, I'm ice cold. The best Bilzerian of the bunch, and the world's greatest aspiring magician. I'm going to sign up RIGHT NOW!!!"

Thus saying, Jay turned and dashed up the stairs. Scanning the hall for Val and Kurt, Jay ran through the hall till he reached the lockers. There, on the wall between a row of lockers hung the sign-up sheet. Quite a few students had signed up already, he saw. He pulled out his pen-the expensive pen Matthew had gotten him for their anniversary, which seemed so long ago-and signed his name, and put "magic act next to it.

That done, he put the pen back in his pocket. As he headed back towards the basement, he racked his brain for a good magic act that would dazzle the entire school. Something really good. Something NEW. Something that would have the entire audience screaming for an encore.

Suddenly, just before he reached the door to the basement, a puff of smoke blocked his way. A second later, the smoke cleared. In its place stood a young boy about his age. He was a head or so taller, and dressed much fancier. While Jay wore his usual black vest and faded blue jeans, the boy before him wore an expensive-looking leather jacket, and under it a red shirt with a typical magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. His jeans were also black, and held up with several belts. His hair was longer and better styled than Jay's, and seemed to practically shine in the hall lights, as did his teeth as he smiled.

"So, you're the new magician, huh? I hear EVERYTHING, you know. So, you think you got what it takes to go against the great Tanner Coolidge?"

Jay gasped. "YOU'RE Tanner??!!!"

The boy nodded. "The one and only. The best teen magician this side of the tri-state area. And I'll be damned if I let some some badly dressed freshman upstart upstage ME!!!"

Jay growled, curling his hands into fists. "Oh yes you WILL be damned, cause I am gonna mop the floor with you in the talent show!!!"

Tanner sneered. "We'll just see about THAT. I was in a magic contest at the Radison last year. David Blaine himself was one of the judges, and he gave me a 10!!! You should just back out right now. Go home and feed your rabbit, and play with your linking rings like the little boy you are!!!"

Jay felt the rage building inside him like a hurricane, the wind beating against his heart, but he stood his ground, looking the taller boy in the eyes. "Joke's on YOU, idiot!!! I don't have a rabbit, just doves in a bag!!! And me and my doves are going to smoke you so bad, the only thing left will be left will be a pile of ashes and your way-too-many belts!!!"

Tanner laughed and adjusted his jacket. "No way. You're out of your depth, Jay. Fine. Go ahead and enter. But please, don't flood the room with your bitch tears when I beat you so bad your wand snaps itself in shame!!! Tanner out!!!"

With that, he disappeared in another cloud of smoke. Jay stood on the spot seething with rage. But his anger was soon replaced by dread. He knew Tanner was right: he couldn't win the show with his old-school acts. He needed something NEW. Something he'd never done before. Something no young magician had ever tried. But how could he come up with something? And if he did, how long would it take to master it, to be good enough when the day came? He'd have to ask the Sorcerers Of The Square Table, and if they had no ideas, he'd have to consult either the internet, or his least favorite things, books.

Head hung low, he opened the basement door and headed back down the stairs. Maybe making that armor would help him think...

Jessi's POV

As soon as Jessi got off the morning bus she went around the back of the school to the bleachers, where her new friends always sat before school and during lunch. They were already there when Jessi walked up.

Lulu smiled. "How you doing, Glaser? Having a good morning, or shitty, like us?". She puffed on her weed vape, and held it in for a few seconds before coughing.

Jessi smiled back. "It was ok. Stayed at my mom's last night, but she's taking me to dad's after school today. Can I hit that?" She pointed to Lulu's vape.

Lulu laughed, and her friends joined in. She took another puff, then held it out to Jessi. She took it eagerly and took a big puff. She held it in for as long as she could, then let it out with a great big cough. As she watched the cloud of smoke leave her mouth she felt the familiar, blissful lightheadedness. She took another puff and handed the vape back to Lulu. This time she let most of the smoke out her nose. She liked the feeling. She turned to Lulu who was taking another puff while looking at her phone.

"Um, hey Lulu I was wondering ", Jessi said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out the money she had been saving in her drawer. "Could I purchase a vape off of you, if you have an extra, or perhaps I give you the money, and you can run to the store at lunch or something? This is like 40 bucks. Surely enough to buy one at the weed shop?"

Lulu put her phone back in her pocket and took the money from Jessi. She quickly counted, as if making sure Jessi hadn't miscounted. She put the money in her pocket and nodded. "Sure thing. I need to get another one anyway. I'll pick one up for you too. I'll get you one of those dual ones, with Indica and Sativa. You can switch between them. Me and the others gonna get some gummies too, and share them at lunch. You want some?"

Jessi smiled. The weed was really kicking in now. She felt pretty dizzy. She walked over to the bleachers and sat down. She looked at the boy next to her. She didn't know his name, but he was still reading the Camus book from yesterday. "Yeah sure. I had a gummy once before. Snitched them from my dad's stash. Me and my friend Nick both had one. Pretty wild day. Long story short, my bitch mom kicked my dad out when she found out, even though I'M the one who should have gotten in trouble. "

Lulu frowned. "That fucking sucks. Parents suck ass. My mom's a total bitch too. She doesn't deserve Dustin. He's been like a dad to me, since my real dad died. "

Jessi frowned. "Oh Lulu, that's so sad. I'm so sorry. That must've been hard. "

Lulu shrugged. "Shit happens. I was 7, almost 8 when he passed. Me and my mom both kinda fell apart after. Her hooking up with losers left and right, mostly for sex, drugs or money, me with shoplifting, underage drinking, and of course weed. My mom's been trying to get back on track after marrying Dustin like 3 years ago. We're trying to get close again, but I think wishing each other happy birthday and Merry Christmas is as close as she and I will get to a full conversation. "

Jessi shook her head. "Wow. And I thought things were tough between me and MY mom. You know, I shoplifted too after my dad left, and once me and my friend Ali got arrested for breaking a statue at my old school. "

The boy next to her closed his book and turned to her. He laughed. "Wow. A little rebel. Just like us. I'm Pim, by the way."

Jessi wasn't sure she heard right. "I'm sorry. PAM?"

The boy laughed again and shook his head. "No, PIM. P-I-M. You're Jewish, right? Me too. Well, my mom anyway. My dad was until he got into the whole Scientology thing. Anyway, Anne Frank, you know her? Well, her dad's nickname was Pim. My mom named me after that. She's a major Jewish history buff. "

Jessi laughed. "Ah. Interesting. And cool, interfaith marriage. Like my friend Missy. Her mom's Jewish, and her dad is Christian. My dad's Jewish too, his girlfriend is Unitarian. We had our first Christmas last year, when she was pregnant with my half sister. "

Pim laughed. "Well, we experiment with different holidays too. We go to friend's Christmas parties, and help with church activities, while we still celebrate Hanukkah, Seder, stuff like that. We're kind of all over the place spiritually. "

Lulu shook her head. "The whole religion thing sucks ass. Dressing up fancy and uncomfortable just to sit in a room and listen to some old fart talk for hours? Fucking stupid." She took one last long puff, then put the vape back in her pocket. After blowing out the smoke she turned to Jessi. "First period is starting soon. I'll go pick up the vapes and gummies at lunch. See you then, Glaser. "

Pim stood up and smiled. "See you at lunch. Jessi, right?" She nodded. "Cool. See you later. "

Jessi watched them walk off and waved. "See ya'll later. I'm just gonna sit here for a few minutes, gotta clear my head. That's some powerful shit. " She laughed and laid down on the bleacher seat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the effects of the weed as it worked its wonderful magic.

"Ah, the joy of being a teenager. So young, so carefree. If only it could stay this way". The voice made Jessi open her eyes and jump upright. She hadn't heard anybody approach. She looked around. Except for her and a few stragglers entering the school, she thought the lot was empty. She looked behind her, and found the owner of the voice, and gasped. At first she thought she was higher than she'd thought, and quickly rubbed her eyes, but when she opened them, the man was still there.

She'd never seen a creature like him before, and she'd met MANY monsters this past year. The man was tall, with purple skin. His legs and arms were very muscular, the later covered in many tribal tattoos, some crisscrossing like a weird crochet pattern. His face was very handsome, she noticed, and his long hair, black as coal, tied down his back in a ponytail. But the most astonishing thing was his WINGS: large, pearly white wings, whiter and purer than any dove, than any freshly fallen snow, they jutted out from behind him, flapping lightly as he approached. Above his head hung a golden halo, which seemed to shimmer in and out, depending on the light. He smiled at her as he stepped closer. Jessi gasped again as she focused on that smile, those dark but beautiful eyes. He was so beautiful. But who...WHAT...was he?

The stranger reached the bleachers and walked up to where Jessi sat. He bowed slightly as he smiled again. "Well met, and top of the morning to the lovely Miss Glaser. "He had an Australian accent, and reminded Jessi of one of those wildlife show hosts, but way more handsome.

Jessi tried to find her voice, which she felt like she'd lost staring at this beautiful, mysterious being. After swallowing several times, she finally choked out. "Who...what... are you?". She felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest. From the weed? Or nervousness?

The stranger smiled ever more broadly. "My name is Vergil. I am what is called an Addiction Angel. Your friends know me and my kind quite well. In fact, I'd wager MOST of your new schoolmates do."

Jessi gasped. "An ADDICTION Angel?! Wait, is this because I'm smoking weed?!! But I only just STARTED!!! I'm not addicted. YET. I just LIKE it."

Vergil laughed. "Easy. I'm not saying you're addicted. To the weed. No. I'm here because you're addicted to life. To the JOY of LIVING. That's what being young is ABOUT. THAT'S why I'm here. To help you ENJOY it. Fuck what others think, mate. All these adults, they forget what being young and full of life is about. They try and shut you down, keep you tied down, because they're so close-minded. Like your mother. I know what happened with your dad. And how she tried to stop you from getting your belly button pierced." He tsk-tsked and shook his head.

Jessi pulled up her shirt and looked at the scar on her belly button, where Lola had tried futily to pierce it. She remembered the pain. And all the blood she had lost. And the humiliating aftermath.

She pulled her shirt down and sighed. "I just wanted to be cool. Like Leah. Of course Shannon wouldn't understand. She used to smoke weed too. She just doesn't understand. She used to be cool. Now she just hates EVERYTHING. "

Vergil sighed. "Hate. Hate is such an ugly thing. It consumes you. Destroys everything in its path. I should know. My brother Dante was killed by the Hate Department when they tried taking over. We weren't close, but he was still my brother. You've probably seen for yourself what hate can do. I know your friends were previously influenced by Hateworms. And that you yourself deal with anxiety and depression. Those too are the path to hate. Once you lose yourself in those seas, you start taking on water, and soon sink down to hate and suffering. I don't want that for you Jessi. It was hard pulling your new friends onto the lifeboat, but once they discovered the joys I could offer them, they found new meaning. Shelter from the storm. I can help give that to you too."

Jessi listened to everything Vergil said, while staring into those beautiful dark eyes of his. They were like black holes, and she felt like a helpless piece of space junk being pulled into them. She WANTED to believe him, believe that he could help her, where so many had failed. Her mother. Connie. Her therapist Nancy, who she hadn't spoken to in forever. Could this man-this mysterious, beautiful, enchanting creature-really be the salvation she had sought for so long?

As if reading her mind, Vergil nodded. "Yes. Just heed me, and I can spare you any further pain. Once you surrender yourself to your heart's desires, and bask in the bounty and harvest of life, bathe in the waters of self-satisfaction, nothing can hurt you. No road of anxiety is too long, no chasm of depression too deep or wide. There is no pain where strength lies."

Jessi thought again, then finally sighed and nodded. "I think you're right, Vergil. I just KNOW high school is going to be worse than middle school. I need the right friends. NEW ones. BETTER ones. Nick is going to another school, Missy told me she's going to try homeschooling. And Matthew will be too busy with his choir bullshit. I need friends who will BE there. Even my own FAMILY sucks. My mom's always working, my dad and Caitlin are too busy with my baby half-sister. And Connie..." She paused as she once again felt a stab of regret for driving the Monstress off. She once again wondered if she had done the right thing, and if she should try willing her to come back.

Vergil spoke again, interrupting her thoughts. "Glad to hear that, Jessi. I will leave you for now. You really should be getting to class. You're probably already going to get a tardy slip. But I will see you later. Until then..." He bowed again, then disappeared.

Jessi stared at the spot he'd been for what felt like forever, but was only probably a couple minutes. Finally she turned and started heading towards the school, her mind whirring with the horrors the school day would probably bring, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and saw a figure in the distance. She looked closer, and saw the person more clearly: Andrew.

He stood on the spot, in the school parking lot, just looking at the building. He looked nervous. No, he looked TERRIFIED, like he was afraid to go in. He didn't seem to even notice Jessi. She opened her mouth, fixing to call over to him, when he turned around and started running in the opposite direction. Away from the school. Before she could call out, he had exited the school grounds, turned the corner, and disappeared, running as if the hounds of hell were on his heels.

"Where is he going?", she wondered. She knew he was probably still shaken from his fight with Pumbaa, and probably still scared of a reprise. Or too embarrassed to show his face. Or both. For a second she thought about calling him to check on him. To calm him down. Like a true friend.

But she decided to give him space. She understood how he felt. SHE didn't want to be here either. But what else could she do?

With another sigh, she decided to try calling him later. Then she headed into the school, bracing herself for another long, boring day. At least she had a good buzz. With luck it would last until lunch.

The hours seemed to tick by slowly. Jessi felt like she was on autopilot, absentmindedly doing her work, barely tuning in as the teachers talked. Her head still spun, and more than once she felt herself almost nodding off. She was sure she got almost all her algebra problems wrong. Then again, math had never been her strong suit.

Finally, it was lunch time. She ate her meal as quickly as she could, then practically ran outside to the bleachers to see her new crowd.

Lulu smiled as she approached. "Hey Glaser. Glad you could join us. As I promised. " She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny box. Jessi took it. Her own vape! As Lulu had said, it was a dual Indica and Sativa, with a switch allowing the user to swap between strains. She smiled as she opened the box. "Thanks Lulu. You already went to the store? You didn't have lunch?"

Lulu laughed. "We never eat lunch HERE. The food sucks. We always go in one of our cars and get something at like Burger King or Taco Bell. Or just skip entirely. We figure since weed gives you the munchies, we'll be hungrier when we get home. My mom can't cook to save her life, but Dustin makes some bomb-ass meals."

"That's cool", Jessi said as she sat down on the bleacher. She opened her vape and pulled it out. She quickly took a hit from the Indica side and held it in for as long as she could, then let it out with a cough. The others laughed. "That's some good shit", she said, as that sweet buzz returned. She switched to the Sativa and took a puff as she pulled out her phone. She remembered her promise to try to contact Andrew, and dialed his number as she blew out the smoke.

'Come on, Andrew, answer,', she thought, as the phone continued to ring. But after a minute the phone went to voicemail. She immediately tried again. Nope. No answer. Desperate, she went to Messages and typed a text: [Andrew, where the hell ARE you? I saw you running away from school this morning. Where did you go? Are you ok? Please call or text me back. I'm worried.] She sent the text and put the phone in her pocket.

Beside her, Pim looked at her curiously. "Everything ok?", he asked.

Jessi nodded. "Just checking on my friend Andrew. I saw him sneaking away from school this morning and haven't heard from him all day. I'm really worried about him. "

"Isn't he the guy Pumbaa beat the shit out of yesterday?", Lulu asked as she took a puff from her vape.

Jessi nodded. "Yeah. I think he's scared that asshole is going to try it again. I feel bad. I should have stayed with him yesterday, tried comforting him more. But I just wanted to get home, cause my first day sucked. But now I feel like such a shitty friend. Maybe he's mad at me for not helping him. I don't blame him."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up"", Pim said. "There's

nothing you could have done. That Pumbaa-Henry-won't listen to anyone. He thinks he runs the fucking school. All jocks are like that. That's why we don't take part in sports or other physical activities. To show them we won't conform. I guess to them, sports, testosterone, working out is THEIR addiction. Vergil is right, we all have our own addictions. "

Jessi nodded. "I met him this morning. Vergil. The Addiction Angel. He seems pretty cool. "

Pim laughed. "Yeah, he's ok, but don't let him get in your head too much. Like all other monsters, he just wants you to do things HIS way. Mostly we just nod and agree with whatever bullshit he tries and forcefeed us. But at least he's better company than the Kitty or that annoying Mosquito. They're the WORST."

Jessi gasped. "You guys know the Depression Kitty and Anxiety Mosquito?!!"

Lulu scoffed. "Of course. Why do you think we always get high? You need a way to shut them out. They can't bother you if you are in your own head, your own world. The Depression Kitty used to bother me all the time after my dad died. Probably my mom too,till she started drinking herself half to death, then she was usually passed out. I tried shutting her out, but nothing worked. I even tried censory overload, playing music so loud the neighbors complained, but the purple bitch wouldn't go away. My Hormone Monstress wasn't much help either. Finally, I tried weed, and that kind of did the trick. It was like a wall between myself and her. Now I hardly ever see her."

Jessi nodded. "Yeah. I started seeing her after my mom kicked my dad out. The Mosquito too. I've been seeing them less lately, but I can still FEEL them even when I don't see them."

"Yeah. Monsters think they're trying to help, but really all they do is fuck things up worse", said Pim. "Just like adults. I think more monsters are responsible for school shootings than drugs, music or video games. Shame Wizards, Depression Kitties, Anxiety Mosquitoes, Hateworms. They get inside your head and make you think there's no other way. "

Lulu laughed. "Wow. That's dark. But probably true." She pulled something out of her pocket. "Here. I bought some gummies too. Kind of low-grade shit, but with the vapes they'll probably hit harder. Here, Jessi. Everybody. "

Jessi reached out and took the gummies Lulu dropped into her hand. She popped one into her mouth and put the others in her pocket, saving them for later. She chewed it slowly. Both sweet and sour, and she could taste the weed, which was slightly bitter. She swallowed, and for good measure took a couple more hits from both sides of her vape, then put it back in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and checked for a reply call or text from Andrew. Nothing.

'Fuck. Where ARE you, Andrew? Please, PLEASE respond.' She put the phone back in her pocket and sighed. The weed was really kicking in now. Her legs felt weak, rubbery. The world seemed to be spinning. She sat back down.

The others chewed their gummies quickly and sat down. For a few minutes everybody sat in silence as they waited for the effects to take hold. Finally the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Jessi got to her feet weakly. Lulu smiled. "See you later, Jessi. Enjoy your vape. Remember to charge it."

Jessi nodded. "Ok, later. "

Pim smiled as he got to his feet. "Hey, um. Do you have any plans this weekend? Me and the others are going to help with prep for the talent show. They always go all out. The vocation club in the basement is making pyrotechnics, and we're going to help set the stage, make posters and set up the stage, make costumes and shit. I think your friend Jay is helping. You wanna pitch in?"

Jessi nodded. "Sure. Sounds great."

Pim smiled. "Awesome. Best of all, no teachers will be around. Just a couple senior students overseeing things, but they're cool. They'll let us get high while we work. They even sneak in some beer and stuff. So it'll be cool. What's your number, by the way? I'll text you later. "

Jessi and Pim quickly exchanged numbers, then Jessi followed them into the school. Her legs still felt weird and her head still spun, but she was getting used to the feeling.

When she walked back into the hall, navigating the sea of students heading to class, she saw Devin sitting on the floor by the row of lockers. She sat on the floor, her head hung, her hair covering her face. She seemed to be shaking. As she got closer, Jessi realized she was crying.

Jessi gently pushed her way past a couple of students and walked over to her. "Devin, what's wrong? Are you ok?". She sat down on the floor next to her.

Devin didn't look up as she replied. "It's Devon. He...he texted me in the middle of the night. I didn't see it until I woke up this morning. He told me his family is moving,and he's go...going to another school. In another to...town. He said we wouldn't be able to see each other any...anymore. I tried to text him and call him back, but it said the number was no longer in...service. He just blew out of town, sent me one last quick text while I was asleep, then fucking ghosted me!!!" She started crying harder than ever, her entire body shaking.

Jessi looked at a few stragglers who stood in the hall watching the spectacle. Jessi glared at them until they moved on, then reached out and put a hand on Devin's trembling shoulder. "Oh my god, Devin, I am SO sorry. Really. That's awful. I can't believe he'd just cut you off like that. That fucking sucks."

Devin finally looked up. What little Jessi could see of her face through her hair was red and wet with tears. " I can't BELIEVE it!!! I've known him since fucking KINDERGARTEN, him and Lola both!!! We've had our ups and downs, and yeah, maybe I could have been a little nicer to him, but it goes both ways. He's cheated on me, but I've always been faithful to him, and always took him back, then he just totally moves away and changes his number!!! Boys are fucking TRASH, Jessi!!!" She put her head back down and started crying again, along with some hiccups.

Jessi shook her head. " I agree completely, they are. But don't beat yourself up. He's not worth it. You're hurting now, but you'll heal. As long as you didn't do anything you'll carry the rest of your life. I mean, you and Devon never... I mean, you two didn't..."

Devin looked up again and gave a rueful snort. "Of COURSE not, we're KIDS!!! I'm still a virgin. Of course. I mean, Devon WANTED to, I could tell. He also wanted me to give him that handjob, but of course I refused to. And despite him claiming to break up with me cause I'm a bitch, which of course I AM, I think it was definitely because of that. Like I would never play by his rules. He used to get mad when I would pull away when he tried touching my boobs or groping my ass. Then try and make me feel bad about it."

Now Jessi had never been close to Devin. In fact she had barely talked to her the past year, except in the locker room. And it was true she could be a bitch. A MAJOR one in fact. It seemed like Devin made it her mission to make other girl's miserable, or make them feel ashamed about their bodies or life choices. But now, looking at her, Jessi actually felt sorry for her. And she could tell Devin was telling the truth about all of this. She was no psychic or witch, of course. She just KNEW.

"Oh, Devin. I'm sorry. Really." She scooted closer and pulled Devin into a hug. She half expected Devin to snap at her or try pulling away, but was surprised when she slowly returned the hug.

After about a minute they pulled apart. Devin pushed some of her hair out of her face as she wiped her eyes. "Thanks Jessi. Look... I'm really terrible at these kinds of things. I mean, it's not something I do often, but... I'm sorry, ok? For everything I've done or said that made you uncomfortable or hurt you. Like when i gave you shit about your leg hair. It was a bitchy thing to do. I'm... I'm just sorry. "

Jessi nodded. "It's ok. I forgive you. I have other things to worry about than leg hair. Having a baby sister kinda makes your other problems pale in comparison. "

Devin laughed lightly and wiped her face again. "Having a sister isn't so bad. My little sister is cool. Kinda annoying sometimes, but I love her. Thanks again, Jessi. And again, I'm sorry. You should get to class. I need a little time to clear my head, but I'll get to class later."

Jessi nodded. "Ok. See you later, Devin."

As Jessi walked away, on her way to class, she once again pulled out her phone to see if Andrew had called or texted back. As she had half expected, nothing. She decided to send one more text. Going to Messages she typed in her text: [Andrew, you're worrying me to death. Where are you? Did you go home when you left school? Did you call your mom to pick you up? Are you safe? Please, just text me when you get this, just let me know you're ok!!!]

She sent the text and put it back in her pocket. As she headed into class and sat down, her head spun. Both from the weed, and the gummy, which was really kicking in now, and from her troubled thoughts. She hoped Nick and Missy were doing ok. She hadn't heard from THEM all day either. But she knew Nick was safe at his own school, and Missy was at home, having her first day of homeschooling.

She started feeling drowsy. 'Maybe I shouldn't have smoked so much', she thought. She saw the teacher in front of the class, giving some boring lecture on the Battle Of Wounded Knee. She could barely tune in to a word he said. She was so sleepy. She was sure the teacher wouldn't notice if she put her head down. Most of the other students were barely listening either. She saw a couple were reading magazines stuffed inside their history books to make it look like they were reading along. No way anybody would notice.

Jessi propped her arms on her desk and buried her head in them. The teacher's voice faded to a dull buzz. As she slowly drifted off, her thoughts turned once more to Andrew. 'Damn it Andrew, where are you? Why won't you answer? Why are you doing this to me?'

Devin's POV

After Jessi walked off, Devin sat on the floor for a few more minutes, still lost in thought, still crying, although not as hard as before.

She thought about what Jessi had said. She knew she was probably right: Devon probably wasn't worth the tears, her racing heart,her troubled thoughts. And certainly not worth all the chances she had given him.

Still, she couldn't get over all the years she had wasted on him. Like she had told Jessi, she had met Devon and Lola in kindergarten. Believe it or not, Devin had actually used to be very shy. Devon and Lola had helped bring her out of her shell by hanging out with her at lunch, and the three had become best of friends, and Devin and Devon had later started dating.

But while Devin herself was known to have a mean streak, only Devin herself had known the sinister side of Devon. It was true, as she had said, that Devon had been unfaithful. Even back in kindergarten and elementary school she had caught him flirting with other girls, and even caught him kissing other girls more than once. But try as she might, she could never bring herself to break up with him permanently. Every time she had found herself taking him back after he had showered her with gifts and countless apologies, every time swearing he had changed and wouldn't hurt her again.

This was probably also the reason for Devin's hostilities towards her fellow female students. Given Devon's habit of cheating, Devin had learned to take even a glance from Devon at another girl as a sign of unfaithfulness. And given that middle school was a HIVE of raging hormones, she knew she wasn't the ONLY one trying to hold onto her partner: Bridgeton Middle had been a hotbed of heartbreaks left and right, with some formerly lovestruck Romeo leaving his Juliet for some painted and powdered Jezebel, and vice versa.

So why did Devin act like she was the ONLY victim, and take her anger out on other girls, even ones Devon hadn't glanced at? She didn't know exactly. Perhaps because she thought he MIGHT secretly lust for one of them,and, while she should have been angry at Devon, simply took her rage out on the girls? She had certainly done so to Gina, after Devon had unceremoniously dumped her to go after Gina. Then again, she DID have the biggest boobs in school at the time, and Devon, being a boy, probably couldn't help but be transfixed. Devin had been devastated, but instead of simply grieving, had of course taken her anger out on Gina, which came to a head at the sleepover, when she had called Gina a slut to her face. Devin had been totally unprepared when Gina had attacked her in front of the other students, and was honestly still a bit afraid of Gina, although she would never admit it. Besides, looking back, she had to admit she had probably deserved it for getting mad at HER instead of Devon's philandering ass.

Then, on Valentine's Day, Devon had proposed to her. She had been shocked, but had eagerly accepted. But even then, she had still had doubts. When the boys had made lists ranking the hottest girls in school, Devin had been understandably nervous, which had been proven correct when Ali had thrown the school into chaos by announcing she was pansexual. All boys, including Devon, had made lists,and on his was his "ex", Gina. But in the end she had gone through with the marriage. Not an OFFICIAL one of course, just a pretend one, with Lars as minister. Devon had given her his grandmother's ring for her wedding ring, which she still kept at home. At least she had one memory.

But then the problems only got worse. As Devin had told Jessi, Devon had kept pressuring her for the handjob, among other things she wasn't emotionally or physically ready for. She had tried to rebuff him gently, but he'd kept pushing her. Then on a field trip, she'd caught him flirting with Missy. While she shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, her past experiences with Devon had immediately made her despise Missy, and partly to ward off Missy, and partly to spite Devon, she had made some snarky comments to Missy, which she now regretted. Only a day or so after, Devon had filed for "divorce ", on the grounds of her being "mean ", but as she had told Jessi, it was probably due to her being a prude, not wanting to do anything she wasn't comfortable with. And sure enough, Devon had immediately started hanging with Missy, and openly flirting...until he had noticed Missy's acne outbreak, and immediately stopped talking to her altogether. Shallow much? And soon after he'd come crawling back to Devin, showering her with the usual expensive gifts and countless apologies. And like the idiot she was, she'd taken him back AGAIN.

WHY? Why did she keep taking back a liar and cheater? To be honest, even she didn't know. Perhaps it was because at heart, she was STILL shy and bashful, even though she tried to maintain her facade as an aloof, popular, unapproachable girl with a mile-wide mean streak. But also, being neglected by her own parents had given her a sense of loneliness that, coupled with Devon's cheating that gave her low self-esteem, made her feel like she couldn't do better.

Indeed, although Devin came from a moderately wealthy family, her parents, a couple of high-rollers, were usually too busy at their jobs, or going to lavish parties, auctions and charity functions to spend much time with Devin or her little sister, Jamie. Sure,they might occasionally give them an expensive gift now and then, or give Devin money to spend for her own amusement, but surely it wouldn't kill them to ask how her day was,or sit down for a regular family meal other than every other Thanksgiving or Christmas? Perhaps, she mused, this was why she sought the attention of her fellow students so fervently, to fill the void her parents neglect had left.

Devin sighed and shook her head. She stood up, pushed the rest of the hair out of her face, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. After taking a few deep breaths, she scanned the hall. Everybody had gone to class. Despite what she had told Jessi, she didn't feel like going to class. She needed more time to clear her head. She looked at the row of doors in the hall. Mostly classrooms, and boys and girls bathrooms. Finally she saw a room marked Music Room. The light was on,but it seemed deserted. She pushed open the door and walked in. As expected, the room was filled with many different instruments, some arranged neatly on the tables, others lying on the ground. Speakers of various sizes were set up around the room, with jacks to plug in guitars and other instruments. She saw the chairs set up around the small stage in the corner and sat down. She rested her elbows on her knees and put her head on her hands and sighed. So much to think about. She had so many emotions now. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. Anxiety. She had heard about the Anxiety Mosquito and Depression Kitty. She had never met them. YET. But at this point she'd welcome the company. She was all alone now. Alone...

Just then the door opened. Devin jumped slightly and looked up. A boy stood in the doorway. She recognized him, even though she didn't know his name. He had gone to Bridgeton Middle, and had transferred with her and the others to Bridgeton High. He had long black hair, sort of pale skin, and gray-green eyes. He played on the basketball team, and was in the canceled Disclosure musical last year. Devin noticed he tended to wear black, like a goth. Today he wore black jeans, and a gray shirt with a white X. He had a guitar strapped to his back. Seeing Devin, he laughed in an embarrassed sort of way.

"Oh. Sorry. I thought this room was deserted today. There's no music class today, but I gotta practice. I'm doing a guitar solo for the talent show. "

Devin started to get up. "Oh, ok. Sorry, I'll go find another room where I can..."

The boy took the guitar off his back as he walked up to the speakers to plug in his guitar. "No, it's ok, you're not bothering me. I'd prefer some company anyway. You can tell me if I'm doing good. Please. Stay. "

Devin didn't know what made her decide to stay, but she sat down with a sigh as the boy plugged in his guitar and strapped it over his shoulder. As he tuned the strings her turned to Devin and smiled. "Hey, is everything ok? You look sad. And kinda mad. But mostly sad."

Devin would have probably usually snapped at the boy, but today she felt like that text this morning, and the tsunami of emotions after had completely washed away the old Devin. All her usual anger and bitterness was gone. Now there was just a smoking crater where her heart had been. She still felt like she would burst back into tears at any moment.

She sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "No. I'm NOT ok. Not at all. But I don't want to talk about it. But... please, play. I just need to hear something. ANYTHING. Anything but my own thoughts. Play. I'll tell you what I think." She said the last part with as much of a smile as she could muster.

The boy shrugged and started strumming on his guitar as Devin listened. Devin also occasionally practiced guitar on one of her dad's many vintage guitars he kept in the den, with his collection of at least a thousand vinyl albums and CDs of classic rock and metal bands. He had just about every album from the greats: AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, White Zombie, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Slayer, Alice In Chains, Pantera. Devin loved to sit in the den and blast one of his many albums whenever her parents were out of the house, and would practice some of the songs on one of his guitars. Over the past few years she had gotten pretty good, from both guitar lessons on YouTube, as well as relentless practice on her own.

Devin couldn't help but laugh that most people would expect her to be a fan of that pop bullshit most kids her age were obsessed with. But she had been practically raised on hard rock and metal, and in her younger years her parents had taken her to a couple concerts before they got too busy with business and self-indulgence. Devin actually secretly dreamed of having her own band one day. But just like present, attentive parents or a faithful boyfriend, that was probably just a pipe dream as well.

Devin looked up. She recognized the song the boy was playing. "Hey, Sweating Bullets by Megadeth. Awesome song", she said.

The boy paused playing and turned to her. He looked surprised. "You're a fan? Wow. I didn't think...well, I mean..."

Devin laughed. Her first real laugh that day. "What? You thought I listen to Miley or Taylor or shit like that? No. You obviously don't know my dad. He loves all those big metal bands. I grew up on them. My sister likes them too. I sometimes play his guitars when my parents aren't around. "

The boy smiled. He still looked shocked that Devin was familiar with the music he was playing, but also pleased. He gestured to the guitars in the corner. "Are you good?"

Devin laughed again and stood up. "Am I GOOD? Well, let me show you. " She looked at the guitars on the table, trying to find the best one. Finally she found one like the one the boy was playing. In fact, it was the same model as her dad's best and favorite, the one Devin usually practiced on. She picked it up and carried it over to the speaker the boy was using and plugged it in. Slinging it over her shoulder, she tuned the strings. She smiled at the boy. "Watch this", she said. She quickly strummed the chords of the same song. Perfectly, note for note. The boy looked even more surprised, but smiled.

"Wow, amazing. Just like Mustaine himself. You, um, you wanna jam together? Can you sing too? You know the words?"

Devin laughed. "Please. Like the back of my hand. Let's go. "

So they started the song from the beginning. After playing the opening riff together, Devin started singing the vocals, deepening her voice as best as she could to sound like Dave Mustaine.

"Hello me, meet the real me and my misfit's way of life

A dark, black past is my most valued possession

Hindsight is always 20-20

But looking back, it's still a bit fuzzy

Speak of mutually assured destruction?

Nice story, tell it to Reader's Digest!

Feeling paranoid, true enemy or false friend?

Anxiety's attacking me and my air is getting thin

I'm in trouble for the things, I haven't got to yet

I'm chomping at the bit and my palms are getting wet

Sweating bullets!!!"

The boy laughed and gave her a thumbs up as he continued playing, and joined in on the next verse. They covered the entire song together, taking turns singing the lead. They finished the final chorus together, then relaxed the guitars on their shoulders and turned to each other.

"Wow. Just wow. That was AMAZING.", the boy said. "Where did you learn to play like that? And also, that voice. You're awesome. "

Devin smiled. "Like I said, my dad has almost every album by these bands. I grew up on them. I practice all the time. Sometimes I watch tutorials, sometimes I just practice on my own. And I've been practicing my vocals a lot. I know I can't hit a great metal growl yet, but hopefully one day. When I'm older. I only turned 14 last month. Maybe my voice will hit a growth spurt next year"

The boy laughed. "Nah. I like your voice the way it is. You're Devin, right?" She nodded. "Yeah. It's too bad we never hung out at Bridgeton Middle. If I knew you were a fellow metalhead I'd have jammed with you sooner. I'm Damon, by the way. "

Devin smiled and they shook hands. He was cute, she noticed, although at the moment her interest in boys, at least romantically, was at a low ebb. 'Permanently low', she thought.

Damon smiled. "Hey, you know, I WAS planning on just doing a guitar solo for the talent show, just me, but now... I don't know, would you maybe... I don't know...want to play...together?"

Devin was shocked. She'd only just been wishing she'd have her own band one day. Now here was her chance. Her first step at that happening. But suddenly, the thought of playing in front of hundreds of students and teachers made her nervous. What if she got stage fright and choked? What if she messed up because she was so nervous? What if nobody WANTED to hear her play because of her past actions? So many things that could go wrong...

As if sensing her nervousness, Damon smiled in a reassuring way. "Hey, if you don't want to, no pressure. But you have real talent, Devin. I've never met anybody else who could keep up with me, or cover Megadeth so well. In fact I never met a GIRL who could do those things. But you shouldn't be nervous. You won't be doing it for THEM, if you choose to. Like me, you'd be doing it because you CAN. Because you're good at it. Because you ENJOY it. "

Devin was both touched and motivated by his words. She was still nervous, but his words of encouragement had sparked a fire in her. She was honestly tired of being only known as the mean, popular girl, known only for her looks, wealth and social status. She knew none of those sycophants who paid her compliments at school or followed her on social media were her REAL friends. Even Lola only hung out with her because she hoped Devin's popularity would rub off on her. But she was crazy anyway. Devin needed a new image. She needed a talent. A real life. Real friends. This was her shot. Maybe her ONLY one.

She nodded. "Ok. Let's do it. "

Damon smiled. "Awesome!!! The talent show is still a month or so away, so we have plenty of time to practice. If you want, I have an extra guitar at home, I could bring it tomorrow and..."

Devin shook her head. "No that's ok, I can borrow my dad's. He probably won't even notice. I'm more familiar with his. To be honest it felt weird playing this one. I'll also bring one of his albums and we can practice. I'll return them to the den when I get home before he even knows they're gone. He'll be none the wiser."

"Awesome", Damon said again. "I'll bring some of MY dad's records too. We can practice here every day. I also have a couple of guitar picks. Good stainless steel. My dad got them years ago when he worked as a roadie. I'll give you one. How about we jam a bit more right now? If somebody comes looking for you,I'll just tell them you planned to practice with me but forgot to tell the teachers. I'll sign us both up later. Cancel the one-man show and add us both."

Devin smiled. "Sounds awesome. I think I'm going to like working with you. "

He smiled back. "Same. Now, let's try a different song. Think you can do Enter Sandman?"

Devin laughed. "Can't be too hard."

So for the last hour of school they practiced, shredding their guitars like a couple of pros. A few students passing by on their way to next class watched from the door window. Devin saw them and smiled. It was a relief to finally be noticed for something other than her looks or social media status. She enjoyed it, but not in an egotistical way. 'That Devin is GONE', she vowed. 'She died when Devon left. This girl standing here is a new Devin. Like a phoenix from the ash, like Christ rising from the tomb, I live again. But as a new me, a BETTER me. And I am going to love every second of it.' She smiled. Things were definitely turning around. Maybe high school wouldn't be so bad after all...

Andrew G's POV

By the time Andrew had gotten to school that morning, all his anger from yesterday, all the rage that had been boiling inside him after the events at Nick's, and from his fight with Maury, immediately disappeared, to be replaced by dread upon seeing the school building, and the parking lot where he had had half his life pounded out of him yesterday by Pumbaa's meaty fists. His eye still throbbed, and he was pretty sure one of his teeth had been knocked loose, it had felt wobbly when he'd brushed his teeth last night.

As he stood outside the school, watching the other students walk in without a care in the world, laughing, shoving, goofing off, the couples holding hands and snogging, he scanned the sea of students for Pumbaa. He was certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Pumbaa was waiting for him. No way the brute was through with him yet. Maury himself had said that Pumbaa most likely intended to kick the shit out of Andrew for the entire school year.

Andrew stared at the school, his heart starting to race, his palms sweating. He suddenly felt short of breath. 'I can't do it. I can't go in there. Pumbaa will surely try to beat me up again the second he sees me. Everybody saw it yesterday. And Nick surely told everybody about that whole scene in his room. They all think I'm a creep, a weirdo. A loser. Fuck it. I'm outta here. '

Without another look, he turned around and ran in the opposite direction, away from the school. He didn't know where he was going, or even care. He just knew he needed to put as much distance between himself and that terrifying place and all those horrible people as possible.

But where could he go? He knew he couldn't call his parents to pick him up. His dad would definitely be angry and tell him to get his ass back to school. And while his mom might be sympathetic, in the end she would cave to his dad, like always. He also couldn't use an Uber without them knowing, because his dad looked over every transaction on the credit cards. He'd definitely get nailed. What to do? Where to go?

After running for several minutes, he stopped, taking a deep breath. He rubbed his sore legs. 'Oh man, I have GOT to get into shape', he thought. He took a few more breaths and looked around. He had run even further than he thought. Up ahead was the shopping center. The mall loomed up over the other buildings, beckoning to him like a lighthouse in a stormy sea. The mall!!! Yes. He could while away the hours in the different stores there. Window shop, glance at a few naughty magazines, play demos of video games he could never afford, and of course check out the hotties shopping at Veronica's Closet. He felt better already. Making sure to look both ways, he dashed across the street into the shopping center and soon reached this wonderful place of refuge. He entered through the Sears side and walked through the store until he reached the exit into the main lobby.

Where to first? Andrew scanned the rows of stores, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the bustling crowd. He was nervous that somebody would ask why he wasn't in school, but luckily most everybody was busy looking at or talking on their phones, or jumping from store to store, or looking through their purchases. A few kids were there, but mostly preschool or kindergarten age, and most were being shepherded by their parents, some crying or whining. Some people sat at tables or benches eating meals from one of the food stores. Nobody seemed to even notice him, for which he was thankful.

He decided to go to the Gamestop first and check out the new games, even though he'd never be able to afford any. The free games on Steam were the only ones he'd ever be able to play. Still, just looking couldn't hurt. Maybe they'd even have some demos he could play.

So for the first half hour he went to the Gamestop, browsing the many games on display. Lots of anime or JRPG games, with many hot babes in revealing armor and schoolgirl skirts or dresses. Naturally he felt himself getting horny. After silently promising his impending erection he would handle it later, he glanced through one of the Game Informer magazines. Apparently the next Hooker Killer was expected this year.

Suddenly he felt his phone buzz. Putting down the magazine he pulled out his phone. He panicked. Who was calling? Was it his dad? Had the school called his parents and told them he hadn't shown up? Was it the school calling to suspend or expel him?

But luckily when he looked at the screen, the caller ID showed it was only Jessi. But he was still surprised. Why would Jessi be calling? She was in school, probably with her cool new "friends", probably too busy to care about poor old Andrew. Still, he reminded himself, Jessi was probably the ONLY one of his friends who hadn't wronged him. Nick. Missy. Jay. Matthew. Lola. They all treated him like crap. All treated him like something nasty they had stepped in and were embarrassed to track him wherever they tred. Jessi, however, had always been loyal. Even though she didn't hang with him as much as she did the others, at least she didn't insult, use, lie, coerce, or generally condescend towards him like the others,or pretty much every other fucking student at school.

Andrew remembered last year, the day Jessi had had her first period during the school trip to the Statue Of Liberty. She had been extremely embarrassed and run into the bathroom. When she told Andrew, he, wanting to help, had brought her a souvenir towel to soak up the blood, and wear around her waist to hide the stains on her white shorts. She had been so grateful she had hugged him. Andrew still remembered the smell of her hair. Like strawberries.That day seemed a lifetime ago, even though it had only been last year.

An odd effect of Jessi was that she somehow seemed to bring out the good in people, even if they didn't see it themselves. Andrew remembered last year, after that awful breakup with Lola, how Lola had turned him into a pariah at the school. To make himself feel better, Andrew had almost let Jay's dad turn him into Pimp Of The Month. During his speech, Jessi had come to visit her dad who was trying to move into Guy Town. Seeing Jessi, Andrew had felt remorse for his actions and told the truth. Something about her presence had made Andrew admit how becoming an outcast among his fellow schoolmates had made him feel.

Could she really help him NOW? Would talking to her, admitting the fear and anxiety and anger and confusion he felt now, really help? Would she once again be the Deus Ex Machina that would once again save him from himself?

Andrew stared at her name as the phone continued to ring. All he had to do was answer the phone, hear her voice, and he could tell her about all the things haunting him. Things he couldn't even tell Maury, who had kept his promise and not bothered him all morning, for which Andrew was grateful.

Yet for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to answer. Perhaps it was leftover anger from the events yesterday. Perhaps it was just anxiety from running from school, or perhaps he was too embarrassed to talk to her after she saw Pumbaa beat his ass. Whatever the reason, he just couldn't bring himself to swipe the Answer button.

Finally, the call ended. Just as he was about to put his phone away, it buzzed again. It was her again!! Should he answer now? Was she going to keep calling until he answered? Was she angry that he hadn't answered? What if she was in trouble and needed his help? What if Pumbaa was taking his anger out on her and the others?

Once again though, he couldn't bring himself to answer. He stared at the screen until the call ended. He felt terrible. Like such a shitty friend. The only person nice enough to call and check on him, and he was too chickenshit too answer the goddamn phone!!! He hung his head in shame. She would surely be pissed at him now. Probably hated him. Just like his dad. Just like Maury. Just like Nick. Like Pumbaa. Timon. Missy. Bernie. Marissa and Priya. The whole world hated Andrew Glouberman.

The phone buzzed again. He looked at it. This time it was a text. He looked at it. He gasped. Jessi had SEEN him run from the school. He was shocked. He'd been so frightened and anxious he hadn't even seen her. She said was was worried and just wanted to make sure he was ok.

He sighed. Now he felt even worse. She simply wanted to make sure he was safe, and he was totally blowing her off. He should at least text her back if he couldn't call. But what could he say? Could he really bring himself to tell her he was too scared to show his face? That he was afraid of being beaten up again? That he was certain the whole school hated him? That he felt betrayed by everybody?

He shook his head and put the phone back in his pocket. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't talk to her right now, or to anybody. He just needed time to think, to clear his head. Maybe he'd call or text her later. MAYBE.

He left the game store and walked around the rest of the mall. He stopped by the bookstore, and glanced through a few naughty magazines, being careful to avoid prying eyes. After stopping by the bathroom to take care of "business ", he checked the tech store, and looked at the new model of the Apple Brooch, and contemplated swiping one, but, knowing he didn't need another strike on his record, he left the store and headed to the food court. At least a cup of water was free.

No sooner had he sat down than his phone buzzed again. Sipping his cup of ice water, he pulled it out. Another text from Jessi!! She was relentless!!! She asked if he was home, if he had asked his mom to pick him up. He had to laugh at that. No way his mother could pick him up without his dad knowing, and they would both get an earful. But what struck him most was her saying he was "worrying her to death." At least she was concerned about him.

This time he was sorely tempted to text back. But what could he say? He thought about at least telling her he was ok, that he was only at the mall,and that he missed her today.

But before he could start texting, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and gasped. It couldn't be... No. Was it? He got up and looked. Yes. It WAS. No doubt about it. He put the phone in his pocket and followed, his heart hammering with rage again.

He practically dashed into the store and walked up to him. "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but here you are. Andrew, or so you call yourself!!!"

Andrew K turned around and groaned. "Oh no. Of course. I go to the mall to Spencer's Gifts to pick out a present for my cousin, and what do I find? Andrew Glouberman, the drama queen from yesterday. "

Andrew G growled. " I am NOT a drama queen!! I'm just a sensitive, gross pervert who loves my friend, and doesn't want to see him get hurt."

Andrew K frowned. " I'd never hurt Nick. In fact, him and I had fun at school today. As a matter of fact, neither of us thought about the Sad Boys Club once today. I'm good for him. We're good for each other. "

"Oh? You're GOOD for him? Then tell me, Andrew KENT ", Andrew G said, putting as much venom into the last name as possible ", tell me, what is Nick's favorite color? What was his childhood nickname? Do you know who his first kiss was? His sister's name? His mother's name? His favorite basketball team? Do you know ANYTHING about him?"

Andrew K laughed. "Wow. There really is nothing sadder than a jealous former best friend. I don't NEED to know those things, Andrew. I have charm. And charisma. And, I must add, self-control. I can tell you didn't wash your hands thoroughly after milking your snake. Your palms still have some dried glaze."

Andrew G looked at his hands in embarrassment. He was right. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as Andrew K tsk-tsked.

Wanting to save face, Andrew G rolled his eyes as he replied. "Oh please, like YOU'VE never jerked off in a mall bathroom!!!"

Andrew K laughed. "Oh yeah. PLENTY of times. And the school bathroom. And Walmart and K-Mart, AND SaveMart. Everywhere. But at least I'm discreet, and clean up better. There's a difference between a discreet, clean, MASTER pervert, and a reckless, filthy, bumbling pervert. That's the difference between us, Glouberman. "

Andrew G growled again. What he wouldn't give to annihilate this arrogant schmendrick right here, right now. To wipe that annoying smirk off his admittedly handsome face, break those way better, probably more expensive glasses.

Instead he growled again and replied. "Oh, so you think YOU'RE a better pervert than ME?!! Dream on. You're buying a gift for your cousin? Big deal. I KISSED my cousin, AND sent her a dick pic. I bet you've never even taken a BATH with your cousin, or even jerked off to her!!!"

Andrew K laughed. "HIM. My cousin is a boy. And no, Andrew, I haven't. Wow. Just wow. You really have issues. Look, for what it's worth, I'm not STEALING Nick from you. You're right, I barely know him. I just like seeing you squirm. It's fun. If you ask me, there's only one way to settle this. A way I'm sure you'll like. A contest. To see who is truly the better pervert. We'll go around, doing the grossest, most depraved things our twisted minds can conjure up. Nothing is off the table. And at the end, we'll see who is truly the most disgusting, most depraved Andrew of the two of us."

Andrew G thought about it, and smiled. "Ah. I see. A gross pervert contest. No guilt. No shame. No-holds-barred? Yeah. I could do that. So like, what do you propose? Over the weekend? Next week? A month from now? When?"

Andrew K smiled. "This weekend is good. Tomorrow is the birthday, right after school. My mom picked me up early from school today cause she had to do some shopping too. And the rest of the week I got homework. I'll hit you up Friday and we can go over the details a bit. Here, let me give you my number. "

The two boys swapped numbers and put their phones back in their pocket. Then they stood for a few seconds staring each other down. Finally Andrew G spoke.

"Ok. It's on. This weekend, Andrew Kent, we'll start the contest. But I'm warning you, you challenged the wrong Andrew. NOBODY can outperv Andrew Glouberman!!! I once soaked my entire collection of socks and underwear, and got arrested because they found them in a dumpster with a dead body!!!"

Andrew K laughed. "Yeah, Nick told me today. But don't get cocky, unless you're jerking off. I have PLENTY of tricks up my own sleeve. But now, I really DO have to shop. But I'll text you on Friday. "

The two shook hands real quick, then Andrew K turned around and resumed browsing the shelves for the perfect gift. Andrew G turned around and exited the store. He decided to leave the mall and start heading home. He was so distracted with thoughts about the upcoming contest, he forgot all about the last text from Jessi.

Missy's POV

Missy had always loved learning, had always looked forward to class. But as it turned out, homeschooling was WAY different from normal school, and nowhere near as fun. First of all, of course, her friends weren't there. Second, although she was sitting in her living room, on the comfortable couch, with all the food she could want within reach,with the air conditioner set to a comfortable temperature, it felt more like a cage. Because she wasn't here to sit down and watch tv, or play a fun board game. She was here to learn, to do work she'd normally do in a hard plastic desk, in a stuffy classroom with poor AC, surrounded by noisy classmates who didn't wear deodorant. As she quickly learned within the first hour of her first day of homeschooling, home and class DIDN'T mix, and now she believed she should be committed for thinking they WOULD.

A teacher had dropped off all the assignments and textbooks before Missy had woken up. As soon as Missy had showered, eaten, and brushed her teeth, her parents had sat her down and made her get to work. The teacher had taken the liberty of marking the assigned pages, and her parents had read her the pages and quizzed her about the chapters, and she had had to do the assigned essays. Normally this would have been easy, regular schoolwork, but being in her own living room, with the TV just within reach, not to mention her phone on the table beside her, was so distracting she had trouble focusing. Mona had nodded off beside her on the couch. Missy herself felt drowsy from boredom, and more than once had to fight herself to avoid dozing off. Next she had to write a report on the history book. Luckily her parents had decided, around 2:30 in the afternoon, to let her take a break. Missy practically bolted from the couch to grab a snack and a bottle of water. When she got back into the living room, Mona was awake and looking at her phone. Missy grabbed her own to check for texts or calls from her friends. Her heart flopped when she saw there were ZERO.

She sat down beside Mona. "This is so BORING, Mona!! What was I thinking??! I thought homeschooling would be fun, but it's torture!!! I can't watch tv, I can't play on my phone, and worst of all, my friends are probably doing all kinds of cool stuff while I rot in the living room!!!"

Mona shook her head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know, darling, but what can you do? School sucks no matter what. At least HUMAN school. At least your parents are nicer than other teachers. They wouldn't flunk their own daughter, no matter how bad you do."

Missy groaned. "You're missing the point, Mona!! I miss my friends, I miss being in a class. I miss PE. I... I made a mistake, Mona!!! I don't...I don't think I can DO this!!!!" Missy felt her heartbeat quicken and felt that familiar shortness of breath. She struggled to get it under control. She definitely didn't need Dread to show its ugly, slimy face again.

Mona squeezed Missy's shoulder more tightly. "Missy, please, calm down. It's only your first day. You gotta give it a chance. I know you miss your friends, but they haven't forgotten you, I promise. You're not in prison, you can visit them when they get out of school, or just text them. You just need something to distract yourself for now." She took her hand off Missy's shoulder and sat for a moment, thinking. Then she smiled and stood up.

"Hey, I know. You said you're excited to play some of your dad's video games? Well, until he gets time to dig them out, how about me and you play a game? You ever play chess? My friend Jose taught me how to play a while back when I was sick."

Missy laughed. "I didn't know monsters could get sick. I didn't even know you played human games. " She thought. "I've never actually played chess. I think we have a chessboard somewhere in here."

They searched the shelves in the living room until Missy found the box of chess, and her and Mona set up the board. Missy knew they had time to play: her parents had retreated to the garden. They were gardening fanatics, growing most of the vegetarian food they ate themselves. They could stay out there for hours, watering, planting and harvesting. Her dad swore up and down that the bra he used was for the radishes, but Missy had her doubts. She vowed one day she would catch her dad wearing it, and use it as blackmail to get him to buy her a car when she was old enough to drive.

Mona explained the rules to Missy, remembering how Jose explained the moves of every chess piece. They played for the next half hour. Mona easily won the first round, although she let Missy make a few moves out of mercy. Missy got surprisingly better the second round, even winning a few pieces,but still lost the game. Missy, however, was never a quitter, and proposed one more. Sure enough, using her great memory and ability to read people's moves, was even better in the third round, this time winning one each of Mona's rooks and bishops in addition to pawns. Just when it was coming down to a tie, she heard the backyard door open, and, knowing her parents were coming, her and Mona quickly packed up the board and returned it to the shelf just as her parents walked in.

"Hey Firefly, you ready for some more studying?", asked her father Cyrus, taking off his gardening gloves and tossing them on the table.

Missy put on the biggest smile she could muster. "Sure, dad. Just, uh, let me get another drink then we'll get back to it. "

Cyrus laughed. "Cool. A drink of water sounds good to me too. All that yardwork built up an appetite too. Me and your mom are gonna have a quick snack, then we'll get back to it. "

"Ok dad, sounds great", Missy said. Then, when they had disappeared into the kitchen, sighed miserably. She turned to Mona. "Well, I guess it's back to it. "

Mona nodded. "I think I'll just go back to my place for a bit. It's time for MY lunch too. The cafeteria is usually packed. Hope I can find a seat. Call me if you need me, darling. "

As Mona turned, before she could disappear, Missy asked: "Hey, Mona, that friend of yours, Jose, do you still play with him?"

Mona turned back around, a thoughtful expression on her face. She shook her head. "No, just for those few days I was ill. But I really think I should again. He seems lonely. I think I'll hit him up at lunch. Maybe we can play at my place once it's finished being repaired. Let's just say I had a party there that got out of hand. I'll ask him if he wants to play sometime. I'll also tell him I have an apprentice of my own now who's getting pretty good. " She nudged Missy under the chin, smiled, then disappeared.

With another sigh, Missy sat down just as her parents re-entered. Setting the bowls of snacks down, they sat themselves down in the chairs and picked up the books. Her mom smiled. "You ready, hun?"

Missy nodded, trying to hide her anxiety. "Yeah mom. I'm ready."

Her dad smiled. He could always tell when she was anxious. "Tell you what, Firefly. Let's just do one more hour of studying, then, before dinner, we'll go to the garage and look for those video game consoles, and we'll hook them up, and you can play before bed. Sound good?"

Her mother turned to face him. "TODAY? But Cyrus, you said we would wait until the weekend to get the games out! If we let Missy start playing video games now, she might be too distracted to..."

Her dad laughed. "It's ok, Monica. If Missy is anything like me, she has enough attention for work AND relaxing. Besides, I played a lot myself as a kid. It's a great way to blow off steam, AND video games are great for teaching eye-hand coordination and reflexes. We'll start off by giving her a half hour, then an hour and so on until we know it's not interfering with her schoolwork. " He turned to Missy and smiled." Sound good, Firefly?"

Missy smiled. The thought of getting to try the games her dad had grown up on filled with with excitement, and gave her something to look forward. She finally felt more relaxed. That excitement gave her enough strength to continue her lessons, to push through them. She could do this. "Yeah dad, sounds great. It won't distract me. I promise. "

Her dad smiled. "Great! Now let's see, where were we...

Nick's POV

Before Nick got in the car that morning, he gathered the lists he had made the night before. He put them in his backpack. He planned to set out immediately after school. He had quite a few stops to make. He felt nervous. He didn't know how well some of these apologies would go. But he had made up his mind. He had to go through with it.

Behind him, Rick walked towards him, leaning on his cane. He coughed loudly. Nick turned to him.

Rick coughed again, harder and longer than before. "Nick, I gotta go home, man. I haven't been feeling too well. Just for a bit, man."

Nick looked at his Hormone Monster. He DID look a bit worse than usual, which was certainly saying something. He looked paler, and skinnier than usual. His one good eye was bloodshot, and his nose was also red and wet with snot. He also hadn't been his usual exuberant if eccentric self lately.

Nick sighed and nodded. "Ok. You go, Rick. I'm gonna be busy this afternoon. I got places to go, people to see. I gotta go. Hope you feel better. "

Rick disappeared, and Nick walked out of his room and headed downstairs. If only he had known the news he would receive later, he would have stayed and talked to Rick longer, to comfort him. But of course Nick had his own problems, and his head swam with both the thought of another long day of school, and his mission right after.

He climbed into the car, and was silent the whole ride as his mother drove him to school. As they pulled into the parking lot of Cobblestones, Nick wished his mother a good day and got out of the car. A second later she drove off, and Nick headed into the building. Students stood by the lockers, talking, laughing, clowning off. Nick's heart stopped as he saw Danni with Travis and her other friends. His heart still ached from their encounter yesterday. He wished he could go back in time and either do things differently, or avoid the whole Danni sitch completely. He was tempted to go and say hi, but he had decided to respect her wishes and keep his distance.

He instead looked for Andrew K. He finally saw him, standing alone by his locker. He walked over and greeted him.

"Hey Nick, how's it going?", he said. "I'm going to be leaving a bit early today. My mom is going to the mall, and I have to go with her to get a gift for my cousin's birthday party tomorrow. But we can sit together in English and have lunch. "

Nick nodded. "Sounds good. Right after school I'm going to go do those apologies. I brought the lists with me. I'm kind of nervous about this", he admitted.

Andrew K smiled. "You'll feel better once you start doing it. Trust me." He saw Nick looking over at Danni. "Things still weird between you guys?", he asked.

Nick sighed. "It just feels like every relationship or friendship I have always blows up in my face. Andrew hasn't even texted me all morning. He probably hates me."

Andrew K shook his head. "Just give him time. He'll come around. Especially once you guys apologize to each other. You still saving him for last?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah. I think it's for the best. " The bell rang, and students started heading to class. Nick turned to Andrew. "So, English is what, third period? I'll see you then. "

So for the first hour and a half, he sat in silence, lost in his own thoughts, barely tuning into anything the teachers said. Danni was in his math class, but he made sure to sit on the other side of the room, well away from her, not even glancing over. He was sure he barely got any of his answers right, but he'd always been terrible at math anyway. Basketball was more his forte. Did Cobblestones even HAVE a gym?

When he finally got to English class, he eagerly sat next to Andrew K. "Sup, bro?", he said, as Nick sat next to him.

Nick shrugged. "Just a boring day. I can't wait to get out of here. Still haven't heard from any of my friends. I hope they're all doing ok. Andrew, Jessi and Jay are at Bridgeton High. Missy's being homeschooled. " He sighed. "I wish I could do that, but my parents are idiots. "

Andrew K laughed. "Mine too. I asked them if I could do classes online, but they nixed that idea faster than you could blink. They went on and on about me needing a "future". I mean, my dad's a driver for fucking Uber and Lyft for crying out loud!!!"

Nick shook his head. "I don't care about school either. I'll probably end up like my older brother, living in my room and tagging buildings with graffiti, and selling drugs on the side. He has it made if you ask me."

The two worked together for the rest of class, whispering quietly and surreptitiously giving each other answers on the assignment. Luckily the teacher seemed as bored as the students, and spent most of class on his laptop, hardly looking up to see if the class was working. Nick had never really had a problem with English. In fact it was probably the only class he did well in.

Finally it was lunchtime. Nick and Andrew K sat down together. They talked about their old schools and friends. Nick told him about Jessi, Jay, Missy, and of course Andrew, including all the gross and embarrassing things that had happened to him the past year.

"Oh my god, he REALLY threw all his stuff in the synagogue dumpster?!!", Andrew K gasped.

"Yeah, and the cops arrested him because the dead body was in the dumpster, and got covered in his jizz. Luckily Jay's dad helped him get bailed out. It was crazy. Yeah, last year was pretty wild. The school sleepover. Camp. The Halloween thing. All of it. But it was also... I don't know. Simpler too. Now everything just feels so...different. "

Andrew K laughed bitterly. "Yeah. Tell me about it. But some crazy stuff happened to me too. Once, I was in my dad's car when he gave a Lyft ride to a guy in a mask. Mind you, it WAS Halloween, so we didn't think much of it. But when the guy got out, his bag was full of what looked like hair, and it was bloody. We tried to see where he went, because he had us drop him off in the corner on some street, but he disappeared from view. My dad swears up and down he gave a ride to the Ponytail Killer, but everyone thinks he's joking!!!"

Nick gasped. "Oh my god, that's CRAZY. Our gym teacher got arrested cause the cops thought HE was the killer. But I doubt we'll ever fund out who it really is!!"

Andrew K nodded and pulled out his phone. He turned to Nick. "Hey, my mom's here to pick me up so I can go to the mall and look for a gift for the party tomorrow. But I'll text you later, and see you tomorrow. "

Nick nodded and went back to his food. Disgusting, like all cafeteria food. "Ok. I'm heading out right after school to start making my rounds. But I'll talk to you later. "

Andrew K nodded and waved as he walked off. Nick glumly finished his meal and looked at his phone for calls or texts from his friends. Zip. Zilch. Nada. He thought about texting Jessi or Jay, to see how they were doing,but decided to wait and talk to them when he showed up at their places that afternoon. Instead he just sat in silence, watching the others. He saw Danni sitting with Travis and her friends, laughing and having a merry old time. He felt like an animal in a zoo, behind a wall of glass, watching the humans on the outside live happy lives, unable to join them, trapped in his own small world. He turned and gasped as he saw Miss Cornhill standing in the corner. His blood froze as he saw her, with her pale,wrinkly skin, her long white hair, those piercing eyes. She looked like an evil witch in a scary children's book. For a second he was afraid she would come over and talk to him, or drag him away to the library, to the private room she called the Sad Boys Club. But next second she turned and disappeared, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally the bell rang, and he joined the throng of students heading back to class. For the last couple of hours he felt like he was on autopilot. Without Andrew K he felt once again like an astronaut on an alien planet. He heard the teachers and students talking, but couldn't understand them, could barely understand the words in the books or on the papers. He filled in answers or wrote answers absentmindedly, not caring whether he got them right. Time seemed to tick by slowly, as if he were inside a giant clock and ice had stopped the gears.

Finally, the last bell rang. School was over!! Nick eagerly grabbed his backpack and practically ran from the room. He had to take the bus home because his mom was still at work. All the better. He could set out on his mission as soon as the bus dropped him off without his parents asking questions.

He was almost to the door when he heard a voice behind him. "Hey Nick, how's it going?" He turned around. It was Danni.

He felt his heart flop. He had done his best to avoid her all day. Now here she stood, smiling. He tried to look her in the eye, which was hard, because she was taller than him, and also because he still had mixed feelings.

He tried to think of something to say, but all the words seemed to run into each other and ricochet around in his brain. His tongue felt twisted, his mouth dry. What could he say?

Luckily for him, she spoke again. "So, um, look, Nick, I'm sorry about yesterday. It's just, I'm kind of in a weird place right now, with Travis. Like, we're trying to get serious, but I'm still confused. Plus I got stuff going on at home, my parents are fighting all the time. Plus I'm not doing so well in my classes, and I might need a tutor, and..."

For some reason, Nick didn't want to hear anymore. SHE had problems? What about HIM? Did Danni really believe her problems were bigger than HIS? And so what if her parents were having problems? Jessi's were divorced, and she had to spend time between two different houses, and SHE didn't bitch. EVERYBODY had problems. Nobody could carry another person's baggage. Everybody had to take care of themselves. That's what he had learned. The hard way. So he finally spoke his mind.

"Look, Danni, I get it. You have problems. We all do. But I can't help you. You said yesterday we shouldn't hang out anymore. You're right. We'd just end up hurting each other, like last time. Just stick with Travis, he's good for you. Probably better than me. I'm sorry about your parents, but that's life. My parents suck too, and my brother, but at least I only have to deal with them for four more years. In your case three. I got problems of my own, but I have to deal with it on my own. I HAVE to. Nobody can help me. We all have to make it on our own. So, please, Danni, just do what you said yesterday, and keep your distance. I gotta go. Bye."

He turned away from her, from the shocked look on her face, and followed the students onto the bus. He glumly sat down in an empty seat with a sigh and looked out the window. He knew he shouldn't have snapped like that. He knew Danni only wanted to clear the air, but for some reason, instead of calming him, it had only angered him.

He sighed again. He couldn't dwell on it. He had so much to do when he got home. So many people to talk to. Would he really have the wherewithal, the bravery, to go through with it when he was face-to-face with them? Would they all forgive him? Did he even DESERVE their forgiveness? Forgiveness, amnesty, clemency. It was a rare currency in this world, just like love. He had always had bad luck in THAT department. He just hoped this afternoon would be the game changer he had so long hoped for.

End of chapter 2

So, there it is. I know this was a long chapter, but thanks for your patience.

A few things. First, if some things feel familiar, it's because I'm reusing some elements from a previous Big Mouth fanfic I was writing last year called Love, Loss, And Lust, which I was writing under a different username. Some things, like the name of Devin's sister, I am reusing for this one, as well as Nick later getting Simon Sex as his new Monster. So if ya'll read that one, which I decided to cease work on, that's why it feels familiar.

Also, yes, Vergil being Dante's brother IS a reference to Devil May Cry. I'm a fan of the games, and I thought it would be a cool little reference to the classic games, and a brilliant way to add references to Human Resources, along with Mona mentioning playing chess with Jose. Also, yes, Vergil's line of "there is no pain where strength lies " IS a Darth Maul quote. I kind of see the "evil" monsters like Addiction Angels, Depression Kitties, and Hateworms as kind of like Sith, and they would probably share similar views. I will also feature more Human Resources characters later on, and MAYBE eventually show scenes in the Monster World.

Anyway, next chapter we will see Nick finally set out on his mission, and show him talking to everybody on his list. That alone will probably cover an entire chapter, but in the coming chapters we will see more parts with Jessi, Jay, Missy, Andrew, and Devin, and eventually parts with Matthew, Lola, Lulu, and Danni. I'm hoping this will be quite a long story, provided I get enough likes, follows and reviews. So keep reading and hitting those buttons, ya'll.

See you soon in chapter 3!!!