CHAPTER ONE: Summer break

R-R-R-R-R-R-RING!

Octavia breathed a deep sigh of relief. That bell had been both her savior and her tormentor for the past year, signifying the end of another dull day of high school and, sixteen hours later, the start of another. An endless loop of suffering that she had learned to coast through for the past two years. Three now.

Students began to rise from their seats, eager to start their summer, but Mr. Maxson quickly hobbled over to the door before any of them could escape. He stood by the exit as his students began to line up and held out his hand.

"Tickets, please, exit tickets, please!" The teacher called in a sickeningly performative conductor voice.

He was an avian demon dressed in baggy cargo pants and a flannel shirt several sizes too small for his huge belly. Octavia hated him. It wasn't just that he pretended to be happy. That was part of it. He was also a complete nazi when it came to classwork. He treated his classroom like it was a prison! Everyone had to turn in their phone at the start of class, and they only got it back after they finished their unique exit ticket.

Octavia packed her things and stood up. As she got closer to the door, she nabbed her phone and tried to slip by undetected, but nothing got past Mr Maxson.

"Not so fast! You know the rules, missy." Maxson said, stopping her. She groaned and handed him her paper. She hoped he didn't look too closely at it, given she had just written down a random number.

He glanced at the exit ticket, then back at her with a smug grin. "You need to show your work. Sit back down and do it the right way."

Octavia gawked at him, looking out the window at the bus lot. "Mr. Maxson, please! I'm going to miss my bus! Can I just go?"

Mr. Maxson gave her a stern look, crossing his arms in a performative manner. Octavia sighed, snatching her exit ticket back from his hands and carrying it to her desk, dragging her feet all the way.

She heard a few giggles behind her. She could recognize who it was based on the bitchiness in tone.

"Bye-bye, Via~! Enjoy summer school~!" a puffy white poodle Hellhound with grotesquely large lip implants said, followed by a cacophony of bitch giggles from her bitch friends.

Octavia scowled at the spoiled Hellhound. "Eat some more lipstick, Samantha," She growled before defeatedly dropping back in her seat. How in the fuck did those stupid bimbos get done with the exit ticket before her?

'There's no way she isn't fucking Mr. Maxson. I wouldn't put it past either of them,' She thought to herself bitterly as she grabbed a pencil, actually reading over the prompt this time.

"In a parallel universe where numbers have feelings, irrational X Xavier feels unbalanced and wants to find his true value. Can you help X find his true identity? Solve for "x" in the following equation: √(2x + 3) - 5 = 2x + 7

"I'm killing myself as soon as I get home," Octavia muttered to herself, pinching her brow as she reread the question again and again. She pushed any thoughts of catching the bus out of her mind. Knowing Mr. Maxson's exit tickets, the answer probably involved decimals.

As Octavia sat and thought through her problem, she couldn't help but notice the room becoming quieter and quieter as more students packed up and left. She rested her head in her hands, clawing into her eyes as she desperately tried to figure out what X could possibly be.

Why was Mr Maxson such an asshole? Who does exit tickets on the last day of school?! She was surprised he didn't give the class summer homework while he was at it!

As the last student exited the room, Mr. Maxson stood up, walked over to Octavia, and leaned over her desk to look over her work. "Ah, my dear Octavia, I see you persevered valiantly! But brace thyself for the cruel reality of my twisted mechanisms!" Mr. Maxson said, shaking his fist as he chuckled deviously. Octavia winced as the acrid smell of his coffee breath wafted over her.

He set his water bottle on her desk, the flakes of his vitamin supplements and backwash swirling around inside. He grabbed her pencil, drawing a big X over the exit ticket.

"Hey, what…why?" Octavia asked, growing increasingly frustrated.

Mr. Maxson only cackled some more before pointing down at her. "Bravely, you have fought against the exit ticket, but woe! The equation harbors no solution!" He said, reveling in his sadistic pleasures of tormenting his students. "'Tis a twisted riddle, an enigma that defies resolution! Let this be a lesson that not all problems can be conquered."

Octavia's eyelid twitched. She was beginning to wonder if her title as princess of the Goetian line granted her the privilege of slapping him in the nuts and getting away with it.

She was quickly snapped back to reality as she heard the sound of an engine turning on. "Shit! The bus!" She shouted, shooting out of her desk and yanking her bag off the floor. She dashed to the door, but her teacher quickly intercepted her.

"Ah ah! You know my profanity policy, young lady." Mr. Maxson said, crossing his arms and standing in front of the doorway, blocking her exit. "Thou shalt spend thirty minutes in the dark, dank dungeons of afterschool detention for the crime of dropping the S-bomb!"

Thirty minutes?! Octavia didn't have time for that! Thinking quickly, she tossed her backpack over his head before sliding right under his legs and into the hallway, leaving him clumsily stumbling into the doorframe.

Her bag landed in her lap, and she promptly stumbled to her feet, hooking it around her shoulder as she sprinted down the hall.

"Stop! Young lady, I will ensure you are penalized for this at the start of next year! This isn't overrrrrr!" His voice called out, slowly fading to a distant echo down the halls.

Octavia sprinted out of the school, body slamming the doors open. She leaped up, straddling the railing and sliding down it with reckless abandon.

As she dashed into the bus lot, her eyes scanned around for her bus. Bus 48, where was it?! The buses creaked and squealed as they lurched forward, slowly departing the school. Only then did she see her bus at the very back. It was beginning to leave.

"Wait! I'm coming!" Octavia yelled, waving her arms around and chasing after the departing bus as it continued to move forward.

The bus driver poked his head out the window. He was a scraggly-looking imp with a short gray beard. He pointed at her. "You ride this bus?" He asked.

Octavia nodded, waiting for the doors to open. But they never did. The imp pointed at her with both hands, laughing maniacally, before speeding off.

Octavia's hands fell to her side as she watched the bus take off, seeing several students inside howling with laughter. One student even leaned out the window, flipping her off. She didn't even recognize the guy!

Octavia sighed in frustration, kicking a loose rock as hard as she could across the empty parking lot. Alone. Again.

Granted, she didn't mind being alone; At least she had a good thirty minutes to listen to music as she walked home. It was just unfortunate she had to be left behind on such a scorching hot day. The afternoon heat of hell was beating down on her, almost as if it hated her as much as everyone else did.

She still wasn't sure why she was chosen as the school's punching bag. "I fucking hate school. Can't wait to be done with this bullshit." She muttered, pulling out her phone. She checked its battery.

Four percent. She wouldn't even have enough juice to listen to music on the way home. She wondered if the day could possibly get any worse.

Then, a car pulled up beside her.

A once expensive luxury car, it was covered in dents and scratches, clearly well past its glory days. Its rear view mirror had fallen off, and the handle to the door had been duct taped back on the frame. Much to Octavia's dismay, the abomination of a car slowed to a halt.

"Hey! Octavia, right?" She heard as the window began to roll down. Her curiosity peaked. The voice sounded too young to be a teacher. This was the first time any classmate had ever acknowledged her. What did they want? And who was it?

As the window fully lowered, her interest plummeted. It was… THE weird kid. Cameron. He was probably the only one in the entirety of Pride High who had it worse off than her.

He was the center of attention in all the wrong ways. Curly brown hair, sunken eyes, and a jaunt face smattered with freckles. A weird-looking kid, even for weird kid standards. But the weirdest thing about him? He was a purebred human.

Not a Sinner, like how most humans wind up after dying and going to hell. A straight-up human.

"Name's Cameron. We haven't really talked much, but we were in biology class together." He gave her a lame thumbs-up.

"Sick," Octavia muttered tiredly, rubbing her eyes as she started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Cameron called out to her. She turned around, giving him a confused look. "You ride on bus 48, right?" He asked.

"How did you know that?" Octavia said warily, looking back down the road to see her bus disappearing into the distance.

"Photographic memory," Cameron said, tapping his head. "There are some things that I just can't forget when I see them. Like you getting on bus 48." He said before wincing, seeing her slowly back away. "I swear this isn't a pickup line. I was just gonna ask if you wanted a ride home."

Octavia looked at him with skepticism. "I think I'll walk." She said, turning away and continuing her trek home. She wiped the sweat from her brow. It wasn't that far of a walk; it was a safe neighborhood. Plus, he was a human in hell.

Nobody was sure how he wound up in hell or how he grew up in it, but she knew one thing for sure: She wouldn't be caught dead near a human. Samantha would never let her hear the end of it! Besides, she wasn't sure if he was some sort of sick pervert.

Then again, there were plenty of hot girls he could kidnap if he were, and she wasn't one of them. Of all of the kidnapping targets, she would have to be the lamest, saddest choice.

She saw his car slowly pull up beside her, following along at walking speed. "Heyyy…you sure? It's kinda hot out here. You know, with it being hell and all that." Cameron said.

"Yeah, dude. I'm fine." Octavia said curtly.

…

"Ya sure…?" Cameron probed.

Octavia stopped, thinking for a moment. She checked her phone. Three percent. It wouldn't last. The walk home was going to be hot and miserable, and the sooner she got home, the sooner she could shut her brain off.

"Fine…" She muttered as the car came to a stop. She opened the back passenger door, preferring not to sit next to him. The last thing she wanted was awkward small talk.

As she opened the door, however, her jaw dropped in disgust. The entire back of the car was stacked high with empty pizza boxes and soda bottles, along with a blanket sprawled out over the back seat. Trash was practically falling out of the car door onto her feet! No, it literally was!

"Hehe, yeah, sorry. You'll need to take the front seat." Cameron said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

Octavia rolled her eyes, slamming shut the back door and moving to the passenger side. As she entered the car, the overpowering smell of pine air freshener hit her like a tidal wave. The two air fresheners hanging from the rearview barely masked the garbage stench in his car, but Octavia didn't care. She wasn't regal like her mother or father. She would be happy living in a

landfill if it meant people would just leave her the fuck alone.

The car jolted forward as it pulled out of the parking lot. The two rode in silence, the muffled roar of the engine being the only sound filling the car.

Octavia stole a few glances at the strange boy. She wasn't sure what an attractive human looked like, but she was sure Cameron wasn't it. He looked like he hadn't showered or even gotten a good night's rest in weeks. Or a good meal, come to think of it. He was even skinnier than her, somehow.

She almost felt bad for him; it was like looking at a starving hellhound from one of those TV adoption commercials. She could only hope nobody caught her riding in the car with him. Her reputation was already at rock bottom, and she didn't need it to go somehow lower by getting accused of being friends with the human.

"You like metal?"

Octavia looked up, glancing at the human. "Oh. Uh, no. Not really." She said, pulling out her phone to check its power. Two percent.

"Damn. Had you figured for a metalhead. What kind of music do you listen to?" he asked.

What was she supposed to say? Pop? He'd think she was an actual loser if she said that.

Granted, she was an actual loser, but who admits to liking pop? Especially edgy, angsty pop. "I just…kinda listen to everything." She said lamely. She wasn't interested in exploring the conversation with him any further.

Cameron nodded silently, keeping his eyes on the road. He seemed to pick up on her cues. The two sat in awkward silence. "So. Directions?" He asked, tapping the wheel with his fingers as he drove.

Octavia sighed and pointed to the big castle looming over the city in the not-so-far-off distance, which was getting closer with every passing second. "Can't miss it." She muttered.

Cameron's mouth gaped open in disbelief. He leaned closer to ensure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. "You mean that castle? You live there?" He uttered in astonishment before a lightbulb suddenly went off in his head. "Wait, is Stolas your dad?"

Octavia groaned, rubbing her hands in her face. "The one and only." She said into her palms, almost ashamed to admit it. Having a father who publicly cheated on Mum with, of all things, an imp, did very little to help Octavia's popularity at school.

"Huh. He's a prince. Doesn't he have a personal limousine or something? Why ride the bus?" Cameron asked, completely perplexed.

Octavia shook her head. "School policies. No unauthorized vehicles are allowed on campus. Welcome to literal jail." She muttered sardonically. Her dad did own a limo, of course. But clearing it to visit school grounds was a long process she hadn't gotten around to; She would have been better off walking home.

She then realized that she was riding a passenger in a car. She looked at Cameron, slightly worried. "This car is cleared for entry into school, right?" She asked.

Cameron chuckled nervously as he stared ahead at the road. Scratching his neck awkwardly, he said, "Oh, uh…I mean, basically. The security guard cut me some slack. Probably because I don't have anywhere else to go."

Octavia gave him a skeptical side eye and said, "Why don't you just find a parking garage? It would suck for you if you got towed, dude."

Cameron grimaced before sighing heavily. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean I live in this car," he said, gesturing around him.

Octavia tilted her head quizzically, her interest piqued. "Wait...you live here? In a car?" She inquired, her eyes widening in astonishment. "How are you already bumming in a car in high school?" She blurted, disbelief evident in her voice.

Cameron's smile faded, pursing his lips as he drove. His expression darkened a bit as he let out a heavy sigh. "I'd rather not talk about it," he said firmly, shaking his head. "Nothing bad, though. Don't worry about it," he added, his voice softening as he gave her a reassuring smile.

Octavia shrugged. Weird. But then again, he was a human in hell. It would be weird if he weren't weird.

"Well, I'm guessing this is your stop," Cameron said, easing on the breaks as he pulled up to the curbside of the royal gates of the Goetian manor.

"Yep," Octavia said, opening the passenger door. She paused, a cold pit in her gut forming. She had been cold-shouldering all of his interactions throughout the ride, yet he was the first person who had ever tried to reach out to her in her entire high school career. Was she acting like this because he was more unpopular than herself? She felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over her - why was she acting like Samantha or any of her other vain classmates? Was she no different than them?

She sighed and stepped out of the car. She was no different. She just wanted to blend in, to be another shape in the crowd. It had been a mistake to even ride along with Cameron. Hopefully, nobody saw her riding with him.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Cameron stuttered as Octavia left the car. "Uh, hey, it was nice talking to-"

The door shut on Cameron with a loud slam, cutting him off. Within the dirty car, Cameron sighed, resting his head on the steering wheel. Had he offended her somehow? Did he do something before that pissed her off?

Or maybe he had come on too strong? He was trying so hard not to put off creep vibes that maybe he accidentally looked like one. Photographic memory? Really? Even if he did have a photographic memory, what a horrible thing to say to someone he just met! He may as well have called her unforgettable and asked for her number as well!

Cameron lifted his head and looked around. All the houses around him were more like mini mansions built out of ornate materials. This was a neighborhood that valued wealth and status—two things he did not have.

Perhaps that's where he had messed up with Octavia. Even just driving his piece of shit car, being a piece of shit poor person. He was filthy and disheveled. He couldn't even blame her for dipping without a word.

Cameron leaned back in his seat, staring at himself in his rearview. He didn't belong here, in this neighborhood. It was probably time for him to get going.

At least summer camp was coming up soon. That meant free meals and showers for two whole months. Maybe, by some miracle, the trip would clear his head and turn his life around for the better…

(A/N)
Hello all!

I had initially planned to release this when it was done entirely. However, I've been sitting on it for a while now. I'm pretty far along with the story as of now. Feedback welcome!