Chapter 1.

Myc.

You know that feeling when you're angry, and you're all moody at everyone, and mad at the whole MilkyWay Galaxy, and you just want to hit something so badly but you don't have enough energy left in your system to do so?

Yep, that's what I'm feeling. Well, actually, I feel that every single day in the morning, except I'd like to hit the person who disturbs me in my sleep, which I won't do, but that's not the point.

Monday morning. Who loves Mondays? Definitely not me. Well actually, I hate whoever invented Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Fridays are cool because you know. Last day of the school week.

Anyway. So I was having the sleep of a lifetime, positioned like a bird in the air with a broken wing, one arm spread out and the the other dangling from the end of the bed, my legs wide open, my cheek resting on my pillow, eyes shut and I'm pretty sure I was drooling.

And then during my peaceful slumber, the sound of the curtains drawing woke me as the sun peeked out from the horizon. Groaning, I instinctively covered my eyes, always, and already, grumpy.

"Get up! You always don't know how to wake yourself up, always relying on me. Can you not hear your alarm clock? You're not yourself again! And clean up your room, will you? Always this messy, teenagers these days!"

Upon hearing my mother's voice, I opened my eyes and grit my teeth and mumbled, "Can you not." Only quiet enough so I could only hear. If there's one thing I learned throughout my 17 years of existence, it's that my mom can get pretty violent.

No, mom. I cannot hear the alarm clock because of your maximized volume of voice used in the morning.

She yelled a last wake up call, gracing my ears with a possible hearing problem, then slammed the door shut behind her.

I sat up and ran a hand through my face.

Yep. Get the idea.

I am not a morning person.

And my mom was right about my room, but who said I was cleaning it? Half-asleep, I stumbled over my dirty clothes and CDs scattered all over the floor, nearly slipping on the tub while showering, and opened my closet. I ignored the pink hanging shirts and tank tops I see and grab the first shirt my hand touched. I snatched a clean pair of jeans and slipped on my Keds and threw on my red hoodie. Not bothering to do anything with my hair, I shouldered one strap of my bag with my earphones plugged in, and slowly went downstairs.

When I stepped foot in the kitchen, I noticed my mom's hard grimace at my choice of clothes and I took a deep breath, ready for her ultimate sermon number 2. I ignored her words and opened the refrigerator while Tongue Tied by Faber Drive on full volume blared through my earphones, tuning out my mom. I got a carton of milk, low fat vanilla, my favorite, and leaned into the counter and chugged it down, finding it amusing that my mother's lips were moving but no amount of sound came out, as my music, for me, was far more important than her words.

She started makng coffee for the step-monster while babbling, so I grabbed the opportunity to say, "Bye." And hurry out the front door, still moody.

I found Sybelle leaning by my Chevy pick-up truck parked out front, smiling, clearly amused at my state."Yo chicka," I greeted.

She said in reply, as I was expecting her to, "I'm guessing two honarable sermons."

I rolled my eyes. "You know it. If I hadn't escaped though, I may have four. Let's get out of here."

Sybelle Tan was one of my best friends in Crypto. Her hair and asian eyes were marks of her natural beauty, and her outfits were always bonuses. Today she wore an owl-designed cream hanging shirt, dark blue jeans with floral flats and a satchel.

I jumped over my trunk, opened the car door and slipped inside the passenger seat, while Belle sat on the driver's.

I fished for my keys in my bag, and tossed it to her, which she didn't catch at all. I rolled my eyes and dropped my bag at the backseat as she started driving when she got ahold of the keys.

Slouching, I propped myself up in a comfortable position, meaning, my legs up, my body leaning by the door, and my eyes shut with music.

Sybelle always got rides with me in the morning because out of us four, my house was closest to hers. Although she always whines about how old and rusty and many other complaints I shouldn't mention because I'm sure they aren't English about my truck, she'd prefer it more if she stayed in the car rather I'd leave her in the streets.

Belle's so cool, she can speak in 3 languages. I hope Sarcasm will be for good use.

And besides, I trusted her more to drive than myself in the morning. Y'know, in case I fall asleep driving. Happened once, not about to try it again. Long story.

Other than that, we were complete opposites. You know, she was girly, and nice and sweet and an early bird. As for me, well, you get the point.

She understands that I'm always not in the mood to talk, and I love her for that. So we always fall in silence on the way to school. I only woke when I heard the roar of my truck dying.

I opened my eyes slowly and they were first met, always, with other cars and teenagers, and a building called school.

Groaning quietly, I got my bag and jumped outside, as Sybelle followed suit.

We walked together inside, my hands in my hoodie pockets. Next to Belle, I looked like an undergrown troll and probably a clumsier version of Dopey in the Seven Dwarves.

A lot of people waved and smiled at us, and Belle acknowledged them back, while I tried to keep my eyes open. Wouldn't want to sleepwalk in the school's parking lot, would we know?

We entered the school, brushing past students until we reached our lockes, which were side by side each other. Autumn, Atari and Celestianne were already there, getting ready for our first period.

As soon as Atari saw us, she grinned broadly, and twirled herself around to us as we opened our lockers.

"Good morning, loves!" She cheered ever so loudly that caught quite a few students' attention, being all ballerina and cheerful.

I rolled my eyes, a habit of mine, at Atari's childlike behavior, but my friends laughed, so I did too.

Atari Montague was another 1/5 of Crypto. She was immature, though creative and artsy. Her light hair fell down to her back, almost as long as mine, and she had a body to kill for, as she was an ex-cheerleader.

Beside me, Celestianne made a disgusted sound. We turned to her to see her pointing at Autumn, who was holding a bag of donuts from her locker.

"I think this was still from last month," she said.

"Gross!" Sybelle commented while I just grimaced and Atari laughed.

Autumn shrugged and shoved it inside again.

Autumn Ryder. Probably the most carefree girl in the world. Owner of the best humor.

I took out my Trigo notebook, and as did Celestianne, since we had first period together.

"Hey, did you do the homework?" I asked her.

She smiled, a suspicious look in her eyes.

"Mind if?" I didn't need to continue.

She laughed amusingly and shook her head in mock dissapointment. "Someone's badass today whoever thought?"

I laughed lightly as she nodded and we got to class as soon as the bell rung.

Celestianne Veniece. Probably the richest girl in school. You might suddenly think she's a snob, a cheerleader maybe, or a bully. But Celest is none of those things. She's beautiful, yes. She's nice and sweet, too and she's been one of my best friends for a long time now. I think I know her well enough to say that she hates the cheerleaders, except for Atari who had been one of them minus the attitude. She's envied by most of the students here, but she doesn't make a show of it. And that's what I love about her.

"Goodbye to you guys, too!" Atari shouted, walking towards the other way, opposite ours with Autumn and Sybelle. Celestianne and I laughed.

Bipolar f**k.

Celly and I sat at our usual seats, mine by the window. I plugged out my earphones and stuffed them inside my bag as the students started piling in. I opened my notebook and copied Celestianne's homework.

Don't judge. Don't you get distracted by Twitter and music, too?

The 1st period sleeping pill came in and we started class, once I finished the 'home'work.

--

I was writing 'Vegas Skies' in script on my left wrist, my favorite song, with a Sharpie when the bell suddenly rang, not giving Mr. Vega time to give us another pile of more pain-in-the-asses homework. Celestianne and I collected our things and hurried on to our different classes with a wave of see you later.

--

As fast as a zombie, wait. Scratch that, zombies move goddamn slow, so as fast as light travels, (blame the nerdy side of me) the day passes by until lunch. The girls decided to play vball by the fields, which happens every day unless Atari, who isn't that addicted to vball, and Belle, who can't resist food, decides to eat, aand during Wednesdays. I tell them to continue on without me, because I had a dance gig this Saturday, and I need to polish some steps with my friend, Drew Healy, the one and only brother of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And I don't mean Voldemort, by the way.

So I stroll to the studios, yes, my school had one, and not surprisingly, I find Drew there, wearing a cap over his head, and in dance clothes.

What did surprised me though, was that he was on the phone, looking very annoyed. My first thought was that he was talking to his b***h of a girlfriend, Zoe.

I raised my hand for him to ackknowledge my prsence, but his tone of voice startled me, and his words too.

It wasn't Zoe.

"You're coming home?" He asked angrily, near to shouting. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and I was surprised he hasn't seen me yet.

I heard mumbling on the other line.

"When, tomorrow? Are you f*****g kidding me?"

My heart took off in a sprint, and my legs did too.

Well, I wished they did. If they would even move.

"You should've told me sooner, Parker!"

As soon as I heard the name, I knew I was right.

I quietly made my way outside, my legs going back to normal, until I was running back to the fields.

--

There weren't many people, since they decided to go for lunch. Normal people, who can eat what they desire every day. Normal people, people who aren't like me. Simple reason that I don't eat is because I need the goddamn money that I save in my allownce that my dad gives me to pay the bills. He doesn't know. All he knows is that my mom is doing a very good job of caring for me, giving me what I need and working for a living. He doesn't know that what he believes in aren't true.

I guess you could say I'm a pretty messed up person.

I was out of breath once I reached Cyrpto. I forced a smile but my heart still flet like chasing cars from the phone call of Drew. I acted like nothing happened, and played vball with the girls, Celly sitting because she's the odd one out.

I just hope I'd be able to forget all about Parker Healy soon.

--

Nothing really much happened during my last two periods at school, except that Michael McGowan burned our pie during HomeEc and pissed his pants because I scared the s**t out of him, and ran from the room crying. Oh well, I scared the s**t out of everybody who screwed my grades. Let's just say I was pretty intimidating. But that's not important, so moving on.

I returned to my locker where I found Atari waiting, a grin plastered on her face.

"What got you so cheerful today?" I asked, because usually Atari had her mood swings right about...now.

"What got you so moody today?" She snapped back, her face in a frown.

Told you.

I raised my hands up and turned to my locker. "Chill, girl."

When I faced her again, she was smiling this time, bouncing up and down and her hands in weire gestures I can't even mention cause you know. Weird.

"So, guess what I heard."

I raised an eyebrow and she sighed exaggerately, stomping her foot and looking annoyed.

"Ugh, you're suck a killjoy, Myc. I said, guess," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, no need to be pushy, Montague." I stick out my tongue at her and she grinned again. "Uhm. You saw a private jet flying over your house and then Ed Sheeran steps out and asks where I am so he can marry me?"

"In your dreams," Atari laughed.

"What? It could happen!" I said.

She shook her head. "Okay, so there's a new guy coming tomorrow!" Atati squealed, jumping.

And then suddenly Autumn cme out of nowhere with a raised eyebrow that mirrored mine. "What new guy? This excites me because I'm sick of all your faces and we need some new s**t around here."

Atari laughed and hugged Autumn, who awkwardly patted her back. "I'll take that as a compliment, Ryder!"

"Um. Do I look like I care?" I asked Atari who rolled her eyes, releasing her best friend, and scoffed.

"Obviously, you do," she said sarcastically and I smiled sweety as Celest and Belle came into view.

"I'll be bored out of my mind if I stayed home tonight," Belle declared. Then she turned to me. "Are you going to dinner with your dad?"

I nodded, shutting my locker. "As always." I smiled.

There was an upside to Mondays. I had dinner with my dad once a week and we get to spend time together with steak and mashed potatoes and ice cream.

"Oh, Sybelle. I know how much you love spending so much time with me, so let's go shopping!" Atari, once again, squealed,  and jumped.

Belle scoffed and Autumn and Celestianne laughed while I rolled my eyes.

"Can't come, sorry, have a date with Scott," Celestianne stated, shouldering her handbag with a smile, answering Belle's unspoken question. She hugged us each and drove away in her Porsche.

Yeah. Pretty rich.

"Lovesick teenagers," Autumn mused, then grabbed me by the neck with her arm and proceeded to pin me down while we fought.

This is normal, don't worry. Autumn finds hurting me a form of entertainment. And it's harmless, though, so I find fun in it too.

After a few more minutes of fooling around, I finally said bye to Crypto and headed over to my truck. I revved the engine and drove home.

I shut the door to my den and flopped down on the bed, turned on my laptop, clicked play on my usual playlist, while I re-read my all-time favorite book, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green as I waited for my dad to ring me.

A few minutes later, he finally did. I dropped the book when Gus and Hazel Grace were watching that Natalie Portman movie, then pressed the phone to my ear.

"Dad?"

"Hey, sweetie. I just ogot off work, but I'll be there in 15," his voice told me. I smiled.

"I'll get dressed. See you soon! Love you!" I chirped.

"Love you too," he laughed and I hung up.

I stood up from my comfortable position, showered and tried to dress nice today. Once I was clothed, I heard a car's engine from outside.

Dad couldn't have gotten here so fast, could he?

Curious, I peered out the window.

The air was crushed out of me.

Had it been that I had a hearing impairment today at noon? Probably caused by mom's constant yelling and Sybelle's or Autumn's horrific singing that sound like dying walruses?

I turned away with trembling hands, and dialed my best friend's number.

She picked up after the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Parker Healy is standing only a house away from me."

"Myc? What? Parker Healy, as in-"

"Yes. That Parker. Who is specifically designed to make my life a living hell. And he's back."

 

Atari.

When Sybelle and I are together, we can't resist going to the mall and shopping.

And I cannot say no to shopping.

We're girls, what do you expect?

And Sybelle has been my shopping buddy ever since middle school, because we're honest to each other. I'll tell her that her a*s looks fat in this, which it always does, just kidding, and she'll tell me if I'm damn right sexy in this one.

Okay maybe the last part is in my dreams but you get the point.

So we stroll around, holding 3 paperbags each, and I was tired as hell.

"I'm just getting a drink for awhile. I'll meet you back in my car," I told her and she pulls on a pout.

"Fine, hurry up."

"Chill, impatientpants, I will." I pecked her on the cheek, whilst she wiped and grimaced, as I laughed and headed to Starbucks.

I like nicknames. Like I call Myc Warfreak sometimes, Sybelle impatientpants when she is, Celly baby doll, but Autumn doesn't even like nicknames.

Boooooooo. I know.

The smell of coffee first invaded my nose. Well, duh. Coffee shop, remember. I ordered my frappe, cupped the drink in my palm and decided to sit for awhile as I scanned the cafe.

There was an old couple sharing a drink, aww how sweet, there was a middle-aged man holding a newspaper but his eyes were on me, how creepy, and there was a teenage boy with his head down, scribbling something on a piece of paper.

It was weird because I recognized the boy. I skipped happily to his booth and slipped on the seat across from him.

"It isn't fair that you're sitting alone, you know."

It was either my actions or my words that startled him, because he looked up the moment I spoke, eyes wide in surprise, snatched the paper away and shoved it inside his bag next to him.

I raised an eyebrow with a smile on my face, and sipped my drink.

"The world isn't fair."

The harshness in his tone took me aback, but being my cheerful self, I continued on the conversation, pretending not to notice.

"Gino, right?" I asked.

"You know who I am?"

I wanted to say, everybody does. But kept my mouth shut. I'm not an honest b***h,

Last year, Gino Carlyle moved to our school. He had everything. Looks, girls, money, basketball star, high grades. And then one day in the middle of the semester, everyone started avoiding him, and he often sat alone during lunch from then. I know because I'm not some vball addict like my friends are.

He got kicked out by the team, and his grades dropped. I never knew why, though.

I chuckled lightly instead. "You do know who I am too, right?"

He nodded. "Atari Cross Montague."

I smiled. "We're in the same English class. Why so surprised of me knowing you?"

He shrugged and leaned back on his chair. "I'm pretty isolated from the world."

"I can see that," I replied.

"So I come here often to think," he said.

"Or to write," I added.

"I guess."

"What was that?" I questioned.

Gino raised an eyebrow. "What was what?"

"You were writing. May I see it?"

His mouth was pressed into a thin line as he looked down.

"It's okay if you don't want to," I said quickly. "Although I am curious."

Silence.

"Come on," I insisted. "We're friends, right?"

"Since when?" He snapped.

Ouch.

Okay. That actually hurt.

He must've noticed because his expression softened and he sighed. "Sorry, that was harsh."

"Yeah, it was," I shot back.

"Sorry," he said again. "I don't have friends. So I guess I was surprised when you sat with me."

I kinda felt bad for him. I never actually talked to him in school. I guess I should've been more attentive to my surroundings.

"Can't we try to be?" I asked slowly.

He smiled and met my gaze. "We are, now."

I returned his smile.

"Okay, but don't laugh at me, alright?" He said, rummaging through his backpack and pulling out the crumpled paper.

"Why would I?"

"Because I'm silly, foolish, and ridiculous. Just don't."

"You have my word," I said formally as he handed me the paper.

Slowly I opened it.

"A Bucket List?" I bit my lip to suppress my giggles.

"Shut up."

I raised two eyebrows in a teasing way because he was too damn adorable, and continued reading.

1. Watch the sun rise.

"People think it's romantic to watch the sun set. But I say, why not thank God for another day in life as the sun rises? The sun setting just signifies the end of another day, and you might not just live tomorrow."

Ladies and gents, the wise words of Gino Carlyle.

I applauded him and he rolled his eyes.

"Mind-blowing," I said and set my eyes back on the paper.

2. Be a zombie for a day.

"I think it's funny," Gino told me when I raised a questioning eyebrow. I gave a dissapproving shake of my head with still that grin on my face.

3. Be in a band.

"I think it's nice to try and play the guitar in public, instead of just in my room."

"You play the guitar?"

"Didn't I just say so?"

I rolled my eyes.

4. Build a sandcastle.

"I've never been to a beach before. And my childhood wasn't memorable, so I decided to try, you know?"

Told you. Too damn adorable.

5. Steal.

I take that back.

"And why would you want to steal?" I asked slowly, dragging the words.

"I've never been badass."

6. Do something fun.

Obvious stated.

7. Ride the Ferris Wheel.

8. Ride a grocery cart.

Immmature, but self-explanatory.

9. Watch the stars with someone.

"Where's 10?" I flipped the paper around. Nothing. When I looked under 9 again, I saw faint scribbles, but couldn't make out anything.

Gino cleared his throat and looked away. "It's only 9."

"A Bucket List can't be only 9, Without 10, the list would be odd," I protested.

He chuckled lightly and I huffed, setting the paper on the table.

"You know what's fun?" I said, a smile creeping its way back on my face.

"What?"

"Watching the sun rise. I want to help you with the list, and have a Gino-Atari bonding relationship."

 

Sybelle.

Usually I'm a patient person. I don't mind waiting. But when the person I'm waiting for is Atari, and when she says 'awhile', I knew it would end up as almost half an hour.

So I'm standing her in front of her Red Ferrari in the parking lot, looking like an aboslute idiot with my foot tapping on the concrete floor. I rang her, but then being the moron she was, she had left her phone in my bag.

And I am not going back inside the mall, so I decided to walk home, seeing as I have no money left for hailing a cab.

I walked, well, stomped, my way outside. I dragged my tired feet for a good 5 minutes, when I heard a voice beside me that wasn't Atari's.

"Need a ride?"

My head snapped to the left so fast, I don't even know how Willow Smith could do that without breaking her neck. My eyes were met with warm, brown ones.

"Shark?"

The corner of his mouth lifted up. "Lincoln, yep. The animal, nope."

I rolled my eyes but my eyebrows knit in confusion as I stopped walking, and his car did too. His elbow leaned by the window, face towards me.

"Did you follow me out here?" I asked suspiciously.

He shrugged. "Saw you walking out, and I thought you needed one." He patted his car and smiled at me.

"And...why, exactly?"

"Because you're my sister's best friend. And you're my friend. And you need help," he replied, like it was no big deal at all.

"I don't mind walking, actually..."

But on the inside, I really needed one, I was just too shy to speak up.

Shark raised an eyebrow. "Okay, if you prefer to, then-"

"Wait, no! I changed my mind!" I rushed to the other side of the car and slipped in the passenger's seat, while Shark laughed.

"I really appreciate it. My friend ditched me."

He chuckled again as he drove. "You're not one to be ditched, I see."

Shark and I met two years ago at Myc's house. He happens to be her step-brother, and we were friends then until now.

"Yeah, well," I answered, fiddling with my fingers.

"You shouldn't probably mention this to Myc, though. She doesn't want me getting involved with her friends."

I laughed at his uneasy expression. "She gets jealous easily."

He glanced at me once then turned back to the road.

"Sp, you and Myc, huh? What's it like being friends with her?"

His tone was sincere. He was curious.

I know Myc and Shark didn't really get along, although Shark was trying. A lot. When I asked her why she won't try as well, she said, "I'm a person full of pride."

She is, actually.

"It's hard opening up to her," I admitted. "Even though we're best friends, because her responses are always, 'Ah', 'K', 'What do you want me to do?', or 'Do I give a s**t?', or 'That's great.' It annoys me."

Shark laughed. "Myc pulls on a selfish person facade. But believe me, she cares more about you guys than me, my dad and her mom."

That was true.

She told me herself.

"It's not that I feel bad. Don't get uncomfortable," he said quickly. "It's actually pretty depressing for her part.

Did she," he hesitated. "Did she ever cut herself?"

"Never," I said automatically. "She tells me that sometimes she thinks about running away, or committing suicide, but she'd never hurt us like that, she said."

"Hey, don't cry," he mused while I rolled my eyes. "Myc always cries herself to sleep. I don't need you crying in my car."

I laughed and scoffed, and said, "I wasn't even going to! Hey, you do know we passed by my house, right?"

Shark turned left after my street.

He glanced at me and smiled. "I know."

I was about to question him when my phone rang. I picked it up on fourth ring like I always do. "Hello?"

"Parker Healy is standing only a house away from me," said the other line.

"Myc? What? Parker Healy, as in-"

"Yes, that Parker. Who is specifically deisgned to make my life a living hell. And he's back."

I made a 'dun dun dun' sound.

"Oh, the joys of having Sybelle Tan as your best friend."

I laughed. "I thought he was living with Drew, though, before he left?"

"I thought so too," she said. "Oh, wait, okay. He just greeted one of the Juniors who live next to me. Okay, breathe, Myc. He's back in the car, driving away."

"He can't be that bad," I said. Shark points to himself and mouths, 'Me?' than pouts.

I shook my head with a grin.

"Entertain me please of what the definition of bad is, if it's not making an innocent little girl named Myc Russell falling off a tree fifteen feet high in the air."

"Whoa. Okay. Bad. Wait, you're a girl?"

I could imagine her rolling her eyes as I laughed at my own joke. "Look, I gotta go. Dad's gonna be here any sec."

"Bye. Love-"

And she hung up.

"B***h," I muttered on the phone before shoving it inside my pocket again.

Shark laughed. "Was that her?"

"Nope, her and her sarcastic comments, that's for sure."

He grinned and I looked at the window.

"Where are we?"

"You, Sybelle Tan, are going to have the best ice cream in town."

 

Celestianne.

"What's wrong?" I asked Scott, looking up at him.

He still wouldn't meet my eyes. He wrinkled his nose, telling me he's nervous.

He shook his head.

"Nothing."

I sat up. "Are you sure?"

He nodded and kissed my forehead. "Yes. I'm gonna cook dinner, alright? Want anything?"

I shook my head this time and he smiled, standing up and walking away towards my kitchen.

Just then a beep caught my attention, and my head turned to see Scott's cellphone on the sofa, blinking with a message. Huh.

It wouldn't hurt to check, right?

He's been distant these past few days, but I trust him...

I grabbed the phone and opened the damn message.

From : Gabby.

Gabby could be his cousin, right? Or, or. A classmate, right? From his school?

My heart thumped as I scrolled it down.

'I'm pregnant. It's yours.'

Suddenly everything ached. Wow. Is this what being heart-broken feels like?

I feel. Well. I feel empty. Dirty. Unwanted. Fooled. Unloved.

"Babe, I need your help," he called out. I could smell fire.

The f*****g phone slipped away from my ingers and landed with a soft 'thud' on the sofa. Tears started to stream down as I stared at the floor.

"Babe?"

Babe my a*s.

Scott went back in, and was surprised to see me suddenly crying. He knelt before me and attempted to touch me. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Don't touch me," I said and he retracted his hand that wanted to wipe away my tears.

"Am I supposed to act like everything is okay?" I asked calmly, but my voice shook, as I kept my eyes straight ahead, unmoving.

He didn't say anything.

"I thought things were good. I thought you loved me."

"I do!" He rushed to say, taking my hands but I yanked them away and pushed myself further up the couch as it could take me. My vision was blurry as more tears followed.

"Okay, congratulations. You're a dad now. If you didn't want to get caught, you shouldn't have left your phone with your girlfriend, now ex."

He looked shocked about the dad part but completely recovered himself, knowing that now was not the time to bring up the goddamn prduct of Scott and f*****g Gabby. "Celest-"

"Tell me what happened. Everything. Go."

His voice trembled now as well. His cheeks were pink and his eyes were wet. "Over semestral break, I was at a party and I was drunk. And she was just there-"

"Semestral break," I repeated. "And you weren't even planning on telling me, were you?"

"I was going to!" He said. Liar. "But things were so good with us I thought I could forget about it-"

"Until you got her pregnant," I finished for him.

"I'm sorry. I feel terrible. I'm so so sorry, Celestianne."

"Was I not good enough for you that you had to sleep with someone else more worthy for you?" I said and he immediately shook his head. "Did you get tired and bored of me thst you wanted to bang someone else? What is it? Why, Scott? Tell me!"

At this point I was shouting and hitting him. Scott even didn't defend himself.

He didn't answer my question.

"What, so you can't even speak now?" I snapped. "And I had to f*****g find out like this!"

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"How many times have you slept with someone else?'

He looked away. "Just that one time."

"I'm tired of hearing your lies. Okay. Cutting the drama, just get out."

"Celestianne, I love you-"

B***h-slapping his face, I said, "Get the f**k out before I call the police."

So he did.

And then I went into depression state.

I didn't cry often. Normally it was Scott who made me smile all the time. Scott, with the dimples. Scott, with the dirty blonde hair I thought was cute. Scott, whose hand I've been holding for more than two years. Scott, who cheated on me for a possible dumb Barbie bimbo.

And now I'm crying for nothing. And everything ached.

 

Autumn.

I was walking down the streets when it happened.

No, well, actually, I was singing some random lines from Chasing Cars and Statue very loud and off-key.

Those songs are my jam.

Yep.

Singing and walking. I can also do patting my head while rubbing my stomach and sticking my tongue out all at the same time.

You just tried it, didn't you?

I'm so talented, I know right?

So I was rocking the streets with my kick-a*s singing, when an arm grabbed me by the neck and dragged me to a dark alley.

I don't know what my expression must be. I think I should've screamed. I think I should've been the least bit afraid. Instead my face showed nothing but an expression of boredom and irritation, because mystery guy slash girl interrupted my concert with only me as the audience.

"Scream now while you can," a voice said in my ear.

Okay. It's a dude then.

"Eh, no thanks," I said. I wasn't the wee bit hurt, Myc and I do this all the time. Well, no, I do this to her all the time and she's a loser trying to do it to me but she can't. Ha.

"I got a knife, girl," he said, showing off his blade and placing it near my throat.

"Really? And I got an English exam I got to study for. Just kidding. I don't study." I laughed at myself and yawned.

He let go, and me, still with my bored expression, turned to him.

Big beefy guy. Big eyes. Mustache. Haha. I always thought mustaches were funny. Beeeaaaaaaaaards. Lol.

He looked confused.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I could rape you right now!"

"You wouldn't do that. I'm all skin and bones, buddy." I rolled my eyes.

Now he doesn't know what to say, exactly. Lol. His face is like tomato-ish.

"Ugh. Don't you watch movies?" I asked but thought better. "Right, a killer. Obviously not. When you try to kill a girl or kidnap her, which you attempted to do so, her prince charming or knight in shining armor arrives. Don't you think its getting old? Don't you want originality? And don't you learn from the movies that the prince always gets the girl? Okay. I'm giving a murderer a moviecation. I can't believe I'm even doing this."

I face-palmed myself.

"There's no one to save you here," he said, but his voice was full of doubt.

"Yeah, keep hoping a*****e."

And then he suddenly jerked forward and landed on the floor on my feet.

Was that my superpower?

Pain illusionist? Oh my god oh my god oh my god this is so cool I mean oh my god -

And then I saw him.

Well, no, I actually had to squint to see him in the dark, and then he stepped out into the light, crossing the man's body.

Edward Cullen much without the glittery stuff.

I wonder if he's a vampire.

Dark hair. Black shirt. Jeans.

My face was still blank, but inside it was nothing but sadness.

I wasn't a pain illusionist at all.

I wanted to cry.

No, actually. I wanted to cry because my savior was nothing but hot like the highway to hell.

The man started to get up, and then they fought.

I won't go into details but let me tell you, my savior was winning. I backed away to give them some space, and cheered when he hits, and booed when he gets hit.

Personal cheerleader. Yes, that's me.

When the fight was getting more violent, I held up my hands and said, "Chill, guys."

They both looked at me. My savior was clutching the man's collar. Tha man had his hands around my savior's neck.

Savior had a look of are-you-kidding-me, while the man's look was more of a what-the-f**k-is-wrong-with-you.

And then my savior hit hard and the man collapsed on the ground. Savior took out his gun.

"Wait!" I rushed over to him and he raised an eyebrow.

"I want to try to shoot," I declared.

Wow I feel so badass. Well I feel badass all the time, but I'm feeling extremely badass.

He said nothing. He wagged his finger at me, shook his head and pointed to the man on the floor.

Don't shoot him. Not here. Those were the two possible translations I had, or if none, then I was a horrible translator.

Too bad then. He crouched down and took the knife from the man, kept it in his pocket, and motioned for me to follow him.

Outside the alley, I could see his face now. But I didn't stare long, that would be awkward admiring the side of his face. God I'm such a weirdoooooooo.

We walked to the car while I sang more. I got in the passenger's seat hesitantly, and then he drove to who-knows-where.

He was silent. I'm usually a talkative person. I don't get mad. I don't get annoyed. I don't get serious.

Those are all Myc's jobs.

Everything is a joke to me. But right now I was silent too.

Because he was.

And it was awkward.

For the first and hopefully the last time.

--

He pulled to a stop. Fields. Green. Green everywhere.

"Where are we?"

He smiled and got out. With my blank expression, I folllowed suit.

We were met by a man. Early 30s. Wait, it's weird guessing their ages, so I'm gonna stop now.

"My boy!" He exclaimed in a slightly Southern accent. You know, the 'Yee-how!' kind.

He and my savior shook hands. "The usual?" The man asked.

My savior nodded.

"And who's this?" The man's eyes went to me.

"Um. I'm Autumn Ryder. I'm uh. He's. Uh."

The man rasied an eyebrow. My savior looked like he wanted to laugh.

I really needed a new nickname for him. Savior was getting old.

"He kinda saved my life," I finally said monotonously.

--

"Yes! Did you see that! Woooooooooooooo!"

God I'm so weird.

I shouted that to him, jumping up and down and waving my hands in the air. I just shot the target with a gun! Wooooooooooooo

Okay. I should stop.

I laughed with joy and removed the goggles. He smiled, his shoulders shaking from laughing silently, watching me go all crazy, running around the field.

Mainly because it's my first time shooting straight. All of my other first shots were. Well.

And then I jumped from my spot and hugged him, still laughing with glee.

I don't know what's so happy about a gunshot, but I ain't a normal person. I get happy with the least of my achievements.

I don't hug a lot as well. Usually it's just Atari I hug, or pat on the back. But right now I was so happy I didn't care.

So when we got back to the car, I told him, "I never knew your name."

He smiled again and shook his head.

Okay. Sticking with Savior then.

"Thank you. For today," I said slowly, dragging the words. He nodded and drove me home with my instructions.

And this time, the silence wasn't awkward.

Because I was singing again that probably killed a panda pig in Zimbabwe.

No, just kidding. The silence was nice.

For the first, and hopefully not the last time.

Author's Note

first chapter kinda sucked, but oh well. :) Tell me what you think!