Astral High - Chapter 24
#25 of Astral High
Well, this is uploaded much later than I'd wanted. I'd have uploaded sooner had my hand not gotten hurt in PE [it's omniball, don't ask] and I couldn't write until about an hour ago. Anyways, this chapter's more normal than the past couple, so, yeah. Enjoy :P
My alarm went off and I pushed off my wall as hard as I could, which I'd found propelled me enough that I got one foot out the door, which I used to pull me out of my room. I hit the off button on the alarm, which was sitting just outside my room. I headed into the bathroom and took a two minute shower, taking time to clean myself more than once. When I got out, I put on clothes that me and Seth had agreed on wearing today, and I managed to eat and be out of the hous within a total of thirty minutes.
I went down to the block corner, where Seth and three other kids were waiting. The one who wasn't X or Zane did a double take when she realized we were wearing the same exact outfits.
"So, I didn't know you two were going to public school this year." [Me]
"Word got out. Anyways, Garrick's going this year because his mom doesn't want him around me. Obviously I had to screw that up." [Zane]
The tiger gave him a snide look when he said this, "What's your problem?"
"Uh, I want to hang out with my boyfriend."
"Oh. Uh... Okay."
"It's funny how people react to finding out you're gay." [X]
"Relationship anarchist-" [Zane]
"Just drop it, you're gay as hell." [Seth]
Zane muttered something under his breath, and the girl gave us more questioning looks, "So you guys all know each other?"
"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't seen us walking back and forth, up and down the road, all summer." [Me]
"Oh, I was at my aunt's for the summer. She lives in Florida." She said this in a snotty tone, as if she wanted us to say-
"Woah, what's it like there?!" [X]
"You dolt, she wanted you to say that." [Zane]
"As if! Anyways, I'm not surprised the likes of you haven't been there." [The tiger]
"The likes of- excuse me?" [X]
"Someone in low class like you could never afford-"
"You worthless bitch, my dad makes over two hundred grand annually, if we wanted to go to Florida we'd be there. The only reason we haven't gone is because work keeps him busy, but I guess that's not a problem for your aunt if you can spend an entire summer there."
"Oh what's that supposed to mean?!"
"I think you know damn well what it means."
"I-" She was cut off by the realization that the bus was pulling up. We got on and the four of us spotted Daniel and Garrick sitting near each other. We sat down near them, and the girl went past us, thwacking X on the forehead. When Zane sat down to Garrick, they immediately hugged, pulling each other close.
"So, haven't seen you all summer." [Me]
"Yeah, I had to go to my dad's for the fourth, and then... I don't know, stuff kinda got out of hand, my mom found out, and-... And basically my life went to hell in a hand basket." [Garrick]
"Why, what happened?" [Seth]
"I... I went to a party. I guess I should've asked the guys who were taking me where we were going, but-... Okay, there's this river with a lot of beaches on it, and there's a lake. It's obviously the prime place to host a party, but it just so happens that all kinds of horrible shit happens. Last year some girl got raped, teenage bodies wash up on shores- the people are always caught but... Well, we went to a party there and... I didn't know where it was, I had no idea it was that kind of party, and someone else-"
"Just spit it out already!" [X]
"Don't rush him. Although, you didn't do... it, did you?" [Zane]
"God no! I got drunk 'cause someone spiked the punch bowl, and-"
"That's not stereotypical." [X]
"Shut up!" [Seth]
"Go on, I'm still listening." [Me]
"Well, a lot of the others went home after they found out- so that the cops wouldn't catch them, really. But, the people who drove me there were still there, so I couldn't go home. At some point they decided to go swimming, and I was drunk off my ass so I wasn't making logical ideas, so I went along with it and... Well I nearly drowned. I mean, the others did too, mostly because we went over a cataract in the river, but still. I woke up in the hospital and a few days later my mom came over. She asked what happened, the doctors explained that I was at a party, said I got raped, and... well shit went to hell."
"So you did do it." [Zane]
"But-"
"I know, I'm just-"
"Zane, you can't blame him for getting raped-" [Me]
"I wasn't blaming him-"
"Shut up! I wasn't raped! My mom demanded they run another test- which hurt- and well... I wasn't raped, but I had to explain to my mom that I was gay in case it came back saying I was raped, and she spazzed out and wanted nothing more to do with me. I'm here because my dad's renting an apartment for me so I can stay here and go to school with you."
"I don't understand, Zane said your mom didn't want you going to school with him."
"Well she didn't, and that's the last thing I said to him. She enrolled me at the public school here and it was too late to back out. Dad wanted me to at least enjoy school, and he's working on a way to get full custody of me. At some point in the year I'll hopefully be going to live with my dad."
"Hopefully?" [Zane]
"Look, I'm sorry, but... I... It's more complicated than me just wanting to be with you."
"I thought kids with divorced parents are supposed to choose between one of them when they're twelve or something." [Seth]
"Yeah, but my parents were fighting for custody and I still loved both of them, so we worked it out that it was okay for me to go back and forth between them, but now it's falling apart."