Fall Away | a.i.

~two~

Later that day, I walked home in silence, headphones in and music blasting.

I sang quietly to myself, "Please won't you push me for the last time, let's scream until there's nothing left.."

I stopped when I heard laughing somewhere behind me. I quickly glanced over my shoulder, seeing Luke and his asshole friends walking too, excluding Ashton. Great, looks like they were coming over as well. I faced forward again and nearly screamed when I saw Ashton standing in front of me, walking backwards so that he was still facing me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I just couldn't get away from this kid today.

"Pierce the veil?" He asked me, ignoring my question.

I nodded slowly, "Yeah. Now answer my question."

He shrugged, "I was walking with them and they dared me to scare you. Then I heard you singing."

I groaned and shook my head, not finding it hard to believe that they were trying to get on my nerves again. The wind started to blow my hair around, so I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt over my head. It was a friday afternoon in early March, but it was surprisingly warm in Philadelphia. Once I realized that Ashton still hadn't left, I looked back up at him, "Did what I said to you in the school today just go in one ear and back out the other or something? I don't know why you keep trying to hang around me, because it's not going to work. I don't need you Ashton."

He had a peculiar look on his face. One eyebrow was raised, and his head was cocked to the side, as if he was trying to figure me out. Good luck buddy.

He stopped walking suddenly, making me run into him. I tried to walk around him, but he grabbed my wrists, "Why do you feel the need to push people away, Lyric?"

I stared at him long and hard, and he stared back, until finally the other guys were starting to catch up to us. He loosened his grip and I forcefully pulled my hands away, and then stepped around him and continued to walk down the street. I took long strides, trying to increase the distance between us as much as possible.

~

When I got home I shut the door a little too loud behind me, immediately bounding up up the stairs to my room. My dad and Liz, my stepmom, were both sitting in the kitchen, and tried to make conversation with me but I ignored them.

I walked into my bedroom and shut the door, kicking off my dirty converse and flopping down on my bed next to my dog, Whiskey. He looked at me slightly, but then went back to sleeping. I heard the door downstairs open again, and the familiar yelling of annoying teenage boys filled the house. It got quieter after a minute, signaling they had gone downstairs to the basement.

My phone bleeped and I rolled over and picked it up, seeing a new text from River. Something about a stupid party the next night. I texted her back, telling her I wasn't interested. She replied with a comment about me being lame, so I simply told her that parties were lame too.

I put my phone back down and laid on my back, trying to think of anything to do. I stood up and looked out the window, noticing the newly uncovered pool in our backyard. It was going to be freezing cold, but it was something to do.

I threw on a bathing suit, and then an oversized tshirt as well. I crept downstairs, making sure to avoid my dad so he wouldnt ask questions. I went to grab a towel out of the bathroom, but the door was shut, meaning someone was in there. I leaned against the wall across from the door, folding my arms over my chest as I waited.

After a moment, Michael stepped out, giving me a weird look when he realized I only had a tshirt on. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, grabbing a towel, "Take a picture, it'll last longer."