Promise Me You'll Never Be Afraid

Chapter 8 - I'm not ready

The following day at school, I was outside smoking a cigarette with Brian during the second period, just talking and laughing, when Matt came walking towards us.
Brian put out his cigarette and gave me a smile as he walked away, and Matt approached, basically forcing me to look way up at him. "Look. I'm not ready to tell you everything yet. It's never gotten me anywhere good before, I know it's different with us but I don't want to risk scaring you away" I said and he pulled me into a hug, "It's okay, tell me when you're ready, that's actually what I was coming out here to tell you, and you could never ever scare me away. You know that," he said and continued hugging me, only I didn't know that for sure, because I knew he didn't know me as well as he thought he did.

We spoke for a few more minutes before the bell rang and we had to part ways to our respective classes. I thankfully had a class with Brian, although I wasn't sure what the class was, just a free period I'd assume. I would never say it but I am pretty positive that Brian couldn't handle teaching two different classes, not with the students at this school. We've made teachers, male and female leave within the first week, along with many, many students. I say 'we' because I wasn't always the greatest person, and I severely dragged myself down by hanging out with the worst crowd I could find. Thankfully, I had managed to get out of that group and I now am friends with the less mature but wiser kids that roamed the halls and called themselves skater kids. Not all of us knew or hung out with each other, but if any of us needed help we knew who to turn to.
I noticed I was getting colder in the classroom and wondered if I was seated under an Air Conditioning vent, but I wasn't.
I reluctantly got up and made my way towards Brian's desk, "Hey, mind if I run to my locker real quick and grab a hoodie?" I asked, expecting him to say yes as he usually did with these types of questions. Instead, he said no, and offered me one of his, "I have a few here, I really don't mind," He said with a smirk, "You might not but Matt certainly will" I added, he sighed in return, "He can't really get mad over someone supplying you with a hoodie so you don't freeze to death, now can he?" I laughed loudly at his oh so convincing argument, but accepted the hoodie nonetheless, perhaps because I wasn't sure if I actually had any clothes in my locker, I doubted I did.

I slid on the hoodie and smiled as I instantly began warming up, and returned to my desk just as the other students were filing into the room, "So, what class is this?" A bimbo in the front row asked while pushing her chest forward, though Syn paid no attention to her, he simply shrugged and looked at me, "Well?" He asked me, and I felt my eyes widen, and pointed a finger at myself, as if silently asking, 'me?'. He smiled and nodded, "What?" I asked, "What should we learn about today?" He asked, with a smirk on his face, I giggled and held up a previous drawing I had done of Ozzy Osbourne, and showed it to all the teenagers in the desks around me. "Well, since this is technically a free period, there's not necessarily rules based on the curriculum, so I think we should learn about the Prince of Darkness himself. Ozzy fucking Osbourne" I declared with a smile and placed the drawing on Syn's desk, sitting back down while holding up devil horns as someone else began speaking, "Oh great, the emo freak has turned the new teacher into a freak!" It was the bimbo in the front row who had tried flirting with Brian earlier.
Syn instantly got mad at what this girl had said, because he glared at her and spoke up, "Listen up child, do not ever say anything about either of us again, otherwise it'll be the last fucking thing you do." He said loudly before dropping his voice to a whisper for the threat.
I knew he wasn't fucking around, the class thought he was but I knew better. I knew Syn, and I knew the band. They didn't take lightly to people disrespecting them. "But for now, go the office," He finished, and began walking back towards his desk, "What?" She nearly yelled, "I said get out of my sight!" He shouted, and she-without her belongings ran out of the room in sheer terror. I just sat there giggling to myself with a smirk resting on my lips.

I looked at the other students who were either trying to hide their laughs or were too scared to laugh in the first place. "Oh, you guys can laugh, he doesn't hate any of you just yet, however she was very annoying," I answered before Syn could, which earned a smile from him as he started finding Ozzy Osbourne documentaries.

"So, how are you on good terms with the teacher?" One student asked me, causing 3 more to turn towards me, I knew Syn was watching, so I tried to give minimal answers and seem like I was paying more attention to the class than this conversation, as I gave them an answer, "He's friends with my uncle" they nodded and while they seemed curious, they took their answer and turned back towards the board after I gestured for them to do so.

****

"Matt, wait up," I called as I ran out into the parking lot. "Can you give me a ride? My car broke down at lunch," I asked

"Sure, get in" he said. He seemed in an off mood and I wasn't sure why.

"Okay. What's up?" I asked once we began driving.

"What do you mean?" He asked, though his hands were gripping the wheel

"You're white knuckling the steering wheel, what's up Matt?" I deadpanned

"Ugh. It's everything. Well. Not you. Everything else, I guess." I frowned, "Personal or work?"

"Both? Syn and I were working for one guy a while back and now he wants more of a share of what our band is making. For the record, Avenged has nothing to do with him, just me and Brian." He confessed

"Okay. Wow. Well what's the next step?"