Replaceable Timelines: Book 1. [COMPLETED]

Chapter 13: discovery

Me and Austin hung around outside for the duration of recess, he was talking with some boys about getting a party started at a friend of a friend's place, since their parents were out of town.

"What I wouldn't give for a drink... or maybe something more..." I think to myself.

"No, you're not that person anymore." I can't believe I have to plead with myself like this. It's ridiculous. I stopped using drugs for a reason.

The bell hasn't rung yet, Austin is still talking with them. One of the boys is playing some sort of musical beat on his phone and "freestyling" a rap that he's coming up with on the spot. It sounds cringy.

I'm standing off to the side as they talk, not really contributing anything to the conversation.

Really acting like a despondent teenage boy, so angsty. Staring off into the distance of the grey sky.

We're at the edge of the school, along the fence towards the back alley beside the school. Where the prying eyes of the teachers and school staff can't see the bad kids do bad stuff, like smoke.

The teachers can probably see us, honestly. Maybe they just don't care about what we do. They don't get paid enough to try and change every stupid kid's shitty actions. They're probably happy we crappy kids aren't in the class right now anyway.

How can you even change someone's path... I don't know the answer to that. It's probably not a simple one. I know in the future; Austin dies from addiction. And so, do I. Nothing, not a damn thing anyone has ever said to me got through my thick skull when I was at the peak of my addiction...

There must be some sort of way... fuck. There are so many other things I should be thinking about right now.

I feel disconnected from their conversations, just yesterday would be conversing with them at least, egging on this dude to keep singing. Or something. I shouldn't even be here. I've been leaving Austin to go to class alone, and meeting with Emma or her friends, or Charlie... Josh, Kelly or Anna or Claire. I've been clung to them lately. Why am I out here suddenly, isn't that suspicious? Fuck. I didn't even bother to look for them, and they've been my best friends for the past two months.

I've been stuck zoning out over all of my fearful thoughts and ideas and questioning my own behavior. I didn't notice there was a pause in the boys' conversation. I wasn't paying attention to their actual conversation, but I can hear the silence of them.

Looking at them, they're all staring into the distance at a group of girls walking toward us.

I don't know why they stopped talking though.

The boy who was rapping turned his music's volume to 0. The dude would probably be embarrassed to sing like that to a group of girls. After a few seconds, their group has made it up to ours.

"Hey, guys. Why so quiet." One girl says while giggling and looking back at her friend group and they begin whispering and talking quietly.

"Shut up!" One girl yells out at one of the other girls' whisperings. Slapping her arm.

After what feels like forever, they finally walk toward Austin.

She's got long brunette hair, and the whites of her eyes are large with a brown crystalline iris in the center of it. I can't see her face; she's covering it with the sleeve of her white sweater.

"Hey, we heard you know where we can get some weed." She speaks in a high tone of voice and maintains eye contact with Austin the entire time she speaks.

He stares at her for a little over three seconds, probably thinking of something witty to say. The same way he usually would to me, it's like I can see his whole thought process just by looking at his face.