polarize :: [hood]

[prologue. polarize]

"I wanted to be a better brother, better son,

Wanted to be a better adversary to the evil I have done,
I have none to show to the one I love,
But deny, deny, denial.

Help me polarize, help me polarize,
Help me down,
Those stairs is where I'll be hiding all my problems,
Help me polarize, help me polarize,
Help me out,

My friends and I, we've got a lot of problems."

___

She was a princess.

Like, one of those 'Daddy's Girls' who got cars on their sixteenth birthdays and have more designer bags than textbooks or pencils or empty wrappers at the bottom of the purses that cost more than tuition at their shitty, snobbish private school.

She was popular.

Like, 'cheerleader' popular, or 'too-nice-to-not-be' popular, or 'every-boy-wants-to-bone' popular; she was like that, 'your-older-sister-was-a-babe-so-good-thing-you-are-too,' type of girl.

She had a reputation.

Like those 'good girls' who never did wrong or broke curfew or got caught slipping out of the house to meet with their football-playing-boyfriends.

He knew of her, of course, since everyone did and he was more than surprised when he found out that she knew of him, too.

Because he was not a prince.

And he was not popular.

And people didn't know his name like they knew hers.

Although his life changed inexplicably when he ran into her on the first day of 11th Grade, and as papers fluttered around them and pencils spread across the halls and Michael laughed aloud and they crouched down to pick up their belongings, she spoke to herself, "Damn it...On the first day, too..."

He slipped pink notebooks into her hands and helped her with the multicolored pencils and heart-shaped stickies escaped from her pencil case.

She'd looked up and they'd locked eyes.

She'd smiled.

His heartbeat had accelerated.

"Thank you, Calum."

And for the moment that followed, he stopped placing things into her hands.

"How do you know my name?"

"Oh," she faltered, laughing. "I don't know. I just-I mean, I just do? Yikes, is that weird? Sorry," she said, gathering her things. "I'm kind of a creep."

And he stared, eyebrow raised, as they stood in the halls. He could feel eyes-all of their judgmental eyes-around him. He knew. He could tell they were watching, wondering.

They were all wondering what a girl like her could possibly be doing with someone like him.

She held out her hand. "I'm Royce," she said.

He held back a laugh, shaking her little palm.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I know."

"Well," she'd grinned. "Thanks," she held up her bag, "y'know, for the help."

"No problem."

Her smile grew, and as the bell rang overhead, she waved, stepping towards her first period class.

"See you around?"

He'd shoved both hands into his pockets.

"Nah," he'd said. "Probably not."

___

I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS STORY

so this is definitely my guilty pleasure story because I heart calum/normani and I more than highkey need that ship to set sail, so royce is played by normani kordei.

peep that cast list.

also I'm #zeigh af so that's in this too.

i'm actually really really excited for this and for the first time ever I've actually got multiple ideas going into it lol.

*loosely based on the song 'polarize' by twenty one pilots*

****this is also the first story i'm intentionally making 'mature' (w.o wattpad doing that for me lol) so heads up for drug abuse and foul language and sexxx lmao.

comment and vote xx