The Fighter

Chapter 1

“I have died every day, waiting for you. Darling don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I’ll love you for a thousand more.” –Christina Perri; A Thousand Years

               Part One

Chapter 1

               Everything was a little blurry. But that’s how the first day of school always is. Schedules get passed out, seats get chosen, but you’re not really aware of what’s happening until it’s over. Well, that’s how I feel anyway. If we did it my way, the teachers would transition and not the students.

               But who’s going to listen to me?

               Nobody. Not that that bothers me, some of my decisions and ideas haven’t turned out so great. I guess I won’t get into those though. That’s not what my story’s about.

               Anyways, back to the first day of school. I’m not sure of the exact date, but it was a Monday. I already had my schedule, thank you open house, and I had pretty much everything I thought I’d need.

               Then it got knocked out of my hands.

               “Watch it!” I snapped, as a guy I’d never seen nearly knocked me down.

 His face was priceless, a mixture of shock registering and confusion at what had just happened. I sneered, blowing a strand of auburn hair out of my eyes to get a better look at this obviously new soul. My harsh words bit him, but he shook it off, bending down to pick up my scattered school supplies.

“Sorry.” He muttered, not looking me in the eye.

“You’re new.” I stated, taking them from his hands without looking away. He still hadn’t looked up.

“Dude, look at me. I’m not going to kill you.” I huffed, rolling my eyes quickly before he looked up.

His blue eyes startled me, and it wasn’t very easy to do that. They were infinitely blue, with just a fleck of gold in each.  “What’s your name?” I asked, cocking my head to the side while I awaited his reply.

He sighed. “Collin Easton.” He mumbled, sticking out his hand to me. I took it warily, not wanting to startle him. “I’m Bryson Vick. You can call me Bryson.”

He cracked a small smile, and I considered this a victory. I was going to get to know this new kid. He had to be more interesting than what lie ahead for me in 9th grade…

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My classes weren’t the best in the world, having Geometry first was a bonus though. I’ve never liked having the boring classes at the end of the day, you want to fall asleep so bad, but you can’t. Those are the classes that if you don’t pay attention, you’ll fail for sure.

The new kid was in two of my classes. Well, Collin was in two of my classes. He was still quiet, even after the first week had passed. He sat in a corner, all alone, and I was still working up the courage to talk to him again. I came across as abrasive at first, but it really took a lot and the right situation for me to be myself around people I barely knew.

My best friend Maddie, however, wasn’t in any of my classes but chorus. We had been best friends since forever, but lately we’d been growing apart. And the world that is high school wasn’t helping much. It was then that I saw her on the second Wednesday of our ninth grade year.

“Hello there.” I said as she approached. She rolled her eyes, a small smile on her lips. She wasn’t wearing any makeup. She had slight bags under her eyes, and I frowned slightly.