stage

michael/one

michael/one, ft. a song you should listen to: alone by halsey

The hallway was mostly empty as the boy with hazel eyes and curls walked down the hall.
Junior year

Just as the girl had experienced three years ago, the boy didn't know the layout of the school or which door led to a classroom as he searched for a vending machine.

He hiked his bag up slightly, one strap of the backpack hanging loose.

Unlike most students at the school, the boy joined the school about two months in, making the transition into a new school even more difficult. He had spent the last three years of high school in another state with his mom, but due to job changes, he had to move to live with his dad.
The sudden news of having to pack up and move without his opinion, of course, pissed him off quite a bit.

He sighed as he turned a corner, each door becoming less and less familiar than they already were.

The boy's hazel eyes studied the halls he went down as he felt his stomach grumble. During the school's lunch, he was far too busy with catching up in a few classes to eat.

The boy was well ready to give up looking for the small snack and endure his long walk home, walking home being one con of not having a car, when he caught sight of a fellow student go into a door with no label.

He looked around, now seeing all the students had gone home, unless they were busy with practices.

He ran a hand through his dark curls before following to the door, opening it and being met with the same set of stairs as the girl once saw for the first time.

At this point, he was just willing to find a student and ask if the school even had a vending machine so he could avoid having his stomach eat itself.

Descending the stairs, he didn't question the door not being labeled, or the fact that the hall and stairs definitely seemed older than everything in the school.

All he cared about was his hunger.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned his head to his right, seeing that the hallway ended that way in just a few feet. The boy turned his head to the left next, the hall once again ending in a few feet, but the difference between this end of the hall and the other end, was that this end of the hall had a vending machine leaned up against the wall.

The boy let out a relieved sigh and smiled, walking towards the machine and moving his bag in front of him to grab a dollar.

It didn't take long for the boy to pick the snack he wanted, a simple bag of potato chips.
After putting in the dollar, he tapped his foot on the ground as he waited for the snack to drop, his movement abruptly stopping as a loud crash came from the door closest to him, the door across from the stairs.

His gaze was taken away from the machine in front of him, now being stuck on the door. He felt his heartbeat speed up as he worried of what laid behind that door. He was worried some person was living down there, or he wasn't meant to be down in this little hall.

When he heard his chips fall and hit the bottom of the machine, he was completely ready to grab the chips and run, but then he heard someone swear, sounding much like a teenage girl. His slight curiosity grew with hearing the voice, making him unconsciously step closer to the door and wait to hear any other noise.

But when he didn't, he was tempted to grab his chips and run again. Instead, though, he slowly walked back to the machine, grabbed his chips and moved again, standing in front of the door.

He boldly turned the handle and pushed open the door, stepping in immediately, yet holding his breath.

What met his eyes, though, was nothing he would have expected. The room hadn't changed much since Stage first found it, even if the boy was unaware to any past changes. The walls were still bright, different colors and different forms of art were leaning against said walls. The one difference, though, was that the room was much more crowded.