Numbers: S1

Prologue (Pilot)

Sooooo. I wonder where this is going to go. I think I'll keep my author's notes centered and bold + italic, like this lol. Hopefully, this goes well...

Anyway, welcome! Or not? I dunno, I've never done something like this before. But this is my first story! I'm excited and scared at the same time, haha. I better stop rambling before the 1 person that reads this decides to click out lol.

This story is about a boy named One, who gets involved in an alien mess after a giant spaceship lands in New York, which just so happens to be where he lives. It's also boyxboy (lowkey bwahaha), so if that's not really your thing, you might want to take a u-turn and head back on the freeway. It's not too big a deal since this is mostly adventure, but it's also centered on him and his experiences (which includes his love interests) so yeah. It'll probably also have some violence, so beware (spooky).

I'll try not to dwell on certain things in the story since I tend to ramble a lot (as you can probably tell), but if you have any suggestions as to what I should fix or what I should do, feel free to hmu! I'll link my Twitter eventually. Also, I have this story planned out about 2 stories ahead, so I've already got sequels planned haha. Don't worry about it when it ends, it'll be back.

So here's the reading/formatting guide: Bold = SFX Italics = Internal Thoughts (when it's in 3rd person) & Stressed words Underline = I have no idea yet

BTW I'll switch it back to right centered again so that it stops looking so annoying ok bye thxx.

Prologue (Pilot!)

BOOM!

The sound of the squishy, basketball-sized ball that hit the wall behind me echoed across the arena. I could hear all the people around me sweating and breathing intensely, so much that I could practically feel their sweat on my body, and I wasn't even on their level.

This hellish arena was the gym, where all the best soldiers for the sports army would train, hoping to eventually become like the rest of the army, fit and popular. I was not looking to be either though, I just wanted to go home, but alas, I had to wait until training was over before I could even think about going back to class.

Class was, indeed, the highlight of my day, as I spent almost all of my time learning some way or another. I enjoyed getting wrapped up in lessons and listening to the teacher ramble about how she'll never let her daughter watch another rated R movie ever again. Maybe doing the worksheets wasn't was fun, but it was better than sitting on my couch watching Netflix all day. As fun as that sounds.

Today though, I stumbled between my classes as my head began to droop down and my eyes closed. I couldn't afford to fall asleep today, I still had 3 other classes and 2 tests. I could tell, that even though I was practically 1/2 done with the school day, it was still going to be a long day.

Suddenly, he appeared in front of me, offering to carry all of my books to class. He was an angel, the star student council member, the most popular guy in school, Kole with a K for some reason, and I couldn't risk corrupting him with my underlying demonic soul. So I snatched my books back and flashed him a quick smile before zooming to my class.

After a few hours or so, school was over and I felt brain-dead, but the thought of walking back home with my best friend quickly returned my energy. He took his bike from the rack on the side of the school, pulling it along as we walked home. It wasn't a very long walk, it was only about 30 minutes away, but it felt much longer when we talked. And sure enough, we began to chat.

"How's it going," Traz asked.

"You know how it is," I replied. Which was true, since he'd ask the question every day, and I'd always give him the same answer.

"Hey, don't be so harsh! Lemme guess, Mrs. Appleton's Spanish class?"

"Yes, the 100 question test killed me." The very fact that teachers to make tests with more questions than 20 is absurd. I should work on making it illegal when I become a lawyer. As if I'd ever become a lawyer, haha.

"Yeah, that was pretty crazy. You're a whiz though, that thing should've been a piece of cake!"

"It wasn't, I'll tell you that. It was tedious af."

"Af? I see you're hip and cool now." Traz nudged me in the shoulder and I returned the gesture back.

"Hey, who says I can't be cool?"

"Everyone. Even if you tried, I doubt you could pull it off." He had a point. I tried once, but after hearing the petty drama that happened among the higher ranks, I decided it wasn't worth my time.

"It's not like I want to be anyway. I'd rather just be me," I replied. I had enough self-confidence, so I felt that trying to be like someone else was useless. I still didn't feel like I mattered though, so I still had some gaps that I needed to fill. But I don't know what to fill it with.

"That's cool too. I'd want to be you too if I was you."

"You're making my brain huuuuurt," I groaned.

"Fine, fine," he chuckled. Traz was great company on days like these, especially since barely anyone else walked home. "When are you going to get a date though, dude? I've seen you and Jessica," he smirked at me. The annual dance was coming up at my school, and everyone was pairing up, even though it was in a month.

"I'm not going," I revealed. I didn't think going was worth it, not when the 3rd episode of Solgate Fighters was releasing on that day.

"What? Why? Is it because you don't have a date? You could always just ask Selena and she'd totally go with you, as a friend of course."

"It's not that, it's just..," I trailed off. I wanted to go with Kole but I couldn't tell Traz that. He didn't know that girls weren't my thing, that I was gay, so I just said nothing.

"I get it, it's just another event that'll waste your time. I know you, I was just hoping you'd at least consider going."

I flashed Traz a smile before replying, "I wanted to at first, but the hype is just killing it for me."

Traz gave me a smile, but behind it, I knew he was sad that I wasn't going. This wasn't the first time I turned down an event like this, so I don't know why he was so sad about it...

"Oh well, I guess you'll just have to sit on your couch and watch Netflix all day," he said. I laughed, and we continued to walk all the way down to the bus stop, where I sat, waiting for the bus to arrive.

I glanced at my phone, seeing a large red news heading on my lock screen. Traz suddenly ran toward me, saying, "Have you heard?! There's apparently aliens landing on the planet!"

I was convinced he was joking, so I tried to call his bluff, "And I have three eyes. Very funny."

"I'm dead serious! Look it up." I further studied the notification on my phone's screen and it read "Strange ship lands in New York, public told to stay calm and stay inside".

Surely this was a joke, right?