Shadows Fading (BxB)

~1~

The song above, I've had stuck in my head for the past week or so and it won't get outtttt. It's also the song that Kyle listens to in this chapter, I feel like it kinda describes him. Not completely, but in a way. 

~Kyle POV~

"Get your fucking ass out here!" My so-called dad demanded with a slight slur, pounding on the door with one fist.

Whack the damn thing any harder and you'll fucking break it, I thought with a roll of my eyes as I remained sitting on the edge of my bed, unfazed. This was a normal occurrence for me. Too normal. I could smell the alcohol staining my adoptive dad's breath from through the door. At least the drunk man was clearly too out of it to remember that the door didn't even have a lock on it. Just the thought brought an amused smirk to surface on my face as I scoffed at his complete and utter idiocy.

This was how it always was. Why I preferred to stay away from the house that didn't feel like home. When I was first adopted by my current parents, they'd seemed nice enough. Hell, if they would've stayed that way, maybe we actually would've made a good family. Too bad they, just like everybody else in my shit life, had given up on me. They quit trying years ago to get me to open up to them. Open up? Ha. Fuck that. Not for anybody. Too many things have taught me not to, and they long ago joined all the others in proving my point.

Several minutes later, silence formed on the other side of the door. Quite frankly, I no longer gave a shit, but I was relieved that there was no longer an abusive drunk banging on my door. I reached over to my dresser, taking my earbuds and plugging them in my phone. The only reason I even had one was because the adoption agency had provided me with it before I was even adopted, for the original purpose of contacting my aunt. Unfortunately, it would never serve that purpose again. As soon as I hit the play button for my music, Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons came on. "You tell me to hold on, oh you tell me to hold on, but innocence is gone, and what was right is wrong." I silently hummed the lyrics as I just bided my time. It was already 3 am when my drunken dad had finally come home and woken me up, and I'd need to leave the house at 5:30 to even have a chance of getting to school on time, so why bother trying to fall back asleep again when it would take me almost the entire damn time to do so?

The vibration alarm on my phone buzzed right at 5 for me to get up. I was a light sleeper, so if I had still been asleep, then it would've woken me up easily without waking the rest of the house, the very reason for which I hated sound alarms. I paused the music, lifting myself off the bed and grabbing some clothes before walking into the bathroom for a quick shower. As the water warmed up, I leaned against the now locked door, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

My body, which stood at about 5'10", was slim, but had enough muscle tone on it to be prominent. My skin was smooth and pale, but had just enough of a tan to not appear completely colorless. My jaw was sharp and defined, while also sleek. I ran a hand through my short-trimmed raven black hair, although it was barely even long enough for my fingers to grasp the strands. Two eyes gleamed back at me in the slowly fogging mirror, the dark chocolate brown orbs glaring with a hardness that attempted to freeze the warm hue. Along my body were scars, along with a few bruises, but my gaze flicked to the thick old scar on my throat. It had long smoothed out, but the faded marks would always be there as a reminder. A reminder of something I wished with all my might to forget, but never could, no matter how hard I tried.

Once I had deemed the shower warm enough, I scrubbed up quickly, not wanting to take longer than necessary in the bathroom. I pulled on my darkly colored jeans, slipping my dark navy blue shirt over my head. After that, I put on the black leather jacket that I wore daily. It was like my trademark; I was never seen without it, and even if I was alone, I still wore it. I stopped by my room to put on my black sneakers before retreating silently down the stairs and toward the front door.

I gave a side glance to my apathetic older brother as I passed by him, unnoticed. Then again, ever since we were adopted, Dave hadn't been much better than our parents, adopted or blood-related. "I'll never let anything hurt you, little bro..." Pfft, yeah right. As you let everybody, and then join them on top of that. I huffed silently, rolling my eyes. Dave was fast asleep on the couch, and although he was a heavy sleeper, I wasn't about to risk waking him up. I crept by him to the door, opening and closing it without a single sound.

I checked the time on my phone. 5:31. Perfect. The school was about an hour and a half walk away, and started at 7, so I'd be getting to class right on time if nothing slowed me down. If. Either way, I wouldn't hurry. Why would I? It was just school; if I'm late, so what? True, I preferred to be on time, but it never mattered if I wasn't. The school sure as hell didn't care. It let me do whatever I wanted, anyway, which was the only good thing that ever resulted from my past. All the teachers and staff knew just enough of it to never punish me for anything. I knew it was out of pity more than anything, and I hated the fact, but I wouldn't complain. Seriously, who would complain about a free ticket out of everything?

I walked leisurely with the music blaring in my ears. The school slowly became visible in the distance after a while. I never minded the walk. It was almost calming for me. Just me and my music, without being stuck inside a room or around anybody else.

I actually had a few minutes to spare when at last I reached the large white-washed brick building. The halls inside were crowded with other students at their lockers, chatting loud enough to hear the dull roar over my music. At least the crowds generally shifted out of my way so I wasn't annoyed by the need to push through them. My bad-boy reputation really came in handy during frustrating times like this. Even the other bad boys had some sense of fear of me. There were few who didn't, very few, and those few were the ones I hated with all my guts.

I opened my undecorated locker a few moments later, where I kept everything I needed for my classes. I didn't have a backpack; that was too much of a nuisance for me to deal with every day. A body suddenly slammed into my side as I heard the laugh of the one person I hated the most.

Vincent Gorell. Star quarterback, cocky and arrogant bitch, and the most popular guy in school. How anybody could actually like the toxic asshole was beyond me. Vincent walked back to his friends, chuckling. Rolling my eyes for what was probably the fifth time just that morning, I then looked down to the small boy in a light blue hoodie who had fallen when he was apparently shoved into me.

"I-I'm s-sorry," the boy muttered quietly but quickly, light sandy hair a mess on his head. His pale face was looking downward as if to hide, and his thin body was sprawled on the floor. He was shaking slightly as well, clearly afraid.

"Whatever, it's fine. Get up," I said, a little harsher than intended. He did so immediately, standing maybe 5 inches below me at full height, although he kept his head down. "Careful now, would ya? Now go." The tiny boy nodded in response before hurrying off as the warning bell rang.

With a huff, I grabbed what I needed and closed my locker before going to my first class.

So there's the first chapter!

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Thank you all, and see you guys next chapter!

~Crystal