ANTHONY
"You look like garbage," Jamil says to me as soon as he sees my face.
I didn't get much sleep yesterday. It's not so easy to relax when your whole head is spinning.
"Nice to see you too," I say but my sarcasm sounds weak even to my own ears.
"You sure you should be at school? Maybe you're sick or something," Jamil says, and as the supporting friend he is he takes a step back.
The truth is that I really didn't want to go to school today, I was ready to do anything, skip school and move to Mexico, as long as I didn't have to see Grey's face again. But if I had skipped school then it would look like I made a big deal out of it, like it meant something, which it didn't...it can't.
"I'm fine, just a bit sleep-deprived," I tell him and turn around to lock my bike, when I remember that I walked here because I never took my bike with me when I decided to skip school with Grey yesterday.
I shake my head at the memory, holding back a heavy sigh.
"Aren't we all?" Jamil mumbles as we make our way into the school building.
When we've found our seats Jamil's curiosity finally takes over and he leans in closer to me as he starts whispering.
"So, are you going to tell me what happened yesterday after you left with that guy?" he says while raising a thick eyebrow.
I roll my eyes and focus my gaze on the math book infront of me.
"Nothing happened."
Jamil snorts.
"Yeah, right, so where were you during Science?"
I shake my head, trying to look like I don't know what he's talking about, when really I'm desperately trying to come up with a good lie.
"You skipped school!" Jamil exclaims loudly, forgetting that we're still in a classroom.
I hush him.
"Keep your freaking voice down!" I whisper angerly, shaking my head in annoyance.
"So, you did skip school!" Jamil says, excitement sparkling in his eyes.
Then he turns from excited to confused. "I've been trying to get you to skip school with me since before we went to school, why did you do it with him?" he says it like we've been married for ten years and he just caught me cheating.
Before I'm able to come up with an answer the teacher finally walks in an annonces that the class is about to begin.
GREY
The next day I skip school. I tell myself that it's because I need to keep an eye on my mom, but I can't deny that Tony plays a part in it too. I try not to think about what happened as I make my way to the kitchen, the memory has been on constant repeat since I got home yesterday.
I find my mom spread across the couch in the living room, snoring loudly. Several bottles are decorating the table infront of her, and I realize that she must have gone out late at night to get them, beacuse I've cleansed the house from everything that contains alcohol.
The sun is shining through the thin fabric of our black curtains, bathing the room in unwanted light. My mom groans, turning away from the windows as she tries to avoid the bright sun.
"Mom, you have to get up and get ready. You have an interview at that hairdresser down the street today, remember?" I tell her as I try to hide my annoyance with a calm voice.
She groans again, but doesn't make a move to get up.
As my patience starts wearing thin I try to gently shake her, but it only results in her drunkenly flapping at me with her hands as if I was nothing more than an annoying bug.
I've eventually had enough and with one smooth movement I swoop the blanket she has tucked herself in away and throw it down on the floor with all the strength I can muster, resulting in a loud sound that finally wakes her up.
"I'm awake, I'm awake!" she exclaims as she sits up with a wild look in her still sleepy eyes.
I sigh. "Congratulations! Now, go shower, I've laid out some clothes for you to wear on your bed."
My mom looks confused for a moment, like she finally understands that she is supposed to be the responsible adult, not her 18 year old son, but then she shakes her head and slowly stumbles to her feet.
Before she closes the bathroom door behind her she turns around, looking like she's suddenly realized something.
"Where's...?" she says, snapping her fingers like it's going to help her remember the rest of her sentence.
"...Angie?" I suggest and she nods.
"Yes, where is Angelina?"
I try my best to ignore the fact that she just forgot the name of her own daughter when I answer:
"At school."
My mom nods again, but it looks lazily, like she isn't really there. Then she turns around and closes the door behind her, leaving me to clean up her mess as always.
ANTHONY
As always the cafeteria is stuffed with students when I walk in. I let my eyes scan the room, pretending that I'm looking for Jamil when I'm really trying to avoid bumping into Grey like the day before. When I'm sure I don't see Grey anywhere, I make my way towards Jamil, as always he sits by our usual table. Having learnt from my mistake yesterday, standing in line without any results to show for it, I already have food with me.
Jamil narrows his eyes when I sit down.
"You didn't answer my question," he says, pointing his fry at me. (I wonder how he always gets fries, that's like fighting for a piece of meat with ten hungry lions, scratch that, make it a hundred starving lions).
I shake my head.
"What question?" I ask, playing dumb.
Jamil's had enough of my secrecy and shows it by throwing a fry at me. I dodge it and it hits the person behind me in the neck. Jamil and I turn around quickly, holding back our laughter. It feels good to be able to think about something else than Grey for a moment, even though it doesn't last long.
"Why did you skip school with that goth kid?" Jamil asks eventually when he's sure the guy behind me has turned around again.
I sigh annoyed.
I'm about to answer when my eyes catch a glimpse of pink hair. I'm up on my feet before I even realize it.
"Let's go outside!" I say, grabbing Jamil by the arm.
He's barely able to grab his fries before I start pulling him towards the entrance.
"Why?" he shouts over the noises of the people we pass.
I keep my eyes on the pink-haired figure, who's still too far away for me to be able to decide if it's really Quinn or not, as I answer: "Because it's a beautiful day."
Jamil huffs, clearly not believing my lie.
Suddenly the person with pink hair turns around, making me pick up my speed. That's definitely Quinn, and if Quinn's here that means Grey probably isn't far away either.
"Hey...h-hold up...where are we going!" Jamil complains behind me, stomping his feet in the ground to slow me down.
I throw a glance in Quinn's direction, which turns out to be a big mistake as they finally notice me and start battling their way through the ocean of teenage bodies seperating us.
"I need to pee!" I shout, making a few heads turn my way as we barge out of the cafeteria.
"Last time I checked you were 17 and fully capable of going to the toilet by yourself!" Jamil protests, but I ignore him as I swing open the bathroom door and close it shut behind me.
I let go of Jamil and take a deep breath, trying to gather my wild thoughts.
"You," Jamil says, pointing a judgementful finger at me, "have a lot to explain, young man."
Just then the bathroom door swings open and Quinn comes barging in.
"What the Hell is wrong with you?" they say, placing their hands on their knees while they try to catch their breath.
I notice that no Grey is coming in with them, and while my brain makes my tense mucles relax my heart sinks a little. Where is he? Did he stay home because of me? Is he okay?
"Why did you run away from me?" Quinn asks when they finally get their breathing under control, locking their piercing blue eyes with mine.
I shrug, putting on an innocent smile. "I didn't realize you were following us."
"Bullshit!"
"I..." I start to say, but Jamil cuts me off by clearing his throat.
"I have to agree with them. I've avoided enough of my relatives to know when somebody is trying to hide from somebody else, and what you just did was some serious avoiding, like top shelf," Jamil explains, but instead of looking angry, he places a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"What's going on, bro?"
I sigh, a sound so heavy it makes me sink down on the floor.
"I need to tell you something," I say and reach out a hand towards Jamil.
He takes it without hesitating and joins me on the cold tiles. "I think you should."
GREY
"You're driving?" my mom asks me when she sees that I'm heading towards the driver's seat.
I unlock the car. "Yep."
She looks like she wants to protest, but there must still be some kind of common sense left in her even though she's still quite hungover, because she nods and opens the door to the passanger seat.
The drive isn't long and before we know it we're outside the hairdresser.
My mom looks suddenly very tense, twisting her hands in her lap. I lay a supporting hand on her shoulder.
"It's going to be fine, just act professional and don't do anything stupid," I tell her, a smile lurking at the edge of my lips.
My mom nods determined, and for a split second I remember the strong and beautiful woman she used to be when dad was still around. She opens the door and I watch her disappear inside the hairdresser a few moments later.
I sigh, tilting my head backwards until it hits the headrest behind me. Suddenly a jawn escapes my mouth, it seems like my body has finally realized my lack of sleep. I tell myself I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes, I'm just...so...tired...
I'm sitting underneath the oak tree again, the sun is high and shines over the city, making it sparkle like a thousand diamonds. I hear soft breathing next to me and I tilt my head slightly to see who it is. Tony has his head rested on my shoulder and an arm draped around my stomach while he's peacfully asleep.
Since this is a dream I don't hesitate before I stroke away a stray of hair from his face. The gentle gesture brings a teasing smile to his face.
"Are you watching me while I'm sleeping?" he asks, still with his eyes closed.
I chuckle, brushing a hand along his cheek.
Suddenly a rush of cold air hits me like a knife. I look up. Grey clouds have devoured the sky, hiding the sun behind a dark wall. The temprature drops to a freezing sensation against my skin as the wind whips at my clothes, making the grass beneath me twist with an enormous force.
I rip my gaze away from the sky to look down at Tony, but he's no longer there. I stand up, desperately searching for Tony with my eyes. I stumble as another whiplash of wind hits me.
"Tony!" I shout, panic rising in my throat. "Tony, where are you?"
I use the tree trunk for support, stumbling around for a sign of Tony.
Suddenly my eyes catches a glimpse of blonde hair a few metres in front of me.
"Tony!" I scream as loud as my voice allows.
The figure turns around, revealing a broken face with tears of fear streaming down the cheeks of the boy I feel so highly of.
The intensity of Tony's fear hurts me even more than the freezing wind.
"I don't want to see you again!" his voice breaks as he repeats the words he said to me when he kissed me on the hill.
Before I can answer he turns around and storms off, only leaving the memory of his smile and the feeling of his skin against mine.
I fall to the ground, letting the raging storm cosume me.
I wake up with jolt, the dream still fresh in my memory. I take a deep breath to calm my beating heart. That's when I get a look at the clock on my dahsboard. I've been asleep for two hours, and my mom hasn't returned.
"Shit!" I exclaim, my fingers desparetely unbuckling my seatbelt.
I jump out of the car, ripping the door to the hairdresser open. The bell above the door clangs loudly with complaint.
"Where is my mother!" I asks loudly enough for everybody to hear.
The owner of the buissniss comes out from her office.
"She left about one and a half hour ago when she didn't get the job."