I just wanted to say that not everything in this book will happen exactly like it did on the show, nor will it happen in the same order/timeline.
This is a fictional book, so I'll be bending some of the characters personalities where I see fit, adding an extra spin on some things, and making conflict between people that didn't really happen on the show. And some of the things that happened on the show just won't be taking place in this book at all.
With that being said, please don't come for me saying how something isn't accurate, like their ages, or a specific event that took place. For the sake of my plot, nothing will be 100% accurate.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
❛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴜsᴛ ʙᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɴɢᴇʀ sᴛᴀɢᴇ. ❜
ＯＭＮＩＳＣＩＥＮＴ
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
For it to be January, it was a pretty hot day in California. Ruby, whom was fresh out of the hospital, laid stiffly in bed, staring up at the ceiling with wide unblinking eyes. He messed with the cast on his arm as sweat trickled down his tan skin. He couldn't tell if it was just that hot outside, or if it was his bad dream that had him sweating so profusely, the fan that was standing in the corner of his room blowing cool air clearly being no use.
Today was Ruby's first day out of the hospital. He spent a whole month in there after getting shot and almost dying in a gang related shooting, and now that he was out, all he wanted to do was mope around and be sad all day. After coming so close to death, most people would be happy that they were lucky enough to get a second chance at life, but not him. Ruby wasn't good at dealing with change, and to say the least, things definitely hadn't been the same after losing the fifth member of the crew. Plus, Olivia was basically like family to him, and now nothing would ever be the same again, and he knew it. The others did too, but it was easier to pretend that things would be okay when you weren't directly affected by the tragedy.
Even being home made Ruby feel uncomfortable, as almost everything around reminded him of Olivia. He couldn't even be alone in his own room anymore, just because it was one of the places where Olivia spent some of her last moments, which explains why he was back sleeping in the twins room. He couldn't even go into the kitchen because the refrigerator was plastered with so many pictures Olivia, or simply walk through his house without hearing her cute laugh in the distance, bombarded with memories he didn't even know existed as he passed specific spots in his house. Everything was such a constant reminder of her, even himself. He had her blood all over him-literally and figuratively.
Shifting positions, the small boy laid on his side, his injured arm propped up on one of the twins stuffed animals. He reached up under his pillow with his other arm and grabbed the small box that was carefully wrapped in purple colored paper. A weak smile spread upon his face as he examined the gift, his salty tears running down his cheeks and into the crease of his lips. He stared into the distance after parting ways with the box, his face saddening. Just holding it in his hands brought back memories, Olivia's angelic-like voice drowning out his thoughts.
"I don't want you to get me anything else, Ruby, you've already done so much. But if you do, just make it simple. Something small but meaningful."
Ruby remembered struggling to find the perfect gift for Olivia just weeks ago, spending hours of his time dedicated to just that. From searching Amazon top to bottom, to even dragging Monse to stores like Forever 21 to help him find Olivia a nice outfit to complimented her style. He remembered Olivia's obsession with clothes and thought that a new outfit would be just what she needed, but even after finding what him and Monse deemed to be "thee outfit", he still wasn't satisfied. By no means did he wanna let his best friend down, and honestly, he thought that he could do better.
As Ruby was shopping for a gift, he kept hearing Olivia repeating the word meaningful over and over again, dragging him back to the cute little pocket sized English-Spanish dictionary he saw on Amazon. Olivia may have been Mexican, but her Spanish wasn't that great, she understood it more than she could speak it. And being that her parents spoke broken English, it could be a little difficult for them to communicate at times, so Ruby bought her the dictionary instead. Although Olivia's parents were way back in Mexico, it was the thought that counted, and Ruby definitely put in a lot of that. He knew that they'd be reunited one day, and when that day came, he wanted Olivia to be able to fully communicate with her parents.
"So much for that." Ruby's mind began to drift back off to Olivia and how she didn't even make it through her Quienceañera, nor will she ever get to graduate, or turn eighteen, or go to prom, or simply get to see the light of day again. He knew Olivia had a full, promising life ahead of her that she'll never get to experience. She was so much more than just a pretty face, and he wished more people knew that. She had dreams, big dreams, and she deserved better than to be stuffed into a painted box that'll be full of maggots and worms within a few weeks.
Just when Ruby probably would have bursted into sobs, he was interrupted by his brother Mario. "Ruby! Mom said she's leaving and-" Mario paused, face softening once he laid eyes on his little brother, who looked completely out of it. "hey, you alright, mano?"
"I'm just thinking how crazy it is that someone's whole life can fit inside of a box." Ruby's voice was very monotone-like. He stared off to the side, his perfect brows furrowing every once in a while as a spoke, as if he was trying to process what was going on at the same time.
Not knowing what to say, Mario cleared his throat and sat on the edge of Ruby's bed, deciding to change the subject. His eyes traveling to the present in his hands. "is that..."
"I never got to give it to her." Ruby spoke softly, never looking up at Mario. His voice shook more than usual due to him trying to keep from crying, which he oddly hadn't done much of. Mario didn't say anything. He honestly still didn't what what to say, so he just listened. It killed him to see his little brother like this, no matter how annoying he was, but the older boy wasn't good at things like this. "It feels pointless to send it to her parents now, right?" he asked, finally looking up at Mario.
"Should I just keep it? Open it?"
"I think you should to what's best for you, Ruby." Mario replied. "but if this is going to be a trigger for you, then you need to get rid of it."
Ruby nodded, sniffling and wiping his nose as he sat up. "You're right. Thanks."
Mario smiled, patting him on the back. "You're welcome, little bro."
☆。*。☆。
★。＼｜／。★
TIME SKIP
★。／｜＼。★
☆。*。☆。
After taking another depression nap, Ruby found himself feeling somewhat better than before. He even agreed to meet his friends, whom he was planning on avoiding until Monday. His mother might have ordered him to stay home while she went out, but everyone else was gone too, and he refused to spend a whole day alone with Amber. Besides, he was beginning to feel like he was going crazy with how much he was always inside. He hadn't really been outside much since he was shot, mostly because he spent majority of his day in a hospital bed for a whole month.
Walking the streets alone had him a little apprehensive. Freeridge had never been the type of place that kids could just walk up and down the streets of freely, but after the shooting, things had gotten a lot worse. And a confrontation with the Prophets was the last thing Ruby wanted. He'd always been worried about these things, but he knew that there was a greater chance of something happening to him now than ever before. The only thing that saved him was Spooky and Cesar living next door. No matter how "scary" Spooky was, or how much he harassed the young teens, he'd always have their back, whether it was the Prophets, or some kids at school.
As Ruby turned onto the sidewalk, he glanced at the house next door out of the corner of his eye, not daring to fully turn his head. As always, Spooky sat in a chair on his lawn, his head resting against the back of it. Loud rap music played from the Bluetooth speaker that sat on the steps, a couple of other Santos hanging around the large yard as well. Ruby quickened his pace, cutting in between the row of cars that were parked in front of several houses. He speed walked to the other side of the street, silently praying that Spooky wouldn't see him.
But of course, that would be too easy. Noticing the small teen in his peripheral, Spooky lifted his head up. His low, hooded eyes followed Ruby's every movement, secretly stealing a glance or two at his ass, which bounced in his cotton shorts with each step he took. "Hey," Spooky called out into the distance, making Ruby walk even faster as his facial expression hardened, completely ignoring Spooky. This instantly angered the older man, who was actually pretty calm and in a good mood for once. "hey I'm talkin' to you!" a once neutral faced Spooky spat, now sitting up, his foot resting on the crate in front of him as he glared at the boy.
Ruby stopped completely. He sighed before turning around, an angry looked fixed on his face as he marched over to Spooky. He kicked the crate in front of him, knocking Spooky's foot off. "What?!" he spat, bucking at Spooky, almost is if he was daring him to do something.
Spooky looked down at the knocked over crate and then back at a clearly enraged Ruby as his nostrils flared, secretly amused by the whole thing. "Just wanted to check up on you. You good?"
"No, I'm not good!"
"Yo, chill out." Spooky warned, his face quickly frowning up.
"Chill out?!" Ruby exclaimed. "That's all you got as you sit there on your damn throne? I got shot!" he yelled, his movements aggressive.
"And my friend, who's the most amazing person I've ever known, died because of you, and for what? Nothing! Nothing but some bullshit beef that means nothing!" Ruby was on the verge of tears, but his anger kept him from breaking down like he's been wanting to all day. As he screamed, more and more veins popped out of his head and the side of his neck, his face now resembling the color of a tomato. "and that night won't stop replaying on auto repeat in my head. Every time I close my eyes I see my best friend lying in her own blood, and I'm next to her lying in mine! And every time I move my arm, it kills, further reminding me of that night, thanks to you, so don't tell me to chill out!" Ruby snapped, breathing heavily. He was feeling one too many emotions at once, one of them being relief. He'd been holding that in and more since forever, and never did he expect to actually say those things to Spooky out loud, but he did, and it felt good.
Spooky, on the other hand, was pretty calm. He thought it was funny seeing Ruby get all worked up and flustered. Getting shot made him grow balls, but Spooky was about to dead all that shit, and bring him right back down to earth. He was silent for a while, letting the younger boy think he had done something. He raised and dropped his eyebrows carelessly, nonchalant about the whole situation. "You must be in the anger stage." and with that, he took a sip of his Red Bull, a small smirk on his face as he downed the bittersweet-tasting liquid, eyes on Ruby the whole time. A few of his friends chuckled in the background, and Ruby gasped at Spooky's comment, his eyes widening as all the color nearly drained out of his face.
Embarrassment wasn't even the word.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
This update was supposed to be out days ago, like I've literally been sitting on this chapter since I put out the prologue but y'all know I'm the worlds biggest procrastinator. Also I (unfortunately) have writers block for Sugar rn so I'll probably just update this a few more times until I can get back on my shit.
How y'all feel about this book so far though? Is it good, bad, boring, cliche? Let me knowwwww! I actually really like it, so HOPEFULLY y'all do too.
Unedited asdafuck 🤧