《~*This Book Contains K-12 Spoilers*~
I highly recommend watching the movie before progressing further into this book if you haven't watched the film already》
“And I think you're crazy too, I know you're gone,
that's probably the reason that we get along.”
~Mad Hatter (2015)
***
“I--I swear to God I'm gonna kill myself.” you begrudgingly murmured underneath your breath in hushed nervousness, clutching your small pile of textbooks enclose to your chest like some sort of consolation to your prolonged worry.
At that present moment of time, you stood with evident agitation at a bus stop, awaiting anxiously for the dreaded arrival of the school bus. Perturbation harvested densely in your abdomen, an unbearable heaviness settling there for an everlasting duration. Starting from this day forward, these were definitely, without any doubt, were going to be the single worst years as you prepared yourself for the next stage of your miserable life- school. All of the possible horrendous experiences that could happen deluged your cerebral cortex like an enormous tidal wave of water flooding through, engulfing your entire psyche in the turbulence of unbridled turmoil and leaving you in an endless tenebrific abyss of utter demise. Forced social interactions, derogatory and insulting retorts from fellow students, harassment, image-tainting humiliation, exhaustion, endless piles of incessant homework and intensely difficult assignments- Yeah, none of that sounded appealing at all.
Unlike the rest of the people around you, you were an introverted and timorous girl who had been abandoned by your parents at the youngest age. Barely a couple of weeks after you had been born, your parents left you with the purposeful intent for you to decay in a rundown alleyway behind an old, dilapidated building edging to the brink of collapsion. There wasn't even an apology or explanation note left behind to address why they had done such a thing. Zero, zilch, nada. They only enswathed your infirm figure in a deteriorated duvet that vaguely created comfort against the harsh environment. With this blanket encompassing your tiny form, they propped you into a tattered box and fled from the scene promptly without any given hesitation or gnawing regret. You had been discovered several hours later by authorities due to chronic complaints of babish mewling, and soon you were taken into an orphanage to live in. You never found out the actual identities of your "caretakers", and to be honest, you never ever want to find out anything about those monsters. What kind of mother and father would leave their young infant to die in some random location? You craved nothing from them and hoped to never meet them.
To this day you still remained in that orphanage, and that hellish place was the literal embodiment of a night terror. No exaggeration. All of the experiences you endured there were undeniably appalling for a fragile, softhearted and tenuous paper girl like yourself. Dating back to the first day your mind could remember, you had been outcasted by peers and degraded by practically everyone that crossed your path. Always harassed by people around your age and never accepted for who you were- regularly sustaining torment by the occupants and staff alike, suffering from the perpetual cycle of cruel, unjustified harrowing. And this affliction wasn't just because of your socially awkward and shy characteristics, it also dealt with the fact that you sexually identified yourself as bisexual. Yep, you were a closeted gay.
Despite being attracted to both genders, you never EVER informed a single soul about your sexual preference in the veiled fear of being berated even more. Somehow, though, the others had acknowledged your bisexuality from an unknown source and nobody supported you. Instead of lovingly peppering you in undying waves of unconditional benevolence, they devalued you as if you were a bacterial disease instead of a decent human being; an inferior pest that deserved nothing but the most discourteous treatment. Inevitably tarnishing your already mediocre reputation even more, and spitting a hateful string of constant homophobic slurs and battering you to a bloody pulp whenever they'd receive the chance. Sometimes the plummeting you received was so immense that it'd be agonizingly painful to even breathe, and there'd be swelling contusions that would remain for excruciatingly long weeks.
You rarely conversed with anyone. A total absence of healthy relations was lacking in your life, and you had never obtained a proper, affectionate correspondence with a special individual. For the whole majority of your life, not a single person devoted their time to maintaining an attentive connection with you. As pathetic as that sounded, it was the truth. Never had you been in a romantically intimate relationship or even established a wholesome friendship with anyone- you had always been isolated from the world, blanketing yourself in the caliginous shadows intentionally as to avoid any situations involving possible mockery towards you. Lingering unspokenly in melancholic solitude behind the crowd and generally unwanted by the world. There was a pure, unadulterated change you desired oh so badly in your life- you just wished for once in your insufficient life, someone would deliver the compassion you've longingly yearned for all these years. Someone who'd care enough about you to stay by your side through the most challenging times. Someone who'd love you wholeheartedly, even through the hardships that could be faced with.
All you've ever wanted was a friend.
Clearing out the mucky tension collecting in the back of your throat, your tremulous fingers tugged uncomfortably at the collar of your itchy dress. You bawled at your bottom lip and drummed the tips of your fingers against the sides of your textbooks. Shifting between both feet, you casted your view down the road that extended beyond your field of vision. You craned your neck in an attempt to spot the bus, but you couldn't see it.
“For fuck's sake- I can't believe that stupid orphanage is sending me to school. How the hell am I going to survive...?” You effused a heavily deflating sigh, shoulders slumping forward slightly.
“I could run away. I could run all the way to Canada and never come ba-- Oh, wait. I've tried that three times already, and I was caught both by police.” Another sigh.
Smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in the material of your school attire for the millionth time that hour, you sealed your eyes closed and inhaled a long drag of air. You took a brief juncture to solace your shaken nerves, struggling to pacify your distressed state of mind and trying to regain that equilibrium that appeared to have dispersed on you. Opening your eyes once again, you gandered around the surrounding environs. Celestial blue stretched across the vast expansion of the sky, wisps of white cotton stringed clouds drifting lazily overhead and strung out the blue canvas of the sky in a disorganized way. The amber dipped sun contrasted magnificently against the elegant pastels that enveloped the sky. Streams of dusty sunlight emerged from the heavens and plunged you in gentle warmth, and you basked in the heat.
Soft footsteps contacting against the granite ground pulled you from your thoughts at the roots. The person approached from beside you at a laborious pace before ceasing to a halt, not speaking a word to you. Someone, or something, was now standing beside you. Silence descended down upon the atmosphere. Your (E/c) eyes expanded. In your peripheral vision, you noticed a tall male standing beside you. He wasn't directly looking at you, which allowed you to take a minute to view his appearance.
A pastel school uniform enfolded his broad form and an aqua blue heart adorned with "K-12" was emblazoned on his chest. So he's attending K-12 as well, you mentally thought to yourself. Your eyes scanned over his charismatic appearance; a slicked back set of chestnut brown hair rested upon his head, hair combed back immaculately and shaved lightly by the sides. Gell held the hair down, preventing any strands from poking out and keeping his hair pristine. His tanned skin suited nicely with his bold facial structure and muscular physique. His eyes were toned a deep chocolate brown, plump pink lips parted into a soft simper and audacious features. He carried a small pile of educational textbooks held down by a buckle strap within his hands. He must've sensed your abiding stare from the side and rotated his head to look at you, an ever-growing smile displayed onto his face and exposed his pearly white teeth that reflected a shining glance from the sun.
'Don't make eye contact. Don't make eye contact. Don't make eye contact,' you repeated within yourself as you frenetically focused your eyes to your feet, knowingly aiming to avoid any kind of communication with the male.
You felt a nudge at your hip, causing you to waver in your stance from the interaction, “Hey there,” the boy greeted in a kind loving hum, “I'm Brandon. What's your name?” (brENDON UrIe?¿?)
You noticed in the corner of your eye he was facing you and made a friendly waving movement with his hand as he introduced himself. You barely acknowledged him, however, and kept yourself away from him.
“Um. . It's (Y--Y/n). . .” you stammered, blushingly and quietly.
“First grade?”
“Huh...?” you muttered and partially looked at him through locks of your hair.
“Are you going into first grade as well, (Y/n)?” he asked again, humming a smooth chuckle.
'God- PLEASE stop talking to me!'
“Y--yeah. I, uh, I am. . .” And that was all that was said between the two of you.
Birds twittered their chirping melodies from the skies and dipped their wings in the lucid flow of wind. Susurrate air fluttered through your uniform dress that gleamed with brilliance in the sunlight. Refreshing breeze brushed itself through your (H/l) (H/c) hair like imperceptible digits flattening out your hair, whipping miniature tendrils against your face. For a split moment, you were soothed into an alleviated frame of mind from the delicate aubade of earthy morning creation and that former anxiety seemed to have drained front your body. Clawing the loose strands behind your ears, you suddenly noticed something vibrant in the distance drawing closer to where you stood.
From afar, a large school bus painted strawberry pink cruised down the street, pitch-black tires rolling against the cement ground as the transportation vehicle advanced toward the bus stop. You perceived the noisy engine whirring inside the hood and the loud clamouring of those on board. A cold sweat pulsed through your skin, drops of perspiration sliding down your temple. Each more the bus progressed further, the more the trepidation circulated deep in your abdomen. It flourished until it formed a solidified lump in the back of your throat. Foreboding emotion coursed through your system and clogged your brain in a thick quantity of uneasiness.
It wasn't long before the bus concluded to a halt right before you, the distinguishable chatter of your new classmates was louder than before. The doors shifted open with a creak, revealing to you the old bus driver behind the wheel. He gestured both you and the boy to step on. The elder bus driver's face was tainted by withered ageing, visible charcoal polluted underneath the curved line of his eyes. Eyes heavily lowered and glinted with dullness. He clasped onto a shining flask in one of his calloused hands, an eternal expression of tedium and exhaustion was seated on his features.
“This is it.” the brown-haired boy said as he turned his head towards you with a widened smile.
'Indeed it is. . .'
He walked forward and entered the bus, and you hesitantly followed suit soon after. As you stepped onto the bus, the doors closed shut behind you. You nibbled on your lip. There was no turning back now.
***
“I can't believe we have to do this.” A girl by the name of Angelita spoke to her best friend Crybaby in a soft, strained tone of voice, exchanging eye contact with the sensitive girl.
Crybaby's eyes forwarded into a saddened look. “Do you think we'll make any friends?” she questioned, the articulation of her voice mellow.
“I hope so, but at least we have each other.” her best friend replied in an attempt of reassurance.
“That's true.” Crybaby said in agreement.
Silence accompanied both of them- the only thing impaling the serene quietude was the exuberant hollering of their pestiferous classmates drowning out the accustomed stillness between the two unique and mentally unstable girls. The bus jittered back and forth as the wheels drove over miniature slopes indented into the road. Sunlight streamed through the windows with a blinding interest and bathed them in a moderately warm embrace of the sun.
Crybaby stared out of the window; quietly observing and counting trees as they pass her by. Suddenly, though, a strange sensation fluttered within the innards of Crybaby's chest cavity once her brain recalled the question she previously asked Angelita. Perhaps they would meet a friend, but maybe someone who'd become more? The peculiar feeling simmering in her belly must've confirmed these assumptions. The perchance of meeting a particular outstanding person caused a smile to twitch onto Crybaby's face along with the lightest indication of a cherry dusted blush sprouting over her cheeks.
“You know, it's strange,” Crybaby had stated, which caught Angelita's rathe attention as she drifted her eyes back towards her.
“A decline of aristocracy?” she playfully joked, a smirk playing on her lips.
Crybaby exhaled a giggle through her nose. “No.”
“A dodo bird, a rabbit in a waistcoat, a smiling cat and blue caterpillar?”
“N-o-o-o.”
“The chances of us getting a big, hard dick?” Angelita persisted once again.
“No!” Crybaby exclaimed with a bellyaching guffaw, and the two friends shared some laughter before their childish giggles wended away.
“My God, you're weird,” she said, grinning.
“Okay, okay- for real. What is?” Angelita inquired curiously and tilted her head to the side slightly.
“I have a weird feeling we'll meet someone special,” Crybaby responded truthfully and hovered her palms just below where her navel would be located for demonstration. “It's an odd feeling stirring in my gut. Maybe we will meet someone special?”
“Don't get your hopes up. It could be a bad feeling.” the brown-haired girl advised her friend in cautious awareness and pointed her finger at Crybaby in a lecturing manner.
Crybaby shrugged her shoulders dismissively and cleared her throat, “Maybe, but still.”
That's exactly when the school bus slowed down to a stop at the next bus stop, grabbing their attention just as two newcomers stepped onto the bus. . .
***
'Just relax, (Y/n). Relax. Just FUCKING RELAX!!!'
Boisterous chatter and laughter filled the air- the students practically out of their seats as they conversed with their fellow popular and reputable peers. Ebullient discussions and clamouring positioned as the atmosphere, everyone conversating with each other in groups of friends. Topics were engaged interestingly into conversation amongst the classmates. All of them were dressed extravagantly and polished with clean sophisticated for the school, despite their behavioural attitude representing the total opposite.
That disconcerting weight of anxiety morphed beyond your ribcage, the walls of your chest compacting immensely together in the uncontainable apprehension developing there. You cleared your throat a tad too loudly, which accidentally caused all eyes to be drawn onto you and the boy in front of you.
'Oh, shit,'
Everyone, including the males, suspended their conversations and stared directly at the attractive male. Lecherous eyes of hormonal teenagers fixated alluringly onto him now, ferment with undiluted enticement and searing blushes blooming to life. He meandered down the aisle. None of them paid any attention to you. A tender smile elevated his guise, a friendly look imprinted onto his face. You stood by the bus driver, momentarily immovable as you watched the scene unfold. A pretty girl with two separately dyed hair had arisen from her seat to greet herself to the boy. She flirtatiously strode towards him with a coy smile carved across her face, eyes glinted with a shimmering lustre glow.
However, a blonde-haired girl from a few seats behind had noticed her motives and was immediately enraged. Her eyebrows pulled together in seething infuriation assembling inside of her. Her eyelids hooded as unmistakable fury dominated over her entire essence. A vitriolic glister of loathing hatred swirled in her irises, ragged crimson threads lacing inside the whites of her eyes. She glowered viciously at the girl, her upper lip lifting into a scowl and revealing a brief glimpse of her gritted teeth. She opened her mouth and shrilled exceptionally loud- voice reaching to high ear-splitting decibels. Everyone, including you, flinched as her scream punctured through the air like the sharpest dagger.
She violently slammed down her pink vanity mirror for more effective. Traces of furious steam outpoured from both of her ears and a bright rubescent contrasted over the original colour of her skin. Aggression inflicted the flawless dimensions of her face, her facial contours igniting in animosity. The boy's eyes increased extensively in size and he promptly shoved aside the other girl back into her original seat. He briskly continued down the aisle and took a seat down on the opposite of the blondie.
You weren't going to lie; watching that happen to the poor girl created just a pang of mild sadness inside of your chest. Unbelievable. Of course the hot guy was going to kiss the self-righteous, stereotypical popular girl's ass instead of being with someone much more adoring.
'Oh, boy-y-y-y-y. What a way to start the new school year,' you complained to yourself.
Hello to all my beautiful and amazing readers! I hope you Crybabies enjoyed the first chapter. Expect more updates coming soon~!
Wishing everyone a beautiful day/afternoon/night, and I hope to see you lovely readers next time.
❤️Sincerely, Author~Chan.❤️