After the talent show, the goth kids and I chilled near the garage door entrance as per usual. We were all feeling very proud about our recent performance, and we chattered among ourselves about the things we would buy if we did obtain the $100 gift card.
Honestly, I didn't care if we won or lost. It was fun performing with them anyways.
Soon after, although it was only 4 PM, Michael decided to leave.
Henrietta and Firkle lingered a bit, until they both left too. Now it was just Pete and I remaining at the school grounds.
I was kinda getting used to being alone with him. Wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.
I sigh. "Heck, I still need to get some shit out of my locker." I inform him, as I stand up to stretch my joints. "I guess I'll see you around." I wave in my dismissal.
Pete puffs the last bit of smoke from his cigarette, before also standing up, and stamping his cigarette into the ground. "Oh- Could I come with you? I have something to tell you anyways."
I nod in response, a tad bit nervous. I wonder what he wanted to talk about.
We quietly made our entrance through the gym, the sound of sneakers hitting the floor.
What we didn't realize, was that we interrupted a certain gathering. As we made our first steps into the gymnasium, I brought myself face to face with an entire group of vampire-looking kids. They all sat in orange chairs, facing the stage, as their leader spoke through a microphone. Many wore neon hair dye, bright eye shadow, edgy clothing, and some even wore Twilight merchandise.
"What the fuck is this-" I accidentally blurt out-loud. Gradually, everyone had their eyes towards me, and some kids were even hissing.
Pete rolls his eyes. "Shit, we interrupted the fucking vampire kids." He spins around swiftly, grabbing me by the arm. "Let's just get out of here." I wince due to the sudden physical contact.
Before we could make our exit, the leader steps down the stairs. "Hold on, who is this?" He asks, his accent was something I couldn't describe with words. "A new kid, per se?"
The kids in the gym started to get rowdy, hissing even louder. One even offered me a sip of their 'blood' (which was obviously juice). I declined their offer.
Pete turns around again, glaring at the leader with a sense of disgust in his eyes. "Nobody fucking asked, Mike." He scowls at him. "And if you're really that freaking curious, they're OUR new member."
This so called 'Mike' glared back at me, and smirked. "Wow, Really? Did they really have willingness to join your stupid group? They obviously look fit enough to be a vamp kid instead." He takes a few steps towards me. "Don't you think so, too?" Mike asks me, raising an eyebrow.
I twitch my head to the side in confusion, before staring back at Pete. "Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here." I say, as Pete and I began to sprint out the doors.
As we ran through the hallway, I noticed that a couple of the weird vampire kids had supposedly trailed after us. The sound of faint hissing seemed to bounce through the halls.
"JOIN US-" They creepily yell in sync. "Or we will have to suck every last blood cell out of your body!" One of them said.
Their threats weren't as scary compared to how quickly they seemed to run after us.
"Shit, I think they're onto us." Pete mutters, pausing to take a large breath. "Honestly, how the fuck did we get into this situation?"
I shake my head slowly. "Kinda my fault. Maybe I should just stop being so forgetful."
While running for our considerably short lives, I notice a sign plastered onto a large door, reading 'Janitor's Closet'. Without hesitation, I grab Pete's wrist and shove him inside, before scurrying in as well.
"(Y/N)-" I cover his mouth with my palm, before shutting the door.
I let out a large sigh of relief. "It's fine, hopefully they won't find us in here." I inform, reassuringly. "Let's just wait it out until they leave." Pete gave a short nod, and I remove my palm from his mouth.
The janitor's closet was jam packed with plenty of cleaning supplies, as one would expect from a janitor's closet. Although, it was very tiny and there wasn't that much space between Pete and I, to make things even more awkward.
I crouch myself against the door, hugging my knees to my chest. Pete also decides to sit down.
"Hey, (Y/N)?" He asks, making me perk up in surprise.
"Yeah?" I respond in a small voice.
He shakes his head, flipping his hair. "Can you believe it's typical for school couples to make out in these closets?" He positions himself so that he sat next to me. "Honestly, it's kind of gross."
I nod in response. "Right? Doing things like that accompanied with all these cleaning supplies and shit... It's kind of off-putting."
"Yeah."
That was the last statement we shared before a few minutes of total silence.
One hand reached up to scratch my neck nervously. "Anyways- Didn't you have something you wanted to tell me?" I ask, hugging my knees even tighter. "Y'know, before we got chased by scary vamp kids and having to forcefully lock ourselves in this gross janitor closet?"
Pete nods, locking his eyes with mine. "Oh- Yeah." He pauses. "It's fine, it can wait." He said with a sigh.
I lowered my gaze, fiddling with my thumbs. "That's okay." I respond, unsatisfied with his answer. "Could I ask you something instead?"
Pete nods, allowing me to finally share my perspective.
"Ever since the day we rehearsed at Henrietta's house, you've been acting really strange." I inform him, hugging my knees tighter. "Is there something wrong?"
Pete pauses momentarily before tilting his head to the side, in confusion. "What do you mean?" He asks.
"I mean... Are you okay? Did I say something to make you hate me? Do you not want to be friends? Am I not goth enough? Are you mad at me?" I realize that I was going on a question tangent. I wanted to refrain from annoying him, so I stopped immediately.
He shakes his head violently before placing a hand on my shoulder. "N-No of course not. I'm not mad at you." Pete examines my expression, realizing that there were suddenly tears glazing my eyes. "Are you.. Crying?"
"What-" I say, brushing them off with my sleeves. "No I'm not-"
Suddenly, I feel a pair of arms wrap around my figure. Was Pete hugging me? I couldn't see through the blurry filter of my tears.
Nevertheless, I hug him back.
"(Y/N)... I'm sorry if I made you think that I hated you. In all honestly, when you asked me if I liked anyone, it made me feel really uncomfortable. But I'm over it now, I promise." I feel him pat my head softly, calming me down. I felt the soft texture of his hair on my cheek.
I slowly let go of the hug. "I understand.. I'll try not to bring up that topic again."
"Well, the reason it made me uncomfortable was because I kinda-" Midway through Pete's sentence, the door to the closet suddenly jerks open, revealing a tall angry teacher.
Pete and I yelp in surprise, as the teacher pinches his nose. "Now, what the hell are you kids doing in here? Making out in the janitor's closet is against our school policy 'mmkay." He exits the closet, leaving the door wide open. "You kids better head home." He comments, as I heard the tapping of his shoes echo in the hallway.
We both exchange awkward glances, before stepping out of the closet.
"Wow, look what we have here." A familiar voice says, and we both turn our heads to the sound. It was none other than that retched vampire leader. "Please tell me you at least used protection."
I shake my head violently. "What the fuck dude, it was nothing like that, we were just hiding from your weird vampire minions-"
Mike cackles hysterically, ignoring my excuse. "Yeah, okay, right..." It took him a while to fully calm down. "But like, seriously, are you guys, like, y'know-" Pete interrupts him by kicking him in the shin, as he drops to the ground.
"Shut the fuck up before I fracture your ankles with a baseball bat. God, I wonder how you escaped from Scotsdale." He says, flipping off Mike's now injured figure. "Let's go, (Y/N)."
We both leave the school grounds, tired, and hoping that we don't share another experience similar to what we had today.