Demolition Lovers

Frank waited until after school to talk to her. He raced out of eighth period and stopped when he saw her at her locker. He sauntered over, and decided that he would just act like he wasn’t planning on seeing her. He was good actor, he could pull it off.
Unfortunately, all good plans backfire. He was almost there when some football player stuck his foot out and tripped him. He crashed into Luna, who spilled her books everywhere.
“What the hell?” She yelled. She was fuming. She never cussed. This…this…boy! was just annoying. He was actually….no…he wasn’t….blushing, was he?
Luna stood up and brushed her jeans off.
“I’m…uh…I guess I’m…”
“Sorry?” She finished, clearly annoyed that he was wasting her time. Frank stared at his Converse and nodded.
“I’mreallysorrythatwemetthatwayanditwasmainlymyfaultsolet’sjustbefriends!” When he finished he was red and out of breath. Luna smirked.
“What was that? It sounded weird. You were talking so fast I couldn’t make sense of it,” She was teasing him, but oddly, he didn’t care.
He continued to stare at his feet as he repeated himself, slower.
“I’m really sorry that we met that way and it was mainly my fault, so let’s just be friends,” He enunciated every word and Luna couldn’t help but grin. Oh yeah, she’d won for a change. It felt better than what most people described.

“Well…I suppose if you wanted to take a stab at the whole friendship thing…” She trailed off as he stared at her hopefully.
“Sure,” She finished. Frank rolled his eyes.
“It took you that long to think of a simple one word answer?” He snapped. Luna smiled.
“I like to take my time,” She replied simply. With that said she shoved her books into her bag, slammed her locker shut, and walked off. Frank stared after her.

What was that? His mind asked him.
Um…I made friends.
Oh yeah, friends is really affective for what you want to achieve.
Shut up self, I don’t have time for this!
“I’m just saying that by being friends first, this will drag on longer than need be.
I’m beginning to think that I’m schizophrenic.
Hmmm….why don’t you think about that. While you’re at home. Without Luna? Perhaps you should have thought through my advice a little more.
Fuck you.
You do that a lot actually.

Luna twisted the doorknob to her front door and winced as she stepped inside. She knew her mom was home, she’d seen the car. Most likely, she was already drinking. Luna did her best to be silent as she made her way up the stairs to her room. The stairs didn’t creak for once and she sighed when she was in her room.
Things hadn’t been going well with her mother. She’d started drinking a lot and that set her up for violent outbursts.
She gently set her bag onto a bean bag and sat down at her laptop. She got onto her email and frowned when she saw she didn’t have anything.
Now what?
She didn’t have any homework. The only friends she’d made were Gerard and Frank and she didn’t know them well enough to ask them to hang out with her.
Then she heard it. The familiar clomping noises her mother made as she stomped up the stairs.
“Luna you little bitch! Where the hell are you?” Her mother screamed. Luna scanned her room. But there was nothing she could use for protection when her mother swung her door open.
“Where’ve you been?” She demanded. Luna stared at her, her face void of all emotion.
“School. The same place I go everyday,” She replied evenly. Her mother’s face darkened.
“Did you just smart mouth me?” She bellowed. Luna swallowed. She knew what came next. Her mother would take a swing at her while she had nothing to defend herself with.
“Yeah. I did,” She snapped. Her mom rushed at her, but Luna grabbed the desk lamp and swung it at her stomach. Her mom fell backwards. She stared up at Luna.
“Did you…did you just…just…” She couldn’t form a coherent sentence. Luna stood and took a few steps back. Her mother was about to erupt again.
She jumped up and glared. She was practically frothing at the mouth when she smacked Luna as hard as she could across the face. Luna could feel the bruise forming.
“You. Are. Grounded. Don’t even think about going anywhere,” She spat, venom dripping off of every word.
Her mother turned and stormed off, slamming her door behind her.
Luna slid to the floor, holding her face and trying not to cry. It didn’t do any good not to think about the way things used to be. She didn’t dwell on the past. Why should she? The past didn’t dwell on her.

Frank stared at the broken glass on the floor. His father stared at him.
“You’ll never be anything. You’re just a low life fuck up. I thought I raised you to be somebody. To do something. But you’re just a fuck up and that’s all you’ll ever be,” He sighed disappointedly. Frank stared at the glass. He could use it now. He could end that pathetic son of a bitch if he wanted. But he just stared. He couldn’t do it.
Another punch game to his chest and another kick came to his stomach. The light in the living room was turning blue.
“You. Are. Nothing. You never were and never will be. You’re pathetic. I want you out,” His father said evenly, as if this were something he said everyday, to a million other people.
Frank’s arms wobbled as he struggled to get up. Another kick exploded to his stomach.
“However, I didn’t say I was done with you yet,” He added. Another kick, another punch, a slap, it wouldn’t end.
Frank didn’t have the energy to cry or scream. He never had the energy. His father was right. He was just…pathetic. He was nothing. But neither was his father. Frank laid there and took the pain, not even wincing anymore. He was numb. Nothing mattered now.
But this time, he saw a face before he blacked out.
Luna.