Injustice

I wake to a tap, tap, tap. I look around the room, spying for the source of the horrifyingly scary taps, but to no avail. I force myself out of my comfortable bed, and look in my closet, nothing there either. I sigh, and then it came again tap, tap, tap! I turn quickly, the mysterious noise came from my door, so I start to walk in that direction, and then there it is again the same noise. I grab a hold of the door handle and turn, and swing my door open, to find….nothing. I poke my head out and look down one side of the hallway, then turn to the other.
“Boo!” Screamed my brother, and then started laughing.
“Jackson! Why do you torment me like that?” I stare at him glaringly, not taking my gaze off of him for a micro-second. Then impulsively, I start tapping my foot, now I am really angry.
Jackson cracks up laughing then smiles, “Cause it’s so easy to do, that’s why. Besides its time to get up for school anyway, so I did you a favor. You’ve got about 10 minutes till the bus arrives, you best be ready little sis, hate for you to miss your first day of high school.” He smiled then turned to walk away, “Oh, mom says there is a new family that moved in next door, she says the kid they brought was in your grade. Just thought you should know, so you aren’t surprised at school, I hear he is very cute.” Jackson giggles, then walks down the hallway, and gracefully walks down the stairs humming the whole dang way.
I turn back into my room, and slam the door as hard as I could possibly manage to do on an empty stomach. I really need to hurry so I can have time to grab a Pop-Tart or something, I don’t want to start the school year hungry. So I pull on a pair of blood red skinny jeans, and a band tee, which happens to be a Black Veil Brides tee shirt, awesome. Then after I finish with my clothes part, I slide on a pair of beautifully new, purple high-top converse, which feel a bit too big for me, but oh well. I straighten my hair, and quickly put on some black eyeliner and black eye shadow, I stare in the mirror, and of course I look how I usually look, Goth and depressing. As I examine my face in the mirror it is the same view I have seen in the past, all black hair and gray eyes.
When I get down stairs, my mom looks horrid, and very sleepy, it makes me think that she didn’t get any sleep last night. “Hey mom,” I say as I walk into the kitchen.
She looks at me, then looks at the clock, and says, “Oh honey, you’re going to be late for the bus, you need to get going. I can’t drive you; I have to get to work, so get going please.” She looks really depressed, like she is in a major state of angst.
“K, I guess I will just grab something quick then leave.” I open the cabinet and grab a pack of Pop-Tarts, after that I grab my bag and leave, with a final wave goodbye to my mom as I walk out the door.
I look towards the bus stop, and sure enough, there was my overly protective, idiotic, violent, crazy, football player of a brother, and oddly enough he was waving at me with a smile. I decided to wave back, and I added a sweet smile, it was like I felt like being nice to him now. So I walk up to the bus stop and hug my brother, then look into his beautiful blue eyes, wow I never noticed the purple specks before.
“Uh, sis are you ok?” He looked worried, like he thought I was crushing on him or something. “You’re being kinda clingy, did you know that? I mean I have lived with you for the last 10 years of my life, and I have never seen you act this way.” He smirks at me then hugs me back, “Hey, but I think I like the new you, maybe things will be different between us now. Maybe, just maybe, you will finally accept me as a real brother, that will love and care for you.”
I let go of Jackson, then step back and sigh, “Well, I saw you waving so I thought we should start this school year as loving siblings. What do you think Jackson?” I give him a questioning gaze, and wait for about ten seconds for him to answer, but he just keeps staring past me.
So I turn and what I see surprises me, a kid dressed in all black, a little taller than me comes out of the house right next to mine. He is wearing the same Black Veil Brides shirt as me, and is wearing black skinny jeans, with some really nice high-top converse which happen to be red, which is like the sexiest color besides black. He also is wearing black eyeliner which makes his brown eyes really stick out among the rest of his outfit. Also he is wearing what looks like pale foundation, or maybe he is just pale, who knows; all I knew was he was really cute.
“Hey, how’s it going new kid?” My brother was screaming over my shoulder so loud my ears felt like they would pop.
He walks up to me and my annoying brother, “Hey, I’m Josh Stirling,” He smiles at me, a smile so intoxicatingly amazing, it could make any girl faint from sure pleasure. Then, he puts his hand out and he holds it there for the best friggin part of a minute before we finally shake his hand.
I spoke up first to introduce myself, “I am Kat Connors, and it is a pleasure to meet you.” I smile back at him, hoping that my smile would have the same effect on him, as his had on me. I have been told I have a great smile before, but oh god, I had forgotten to brush my teeth this morning, oh nooooo!!!!!!
My brother starts to laugh, “I am Jackson Connors, and I’m not genetically related to her by the way, I’m adopted just so you know.” Jackson looks back at me, then starts laughing harder, then he yells as loud as his voice box could possibly go, “OH MY GOD, THE BUS IS COMING!!!!!” Why he always makes a big deal about the bus coming, I don’t know, but it was always funny to watch the looks of young kids staring at him.
We board the bus, and I walk down the hall looking for a seat, then I found one near the back that was completely empty. Then by my luck Josh came back and questioningly looked down at me, “Do you mind, can I sit here beside you?” Then of course he adds the amazing smile, dang he could get any girl with that crooked smile of his.
I move my black bag, that of course I got at Hot Topic, then I say, “Sure, as long as you don’t bite. I don’t like kids who bite, trust me there is a lot of little kids who will bite you on this bus.” I half-smile as not to show my teeth, I still can’t believe I forgot to brush my teeth this morning.
“Thanks,” he says, “I don’t usually get much hospitality. I’m a rather odd kid; apparently it is not natural for teenage boys to wear eyeliner and skinny jeans. My adopted mom says I’m special, I say I’m different, and well my dad wasn’t cut out to be a dad, and he is now dead.” Josh looked at the bus floor, he seems to be concentrating on a piece of trash which was unidentifiable to me.
“Josh, I’m so sorry for the loss of your father. I don’t have a father either; I know how it feels to be alone.” I touch his shoulder, and instantly his eyes shoot up to mine, they are blood red and fierce. “Josh, your eyes, they are red, before they were brown. Are you ok?” I move my hand from his shoulder, and place it back in my own lap, and look deep into his face, he is just too perfect.
He looks back down to the dirty floor, “You know nothing of true pain, you have at least one parent; I have no real parents, only foster parents.” He starts twitching his fingers, and for some reason it makes me feel really uncomfortable, and makes me fidgety. “My parents died a long time ago, almost too long ago to remember. I feel their pain still, as I dream about their beautiful faces lying there dying; it was tragic, really I try not to remember it, but it seems to creep up.” Josh looks back at me and smiles, this time the smile makes me feel sorrow for him and his family.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. My dad died when I was a baby, and he left a rather odd note, it’s as if he had someone else write it for him after he died.” I look at Josh’s perfect face, just trying to find an answer in those deep eyes of his, but they’re impossible to penetrate. “Josh…I am very pleased to know you. I feel that we are more similar than we first thought, maybe it was meant to be; that we would amazingly find each other.” I smile then touch his shoulder again, and I keep my mind from fantasizing too much about him. “Great minds think alike you know, I mean look we even wore the same shirt.” I smile a little, but make sure to show him how sorry I am for him.
“Really its ok, I’m just happy I found an amazingly nice friend already. Normally I don’t even get a single friend throughout the long agonizing years of school, but now I have a friend that I will always remember.” Josh grins cheerily, it was almost a cheesy smile, so cheesy in fact I giggled at the thought of his smile.
“I’m not all that amazing, I am rather boring at times where I have nothing to even say, so don’t get your hopes up Josh.” I start laughing and look at Josh and he is smiling, not his normal smile that intoxicates me so, just a sweet smile that looked so relaxed it almost made me cry. “Josh, we are almost to school, do you need help finding your classes after you get the boring new schedule?”
Josh stops smiling for a brief moment of pause then speaks, “Sure, I just hope I have a few of my classes with you, because not to be overly dramatic or anything, but you’re the only person I know here besides my family.” Then he looks at me and smiles, and then I notice he reaches out and grabs my hand.
I stare down at the hand he is holding, and I notice his hand is really cold, it feels like an ice cube on a summer’s day, really cold, and actually really soothing. “Josh, I feel safe around you, like nothing can hurt me, but I can’t find a friggin reason why I should.” I look up, and he is like two inches from my face, he is just staring at me like I’m food or something.
“Maybe because I’m willing to protect you against any odds, just for being my friend I offer that much.” Josh finally leans back and I feel like I have my space back, but after feeling his energy near mine, I kinda wish he would stay close to me.
“Are you going to just keep on holding my hand?” I stare at him, and I start to smile, but his grip just increases on my hand.
“Hmmmmm, I don’t know if I want to release your hand, I kinda like the feel of your hand in mine.” He looks at me questioningly, I sit and wonder how this amazingly strange new kid will surprise me next, and then he surprises me further. He jumps up suddenly, still holding my hand, and gets in line to get off the bus.
When we get off, he turns to me and smiles the intoxicating smile, then makes a remark, “So, where do we go first in this god forsaken school?”
I just start laughing my head off, “Oh my god, I love it how you called it the ‘god forsaken school’ it gives it potential. Wait a second, Are you British?” I start to frown; I feel he should have told me this before we started holding hands. “I have heard rumors about British people, how they always talk about how Americans are so stupid.” I start to think about old times when my family lived in Britain before shaking the thought away because Britain holds bad memories.
“Uhhh, yes I am, I figured you would have noticed sooner than this, but oh well.” He starts to smile again, but this time it’s more forced than it should be.
I look at him, then feel sorry for being so friggin angry at him, so I lean forward and hug him, as if to say ‘I’m sorry’. Then, looking over his shoulder, to my astonishment, it was her, Sandra Simmons. She was the head cheerleader of the middle school squad, and probably will be lead cheerleader now that we are in high school too. Her favorite hobby is pointing out losers, and at the moment she is pointing towards me and Josh, and I want to walk up those stairs and kill her!
Josh suddenly notices me get extraordinarily tense, then hugs me back, as if just hugging me could relieve me, and oddly enough, I do feel a little better. I feel something on my head I never thought I would live to feel from any guy, Josh is laying his head on mine in a loving sort of way. I was in a trance of love, and then of course the moment is ruined when he decides he is ready to go inside that awful building, “You ready to show me where to find the office my fine lady?” He looks at me with those amazing brown eyes, and then for special effect, he flashes me that unbelievable smile, and I swear other girls around stop and stare.
“Um, ok, but only if you are prepared for the torture of your life time.” I look at him and smile, but I notice he looks frightened, so I hug him again. “It’s a figure of speech Josh, I am not going to torture you, and this school is just so bad its torture to attend.” I release him from my deep hug, and then I take a step back and look him over and what else would you guess; he is still as perfect as he was this morning.
Josh smiles at me again, “I knew what you meant, I just wanted to play around, someone has to be funny around here you know. So my fair maiden, to set things straight, I love you, and you love me, so will you do me the undying honors of being my girlfriend?” He looks worried, so he starts playing with his hair, it must be some nervous impulse, that’s it, and it has to be why he is playing with his hair.
“I don’t know; do you really want that for us?” I feel kinda stupid standing while staring into his eyes, those beautiful amazing brown eyes, it almost set my heart ablaze.
“I know we only just met, but I feel a deep, unexplainable connection to you. Do you know what I’m talking about, did you feel it too?” He looks at me and it is my turn to play with my hair, I know where I have seen this nervous impulse before, Andy Biersack, the lead singer for Black Veil Brides does the same thing. During interviews Andy Biersack plays with his hair, and I think it is kinda adorable how he does it all the time.
Just as I was about to answer him, Mr. Finch walks up to us, “Miss, Sir, don’t you think you should get going? You have ten minutes till you need to be in your seat in first period, so I suggest you go get your locker combos, I think that would be the conscious thing to do.” He grins like a nasty hawk, then turns and stalks off, and a good thing to, cause he smells like moldy, odorous cheese, odd hawks shouldn’t smell like cheese.
I look at Josh who holds his hand out to mine; I think for a minute then grab his hand. As we walk up those stairs to the front doors hand in hand, I stop abruptly and lean close to his ear and whisper a sweet little sound, “Let’s play wait and see.” Then we continue till we get into the doors, and of course he opens the door for me.
When we get to the office, Josh blocks my way into the door then leans into my ear, “I am a patient man, I will never give up, I will wait an eternity for your promise of love to me, and I’ll die without anyone by my side if I cannot have you!” Then he moves his hand from the doorway, and we walk in side by side, as I notice he had already grabbed my hand again, the feel of his sweaty hand in mine felt natural.
The lady at the desk looks at our interlocked hands, and then gently smiles, “Um, just take your locker combo from that pile right there, and here are your schedules.” She hands some pieces of paper over the desk top, “They tell what classes you have, and when you have them. Don’t forget your books which are right there with your names on them, tardiness will not be tolerated, neither will too many absences, and your grades will fall for any late assignments.” She smiles then waves, “Better hurry, tick tock on the clock kids, hate for you to get a tardy on your first day of school.”
Me and Josh, still with hands gracefully together, walk to our lockers, which we made sure to get ones next to each other. I open mine, drop my books onto the bottom of my locker, then turn to Josh, “Why me, why now, why not before now?” I start to cry right there in the middle of the hallway in front of all the other kids walking by.
“What are you talking about Kat? I just got here yesterday; I didn’t even know you lived next door to me till this morning at the bus stop.” Josh stared at me questioningly and his face reminded me of a poor lost puppy.
“Why did you chose me, and why did the perfect guy come around right after I find out my brother is going to die?” I go from crying to bawling, so Josh gently grabs a hold of me and hugs me to his chest, all I smell is his scent, which I kinda like, it smells like chocolate Axe.
Josh releases me and stares at my tear streaked face, “I didn’t know, I’m sorry, but I want to be a part of your life, I’m willing to play your game of wait and see, but be gentle with me.” Josh looks determined, and then hugs again, but this time I hug him back, and I don’t let go.
“What the hell are you doing!?!” I let go of Josh for a moment, and turn to see Cameron standing before me, but he doesn’t look right, he looks so angry. He looks between me and Josh, “Kat, what are you doing with this boy?”
“Cameron, I don’t know why you’re so angry, I love Josh.” I look down at the floor, and I feel his penetrating gaze on me, then I feel it leave, so of course I know he is staring at Josh now. I decide to stop this, “Cameron, why are you acting like this? It is most defiantly not like you, I have never seen you like this.”
Cameron looks back to me, “Kat, I love you, that’s why I’m acting the way I am. I was always here for you, heck I even bribed the teachers to give me and you the same exact classes, so now I have every class with you.” Cameron reaches for my sweaty hand, “Please pick me, I will love you for eternity, and even longer after that, but only if you choose to love me.” Then he grabs my hand and pulls me to him, then tries to kiss me on the lips, and just picturing his lips touching mine made me almost hurl.
I try to push away, but to no avail. So I try a different tactic, I lift my balled fist and punch directly for his blond headed, blue eyed, perfect face, and slam, I hit him right in the nose, and I hear a snap. Then Cameron runs off, and I fall to the floor crying, I wonder if he will have the guts to come back, or if he has learned his lesson.
Next thing I know, Josh is on the floor gripping me tight, “Kat, it looked like you hurt him pretty bad, he was crying like a constipated baby.” I look at Josh next to me, and he is smiling as if its funny, but I can’t stop thinking about how when I punched Cameron, his eyes flashed a fluorescent red as he got angry.
“In my office now, or punishment will be ten fold.” We both turned to where the angered voice came from, and there about ten feet away was Mr. Finch glaring at us, as if we were mice that only his hawk like eyes could see.
“Yes sir, but what have we done?” I start to get up when I notice Josh is still unmoving, “Josh, come on, we’re in trouble we best get going, I’d hate to get in more trouble.” I smile then reach my hand down to his and with all the strength in my arms I pull him up, but I can’t help but notice he still has that shocked look on his face.
Mr. Finch ushers us into his office, and there in one of the three seats is Cameron, but oddly enough his face looks like I never even hit him. “Please take a seat Ms. Connors, and Josh why don’t you wipe that scared look off your face, the world isn’t over, not quite yet anyway.” The principal examines us very closely, then walks over and closes the door and locks it, “So Josh, tell me what happened in the hall, every exact second of it, it might help all three of your cases.”
I look at Josh and he is looking at me like he is scared, god I won’t ever get that face out of my mind. Josh is half choking when he says, “I was walking down the hall while holding Kat’s hand, and then we started hugging by our lockers, when Cameron came up. He was yelling at us to stop, and then he grabbed Kat and tried to kiss her forcibly, so she punched him in the god forsaken face.” Josh starts grinning as if he is amused, then he grabs my hand, and I feel his cold skin against mine.
Mr. Finch grins, “Kat, you are receiving In School Suspension (ISS) for today, and you will serve out your sentence with no complaint.” Then he looks at Josh, “Same for you Josh, and you guys will not be allowed to touch each other, or talk to each other, at least while you are in the ISS room.” Then he really starts to laugh when he looks at Cameron, “You’re free to go Cameron, here is your tardy slips for your classes, now get going.”
Cameron smiles and hops up, and when he walks by me he stops and whispers, “See ya later baby, oh and have a fun time in ISS.” He walks off chuckling, and I stare at the door a whole minute after he leaves the office, then I turn back to Mr. Finch.
My jaw drops, “He started the fight, god damn it, why does he get off with a clean rap sheet.” My foot is tapping now, I am so mad, my mom will hear about this, and Mr. Finch will receive a very unsatisfied call.
He looks straight at me, “Ah, but he didn’t throw the punch, now did he wonderful Kat. Besides he is on the championship football team, I can’t punish him too much.” He looks a bit too amused now; I keep hoping he will have a sudden mysterious asthma attack.
“This is going to be a long day,” I mutter as I continue to tap my foot in agitation. I am really pissed, I didn’t plan on starting high school this way, and I’ve never gotten ISS in my entire life going to school. “Mr. Finch, can we please just get this over with, I would rather start now and finish today so I can go home and tell my mom of your treachery.” I grin at him, I can feel the room get tense, and Josh’s hand is practically squeezing the blood from my hand.
“Haha, well I have reason to give you ISS, so I guess your little plan won’t work against me.” He is laughing as if his information makes a damn difference whether or not I tell my mom about what he did. “I’m not afraid of some little girl who couldn’t beat me in a fight; I bet you can’t even throw a good punch. I mean look at Cameron’s face, I saw you hit him really hard, but he looks like nothing happened.”
Josh jumps up, “You shut up, or I’ll kick your ass, I’m not afraid of you, you’re just a lowlife bastard, and your getting back at people for no reason.” Josh and Mr. Finch are practically face to face and Josh is so angry by Mr. Finch not backing down. Then I notice it, both Josh and Mr. Finch’s eyes glowed fluorescent red.
I stand up, “Mr. Finch, please escort us to the ISS room, so we can get the horrible day over with sir. I would rather not get into any more trouble.” I reach out and grab Josh; I decide to keep a hold of him as Mr. Finch nods in answer to my question.
He takes us back in the back to where the horrible room is located; we walk in to find a couple of desks with the oldest chairs I have ever seen. I sniff the air, oh my god it smells of rotten feet and unidentifiable odors, I can’t believe they plan to make us sit in here all day. So I remember I am carrying my purse, so I reach in and grab my perfume, and I run around the room spraying it like crazy.
“What the hell are you doing to the room?” Mr. Finch was watching me and smiling, he looks like he’s chewing on something, maybe gum I don’t know though. “Calm down Ms. Connors, the day hasn’t started yet.” He grabs Josh’s arm and forces him down into a chair, and then let’s go of Josh’s porcelain arm.
“Ouch,” Josh proclaimed, he was really enflamed now, he was glaring at Mr. Finch, and then he turns to me and sighs. “Kat, ignore me, I am just overreacting, I don’t know what I’m doing really.” He turns back to Mr. Finch, then he looks down at his desk, and mutters, “I will kill you if you don’t cut this out.” Just then his eyes flashed red, and he made a growling noise, and I swear that the walls shook.
I stand there frightened for a moment, and then I regain my composure, “Mr. Finch will you bring us our damn work so we can get it done in time, I would hate to have to come in tomorrow and finish.”
“Sure Ms. Connors, just take a seat right there next to Josh, and I will be back momentarily. Also if you don’t cut out the cussing, you will be in here tomorrow.” He turned and gracefully walked out of the room, then silently shut the stainless steel door behind him.
Josh looks at me, “Kat, did I make any noises when I got angry at Finch?” Josh looks ashamed and worried, but I get past that and I see deep sorrow and longing in his eyes, it made me very curious. “I just want to know Kat, I have been known to get angry and make growling noises, maybe I’m part animal.” With that he smiles at me and giggles, then stops giggling and just goes for smiling stupidly.
I look deep in his eyes, “Yes Josh, you did growl when you got angry, but hey I have known several guys that growl when angry, so don’t you worry about it.” I don’t know why I choose to undoubtedly lie to him, but I feel terrible for lying at this point. “Josh, do you really love me?” I start fidgeting with my hands, and then reach up and play with my hair.
Josh grabs my hand, then with his other hand reaches up to my terrified face, “Yes Kat I do love you. My love is undying, I would give you a bouquet of roses with one fake one, and love you till every last rose in that bundle died. I will love you forever and ever, for I will have eternity to love you.” He looks sad as his hand leaves mine and travels to my face, and now he is holding my face in both hands, and with his mind I feel him pulling me undeniably closer.
“Stop this insanity now.” We turn to find Mr. Finch grinning by the door, his hawk skills must have kicked in, because he is examining us very closely.
Josh releases me and then smiles at Mr. Finch, “Come on bird brain, give us a break, you already condemned us to this small, incredibly scary, and very smelly room.” Josh looks amused, and then he starts to giggle then looks at me and smiles softly.
I giggle quietly so the principal can’t hear me then look at Josh and smile at him and I felt relaxed. I look at Mr. Finch who is standing there, and boy does he look upset, he may be a hawk, but he has an attitude like a Tasmanian devil. “Did you bring us our work for today; I think I want to get this work over with so I can read my book. It is about vampires who fought for a human girl, and I am at a good part where the girl is getting ready to choose who she likes more.” I grin like I am enjoying ISS, and he decides to grin back, I mean who wouldn’t, I’m told I am very adorable.
“Sure, here you go Kat.” He lays a stack of about twenty papers in front of me on my old wooden desk, and the desk squeaks under the new added weight. “Better get to work; you got plenty to do before you start reading that interesting book of yours.” He smiles at his comment, and just because of that I hate him now, I was so planning on reading my book. “Just don’t forget I am the principal here so let’s get this over with without an attitude.”
Josh suppresses a giggle as Mr. Finch walks up to him, Josh finally bursts out laughing. He falls out of his chair from laughing so hard, so he stands up and sits back down in his chair, and then he looks Mr. Finch in the eye. He starts to giggle again, “Does Polly want a cracker, or crack?” He starts laughing full out again, I almost laughed myself, but fright of another day in ISS took over me. “Dude, I’m just kidding, give me my dreadful papers so I can finish.”
Mr. Finch looks at me, “Your boyfriend better watch himself, or he will get hurt badly.” He turns back to Josh now, and he smiles softly, “Josh along with these papers you owe me a seven hundred and fifty word essay on why you think I look like a bird.” He really starts laughing now, “The best part of the essay, you have to get it signed by a parent, if it isn’t signed and turned in on my desk tomorrow by eight in the morning, you receive another day of ISS.”
“That isn’t fair Mr. F, why seven hundred fifty, why not like seven hundred, which is only fifty shorter.” Josh still is smiling, then he looks at the paper in front of him, and then something clicks in his head. “Um, I have enough work to do so I will just do what you ask without complaining.” Josh seems irritable now, he just seems twitchy, and I haven’t known him long, but even I know that he doesn’t give up that easy.
Mr. Finch smiles, “Ah, so you give in easily. Good thing too,” he giggles, “better get working, you got a lot to do young man.” Then he turns and starts to stalk out of the room, then stops. “Oh, and by the way Josh, the fight isn’t over between the two of you boys. Cameron will get revenge, I just thought you should know.” He looks at me and smiles, and then turns and walks out, then slams the door hard behind him.
We study hard, and work on the papers that were assigned, and the whole time we sit so quiet my ears start to hurt. We have about fifteen minutes left so I start to read my fascinating book, which is amazing by the way. Josh has finished all his papers and studying so he has taken to staring at me, and while he stares at me he is smiling the whole time. Then the door opens, and Mr. Finch pops his head in, and then waves us to the door, so we get up and go into the main office.
When we get to the main office area, Mr. Finch points towards the chairs, so we decide to sit. “So, I see you have worked hard.” He glares at us intently, “Go pack up and get ready to go, you have about ten minutes left.” He waves us goodbye so we walk out into the large hallway, which seems small compared to how many kids walk through it in a day.
We get to our lockers and drop our stuff into our bags. I slam my locker and look at Josh, “My answer is yes I love you already, and yes I will be your girlfriend.” I smile and run my fingers through the back of my fine black hair. My mom thought it was odd when I dyed my hair black, but I shrugged her opinion off and did it anyway.
“That’s good, I love you too.” He smiles, then came the bell and the laughter of all the kids getting out of class. Josh looks me in the eye, “Shall we head to the bus?”
I get ready to answer when Alyson comes up beside me, and grabs me around the neck. Then lets go of me and smiles, “Where ya been girlfriend, I heard ya got ISS with the new kid for a fight.” She turns to Josh and looks him over from head to toe; she seems to come to a conclusion, so she turns to me. She takes me aside, “The new kid is really cute. What’s his name?” She gets all fluttery, and she starts to blush.
“Well, his name is Josh, and he’s my boyfriend so stop getting so attracted to him.” I smile at her as I watch her expression change from flirtatious to sad and disappointed.
She grabs my arm, “Oh poo, I guess I’m too late.” She sighs then walks away, and she has her strut on and several guys watch as she leaves. Out of all the goth kids here she is the hottest, and me being a girl, it may sound odd, but hey I’m not going to lie.
Josh comes up to me then hugs me close to him, so I decide to hug him back and enjoy it while it lasts. While we are hugging each other, I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I release Josh and turn to find my brother arms crossed and staring at me, but this stare isn’t mean it looks amused.
“So what’s my little sis doing hugging the new kid?” He pauses for a moment to look the situation over then comes to a conclusion, “Ah I get it, you guys have a thing.” He smiles for a moment then grabs me in a giant bear hug, “No worries sis, mom won’t find out, and I don’t mind you having a bit of happiness.” He releases me and then looks down at me, his eyes start to brim with tears, if they were tears of joy or sorrow I may never know, but just seeing him cry was astonishing.
I suddenly remember we have to catch the bus, “Oh crap, guys we have to hurry if we want to make it on the bus before it leaves. I can’t miss the bus, and neither can you guys so come on.” I grab Josh’s hand and start running for the front doors, and I hear my brother’s footsteps behind us, so I don’t even look back.
When we got on the bus I was so relieved that we had made it, I look at the bus driver and mouth the words were sorry, as if that would lighten his mood. He looks at us then growls, so we ignore it and find an empty seat in the back of the bus. My brother decides to sit by Zach, his best friend who happens to be the quarterback of our football team, and Zach seems very pleased to have some company. Jackson probably thought he was being sneaky and all, but I know if Josh and me weren’t together, Jackson would have sat by me. I guess Jackson thought me and Josh should have some space, I don’t know, but I really don’t care.
I take the seat by the window, and Josh sits down right next to me and smiles, then jumps up like he sat on something. I look down at the seat and right where he was sitting there is a thumbtack poking up, no wonder he jumped. He removes the thumbtack and tosses it to the floor, and then he sits back down, and then looks me over from head to toe.
I decide to break the silence between us, “So, you like Black Veil Brides too?” It was more of a question than a statement, so I sat and waited for an answer.
“Uh ya, who wouldn’t like them, they are the best band since like KISS, and Motley Crue. Why do you ask?” He looks down at his shirt then glances at my shirt, then starts laughing. “Oh I see, yeah I forgot I was wearing this shirt. Who would have thought two complete strangers who just met would be wearing the same shirt on the same day.”
I smile, “Well, I guess it was just destiny that we met, and that we suddenly fell in love.” At this Josh gets a little fidgety.
Josh pulls a mirror from his backpack, which should surprise me more, that a teenage guy carries a mirror in his backpack, or that he actually uses it? He looks at me then sighs and puts the mirror back into his bag. “Kat, I need you to know something, it is actually very important.” He puts his arm around me then pulls me close, never once removing his arm from around me. He looks me in the eye then opens his mouth, “I’m an atheist, and I just need you to know that nothing is changing my religious views.”
I freeze for a minute then laugh, the bus suddenly gets silent and everyone turns to look at us. I quit laughing and look at Josh, “Are you serious, you think I care what your religion is?” I stare at him questioningly, then decide he isn’t going to answer, “I love you, I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, don’t care what you did, as long as you love me. I don’t even care what you are, I just know my feelings for you are strong as steel.” I look at his face, which is full of longing and sympathy.
The people on the bus are back to yelling at each other by the time Josh speaks up, “You said you don’t care what I am, what do you think I would be?” He looks intense and it is now more than ever that I feel scared of him. “I mean what would I be other than human? Do you think I’m odd, is that it?” He sounds like he is getting angry, then just as I expected his eyes flashed red, and the bus was at our stop.
I stand slowly and look at Josh, “I love you for you, and you are a bit odd, but that’s why I love you. Hell for all I know you could be like a vampire or something.” I smile at him, and notice he flinches, was it something I said, or maybe just maybe it was my reeking horrible breathe.
“I know you love me,” Josh grabs me and hugs me. Then he looks like he’s going to speak again, but then releases me from his hold.
We get off the bus and we start to walk towards our houses, and Jackson comes up behind us laughing. “Hey guys, Zach says you’re a cute couple, he says Kat is more beautiful this year than ever before.” Jackson smiles at me and I see sorrow in his eyes.
“Well tell Zach thanks for me, ok Jackson. I really don’t feel comfortable talking to some of your friends; I feel they judge me a lot.” I start to blush, and I look at Jackson’s shirt, of course it is an American Eagle shirt.
Jackson nods and rushes past us and runs to our house and goes inside. So I turn to Josh, we are just getting to his sidewalk when he stops in his tracks. “Kat, why did you say your brother is going to die?” He looks at the ground like he is too nervous to look at me. “I also want to know why he says he isn’t genetically related to you.” He finally looks up at me and he looks disturbed.
I sigh then decide to tell him, “He has cancer, and the doctors said he only has one year to live unless he takes Chemo therapy.” My voice breaks and I start to get choked up, but I decide to continue. “He decided not to take the Chemo; he said that if God wanted to take his life, then that is his plight.” I look Josh in the eyes and he is crying so hard I notice the eyeliner he is wearing is starting to run.
“I’m so sorry Kat, I didn’t know. I don’t know why he trusts in this God of his, I mean when has that god ever cared for him?” Josh stands completely still and crying the whole time.
“I don’t know, but you wanted to know why he said he wasn’t my real brother, well I guess I will tell you.” I stop right there for a little pause before I continue, so I gain my composure and start again. “When I was four years old, my mom decided she wanted a son, so she went and adopted a seven year old boy. We have been a complete family ever since.”
Josh looks happier now, so he comes up and hugs me. “Thanks for telling me, I feel like you trust me, I feel privileged.” He lets go of me and steps back and stares at me a moment. “Have a great day Kat; will you do that for me?”
“I will, Josh just come over if you get bored or something, you could watch TV with me and Jackson.” I smile gently and start to walk away when he grabs my arm and slightly tugs on the sleeve of my shirt.
“I want to see some clothes on you that will surprise me tomorrow. Something that I most defiantly would not wear, I want us to look similar but different.” He smiles, “Combat boots maybe, and no matter what I will always love you.” He lets go and starts up his sidewalk towards his door, so I wave and start towards my house.
When I get inside my mom isn’t home so I go into the kitchen and look in the fridge and grab a soda and pop it open. I start to head upstairs when I hear Jackson behind me, “I don’t like you having a thing with him. I am just putting that out there.” I turn around and see him glaring at me.
“And just why not?” I am so surprised by this outburst; Jackson usually keeps his feelings locked up. “Is it cause he is goth? Maybe you don’t like him because he actually gives me happiness?”
He gets upset, “No dammit, it’s because he has a bad vibe about him, like he is dead. He just seems lifeless, like a zombie, I don’t think that’s very humanlike.” He starts to grin, “But if he makes you happy, he’s a keeper, just don’t let him hurt you Kat. You mean everything to me, I can’t lose you.”
I smile, “Thanks, I feel happy to have your approval.” I turn and head the rest of the way upstairs, only to find it is completely dark, thank god.
I get into my room and turn on the lights because the shades on my windows block out almost all the light. Then I walk over and sit on my bed and strip off my shoes, and I grab my TV remote and turn on my flat screen. Immediately I gasp, on the news it shows a car in a ditch, and it’s ripped to pieces. The worst part, it’s my mom’s car and the announcer is saying there are no survivors.