Going Through The Motions

Brian’s life seemed perfect; he had friends, he was passing everything in school. He looked truly happy on the outside. On the inside, though, he was almost dead. Waking up each day was a chore, and putting that sickening smile on his face almost hurt. He hated himself, more than he hated his friends, his family. The sad thing was, though, he wanted to hate Zack. He; was the reason Brian was faking everything. He was the reason Brian’s heart stopped every time the phone rang. He was the reason Brian questioned everything he knew.

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Brian’s new friends were nice. Jorel and Dylan; the dynamic duo. The two were what Brian and Zack used to be; inseparable, ready to take the world on.
Jordan, who was rather quiet, was the reason in the group. He talked everyone down, keeping them from setting fire to something, or blowing up the school’s plumbing.
One of Jordan’s friends, George, who was a little older than the rest of them, was what Brian had been; the king of the school. In his final year of high school, George had lost all interest in passing, and spent more time smoking weed in the toilets, than actually attending class. He would often join Brian’s group, even though he was supposed to be in class when they were on break.
They really were a nice group, but Brian just couldn’t like them. They weren’t his friends; they were just there to keep him company, and supply him with alcohol.

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As Brian slowly showed improvements; no longer fighting his parents every step of the way, they allowed to him get his license, and, when he’d passed, they’d bought him some shitty, second-hand car. Of course, he wasn’t expecting some new Audi, or anything. He was happy with his car. He had some form of freedom now.
Though, his freedom was limited. Brian was pretty much forced to get a job, as his parents were only willing to put in a small amount of money for the petrol. This kept Brian busy. When he wasn’t at school, he was at work, or sleeping.
Like most sixteen-year-old kids, Brian’s first job was at the shitty corner store, working the register.
Most of the money Brian made was put away into a bank account. His parents said it was for college, and when he decided to move out. Of course, Brian wasn’t planning on spending his money on that.

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In Huntington, Zack was finding life just a little bit easier. Being in the “cool” group had it’s’ perks. Zack never did his homework anymore. Instead, some wannabe did it for him, thinking it was going to earn him points, and somehow get him into the group.
Zak was offered a job in a bakery, not far from his house. He knew a fair bit about baking, being the only grandchild to an avid cook. The owner of the shop was a friend of his parents; the only reason he got the job in the first place.
Everything seemed perfect, except for the one black mark; Brian. Zack thought about him almost daily; whether it be in anger, or pain. There was always some reminder of Brian, no matter how hard Zack tried to erase it. He was fooling himself if he thought he could just forget about the older boy.
Zack wasn’t very good at fooling himself, but he did a good job of fooling everyone else.
But he had a plan. Slowly, oh so slowly, Zack changed each day. He said he was doing it for himself; bettering who he was. Truth was, he was changing to please everyone else. Changing piece by piece. His attitude. His looks.
Day by day, Zack became Brian.