Pitch Black

"Xavier, this book is stunning!"

I scoffed from the windowsill as Reid, Samuel, Liz, and Henry were crowded around Xavier talking eagerly about the book, which Xavier had given to them two days ago. They absolutely loved it and thought it was very entertaining and such and so other. Reid enjoyed it so much he was already on the third chapter. Xavier was grinning larger than ever, passing around tons of "why thank you"s and "oh it was nothing, I thought the club would enjoy it"s. I was grinding my teeth against the scars of my bottom lip unknowingly, holding the book and feeling as if I was holding a piece of burning, fermenting roadkill. Lynn was mad at me, and was holding the book with her arms crossed on the opposite side of the windowsill, looking pointedly away from my direction. Brandon was at the other side, tuning the entire world out and reading the book.

Reid announced that everyone would read at least three chapters at a time and we would discuss the book every two weeks. After that, everyone took their places began a group reading session, and immediately flipped open their books and launched into a fevered and silent read. Xavier was next to Reid, both in two armchairs, and as Xavier read he had a small smile on his face.

"God, I can't take that fucking repulsive, stupid-looking smile." I muttered loud enough for only Brandon to hear.

"What's that you say?" He muttered back, his eyes not leaving the book.

I gave him a look. "You're not honestly reading that pigshit, are you?"

"It's rather interesting, actually." Brandon said, his eyes still not straying from the book. "Have you even read it yet, Jack?"

"I have, and-" I stopped my sentence, not sure if I should reveal my true feelings about the book or not. I saw the ghost of a smile linger over Brandon's lips. He had caught me in my own sticky web of pride.

"It's horrible, I hate it." I said.

Brandon nodded, giving a real smirk this time, and not saying a word.

"Shh!" Lynn shushed me, giving me a dirty look over her book, which I knew well wasn't over my rudeness of talking while everyone read. I looked at her back, and she disgustedly turned back to her book. Fed up, I nudged Brandon.

"What?"
"Let's go outside. Now. I don't want to be here for another minute."

"Fine."

Brandon and I got up, taking our bags with us. I told Reid we were going to leave for a few minutes, and he replied with a quick nod of his head uncaringly, still seeming to be in a trance-like hypnotism from the book.

"Hurry back," Xavier said with a smile and a wave. I shot a nasty look at him as Brandon and I headed to the grounds.

I welcomed the fresh air that greeted my face as I walked out. The sky was dark, with a few dark clouds covering up the sun that seemed as if it was shining at full power just to crack through the clouds and shed some light on the dark school. Thinking of it reminded me of Moon and Light, and, frustrated, I threw my book and bag on the ground and yelled in a strangled voice up at the sky.

"Stressed, Jack?" Brandon said, standing a few feet away from me, still with his nose in the book. I strode over to him and slapped the book out of his hand onto the ground. He looked at me with a blank expression.

"Put that godforsaken book down already," I growled at him. "And yes, I'm stressed, I've been stressed ever since that damn clown of a man came to this school."

"Xavier?" Brandon asked.

"Who else?!"

"What's wrong with him? He seems fine. Has he been staring at Lynn or something?"

"Not even Lynn! At me!"

Brandon raised his eyebrows. "And you're mad about this why?"

I launched into my explanation of why I hated Xavier. Afterwards, Brandon laughed, and I glared at him intensely.

"It's not bloody funny." I said through clenched teeth.

"You're indeed the biggest hothead I know, Jack." Brandon said through a laugh. "Who simply hates someone because he likes to smile? It's not his fault you like to walk around with a moody expression on your face all day."

"You don't understand," I said, shaking my head. "Who is that happy to be at Huntington's? Of all places! Don't you think that's slightly suspect?"

"Well with how dark this school is, a smile could be needed. Maybe he's just trying to shed a little light through this great black cloud he walks through every day, yeah?" His shoulders shook slightly as a small bark of laughter escaped him again. "Leave the man alone, Jack, honestly. You're just upset because you want everyone to be moody like you. You need to relax a bit. Maybe he just wants to be friends."

My reply was a loud huff and a frustrated grumble. Brandon didn't understand either.

"If it makes you that unhappy, let's talk about something else." He continued. "Why is Lynn being so irritable today?"

I told him. The morning after I had abandoned her at the library she had yelled at me, and I gave her short and irritable responses. I had finally told her to leave me alone about it because it was a minuscule problem among the dozens of problems she could have had with me. She then shouted that the biggest problem of them all was my arsehole tendencies and attitude, and stormed off. She hadn't talked to me since, avoiding me as best as she could. I thought she was being utterly ridiculous, and my frustration with Xavier's existence was more overwhelming, so I let her have her little princess-pride moment. I hadn't the energy to run up to her and beg her forgiveness. Not now, anyway.

Brandon clucked his tongue. "Ahh, Jack, you know you can't talk to a girl like that. You can be a downright ass sometimes, but you have to resist that urge for Lynn, or she won't talk to you for a while."

"Like I care." I growled under my breath.

"You do," Brandon said. "You know that it's her birthday in a few days, right?"

"Yeah, I know." I said in a normal, and quiet voice. I suddenly was overcome with a feeling of shame; I had let my feelings for Xavier get in the way of my attitude towards others who didn't deserve it. My temper was horrible when I was outraged. I bit my lip and looked at Brandon.

"Sorry." I said.

"It's alright. We all go a little bonkers sometimes." He gave me a small smile. "Besides, Lynn's the one you should really apologize to."

"I couldn't right now," i said, looking at the ground. "I have to wait til she cools down. She's probably outraged at me for leaving earlier."

"She'll get over it." Brandon said, grunting as he bent down to pick up his book. The blue metallic color of the title letters glinted in the breaking sunlight.

I sighed. "So... how far have you gotten in the book?" I asked him, against and along with my better judgment.

"It's such a great story," Brandon replied. "The ray of light is like the bane of the moon's existence. The stars start taking a liking to the light while the moon just sulks off, but that light still follows him around. But the light is so bright that it starts to dim out some of the stars, which is bad, because if the stars are dim, they'll fade out and die... Right now I'm at a part where the light keeps asking if it and the moon as be friends while it stays there, but the moon simply won't have it." Brandon chuckled. "Meanwhile the sun realizes one of its light rays are gone and sends out a light army to go and find him, but they don't yet know that he's hiding in the night skies."

"It's an awful lot like a children's book." I said doubtfully after he had finished.

"Slightly," he said. "But it's charmingly amusing. Give it a chance, won't you? Or, perhaps not, since Xavier provided it."

"Shut up," I said, bending down to pick up my things. Brandon chuckled once again. We headed back to Pitch Black, me a little less than willingly. As we did, we bumped into no other than Xavier. Once I saw him, I bit my lip and my face darkened.

"There you two are!" Xavier said, smiling at us. "Reid wants both of you back at the room. If you don't mind, though..." Reid swifted his gaze over my face. "I'd like a quick word with you, Jack."

Brandon nodded his head, and left, giving a smile in my direction as if to say, "have fun, Jack." Oh, how I'd get him back for this later.

Xavier looked me over for a bit, from my head down to the book in my hand. I started feeling uncomfortable, and took a few steps back. "D'you like the book?" He said after a while, his eyes not leaving my face.

"It's alright..." I said uncertainly.

"It'll get better, then." He said. "The exciting parts don't really happen until around the middle. Just... be patient." He smiled at me again with a sort of fierce charm. I looked the other way quickly.

"Is that all?" I asked him.

"No." He stepped closer. "Why don't you like me, Jack? What have I ever done to you?"

I stayed silent, staring at the ground, and after a while said "I don't like the way you look every day."

"The way I look?" He gave me a confused stare. "How do you mean?"

"That... that constant smiling." I said with a small shudder. "I hate it."

"Smiling? Why shouldn't I smile? What's wrong with it?"

"You shouldn't be that happy to be in a place like this," I said, giving him a hard stare.

'Why shouldn't I?" He repeated, smiling at me as if to irk me on. I huffed angrily. "This place is so dark and depressing. It's got no depth or meaning to it. Everyone is not who they truly seem. It's just full of dark and hidden lies."

"You think so?" The smile stayed on his face. "Well maybe that's appropriate for this school. If everyone was to know everyone's secrets, the destruction wouldn't cease, would it? Everyone has a secret, Jack. No one is really who they seem at first. They simply use the darkness of the school to hide themselves, for their own reasons."

"But the darkness can swallow one whole." I said quietly. "It's too overwhelming."

"It would help if you smiled." Without warning, he placed his hand on my chin to make me look at him clearer, and so I couldn't look away. "Smile, Jack." He said in a soft, singsong voice, as if he were about to take a picture. My immediate impulse said to smack his hand from my face, yell at how much I despised him, and go back to the meeting room. But instead, I stood there. Stood there, and stared into brown, almond-shaped orbs filled with good humor and something else I couldn't quite decipher. He stared back, smiling, as if he enjoyed greatly what he was staring at. We stayed like that in silence for what seemed like hours. I was surprised no one wandered in the hall to see us. I was expecting my hand to jump up and snatch his off of my chin, but it didn't happen.

I started biting my lip, hard, and his eyes wandered down to them, and a sort of hunger appeared in his eyes as well. He then slowly took his gaze back up to my eyes.

"Let's be friends." Xavier finally said, in a quiet, cheerful voice.

"No." I replied.

"Yes." He retaliated, his smile growing bigger.

"You disgust me." I said, giving him a look. He withdrew, taking his hand off my chin, still smiling.

"I will get you to smile." He said, backing away. "It's unavoidable. There will be some happiness I will help you realize here. Let's walk back to the meeting together, hm?"

"No, thank you," I said through gritted teeth.

"I insist."

"I decline."

He put on a look of faux-sadness. "Suit yourself. I'll see you there then." With one last, close-mouth smile, he walked off, leaving me in the hall to stew in my own furious thoughts, gripping Moon and Light tightly in my hand.

"Unavoidable," I said to the ground. The word rang in my head. That was what Xavier was. Unavoidable. And I hated it.

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That frustrated Moon wouldn't give into that eccentric burst of Light, not one bit, but had not realized that that impish beam had made them, unknowingly to him, friends.