Light 'Em Up

I woke up to the sound of a car door slamming. I shot up. Mom. I had to tell her now, before she found out on her own. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. I was still in Bob’s room, but he and Mikey were no where to be seen. I noticed a post-it stuck on the TV screen. It was adorned with Bob’s messy handwriting.

Went to Mikey’s. Won’t be back till late. Good luck kid.

I groaned. He was almost as unhelpful as Cara. I pulled myself off the bed and went downstairs, hoping my mom was in a good mood.

“Hi, mom.” I said airily, parking myself on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island. She didn’t look too happy. Great.

“Hey, Al.” She replied, sounding exhausted. “How was school?”

I stumbled on my words. “I, uh, yeah, fine.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Doesn’t sound like it was fine.”

I cracked. “Alright, alright. It wasn’t fine. It was the opposite of fine. Times a hundred. I,” I paused. She was looking at me intently. “I kinda set a science lab on fire.”

I was shocked when she started to laugh. “You did what?”

“Mom, this isn’t funny!”

“It was an accident, right?”

“Of course!”

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

I let out an groan in frustration. “Well, there is! Apparently, setting a room on fire is against the rules, accident or not! I didn’t even get in trouble. You wanna know what they did? They expelled me. I am no longer a student there. It’s over!”

My mom looked thoughtful now. “That’s a lot to take in over the span over 60 seconds.”

“I’m sorry.” I whispered.

“It’s not your fault, honey.”

“They think it is.”

“Fuck them, then. You know, I’m kinda glad you’re out of there. Never liked that place. Plus, now I don’t have to pay for it anymore.”

A smile creeped onto my face. I stayed downstairs for a while and we talked about what I was going to do now. Mom made a few calls and we ordered pizza. Within a few hours, Belleville High called back. I’d be starting there on Monday. Awesome.

-

“Al, come on! Do you want a ride or not, cause I’m leaving!”

I groaned and rolled over. I rolled too far, causing myself to fall of the bed. That woke me up. I glanced at the clock. 8:13 am. Shit.

“I’ll be down in a sec!” I called back. It was raining, so I didn’t want to get stuck walking. I pranced over to my open closet and selected skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blue and red plaid shirt that was two sizes two big. I threw my messy hair into a side braid, then proceeded to quickly apply a thin layer of eyeliner. This process took only five minutes.

I grabbed my backpack and flew down the stairs, making a quick stop at the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I reached the front door, Bob was already there, waiting.

“How do I look?” I panted.

“Terrible. Let’s go.”

I rolled my eyes and followed him to his car, climbing into the passenger seat. The ride was mostly silent, apart from the static from the radio.

I started to feel nervous when he pulled into the parking lot. The place was packed full of kids, and I bet that half of them knew who I was and what I did. I didn’t want to get out of the car. Bob looked over at me.

“You’ll be fine, Al. If anything, people are going to think the fire thing was awesome.”

I suppose that was possible, but I was still worried. Gingerly, I climbed out and followed my brother across the lot towards the building. I spotted Mikey standing by the stairs. He noticed me first.

“Hey guys!” He greeted us. With him stood his older brother, Gerard. Gerard and I had a bizarre relationship. My family had become friends with the Way family when I was very little, so I’d known him and Mikey for as long as I can remember. Gerard had always been quiet and mysterious, I never really understood him. He was the one I went to for advice.

They three of them immediately started talking about something for the band they were planning on starting, so I shrunk back and looked around. A group of fake looking blondes stood nearby, whispering and pointing at me. I rolled my eyes. This was probably only the beginning.

I excused myself to go find the office and get my schedule. As I maneuvered my way around the crowded hallways, I was reminded of Cara. It felt weird not having her clinging onto my backpack for dear life.

I found the office in record time, rushing in. The secretary looked up.

“Hi, I’m new and I was told to come here to get my schedule and stuff?” I half stated, half asked.

“Name?”

“Uh, Bryar. Alice Bryar.”

She typed something into her computer, then waited.

“Ah, yes. You transferred here from St. Bernard’s, correct?”
I nodded. She looked me over, her face contorting in somewhat disapproval.

“I see. You’ll find your schedule and locker number here. Good luck.” She muttered. She’d obviously seen my record from St. B’s. Dammit.

I thanked her and got the hell out of there. I scanned my schedule to find out where I had to go. First, I had english, then social studies, followed by trig, study hall, lunch, science, art, and PE.

Apparently, all my teachers had been informed about the fire incident. My trig teacher was the only one who didn’t scowl at me when I walked in.

By the time lunch rolled around, I was already exhausted. When the bell rang, I gathered up my stuff and headed over to my locker, which was near the chem lab. Ironic.

“Alice!” I heard someone call my name. I turned to see Mikey walking up to me.

“Hey, Mikey.” I sighed, shoving my stuff into my new locker. It was a hell of a lot smaller than my one back at St. B’s.

“So, how was it?” He questioned curiously.

I shrugged. “Alright, I guess. I got dirty looks from almost everyone, though. I bet they think I’m going to try and burn this school down, too.”

“If you could do that, that’d be great.” Mikey joked.

“And get expelled again? I’ll pass.”

We walked to the cafeteria together, and he pointed to certain people and told me who they were. I was instructed to stay away from the cheerleaders and the football team. Typical.

After we got our food, Mikey led me outside to where he and they guys normally ate, unless it was cold. I sat next to Gerard, who greeted me with a nod. For the next few minutes, I did nothing but answer questions about my day so far. It was a very detailed interrogation.

Suddenly, I saw another figure approaching. He was clad all in black, his raven hair sticking out of his hood.

“Frank, where the fuck were you?” Ray asked him as he sat down next to me.

Of course it was him. Frank Iero. Short, dumb, and absolutely gorgeous. I’m not gonna lie, I’d always had a little crush on him. But it was nothing I couldn’t ignore.

“I got shoved in a locker again.” He sighed. “Some random dude let me out. No clue who he was.”

The conversation returned to normal, Frank's locker comment was largely ignored. I snuck a few glances at him from time to time. He had on a bit of red eye makeup, a nice change from the usual black.

When the bell rang, I said bye to the guys and left quickly. Before I could make it more than ten feet away from where we'd been sitting, I felt someone grab my arm. I turned to see Frank standing there, looking at me curiously. I raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"We have science together." He said simply. I managed to muster a distracted 'oh' as we kept walking. I had no idea where I was going, so Frank led me through the crowded school as best he could without losing me. We almost made it, too.

"Iero!" I heard someone yell from the other end of the hall. Frank looked down and kept walking. I did the same, but the yelling continued. It got closer, until the source of the voice came into sight and shoved Frank violently against the wall.

"You look at me when I'm talking to you, faggot. Who the hell do you think you are?" He snapped. I got a better look at this dude. He was your typical jock, nothing unusual. Something told me that this wasn't the first time he had bothered Frank.

"Leave him alone." I said, without really thinking. He spun around, letting Frank drop limply to the ground. Now I was a bit scared.

"Ooh, you must be new. I've never seen you 'round here before. Look, why don't you run along, I wouldn't want a pretty one like you getting yourself hurt. Also, I suggest you stop hanging around this fag over here, he's no good."

I rolled my eyes. "That fag just so happens to be my friend."

"Hey!" Frank said, earning a kick from jock guy.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we don't want to be late to class." And I stepped past him, pulled Frank up, and started back down the hallway. Once we rounded the corner and entered the classroom, Frank started rambling.

"That was so cool! No one's ever stood up to Daly like that before! Everyone's really scared of him, you know. I'd watch your back now if I were you. He's got an army of evil minions and lots of power."

"I'm not scared of him. He's not very intimidating." I paused. "What did you say his name was?"

"Daly. John Daly. At least, that's what people call him."

I snorted. Soon, the teacher pranced in and class began, much to everyone's disappointment. Mr. Carson was really young and could be classified as technically attractive. I could see all the girls in the front of the room drooling over him.

When the bell rang, I said bye to Frank and headed to the art room, which I had been in a few times before. I knew Gerard was in this class, so I wasn't going to be alone. I wasn't very good at art. Well, compared to Gerard. He was literally a genius. He could make anything with anything, and all I could do was stuff in pencil.

Gerard waved me over when I entered the room. I dumped my stuff on the ground and let my head fall onto the table.

"You alright?" Gerard said quietly.

"Yeah." I sighed. "Just tired."

As I said that, the teacher walked in and barked orders at us, I barely understood what he had said. The rest of the hour was spent absentmindedly sketching whatever came to mind. I was wishing time would go faster, because my next and last class of the day was PE. I have no idea why everyone hates it so much, it's not that bad. I actually kind of liked it, and I got a lot of shit for that at St. B's. Apparently, liking PE was against some unspoken student law.

"What do you have next?" Gerard asked after the bell had rung. I shoved my stuff back into my bag and slung it over my shoulder before responding.

"PE."

"Sucks."

"Eh, it's alright. I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah, see ya."

These were essentially the only kinds of conversations that we had between us. It rarely went past basic one word answers.

I found the gym easily and went straight to the girl's changing room. There, I was greeted with questioning stares. I hadn't really bothered to talk to any girls yet, mostly because Cara made me swear that I wouldn't ever replace her. And by replace, she meant make any sort of interaction with a girl that I could potentially be friends with.

After having changed into the required PE shorts and shirt I'd been given beforehand, I headed out to where everyone was going. I rejoiced when I figured out where I was. The soccer field.

"Alright! We ain't got time for laps today, you're off the hook." The teacher screeched. I'd been warned about him. He preferred to go coach Forrest, and if you called him anything else, you were fucked. If you were good at sports, he liked you. If you were bad at sports, good luck.

I noticed Mikey standing at the very back of the group, so I went up to him.

"Hey, what are we playing?" I asked, because no one had told me yet.

"Soccer." He shuddered. "It's the worst."

"Yeah." I shrugged. I loved soccer. I played on the varsity team at St. B's, and had been playing elsewhere my whole life. This should be fun.

"Daly! Captain." Coach Forrest yelled. I saw the jock that attacked Frank earlier high five a few of his jock-looking friends.

"Hm, let's see... How about the new kid? Bryar! Other captain."

I froze. Mikey nudged me a little, telling me to go up there. I stood little ways away from Daly, hoping he wouldn't notice me.

"I saw your record from your previous school." Coach Forrest continued. "I'm impressed. This should be interesting." There was an eerily silent pause before he barked again. "Pick your teams!"

Daly went first, picking one of his jock friends. Of course, they high fived. I chose Mikey, and a few people snorted.

"Why did you do that?" He whispered harshly, almost embarrassed. I shrugged again.

"I can bench you if you want."

He nodded vigorously to that. Daly picked nearly all the jocks, and one annoying-looking black haired girl. Instead of a high five, she was greeted with a sloppy kiss. Lovely.

I picked one jock, a few athletic-looking girls, and three other guys who Mikey seemed to know. We quickly strategized, and Mikey banished himself to the bench. Coach called me over to where he and Daly were standing.

"Alright, I want a clean game. Don't try and pull anything, John. I won't take any of that crap on my field anymore."

Daly made a noise of acknowledgement, and I nodded. Coach blew the whistle, and it was on. Daly was fast, but I was faster. I took the ball and dribbled it down the field towards the goal, passing back and forth with one of my teammates. Daly's team seemed shocked, they couldn't keep up. I scored in the first two minutes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw coach Forrest watching me closely. I didn't let it phase me, though. Daly and his jock army had decided on the tactic of intimidation, and they were shouting insults left and right. I managed to ignore it. By the end of the first half, the score was 7 - 5 for us.

"You're not gonna win, princess." Daly panted as we took center. "You're going down."

"Sure." I mustered out, wiping my sweaty forehead with my shirt. The whistle blew again, but this time, he was quicker than me. I chased him relentlessly, but there was no way he was giving up that ball. He passed to his second in command jock, and he scored.

When the play started up again, I managed to get the ball and head towards his goal. Suddenly, something slammed into me, causing me to fly backwards and land on the grass. Hard. I heard some shouting and the whistle blowing again. A crowd had formed around me. I blinked a few times and sat up. Mikey was knelt down next to me, rubbing my back. I felt dizzy and weird, but nothing hurt badly. Coach was yelling at Daly, who I was guessing was the one who rammed into me.

"It was an accident!" He argued. "I swear I didn't see her. This isn't fair."

I could literally hear the fake-ness in his voice.

"It sure as hell is fair. I said I wanted a clean game, is that really too much to ask?" Coach barked back. He walked over to where I was. "You're alright?"

I nodded.

"Good. Penalty shot. The score is tied and the second half is practically over, so this point decides the game."

Mikey helped me up and trudged back to the sidelines while everyone got out of the way for the penalty shot. The goalie wasn't particularly intimidating, which was good. Daly was standing nearby, snickering to himself. The ball was on the field, it was down to me now. I went for it, kicking it as hard as I could. It hit the top left corner and bounced right into the net.

"No!" Daly screeched. He ran over to his goalie and started yelling at him about how bad he was. Coach dismissed the class, which meant the day was over. I ran over to Mikey who greeted me with a hug.

"Wow, you actually beat him. That's probably gonna cost you."

I shrugged. "Eh, it was worth it to see the look on his face when he lost."

Mikey laughed and shooed me back to the girl's locker room, claiming he'd wait for me in the hall. I smiled to myself all the way there.

I changed back into my normal clothes, promising to myself that the first thing that I'd do when I got home was shower. I didn't trust the showers here. Right as I was about to exit the room, someone held me back. It was one of the girls who had been on my team.

"That was really awesome back there. No one's ever beaten him in a team sport before." She told me. She spoke with a thick Irish accent, I found it quite charming. She even looked the part, with her long red hair and piercing green eyes.

I grinned proudly. "Yeah, so I've heard. What's his deal, anyways?"

She rolled her eyes. "His dad's a big shot business owner so he thinks he owns the place. He's been at the top of the food chain since kindergarten."

"Food chain?" I questioned.

"Pecking order. Popularity scale, if you will. Him and his little whore of a girlfriend Scarlett run this joint. It's sad, really."

"Oh," I responded, glad that she'd clarified. "I'm Alice, by the way."

"Cat Allen, pleasure to meet you. Hey, you aren't by any chance related to Bob Bryar, are you?"

I nodded. "He's my brother."

She smiled. "Cool. You look so much like him, it's a little weird."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Too much, maybe."

She laughed. I remembered that Mikey was out waiting for me. "I've gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

She nodded and I headed out the door. As promised, Mikey was standing there alone, looking bored.

"Finally." He sighed when he caught sight of me. "I know girls take a long time to get ready, but damn."

I shoved him playfully. "Go fuck yourself, Way. I think I might have just made a friend back there."

He raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Really? Who?"

"Uh, Cat Allen. She seemed nice."

Mikey blushed slightly. "Yeah, she's alright."

Something told me that there was a little more to it with Mikey and this girl, but I decided not to pry. At this point, all I really wanted to do was shower.