CHAPTER ONE (pt.1)

TWs for this chapter:
drugs, violence/bullying, hate speach and slurs, arguing, family issues, mentions of: self harm, suicide, smoking
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Olivia

I struggle to put on shoes and trying to zip up my jacket at the same time. I'll be late again.

In a rush I forget to take my chapstick, but luckily I arrive at school in time.
I throw my bag on the floor next to my table and lightly punch a person sitting next to me.
"Ayyo, whussup loser?"
They roll their eyes and smirk.
"Nice to see you to Liv."
I smile and ask:
"Is Aiden here today?"
"Nahh, he's probably somewhere out getting high."
"Your right. I just hope he's not alone, you know how clumsy he is when he's in the clouds."
They reward me with a smile and turn back to the book they were reading before I came.

Azar Lee. My best friend since year 3 and the biggest book addict I know.
They're pansexual and they identify as nonbinary. They're black and quite short. They wear braids most of the time and to be honest I am very grateful they listened to my advice and stopped straightening their hair. It really made them look like a middle school nerd.
The only thing I ever see them wear is oversized clothing. But they know how to style it and overall they look pretty swag.
They also suffer for severe anxiety and that's why they basically live on weed. They say it calms them down. Which pretty much makes sense. However they hate to drink and they're always that one friend who makes sure everyone gets home safely after a party. Basicly they're the parent of the group.
We first met when they moved schools and came to my class in 3rd grade. I was sitting in the back of the class, reading a Harry Potter book. They sat down right next to me and started giving me book recommendations. Thats how our friendship started. They were my first real friend. Later in eight grade, Aiden who used to be the popular kid came out as bi and his "friends" didn't really accept him. Thats when he started hanging out with us. Later we made some new friends at one party and now it's 5 of us hanging out.

The teacher comes to class and Azar closes the book down. Even tho they aren't a perfect kid, they always listen in school, while I put my airpods in and turn the annoying teacher's voice down.

***

After lunch I done with school for that day, as Azar still has some lessons to attend to. With my airpods in my ears I leave trough the school door. I'm planing on going home to leave my school bag there. After that I'll look for Aiden and smoke a joint or two with him.
Sadly it doesn't go as I plan.
I'm walking and listening to music as I hear someone call my name.
"Hey, Sanders!"
I close my eyes and sigh. I know who it is right away. I turn around with an annoyed look on my face, just to make an eye contact with a brown haired boy. He's tall and his body is obviously trained in fitness, if not on innocent people who piss him off.
It's Max Stonem. And he's not alone. He's whole squad is with him, standing behind and waiting for him, to give them a sign.
"What do you want?" I ask, just wanting to get it done and over with.
He puts fake suprise on his face.
"What's with the attitude? Are mad at me?"
I roll my eyes. I really don't want to deal with this today. A slight smirk shows on his face.
"Oh, so you're just in a bad mood. What's with the black shirt and emo makeup?"
Keep in mind I'm only wearing eyeliner.
"Are you depressed again? Come on, give us a wrist reveal."
Anger is starting to boil in me. I hate when they say this. How can they be making fun of things like that?
"Shut up, Max," I say without thinking.
That's a mistake. His smirk disappears from his face.
"Be careful with what you say, Sanders" he says and makes a fist.
"For your own good."
He punches me in the face. My vision blurres, the pain starts to flourish.
As soon as he does that, the others move from their positions and start to beat me up. By the second punch, I fall on the ground. Before I can even think of standing up, someone kicks me in the stomach. Kicks and punches keeps coming and when they finally stop, I have to try really hard not to faint.
Max's face showes up infront of me. He kneels down.
"This is what you get for being a fucking faggot," he spits.
"And next time you try to kill yourself, come to me. I'll gladly do it for you."
He stands up and while he's leaving I hear him say: "Fucking emo," right before I faint.
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