The Painter

after school (6)

(this chapter is a bit longer than my other ones, and i might make future chapters longer, too. the thing is it takes longer to write them, so do you prefer shorter chapters that come out faster or longer ones that i take longer to write? lmk!

p.s. a character (len/lennox) is named after baby_louis91 because of the support they have given me on this story :) len is going to appear a few times throughout the book! thanks, love!)

september 26th.
3:05 pm
in the car

william had just gotten into his rusty car and was heading to the bowling alley when he heard a car beeping behind him.

oh man, am i going too slow?  he thought. no, i'm going 5 above the speed limit. who does this guy think he is?

as he looked into his small rear view mirror to get a better look at the -very rude- person behind him, he met the eyes of the guy behind the wheel, who looked at him with a malicious smirk.

shit. it's max.

and at that, william frantically stepped on the pedal and sped to the bowling alley, max on his tail.

william never really saw max outside of school. max lived on the richer side of town while william lived on the outskirts closer to the school so they never really crossed paths.

a car chase seems a little extreme, right? i mean, if i hit the brakes right now, max would probably be killed. there doesn't seem to be any cameras or people around so i could say he rammed into me at a stop sign.

but william knew that couldn't happen. it was just something he was tempted to do. he didn't have money to get his car fixed, either. maybe anthony and his friends could protect him. they seemed to like him enough, right? and anthony is a really nice guy. he'd probably do that for a stranger.

anthony.

william took a deep breath pushed even harder on the pedal, which caused the back of his head to get pressed against the seat. he was praying there were no officers patrolling the seemingly deserted street.

3:15 pm.
the bowling alley.

as william parked his car in the packed parking lot, he all but sprinted into the large building. immediately, his ears were met with loud music. he could feel the beat of the song in his chest, like a second heartbeat. he lived for things like that. things that overwhelmed his senses and distracted him from reality, even if it's only for a second.

he quickly paid for bowling tickets and made his way to the shoe booth to get bowling shoes before max got into the building. he had lost him in traffic a while back. they would probably be there any minute, though. the thought made william shudder.

i could probably slash his tires, or slit his throat. it would be so much easier that way. why haven't i done that before?

william shook his head. no, no i can't do that. grandma was an accident. never again.

william looked around the packed bowling alley, but didn't spot anthony or any of his friends from earlier anywhere.

they're probably on their way right now. i did speed the whole way here, and i left the school parking lot before them, so it's only common sense that i'd get here first. i might as well get some food while i wait.