Troubled Youth

4

It was early afternoon, right after the small football match that Fey and Andrew had against each other. Andrew clearly won and Fey gave him a clear bruise to the arm. It was all fun and games but sometimes Fey could really get violent; her story of beating up her little brother's bullies verified it. On the other hand, Andrew, did not seem to be the aggressive type. I wondered if him beating up those bullies was a lie. 

"Hey, lunch is ready!" I heard Andrew notify me. I was busy getting lost in my thoughts. 

"I'll be there in a bit. I'm going to shower first." I informed him and began making my way to the male showers. 

As I treaded down the hallway I saw Fey exiting the bathroom and drying her scarlet hair. She instantly stopped when she noticed me. 

"Uh...I thought this was the male showers?" 

"It is." She replied.

"Oh...Okay." We just stood there staring at each other until Fey swiftly took off. I tried to enter the showers but I then bumped into Matt. 

"Sorry, didn't see you there." Matt apologised. 

"It's fine. Was Fey with you just now?" I asked. His smile disappeared and his eyes widened at my question. 

"No, why?" 

"Because I saw her leave the showers just now." 

"Um...Well that's weird, I didn't see her at all." 

"Are you sure? She must have taken a shower in there. There's no way you didn't noti-" Matt cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

"Come on, we'll be late for lunch! I'm starving!" He exclaimed whilst jogging away. This entire situation was strange and I was curious to know what they were hiding; the first thought that came to mind was that they were dating. I chuckled at the thought and shook it out of my head whilst stepping into the warm water.

I made my way to the cafeteria and saw everyone from our group chatting at a table. Fay waved for me to come over, patting the seat adjacent to hers. When I approached I saw a plate filled with fish and green beans; it smelt delicious and its vaporising heat encouraged me to salivate at the spot. 

"Thanks for getting me food!" I expressed whilst engulfing the food in front of me. 

"Your welcome, Mastermind." Fey replied with a grin. Just then I realised that everyone else still had full plates in front of them as well. 

"You guys waited for me to eat?" I questioned, dumbfounded. 

"It's more fun this way and Matt will now have to sit there and do nothing." Fey explained whilst giving Matt a cheeky smirk. I glanced over to him and spotted an empty plate with greasy smudges.

"What?! I was starving." Matt justified himself. 

"So were all of us." Spat back at him. Everyone else remained in silence, continuing to consume their food. 

"Do you guys have any plans for tonight?" I asked, seeking to break the tension. 

"I might be reading in the library." Manny informed, twirling his spaghetti on his fork.  

"I'll be in the music room." Fey said and so did Matt afterwards. Fey rolled her eyes at him and resumed eating. I gazed at Andrew, awaiting his response. 

"I'll be at the field." Andrew told us whilst taking his final bite of a simple grilled cheese sandwich. "I'll see you all later!" Andrew said as he exited the cafeteria. After a while everyone departed from the room as well and went their own ways. I stepped into my room, hearing the wooden floor creak underneath me. I grabbed the romance book I've been reading and resumed the silly novel. 

'...And they lived happily ever after!' 

I laughed at the cliché quote and slammed the book shut. It wasn't terrible nor was it a masterpiece...it was just a simple and surprisingly fun at times story. I just can't believe people still write the 'happily ever after' part. I broke out of my thoughts when I noticed that the whatever remaining sunrays which shone through my window were now gone. The sky was still bright enough from the moonlight even thought the darkness tried consuming it. I strode downstairs to the music classroom hoping to find Fey and Matt but to my surprise I found Jeremy. He looked devastated, his eyes looked exhausted and his face full of tears. I wasn't sure whether or not should intervene so I slowly backed away from the semi open door and made my departure towards the sports field. It was dark outside but the moonlight allowed me to see where I was stepping. Andrew was in front of me, kicking a ball into the net. 

"Hey!" I smiled. He turned around to look at me and then right back at the goal post.

"Hey." He replied whilst positioning himself behind another football. 

"Have you been out here the entire afternoon?" I asked only for him to ignore me for a moment as he kicked the ball against the net.

"Yeah, I've just been practising. What have you been up to?"

"Just reading."

"You've been reading this whole time?" He questioned me with slim shock.

"Yeah, why?" 

"Nothing." He walked towards the balls inside the net, picking them up individually and placing inside a large bag. "Just surprised that you don't get bored from reading that long."

"Reading is not boring, it's a way to enter a whole new world. To escape your own, boring life."

"So you're saying I'm boring?" He questioned with a grin. I chuckled at his joke and gazed at my shoes. 

"Why do  you like sport this much?" I asked, looking him in his brown eyes. They were sparkling under the moonlight like the stars in the horizon. "To my understanding, you've been out here the entire time while I've been reading. From my perspective I would call that boring."

"Actually it's the exact same reason as yours. It lets me forget about everything else and just allow me to have fun. To escape my own, boring life." 

"You're copying me now?!" I chuckled. 

"Maybe...you do have a nice way with words." Andrew stared into my eyes and I stared back at his. They were captivating, I felt like I was being bewitched. "Come, I have something to show you." He smiled at me whilst I followed right behind him. We neared the fence all the way at the end of school. One of the bars was slightly bend just barely for Andrew to slip through. I was afraid that his muscular body would get stuck. On the other hand, it was a breeze for my slim silhouette to slither through. 

"Where are we going?" I questioned. 

"It's a secret, you'll have to wait." 

"Will we get in trouble for doing this?" I asked. I was concerned about getting in trouble especially since my only reason for staying here and not juvenile jail was because of the mercy of the judge. 

"Only if we get caught." He tittered. I suddenly froze, too afraid of continuing. Andrew noticed that I had ceased following him and approached me as the scattered branches cracked under his shoes. 

"Hey" He smiled warmly. "We can head back if you want." 

"I-I do want to continue but...if we get caught I'm afraid they'll send me..." I paused for a moment. "I'm afraid they'll send me to jail." I revealed to him. Andrew stared at the ground for a moment and then back at me. 

"Do you trust me?" He questioned me with certainty. How am I supposed to respond to that question? I've only just met him yesterday yet it feels like I've been here forever already.

"Yes." I blurted without putting any more thought into it. His smile widened and stretched his hand out for me to grab. I accepted as my cheeks began heating up. Andrew slipped his other hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Suddenly a light beamed out of it which allowed both of us to see where we were stepping. "I hope you know where you're going!" I joked as we continued towards Andrew's 'secret place'.