chapter one

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authors note!

this story will include mature themes, read at your own discretion.

word count: 1156

pic is what adam looks like in this story :)

Iris Walden's life was a fairytale from the outside. She was class president of the junior class, one of the best soccer players on the varsity team, she had plenty of friends, and she was dating Declan Coyne. Declan came from money and everyone knew it. He threw the best parties, got whatever he wanted from Mommy and Daddy, and had everyone wrapped around his finger, including Iris.

They met during their freshman year of high school and Iris was in love right away. Declan was everything she wanted. He held the door for her, gave her plenty of compliments, and made her feel like the only girl in the world. Little did she know that it was all a facade. Once he had her where he wanted her, he began to show who he really was.

Eventually, their entire relationship was arguments that ended in Iris getting hurt and Declan swearing he'll never do it again. Iris knew that there was no love there anymore, she was just too afraid of what would happen if she did something about it. Two years of her life had been spent lying to the people that she was closest to, even her best friend since the womb, Alli Bhandari.

Iris's and Alli's mothers were best friends since high school so whenever they had the girls, only a few months apart, they were destined to be best friends for life. They have been through everything together and yet Iris couldn't even grow the courage to tell Alli what had been happening behind closed doors. Instead, she covered up any marks, held her head up, and pretended that she lived the life that everyone thought she did.

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

Iris groaned as her alarm clock blared for the fifth time that morning. She was definitely not in the mood to go to school today after the events of last night. Declan had come over just to start an argument about the way Iris had talked to some guy at school the day before. Of course, Iris denied that anything was happening between them because there wasn't, but that wasn't good enough for Declan. He left marks on her wrist when she tried to kick him out but the redness on her face from when he slapped her had disappeared.

Iris rolled over and climbed out of bed, walking into her en-suite bathroom and doing her morning routine, trying to get rid of the look of tiredness and desperation off her face. When she looked half alive, she walked over to her dresser and picked out what she wanted to wear. She ended up choosing a simple black tee with a random motorcycle logo on it; which she tucked into the top of some mom shorts. She added an oversized dark flannel, a black belt, and her signature rings and necklaces to complete the outfit. The flannel was added mostly to hide marks on her wrist, something that she did way too often. She was pretty pleased with her final product, she took a lot of confidence from the fact that she thought she had a good fashion sense. It made her a bit happier knowing Declan didn't like the way she dressed, it felt like a big fuck you. After brushing through her straight long brown hair quickly, she headed downstairs in the hopes that she had time for some breakfast before she had to leave for school.

Walking into the kitchen, Iris was greeted by her younger brother, Adam. Iris and Adam were probably best friends, no matter how much both of them tried to deny it. Adam was one of Iris's safe places and vise versa, especially last year whenever Adam came out as transsexual. Even though Adam was only a year and a few months younger than Iris, she felt very protective over him.

"Mornin'." Adam mumbled, shoving more Fruit Loops into his mouth. "G'morning." Iris mumbled right back, grabbing her own bowl from the cabinet. Both of her parents worked early in the morning so her and Adam had to fend for themselves in the mornings. She didn't mind, it was nice to have a quiet house when she was trying to wake up.

Sitting down next to Adam with her bowl of Cheerios, Iris pulled out her phone, checking her Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat before she started eating. They had about 15 minutes before they had to leave so she could take her time as she scrolled through everything. Iris felt as though it was an obligation for her to have a big social life, especially since she had become class president. It was stressful thinking about the way she presented herself all the time. Sometimes she just wanted to disappear and start a new life somewhere new. But she also knew she shouldn't be complaining, so many people have it much worse than her. She felt guilty for not wanting her life anymore.

Noticing the look on his sister's face, Adam spoke up. "You alright?" He questioned, nudging her shoulder with his a bit. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Iris nodded, putting her phone down and continuing to eat her breakfast. Adam gave her an 'I don't believe you' look, but decided that Iris would talk when she wanted to. He put his bowl in the sink and then walked towards the stairs. "I'm gonna finish getting ready. Let me know when you're ready to leave." He said, disappearing to the abyss he called his room.

Iris finished her breakfast just as she received a text from Declan. Of course he's apologizing about last night, Iris thought as she read the text, rolling her eyes.

———

From declan:

Iris baby i'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, i would never hurt you on purpose. I love you baby. Are we good? Will you meet me before class?

———

To declan:

yeah we're good. i'll meet you by the stairs near the office.

———

They were not even close to good and Iris wanted to end everything so bad. She wanted this part of her life to be over but she had no idea how to escape it.

Iris quickly gathered her things for school; bookbag, soccer bag, headphones, all the things she needed to survive the day. "Adam, come on!" She called from the front door before she walked out and headed to her car. It was pretty shitty, an '05 black Honda Civic with a rusted hood. It was nowhere near as nice as Declan's Mustang, the difference being that she paid for her car while Declan's parents bought his. As she climbed into the driver's seat, after stuffing her bags into the back seat, Adam jogged out the door and climbed into the seat next to her. "Today is going to be a good day." He said, smiling at his sister, trying to give she'd a bit of encouragement. "Yeah, I hope so." She smiled back softly with a nod, pulling out of the driveway.

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