Troubled Youth

7

I entered Matt's room after knocking on the wooden door for an invitation. The golden-haired boy was lying on his bed with earphones plugged in as the artificial laptop's light bounced off his two different coloured eyes.

"Hey, can we talk?" I asked. He hadn't seem to notice me, even before when I had knocked there was no reply. His attention immediately altered to me when I waved my hand in front of his view.

"Oh sorry." He pulled his earphones out of his ears. "I didn't hear you come in. What's up?"

"Just wanted to talk, if you aren't busy."

"Sure, go ahead. What is it?" Matt placed his laptop aside, giving me his full attention.

"So you and Fey..." His smiled disappeared at the mention of both their names. "...are together now."

"How do you know?" Matt stood up from his relaxed position. "Did Fey tell you?"

"Yeah she did. She's concerned that you might be trying to avoid her after what...you guys did together." Matt looked baffled. I guess he really wasn't avoiding her.

"I'm not avoiding her at all! Actually I've been busy writing a - well it's a bit embarrassing - song for her. I'm not good at lying but I want to keep it a secret for now. If Fey felt like that why didn't she come talk to me?" He scratched the back of his head. I felt kind of bad for him. He was trying to show his appreciation to Fey but she was slowly pushing herself away from him.

"You know how Fey is. She isn't great at communicating her feelings."

"She does know how to 'communicate' her insults at everyone though." The Swedish boy joked. "So what do you think I should do?"

"Sit down and talk to her. You both care about each other, I'm sure you'll figure it out." I suggested. It's a bit ironic that someone like me who never had any previous friends is now giving relationship advices to people.

"You're right...but first I will finish this song and play it for her tonight! Thank you for the help, Elliot. You're a great friend." Matt immediately went back on his laptop. Him calling me 'friend' had me feeling joy. To be called someone's friend and having them thank you for it was a new type of feeling that I've never had experienced before. I left his room and headed towards the music room, hoping to find Andrew. It was quite, awfully quite. I peaked inside and didn't see anyone. The lights were off and the curtains closed. The tiny particles of dust glided in the sunlight that was begging to enter through the shut curtains. I don't know why but the room felt sinister. It didn't look sinister at all though, it was just a normal room just like any other but I had this gut feeling telling me that something was wrong. I knew well that I shouldn't do this but my curiosity got the better of me. I searched through Jeremy's desk, hoping to find whatever it was that was making me feel like this. That's when I found it. Bottom drawer; a bottle of alcohol and a picture of Jeremy and a child. He had the same blue eyes and dark hair as Jeremy. I was certain it was his son. Suddenly I heard the main door echo through the hallway. I swiftly exited the room hoping not to get caught. My worries disappeared when I saw Andrew, only for them to return when I saw the furious look on his face.

"What happened?" I asked forthrightly.

"He said the cops searched the lake but found nothing!" He yelled.

"Okay, don't worry. They're searching around the area they must find something soon." I tried calming him.

"That's the issue, they are not! Jeremy said that they took the bracelet as evidence and left!"

"Left? They just..."

"Yes, they just left! No search party, no nothing!" Andrew paced to our room with me right behind him. This anger was consuming him. It made me wonder where that sweet and caring side of him disappeared off to. When we entered our room, Andrew began packing his backpack.

"What are you doing?"

"If they are not going to search for him then I will!"

"You can't! Jeremy already told us that we can't go out there." I tried reasoning with him but Andrew was already too far gone. This anger and frustration had taken over his mind.

"Elliot!" He shouted at me again. I felt attacked and betrayed. If me opening up to him would get me hurt me in the end then it wasn't worth it. He looked at me, realising what we had done. "I've got to do this." He sighed "If you want to help I'll let you but I'm not forcing you to risk everything for me. That's your choice." I have no idea what to do. On one hand I could help him but I would be risking everything for someone who I had only just met. What would even happen if we found Mateo? Would Andrew go back to him? Would he forget about me? The possibilities were endless. On the other hand, if I don't help him, I would probably lose Andrew. Everything else in my life would be fine but was it worth losing the most important person of my life? Even if I had just met, we've created a bond that was stronger and more important than anything else. Then I thought of a third option. One that I wasn't sure if I should even consider. Would I snitch on him to Jeremy?

I decided to help Andrew. It was the right thing to do. Whether or not I would have a chance with him afterwards didn't even matter anymore. He is my friend and he's in need. I won't let him down.

"I'm coming with you." I stated. A tiny smirk appeared on his face, letting me know that he appreciated my decision. "So what's the plan?"

"We will wait until nighttime. When it gets dark we'll go out the same way as last time; through the gap in the fence."

"How do you know that Jeremy won't have it guarded this time?"

"We never told him how we got out. By the time he figures it out we'll be long gone."

"Alright then, what do we need to bring with us?" I asked whilst getting my backpack ready.

"Flashlights, water, your phone and...this." Andrew pulled a switch blade out.

"What are you doing? Put that thing away!" I thought he had lost his mind. There was no reason in bringing a knife with him.

"You never know, Elliot. We might need it."

"What for?" I questioned him.

"What happens if we get attacked?" He tried defending his opinion.

"By what, a bear? The are no wild animals like that out here."

"I'm still bringing it with me." Andrew wasn't going to change his mind about this. I agreed, letting the matter go for now.

"Have you checked in with Manny at all today?" I asked.

"No I haven't had the chance. You could go check on him right now. I'll finish the packing." Andrew suggested. I agreed and headed for Manny's room. I knocked on his door but there was no reply. I called his name and yet no reply. I turned the knob but unfortunately it was locked. For it to be locked meant that someone had to be on the other side.

"Manny? Please talk to me. I want to make sure you're okay." I knocked and knocked again. Still there was no reply. "Me and Andrew will search for your brother tonight." I blurted. I probably shouldn't have told him that but I was hoping it would give him a reason to reply. Yet again, there was no reply. I let him be and went back to my room. Andrew was gone and I was left alone for now. I looked through my book collection hoping to find something new to help pass the time. To my surprise I found the book that Mum had given me.

'Life is a painful journey that will end with happiness.' The words played in my head. That damn quote pissed me off so much that day. But now I think I finally understand it. Happiness is not something that is given to you. If it was simply given to you then there would be no power to it; it would then be meaningless. It's not something that you can have if you haven't faced any challenges. It's about building up to it. It's about finding it. It's about choosing what truly makes you happy over what you believe it is. I could had chosen not to help Andrew but instead I listened to my heart. Whatever happens from this point onwards could be terrible but it doesn't matter because at the of the tunnel, I know that my friends will be there waiting for me. That is the happiness that's waiting for me.