Setting Fire to the Stars (mxm)

Chapter 1: Invasion

**(Please note that this chapter contains bullying/harassment, physical and verbal violence and bullying)**

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Lauren
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When the spaceships first entered Earth's atmosphere, we all thought they were part of an elaborate hoax. My roommate nearly swallowed his cigarette as we watched in awe through the small gap of the second-floor boy's bathroom window as more ships descended, the black hulls of the massive spacecraft merging with the night as though coated in oil.

Never in my eighteen years of life had I ever seen anything like it.

Following the arrival of the alien spacecraft, the school decided to cancel the remainder of our classes for the day and we were dismissed to our dorm rooms.

By the time I made it back to the room, my second roomie, Mateo, already had our television turned on to the 4 o'clock local news. We watched as they displayed a live feed of several black ships descending from the heavens over multiple cities around the globe. NASA was trying to get in contact with the ships but hadn't received any response.

The world watched with bated breath, wondering what would happen next.

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Hours passed without any movement from the approaching ships. The school encouraged students to continue our schedule as we normally would, as though the arrival of foreign lifeforms wasn't our problem at all. Maybe they were under the impression that the military would handle it, but that didn't sit right with many. Instinct told me to pack up my stuff and get ready to run for the hills. I needed to get my family out of the city before shit hit the fan.

Throwing my backpack over my shoulder and heading for the door of our dorm room, I startled at the hand that grabbed my arm as my roommate, watching the commotion in the hallway through our open door. Outside, several students had become restless with teachers quickly began taking punishments for disobedience into their own hands. By the time night had fallen, eighteen kids had been taken to what I could only guess was solitary confinement after trying to escape the Academy grounds.

A new kind of fear gripped those of us who had the common sense to obey. The unknown threat of the silent spaceships may hang over our heads from above, but the panic that had ensued was slowly breaking down our school's justice system from the inside. Already this was starting to feel more like a prison than a school.

A somber atmosphere settled over the student body as everyone was ushered to gather in the community dining hall at the teacher's desecration. The cafeteria was vast, the ceiling made up of intricate archways supported by towering sandstone pillars. Decorative amber chandeliers lit the chamber where the students of Winchester Boys Academy gathered around the large wooden tables in their little cliques. Teachers stood by the doors, making sure that while students were allowed to enter the dining area, no one was allowed to leave.

I sat by myself at the furthest table near the back wall, as I always did. My skin buzzed, tension coiling just under the surface as I scanned the room for any other way I could escape. Just as I had raised my fork to take a bite of soggy-sauced spaghetti, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching behind me.

"Well well, look who we have here, gentlemen."

Swallowing thickly, I fought the shiver that raved down my spine, dread dropped like a stone into my stomach. That sarcastic tone could only belong to one person. Sure enough, I glanced over my shoulder to see Mr. Popular himself sauntering up to my table, flanked by a couple of his teammates.