Playing with fire

Chapter 1: The school counselor

A gust of wind hits a tree branch, knocking it against a window of what looks like an abandoned house. A teenage boy with black hair and honey skin sits up on his mattress at the sudden noise. He lets out a sigh of relief when he realizes it's just the wind. He reaches over to his bag that's on the floor next to his mattress and grabs his phone. He goes to check the time and sees that the phone has been disabled. He drops the phone and sighs. "Shit.." He mumbles to himself as he starts to get up. He walks over to the pile of clothes in the corner of the room. He throws off his pajamas and quickly puts on some black jeans with a black long sleeve, then rushes over to the bathroom and looks in the mirror. 

He stares into his dark brown eyes. He then grips the sink and continues to stare at his reflection. His grip begins to tighten as his mind wanders to the past. He thinks of his parents, his mother. His eyes flash a bright red color as the porcelain sink shatters. He jumps as the pieces begin to hit the floor. He stares at the floor for a few seconds before he shakes his head and walks away. He rushes into his room to put on his doc martens, then grabs his gloves and puts them on before walking to his jacket and putting that on too. He then grabs his backpack and phone and walks out of the house, slamming the door behind him hoping he jammed it.

He begins to walk through the woods with his head down and eyes closed. He takes a deep breath and focuses on feeling the direction the wind is coming from, the smell of the fall air, the leaves flowing through the air around him. He reaches up suddenly and catches a leaf. He lifts his head to look at it. An orange and red leaf. He places it on his finger tip and brings it closer to his face. He stares at it as it starts to burn, once the leaf is gone he keeps the fire coming from his fingertip burning. His red eyes just continue to watch his flesh burn. His hand drops as the flame stops and he continues walking. Soon he gets to a street and walks to the corner.

He sighs as he bends down and sits on the curb. He sits there with his head in his hands for a while, thinking about what the hell he's gonna do about the phone. A car pulls up in front of him but he doesn't notice. He's stuck in a daydream. The car honks and his head snaps up.

"Are you gonna fucking get in or what?" A teenage girl with a deep golden skin tone says as she stares at him. He stares for a few more seconds before he gets up and gets in, not saying a word the whole time.

"Am I getting the silent treatment or something Tristan?" She asks. He quickly shakes his head no with an unreadable expression on his face. She eyes him suspiciously before looking away with an uncertain look on her face. She just continues to drive, acting as if nothing happened.

After a very awkward ride to school, she puts the car in park. Tristan moves to open the door but is stopped by a hand grabbing his other arm. He quickly looks at her hand and then her face with a glare. Her eyes widen slightly at the silent threat, then she lets go.

"I tried to call you this morning-" She says but is cut off by Tristan. "Phones broken, I'll fix it later. Thanks for the ride Megan. I'll talk to you later or something." He then hops out of the car and practically runs into the school. She sighs and leans her head back.

Tristan walks into the school and gets about two feet before he's slammed into a locker by the captain of the wrestling team. He stares at him with a blank face.

"I've heard the shit you've been saying about me. Keep your mouth shut or I'll fucking end you!" He says as he grips onto Tristan's jacket and gets in his face.

"Oh? Like how I said you were a piece of shit that likes to act that way cause you think it helps you assert your dominance like some sort of fucking gorilla? Or was it how i said your girlfriend left you cause like a gorilla, you lack basic hygiene and probably sound like one too when you have sex?" Tristan replies with a smirk on his face. The other guys face begins to get red with both embarrassment and anger. The crowd growing around them heard everything and laughed at what Tristan said.

"You're fucking dead you fucking freak!!" He yells as he throws a punch. Trsitans smile drops as he hears the insult. He moves his head and lets the punch hit the locker behind him before he throws his punch and makes contact with the captain's nose. He smiles as he hears and feels the satisfying crunch as it breaks.

The punch sends the captain to the floor, holding his face in pain. Tristan smiles as he stands up straight and walks away, everyone backing away from him as he walks through the crowd. He's almost through when he feels a hand grab his arm.

"My office. Now!" Mr. Black says. Tristan sighs before he turns around and walks towards the office. As he's walking he makes eye contact with a girl who looks to be around 5'5. She's got pale skin and her hair is about shoulder length and black with hot pink streaks. He can't remember her name but it doesn't matter anyway. He drops his head and continues to walk.

Once they make it to the office Tristan sits in the seat facing the desk. Mr. Black takes his seat behind the desk.

"So, what happened this time?" He asks as he sits back in his chair and takes a sip of his coffee.

"I've been talking about him and I guess he's heard? I'm not sure how he heard but the point is he proved what I was saying to be right when he tried to punch me, I simply dodged and then countered. There's nothing you can do cause I've done no wrong." Tristan states as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. Mr. Black nearly chokes on his coffee.

"Nothing wrong!? Tristan, you broke his nose! That's certainly not nothing." He says as he sets his coffee down and sighs. "I understand that you may not have started it, but you went too far. Actions have consequences. Maybe I can give a call to your social worker and have him come and deal with this." He says as he raises his eyebrow in a challenging sort of way. Tristans eyes widen as he hears the word social worker. His heart starts to beat faster and his hands get sweaty. Mr. Black can see the panic on his face and smiles to himself knowing it worked. "It's impressive how long you've managed to hide it. Luckily, you've already proved that you're more than capable of taking care of yourself. You could've just dropped out of school all together, but you didn't. I believe that means something, so I have a compromise for you." He says with a comforting smile.

Tristan can't stop panicking, and that last sentence is making him think Mr. Black is some sort of pervert.

Mr. Blacks eyes widen as he realizes what Tristan is thinking.

"Oh geez that sounded gross. I apologize. I just have this program that helps kids with similar situations like yours. I promise you I mean well. All I wanna do is help. All I ask for in return is respect." He pulls at his tie nervously.

Tristan calms a little hearing that there's other kids in similar situations. He sits there thinking it over. It's not like he has other options.

"Okay, what do I have to do?"