One year earlier
The steady thud of a bass line was what greeted Shawn's ears on a cold Monday morning. He groaned quietly as Ke$ha's voice droned on about how she didn't need money to be happy. As iff. Nadia had been messing with his stereo again. She had insisted that he "broaden his horizons" to "actual music". If this is what she considered real music, he wanted no part in it.
His feet hit the floor softly for he didn't want to wake the sleeping giant. The giant in question, his father, was busy sleeping off last night's rum, but Shawn wasn't about to start taking chances. He grabbed his clothes and headed for his truck. The water heater was out again and Shawn wouldn't have the money to fix it until Thursday's paycheck came through. For this reason, he showered at school after doing a quick conditioning circuit in the weight room.
The soft hum of the weight room's air conditioner was blocked out with the steady beat of his favorite song. "Lose Yourself" blared into his ears. All of his anger and frustration from the night before was about to be forced out of his body. He let out a soft sigh as he laid on his back at the bench press. Counting seemed unimportant as he concentrated on last night's events.
"You're an idiot!"
"You're never going to amount to anything!"
"You're going to end up dead just like your mother!"
All of his father's harsh words flowed through his mind. With each word, he pushed himself harder. Before he knew it, the warning bell was sounding and he was dripping with sweat. Shawn cursed, sitting up. Class started in five minutes. He got up and jogged into the locker room. After the world's quickest shower, he darted towards class, slamming into a petite, green eyed, brown haired girl. Shawn, being so big, right out flattened her.
"Crap, I'm sorry," he muttered, helping her up. Looking down at his foot, he saw a couple of her books and picked them up, handing them over to her. "Here you go," he said, hurrying off. The girl was left standing there in a bit of a daze. Shawn had no idea what he had started with that seemingly meaningless encounter.
