rock on! | inanimate insanity au

[ volume one, chapter nine: new faces]

uhhhhh sorry for the lack of updates.. ive been planning how i want this to continue — anyways, new character.. eat up!!

It had been a while since the whole incident.

Balloon stared at the path, watching as it winded all the way down to the school's entrance with a feeling of uneasiness. He didn't want to do this — but it was his first day, and he just needed to get through it all. He'd take a deep breath, walking further down the pavement.

'It's fine, Balloon. Nobody is going to say anything,' He thought to himself, being thrown out of his thoughts when someone barged past him, giving him the dirtiest look he'd ever received — Balloon shrunk down in shame, but was also a tad bit annoyed at the fact that this person didn't even apologise for barging into him! He only had been here for two minutes, and people were already being assholes.

Once he had finally recovered from the blow, he'd approach the doors — the hallway was crowded with students, and they all turned their heads in unison at the sound of the double doors hitting the wall. This was awkward.

"Don't mind them," A soft, but loud voice would startle him — whipping his head around to see someone who was much kinder than the guy before, and also very pretty. She had short white hair, a fringe covering a small part of her face — the first thing he noticed about her was the purple hairclip, and a student council badge, pinned to her sweater.

"I.. well.." He sputtered out, glancing at the crowd of students, who had gone back to their interests. One new student wasn't important to most of them, anyway.

"You're new here, right?" Balloon felt his shoulders tense. He might've been the taller one here, but she was so well-spoken towards him, that it was hard to feel at ease. His throat dried up, and he couldn't say anything but a bunch of nonsense sentences, out of intimidation.

"Yeah, I.. new here." He'd fidget with his hands, staring at the ground. He felt like if they made eye contact, her eyes would turn him into a pile of quicksand. This was harder than he thought it would be. "It's my first day," Marshmallow smiled, an amused chuckle escaping her.

"Hey, don't worry about it. People here can be a little intimidating, but once you get a timetable, everything will fly past you like it was nothing. Just find the right crowd of people, that's all! You'll fit right in at Indefinite High, I know it." She placed her hand on his shoulder — trying to come off as friendly, and not the intimidating beast that Balloon saw her as. He relaxed a little, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth.

"But where do I go to receive my-"

"Marsh, don't keep me waiting! The pin board isn't going to fill itself, young lady!" One of the teachers would call out from down the hall, tapping their foot. Marshmallow would groan, complying and trailing down the hall. The student council was a hassle, believe me. "Good luck, new guy!" That's all that was said before she turned the corner.

Now what?

Balloon would just have to figure it out himself, I suppose..

He'd turn to the room near the water fountain, which seemed to be the head teacher's office. Maybe all he needed to do was just enter, and he'd get a timetable. It had taken him a while to navigate his way here, but he had made it. It was starting to make him sick due to how anxious he was feeling, his stomach churning ever so slightly. He didn't remember school ever being so.. scary.

His hand reached up, knocking on the firm wooden door, and was soon met with a faint approval to enter the room.

"Um, excuse me," He'd say in a fairly loud tone, getting the attention of the person sitting at the desk. It didn't look like the head teacher — it was a male with a dark green afro, which was almost covering his eyes completely — but Balloon could see the brown pupils staring at him while holding a bunch of paperwork. Balloon wondered who they were.

"Sup," He'd wave, giving him a wide, toothy grin — he must've been a student here, huh?

"Do you know where I can get a timetable, or.." Balloon was struggling to get his words out, but he managed to do the task. Sometimes he wished he wasn't homeschooled for half of his life, and maybe he would've been better at talking to people. Was it really this hard? Luckily, the male in front of him didn't seem to mind the intrusion and handed him one of the sheets in his hand.

"Thanks," He'd mutter.

"Don't sweat it. I'll take you to your class, if you want."

Balloon tried his best to keep up with the new face — jeez, he walked fast! He couldn't keep his eyes off the male in front of him, thinking his appearance was cool, and also pleasing to the eye — the dark hair, the way he presented himself.. it was all awesome! He'd try to catch up, but every step he took was at least three for him. Once he looked back at him, his shoulders tensed once more, forcing his gaze to the ground. He didn't want to seem like a weirdo.

"You got any friends yet?" He'd ask Balloon, who was zoned out for a few seconds — snapping out of it and back into reality. It was an odd question, since he had only been here for forty minutes, but he didn't mind answering.

"No, not yet, anyway.." He sighed, scratching the back of his head with a slightly awkward smile on his face.

"There's no shame in that. You'll make a couple, trust me! Just gotta find the right crowd, ya know?" He chuckled warmly, his voice rumbling through Balloon — making his stomach feel all weird and tingly. It was probably just his anxiety acting up — right?

"Oh, the name's Pickle. If you want to make a couple of buddies, come down to the clubs. It's a great way to socialise with others." This school had clubs? They didn't say anything about that on the pamphlet that was sent out.. but either way, the idea did intrigue him. If he wanted to make new friends, he'd have to join some of the clubs!

"I'll have a look around," Balloon responded, still a tad awkward around him. But he was trying his best. Pickle only gave him a thumbs-up, as he began to head down the hall.

"I'll see you then, red hair." He'd wave him off, and it made him realise that he'd never even told Pickle his name. That's so stupid, Balloon! He sighed in defeat, walking into the classroom — and to his ultimate disappointment, he was late.

Very late.

"What time do you call this?" The teacher scoffed, looking up from the board and facing the boy at the door.

"You're lucky we haven't taken attendance yet. Take your seat." Balloon felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him for being late. It was his first day, and he was already being a nuisance to the teacher and the class. He tugged his sleeves over his hands, pulled his seat out, and finally sat down at his desk. Everyone was staring at him.

"H-H-Hey," Someone would beckon him as quietly as they could, tapping on Balloon's desk to get his attention.

"Uhm, hi?" He'd mutter in confusion — he'd never seen someone with such a gnarly scar before.

"D-D-Do you h-have a pencil?" He'd ask, a small smile on his face. This guy seemed nice — he had black and red dreads, along with some pretty cool piercings.

"I.. yeah, I do." Balloon would rummage through his pockets, handing him a small, mechanical pencil.

"T-Thanks," He'd respond with glee, pausing — before glancing at the new kid and speaking once more.

"M-My name is B-Bomb, by the way." Balloon felt oddly comforted around him. Unlike the other two, where he felt a little intimidated — this guy was easier to talk to.

"I'm Balloon," He'd let a small smile creep up onto his freckled face. This was the perfect moment to make his first friend as Pickle had said!

"Uhm.. do you maybe, wanna be friends?" He hesitantly asked the question, glancing away for a split second, before looking back at him.

"S-Sure." Bomb smiled a wide grin, giving him a subtle nod. Their conversation may have been cut off by the teacher, but Balloon had just gained one new friend.

Bingo! One friend for the homeschooled boy!

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end of chapter.