short stories collection (cramp twins)

Slipping Away (part 1)

Authors note/warning: This story takes place when Lucien & Wayne are attending Soap City high-school. I imagine this is their second year. Warning that this fanfic is somewhat dark, and deals with themes of mental health struggles, loneliness, drug-use mentions and has swearing as well. I hope to sometimes write more light-hearted fanfictions in spirit of the show, but this is a more gritty and darker fan-fiction of what I believe Wayne would struggle with when he is in high-school.

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It was a typical school morning. Lucien was up early, already freshened up for his day and enjoying a hot bowl of muesli and fresh fruit, his favorite. In contrast, Wayne trailing far behind, as usual. Wayne was often late to things. The mornings made him groggy and agitated. His mother often scolded him that he was far to old to be needing her to nudge him out of his room to get ready for the day. In annoyance, not wanting to hear his mothers scolding that morning, he clicked the 5th alarm off. He then set off to the kitchen, unkempt and messy. He barely put any effort into getting himself ready that morning, a usual ordeal for him. He knew he wouldn't have time to have breakfast, so he grabbed an energy drink and a bag of chips to sustain him through the morning and followed Lucien out the door at a distance.

 At the bus stop, Lucien always was chipper and talking with many of his friends at the stop. Most mornings, Lucien would sit on the curb with Tony and they would chat away. Sometimes Mari, whom was very quiet and antisocial at times, would join along and chat with them. Even students from other grades would chat with Lucien.. it seems a lot of people at school liked Lucien these days. He often was busy after school with plans of some sort, usually Tony, but often other friends or at a school club too. It made Wayne jealous in a way. 'Lucien is such a loser!!...' Wayne thought to himself 'Why do people like him so much?...'. There was a brief time in elementary school where Wayne had been quite popular, and Lucien was often the outcast. In middle-school, these roles slowly reversed, and by high-school, it seems like it was now the complete opposite. Lucien wasn't necessarily popular, he still often was bullied. Soap City high school was a brutal place to be, after all. Nonetheless, Lucien had a solid group of friends and many people seemed drawn to Lucien. It made Wayne feel a deep pang inside. Wayne feels emotions quite intensely, and wasn't sure what to make of the pain he felt inside as he saw Lucien chatting in a circle around his friends.. was it loneliness? Jealousy? A feeling of inadequacy? Whatever it was, Wayne wanted it to go away!! He dug out his headphones from his backpack and started blaring loud industrial music to drown out the chatter of everyone at the stop.

Their stop was the last bus stop too, so often finding a seat was a stressful endeavor for Wayne. In his first year of highschool, he shuffled through, asking many if he could sit with them, only to receive quiet uncomfortable glances or get a firm "No!" from classmates who were more bold. Nowadays, in this second year of school, he wouldn't even ask anymore, and would just sit with whoever he deemed to look like a bit of a pushover. Today saw Clive, a timid boy in their grade and swiftly sat down next to him without even asking. Wayne had a very bad reputation at school, he often was getting detentions and would get into trouble with other students. His mother had Wayne start therapy for his struggles with ADHD and general anger issues this year. It somewhat helps Wayne, but he found he was still struggling a lot in school. Wayne was often easily angered and consequently, very rude, which didn't help matters much. Clive was muttering to his group of friends who sat behind him, his eyes motioning to Wayne as he spoke. Wayne thought Clive must have been talking about him, and he found himself glaring coldly at Clive, who quiet literally did nothing to him- it was all a misunderstanding. It landed Wayne yet another written warning with the bus driver.

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Lunch break

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