Accepted

I

Nick flinched as a third egg struck the side of his head. The sound of cheering teenagers was loud then became gradually quieter as the bus drove further away. Their aim was getting better. He stood there a moment, head tilted to the side to drip the raw egg off of his coat. Thankfully none of the egg got past his hood and he made the rest of his trek without any more attacks.

Before stepping through the front doors of his school he slipped off his raincoat and stuffed it into a plastic bag. He'll need his shield for the walk home.

Nick entered the building and sat on the nearest bench to revel in the schools warmth while he waited for the bell to ring.

"You should try dodging them," Said a voice to his right. "Just leave your raincoat at home and be all ninja."

Nick scoffed.

"Yeah, right," He muttered, taking a coffee from the cheerleading captain. "I have the reflexes of a dead ninja, Olivia."

"Hey, I think zombie ninjas would still be pretty nimble," She giggled, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

Olivia looked just how you expect a cheerleading captain to look. Tall with long blonde hair and tan skin like she spent a lot of time on the beach. But she was kind. She tried convincing the popular kids to stop bullying him, but they wouldn't listen. To make it up to him she would bring him coffee every morning. He didn't care if it made him a basic white girl, but he was a slut for pumpkin spice.

So Nick sat there sipping his coffee and listening to Olivia gossip while he waited for the bell.

"Hey, wake up."

Nick groaned, feeling a finger prod his ribs. He opened his blurry eyes and looked into a pair lined thickly with eyeliner.

"Class is almost over. I made an extra copy of the notes for you," The girl pointed to a paper on his desk. "The pages you need to do for homework are at the top of the page."

"Uh, thanks," He said, flipping open his bag and neatly sliding the paper inside.
   She was always doing stuff like that for him. He didn't even know her name, but I guess outcasts have to stick together.

Nick peeked over at her desk to try and catch a name, but all of her things were already packed away. He'll figure it out eventually and thank her properly.

Nick stepped into his house and headed straight for the kitchen where his father was making dinner. His mouth watered at the smell of pancakes and sausage links. His father didn't understand many things about him, but he knew he loved breakfast food. His father turned and frowned as he watched his son wash off his raincoat in the sink.

"Look, I wouldn't mind calling the school about this," He sighed, turning back to flip a pancake.

"It's fine. I'll take care of it," Nick said for what feels the thousandth time. He hung his coat in the window to dry. He didn't want anyone at that school to know the things they did bothered him. It would only get worse then.

Nick sat by the open living room window and breathed in the cool autumn air. Fall was easily hid favorite season and Halloween his favorite holiday. One day every year he was someone, anyone, but himself. People had no idea it was him and he felt accepted.

Nick stood and walked upstairs to his room. He was a little nervous this Halloween though. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled two slips of paper out. Olivia had invited him to a Halloween party and he had to bring a date.

Who would he ask?