Radioactive

The Spark Ignites

Chapter 1

"I was never very good at making friends." 

"Come on, it'll be fun! 

"You know how I feel about parties." 

"This one will be different." 

"Is Pete gonna be there?" 

"...maybe." 

"That's it, I'm hanging up." 

"You can't give up now-" 

Jack slammed the phone down. Or, at least, he felt like he was slamming it down. It was a cordless phone, and those kinds of phones don't slam very easily. He had to slowly and carefully lower the phone down until it made the satisfying 'click' that most phones make when they're hung up. However, he was sure that if it was not a cordless phone, he would've slammed it down with relentless fury. It, however, was a cordless phone, and so he had to express his anguish with words. 

"I can't believe her. She knows how Pete treats me at school. He's pissy enough when he's sober. Put a couple of beers into him, and there's no telling what kind of hell he's gonna unleash." 

Jack was obviously talking about his best (albeit his only) friend Amber. She refused to accept his antisocial ways and just let him go on Tumblr 24/7 in peace. She was not happy unless Jack was at some party with a bunch of drunk guys that kept trying to grope each other. Jack, however, was not very fond of parties, for the same reason that he was not very fond of school: Pete Campbell.  

The phone rang again. Jack sighed before picking it up.  

"What do you want from me, Amber!" he yelled. 

Luckily for him, it actually was Amber on the other end of the line. "Come on, Jack!" Amber replied. "It's a party for the comet returning!" 

Jack hesitated before answering. "What comet?" 

"The comet!" Amber said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "Didn't you hear the news? These astronomer guys just found this comet that's going to be visible from everywhere in the US and Canada for just one night! It hasn't come near Earth for a few thousand years, and they didn't even know that it existed until a few months ago! It's not gonna be here for at least 4000 years! I've wanted to see this thing for a really long time, and Pete's bringing a telescope that his dad got!" 

Jack snickered. "Of course his dad got him a fancy telescope for just one night..." 

Amber seemed irritated. "Jack, you're the only friend I have that has a car. If you don't drive me, my parents won't let me go!" 

"You've seen my car, Amber," Jack stated. "It's a piece of crap. 

"At least you have a piece of crap!" Amber shouted. "Will you please go? For me?" 

Jack sighed for the second time in two minutes. He couldn't say no to that. Amber had helped him through so much, and he couldn't even drive her to a party. 

"All right, all right, fine. I'll take you. But I'm only gonna stay there until the comet comes." 

Amber squealed in delight. "Thank you thank you thank you! Pick me up at my place in 10, okay?" 

"Do I have a choice?" 

"Nope!" 

Amber hung up. Jack put the phone down and sighed yet again. "Why does she have to be so pushy?" he thought.

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Jack showed up 10 minutes later in his dad's old Chevy. It was at least 15 years old and smelled like a dog gave birth in the backseat. Not exactly his view of a sweet ride. It was better than a bike, though. It did the job well enough.