doppelgänger

dennis

^bex

That morning when Dennis woke up, he rolled over and looked at the clock. It was only 5:00.

It was a little to early, but he decided he would get up anyway. It was close enough to the normal time he would get up for school; it wouldn't hurt. He usually got up too late anyway.

The first he did once he got downstairs and got his breakfasts was check his phone. He was greeted with a lineup of different texts from Bex.

"Hey," the first one read, sent to him at around 3:00 in the morning or so.

"Are you sleeping?" the next one read, and the list went on and on.

"I love you, baby"

"I miss you!"

"Ugh I have craaaamps"

"The baby was just kicking a second ago Dennis, no wonder I have been up all night! Whatever though I'm so excited! Aww <3"

"Wish u were here : ("

Dennis scanned through them slowly, replying to every one of them as he read them. When there was a sudden voice behind him, he was startled, and jumped. It was only his father.

"You realize just because Bex will be giving birth soon to your first son doesn't mean you get an instant, free paternity leave off of school."

"Yeah," Dennis replied as he set his phone down and started on his breakfast. "I figured they would give me some time."

"That's not how it works, Dennis. You two make the choice to have a baby. As I said, your choice. Not the school's, and it isn't the school's job to get you all your missing work while you're gone babysitting your child, either."

"Dad. Don't you think your being a little mean? I'm sure when Mom had me your parents let you stay home and help for a few days."

"No, they didn't. I wasn't even in school by the time you were born."

"Oh, yeah. Because you --"

"-- dropped out," Andy finished. "Yeah, and I regret it."

Dennis snorted. "Yeah, right," he said doubtedly. "No, you didn't, Dad. You're living off the tons of money your music makes, which doesn't require a college degree or even for you to finish high school. Lies. I don't believe any of them like you think I do, and they don't make me want to finish school any more than I wanted to before."

Andy stood silent as Dennis rose and collected his dishes, walking into the kitchen and tossing them in the sink.

"You know what's funny, Dad? Everything I do, you thinking its terrible and punish me for it, yet you either have done or do every single one of those things."

"Dennis."

"Dad. Stop being such a hypocrite."

He gathered his school stuff and phone and made his way toward the door. "Before you know it," I'll be a high school dropout just like you. And I'll be even bigger than your band. And when I look back on my past decisions and remember that I dropped out, I'm gonna laugh. Because I'll remember what you said, that high school's important for life and that you regret dropping out. You can lie all you want, but I'll drop out, and I won't regret it, either." He stepped out the front door, giving Andy one last glance. "Bye."

And with that quick dismiss, he was gone, off to the school he would never finish, because he was determined to be a rebel and he was determined to get his own way, determined to fight authority and determined to make his band bigger that Black Veil Brides.