Move Along: A Montell High Prequel

Lost Boy

Weeks have passed since the death of Henry's best friend Matt, and a devastated Henry has been on a downward spiral in the wake of the tragedy. Unable to cope with recent events, Henry has turned to alcohol in order to dull the pain of his awful reality.

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There he sat. On the swing on Matt's front porch. Only Matt wasn't there. He was gone. He was dead... But Henry had continued to see him, everywhere he looked. He didn't know why, and he didn't know how, he just knew that he missed his best friend every night, and not a day went by where he wouldn't dream that Matt visited him and they would talk about how excited they were for the new school year and how Henry's summer had gone. Henry's answer was always more or less the same. When he wasn't spending time with CJ, he was either holed up in his room crying or out partying and drinking alcohol. His roommate, Ricky, had his own problems going on, and therefore wasn't able to be of much help to him. When school started, Henry couldn't help but feel down in the dumps. His relationship with CJ had stagnated due to his increasingly over-the-top behavior, and he had no other friends in his grade. Only Ricky... Who looked exactly like Matt. He was his twin brother, so Henry naturally wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, despite the fact that Ricky was going through his own issues.

"Do you want to go see that new play downtown?" asked CJ.

"Sorry. Can't. I'm going to a party," said Henry.

"Another party? Seriously?" said CJ.

"What? Look, I know it's not your scene, but you could come with me this time," said Henry.

"I mean, I guess it couldn't hurt any," said CJ.

"Yay! You're going to have a great time, I promise," said Henry.

In his third period history class, the teacher was giving a lesson when Henry turned around and saw Matt sitting next to him, staring at him.

"Hey, stranger," said Matt.

"Matt? What are you doing here?" asked Henry.

"What, are you not happy to see me?" asked Matt.

"No, not precisely. You're supposed to be dead, but you just keep haunting me. You won't leave me alone. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't stop that truck!" Henry cried.

"No one said it was your fault, Henry. I'm only here because you want me to be here; because you've been thinking about me. If you want me to go away, all you have to do is ask," said Matt.

"Go away! GO AWAY!" Henry yelled. Everyone in the classroom began to stare at him, including the teacher.

"Henry?" said Mrs. Ratcliffe.

"Do you see him?" asked Henry before looking around the room.

"Does anyone else see him?" asked Henry.

"Nobody else can see me, Henry," said Matt.

"GO. AWAY!" Henry screamed. Suddenly, he woke up with his head face down on his desk. He looked up and screamed "leave me alone."

"Henry? Is everything alright?" asked Mrs. Ratcliffe. Henry looked beside him. Matt wasn't there. He began to calm down and regain his composure.

"Yes, Mrs. Ratcliffe, everything is fine," said Henry. It wasn't, really. It was all as far from fine as it could possibly be.

"May I be excused, please?" asked Henry. Mrs. Ratcliffe nodded. Henry got up and made his way to the bathroom, making sure he was alone and pulling a pocket knife out of his pocket. He pressed it to his skin and a few drops of blood fell into the sink as Henry began to cry. This was all so stressful. He had no idea how he had made it this far while dealing with everything going on. The only time he was even remotely happy anymore was when he was drunk... But his drinking was seriously affecting his relationship with CJ, and CJ was done with Henry's antics. As Henry jumped up and down on a couch, CJ stared at him, shocked.

"Henry, I can't watch you put yourself through this anymore. I can't help you if you refuse to help yourself, and it doesn't look like you're going to seek help any time soon, so I can't continue to stick around and watch you fall into an even deeper hole," said CJ.

"What, so you're breaking up with me?" asked Henry.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am," said CJ.

"Fine. I was getting tired of you anyway," said Henry.

"You don't mean that, it's just the alcohol talking," said CJ.

"Haven't you heard, Ceej? Alcohol brings out the truth, it doesn't suppress it," said Henry.

"Good luck, Henry. Hopefully someday soon you'll realize what you're doing to yourself and acknowledge the fact that you've pushed everyone who was there for you away and decide to actually grow up and do something about your situation rather than drinking away your problems," said CJ.

"You know, you have some nerve. Try losing your best friend... No, try watching your best friend die right in front of your eyes and then proceed to see him everywhere you turn both when you're awake and when you're asleep, carrying on full conversations with him yet knowing he's not really there. Try going through that, and then maybe you can judge me," said Henry.

"You talk as if I wasn't friends with Matt too. As if I didn't know him," said CJ.

"You didn't. Not like I did," said Henry.

"Wow. You're unbelievable," said CJ, turning and walking away.

"What can I say? The truth hurts," said Henry. He continued to party and have his fun, but when the alcohol began to wear off, he started to seriously question the actions which he had just taken. He couldn't drive himself home, so he called Ricky to take him there. When they got back to their house, Henry explained what had just happened and how he sees Matt everywhere he turns. Ricky listened attentively and after Henry was done talking, they sat there in silence for a few minutes, before Ricky decided that he should say something.

"I see him too, you know," said Ricky.

"You do?" said Henry.

"All the time," said Ricky.

"Now that CJ broke up with me, I have no one," said Henry.

"You have me, Henry, and we'll make it through this. Together," said Ricky. Henry continued to cry and moved to rest his head on Ricky's shoulder. Ricky wasn't sure how to react at first, but he adjusted his body to match Henry's position... And they just stayed there. For hours. Crying.