Phoenix Rising

1. A Red Dawn

• • •

The corridor of Farthing's only high school was packed with more than a dozen preppy, obnoxious girls and their friends at eight in the morning that day. Phoenix always tried to ignore crowds - especially ones made up of teenage airheads. He never had to worry about guys watching him like hawks. No dude would openly stare down another dude. Not in Farthing, anyway.

He paused just outside of the large double doors, the Texas heat still sweltering under the breezeway, before slipping inside. A rush of A/C blew down his shirt as he pulled a logo-less sweatshirt over his head, ruffling his red hair out of place.

A pit of anxiety formed in his stomach as he anticipated slinking past the group of chattering girls to the cafeteria. They found it amusing to call and point in his direction like he was some kind of rare bird at the zoo. If he was being frank, it pissed him the hell off. Phoenix wished nothing more than to be invisible for once.

"Hey, Phoenix! Wait up!"

Just before he could vanish into the breakfast line, a shrill voice echoed through his ears and the walls of the corridor. Knowing too well that her type doesn't take I'm ignoring the fuck out of you for an answer, he stopped walking. Dove Matthews. He doesn't have to turn to know it's her - which he doesn't, but the point is the same.

When she finally caught up to him and he didn't immediately bow to his knees like a house-elf, Phoenix glimpsed the slip of her too-nice, sickly-sweet mask. It took all he had not to outright grin. Instead, he said nothing. Years of experience with varied extroverted and toxic bitches have told him they can't suck the life out of you if you don't face them. Or in this case, emit any signs of speaking the same language. He took to just staring with a deep-etched frown every time one of them came around. Unfortunately, they were all too dull to recognize when they weren't wanted.

"Hey, you! As you've probably seen - How could you not, though - cheer tryouts are after school." Dove laughed and reached to pat his unruly red waves back into place. "Not that I expect you to try out, although you'd totally slay, I thought you might like to hang out after. You're always so antisocial!"

Not antisocial, just don't like you. He wanted to say.

Nonetheless, she persisted in talking him to death about shit he could not care less about. He watched in revulsion as the hem of her starchy red and white cheer skirt surreptitiously lifted as she stood taller to meet his height. She caught his gaze, tsk tsk, wagging her forefinger like he was a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But the moment before her long, pointed, Voldemort fingers could coast through his hair, Phoenix's hand shot up and gripped her wrist, bringing it away from his face.

Her touch made his skin boil and her presence infuriated him like no other. With a deadly look in his eye and his voice low, he said: "Don't." She yanked her arm free, dramatically rubbing the area he clenched fervidly the entire way back to her squad.

-----

Remarkably, he didn't get any brass looks for the rest of the morning. His spirits had somewhat lifted by the time he left third-period Physics. The itch of irritation could still be felt if he tried to find it, however. It never truly left.

He dropped his plastic tray on the table next to a girl with dyed blonde hair. Cuffs of a pinstripe dress fell off each of her thin shoulders. When she looked up with a toothy grin, he could tell she was genuinely happy to see him, unlike Dove or her cronies. It relieved him to see she wasn't wearing sweats and a stained t-shirt, her iconic outfit, like she did all last week.

"Why... so... serious?" She rasped, ironically deepening her voice.

Phoenix nearly laughed. He knew she always tried to quote their favorite movies when she noticed something was bothering him. He also knew she went blonde because her mother nagged her about looking like her father, but he didn't like bringing that stuff up, considering she never told him. "You don't make a very convincing Joker, Frey. And what's with the salad? You're not exactly a health nut." He vividly remembered her consuming an entire cheesecake at her mom's dinner party last month.