I Dare You.

Chapter 1

Kalos stood in the doorway, an autumn sun of hair covering his eyes. His faded jacket seemed to consume him in it's unforgiving warmth as he remained a statue. He knew he had to move on; there was no other choice. It would make no sense if he didn't. But a part of him tugged at him, a part of him wanted to stay. No, a part of him wanted to run. His chocolate eyes burned, he left his body and soared down the practically sterile corridor behind him. He could really escape, right? He had such an overwhelming desire to take flight away from this place. Fly to a place of comfort, of serenity, a-

He had been in the doorway for what he could account for almost a minute. He saw the scornful gazes directed at him. Their eyes burned him, left him dust on the ground. He wish he could've been dust. He snapped, lifting the veil he had set around himself. He look down at his worn shoes, and took his seat, cheeks enflamed, freckles stinging, and chocolate practically melted. He fumbled with his rusted zipper, trying to concentrate on something that wasn't involved in the room he was in.

-
It was Sophomore year for Kalos. His social skills had never been particularly adequate, limiting himself to a small round of acquaintances. It should be noted that none of those aforementioned acquaintances would be making an appearance in this particular period.

He slumped down, his body feeling like putty. He had already been so nervous, he chastised himself for standing there, feeling like a bumbling idiot. He wished so desperately to be different from last year, to get over this hurdle. However, every time he tried to jump, the hurdle got higher. He wondered if it would ever shrink, just even a little bit. But as he looked around the room, faces contorted from their original form, the laughter, noise beating his ears mercilessly, he realized it wouldn't. Not soon enough.

Now, with melted chocolate and a body of putty, he was unprepared for her. A door slammed, a pair of feet walking in. He felt himself shrink, then grow the size of an elephant. He was the main event, he thought. She knows I'm a failure already, I can tell, his brain whispered. He knew this was irrational, but he clung to the thought like a child to its mother. He dared to look up, and his body shivered. What he saw was a giant of a woman, a woman who wasted no time. He noticed her blouse, which was such a saturated blue it nauseated him. He tried to notice other things. He saw her sharp green eyes, akin to emeralds. Her blonde hair lounged behind her ears, and it let itself fall to its shoulders. He noticed a mouth moving, but didn't seem to comprehend speech.

-a small note-
Kalos notices a lot, and when he notices, the noticing distracts him, even from noticing itself.

He shrunk again. He shrunk to a normal boy in a normal classroom, surrounded by normal people in normal lives, in normal systems, normality. Reality. Those are not the same, he reminded himself. Stop fucking around, start paying attention. You missed everything..even her name. Mrs....Ms.?. His eyes quickly darted to a possible clue; a name tag. A poster, even? He was missing something, it was- oh, he thought. He drew his eyes to the stained white (more light grey, arguably) in some areas and saw "Mrs. Richards" was written in chicken scratch. Step one, complete, he thought, satisfied. Now, if I can start to pay attention... He focused his mind on the words, and was transported into the environment they were creating around him, now concentrated on supply due dates and anti gum propaganda.

Before he knew it, the bell tolled, and his worn shoes were put to work again.

-Meanwhile-

A black pair of boots, noticeable scratches, are pulled on and laced aggressively, seeing how they will look for the big parade in so many hours. A storm is coming tomorrow. He smiles.