Seer (TomTord)

Accepted

First period. It wasn't nearly the nightmare the early morning had been; just paper thrown at him and names. Second period, gym. The same as every other day. Names, kicks, punches, terror. Third period. Nothing much; he was silent for most of the class. Fourth was the same. Now he was at lunch.

Lunch, it was either the worst or the best period. It was either a peaceful, silent half of an hour as Tom sat in solitude, in an isolate corner, or it was the devil and his gang throwing insults and punches. But today seemed to be a peaceful day.

Tom wasn't eating lunch. He never ate lunch; he always would looks stupid, or Tord would ruin his meal. And most of the time, Tom wasn't hungry. He sat with his head facing the grit-stained table before him, his blondish-brown bangs covering his eyes. He sat stiffly, his shoulders tense and his neck strained. But it was fine.

He heard soft footsteps behind him and resisted the urge to whip around. The footsteps were unlike the devil's; they were soft and almost tentative. Tord's were loud and obnoxious, as if he was announcing to the world that he was approaching. Tom's thoughts were interrupted as he flinched violently; a hand had tapped his shoulder.

As he turned around with wide, terrified eyes, he was caught off-guard at who he saw. A short teen quickly pulled his hand back with a wince.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" The male said quickly. He was wearing a bright green hoodie, which seemed to have some sort of cola stain on the pocket, and he had emerald green eyes. Shining brown hair rested partially over his eyes, which also seemed to have a spark of something in them.

Happiness? Amusement? Hate? Tom didn't care anymore. He was caught off guard, though. The scraggly teen couldn't remember the last time someone apologized to him. So he sat still, looking up at the other with an unreadable emotion. The boy continued awkwardly.

"Sorry, I was just wondering, do you mind if we sit here?" His voice was bubbly, expressing many emotions at once. Tom shyly shook his head, until his tired mind registered the word we.

Another boy stood behind the green-hooded one, wearing what seemed to be a purple hoodie. A long green overcoat covered most of it, though, and his light violet eyes seemed to smile at him. The next thing Tom noticed was how tall he was. The purple-hooded teen was easily taller than the other boy by at least a foot.

Uncertainty flashed through the abused teen and he started to lightly tremble. But the green-eyed one smiled kindly and met his gaze.

"Thanks!" He said happily, and sat down next to Tom. The other sat on his other side, towering above him. Tom flinched away and tried to shrink in his seat.

They all sat awkwardly for a moment, before the bubbly one spoke. "We saw you looked kind of lonely, so we wanted to talk to you. You know, cheer you up a bit!" He beamed at Tom, but Tom's eyes gazed back hollowly.

The boy's smile slowly faded and he glanced at the taller teen. Then, Tom heard the purple-hooded one speak for the first time. "So, whats your name?" Tom jumped and turned to face him with wide eyes. His tongue tried to form words, but failed.

"My name's Matt!" He smiles and looked down at Tom, who felt some of the fear lift from his chest. Then, the green-hooded one chimed in. "And I'm Edd!" Tom looked down and his shoulders briefly relaxed.

"I-I'm Tom..." he said quietly, and winced at his noticeable stutter. Both Matt and Edd's smile widened as he spoke. "Great!" Edd said cheerfully.

Tom felt a smile raise his cheeks, something he hadn't done in so long. There was a pleasant feeling bubbling in his frail chest, a fizz he had never felt before. Was it.... happiness? He felt like everything would turn out well.

He only had a few seconds of the amazing feeling, though. He looked up, and jumped; he had met the angry gaze of the devil. Tom whimpered quietly, and started to shake again. He didn't notice Edd and Matt exchange glances, sad glances. The scraggly teen looked down.

Edd was the first to break the heavy silence. "Are you going to eat anything Tom?" He asked carefully, as if fearing the answer. Tom shook his head as a 'no' and tried to shrink in his seat. Matt cleared his throat. "You should eat."

Tom looked away. "I'm... not hungry." He said quietly. Edd raised an eyebrow. Matt looked at Tom. "You sure? You look awfully thin." He said sympathetically.

Tom's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm fine!" He hissed, trying to throw an amused vibe in, but it ended up sounding like he was angry. Matt seemed slightly taken aback, and watched Tom carefully.

"Sorry..." Tom said, growling at himself. Edd sighed and looked down. "So, what do you like to do?" He asked awkwardly. Tom looked down.

"I like to, um, I like to paint." He said it quietly, although it was true. Very true. The teen had hidden paint and brushes in his room, and painted whenever he could. His dad hated his talent, however. His dad hated everything about him. Edd and Matt's smiles towards him widened in unision at the small phrase they had gotten from him. Edd spoke.

"I suck at painting. I do love to draw though!" He said in amusement. Tom gave him a small, shy smile and met his gaze. Matt picked up on Edd's sentence. "I have a whole collection of mirrors!" He said, pointing at himself in pride. Tom turned to him and sat up a little straighter. "Mirrors? Why mirrors?" He asked, his voice quivering a bit. Matt blinked. "I can never get tired of seeing my face!" He said, raising an eyebrow to Tom, as if the answer had been obvious.

Tom felt himself warming up to the two boys, and his smile widened. "That's cool." He spoke with more certainty, no longer afraid of them. Edd tilted his head and looked at Tom.

"Hey, your in my next two periods, aren't you?" He asked, and his eyes brightened. Tom nodded; he had vaguely recognized Edd from class, but not enough to know him whenever he saw him. He had decided that he liked Edd. Edd seemed like a carefree teen. Matt had proven himself narcissistic, but Tom didn't mind. It felt nice to hang out around them.

Matt joined in again. "I have you in ninth too!" Tom looked down and nodded. He had never really noticed the tall male in math, but he would take his word for it. The green hooded boy gently put his hands in his hoodie pocket and removed a can of cola. Tom looked back up in disbelief. "How long has that been in there?" Mild surprise mixed with his feelings as Edd opened the can. A small 'fizzzzzz' was heard.

Edd laughed. "I have a couple more, it's really what keeps me going." He said, and took a long sip of the brown soda. Tom blinked at him, and found himself comparing Edd to the drink in the teen's hand. Both Edd and the soda were fizzy, although in different ways. Edd was also very fluent. He found himself laughing slightly at the thought. Matt had also taken out a mirror, and was straightening his orange spikes of hair.

Were they friends? Edd and Matt certainly seemed like they wanted to be, but Tom didn't want to jump to a conclusion and assume they were. What if they got mad at him and left? It was better just to let things turn out how they were supposed to, without his interference.

Yet, Tom hoped they could be together more often. He liked the boys on each side of him; with their strange ways and hobbies.

Tom felt accepted.