Painkiller

One

As soon as he entered the school, his eyes met the bundle of bodies around her locker. His lips puckered as he tried to take his eyes away, but failed miserably. Her face popped into his mind; a perfectly round face surrounded by beautiful orange curls with electryfing blue eyes.

Xavier's thoughts were ruined, though, once he felt someone collide with his back. Thin arms wrapped around his waist. His head turned to look back at the thin girl, despite already knowing who it was.

Standing behind him with her bright green eyes staring into his was Xavier's best friend, Madeline. Her shoulder-length brown hair seemed to shine in the light of the hallways. She was a good five inches shorter than Xavier, making her seem tiny to him.

Xavier let a laugh escape through his lips as Madeline's grip tightened. His mind was temporarily distracted, but it didn't take long for his thoughts of his crush to return. His eyes darted back up to the people around her locker, and his sour expression returned.

Madeline followed his eyes and she instantly knew what was on his mind. "Go try to talk to her," she demanded.

'She' was Eden Rosario, the school's sweetheart. Every morning was the same, Xavier would walk in the school and look over at her locker to see if there was a huge crowd. There always was.

Xavier shook his head, his social awkwardness getting the best of him as he complained, "I don't want to inconvenience her."

A small chuckle escaped Madeline's lips. "Xavier, you have to talk to her," she demanded.

Xavier just gestured toward the people covering any possible entrance to her locker as he argued, "She's obviously busy."

"Lunch then, we have lunch with her," Madeline suggested.

Xavier just sighed, putting his face in his hands. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk to her alone. Deciding to discard the topic, Xavier walked over to his locker.

Luckily, his locker was right next to Madeline's. He spun in his combination quickly and set his backpack on the ground. He zipped open the bag and grabbed what he needed; his agenda, a crumbled copy of his class novel, and his pencil pouch. He set those next to his bag before picking up the bag and shoving it into the locker. He then grabbed his binder for first period, History.

Xavier grabbed his pile of things and shut his locker. He watched as Madeline was finishing up grabbing her things. Once she was done, they made their way to their first period classrooms.

They took each turn with grace, basically having the halls memorized. They were juniors in high school, so it was their third year in the building. By now, they knew each twist and turn like the back of their hand.

It didn't take them long to reach Xavier's first period. Sadly, they didn't have the same first period class. As soon as they were outside the door, Madeline gripped Xavier's shoulders and turned him so they were face to face. For such a small, thin girl, she sure was strong. "Today at lunch, you're going to talk to Eden, okay?" she demanded.

Xavier just shrugged his shoulders and, with a hopeless voice, replied, "Maybe."

Seeing her best friend down made Madeline feel horrible. "Hey, how about after school we go to get ice cream?" she suggested.

Xavier immediately perked up and excitedly agreed, "That sounds great." If you were to know one thing about Xavier, it would be that he loves ice cream.

Seeing Xavier's childish smile made the edges of Madeline's mouth twitch up. "Well, I have to get to Trig so I'm not late. I'll see you later," she said, releasing his shoulders and walking off without a reply. Xavier just waved at her back before walking into the room.

The desks were rearranged today in groups of two. Names were set on the desks to assign them to certain people. Xavier wandered around the room, looking for 'Xavier Black'. It took him a moment, but eventually he found his name. He looked next to him. 'Orion Nelson'.

Xavier rolled his eyes before pulling out his chair and sitting down. He pushed himself closer to the desk as his partner entered the classroom. Orion immediately walked over to where Xavier was sitting, like he already knew the seat he had been assigned. He didn't hesitate to take his seat.

"So, what's up in Xavier world?" Orion asked in his naturally low voice.

Xavier had to resist the urge to roll his eyes directly at the boy as he answered, "Nothing, life's boring, like always."

Orion was definitely good-looking. He had natural wavy blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. Freckles covered his tan face and a dimple was apparent on his right cheek when he smiled, which he did quite often.

"Well, guess who has a date tonight with Lauren Evans?" Orion bragged, leaning back in his chair.

This time, Xavier just laid his head down in his arms. Luckily, the bell rang. Mrs. Cobb, the History teacher, walked into the classroom, her heels clicking against the floor. Mrs. Cobb was definitely young for a teacher, maybe mid-twenties. She had curly black hair that fell just past her shoulders and a cheery smile.

"Hello class," she greeted, her naturally sweet voice carrying throughout the classroom. "Let's get started."

*~*~*

Ring!

Xavier pushed through everyone, rushing to get out of the Trig classroom. Once he was out, he waited for Madeline. She always met him in front of the classroom so they could walk to Lunch together.

After a minute of waiting, Xavier spotted his best friend's emerald eyes, and suddenly he was being excitedly dragged around the halls. The pair was running through the halls until they reached the cafeteria. They walked in and put their stuff where they were going to sit at their regular table. They then walked to the lunch line.

As soon as they had their spots in the line, Madeline turned around to look at Xavier excitedly. "You'll never guess what happened," she said.

Xavier thought for a moment before shrugging and asking, "What happened?"

Madeline's grin widened as she answered, "I made the cheer team!"

Madeline had always wanted to be on the cheer squad. Every year of high school so far, she'd tried out but never made it. This year, though, was different.

"Oh my gosh, that's wonderful!" Xavier congratulated his best friend.

Madeline just jumped slightly in the air and replied, "I know, I can't believe it!"

Xavier chuckled at her slightly. "Well, you've always been amazing at cheering, I don't understand how it took this long for them to see it," he said.

With a flattered smile, Madeline responded, "Thanks, I haven't been this excited about anything in forever!"

Xavier put his hand on Madeline's head and ruffled her hair slightly. The two made their way through the lunch line quickly, getting their food and paying.

As the two walked out of the lunch line, Xavier was looking at Madeline, not paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, his body collided with someone else's and his food spilled all over her white t-shirt and in her long, red hair.