The True Kings || kellic

Chap. 1 || New Beginnings and Old Memories

Vic's P.O.V.

I stood there in the doorway, fidgeting with all the eyes concentrated at me. I dreaded anything like this. What if they were judging me? I could see it in their eyes. All of them thinking about how much of a loser I am. Suddenly, a hand rested on my shoulder, "Will you introduce yourself to the class?"

The teacher looked at me with annoyance all over her face. Great, I just got here and the teacher already didn't like me. "Oh, sorry. Hi, my name is Vic. I, uh, just moved here from San Diego." Oh, no. I could tell people didn't like me. Why would they? I mean, no one liked me at my old school, no one even talked to me.

{{one year ago}}

"Hey, faggot! You better not be running away from me!" I turned and saw the biggest bully/homophobe/mindless jock of the school storming after me. Ronnie Radke. Never stopping, I dashed down the halls, breaking through the mobs of teenagers. Being small worked to my advantage as I weaved in and out of the crowd. Just not enough.

Ronnie caught up to me, grabbed the collar of my T-shirt and slammed me against the lockers. Everyone around us backed away, watching the scene play out. He pulled me back and pushed me into the lockers one more time. I visibly cringed, pain shooting up and down my spine.

"You think you can hide from me?! We'll see about that." Ronnie dropped me to the ground, towering over my short frame. Pain shot through my jaw, then my nose and my cheek, soon then my right eye from Ronnie punching me. His fist collided with my gut, making me fall to the ground. His foot kept coming into contact with my skin as he repeatedly kicked me in the stomach.

A tear slipped down my bruised and bleeding face as I curled up on the floor. "Aww, look at the little fucker. He's crying. He really is a faggot," Ronnie spat at me with a chuckle. For good measure, Ronnie picked me up and threw me into the closest open locker and whipped the locker door back into its frame. "At least now no one can see your fag face, dick Vic," Ronnie called.

I heard echoes of laughter and footsteps heading in the other direction. I sat in the locker and cried until I heard the janitor wheeling his trash can down the hall. He let me out and I ran home, not stopping until I was locked in my room with music blasting into my ears.

"Well, welcome to Michigan, Vic. You can sit right there." The teacher gestured to a seat, so I took it and stared at my hands for the rest of class.

~~~

Lunch time. The nightmare of all first days. I found an empty table, sat down, but didn't eat. Why should I? I don't need it. As I watched all the chattering kids around me, my brother, Mike, walked up to me with someone trailing behind him. The strange boy had on a SnapBack and glasses without lenses. His ears were pierced with gauges and he seemed to be staring off into space, thinking deeply about something.

"Hey Hermano. Can we sit with you?" he asked, already sitting down across from me. The boy was still standing there, though. "Sure. Who's your friend?" I responded, nodding towards the strange boy still in thought.

"Oh, that's Tony. He's my biology partner in third period. It's okay if he sits here, right?" Mike said. I nodded, not really caring. "Tony, Tony!" Mike shouted, trying to get his attention, "Hey!" He didn't even flinch. "TURTLES AND STAR WARS!" Mike shrieked. Everyone turned in our direction, but Tony was shaken out of his daze and sat down next to Mike.

Mike explained that those were his favorite things and that always got his attention. I shrugged it off and kept people-watching. Suddenly, I felt someone sit next to me. "Hi there!" the boy exclaimed with a wave of his hand, "My name is Jaime, but it's spelled J-A-I-M-E. Don't get it confused with "Jamie" or I'll have to whoop your ass!" He seemed to say all of this in a peppy tone, even the "whoop your ass" part. "Uh, I'm Vic."

"Great! You're a sophomore, right? I am, too. Hey, Turtle Tony." Tony didn't even look up at the mention of his name. "Did you know that my main man Tony over here is killer on guitar? I call him "the silent shredder" 'cause he, like, never talks, but, man, this guy has serious skills on guitar! Myself I play bass," Jaime rambled on and on and on. I wonder if this guy ever stops talking.

"Hey, we have a whole band with all four of us," Mike joked.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked. So I guess he did pay attention. "Well, I can play a little drums and-"

"Are you serious? You're drum beats are sick," I interrupted him. He blushed and looked at his shoes, but I could tell he enjoyed the compliment. "Hey, not as sick as your songs. And your voice!" Mike replied. I was going to argue with him, but Jaime wrapped him arm around my shoulders and starting hollering in a sing-song voice, "We have a band! We have a band! We have a band!"

"Wait, what about a band name?" Tony questioned. I never thought about that. "Vic thought of this amazing band name once! What was it again, Vic?" Mike said. I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I made that up a while ago, it wasn't good. "It was, um, Pierce the Veil. I don't know, it's stupid," I muttered.

"That. Is. A. Fucking. Amazing. Band. Name," Tony uttered, actually talking. Did he really just say that? I never really thought about it. I just thought everything I did was wrong. It definitely made me smile. "YES! PIERCE THE VEIL! WOOP WOOP!" Jaime shouted around the entire cafeteria. No one even cared. I guess Jaime did that type of thing a lot. Mike and Jaime started discussing garages or basements available for practicing, while Tony went back into his own thoughts. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad.