˚* ੈ✩‧₊ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 ⋆ 𝒇𝒊𝒏

sixteen

as autumn walked into the classroom, she immediately saw cole, anne, and diana huddled in the front of the class. anne sat quietly, smiling atop a desk as cole played with her hair. cole has always been more feminine than masculine, ever since they had become friends. he was always teased for this. the door swings open, letting in the cold. billy's eyes are red, as well as his nose and cheeks. he had been crying. autumn watched as he took off his sweater, scarf, and hat and hung them in the coat room. he stays there, faced away from the classroom. his face towards his sweater. billy rolls back his shoulders before turning back around to walk in. his eyes were no longer red, neither were his cheeks. his noses coloring was caused by the cold.

"oh, it's beautiful cole!" diana beams, her and anne giggling as the boy smiles in appreciation. mr. philips enters the classroom and immediately sees cole. "cole mackenzie!" he shouts as the other kids giggle, "since you seem to have such feminine proclivities, we shall indulge your taste of it this morning. you can sit with the girls." the classroom laughs. cole, diana anne, and autumn all share a sympathetic look. billy's laughter was the loudest to autumn. his deep, but soft chuckle was all she could focus on. silently, every one sat in their seat. cole was sat just behind autumn.

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"hello, cole." josie pye chimes, sitting next to the boy. autumn was sat on the opposite side of the horrid girl, rolling her eyes as she speaks. "i just wanted to say it's too bad our game ended before you could have your turn." she smiles, "i suppose i can break the rules and allow you to kiss me now." cole looks up from his sketchbook, autumn continues but pays attention to the conversation. "no thanks." cole says nonchalantly. josie's face turns red, an offended look spreading itself across it. "what's wrong with you? don't you like girls or something?" she says angrily. it was obvious josie had a small crush on autumn's friend, this made her laugh. "i don't like you." cole says seriously, sending autumn into a fit of laughter. josie stomps off, rolling her eyes at autumn.

once again, the same group was crowded in the back room to play spin the bottle. it's anne's turn from yesterday. "spin." josie demands, the red-head following her orders. autumn and cole were sat next to each other, moody on the opposite side of cole. the milk bottle spins around and around, soon choosing it's victim. one of billy's friends. his mouth is slightly dropped open, autumn watches as billy shoots him a look. billy did not want to say anything because of the round played the other day. the boy scoffs. "i'm not kissing that ugly orphan." he says. billy smiles, a small laugh following. anne's face becomes red with embarrassment. autumn, cole, and diana look at eachother. billy woofs at the girl, the act being a long-run joke of the boys. "oh, when her face turns red, it's like she's all red." josie jokes, earning laughs from billy and his friends. anne's hand, once again begins to shake. cole notices. "i'll kiss anne." he says aloud, standing up. josie smirks, autumn rolling her eyes at her reaction. "oh, how splendid. good. let the freaks kiss." she laughs.

billy had completely forgotten his goal for that day. "kiss freaks, kiss!" he begins chanting, causing the others to follow as they laugh. autumn and anne's friends yell at them all to stop. "what are you waiting for?" billy asks, staring at the two. autumn's face reddens, her eyes focus on the boy. feeling her stare, billy turns his head to face hers. their eyes meet and he falls into her pools once again instinctively. his eyes soften, as they were before. autumn's were cold in anger. ashamed, billy looks away and to his hands. the girl looks back to the boy and girl in the middle of the circle. cole was watching her. suddenly, anne taps his shoulder before turning him around. she makes him fall back, holding him in her arms as she kisses him on the cheek. cole rises to a smiling anne, they both laugh. the room claps as the next spinner is chosen.

"autumn."

anne is staring right at the girl, earning the death stare. she looks around the room, seeing the reaction of everyone. all are eager, except josie pye. nervously, autumn reached out to the bottle and spins it lightly. it lands on billy's friend, jeffery. he smirks creepily, autumn secretly repulsed. he stands up, walks towards the girl, and holds his hand out to help her up. josie is smiling happily, billy doesn't dare look at them. autumn takes jeff's hand awkwardly and is quickly pulled to her feet. the two walk to the middle of the group, autumn's shoes loudly sounding on the hard wooden floor. this earns billy's attention.

jeff leans in.

autumn stays still, waiting for him.

soon his lips are planted on hers, the kiss was not what she had expected.

his lips were slimy with saliva. the feeling alone made autumn gag. he pulled away after a second before turning to walk back to his seat, winking at the girl as he left. she quickly wiped her mouth, feeling disgusted. billy glared at both her and jeffrey. his eyes were darker than ever, almost black. he clenched his hand into a fist, pressing it against the hard ground. now, it was josie's turn. billy was no longer paying attention to the game, but on his anger. he knew he had no right to be angry, but he couldn't help it. he was angry at both the fact that he was angry, and because she kissed his friend. all of billy's senses were tuned out. he could not hear the people talking to him, telling him he was chosen.

his eyes focus on autumn. staring, he sees her mouth moving, saying his name. "billy?" she says, her voice finally breaking through to him. "huh?" he asks, suddenly snapping out of his trance. "the bottle landed on you." he looks at the bottle, it was definitely pointing at him. josie stood in front of him. he didn't want to kiss josie. instead, he stood up from his place and left. he left without a word, without a second thought. leaving josie standing there angry and heartbroken, and autumn confused.

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hopefully this makes up for that super short chapter. i love you guys, happy thanksgiving xxx
- sof