Undead Friends

A New Day

     I was running. Running through a forest being chased by god knows what. I tripped on an unearthed tree root and looked back to see my impending doom but thanks to my alarm, I was awoken. Another day of high school for this junior. I hit the snooze button on my tombstone alarm clock. The sun was barely out yet so my darkened room hadn't been touched by the sunlight. I got out of bed and walked into my bathroom coming face to face with my reflection. I could see my messed up pitch-black hair and the skeleton pajamas that my grandma got me for Christmas. I let out a soft sigh before starting to brush my teeth, still being half asleep. After spitting out the mushed up toothpaste into the sink, I decided to take a shower. I dried off and went into my room with my towel on, knowing that I didn't have to worry about my mom coming in due to the incident. I didn't feel like brushing my hair so I put on my beloved gray beanie. This was followed by my favorite skull shirt with striped sleeves, baggy black jeans, and my black and white converse. I picked up my dark backpack whose straps were littered with band pins and my phone that had a picture of a peaceful night as the case as well as my earbuds.
     I headed downstairs to be greeted by my cheerful mother making breakfast and my father casually watching the morning news, coffee in hand. My older brother was sitting at the table already with his Letterman jacket on like the stereotypical jock he was and he was a senior so I couldn't complain. I walked to the table and sat down across from him to not get his morning punch to the arm that he normally did. I keep wondering what went wrong with him, he was such a good brother to me before he started doing sports and dating. Our mother gave him a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and orange juice. I got pancakes and milk plus my allergy medication as usual for my breakfast. It was only the second week of school and my brother was practically Mr. Popular instantly where I was that goth kid who needs a hobby. "Michael, you can't go to school like that. You're drawing bad publicity for yourself." My mother said to me as I was eating even though I started to dress like this since last year. "Mom, I don't care what other people think of me." I rolled my eyes when I spoke as I seriously did not care for my classmates' opinions.
     "Don't worry mom. I'll make sure no one bullies him." My brother decided to chime in even though his friends were the ones who tended to make fun of me. "Oh, Derrick you're such a good child. Michael, why can't you be more like your brother?" My mother looked at me with what looked to be desperation. "Well mom I'm not athletic like him and I don't enjoy being a stereotype." I ended the conversation with that as I finished my breakfast and put my dishes into the sink to wash after school. I grabbed my backpack and headed out to the car as my mother said to me, "Well at least have a good day at school. I love you!". I waited outside by the car for my brother since he was the only one our parents trusted to drive the car. I couldn't get in for now due to the car being locked and Derrick being the one to have the keys. He finally came out with two brown bags and handed one to me as he said, "You were about to forget your lunch, you idiot." I just took the bag and headed to the passenger side of the car. "Just unlock the car already." I looked at him bored when I spoke. He pushed a button on the keys and the car doors were unlocked so I got into the front passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt. Derrick got in the driver seat and buckled his seatbelt then started the car.
     He pulled out of the driveway and started to drive the normal route to our high school. I was about to put my earbuds in when my brother spoke up, "You know mom cares about you." I just looked at him with a bit of anger for an unknown reason, "She is only caring about me because I'm not acting like you." He moved slightly in his seat as he was uncomfortable. "If that was true, she would have done way worse than just tell you to go change." He slowed down as we came to a red light. "Oh yeah like encourage my bullies?" I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. He let out a sigh before speaking, "At least they have a reason. You're not exactly helping yourself either." He shook his head with obvious disappointment when he was trying to justify his friends and his actions towards me. "Whatever.." I didn't want to have this argument this early in the morning so I just put my earbuds in and was listening to my playlist on high volume to block out his voice. The car started to move again and I just continued to stare out of the window with my music blasting through my ears. As soon as I saw the "Welcome to Lawrence Community High School" sign, I knew that we had reached the school so I removed my earbuds.
     My brother drove into the student parking and parked the car close to the entrance then turned off the car before unbuckling his seatbelt while I was unbuckling mine. We got out of the car and he locked it before heading into the courtyard. I sighed and waited a bit since this was our plan of people not comparing us due to us being brothers. I then walked into the courtyard and was confronted by my brother's best friend, Mark. "Hey squirt, have any money for me today?" He tried to use his size to intimidate me but I wasn't having it. "Mark, leave him alone! We have bigger fish to fry!" My brother shouted to him as his arm was around his girlfriend, Eden. Mark scoffed at me before saying, "Before I go.." He punched me right in the eye before walking off to Derrick and the rest of his friends. I fell to the ground, groaning in pain. I started to smell vanilla perfume after a bit so I knew who it was. "You okay, Michael?" A familiar voice said as they helped me up to my feet. "Yea, Robin. Just Mark again." I rubbed my now black eye as I looked to my friend, Robin. "Have any makeup to cover this up? My mom will be a bitch if she saw that I was hit today." I tiredly asked her about it as she took me to the boys' restroom to help with my eye. "I swear that Mark. He's always such a jerk." She rolled her eyes as she had her hand on her hip. She started to work on my eye with some makeup she kept on her just in case.
     "The worst part is that he is destined to own a company." I still couldn't believe he was the son of a CEO and a fashion designer where I'm stuck with a cop and a wedding director. "I know and we might end up as one of his employees. Now that's a scary thought." She kept working on my eye to make sure it wasn't noticeable. "Have I ever mentioned you have very nice green eyes?" She giggled a bit when she said that. "It was like the first sentence you said to me when we first met." I smiled a bit at her as I noticed she was trying to lightening the mood a bit. "Annnnnd it's done!" She stepped back to show me the mirror to which I saw a thing what looked to be flesh and an attempt to show my eye. "Thanks, Robin." I knew she was trying to improve her makeup skills and it was a pretty good job for covering up a black eye. She hugged him a bit tight so I hugged her back of course. "By the way, your skirt is a bit up in the back." I moved my hands down a bit to fix her skirt. She moved back as she giggled, "You're such a good friend." She punched my shoulder playfully before walking out of the bathroom to which I followed. "So, Marry, Fuck, Date. RuPaul, Evan Hansen, and Jason Dean." She asked me as we were walking down the hallway. "Hm... marry RuPaul, fuck Jason Dean, and date Evan Hansen." I nodded as I finished my sentences which finalized my answer. "For the money right?" She nudged my arm slightly with a smile, "Definitely for the money." I chuckled a bit at my answer.
     We spent the rest of our time by my first-period class talking about random stuff that changed every few minutes before the bell rang. She waved goodbye as she rushed off to her class while I headed into mine which was English. I took my seat near the back of the class as a way to not get called on to answer a question. I watched as the rest of the class flooded in especially the rather large football player that sits in front of me. After roll call and some overachiever passed out a stack of worksheets, I found myself spacing out as I was working. I only came out of it by the sound of the bell so I collected my items and headed to my next class, my favorite class to be exact. I met Robin in front of the class door and headed inside with her, smiling softly at the sight of canvases and paintbrushes which meant we were going to paint today. I took my seat next to Robin as we were practically inspirations to each other when it came to art. The rest of the class piled in before the teacher started to speak, "Okay class. Today you're going to paint something that shows the emotion of dread but first roll call." He picked up a list that had all of our names on it and started to go down the names but then he got to Robin's. "Robert Patricks?" He was looking around the room as Robin raised her hand. "Mr. Lucas, I go by Robin." She didn't like being called by her dead name since that wasn't who she was. "Oh right my bad." He gave her a cheeky smile before crossing out the name and replacing it with the word Robin so he wouldn't forget.
     He continued with roll call then finally let us start to paint on our canvases. I stared at my canvas for a moment before I started to paint on it. I peeked at Robin's painting to see how she interpreted the assignment. I was in shock when I saw that she had painted herself in front of the bathrooms as though she was choosing which one she should go to. "Wow, that's pretty dark." I was impressed since I've never seen her go this dark in her art before. "Yea, I've just been thinking about this...situation. My stepdad still isn't talking to me." She sighed as she kept painting. I turned back to my work in progress and resumed my painting as I had the picture in my mind. Once I was done, I looked at my creation once more as its finished form. I think the painting of me being behind my parents praising my older brother showed the feeling of dread. I signed the corner with my name so no one else could claim as their own as well as to make sure I got a grade on it. After turning in my painting, I just conversed with Robin till the bell rung, dismissing us for our next period. The rest of the day went as normal especially when one of Derrick's friends decided to steal my lunch so I starved for the last two periods. At the last bell, I was making my way to student parking when Mark tripped me.
     Out of instinct, I put my hands out to catch myself which meant my hands got scrapped pretty badly. I heard the laughter roaring from him and some of his goons but I paid them no mind as I simply stood up, collected the items I was carrying, and calmly walked to the car. I got into the car without a word as I was greeted with my brother already in the driver's seat and he didn't even look at me. I put my seatbelt on and just looked out the window as the drive home was silent except for the music playing from the radio and the occasional commercial. When we got home, I instantly went into the kitchen to wash the dishes while my brother went up to his bedroom to do whatever. Our parents weren't home yet so, we could practically do whatever we want for the next two hours till they got home. I did the chores we were supposed to do before heading up to my room and starting on my homework. I had put my earbuds as I was working so I didn't hear my parents coming home early. As usual, Derrick got all the credit for the chores followed by quick but homemade dinner. We were sent to our rooms so I just got changed into my pajamas and washed off the makeup before heading to bed. This was routine for the next weeks till the homecoming week. Each day they found a new way to ruin my day. Monday was wedgies every period, Tuesday was spitting in my drink without me noticing till it was in my system, Wednesday was wet willy day, and Thursday was head in the toilet day. Friday was a homecoming and for some reason, they didn't do anything.
     After school, my mom surprised us by taking the rest of the day to help us with our outfits for homecoming. "Mom, do I have to go? I'm not much of a party person." I tried to talk myself out of going as I hated social events especially school-related ones. "Hush now Michael. It's a good opportunity for you to make more friends plus it will help your reputation." She was forcing a smile, probably due to me only having one friend. I sighed, seeing how I was trapped into going now. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing myself in a monkey suit made me sick. Derrick decided to help me with my tie even though he was in full football gear. There was a knock on the door and in walks Eden, meaning she was Derrick's homecoming date. Mom took a few pictures of them before letting us leave. I was in the backseat while Eden got the passenger's seat. At the school, my brother went off to the locker room while Eden went off to the girls' locker room to probably get into her cheerleader uniform. I headed to the bleachers and noticed Robin sitting by herself so, as a true friend, I sat down next to her. "Nice dress," I commented on her long light blue dress that showed her chest a bit. "Aw thanks, Michael. What do you think of my make up? Both face and chest." She turned to me to show the makeup off.
     "I think the black and purple eyeshadow brings out your blue eyes. The blush is nice and the red lipstick is to die for. I have to say that your breast contour is looking great tonight." I smiled a bit at her as I spoke since she was practically the biggest reason why I experience real happiness. "Aw, you're such a doll." She giggled a bit as she hugged me gently. "And you padded too? Nice." I smiled lightly as I hug her back just as gentle. "I'll be right back. I need to fix a lash real quick." She got up and started to walk to the bathroom which is when I noticed her high heels that matched her dress. A few minutes pass so, I decide to go check on her and found some her on the ground by the bathrooms with a few bruises. I helped her up and took her into the men's room since I wouldn't be allowed in the girls' room. I tried to do my best with the make up she had to redo her makeup and to cover up the bruises as well as fixing her hair. "Thank you, Michael." She sighed before continuing what she wanted to say, "Before you ask, it was some trans-phobic dirtbag. He saw me starting to go into the girls' room before pulling me by my hair and started to punch me." This time I sighed as I looked at her with concern, "People are just jerks. Hence why I don't tell anyone my sexuality." We hug each other once last time before returning to our seats at the bleachers, allowing her to use me to balance as we walked. After the game, I watched my freshly dressed brother and Eden disappear into the cafeteria while Robin and I sat outside to get away from the noise.
     "Hey, can you get me some punch?" Robin looked at me as she asked the question. "Yes but.." As I got up, I gently grabbed her hand as I pull her up, "You're coming with me. I'm not letting any more pain happen to you." We started to walk into the cafeteria to get punch, staying close to each other. All of a sudden a spotlight was on the two of us so, I tried to cover my eyes as soon as the light was on us. Then a voice came on, "Well well well, it's Michael and the wannabe girl." It was Mark as I watched him walk towards us, my eyes were filled with anger. "What do you want Mark?" I let go of Robin's hand as I crossed my arms, feeling everyone's eyes on us. "Oh, I can't just say hi to my dear pal?" He wrapped his arm around me and gave me a noogie. I struggled against him but he was stronger than me so, I gave up after a bit. I heard a low chuckle come from him before out of nowhere, he gave me a wedge. I fell to the ground, holding my crotch which he used as an advantage to dump the entire punch bowl on me. I coughed a bit, looking at everyone and the position, I could see the bruising on Mark's knuckles that is when I put two and two together. "You hurt Robin!" I was about to tackle him but he stepped aside and let me fall right into the floor face first. Everyone was laughing at me as I could see a figure running towards us but I couldn't see Robin anymore.
     I was starting to stand up, slipping a bit in the process but I used the table to help myself up. I didn't look at anyone as I calmly walked out of the cafeteria which was easy since everyone stepped out of the way. I made sure that no one could see the tears forming at the corners of my eyes. As soon as I made out of the cafeteria, I just started to run in an uncertain direction. I couldn't think straight at the moment. I just kept thinking that my life was over. I was just embarrassed in front of my entire school, I let my best friend get hurt, I was probably an accident, my parents hate me, and I'm just a piece of garbage who shouldn't exist. I soon stopped running as I ran out of breath. I looked around at my surroundings to see that I had made it to the cemetery that was two blocks away from the high school. I held my arm as I tried to walk towards the forest by the cemetery while my knees felt as though they were about to buckle. As I was about to fall, I caught myself on one of the trees. I looked up at the branches above me and one question came to mind: How high and how far would I need to go to kill myself? I looked around once more, seeing no one but I felt as though someone was watching me and waiting to do something to me. I began to climb up the tree, not caring about the suit getting dirty or if it got torn while I was climbing.
     I soon reached about twenty feet above the ground and I started to walk down the branch to get a good view of the cemetery. If I jumped with enough force, I could land on some tombstones and get an instant kill. I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes, standing at the end of the branch. I could still feel my tears streaming down my face as I leaped from the branch. I felt the breeze as I fell but I didn't hit the ground. I was in someone's arms before they dropped me onto the ground. I looked at the person and when I noticed the stitches, I bolted into the forest due to fear of being hurt again. I kept sprinting through the forest until I tripped on a tree root.
     I heard footsteps coming up behind me as I turned to look at the person. From the sheer smell and look of them, I could tell that they were...a zombie.