Sparks Fly

Chapter Ten: Absences and Defying Gravity

Sorry I'm late again. I honestly struggled this week coming up with ideas, but I'm so happy with the responses I'm getting for this story. I don't think this is one of my better chapters, but I'm going to be making up for it, I promise. 

Please vote and comment if you enjoy it!

--VIVKELLER23

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Teagan

Monday mornings were the devil.

He hadn't even had a drop of alcohol the night before, yet the Energizer bunny was preparing for a freaking rock concert in his head. That made sense though, seeing as he hadn't had much sleep due to last night's argument.

His father's mean streak had been in full force when Teagan walked through the front door at ten o'clock at night. A normal father would probably have asked his son how his day at work went, or at least have wished his son a good night before heading to bed. Not his old man. As soon as Teagan shut the door behind him, his father's slurred words flowed out to taunt him.

"Look at the nightwalker sneaking in during the hour of shame," the old drunk slurred with a nasty grin.

There was no reason to try to defend himself. His mind was made up.

With an equally cruel smile on his face, Teagan met his father's glazed eyes. "At the very least, I'm free to do so. That's more than you could say after the way you lived, isn't it, Pops?"

Teagan had felt an unexplainable surge of anger at his father's instant jab. His father always assumed the worst. While Teagan could admit he'd done some stuff he probably shouldn't have in his high school years, he'd mellowed out for the most part since starting college. Mainly to prove to his father he wasn't as worthless as the man who'd helped create him.

But he should have saved his breath. His father would never accept anything Teagan did so long as he lived. It seemed his life's mission now that his own life had gone off the rails was to make every moment of Teagan's a living nightmare.

So far he'd been absolutely successful.

He wouldn't wish his bleak existence on anyone, not even on the Bowtie Guy from the party weeks ago. That had to be saying something, right?

And the funny thing was that no one knew it. His name was well known on campus. He had all the girls after him, literally throwing themselves on him, but none of them knew who the real Teagan Miller was.

Heck, it wasn't much of a mystery anyway. He was simply a clown who tried to forget his problems with games and women rather than with liquor. To him, the true mystery was the woman underneath the Ice Queen's cool exterior.

Now there was a puzzle you could get lost in.

Teagan had exchanged a few angry words with his father before giving up and going to bed. Only he hadn't fallen asleep. He'd spent most of the night staring up at the ceiling, listening to his father's grumbling and crashing about. The house had finally grown quiet some time after two in the morning after Jameson Miller stomped out the front door. Even so, Teagan stayed awake until five in the morning, his mind thinking about stuff he couldn't even remember now in the light of day.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. He remembered some of his late night thoughts, though he was ashamed to admit them.

The one niggling thought he hadn't been able to shake though? How he could see a deep sadness in the loveliest purple eyes he'd ever known that all but matched the sadness of his own life. Wasn't that just a big, fat joke? That the Ice Queen and the Playboy from the wrong side of the tracks could feel the same thing despite showing the world a side of themselves that felt absolutely nothing?