For Forever

Part 2

"Hey" I hear a whisper beside me. My head is buried under my arms while leaning on my desk. I must have fallen asleep after coming home. The whisper comes back "Wake up sleepy head" and I look up with small eyes. There is a boy around my age next to me with happy green eyes and the world is covered in red, like an instagram filter.
"Brandon" I mumble and he smiles "Good morning". I look at my heavy arm and I'm reminded of what happened yesterday. "Did you sleep well?" Brandon asks me and I shrug. He stands up and looks down at me. I have a flashback from when we first met because right now he gives me the same look he did when we were little.

I sniff and wipe away my tears who are rolling down my cheeks. My parents are yelling to each other downstairs and I'm scared. My dad is always scary when he's mad. "Hey" I hear from the other side of my room and I see a little boy around my age, leaning against the wall. He has a bit curly, brown, short hair and big green eyes. "Why are you crying?" the boy asks and I sniff again "My parents... they are fighting". The boy walks towards me and his beautiful eyes stare down at my brown ones, he smiles a little. His eyes and smile remind me of a little bunny. "It's ok, I'll be with you" he crouches down and reaches his hand towards my face.
I feel his little thumb wiping away a tear that just escaped from my right eye. "What's your name?" I ask him "Brandon, yours?" "Charlie". Brandon grins "It's suits you" "What?" "Your name, it suits you". I smile and realise the world is a little red "The world..." I mumble and look around. I stand up and Brandon follows me "It's so bright". "What colour was it before?" he asks me curiously "Blue" I answer and look back at him. After a few seconds my door swings open and my mom appears. Brandon turns around, shocked by the sudden human who came in, and I look up at her with big eyes.
"Who the hell were you talking to?!" she asks me. "B-brandon, mommy" I stutter and she looks around, she's red from anger "I don't see anyone". "He's right there" I point at the boy who looks at me and back to my mom, confused. "Don't tell me you have an imaginary friend, Charlie. You imbecile" my mom looks furious and walks over to me "WHY DID I GET YOU!?" she screams and smacks me in the face with the palm of her hand, because she's close to me I can smell the alcohol in her breath. I fall on the ground and again tears pour down my face. "You are crazy, a psychopath I tell you" my mom hisses, kicking me against my leg "I never loved you and I never will". There's a crushing silence where I can feel my cheek burn. "I wish I never got you" she mumbles and walks out of my room. I open my eyes and look up to realise the world is blue again. The colours of the world are sad again and I sniff "B-Brandon?".

"It's time for school silly, grab your bag and go" Brandon says to me and I snap out of my daydream and I stuff a slice of bread with cheese in my mouth. "Sorry" I swing my bag on my back and walk outside to grab my bike. "Brandon," I say and turn to him, he's standing right beside me "Please go with me". He shows me a tight smile "I'm sorry" and with that sentence, he vanishes and the world turns blue. I've asked him multiple times through the years that I've known him, but he always dissappears.

"Hey, Lifeless! Catch!" I hear somebody yell at me and I look up to see a ball coming at my face. I have gym class and everyone is busy running around and throwing balls until the teacher comes. I duck away but it's too late. With a small yelp, I fall down to the floor after the ball hits me against my head. Classmates laugh at me while a high whistle echoes in the big hall. "Everyone line up!" the gym teacher yells and I feel a hand on my shoulder "Are you ok?". "Y-yeah I'm fine" I mumble back "Oh, your nose is bleeding. You can go to the toilet and come back when it has stopped ok?" the teacher helps me stand up and I walk towards the changing room.

I look at myself through the mirror and see blood dripping out of my nose colouring my lips a brighter red. With a tissue, I try to wipe it away and close my nose with my thumb and index finger for an attempt to stop the bleeding. After some time it finally stopped and I open the door, revealing the students who are running around the gym. I look at the cast around my arm and walk towards the benches, I'm actually happy I've broken my arm. I don't have to do sports at school for a couple of weeks.

The bell rings and I sit down in English class. I'm sitting next to the window at the back and look at the teacher who is scribbling something on the whiteboard, Emma Evans. I don't recognise the name but when the door swings open, immediately everyone looks at the front. There's silence, except for the squeaking shoes of the boy who comes walking in.
She looks around the room with sharp eyes, like she wants to slice everyone in half just by looking at them. You can feel her confidence when you see her walking towards the English teacher.

"Emma, there you are," he says and they shake hands. "Class, this is your new classmate, Emma Evans. She just moved here into town so please be nice to her" the teacher tells us and everyone says hello, not too happy about the news.
Emma, so that's her name. She looks at everybody, one by one, even at me. There are 3 free desks in class. One next to a boy, another next to a girl in the middle of all the popular girls and one next to me. "Hey, Emma! Come sit with us, you don't want to sit next to Lifeless" one of the popular girls taps with her hand on the free desk behind her, inviting Emma to sit there.
"Lifeless?" Emma asks while the teacher is busy doing his own job. "Yes, that girl over there" a popular guy nods to me "She's a psycho. Come sit here and you'll be in good hands". Emma looks over to me and we lock eyes, she winks at me. I frown, did she actually do that just now? No one ever winked at me except Brandon. What does it even mean?

"Thanks but... I can decide for myself where I want to sit" Emma says to the guy and walks with big steps towards me. The popular girls next to the guys roll their eyes when Emma falls in the chair next to me and leans over her desk to look at me.
"Hey" I mumble and I'm surprised I said the first word to her. "Hey" She says cheerfully "What's your name?" Emma asks me with a curious look. "Everyone calls me Lifeless here" I answer and she snorts "And you actually listen to them?".
I look at her shyly "I'm Charlie". "Emma, nice to meet you" she holds out her hand and I shake it with my good hand, the not the one with the cast. The class has started but Emma still didn't take his stuff out of his bag. She just leans over the desk and stares at the whiteboard where the English teacher writes some things down.

When the bell rings again it's time for the lunch break. "Shall we eat lunch together? I don't have any other friends here yet" Emma says a little awkward and I nod "Yeah sure". We walk out of the classroom and through the halls "You don't have them either huh" Emma mumbles "It's ok, I think you're really nice". I look up at her and she smiles. I think she's really nice too, but I can't say it to her. I'm too shy to do that. "Did those whores do that to you?" Emma nods at my cast around my left arm and I shake my head "I-I just fell out of a tree, nothing special". Then, I realise she just called her new classmates whores.

Emma takes a bite off her sandwich and starts searching in her bag. With a big grin, she takes a black marker out of her pencil case. "Can I write on your cast?" she asks with a bright smile. I nod "Sure". Emma grabs my arm and pulls it towards herself "Ouch" "Oh sorry" she chuckles and I give her a tight smile, pushing my lips together. With my arm stretched, Emma bows over my cast. She bites her lip while writing something, with a satisfied smile she shows me what she wrote. It's a smiley with a tongue sticking out his mouth with the name 'Emma' underneath it with big capital letters. I can't help it but smile and look up at her. "Do you like it?" she asks me and I nod "Yes, thanks".

"Who wrote that?" Brandon looks at my cast while I'm doing my homework "Emma" I answer. We're sitting on my bed later that day. "Emma? Did you make a friend today at school?" he sounds happy and shuffles beside me on my bed. "Yes, she's new at school and sits next to me in class" I look at the black ink on my cast and smile "She's really nice". Brandon puts his hand on my thigh and my eyes shoot up at his, I feel that my cheeks are turning red. "I'm happy for you" he says to me and gives me a genuine smile. I smile too and give him a hug without thinking about my actions. Brandon hugs me too after a small chuckle and I close my eyes, should I tell Emma about Brandon? Or is that a bit early?