Spark

2

Billy's POV

I thummed my fingers against my notebook, trying to figure out what to write on the page. It was just my dream journal, but the dream I had last night startled me beyond belief. It was so wild and crazy, I wasn't sure I could write it down with words. It was too complex to convey on a simple page with graphite, but I wanted to try anyways.

"Hey, nerd, get up, we have school," Someone ran into the room, grabbing their backpack off the bottom bunk on the left side of the room. The person who said this was Michael, a senior at my high school who was months away from college.

When Thanos snapped, I was one of the ones to disappear. When I came back, I found out that my parents were killed in a car crash. I was immediately moved to an orphanage, enrolled back into the last grade I was in before Thanos. It wasn't easy to adjust to a new world, but I managed to survive it all. There were several people who had it worse off than me. It wasn't like I was the only person to lose their loved ones.

"What did I say, nerd, it's time for school," Michael reminded me, throwing my backpack at my face. I caught it, jumping up to follow Michael out. Even though Michael acted like a jerk, he looked out for all of at the orphanage. The meanest thing he does is call us names, and even then they aren't that bad. More like nicknames siblings give one another. Not that I know what that's like; having a sibling to give a nickname to.

We rode the bus to our high school, Michael sitting in the back with his friends and the cool kids. I sat in the front, hoping to avoid my bullies. I was a weird kid, some people didn't like that about me. I can't fight back, I'm not strong enough for that. I don't think I will ever be strong enough for that.

3rd POV

Billy Kaplan walked down the halls, keeping his head pinned to the ground. If he didn't make eye contact, no one would see that he was due for a beating. Billy was hoping to at least postpone getting hurt until after homeroom. He wasn't hurt physically a lot, more on a mental level. His bullies would go through ever mistake Billy had ever made, blowing it up to chaotic extremes.

While Billy was avoiding classmates, he did the unthinkable: Billy accidentally bumped into one. Billy feel to the ground, landing on his backpack with a bounce. Billy shook his head slightly, trying to get back on his feet.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" A hand was placed in front of Billy, making him look up at the student. The black haired boy felt his cheeks turn pink as he stared in the gorgeous blue eyes of someone he had never met before. The student was big and strong, built like a football player with almost golden blonde hair. The smile this boy was giving made Billy's insides turn to jelly.

"Uh... ye-yeah. I'm f-fine. It was my fault, anyways. I wasn't looking where I was going," Billy stuttered after a moment of staring at the student. As his cheeks grew even more red, Billy took the students hand, being pulled effortlessly up on his feet. Billy looked down again, this time to keep his cheeks from showing.

"You better watch out then. By the way, can you show me to the office? I'm new at this school, and I need some help," The boy said with an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked around, trying to find the office from where he was standing.

"I can help. You're not far, just down the hallway, take a left. It should be through a glass door," Billy said, his cheeks calming down as he focused on something else instead of those majestic blue eyes that shined with intelligence. Great, Billy thought, my cheeks are burning again. "By the way, I'm William Kaplan, but people call me Billy."

"Theodore Alden, but people call me Teddy. Thanks for the help. See ya later," Teddy said, turning down the hall towards the main office. Billy just watched him go, waiting a few seconds before returning on course to his class. All Billy could think about was that boy, however, and he let the thought consume him until his teacher came into the classroom.

***
Tommy's POV

"Is it breakfast time already? I'm so glad! I was starving all night!" I said cheerfully at the stoic guard, watching him pass a tray with milk and cereal on it. The juvenile systems may have taken my freedom, but at least the food was good enough to satisfy my almost insatiable appetite. "So, how's the wife, Joe?"

The guard gave me a low chuckle, walking away without an actual word spoken. That was usually how it went; they brought me breakfast and I'd attempt at making them laugh. Some guards would, others probably never have laughed before in their lives.

"I don't know why you even try," My closest friend here, Lisa Molinari, said from her cell right next to mine. Lisa never did say how she got into this juvenile department, but I got in for several small things piling up. Mostly graffiti and shop lifting, however, so I would be out in no time.

Being a juvenile wasn't my intention. One day, I'm turned into dust my some homicidal maniac. The next thing I know, I'm waking up to a world where my entire family is five years older. I wish I could say that being back meant I had a home, but apparently my parents had divorced in that time. My mom wanted nothing to do with me, and my dad was just too sick to take care of me. Thus, the court put me in foster care. I wouldn't say that I started acting out, but I did wind up here so I probably wasn't staying in line either.

"For the fun of it. Repetition can cause insanity. At least, that's what Doc says," I shrugged. Doctor Byers was the therapist that monitored all our progress. When we met a specific quota for good behavior, we would be released from here. Until then, however, we had an in school system that placed heavy influence on independence and punishments. We did all of our work on our own, barely allowed to ask any questions. If we did something against the rules, then we were punished accordingly. I tried to be a good kid, for what it's worth.

"Doc just says a bunch of bullshit. He doesn't like us, he just wants to be paid at the end of the day. That's all anyone wants at the end of the day,"Lisa said, eating her cereal at a leisurely pace. It was weird seeing her threw metal bars, her image broken up every few inches. Each cage was regulated with a proper bed, and toiletry area behind a closed door, but other than that we had nothing. Not belongings, not privacy, not freedom.

Did we deserve this? Maybe some of us do. Maybe I do with the way I acted. Does that make any of this look better? Absolutely not. Sometimes I wonder if I was insane, and I'd actually killed someone instead of stole a pair of shoes and wrote "Tommy Was Here" on the side of a subway car. That would be more believable given my current predicament.

"I'd like to think I leave more of an impression on him than that," I said, giving Lisa a super model pose. My brown haired ally laughed, shaking her head at my absurdity.

"You are something else, Shepard, something completely different than normal people," Lisa managed to say, giving me an honest description of my life. Ever since I was little, I was always followed around by this yearning. This feeling was like a siren calling me to her. I never followed, but I keep wondering what it means. Was someone out there calling for me? Beyond these walls, beyond the life I knew, was there something just out of reach?

"I get that a lot. Anyways, have you almost met your quota?" I asked, looking at the clock across the hall. We had about ten minutes until they let us out for our first few classes of the day. I had math first, while Lisa had... what was her schedule? I can't remember... hmm... I guess it doesn't matter.

"Almost to freedom, baby! How about you, Shepard, leading your sheep to that sweet field of victory?" Lisa said, making fun of my last name for the millionth time since we met a few weeks ago. It was like she had a new joke every day for my last name. I didn't stop her, however, because I didn't like my last name either. Reminded me too much of my mother and father. That reminded me of pain, and I don't like experiencing that.

"Almost. Just a few more days of good behavior, and I'll be trucking it to anywhere else in the country! I'm thinking about California. Becoming an actor, y'know?" I said with a laugh, striking another pose as I finished my cereal. I dumped the bowl in the trash, turning back to Lisa.

"Well, wherever you go, I'll follow. Someone has to keep you from blowing up a state," Lisa said with a smile, making me feel a little warm inside. However they feeling was cut short as I heard the jangle of keys from a guard who was unlocking our cells. Lisa waved at me, "See ya!"

Why did Lisa want to go to another state with me? We had only known each other for a few months. Actually... no, that couldn't be right. It was... I can't remember. When did I meet Lisa?