Wishes and Kisses || COMPLETE

Chapter 1: The Necklace

It was like I was wrapped in plastic. Anything I felt--if I could even feel at all--was dull and flavorless. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to be an edgy, emotionless robot. And I don't have a dramatic, life-changing event that somehow left me cold. I wasn't always like this either. I don't know how or when it happened, but it did. I haven't felt 'normal' for years. I only felt extreme boredom to say the least. To compensate for this, I often tried to look at situations logically first, and then ponder upon how a more emotional person would respond in that situation. I tried to understand people more, and understand feelings more, which is why I often went with the "emotional choice" in an attempt to try to break the plastic I was trapped in, even when it landed me in trouble.

Ryan, who I had met two years ago when he decided we were best friends, knew this about me and has low-key tried everything to 'cure my boredom'. I went with it. Shopping, partying, girls. It was always a nice distraction, but it was never enough. His newest thing was trying to get me into online mobile games.

I hid from Ryan because he demanded something of me that I refused to do, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. Instead of hanging out with him in the cafeteria like I always did during lunch, I stayed in a place called the 'couple hallway'. It was basically a secluded hallway in a building at the back of the school where couples went to make out and get lovey dovey and whatnot. The hallway did have a tendency to get a bit uncomfortable if you were there without a partner, but I needed some space from Ryan and this hallway was the last place he'd expect me to be.

I sat alone in the hall eating my pastrami sandwich and drinking my peach tea, staring blankly into space.

"Nick! Nickie!" I looked right and April started running towards me. Great.

April was a fling Ryan set me up with a few months ago. It kept things interesting for a while, but then she became a real bother.

I sighed. "Oh, hi April," I greeted in attempt to be polite.

She plopped down right next to me, all smiles and giggles. "I haven't seen you in a while. Wanna hang out tonight?" She whispered in my ear.

I nudged her away. "Not really. I'm good."

"Why? Do you have a girlfriend now or something?"

"No."

"Am I ugly now or something?"

"You look fine."

"Then why haven't you called me in forever?"

"I haven't been in the mood, okay?"

She glared at me. "Not in the mood for sex, or not in the mood for me?"

"Both."

"Jerk." She slapped me and stomped away.

She had no right to slap me. She was incredibly entitled and threw a fit whenever things didn't go her way. Even so, I wished I could've gotten angry at that, but I couldn't. I still felt too numb. In a weird way I wished she would have slapped me harder. Get a response out of me. Something.

I finished my sandwich, and began to sip my tea and stare at nothing again. All there was left to do was to wait for the bell.

But then I realized I wasn't staring at nothing.

Jason momentarily stopped groping his girlfriend. "The fuck are you even looking at, Nick?"

I realized I'd been accidentally watching a couple, Jason and Jean, make out and do other various things with one another.

"My bad," I said. "I didn't realize I was staring."

Jason got up and kicked the peach tea right out of my hand. "Fuck off," he said. He turned to Jean. "Get up." She did as told and he immediately grabbed her hand and held it firmly. "Let's go." He stabbed me with his eyes one last time and hauled Jean away, straight ahead.