Branded For Death

King

    King watched as the boy with the chestnut brown hair, bounced his leg nervously as the school day came to an end. "Yo, King, you ready for the dance tonight?" He heard the male Shawn ask from behind him "oh , yeah," he said, not paying much attention, keeping his eye on the boy.

    The bell rang five minutes later, signaling the end of eighth period. King watched as Charlie, very quickly, picked up his books, he couldn't help but laugh to himself as he watched the boy quickly walk out. 'Damn, lil boy could run.' King thought to himself, As he got up. He walked out of the class, in a daze thinking about the chestnut haired boy before his thoughts were rudely interrupted.

    "Hey, babe" His girlfriend, Tanya, said catching up to him in the hallway breaking him from the thought of the boy. "Hey," he mumbled walking past her. Tanya stared at him as he walked away, rolling her eyes, as he walked out of the school. He goes out to the parking lot and gets in his beat up Mazda. Sitting in his car, he sees Charlie walk out of the parking lot. He was intrigued when the sound of somebody knocking on his window broke his gaze. He looks at who knocked on his window, it was Tanya. She looked pissed. He looked away from the girl to see if Charlie was still there. But was too late though, he was already gone. He then proceeded to roll down his window.

    "Man, what do you want?" He asked in a rude tone, not looking into her eyes. "Ok, you don't gotta be a douche about it, I was just tryna ask how your day was." Tanya says, starting to turn and walk away. King felt bad after those words slipped from his lips "Wait, T-" He called out watching her just flip him off and continues to walk away. "Babe." He yelled after her once more.

    Tanya ignored him and walks back toward the squad. King started his car, as he starts to drive out of the lot, he noticed one of the girls on the squad shoot a glare at him. He gave her a dirty look and continued to drive away. As he started driving, he hears his phone ding seeing a text from his little brother Mat.

    King, can you pick me up from school, Mom said she would but she's not here

    King just frowned, and turned around to go pick up his little brother from school.

    About ten minutes later he arrived at the school. Pulling into the parking lot, he see's his little brother along with a teacher he could only assume standing next to him. The teacher walked up to his window sighing before stating. "Are you having any problems at home, Kingston." the teacher asks. "No sir, we are perfectly fine." King says back biting his lip at how and why a teacher had the audacity to ask. "Are you sure?"The teacher persisted as if they would do anything anyways. " Yes sir." " Come on Mat, let's go." King stated watching Mat run towards the car hopping in. King looked in the backseat finding his younger brother crying.

    He looked at his brother with a small sigh as his brother let the tear fall from his eyes. "Hey chin up, no tears" He said as he put his keys into the ignition starting the car pulling out of the school he hated tears. He was always taught that tears make you weaker and he was not going to let his little brother look weak. As he drove home, he received a text from Tanya.

    Hey you still going to the dance?

    He ignored the text continuing to drive soon arriving at his apartment building. Hopping out of his car he walked towards the apartment, he saw his mother asleep on the couch, the white powder all over the table making him freeze. He quickly covered his little brother's eyes, pushing him in his room, and shutting the door. " Pack up some clothes." King said, walking into his own room and packing his own stuff, including the stuff he was gonna wear for the dance.

    He walked back to his brother's room. "You ready?" He asked through the thin door. Mat opened the door with his eyes closed not wanting to see his mother in the state she was in. They walk back out of the apartment and into his car. "You, ready to go to grandma's house" He asked as they get back on the road. Mat just looks out of the window on the way over to basically there second home.

    "She did it again didn't she." King's grandmother says as Mat walked into the house. "Yeah" King replied, sighing. Kings grandmother shook her head. "Y'all would be better off staying here." She said as he walked up the stairs reaching his room throwing his bag onto the bed. Soon feeling his phone buzz in his pocket once again.

    Are you going to the dance or not?

    It was another text from Tanya.

    Yeah

    He sighed not wanting to get up out of the comfortable bed. But he got up anyways and jumped in the shower. When he came back out of the shower, he took the clothes he was planning to wear for the dance pulling them on as he was dreading the dance and seeing Tanya. 

     When he's done getting dressed, he walks down the stairs where his grandmother fixed his collar looking him up and down. "I hope you ain't get this dressed up for that Tanya girl." His grandmother said with a . "Grandma" King says annoyed. "What, that girl is not good enough for my grandson." "Whatever" King says, rolling his eyes, knowing in his mind she was right.

    Before he leaves he goes to say bye to Mat. As he stops at the door to his room, he hears him crying. King walked away from the door, and back down the stairs. "How is he," King's grandmother asks. "I don't know, Grandma, but he shouldn't have to see his mother like that" "Neither should you." " But grandma, I'm almost ..." She cuts him off before he can finish. "I know you're almost 18." They've had this argument before. "But what about Mat, do you really want him to go through what you had."

    Before he can answer, his grandmother cuts him off again. " Both of you are staying with me and that's final, and I mean both of you because I know that wherever you go, he follows and if you don't stay he won't either." King just sighs. " Fine." He says, defeated.

    "Thank you." His grandmother says, clearly pleased with his answer. " I'll tell Mat the news." His grandmother says excitedly. " Now you go, have fun at the dance." King walks out of the house and into his car.

    His grandmother waves to him as he drives off. And as he drives off he gets another text from Tanya

    Hey, I think we should break up

    He looks at the text. 'Over text?' He thought to himself as he was stopped at a red light. "Like I knew she was a bitch, but I didn't think she'd stoop this low." He said out loud to himself.

    Then he had a thought, 'It must have been Bethany.' The girl that gave him the dirty look, that's on the cheer team, Bethany. ' She must've taken her phone and texted me that. She's hated me since 3rd grade.'

    King then thought to himself 'Do I actually even want this girl.' Then he thought about Charlie.  As he drove into the school parking lot, he continued to think about the boy with the chestnut hair. He got out of his car to start walking into the dance, he ran into Tanya.