Let the World Burn

Chapter One: Layne's story

Layne walked through the empty halls of his new school. He looked down at the sticky note the principal placed on his planner. "Class 3-C, Huh..." He said quietly to himself as he looked up at the signs above the doors. The school was old and smelled like dust. The signs made of plywood looked as if they were starting to rot. He read them as he continued to walk down the hallway searching for his classroom. "3-A... 3-B... Restroom..." He covered his nose passing by the male restrooms. Sewer smell leaked into the hallway from under the door. "Disgusting..." He gagged but continued his walk, this time a little faster. "3-C..." Layne reached his destination and stood in front of the tall door of his new class. The door was made of dark oak and rotted along the edges. Layne shook his head. He took a deep breath, remembering why he was sent here in the first place.

Three Months Ago

Layne made his way to his usual seat in the back of the classroom. His black hair covered his eyes. This being his usual technique to avoid everyone around him. This was the first time he has attended school in ages, but his parents forced him finally to go after they received a truancy letter. Layne cursed his parents as he sat down in his desk. His classmates started to whisper at the sight of him. "I thought he died?" one girl asked another. "I heard he got suspended for smoking under the bleachers." Layne sighed again. 'Why couldn't have they just let me stay home...' he thought as he got his materials out for class trying to tune everyone out. Thankfully, he was good at this, and he was succeeding at ignoring his classmates.

That was until a hand swiped his notebooks off his desk. Layne looked up at who the culprit was. "Brendan..." Layne said quietly squinting his eyes. He hated Brendan. He was the reason for Layne not attending school for the last month. Anywhere Layne tried to go Brendan would be there to steal, kick, beat, or even just laugh at him. Layne hated his guts, and was reaching his breaking point. "Well, look who finally decided to show up. So, which one was it? Did you get caught for smoking? Die? Or did you just become too much of a Bitch to attend school?!" Layne ignored him and went to grab his things. This pissed Brendan off. Brendan grabbed Laynes desk and flipped it over causing Layne to wince in his seat.

"Definitely the bitch one Brendan!" One of the Brendan's junkies replied causing the others to began to laugh. Layne rolled his eyes at the mob mentality they had. This caught Brendan's attention. "Oh, so you want to have an attitude?" Brendan questioned as he reached forward and grabbed Layne by the collar. Layne yelped and grabbed Brendan's wrist. He tried to pull it off of him, but it wasn't working. Brendan picked Layne up and threw him against the ground as hard as he could. Lanye and Brendan's classmates cheering in the background. They swarmed them, leaving a small circle in the middle for the two to continue fighting.

Layne felt his head hit the concrete floor causing his vision to go blurry. He tried to crawl away but instead was met with a foot stepping onto his back stopping his escape. "Where the fuck do you think you are going?" Brendan asked digging his boot into Laynes skin. Layne cried out in pain, but no one came to help him. No one, Not even a teacher, or janitor, just no one. His classmates laughed at the pathetic attempt. Layne knew he only had himself to rely on, and his breaking point had been reached. Layne turned his body over and grabbed Brendan's leg. This shocked Brendan at first putting him off guard, but then he started to laugh. "Finally going to fight back?" Brendan teased laughing uncontrollably. This angered Layne even more causing his breath to art to pick up. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Layne saw his opening, his chance. His blurry vision became more blurred...slowly... fading to black...

The Next thing Lanye knew was he was sitting on top of Brendan, his arm cocked back ready to punch his already bloodied face again. Layne snapped back to reality and backed off of Brendan. He looked around the classroom, looking for a clue to what just happened, to just see nobody. Just an empty classroom. All of the sudden the door swung open and a cop came bursting through. He locked eyes with Layne almost immediately. The cop looked around at the scene and grabbed Layne. "No Wait- It's not what..." Layne tried to protest, but the cop pinned him down to the ground. "You are under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anyt--" The cop continued with Laynes rights, but all Layne could hear was hid heartbeat increasing. He was confused. What is going on? How did he get there?

In the following months Layne went through an extreme change. He had to write an apology to Brendan and his family. Layne also had to pay for Brendan's hospital bills. His mother scolded him for making her look bad in front of her friends and making them move since Layne was expelled. Layne got a part time job to pay the hospital bills. With all of this happening in such a short amount of time Layne's mind tried to process it all. He got piercings and a tattoo because he felt that if he had these people would leave him alone. He started to ignore everyone, and if someone talked to him, he would just tell them off till they left. His mother started to drink more, leaving Layne by himself most days. That brings us to where we are today. Layne entering his new classroom with all new people for a fresh start. Well In his mind, all new people ready to make his life a living hell again.