FicWad

The next week passed in relative peace/boredom: I didn't fight with either my mom or my sister, nor did I run into Mikey again. By the time the first day of school rolled around, I was looking forward to it, rather than dreading it, as I should be.
As I put on my new grey and red school uniform, I thanked my stars that I wasn't going to a free-dress school--I was never good with fashion, and who could be bothered with that crap at seven in the morning? I did, however, bend the no hats-rule by slipping a grey headband on over my light brown hair. .
In my first class (chemistry, of all things), the teacher assigned the scariest of all the emos to show me around for the day (I'm assuming this was some kind of practical joke). He wasn't ugly; far from it, in fact. But there was something about the shocking whiteness of his face, the way his black hair obstructed it, that scared the shit out of me. Plus, he reminded me of a deaf-mute-blind: he didn't talk, didn't take notes, and just stared blankly in front of him. He barely responded when the teacher askd him to accompany me.
When the lunch bell finally, FINALLY, rang, he and I were the last ones in the classroom. I took this as a sign that I should suck up my courage and go talk to him. I walked warily to where he sat, still staring ahead.
"Hey, um...Gerard, was it?" I asked timidly. He looked up at me slowly, and I was possessed by the desire to run away. He knew this, I felt sure, but if he had any reaction to it, he certainly didn't show it.
"Yeah?" he mumled, drawing out the 'eah' sound. I gulped.
"Uh, my name's Verity. I don't think the teacher, uh--"
"What do you want, Verity?" He stood up, his face deadpan as ever, a full five inches taller than me. My hands started to shake. Was he fucking serious? The teacher JUST asked him to show me around.
"Uh, could you, um, show me where the cafeteria is?" I managed to say. (For the record, I'm a naturally nervous person. I bite my nails. I don't like sleeping by myself after I watch horror movies. Standard stuff.)
"Yup." He turned and walked slowly out of the room. I felt like a five-year-old, following him blindly, but it wasn't like I had a choice.
We ordered our food (I a salad and he a lasagna), and I nearly fainted when I saw there was only one free table--and that in what was obviously the Emo area. I wanted to cry, but instead I asked,
"Mind if I sit with you?"
He shrugged, a gesture which I decided to take as a yes.
When we had sat down, I forced myself to stare at my food while he studied me for about fifteen seconds. He was trying to scare me, I knew--Emos got a high off of that. But it was working; I couldn't touch my food, even after he'd stopped looking at me. I was pissed at myself for letting him get to me.
"Eat much?" he asked, halfway through his lasagna while I tried not to scream. His voice made me jump, which in turn made him laugh. I couldn't help grabbing a look at his smile--it was sad, if that were possible.
"Nah, I just buy food 'cause it's cool," I muttered, forcing myself to eat a piece of tomato.
"I reckon it's poisoned," he said, taking another huge bite. "Fuckin' bastards, all of 'em."
At first I thought he was talking about a group of guys who'd walked by, but then I realized he was talking about the school establishment. This was getting weirder by the second.
Just then I felt someone touch my shoulder. Already jumpy, I spun around quickly, only to see Mikey standing there.
"Hey! Hi. So you do go here?" I asked, glad for the contact with a (relatively) normal person.
"Yeah." He glanced at Gerard. "I'll see you later." And he walked away. Had I missed something? Was the whole fucking school afraid of this guy who I'd managed to land myself with? I wouldn't be surprised.
Gerard was staring at his food. I was thoroughly confused and starting to get angry. Suddenly he looked up, directly into my eyes.
"Wanna skip school and get drunk?" he asked ridiculously. He was serious, though. Needless to say, I was caught completely off guard.
"Um, well, I, uh...I mean, it's my first day here, and, well--"
"Never mind," he cut in. "I just thought you might have a sense of adventure. Guess not." And he walked away.
What a fucking bastard! Who the hell was he to tell me I had no sense of adventure? He didn't know me! And regardless of adventure, what girl in her right mind would just run off with some random stranger--and a freaky emo to boot!? What if he turned out to be some kind of evil rapist? HE was the idiot in this situation!
I was so busy fuming that I neglected to worry that I'd just lost my guide. Even so, I managed to get through the day with only minor mishaps (like walking in on the senior's sex ed class), and I heaved a huge sigh of relief at the end of the last class.
I'd like to be able to say I was high that day, because I did something extremely stupid: I decided to leave the back way, just in case Gerard was still lurking around. Oh. My. God.
As any sane person would have known, he was sitting just outside the back door, happilysipping from a large flask that was probably near-empty. As soon as he saw me, he reached up and grabbed my hand. His grip was surprisingly strong.
"Hey, come sit." His words were slurred slightly. "Let's talk."
I wanted nothing more than to run away, but I was afraid of what he might do to me if I tried it. I sat down timidly on the stairs with him. He kept holding my hand.
"Drink?" he asked, holding up the flask with an unsteady hand. I shook my head.
"You're pretty quiet," he speculated. "But maybe it's just me. Come to think of it, most people are quiet around me. Even my little brother won't talk to me." He took a swig fromhe flask. "I mean, I love him to death, but it's obvious he hates me."
I wondered how much he'd already drunk.
"But, you know," he sighed, "I'm about the shittiest older brother a guy could have. Not someone you'd want for your role model, no way. I mean, I'm failing high school! HIGH SCHOOL, for fuck's sake!"
He pulled a packed of smokes and a lighter from somewere. "Smoke?" he offered. I nodded again and took one. He attempted to light it for m, but couldn't quite manage the lighter, so I took it and lit both of ours.
"But, you know." He paused and took a long drag. "If you don't go to high school, you'll definitely go to jail."
I doubted the credibility of that statement. But this didn't feel so awkward anymore, to say nothing of dangerous. We smoked companionably for a little while more.
"Anyway, I'd better get going." He stood up abruptly, awkwardly. I stood too. "Nice talking to you." And leaned down, wobbled a bit, and kissed me. Then he stumbled off.
And all I could think was, 'There's definitely whiskey in that flask.'