---

---

---

---

The rotting smell of mud and wood rolled down the streets, the heat of the summer having stirred up Dead Man's Bog and all its fumes. Sitting with his back against the exterior wall of a run down convenience store was and older man, his clothes ragged as he scratched a wool toque sitting atop his long mop like hair. In his hands was a small can which he held forward to each passerby, looking up with his grizzled face as he forced a smile, yellowed uneven teeth rising up over his lips as they parted. Old weary eyes twinkling with genuine kindness and deep sorrow as the same words escaped his lips over and over.

"Can you spare any change?"

Optimism and a belief in the greater good of man was the only thing keeping the man going at this point. He couldn't remember when he had his last meal, let alone the taste of a good hamburger. Not that he would likely ever taste one again, living on the streets came with the advantage of free samples. Unfortunately those free samples came with the cravings, the constant agonizing cravings. The man's hands began to shake as a handful of coins hit the bottom of his can. Nodding with enthusiastic thanks, the man pulled the can back to his chest as he slowly rocked his body, trying to easy the shakes.

"How about a hot meal and a made bed, Old Man?" The warm voice of a young man caused the older man to look up. In front of him, a well dressed man extending a hand towards him, a smile plastered on his face that his caused his perfect white teeth to glisten in the setting sun.

"I.." The man started, his stutter had always hindered him in job interviews."I-I-I couldn't p-p-possibly accept that."

"I insist, no strings attached, completely on me." The young man said as the older man nodded slowly, accepting the young man's hand and standing up. Tucking the day's earnings in his pocket, the older man nodded as the younger man motioned for him to follow. Opening the door to his glistening black sedan, the older man slid into the passenger seat as the other man ran around and climbed into the driver's seat.

"What'll it be, Old Man?" He asked with his dazzling smile on display for all to see. A key was pushed into the ignition as the engine roared to life, the brand new touch screen display lit up with a GPS just waiting for the input of the driver.

"A-a-a hamburger p-p-please." The older man said, his own smile warming the small interior of the vehicle.

"I know the perfect place." The younger man said as he put the car into drive, the GPS lighting up as a finger slid over the buttons, highlighting the quickest route to the Apollo Grill within the main city.

"T-t-thank you." The older man said, nodding towards the younger man as he rubbed his hands together nervously. It had been years since he rode in a car, let alone ever sat in one this nice. The sedan was definitely luxury, maybe even import. It had all the touches of fine German engineering, something the older man hadn't seen since serving over seas.

"Oh don't thank me yet." The younger man replied as suddenly a second man sat up in the back seat. A cloth was forced over the beggar's face as he struggled and fought only to suddenly go limp as the chloroform took its effect.

"You won't like where you're going." The man continued as he took the car off the laid out path and turned towards the Demon's Valley.

---

---

The melodic sounds of the cellphone alarm filled the room as Alexis Grimm was stirred from her sleep. Stretching out in her bed, she turned away from the the small screen that had illuminated her room mumbling about five more minutes. From downstairs, the gentle smell of fried batter wafted under the door to the dark room as the hiss of bacon hitting a hot griddle suddenly crackled through the air.

"Alexis, honey!" A woman's voice called from downstairs. "You don't want to be late or hungry on your first day of senior year!"

"Uhhh." Came Alexis' reply as she rolled over and checked the time on her phone. Sitting up in her bed upon realizing she had a text message, Alexis smiled as she began to read.

'Good morning Beautiful, can't wait to see your smiling face today.'

Her fingers flew into action, as Alexis quickly hammered out a reply.

'I can't wait to see you either Babe!'

Suddenly feeling awake, Alexis jumped out of her bed and scurried to the bathroom. The sensation of the hot shower was the only good thing that happened in the morning. Turning under the steady stream, she ensured the water touched every part of her body, inhaling deeply as a cloud of steam rose from the shower. Toweling off, Alexis slid into her room, throwing open her large walk in closet as she went through numerous outifts before deciding on a cute little number including both a pleated skirt and an adorable pair of boots. Slinging her bag over the shoulder, Alexis ensured her blouse was tucked in as she quickly clambered down the stairs into her parent's kitchen.

"Mornin' Mum!" She said with a peck on her mother's cheek. "Morning Daddy!" Alexis continued as she wrapped her arms around her dad and planted a raspberry on his cheek with a giggle.

"Get off me." He chuckled as he pulled out a chair for Alexis. "Well then, excited are we?"

"Not overly, but you went through all the trouble of cooking up a big breakfast, I figured I'd put on a face for you." She said, sticking her tongue out at the end before piling two pancakes onto her plate and dousing them in maple syrup.

"Slow down, it's not going anywhere." Her mother chimed in as Alexis' father shook his head.

"Let the girl eat Katherine, she's obviously hungry." The balding man said as Katherine moved her blonde hair behind her ear.

"If you insist Patrick." She said with a small smile. "I suppose I can lay off being a satellite parent for at least breakfast."

"I think they're calling you helicopter parents now." Alexis said, coming up for air as she smirked at her mother, her green eyes twinkling with mischief as she brushed her long brunette locks behind her ear.

"Shut up and eat your breakfast." Katherine retorted with a smile before biting into a peach held loosely in her manicured hand.

"I've got to be going anyways, meeting Zebulun at the school!" Alexis said, her voice being higher and more excited upon speaking the name Zebulun. Basically jumping up from her chair, the teen snatched the peach from her mother's hand before taking a bite as she gathered up her bag.

"Still dating the Michaels' boy eh?" Patrick asked with a small smile. "The girl learned well, she goes for money."

"Oh stop it." Katherine scolded her husband who began to clear the table. "Off to the gym Sweetie?" She asked as he deposited the dirty dishes into the washer and grabbed his own keys.

"Indeed I am dear, I have about three bacons and half a pound of bacon to work off before I head into the office." Patrick said before kissing his wife goodbye, peeking to see if Alexis was watching before giving Katherine a playful pat on her behind as he winked at her before heading out the door.

"Oh gross." Alexis' voice was filled with disgust as she quickly ran out the door to the sound of her parents' laughter. Climbing into her small sports car, Alexis adjusted the pair of black fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview window before lowering the top and driving out into the morning sun. Sun was rare in New Lilith, although if the local legends were to be believed, it was even more rare during the time Roman Locke rang over the city. The cherry red car had been a present to Alexis on her sixteenth birthday and the girl had taken pristine care of the car herself, rotating its tires, changing the oil and any other simple maintenance had been done by her, at least once her father had instructed her how to do it.

The drive to New Lilith College Academy was not a long one by any means. Her parents were more than wealthy enough to afford a house in the city's well off East end, although the school had been half the reason why they had choosen to live in that end of the city. Butterflies filled her stomach as she drove past the Faulkner estate, home to none other than Charles Michaels, the citiest wealthiest and most famous son. Charles Michaels was the new Bill Gates, having revolutionized the software industry with the humorously named 'Glitch' Operating System. Mr. Michaels also happened to be father of her boyfriend Zebulun, although Alexis herself had never met Charles, Zebulun's mother Drew was rather friendly despite her reputation of being somewhat cold.

Pulling into the school's parking lot, Alexis found a nice parking spot before hanging her parking pass on in front of the fuzzy dice. Closing the car up, the brunette lifted her large sunglasses to the top of her head as she walked into the school.

"Heya Beautiful!" Zebulun's warm voice called out to Alexis as she turned to find herself lost in the taller's boys deep blue eyes. She could stare at them forever, flecks of icy blue highlighted them, giving his eyes and intense stare that almost felt like he could look right through you if he focusses hard enough. Shaggy brown hair hung unkempt from his head as it curled slightly at the end of each strand. Highlights of gold and midlights of auburn could be seen within his hair underneath the bright fluorescent lights of the school hallway. Pressing her lips against his, Alexis could feel his arms wrap around her waist and pull her in close as they said 'hello' the only way lovers ever should.

"I could get used to that." Zebulun said as Alexis relaxed her lips and stepped back, her eye lashes fluttering slightly as the boy took ahold of her hand.

"Maybe I'll keep you around then." Alexis replied coyly as she began to lead Zebulun down the hall towards their first class. "Is your band practicing tonight?"

"Oh no, we decided to see how the course load is first and then figure out when the best nights to practice would be." Zebulun replied, waving to his friends and bandmates as they passed the pair in the hallway.

"So I have you all to myself tonight then?" Alexis replied, spinning around she leaned in closer to Zebulun who nonchantly shrugged his shoulders.

"It would look like it, what did you have in mind?" He replied.

"The park, the one beneath the over pass. There's something of a party going on there tonight. We should definitely go!" Alexis exclaimed with excitement. Word of the party had been plastered all over Facebook, Twitter and a few other frequented sites over the weekend.

"I think I might have enough freak left in me to do a party." Zebulun smirked as the pair took their seats in the corner of their first period English class.

"That's the worse thing you've said since you decided to call your band Extinguish/Ignite." Alexis retorted with a smirk of her own.

"Seriously, you're still on about that." Zebulun exclaimed in mock disbelief. "It's the perfect name to use in tribute to one of the greatest musicians to ever live." Turning to the closest student, Zebulun tapped him on the shoulder. "Yo buddy, please tell my girl why Kurt Cobain was one of the greatest artists of our time."

---

---

A green feather lazily fell down from the tree that Tanya was jogging beneath.

The girl looked with her mouth slightly ajar, kneeling down, and picking up the feather by it's stem. "Huh?" Tanya asked, ruffling a hand through her short and firey head of black hair. Bird feathers like this don't appear out of no where, especially in America. She'd swallow something like this in Jamaica, but.... The girl stopped, and looked up, and saw a Parrot! A green parrot perched on the tree branch above her. Tanya smiled warmly at her feathered friend.

"Hey!" She attempted to greet the parrot. "Can you talk?"

"Yes!" The parrot replied.

"You're a little lost aren't you?" Tanya asked it, rhetorically.

"Yes!" The parrot replied.

Tanya put a hand on her rather unshapely hip, and kept that smile on her face. She shrugged, speaking in a thick Jamaican accent, "Can you say anything else?" She chuckled.

"Yes!" The Parrot said.

".... Kiwi!" A girl from behind Tanya shouted - making Tanya turn around and see a girl, that had to be fifteen or fourteen, with a head of curly brown hair (and matching eyes, Tanya noted) running up. Though, the girl's eyes were on the bird, and not on Tanya. The second she walked up, it became apparent that she was holding something in her hand, to which she presented to the bird - a food bowl full of bird seeds! "C'mere Kiwi, here's some food." The parrot flew down, and perched itself onto the bowl. Leaning in forward to gobble up some food.

Instinctively, Tanya took a step back, slowly. Last thing she wanted to do was ruin this, because it was apparent what was going on. "... Nice bird." She complimented, in between her very slow steps.

"Thank you." The girl replied. "And thank you for finding my bird."

"Your welcome, it's a nice parrot." Tanya said quietly, nodding her head. Tanya realized that she was holding a feather that fell off in between her fingers. She grinned widely, holding the feather up to present it to the girl. "Hope you don't mind if I keep a feather," She leaned in forward, "I'm a collector."

Kiwi, the parrot hopped over onto the girl's arm. "Yeah, that's fine." She calmly said as she took steps backwards. Not to suddenly move a muscle or Kiwi would fly off. "Well, I'm going to try to get him back in his cage. Thank you."

"Yeah, bye! Hope you and your bird turn out okay!" Tanya said, as they went their separate ways. Tanya began her jog again, and decided that it was enough for right now. She needed to get to school soon as possible. Fortunately, Tanya never jogged too far away from her house. Nor was she ever in danger. Eventually, she came up to the gate of her rather expensive, two story house, with a sizable yard. Your typical upper-middle class suburban house. She wiped her sweaty forehead off, before pushing into the gates, and running into the house.

In hindsight, she probably should have foregone jogging and just went straight to school, but what's done is done. She jumped into her room, and jumped out of her clothes. Changing her attire to the New Lilith Academy school uniform, which accentuated her slim and square figure pretty well. Nonetheless, Tanya couldn't head to school without her guitar! She quickly grabbed it, obscured by it's black, baglike, case and swung it over her shoulder. Running right out the door.

Tanya got into her car, and drove to the Academy. Leaving her ride in the parking lot. She stepped out, with a sunny smile on her face. The guitar case was slung over her shoulder, as she walked the path into the Academy's front doors.

---

---

A roll of drool flowed out of Maria's mouth as she laid, spread eagle, on her bed.

Gracelessly snoring, wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt to act as her sleepwear.

"MARIA! ARE YOU UP HONEY?! MARIA!?" Maria's oh-so-lovely mother shouted almost loudly enough to wake up the neighbors, banging on the door so hard Maria thought for a moment she was trying to break it down. And she kept going.

"Geez Louise..." Maria groaned under her breath - which she could barely hear herself - as she pushed herself up. A line of spit connected from her thin lips to the pillow, which she quickly swiped away with the back of her heads. "... I'M UP, JESUS!" Maria screamed loudly, grinding her teeth, and nearly causing her vocal chords to spontaneously explode.

"Are you getting smart with me, little girl?!" Maria's mom shouted. "I'll pop you! Now get ready for school, you're going to be late!"

Jesus, New Lilth Academy. Ever since Maria started going to that school, her mom's been harping her to succeed. Even though she would never be the prodigy her mother wanted. Oh well. Only thing to do is to go to school, and hope for the best. Maria quickly slid out of the bed, and moved her feet over to the dresser, she opened it, and pulled out her outfit for the day. Which - surprise, surprise - contained her uniform. Maria draped it over one arm, and carried it into the hallway, and turned a hard right into the bathroom. Maria kicked the door shut behind her, and took off her clothes, and stepped into the shower stall. Turning the knob, and feeling the rush of cold water impacting her skin... then she turned the other knob, and turned the cold water off. She grabbed some soap, and her wash cloth, off the shower rack, and began.

One shower scene later, and Maria turned the knob, and the water stopped. She quickly walked over to her outfit, and put it on. In less than ten minutes, Maria had showers, and was ready for class. She stepped out of the bathroom, and quickly ran down the steps, before stepping outside, where her mother was ready for her in a pickup truck. Maria ran up to the car, and slid in, and they were off in no time.

They were quite far away from the school, so it took a little while in order of them to make it there. In her mothers eyes, the trip was worth it. Like everyone else, Maria arrived in the parking lot, and stepped out of the car.

"... Your welcome." Her mom said.

"Thanks Mom." Maria said, rather venomously. She stepped out of the truck, and started walking towards the school building.

Jay stared at the ceiling from the familiar comfort of his old and worn bed. In the corner of the ceiling a spider lazily spun its webs in the morning sun that snuck through gaps in the ragged blinds. Atleast it's not raining Jay thought to himself as he rolled onto his side, the bruising on his stomach complained loudly and elicited a painfilled groan, on a small bedside table sat his watch, big and clunky with a cracked face it still stubbornly ticked away. He reached over and retrieved the watch, slipping it quickly over his wrist before daring a look. 9:00 the numbers blinked up at him, he closed his eyes for a moment wishing he could stay in the warm bed, embrace the comfortable sleep he could feel clouding his mind. With an effort of will he opened his eyes and wary of his stomach slowly pushed himself out of bed.

A large mirror hung from the back of his door which he promptly walked over to, he pushed his fringe out of his eyes and began examining his face, the scrap with Davey had left it's mark and his right cheek was covered in fresh scabs, to make things worse he had a black left eye. Oh well, it's not like he was winning any beauty contests with his baggy second hand uniform and tatty bag anyhow.

He grabbed his bag and uniform from the corner of his room and slowly opened the door, careful to avoid the loud creaks the door was prone to. Once out of the room he repeated the process, closing the door. He snuck along the landing, taking a moment to look into his parents... his dads bedroom, the room was in much the same state as his, it might once have been a cosy bedroom for a well off couple, now it was in disrepair and in need of a deep cleanse cleaning. On the big double bed in the centre of the room his dad slumbered away, last nights collection of bottles haphazardly spread throughout the room. Jay rolled his eyes and continued down the hall to the shower.

10 minutes later the front door opened and out walked Jay. Parked outfront was a bright yellow hatchback polished to a sheen and at the sight of it Jays day brightened immeasurably. In the front seat, leaning back and tapping away at her phone sat Carrie, long black hair falling down over her as always pristine uniform. The front door swung closed with a crash and Carrie looked his way.
"Comeon slowpoke we're gonna be late!"
A grin lit up his face as he jogged over to the car.
"naaaah, not with your driving"
He dumped his bag on the backseat and sat in the side seat, letting himself sink into the comfortable seats, the smell of new leather and some tantalizing new perfume of Carries filling his head. When they didn't immediately shoot off he turned to look at her. She stared back, giving a pointed look at his scabs and raising an eyebrow inquisitively.
"I..urr tripped over.."
The perfect lie, had not a sheepish smile snuck onto his face. Carrie rolled her eyes.
"Suuuuure J. You know I worry about you sometimes."
The last was said with a sincerity that caught him off guard but before he could reply the car was in gear and he was jerked back in his seat as Carrie tried to break the sound barrier.
"Jeeeeeeeez, do you have to do that every time?!"
Her only response was a slight upturning of her lips as she smiled.

They screetched into a parking spot as Jay looked down at his watch.
"shit... we're soooo late, catch you later!"
He jumped out of his seat and slammed the door shut, halfway to the Academy entrance Carries parting words caught up with him.
"We're going to a party tonight so if you get in trouble I WILL BEAT YOU!"

6:00 AM, Tuesday. Sept. 8th, 2015.

---

The red digits of the alarm clock flashed in the dark of Booker's room as he rolled over in bed. He didn't want to get up. There was a weight pushing him into the soft mattress. He was too comfortable to leave the bed's warm embrace just yet. Instead he brushed his hand against the carpet at the foot of his bed, slowly searching until he brought up what he needed. His smart-phone, slightly cracked and scratched from his usual neglect and mistreatment. It was only a moment before he was swiping through social media news-feeds and checking out the latest updates his friend's had posted for themselves. Joseph had uploaded more shirtless photos, to the ire of Booker, and was still receiving a couple dozen likes per visible muscle group. Booker left a comment with a chuckle. 'my feed got no business lookin like this.'

Darrell was busy trying to flex his new wardrobe, with his collection of new snapbacks and shirts. Booker admired the new chains he was wearing, glossing in the light of the picture. He wasn't usually one to wear jewelry, but they looked alright. He'd leave a like, but no more. Darrell got too talkative about his possessions when you engaged him, and Booker was not in the mood for that.

Meanwhile, further down the feed, Morgan was busy being savage as usual. Booker was surprised to find out that an argument that had begun the previous day was still going on, in the form of a 200+ comment chain. From the looks of it, most of it was from Morgan. Girl didn't know when enough was enough, but she was good to have as a friend. Loyal to the end. Booker smiled as he scrolled over several lines of insults and mockery. Damn, the girl had fangs. A knock on the door immediately wiped the smile from his face, the voice from behind it all too familiar to him. "Book? You hear that alarm, right? Could y'shut it off? Makin' an awful racket." His father spoke in measured tones. The voice of a police negotiator. Booker slapped the top of the alarm clock and silenced its blaring. He did not reply to his father, he was already too engrossed in his social media once again. His father wanted to come in, he knew, but he wouldn't. They had already spoken too much about personal space.

"Thanks buddy." He said with a sigh before Booker heard his boots scuffing the floor down the hall. As he swung his legs from the bed, he felt his phone erupt into vibrations and his ringtone replaced the alarm clock's noise. 'Excuse me mista, but can y'please turn down the lights, I don't really like all these cameras man, and this sh-' Booker picked it up before Tyler could cuss, and brought it to his ear slowly.

"Big-B! Boy, you ready for today? Back to school, back into it! I'm hype, no lie man." It was D-Bag. Or Darrell. D-Bag was his nickname within the circle of friends he was part of. Just like Morgan was Mog, Joseph was Jojo and Booker himself was Big-B. There were others, but this quartet was the only ones he'd really call his friends. Booker wiped at his face and groaned, he had almost forgotten that today was the first day of senior year. He grumbled into the receiver, "D... what'd I tell you about callin' me this early?" Darrell's reply was slightly staggered, he knew that Booker didn't like to be talking on the phone as the sun was coming up. "Y-yeah I know, B. But jus' hear me out. Squad was talkin' in the group chat and we thought we'd hit up breakfast before first period."

Booker sighed and chuckled slightly. "Oh, and how you gon' get there?" He knew the answer, but the asking amused him more and more every time. Darrell stuttered out, "Uh, well we were hopin' that you would be able to bring the whip around to Jojo's and we jus' like-" Booker cut him off with a laugh and a follow-up question, "Aight, how many am I takin'?"

Darrell paused for a moment, Booker could almost hear him counting up the heads. "Uh, just the usual squad. You and me, as well as Mogs and Jojo. And Trisha and Penny." Booker's smile drooped and his words came slow as he droned, "I don't know any Trisha and Penny." Darrell was already off on another stuttering spree before he even finished, "N-nah nah nah, don't worry B, they nice. Fine as hell. You'll love 'em." Booker scratched at his bared chest as he stood up, "My car only has five seats, son," he said with a tone of slight protest. Darrell wasn't hearing it, and signed off with a rushed, "Aight, see you at Jojo's at 7, peace!"

The red numbers of the alarm clock told him it was 6:17. He grumbled slightly as he pulled on a pair of shorts and made a beeline for the bathroom. His shower was quick and slightly frigid, like always. Towelling off and getting dressed only took a moment, as he threw on his slightly oversized uniform, complete with a pair of black Ray-Bans. Keys, phone, wallet and his backpack that was packed as hastily as it was unpacked when last school year let out.

Booker looked himself over in the mirror. Tall, chubby and babyfaced. Just like always. Nothing out of the usual there, so that was alright. His skin was being agreeable today, all smooth and clear. Seeing his bald head like this made him want to grow his hair out some days, but the feeling of the breeze on his scalp was too nice to deny. All that prep and it was only 6:38 now. He wasted no more time and made his way to the front door of the small house that he and his father shared.

"Heading out for school, buddy?" His father asked from the kitchen. He was nursing a cup of hot coffee as he looked Booker over with a smile. "A bit early, don't you think?" Booker shrugged, stopping in his tracks on the way to the door. "Well, crew wanted to get some food before we hit the books." He paused a moment to notice his unintentional pun before nodding to his father. The older man was fitter than Booker, but he was graying around the temples. A face similar to Booker's, but that beard and those wrinkles added something that he himself couldn't replicate. Experience and age. His father nodded back, sipping from his coffee cup again before speaking.

"Well, don't let me keep you then. Have a good day, son."

He hummed back in confirmation as he walked to his car. The beat up Mini Cooper. It was only a few moments of checking mirrors and fiddling with the clutch before it coughed into action and he rolled out from the driveway and onto the road. Jojo's house was regarded as the 'central hub' for the squad's meet-ups. It was close to everyone and it was easy to find. Just had to look for the fancy house on the hill. Booker didn't even have to search the streets to be able to see who he was picking up. Jojo, the fitness guru in his wide-shouldered glory had his arm around D-Bag, the lanky one decked out in all the expensive accessories. Shiny watch, nice glasses, fancy shoes and that perfect smile. Beside them was Mogs, the shapely young woman yelling at D. Beside them were two figures he didn't know. Two young women, looking slightly tired and slightly alienated.

As he pulled up, the Mini backfired and sputtered. He rolled down the window and gave a nod in greeting. "Hurry up and get in, I'm hungry as hell." D came to the window and took a hold of his hand, thanking him for the favor. With Mogs in the passenger seat, D and Jojo in the back with Trisha sitting atop Penny in the middle, they set off. It wasn't a long drive. It wasn't a long breakfast either, as before he knew it, it was almost 9 and Booker was pulling into a student parking space with friends in tow. They clambered out like clowns at a sideshow, all yelling and making a ruckus about one subject or another. If it wasn't clothing, then it was music. Or relationships. Or fights.

Booker watched them from the driver's seat as he turned the car off, made his crumpled parking pass visible and got out, slamming the door and locking it lazily. "Come on, B!" Calls went out to him as he moseyed over and joined his friends, moving to enter the school as they always did. Loudly.

Christ.

He throbbed, feeling woozy even from under his eyelids. That wasn't the beer at the Stein, and it wasn't the beer from the crate Stoney had fished from his car. It might have been the vodka they'd had. Wasn't the weed. May have been the E. Elwood patted the floor beside his bed for his phone, the screen glaring harshly in his eyes as he brought it to his face. 8am, and a text from Dove. Another 50. Elwood would have to have another chat about accounts.
"Hey, Elwood! School!"
Shit.

-

An hour later and Elwood was on-campus, shirt tucked into trousers and one hand thrust firmly into the pocket of his peacoat, the other running a still-shaky hand through his slicked hair. His pupils were dilated, partly from the hangover and drugs of the night before, and partly from the three cups of coffee he'd had between his dad's house and the school gates (one at home, one from the starbucks on the corner down the block from his house, and one at the cart just down the hill), and his bladder was full of yesterday's beer and this morning's black caffiene. He sniffed, the cool morning air invigorating him, and looked up toward the sky. Beautiful stark blue, with a white shining sun. It would be a warm day. Elwood shielded his eyes lest his head start to throb again.
Alas, Block appeared.

"Heading under the overpass tonight, Elwood?"
"Overpass? Fuck are you talking about, Block?"
"Some party. Ya ain't heard?"
"No, Block, I 'ain't heard', obviously."
"Bunch'a kids are heading down after dark, attendance seems to be hundreds plus. Should be pretty blaster."
"'Pretty blaster'?" Elwood said incredulously, throwing a hand up for silence before Block had even drawn breath to respond. "Shut up, Block. My head is heavy and I have a whole fuckin' day of school to get through before I even think about more beer and god knows what else Stoney and Roy turn up with, and that's all after you assault me before I even get five feet onto school grounds."

Block scowled, but put his hands in his pockets and shut up, walking alongside Elwood. They took strides in silence, until a cherry red sports car pulled up in front of them. Elwood swore as Alexis hopped out, and then quickly walked around the car and toward the main building.
"That smart-ass waitress from the pub."
"Sure is, Elwood."
"Shut up, Block."

They watched as Alexis met her boyfriend, son of the city's local tech-mogul, and then walked a few paces behind them as they all entered the halls. Some inane discussion about a garage band, because of course the pretentious wanker had a garage band. Elwood kept his head down as he and Block passed them, but was caught by a tap on his shoulder. He whirled round, a few strands of hair breaking free and flopping down over his forehead, only to be smoothed back again .
"Yo buddy, please tell my girl why Kurt Cobain was one of the greatest artists of our time." Zebulun asked Elwood, and Elwood sneered.
"I think 'was' is the best part of that sentence." He replied, before nodding at Alexis. "Loved your performance last night. Very believable. I'll let the Mavericks know where they can send their offer letter."
Elwood walked off, shoulder-checking Zebulun as he went - and Block followed. He just needed to get through school, and he could return to drinking. He probably would end up at this party. It would be better than anywhere else.
What's the worst that could happen?

- - - - - - - - - - - - [8:30AM] - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kevin: hey hurry up

Ash: Yeah, I know. I’m packing food rn for the both of us.

Kevin: yay cool. also idk if i told you but there’s a party at the park tonight

Kevin: everyone else is going too!!! also there will be booooooozeeee

Ash: lol sounds good; I’ve wanted to get out for a while.

Kevin: ur the best BRO

Ash: haha I am.

Ash turned off the screen of his phone and tucked it in his pockets. He packed the cooked rice into separate tupperware containers and topped it with stir fry, tendrils of steam rising from the meat and vegetables. He looked at the food with pride before putting it away in his bag, and grabbed the keys from the counter before rushing out. He jogged down the stairs of his apartment and into the parking lot, where his car, navy and matte, waited for him. He slid his hand on its metallic roof with fondness as he maneuvered to the front seat; a gift from his older brother, the car was the first thing he could really call his own. It was a part of his identity.

Throwing his pack in the passenger’s seat, he turned on the engine and sped away. The drive to Kevin’s was a short one, almost walking distance, but it was on the way to school so the arrangement worked out. As Ash neared his destination, his phone rang and he silenced it with a click. He turned into the driveway of a modest house and put the car into park, before picking up his phone to type—

Ash: I’m here.

Kevin: kk

The front door opened, and Kevin rushed out, backpack flopping behind him. His friend looked like the picturesque All-American guy; personable and handsome—strong lines in the right places with a winning smile and dusky skin. Grinning, Ash leaned over the grip and opened the passenger door.

“Hey, dude.” Kevin said, smiling brightly as he pushed over Ash’s backpack and slid into the seat.

“Hey,” Ash replied as the engine roared to life. He turned to look over his shoulder as he backed out, “Sorry for taking so long. There’s stir fry in the bag."

“No, it’s fine.” Kevin rummaged through Ash’s bag, and pulled out on of the containers. As he lifted the lid, the aroma of cooked stir fry and fresh rice wafted into the car. His eyes widened and he looked at Ash with something like awe, “This is amazing. Is there anything you can’t do?"

“Nah,” Ash laughed and shoved his friend with an elbow, “You say that every time I bring you food. You should learn to cook something other than shitty cup noodle and eggs, bro.”

Kevin placed a hand over his heart in mock indigence, “Woah. I am sensing some hostile vibes here."

“It’s not my fault you can’t handle the truth.” Ash didn’t divert his gaze from the from the road, but struggled to keep a grin from overtaking his features.

“Wow, so rude."

“Only to you."

They chattered incessantly before pulling up into the school parking lot. Slinging their backpacks on, they walked quickly to their first class: Advanced Computer Science II. As they sped through the open aired hallways and well trodden shortcuts, Ash felt a muted glee spread from his feet to his torso to his arms to his head. It was the simple things—an embrace, a genuine smile, the knowledge that he was loved—that made him infinitely grateful.

Sleeping besides the air conditioner, Joseph Marino woke up with his quivering bangs shagging in his eyes. The cold air was refreshing, but being stabbed in the eye by his own hair was not. Thus he sat up and reached for the power cord, snatching it out of the wall before hearing the slowed whining of it dying down. Freezin' my balls off anyway.

Swiveling his legs off his bed, he scooted off and walked through the room with his eyes shut until he couldn't stand jabbing his toes against the dumbbells and handguns scattered on his floor.

He'd gone to sleep wearing a sleeveless undershirt. The first thing he put on was a white t-shirt, tucking it into black jeans and slipping on a navy blue windbreaker over it. He finally woke the rest of the way up when he styled his hair, weighing it down with cold water and slicking it back with heavy get. He scooped a dark blue ball cap over his hair before skidaddling downstairs. Another generation would say he resembled the unibomber in a way. That generation was exactly the group he had business scaring.

Cutting through the dining room, he froze when he saw some disgraceful One Direction wannabe eating breakfast at the table of killers.

"Damien," he scoffed. "What the hell are you wearing? We're the Italian mob, not a boy band."

"Go choke on a dick, Joe. At least I can get a girl."

"Fff, whatever. Just leave the twelve-year old skanks at whatever nursery you usually fish 'em out of."

"F*** off Joe. Tonight I'm going to a party at the park."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure that you got business helping with a cleanup job tonight and I'm goin' to the park."

"I ain't gotta job tonight."

"Ya do now. If ya' don't like it take it up with my pops. You know Manslaughter Marino, right?"

"F*** you, Joe," he mumbled before going back to his breakfast in defeat.

At that, Joe slipped away, cutting through the foyer and out the front door into his car and out the driveway. Damien watched the red sports car fly down the brick driveway, past a fountain carved to resemble a pissing angel and through the treeline before stopping at the gate at their house's perimeter. The house was designed to protect them from any competing criminal organizations or a raid from law enforcement. At the drop of a hat they'd be able to electrify the fences, burn down the house, and ride away using a tunnel under their house on specially reserved mopeds. They also had a helipad. Cuz plan B.

No sooner did Joe clear the fence and give the neighbor kid the finger like every day than Damien recieved a call. Thirty seconds later and it was a voice message.

"Listen Damien... I'm sorry. You don't have a job tonight, I'm just tryin' to help you before you make a fool of yourself. I'll be at school. Next time I call though, pick up the damn phone. Bye."

---

---

A bead of sweat, glistening in what little light was able to pass through the filthy window, slowly slid down Matthieu's exposed forehead, his dark hair pulled up into a loose topknot. His vertebrae crunched and popped as he drew his arms up high, then twisted to the side and opened them in a wide, welcoming embrace. He had practiced yoga for several years, and this Dancing Warrior sequence was always his favourite part of the routine. It required a lot of balance and he felt it was a good mix of physical exercise and mindfulness.

His morning proceeded the same way it always did. After rolling up his mat, he took a long, hot shower and then got himself dressed for the day ahead. Taking the heat into consideration, he pulled on a thin black vest with a Ouija board print, paired with a long flowing cardigan and skinny jeans that lead down to a pair of deliberately battered combat boots. He pulled his hair back into a tight bun to keep it out of his face, grabbed his bag and headed out the door.

There was a welcome breeze as he stepped out into the street, but it brought with it the stench of the marshland on the outskirts of town. He wrinkled his nose in disdain and found himself marching double-time towards the bus stop. As he rounded the corner of the block, he dug into his pocket for any loose change he was carrying. Matthieu was a fan of routine, and part of that routine involved offloading his unwanted shrapnel to a local tramp. He was basically a fixture in this neighbourhood, propped up against Del Rey's Convenience with his tin can morning, noon and night. That was, until this morning.

Matthieu stopped for a moment, pondering the situation with a quizzical look on his face. In all his time here, Matthieu could not remember a single instance where the tramp had not been in his spot. Where was he? Matt hoped nothing bad had befallen the old man, before the repugnance of the swamp filled his nostrils once more and he hurried into the convenience store.

"The usual, Matt?" came the thick drawl of Del Rey, the business' proprietor. He was fat, balding and Hispanic; his old shirt was, like most things in this part of town, tattered and stained. Matthieu nodded politely, taking a pack of gum from the shelf.

"Yes please, Mr. Rey," he confirmed, placing the gum on the counter as Del poured Matthieu a large black coffee in a paper cup from a coffee machine at the rear of the store. "Say, Mr. Rey, where's ze old guy?" he asked, his French accent slipping out a little stronger than usual and alarming himself. Del seemed not to notice; Matt assumed that other people just accepted he had an accent, and when it came across strongly they didn't notice the way he did.

Del just shrugged. "No clue, my friend," he said, a smile on his face. "As long as he ain't making my shop front look messy, I ain't bothered." Matthieu nodded, declining to comment that the tramp's presence was the least scruffy element of the store's face. "That'll be two bucks." Matt paid the money and headed out the shop, sticking the tab of the plastic lid on his coffee down with some chewed up gum. An old trick but one that worked well. He paused outside the store to light up a cigarette and eyed the spot where the old man would usually sit. Something unnerved him about this...

He enjoyed his first cigarette of the day as he walked what little distance remained to the bus stop and sipped his beverage as he waited for its arrival. He pulled out his phone; it was an iPhone 3GS, which was not the most modern model by any means but it served him well... He wasn't broke, but he didn't have extra money to be spending on the latest gadgets. With no job and his savings gradually dwindling, he had to watch his money. As he flicked through various social networks, he soon discovered that there was to be a party down at the park that evening. It looked pretty major; heck, it seemed like every platform was saturated with endless promotion for the event.

As the bus arrived, Matt flashed his travel pass to the driver. As he sat on the torn seat that would take him to his second term at the New Lilith College Academy, Matthieu tossed the idea of attending the party around his head. Maybe it could be fun. Nah, it'd be full of douchebags from Bayside. He could just see them now, an endless sea of clones fistpumping to some low-grade dubstep under the bridge...

He looked down at the Facebook event on his phone. His thumb hovered over "Can't Go" for a moment, before he hesitantly hit "Maybe". It could be fun...

---

_{(Written in collaboration with @Tyler)}

---

A short trip and Tanya was through the front doors, and right into the halls of the school. Walking with her arms swinging, Tanya only stopped to pull her iPhone out of her uniform's pocket (It was against school rules to have a phone in class, but it won't hurt to check for texts real quick). She got the usual, texts from her parents, friends, and more. More interesting, she got an invite to a big ass party tonight... She fist bumped and smiled. She never got invited to a party before, even though she heard so much about them. Well, better late than never, but never late is better. Tanya shrugged, and turned her phone to vibrate and shoved it back into her pocket. It went without saying, she was definitely going to show up at the party tonight. She wondered if they'd like a live performance. She snickered. She quickly continued skipping through the halls, until she made it to her first class for today (and easily the most boring classes she got): History. Nothing helped her creatively than history. She rolled her eyes as she pulled the door open, and it was shut by the time she had stepped through the doors. Tanya was given a momentary glance from the teacher - to which she replied with a respectful smile - before she moved over to her seat, and sat down in it.

The girl crossed her legs as the Professor began his arduous speech about history. Something about World War 2, Tanya didn't know. It all became one blur after awhile. Her eyes drifted around, looking for something to distract herself with. However, right to her side was a certain boy (who always sits there). Matthieu Lacroix. An interesting boy he was. A boy from Europe, a photographer - and that same hobby was what drew Tanya to him. She'd play model for him, and let him take photos of her. It was pretty fun, honestly.

"Hey there, Matt," Tanya said, her thick Jamaican accent was apparent. "You heard about the party tonight, boy? If the professor don't bore me to death by then, I might go. Give em' a good old live performance."

Matt turned to his friend inconspicuously, trying his best to avoid being spotted by Professor Arden. The guy was a total stickler; clearly passionate about his subject moreso than he was about actually imbuing that same interest in his students. The whole class seemed like it was constantly in some kind of waking sleep and Matthieu had to wonder whether any of them would actually learn anything this term.

"Yeah, it was kinda hard to miss it, no?" he remarked under his breath. "Shit was plastered all over the internet by the look of things." His own accent seemed stronger than usual once more; he began to put it down to spending too much time alone over the summer break. He'd known Tanya long enough that he didn't really notice anything strange about the way she spoke, and he was sure she felt the same.

"I was thinking that I would go," he said, pretending to scribble some notes in his book whilst in reality he was doodling a fairytale castle, with tall, pointed turrets. "But I don't know. It's probably gonna blow, right?"

"Probably," Tanya said. Her words oddly contradicted the wry grin on her face. "but ya' never know until you see it for yourself, honey. That's why I'm going." She started laughing for a second - but silenced herself in fear of disrupting the class and being sent to detention... ugh. "And who knows, maybe if you bring that camera of yours, you can take a couple embarassing photos and blackmail some people." She was entirely joking. Though, even if they aren't used for black mail, it might be fun to take a few pictures of kids doing stupid stuff at the party.

Matt grinned, himself trying not to laugh at Tanya's joke. "If there's one thing I've learned since coming to Amérique," he said, "It's that I should never be allowed with 5 feet of a camera when I'm under the influence." He recalled the last time he'd been drunk, and awoken to find his camera sticky with an unknown substance that he could only pray was beer.

"But you're right," he added. "I'm sure we can stir up some kind of mischief." he chuckled. In fairness, he could probably take some pictures, too. He'd call in at Del Rey's on the way home and grab a couple disposables. "Fuck it," he decided, his tone assertive as he convinced himself that attending the party was a good idea. "Let's go to this shitty party and have a shitty time."

"... Alcohol and my guitar don't mix either," Tanya started off, chuckling. "Worst come to worst, and you'll be hearing my singing voice at it's finest!" She laughed - and quickly shut herself up when the Professor glared at her. She cleared her throat, and put her arms on the desk, trying her damn best to look like she's paying attention (rather than dicking around).

Leaning in, Tanya whispered, "... It'll be one shitty time we won't forget," She grinned. "Not with that camera of yours!"

---

---

The first day of school was flying by and while it had started off with a hitch from the resident obnoxious douchebag, Elwood Dowd. He and his friends had made Alexis' last night at the Stein and Cauldron rather miserable. It wasn't exactly fair that he would try to ruin her first day as a senior either. But Alexis had chosen to ignore him and his comments about the Mavericks, it wasn't like this city needed anymore ill-advised vigilantes running around enforcing their own brand of law on those helpless to fight them off. With great power came great responsibility but the Mavericks only used theirs to bully those who were weaker than them. Thankfully now the police were once again recognized as the city's primary defenders and they were keeping the streets cleaner than the Mavericks ever had.

Looking up at the clock, the last half an hour of school seemed to be dragging by. Alexis couldn't wait for the party tonight, she had managed to rope one of the bartenders at the 'Cauldron to smuggle her a couple of coolers for it. She had never really drank before, but Laine had assured her that the alcoholic content was low enough she was in no risk of getting drunk off them. Plus she was going to share them with Zeb so she was definitely safe. Staring at the clock again, Lexii dropped her head into a hand as her pen dangled loosely between her fingers and her bottom lip stuck out in a slight pout. Making sure the teacher wasn't paying her any attention, Alexis slipped her hand into the top of her boots, pulling her cellphone out of the top. Doing a second peek, Alexis quickly looked down as she typed out a text and hit send before a man clearing his throat caught her attention.

"No one smiles at their crotch Miss Grimm, use it again and lose it." Came Mr. Mosbey's voice as Alexis gave a weak apologetic smile and quickly slid her phone back into the boot. It vibrated a few seconds later as Alexis tried to ignore it, Mr. Mosbey casting a look towards her letting the girl know he had heard the phone vibrate. Suddenly the bell rang and Alexis smiled broadly as she jumped up to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Bye!" She called in a sing song voice as she hurried into the hallway. Looking around to ensure Elwood wasn't around, Alexis pulled her phone out of her boot with an awkward one legged hop as she read the message. It looked like Zebulun was going to meet her in the parking lot. Rounding a corner, Alexis urged her legs to move as fast as possible pausing for a second to move her long brunette hair out of her eyes only to run smack into another body.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" She muttered over and over as she scrambled to pick up her own things that had spilled with the conclusion before reaching for a text book that wasn't hers.

"Let me get that for you." Alexis said as she held out her free hand. "I don't think we've ever been formally introduced, the name is Alexis, Alexis Grimm, but everyone just calls me Lexii." She said in a bit of sing-song tone as she waited for a reply.

He awoke with a start, his alarm screaming into his ear as he reached for the "off" switch as quickly as he could physically manage. six-fifteen, the clock read, he had set it the night before at six o'clock, perhaps this wasn't the first time he had been awoken by the unholy screams of an angry alarm. Pushing away the thought, he pivoted himself in the bed so his feet were touching the ground, and sat up, Last nights pint still had a bit of whiskey in it, so he took a quick swig, cringing at the piss-warm alcohol. He smacked the flies away from his empty can of soda that he used as an ashtray, and lit himself a cigarette, taking a long hard drag from it, and coughing a bit at the inhale required to stomach the smoke.

After his cigarette was a shower, water that was just a bit warmer than the room he was in, more of an act of comfort than actually cleansing mindfulness. He washed his hair with some strange African shampoo his mom had gotten him under the pretense of it being "Made for black hair, like yours!" See, he had been adopted at about 13, after his birth father had been killed in a police shoot-out his mother had been deemed insufficient to raise a child, so he was moved into the state foster system where he stayed for two years. His foster parents of spent their entire life trying to make him as comfortable with the racial differences between him and the others in the neighborhood as possible.

After his morning routine at home, he made his way towards the school, seeing the same red car drive by that he saw every day he walked, although despite knowing of Alexis's existence for the past three years, he had never made an attempt to reach out to her, as he wasn't really too big on talking to other people. As he continued to walk, his phone rang with a loud buzz, he swiped open the phone to see an invitation to some party that was happening at the park. He responded affirmatively, confirming that he would be there, but that he just had to make it through the school day.

Fourth block had just ended, and he was turning a corner when.
"Shit."
He grunted as he hit the floor, some brunette chick standing over him, apologizing profusely as well as introducing herself. Man this bitch can ramble. He thought as he picked himself up, ignoring her outstretched hand.
"Shit's cool man, call me Ved."
He stated quickly, mainly just to stop her from talking. His voice rang with a deep accent, the type most people in the area would call 'Ebonics' or some other bullshit like that. He'd never been the greatest fan of the school system he was placed in, although he appreciated the chance at a fairly quality education, he was aware that it simply wasn't the fit for him. His plan was to be working-class, and support himself or his family through old-fashioned labor, not paper pushing at some corporate office and making more money than he knew what to do with.
"Just watch where you goin' next time."
He continued as he leaned down a bit, picking up his last book to discover that he had landed on the book, ripping the spine down the center and causing several pages to fall out. And as luck would have it, the book happened to be the most expensive copy out of his entire library of textbooks. It would take a weeks pay just to replace this book, not to mention the price his parent's would make him pay for being so irresponsible.

The day was dragging by extremely slowly Jay thought to himself as he mindlessly doodled in his notebook, the droning voice of Mrs Riggs floating about in the back of his mind. He had enjoyed Chemistry up until this year, of the sciences it had the most lab work and who doesn't like putting a test tube of god knows what over a Bunsen burner and waiting to see if it explodes, however this year he had been moves to Mrs Riggs class, the old bat seemed to think that reading paragraph after paragraph in her monotone drone was the way to teach and worse, if she caught you not paying attention she'd give you detention!? thinking of that he should probably pay just a little more attention...
"The nanotube naming scheme can be thought of as a vector in an infinite graphene sheet that describes how to 'roll up' the.."
Is that even chemistry?!
The bell rang saving Jay from further deliberations, he picked up his bag from by his feet and joined the rush for the door. In the corridor he joined the flow of people that were heading outside, he was meeting Carrie out front before they went off to find some food and then plan their night.
Two people collided and as scattered textbooks hit the ground Jay joined the quiet laughter that immediately broke out in the crowded corridor, he stepped around the obstruction and continued on his way.