1 Chapter One: Senior Year

DISCLAIMER: Mature topics are mentioned throughout the book such as; strong language, substance abuse, physical abuse, self-deprivation, depression, suicide, and death. If the topics make you uncomfortable or you're under the age of 15, it is at your own risk to read further. This disclaimer will be seen once in the book, no warnings of listed topics will be mentioned in advance.

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There has always been a saying that's been floating around in my mind, ever since I heard it, I couldn't get rid of it. As if the words have a bigger meaning than they portray. They've helped me through many situations in my life and even if I didn't see the distant future, I knew my faith in them would push through. It always did, so why wouldn't they work now?

My name is Cronus D. Ampora and if you think this is a love story, well, your absolutely right. There are so many stories out there that provide a reader to fanaticize about a false reality, love is the largest genre I've seen so far, but I'm not complaining. Love can be a wonderful feeling full of trust, affection, and admired for the whispers of sweet nothings between the sheets. It can also lead to overwhelming desire, obsession, and darkness. Sadly all I can say at this point to as cliché as it seems; this is no ordinary love story nor a very pretty one to be exact. The truth always hurts to write, but I don't want to lie about this.

I've always been fascinated by the idea of romance, though it wasn't clear as day on my face. Reading and buying into the fantasies that only seem like fiction in my irises now, for me to be so pathetic back then it sickens me. I was the last one to be expected being pulled into the icy grip of love, but now that I think about it, maybe it was destiny. After all the hardships that followed after that day, it's molded me into the man I am today. So did my quote follow through once again in affect of my life, changing it ever so slightly for a different outcome.

"It's always the darkest before dawn."

Yes, I know what your thinking and I would have agreed with all of you back then. It's simple and cliché yet again, but as you all will soon know I am the master of clichés and my life is full of them all.

Those six words have ran my life and haven't faltered yet, but I want to start the story before I knew the meaning of that quote. Before I met the person who inspired me, before the madness that quickly followed after. It wasn't too long ago but as I remember so impressively, it was the start of my senior year in high school. The last year I so desperately wanted to be over and done with.

Without further delay, I hope you find interest in my story I finally have the courage to tell. -C.A.

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It was August, the month I dreaded with a passion. The air still thick with a warm breeze from the ever so slowly passing summer. I wished that it could stay for at least another two to three months tops, but of course mother nature is on a yearly schedule with no delays.

I loved the summer, from going to the beach, hanging out with my friends, and to just escape from my house was all heaven for me to enjoy shortly. When this month approaches, less and less things are available to entertain myself from reality and I start to feel suffocated. Luckily it's my final and last year of imprisonment then I can finally do something with my life. School isn't a problem by any means necessary, it's actually a thing I look forward to during the cold months. It's my living arrangements that make me want to just shoot myself then and there, but what would that do any good of?

I'm getting ready for the first day back to school. My mind was a little fuzzy due to staying up too late on my computer, maybe that wasn't a good idea in the first place, but I couldn't help the temptation of chatting with some fellow mates. We'll be seeing each other today, but swapping schedules seemed too important than sleep and patience.

To be completely fair to myself, my room was a total disaster, but I prepared what I was going to wear that night so I didn't have to be wandering around all this morning doing the sniff test.

I buckled up my jeans and slipped on a white tee-shirt. Classic but with a fairly 'I know what I'm doing.' kind of vibe. Going into the squared off bathroom down the hall, I was met with a black mess in the mirror. I gave a slight sigh before combing the strands back and gelled it into place. Comb, gel, repeat. The rhythm was going on smoothly until a voice from the side of me spoke up, catching my attention.

"You think that whole bottle would be gone by now."

I gave a small laugh, a final look over of my sculpting, and finally greeted my younger bother with a ruffle to his orange hair. "Ya think you should havwe gotten more taller by novw."

His eyes narrowed under the square shaped glasses as he slapped at my hand, "Don't be touchin' my hair, I already got it f-fixed and everythin'!" Both his hands went to frantically fix what I ruined which only caused me to shake my head.

"You're as bad as me, squirt. VWhy don't ya be less hypocritical next time." I glanced back into the mirror and stuffed the tooth brush in my mouth, greeting my senses with a bittersweet taste of mint.

"Whatever." There was a sigh, "You better be ready soon or we'll be late to school on the first day, dad w-wouldn't be too happy about that."

I paused for a second before spitting out the foamy residue, wiping my mouth on my hand, "Alright, you gotta point. Grab your shit an' lets go."

As the purple stripped haired boy disappeared out into the hall, I slipped back into my room to collect the more needed essentials for the day. Shoes, backpack, and my trusty leather jacket. The one thing I never left behind was that jacket. It was a gift a long time ago from someone fairly close to me. I still remember the fresh scent of leather and how heavy it was when I was just a tad smaller than my brother. How happy I was when I got it for my birthday even though it looked ridiculously huge on me, everyone was in a good mood that day, even my father which was surprising. It was also where happiness died, along with any other birthday plans in the future. That is something I'll never forget.

When we stepped out the door, the sun was already peaking just above the horizon, emitting faint colors that I sure appreciated every now and then. Yellow, orange, pink, and red. It was more of a relaxing painting being brought back to life by the summer ending months. I was greeted by a warm gust of wind, but not jacket warm. Of course the weather isn't going to stop me from proving a long devoted label I've easily earned at school. The jacket stays on.

As my brother and I travel down our caul-de-sac, my hands found safety in the pockets of the jacket. "So vwhy are ya so eager to be goin' to school all of a sudden? I could'vwe svworn last year I had to practically drag your ass out the door." And that was true.

"Well, it's my first day as a freshman!" His hands played with the thin straps of his backpack, "I've been waitin' to see what's all the fuss about this place ever since you started. Plus... I finally get to be in the same school as you again, even though it's your last year of it."

The words made a small smile appear on my face as I draped an arm around the smaller boys shoulders, "Good enough, an' I'm sure you'll do fine here just as I am. I'll shovw you the ropes an' stuff, might as vwell be the luckiest freshman ever on bein' related to me."

This made him look up at me, "How do you m-make friends and such like that?"

I shrugged, "It's all 'bout image. VWhat ya vwear to vwho ya wanna hang out with. Just choose your friends vwisely Eri, I don't vwanna bail ya out of trouble any time soon."

He nodded, hopefully taking the advice dished out by me. Though I do enjoy the thought of him being at the high school with me, saves me the early mornings I had to wake up just to drive him to school and I'll be able to have his back if anyone messes with him, but what I don't like is the fact that he's vulnerable and kids can be assholes. The only thing I've helped was to soften the impact by mentioning a few things to others in the past, no bad comments. I mean, he's a good kid with a head on his shoulders but even being related to someone as me with a good reputation, it's certainly obvious he'll be targeted. Poor kid doesn't know what's coming. I'll help to the best of my abilities if he screws anything up.

"Cronus, Eridan!" We both turn around to meet the wild eyes of Mituna, waving and jogging up next to my brother. His light brown hair was a bit more messier than normal, but who was to judge the lisping guy. The speech impairment actually isn't as bad as it was when we were in grade school. "Hows my two amigo's doing?"

"Good, Cronus just got discussin' what to do over at the high school." Eridan piped up and squeezed the grip he had on his backpack straps.

Mituna gave a weary look my way as if to question whatever I had spoken to him. I just shrugged, not liking to repeat myself, even to an old friend.

"Okay... Well... if anyone ever picks on you, be sure to tell me. Your bro and I got them, right Cronus?"

"Already makin' preparations my friend." I glanced down at my brother before returning my gaze to the familiar path to school and back.

I heard a laugh from Mituna, "See? You don't need to worry one bit."

Eridan mumbled some words I couldn't seem to make out, but I just assumed it was something along the lines of doubts of Mituna and I even doing what we were promising. What he doesn't know, is that I will keep my word, I haven't faltered on it yet. I've been practically raising him myself ever since I was fifteen and that's a long commitment I plan to do. He would be lost without me. With no good parent figures around, he looks up to me for guidance into this world and I can admit it's pretty stressful sometimes. I have to hide certain events from him, like the time I drank too much at a party, when I skipped a day just to avoid a test, and even my flings with certain girls. The more personal goal is to make sure he grew up knowing someone cared for him, the thing I always lacked.

After a few more minor discussions about schedules, Mituna's summer vacation, and my own freshman year, the school came to view. We walked in our little group of three down a deep curved hill to the main plaza. A flag pole was dead centered in the grey pavement, a piece of cloth waving freely with our school colors brightly designed on it. We were considered the Leaping Frogs, our colors white, grey, and green for now. Throughout my three years here, the mascot has been ever changing at least four times because of the animal freaks and protesters. I swear almost every an animal is endangered these days.

A few people were scattered around outside the building, most likely waiting for someone to arrive or enjoying the warm breeze. I made a seat on one of the cement steps, leaning an elbow on the cold railing. Eridan quickly followed and sat next to me a bit tense. I could see his nervousness from his body language, making me shake my head and redirected my gaze at the busses full of kids that are slowly arriving.

"I'm gunna go see Tulip over there." Mituna nodded his head towards the dark brown, long haired girl chatting it up with a few others in a circle, before walking away. "See you at lunch!"

I rolled my eyes at my love struck friend as he greeted her with a simple kiss, jumping into a conversation with others around. They've been dating for about two summers now, and it's been difficult not to include Mituna in any sort of activities we used to do. Latula, Tulip for short, always comes first before he decides anything. I don't understand how his mind was manipulated by her like that, but I have no intentional problems with them dating either. Mituna looks... Happy. He's idiotic to start anything serious in high school, but that's just my opinion.

I felt Eridan tug at my jacket, "Why are w-we just sittin' here? Aren't you supposed to go inside?" His voice was to the point of whining, but I simply gave a sigh short winded sigh.

"VWhen you have friends, they expect ya to vwait for 'em." I explained my reasoning, "But I kinda promised to introduce you to an old friend of mine. He's pretty chill an' all, plus he has a younger brother that's startin' new here too."

"Expectin' me to befriend a guy I barely even know?" His brows furrowed at me like what I said was an impossible task to accomplish.

My eyebrows raise, side glancing the younger sibling. "It's just a thought Eri, maybe you'll like 'em."

Eridan scoffs and folds his arms in front of his chest, "Or maybe I'll just stick to hangin' out w-with you."

"Fine. I vwon't force ya, but you're still meetin' him."

He sighed before nodding in response. Why he is so stubborn, I have no clue. Hopefully he wasn't taking after our father in any way besides the obvious looks. Both of us are almost like an mirror image of his youth years, but the major difference was personality wise being complete opposite. I thank whoever created the universe for that up side.

There was a drastic increase of teenagers and pre-teens filling onto the empty spaces of the cement, which only meant the busses have decided to release students. I stood up and Eridan copied, shuffling close to me and keeping a hand attached to my backpack for safe measures. The kid really didn't have any self-reliance anymore...

My eyes scanned the crowd for a particular familiar face, but no luck. There were many faces that changed during the summer, as if puberty couldn't get any worse for these kids and especially the new comers. Being a veteran in high school, I could practically spot out the freshman and even a few kids who started late. Possibly sophomore or junior, lets just hope they find their click soon.

It started to seem like he wasn't coming to school today, which was what he did most of our sophomore years, but hopefully he isn't that foolish anymore.

I decided to just go inside after a few minutes of waiting. He missed his chance and I have no patience to deal with taking my brother late to class because of the dimwit. There was a constant tug on my backpack reminding me that Eridan was still with me, and the responsibility still lingers.

"Eri, schedule." I extended a hand behind me and a piece of paper was placed there. I scanned the green colored paper, trying to remember the path to his class. His first period was physical science and I cringed at the thought of doing that in the mornings, but luckily the room two-nineteen was close. As I took a step, the tug was a bit more forceful, making me turn around to face the freshman, "VWhat?"

His gaze floated around as he studied the other students around us, "What about lockers?"

There was a brief pause before I ran a hand down my facial features, "Ya don't need to use the lockers, that's vwhat your backpack is for."

"Then w-what's the use of them if you don't need them!" It seemed that this source of information annoyed him, "This locker system is stupid."

"Indeed so." I agreed and dispatched our way to his homeroom.

He could have used the lockers like any other freshman, but I really didn't want to waste any time explaining how to use them when that's basically what homeroom is going to do the next day or so. He'll get it sooner or later, just takes practice.

We approached the homeroom finally after having to fight up the stream of other freshman. It's kind of hilarious when your surrounded by smaller beings, sticking out like a sore thumb, but Eridan's expression says otherwise. He glanced into the science room with caution, as if some terrifying creature were to leap out at him.

"Well well well, what do we have here? It's an Ampora reunion!" Eridan jumped a bit at the sudden voice, but I knew who it was. He flashed a white smile and ran his fingers through his black and red tipped mohawk. He was always a fan of the bad boy look, even in a younger age. He surely pulls it off great.

"Yo Cro, long time no see." There was a hint of bitterness in her tone, but her eyes looked amused as she scanned the one beside me through her fake glasses. My lips pursed, redirecting my gaze elsewhere when a few memories started to bubble up my mind. Her crop top wasn't really helping my thoughts either, but who was I to comment on her behalf. " Who's the shrimp?"

"Rufioh, Meenah..." I gave a second glance to the girl beside him before placing a hand on my brothers head, "This is my brother. Eridan, these are my buddies."

Rufioh's grin widened a bit as he gave a pat on Eridan's shoulder before crossing his arms, "Welcome to highschool little dude! You've got one hell of a bro, let me tell you that."

"A spittin' image, scary even." Meenah spoke up and raised her eyebrow, "And what's up with the purple hair thing?"

The younger boy's gaze looked own at his shoes, "Um... It's just... I w-wanted to." He mumbled, barely audible but heard. The awkwardness towards them was a bit unbearable for my liking.

My hand moved off his head and I gave a small smile at the two, "Well, it compliments him. I think he looks pretty cool if I say so myself."

"Yeah," Rufioh piped up as he ran a hand through his red Mohawk, "I'm already thinking of going purple myself!"

A small, but nervous smile crept upon Eridan's lips as he looked up to the other dyed hair guy in admiration. The smile was contagious for me as I mouthed a 'Thank you' to my friend and checked my watch. I believe he'll be okay here, but I'm not going to be late to class on the first day of school. Maybe next week, but not today.

I waved off Rufioh and gave a simple glare to the smirking girl in that pink crop top. Her eyes were flashing amusement to my reaction, and she knows it was a new nerve. She was the most manipulative and evilly perfect skinned girl I knew, and she had me at her grasp for years. It was frustrating to say the least about this affair, but I did make a promise to myself on not being a victim on her sly smile anymore.

As I casually took glances around the familiar halls of the school, I slipped past a few people and into the math wing. I have no idea who's evil plan was it to place seniors into an early morning Trigonometry class, but I hope they're happy. It could be the faculty, menacingly laughing at the wrongdoing they have caused.

No, maybe a sinister giggle.

I walked into the classroom to join the other tired-looking yet socially active seniors alike. There were conversations of summer trips, schedule changes, and new phones but I couldn't relate to any of those things. My sight glided across the chatting teens and froze on a particular person, my heart skipping a beat. Who was he and why haven't I seen him around the school before?

A red sweater boy sat quietly at a front row desk, farthest from the teacher and closest to the door. His hands were folded together and his posture was strait, making it seem as if he's alert. The dark brown curls of his hair was neatly whipped into a cowlick, complementing his caramel skinned complexion. I had no idea how long I stood nor stared at him, and not even the bit of memory to how I ended up in the empty seat behind him.

All I knew at this point, he was obviously new and I have a goal to find out who he was.