Freak (Troyler AU)

Chapter Three

*Troye's POV*

"Mom says you have five minutes to get out of bed or you're not getting breakfast. They're Nutella pancakes." Sage sung the last sentence, dancing around my room annoyingly. I grumbled under my breath, fumbling around until I found a throw pillow I wasn't using, and chucked it at her. 

"Mom! Troye's throwing things at me!" She screamed, running off to go tell on me. I just rolled my eyes, rubbing them as I sat up. I felt the blankets fall onto my lap and shivered at the cool September air. 

It is way too early to be awake.

That is the only thought that ran through my mind as I got up and stumbled toward my bathroom. This was one of those mornings I was very glad we each had our own bathrooms, because I was not in the mood for interacting with humans, much less fighting over bathroom privileges. I glanced in the mirror, physically cringing at the sight before me. I looked like I'd gotten into a scuff with a transfer truck, but that wasn't entirely unusual for morning Troye. Aside from being a freak of nature, I also pride myself in having horrid nightmares every single night. Yeah, I know, I'm a piece of work. 

I practically throw myself into the shower, relishing in the feeling of the hot water on my back. This was exactly what I needed. I still wanted to murder everyone I encountered, but at least I'd look and feel good while doing so. I grabbed the shampoo, using the bottle as a microphone like always. I loved singing more than anything else, it was just such a stress-reliever and mood-lifter. That said, I never sang anywhere but the shower. Do you have any idea how nerve-wracking it is to know exactly what people think about your voice? It matters too much to me to hear negative opinions. I don't think I could take it. Even around my family I'm cautious. Sure, they'd say out loud I was good, but that was just an implied thing family did. Would their true opinions match up to it? I didn't know, but I was too much of a wimp to risk finding out. 

"Troye! Your food is getting cold!" I heard Sage screech from the hallway, pounding against the wall like some kind of animal. For how much she liked to be thought of as lady-like, she did an awful bad job acting it. I rinsed the last of the conditioner out, whimpering when I inevitably got some in my eyes.

"Fuck." I groaned, tripping over the side of the tub as I got out. Thankfully I caught my footing before I face-planted, by grabbing onto the sink. I rubbed my eyes until it was safe to open them again, staring blankly at the man standing in the mirror. 

"Troye!" She was screaming now and I had to wonder why she didn't just give up. Didn't she know by now I wasn't going to make it to school on time? I purposely took extra time every morning actually, for the sole purpose of missing the bus. My mother suspected it was on purpose, constantly lecturing me about what an unnecessary waste of money it was to drive myself everyday. What she didn't know, was that it was completely necessary. Do you know how crowded it is on a bus? How many times people brush against you? It was one thing having one person close enough to intrude my mind, but having that many in an enclosed space was overwhelming. It wasn't just one odd thought, it was all of them, bouncing around the metal walls like some sort of shaken can of monkeys. Some people didn't like crowds so they avoided them, I genuinely couldn't handle crowds of any type, so I avoided them. 

I'd come up with a lot of simple strategies to make sure I did too. I arrived to all my classes early to avoid hallway traffic, went to the small convenience store to avoid crazed shoppers, and never ever left the house during holiday season. It was insane basically anywhere around the time of year. People just didn't want to be locked up in the house with all that Christmas joy flying around I guess. Christmas time in general was far from a joyous time from me. I cringed, remembering the last time I'd actually done anything other than leave my room near December 25th. Wow, it'd be ten years this year. Ten years since I realized I wasn't normal. Ten years since I hid away from the world. Ten years since I lost the only friend I've ever really had.