December Boys (BxB) | ✓

Chapter 13 - The Violet Hour

It was 6 am the next morning, and rain was pouring from the heavens. It was an almost poetic display of utter depression, with water sloshing through the streets and people scurrying from one shelter to another. If there was ever a day for brooding, today was it. 

I took shelter under the entry hall of December High as I waited for my ride to arrive. The world seemed to be moving at a snail's pace around me. An old lady across the street was making her way to the market with her walker, slowly shuffling along, gaudy bag dangling from her shoulder. I couldn't take my eyes off her and the bright yellow raincoat that protected her from the downpour. I myself was dripping, just slightly, as I'd forgotten both coat and umbrella at home.

I sighed, insides still shuddering every time my consciousness dared skirt the happenings of last night. I barely remembered my wild flight back home, the incredulous looks I'd gotten from passersby, and even my mom's angry voice upon my arrival. The one image that was burned into my retinas was the look on Lily's face as I'd rejected her. The scene had replayed in my brain over and over, from the second I got home until now. I hadn't gotten much sleep.

I was about to go into more self-deprecating mental acrobatics when a large bus rounded the corner and grounded to a halt in front of the school entrance. The vehicle was blue, had marine flags fastened to the mirrors, and the December High Dragons logo was plastered to its side. My heart sunk lower in my chest if such a feat was even impossible.

"Hey." A voice caught my attention, and turning around led me to Axel. He was standing a couple of steps away from me, holding a sports bag and a green umbrella in his grip. My umbrella, I recognized, remembering our meeting in the rain two weeks past. A meeting in which Lily had been...

"You ready?" he asked, interrupting my destructive brain. He wore a black Windstopper jacket and some jeans. 

"Sure," I lied. The last thing I wanted was to pour my heart out to Axel right now. My best bet was to pretend everything was fine and hold things together until I got back home. I picked my backpack up from the ground and stared at the bus, skepticism radiating off of me. That bus, and its destination, were the last places I wanted to be at this weekend. If it were up to me, I'd be in bed listening to Ed Sheeran right about now, worrying about Olivia assassinating me.

We entered the bus, which was empty and blissfully devoid of rowdy football players. The driver was a middle-aged man who seemed to hate teenagers. I couldn't blame him. He avoided our gazes and let us be, which suited me just fine on this bleak, depressing day. My first instinct was to grab a seat for myself, but I realized with horror that it would be better to sit with Axel on this trip. What kind of alternate reality had I fallen into? We shuffled along the rows of seats before Axel settled in the back near a window. He gave me a quizzical look as I slumped down in the seat next to him.

"Don't ask," I said.

The thing was, I didn't have much of a reputation with the football team. Back in second year, I'd pissed off Mr. White, sure, but my prank had also triggered other unforeseen consequences. Apparently, football teams were partial to their school's mascot, and sullying said mascot would land you in hot water with them. After brutally offending the captain, I made a point of avoiding their wing of the school building these days. Now the whole team hated me, and I was feeling more than a little jittery at the thought of tagging along on their field trip.

The bus doors opened with an electrical whirring sound, and soon after the vehicle was filled with the rowdy voices of the December High Dragons. I sank further into my uncomfortable seat, trying not to make eye contact with any of the players. Axel seemed unruffled as per usual and had popped his headphones on when I wasn't looking. He was staring blankly at the communal building across the street, no doubt fantasizing about kicking someone in the nuts, or whatever sick stuff he was into.