If Red Means No, Invert The Color

Chapter 1

Kieran's POV

A train.

That's the best way I can describe the sound of my alarm clock that was currently blaring through my bedroom and raping my ears. I raise my right arm, the left was currently tucked underneath my pillow, my blanket falling to my shoulder, and repeatedly slam my fist on my bedside table until I eventually managed to turn off that infuriating sound. Sweet silence surrounded me, the only sound audible to my ears was the birds outside of my open window. Goosebumps spread their way down my arm like marbles at the exposure to the cool air-conditioning that my bedroom provided. I shuddered at the thought of my whole body being exposed to this deadly cold, racking my brain for any way i could think of to not leave my cocoon of bed sheets. But, unfortunately, I had school to attend to in less than an hour.

I threw my blanket aside with my free arm, my left arm pushing me up and into a sitting position as I finally opened my eyes, temporarily blinding myself. I looked around my bedroom and then down to my phone, it sat on my bedside table, plugged into it's charger, the screen illuminated to reveal the time: 6:45am. I groaned, my voice oddly resembling a cat stuck in a ceiling fan lodged somewhere deep in my chest, and let my feet drop to the floor. I winced as the bare soles of my feet touched the ice cold hardwood floors that made up the base of our little 2 bedroom one bathroom apartment. I could feel my skin crawling as I stood up, my head feeling foggy; I hated mornings. I, not so graciously, made my way over to my dresser, stumbling over quite a few piles of clothes as well as a guitar case, and picked out my clothes for today. My outfit included black socks, a band t-shirt, ripped worn blue jeans, boxers, and a red and black flannel; the usual. I gathered the outfit into my arms and quickly made my way across the hall to the bathroom.

Me and my mother's shared bathroom was small; only consisting of a one-person sink, one cabinet, one toilet, and one shower, all in one 5ft by 5ft room.

The bathroom tiles were even colder than the hardwood, making the thought of a shower almost orgasmic. I placed my clothes in a pile in the sink and took off my night clothes; aka a pair of boxers. Standing on the tips of my toes, I started the shower tap and hopped in, only letting my hand waver under the water flow until the water went from ice cold to lava warm. Stepping under the tap, i turned my back to the water, letting the steaming liquid flow through my hair, detangling and washing the sweat away from sleep. I grabbed my bottle of store-brand shampoo and lathered it into my scalp, sighing at the feeling of it; it soothed me. I reach for the bar of soap blindly, finding it quickly but, knocking my mother's shaver down to the shower floor in the process. Waiting for the shampoo to set a minute, I quickly begin scrubbing at my skin with the cracked bar of soap, being wary of my bruises that rested on my chest from yesterday's fall off my bike. It's weird to think I could have died yesterday when I fell, but the thought didn't bother me at all, oddly enough. I guess i've come so close, so many times, that it simply doesn't get to me anymore. I probably should wear a helmet though.

I emerge from my shower in a cloud of steam, wrapping the only clean towel left around my waist and wiping away the fog on the mirror to see my reflection. My black curls sat in a mop on top of my head, falling slightly above my eyelids. Dark circles rimmed my chocolate brown eyes, my cheeks hollow, a large purple bruise on the right side of my jawbone, standing out against my pale skin. My bottom lip was busted, a dark red scab was now forming. I resembled a corpse, to put it bluntly. My silver lip ring that rested in the middle of my lip was dented slightly, pressing down into my skin. 'I guess my bike beat me up good, I should probably watch the road better' I think to myself as I inspect my new bruise. Unfortunately, the lip was caused by a different incident involving a certain little shit that had the audacity to leave his skate board in the road, causing me to crash my bike. Luckily, my bike was okay. I was becoming rather sickly looking, I oddly looked a lot like a vampire from Twilight, with how thin I had become and how pasty my skin looked. I can't remember the last time I slept a full night, or slept peacefully in general, let alone the last time I had a proper meal. I guess I've been too busy lately to join my mother for dinner.