Stone looked at the clock, wiping the sleep from his eyes. It was almost already time to get up and set for school. He didn't even remember when he had fell asleep. His television was on, stuck on the screen of press start.
Stone felt of his lips. It was all just a dream? It felt all so real, the feeling of Mike's lips on his. It was odd, considering the dream was so detailed, and felt all so real.
Stone pulled himself into a sitting position, being easy with his leg. The sight of his Marlboro's sitting on the table instantly made him want a drag. Despite his mother constantly telling him not to smoke in his room, he lit one up anyway.
Laying his head back against his pillows, Stone replayed the dream in his head. He could feel his cheeks heat up at the thought of kissing Mike. A smile crossed his face, as he thought of it again and again.
"What the hell are you so smiley about?" His friend asked from the doorway. Stone jumped so hard he thought he would fall off the bed.
"You scared the hell out of me." Stone sighed, putting out his cigarette in his ashtray. Kim chuckled.
"Sorry, man. Whats up with all the smiles?" Kim asked.
"Stone, honey, get up and get ready it's- Stone! How many times have I told you not to smoke in here?" His mother asked, flicking the light on.
"Sorry, mom." Stone mumbled under his breath.
"Kim's here to take you to school. Do you need help getting ready?" She asked while she lifted the window, wanting the cigarette smell gone.
"No, I can help myself."
"I've already got your clothes picked out. You were asleep so I didn't wake you." She said, grabbing the clothes off of Stone's dresser and laying them on the bed next to him.
"Thanks."
"Don't take too long, or you'll be late. I have to get to work. I'll see you this evening."
Stone's mother planted a kiss on his forehead. On our way out, she planted a kiss on Kim's cheek.
"Take your time. I know how you boys like driving fast. Stone doesn't need another broken leg."
Kim grinned. "I'll take care of him, Ms. Gossard. Just like he's my own."
"Says the worst driver ever." Stone mumbled with a laugh.
"Hey, I ain't that bad." Kim defended.
"Don't look while I put my clothes on." Stone said.
"Why would I want to?" Kim joked, turning around to where he was facing the wall.
Stone got ready for school, managing to get his clothes on himself, and the boys headed on their way.
At the school, Chris sat alone on the bleachers, looking down at his feet. He was still upset over what happened with his father, and his lip was still in pain, not to mention how annoying the swelling was.
His heart felt broken. Even though he had gotten what he wanted, which was Eddie going to the dance with him, there was still so many problems there. Chris had no family to love him. He had no mother, and basically no father. All he had was his little group of friends.
I'm so hopeless. Chris kept repeating in his head.
"Hey, Chris." He was greeted by his friend. Chris slowly looked up, making sure his hand was covering his lip, but played it off as if he were only holding his chin up.
"Hey. What're you guys up to?" Chris asked, as Kim and Stone took their seat next to him.
"Well, we managed to make it to school, and Kim only ran one red light." Stone said in a proud tone.
"No one was around anyway. We were perfectly safe." Kim defended himself.
Chris faked a laugh. He wasn't really in the mood to smile, laugh, or even much talk. It was getting time for the bell to ring, and Chris was wondering where Eddie was. He knew the sight of Eddie would lift his spirit, at least just a little. Anyone would be lifted from that beautiful smile.
"You okay?" Stone asked, noticing that Chris wasn't really his usual self. But Chris softly nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'm just tired. Had a restless night last night." Chris excused.
"Here comes your man." Kim said, nudging Stone.
Stone looked ahead, seeing that Mike had made it to school, and was slowly walking with his head down. Stone's cheek lit up a light shade, as he once again remembered that he had a dream of Mike.
"You're an idiot." Stone said.
"You're blushing." Chris chinned in, causing Stone's cheeks to turn even redder.
"Shut up, guys." Stone muttered.
The bell rang, but still no sign of Eddie. Chris' heart dropped just a little more. Maybe Eddie wasn't going to show up today.
The boy's headed on their way to class, but Chris stayed a little behind, hoping none of them noticed his lip, because he didn't really have an excuse to tell, and he didn't want to tell them the truth.
Chris headed down the hallway, just trying to make his way to his locker. The hallways were pushing over with people, and they all seemed to look right through Chris. His friends were already gone. He felt so alone.
Chris punched in his locker code, and began to shuffle through his messy locker, looking for his English book.
"Did you think I wasn't going to show up?"
Chris looked up, seeing that Eddie was standing over him. He was smiling, until he got a good look at Chris, and then his smile dropped, and Eddie also kneeled down next to Chris.
"What happened to your lip?"
Chris' cheeks lit a light shade of red. "I... I just had an accident. I-"
Eddie shook his head, standing back to his feet. "It wasn't an accident. Come on, come with me."
"Where are we going?" Chris asked, as he arose up to meet Eddie's level.
"We're going to skip class. We need to talk."
"I can't skip class. I'll-"
"One class isn't going to hurt. You'll make it back up. Come on, we gotta be quick." Eddie said, taking Chris' hand in his.
"Where are we going?" Chris asked.
"Mom let me drive the car to school this morning." Eddie informed. The two walked out with ease, as the crowded hallway kept them hid.
The two rushed to the car, that was parked at the end of the parking lot. Eddie grabbed the key from his pocket, and unlocked the doors, before signaling Chris to get in the back, and Eddie crawled in behind him.
"What if we get caught?"
Eddie shook his head. "We won't. We're all the way out here. Now... talk to me."
"I don't... really know what to say." Chris sighed. He didn't want to look Eddie in the eyes, so he looked down at his lap.
Eddie frowned. Chris looked like a child that just lost his best friend. He could feel the hurt Chris was feeling. He could just tell from Chris' eyes that he was hurt, and by the way Chris was avoiding eye contact.
"Your dad, wasn't it?"
Chris nodded his head, staying quiet. He felt embarrassed, just because Eddie knew everything. Chris wished he could have a normal family, just like everyone else.
"It's okay to talk, you know. You can tell me anything, and it'll stay between us. You can cry if you want. And no one will know. Just us." Eddie whispered, slowly taking Chris' hand and lacing their fingers together.
"It just hurts, I guess," Chris sighed, "I just... feel stuck. I don't know what to do, Eddie. I feel so trapped and so... so alone."
"You don't need to feel alone, Chris. Hey, look at me," Eddie said, gently taking Chris' chin and lifting his head up until their eyes met, "I'm right here. You have me, Stone, Kim, Mike... we're all here, and we all love you."
Chris softly smiled, as his eyes were filling with tears. "I know, Ed. I just want a family to love me."
Eddie frowned, and pulled Chris into his arms. He couldn't really relate to Chris, but he knew how bad the situation Chris was in was. All he could do was hold Chris, and lend him a shoulder to cry on.
Eddie held Chris tight, gently rubbing his hand over Chris' back.
"It's okay, Chris. I'll get you out of there. You won't have to suffer forever."
"I try to be strong. It's so hard." Chris sobbed.
"I know, Chris, I know. But you're stronger than you think."
Chris sat with his head buried in Eddie's shoulder for a bit, letting himself cry, because he felt like it was okay to cry on Eddie. After a while, no more tears could come out, and Chris knew he had let everything out.
Chris pulled away from Eddie's shoulder, and wiped his eyes. "I got your jacket wet."
Eddie chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Do you feel better?"
Chris nodded. "Yeah... I guess I do."
"Are you excited for the dance?" Eddie asked, changing the subject, just to hopefully get a smile out of Chris, and that's just what he got, along with a blush.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. A-are you?"
Eddie smiled. "Of course. We'll have a great time."
Chris nodded his head. "Yeah, we will. And Eddie... thanks... for everything."
"Don't worry about it. I'm always here when you need someone, you know."
"Thanks." Chris said, laying his head against Eddie's shoulder.
Eddie was a little surprised, but still, he smiled, and wrapped his arms around Chris.