Clearwater [Mikey Way]

The glass car window is cool against my forehead as I don't even bother pretending to listen to the cop in the front seat telling me how much fun I'll have.

"You love music," He tells me "You'll love it here. Make some friends and maybe it'll steer you straight." He says with undeniably fake optimism.

They all know I'm just another no-hoper.

He lets out another exasperated sigh and looks at me in the rear-vision mirror.

"Please try, Missy. I don’t want to see a girl as smart as you rotting away and juvie." He says with a straight face.

This time, I let out a sigh and shake my head.

"Jack, I would have preferred juvie over this. I'm gonna be stuck with some stuck up concert band kids for three months. That doesn’t exactly sound like a fucking Mayday Parade." I say, smiling to myself at my own little pun.

Jack just sighs yet again and we drive through the wooden gates and up a long driveway to a small clearing surrounded by trees and with four dirt paths branching off from a large wooden cabin thingy.

People everywhere.

I smirk to myself.

This has got to be the best entrance ever.

I don’t think any of these stupid rich kids got here in the back of a cop car.

I look out the window and smirk.

People everywhere watching the car with interested eyes.

I decide to make an entrance.

I grab my dark aviator sunglasses that hang of my shirt more than they're on my face and slip them on before opening the door.

I follow Jack with a slight smile gracing my lips as I walk with the dirt crunching under my feet and the gazes of the other camp-goers following me.

I'm a long way from home, too.

I don’t even remember where the hell this is supposed to be.
I mean, there's a sign on the gate that says Lake Clearwater: school for the musically talented but I don’t exactly see this as a school.


***


While Jack was talking to Magda, the woman that runs this place, I decide to take a walk outside and see what goes on in this place but, as it turns out, word had gotten out that I was coming and the rumours of why were spreading like wildfire.

I glance around at the seemingly-terrified faces of the other kids, my smirk still clear.

The people couldn’t have made the fact that they were whispering about me anymore obvious.

As I start walking down one of the roads, I hear one girl whisper "I heard she shot her own brother three times in the chest" to her friend.

You seriously couldn’t have come up with ANYTHING better than that?
Oh well, I can still stir some shit with that.

I turn and walk to her, putting my face about two inches from hers.

"Get your facts straight. I stabbed him three times." I whisper and move a piece of hair behind her ear while she watched me with terrified eyes. "he had it coming." I say, making her whimper slightly.

"W-Why?" She stutters, making me smirk even more.

This is exactly what I had planned.
I will RULE this place.

I smirk and move close to her ear, she could probably feel my breath.

"He crossed me." I whisper so that she will only hear before walking off in the same direction I was.

I don’t even bother looking back to see what I did.
I can hear her friends trying to calm her down.

The only thing that makes me stop dead in my tracks and mid-step is…

"MISTIQUE."

I flinch when I hear Jack call my name and not in his happy voice.
Not at all.

I try not to show my fear though.
He fucking freaks me out.

"How many times have I told you, Its Missy. MISSY." I call back, walking back to him.

I decide to be a real smartass and blow the blonde big eyes bitch I had traumatized a kiss on the way.

Jack is not amused.

"Fine. Missy. You're needed." He says with a completely straight face.

"I didn’t notice." I call back sarcastically.

Its only now that I notice that everyone is completely silent.

I sigh and walk back up to the cabin and through the door, into an office with an older lady named Magda.

She looks at me seriously.

"Not even half an hour here and you've made a fellow camper cry." Jack told me and I couldn’t help but snicker.

He glares at me.

"This isn't something to laugh at. You're here on a favour. It's this or juvie and I don’t want to see your talent go to waste, okay? I'm trying to help you!" He says but not angrily.

Jack's a nice guy.
He wouldn’t hurt a fly.
He's just really intimidating.

I sigh and nod.

"I know, man… I'll try." I say truthfully.

He deserves that at least.
He's been around since my dad died to make sure I was safe.
That was his promise to my father.

He stands up and smiles slightly.

"Good girl. Now, try and have some fun here. I'll see you in three months." he says.

He gives me a hug before leaving.

Magda give me a smile and looks down at the papers in her hands.

"Okay… You're sixteen, right?" She asks and I nod.

"And a half." I say, making her chuckle.

"Okay. Sixteen and a half and you play…?" She trails off, waiting for me to answer.

I smile slightly and shrug.

"Nothing you'd have here." I say with a stubborn tone.

She chuckles.

"Let me guess… You play everything but concert band instruments. So, Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Drums." She says.

I let a small smile slip.

"Impressive." I say "You're spot on."

She nods, a small smile on her face.

"I'll put you with…." She trails off again.

She does that a lot.

"Hmmm… come on." She says, standing up and leading me outside.

Most of the people are gone but there are a few left.

Actually, most of them have some kind of guitar case on their back.

Cool.

I pull my bag single shoulder bag filled with everything I own further up on my shoulder and put my guitar case on my back with the straps and follow her.

As I said, many of the people from before had left and the people that were left didn’t seem to care that I was here.

I roll my eyes and follow Magda over to a shorter girl with black hair and bright red bangs.

She looks at me for a second then smiles wide.

"Hey! You're the one that terrified Taylor!" She says and sticks her hand out "I'm Sammi. Who are you?"

I smile and shake her hand "Missy." I say.

Magda smiles at the two of us.

"Sammi, Missy over here will be staying in C15 with your little friend. Could you show her there?" She asks

Sammi nods.

"Uh, Yeah." She says with a grin.

Magda nods and walks away without a second word and Sammi looks at me.

She takes my bag off my shoulder for me and put it over her own. "Come on." She says and gestures for me to follow.

***
"The great part about this place is that there's no girls dorm and guys dorm. You sign a thingy to say if you get knocked up, it's your own damn fault," She says, giggling a little.

I smile slightly "I guess that's good. I won't have to stay with some stupid annoying bitch."

Sammi shakes her head with a grin

"Nope. I know the guy you're stuck with and he's awesome. I'm actually staying with his older brother. You'll be okay." She says with a comforting smile.

We walk up to a beaten up wooden door and she turns to me.

"This is you. You know, you're not as scary as everyone makes you out to be. They don’t even know you. Like, at all anyway." She says, still wearing her smile.

I smile back and shrug. "If you're nice to me, I'm nice to you. Is as simple as that." I say and she smiles.

She nods and shakes her head all at once (Don’t ask how) and bangs on the door. "Catch ya later, Mikes!" She calls before walking away with a wave to me.

There was a tired sounding response from inside.

I take a deep breath before opening the door.

I'm running this place, remember?
I'll be okay.

With that thought I open the door and walk into the dark room.

Notes