Taking Chances (re-write)

I blinked slowly, letting my tired eyes adjust to the light. My bed felt like a warm cloud trying to swallow me whole. But today was my first official day of college, there was no time to sleep in. I yawned loudly and rolled out of bed to get ready for class. I rubbed my face sleepily as I dragged my feet over to my bathroom door, pushing it open blindly. Bending over to turn the faucets, I leaped back as icy water splashed onto the back of my neck. As I blinked myself fully awake, I quickly got undressed and stepped into the now steamy shower.

My body was pale, but you could still easily see the light lattice of lace-like scars covering the soft skin as it stretched over my lean muscles. I was slim, but by no means was I weak. My size hid my strength well, and I had often used that to my advantage. People had a habit of underestimating me. Although, with that said, my personality was a lot softer than my body. I was used to my scars by now. My fingers barely felt them as I rushed to get clean. I was finished in no time and they didn’t get as much as a thought.

I walked over to the closet, drying myself briskly. I tried to towel dry my hair; I almost wished I owned a hair dryer, with how thick it was. It always took way too long to dry. I opened the doors to reveal a wardrobe consisting almost entirely of black, with occasional exceptions of white or red. Digging through it was a confused mix of “Is it this folded black shirt? No… This one? Nope…” for a good few minutes before I found what I wanted. I pulled on a red long-sleeved shirt, then a Black Sabbath tee over it. I stepped into black skinnies and my favorite black converse. I was almost ready to take on the world.

As I made my way across the room, I ran my hands through my damp black hair. I made a face, muttering about needing to get it cut again. It was brushing the tops of my shoulder. It did make me look kind of bad ass though. I sighed as I reached my art table, it was a mess. But it didn’t take me long to scoop the supplies I would need into my backpack.

Throwing my bag over one shoulder, and my guitar case over the other, I made my way into the passage and down the stairs. I stopped just before I reached the bottom. I only had to wait a moment before I heard the familiar sound of mom humming in the kitchen. I smiled contentedly and took the last steps to the sitting room floor; today felt like a good day. As I walked to join Mom in the kitchen, I didn’t bother to question why.

Mom was a small woman, barely over five foot four; she was extremely petite as well. Although she looked healthier after gaining some weight over the last few years. We had the same glossy black hair, and soft hazel eyes. The little lines near her eyes and the corners of her mouth hinted that her expression hadn't always been so happy and contented. Our lives hadn’t always been so easy. I kissed her on the cheek as a good morning gesture and gladly accepted the fresh cup of coffee she offered me. She knew me so well.

“Morning Momma,” I smiled at her, leaning against the counter next to the sink. I took a gulp of my coffee, almost finishing it, before hugging her thanks. We had always been very close; we had always been through so much together. She hugged me back hard. As I stepped back, she gently gripped my face in her dainty hands and pulled me down to press a soft kiss to my forehead.

“Want me to drive you in today, Franks? I don’t start work for another hour.” She smiled her awesome mom smile, and I was again reminded how grateful I was for our new life.

“No thanks, mom; Mikey is picking me up today. He has something he wants to talk about on the way. He sounded pretty excited.” I said as I finished my coffee. She smiled and nodded before answering.

“In that case, you had better hurry, he should be here any minute.” I beamed at her and kissed her cheek again before turning for the door and stepping outside. The air here was hot but I didn’t mind. I shut the door behind me and started down the long driveway through our beautiful front yard. It had a pretty flagstone path winding to the front door, thick green grass, and at least three or so big trees. This was a really nice neighborhood; much better than anywhere else we had lived.

Just before I reached the roadside, Mikey sped up in his bright red Chevy sports car. I had no idea what it was called but hey, cars were his things, not mine. He hoped out to take my guitar case off my shoulder and gently laying it next to his own on the back seat. He was grinning and bubbly, clearly excited. He gave me a quick hug as we said good morning; we had been friends ever since I moved here a year ago. We had met in senior year of high school, and it had been the best year of my life. To think I had been so shy back then, yet here was my best friend: an excited extrovert who was positively jumping up and down right now.

“Geez, Mikez, calm down. What’s got you all fired up anyway?” I asked teasingly. He just laughed it off as we climbed into his car. I clicked in my seat belt, and reached over to turn on his car radio. Mikey grabbed my wrist gently, stopping me short. He was still glowing with excitement.

“So, you already decided on a double major, right?” Mikey asked.

“Yeah…” I said slowly, giving Mikey a questioning look. What was he getting at?

“You’re starting with art today though?” Mikey’s golden-brown eyes were shinning with humor. I gave him a teasingly worried look, as he started his car and pulled away from the curb.

“Yeah, man. You know I am. Why?” I asked, getting more confused by the second. Mikey and our other best friend, Ray, were notorious throughout high school for their pranks on teachers. They were always elaborate, cunning, and extremely clever. Although, they also tended to be rather destructive. Other students were sometimes caught up in it by mistake.

“So what have you heard about the modern arts teacher?” Mikey glanced over at me. His driving was smooth and effortless. I thought over the stories I’d heard about our new school, watching the road slip past.

“I know he’s supposed to be really casual, not strict at all, and even a little eccentric.” I answered. Mikey nodded, and smiled like he knew way more than he was letting on. But Mikey’s excitement was contagious. I found myself looking forward to art. Even more so to what I assume Mikey and Ray had planned. Mikey pulled over slowly in front of a large brick townhouse, leaning over to open the door behind mine.

I looked up to see Ray with his long curly hair awry walking towards us. He was grinning as broadly as Mikey. As Ray ducked into the backseat, he hugged me from behind my seat, giving me a playful squish. Ray and Mikey fist-bumped and we all laughed at how geeky we are. Ray and Mikey shared a look that said they knew something that none of the rest of us did.

Ray was what most would consider tall, and Mikey was taller than average as well. And here I was, shorter by far than both of them. But I didn’t mind, they never made fun of me for it, or made me feel small. We pulled away from Ray’s house, headed towards college. Mikey used to pick us up most days in high school as well. I didn’t find it strange that I’d never been to his house, despite how long we’d been friends. He had his reasons. A little over a year ago, I never took anyone near my house, no matter how close we were. So, I totally understood it wasn’t personal.

* * * * * *
The whole drive through to college I tried everything to get Mikey and Ray to tell me what was so special about art today, other than the supposedly unusual lecturer. But of course they both stubbornly refused to tell. It was a surprise, they said. I resigned myself to wait, singing along to the music blaring out of the car stereo. The anticipation was only growing, however, when we pulled into the parking for the campus admin building.

Our year had a follow up to orientation with the vice dean before lectures began for the day, so we headed through into the main assembly hall and took seats at the back of the room. Mr. Ryann stalked in shortly after 8 o’clock, freezing all conversation like liquid nitrogen. No one liked Mr. Ryann. In fact all the students, and even some teachers, we had spoken to had described him as a strict, unfair, aggressive man who enjoyed dishing out suspensions as well as other punishments far too much. He gave us an icy glare and began his start-of-semester speech in a clipped, biting tone.

“You lot are now students, and representatives of this fine establishment.” Looking down on us, he looked as if he had smelled something distasteful. He paced up and down in front of us as he continued. “You need to set an example. I do not want to have any of you-“ His eyes landed on me and my friends and I tried hard not to laugh aloud; he had a good eye for trouble makers. “-to go running around ruining this school’s reputation.

“Now! We have a few ground rules I will be reiterating. Firstly, no drinking on campus! No weapons, we have our own campus security. There will be no vigilantes among you.” The anger in his eyes made me think clearly something incredibly entertaining had led to the creation of that specification. “And most importantly, there will be NO fraternization between students and staff. No exceptions! You’re dismissed.” Mr. Ryann gave us a chilling look and walked offstage through the side door while we filled out of the hall like chastised children.

Mikey, Ray, and I didn’t let it get us down though. We continued to talk and laugh; we had plans to make this year as memorable as possible. The speech hadn’t taken as much time as we thought, so we headed to the campus café for a morning java before lectures began. As we made our way across campus, we talked about all manner of dumb things, occasionally teasing Mikey when he was distracted by a nearby girl.

I felt so content to be here with them. There was nowhere else I’d rather be. It had been difficult starting at a new school in senior year, and a great number of people tried messing with me; either for being small, gay, or punk. Take your pick. They certainly did. But soon Ray and Mikey had stepped up and appointed themselves my guardians. Walking me to and from classes and dealing with bullies until I was strong enough to do so myself, we forged a strong bond and were never found far from each other.

The campus café was a little crowded; the other students had clearly had the same idea we did. It was basically a starbucks, but on a much tighter budget. It was cozy, and loud, just like a good coffee shop should be. We ordered our drinks from a sweet blonde barista and made our way through the throng to a table near the windows.

That’s when he walked past. I couldn’t help but stare! All I could think was “Wow…” I was honestly stunned. This man was stunning! His bright, fire truck red hair fell into his eyes in a sexy-messy kind of way, making it look almost like sex hair. And by the way he moved you could easily see that he was sure of himself.

He glanced at his phone, before stepping into the café. Looking up at the menus, he ran a slim fingered hand through his hair, making it even sexier. His skin was as beautiful as porcelain, pale without being pallid. I knew I was staring but I also knew I wasn’t the only one. Even from here I could see his eyes were a rich moss green; there was a mischievous light in them. He was wearing an untucked white button up shirt with a loosely hung red tie, and a V-neck black jersey that just reached the top of his tight black jeans. The beautiful man turned to place his order, facing him away from me.

I knew I shouldn’t but I couldn’t help but check out his ass. My eyes roved over his body, while Mikey and Ray chatted away. He turned around from placing his order, an electric smile still gracing his perfect lips. The man walked over to a nearby table and sat with a group that looked like lecturers or teachers aids. He was a couple tables away but I could see his profile clearly. He was very animated as he talked, his expressions telling and intriguing… captivating…And his voice! It didn’t even matter what he was saying. I was so blown away by his voice. It was melodic, hypnotic, and truly breathtaking.

I snapped out of it when Mikey nudged me, a knowing grin plastered across his face.

“What dude?” I asked. He just nodded over to the table where the redhead had been sitting. As I turned to look back, I was pleasantly surprised to see the gorgeous redhead standing next to me, with his hands on his hips, and a seriously sassy attitude. God, I think I’m in love!

“Staring is rude,” he chastised, a small frown marring his agonizingly beautiful face. I flashed him my brightest bad boy smile before answering,

“What a waste. Here I thought art was made to be admired.”

Notes

So, I've changed this a lot but the core concept will remain the same. I'll have another chapter up soon
Let me know hat you think guys, I love me some feedback.

Rock 'n Roll, Pansies
Keep running <3