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Pretty Tied Up; A Guns 'n Roses story; Izzy/Axl (slash)
Topic Started: June 11, 2012, 7:40 pm (2,328 Views)
Dave's Girl
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Sanity is entirely overrated...
[ * ]
Thanks for reading, everyone! This chapter is in William's POV. :)

@Wishful: I agree! Izzy is probably the only one who can help Axl right now. ^^
@The Cosmic Gerbil: I agree that Iz is very brave to be able to talk to Axl. I probably just would have run away because I'm really shy. :P Thanks for reading!
@Lilith: Yup, poor Axl had such a horrible life. I think he will eventually learn that Iz is a true friend even though it's going to take a lot of time. Thanks for the review!

Chapter XII

He's kinda weird. Wait, fuck that, he's really weird. Who am I talking about? Jeffrey, of course! He had followed me to church on Sunday and sat through one of those tortuously long sermons just so he could talk to me at the end of the sermon. Well, I think that's why he sat through the whole thing anyways. Jeffrey had told me that he wanted to be my friend. Although I'm typically not someone you'd want to be friends with, Jeffrey really seems to mean it when he says that he wants to be friends with me.

It's early morning on Monday right now and I can't seem to sleep. I roll over in bed and lay on my stomach as I gaze outside of the window. I have two options for today. I can either give Jeffrey a chance or I can act like we never talked on Sunday. What should I do?

Tick, tick, tick. The clock seems to be ticking louder than usual. I look over my shoulder and send it a mutinous stare. Maybe it's the fucking clock that's keeping me awake! I try to believe this, but deep inside I know that it's not the clock keeping me awake. Hell, no. I'm awake because I'm thinking about Jeffrey.

Long dark hair, matching dark eyes, and pale skin forms an image in my mind. Jeffrey could be my opposite, but maybe that doesn't matter. If you really want to know the truth, I would like one friend at school. Actually, they don't even have to be a friend necessarily. I just want someone to talk to.

The minute hand on the clock keeps moving as I flip onto my side and then onto my back in a restless attempt to sleep. Before long, it's time to get up and go to school. By now, I've decided that I will give Jeffrey one chance. I'm not sure if I believe him when he says that he wants to be friends with me, but I do know that if fucks this up even once, our "friendship" is over.

A series of loud smacks suddenly sound from the other side of my bedroom door. I jerk into a sitting position and wonder if father is trying to break down the door. His loud voice booms through the door, "Boy! Are you awake? You need to leave for school in five minutes. I don't want you to be tardy!"

"Yeah, I'm awake," I mumble, sliding out of bed and going to my closet to find something to wear. Thankfully, father's footsteps retreat back down the hallway so I know he's not about to burst in on me.

I've never really paid all that much attention to what I wear to school. Right now, I just absentmindedly grab a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before changing quickly. I ignore the bruises on my ribcage that are slowly starting to fade. I wonder if they'll be gone before I get a new set of bruises.

Once I'm decent looking, I trudge to my bedroom door and sling my schoolbag over my shoulder. I start down the hallway and walk straight to the door. I'm hoping to get out of here before father decides he needs to talk to me. Just when I think I'm going to leave this house unscathed, I hear a voice.

"William!" father yells my name as if it's some sort of cuss word. Sighing, I turn and look over my shoulder at him. Father quickly explains, "I'm taking your mother out to dinner tonight. I expect you to keep the house in order and not make a mess while we are gone. Do you understand?"

I nod and when father says nothing more, I slip outside into the cool, muggy Indiana morning. I walk along a little faster than usual as I head to the school. I know, I know, it's fucking pathetic of me to be so excited to see Jeffrey, but I am curious to see how he acts towards me today.

As I walk along, I feel a small weight lifted off my chest. I like it when father brings mother to a restaurant for dinner. It always means that I have the house to myself for a few hours. Well, partially to myself anyways. Stuart and Amy are with me. All three of us enjoy these nights.

Before long, I reach the gigantic building that is Jefferson High School. As I trudge along the dirt pathway that leads up to the school, I glance upwards to see if Jeffrey is nearby. Instead of seeing Jeffrey, I see Brian. Shit. My luck is disappearing fast.

"Hey loser!" one of Brian's little worshipers calls to me. He picks up a rock and throws it at me as he says, "You never did fight with Brian the other day. Too scared?"

"You wanna bet your fucking ass on it?" I ask, tilting my head so that my red hair falls out of my eyes and I can get a good look at the little fucker. He has curly blonde hair and a face full of zits. How come he isn't the school freak? He sure looks like a lot more of a freak than myself.

Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed by four rocks flying at me through the air. I manage to dodge three of them, but one of them smacks my shoulder. It doesn't hurt much, but it does make me extremely pissed off. My fists clench and I'm officially ready to fight.

"Brian's gonna smash that pretty little nose of yours, freak!" a pale boy with short dark hair laughs from next to the blonde kid. He picks up a stone and is about to throw it at me when...

"Guys, lay off!" a quiet but firm voice says as a tall figure steps in front of me, shielding me from any more of the flying pebbles.

"Jeff? What the fuck? Are you siding with the freak?" zit-face asks Jeffrey.

For once in my life, I'm completely stunned. I don't know what to say or do. Nobody has ever stood up for me before, especially not at school. Still though, here is Jeffery right now. He's guarding me from those stupid assholes and is actually standing up for me. Wow. Just wow.

"He's not a freak, Sam," Jeffrey says calmly in that cool, collected voice of his. "Why don't you find someone your own side to pick on?"

Sam and the other kid exchange an incredulous look as they stare at Jeffrey and me. Finally, Sam mumbles, "Brian isn't gonna be happy when he hears about this. He won't want you to hang out with us anymore. You'll have to sit with the freak at lunch and at classes. You won't be allowed to sit with us or..."

Sam trails off as Jeffrey gives him a I-could-care-less look and flips him off. I'm not sure if I'm more surprised or if Sam is. Although Jeff seems to be pretty shy at first glance, he's definitely willing to stick up for a friend. That's right, he considers me a friend and he's proved himself to be loyal. Deep inside of me, a wall crumbles down and I admit to myself that I want to be friends with this boy.

Still looking as if they've just seen a ghost, Sam and the other kid back away from Jeffrey and walk to the other side of the stairs leading up to the school. Now that they're finally gone, Jeffrey turns to me and offers me a small smile as he says simply, "Hey."

"Hi," I reply, looking Jeff over and noticing that I like that small smile of his. It's completely genuine and there's nothing fake about it. I know I should thank Jeffery for stopping those assholes from stoning me to death, but thanking people is not my way. I do, however, want to do something for him, something to show him that we're friends.

After a moment's thought, I stick out my hand a bit aggressively and look up at Jeffrey. Obviously willing to play along with whatever I'm doing, Jeffrey takes my hand. His hand feels cool and calloused. I shake his hand briefly and then let it go. Jeffrey shakes his dark bangs out of his eyes and asks, "Does this mean we're friends now?"

"I...yeah. I think it does," I reply, still not sure if I'm comfortable using the term "friends". I've never had a true friend before and I'm having a hard time figuring out what a real friend is exactly.

Ding, ding, ding! I frown as the school bell suddenly rings. I'd love to ditch school and go hang out with Jeffrey somewhere, but I doubt he'll want to do that. Instead, I look up at my new friend (yes, I'm going to get used to calling him a friend now) and ask, "What's your first class?"

"American history," Jeffery says in a dull voice. He frowns and I can tell he hates history just as much as I do. However, the fact that he has history class first isn't all bad.

"I have history too," I tell Jeffrey, waving him after me as I start towards the stairs leading towards the school. "Come on! Let's go before all the desks in the back of the classroom are taken."

Jeffery grins at me and takes the steps two at a time by my side. Like me, he always tries to hide in the shadows of the school classroom. Hm, maybe we're more similar than I thought. Adjusting my schoolbag over my shoulder, I ask, "What's your locker number?"

"Fifteen," Jeffrey replies curtly. "And yours?"

"Thirteen," I say, my first smile of the day spreading across my lips. It's pretty damn ironic that Jeffrey and I just happen to have lockers so close together, don't you think? Jeffrey thinks it's pretty ironic too because his smiling face mirrors my own as we stop to dump our school bags in our lockers.

Suddenly, I realize that I've forgotten to get my history book out of my schoolbag, so I go back and reopen my locker. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Jeffrey leaning against the lockers casually as he waits for me. Damn, he sure is polite, isn't he?

I start digging through my schoolbag and find my algebra book, my art book, and a few other random textbooks. Where the fuck is my history book though? I think for a moment and suddenly I know just where that book is. There's no lock on my locker. Brian probably stole the book from me as a cruel joke.

"Shit!" I hiss under my breath since I have no idea what I'm going to do now that I don't have a history book. If father learns about this, I'm as good as dead.

"Hey, what's up?" a voice says quietly from right behind me.

I don't have to turn to know that Jeffrey is standing over my shoulder with a truly concerned look in his deep brown eyes. Pointing jerkily as my schoolbag, I mumble in an annoyed voice, "My history book is gone. Well, it's not 'gone'. Someone stole it."

Jeffrey gets an annoyed look on his face as well and I can tell he's also upset at whoever stole my book. He gives me a determined look and says, "We'll get you another book. In the meantime, why don't you just share one with me? We can sit next to each other in class."

I shrug and nod, not having thought of this idea myself. As Jeffrey and I turn to go to class, we hear a voice call out from behind us, "What the hell are you doing, Isbell?"

Jeffrey comes to a halt and turns around to see Brian staring at him murderously. Brian's pissed. Really, really pissed. Does he really hate Jeffrey's guts so much now that he can't even use Jeffrey's first name? That's insane, especially to think that this asshole is a guy who thinks I have problems.

"I'm walking to class. Do you have a problem with that?" Jeffrey asks in a cool voice.

"With the freak? Hell yeah, I have a problem with that," Brian exclaims with a horrified look on his face. He looks like he's going to say something more, but Jeffrey just looks at him with a cold, disapproving expression and turns away from him. Jeff wraps an arm around my shoulder protectively and starts towards the history classroom.

"Fuck you, Jeff! I thought you were my friend!" Brian shouts from somewhere behind us as we go to history together. His anger earns him no response from Jeffrey.

I notice that as we continue to walk along that Jeffrey has removed his arm from my shoulder and is now frowning at nothing in particular. Curious, I find myself asking, "Hey, what's eating you?"

"Nothing, I guess. I just didn't know Brian could be so nasty," Jeffrey replies with a shrug of his slender shoulders.

"You better believe that he can be nasty!" I exclaim before I elbow my new friend gently and say, "Forget that fucker. Let's go have some fun."

"Fun at history class...?" Jeffrey asks, giving me a dubious look.

I grin at him mischievously as we enter the classroom and say, "Why the hell not?"

To be continued...
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Lilith
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Jaimelicious

Awww! Iz standing up for Axl was great, I can see now they will become friends at last! :heart: xD And it seems they will be a mischievous pair! :biggrin
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Wishful
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Nice one Iz! Oooo I can see this getting somewhat messy! Lol
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The Cosmic Gerbil
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Awesome...Axl and Izzy are friends now :D Brian seems really mean though...he is such a bully :( I wonder what Axl and Izzy are going to do in history class >:)
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Dave's Girl
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Hey everyone! This chapter is in Izzy's POV. ^^

@Wishful: Haha, yes, two young boys always cause messes! :P Thanks for reading!
@Lilith: Yup, they are finally friends! It deinitely took them long enough. And haha, they are definitely going to be troublemakers!
@The Cosmic Gerbil: Brian is really mean. =/ He'll get what he deserves soon though. Something tells me Axl and Iz aren't going to be paying attention during history. :P

Chapter XIII

I trail William into the history classroom and follow him to the very back of the room. Like me, he likes sitting where all the teachers can't see us. My head is still reeling from the events that occurred earlier today. I basically traded in three friends for a new one. I know that sounds really screwed up. After all, why would you trade in three friends for one new one? There's no logic to that. However, Brian, Sam, and Paul aren't really the kinds of friends I want to have. I don't want friends who pick on others less fortunate than themselves.

At first, I had thought that William was going to reject my offer of friendship even after I had stuck up for him in front of Sam. However, that seemed to have been what finally gained me William's trust. After that, he started talking to me and here we are walking into history class together now. I think William really needs a friend. He just doesn't want a friend who's going to back stab him.

William goes straight to the desk farthest from the teacher in the classroom and drags a second chair over to the desk so we can sit together. I stare at him blankly for a moment, wondering why he is doing this. Then I suddenly remember that someone (probably Brian) took William's history book and that we're going to have to share one.

William sits down in one of the chairs and looks up at me with innocent eyes. For once, he's not glaring and a flicker of a smile dashes across his face. I think he's really starting to trust me. He's realizing that I mean him no harm at all. I return his small smile and slide into the chair next to him so we're sitting side by side.

"Good morning, class," Mrs. Walker says from behind her black-rimmed glasses. "I would like to inform you that there is going to be a quiz on Friday. It would benefit you to study this material well. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'd like you all to turn to page twenty-seven."

William and I both lean forwards to open the book. Our hands bump into each other and we immediately pull our hands away. Both of us are blushing. William tilts his head at me and suddenly smirks. I follow his example and smile as well. I can't help but wonder why we reacted so strongly at touching hands though. I guess it's because William doesn't like physical contact. That and the fact that I'm doing my very best not to scare him off. I know that even the smallest of mistakes will send him flying away from me.

I take the initiative and turn the book to page twenty-seven. I stare at the page and frown. The font on the page is ridiculously tiny and there are no pictures. I know that this is high school and I shouldn't be expecting pictures in textbooks. Still though, a little color would help to cheer up the black and white pages.

"I will be reading you the first part of this chapter," Mrs. Walker explains, breaking into my thoughts. "I recommend for you all to take the sheet of notebook paper on your desk and use it to take notes. Pay close attention. This is the material you will be quizzed on."

I glance downwards for the first time and notice that there is indeed a sheet of notebook paper lying on the table. William grabs it, so I sneak out of my chair and steal another piece of notebook paper from an empty desk. Once I'm back in my seat, I put the piece of paper in front of me and hold my pencil in one hand as I wait for Mrs. Walker to start talking.

Listening to a teacher drone on and on about the native Americans is really not all that interesting. I've heard this about a thousand times before and I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother taking notes on this stuff. It's not like I don't already know it.

"Psst!" I hear someone whisper from my right.

Glancing next to me, I see that William's trying to get my attention. He points to his notebook paper in an attempt to get me to look at it. The paper says: My parents are going out for dinner tonight. Can you come to my place for a while after school?

I'd be lying if I said that William's note didn't shock me. He actually wants me to come over to his house tonight? William's definitely warming up to me quickly. I still remember how quick he was to turn around and punch me in the face when we first met. Then again, maybe William is just so happy to finally have a friend that he wants to spend some time with me outside of school.

Even though we're supposed to be using our notebook paper to take notes, I decide that I can use mine to talk to William since I already know the native American history anyways. I pick up my pencil and scribble on the paper so it says, I think so. I just can't stay too late because I don't want my mom to worry.

Once I finish writing, I lift the paper slightly and look at William to get his attention. William quickly glances over my paper before a genuine smile breaks out across his face. I can't help but wonder how long its been since he's had a friend over at his house.

William turns back to his own piece of paper and starts scribbling away on it. From the way he's writing, I can tell it's about something important to him. By now, I've drowned out just about everything in the classroom except for myself and William. I pay no attention to Mrs. Walker's monotonous droning. The students sitting around me could just as well have disappeared. All I know is that I'm finally talking to a boy who needs my help. He's been lonely for far too long and now I finally have the chance to help him.

As I'm thinking all of this, I don't notice that William's trying to get my attention. Frowning at me, William bumps his thigh against mine and pushes his piece of paper at me. As soon as our legs brush together, William immediately has my attention. I glance down and read his note. It says: Since my parents are home most nights, can I hang out at your place tomorrow?

As soon as I read that note, one of my suspicions is immediately confirmed. William doesn't get along with his parents. He'll do just about anything to get out of their house. I glance from the note over to him and see that he's tapping his fingers on the desk anxiously as he waits for my response.

Without a second thought, I turn to my piece of paper and write, Of course.

As soon as William sees my note, he immediately relaxes. All the tension and suspicion is gone from his face. I've just offered him an escape from the hellhole he lives in almost constantly. No wonder he looks so happy. I want to know what exactly is going on at his home, but I suppose I should wait a bit before I ask him about it.

William picks up his pencil and scratches a few words onto the paper before he looks over at me. I peer over at his paper and read: You know what? I think I was wrong about you, Jeff. You're okay.

I smile at William and suddenly feel a sort of connection between us. It's something strong and powerful that I can't quite identify. Although I've wanted to help William all along and do whatever it takes to help him, only now has William fully devoted himself to our friendship. He trusts me now. I can see it in his eyes.

History goes by a lot faster than normal due to the fact that William and I pass notes to each other during the entire class. Surprisingly enough, nobody realizes what we're up to and we don't get into any trouble. I guess the real trouble will occur on Friday if we don't know enough about native Americans.

Next is lunch. William and I follow the mass of students out of the classroom and out into the hallway. Once there, we practically run right into Brian. He's not followed by Sam and Paul for once. I immediately stiffen and prepare myself for a fight. William stiffens too and his eyes darken and narrow.

Surprisingly enough, Brian does not give us hell. Instead, he just takes one long look at me and then walks away. As soon as he's out of view, William turns to me with wide eyes and exclaims, "Did you fucking see that?"

"See what?" I ask blankly, unsure if William is referring to Brian or something else.

"See how that motherfucker just walked away from us like that! He didn't call me some girly freak or whatever," William states, still looking stunned. Before I can say anything, he grins and grabs my arm as he starts pulling me towards the cafeteria, saying, "C'mon, let's go to lunch."

I nod and let William lead me along. I don't protest even though his sharp nails are biting into my flesh all over again. I'm painfully reminded of last Sunday when he literally yanked me up two flights of stairs so we could talk alone in a hallway. Still though, I'm willing to sacrifice just about anything for my new friend. I'll go through pain and shit for him.

As we walk to the cafeteria, I find myself walking next to a very different boy than the one I've been watching for the past week or so. William Bailey has mood streaks. He's on a roller coaster of crazy emotions. One minute, he's on top of the world. The next minute, he's reached an all-time low. Thankfully, he's at a high at the moment. I hope I've had something to do with his recent mood change.

Once we're in the cafeteria, William lets go of my arm and looks around for a place for us to sit. I spot an empty table to our right and wave him over to it. We plop down onto the hard wooden chairs and I quickly open my paper bag to see what I have for lunch. William just sits and tries not to stare at me even though it's clear that he's curious to see what I'm eating for lunch.

"Don't you have lunch money or anything?" I ask, suddenly feeling concerned. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen William eat lunch before. That's why I gave him my sandwich last week.

"Nah," William shakes his head, causing his sheet of red hair to swing back and forth as he admits, "Mother's always in a hurry in the morning. She forgets stuff like lunch money for me."

"Hm..." I muse, trying to come up with a solution to this problem as I pull a sandwich and an apple out of my paper bag. The sandwich is turkey and cheese, one of my favorite meals. Seeing that the sandwich has been cut in half, I immediately offer one half to William and say, "Here."

William automatically stretches his hand forwards to take the half of sandwich before he hesitates and adds, "Are you sure? You just wanna give half of your lunch to me?"

"Why not?" I reply with a friendly smile. "I can't eat this whole sandwich anyways. Mother always packs me too much for lunch."

William takes a big bite of the sandwich and talks with his mouth full as he gives me an incredulous look and says, "You think this is too much? Shit, no wonder you're so skinny. Anyways, you're cool with coming over to my place tonight? We'll have like an hour before my parents get home."

"Yeah, that's cool," I nod as I take a bite of my half of sandwich. The bread is soft and the meat tastes fresh. Once again I am reminded of how my mother should have been a baker or cook. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me and I ask William, "Can I meet your parents?"

"Um..." William mumbles, suddenly looking nervous again. His eyes flick around the room and look at everything but me before he says, "Nah, you don't want to meet them. They're really preachy folks. I try to stay away from them as much as I can."

I feel a little disappointed at William's words, but decide not to push it. I need to take things one step at a time with William. We're already making great progress and I don't need to ruin that. The two of us fall silent and both concentrate on eating our lunches. William literally wolfs down his sandwich and I can't help but wonder when was the last time he ate.

As soon as he's done with it, William's eyes automatically latch onto the apple. I can see he wants it. Giving me an unsure look, William asks, "Hey, are you gonna eat that?"

"Nope, it's yours," I say, pushing the apple to William even as he speaks.

William takes the apple from me and opens his mouth. I think he's going to thank me, but then he closes his mouth again. Instead, he offers me an almost awkward smile before he bites into the apple. That smile lights up all his pixie-like features. His dark green eyes seem to sparkle when he smiles. I love that smile. Hopefully, I can see it a few more times by the end of the day.

To be continued...
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The Cosmic Gerbil
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Hehehe, it was funny when Axl eye-scavved Izzy's apple off him :lol: I am glad they are friends now and I hope they have a fun time at Axl's house later :D
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Lilith
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:P Izz has a crush on Axl! :3 :heart: I'm glad Axl is getting more comfortable around him! They are so cute together. :heart:
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Wishful
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Awwww bless them 2 they are so sweet together :heart:
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Dave's Girl
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Sanity is entirely overrated...
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This chapter is in William's POV. Thanks for reading! :)

@Wishful: Hehe, I agree! They're so cute. :heart:
@Lilith: Ikr? And Izzy doesn't even realize it yet. :P Thanks for reading!
@The Cosmic Gerbil: That part was funny! :D I think they will definitely have a good time. Thanks for the review! :)

Chapter XIV

For once in my life, my stomach isn't empty after lunch. Instead of sitting alone in an isolated corner of the room, I have a friend sitting by me. Ever since Jeffrey stood up for me this morning, I have found myself trusting him. He's nice and that's all there is to it. There are no ulterior motives to his actions. He offered me his lunch without a second thought and agreed to let me visit his house after school sometimes. Nobody has ever offered me that before. Everyone else is too worried about associating with the girly freak to do that.

As I bite into the juicy green apple, my eyes travel over Jeffrey. He sits across the table from me and wears a friendly smile on his face. He's finished eating his lunch and just looks content to sit at a table with me. Not once does he turn and look in Brian's direction.

I chew my bite of apple and savor the sweet taste on the tip of my tongue as I realize just how much a friend has to offer me. If Jeffrey really does allow me to spend time at his house, that will mean less time at the hellhole that serves as my home. That means I'll see less of father and get fewer beatings. Is heaven finally smiling down at me?

Raised to be suspicious, I can't quite be one hundred percent happy. What if Jeffrey turns on me? What if I turn out not to be the person he expected me to be? As much as I hate to admit it, rejection is probably one of the things I fear most in life. I guess it's because just about every asshole I've met has turned away from me before they even got the chance to know me.

Jeffrey is different though. I believe that you can tell a lot about a person just by looking them in the eye. Eyes say a hell of a lot about a person. Jeffrey's dark eyes are slightly muted, but seem clear and genuine. Just from looking at his eyes, I can tell that Jeffrey is a quiet, but honest guy. That seems like the kind of guy I'd want for a friend, right?

I finish my apple and continue mulling my thoughts over as the school bell rings, signaling us to throw away our garbage and head to our next classes. Jeffrey stands up and pushes his chair in before he shakes his shaggy black hair out of his eyes and asks, "What's your next class?"

I swallow my last bite of apple and think for a moment before I say, "Spanish. Seriously though, what kind of fucking subject is Spanish? I think the last place I'm gonna end up going to is Spain. If I'm gonna leave Lafayette, I'll probably just find another place in Indiana to live."

"That's why I decided not to take Spanish," Jeffrey points out as an easy smile slides across his face. "I take sculpture instead. You really want to stick around Indiana though? I've always wanted to move to the city. Maybe go to LA or somewhere exciting, you know?"

I frown and think about this for a few seconds. Moving out of the state has never really occurred to me before. I guess I've been focusing so much on getting away from my father that I've forgotten to plan out my future. Then again, I have years until then. Shrugging my shoulders, I say, "Yeah, I guess. I wish I was taking sculpture. Spanish is so pointless."

Jeffrey grins a little and leans over to me before he whispers in my ear, "You know what I really think? I think sculpture is the most boring of all my classes! All I've gotten to do so far is read chapter after chapter in the sculpture textbook! We haven't done any real sculpting. Of course, Brian thinks the class is great because he says the teacher is good looking though."

My eyes light up. Is this something I can tease Brian about? Leaning forwards, I gossip with Jeffrey eagerly and say, "Oh yeah? Tell me more about this teacher."

Looking pretty innocent, Jeffrey asks me blankly, "Why?"

"Just fucking tell me!" I reply, eager to hear more about this teacher. I can annoy the hell out of Brian by teasing him about this blonde buxom.

"Um, okay," Jeffrey says, still looking confused about what I'm up to. Unlike me, Jeffrey is nice. I know he would never try to get revenge on someone. Of course, I'm not Jeffrey though and so I listen carefully as he tells me, "Her name is Miss Tessa, but Brian insists on calling her Tess. She looks like she's in her early twenties and she's probably the youngest teacher here. She has blonde hair and blue eyes. I don't usually see her outside of the classroom, but maybe you've seen her before?"

I haven't seen her before and frankly, I don't give a damn if I ever do see her or not. Girls are pretty boring to me. All they do is whisper amongst each other and giggle like maniacs if they catch you looking at them. They're such a waste of time.

"Uh, I don't think I've seen her before," I say before confirming, "You're sure that Brian has a crush on her though?"

"Yeah," Jeffrey replies firmly before shooting me a dubious look and asking, "Why, man? Is this like really important or something?"

"Maybe to someone," I tell Jeffrey with a sparkle in my eye. Deciding not to try and find my logic behind this, Jeffrey just throws me a lopsided smile and lets the subject drop as the two of us step out of the cafeteria and into the crowded hallway. Wanting to make sure that Jeffrey's not going to abandon me now that we have different classes, I ask him, "So you're gonna wait for me after school so we can hang out at my place, right?"

"Right," Jeffrey confirms with a nod. "I'll meet you outside the school by the stairs. Seeya, William!"

I open my mouth to tell Jeffrey to call me Bill and not William, but he's already disappeared. Oh well, I suppose there will be time later to talk to Jeffrey about that. For the moment, I'm mostly concerned about getting my revenge on Brian. I'm going to embarrass him in front of the whole Spanish class.

Happy with my plan, I dodge people here and there as I head to the Spanish classroom. A few minutes later, I come flying into the classroom and look around for Brian. His evil blonde head can be seen not too far away from me. A malevolent smile crosses my face as I see Brian staring off into space. Fucking perfect!

"Say Brian, whatcha thinkin' about?" I call across the classroom in a voice loud enough so that many of the students turn to look at me. Probably the only nice thing about Spanish is that the teacher always comes to class late so we can do whatever we want for the first five minutes of class.

"Huh?" Brian grunts as he blinks and focuses his watery blue eyes on me.

"I asked what the fuck was going through that thick head of yours," I smirk as I walk over to his desk and prop an elbow on it. "Does it have something to do with Miss Tessa?"

Somehow or the other, I've managed to attract the entire class' attention at this point. Everyone is looking at Brian and me, obviously wondering what my point is. Brian's cheeks flush and he stammers, "Miss T-Tessa? What does that have to do with anything?"

"You like her, don't you?" I prod Brian, still wearing that same smirk on my face.

"Yeah, I like her. What's not to like about her? She's hot," Brian admits, causing everyone in the classroom to start whispering to each other. Student/teacher relationships are like a taboo around here. Everyone is super conservative and believes all the Christian bullshit.

"So you wanna fuck the teacher? I bet you're just dying to stick your dick in her pussy, hm?" I say nice and loud so everyone in the class can hear. "You've even come up with a pet name for her. I hear you call her Tess instead of Miss Tessa."

By now, the classroom has broken out into giggles. Nobody cares that I'm the freak anymore. For once, they're looking at Brian in amusement. Their laughs are directed at him, not me. One laughing boy pipes up, "Is it true, Brian? Do you really want to get it on with one of the teachers?"

"Like totally ew!" a blonde girl says from behind Brian. "That's really sick, you know."

Everyone starts throwing insulting comments at Brian. I start over to my desk and gloat as Brian's face turns beat red. He deserves to be humiliated after he relentlessly bashed me for the last week and a half. Everything is going my way and I'm feeling on top of the world until I hear Brian mutter something.

"I'm gonna kill Jeffrey for backstabbing me like this," Brian mumbles under his breath, daggers glistening in his eyes.

I sit down at my desk and frown. I wanted to humiliate Brian, not get Jeffrey in trouble. Of course only Jeffrey would know that Brian calls Miss Tessa by a nickname though. No one else could have back-stabbed Brian. Shit. The last thing I wanted to do was get my new friend in trouble.

My good mood quickly fades and I find myself worrying through the rest of my classes. Brian isn't all that strong and I don't think he'd be good in a fight, but how the hell would I know what he's capable of? What if he decides to pick a fight with Jeffrey because of...well...because of my fucking big mouth?

I don't usually worry about other people. My motto has always been to take care of yourself and to let others do the same. Still though, I'm not heartless and I don't want to get Jeffrey into a fight when he hadn't done anything wrong at all. By the end of the day, I decide to keep my mouth shut about the situation with Brian. I highly doubt he'll go picking a fight with Jeffrey. He's just an ass.

Now that I've stopped worrying about Brian, I'm feeling excited for once. Hell, it's been ages since I last felt excited. Having Jeffrey over at my house is gonna be a lot of fun. I can't even remember the last time anyone other than relatives has visited the house.

I practically fly out of the classroom and hurry down the hallway to my locker. As I hurry along, I see Brian stalking down the hallway. Some girls in the hallway turn to stare at him before one of them points at him and calls out, "Sicko!"

Brian's face is bright red and his eyes look angry. I start doubting my earlier thoughts about Brian being too much of a coward to fight with Jeffrey. Oh...alright. I guess I'd better tell Jeffrey what I did so that he can keep an eye out for Brian. I can't let my only friend get hurt on my account.

After fetching my schoolbag from my locker, I hurry outside and am greeted by a gust of fresh air. It feels nice after a long day inside of the stuffy building. As I start outside, my stomach suddenly flip flops and I wonder if maybe Jeffrey won't be waiting for me. What if he finally gets some sense knocked into his brain and realizes just how stupid it is to hang out with the freak of the school? What if-

"Hey," A voice says from my right. It's Jeffrey!

"Hi," I say almost shyly, blushing slightly at how stupid I'm being by worrying so much. Jeffrey's a nice guy. He's not gonna betray me. The two of us look at each other for a moment before I motion to Jeffrey and say, "C'mon. My house is not too far from here."

"Yeah, I know," Jeffrey replies as he starts after me with long strides. He's taller than me and it only takes him two steps to cover the distance I take in three steps.

"Wait, 'you know'?" I repeat, wondering how the hell Jeffrey knows that my house is close to the school. "How do you know that?"

Now it's Jeffrey's turn to blush and he quickly mumbles, "Well, you walk to school. Anyone who walks to school has to live kinda close to the school, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I reply, having no idea that Jeffrey has actually been to my house once before. He followed me there because he was concerned for me. Of course, I don't know that though. That's going to be Jeffrey's little secret.

It doesn't take us too long to reach my house. I'm so glad not to see dad's chevy parked out in front of the driveway. For once, I have the whole house to myself. Suddenly feeling extremely energetic, I point to the house in the distance and call to Jeffrey, "That's my house. C'mon, let's run! I'll race you there!"

Without waiting for Jeffrey's response, I tear across the dirt road and race up to my house, unable to keep my excitement in. I'm having a momentary high and everything is going my way. Father is gone and won't be able to beat me tonight. I have my first friend from school and right now, he's actually over at my house. Also, I've managed to humiliate Brian today. The only problem is that he might decide to go after my friend because of it, but hey, I can worry about that later. Right now, I'm on top of the world!

My footsteps come to a halt as I reach the door to my house. Jeffrey arrives at the doorstep right behind me and wipes sweaty bangs out of his eyes as he smiles and says, "Whoa, you're a good runner."

"You think so?" I ask, tilting my head at him. I've never considered myself to be a good runner before. When Jeffrey nods, I grin and kick the door to my house open, saying, "Come on in! I've got so much to show you."

To be continued...
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Lilith
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Jaimelicious

Shit! I hope Brian doesn't go after Izzy for this, not now that they are getting so close and cute together. :3 I love the two of them together, they are so sweet! :heart:
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Wishful
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Ah fuck! Bill pls dont forget to tell Izzy about Brian :unsure:
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The Cosmic Gerbil
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Hehe, that was a bit mean but funny when Axl told everybody in class that Brian fancied the teacher :lol: I do hope he remembers to warn Izzy that Brian might be fater him now though :O
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Dave's Girl
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Sanity is entirely overrated...
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Sorry for the lack of updates! :blush: I hope you don't mind too much. This chapter is in Iz's POV.

@Lilith: Hehe, I love them too! They're adorable. Brian needs to go die or something. :P
@Wishful: Yes, Bill needs to remember! If not, poor Iz will get into loads of trouble. :(
@The Cosmic Gerbil: Haha, I agree! Well, Brian sort of deserved it, don't you think? :D Thank you so much for reading!

Chapter XV


A wave of excitement washes through me as William cracks the door to his house open. I've stood outside of this house before, but I've never been inside it. I'm very curious to see what the inside of the house looks like. Is William's bedroom painted bright blue like mine or is his a different color? What kinds of things does he have to do in his house? Does he enjoy listening to music in his spare time as well? Several questions pop up in my head and I realize just how little I know about William.

I follow William inside the doorway and look around at the living room. What I'm noticing so far is that the house is clean. Very, very clean. Mother likes to keep our house clean as well, but our house is nothing like this. The wooden floors shine, the walls are white, and all the wooden surfaces appear to have been recently dusted.

"It's really clean in here, isn't it?" I say, unsure how else to describe this room.

"Huh?" William asks as he kicks his sneakers off and throws his schoolbag into the corner of the room. He follows my gaze and then shrugs before replying, "Yeah, it's clean, I guess. Mother likes it that way so father makes sure the living room is spotless. I'll introduce you to my brother and my little sis. Amy! Stuart!"

I practically have to cover my ears because William screams loud! Who knew such a small boy could have such a ear-splitting voice? Footsteps can be heard from the hallway and a minute later, the two children I saw in church before round the corner. Stuart looks at me shyly and waves. Amy glances at me and then hides behind William.

"This is my friend, Jeffrey. I met him at school," William tells his siblings. "He's gonna hang out here for a few hours until mother and father get home. You aren't gonna tell them that I had a friend over though, right? Stuart, are you listening to me or are you paying attention to that fucking fly?"

I follow Stuart's eyes and notice that he's watching a black fly buzz around the ceiling. Stuart blinks and then nods to William, saying, "Yeah. Nobody was here."

"Damn right," William nods before waving his hand at Amy and Stuart. "Now you two go have fun or do your homework. If you need anything, Jeff and I will be in my room."

The two children nod and quickly retreat down the hallway. I watch them leave and find it strange what William told them. Why can't his parents know that he had a friend from school over to his house? It's not like I'm a threat to anyone. I'm just trying to keep William company.

Before I can ask William about why he doesn't want his parents to know about me, William looks out at me from under rather long lashes and asks, "You thirsty?"

"Yeah, I guess," I shrug, realizing that I am a bit thirsty. William motions for me to follow him to the kitchen. I trail after him and continue looking around myself as I do so. The rest of the house seems to lack personality just like the living room. Everything is sparkling clean and white. In the kitchen, the refrigerator is white, the counters are white, the walls are white, and even the tile floor is white.

William tugs the fridge open and searches around in it for a few minutes before he grabs two bottles of ice cold beer and sets them on the counter. After that, he gets into the freezer and grabs two big tubs of ice cream. One is chocolate and the other is vanilla. Next, William opens a drawer and grabs two spoons. I watch him in surprise, wondering if all of this is for us.

"Help me carry this shit to my room, won't you?" William asks me as he tucks the beer bottles under his arms and holds the spoons.

I pick up the tubs of ice cream and follow William back to the hallway as I ask, "You're sure we're allowed to have this stuff?"

William laughs a wild, carefree laugh and replies, "God, Jeff, yeah, my parents let me drink beer all the time!"

I give William a blank look, wondering if he's being sarcastic or not. I don't know him well enough to be tell yet.

"Of course they don't let me drink beer, you dope," William rolls his eyes and punches me lightly as he kicks open a door at the far end of the hallway. He goes on and says, "I don't really give a shit though. This ain't enough beer to get us drunk anyways. This is my room. Shut the door behind you, will ya?"

I step into William's room for the first time, unsure what to expect. Before I stepped into the house, I had expected a colorful bedroom with posters on the walls and random toys scattered across the room. Now though, I'm not sure what to expect.

Glancing around myself, I see that William's room is just like the rest of the house. The walls are white, the floor is white, and the bed is - you guessed it - white! I shut the door behind me and ask cautiously, "Don't you ever wish you could paint your room or do you like it this color?"

"Um, I dunno. I really don't give a damn about the wall color," William says as he plops down on the bed. "Come on, you can sit here with me."

I tentatively perch on the corner of the bed and set the two tubs of ice cream onto it. Williams picks them both up and inspects them carefully while I continue glancing around the room. Unfortunately, there's not much to see in here. You would never guess that this plain, empty room belongs to a teenage boy.

"Do you like chocolate or vanilla best?" William asks me as he grabs a spoon and eyes the ice cream tubs hungrily. I'm getting the feeling that he doesn't get to eat very often because he looks like a famished puppy when he's eying those ice cream tubs.

"Um...vanilla?" I say since I don't really have a favorite ice cream flavor. Well, actually, I like strawberry best but I don't have a preference over chocolate and vanilla.

"That's fuckin' perfect since I like chocolate best," William grins as he pushes the vanilla tub of ice cream towards me and says, "Dig in! My parents will be home soon."

I open the tub of ice cream and pick up my spoon. William's already gobbling down ice cream as if he hasn't eaten since last week. I make a mental note to start bringing more food to school so I can share some with him. As I dig my spoon into the vanilla ice cream, I ask curiously, "So what's it like living here? Everything is so plain."

"Eh," William just shrugs and changes the subject. I have a feeling he doesn't like talking about his personal life. That's okay. I'm not going to push him. After slamming another bite of ice cream in his mouth, William asks, "So what kind of name is Jeffrey Isbell anyways?"

"It's my name. Why? Is something wrong with it?" I frown as take a small bite of vanilla ice cream. It tastes cold and sweet, a perfect combination on a hot summer day like today.

"Is something wrong with it?" William echoes me incredulously before he says, "Shit, Jeff! It sounds like a girl's name!"

"Jeffrey isn't a girl's name!" I reply defensively before I notice from the smirk on William's face that he's just trying to have fun with me. Smiling a little myself, I say, "I've gotten used to having Isbell as my last name. I guess you get used to anything after a while, huh?"

"Yeah, but it still sounds like Isabelle," William giggles as he takes his biggest bite of chocolate ice cream yet. "You know, you don't look like a Jeff to me."

"I don't really like the name Jeff," I admit. "I've thought about changing my name when I'm older."

"Yeah, me too," William nods. I suddenly notice that he has chocolate ice cream all over his lips. Now it's my turn to laugh as William continues on, "Everyone here calls me Bill. You can do that too, okay? I hate the name William. Say, since you hate the name Jeffrey so much, can I give you a new name? ...um, what's so funny?"

I try to stop laughing and look serious, but William looks too funny with chocolate stains above his upper lip. Giving him a half-smile, I say, "Nothing. It's just that you have ice cream all over your chin. Anyways, yeah, I can call you Bill from now on. Just what kind of new name are you planning on giving me? Why don't you just use the one I already have?"

William wipes his mouth, causing the chocolate to smear all over. Now he looks even more messy. Going on in a dead serious voice, William asks, "Why? You want me to call you Isbell instead? You actually want to be called a fuckin' girl's name?"

"No!" I exclaim, trying to hide my smile. It looks so funny when William's trying to be serious when he has chocolate ice cream smeared all over his mouth. It's also kind of funny to watch him eat it since he keeps shoveling it into his mouth as if he's never going to eat again.

"You're smiling!" William points out. "So you do like the last name Isbell! I knew it! Isbell is too long to say though or something."

"Uh, Bill? It's two syllables and six letters. That's not long," I point out as I open my beer bottle. I've only drank a few times before, but I'm not a novice to drinking. My father lets me drink whatever I want when I stay at his place. I can drink way more than just this one beer before I get drunk.

"Whatever," William rolls his eyes as he follows my lead and opens his beer bottle as well. He takes a long swig from it before his eyes suddenly light up mischievously and he exclaims, "Izzy!"

"Huh?" I ask, nearly choking on my beer as I give William a confused look. What's he talking about?

"Ha! I knew it!" William smirks as he slugs down some more beer and says, "Izzy is gonna be your new nickname. And for your information, it's only one syllable and is easier to say than Isbell."

"But Izzy sounds like a girls' name," I protest, setting aside the vanilla ice cream since I'm full now. "How about you just call me Jeff?"

"Nah, Jeff is boring," William replies stubbornly, already having made up his mind about my new name. "Izzy sounds cooler. Besides, you respond to it. I said, 'Izzy!' and then you said, 'What?' See? It's perfect!"

"Whatever, man," I say, rolling my eyes. If it makes William happy to call me Izzy, then I guess he can do that.

William slurps loudly from his beer bottle and then crawls across the bed to sit closer to me. Giving me an almost charming smile, William says, "You know what, Izzy?"

"What, Bill?" I ask, raising my dark eyebrows at him.

"I like you. A lot. You're the first friend I've ever had, y'know?" William tells me as he reaches forwards and holds one of my hands. "I think we should swear to always be friends even through the shitty times. We'll be friends for life. What do you think?"

I'm kind of shocked that William is holding my hand. It seems weird that this smiling, pixie-faced kid is the same kid who glared at me and punched me in the face only a few days prior. Still though, I'm willing to do whatever William wants to do, so I nod and say, "Okay."

"No, don't say 'okay'! Swear to me, Izzy. Swear that you'll always be my friend," William presses, looking slightly irritable. I can see that his moods have a tendency to fly all over the place. He can go from perfectly calm and happy to raving mad in less than a second.

I look deeply into William's dark green eyes and see fear within them. William's afraid that I won't want to be his friend after I get to know him better. Well, he's wrong. I'm a loyal friend. I'll stick by him through the thick and thin.

"I swear," I say calmly, still looking into his eyes.

William nods and immediately relaxes, going back to his chipper mood from earlier. He lets go of my hand and leans against the wall as he grabs his beer bottle and asks, "So what kind of shit are you into anyways? You don't happen to like music, do you?"

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaim. "I love music! I just got a drum kit from my mother last week."

William's eyes widen and he looks like I just said a foul word. Suddenly, he's grabbed hold of my hand again and is begging me, "Oh Izzy, won't you teach me how to play the drums? Please?"

"Um, well, I'm not that good at it yet. I haven't taken any lessons or anything," I admit sheepishly.

"Oh, who gives a damn about lessons? We're old enough to learn things on our own. Can I come over to your house to see your drum kit tomorrow?" Williams asks hopefully, excitement dancing in his eyes.

"Alright," I reply, unable to say no to those sparkling eyes. "We'll go tomorrow."
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Lilith
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Jaimelicious

Oh, I love how you picture Axl perfectly, with his mood swings! :D Aww! And, aw, how adorable! They are gonna start their musical adventure. :heart:

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Wishful
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Awwwww bless they're so cute! :heart:
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