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CAN I BE HIM
AURORA
My heart skipped a beat and my stomach dropped when I heard the knock on the door. I had been organizing things to donate before we moved while my parents were finishing up some things with their work before we packed up the house.My parents understood my uneasiness being back in the house, and I'm thankful for the move and how quickly they had gotten everything into motion.
I see things differently now. I think differently. My mind has been rewired to assume that everyone meant me harm, that no one was who they claimed to be, and it was a horrifying revelation.When I saw it was Kiran, I was filled with relief more than anything, but I was also nervous to answer the door. I didn't know what he could be here to say that he hadn't said at the hospital or the night before Gabe's attack.Since I'm leaving, and I don't know if I'll ever see him again, I spilled everything to him. Every thought, emotion, feeling that I ever fRelated chapters
Chasing Sunlight THE END
AURORA "Because you want to." Such a simple answer to a heavy question. Four words, 16 letters, that hold so much truth that it could change my life forever. "We're going to be 18 soon," he began to reason, "The day that happens, we run away, we move to New York. You can focus on Broadway, and I've always wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden," he was smiling as he spoke, "I don't think either of us has much of a life here anymore... let's run away." My mouth was agape and my head was spinning. The thought of dropping everything and leaving with a guy that I've only known for a few months filled me with anxiety, fear, hope, and excitement. I've never done anything so crazy before - I've always been the goodie two shoes who always follows the rules, I'm not the kind of person to just run away with a guy I'm in love with. In love with. I smiled at my initial thought. When I thought about Gabe that d
Chasing Sunlight INTRO
Kiran The school was cold and smelled of fresh rain, something I should have expected entering a school in the early morning of August in Oregon. The walls were gray-painted bricks and the floor was cold concrete, making my shoes tap with every step. It felt like I was walking into a prison, not a high school. Through the doors and to the right side, there were a few people gathered in a circle on the cold ground and against the wall. One of the students had a guitar with him but wasn’t playing. My first class is off to the left of the school’s entrance, so I wasn’t able to do any more than glance at the group of people, even though my curiosity was piqued. I haven’t pulled out my guitar in forever. It was just a hobby of mine that I picked up years ago when my dad convinced me it was a sure way to win a girl's heart – to serenade her. My passion wasn’t in music, though, I chose to devote my time and energy to M
Chasing Sunlight FIRST DAY
KIRAN I gripped onto the strap of my backpack that was swung over my shoulder and made my way to the first class of the day. English. You'd think having English be your first language would make it easy to pass. Not true. Walking in, I saw the typical sight for a high school class: by the windows were a group of girls who were sitting on top of their desks and gossiping, near the front of the class were the kids who would be labeled nerds, arranging their papers and books precisely to their needs, and in the back of the classroom was the one guy who always has his feet on his desk with his arms crossed and his hat over his face, taking a nap. I decided to take a seat at the desk next to the sleeping guy since there was less chance of him trying to talk to me and ask the inevitable question of, “Hey, you’re the new guy, right?” I still need to get my anger issues under control until I start mingling and trying to make friends here. I wish I had found a
Chasing Sunlight LUNCH
KIRAN At my old school, we walked around like we owned the place. Girls drooled over me and my buddies – I guess you could say we were popular, but we were one of the many popular groups at that school – the “tough guy" group, I guess since we were all fighters. I did the classic new kid move and sat at the corner of the cafeteria closest to the exit with a small amount of food. I needed to have an easy escape should someone try to approach me and somehow trigger my anger and I can’t hold my tongue, causing me to need a quick getaway. I don’t want to make a bad first impression because I’m here to try to better myself, and I know my sarcastic personality can come across as rude sometimes. I definitely wouldn’t describe myself as shy or meek by any means, but I’m not the most sociable person when I’m out of my comfort zone, and I am entirely out of my zone right now. No one will ever
Chasing Sunlight CHEMISTRY
AURORA Gabe slung his arm over my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “Who were you talking to, babe?” “Just greeting the new kid.” I smiled at him and put a fry in my mouth. “He’s funny, I think we could be friends.” Gabe laughed, “You try to be friends with everyone, babe.” I tilted my head and said, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” “You’re just too nice sometimes." He pinched my cheek with a pout. I rolled my eyes at him and continued eating, letting my ears tune into the other conversations so that I didn’t have to hear another lecture from Gabe about being too nice. My third class of the day was Mr. Hammond's chemistry class, one of my favorite teachers. He makes chemistry fun and he jokes around a lot, he kind of reminds me of Bill Nye – the way that you kind of think of him as a goofy uncle fig
Chasing Sunlight HOME
KIRAN The first day of school was over and I headed home. Mom and I only have one car, and since her work is only a few blocks from our apartment and my school is both further and starts earlier, we agreed that I should use the car to get to and from the school, then all other times it can be for moms use. I didn't want to be the new kid who gets dropped off by his mommy every single day - I would die of humiliation, especially since I have my own license, there was just no point in making my mom get up at 6 AM every day. Why should we both have to suffer? "How was your first day?" She asked before I could even shut the door. I shrugged and frowned as I said to her, "Take a guess." She pursed her lips and narrowed her brown eyes at me as she thought about it, "A typical first day for a new kid where you ignored everyone?" "Bingo!" I pointed at her and reached into my pocket to get the car keys out. I
Chasing Sunlight PARTY (KIRAN)
KIRAN Mom gave me the car tonight to get to-and-from this party that she insisted I go to. She said it was a great opportunity to make friends and that the new kid never gets invited to things on their first day. I wanted to find a gym to work out at and work on my technique, but I am still yet to find a decent gym that I can do any kickboxing in. No place I've seen so far has a boxing ring or decent equipment for practicing. Pulling up to the address that Aurora gave me, everyone was parked in the grass out front of the house, or rather, mansion would be more appropriate, all scattered around. I decided to reduce the risk of anything happening to the car by parking across the street and by the sidewalk instead. There were scarce any neighbors here and every house had numerous acres of space - I'm sure no one will mind my parking here. I questioned before getting out of the car if I should really be here. I gripped the stee
Chasing Sunlight PARTY (AURORA)
AURORA Gabe was being rude, and I couldn't help feeling a tad bit embarrassed. I was incredibly grateful that Kiran was being as kind as to stop drinking so that he could help me get these kids home. Some of them would pass out and have to crash here at Gabe’s house, but there was a good number of people who know their limit and will ask for a ride home before they pass out, throw up, or both. "I'm sorry about him," I felt the need to apologize for Gabe’s behavior, "He's really a good guy." "Yeah, so you've said," he mumbled while watching Gabe’s retreating figure with distaste. "I really appreciate you not drinking to help me out, but really, there won't be that many who need to be taken home, and I'm sure I can handle it myself. So drink, have fun, mingle, meet," I was making big hand motions to the room we were in and saw Kiran smirking at me. I have to admit that my heart leaped when he had called me cute and I had to hide my face
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