CHAPTER SIX

Love, the most beautiful feeling in all the universe. But love, love will kill us all...

Victor Mairo 

  The hardest choices are often the most difficult to make and going by my life at the moment, I'd just about had it with the twists and turns. Today, begins the first day of the rest of my life. Tyler and the twins, Brian and Brianna are surprisingly getting along well. It's been a week since Tyler's great revelation and I felt no different. Also, due to the embarrassment Cain McCarthy faced, he's no longer a menace to the school, thank goodness. He's been delegated to the lower class, the ones never ignored but made a laughing stock. Daily. A part of me felt sorry for him, but I put that out of my mind. He didn't deserve my sympathy. 

  "Maybe Mr Olsen would like to share a thing or two with us, seeing as he feels too big to contribute to the class discussion" Mr Adams, one of the most unhappy teacher I've had the misfortune to meet, said startling me out of my reverie. Oh no. This is definitely not a publicity I want, not now, not ever. 

  

"So, Dean Olsen I presume?" Mr Adams motioned for me to stand. 

"Yes sir" 

  "So, since you obviously feel too big for a class discussion, let's poke at that pretty head of yours. Enlighten me. What's going on in your head right now?" Mr Adams smiled a sick smile. I felt disgust and hatred in equal proportions. For the first time in a long time, I felt hate. All eyes were on me, the very first day I decided to sit alone, and this happens. 

  

" Oh, so now you're tongue tied? How quaint. You know what I think about you Mr Olsen? I think you've created a fantasy world in your head, where you feel you're above all sitting here. Oh I know, and I feel you are a joke. By the way, detention after school. Fine?" He was looking at me, daring me to oppose him or say one wrong word out of context. I was boiling with rage. How dare he? But before I could say a word, I heard voices from all around me. 

" You've no right to do this, and this is just bullying because you cannot stand it that your bully of a cousin was humiliated the other day." Tyler said, not bothering to hide his rage. "Oh really? Detention for you too." Mr Adams was still smiling in that way that wants to make me puke. Literally. 

  "We can't stand for this too!!" Brian and Brianna said in unison, their faces full of masked rage. "Now now, it's the four musketeers. How sweet. Detention for all of you. Next time, you'd learn how to not speak out of turn. Good day." He said as he walked out, not bothering to give us assignments. Phew. Well, that's one good thing I guess.. I'm not really sure. Tyler, Brian and Brianna looked at one another, in a silent pact of some sort. I'd probe into that later. For now, I had to face the next teacher, and I swore to be attentive. No use getting in detention twice in one day. 

  "Wow, that was so badass. Did you see the way they unified to face Mr Adams, aka Mr Stinkmeaner. Their relationship, is goals" I heard from somewhere around me. I was walking with Tyler, Brian and Brianna, still not comfortable with the sudden fame. A week ago, I was a nobody. Literally. But at least I was left alone. But this time, no such luck. Our table was filled with the occasional jock, cheerleader and whatnots. But I wasn't really into the whole thing. I was lost in my own fantasy world. Maybe Mr Adam was right, just maybe. 

  "Hey, hey!!!" Tyler said waving a hand over my face

  

  "Uh, uhhh, what what?" I literally jumped a foot in the air, clearly startled. 

  "We've been calling your name for the past few minutes but you were, lost somewhere. What's wrong? Care to talk about it?" Brianna said looking worried. I hated doing that to her but I hated feeling pitied more. 

  "Nah, I'm fine, swear. I'm just skeptical about the whole detention debacle. It's funny now that I think about it. But when he faced me, it wasn't funny. Not in the least." I said, acting all shaken up by the revelation I'd just spilled. It wasn't acting now that I think about it, a huge dose of reality has been used to douse my optimism and I have no way of coming out from it. 

"Mr Adams has never been a fuzzy bunny to begin with. You shouldn't take his words to heart" Brianna said placating me. 

  "Wait wait, fuzzy bunny? I'd like to see his reaction when he hears that analogy." Brain said laughing out loud. Jostling Tyler. They continued laughing. I smiled. It was nice seeing them this way, all animosity aside. Then Brianna pulled me aside, ruffled my hair and said.."I don't have an idea what goes through that big head of yours, but do you promise you'd tell me if anything happens? Pinky swear?" She asked looking really serious. 

  "Pinky swear." I said smiling. 

  We went back to the rest of the gang, to see Tyler and Brian arm wrestling, amidst deafening cheers. I look at Brianna, and we shook our heads simultaneously. Boys will always be boys. 

  "Now kid, this is detention. De-ten-tion. Got that? Or do you need hearing aids as well?" Mr Adams, as evil as ever, asked the four of us. For some reason, he let the other offenders go, concentrating on just the four of us. Just my luck. Or rather, our luck. 

  Mr Adams was beyond mean, known by all the students as a teacher not to cross. But strangely, I had never had a problem with him before. He has always ignored me, which, now that I think about it, is a great relief 

  "I'll leave you kids now, to think about what you've done, and also, arranging that stack of books in the meantime," he motioned at the far end of the room. It was so scattered, it was like ten bulls fought a battle and shredded paper all over. He gave that sadistic smile again, and finally said," Make yourself at home kids, remember, do not leave until you're done sorting them alphabetically. Got all that? Good." he said and he walked off without a backward glance. It's official, the devil is human and in the form of Mr Adams. 

  For a very long time, there was total silence, everybody too shocked to process what they've just been told to do. I couldn't blame them, I always had the worst of luck, this time sadly, they were caught in the fray. 

  "C'mon guys, we can do this" 

  "Can we?" three of them said together. 

  Truthfully, I had no answers to that and I said so. Then, they started speaking all at once. 

"I don't understand how he can__" 

  " We're not animals, we have rights!!" 

  "I won't stand for this, this is abuse of the worst kind, why if only__" 

  They kept this up for the next few minutes, I felt as though my head was splitting in two, and before I knew it, I lost consciousness. 

  "What happened?" First thing I saw was Brianna looming over me, Tyler and Brian standing at her side. 

  "I don't know, I swear it. One minute I was listening to you guys, the next, I was on the floor. It's all so hazy." I said trying to pick apart my brain for answers. None were forthcoming 

  "Maybe you need to sit this one out, seeing as___" Tyler didn't get to complete his sentence as I blacked out again, but this time, I was in a trance I was standing, overlooking the city, and the world was in flames. 

  This was eerie. I was standing at the top of a tower of sorts, and I was looking at the destruction, carnage, that I saw before me. It was all so, surreal. "Maybe I'm hallucinating." I thought to myself. I could see far and wide, but no sign of life. Everywhere was barren, bleak. I shuddered within. This, this could not be allowed to happen. Else, there'd be nobody, none on earth. 

 I did the only thing that made sense. I jumped. And fell to my death. 

  I woke up with a start, looking around. I was in detention. I never thought I'd ever be glad to see myself in detention. 

  "I saw something, something I don't understand. But I was there. I saw it" I said trying to make myself understood. It seemed like I was rambling. Figures. 

"Guys," I said as soon as I calmed them down. "The Apocalypse is coming, don't ask me how I know, I just do." Damn. That sounded way better in my head. 

  "Dean, I think it's time we tell you about yourself." Brianna replied clearly not surprised. 

  "About myself? I don't understand," I said grasping at straws. "What about myself?" I asked quizzically. 

  "Dean, Tyler, sit down." 

  "Dean, you're the cause of the Apocalypse" Brian said looking deadpan. 

  "Because of you, the world dies" Brianna added. 

  "Wait, what? I don't understand, I really don't." Tyler jumped up in my defense. 

  "Haven't you figured it out yet Dean? You're a seer. And it's time to learn your history."