Belmont High: a place for happiness to die, I thought with a scoff. It’s what my friends and I would say about this place. Often. The school’s motto had always been “Belmont High: a place for students to thrive.”

Not for kids like me, though. Not for the minority here in the small city of Old Belmont. A goth kid with an interest in piercings and heavy music, living in a conservative, religious city on the edge of ruin. I was the punch line to a bad joke.

And it made me sick.

As Johnny’s condescending tone bellowed near the entrance of the school, I knew I was about to make yet another poor choice. I couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, but his voice had been a plague on my daily life.

Today was the first day of my sophomore year, which I had been fearing for the entirety of summer vacation—because of him. My hands trembled, and my heart sank as I got closer to the end of my peace. There were the same old security doors with the same old chipped paint, begging for me to suffer behind them.

Freshman year had been stressful for several reasons, but mostly because Belmont High was different. Our city had two elementary schools, Southwest Elementary and Northeast Elementary, which bled into two different middle schools. From there, though, the two merged into the intimidating two-story Belmont High where the bullies had already taken hold, waiting for my arrival.

Belmont High was a beautiful school. Gothic-style architecture and black-painted brick made this school feel like a different world. We had been given a tour of the school in late eighth grade, so I knew that there were four different wings, one for each grade level. Old Belmont was proud of this school’s history. It had once been a massive church, but in a drastic turn of events, it was now our one and only high school.

After checking my eyeliner in the reflection of the window and brushing my long black hair out of my eyes, I fixed the folded sleeve of my black, metal-band t-shirt. I pushed my round, full-framed glasses up and looked forward.

“Did you not hear me, nerd? I said I forgot my pencil. Give me one!” Johnny said. I glanced behind me, catching a glimpse of what was going on.

Johnny’s spiked, naturally red hair pulled my attention to the left. Freckles flaked his skin, and as he caught my eye, he grinned, baring dirty yellow teeth. Alarm shot through my body as I looked away from him, fear coming on like a sudden cold.

He turned his attention back to the boy he was yelling at, and I closed my eyes for a moment; I didn’t want to hear someone else getting pushed around. I didn’t want to stand by as someone was getting hurt, and that’s the reason I was always getting into trouble. My few close friends and I had been dealing with Johnny and his crew for years now, and all we’d ever needed was someone to stand up for us.

“Come on, man. You can’t just take my stuff all the—”

Johnny’s sharp voice interrupted the kid. “Give me the bag!” Johnny demanded. I heard a loud smack, followed by the sound of the kid’s glasses clattering against the ground. I sighed, turning around and clenching my fist. My fear disappeared as fast as it had arrived, and now I was seeing red.

Johnny turned his attention to me. “What are you looking at, Tony?”

I looked at the guy getting bullied, who was now picking up his blue and gray backpack off the ground. His pale skin was now red, and his eyes swelled as he was about to cry. He looked up at me for a moment, and then back at the ground, frozen in place.

“Leave him alone!” I said. “Don’t you ever get tired of pushing people around?”

Johnny laughed and stormed toward me. As he got into my face, I was reminded that he was the same height as me, about 5’10”. “Don’t you ever get tired of getting beat up?” he asked.

I tried to keep my fists clenched, but as I felt the heat from his face hitting mine, my fire went cold. Johnny scared the shit out of me, yet I continued to try and stand up for the people he was bullying. There was only one problem.

It never worked.

I faltered, taking a step back and loosening my hands. Johnny’s piercing blue eyes stared into mine with such intense malice that I wanted to puke. My insides twisted as he stood, still smiling.

Suddenly, his fist hit my cheek, throwing me off balance and making me fall on my ass. I covered my face, clamming up as I found myself unable to fight back. I awaited another strike, but he rummaged through my bag instead, stealing the zip-up bag of pencils it held within.

He ran off, and as I sat up, the kid was also gone without a trace. I sighed again, looking down at the sidewalk. I stared at it, wishing I could make a difference to those who needed it. But they didn't seem to care either.

After getting up from the ground, I tried to prepare for the year to come. Could I make it through? I forced myself to enter the building.

The lobby was also something I’d marveled at upon our introduction. As soon as you opened the doors, you could see the tall glass windows of the main office with a staircase on either side of it that led to the junior and senior wings. A large golden chandelier drooped from the ceiling.

I sighed yet again, knowing I was in a lot of trouble this time as the principal motioned for me to come into his office.

Principal Jackson was a tall man, about 6’3”, and had a very neat appearance. His cleanly shaved face and short, slicked-back auburn hair had been his look since he started here two years ago.

“Starting early this year, are we?” he asked me, seemingly upset.

"Trust me, I don't want to be here either," I said. As I realized the words seemed rude, I put my hand on the back of my neck, trying to backtrack. “Yeah… Johnny was bullying someone and I tried to stop it.”

Principal Jackson sighed. “I don’t want to hear it, Tony. You know Johnny has a rough home life. I know he bothered you last year, but he told me you attacked him out there,” he said.

“Attacked him?” I threw my hands up in aggravation. “He’s been bullying me for years! Look at my face; he hit me!” I paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.

There had been many opportunities for him to understand that Johnny bullied us, but Johnny and his friends were smart enough to avoid trouble most of the time. With my peculiar appearance and the lack of cameras, it usually leaned in his favor. It was one of the downsides of living in a city like Old Belmont.

“This quarrel with Johnny needs to end. You’ve been in my office on multiple occasions, all regarding him and his friends. I understand that Johnny is a troubled child, but I can’t have you starting fights with him anymore. With all due respect, you need to start minding your own business before you ruin your life academically.”

I jumped to my own defenses before he could spew another degrading word to slander my character. “My grades are perfect. I’m literally ahead of the rest of my class!” The situation was aggravating. I had never been below an A in any of my classes, and I had even taken extra courses over the summer to get out of school sooner.

“I’m not talking about your grades; those are great, and you have almost enough credits to be considered a junior. I like you, Tony, and I don’t want to see you throw your future away because of a bully. Despite that, I’m giving you a warning today. If you start any more fights, our next visit will be talking about expulsion.”

My eyes widened, unsure of what to say. “I understand. I’ll stay out of trouble,” I said, defeated.

“On another note, I understand that Johnny is a problem here. He’s got quite the record from Southwest Middle School as well. We’ve been working with him, along with attempting to get in touch with his parents to push him in the right direction. If you ever need to talk, our counselor is always available. Go ahead and head to the cafeteria; there’s still a couple of minutes before class,” Principal Jackson said.

Before I could turn, he cleared his throat. “I believe in you, Tony. Here, keep it,” he said, holding a purple mechanical pencil out to me. I looked at it and nodded in acceptance.

I grabbed the pencil and left his office, disregarding the idea of going to the counselor. I’m sure it helped some people, but this school has already proved I wouldn’t be one of them.

I was immediately bombarded with the roaring of students eager to be back with their peers. I scouted through the toxic river of kids, searching for my friends, and then I saw the bright-orange hoodie and baggy ripped jeans of Talida, which were easy to spot in the crowd. Her hair had remained the same for as long as I can remember. It was light brown with a bobbed cut that gave a rounder look to her face, letting her bright-blue eyes shine with the hope that this year would be better than the last eight.

Standing next to her were my other two friends, Shawn and Aiden, both of whom had dark-brown hair. Shawn’s broad shoulders and Aiden’s chunky build emphasized Talida’s slender figure.

Shawn had short curly hair, and Aiden let his shaggy hair grow out to the bottom of his neck, barely touching his marching-band shirt. His acne had calmed ever so slightly, leading me to believe he had been trying to do something about it this year.

Shawn was an inch shorter than me while Aiden was just barely taller than Talida. I noticed Shawn had gotten an all-white, hooded vest over the summer, showing off his toned arms. He was in shape but not athletic. They turned to me, and all three of them gave a quick smile; they had been waiting.

“Tony!” Shawn and Talida shouted across the room, followed by Aiden’s gaze.

“Hey, guys! How was your summer?” I asked as a grin crept across my face. Despite the difficult morning, they were always able to raise my spirits.

“It was good,” Shawn said. "I finally unlocked all the characters in Immortal Fighter. Grudgematch being a playable character was a surprise, though."

I smiled. We had played that game together for a long time, but they had dropped a new DLC over the summer with ten unlockable fighters. I had come across an article that spoiled the secret playable hero, but I kept that information to myself.

Talida’s mouth widened in shock. "I've been trying all week to unlock everyone! I got close, but I had no idea he was the secret warrior. I spent most of break helping my dad get his greenhouse up.”

“Mine was great until I had to come back to this hellhole,” Aiden said with negativity practically rolling off his tongue.

I nodded in agreement to Aiden. I didn’t want to be in school longer than I had to, which is why I took a science course over the summer along with doubling my history and math classes last year.

"I didn't get a chance to play a lot this summer," I said. "The last time I played was when we were at Shawn’s house. I'll be honest—I spent most of my time drawing and tried to forget having to come back." I smiled, knowing our friendship had continued to grow despite the bullies. The four of us sat down, tossing our backpacks to the side.

Not a lot had changed over the years. The students didn’t like that I was goth, made fun of Shawn for being a geek, frowned upon Talida for being poor, and took cracks at Aiden’s weight and autistic mannerisms. His aggressive acne had been their target last year. We still weren’t popular, and we could never imagine it differently despite the want for change.

“I wonder where Johnny is,” Talida said.

“Maybe he moved away and took his trolls with him,” Aiden muttered in a hushed tone, mostly to himself as he added shading to the scales of a black dragon he was drawing.

I sighed. “I ran into him outside, bullying someone. It would be the best gift ever if they would just leave,” I said.

“Or just disappear. I don’t care how,” Aiden muttered under his breath hatefully. “Die even.”

Shawn chuckled at Aiden’s remark and then realized what I had said. “Wait, he’s starting shit already?”

“Yep, and this time I’m in a lot of trouble for stepping in. The principal gave me a warning and told me that if I started any more fights, he would talk to me about expulsion.”

A shriek left Talida’s mouth. “What? Are you kidding me? And what about him?”

I rolled my eyes. “Said he was gonna look into counseling.”

Aiden choked on his drink, coughing for a moment as the others groaned in disgust. “Counseling? Yeah right,” Aiden said. “You better not get kicked out.”

“Dude for real!” Shawn added.

I yawned. I was having a hard time staying awake, even after all the drama. Between the fear of coming back to school and a bad nightmare from last night, I was very tired, and it was causing me to zone out.

“You okay?” Aiden asked, seeing my mind trailing off again.

I looked at him, my thoughts being pulled back from my memories. “I will be,” I said. “I’ve been having problems sleeping.”

“Due to coming back?” Aiden asked. I shook my head as the other two jumped in.

“Was it the cloaked dude again?” Shawn started, seeming concerned. I had been struggling with nightmares for several years now, all involving the same thing. Somewhere, some way, a cloaked figure would be involved. It always sent shivers down my spine every time I saw it as if it were a threat to me.

This figure was the only thing that connected these nightmares, and he was always the same. Under a black cloak with glowing yellow eyes and two glowing nose slits. I've never been able to make out the rest of his face.

“Yeah. It was a scary one, but I’d rather not go into detail right now about it,” I replied, starting to visibly shake as I remembered it. “I’m more focused on how I’m going to survive three more years without Johnny getting me expelled.”

“You know, my dad says recurring dreams have an important meaning. Maybe you should see someone about it to see if there’s something that can make them stop,” Talida said.

“Maybe I should. I think they’re getting worse.”

“We’re always here for you,” Aiden said. “To get off these scary topics, did you all watch the new Grudgematch movie over break?”

Shawn slammed his hands on the table. “Yes!” he said. “I took Talida to watch it. He’s the greatest superhero of all time! He’s one of the few heroes that are shown as gritty and violent. I love it!” He nudged my arm. “You totally should have gone, man!”

I smiled. I had been wanting to watch it, but my parents had kept me pretty busy over the summer. The night my friends went and saw it, I wasn’t able to get away. “I’m sad that I missed it.”

As Aiden started his bombardment of questions about what they thought of it, we were interrupted by the bell.

It was time to head to class, so I grabbed my backpack and began to walk down the long, crowded hallway. Johnny walked up beside me and smiled as he shoved me into a white concrete wall covered with bulletin boards and posters.

“Move!” he yelled obnoxiously, right in my ear. I jerked away, my ear ringing as he sprinted down the hallway with his two thugs following suit. Not much had changed about Rob and Grey over the years either.

Grey reminded me a lot of an ogre; he was big, not too bright, and followed orders. Rob, while following the same master, was much taller and crafty. If any of the three could think of a way to not get in trouble or to think of ways to cause distress, it would be him.

I sighed as I entered the classroom on my right.

I examined the room, unhappy to realize who else was in my class. Johnny was sitting right behind the last open desk with a vindictive grin. He leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. Rob was in the back corner, mirroring how I had met him the first time. I frowned, walked toward the desk, and sat down.

Mr. Karson walked in and stood in front of the whiteboard.

My teacher started to write math review problems on the board, and I knew this was going to be a relatively easy day. “I want these problems finished by tomorrow,” he told the class sternly.

I pulled out a couple of binders from my bag, one for math. The other was a personal project I had been working on, involving a few printed character designs and a short story. I had been trying to further my graphic design over the summer with a tablet I had talked my parents into buying me. I’d always wanted to be a digital artist, so I decided it would be a good idea to design a few characters with a new coloring technique.

The designs were botched, to say the least, but I was hoping if I mastered the new ideas, one day I might be able to be a graphic designer for a game company.

I wrote down the math problems in a notebook so that I could finish them tonight. I had completed a few of them, but Johnny’s gaze from behind was burning a hole through the back of my skull. As I put away my binders, I excused myself to use the restroom.

As I sat in the bathroom, wondering how I was going to survive the rest of this year, paranoia set in. The realization that I probably shouldn’t have left my belongings in the classroom followed. I calmed myself, knowing the teacher wouldn’t allow anyone to get into my bag. I hurried back.

As I neared the door, I could hear the students inside cackling over something. Fear shot through me.

Surely, it wasn’t about me.

I entered the room, and to my dismay, Johnny was standing in the front with my open binder.

My eyes widened, and as my mouth opened in horror, I looked at the teacher. He sat in his chair, roaring in laughter like the rest of the class. How could he? I thought. Of all the people, I shouldn’t have to worry about him.

“Listen to this!” Johnny yelled out, preparing to read more of the story I had written. He showed the class a picture of a character dressed in black and white, which happened to be referenced from me. I wanted to run up and hit him. My whole body was now fuming in anger and betrayal.

“Stop!” I squeaked, clenching my fists. The class chuckled at my pain.

Johnny continued to read. “I used my new abilities to walk through the wall. Now that I can phase through solid objects unseen, I can become a real-life superhero like Jake!”

Johnny burst into laughter, unable to read more.

Amused, he yelled out, “Tony thinks he has superpowers!” The room erupted. As everyone laughed at me, I sat down at my desk, covering my head as I leaned on the table. Trying to hold back the wave of gloom about to hit me, I began to question what I’d done to deserve all this.

“Okay, Johnny. Sit down,” Mr. Karson said.

“Don’t cry, Tony!” Johnny yelled as the classroom began to calm down. “I like the story—I really do! Be careful with your powers, though. Wouldn’t want to get caught in the girl’s locker room!” He started to head back toward his desk, and I now couldn't prevent the sobbing.

“Ew—what a pervert!” Rob blared from the back. “You ladies better watch out!”

I lifted my head, my face now red and full of tears while I ugly-cried. “I’m not a creep,” I whimpered. “That’s not what the story’s about…” As I looked around, several boys were looking at me with surprised disgust. Girls were now whispering back and forth, looking at me like I was some sort of sick deviant.

I continued hiding, speechless, waiting desperately for the bell to ring. I wanted nothing more than to disappear right now and escape this atrocious character Johnny had turned me into.

As everyone settled down, the bell finally rang, and I ditched. I went home, avoiding my friends, ignoring my cell phone, and making sure to take my time. I would deal with the aftermath tomorrow, when I was sure I would have a hundred unread messages on my phone.

As I walked, I wished that my life would change. If only I could actually have those powers, Johnny would never be able to bully me again. I could turn the entirety of Old Belmont around, or I could burn it to the ground.

After several hours of wallowing, I arrived home.

“How was school?” my dad asked, the words seeming strange and unfamiliar. Both my mom and my dad were in the living room. My father was a little bit taller than me with broad shoulders and short black hair, unlike my mother’s blond curls. I thought for a moment, unsure if I should reveal the day’s events. He never cared, usually summarizing my problems as “exaggerations.”

“It was okay,” I said simply as I headed toward my room.

The energy shifted, and Mom left the room without a word. I heard their bedroom door close. Hard. My adrenaline spiked, signifying that I was in a lot of trouble.

“Your principal called me,” he said before I could speak, “and told me that you ditched school this morning after confronting Johnny again.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words came out weak. “I had a bad day. I’m sorry.”

My dad laughed and looked away. He started to shake his head as he pursed his lips. “Unbelievable. What the fuck were you thinking? Quit butting in where you don’t belong! I’ve told you so many times that what that boy does is none of your business.” The statement triggered me, and I was unsure how to respond.

“But it was my business…”

“Yeah? Tell me how.”

“He made it my business. I can’t just sit back and watch someone get bullied. You know, I would have liked it if someone ever stood up for me,” I said, beginning to fumble through my words as my anger rose.

“Let someone else deal with it next time instead of acting like you’re some kind of fucking hero!”

I clenched my fist. “Who else is there?” I yelled. “Who’s going to help them? Who’s going to help me?”

My dad’s words bellowed through the house, his face blood red as his frustration rose. “How about a teacher?” he snapped. “That’s what they’re there for, Tony. If you have a problem, you tell someone higher than you.”

I snorted, the statement being ridiculous. “Well, the teacher sure as shit didn’t care about me today while he was laughing at me with everyone.” I swallowed, trying to avoid thinking back on the situation.

“Look at where they’re coming from. Maybe if you didn’t go to school dressed like a delinquent, you wouldn’t get treated like one. You act like you’re some kind of victim, and you’re the one starting the problems!”

His toxic words infuriated me. They made me want to lash out, but I couldn’t bring myself to say what I wanted to. “I’m just trying to be me. What am I supposed to do when the whole world is against me for no reason?”

“You’re supposed to change! You’re supposed to grow up, get a job, and act like a normal fucking person. Let go of this attention-grasping, artsy, freak phase and quit wasting your life on video games.” His words stopped, and I felt myself ready to explode. He didn’t like me; he liked the image of the son he wanted me to turn into.

“And grow up to be what exactly?” I said quietly, my words surprisingly stable. His eyes shrank to a slit, warning me to be careful. “Grow up to be like you? Someone who only cares about fucking image?” I snapped, surprised the words made it out at all.

My dad took two steps toward me, fuming.

Then the back of his hand hit my cheek.

My eyes widened, surprised. The entire room went silent. I looked up at him, confused and scared. He had never hit me before. I turned around and sprinted toward my bedroom.

“If you don’t change, you’re going to ruin your fucking life!” he screamed from the living room.

I whispered my next words, not daring to let him hear me. “What good is the life I’m heading for if I’m hiding in the shadow of who I’m supposed to be?” All of this because I was different. All because I was weird.

I passed my brother’s room, seeing him and his two friends playing on their console. He gave me a sympathetic smile, and then turned back to his game. There was nothing he could say. He had heard it all.

Now, making it to my room, I threw my backpack against the wall. All I’ve ever wanted is to freely be myself. I’ve done nothing to be considered a delinquent in the past, yet this whole town wants me to think that I’m some kind of criminal. All I want is peace. All I want is for this shitty life I have, to change.

I climbed up the ladder to lay in my bed, looking around from the top of my mattress on stilts. I looked at the desk on the other side of my room, seeing that my tablet was gone. He must have taken it.

I frowned, and started to cry, my cheek stinging and red. I touched it, still not able to believe it had happened. Out of all the emotional abuse my dad had put me through, he had never hit me. Not until tonight.

I looked at my walls covered in pictures I had either designed or found for inspiration. One poster stood out from the rest. My limited-edition poster of Grudgematch in a typical superhero post, hands on waist and standing proudly against the evil in his city.

I wanted to be like him.

I wanted to be able to make this world a better place.

I threw on a pair of headphones, drowning out my sorrows with the sweet sound of heavy metal. Music and my friends seemed to be my only allies in this life. As I drifted to sleep, I clung to the idea of a better tomorrow.

My eyes opened, my body numb as I wondered how long I had been asleep. As I looked at my alarm clock, it had only been half an hour. What the hell?

An eerie instrumental played in my ears, and I pulled my headphones off.

I questioned if it was actually 4:30 in the morning, but the sun was still out, showing me otherwise. I felt like I’d slept for hours. I got out of bed and headed for a drink of water. As I turned the knob, I realized the sink in my bathroom was broken. I sighed and decided to head for the kitchen. As I made my way down the hall, the house was eerily quiet. I debated going back to my room so I wouldn't have to pass my dad to get to the kitchen, but I decided to go on.

I looked into my brother’s room, and the three of them were now staring at a blank screen, holding controllers. I chuckled. “What are you guys doing?” I asked, the situation being very odd for them.

They sat still for a moment, and then one of the friends slowly turned to look at me, revealing dead white eyes. I jumped back, appalled by the vision. “What the hell?” I exclaimed.

“He sees everything,” the friend said back, not making much sense. Was this a joke? Where’d he get the contacts? I shook my head and chuckled. It was a good prank, but I was still uncomfortable as I headed toward the living room.

When I got to the living room, I realized it wasn’t a prank. Was this…another nightmare? My dad sat in his chair, tapping the same letter again and again on his work laptop, staring at the screen with the same glazed-over eyes. As I looked up, I saw my mom in the kitchen, scrubbing a pan with a spatula in the same spot, over and over.

“Am I…dreaming?”

Upon the words exiting my mouth, they looked up at me, sending shivers down my spine. As I took a step back, my mom walked into the living room. My dad dropped his laptop off the side of his chair with a thud and slowly stood up.

“What is this?” I asked, questioning if this was another nightmare. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, my vision flickered.

“He’s real,” my dad said in a monotone voice. The quiet words wrapped themselves around my lungs and squeezed. As horror coursed through my veins, I struggled to keep breathing. I turned around to head back to my room, and then I realized my brother and his friends were now standing behind me, crowding me as if they were a small horde of zombies.

Their eyes flashed yellow, and their jaws unhinged and stretched, aggressively screaming the words, “Veka’s coming!” I looked around frantically, not sure where to go or what to do. Nor did I know who Veka was. I began to hear voices, seeming like they were from the outside world.

“Wake up!” a girl hissed. “We can’t protect you here!”

Just as I was about to book it, the world around me faded to black as if I were about to wake from a dream. A sense of relief flowed through me, knowing I was about to wake up, and then a hand laid itself on my shoulder. It gripped me, and my skin numbed as if winter itself were touching me.

I was spun around, now looking at the cloaked figure in this dark room. As I tried to focus on his face, the lower half was still shrouded in an unnatural darkness. His yellow eyes and nose still split through the dark, sending me into yet another panic.

All the voices I had heard tonight mixed in an overlay of words, expelling themselves from the cloaked figure. “You’re not going anywhere!” he hissed, his hands forming a tight grip around my neck. The pressure on my skin didn’t feel like a dream. My muscles tightened, as if my blood was going to be sucked right through my skin.

I started swinging my arms. Anything to loosen his grip. As my fists slammed against his seemingly stone body, I was unable to make any progress. I looked into his snake-like eyes, close enough to be able to see a red ring around his slit pupils. It was as if I was staring into fear itself. As my body began to numb, I raised my hands and pressed my thumbs into those petrifying eyes.

He grunted, his grip loosening enough for me to escape. His head snapped to a slant as his eyes reopened. The darkness lifted, revealing a horrifying grin with two long fangs and sharpened, stained teeth.

I woke up, gasping for air as the remnants of pressure remained on my throat. Now sitting up, shaking with adrenaline, the figure’s grin lingered in my mind. I’d never seen his mouth before, and I wondered what it meant that I was seeing it now.

The idea that these dreams meant something scared the hell out of me.

That name. Veka. Was that the cloaked figure’s name? I pondered this question for just a moment. I knew it was.

I looked at my clock. Three in the morning, I thought. I sighed, covered in sweat for the second night in a row. As my legs dangled over the edge of my bed, hot air from the heater vent slammed against my leg. Why is the damn heater on? I thought. I hated the heat, and my parents had always insisted that it be turned on at night.

I started to calm down, and I peeked across my bedroom, scared I’d see him again. With luck, I was now alone in the dark. I guess I didn’t need any more sleep tonight.

I stood in front of the school door again, hesitating to enter. Not only did I want to avoid the bullies, but I would also need to explain to my friends why I disappeared. I didn’t even text them back, I thought, cringing. They had tried to call several times, but I had ignored it. I had never gone home without talking to them before they got on their bus. What do I even say?

I grabbed the frayed end of my arm warmer, picking at it with my black pointed fingernails. I looked down at the ground, ashamed of myself. Along with being embarrassed, I was also dead tired from another spell of nightmares. Would I ever get good sleep again? Maybe I should just leave. I shook my head. No, I couldn't let my grades slip. Maybe I could graduate early and leave the bullies behind.

I sighed, thinking about my friends and the argument I’d had with my father. I didn’t honestly care if I ever went back home after he hit me, but I didn’t want to leave my friends alone with Johnny. Despite my parents’ opinion about me, I still felt I needed to prove something to them. I couldn't even do that right.

I pushed my way into the building. Every year—no…every day was getting harder to endure, but I needed to push through. I wasn’t alone in this. My friends had always been here for me. I started to think about when I met them. I had stood up for them too.

The first person I met was Shawn. It was in third grade when I had my first interaction with him in the classroom. He had been homeschooled for the first couple of years and ended up living just a few miles away from my house to the south.

I sat at my desk in English class. “When you finish your story, don’t forget that I asked you to draw a cover for it as well,” Ms. Sharp said, leaving the room for a moment. I was struggling to finish my short story, but I had already nearly completed my cover. My eyes roamed around the classroom for inspiration. I wanted to see where everyone else was on this project.

A kid sat next to me. He had medium, curly dark-brown hair and a slightly round face. He was already starting to draw his cover. It was clear that his story was already finished, judging by the quarter inch of lined paper underneath. As I looked at his picture, it looked like a superhero with four arms and antennas, based off him. The Adventures of Beetle Boy, I read in my mind. My mouth widened, and I looked at my own cover, which was a superhero in a red suit with an “AB” on his chest, based off me. The Adventures of Amazing Boy. I quickly saw that the pencil he was using had a name on it. Shawn Dewman.

I opened my mouth to say something, but a massive kid with blond hair towered beside him, snatching the pencil out of his hand. Confused as to why he did that, I was quickly answered by his mischievous grin. “Give it back, Rob!” Shawn said. With a huff he held the pencil back out to him. As Shawn reached for it, Rob quickly pulled it out of reach, and he snapped it in half.

Rob tossed the broken pencil onto the teacher’s desk, and Shawn became beet red. “My grandpa gave that to me.” The words were angry but quiet. “I hate you.” His fists were clenched under his desk. He was scared of Rob. I shook my head, reaching into my bag and grabbing my own set of special pencils covered with superhero comic panels. My favorite thing about them was the colored erasers, matching the different hero on each of the pencils.

“Here,” I whispered, putting one on his desk. “I’m sorry he did that.” He looked up at me, confused, but he unclenched his fists. I smiled, happy that I could raise his spirits. “I like your cover. I wrote a story about a superhero too. Look! Our titles are close to the same.”

A smile found its way onto his face. “No way, thanks! If only I had powers like in my story, I could defend myself against him,” Shawn said, nodding toward Rob who was now in the back of the classroom.

“Yeah, if we both had powers, we could fold him up like a pretzel and toss him out the window. He probably can’t even read,” I added. His face purpled as he restrained a guffaw, trying to stay quiet so that Rob wouldn’t hear us. He was smiling now.

“What’s your name? I’m Shawn Dewman.”

“I’m Tony Jensen.” As we began to talk, we found out we were a lot alike. We both liked the same cartoons and stories, and I found out he lived close to me. We became friends right then, and he was the first one that stuck around.

Once the teacher came back into the classroom and found the pencil, Shawn was given his first warning. As Shawn and I tried to explain what happened, the teacher shut it down, stating that it had Shawn’s name on it, so he was to blame. The rest of the class period, Shawn was back to clenching his fists.

Shortly after, I ran into Talida, who had just moved to the US from Japan. She hadn’t been like the rest of us here in southwest Old Belmont. She had arrived with duct-taped shoes and an All-Mart plastic bag instead of a backpack. I later learned that she lived in northeast Old Belmont, but her family splurged for their daughter to go to the southwest school. They wanted the best for her, even though Northeast Elementary was much closer. Aiden was much the same. We found him sitting against the wall at recess, drawing. After meeting Johnny and his group soon after, we were united, and the rest was history.

Now inside and past the lobby, I looked across the cafeteria. Before I found my friends, Shawn came running up to me. His eyes glowed as he made his way over.

“You’re here!” Shawn yelled, giving me a fist bump. I smiled, seeing Aiden’s default frown turn into a smile as he and Talida whipped around to see me.

“What happened, dude? Are you alright?” Talida asked.

“You left us!” Aiden said, punching me in the arm. I chuckled.

“I’m okay, guys. I’m sorry I disappeared on you. I had a horrible day yesterday,” I said, holding the back of my neck nervously. “I couldn’t bring myself to look at my phone. I’m really sorry.”

“Did something happen with your parents or here at school?” Shawn asked me. “We all get days like that; don’t worry about it.”

Aiden interrupted, “If it had to do with either of those, it must have been a rough one.”

“Both, unfortunately. I left my character binder in the classroom, and when I got back from a bathroom break, Johnny was reading from it. The whole class was laughing about it! I was in a bad headspace after that so I ditched my classes. The principal called my parents about the situation, and then my dad blamed it all on me. He called me a delinquent, and you guys know how much I hate that word.”

I paused, knowing more had happened but not wanting to tell them. And he hit me. “I’m—roughed up about it,” I explained, trying to hold back how bothered I was about the incident. “And Rob made me out to be a pervert.”

“That is so messed up,” Aiden said, visibly upset. He started to pace as his smile disappeared, becoming jittery. It was then that they all started to stare at me.

“So, what happened to your face?” Shawn asked me, his eyes widening. “Is that from Johnny?” I reached up to my cheek, clenching my jaw. I hadn’t noticed a bruise, but then again, I hadn’t checked the mirror.

“Yeah…” I trailed off, knowing that was a lie. While I was bothered by the memory, I still didn’t feel right lying to my friends. We shared everything, including the bad. I sighed. “No. When I tried to verbally defend myself last night, my dad hit me.” It was hard to say the words, but I knew I needed to.

They all gasped. “Are you serious?” Talida yelled, her fists tight at her sides.

“What the hell, man? Your parents have no right to call you that, and they have no right to put their hands on you!” Shawn exclaimed, shaking his head and clenching his fists. “I wish we could do something about them…at least Johnny and his friends.” His thought trailed off as if he were lost in some fabricated fever dream. He was likely thinking of a way to turn the tables.

“Fuck them,” Aiden swore. “No, seriously. Fuck them.”

“I agree with you. It’s hard to want to even go back home. He’s never done that before, and I don’t know what to do. Not to mention Johnny and his goons are starting hard this year. If they continue, they’re likely going to get me expelled.”

Talida threw her head back, letting loose an aggravated screech. “God, they just don’t know when to stop, do they? Are we seriously going to have to deal with them until we graduate?”

“Yup. And that’s if we get lucky and they move out of Old Belmont,” Aiden muttered, rubbing his ear.

“It’ll end eventually,” I started. “We just have to stick together. Maybe we can all graduate early and get the Hell out of here. As for my parents, I’ll prove them wrong.” My friends smiled, hanging onto that thought as we sat down for breakfast.

“You look tired, man,” Shawn said, his voice dropping in concern. He looked me in the eyes. “We’re in this together. Always will be.” He raised his fist again to me.

“You all sure know how to raise my spirits. I’ll be okay. I had another nightmare last night too. Only this time I saw his grin. The cloaked figure was choking me and threatening me after another ordeal involving the yellow eyes. It was bizarre, but I wasn’t about to go back to sleep after that,” I said, tearing the blue film off my carton of Frosted Flakes and pouring in the milk. I bumped his fist again.

Aiden groaned, followed by the others. “Do you think your bad experiences and thoughts are manifesting into this cloaked figure you’re always talking about? I know he’s not real, but do you think that’s what those thoughts have formed in your brain?”

“You’re really into this idea of manifestation lately, aren’t you?” Shawn asked, chuckling. Talida giggled. He had been going on about it all summer, talking about using energies to try to create a better future. I liked the mindset and agreed with him, but we had been giving him flak for how often he had mentioned it.

“Come on, guys! I really do believe we can change everything if we just put our energies together. All this negativity has to go somewhere, right? Maybe we are manifesting this monster Tony keeps seeing!” Aiden said, starting to bite his nails.

“No, I think he has a point. I do highly believe in energy, and he may be onto something. This cloaked figure in my nightmares has become more prominent when I experience higher amounts of stress. Maybe I am creating this monster that's trying to snuff me out with the power of our emotions,” I said, starting to be concerned. Energy wasn’t something to mess with in my eyes.

Aiden’s smile returned to his face as Shawn apologized. As the bell rang, I stood up to dump my tray. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate you all,” I said as they began to head to class.

“See ya!” Talida called out, smiling.

“Goodbye!” Aiden blurted out, heading down the hallway with Shawn.

I walked into my classroom and was met with giggling. Already? I thought. I pretended not to hear it, sitting down at my desk. I pulled out my homework, having almost forgotten about it. Mr. Karson retrieved our papers, and started another review lesson.

Rob let out a fake moan, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m gonna ghost!” he yelled out, being met with an explosion of cackles. I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t be able to free myself from the torment.

“That’s enough!” Mr. Karson snapped, his voice piercing the laughter and sending the room into a disturbing silence. It would have been nice if he’d stopped it yesterday. I harshly let out a deep breath through my nose.

After his lesson, I got up to go to the bathroom, with my belongings this time. I headed to the freshman hallway. This was the bathroom that was usually empty, and my only place of solace.

I closed the stall door. After hanging my backpack on the coat hook, I sat down. Remembering yesterday I knew I had to keep all my possessions with me in hopes of not reliving that horrible situation.

The laughing repeated in my mind, making me want to cry all over again. Not here; you’re not safe here, I thought, swallowing my pain.

I crawled out of my nightmarish thoughts to the situation at hand. At least I was away from him. Johnny’s face stayed fresh in my mind. It seemed pathetic that I had to go to the bathroom to get fifteen minutes of peace. Suddenly, someone else walked in, and my body went on high alert. If it were one of the bullies, they couldn't find out I was here. The last time I was caught in the bathroom, it was by Johnny and Grey, who had pulled down my pants and tied my hands to the toilet with my head dipping in and out of the water. It had been one of the most humiliating experiences I had ever dealt with at Belmont High.

I shuddered at the twisted memory of the counselor coming into the bathroom to untie me.

As I listened to them standing near the urinals, I recognized their voices, sending me further into distress. I lifted my legs slowly, leaning them against the cold metal around me.

“I can’t wait for today to be over. I’m just going to drop out and be a mechanic or some shit, so why do I have to sit through algebra,” Grey said.

“Because, dumbass, the basics are important. I’m trying to actually be somebody in my life. How am I supposed to outsmart people and get ahead if I have the wits of a deaf mockingbird?"

A grunt escaped Grey as if he disagreed, but no reply to the remark. “Do you want to skip class and go to the gym? It’s empty at this hour, and I’ve got some bud behind the stands.”

“You’re hiding drugs in the gym? Are you stupid? If you light that up, the whole school will smell it.”

“No, of course not. Beer. I got beer.”

“Whatever, dude. Let’s go. Art class is next anyway. I’m down for a drink.”

As I sat silently, holding my breath, I was finally able to let out a deep sigh when they eventually left the room. That was close.

As I tried to relax and stay out of my head, I scratched the back of my neck, my pointed black fingernails scraping against my skin. It was amazing I wasn’t more messed up than I am.

As I attempted to stay positive, my parents’ voices echoed in my head. Not only from last night’s ordeal but all the previous ones as well. They’ve called me a delinquent and a fuck-up on multiple occasions. I sighed as I looked at my hands. I leaned my head against the cold metal of the stall, not having realized how tired I was from the night before.

Were they right? Was there only despair and failure in my future? If I ran away from this place, would anything change? No, probably not. A tear fell down my cheek. I hated myself. This world would be better without me tainting it. My skin started to feel heavy. Heavier than my thoughts. As the relaxation of being alone mixed with my adrenaline dropping, my brain began to feel foggy. Soon, my eyelids flickered, and I fell into the dream world once more.

A fabricated memory was placed in my mind. My family and I had supposedly watched a movie the night before, so it made sense that I was now waking up on the couch in the living room. As I glanced around, everyone had gone to bed, and now I was the only one in here. Darkness surrounded me, and I had the urge to look at the television that was in the middle of the wall across from me.

Right in front of the screen stood a figure in a black cloak. A visible, black aura rested like a fog around him. It wore a hood over its head, and I couldn’t determine its features. The figure’s build pointed toward being a male, but I was unsure. I only saw its terrifying slit eyes, which glowed a beaming yellow as if they would pierce my soul. The piercing eyes were accompanied by two glowing slits for a nose, like those of a skull. They squinted, filled with an evil I dared not endure. The petrifying grin that went with it, shrouded by shadow, was left to my darkest bouts of imagination.

Cold seemed to emanate from the figure. It was as if my surroundings would start to frost over, but it wasn’t only the uneasy chill; something else more sinister and malicious lingered in the air around me. My breath was suddenly visible, and I was starting to shiver.

I stared at him, my insides twisting and dropping as I questioned if what I was seeing was real. I screamed, jumping off the couch as I leapt toward the light switch. As I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was still there, the figure was gone without a remnant of the evil that had just been in my living room. My mom came running. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

In my panic I questioned if I should even tell her. Would she believe me?

“That cloaked figure was in front of the TV!” I wailed, still shaking in fear. I had told my parents I’d been having a hard time sleeping and about this recurring villain of the night. They hadn’t taken it seriously, telling me that my stress was giving me nightmares. I believed them, but that didn’t help eliminate the issue.

“We’re going on about this figure again?” my mom asked with an annoyed undertone. She was sure that I’d been “seeing things”. She probably believed the situation was just another example, but this… This couldn’t have been a hallucination; it was much different.

I sighed. It felt so real. It looked so real. Why would I have lied about seeing it?

My mom let out a deep breath, calming down from the elevated mood she had been in. “Oh, honey,” she said, pulling me in close for a hug. She held me tight—and long enough for it to become uncomfortable. As I questioned when she was going to let me go, she took another breath in.

She giggled.

“There’s no one here to help you,” she whispered in my ear. Her voice was empty.

As if it weren’t hers.

My entire body clenched, and I pulled away as goosebumps crawled along my skin. In a burst of energy, I screamed, looking at her.

Her eyes flashed yellow as she smiled.

Her jaw unclenched. She lurched forward in a chomping motion.

I shuddered awake, frantically trying to figure out where I was. Tethering myself back to reality, I questioned how long I had passed out in the stall. I worried I would get in trouble, but as I remembered the recent events, I didn’t think I cared.

As the next few minutes went by with me bathing my mind in horrible past experiences, I started to hear teachers yelling. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was loud and sounded like something was going on. Maybe I should spend a couple more minutes in here. Did Rob and Grey get caught? The gym was down at the end of the hall on the other side. Or maybe someone started a fight; they usually met up in this hallway for that.

The yelling continued, and people were rushing around. As I tried to check my phone for the time, I was met with a black screen. Of course my phone's dead. Have I been in here too long? Is this the class change?

A couple more minutes went by, and a voice came over the intercom. “Everyone needs to evacuate immediately. There's a fire in the freshman hallway, which is an immediate threat. This is not a drill.” The voice seemed panicked, and as I realized the fire alarms weren’t going off, I was confused. Are they broken? Is this real?

As I rushed to finish up, I smelled smoke. It wasn’t the pleasant aroma like sitting around an open flame on a camping trip. It was the kind that came from plastic and other dirty objects catching fire. Opening the stall door and looking around, the putrid fumes were coming in through the top of the entry door.

“Oh goth!” I exclaimed. I had started saying goth instead of god a long time ago as a joke, but now it had been burnt into my vocabulary, and I said it unironically.

As I tried to think of the quickest way out of the building, I realized I would need to get through to the end of the hallway to the big glass door. The smoke was already getting to me, and as I freaked out, trying to breathe, I ripped off one of my arm warmers and ran it under the faucet. Wrapping it around my face, I knew I didn’t have much time; with the smoke coming into the bathroom like it was, the fire had surely spread quickly.

Without thinking much more about the dilemma at hand, I sprinted into the hallway, booking it for the door. Almost immediately, my eyes began to water as I was bombarded by a cloud of black smoke. As it struck me, it was almost as if it took form. I half-expected it to grow teeth and attack me, for it was the closest thing I had seen to a real fire elemental.

Fear coursed through me as I got about halfway to my destination. I couldn’t open my eyes well now, and I was beginning to cough as my wet arm-warmer failed me. I’m so close, I thought. I have to make it through. As I trudged between the flaming walls, a scream filled my ears. Oh no! I looked around, frantically, my eyes widening with the realization that someone was still here. As my heart rate spiked, I wasn't sure what to do.

“Hey! I’m in the hallway!” I tried to yell. The screaming turned to yells for help, and my breathing quickened. I have to do something! I spun to the left, and then the right. Where was the yelling coming from? As they cried out again, I pinpointed its location. My dad’s voice echoed in my head, telling me that it wasn’t any of my business. I shook my head, defying that thought. I had to do something.

I sprinted toward the room on my right. The door was closed and on fire. I knew that if I took the time to reach them, I would be putting myself in grave danger. No one in this school had ever helped me; my three friends were the only ones who had ever stood by my side. Everyone else looked down on us, and I certainly didn’t owe them anything. I have to help them, the voice in my head said. They might not do it for me, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t do it for them. How could I ever live with myself if I didn’t help those in need? How could I ever be like Grudgematch? I reached for the door with a cough and then pulled away.

“Help! Are you out there?” I heard as the person behind the door hacked up a lung.

My teeth clenched, and my eyes narrowed. I could make a difference. What kind of person would I be if I left them here? The voice sent shivers down my spine, and it was almost as if my body moved on its own when I slammed my side into the flaming entry. The door burst off its deteriorating hinges, making me wince. Getting a nasty burn on the side of my arm, I ran into the room, trying my best to look for the person in trouble through the malicious haze.

As my vision shook, threatening to spin my surroundings, I began to hallucinate. Faces began to appear in the smoke. Twisting and turning, these living flames billowed around the corner, releasing themselves from the room.

I ran over to some fallen debris, attempting to lift a cabinet that the boy was stuck underneath. The kid was short with shaggy brown hair and a thin frame. I knew him as Milo Sanchez; he was on the wrestling team and had always picked on Aiden for his weight. Our last interaction was him tearing Aiden’s drawings apart.

As much as I wanted to leave him, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He gave me a confused look as I struggled to lift the rubble. His nose wrinkled, and his eyes glazed over in fear, unsure of why I was helping him. He knew I had recognized him, and what he had done in the past seemed to shake him to the core as he questioned if I were going to enact karma.

I coughed and pushed, sending my body into a light-headed state. Just when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to release him, Milo was able to yank himself free. He stood up, looked me in the eyes, and then scrambled away. I followed, but he left me behind as I struggled to stand up straight. Am I going to die? I thought, slogging through the flames. I fell to the ground, unable to breathe. I tried to crawl forward, but now the smoke was taking the form of people, and I could hear laughter.

“You’re never going to amount to anything,” I heard a voice say from within. I crawled, now starting to lose consciousness. I was able to make it around a corner, and I saw what looked like a tall shadow run around it. I managed to get to my feet, first leaning against the wall and then bouncing the opposite direction as I smelled the hair on my arms being scorched off with my roasting skin.

A loud blast filled the room, sending a liquid into my face. “What the…” I tried to say. As the liquid hit my eyes and mouth, it started to sting. I screamed in agony, not knowing what to do. I couldn’t open my eyes. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe, and now I was sure I was going to die. I fell to my knees, my entire body locking up in pain.

“Shawn! Aiden—anybody!” I was able to call out from the floor. Tears rolled down my face, and I began to sob. My cries sputtered as they were interrupted by violent coughing. “I’m scared…” I whimpered. “I’m not ready to go.” My body began to lose function. I fell to the floor, and now I wasn’t able to move at all. It was as if I was paralyzed. As my body forced a deep breath in, I fell into darkness.