When he opened his eyes a crack, they were immediately assaulted by the sunlight that streamed in through the window right beside his bed. Hissing and turning over, Justin Liddell cursed into his pillow so his parents didn't hear if their supernatural ears were anywhere nearby. It was the last day of summer and school would start tomorrow, but he was okay with this. He was a more or less straight-A student throughout his entire school career after all, but had always declined skipping grades if that ever came up, which it had, once, in fifth grade. Tomorrow would be the start of his last year of high school, and then he'd have to figure out what to do with his life. He sighed and turned over, out of that rogue ray of sunlight and halfway off his bed. Untangling himself, Justin sat up and stretched, looking around his long bedroom. It was in the attic, where he'd asked to exist after he reached age thirteen because he liked the more isolated location, and the view of Minkler Street. It was a little road, quiet, and a nice sight when one woke up first thing in the morning.

Glancing at his clock on the bedside table, Justin sighed. Eight in the morning. Soon he'd wake at six and be gone by six thirty, saying goodbye for the day while his father went to work and his mother stayed at home with his homeschooled sister of fifteen. She had a strong anxiety problem that was triggered around a lot of people, so school life wasn't for her. His mother worked from home, so she could help Maddie while also working in the spare-bedroom-turned-office. Justin stood, stretched, and surveyed his room. It was a curious layout. There was a bathroom at the end of it, and the room spanned the entire length of the house. It was insulated and wood paneled, carpeted, with walls that were full of pictures rather than posters. Pictures he had taken himself, or had doodled. Anything that didn't come from those mediums were often fantasy pictures he'd find online. Despite looking as if he'd be an athlete on one of his school's sports teams, but in actuality he wasn't athletic and hated sports.

Justin looked out of the window and surveyed the street appreciatively. Quiet, shadowed in morning light and shade, with thick trees across the street. Abita Springs was a beautiful little place in his opinion, though he had to drive ten minutes to get to school. He didn't mind the short drive, however; it let him think. Justin stepped away from the window and grabbed some clothes from his closet, taking them to the bathroom and thinking about what he might do for the last day of real freedom he had.

They drove through the entire night, leaving the city with almost no warning. It wasn't that they didn't have a reason and Neal didn't fault his father for it. They just threw everything they could in the car early afternoon and now it was morning. Neal shook himself out of his sleep stupor and turned to inspect his father. The man had his eyes glued to the road with rigid determination and Neal guessed he'd never once pulled over to rest during the drive. Like his father, Neal was tall but slight and his black hair resembled a mop on top of his head, especially after his nap in the car. He stretched the long sleeves of his shirt down over his wrists. He felt awkward wearing such a shirt in summer, but he would have scars on his arms for a while.

"You awake, kid?" His father's voice broke the silence and he jumped, unaware that his father noticed him awake. Neal hummed out a faint response. "Good. Bryan is the next street." A minute later they were turning onto the tree studded lane. Abita Springs was nothing like Neal was used to. This was a hideaway, the sort of place he and his father could escape to until the world forgot them. Smiling wryly, Neal thought it was perfect.

Once his father parked the medium sized SUV in front of a house with a mild weed problem, they spent a minute staring at it. Home. It didn't feel like that yet. Still, the key opened the lock and they spent the early morning moving boxes. Finally, it was all inside and his father passed out between two boxes. Neal slipped past him and stood outside at a loss. The sky had a lovely shade of blue. For some reason he couldn't explain, he found it compelling. Laying in the middle of the driveway, he spread out his arms and legs and stared up.

Once he was clean and his mussed hair was mussed and damp, a split between dark brown on the majority of his head on the right and light brown on the rest of his head, Justin was dressed in plain clothing---a white shirt and thin blue jeans, light colored sneakers. He left through the trap door in the small alcove off the side of his attic bedroom and found himself at the end of the hall. Nearest to him was his parents' room, already abandoned with a messy bed. It seemed no one in his family bothered to make a bed. Not even slight clean-freak Maddie, whose room was always kept in order. He moved through the hall and into the living room, which was long to accommodate an open floorplan. The living room was at the head of the house and there was a small addition to the left, a sunroom where his mother usually tended roses as a type of stress relief. She and Maddie were in the kitchen, Maddie at the breakfast bar with a tired look on her face. She wasn't a morning person.

"Hey, Mama." Justin smiled at his fair-haired mother, who looked so much younger than she was even as she staring at a frying pan on the stove in front of her. "Where's Pop?"

"Aah, he has a few early morning clients." His mother, Jenny, looked up and smiled, and her tired face immediately brightened. "A few Northerns that're lookin' for a little summer place. Little late in the year if you ask me, but a client is a client either way."

Justin laughed and nodded, slipping onto the stool alongside his sister. "Hey, you wanna go out after breakfast, Mads?"

"Where...?" Maddie blinked and made a show of opening her eyes. She seemed calm but anyone that had grown up around her would pick up the tensity suddenly in her shoulders at the prospect of an outing around a lot of people.

"Just to the pond. Thought we'd waste some time wanderin' around 'fore we get back to school."

Maddie smiled, nodding a little now that the idea of people was rather distant. Justin smiled back, turning to drum his hands on the countertop. He had started saving money when he was fifteen with the prospect of getting his driver's license, and had gone for his biking license. Mowing lawns in hundred-plus-degree weather was hard work but no one in their right mind would want to do it, so they paid stupid teens big bucks to risk heatstroke and dehydration. It had paid off, however, even in the middle of winter, when it rarely got too cool for the grass to go dormant. He had saved up enough money to get his own motorcycle, as long as he promised his mother not skip out on protective gear, which could get warm in the summer. But it was well worth it.

Neal thought he could take a nap outside without being disturbed, but he was wrong. The second he closed his eyes to the brilliant blue, voices crowded toward him. The voices crowded as if a dozen people crouched around him and sucked away every ounce of air he desperately needed. Is he okay? Oh god, someone call 911. He's...I think he stopped breathing! Neal opened his eyes with a strangled gasp as he shot up into a seated position. A jump of motion to his left made him turn his head. A kid of maybe seven or eight stood across the street, staring with eyes wide enough for him to see the whites from here. One grimace of a smile from him and the kid was off running.

If tv was anything to go by, the entire small town would know there were new folks by nightfall. And they'd probably say there was a freak kid. Neal didn't blame them. Almost every inch of his skin was covered in black despite the weather and he had to go and freak out in public. He forced his hands not to shake as he pulled his sleeves further down and went back inside. He checked on his father and helped him to somewhere more comfortable. He pulled out the tv and the wii from a box and set it up, but he didn't even get past the opening credits before he turned it off again.

The box to his left taunted him. He didn't have to open it to see the watercolor paints stacked inside with half finished paintings and everything else he hated right now. "Shut up!" he tossed the controller at the box. When the controller just bounced off, he took off outside again, this time walking without aim.

They ate a quick breakfast of over-easy eggs, bacon, and jam toast, then Maddie jumped from her stool and stretched, yawning for the millionth time and pulling Justin to his feet as the phone rang. "I got it!" Maddie jumped forward and snatched the receiver from the wall, placing it to her ear. "'Ello? Yeah? Oh, okay, hang on..." She pouted, handing the receiver to Jenny. It was interesting, the way Maddie could freeze in front of people but appear so friendly and open on the phone. "It's Callie, Mama, bet she wants to gossip as usual!"

Jenny laughed, shaking her head and taking the phone, turning away to gather up the dishes. Justin led Maddie outside and sighed when the heat hit them like a body slam. "Woah, it's hot." Justin swiped his hair back as he and his sister went to the garage, which was unlocked, and he lifted it. His bike was perhaps one of the most well known models, a Harley-Davidson, painted mostly white with light blue trim. Two helmets, equipped with very thick insulation and a mic system so he could communicate with whoever was riding with him, sat on the shelf nearby, and he handed one to Maddie and shrugged into the white leather jacket. Everything he had was pale to combat the heat of the south, which could get ridiculous even for the locals that had grown up all their life here. When Maddie was helmeted, Justin brushed back his hair and did the same, jumping onto the bike and waiting for Maddie to get on behind him and cling like a flea. "Ready?"

"Yep." Maddie's curt response spurred Justin to slip the key into the ignition and start off, the engine quiet as it started through the quiet morning streets. He left Minkler and turned onto Bryan street, then onto route 59, which slipped through the little town and passed a small body of water that was connected to two little streams. It felt... free. Free when he rode his bike, when he left Abita Springs for school each morning. If he needed to go to the store or run an errand for his parents they insisted he take his father's car, however, so he had more room to run more when the need arose. He did use his bike whenever he could, however, paying for gas by a mix of lawn mowing and helping Maddie when she needed it.

The first five minutes of walking, Neal felt nothing but the pavement beneath his feet. The short burst of emotion faded out quickly though. He pulled at his collar, not too much though. Sweat ran along the curves of his face and his long bangs made it impossible to keep his eyes from stinging. Where was he now? It was hot where he came from, but somehow it wasn't like this. Less humidity in the air and everyone had their air-conditioned houses and air-conditioned cars back home.

He stopped against a tree to watch the road. He'd lay in the middle of the road as soon as ask for directions, but it was getting hot. Even if he did break his pride it would be worthless because he'd only seen one car and a motorbike since he started walking. He imagined people here were avoiding the summer like he should have been. Instead of standing there insulting himself, he started walking again. When driving in, he swore he saw water...somewhere. Or was he only dreaming then? He nearly stumbled into the road.

It hurt...it really hurt to do so, but he gave up. What choice did he have at this point? Neal didn't bring anything with him before he stormed out. He sat under a tree, which at least offered shade, and pulled himself into a tiny space. If he was lucky, he'd look like part of the shadow. He was by the road and didn't appear to be on anyone's property so it would be fine. Without closing his eyes, he rested. It would be fine as long as he never closed his eyes.

It was a six minute ride with little traffic, the road shadowed on each side but doing little to take away from the oppressive humidity. That was the problem with living so near swampland and the ocean, but Justin was used to it, and so was Maddie. Not to say they didn't hate it from time to time, and this was no different. There was a small, cleared area by the small body of water, just off the side of the road, and that was where Justin pulled into, letting Maddie off before he toed up the kickstand and pulled the helmet off his head. "Sweet God it's hot!" Justin panted, hanging the helmet on the left handle and getting onto both feet before shrugging out of the jacket. "I swear..."

"You swear too much." Maddie pointed at him. "Mama's gonna get you one of these days."

"Mama never hears it." Justin grinned at his sister and looked around, curious at a snap of a twig nearby, then shrugging it off as either his imagination or an animal. "C'mon." He waved Maddie down the small trail that led to the water and the two streams, one that fed it and one that drained it. There was a very slight dip in the land that sent them down, but otherwise there was a little pier that jutted out into the water, where a few chairs usually sat. Maddie found a solid patch of shade and flopped down, readjusting her green blouse then her dark chestnut hair, pulling it up into a bun so it was off her neck.

"The shade isn't exactly much of a difference." Justin flopped down alongside his sister and sighed, leaning back against the cool grass and sighing at the feeling of cool grass soaking through his shirt. "Well, it kinda is."

"Kinda." Maddie stretched, turning onto her front and pressing her face against the grass. "Good smell... Last smell of freedom we'll get for a long time!" She pulled a pouting expression and Justin laughed at it, rolling his eyes, which had two separate colors. His left was green, and his right was light brown. It was often the topic of conversation, or flirtation at school.

He didn't mean to, but he closed his eyes just for a second. He couldn't help it when the sweat made his eyes burn. And he might have gotten away with it too, but the damned sweat would not stop. It rolled down his arms and traced the red lines that sliced at random angles along his forearms. For a second, it felt just like the blood that flowed out only a week ago. The world around him melted away and was quickly replaced.

Neal was a good kid. Quiet, always a little weird. He had no friends and he hid in the corner of the classroom. Freak. Emo kid. Was he emo? He never thought so before, but he'd seen what his watercolors looked like--one part beautiful, one part tortured. If he had gotten close to others, maybe it wouldn't have ended the way it did. He twitched in his daymare. Her knife flashed forward. "I hate you! I never wanted you. You were supposed to have died." Her pretty blue princess eyes glassed over and she smiled. His arms became peppered with marks from where he held them in front of him. Then, the knife dodged his arms and-

He was on his feet running even before the vision finished clearing. He thought he screamed, but he didn't hear anything. No, he did hear voices. Someone would help him this time so he switched directions and ran toward them.

Justin rolled onto a cooler patch when he got too warm, wriggling to stretch out but avoid getting grass stains on his shirt. "You talk about lack of freedom, pah. Sis, you got a lot more freedom than I do what with bein' at home. No individual classes to go to, snackin' in the middle of a test, bathroom breaks whenever you want... I think you got it easy."

Maddie pulled a sour face and sat up. "Yeah, totally easy. Y'know, with my crippling fear of people'n all."

Justin rolled his eyes. "Whatever, whatever. You know you can get out okay. I mean that's better than most. And you even got friends! You can't be sayin' anything against that."

"Naah." Maddie smiled, then something odd met their ears from nearby. Looking back toward the road, Justin stood and stepped in front of Maddie. A scream? Or a yell? He didn't know what it was at first but when the source of the sound came barreling out of the growth between trees, he gasped and took another step forward, arms suddenly full of the teen---probably his age. "Hey, woah! Woah, slow down, where's the fire?" He straightened the man up and put his hands on his shoulders. "Calm down, hey. You okay?" He glanced backward at Maddie, but she had taken to keeping directly behind him. Neither of them had seen this one around town before, and they would have remembered someone in black. Black wasn't a favored color because of the heat and its tendency to absorb it.

The trees ended abruptly and suddenly Neal wasn't running anymore. It took him a second to realize why. He looked at the guy and the younger girl. Another second, then he realized where he was and exactly what he was doing. This wasn't Metairie and he looked insane. He backed up quickly, hating the feel of someone touching him. It was nearly enough to send him into another panic, but he stamped down on the feeling. Five thousands words flitted through his mind, none of which were a good idea to say.

He tried his hardest to put on his usual 'don't disturb me' face. He couldn't look cold or unperturbed though. His mind kept whirling, panicking. He had a freak out in public. He wasn't handling this well at all. They would talk and then everyone would know and then his father would send him to a shrink because lord he loved that man, but he was oblivious. His father thought he was doing well considering. All these thoughts passed in a matter of seconds and still Neal hadn't responded. Say 'I'm fine'. He opened his mouth to say it.

"Shit!" He bolted without another word and was gone back to the road with amazing speed. Maybe he was there short enough time that they didn't get a good look at his face. In and out--his only hope was to be gone before he could screw up more, because he definitely couldn't say he was alright.

He was gone in a second, taking off with a strange parting farewell, and Justin stood, dumbfounded, as Maddie shook her head behind him. "What the fuck?"

"Maddie, Jesus!" Justin turned to her, surprised.

"Well what the hell! That guy's a psycho!"

Justin shook his head, stepping forward and finding a hand around his belt loop. "Don't you dare run off after him you stupid git!"

"I'm not!" Justin turned and pulled Maddie up. "But.. C'mon, sis, he wasn't psycho. He was just... probably disturbed. Just... lost or something... or being chased...?"

"God, Justin, c'mon, chased? Sheesh." Maddie pushed him. "C'mon, let's get home, that was way too weird for me... I'm already freaking out..." She took a deep, shuddering breath and fanned herself, and Justin grasped her hand.

"Calm down, Mad, we're fine. C'mon, we'll head home... I agree, that was crazy..." Maddie looked relieved as they trudged back up the hill and to Justin's bike, which shone brightly in the sun that managed to hit it through the trees. But he had a hard time forgetting that face as he drove with Maddie clinging to him. Panicked. Just... afraid. The protective instinct in Justin was far, far too strong for a teenager to handle sometimes and it made him want to seek out that black-clad peer of his, see what was wrong, try to fix it somehow.

This time, the heat and Neal's own tiredness didn't get to him. He didn't think he knew the way back, but he was in front of his new house before he had time to consider that he didn't. The panic all leeched out with his run, but he was left soaked through in sweat and short of breath. He waited until he caught it again to walk inside.

His father was awake and surged toward the door the second he walk in. "Kid, where have you been?! I was worried sick!"

Neal shrugged one shoulder, but he let himself be swept into a hug. His father's embrace was too tight and yet comforting. "I just went out for a jog."

"In this heat?! You shouldn't wear so much black. I know you own other clothes," his father, Jack complained. Neal did indeed own other colors, but not nearly enough in long sleeves and they both knew he wouldn't wear less. He pulled away and muttered that he would be in his room.

His room was little more than a door and two boxes. They didn't have a chance to take much because media was swooping in. The furniture and everything else would come next week, after they settled. So for now, Neal curled up on the floor and tried to pretend the day hadn't happened at all. Hopefully those two kids were doing the same thing. He'd start school here tomorrow. It seemed he and his father were here to stay.

When they were free of the heat and in the cool living room again, both Justin and Maddie sighed in relief and flopped themselves into their respective chairs, which sat in the little windows alcove. Their mother rolled her eyes and turned off the phone, which she was probably chattering into the whole time they were gone. "So Callie said we've got a new neighbor." She said, and had a slightly thoughtful look on her face.

"Oh yeah?" Justin raised a brow.

"Yep. Said Harvey mentioned it when he came runnin' back home. Kid was pretty startled, said one of 'em was lying in the driveway like a piece of roadkill. Teenager, 'bout your age, Jus."

"Oh really?" Justin sat up and cast a glance to Maddie. "We had a weird happenin' just a little bit ago." At Jenny's curious look, he pressed on. "Well see, we were at the pond over near the park and we heard a yell, and this kid just... ran out from the road to us like the dang devil was after him. Wearin' all black too, like it's not hot enough."

"Wow." Jenny hung the phone on its receiver and came into the living room, sitting on the couch. "Maybe we should go meet 'em. Say hi, y'know."

"Yea?" Maddie grimaced.

"Not you, sweetie, I know. But maybe your father and I will tomorrow, while school's goin' on. I'll give you a few book assignments, Mads, and see if the newbies need any help unpacking or anything. And you." Jenny turned her gaze on Justin. "If you see that kid, you be nice to him."

Justin rolled his eyes. Of course he would be. He wasn't a stereotypical teenager that hated people---he preferred to welcome them and befriend them, and his mother knew that perfectly well. They fell into a relative silence as the front door opened.

Despite the sleep Neal had in the car, he slept again until dinner time. The house had a strange feel to it, but he chalked it up to being empty. It didn't really stop him from sleeping and he was tired enough to have normal sleep without nightmares. Maybe there was a limit to how many times he could freak out in one day.

The two of them ate a quiet dinner which was pretty impressive because neither of them could find the pans his father swore he packed. There were bowls though. Jack was always the family cook, so at least that didn't change. Some habits died hard though. If there was enough food for three people, no one said anything. He and his father had an easy relationship that didn't require words, just little glances. The bond only strengthened with the incident so that Neal almost swore he could hear his father's thoughts. It will get better.

There was no sleeping now. It would be impossible for Neal. He spent the rest of the night playing Brawl in the comforting darkness, until the sun left a patch on the bare floors. With no curtains, the morning announced itself the second the sun rose. Only a few more hours until school then.

His father was a big man with light brown hair and pale brown eyes. He looked more like a professional boxer than a Realtor, but his stature made him someone people would listen to. He smiled when he came in, looking from son to daughter to wife, and thumbed behind him. "Justin, I got your school stuff, it's in the car. Figured you'd forget."

Justin felt his face grow warm and he stood, ducking out of the house to grab the dozen or so bags from the back of the dark red car, taking them upstairs to toss onto his bed. He remained there the rest of the day, only leaving to grab some food to take upstairs so he could finish setting everything up. Organization was his forte, and he had a dozen binders that he filled with a specific number of notebooks, loose leaf paper, and pens and pencils. Most he slid under his bed, but a couple he put in his old backpack that had seen better days, but was his favorite, and had a familiar smell and feel. When he finished he pulled a sketchbook out of his bedside table drawer and propped himself up on his pillows to draw.

He wasn't quite sure when he fell asleep, but a distant ringing startled Justin and he sat up with a painful crick in his neck. He had drawn a rather haunted-looking house before losing consciousness. Most of his drawings were dark and intense, frightening. They made people wonder if he had underlying mental conditions or some form of depression, but he was a generally happy person. His dark personality just came out when he drew, or told his little stories. Sitting up, he slapped his hand down on the alarm on his table and looked out the window. It was sunny, but there were dark clouds approaching. He'd have to pack his rain gear in case it started before he left. Finally, the first day of school, and it felt like a rush. He'd see his friends, his favorite teachers, and he had his entire schedule memorized and could recite the entire thing by heart. Smiling to himself, Justin got up to get ready, though it was barely six.

Neal showered and did his best to find something besides black to wear. He settled on a greyish-blue shirt, but he ended up putting a black jacket over it. It was something they picked up at a gas station store--the sort of jacket that was so cheaply made it would fall apart in a month, but that sort of thin product was all he needed. Neal was just scrounging through one of his boxes when his father knocked on the door.

"You better not make me drag you out of bed. This coffee is not going to waste!" Jack yelled. Neal snorted at the words because they were just so normal. Normally Neal wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than a fire alarm.

"I'm up! Did you buy milk?"

A pause. "Milk, pizza, and coffee. The life essentials. You make a list and I'll go shopping for the rest while you're at school."

Neal nodded his head even though his father wouldn't see. He found his school supplies--notebooks, sketchpad, pencils--and shoved them into a black spider-web design bag. He would be showing up randomly for school and he'd probably need to talk to someone and get a schedule. This move hadn't been planned, but at least his dad googled schools and found the start date. They took their coffee to go and his father started the short drive early just in case.

The house was dark. Usually the rest of his family got up at seven thirty. His father was often gone by a quarter 'till eight and his mother and Maddie started their lessons at eight thirty. For lunch Justin would often drop by home because his mother's cooking was much better than anything the school had to offer. Creeping downstairs after a quick shower, Justin kept his bag cradled against his front and tiptoed into the kitchen. He made a pot of coffee, filling a thermos for himself and refilling the half-empty pot for his parents later. He checked outside, finding the sky darkening more, but not yet threatening rain, so he packed his rain gear, which was just thick, clear plastic, into his bag and tossed it on his back after his jacket and helmet. Humid, yes, but not uncomfortable yet.

As he sped toward school in Covington, just next door to Abita Springs, he got that familiar tingling in the pit of his stomach. His first day back, like everyone's, and he was just a little nervous, as usual. The streets were quiet and he only saw one school bus, perhaps filled with kids moaning about the start of school or trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep. Justin loved it though. That tingling of anticipation, seeing his friends more steadily again, finding his classrooms and sitting usually in the back so he wasn't bothered.

And before the end of last year he had signed up to be a type of tour guide for new students. Since he knew the place like the back of his hand, his good-natured side had pushed him to take on that responsibility. Usually seniors would show freshmen around, but there tended to be new arrivals of their own age or a year or two younger that needed help. On the long stretch of highway Justin was able to let his mind wander to that. His information would be given to one of the new students and any time they needed him, he would be called away to help. He liked the thought of being needed, even just a little bit, for menial things like where certain classes were or who certain people were. He smiled when he saw the school, the Lions logo emblazoned on one of the walls in the gloom of morning. Thunder began rolling above his head.

The sky darkened as they drove, but Neal felt his mood brighten with it. He always loved rain, especially being in it, so he didn't mind he didn't have an umbrella. As long as his sketchpad stayed dry, it didn't matter. The drive took about ten minutes and soon Neal was staring up at the school. It was strangely beautiful for a place not covered in black. They hurried inside when thunder rumbled ominously close.

Arriving fifteen minutes early turned out to be a good thing. They met with the vice principal who dealt with student schedules. Neal managed to sign up for all the usual senior courses and an art elective as well, even if he wouldn't touch his watercolors. He didn't have the same troubles with pencils.

"Well Mr. Bayden. Thank you for enrolling your son here. He'll be in good hands," the vice principal spoke and shook Jack's hand before turning to Neal. "Son, you wait here for a minute and someone will come by to show you around the school and help you find your classes." Neal nodded and tried not to look as uncomfortable in his chair as he felt. His father left and the vice principal went about his other business, leaving Neal outside the office, alone.

He found his way to the student parking in the back, beside the faculty parking, and killed the engine, hanging the helmet in its waterproof bag and straightening his backpack, pausing to dig his ID badge out and hook it to his shirt pocket. Halfway to the front entrance, Justin was ambushed by several of his friends; Greg, a junior with light brown hair streaked lightly from the time he spent in the sun. Randy, red-headed and somewhat shy, a senior at seventeen. Alan, someone he'd known since gradeschool and seemed to follow him through every class somehow. They caught Justin off guard and took turns passing him around in a one-armed hug.

"'S been too long, damn it." Alan sighed, throwing his arm around Justin as they started on to the entrance. "How've you been?"

"Y'know, same boring goings-on." Justin shrugged. "I signed up for the student tour this year, figured I'd give a hand to a newbie for once."

"Hey, that's real nice, man." Greg elbowed him. "Gonna take on a shitload 'o responsibility this year I bet."

"Naah, just the usual amount." Justin moved out from the middle of the group and turned. "And I gotta get to the office before I waste time! See y'all around third hour!" He turned and sprinted forward as the first drops of rain fell, hurrying into the building and shaking slightly in the sudden chill of the overworked air conditioners. Walking forward, he rearranged his bag and passed a few people in front of the office, doing a doubletake as he recognized the dark-haired guy from yesterday. Was he new, then? He shook the idea off and stepped up to the main desk. "Hey, Miss Bennie." Justin grinned at the older woman, who always seemed to have a soft spot for him. "Got my newbie info?"

"Got it right here, sweetie." Miss Bennie, a large but always smiling woman, handed a piece of paper over to him. "Since you signed up near the end of last year the faculty's all aware of your job. But don't go usin' it as an excuse to skip, you little punk!"

Justin laughed, shaking his head and scanning the paper. Neal Bayden. The picture, which was what would probably appear on the student's ID badge, was beside it, and Justin's brows shot up. That kid, again. Odd. He shrugged, however, stepping out of the office and facing the new student. "Neal?"

A minute of sitting and Neal already had the cuff of his jacket fraying. His hands wouldn't stay still so he kept pulling at picking at the sleeves. Though he didn't have long to wait since the VP left, he felt like he'd been waiting forever. Other students were around now and he just knew he was out of place. If he didn't think his father would flay him alive, he would run off and skip the whole first day.

Someone calling his name snapped Neal out of his thoughts. He looked up to see a face that made him inwardly groan. He only had a second to see before, but it wasn't a face easily forgotten. A dozen emotions flashed over his face before he stamped down on them and put on a don't care attitude look instead. He pulled to his feet and offered his hand to shake. "Hey, yeah...that's me. Are you the person that's supposed to show me around?" he asked. He fully intended to pretend like yesterday didn't happen. If he acted like today was normal, then it was. He dearly hoped the other boy caught on and did the same.

Justin raised a brow at the strange choice of clothes. A jacket, even in this level of air conditioning, was very strange. But he didn't have any right to question him, so he shook the newcomer's hand. "Yep, that'd be me. Justin Liddell. I'll be showin' you 'round the place, help you with your schedule, then if you need a hand any time along the day, just gotta ask. I'll be let out for whatever you'll need." He decided to quell his talkative tendencies, pointing Neal down the main hall. Yesterday was still fresh in his mind, and his mother's phone call with Callie came back to him.

So this was the guy that had moved in just yesterday on Bryan Street? Maybe, but he hadn't seen the newcomers to make that idea very solid. He was, however, the one that had looked as if a demon were after him yesterday, startling both Justin and his sister. "So you new to the place?" Justin asked as he pointed out each room. Mostly, these were freshmen and sophomore rooms, so he didn't really have to worry about these. "Got your schedule? Lemme see it, I'll get you to each room the quickest way."

Neal thanked the stars that Justin didn't immediately ask about yesterday. After shaking his hand, Neal pulled back his arm and fiddled with his sleeves again. He kept his eyes mostly to his surroundings, only stealing a couple glances at the other boy. He pulled out the white slip of paper that had his schedule printed on it. He passed it to Justin without a word. He already read over it, but they were all just meaningless words now. He barely remembered what his classes were.

"Just moved here yesterday. Or...we're in the process of moving." He didn't intend to explain in detail. He trailed off as he got lost in his thoughts again. Just jumping on the first deal for a house they could find, that wasn't normal at all. It must have been the quickest buy this town ever saw. Neal turned back to look at Justin. "I guess you're from around here though. You have any advice to help me fit in?"

Justin unfoleded the paper, half listening to Neal when he spoke. "Oh yeah? My pop's a Realtor, probably sold you guys your house." He didn't make too much of a habit of asking about clients his father got in with. As long as they were in love with the town or the house they were looking at, that was all that mattered. Though he did like the man's anecdotes about awful or insufferable clients that seemed to want everything in the world. "Oh, hey, you got my first class! A math class, this's gonna be easy for now." He smiled over his shoulder toward Neal.

"Around here? Hell, was born here." He glanced around after letting yet another curse slip. He had such a nasty habit and while never called out, students would get a muted stare when they didn't censor themselves. "And so far as I know, just gotta be yourself. Nothin' special. Just don't act like an ass to anyone and you'll be pretty well received." They came to a set of main stairs and headed up. "Must've been hard to move, though. 'Specially moving schools'n all." Tilted his head in silent inquiry.

A hesitant smile crossed Neal's face. He wasn't planning on making friends, but he could deal with an acquaintance or two. Justin seemed like a decent person for it and he was helpful. Having math together wouldn't be...bad. He started paying sharper attention to his surroundings when they came to a staircase. Up they went and Neal rolled his eyes. Justin just had to go and suggest he be himself. His usual self seemed to be the root of half his problems. It was pretty standard crap advice anyway.

"Thanks for the info. Don't think that's gonna work for me though." No elaboration as usual. He switched to talking about the move because he didn't think he could avoid responding altogether if he didn't want to be labeled even more as a freak. "I guess so. But it's a good move. We just...had to, y'know. Would've been harder to stay." The average high school senior would have thrown a fit at being moved away from home and friends, but even his friends treated Neal differently. Back there, everyone knew the story and they looked at his family different now. Pity, fear, whispers...Neal didn't think his old friends were really friends anymore.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Justin moved aside slightly so he could walk alongside Neal. "Yeah? Must be hard. But look, see, whatever happened, it'll leave you alone here. No one's gonna care about what happened or didn't happen where you came from, yeah? We're not much for judging people, not based on what trouble they had before." They turned a corner and Justin glanced at Neal's schedule. "Here, this'll be your locker right up her at the end." He jogged a few steps forward and pressed his hand against it. "And see there? First class of the day right across." He pointed at the door just a few paces down and across the hall.

He handed Neal the folded schedule again. "Anything you need, just find or ask for me, yeah? I didn't sign up to help new students to be a lazy ass about it." He smiled his usual friendly smile, brushing back the light half of his hair and stepping away to find his locker. He had already memorized that and his new combination as well, and his locker was just a quarter of the way down from Neal's. He pulled the heavy bag off his shoulder with a sigh and opened it and his locker, stocking the thing with his spare binders, pens, pencils, and a secret stock of colored pencils if he was struck with the urge to add a little color into something he sketched. On his knees, he sifted through his bag and glanced around now and then when a teacher passed.