-One-
Love is... strange.
Not that I’d know, of course. Don’t ever want to know, really. Too much work. I can barely deal with myself, why would I want to worry about another person? It's an interesting concept to contemplate, though.
“Bye, Mom! I’m heading out for school!” I call, pulling on my shoes.
“Okay!” She yells back. I see her poke her head from the kitchen, her strawberry blonde hair in a messy bun atop her head. I don't look anything like her- or my dad, really. My hair is a similar shade as my dad's, but his hair is more of an inky black. And, of course, they're both white. Sometimes I think I'm probably adopted.
I look at her with a frown and stop moving towards the door. "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Nothing's wrong, sweetie." She smiles. She looks the same as usual, and I don't know how to describe how I know, but it's just a feeling that something's off with her. I narrow my eyes slightly, and she knows that I can tell she's lying.
She sighs. "It's nothing, just.. some work stuff." She pats my head. "Nothing for you to worry about." She looks at me for a moment before pulling me into a short hug, and she sighs. "I don't know how you can always tell." I just shrug, because I don't know, either.
She heads back to the kitchen, then pokes her head out once more and calls: “Don’t forget, you’re going to your dad’s house tonight, so you’re in the car line.”
“Oh, yeah.” I’m glad she reminded me, I probably would have forgotten. It’s definitely going to take some getting used to.
Her face softens, and I cringe at the look of pity on her face. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I know it’ll be hard at first, but it really is for the best- for all of us.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know, Mom, you don’t have to comfort me.”
She sighs and gives me a small smile. “Well, alright then. Have a good day!" She pauses, then adds, "And don't flirt with too many girls!”
“Mom, I'm gay,” I remind her.
"Right, right, sorry, hun. Well, don't go flirting with too many boys, then. I love you!"
"Yeah, love you too," I mumble, opening the door. The cold air smacks me in the face and I tug the edges of my black beanie down, wind piercing through my clothes.
It’s probably odd that I don’t care much about my parents divorcing. I heard it’s usually a big deal and "really hurts the kid"- or something. But I don’t mind much. It was a bit of a surprise since they never fought much, but I guess it makes sense, looking back. They always seemed more like friends or roommates than a married couple. It’s weird going between houses, but I don’t mind as much as I thought I would. It'll just.. take some adjusting. That's all.
I readjust my headphones over my beanie and press play on my playlist before slipping my thin phone back into my pocket. I hum under my breath, glancing briefly to make sure no one is nearby as I walk down the sidewalk.
“Life’s alright in devil town
Yeah, right, no one’s gonna catch us now
Dad has bought a new car now
We’re fine, no one’s gonna catch us now"
A short instrumental plays and I bob my head gently. The walk isn't too long, which I'm thankful for. I like walking to school when it's warm out, but I'd like to get there as quickly as possible now. The less time I spend in the cold, the better.
A part in the song comes after a few moments of walking that I feel I can relate to now.
"Mum and Daddy aren't in love. That's fine, I'll settle for two birthdays."
The chorus starts up again soon and I sigh, singing along quietly.
--
When I get to class, I'm one of the only ones there. I take my usual seat in the back of the class and look at the clock at the front of the class. Great, about 20 minutes until class starts. I check the board to see if there are any clues about what we're doing in class today, but all that's there is the date, written in our teacher's curvy handwriting. January 22, 2022. It looks weird with so many twos, and I chuckle under my breath a little.
I pull my sketchbook out from my backpack along with two pencils, one more sharpened than the other for thinner lines, and my favorite drawing eraser. The end of my pencil eraser is coated in black from smudging dark spots of drawings, so I have to use a separate one for actually erasing.
I don't have any plans for what to draw yet, so I mostly just make little doodles and space fillers. I lightly sketch the shape of wild mushrooms, connecting a few at the stems. I go over it a few times, making some lines thicker and some thinner. I try my best to shade the ones close to others different shades so you can tell they're separate, but it's a bit difficult to show color with only a pencil.
I yawn and lay my head in my arm on the desk like a pillow and keep drawing, but my vision keeps going blurry so I set the pencil down and my eyes drift close.
I must've fallen asleep because I blink back into reality. I cover my mouth with my hand, yawning into my hoodie sleeve. I didn't get as much sleep as I would've liked last night, but I hope that short nap, however long it was, helps.
I raise my hand and ask to go to the water fountain. Hopefully the walk- and the water- will wake me up more.
"Fine, Mr. Pari. But be back soon, class will start shortly." I nod in response and stand up, scurrying out the door. I push my headphones back around my neck as I walk down the hall, only a few students around.
I take a few sips and stretch my arms some before heading back. I notice two tall men in suits walking down the hall, standing out very noticeably. I awkwardly step closer to the wall, not quite sure where to put my eyes.
"Hey, you." I freeze and glance around.
"Me?" I point to myself.
"Yeah, you," one of the people- the blonde one- says. "What's your name?"
I blink, confused as to why they would care. "Uh, Noah."
"Noah Pari?" The other asks.
I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "What do you care?"
They glance at each other, then look back at me. "We're looking for you. Please come with us," the person who spoke first says.
"Um, no thanks." I keep walking, picking up my pace some.
"I thought he was supposed to come?" One of the men hissed at the other.
"I thought he would!" he replies.
"No offense, but you guys seem really kidnap-y. Besides, I gotta get back to class." I pass the two people and keep heading towards my classroom. They can't kidnap me in the school, can they? Besides, it's not like I'm that interesting, anyway. If my life was a book, I'd be an awkward side character that has no lines.
I finally make it back to class and hurry back to the back of the class, slipping into my seat. I sigh a breath of relief and put my sketchbook away.
Mrs. Anderson, my homeroom teacher, stands at the front of the class. She opens her mouth to start talking, but she's cut off by the ring of the phone. She sighs, annoyed, and walks over to pick it up. She says something and then hangs up. Then, she turns and looks directly at me.
"Mr. Pari, some people are here to check you out of school. Take your stuff with you."
---
I walk down the hall and towards the office, my bag bouncing on my shoulder since I refuse to use both straps.
Who could possibly be picking me up this early from class? The school day's barely started-
Oh.
I open the door to discover the two men from before standing there. Of course.
"Sorry, Noah Pari, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," one of them says.
"What do you mean?"
My gaze goes fuzzy and gold sparkles dot the corners of my vision. My arms feel limp and my mind feels as though it's on autopilot- like I'm not actually controlling my actions or words.
"Um, Mr. Pari, these two say they're your dad's brothers? Your uncles?"
I find myself nodding and saying "yes" even though I know very well that I don't have any uncles or aunts on my dad's side. I have one pibling, my dad's nonbinary sibling. They said when I asked if I should call them my aunt or uncle that they liked the term 'pibling', a mix of parent and sibling, my parent's sibling. And neither of these people are them, that's for sure.
-
By the time we're outside and around the corner, out of sight, the golden sparkles start to fade. I gasp and take a deep breath, my eyes wide.
"What the fuck just happened?" I look over at the two people and glare. "And who are you guys?"
"I'm sorry I had to control you. But you refused when we asked!" One said (the blonde one this time), defensively.
I give him a weird look. "Control me? The fuck does that mean?"
The other person responds. "Someone will explain everything later, but for now, you have to come with us."
"Uh, no way! You guys are literally kidnapping me!"
They share a glance and the one on the left nods. The second person, Blondie again, takes a step closer to me.
"Hey, no! Back off!" I put my arms up in defense, even though I know I would never be able to fight either of them, especially not both. I drop my bag so I'll be able to move away easier, trying to subtly reach for my phone in my hoodie pocket.
"Sorry, Noah Pari." Why does he keep saying my full name?
My feet suddenly feel light and the world around me twists, spinning so fast I can't keep track. I think I'm going up- or down, maybe. I'm not actually sure if I'm moving or not. Then everything goes black.
