Here's the next chapter! I wish I had time for something Halloween related, like a special or something but by the time I thought of the idea it was too late. I don't know how I'd go about doing it anyway. I feel like this one might have a couple spelling errors. It was a little hard editing today, but I hope I'm wrong.

I apologize if some of you feel the story is going too slow, but I can assure you that these parts are necessary to the overall plot.

Song: Edwin Raphael - Queen Of Coasts (Don't play the song until it says so in the story for the added effect.)

Keegan's POV

The rest of the day continued in a similar manner, with a few costumers here and there. Before I knew it it was time to head home. As I headed in the back to tell Sandra I was heading home for the day I bumped into Shaine. I guess she was checking out for the day as well.

"Oh, are you two heading home?" Sandra asked, noticing us entering the room.

"Yeah I'm heading out." I informed her, pointing towards the door.

"Same." Shaine sighed, looking annoyed and impatient.

"Alright. Before you two go I left a bag for each of you to bring home in one of the displays. Its nothing special just some items I thought I'd reward you with." She mentioned as she looked through some paper work.

"Thank you Sandra." I was really happy receiving a bag. I'm saving up for my own apartment, my own independent life, so I'll take a free meal any day. I'd rather not tell them that though.

Shaine stayed quiet and left the room without saying anything. I followed behind her after thanking Sandra once more. I walked over to the display and took out my bag. When I looked up I saw Shaine heading for the door. I quickly snagged her bag and handed it to her before she could leave the diner.

"You're forgetting something." I said, holding out the bag. She gave me a strange look before removing it from my hands. Again she was silent, not speaking. She just walked out the door and headed in the opposite direction of me.

(Play The Song) 

After watching her disappear into the oncoming darkness I started my own trek home. I thought to myself as I stared into the deep setting sky. There was barely enough light to brighten the path home but I've been down this route enough times not to get lost or stumble over any objects lying about.

I thought about how I would approach the others. Alayne and Nikki did not respond how I'd hoped. I'm still in the dark on this situation. I find it stupid that no one is even trying to talk to me. What's going on?

My father was out drinking again so when I returned to the house it was quiet. I took a lengthy shower, continuing to plan out my next approach. I have to find someone tomorrow, cause the longer I wait the harder its going to get to fix everything.

I got out of the shower and headed to bed. I pulled the baby blue penguin cover up to my neck after turning out the lights. I drifted to sleep, slowly. I don't know how long I was out but sometime during the night I woke up drenched in cold sweat. My panting was heavy and my body was shaking. It was another night terror. I haven't had one in so long I figured they were gone for good. It was devastating knowing the problem was resurfacing. I had no one to talk to or comfort me about it... I was all alone again. I curled up into a ball, trying to make myself as small and contained as possible, but it didn't help hold back the tears. I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in Theo's arms, but not only does he not like me, it seems he hates me. I never wanted things to end up this way, heck I don't even know what I did to upset him and all of my "friends".

In the morning I got ready for school. I didn't have much time to sleep and it was getting pretty late, so I couldn't stop in at the diner for breakfast but I still had the bag Sandra gave me yesterday. I unrolled and parted the top of the paper bag revealing a dinner roll, a bagel and a bottle of "The World's Brightest Orange Juice". I smiled and giggled to myself a little. To be honest this was something I really needed. My world is becoming darker with every passing day so this is nice pick-me-up. Its almost as if Sandra knew my love for orange juice.

Before I headed out I took a quick look in the shattered mirror. The appearance I saw through the small shards of glass was no surprise, the bags under my eyes were so noticeable it was almost as if I were wearing a sigh that read "Sleep deprived" on my face.

Stepping outside into the early morning due felt refreshing but also a little sad. The neighborhood looked sort of lonely as the sun peaked over the trees in the distance. This would be a pretty location if it weren't for the piles of trash bags and cans littered in the streets and grass. The people living here are lazy and messy. Anytime the trash is removed they don't make an effort to keep it that way.

I snacked on the bagel and orange juice on my way to the bus stop. It was a pretty good breakfast. Its definitely something I'd stick to if I were able. I finished my orange juice and threw the bottle into a near by bin while I waited for the bus to arrive.

I lifted my bag off the ground and headed into the bus that had just arrived. The students were just as loud as ever. As I walked down the bus I received some strange looks from some of the kids. I felt as if I were being judged. I just took a seat in the furthest corner of the bus and tried to make myself as small as possible. I didn't want to be the first one off the bus this time but I knew I had to be, so before the bus even came to a stop I stood from my seat and placed myself near the exit. I felt eyes burning through my back. It made me uncomfortable but I had to do this... I had to talk with them to find out what was going on.

I sprinted out the door as soon as the bus was parked. I charged for the from door and scanned the area for any familiar faces just like I had done last time. I saw Nikki with Stacie but I didn't approach since I needed to have a one on one conversation.

I spent awhile searching the halls and was just about to give up when I saw Brandon leaving the boys bathroom. I ran up to him, startling him a bit. He tried walking away from me but I kept on his tail while calling out to him. He turned around abruptly, freezing me in my spot.

"Look, I'm not supposed to be talking to you. They told me what you did." He said, nervously looking back and forth. I could tell he was anxious.

"That's the thing, what DID I do?" I asked, raising my voice. I almost swore under my breath when the bell went off interrupting our conversation.

"I gotta go." He said before rushing off to his class.

My first class was awkward. More people were staring at me than usual. Well... to be honest no one really stares at me, not that I'm aware of anyway so I found this strange. It got even weirder when I entered the halls. I had eyes on me from left to right. Their expressions were the same as those who were on the bus. I remember when I wished for anyone to see me, I longed for anyone to notice my existence but now it seemed everyone in class had noticed me... but not in the way that I'd hoped. Their judgmental stares shrunk my soul even further. I felt awful about myself, and I don't even know why. I went around the school the rest of the day with my head hung low. My heart ached and my breaths grew harsh. I ran into one of the bathroom stalls to calm myself down. I tried to relax, I needed to, I still had to talk with Ash and Stacie. I couldn't do that if I was hyperventilating in the middle of a conversation.

After I got a hold of myself I left the bathroom and entered class. I did my best to ignore everyone around me, I focused on school and that was it.

The moment school ended I headed for the door, hoping to get out of the seemingly muggy building. On my way out I saw Ash, Theo and Brandon walking to the exit. I tailed them in secret, hoping I could catch Ash when he breaks off from the group. They stood in the parking lot and talked for a bit before splitting. The moment the other two were out of view I emerged from behind the large plant pot and walked over to him.

"Ash..." I called. He flicked his head over to the direction of my voice. He looked startled, that soon changed to pure anger.

"Don't talk to me." He growled, stomping towards me. His approach was like an earthquake cause my legs were shaking.

"And know that I'm not intimidated by you." He added, pressing a finger against my chest. "Know that anything you throw my way will come back to hit you twice as hard. Its the same with the rest of my friends." He threatened. I'd never seen this side of Ash before, and it scared me... a lot.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." I stuttered, trembling in place.

"Oh... so you still want to play this game huh." He said, backing away. "Just remember what I told you."

Another defeat. It was beginning to feel frustrating, but the pain and sadness was still far greater. I felt tears crawling out of my eyes, I guess I just couldn't hold it in this time either. Instead of sitting there crying I made sure to catch the bus. I wiped at my eyes, trying to clean my tear stained cheeks before getting on the bus.

During work it was much harder to concentrate, I was tripping over myself and dropping things left and right. Sandra noticed something was wrong and offered me the day off, but what else would I have to do? Its not like I have anyone to hang out with, they all hate me.

I rested my head on the counter waiting for the next customer. The doorbell went off catching my attention. I looked up, meeting Shaine's eyes. She was very late, so I wasn't expecting her to come in.

"Hey." I greeted with a welcoming smile.

"Yo." She said in low unamused tone. I wanted to ask her what held her up so late, but I didn't want to come off as rude. Thankfully I still got an answer as Sandra emerged from the back room and asked the question herself.

"Why are you thirty minutes late?" Sandra asked wearing a curious look.

"Family business." She sighed.

"Alight." Sandra nodded in understanding. So I'm guessing she's having family problems as well huh. Why can't life be simple?

Nothing much happened at work, only a couple people came in, thankfully, since I'm so out of it. I apologized to Sandra before heading home. She assured me there were no problems. I just wanted get under my covers and sleep the rest of the day away, well technically night. I didn't feel like doing anything else.

I entered the house getting ready to head upstairs, but felt something hit the side of my head. It was an empty beer can. I looked up to see my father silently sitting at the table with a flat look on his face.

"Get me another pack of beer, I'm too exhausted to walk." He spoke after a silent minute. I stood there eying him, trying to figure out if he was serious.

"Why f*** are staring at me like an idiot? GO GET THE BEER!" He snarled. I knew he was far too drunk to even land a hit on me but there was still a chance he'd remember if I didn't get the beer, that would lead to a horrible beating and I'd rather avoid that so I decided to head to one of the more ghetto stores to buy a pack. I doubt they'd let me buy one in an average store, plus there was no way I was going to pass off as a twenty-one year-old. I entered the dark eerie club like shop and grabbed an eight pack of beer. When I walked over to the checkout counter to pay for it the cashier gave me a strange look but let me buy it anyway. It was around ten dollars, which wasn't too much of a problem now that I had a job.

As I was heading back a couple of guys waved me into an ally way about a block from my home. I looked back and forth before hesitantly making my way over to them. When they saw me coming they looked between each other with looks of excitement, which I found weird.

"Uh can I help you?" I asked as I reached them, looking side to side once again. I didn't want to get jumped so I tried to be as alert as possible. One of the guys smirked before walking over to me.

"Hey there, I have something I'd like you to help me with." He kept coming closer and closer. I almost ran away but for some reason I didn't, my eyes stayed glued to the attractive man that was approaching, I was a fool for coming over in the first place. The man got so close I could feel his breath on my ear. Soon enough he was nibbling on my neck, any person with sense would have ran far away from this situation, but me... I needed something to distract me from my awful life. I was nervous beyond measure but I didn't want to turn away. I whimpered as he slid his hands down my waists into my pockets. I'd never felt anything like this before so it was thrilling and felt amazing. My fingers removed themselves one at a time as I tried to keep hold of the pack of beer, but the pleasure was too great, the cans fell to the ground. The guy removed his hands from my pocket and backed away, still with a smirk on his face. He flipped up a wallet, and upon further examination I realized it was mine.

"H-hey, give that back!" I barely managed. I was such a mess it was hard for me to speak.

"Okay." He said in a deep voice. He removed the money from my wallet and handed the wallet back to me. I was scared, but really upset, I couldn't take this.

"Give me my money back!" I shouted louder this time.

"Only if you give me your body." He whispered seductively. There was no way in hell I'd be doing that, I don't want to give away my body for one-hundred dollars, while that was a lot of money for me I definitely didn't feel it was worth it.

"Otherwise beat it." He added, in a threatening voice. I didn't want to get mixed up in anything I'd regret later, so I just picked up the pack of beer and left. On my way out of the ally I overheard one of the guys saying how that never would've worked if I wasn't gay. I guess the main dude tried it before and got a fist to the face, or so I heard. Serves him right for doing something this low. Is there really something wrong with me? Do I really deserve what I'm getting? This truly is a cruel life.

I returned to the house and placed the pack of shaken beer on the table in front of my drunken father.

"Bout f***ing time." He slurred, reaching for the beer. I was feeling very numb at this point, I was void of emotion. I just headed to my room and buried myself under my covers.

"What the f***ing s***!" I heard my father yell from down stairs, I also heard liquid pouring onto the floor. I guess the can exploded. I couldn't help but to let out a dull chuckle before drifting off to sleep.  

---I hope to get the next chapter out sometime around next Saturday.