[TAC] THREE'S A CROWD

Chapter 01

{New}

The sound of sneakers squeaking across the gym floor made New grind his teeth together. It was similar to the feeling of knives being shoved into his ears, and he had to endure it every single day.

He really hated gym.

Although he was quite miserable at the fact that he had to take part in Physical Education, he was still somewhat glad that, since he was in ninth grade, he wouldn't ever have to take it again. That motivation alone was what kept him going.

Another positive aspect about it all was that New had gym at the very end of the day, right before the bells rung to mark the end of the school day, so he didn't have to worry about changing back into his regular clothes at lightning speed and going to class all sweaty.

He was struggling through his last period of the day, nearly dead as he willed his feet to keep jogging, taking him around lap after lap of the large school gym. He was currently on his last lap, but he was still certain his legs were going to give out at any moment, and the entire class would get to watch him topple over in defeat.

He watched as the other kids jogged in groups, laughing and conversing as though running was so easy, he watched as the certain determined group of boys ran like they were in a sprint for the Olympics, and then there were the huddle of girls who walked casually and ignored all of Coach's warnings for them to run.

It was normal for New to run alone; he did it every day. In fact, he did a lot of things by himself every day, and he never had a problem with it. Most people didn't appreciate his humor or acknowledge his intellect the way he wanted them to. He definitely wasn't shy---he just wasn't keen on talking to people too much.

Once his laps were finally finished, New found the usual corner of the gym by the bleachers to sit down and hide behind so he could get a second---or maybe the whole class period---to fucking breathe. Everyone else went to participate in any physical activity of their choice, which was what the coach let them do every Friday. Resting next to the bleachers had been New's choice of physical activity for a while now.

He watched the usual posse of boys who were way too invested in gym, went straight over to the rack where the basketballs were and started dribbling away, shooting into the hoop, and doing whatever else basketball involved. He wondered where they got all that energy.

It was always the boys who get into the basketball team that spent all their free time during gym shooting baskets. It amused New in sort of a bitter and pessimistic way, it really did.

Although none of these boys had ever spoken to New even once in their lifetimes, New felt like he knew a little something about each of them. He wouldn't admit that he watched them every day, or something of the stalkerish sort.

His eyes followed Arm as he dribbled the basketball up the court, and he'd known that Arm was going to stick his tongue out in concentration right before he shot the ball. He'd gotten used to Arm's habits; how the boy literally stuck his tongue out every time.

Damn.

New watched as Gunsmile smirked every time he was about to cross one of the boys; New could see it coming before anyone else did.

So basically, he'd watched them enough to know things about them that he shouldn't have.

He had the perfect view of them; could see the sweat dripping down their foreheads and sticking to the back of their t-shirts, the flexing of their muscles every time they gripped the basketball or moved to block someone. It was a very rewarding spectacle.