should've been me | original story (1)

001 - back to school

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"Shit, shit, shit!" Kwan yelled, running around his room and throwing various school supplies into his bag. The clock read 6:45 AM, and school started at 7 AM on the dot.

His friend, Valentina, always picked him and their mutual friend Parker up to take them to school ever since she could drive; and he suspected they'd be here any minute.

A car honked outside, causing him to practically jump out of his skin at the sudden noise.

He ran over to his window, opening it and peaking his head out. Sure enough, Valentina's car was parked in front of his house, "Hey, Val!" he screamed, waving his arms around to catch their attention.

Parker, noticed him first, rolling down the window of the passenger seat, "Hey, Kwan, get your ass down here!"

Valentina stretched across the middle counsel to look out the window as well, "Are you still in your pajamas?"

"Better question, are you wearing spongebob pajamas?" Parker asked. Even though Kwan couldn't see his smirk from his bedroom window, he knew it was there.

Kwan looked down at his spongebob sweatpants and shirt, "Fuck!"

He shut the window and ran over to his dresser. His phone, which was rested on top of it, rang and he hastily picked it up. He knew who it was before he heard her voice.

"First day of school and you're late." Val said, and Kwan groaned, "Just because you live close to the school doesn't mean we're waiting, you have five minutes and we're leaving you."

"My alarm didn't go off!" Kwan pouted when the first thing he pulled out of the drawer was an dirty hoodie, "And i can't find any clothes."

"I brought an extra sweatshirt, you can have it." Parker spoke up, "Unless you want to wear your spongebob shirt to school."

Kwan rolled his eyes despite the fact that the other couldn't see, "I'll be down in a sec."

He hung up the phone and grabbed the first pair of jeans he saw, pulling them on as he ran into the bathroom. In record time he managed to brush his teeth, barely tame his hair, and run down the stairs.

He didn't fail to notice Skye's empty room, and made a mental note to ask why she didn't wake him up.

Kwan walked out the door, immediately scowling when he saw Parker recording his walk of shame, "Will you put that away?" he asked, walking up to the car and getting in the back seat.

"I think you can make it onto the cover of vogue with that outfit." Parker joked, throwing his hoodie back and laughing when it to hit Kwan in the face.

"Thanks." Kwan muttered, slipping his pajama shirt off and sliding the hoodie on. He fought off a blush as he realized he was wearing Parker's hoodie.

Valentina spoke up before he could think too much about it, "Does your sister need a ride?"

"Skye already left, and I'm not sure we're close enough for you to refer to her as my sister." Kwan replied, putting on his seatbelt as Val drove away.

"So, living together for three years doesn't make you guys siblings?" Val asked, "Sounds like bullshit to me, you're just mad she didn't wake you up this morning."

"I can't believe it's already been three years." Kwan said, ignoring Val's statement. Maybe it was the fact that high school had been a blur, but he swore it was just yesterday he was a freshman.

Then it dawned on him that it had been four years since he saw his mother. Four years since she got into a car accident trying to get home for his 15th birthday. He was beginning to forget what her voice sounded like, and that drove him crazy.

"God, there's so many people." Val complained, pulling into the school parking lot and doing her best to avoid hitting any students.

"Hey, isn't that your sister?" Parker asked, pointing across the street to a group of girls. Kwan looked to where he was pointing, watching as Skye walked into the school building with three of her friends.

He recognized them as Kiara, Paige, and Lucia. Although, he wasn't sure Paige was actually their friend, she always seemed to just be tagging along.

People made fun of her for her childish looks, but Kwan thought the fact that she looked younger made her stand out. In a good way, of course.

Lucia was leading the group, long blonde hair flowing down her back as she waved to people walking in. If Kwan was being 100% honest, he'd admit he was a tiny bit scared of her.

Skye was laughing and pointing at a group of girls who were sitting at the picnic table right by the school entrance, oblivious to the fact that they were being made fun of.

Val pulled into one of the only empty parking spaces, turning off her car before letting her head rest against the steering wheel, "I hate school."

"Come on, it's not that bad." Parker reassured, opening his door and stepping out. Kwan did the same thing, and a few seconds later so did Val.

"Another year of waking up too early only to sit in a classroom that's either freezing cold or scorching hot." Val ranted, "Plus, the people here suck. I'm convinced you two are the only decent people."

Parker and Kwan looked at each other, smirking as they thought of the same thing. Parker was the first to say it, "What about your crush, hm?"

"Yeah, you still haven't told us who it is." Kwan complained, "Saying that she's in Skye's friend group doesn't help at all."

"Exactly." Parker agreed, "Maybe if we knew we could help."

"There's only four people in that group, don't be stupid." Val shot back as they walked into the school building, "Plus, like I would take advice from the most oblivious people ever."

"Hey, Kwan!" Someone called, tapping him on the shoulder and causing him to jump. He turned around to a smiling Paige, "Nice to see you again."

Kwan smiled back, "Nice to see you, too."

Paige walked off and Parker made a disgusted noise, "Why is she coming up to you?"

"We became friends over the summer." Kwan explained, "She was always over my house because, you know, Skye."

"Oh." Parker scowled, looking away.

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Kwan rested his head in the palm of his hands, listening to his Biology teacher drone on about his expectations for the year. He had his computer open, pretending to be scrolling through the syllabus, when in reality he was reading a book.

A message appeared on the side of his screen, and Kwan's eyes were immediately drawn to it. He couldn't help but smile when he realized who it was.

🐙
7:37 AM:

🐙: You look cute today.

You: are you stalking me?

🐙: Yeah alright, pretend like you didn't just see me.

You: i wish we had first period together

🐙: Me too, Biology is much better than Humanities

You: i wouldn't go that far

🐙: 🙄

🐙: Meet me in the upstairs
bathroom, I have something
for you.

You: okay, i'll be there in a sec

Kwan bit back another smile, clicking off the messaging tab and standing up to grab a hall pass.