Love - For Real?

No One Should Have To Be Alone

Bryce's PoV

Finally, junior year awaits us and guess who didn't want to wake up this time?! "Didn't you, like, pressure me to wake up a few months ago?! WAKE! UP!" Despite me causing a ruckus, Naomi still keeps snoring. I groan before I grin wickedly. "You asked for it..." I grab my phone, open Spotify, hold my phone next to her face on full volume and....

WE WILL NEVER SLEEP, 'CAUSE SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK
AND WE WILL NEVER REST 'TIL WE'RE ALL FUCKING DEAD

Before I could play more of the song, she slaps my phone out of my hand. "...You're paying for a new phone." "And you're paying for a hearing aid!"

Even worse, she takes her sweet time getting ready! "I can't believe I'm saying this, BUT GET A MOVE ON!" "This is our junior year, I have to look good!" "This is not a party or anything, now come on!" At last, she comes out of the room, wearing a purple dress. "Finally." She looks at me with a small pout. "Finally? That's all you can say?" I roll my eyes amusedly. "You always look good, let's go now."

Luckily, we arrived one minute before the bell is supposed to ring. "Well, that was close..." I pant. "Since when do you care about being late?" Naomi asks. "I don't, but, you know, God forbid that you're late," I chuckle.

Soon enough, Sean and Mikey join us. "Hey, where's the punk at?" "Who, Ronnie? I dunno, probably off smoking pot with some of his guys." "Still? I swear to God, we ain't helping him if he gets into trouble." "Amen," the others agree with me. During class, he storms into the classroom with a "Sorry, slept in." Yeah, right...

In-between classes, we, save for Ronnie, were talking to one another on the schoolyard. Suddenly, the punk comes up to us. Fuck, it's been so amazing without him. "Y'all are still together with your loves?" he asks before he groans in despair. "How do you do that?"

Out of pity, I decide to help him... More or less. I'm just saying cliché stuff, honestly. He oughta fuck it up one way or another, anyway, as stupid as he is. "So... When you talk to a girl, it is important to...be yourself. I guess." Ronnie squints his eyes in confusion. "Huh?" Told you, he's stupid.

"Well, quite a few girls like punks. And, well, you're the punkiest punk we know, so, yeah." "Really?" As Ronnie starts to fire himself up, Naomi taps me on the shoulder. "You actually trying to help him or are you just trying to make fun of him?" she whispers. "A little bit of both," I reply with a shrug.

"Oh, I see someone over there!" I look at the girl Ronnie is referring to. Brown skin, black long hair, red lipstick...and a really mean glare. "I wouldn't-!" Too late. Not even after ten seconds, she slaps him across the face, topping it off with a "PISS OFF, GRINGO!" He returns to us with a pissed off look on his face. "Yeah. Quite a few girls like punks," he sighs sarcastically.

"Jeez, it's been an entire hour and I still feel that slap..." Ronnie mutters as we enter our practice room. "What'd you say, though?" He smirks at me. Well, that can only be bad. "I wanted to be more of a poet, you know?" He falls down to his knees. "I, a vagabond with no rules, you, a princess of the night! Let me-!" "Stop!" I interrupt him, "Man, and you wonder why you ain't getting a girl!"

He sighs and waves off my comment. "Whatever. Where's the blonde and your honey, anyway?" I shrug. "Dunno, but Mr. Reeds called them to his office." "You mean to tell me that Naomi and Mikey are in trouble? They're too soft, no absolute- OW!" Suddenly, Naomi stands behind him, hitting him with her schoolbag. "Who's soft here, you poser punk?!"

"Babe, what's the matter? Don't tell me you were about to start a fight again!" I chuckle before Mikey comes into the room with another girl. "SHIT, THAT'S THE GIRL WHO SLAPPED ME!" The girl looks at Ronnie in a confused way. "Huh? I've never seen you personally in my life." Yet, she still looks like the one girl who rejected Ronnie. Minus the mean glare, that is.