Enlighten Me (Ryden)

Chapter One

I wanna go where everyone goes.
I wanna know what everyone knows.
I wanna go where everyone feels the same.

• • •

Ryan felt out of place in this whole new environment. It wasn't what he would call home. And there were teenagers with piercings on their faces. Not on their ears but their faces. He didn't understand anything why there were piercings on their faces or why his teachers were teaching him things his personal tutor had taught him a long a time ago when he was ten. He also didn't understand why the cafeteria smelt like coal. He'd heard that cafeteria food was horrible from Ashley (who liked to be called Halsey for some reason) who was one of friends back in England, but he didn't think that it was burnt.

Maybe they were just using a coal stove? Yeah, maybe.

He was homeschooled for too long, his anxiety wasn't something to be brought outside of the confines of his house. Even in his house he felt anxious, the glaring stares of his mother just fucking waiting for him to do something, any fucking thing wrong. His mom was ashamed in him, almost as much as Ryan was disappointed in her. He'd always felt unwelcome in her presence. Whether it be at a grocery store or at his own house.

He told her to leave in the most rude way a seven-year-old could muster, and she did. Out of shock maybe? Or maybe she finally woke up and realized that there was nothing wrong with Ryan and his activities as a little boy. But his father was not happy that the little boy swept her away. His father attempted to murder him with a knife, so he ran. The skinny seven-year-old ran three miles while his built father chased after him with a knife in hand. Ryan ran to a gasoline station, where he found refuge for the night. He woke up as they were opening the next day and carefully snuck out so he wouldn't be seen. He went to the police station a mile away.

But the fun doesn't end there.

He went to his cousin Phil's house after and was immediately welcomed by the smell of sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon. Little Phil Lester was the one to open the the door of course, his mom trailing behind him. Mommy Lester looked incredulous as to why he was there without any adults or parent to accompany him. "Ryan? What are you doing all the way here?" Still not believing her eyes, she ushered Ryan into their house. Ryan explained, and his dad went to jail home that night.

After a few weeks, Ryan's biological mother had come along at their house after Mommy Lester got ahold of Ryan legally. He was under Mommy letters custody now after a long trial wherein his supposed 'mum' did not show up. But now that she decides to — well, everyone was giving her hell.

"Danielle, what the hell are you doing here?" Mrs. Lester yelled at Mrs. Ross. "Go away and run with whatever and whoever — wherever that man is. Ryan is under my legal custody now. I can't believe I was ever related to you."

After that, Mrs. Lester was offered a job opportunity at London with a big paycheck, one they simply could not miss. It was a long process of packing and moving all of their things there but they succeeded. Along this time Ryan was already ten years old and Phil was eight and already taller than Ryan. Ryan wasn't short at all, he had a respectable height for a ten year old like himself! Phil was just gigantic, he guesses. Maybe it's just his genes. He remembers learning all about genes with his personal tutor.

Ryan and Phil were soaring through the roof with their heads. They were homeschooled until middle school and both already boast an IQ of 150 +. They were smart as hell and they weren't all that afraid to show it to their small group of friends. This was around the time when Phil had come to terms with his sexuality and discovered that he was gay. And a certain Dan Howell had him caught in his traps. They've been dating ever since.