Down For The Count

Rewind, Rewind

Brandon's POV

I still can't believe what happened. Paisley didn't tell me her dad was Lin-Manuel Miranda! I can't believe he doesn't like me. I can change that though!

Unless he does hate me...

But...it doesn't really matter. I really like Paisley. I remember meeting her like it was yesterday.

FLASHBACK
~ Rewind, Rewind (Hehe)

I slowly walked into the highschool behind my mom. My mom told me I needed to change schools after winter break. This is my life, constantly moving from place to place. It sucks honestly. I wish I could have normal parents like everyone else.

"M-mom." I stuttered, trying to steer her away from the building. "Please don't make me do this again."

"I know it's hard. It's just us though, Brandon. And you agreed you'd be okay with a new school if I got the job." Mom pointed out. I slowly nodded watching as my mom smiled and gave me a hug. She walked to the school and pushed the doors open. I held my breath and walked through the door, examining the large hallway.

Suddenly, a woman with a big smile and a blue jumpsuit walked out of the office and over to where we were standing. I cowered slightly behind my mom. I have, um...trust issues...I guess you can call them.

"Hi! I'm Mrs. Brown, the principal! You must be Ms. Williams!" Mrs. Brown said, shaking my mom's hand with a large smile. Man, this woman smiles a lot.

"Call me Anna. It's so nice to meet you." My mom said, shaking her hand. Mrs. Brown then turned her attention to me. I cowered even further behind my mom.

"Mr. Evans, I presume." I slowly nodded my head. "Well, I can begin the tour if you'd like."

"That would be great. Can I just have a moment with to say goodbye?" My mom asked Mrs. Brown. My principal nodded politely.

"Take as much time as you need." She said, disappearing into the office. My mom turned to me. She softly caressed my cheek as I looked down at the floor, embarrassed because I'm a fifteen-year-old and this is going to be like leaving your mom to go to Pre-K.

"I'm doing this for us, Brandon. I promise, nothing's going to happen to you."

"That's what you said last time..." I mumbled, feeling my eyes tearing up.

"I know, but things are different now. You're safe here. I'll be here to pick you up at three." She said, kissing my cheek and hugging me. I held her as tight as I could, not wanting her to leave me. After what felt like a minute, my mom left. I watched as Mrs. Brown came out from the office.

"Let's go, sweetheart." Mrs. Brown smiled, leading me down a long hallway. I cringed at her choice of words and reluctantly followed her down the hallway.  We stopped in front of a classroom. Mrs. Brown opened the door and everyone's head immediately turned to our direction.

"Alright, listen up everyone. This is our new student, Brandon Evans. I expect you to welcome him to our school and treat him with respect. Brandon, go ahead and take a seat." I slowly walked to the only available seat at the back of the classroom. I could feel everyone's eyes burning into me.

"Alright guys, back to our lesson. And welcome, Brandon. Just read a book or something. We'll catch you up tomorrow. I'm Mrs. Wright, by the way." Mrs. Wright said, turning to the whiteboard and writing down something about an essay on "War and Peace".

I pulled out my book "Harry Potter" and quietly started reading until I saw someone staring at me. I looked to my left to see a girl about my age. She looked...beautiful.

The girl smiled when she saw me looking at her, turning towards me in her seat.

"Harry Potter, eh?" She joked. "Which one?"

Okay, so don't judge me for what I'm about to tell you. I'm not a people person and like I said, I've had...um, problems in the past that make me different. So, I'm not exactly a social butterfly.

I looked at the girl with a really dumb look on my face and held up three fingers. The girl giggled, obviously knowing what I meant.

"Did you get to the part where you figure out Sirius Black is actually his-"

"Paisley." Mrs. Wright warned, turning back to the board to write more.

I turned back to my reading, giving the girl one last smile before focusing on Harry Potter.

************

"Hey, I'm really glad you agreed to come with me today." I said as we walked down the street. Paisley smiled.

"I'm really glad you asked me." She replied. I blushed and stayed pretty quiet until we got to the restaurant. It was a cute little Italian restaurant. Paisley beamed when she saw it, causing me to smile too.

I opened the door for her, and we both walked up to the man standing at the counter.

"Table for two please." I politely requested. The man nodded and grabbed two menus, showing us to a little table in the back and sitting us down. We thanked him as he brought us our water back.

"So, can you tell me about yourself?" Paisley asked. I shyly nodded.

"Well, uh...my name's Brandon..." Paisley giggled. "I'm from Brooklyn, and I'm fifteen."

"Well, my name's Paisley." Paisley teased. I laughed as she continued her story. "I'm from Texas, and I'm fourteen."

"Texas? Woah, that's pretty cool!" I exclaimed. Paisley smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so. I've been all over the country. I lived in Texas until I was like one. Then, we moved to Michigan for a few months, then Maryland, and then New York when I was four. Then when I was seven, my parents got a divorce and my dad left."

"Wait...so did your mom get remarried to Lin-Manuel Miranda then?" I asked, extremely confused. Paisley laughed.

"No, he's not my actual dad. He's adopting me." She explained.

Ohhhhh, that makes a lot of sense.

"Oh, sorry about that." I nervously chuckled. Paisley laughed at my nervousness.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. It's a really weird and complex story, so don't worry. Technically, I won't be adopted until February at a um...court meeting. But yeah." Paisley finished her story as a waiter came to us.

"Hello! I'm Santiago! How can I assist you this evening?" Santiago asked.

"I'll just have a salad." Paisley answered, giving Santiago her menu.

"I'll have the same." I said, giving Santiago my menu as well. He walked away smiling.

"So, do you-" Paisley was cut off by her phone buzzing. She pulled it out and groaned.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked. Paisley showed me her phone, laughing. It read:

Pippers: so, Lin told us you're on a date tonight. how'd it go? *wiggles eyebrows*

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Hey there peeps! I'm so upset. School starts next Wednesday for me. UGGGHHH.

I'll try to update as best as I can. My best friend and I are going camping for the weekend, so I'll see how well I can update. In the meantime, peace out 😎
<3