If Only

•01•

I'm so grateful you've taken the time out to check out my story. Please vote and spam me with comments. I appreciate all the support I receive from readers. For any more updates follow me on Instagram @lunadarkskies
This story is currently in the process of revision

IN HIS ROOM, against pitch black walls, posters of heavy metal bands glistened when the light hit it. As strange as it may seem, he felt warm when the music surrounded him. Most people thought it demonic and emphasized the word 'noise' whenever they heard it. But eighteen year old, Aiden Woods, didn't subscribe to any of it. Only the right kind of people could listen to heavy metal and find the meaning behind it. The kind of people he kept in his company.

To everyone else, he was a living, breathing, enigma. The sort of puzzle you stared at for days and could never quite solve. Dancing on the edge of life allowed the rest of the world to create stories about you. He left strangers uncertain thus becoming the inspiration for many tall, ludicrous tales. However, unfair he maintained that of an alluring nature. The power to command attention rested behind his eyes. It seemed rather ridiculous at first, the contradiction of it all. The same people wanting to expose his own emotions, silently praised him for appearing as though he had none.

Of course, to common knowledge, no one had ever actually succeeded with that task. He rarely associated with anyone outside of his small circle. No need to be reminded of how peculiar he truly was. When he walked in a room, his presence was all but inviting. Every task he completed seemed almost robotic and done with ease. Though there were moments, he wouldn't bother to do anything at all. Not because he was lazy, but he figured why trouble himself?

Everything had already been set into motion. The world he lived in would come to a bitter and devastating end all in due time. Therefore, no one would be alive to remember the most important names in human civilization. So, whether or not he studied when expected to, paled in comparison.

This is the part, that most people fail to understand. His view on life may come across as radical or pessimistic but he knew better. Why overlook the many failures of human kind just to highlight a select few triumphs? Besides, it wasn't like he was the type of person to go around raining on everyone's parade. He would just make sure to bring an umbrella if and when he decided to show. Only fools actually stand around expecting things from life. Optimism and Pessimism are simpleminded justifications for simpleminded people. If you want something out of life you should work your hardest to achieve it. He knew that. But also kept in mind, that life has a tendency to show you how insignificant you really are.

Perhaps if everyone were capable of thinking the way he did, there would be a lot less disappointment in the world.

"Does anyone know the answer? No one? Did any of you people even bother to do your homework assignment? What about you, Mr. Woods?"  Mr. Duke inquired his star student. He didn't particularly like Aiden but his ability to turn a blank canvas into a work of art was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, in all his years of teaching. Aiden looked up to find that a numerous pair of eyes had long since been fixated on him. This wasn't nerve wrecking in the slightest. In fact, he'd grown accustomed to it.

"Surrealism. That's the movement you're referring to."

He stopped frowning and nodded in agreement. Typically, students who dismissed their homework failed his class in no time but Aiden was the exception. He could miss a full week of school and still somehow manage to score perfectly on every quiz or test thrown his way.

The teacher turns to his class filled with disobedient students and preceded to bore them with his lecture. Meanwhile, Aiden concerned himself with his sketchbook. He started drawing lines in the middle of the paper and continued outwards. Not really sure of where he was headed but could depend on his creativity to guide him somewhere.