The New Kid

Wick

(Narrator POV)
There was another new kid showing up today and Murphy already didn't like him because in the parking lot, the dude nearly ran him over with his truck.

Murphy wasn't having the greatest day to begin with, but having some random new guy yell at you when they were the ones to almost plow over you with their vehicle really soured his mood further.

As Murphy walked into the school, Emori greeted him and instantly knew that something was wrong. He told her that he almost got hit by a car but she knew it was more than that. She didn't ask though, he'd tell her when he was ready.

He went into homeroom and sat next to Raven, who waved with a smile. He greeted her with a bit less vibrancy, but he tried to put on a good show of happiness as to not worry her. Of course, she saw right through that.

"What's wrong?" She asked as he laid his head on his arms while they rested on the desk. He was also sick, but he was deciding not to tell anyone. He couldn't afford to be sick.

"I almost got hit by the new guy in the parking lot." He mumbled as he checked off all his sickness symptoms in his head. Sore throat, nausea and dizziness were the main players right now.

"Oh my gosh. Wait, like hit by his car or you almost got in a fist fight?" Raven asked and Murphy answered with "first one and then the second one which was caused by the first one."

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly and he only nodded 'yes' in response. "You're sick aren't you?" She asked, always being too smart to fool. He nodded again hesitantly.

She just rubbed his back lightly to help distract him. He jumped at first, and normally, he wasn't a fan of having his back touched or being touched in general, but she really did help distract him from how awful he felt, how he almost got hit by a car and some other things that were currently happening in his life.

The day went on and eventually, Raven went to science class and Murphy went to history. Raven sat in her normal seat and noticed a new guy sitting next to her. Blonde with a bit of a mustache and blue eyes. He was pretty cute, no Murphy in her opinion, but whatever.

She figured that this was the guy who nearly put her friend/crush in the hospital and she was tempted to scold him for it.

"Hey, I'm Wick." The boy's words broke her out of her thoughts. She shook his outstretched hand wearily. He gave her a weird vibe.

"Raven." She introduced herself. "You almost ran over my friend this morning." Slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

He just chuckled a bit. "Well, he was wearing dark clothes and I couldn't really see him." Not a total lie, but he left out the part where he basically tore into Murphy for being alive.

"He does wear a lot of dark stuff, but you should still be more careful. Half the kids here wear all black because of the school transfer at the beginning of the year. There's a lot of dark personas around." Raven informed him.

Wick chuckled again. "I'll keep that in mind." He smiled genuinely. They kept talking for a little while and when the class was over, Raven stood and went to go check on Murphy in his Art class before she went to Health.

Wick stopped her at the door, and Raven couldn't help but feel like he was wasting time that she could be spending while making sure her sick and currently depressed friend was okay.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd want to go on a date this weekend?" Wick asked and Raven's mind froze. The answer was no, she didn't want to go on a date with him. She wanted to go on a date with Murphy, but that'd never happen. She reminded herself of that and decided that she couldn't wait forever for something that was never gonna come.

"Sure, but I gotta go right now and check on my friend quick before my class." She informed and walked away after he gave her his number.

She got to the art room and asked the teacher if she'd seen Murphy yet, since he was almost always early to this class because it was one of the few he liked.

"No, Raven, I have not. Maybe check his locker?" The kind teacher suggested and Raven nodded before going to Murphy's locker. He wasn't there. Then she saw him come out of the bathroom and to his locker. He looked at her questionably as he opened it.

"How long were you waiting?" He questioned and she answered with "only like a minute." He nodded and put some extra gum in his mouth.

"How are you feeling?" She questioned him and he sighed. She was gonna tell him about the date after she saw if he was okay and then she was going to class. She didn't know why, but she felt he had the right to know about the date.

"Well, I was just in the bathroom throwing up all of my organs a moment ago, so.... not great?" He said rather sarcastically. She grinned at his usual snarky tone, he'd be okay.

"I met the guy who almost hit you with his car." She informed him and he nodded. "He asked me out." Murphy nearly choked on his gum which sent him into a bit of a coughing fit.

He cleared his throat after he regained some control. "Um, what-what did you say?" He asked and Raven found it odd that his voice seemed to have risen an octave after she said that.

"I said sure. I don't really wanna go, but who knows, right? It might end well." She informed and he nodded a bit.

"Well, that's great. I'm happy for you. You should really head to class before you're late though, you only have like half a minute left." He told her so she nodded and gave him a hug before walking away.

They both got to their classes. Raven was disappointed that he didn't try to tell her that he'd be a better fit for her than this rando.

What about Murphy, you ask? Well, he was officially wondering why he even bothered coming to school or waking up in the morning. He was wondering why he even kept breathing.

Today was officially the worst day ever.
He's sick, he almost got hit by a car, Raven got a date with someone other than him and his mom was starting to sober up enough that almost every time he walked downstairs, not only was she awake but she was ready for a fight.

Also, two of his jobs hit a hard time and he ended up getting his salary lowered so it was looking like he wouldn't have electricity or heating this winter. He was debating just selling half the stuff he owned, buying a car and living in it. He'd be less likely to freeze to death.

Though no electricity meant no washer and dryer which meant that he'd have to go to a laundry mat or find a nice river so he could revert to olden times.

Murphy chose to just focus on art class for now. He told himself, just one step at a time. Each day would be its own challenge and he would try not to think about how the next day may not come.

He could do this, he could ignore all the sucky things happening and just focus on making it through the problems as they come. He'd fight through all of it.

He'd be okay.

A/N hope you enjoyed and keep reading!