Max P.O.V

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I looked down at my costume in complete disgust. Maybe the outfit wasn't so bad but it was the fact that this Halloween I wouldn't be with Iris. Every year for Halloween we would trick or treat together, but now that she has moved away, it felt different.

For this Halloween I wore a knight costume, the plan was for Iris to be the princess but that didn't go exactly planned.

My mom smiled sadly at me, knowing exactly the reason why I was such in a bad mood. Yet she still was forcing me to go candy hunting to strangers, in her hopes that once I'm out getting candy I'll cheer up. She walked beside me as we strolled to one house to another. The sky was pitch black, but it still couldn't mask my frown.

I watched as many kids ran past us, racing each other to get the most candy. I scoffed in anger as one kid rammed right into my shield, knocking it straight of my hand.

Instead of still running the kid stopped and picked up my costume item. But froze when he saw who I was.

"Huh look if it isn't Max, or do you still go for Maxie?" The kid smirked. He was dressed up as Prince Charming, suiting the role with his blonde hair he inherited from his parents.

"Only Iris is allowed to call me that and you know it" I spat, not in the mood to talk to anyone else, I just wanted my best friend back.

"Yah but" he started, swinging his sword from left to right "She's not here anymore isn't she. And with the princess gone, the knight is useless" he mused.

His words stung, really stung. Instead of fighting back with him, I backed away like a coward. And that's when the bullying began

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Fights for some reason always occurs around me, as in I'm usually part of them. But in the two ends of a fight, I was the punching bag, while my opponent was the puncher. The puncher would pounce at me over and over until my body finally gave up. You don't know how many times I would have to go to the nurses office, explaining how I somehow fell down the stairs or walked into a door. With all these fights and the bullying, I never once fought back. I always thought that if I didn't give them a reaction then they would just go away. It obviously didn't work. Instead they would come back, stronger than before.

I never once questioned why people would go around hurting other people. Until I reunited with Iris, that I'd learned a lot. Some people hurt others, in hope their own pain would ceased to exist. I questioned if the actual theory works, but as I watch Iris cry herself to sleep on those sleepless nights, I came with the conclusion that I did not work at all. In fact it probably made the situation worse than it already was.

Seeing the girl I once knew so well, look like a total stranger in front of me hurts, I never thought that the happiness in her eyes would drain and soon be replaced with exhaustion and sadness. She was at the end of the cliff, a cliff that once she jumps she would never come back. That's why I'm here, to hold her and try to pull her back to safety before she plummets to her own death.

But all of this doesn't quite explain why I'm standing in front of an old warehouse, that looks like at any moment it would plummet to the ground.

"Don't worry, it's safe" I heard her voice chirp beside me. Just like her mother, she can make any situation look not so bad. As kids Christine can make any rainy day look like a sunny day.

I clasped my hands together, not taking my eyes off the building. "Are you sure we have to go inside there?" Surely she could see how unstable it truly is.

Groaning at my whining, Iris pulled me along to the house. Not stopping once to listen to my complains. Don't judge, I didn't want to die, knowing that a stupid building killed me.

As we got to the door, the handles were chained together, preventing anyone to enter. I was about to leave, making a comment how we can't even get in but stopped shortly when she pulled out a silver key.

"So little faith you have in me" she mumbled into the air, hoping I caught onto her words.

She pushed the key into the big metal lock, turning it clockwise and stopped once she heard the thing click. In one motion, she took the key out of the lock, and pulled the chains off. I watched in amazement as her hands were almost black from the dirt of the metal. She didn't seem to mind though, as she forcefully opened the doors and walked in without checking if any animals would tackle her down.

The warehouse was pitch black, Iris took out her cellphone which gave us at least some light to guide our way. The further we walked inside, I could of sworn we were in the middle of a horror film. Especially when I heard the huge wooden doors slam behind us. The sound of the bang made me jump one foot in the air, and to Iris it did absolutely nothing. She seemed unaffected of the situation around her, as if she couldn't possibly be scared out of her mind. But I knew better.

I watched as she held her phone in her left hand and began reaching for something in the air with her right. Finally, light poured into the room from many different directions.

"This is where my uncle brought me when he was teaching me how to fight. I never knew why pick this place but I soon caught on" she explained, while she retracted her hand from the string that was attached to the main light, she then tried to wipe her hands together, trying to get the dust and black marks off.

I pulled my coat closer to my body, shivering slightly from the cold. It was the end of October, to be more exact it was Halloween. Normal teenagers my age were dressed as sexy creatures and bounced around in their underwear at a party, hoping to might get laid, as the football players like to put it. Nope, not Iris and me. Instead we were at an old warehouse that was probably at least an hour away from any civilization, where she quotes 'teach me how to be a man'.

"So why pick this place?" I asked, looking around the spacious area. Mats were already laid out, along with a bench and a room that led to the showers I assume.

She took off her jacket, throwing it on the bench, and approached to the closest mat. "So no one can hear your screams" she smiled wickedly.

I groaned loudly as my back hit the mat for probably the billionth time tonight. I adverted my gaze from the familiar ceiling to the window. Outside, it was pitch black, and we arrived at noon.

"You think we can leave now?"

It took every ounce of my strength to get up from a laying position to a sitting position.

Noticing my struggling, Iris graced my presence with a helping hand, pulling me up to my feet.

I was practically covered in sweat, great needing a shower. I probably looked like a total mess, with wet clothing and scattered hair. I looked like some kind of troll next to Iris. Sure she was breathing heavily and was sweaty herself, but in the end she never looked any more beautiful.

She grabbed her phone, quickly checking the time" Yeah let's go home. I'm starving. Also, I need a ride after school to my uncles mansion, I need answers from him"

Asking me for a ride was normal, I've been basically given her rides since the day we got paired up for the baby project because she refuses to take the bus anymore. I completely understand, I hate the bus also.

And with her uncle, Iris has been trying for a week to get a hold of him but for some reason she can't. Getting frustrated, she told me she would knock down his door if she has to. I just hope she remembers who he is, he's not just her uncle, but the most powerful man in the land of gangs.

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Be nice though I'm only 14 and only started writing stories two years ago.

Lol my very first short story I wrote, basically only held the vocabulary of he said she said and that's it.

"Let's go" Mike said.

"I don't know" linden said.

And that would go on and on and on.

So quite frankly I think I improved and I still am improving. Also please comment, I like reading comments, even if it's just a random thought you have while reading.

Question: Who's your favourite superhero?