The following day was just like any other, with Kyle parking his bucket of rust in the same spot as he had done for the soccer game and heading to class as slowly as he could get away with.

He was still in a bit of a mood from the day before but his next interaction made him cheer up slightly.

"Hey yo, Brennan! Good game yesterday, man!" A roundly built student called out to him as he arrived at the schools large ominous doors.

"Thanks" Kyle smiled. He was glad to see that at least someone realised that Danny wasn't the only player on the team.

"You keep that shit up and people are going to start getting ideas" The kid laughed.

"Well we wouldn't want that now would we?" Chuckled Kyle.

"Amen brother!".

The kid was obviously waiting for someone so Kyle left him by the door and began walking down the halls towards his first classroom. Despite his slow trot, Kyle was actually early, meaning the corridors were devoid of much people right now, with most of them choosing to remain outside in the rare sunshine until it was absolutely necessary for them to come in. This was perfectly fine for Kyle Brennan right now as he wasn't really looking forward to everyone telling him how good the party was last night.

As he rounded another deserted corridor, he was almost knocked off of his feet as someone came clattering into him.

"Hey! Watch yourself!" He seethed after recomposing himself. Thankfully his backpack hadn't fallen off his shoulder or anything.

"I'm so so sorry!" The assailant sobbed as his gaze met Kyle's. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he'd just been crying his eyes out. Although the boy's dark bushy hair was almost covering his face, it was still plain to see. And Kyle didn't need to wait long to find out why.

"Yeah watch where you're going asshole!" Hissed what looked like the leader of a gang.

Kyle turned his attention to find that there were three other boys blocking the hall. Suddenly this scene made much more sense.

"Please guys, I just want to get to class" The bushy haired boy tried barging his way through the dam of bodies but he didn't even budge it an inch.

"You shouldn't even be here, freak. You or your family" One of the other barricade boys sniggered.

"Please" The victim sighed.

"He's right you know" The third boy spoke up. "No one wants you here. Why don't you just give up and leave everybody alone?"

"I'm trying to!" He gasped in response. "Just let me go! Please?" He was clearly getting desperate now. "Whatever my brother did, I had nothing to do with it. It isn't my fault!"

"You know what they do people like your bro in prison?" The leader of the pack grinned. "What they do to kid killers? Maybe we should give you a little demonstration so you know what it feels like?"

That was enough for Kyle. He may not have stepped in with Jess and her boyfriend last night but this was happening just inches away from him.

"Hey leave him alone" He said as calmly as possible. "Whatever you think you're doing, it isn't worth it. Just let him go to class". Kyle shrugged, knowing that his tone of voice was threatening without even sounding it.

The boys looked to their leader, watching as his face contorted with his conflicting emotions. He obviously really wanted to give this guy some sort of beating but at the same time, realised that Kyle wasn't joking around.

"Surely you've got somewhere better to be?" Asked Kyle.

This seemed to do the trick as the boy motioned for his hyenas to follow him as they strutted off down the corridor, making sure to give the poor kid one last shove as they passed.

"You ok?" Kyle asked the shaken boy, more out of courtesy than actual interest.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" The boy said, trying (and failing) to smooth over his messy hair. "Thanks for that. Most people would've just left me to get my ass kicked"

"Don't worry about it. I hate guys that pick on people that are weaker than them. No offence" Kyle hadn't realised he'd said the last part out loud.

"Oh none taken" Curly laughed. "It's true after all! I'm Matt Maguire" He extended his hand offering it to Kyle.

"I know who you are" Kyle said condescendingly, still shaking the outstretched hand anyway.

"Oh, yeah. Right. I forgot that everybody does now" Matt sighed. Kyle couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

"I'm Kyle Brennan" He said as a sympathetic peace offering.

"Oh I know who you are too" Matt laughed. "You're the star of the soccer team right?"

"Yeah right" Kyle cynically chuckled before the mention of soccer brought him a sudden realisation. "I saw you yesterday. Going into the woods after the game" The mess of hair was unmistakeable, and now Kyle recognised his bag as well.

"You did?" Matt seemed shocked but then returned to his previous state almost instantly. "I like to go there sometimes. It's to get away from . . . everyone".

"Don't you think it's a little weird to go off wandering where your brother left that kid?" Kyle asked.

"Well uh . . . the woods are a pretty big place"

"I'm not trying to be a dick, I swear" Kyle assured him. "But look, it's probably not going to help jerks like those guys back there picking on you"

"I'm not going there to kill people! I just like being there" Matt sounded annoyed now and for the first time, Kyle saw the boy standing up for himself.

"I'm just trying to help" Kyle raised his hands in surrender before spinning on his heels and resuming his trek to his fist class.

Matt waited a few moments, arguing with the warring voices in his head before finally deciding to listen to one of them.

"If you really have to know" He began as he chased after Kyle. "I like going out to look for the Falls Peak Beast" He admitted.

Kyle let out a laugh. "Do you really expect me to believe that?" He asked.

"It's the truth!" Matt shot back. "I can show you my research into it if you want? I really think that something's out there!"

"Look, I'd love to. I really would" Kyle replied, clearly lying. "But I've got to get to class. Goodbye Matt" He said, ducking into the nearest open door. For the first time, possibly ever, he was glad to have reached his classroom.

Feeling insulted however, Matt just sighed and took off further down the hall to his own class, shaking his head the entire way.

*

The rest of the day had nowhere near the same levels of excitement as Kyle's meeting with Matt and the bullies. He spoke to his friends when he could and spent the rest of the time focusing on whatever his teacher told him to.

The small town of Falls Peak was located just a few miles outside of Marion, Iowa. The population had never been high and it was mostly known for its logging works, supplying the bigger towns in the state with their wood. However since the late nineteen-nineties the industry had seemed to have come to a standstill, or at least in this part of the country. This meant that kids in high school who were always told of the option to join the rest of the community in the business as a failsafe in case they didn't get into college elsewhere, were suddenly having to rethink their entire lives.

Now in the present day, the school (and community as a whole) had increased the pressure on their sports teams and any potential musical protégés, hoping to secure them a scholarship, not only for the benefit of the child but so that there weren't too many people left in town to apply for the limited jobs.

What had once been a proud, cheerful community was now constantly in a state of worry and fear for the future. Hence Kyle's dedication to school.

Once someone left Falls Peak, they very rarely came back.

The way he saw things, despite what everyone was saying, he found it highly unlikely that any decent college or university would pick up more than one 'sports star' from this tiny town that can't even be found on the map. Maybe one from each sport, but certainly not two from the same one. So while the whole community were expecting Kyle and Danny to be the striking combination to lead the country to the next World Cup, Kyle knew that any scouts would only be interested in the star.

So if his marks were good enough, he'd hopefully get into a good school the old fashioned way.

Kyle was thinking of exactly that when a name being called startled him back to reality.

"Jessica Martin?" The geography teacher called for a second time.

It was now third period and Kyle hadn't yet shared any classes with his neighbour. He scanned the room to see her desk was empty; meaning he probably wasn't going to be sharing this one with her either.

"Has anyone seen Jessica Martin today?" The professor sighed, knowing that if they had, no one would rat her out.

Kyle asked himself if her disappearance had anything to do with her boyfriend, or was he her ex boyfriend now?

Of course it does.

He let out a laugh that only he could hear. Jess had never once been late for a class. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Well I guess someone is going to have to fill her in on the shifting of the tectonic plates another time" The teacher said again before moving on with the rest of his roll call.

Whilst Mr. Scott found it easy to move on, Kyle did not. His thoughts drifted between wondering if he should have intervened with Jess and Duncan after all, or if that would have just made things worse.

Maybe she would have come to school if he had done something, but again maybe not.

Maybe she really was sick after all?

Either way, Kyle didn't suppose he'd ever really find out the truth any time soon.

Or would he?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 2 is here! What did you guys think?

We still haven't properly met Jess yet but we have met Matt! Unlike, the previous characters, he's a totally new creation for this story. Sort of.

I mentioned before that I had many ideas for stories that never made it into fully fledged books, and his story was one of them. I came up with an idea to focus on the family of a convicted murderer, and how people's attitudes changed towards them, despite being innocent. I also like to think it puts a totally new spin on "The unpopular kid". I hope you agree.

As ever, I'd love to hear any thoughts on the story so far and votes are much appreciated if you liked it. The next update isn't far away, I promise.