The amazing edit on the side is made by user choco-latte! Thank you so much, this chapter is dedicated to you :)

*QUICK NOTE* Not as cliche as it seems. Not edited, so bear with me.

Pass me another bottle, honey

The Jager's so sweet

But if it keeps you around then I'm down.

(Six Feet Under The Stars - All Time Low)

I uneasily play with the neck strap of my camera. No, I'm not a journalist. I'm just a teen who likes photography.

I look over to my best friend, Noel, to see her driving, perfectly calm. I raise my brows at her, cocking my head to the side.

"Why aren't you nervous?" I inquire, my fingers again fingering the strap of my camera. "I mean, it is the first day of senior year."

"Because," Noel states, looking at me in the corner of her eye. "Do you want me to flip my lid and crash this car?"

Typical Noel. "No, I'm just saying ... it's the first day of senior year-"

"So? Nothing bad will happen, promise," she grins. I hold out my pinky.

"Pinky swear?"

She links my pinky with hers. "Pinky swear."

I feel better after that.

We continue driving until we get to Harbor High. We already bought our books and our schedules came in a week ago, so we already finished with that.

There's people everywhere. From freshmen to seniors.

Noel suddenly grins, pulling my arm so that I stop.

"Seniors," she grins. "Batch of twenty - fourteen."

I just roll my eyes, but smile.

We continue are way, saying hello to our friends we 'accidentally' forgot to call over the summer, checking out the new kids, and giggling to ourselves.

Just then, my camera strap is yanked off of my neck.

"Got your camera," my friend in photography, Wesley, sings as he runs off into the courtyard, cackling madly. I groan, forcing myself to sprint off after him.

"Wesley!" I shout, irritated. "Give me back my baby," the one sentence gets me awkward looks. I just grin at them before chasing after Wesley again.

"Wes-" I slow to a walk and take a deep breath. "Ley."

"C'mon, Dylan," yes, I do have a unisex name that's usually used for men. "Come and get me."

I just walk up to him and hold my hand out expectantly.

He grumbles something about me being 'not fun' before placing my camera in my hand and waving  goodbye as he walks to his other friends in photography.

I turn around to find Noel, only to see her flirting with a boy. He seems interested, so I don't bother them.

I grin to myself before making my way to locker 236. I open the door and stack my books and notebooks in there.

The bell rings.

I take out my first and second period notebooks, and groan. Calculus and Advanced English. Leave it up to me to get the worst classes at the beginning of the day.

I make my way to Calculus, clutching my books and camera to my chest.

I walk in, and no one except a group of boys are in the room. I suck in a breath. They're the "Heartbreakers". Players. Bad asses.

And, damn it! I wanted a back row seat.

 I keep my back straight, taking a seat a row in front of them.

It's quiet in the room for a few moments. I keep my head down, messing around with my camera. I take it everywhere. The last time I thought I'd 'lost' it, I freaked out and had the world's biggest panic attack.

"Hey, Camera Girl," one of them calls. I gulp audibly, knowing they mean me. "You interested in Asian guys?"

I turn around, trying not to seem nervous. "I - I'm ... Not available, at the moment ... I mean, I'm not racist or anything," I ramble, a blush finding it's way to my cheeks. "I just - just don't want to-"

The warning bell rings, cutting off my ramble. I snap back around so fast I'm a bit surprised I don't get whiplash. I set my camera on my seat, knowing the teacher would probably get pissed about me having my camera in class.

"Okay, class," a middle - aged man walks in. He has sandy blond hair, and brown eyes. Not too bad for an older guy. "My name is Mr. Clears, I'm your new Calculus teacher."

"No shit," a kid yells.

Mr. Clears stares at the boy, who looks like he's pissing himself in fear right now, and says in a loud, clear voice, "Your lack of intelligence disturbs me."

I think I'll enjoy Calculus this year.

"Okay, then, class, let's get started." He says. "Just take notes of pages three thirty to three thirty  - one. We won't really learn anything that new until next week."

I open my book and begin explaining Calculus to study over the next week. I continue for another fifty - five minutes before the bell rings.

I hop up, packing my book and notes away before one - strapping it and walking to the door.

"Hey, Camera Girl," I turn around to see Drew Steele, the 'leader' of the "Heart Breakers". Sure, he's attractive, tousled light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "You forgot something."

I look at his outstretched hands.

My camera.

"Th-" I start.

"Get to your next class, Dylan," Mr. Clears says, looking up. I scowl before hurrying out the door.

Shit.

My camera.

***

"He still has your camera?" Noel shouts incredulously. 

 "No duh," I roll my eyes, pushing my food around my tray. "What do I do? It's my baby, Noel."

"I know it is," Noel says, looking out into the distance. "Shit, we need it back."

"Language!"

"Sorry, mom," she rolls her eyes. "Anyway, don't you need it for that banquet next month?"

I smack my forehead. "The banquet? I forgot!" I'm near shrieking. I need my camera, I need my camera, I need my-

"Calm the hell down, woman, we'll get it, I promise," she says. "And it's not until the, what, twenty - ninth?"

"Thirtieth," I correct, sinking into the hard plastic of the lunchroom chair. "I can't go a God damned day without my baby, Noel."

"You sound like that one ghost in Mama," Noel shakes her head. "Anyway, I promise we'll get it back."

I hold out my pinky. "Pinky swear?"

She links her's with mine. "Pinky swear."

***

I end up going home without my camera. Terrific. 

Note my sarcasm.

"Bye, Noel," I call as she exits my driveway. I walk up the sidewalk and to my house.

I open the door, knowing it's an empty house. "I'm home," I call. Surprise, surprise, there's no response.

I drop my bag down at the door and kick off my brand new stark white Converse Chuck Taylors. 

I smile to myself when I realise that I have no homework. Oh, the joys of being a Senior.

I sigh, sitting down and running my hands through my light brown hair. I hiss when my fingers get caught in a tangle.

It's normal for my mom not to be here. She's been working overtime at work ever since my dad died. In all, it kind of sucks, because she's never been there for me.

I stand up, deciding to go for a run. The weather's already cooling down, so I change into yoga pants and a loose tank top. I slip on my sweatshirt and slip my phone into my pocket.

I step out, locking the door behind me. I begin my jog, just to clear my head of any thoughts.

The sky's already dimming a bit. I sigh, looking at the sunset and wishing I had my camera. But no, stupid Drew Steele has it.

 I sigh angrily, feeling a bead of sweat roll down the side of my face.

I hate life.

I decide that right now.

I slow my jog to a walk, coughing into my forearm. Being a lazy photographer means that I can't exactly do any physical activities. Sometimes I wonder why I'm not three hundred pounds overweight instead of a healthy 109 pounds.

I roll up the sleeves of my sweatshirt, jogging again until I reach the small promenade that has the mall, a Starbucks, clothing stores, and a cinema. Since I have no money, I just browse a couple of stores and try to think of what Noel might want for her eighteenth birthday.

I look at a pink top with sequins on the sides. No, I think, I don't want to fuel Noel's girlyness. 

I purse my lips.

"Camera Girl?" Drew Steele, is it?

I turn around, because that's apparently my new name.

I sigh in both annoyance and relief when I see that it's not Drew, but Oliver, one of Drew's friends. His best friend, to be exact.

"Oh, hey," I say, waving awkwardly. "Do you happen to have my camera?"

"No," he says, smiling with his eyes. "Drew does. But he'll give it back to you, I promise."

"Okay," I say, stopping myself from forcing him to pinky promise me. "Thanks anyway."

"Hey, I didn't catch your name," Oliver says.

"Dylan," I answer. "Dylan Scott."

"Oliver," he answers, smiling brightly. I smile back because his dimples remind me so much of a little kid's.

I'm grateful that he didn't say anything like, "Dude, that's a guy's name. Did you get a sex change?" or, "Were your parents high when they named you?" 

"I know," I say before I can stop myself. He looks at me curiously, making me blush. "I - I mean, you have quite a reputation at school."

His eyes darken a bit. "Oh," he mutters.

"Yeah," I say awkwardly, scratching the back of my neck. "So I'll see you around?"

"Sure," he answers, throwing a 'goodbye' over his shoulder as he walks toward the exit.

"Goodbye to you, too," I mutter bitterly as I continue looking through stacks of clothes. I find a top that's perfect for Noel. It's light blue and has dark blue lettering on it saying, Bitch, I'm Hot Stuff and a small clip art of a jalapeno. 

Damn me for not bringing money.

I slowly make my way to the door, trying to not seem like a criminal. I sigh after I walk out, and think one thing.

I really wish I had my camera.

A/N:

What do you guys think? Good? Bad? Hopefully I post another chapter next week.

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Much love,

~Jayy