-Sky-

I wasn't sure if I had ever been so eager to go to school as I was the next morning. I had friends! Friends to hang out with even after school! I couldn't even believe how fast it had happened. First, I was all alone, being laughed at, and next... I was friends with Max Peterson and Troy Dominic! I mean, everyone at school wanted to be friends with them, and they had invited me to a sleepover in their treehouse!

Oh, and my parents had to be already tired of hearing about that said treehouse. I kind of rambled about it. Until my voice was hoarse.

But I could tell they were happy for me. I knew they'd been worried and regretted taking me away from my old friends, so they were relieved to hear I finally made new ones.

While I ate breakfast – forcing every bite down because I was too excited – Dad was watching the news in the living room while Mom backed lunch ready for work. I was still talking about the treehouse and the movie night and the video game and just how awesome Max and Troy were.

"That's so nice, honey," Mom told me for the hundredth time when I paused to take a breath.

"They're so great. I just hope I don't scare them away. But they said they're geeks too. Troy knows so much about video games. I thought football was bad enough but at least I know the ball needs to go to the goal, but when Troy started talking about graphics and stuff, I got so lost..."

"That's so nice, honey," Mom said. "They sound like good kids."

"They are! Everyone at school loves them!"

"Hey, are you guys listening to this?" Dad asked in the living room. "Looks like the weather will get pretty bad."

He continued talking about what they said on the news, but I didn't really care – I was used to bad weather – so I tuned out and continued on with my story about Max and Troy. They didn't let me go too far, though.

"Sky? Did you hear what I said?" Dad asked. "You heard the warning, right?"

"I did!" I told him.

"Good. Better come straight home right after school," he said, emerging into the kitchen to talk to Mom. "I think I'll go check the backyard before leaving for work. We don't want to lose anything."

"Max's backyard was so huge! The trees were white oaks, and–"

"Sky? You did hear what I said, right?" Dad asked again.

"I did, don't worry," I said reassuringly. "I'll come straight home after school," I promised.

"Good. Be careful out there, and listen to your teachers," Dad said before kissing Mom on the cheek. "You too, honey."

"I will, I will," I muttered absentmindedly, hoping the time would go by faster so I could go to school already.

*****

When I finally stepped onto the bus, I immediately searched for Troy. He was sitting at the back, as always, so I made my way closer to him. He was with a bunch of their friends, so I didn't feel brave enough to go sit with them, but thankfully, Troy spotted me and pointed at two empty seats in front of him.

"How's it going, bro?" he asked while I was sitting down.

"Pretty good," I said with a smile, trying not to get intimidated by his friends.

They all were eyeing at me, especially my new clothes. I suddenly felt insecure under their judging looks. Most of them lost their interest pretty fast and turned to look at their phones, but a couple of them were still shooting looks at me, and I wasn't sure if they were the good kind.

I couldn't help but feel like they were silently mocking me for trying to blend in. And that they thought these new clothes I was wearing didn't suit me at all. And most of all, I feared they didn't like me being friends with Max and Troy.

Troy was nice enough to keep the conversation with me going, even though I was feeling so insecure I couldn't have been fun to talk to. And by the time Max stepped in, I felt like running away.

But that feeling flew out the window when Max told me to scoot over so he could sit next to me.

Next to me!

"How's it going," he asked me with his kind smile.

"Pretty amazing," I replied, completely forgetting that the two of us weren't the only people on the planet. "How's... How's it going?" I asked, immediately feeling like an idiot.

"I'm good too," he said reassuringly, but then his attention was stolen by another of his friends.

I wasn't listening to a word they spoke. I was too busy stealing short glimpses of Max. He looked more handsome than ever. How was it possible that he looked better by each passing day? Was it because my feelings for him were growing...?

My feelings really were growing... They shouldn't have. Max was way out of my reach. Out of my league. Heck, I wasn't even in any leagues! Why would he even want to hang out with me? He was basically an incarnation of a god, while I was a muddy geek...

"So! When should we continue playing that game?" Max suddenly asked, and I jerked a little in my seat when I realized he was looking at me.

"Oh... Uh... Today?" I suggested carefully, but then remembered my Dad's words. "Shoot! I need to go straight back home after school because of the weather..."

"Yeah, me too," Max said. "Tomorrow if it's calmed down by then?"

"Yes!" I chirped in excitement.

"You cool with that?" Max asked Troy, who nodded. "Cool – that's settled then."

"It'll get tense soon," Troy said.

"What is?"

"The game."

"Oh!"

We talked about the game the rest of the way to school. My insecurities and doubts and all the other negativity I'd felt were long gone as I followed them through the yard. I wasn't getting any nasty glares from their friends anymore either – maybe I'd just imagined it all. None of them seemed too keen to talk with me, but it seemed like they didn't care if I tagged along. I definitely didn't mind them not talking to me – they were big, therefore scary – as long as they were fine with my presence.

They were too busy checking their phones, anyway. As we walked through the hallways and eventually parked ourselves just outside the classroom, the constant beeping and buzzing followed. It was almost distracting, but no one else seemed bothered by the noises. Part of me hoped I'd get used to it fast, but another part of me just wanted to stay away. I mean, it only stopped when we entered the classroom, and even then I could hear a few beeps.

At least Max wasn't constantly staring at his phone – one of the reasons why he was so great – but even he did check it a few times.

During the first two periods, I did my best to focus like I always did, but for some reason I got even more easily distracted than normally. I just felt a little too restless. I'd slept well, and I didn't feel sick, so I wasn't quite sure why I was so on the edge. It was bad enough to bother me, that was for sure, and a few times I got almost annoyed with myself because I just couldn't focus.

And that beeping... Right after we left the classroom, it started again. Everyone pulled out their phones every time the class ended. I really wasn't used to that.

I was so grateful during lunch break when Max, Troy and I went to find a quiet table outside. I was glad to get away from the unnatural noises. I forgot all about them when we sat down, and Max put his tray right beside mine.

After five minutes, I felt great again. The wind in the trees swallowed most of the electronic noises, and we were far enough from others so I could finally ignore them. And when we started talking about our project and the trip to the barn, my mood skyrocketed.

Only to come crashing down...

"Yo, what's up?"

I peered up to see a few of Max and Troy's friends sit down at our table, one of them holding a phone. I tried not to look annoyed when I glanced at the device. The guy was barely able to put his tray down without spilling anything while he was too focused on his screen.

"Did you guys see the game last night?" one of them asked – I couldn't remember his name

I held back a sigh. Football. I remembered what Max and Troy had told me about the topic and took a closer look at them. They didn't look too enthusiastic to talk about the game either.

"Actually, we were playing a video game," Troy said.

"You should've seen it – it was epic!"

"Sure," Troy said, turning to look at me. "As I was saying, we chose swans for our project. There's this cute older couple living–"

"Look! Here's a clip!" the guy said and shoved his phone in Troy's face. "That's one hell of a touchdown!"

"Yes – so great," Troy said with a defeated voice.

"And this one!"

"I was trying to tell Sky about our biology project," Troy said politely, leaning away from the phone.

"Biology? The fuck you do with biology?" the guy asked, giving me a nasty glare. "That assignment is the stupidest thing I've ever had to do. Who gives a shit about nature?"

"Cain..." Max said with a warning tone.

I tried to shrink into oblivion under this Cain guy's hateful gaze. He was definitely one of those who didn't want me around. I knew his words were aimed at me, to make me feel bad or even scare me away. It nearly worked.

"What?" Cain asked, turning to look at Max. "Don't tell me he's turning you into a vegan?"

"And what's wrong with that?" Max asked, and it was clear he was getting agitated.

Cain just snorted at him and left, leaving the table in awkward silence.

"He can be a jerk sometimes," Max told me apologetically.

"We all are free to have our opinions," I said with a shrug, trying not to show him how much Cain's words had affected me. "I just don't understand what being a vegan has to do with our biology projects..."

"I don't think he knows that either," Troy snickered.

"And he said it like it's a bad thing," I continued, feeling even more confused now.

I really didn't understand these people...

"Don't worry about it," Troy said. "He's a moron."

I couldn't help but notice how the rest at our table glanced at him, and then at me. Cain was their friend, so calling him names didn't sit right with them, but at the same time, they wanted to stay on good terms with Max and Troy...

Was I only causing trouble...?

"Forget him," Max said, leaning closer to me. "So, the barn."

That was all he needed to say to make me forget Cain. I grabbed his hand in enthusiasm and gave him a wide grin.

"It's going to be so awesome!" I said in excitement.

Max laughed lightly. "Yeah – it will."

He stared at me for a moment with a smile on his face, but then I saw how his friends were looking at me. I immediately let go of Max's hand, feeling embarrassed.

"Uh... Yeah... I can't wait..." I muttered.

Max, too, peered at the people who were giving us odd looks, and cleared his throat, pulling his hand away from me. "Same," he said, looking awkward.

After that, Troy had to do most of the talking. I felt so unbelievably embarrassed... Even Max was quiet and mostly focused on his lunch. Their teammates still kept looking at me like I'd done something unnatural.

Something... bad.

I'd screwed up now, didn't I?

*****

I couldn't stop thinking about what happened even after the classes started. I did wrong by taking his hand in mine, didn't I? We had biology, and even though Max was sitting right next to me, he was barely talking to me. He wasn't even looking at me.

Maybe he didn't like what I did? Was it too intimate? Now that I thought about it, it definitely was too intimate. I was sure friends didn't do that. Why did I do that? Now I had screwed everything up. Max must have been disgusted.

But wait... He did put his hand on mine yesterday, while we waited for Troy as he was seeing the nurse, didn't he? Maybe it was normal for friends to hold hands? I didn't know, these people around me were so much different from the kids in my old school. Maybe it was normal around here?

But why wasn't he talking to me?

I stole a glimpse of him, but he was just paying attention to our teacher. Like I didn't even exist.

Maybe it was just normal to ignore your friends sometimes. Maybe I was overreacting. He was just trying to focus on the class. But he was talking with Troy, but not with me. Well, Troy was his best friend. I was just a new kid who tagged along. Maybe I was just getting ahead of myself, thinking that now that we were friends, Max would give his attention to me.

How stupid of me. I wasn't that important to him.

I couldn't help myself. I wished I was important to him. His big hand had felt warm and soothing in mine. I stared at his hand while he was taking notes. He had nice hands with long fingers, and his skin looked soft and perfect. My hands were rugged and blistered, and there was dirt under my fingernails.

I forgot to pay attention to the class. I snapped out of my daydreams when Troy turned around and slammed his notebook right in front of me.

"So, it's going to get rough, huh?" he asked loudly, and I was sure the teacher would scold him for interrupting him.

"Looks like it..." Max sighed and put his books in his bag. "I was hoping it wouldn't come this way..."

I looked around with a frown. The class had ended already! We just got in! How was it possible? I looked down at my notebook. It was empty! Max had been writing something the entire time, and I hadn't written a single word!

"Sky? Are you all right?" Troy asked, and Max immediately turned to look in my direction.

"I'm... I'm fine," I muttered and closed the notebook.

"Good – I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Troy said reassuringly.

Nothing to worry about? I wasn't exactly a straight-A student as it was, and if I started missing my classes and didn't pay attention, my grades would keep on falling.

Starting to feel overwhelmed, I gathered my stuff, making sure I wasn't forgetting anything when I stood up. I pressed my new backpack against my chest as I followed Max and Troy out of the room. I really needed to start paying more attention...

But the beeping... Oh my god, it was there again. Messages, phone calls, ringtones, buzzing and vibrations...

Too much... Cain's words, Max treating me like air, people staring at me, everything...

I needed a break.

"I need to use the restroom," I muttered when we passed them by, and stepped in without looking at Max anymore.

I hid inside the farmost stall and locked the door before climbing to sit on the backrest of the toilet seat to hide my feet in case someone came looking for me. I was still hugging my bag against my chest, and I buried my face in it. The day had started out amazing and fun, but now...

"I'm so stupid..." I sniffed.

All I wanted was to have friends, and Max and Troy were being nice to me. I should've been happy and enjoy it, but I couldn't help but think they would get annoyed with me. They most likely would once they'd see how pathetic I was. They were kind enough to ask me to go play video games with them, but if I kept doing and saying stupid things, they'd get fed up with me, if they already hadn't.

My thoughts were spiraling, and after a while, I started to feel dizzy and claustrophobic. I was in no condition to go to the next class, so I stood up, exited the restrooms and walked towards the back entrance of the school. No one would notice me if I used the backdoor.

I wanted to go home. Not my actual home, no. The forest. There I felt more at home than in our new house. No one stopped me when I stepped out of the gates and started walking towards the closest patch of woods at the other side of the road.

I passed the first row of trees and made my way through the thick bushes, trying to get away from the traffic, the joggers with their music players, the teens with their phones, and the businessmen with their laptops. All that electricity was suffocating me, and I just wanted to get away from it. And people. I dropped my bag on the ground when I started running deeper into the mighty forest.

After a long time, when I was gasping for air, I slowed down but still continued walking deeper and deeper to where I couldn't hear anything except for the singing birds, the crickets, the buzzing flies and insects, and the wind that brushed gently through the tall trees.

I took a deep breath when I finally stopped and sat down on the ground. I was feeling much better already, so I lay down on my back and looked up at the blue sky, smiling again. I was happiest in the wilderness. There were no beeping machines around me, just peace and quiet, and Mother Nature.

I closed my eyes and listened to nature all around me, and soon, the warm rays of sun cradled me gently to sleep.