patchy4vam
in
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Growing Up Is Overrated Chapter Three
I just want to say thanks to everyone who has been commenting on this story, you're all awesome! *hands out vam stickers and cookies* ^-^ Here's part 3, just for you!
Title: Growing Up Is Overrated
Author: Craig (patchy4vam)
Rating: Mild
Pairing: Vam
Summary: Ville's family died in a devastating car crash, and he's been sent to live with the only family he has apparently got left. His first shock comes when he's told they live in America. His second shock is when he finds out that his two cousins are his age, one of whom is openly homosexual. The other however, Ville comes to think is insane. He is due to attend their high school, where he will meet some rather... unusual... friends. Ville's life is about to change, a lot. Especially when he meets a skater boy with cerulean eyes...
Previous Chapters
Prologue: http://community.livejournal.com/__vam/2368941.html?#cutid1
Chapter 1: http://community.livejournal.com/__vam/2368941.html?view=30689453#t30689453
Chapter2: http://community.livejournal.com/__vam/2370926.html
Chapter 3: School Begins
"Ville..." Ville was tugged out of his dream of Bam by an eerily quiet voice, and he opened his eyes and had to stop himself screaming. Alex was leaning over him, her ice blue gaze watching him steadily. She had thick outlines of black around her eyes, and she was grinning again, showing off those too-pointed fangs. "Get up, you'll be late otherwise." She disappeared from his view and he sat up just in time to see her leave his room, closing the door behind her.
"Yeah, she definitely scares me." He mumbled tiredly, swinging his legs out of bed, and trying to manoeuvre his way around his room. He pulled on a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, before emerging from his room. Noise from downstairs told Ville that his new parents were already up - he could hear some deranged singing coming from Katri, and David was reporting that some rare parrot had disappeared. He turned sharply when Craig's door swung open, and with it came a blast of music.
"Once I ran to you, I ran, now I run from you..." Craig sang as he walked towards the bathroom, not noticing Ville standing there. The door was still open slightly, and through the gap Ville could see Jude pulling on a shirt. He hadn't known that Jude had stayed the night. The bathroom door flew open and Craig came bouncing out, eyes shut as he continued singing. "Tainted love, whoa, tainted love..."
"Do you do this every morning?" Ville asked with a smirk on his face. Craig jumped visibly, and turned to Ville, grinning.
"Usually, yes." He looked a lot different with his hair so... normal. Ville now saw that it came down just past his chin, about the same length as Ville's if not a couple of inches longer. And his eyes looked so plain without any make-up. "Hyped up about school?" Ville smirked again.
"As much as any other teen kid."
"Not much then." Craig laughed. "Well you better get ready. Mom will be ready to drive us there in like, forty minutes." With that, he disappeared into his room, closing the door. Ville walked over to the bathroom and closed the door, staring into the mirror above the sink. He gripped the sink with both hands, before slowly turning his right arm skyward, and with his left he pulled back the sleeve. The jagged lacerations cut through Ville's heart. It would be a while before they would fade.
"Just keep on pretending it's alright." He whispered to himself. He scowled at the scars, which seemed to mock him. "My river of blood won't run dry!" Now angry with himself, he stormed out of the bathroom and went straight for his room, still scowling. He tried to take his mind off the scars by getting ready - but when it came to applying his eyeliner, every time he lifted his arm to apply it, his sleeve hitched down and the deep red wounds were visible. He sighed heavily and placed the pencil on his desk, and began rummaging through his messenger bag, trying to find what he knew he had put in there. "Aha!" He pulled out two cotton wristbands, one Misfits sweatband, and the other just plain black. He slipped them onto his wrists and pulled his sleeves down over them, and went back to applying his eyeliner. He then emptied his messenger bag of all the random things he had put in there to carry from Finland, and slipped on his Converse, before leaving his room. Just as he was closing the door, Craig and Jude came out of Craig's room.
"All ready to go?" Craig asked with a grin. Ville nodded, and was about to reply when Alex yelled from downstairs.
"OI JACKASSES, WE'RE LEAVING!" The three ran down the stairs and followed Alex out the front door, where Katri was getting into the Hummer. "Shotgun!" Alex yelled again, climbing into the passenger seat. Jude opened the door to the middle seats and stood back so Craig could get in first, he then climbed in after, leaving Ville to sit by the door. The ride there was uneventful, and Ville began to get a feeling of happiness at the pit of his stomach as he saw a familiar group of people waiting outside the school gates. Before they got out of the car, Katri gave them some money each.
"Okay, that's your lunch money. Don't spend it on blades again Alex." She warned her, but Alex just gave her a devious grin as she climbed out of the car. Ville was next to get out, and as he stepped back from the car, he was attacked from the side.
"VILLE!" Bam clung to him tightly, a grin plastered to his face.
"Hey Bam." Ville returned the grin, happy to see Bam again. Craig gave Jude a knowing grin as the pair of them joined the others. Bam had his arm around Ville's shoulders, and Ville had the biggest smile on his face.
"Okay lovebirds, let's get inside. We need to find out which homeroom class Ville's in." Alex grinned, and the group moved into the school gates. Ville found himself as the center of attention as they walked through the grounds towards a set of double doors, which led into the school. Bam kept his arm around his shoulders the whole way, and Ville couldn't help but smile. They entered the building, and Ville was led to the main office.
"Hey, we got the new kid here. We need to know what homeroom class he's in." Bam said once they got to the window at the front. The elderly-looking woman behind it frowned slightly at Bam in disapproval.
"What is your name?" She asked, directed at Ville.
"Ville Valo."
"Ah yes, Valo. Well you just need to follow young Mr Hudson here. You're in his homeroom." She told him. Ville grinned. "Oh, and Mr Margera, too." Bam mirrored Ville's grin as he began leading the Finnish youth away. Craig quickly thanked the woman, as it seemed as though Bam wouldn't.
"You can sit next to me, Ville. This kid Lenny usually sits there, but he can move up one and you can have his seat." Bam told Ville, still grinning. He let himself be led through a series of corridors, not remembering any of it. Which could turn out to be a problem when it came to finding his class on his own. Finally Bam stopped at the foot of a flight of stairs, before abruptly turning and lifting his foot to rest on the bottom step. "It's just up here, and on the left. Come on." That said, he began to climb the stairs, taking them three at a time. Craig followed closely, also taking them three at a time. Ville then noticed that only Alex had remained.
"The rest of the gang are in different classes, Valo. You were too entranced with Bam to notice them disappear." She smirked, before following her brother and her hyperactive friend. Ville stood for a moment, watching the stairs, before it hit him that he had to go up them. He decided against trying to take them three at a time, and settled for a slight jog up them, one at a time. By the time he reached the top, after turning the corner and going up a second flight, he was out of breath. Bam, Craig and Alex were waiting for him with smiles on their faces.
"It'll take a while before you can run up them with ease, Ville. Hell, it took us three years to do it." Craig grinned. "Hurry, I see Miss Reynolds coming this way. Better get into the class quick." He turned and jogged down the corridor, stopping outside a door to wait for them. Alex reached the door second, instantly walking in. Craig followed her, and Ville walked in after Bam. Only half the class were seated, the others sitting on their friends' desks, or standing by the windows talking. Alex had walked over to a guy who resembled her in a strange way, and was talking with him, occasionally laughing. Craig leapt over a desk and landed in front of another guy's desk, who jumped visibly before laughing.
"That's Joey, he used to play the drums in Craig's band, but he had to give up." Bam explained to Ville.
"Why's that?" But his question didn't need to be answered. Craig had settled with sitting on the desk next to Joey's, and had given Ville a clear view of the young lad. He was brushing back black hair with his left hand, and as Ville watched, he had to hold back a cry of shock when he saw that only half of Joey's right arm remained.
"That's what happens when jocks get ahold of electric saws." Bam whispered into Ville's ear. "Guy tripped and the saw cut through Joey's arm."
"That's..." Ville couldn't speak. He could feel the contents of his stomach churning. It was an awful sight to see. "Awful."
"Mm. Shoulda seen it when it happened. That jock did a good job of it. Blood covered half the floor, poor Joey fainted from the shock of it. We thought he'd died from shock or pain." Bam shrugged. "He lives with it though. He's quite a happy guy, too." Ville turned away from Joey, knowing that if he continued to stare at what had once been his right arm, he'd puke. "Oh, and the guy Alex is with. That's her best male buddy, his name is Adrian-Dominic, but he just calls himself AD." Bam glanced around the classroom and grinned. "Ah, there's Lenny. Come on Ville, you have to meet him." Ville found himself being dragged towards a guy with dirty blonde hair, who grinned when he saw Bam.
"Hey Bam, who's your friend?" He asked in a strangely deep voice.
"This is Ville, he's living with Craig. He's his cousin." Bam explained. "Ville, this is Lenny." Ville wondered how many handshakes he'd have to share with strange people. He wasn't used to so much attention. Back home in Finland he had just been Ville, the guy who grew up down the street from the school. Here it was as if he was some famous person, everyone wanting to shake his hand, or get to know him. Had Americans never seen anyone from Finland before? "Which reminds me, can you shift up a seat, to the spare one? I want Ville to sit beside me. I've made it my duty to show him round school."
"Sure thing Margera. Besides, that way I'm closer to Scott. Which will cause hell for everyone else." Lenny laughed. Ville assumed that Scott was his best friend. Ville turned away from the two, who were now talking about skateboards, a subject Ville found no interest in, and saw Alex walking over, AD in tow.
"Hey Valo, this is my bud AD." She said. AD nodded briefly.
"Hey." He said bluntly.
"Hey." Ville replied just as bluntly. Further conversation was cut short as a tall woman walked into the room.
"Class, please take your seats. Pete, if you want to see that bottle again I suggest you put it away, NOW." She smirked at a guy with brown hair, who was just lifting a bottle of what looked like Vodka to his mouth. He quickly screwed on the lid and slid it into his bag. Bam took Ville's arm and told him to sit beside him, and he did so, keeping his eyes on the class. Of course, they were sat at the back, which gave Ville a better chance of observing the class. "Okay, I'll call attendance now." She began to call out a series of names, most of them being answered with a simple 'here'. Ville was taking this opportunity to see who was who, even though he'd probably forget within an hour. "Carter Grayson?" She looked over the class, focused on an empty seat in front of Ville, and sighed. "I don't know why I bother calling his name, he's always late." She laughed, causing half the members of the class to grin. "Alex Hudson?"
"Dead." Came the response, causing the class to laugh.
"Craig Hudson?"
"Yeah." Craig almost missed his name, he was too engrossed in something on his desk. More names were called out, and just as she called out a name which Ville couldn't define whether it was a girl or a boy, the door opened and two blonde guys tumbled through it.
"Brandy Leordo?" One of the guys, with shoulder-length blonde hair, grinned.
"Just in time Miss." He made his way to an empty seat beside Bam, the other guy, much taller, following closely.
"Ah, I see you've brought Carter along with you. Been behind the bike sheds again boys?" She smirked, which grew into a grin, and then a chuckle, as the taller boy grinned slyly and winked at Brandy. Bam nudged Ville.
"They're both open about themselves, too. Those two have been dating since they were like, thirteen." He whispered.
"Bam?"
"Absent." He laughed. Ville got bored of watching who answered what name, and folded his arms on the desk in front of him, resting his chin on his arms.
"Ville Valo? Did I pronounce that right?" Ville glanced up, amazed that someone had read his name correctly.
"Uh, yeah, you did." He replied cautiously.
"I thought it was correct. I'm familiar with Finnish names, y'see." This amazed Ville, for what reason he wasn't sure. "Well, welcome to West Chester High Ville, we haven't got a timetable for you, so just tag along with someone for today." Cue nudge and grin from Bam. "Okay, first of all, Carter... I'll need to speak with you before you leave for first period. You're getting a bad habit of coming in late EVERY day." The guy who had sat in the seat in front of Ville grinned.
"Can't help waking up late, Miss."
"No, you can't help being around Brandy." Joey laughed, causing Carter to laugh as well. He gave Joey an innocent shrug, matched with an innocent expression.
"You can tag along with me." Ville turned his attention to Bam, who was leaning precariously towards him, only two legs of his chair on the ground.
"I'll be tagging along to your funeral if you keep leaning like that." Ville replied, pushing him gently so that he fell back onto all four legs of his chair. Bam grinned again. What is it with Americans and grinning?
"Lucky for us, we've got art first period. Craig will be there too, so you won't be alone." Bam grinned as he walked, his right hand gripping Ville's left arm, who was almost running to keep up with Bam's strides. Craig popped up beside Bam, a grin on his face, as usual.
"Tagging with Bam I see, well that's cool, cause you've got lessons with most of the gang." Craig told him. "I wonder what Carter's gonna draw today. Seriously, I swear he's becoming more morbid." It seemed as though Craig was talking to himself. Bam was too busy humming to himself to notice that Craig was speaking, and Ville was concentrating on keeping his balance as Bam effectively dragged him along. They were still on the first floor, and Ville began to notice several paintings along the wall. But it was the one ahead of him that made him stop suddenly, causing Bam to almost trip up. The painting was relatively large, and seemed to be a portrait of Marilyn Manson… with a twist. Instead of being a normal skin colour, Manson's face was blood red, and his eyes were golden, like a panther's. His teeth were silver, and the canines were longer and more pointed. The background was black, bordered with what appeared to be mist, and behind Manson was an inverted pentagram, in blood red.
"Who painted that?" He asked Craig, who smirked.
"Carter. You know, he painted that from a picture of Marilyn Manson no bigger than my hand. Seriously." He explained. "Told you he was morbid when it came to art." He added, half looking at Bam, who nodded. Ville let himself be led into a classroom, not taking his eyes off the painting until it was out of sight. He then looked around him. They were definitely in an art room, and there was a woman sitting behind a large mahogany desk, glasses perched on her nose, her hair tied back with a pencil. Yes, that's right. A pencil.
"And who do we have here?" The taut voice took Ville by surprise, and he turned to the woman, who was watching him intently.
"He's my cousin Miss. He's tagging along with Bam and me for the moment, before he gets his timetable." Craig told her. "His name is Ville."
"Ah, welcome to my art room Ville. Do you like art?" Ville nodded. "Good, take a seat with Brandon." Ville noticed Bam cringe, and wondered why. As they sat down, he turned to Bam.
"Why did you cringe when she said Brandon?"
"Brandon is my real name. Usually all my teachers call me Bam, like my friends and family do, but she insists on calling me Brandon." Bam explained, scowling at her.
"How the hell did you come up with Bam?" Bam grinned.
"Long story, I'll tell you later." Ville smiled.
"I'll hold you to that, Brandon." Bam laughed as he playfully punched Ville lightly on the arm. Ville grinned as Bam pretended to sulk. Ville stroked back a few hairs that had fallen into his face and smiled. "Brandon suits you." He whispered softly, which brought a smile to Bam's face.
Comments Are My Drug Of Choice ^-^
Title: Growing Up Is Overrated
Author: Craig (patchy4vam)
Rating: Mild
Pairing: Vam
Summary: Ville's family died in a devastating car crash, and he's been sent to live with the only family he has apparently got left. His first shock comes when he's told they live in America. His second shock is when he finds out that his two cousins are his age, one of whom is openly homosexual. The other however, Ville comes to think is insane. He is due to attend their high school, where he will meet some rather... unusual... friends. Ville's life is about to change, a lot. Especially when he meets a skater boy with cerulean eyes...
Previous Chapters
Prologue: http://community.livejournal.com/__vam/2368941.html?#cutid1
Chapter 1: http://community.livejournal.com/__vam/2368941.html?view=30689453#t30689453
Chapter2: http://community.livejournal.com/__vam/2370926.html
Chapter 3: School Begins
"Ville..." Ville was tugged out of his dream of Bam by an eerily quiet voice, and he opened his eyes and had to stop himself screaming. Alex was leaning over him, her ice blue gaze watching him steadily. She had thick outlines of black around her eyes, and she was grinning again, showing off those too-pointed fangs. "Get up, you'll be late otherwise." She disappeared from his view and he sat up just in time to see her leave his room, closing the door behind her.
"Yeah, she definitely scares me." He mumbled tiredly, swinging his legs out of bed, and trying to manoeuvre his way around his room. He pulled on a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, before emerging from his room. Noise from downstairs told Ville that his new parents were already up - he could hear some deranged singing coming from Katri, and David was reporting that some rare parrot had disappeared. He turned sharply when Craig's door swung open, and with it came a blast of music.
"Once I ran to you, I ran, now I run from you..." Craig sang as he walked towards the bathroom, not noticing Ville standing there. The door was still open slightly, and through the gap Ville could see Jude pulling on a shirt. He hadn't known that Jude had stayed the night. The bathroom door flew open and Craig came bouncing out, eyes shut as he continued singing. "Tainted love, whoa, tainted love..."
"Do you do this every morning?" Ville asked with a smirk on his face. Craig jumped visibly, and turned to Ville, grinning.
"Usually, yes." He looked a lot different with his hair so... normal. Ville now saw that it came down just past his chin, about the same length as Ville's if not a couple of inches longer. And his eyes looked so plain without any make-up. "Hyped up about school?" Ville smirked again.
"As much as any other teen kid."
"Not much then." Craig laughed. "Well you better get ready. Mom will be ready to drive us there in like, forty minutes." With that, he disappeared into his room, closing the door. Ville walked over to the bathroom and closed the door, staring into the mirror above the sink. He gripped the sink with both hands, before slowly turning his right arm skyward, and with his left he pulled back the sleeve. The jagged lacerations cut through Ville's heart. It would be a while before they would fade.
"Just keep on pretending it's alright." He whispered to himself. He scowled at the scars, which seemed to mock him. "My river of blood won't run dry!" Now angry with himself, he stormed out of the bathroom and went straight for his room, still scowling. He tried to take his mind off the scars by getting ready - but when it came to applying his eyeliner, every time he lifted his arm to apply it, his sleeve hitched down and the deep red wounds were visible. He sighed heavily and placed the pencil on his desk, and began rummaging through his messenger bag, trying to find what he knew he had put in there. "Aha!" He pulled out two cotton wristbands, one Misfits sweatband, and the other just plain black. He slipped them onto his wrists and pulled his sleeves down over them, and went back to applying his eyeliner. He then emptied his messenger bag of all the random things he had put in there to carry from Finland, and slipped on his Converse, before leaving his room. Just as he was closing the door, Craig and Jude came out of Craig's room.
"All ready to go?" Craig asked with a grin. Ville nodded, and was about to reply when Alex yelled from downstairs.
"OI JACKASSES, WE'RE LEAVING!" The three ran down the stairs and followed Alex out the front door, where Katri was getting into the Hummer. "Shotgun!" Alex yelled again, climbing into the passenger seat. Jude opened the door to the middle seats and stood back so Craig could get in first, he then climbed in after, leaving Ville to sit by the door. The ride there was uneventful, and Ville began to get a feeling of happiness at the pit of his stomach as he saw a familiar group of people waiting outside the school gates. Before they got out of the car, Katri gave them some money each.
"Okay, that's your lunch money. Don't spend it on blades again Alex." She warned her, but Alex just gave her a devious grin as she climbed out of the car. Ville was next to get out, and as he stepped back from the car, he was attacked from the side.
"VILLE!" Bam clung to him tightly, a grin plastered to his face.
"Hey Bam." Ville returned the grin, happy to see Bam again. Craig gave Jude a knowing grin as the pair of them joined the others. Bam had his arm around Ville's shoulders, and Ville had the biggest smile on his face.
"Okay lovebirds, let's get inside. We need to find out which homeroom class Ville's in." Alex grinned, and the group moved into the school gates. Ville found himself as the center of attention as they walked through the grounds towards a set of double doors, which led into the school. Bam kept his arm around his shoulders the whole way, and Ville couldn't help but smile. They entered the building, and Ville was led to the main office.
"Hey, we got the new kid here. We need to know what homeroom class he's in." Bam said once they got to the window at the front. The elderly-looking woman behind it frowned slightly at Bam in disapproval.
"What is your name?" She asked, directed at Ville.
"Ville Valo."
"Ah yes, Valo. Well you just need to follow young Mr Hudson here. You're in his homeroom." She told him. Ville grinned. "Oh, and Mr Margera, too." Bam mirrored Ville's grin as he began leading the Finnish youth away. Craig quickly thanked the woman, as it seemed as though Bam wouldn't.
"You can sit next to me, Ville. This kid Lenny usually sits there, but he can move up one and you can have his seat." Bam told Ville, still grinning. He let himself be led through a series of corridors, not remembering any of it. Which could turn out to be a problem when it came to finding his class on his own. Finally Bam stopped at the foot of a flight of stairs, before abruptly turning and lifting his foot to rest on the bottom step. "It's just up here, and on the left. Come on." That said, he began to climb the stairs, taking them three at a time. Craig followed closely, also taking them three at a time. Ville then noticed that only Alex had remained.
"The rest of the gang are in different classes, Valo. You were too entranced with Bam to notice them disappear." She smirked, before following her brother and her hyperactive friend. Ville stood for a moment, watching the stairs, before it hit him that he had to go up them. He decided against trying to take them three at a time, and settled for a slight jog up them, one at a time. By the time he reached the top, after turning the corner and going up a second flight, he was out of breath. Bam, Craig and Alex were waiting for him with smiles on their faces.
"It'll take a while before you can run up them with ease, Ville. Hell, it took us three years to do it." Craig grinned. "Hurry, I see Miss Reynolds coming this way. Better get into the class quick." He turned and jogged down the corridor, stopping outside a door to wait for them. Alex reached the door second, instantly walking in. Craig followed her, and Ville walked in after Bam. Only half the class were seated, the others sitting on their friends' desks, or standing by the windows talking. Alex had walked over to a guy who resembled her in a strange way, and was talking with him, occasionally laughing. Craig leapt over a desk and landed in front of another guy's desk, who jumped visibly before laughing.
"That's Joey, he used to play the drums in Craig's band, but he had to give up." Bam explained to Ville.
"Why's that?" But his question didn't need to be answered. Craig had settled with sitting on the desk next to Joey's, and had given Ville a clear view of the young lad. He was brushing back black hair with his left hand, and as Ville watched, he had to hold back a cry of shock when he saw that only half of Joey's right arm remained.
"That's what happens when jocks get ahold of electric saws." Bam whispered into Ville's ear. "Guy tripped and the saw cut through Joey's arm."
"That's..." Ville couldn't speak. He could feel the contents of his stomach churning. It was an awful sight to see. "Awful."
"Mm. Shoulda seen it when it happened. That jock did a good job of it. Blood covered half the floor, poor Joey fainted from the shock of it. We thought he'd died from shock or pain." Bam shrugged. "He lives with it though. He's quite a happy guy, too." Ville turned away from Joey, knowing that if he continued to stare at what had once been his right arm, he'd puke. "Oh, and the guy Alex is with. That's her best male buddy, his name is Adrian-Dominic, but he just calls himself AD." Bam glanced around the classroom and grinned. "Ah, there's Lenny. Come on Ville, you have to meet him." Ville found himself being dragged towards a guy with dirty blonde hair, who grinned when he saw Bam.
"Hey Bam, who's your friend?" He asked in a strangely deep voice.
"This is Ville, he's living with Craig. He's his cousin." Bam explained. "Ville, this is Lenny." Ville wondered how many handshakes he'd have to share with strange people. He wasn't used to so much attention. Back home in Finland he had just been Ville, the guy who grew up down the street from the school. Here it was as if he was some famous person, everyone wanting to shake his hand, or get to know him. Had Americans never seen anyone from Finland before? "Which reminds me, can you shift up a seat, to the spare one? I want Ville to sit beside me. I've made it my duty to show him round school."
"Sure thing Margera. Besides, that way I'm closer to Scott. Which will cause hell for everyone else." Lenny laughed. Ville assumed that Scott was his best friend. Ville turned away from the two, who were now talking about skateboards, a subject Ville found no interest in, and saw Alex walking over, AD in tow.
"Hey Valo, this is my bud AD." She said. AD nodded briefly.
"Hey." He said bluntly.
"Hey." Ville replied just as bluntly. Further conversation was cut short as a tall woman walked into the room.
"Class, please take your seats. Pete, if you want to see that bottle again I suggest you put it away, NOW." She smirked at a guy with brown hair, who was just lifting a bottle of what looked like Vodka to his mouth. He quickly screwed on the lid and slid it into his bag. Bam took Ville's arm and told him to sit beside him, and he did so, keeping his eyes on the class. Of course, they were sat at the back, which gave Ville a better chance of observing the class. "Okay, I'll call attendance now." She began to call out a series of names, most of them being answered with a simple 'here'. Ville was taking this opportunity to see who was who, even though he'd probably forget within an hour. "Carter Grayson?" She looked over the class, focused on an empty seat in front of Ville, and sighed. "I don't know why I bother calling his name, he's always late." She laughed, causing half the members of the class to grin. "Alex Hudson?"
"Dead." Came the response, causing the class to laugh.
"Craig Hudson?"
"Yeah." Craig almost missed his name, he was too engrossed in something on his desk. More names were called out, and just as she called out a name which Ville couldn't define whether it was a girl or a boy, the door opened and two blonde guys tumbled through it.
"Brandy Leordo?" One of the guys, with shoulder-length blonde hair, grinned.
"Just in time Miss." He made his way to an empty seat beside Bam, the other guy, much taller, following closely.
"Ah, I see you've brought Carter along with you. Been behind the bike sheds again boys?" She smirked, which grew into a grin, and then a chuckle, as the taller boy grinned slyly and winked at Brandy. Bam nudged Ville.
"They're both open about themselves, too. Those two have been dating since they were like, thirteen." He whispered.
"Bam?"
"Absent." He laughed. Ville got bored of watching who answered what name, and folded his arms on the desk in front of him, resting his chin on his arms.
"Ville Valo? Did I pronounce that right?" Ville glanced up, amazed that someone had read his name correctly.
"Uh, yeah, you did." He replied cautiously.
"I thought it was correct. I'm familiar with Finnish names, y'see." This amazed Ville, for what reason he wasn't sure. "Well, welcome to West Chester High Ville, we haven't got a timetable for you, so just tag along with someone for today." Cue nudge and grin from Bam. "Okay, first of all, Carter... I'll need to speak with you before you leave for first period. You're getting a bad habit of coming in late EVERY day." The guy who had sat in the seat in front of Ville grinned.
"Can't help waking up late, Miss."
"No, you can't help being around Brandy." Joey laughed, causing Carter to laugh as well. He gave Joey an innocent shrug, matched with an innocent expression.
"You can tag along with me." Ville turned his attention to Bam, who was leaning precariously towards him, only two legs of his chair on the ground.
"I'll be tagging along to your funeral if you keep leaning like that." Ville replied, pushing him gently so that he fell back onto all four legs of his chair. Bam grinned again. What is it with Americans and grinning?
"Lucky for us, we've got art first period. Craig will be there too, so you won't be alone." Bam grinned as he walked, his right hand gripping Ville's left arm, who was almost running to keep up with Bam's strides. Craig popped up beside Bam, a grin on his face, as usual.
"Tagging with Bam I see, well that's cool, cause you've got lessons with most of the gang." Craig told him. "I wonder what Carter's gonna draw today. Seriously, I swear he's becoming more morbid." It seemed as though Craig was talking to himself. Bam was too busy humming to himself to notice that Craig was speaking, and Ville was concentrating on keeping his balance as Bam effectively dragged him along. They were still on the first floor, and Ville began to notice several paintings along the wall. But it was the one ahead of him that made him stop suddenly, causing Bam to almost trip up. The painting was relatively large, and seemed to be a portrait of Marilyn Manson… with a twist. Instead of being a normal skin colour, Manson's face was blood red, and his eyes were golden, like a panther's. His teeth were silver, and the canines were longer and more pointed. The background was black, bordered with what appeared to be mist, and behind Manson was an inverted pentagram, in blood red.
"Who painted that?" He asked Craig, who smirked.
"Carter. You know, he painted that from a picture of Marilyn Manson no bigger than my hand. Seriously." He explained. "Told you he was morbid when it came to art." He added, half looking at Bam, who nodded. Ville let himself be led into a classroom, not taking his eyes off the painting until it was out of sight. He then looked around him. They were definitely in an art room, and there was a woman sitting behind a large mahogany desk, glasses perched on her nose, her hair tied back with a pencil. Yes, that's right. A pencil.
"And who do we have here?" The taut voice took Ville by surprise, and he turned to the woman, who was watching him intently.
"He's my cousin Miss. He's tagging along with Bam and me for the moment, before he gets his timetable." Craig told her. "His name is Ville."
"Ah, welcome to my art room Ville. Do you like art?" Ville nodded. "Good, take a seat with Brandon." Ville noticed Bam cringe, and wondered why. As they sat down, he turned to Bam.
"Why did you cringe when she said Brandon?"
"Brandon is my real name. Usually all my teachers call me Bam, like my friends and family do, but she insists on calling me Brandon." Bam explained, scowling at her.
"How the hell did you come up with Bam?" Bam grinned.
"Long story, I'll tell you later." Ville smiled.
"I'll hold you to that, Brandon." Bam laughed as he playfully punched Ville lightly on the arm. Ville grinned as Bam pretended to sulk. Ville stroked back a few hairs that had fallen into his face and smiled. "Brandon suits you." He whispered softly, which brought a smile to Bam's face.
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