Unknown Being

It was Monday, January 31. Matt woke up with mixed emotions; he was 16 now. He didn't want to go to school for the lessons' sake but he wanted to see Cat as well as what she had gotten him. It made him anxious and he could not stop wondering what she had gotten this year. The year prior, she had given him a composition sketchbook to write music, with a hand-decorated cover; the theme, of course, was Black Veil Brides. It also included some Avenged Sevenfold art as the two of them also enjoyed the music of Avenged. Matt had been so excited and grateful that, though they had been in school, he hugged her then and there; she'd blushed like a tomato but he only laughed. He still had the notebook, though it was almost filled. Cat had made another one for a Christmas present which he loved even more; her artistry had improved in the 11 months between the two occasions.

After sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Matt threw on a BVB T-shirt paired with some pre-faded blue jeans, complete with a black genuine leather belt that he loved for the touch of class it gave. He also grabbed his phone, house key, and Sennheiser earbuds. In the kitchen, he quickly fixed himself an egg sandwich for breakfast and a deli sandwich for lunch; he hated the school food and felt that it was overpriced for what he considered to be no better than plastic.

Matt sighed quietly as he tied up his slowly dying boots to go out; the laces needed to be replaced but there were no spares in the house nor anything adequate to use as laces. The nearest shoe store was across a state highway he didn't dare cross as a pedestrian. He didn't have his driver's licence yet; he was stuck. His parents were decent people when they were around. Some of the time, Matt always reminded himself. They pushed him too hard for someone with depression and anxiety who needed gradual changes. And at that moment, they were out of town so Matt was home alone; he had no siblings. He didn't know what they were doing, nor care as long as they came home sober and in one piece. "Not that they'll be sober," he muttered to himself as he hauled up his backpack. He put on his BVB hoodie, another of Cat's presents, a face mask, and black fingerless gloves to protect himself for the cold wind and walked out the door, locking up.

The walk to school was always quiet, especially in the winter when the weather was bad. Matt liked it though. In the spring, the cars' exhaust annoyed him and made it hard to breathe. The winter was nice because no one drove out at the hour he had to walk to school.

When he got into his school, Matt took off his face mask to breathe comfortably and plugged in his earbuds, selecting Last Rites by BVB; he especially loved the intro. As usual, Cat was waiting in plain sight, her dyed hair making her easy to spot. There was a wide smile on her face as soon as she saw her friend.

"Hey," she said simply, eyes shining happily. "Happy birthday, Matt!"

"Hey, Kit-Kat," the boy replied, using his nickname for her when he was especially happy. "Thanks so much. So…what did you get me this year?"

Cat was about to answer when a loud and high-pitched voice interrupted them. "Hey, losers! Happy birthday, fag-boy!" It was followed by an even more aggravating laugh that pierced the air. They turned, scowling, to find Kayla, Cat's arch-enemy, coming over with her boyfriend, Vince.

Vince smirked evilly. "Yeah, loser. Happy birthday," he spit sarcastically.

Matt looked his enemy up and down with scrutinizing eyes. "Vince," he said curtly. "Hey, Kayla, still hanging around with him?"

"She loves me," The junior snarled, glaring daggers at his prey.

"She drags you around like a dog," Cat remarked. "How cute, a dog dragging around another one on a leash. Have you ever seen so strange, Matt," she asked, eyes full of laughter.

Matt smirked. "No, I haven't. They will never learn." They took the opportunity to run and escape the two stunned bullies. They ran straight into the cafeteria and burst into laughter once they reached a safe table full of random people they didn't even know. "That was perfect, Cat," he said. "Alright, now what were you going to show me?"

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand," the girl instructed. Once she was sure his eyes were closed, Cat got the tickets from her backpack and placed them in his upturned palm. "Open slowly for dramatic effect," she said, fighting back laughter at her own ridiculousness.

Matt's face scrunched up as he, too, fought back laughter; he did what he was told and gasped when he saw what he held.

"What did I get you," she asked sweetly.

"Tickets to Warped and VIP passes to meet BVB," he whispered in awe. He stared at Cat, who smiled back. Clutching the tickets in his hand, he hugged Cat, not caring that they were in school with people right near them, people who happened to be listening to their conversation. "Thank you so much," he sighed happily.

Cat was used to Matt hugging her in public, but she blushed nonetheless at the sweetness and gratitude in his voice. "You're welcome," she responded, fighting the awkwardness of the situation. The others around them burst into cheers and they both blushed.

Notes

So I figured I'd update really soon because I realized the prologue gave you, whoever reads this story, very little to really critique. So here's something real.
And yeah, I remembered to leave a line between paragraphs. I was tired and lazy last night because it was like 1 AM after my younger, energetic cousins had been over. I was tired but I had to get the idea in. So yeah, hope you like it. Peace