“A Higher Love”

Chapter 1: There’d Better Be Beer.

“Get the hell out of my way, freak.”

A large thud resounds through the hallways of Cleerwater High School as one of the students is slammed up against the dark purple lockers. The tenth grader’s books go flying and his head rings. He wipes the blood from his busted lower lip, preparing to pick up his scattered papers and textbooks.

When he bends down, a tan hand closes over his History book. He looks up and connects eyes with a sandy-brown haired boy. The boy smiles slightly, picking up the dark blue book before handing it to its owner.

“Thanks.” The first boy mutters quietly, running a moon pale hand through his dyed black hair. He fiddles with the hem of his black Nirvana shirt as he takes the book being offered to him.

“You’re welcome.” The brunette boy says, again smiling, “I’m Tony, by the way. Tony Anderson.”

“Greg Zsladosa.”

“Be a little more careful next time.” Tony grins to the Goth before walking away.

“Damn prep.” Greg mumbles to himself as he watches the boy walk away from him.

--

“Greggy-poo!!” Angela Cowall, Greg’s best girl friend, squeals before she launches her thin form at the Goth. He catches her against his lithe, formed body, hugging her tightly. They’ve been friends since they were in diapers, and when others (John, Bryce, Nick, Tori, Mandy, and Misty) joined the two, they remained the best of friends.

“I got pushed into another locker today,” Greg laughs, his icy blue eyes sparkling. Angela runs her fingers through his dark hair in a comforting way as they smile to each other.

“Greg,” she whispers, “They aren’t going to leave you alone. You know that, right??”

“Of course,” the Goth scoffs, “Those bastards get a kick out of making me bleed. Fucking sadists.”

The brunette girl laughs at her friend’s comment, her hazel eyes becoming squinty in a way that it makes her look Asian.

“No, I’m dead serious,” Greg adjusts himself on the table he’s sitting on. That’s the best part about their English class, getting to goof off for ninety minutes and still passing with one-hundreds. “Those skanks get their jollies from seeing me pressed up against a locker. It’s kind of pathetic once you think about it.”

Angela rolls her eyes at her best friend. It’s almost amazing how the two get along, with them having personalities so different.

“Think about it, the only way the ‘in-crowd’ can make themselves look all big and bad is to pick on us lower life forms. Really, it’s almost enough to make me turn all emo and—“

“Greg, shut up. The conversation went down the shithole when you said the word ‘emo’.” Angela takes a long drink from her Dr. Pepper. “C’mon, let’s get your mind off of those bloody fucks. We’ll get together at my house. You know I’ve got the best place.”

Greg sighs, “Fine. But there’d better be beer.

--

“I didn’t know that you had this class.”

Tony turns around to come face-to-face with the Gothboy he helped out this morning. He looks up at Greg, who’s at least four inches taller than him, and grins sheepishly.

“Yeah,” the prep answers, “I’ve had this class all semester.”

“Oh,” Greg’s face turns pink in embarrassment.

“So, you wanna be lab partners??” Tony asks him, holding out a pair of clear goggles. The brunette boy smiles sweetly up to Greg, his emerald eyes bright and trusting. Greg half-smiles back, taking the bug-eyed goggles offered to him.

“So, what’re we doing today??” He asks, strapping the goggles onto his head.

“Dissecting a pig fetus.” Tony answers as the teacher passes the tin bins around the room.

“I beg your pardon??”

A tiny, aluminum foil-lined tub is set sharply down on their table, a pig fetus tucked neatly inside. Greg stares down at it in horror, his eyes widened in shock. Of course, he’s always had a flair for science (he’s the top student), but this was way out of his league. He did Chemistry, the Periodic table, making nuclear bombs (okay, that went a little overboard, but…).

“Are you okay??” Tony asks, placing a hand on Greg’s pale forearm. They connect eyes; Tony’s filled with worry, Greg’s with anxiety.

“I-I’ll be fine,” the Goth reassures Tony, smiling down to the smaller boy.

“Okay. But, you know I’m here if you pass out.” Tony smiles back, his small and perfect teeth shining.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Tony rolls his eyes playfully before picking up the scalpel. He delicately places it at the base of the pig’s throat, dragging it down to the bottom of the tiny pink stomach.

“Jesus H. Christ, that stinks!!” Greg exclaims, covering his nose with his gloved hands.

“It’s dead.”

“Still stinks!!”

“Well, I’m sure that if you were dead, you’d stink too.”

Greg playfully glares as Tony deepens the incision. The older boy gags as Tony pulls back the skin to reveal the organs.

“You okay??” Tony asks worriedly, looking up at Greg.

“Fine…”

Greg’s sentence is cut short as he falls backwards, his eyes rolling back into his head. He hits the edge of another table on his way down, creating a small cut that begins bleeding. Tony bends down beside him, cradling his ebony head in his arms. He calls for the teacher, who waddles over, muttering to herself.

“Oh, not another one…”

--

“I’m going to fail if I keep this up, aren’t I??” Greg asks Angela, who’s come to visit him in the school’s nurse’s office. He’s holding an ice pack against the back of his aching head.

The girl nods, “You’re going to fail that class anyway, but this adds insult to injury.” She laughs as Greg punches her in her gloved arm.

“What??” She asks, “You know that Biology isn’t your strong point, it’s mine.”

“Don’t rub it in.” Greg mumbles, poking out his irresistible lower lip. Angela caves immediately and pulls him into a hug. She looks up at a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Greg instructs the person knocking, “It’s probably Misty,” he murmurs to Angela, referring to his girlfriend of two years.

But, lo and behold, it isn’t Misty who walks through the cheap wooden door, it’s Tony.

The small boy looks almost frightened as he steps in, his eyes going to, and locking with, Greg’s. A pink tinge colors his cheeks as they meet eyes; a flush, cute embarrassment.

Angela eyes the prep coldly. She knows that he hangs out with Jordan, one of the biggest preps (not to mention that he’s a total jackass to everyone) in the school. Silently, she wonders why Greg would even come within fifty feet of him.

“I-I just came to see h-how you were doing,” Tony stutters, his blush growing. His hands fiddle with the hem of his polo shirt, his emerald eyes looking at his shoes. The boy looks extremely uncomfortable being around the two, but he’s trying to hide it.

Unknowingly, a smile spreads across Greg’s face, his stomach twisting nervously.

“I’m fine, but thanks.” Greg says, smiling at Tony. The boys’ eyes find each other again, and keep there in silence.

“Well, we’ll leave you be, Greg. Remember, come by my house.” Angela cuts in, roughly pushing Tony out of the door. She didn’t like the looks the two had been sharing.

“See you then…” Greg waves.

This version, however, is the newest, and the third rewrite. I guess I just wasn’t satisfied.

All I can say is that I’m extremely pleased with this one!!

Oh, and for those of you who’ve read “You Look Your Best When You Walk Away,” Greg is Matthew and Erika’s older brother. I believe that he was vaguely mentioned in “YLYBWYWA.” Well, this is his story. (sparkles)

Just to let you all know, this story IS finished, and I’m just getting time to type it. So, if you like this chapter, keep checking back to see how it’s going!!

--Zephyr