Checkmate

When my alarm goes off the next day, it causes me to escape the world of dreams where everything was actually alright and go into the nightmare known as reality. I sit up on my bed and stretch a bit before getting up and picking out my clothes for the day. I never dress to impress, so I just grab a Blink shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Raven stretch before coming over to me. She hasn’t left me alone at all after what happened yesterday, but I’m perfectly fine with that.
The cute little brown puppy follows me into the bathroom. It’s just like her to just hang out with me while I shower. This gives me comfort though because unlike some people who sing in the shower, I have someone to talk to which really gets out some of my unneeded feelings for the day. I close the door after she’s in and put my clothes down on the sink. When I lift my head back up, I see the black eye that my father gave me. I really didn’t think that he hit me that hard. Apparently, I was wrong. A sigh falls from my lips. Covering it up isn’t even an option since I don’t have anything. I know that my classmates won’t say anything, but Mr. Gaskarth will. Talking to him is something that I want to do, but I’m not a hundred percent sure on that. It looks like I’m going to have to though. The thing that I mostly wanted to talk about was how I’m stuck walking home everyday and that my parents are strict. I’ve never been hurt before yesterday, so he’s probably going to think that my parents are abusive. My life.I turn the water on and wait for the steam to come. Oh, how I love hot showers. When I feel like it’s hot enough, I step in and let out a little hum from the feel of the liquid which is almost burning my flesh. The heat relaxes my muscles, and it feels amazing. They always say that you should take a cold shower in the morning because it will wake you up, but I think hot showers are the best. Yes, they make me relaxed which is bad, but I feel great after them. Stretching can only do so much.
“So, I’m going to talk to Mr. Gaskarth today,” I tell the little ball of fur watching me. “I mean, he’s going to question my eye, so I don’t really have a choice. I did promise you that I would if he said anything to me... I know that you’re happy about that. You’re always trying to get me to get new friends. It just really sucks that the only friend that my parents will let me have is you... Yeah, I wish they’d let me talk to her again. She was the coolest person that I’ve ever known. If only her family and my family didn’t start arguing... I can’t disobey them though. You saw what happens when I do... At least, I’m going to talk to Mr. Gaskarth. He may be my teacher, but it’s a start.”
I grab the shampoo and put some of it in my hand before washing my hair with it. More hums come out of my mouth. Again, I wash my hair. Finally after the third time, I stop and rinse away the last of the suds. I step out and dry myself off with the towel that was hanging up. I dress quickly, and before I leave, I hang another towel up for tomorrows shower. Damn. I almost forgot. I go back in and put a ton of cologne on. I smell myself to see if it’s enough. I can only smell the liquid, so I know I’m good. It would be terrible if I forgot to put any on.
My skinny legs carry me down the stairs and towards the doors. However, a voice stops me. It’s my mom calling my name. A sigh falls from my lips before I head into the kitchen where I know she is. Standing there is my mom, dad, and some girl that I don’t recognize with a black cat in her arms. She doesn’t look like a family member at all. The short brunette is wearing a brown shirt with dark green leggings, and a green top with flared sleeves. She’s very petite and light skinned. Her hair is a light brown, and her eyes are bright green with brown specs. Wait. Those eyes. Can it be?
Is this Raven?
“Your father is very sorry about yesterday,” my mom says. “I just wanted to tell you again.” Why doesn’t he just do that himself? “Anyway, we have some great news! We have stopped fighting with the O'Briens, and I’m sure that you remember Raven.” Shit. That is her...
“Hey, Jack,” she grins. “You’ve grown.”
“And you haven’t,” I smirk. She giggles.
“When we started fighting, they moved a couple of towns over in order to get away from us. Raven and her parents have just moved back into town, so she’ll be joining you at school. You’ll finally have another friend besides little Raven.”
“Little Raven?” the petite teen questions. I look down at my little dog before looking back at her. “Oh, you named your dog after me. That’s funny because I named my cat after you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it sucked when we had to stop being friends. I couldn’t live without at least another Jack in my life. He’s pretty goofy too.”
“Raven is always following me and comforting me. She’s kind of like a little you too.”
“Well, I think you two should start walking to school. It’s a long walk after all.”
“Bye Mr. and Mrs. Barakat.”
“Bye sweetie.”
Raven puts little Jack down and starts to walk with me to school. As soon as we get out the door, my smile just gets wider. It’s so weird because little Raven and I were just talking about her. I haven’t seen her since I was twelve. It’s amazing seeing her after five years. I can tell that she feels the same way. Although we look nothing alike, we could have been mistaken for twins or at least siblings because of how close we are.
“How has your life been?” I ask her.
“It’s been pretty good actually. My studies have been going great, and the family has been really good. Oh, and I met this really cool girl. I don’t know if she likes me, but I think she’s gorgeous. Is there anyone that catches your eye?”
“Um, no, not really.”
“I think you're lying,” she says in a sing-song voice.
“You can always tell that I’m lying. OK, I think my teacher’s cute, but nothing is ever going to happen. I’m only going to talk to him today because he’s the only person in the school that has actually looked out for me and seems to care.”
“‘Him’? Ha, I’ve always known that you’re gay.”
“You always know everything.”
“It’s a gift, but you aren’t going to do anything at all?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Well, that sucks. Just know that if anything does happen. I will always support you.”
“I know.”
After some time, we finally get to school. I show Raven around to all of her classes and the classes we have together. Eyes glance over at us the whole time. Of course, that does makes sense. Since when do I ever hang out with someone? By the time we get to our English class, everyone knows about the surprising new friends. In fact, I think a certain English teacher found out...

Notes

Sorry this is late. I'm going to start writing all of my stories starting next week. I like this chapter more than the other chapter. I wasn't going to add Raven in, but I figured that Jack needed someone to talk to other than Mr. Gaskarth. I might also speed it up just a tad than I originally had in mind. I mean, it won't be by that much. I also feel like that little idea would make more sense because of the secrets are.
Hope you like it!