Chapter One:

"All honors classes. Of course," Dad said, smiling and handing my schedule back to me.

"Yeah... I'm not really too excited about it," I told him, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure it'll be just like private school," Dad told me.

"Why couldn't you let me go to the other private school? You know, the one that all my classmates went to?" I asked him.

I had asked him this question ever since the day he announced that I was going to public school. He just answered with the generic, 'It'll be better for you'.

"Oliver, private school... It's not good for you. It'll make you too stuck up. I can already see it happening. Plus, when you go to public school, you'll get an idea of the diversity of people in the world," Daddy said, coming out into the kitchen, where Dad and I were.

I wanted to say a snappy response back but I figured I shouldn't. Daddy would always win in an argument.

"Daddy! Daddy! I bet I could kick your ass at Halo now!" My older brother, Banjo, said running down the hallway and into the room that our Daddy was in.

"Banjo, will you leave me alone for, like, five minutes," Daddy said, turning around and glaring at him. Banjo rolled his eyes and shrugged, sitting next to him.

It was like seeing double with those two. Except Banjo was significantly younger than Daddy. They looked almost exactly like each other except for Banjo's bright blue eyes, which he inherited from our surrogate mother.

Sometimes I wondered if I looked anything like Dad. Banjo always said I didn't because I hadn't fully hit puberty yet. I used to want to look like Dad since he used to be incredibly handsome but now... He just looked tired.

I turned my attention back to the playful argument going on between Banjo and Daddy and I watched as Banjo swiftly took Daddy's wallet and ran away with it. Daddy jumped out of his chair and chased after him, shouting that he was a 'Goddamn prick.'

"I better go make sure they don't break anything again," Dad said, sighing and going after them as well.

And, I was alone.

I had learned to get used to being alone. I wasn't one for the roughhousing my family did on a regular basis. I liked things to be orderly and organized, not chaotic and messy.

Sometimes I wondered how I got put into this family.

I studied my schedule again before getting bored with that and going up to my room.

I closed the door so I didn't hear all the yelling of my family members as they tried beating each other at Halo. Sometimes I wished they'd invite me to play but video games never really interested me.

I know what you're thinking. I was born into a family that played video games for part of their job and I didn't like video games. Crazy, right? Well, the way I saw it, video games were just books that you got to play, right? Like, they all started out on paper, a paper that someone had to read to develop a storyline. Well... My point is that video games never interested me like books did.

I laid on my bed and picked up my phone, reading the thirty two messages my best friend, Cree Perch, left me.

I texted him back and set my phone down, grabbing the book I had been reading for the past few days. I felt my phone buzz and I picked it up, reading the message Cree sent me.

What took you so long to text me back? I waited like... A whole two minutes.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at Cree's text. I texted him back immediately so he wouldn't have another meltdown like before.

Believe it or not Cree, I have a life.

I don't believe it.

I know. I don't either.

I smiled at our conversation. They usually went along the stereotypical conversations of teenagers nowadays but they were entertaining nonetheless to me.

Hey, you mind if I come over and spend the night? My parents are ignoring me.

So, that's why you texted me.

No! I was genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of my only friend.

Right. And yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine.

Okay, I'm coming over now.

I set my phone down again and closed my book. I took a deep breath, knowing I'd have to interrupt my family's Halo tournament.

I walked in the living room, hearing my brother yell at Daddy for killing him. Dad did his little hiccuping laugh and screamed when Daddy killed him too.

"Hey," I said.

Nobody turned around.

"Hey!" I yelled.

Dad finally turned his attention to me and paused the game, making Banjo and Daddy groan. He looked at me waiting for me to say what I needed to say.

But for a moment, I let the reality of what just happened set in. It took two tries to get their attention. I suppose that sounded selfish to some people, but if Banjo had wanted something they would've been at his feet in a second.

"Yo, Oliver, if you're just gonna stare at us, could we at least continue the game?" Banjo said. Daddy elbowed him harshly and told him to be nice.

"Um... Is it okay if Cree comes over and spends the night?" I asked timidly.

"He isn't here already? Usually he's here all weekend," Daddy commented.

"Yes, Oliver, he can stay," Dad responded, unpausing the game.

I nodded, even though they weren't even paying attention. I went back downstairs, making sure we had Cree's favorite cookies. Knowing him, that will be the first thing he goes for when he arrives.

About five minutes after I had began setting out food for us to take up to my room, I heard the front door open and Cree appeared before me in the kitchen.

"Hey. Is this all we're taking?" Cree asked, beginning to sift through the food.

"I was gonna grab another bag of chips but yeah," I told him. Cree shook his head, his long hair spinning around his head. He began tearing through the cabinet again, picking out things that I would've looked over.

"Cinnamon? What's the cinnamon for?" I asked, picking up the small bottle.

"The cinnamon challenge, duh," Cree said, slipping a spoon into my hand.

I rolled my eyes at him and began gathering things to take up to my room. Cree did as well, although far less than me due to his smaller size.

We brought all the stuff up to my room and set it on my desk. I instantly began organizing and fixing it, my OCD beginning to affect my perception of things.

"I'm guessing you didn't take your meds today?" Cree asked me, pulling me away from the food.

"I don't need meds," I told him.

"Right. And I don't need to eat all your food," Cree said, rolling his eyes playfully.

"You don't though!" I yelped back, feeling a giggle escape my throat.

"Yeah! But if I don't eat it, who else will?" Cree said, plopping on my bed and sprawling out. "Speaking of eating, how was that dinner last year?"

"I'm not that skinny," I retorted, shoving his legs out of the way so I could sit on my bed as well.

"Oliver, you look like a stick figure. If someone were chasing you, you could hide behind a stop sign and they'd never find you," Cree said.

I knew that he was joking but after years of knowing him, I knew there was some worry in his voice, even if he didn't show it. Truth was, I had been too nervous to eat much of anything so I only ate enough so I wouldn't keel over and die.

"Well, it's also in my genetics. You've seen my dad. He's really skinny too," I told him, crossing my legs and staring at my phone.

"Yeah, but he's not this skinny. You should really start eating, Oliver. Why haven't you been?" Cree asked me, sitting up and staring at me. When I didn't say anything he took my phone from my hand and forced me to look up.

"I've just been really nervous about going to public school. I don't know anyone and I'm gonna get so confused," I admitted.

Cree gently grabbed my arm and turned my body towards his. He kept constant eye contact with me and crossed his arms.

"Let me tell you about it then. It's gonna suck because everyone's a jerk, but you'll eventually fit in. The girls will probably start picking you apart the moment you walk into the school but that's just the girls. Then you've got the boys... They'll probably just decide which group you belong in for you and put you there," Cree told me.

"Oh... It doesn't sound that great," I said.

"Yeah, but it'll get better, I promise. So, now that I've given you insight, will ya eat?" Cree said, getting up and immediately going for the sugar cookies.

"I suppose," I said, despite my stomach screaming at me to refuse.

He handed me the cookie and I nibbled on it, not really enjoying the taste. Cree literally devoured his cookie and started on a second and third by the time I ate half of mine.

"So, you want to watch a movie or something," I asked him.

"Sure," Cree said through a mouthful of food.

I nodded and grabbed my xbox controller and booted up my xbox. My dads had gotten it for me for Christmas a year ago however I only used it for Netflix and stuff like that. As I said, I had absolutely no interest in video games.

We ended up watching a scary movie, one that particularly was very cliche. Cree was pulling my blanket over himself after every jumpscare and I smiled at how easily scared he could get.

"You know, we could've watched something else," I told him.

"Why? I like scary movies!" Cree said, giggling. I rolled my eyes and unpaused the movie, watching Cree tense up again and press himself against my body once more.

Eventually, Dad came in and told us to keep quiet since he and Daddy were going to bed. We agreed and decided to stay up one more hour before going to sleep.

I always liked falling asleep with Cree over. We would always say we were gonna fall asleep at certain time and then not actually fall asleep until hours after that. Usually we would stay up and talk about the most meaningless things however tonight, things were much different.

"Oliver, if something was bothering you, you'd tell me right?" Cree asked from where he laid in my bed.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, looking up from where I laid on the floor.

"Cause, I can see somethings been bothering you. And I know it's something more than school. What is it?" Cree asked.

I was silent. Was there something wrong? I supposed that something had been bothering me lately but I couldn't quite put my finger on it just yet. Maybe it was just the worry that I hadn't done anything with my summer or that my brother was being particularly mean to me lately.

However, I knew exactly what it was and I just couldn't admit it to myself.

But maybe I could admit it to Cree.

"Have you ever felt insignificant?" I asked him.

"Oliver, it's me, Cree. You know, the boy who's parents don't really care about him," Cree said. I sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know Cree. I wish my dads adopted you instead," I said, trying to change the subject.

"Oliver, why do you feel insignificant?" Cree said, instantly putting me back on track.

I stared up at the darkness of my ceiling. I knew Cree was peeking at me from where he laid so I tried to change my facial expression to throw him off.

It didn't work.

"I don't feel right in this family. Like... I'm polar opposites from Banjo. I've never liked video games despite my dads job. And I like it when everything's clean and organized and you know for a fact that that isn't any of my family's traits," I confessed. "I bet that if I just up and left, they'd not even notice I was gone."

"Oliver, yes they would. They love you. You're their second son, their last little baby, remember? Banjo... He's a lost cause. But he'll grow out of that when he's turned into an actual adult. Right now, he's just excited for his senior year," Cree said.

I shrugged and tried to agree with him, but I couldn't bring myself to actually believe that they loved me like they said they did. I'm not their 'little baby' anymore. But Banjo, he'll probably always be their little baby.

"I'm gonna go to sleep, Cree. Good night," I said, turning onto my side and facing away from him.

"Okay, good night," Cree said. I heard my bed creak as he got more comfortable and eventually drifted off to sleep.

But I couldn't sleep yet. There was too much racing through my head for sleep to be possible.

So I laid awake until around four in the morning before I finally forced myself to sleep.
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So, I was thinking that the Prologue didn't offer too much info on who Oliver is as a person so I posted the first chapter. Hopefully you don't think three posts in two days is annoying.
Anyway, thank you for those who have read this. Please let me know what you thought. I'm literally going to be pouring my soul into this story since Oliver is by far my favorite character I've ever created.
Thanks for reading!
(P.S. - Next chapter is going to be in Gavin's POV.)