Chapter One: The Freckled Boy

Chinese New Year - Sales

Millie's P.O.V

Thousands of students were wandering around the halls of this stupid high school. People were usually annoying every time I walk through these hallways. For some reason, there always has to be some kind of stupid fight in the middle of the hallway. 

Do people not realize that other people have to get to places? I constantly see fights that cause drama through the school which is even more annoying. Who gives a crap if Savana broke up with Zack or Amanda cheating on her boyfriend, cause I don't. 

I just want to get high school over with. 

It was lunchtime which is even rowdier. I walked up to the row of blue lockers while getting shoved by a few students. I opened up my locker and pulled out the one thing I can't live without, my earbuds. These babies save my life every damn day. These are the only things that help me survive high school.

I shut my locker suddenly spotting a tall blond leaning against the locker that was next to mine. The most popular prostitute that you'll ever meet, Iris Apatow. No matter what, she will sleep with any guy that catches her eye. It's easy for her to get a guy especially showing that much skin. Guys constantly fall on their knees for her. It's all annoying, it's like boys in this school have such bitter taste in girls.

I've dealt with her from kindergarten until Junior year and she still gives me hell. She's like the Regena George of this school. I try my best to ignore her but she always to crawl back annoy the hell out of me.

"Hello, Million." She says with her annoying squeaky-ass voice. Her cherry red lips send me a fake smile. 

"It's Millie," I corrected giving a fake smile back at her. I turned around ready to walk away from her until one of her minions stopped me. I rolled my eyes and turned around to face her. Let's just get this over with.

"What do you want Iris?" I asked while stuffing my textbook into my bag.

"A little birdy told me you've been stealing my things behind my back." She says while trying to pierce her blue eyes right through me with her chin up high. She's a couple of inches taller than me but with those high stilettos, she'll be taller than every boy in the school.

"What makes you think I stole something from you?"

"I've noticed that I've been missing this lately." She says with her eyebrow raised while sucking the inside of her cheek.

"Like your virginity?" I hear a short giggle from one of her friends but quickly covered it with a cough. Her nostrils flared making her push me against my locker while glaring at one of her friends.

"Girls! grab her backpack and search for it!" Minion number one pulled in my backpack causing everything in my backpack drop to the ground. Papers and pencils spread all over the ground. Both of Iris's slaves bent down trying to search for something.

"Iris!" I look up to see who it was.

"Finnie!" She yells while letting go of her grip on me and spreading her arms wide for someone to hug. I took that chance to grab all my stuff without her looking. I immediately grabbed all my things that were scattered all around that hallway that was being stepped on with no one trying to help. 

I looked up to see the two girls looking at me dumbfounded. I'm guessing they didn't find what they were looking for. I looked up at Iris seeing her making out with her new boyfriend. I looked back down grabbing more of my things. Her boyfriend finally, breaks there kiss, exhaling a tired breath from their little makeout session.

"What are you doing?" He says while glancing down at me and looking back at her. I finally got all my things and stuffed them in my bag and got up from the floor. I got a better look at him when he glanced at me. His exceedingly curly black hair hung over his eyes as if they were bangs. His pale complexion was almost as pale as a cloudy sky. His high cheekbones cast a shadow below his cheeks that were filled with freckles which made him look extremely attractive. His outfit was unique yet pleasing to my eyes.

"Don't worry about it babe," Iris says while caressing his cheek that was filled with loads of freckles, this is disgusting to watch.

"Are you sure cause you seem kind of-" He was then cut off by another passionate kiss by Iris. I rolled my eyes and walked away without being stopped by Iris or her minions. I walked into the cafeteria trying to look for my friends. I spotted them at our usual table that was next to a window, the only window in the cafeteria. I don't have many friends but I have my two best friends Sadie Sink and Noah Schnapp, the two people that mean the world to me.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Sadie asks angrily.

"I was stuck with Iris," I said as I take the seat that was across from her. I first met Sadie in third grade, I was wearing pigtails on that day and a bunch of boys was making fun of them until Sadie walked in and stook up for me and scared those bullies away. She was also wearing pigtails on that day which probably gave her the courage to stick up for me. Up until that day, we became best friends.

"That bitch again?" Noah said in an irritated tone. Once Sadie and I reached our first year of middle school we met Noah. He's the gayest person that you'll ever meet. He may not sound gay but once you get to know him you can tell. It took me a while to actually realize that he's gay. It clicked to me when he was constantly staring at this guy at school one time. We saw him being made fun of by several boys because he chose to wear sparkly rainbow shoes that day. Sadie and I went up to those boys and scared them off. On that day Noah joined our little losers club, it may be little but it's perfect the way it is. I rolled my eyes at there reaction but chuckled. I decided to change the subject.

"Hey, I found this cassette on the floor after class," I said as I pulled it out of my back pocket. It was labeled at the front saying 'Calpurnia Tape'. Both Noah and Sadie leaned closer to get a better look at the cassette.

"Do you know who Calpurnia is?" Noah asks.

"I was gonna ask you." Noah knows pretty much everyone in this school and I assumed Calpurnia is a person.

"No one in the school is named Calpurnia?" I asked Noah. He nodded his head no with a disappointed look on his face.

"We can listen to it after school, I'm pretty sure there's a cassette player in the shop," I said while putting it back in my back pocket. I work at this music store called 'Hall of Sound'. I love working there, this shop sells such good music, not like the trashy rap music but good music. Not that I have anything against rap music, it's just that lately there have been rap songs that mainly talk about sex and drugs. I go there almost every day after school and get paid pretty well.

"Sorry Millie, I can't go to the shop today, my mom wants me to do something for her," Sadie said as she moved her salad around with her fork.

"It's fine Sadie, I'll let you know if the tape is worth listening too, Noah can you come?" I said while pulling out my lunch.

"Can't, I have to finish this AP assignment." This is why I take AP sophomore year. Well, I guess it's just me.

<<>>

"Billy!" I said while walking into the shop.

"Millie, help!" I walked around the shop but couldn't find him.

"Bill? Where are you?" I finally found him at the back of the shop stapling several types of vinyl on the wall.

"Bill, what are you doing?"

"I'm stapling some vinyl on the wall." He says calmly.

"But what if they're good vinyl?" I ask worryingly.

"Don't worry Millie, these records are the trashy ones." I gave a breath of relief. Billy is the owner of this beautiful shop. It used to be his fathers but he passed away a couple of years ago so now Bill owns the shop. Billy already graduated high school and he chose not to go to college and stay in this little shop of his that I adore working in.

"Billy, do we have any cassette players?" I ask while walking to the front of the shop.

"Yeah, the one near the cash register. Why?" I dropped my backpack on a stool that was near the cash register and found the cassette player, It was pretty dusty.

"I found a cassette at school today, and I'm very curious at all what's inside." Billy jumped off the counter with several records and walked up to the front counter. I handed him the cassette.

"Calpurnia, who's that?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out once I play it," I said while taking the cassette out of his hand and slipping it into the cassette player and pressed play. The sound of familiar strumming on a guitar echoed the shop. A raspy male voice began to sing.

Holding my own hand,

walking all alone down the road...

I turned back to the cash register and pulled my homework out spreading all my papers on the counter while listening to the music. I began tapping my feet to the beat of the music as the chorus came in.

I wanted you, but you didn't want me

Good Lord, Heaven knows I'm bad at love...

I know this song, it's Wanted You by Twin Peaks but it's not them. The guy singing caused the song to sound even better with his bittersweet vocals. The strumming of a guitar solo came up sounding amazing! The song finally ended making me slouch with disappointment that the song was over. I jumped off the stool and pull out the cassette tape that was playing on that large radio.

"Damn Millie, they're amazing!" Billy says while walking out of the back of the shop.

"I know right they sound amazing!"I said as I stuffed the tape in my bag. I have to show Sadie and Noah. I started walking around the shop looking for another good song to play. Wait, I don't have a stereo to show them, maybe Billy has one.

"Bills, do you have any portable stereos?" I asked while going through the records in the shop.

"Yeah, in my office," he says while stapling more records on the wall. I walk into his dirty old office seeing papers staked all over the place with dirty clothes and dusty records. I walked up to his desk that was filled with papers and more records. I opened up every drawer finally finding a portable stereo with an old headset attached to it. The sound of a bell rings signaling a customer walked in. I quickly grab the stereo and run back to the front of the shop. I stuffed the portable stereo inside my backpack. I looked for the nearest vinyl and placed it on the record player. Billy made me promise that everytime a customer is in the shop there always has to be music playing no matter what.

"Welcome to Hall of Sound," I said to the customer as they walk around the shop. I sat back down on the stool that was at the front counter and continued my homework. I looked up to see who the customer was. It was a guy that looked around my age. His curly black hair bounced as he walked around the shop. The keys in his hands were shaking with the beat of the music. I look up again this time having a better view of him. The light of the shop cast a perfect lighting on his high cheekbones that were filled with freckles countless of freckles. It's Iris's boyfriend. His chocolate brown eyes gazed at my direction producing butterflies in my stomach. I quickly look away from his gaze and continued my homework hoping he didn't catch me glancing at him. A vinyl was swiftly dropped on my papers making me jump on my seat. I look up seeing Iris's boyfriend leaning against the counter smirking at my reaction. I give him an annoyed expression for his rude behavior. I pick up the vinyl that he placed in front of me and typed on the cash register. The vinyl was the album Sweet AF by Peach-Pit, one of my favorite bands.

"Is that it?" He nods in response. I wait for the cash register to print out a receipt and his change and hand it to him and his new vinyl.

"You know your cute when you're mad, say hi to Billy for me will you... I like your accent by the way," he says sending me a wink while walking out of the shop. I was stunned at his comment for a minute feeling my cheeks warm up a little. What the hell was that? Doesn't he have a girlfriend? He's probably just one of those kinds of guys. You know, the kind when they flirt with other girls even though he's already got a girlfriend. I slipped off my stool and walked into Billy's office seeing him eat a subway sandwich.

"Billy, someone said hi," I said while leaning against his door.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know?" I said shrugging my shoulders. He gave me a look that says 'Are you serious right now?'

"Did you ask his name?" He asks annoyed.

"No" He rolls his eyes and chuckles.

"How does he look like then?" He asks while leaning against his chair. This time I gave him the look that says 'Are you serious right now?'

"Do I seriously have too?" I wined while leaning on the door to his office. He slowly nods his head yes and takes another bight of his subway sandwich.

"Fine... He's got extremely curly black hair with high cheekbones filled with countless of freckles with pale l skin, almost as pale as the sky, he's got chocolate brown eyes that can almost look caring but dangerous at the same time, and-" He quickly cuts me off by pointing his index finger up high signaling to stop talking while taking another night of his sandwich.

"You seemed very observant toward him especially on how detailed you were when explaining to me how he looks like." He says with an eyebrow raised with a wide smile on his lips.

"What? I'm observant toward everybody what are you talking about." I argued back.

"I'm starting to sense little Millie here's got a crush." He said with a wide smile on his lips while raising his eyebrows up and down. I roll my eyes at his actions feeling my cheeks warm up again.

"I'm not crushing on him, I don't even know his name," I grumbled at Billy for making up such nonsense.

"Well if you want to know his name so badly then promise to me that you'll stop blushing." He says while pointing at my warm cheeks. I glanced at a mirror that he had in his office seeing my cheeks extremely red. My light skin makes it even noticeable making me even more frustrated. Do I honestly really want to know his name? I give him my biggest death glares for commenting on my red cheeks.

"Okay Fine!" He says with his arms high showing no defense.

"Since you really wanna know his name so badly his name his Finn, Finn Wolfhard, he's a family friend of mine." I nod my head finally walking out of his office. I look up at the clock seeing 6:30 pm. Oh shit, my dads gonna kill me! I grab all my papers and stuffed them in my backpack.

"Billy, see you tomorrow!" I say while rushing to the shops exist.

"I'm telling you, Millie, YOU ARE IN LOVE!!!" He shouts as loud as he can in the shop.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" I yell back as I walk out of the door hearing a small chuckle from Billy. I pull out my phone seeing several missed calls from my dad. I don't have my license yet so I'm just gonna have to walk home and deal with his bullshit again.

<<>>

felt like editing this trashy book

I was inspired by @kachowwolfhard to make this fic, the record scene was originally her idea

- Abby