"Samuel, time for breakfast!!"
He woke up to the smell of tea, fruit, bacon, poached eggs, tomatoes, and greek yogurt with muesli. Not really; he was two stories above the kitchen, but he knew the menu by heart.
It was Sunday Mass breakfast.
He scurried out of bed to his dresser, where he changed into khakis and a grey henley shirt. After applying deodorant, brushing his teeth, and taking his meds, he dashed down the stairs and sat excitedly at the breakfast bar bordering the kitchen and somewhat separating it from the dining room. Breakfast never failed to disappoint him.
It started with blueberry yogurt, orange juice, and Honey Bunches, though quickly moved on with a hot cup of tea and oatmeal. Samuel, as usual, substituted his cup for some green tea. Hot tea was weird. Thank God for iced tea, which, oddly, he could find everywhere he went, and actually tasted pretty good.
Next came the poached egg sandwich- poached egg, gouda cheese, and melted butter- which he devoured quickly. No time to savour the yolk dribbling down his chin; if he didn't hurry, he'd be late.
"Thanks grandmum..." he mumbled around the leftover food still present in his mouth before sprinting to his room to finish getting ready. Within a few minutes him and the rest of his family sat in the Chrysler, heading down the road to the Catholic Church.

***

Joel slid silently into the back pew and followed the usual Sunday Mass procedures: performed a silent confessional, sang Glory to God, donated money to the church. Next came the reading and the Psalm. He'd have to lip sync the words so his grandfather at the altar wouldn't notice him, but that'd be okay.
But after his grandfather performed the reading, he jumped straight into the second reading, then into the gospels, homilies, and universal prayer. He's old, though. Joel thought, shifting uncomfortably in the pew. He probably forgot. It's okay.
The rest of the liturgy went smoothly, and the Communion cups began to pass through the crowd. All Joel had to do was partake of the cup and bread, and then he was free to leave. He had this down.
But yet again, his grandfather froze, this time in a different way. His eyes locked with Joel's momentarily, and a flicker of anger passed in his eyes. He glared back. He was tired of people telling him who to be, especially this dude.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Joel's grandfather started, breaking their eye contact. "Before we begin, I would like to inform you of a great tragedy that has befallen us. Come, let us see to it that Mr. Joel Kingsley not partake in our communion, as he had committed an act that is blasphemy in the eyes of God."
Wait, what?
Joel shrank down into the pew, trying desperately to avoid the confused, shocked, angered stares fixed on him. Why would his grandfather, of all people, pull a bullshit move like that in front of his whole congregation?
"My grandson, all you need to do is confess your sin. The Lord forgives all who confess and repent." A fake smile spread across the old, wicked man's face as he stepped down from his place at the altar and walked briskly down the aisle to where he sat. "But if not, you have no reason to be here today. What will it be, Mr. Kingsley? Repentance or continued sin?" He smirked evilly in Joel's face, the only person who could read his grandfather's expression.
Suddenly, a surge of anger swept through him, causing him to stand eye-to-eye (eye-to-chest) with the old man. He'd been told all his life who he should and shouldn't be, and the one time he fought to claim himself back he ended up in this situation. This was too much for him to handle.
"Get out of my face, you fucking control-freak!! This has nothing to do with what I've done and all to do with the fact that you never wanted me born. Well, guess what? You don't always get what you want, now do you? Do you!? I'm tired of this stupid family and this stupid church always telling me who to be!!! I'll be whoever the hell I want, and you can get over it!" And with that, he kneed his grandfather in the testicles and stormed out of the building.

***

"Mum, we need to leave. Now."
Samuel stood up quickly, setting the little cup of grape juice and the piece of hawaiian roll back onto the deacon's tray, and began to scramble out of the pew.
But Samuel's mum pulled him back down into the seat. "What are you doing? Can we please just try to fit in?"
"Mum." Samuel looked his mum deep into her eyes, rising back out of his seat. "That's Joel, and the other man is his grandfather. This had nothing to do with religion, and I don't wanna be a part of it." And with that, he, too, rose and left the building, a proclamation of shocked gasps and accusing glares following him out into the parking lot.

***

Joel walked sullenly down the sidewalk, looking down at his scuffed up Converse as he kicked a small piece of gravel that lay in his path.
"Joel!! Joel, wait."
He knew that voice well, and it comforted him. Friends never let friends walk alone. He turned around to face Samuel, suddenly misty-eyed and weary. "Dude, it's okay. Go back to church. I-"
"No. I'm not partaking in anything that does this to my friends. That was ridiculous." He stepped forward shakily and stood on his tiptoes to wrap his arms around him. "If it helps, at least I don't care who you like."
Joel flinched slightly and backed away, blushing faintly. "Thanks?? Anyway, I'd better head home."
"I'll walk with you." Samuel jogged ahead of him, running backwards, and blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. "I need exercise anyways. The doctor said once I started treatment..." He faltered for a second, a deeply distressed look crossing his face, but soon was back to normal. "Let's just say I'm a fatty."
"You're not," Joel replied, catching up to his friend and nudging him in a friendly way. "If anything, you're anorexic."
They continued down the road in this fashion for several minutes, until suddenly Joel stopped short, face drained of colour and eyes darting back and forth down the street. "Hey... If either of my parents or family members are home... Can I crash with you until they leave? I'm a little scared of how-"
"Dude, sure. It's whatever. As long as you're okay and safe, I'm okay with it."
"Thanks, man." He sighed and continued walking.

***

Solomon headed to the library for another day of studying. There wasn't any wifi at home, so he always used the computers there. The librarian treated him like a regular, even though he never checked out any books; he hated reading, but she still loved having him there for company. She was a sweet old lady, the grandma kind that baked you cookies for no reason and spent her down time cuddling with obese cats.
"Why hello, my dear Mr. Lopez! What brings you here on this beautiful day? You should be outside, making marry with your friends! Or... Oh, yes!! I'm heading over to the county theatre to score auditions for Shrek the Musical. You should try out!"
"N-no thanks. I've got to work on this project."
If the old bird was hurt, she made no sign of it. "Well, alright. I'm leaving now, so make sure you lock up and turn out the lights."
"Yes, ma'am."

***

Alexis walked alongside the tide line, barefoot in the sand, singing Oh Ms Believer by Twenty One Pilots quietly to herself. She had no idea where she was going or why; she would let her feet do the walking and her mind do the daydreaming.
The early morning fog was beginning to lift off the land and rise into the blue sky, the lighthouse light casting its glare across the horizon now barely visible, save a few sidelong glances the fog reflected towards her. It was perfect weather to feel sad or lonely, but something else held her mind: Samuel. She was always thinking of him. But this time it was different; he seemed lonely almost all the time. She knew he was shy, and she got that. But she wanted to do something to make him feel more "at home."
She wondered if he liked outdoors-y things.
That would make this so much easier.
Or...
Why couldn't she just take him on a backpacking trip? Even if he hadn't done it before, knowing him, he'd enjoy it soon enough.
It was genius!
She smiled in satisfaction and stopped walking, letting the surf rise up and engulf her feet with a salty spray. She could imagine it now: Joel, Samuel, and herself hiking down from Mt. Mitchell all the way to her uncle's house in Marion. Yes, Samuel would love it up there. It was a lot like Scotland if they went during Spring Break.
She was still caught up in planning the trip when, suddenly, her toe bumped into something in the sand.
It was Samuel's soccer ball.
Wasn't this trespassing?
Nah.
She picked the ball up and chucked it up onto his porch and walked swifty up the stairs. Samuel seemed like one of those chill kids whose friends were able to come over any time of day and crash, and both him and his parents would treat them like family just stopping by. She thought up the plan she'd scribbled in her mind: Leave straight after school, take all three of their cars, maybe take Solomon and Naomi, stop by her uncle's house to drop off cars and unneeded supplies, have her uncle drop them off at the summit, camp there for a night, and then hike down the Mountains-to-Sea trail back to her uncle's house. She wondered what Samuel would think of this.
So she rang the doorbell, the same one Joel had in his house, and waited for someone to answer.

***

Samuel bounded up the front steps quietly with Joel in tow, sneaking up behind a clueless Alexis, and let out an inhuman growl, pouncing on her shoulders.
"Oh my Jesus!! What- Sam!!!"
"I'm sorry, I had to." Samuel blushed and nudged her playfully in the side, then turned to unlock the door. "What are you doing here? It's, like, 10:00 in the morning."
"I could ask the same of you two," Alexis replied, eyeing them with fake suspicion. "C'mon, I want to talk to you guys about something."
Samuel led them into the living area, lit by several large windows and skylights, then dashed to the fridge and pulled out a tub of hummus. At least it was somewhat of a step up from the blue corn chips and green tea they had last time. "Sit at the breakfast bar, I have to do the dishes anyways."
Joel and Alexis obeyed quickly, sitting next to each other in front of the sink. "Guys, I have a plan. Just hear me out on this, okay?" Alexis twirled around in her bar stool, bumping into the countertop ever so slightly. "Over spring break, we can go backpacking from Mt. Mitchell to Marion. It'll give us a chance to hang out in nature and stuff."
"Where's Mt. Mitchell?" Samuel asked, scrubbing at a saucepan with a pad of Steel Wool. "I thought this place was, like, swamps and stuff."
"It's in North Carolina," Alexis replied quickly. "You'd like it. It's a lot like Scotland. You guys in?"
Just then, Samuel received a Skype call. "Hold up," He said, holding up a finger and casting his device onto the living room TV. "Hello?"
"Hey, Sammy." It was his mother. "Your grandmum and I are going to go out to eat for lunch, so you can make yourself something or have leftover crab. I'm sorry for what happened earlier- Wait. Oh, hi guys!! Alexis and Jo-elle! See? I'm good with names!"
"Ahm..."
"Dude, your mom is amazing. And you had crab in the fridge? Have you been holding out on me?" Joel nudged him playfully and continued to tuck into his hummus and pita bread.
"Well, if there's all three of you, you guys can go out if you want, so long as you don't touch your grandmum's Tesla."
"Yeah!!" The old bird chanted in the background. "She's mine."
"Ahm... okay? I mean... W-we're not going to... We can just... We'll just- stay here, I mean... I-I can't speak for them... Ahmmm.... Yeah." Samuel looked down quickly and suddenly began to scrub the saucepan furiously.
Samuel's mom gave a loud sigh and announced her exit before hanging up. This only caused Samuel to scrub harder and harder, sloshing water all over himself and causing his knuckles to bleed from steel wool scrapes. Eventually, he threw the steel wool down and stormed upstairs to his room, returning a few minutes later with a new outfit, bandaids plastering his right hand, and a stress ball in his other.
"Christ, I'm such a disappointment. Time for lunch, I guess..." Samuel mumbled, casting a sidelong glance at his petrified friends before shuffling into the kitchen, pulling the crab legs from the fridge, and popping them in the microwave.

***

"Oh hey, Dr. Lopez."
Samuel's mom, Emilia, stared dreamily up into the doctor's face as he acknowledged her, pulling up a chair and sitting with them.
"Ah, yes. Hello, Miss Bell. I've been trying to get ahold of you about your son's-"
"Yes." Her face drained of emotion as she heard 'son,' and she looked down quickly at her cell phone. "How do you think he's doing?"
"Well, this disease is unlike anything we've seen at the medical center before. I sent a sample of his cells to a fellow doctor of mine in New York, and he was fascinated in them. It's almost like the disease can switch itself off at times, if you will. When we first received him, the mass was not yet..."
"Diseased." She let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Yes. The results from the CAT Scan show that too. But if you recall, which I'm sure you will, Samuel seemed completely healthy during the CAT Scan, even cracking jokes with me, but when he got to the hospital during his episode, he didn't even remember where he was or why. Until we can figure out why his diseased cells are acting like this, we cannot make any moves to remove them." A stern expression lined his face, but a small glimmer of worry, sorrow, and sympathy brimmed his eyes as tears.
Emilia let out a sob and looked deep into the man's eyes. "Do you think he'll... You know..."
"No. He won't die on my watch."