I walked across the pavement, the bright sunlight making my head throb. I faintly heard the people whispering about me but I didn't care. The only person I cared about wasn't in that crowd, the only person I cared about would never be in that crowd of people. I slid my shades over my red tinged eyes, slipping my hands into my pockets. I walked slowly, with determination to my next class, not willing to stop for anybody. I just wanted to get this all over with, get the rest of the year over with as quick as possible but, every day just seemed to drag on. I drowned out the voices of those around me -they were nothing to me- as I focused on the rhythmic sound of my shoes hitting the pavement.

Eli walked up behind me and pushed me. I turned around slowly, hands clenching in my pockets, my heartbeat getting faster. He was not the person that wanted to be messing with me right now.

"Not so big and bad anymore, are we now Sammy?" Eli taunted, a smirk on his face. The rage inside me grew "I guess now that Melody's gone she took all that confidence with her, didn't she?" He laughed, thinking he was so tough. I could wipe that smirk off of his privileged, cocky little face in half a second if he pushed me just a little farther.

"Well you see Elijah, I would murder you, but I know that my Princess would not have wanted that." I looked him in the eye, daring him to say something else. Blinking slowly, he let the sentence sink in, weighing his next words carefully, debating if he should continue taunting.

"I'm glad that weak little bitch is gone. It's not like she had anything going for her." Eli started laughing like that was some sort of hilarious joke, I guess he decided it was worth it. He was just trying to test me, wasn't he? Before I even thought about it I heard a loud crack as my fist collided with his jaw. A look of shock crossed his face as he stumbled back a few steps.

Something inside me snapped and I couldn't find the will to stop myself, I stepped forward and took another swing. My punch landed right in his stomach and I watched him fall to his knees, all the air knocked out of him. The biggest smile spread across my face. I leaned down and grabbed the hair on the back of his head as I knelt in front of him, pulling his head back by his hair so he had to look up at me. I slammed my fist into his face a couple of times before I heard a scream and looked up to see people backing far away slowly. I looked him in the eye.

"Eli, I swear to every single superior being that is possibly out there that you will die a slow painful death if I find out that you had any hand in this. She was twice the man you will ever be, and she didn't even have a dick." I threw him back to the ground as I stormed off to the principal's office, letting him lay on the ground, dripping blood as I walked away. Rage simmered low and hot inside of me like a fire, his blood dripping from my fingers as I wiped my hands on my pants.

As I entered the office, the woman behind the desk looked up at me and sighed, massaging her temples.

"Back again so soon Sam?" The small older woman looked at me with slight contempt in her shielded eyes, the tone in her voice feigning sweet. I just shrugged. We both knew I was going to be back sooner or later. More so the former, and we both knew I would be back again after this encounter. She picked up the phone, not satisfied with my non-committal response, but choosing that her sanity was worth more than the argument. I sat down in the chair in the corner, as she tried her best not to look at me as if she were my parent.

Melody came bounding into the office, her attitude as positive as ever. Her smile turned to a scowl and her eyes turned stormy when she noticed me.

"Oh how I do hope we aren't in trouble again, my dear Sammy." She drawled out, faux-innocence ever present in her voice.

"Why no my exquisite, divine, lovely Melody," I pleaded sarcastically. "I am a God fearing young man, how could you ever suggest that I, me, of all people! would be in the principal's office because I was in trouble?" I batted my eyelashes at her. She just crossed her arms and walked up to the front desk huffily, rolling her eyes.

"My lovely Mrs. Mandy," Melody smiled happily. "How are you on this beautiful morning?" Mrs. Mandy, the small older woman sitting behind the desk, smiled and laughed softly.

"I'm as good as always dear, you're as sweet as ever." She handed Melody an envelope, and Melody turned to walk out the doors of the office, waving and smiling before she left. I heard a cough and I shook my head, looking up from the ground where I had been immersed in my thoughts.

"Samuel Reese, would you mind stepping into my office?" The principal did not seem amused to see me.

"Mister Reese, I assume I know why you're in my office?" I shrugged and waited for him to continue. "You're falling behind Mister Reese, we're all concerned about you. Myself especially, you seem off here recently. I know with..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I know in light of recent events, you must still be grieving, but that is no excuse to neglect your studies." He looked at me sternly.

"Now with that being said, you are excused for your threats to mister Elijah Wells, as I know they were not serious. As for your studies, I expect to see you in my office after school so that we can devise a schedule for tutoring in order for you to graduate with your class." He stood and walked over to me, rubbing my back. "It's going to be alright, son."

He didn't understand that it wasn't going to be alright though, nobody did. Nobody knew how dark it was, being all alone because the person you loved so deeply, so entirely, was gone. I felt my depression worsening and the rage inside me growing. My hope almost completely gone. I still had a little hope that this was all a sick joke or a bad dream. I stopped taking all my meds after I lost Melody, what was the point of anything without her?

I attempted a small smile as he held open the door, politely kicking me out. With all the energy I had, I managed to thank him as I stepped back out into the disgusting world that I lived in.

I would never look at anything the same as I did before I met Melody, when I first laid eyes on her everything shifted. With that final thought, I walked into the hallway and slammed my fist into the wall, screaming in frustration as blood started trickling down my hand.

I marveled at it, watching in wonder at how I could actually be living, but feel so incredibly dead inside. The blood made me feel sickly satisfied for a second, watching it drip onto the floor. Nothing made sense anymore, not without Melody to help me understand it. I sat on the ground, and I cried. I cried about how unfair life was, Melody was one of the only truly good things in the world, and the world chewed her up and spit her out. I cried about how she thought it was okay to do this to me. I cried in anger over the people that I saw on an almost every day basis, the fact that they were still here but she wasn't. I cried because I hated feeling so helpless and lost. I sat with my back to the wall and cried.

I just cried, and I hated every second of it because crying was weakness and I wasn't supposed to be weak.

I sat there through the bell. I wasn't going back to my classes today, because truth be told, I didn't care if I failed. Didn't care if I even kept living. I wouldn't mind slipping into a beautiful oblivion for the rest of eternity, but I couldn't figure out how without killing myself and I wouldn't do that. I'm not having a bunch of shrinks get to say 'I told you so' to my parents.

The principal walks out and sighs, seeing me sitting there.

"Mister Reese, you're late I believe." He tried to look at me sternly but couldn't manage to do so. He just shook his head, his face softening. When I didn't move from my spot, he walked away. He stopped every few paces like he was going to turn back and shake the depression out of me.

"This is the last time I am going to overlook this Mister Reese. You had better be in your next class, and everyone of your classes after that. Do you hear me?" He called over his shoulder, he got no reply, but he kept walking anyway.

I sat there and stared at the wall across from me. My mind blank. It was like none of this was real, I really hoped that was the case. It all felt like a bad dream, except I could feel the dull throbbing in my hand.

I didn't move. I had no desire to. Everything was silent, like I had gone deaf. Wouldn't that be a treat? I wouldn't have to hear the voices of the people who made me sick any longer. I just sat there staring off into space. I didn't want to ever move from where I sat, because if I didn't move I could pretend that this was fake. When I heard the bell I knew that the illusion was just wishful thinking. I pushed myself up.