Minny felt like throwing his fist into his locker. He felt frustrated and angry, as if his life was some sort of joke.

Of course, to him, it was. Born to a family that only cared about appearances. A twin to a missing boy. A half-brother to an abusive freak. And now, he was locked up in a school with students that were unapologetically wealthy.

He tried to straighten his suit but found he couldn't breathe with the tie around his neck. He felt suffocated. He felt trapped. He felt just like his father wanted him too, and not for the first time, he cursed Lennard for running off without him.

"Hey, hot stuff." A girl pressed her hand to his locker door, closing it.

He couldn't remember her name. "'Sup," was his genius response. It was as close as he got to normal.

Minny was new, and therefore knew no one. Including the girl that stood before him, despite the fact that she acted as if she knew him, which he was certain she didn't. He couldn't picture her in any of his classes, nor could he picture her at all. He was certain this was the first time he was meeting her.

"Wanna skip trig?" She was chewing gum, and she was doing it with an open mouth. It grossed him out, but Minny didn't know how to ask her to chew with her mouth closed. He felt it rude to even impose his own opinions on her, for perhaps she enjoyed snapping her gum the way she did.

And who was he to tell her to stop?

"Nah, he doesn't. We have stuff to talk about, right Ben?"

Minny couldn't see who was behind him, and so he didn't know what to say. He didn't have to, as the girl beat him to any sort of response. "Fuck off, Gryphon."

The boy beside Minny grinned. "I'd normally rather fuck you, but I already have. And it was a let down, honey."

The girl crossed her arms, a sneer on her lips. "Piss off and go bother someone else."

Gryphon threw his arm around Minny's shoulders. "Well, you see, Ben and I were about to go to trig, weren't we?"

Minny had no idea who the boy beside him was. He didn't think he'd ever seen the boy before either, but it was clear to him what the kid was trying to do, and Minny had always been one to play along. "That's true. Sorry, but we gotta go."

When the two were away from the girl, Gryphon dropped his arm and stepped away. His entire attitude shifted from playful to closed off in an instant, and it threw Minny for a loop. Though, Minny recognized the gesture well, as he too played the same cards. "Sorry 'bout that. Wendy can be a total bitch, and I know how she can be with guys. Thought I'd save you."

"A bitch?" Minny wasn't used to referring to any girl as a bitch, nevermind girls he didn't know. He also didn't think Wendy had been a bitch to him, but then again, Minny was clearly below those who attended this school. He didn't understand them or their mannerisms, and now it was clear he didn't understand their lingo or attitudes.

Gryphon shrugged his shoulders stiffly, but Minny could tell he was trying to pass it off as carefree. "She wasn't so bad when she was a kid, but god is she obnoxious now. I'm Gryphon."

Minny shook his hand reluctantly. "Uh, Benjamin."

In his mind, Minny didn't want new friends, or really even need them. He longed to be with Tom again, fooling around in the hallways he considered a home away from home. School had not been pleasurable, but coming from his home life, public school had been a dream. Tom had been a dream. Even Polly and Kenzie had been a dream.

Minny didn't want Gryphon as a friend. He didn't want Wendy as one, either.

"Well, I should go back to class." Gryphon jerked a thumb over his shoulder, signaling that he should go, and Minny didn't disagree. He sure wanted to get the day over, and the sooner he was seated in class, the sooner he could escape home.

As if home was an escape from here.

When Gryphon rounded the corner, Minny escaped into the MEN's room and pulled out his phone. On the screen was a text notification from Tom blinking up at him, and then three followed. Not used to the urgency Tom used, Minny was quick to unlock his phone.

TOM: holy shit dude. You won't believe what's going down rn at school

TOM: you need to answer dude. It involves Polly and Kenzie

TOM: okay u must be in class. Kenzie was kidnapped by her absent dad. He killed someone and he could've killed her

TOM: polly was involved somehow. Something about her dad being a cop? Dude, you need to call me asap. Or text me back. I'm kinda freakin out.

Minny was quick to find his number to call. He pressed the phone to his ear, cramped in the one bathroom stall the MEN's bathroom provided. The phone was ringing, but Tom wasn't picking up.

After the third call, Minny wanted to give up and go to class, but Tom answered at the last moment. "Minny, is that you? Holy shit, I wish you were here right now to see this."

"Tom, can you slow down? What do you mean Kenzie was kidnapped?"

"Her dad, dude. He kidnapped her from her own house, dragged her to this fucking basement with like, a slew of other kids. Her dad began killing people. Or maybe like, one person, but he had guns dude. And then Polly, she showed up with the cops. But Kenzie, dude."

Minny felt his heart beat hard in his chest. The worry he felt was foreign to him, because he thought he didn't care about Kenzie. After he was no longer her best friend, Minny thought he'd never care about the purple haired girl again. He was so angry at her, but the feeling in his chest was certainly worry.

He was worried for his ex bestfriend.

"Is she alright?"

"I think so. She's not at school today, but it was all over the news. Polly isn't here either."

"Is Polly alright?" Minny felt sick thinking about Polly being hurt. He felt sick that she was even involved in the situation, whether or not she was with the police. The thought of something happening to the blonde haired girl made Minny feel panicked.

"I think so. Again, I don't know. Polly doesn't have a phone, and Kenzie is somewhere, not answering hers."

Minny would have been tempted to call Kenzie, if he still had her number. But, he had deleted that years ago.

"Was her dad arrested?" Minny felt a headache behind his temples, throbbing and troublesome. Back before Polly had moved here, Minny had been quite sure he was done with the drama that surrounded Kenzie. But it was clear to him that he had never left the web Kenzie had built around him and Tom. And it was clear that he was being sucked right back in.

"Of course he was. There's like, so much more going on, though. You'll have to watch the news."

The news was something Minny didn't enjoy watching. The television was something he didn't enjoy watching, either. Something about sitting down in one spot for hours on end bothered him. The lack of movement, of seeing the world beyond a lense, that bothered him to no end.

"Okay. I gotta head back to class, but please text me when you find out more about Polly. Please." Minny hated begging, but he cared a lot for Polly, even if it meant caring about Kenzie as an extension of their friendship. And, it shocked him to find that his worry for Kenzie was in fact genuine. He did care about whether or not she was killed.

And it wasn't the only time, but Minny missed her. Missed the friendship he and Kenzie had before everything happened between them. He wished more than anything that things could go back to normal, before they grew up.

Minny put his head in his hands and groaned. School was the absolute worst for him. He had no friends to be with. He had a family that didn't care about him. And he was in love with a girl that would never reciprocate his feelings. He tried to remind himself that everything would be fine, that his education would help him later in life, and that he wanted nothing more than Polly's happiness. But it was difficult.

He missed his old school, and he missed Tom and Polly. He missed Lennard. And he missed the freedom he used to have.

But he was used to life chewing him up and spitting him out. And so, Minny was used to pulling himself back up and continuing on. Because even he knew there were worse things than rich parents and fancy education. He knew there were worse things than being in love with a girl who didn't love him back. His problems were petty and trivial compared to others.

But even so, they were his problems. And Minny wasn't about to let them get the best of him. So he straightened his tie, ran a hand over his newly shaven head, and opened the stall door. He was going to graduate from this school, he was going to help Polly, and he was going to show his father just how determined he was to escape.

And he was going to do it by being the best person he could possibly be.

* * *

Hi everyone

Sorry about the period of time between updates - college has started up again, and I've been busy as a bee. So I apologize.

I hope you enjoyed some more Minny. I know I did (;

love you all, XOXO

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