Dustin looked down at the 'Winnie the Pooh' costume he was wearing. He was dressed up as a pot of honey and carrying around a plush of Pooh Bear.

It hadn't been Dustin's original plans to go as a childhood character but according to Jenna's Blog, which she'd recently written a specific chapter on 'Dos and Don'ts For Cosplay' it was supposedly in to dress as either a foolishly cute character, or a sexy anthro-animal.

Dustin, while quite a social butterfly, wasn't really into big, bold, sexy costumes. So he aimed more towards the cutesy, lovable character.

However, this didn't seem to be working out for him. He'd been given some odd glances and giggles, well, from the somewhat sober students who actually gave a damn as to who was doing what. Maybe his costume was too cutesy.

Dustin began to feel a growing panic envelop his stomach as his self-conscious thoughts were getting to his head. Though he bore a bright and causal smile for those who cared to look over at him, acting like everything was going according to his plan. He needed to stay in control of his situation or everything would fall apart, the moment someone is to show a hint of insecurity is the moment that they're looked at as something lesser than, well less than them.

So far, Dustin had made it all the way to his Junior year without being noticed in any other way then what he portrayed. An average High-School gossip boy. Spreading gossip here and there, though never truly knowing what was actually going on in his own life. It all seemed like one big, confusing blur to him. There wasn't much he could do about it though. Once you've made your reputation in High-School, it's a hell of a lot harder to boost that reputation than it is to let it fall. A person's reputation could fall in a matter of seconds, one accidental mishap picture, and there goes your social status. However, to boost one's reputation and school status, now that was a easier said than done. And so Dustin decided he'd stay content with his average status. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about whether it went up or down, inflicting a rage of possibilities on his life that could end up terribly wonderful, or terribly awful.

Thus provoking his actions to quietly Chill in one of Jake's many bathrooms. It was a quiet and content place for the time being. Well- quieter. The music was still blaring through the cracks of the door, but compared to his previous spot next to the subwoofer, this was much better. Plus, the bathtub cradled him nicely, enough to let himself prop his feet up on the edge, tilting his feet away from the tile-wall as to not leave a stain on it. However average Dustin was, he was still a decent kid overall, decent enough to not get drunk at a High-School Party, and decent enough to not leave his mark on the wall of someone else's house.

And despite Dustin being isolated in a bathroom while a party raged on just outside it's wooden door, he didn't feel bummed or upset, he was just contently chilling in the bathtub, humming along to the songs he knew. It was better than staying at home getting wasted by himself. At least here you had the option to get wasted with your friends.

Except, that was just Dustin's problem. He had no friends to get wasted with. Well, Jenna and him were on good terms, but he wouldn't exactly call them friends, just more like Gossip-Buddies, spreading the news as they heard it come by, in fact, Jenna got half her stories from Dustin. This was because while Dustin might not be the most poplar kid in school, he also wasn't a loser, so when parties such as Jake's Halloween party rolled by, he was invited for the sole purpose of behind just another person to get drunk with, anybody could care less as to who actually was invited to the parties, so long as they weren't a total loser or an absolute bitch. However, Jenna was classified towards the bottom of the school Hierarchy system, as she wasn't able to keep anybodies secrets and if anything ever happened anywhere she was near, she had that phone out like a flash.

This had been quite popular at first, until she started snapping pictures of 'Who kissed who' and 'They're totally dating now right?' Getting into people's love life was a whole other level of privacy invasion, seen as being taken too far for Dustin and Jenna's High-School peers her popularity, whatever she had, was shut down.

Though, since Dustin was indeed invited to these kinds of events, and to Jenna he was deemed worthy an 'Okay Guy' She came to him for all the juicy details. He didn't mind telling her. It's not like she ever credited him for her source of information, and even when she did, nobody seemed to notice. Though Dustin could care less, he didn't really need people noticing his participation in the gossip wild-fire, always roaring and refueled ever day by someone new.

Dustin let out a small cough as his lungs filled up with sudden pain.

And as if his words were brought to life, he turned his head to see a warm glow peeking out from the bottom crack of the bathroom door. That's when he listened in on the screams that sounded just barely over the dying toons as the music died down.

Dustin shook his head to clear his thoughts, sprinting towards the door and grabbing at the knob, though as soon as he touched it there came a hissing from the metal as it scorched the palm of his right hand. He let out a yelp of pain and began shaking his hand, leaping towards the sink to run water over it, though the metal handles of the sink were sizzling as well, Dustin didn't have to touch them to figure that out, he could now see, and feel, the heat radiating around him. He spun around, looking for an exit, frowning when he saw the only option was the door. He took in a shaky breath to fuel his confidence, which was a bad idea, as he instantly broke out into a fit of coughing, waving away the smoke that had worked its way into the small room. Dustin shook his head as he realized what he had to do. He paused for a moment, but only a moment, then quickly grasping the know with his already burnt hand and turning it as quickly as he could, letting out cry of agony as he did so before bolting out of the bathroom.

The main room of the house was no better, in fact, it was worse. Flames lapped at the corners of the room and were rapidly progressing towards Dustin. He looked frantically for an exit and landed on a window, the door already being consumed by the treacherous jaws of fire. He booked it as fast as he possibly could, sticking out his elbows and leaping towards the window, it instantly shattered and the force of pressure from the other windows blowing caused Dustin the tumble forward, across the front yard until he nearly hit pavement, though he was stopped by a pair of paramedics who were quick to halt his rolling and carry him to their nearest stretcher.

All Dustin could feel was sheer pain. Pain in his right hand as he felt the lopsidedly-circled scar boiling on his skin, pain in both his elbows when he could feel the glass shards that were still lodged in them, all the smoke that was getting in his lungs and to his head, it was all too much for him, and a few moments later he gladly let darkness consume his mind.

//AN: And there you have the start of the book. I'm going with the ginger red of Dustin, he has a ponytail, red scrunch, and a red and white jacket <3