I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all~

[Vincent James Lowell]

"Vincent James!" called an angry voice. A book slammed down on his desk, causing him to jerk out of the stupor he had previously been in. "Care to join us?"A few people around him laughed. He shrugged it off and pretended not to notice. He was used to his recent status. The new kid who wasn't from around here. Not even from the encompassing neighborhoods but from a completely different state.
His teacher stalked back up to the front of the class and continued to drone on about events that took place too long ago for Vince to care about.

He rubbed his eyes ruefully. damn teacher. He'd almost fallen completely asleep. Almost. He stretched his arms up and yawned, smirking mid-yawn as his teacher frowned in his direction.

"Would you like a detention, Lowell?"

"No sir." Vincent replied. He knew when to quit. He stifled another yawn. Today was going to be a great day, he could already tell.

The bell rang signaling the end of first period. Vince took his time walking through the halls of Jefferson high. So what if he was late? Oh yeah, he'd get another detention. He sped up. How anyone could find their way through this maze of a school was a mystery to him. He walked downstairs and searched diligently, but the school didn't seem to contain room 117. He ignored the stares people gave him as he walked by. Vince refused to look lost if he could help it.

[Jennifer Lee Adams]

A group of girls stood in front of their lockers, getting their books and preparing for next class as they filled the hall at the sound of the bell. They were chatting and laughing loudly as they talked about their dramas and gossip. Among the group was Jennifer Lee Adams better known was Lee. She was talking about the drama from this weekend with her official ex-boyfriend, John with one of her closest friends, Reagan.

"Lee, you should really just get over him. What he did this weekend was so low that I don't get how you could've ever dated him." Reagan said with a true expression of concern on her face. Lee nodded, not knowing what to say. Lee and John had been dating for a good few months and she thought everything was going fine until this weekend. Lee was ready to just move on and stop talking about it now even though, the buzz was all around school. Lee hated being the center of attention like this. It didn't make her feel any better in the situation.

"Well, I have to get to class, Re. I'll see you later, 'kay?" Lee promised, knowing they had a few classes together and they rode home in Reagan's car. Lee grabbed the last of her books for her next class and slammed her locker as everyone left, leaving her by herself. Lee wasn't ready to go to class but she knew she had to or face detention. Lee slowly made her way across the hall to begin her way to her class. She was so zoned out that she didn't even notice the male walking straight for her. He seemed to be in a rush and he seemed to be looking for something but Lee only noticed her walking right into him and dropping all of her stuff. "shit!" Lee exclaimed as she moved back as the male passed her.

She bent down and picked up her books, mumbling to herself. She knew she was going to be late to class now. She thought about how detention would be like as she finished getting her books. Lee forgot one paper but she was in such a rush she didn't realize it and she headed to her class as fast as she could. Her blue eyes searched for her class and she finally found it. Her blonde hair was all over the place as she entered her class right when the bell rung. "Ah, Ms. Adams. Let's take our seat, please." Lee's English teacher declared as she began heading down her row to her assigned desk. Lee fixed her hair and looked down, hating the attention she was getting from being a second or two late.

[Vincent James Lowell]

Vince walked quickly, barely glancing at the people around him. Knowing that they were staring, but trying not to care. A twinge of anxiety twisted in the pit of his stomach while he searched for his class. His day was getting worse by the minute. Every minute that made him late for class was another minute he was going to get laughed at by other students. He shook his head to get his long hair out of his face, this was goind to be a long day.

"shit" Vince heard as he ran into something solid. Various items clattered to the floor, one of them a textbook which landed on his foot. He winced as the book crused his foot underneath it. Vince shook it off and stopped for a moment to see who it was that he'd run in to. Some hot blond chick with super-volumized hair. He decided that he would apologize later, and kept walking. Vince didn't need any extra attention right now anyway.

He felt bad now, as he left her to clean up the mess he'd made with her school things. The thought that he would apologize later cured his newest anxiety. As he continued walking, he made sure to pay attention to what he was doing- or what he was about to walk into, though he didn't have to try that hard anymore since the hallways were mostly devoid of students. The stragglers quickly filed into classrooms, leaving him to deal with his confusion by himself. Vince decided to slink into the boy's bathroom and wait for second period to end.

It was boring. Vince wished he had someone to talk to, but no one wanted to talk to him. He heard voices and the scuffling of feet as a group of people walked into the bathroom. They ignored him. A few people in the group glanced at him, but acted as if they were staring right through him and into the white-washed wall he was leaning against. He was invisible.

Smoke burned his nostrils as they broke out cigarettes and sucked drag after drag in the privacy of the bathroom. To tell the truth, Vince had tried smoking once, after his older brother died. His mother told him that his brother's death had something to do with a gang. His older brother had done something bad. Real bad. And he had payed for it. That's why Vince and his mother had moved approximately four years ago to this drab town. To get away from the violence of living in an area with a lot of gang activity.
Vince had been thirteen at the time, and started smoking about the same time. No matter how messed up his brother had been, they'd been friends. And Vince missed having him in his life.

Vince slid into a sitting position and leaned his head against the wall. He closed his eyes. Hoping he could get some sleep before his next class.

[Jennifer Lee Adams]

Lee was sick of this class already. Her teacher was so boring and he put her to sleep. When she realized that she was dozing off, she lifted her hand to ask if she could go to the bathroom. He allowed her to go but he seemed rather aggravated with letting her go but too afraid to deny her access. She quickly removed herself from her personal hell hole and headed for the bathrooms.

Lee stopped when she saw a group of boys who were known as the slackers who just smoked in the bathroom all day came out of the boys restroom. They seemed to be talking about some loner that looked overly depressed. She raised her eyebrows as she passed them and she moved to the boys bathroom, peeking in. "Hello?" Lee called out, stepping in and noticing the boy she had ran into earlier, sitting against the wall. She knew she shouldn't be in the opposite gender's restroom but she couldn't help but be interested to why he was just sitting there all alone. "Why aren't you in class?" Lee asked as she stepped entirely into the bathroom.

She slowly walked over to him, standing in front of him and looking down. Her bangs got into her face and she pushed them away as she sat across from him. "Were you late for class? I doubt it. You didn't help me clean up my mess." Lee teased, giving a small smile. Lee had never been in the boys bathroom before and she wondered why today she had decided to do so. Was she looking for trouble?

[Vincent James Lowell]

Vince awoke to the sound of the smokers leaving the bathroom. He sighed. He hadn't really enjoyed their company, but them being there was something at least.

"Hello?" Vince jumped at the sound of a girl's voice. He hadn't heard anyone else walk in. Plus, what was a chick doing in the boy's bathroom?

"Why aren't you in class?" It was the girl. The blond girl he'd run into earlier. He blushed and refused to answer. Why was he so nervous? All he did was run into her. The girl walked over and sat across from him. Vince was going to be forced to talk.

"Were you late for class? I doubt it. You didn't help me clean up my mess." Why was she bringing this up? Vince was already in such a good mood.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that." He mumbled. "I-i, yeah. Sorry."

Vince had been a social kid once upon a time. Again, before his brother died he got along with everyone, had tons of friends, everything. He'd become more of an introvert since then. Relying on no one, because they could leave in an instant, leaving him more lonely than if he'd had no friends in the first place.

[Jennifer Lee Adams]

Lee tensed at the way he appeared nervous and he looked nervous too. It didn't give Lee a good feeling and she wondered the exact reason why he had stayed out of class. He could've been doing some drugs in here and now he was going all crazy. She sure hoped not because for the most part he looked and seemed fine except Lee could tell he was nervous. She was rather good at reading people.

He blushed when she spoke and that made her smile. Why was he blushing? Did he not want to talk to her? Lee finally realized it was probably because she was in the bathroom. Yeah, that was pretty awkward. Lee would've blushed if a guy walked into the girl's bathroom.

Lee hoped he knew she was joking because he didn't seem to smile nor laugh at her sarcastic remark about him leaving her to clean up the mess that they both had made. He was just quiet until he finally answered. Lee shook her head and moved over to sit beside him, looking at him. "No need to be sorry. I was only kidding. I'm Lee, you are?" She asked, looking him up and down. He was that new guy, wasn't he?

[Vincent James Lowell]

Vince sat a little to the side to make room for her as she sat down next to him. "No need to be sorry. I was only kidding. I'm Lee, you are?" Lee asked him. She seemed sincere. Vince shrugged and contemplated his answer.

"My name is Vince. I just moved here..." Vince didn't elaborate further. He wondered if she even cared, or if she was just using him to kill some time before her next class. He wouldn't bother himself with the hope that she actually wanted to be friends, he settled for the comfort of someone to talk to. It was a nice gesture at least, to talk to him at all. She probably thought he was a freak anyway with how nervous he was acting. He tried to tone it down. He didn't need to blush at everything.

Vince didn't try to make conversation, with his luck they'd probably start chatting about the weather. He preferred the silence over that. He didn't want to stop talking with her though, and hoped that she had more to say. At the same time Vince tried not to come off desperate. No one wanted to talk to a socially-deprived and desperate stranger.

[Jennifer Lee Adams]

When he spoke his name, Lee nodded and smiled, saying his name to herself so that she would remember better. She was trying her best to be polite and keep her questions down to a minimum because she was beyond curious about this guy. He may have not known it yet but people had been saying rumors about him since he'd been here. Lee ignored them the best she could but he was talked about often. She wanted to know what all the fuss was about. "Where did you move from? I've been here for awhile." She asked him the obvious question anyone would ask. "Do you like it here so far?" Lee asked, letting that be her last question because she sure didn't want to bombard him and cause him to grow even more nervous than he already was.

'He probably hates it here if he knows that people are making up stupid lies and stories about him. Nobody knows anything around here,' Lee thought, shaking her head as she thought about it. She didn't make eye contact when she did so, though. She didn't know how well he was at reading people and she didn't want to make him worry but she was sure it was his right to know about the rumors. Lee didn't even know exactly what they said about him but she knew they were about him. She sighed, just deciding to drop that subject and continue trying to make conversation with him.

Silence fell over the two and she laughed out loud as she realized the situation. There was a girl in the boy's bathroom, just sitting here casually and chatting away with some boy she didn't even know and they were just sitting together like it was okay. That made Lee laugh and she knew it must have made Vince think she was crazy because he hadn't said anything to her yet.

[Vincent James Lowell]

Vince readied himself for questions. He was sure she was at least a little curious about him.

"Where did you move from? I've been here for awhile." She paused only a moment before asking another question. "Do you like it here so far?" Vince considered briefly whether or not to answer truthfully. Lee could be using his answers as bait to start rumors about the new kid. And who wouldn't believe her?

"I moved here from Colorado." That was the truth at least. "And yeah, this school's great." Liar He thought to himself. He didn't want to sound bitter or anything. Bitterness just scared people away. She probably wouldn't believe his last answer anyway, he was never much of an actor.

Vince watched her carefully as she sighed, and then suddenly seemed to brighten. Her sudden laugh made him jump. Vince tried not to think about what she might be laughing about. He did anyway.
Was his hair messed up? Was she just laughing to show that her talking to him was just a game to her? Or was she laughing at what he said?

[Jennifer Lee Adams]

When she learned that he moved here from Colorado, her eyes lit up, "Wow, what is it like there? I heard they have mountains there. Is that true?" Lee asked, wondering if her questions bothered him or how curious she was about him. It wasn't common for new students and it was definitely rare that a girl would be caught talking to one in the boy's bathroom. But, Lee didn't care. Conversation was conversation, no matter where it was.

Lee frowned a little when he said that he liked the school, his answer seemed rather fake because he didn't seem to have many friends. At least, when she saw him, he never had anyone with him. It didn't matter, though. If he liked it than he liked it, Lee couldn't force him to tell the truth even if she thought that had been total BS. "Well, I'm glad you like it here. You should come hang with some of my friends. They are a riot. We party almost every weekend but it isn't like we are dumb or drunks. We just have fun, y'know? We also do like different things every weekend. This weekend we are doing a bonfire on the beach. Want to come?" Lee loved meeting new people and she loved to invite them along to some of her get together's with her friends. Maybe he would fit right in and have fun along with them. She was hoping he would accept her invitation.

She noticed him watching her after she had began laughing and she shook her head, hoping he didn't get the wrong idea. "I'm not laughing at you if that's what you think. I am actually laughing at this situation. I mean, seriously, I'm in a boy's bathroom, talking to you like it's okay when I could really get into some trouble." She told him, giving him a small smile, wondering if he would find it as funny as she had.

[Vincent James Lowell]

"Wow, what is it like there? I heard they have mountains there. Is that true?" Lee seemed as if she truly wanted to know, that she wasn't just faking the attention she was giving him though he remained wary.

"I lived in the city, not many mountains there." Vince thought for a moment before continuing. "But whenever me and my family went camping, we'd camp right by the tallest peaks. I used to like hiking up as far as I could and staring back down at the landscape." He retained a thoughtful look for a few moments before shaking himself out of his reverie. Vince blushed once he realized how much of himself he had revealed. He hoped that she wouldn't laugh again.

"You should come hang with some of my friends. They are a riot. We party almost every weekend but it isn't like we are dumb or drunks. We just have fun, y'know? We also do like different things every weekend. This weekend we are doing a bonfire on the beach. Want to come?" Vince felt excited for the first time since moving here.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" He had found something to look forward to again.

Vince sighed a sigh of relief when she explained that she hadn't been laughing at him, though he tried to act like it hadn't bothered him. "Yeah, this is kind of weird. Talking in the bathroom." Vince shrugged. "We should probably be heading of to class right now, so, I'll see you later." He stood up and grabbed his backpack which had been sitting on the floor of the bathroom. He paused for a moment to wait for Lee.