To End the Rapture
a fan fiction by Tracey Alexandria
Chapter 1:
“I hate him. I swear to god I hate him,” she stammered as she flung herself onto the bleachers. “Always telling me to do stuff he knows I can’t do. What does he expect me to be? An athlete?” Beneath the stands she could hear someone grumbling vulgarities. Seemed as if someone else was in distress that day too. As the person continued, her curiosity had ascended to a peak until she finally snatched up her book bag and quietly ran past the gym instructor and down the stairs to inspect it. A boy was lounged against the back of the back of the bleachers with a flask of whiskey pressed against his lips. “Are you crazy?!” She bellowed. He didn’t seemed too surprised by her appearance. “I might be,” He brashly responded while taking another sip. “So, I saw Couch Carmen yelling at you. You’re not ‘reaching your potential’ either, are you?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “You know you could get in trouble for this right?” She finally said. “Trouble? Since when was it a bad thing to get in a little trouble? It’s a part of life. It’s what makes us human. Who better to stir up some trouble than us?” He smirked as her face became red. He pitched aside the empty bottle. “A little trouble now and then never hurt anybody.” He propelled himself up from the dirt. “I guess you’re right…” She scratched her head at that. “So, what’s your name, doll?” Anxiety suddenly seemed to be colliding down on her. “Trace,” she stuttered, “What’s your name?” She buried her face down in her hoodie. “Sanders, Matthew Sanders, but you can call me Matt or M Shads or M Dawg, whatever suits you, I suppose.” She blushed. “What about, M?”
“Fine by me,” he chuckled. “So, where you headed off to next?”
“Algebra.”
“Algebra Smalgebra. Wanna go do something, uh, more productive?” He held out his hand. With slight afterthought she took it and then they set off and hopped over the fence of the school.
“We’re free!” He screamed victoriously as they ran down the field. They stopped in front of some kind of shed. “What’s this?”
“Oh, my hideout. Wanna check it out?”
Inside were a great deal of things: a futon, guitars, drum sets, microphones, magazines, blankets, food, and everything else you could possibly wish for.
“Wow, amazing…” she stood in absolute awe.
“Thanks. My bros and I set up in here.”
“I wish I had a place like this.”
“Well, you’re free to come here whenever you like.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Because I think you’re not like other people… I’ve seen you around school a lot but I’ve never gotten to talk to you, but you’re different, you know that?”
“Really?”
“Different isn’t a bad thing. It’s what makes you special. It’s what sets you apart from everyone else. Who would want to be just another clone anyway?”
She grinned at that. “I’ve always wanted to talk to you.”
“Huh? You mean you actually-” He began, but before he could answer, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. He became a little overwrought and his hands began to slightly tremor. Looking into her eyes, it was as if he was being drawn right in. No matter how he tried to shrug it off him, he couldn’t help but think that maybe he did have some kind of feelings for this girl. The illumination of her smile to the glimmer of her eyes were unquestionably breathtaking. For a long period of time, they sat there awkwardly glancing at each other but not speaking a word. Trace finally opened her mouth but soon closed it after. “I like you,” she had said, and after that had become silent again. Matt turned to her and softly grasped her face. “Hey, look at me…” He began. “I think I like you too.” She blushed a little and he cradled her in his arms. The door had swung open. “Hey, I’m home!” Someone announced and quickly bit their tongue, “Matt, man, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you’d have company over. None of us really bring over people, you know?” He looked to be about 15 or 16 years old by his facial features, but he was rather small and gaunt in his stature. His hair was wispy and flyaway, you could tell, and he hid it beneath his red neckerchief. Not to mention his Iron Maiden shirt seemed to dangle loosely off of him. He significantly contrasted Matt whom was built solely of muscle. “It’s fine-“Matt began, “Hey, Trace, this is Johnny, but he goes by John. He’s one of the bros.”
“Hi, nice to meet you, Trace,” the boy beamed favorably and shook her hand. “Well, I just came here for my guitar. Has Brian come around yet? He was supposed to meet me here with the stuff.”
“No, I haven’t seen him all day.”
“Oh, okay, well, you and your girlfriend have fun, alright? Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do,” he chortled hysterically then closed the door behind him.
“Girlfriend,” Matt snickered to himself out loud. “Been a while since I’ve had one of those.”
“So, he thinks we’re dating?”
“Are we?” He looked back at her.
“I don’t know,” she paused, “I am a girl, and I’m your friend so I guess that I am your girlfriend.”
He exhaled loudly then peered over at her again, this time taking her hand in his; that’s when she put one hand on his face and looked him in the eyes. “You know what, you’re actually a decent guy.”
“What did you want me to be, a bad guy?”
“Maybe just a little,” she giggled. For several more hours they shared gags and tales. In all, they simply enjoyed each other’s company. The room had aired out. The silence had left. As the hours rolled, by they had become more and more comfortable with each other until finally he had kissed her amidst of their talking. She didn’t say anything, she just kind of looked at him curiously. In that moment, he felt as if he had been faced with rejection yet again, but in return she finally pecked him back.
“Huh?” That’s all he could say. He was flabbergasted but at the same time he was absolutely delighted.
“I thought you’d push me away. Most girls do.”
“Well, M, I’m not most girls.” Matthew had become speechless. Words nor actions could equally express how excited he felt inside. The shed door opened again and Johnny had stepped back inside. “Man, school’s ending in half an hour. You should get your girl home before her parents start getting worried.” Matt looked over at Trace and shrugged. “I don’t want her getting in trouble because of us,” Johnny rose his voice. “She won’t be in trouble. I just want to spend more time with her. Is that a problem?” Matt retorted brazenly. “Look, if you care about the girl then take her home. She doesn’t need to be caught up with guys like us.” Matt stood up and faced John. “Don’t talk like that…”Trace quickly picked up her book bag. “I think he’s right I should get going.”
“You don’t have to go…”
“Yes, I do. My mom would kill me if I didn’t come home. It was nice meeting you guys.” Then she departed out.
“I hate you, Johnny,” Matt grumbled.
Chapter 2:
“God, when is Brian coming back?” Matt groaned, throwing a drumstick at the window. “I don’t know what to tell you, man. I’ve been wondering the same thing for the past couple of hours,” John shrugged. Matt sprawled himself out on the futon, digging his head into a pillow and screaming. “It’s going to be okay, dude. If Brian was in any kind of trouble he’d know how to get out of it. Trust me.” It worried Matt to just think about losing his best friend, his brother, his hetero companion. Brian had been there for him through thick and thin. “Well, let’s get our minds off that. He’ll be back whenever. So, who was that girl earlier?”
“You know, the girl I liked since 6th grade.”
“Oh, that girl! Good for you, Matty Poo. I’ve got to say that my little boy is growing up so fast,” he sniggered.
“Oh shut up, Johnny.”
Brian busted through the door, collapsing to the floor soon after. “Dude, what happened out there?!”
“Okay, so the trade kind of didn’t work out… but I did manage to get us some McDonalds.”
“Man, you’re all scraped up. What did they do to you?”
“Okay, so I gave them the money so they’d leave us alone, and then they said it wasn’t enough and Ashton pinned me to the ground and let his friends do a number on me.”
“Ugh, those guys are going to pay!” Matt slammed his fist on his lap.
“What are you talking about, Matt?! They’ve beat us bad before. I highly doubt we’re going to win now. Now help me up please.”
Matt lifted Brian up off the ground and tossed the paper bag onto the coffee table. Johnny immediately ran over and assisted Matt to heave him up onto the futon. “Man, you must have at least a couple broken ribs…” Johnny blubbered. “We need to get you to a hospital.” Brian hooted melancholically, “With what vehicle, Matt? How am I going to get there? What if we run into Ashton again?”
“Johnny and I will take him down.”
“Sure thing,” he replied mockingly. “I’m going to rest. Go eat your food.”
Matt took out his box of chicken nuggets and Johnny took his Big Mac. For a while they just sat there inaudibly. They didn’t even want to take a bite of the food they were yearning for all day long. “Stop being babies and eat the darn food,” Brian grumbled in his sleep. Matt and Johnny quickly started shoving food into their mouths while pointing and laughing at each other. “I finished first,” Johnny boasted.
“You’re going to get diabetes.”
“That’s the least of my worries.”
Matt finished up the last of his nuggets and wiped the sweet and sour sauce off his lips with the arm of his sleeve, looking over at Brian whom was deep in sleep by now. Just like that, Johnny was out cold after he finished his burger too. Matt’s eyelids began to weigh down and soon he felt himself drifting to sleep. It was soon interrupted when he heard a knock upon the door. . “Yeah?” He called sluggishly from the floor. “It’s Weaver.”
“Weaver? Come on in!”
Weaver was like their older brother. He had been gone for a few months at some military training in another state. They had been saved. Their prayers had been answered.