A frown made its way onto my face as I walked, slowly might I add, down the corridor. I was extremely upset to say the least. What a great way to start off my day right? There was no telling how mad my mom will be when she gets yet another phone call about me getting sent to the office. I mean, first I'm late and now I'm heading to the principal in less than 5 minutes? I suddenly went blank faced when I realized, I'm always messing everything up for myself no matter how hard I try to do otherwise.

I reached the office and walked straight into the principal's, ignoring the secretary shouting at me to sign in. I sat down in the comfortable furniture that sat across from his desk. The man cleared his throat and looked up at me. His gaze went from astonishment to a "good grief" kind of look. I shrank in my spot a little bit. He sat back in his black spinny chair, sighing. "Let me guess, you were late?" He inquired.

I didn't even blink. "Yes." I replied. I didn't want this to turn into some sort of interrogation. I just wanted him to give me whatever punishment I was going to get so I could move on. Even though him and I were kind of close, I still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable if I talked with him for too long.

"I'm afraid I've lost count of how many tardies you've had this quarter, Decker. I don't think you have too many strikes left before it's an automatic suspension." He said, looking stressed.

I sighed. "T-there really isn't much I can do about that right now, to be honest." I told him truthfully. "With all due respect though." I added. I didn't want him to think I was trying to be funny, like Ms. Hale thought earlier.

Mr. McCall scratches the back of his head. "Look, kid. I hate to bring this up but if it's about your dad we can talk-" I cut him off before he could finish.

"No-no I- don't bring him up please. He has nothing to do w-with my tardies." I said to him. Suddenly my nerves shot up and I began to feel myself get anxious. I had to calm down before I had an anxiety attack. This is why I tried not to think about or speak of my father. It ruined everything.

His stare told me he was suspicious and he clearly didn't buy it but he let it be anyways. He knew how much of a touchy subject he was. And I was grateful he left it alone. "Well whatever the reason may be, whether there is or isn't one...Please make sure you get this under control Decker." He told me and continued. "You're a really good kid and you don't do anything remotely bad. But believe it or not these tardies could cause a lot of problems for you in your future."

I huffed childishly, still feeling a little anxious from him bringing up my dad. "I know I know." I said. "I have to figure out something with my mom, she's my ride to school." I revealed.

Mr. McCall's eyes widened in surprise. "You're what, a-?" It took me a few seconds to figure out what he was trying to ask me but when it came to me I responded.

"Senior." I finished for him.

"Senior and you aren't driving yet? Jesus Christ what's the matter with you kid?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned. I pouted at his question, sort of embarrassed. That was my only problem with Mr. McCall. He was always worried about me or what I have going on. I know he was just looking out for me. Don't get me wrong it is very appreciated but sometimes it feels like he is being invasive. I don't like that. My anxiety definitely doesn't like that.

"L-look. Mr. McCall. Can you please just give me m-my detention so I can get this day over with? I-I really don't see the need to drag things." I said, trying to cut the conversation short. Any other day I would be okay with talking but what Ms. Hale did kind of managed to dampen my mood.

He gave me a sad look, sighing. "Nah kid. It's a Friday. No one should serve a DT on a Friday. I'll push it back to Monday." I was confused.

I stuck my hand up and pointed my thumb toward the exit door. "S-so am I going back to class or?"

"Mm. No." He said and stood up from his chair. My gaze followed him as he strode toward his book shelf. "Go home. Enjoy your weekend." I blinked, thinking I heard him incorrectly.

"You're being serious?" I asked him incredulously. He turned around with his hand that was searching for a book, in midair. He looked at me as if I were stupid to ask him such a question. "You should really take my offer before I reconsider, Decker." He stated and turned back around, "besides you look like shit. Go home, kid. Get some rest."

Wow. Tell me something I don't know. I stood up, biding him goodbye and I was gone in a flash already beginning my walk home. I was glad he let me leave early, when I get there I could relax. And maybe I could catch up on sleep I've been missing.

When I reach my house I unlock the door with my key and shut it behind me. I took my shoes off and put them on the floor next to the couch and I set the rest of my stuff aside and headed straight for the kitchen. I was starving since my mom hadn't cooked this morning.

I knew she wouldn't be here because she was at work...that meant..I could do whatever I wanted right? A small smile crept its way onto my face as I approached the fridge. The first thing I thought of was the Chipotle bowl my mom had last night that she hadn't finished. I plan on doing it for her. But when I went to open it I was only left confused as I noticed a small white sticky note on the door. I hummed as I picked it off and read it.

"Before you get confused, I came home after dropping you off at school. On my way to work they'd given me a call about a business trip I'd just been notified about so I had to come home to pack some things. I'm going to be gone for 2 months, maybe even longer depending on how the conferences go. I left you some money your dresser.

I love you. Be good, Ange.

-mom x"

That was unexpected. But at the same time I was actually used to it. My mom always went on business trips. So her being gone for months at a time wasn't unusual. "Well. On the bright side she can't lecture me about my tardies." I said and tossed the now useless note behind me and I opened the fridge and dove straight for that Chipotle I'd been craving.

After eating, I spent hours and hours in my living room either napping or watching TV. I couldn't find any good shows, really. I actually spent most of the time flipping through channels. Eventually I got bored of everything so I ended up turning the TV off. I never watch it so that was probably why I couldn't find anything that got my attention. I gave up on the lounging aspect of having my own freedom and thought...

I have two months to do whatever I want. I definitely didn't want to spend the whole time sitting around doing absolutely nothing, even though that's what I do on a regular day to day basis.

But that gets old. I know I tend to want to be alone and stay cooped up in the house due to my crippling fear and distaste for the public in general. But I needed to go out and do something different. It wouldn't hurt to step outside the box for once in my life. Who knows? Maybe something good could come out of it.

I shot up enthusiastically and began running upstairs and I entered my room and paced back and forth. I looked at the clock on my wall and it read 9:32 pm. Where the heck could I go at 9:32 at night?

I pondered for a second. There were actually plenty of options I could choose from. But most of them that I were thinking of involved food. But I'm not hungry at the moment. So anything that had to do with food is eliminated from my ideas.

I want to have...fun. Though I don't have too much experience with that. I spent most of my days in my room doing absolutely nothing if I'm not in school or doing homework. If my mother wasn't gone all the time, we could have went out together..you know..have fun? But she's almost never here.

My definition of fun is reading, hence the huge bookshelf in my room. Or browsing YouTube for funny videos. And I'd occasionally watch ASMR. I found it relaxing.

Yeah. I need a life. Or something in my life to make it at least a little bit interesting. Heck, even a boyfriend or girlfriend would do...I sat for about 10 minutes thinking of anything I could do to occupy myself and actually enjoy it.

After thinking for a little while longer. I thought of the smartest thing I've ever thought of in the history of my smart thoughts. I could use the fake I.D I had made to get myself into a club.

Angel, I think you're on a roll!

After walking for about twenty minutes, when I finally arrived at the club I stood in line for a bit. I was automatically cautious because of how different everything was here, but I decided to not let my anxiety get the best of me. I needed to put that aside for once. I need to step out of my shell.

I stood in line for about a half an hour I'd say. The amount of people that were here was ridiculous. When I approached the front, I handed the bouncer my fake I.D. I was hoping and praying he would fall for it and let me through.

The tall and quite buff bald guy gave me an odd look but let me in anyways. He handed me back my I.D with the tip of his pointer and middle finger then leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Be careful kid." And with that, he gently pushed my back and I was immediately inside the club.

I froze in my spot for a split second as I observed the people that were surrounding me. There were multiple sweaty bodies grinding on one another, creating such humidity that one could throw up. The lights were flashing different colors at a deathly fast pace, making it hard for me to make out anything ahead of me.

I could barely find a pathway out of this crowd!

"Oh my god!" I cringed. There was not one doubt in my mind that I looked like a little kid. My arms were scrunched together and I was attempting to avoid these bodies as much as possible. I already regret doing this. Something was telling me to turn back around to save myself but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Oh my god ohhh my god! I continued internally freaking out. I wasn't used to being around this many people at once. Well unless I was at school, but even then I don't think it's was ever this bad! I continued to panic until I reached the end of the crowd. When I did I let out a deep breath of relief that I wasn't aware I was holding and began to dust myself off a little bit.

"You okay there kiddo?" I heard someone ask me. I glanced up to see one of the male bartenders looking at me worriedly. I shook my head to dismiss his question.

"Stop calling me kiddo...or kid. Why does everyone call me that?" I asked to no one in particular. I then took a seat in one of the stools directly across from the man. I rest my hands on my chin. "Can I get a coke, p-please?" He cocked a pierced brow and placed both of his hands on the counter.

"How old are you?"

"21." I smiled.

"Lie. You don't look a day over 18, kid."

I pouted, offended by the blunt statement...and my anxiety then triggers...what if he was on to me? "H-how else could I get in here? I had my I.D, wanna see?" I questioned him, ready to pull out the fake card. He laughed and shook his head.

"Nah. Don't even bother kid."

"A-angel." I corrected him.

He nodded his head, a frown of thought on his face. "Angel." He said. "I'm Nas." He introduces himself.

"So is this the part where we uh, shake hands..Nas?"

"Not really." He rejected, waving me off with his hand. "You still want that coke?" He asked me. I simply nodded. He smirked and turned around to prepare me one. When he was done he slid the drink to me.

"Thank you." I said and took a small sip.

He leaned over the counter. "So how did you manage to get in here?" He inquired. What was with these questions?

I placed my hands back on my face and rested my elbows on the hard surface. "I-I just told you. I used my I.D."

He rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his dyed red hair. "Fake I.D, smartass."

"H-hey don't name call. You...you don't even know me." My voice went up an octave. He laughed, looking genuinely amused with me. That confused me. I found nothing funny right now.

He was making fun of me! I huffed and looked away, crossing my arms. "You're...you're not very nice."

He ignored my comment. "My boss would kill the bouncer that let you in if he saw you." He said with a low chuckle. "You obviously don't belong in here. You have to be 21 or older to get in."

I frowned, now alarmed. I turned back to him, completely ignoring the second half of his statement. "W-who's your boss? I-is he here? He'll kick me out if he sees m-" He cut me off.

"Zhayne Donovan." He said to me, and stood still waiting for my reaction. At first, the name didn't ring any bells. But I let it repeat in my head for a couple seconds before it finally clicked. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Holy crap!" I shouted. And even over the music my shout was enough to attract the attention of some other strangers. I blushed, sort of embarrassed. "He's that CEO. He owns Donovan&Co, that luxury hotel company I think." I realized. "He owns this club too?" I asked, baffled.

"Yes sir." He nodded his head, flinging a small white towel over his shoulder. "He's a very rich and powerful man."

"Y-yikes." I said. Hopefully he doesn't find me. If Nas could figure out I was underage then he definitely wouldn't fail to notice. I would get in big trouble.

"He's not one you want to mess with either. He's not the nicest boss. The man is an asshole and no one can ever stand up to him. If you even think about it you'll leave jobless or beat the fuck up. Hell, you might even disappear, who knows? He's really big on respect, though he's not very good at giving it to others which is hypocritical if you ask me. But eh, he's a powerful rich asshole so he can do whatever he pleases." Nas told me as he shook his head. "The list goes on and there's far more than that but I don't want to speak too much on him, he makes me feel uneasy."

I felt that. I feel uneasy and I'm the one just sitting and listening. I picked up my coke with a shaky hand and took a sip. "So uh, where's the uh, r-restroom? I-I really have to go." I asked him nervously.

He leaned up from his previous position. Pointing his finger toward my right. "Behind this bar there's a long hallway you walk down and then you turn left." I smile then take my money out from my jacket pocket and slid him a 20. That was probably too much but you can never go wrong with a generous tip, right?

I got up from the stool and followed the directions he gave me toward the restroom. As I walked further and further down the hallway the loud music and the sound of people faded. I began to feel a little relieved because I wasn't being surrounded by a whole bunch of people and I was no longer conversing about a certain scary individual.

Just as I took the left to get to the restroom, my face was met with a rock hard chest and the next thing you know, I'm sitting on the floor with an already sore bottom and face. "Ouch." I winced, bringing a hand up to my cheek. "T-that hurt."

"You should watch where you're going next time."

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