Chapter Text
Amnesia is a bitch, Michael Jones realized, as he stared at the room that was apparently his, but he had no idea how.
There were posters that he had no idea what they were from, a large bed that looked like he never cleaned it, and clothes and other things scattered around the room in haphazard piles, leaving patches on the otherwise clean floor.
Michael had no idea what to do. His parents (at least, everyone had told him the two that brought him here were his parents) stood nervously behind the sixteen year old as he surveyed what was apparently his room.
Michael stepped into his room, finding more things he hadn’t seen beside the door. There was a modest sized TV on a dresser surrounded by consoles and a scary amount of games littered the rest of the dresser.
“Michael?” His mom called, and Michael turned around with a blank expression. “Your father and I need to do some work, so you’ll be home alone with Charlie.” At Michael’s confused look, his mom elaborated. “Charlie is the dog, you saw him when we came in, remember?”
Michael nodded before turning back to the mystery that was his room as he heard his parents leave.
Once the front door shut and he heard the faint sound of an engine, Michael grabbed his head.
“Why the hell can’t I remember jack shit?” He asked himself, before looking surprised at his own vocabulary.
He sat on the bed as he thought about what he could remember. He could remember waking up in a hospital room surrounded by people he didn’t know, and spent about an hour shouting until the nurses finally sedated him enough to make him pass out.
He was then weened into his situation. He was Michael Jones, the youngest of 3 boys in his family, he was sixteen, and he had survived a school shooting after being shot five times, one even from point blank range to the head, which explained the blank slate of memory he currently found himself in.
He wondered why he had been so stupid to get that close to a shooter in the first place, but when his head started pounding, he gave up, flinging his arms into the air and falling backwards onto the bed.
“You’re going where?” The girl who kept a vicelike grip on Michael’s hand asked, a chestfallen look being the only thing the teen sees.
“My parents said I’m moving to Texas. Sure as hell not sure why, but they said they’ve been planning since the shooting. Sorry Lindsay.” Michael shrugged, not sure what else to say to his girlfriend.
He hadn’t even known he had a girlfriend until she leapt into his arms a couple days after returning home, kissing him like that was how the girl breathed. And now that he was moving with his family halfway across the country, he didn’t see why they should continue something that he could never pick back up.
He had told her as much after telling her they were moving, although a lot more polite.
“You seem like a cool girl, and I’m sure before I really loved you or something, but I don’t anymore. I have no idea who you are.” He said, backpedalling wildly at the tears in the teen’s eyes. “I’m really sorry, but maybe if we meet again we can try again?”
Lindsay chuckled, her tears still there, but no longer seeming like they would fall. “I understand. Yeah. Just wished I had known you could be so gentlemanly when saying something that sad.”
And before he knew it, the Jones family was off to Texas, finding a place in Austin and found a good high school for Michael, the only teen in the house that needed school still.
“Achievement High?” Michael read the large sign in front of the large school. “Make mistakes but still achieve? What a dumb motto.”
“Hey, the mottos the best thing about this school!” A male’s voice from behind surprised Michael and he twisted around to see a small lanky kid with what looked like ten novels held under his arms. “It’s the only reason I’m going here.”
“What the fuck, dude?” Michael shouted. “You damn near gave me a heart attack.”
“Oh, sorry man.” The dark haired kid said, shuffling his books to pat Michael on the shoulder. “Oh hey, you’re the new kid everyone’s been itching to know, aren’t you? Man, Geoff owes me ten bucks.”
Michael gave the kid a blank look before deciding he didn’t want to know and turned back towards the school, heading to where he hoped the main office was to pick up his schedule and whatever else new kids needed for school.
“Woah, wait up!” The kid cried, running after Michael. “Where you off to in a hurry? We just met.”
Debating in his head, Michael realized he wasn’t going to lose the dark haired kid before answering. “Trying to find the office. I was told so I can get some shit.”
“Well, you’re kinda going in the wrong way, but don’t worry, good ol’ Ray’ll show you the way.” The kid looped an arm around Michael’s shoulders and steered him in the other direction Michael had been heading. “So what’s your name, newbie? I’m Ray, in case I wasn’t clear.”
“Michael. Can you please let me the fuck go?” He asked.
“Nope, no can do.” Ray said with a grin before releasing Michael and continued to walk. “Now hurry up, classes start in like ten minutes. Do you have a guide or something to show you around?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then I’ll be your guide if you don’t.”
“No you won’t, dick.” Another voice said to Ray’s side, and both boys turned to see what Michael would say a tattooed lowlife upon first glance.
The teen was much older than Michael, or Ray who looked to be his age anyway, and had quite a lot of tattoos along his arms, which also looked strong enough to throw a mean punch, and a smug look on his face as he walked up to them.
“And why are you so certain I can’t?” Ray responded with an equally smug look on his face as he faced the older teen.
“Cause Jack’s been called into the office. And we both know he’d only called there to show newbies around.” His eyes landed on Michael, before groaning and reaching into his pocket. “Man, fuck you Ray.” He said as he gave a couple of bills to the shorter teen. “Anyway, he should get going then, shouldn’t he?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m bringing him there.” Ray said as he began walking, Michael too confused to do much else besides follow. “See ya at lunch, dude! Thanks for the money!”
Chapter done!