Mr. Average

Adonis sees Joel with no pants on.

I woke up the next day, vaguely remembering falling asleep in Adonis' arms. A headache began to uncurl itself onto my temples.

Finn was absolutely forbidden to keep friends overnight, so Adonis isn't still here. If Finn and/or I bent any rules set up by our parents, Lydia blabbered about it. So, crisis adverted. Right? Right?

Wrong.

I wrestled on a shirt, still in boxers because I had to get some jeans out of the dryer. As I walked around a corner, into the kitchen, I saw Adonis. He was leaning on the counter, reading a book that I couldn't read the title of.

"Adonis?!" I squeaked, running back across the counter so he couldn't see my bare legs.

"Oh, hey Joel." He smirked, dog-earing his book and setting it down. "Finn's not feeling well, he called me over so I can take you to school."

"Ugh," I grunted, starting to walk to his room. "He's never feeling well."

"Nice boxers, Joey." Adonis chuckled.

I stormed over to the dining table and scooped up an abandoned fork, ninja starring it at him. "Don't call me that!" I said, as he narrowly dodged the utensil.

"Is that what I get for saving your life?" He teased.

I ignored him, marching to Finn's room. I r***d at the door, "FINN!" I called, pounding the white wooden planks of his door. I heard a distant grunt, if it meant "Come in!" or "Stay away!" I didn't care. I swung the door open anyways.

"Ugh!" Finn groaned, covering his face from the hallway light. "Don't you speak English?"

"Get up!" I ignored his accusation. "Drive me to school!"

"Isn't Adonis here to drive you?"

"Yes. GET UP!!"

I heard a wail coming from Lydia's room, announcing she had just had a nightmare.

Tough luck, kid, I'm living a nightmare right now!

"Lydia's crying," Finn began, covering his head with the covers. "You should probably take care of that."

"GET. UUUPPPPP!!!!!!!!! " I had no idea I had the ability of screaming that loud.

_~_~_

I sat in the passenger seat, sulking. Finn was just impossible. Where would he be when I needed him most?

He would probably say that he's not feeling well and ignore me. As always.

I looked out the window, my nails finding their way to my teeth.

"You okay?"

I looked at Adonis, sighing. "I'm sorry about yelling at you. I'm worried about Finn."

Adonis narrowed his eyes, not taking them off the road. "Well, he said he just had a stomach ache."

I chuckled, "No, not like that. I'm worried that he will never be there for me."

Adonis hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "There'll always be someone out there for you, Joel." He said, putting his hand on my knee, a comforting gesture. "It doesn't matter if they're your brother. But even so, Finn'll come around."

I snorted, "What makes you say that?"

He smiled at me. "I'll make sure of it."

_~_~_

"So, new kid has a name!" Victoria greeted me, almost instantly after the awkward-yet-cute car ride with Adonis. She was waiting for me by the entrance door.

"Oh, yeah?" I said, readjusting my bag.

"Scott." Vic boasted, as if she were a history teacher.

"Hm..." I wondered aloud. "Skuh-Autt."

"Yeah, it's a cute name." Lola appeared next to me, making Vic jump.

"It suits him." Zoi agreed, popping up next to her and causing Vic to jump again.

"Christ, are you two joined at the hip?!" Vic hissed, taking a step away.

"No..." Lola trailed off, seeming disappointed.

"But we're asking the science teacher if he knows a way to make that happen." Zoi joked. They both giggled, roaming off to do their own thing.

"They give me the creeps." Logan spooked up on us as well.

"Son of a b***h!" Vic swore. "It's too early for me to have a heart attack, you dunce!"

Logan seemed confused, walking away in the direction of Lola and Zoi.

"Ugh, where's Kassi?" Victoria muttered, already done with the day and it wasn't even half an hour into it.

"She's sick." Jolly appeared. This time, Vic didn't jump, she just looked as if her relative died.

"What?! Ugh! This day is going to suck!" Victoria was exasperated. This day was already off to an awful start.

_~_~_

2 hours later.

"Hey, are you Joel?"

I spun around, my eyes greeted by the new kid, Scott.

"Yes," I smiled, "Are you Scott?"

He grinned, "The one and only!" Scott paused, "Kinda..."

I chuckled, offering my hand. "It's nice to meet you!" He shook it, "You've been quite talked about."

Scott raisd an eyebrow, "Really? That's new."

"Yeah, well, welcome to Hello Holly High. If the lunch ladies used different seasonings on the plastic they call food no one would shut up about it." I shrugged, "It's a small school."

Scott laughed, hard. He covered his mouth with his fist. "Sorry, I didn't know anyone had a sense of humor in this joint."

"I'm a rare breed."

"I can see that." Scott winked.

Holy s**t, he was flirting with me!

This is new. I mean, not the flirting, I get plenty of that every time Finn calls Adonis over, but Scott was new. He knew nothing about me. Unless the mockingbirds called 'cheerleaders' spread stuff about me per use.

I know what you're thinking. I just bad talked cheerleaders, isn't Madison a cheerleader?

I applaud your memory. That is all.

I pushed away thoughts of gossip and cheerleaders, focusing my attention on Scott again.

"Well, I should probably fill you in on what Hello Holly has in store for you," I began, "Unless, of course, the cheerleaders already did so."

Scott shrugged, "I never really spoke to the cheerleaders."

Thank God.

"Well, you may see that the sign outside says 'Hello Holly High', but that's stupid." I began walking, Scott followed. "So, everyone calls it Hellhole High."

Scott paused, "It's not that bad."

I shrugged, squinting. "Nicknames don't have to make sense..."

Scott thought about this, "Eh, yeah."

I smiled, he was cluelessly cute. "Also, have you seen Dumbo?"

"Uh, yeah?" Scott seemed taken off-guard.

"Well, you know those semi-racist crows who are always talking smack?"

Scott laughed, as if reliving a nostalgic moment. "Oh, yeah."

"Cheerleaders are those semi-racist crows." I gestured to a couple of cheerleaders, squaking about a poor Native American pear-shaped girl right in front of them. "Except with out the 'semi'."

Scott crossed his arms, "That's horrible."

"Yeah, well, you can't do anything about it." I sighed, glaring after the scene right out of an after-school special. "Trust me, I've tried."

"I'm already cooking something up."

"Huh?"

Scott paused, not saying anything. Just glaring after the depressing bullying.

"I'll make sure this stops," Scott declared.

"What are you getting yourself into?" I asked, fascinated.

Scott shrugged it off, "Oh, nothing." He started to walk off. "Thanks for showing me the ropes, Joel!"

"But I'm not do--" I shook it off, it was useless. "No problem, Scott." I grinned.

I had a feeling this boy was already getting me into trouble and we're barely on a first-name-basis.

I knew he was going to be a wild ride, and I was already latching on.