[[ My female Beta died Earlier ); Freakin' doesn't make any since because she was swimming around in yellow water for two days and then as soon as I change her water she goes belly up D: Except she sank to the bottom e. Not my point

And now her mate is dying... I think? I sucks. I really like him, the girl was just A Wal-Mart fish = He's dying of a broken heart!! D: How sad!! ;~; ]]

O~~~---------------->>> 

The next morning Andrew wok up slowly to the sun leaking through a window and directly into his eyes. He groaned, sitting up. He was stiff from sleeping on the cold floor, his knees curled up close and his tail actually covering his nose. He said up and stretched, much like a real cat would, arching his back and pushing his hands out as far as he could with a yawn. 

He jumped, realizing that he was late if he sun was waking him up and scrambled up. His body screaming at him in an agonize way, making him flinch visibly. He grimaced, the sudden escaped of air made a pained noise. His face was stiff too and he wondered how bad his face looked. He rolled his shoulders and neck before he started to moved quickly towards the door.

[[ hehe... I made it so that he missed all of his clas$es and will be late to Eric's <33 ]] 

{Awww. I'm sorry to hear that. >.< That's sad }

Eric was currently sitting behind his desk flipping threw a few pages of the English book not really knowing what he was going to teach his students. He had a very hard time climbing off the couch that morning causing him to almost call into work sick. He had ended up tossing and turning all night worrying about Andrew. Worrying if he ever went back home. If the kid would loose his job. God all the thoughts could literly drive him insane. He gave a slight hiss as he stood up shoving his hand into his pocket. Screw school rules he needed a smoke to get his mind off of things. He had a few minutes to himself seeing it was currently inbetween cla$ses.

He made his way to his room window and opened it pulling out a cigarette and pressing it to his lips. He pulled out a black lighter and flicked it to light the cancer stick now hanigng out of his mouth. He inhaled the sweet toxins  before exhauling into the cold air. His eyes narrowed at the bushes before he glanced to his doorway noticing a rather shy looking girl holding a peice of paper. "May I help you" Eric asked walking over to her with the cigarette sticking out of his mouth. She stuttered obviously not used to the sight of a teacher smoking in the building or them glaring at her.

He softened his eyes when he realized he was scaring the child and sat down behind his desk motioning her over. "I-I--I wanted to-to turn my pa-paper in early" She stuttered only to receive a sigh from Eric. "Thank you. I will gladly take it and look at it for you. If you would like i'd be happy to grade it and give it back to you before it's due date so you can fix any corrections. Would you like that?" He asked rather politely noticing the girl's face light up. "Yes please" she giggled instantly happy. All Eric could do was smile and take the girl's paper watching her run out of the room. He placed his fingers around the cigarette, puling it out of his mouth before looking back over to the window. At least the venalation was working and the wind was forcing his smoke to go otu the window and not into the system to set off any alarm or get himself in trouble. Thank god for crappy school systems.

[[ I know right? ;~;

*watches fishie* Eat!! D:< ]]

The school bell rang and students started to file into the last clas$ of the day. Everyone was a little brighter than usual, more anxious, simply because they could go home soon.

But, unlike normal day, Andrews small posse of four came into the clas$room together quietly. Much like a dog when its owner was away, whimpering around the house until they returned. Andrew was obviously their leader and the loudest of the group so it was odd for them to be quiet and following all school rules.

"Come on! You're the one that picks him up in the morning! He wasn't there?" "No! Stop yelling at me." They conversed amongst themselves. "Did he call?" "No, but I called him. He didn't answer and when I called again it went straight to voice mail." The other replied."Hey, what if he got into trouble with his mom's boyfriend again?" "Yeah, he said the guy was an as$" They were all seated by now. "I don't know. I don't know where he lives or works. He makes me drop him off early and walks the rest of the way." "Weird."

They all started to trail off of the topic of his parents and into the topic of why he was so mysterious. The words 'serial killer' and 'gang banger' were uttered.

[[ Hehe~ Thats for Eric XD ]]

Andrew couldn't believe how stupid he was! He couldn't call anyone because his hone had gone dead. He hissed, he probably looked like a coward! Yesterday he'd gotten into a fight with the teacher in front of everyone, lost the battle, and doesn't show up the next day! 

Eric heard the school bell and got up making his way to the window and put out his cigarette before flicking it in the bushes. His ears twitched listening to the group of four enter the clas$room. He couldn't help but hear their conversation. His curiosity peeked as he slowly folded his hands behind his back and walked near them pas$ing them as he acted like he was waiting for the rest of the clas$ to pile in.

A tint of worry filled his eyes as he searched for his troublesome student but couldn't find him anywhere. Could it be Andrew they were discussing? His heart beat increased but his facial expressions remained calm. If his freinds didn't know where he was then that was an issue after all he was the last one to see him last night. Eric prayed it was the boy's pride that stopped him from comming to clas$ instead of some unforgivable event.

'Damn it....Damn it to hell' he hissed in his mind, his tail flickering out of pure spite. If he would have kidnapped the kid isntead of leaving him all alone he would be here in clas$ right now and not causing him to worry about what if some psyco freak attacked him. He let out a puff of air opening his mouth to address the clase but simply shut it quickly realizing he really did't have anything to say. He waited for the tady bell to ring and prayed his little trouble maker stumbled into clas$ late as usual.

Andrew walked into the school, yep, walked. He was too sore from sleeping on the floor to rush. And his back hurt from where that bastard had slammed him into the wall last night, and he was pretty sure his shoulder was bruise from where the guy had dug into him to keep him still. He was officially broken, he wasn't going to stand up to that man ever again.

He pas$ed a trophy case and spotted himself in it. His eyes widened. Just below his left eye there was a huge bruise. He stopped and freaked out about it. He didn't know that it was so big! It was pink around the edges, then purple as it went towards the middle, grey, and then a black color.

"Sh!t!!" He hissed, looking at it for a moment longer before he frowned. Too bad, too late to go back now and it was a waste of a painful walk here. He continued to the office to get a note, getting the natural stares from the woman behind the counter at his face. "Defining." Andrew growled angrily, his tail flicked behind him once. "Isn't it?" She squeaked and gave him the note. "What time is it?" He asked, looking at the note. 'UNEXCUSED' was stamped in big red letters on it. "Uh... i-its last period Mr. Parks." 

"Perfect." He said and headed to his least favorite and last clas$ of the day. If he had know that he was just going to make it to the last clas$, he wouldn't have come. He walked slowly to the room, breathing, thinking, and just trying to take as much time off of the clas$ that he could. But, eventually, he did reach the room and walked in: wearing the same clothes as yesterday, the white chalk from the empty room littered his clothes. He looked unbelievably tired, in pain, and just pain awful.

Lucky for Andrew the way the room was organized he entered with big, fat, ugly bruise facing the clas$. The slight murmur dies as soon as they saw him, making his self confidence take a brutal beating. He made eye contact with no one as he went to put the stupid piece of pink paper on Eric's desk and went to his seat. And again, lucky for Andrew, his pretty shiner faced the clas$ instead of the door where no one could see it.

Everyone was staring at him! Damn it! He growled lowly for a minute. "Take a picture!! It'll last longer!!" He hissed to the rest of the clas$ and they all looked away from him. He looked down at the floor, wishing to whatever gods might be up there, that the clas$ wasn't so quiet and Mr. Dashaniel would just continue. 

Eric's ears perked as he turned to see Andrew walk into the room. He breathed a sigh of releif and seemed to pick up the pink slip he had placed on his desk. A tardy note, how nice. He hated these things only because he seemed to stack up a collection fo them every year when there wasn't really anythin to do but dock the student's grade near the end of the semester. His eyes scanned Andrew's body just before he sat down quietly in his seat. He noticed he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday which indicated he hadn't went home to change. He had stayed out all night last night. This thought brought a frown upon his face before he cleared and watched the clas$ after hearing Andrew's little out break.

"Students. I suggest you keep your eyes up here today" he spoke in a soft but stern voice. "I will not have any googling at other students. You are to be paying attention to me no one else. Do I make myself clear?" he asked only to see a few nods. He smirked before grabbing a handful of papers. "I promised you a quiz earlier in the year and I have decided today is the day you all can handle it" He chimmed pas$ing the papers down each row onto all the student's desks. "It covers the chapters one through nine and no you may not use your books or notes. That defeats the whole purpose of a qiuz now doesn't it?" he asked though it was more of a retorical question. "When you are finished please turn them into my desk and have a seat quietly. I want no talking and your eyes on your own desk not on other students" he seemed to growl making his way back to his desk and sitting behind it focusing on Andrew for a few moments.

It seemed rather weird to him that he didn't comment on the kid being late nor did he talk back to him when he yelled at his fellow clas$mates. Those wern't the things that were bothering him this instant. As he surveyed the kid's body he noticed the bruise. His own facial features twisting before looking down at his desk pretending to read something. How the hell could he have missed that and better yet....who could have caused such a thing? When the kid left the bar he was bruise free. 'Night...It must have happened sometime after I left' he thought but then the hiss seemed to trigger in his mind. 'It happened when he went home to get his jacket' 

Eric's teeth dug into his lip as he seemed to 'focus' on the paper in front of him. His mind was exploring on what exactly to do. He ended up sighing in defeat knowing there was nothing he could do. Andrew was none of his buisness outside of school therefore he couldn't act without suspicions floating around. God did that suck. He quickly dotted a few notes down on teh paper in front of him letting his mind try to wrap around the kid's situation. If Andrew every needed anything he did still have teh card he gave him last night, or he prayed he did. He hadn't stayed to see if the kid actually picked it up or not so he might not even have that.

Andrew took the test that he was handed quietly, looking down at the materials printed in the black ink. His tail hung limply beside him and his ears hung forward, toward the paper and his desk. He started to mark down answered, his pencil making scribbling noises as he went.

His concentration was broken when something landed on his desk, his cat-like reflexes forced it to catch it as it landed. It was a note, he glanced over at his best friend. He opened it quietly to read the inside. What happened to you? You look awful. Where were you this morning? The note read. He scribbled down answers and tossed the note back and tried to focus on his note. Mom's BF. Thanks, I need that reminder! I overslept. 

He knew maybe... half of the things on the test and finally decided that his grade was gonna be his grade no matter what it was and just started to guess on the rest. The note came flying back. Sorry man, that sucks. I tried to call... Andrew answered and threw it back. I don't need your sympathy, I can handle it. My phone died last night. Think you can charge it for me? Give it to me after work? He threw the note back and signed the paper on his desk.

He didn't want to give the tes in yet so he pretended not to be done with it. The note came back soon afterward. You're still going to work? Like that? And sure- Andrew flicked his ear. Yeah I'm going to work! Speaking of that... got a place I can crash? For 2night? He threw it back and focused on Eric at the front of the room, he seemed fine. That was good, he didn't want him thinking that just because they were together most of the night that things were going to be different today.

Here came the note. No man. Sorry, I'm grounded and my mom would kill me. Andrew's spirits sunk to rock bottom. Its fine. I'll figure things out. He tossed the note back again. 

Eric's ear twitched lightly as he looked up just in enough time to see the note tossed back to Andrew's friend. He ignored it for a few secound acting like he didn't see anything before casually standing up and walking around his desk. He made his way down the rows of students peeking over their shoulder's randomly before his hand came down firmly on the note that Andrew's best friend now held upon his desk.

"Cheating I must presume?" He questioned seeming to snatch the note up and fold it into a small square before glancing between Andrew and his friend. "I am going to have to ask you both to join me in detention tomorrow afternoon" He said simply not waiting to hear any back talk or groans as he made his way back to his desk palcing the note within one of his desk drawers.

Eric managed to pick up a few papers from students who were finished placing them over Andrew's little note and the paper he had aquired from the girl just previous to the clas$. He seemed to chew on his bottom lip, walking over to the window shutting it fimrly.

Andrew's friend slumped slightly into his desk and got up to hand his paper in. "Hey!" Andrew hissed, throwing his pencil at his friend to get his attention. is friend sat back down and threw the pencil back. "What?" He hissed back. "Take mine~ I can't." He said, handing it to his friend. "Got it." His friend took both papers up to the front of the room and gave them to Eric before he came back. 

"Whats wrong with you??" His friend asked when he got back, most of the clas$ was talking now and so he could talk slightly louder. "I hurt all over~" Andrew replied, slumping into his seat and closing his eyes. "Did that guy do that to you? I swear, I'll-" "Do nothing." Andrew growled, sitting up. "Andy- You can accept help sometimes." He told his friend in a caring way. "It doesn't mean you can't handle it. No one can do everything." Andrew frowned, then chuckled, making his friend chuckle.

"What? He asked Andrew. "That is the gayest thing you've ever said to me." He chuckled. "I read it online." His friend chuckled back. Andrew sighed, "But seriously, I can't come to detention over some stupid note. I have to work." He told his friend. "Take the day off?" Andrew leaned back in his seat again. "I hate this clas$." He groaned quietly.

Eric seemed to be ignoring the clas$ as they talked among themselves but his hearing was actually tunned in a a converastion he found rather interesting, Andrews. He heard some of it which only made him slide the papers that were handed in out of the way and unfolded the note he had confiscated. He quickly scanned over hit, his eyes narrowing into slits. 'So I was right"  he thought to himself before taking note to the last thing written on the paper. Andrew wasn't going home therefore he had no where to crash. He let out a sigh before  rolling his eyes. He couldn't offer his place to the kid plus he was an extreme homophobe. That would only turn into the ultimate fail ever. He had to sit back and wait till the kid came to him to try to resolve any issues he might have or anythin that might be bugging him.

"Clas$...." Eric spoke loudly only causing the students voices to die down as they focused on him. "Since you all have been so kind to follow directions. I am going to do this once so please savor it..." he sighed, his eyes focusin lazily on the students in front of him. "You all are dismissed to go to the library to find your poems to recite next week" he smiled warmly knowing good and well half of the students would go home or run around in the hall ways. That didn't bother him in the least but if they got caught he would have to say he sent them to the libary thus leaving him to 'punish' the student which would proably go off as a "you should have watched for teachers" type of thing instead of the student actually getting in trouble.

"Please at least try this. Memorizing things is a difficult task and you better think youselves lucky I dind't make you recite the 'to be or not to be' speech that every english senior is required to do" he spoke shuffling the papers together not paying attention as some of the students darted out of the door.

Andrew was much slower getting up than he would have liked to be, using a lot more strength than usual. His body felt like it was made of lead. He smirked at his friends, all waiting for him. None of his friends went to help him, knowing that they would only be rejected and maybe even bit. Andrew picked up his bag and shrugged it on and headed to the door.

His tail flicked behind him and left the room. "To be!" He barked, " Or not to be!" He buddies were no longer moping dogs but happy school boys once again. "That is the question!" They all finished for him and laughed. Andrew twirled around and facing them, opening his arms. "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer! The slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune!" His friends didn't know this part, but they were laughing at Andrew anyway. Making a big ruckus and disturbing other clas$es as they went.

Andrew twirled around, a smug look on his face as he did so. If he was going to pull off the whole 'I don't need help' thing he was going to have to put it all out there. "And by opposing end them? To die: To sleep!!" His friends were going crazy, Andrew looked like he had just lost his mind. Andrew turned and smiled at his group, coming up and grabbing his best friends hand. It was an awkward gesture, but he did it boldly.

"The fair Ohelia! Nymph! In thy origins.... Be all my sins remembered." He said, it sounded like a growl. "Get off me you idiot!" His friends laughed, taking his hands back. 

[[ I had to memorize that XD I'm in 10th ]] 

{  I did it when I was a senior. }

Eric's ears perked up hearing Andrew and the whole 'to be or not to be' speech he was chimming down the hallway. He smirked standing up and leaning against his clas$room door observing him and his buddies. He did have to admit Andrew knew the speech and sort of laughed to himself as he noticed his freind seeming lost on the versus Andrew spoke. Oh how he loved these times when he actually saw his students learning at least something.

"To die, to sleep, no more..." Eric whispered to himself walking back into his room finding it a little weird to be watching Andrew and his little group of friends. "and by a sleep we say-we end the heartaches and thousand natural shocks...." Eric paused in his whispered speech and sighed. Oh the famous speech by Hamlet composing what it would truely mean to end his life. This was his most truely favorite peice by shakespear. It was also a favorite among the children as he normally told them that it was just a more adult version of the lion king movie. They normally took a laugh at that but found out when they read the play and went to watch the movie the very same concept was behind both peices.

[[ Oh really? Dx Im early?? lol ]]

"So!" Andrew said, turning away from his friends so then he could grimace, He was going to regret showing off like that, as if he wasn't already. "What're you guys doing for the poem?" HE asked.

"Why?" Asked Andrew's best friend, "Do you know what you're doing for yours?" He asked. "Annabel Lee... of course." Andrew answered, he wasn't going to the library. His friends realized this as they pas$ed it, following him. "Well, aren't you going to go read it or something?" His friend asked. "NO, I already know it." Andrew replied, trying his best not to limp now.

"Wow! Andrew Leigh Parks!!" His best friend said, his voice echoing. "Actually did his homework! Run!" He yelled, "The world is coming to an end!" He called. "Shut up~" Andrew purred, wrapping his arm around his friends shoulder. A secret attempt to lean on someone. "I didn't do any homework. Thats a paper cut hazard right there." He nodded. "No, I actually like that poem." He said.

"Oh really? How does it go? Mr. Poet?" Andrew sighed, "Ahh... It was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea! That a maiden there live that you may know by the name of Annabel Lee..." He said in a dreamy voice, over acting it once again. "And this maiden lived with no thought but to love and to be loved by me." His friends were astounded that he knew so much and was almost failing his clas$es. 

"I was a child and she was a child, in that kingdom by the sea. But we loved with a love that was more than love... I and my Annabel Lee~" That was his favorite line. "Ok! Ok!" One called, "We get it! You are a dork!" "Ah but an awesome dork that will kick your as$ if you call him a dork again!!" He sang joyfully.

{Ah my favorite poem by Poe. ^.^ Annabel Lee. Hehe. I want Eric and Andrew to have a 'poem/verse' off in clas$ when they present. That would be so much fun. Smart as$ kid againt a teacher saying verse after verse of the same poem/speech. hehe. It made me laugh when I thought of it }

Eric took a deep breath plopping into his seat and spreading out the paper in front of him. He really needed to grade these things and hee was having issues concintrating which was one of the main reasons he sent the kids off. He was fallin behind because of Andrew. His mind not being able to steer free from the annoying kid who's body was now bruised and broken. He sighed taking out his red pen wishing he had someone to help him. These were a lot of papers, plus with the ones he should have graded last night....lord he was extremly behind.

"No..No..No...wrong" Eric seemed to chim to himself as he marked threw the wrong answers on a three quizes at a time. He found multiple choice tests and qizzes so much easier on the brain when he had to grade them. He didn't want to have to think about things he just simply wanted an easier way to gradethe paes and in multiple choice there was one answer. In essay form there were a million.

[[ Thats awesome :O ]]

Andrew finally just leaned heavily on his best friend, allowing help. He couldn't walk anymore, this pain was awful. "Hey, we need to go back." He said to his crutch. "Why?"He asked, "Because, I want to get rid of the crap in my bookbag." He replied. His best friend sighed, Andrew's locker was all the way back and past Mr.Dashaniels room. "Fine. You guys go ahead." 

They turned around and Andrew limped with his friend. "Andy, you're a mess." He told him. "Oh, woe is me- My life is a misery." Andrew grimaced, wrapping his tail around his friend's leg. They reached his locker, after much pained effort on Andrew's side. Andrew emptied his back and slammed the locker door. 

Now that he was done he looked back down that hall to the exit. "Oh god just kill me." He told his friend. "Wish I could carry you man, but I can't." He said with a shrug. "I wouldn't want you to." Andrew replied. "Just... get me to work." He told his friend and wrapped his arm around his shoulder again. "Oh yeah, here." He gave him the dead phone. "Why don't you just lay out of work?" His friend asked. "Because, if I don't go to work then I don't have anywhere or anything else to do." He replied. "Why not go home?"

"Home? Why? So mom's boyfriend can finish me off? No thanks. I'm going there after work to get some clothes and then I'm out."  

{ I was thinking about that. ^.^ }

Eric shuffled threw his papers and sighed heavily. He shuffled them out before an idea struck. Smirking he stood up and made his way to his room door and glanced down the hallway to see someone that he had hoped stayed behind. A smile brushed acrossed his lips as he seen the very person he was seraching for, Andrew. "Andrew..." Eric called out to him looking down at his watch for a few minutes before focusing up on the two studetns in the hall. He lukily had time to use the kid before it would officially be time to go. Ending clas$ early had it's perks.

Eric neared the kids and seemed to stop. "Andrew....How about I swap your punishment for pas$ing notes during a test. How about you stay behind for the last half of clas$ and your friend can stay tomorrow for his punishment" he said slipping his hands into his pockets. "I have a job that I need as$istance on" he took a deep breath awaiting to hear the kid's awnser.

Andrew, still leaning on his friend, looked up at his ever present teacher. He had seen so much of the guy lately it felt like he hadn't left his side at all in two days. 

He was about to produce a tart remark, one that he couldn't wait to use, when he friend viciously jabbed his in the ribs. Andrew's eyes widened in pain and he hiss at him, his pupils mere pin needles. His friend looked back at him, trying to tell him with his face that he needed to work and couldn't come to detention. "Fine." Andrew replied finally, flicking his tail in agitation. 

By this point he had all but forgotten his bruise, the only thing that was stopping his from completely forgetting is the constant, slow throbbing that made manifest itself on his cheek. He let go of his friend and again felt like he might collapse. Do a flippin' face plant into the white, tile floor. Wouldn't that just rock?

Andrew's friends looked over at the teacher in contempt, lately Andrew's life had been going down hill and this guy seemed hell bound to make everything worse for him. He flicked his ears, turning his attention back to Andrew. "I'll hang around a bit." He told him before he walked off down the hall toward the library.

Andrew watching him go, wishing that he could go too before he moved forward too. "What do you want me to do?" He asked, not putting up any effort to refuse or make anything harder than it had to be.  

Eric watched Andrew's friend before sighing. "Grade papers....I've gotten a little behind plus--" Eric seemed to pause watching the science teacher sneer at him as he pas$ed. He couldn't help but sigh as he carried on like nothing ever happened. "Plus I would hate to make you miss work because of detention so I thought since clas$ ended early I would use you to help me. It's still punishment seeing no one wants to spend time with their teacher" he said simply turning his back on Andrew and walking back to his clas$room. he knew he wouldn't make a run for it because quite frankly, it didn't look like he was going anywhere quickly at all.

He stopped in mid step and sighed. "Do you need help? You look pretty banged up" he commented focusing on him, his eyes resting on the bruise on his cheek.

{Fail }

Andrew flattened his ears but kept going. Fine, whatever. Don't say anything... He told himself after his comment  of him not wanting to miss work. It wasn't that ad of a statement, at least he wasn't trying to get him fired. But him offered to help him because he looked banged up was crossing Andrew's mental lines.

He hissed softly. "I'm not in pain, and I don't need your help." He said in a deathly, calm voice. "I've said it more than once. Don't make me tell you again." He replied, looking around the clas$room. It looked odd without any other students in there to fill it up and make it noisy. He glanced back to see Eric looking at his face. 

He frowned, "Pretty isn't it?" He asked.