"Come on." Frustrated, Kris sighs as she struggles to clip her webcam on the top of her laptop screen. She pulls her hand away and smiles when it doesn't fall down. Her laptop, probably considered an ancient artifact in the tech world, takes several seconds loading until a blurred image of her appears on the screen. She reaches over and gently adjusts the lens of the camera. It can't be more than five megapixels so, when the image finally does focus, she still looks a bit grainy. Oh well, it'll work.

Kristen Levesque is your average high school student. She's naturally pretty, but most people don't notice since she often doesn't dress up or wear an ounce of make-up. She has long, wavy brown hair that drops just past her shoulders. Her normal routine consists of straightening it and just parting her bangs to the side. Nothing too fancy.

Her room is a bit of a mess. Dirty clothes are piled up on the floor behind her with her comforter tossed over them. The walls are empty and bland; the only thing hanging from it is a small, crooked mirror. Cardboard boxes are still piled against the wall behind her from when her family moved here almost a year ago. Part of her wants to finish unpacking, but deep down she still doesn't feel like this is home. Then again, that whole 'home' concept has always seemed rather foreign to her.

She sits on the corner of her bed, facing the wall with her back exposed to the room, and reaches over for her guitar. She takes a deep breath before touching the mouse pad and scrolling over on her computer to press the 'Record' button. It flashes red. She begins to pluck at the strings of her guitar.

"Driving away from the wreck of the day and the light's always red in the rearview." It's a cover of a song by Anna Nalick, and Kris sings it beautifully. Her voice has a soft, soothing rhythm to it. "Desperately close to a coffin of hope—"

A knock comes from her bedroom door, interrupting her. She glances over, annoyed. "Are you serious?!" she mumbles under her breath and she slams down on the mouse pad to press the 'Stop Recording'. She tosses her guitar on the bed as she gets to her feet.

"This better be good!" She walks over to her bedroom door and yanks it open.

Daniel, her little brother, stands in the doorway as he looks up at her. He's a cute twelve-year-old with short frizzy brown hair and bright blue eyes. A large smile stretches across his face.

She rolls her eyes, already sensing a question coming. "No."

"But—"

Before he can get out another word she shuts the door in his face. A few seconds pass and he knocks again.

Kris opens the door. "Where do you want to go?"

"Jaden said that his mom bought him the new Black Ops and she said we could come over and have game night." He's way too excited.

She cocks an eyebrow. "And does Jaden's mom know that tomorrow you guys have school?" She glances at her wristwatch. "And that it's already 8:30?"

"Come on, please!" His hands clasp together as he begs dramatically. "I'll be home by ten!"

"Yeah right. Black Ops. Boys. You would be up until first period tomorrow." She leans down to face him. "Look, tomorrow's Friday. Tell him to ask his mom if you can have a game night or something. Then I'll be your Uber and you can stay up as late as you want."

He sighs, glancing down at the floor with his puppy dog eyes. "Okay," he pouts.

"Oh, and Danny..."

His head jerks back up to look at her, a sliver of hope that she might change her mind still in his head.

"I've told you before. When it says 'Do Not Disturb'... Do. Not. Disturb." Her eyes narrow as she slams the door shut, and a plastic cutout with a handwritten 'Do Not Disturb' sign, poorly scribbled with a marker, sways from the rusted doorknob.

Disappointed, Daniel throws his arms out and lets them swing limply as he stomps down the hallway back to his room.

"Okay, where was I..." Kris touches the mouse pad to bring the screen back to life. New notifications flash from the top corner of the screen. She clicks them, loading up one of her older videos, another cover of a song. The two-month-old video has only twelve new views, bringing the total to a whopping 39, with three new comments. She reads them.

'Almost fell asleep. U suck.'
'the cam quality is almost as bad as her look'
'Dude..... clean ur room!!'

"Screw you too." She mumbles as she closes out of the page to reopen her webcam. She grabs her guitar and stops when she sees herself on the screen. She turns around to look at the filth piled behind her on the floor and considers cleaning it first.

In Daniel's room, he lays on his stomach with his head propped on his hands, kicking his feet wildly in the air. Still pouting, he sighs and turns his head over to his dresser. On it sits his bike helmet, glistening from the light above. An idea pops in his head.

Grunting heavily, the quarterback for the ruthless Lakewood Panthers slams his hands on his helmet and pops his neck as he glares over at the offensive team standing no more than six feet away. The back of his black jersey reads 'Harris 13'. His eyes lock onto Morgan Chase, quarterback and his biggest threat of the Riverside Gators. The two hold an intense stare as both of their teams stand facing each other in the middle of the gridiron.

Morgan takes a quick glance over at the scoreboard, reading 21 for Home and Visitors 23. "Shit," he mumbles, knowing that they're only down by two but there's just a few minutes left on the clock in the final quarter. And this Harris guy, he's relentless. He looks over at his teammate Cesar Juarez, number 33, and watches as he rotates his shoulder blade in discomfort. After that tackle Harris delivered earlier, Morgan is surprised Cesar still has his arm attached. The Panthers are savage and will do nearly anything to win. Especially when the high stakes of this playoff determines who advances to the state tournaments.

It's been a while since he's seen the Riverside High football stadium so full, and that's probably because it's been a while since the Gators have had such a good season. The bleachers are packed from both sides, mostly full of their town's residents who are probably already planning their victory parties. And they should. It might be another few decades till they get another chance to do so. That is, if next year's new team follows their predecessor's pattern.

"So, she said yes." The center, Riley West, is hunched over in front of Morgan. He turns to flash a smile. "Tomorrow. Movies."

"Now. Game." An annoyed Morgan snarls, "Focus, man!"

Riley turns back. "Alright. Alright," he mumbles to himself as he looks down at the faded paint on the grass below him, "Thanks for the advice, Morgan. No problem, Riley. Anytime!"

A man clears his throat and he peers up to see a confused Panther staring at him. He sighs.

"I said yes." Casey Chambers, a beautiful blonde cheerleader with bright green eyes that could steal anyone's attention, leans over the railing as she talks to her best friend, and Morgan's sister, Taylor Chase. Taylor has long brunette hair, curled at the end, with blonde highlights. Both are natural beauties. Around Taylor's neck hangs an expensive looking camera.

Taylor smiles excitedly. "That's great! It's about time, Case. That guy has been obsessed with you since forever."

"I know. It's just—I told myself I wouldn't date another football player. Not after Morgan anyway. No offense."

"None taken." Taylor cracks a smile. "Sometimes I think he's adopted. Then I realize it's probably just wishful thinking."

Casey laughs, "Well, a girl can hope."

Taylor takes a quick glance at her brother, then back to Casey. "He still thinks of you, you know. I mean, he doesn't say it. I can see it though."

Rolling her eyes, Casey looks down at her pom-pom as she lets it twirl from her hand. "Yeah well, he has a funny way of showing it. Him and Paige got together, what, not even a week after the break-up?"

"CASEY!"

They both look over to see Paige Turner, head cheerleader and certified bitch, flagging her down. She's tall and well in shape. Extremely gorgeous, but relies far too much on her looks to get by. She stands in the middle of the cheerleading squad, alongside Julia Baker, sending more dramatic gestures Casey's way.

"Speak of the whore." Casey bluntly murmurs as she backs away from the railing, rolling her eyes. "Gotta go. Queen bee is buzzing. God, it's like she has supersonic hearing or something."

Taylor laughs as she watches Casey run over to the group of cheerleaders as they huddle into a circle, as if they were the football players about to charge into the field. She lifts the camera to her eye and peers through the lens. She focuses it just right and snaps a picture of Casey, then one of both teams out in the gridiron just as Riley passes the ball from underneath his legs to Morgan. The players charge at each other as Morgan winds around the group and into the open field ahead of him.

As the teams clash, a cluster of black, green, and white fills the center of the field. They quickly pull apart as the Panthers, much like they would in the wild, target their prey and take pursuit. In this case, that would be Morgan. Harris and two of his pals begin to circle around him.

"Morgan, over here!" screams Garrett O'Neil, one of Gator's running backs, as he waves his arms in the air from behind Harris to signal that he's open. He's fairly new to the team but has proven himself worthy over the past few games. However, it's going to take more than a few wins for him to reach Morgan's standards.

Harris and his teammates close in. For a second, Morgan considers passing the ball to Garrett. But then he thinks. Wouldn't it be great to be the one that gets this team to the state championship? After all these years of nothing but loss after loss? He smirks at the thought.

One of the Panther's linebackers jump in front of him, arms spread wide and ready to tackle. Morgan hunches over and lowers his head, shoving his body at full force into the linebacker's shoulder, sending him plummeting down into the ground. Harris roars, picking up speed after him, as Morgan reaches the ten yard line. Only 30 feet. He can do it.

Garrett falls back, watching in disbelief, as he lets his arms drop to his side. Panting, Riley stops next to him and pats him on the shoulder as they both watch Morgan reach the end zone.

The official, wearing a black-and-white striped shirt tucked into black slacks, steps out onto the field. He lifts his hands high in the air to clear the score point, as he blows on the whistle in his mouth. The crowd, well the majority of the crowd, stands up to cheer. Panther fans from the other side of the bleachers moan and groan as they crumble up their posters and toss them onto the field.

Taylor, now on the other side of the bleachers with the Panther fans, cuts through the aggravated crowd and manages to squeeze into a narrow spot against the railings. She lifts her camera and focuses the lens on Morgan as his teammates run toward him. She starts snapping pictures when somebody taps on her shoulder. She turns, the lens gazing past the vast field and into the stands when suddenly—awfully close—a smiling face peers back at her through the camera. She jumps, almost dropping it.

"Hey." Marc Douglas smiles at her. He's an attractive young man, built well both physically and mentally. His teeth glisten from his charming smile as he bites his bottom lip.

Taylor lowers her camera to her side and punches him playfully in the shoulder. "God, you scared the hell out of me!"

"Oww!" He rubs at his shoulder, putting on his baby face. "I'm sowwwy."

She smiles, rolling her eyes, as she leans in to peck him on the lips. "You're forgiven."

"Damn." He sighs, "I was kinda hoping you would say I was going to have to make it up to you. With... two tickets to Twenty One Pilots next week?" He lifts his hand and dangles two concert tickets in the air.

She squeals and jumps into his arms, overly excited as she kisses him. "Oh my god! You got them?!?!"

He doesn't respond, but just smiles as he watches her go crazy. She jumps down and snatches the tickets out of his hand, feeling them as if to make sure they were real.

"They're not fake." He rolls his eyes playfully. "I told you I wouldn't try doing that again."

Taylor glances up from the tickets and looks into his eyes, her smile widening even more. "You know I love you, right?"

He laughs as he grabs onto her waist and pulls her close, leaning in to give her another kiss. "I love you too."

"God, I fucking hate that guy." Garrett scoffs, staring at Morgan unbelievably as the rest of the Gator's crowd around him, chanting like some kind of endangered tribe. He turns to look at Riley. "He saw I was open. What if he didn't make it? Huh?! There goes state."

Riley removes his helmet and shakes his head, revealing a sweaty mess of dirty blonde hair. He's a country boy with a city look, not very muscular but very well toned and has smooth, tan skin. He cocks an eyebrow as he walks over to join his teammates. He turns back. "But he did. The guy likes his attention, so what?" He smiles as he runs over to join his friends.

Garrett sighs, looking down at the helmet in his hands. He looks up at the bleachers, noticing two scouts wearing business suits as they cut through the crowd and over to the exit. They both glance back, but in Morgan's direction. He lets out a deep, frustrated sigh.

"Nice game, dude!" Cesar laughs like a hyena, clearly hyped up on something other than adrenaline. "We gonna celebrate or what?"

Morgan glances around him as the cheerleaders approach them. Paige shoots him a menacing smile. "Hell yeah."

The car engine rattles as Taylor pulls up in front of Casey's house, or what she would consider a mansion compared to hers, and the car comes to a stop.

Casey grabs her gym bag as she exits the car. She shuts the door and leans over the rolled-down window. "I'm so jealous of you right now. Can we trade?"

"What?" She laughs.

"Marc for Riley. I wanna see Twenty One Pilots!" Casey sticks out her bottom lip and pouts like a child as she slings her bag over her shoulder.

Taylor turns to peer out the window, as if she's actually considering her offer. "Hmm... That wouldn't be a bad trade. One time, I saw Riley in the locker room..."

Casey gasps, reaching in her bag to dig out a pom-pom and leans through the window to slap Taylor with it. "Oh shut up, you slut!"

They laugh, clearly playing. Casey pulls away from the window.

"Goodnight, Case."

"Nite, lucky girl." She smiles as she spins around to face the house towering over her and begins to walk up the sidewalk to the front porch that wraps around to the house's right side.

Taylor sighs, noting the irony in that statement, as she watches Casey walk through her front door and lock it shut behind her. The house really is huge, even for the upscale neighborhood she's passing through. Two pillars hold a balcony that overlooks the front yard. Behind the eight foot fence is a nice swimming pool that lights up at night and automatically heats up in the winter. She thinks of all of the countless nights her and Casey spent having sleepovers and movie nights. They have been friends ever since elementary and, when Casey's mother discovered her living situation, let her come over as much as she wanted. She was pretty much raised in this house. She can't help but reminisce on her childhood every time she sees it.

Her phone rings and buzzes from the cup holder, startling her. She looks down to see Marc, making a silly pose with his tongue sticking out, and a smile immediately fills her face. She answers it. "This is Taylor Chase."

"Taylor Chase?" Marc plays along. "This wouldn't happen to be the same beautiful Taylor Chase that lucky Marc guy is with, is it? She is way too good for him."

"Why yes, this is she." She giggles as she pulls away from the curb and drives down the street. "And I agree."

He gasps, but she can hear his smile through the phone. "Well then, I guess I'm going to the concert alone..."

"Oh shut up. Besides, I have the tickets." Her smile widens. She stops at a stop sign and takes a right. "Maybe I'll just take someone else."

He gasps again. "You wouldn't dare!"

She sighs. "Okay, you caught me. I like you too much to do such a terrible thing."

"Okay, good." He laughs. "So, are you home yet?"

"No, not yet. Just dropped Casey off."

"Well, I'll let ya go so you can drive. Call me when you get home?"

She smiles. "Sure. Talk to you then."

"Bye, cutie." The call ends.

Taylor reaches a red light and eases to a stop. Out of nowhere a school bus pulls up next to her in the left lane, almost passing the red light as it screeches, coming to a sudden halt. She glances over to see Julia leaning against the window. "What the hell..." She squints her eyes as she glares over at the driver of the bus to see it's Morgan.

"Morgan?!" Her jaw drops as the light turns green, and the bus quickly speeds up to take a left. She spins the steering wheel to the left and peels out onto the street to follow the bus.

A crack of lightning illuminates the sky for a brief second as a storm forms above. Daniel stops his bike and removes his headphones. He peers up at the sky, feeling a drop of rain hit his cheek. It begins to drizzle. He tosses his hood over his helmet and looks forward at the narrow, long stretch of dark road ahead of him.

He's in a more rural part of town over on Shady Grove Blvd, one of the few streets that lead out of town. After the wind in the road, he should be passing Riverside Lake on his right. Then he should be only a few minutes from his friend's house.

He pops his headphones back in.

"It was so sexy." Julia, one of Paige's minions, bends her leg as she leans against the window, her cheerleading skirt lifting up to give Cesar a nice view.

His eyebrows raise as he gazes up at her. "Yeah. I mean, what was?"

"The way you tackled that other guy on the field." His smile widens as she scoots closer to him. She turns over to whisper in his ear, "I love yaoi."

Confused, he turns to her as she gently runs her hands down his neck and plays with the collar of his jersey. "Uhh... What is that?"

The bus swerves, almost peeling off the road, but Morgan regains control of the wheel. He takes a chug from a beer can, crushes it, and tosses it aside. Riley comes up from behind and clenches onto the back of the seat.

"Hey umm... Are you sure this is a good idea?!" he asks, scared out of his mind.

Morgan laughs as he signals Paige to fetch him another beer. She rolls her eyes as she reaches into the ice chest to dig one out. "Look, Riley. We're going to state!" Clearly shitfaced, he turns to grab Riley's shoulder, almost losing control of the wheel yet again. "What better way to celebrate than to hijack a bus with some good pals, go to the lake, skinny dip, and get laid?"

Riley stares at him blankly.

"That's what I thought." Morgan smirks. Paige tosses another beer on his lap.

"Anything else, master?"

He nods at her as he cracks open the can and begins to chug. "No thanks!"

Paige drinks from a beer of her own, feeling a little tipsy herself. "Look, if you can't drive pull over. You're gonna get us all killed before you get there."

"Or even worse. Arrested," Julia shouts from the back, her tone sadly serious.

Still feeling uneasy, Riley sits down in one of the seats and turns to see Garrett staring over at him.

"Why the hell did I agree to this?" Garrett asks, shaking his head.

Riley shrugs. "You and I both."

Honking comes from outside. Pissed, Taylor slams on her horns as she stares over at Morgan. She pulls up next to the bus, driving alongside it from the shoulder of the road. He grabs the lever next to him and pulls it, causing the bus doors to open. "Hey, baby sis!" He tosses his can aside and it falls through the open bus doors, tumbling out onto the street.

She stares in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?! What the hell are you doing?!"

Sighing, he shakes his head nonchalantly. "See. This is why I never invite you to places."

"Morgan, pull this goddamn bus over right now!"

"Buzzkill." He grabs the lever and pulls it, closing the door.

She honks again, this time keeping her palm pressed down hard on the horn. He ignores it as he turns back to say something to Cesar. The bus jolts again.

Her eyes widen as she sees they are approaching a wind in the road. She lifts her hand and presses on the horn again. He glances back just in time to turn the wheel. She takes a sigh of relief as they turn the corner, feeling her heart skip a few beats.

"Goddamnit, Morgan!" Paige screams from the seat next to Riley, as she holds onto it for dear life.

Rolling his eyes, he turns to peer back at them. "Oh, hush. We're almost there, guys."

More honking.

"Jesus Christ." A frustrated Morgan turns over to Taylor to see she is pointing at the road. She slams on her horn again, holding her hand against the wheel. He turns to the road, seeing a boy swerve left-to-right in the middle of the street.

Daniel doesn't pay much attention as he jams out to music, texting on his phone. The headlights of the bus cast around him and he looks back just as—

Morgan hits the brakes, the momentum still pulling the bus forward as he grabs the wheel and quickly turns it to the left. The tires skid on the road, as the bus turns, all of its passengers slamming against the wall or falling to the floor. Paige screams. Garrett slams into a glass window, cracking it. Before they can even register what's happening the bus flips on its right side and scrapes against the pavement, sparks flying, until it comes to a stop dead center in the middle of the road. Morgan, lying against the bus doors, groans as he glances up at the cracked windshield. And at the blood smeared against it.

Taylor grabs the wheel and swerves to the right, barely missing the tail of the bus by a few feet, and almost crashes into a tree. She spins it back to the left and—the second she hits pavement—she slams on her brakes, stopping about ten yards or so from the bus. From outside, all Taylor can hear is the noise of her engine rattling.

She looks up in the rearview mirror to see a red and orange light flash from a cracked stop sign mounted near the driver's window of the bus. A bicycle wheel rolls out into the middle of the road and tumbles over.

https://youtu.be/TfzLSHzp74k

"Driving away from the wreck of the day and it's finally quiet in my head." Kris, her hair combed and room clean, continues singing, "Driving alone, finally on my way home to the comfort of my bed. If this is giving up, then I'm giving up. If this is giving up, then I'm giving up, giving up on love. On... love." Kris lets out a sigh as she sets her guitar aside, and she reaches up to turn off her camera.

   ♫ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴠᴀʟʟᴇʏ / ғᴀʟʟᴏᴜᴛ ʙᴏʏ ♫  
♫ ᴡʀᴇᴄᴋ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʏ / ʟᴜɴᴀ ʙʟᴀᴋᴇ ♫