High school was a lot less chaotic than his house, and it was definitely a lot more boring in comparison. Sure, the hallways were as crowded as the car packed with kids, but there was no yelling or screaming- just a big buzz of chatter as students interacted with each other.

He swiftly headed to homeroom, hopefully not drawing the eye of the certain somebodies he was avoiding. Homeroom was excellent- only his friends were in there. Well, his girlfriend too, but he was less nervous and more awkward being around her right now.

He swiftly made it to Mrs. Carren's room- Mrs. Carren insisted that she "wasn't a Karen because her name was spelled Carren and pronounced 'Serren'," but everyone in the class ignored that and called her Karen anyway. The desks were scooted together, so that friends could talk with friends while they waited for the useless class of homeroom to give way to their first period.

Dakota quickly spotted his only two friends- the weirdos of homeroom- sitting in the corner waiting for him. 

He sat down at the desk that they had scooted together for him.

"Oh, seems like the Sith Lord himself has finally arrived," snapped a girl- brown hair with pink money pieces.

"When did you die your money pieces pink?" he asked in surprise, for it was completely out of character for his friend. Her real name was Sophia, but she went by "Soap" because Sophia was too girly for her. The nickname Soap completely contrasted her daily appearance, however, because she was often dressed in her favorite overalls and jacket that had grass stains and whatever-else stains on them.

She popped a bubble from her signature minty gum and huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Mom thought I was transitioning into a boy because I, 'wasn't girly enough,'" she said, very angrily, "So I replied, 'I wouldn't want to be a boy because boys are stupid'- no offense, guys-" Soap apologized to Dakota and their other friend Ethan, who was silently listening and playing with her hair, "Anyway, I was like, 'So, what if I was going to be trans, you transphobic-!' And then I blew up on her."

"Wow," commented Dakota.

"Yeah, and then, when I went to dye my money pieces again, she was like, 'I'm not paying for your money pieces unless they are pink!' And I just had to have my money pieces I mean, that's what makes me...me!" she groaned, "So, I agreed. Now, I have this disgusting color on my head."

"I think it looks nice," commented Ethan, "It complements your skin tone perfectly." Ethan wanted to be a hairstylist, and always had his hands in someone's hair- Mostly Soap's though. He looked like Cinna from the hunger games except with long dreadlocks, and he looked a lot older than his age of eighteen. He always wore these god-awful, flowery button-up shirts, which he called fashion, and a subtle touch of make-up around his eyes.

However, whatever he wore, he looked pristinely beautiful in it. 

"Yeah...but...I was thinking about what mom said about transitioning," Soap said, while Ethan braided her hair for her. Soap was oblivious, but Dakota knew he had a big-time crush on Soap- which is why he always fixed her hair for her in the morning.

"Are you thinking of transitioning?" Dakota asked. Soap smacked him in the shoulder. 

"Did you not hear what I just said? No! Boys are stupid, and I don't want to be one...But girls are also stupid...and I don't think I want to be one of those either," she said.

"Non-binary, then?" Ethan suggested. Soap smiled.

"Exactly!" she said. Ethan chuckled at her enthusiasm. Then his chuckle died and he bit his lip. 

"So...have you guys heard about the school dance coming up?" Ethan brought up, "You guys going?"

"God no!" Soap exclaimed, which caused Ethan to frown in disappointment. He silently tied her hair with a hair tie. "As a dancer, I strictly boycott school dances due to my distaste for the unintellectual grinding involved."

"Some dancers like that stuff, Soap," Dakota pointed out, "Especially high school dancers."

"Well not me!" she protested, "Grinding is just dry-humping to a beat. It's a disgrace, and I'd much rather do ballroom dancing than school dances any day!"

Ethan and Dakota both winced. They knew her hatred for ballroom dancing too. Because even if she was completely into men, she hated every single one of them other than Dakota and Ethan.  Ethan had thrown out the term 'demisexual' before, which sounded nice to both Soap and Dakota. Soap, however, obviously showed a more preference toward men because she hated women more.

For example:

"Hey guys," said Dakota's girlfriend, announcing her presence. Unlike Dakota, who already had his chair scooted with his friends, his girlfriend had to drag her own chair to the group. That was no doubt Soap's doing, since her mom's behavior had given her a growth of hatred toward other women. Especially more girly women.

"Hi, Lenore," Ethan said kindly, because that was Ethan- kind. Meanwhile, Soap just narrowed her eyes and mumbled "great" under her breath.

Lenore was a basic white girl. Pretty brown hair done in locks, a decent amount of make-up, and clothing that looked like it came off a mannequin at a clothing store. Perfectly matched. She was like a blank canvas. Kind-of boring.

She mostly distanced herself from Dakota's friend group because, as Soap explains, "She's not popular, but popular enough to not want us around." Soap, who refused to shave and wear make-up, constantly grumbled about her being a basic girl. Ethan and Dakota have often pointed out that not everyone is unique, and that's okay. 

Lenore kissed Dakota on the cheek and sat with him. Dakota was a stereotypical bad-boy-with-good-heart, and he was double sure that was why Lenore, a goody-two-shoes, was so attracted to him. What made him attracted to her? Well... he didn't really know.

"So, are you planning on going to the dance with Dakota?" Ethan asked, as if Dakota didn't make that decision. Lenore bit her lip as if she were unsure. She and Dakota were still in the process of reconsidering their relationship status.

"I'm not entirely sure at this point. School dances are overrated," she said, her voice a little hoarse, and Dakota knew why. She often liked to read books out loud in her room by herself; at least, that's what she told Dakota. She would read for so long that her voice would crackle the next morning. It was either that, or she had been crying, and Dakota couldn't tell the difference. Even after six months of dating.

Soap claimed it was because she was sucking another man's dick behind Dakota's back, but Dakota knew that Lenore was definitely not a cheater. She was too goody-two-shoes for that.

"Yeah, I don't like dances," Dakota supported.

"You don't like anything," Soap rolled her eyes, "Pessimist."

"Hypocrite," Dakota mumbled underneath his breath.

Soap was about to unleash another insult when the bell rang for first period.

"Saved by the bell," Soap said, narrowing her eyes as she picked up her denim patch-filled backpack, "I'll get you next time, Moore! Just you wait!"

Dakota smiled as he and Ethan split with Soap to go to English together.

He had a nice family, a pretty girlfriend, and supportive friends.

What more could he want?

~{()}~

He didn't know what he was going to do in life. 

As he approached the end of his senior year, his English teacher Mr. Morgan delved deeper and deeper into finding a career for our senior project. Dakota spent his whole childhood fumbling through orphanages and running out onto the streets, looking after his siblings. He didn't have a clue as to what he could become later in life, let alone what he would enjoy.

He thought of baking before- but that was his mom's passion, not his. He didn't find any joy in baking, not really.

He thought of going into child care maybe, since he took care of his sisters. But he didn't take care of them like someone would normally do. Also, they were living on the streets their whole life until they were adopted. Also Also, who would want their child to be looked after by a guy who frowned most of the time and had snake bites? No one. That's who.

So, he still hadn't chosen a career and was often banging his head against anything he could find due to frustration.

What career fit him the most? 

What would he choose in the end?

~{()}~

When Dakota and his mom arrived at home in the evening, his hair had been re-dyed. Black with green tips- that's how he liked it. He spent a lot of consideration into what his favorite color was, but he figured it was green. Sure, he had black everything, but he got more excited at the sight of the bright green than he did any other color.

His mom got straight to work on dinner, which everyone in the family had a say on at some point.

"What are you making for dinner, Papa?" Avil wondered. Nick smiled.

"Your father's favorite!" he replied, "I'm hoping it will cheer him up."

"What's his favorite?" Dakota asked.

"Spaghetti! With meatballs," he smiled, "It's so easy to make too! He'll love it."

"He's going to be here for dinner?" Avil asked, "Since when?"

"Avil!" scolded Nick, furrowing his eyebrows.

"He's right though," Dakota said, "Since when?"

Nick looked between the two, as if he was debating on whether or not to tell them.

"Since I asked him to," he said, "But he also wanted to be here for dinner. He always does."

Dakota one-hundred-percent believed that his mom was lying through his teeth. 

However, Nick just continued to cook dinner. He pulled out pots and baking sheets; he made the meatballs from scratch, and added spices to the pre-made sauce- spices that he had to use a stool to reach. He boiled the noodles to al dente, and cut and basted some bread to stick in the oven.

Dakota found watching someone cook mesmerizing. It was like making something out of nothing.

The food was almost finished when Xavier entered the house. He had his suit unbuttoned by a few buttons, and his hair looked like it was thrown by the wind. He set down his suitcase on the table and took off his suit jacket.

As per usual, Nick's eyes lit up. For someone who looked so cool and threatening, Nick really just was a softy. He smiled bigger than his usual and wrapped his arms around Xavier's waist, digging his face into Xavier's chest.

"I'm so glad you're here!-" Nick looked in tears he was so happy- "I have a great meal planned. I made your favorite- spaghetti with meatballs and-"

"I'm not hungry," Xavier replied with no emotion, "I'm going to go upstairs."

"Wait!" Nick called grabbing his husband's arm. Nick was clearly stronger than the two, and managed to stop Xavier in his tracks, "Did you have a rough day or something? After I hand out the food for the kids, we can go upstairs, and I can give you a massage, if you need-"

"I just want to be left alone," Xavier interrupted, yanking his arm away from Nick and going over to the staircase that led to the second floor of the house. 

Nick looked disappointed, in fact he looked extremely upset, but then he took a deep breath and resumed his some-what happy disposition. 

"Well, it looks like your father isn't going to be joining us," he said, going over to the food again, "More for us then." His smile faded into a somewhat emotionless expression. Dakota was almost sure he was trying to hold back tears.

He shared a look with Avil, who obviously thought the same thing. They hated Xavier for hurting their mom like that. Xavier was a constant let down.

"Yeah Mom," Dakota smiled, "More for us."

His mom looked up at him with gratitude for aiding in the positivity- something that Dakota didn't often show unless his mom was around. Nick brought out the best in everyone.

Hopefully, Xavier was nicer to him when the kids weren't around.

"Tomorrow you should bring your girlfriend to dinner," Nick remarked, "After all, we have one seat open."

Dakota nodded, seriously considering it. He should probably put more effort into their relationship anyway. Plus, it could make mom happier if that seat was filled.

"Okay, I'll ask her at school tomorrow," Dakota replied.

"Good," Nick smiled, but it wasn't all there. 

Dakota hoped it wouldn't stay gone for long.