Misfits

Your name is Dave Strider, and you are going on a joyride.

The wind is whipping through your hair and the cold is biting at your skin. You make your way through the city you've known since before you were born, not giving a second glance to the signs and markers that you pass. You could drive in this town with your eyes closed. Which, you already practically are. Who the hell else do you know that wears sunglasses in the middle of winter except Bro? Like, goddamn, the sun hasn't even had a chance and you're all up in here like 'fuck you sun'. At least that's what you assume somebody would say.

Today is your last day, and hell if you ain't gonna enjoy it. Bro gave you the day off of school, thank god. You don't think you could deal with the fuckin waterworks. You already sent your goodbyes to your friends, adding a few 'ill miss you's and 'thank you for being there for me's and blah blah blah sentimental shit. But the truth is, you are so glad to be leaving.

Sure, you're gonna miss your friends and stuff, but the opportunity to finally leave everything behind is a relief. Not like you ever got into any trouble or anything, but it's easy to get sick of seeing the same people everywhere you go and going to the same places every day. And you are so goddamn sick of it.

You were on the verge of begging Bro to move to fuckin Canada or some shit, when he asked if you were okay with moving to New York. You had kept a stoic exterior and shrugged, "Yeah, whatever, can I order pizza?", but your excitement was nearly unbearable. You had called Rose that day to let her know, and she seemed pretty happy for you. You could tell that she was sad, though. God, all of her psychoanalyzing shit is rubbing off on you. Within the hour you were assaulted with texts and calls from your friends, but they mainly left you alone about it after that, under the impression that your frustrated tone meant you were too upset to talk about it. Ha.

You start your drive tomorrow morning, so you're trying not to use too much gas. After a bit you pull up to your apartment building and dash up the stairs, joy rising to your skin and putting a smile on your face. Seeing all of the boxes everywhere the second you open the door sparks something inside of you, and you feel the sudden urge to twirl around and sing, like fuckin Sound Of Music up in here.

"Dave. Dave. Dave what are you doing."

You stop your frolicking abruptly and turn to see Bro standing in the doorway. "I'm dancing, obviously. Maybe you need to get your eyes checked, man, I mean if you can't clearly see that I'm gettin my moves on over here-"

"Just. Go pack." He sighs and points in the direction of your room.

-

It was kinda hard to fit all of your shit into boxes, but you managed somehow. You had to give up some of the less important stuff, like family heirlooms and your grandpa's ashes, but you were at least able to keep your Friendship is Magic poster. You find your old digital camera from, like, three years ago, which is actually still functioning and in pretty good shape. You'll have to put that thing to good use. You also find some old pictures taken with said camera, but you can't seem to bring up any negative emotions about it. They're just some amateur shots of you and your friends, with some different group poses that make you chuckle a little.

It's pretty late by the time you finish, and Bro is already at work when you emerge for food. He left some money on the counter and a note telling you to order pizza. So, of course, you do what anybody else would do. You order Chinese and text your friends.

-

"Dave, if you don't mind my asking, where are we supposed to sit?"

You hadn't actually considered this, but you play it off. "What, Rose, are you too respectable of a lady to sit on the floor? Too high-class, might I say? Do you look down on us middle-class folk and scoff? Is your royal ass-"

"Too good for your floor? Yes, Dave. Yes it is." She smirks, and through all of the years you've known her, you are still surprised when she can finish your sentences perfectly like that.

Despite her comment, she still sits (rather properly for a girl that reads and writes gay wizard fanfiction) on your middle-class carpet. John gets the door when the food arrives, which takes much longer than paying a delivery man should take, and returns with arms full of Chinese food. You all sit in a circle, like you're participating in some sort of teenage girl slumber party.

"So do we play truth or dare now? Possibly some would you rather? Two truths, one lie? C'mon people, you aren't givin me any ideas."

"Dave we aren't twelve anymore." Thanks, John. "So we should play spin the bottle!"

Even Rose laughs at that, and it feels good to spend some time with your friends before you leave. Jade smiles at you sadly when you make eye contact with her. You'll miss her. You'll miss all of them. But right now, you're going to enjoy these noodles and be with your friends.

-
The morning comes much faster than you expected it to. Your friends left around two, so you get a few hours of sleep before Bro wakes you up. Everything is a blur between the time you wake up and the time you get in the car, but you vaguely remember shoving everything into the back of your truck (including furniture) and securing it. You become fully aware once you are out of town, and it kind of just, hits you. You are leaving everything behind. Your friends, who you have known since you were in elementary school. Your town, that even your great grandparents lived in. Your home, where you became who you are. Everything.

You're not sure if Bro notices when you start crying, but you're glad he doesn't say anything.

-

A few hours into the drive you check your phone. No messages. That throws you off a bit. You had been expecting at least a message from Rose wishing you luck, but guess not. At least you know that they care about you.

-

You fall asleep for a while, not sure how long, but you must have definitely been catching up on your sleep because when you wake up the car is stopped and Bro is taking boxes out of the back of the truck. You had hoped that you would at least finally have a house, goddamnit, but you are parked in front of a huge apartment building. Bro is walking inside with one of the boxes, so you grab one and follow him.

He gets into an elevator and presses the top floor, which is a pretty high number. The elevator shakes as you go up, and when it finally reaches the top floor you realize that this is gonna take a while.

-

The apartment is actually pretty nice. Sure, it's a downsize from your previous home, but hey a home's a home. You offered to let Bro have the room, but he refused. He said he had to be a 'proper gentleman.'You both finally get everything inside, even though it did take quite a while like you thought it would. You're probably not gonna get all of your shit unpacked for a few days, knowing how much you procrastinate, so you don't even try to get started. You're absolutely exhausted, though, so some time to relax sounds nice.

You get your bed made and unpack your laptop, deciding to waste some time that way. Your phone buzzes as soon as you sit down, and no matter how much you want to ignore it, you check anyways.

Hello Dave.
Assuming that you are awake and alive and not asleep and/or dead due to some very unfortunate circumstances, how are you settling in?

how could i be asleep and dead rose please explain

I repeat, how are you settling in?

how the fuck do you even know if im there yet
thats the real question

I did a few calculations.
Must I repeat myself again?
I tire of this, Dave.

im gettin all my settlin on up in here
im like the motherfuckin english settlers
gonna go find some indians and make em give me food
i think theres some next door actually
peace out lalonde

Wait, Dave.

what
rose them indians aint gonna be there forever
gonna die of disease or some shit

I wish you the best of luck.
Stay in contact, please.

Does she honestly think you would ever just forget her? You don't think you could if you wanted to. You've known her since first grade, goddamnit. First. Grade.

You could never forget any of them.

-

You were right, after a few days you and Bro finally got everything unpacked. Bro gave you some money to go school shopping, which you think is really unnecessary, like seriously you aren't going to your first day of freshman year or anything jesus. But it would be nice to get some new pencils (the kind that cost like seven dollars each) and clothes.

It's your first time actually going out of the apartment since you got here, and you have no idea where anything is. You have Google Maps open on your phone, and even though you could probably just walk to Wal-Mart or some shit, but you opt to drive. The vehicle is the only thing familiar to you in this new town, and there's alot more traffic than there was back in Texas. You locate a thrift store and pull into the parking lot, anxious to be in a new place. You look completely out of the ordinary here, but you walk in like you either don't know or don't care.

There are actually some pretty nice clothes here, and for a fairly low price. You browse for a while, not even bothering to try anything on, because you know none of it will fit properly anyways. In the end, you walk out with a red hoodie, a white t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and one of those seatbelt belt things with music notes on it. All for twenty dollars. You know how to budget shop.

It's winter break right now, so school doesn't start until Monday. Seeing as its Friday today, you have plenty of time to do absolutely nothing and fuck around for two days. When you get back home, you're putting away your clothes when you find a little strip of paper tucked in between the jeans. You're hesitant to open it, but it ends up just being a sloppily written phone number with a name beneath it.

You don't even think twice about tossing it into your trashcan. You weren't really paying attention when you checked out, but you know she wasn't all that attractive, and you wouldn't even have called anyways. Let's get something straight. Or, not straight in this case. You have just accepted, as a fact in your life, that you do not like girls and will never like girls. You've tried. You even dated Jade for like, a week, but she knew before you did that it wasn't gonna work out. You even thought you were ace for a while, but no, that is not the case. You've just never really had a 'crush'. Sure, you think some guys are hot, but you just don't jump at every opportunity. A guy can have standards.

That's pretty much all that came out of your little shopping trip. You didn't even get any new pencils like you had planned to. So disappointing. Your phone buzzes right when you sit down, again, and you let out a loud groan of disapproval.

hey dave!
rose told me you were bothering your neighbors
that's not very nice! >:B
and kind of racist?
i think

john we went over this
its not racist if they arent offended

dave i think you lived in texas too long
speaking of
how's new york?

the view from the window is chill
that is all I have to say on the matter

dave you depress me
if i lived in new york i would go out every day!

oh hi my names john egbert now and i live in new york and i go out every day and that makes me way cooler than dave strider in every way possible :B

oh no you didn't
dave you just crossed a line
this
:B
is my thing
i feel hurt dave
dave
dave?

sorry got distracted bro

okay
well
i'll talk to you tomorrow i guess :B

yeah sure :B

dave!

Oh, John. Sweet little Egbert. You've known him as long as you've known Rose, and he's still the same. Yes, you are comparing your friend to a first grader. At least that means you don't have to deal with a Mature And Responsible Teenager™. You really care about him. You wouldn't tell him that, of course, but it's true. You were there for him when his mom died, his dog got hit by a car, and even when he got his permit. That last one was way more stressful than you'd imagine.

You've been there for them. But what about you? Who held you when your parents died? Who got you ice cream when you didn't make the soccer team? Who helped you study for that big Geometry test? Not Bro. Not your friends.

Your name is Dave Strider, and you are starting to realize that you are all you have.