Chapter 1
The sun crawled up from the horizon, its golden light spilling over the world, Thanos groaned as his alarm broke through the silence, stabbing into his skull like a drill, half asleep, he flailed an arm toward his phone, missing the snooze button entirely, after a few failed attempts, he gave up, letting his hand fall over the edge of the bed, he was too exhausted to move, his body stiff from sleeping in an awkward position, maybe if he just lay still, the world would forget about him.. right?
Riiing!
“Fucking hell!” His phone vibrated violently against the nightstand. With a resigned sigh, he grabbed it, squinting at the caller ID. Se-mi. Of course. What in the hell could she possibly want at six in the goddamn morning?
“What the fuck do you want?” he grumbled, voice thick with sleep.
A soft giggle came from the other end “Wow, not even a ‘good morning’? Rude much”
Thanos rolled his eyes, even though she couldn’t see him. “I was sleeping peacefully, unlike you.
“Well, you were sleeping,” she said cheerfully, “but now you’re late for school.”
“I don’t give two shits, i’m skipping, I’m exhausted”
There was a brief pause before she opened her mouth “Did you forget we like have an exam today?… Worth half your GPA? If you miss it, you’re screwed, like, you might have to repeat the year”
Thanos froze, his half functioning brain struggling to process her words.
“…Fuck,” he muttered “I knew I shouldn’t have stayed up playing video games..”
Se-mi laughed “Told you, Now hurry the fuck up” She hung up before he could respond
Thanos groaned, tossing his phone onto the bed before collapsing back onto the comfy sheets, he stared at the ceiling for a moment, questioning all his life choices, then finally dragged himself up, his muscles ached from sleeping like a lizard, stretching with a wince, he let out a tired sigh before walking towards his wardrobe, grabbing the first clothes he saw, and throwing them onto the bed
He shuffled into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and brushed his teeth, his reflection stared back, baggy eyes, and a deadpan expression, but he ignored it…
As he stepped out, his eyes drifted toward his drawer…
For a moment, he just.. stood there.
Then, hesitantly, he walked towards it and pulled open , revealing a small bag of pills. He sifted through them, picked one out, then reached for his cross necklace, flipping it open, he tucked most of the pills inside, but kept one for now, he popped it in his mouth, he exhaled sharply before shutting the necklace.
~~
Now here he was, standing at the entrance of this hellhole. School.
He scanned the crowd for his friends and spotted them near the gates
“Thanos!” Se-mi waved, “The bell’s about to ring, You barely made it.”
“Yeah, as if I wanted to be here,” he muttered, rubbing his temple.
“I didn’t wanna come either… yawn… but, GPA…” Gyeong-su mumbled beside him, looking half dead. Right. They had both stayed up all night playing video games, at least Thanos wasn’t alone in his suffering.
“This should be a lesson to both of you,” Mi-na sighed, crossing her arms “Maybe don’t stay up all night playing pointless video games and actually get some sleep?”
Thanos scoffed “Who do you think I am? Someone with a healthy sleep schedule? I sleep whenever I want”
Mi-na rolled her eyes “I was trying to help, but that was so rude, then again… should I really expect better from you?”
Thanos squinted his eyes at her “Hey! what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“At least I don’t do girly stuff” he shot back, crossing his arms
Se-mi let out a soft chuckle “Thanos, you’re really making a fool of yourself right now, like literally, do you know what you’re saying?, do you know that you even exist?”
“Oh, really?” Mi-na smirked, pointing at his hands “then explain that?”
Thanos followed her gaze to his own fingers painted nails, He immediately shoved his hands into his pockets “Painting nails isn’t girly!” he shot back “They’re my Infinity Stones, okay?”
Se-mi cringed. “Oh… wow.” She nodded slowly “That’s… so bad.”
“HOLY SHIT, WILL YOU GUYS STOP PICKING ON ME?!” Thanos groaned.
“Not a chance,” Se-mi said smugly. “It’s way too fun.”
Ring!
Gyeong-su jolted awake from his half sleeping state “O-Oh, what?! What happened? Is there a fire? IS THE SCHOOL BURNING?!”
Se-mi chuckled “No, dumbass, the day’s just starting, Please, for the love of God, never pull an all nighter again, you look hilarious.”
Thanos sighed “I’m gonna take this fucking exam and leave, I need sleep.”
“You do know…” Min-su said hesitantly, “the exam is in fifth period… right?”
Thanos blinked.
“OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE”
Se-mi burst out laughing “Good luck, nerd!” she called, waving as she walked off, Mi-na following right behind.
Thanos groaned, running a hand down his face. Great. Now he was stuck here for hours…
~~
Classes were shit. Physics, English, Geography, and now Biology.. the last one before break, & of course, he had to sit next to Min-su, not that he hated the guy, but he was just so boring, just sitting there, Listening to the teacher, How boring of him.
DNA replication, enzymes, polymerase, unzipper… what the fuck was all this? His brain wasn’t processing any of it. He tried.. he really did.. but holy shit, it was impossible.
And then.. finally..
RIIIIING!
Thanos was out of there, He grabbed his stuff and bolted, heading straight to his locker…
Now standing in front of it, he felt himself practically falling asleep on his feet. He needed sleep… so Badly..
Moving lazily, he reached for the knob and swung the door open… a basic-looking locker, nothing fancy.. A few stickers Min-su gave him… a couple of pictures of a ragdoll cat, one Se-mi had forced on him..
Not even her cat, either. Some dork’s.. Nam-smth? Nam-su? Whatever…
Thanos tossed his biology book inside, then let his forehead drop against the cold metal door with a thud…
The pills he took before coming in? Absolute garbage… Wore off way too quickly… he needed something stronger, something to clear his head, to wake him up…
His eyes flicked down to his necklace.
No… Not here… The hallway is packed, too many people.. he needed a spot. Somewhere quiet.
He wandered in the halls, peeking into classrooms, each one had at least someone inside..
Gosh. What the hell?
Then, finally..
Room 124. The music room.
He took a quick glance inside. Empty. Perfect.
entering inside,he shut the door behind him and scanned the room.. His stomach dropped slightly when he spotted the security camera… Shit. He forgot about that…
Okay. Think.
His eyes darted around the room until he spotted a desk, good enough. He quickly ducked under it, out of view, and reached out for his necklace, opening it, he pops a pill, and swallowed it.
Then he stared at the necklace in his hand.
“This… isn’t enough,” he mumbled.
So he took an another one, Now it was fine.
Leaning back against the wall of the desk, he let out a breath..
Silence…
No annoying chatter, no one barking orders at him… Just peace.… its what he needed, he smiled softly..
Then..
Ahem.
Thanos yelled and jumped up, slamming his head against the desk, at the sudden noise.
“OW! fuck! What the hell?!” he hissed, rubbing his forehead as he scrambled out…
Standing there was some student.. probably his age.. short black hair in a messy jellyfish cut, holding a stack of music sheets, he looked like a girl at first glance, but nah
“What are you doing here?” the guy asked.
Thanos frowned “I could ask you the same thing”
“I spend my break here” He raised an eyebrow. “Now your turn, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Nothing?..”
The guy just stared at him. “I just saw you popping pills.”
Thanos immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. “Shut the fuck up! I don’t need anyone finding out, okay?!” he whisper-yelled at him, then let go.
The kid smirked “Relaaaxxx.. I won’t tell…..”
Thanos sighed in relief.
“…If you give me one..”
Thanos blinked “I—what?!”
“You heard me.”
He groaned, then ducked back under the desk, patting the spot beside him.. “Fine. Sit down.”
The guy rolled his eyes but crouched next to him… thanos popped open his necklace, handed over a pill, and smirked... “Junkie.”
The dude just chuckled and swallowed it…
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Thanos broke the silence… “You said you spend your break here?”
The guy nodded..
“Thats.. Weird. Why?”
“I like being alone.”
“What do you even do in here? Sitting here all break sounds boring as hell.”
“I play the piano…”
“Ohhh, so you’re a loner with no friends?”
Nam-gyu shot him a glare. “Fuck off how does that make me a loner… I have a few friends..”
Thanos hummed “Hmm… I know! I can be your friend” He grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
“What the—” Nam-gyu stiffened at the sudden gesture, looking at him weirdly, “Uh… sure?”
“GREAT! What’s your name?”
“Uh… Nam-gyu.”
Thanos paused for a moment… Nam-gyu… That name sounded familiar, but whatever. He grinned.
“Well, my name’s Su-bong, but just call me Thanos.”
Nam-gyu’s eyes widened slightly “Ohhh… so you’re Thanos?”
Thanos smirked “You know me? Heh, shouldn’t be surprised, I am pretty famous in the school”
Nam-gyu giggled “Mmhm. My friend Se-mi talks about how annoying you are.”
Thanos gasped dramatically “SE-MI?! How dare she!”
Nam-gyu just laughed “I mean… she’s not wrong tho..”
“COME ON! I’m not that bad!” Thanos pouted.
“You’re acting like a child.”
“Fuck off!”
Nam-gyu only chuckled. A brief silence passed, then Thanos perked up.
“You said you play the piano, right?”
Nam-gyu nodded.
“Shit, that’s cool! Hey, I lowkey wanna be a music artist, I need help, would u wanna volunteer?”
Nam-gyu chuckled “sure, I guess?”
“Let’s go!” Thanos beamed “Play something! I wanna hear!”
Nam-gyu smiled, grabbed his sheets, and walked towards the piano, thanos trailed after him.
“I’ve been working on some melodies” Nam-gyu said, adjusting himself on the bench “I need criticism.”
“Oh, cool,..and where am I supposed to sit? I can’t stand here all day, my poor legs will collapse-“
Nam-gyu sighed. “Dunno, man.. the floor?”
Thanos scoffed, then plopped down, Nam-gyu just shook his head, then placed his fingers on the keys and started playing.
His hands moved smoothly, his eyes locked on the sheet music, the melody was soft, calming, even. Thanos listened, impressed.
Minutes passed, Nam-gyu played different tunes, and surprisingly, Thanos recognized a few, they talked in between pieces, and thanos kept day dreaming about becoming a music artist.
“Shit, bro, this is fire!” Thanos grinned.
Nam-gyu chuckled “Thanks… But, uh, the bell’s about to ring…I gotta go.”
Thanos groaned “Bummer”
Nam-gyu gathered his sheets. “If you wanna stay here and skip class, thats fine. just, please, turn off the lights after..”
“Nah, I got an exam.” Thanos stood, hands on his hips.
“Alright, then” Nam-gyu flicked off the lights and left.
~~
Thanos headed back to his locker, planning to memorized whatever he could before the exam, but just as he opened it his locker
RIIIIIINNNGG!
“OH, COME ON!”
A few people turned to stare, but Thanos didn’t care. He slammed his locker shut.
Time to go fail an exam.