Chapter 1 - introduction

**disclaimer: the first two chapters are world building/ character building/ as well as character introductions.






Christopher "Chris" Adams walked out of third period with a large grin on his face, excited about seeing his girlfriend, Avery, in fourth period. He walked into class and immediately sat down next to her. She gave a weak smile and wave, which immediately made his stomach churn.

"Hey Avery!" He said, attempting to give her hug, until it was met with a side hug from her. He gave her a look, to which she leaned in and whispered, "Can we talk after school? It's important."

He nodded slowly, and she sat upright as class began.

For the rest of the school day, his hands felt clammy, and he was nervous. He wasn't sure what she wanted to say, considering things had been going rather well between the two of them. They recently hit six months the other week, and he'd taken her out on a nice date. He was just so unsure of what she wanted to talk about.

Eventually, his nerves calmed when the end of the day came about, and he rushed to find her sixth period class. After a hoard of students ran out, he found her, clutching at the straps of her backpack.

"Hey, Avery. So, um, what did you want to talk about?"

She sighed, and starting twirling her hair, "Look, Chris. You're a great guy and being with you has been so fun and amazing. It's just..." She paused, noticeably thinking, "Well, I mean, we graduate in a week now, and I already know we're going to different colleges and to be honest with you, I kinda wanna explore my options...."

His smile faded, and he felt as if he had been punched in the gut.

"It's not you, Chris, I just, well honestly I feel too young to be tied down and I want to explore myself in college, you know? I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

She smiled, doing her best to stay lighthearted, but Chris simply walked away.

"Chris! Look, I'm really sorry! Chris!?"

*****

Until graduation, Chris did his best to ignore (his now ex) Avery, which was actually rather easy to do, since she starting skipping out on fourth period for the last week anyway.

High school was nothing exciting for Chris in all honesty, since he had trouble making friends, and found himself to be quite awkward. However, he was hoping things would begin to change once college rolled around. He hoped his social anxiety would just go away, and he could do something more exciting than he had been doing.

Even dating Avery was something out of place for him, but it had happened so naturally. They had just sat together for fourth period, and began talking. Hell, he didn't work up the courage to ask to date, but she did, which is why it hurt even more than she ended it as well.

Graduation came and went, and now here he was, the day after, with his mom, Anne, breathing down his neck to get a job over the summer.

He lived with his mom solely to finish high school, but planned to go to college closer to his dad, Mark, so that visiting Anne would lessen and lessen.

"Get a job, so you don't spend all your time here being a damn free loader. I mean, you should've got one sooner but no, you had other crap to do." She rolled her eyes, and walked away, leaving Chris at the dinner table with his laptop, as he submitted his application.

Nearly an hour later, he got a response with an over-the-phone interview to his local Taco Bell. Another fifteen minutes passed, and he got the job.

*****

He spent the doing nothing but working, eating, sleeping, and gaming. It felt boring and ironic, like a shirt someone would find in a Walmart, but it was true. Although, working full time, with overtime did do his bank account some favors.

Yet, the time flew by anyways, and suddenly he was loading the last of his things into a U-Haul rental, and his car, waving goodbye to his mom, who seemed completely unbothered and just went back inside the house.

The drive was nearly seven hours, but he managed, stopping along the way for food and snacks. He had felt that his size pants were a bit snug, but paid no mind. Once he got to his apartment and settled down, he'll change his wardrobe immediately.

He had gotten an apartment off-campus (15 minute drive to campus) and it had only taken his about a week to completely unpack and settle in. Mark was only about a thirty minute drive from him, so a few days before school began, he figured he go out and visit.

He called up his Dad, who seemed excited to see his son, whom he hadn't seen in nearly three years, considering Mark had a new girlfriend at the time (now wife) and Anne had told him to never visit again, even to see Chris.

Chris never took it to heart, considering he knew he would leave to go closer to his Dad eventually.

He pulled up in the driveway, texted his Dad, and walked up to the door.

Immediately, he was met with a woman he'd never met before. She squealed in excitement, with a huge grin on her face. "Mark, sweetie! He's here! Oh, goodness, I'm Sophie! Oh, I'm just so excited to meet you, Christopher! I've heard so much about you!"

She went in for a hug, which allowed Chris to get a good feel of the woman before him. Chris himself was not a tall guy by any means, being 5'8 himself, meaning Sophie must have been anywhere from 5'2-5'3. She was soft everywhere, and quite warm to hug, so despite just meeting her, he gave her a hug back.

By no means was she a large woman, but she wasn't a skinny one either. If Chris had to guess, he'd say somewhere between 150-160.

"Christopher! Oh man, it's been ages!" Around from a room appeared his father, who appeared much more differently than three years ago. Mark had been tall, standing at 6'0. Before, he was rather tone, weighing roughly about 190.

The man who stood before him now was a thicker man, probably closer to 210, with a bit of a beer gut, and rounded out features. Yet, something Chris noticed was how much happier he looked than with Anne.

"Oh, Christopher, you look great!" His dad came in for a hug, "You staying for dinner? Sophie's lasagna is to die for!"

During his visit to his dads, Sophie formally introduced herself as Mark's wife. She was gentle and nice, something that Chris longed for in a mother, considering his own was mean and rough all the time. Immediately, Chris took a liking to her. The three of them talked about everything they'd miss out on. Mark and Sophie had gotten married only by the state, no wedding, and lived together now for two years. Sophie had been a chef previously, but wanted to settle down, and so Mark made her into a stay at home wife. Since Mark was a lawyer at a law firm, he made enough to support the house.

Chris had nothing exciting to tell them, only about Avery, his girlfriend who left for the exciting college experience.

"Well, I mean, she does have a point, I suppose...." Mark went on, before Sophie shushed him immediately, "Oh hush now, Mark. Even so, Chris seemed great, and shouldn't have hurt him so."

She smiled, offering to take his empty plate, where he cleared two helping of her food. His stomach felt full, but nothing to extreme.

"No matter. Point is, shes gone and you start college in a week. Make a few friends, get with a few girls, and you'll know who's the one for you."

The rest of the evening was spent with small talk, before Chris decided to head home. They offered him to stay the night, but he wanted to get a few things in order before classes. So, they said there goodbye, with Sophie insisting he take the leftovers, and Chris went about his way.