Black Hollow: Awakening

December 20 | Friday

Black Hollow Academy operated differently than most schools in the country.

Students attended from the age of sixteen, and the program itself lasted six years.

During the final two, students could choose one of the specializations offered by the school and give their education a specific focus.

As a result, they graduated with a diploma equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.

Will Morgan decided it was the perfect place for him. He’d never had a plan for his life, so he figured he would just go with the flow—if, after four years, he still hadn’t discovered what he was actually good at, he’d just pick something safe and not too complicated.

He thought returning to his hometown would be a refreshing experience.

A new environment, a new school, getting out from under the care of his grandparents and their old-fashioned views…

It was supposed to be a new beginning. And it was, just not the one he’d dreamed of.

The first year flew by in the blink of an eye, bringing with it even more uncertainty.

As if that wasn’t enough, he was once again cast in the role of the social outcast. If it weren’t for Danny…

Oh God. Danny.

Will bolted to his roommate’s room.

“Dan,” he said, bursting in. “Danny!” he called out, walking over to the bed to shake Danny’s shoulder.

Danny pried his eyelids open.

“I didn’t hear the alarm.”

“That’s weird, because I heard your alarm. Like, three times.”

“Hrnngh…” Dan made an unidentifiable noise. “What time is it?”

“Seven thirty.”

That jolted Danny awake instantly.

“Fuck,” Danny swore, untangling himself from the sheets.

They didn’t have time to properly get ready.

Although Will could have sworn he’d laid out his clothes the night before, he now couldn’t find them.

Rummaging through his closet for something that looked halfway decent, his hand landed on a green T-shirt, but finding a clean pair of pants proved impossible.

He was forced to fish a pair of jeans from the laundry hamper, and Danny dove in right after him, apparently facing a similar problem.

They both ended up at the bathroom sink, brushing their teeth in a hurry.

Glancing at his reflection, Will didn’t like what he saw.

He was slender, a little over five-foot-nine, with blue eyes and thick, dark hair, and he hated his sickly pale complexion, which was prone to all sorts of breakouts.

The recent late nights had taken their toll; the circles under his eyes were so pronounced he looked like someone had punched him.

What was he supposed to do? He’d wanted to enjoy his vacation for as long as possible.

Danny looked completely different. He was roughly the same height, but his skin had a beautiful, olive tone.

He had brown eyes and matching hair that he hadn’t cut in a several months, so now it reached almost to his shoulder blades.

He’d tied it back in an exceptionally sloppy ponytail, though it perfectly suited his unkempt stubble.

Dan was damn handsome, though it was hard to tell because he couldn’t care less about his appearance. Will was jealous of that sometimes.

They finally managed to get out of the house. The walk to school took less than fifteen minutes.

“So, where are we going?” Will asked.

“What?”

“After school. To celebrate the first day back.”

“Celebrate our glorious return to hell?” Dan snorted, and Will let out a small laugh. “No, thanks. Besides, I can’t. I’m going to work.”

“You got a job?”

“If all goes well, I will.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

“They only called me back last night.”

“Did you get into that coffee shop, or…?”

“No, I’ll be selling hot dogs to brats at the Athena,” Danny muttered, showing not a shred of enthusiasm. “It’s a trial shift. I have to prove myself.”

“But they’re going to pay you for it, right?” Will asked, remembering how similar stories had ended.

Danny shrugged.

“They’ll either pay me or they won’t.”

“Dan. You should…”

“Yeah?”

“You know. Stand up for yourself.”

“You can’t really stand up for yourself when you don’t have a choice. Because if I had a choice, I wouldn’t agree to a shitty trial shift. I have to chip in for rent somehow, right?”

Will felt awful. He hated this topic.

“You don’t have to,” he replied gently. “The bills aren’t that high. We’ll manage, right?”

“God, don’t even start,” Danny scolded. “Besides, even if I agreed to that, I’d still need cash. I have practically nothing to wear. I only fit into two pairs of pants, and they’re already tearing.”

“I can lend you money.”

Dan shot him a glare.

“Seriously?”

Will fell silent. Conversations like this often turned into arguments, so he preferred not to push it. The thing was, it really wasn’t easy to find a job in this town, especially a part-time one. BHA was quite popular, attracting a lot of students from the surrounding area.

“I really envy you, you know?” Dan said at one point, letting out a long sigh.

“My parents being dead?” Will asked.

Danny gave him a startled look but relaxed when he saw Will wasn’t offended by the remark.

“No, the fact they left you a house and a pile of cash. Mine wouldn’t even give me bus fare.”

Will smiled sympathetically. His parents had died when he was four.

The subject should have been a sore spot, but since he didn’t remember them at all, he felt strangely detached from the whole story.

After the accident, he had moved from Black Hollow to Greenhill to be raised by his maternal grandparents.

While he had a good relationship with them, he felt they were holding him back too much.

As soon as the opportunity arose, he returned to his family home—which was now his, after all—along with the insurance money that allowed him to study without worrying about expenses.

At last, they reached the gates of hell.

“Remember to stay safe!” Marika Olsen greeted them. She was handing out paper bags with condoms and informational flyers. “This year started without any surprises. Let’s keep it that way!”

Danny pointedly ignored her. Will couldn’t bring himself to do the same, so he accepted the gift.

“One more for your boyfriend,” Marika added, handing him a second bag.

Will forced a smile and rejoined his friend.

Danny wasn’t his boyfriend, though many people automatically assumed they were a couple.

It was no wonder—two gay guys living under one roof usually sparked such assumptions, though Will never understood why.

He and Dan were good friends, but they weren’t compatible in any other way.

They were both looking for something completely different.

“Here.” Will handed Danny the precious gift.

“God. This is so embarrassing, seriously. Do they really think people nowadays don’t know how to use protection?”

“Maybe they think some of us can’t afford condoms.”

Dan snorted with laughter.

“Well, they hit the nail on the head there.”

“What I find surprising is the assumption that either of us will get a chance to use them.”

“Well… You might.”

Will frowned, about to ask what he meant, but then he saw HIM.

Oscar Summers was one of the most handsome guys Will had ever seen in his life.

Slender, about the same height as Will, with a gorgeous, golden tan that brought to mind distant, sunny beaches, and light brown, thick hair you just wanted to run your fingers through.

Will had actually had the chance to do just that.

In fact, he’d had the chance to do a lot more, having fooled around with Oscar several times last year.

One-time make-out sessions could be chalked up to the heat of the moment, but since it had happened again, Will wanted to believe Oscar was interested in him.

The catch was that nothing serious ever came of it.

Oscar had said a few times they should go out somewhere, but it was always just talk.

In the end, it was Will who finally took the initiative, but Oscar happened to be busy.

He said they’d talk about it later. That was back in, what, April?

So they’d been talking for half a year—or rather, not talking, because Will didn’t want to seem like he was begging for it, and Oscar never brought it up, even though they had several classes and plenty of opportunities to discuss things.

“Hey,” Oscar said first, offering a warm smile.

“Hey,” Will replied.

And that was it. They each went their separate ways. Will sighed under his breath, looking back at Oscar, then shifted his gaze to Danny.

“What?” he grumbled, seeing his smile.

“Nothing. You guys are like a couple of grade-schoolers, I swear.”

Will rolled his eyes, feeling no responsibility for the state of affairs.

They entered the building and a moment later were in their classroom.

“He touched me when he walked by!” an overly excited Beth Atkins was telling her friends. “He touched me!”

They both knew exactly who she was talking about. There was only one guy in this school who caused such a stir.

Blake Alden, who had just strode into the classroom with a sweeping gait, was the dream of many girls at school.

It was hard to blame them, really. A tall, slender, handsome guy with dark, piercing eyes and perfectly styled, raven-black hair was bound to attract interest. And when you added a unique sense of style, ridiculously expensive clothes and gadgets, a dispassionate nonchalance, and an aura of bourgeois entitlement, it was no wonder at all.

Sure, there was the small, insignificant detail of his truly rotten personality, but who cared about that.

“I still don’t know what he’s doing in this school,” Dan commented, watching Blake take his seat. “He should be aiming for some university or something.”

“He could finish after four years and go to a university.”

“Still, why this dump?”

“Probably lives nearby.”

“So what? Considering how much money his parents have, he should be in some elite private school.”

“Maybe they’re not as loaded as we think.”

Danny looked at him in disbelief, then let out a quiet snort.