(A/n: This chapter introduced the very first main and supporting characters. It may be overwhelming and confusing for you but I have to put it so you can have a background check. You'll get used to it very quickly.)

-----------------------------------

"I think he will die alone, too." Noah Whitmire hung his backpack on his shoulder and commented as he and his friends Amy Clark, Shirley Mendes, Scott Grayson, and Jack McCollum walked down the hallways to the parking space. They followed his gaze and understand who he was referring to.

It was Roman who was standing under a tree away from the crowd while the rest of the students were laughing and discussing their examination.It was the last day as a sophomore for second-year students and everyone was spending as much time as they could with their friends before the summer holidays part them away for the next two months.

"I'll bet $5 on it," Shirley said confidently

"We've been asking Roman for the past two years to hang out with us," Scott reminds them, " but like a big dumbass he is, he turns down our offer every time."

"Let's ask him one more time." Jack suddenly became excited and enthusiastic.

"Dude!" Huffed Amy. "Didn't you hear Scott saying Roman and dumbass in the same sentence."

"Oh come on! Today is the last day as a sophomore student. Let's flatter him and convince to join our party." Jack ventured.

"Party?" Shirley gets excited. "We haven't been to a party since we gatecrashed Logan's about a month ago. Well, it was kinda boring. No real alcohol." Her eyes landed at Amy thinking that she was the one who is planning to celebrate the occasion.

"I'm not throwing any party. You know the pay I get at the cafeteria is very low and it's too hard for me to manage my own expenses." Amy whined at the thought of organizing a party at her expense. She worked at a cafeteria after school and spend all her pay on decorating herself or buying new books for his younger brother, Colin or birthday and Christmas gifts for her friends and family. Amy's mother was a babysitter at the neighbors while his father was a mechanic. Whatever amount the couple manages to earn, half of it was used to pay Amy and his brother's fees and the rest of it was spent for housing purposes. Amy's disabled grandmother stayed at home in her wheelchair all the time and tutor Colin after he returns home.

Jack shook his head in annoyance and looked at Scott, the richest guy in their group who first shrank and then backed away. "Don't look at me. You know my dad has put my home under surveillance. If caught me stealing money, again. Then I'm dead."

Shirley and Noah smiled reminiscing when Scott was caught red-handed stealing money from his own home for a party. Poor Scott was locked in his room for a week and was banished from meeting his friends.

"Oh for mother's sake, just shut up you fuckers!" He scowled pointing at the four of them, clearly irritated.

"Don't say mother and fucker in the same sentence, Jack!" Shirley interrupted.

Jack rolled his eyes and drew the attention back to the topic. "I'm not suggesting to spend our money. We will take Lockhart with us and then somehow make him pay for it."

Amy blinked her eyes in amazement. "Looks like fucking Jennifer for the fourth time in a row got some sense into you. It sounds like a brilliant idea."

"Oh yeah?" Scott cocked his eyes in disbelief. "Like that's gonna happen. Just look at him, man. Girls are drooling over him and I'm crushing on him for what—like—two years. And he doesn't pay any attention to them."

"Scott's right." Said Shirley. "I'll bet my another $5 that he never had kissed a girl."

"Girl?" Amy chuckled sarcastically. "I'll put my whole month pay on the bet that he had never kissed even a baby, let alone a girl."

"Let's ask them for the third time." Jack who was getting bored finally got the chance to say something.

"Well, asking him will cost us nothing," Noah said casually.

"Then we better hurry before his mother arrives," Shirley suggested and they all ran toward the Roman. Maintaining appropriate space between them and him, they stopped near the tree, just a few feet away from him.

"Y-Y-you c-came a-a-again." Roman sighed curtly and pushed his blonde hair back like a little girl.

"Just tell us why you wish to live alone and we will go away or don't tell us and come to the party," Jack explained, trying to sound reasonable. Roman studied them with his dark chocolate eyes and was not convinced by them. In fact, their presence intimidates him. For him, it was like they would swallow him anytime and he wouldn't be given a chance to run.

"I-I-I know you-u-u want m-my m-money. And I-I am not going to give y-y-you any!" He wobbled. And it was indeed true. They only wanted to befriend him so they could turn him into their personal bank account. It was the story of every group and each one had that prosperous kid who spends money like water on him and his fellow buddies.

"We just want to be friends, Roman," Amy coaxed, "Just look around and see everyone has friends except you. Trust us, we can be those friends who you can count on."

Amy sounded sweet and kind to Roman but he knew enough how venomous sometime sweet can be. He had seen enough horror movies to know that the sweetest person always turned out to be the bad and evil one.

"L-L-Leave me a-alone." He cried, trying to back away.

"Come, one dude. It's just a party where we are going to have fun," said Jack. "You'll too, learn to have fun on your own."

"Yeah! And if you're scared to ask your mother I'll do the honors." Amy said confidently, making Roman more intimidated. All he wanted was to get away from them as soon as possible.

"N-no!" He cried and began walking away from them while clutching his bag as if it would slip away from his hand at any moment. The group exchanged knowing looks and started following him. Roman paced up, trying to get away from them but he knew he was slow; too slow that he can't even win if he ran alone in a race.

"It's just a party, Roman!" Shouted Shirley.

Roman mumbled something under his breath as if he were chanting some mantra. His wish was granted when a silver car emerged in front of him.Roman's mother came out of it and he sighed in relief. Unlike his father who pressurized him to make friends and study less, his mother never forced him to do whatever it takes to look normal. For her, Roman had the freedom to choose if he wants to be friends with someone or at all. In fact, her mother appreciated his decision no matter what.

The moment Amy and her friends recognized whose car it was, they had vanished from Roman's sight. They knew how obsessive and protective Mrs. Lockhart can be when it comes to Roman and if he uttered a single word that they were insinuating him for a party, she and her friends would be expelled in charge of forcing a student to do something he doesn't want to. Despite the fact, Mr. Lockhart had paid well to Williams High, it wasn't hidden that Roman was given special treatment in school.

Pretending to be talking with each other while waiting for Roman's mother to go, the five of them decided to stand in a corner.Meanwhile Roman bounced in his car and when the door was snap shut, Amy rolled his eyes in his direction. Their eyes met and Roman twitched his lips at her and gave her a 'screw you' look before the car took him away.

"You were right, Noah. "Muttered Amy. "He will die alone."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW'S THE FIRST CHAPTER? DROP DOWN YOUR VOTES AND COMMENT.