The black hole I call life

Damon Helix  



Remember that kid you went to school with who always managed to be everyone's friend, who was so outgoing they did all the extra curricular activities, got all the girls and was oh so very popular? Well Damon is not that guy.
Throughout his entire public schooling experience Damon had little to no friends. But that wasn't because he couldn't make friend, oh no. He could have easily had a good amount of pals in grade school, and they could have remained friends with him throughout junior high and high school. Sure, he was a bit reserved, shy and his idea of an adventure is going to the mall to get a new shirt. But once you got to know him he was a really good guy, with a good sense of humor and had an amazing smile. But he chose not to make friends, because he found it hard to please so many people, to have to try and go out of his comfort zone so he didn't bore him. He knew that once they all got older the idea of fun would be parties, drinking, smoking, thrill seeking. And he wanted none of that. He is almost 20 and the most extraordinary thing he had done was dye his hair black.
He knew from a young age that he and adventure did not mix. When he was 4 and all the neighborhood kids insisted they go have an adventure at the park and play in the mud puts, so Damon went, but all he did was sit under a tree, coloring in his new coloring book. When he was 8 the kids at school invited him to go ride bikes at the new track, and instead he read the 4th Harry Potter book on the stands. At his Junior High Dance his date was a sock puppet, and all he did was sit in a corner, listening to music. Prom wasn't too different. His date left him in the first 5 minutes to join her group of friends, and he ended up going to a internet cafe for the rest of the night.
Damon has never done anything interesting in his life, hasn't even gone on a date. His first kiss was with his sisters' friend, when he was 10. Which really doesn't even count, seeing as it was a dare. He has never had a sip of alcohol, never had a cigarette, never done anything drug related, never gone to a real party, and never gone on a date. Most people would consider this slightly pathetic, and a tad funny. He would disagree. He had a 4.0 GPA throughout his entire junior high experience, a 4.5 in high school, and got a full scholarship into college.
If you ask if Damon has read a certain book, he probably can answer yes. He has read through the entire town library, and is buying more and more new books, adding to his vast rare book collection. Same goes for movies. He has seen so many movies, so many times he can quote almost every movie made. His college major is in Greek and Latin, and he is in the top of his class. Damon would disagree with anyone who dares say his life is boring, because he thinks he has made a good life for himself. Yes he is very quiet and reserved, yes he has no friends, and sure, he has the sexual experience of a potato, but hes made himself a good life. He's very inelegant and he has filled his minds with the pages of books.
But he can't help but feel slightly curious about what being daring would be like. What going on an actual date would feel like. Or what fun he could have at a party. He'll never admit it, but he's too afraid to see. He's scared about what might happen if he went out of his comfort zone. So he's staying in his shell. His warm, safe, lonely shell.

Ivan Daryl Hale
If you asked anyone at school to describe Ivan, a few words would pop into mind. Most would say he is a laid back fellow, a bit of a stud, popular, and some would look away dreamily and say in a light voice that he was hot. These are some ways people describe him, and they fir him rather well. This young man has a grin that wins over love struck girls, and even a few guys who envy him. At school he has a nice amount of friends, is the captain of the schools lacrosse team (which ranks as high as football does for average schools), makes passing grades, and manages to wriggle his way out of trouble. At home things are a tad different.
No, he doesn’t have some sob story, making you have pity for the young man. Nah, it’s just a little rough but he can deal with it. When he was about 7 his mother died, leaving him with a not-so-nice dad and a younger brother of 2. Now, when I say not-so-nice, I don’t mean abusive necessarily. His dad was just always at work, never around, not really caring about his sons. He thought of them only as people he had to put up with till they could be kicked out. He never went to back to school night, never cared about A’s on report cards, or school plays. He just went to work, paid for their clothing, had some beers with friends, and watched football. He never cared. But Ivan never let it bother him, taking care for himself and his brother. Soon he became more of a father figure to his younger brother than their own dad did.
This dark eyed boy enjoys sports, such as lacrosse or swimming. He’s very active and enjoys simply doing things. Jogging has become his current hobby, as he enjoys taking a late night job, letting the sounds of night fill his mind, and the cooling wind hit his skin. He also really enjoys parties, as most teens do. But one wouldn’t expect him to love playing the piano. He doesn’t even remember learning how to, just faint wisps of his mother smiling at him, sitting to his right, laughing as she guided his little fingers to each key teaching him the notes. Once she died Ivan found comfort in the piano, pushing himself so he played almost every day, learning all his mother’s favorite songs. To this day his heart rests in the instrument.
Ivan doesn’t get aggravated as easily as most people, having grown up with his father taught him how to stay calm. He didn’t want to grow up getting angry at everything. But of course, he has breaking points. This young man enjoys making people smile, whether it be from a stupid joke, or a small gift. He likes beings everyone’s friend, but if his more tight knit group of friends excludes someone, he doesn’t stop it. I mean, he doesn’t go out of his way to pick on that certain person, but he doesn’t stop it. He turned a blind eye, which may be worse than doing the crime. The young man enjoys attention, being the captain of the lacrosse team bringing him much joy. He loves scoring the winning shot, and having people cu over him for his skills. But sometimes a long walk in the park by himself is nice. Despite some of his flaws and rough edges, Ivan is a pretty good guy overall. He can be a dick sometimes, even he admits it, but sometimes he can also be a prince charming (;