The Day Dean arrived. (Part One)
New beginnings are always a good thing, right? New friends, new opportunities.. a chance to reinvent yourself. Dean Blackwell was seizing a chance for his new beginning. The day he turned 18, he skipped town. From 'bama to Colorado, he found one of the smallest towns possible and was excited to make an impact.
A bus stopped in front of Tom's Diner, and a curly haired ginger kid stepped out of it. He was big. Not tall, but rather short and big. The kind of big you'd think was compensating for how short a guy was. You could tell how much time Dean spent in the gym lifting weights, but he never felt compelled to talk about it. Never to brag.
He found his footing, stepping along in his boots towards the diner with an air of confidence. His face was perpetually scrunched up with a squint; It looked as if he disliked everything he saw, but that wasn’t true.
Dean opened the door of the diner and looked around. A lively place, he saw it littered with people his age. He guessed this was the prime hangout spot.. taking a seat at the counter. After a burger, some fries and milkshake was ordered, he felt someone bump into him.
He turned to find a pink haired girl. Shorter than him, probably 5’4, so only by a few inches. She held a cane, and her eyes looked a little hazy.
“Oh, I’m sorry! Excuse me..” Her voice was gentle, yet confident and sure of itself. Dean was sure she’d had this exact same interaction before.
“Naw. You’re alright. Pardon me if this is personal but are you..?” He started to ask the obvious question before trailing off.
“Blind? Yes, I am.” She smiled brightly. “I’m Valerie, by the way.”
“Dean. ‘S real nice to meet you. You go to the highschool in town?”
Valerie nodded. “Yeah.. I’m a senior this year! How about you?”
“Just moved, ready to start though. I’ll be a senior too.”
“That’s cool! I can introduce you to some people. Where are you from?”
“‘Bama.” Dean said simply.
“Oh! That’s cool, I was originally from..” Dean started to tune her out- his focus switching to a a tall blonde boy who also looked about their age. He was talking to a group of people who looked upset, while he was laughing. Something was off.
“You’re a fucking pathetic group of nerds, you know that? Jillian’s a cry baby, Ruben’s obviously gay-“
Dean got out of his seat and walked over to the asshole. If there was one thing he hated, it was a bully. The amount of fights he’d gotten into back at home defending someone who couldn’t defend themselves was countless.
“What’s your problem, man? You reek of axe body spray and you’re actin’ like you’re compensatin’ for somethin’. Wanna chill the hell out, please?”
“Who the fuck are you?” He looked down at Dean, towering over him.
“Name’s Dean. Again, you wanna chill the hell out?”
“You wanna take this outside?”
“I’m game, if it’ll keep your mouth shut.”
Dean followed him outside, along with the rest of the crowd. He wanted to make a first impression.. this was definitely a way to do that.
