Hey, guys! This series will be centered on big decisions made by the audience each chapter, with me filling in the gaps. And the MC *gasp* can die. If he does, then it'll be your choice as to if we continue.

Tell me if you love it, hate it, or anything in between!

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A strange child sat, gazing out a window, listless, motionless.

His height, build, even his clothes were extremely ordinary. What was so strange about him? Well, it probably had something to do with the mask he wore.

It covered the entirety of his head, from the crook of his head to his chin. The glossy white exterior held no visible orifice for breathing, sight, hearing, nothing. How he had gotten to his desk this morning was a complete mystery... except to him.

Truthfully, he "saw" just fine. It was a gift, one of the few he had. Sort of a sixth sense that he had constantly trained.

It was sort of a meditation, the sole piece of solace in his life... which was promptly interrupted by the entrance of a dozen students.

-YO! Tim's here early today!

-Alright! My cousin showed me a new punch I wanted to try out!

"Tim" sighed and prepared for the inevitable. Really, these guy's punches were shallow and weak. But giving pointers during a beating wasn't exactly a good idea.

The first strike was to his solar plexus, shallow but precise. Impressive, maybe that cousin knew his stuff.

Tim toppled over onto the ground after the next blow to his head. Noting with satisfaction that they still couldn't break his mask, he instinctively curled into a ball to protect his head and abdominal region. After all, drowning in your own blood isn't exactly a nice way to go.

-Heh, why don't you just take off that damn mask already, Tim?

-Yeah, we promised to leave you alone if you did, but you stepped on your poor senior's pride and didn't... So just take if off already!!

Another round of kicks connected to Tim's back, breaking a few ribs and fracturing others. He stayed silent, as he had for the past year.

There were no words.

There was just hatred.

Tim had tried so hard to not drown in it, but each beating fractured him a bit more, crumbling the flood walls he had meticulously built. But, he gritted his teeth and endured.

He wouldn't ever take off his mask. It was his last sanctuary, his only friend, his promised land. No high school buffoon would ever change that.

Eventually, the hits stopped coming and Tim heard an exaggerated sigh behind him.

-Really, kid, I never thought that you would last this long... No use but to tell you, I guess.

What the hell was Frank talking about? He was the cliche stupid jock group's de facto leader, the biggest and dumbest of them all. Did a muscle head like him need a reason to beat Tim half to death every day?

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

-Me and my brother had a little bet going on. All I had to do was get you to take that mask off in less than a year and I'd get his girl. Dunno if you can see from under that thing, but she's freakin' hot! So, you'll be a good freak and show us your ugly mug. Promise we won't laugh... too much.

-Hah, he said it!

-Thought you said you could take it off without tellin' him about the bet, Frank?

-Shut it! Year's almost up and I can't lose my chance to get Linsey in a Bikini... and out of one, if you know what I mean.

The group snorted annoyingly and high fived each other. They soon quieted down to look expectantly at the figure on the ground, in a puddle of his own blood.

This was rich. For the past year, this pathetic excuse of a gorilla had tormented him, just for a girl? Would anyone really believe that he wouldn't have done it anyways? Tim almost laughed... almost.

Gathering himself together, Tim rose to his feet and made a show of dusting himself off.

Then he sat back down.

Safe to say, the jocks were flabbergasted, if even one of them knew that word. They recovered quickly and cracked their knuckles, preparing to dish out one hell of a beating.

It was then that Ms. Elzo chose to walk in. Fresh from the university this year, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Of course, this was accentuated by her revealing clothing and seductive voice.

If it was possible, Tim hated her more than Frank.

He didn't know why, but she had made a move on him after the first day of school. Back then, she was a meek and klutzy graduate, shy to be teaching her first class. It was only after he rejected her (ran like a bitch) that she began embracing the whole sexy teacher stereotype.

Her sly green eyes took in the scene and those gorgeous red lips smiled in satisfaction. A low sultry voice resounded within the room.

-Careful, kids. It's hard to get blood out of the carpets.

They nodded dumbly and watched her swaying hips make their way to her seat. Maybe that was why he hated her so much.

Unfortunately for his would-be attackers, the bell chose right then to ring. Students began pouring in and getting seated, completely ignoring the scene.

-Tsk. Don't think you can get away to easy, scrub. We'll get you to take it off soon enough.

They all sat down and began to jabber endlessly about their girlfriends, their trucks, and porn, fueled by a ridiculous amount of testosterone.

Like this, the last day of the year flew by, with not one person noticing the men in black entering the building.