7. My Name Is...

II

*Kaeden Pov*

The hot water drips from my wet body to the floor of the empty shower stall as I turn the knob to turn off the shower. Without looking down I grab the navy blue towel waiting for me on the bench as I dry my wet hair first before fully drying myself and wrapping the towel around my body.

Leaving the shower, I cross paths with the same old rusty mirror resting in the corner of the bathroom for when my roommates; Cassie and Sonya, came in to do their daily morning makeup routine like it was a ritual of some sort.

The same playlist shared between them as they blasted old Broadway show tunes while applying layers of foundation on their already perfect faces. The rusty mirror served as their best friend, showing them exactly what they wanted to see. A luxury I was never afforded.

With a single finger, I swipe a small smiley face in the corner of the mirror, before realizing it was all a lie and wiping it away.

"Come on Kaeden, you got this," I whisper small words of encouragement to myself as I walk back into my small bedroom. I got my own room in the apartment while Cassie and Sonya shared a room on the other end. It afforded me some kind of privacy without making me feel like a complete loner. But this wouldn't last forever.

One day we're all going to move on and then I'll truly be alone.

For the rest of my life.

I scratch the back of my head and yawn. It was too early for these sad thoughts and the end of our time together was nowhere near so there was no reason to dwell on such a heavy topic. I already had my clothes laid out for the day across my bed.

The tight black binder goes first. Compressing my chest to the point where it was hard to take in a deep breath. After fiddling with the clasps for a bit, each tiny metal piece falls into place and I throw on a light striped button up shirt with a three quarter zip sweatshirt over it and light pair of jeans.

"Today is going to be a good day Kae," I sigh as I put on my boots, grab my backpack, and walk out the door.

In the refectory, I work my way around a sticky cinnamon bun for breakfast with a cup of coffee as I do nearly every morning while the semester is up and running. A loud thump and the shake of the entire table wakes me from my sleepy neutral state and I look up to see Finley had joined me with his head slammed down on the table.

"You alright there buddy?" I chuckle at the sight and he groans.

"I'm exhausted. We haven't even started and I already want to give up on this whole art thing. Why is art required for a fucking degree of all things? This isn't kindergarten." He cries out and I gently pat the top of his messy bed head.

"Christ man, you look like a mess. What time did you go to sleep last night?" I ask when he tilts his head up to reveal the dark circles under his eyes, but that wasn't the only dark thing on his body once I catch a small glimpse of his neck.

"Is that..." I dare to ask and he raises an eyebrow. I point to his collar and his hand suddenly comes up and slaps against the small love bite.

"Please tell me it's not true, tell me there's nothing there," He pleads, but I can't lie to him.

"It's small, I'm sure no one will notice it," I try to sugar coat it. Yeah, it was small and all, but he was also really bad at hiding it poor Fin. His head drops back to the table and he lets out a long groan.

"Can I just skip the first day of Art? I'm sure they professor won't mind one less useless asshole in her class." He tries to excuse himself from the situation.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're an asshole. And you can't give up already! We were supposed to suffer through this together man," I try to get his spirits up and gently rub his shoulder. He sighs and looks off into the distance, tired and uninterested.

"So who was the lucky guy? Or girl, whichever you prefer. I don't judge," I ask and he looks up again.

"You'll never guess," he says and finally sits up a bit.

"You're right, I probably wouldn't be able too. I hardly know anyone at this school except for the cast members," I shrug and a smug smirk crosses his lips.

"Maybe it's better if you didn't know, I'm not the kind of guy to spread the truth about my strings of lovers. Hey, it's almost time for art, let's get going shall we?" He changes the subject once he sees the time and goes to stand. Without waiting for me to put my dishes away, Finley snatches up my coffee and leaves.

"Hey!"

"Finley Grayson?" The professor calls his name on the role and Finley tugs at the strings of his black hoodie.

"Right here," He groans. I look over to see his elbows were resting on the desk to keep him propped up before he fell asleep.

"Do you even think you'll be able to stay up?" I ask as I poke his ear and he shoves it away.

"No, but for you. I can at least try," He huffs.

"Esther Tremblay,"

From the very back of the room, hearing the name itself causes a sickening feeling to bubble up in my gut.

"Esther Tremblay?" She says it again and I bite the edge of my lip. Looking over at Finley to see if he was paying attention, but to my dismay at this very moment he was along with the twenty other students now looking around for this Esther.

I slowly raise my hand in defeat.

My stealthing days were over in one brief moment. My hopes and dreams of just being a normal guy were dashed with the calling of a single name.

"Here," I respond and she looks up with her eyebrows raised.

"You're Esther Tremblay?" She snorts and I feel the heat reaching my face.

"Yes...well I was. It's Kaeden now," I stutter and she looks at the paper.

"Well it says Esther here, take it up with administration if you want it changed," She huffs and I feel like giving up. The entire class was staring at me now.

Whispers were starting to circulate and I knew they were all about me.

"Excuse me professor, but if the man says he changed his name to Kaeden, the least you could do is call him Kaeden. There's no need to be a bitch about it. It's not that hard,"

I was shocked to hear a separate voice from next to me, come to my defense without a second thought.

"Was I talking to you Mr. Grayson?" The professor continues to ebb him on.

"No, but I'm not going to let you disrespect my close friend just because you're having a bad day. If you're going into this class with that attitude you can promptly go fuck yourself," He continues but I could barely hear him through my body quivering with fear.

He wraps his arm around me to protect me and stares her down until finally she moves on to the next guy.

But it was too late.

The damage had already been done.

"Thank you," I whisper through gritted teeth.

"Hey, it's alright. Besides you let me achieve one of my greatest dreams," he sighs as he rubs my shoulder, keeping his warm arm around my shaking body.

"And what's that?" I hear myself squeak and he chuckles softly.

"I always wanted to tell a professor to fuck off," he says and I feel myself relax to some degree with this small moment of humor.

"Glad I could help you reach such an ambitious goal," I say, feeling the shaking come to a slow stop.

"You know, my parents never had high expectations for me and I always wondered why. Now I know," He makes fun of himself and I feel a small smile come to my quivering lips.

"You never know Finley, you could change the world someday," I offer and he quietly holds in a burst of laughter.

"I don't think I'm going that far so don't get your hopes up," He shrugs and I feel the last of the tense air leave. The whole class might still be talking about me but I knew that as long as I focused on Finley I would be okay.

"Well changing the entire world might be a little out of reach, but just meeting you has definitely changed mine for the better." I confess but once it leaves my mouth I realize just how stupid I sound and shrink back out of embarrassment.

He turns his head to look at me directly and my embarrassment disappears in his gentle smile.

"That's good enough for me Kae," he says and retreats his arm from my shoulder to grab a hold of one of the sketchbooks that were going around.

I take one and grab a pencil from a small tin on the corner of my desk, holding it in my left hand, the small tremors had calmed and my hand remained steady.