//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: A Punk's Love: The Story of Straight Edge // by AC Punk //------------------------------// Family First, Friends Second "Dad?" Straight asks upon hearing the voice on his cellphone greet him. "Hey son." He replies, "Just calling to see how you're holding up." Straight wipes the tear from his eye as Jess applies a wrap of gauze to the cut on his arm. "I'm great Dad," Straight begins, "I made some friends and Jess has been all for me staying with her and her folks, even though they're in England for the next month." "That sounds like something those two would do." "Yeah; have you guys found a house in Canterlot yet?" "As a matter of fact... Yes." Straight nearly drops his phone at hearing this, but manages to catch it. "When will You guys be here?!" He asks in an excited tone. "Your mother and I are currently getting everything packed into the Truck, I'll send you the address of the new house so you can get accustomed to the new place. As for when we get to see you in person, I'm gonna say around next week maybe." "Thanks, Could I talk to Mom?" "Sure thing." The sound of a hand moving over the speaker can be heard by Straight as a feminine voice fills his ear, causing him to shed a few tears. "Son?" She asks. "Hey mom." Straight replies, trying his best to hide his emotions. "Oh it is so good to hear you sweetie. how have things been since you got to Canterlot? Has jess been driving you crazy like she did when you two were kids?" "No, but the kids I met at my new school might just be the next best thing." "Well, I have to get back to packing, see you in a few weeks." "Okay, bye mom." "Bye son, love you." Straight's Father then picks up on the other end. "Hey Son, I got a little Surprise for you." he tells him. "It isn't another comic book is it?" the sound of something being thrown into a wall can be heard in the background. "No, I was talking about your car." Straight's eyes light up at the mention of his car. "Your mom and I had it sent to you last week, should be at Jess's by tonight; The delivery guy was payed in full, so you just have to show him your ID." "Thanks Dad. See you and mom next week." Straight says before hanging up the phone. After he does this, he looks up to Jess, tears in his eyes, and wraps her in a hug. "My folks are on their way." he tells her. "That's great, now would you mind letting go of me so I can place the bandage on your arm." she says as Straight suddenly feels pain in his left bicep. "Great, now I have to start all over." Jess adds as Straight begins crying out in pain. The Next Day... It's Friday at Canterlot High, and most of the students are looking forward to the weekend. The ones that aren't are those participating in the Friendship Games next week against Rival school Crystal Prep Academy. One of these participants has just drove up in a Scarlet Ford Mustang with Gold trim. Pulling up beside her is a young man riding a classic Harley Davidson Motorcycle. "Morning Soul." Sunset greets her boyfriend. Soul responds by waving to her before taking off his helmet. "Hey Guys!" exclaims pinkie as se drives up in her Pink Volkswagen beetle. "TGIF, am I right!?" "I'm with you on that one Pinks." Applejack says while exiting the passenger side of the car. Rainbow dash then pulls up on her motorcycle, Rivet holding onto her back. "Hey guys," she greets them as Rivet jumps off and begins kissing the ground. "Rivet, I wasn't that bad." "YOU WERE DOING EIGHTY THE WHOLE WAY UNTIL WE GOT NEAR THE SCHOOL!" he exclaims. "What can I say, I like to go fast." she replies with a smirk. As she says this, Pinkie looks up. "Hey guys, does anyone else her that?" she asks. "Hear what?" Sunset asks. Her answer comes in the form of a engine roaring. The entire group turns to the location of the sound, and they are all stunned as a solid black car with a V8 protruding from its hood enters the parking lot. As it Pulls up next To Rainbow's Bike, the engine cuts off and, to everyone's shock, the right side door of the coupe opens to reveal Straight Edge. Today, he decided not to gel his hair back and instead let the long black fibers come down. "Hey guys... Dash." he says, still showing signs of hurt after the events that conspired during the failed crystal heart heist. "Straight Edge, where did you get this thing?" Soul asks, walking up to the black car. "My dad Bought me the thing when it was just some beat up piece of metal. I rebuilt the body and everything else and put last huge chunk of cash towards the engine and gearbox." Straight explains. "Straight, this is the Interceptor from Mad Max, you don't just rebuild it." Soul says while trying to find the latch to open the hood of the vehicle. Before they could say anything else, the bell for school to start rings. As the day goes on, Straight becomes distant towards the Girls and Their love interests, this becomes apparent as he sits in the corner of the Cafeteria by himself. Seeing this, Sunset begins to worry. "Hey guys," She says, turning to face them, "I think Something's wrong with Straight Edge." "Who cares, it's his fault we couldn't pull off the heist of the century." Rainbow states. As she finishes, She is hit over the back of the head by Applejack. "Ow, AJ what gives?" she asks in confusion. "That attitude of yours is what gives." She replies in a stern tone. "Straight Edge had nothing to do with us failing, and you pin the blame on him just because he's living with someone while his folks are trying to find a place here in Canterlot." "Why should I show him sympathy?" she asks in a very off tone. "You wanna know why. Straight Edge is a survivor." AJ states. "What the hell does that even mean?" "He had to live in public hosing back in Chicago until he was finally takin into a boys home. Ya'll remember back in the janitors closet when he said he went to juvey." The girls all nod. "The poor guy had to live on his own until he was eleven years old. As to who his parents are... he never said." As applejack finishes, half of the girls look in the direction of Straight to see him laughing at a comic book he is reading. Seeing him like this causes something to click inside of Sunsets head. "He's accepted what's happened apparently, but he still grew up hard." She says as Swift walks up to Straight Edge. "Oh man." Rainbow Says as the weight of this information begins to sink in. The sound of Swift Laughing can be heard in the back ground and him calling over Clyde and the others. "Rainbow, You need to go apologize for the things you said. Otherwise, you might as well consider yourself no better then those 'Crystal Prep Snobs' you keep wanting to beat." AJ says. Right as Rainbow begins to get up, all of the guys begin laughing at whatever Straight edge is looking at. As she approaches the table, Straight shoots her a look. "What do you want?" he asks, hiding whatever it is they we're looking at under the table. "I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. I let my emotions get the better of me. Can we still be friends?" She asks. Straight runs a hand through his hair, taking in what Rainbow Dash just said. He finally smiles and extends his hand as a sign of approval and she returns the handshake. As she walks away, Zero walks up to the group of guys and looks at what they were finding so funny. "I don't get it." he says while watching the video. As the day draws to a close, Straight Edge is about to leave the school grounds when he is stopped by his friends. "Hey guys." He says. "Do you need anything." "We want to meet Jess." Sunset says. "Uh... I-I don't know if that's a good idea." Straight begins. "And why is it not?" Rainbow asks. "We're not really supposed to have friends over with out her parents knowing." "Come on Straight, It's only gonna be Dash, AJ, and me. And I think Soul said something about him, and Warhawk wanting to meet her." Sunset explains. Straight thinks for a second and sighs, getting into his car. "Alright, Let me ask her, I'll call you guys tonight with an answer." He says before doing a burnout in the school parking lot and leaving. "You think she'll want to meet us?" AJ asks. "Maybe." Sunset replies.