Taste of Euphoria Ch. 01

"Ian, sweetie!" Nicole called from the kitchen. Her singsong voice accompanied the grisling of bacon on a skillet. "It's time for you to get up! You don't want to be late for the first day of your senior year!"

Ian groaned at his mom's hollering, unable to muster the strength to unravel himself from the tangle of his covers. Ian could never fall asleep the night before the first day of school. The anxiety ate away at him, causing him to worry about his teachers and which homeroom he'd be assigned to. He turned over to look at the alarm clock on his dresser, the blinking green numbers reading it was seven o'clock. Ian reluctantly threw off the warm blankets and walked over to the bathroom.

Ian stared at himself in the mirror, noting the puffiness under his eyes. He brushed his teeth and ran some of the water through his unruly black hair. Quickly getting dressed into his school uniform, Ian grabbed his well-worn Captain Dragon bookbag and made his way downstairs. The aroma of the bacon and fresh pancakes filled the room. Ian took a seat at the table, where a glass of orange juice was waiting for him.

"Morning, mom," Ian greeted, taking a sip of the tangy juice. Regret spilled across his face as the lingering toothpaste taste reacted with the orange juice.

"Good morning, sweetie," Nicole replied, chuckling at Ian's face. She was flipping the last of the pancakes onto the plate. Her curly brown hair was tied up in a messy bun to get it out of the way of her cooking. "How's my big boy? Are you ready for your last first day of high school?"

Ian shook his head and let out a sigh. "You know I never am, Mom. I couldn't sleep last night either."

"Oh Ian," Nicole walked over and placed the plate of pancakes on the table to join the bacon. She wiped her hands on her apron and placed one on his head, ruffling his hair. "This year's going to be the best! Now, is Mikey going to be picking you up today?"

Ian shook his head, eating a forkful of pancake. "Mikey had to go to school early for a swim team meeting."

"Oh, that's too bad," Nicole said as she took a seat across her son. She served herself a tall stack of pancakes and three crispy strips of bacon. She drizzled maple syrup on her plate and started to dig in.

It amazed Ian how much his mother could eat and still look amazing. She had a heartier appetite than him and she maintained an hourglass figure. "Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Nicole answered mid chew, a bit of syrup still on her chin.

"How do you stay so fit?"

"What do you mean by that?" Nicole asked, confused at Ian's interest in the topic. He was never interested in working out before. No matter how hard Mikey tried, Ian never stepped foot into the school weightroom.

"I mean, you always eat whatever you want and you look great. I was wondering what you did to maintain your figure," Ian elaborated, his cheeks flushing.

Nicole bit her lip, a gesture she did whenever she was thinking. "Well Ian, life is too short to deny yourself the simple pleasures. Especially when it comes to food. I just find a balance between food and fitness. Why, do you think I eat too much?"

"No, no not at all!" Ian waved his hands in dismissal. His blush deepening. "Forget I asked, it was a stupid question." Ian stuffed his face with pancakes to stop himself from talking. Like usual, his mom's pancakes were light and fluffy.

"It wasn't stupid, Ian. I'm happy that you asked," Nicole said. She then looked at clock on the stove. "You need to hurry, it's already seven-twenty."

Ian's eyes grew wide as he scarfed down the rest of his breakfast and jumped from his chair, his bookbag already slung on his shoulder. Before leaving, he placed a kiss on Nicole's forehead and whispered, "Love you, Mom."

"Love you too, sweetie! Have a good first day!" Nicole's voice chased Ian out of the door.

Ian grabbed his bike from his garage and started pedaling as fast as he could. His stomach protested as he sped up and made several sharp turns to make it to school on time. Ian was met with a wave from the security booth and rode through the gate. He and his mom lived in the Avalon Springs community, which was across the street from George Meer High School.

Ian made it to school on time with time to spare; but, his uniform was drenched in sweat and he had to loosen his tie. He locked his bike into the rack and started his dreaded march to his homeroom. The senior wing was alive with excited exchanges of summer adventures. Many of Ian's classmates were sporting new tans and fresh hairstyles.

Ian found Room 405, his homeroom for the rest of the year. When he walked in, nobody greeted Ian. He was unlucky to be assigned to a homeroom that didn't have anyone he talked to. Sighing to himself, Ian took an empty seat at the back of the class and started reading last week's issue of Hero Council.

"Ian!" a voice yelled, echoing through the room.

His head jutted up from his comic, eyes landing on the red-headed boy by the door. The boy waved Ian over, his face betraying urgency.

"What's up, Mikey?" Ian asked.

Mikey threw an arm around Ian's shoulder, turning them away from the prying eyes of Ian's homeroom. Ian could smell the faint scent of chlorine that accompanied Mikey's morning swim. "You gotta see this!" Mikey said as he thrusted a ticket into Ian's hands.

Ian looked down into the ticket to see a pair of breasts printed there. Ian's eyes grew wide as he brought the ticket to his stomach to cover the image. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Why are you giving me porn in school!"

"Dude, relax! It's a ticket to a strip club!" Mikey corrected as he wiggled his freckled nose.

Mikey's voice was almost loud enough that everyone in his homeroom could hear. "Okay, okay lower your voice! Why did you give me a ticket to a strip club?" Ian asked, still in disbelief.

"Check it out. My big brother Joey works there as a bouncer. He said you only have to be eighteen to get in, but we can't drink any alcohol. He gave me these so that we can get in and see some boobs man!" Mikey whispered, excited.

Ian stared at Mikey, baffled. Mikey never had a shortage of girls wanting for his affection. Most of the people watching the school swim meets were Mikey's admirers. Ian just stared at Mikey with his eyes wide and his jaw slack.

Before Ian could interrogate Mikey any more, the homeroom bell rang. Mikey gave Ian a punch on the shoulder and said, "I'll meet you at the bike racks!"

Ian stood at the doorway dumbstruck, his fingers clenching the ticket. His heart pounded against his chest. He would be lying if he said he wasn't interested. He's only seen naked women on the internet, not counting the time he almost walked in on his mom in the shower. If the room wasn't so steamy, he would have been able to get a peek through the glass shower doors.

"Ian, will you be joining us for homeroom? Or shall I mark you absent?" Ian's homeroom teacher asked, bringing Ian back to reality.

Ian's mind was racing all day. Regardless of how he reacted with Mikey, Ian was excited. The idea of going to a strip club made his heart pound against his chest and his cock stiffen. He had to make a conscious effort to stay calm through most of the day. Luckily most of his classes were Advanced Placement, and he needed to concentrate on the first day. But occasionally, his hand kept going to his pocket to make sure that the ticket was still there.

Being a half day, the school dismissed around lunchtime, forcing students to make plans on where they were going to go eat. Ian stuffed all of the handouts he received throughout the day into his bookbag and bolted to the bike rack. Mikey was already there, twirling his car keys on his finger. He flashed Ian a smile and asked, "Are you excited?"

"Yeah, but this is crazy!" Ian blurted out. Their school was a private institution with strict rules regarding student behavior even off campus. "I mean, what if we get caught?"

"Details, details," Mikey answered. "You just need to relax and everything will work out."

"Fine," Ian acquiesced, getting swept into Mikey's pace. "So when do we need to use the ticket?"

"Tonight," Mikey said, taking a look at his watch. "I'll pick you up after practice. Be sure to dress up."

"Ian Greene report to the headmaster's office immediately," the intercom announced.

Ian's eyes widened at the announcement. He was never called directly to the headmaster's office. Normally, his grandpa would just text him what he needed to tell him. Ian weaved through the throng of students still roaming the hallway, often bumping shoulders with several of them. When he reached the office Ian knocked twice before entering.

"Hello, Ian," the headmaster greeted, setting his pen down. "How was your day?"

"Hi Grandpa Frederick," Ian responded, taking a seat. His eyes landed on Frederick's balding head, noting that he still sported a combover that wasn't fooling anyone. "My day was good, same old stuff."

Nodding, Frederick said, "I have a favor to ask, Ian. Tomorrow a new student will be starting at our school. I would like you to show her around."

"Wait, why me?"

"You know this school very well, Ian," Frederick chuckled. "What better guide than the headmaster's grandson?"

"How come the student didn't start today?" Ian asked.

"There was a schedule conflict," Frederick shrugged nonchalantly. Knowing how strict his grandpa was regarding attendance, it surprised Ian how lenient he was being. Frederick could see the confusion on Ian's face and explained, "This student is special, Ian. But with her attendance, it will give the George Meer High School more publicity."

When he finally was able to escape his grandpa's office, Ian saw that he had a text message from his mom. Nicole's text read, "I'm going out, sweetie. I'm not sure when I'll be back home. You can heat up some leftovers for dinner."

Ian made it home in record time. He was glad that the house was empty, so he didn't have to explain where he was going later. Sweaty from all his pedaling, Ian jumped straight into the shower. The cold water cleared Ian's mind and helped control his cock from getting too excited.

When he looked into his closet, Ian realized that he needed to go shopping. He's gone to George Meer for so long, almost half of his wardrobe consisted of old uniforms. He threw on some clothes so he could walk over to the Avalon Springs Shopping Center. For a Tuesday afternoon, the center was packed with residents. Not wanting to be forced into small talk, Ian decided to kill time at Watchdog Comics.

Ian never got tired of the view of his sanctuary. He loved seeing the boxes filled with comics and the customers fingering through them to find the missing pieces of their collections. At a glance, Ian recognized most of the regulars that visited the store religiously. However, he did spot a couple of new faces, one of which was a girl in a pink tracksuit.

"Hey Ian!" Luke greeted from behind the counter. He finished ringing up a customer when he eyed Ian's shirt and sighed. "I see you're still suffering from Captain Dragon syndrome!"

"What syndrome?" Ian countered. Luke always gave Ian a hard time when he saw Ian in a Captain Dragon shirt.

"You know, where you think that CD will always win, no matter what situation he's put in," Luke teased, pointing a finger at Ian. He then waved his arm to show off the almost empty store. "There are other heroes out there for you to fall in love with. I know for a fact I sold you a couple of issues of Dr. Gravitron. Why is Dragon still your favorite?"

Ian bit his lip, trying to figure the best method to convince Luke of Captain Dragon's glory. But before he could answer the new girl walked over and interrupted the conversation. She flipped her strawberry blonde ponytail, pushed up her black rimmed glasses and added, "Captain Dragon is one of the most human characters on the Hero Council. Even though he's half dragon, he shows more emotion than other heros. Look at his sidekick Hatchling, instead of eating her like we expected him to do, Dragon took her in when she needed a family and raised her. Where else do you see compassion like that? "

Luke broke out into laughter at the girl's answer, shaking his head as if to clear it. "You got me there. Dragon definitely had his work cut out for him when he looked after Hatchling. But do you really see them as family? She stopped contacting him when she was old enough to be on her own."

She nodded her head, her voice rising. "How are they not family? They lived in the sewers together and supported each other! Just because she left doesn't mean she isn't appreciative!"

The girl's words struck a cord in Ian. It disturbed him that he never looked at his favorite character in that light. Shaking off his apprehension, Ian spoke to the girl. "You know a lot Captain Dragon, is he your favorite too?"

The girl turned, her sky blue eyes locking onto Ian's brown. She had a stack of comics and graphic novels tucked under her arm and brought placed them onto the counter. "No, actually. Hatchling's always been my favorite."

Ian's eyes went wide at her selection, with most of them being Hatchling related. He's never met anyone, that was that passionate about a secondary character. He needed to know more. He needed to know why she felt that way.

"Are you new here?" Luke asked the question that was on the tip of Ian's tongue. He scanned the comics and carefully placed them in bags. "I haven't seen you around before."

"My name's Cassie," Cassie introduced as she handed Luke a credit card. "I recently moved into the complex and I wanted to find where I could get my weekly comics." She nudged her head to her bags, bringing a beautiful smile to her face. "It goes without saying that I found much more than what I bargained for here."

"Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Avalon Springs. I'm Luke and I own this place. The Captain Dragon lunatic over there is Ian, he's a regular here too," Luke said as he returned the card along with a Watchdog membership card. "I set you up with our membership card, each of your purchases earns you points and you can use those points for free stuff."

"Thanks," Cassie said as she stuffed her cards back into her purselet. "I'll definitely be around much more. See you guys."

"Cassie!" Ian called out, almost instinctively. His declaration stopped Cassie from leaving and she raised an eyebrow, waiting for whatever Ian wanted. The problem was, Ian's brain couldn't tell his mouth what to say. After opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Ian blurted out, "Well, I just wanted to know more about your fascination with Hatchling. You're the first person I met who's such a fan of her."

"You got a problem with it?" Cassie spat, putting a hand on her hip. It looked like this wasn't the first time she's had this conversation.

Ian shook his head and hands in defense, "No, no! I didn't mean anything by it, I'm really curious about your opinion."

Still looking unconvinced, Cassie decided to give Ian a chance. "Fine, I'm still free. We can talk comics over a smoothie. Your treat."

"O-okay," Ian agreed, surprised that she actually accepted. Cassie took the lead, exiting the store without waiting for Ian. Luke gave Ian a thumbs up and a supportive grin before Ian ran after her.

They were lucky that the Smoothie Palace had a free booth for them. Cassie saved their seats while Ian bought their smoothies. Once Ian sat down, he bombarded Cassie with questions and she shot some back. Their simple discussion eventually evolved to expand across years of comic history. Ian showed off his knowledge of Captain Dragon, but he also revealed his incredible bias to the character.

"Man, you really are a CD nut," Cassie laughed, finishing off her peanut butter and banana smoothie. She licked her lips to get the last bit of smoothie. "Is he all you read?"

"I read Dr. Gravitron, StoneGal, Mister Serious, the Whisperer and Hero Council," Ian recited, thinking back to his collection at home. "I'll admit though, I never gave Hatchling as much credit as you did. She's actually really amazing."

"Right!" Cassie exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat. "You NEED to read her solo series! It's amazing!" He sudden movement brought Ian's attention to the cleavage that was almost spilling out of her tracksuit. The sight of her creamy skin was mesmerizing.

Ian tore his eyes away before Cassie noticed his ogling. This was the first time he had such an enjoyable conversation with a girl and he didn't want to screw it up by making her uncomfortable. Ian then felt a vibration in his jean pocket. He pulled out his smartphone, seeing that Mikey was calling him. Ian's eyes went wide when he saw the time. He and Cassie had been talking for hours and it was almost time for Mikey to pick him up!

Ian answered the phone, "H-hello?"

"Ian, where the hell are you!" Mikey yelled through the phone. "I just got out of practice. I need a shower and I'll pick you up."

"I'm at the shopping center," Ian said, remembering the reason why he came. "I need to get some clothes."

"Hurry the hell up! You better be ready when I pull up to your house! Be sure to tell the security guard at the gate that you're expecting me."

Mikey hung up after giving his orders. Cassie overheard everything. "Everything okay?" she asked, a slight frown creased her lips.

"Well, I'm supposed to go out with my friend Mikey later, but I needed to get some clothes," Ian said. "But it's getting late and I take forever picking things out."

"I can help you out," Cassie volunteered, as she grabbed her straw and plunged it into the last of Ian's mango smoothie. She took a satisfied sip, finishing the smoothie off. "I'm pretty good at picking out outfits."

True to her word, Cassie didn't take long to pick out an outfit that made Ian look great. She paired a navy blue shirt with black slacks that made the most of Ian's slim frame. He couldn't believe how good he looked in the mirror.

"This looks great!" Ian praised, pressing away the nonexistent wrinkles on his shirt. "You're a lifesaver!"

Cassie shrugged, "No problem, but what you really need to do is work on your hair. Maybe some putty or gel?" Cassie ran her fingers through Ian's hair, trying to find a style that would fit. It was natural to her, as if she had known Ian for years.

"R-right!" Ian blurted, his cheeks warming. He quickly retreated away from Cassie's touch, embarrassed at his lack of composure. Ian quickly paid for his new outfit and stuffed his old clothes into the bags.

Cassie looked at her watch, "Hey, I actually need to get going. Good luck tonight!"

Cassie ran out of the store before Ian could even wave goodbye. Shrugging his shoulders, he started his walk back to his house so he could meet Mikey. True to his promise, Mikey was already waiting in front of Ian's house. When Mikey saw Ian walk up, he pointed at his wrist telling his friend that he was late. Ian threw the bag of clothes into the house and jumped into the car.

"You look good, Ian," Mikey said. "Must have cost mommy a pretty penny."

"Cut it out," Ian warned. "You know I hate that."

Mikey jabbed Ian's side with an elbow. "I was just screwing with you. C'mon we gotta get back to Ferrotown."

Ferrotown was Mikey's hometown and where about half of George Meer's student body lived. All the businesses were locally owned unlike the center at Avalon Springs. Ian remembered the summers he spent visiting Mo's Ice Cream Parlor. However, there was an area in town that all kids knew not to go. It was passed the tracks, and that's where Ferrotown's shadier businesses took place. That's where people ended up if they couldn't get out of their bad situations.

Mikey took them passed the tracks and pulled up to a building with a neon sign that read "Club Lust" glowing in red. "C'mon, Joey told me to go in through the back." Mikey knocked on the door and a buff guy with short red hair opened it.