Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

[GoldenJet]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

Hey man, I noticed this on IGN, and just recently found it here. Awesome man, definitely following.

[TheKT]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

Following, provided this isn't already dead.

[Saints101]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

New Friend Request

"Have I ever told you that I think I'm my own worst enemy?"

___

"i didnt mean wat i said about u having a big ego. i was jk." - From Bianca

...

The loneliness comes to me in the dark as I hope for sleep
I gaze out of my window at the moon and sob without making a peep
And I wonder, who really understands what I'm going through
I wonder, does anybody even care
I know, you don't care about me
So why are you always there

...

"Wake up Octavius!"

I slightly opened my eyes to see my Geometry teacher, Mr. Obikoya, standing over me. Brushing off the thought of sitting up, I drifted back to sleep.

...

You only come to me when you need something
That's what I don't understand
Because when I ask for a favor in return
I'm forced to return home with an empty hand
Oh, why do you hate me so!
Oh, why do you love me, no!
I just can't seem to comprehend
Why we can't resort to living in a wonderland
But maybe it's because you make me miserable
Oh, maybe it's because you make me miserable

...

"i love you!!!" - From Bianca

___

"You look completely miserable dude." Jason observed as we sat in the bleachers of the gym during first block.

With everything that was happening in my life, maybe I should have been ecstatic instead of miserable and mopey. But then again, what was there in my life for me to be proud of?

Sure I was on Varsity as a freshmen, one of three others. But other than that, there was nothing impressive going on in my life. My love life was now becoming real in my eyes, it was nothing. Bianca and I, we were nothing as well. We were communicating through technology, not face to face. The way it should be.

In my eyes, I was a lonely loser with no friends except for Jason, and I had no idea why he even hung out with me. He seemed like the type of kid that would be popular, but come to find out, he was an outcast like myself.

And the weather certainly didn't help. We were forced to stay inside the gym because of the rain and I found it ironic that the weather was matching my mood. The rain was as miserable and cold as my heart felt at the moment.

I finally realized that I had been lost in my thoughts for several minutes and Jason was now staring at me with wide eyes. "Nothing." I finally muttered. Getting up from the bleachers and heading for Coach Jordan. When I finally reached him, I asked for what I wanted without hesitation. "Can I go run the track?"

"It's raining outside, Octavius."

"I know and I don't care." I snapped back with ferocity that surprised everyone around us except for myself.

"Fine. Go ahead and get sick."

"Thanks." I sneered sarcastically as I set off at a sprint for the track.

...

"OCTAVIUS! BOY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE IN THIS WEATHER!"

I was on the completely opposite side of the track when I saw my Dad come out of the doors leading to the outdoor track. He was wearing his Desert Vista soccer hoodie and was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Unphased by this, I finished my lap at my own pace before stopping a few steps in front of him.

"What...What are you doing out here." He asked, this time more calmly.

"I'm running. Just finished my eighth lap." I said nonchalantly.

"Why are you running in this weather son? You're gonna get sick."

This time before speaking, I stared beyond my father. At nothing in particular though. Just at a few longer blades of grass that were growing on the side of the track. I was clearly zoned out for quite a few moments because when I returned my focus back to my Dad's face, it was growing red. "To be honest with you Dad. I don't care and neither does anyone else."

With that, I turned back around to start running again. But as I was taking my first step, I felt my father's strong grasp pull me back. "I care about you so much, Octavius." He told me in a tone that would have been inaudible to some people, but I was able to capture every word.

"I know you do, Dad."

Once again I turned around to start running again. This time, he didn't try to stop me, but something, no someone, I saw in the corner in my eye as I turned back around to run almost did. The person was a girl, a very pretty one at that. With short, brown hair and a slim build. Something about the girl was familiar to me, but I brushed it off, or at least I tried to.

___

Later that day, after my somewhat insane twenty laps on the track, I was in my fourth block English class when I was called to Coach Anderson's office.

I couldn't help but think that I was in trouble. Maybe my Dad had went to talk to him after our encounter on the track and told him that I shouldn't be on Varsity. The thought was more than I could stomach at the moment and I found myself in the nearest bathroom moments later, pouring my lunch into the toilet in what was an uncomfortable situation.

Heading to the sink, I wiped off any puke residue that might happen to be around my mouth and splashed my face with some cold water. I reached for the paper towels and as I finished wiping off my face, I came face to face with myself in the mirror.

What was wrong with me? Was I going insane? Why was I acting this way when my life was good? Or was my life really as good as I thought? What would I do if Coach kicked me off Varsity? Would I go crazy in his office?

Those were just a few of the dozens of thoughts that flooded my mind as I made eye contact with myself. I was officially a mess.

...

"Sit down, Octavius."

As hard as it was to sit down with my bad nerves due to this situation I was now in, I made it possible as to not cause more trouble for myself.

"What's up, Coach?" I asked in my most calm voice. It sounded insecere as soon as it left my mouth, but Coach Anderson obviously bought it as he didn't have a worried look on his aging face.

"I'll tell you once DeVonte arrives." He informed me in a quick sentence.

That was what let me know I wasn't in trouble. Not that DeVonte would save me from trouble. I knew who he was because he was in my second block class and he was the most arrogant bastard on this Earth. There's no way he would save anyone's *** except for his own. I knew I wasn't in trouble because Coach was bringing someone else into this little equation.

Finally, I was able to relax in my seat, but it was short lived as DeVonte walked into the room minutes later.

"Good to see you finally made it." Coach Anderson snapped at him.

"Big school, Coach." DeVonte told him, flashing a smile as well.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever frosh." He said now taking his eyes off of just DeVonte as he sat down in a chair across from me. Anderson was now looking at the both of us. "I have some good news for the both of you.....I'm giving each of you the chance to possibly start this season. I'm placing the both of you as combo guards, along with Deacon Carter, who is a junior and was our shooting guard last year, and Zack Baxley, he's a sophomore and he played JV last year."

Talk about having the spotlight almost thrust on you as a freshmen. After the news, I began to feel the nerves come back, almost doubling in power this time. Yet DeVonte was all smiles.

...

"Hey, Octavius! Wait up!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Jason approaching from down the hall. I turned around and met him halfway.

"What happened to you in first block? Where did you go?"

His questions sparked a sting of pain in my chest as I remembered this morning. I hadn't seen him at the end of class because I had come back in after everyone was already gone. Sure it made me late to my next class, but I didn't care.

"Had to go help my Dad out with some stuff." I replied quickly.

"Wait. Your Dad works here?"

I nodded my head and he gave me look, obviously stating that he wanted to know more. "He's the Varsity soccer coach." I told him. His eyes instantly widened when I gave him that bit of information and I quickly had to give him more. "Don't think I'm gonna try and pull some strings for you to make Varsity. If you're good enough, then you'll make it on your own."

Jason nodded his head as well. Understanding where I was coming from completely. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. But hey, you wanna come over to my house today and hang out?"

"Sure." I muttered, thinking no bad could come of it. "I gotta get back to class though." I told him as I turned on my heel and drearily headed back to my English class. Not looking forward to hanging out with Jason after school; however, I wasn't dreading it either.

...

"y wont u txt me back???????????" - From Bianca

___

I followed the directions that Jason gave me precisely, so I could find his house. I found it sort of odd that he only lived about a block away from me, but then again considering we both went to Desert Vista, it wasn't that surprising.

The walk over to his house was a calming one for me. I was able to clear my head for the most part and that was an exciting thing for me, since my head had felt clogged for the past several hours. Ever since this morning.

Why it went down the way it went down still perplexed me for the most part, but every time it came up as a thought, I tried my best to push it to the back of my mind. Where it rightfully belonged.

...

"Nice to see you made it." Jason cheered as he opened the door for me. "Come on in."

I walked into the modern, two-story house and I wasn't impressed by what I saw. Not to say their house was unkempt, or just plain crappy. It was just almost exactly the same way I pictured it to be, so nothing really jumped out to me. It was definitely a nice home though.

After giving me time to look around a bit, Jason led me upstairs to his room, apparently we were going to play FIFA 11 which I knew he would own me on.

We were just about to enter his room when one across the one directly across the hall opened. Out stepped the girl I had seen earlier this morning after my "argument" with my Dad.

"Hey, Octavius. This is my twin sister, Katelyn."

I was utterly flabbergasted by this brunette beauty. Katelyn was more stunning up close than far away, and being in such close proximity with her was almost too much for me.

"H-h-hi." I stammered before I quickly retreated to Jason's room.

"What a charmer he is." Katelyn joked, saying it loud enough to make sure I heard it even if I was slinking into the darkness of Jason's room.

"Take it easy on him, Katelyn. He's not exactly the charismatic type, you know?" Jason told her, defending me.

"Yeah, I understand." She replied. I could hear footsteps leading back down the step and then eventually down the stairs, making it clear that Katelyn had left. Seconds after her footsteps were no longer audible, Jason stepped into the room.

"Well, that's Katelyn." He said with a half smile.

...

"u r making me scared octavius. r u okay? wats wrong? plz just text me!" - From Bianca

[TheGhost215]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

Nice, thought this was dead for a second

[Saints101]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

Love At First Sight?

Infatuation is when you think she's as sexy as Halle Berry, as smart as Marilyn vos Savant, as noble as Alicia Keys, as funny as Chelsea Handler, and as athletic as Serena Williams. Love is when you realize that she's as sexy as Khloe Kardashian, as smart as Sarah Palin, as funny as Kathy Griffin, as athletic as Rosie O'Donnell and nothing like Halle Berry - but you'll take her anyway.

___

"Dammit Octavius! I think you're the first guard I've met that will pass up open shots and pass the ball! Just shoot if you have an open look! Okay?"

"Alright, Coach."

Dejectedly, I picked up Zack, who was coming up the court alone. Which meant that DeVonte had picked up Deacon, a job I normally did, but I guess DeVonte wanted to be embarrassed.

And that surely didn't take long to come. Just as Deacon was coming across halfcourt, DeVonte started pressuring him. Stupidest mistake you could make as a inexperienced freshmen, especially one who couldn't defended their way out a plastic bag, like DeVonte was.

Mason quickly sent the ball through DeVonte's openly spread legs and was on the other side of the confused freshmen and putting up one of his beautiful shots, that rarely missed these days, before DeVonte even realized what had transpired.

I couldn't help laughing at how naive he was. It was a priceless moment. If only someone had recorded it.

...

"wanna hang out?" - From Jason

"yeah, after i get outta practice." - From Octavius

...

"Set the pick! Set the pick!"

I quickly did as Coach commanded and set a pick on Deacon, so DeVonte could get an open lane to the basket.

Yet somehow he managed to **** that up as well as he ran into me, not around me. The collision sent me flying onto my ***, only able to spectate as Deacon sprinted down the court and threw in a monster dunk.

What I would give to have the junior's 6'5" height. Just for one play.

...

"so ur not even gonna txt me anymore????" - From Bianca

...

The final score of the two hour long scrimmage was 40, black team, and 23, white team. Unfortunately, I had one a white practice jersey, which meant I was on the white team. It was sad to get beaten by 17 points, especially since the teams were divided evenly. Well, that wasn't exactly true as we had DeVonte.

I was heading into the locker room with my head down, somewhat deep in thought, when he bumped into me.

"Watch where you're going bitch!" He yelled, pushing me once more.

At first, I was still lost in my thoughts, so I didn't think anything of it. I just kept walking, but then he shoved me again.

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you!" He shouted at me.

It took all the self-control I possessed in my now 5'9" and 142 pound frame to not hit him square in the face. I found myself counting to ten silently, taking deep breaths, then finally speaking.

"**** off, DeVonte." I growled through my teeth, as I continued my walk to my locker. I expected to feel another shove or perhaps even a punch, which I was hoping for. That way I could beat his *** and it would all be in self-defense, but he didn't say another word to me nor did he walk within 5 feet of me while we were in the locker room.

___

"Yo, Jason. Can I ask you something man?"

I was in Jason's room and we were finally playing something other than FIFA 11. I think it was only because he was beating me by at least 5 goals or so every time we played. We were now playing a game I was good at, NBA 2k10.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to concentrate on the game that he was losing to my Suns, 40-20 and we were only entering the 2nd quarter.

At first, I didn't know how to structure the question without making it awkward and it took me a few minutes and in that time, we were sitting in silence except for the 2k10 commentary.

Nearly 5 minutes later, I had settled on the right words. "Uh, I kinda need your help with something? Well, actually with dating."

I winced after finishing what I had to say, expecting him to laugh uncontrollably, but he didn't. He only paused the game and turned to look at me, and he had a smile on his face.

"Well, my sister is single, ya know."

I swallowed hard at the thought of even being face to face with Katelyn. I couldn't imagine talking to her, but instead of bitching out. I agreed. "Sounds like a plan. But how do I know that she's even interested?"

This time he laughed, which made me flinch away from him in a quick motion that I hoped he hadn't noticed. "Trust me, she does. We were talking last night and she asked me about you. Said you were cute and that she wanted to talk to you."

It was now my turn to smile. And boy was I was grinning! Just knowing that little piece of information, whether it be true or not, made me warm up inside. For the past few days I felt dead on the inside because it felt so cold in there. But no longer was that a problem. Not with Katelyn.

Jason obviously understood what my smile meant and his grew into more a smirk. "Well, she's right across the hall dude."

Now, my heart was falling with no landing pad in sight.

...

"are u ok babe? im scared for u but just remember i love you with all of my heart." - From Bianca

...

"Octavius! Are you okay dude?"

My eyes slowly opened and Jason was standing over me with a cup of water that he must have already used because my face was wet.

Slowly, I sat up and rubbed my head. "Yeah, I think I'm good. What happened?"

Jason smirked. "Well, I said that we should step across the hall, so you could talk to Katelyn and you fainted."

If I thought I had felt bad before, now it was so much worse. Humiliation filled my chest to the point that I thought it might bust my chest open.

"Damn dude." I groaned. "I need help."

Jason's smirk wavered for a moment, but remained constant. "I'm here for ya bro. Don't worry about a thing. I'll help ya."

"Thanks man." I groaned as I tried to shake off the side effects of the fainting. "I think I should be heading home though."

He understood why I wanted to leave completely and got up to open the door for me. "I'll see ya tomorrow at weight training then dude."

"Yeah." I muttered as I walked out of his room, but just as I stepped foot out of his door. Katelyn's swung open.

"Oh hey, Octavius." She said smiling. Katelyn was wearing nothing more than some baggy pajama bottoms that had Justin Bieber's gay face all over them and a sports bra.

I found myself just enjoying the sight for more than I was welcome to and when I finally looked at Katelyn's face, there was a look of anger and confusion interrupting what would have other been a sweet, serene, beautiful sight.

Without thinking, I quickly scurried off, nearly tripping as I was went down the stairs. But nothing else that could happen could be more embarrassing than what had already taken place in the Elliot household.

___

"i know u prolly found some new chick down there to **** by now so im done with u octavius! it's sad u cant even ****ing text me back!" - From Bianca

"wat the hell r u talking bout girl???? i was just busy with bball practice. im sorry i didnt txt u. just been real busy babe." - From Octavius

"omg, im so sorry baby!" - From Bianca

"it's fine babe. im sorry. u dont have anything to be sorry for." - From Octavius

"ur too awesome. i dont deserve u! i love u!" - From Bianca

"no i dont deserve u. & i love u too. more than u can possibly imagine." - From Octavius

[Saints101]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

No Longer I Say

“Men are born to succeed, not to fail.”

___

The world seemed more exotic and strange to me on that day. The sounds of cars bustling down the street felt unfamiliar to my ears. The desert scenery was depressing as all hopes of life out there was quickly lost in my frail heart.

Instead of riding with my Dad to school, I opted for the half hour walk. My head was as clouded as the morning sky. Thoughts would shoot through my head faster than I could thoroughly process them, so eventually I gave up trying. Allowing them to make their way in and out, which resulted in a heavy throbbing on the side of my head. A migraine. Great, just what I needed to start the day.

Instinctively, my hands went up to rub my temples together, but that action almost made the throbbing worse. It increased a few beats when I first pushed my temples together, and I immediately forced my hands to retreat to my pant's pockets.

My eyes slowly focused on the ground, I was afraid to look up. Afraid to look at the world that was going on around me, with people that were having a much more pleasant morning than I was.

I knew my bad morning was due to another sleepless night that I had spent staring at the wall opposite my bed. The whole night, flashes of Bianca and Katelyn flew in and out of mind. Every single one of my thoughts that night was about them. Whether it was to compare them or to think about what I liked most about each of them.

Simply put, those thoughts weren't what I needed. I would have rather studied the playbook that Coach Anderson had given me when I had visited his office with DeVonte, but it was now committed to my memory. Thanks to the countless other sleepless nights I had been forced to endure.

___

'Look at them, they're disgusting. They're like ****ing animals. All over each other. Get a ******* room. No one wants to see you two suck each other's faces off in the middle of the hallway.'

Disgruntled, I pushed my way past a couple that was kissing after I left my locker. I made sure to make enough contact with the guy to separate them.

"What the **** frosh?"

That voice was easily recognizable to me by now. It was the voice of our captain on a Varsity. It was the voice of a junior. It was the voice of my competition. It was the voice of Deacon Carter.

I turned my head to look at him and his girlfriend, and they both were upset at my interruption of their "special" time. "**** you." I sneered as I snapped my head back and continued to walk down the hall.

...

"What's his problem, Deacon?"

The junior just shook his head as he looked at his girlfriend of two years, Mya Henderson. The two had been together since the beginning of sophomore year when Deacon gave up his old, player ways and won her over.

But Deacon wasn't thinking about the couple's past. He was wondering why Octavius had just shoved him like that. It wasn't like him, he was usually quiet and scared to piss someone off. At least that's how he was in practice, which was the only time Deacon saw him throughout the day.

Deacon struggled to think of what was wrong with the freshman. Did he just get dumped? Had he just failed a test? Hell, did he smash a finger when closing his locker?

The list went on and on, and so did time. A tug on the arm from Mya brought Deacon out of his thoughts. She looked irritated, probably at both Octavius' little stunt and his drifting off into his own thoughts.

"I don't know babe." He told her as he took her hand, leading her to their next class, which they had together. "I just don't know."

___

'The only girl I even talk to right now is Bianca and that's through texts, so that doesn't even ****ing count. All of these guys at school have more than one girl they talk to throughout the day. And it's face-to-face communication! Not damn text messages.'

The sudden thought sent a painful arrow through my heart. How could I talk about my relationship with Bianca like that. Like it meant nothing! Like it was nothing!

All day, my thoughts had been negative and mood had been even worse. At this point in time, I wouldn't be able to manage a smile to save my life.

It wasn't fair. Why was I being forced to feel this pain? Why couldn't God have just put it onto someone else's shoulders? A stronger, more self-secure person. Why had he chosen weak Octavius?

___

The locker room felt peculiarly cold as I entered it to get dressed for practice. As normal, I was the first one there. Probably because most of the other guys fooled around with friends or girlfriends after the final bell rang and I came straight to the gym.

When I reached my locker, I was in for a surprise. My practice jersey had a name on the back, Loser. It was in all capitals. I couldn't tell if I was more in shock that my practice jersey had a name on the back, which they hadn't had so far, or angry that someone had defiled my jersey.

But I was unable to make a choice. I was unable to feel anything actually. So I did what most people wouldn't have done. I changed for practice, putting the defiled jersey on as well. I wasn't going to let this taunt get to me.

...

Minutes into practice, the snickers began. DeVonte was the source of the first, which didn't surprise me.

I could feel my teammate's eyes drilling into my back as I was at the front of the line for our five laps around the court. I could feel my body temperature start to rise. The signs of humiliation mixed with anger began to make their presence, but instead of letting it get to me. I used it to my advantage as I used the anger as fuel. Fuel to make every single one of those *******s look bad.

When Coach's whistle pierced the now constant sound of laughter, I burst off the line and found myself sprinting the entire five laps, with no signs of slowing down.

I finished my fifth lap when the rest of the team was just beginning their third. Coach Anderson had a look of surprise, failing to conceal it, when I went to take a seat on the bench after declaring that I was done.

That was just the first *** whopping I was going to be handing out for the day. Much more was to come.

...

After a couple of drills, we went straight to our daily scrimmage. I brought the ball up after the center on the other team had managed to score with Deacon waiting for at the top of the key.

I didn't look at any of my other teammates. I simply brought the ball to where he was and pulled up for the three.

Much to the surprise of him and everyone else, I drained it in his face.

"Swish." I said as I jogged back to the other side of the court with a smirk on my face

...

We were up 20-15 ten minutes into the scrimmage and I had been a key part of every score. Whether it was dishing out the assist, scoring myself, or even grabbing the rebound for the second chance opportunity.

Once again, I was bringing the ball up against Deacon. He was now giving me full court pressure, hoping to derail me somehow, but I quickly dashed his hopes as I put the ball through his legs and dashed around him.

With the ball back in my hand, I sprinted down the rest of the court. Two defenders shifted to the middle of the post, one in front of the other.

I was able to twist past one, going to the left, and the other one went up to try to block my shot. But instead of being face-to-face with him in the air. He was facing my back as I tossed the ball in over my shoulder.

Result, nothing but net.

___

After a dominating day in practice, I was the first to dress back in and get out of the gym. I didn't want to receive the glares of the guys I had made look bad. I honestly didn't care what they thought of me. But just seeing their sorry faces was too much.

I was heading out of the gym when I almost collided with someone who was walking by. I realized it was a girl after I knocked a book out of her arms. But she was so focused on getting to be where she had to be, she didn't notice she had dropped the book.

I went to open to my mouth to tell her about it, but then realized it was Katelyn. Upon that realization, my mouth snapped shut and I quickly took off in the opposite direction, with the book in hand.

[..GameOver..]

Re: Look Me In The Eyes | The Story of Octavius Munez

This is great. Just caught up.