Black Leather.

For the majority of his life, Vincent was more than accustomed to staring at the black leather backside of a headrest in his mother's vehicle. Slowly the black leather backside turned into the headrest in his aunt's car, then his grandmother's car, and then his neighbor's car, until finally he couldn't see a black leather backside to any headrest. It was replaced by a black tinted screen that could be rolled down if he had a question about where he was going. Most of the time, an old decrepit man with a barely functional voice guided him to where he needed to be. Today, however, should have been the singular day that he was able to stare at his mother's black leather headrest one last time before going off on his own. Unfortunately, he was trapped behind the black tinted glass once again, with Rosa, who was checking his robes one last time to see if there were any overlooked spots.

"Don't worry Mr. Vincent! You are going to be the best looking graduate there, I'll make sure of it. You've always been the most handsome child I have ever seen and I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks Rosa but you really don't have to make such a fuss -"

"Oh Mr. Vincent please try to keep that cap on straight! Here take my bobby pin - "

"Rosa aren't those for girls?!"

"Shush!! You have the curly hair of a cherub and sometimes being an angel comes with a price. Now sit still! We are almost there Mr. Vincent."

"Rosa did mother send you to come watch?"

"No... honey, no I'm sorry. I have to go back and take care of the house, but I am here now and I will hoard all the precious pictures for myself. I promise. Go ahead my sweet, you are doing a tremendous thing today. Don't be nervous."

With that, the decrepit gatekeeper of a driver opens the door for Vincent and leads him to the front of the school. Once again, nearly every single student gawks at Vincent for arriving in his stretch limo, even though he did this almost every single day. What makes matters worse are the looks he receives when they realize that not a single soul follows him out of the vehicle. Once more, the boy is made to be a pitiful spectacle, elite but without family. From this day on Vincent vows to never again to be placed behind black glass.

After the guest speaker and other such formalities, Vincent and the rest of his peers have only but to listen to one final speech before they can begin the procession to receive their diplomas, the valedictorian's. She arises and glides to the podium, her figure as lanky as can be. Her entire limited body weight is necessary in order to support such an unruly mess of hair, and after a pompous cough to clear her throat, she fakes charming nervousness to begin her monologue.

"Good afternoon parents, teachers, and the class of 2015. Today marks the first day of the rest of our lives and the next chapter in our story. Will I continue to be a supporting character in your future stories? A protagonist? An antagonist? Who knows for sure? We all write our own futures and must always look ahead towards brighter things, unless you are planning to write another Crime and Punishment."

A few educated laughs ring from the crowd. She continues,

"Some stories rely on a network of talented heroes to save a society like The Lord of the Rings, while others focus more on a lone wolf or the singular struggles of a warrior like the Odyssey. We must choose for ourselves where we fit into the narrative of the world and who we want to accompany us in all of our battles. I really hope to continue to play a small part in the plots in the rest of your lives... because I honestly could not have gotten where I am today without the support system of my friends and my peers. Thank you."

While everyone else claps after her speech, Vincent snickers loudly under his breath at her last sentence, as if discretion didn't apply to the situation anymore. The sound causes a blonde vixen from a previous math classes to lock eyes with Vincent and let out an equally condescending giggle.

"Oh Vinny you are so funny, picking on the poor girl. You know she hasn't had the same sort of privileges that you or I had growing up. You could at least pretend to be nice for one speech."

"Oh you know what else is funny? I didn't know that we are so similar! Thank you for reminding me who exactly I am and making me realize what good friends we really are."

"Vinny, you don't need to be so cold and tough all the time. It's okay to have people who care about you by your side when you can't do things by yourself,"

She rests her snow white hand on Vincent's knee, "If you need to, you can put some of that weight on me."

Just then, the blonde blushes and can no longer make eye contact with him. Vincent is disappointed that once again, a conversation that actually meant something turned into another ploy.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he stammers. "I have plenty of guys to call on if I need help and I'm sure you do as well. Or girls. Whatever. But trust me, a girl like that doesn't have a lot of friends like you or I. The more you try to climb straight to the top, the faster you forget about the people trapped below."

At this moment Vincent scans the crowd of parents out of the corner of his eye, searching for her. Dissatisfied, he returns to the golden distraction dangling off of his cap and after her failed attempt at flirtation, the blond turns promptly back around in order to avoid any further embarrassment. Another plump girl near the scene giggles at this interaction, but Vincent hardly notices. He is too busy pondering over how the hell he can casually sneak out of the rest of the ceremony after receiving his diploma while wearing such an awfully gaudy crimson robe.

Eventually Vincent makes it out to the front lawn of the school only to be bombarded with other brand new alumni begging for pictures to document his friendship. He is obligated to pose with his team mates from track, seeing how he was the captain that lead them to state and ended up breaking a national conference record, but he is also desperate to get out of there before he is forced to spew some motivational quotes stolen from numerous films in order to get the others to be fired up about their own individual futures.

However, the girls are even worse. Several cheerleaders, female athletes, party girls, future women's rights activists, and many more of the like all flock around Vincent as if this is their last chance to be courted for the rest of their lives. It's as if no woman in that building could resist tight brown curls paired with smoldering eyes and an apathetic face. He picks out a few of his favorites from each variety, gives them each their fifteen seconds of fame and a tiny forced smile, and sends them on their way to their families.

But it is their families that ultimately causes Vincent to absolutely lose it.

One of the fathers of the other runners corners Vincent after the photo with his son and gives him the most disgusting bear hug anyone can imagine. When he sets Vincent back down, he draws him closer in and gently whispers,

"You know it's a shame that that mother of yours couldn't be here tonight, but don't worry! I made extra sure to take plenty of pictures for her just in case - just like I did at every track meet too. And if you ever need it Vinny, you are always welcome in my home, especially after all you did for my boy!" The man awkwardly chuckles, "You can always count on your track dad!"

Vincent loses it.

"You should be a little more careful about who you want to give that title to. You can't claim me just because my dad isn't around. Trust me, you wouldn't want me for a son and I sure as hell don't want you for a father. Don't be so quick to try to trade your own biological son in for a newer shinier model. You have no idea how strong a father and son bond can appear to be to someone who has never felt it! And you are willing to throw it away! For what? Me? Why? Probably for the same grubby reason everyone else in this building wants to be associated with me. Well I'm tired of it! You wouldn't even compare to my father so don't you dare try to take that title away from him!"

As Vincent is about to storm off, the son of the track dad attempts to step in and calm the opposing parties, but ends up getting a fist to the ear by Vincent which ultimately knocks him out cold. A crowd begins to gather around the scene and babbles in disbelief that such a good boy did this to his friend. One woman pulls out her phone and tries to call the police but Vincent snatches it out of her hand in a flash and hurls it up onto the roof of the school. Then without hesitation, he sprints towards the nearest city bus stop, diploma in hand, before the rest of the audience comes to terms with what had happened.