The Center: Tester - Part 1

By Blackout

Editor: Geekydee

Give a shout out to Geekydee for the editing help!

Ryan thought he had all the happiness in the world. He had his beautiful girlfriend Mattie but life is a roller coaster as Ryan would find. Here is his story as he goes through what can only be considered the biggest change of his life.

Based on The Center universe. Hope you enjoy!
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Just when everything seems great in life, it’s taken away in a matter of moments. I was so happy this morning; I was taking my girlfriend of three months out on a date. Her parents were so strict that they wouldn't let her date until she was sixteen. She's my girlfriend, for crying out loud, and we haven't even been able to go on a date! We have known each other since we were little. We used to be best of friends when we were little, always playing games together. We either played ball, house, or something else. I was always acting as her knight in shining armor. I promised to protect her till the day I die. I would beat anyone who meant to harm her whether it was playground bullies or the neighborhood dog. That dog was way huge, with teeth that could kill a man. It ended up having to be put down after it bit the mail man so hard he was put in the hospital.

Yet my current girlfriend and I grew apart when we entered middle school. You know how it is; you just drift apart with the whole different gender thing at that age. Still, we entered high school and sparks just kind of clicked between us after wWe got paired up on a science project. I did not know what to think, as we had not really talked to one another for a few years now. When I went to her house at first, it was kind of awkward since we were then at the age where you start fantasizing about the opposite sex. We started talking about when we were younger; one thing lead to another and now we're dating. I could not be happier.

Turning my head to look at the clock, I noticed that the time read 7:30 AM. "Damn, if I don’t leave now, I am going to be late".

I got into my car to drive and pick up my date for school. Stopping by her house, I honked the horn. She ran out of the house smiling her bright and beautiful smile. I would like to say my eyes did not wander off her smile, but that would be lying. I am a guy after all; my eyes could not help wandering down to her breasts. She was a beautiful blonde with the curves of a goddess; she has bright blue eyes, a petite girlish face, nice legs that will drive a man crazy, a nice butt, and to top it all off, some C sized breasts. I was happy when she told me her breast size, not too big and not too small, as Goldilocks would say, they were just right. If that was not enough, she was wearing a mini jean skirt, flip-flops, and tank top. In all honesty, she could have been a model.

"Ryan Hershel, watch where your eyes are wandering," she said, giving me a smile while turning her head around to where her dad was standing at the door, frowning at me.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Rossford," I shouted. "I will take good care of Mattie on our date tonight!"

"You better, son; remember, don’t take advantage of her, and bring her home by 11:00 tonight or I will be having a long conversation with your father, Ryan".

I sighed, relieved he smiled. If it was anyone else they would not have gotten anywhere near his precious daughter. Our fathers were both friends since high school, yet tragedy hit both their families. When I was born, my mother died right after childbirth. My father was devastated and at the beginning, unable to overcome the sense of loss. Mr. Rossford was with my father all the time until my father was mentally stable again. Six months later Mr. Rossford’s wife died in labor; fortunately they were able to save Mattie’s life. To say the least, Mr. Rossford was even more devastated and this time it was my dad’s turn to comfort him. Mr. Rossford eventually remarried but my dad never had the heart to get married again. The death of Mr. Rossford’s wife did play heavy on him though, it was part of the reason he was so protective of Mattie. She was the child of his first wife, his first love. That’s why if it was anyone else, they would not be able to date his daughter.

The only reason he let me date her was because he knew me and my father was his best friend. If I did anything out of line with his daughter, I would be grounded for a century. Not that I would though. I honestly love and care for Mattie, still trying to uphold the promise of being her knight in shining armor that would protect the princess at any cost. We often joke about that now, but I still keep that promise as best I can.

"Hey my Knight!" Mattie teased. "Show up early next time, I can’t afford to be late to school."

"Sure thing princess" I teased back.

We soon arrived at Huntington High School, ready to have knowledge shoved down our throats, and crammed into our heads.

Mattie held my hand as we walked into school. I smiled. Being with her made my heart thump, my hand was getting sweaty but fortunately she either did not notice or did not care. She clearly just wanted to be near me, which made me about the happiest man in the world.

Half way through the school day I started to get a small headache. But I pushed it out of my mind,, determined to make this the best date of Mattie’s life. When school ended it was like the bells of an angel. I was so ready to just sprint out of there and prepare for tonight's date. Being a seventeen year old junior in high school is hard, I'd much rather spend my time playing videogames, soccer, or being with Mattie.

I drove Mattie home and then drove myself right back to school for soccer practice. I am currently playing varsity soccer, where I play midfield, which means I am a key player. In the middle of practice, my headache intensified. I was relieved when practice finally ended.

When I got back home I had thirty minutes left until my date with Mattie. I did a really quick shit, shower, and shave. After that, I got ready and put on a nice button down shirt and pair of dress pants. I then put on some cologne; I wanted to smell my best for tonight’s date. I looked in the mirror to review myself before the date. I looked pretty good shaved with my brown hair, tan skin, emerald green eyes, and the healthy lean and muscular body I got from soccer. On my way out the door my dad stopped me.

"Hey son," He said. "Make sure you are respectful to Mattie: open the car door for her and be the gentleman I raised you to be".

"You know how much I care for Mattie, Dad. I would never do anything to hurt her," I replied.

"I know that son, but Mr. Rossford is my oldest friend, and you know how protective of Mattie he is. I would hate if anything happened to harm our friendship. So just be extra careful with her tonight. You hear me?"

"Yeah dad, I will make sure Mattie is safe and has a good time tonight. I will be back later tonight. See you later." After that I practically ran out the door. There was no way I was going to be late to pick up Mattie and with how things were going, I was really pushing it; I had barely ten minutes to pick her up. Fortunately for me, she was only an eight minute drive away.

When I got to her house and rang the doorbell, I began sweating again. I was just so nervous about our date tonight. Thank the heavens for deodorant and cologne.
When she opened the door and her smile shined right through me, I was taken right there. If I died now, I would die a happy man. There she was, in this beautiful sparkling backless blue dress. It hugged her curves in all the right ways. My eyes drifted back again between breasts where her cleavage was showing in all their glory.

"Eyes on my daughters face, RYAN!" said Mattie’s father behind her, with a stern gaze on me.

I couldn't help but mumble, "Yes sir." With this, Mattie just giggled. I look at her and smiled.

"Now Ryan, just remember what I told you this morning. Take care of my daughter and make sure she is home on time."

With that, I assured him I would and then we left on our way. When we got to the car, I was sure to open the door for her so she could get in. She smiled. I think she liked it that I was all dressed up and being the perfect gentleman.

On our way to the restaurant some red sports car seemed to be following us, but then it turned and I relaxed. Clearing my mind of all things but the awesome date I was about to have with Mattie, we went to some inexpensive, nice Italian restaurant. There we talked about all sort of things like school, our lives, our favorite shows, and anything else we could think of. Mattie and I can talk for a century together. We decided to order a large pizza, my treat. We both dug, in filling our faces with the greasy delicacy.

During the meal my headache increased and my sides started to hurt. I thought I must be getting cramps from soccer practice. Note to self, drink more water and stretch more.

Mattie noticed I was hurting from the pained expression on my face.
"Ryan, are you sure you’re ok?" Mattie asked with genuine concern evident on her face.

I smiled at her. "I believe so, Mattie, but let’s get going though. I don’t know if this headache or these cramps I have can get any worse". With that, I paid the bill and we headed out the doors.

When we got out in the parking lot I saw it again. There it was, the red sports car that was following us. I motioned for Mattie to follow me quickly to my car. But the passengers in the red sports car had other ideas as they pulled up next to us.

Two teenagers jumped out of the car. One was a guy that looked our age with what can only be described as sapphire hair. He also had a Mediterranean look to him and emerald color eyes. The girl next to him had an even stranger appearance. She had pale white skin, so pale in fact, that if she was any paler she would be transparent. She also had albino white hair, it was as if she bleach it, even her eyes where pure white. If I could, I would color her; it was as if she was a blank page in a coloring book, the only color she had was the tie-dyed shirt and shorts she was wearing. Probably to add some color to herself.

I felt like what was a click at the back of my mind, but I just brushed it off. "Ugh!" I guess this headache is getting worse.

"DAMN, it seems he is resistant to my control. You’re going to have to take him, Frosty," said the pale girl.

"With pleasure," he sneered, "I'll get his little girly, that will make him easier to control."

"These guys are out to get us," I thought. I saw him lunge at Mattie. Putting my soccer skills into action, I sprinted forward and punched him in the face and he fell down, blood streaming from his nose. Oddly, though, when I punched him, I felt something cold absorb into the hand that I punched him with. I yelled at Mattie to run away and get help; she took the signal and ran back to the restaurant.

"These jerks are going to pay for this," I thought. I was Mattie’s knight in shining armor and I would protect my princess till the very end.

"You’re going to pay for that!" he screamed. Raising his hand, he pointed it at me and the very air around me began to freeze. Ice was forming around me. My brain lost it at that point. What was happening? Now I was all adrenalin and instinct. I jumped back, breaking free of the ice, then I moved in again and came right at him, this time throwing punches and kicks. He fell again and I jump back to survey my work; something seemed off. Looking now. I saw that everywhere I punched him was frozen, as if my punches were freezing him.

I was so shocked that I did not know what to say. The other party was not shocked in the least. Frosty, as his friend called him, came at me again. This time, though, he had a giant ice sword in his hand.

"I am going to cut you up, no one injures me and gets away with it!" he yelled.

On instinct alone, I went into the fetal position; what was I going to do against an ice sword? To my surprise, it never hit me. There was a giant wall of ice now between us, separating us.

At that moment an SUV pulled up, and another group of teenagers jumped out of the car. "Damn," I thought, "more of these freaks are after me."

"Shit!" the pale girl cursed. "The Center just got here and it seems Kristyn is leading them. Let’s pull out, Frosty." With that the two of them ran back into their red sports car and pulled away. So, apparently, they were not friendly with the people in the SUV who were racing toward me. I was in no condition to fight anymore; the headache and cramps were getting worse. I hoped with all my might that these people were friendly.

Coming over to me, the beautiful brunette in front of me stopped and looked at me. I spoke first. "Are you guys here to harm me and my girlfriend, also?"

"No, Ryan, we're friends, we're here to help you through this difficult struggle you're about to go through, but you will have to come with us. I will explain things to you later."

"I really am in no condition to resist anyway, but you seem friendlier then those other two," I told her. "I have no idea what’s happening though. Please tell me what is going on. What’s with those two? For that matter what's wrong with me?"

"It’s going to be ok, Ryan, my name is Kristyn. We are here to help you, and as I said before, I will explain what’s going on later. We need to move you out of here, more of those guys who tried to get you before are coming here right now".

They seemed like they genuinely cared and I definitely did not want to be caught by those other people. So, with that, I sighed and told her, "Ok." After that, the girl named Kristyn came to me and picked me up. When she touched me, I felt that cold feeling again where she touched me. She practically threw me into the SUV. Ssoon after, as the SUV started pulling away, I saw a bunch of vans pull into the restaurant parking lot. I closed my eyes and all went dark; I was tired and had no idea what the future held. I must have fallen asleep, but I still could hear a nit of what was going on around me.

I kept feeling like some sort of static electricity was around me. Someone touched me and pulled back in pain quickly, and then there was the distinct smell of ozone in the air. I tried to think about what just happened but was unable to, as sleep quickly fell upon me.