“I couldn’t sleep,” I say lamely.
The sight of him does something to me. He’s beautiful. I know that’s not the correct word to use to describe someone as masculine as him, but that’s the first word that pops into my mind when I look at him. His thick raven hair, crystal-clear green eyes, plump pink lips…
He’s. Fucking. Beautiful.
My mouth waters when he gradually resumes his progress towards me. I’m rooted to the spot. He only stops when there’s no space separating us. He’s at least three heads taller than me so I have to crane my head up to meet his eyes. After a few seconds, he brushes by me to continue his jog. I turn around and watch him until he disappears.
Central High is definitely not like the fancy private schools I’m used to attending, I observe while waiting in the main office to have a talk with the principal. It seems my uncle has already had a conversation with him about his troublesome nephew. A tall, skinny man with snow white hair emerges from the back. I stand as he walks over to me.
“You must be Arthur.” He holds out his hand, but I don’t take it.
“Art.”
“Okay, Art it is. I’m Principal Taylor.”
He drops his arm to his side. “I figured it’d be beneficial for us to have a little chat since it’s your first day. If you don’t mind?”
“Actually, I do mind.”
“It’ll only take a few minutes, Art.”
“It looks like I don’t have a choice.”
“I promise I won’t take up too much of your time.”
I follow Principal Taylor to his office. He steps to the side, motioning for me to enter first. He waves his hand in the direction of a worn discolored chair in front of a rickety desk. I drop down in the chair with unnecessary force. After closing the door he sits in the equally outdated chair behind his desk.
“I hope you enjoyed the holidays,” he says with a wide smile on his face.
“It was shitty.”
My reply causes his smile to slip. “Art, I want you to finish your senior year on a positive note—”
“I’m not interested in this bullshit pep talk.” I cut him off.
“Just complete all the assignments given to you, keep your head down, and stay out of trouble. It’s that simple.”
“You see, the problem with that is trouble always finds me, and when it comes knocking, I have to answer the door.”
The expression on his face turns to one of irritation.
“Are we done here?”
When he nods, I stand, preparing to leave his damn office.
“One more thing,” he says.
Now what?I let out a heavy sigh and shoot him with my best “hurry the fuck up” look.
“A high school was vandalized sometime during the winter break. You’re new in town, but I thought I’d still ask if you know anything about it?”
“I don’t,” I answer.
Fuck my cousin and his friends, but a snitch I’ll never be.
Mr. Beck is going on and on about the curriculum and expectations when Art enters the classroom. He’s wearing destroyed faded denim jeans, a shirt with some logo I’m unfamiliar with, and expensive looking shoes. His clothes probably cost more than every student’s outfit in class. My heart starts to pound in my chest. Trevor follows my line of vision.
“You’ve got to be fucking joking. Why the hell did he have to end up with us?” he mutters.
