Chapter Text
Tian had been winning 8-2 on the basketball court near school when it started to rain. He wanted to wait it out under the shelter of the bus stop, but two of the girl spectators had followed him. They each insisted he use their umbrella, which would mean letting them walk him to wherever he went next. He didn’t want to lead them on or cause a fight between friends but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.
That’s when he spotted the redhead approaching the bus stop. Tian recognized him from school. He was quiet, from what Tian could remember of seeing him in the hallways. He’d probably have flown completely under Tian’s radar if his hair hadn’t been so striking, and if he didn’t look so pissed off all the time, like he was always on his way to a fight.
“That’s so sweet of you to bring me an umbrella.” Tian raised his voice enough to get the redhead’s attention. “But if that one’s for me, where’s yours? You wouldn’t want to share with another guy, would you?”
Rather than laugh, the redhead’s face turned red. He looked somewhat horrified to have everyone’s attention, as though he’d thought he’d been invisible and now had been caught committing a crime.
“Who the fuck are you?” His voice shook slightly.
“You don’t know me?” He Tian cocked his head. He could not believe that anyone at school wouldn’t recognize him. He was top of his class, a star athlete, all the things that generally got your name plastered on walls and the like. He liked to think he stood out in a crowd.
“Are you with She Li?”
“What? No.” Tian slowed down as if explaining to a child. “Look, you’re getting on the bus, right?” He gestured toward the headlights approaching their stop. “You won’t need an umbrella in there. So let me buy it from you.”
“Oh.” The redhead’s face returned to its default glower as he closed the umbrella. “Now I know who you are.”
He Tian smiled the smile that he’d worn on so many front pages of their school paper. He waited while the bus came to a noisy halt before them and opened its doors to the rain.
“You’re some rich asshole.” The redhead bent the folded umbrella over his knee, snapping it beyond repair, and tossed the remains into a puddle on his way up the bus steps.
“Whoa,” Tian exclaimed in genuine shock, almost laughing. “Extra spicy.”
“What’s that guy’s problem?” one of the girls demanded as the doors closed.
“He’s kind of a weirdo,” her friend affirmed.
“You know him?” Tian asked. He craned his neck but couldn’t see the redhead through the bus windows.
She snorted. “No. I don’t think he has any friends.”
“He should really watch how he talks to someone like Tian. You could have kicked his scrawny ass if you wanted.”
“Yeah…” he murmured, watching the bus’s tail lights recede.
The kid was taller than most his age, but he didn’t look strong. The weight advantage Tian had on him was no joke. Yet he spoke like he could destroy any man on earth in a fight. Could he? Intriguing…