Chapter Text
Noah groaned, slipping his head into his hands. He tugged a bit at his brown locks in frustration. He was sitting right outside of the principal's office, waiting to be called in. The first day of school and there's a new kid. This wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't chosen to show them around. He shifted uncomfortably in the wooden chair and leaned back.
The door clicked and opened slightly, revealing Don, the vice principal. "Alright, come in, Noah." He sighed before getting up and stalking into the room.
Flinching once he heard a grating voice call out, "Noah!" He peeled his eyes up from the floor and they landed on the familiar face of Chris McLean, the principal. Standing in front of him was a tall, tan, muscular man who turned around to face Noah. They stared at each other for a moment, minty green eyes meeting dark brown eyes.
"Noah," Chris repeated, "this is Alejandro! The new student. Alejandro, Noah."
Alejandro smiled and reached out his hand for a handshake, "Pleasure to meet you, Noah."
The smaller boy grimaced and ignored him, looking straight ahead at Chris. "Why do I have to show him around? Shouldn't you get someone else to do it? Someone who actually cares?"
Chris groaned, a bit annoyed with the boy's hesitance.
"Well, you are our best student. So we figured it'd only be appropriate." Don answered, lightly touching Noah's shoulder as a form of comfort. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with." He shrugged Don off, turning on his heel to leave. He could hear the clicks of Alejandro's boots meeting the floor as he followed him out.
______
"That's about it… This took longer than I expected.” He paused, “I need to get to class." Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. They were currently standing in front of Alejandro's first class… Which was on the other side of the school. At least he had a reason to be late.
He quickly walked away, not giving the Spaniard a chance to say anything more. He heard a buzz in his shorts, pulling out his phone he saw messages from his childhood friend, Owen.
Owen - 8:39 AM
little buddy where r u?? izzy told me u got called into the principals office
everything ok? :(
let me know
did u know theres a new kid in school??
i hope theyre nice!!!
(Read)
Noah chuckled, hearing Owen's voice in his head as he read the messages.
Noah - 9:26 PM
Sorry, chubby buddy. How did Izzy know I was there? Never mind- and yes, I know about the new kid. He seems alright, I guess.
Actually, I was called in to tour him around school… like some personal assistant.
(Read)
Owen - 9:28 PM
whats he like??
whats his name??
what does he look like??
is he hot?
I MEAN
IS HE COOL
NOT HOT
just tell me about him at lunch!
(Read)
Noah - 9:29 PM
I don’t really want anyone else to know… You have class with Izzy right? Please tell her not to say anything.
Owen?
(Delivered)
He grunted as he read that his message was delivered; silently praying Owen and Izzy stay quiet. None of this would be a problem if it weren’t for last years incident with another student named Cody. He has a reputation to uphold and he didn’t want people getting the wrong idea.
______
Noah strode into the bustling cafeteria, a scowl quickly forming on his face as overlapping voices attacked his ears. He scanned the overcrowded room for the familiar faces of his friends. Most kids in the school stuck to their own cliques; the goths, nerds, geeks, jocks, etc… But, his friend group was exceptionally diverse. Finally, he allowed himself to relax as he caught sight of them. He quickly and quietly walked over and took a seat next to Owen.
He heard multiple people at the table give their greetings at his arrival, “Hey guys.”
“So…” A ginger girl leaned from across the table, she was sat next to her girlfriend, Eva. A wide grin splattered across her face and a crazy glint in her eyes. “...So?” Noah’s eyes crinckled as he studied her face in confusion.
“How’d your date with the new kid go?”
“What!?” A multitude of voices exclaimed at the same time. He flinched at the sudden onslaught before clearing his throat, “To be clear, it was not a date. Chris and Don just called me in to show him around. It was nothing serious.” He sneered, venom dripping off of every syllable.
Emma stared at him in shock then looked behind him. “Isn’t that him right there?” Everyone including Noah turned around after hearing her speak.
Speak of the devil.
There he was, sitting with the popular kids. They all laughed as he spoke, the girls at the table blushing whenever he glanced at them… Save for one black-haired girl who looked particularly annoyed. Alejandro leaned over to a freckled brunette, Courtney. Whispering something in her ear; she chuckled and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear.
“What a player.” Noah commented.
He heard a scoff from behind him, “Jealous?” Eva… “Excuse me?”
As if he had heard him, the Spaniard locked eyes with him. Startled by the sudden eye contact, Noah looked away and quickly turned around in his seat. His group of friends followed suit.
“May I sit here?” A smooth voice cut through the silence. The taller boy had quietly weaved his way over to their table, he stood across from Noah with his hands on his hips.
“No.” Noah slowly looked up. He glared at the taller boy, seemingly trying to cut through him with his eyes.
“Of course you can!” Another black-haired girl in pigtails replied, Kitty, Emma’s younger sister. She looked at him and gave him a smile. He felt his eye twitch in annoyance, “ah, gracias hermosa.” She giggled in response.
“So, Al,” the aforementioned boy flinched as he spoke. Interesting. “Why’d you move here?” Alejandro leaned forward, quickly regaining his composure he rested his chin of the backsides of his hands. “Well, my father is a diplomat and with the nature of his job we have to relocate quite a bit.”
Emma visibly perked up at hearing this. “A diplomat? That’s amazing! I looked into that as a career actually… But I think I’ll try my hand at becoming a lawyer.”
“I’m sure you’d be a superb lawyer, amiga.”
Noah slowly started to tune out the voices of his companions as they shared things about their lives one by one. He looked down and stared at his hands.
“Say, Noah?” Here we go. “What would you like to do after graduation?” Graduation. That’s right. They’re sophomores, two more years before they’ll be on their own. He hadn’t put much thought into it.
“...I don’t know. Maybe… Computer science?”
“Really? Interesting. I’ve heard that it’s a difficult yet rewarding field.”
Owen nudged Noah, “Yup! My little buddy is really good at computer stuff.”
He couldn’t help but smile a little at the praise.
“You’ll have to show me one day, amigo.” Alejandro’s eyes crinkled into a smile. Noah’s eyes widened a little, surprised someone like him would be interested. “Actually I-”
Ding!
“That’s the bell, better get to class. Bye, guys.” Emma got up, waving as she hurried off. Everyone else soon followed suit.
“Bye Noah! Nice to meet you, Al!” Owen said.
Alejandro strained a smile and said a quiet ‘bye’ back to him. He turned to look at Noah who was still sitting at the table. “Aren’t you going to get to class?” He quickly glanced up at him before looking down at the table.
“I have a free.”
“Ah. It’s a shame we don’t have one together.”
“Definitely. I’d love to spend my time in the presence of the o’ great Alejandro.” He said sarcastically, waving his arms around. He was expecting the boy to get annoyed, but he just chuckled.
“I’ll see you around, amigo.”