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It’s raining, because of course it is. Of course it has to rain on a school day. Were it the weekend Noah could hole up in his room and read all day. Rainy days aren’t so bad when he can curl up with a good book and a cup of hot coffee. But no. It has to rain on a school day.
Noah walks to school. His family is tight on money, so they can’t afford to drive him the two blocks to get to school everyday. Noah hates walking to school, but at least when the weather is fair he can take it as slow as he likes. Then again even if its raining he could technically take the walk as slow as he wanted…provided he’s okay with ending up soaking wet.
And it's not just raining, which would be bad enough, it’s also windy. Unless it’s the middle of summer, wind always makes things worse. It makes the air colder, makes it harder to move around, and most relevant to today, it can turn your umbrella inside out.
Most umbrella’s are capable of bouncing back from this these days, but there’s only so many times it can do so. Especially if it's a cheap umbrella, and as previously established, Noah’s family is tight on money.
Today is the day his umbrella is unable to bounce back from being turned inside out. So now he’s out in a windy rain without an umbrella. Even with his jacket and the three layers below he’s freezing. Which of course makes it harder to move quickly, and that’s on top of his low body weight making it hard to fight against the wind.
So Noah’s not in a good mood. He’s cold, wet, tired, and he still hasn’t gotten to school yet. Then, things became much worse.
“Noah! Amigo!” A familar accented voice called. Noah wanted to groan. If there was one person he didn’t want to deal with right now it was Alejandro Burromuerto.
Alejandro was a tall Spaniard with caramel skin, brown hair that brushed his shoulders, a matching soul patch, a muscular physique, piercing green eyes, and a tight butt…Not that Noah has noticed his butt. He certainly hasn’t been staring at it…
Okay maybe he has, but it’s hard not too considering how tight his pants are around it. Seriously, what was up with those gray jeans? What kind of pants are flared and wide at the bottom but tight enough at the top to accentuate Alejandro’s butt? Are they bespoke? Or is it some kind of special brand?
Enough about Alejandro’s pants. It had nothing to do with the reason he doesn’t want to deal with Alejandro. You see Alejandro makes up for being drop dead gorgeous by having a terrible personality. He’s so fake. Like the most fake person Noah’s ever met.
Every reaction is calculated to charm. Every word is thought out to paint him in the best light possible. He tells people what they want to hear, not what he actually thinks. Which is a shame, because Noah finds the thought he whispers under his breath to be really funny and relatable. If Alejandro spoke his mind Noah would probably like him more. He just can’t get over how fake the guy is.
“Alejandro.” Noah sighed. “What are you doing walking to school instead of driving there in that ridiculously expensive car you have? Don’t tell me it’s because of how nice the weather is. Even you couldn’t pull off that claim.”
“It’s currently unavailable.” Alejandro told him. “And I noticed you were walking to school without an umbrella.” Noah gave him a deadpan look and presented his broken umbrella. “...A working umbrella.” Alejandro corrected. “So I figured I would offer mine.”
Noah wasn’t surprised to see that Alejandro’s umbrella was in perfectly good condition despite the weather. Considering his family is rich the umbrella is probably windproof, rather than simply made with a flexible metal frame.
Honestly it was tempting. Noah doesn’t like Alejandro, and the Spaniard never does anything without a reason, but he’s so cold. The problem is that the umbrella is clearly not meant for more than one person. In other words, were Noah to share it with Alejandro, they would be in very close proximity. Who knew why Alejandro would want that, but it’s clearly what he’s going for.
“I’m good.” Noah said, hoping to shut down the conversation. He knows it won’t happen. Alejandro has a million ways to continue trying to convince him to go with his wants. Still Noah can hope.
Those hopes are dashed before Alejandro even opens his mouth. Noah can see the look in his eyes. The look that says Alejandro has decided to meet Noah’s challenge and is determined to win. Great.
“Come now amigo.” Alejandro began, that sickly sweet tone in his voice, like he was trying to coat his words in honey. “It’s cold, it’s wet, you’re shuddering, and you will likely get sick if you persist in your current course of action. Surely sharing my umbrella is better for you?”
Noah wanted to dispute that, but he couldn’t. Alejandro knows how he works. He’s not buttering him up like Chris or any of the many girls who fawned over him. He’s being completely logical. Everything he says is objectively true. Noah probably will get sick if he doesn’t take Alejandro up on his offer.
At this point the only reason he doesn’t agree is out of sheer stubbornness and a desire to not be in close proximity to the most flirtatious person Noah knows. “No really. I’m good.”
Alejandro’s large hand closes around Noah’s wrist gently. It’s at these moment’s Noah realizes how much bigger Alejandro is than him. They’re not that different in height. Noah’s like six inches shorter than him, but their build was very different. The fact that Noah’s wrist is so slight Alejandro can completely encompass it with a single hand was proof of that.
“Amigo.” Alejandro whispered, his voice beseeching. “I must insist. I don’t want you to fall ill.”
Noah sighed. He’s not going to drop this is he? “Whatever, but only because you won’t let me be.”
The rest of the walk to school is fraught with tension. Alejandro’s body is inches from Noah’s own. He can’t stop staring at him. Can’t help but notice the feeling of his breath against his face. More than that though, he can’t ignore how warm Alejandro is. Heat radiates off him like the rain doesn’t exist for him. He’s so warm, and Noah’s so cold. The desire to lean in to that heat is incredible. It takes everything in him to not do so.
Of course when you really want to do something, your brain begins to make excuses. He’s cold and wet and Alejandro is warm. Alejandro offered to share the umbrella so he must be okay with being so close to Noah. And really, huddling for warmth isn’t inherently romantic. It’s a survival technique. Calling such a thing romantic is silly really.
Just before he’s about to give into the temptation they arrive at school and make their way to the door. Noah can’t help but be disappointed. Not that he will ever admit it. And then he sees it. Parked very close by the doors of the school. Alejandro’s car. It has to be his. No one else in school is rich enough to own that brand.
“Isn’t that your car?” Noah pointed out. He expected the Spaniard to deny it. After all he’d insisted said car wasn’t available.
“So it is.” The Spaniard remarked with a nonchalant smirk. “So it is.” With that he walked off.
Noah stared at the car. Alejandro had already driven to school. He didn’t need to walk here. That meant he went out of his way to walk alongside Noah on his way to school. Why? Noah’s brain comes up with something that Noah has no idea how to react to.
Did Alejandro do this just so he could share an umbrella with him?