{Ambreigns}

[2] Pull Down Your Sleeves

Roman's P.O.V

~~~

After the extremely brief encounter with Dean, I couldn't get him off my mind. There was something about him. He was unreadable. Everyone else at this school was so predictable and stereotypical. But not him.

He was in the majority of my classes and tended to sit closer to the back of the room. His outfits rarely varied from tight jeans and plain shirts, with a leather jacket thrown across his wide shoulders.

Seth and I often saw him wandering aimlessly around the school, more often than not, alone. Seth had suggested numerous times to approach the boy but I warned against it. He had a certain unpredictability about him and I wasn't willing to test that.

~

The bell rang for lunch and I slipped out from my desk and made my way to the dinner hall. I paused at my locker to drop off a couple of books.

"What's up with that Ambrose kid?" A voice spoke from behind my locker door. I peeked around it to see a couple of the school's football players leaning against the wall. Was 'Ambrose' Dean's surname?

"I don't know, it's creeping me out. The way he broods around, I feel like he's gonna pull a knife on me or something." Yeah, they were definitely talking about Dean. The boys laughed among themselves.

"Reckon he got in a fight the other day, he took off his jacket and he had bruises all over his arms." One of the jocks' words caught my attention. I closed my locker and glanced over at the huddle.

"What you staring at Reigns? Keep walking." One spat as they all turned to glare at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's your problem?" I surprised myself by speaking, but managed to back up my words by folding my arms and taking a step forward. They shot each other confused glances before Finn, the leader of the team, approached me.

"You're my problem, faggot. Now turn around and go cry to your two-toned bitch of a friend." Finn tilted his head and stared at me with cold eyes. I narrowed my eyes at the homophobic slur and turned to walk away.

Surprisingly enough, Finn and I used to be pretty close. He changed his attitude when he joined the football team. Even more so when I gained about 50 pounds and started working out, only to deny his offer to join the team. Ever since, he seemed somewhat mad.

I shook it off as I entered the dinner hall. The smell of undercooked meat and stale vegetables filled my nose. I grimaced and looked for a patch of blonde hair in the crowd.

When I spotted him, I made my way over, only to slow down when I got near enough to see who he was sitting with. The figure's dirty blonde hair hung low over his face as he sat hunched over a crushed energy drink can.

I warily slid into the seat beside Seth.
"Hey, Ro." He chimed, throwing a soft punch at my bare arm. I huffed before glancing sideways at Dean who focused on his balled fist. Seth cleared his throat, gaining his attention,

"This is Dean. I was just talking to him about 'To Kill A Mocking Bird', y'know the story we're studying in Literature?"

I clenched my teeth and let my eyes scan to the side to observe Dean. He sighed and leaned back slightly. I shot him an apologetic look before turning back to Seth.

"Seth, I don't think Dean really cares about the book we're looking at in Lit." I spoke softly. Seth's smile fell and he looked down at his hands.

"Oh. Sorry, Dean." Seth mumbled. A small laugh escaped Dean's lips and the noise startled me.
"Don't worry 'bout it."

I smiled over at him. My gaze dropped to his arms which were partially covered by his leather sleeves. The outlines of several dark patches were visible. He caught me looking and tugged at his coat to cover them. He then stuck his bottom jaw out slightly before getting to his feet.

His empty can landed squarely in a bin by the door.
"See you round." Dean spoke nonchalantly, taking a few wide strides away from the table. When he was out of view, I hit Seth's arm.

"Hey, ouch!" He whined, rubbing his bicep over dramatically.

"Why did you talk to him?" I ignored his injury and whispered to him. He simply shrugged his shoulders and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"He was sat alone. Last time I approached a guy who looked as lonely as he did, I made a friend for life." He smirked sideways at me. I let out a short laugh and leaned on my elbows.

"Yeah, that's true. He seems like an interesting guy, like he's been through a lot." I observed. Seth hummed in agreement, engulfed in his phone. I sighed and glanced around the busy cafeteria.

I didn't know the first thing about Dean. I mean, the jocks didn't like him and that was good enough for me, but there was definitely something more to him. He was hiding something, and I was going to find out what it was.
He acted so cold and looked so unapproachable. I was intrigued, hooked on the thought of hearing him talk about his life in that voice of his.
He'd built up walls around himself and I was determined to break them down.

~~~