The Nerd has a Secret (GxG)

Chapter Seven

C H A P T E R   S E V E N
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D A R R E N

In any ordinary situation, Darren wasn't usually one to talk much. He'd found over his years—both as a delinquent and a gang member—that often times silence was the better alternative to taking. For one, his cold, resting bitchface and sour expression put people off, especially in pair with the leather jackets and cigarettes. Sometimes he said the wrong things; people thought he was looking for a fight when really he was just trying to be friendly. There were also reasons concerning his identity: he didn't want to slip up and reveal something important, he didn't want to draw attention to himself with his accent, didn't want to link himself and Dylan as the only English kids in school. But perhaps, the biggest reason he didn't speak was because he learned more when he was quiet.

Of course, being the quiet, troublemaking 'bad boy' as the school had labeled him as, there were always a few whispers circling him anyways. Things like "Who is he?" "What a loser." "He's a loner. He doesn't have any friends." And then still, whispers circled whenever he caused trouble, getting into fistfights, getting caught smoking, among other things, of course. "What a delinquent." "Why is he even attending this school?" "I bet he's one bad day away from shooting you the school." "Why hasn't the headmaster expelled him yet?"

The rumors circulating, of course, always died down within a few days, until he did something and then they'd start up again. But for the most part, he believed he did his part, he believed most didn't pay attention to him.

Aside from, of course, the occasional rom-com freak who thought she could change him, but the girl that was currently interested in him wasn't anything like that. She wasn't even interested in him in that sense. No, she was weary of him, suspicious.

And that, of course, was because she was 'totally not a friend' of his sister's, none other than the friendly and popular Aurelie Richards. Darren had done his research on this girl to be prepared for whatever might come. Other than being popular and pretty, she was also fairly impressive. She was ranked fifth in the entire school and third in her year for her grades and impressive GPA, played on the girl's tennis team, and was in as many advanced classes as the school had to offer. When it came to school, she was, in every way, similar to his sister, so much so he was reminded of her. Of course, there were also their differences: Aurelie was popular, she was nice, everyone seemed to like her. She was the daughter of the mayor, evidently, so she also came from an impressive background and an impressive amount of cash (nothing in comparison to that of his parents', but they were criminals, so he couldn't properly compare their net worth). She was an avid volunteer and organized many charity events and was also on excellent terms with seemingly every teacher in the school.

And this was trouble for Darren, because with Aurelie (not so discreetly) following him, that also meant a swarm of other kids did the same.

Darren tried to push his concerns away. Right now, the safest place for him to be without any contact with Aurelie were classes. She already knew his favorite hiding places and where he liked to smoke, so he figured he'd throw her off by attending class. He'd even made it into the room before the bell, something he had certainly never done before—not just as Darren Brown but as Darrius 'Darren' Brookes.

Ugh, Darrius. He was glad he was allowed to pick his new name, even if it weren't all that great a difference.

There was suddenly a light tap on Darren's shoulder, and he turned, annoyed, to see a smallish, pale blonde boy with round blue eyes and a hesitant expression. "E-excuse me? Y-you're, uh, in my seat." Darren knit his brow at the comment.