Cody stared at the clock.
8:15.
8:15, dammit! Where was that girl?!
Mr. Fitz had finally shushed the classroom to a hum and was attempting to educate his students about an aspect of retail development - though anyone could see he was having a hard time concentrating, taking into consideration the extent of his flushed face and the deathly grip on his marker.
"Now," the man ground out between his teeth. "If we compare this statistic with that of-"
Suddenly, the door flung open, and in waltzed none other than the extremely tardy student: Miss Lynnette.
The class - teacher included - stared in utter shock as numerous eyes traveled across her appearance. Her red uniform was muddied, frayed, and rumpled beyond belief. Numerous bruises and scrapes adorned her legs, and a small trickle of blood ran down her elbow, betraying a nasty scrape across her skin.
Lynn shifted, brushing away a strand of tangled hair that was ridden with leaves and twigs as her blue eyes, bright with exercise, scanned the room. Her lips and cheeks were flushed as if she had just run a marathon and, almost to prove the point, she lifted her hand to wipe away the sweat on her brow - which only spread another smudge of dirt on her fair skin.
The room was silent...then:
"How the hell were you so late, Lynn! What happened to you? You look like a train ran you over!"
The girl's eyes snapped to Cody, who had stood up from his desk and approached her, anger clouding his features. Her whole expression melted like butter. Cody froze.
Oops.
"CODY!!" the girl cried in utter joy, her arms flinging out to execute the bear-hug he had been haunted with for ages. Hey - just because he had grown bigger and stronger over the years did not diminish the way his breath caught in his throat at the sensation of her enveloping hug (not to mention the butterfly tornado in his stomach).
Cody braced himself for impact, when suddenly, another voice boomed into the classroom:
"LYNNIE!!"
A collective gasp sounded as a blonde-haired boy ran into the room, scooping Lynn up from behind to spin her around in a tight hug.
Who the hell??
A squeak sounded from the girl as she was lifted, and when the stranger set her down, she stumbled back, turning her head to spot her attacker.
"How dare you pi-" she stopped, her mouth falling open as her eyes rested on the boy. "How? You? W-what is going on?!"
"I know right?" her attacker replied. "I can't believe we're in the same class! Let alone the same school! Though I've heard there's only one high school around here, so perhaps that isn't surprising."
Lynn stared at him for a moment, countless feelings spreading across her features. Finally, after various emotions of confusion, disbelief, suspicion, and incredulity, her face broke out into an enormous grin, and Cody watched in utter horror as she catapulted herself into the boy's arms, giving the stranger his crushing hug.
"Waah!" she squealed, unable to express herself in any other way. The boy returned the hug, one of his arms wrapping around her waist.
Cody's stomach twisted in the most awful, sour sensation, and before he knew it, he had marched up to the embracing couple and pulled them apart.
"Who the hell are you?!" he growled, shoving a finger into the boy's chest. Channeling every uncomfortable and frustrating emotion clawing within him, he drilled a glare that was so intimidating, the largest tackler in football history would've cowered underneath it like a toddler that had wet his pants.
However, this stranger did not back down as easily. Though, at first, his face began to crumble, he suddenly straightened, returning Cody's death glare with a calm but determined gaze.
Cody blinked and almost took a step back. No one had ever challenged him since fifth grade - not after one punch had sent an unfortunate classmate to the hospital. The kid had been persistently bullying Lynn and had called her ugly right in front of Cody (not that he punched him because of that. It was because that boy was a constant, irritating, arrogant pain in the...well, you get the picture).
A clearing of the throat broke through his thoughts, and he turned to see Mr. Fitz walking forward. Cody ever so graciously stepped back, letting the teacher face the intrusive male.
"I believe you are..." he began.
"The new student? Yep!" was the response.
Wait, what? New student?
Mr. Fitz gave an exhausted sigh, seemingly realizing how much harder teaching his class was going to become. Then he faced his multitude of whispering students.
"Quiet everyone! The new student is going to introduce himself now - and since this occasion happens only every century, I'd suggest you be quiet and listen."
The room fell silent as Mr. Fitz motioned for Cody to sit down. However, when Lynn took a step to follow, the teacher's eyes snapped towards her with a drilling death glare. She gulped, freezing in place.
The blonde-haired boy straightened, his face brightening dramatically as he addressed the audience.
"Hey everybody! I am known as Daniel Cross back in L.A. - but feel free to call me Danny, I like that nickname. My mom and I moved here to take a break from everything...and because I missed school. So, I might be a little rusty at first with this whole senior 'top-of-the-ladder' thing." Daniel laughed, his hand coming up to rub the back of his head.
Cody shifted in his seat, unnerved by the amount of whispers following the boy's introduction. For some reason, the whole room was going nuts. It was like electricity was zipping through the air - especially from the girls.
"So...any questions, I guess?" the boy finished. Several hands darted up.
"Oh. Wow," Daniel laughed nervously. "Umm... the girl with the pretty hairclip."
"So you're telling us you're the Daniel Cross, one of the most famous male models in Hollywood?"
For a moment, Cody thought he saw a touch of weariness flash over the boy's face, but then it fled, making the football player wonder if he had been seeing things. Daniel laughed.
"Well I think you're exaggerating a bit there, but to answer the general part of your question - yes, I am."
A set of squeals erupted from the room as the female students broke into a gossiping chaos. The males? All that shown on their faces was confusion, irritation, or uncaring apathy.
As Mr. Fitz attempted to quiet the class, Cody watched as the supposedly famous model snuck a look at Lynnette, who was fidgeting at the side of the teacher's desk. The girl's brows were scrunched as she meticulously separated leaves from her brown mane - but when she noticed Daniel's gaze, she straightened, flashing him her signature I-am-extremely-hyper-but-don't-worry-I-rarely-bite grin.
The boy immediately relaxed, and before Cody knew it, Lynn was pinned amiably under the model's shoulder as he teased her, his free hand coming up to help her rid her hair of the morning's toils.
That same extremely irritable, twisty feeling wrenched in Cody's gut once more, and he growled, his hands gripping the desk. What was wrong with the guy? He could be a stalking creeper the way he treated Lynn - it was like they had been best buddies for years! Why wasn't the girl protesting about it?!
"Now I have fifteen minutes left to teach," Mr. Fitz was shouting into the room. "And by God, I am going to use those fifteen minutes like they are the last days of my life! Now, BE QUIET!"
The class silenced appropriately, and Mr. Fitz straightened to gather the remnants of his shattered composure. He turned to Daniel, who quickly released Lynn and went to find a seat. The girl, however, stayed, her hands clamping together as she cowered under the teacher's cold countenance.
"Miss Lynnette. I had warned you: one more tardy and you would get a week's detention. You were tardy. Congratulations. Now go to the nurse's office and clean yourself up."
The girl dipped her head and sulked out of the room, a trail of muddy footprints left in her wake. The teacher stared at the brown stains for a moment, a vein popping out of his forehead, but then he turned to the class and executed what was supposed to be a calm, unperturbed smile. He looked like the devil incarnate.
"Now, as I was saying. Comparing these two statistics, which one do you think is the most..."
And so, finally, class began. Cody zoned out of the lesson, his eyes traveling over to the blonde boy, who was currently locked in a battle of making the biggest eraser-pyramid on the face of the planet. The model's features contorted in dismayed shock as, in his attempt of repositioning one, all the pink erasers broke their balance, tumbling down onto the desk beneath.
Daniel Cross.
A damned "Danny" nicknamed pretty boy.
Cody's mouth twisted into a scowl. He usually got along with everyone, giving the men mutual respect and the girls moderate courtesy. If a fight broke out, it was settled with words or fists, and the next day all was mended. Yet this boy...why did the sight of him make Cody want to rip through a million punching bags?
Putting his face in his hands, the jock groaned.
Whatever. It would go away - and everything would return to normal again - back to that blessed, cursed, typical routine of his screwed up life.
Oh Lord, how wrong he was.
_________________________________________
Oh! Well hello again everyone! HAPPY EASTER! XD
Wasn't it a surprise to see our "handsome boy" become the new student? - (though I think most of you anticipated this;)
Now tell me dear readers, who do you "ship" with Lynn? Is it (forgive your author - she is not created with a "shipping names" capability) #Cynn? Or #Lyniel? Let me know in the comments! XD
And before you cruise to the next chapter - please take that one millisecond to click that lovely star and vote XD
Sincerely yours,
<3 Ruth :)
P.S. I have never liked love triangles (the only one I will accept is Phantom of the Opera) - so for those who hate love triangles - do not be alarmed by this sudden shift, I promise you, it will not only be bearable, but fun. Don't worry ;)