[A/N: Friendly reminder that this story was edited and character names have changed! If you are lost you may want to go back a chapter to refresh :)
Kolya is now Kieran
Noah is now Niall
Krish is now Cris
Scorpio is now Sergio]
Kieran POV:
I was standing by my friends, unsure of what to do in the remaining time we had before class. Alex was talking very fast at Coby about math and I had tuned out until I heard a thud and a shout that reverberated through the hallway, we turned and looked for what it was.
And I literally couldn't believe my eyes.
The new kid and John Wittley were fighting. Not really though, the new guy was only dodging Wittley's punches too well for the dumbass to catch up with him all the while grinning amusedly at Wittley's attempts. Suddenly he was in front of the little kid, shoving him away and the kid ran past us without a glance back.
The new guy dodged the punch yet again and finally grabbed Wittley's arm, twisting under it and throwing the massive dude over his shoulder. I watched the whole scene, completely astonished. I couldn't believe a new kid stood up to Wittley on the first day. I was both impressed and feeling second-hand embarrassment for the guy, but then again the asshole deserved it so maybe it wasn't so bad.
The new guy walked past us, our eyes met for a split second. His eyes were a shade of light green that almost looked blue-green. His dark brown hair was dramatically faded around the sides and back of his head and he has a streak if white in the front of his bangs, almost styled to show it proudly. His hair was longer in the front and hung in front of his eyes a little. He wore a black t-shirt with white words I couldn't read fast enough and gray, fitting jeans. He was shorter than me, and came up to about my chin and he was lean. It was incredibly confusing, since he just threw a fucking wrestler over his shoulder but I guess good technique rules all. It was like he was built for graceful movements.
"Holy shit, that was impressive. Especially on his first day," Coby muttered surprised.
"His name is Niall," Alex stated. "He transferred here yesterday from a school in the next county over. He was absent yesterday."
"And how in the hell did you know that?" I asked, barely even looking at him. I watched the new kid turn the corner and nearly crash into someone. From here I couldn't tell if he did or not. I sighed and pushed off the wall I was leaning on.
He shrugged. "He's in my English class, the teacher mentioned him yesterday." I shook my head. I guess that made sense, but the guy had a knack for know everyone, so I wouldn't be surprised if he'd said they were childhood friends.
"Of course you would know that," Isaiah grunted under his breath.
"I'd give it up, mate," Coby muttered, shaking his head. His Australian accent getting thicker as he spoke quieter. "He's never going to crack."
Isaiah just rolled his eyes and said nothing. Kyler stood looking at me blankly, like he wasn't hearing us.
---
At lunch we found that Niall guy and the little kid were sitting at our table, but I didn't mind. The only reason we sat there was because Coby was allergic to nuts. Like, deathly allergic.
Isaiah and Kyler sat across from Alex and I, Coby sat next to Isaiah, closest to the kids, and almost immediately sparked a conversation with them. After he ate his...whatever type of sandwich he ate for lunch. Sunbutter or something...?
"Hey, I saw what happened this morning," he said excitedly. His accent bled through his voice the more excited he got. The accent took Niall by surprise, but he listened anyway. "Those were some sick moves there!"
Niall blinked and smiled, but it was fake, it was strained and didn't reach his eyes, then he nodded. "Thanks, I've taken self defense because of all the bullying at my previous school."
"Self defense, huh?" Coby asked. "Cool!"
Niall shrugged. "I guess it is."
Alex shook his head, sighing. "Ky and I need to talk to coach, we'll be right back," he beckoned Kyler who jogged over to follow my friend.
Isaiah and I let Coby go on about how Niall basically destroyed Wittley. I should've told him to lay off of them, given their uncomfortable shifting; but for what it's worth, arguing with him was like talking to a concrete wall with iron support beams and a whole load of construction going on at the top.
I sighed, "So, Zay, how're you holding up?" I asked cautiously.
Isaiah was a hard guy to figure out. He could read into anyone, but no one could read into him unless he let them. He'd been having problems with his father, and I hadn't seen him at practice recently, so I worried for him. I knew the cafeteria wasn't exactly an ideal place to have that conversation, but I wouldn't see him until tomorrow.
He shrugged. "She's still fighting for us," he replied quietly, trying not to draw the attention of the other three.
I sighed helplessly, Isaiah was my closest friend and it was pure torture to watch him suffer like he was. "I wish there was some way I could help—"
"Kier, you know there is no way for you to help," Zay said sternly, warning me to drop the subject with his eyes. I didn't budge, I hated that I had to. "Drop it."
I finally shrugged, watching him relax. I really hated that I had to drop it. The guy knew he could ask me for help should he need anything, and I really wanted him to, but god damn he was stubborn.
Coby was happily munching away on a piece of bread next to me, still talking to Niall and the little kid. Coby had...quite the appetite, granted any of us could eat our parents out of house and home, but Coby was the biggest eater and he was always overjoyed when given food. Almost like he was given laughing gas. I couldn't judge, the dude was buff as hell and probably needed it.
Finally my eyes landed on Niall and that other kid (I should really have learned his name). Niall was quite the view with the kid. The air around them told you they were best friends, which made me wonder if they've known each other for a while. Maybe that was why he protected the little guy from Wittley? I didn't know the answer.
I slapped myself mentally and tore my eyes away from the two to meet Isaiah's smug gaze. I raised an eyebrow at him as he rolled his eyes. I hated his silent conversations, I never knew what he was saying.
Alex and Kyler reappeared. Alex sat on my right and Kyler on Isaiah's left. Alex and Isaiah exchanged a wicked smirk, and when Alex's eyes flicked to me for half a second, I knew something was up between them. That made me narrow my eyes at them. Alex always picked up what Zay was putting down, and it ticked me off every time.
Coby raised an eyebrow at them as soon as he looked away from the other two. He noticed it too. "What was that evil smile for, Alex?"
Alex just smiled wider, but said nothing.
Alex was the cheerful enthusiast of the group. He always knew who everyone was, and was very isolated. He always kept to himself, but around his best friends he was quite talkative and open.
Isaiah was basically our anchor and moral compass. He was the number one smart ass. He was always down to earth and never dreamed about the day the right guy would come to him. Zay was out-of-the-closet, and we were all fine with it. His grandmother had moved here from Germany, so German was like a second language to him. He'd been my closest friend for as long as I could remember, so I picked up a very limited amount of German from him and his parents when we were kids.
Coby was a cheerful guy, very outgoing and very blunt. He never filtered what came out of his mouth and was actually very sharp when he needed to be—which wasn't really ever. He could easily sense tension between two people. Although you could never win an argument against him, he was still a nice person to hang around.
Kyler was the shy one of our group. He never spoke a word and never made skin contact with anyone. I've never heard him speak. Alex and Kyler were best friends since Kyler came to his family as a foster child and Kyler always hung around Alex. He spoke to Alex sometimes, but Alex always respected his privacy. I didn't mind though, as far as I knew, going non-verbal was his trauma response.
I felt my attention drawn to Niall. I couldn't understand why, but I wanted to figure him out. He looked confident and sure of himself from an outsiders' view, but that normally meant something was up on the inside.
Our eyes met and I quirked an eyebrow at him as a sort of friendly gesture because I wasn't sure if I should smile or not. The look he gave me wasn't intimidating or weak, it was almost relaxed, but he was uncomfortable. He just met this new kid, and just met us. He was smashed between Coby and the little kid.
The corners of his mouth twitched and he bit his bottom lip, tearing his gaze away from me, muttering something under his breath. I couldn't tear my eyes away though, for some reason I just couldn't. I didn't understand what was up with this guy, but he piqued my interest.
I was extremely glad that I practiced keeping my face blank.
Isaiah smirked, but wiped it off his face as soon as he thought I saw. I saw, clearly, but let him think I missed it. He was the only person in the room who knew I was not entirely straight, since he and I were closer than we were to the rest. He'd been my best friend for as long as I could remember. Besides, it's hard to hide checking out other guys when I spend all my time with him.
Alex came close to guessing, but eventually gave up after neither of us would say anything. I appreciated Zay for that, the dude at least knew to let me decide who to tell.
"So, the new guy, huh?" Zay muttered suggestively, his voice close to my ear. He knew damn well I understood what he said, even though I pretended not to.
I finally rolled my eyes and turned to look at him, as he was now sitting next to me. "Not necessarily."
"Hm, it seems like it to me, Kier," he smirked smugly. His voice was low but not as low as it should've been. And that didn't mean no one had really good hearing.
"You know me, Zay. It's not likely," I replied shortly, snorting a little.
He simply smirked and said nothing more.
I grunted. He was impossible. Yeah, maybe he was cute, but I wasn't the crushing type and he knew that. Liking someone was not me, and if it did happen, it was very rare. I'd never truly had that kind of connection with someone, so I didn't really think this time would be any different.
He just interested me.