I silently cursed my life as Dimitri sat down next to me. This close to him, I could see just how sparkly the purple in his hair was.
Mrs. Slate came over and dropped a copy of Hamlet onto Dimitri’s desk before going back up to the front of the room. I tried to keep my gaze on her instead of on Dimitri.
“Hey, what page are you guys on?” he asked, his musical voice entering my ears and dancing around my brain.
I grumbled out the page number, not looking at him. I could see Oliver glancing back at us and trying not to laugh.
“Alright, Mr. Light, you can be Hamlet for today. Who wants to be the Queen?” Mrs. Slate asked.
“Dimitri wants to be the Queen!” a girl named Kim said, spinning around to face him as the class laughed.
“Kim, honey, I don’t want to be the Queen. I am the Queen,” Dimitri with a smirk.
“That’s enough,” Mrs. Slate said. “You can be the Queen.” She pointed at Thalia. “And you, Mr. Ivanov, can be Polonius.”
“Polonius?” Dimitri flicked his hair back dramatically. “He talks forever!”
“So do you,” Mrs. Slate said flatly. She opened her book as Dimitri smirked again.
We began to read our lines. As it got to the part where Polonius hides behind the curtain, Dimitri stopped reading and looked up.
“Girl, please. Why would he hide behind a curtain again? The Queen has perfectly fine ears. There is no need to be a nosy little man,” he said, shaking his head. A little bit of glitter landed on the pages of his book.
“Just read!” Mrs. Slate snapped.
“Fine, fine,” Dmitri said, waving his hand at her. He finished up his lines and we continued on with the play.
I kept shooting desperate looks at the clock, wishing this period would be over already. Reading Hamlet with someone like Dimitri was a nightmare.
“How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!” I read.
“O, I am slain!” Dimitri cried dramatically, slapping a hand over his heart and sinking down in his seat.
He sat back up, looking down at the book and shaking his head, more glitter landing on his desk. He sighed in annoyance.
“Who dies like that? ‘O, I am slain!’ Girl, please. You have a sword in your chest. We can all tell you’re slain. No need to announce it,” he said.
“Dimitri, can’t you just read?” Mrs. Slate asked in annoyance.
“I’m trying to get into the piece! I’m just saying. That is a terrible way to die. I bet you made me take this part just so I could be killed. Sorry, slain. And Hamlet’s mom doesn’t even care! Let me tell you, if I left a dead guy bleeding on my mom’s carpet, oh girl, I’d be slain for real,” he said.
“Shut up Dimitri. You’re supposed to be dead,” Kim reminded him.
“Oh Kimberly darling, if I was dead, you’d fall to tears,” he said, blowing her a kiss.
“The rest of us wouldn’t. Be quiet!” Mrs. Slate said, shooting him a glare.
“Sassy,” he said, grinning.
I rolled my eyes and we continued to read until the bell rang. I just about rocketed out of my seat and over to Thalia and Oliver.
Oliver exploded into laughter when he saw my expression. I glared and whacked him in the arm. This was so not a funny situation!
“I hate my life!” I announced miserably.
“Aw, it’s just one period that you have to sit next to Dimitri,” Thalia said.
I looked over at him. He and Kim were walking out of class together, talking. His hands were flailing wildly again.
“I hate him. I hate him, and I hope I get to stab him for real,” I grumbled.
“He’s funny,” Thalia said thoughtfully. “And, like I said, he’s kind of cute. Once you get past the crazy colors and the glitter.”
“How can you get past the crazy colors and the glitter?” I asked.
“Yea, seriously Thalia. I don’t think anyone has ever seen him in normal clothes. Not even when we were little,” Oliver said.
“Well, we didn’t know him in elementary school. I don’t think he lived around here,” Thalia said. “But I remember him back in fifth grade. Even back then he was just a blur of colors. No glitter, though.”
“He’s obnoxious,” I said as we entered our ninth period class and sat down.
“You have to admit, he is kind of funny,” Thalia said with a smile.
“He is not funny. He’s overdramatic and annoying. He needs to just shut up,” I said.
“Quit being such a grumpy pants! I’m sure Alek there wouldn’t appreciate it,” Thalia said, nodding.
I looked over and watched as Alek entered the classroom with a fried. She was twirling her hair around her finger, smiling and nodded at her friend.
“Theo and Alek, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Dimitri to ruin everything because the world hates Theo,” Oliver sang cheerfully.
I could’ve just screamed and ripped my hair out.
Dimitri walked into the room with Kim. He was playing with the edge of his scarf, listening to whatever Kim was saying.
He strut into the room, commanding everyone’s attention with his appearance. I glared at him as he came over in our direction and sat near us with Kim.
“I’m so glad they changed your schedule and gave us classes together!” Kim said, smiling at him.
“It feels wonderful not to be tragically parted anymore, I must agree,” Dimitri said, releasing the edge of his scarf.
“Great. Now I have lunch, English, and two study halls with him,” I hissed.
“We have lunch, English, and two study halls with him,” Thalia corrected.
“But you don’t have to sit next to him in English!” I said, struggling to keep my voice down so that he wouldn’t hear me. “Every time he shakes his head, it looks like a jar of glitter exploded on the desk!”
“He’s really not that bad, Theo. He’s just a little flamboyant,” Thalia said with a shrug.
“A little?” Oliver and I asked at the same time, shooting her looks that announced how idiotic she sounded.
“Okay, okay. He’s the definition of overly flamboyant. But he’s not that bad of a person,” she amended.
“Yea, neither were Hitler or Stalin,” I said. “I bet they could all have a wonderful tea party together!”
“You can’t compare him to Hitler and Stalin just because he wears flashy clothes and puts glitter in his hair,” Thalia said in annoyance. “He doesn’t kill anyone!”
“You can’t prove that. I bet he murders hobos and steals their clothes,” I said.
“It would explain why he never matches,” Oliver said with a nod.
“What if he puts the glitter in his hair because he thinks he’s Edward Cullen?” I said.
“You mean he thinks the sun makes him sparkle?” Oliver asked.
I nodded. “Yea, so he puts glitter in his hair. Then he steps in the sunshine and BAM! Instant sparkle.”
“Oh my god, Theo, you’re a genius!” Oliver cried.
“More like a moron,” Thalia grumbled.
“This study hall is so boring,” Dimitri said, that musical voice of his drifting back to us.
He was leaning back in his chair, his feet crossed over Kim’s lap. He was wearing rainbow colored Vans that sparkled.
“So make it fun. You always make things fun,” Kim said.
“Yes, yes I do,” he said, smirking. He looked around the study hall, eyeing everyone as if he were a hungry predator. His eyes passed over us as we pretended to be talking amongst each other.
I kept my head down, not wanting to look at him. The sight of him disgusted me. Honestly, how could anyone go around looking like that?
“I’ll be right back. I have to go get help from my math teacher,” Thalia said, standing up and disappearing out of the classroom.
I looked down at a piece of paper, doodling on it in my boredom. I just wanted the bell to ring and release me from this hell. Today had been absolutely terrible.
“Excuse me?”
I cursed in my head as I forced myself to look up. Dimitri stood in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.
“You’re the guy I sat next to last period,” he said, sitting down in the chair in front of me.
“Yes, I am,” I said, trying to keep my voice and expression neutral.
“Did we have homework for that class?” he asked. His eyes were the color of frosty glaciers, brought out by the combination of mascara and eyeliner. Not that a guy should ever be wearing mascara or eyeliner.
“Yea. You’re supposed to finish the scene we’re on,” I said, wishing he would go away.
“Who was that girl you were sitting with?” he asked, completely changing the subject.
Oliver coughed in his arm to disguise a laugh. I resisted the urge to kick him in the shin.
“That was Thalia,” I said.
“Thalia,” he said slowly, testing the name on his lips. “That’s a pretty name. Is she your girlfriend?”
At that, Oliver couldn’t even disguise his laughter. He laughed and buried his face against his arm to muffle it. Dimitri promptly ignored him, keeping his icy eyes fixed on my blushing form.
“Thalia is my sister!” I said defensively. “Jeez, don’t you have any siblings? Can’t you tell when people look alike?”
“Of course. I have a fabulous little brother named Galen. He looks just like me. And I have a sister, but we look nothing alike,” he said, a slow smirk coming to his lips.
My heart went out to anyone related to Dimitri, especially anyone that looked like him. Oh, Dimitri’s poor little brother.
“Congratulations. I’m working, so can you leave me alone?” I asked, getting irritated now. I didn’t like him talking about Thalia.
“I can see how hard you’re working. It does quite a lot of focus to make such beautiful scribbles,” he said, gesturing at my paper. I blushed a little and covered it with my arm.
“Did you need something?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Oh calm down,” he said, waving his hand at me. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m just making conversation.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said flatly.
Dimitri clicked his tongue and shook his head, glitter sparkling down to the desk. “Now, that’s hardly fair. You don’t even know me.”
“I don’t want to know you. Goodbye,” I said.
“Oh honey, everyone wants to know me,” he said, his lips curling up into a mischievous smile.
“Not me,” I said, promptly turning away from him.
“Kimberly darling, this boy is being stubborn,” he called over his shoulder.
Kim got up and came over to us, grabbing Dimitri’s arm and pulling him to his feet. She rolled her eyes at him.
“Sorry about him, Theo. I need to get him a leash,” she said with a sigh.
“Get me one of those pink collars with the spikes to go with it,” Dimitri said, pointing at his neck.
“Just get him away from me,” I grumbled.
“Such a grumpy gills. What did Kim call you? Theo?” Dimitri said.
“That’s his name. Theo,” Kim said.
“As in Theodore?” Dimitri asked.
“Don’t call me Theodore,” I said, glaring at him. I hated it when people called me by my full name.
“I think you’ll find that I rather enjoy full names. I’ll catch you around, little Theodore,” he said, winking at me before leading Kim back over to their seats.
“Say anything and I’ll kill you,” I snarled at Oliver.
“I won’t say a single thing, little Theodore,” he said.
“Oliver!” I snapped.
He chuckled and held his hands out innocently. “Calm down, Theo. I’m just messing with you. Although that was pretty funny to watch.”
“That most certainly was not funny to watch!” I said, glaring at him. “I hate him, and he’s just trying to piss me off!”
I turned my glare on Dimitri. He was sitting back down with Kim, flicking through an iPod and showing it to her.
“Why do you think he was asking about Thalia?” I asked, suddenly worried. Was he going to hit on my sister? Hell, was a guy who dressed like that even straight?
“Maybe he wants to get with her and they can have beautiful sparkly babies together,” Oliver said, snickering when I elbowed him.
I looked over as Thalia entered the classroom. I watched Dimitri carefully as Thalia made her way back over to us. Dimitri watched her, but made no move to go over to her, which was lucky for him.
“Ugh, math,” she said, dropping her backpack next to her chair and sitting down.
“Hey Thalia, guess who was asking about you?” Oliver said, smirking.
“Huh?” she asked curiously.
“Dimitri,” Oliver said and eagerly explained what had happened while Thalia was gone.
Thalia laughed when he was done, causing me to pout. She pat me on the back and offered me a bright smile.
“Aw, he wants to be your friend Theo!” she said.
“Well I don’t want to be his friend,” I grumbled.
“You need friends. All you have is Oliver,” Thalia said, jerking her thumb at him.
“Hey! What’s wrong with Oliver?” Oliver asked, frowning.
“You snore,” Thalia said with a shrug. “And you always steal my pudding when you come over.”
“Because Theo eats vanilla pudding, and that’s so boring,” he said, making a face. “So obviously I’m going to steal your chocolate pudding.”
“Well, that’s because Theo’s a boring guy,” Thalia said.
“Hey! I am not boring!” I said.
“Theo, your idea of fun is scrolling through Tumblr,” Thalia said with a sigh.
“I do other stuff to. Like…uh…breathe,” I said.
“Wow. You are such a fascinating person,” she said sarcastically.
“Maybe you need someone like Dimitri to spice up your life,” Oliver said, grinning. “I mean, you even dress boring!”
I looked down at myself, wearing a tight-fitting gray long-sleeved shirt over faded jeans. Just simple clothes.
“No thanks. I’d rather keep the Queen of Fabulous out of my life,” I said.
“Everyone wants the Queen of Fabulous in their life,” Dimitri said, turning to face us with a smirk. “And the Queen of Fabulous has fully functional ears, sweetheart.”
Oliver and Thalia snickered as I blushed. Dimitri drummed his fingers against the back of his chair as we watched me, and I realized that his fingernails were painted a sparkling black.
This guy and his friggin’ sparkles.
“Whatever,” I grumbled, dropping my gaze from his nails.
“I could definitely spruce you up, little Theodore,” he said, carefully taking in my appearance.
“I don’t want you to ‘spruce me up’,” I said in disgust. “You’re a disgusting little-”
The bell exploded before I got the chance to finish that. Dimitri and Kim stood up together, Dimitri’s smirk getting wider.
“I’ll catch you later, little Theodore. Ta-ta,” he said, wiggling his fingers at me before strutting out of the room with Kim.
I grit my teeth, watching him as he disappeared out of the room and out of sight. “I. Hate. Dimitri. Ivanov.”
Thalia giggled. “But he obviously doesn’t hate you.”
I shot her a glare. “Shut up Thalia!”
I turned and stalked off to leave the room. How on earth could Thalia actually find this situation funny?!
I bumped into someone and stumbled back. I looked up and felt my face pale a little as I met Alek’s gaze.
“I’m sorry,” I said apologetically.
She offered me a friendly smile. “It was just an accident. Don’t worry about it.”
She turned and left the room with her friend. I stared after her, cursing myself for not being able to say something smooth.
“Smooth as always, Theo,” Thalia said, clapping her hand on my shoulder.
“Thalia, I am going to kick your ass so hard,” I growled.
“You are in such a bad mood today! Come on; let’s go cheer you up,” Oliver said, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the classroom with Thalia following after us.
I stumbled after Oliver, his grip still on my arm. I ducked my head as we passed by Dimitri and Kim in the hallway.
I wasn’t sure why I was so disgusted with him. Maybe it was because of the way he dressed and acted. But judging by the strong hate I felt towards a guy I barely knew, I had a feeling it was something much deeper than that.
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A.N.- What do you guys think of Dimitri? :)