Sang's POV
School is hell. Ever since I was little, it had just been a seven-hour exercise in self-control. There was no real reason for me to go to class when I could easily learn everything on my own, except it helped me stay under the radar. No one would look too closely at me if I just slogged through the works like everyone else.
Now I just had to fumble through another two hundred-odd days of this before I'd be free from the tyranny of compulsory lower education.
But it seemed the new friends I'd made didn't exactly feel the same way. Which is why, at the earliest possible iteration of this humid morning in August, I was standing in the courtyard of this dismal public school I so aptly named hell.
Ever since dinner, all the guys had been very gentle with me, inviting me to Nathan's to swim in his pool or Gabriel offering to come over and go through my closet. I'd turned them down, saying that I had to spend time with Lulu and Sarah before going back to school, or that I hadn't felt well - not that either of those things had been lies.
I used the Lulu and Sarah excuse much like new parents did to get out of social events. It was the same reason I had used to avoid staying at Victor's on Friday night and often like having real children with the number of times they'd gotten into some sort of trouble and required my supervision.
Kota, Nathan, Silas, and Victor all stood together as I approached them, one by one, eyes lighting up in that familiar happy way as I walked their way. They all seemed hopeful, but Victor's eyes held some indefinable extra emotion that looked much less joyful.
I wrapped an arm around his waist as I came closer, pulling him towards my side in a show of comfort, his fingers finding my ribs and starting to flutter over them lightly like piano keys.
Everyone else just smiled at me, as if they were afraid of pushing their luck. I made a note to give them all hugs or some friendly touch throughout the day. They were touchy, and if it were on my own schedule, I could be touchy too.
Affection might be foreign to me, but that didn't mean I was afraid of it.
I saw another familiar face across the courtyard and her arm swung wildly in the air as she waved at me. I smiled back at her and she grinned once more before turning back to her conversation with her girlfriend.
She and I had been in a few classes together last year and we'd worked on a few projects together when necessary. Karen was sweet and kind and didn't ask too many questions.
I rummaged through my bag to pull out my phone and send her a text, asking if we could catch up sometime soon.
It was only a few minutes later, after a brief conversation involving class schedules and upcoming plans that the boys tried to draw me into, that North, Luke, and Gabriel came along; Gabriel's bright colors clashing with North's dark ensemble and it warmed something inside me that I didn't fully understand.
I stood to greet them.
Luke stepped up the pace and stood only a few inches from me before tapping his finger lightly on the tip of my nose, "Beep." He said quietly.
I smiled at him and reached up to return the motion, noticing the dark circles around his eyes as I looked him dead in the face, shoulders squaring off as I watched him closer. "You should get some sleep, Luke." I said softly.
His smile dulled slightly but he nodded and turned away.
Gabe was talking to North quietly and I tapped him on the shoulder lightly, which got his attention. He swung around to me quickly and grinned; beautiful face framed by those two locks of blonde hair.
There was something about Gabe that made me feel safe and I pulled him into a hug to try and tell him that without words. I could feel him release a tight breath as I held him against me and it was with a squeeze to his shoulders that we finally pulled apart.
I could tell he was happy.
I smiled at North, settling back down on the bench next to Luke and Silas. Silas tapped on my knees and gave me a questioning look before pulling my legs into his lap after seeing me nod. "Are you excited for the first day, aggele mou?" He asked me in that rich voice of his.
"Are you?" I quipped back.
He nodded, "I get to spend time with you."
I rolled my eyes at him and tried to push closer to him with my legs in a show of affection, "But you also have to spend time with more than a few much less desirable individuals..."
"Kanénas apó aftoús den tha boroúse thampó omorfiá sas. (None of them could dull your beauty.)"
North scoffed a little but shook his head and smiled as I gave him a questioning look. The bell was due to ring in a few minutes and I stood to make my way to my homeroom. Several of the guys stood to follow me.
I just glared.
"I am perfectly capable of walking myself to class. I know North and Luke have the same homeroom and they can walk with me, but a few minutes on my own here will not result in my demise."
North didn't seem to like this answer of mine but Kota simply nodded, "If you need us, you can text us."
I knew I wouldn't, but I nodded anyway to appease him. Those of the guys who were not coming with me waved and we all parted ways.
Luke seemed to be almost itching to make conversation, his fingers tapping at his thigh as he walked on my right side through the throngs of students in the old building, but he kept quiet (I suspect due to a few well-timed looks from North).
As we approached the beaten door to our homeroom, a familiar figure loomed inside, tall frame and handsome face filling my line of sight. I could just barely keep myself from vocalizing my groan.
"Sang!" He said in that happy-stupid voice of his, "How's Rocky's girl doing?"
I could feel the weight of North's gaze on my back as the conversation went on, "I am fine, Rocky, not that I'm your girl."
"Ahh, you're Rocky's girl... Or did you forget all the fun we had last year?"
I rolled my eyes and quickly thought over my options. If I was to enter a relationship and take myself 'off the market' he was generally decent about respecting that boundary. Or, if I were to physically fall of the face of the earth, that might work just as well and involve far fewer conversations with a man who spoke almost entirely in the third person.
"Maybe I've forgotten or maybe it just wasn't fun in the first place." He looked a little taken aback but the smile on his face barely faltered. I reached up and patted him on the cheek, "Get to class, Rocky."
I turned away from the big man and slouched over to an empty desk near the edge of the classroom and shoved myself into the little metal seat without ceremony.
"So..." Luke began as he placed himself into the seat in front of me gently as if reverting back to the behavior that seemed like he was scared of upsetting me. "What was that about?"
North grunted and I wasn't sure what the grunt was supposed to mean. Did he want Luke to shut it? Did he want more information? Did he want me to start talking and stop interacting with men who don't understand first person pronouns?
The caveman needed to use his words.
"Rocky and I went on a date last year..."
North's eyes narrowed a little, "And?"
"Well I didn't like him, if that wasn't obvious from our little interaction, but he's pushy and I went out with him to get him off my back. Not that it's your concern."
Luke seemed pacified but North still seemed tense.
If he wanted to ask me out himself to pacify whatever was messing him up (some obscure claim that he felt he had on me), he was welcome to do so. We could have a more pleasant revisit to that truth-or-dare kiss and I could set him straight about what he was and was not allowed to expect from me.
I could feel the tips of my ears starting to color as I remembered the moment, even if I had been uncomfortable with it at the time.
The teacher started taking roll call as the bell rang and the rest of class passed without incident. North was still grunting about something only he could really understand, Luke wanted to know if I had a hair tie (I didn't), and the teacher wanted us to shut up and stay in our seats. Very predictable.
In English, Kota seemed off. He kept pushing his glasses up his nose and counting under his breath; sometimes going through odds or evens, other times making it more complicated. I think I heard him reciting the Fibonacci sequence and as much of pi as I could reliably follow at one point.
After Ms. Johnson had set us loose to write poorly constructed poems, I finally turned to ask if he was alright. He seemed surprised that I'd asked, eyebrows rising to meet his hairline and a loose smile forming on his lips.
"I'm fine, Sang, thanks."
I looked at him a little, not a glare or a harsh stare, but an observant gaze, and urged him to elaborate, now gathering attention from Gabriel in my quest for more information.
"He didn't get much sleep last night." Gabriel said, trying to save Kota from what he assumed was my warpath.
"I assume you were there to keep him awake in some way?"
Gabriel looked flummoxed and Luke laughed from the seat in front of me, "Nah, Kota isn't really Gabe's type."
Kota ran a hand over his cheek, ignoring his two brothers, and I could see his shoulders deflate, "It was a long night."
I was happy that'd he'd answered me with something honest, even if it hadn't been the whole truth, and I motioned to the paper on his desk, "May I?" I asked.
"Sure..."
His poem was about a doctor performing an autopsy. It was very technical but could have been improved with a bit of poetic license. I told him so, "Make the doctor more anguished - like he's performing an autopsy on the love of his life and has to mourn her passing with every swipe of the scalpel... Make it so the technical speak is a way for him to corner off his emotions from his job."
Kota nodded and seemed a little impressed, "That's nice..." He bent over his page before shooting back up and looking apologetic, "Thank you." He added softly.
I smiled.
---
Geometry passed much the same with Nathan and North. The teacher giving us the syllabus, reading it to us, and then giving us some busywork to keep us entertained for the rest of the period. I don't think North even picked up a pencil for the whole class and when it came time for him to leave, Nathan shoved the paper that had been left on North's desk into his own bag.
Nate left me outside of Music Room B with a squeeze to the hand he had been holding to pull me along in the hallways and a smile. He'd told me about his training in jujitsu and other martial arts on the walk over and I'd made him promise to teach me some of it. He'd seemed delighted that I'd ask.
Opening the door, Owen, was standing in the middle of the room drawing a finger across the top of a dusty piano. He scraped it off on the edge and turned to face me, nodding slowly as he did, "Miss Sorenson." He said
I prepared to accept my fate and give this insufferable man the satisfaction that he so craved, "Mr. Blackbourne," I said reluctantly, "I assume I'm the only student in this fake class?"
His eyes were glinting with mischief, "Who said it was fake, Miss Sorenson?"
I wanted to roll my eyes but busied myself instead with setting my bag down in one of the empty seats scattered around the room.
"So, today we will begin with proper posture."
He pulled out a violin from a flawless black case, the shiny wood the most beautiful thing in this room of disrepair and I almost told him so. Mr. Blackbourne held it out to me and I dragged a finger up the length of its side, admiring it as if it were the neck of a lover.
It was a fantastic instrument.
"Are you going to pick it up so I can continue, Miss Sorenson?" He asked with a hint of humor in his tone.
I almost shook my head but schooled my features and held it delicately with both hands.
"Position it underneath your chin and between your shoulders. Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart and keep your eyes on the strings so that you can see to the end of the neck." He observed me with a hawk-like gaze as I shifted myself into position, his footsteps circling me as if I was his prey. "Good..."
He reached out for my neck and I almost flinched but held my position, allowing his cool fingers to adjust my chin just so. His hand dragged slowly down the length of my arm as he withdrew.
"Are you going to keep flirting with me Mr. Blackbourne or must I insist that you kiss me and get it over with?" I asked wryly, vaguely noting afterward the different levels of illegality that were present in what I had implied.
Mr. Owen Blackbourne seemed just as composed as he had been a moment before but I could hear one of his steps come just a moment later than the one before as he paced around me again. "As much as I would like that, Miss Sorenson, and I'm sure you would as well, there's the matter of my job."
"Shame..." I muttered and adjusted the violin again.
Mr. Blackbourne handed over the bow to me once he was satisfied and the door to the classroom sprung open with a jolt as I was grasping onto the new musical implement.
"Owen," a voice that I was now capable of recognizing as Sean's started, "Did you know that Kota wrote a poem today? Luke just sent me a picture of it and it's good. I think he's in love."
He finally seemed to notice my presence, "Well, Pookie, it's nice to see that you're here. Did you know about Kota's poem?"
Mr. Blackbourne, as he now seemed to be known in my brain (in the classroom, at least) sighed sharply, "Sean, is there a reason you're here?" He asked.
I lowered the violin to my side as Dr. Green made himself comfortable and Mr. Blackburne settled it back in the case after gently taking it from my hold. "Well, I heard a rumor about Sang here and wanted to know what you thought." He ran a hand through his curls, "Well, and Kota's poem but I've already talked about that."
It was my turn to be annoyed. "Are you going to share it with the rest of the class or keep us waiting, Dr. Green?"
He grinned like the Cheshire cat and looked over at Mr. Blackbourne before winking. "Is it true you were without undergarments as you left Nathan's house on Thursday?" He asked me with a sly smile.
I blushed a little and just barely resisted the urge to bury my face in my hands. Someone had told. Damn them.
I summoned my courage and looked at Mr. Blackbourne. As the conversation became more personal it made me want to switch back to my use of 'Owen', but I was worried about getting him fired, as hard as that may be to understand given my ill-thought comments about kissing.
"Why yes, Dr. Green, it is."
Mr. Blackbourne's eyes, usually so collected and focused seemed to be bouncing around as he observed my chest and legs carefully for signs of lingerie. With Dr. Green's gaze following the same steps, I was tempted to move the neck of my shirt to the side so they could see the strap of my bra and calm themselves but some evil part of me was just as happy knowing that they'd wonder all day if this was just a habit of mine.
"Is it also true that you went out with the star quarterback last year?"
I did let out an audible groan at this one, "North..." I muttered, in lousy spirits about that encounter after he'd been so pissy following the conversation with Rocky.
"Actually, Pookie," Dr. Green began with a glint in his eye, "I heard that from Silas."
"How? He wasn't there this morning." I wondered aloud.
Mr. Blackbourne removed his glasses and began cleaning the frames, "If you want something to stay between just two or three of you, generally it has to be explicitly stated. There isn't a lot of privacy in our families."
I rubbed my temples, "Yes, I went on one date with Rocky last year. It was horrible and he gave me his smelly football jersey as a present and spent the entire dinner looking at his phone and talking about himself. Now, can we all just move past this?"
Dr. Green raised an eyebrow, "I don't know. Didn't Rocky's girl have a good time?"
I groaned again and saw Mr. Blackbourne flip his wrist to check his watch, "Unfortunately, Miss Sorenson, due to Sean's arrival we will not be able to continue our lessons until tomorrow. Please come back with a violin of your own."
I narrowed my eyes at this but nodded regardless and, looking at the clock myself, picked up my bag and pulled out my phone as the two men started murmuring in more serious tones that I supposed I wasn't meant to hear.
I had a text from Gabriel. A picture of Luke sleeping on his desk with his blond hair all around him with the caption: "He listened."
A/N: I don't normally advertise this, but since it has been a week since I last updated (longest time yet for this story, so sorry, and when I said I'd update) but this hasn't been as edited as I would like but I do want to give you all something. I think I'm recovering from a cold nicely and I have all these ideas that I'm excited to write for you! I love you all xx