Niven was so stunned by the sudden declaration that he froze in his spot. Mirren took the chance and clamped his hands on the new student's shoulders, pulling him closer. He even secured his arm around the boy's waist.
"Since you're new, you should go out with me to see the academy. I know that one of the guards here have already shown you the place, but you could easily get lost since there's too many buildings to remember. What's your next class? I'll help you find it."
Mr. Abberline really thought Mirren would say something else! He gave a relieved sigh and smiled discreetly to Niven, who was still surprised.
Niven awkwardly pushed the charming male away and shook his head. "I'm fine. I-I remember where to go."
"Are you sure? I'm right here if you need me." Mirren's smile turned even more alluring than before and the flash of purple hue returned to his hair for only a second. Niven was compelled to nod until he strongly opposed... by quickly getting out of his way and walking into the halls with his head down.
Mirren stood, almost not believing that really just happened. Did a student really reject him? His warm eyes grew cold and he thought deeply to himself. Well, it would've been more peculiar if Niven did agree to his wish. After all, he wasn't like the rest of the students here. His uniform was white just like his, so his abilities must be special.
But he grew convinced that Niven didn't have any special abilities. He's heard rumors and even whispers of the teachers of how low-leveled Niven was. He didn't even use any abilities on the first day of school.
Mirren sighed. He was curious to figure out which family Niven belonged to and how he randomly decided to show up to this academy, he was so interested in trying to think of plans to persuade Niven that he eventually lost track of time on how long he stood in the classroom, not even noticing the other students walking in.
Abberline had to clap several times in Mirren ears to get his attention. "My lord, it is time for you to get to the next class. Are you alright?"
"Of course, my dearest teacher." Mirren's smile immediately brightened up as he turned to look at the older male. He purred, "I'll get going now. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Actually, I was hoping if you wouldn't come."
"What was that, sir?"
"Have a good rest of the day, my lord." Mr. Abberline laughed mirthfully to cover up his anxiety before shoving the boy out of the classroom.
He sighed to himself and fixed his tie. These boys... so bothersome. Especially if it's with Mirren and the rest of his group. He shuddered just thinking about them, they were vicious as wolves.
He wasn't the only one who thought of them like that. Niven was already scared of meeting Mirren face to face again. He should really watch out for that guy and avoid him if possible. But he was immensely relieved when he realized that Mirren wouldn't be in any of his other classes.
That is, until he walked into the next classroom and saw Mirren, propping his legs on the desk next to his from yesterday.
The male gave an adoring smile. "Hey, baby."
Niven didn't hesitate to turn around and walk out of the room before Professor Budreau slammed the door, staring down at his student. The man gave a displeased frown to Mirren.
"My lord, please put your feet down. It's not nap time."
"Will it be lunch time then?"
"It's class time," his professor bit out in a moody tone. The man turned to Niven and bowed slightly before murmuring, "Please take a seat, young master."
"Y-Yes, sir."
As Niven awkwardly shuffled over to his seat, he avoided eye contact with Mirren and didn't even pay attention to what the male was doing. Mirren has to sigh as he watched the new kid nervously take out his textbook and scribble down some notes as their professor was teaching.
He certainly had to be someone special if they wore the same uniform, unless his family had some connections with the school's headmaster. That could be one of the possibilities but this school was incredibly strict about which students could go in. Not even the wealthiest and most influential families can enroll their sons in this academy, there were multiple exams to be taken and some tests to check out their abilities.
It wasn't only the students that had trouble coming in, even Mirren found it a bit of a struggle before stepping into this place.
But where the hell did this boy come from? And so suddenly as well? Which family did he come from that made it possible for him to enroll?
"Psst... hey," Mirren whispered eagerly to him. Niven simply acted as if he heard nothing.
Mirren puffed up his cheeks before quickly tapping on his shoulder when Professor Budreau wasn't looking. The other students watched this unusual interaction between the two students and looked at each other, wanting to ask what was going on.
Mirren was, simply put, one of the most powerful students here in the academy. It made them question if he knew the new kid. It was a high possibility that they were friends. This thought made them want to avoid Niven a bit, seeing as how the boy didn't even bother to give his attention to Mirren. They expected the brunet to snap, but he only kept bugging Niven.
And he kept on poking Niven as much as he could. He wouldn't shut up, calling out his name numerous times with a flirty grin. It got to the point where Niven slightly turned his head around and gave a frown, gently pushing the male's fingers off his shoulder.
"Hey, Niven?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have an extra pencil?"
Niven's face went dark. Did this guy really just bug him for ten minutes just to get a pencil? Why did he even bother to attend class then? Niven only sighed before reaching into his bag for a spare pencil and handing it over to Mirren. The male's eyes brightened in joy as he gave the blond a grateful smile.
He quickly snatched the pencil, but not before softly brushing their fingers together. Niven didn't notice and went back to listening to their teacher.
Thankfully, it was peaceful for the rest of the class. By peaceful, it didn't include the incessant stares and constants pokes to his shoulder. But at least Mirren didn't strike up another conversation with him. Niven wouldn't know what else to say.
"So where are we off to again, my dear?" Mirren clung onto Niven's shoulders as soon as class was dismissed.
The blond struggled to carry his backpack while trying to ignore the sudden weight on him. Niven nervously looked away from the male and stammered, "W-We might not have the same classes..."
"Oh, don't be so silly! I checked all of your classes and we have the same ones! Isn't it fate?" He winked.
"It's called a c-coincidence..." As he trailed off that sentence, he grew extremely distressed at the thought of Mirren accompanying him to every one of his classes. He really couldn't avoid him now, could he? Niven was still wary of what Mirren would do to him if he snapped.
Would he use his abilities on him again? What if it was a different one the next time? Niven wasn't so sure how many abilities the guy had, but everyone had up to four or five when they fully turn into adults. The blond silently prayed to whichever god was listening to help him not die on the first week in this academy.
While watching him trying to get away, Mirren had to sigh in amusement. His reaction was almost the same as the other students, they always cowered away due to the big gap in their powers. But Niven didn't seem like he actually cared about how strong he was, it was as if Niven wanted to ignore him and get the day over with.
And with Mirren being this close to Niven, he had to admit this student was a bit cute.
Mirren's eyes grew sad as his tone also dropped. "Um, that day on the bridge, I know what I did was wrong. I don't usually apologize, but I am sorry for using one of my abilities against you."
"Uh, okay..." Niven tried his best to carry all the weight on his back. "But please get off me."
"Are you angry? I'll buy you lunch for the rest of the week!"
"I-I'm about to fall!"
Mirren wrapped his arms around the boy's neck and purposely dragged his feet, making the student suffer a bit more. "Are you still angry at me? I'll let you use one of your abilities on me if you want?"
"I don't think... that's n-necessary," Niven panted with exhaustion. If Mirren kept this up then they would be late to their next class! He definitely didn't want to get a late slip!
Mirren pouted some more. "Not even one of your weakest abilities? I won't complain if you use it!"
"Please get off me-" As he tried to pull away from the brunet, he accidentally bumped into another student. It was one of the guys who cornered him into a wall from yesterday, and he did not seem pleased at all.
"Watch where you're fucking going!" He pushed Niven back. "Did you lose your sight or something? People like you should learn your place-"
Niven was really trying his best to tune out the male's words while handling's Mirren's weight. Sooner or later, he was going to end up tripping over his feet and fall. It was truly a struggle to him. Niven didn't even care what curses were being hurled over to him.
While Niven was lost in his own thoughts, Mirren became extremely agitated with a random student getting in between him and Niven. Here he was trying to have a good time to bond with the new student, and what does he get? A damn imbecile to ruin the damn moment.
The student stopped cursing when he realized the two weren't paying attention to him. It spiked his anger even more.
"Get off, I'm going to fall." Niven tried pulling away from the brunet.
Mirren shook his head and held onto him tighter. "As I was saying, today's lunch is supposed to be consisted dishes of cote de boeuf with some caviar, but if you don't want that then I'll order us some food outside of the academy. How about it?"
"I-I'm not hungry," he meekly said.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Watching the both of them interact nonchalantly, the guy couldn't take it anymore and harshly grasped his hand around Niven's wrist, making the blond wince.
Mirren's eyes narrowed and his happy expression quickly dropped. A sneer formed on his lips as he pulled Niven back.
"What exactly do you think you're doing? Do you not know who I am? Does it matter if we pay attention to someone like you?" With an icy smile, Mirren cut in. He finally got off Niven's back, which made the blond immediately grateful.
The other male stepped back in fear once he realized Mirren standing menacingly behind the new student. He didn't see who he was since Mirren's head was down, but now he regretted ever stepping close to Niven.
"L-Lord-"
"Are not going to greet me respectfully first?"
With a quick bow, he gave his greetings anxiously, "This servant greets Lord Mirren, I apologize for being in your way-"
"Did I ask for your apology?" Mirren stepped right beside Niven and threw his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Were you not the one who shoved my partner here? I think you should apologize to him for your crass behavior and vulgar language."
"What?" The boy widened his eyes. "But he's a low echelon! He can't even use his abilities properly!"
"Mirren, we'll be late."
"You address him as a lord," other male sneered at Niven. "Watch your tongue!"
Niven sighed, turning around to respectfully apologize and bow to Mirren. If he doesn't do this then he'll get nagged at all day. He was about to say sorry when the brunet abruptly placed a hand out to Niven, stopping him. The blond questioningly looked at Mirren with a frown. What was the holdup? Can't he get this done quickly? They were going to be late for their third class, almost everyone is already gone from the hallway.
"Niven, dear? Could you please head to the classroom? I don't want you running late, I'm going to have a small chat with Fitzgerald."
He didn't have to be told twice. He even left before Mirren finished the last of his sentence. He assumed the guy who bothered them was Fitzgerald, but he didn't look back once to check what Mirren was talking about with him. All that really mattered to Niven was arriving to class on time.
Once he stepped in the classroom, he quietly greeted his teacher and didn't look at any of the other students. He sat in the back of the room and kept on doodling in his notebook, somewhat paying attention to the lessons.
Fifteen minutes passed by and the blond would've fallen asleep, if it were not for a Mirren who suddenly slammed the door open with a satisfied grin. Ah, he felt better after dealing with that annoying Fitzgerald. Now, he had to crane his head up just to bit to find the new student. He only hoped there would be an open seat next to Niven.
But the blond jolted awake and slowly lowered his head, hoping the male wouldn't see him.
"You're late, my lord," their teacher remarked.
Mirren shrugged. "Better than not coming to class at all, am I right?" He waved off his teacher's irritated expression and strode all the way over to the back of the class, stopping right in front of a desk next to Niven that was occupied by another student. Mirren leaned down at the poor kid who seemed to be shaking in his seat.
With a small smile, he tapped on the desk lightly. "Congratulations, you earned a new seat at the front of the class! I'm taking your seat."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Scrambling to get up, he bowed quickly to Mirren and hurriedly left to the front of the room. Mirren happily sat down on the chair and looked over at Niven, who had a sour look on his face.
All throughout class, Mirren had such a happy face that Niven couldn't bear to look at. But it wasn't the only thing that bothered him. Through the whole day, Mirren kept following Niven almost everywhere. He was right behind him going to his other classes, taking other students' seats and such. The brunet even popped out of nowhere sometimes. Once, Niven went to the restroom in hopes of losing the guy, but as soon as he shut the door and turned around, Mirren was there with a stupid looking grin.
"Hi-"
Niven just exited the bathroom and slammed the door closed.
The only time when he truly got away from Mirren was lunchtime, and he ate outside where no one else was at. But then the next classes began and he was back to avoiding Mirren. By the end of the day, Niven dragged his tired self back to the dorms. He expected the brunet to also follow him, but he had gotten a sudden call that he needed to take. It was like a miracle.
"How were your classes, young master?" Standing in front of the dorms was Gabriel, who seemed ecstatic to see the boy.
Niven frowned. "Oh... you're here."
"Well, we never really finished with our topic about beast taming. I figured since classes are over we could head out and find your own familiar-"
"Can't. I have homework." Niven walked by the man, ignoring him as he entered the building.
"W-Wait! But it's mandatory to-"
"I've got several papers to work on and I have an upcoming test in a few days. I have to study," he replied. "We'll talk about this later."
"Young master, but your brothers are-"
"Bye." With a tired face, Niven pressed a button inside the elevator, making the doors close right in front of Gabriel.
Although he said he would meet with Gabriel after school, he was too exhausted having to keep up with Mirren's antics. He didn't even finish any of his assignments from the day because of the guy pestering him in his classes.
Niven leaned back against the wall. How can he avoid that guy tomorrow?