Aaron stood with his back pressed against the door, breath quick and eyes wide like he was a mouse caught in the claws of a hawk. He scrabbled for the doorknob only to find it locked. He was defenseless, stuck in the open; he couldn't even latch onto his bag like usual, because it was still in the Lounge. Panicking, he looked around the hallway for a savior; it only made it worse because he realized everybody in the hallway was staring at him.
It was more than just the fact that he looked like a startled deer. The uniform with its backwards colors wasn't what drew attention either. It was the sudden appearance of a boy who was attractive enough to be part of the host club. A boy who nobody recognized as the sloppy mess who had made a mad dash through the halls in an attempt to save his bag. As such, they immediately began making up stories about who he was and why he had been in the host club; not a single one of them would have thought he was Sherwood's peasant, playing prince.
When it became clear that nobody was going to mock him, Aaron stood up a bit straighter, putting his chin up- but still not meeting anybody's eyes, because he wasn't quite brave enough yet. Feeling far more confident, he unstuck himself from the door. He was tempted to run a hand through his hair, a show of his nerves, but he was terrified he would ruin Harry's work. After only a few seconds being a host club prince, he didn't want to go back to being just Aaron.
The first bell of the day rang, making Aaron jump. He'd already been tardy once, and he wasn't looking to make a habit of it. So, despite his lack of books and pencils, he found himself running through the school once again, wondering if he should be trying out for the school's track team.
Aaron burst into the classroom in the middle of roll call, trying to look calm and collected as he controlled his heavy breathing. "Sorry to interrupt," he gasped.
The classroom exploded; whispers and bets and invented rumors filled the room. The only still points were Cara, who was staring at him with pure awe, and Kris, who was sitting next to the empty desk were Aaron had sat the day before, with Aaron's bag at his feet. Aaron's head went down again as he shuffled to his seat, face aflame.
"Who got a hold of you?" Kris asked, surprised but amused, as was becoming a pattern, by Aaron's embarrassment.
Aaron said nothing, as Harry had instructed. "How did you get my bag?" he asked back.
"Oh, Harry said you left it in the Lounge last night," Kris said, using his foot to nudge it under Aaron's desk with a thoughtful frown, "Funny, since I remember the strap was broken yesterday."
Aaron forced a puzzled look. "Well, maybe the book bag fairies fixed it for me," he breezed, drawing a smile to both their faces.
"Hey new kid," their conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice that made Aaron grimace. He looked up to see Cara with her golden hair and cat green eye. She smiled at him, and Aaron thought he must have been going crazy, because that smile couldn't be labeled anything but flirtatious, "Shame you missed the first day of school. Maybe I could show you around today?"
Aaron blinked at her, confused, until he understood and began to laugh. Aaron knew from experience how much a hair cut and a change of wardrobe could do, how it could make you look like a completely different person. But this was different, just gel and a uniform. Cara's flirting after the previous day's debacle was too much for him to take.
Kris, though he didn't laugh, cracked a smile. "Sorry, Cara, but you're too late; the host club has claim on him," he said. She opened her mouth to protest, but Kris was digging in his bag. He sat up with a small black case in hand, and held it out to Aaron, "In fact, we got you a present. A welcoming gift, you could say."
"What?" Aaron frowned at him, but he took the box, knowing Kris would insist whether he liked it or not. He flipped the catch, and his mouth dropped open, "Contacts? But... what... when... how?"
"Oh, it was easy. I just found your optometrist- it wasn't hard, considering there's not many who work on the other side of town. Turns out you only stopped wearing contacts at the beginning of last summer, so they were willing to refill your old prescription," Kris explained, as if it really meant nothing.
"I'm going to forget how creepy that is, and just say thank you," Aaron muttered, making Kris laugh again. Aaron was beginning to like his laugh, warm and cheerful, his smile lighting up those dark eyes.
Cara cleared her throat, a prim sound that reminded Aaron of a pudgy woman in a wizard movie he had seen as a kid. "Well, I'm sure there's no harm in me showing him around anyways," she said, leaning forward so her chest almost popped out of the top of her lacy white dress, and making Aaron's face turn slightly green, "I mean, it's the least I could do since he got rid of that awful peasant... what was his name again?"
"Aaron," piped up one of her followers, a pretty girl with luscious pale blonde hair. She fixed Aaron with her green eyes, and her smile said she knew Cara was about to make an ass out of herself. Aaron couldn't help but smile back.
Cara glared at her, obviously not appreciating the interruption of her thoughtful hair twirling that was supposed to look cute. "That's right, Aaron," she said with a thousand watt smile, "I've no idea what you did to get his scholarship revoked and take his place, but you've done us all a favor. Imagine, filth like that in a place like this."
Her delicate shiver only served to enrage the boys. Aaron's hands were clutched into fists in his lap, nails digging into his palms. He looked up at her, eyes burning with anger, but Kris beat him to it. "Shut up, you air-headed bimbo," he snarled. Kris's voice was pure ice, his eyes frozen and almost frightening.
Cara looked back and forth between the boys, puzzled. "It was just some stupid charity case. What do you care?"
"Miss Knight, Mister Crue, kindly pay attention!" the teacher snapped, breaking into the trio's conversation before Aaron could stand up and do something he would regret, "And you, Mister Everett! I would think a scholarship student would have a better attention span than those here on their parents' expense!"
"Yes ma'am," Aaron muttered, properly chastised. Cara's mouth dropped open, shame and hatred mixing in her eyes as she realized who she had been flirting with. Aaron was unable to help himself, even though he knew it would cause more trouble later. He looked up at her, eyes innocently wide, and said, "Sorry, but I have more important things to do than talk to you. Get a full ride to college, for one. Maybe we can pick up this conversation when I order from the drive-thru three years from now?"
The entire class, including Kris, burst into gales of laughter. Even the teacher cracked a smile. Cara's face turned bright red, and her fists clenched awkwardly at her side around her fake nails. "You'll pay for that," she swore.
"Sure. That'll be what, seven fifty?" At first she looked confused, until Aaron sweetly added, "Aren't you going to ask if I want fries with that?"
The students fell into renewed hilarity while Cara's mouth gaped open. She didn't have a comeback that time, so she simply stomped back to her chair, her poisonous glare promising revenge. Aaron ignored her, a small smile on his face as he took up his pencil.
"There's more to you than I thought," Kris said slowly. Aaron looked up to find Kris's curious gaze on him, the intensity of the boy's interest making him flush from head to toe, a thing he had been doing far too much in the last couple of days. He mumbled an incoherent reply before focusing on taking notes.
The whole time, he could feel the others' eyes on him, and it was a relief when the bell finally rang. Aaron was up and out of his desk before the rest of the students had a chance to blink. He hurried down the hall, away from Cara and her mountainous followers, knowing he wouldn't be able to sew together whatever they broke since he'd provoked them. Despite his bravery in the moment, his fear was evident as he made a made a dash for his second class.
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