Hunter blinked.

“What?” He answered Evan, with a hint of confusion.

“You keep staring off into the crowd, like you’re looking for someone,” Micah added, as he playfully tapped Hunter’s arm with his elbow.

“I’m not. Just dozed off, I guess,” he breathed out, plainly. He didn’t even realize he was doing that. This high school had nearly a thousand students, but they were all the same people from around Meadowbrook. A mix of young adults who either just wanted to get by, keeping their heads low, or the ones who loved looking for trouble, like Hunter and his crew.

The same bland faces he knew all his life, no one interesting. He wasn’t looking for anyone. Outside of the people with him at that very second, no one else mattered to him.

After a few more minutes of hanging out under the staircase, the bell rang, ushering everyone to get to their first class.  With some quick bro-hugs to say bye for now, Hunter and his friends parted ways.

With his hands in his jean pockets, Hunter let his shoulders slump, and began his lazy saunter towards gym class. Other students quickly moved aside as he approached, a common reaction he had no problem with whatsoever. But the teen could see that among them, there was still no head of short, black hair.

He wasn’t looking for anyone.

                                                                                     ****

This was torture.

The school day dragged on, and Hunter begrudgingly shuffled through the classes, barely paying attention to any of the lessons. Gym was fine—he loved using his body and not having to do any reading—but somehow, for reasons he couldn’t even explain, he ended up going to his math, English, science, and home ec classes. All of these did require reading, a fuck ton of it, and lots of droning on from teachers who were just as miserable as the students.

He passed the time doodling phallic symbols on the edges of his notebook, exchanged glances and jokes with whoever he actually liked during each period, and even managed to avoid getting into any sort of real trouble, much to his own surprise. When the next bell rang for students to head to their sixth and final class for the day, Hunter felt a huge sense of relief. He never wanted  to do this again. Just as he always thought, not worth his time.

Hunter made his way to history class, his least favorite subject, dreading the impending boredom. It was the one class where he didn’t have any of his friends to ease the pain. Just a bunch of random losers and Mr. Thompson, teacher for the past twelve years and all-around “good guy”. He pulled Hunter aside one day and backed him into a corner and gave him a speech about how he'd been bullied while he was in school and explained precisely why Hunter shouldn't do the same. By the end, all he'd taken from the lecture was that Mr. Thompson only wanted to pick on kids now in order to make up for it. He was also one of the main contributors to Hunter landing himself in detention on a regular basis. Not that it was totally undeserved…but still, a pain in the ass.

As long as he laid low and avoided the forty-something-year-old man’s eyes, Hunter could get by. He trudged over to his desk in the back corner and sunk into the worn-down plastic chair, placing his arms behind his head in a casual pose. Eyes flickered in his direction, a mix of curiosity and caution, with whispers that trailed his every move.

At the front, Mr. Thompson gushed enthusiasm, scribbling the day’s lesson plan on the board with fervor. Words spilled out, filling the room with an energy Hunter found mostly hollow. Some students eagerly responded to whatever the teacher said, while others continued sizing Hunter up, but avoided actually speaking to him. There was a tension in the room, an unspoken understanding of boundaries that nobody dared to cross. He was used to all of it and mostly enjoyed how his reputation preceded him like a shadow…but even that was getting old.

He was just sick of this town.

Drowning out the worthless chatter and stares, Hunter’s eyes started to become half-lidded and his mind wandered, until, something caught his attention. The classroom door creaked open, and then entered a lithe, well-dressed figure with neatly combed dark hair, blue eyes hidden behind thick glasses, and an air of nonchalance. Mr. Thompson stopped himself mid-sentence, and all the students paused and looked up.

It was none other than Ashley. Hunter’s arms dropped from behind his head as he reflexively sat upright in his seat.

“I’m sorry I’m late, sir,” Ashley started, tone laced with indifference, as usual. “I had a bit of trouble finding this building.”

Mr. Thompson acknowledged him with a smile. “Oh, no worries, that is perfectly understandable. Please, introduce yourself to the class.”

Hunter, along with everyone else, watched with curiosity as Ashley stepped forward, his demeanor calm and collected. "Good afternoon," the boy began, his voice measured. "I'm Ashley Bennett. I've just transferred here from Ravenwood High. It’s nice to meet you."

Placing a hand to his mouth, Hunter tried to hide his grin. No one else here talked like this guy, it was too much. It was a group of dumb teenagers, not a business meeting. Right as Ashley was about to finish, Mr. Thompson interjected, unable to contain his enthusiasm. “Ashley comes highly recommended. His academic record from Ravenwood is impeccable. I expect great things from him here at Meadowbrook.”

Hunter couldn't help but scoff inwardly at the praise. Great, now this kid was gonna stroll in here, showoff, and fuck up the curve, wasn’t he?

Ashley, unfazed by the attention and accolades, continued with his introduction, “I'm here to learn and contribute where I can. Thank you.” Mr. Thompson gave an approving nod, and the spectacled teen scanned the room for an empty seat. His gaze landed on the only available spot—right next to Hunter. Ashley visibly took in a deep breath at the sight, but commenced his proud stride forward.

Hunter's eyebrows arched slightly as Ashley approached. Their first encounter had left a sour taste, a rocky start followed by a wary understanding after their rooftop hangout.

So, the question was…now what?

Hunter shifted as Ashley settled in beside him, an undefinable silence falling between the two.

“Hey,” Hunter spoke up, breaking the quiet after a few minutes, his tone cautiously casual.

Ashley turned to look at him, a faint hint of fatigue crossing his otherwise composed face. “Hello,” Ashley replied evenly.

“What,” Hunter straightened up with a sly look. “Not happy to see me? I thought we were cool.”

Ashley shrugged and focused his piercing eyes on the front of the classroom. Hunter absently watched him for a second, the smirk fading away slowly. That’s it?

Hunter sucked his teeth. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t help feeling sort of…annoyed by that response. Here he thought that their last encounter might have thawed the ice between them, but Ashley's stoicism remained intact.

Fine, whatever. Fuck him, then.

Instead of allowing himself to feel anymore salty about that—not that it mattered, Ashley was still just his weird new neighbor, nothing else—Hunter whipped out his phone under his desk and scrolled through social media, smirking at some ridiculous memes. He buried himself in all of it, anything to avoid potential eye contact with Ashley. The continued silence between them was loud, and Hunter was determined not to act on it again.

Meanwhile, Ashley was all business. He had his pen out, scribbling notes like his life depended on it. He was zoned in on the teacher, taking in every word, jotting things down as if it was gold. While Hunter was in fact “ignoring” him, he could still see Ashley’s intent movements through his peripheral vision. Guess he really was as nerdy as Hunter assumed from the get-go. He already had the look and a knack for using SAT words in everyday conversation, but turned out he was also a note-taking machine.

But, just for a split second, Hunter saw a tremble in Ashley’s hands as he wrote. The blond raised an eyebrow, questioning if he really saw that. Then, another tremble. It was fast, almost undetectable, but it wasn’t his imagination. That cold demeanor he was getting used to momentarily broke for some reason, and Hunter couldn’t help his eyes from wandering back to the other every now and then, despite himself.

                                                                                 ****

The clock ticked down to the last five minutes of class, promising freedom for the weary students. While everyone sat reading through the assigned textbook pages, Mr. Thompson stood up from his desk, bringing his hands together with an enthusiastic clap. "Alright, everyone, before you leave, I have an announcement." The room hushed, all eyes turning towards the man. Hunter could sense where this was headed.

“You'll be working on a joint project about the impact of the Industrial Revolution on society. We’ll discuss it more in detail tomorrow, but for now, grab an information packet off my desk and find a partner. Choose wisely; this will be a significant part of your grade."

Hunter saw hopeful looks from a few students who glanced at their preferred partners. The blond slouched back in his chair, already knowing that he’d probably end up forced into a trio with two kids who wanted nothing to do with him. A few eyes met his, but darted away immediately. Typical.

Ashley, at first, appeared uninterested as always. He held the packet in his hands and searched the room calmly, as the other teens chaotically scurried around, pairing up within seconds. He seemed unfazed by it all, but when his gaze also met with Hunter's, there was a flicker of uncertainty. The blond swallowed. What did that look mean?

“Ah, Mr. Dillon!”

Before Hunter could think any further about it, Mr. Thompson interjected, with a hint of authority. The other students watched curiously, standing by their chosen partners. Hunter grumbled under his breath, hating having the teacher’s attention on him, and slowly turned towards the man.

"Since it seems no one is joining you, why don't you pair up with Ashley?"