Of Shields & Trees [BxB]

02 | New Friends

A/N: Here I mention some events from Sincerely, Angel — my first highschool BxB romance. But you don't need to read it first to enjoy this one.

There's no soft-core version for this chapter. I think it's more or less safe to read, even though I mention abuse briefly in some of the paragraphs but it was the shortest way I could describe it in order to move the story forward.

•~°•♤•°~•

I was just getting in our Chemistry lab, holding the textbooks from our previous class tightly in my arms, when some invisible force crashed into my back. I dropped my textbooks, nearly falling over, and when I lifted my gaze to spot the culprit, I saw one of the jocks storming past me. It was Dragomir. One of Pavel's buddies. I didn't expect him to apologise. They never did.

I bent over to pick up my books and then noticed someone's slender hand reaching to help me. It was Angel. One of my very few friends in this fucked up school. Who for some reason started dating Dragomir not too long ago. What did he find in this brainless jock?

"Sorry about that." Angel gave me one of his very rare dazzling smiles. When Angel smiled it was a treasure to behold. He had beautiful brown eyes and black hair that fell freely past his ears in gentle waves. I loved the way he kept his hair!

I shrugged, not really knowing how to respond. It was a regular occurrence. It was like I didn't even exist for these boys. If I didn't sit next to Pavel in some classes, they wouldn't have even known my name.

"Yo! Angel!" Dragomir called from across the room as if Angel was a naughty puppy.

Angel stood up, handing me my notebook and rewarded me with one more of his awesome smiles. It must be my lucky day!

He followed his boyfriend's command, leaving me alone to gawk at his retreating form. He had a slender, elegant back. And I didn't mind one bit stealing a glance every now and then.

To say I was surprised when they started dating would be an understatement. They didn't suit each other at all. Dragomir was this dumb cocky jock that expected everyone to fall in his feet simply because his grandaddy was a big shot. And Angel... Well, Angel was more like me. I could tell he wasn't dumb. More like lazy when it came to doing homework. His priorities were different than mine, I guess. But we were both socially awkward, both not quite sure where we belong, and both of us just about had it with the annoyingness of it all. The stupid school hierarchy, the way our teachers just expected us to memorise what is being fed to us without forming independent thoughts. I was good at that. Memorising without caring if the information is right or not. It didn't make me enjoy it though.

I liked subjects like Chemistry and Biology where everything was clear, trialed and tested. But History on the other hand... The events were described to us only by the winning side of said war or conflict. And governments change, politics change, and they feel the need to shape History into their liking. It wasn't a trustworthy source.

"Hey, man." I heard Dragomir's voice looming above me.

What the fuck did he want now?

"Uhm... sorry. For bumping into you. And not saying sorry."

What? Did he just... fucking apologise?

I gaped at him stupefied but snapped out of it pretty fast, quick enough to mumble a faint "No worries" before Dragomir went back to his boyfriend.

What did just happen? I've never received an apology before. It was surreal. Like I just stumbled upon some alternate universe without even noticing it happen.

"Am I dreaming?"

Alejo, who was sitting right next to me during the whole thing, pinched my arm. It didn't even hurt. I was used to much worse. But I turned to glare at him anyway. He had weirdly yellow eyes. Or at least they looked yellow to me. It was a welcome deviation, compared to the standard brown I saw in everyone else.