Irish Oxytocin

Nolan | 1

❁ Chapter 1❁

The sun was big and bright on the streets of Los Angeles this Monday morning. Students and cars began quickly approaching our school as everyone desperately tried to make their way to class. Ethan was still on his rant about the fact that I should at least attempt to wake up earlier. I had tuned him out a couple of minutes ago as Jacob snickered in the front seat.

Ethan, Jacob, and I arrived in the parking lot behind the school that was reserved for seniors. He parked in his parking spot and turned the car off. He turned to me as he clicked off his seatbelt.

"And one last thing, please work on getting your license," he grouched, opening the driver's door.
I gently opened the side door of Ethan's car as he and Jake hopped out. I swung my bag over my shoulder and started walking alongside them to school. They were holding hands in front of me as I tried to keep up.

"You okay, Cor? You seem stressed," Jacob asked as I stared blatantly at the cement below us. My head snapped up to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just tired," I reassured blindly.
I didn't want to admit the weird feeling I had in my chest, knowing they both would just brush me off.

The three of us walked into the building and went straight for my locker. I listened as students who were still grouped around their lockers gossiped about whatever rumour had begun circulating since Friday. We only had a couple of minutes before the first bell, and I was the only relatively late one. Students stampeded through the hallways on their way to the first period. At this moment, I was very grateful that the boys came to my rescue, even if I told Daniel to leave without me. I honestly did not feel like walking at all.

We got to my locker to see the rest of the gang waiting for me. All their heads turned to me as we approached. I watched Daniel roll his eyes.
"Thought you said you were okay to walk?" Daniel asked, pulling me into a hug.
"Why walk when your amazing best friends will pick you up and bring you?" I replied with a cheeky smile, returning his hug.
I pulled away from Daniel as I started unlocking my locker.

"Has anyone heard what has been going around all morning?" Jamie asked the group.
I didn't revert my attention to the conversation, but I was listening closely.
"No, but surely you'll tell us J," Ella replied.
I could feel Jamie's devilish, crooked smirk behind my head.
"Of course," she beamed. "There's a new kid who showed up to the main office this morning. Everyone's already going crazy over him. I heard he's impossibly hot."

There it was. The feeling in my chest. It deepened as the words flowed out of her mouth. I turned around immediately.

Chase rolled his eyes as Jamie gave him an innocent smile. They were soulmates.
"You said that about Jake too, baby. Look how that turned out," Chase joked, flashing a grin at Jacob.
Jacob rolled his eyes as he leaned off one of the lockers. "Homophobe."
Chase's jaw dropped before the two boys began to wrestle.
Jamie ignored their scrap as she shook her head in defense.
"Jacob's a work of art, you decomposed pig. Plus, it's different. I saw a glimpse of him myself."
Jamie's eyes reverted behind the group, and she began to beam harder than before.
"See for yourselves. I think that's him right now!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm as she pointed to what captured her attention.

I turned my head just as everyone else did, and there he was.
It would've been hard to miss him, even if I wasn't looking. His aura radiated like a magnetic field that was authentic and attractive.
He had dark, fluffy brown hair with red highlights in it. Only the lights made that visible, and it bounced with every shallow chuckle that escaped his lips. I could almost tell it was his natural colour, but covered by some chocolate-rich dye.
It covered a lot of his face, but the sharp, chiseled angle of his jaw was noticeable from all these steps away. It was clenched through an obviously forced smile  He was talking to some of the girls who stood against their lockers as one of his hands rested against the metal doors. They were gawking at him the way lions gawk at fresh meat.