ʙᴀᴅ ʜᴀʙɪᴛꜱ| ᴍ. ᴘᴇʀᴇᴢ

two

4th period, Friday afternoon, the door swung open, everyone's head turned and the tall mysterious boy everyone had been dreaming about entered the class. He sat in the second row, between two people Maddy had never recalled seeing in her life before, dropped his bag and slumped in his chair. The top half of his hair was tied at the back of his head, messy fly-aways and shorter pieces sticking out. Maddy couldn't get a clear view of his face but was also desperate to see just how bad the damage was.

"Oh, Aslan." The teacher coughed, thinking of a way to introduce the new kid. "It's Ash." He responded bluntly. "Okay, well, Ash, welcome to the class." The teacher clapped his small hands together in welcoming, before turning back to the board to finish writing God knows what topic they were doing. Maddy wondered what the point of coming in this late in the week even was, just like many of the other students who seemed to be deeply confused.

History class was another one without Cassie. For Maddy, it was usually pretty miserable as she had to pass the time scribbling in her old notebook or staring out the window. In this class, however, Nate sat at the front. Maddy knew he had seen the boy - Ash- everyone had and now everyone was whispering. She didn't know if it was Nate's gaze but she could tell someone was trying to get her attention. She kept her head down, scribbling the pen progressively harder, her face still neutral.

Soon enough, the ink in her pen ran out yet Maddy persevered. The pen scratched the paper harder and harder, over and over again until eventually, the paper tore and her pen flew out her hand. A few people around her shifted their gaze but quickly looked away, uninterested by the noise. She took a deep breath, practically folding her body in half as she reached for the pen under the desk.

With no luck, she stretched out her leg, planning on dragging the object bag for an easier reach but only ended up kicking it away. "Shit." She muttered under her breath, feeling the defeat of the pen. She shuffled, sitting back up in her seat, as her view changed, she noticed Ash, staring at her with his same harsh gaze.

She practically flinched from how cold it was but quickly, his mouth formed into a shit eating grin. Hair falling from his loose ponytail framed his sharp face. She noticed the cuts and bruises littered across his face. Plasters, bandages and stitches covered his forehead, nose and cheeks. He was exactly how 'bad boys' in movies were presented. In his hand, the pen that flew out of Maddy's moments earlier. His hand reached over to her desk but as she tried grabbing the pen, he pulled back. Her eyebrow raised, a clearly pissed off expression on her face. "Give me it." She said sternly, almost like a parent telling off a child.

"Why'd you want it so bad if it doesn't work?" His eyebrow raised, almost mimicking her yet the grin on his face only grew wider. "How would you know it doesn't work?" She questioned in response. "I've been watching you." His eyes flickered to the page of ink below her. Her arms instinctively covered the notebook, embarrassed of the mess she'd created. "It does work, you just need to lick it every once in a while." She finally gave in, the dirty look on her face still prevalent. "Oh." He nodded like that was a valid explanation, then, almost out of nowhere, brought the pen to his mouth before licking it; he tested it on the wooden desk, and when it worked, handed it back.

Maddy's face, one of complete disgust, accepted the pen, still in shock. She'd put her mouth on that before. She'd licked it for it to work and now some guy that had been beaten up by her boyfriend less than a week ago just did the same for her.

Across the class, Nate sat by the window, watching as the boy he despised the most blatantly flirted with his girlfriend, zero shame. It's not that Nate exactly loved Maddy, at first he was attached, mesmerised by her aura but overtime, she was nothing but a pawn he needed to win the game; of course he didn't love her, maybe he said it or showed it in toxic ways he knew Maddy couldn't get enough of, but in reality he loved the idea of being safe, with someone he knew wouldn't leave him by his side.

Despite that, he felt embarrassed, how could the girl who's reputation he saved by calling his girlfriend so blatantly disrespect him like that. The anger inside him only grew and soon, it became obvious. The pen he held in his hand began to bend and he wouldn't stop until it snapped, almost like a warning for Maddy to stay. Away.

-an

Yes, i know Maddy and Nate have this weird toxic relationship where he does love her but then there's also Jules and Cassie and idk I think it makes me a bad fan that I do not understand his character at all but he's like my least fav character out of the whole show so I don't mind disrespecting him a little :))