The Prince

Part 16

Skye was sitting in homeroom when a new student walked in with the teacher.

"Class, this is our new transfer, Tsukasa Nakayama. I hope you all make him feel welcome." He motioned him toward an empty seat near the back of the classroom.

Briefly looking up, Skye continued to ignore the rest of the class, taking out a book to read. Noticing more commotion to the side of him, he glanced over to Tsukasa and saw a bevvy of students already surrounding him. Obviously, he was going to be the next thrill in their grade, which will hopefully take away some of the pressure off him, he thought.

When the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and headed out to his first class of the morning, thankful that for once he was left alone. He felt a bit sorry Tsukasa, but being new was reason enough to be interesting.

He was slowly rambling along, checking his phone for the usual long list of messages from Jackson, when someone bumped into him. Looking down, Noah was flat on the floor staring at a boy in front of him. Without thought, he reached down and grabbed Noah by the scruff of the neck, pulling him up.

"What is it with you and walking into other people?" He frowned at a red-faced Noah

"Sorry, I didn't see where I was going," he said by way of apology to the boy in front of him. He was a head shorter than Skye and just as handsome. What was it these days with him bumping into random hot guys? Was the universe trying to tell him something?

"I'm sorry for bumping into you." Tsukasa smiled at Noah, sparing a glance at Skye.

"No, no, it's really fine. It was my mistake anyway," he mumbled, daring to look up. Skye had obviously lost interest in the subject and soon moved away without saying anything.

"Is your friend okay?" Tsukasa asked with a frown.

"Oh, he was being friendly, that's all. He really has a horrible personality when you get to know him better," he laughed, sure that Skye had no interest in either of them.

"I'm Tsukasa, nice to meet you," his smile was genuine as he took Noah's hand. His grip was firm and warm and Noah almost regretted having to let go.

"Noah, nice to meet you."

"Are you in my grade? I didn't see you in class earlier."

"Em, in the same grade yes, but obviously not in the same league," he chuckled at his own joke but stopped when he saw Tsukasa's confusion. "I'm only joking," he clarified.

"Well, see you around Noah," he waived by way of greeting and soon disappeared in the throng of students.

Noah!" He turned around to see Travis jogging in his direction. "What happened to you, you're all red in the face."

"You don't want to know," he said grimly, hitching his bag higher and walking with Travis to their next class.

I hear there's a new student in our year. Know anything about that?"

"I literally ran into him," he laughed. "His name is Tsukasa from Class A and he's beautiful to look at."

"You're always crushing on some stupid guy," Travis accused him. "And they always break your heart in the end."

"Shut up dingbat. I don't fall for any guy, I have a type you know."

"Yeah, the unavailable type," he snorted.

The rest of the day progressed in relative peace for Noah, with no other incidents. He was trying to catch peeks of Tsukasa in classes throughout but to no avail. By the end of the day, he dumped his books in his locker and got ready to go to the bakery, when he realised that he didn't have his wallet with him. Skye had paid for his ticket in the morning, but now he was stuck.

Not sure what to do next, he tried looking for Travis since they were both supposed to work, but couldn't find him. Standing at the gate, he was frustrated, thinking that he'd have to walk to work, which wasn't particularly appealing to him.

"I'm surprised that you're not on the ground," Skye stopped next to him with his usual uncaring expression.

"It seems that I only fall when you're in the vicinity. You must be my bad luck charm," he sarcastically retorted.

"Don't blame me for being clumsy. Anyway, are you coming to work this afternoon?"

"I have to, but don't have my wallet or my bus ticket here," he admitted going red in the face again.

"You should have said," Skye reminded him. "Come on, we can go together." When Noah didn't move, he grabbed his wrist and pulled him along the path to the bus stop.

"Hey, can you stop pulling me around already?" He jerked his wrist out of Skye's firm grip.

"Well, come on then. Why do you have to be so slow all the time?" His blue eyes looked troubled.

"Well, I would move faster, but you seem to be going at light speed."

"Next you'll be blaming your short legs for being slow." A slight smile played on his lips for a moment.

"I'm still growing! Not all of us are built like giraffes."

"Sure you are," he slowed his pace so that Noah could keep up with him. This oddball seemed to be everywhere that he was, falling all over himself.

"Here, take my number," Skye quickly scribbled it on a piece of paper and held it out to Noah. "Next time call me if you run into trouble. It seems like you're in need of a saviour if you're going to graduate with your head still connected to your neck!"

"Seriously?" He was surprised that he was even given the number due to the fact that Skye seemed indifferent to their interactions so far. Granted that he always rescues him.

"I don't joke," he replied deadpan as he scribbled his number.

"Why am I not surprised? Why do you even have a fan club if you're this glum all the time?" He took the piece of paper and shoved it into his pocket, running after Skye in case he was dragged all over town again.

Grabbing his bakery uniform from his locker, he turned to put it down on the bench.

"Can you put a shirt on!" He snapped, seeing Skye half-naked in his jeans and socks.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Never mind. I doubt you'd get it." He pulled his overalls over his clothes and made a hasty retreat to the kitchen to see what nightmare was waiting for him.

Of course, Skye was built like a demi-god and ten times hotter without his shirt on, he thought scrubbing away at a spot. It was a pity he had the personality of a slab of granite, otherwise, he would be dreaming about a romance between them, but right now, he couldn't think of a worse person to want to be in love with. With a frustrated grunt, he rubbed the spot harder as if it were offending him when a hand on his shoulder made him jump.

"You're really jumpy, you know that?" Skye's gaze locked him in place, even though he was dying to look away.

"Then stop sneaking up on people. I swear you do it because it's the only pleasure you get out of this world."

"You're getting annoying now," he put an end to their conversation.

"Gee, thanks. And here I almost killed myself with worry that I was boring you."

"Okay, Snippy. I came here to tell you to go and help out front. Dad's dropped his shift and they are one short. I told them not to let you because you'll probably drop something, but they are desperate."

"You know, you have a very special way of making someone feel like crap. Thankfully, I'm immune to it now," he pushed past Skye. That arrogant, cold-hearted snot really made his blood boil. He was on a mission now to prove him wrong. Today he was going to wipe that smug look from Skye's face.