Killing Time [radiohead fanfiction]

Three: New Acquaintances

I glance around nervously at the other three boys that surround me. The one to my left is similar to Ed, in that he looks sporty. His light blonde hair is shaved short, giving him the appearance of being thoroughly bald. The other sits next to Colin, gloomily. His hair is awkwardly cut, and bleached blonde. A single glance can prove his hair isn't natural, it's almost bright yellow and his dark roots peek through the false color. His face is rather gaunt but in a strangely attractive way. The last, I have trouble getting a good look at. His dark black hair covers any good view I'd get of his face, though this is mainly because his head is glued down at a book, and large headphones occupy his ears.
"Are you going to introduce her?" The one next to me asks, giving Colin a funny look. This warrants the attention of the fake blonde, who looks up at me.
"Yeah, erm, this is Mary Jane. She's new here, and she's totally nice." Colin announces.
"Phil. Nice to meet you." The one next to me says,  giving me a rough handshake and a friendly smile. Two contradictory things that seem to complement each other well.
"Thom." The false-blonde says from across the table, looking at me curiously.
"How come you're at a school for boys?" He asks, raising an uneven brow.
"I didn't get much of an explanation from my parents, unfortunately. From what I've gathered, this is the only elite school in the whole of Oxfordshire, and my parents were adamant about having me in one. No matter the circumstances." I explain awkwardly, trying my best to not throw my parents under the bus.
"Are you French?"
"Yeah. Is my accent that bad?"
"No, I quite like it honestly. It suits you well."
"Merci!" I say with a smile, quite enjoying the compliment. Colin stiffens awkwardly, Ed laughs at him.
"Colin. You're taking French, and you had no idea?" The taller says, taking amusement in Colin's embarrassment.
"Well I thought she was French, but I just didn't know if it'd be disrespectful or something to bring up." He attempts to explain hastily. Much to Colin's dismay, Ed's laughter only thickens.
"I was trying to be nice!!!" Colin cries out, covering his face.
"Who's French?" The black-haired boy questions lazily, pulling his headphones off for the first time. Phil gives him a funny look, nodding his head towards me silently. The boy pushes his hair aside, his eyes drifting slowly to meet mine. I can't help but notice how pretty he is. Strong cheekbones poke from his face, further complimented by his large jaw. His bangs fall into his brown eyes, but when he brushes his curtain of hair away, it reveals a set of thick brows. (He has all of the features I love about George Harrison) The boy isn't attractive in the same way Ed is, but rather Thom, it's a mysterious kind of attractiveness that you can't quite explain. Someone that, on paper, may seem ordinary, but is actually quite the opposite.
He gawks at me, clearly surprised by my presence.
"Are you the one with four names?" I question, wondering if this is the younger brother Colin mentioned earlier.
"Yeah. How did you know?" He asks, looking at the other boys for an explanation. His older brother shrugs cheekily.
"Coz!" He cries out, punching Colin's shoulder.
"He only mentioned it 'cause I have four names too," I explain, not wanting to be the reason another disagreement occurs.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Mary Jane Elisabeth Chapelle."
"Yours is pretty though! Mine's dumb."
"I bet it isn't,"
"Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood."
"Jonny Greenwood? I like it."
"S'nice to know someone does," Jonny admits, averting his gaze.
"Your name sounds rather English, not French," Thom interjects, leaning against the table towards me.
"My parents wanted a more English name since they planned to send me to school here."
"Is that why your accent isn't indecipherable?"
"Mhm. I really only have a thick accent when I'm nervous or tired, usually, it's only bad in certain words."
"You're terribly interesting, Mary Jane." He says, resting his head against his hand. My stomach flutters.

"Well all of this positive conversation is wonderful, but we have a tour to finish, Miss MJ," Ed announces suddenly, taking my hand and standing up with me. Our fellow table-mates look annoyed with this change of plans, throwing Ed a few upset glances.
"Someone's eager," I grin, looking up at Ed playfully.
"I just want to get it over with, I have things to unpack," He explains, still grasping my hand.
"If you have things to do, I'm sure I could figure it out on my own,"
"Mary, you were walking in circles before Eddie and I decided to ask if you needed help." Colin shares from across the table.
"You two have no faith in me."
"We're only being realistic," Ed states, raising his eyebrows like my disappointed father.
"If Ed is busy, I wouldn't mind taking her." Thom offers, followed by a chorus of "me too-s" from everyone other than Ed. I feel his hand begin to stiffen, and he lets mine go, shifting uncomfortably.
"Well I suppose-" Ed starts.
"No. It's only fair that Colin and Ed help since they offered first. Besides, it's only the afternoon, I can help Ed unpack later." I propose, much to the misfortune of the three I didn't mention. Colin sits up, nodding towards the large dining hall doors and Ed takes my hand once again, beginning to lead me away. I give the remaining boys a quick wave goodbye before I'm drug away completely.

Ed keeps our fingers intertwined for the entirety of the tour. I have trouble figuring out if this is a form of affection, or just a helpful guide, though I don't have a problem with it either way. Colin and Ed are both helpful tour guides, they not only showed me where everything was but all of its extensive history as well. Their ideas of history may have been grotesque tales of previous students, but it still proved to be good to be aware of.
"Where to next?" I ask whilst being taken in an entirely new direction.
"Our dorms, and you can help us unpack if you'd like, though it's not required," Ed responds, leading Colin and me down a hallway.
"Oh no, it's alright, I'm not doing much else anyways." We make our way to the dorm, receiving many strange glances from other students. Finally, he pulls me into a dorm, with three beds occupying the space.
"This is our dorm. Our as in me, Colin, and Phil. Thom and Jonny stay in the room across the hallway." Ed says, finally dropping my hand and sitting on the edge of an unmade bed.
"Is that why you're all friends?"
"Somewhat, but there are other reasons too, just not interesting ones." He shrugs, pushing around an unopened box with his foot. I walk around, admiring the few things that do decorate the space. A few soccer posters, band posters, and various other photos are taped to the walls messily. My attention is immediately drawn in by a box full of books, which I open excitedly.
"These yours, Colin?" I ask, checking the various titles.
"Yeah, it's a humble collection, but I like it." My fingers continue to thread through Colin's box as he watches from over my shoulder, stopping to add his input whenever I ask a question. Our attention is quickly drawn away when Phil, Thom, and Jonny enter the room.
"We just finished unpacking Thom and Jonny's dorm, so we can all work together," Phil announces, walking to his pile of boxes first. Jonny sits down in front of Colin and me, also taking an interest in the box of books.

We end up spending far too much time unpacking than what is necessary. It's late now, and things have gotten rather slow. Half-eaten dinner plates now litter the floor, courtesy of Phil and Ed who even remotely remembered to be hungry. I lay, sprawled out on Colin's bed, deep in conversation with Jonny, who sits on the floor in front of me. We've been talking about music for a while now, it turns out we have a lot more in common than I had originally thought.
Slowly, I roll over, arching my back to let out a yawn. This warrants the attention of just about everyone in the room, except for Ed, who's been asleep for a half hour already.
"Tired?" Jonny asks from below, brushing his hair out of his eyes, only for it to fall back down a moment later.
"Yeah, I think I'm going to get ready for bed," I admit, pushing myself off of Colin's bed lazily. Naturally, I move to begin straightening out the blankets where I had previously been lying.
"Don't worry about it, I'm gonna sleep there anyways." Colin pipes up from across the room.
"Okay," I mumble, rubbing my eyes as a means of waking myself up again.
"Goodnight everyone, I had a really good time tonight. Hopefully, we can do the same tomorrow." I continue, making my way out of the room. My statement is followed by a small chorus of agreement and various goodnights, bidding farewell to a well-spent evening.