ambivalence (kellic)

Chapter 4

Kellin's POV:

Lately school has always been miserable for me. Let me explain why though. Despite his house being in the northern part of the city, Vic and his brother Mike go to the same school as Austin, Tyler, and I. Gang activity obviously isn't allowed at school so we basically just pretend like the Fuentes brothers don't exist, but that's not so easy considering I have two classes and lunch with Vic.

Well, it's not so easy for me anyway... It's so weird how we act like complete strangers now, honestly it kind of stings. My morning starts off dull apart from seeing Tyler on the bus because he's pretty much the human equivalent of a cup of coffee.

"Hey, did you hear about the new kid that transferred last week? I think he got moved into our English class." Tyler informs me as I rest my head against the bus window.

"No, I didn't hear that. Why, is he hot or something?" I tease knowing that Tyler is openly bisexual and loves talking to me about guys for whatever reason.

"He's cute for sure, but I don't think he's my type. Why is it so hard to find guys around here?" He groaned leaning his head on my shoulder.

"One, your standards are too high. Two, all of the hot, nice, and rich guys that match your fantasies live in the North." I laugh knowing how true that is.

"Yeah, like Vic Fuentes?" Tyler cocks his eyebrow with a sly grin.

I shoot him a death glare and lightly shove him off of me. It's a bit of a running gag that Vic and I were buddies. Everyone loves to poke fun at that and I can't do anything but brush it off. I bet not one of the Daytrotters has a clue what things between us were once like.

"You better shut your mouth, Carter." I threaten as we file into the school.

"Like you'd do anything? Please, Quinn, don't make me laugh." He scoffs flicking a piece of his hair back into place.

First period, also known as an hour or so of hell, begins as Tyler and I take our seats in the back. Our teacher starts writing on the board as Tyler points towards a tall guy with gauges and dark hair. I glance at Tyler to see a smile growing on his face. I analyze the boy several seats away and realize he looks intimidating yet approachable at the same time. The two of us could already tell that he hadn't made any friends in this class yet.

Tyler quickly starts rummaging through his backpack and pulls out a notebook. He scribbles something on it, and I'm envious that even his scribbles look like perfect calligraphy. Making sure that our teacher isn't looking, he crumples up the paper and throws it at the boy. It hits him square in the head and Tyler ducks down to avoid eye contact. The boy looks back at us with a confused face, and considering Tyler looks busy, it looks like I threw it instead of him. I blush and fake a smile as I pull Tyler up by his shirt collar to address the situation.

Tyler nervously laughs and gestures towards the wad of paper. Gauges Boy, as I've decided to call him, reads the note and smiles back at Tyler. In my opinion, it's way too early for flirting. While they continue their weird gestures, I find my gaze locked on the heartbreaker that sits at the front of the class. He's always sat at the front since I've known him. Everyone thinks it's because he's smart and he is, but I know that he sits there because he has trouble seeing the board. He's way too stubborn to just get glasses and fix the problem. That's typical Vic for you.

I snap out of my intense staring when Vic looks back at me. For a second, I feel like time stops. It almost feels as if we're kids again, and it's as if he's about to tell me some dumb joke I'll find hilarious like I always did. My heart stops when I see him smile. Or at least I think he's smiling. I could've imagined it, because next thing I know he's turning back to face the board. I groan in frustration louder than I intended to which catches his and the whole class' attention.