Happy Endings

30. first

"Caught me swimming in a daydream. Caught me blocking out all my past."

☼

When Kellin Quinn was 15 years old he hated himself and the whole world around him.

Everything was a source of annoyance: school, brink-of-divorce parents, his friends, or lack of, endless piles of homework, his teachers, people in general. He couldn't stand any of it. His days were spent either locked up in his room with his laptop watching movies (while he wasn't rotting away in school) or trying to find ways to break the tedious routines but failing miserably at it.

Most grown-ups said he had an attitude problem, Kellin didn't see it as such. He was always irritated by everything, that was all. It wasn't his fault everyone around him was so stupid and got on his nerves. Maybe that's why he could never make friends, but that also could've been because he didn't like talking to anyone at all. He didn't feel like he needed to and he liked being alone way too much. Until...

In freshman year of high school, for some beyond logical reason, his classes required all students to sit in pairs until what seemed like the end of time. Kellin never got the point of it. He was doing just fine on his desk sitting by himself, and now he had to share? The universe just thrived seeing him in distress.

And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was how he got paired up with an exchange student from England or wherever. Just. His. Luck.

Everyone knew the exchange students were weird. Or maybe that was only his opinion. Why would they trade a year of their lives to go to his school and live in the most basic town ever? He didn't get it. He supposed it was good for educational purposes, but still. His eyes rolled when the new, tall, brunette guy sat down beside him on the desk, giving him a smile that could easily be mistaken for an arrogant smirk.

"Guess I'm stuck with ya," were the first words he said to Kellin.

The guy had been late for homeroom and the entire weekly assembly, missing boring introductions and pointless teacher's pep talks. He got called out for it but he only smiled and shrugged, not even caring one bit.

Turns out, Kellin could hate something—someone—a lot more.

Spending his entire school day beside the boy who went by the name Oliver was both a nuisance and amusing. For starters, he seemed to be completely unbothered by the world around him. Nothing got to him, and he always seemed relaxed and pleased-looking. He seemed like an asshole at first, but after only a few days, everyone ended up loving him.

Guys wanted him to be their friend. Girls from all grades swooned over him. All because he was just 'so cool'. Whatever. Girls swooned over Kellin too, and not just his sister's friends. He supposed. And he didn't need to be friends with all the guys. 

But that wasn't the point.

Kellin couldn't ever find an explanation, but the new guy liked to be around him, genuinely so. Whereas for Kellin it was all convenience. They started talking unavoidably and became (sort of) friends. If they had never been paired up, they wouldn't have ever even talked. But Oliver always sought out his company and Kellin never complained.

So they did most things together all freshman year. Class activities, group projects, lunch in the cafeteria, the stupid mandatory school events they had to attend, walking to class, walking home... Oliver made his attitude problem lessen a little. Or at least that's what a teacher said once. That should've been sign number one.

Sign number two was more obvious, but Kellin was too stupid and blind to see it. Oliver started looking at him differently and treated him differently. He was more touchy, he didn't speak to him like he spoke to the rest. He smiled way more.