Cold and Charisma (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Three

"WHAT?!"

Carter's booming voice echoed across the courtyard, drawing dirty glances from everyone around. Unfazed by their stares, shock still etched on his face, he continued, "Archer, tell me you're kidding—I know you like to joke around, but this isn't funny, man."

He strode over to me and gripped my shoulders, shaking them aggressively. "Why would I lie about something like that?" I swatted his hands away, straightening my uniform. My expression hardened into disbelief as I stared at him. "Because—because—that's just not possible! I don't believe you!"

Others chimed in, adding their opinions to the conversation. Drew muttered a few curses, "So you're telling me there's not a hot girl... but a...guy?" His face twisted in disgust, as if he couldn't believe he had initially thought the new transfer would be a girl.

"Yes, I've been saying that for the past few minutes," I groaned, growing irritated with their persistence. "A guy... well, what if he has a sister?" one of them ventured optimistically. I quickly shut down that hope. "He doesn't have a sister." Once again, they groaned in unison, cursing loudly. "Damn! I can't believe this!"

Rolling my eyes in frustration, I retorted, "Well, it's your fault for assuming. But hey, you know what," my eyes scanned the courtyard, searching for that familiar head of blond hair, "why does that mean he can't still be our friend?" Their reactions made it clear they thought I'd said something outrageous.

"Dude, you know us," one of them said. "We only hang out with other guys on the football team." I sighed in disbelief. "I'm not on the football team, and you still let me hang with you guys. How's he any different?"

Drew interjected, "That's because you look like you could be on our team! Dude, you're insanely ripped, and not to mention, you're too nice for your own good." I shook my head at his comment. "Why does that matter? Besides, you haven't even met the guy yet."

One of the guys took a bite of his apple before turning to me. "I'd be fine if it was some hot foreign Russian girl... not a Russian guy." His eyes narrowed. Why did all my friends have to be so prissy about this? At that point, I'd given up until I spotted someone walking towards the courtyard out of the corner of my eye.

It was Riley, walking alone into the courtyard, eyes wide with innocence and an expression that conveyed his confusion. Part of me wanted to invite him over, let him hang out with us during break, but another part knew it would only upset both my friends and Riley.

Resting my chin on my palm, I watched him intently as he settled on a bench near the water fountain. It was hard to reconcile this innocent figure, looking lost like a lost puppy, with the same person who had insulted me earlier. I studied him carefully, watching as he bit his lips, and stared back at everyone who was giving him a curious look.

I chuckled when I saw him giving someone the finger– I could tell he was already sick of people examining him like he was a subject. He took his phone out of his pocket, and began to pay attention to whatever was on it.

"What are you looking at?" Drew nudged me harshly, curious as to what might've caught my attention. "Nothing." I replied nonchalantly, although the stupid grin on my face was betraying my words. Drew looked at me with a scrunched up face of confusion, before trying to find whatever it is that caught my attention.

"Wait– who's that?" I'm guessing that he found Riley, sitting by the water fountain alone. He wasn't hard to spot, in fact, his blonde hair only made it easier. He moved closer to me, trying to get a better look at him. "Is that the new kid? The one who everyone thought was gonna be a girl?" I didn't take my eyes off Riley as I nodded, answering his question.

"Well, when you look at him from here, he actually kinda' does look like a girl.." My head snapped in his direction almost instantly, before I began to defend him, "Don't say that, you don't even know the kid." I didn't know what it was that got me so worked up, maybe it was the fact that I found Riley interesting and didn't take too kindly to people judging him before getting to know him.

But even then, it's not like their attitude towards him would change if they did. Riley seemed to make sure that no one at Saint Arthur's would dare come talk to him, with his narrowed eyes, and his tendency to come up with a stream of curses or insults at anyone that comes his way. "What's his name?" Drew asked curiously.

"Riley."

Upon hearing this, Carter seemed to want to join in on the conversation too. "Riley? That's so boring! I thought that a Russian would have a cool name like Vlad!" He said, voice dripping with disappointment. Drew turned to him, and retorted, "Vlad isn't even a good name! Igor is way better." The two of them began to argue about names– or something along the lines of that.

My gaze remained fixed on Riley's small frame as I continued to observe him closely, finding amusement in everything he did—from the way his face would scrunch up randomly while looking at his phone to his frequent adjustments of his tie, clearly not used to wearing a uniform.

Unlike me, he seemed very closed-off; mysterious, even. I didn't know much about him, or anything about him at all. Sure, I knew his name, and how many siblings he had, but those were just surface-level things.

I wanted to know more.

Thoughts raced through my mind as I contemplated my next move. I felt an urge to approach him, to strike up a conversation and attempt to win him over just like I had with everyone else here. He seemed to be the one person immune to my charm, the one who didn't appreciate my friendliness. After a moment's consideration, I made a decision.

I was going to talk to him, and I was going to do it right now.

I prepared myself to go over and talk to him, but before I could even take another step, the bell rang, signaling the end of our break period. Damn, I missed my chance. Mentally slapping myself, I groaned.

But hey, a bell couldn't necessarily stop me, right? Sure, I'd be late, but it's not like the teacher would care; I was the top student after all. I felt a twinge of guilt for using my status to my advantage, but shook it off.

"Hey, Riley! Wait up!" I hurriedly slung my backpack over my shoulder as I paced towards the blonde. He pocketed his phone and turned to me with an expression full of disdain. "What do you want?" he jeered, annoyance evident in his tone.

I couldn't help but laugh just a tiny bit at his face, "Just wanted to say hi," before he could come up with another sarcastic remark, I continued, "and I wanted to walk you to your next period. I don't think I showed you how to get to Mr. Urman's class during our tour earlier." My head was tilted downwards, looking at him as I talked.

Even so, his gaze remained cold, and he refused to look up at me. "Maybe I could walk you somewhere in return too." He said.

My grin only widened upon hearing this, waiting for his next words.

"The exit, where you can go fuck yourself."

Woah, he clearly wasn't having any of it. Although his words were said with a rude intent, I couldn't help but still smile, amused.

My face never contorted to anything but a smile, and I found him oddly endearing. "Just let me walk you there, maybe we could even get to know each other better. After all, it's a long walk to his class." This comment seemed to upset him even further, the thought of having to be stuck with me for the entire walk there only fueling his annoyance even more.

Riley snorted defensively, his eyes narrowing in irritation. "Yeah, like I need a tour guide," he shot back dismissively. "I'll find my own way." He turned sharply, making it clear he had no interest in my company.

By then, the corridors had been all emptied out, with no one left. Knowing that Riley wouldn't agree, no matter how much I persisted, I decided to just head to class. On the way there, I thought about the blond nonstop– I thought about the way he grimaced whenever he saw me, and about the way he never failed to make a rude remark, only adding to my interest in him.

I smiled like an idiot, one hand gripping on the strap of my backpack, as I shook my head. He definitely caught my eye, and he didn't even know it.