Trapped (egobang trans)

Chapter 3 - Math Partner

Danny walked into his first class a little late, having had to navigate with the map. The teacher seemed understanding and promptly told him to sit down. He was glad to find that his seat was near the back, though he wasn't alone. The guy next to him had piercing blue eyes and a very calculating stare as he watched Danny walk up to him. Danny sat down without a word, looking to the front as the teacher started the lesson. Math. Great...

Even though Danny wasn't amazing at math, he didn't ask for help. As annoyed with the world as he was, he was still pretty shy and didn't want to draw attention to himself. The kid next to him seemed to be a math genius, and Danny wasn't ashamed to admit that he copied a few answers.

One perk of being the new kid was that for a while no one really expected much of you. That meant that Danny didn't have to suffer through hearing the wrong name too much. He could deal with the register; his legal name had to be there, so he understood that much. If he was lucky that would be the only time they would say his name and he could leave the class without issue.

Today, though, as he was packing up his stuff, his math partner decided to strike up a conversation. He'd tried briefly at the beginning of the lesson, but Danny hadn't been in the mood. He still wasn't.

"Hey, what lesson do you have next?" he asked, looking over at Danny with his strangely unblinking blue eyes.

Danny let out an involuntary sigh, but pulled out his timetable anyway to check.

"Chem, lab 12," he said dully, looking away again.

"Aw, same. Want to walk together?" the guy offered.

Danny paused, looking up. He surveyed the guy's face with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Was he hitting on him? If so, Danny couldn't be less interested. His eyes were forever calculating, though now they took on an air of friendliness. No doe-eyed look, though. He seemed genuine, but Danny didn't want to get too close.

"Sure," he agreed dismissively with a shrug.

The words that came next made Danny stiffen up.

"What's your name again? Danielle, right?"

"Danny," he corrected bluntly.

"Cool nickname," the guy said, obviously trying to compliment.

"It's not a nickname. My name's Danny." He was glaring daggers at him now.

The guy looked worried for a moment, but then he smiled, giving a little chuckle.

"No need to get so precious about it! I'm Brian," he said, holding out his hand.

Danny took it warily, letting Brian shake it. He still felt angry, but he tried not to snap. They just met, he shouldn't expect him to catch on straight away.

The two left the math room, Brian leading the way as Danny followed behind awkwardly. The height difference was quite large, so Danny felt out of place following him. He hunched his shoulders a little, hiding behind his hair again. They reached the chem lab on time and the teacher ushered them in from the crowded hallway. Danny was surprised, yet oddly relieved to find that his seat was again next to Brian. Brian seemed happy about it, and the two of them even talked a little in the class.

Danny felt himself smiling a little whenever Brian used the correct name. It still sounded a little like Dani, but somehow it didn't hurt as much as when his parents said it. The fact that he was trying at all was more progress than had happened at his many old schools.

Maybe he'd last more than a few terms here.