Tempted Hearts (bxb)

Book One - Prologue

In life, there will always be a core memory that stands out so clearly to us, for as long as we live.

There I was, a first-year at high school, running down the stone path to board my bus for the seventh time that year, thinking that I was running late. When I got close enough to the bus, I slowed down as my tattered old rucksack was literally killing my back. I came to a stop, and to terms with the fact that I'd never be a track star when I felt two hands behind my shoulders force me over, and down to the floor. The concrete raced toward my face as my hands saved me from a broken nose.

"Woah, shit! Sorry!" A seemingly unpanicked voice came from behind me as I attempted to reassemble myself after landing on the floor. I could feel the embarrassment flooding my pale cheeks with heat.

I stood up and spun around, unsure of what to think. Some random guy had just shoved me over and then apologised, even after doing it so purposefully.

Whoever had pushed me must've then boarded their bus, which was the first of three. I boarded the second one, obviously not wanting to associate with whoever had just knocked me over.

When the next day of school came, a teacher made him formally apologise, much to my hatred. Someone must've seen it and reported it, but I didn't want it to be such a big deal. I hated the attention, and I hated him having to half-ass an awkward apology to my face. According to what he had told the teacher, he'd mistaken me for someone else in our year that looked like me. I suppose it wasn't hard to do so, since I wasn't that distinct of a character from the rest back then.

The boy came in to apologise to me while I waited with a teacher at the reception for my "house" or "team" that I was in, and when he entered, my heart just dropped into my stomach, and, at the time, I couldn't describe why.

He was in my year, and I'd never noticed him before. All I can think now is: how the hell did I miss him? With a head of brown hair, slightly messy at the front, piercing icy blue eyes and a killer smile which was often a smirk, he was quite a bit taller than me and no one in our year was even growing that much yet. He was wearing the incorrect uniform; he had no blazer and his shirt was untucked, too which, to this day is a detail that still sticks with me.

"Uh," he started, clearly unsure how to apologise formally to my face as the teacher nudged him on from behind. "I'm sorry for pushing you over yesterday. I genuinely thought you were someone else," he admitted sounding quite apologetic and regretful at the same time, which came as quite a shock to me. For some reason, I had it in my head that it was going to sound much more forced.

I was just lost for words, unsure what to reply. "N-No it's fine," I replied, coming back into focus from the world of confusion that had taken over my mind for a brief period of time. I just couldn't stop staring. My eyes were fixated on this one person like he was some statue or monument to be observed in a museum. Yet he was all I wanted to admire.

"So... are we all good now?" he asked, looking up at the teacher behind him.

The teacher scoffed and rolled her eyes simultaneously. He must've caused trouble a little more than most students, but he was from a different team colour and we didn't really mingle with other houses in our first year, so I didn't know. But, I knew that I wanted to know.

When the teacher let us both go, we walked out of the reception area together and stood in quite an uncomfortable silence until we turned to each other, making eye contact, probably by accident.

"So, see you later..." he trailed off, searching for my name.

"Max," I saved him the awkward exploration.

"And I'll see you later..." I copied, hoping he'd finish my sentence the same way.

"Jake."

With that, we both nodded with an ever so slight visible smile and headed off to our separate tutor rooms, never to see each other again.

Or so I thought, and I'd secretly hoped oppositely without even knowing why. I was absolutely not prepared, though, for the events that would follow from this encounter alone.

{—TEMPTED HEARTS—}