Chapter 2
Walking into the classroom, Peter finally understood what the saying ‘walking into the lion’s den’ meant. Wade was in that class. After that...peculiar encounter in the hallway, Peter was ten times more weary of the other boy. He was the captain for god’s sake. What the hell could he possibly want with a nerd like Peter if not to bully him? Peter wasn’t going to take any chances. His goal was to be invisible in this school and he would achieve it.
As soon as he stepped foot into the class, all the students went silent. They stared at him in question. Some even scowled. The only one who was smiling was Wade and it was just a sly quirk of the lips that made Peter want to squirm where he stood. He resolutely did not look in Wade’s direction. He stood at the front of the class as the teacher prattled on about who he was and what he missed due to his lateness. He apologized and took the nearest empty seat. Smiling timidly at the girl he was sat next to, he pulled out a notebook and pencil.
“Hey,” the girl said, not lifting her eyes from the book on her desk. Glancing at the title, Peter smiled. She was reading an illustrated version of Hans-Christian Anderson.
“Hey,” he answered, settling into his seat more comfortably. He felt eyes on him and turned around. Which was a mistake because his eyes locked onto Wade’s. Hazel eyes burned with...anger? That didn’t make sense. Why would Wade be angry? His eyes widened a fraction as he saw the empty desk next to the other boy. Wade raised an eyebrow as he narrowed his eyes at him. Swallowing thickly, Peter turned around, focusing on his notebook and his fast beating heart. He tried to ignore the feeling of being watched.
He listened to the teacher explain algebra half-heartedly. He was good at math and wasn’t worried. At Atane, he had an A+ in geometry. He only had to retake algebra because in the transfer, he lost the credits for it. He wasn’t mad about it. There wasn’t anything he could do and at least he knew what he was doing. Instead, he found himself reading along with the girl sat next to him. Fairytales weren’t his favorite type of story; he leaned more towards science fiction. Books that dealt with superpowers and superhuman type creatures were more his cup of tea. He had an embarrassing amount of comic books in his room.
Peter was a grade A nerd.
The bell rang, pulling both him and the girl out of their reading stupor. The girl packed up her book and turned to him, offering her hand for a shake. Her nails were painted black and were chipped around the edges. She must be a nail biter.
“I’m MJ, by the way,” she said as they shook hands.
“Nice to meet you, MJ,” Peter smiled, letting go of her hand and packing up his notebook and pencil.
“So, you like Hans-Christian too?” She asked bluntly. Peter’ eyes widened. Her eyes mirrored his. “I’m sorry. That was rude,” clearing her throat, she tried again, “I noticed that you were reading along with me so I just assumed you liked him, too. I didn’t mean for it to come out so harsh. My bad.” She pushed her frizzy hair behind her ear.
Peter smiled shyly. “He’s good but fairytales aren’t really my thing. I’m more of a science fiction type person.” He told her as they stood up. “Hans is a classic choice, though.”
“Yeah,” MJ agreed, “I like his works because all the tales are usually stemmed from something dark, you know?”
“Yeah! Do you read Edgar Allen?” Peter asked, relaxing as they talked about books.
“Um, yeah?” MJ said, quirking a brow. “I read 'The Raven' in fifth grade and was hooked. 'Annabelle Lee' was one that always freaked me out.” MJ shrugged on her backpack and waited for Peter.
“Really?” He asked. “I was freaked out when I read 'The Tell Tale Heart'. Honestly had nightmares for a solid month after I read it.” He shivered, grinning wide when MJ laughed. “It was freaky!” He exclaimed as the pair walked to the exit. Peter took out his schedule and let out a long suffering sigh.
“Need help?” MJ pointed to his schedule and took it when he nodded. “I can walk with you to second period. My art class is that way, anyways.”“Thank you so much,” he breathed. The hallway was already crowded when they walked out. “I really didn’t want to get lost again.”
MJ nodded. “Yeah, this school is pretty huge. It’s got a nice library though. My buddy Ned and I hangout in there. You’re welcomed to join us?” She offered. “You seem like the type that likes books better than people.”
Peter laughed, nodding. “You got me there.”
“Yeah,” she said, “Same.”
His breath caught when they passed by Wade. Peter kept his gaze trained on the ground, refusing to make eye contact with the captain again. He’d seen enough of him for one day. So, he didn’t see how the other’s lips turned down into a displeased pout at his neglect of attention.
“Well, this is me,” MJ pointed at a painted door. “Need directions to third?” At Peter’s nod, she took the schedule again. “Okay, cool. Ned’s in that class. I’ll shoot him a text to leave a spot open for you. He'll help point you to third." Nodding, he waved and made his way to second period.
He didn’t see Wade until the taller boy was nearly pressed against his back. He went rigid and stopped moving all together. He slowly turned around and shot a glare at him, scooting away a little so they weren’t touching. Wade looked at him coolly, hazel eyes still narrowed.
“Can I help you?” Peter bit out, feeling a smidge triumphant when the jock’s jaw dropped a bit. All too soon, it was replaced by that smirk that Peter just wanted to hit off. Or kiss off. No, no. Hit. He wanted to hit it off. Yes.
“Oh, come on, baby boy,” Wade leered at him, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You were awfully mean to me in Algebra,” he pouted.
“I didn’t even talk to you in Algebra,” Peter rolled his eyes and went to turn away, but just like that morning, Wade pulled him against his chest again. Peter glared coldly at him and went to push him off. Wade grabbed his hands before he succeeded, though.
“Exactly!” Wade exclaimed, frowning. “Saved a seat for you and everything and you didn’t even look at me.” Peter rolled his eyes again, wiggling fruitlessly as he tried to get free of Wade’s grip. He just tightened it more. “You’ll find that I don’t like getting ignored by people, baby boy. Also, I’m very hard to ignore.” He smiled sharply.
“Let go of me,” Peter growled staring up at Wade. ”And stop calling me baby boy!” Finally breaking free, he rushed to second and away from the stubborn and somewhat obsessive captain. “Better be the last time I see that jerk,” he muttered as he entered the class. “Asshole.”
Looking around, he spotted a guy waving at him. He slowly walked over. “Ned?” He asked questioningly. The guy smiled.
“Yeah, that’s me! You’re Peter right?” At Peter’s nod, he sighed in relief. “Awesome. Saved you a seat.”
“Thanks, man,” he sighed as he sank down.
“No problem, dude. How’s your first day going?” Ned asked, pulling a notebook from his bag.
Peter groaned, causing Ned to laugh a bit. “Would be better if I wasn’t be trailed everywhere,” he griped, pulling out his own notebook.
“Who’s following you?” Ned asked, voice worried and expression pinched.
Peter waved a hand. “Wade something?” he shrugged. “He’s captain and his name’s Wade. That’s all I know. He’s been following and cornering me since this morning. He’s a real ass.”
Ned winced in sympathy, Peter looked up, an eyebrow quirked. “He’s the most popular kid here, man, Wade Wilson,” Ned whispered as class started. “He’s a nice enough guy. A little weird. He’ll lose interest soon enough.”
“Hope so,” grumbled Peter. “Or I’m gonna have to get really good at dodging him.”
Ned laughed again. Peter smiled back and settled into his desk. He prayed he wouldn’t see Wade Wilson again. Not even his second day and he already had a stalker in the form of a very attractive, very stubborn captain.
Yay.