Alfred Jones was just another boy in the class below his own when Arthur Kirkland first noticed him.
He wasn't anything out of the ordinary- a coltish awkwardness to him that spoke of a recent growth spurt, almost louder than the way Alfred seemed to forget the broadness of his shoulders as he went through doors. Fair hair- like so many others in his class, his sun-kissed locks were always as askew as his glasses.
Arthur didn't know what colour his eyes were for the longest time because of those lenses that always seemed to be glinting in the fluorescent lighting of the school and obscuring... well, it wasn't as though Arthur really needed to know the look of the younger boy's eyes, so long as he stayed away from the flailing limbs as he ran through the hallways.
Other than the general off-kilter nature, there was really nothing to draw Arthur's attention his way. Which is what made it puzzling to the shorter teenager, why exactly, he was spending half of maths trying to figure out if Alfred's eyes were blue or gray, and why exactly his left arm twitched when the teacher walked down the aisle between desks to pass back the last exam.
Well, perhaps that was the extraordinary thing about Alfred Jones.
Best in class with advanced level maths.
Of course the half-shy smile that was tossed his way had nothing to do with it, even if it wasn't really directed at him, since the gaze of those hidden eyes was beyond where Arthur was sitting. When Arthur chanced a quick look to see what exactly Alfred was looking at, he found nothing, only the class bulletin board with its horrid paper cutouts of leaves. He glanced back to find the blond head bent over a text book, carefully not looking his way.
Odd. Strange.
So there was something different about Alfred Jones, and Arthur couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was.
The shy smile stayed with him for the rest of the week.* * *It was a rainy Tuesday when Arthur Kirkland actually talked to Alfred Jones for the first time.
The former was folding his umbrella in the entryway to the school, trying not to get anyone else wet, when the latter- at a run- burst through the door, and crashed into him, soggy sweatshirt sleeve catching Arthur in the face. His grip on the brolly was shaken loose, sending it to the floor, and expansion, which splattered rain across the other ten students that were busily trying to remove their rainwear to not get their homework (or the rest of the school) wet.
"Sorry, sorry!" The first words were breathless in his ear, clearly audible over the shrieks and yeps of the rest of the students who were on the receiving end of the sudden shower. "I didn't see you there!"
And that was when Arthur learned that Alfred's eyes were blue.
"Where's your umbrella?" Arthur finally gathered himself together, watching as the younger boy picked up his, and neatly folded it (well, it took a couple of tries.). "You're soaked!"
"I forgot it-" The smile was there, "And I like walking in the rain anyway. It's relaxing."
"Relaxing? It's a monsoon out there!" Arthur fought the urge to grab at the sodden sweatshirt and wring it out. "You're going to be freezing during class- really, Jones."
The face lit up, and that shy smile became a genuine one.
"You could call me Al." He suggested, "And... I'm used to it. Besides- it's just water. If I can't survive being a little wet and cold, how'm I going to survive on another planet?"
And all hints of normalcy went right out of the window. Forget Alfred Jones being just another kid, forget him being just like any others. He was a lunatic.
"Another planet..." Arthur felt his brows rise as he attempted not to laugh at the younger (he had no room calling Alfred baby-faced, with his own showing promise of the same long lasting youthfulness.) "You're a spaceman then?"
"Yeah!" Full-on grin. "I have a rocketship at home. I can't go too far yet, because Tony says I'm not ready yet, but..."
Arthur did laugh then, but Alfred's smile never left.
"I've got a few more years of school- math is important for lightspeed navigation, you know."
"All right then, Al," Arthur finally said, "Perhaps we should find a way to dry you off a bit before the first class- no sense getting sick before you even take off."
That was the beginning.