Chapter 1
They were at the beginning of their junior year when the British boy made his first appearance. Ever since he set foot inside the classroom, Alfred couldn't help but to wonder who he was. He sat alone in class, since there now was an uneven number of students, but the boy didn't seem to mind. He was always dressed neatly and appeared to be the definition of a good student. The only thing that seemed out of place was his hair, which always stuck out on basically all sides of his head. His eyes were a brilliant shade of green, almost emerald like and the boy had a fair complexion. His British accent was so thick, that he couldn't possibly have lived here for more than a month or two.

Alfred had noticed all these things about the new kid, but he hadn't spoken a word to him yet. Today, that was going to change. When the bell rang Alfred practically threw his books into his bag and stormed out of the classroom, following the boy who always seemed to disappear into thin air when the lesson was over. He spotted the guy in the middle of a crowd making their way towards the cafeteria. He was short, Alfred noticed, yet he didn't seem out of place in the group of senior-year-students. After following the pupils into the cafeteria, Alfred realised the boy wasn't there anymore. He must've taken a turn somewhere when Alfred wasn't paying attention.

"Damnit," Alfred muttered to himself as he turned around and took a detour. He passed several classrooms as he made his way through the magnificent building in search of the nameless boy. When he passed one of the exits that lead towards the schoolyard, he decided to turn back and check outside. He was surprised when he was met with the back of a very familiar, yet still unknown boy.

Slowly Alfred approached the boy, walking around him to face him. That's when he noticed the smoke rising into the air, emanating from the cigarette between the boy's lips.
"Ya know you're not allowed to smoke on school grounds, right?" Alfred started, his tone was friendly despite the warning, his gaze focussed on the cigarette between the boy's thin lips.

The boy took the cigarette between his fingers for long enough to speak, the sarcasm was literally dripping off his words. "Nice to meet you too." Then the cigarette took its previous place again.
"Ya could get into serious trouble, y'know? Besides, it's bad for you." Alfred tried.
The boy slumped in an annoyed manner, taking an unnecessarily long drag from his cigarette.
"My name is Alfred, I'm in your math class. What's your name?" Alfred introduced himself in a friendly manner, although the boy didn't seem to be in the mood for small talk.
"What do you care?"
Alfred took a step closer before taking the cigarette out of the boy's lips, holding it away from him as he spoke. "A lot. What's your problem?" He asked, getting slightly annoyed with the rude student.
"Obviously you are, you twat!" The boy made a move to get his cigarette back, but Alfred backed away. "Will you just mind your own bloody business and let me smoke my fucking cigarette?"
"No! Why're you so rude? I thought British people were supposed to be polite!" Alfred sounded honestly surprised while making his statement.
"Fine! Ugh, you wanker." The boy whined, "I am Arthur, it is a pleasure to meet you." The sarcasm was still very present. "Now may I please have my cigarette back? It's my last one."
"Nice to meet you, Arthur. And no, you cannot. Didn't I tell you smoking is not allowed?"
When the boy opened his mouth to make a snarky remark the door Alfred had previously come through swung open and revealed Mr. Grimes. Their English teacher first didn't seem to notice anything was off as he passed them to make his way to the parking lot, but he stopped in his tracks as soon as he smelled the smoke from the cigarette and turned towards Alfred, who was still holding the cigarette away from the boy's reach.
"Mr. Jones, smoking on school grounds?" He asked in a stern voice. Arthur was about to speak up when Alfred beat him to it. "I am." His voice was steady, although he had to try really hard to retain that confidence.
The teacher sighed deeply, "You know very well that is not allowed, strict forbidden even."
Alfred swallowed nervously, trying to think of any sort of excuse. "I'm sorry sir, I will put it out immediately." And he did, throwing the cigarette to the ground, killing it with the heel of his shoe and then throwing it in the bin next to the door. He smiled nervously, hoping in vain to avoid any sort of punishment.
"To the principal's office, Jones. Your parents will hear about this." Damn, that man never did take anything lightly. After the teacher took Alfred back inside, Arthur was alone, unable to react other than to stare after the student with his mouth hanging open. Had that stranger really just taken the blame?

Alfred was waiting outside the principal's office. It wasn't like he had never been there before, but he was still nervous. This was, however, the first time he was here for something he didn't actually do.
"Mr. Jones," Principal Christensen began when he opened the door to his office, "I can't say I'm surprised to see you. Come in." Alfred followed the man and sat silently in the chair opposite the principal, like he had done so many times before in his three years of high school. He had often found some way to stir up the class, pick a fight with a student from the year above him or start a food fight in the cafeteria, therefore it would be an understatement to say he spent quite some time at the principal's office.
"I must admit, Jones, that I didn't expect to see you for violating this particular school rule, let alone at the very beginning of the year." The principal sighed deeply, shaking his head as he looked at Alfred. "Why, Jones? Where did it go wrong?" Alfred wanted to speak up, to tell the truth, but he knew that meant the other boy would get suspended. And really, it's not like Alfred's reputation could be damaged by something like suspension. What he was really worried about was his parents. "If you had come here because of another food fight or ruckus in the cafeteria, you know I would've let you off with detention. Now, I'm going to have to contact your parents, think of a proper suspension time and you know neither of us want to waste our time on that." The principal seemed at a loss of words for a moment, then continued, "You're a good kid, Alfred, I know that, but your parents will hear about this."

After one last disappointed look from his principal Alfred was allowed to leave while the principal contacted his parents.