It was early Monday morning, the sun was rising over the horizon and the air was crisp, threatening to nip at Andrew Detmer's exposed skin. He was waiting at the bus stop, mourning the forgotten jacket he had left at home as he shifted from foot to foot in discomfort.
He was dressed in a black cotton shirt, it was stark against his pale skin but did nothing for the chill that crawled up his spine. The wind drew shudders from his body, his teeth chattering involuntarily as he sways. It was definitely not a good day.
Andrew stood at this bus stop every single morning, his eyes half-lidded with sleep and his mouth drawn into an apathetic frown. He looked like any other teenager, with ruffled hair and bored features. He seemed to wafer in and out of reality, his body thrumming with suppressed energy that he desperately tried to keep contained.
''Do you ever listen to me?'' A voice questioned, deep and amused as it approached him.
Steve Montgomery, of course.
Andrew rolled his eyes, ''What are you doing here?''
''Well, you refused my offer to ride to school with me, so I decided that maybe I'd ride to school with you.''
Andrew's cheeks colored slightly, ''You…?''
''Yeah.'' Steve said, agreeing to nothing in particular.
The wind whirled past them and Andrew trembled as the cold enveloped him. He glanced away from Steve, unable to stand the amused expression on his face as he shivered.
When he looked back, he found Steve shrugging off his letterman jacket. He swung it around Andrew's narrow shoulders, allowing him to slip his skinny arms into the sleeves. The jacket engulfed his thin frame, painting him an array of white and greens, matched with the rosy red blooming on his cheeks.
''You're cheesy, Steve.'' Andrew told him, trying to ignore the implication of wearing someone else's jacket. He remembered hearing the cheerleaders gush about it, how chivalrous it was to do so.
Steve smiled at him, showing straight, white teeth as he did so. The school bus pulled him at that moment, and through the windows of the bus, you could see various teenagers looking especially bored.
''Shall we?'' Steve asked him, placing a strong hand on the other boy's back.
''We shall.'' Andrew replied, finding himself to be uncharacteristically smitten in this moment.
And they walked towards the bus together.