Ivan was his name. He was from Russia and he had pretty purple eyes and he didn't know his way around the school campus. Alfred had taken the initiative, promised to escort him to each of his classes, meeting Ivan at the door of his last class each time, doing his best to hide his gulping, heavy breaths.
Ivan was nice. Nice and interesting and had a quiet gentility about him. He was not loud, nor did he seem to ever hurry. Long legs meant long steps, steady even strides that Alfred tried to match. Ivan's face was─ was sculpted, somehow. It made Alfred think of passages from dusty old books, tales of Greek gods and high cheekbones coupled with smooth white skin.
And his nose. Ivan didn't have a movie star nose, something that could be classified as traditionally beautiful. It kind of made Alfred think of a shark fin, and he liked sharks a lot. It was a weird nose, but it was good-weird. Ivan would make a good model, Alfred decided. Models were always beautiful and off at the same time. Ethereal, almost. Like aliens.
Aliens were Alfred's favorite things after junk food and video games (and before sharks).
His voice only made his mystique better. It was rolled and flat and made all sorts of noises Alfred couldn't even begin to pin down. It was different, exotic, like a sweet song against Alfred's ears. Alfred wished Ivan would talk more, show off his pipes, but he did nothing that first day beyond ask the most basic of questions, or warmly thank Alfred after finding his next room.
Ivan disappeared at lunch, and Alfred looked everywhere for him, only to finally find Ivan mere seconds before the bell rang.
Ivan ended up being in Alfred's English class, which occupied the last period of the day. He took his seat at the back, a single desk separating him from Alfred. Alfred had switched seats with Romano, who didn't like sitting behind Francis anyway. When the teacher took attendance she noticed though, and soon Alfred was back to sitting almost-close to Ivan.
After school let out, Ivan admitted he might need Alfred to guide him around for a few more days, and asked if he could repay Alfred by walking him to and from school in exchange for Alfred's Sherpa services. Out of gratitude, of course.
Alfred said yes, and his heart felt like it'd had the wind knocked out of it when Ivan smiled at him.
On the third day of walking Alfred home, Ivan's hands had brushed against Alfred's. It was an accident, Alfred was sure of that, but it sent a shuddering jolt of all sorts of feelings through him. It reached the top of his head, the very bottoms of his toes, and everywhere in between.
It was an exhilarating experience, yet strangely calming. It made Alfred think of the girls he'd been with, hugged and kissed but nothing more, never more. It was the opposite of the feeling that gave him, that insecurity and sharp dread of what they were expecting.
Ivan's touch was comfortable, and that of those girls was not.