She was fuming. Positively fuming.
How dare anyone, let alone a school administrator, say those hurtful words. Elle hated adults who let their power go to their head, adults who thought they could just bully students and get away with it. God, she hated bullies! Elle didn't care that she blew up on her first day, she didn't care that she had no idea where she was hauling the poor boy. She cared about frickin justice, okay?!
"Hey, hey, hey. Do you even know where you're going?" The boy chuckled.
"We're on a tour."
"Last I checked, I was supposed to do the leading, new girl."
Slowing to a halt in the gym, Elle finally took a look at her abductee. The smirk was back. She sighed and plopped herself down on the floor, staring up at the light fixture. Though she was slightly calmer, the brunette wanted to punch something, or preferably, punch Principal Anderson. She heard the boy chuckle again, heard him settle down next to her, heard him smirk. Still, her gaze never left the ceiling. The silence was thick, settling around them like a heavy fog. "I hate people like that," Elle finally whispered. "I'm sorry he said that to you, it was uncalled for and unprofessional and dickish and I―"
"Hi, I'm Michael Wheeler," he interrupted. "And you're Miss Hopper."
"Eleanor Hopper." She blushed, tearing her eyes away from the lights to meet his. They were brown, dark brown, and they suited him and his brooding persona. With the splattering of freckles like stars on his cheeks, the orbs reminded her of outer space. She suddenly felt embarrassed, shaking her head to clear the strange thoughts running through it. "Does that happen a lot, with the principal?"
"Does he act like a douche? Yes. Do people stand up to him like you did? Never." Michael laughed. "Who the hell are you?"
Elle's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means exactly what I said, new girl," he said cooly, ignoring her shout of protest at his refusal to use her name. "I have never seen Anderson that excited to meet someone and I've never seen him get shut up so fast. Hell, I've never seen him get shut up period. And what was with that whole brilliant student stuff?"
She wrinkled her nose. Elle hated the way people treated her, like she was some genius. "I'm on scholarship here," she explained. "I won this math competition, it's not a big deal. I kinda just needed to get away, act like a normal teenager."
"Hm, well sounds like a bigger deal than you're making it, but I'll humor you and pretend it isn't."
They sat in comfortable silence, letting the time before school pass by blissfully, each lost in thought, but aware of the other's presence. It wasn't until 7:30 that Elle glanced at the clock and immediately groaned. School was in less than an hour and she did want to know her way around a bit more. Taking note of the time as well, Michael turned to Elle.
"Wanna do a quick actual tour?" He asked, moving to stand as the brunette nodded gratefully.
The two made their way to the gym doors, Michael reaching for the doorknob only to be stopped by Elle grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. "You know it's not true, what he said, right?" She murmured, meeting his eyes. "You will amount to something. I've only known you for an hour, but I believe that you're the type of person to do great things in the future."
Michael looked away, seeming embarrassed, but not before Elle got a glimpse of his shy smile. A real smile this time. "C'mon new girl, let's go on that tour now."
AN: Hi everyone! Mike doesn't seem like much of a bad boy now, I know, but I hope you're satisfied with the coming chapters. Have a great day ;)