*Hannah's POV*
Gwen and I found Wes and David sitting at a table in the library. Wes looked up at me and smiled. A pencil was resting between his thumb and forefinger casually. David straightened his tie and stood, starting to gather his things.
"Hey," Wes said. "David and I were about to head off to a nearby coffee shop. It's our absolute favorite. You two wanna tag along?"
I glanced towards Gwen. "Yeah," I said. "That sounds really good. I've never really been to any places around here before."
"Neither have I," Gwen added.
"Well, I bet you guys will love it! The Lima Bean has really good coffee," Wes smiled, standing up along with David. He shoved his books and papers into his bag.
"Just don't let him take in too much caffeine," I pointed towards my friend. "Even the smallest amount can make him really hyper." Wes chuckled, and I felt my face flush.
"Don't worry, Jeff is the same way. You know," he turned to Gwen for a moment, "you two are really quite similar."
The blonde girl next to me fiddled with her large "nerd glasses", turning pink as she mumbled an indecipherable response. I laughed and walked along with Wes, out of the library. We walked through the halls of Dalton. Gwen marveled at the majestic chandelier as we walked under it.
"Holy shit," she whispered under her breath.
"I know." I whispered back.
David and Wes laughed at our bemused expressions. "Dalton has a lot of great history, you know," David said factually. "Many of Ohio's rich and famous attended Dalton."
"At least the ones that were male," Wes added.
Gwen and I exchanged a look. I withheld a giggle. "Yeah," I said. "It seems very...antique, around here."
"Oh yes," Wes said. "Everything here is original, restored, or an heirloom from Dalton's past. You know, Dalton has been a prestigious and impressionable school for over one hundred years. It's-"
I watched as Wes continued to go on a historic tangent on Dalton Academy. It was rather cute. Gwen, on the other hand, was enjoying short conversation with David. I knew she was going to force Wes and I together at some point. It would be payback for the science lab partner thing.
"-And that's why Dalton's excellence has made it such an honor to be a part of," Wes finished, smiling. I nodded, as if I knew what the hell he was talking about. David laughed, and Gwen simply looked confused.
"Are you trying to bore Lewis out of his mind?" David teased Wes.
"N-no!" Wes looked towards me, embarrassed. He looked flustered, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have. It was indescribably adorable.
"It's fine," I said with a smile. "I don't mind your ranting." Wes's cheeks blushed slightly as he turned away and coughed. "I like history, anyway."
"You and Wes will get along, then," David said. "Wes is the ultimate history geek."
"So is Lewis," Gwen pitched in.
"S-shut up," Wes and I said in unison. We glanced at each other, surprised. Gwen nudged me, misjudged her strength, and knocked me right into Wes's chest. I instantly backed away, apologizing repeatedly.
"A-anyway, we should get going." Wes continued, He tossed his car keys in the air, then caught them. We arrived at the parking lot shortly.
"So," I looked at the many cars around us, "which one is yours?"
"That one," Wes pointed to a black BMW. I noticed Gwen's eyes go wide.
"Seriously?!" she squeaked. "You have a freaking BMW?! That's awesome!"
"What's a BMW?.." I spoke quietly. David and Wes stopped for a moment to stare at me like I'd just told them that I was a creature from another planet.
"Um, Lewis isn't very into cars..." Gwen tried to explain. Wes nodded his head in understanding.
"Right, I forgot that some guys aren't very interested in that kind of stuff," he smiled at me. I couldn't help but beam back, feeling my face warm considerably.
Gwen and I crawled into the back of Wes's car, while David took shotgun and Wes sat in the driver's seat. The drive to the Lima Bean was rather silent, apart from the music Wes played in his car. It was classical, but I recognized the songs. Mozart, huh? I never would have pegged Wes for the Mozart type.
"Mozart," I said.
"You actually recognize this?" David looked at me from the front seat. "Wes is so particular about his music. He listens to classical all the time. He even dances to it."
"Do not!" Wes exclaimed.
"Sometimes he pretends to conduct an orchestra when no one else is looking..." David continued.
I giggled. "That's hilarious."
"Oh, like you don't do the same thing," Gwen said, grinning. I glared at her.
"But that was freaking Aaron Copeland, that's different." I exclaimed.
"You listen to Aaron Copeland?" Wes asked.
"Of course! I love his Sonata for Violin and Piano, what was it again?"
"Lento?" Wes asked.
"Oh yeah," I said. "That one."
"Personally I like the older pieces," Wes said. "Canon in D is one of my favorites."
"Oh, I love that one!" I gushed. "We played it in orchestra one time, it was so much fun."
"Jesus, it's like they're speaking a different language," David told Gwen.
"I know," she laughed.
The Lima Bean was a small coffee shop located downtown. Since Gwen and I had only really gone to the coffee lounge in Crawford, we had no former experience with other cafes. There were many small groups sitting at the tables that were scattered around, and a few people sat by themselves, typing away at their laptops as they sipped their various drinks. The smell of fresh coffee wafted through the the open air and hit me as soon as I opened the door. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the warm, fresh aroma of the ground beans.
"Mmm, it smells like heaven in here," I spoke dreamily.
"Well, it should, since the coffee tastes like heaven," Wes said with a grin. "Come on, let's get some while the line is still short." We ordered our drinks shortly, Wes getting a simple latte, David an Americano, Gwen a mint mocha with soy milk, and myself getting a green tea. We found a table and sat down with our hot beverages, savoring the temporary warmth they brought.
"This is great," Gwen commented, taking a sip of her vegan-friendly drink. "Better than the coffee they had at-"
"My house," I interrupted. "I have suckish coffee at my house." Gwen and I shared a knowing glance. Damn, I thought. It's so easy to slip up. "It's the beans," I said. "My dad just buys terrible beans."
"So how long have you two been friends?" David asked.
"Err..." I trailed off, trying to think of a logical story that stayed true to our male counterpart's.
"We met in sixth grade," Gwen said. "In..."
"Science camp," I said. I nearly smacked my forehead. I gave Gwen a sheepish smile. She shrugged.
"That's pretty cool," Wes said. "David and I met our Freshman year."
"Cool," I responded, nodding slightly as I sipped my tea. I glanced at the clock that sat on the wall. "Crap," I mumbled. "We better get going. We don't want to miss next period."
"What do you have?" Wes asked, getting up.
"Art," Gwen told him, picking up her bag.
"Oh, you must have art with Blaine," David smiled.
"Who?" I asked.
"Blaine Anderson," Wes said. "You'll like him. Trust me."
We walked into the art room with not ten seconds to spare. Boys were already seated. I took a deep breath, sitting down at a table near the back of the room. Only one boy sat at it, a guy with curly black hair that was slicked back with an insane amount of hair gel. He smiled at us.
"You must be the two new students, Alex and Lewis," he said.
I nodded. "Are you Blaine?"
"Yes, I am Blaine. How did you?..." he started before Gwen cut him off.
"Wes and David told us about you," she said, stopping when she realized how odd it sounded.
"Well, they told us that you were friends and that we'd have art together," I explained. "They've been showing us around the school."
The boy's hazel eyes sparkled as he smiled at us. "Wes and David are very nice. They're part of the Warbler council."
I looked at Blaine. "There's a council?"
Blaine laughed at my bemused expression. "Well yeah, you didn't expect us to be disorganized, did you? I mean, we do belong to the most prestigious all-boys boarding school in all of Ohio."
"I see that," Gwen said sheepishly, eyeing a random chandelier.
Silently I wondered to myself why I had thought all boys acted like bachelors. These boys seemed to actually respect us. At least, they respected us as males. There was no telling what would happen if they found out our secret.
Suddenly, a random woman grabbed my hand. "Hmmm," she said. "I sense your aura is hiding an interesting secret." She looked up at me with large, bug-like eyes. I was instantly reminded of our science teacher, Mr. Yellson. I wondered if they were related.
"Uh," was the only thing I could get out, as I backed away.
"No need to be frightened, my child," she said, beaming at me and staring into my eyes. It felt like she could see straight through my disguise and right into my soul. I stayed still, as if somehow she was like t-rex, and she wouldn't be able to see me if I was motionless. I suddenly wanted to blend in with the multi-colored floor tiles.
"And you too, Alex," the woman said kindly. "You and Lewis must be very careful to keep all your secrets hidden." She smiled and rose from her craned position. She was a tall, willowy woman, with long arms and legs. She wore a ratty green sweater that seemed to be a few sizes too big and a long skirt that trailed to the floor. She had gold-ish frizzy hair and a brightly-colored headscarf. "I will guide you through the and wondrous mystic realm of art," she said dreamily. "You may call me...Destiny."
I had trouble holding back laugh. Gwen nudged me in the shoulder, and I stifled my laughter by coughing into my arm.
"You see," Destiny spoke to the two of us, "Last names confine us to the reputations of our relatives, leaving us unable to make our own image. If we use our own special names, then we get to paint our own picture, write our own story."
"Ahem," Gwen said, cutting off my coughing. "It is very nice to meet you."
"And you, dear." Destiny said. "Now, why don't you sit here, with Blaine. He's very nice, and won't disturb your aura."
Blaine smiled. "Uh, yeah. No worries."
Hakuna Matata, I thought, sitting beside Blaine. Gwen sat on his opposite side. I suddenly yawned, feeling exhausted. Destiny began a long tangent about the stars and their alignment. This seemed more like an Astronomy class from the world of Harry Potter than an Art class.
But who am I to judge?
"Long day?" Blaine asked.
"You could say that," Gwen retorted. The unfamiliar boy chuckled as Destiny clapped her hands together, silencing the class.
"Alright, children," Destiny said. Her voice was light and airy, as if a breeze could simply sweep past and blow her away from us. "We will be working in groups of three today."
"I call Blaine!" Nearly every student shouted.
"Now, now," Destiny clucked her tongue. "Table partners."
Gwen and I looked at each other. Murderous glares from our peers surrounded us. Blaine smiled. "Alright. That will be a good chance for me to get to know you two better."
"Sure," I blinked. Blaine smiled again. I could see why people liked this boy. I wasn't necessarily attracted to him, but I felt drawn to him, like a moth to a light. He was magnetic.
Destiny walked around the room, passing out sheets of paper, magazines, and pairs of scissors. She soon arrived at our table, handing us supplies as we looked at her with confused expressions on our faces. She smiled, shaking her head like we were ignorant children, and she knew some big secret that we wouldn't understand.
"I would like all of you to get to know one another, and then I would like you to make a collage of all the things you have in common. Have fun, you three!" she explained before leaving to tell the other students about the assignment.
"So..." I said, trailing off.
"So..." Gwen responded, avoiding eye contact and opening up her magazine.
"Well," Blaine said, setting down his scissors on the table, "if you two aren't going to start the conversation, then I guess I have to. Now, how has your time at Dalton been so far? Interested in any clubs? Sports?"
"We were a little interested in joining the Warblers," Gwen explained, as she flipped through the magazine. "How would be depict that through a picture?" I pointed at a photo of a bird. Gwen rolled her eyes at me. "Too literal, Lewis," she whispered.
"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," the boy smiled.
"Um, so we all like music," Gwen said.
"Here are some pictures of the Broadway performance of Wicked," Blaine said, grabbing his scissors.
"That'll work," I said. Defying Gravity popped into my head, and I resisted the urge to hum along.
"Let's see," Blaine said, handing the pictures he'd cut out to Gwen. "Do you guys like dancing?"
"Yeah," Gwen said.
"I'm not any good," I said. 'But I like to."
"Good, good," Blaine said, working away with the pair of plastic-handled scissors. "See, we're getting along just fine."
"Well, yeah," Gwen looked at the few pictures we had pasted to the page. "It's not exactly a lot though..."
"Hmm," Blaine stared at the page, eyebrows furrowed. "What about sports? Soccer?"
My friend and I looked at each other for a moment. "Sports aren't really our forte..."
"No me gusta," Gwen said, nodding.
Blaine smiled understandingly. "That's all right. No problem there. Uhh," he stopped for a moment, to think, "How do you guys feel about equality?"
Finally, something we were familiar with.
For the next forty minutes, we talked with the boy. Before we knew it, the period had ended. Destiny allowed us time to finish the project the next day. Gwen and I exited the class, Blaine by our side.
*Gwen's POV*
"So how was your day?" Jeff asked, as I slid beside him at the table. It would be a while before dinner, and we had some time to kill. He beamed at me happily, and I felt my face flush. From across the table, I saw Hannah grinning.
"Fine," I said. "Good. Great, actually."
"That's awesome!" Jeff said.
"Hey guys," Wes and David sat at our table. "What's going on?"
"Just making sure Alex and Lewis here had a nice first day at Dalton," Nick explained. He turned to Hannah and I. "So do you like all the teachers?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Hannah smiled. "Mr. Yellson seems really nice?"
"Oh, George?" Nick asked. "Yeah, he's really fun. Be careful, though. He likes to set things on fire. Jeff lost half his eyebrow once, from an experiment."
"It was gone for a week!" Jeff said.
"It was hilarious," Nick grinned.
"It was not," Jeff pouted. He was so adorable that way. I had to bite my lip to keep from giggling like an idiot.
"I heard you got in trouble with Madam Morel," Wes nudged Hannah. She blushed. "Jeez, what'd you do?"
"Some guy named Sebastian talked to him and he got in trouble," I explained.
"I see," Wes said. "Well, Seb can be a bit of a kiss-ass when it comes to Madam Morel. Don't worry though. If you do the work in class and try your hardest, your grade won't suffer."
Hannah's shoulders slumped. "But she doesn't like me..."
"Come on, Lewis," I assured my friend, "that's never stopped you before."
"Yeah," Jeff said. "Hey, would you guys be interested in catching a movie with us on Friday? It's been awhile since we've gone into town."
"That sounds fun," I said, my heart beating faster as I thought about sitting in the dark with Jeff for 3 hours."What movie are we seeing?"
Jeff looked towards Nick and Wes. "Err, what movie do you guys want to see?"
"We don't really care," Hannah said, pulling out her brown notebook and writing a few lines.
"How about 'The Dark Knight Rises?'" Nick asked. "Jeff and I are huge Batman fans."
"Sure," I said. "Sounds like a plan." I checked my watch. "So when is dinner served?"
"Usually at around six," Wes said. "So we've got a few hours."
"We should probably get our homework done," Hannah said, ever the dedicated student.
"Right," Wes agreed. "Let's go to the library, then. It's more quiet there."
After homework, Hannah and I ate dinner with the boys, her constantly criticizing the quality of the food, Jeff shoveling everything into his mouth, and the rest of us just munching in near silence as we made casual conversation. We discussed the auditions that were coming up, and Hannah and I decided on the pieces that we would be singing. I chose 1983 by Neon Trees, and she picked I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab For Cutie. We received approval from the boys, and left dinner in a good mood. Tired from the long day filled with introductions, we sank into our mattresses with relief.
"Gwen," Hannah said.
"Yeah?" I groaned.
"What the hell are we doing?"
"We're attending a boarding school, Hannah." I said. "Just think of it as cosplay."
"Pfft," Hannah sat up. "More like cross-dressing."
"Hey," I looked at her. "We can do this. We've gotten this far without any trouble."
"Yeah," Hannah said. "But what about when we have to change for gym or something?"
"Hannah, we don't have gym," I stated calmly.
"You know what I mean!" she huffed, flopping back down onto her bed angrily.
"We'll figure it out when it happens, if it happens," I corrected myself quickly.
Hannah gave me a deep, long sigh. "All right," she said slowly, testing out her words. "God, I need a cup of tea."
"Go look for a coffee shop," I gestured towards the door. "There's sure to be something on campus. Try the cafeteria."
Hannah sat up. "Fine," she said, getting up and walking out of the room. She always got pissy when she was going through tea withdraw.
*Hannah's POV*
Finding the small coffee shop was no trouble. It was tiny, more of table with a hot water kettle, coffee pot full of black coffee, and an assortment of creamers (both soy and regular), teas, and sugars.
"Thank god," I muttered to myself, picking up a white mug and a packet of white tea. I set the water kettle on boil and waited for it to heat. I leaned against the table, sighing. The cafeteria was empty. It wasn't really creepy. It was peaceful to be away from all the crowds of chaotic teenage boys. I closed my tired eyes as I waited, listening to the sound of bubbles rising from the tea kettle softly.
"Hey there," A voice said. My eyes opened to see Sebastian. I backed away, bumping into the table. Things clattered to the ground, and I cursed under my breath in Indonesian.
"You scared me," I said, turning back to pick up the items I'd knocked over.
"Sorry about that," Sebastian said. He watched me, forest green eyes following my every move. "And sorry for French, by the way."
"Hm," I mumbled, not in the mood to forgive.
Sebastian moved closer to me. "I hope I can make it up to you, in some way."
I froze. "N-no," I said. "It's okay."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I can really make it worth your while."
"L-look," I stumbled. "I'm sorry but, I'm really not interested." Sebastian smiled.
"It's okay, Lewis," he said, his voice growing soft. "We don't have to let anyone know. I can even keep this from Alex, if you'd like..."
"Alex and I aren't together," I said.
"Good," Sebastian took a step closer.
"Hey, Lewis!" A voice called. I looked back, to see Wes standing at the entrance of the cafeteria. Exhaling with relief, I quickly poured a cup of boiling water in my mug and stepped away from Sebastian.
"Y-yeah?" I asked, facing him nervously. I don't think I had ever felt so happy to see someone in my entire life.
"I need your help with something," Wes said, using his hand to gesture me forward. He nodded at Sebastian, who shrugged and wandered past us.
"See you in French, Lewis," he told me.
I let out another breath once he'd gone out of earshot. "What did you need my help with?" I asked.
"I didn't," Wes smiled. "You just looked like you needed saving."
"Oh," I felt my face grow hot. "Well thanks."
"And you shouldn't worry about Seb," Wes continued, as we walked back to the room that Gwen and I shared. "He hits on all the new students. After a while he'll start to treat you more like a friend."
"Good," I said, taking a sip of my tea. Warmth flooded over my taste buds, and I instantly felt more at ease.
We reached my room. I could hear Gwen's music playing loudly from the other side of the door. I smiled, relieved to be around something familiar. I cradled my mug between my two hands, letting the steam drift upwards.
"White tea," Wes said, recognizing it.
"Yeah," I nodded. We stared at each other for a few moments. For a split second, our eyes met. We instantly broke eye contact, though, and I opened the door. "Well, good night Wes."
"Night," Wes returned, turning away and hurrying down the hall quickly. I could've sworn I heard him muttering something under his breath. I closed the door behind me, leaning against it as I sipped my tea.
"You okay?" Gwen asked from her bed. She was on her laptop. "That took you awhile."
"Yeah," I sat on my bed. "Yeah, I'm fine." I watched as Gwen typed away and nodded her head to the music, thinking about the look that Wes had given me before we parted, and whether I imagined it or not. I let myself smile a little, as I settled back onto the pillows. It had to be my imagination, right?