Sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair outside the vice principal's office, Madison is entirely incapable of stopping the rapid bouncing of her leg, the light taps of her heeled boot against the floor betraying her nerves every step of the way. For what must be the hundredth time, her fingers take up the task of picking at a loose thread on her jeans, while her eyes track a now-familiar path up to the clock on the wall. It doesn't make the time go by any faster, of course. In fact, the clock seems to taunt her by retaining its slow plodding, only a minute or so having passed since the last time she looked…
Bash is in that office, right now, getting a copy of his schedule, and likely charming the vice principal along the way. And Maddie?
She is stuck outside, waiting for him to finish, and trying to stave off her own panic with everything she has.
A task that is becoming markedly more difficult with every breath she takes.
Exhaling in a rush, Madison leans backwards until the back of her head thumps gently against the wall behind where she sits, her eyes slipping closed as she attempts to simply relax. After all, this is hardly a life or death situation.
All that she is doing is meeting one of the authority figures at her new school. Getting her schedule. Heading to class.
So why, exactly, does she feel as though she is heading off to war, instead?
Madison knows the comparison is overdramatic. She knows it as well as she knows her own name, but that does not make it any easier to shake. No matter what she does, she cannot ignore the twisting sensation in her gut. The lingering memories of her repetitious dream, and the things it attempts to dredge up to the surface.
Try though she might, she cannot seem to enact something even remotely close to Bash's level of confidence. She simply cannot do it. And that frustrates her more than she truly cares to admit, her jaw tightening even as she becomes aware of the sound of the principal's office door opening with a muted squeak.
"Your turn."
The nearly blinding smile Bash sends her as he looms over her chair hardly helps her situation, but still, Maddie attempts to reciprocate, the gesture likely coming out as more of a grimace than anything resembling a genuine grin. Something Sebastian seems to notice in seconds, if the way his own smile falters is any sort of indication at all.
"What is it, Mads?"
"Nothing."
"Uh-huh. I totally believe you," Her cousin scoffs, his brow furrowing as he moves to perch on the edge of the empty seat right beside her, "You're like—the most convincing person on the planet, right now."
"Shut up."
"Nah, I don't think I really want to."
"Of course you don't," Madison groans, once again dropping her head back to thump against the wall, even though she can see from the corner of her eye that the two of them are not going to be alone for very much longer, "Any chance we can talk about this later?"
"Does that mean you actually will talk about it?"
Maddie opens her mouth to reply, even if she isn't entirely sure what her answer should be, but before she has the chance to put anything into words, she is spared the trouble by the appearance of the man she's been waiting to meet.
"Ms. Duvall?"
Whether she truly wants to or not, Madison pushes herself to stand, ignoring her cousin's lingering skeptical expression in favor of approaching the vice principal instead. For his part, the older man seems to suspect something might be amiss, but he glosses over that suspicion easily enough…
And it would be a lie for Maddie to pretend she is anything less than grateful, even if she is still poignantly aware of the slight tremble in her hands as she runs them down the fabric of her shirt.
"Why don't you come in and take a seat?"
Brushing past Sebastian without a backward glance, Madison moves to do as she is instructed, resisting the urge to worry at her lower lip with her teeth with every ounce of strength she has left. Sitting in yet another chair, she forces herself to keep her mind as far away from her dream—from her nerves over starting at a brand new school—at bay.
Of course, she truly ought to have known that would be something that is easier said than done.
"Well it would seem remiss if I didn't start this meeting with a warm welcome to Beacon Hills," The vice principal begins, a thin smile gracing his lips as he regards Madison with what he clearly intends to be a look to put her at ease, "So—welcome to Beacon Hills."
"Thanks? I think?"
The laugh the vice principal gives in response to her remark takes Maddie aback, one brow lifting as she squirms a bit in the chair before his desk. Truthfully, she had not intended to blurt the answer as quickly as she had, knowing they would only invoke suspicion. But it is clearly too late to even attempt to take it back now, leaving her with absolutely no choice but to face the fallout on her own.
"You know, it's normal to have some reservations when starting at a new school."
"I'm not nervous, really—"
"No? Forgive me, Ms. Duvall, but from where I'm standing that is precisely what it looks like you are."
"I'm not," Madison repeats, already aware that her words are hardly proving anything less than that the man seated across from her is making the right assessment of her current state of mind, "I'm just—I don't want to be late for class."
"As it's your first day, I feel fairly confident that your first period teacher will give you a pass. It's English Literature, by the way."
"Pardon?"
"Your first period class," The vice principal clarifies, his expression somewhat curious as he regards Madison for a moment in silence before glancing down to reach for a paper on top of his desk, and handing it her way, "And the rest of your schedule is detailed right here."
"Right," Madison nods, looking down at the page held between her hands, and noting all of the essential classes listed out in orderly fashion, "Gang's all here."
"We aim for a well-rounded curriculum for all of our students."
"Of course."
"And if you would like an escort to any of them, you only have to ask."
Panic floods Madison's mind at the thought of having someone physically present to lead her to each of her classes, even if she does realize the idea of getting lost along the way would be just as embarrassing, if not more. Either way, she runs the risk of having what is essentially a glaring neon sign, advertising her status as 'new girl' on campus.
Her stomach twists at the thought, while her fingers curl inward, her nails digging tiny half-crescent shapes into the skin of her palms. And before Maddie can determine whether the vehemence of her impending protest will aid her or hinder her, the words are tumbling free.
"No! No, that won't—that won't be necessary."
"Right. Well, it's on offer if you happen to change your mind—"
"I won't. I—I promise you. I won't."
"And the guidance counselor, Ms. Morell, is always available for an appointment to accommodate those nerves you claim you don't have," The man seated across from her elaborates, clearly nowhere near willing to give up even in spite of how fervently Madison wishes that he would, "Just a suggestion."
A suggestion that Madison has absolutely no intention of taking to heart.
Not that that seems to dissuade the vice principal at all…
"If it makes you feel any better, Ms. Duvall, I already made the same suggestion to your—cousin, is it?"
Blinking back surprise, Maddie finds herself momentarily at a loss for words, the idea of Bash having done anything to warrant such an offer clearly catching her off guard. Of the two of them, he has always been the most confident. The one who seems to regard the world with an unflappable sense of resolve.
Bash had always approached life in such a way that left little to no doubt regarding his ability to handle it head-on. And it is because of that knowledge that Madison's response to her would-be advisor's remark is somewhat delayed, her teeth digging into her lower lip yet again before she realizes her silence is only provoking more concern.
"He—yeah. He's my cousin."
"It must be a good thing, knowing you're not going to be going through the ordeal of being the new kid on your own."
"Sure. Something—something like that," Madison agrees, managing a hasty nod, only to catch herself flinching as the sound of the warning bell signifying the remaining five minutes to get to class are rapidly drawing to a close, "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't—"
"Be late," The vice principal supplies, standing from his seat behind the desk, and offering Maddie what she believes is meant to be an encouraging smile, "Of course. And I have one more student to meet with, as well. Perhaps the two of you might even become friends."
Unsure of exactly how she is meant to reply to that statement, Maddie flounders for a moment or two before managing yet another nod, even with the fact that she is skeptical over the idea of finding a kindred spirit so quickly weighing heavily upon her mind. In truth, she'd intended to simply stick close to Bash for the most part, rather than branching out to find any other lasting bonds of her own.
Then again, her cousin is someone who exudes his own sort of natural charm. And with that said, it seems highly unlikely that she will not end up exposed to the companionship of others, simply by remaining at his side.
"Have a good day, Ms. Duvall," The vice principal says, then, the words once again dragging Madison back to the present with all of the subtlety of a strobe light in a darkened room, "I'm hoping that you'll find Beacon Hills to your liking."
Doing her best to offer one final, parting smile and nod, Madison hurries out into the hallway as quickly as she can, her attention already diverted to the room numbers listed outside of each classroom in an attempt to find her own as quickly as she can. In her haste, she does not notice the other girl sitting outside the office, as she had been mere moments ago. She does not pay attention to the obvious nerves displayed in her own demeanor.
Whatever the vice principal might have said about finding a friend is clearly relegated to the back of her mind as she spies the classroom she is intended to be in for first period and hurries to duck inside and find a seat. And as she takes the first look at the syllabus placed upon her chosen desk, she knows.
Whether she comes to like Beacon Hills or not will be immaterial if she cannot master her nerves for long enough to survive the first class of the day.
…
"Alright, class. It seems we have a new student with us today."
Oh no…
"Ms. Duvall? Would you mind coming to the front of the class for us?"
Only just managing to restrain a groan, Madison forces herself to stand, shuffling to the front of the class and trying her best to ignore the way the observation of the rest of the students as she does so feels like a thousand tiny laser beams drilling beneath the surface of her skin. Approaching the front of the room, she moves to take the recently vacated spot that the teacher had been standing in mere moments before.
She does not want to be there. Not at all. But judging by the almost patronizing smile on the teacher's face, Madison hardly has much of a choice.
"Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?"
"Right. Well, I—I'm Madison. Maddie," She sighs, her cheeks warming in response to the hastily stammered words, though by some miracle, she does not succumb to the sudden desire to bite down on her lower lip, "I just moved from Washington state, and—I guess I don't really know what else it is that I'm supposed to say that would be even remotely interesting."
"How about your hobbies? Special interests?" Mr. Dobson presses, clearly unwilling to allow Madison to slip away from her impromptu disclosure of identity, if the thin smile that graces his lips is any sort of indication at all, "Special places you've traveled?"
"Dance. I—I dance. I suppose that qualifies as a hobby and a special interest all in one, right?"
"It certainly does, Ms. Duvall."
Something in his tone seems to indicate that he is hardly satisfied with the meager answer Madison provides, but before Mr. Dobson seizes the chance presented by her continued silence to his advantage, the sound of the classroom door squeaking open diverts all attention its way. Selfishly, Madison feels some relief that the attention has been so effectively removed from her own current position, but it is not entirely enough to give her the gumption to head back to her seat.
Sharing a glance with the girl who has just walked in, Maddie senses the two of them are in the same boat. That the new arrival is every bit as uncomfortable being under the spotlight as she is, herself. Before she can stop it, she catches herself offering the girl a tentative smile. One that is returned almost immediately, much to her surprise.
For a moment, Madison stands rooted in place, stunned, to say the least, at the unexpected gesture. But then Mr. Dobson is speaking once again, this time directing attention to the other girl, and Madison gains her opportunity to escape.
"Well, as Ms. Duvall clearly has nothing more of importance to say, perhaps we might turn to Ms. Argent, instead."
Unable to restrain the sympathetic wince that escapes on the other girl's behalf, Madison slips back into her seat as quickly as she can, her own curiosity momentarily diverted as she takes note of how the boy sitting across the aisle next to her seems to be paying particular attention to what is going on at the front of the class. Rapt attention, in fact, such that she soon finds an amused smile playing at her lips even in spite of her own lingering embarrassment at being placed at the center of attention.
As soon as Mr. Dobson frees the other new student—one Allison Argent—from the scrutiny of the rest of the class, the girl moves back to take the seat behind the boy that is still nearly ogling her with reckless abandon. And that is a realization that forces Madison to bite down on the inside of her cheek, while the boy turns around to hand her what appears to be a pen.
Interesting, since Allison clearly never asked for one…
"Did you need one, too?"
"Hmm?" Madison mumbles, jolting out of her internal musings with a start, her cheeks once again growing warm as a direct realization of the fact that her own distraction allowed the boy in question to notice her staring. To her surprise, he doesn't appear to be upset. Rather, he seems almost shocked that he garnered any attention at all.
Something she has little to no time to consider, given that he is already holding out another pen, while Allison watches on with a half-amused grin.
"A pen. Did you—did you need a pen, too?"
"No, I'm—I'm good."
"Right," The boy acknowledges, a tremulous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he nods, the pen still outstretched awkwardly for a moment before he yanks it back. He spends another moment or two looking between her, and Allison, before turning back to face the front of the class.
And that gives Madison all the chance she needs to share a glance with Allison, along with another tentative smile.
"Thanks, by the way."
"Thanks?" The brunette questions, one brow quirking up in confusion, though her tone is more amused than anything else, "I'm sorry, I don't—I'm not quite sure I follow."
"For taking the spotlight off of me, up there," Madison clarifies, lowering her voice so that Allison can still hear, but such that they will not risk any undue attention from Mr. Dobson along the way, "If you hadn't come in when you did, I'm pretty sure I would've melted into the floorboards up there."
"Oh! Right, no, I totally—I completely understand. I kinda wanted to do that, too."
"I probably should've stayed up there with you. Solidarity and all that."
"No, it—it's okay, really. It wasn't that bad," Allison assures, her gaze darting back to the boy who had loaned her the pen for a moment before it returns to Madison, instead, "Anyway, it's over now."
"Until next period."
"And the one after that—"
"And the one after that."
Pulling a face, Madison catches herself suppressing a laugh as soon as she realizes Allison is already doing the same, her features contorting into an almost comical grimace at the thought of what it is they are both about to endure. Though a part of her still doubts it can possibly be real, given the apprehension that nearly crippled her at the start of the day, Maddie is more than a little relieved to find that she is not, in fact, alone, at least not in being the one holding the title of 'new kid in school.'
She still is nowhere near bold enough to assume this means she has made a friend. She is not entirely sure that is something she wants, no matter how foolish the thought may seem. But something about the thought of having at least a small moment of camaraderie, especially with Bash's almost conspicuous absence given that he is sitting in another classroom, is enough to have Madison breathing what might deserve to be counted as a small sigh of relief.
Something Allison seems to take some manner of reassurance from, if her next words are any sort of indication at all.
"Well I have American History next. You?"
"Same."
"And after that?"
"Pre-calc."
"Well that's just perfect. It gets us up to lunch."
"And perhaps if we're all finished discussing plans for some social time, the two of you might return your attention to the syllabus?"
Wincing again, Madison tries and fails to ignore the way her face seems to ignite with the flames of yet another blush, her gaze dropping from Allison's flustered expression, to stare resolutely at the syllabus instead. In spite of how she hardly wants to bring herself more attention, however, Madison would be a fool to pretend she is not at least somewhat grateful that she is not the only one being singled out. That Allison is falling under that banner, as well.
She isn't entirely comfortable with the idea of inadvertently dragging someone else under the proverbial bus along with her, but then she notices Allison sending her one final, surreptitious smile before turning to face the front of the classroom on a more permanent basis.
And that, it seems, is all Madison needs to realize that maybe being new might not be so bad, after all. Or at least it isn't when there is someone else there to share the load.
…
"So—how'd it go?"
"How did it go for you?" Madison counters, bumping gently against her cousin's side as the two of them walk together through the halls of the school, Bash's taller frame enabling them to get farther than her shorter one would on its own, "Find yourself a girlfriend, yet?"
"I might've," Sebastian shrugs, the familiarity of his self-assured smirk provoking a roll of the eyes for Madison's part, even as she fails to entirely stifle a laugh, "In fact, I might've found a few."
"Charming."
"What can I say? The ladies love me."
"Or they just want you to think that they do," Maddie teases, dodging to the right just in time to escape her cousin's elbow aimed at her side, while the two of them finally make it through the double doors at the end of the hall, and step out into the sunlight instead. Predictably, Bash slings an arm around her shoulder, while his free hand knocks the sunglasses that were perched on top of perfectly coiffed hair down to rest upon the bridge of his nose. But what Madison does not predict is how he steers her over towards a field off to the side of the parking lot, where what appears to be the lacrosse team is gathering for afternoon practice.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"What I see looks like you've taken up a sudden interest in lacrosse."
"Well maybe I have," Bash states, the grin he sends Madison prompting her to slow her steps just a bit, such that he is forced to slow to a near-stop as well, "What? Is that so odd?"
"What's her name?"
"What's whose name?"
"The girl you're trying to impress by suddenly developing an interest in lacrosse. What's her name?"
"Just because I'm interested in lacrosse doesn't mean that there's a girl—"
"Sebastian, if you don't tell me what her name is this minute, I'll hide your entire collection of fancy French colognes."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Don't tempt me," Maddie persists, a saccharine smile toying at her lips as she peers up at her cousin from beneath her eyelashes, "What. Is. Her. Name?"
"Lydia Martin."
Brow furrowing, Madison considers the name, knowing almost immediately that she's heard it already that day. Though she does permit herself to keep pace with Bash as he continues to lead her towards the field, her mind is clearly elsewhere, tracking through the countless faces she'd seen—the endless introductions—until she lights on one that fits.
A redhead. Perfectly arranged curls. She'd been talking to Allison between lunch and chemistry class, eyeing both the brunette, and Madison with thinly veiled intrigue. Her boyfriend had been standing at her side, indifferent.
Boyfriend. Lydia Martin has a boyfriend.
Not that that reality will be enough to stop Bash…
"Sorry to disappoint, but I kind of think she's already off the market."
"That's all just a matter of perspective," Bash disagrees, already seeming to anticipate Madison's impending protest, if the way in which he reaches his free hand over to place a finger on her lips is any indication at all, "Things change."
"So your grand plan is to steal her right out from under her boyfriend's nose?"
"It's worked before."
"Maybe we shouldn't be making that the goal."
"I don't see why not."
"Possibly because the goal should be blending in, and remaining as unobtrusive as possible?" Madison proposes, her expression faltering as soon as she recognizes her cousin's answering scoff, "Or—or not."
"You never let me have any fun, Mads."
"Uh-huh."
"I'm serious. You're kind of boring, now that I think about it."
"You know, some of us are actually honored to be thought of that way."
"Yeah. Well, stop it," Bash laughs, tightening his arm around Maddie's shoulders for a moment, and leaning down to drop a kiss on top of her hair before releasing her once again, and changing the subject back to lacrosse not long after, "Coach says I can watch practice, and then try out officially at scrimmage this Friday."
"So you're actually doing this."
"Did you really have any doubt?"
Offering an exaggerated groan, Madison gives Bash a not-so-gentle shove away from her side in answer, her lips curving into a smile even in spite of her exasperation over his admittedly predictable antics. Once again, she is brought to the realization that she is being dragged, however reluctantly, into actually enjoying this. Enjoying being at a new school, even with her lingering nerves.
Between her cousin, and Allison, it is quickly becoming almost impossible to keep to herself. To refrain from at least trying to give Beacon Hills a chance. Allowing it to become a home. And although Maddie is still not entirely certain she is comfortable with such a thing, she continues to follow along at Bash's side as he leads them toward the field to watch the lacrosse team practice for their upcoming season…
Best case scenario, she supposes she can get some amusement out of watching him make eyes at Lydia Martin. And worst case?
Worst case, she'll have plenty of time to get ahead on her homework for the week.
…