Summers & Starbucks - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Kaiden
"Is that Kaiden Pierce?!"
"Holy shit, he got hot!"
I smirk slightly at that statement, walking almost lazily in the parking of Credence High, towards the amphitheatre. I spot my group of six friends talking amongst themselves.
"It cannot be him! What happened to Fattycake?!"
"I bet Hayley is regretting what she did so bad!"
The whispers around me get louder, more distinct. I ignore them.
"Hey guys!"
I wiggle my fingers in greeting, fully aware I'm seconds away from being bitch slapped into infinity.
Raven, Aaron, Alex, Bella, Daniel and Ryan look up at me. The shock on their faces is almost comical. Daniel's mouth is open and Aaron blinks rapidly like I'm a hallucination. Bella's eyes are wide like saucers. Ryan's hand is over his mouth. Alex is the only one smiling.
A book comes flying towards me and I duck quickly.
"Come on Raven, that's a hard bound!" I mumble, narrowly dodging that giant brick from colliding with my face.
"What the fuck?!" Raven yells, ever the subtle one. "Where the fuck have you been?! And how the fuck did you- ?!"
She looks me up and down, at a loss for words.
"You look like a fucking jury on these steps, a hello would have been nice," I laugh.
Instead, Raven hugs me tightly, her head just barely reaching my chest now. I pat her hair fondly.
I look at everyone and realise how much I missed them.
"Fuck you dude, you grew a whole foot! I missed your fat face! Or your used to be fat face..." She trails away, biting her lip.
"Where the fuck have you been?! Two whole months of summer and we haven't been able to reach you!" Bella yells, recovering from her initial shock.
"Honestly man, you need to drop that diet. You look like a different person! I had to look twice to check if that was you!" Alex says, coming up to fist bump me.
"Hey Alex, you grew taller too! And oh man, a beard?! Hide the ladies!" I laugh.
He makes the fuckboi face. I push him away, grinning.
"So, this is what you were doing? Working out all day?!" Ryan asks, beaming.
"Not all day per se. But yeah that shit was hectic," I laugh.
"Dude what the hell, you look fucking hot! I guess I gotta workout harder now, you're going to steal all the spotlight!" Daniel grumbles. Then he smiles, his grey eyes crinkling in the corners.
"Come on, you're always the pretty boy Daniel. That earring looks good on you, by the way!"
"It does right?! Thanks man you're the only one who actually noticed that. Unlike some people!"
He frowns at the others who roll their eyes at his dramatics.
"So, fill me in on the latest gossip? What'd I miss?!" I grin, sitting on the steps besides Raven. She runs her fingers through my hair, pushing it away from my forehead.
"All this time away and you care about gossip? Bitch you didn't miss us even once did you?" she sighs, rolling her eyes.
"I did miss you obviously. I just couldn't reach you because I was at a camp and didn't have any network."
"Fucking lies! Where did you camp in, the medieval period?" Alex snorts, disbelievingly.
"I'm serious! They did not allow cellphones. I was in the mountains so I wouldn't have had cell reception anyway."
"Sure, if you don't wanna tell us, say so. Just don't spew bullshit okay?" Daniel laughs.
I shrug, not elaborating further.
"This camp really did you good though, I bet Hayley is going to regret ever doing those nasty things to you."
"I am over her guys, she is so last year," I sigh. "Also, please don't taunt her or anything."
"Did the camp beat your pettiness out of you? The Kaiden I know would make her life miserable just to get back at her!" Alex says, shocked.
I laugh.
"I'm still petty but I don't want this year filled with drama. I just want us to spend the maximum time together before we go off to college."
"Cheers to that!" Ryan smiles, ruffling my hair.
"Not the hair!" I whine, pushing back my effortlessly messy jet black hair, which takes a lot of effort to get it that way.
"Anyway, enough mush, what's the news?"
"Timmy Sheldon came out," Bella says, pushing her giant glasses up her nose.
She doesn't need them but she wears them so that people take her seriously. Apparently her blonde haired, blue eyed looks make her look too much of a bimbo. It's all her own thinking by the way.
"I think he's probably the first one in our year right? I've only ever heard of juniors and sophomores who are out, there's nobody in our class."
"Came out of where?" Ryan asks dumbly.
"Came out of the closet, you idiot!" Alex sighs. He has a bit of a short fuse when it comes to Ryan. I don't blame him, Ryan can be a real blockhead sometimes.
"So he's gay?"
"What else does coming out of the closet mean?"
"Man, he's brave for that. I hope nobody gives him shit, he's a genuinely nice guy," Raven says, pouting a bit.
"Also, Avril and Peter left school, they moved to Canada. Bit of an uprooting no? I think there's a new student coming! But I'm not sure if they're in section A or B."
Bella always has dirt on everyone in school. It's not surprising considering she's in-charge of the yearbook and magazine and is the president of the student council.
"Who cares, I bet they're boring as hell anyway. I mean final year transfers are usually huge nerds," Ryan shrugs, scrolling through his phone. Daniel nods.
I agree with them. Credence doesn't let final year transfers unless you got a ton of money or near perfect grades.
The bell goes off at that moment and we scramble inside to homeroom. I look around, expecting a new face in our class of forty students, but they're the same ones from the previous year. Maybe they're in the other division. What a shame.
Midway through the teacher's lecture on our AP classes and electives and exam schedules, the door opens and a familiar face peers in, making my gut do a flip.
"Ah, welcome Mr. Nathaniel Summers."
The wind is knocked out of me.
"Please come in!" Ms. Brown says, smiling.
Immediately, chatter fills the room, everyone talks about the hot new guy.
"Isn't he from Westbrook?" Some guy whispers from the back.
Huh?! That's not possible.
Everyone looks at him. He ignores them and makes a beeline towards the only empty seat, next to me.
This can't be real.
The person I've been thinking of the entire summer, is here, in flesh and blood, in my school?!
"Hi Nathaniel, welcome to Credence!" Raven gushes, turning around to speak to him.
"Hey. It's just Nathan, by the way," he says smoothly, running his fingers through his chocolate curls.
This is a joke the universe is playing with me.
"Okay class, attention back on me please!" Ms. Brown says, clapping her hands and begins our first class of the day, English Lit.
Nathan copies the few notes from my notebook, not saying a word. I don't know what to say either. The teacher tells us to read the first chapter in silence. I don't register a word of what I'm reading, hyper aware of his presence beside me.
Should I speak first?
But he's the one who owes me an explanation as to why he's here.
I should say hi at least, make him feel welcome.
Fuck no, if he wants to, he will.
Kaiden, he's new, he probably feels unwanted already.
The bell goes at that moment, interrupting my internal conflict. I pack my things, feeling myself work in slow motion.
The students begin to leave the classroom.
Raven jumps up and hugs Nathan, a big smile on her face. He looks stunned and pulls away, smiling awkwardly. Raven is big on hugs and she doesn't always register if the person wants one or not.
"I'm Raven, it's lovely to meet you Nathan!"
"Same," he nods. "You have pretty eyes, Raven."
"Th-Thanks?!" Raven squeaks, tucking her hair behind her ears, blushing profusely.
He has such easy manners, he will not have a problem making friends. Bella introduces herself as we walk into the corridor.
"Come on Nathan, let me show you around!" Raven gushes, pulling on his hand. Bella walks with them.
I trudge behind the three, eyes fixed on the back of his head.
He looks even better than I remember him.
He even manages to make the monotone school uniform look good, the top button undone and tie slightly loose. His curls fall softly on his forehead. His straight, lightly freckled nose scrunches when he smiles at Raven.
Everyone stares shamelessly, even freshmen.
He smiles back, used to all the attention.
There's a weird feeling in my gut at the fact that he still hasn't spoken a word to me. It's only been a month since camp. Surely - surely I wasn't that irrelevant that he simply forgot about me?!
We reach the lockers and I take out my books for Biology class.
"Hey guys!" Ryan, Daniel and Alex walk to us. They are in division B.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Summers?" Ryan snaps in a cold tone, glaring at Nathan.
Wait, Ryan knows him?! What the hell?
"Got transferred," Nathan shrugs. "What's it to you?"
"Why? Westbrook was too beneath you? Or just here to spy on us?" Daniel asks icily.
I frown.
Nathan didn't mention he was from Westbrook even once.
"I mean no trouble. I'm a Credence student now, so spying isn't exactly on my agenda," his smooth velvety voice says in an equally cold tone.
Dan and Ryan scoff sarcastically.
Alex stretches his hand, smiling.
"Welcome to Credence, Nathan. I hope you enjoy your time here!"
The other two look at Alex, like he offered his firstborn child to Nathan.
Nathan hesitantly shakes his hand and smiles.
"Thanks man, appreciate it. Anyway, I have biology right now, any of you have the same?"
"I do!" Raven says, pulling him with her again.
Nathan listens to her chatter with a smile and they walk out of sight.
Give him a fucking break, Raven!
"What you playing at bro? You know how they are!" Daniel rounds on Alex, pissed. "Especially the soccer team. Or did you forget how they totally crushed us last season?"
"Chill man, it's a silly tussle. Winning and losing is a part of games. Besides, I don't think Nathan is a mole. Their captain is the bigger asshole," Alex says, carelessly blowing a gum bubble.
"I hope you're right. But stay wary or the next thing you know he wants to replace one of us on the team!" Ryan says, relenting slightly.
No wonder Nathan didn't mention he was from Westbrook, all of my friends hate him. But that means... he knew I was in Credence!
We part ways and I enter the lab, to find Ms. Rodriguez already waiting. I hasten to take the empty place beside Nathan, behind Sasha and Raven.
"Hi Raven, how was vacation?" Sasha asks, smiling sweetly, dimples caving in.
"It was nice. How was yours?"
"It was brilliant!" Sasha says, her high ponytail swishing when she turns back to smile at us.
I glance at Nathan who is already staring at her. I don't blame him, Sasha Lancelot is one of the best looking girls in school. I don't think there's any male, or female, who hasn't tried to get with her.
The teacher starts the lesson. She talks about the phases of mitosis, displayed on the smart screen.
"She grades us mostly on exams and not participation. But we have to pay attention because multiple choice questions are based on random facts she mentions in class," Raven whispers to Nathan who nods.
Mrs. Rodriguez asks questions and Nathan raises his hand at every single one, getting all the answers correct. He sits back with a satisfied smirk on his face.
Attractive and smart. No wonder he got in for senior year.
"For today, we'll be observing cell replication! Your benchmate will be your partner."
We grab the microscope from the counters with permanent slides mounted. Nathan peers in it, adjusting the focus. Then he slides it to me.
"Prophase?" he asks. I check it and nod.
"Knew it."
He sits backs, stretching. He grins at Sasha when she looks back. She smiles too. It makes me wonder if they know each other too.
Wow, was I the only one living under a fucking rock?!
I can't help but stare at him. I don't want to make it obvious, but what the hell - he simply won't look at me!
I watch the pale veins in his neck. Swirls of ink peek out from the unbuttoned shirt, feathers of the giant eagle tattoo on his chest. A thing I have ogled shamelessly during the summer.
You would too, okay? Don't judge.
"What?" he asks, raising a brow at me.
Oh, so now he wants to talk?!
"Nothing," I mutter, annoyed.
"It's rude to stare," he says, writing the observations down. "You know that, right, Kai-Pie? "
I roll my eyes but inside my heart is struggling to get out of my chest. He does remember me! I wasn't just the fat kid at camp!
"So you ignore me for two classes and now you're calling me by that stupid nickname?"
"Ignore you? I would never!"
"Yeah you didn't exactly start talking either," I pout.
"Neither did you, Kai-Pie!"
"In my defense, I'm still shocked! You're actually here! And stop with that stupid nickname already, it's so cheesy."
"Aw come on, it's such a nice name! You weren't complaining about it in the summer," he winks.
A mad blush threatens to creep up on my whole damn body.
"Shut up, Nathan!" I snap, flustered.
"Nice comeback Kai-Pie, so original!"
"Please continue ignoring me!" I mutter, not meaning it in the slightest.
He ruffles my hair playfully, the action so unexpected, it sends shivers down my spine. I'm so afraid he's going to hear my heart running a mile a minute.
Ms. Rodriguez starts the lecture again and we fall silent, focusing on the screen.
I am so tempted to ask him why he's here and why he didn't tell me he's going to be here. He catches me staring again.
"Maybe if you stared at the screen like this you'd top the class," he whispers, smirking.
I flip him off, trying to fight the red hot blush blooming on my neck and ears.
I've been crushing on him the whole summer and now that he's here... I thought I would never see him again and would get over him but instead, he's actually here, in my fucking school, rival or not.
And to my dawning realisation, I am not even close to getting over him.