A/N: New story yay! I'm so excited about this, I really, really love it! I hope you will, as well. In the multimedia there's a picture of how I imagine James to look like.

Big shout out to my lovely Charlotte for helping me with the research for this story. And for anyone from Street, England.

Bel, xx

-1-

"Oh, he'll be head over heels for me," Roxette beams, fanning her face and batting her long faker-than-meat-in-hamburgers eyelashes. "The moment he walks in and we make eye contact, he'll be lost."

"Keep dreaming, sweetie," replies Adeline, her supposed best friend. I snicker, but keep watching without making a sound. I'm very good at that. "He'll be mine. That bad boy will be my next favourite mistake."

I gag and have to look away. The boy hasn't even showed up yet and they are already fighting for the illusion they have of him. Whoever he is! I would die laughing if he turns out to be some super geek, covered in acne and overweight hobbit. I don't think I could control myself after seeing the faces of these girls falling to the ground, all their fantasies broken.

It would be delightful.

Rumour has it we'll have a new class mate. Something exciting in Strode College for once! Although every year many kids join the establishment, we don't get many transfer students in the mid of January. So of course it has caused uproar, especially among the female community when it was made public that our future classmate would be a male.

Oh, wouldn't it be funny if he's studying something like... uh... Beauty! And he's gay? I would pay to see the moment Roxette and Adeline realise they won't get a new boyfriend. But that will not happen. I mean he is also taking the Level 3 diploma in Arts and Design so we share all of our lessons. And he is joining our group as we are the smaller one. The other group has twenty students already.

The moment they found out a new transfer student was joining us, all sort of rumours began. I don't really know which one is more ridiculous. First I heard he was expelled from his previous college after assaulting a teacher and setting his car on fire. Then I heard his family is part of a mafia and they just moved here. I also heard that he killed someone so he is hiding here in Street, England. Then I heard a variation of that in which he saw someone being murdered so he is hiding to save his life. I also heard that he is probably this mysterious boy with a dark secret that everyone wants to unravel, of course.

It seems very curious to me that in all these silly rumours this poor boy is some sort of bad boy. No one has thought that maybe his parents were offered a good job here and moved to stay together. Or that maybe he lost his parents and now has come to live with some relative. No, they immediately think he is some sort of lost cause and that thrills them because all of them want to fix him.

Isn't that sad? The boy hasn't shown up and all what his classmates want is to change him, to shape him into what they consider the perfect guy.

What is it with people wanting to change the other person they choose to be with? Isn't it easier and less time consuming being with someone you actually like and whom you wouldn't change? We don't even know his name, for crying out loud.

"What if he's a nerd?" I ask but as usual they ignore me. I'm too lame for them but, hey, surely I get points for trying.

"Can you imagine our tragic story? Everyone opposing to us because he's not good for me but they don't know us, they don't know I love him and I make him a better person, that we need each other. They don't see that we have to be together, they just try to tear us apart," Roxi dramatises and I roll my eyes. This girl is going to end up writing soap operas scripts, I'm calling it. "We'll be a modern version of Romeo and Juliet, and everyone will swoon over our love story."

"Romeo and Juliet wasn't a love story, you dumb. It was a tragedy and a satire. As usual, Shakespeare was laughing at all of us, especially at teenagers who think they know about love but only got everyone killed."

I shake my head. I don't even understand how people find that play romantic, I think it's infuriating and most amusing at the same time. I laugh so hard that sometimes I think Shakespeare wrote a comedy instead of a tragedy.

Of course, even if I would want to have a serious conversation with Roxi she would not hear me. Or maybe she can't understand my words and will just roll her eyes, saying whatevs and continue rambling about love and whatnot.

"I can't wait to see him!" Adeline chirps, her voice so high that it hurts my ears and I cringe.

"Woman! Control those vocal cords of yours," I scold her but she's too preoccupied fantasising to pay me attention.

I tap my ears softly just to make sure I can still hear properly. Everything working normally.

"You know what's likely? He's some supernatural creature. What about a vampire?" I suggest and everyone laughs, although I think they are laughing at Adeline and not what I said but oh well, I continue. "No, vampire is old story, no one wants vampires anymore. Werewolf? Nah, too hairy. Fallen angel? I think those are popular nowadays. The whole fallen from the sky, supposed to be good but in reality they are just demons. That's what you want, right?" I ask placing my hand on Roxi's shoulder and she turns but before she can reply Regina, our Art History teacher, walks in. And she's walking alone.

I go to my desk, ignoring completely all the things written over there. No one sits by my side and I don't blame them. People really avoid me and I like it better like that. I prefer them ignoring me than bullying me.

I take a peek over my shoulder watching Roxi and Adeline, who watch Regina with furrowed brows. Oh right, they were expecting their bad boy soon-to-be boyfriend to arrive with her. He is supposed to join us today.

I laugh under my breath. I just enjoy their disappointment so much.

I am not mean, okay? And yeah, maybe I make fun of them a lot and insult them and mock their lack of intellect, but who can blame me? Considering what they did to me before, this is nothing.

I sit here, running my finger over all the messages written on my desk. The insults are still there, all the hurtful words people threw at me before, but the apologies are also here, hiding the damage they did before. They can't hide them from me, I know them too well.

We are a small group, only sixteen people including me so I'm not the only one sitting alone... except today there's someone else sitting alone. Today there's seventeen of us and my eyes focus on the new figure that everyone else seems to ignore, even Regina who has just started her lesson introducing us to The Fauves.

It's a guy, of that I'm sure. He is not looking up and he does not pull the hoodie down. It's a grey, workout hoodie that has clearly seen better days. His ripped dark jeans and combat boots are also worn out, and so is the black backup at his side on the floor. I don't know if he is paying attention, but he is scribbling something on his notebook.

There're two people between the mysterious new student and myself so I can't just stand up and go talk to him. I mean, I can but I shouldn't and I won't do it. Instead, I keep watching him but he barely moves. And I'm impressed that the whole class passes by and no one notices him.

I am used to people ignoring me and pretending I'm not there. I mean, I wanted this and fought for this, but I never saw someone else who could manage to be completely ignored like that. Not even Regina saw him until she was walking out the room and he stood up to leave as well, a small piece of paper in his hands.

"James?" Regina says and other classmates stop, noticing Regina is talking to someone... someone no one saw before. Well, no one besides me, that's it.

The guy, James, hangs his backpack from his right shoulder and stands straighter, and he is his good thirty centimetres taller than Regina. I'm a few centimetres taller than her, one point sixty-five metres to be exact, so he should still be like a head taller than me. He didn't look that tall when he was sitting.

I notice Roxi and Adeline approaching, finally noticing who can only be their bad boy soon-to-be boyfriend. Well, they are pretty lousy future girlfriends if they didn't notice the love of their lives was there before. They were talking about him and he was sitting there, probably listening.

Isn't that mortifying?

"Yeah," he replies.

If the two girls were expecting a deep voice that sends shiver down your spine, they are surely feeling disappointed now. He has your regular teenager boy's voice. Not high but not that deep. Normal. Maybe too low, a bit raspy like when you scream too much and then your throat is sore. Or like someone who does not speak much and is not used to say anything at all.

I have a hunch it's the latter option.

"I thought you were late and probably with the headmaster, that's why I didn't wait for you. I had to introduce you to the institution and your classmates. My deepest apologies!" she cries out and he just shrugs before scratching the back of his neck in an uncomfortable gesture. This makes the hoodie finally drop and I see dreadlocks falling past his shoulders, almost reaching the mid of his back, of a light brown and I just blink. I have never seen a guy with dreadlocks before. Not that I go out much or anything, but still.

I look at his hair, not knowing exactly what to think. It's just tangled hair, isn't it? Like knot after knot and you can't even untangle them, you have to cut them off. Does he wash his hair? I once heard that for the dreadlocks to have their consistency you had to keep them dirty.

Is that so?

"It's okay. I arrived earlier," he says and his voice sounds a bit less raspy, like he's getting used to speaking. It sounds manlier now.

"You should've waited," Regina insists but he shrugs again.

"The headmaster gave me the talk. 'S all good," he insists and I can tell by the way he buried his hands in the pockets of his hoodie that he just wants to leave and stop talking to this woman. He wants to disappear. I know it because that is how I used to feel.

Regina looks around, noticing that almost everyone is gone, except from Roxi and well, me, but it's not like she is going to ask loser Paige for help.

"Oh great, Roxette is still here. Roxette, please come," she calls and James looks at the door with such longing I can't help chuckling. I sit on my desk, watching the scene unfold. "Dear, this is your new classmate. You remember we talked about him? James, this is your classmate Roxette. Could you help him out to get settled? Show him around and you know, make friends."

"Of course. I'd love to," she replies and her eyes focus on James.

He turns around, allowing me for the first time to see more than his back and I nod in appreciation. He isn't a Greek god or a TopMan model, but he is handsome, I guess. His features are sharp and interesting. His jaw is very chiselled, and are those freckles all over his cheeks and nose? He also has arched eyebrows, I think blue eyes and a nose ring. And he looks the most uncomfortable in front of Roxette, a hot and not shy at all girl with too few clothes and the fakest red hair you could imagine. Last week her hair was black. Next it's going to be blue or something. It's not like she can stand one hair colour for too long. I think she's naturally brunette, like me, but I am not sure.

"I'll leave it to you, then. Welcome, James," Regina says once again and then leaves the room. I keep watching, resting my elbows on my knees and cupping my cheeks to adopt a more comfortable position.

"So you are the mysterious transfer student," Roxi muses and James looks everywhere, dying to leave. I consider for a second to cause a distraction, then I tell myself nah, not my problem.

"I'm all right, no need to help. Bye." He says and then turns around and leaves.

It's not exactly rude, but it is and Roxi stays with her mouth hanging open and I laugh out loud. I think I already like James, not because I like asocial people, but because he rejected Roxi in the most obvious way and I would've loved if someone else could've seen it.

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A/N: Regarding James' race... imagine him as you please. If you want him with black skin or white, it doesn't really matter. There's no mention to the colour of his skin or race. It's never said he's white, you're just assuming that. I am the type to believe colour of the skin doesn't affect who he is as person. I had no ill intention behind his hairstyle, I just wanted to add diversity to the typical male lead in a TF story. There's never a mention to his race, I just suggested an actor to help those who have problem imagining the characters. It's not a command, it's a suggestion. Simple as that.