Arlan's Point Of View

"Arlan," Her voice lilts hesitantly.

Here we go...

Turning, I calculatedly observe my girlfriend's cautious disposition from my high school locker. Her body language said it all: her wild clary eyes lowering from my glance, strawberry-flushed lip gnawed on, the innocent flesh taking the beating of her teeth. Crimson blush feathering the cliffs of her cheekbones.

She's gonna break up with me.

"Hi..." her voice trailed off.

I swipe my ring-covered knuckles under my nose and sniff, crossing my tattooed arms.

"Oh, hi, Kacelynn," I'm sincerely thrilled in tone, but deadpanning in expression. "There a reason you've been avoiding me? Make it something exciting, like you forgot it was your second cousin's birthday or some shit. Or maybe you're pregnant. Tell me Kacelynn, did I fuck twins into you or something? Is that why you've been avoiding my calls for two weeks?"

Sheer humiliation had her jaw unhinged.

"Arlan, no! Please, just...I need to talk to you."

Nervous backpack shift. Awkward foot shuffle. She's peak patheticness -pure 'daddy's money and privilege' kinda pathetic. If she's going to dump me on the first day of school, I might as well make her squirm for it.

"You sure? You look like your two seconds away from metamorphosing into a chihuahua pissing on the floor. You look pretty scared."

"Do you have class now?" Kacelynn implores, intolerable of my games.

A fevered anger has the blood rushing to my fingertips. Oh for fuck's sake.

I licked my lips and looked off behind her, no longer sparing her the decency of eye contact.

"Yeah. I do."

A pause, and then a deep sigh. Here we go. I already know what she's going to say. I've seen it in all the stupid movies :

'I just wanna be honest.'

"I just wanna be honest with you" Her pained voice expresses in a mousy tone.

'I don't feel like it's the best time for us'

"I don't feel like it's the best time for us to be together right now."

God theyre all so predictable to read. I tapped my foot, on edge. Can she just spit it out?

"I need to focus on myself...and I've been hearing what people say about you"

My brow furrowed and my foot halted.

The fuck?

"What the fuck are people saying about me?" I growled.

"People are talking, Arlan...," She sputters nervously, wide eyed. She sighs in expectation. "Like, they're saying you're doing sketchy stuff and honestly, I feel like I don't even know you."

"We've been dating for seven months, what the fuck?!"

"Right, but, you make secret phone calls, you leave for work and don't tell me where you're going. And...I've been talking with my friends and they told me I deserve better. I'm tired of their judgement of me for dating you."

You're fucking pulling my leg.

"Oh, I'm so glad your little friends think I'm a piece of shit. Good to know you're so easily swayed by them, sweetheart," I spat venomously.

Fear clouded her eyes. Disconcern washed over her face in a weird sort of pale color. Yeah, I guess I had that affect on people.

"Bye, Arlan," she swallowed, walking away.

"Yeah, well you sucked in bed anyway!" I yelled. She didn't turn around.

Sighing lowly, I turned around.

"Fuck," I hissed. There goes having sex after work. The bell rang and I was in the least mood to go to class. Let alone stupid fucking chemistry. I was on edge and itching for something to smoke. A pack of cigarettes was waiting for me right now if I just went to my car and skipped. Maybe I should just drop out altogether.

"Mr Paris", I gazed up at a beefy professor with large square-framed glasses, he cupped my shoulder and I tensed. No one touched me unless they wanted to get thrown across the room. I was on guard because of that, and because he knew me. Then again, I guess I supposedly had a reputation according to my lovely now-ex girlfriend.

"Do I have the pleasure of having you in my Beginner's Chemistry 103 class?"

No.

"Yes," I grinned a tight lipped grin.

He grinned right back, squeezing my shoulder, making my jaw tighten. "Thought so."

It was only after he left I realized I had a balled fist. Looking down, the veins on my arm were protruding. Then, the softed skinned-arm brushed me slightly, making me look on instinct as a rush of blueberry sugar whiffed past me.

"Sorry," A girl hurriedly said, briefly locking my eyes before hurrying into class. In those two seconds, she was oddly remarkable, kind of cute like a squirrel. I wanted another look. Peering down at my arm, my fist was gone.

I sauntered into class. Kacelynn who? I was a single man now. If there's anything about being a mafia man, it's attention to detail. Short brunnette hair, bangs, squirrel cheeks and a tangerine colored sweater. I spotted her easily, seated at a lab desk in the back with two kids across from her. She purposely seated herself away, as if to hide. I pretend to look around, as if I'm wondering where to sit, and we lock eyes. Shyly, she peers down. I start walking forward, and when she sees I'm coming into her direction, she looks once more and then down at her lap. Now I've earned a bit of her trust but locking eyes with her a few times. I settle onto my stool and dump my backpack to the floor, rolling my shoulders and getting comfortable. She instantly tenses.

"Alright, student's, welcome to Beginner's Chemistry 103..."

Squirrel cheeks immediately unzips her backpack to take out a notebook with donuts all over it. Her note-taking begins.

Blah, blah, blah, I zone him out.

On the other hand, she's seemingly writing down word for word what he is saying. Everything down to homework to the bathroom hallway pass rules. I take a minute to glance every so often at her but not too pervasively or aggressively so that it's obvious or uncomfortable. Thick bangs hide her forehead and sit over wide, blueberry eyes. Doe eyes. Fuck-me eyes, for sure. I want her to look at me. Her face is small but round with babyfat cheeks and a pointed, shapely chin. I lean in and whisper cooly:

"Has anyone ever told you, you look like they tried to clone Zooey Deschanel in a factory but it went wrong at the last second?"

She looks at me suddenly. Her eyes were large in a weird fucking way but i was right, definitely fuck-me eyes. They dim slightly and she looks at me quite confused and caught off guard. "No..."

I etch a smirk slowly on my face. "Good. Cause that'd be kinda fucked up."

A delayed response occurs when she realizes I wasn't being mean. She relaxed slightly, even laughed softly. She liked that one, just like I thought she would. I'm cheeky, a bit charming even. I release a low sigh afterwards, shaking my head. I know that'll get her attention, me looking like a sucker. She peers over to me shyly. I brush a hand through my hair in 'distress'.

"A-are you okay?" She tenderly questions. I bristle my lips.

"I just got dumped. Seven months long relationship."

"Wow..." She looks shocked, unsure what to say, "I'm really sorry...right before class?"

"Yeah, by a girl named Kacelynn. I mean, who the fuck names their daughter Kacelynn to begin with, anyway?"

She giggled again, amused. I liked that. I was winning here.

"Not even Kim and Kanye'd make that mistake. And it's like, who dumps someone right before the first day of classes? Kinda fucked, right?"

"Very..messed up," I don't miss how she bends around cursing and speaks more innocently instead.

"Now, look to right, this will be your partner for the year."

Nervously, she peers over and I'm smiling like a true gentleman.

"You'll notice papers at the center of your desk. Take one, exchange contact information. On the back is the syllabus, read over it before leaving."

As she leans over to take one, I easily take two from the stack without getting up and slide one to her.

"Thank you," she smiles softly.

"Can I borrow a pen?" I ask, cocking my head slightly with a smile. Trust building. Trust building.

She pauses before nodding once. Soft-spoken thing. She digs around in her bag, cheeks slightly red as she pulls out a sparkly pink one.

"I only have this one, is that okay?"

"It's perfect, sweetheart," I coo, taking it from her. When our fingers brush, her reddened cheeks become enflamed. That definitely set her shyness over the edge. She looks down. No. I want her to look at me. I fight the urge to grab her chin and shove her face up in my direction.

I click the pen once, instead, and flip the paper a few times before seeing the contact information side. She softly slides her paper closer to her.

"What's your name?" I inquire, seeing it's the first thing listed with a blank line on the page.

"Aurora Mulven."

Well if that doesn't sound like a fucking Disney cartoon character name who owns a bakery in the forest and makes friends with little woodland creatures, I don't know what does.

"Can you spell that for me?"

"A-u-r," She pauses, waiting for me to finish those letters. So polite. "...o-r-a...M-u-l-v-e-n."

"Thank you," I smile. "I'm Arlan. Paris."

"Your last name is Paris? That's really cool," Her face lights up.

Thanks, it's a fake last name so the school won't find out I'm in the mafia.

I shrugged. "Doesn't really fit my aesthetic but it's alright. People usually know how to spell it."

She eyed my tattooed arms slightly before looking back, flushed, at me.

"A-and your first name, it's kinda unique. I'm not really sure I know how to spell it..."

"That's okay, angel," I reassure her. "Arlan. A-r-l-a-n."

"Arlan," She repeats with a small laugh. "Thank you," She smiles before going to write it down. I return a warm friendly smile. The bell rings off. First day classes were always only 15 minutes.

"A..r..l..a..n," She softly repeats, bitting her lip as she writes it down.

"Now, students, after you've completed contact information, please read the syllabus on the back before,"-

But students are already shuffling out. Little Aurora peers around, befuddled. She turns her page over, starting to intently read the information listed.

"You can read that later," I assure her, leaning forward.

"B-but, I don't wanna be rude," Her brow is furrowed, looking up at me. I take her hand in mine.

"You have plenty of time to read at home, or even on the bus if you take that home."

"I-I do."

"Then there you go."

"Okay, can I get your phone number before I go? F-for the projects?"

"I have a better idea. Why don't I give you a ride home so you don't have to take the bus?"

"You have a car?" Her voice doesn't hide the awe in it. I guess this is an alluring factor to her.

"Yeah, I do. I don't mind giving you a ride. Why don't you let me take you home today?"

Her eyes shifted nervously around my face.

"I don't really know you, but thank you."

"Really?" I laughed. "You'd rather take the bus?" I bargain.

She looked off uncomfortably. "I uh..I take a different bus. And I need to be on it to go home."

I cocked an eyebrow.

She gave me a tight lipped smile.

"But thank you. I'll get your number from the next class."

And before I could interject, she was leaving. I said nothing, which was rare for me. I always got my way. What was this? Me not using aggression and trying to be gentle instead wasn't working. Had I not earned enough of her trust?

I decided to skip the rest of classes but scope out for my little Aurora the rest of the day. She generally kept her eyes lowered and remained entirely alone. In the cafeteria, she opened her little lunch box and nibbled on a peanutbutter and jelly alone. It was so pathetic and honestly sad. But then again, with her small frame and shy nature she must be a freshman just scared to make friends on the first day. When the bell rung off the hallways filled, I found her go to her locker as I had eyed her a few times from afar that day. As she was turning her comibnation, I breezed up to her.

"I saw you eating in the cafe, I was gonna say hi but I was in a rush. Why were you sitting alone?"

She turned politely to me and smiled. "Hi Paris." Her face fell, seemingly mortified. "I-I mean...oh my goodness." At the anxiety of forgetting my name, her face paled more.

"Arlan," I reminded her with a gentle smile.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," She laughed, relaxing. "Hi Arlan. Um...I don't know why I was."

"Are you a freshman?"

She seemed a bit embarrassed, turning her eyes away from me and focusing behind me. "No."

"A sophomore?"

She shook her head.

"Junior?" I finally concluded, shocked.

"Yeah," She nodded.

She's been at this school three years...and not a single friend?

She gathered her belongings quicker now from her locker, seemingly wanting to get away.

"I don't have much friends here either, you know. I would've sat with you next time."

"Thanks," She smiled genuinely at me. "M-maybe one day we will."

"I really wish you'd let me take you home. I wanna learn more about you."

"W-well, the thing is I take a specific bus that takes me home. If I don't take it, I could be in trouble."

"What the fuck does that even mean?" I can't help but express my utter confusion.

Her face is uncomfortable as she bites her lip. She then murmurs just loud enough to catch, "Like...I'm in foster care. It takes the foster kids home in that bus."

My face fell looking at her. A sweet little thing like her, abandoned by her real parents? This world really is cruel and fucked up.

"Oh. I understand Aurora, I do. I, uh, don't want to get you in trouble or anything. But that bus must take so long to get you home and this would be much faster. I promise I'm not judging your situation, I just wanna make it easier for you."

She gripped her backpack strap a few times, looking to the floor, then me.

"Thanks, but I still just..don't know you," She validly responded. "And I have to be quick, I don't want to miss it."

Lightbulb! I gotta buy myself more time so she misses that shit. Aurora, you have done absolutely perfect here. Little thing is an anxious one, she feels bad when others feel bad, I can already pick up that she's a natural empath. I gotta play the pity game a little longer.

"I completely understand, and if you miss it, I'll be right here."

"Thank you, Arlan," she starts to turn-

"And also..." I heavy sigh, looking stressed. "Thanks for listening to me when I talked about Kacelynn."

It dawns on her the breakup happened as I remind her.

"Oh my gosh..of course, right, yeah, the breakup...I'm so sorry. That's so hard."

"I just..wish somehow it didn't suck and hurt so much."

"You'll get through it," She confidently promises. "You seem like a strong person."

I shrug, looking like I don't believe her.

"I promise, it'll be okay."

I look at her and smile. "Aurora, thank you for the comfort. Truly. It's just...like I said, I don't have many friends around here. I mean, look at me," I gestured to my appearance. Sleek, wavy black hair to my shoulders, tattooed from the neck down, wearing all leather, chains, and rings. Nobody ever came close to me, they were scared to.

"I don't think people should judge others by their appearance."

I gave her a hearty smile, cocking my head slightly.

"You're different Aurora. You're special. We should've met sooner."

She looked around at the suddenly barren hallways and looked down worriedly at her watch.

"Arlan...I missed my bus," Her eyes widen and nearly almost water. "Fuck!"

I'm a bit baffled at her swear word, she must really be getting in trouble bad if she's swearing at being late.

"Sweetheart, I'll drive you, it's really okay," I assure her.

"Okay," She whines softly, nodding in agreement.

And off we are.