sweven // chase rutherford

ii

y/n's pov ://

      "thank you," i forced, staring down. through all of the chaos and loudness around us, i somehow felt like i was on a whole different planet with him. we stood in an awkward silence for a second. "so, you like tyler?" he broke the silence, to which i looked back up. i looked him in the eyes and smiled at him, a bold move indeed. "yeah, i really do. it's weird talking to someone who does, nobody really had any taste back where i used to live." he nodded and smiled back. i couldn't shake how familiar he was.
"i was just about to ask, if you were new. i haven't seen you before." he questioned sweetly.
"yeah, i'm from the most redneck, out of loop town in the world. forever away from here."
"texas isn't much better," he chuckled.
"trust me, anything's better."
we sat in another silence until he broke it again,
"what's your schedule?"
i scrambled to find it in my jean pockets, pulling it out. he leaned over, our shoulders brushing as he looked down. "bitch..." he muttered, "algebra 2 for your first period? that sucks." he laughed, making my cheeks burn. "yeah, i'm fucked." i said as he handed my schedule back. "well, how about this? i'll meet you at each class when the bell rings and show you around," he glanced at the overwhelming amount of teens swarming the halls. "this definitely isn't a small town school." he looked back at me, giving me a pitying smile. i nodded anxiously, "yeah, i picked up on that." i chuckled, watching two sweaty testosterone-ridden boys scream in each other's faces. "jesus christ."
     i followed the curly haired boy up a flight of stairs and down the hall a bit before we stopped at a generic-looking classroom. "so, the first digit of the classroom number is the story we're on. 2149, algebra 2, taught by miss. thomas. she's... you'll definitely have fun." he chuckled sarcastically, making me groan in response. "just my luck, huh?" i said, rolling my eyes. "well, i'll meet you back here in an hour and a half. good luck." he smiled sweetly, and i smiled back. he made me feel comfortable in a way i couldn't explain, or even understand. "thank you, a lot," i nodded, looking back into the classroom, expecting him to walk off. instead, he held out his hand, signaling for me to take it. he had a very firm handshake, making me remember the times my aunt would tell me "never trust a man with a shitty handshake." i smiled to myself.
"by the way, my name is chase. chase rutherford."
my eyes widened.
that's why he looked so familiar.
he was that kid i basically stalked on tiktok a couple nights before. i felt my stomach turn as i shook his hand back, gulping. "uh, nice to meet you, chase." my cheeks heat up. "i'm y/f/n." i let go of his hand awkwardly and opened the door without turning back to look at him. oh sweet jesus.

•••
        i took a seat in the back of the class, avoiding the curious eyes of the rest of the class. i had no time to stress about the fact that i was in a brand new school with brand new people. instead, my anxiety decided to focus on the fact that i just had an entire interaction with someone i stalked on social media. i mentally facepalmed, my eyes widening as i thought more about it. in retrospect, i was definitely blowing everything way out of proportion. i took out my phone, making sure to keep it under my desk as i typed out the username onto tiktok. @/chaserutherford. my heart quickened as i stared at the number. 2.6 million followers. how was he so calm and collected, when he literally has millions of people concerned about his life. i froze as i heard my name.
"y/f/n?"
fuck. it was my teacher.
        "um, what?" i asked quietly and awkwardly. if my blood pressure goes up anymore by the end of the day, i think i might die.
"attendance." she replied nastily, checking me up and down. "you're the new kid, aren't you?" she asked, not seeming to elaborate on that.
"uh, yeah. nice to meet you." i stammered, trying to seem the least bit polite. i felt the eyes of everyone in the classroom on me. the silence was deafening, and i really felt like i praised the lord when the teacher moved on with attendance. chase was right. she IS a bitch. oh god. chase. chase. chase.
     i was 20 minutes into the school day and i was already on the verge of an existential crisis. i had been in texas for a week, and the day i'm exposed to other people, the weirdest shit happens? i was so confused. but more than anything, annoyed by this miss. thomas's voice. but the thought of chase standing there smiling outside of the classroom put me at ease. even if he was a D-list celebrity with 2.6 million people watching him. i mean, he was really well spoken. and he seemed humble of course, it's not like he walked up to me and his first words were, "hi! i'm tiktok famous. want me to humiliate you in front of millions while making money off it?" he was so kind. i didn't understand. why was he so kind?
      

i'm actually so nervous abt publishing this but yeaaaaa 👌