Can't Help but Love Him

Mr. Johnson

     "Heya, newbie! Your name is Jake... no, Jason right?" His loud, charismatic voice rang in my ears, setting a pit of anxiety in my stomach. The boy was tall, blonde, and he took no time slinging his arm around my shoulders in a friendly gesture. Behind him were two boys, smiling at me. 

     "Stop, Charlie, you'll scare him away." Said the calmer, shorter guy tugging on his sleeve.

     "You're very close to me. Is that Versace? Eros Flame, right?" I ask, shrinking away from the blonde - Charlie - clinging to me. His eyes widened, either in response to my rejection, or my identification of his sent. A crooked smile took place on his lips, and he held me closer while shaking with laughter.

     "What, you mean my cologne? Yeah, it is - how'd ya know that? Hey - hey George! He can smell my cologne!" He said, releasing me. I squinted at him; Versace was a common sent, often used by middle rich classes. He went over to the shorter guy, throwing himself on him as well, asking if he could smell his cologne. 

     "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson." Said the one uninvolved in the other two's scuffle. "This is Charlie Hemming and George Burton. I'm Owen Walker." He said, reaching his hand out to shake mine. I was relieved to finally get a proper introduction, and gladly shook his hand. 

     "Nice to meet you too. Are you all in my grade?" I ask. He nodded, before pointing to Charlie. "This guy was supposed to graduate last year. He's a little slow, he is - The only reason he's even a student here is all thanks to his father's connections." He said, a joking grin taking place.

     I picked up on the sarcasm, smiling sympathetically to Charlie. "Keep up the hard work, you'll get there eventually." I teased, patting him on the shoulder. 

     He glared at my hand, swatting it away. "Wha- this guys mean! The bloody devil I tell you!" He clung to George, initially for comfort, but his expression took on an unplaced surprise. "Woah. have you been working out George? Your arms seem bigger." He commented, squeezing Gorge's forearm. 

    "A-anyway, the Dinning Hall's in the other direction." George spurted, pointing towards the chapel- like building behind the school. 

     "Oh, is that right?" I ask surprised. So I hadn't remembered James' directions correctly. 

     "Yeah, glad we found you." Charlie smiled. I smiled and followed them as they led the way.

     I'd said it time and time again, but the school was huge. The dinning hall was busing with hungry students waiting for the food to arrive. I sat down next to Charlie, George and Owen. I was less excited about dinner as I was about socializing with men my father had collaborated with business-wise. 

     Or at least that's what I thought, until I saw carts and carts full of delicious looking meals being wheeled in by maids and butlers. "Steak and potatoes? Right on, dude!" Charlie exclaimed. What was he, a middle schooler? 

     I took out my utensils to cut my steak, when suddenly I felt a stare focused on my face. I subconsciously looked up, curious about where it was coming from. 

     It was the boy who had bumped into before. He was leaned back in his chair, looking intently at me. He didn't look away when I'd caught him, he only looked more interested. I quickly looked back to my uncut steak, confused on why his curiosity bothered me so much. Who cared if people stared at me? I was new, so that was normal, right?

     It was suddenly very hard to cut my steak. I was intimidated by the thought that he could still be watching me. I had attended many social events where women would stare at me the majority time, but I assumed it was because they found me attractive. I had no Idea why he would want to-

     "Oi, Jason. Do you... not know how to cut steak?" Charlie asked, poking me with his steak knife. 

     "Stop that, it's bad manners." Owen said, poking Charlie with his steak knife.  

     "Put down your knifes," Said George, poking them both with forks. 

     A snicker escaped my mouth as I watched them stab each other with silverware.

    "I might just get along with you all," I said. I felt sort of relieved; I wasn't expecting to make friends on the first day.

     We spent the rest of dinner laughing and joking about how creamy our potatoes were. It wasn't as if we were the only ones causing trouble, the whole dinning hall was lively and full of chatter. I only looked at the boy a few more times, just to make sure he wasn't watching me. 

     Owen walked me back to my room, since we shared the same dorm building. "So, how do you like our school so far?" He asked once we got to my room. 

     "It was wonderful. Thanks for making me feel at home, Owen." I say. 

     "You know," He smiled, "I hope this doesn't offend you, but the reason we initially came up to you was because we thought you were a girl." His grin widened. 

      "Really?" I wasn't in the least offended, although I had never been compared to a woman before. "Are you disappointed?" I teased. 

     "Nah, this is definitely better. We would have had to kick you out if you were a girl, but luckily you can stay. Thank your genitalia, man." He waved, then and headed off towards his room. 

     I closed the door behind him, taking off my school jacket. It wouldn't be a bad idea for a shower. I checked the bathroom, widening my options - maybe a bath? The size of this school most definitely had its upsides. 

     Suddenly, a face popped into my head. It was him again, the boy from dinner. I shiver as I remember his curious eyes searching my face for something. Intimidation, maybe? Well it didn't matter to me. He was unimportant. It didn't matter, not at all. Shit.

     I had heard his name in passing conversation with his friends, and the dorm rooms were sorted by last name.

     Ugh forget it,  there must've been something wrong with me. I couldn't even remember his name if I tried. 

     No, I could. His last name was basic, something easy. Johnsman... no Johnson? Johnson! I covered my mouth, stopping dead in my tracks. Why was I excited that I remembered his last name? Was I really planning to go to his dorm?

     I smack my forehead, tilting my head back. "I'm not going," I said sternly to myself.

     Before I could follow my own instructions, my hand was already grabbing my bag. 

     It'll be quick, just so I can figure out what his problem is.

     I said to myself, opening my door into the dark hall. I finally realized how ridiculous this plan was when I was walking through the court yard to the F-J dorms. I was completely abandoning all my dignity. What intrigued me the most is what James had said about him; he had gotten in completely through scholarships. 

     Considering the thirty thousand tuition per year, I concluded that he would have to be extremely intelligent to achieve a full scholarship. So why did he have such a bad reputation? Even Owen had kept quiet when I asked about him. 

     When I had finally made it to his dorm building, something bothered me. Most of the rooms here were empty. There were a total of five students on the same floor as Johnson, and there were ten rooms. I pushed aside the obvious warning sign, and climb the stairs to the fourth floor. 

     I didn't know if it was just the nerves, or the fact that I had broken into a different dorm to see someone I'd literally never spoken to before, but I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Walking down his floor, I stopped at the door with the nameplate "Johnson".

     Only when I heard a light, repeated tapping sound coming from his room did I truly question what I was doing.