Skinny Love → Sebastian Stan

prologue

THE CORRIDORS OF Rockland Country Day School were filled with students trying to find their way to their next class, though there weren't quite as many students fumbling around as there was in a regular school. The school was relatively small in regards to the number of students attending, averaging an estimate of only 200 students a year.

Reyna Foster was among that small number of students. The freshman walked the halls alone, as she had done since her first day at Rockland back in the fourth grade. She was a particularly shy young girl who wasn't exactly very good at making friends, albeit not many students had exactly attempted to begin a friendship with her.

Reyna scurried to her locker, her books and her schedule for the year in hand. She was nervous, mostly because she would be starting her first year of high school, and although she was still in the same building she had been in since the fourth grade, she would be starting a completely different level with people she had hardly seen in years. It was nerve wracking for her.

After unlocking her locker, Reyna proceeded to neatly place her books inside. She closed her locker shortly after and held her schedule up to sneak a peek at her next class. She barely got a glance at the first word before the paper was ripped from her hand, startling her slightly.

Reyna looked up to find an older boy studying the small slip of paper with a snide smirk on his face. He was familiar to her, but she had no clue what his name was; all she knew was that he looked to be very obnoxious and a bit full of himself.

"A freshman in advanced English," the boy chuckled dryly, "Boy, am I gonna have fun this year."

Reyna swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and began to play with her fingers. "C-can I have that back, p-please?"

The boy let out a snort as he listened to her speak. "You're in advanced English but can hardly speak the language. . .interesting."

"Chase," a new voice sounded. "When are you gonna learn to stop being such a dick?"

Reyna turned her head to see a dark-haired boy walking over to the two of them. His pale blue eyes met Reyna's green ones, and he gave her an apologetic smile before moving towards Chase.

"Sebastian Stan," Chase scoffed, "I was wondering when I was gonna see your wonderful face again."

"You know my stepfather is the headmaster of the school, right?" Sebastian retorted, removing the slip of paper from Chase's grip. "Do I really need to have another chat with him about your. . .dickish behavior toward the females in the school?"

Chase only rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving Sebastian alone with Reyna, who was still nervously playing with her hands.

"I'm really sorry about him," Sebastian apologized, holding Reyna's schedule out to her.

She gave him a small smile and took it from him, studying it for her next class.

"What's your next class?" Sebastian questioned her, glancing down at the schedule in her hands.

"Uh, it's Earth Science," she said quietly.

Sebastian was unable to keep himself from smiling at her shyness. "I'll take you there if you want?"

Reyna looked up at him, slight surprise etched into her expression; she wasn't used to people speaking to her at school (except teachers), let alone offering to take her to class. "Don't you have class, too? I wouldn't want you to be late because of me," she replied, looking down at the floor.

Sebastian chuckled and shook his head, unable to get over how shy she was. "It's alright. C'mon."

Sebastian grabbed Reyna's arm lightly and began pulling her down the hall, much to her surprise.

"So, what's your name?" Sebastian asked Reyna after several seconds of silence.

Reyna glanced up at him to see that he was looking down at her, and she quickly averted her attention back to the floor. "Reyna. . .my name is Reyna Foster. And from what that guy back there said, I'm assuming you're Sebastian."

"That is correct," Sebastian confirmed.

"Was he–was he your friend?" Reyna asked, finally looking up at Sebastian. She was shocked that she was actually managing to hold a conversation with someone other than her family members, but it felt good. Sebastian was fairly easy to talk to, and Reyna liked that.

Sebastian raised a brow at her question. "Who? Chase? He's more of an acquaintance than anything else."

Reyna nodded slowly. "I was just wondering. You two don't seem like you would be ideal friends; he's kind of arrogant, and, well, you're not," she said quietly, playing with her fingers once more.

Sebastian let out a chuckle at the sound of her words and placed an arm around her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Y'know, I think you and I are going to be great friends, Reyna Foster."