RED [BXB]

PROLOGUE

Mason slumped over the desk, his arm supporting his chin as he almost fell over with the weight of sleep dragging his eyelids down. The professor's voice droned on and on, flying over his head and not allowing him to register a single word that made any sense. His hands came up to rub at his face, and he silently cursed himself for taking the 8:00 a.m. class.

The people around him were giving him weird looks. It was only their first class of the semester, and he already looked like his head was going to explode. It wasn't even an actual lecture: The professor was merely going over the syllabus and giving them a few pointers.

Mason's eyes roamed over the hall, packed with far too many students for a class this early. He could understand the reasoning, though. The only other course with this professor was at 6:30 p.m. on a Friday, and nobody wanted classes that late on a Friday. As he scanned the room for anything—or anyone—of interest, something caught his eye.

It was involuntary, really. His attention couldn't help but be drawn to the head of almost-painfully bright, fiery red hair sitting two rows ahead of him. Mason wanted to burst out laughing.

The dye-job was actually pretty impressive, Mason had to admit. But the color was so ridiculously red, he had a hard time believing he hadn't noticed it earlier. The guy's head was practically glowing, and Mason could feel his eyes start to sting from staring too long at the bleeding head.

He was lost in the see of red, confused as to why anyone sane would choose such a flashy hair color. Mason looked around him, wanting to see if other people had noticed this outrage. It came as a surprise to him, however, when he found he was the only person who was so engrossed in the stranger's hair. 

Much to Mason's relief, class was dismissed. He got up from his seat, slinging his bag onto his shoulder as his eyes involuntarily followed the red-head. Mason's legs were the next to respond. He didn't know why, but he seemed to be stuck in a trance, the rich color hypnotizing him and forcing his muscles to contract almost involuntarily. He followed him speedily, bumping into other students and ignoring their sharp glares as he muttered halfhearted apologies. Truth was, Mason had no idea what he was going to say to the boy if he caught up with him; maybe something along the lines of, what the fuck is up with your hair?  

Mason's shoulders slumped in disappointment when he followed after him into the cafeteria. It wasn't that crowded, but there were enough students in there for Mason to lose the mystery man. Even with his bright, glowing head, he had seemingly disappeared from sight. Mason sighed, but he didn't spend too much time dwelling over it. The scent of freshly-brewed coffee was already wafting into his nose, making his mouth water.

And so, letting the thought of the red-haired guy slip to the back of his mind, Mason approached the register.