Under A Paper Moon

I

Elias was confident. Or at least, he thought so. But it didn't take long for his confidence to waver as he walked the hallways of his new school.

It wasn't that Elias was uncomfortable in the presence of strangers, or that he was bad at making friends, but it was the fact that Los Angeles was so different from what he was used to.

Elias had moved a lot in his seventeen years of life, a new school every couple of years. It had its cons, making and losing friends again and again sucked, but there were pros as well. He considered himself to be an adaptable human, someone who could fit in anywhere.

But oh, Los Angeles was so not like any of the small towns he lived in temporarily back in England. This time he didn't just move two towns away, but an entire continent.

Elias was used to wearing a school uniform, a standard shirt and pants, sometimes with a tie. He couldn't help but feel nervous wearing a plain white tee with a blue flannel and jeans. He had spent thirty minutes the night before his first day choosing what he would wear, a problem he had never faced before.

Not only that, he was joining a month after school had already started. Even though he was pretty sure there would be many more new kids, none would be joining this late.

He held his schedule in his sweaty hands, slightly dampening the paper beneath his fingers. After asking around a bit, he found the way to his first class.

Fortunately, Elias was a punctual person, and he made sure to arrive extra early today to avoid making a special appearance in class. He quietly sat next to the window.

There were just a handful of students in the class, all stared at Elias with questioning looks. Even though he considered himself friendly, he sucked at initiating conversations. Once someone else says as much as a hello to him, he could carry the entire weight of the conversation.

But no one spoke to Elias. Not yet.

It didn't take too long for the class to fill up. Elias kept himself busy by scrolling through memes on his phone. It was awkward being the new kid, and he didn't want to risk looking like a loner more than he already did.

"Hey new kid, go sit somewhere else," A sudden, annoyed voice made Elias flinch. He looked up to see a tall and muscular guy that looked like he could kill Elias by as much as just pinching him. Elias wasn't small or weak, but he didn't want any trouble, not on his first day at least, and he thought maybe the seats were assigned, so he held his bag and was almost about to get up when another voice interrupted him.

"No, he was here before you, Raph, go find someplace else to sit." A voice said from behind Elias. The voice was deep, smooth and authoritative, that sent chills down his spine, Elias didn't dare look back.

To say that Elias, Raphael, and pretty much anyone that heard Micah's order was shocked, would be an understatement.

Micah and Raphael have been, for the lack of a better term, inseparable since birth. The two grew up together in the pack house, best friends, and the next Alpha and Beta in line.

Raphael furrowed his brows in confusion and annoyance but didn't question Micah, before leaving and sitting on the only other empty seat two rows to the right.

Elias gathered the courage to take a look back at who was sitting behind him. He wanted to thank him, but he couldn't get a word out of his throat as soon as his eyes fell on Micah.

Just a single look at Micah made Elias more nervous than ever. He wasn't expecting an absolute model like figure to be sitting behind him. With his deep brown eyes, dark brown, almost black hair, and tanned olive skin, Micah seemed like perfection.