False Confidence (bxb) (NOW ON KINDLE VELLA)

Two

Lance had made it through most of the day with no incidents so far—all of the teachers already knew of his condition, and while some teachers introduced him, a few had just started with the lesson, sending a simple nod and smile towards Lance. He spent lunch break in the library, eating the lunch he'd packed at home, and then had a free period right after which was nice.

He'd just got out of art, his seventh period, and was making his way to the last class of the day—English.

"Hey! Watch out!"

Lance stumbled to the ground, a hoarse groan leaving his mouth as his backpack skidded along the hallway. He sat up and rubbed at his chest, wincing as it caused even more pain. With a scowl, he grabbed the football which had just assaulted him and looked up, trying to find who it belonged to.

The guy from first period, the one with the green eyes, winced as he jogged up to him, hitting the chest of another guy who looked apologetic.

"Hey man, I'm sorry 'bout that. You good?" The apologetic one reached his hand out, wanting to help the boy up.

Lance sighed and nodded, looking at the blue-eyed boy before taking the hand offered. Blue eyes hauled him up, making Lance stumble a bit but he caught himself and reached down for the football. He held it up to the two boys with a blank face, trying not to look at green eyes. Lance had been in Math and History with him, and in both classes, he couldn't help but get lost in the memory of his expressive eyes. The same eyes that were looking at him with concern.

"I'm Darren. You're new, right? We have Science together," he grinned a boyish smile and shrugged, taking the ball.

Lance just nodded, giving a slight smile back to the tall guy. He cursed his mother and father for the umpteenth time, for they were both short and passed those genes onto Lance, who was only five-foot-five.

"You don't talk much, huh?" The voice caused Lance to look at green eyes, and even though he had a smile on his face, Lance knew it wasn't real. His eyes gave him away.

Lance shrugged, keeping his shoulder against his cheek as his nerves got the best of him and made him nervous. They were both at least six feet tall, and Lance didn't like it when anyone had an advantage over him... It made him weak.

Green eyes frowned when he didn't get a vocal response. "Uh, right... well, I'm Reid. Sorry again, about the ball."

Reid jogged to his bag and came back, holding it up to Lance who took it with a true smile, nodding his head once as a thanks.

Reid...huh. He doesn't look like a Reid, but I suppose it suites him.

Reid was still frowning as Lance continued his way to English, knowing the bell was about to go off. He was trying to make a good first impression on his teachers and being late was not a good start.

"That little dude's a little weird, huh?" Darren muttered, a goofy smile on his lips.

Reid huffed, eyes still trained in the direction the boy had just walked. "Yea... I'll see you after school, man."

Darren just nodded, a small frown taking over his lips as he watched his friend head to class.

Everyone's weird today, I guess, he thought before shaking the whole incident from his mind and making his way to class.

Lance was pulling out paper and a pen when the seat next to him screeched against the floor. He looked over from the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow when he saw who it was.

Reid.

He looked around, noticing a few empty chairs around the classroom, biting his lip when he realized Reid had purposefully sat next to him.

Images flashed before his eyes—images of fake friends betraying him, images of the football and baseball team shoving him around and... He shook his head and blinked hard as if his eyelids were the power button to the horror movie in his mind.

Lance sat up, spine tingling from how clenched up he was. He wouldn't let the same thing happen again—he wouldn't make friends with anyone; he'd stay to himself and finish senior year in one piece. Even if that piece was already a little cracked.

"Good afternoon class! Before we begin, Lancaster, can you stand up and introduce yourself?"

Lance winced and licked his lips nervously. He knew he couldn't go through the whole day without something like this happening—of course not, that wasn't how life worked.

He sighed and stood; eyebrows furrowed as he gave a small wave to everyone who had turned to see him.

"We try to stay open in this class—good writing comes from good relationships and trust. Could you tell us something about yourself?"

Sweat. It was forming on his forehead and Lance reached up to swipe at it with his long sleeve, wetting his lips with his tongue again. He looked around the room and then towards the teacher. Clenching his jaw, he began speaking in the only way he could.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lance, I hate being called Lancaster. My favorite color is fish sticks and my favorite food is raccoon porn. Thank you."

Everyone stared at him, eyes narrowed in confusion as they had just witnessed him waving his hands around in shapes and letters. Lance sat down, trying to keep the snicker off his face.

Mr. Anders mouth opened and closed a few times before he looked down at his desk and read over a piece of paper. He slapped his forehead before nervously laughing and sitting in his chair. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Danielson. I hadn't read the paper fully as it had gotten mixed in with other papers throughout the day and I just found it before class started. I just read your name. Class, this is our mute friend. Be kind!"

Lance stared at the teacher with a deadpan face, wondering if the man knew how stupid he sounded.

Rolling his eyes, he caught sight of Reid who was looking at him with a tilted head. Lance made himself look forward, not wanting to see the weird look he'd surely be giving him.

"All right, class. For the next four weeks, we have a partnership project. Hey, hey now don't get too excited," he grumbled as a few girls began squealing and reaching for their best friends.

"As I said before, in this class we need to stay open and friendly. I don't want you with people I already know you're friendly with. This project relies on you, in fact, not knowing the other person very well."

A few sighs and mumbled words went around the room as everyone realized it would be assigned.

"Since I trust none of you, I've made the partner list. Lucky for us, Lancaster is here now so we have an even number. So, when I call out your partners, I want you to sit next to one another.

This new seating arrangement is to be followed for the next four weeks, as well. Lancaster, how about you partner with... Aha! Partner with Reid. Yes, that will make for a very interesting paper indeed," the man mumbled the last sentence, a grin on his face.

Lance let his head roll to the sky, where he steadied his eyes on the ceiling. Really? Am I in some kind of cliché book? This is insane.

The other partnerships were called out and everyone grumbled, moving about and sitting awkwardly next to their partner.

"The project is simple... well, only as simple as you make it. Get to know this person that you haven't given yourself the opportunity of really meeting yet. Learn their desires, their dreams, and their phobias. At the end of this four week period, I expect a two-page essay, front, and back, along with a book that you believe matches your partner."

Lance's eyebrows furrowed. Seriously? He wondered if the curriculum even called for something like this, or if their teacher was just trying to make something boring, fun. He wasn't succeeding if it was the latter—everyone was groaning and rolling their eyes. Lance shrugged it off—it was a simple project that he could probably get done in a few days flat.

How hard could it be to get to know a simple football player?

Thoughts? Please vote and comment! I really enjoy seeing your reactions and thoughts!

~♥♡~ Ghost