“Happy Birthday Alex!” A familiar voice said from behind, startling Alexis. He turned around to see one of his best friends, Barry, along with his twin sister, Brie, who also happened to be one of Alexis’ friends.
Alexis placed his hand on his chest, letting out a sigh of relief. His heart was beating a tiny bit faster because of the scare, but he didn’t feel too different. However, he didn’t want to be scared like that again.
“And from me too, dude,” Brie said, handing him a wrapped box,
“W-wait you...” Alexis said, surprised, “you didn’t actually have to-”
“We payed together, don’t worry about it,” Barry added,
“And we’re happy to. You got us both something, each. So it’s the least we can do!”
Alexis smiled happily as he quickly unwrapped it, conscious of the people passing him and his friends as they went into school. He had been gifted three books, all in the same series.
“You haven’t read the, before... right?” Brie asked,
“Because if you have, just tell us. I kept the receipt,” Barry added, to which Brie elbowed him in the shoulder,
“No, I’ve seen these around but never actually read them,” Alexis said, “and they’re by one of my favourite authors!” He said, even more excited,
“I told you I listen,” Barry said directly to Brie,
“Yeah, so do I!” Brie said, beginning to squabble with her brother. But before an argument could be formed, Alexis wrapped his arms around his friends and gave them both a hug of appreciation,
“Thank you guys so much!” Alexis said, “I promise I’ll start reading these as soon as I can,”
“Don’t mention it,” Brie and Barry said in unison.
Alexis let them go from his hug and placed the books in his satchel.
The three of them made their way to the front door of the giant school. As they were on the stairs which led to it, however, they were stopped by Markus.
“Well well well, Alexis Powell,” Markus said, crossing his arms in front of the three of them. Alexis almost fell down the steps, “I’ve got something to tell you,” Markus said, intimidatingly. He stood very close to Alexis, face to face, noses only a few inches apart.
“Happy birthday, mate!” He said, before bursting out laughing.
Markus wasn’t a part of Alexis’ friend group, but he was a friend. He wasn’t much of a bully, but sure as hell could have been. He was a tall, muscular guy. If anything, Alexis was lucky that he was also tall, otherwise Markus could have easily topped hi- I mean... been taller than him...
An fact, only known to a few close friends, was how Alexis had had a crush on Markus since Freshman year. He hadn’t had the guts to ask him if he even swung that way. Alexis wasn’t ever scared of Markus, in fact he was rather comfortable around him, but it didn’t stop his heart from beating pretty fast whenever they interacted.
Brie and Barry were both in on the crush, so they knew what was going through his head,
“Hey, Alex,” Brie said, tapping him on the shoulder, “we’ll see you inside,” she finished, walking with Barry up the remaining steps and into the school.
Markus wasn’t originally from the US. He was born in England, but had a Brazilian heritage on one of his parents’ sides. Alexis wasn’t sure why he moved, but he was definitely not complaining.
“So, what’s it like being 18, mate?” Markus said, placing his strong hand on Alexis’ shoulder,
“W-well...” Alexis stuttered again, his heart was racing, and he had feeling even more now, but still felt stable enough to control himself, “not much different really,” Alexis said, awkwardly chuckling after,
“Exactly what I thought when I turned 18,” Markus added, reminding Alexis that Markus was already 18, “not sure why but I expected to wake up and somehow feel like an adult. But just the same. Makes sense, really,”
Alexis, once again, chuckled awkwardly. Markus looked at his attempt to socialise and smirked kindly.
They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments before Markus spoke, “well I’ve got’a go speak to my History teacher, real quick. But if you need anything, I’ll be around all day,” Markus said. He patted Alexis on the shoulder a few more times, which caught him by surprise. Alexis’ heart suddenly spiked briefly, and he felt something. This time a little more powerful than before. As his heart-rate was sinking back to regular levels, he felt a tiny change in weight on his shoulder. Where Markus stood. Markus took his hand off of Alexis,
“Whelp, I’ll see you round, mate,” he said, winking at Alexis with a smile. He waved back at Markus, but noticed his button up shirt was looking slightly tighter than usual. His relatively large biceps were more highlighted than usual. Alexis couldn’t help but stare for a few moments longer. And as he did, and the butterflies in his stomach got more intense, he saw Markus scratch his left arm, then disappear into the building.
Alexis thought the next best thing to do was make his way in and find his locker to get read for class. He made his way up the remainder of the steps and walked towards the door. But just as he was getting there, he noticed something on the ground.
A shirt button.
Alexis opened his eyes, making sure his eyes were tricking him. But it was indeed a button. He looked around, seeing far less people approaching the entrance. So he bent over and picked it up. It did look like the kind of button you’d see on a regular, white, button-up shirt. He decided to place it in his pocket. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like it was a good choice. Maybe he’d be able to give it to Markus later or... something like that.
As he was lost in the thought of Markus’ shirt being unbuttoned, he heard the sound of the bell ringing. He was going to be late for his first class if he didn’t get to his locker quickly. Took a deep breath, calming his nerves, and went inside.