CHAPTER 1: HOW THE RIVER FLOW WAS DISTURBED BY THE NEW ROCK
Everything was pretty normal in Oliver’s life. He has a small family consisting of only him, his mom, and his dad. His looks are just average and he doesn't stand out much from the crowd. But he liked blending in - no trouble, no drama.
All his life he lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere, where everybody pretty much knows everybody. He grew up with the neighborhood kids, his parents grew up with the other kids’ parents, and so on. Many people his age talked about wanting to get out of town someday and explore the vast world waiting outside since nothing much usually happens here.
But not him.
He liked staying in this little town where everything is peaceful and familiar.
Little did he know that the steady and stagnant flow of his life will be disturbed by a rock thrown in by fate.
***
It was early in the morning and the sun is rising steadily at the horizon. The sound of birds chirping was prominent in the quiet neighborhood as people are just slowly waking up from their slumber. Those who are awake are seen preparing themselves to face another day in their life.
Oliver was sleeping soundly on his bed still frolicking in dreamland when his mom shouted from downstairs. He groaned as the loud sound woke him up from his slumber. He sat up and opened his eyes trying to blink away his sleep. He can see the sun trying to peek inside his room through his closed curtain. He liked sleeping in the dark so his curtains are drawn shut.
Complaining under his breath about waking up early, he again heard his mom shouting from downstairs telling him to wake up.
“Oliver!” his mom screamed once more.
“Alright! I’m up! I’m up!” Oliver screamed back.
Somehow being woken up like this became a daily routine for him. If given a chance, Oliver will just sleep the day away on his comfortable bed instead of waking up early and attending school. It's not that he hates school, it's just that he is not a morning person.
Finally getting the strength to get out of bed, Oliver trudge towards the bathroom. Shredding away his shirt and pajama bottoms, he twisted the shower knob and waits for the water to warm up before stepping inside. He cherished the feeling of water cascading down his body waking up his senses one by one. Without a hurry, he leisurely washed from head to toe.
After taking a warm shower, Oliver went to his closet. He didn't really like putting too much thought into his outfit so he just pulled out some random clothes. He put on some black pants and picked up a red V-neck t-shirt and black hoodie. He runs his hand through his brown hair a few times ignoring the combed on his dresser. He slipped on his vans, grabbed the bag thrown on the floor yesterday, and headed downstairs.
Following the smell of food, Oliver walked towards the kitchen.“Good morning.” He greeted his mom and seated himself on the barstool at the kitchen counter.
“Morning, honey.” His mom greeted him back.
"Where's dad?" He asked as he watched as his mom finished cooking his breakfast.
“Your father already went to work early for a meeting and will be heading out of town this afternoon. He will probably be back tomorrow." She said as she placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her son. "As for me I’ll be visiting a friend of mine in the next town today and will be staying over.”
Oliver just nods his head, listening half-heartedly while wolfing down his breakfast. His mom just shook her head at her son's eating habits. She sets down a glass of orange juice in front of him.
"Slow down, your food won't run away from you," his mom reminded. Oliver mumbles a quick thanks before drinking the liquid down. “Will you be fine by yourself until tomorrow?”
“I’m going to be fine mom. I’m already seventeen years old you know, not five.” Oliver assured his mom.
“But you will always be my baby, you know,” his mom said as she ruffled his hair.
“Mom, I just did my hair. Kinda. And stop quoting David Cook. It’s not cute” They both laughed at Oliver’s answer.
“Come on, honey. You will be late for school if you don’t leave now. Just leave your plate at the sink and I will wash it for you.” Oliver did as his mom said. He gave her a hugged and kissed her goodbye before running out the door.
The weather is good today and lucky for Oliver, his high school is just two blocks away from his house. He could walk but still won’t be late for class. Especially now, that his car is still in the mechanic after breaking the headlights when he crashed into a tree.
His school is just a ten-minute walk so he wasn’t in a hurry. He gripped his backpack and walked slowly. He enjoys feeling the sun warming up his body as the cold autumn wind started to blow.
The loud chattering of students signaled Oliver that he is in front of Highland High. Since they are living in a small town, Highland High is the only school in town. It has both middle school and high school so most of the teenagers attend here.
Oliver made his way to his locker – saying hi to some people and nod greetings to others. He grew up with most of his schoolmates, so he is pretty much acquainted with everybody.
Getting his books inside his locker he didn’t notice a person approaching him from behind. He almost jumped out of his skin when someone noisily banged the locker beside him.
“Morning, Oli.” A chirpy voice greeted him.
Oliver grabbed the locker door and closed it slightly to glare at the person beside him. He was not surprised to see a girl laughing at him. “Hello, Yana. Please don’t do that again. I almost banged my head on the locker.”
“Oh, don’t be such a weakling little Oli. You know me well enough that I love scaring you.” The girl said to him.
Yana Applebum. She is pretty with her long blonde hair, clear green eyes, and cute button nose. She is a little smaller in height compared to Oliver and looked sweet as hell. But don’t let her appearance fool you as she is one mischievous girl.
Oliver and Yana have been friends since she broke Oliver’s crayons in second grade. It was one hell of a memory when they reminisce - a little girly girl made a little boy cry. Nevertheless, they hit off after that and became best of friends. Still, Yana has these weird tendencies to scare Oliver whenever they meet.
It may not be prominent from their friendship but these two love each other like brother and sister. Yana will always say that Oliver is her brother from another mother because of how close they are. They will cover and risk their lives for the other in time of need. And they will always be there to comfort each other whenever of them is feeling down.
“You will give me a heart attack one of these days. I will die and you will be lonely,” Oliver said dramatically.
“Hush. I’ll stop if that ever happens but until it does prepare for some random scares from me.”
Oliver just rolled his eyes at his friend’s craziness. Leave it to Yana to make his life interesting.
“So have you heard the news?” she said excitedly while clinging to his arms.
“Heard what news?” He asked while opening his locker and finishing getting all his books for the day. But it has proven to be a hard task especially when Yana is hanging on his arm like a monkey.
“You are so outdated my friend.” Then she clicked her tongue at his face making Oliver grimaced as some of Yana’s saliva clung on his face.
“Gross, Yana! How many times did I tell you to stop doing that?” Oliver nagged as he wiped his face. But Yana just puts her tongue out on him teasing him even more. He just sighed. Nothing can get through his friend’s brain.
“So, what is the news?” he asked as Yana was jumping up and down from excitement – like a cup of milk tea on those shaker machines. It made Oliver’s curiosity spiked what news can make his friend this excited.
“We have a new student!” Yana shouted happily.
Oliver raised his eyebrow. “Really?”
A new student. Well, that is a piece of rare news indeed. No wonder Yana is this excited. Now that Yana mentioned it, Oliver can hear the students’ thrilled murmurs surrounding the whole school. Since their town is small, everyone practically grew up with everyone. It is a rare case that some new people move into town.
“Yeah, according to Chelsea that she heard from Terry that got a text from Emily that heard from her mom that is the principal’s secretary that there will be a new student and they will be starting school today. They also said that the student is our age. Isn’t that awesome?” Yana said in one go.
Oliver is used to Yana yapping rapidly but he got confused first by all the names of Yana’s sources. But what does he know? Gossip is mostly a girl thing and he didn’t want to dive into it. Fortunately, he got the message.
“I wish I have a class with the new student,” Yana said dreamily.
“Wait, is it a guy or a girl?”
“A guy! I’m hoping he is drool-worthy.”
Getting over the fact that there will be a new student, Oliver just shrugged his shoulder at Yana’s comment. Yana pouted at his loss of interest but keep chattering anyway. They walked together down the hallway, finding their way towards their respective classroom. Yana waived him goodbye as he reached his destination first.
He groaned when he remembered that his first period of the day is History. He disliked studying history. It is in the past so why do they need to study it in the present? Besides, their teacher is like a hundred years old, who talks really slow. It makes the subject a thousand times boring than it is already.
Entering the classroom, he went straight to the back and sat in the last row. This way he can steal some sleep without his teacher ever noticing.
A few minutes into the class and he can feel his eyes getting heavy as if the sound of his teacher’s voice is a lullaby lulling him to sleep. But before he can get a shut-eye the classroom door slammed open and the loud bang resounded throughout the whole room. All eyes inside the classroom shifted from the teacher in front directly to the person standing by the door.
“I’m so sorry, I’m late. I got lost.”
Oliver knew they were looking at the new student and he was awed at what he saw. The guy looked like he had run a marathon to get there. Oliver can see the sweat visible on his forehead, making some of his blonde hair stick to it. But instead of looking tired or haggard, he looked like he just came out of a sports magazine where even sweat is an asset. Azure eyes, straight nose, and pink lips adorned his face. He is quite tall and his body is built like a model. The model-like look took a blow to Oliver’s self-esteem. In short, he is jealous of the new guy’s look.
His eyes surveyed around the room, he can see all the girls looking at the new guy dreamily. While the guys’ look at him with either pure jealousy, admiration, or both.
‘Looks like Yana got her wish,’ Oliver thought. ‘Based on the excited whispers of the girls, he is drool-worthy.’
“Mister, stand here in front and please introduce yourself to the class,” Mr. Finnigan instructed.
The guy entered the classroom with confident strides, his head high looking straight at everybody. He doesn’t appear to be nervous at all, being in a new school where he doesn’t know anybody.
“Hi, everybody! The name is Saber Lovelace.” He introduced himself cheerfully and even gave a little vow. “We moved here from Europe because of my dad. Now, we live here in your town and that’s the story of my life. Nice to meet all of you. I hope we can all be friends.” He gave an easy outgoing grin after his speech showing his two rows of perfectly aligned white teeth.
Oliver swears he heard every girl swooned. Can this guy be any more perfect?
“Okay, Mr. Lovelace please take a seat in the back. There is an empty spot next to Mr. Reynolds.” The teacher said as he pointed his hand towards Oliver’s direction.
Oliver sighed at the situation because he feels uncomfortable sitting next to a soon-to-be popular guy. But he knows he needs to be polite to the new guy. Damn his goody-two-shoes personality.
“Hi! My name’s Oliver,” he greeted the stranger who sat beside him.
Saber looked at Oliver for a while, not speaking for some time. It looked like he was lost in thought for a moment before his eyes cleared up and grinned at Oliver.
“Hello, Oliver. You smelled good.”
Oliver looked at him like he was nuts. But what happened next horrified him even more. Saber leaned towards his seat and licked the side of Oliver’s cheek before sitting straight at his seat. He looked back in front like nothing happened.
He was relieved that everyone’s attention was back on the board. But still, Oliver felt his face heat up with embarrassment. He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand and pretended to ignore everything around him.
Just what the hell happened?
***
Oliver’s mind was flying through space throughout the whole class. His head is ducked on his desk pretending to doze off but his mind is widely awake. He can’t wrap his head around what happened with Saber. His mind is playing all sorts of scenarios but nothing is making sense.
When the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, Oliver dashed out of the room. He runs towards the nearest bathroom trying to escape his thoughts. But what the new student did to him kept on replaying over and over again in his head.
‘Why the hell did that guy did that?’ Oliver asked himself. He can’t form any coherent or possible explanation for the new guy’s action.
He can’t breathe. He feels like he is being suffocated. He looks in the mirror and he can see that he has the crazed look in his eyes. He shook his head, took a couple of deep breaths, and washed his face. He will probably go mad if he keeps his line of thoughts.
As he was drying his face, heard the bathroom door softly open. Thinking that it is just another student, he took no notice of it and continued to wipe his face.
“Well, hello sweet-smelling Oliver.”
Oliver jumped up when he heard Saber’s voice inside the bathroom. He can see his face turned from confused to horrified in the mirror. He gripped the sink tightly and kept on shaking his head. He turned around when he heard a click. He can see Saber by the door turning the lock in place.
“What do you want from me?” Oliver shouted as he backed up. But like some Twilight s**t – that Yana made him watch – Saber was suddenly in front of Oliver keeping him trapped between his body and the sink.
Saber just hummed. They were looking straight into each other, faces just inches apart. Oliver wanted to move and break free from their position but his body won’t listen to him. It’s like he is put under a spell and his whole body is frozen solid.
Not thinking it was possible, he froze up even more as the stranger in front of him dips his head on his shoulder.
‘Oh god. What is happening?’ He thought.
Suddenly Oliver’s body shivered when he felt Saber sniffing him. He’s softly running his nose up and down Oliver’s neck. The feathered touches created little sparks of electricity from his neck down to his spine.
Then Oliver released a small whimper when he felt Saber’s tongue on his skin. The wet appendage slides up from the base of his neck up to the back of his ear where Saber previously licked him.
“W-what are you doing? P-please s-stop.” Oliver pleaded.
“Why would I stop? You taste delicious, Oli.” Saber whispered as he retraces the path his tongue created.
Oliver shuddered. He can feel the voice of Saber resonating from the bottom of his neck up to his ear. He doesn’t know where his strength went. His knees are like jelly. If not for being trapped between Saber and the sink, he would have likely slumped at the bathroom floor.
Saber hummed. “Your scent is so aromatic, luring me to you. Your taste is mouthwatering, enticing me even more. How come I just found you? I should’ve moved in this little town years before if I had known that I will find you here.” He didn’t stop what he is doing on Oliver’s neck.
Oliver can’t understand what Saber is saying, not even a little bit. He was talking in English but he might as well be talking in another language because nothing of what he said makes sense. Oliver concluded in his mind that this guy is crazy – a complete lunatic.
He gasps when he felt Saber’s warm hand on his back. How did it get inside his shirt? “W-what are you d-doing?”
Saber did not answer and keep feeling up Oliver’s back. “Don’t worry Oli, you will like what I’ll do.”
Then Saber was down on his knees in front of Oliver.
“W-what?”