His Favorite Nerd

The Jacket He Left Behind

Chapter 5

:⁠-[ADRIAN'S POV]:⁠-

Tyler stepped forward.

" Did you just tell the football captain to find another seat?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

I avoided his question and adjusted my glasses. All eyes were already on me, and I was starting to get nervous.

" You're new," Mason said and I simply nodded.

Without taking his eyes off me, Mason pulled out the chair opposite mine and sat down.

" That explains it." he said.

Tyler looked between the two of us and laughed. The others from the team joined in before taking the remaining empty seats.

The entire cafeteria kept watching us.

I lowered my head and hurriedly stuffed food into my mouth. I was desperate to leave. I couldn't bear having everyone's eyes on me simply because the football team had decided to sit at the same table.

Suddenly, I choked. The food I had forced into my mouth came right back out.

The cafeteria instantly fell silent.

I froze.

Slowly, I looked up.

Some of it had landed on the football captain. From his face down to his jacket. Even the trophy-winning captain of Rosewood Academy couldn't escape my bad luck.

My heart nearly stopped.

" Oh no... this is bad," I muttered under my breath, gripping the edge of my cloth.

I had just embarrassed myself in front of the entire school. I looked around and realized everyone was staring at me.

Shocked gasps spread across the cafeteria.

" No way..."

" He just spat on Mason Carter."

" There's no way he won't kill him."

I had been here for less than a week, and I had already caused a disaster. Lucky me.

Tyler slowly lowered the drink in his hand, his mouth hanging open in shock. Jason blinked twice, looking between Mason and me.

Lucas, who had just entered the cafeteria, stopped walking the moment he saw us.

"...Adrian?" he muttered as he hurried over. "What's going on here?"

I looked at him and silently motioned toward Mason.

" Jesus!" Lucas exclaimed dramatically. "That's really crazy." I glared at him.

He immediately took a small step backward with an awkward smile.

I quickly stood up.

" I... I'm sorry," I stammered. "I didn't mean to..."

The words refused to come out.

Mason didn't move. He simply stared at me. His expression never changed. I couldn't even tell what he was thinking.

Jason carefully reached for some napkins. " Captain..."

Mason took them without looking away from me. Calmly, he wiped his face while I nervously rubbed my palms together.

The entire cafeteria waited for him to explode.

Mason slowly stood up and removed his stained jacket. Students moved even closer, curious to see what would happen next.

For a second, I thought he was going to yell at me. Instead, he tossed the jacket onto my face. I knew I had made a mistake, but he could have handed it to me if he wanted me to wash it.

I pulled the jacket off my face and forced a smile on as I looked at him.

He leaned closer and whispered into my ear.

" Get yourself another seat next time, nerd."

Then he turned around and walked away with his friends and teammates.

" That's it?"

" He didn't even yell at him."

Whispers spread through the cafeteria after the captain left. Lucas and I were both left speechless.

I had expected him to punch me, but thank God he saved me from making my face become uglier.

" Four-eyes," Lucas called and I turned toward him.

" Did the captain really just walk away without doing anything?" he asked and I nodded.

" Wow. You annoyed Mason Carter and you're still alive to tell the story." He grinned. " That's a new achievement, dude."

Then he reached out and messed up my hair.

I scoffed and walked away while he chased after me.

***

As I walked through the hallway heading to class the following day, some students fixed their gazes on me as I passed them, while others whispered about what had happened the previous night.

I had expected something like this to happen after causing such a scene. One of the things I hated the most was being the center of attention. But here I was, attracting attention I never wanted.

I quickened my pace and finally reached the classroom. I slowly pushed the door open, only to be greeted by a bunch of eyes staring at me.

I swallowed hard and adjusted my glasses.

Lucas could have saved me in this situation, I thought to myself. But that dickhead was probably still back in the dormitory, hugging his pillow and dreaming about Jason.

After standing there like a lifeless soul for what felt like a whole minute, I gave a small bow, brushed past everyone, and headed toward my seat.

" Ethan asked me to give this to you," a student said, handing me a folded note.

I accepted it.

Ethan was exactly the kind of reserved person I thought he was when we first met. Someone like Lucas would have walked up to me and said whatever was on his mind instead of passing a note.

I unfolded it and read quietly. " You don't have to worry about anything. The news will die down before the day ends."

I looked over at Ethan, and we shared a small smile.

The smile didn't last long. My eyes drifted to the front of the classroom, where Mason stood with his two popular friends.

" What the f**k?" I whispered under my breath. "Why are we in the same class?"

He was dressed properly in the school uniform, unlike yesterday he was on his football uniform.

The classroom erupted with noise.

Jason and Tyler smiled and greeted the students around them, while Mason's expression remained as stern as ever. His hands were tucked inside his pockets as his eyes swept across the classroom as though it belonged to him.

His gaze landed on me.

I immediately lowered my head and accidentally bumped it against my locker.

" Ouch," I groaned, rubbing my forehead.

By the time I looked up, Mason was already taking the seat behind me. I could only hope he wasn't planning to take revenge for what had happened last night.

" Hi."

I looked up when someone stopped beside my desk.

It was Jason.

He smiled brightly at me, making me feel a little flustered.

His brown hair seemed to shine as the sunlight slipped through the classroom window. For a second, he looked like an angel that had just descended from heaven.

Then reality reminded me that both of my roommates had a crush on him. I quickly forced myself out of that ridiculous thought.

" Looks like you were lost for a second," Jason said with a laugh. "I'm actually surprised to find out you're also a senior."

" Anyway, I'm Jason," he introduced himself. "You?"

" Adrian," I answered.

" Nice meeting you, Adrian." We shook hands.

"See you later."

Then he walked toward a seat at the back of the classroom.

I finally understood why Ethan and Lucas had taken an interest in Jason.

***

After I was done with art class, I opened my backpack to put away my drawing materials. The moment I unzipped it, a jacket slipped onto the floor. I picked it up and realized I still hadn't returned Mason's jacket.

I had washed it last night after getting back to the dormitory and planned to give it back today. But I had forgotten about it all day, and now classes were already over.

I carefully folded it and placed it back inside my backpack. There was no way I was going to going to give him back today, maybe tomorrow.

As I headed toward the dormitory, I noticed that the students were no longer staring at me like they had that morning. A smile escaped my lips. I was finally back to being the quiet nerd that nobody noticed.

When I reached the garden, many students were already there. Some were secretly making out in a corner. I adjusted my glasses and looked away. Typical high school romance. What else did I expect?

My eyes landed on a familiar figure whose back was facing me. He was sitting alone on a bench beneath the big tree.

His legs were crossed, and his arms were folded. A pair of headphones rested over his ears. He was probably listening to music.

It was none other than Mason Carter.

I decided that this was the perfect time to return his jacket.

" Excuse me..." I called as I slowly walked toward him. He didn't react.

I stopped in my tracks. Should I just give it to him tomorrow? Then another thought crossed my mind. What if he gets angry because I returned it late?

I shook my head.

No. This was the best chance to give it back. I didn't want any more trouble with him.

I slowly walked closer, but he still didn't seem to notice that someone was behind him.

" Hey..." I gently tapped his shoulder.

Before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my wrist and roughly pinned me against the bench. Within a second, I couldn't breathe. It felt like he had practiced taekwondo instead of football.

" Ahhh..." I groaned, tapping his arm.

" Nerd," Mason muttered. He looked at me properly and immediately let go.

" Um... I'm sorry," he apologized quietly.

I adjusted my glasses and straightened my uniform. Why would he use self-defense against me?

" Why are you here?" he asked.

I quickly opened my backpack and brought out his jacket.

" I... apologize for... what happened at the cafeteria yesterday," I stammered. "I already washed the jacket for you."

He remained silent. His eyes dropped to the jacket in my hands before lifting back to my face. This guy should just take his jacket already.

" Throw it away," he said simply. Then he turned around and walked away.

" Huh?"

I was left standing there in complete confusion.

How could I throw away a jacket that still looked perfectly fine?

To be continued...