The Runaway Bride

CHAPTER 1: Prick

Noah Hargreaves held the handle of his duffle bag with an unusual strength, his knuckles slowly turning white as he ran his gaze around the room that had been assigned to him.

The dorm room that was splayed right before him offered a scary glimpse into the aftermath of an apocalypse — the bed on the far left side of the room was buried under mounds of clothing and shoes, cookie crumbs and wrappers peppered the floor, and the loud sound of pop music blasted on one of the speakers, hurting his ears.

It has been his first time staying in a dorm and sharing it with someone that was a complete stranger. But with the way the room looks, it might as well be his last, too.

“Sheißeladen,” he cursed in what appears to be German as he dragged himself begrudgingly across the room and sat on top of an empty bed, shooting the speaker on the other side of the place with a revolted look.

“You’re Hargreaves?” a voice suddenly asked from behind him, and he whirled around, only to be met by a pair of ocean blue eyes.

Noah wanted to answer but his breath seems to have been caught up in his throat, grunting only as a response to let him know that he wasn’t having a stroke.

The guy just nodded and walked over to where the speakers were, turning the loud music off, before veering back towards Noah who had just regained his usual composure.

“I’m André, by the way. André Carmichael.”

Noah gave another grunt to which André now responded with an offended scoff, his footsteps piercing through the awkward silence that had managed to envelope itself on the entire room.

“Snob or just shy?” André asked and plopped down on the bed, the ribbon that was tying his robes in place coming loose, exposing his bare skin underneath.

Noah was once again silent, his stare fixed intently on André as though he was trying to hypnotize him.

“Take your pick,” he finally answered, and André smiled, nodding as he ran a scrutinizing gaze at him.

“I’m gonna have to go with the former.”

Noah didn’t answer but didn’t break his stare either.

The room was absolutely appalling, so he almost immediately assumed that the person he would meet then and there would’ve also been the exact same replica of this dump they call a dorm.

He can be blunt, yes, but he’s not exactly the type that’s a total douchebag at first glance. From the tousled waves of his devilishly dark hair down to the tips of his expensive looking slides, he looked like a man straight out of a Vogue fashion magazine.

But there was something odd about him, and Noah most definitely noticed.

It wasn’t about the ocean blue eyes that almost made him feel like basking under the glow of the sun on a tropical island. And neither was it about the way he was drawn to him despite them both being guys either.

There’s just something … wrong, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

Three loud knocks at the door and his thoughts vanished, dragging his consciousness back into the almost cramped room with which he had to share with the pig who was only staring at the door with a bored expression.

“Aren’t you gonna get it?” Noah asked, and André fell back on his bed, groaning like a five year old kid.

“Who is it?” he shouted but made no move to actually go ahead and open it.

“Andy-pooh?”

The look on André’s face changed from irritation to straight-up fear in less than a second and he pushed himself up, looking at Noah with panic.

He stood up and gestured towards the door. “Open it. Tell her I’m not here,” he instructed, his voice falling between a pleading whisper and a command, before disappearing back into the bathroom, his robes flailing behind him.

Noah’s eyebrows furrowed and he glared at the door that was now close to falling apart with the intensity of the knock.

“André! I know you’re in there, open the damn door!” the girl demanded and knocked again.

Noah groaned internally and stood up to open the door. “What?” he said harshly, his face scrunched up in a scowl.

The girl who had been knocking on the door still had her fist up in midair, her eyes staring straight into Noah’s pissed off face and her lips twitching up into a flirty smile.

“Hi,” she said, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ears as though it was out of habit. “Are … are you the new guy?”

He only frowned at her, his face looking even more impatient, and he sighed sharply. “Do you need anything?”

The girl absent-mindedly shook her head, her face lighting up in what seemed like apparent daze.

When Noah noticed the way the girl had been staring at him — looking like she’s ready to pounce at him any moment with the way she leered — he slammed the door shut to her face and walked back to his bed, still scowling.

“You can come out now,” he said to his roommate who had been listening in on their conversation from the other side of the bathroom door. “Who was that anyway? Your girlfriend?”

André laughed and plopped back down on his bed. “Probably in her wildest dreams.”

“So, why is she calling you Andy-pooh, then?”

André’s ears turned a light shade of pink and he avoided Noah’s eyes, chuckling awkwardly. “It’s none of your business, though.”

“I think I just did you a favor back there.”

“You know, for someone who was rumored to be very much of a snob, you’re very talkative.”

“Then maybe the rumors aren’t true.”

The school bell rang, breaking the tension that was threatening to loom over them as their stares never faltered.

When everyone was called out into the school field, Noah wasted no time and stood up, leaving André in the room with his challenging smirk still unwavering despite the loud ringing of the bell.

It was quite fascinating for him that André’s smile, no matter how charming it was, displayed a fashion that was downright disturbing. It was like he was made to be the ultimate jerk.

He ran a scrutinizing gaze around the tall buildings that had surrounded the quad, only momentarily pausing to give the school mascot the nastiest glare he could muster before turning his attention in front.

Everywhere he sets his eyes out on, people had flanked the area, spilling out of the crisscross of sidewalks that enclosed the grassy lawn and into the middle of the school quadrangle where a single elevated podium stood.

Noah drew in a sharp breath and clenched his jaw, running a hand impatiently over the sun-lit waves of his hair that had already fallen on his forehead, partially obscuring his dark-colored eyes.

The girls audibly swooned at the sight of him, and he heard someone scoff. “Why are we honoring this man? Have we ran out of human beings?”

Two other guys snorted at the joke, and the tips of Noah’s lips jerked upward.

It would seem like this school’s population was made up almost entirely of assholes. If they’re trying to break a World Record, Noah was certain they would win.

“Welcome to Elton High School, home of the White Tigers!” a man wearing a sweater with the picture of a tiger started talking in front, his bright blue hair dancing in the air as the warm August wind brushed past.

Everyone cheered at his announcement, and Noah just stared blankly in front, his mind hovering at the thought of why these people are excited over something that’s bound to be incredibly boring.

“He’s so cute.”

“OMG, yeah, I heard he’s André’s new roommate.”

“Oh no, what if he beats him up?”

“What are you talking about? André doesn’t beat people up for no reason.”

“You’re just defending him because you like him.”

“Well, duh? Obviously.”

Noah was used to getting stares and hearing whispers about him all the time, but the amount of girls who keep stealing glances his way in just a matter of minutes within this school was a little bit disconcerting, even for someone like him.

It would seem that subtleties apparently weren’t among the traits people in this school have.

“Hey, André! Over here!”

Noah’s eyes darted immediately in the direction of a tanned guy who was waving his arms frantically on someone from behind him. But before he could even turn around, someone’s shoulders slammed against his and he caught a glimpse of the cold sneer on his lips.

“What’s up?” André said when he reached the guy’s place and his friend turned to Noah with a questioning look, studying André who was now talking to two girls.

He almost seemed apologetic, but thought otherwise and just focused ahead instead.

“Prick,” Noah muttered and started walking away.