Travis turned out to be a chatterbox. "So you're new here? As a senior? Man that must be rough. Don't worry though, it's not as bad as the rumors. I mean, I did see about two fights this morning, and then the three stooges you encountered, but it's not all that bad. Just find a good group of friends and you're set. Are you at the dorms? I am. Been there my whole high school career. I wouldn't have it any other way. We have some really good times in the dorm. Wow! Your hair is pretty long. I'm pretty good with styling. I do most of the boys in the dorms, so you should let me do yours."

He talked without breathing, not letting Jonas utter a word - not like he would have. He had become accustomed to being silent. Travis talked until they made it to their classroom. He led him over to some seats and pulled Jonas next to him.

The seats were getting filled, and a group of guys loudly crashed through the door laughing. Travis waved to them and they all sat around him, giving Jonas a cautious look. Jonas didn't bother with them and pulled out Stephen King's The Shining and started to read.

"Travis, did those stooges mess with you again this morning?" One of the boys asked.

Travis shrugged. "They tried. Luckily... um..." He tapped on Jonas' shoulder making him give Travis a questioning look. "I never got your name."

Travis blushed realizing he never asked. Jonas held in a chuckle seeing the flustered look on his face. "Jonas." His voice was low and deep, drawing the attention of the others around him.

The name seemed unfamiliar coming from his mouth. He was always Joey - the fun loving kid. But now the name seemed so formal, so distant and cold.

Travis brightened. "Jonas helped me out."

One of the guys patted Jonas on the shoulder, seemingly excited for a new friend. "Thanks man. We try to watch each other's back, but we lost sight of Travis for a moment. I'm Jaiden." Jaiden was tall and a little lanky, but was still good looking. Pale skin with sandy blonde hair cut close to his head.

Another kid with olive skin and long black hair that was tied back held out his hand. He had a stocky build with thick arms. "Millan." Jonas shook it and nodded.

The last boy was leaning back in his chair and looking Jonas up and down. Jonas's eyes lingered on him. His hair was dyed silver and had dark green eyes, which looked striking against his bronzed skin. He had a strong jaw line that led up to a long chain earring hanging from one ear. He was sitting, but Jonas could tell that he had a strong build, similar to his. Jonas' gaze moved towards the boy's his fingers. They were long and delicate looking, but his knuckles were scarred like Jonas. Too many fights could cause those scars. Jonas' mind wandered and came back to those fingers that intrigued him. A thought invaded his mind: How would they feel on my body?

That thought alarmed him for a moment and he shook off the feeling. Jonas had no idea how he kept a straight face and luckily no one knew of the intense heat he felt rushing inside of him. He quickly suppressed it, but it was only momentarily. He once again lost reasoning when he made eye contact with the boy.

Jonas had been with a number of girls but it was the first time he really believed that someone's eyes could be beautiful. There was no other word for them. They stood out like a raw gemstone. But under the beauty, there was a rage and fire that matched Jonas. A kindred fire.

The unusual tension between them sparked, making the others hesitant because the didn't know how this would play out. Both boys had such strong poker faces that no one knew if they would attack each other or not.

"Hugh." The silver head boy said.

Jonas just gave him a quick nod, not wanting his voice to betray him. He was about to read his book again when Jaiden slung his arm around Jonas' shoulders. He was always touchy with people and never cared if they were comfortable or not.

"Those bastards are always after Travis just because he's gay." He explained.

"And proud!" Travis added with a grin.

Jonas turned dark and his eyes narrowed, causing the others to be on alert. Hugh especially was readying himself to attack Jonas if he said anything wrong.

"Those motherfuckers." Jonas stood up, making Jaiden trip backwards.

Travis grabbed on his shirt again, making Jonas stop in his steps. "You... You have a problem with it?"

Travis' eyes were trembling and watering. He seemed distressed that someone who helped him before could possibly be homophobic. At the same time the others were standing up and glaring at Jonas, ready for a fight.

Jonas growled. "I have a problem with them. But those fuckers won't give a shit about your sexuality once I make them eunuchs."

He loathed homophobic bastards. He wanted to beat them senseless because they reminded him of his father and the majority of St. Vincent's. He hated that there were people who felt the need hide their own sexuality because of another person's ignorance. A person should be free to simply love. God knows the world needs a little more love in it.

Travis' eyes widened and the other three started to laugh, Hugh's husky laugh catching Jonas' attention.

Hugh stood up and hooked his arm around Jonas' shoulders. Jonas was surprised to find that Hugh was actually just a little taller than him. But what was more startling was his sudden increased heart rate when Hugh got close to him. He wanted to pull away, unsure if Hugh could hear it. But despite this, he was reluctant to distance himself from Hugh so he stayed still.

"I like this idea. Travis, you should totally let us." Hugh said with a grin.

"No! You seriously need to stop trying to get in a fight everyday, Hugh. Besides, Jonas already got hit today!"

Hugh turned and grabbed Jonas' chin with the fingers he was hungerly looking at before. Hugh started to examine his cheeks, his face was inches away from Jonas'.

Luckily Jonas kept the same calm face even though he was flustered inside. "It wasn't much of a hit." Jonas said.

A small smile tugged on Hugh's lips and his ears turned a little pink. Jonas raised an eyebrow, curious about the reaction.

"You must have a strong chin." Hugh said, still grasping on his chin. His fingers brushed lightly on his jawline.

The door opened loudly. "Everyone sit down!" The teacher walked in with a cold glare and tossed his papers down.

Hugh took his hands off of Jonas and they all sat down again, this time, Travis was beaming at Jonas. He leaned over a little and whispered "Thank you".

Jonas couldn't help but to pat him on the head, like he would his brother.

The teacher looked over the classroom and stopped at Jonas and flinched a little. The reaction didn't go unnoticed by Jonas or Hugh. Jonas groaned, wondering what bullshit St. Vincent's told the Hawkings teachers.

"Spencer. You're new here. Introduce yourself to the class."

Jonas' eyes flicked to the teacher and turned cold. He didn't say anything and just opened his book again and started reading.

Hugh smiled a little when he saw this and felt that Jonas was even more stubborn than he was, and that was saying something. But what shocked him and the class was that the teacher, who was normally strict and uptight, did nothing about it except clench his jaw. Hugh even caught a little fear behind the teacher's eyes, which made Hugh even more interested by the new boy.

Hugh couldn't deny that Jonas peaked his interest. There was something about Jonas that captivated him. Jonas didn't seem like much and it looked like he wanted to ignore the world, or hide from it. He had a wall around him, a self defense mechanism. He would use music or a book as an excuse to distance himself from others.

But Hugh was in the crowd before class started and watched how Jonas reacted to the three stooges. Although Jonas was quiet, Hugh knew he was strong.

He understood that Jonas was hiding his strength and temper beneath his glasses. He couldn't help by to stare at Jonas' body. He could tell that Jonas had muscle on him, despite him trying to hide it behind the larger set of clothes. And when he wrapped his arms around him, he could feel the strong build and flexibility of his shoulders. His black hair was long and disheveled, like he hadn't bother styling it for a while. But it still could not hide the chiseled jawline that Hugh had to find an excuse to touch. He didn't regret his actions at all.

He was thrilled when Jonas didn't push him away. Hugh wanted nothing more to strip off the layers that Jonas built up... and possibly more.

Jonas ignored the teacher the whole lecture and Travis and the others helped him to the next class. They found out that they all shared at least one class together so Jonas had someone to sit with each time.

The teachers seemed to be used to the disrespectful attitude of the students, only showing a small sign of reluctance with a few of the more notorious students. Unfortunately, that included Jonas.

His math teacher called on him and asked a question with venom in his voice. "New kid, answer this question on the board."

Jonas wasn't paying attention to the lesson and looking out the window. Jaiden was next to him and nudged him. Jonas gave him an annoyed look but realized that all eyes were on him.

"Nice of you to join us, new kid. The formula on the board." The teacher pointed.

Jonas rolled his eyes and got out of his seat and took the chalk from the teacher's hand. He scoffed at the formula and realized that this was just going to be a refresher for him. He studied diligently last year because he has nothing else to do.

He quickly went through the solution and circled his answer.

Jonas handed the chalk back to the teacher with a dark look. "It's Jonas. Not 'new kid'." He said with a low voice.

The teacher gulped and paled a little. Then he gasped when he looked at the board. The solution was perfect.

He went on with the lecture and avoided eye contact with Jonas.

But Jaiden was wide eyed and nudged Jonas. "Bro. I seriously need your help because math is going to kill me. Please tutor me!"

Jonas groaned and was about to refuse, but saw the desperate look in his eyes. "If I have time." He grumbled which made Jaiden cheer and slap Jonas on the back.

The commotion made everyone turn their gaze to them, but the teacher ignored it completely and started the lecture again.