I hate people. People (well, most people) are stupid. This school is a waste of my time and everyone knows it. My "family" knows it, the teachers know it, and my principal knows it. But where am I at 7:00am on a Friday? Fucking school…

"Hey," I heard a voice say next to me. I didn't even look up. Ever since I moved here, people have been coming up to me non-stop and just flirting. God, this place sickens me. "Uh, is this seat taken?"

"No," I said blandly. The stranger next to me sat down. I looked at him finally and he made the most awkward eye contact with me, but gave me the goofiest smile nonetheless.

"Hey, I'm Matt," he said, holding out his hand. I ignored it.

"Mello," I replied, almost bored. "And before you try, I'm not really much of a small-talker."

To my surprise, Matt said nothing to me from that point forward. He just sat there and played games on his iPhone until the teacher got there. Class dragged on and on, especially for me. But I also noticed that Matt wasn't taking any notes either and was still play on his damn phone. The teacher obviously noticed but didn't say anything.

"Okay class, here are your tests from last week. I was quite disappointed in some of your scores…" I stopped listening after that. I already knew what I got on it and I didn't really care to hear the teacher scold everyone else for not being smart.

Matt's test landed on the table in front of him with a bold 100 on it. He didn't even look twice. I looked at him expectantly. I don't know why, but most people usually cheer and brag about a grade like that. I cleared my throat at the awkwardness of it all.

"Nice score," I said in attempt to make…small talk? Really, Mello?

"Yours was better," he said, not taking his eyes off of his game. I looked down at the red 102 on my paper.

"Doesn't make yours any less good," I grumbled. Just take a fucking compliment! Matt paused his game and looked at me through his goggles like I was stupid or something. I looked at him back, really really confused as to why he was giving me that look.

"Do you not know who I am?" he asked patiently, returning to his stupid game.

"Enlighten me," I drawled impatiently. Matt took a side glance at me and continued playing before he answered.

"I was number one in the school until you showed up. Your test scores are kicking my ass," he said calmly. God, I could not figure this kid out for the life of me! Was he upset or not about me beating him? "But it's whatever. School is just a waste of time anyway."

My eyes widened at his comment. It's like he read my mind. You know, this kid might not be so bad after all. In fact, he seems like a pretty good guy from what I've seen so far. Good grades, laid back attitude, not a fucking idiot…

"You know, Matt, you're not so bad," I complimented him. He shut his game off and turned to me with wide eyes. I looked at his iPhone in confusion. What did I say to make him turn off his stupid game?

"Most people think I'm a freak," he said casually. "And that I cheat. Because how could anyone have my test scores and my lack of motivation?"

"And? What's your secret, Einstein?"

Matt let out a low laugh…it was almost like music, but if you dare repeat that to anyone, I'll fucking kill you.

"Photographic memory. Anything I see, I remember and never forget. It's a gift—"

"And a curse," I finished for him with wide eyes. "I've never met anyone like you, Matt. It's like we're the exact same."

"Except we're not. You're probably going somewhere in life and have goals and plans. I could care less where I end up as long as I have a good video game in front of me and a full stomach. That, and you're smarter than me," he gestured towards my test for an example.

"Does it bug you? That I kicked you out of first, I mean."

"Not really," he shrugged. "Like I said, I'll be lucky if I make it out of this crap hole of a town."

"Alright you two," the teacher scolded at us. "You may have perfect grades, but you're disrupting the rest of the class's learning."

I looked down in frustration. Stupid fucking school.

It took forever for class to actually end. Matt and I shared bored glances at each other the whole time, making the occasion eye roll. But when class finally did end, I was more than happy to get the fuck out of there.

"Hey," Matt called behind me. I turned around to face him, almost frustrated at him keeping me in this hell hole even longer. Almost. "I'll see you at lunch?" he asked awkwardly. I smiled.

"Lunch it is then," I responded over my shoulder. Stupid fucking classroom. I hated this place so much.

By the time lunch finally did roll around, I was way past due for something chocolate. My hands were shaking and I couldn't sit still in any of my classes. God, you'd think I was a crack addict.

"Hey," a heard a step behind me. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Instead, I assumed he was following me as I made a bee-line to the vending machines.

"Is that your favorite word or something?" I joked as I pressed 132 on the rubber number pad. I felt my mouth water as I saw the Hershey's drop down. "Finally!" I rejoiced.

"Wow…dude, it's just chocolate. I don't think you're going to find a golden ticket in it or anything…" Matt said cautiously, obviously questioning my sanity. I nudged him playfully. When had I gotten so comfortable around him?

"I may or may not have a serious addiction…" I admitted grimly. Matt held back a laugh as his lips twitched. I may have looked at his mouth longer than needed…

"So…are you going to eat that? Or just hold it like your child?" he asked after a while of me staring. I mentally face palmed at my awkward gazing. God, I must have looked like a fucking idiot.

"Oh yeah, that would probably help my withdrawal symptoms," I muttered. "C'mon, let's find a table."

Matt followed to an empty table and sat down with me. I noticed that he hadn't gotten anything from the lunch line and he wasn't carrying a brown paper bag with him either.

"Not hungry?" I questioned as I took a bigger than necessary bite into my chocolate. He shrugged as he fished out his phone. I looked down briefly at the skin that was exposed from him sliding lazily into his chair instead of sitting down like a normal person. The skin on his side was bruised beyond belief but I looked away quickly before he caught me staring again.

"Is that all you're eating?" he questioned back as he stared at his game. I shrugged too and I knew that he saw me because his peripheral vision was better than anyone's I had ever seen. How he saw anything with those goggles on was beyond me.

"Hey, Mello," I heard shrill voice behind me. I grimaced. I couldn't just enjoy my fucking lunch?!

"Hey," I replied, not looking twice at the girl. She sat down next to me, but judging by the way that she only sat on the edge of chair I assumed that she was leaving soon. Matt paused his game and looked up.

"You're like the cutest guy I've like ever seen in my whole entire life," she said as she tried to seduce me by biting her lip. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Matt. His eyebrows were raised as well.

"…Is that so?" I said cautiously, wondering where she was going with this. Matt put his phone down and leaned in to stare, almost glare, at her.

"Um, yeah! Your hair just flows as you walk and your voice is so deep…God, it sends shivers down my spine," she gushed. Her hand landed on top of mine and I quickly pulled away like it was herpes or something. She leaned in toward me, showing as much cleavage as she possibly could. "Here's my number, Mello. Give me a call if you want me to show you a…good time," she said low enough for only me to hear as she slipped her number into my shirt pocket. She winked and got up and walked away.

"What the hell was that?" Matt said incredulously. I rubbed my temples and groaned in frustration.

"I need more chocolate." I got up and walked back over to the vending machine, inserting a dollar. Matt was on my heels, demanding answers. "Look, Matt. I don't know what that was. It's been happening ever since I got here. I can't help it."

"God, it must be nice having an army of fan-girls," Matt said sourly.

"Take them! You can have them!" I said quickly. I dug the scrap piece of paper out of my pocket and put it into his hand.

"I don't…want them," Matt said quietly, tossing the number into the trash as we walked back to our table. I looked at him questioningly but he didn't continue.

"So, did you want to hang out after school or something?" I asked casually, trying to keep the conversation going. He looked up in surprise.

"Uh…sure, if you want. Sounds like fun."

"Cool. Meet me by the front entrance after school and we can go hang out at my place," I offered. He smiled warmly. "God, did it suddenly get colder in here?"

Matt chuckled. "They always open the windows in the lunch room. It gets too stuffy in here."

"It's freezing! I mean, I know it's March but that's way too early to be opening the fucking windows!"

"Here, take my sweatshirt," he offered. My face instantly turned red; I could feel it. Don't ask me why…

Matt started pulling off his sweatshirt and I couldn't help but notice the other bruises on his arms. This time I couldn't just keep quiet.

"Matt, where did you get those bruises? Holy shit," I mumbled as I gently ran my fingers down his arm.

"Oh, those?" he said, instantly covering what he could with his hand. "I, um, joined this fight club last month. I'm not really getting the hang of it yet…" he laughed nervously. Of course I saw right through his fucking lie. I was about to call him out on it but the bell interrupted me.

"I guess it's back to class," I griped. Matt got up quicker than his usual, lazy self.

"Yeah, I'll see you after school okay?" he said quickly before disappearing into the migrating crowd. I shook my head. Something's not right about that kid.

I looked down at the sweatshirt in my hand. I can't believe that he had offered it to me. Hesitantly, I put it on and was immediately hit by Matt's smell. It was a crisp smell, like the woods after rainfall, with a hint of smoke on it. I couldn't help but melt into the sweatshirt, taking it all in. I must have looked crazy as fuck to everyone else but I didn't care. This was the best smell in the world to me…I mean, besides chocolate.

Class took forever. Today just seemed longer than usual. Maybe it was because I was way more excited than I needed to be about Matt coming over after school. And when you're looking forward to something after school, the whole day seems to slow down. But when it finally did come, I went to the front entrance to see Matt already there with a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes on his phone again.

"Matt," I called over to him. He looked up and immediately stomped out his cigarette, even though I'm pretty sure it was only halfway gone.

"Hey," he said happily. I swear to God, that 'hey' is his favorite word. I grinned at him nonetheless and motioned him to follow me to my car.

"Your parents don't care that you're coming over do they?" I asked as we got into my car. Well, I got into my car. Matt just gawked at it. I rolled down his automatic window and yelled, "Hey, are you gonna get in or what? I have candy!"

Matt chuckled. There was that sound again. I tried to ignore the butterflies it gave me as I rolled up his window when he got in.

"This is such a nice car, Mello," he praised. I smiled at him in return, not really trusting my voice at the moment. I cleared my throat before I spoke.

"It was a present for my sixteenth birthday a couple years ago. My parents got it for me," I explained. "I don't think they'll be home when we get there. From what I understand, they're away on business this weekend. Matt just nodded as he looked out of the window.

"So where do you live?" he asked conversationally. It was unlike him to make an effort for conversation, but what the fuck do I know? I've known him for seven hours.

"Just up that hill right there," I said as I pointed toward my house. He nodded again, gazing out the window.

Nothing else was really said the rest of the way, but it wasn't that far of a drive anyway. Matt looked mostly out of the window I just concentrated on the road, wondering what the heck we were going to do at my house. When we pulled up my driveway, I could hear Matt's jaw audibly drop.

"Well, home sweet home," I said nervously. Matt's eyes practically bugged out of his goggles. I knew that this was going to be his reaction and was already regretting this idea already.

"What the hell, Mello?" he said. "How do you keep a house like this a secret?"

I shrugged at his question as I got out of the car. I tossed my keys at my butler, Bentley.

"Most people just friend me because of my fucking money and it pisses me off. You're really the only friend I've had that didn't know about all of this before becoming my friend."

"Wow," he breathed, taking it all in. "Trust me, if I would have known you had this much money, I would have stayed clear of you."

I looked at him, almost insulted. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, most rich kids are, well, snobs. But I would have never guessed you a rich kid from how cool you are," he said still staring at my house. I got at chill at the compliment. "Still cold?" he asked. I shrugged. "I thought my sweatshirt would have helped…"

I looked down at myself to see that I was still wearing his sweatshirt. I knew that there was a blush on my cheeks but I tried so desperately to ignore it.

"So are we going to just stare at the outside or do I get to see the inside too?" he chuckled. I shook my head at my own stupidity once again.

This was going to be one…interesting Friday night.

A/N: Please review! Any thoughts on what happens inside the house?