"Merlin! Hey, over here!" Gwen hails him.

"Hey!" He jogs over towards her, grinning broadly. While Merlin spent the summer holidays working at the local café, Gwen got to go to Italy with her parents on holiday; the two best friends haven't seen each other in weeks.

Gwen beams excitedly as they hug quickly before joining the crowd heading into the school grounds. "So, how was your summer?" Merlin asks.

"It was great! We went to so many places. Mum and dad really loved it, too."

Merlin smiles sadly. He's not generally bothered by the fact that he's the only one in his class at Camelot High on scholarship, the only one who has to work in the summer and can't afford expensive holidays, but it sometimes just gets a bit lonely, being the one left out.

Gwen reads his expression at once and puts an arm around his shoulder. "It's good to see you again, Merlin," she says sincerely.

"You, too," he says.

They walk arm in arm towards their first class. Lancelot – one of Merlin's buddies from mathletes – greets him on his way to his locker, shouting over his shoulder that he'll see them at lunch. Merlin and Gwen take their usual seats in English and Gwen asks Merlin something, but he doesn't hear her.

He is staring at the person sitting in the front row, his head bent over his book. The boy is big and blonde and undeniably beautiful. That isn't why Merlin is staring, though. Something draws him to the boy, something he can't explain – like they're opposite sides of a magnet, irresistibly drawn to each other.

As Merlin watches, Bruce slouches over to the new boy's desk. "You're Arthur Pendragon?" he drawls.

The boy nods.

"Good. Coach says good things about you. First practice is this afternoon."

"Alright," Arthur says, smiling confidently.

Bruce claps him on the back and walks off.

Of course. Football. Merlin should have known. Fate hates him too much to cut him a break now. Arthur will be hanging out with the cool football kids; he won't be caught dead talking to the likes of Merlin and Gwen.

"Merlin? Earth to Merlin, is anyone there?" Gwen is waving a hand jokingly in front of his face, though looking rather concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine," he says, but he can't stop his eyes flicking to Arthur. Unfortunately, Gwen is too observant to miss this.

"Oh no, Merlin," she sighs, reading the look in his instantly. She really does know him too well.

"I can't help it," he mutters, even now resisting the weird magnetic pull that urges him to go over to Arthur.

"Merlin, there are plenty of guys here," Gwen says. "The football guys are all jerks, you know that. Will is crazy about you – why don't you ask him on a date? Don't waste your time with him." She rolls her eyes in Arthur's direction and Merlin has the urge to defend him, but he knows Gwen is right. The cool kids are all the same. Arthur wouldn't even look at Merlin.

"Will's my friend," he says. "I only like him as a friend."

"Merlin, I just don't want you getting hurt," Gwen says softly.

"I know," he says, and forces his eyes away from Arthur. He'll just have to ignore the strange pull between them. How hard can that be?

Throughout the week, Merlin watches Arthur covertly, and he is surprised by what he sees. Yes, Arthur hangs out with the football players and cheerleaders. He certainly seems arrogant and prattish enough for the part. Yet Merlin can't shake the suspicion that it is all some kind of act.

Arthur never participates in bullying other students and is respectful towards his teachers, working hard in class. Not only that, but he's smart and thoughtful. Of course, most of that is buried under his attempt to fit in with his teammates, but thanks to Merlin's stalking, he sometimes sees flashes of who he thinks Arthur really is.

Merlin seizes his chance in the first chemistry class of the year. None of his friends are in this class with him, so he usually sits alone at a desk for two. Arthur won't know where to sit, and Merlin is quivering on the edge of his seat, waiting to pounce as soon as the new boy sets foot inside the classroom.

Arthur walks casually inside, looking around, not looking quite as lost or unsure as Merlin would have liked, but it's still evident that he doesn't know where he's supposed to sit. None of the football jocks have the brains to do chemistry, so he's on his own.

"Hey, over here!" Merlin says, probably a bit more loudly than he had intended. "You can come sit with me."

Immediately, his insides seem to shrivel with embarrassment. Who does he think he is? Arthur wouldn't be seen dead sitting with him. Sure, the choice is pretty limited in their small chemistry class, but Merlin is sure Arthur would rather take his chances with an empty desk and see who comes to sit next to him.

Even as Merlin flushes right down from his hairline to his neck, Arthur meets his eyes and smiles in a way that Merlin can only interpret as… friendly. To his shock, Arthur comes straight towards Merlin and sits down in the chair next to him.

"Thanks," he says. "I'm Arthur, by the way."

"M – Merlin," Merlin stammers, trying desperately not to act like a complete fool. The magnetic sort of pull that draws him to Arthur is even stronger with Arthur sitting right next to him. Merlin wants to hug him and kiss him and learn all of his deepest secrets all at once. Getting a firm grip on himself, Merlin starts with the basics. Deepest secrets will have to wait.

"So, you're new here. Why did you move?"

It was the wrong question to ask. Arthur had been looking at him with curious expression, tinged with something else Merlin can't identify. As soon as Merlin opens his big mouth, though, he knows it was a mistake. Arthur's features morph into something hard and sad, and his eyes seem to dim as his face closes off.

"It's a long story," he says shortly, and Merlin is too worried he will upset Arthur further to ask him anything else. Still, he grins smugly as the other desks fill up. Now that everyone has chosen their seats for the year, Arthur is stuck with him, whether he likes it or not.

To Merlin's great surprise, Arthur doesn't seem to hate his guts for his previous question, as he makes an effort to continue the conversation. "So, have you been here long?"

"A couple of years," Merlin says cheerfully, while thinking Oh my God oh my God oh my God he's talking to me! "Some of the subjects are a drag, but it's alright, really."

"That's good," Arthur says, before lapsing into awkward silence. He's not at all like Merlin expected. While he seems confident with his football buddies, Arthur doesn't seem to know what to say to Merlin any more than Merlin knows what to say to him. That's aside from the huge fact that Arthur will even consent to look at him. Maybe he simply hasn't learned the unspoken rules of the different groups, but somehow, Merlin doesn't think so. He knew it. Arthur is different.

They don't say anything more meaningful than "Please pass the thermometer," for the rest of the class, but Merlin is still buzzing by the end of it. He hurries to the cafeteria to talk to Gwen.

"Oh no," she says after getting one look at him. "I know that face. I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Merlin proceeds to tell her everything that occurred in the last hour – though leaving out the electric current that seemed to start up between Arthur and himself after the first twenty minutes, in the interests of maintaining an appearance of sanity.

Gwen doesn't seem fooled. "Oh Merlin," she sighs.

"He's different," Merlin insists.

"Maybe, Merlin, maybe. But don't you think you could just be seeing what you want to see? I mean, it'll be wonderful if he turns out to be a great guy… but I don't want you getting hurt. And this situation screams 'heart break' all over it."

As much as he hates to admit it, Merlin can see her point. He's always been careful about whom he makes friends with, knowing how quickly people can turn on each other here, but something about Arthur seems to send his caution flying away.

He glances over at the football table to see Arthur laughing with Bruce and some of his cronies. Merlin frowns, wondering why Arthur is hanging out with them at all. True, he doesn't laugh when Bruce trips Sarah on her way to her table, sending her food sprawling all over the floor, but he doesn't protest, either.

Merlin sighs. Gwen's right. Arthur is just a slightly more civilised brand of the same type of bully.

"You're right," he says, his heart sinking at the words.

Gwen smiles sadly at him before settling for distraction. "So, are you going to help me with that calculus homework, or what?"

Merlin just reaches over for her book and starts explaining, pleased to get back into the familiar ritual.

He manages not to think of Arthur for the rest of the day and does his best not to notice when he goes off with the rest of the football team for practice. Merlin heads to the library, planning to do some research for an extra credit English project he's doing. He and his teacher discussed it last year, and now seems the perfect time to start – first day of school or not, his mind clearly needs some distracting.

He spends about half an hour skimming through books before a spot at one of the computers opens up and he takes what notes he's made so far to continue his search online. It is two hours after school ended that Merlin finally gets up; the library is practically empty by now. He slings his bag over his shoulder and makes a quick detour to the bathroom before he catches the bus home.

Without really knowing why, Merlin slows as he gets closer to the bathroom. He can hear something from inside, though he isn't sure what. He edges closer, putting his eye to the crack between the door and the wall.

He freezes in shock at what he sees. Arthur is leaning over the sink, shaking with sobs. Merlin can't breathe, afraid that any movement will alert Arthur to his presence. He feels such a strong pull to go and comfort him that Merlin has to hold onto the door handle to stop himself from moving; Arthur surely won't react kindly to being discovered.

As Merlin watches, Arthur takes two deep breaths before leaning down to splash his face with water. Merlin hurries away, his mind buzzing, wanting to be gone before Arthur finds him alone in the corridor.

He swings by the changing rooms – a place he usually avoids at all costs – to see that most of the football players are still hanging around, chatting. They seem relaxed and cheerful; clearly, nothing happened at practice. Arthur must have hurried to get away from them afterwards so that he could have his breakdown in private. What he could be upset about, though, Merlin has no idea.

As Merlin walks slowly to the bus stop, he knows one thing for certain: he wasn't wrong. There is something very different about Arthur Pendragon. Whether it is wise for Merlin to be drawn to him or not is inconsequential; he is, and there's nothing he can do about it. He can't get Arthur out of his mind any more than he can fail the upcoming calculus test.

Merlin steps onto the bus, more determined than ever to know him better.

To be continued

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