It’s not that Mark was an over-achiever, he just couldn’t settle for second best, and when he made a decision or a goal, there’s just no way he couldn’t see it through.

Mark thought that most people would see him as some sort of geek, a nerd, a goody-good, because that’s what they usually called him at his last school.

But they didn’t call him those things at this new school, instead they elected Mark as class president of the entire student body, helped him carry his books, even voted him most likely to succeed in the yearbook.

It was a pleasant surprise to Mark.

Another thing he wasn’t expecting to have to deal with was an embarrassing number of girls coming forward to ask him out. He was typically a shy boy, so when he actually received any form of flirting, he wasn’t sure how to handle it – and it definitely wasn’t often.

He was able to turn each girl down nicely though, he was a very calculated person, and always making sure he wasn’t hurting anyone’s feelings. When they would approach him after school and ask him to the movies, or for a coffee, or to go on a walk together, he would politely tell them he was studying hard for his exams and wouldn’t have any time for dating.

They usually nodded and scurried away without any questions, which gave Mark a sense of relief, because it was true, he was very busy.

This was no time for a relationship, though. As long as he focused on his schooling, nothing could bring him down.

He wasn’t sure how this strange popularity fell on his lap, but he was just glad that he wasn’t being teased or picked on anymore.

When his parents initially proposed moving, he pretended to argue with them about it, but secretly knew it would be the best thing for him. And it really was.

He placed his books down onto the desk with a sort of hefty thud, then turned his attention to the smart board at the front of the classroom. His teacher wasn’t ready yet, and was fumbling through a leather briefcase.

Mark overheard some voices behind him, coming from two girls who normally said nothing all class.

“Yeah, he’s from Hong Kong. I wonder what brings him all the way to California.”

“I don’t care why he’s here, I’m just glad that he is. He’s seriously hot.”

Mark’s ears perked up, he shimmied down into his seat and turned his head to get a better earful of the gossip.

“He’s in my language arts class, I get to stare at him all day.”

“I think his name is Jackson. At least that’s his American name. I don’t even think he speaks one of English.”

Mark wasn’t aware that they got a new student; he was usually the first person to figure these things out.

Before he could listen any longer, a tap at his desk interrupted his train of thought. It was his teacher.

“Mark, they need you in the office.” He whispered down at the boy, “I think the principal needs you to fix his computer again.”

Mark nodded hesitantly, then made his way out of the room.

As he walked through the hall he kept his thoughts focused on the new kid. Who would transfer schools this deep into the semester, he wondered.

As he arrived at the school’s main office, he could see an unfamiliar head of hair through the glass as he walked past the window, the boy had his back turned away from Mark.

Opening the door slowly and curiously, Mark entered the room and waved quickly to the office assistant.

“Go ahead and sit down, Mr. Burret will be with you in a moment Mark.” She chimed, pointing right in the direction of the stranger.

“Okay, thank you.” He answered as he took a nervous seat next to the young man.

Mark looked around the room, trying to fill up the minutes with something – anything to keep his mind off of the boy next to him.

He wasn’t your average looking boy, definitely not one you would see in any city Mark had lived in.

The boy’s onyx black hair was styled in a sort of jagged and slick style, with a backwards-fitted snapback on. His ears were decorated with an assortment of jewelry, and he wore a black tank top that hugged his body tightly, showing off his large round shoulders.

Mark took a breath in and tried to divert his attention away from him, but he found himself trailing back every few moments to get another eyeful of the stranger.

The boy’s skin was clear and soft, his lips were plump with a naturally cute pout, and when he smiled at the principal, his entire face lit up, leaving Mark in a daze.

“Ah, Jackson, you’ve arrived.” Mr. Burret began; he had an arm outstretched towards who Mark now realized was the Jackson kid he’d heard about earlier.

“Hello.” The boy said, his voice wasn’t as deep or as brooding as Mark was expecting. There was a definite bad-boy appearance, but a sort of goofy, jovial personality offset it.

“Mark, this is Jackson.” The principal then said, taking Mark by surprise, forcing him to acknowledge the boy he was just examining.

“Hi.” Mark reached for the first and shortest word he could find that would get the job done without making him look like an idiot. He couldn’t figure out why he was getting this nervous.

“Nice to meet, uh, you.” Jackson said with a robot-like tone.

“Jackson just moved here from Hong Kong. He’s an international student.” Mr. Burret said excitedly. “I was wondering if you would like to help him around the school, maybe help him with his English?”

“I guess, so, yeah.” Mark answered quickly before he even knew fully what he was agreeing to.

A large smile erupted onto Jackson’s face upon hearing that, and he threw a strong hand onto Mark’s shoulder, rubbing it ever so gently.

Mark looked down at the linoleum floor; his face was beaming red and burning up, he was barely able to breathe.

“That’s just beautiful. Thank you Mark.” Mr. Burret praised him.

“Um, what’s mean… Beau-ti-ful?” Jackson mumbled out slowly. He looked as though he was legitimately confused by the word.

Before Mark could answer his question, Jackson had come up with his own answer.

He pulled Mark into a side hug and squeezed him gently, “Mark.. beautiful. Yes?” he said with a whisper.

Mark blushed again at hearing the boy whisper his name. “No, haha. Beautiful means like… pleasing to the senses, whether aesthetic or not. Like something has a very high standard of excellence.”

Jackson dropped his hand from Mark’s shoulder and his smile turned into a very confused, wide-eyed expression.

“Uh-“ Mr. Burret interjected, “I’d suggest maybe taking it a bit slow with Jackson. He’s good with the basics, I think, but it’s going to take a lot of adapting to be able to understand most of what you say. So speak slowly and use gestures and pictures to get your point across.”

Mark felt embarrassed; he just nodded at his principal and smiled at Jackson without saying another word.

“I’ll let you two get to know each other. Thank you so much for the help, Mark. I can always count on you.” The principal said lastly before heading back to his office.

“No problem…” Mark whispered, letting his voice trail off as Jackson stood blankly in front of him like a lost puppy.

A really, really good looking lost puppy.

Mark sighed and took a large breath, leading Jackson out of the office.