This was the first time in Aiden's life that he didn't have any classes with Changbin. The other boy wasn't even attending the same high school as him. While Changbin had decided to go to a school that was closer to his home, Aiden had chosen to go to the Performing arts school. His interest in acting and music scoring had grown over the years and it had been a big decision. Not one his parents had been extremely happy about but none the less they were going to support his choice. His happiness was their only concern and it was very endearing to Aiden - who made it his mission to graduate at the top of his class. He had to repay them for all they were doing for him.

 

Attending a new school was always a daunting task and being a first-year student at the high school was even scarier. He had heard the rumors of what upperclassmen would do to the lowerclassmen and he wanted to be as far from those people as possible. He had no friends at the school, most of them opting to attend other high schools that focused more on normal studies. While making friends wasn't hard for Aiden, it still gave him extreme anxiety because he knew he could be a "little much" at times.

 

Walking down the overly crowded halls of the school, Aiden glanced from the paper in his hand to the doors he passed, searching for his homeroom class, probably the only constant he would have in thisin for this first year. Following the signs to the back portion of the building, he noticed that the bodies were starting to thin out and he was rather thankful for that. Fewer people to think he looked like an idiot trying to find his classroom.

 

Rounding a corner, which he was sure was the right direction for his room, he paused as he saw a small group of 4 students huddled together, papers strewn about on the floor. He wondered if someone had dropped their things and he had half a mind to go and help pick them up, but the situation became entirely different when a binder was slung to the side by one of the guys and landed with a loud slam against the tile floor. And from between bodies, he saw a hand reaching out to grab for the item.

 

His blood boiled.

 

As a kid he had never been subjected to bullying - always friends with all the right people or he simply just avoided those kinds of people. But he had witnessed the aftermath of a few bullying attacks and each time left a horrible stain on his psyche. It wasn't right to pick on someone who was smaller, weaker, or even different from you, and Aiden was a firm believer in treating everyone equally unless they proved themselves to be ugly human beings.

 

These kids were ugly human beings, and the hate for them was only growing as he watched for a brief moment as they pushed and teased the boy on the ground. It was an automatic reaction, his body moving on its own before he could even register his own actions. He grabbed one of the guy's arms and yanked him away and while the guy was taller and bigger - probably an upperclassman - Aiden swung and landed a hard right hook against the guy's cheek, sending him stumbling back into his three friends.

 

"Leave him alone!" He hissed trying his hardest to seem like a big tough guy when in reality he was probably more like an angry kitten after getting a bath. Whether it was just luck or these guys didn't want to call his bluff, the four boys scurried away, muttering curses as they did. "Cowards." Aiden snorted, though he was glad they gave up easily. He was absolutely sure he wouldn't have been able to stand up to all four of them if they had decided to attack him.

 

The shuffling of papers caught his attention and he looked down at the boy that was scurrying to pick up his things. Kneeling down, Aiden started helping, careful with any loose papers and stacking them neatly on top of the recently abused binder. "Here." His voice was soft but carried through the empty hall.

 

"Thanks." The male finally looked at him and Aiden smiled as he stared into the kindest face he had ever seen.

 

"No problem. You okay?" He asked.

 

"Yeah, I am. Thanks, for...um...saving me." It was an awkward thank you because really, what guy wanted to be "saved" from bullies. It was an embarrassing situation to have been put into.

 

"Don't mention it. I'm Aiden." He said as he sat back on his knees, the other sitting back as well. Aiden's eyes ran over his face and neck, checking for any marks but he didn't see any, which was a relief.

 

"Seungmin." He introduced himself with a careful, almost shy smile.

 

"Pleasure to meet you Seungmin. Um, I'd hate to bother you after what happened, but do you know where room 1845 is?" Aiden asked. Might as well ask the other if he happened to know where his homeroom was.

 

"Oh? Um, I think down this hallway. I was on my way there when those seniors cornered me." Seungmin mentioned and Aiden hummed.

 

"So you're a first-year too?" The nod was all the confirmation Aiden needed as he grinned widely. "Awesome! Well since we're going to the same place, wanna walk together?" He asked.

 

"Are you sure?" Seungmin seemed a little wary as he placed his things back in his bag and climbed to his feet, Aiden following suit.

 

"Why wouldn't I be?" Aiden asked and chuckled. "Come on." He said as he casually tossed his arm around Seungmin's shoulder. He stiffened, but only for a moment before he relaxed and started walking with Aiden. Aiden grinned as he walked with the other, making small talk about nothing in particular and pleased when Seungmin would carry on the conversation. It made him happy and while he usually hated the first day of school, it seemed like today wouldn't be that bad. At least he made a new friend. He couldn't wait to tell Changbin when he got home. Maybe growing up wasn't such a bad thing.