He was reserved and quiet. You were the opposite.

You were loud and open, you laughed at anything and everything, and sometimes you blurted out things without thinking too much about it. You always spoke your mind. You seemed happy. But it was a different story behind doors. Your stepfather was an alcoholic, and bruises would line your body, cuts on your arms was always a constant. When asked you laughed. What else were you to do?

Minghao was the opposite. He was cold, and quiet in a way that made people want to know more about him. And it didn't hurt that he was attractive. He never paid much attention to you and you didn't really notice him.

One day, out of the blue, you were put in a group with him for a school project. Call it fate. You were rushing home, knowing if you weren't home by the time your stepfather was there, you would only get another beating. You really weren't in the mood. A bruise was already present on the side of your jaw. Before you could run out of class, Minghao caught up to you, "We have to do the project."

You had never heard him speak before. Your mouth must have been agape and the bruise must have been showing because you watched as he narrowed his eyes and looked you up and down- not out of attraction or anything, just of... scrutiny?