Hayden had a reputation at your school, a bad one. He was rude, loud, arrogant, and cocky. Anytime you heard his name brought up in conversation, it was followed by the mention of a school fight. It seemed like trouble followed the boy wherever he went, like it was glued onto him.

You on the other hand— you were nearly the complete opposite of him. You were quiet, and when you did talk— you stumbled over all your words like a drunken man. You mostly kept to yourself, despite people constantly picking on you. Most people treated you like an odd specimen, like you were less than them, or like you were some puppy that they could just be friends with for goodness points.

You and him had one or two classes together, but still, you’d never interacted before.

You had a presentation today, meaning you’d stand infront of the whole class and talk. You’d been dreading this all day. When your turn came up and you began quietly, stuttering as you tried to talk about the presentation, a few people laughed.

“Speak up? I can’t hear you.” A girl in the front, madeleine, teased you. Everytime you spoke, she made jabs at you. “What was that? Uh- uh- uh-“ she mocks, the class laughing along with her, except Hayden, who seemed to be actually trying to listen to you.

“Shut the fuck up.” He groaned. “Let him finish.” He shot a glare her way before turning his full attention back on you.