Popular Nerd

Chapter Seven// New Guy

As I walk into school the next morning, I am surprised to see the mass of students clogging up the hall ways. It is crazy! It's like the whole school has jammed into the main corridor, making it excruciatingly difficult to reach my locker.

"Excuse me," I apologise as I bump into some people on my route, swerving through the gaps trying to locate my locker. It is normally so easy to get to.

"Nate's so fit," a girl squeals from beside me. I rotate my head to face her. She is jumping up and down in excitement, her friend joining in as they peer over the tops of the heads in front.

Who are they talking about? Is there a new guy or something?

As I barge through the crowd some more, my eyes soon land on what the commotion seems to be all about.

"Can I touch your hair?" The head cheerleader giggles, her hand slowly levitating towards his brown slicked up hair. His brown orbs study the girls surrounding him, a confident smile broad across his face.

"Nathan?" My heart jolts.

He is wearing skinny jeans, ripped at the knees and a black T-shirt that is tight around his chest. It is near enough the same outfit he wore when I first saw him, the real him.

"Um sorry," I say as I claw my way through the students again, soon in the centre of the corridor. A wall of backs block me from reaching Nathan. I curse under my breath as I can't get through. By now the whole cheerleading squad are circled around him as well as the whole football team. Well, all of them apart from-

"Paige!" A familiar voice snaps. An arm grips around my forearm, tugging me backwards until my back hit the lockers behind me. "What?" I hiss, spinning around. To my surprise, I become face to face with Josh. A very sweaty looking, hot faced Josh, to be exact.

"Come with me," he grumbles, his hand still wrapped around my arm as he barges his way back out of the crowd. He pulls me into the main hall which appears to be the only place quiet around.

"What is it?" I ask, rubbing my arm where his nails had dug into me. He is evidently pissed off, at what I do not know.

"Did you do this?" He begins by rising his voice. His stern glare shoots daggers into my eyes, his eye brows crossed in fury.

"Do what?" I snap back. "What is the meaning of this?"

"This!" He motions towards all the students gathering around Nathan, all of them tranced by his new good looks and hypnotising charm. The same girl from before squeals again and I thought another was going to faint.

"Umm," I bow my head sheepishly. Josh clearly isn't pleased with my work. Nathan must have made it onto the football team if he is so confident to come to school as himself. "I-I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, should I spell it out for you?" He strides forwards, his breath fanning my lower lip as he stands only inches away. "Nathan made it onto the football team! I know this is your doing," he growls once again.

"Ok, ok," I give in weakly. "It was me but if he got in he must be a good player, right? Isn't that good for the team?" Why is he over exaggerating this? It's ridiculous! I can't see why he is being over dramatic.

"Oh, he's a good player alright," Josh spits, shaking his head in disgust. "In fact, he's so good, he is now the new quarter back!"

What? My breathing hitches. But Josh is the quarter back... Or was at least.

"Thanks a lot Paige."

"Josh wait!" I reach out in attempt to grab his arm but he shakes it off. He storms out of the hall and I watch him leave, my mouth partly open, still in shock.

***

"So... You made Josh get kicked out of the football team?" Lacy perches on my desk in home room. She is twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.

"No. He's just not quarter back anymore. He will probably be playing the position that Dan Roberts used to play before he left as he broke his leg. I feel so bad." My head falls into the palms of my hands. I let out a groan and clamp my eyes shut, not wanting to wake up into the disaster I have caused.

"Well, you did a good thing for Nathan," points out Lacy, patting my back in reassurance. "But then again, you may have changed him. Look..."

I rise my head slowly. My eyes instantly come into contact with Nathan. He enters the classroom with a confident stride, his hands wedged in his pockets with his hair messy on the top of his head. He must have his contacts in, hence he isn't wearing his usual glasses. All the girls in the room divert they attention over to him, flirting in giggles as he passes their desk.

Me and Lacy exchange a glance as he claims his spot by the cheerleaders, them all going crazy over him. It seems that their boyfriends are not impressed, who are also hot jocks to no one's surprise.

This is so ironically strange. The cheerleaders and football team hated him yesterday, now he is hot, they love him. He used to be the victim of stereotypes, but now he is apart of them.

"I haven't changed him," I state. "This is who he really is." I naw on my lip whilst holding my breath.

"Really? The school nerd secretly is a popular jock?" Lacy bites her nails skeptically.

Glancing back over at Nathan, I take it all in again. Even though I have seen him like this before, it is difficult to accept that this is the school nerd. The one all the girls used to gag at, the boy the football team once intimidated, the sheepish nerd who never spoke to anyone is now flirting with the most popular girl in school.

"He's flirting with Courtney Ray," Lacy whispers, her eyes fixed on the same image I am. Lacy detests Courtney more than I do, mostly because she has flirted with Jace multiple times in Chemistry before, something Lacy hasn't been pleased with.

Courtney Ray is the school's head cheerleader, most popular girl, homecoming queen and a flawless beauty. She is adored by every guy with eye balls and has the body of a model. She is the girl others aspire to be like. Well, except me and Lacy.

To some people she is a queen; to others she is a slut. It's harsh but it's true. When you sleep with your best friend's boyfriend it is practically a crime! But everyone seems to have looked passed it as the girl moved state. It seems as if only Lacy and I remember that she left because of what Courtney had done, but there never has been an appropriate time to announce that information.

"Do you think she will play him?" Lacy asks as we observe the way she holds his muscles, giggling and getting way too close to his face. Nathan isn't objecting to her privacy invading actions.

"I don't think he will let her. He's very independent and strong. I'm confident he will be alright." I never thought I would be saying that to describe Nathan.

"Yeah he's strong," I look up at Lacy who is biting down hard on her bottom lip. At one point I think it is going to start bleeding. "Look at them biceps."

"What about Jace?" She instantly snaps out of her stare at his name.

"Nathan who?" She stands up and we both laugh in unison. "Hey, at least we know one good thing that will happen if Courtney does date Nathan."

"Yeah? And what's that?" I ask as we exit the classroom after the bell has chimed.

"Jace is more likely to be mine."