Overhead the sun was beating down heavily on the grounds of Adelle High, plastering it’s occupants with unwelcome heat and sweat. Most of the students were laying around in tank tops and shorts, and a few brave kids were found lounging about in their bikinis, the heavy scent of tanning oil masking the distinct smell of sweat. Alec, however, would never be caught dead sitting around in his swim trunks on Adelle grounds. For one, he was far too white to feel confident. And for two, it got quite annoying when people stared at his tattooed chest in revulsion. Though, it tried his patience even more when people asked questions about them. True, he had far more ink on him than the normal fifteen year old. Hell, most kids his age were just beginning to acquire piercings.

But for Alec, his tattoos were what hid his secrets. The angry red scars etching into his wrists, and the slightly purple ones that traced his veins were cleverly hidden by heavy tattoos. Although the scars were still visible amongst his ink, it looked as though the red and purple lines were simply part of the intricate designs. The scar from his hanging that circled his throat was discreetly covered by a tattoo of a red rose, the leaves of said flower extending around his neck to completely hide his scar.

And yet, despite the multitude of tattoos, Alec still felt insecure about himself and his scars. Always fearing that someone would be smart enough to pick them out from his ink, the boy took further precautions and was nearly always found wearing a sweatshirt when out in public. Today was no exception. Alec had decided to leave his dorm room for the day, hoping he could meet some new people that he could bond with. Ha, highly unlikely. It seemed like the others at Adelle looked at him with distaste, all because he was a bit different than the party goers who attended.

Bull shit. It was no secret that everyone at Adelle had their own problems, and that was the one things that brought them all together in the end. But whatever. Alec wasn’t going to worry himself with such matters.

Instead, he focused his attention on a girl in matching ink sweats and sweatshirt. He silently wondered to himself what her excuse was for wearing such an outfit on a day like this. He was just making his way over to the girl to strike up a conversation when a boy his age decided it would be funny to push her into the cold waters of the fountain. Managing to stifle a laugh, Alec couldn’t help but pity her as she pulled herself out of the water and yell at the culprit.

Furrowing his brow a bit and trudging over to the drenched girl, Alec shrugged off his black zip up sweatshirt and draped it across the girls shoulders, offering her a smile as he did so.

To him, there was something strange about the girl. As he took one final glance around the main grounds of Adelle High, he noted that she was the only girl not clad in a skimpy tank top and shorts that barely covered her butt. Even the more conservative girls could be found in a short sleeve t-shirt with shorts that were a respectable length. However for the time being, Alec simply shrugged off this oddity, making a mental note to ask the girl about her outfit perhaps later.

All the while Alec stood awkwardly before the wet girl, unsure of whether he should sit beside her or not. If she had been in the middle of thinking or something of the sort, then he wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of keeping her distracted. But on the flip side, maybe she needed a distraction; something to keep her mind of the beads of water that were dripping off her hair and onto the clothes she had just laboriously rung out. While standing before her, Alec did his best to conceal his tattooed arms by crossing them in front of his chest. However, his attempt to hide them wasn’t proving very useful, and so Alec shuffled his feet and glanced downwards, avoiding her eyes.

Even though the heat was unrelenting and the water would no doubt feel good against hot skin, the fountain that sat in front of Adelle was freezing, and the girl would surely begin to feel its effects. And so when she returned the sweatshirt to him with a few reassuring words that she didn’t need it, Alec simply pushed her hand back towards her and shook his head. ”It’ll be too hot later to wear a sweat shirt.” Alec tilted his head to the side and placed his hands on his hips. ”Besides, I’ve got about a million of them back up at my dorm. I can always go and grab a new one.” The smile that he had originally presented her with remained on his face, with the small exception that now his eyes were squinted to help block out the sun. He was intent on the girl keeping his sweat shirt, at least until she was somewhat dry.

"You could sit down if you want." It wasn’t until that moment that Alec realized he had been fidgeting. Almost immediately the boy dropped his hands by his sides, wondering if the girl was going to question his décor. When at last she didn’t, Alec deemed it was safe enough to sit next to her without the girl completely rejecting him. After all, she had clearly spotted the tattoos snaking up his arms and hadn’t questioned him. With this thought alone, the male decided that the wet girl wasn’t half bad.

Situating himself on the damp grass to her right, Alec placed his elbows behind him and leaned his weight against them, making small indentations in the sodden grass. A breeze ruffled through the overhanging branches and Alec couldn’t help but let a small smile cross his lips. The ehat had just begun to set in, and the refreshing cold was welcomed with open arms.

"My name's Melody, by the way." Melody… before that moment he had only known one other Melody and things between the two of them hadn’t ended very well. But this new girl didn’t seem anything like the creepy girl he had once known, and Alec titled his head to the side in a playful manner. ”I’m Alec.” At t he sound of his name, the male gave a slight nod of his head, as if to emphasize the way his name sounded coming from his mouth.

There was another awkward silence, in which Alec entertained himself by picking at a nearby flower. It alone had been unaffected by Melody’s dripping body. But plucking the defenseless flower clean of its petals could only prove distracting for so long. And as he reached the end of his destruction, Alec looked again towards the blonde.

”Not to sound rude or anything, but why are you out here in a sweatshirt and sweatpants?” The question had been nagging at him for a while now, and he thought it best to ask now while there was a silence. ”You’ll end up roasting to death.”