Bitten and Bred

Crawling

“Can ask a question?” Rory sighed as he kept his head lowered to avoid the conspicuous gazes that were being thrown at him.

It was so different than when he first arrived there, the way they looked at him was like he was suddenly being properly inspected. It just made it more difficult for him to just ignore since he was not used to so much attention coming from other people.

“Sure, go on ahead,” Maynard smiled as he took a bite of his sandwich.

They were currently having lunch at that time and since the young man’s friends were said to be preoccupied at the moment. They ended up being alone together which gave him the chance to ask some questions that had been plaguing him since he got there.

“What kind of school is this exactly?” He could not help but look down on his food as he asked, feeling quite silly for saying such a weird question.

“What do you mean?” Maynard frowned a bit confused as to what was being said.

Rory move a bit closer, looking around to make sure that no one was looking at that time. “Is this some kind of modeling school or something?”

“What?” Maynard couldn’t suppress his laugh as he gave an amused look.

Rory ended up pursing his lips as he slouched his shoulders while going back to his seat. He let out a sigh. “I mean, I haven’t seen anyone who isn’t...amazingly good looking and fit, It’s like I’m in some kind of T.V. shows,” he states waving his hands around.

“Is that a city joke or something,” Maynard ended up laughing again, finding the whole comment quite hilarious.

Rory’s face ended up crumpling not understanding how the man actually thinks that way. “No, I’m serious, I mean, look at you and your friends, It’s like you guys just popped out of some magazine or something,” he could not help but state seeing how they were.

It was just too hard to believe that so many people with such features would actually be in one place for no reason at all.

“Really? I don’t see it like that,” Maynard quickly states as he looks behind him as he was suppressing his laugh.

Pouting, Rory gives the guy a serious stare. “I look ordinary compared to you guys, so is this some kind of those classy modeling schools or something?” he could not help saying since it was the only logical thing that he could think of at that time.

“Dude, just stop it!” Maynard was now having to hold on to his stomach unable to stop his laughter.

Rory ended up sighing when he noticed how everyone gave him those funny stares again. “And can you see how everyone’s looking at me, it's obvious I’m the odd one out,” it was the one thing that finally made him say that since it had been bothering him all this time.

That somewhat made Maynard stop for a bit, clearing his throat as he turned to look at some of the people that had been staring at him.

Rory could not help but frown when he sort of heard something that sounded like a growl, it was faint but he was sure he heard it right, though he was a bit confused if it came from Maynard. The other thing that caught his attention was how everyone around them instantly lowered their heads, suddenly being busy with their foods which made the whole place suddenly turn quiet.

“This is just another normal, boring school,” Another voice answers.

The two of them ended up looking at the person that spoke, seeing Kyle, Beatrice and Trisha were already near their table. Rory ended up closing his mouth in embarrassment. Though he wanted to ask what exactly happened, he ended up shutting up since he didn’t want to sound weird again for asking such a stupid thing.

“I think you’re just not used to the people around here, It will fade away in time,” Beatrice gives Rory a pat on the back as she sits down beside him.

“I don’t think I’ll get used to this kind of place,” Rory sighs, feeling a bit down when he remembered how he was alone there and his family was basically miles away.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, everything will be fine, you’ll get used to it here, you’ll see.” Beatrice gives him a tight hug.

Rory somewhat felt relief being comforted, though he could not help but feel a bit awkward sensing that she somehow read his mind.

“Thanks,” he says to Beatrice when she finally lets him go.

“Well, we better get to class, I don’t want to be late for the test,” Trisha reminds them which made Maynard finish his sandwich in one go.

“Damn, I forgot about that!” He says immediately picking up his bags.

“C’mon Rory, will walk you to your class,” Beatrice tapped him as they stood up.

“Thanks but I’m good, besides I really don’t want to bother you guys since your class is on the other side,” Rory just says remembering where his next class was.

The whole group suddenly ended up stopping as they looked at one another, it was as if they had this special language that only they understood, which once again made Rory feel left out.

“You sure?” Maynard ended up saying, his face was suddenly showing worry as he looked at him.

“Yes and you better hurry up, you’ve got that test, remember,” he reminds them not understanding the sudden cause for concern.

The young man hasn’t actually left his side since this morning, from his first-class up to lunchtime Maynard was always suddenly appearing. Though he liked the attention he was getting from him, being very attentive and all, he just couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was a reason behind all of it. Especially since it was the first time that he had done that after he had arrived there a week ago.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Maynard chuckled as he scratched his nape, suddenly feeling awkward.

There was a sudden silence between them again as the four of them kept looking at each other, all the while Rory was remained smiling while he waited for them to go on ahead.

“I’ll see you later then,” Rory ended up saying as a farewell since the group seemed a bit off with the idea of leaving him.

He was now starting to feel really weirded out from how they were acting around him right now. Though there were already some pretty questionable things that were happening in that place that he was still unable to explain the way they were acting right now just gave him more concerns as to what exactly is the reason for all of it.

“All right, later!” Maynard ended up bidding farewell as Rory started walking in the opposite direction where his class was.

“Later guys,” He just waves back at them before turning around. Though he didn’t want to act that way, he just couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was going between the said group as once again he felt a bit alienated by them.

Though he was still very glad that they were hanging out with him, showing him around, and keeping him company. There was just this part of him that felt a bit caged by them like they were actually keeping an eye on him in some way.