1 O N E

Niklaus POV

She was soft and bubbly like a rich cloud of foamy silk soap, and hands down the cutest little thing he had ever seen in his life. Her gorgeously wavy, platinum-ash blonde locks compliment the large, doe-like set of sparkling sea-green eyes of which she possesses. All of these iconic fair-skinned attributes and yet the small girl still manages to acquire a tan, sun kissed skin tone?

"You alright there, bud'?" Markus, his deskmate, questions. Niklaus only nods his head in response, shaken up.

"This is the new girl? --- What's she so goddamn tiny for?" He whispers breathlessly.

"I heard she just transferred in from Finland last week, her name's Anastasia." The red-head guffaws a bit in amusement at Niklaus. "What's the matter, didn't think she'd be some rare beauty, huh?" Markus' face turning sour, he glances over to the girl, continuing, "Yeah, you and me both."

Niklaus rolls his caramel colored eyes in frustration, all the while attempting to calculate her height. 4'8 maybe more, give or take? But how the hell was her torso so tantalizingly long with her averaging such short measures?

Mrs. Daevis, without him realizing, had moved over right in front of Niklaus. "Mister Hensley, is there something you find to be more interesting than the current pre-calc' lesson?"

"No." He shrugs the professor off, too busy panicking at the fact that Anastasia's gaze was now set upon his face.

"Then, next time, when I ask you a question, I expect you to respond." She clicks her teeth. "What over on the west side of the classroom could possibly interest you this much? Need' your seat moved, lover boy?"

At this point, it seemed obvious to everyone except for the girl herself as to who Niklaus had been thinking about. Even Mrs. Daevis knew, much to his dismay.

In an instant, everyone's face had turned to Anastasia. She scanned the room, dumbfounded. He didn't know why the small girl had intrigued him, but he would definitely find out.

"D-Did I do something?" His breathing hitched at the sweet velvety sound of her voice. She would be his undoing, he could sense it. She was clearly embarrassed, and Niklaus couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about it. It was his fault, after all.

Every time he tried to catch her eye throughout the period, she looked away frantically. Did he scare her? Why wouldn't she look at him?

--

As the quirky girl gathered her things, the class had come to a close. She was relieved of all the nervousness of which she had originally felt. Niklaus was angry, his moods shifting quicker than ever before. Was she doing this on purpose? No girl had ever flat out ignored him before, and it was eating him up inside. But why did he care so much? God only knows the answer to that one.

As she walked out of the classroom door, waving goodbye to the instructor, Anastasia felt her wrist being yanked. Someone had pulled her into the janitor's closet.

"What the hell?" Anastasia whispered harshly. Niklaus had grabbed her without thinking? What does this mean?

"I'm sorry, I don't know wh-" Mid-sentence, in an attempt to apologize, she cuts him off, furious.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He was definitely in for it this time. Miniature, pure, and feisty? Kill him now.

"Calm down, cupcake," He dusts himself off, putting on a stoic façade, "I just thought you were someone else." He lies.

Niklaus watches as her face contorts into an expression of regret. "O-Oh, I'm sorry then. I really didn't mean to be rude." Did she feel bad for accusing some random guy of grabbing her and shoving her into a closet?

"Holy shit." He was definitely taken aback. Who would've guessed that a naïve girl could be Niklaus' type?

"Alright then, I hope you grab the right one next time?" Anastasia mutters softly to him, confused. Niklaus could only nod before she turned the knob of the janitor's door, exiting the quaint closet.

"Fuck."

--

All three male friends sat around a beer table on the couches. Niklaus, just now arriving at the small gathering, takes a seat next to Colton, making four.

"Hey, dude, what's up?" Andrew asks. Klaus' only sighs, ignoring the question.

Seeing that he has been disregarded, Andrew goes on to continue speaking, "Well, anyway, now that we're all here, have you guys seen the new chick?" This is met with an eye-roll, Niklaus getting increasingly aggravated.

"Yeah, she was pretty cute." Colton shrugs off before continuing, "Though, from what I saw, she's not really any of our types." At this, Niklaus let out a low chuckle at the irony of the situation. No ass, no pronounced curves, none of the things that he was usually into, and yet, still, the girl draws him in.

"There's something funny, Klaus'?" Andrew questions with a grin. Niklaus only shakes his head. "Whatever you say, bro."

"You still failing calculus, Nik'?" This time, it was Colton who spoke.

"Yeah." He sighs. "But how're you and Chloe?"

"She's acting like a bitch again. I've tried talking to her and she just ignores me like I'm some dirt beneath her shoe." Colton spits out in a vicious tone.

"Damn, I didn't know it was that bad." The other three guys shake their heads in agreement to Niklaus' statement. "Yeah, so are we still going to Olivia's party tonight?" Olivia Rayburn was the most popular girl in school, and riches were just another variable in her popularity equations. Niklaus despised her for this, as she used to date Reid. Who, speaking of, has been unusually quiet this evening. "Reid, you good?"

"Oh, sorry guys. I've just got a lot on my mind." He smiles. "But sure, I'm still down for it."

"Yep, Drew' and I are still going." Colton chimes in.

"Alright, great." Niklaus rises from the coach, sliding on his coat that had been resting upon the back of it. "See you all tonight."