A Social Outcast

Day 4 – Young Gabriel

The first time he saw her, he couldn't say it was love at first sight. After all, the new transfer student personified the taunts of the bullies.

"You're too tall," one girl laughed. "Like a giant ogre."

"No one is going to want to date a scrawny beanpole like you," another chimed in. "Twigs for arms and legs and not a curve in sight."

"Your hair looks like straw – so thin and scraggly. Do you have birds that nest in there?"

The girl in question stood with her head bowed, her clenched fists trembling with suppressed emotion. Sunshine-bright blonde hair hung over her face, frizzy and unkempt and hiding her eyes from the crowd.

"Aww, you're gonna make her cry," a third remarked. That sent the whole group of them into a fit of giggles.

"Careful, she might stomp all over us with her big feet."

"Or trip because she's such a klutz."

More laughter.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. The girl being teased was a bit taller than the others, but not excessively so. She just appeared to have hit her growth spurt earlier than the rest of the girls in his class. Still, that was no way to treat a lady. His father had raised him better than that. He headed over to the group of girls. Before he could reach them, the one being bullied buried her face in her hands and, with a strangled sob, darted away. The laughter of the remaining girls followed her out of the hallway. He hefted his bag across his shoulder and took off after her.

"Oh, hi Gabriel," one of the bullies cooed, stopping him in his tracks, "are you doing anything this afternoon? Maybe we could hang out and get something to eat."

Gabriel knew he was considered one of the more "popular" figures at school (to his utter bafflement as he preferred to design quietly in a corner) and though he would love to stop and put his mean-spirited classmates in their places, he didn't want to leave that new girl alone for too long. Still, it would be considered rude to just leave without saying anything.

"I'm afraid I must decline today," he replied, awkwardly stiff and formal as usual. "I have other plans."

"Maybe some time later, then," the girl replied, not bothering to mask her obvious disappointment, but Gabriel was already past them, heading for the school doors.

Outside, the hot sun beamed down and he blinked, lifting one hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light. A quick survey in front of him revealed no distraught girl, so he hurried off to one side of the school, heading around the corner to the back.

Success!

The retreating back of the girl caught his eye. Gabriel started after her. She ran through the park, turned a corner, and when Gabriel reached that point he lost her.

Panting from the exertion, he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. He gripped his side to stave off the sharp pain stabbing him. Why was he even bothering? He pondered that for a moment as he steadied his breathing. He couldn't answer that question, except to say that something deep inside of him just wanted to make things right for her.

Soft sobs filtered through his heavy pants and he forced himself to be quieter to pinpoint the source. He spotted the distinctive violet shirt the girl wore earlier peeking out from behind some bushes. He stepped around and discovered her sitting on the grass, back against a tree, her head buried in her arms and sobbing.

His father had taught him how to do many things in life. Respect, manners, a sense of personal pride... but never what to do when a girl was sobbing her heart out right in front of him.

He gulped and ran a hand through his hair to tame the strands that had become ruffled from his mad dash after her.

"I'm a tall scrawny beanpole, too," he blurted out. Oh, that was smooth, Gabriel, he thought, mentally kicking himself.

Her head shot up and her sobs stopped as she gaped at him.

His mouth went dry.

"Are you going to tease me, as well?" she asked, and her voice – though broken with tears – struck such a melodious note that it shot a warm feeling through him.

"N-no," he stammered.

"You're Gabriel, aren't you?" she asked, and he nodded, his own voice broken for a completely different reason. When he didn't say anything else after, she wiped the tears from her eyes. Eyes that captivated him with their deep green color – much like a forest canopy in the dawning hours of the morning. "So why are you here?"

"I... I heard what those girls said to you, and I just wanted to say that I disagree. You ran away before I could do anything."

Her watery green eyes narrowed in accusation. "That's what they all say."

He flushed. "It's true."

"Why would someone who is so popular care about someone like me? You don't even know my name."

"Because you haven't told me yet." Gabriel scoffed and folded his arms. "This might come as a surprise to you, but I didn't choose to be one of these so-called 'popular' kids. I only care about fashion and designing. I barely know the names of the people who sit next to me."

She blinked up at him, tilting her head as if she was uncertain of his intentions. Her brow furrowed in the most adorable manner as she attempted to figure him out.

"I'm Gabriel Agreste," he said, holding out a hand.

She stared at his hand, then at him. She reached out and grabbed it, going for a handshake. "Yvette Eclat," she answered. Gabriel turned over her palm and leaned down, pressing a delicate kiss to her knuckles.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he replied. Noticing her reddened cheeks, he felt his own heat up and dropped her hand. "Er, uh," he rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

The sharp burst of laughter that abruptly escaped from her struck him speechless. She gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the giggles as she took in his bemused expression. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I shouldn't be laughing, but you just looked so..." she flushed and averted her gaze, fidgeting with her fingertips, "well, you just caught me off guard with your formality, that's all," she finished, her eyes firmly fixed on the grass.

"Oh." He didn't know what to make of that.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, shyer this time, "you came all the way over here just to cheer me up and I laughed at you."

"May I sit?" he asked, hoping to dispel the awkward tension around them. She nodded and he looped his bag over his head and settled down next to her. "You transferred in last week, correct?" She nodded. He took out his sketchpad. "Do you mind if I sketch while we talk? It helps me focus."

She shook her head. "I don't mind."

"I told you a couple of my hobbies," Gabriel said as he opened to a fresh page, thankful that his hands had something to do that would distract him from the desire to brush away her hair from her face. The girls called it straw-like and frizzy. To him, it looked soft as cornsilk. Sure, it may be a bit mussed from the day at school and her sprint away from the girls, but that just enhanced his desire to smooth it away from her flushed cheeks. "What are some of yours?"

She brightened; a ray of sunshine peeking through the storm clouds.

And just like that, the tension lifted, dissipating like the last remnants of rain after a thunderstorm. Gabriel spent the rest of the afternoon sketching as she chattered – and without the thick veil of sadness hiding it, her crystalline voice brought forth a carefree smile to her face. And his, he would later realize, as the grin that slowly spread on his face never once slipped as he peppered her with questions and laughed at her stories from her old school.

As the afternoon sun sank lower, Gabriel stood and presented her with the fruits of his labor – a delicate sketch of her wearing a long flowing dress. He had the dress idea for a long time, but didn't really have an intended model for it. He bit his lip as he held it out, wondering why he was suddenly nervous about it. What if she thought it was a horrible sketch? He didn't care, right?

Her entire face lit up as she gasped and gushed over it. "Oh, Gabriel, this is amazing! You are so talented," she praised and once again, a flood of warmth spread through him.

He smiled at her as the relief in her approval shone on his face. "Thank you," he said. He realized he wanted to see that same joy on her face every day. "Do you think maybe I could sketch you again tomorrow?" he asked.

She looked up at him.

"I-I mean, if you don't wa-"

"I would like that," she interrupted. She smiled softly at him and placed one hand on top of his to halt his stammering excuses.

His heart rate skyrocketed.

Okay, so he lied. It was love at first sight.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who is supporting this week and the stories within!

A special thank you to PerditaAlottachocolate for beta-reading this work and assisting with the ideas and brainstorming for this week. Check out her works for Gabriel Appreciation Week, as they're amazing!