I first met Matt Humphrey on a subway train one cold night in January. Well, that was the first time we actually had a conversation. We had gone to the same boarding school for three and a half years, but had never once had a conversation. Which, when I think about it, is really quite amazing, considering the fact that we only went to school with 200 guys, but still. Just because we had never met, doesn't mean I didn't know who he was.
Matt was the king of Woodbridge Academy, an all boys boarding school outside DC that we both attended. He was captain of the football team and the lacrosse team, in the top five of our class, and the student body president. Everyone loved him, and he had this gorgeous girlfriend who was already in college. I had seen pictures of them together in the papers occasionally, but never thought much of it. She was the only child of a senator, as was he, and they were apparently the "Capitol's sweethearts". The picture perfect couple that joined together two families that were already pretty powerful in the senate, they were both raised with the creme de la crème of DC high society. Needless to say, Matt Humphrey and I didn't exactly run in the same circle.
It's not there he was popular and I wasn't. With only 50 kids in each grade, there wasn't a whole lot of room for things like that. Everyone just kind of got along with everyone else. I mean, we're guys. There's only so much drama that can take place amongst teenage girls when you remove girls from the picture. Some people just happened to be closer than others. I don't think I have ever had a class with him in all four years of school, but I don't necessarily have anything against him. I just tend to run in a quieter crowd.
In all honesty, I just try to stay out of everyone's way. I know I'm really lucky to go to Woodbridge, where 98% of students end up at an Ivy League college, so I put my heart into all my schoolwork and the swim team, and try to stay out of any drama. It's worked so far, seeing how I've got a state title in two different swimming events, and the highest GPA in my class.
Growing up in DC was hard. My mother left me and my dad when I was ten to be a performer on a cruise ship for a week, and never returned. We got a postcard from Aruba saying that she was going to stay there, and that was the last I heard from her. Dad took it pretty hard, and ended up turning to booze to cope with the pain of being ditched with a child so that she could live on an island. At one point, he went to go get her and bring her home, but came back empty handed.
Getting a job as the head of security for a senator from Ohio was the best thing that ever could have happened to him. It was the kick in the ass that he needed to get clean, and he hasn't had a drop to drink since he was offered that job. Kyle Kent was a fresh faced kid from the Midwest, totally out of his element. He had won his election in a landslide, but was quickly overwhelmed with life in DC. He had been sitting next to my father in a bar in Adams Morgan when they got to talking, and he was instantly won over. Dad is pretty great at making people feel welcome and can calm even the most anxious person. Kent was smitten and offered him the job on the spot. It was the perfect situation for him, and I could not have been prouder of him.
Unfortunately, the job entailed a lot of travel between Ohio and DC, among other places. Dad couldn't leave me home alone all that time, and he certainly couldn't afford a live in housekeeper on one salary. He tried to turn down the job, but Kent refused to let him back down. Instead, he offered to pay tuition at any boarding school I got into in the DC area, which is how I ended up at Woodbridge Academy, home of some of the most elite teenagers in the district and from around the country. I tried not to draw attention to the fact that I wasn't at the same level as my classmates, but I never hid who I was or where I came from. Plenty of friends have come to my father's apartment when he is in town, and no one has cared that we lived in a two bedroom apartment rather than a Georgetown loft or some fancy townhouse like their families. Overall, I had a great thing going for me and I was grateful for everything I had.
All of this brings me back to my subway ride that night. Dad had flown back in with the senator, and he took me out to dinner to celebrate my 18th birthday. I can't remember the last time I saw him so excited about something as trivial as dinner, but I let him have it. We went to this awesome Brazilian place and stuffed our faces with all kinds of delicious things. Dad had to jet off to some event after, so I took the metro back to school. It was a pretty long ride from where we went to dinner, so I was glad I had a book for my Irish lit class with me. I had settled into a seat and was totally wrapped up in my reading when someone plopped into the seat perpendicular to mine.
"Hey." A deep voice interrupted my reading. I jumped slightly at the interruption, since I was clearly not expecting anyone to talk to me. Assuming it was some homeless person looking for change, i hunkered down in my seat and pulled my book closer to my face in a clear attempt to block any unwanted attention. "Hey." The voice said again, so I looked up. I was shocked to see Matt sitting in front of me with a grin on his face. "You're Jason, right?"
"I am." My voice doing nothing to hide the confusion I was experiencing. Matt Humphrey had never spoken to me, let alone sat beside me to have a conversation while riding the subway.
"I'm Matt." The grin was permanently placed on his face, but it seemed really forced. If he didn't want to talk to me, why was he? He looked like he was about to stroke out. "On your way back to school?"
"Yeah, I just met my dad for dinner." I told him, figuring I could at least be nice and attempt to relieve some of the awkwardness of this situation.
"Same. Well, I went out with my girl...with my friend." He grinned again, his perfectly straight teeth in a dazzling smile that rivaled the ones only seen on commercials for toothpaste.
"That's cool." I lamely commented. This whole situation was completely bizarre to me. He was still looking at me with my that smile, his blue eyes wide and sparkling. There was no denying that Matt Humphrey was a good looking guy, but it was still weird to be in such close proximity to him. Like I said before, we weren't exactly close.
"Irish lit?" He asked me.
"What?" He nodded at my book. "Oh, yeah. Just trying to get some reading done."
"I took that last semester. It was a pretty good class. You have Conti for it?"
"I do."
"Watch out for his pop quizzes. He always gives one every third chapter you're supposed to read. It's like clockwork."
I looked down at my book. I was on chapter three. Looks like I was going to have a pop quiz tomorrow. His eyes followed mine, and he let out a chuckle. "Looks like I warned you just in time."
"Looks that way." I agreed with a laugh. "Thanks for the tip."
"So." He shifted slightly in his seat so he was facing me a little more directly. His broad form barely fit in the seat and he looked pretty out of place. "You're a senior, right?"
"I am." I answered, glancing down at where his knee was now bumping mine. The heat from his leg was radiating through his jeans and through my dress pants, but it seemed rude to overtly move it. I am not exactly well versed in train etiquette, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to be a dick to someone nice enough to talk to me. No need to make any enemies tonight.
"Have you been thinking about colleges at all? My dad has been all over me about it."
"I got into Yale early decision." I told him, giving up on my book and shoving it into my backpack. "So I'll be going there."
His eyebrows shot up. "Hot damn. I never knew you were a whiz kid!" I just shrugged. "I applied to Yale, Princeton, and Brown." He said with a grin. "Although let's face it. I'll probably end up at Brown."
"Why's that? Not that there's anything wrong with Brown. It's a great school."
"It is." He agreed. "But I'm kind of stuck there. Every male in my family for five generations has gone to Brown. There's a dorm named after us. My dad is constantly on campus. I just couldn't escape if I wanted to."
"I can see how that would be a little frustrating." I told him. "But that's the joy of being 18. You can do what you want."
He let out a chuckle. "You would think, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, there are a lot of things I want that I just can't have." His eyes caught mine and he held his gaze there until I finally broke away, his icy blue gaze too much to handle. Who knew Matt Humphrey was so intense? I was way out of my element. This seemed to go beyond normal train ride conversation and into some depths that I was not anticipating.
I didn't have much of a response for that, so I turned my attention to the window beside me and stared at the trees as we passed by. There was a light layer of snow on the grass, giving everything a peaceful glow in the moonlight. It didn't snow often around here, but it really was quite nice when it did. By the time we reached the stop for school, I was exhausted and dreading the walk to campus. It would only take about ten minutes, but it was long enough in the frigid air.
Matt walked beside me without saying a word the entire time, and I couldn't help but wonder what the heck was going on. He had never said a word to me and now he wanted to be besties? A little weird if you ask me. When the dorm was finally in sight, he stopped and pulled my arm, jerking me to a stop. I raised an eyebrow at him in question, and couldn't miss the blush that spread across his cheeks in the dim moonlight.
"Sorry." He mumbled and started walking ahead of me, all of a sudden in a mad rush to get back to the dorm.
"Matt." I called after him. I have no idea why I even bothered. I legitimately had no ties to him, and there was no reason why I felt compelled to talk to him after three and a half years of radio silence.
Matt had stopped walking but he still hasn't turned around. I caught up to him and stood facing him. "What's going on?" I asked him. "Why are you acting so weird?"
