Never Judge

"Hey Al." One of Aldrich's friends greeted him as they all gathered for lunch.

To the students of Sea High, Al Reyes was the son of an ordinary employee, but he had big ambitions.

People gravitated towards him, wanting his attention and approval. They couldn't understand why, but Aldrich knew it had everything to do with how he was brought up and the fact that he came from two of the most powerful families in the country.

There were just some things you couldn't hide, no matter how you tried.

"Who's the new girl?" Aldrich asked as he looked towards the direction of his target.

This was the very girl that he needed to befriend, Cara Jao, the daughter of a businessman that was trying to cheat the Dean Family Mafia.

"Cara Jao." One of his friends answered as Cara walked past them, her long black hair catching in the sun.

She wasn't anything near what Stephen imagined her to be like. He had her profile, but the photo they had given him of her didn't quite match how she actually looked.

"Don't tell me you're interested in her?" One of them asked as they turned their attention back to Aldrich.

"She's actually quite pretty." He commented as he continued to keep his eyes on Cara, trying to figure out how to befriend his target.

This was a mission, beautiful or not, he couldn't be attracted to her even if she was his type.

"She's weird." One of the girlfriends of his companions said as they glanced at Cara.

Aldrich made a move to stand up, only to be pulled back down by one of his friends.

Annoyed, Aldrich pulled his arm away and glared at the other boy. If they knew who he really was, they would never dare touch him.

If they knew who he was, they would never be friends either.

He had moved to this school a year ago in order to get away from the young masters of rich and powerful families, if his identity had not been hidden, he could never go to a school like this.

"It's social suicide, don't." His friend, Fred, warned him.

"Just because she is the new girl?" Aldrich asked, shaking his head.

"She doesn't have any friends and when people try to approach her, she sends them running." Fred told Aldrich. "If she does the same to you, people will say you are desperate for her attention."

Aldrich laughed at how silly the students at his school were.

Their problems were so petty compared to those the students from his old school had to face. But nonetheless, Aldrich remained seated as he thought of another way to approach Cara.

The day went on like every other school day, Aldrich barely listened in class since he had already learned everything this school taught in the past.

He had tutors at home that helped him learn as much and at as fast a pace as he wanted.

School was merely a place for him to meet people and socialize with others, it held no developmental benefit for him.

When school finally ended, his friends offered him a ride, as always, and as he had done every single time, he rejected them.

He would normally take a bus to a pre agreed on location where his driver would pick him up and take him home.

Today there would be a variation.

He told his parents that he was hanging out with a classmate, something that wasn't a lie. His classmate just didn't know they had plans yet.

Aldrich followed Cara for a bit, she walked out of school and towards the same bus stop he normally waited at.

Most students didn't live this far from their school, but he knew that Cara's father wanted her studying somewhere the Mafia couldn't easily get her.

"Hey, Cara, right?" Aldrich asked as he tried to start a conversation with his classmate.

"No." Cara coldly answered as the bus pulled up.

Aldrich quickly followed her on the bus and sat next to her.

"If you don't stop following me, I will call the police and tell them that you are stalking me." Cara threatened as she took out her phone and showed it to him.

Aldrich quickly grabbed it, much to her annoyance and held it arm's length.

"Now you can't call them." He said with a proud grin.

"A thief too?" She asked.

Aldrich smiled and shook his head, handing her back her phone.

"I take this bus too to get home." He explained as nicely as he could.

"So not a stalker?" She asked, finally smiling at Aldrich.

"Nope, sorry." He said with a shrug. "I really just wanted to talk to you since we take the same bus and we're classmates."

She smiled at him, it was a sad smile, one that made Aldrich want to pity her.

"Aren't you worried that your friends will tease you for talking to me?" Cara asked as looked at Aldrich.

"No. I don't really care if they tease me. They can even throw me out of their group if they want, I really don't care. Also it's not like they would dare do that." Aldrich chuckled.

"You're weird." Cara giggled.

"Is there something wrong with being weird?" Aldrich asked, hoping that he was saying the right words, there was no way for sure to guarantee they would be friends.

"No, weird is good." Cara said in a much happier tone. "I know people say I'm weird, so I like weird."

"Good, so can we be friends?" He asked Cara, to which she simply nodded in reply.

"Al Reyes." Aldrich said as he offered her his hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Al Reyes." Cara said as she took his hand and shook it.

"So, can I walk you home?" Aldrich offered.

"N- no." She stuttered.

Aldrich already knew that he would get rejected, he just wanted her to know that he tried.

"Alright, then just the bus ride then we can go our separate ways." He said, seemingly unbothered by her rejection.

"We can take the bus together next time too." she said, offering it as a consolation to him.

"I'd like that, sure." Aldrich told her as he spotted his usual stop nearing. "I have to get off, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" He asked.

Cara nodded as Aldrich stood up and got off of the bus.

She waved through the window as the bus passed.

Aldrich smiled, knowing that he had at least gotten through to Cara today, the rest of his job would be easy.

Hopefully, Cara would soon trust him even more.