Norway x Reader: It's You

His locker nearly slammed into your face.

You caught yourself just in time, staring up at the blond. Lukas Bondevik just barely glanced at you before he returned those dull, blue eyes to the inside of his locker, pulling out his history textbook.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” he asked you, but he sounded very monotone, and he didn’t even look at you while he spoke. Lukas, instead, leafed through a notebook, trying to locate something. “Something might hit you in the head if you don’t move,” he continued, and you wondered if he only said that because he had nearly knocked you out with his locker door.

You turned away from him, quickly opening your own locker and taking out your English textbook. “Thanks for worrying about my wellbeing,” you murmured as you located your English binder.

“Please don’t confuse it with worry,” Lukas answered, and he continued to keep his tone as blasé as possible. It was as if nothing fazed that guy. “You just seem a little lost at times.” He closed his locker, holding his textbook in his arm as the other gently rested on his locker. He had turned his body towards mine. “Don’t get lost on your way to class, (name).”

He walked away, and you narrowed your eyes after him.

He always did that, treated you as if you were stupid. He was, of course, a genius. Straight-A’s and a handsome face, he was insanely attractive. Of course, no girls could get close enough to him. Any girl that dated him usually had the complaint that he never seemed to pay much attention to them, so girls had begun to learn to not vocalize their interests in him because he would never return them.

And to you, it was obvious that the only interest he would ever show you was when he was mocking you for being a bit absent-minded. His comments had gone on for three years now, and the worst part was that lately, he was in your thoughts like half the time. His beautiful face, that weird curl, even his monotone voice that should be unsexy—you found yourself daydreaming about him.

And you were pretty sure he hated you for being quote, unquote “stupid”, so you were really just setting yourself up for failure.

You slammed your locker shut and hurried off to your English class, sitting down silently.

Why did you have to fall for the guy who couldn’t smile?

***

You had Study Hall with Lukas Bondevik. In fact, he sat just a few tables in front, studying his textbook and taking very detailed notes. You took out a book and opened to the page you left off, but you kept finding yourself looking up at his beautiful back.

Life really was unfair for making you fall for him.

Your vision was suddenly blocked by the dark blue pants of a certain Dane. You looked up at Matthias Køhler, frowning at his ear-to-ear grin. He leaned down on his elbows, nearing his face to yours.

“Observing someone?” You narrowed your eyes. “Is it me?”

You cracked a smile and lowered your head. “Matthias, you’re too much.”

He sat down beside you, putting his arm around your shoulder. “Well, I am very attractive. All the girls say so. I am a king, so that isn’t surprising. Have I finally won you over, (name)?”

“Of course you have, Matthias. I have always been in love with you.”

Lukas suddenly stood up, collecting all of his things and putting them into his book bag. Matthias and you exchanged looks. He walked past your table, and you could swear you heard him mutter something about people not letting him study, even if he kept that usual emotionless face of his. You found your eyes trailing after him, and you sighed when he walked out through the door to the library after telling the librarian he was going to go study in room 220.

“I’m hopeless,” you told Matthias. “There are so many girls that like him, and he finds me annoying. I should just give up, right?”

Matthias pretended to give this some serious consideration, stroking his clean-shaven chin. “Well, if you put it that way…” He smirked. “Don’t be a baby, (name). Just tell him.” You smiled slightly, staring at your lap. “Now.” You widened your eyes, staring at him. “Go!”

“O-okay,” you stuttered as you quickly grabbed everything and pushed it into your bag. You stood and put on your book bag, grabbing your book in your hand, and you walked up to the front desk. “Can I go study in another room?” You held up your book and a tentative smile. “I have a test next period.”

“Well, room 220 only has one student in it and room 143 has fo—”

“Room 220 would be great!” The librarian gave you a knowing look, and you felt your face heat up, but she handed you a pass. “Thank you.”

Walking out of the library, you glanced back at Matthias. He gave you two thumbs up before he sat down next to a cute sophomore girl whose face instantly became red at the sight of him.

The walk to room 220 felt like it got longer and longer every second that ticked by, but by the time you reached the room, the time that had passed felt too short. Your arrival felt too soon. You weren’t ready for this.

But you had to do this. You had been thinking too much about Lukas for the past two months, and you had to tell him that after three years, you had somehow fallen in love with him.

You reached for the doorknob, peering in through the small glass into the classroom, but your hand froze at the sight of another girl. She had auburn hair in a cute side ponytail, and you were jealous of how cute she looked in the frumpy, school uniform for girls. You quickly backed up and moved beside the door, pressing your back to the door.

Was she confessing?

“Lukas,” the girl said, but her voice was faint thanks to the shut door. “Lukas, I have to tell you…I’m in love with you!” Of course she was confessing. “I know you get confessions all the time, but I swear I’m different. I don’t care if you’re apathetic towards me. I just want to be with you.” Lukas remained silent. You could picture him in your head just staring at the girl blankly, waiting for her to shut up so he could tell her that he wasn’t interested. “I know I’m not the most popular or the prettiest, but if you give me a chance—”

“I’m not interested in girls,” Lukas replied, blank as ever. “I don’t care for romance.”

Your heart missed a beat. Did that mean it was pointless for you too?

You stood straight, sighing. It was best that you just returned to the library before either of those two caught you.

“Why not?”

“Do you really want to know?” There was a slight pause, and you could only assume it was the girl nodding. You were eager to know that too. “Last year, I realized I had been in love with someone since freshman year.” Your breath got caught in your throat. “It’s been three years now, and that girl will never like me back. So, I am done with this…with girls.”

“Then get over her! Start dating other girls and you’ll get over her! Be my boyfriend, and I’ll help you!”

You were done with being an eavesdropper now. It didn’t matter if he said yes or no now because how could you compete with someone he had been in love with for three years now?

You started walking back when something hit you. You had known him since freshman year too. Of course, so had lots of other girls, but that didn’t necessarily exclude you, right? You still had a chance, right, as small as it was?

You turned back around just as the door to room 220 opened, and you quickly opened your book and began reading, walking slowly and pretending to be lost inside your book. Lukas would buy it. You were often seen like this, studying or reading for fun and absent-mindedly walking into people and/or things.

There was a sudden gasp, and you tried to look confused as you paused your reading to look up at the cute girl. Lukas was suddenly at the door, and he stared at you. You could swear that there seemed to be a hint of annoyance on his face, but overall, it was pretty blasé.

“Oh,” the girl said, and you noticed her eyes were rimmed in tears. She looked like a beautiful damsel in distress, the kind guys would pour themselves over. ‘I’m not the prettiest’? You were calling bull on this. The girl was damn near perfection. “Sorry if I startled you.”

“Are…you okay?” you asked as you closed your book.

“Yeah, I’m totally fine. I just…” She was trying really hard to smile.

It was kind of heartbreaking.

“You…don’t have to explain if you don’t want to.”

“Sorry,” she managed. “I have to go.”

She ran past you, and you stared after her. Your chest hurt a bit, and you wondered if that was how you would be after you confessed to Lukas. Suddenly, the fear of rejection became a lot stronger.

“Did you do something to her, Lukas?” you asked, turning around.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, and you found yourself holding your book tightly to your chest. “Go away, (name).”

“I was coming to study—”

“Go back to your boyfriend. I’m sure Matthias misses you.”

He closed the door, and the sound of it slamming echoed inside your brain.

Matthias? Your boyfriend? That was absolutely impossible. You and he were good friends, but he wasn’t your type and you weren’t his. That was impossible.

You headed for the door, opening it. Lukas looked up at you, and he opened his mouth to tell you off, but you didn’t let him speak.

“Matthias isn’t my boyfriend.”

He blinked a few times, his mouth frozen open, but when he finally recovered from your words, he said, “Is that all you came to tell me? Anyway, you should tell him how you feel before someone takes him away.”

He was giving you advice now on how to get a guy? This situation was unbelievable…and it kind of hurt. For the past few months, all these wasted efforts on getting him to notice you—and not as the idiot he seemed to think you were. All the smiling you had done, all the times you had made it so that you and him always met up at the locker, everything… It hurt when the person you liked advised you to go out with another person.

How could you be the girl he was in love with if he so easily gave you away? You were just in over your head.

“You know, for being one of the top students of this school, you really are stupid.” He didn’t seem fazed or offended. He simply stared at you, opened his mouth to speak again. “I don’t like Matthias. I never have.” You saw something light up in his eyes—or maybe you were mistaken, but you didn’t stop. Something had sparked inside of you, and you were going to see this through to the end. You had come here on a mission, anyway. “It’s you, Lukas. I like you. I’m in love with you, even when you’re mean to me. I guess I really am stupid. I won’t bother you anymore, just like you want me to.”

And then you walked out, closing the door after yourself.

Mixed emotions entered you—relief, satisfaction, sorrow, regret. Your feelings were out there now, and he could pick at them all he wanted. He could make fun of them or shun them—whatever.

But at least you had finally told him the truth, and the consequences were something you would have to face later.

For now, you just went back to the library, straight into Matthias’s comfort.

“He doesn’t like me,” you whispered to Mattie, and he broke away from the girl he was flirting with to pull you into his arms.

“He’s an idiot then,” Matthias told you, but when you looked at his face, you noticed some odd about this expression. Determination.

What did he have up his sleeves this time?

***

Your eyes run over the maps depicting the movement of the Confederate and Union army during Antietam. Your eyes rush down to the small boxes of information below the map.

September 4: The Army of Northern Virginia began crossing the Potomac by several fords near Leesburg, Virginia.

What in the world are fords? You make a mental note to check what they are late—

You crash into something that is hard and soft at the same time, and you feel arms go around you as whatever you crashed into slams into the lockers. You look up in surprise, finding yourself staring into blue eyes that hold absolutely no emotion at all. He has blond hair and an awkward curl and a cross in his hair for some reason. His lips are together, but he doesn’t seem to care that you have just run into him.

“O-oh, my God. I am so sorry!” you blurt as you pull yourself away, dropping your book as your hands rush to cover your mouth. “I’m such a klutz. Are you okay?”

He bends down to pick up the book, looking at the title. The Historical Atlas of the Civil War. He hands you the book, his apathetic look letting you know that he doesn’t really care that you have nearly (unknowingly) tackled him to the ground.

“I’m fine. Maybe you should watch where you’re going.”

You’ve been told that before. Actually, just the previous passing period, you had slammed into the muscular body of an attractive Dane. Of course, Matthias Køhler had just laughed it off and asked for your name, even walking you to your class.

“Yeah, I should. Again, sorry.” He doesn’t respond. “Anyway, I’m (name) (last name). You?”

“Lukas Bondevik,” he replies before he turns away from you, and that is what you notice that he is at his locker…right next to yours.

Didn’t they say at the freshman orientation that the lockers you got assigned to were your lockers until your last day here?

“Are you just going to stand there and stare?” he asks.

You rush to your locker, opening it up quickly and placing your book inside. You nervously try to locate your things for your art class, managing to accidentally hit the small pencil box to the ground. You internally scold yourself as you bend down to pick it up, but you find that Lukas has gotten there before you. He stares at your pencil box with the cute bunnies and 토끼 written on it, and you watch as a hint of a smile appears on his face.

But just as suddenly as it appears, it also disappears. His eyes snap up to you as he hands you the box.

“Thanks,” you whisper.

He doesn’t respond, just stands up and grabs his things for his next class period. But, just as he’s about to leave, he says, “Don’t get lost on your way to class, (name).”

You’re positive he’s teasing you, even if he said it without a hint of irony on his face, even if he lacks expression. Even so, you smile a bit.

This is your first meeting with Lukas Bondevik, the guy who can’t seem to smile.

Except it seems you’re the only one who knows that’s not true.

***

You were running late for school. Of course it had to happen the day right after you finally confessed, the morning that you happen to wake up from a dream about the first time you met Lukas. Realizing how late you were, you had run out without a coat on, just the oversized cardigan that was mandatory with your school uniform.

By the time you reached school, even if you were only a ten minute run away from it, you were freezing cold, and you hurried down to your locker, quickly putting things into your locker and only keeping the stuff you needed for first and second period.

Then you thought about what you had done yesterday, and you decided that you would just lug everything around today. You didn’t want to face Lukas, not so soon after yesterday. You just wanted to give yourself enough pep talk about how everything would be fine.

But on your way to class, you realized everyone was staring at you. It was really freaky, and it was kind of hard to zone out when it felt like two thousand people were staring at you.

By lunch time, you were so freaked out that you hid in the empty library since you had Study Hall the next period, and Matthias has to come into the library to find you. He was acting bubbly, more than usual, and he sat down next to you, putting an arm around you. He pursed his lips, appearing to be very pleased with himself.

“Are you okay?” you asked. Then again, he was probably the least weird of everyone today.

“I am perfectly wonderful. Of course, I am me, so I am always freakin’ awesome.”

“Yeah, you’re totally fine. You’re just as full of yourself as usual.” He threw you a look, but you laughed to show him you didn’t mean that in an offensive way. “Did you score a date with that cute girl you were flirting with yesterday?”

“Obviously, but that’s not the point.”

“It isn’t?”

“Let’s just say you’re in for a surprise.” He looked up with a smirk on his face. “Oh, you came quickly, didn’t you?”

“What?” Your eyes travelled to where Matthias was looking, and they widened at the sight of Lukas. He appeared slightly out of breath, his hair out of place. The guy with no emotions was now showing how uncomfortable he felt. “Lukas! W-what are you doing here?”

“Did you get lost on your way to your locker today, (name)?” Your face became red at Lukas’s words. So, it was obvious you were trying to avoid him.

“Ah, Circe just texted me. Gotta go,” Matthias said as he stood up, and he practically danced his way out of the library in triumph.

Circe must have been that girl he had been flirting with.

Lukas sat down next to you, and you found yourself unable to move away from him…or closer. You just froze up, staring at those humble eyes of his, at those pale lips, at his body that was radiating an inviting warmth. His hand touched yours, and you felt your entire body come alive at such a simple sensation.

“Matthias got me to confess,” Lukas began, and you nodded, still confused but still very distracted by his proximity and the feeling of his skin against yours. “Jeg elsker deg,” he whispered.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s Norwegian,” he mentioned, not answering your question—well, sort of, because right after that, his mouth suddenly covered yours.

You quickly melted into the kiss, even if you were stunned that this was actually happening. Your eyelids fluttered close, and you could feel his eyelashes against yours, could feel his fingers slowly grasping your chin. Your hand reached up for his chest, grasping his blue sweater and pulling him closer to you.

“It means that I love you,” he whispered against your mouth after you two finally broke apart, and he rested his head against yours. A soft smile had appeared on his face. “After three years, I’ve finally told you that I love you.”

“You know, that’s sweet, but there’s no PDA allowed in this school.”

You two looked up at the sight of the librarian, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. The two of you scrambled apart, rushing to your feet.

“I want you to out of here right now, and when you two return for Study Hall, remember what I said,” she barked, and you two nodded as you picked up your bag.

Lukas grabbed your hand and pulled you out of the library.

You weren’t sure where he was taking you or why he was running, but you found yourself grinning, staring at the back of his head.

Matthias must have done so in their shared English class; it was their last class of the day, and if he had gotten Lukas to admit his feelings for you out loud, then that would explain why it had seemed like everyone was staring at you the entire day. That also meant you were the girl he had been in love with for three years. Thinking about it now, maybe you were also in love with him the entire time—it had just taken you longer than him to realize that.

Before you knew it, you were at your locker—and out of breath—and you threw Lukas a look of confusion.

“Put your things back into your locker,” he instructed, his voice gentle and not as annoyed as usual.

Though you were still a little puzzled, you obliged and emptied out your bag, even throwing your bag in there for good measure. Lukas closed the locker for you before he took you away again, heading into the stairwell.

“Now, where were we?” he murmured as he cupped your face and pulled it towards him.

That was when you caught on.

The stairwells had no cameras or teachers, and seeing as how it was lunch, it would have no students as well. It was just you and him, and you smirked as the perverted thoughts came pouring into your brain.

“Right here,” you answered, eliminating the distant between his mouth and yours in a single, beautiful, wonderful kiss with your new boyfriend, Lukas Bondevik. ♥