The first time Merlin and Arthur talk, it's due to a seating chart.
One moment Merlin is sitting with Will and talking about anything that isn't Biology, and the other he's sitting next to the football captain who- if he's being honest with himself - intimidates him just a little bit.
Because Arthur is all blonde hair and blue eyes and arms as thick as Merlin's thighs, and Merlin is just Merlin - some boy in the back of the class who never speaks.
Arthur is surprisingly nice, although a little bit egotistical at times. He's kind, and when he smiles Merlin can see his canines that kind of make him look like an overgrown puppy (Merlin tries not to think about why he's been so focused on Arthur's smile or his teeth because that's a little bit creepy).
They switch seats again once the semester's over, and Merlin figures that that would be the end of that.
Because Arthur is all laughing with friends and doing sports and having girls faint at his feet, and Merlin is just Merlin. Arthur has no real reason to associate with Merlin after this, so Merlin just lifts his bag and sits next to some girl with brown hair as he silently mourns his silly little crush on the football captain.
Only, it doesn't end there.
The second time Merlin and Arthur talk, Merlin is standing in front of his locker.
Merlin is putting away things from his last period when he gets tapped on the shoulder. He expects Gwen or Will, and is ready to complain to them about some random assignment when he is faced with blonde hair and blue eyes instead.
Arthur asks Merlin if he'd like to come to his next football game. Merlin has no idea what's happening, but Arthur is blushing and looking away and running his hands through his hair, and Merlin responds yes before processing anything.
Merlin goes to the game. He has no idea what's happening for the entirety of it, but Arthur smiles at him from the field and Merlin can feel his heart pounding in his ears.
The third time Merlin and Arthur talk, Merlin doesn't quite understand what's going on.
Arthur puts his lunch tray down in front of the seat that is next to Merlin's like he's sat there every day for the past four years. Merlin is a little confused, and wishes that Gwen and Will would stop waggling their eyebrows at him like they're having multiple strokes. When he looks back at the table where Arthur usually sits with his teammates, he can see Gwaine winking at him and making a gesture that should not be made in the school cafeteria.
Merlin is now more than a little bit confused, but he simply eats his soggy slice of pizza and ignores it when Gwen and Will suspiciously has to leave together for some very important business that must be handled together and will take the entirety of the rest of the lunch period.
Arthur is also staring at Merlin weirdly intensely, but Merlin is also staring right back.
Because Arthur is gorgeous and good-looking and built like a Greek god, and you can't really blame Merlin for staring when he's right there.
The next time Merlin and Arthur talk, Merlin is so darn confused he thinks he's losing his mind.
Arthur asks Merlin out for winter formal. Merlin checks behind him for a possible game of truth or dare around the corner, and blinks at Arthur when he doesn't find anything.
When Arthur grows visibly more and more upset at Merlin's silence, Merlin can't stand the kicked puppy expression that he has and straight up asks Arthur if this is a prank. Arthur says no, and Merlin asks why.
Because Arthur is beautiful and handsome and smiles like he's the sun, and Merlin is just Merlin. Arthur could have anyone he'd like in the school, so certainly he would not like the weirdly quiet boy who has holes in his jeans and rips in his sweaters.
Because Arthur tells Merlin that, to Arthur, Merlin isn't just some boy in the back of the class who never speaks, and he isn't the weirdly quiet boy who has holes in his jeans and rips in his sweaters.
To Arthur, Merlin is the boy whose nose scrunches up adorably when he's focused on a Biology paper. He's the boy that Arthur had been looking at from the other side of the Biology classroom long before they got put together in the seating chart, and the boy that made Arthur's heart drop when he realized that he had no actual reason to talk to anymore after they switched seats.
He's the boy who Arthur is sure that his friends are sick of hearing about. The boy with the sassy remarks that make Arthur wants to kiss him, and the boy who Arthur wants to make smile all the time, whose hands Arthur wants to hold.
Merlin kisses him right there in the hallway, because if he held himself back for one more second he might've actually exploded. Arthur kisses him back.
The next time Merlin and Arthur talk (around half a minute after their kiss), Arthur asks Merlin to be his boyfriend. Merlin says yes, and Arthur smiles so bright that Merlin thinks of the puppy again.
Merlin goes with Arthur to the winter formal, even if the tickets are outrageously expensive. Merlin attends every single one of Arthur's games just to be kissed after them, and as he is laying in bed one day with Arthur's chest pressed up to his back and Arthur's strong arms around his waist, Merlin thinks about writing a thank-you note to his Biology teacher.
And while Arthur is still all blonde hair and blue eyes and arms as thick as Merlin's thighs, and Merlin is still just Merlin, Arthur loves Merlin, and Merlin loves him right back.
