The confidence in her voice was reassuring, but I knew she was a little nervous about the change too. Even though her outlandish choice of hair color and outfits would beg to differ, Gabby didn’t enjoy a lot of attention on her. We liked our little bubble, it was comfortable and safe–yeah, maybe we did need a reason to be thrust out of it, but that didn't mean I was ready for it.
Gabby Keyes was small, much smaller than me in every possible way–she was 5'4" if she wore her platform combat boots–and thin. She had shoulder-length light brown hair that she hated, so it was always dyed some shade of unnatural color. Today it was rose gold, which was a personal favorite of mine. It complemented her flawless light skin. Her eyes were almond-shaped and deep brown, inherited from her Japanese mother. She had that kind of beauty that couldn’t be applied with a makeup brush.
We walked through the heavy doors and charged to the back where the food was served. I didn't ever buy the school lunch. Number one: it looked grotesque. Number two: I never had the money for it.
I gazed over the options in the line when Gabby noticed I didn't choose anything to eat. "You're not getting anything?"
"Nah, not hungry." I was quite hungry. Since I slept in late, I didn't have time to find anything resembling breakfast at home. The only thing I consumed was a lukewarm café mocha from Gabby, and that was quickly souring in my stomach.
"You can have some of mine," she smiled as she picked up a sandwich, an apple, a granola bar, two cartons of chocolate milk, and tossed them on her tray. Gabby knew everything about me, including the fact that money was tight for my family. Well, it was tight for me. Mom spent like she was a resident of the north side.
Gabby’s rose gold hair swayed as she led the way from the checkout line to the crowded tables. The room was filled with big round tables, each seating at least ten people–more if you included the girls who sat on laps rather than chairs. We scouted the tables, looking for one that was even half empty. Most people were already sitting down and eating.
"I think there's an open table up there by the door," said Gabby. My gaze followed hers and landed right where I didn't want it to. Right on what I didn't want to see.
West, Bronx, Cade, and Axel.
And they were looking at us. And as one would expect by now, we had to pass by their table to get to the empty one by the doors.
"Ash!" Bronx yelled as he furiously waved us over.
Gabby’s eyes widened at the thought. I smiled at her and locked my arm in hers and dragged her to Bronx. "What was that about a comfort zone?”
Cade grinned as we walked up, Axel had his nose buried in his phone, and West was stabbing what appeared to be meatloaf with his fork.
"We couldn't help but notice you two were looking for a table. Well look no further," said Bronx and he waved his hand out, rolling out an imaginary red carpet for our arrival. He moved his chair in front of me and motioned for a stack to the side of the room. "I'll go get more chairs."
"You can sit your pretty little ass right here," Cade said as he patted his lap, his eyes locked on Gabby.
"I'd rather sit on a cactus," she said as she looked at the ceiling.
That's my girl.I bet she was screaming on the inside at the thought of sitting on Cade's lap. She had been freaking obsessed with him for the last three years.
"Ouch, how about a chair instead?" Bronx asked as he shoved a chair in front of Gabby and one where he was sitting.
We both sat down carefully. Gabby fiddled with a lock of her hair–her nervous tell and the only way I knew she was anxious. I dropped my messenger bag on the table in front of me and started rummaging through it, pretending like I was looking for something very important. I couldn’t stand justsitting, especially with an audience. West continued acting like the mystery meat had personally offended him, not giving me a second of eye contact, which I was fine with. He spent all of Saturday night looking like he wanted to murder me so I would take being ignored over that bullshit.
"So, Ashtyn, who's your friend? She's fucking hot," said Cade and he brushed his blonde hair back out of his face.
"You don't know her name? You really are delusional," I tsked.
"I should know it. I feel like there's this alternate goth reality at this school that I haven't been privy to, filled with hot emo chicks and Ireallywant to find out more. Please forgive my ignorance and introduce me." His eyes never left Gabby as he spoke.
"Cade, this is Gabby. You've gone to school with her for the lastsix years. Gabby, this is Cade, a self-centered, egotistical, mega-douche with even douchier friends. He likes long walks on the beach and talking about himself. There, you've been introduced." I dropped my bag on the floor, forgetting about looking for something to keep my hands occupied, and Bronx laughed so hard tears welled up in his eyes. Cade took my shit-talking in stride because he smiled at my rant–neither confirming nor denying what I said. Axel smirked, which I assumed was the extent of emotion that would ever come out of him, and West schooled the grin on his face.
But I saw it. He clamped it down before it could make a full appearance.
"Jesus, who invited the corpse bride and her friend to sit with us?" Asked a nasally voice.
Three blondes approached the table, all with identical sneers on their plastic, makeup-coated faces. The one in the middle–the leader of the pack–was the girl who was hanging on West in front of the school earlier in the morning. The other two looked like clones of her, right down to their red nail polish and bottle-blonde hair.
"I love Tim Burton," I smiled.
All three girls rolled their eyes at my comment as they looked around for a place to sit.
"Bronx, can you go get us some chairs?" Asked the Barbie in the middle.
"No, get them yourself," he said flatly. Bronx was never rude to anyone, so I figured there was some bad blood between him and the Barbie squad. He never even looked up from his tray.