(Normal warnings...last night when I couldn't fall asleep, I decided to widen this little world ;) may be some new faces! also click to see amazing fanart by @honorcrafty!!) Chapter 24: June Things I've never had: ~A late assignment ~Cotton candy ice cream ~A dog ~...Best friends. Real, true best friends Monday, Oct 30th, 11:46am 'Srry, don't think I'm going to be able to meet up anytime soon.' That's the sentence that feels branded into my mind. It was the text message I got three days ago, merely an hour after leaving Kai Brooks house. Why must he be so confusing?! I sigh, picking through my lunch, not feeling hungry. I wish I knew why he was so friendly one moment and the next, couldn't seem to get far enough away. My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of someone's tray clacking down next to me. I startle and glance up, meeting eyes with one face that everyone in the school knows, even if she's only been here since this year. Olivia Ashlen. Daughter of Penelope Ashlen, Hollywood star. She definitely inherited her mother's grace and good looks. The girl is tall and slender, with cinnamon colored skin and dark curly hair. She's the sort of beautiful that doesn't look real. Beside her is a girl who's been in my class since freshman year. Where Olivia is tall and willowy, she's short and petite. Her hair is what I think people call strawberry blonde, just a little lighter than your average redhead. She has bright green eyes, freckles, and a small button nose. Annabelle Prissah, more widely known as Annie. I blink at them both, uncertain why they would be sitting here, of all places. It isn't like there's a lack of spots. Olivia nudges Annie, who blushes and shakes her head. Olivia rolls her eyes, then turns to me. "Hi, I'm Olivia, but you can call me Liv. This here's Annie." I nod. I know. She continues. "And you're June, right? You're kind of famous around here." I nearly snort. That's certainly something out of the mouth of someone who is constantly featured in celebrity magazines. Annie nods, then smiles. "You and Kai got trapped in the school, right? What was it like? Was it scary? What did you eat? Where did you-" "She looks shy, but don't fall for it." Liv cuts in, shaking her head. "Once you get that girl talking, she'll never shut up." She smiles though, good-naturedly. "It's-okay." I say with a quiet smile of my own. It's...kind of nice to be talked to like this. Like we're in on something together. "I've wanted to talk to you for ages!" Annie admits, beaming. Now that I've shown I'm not going to bite her, she seems to be settling in, getting comfortable. "I don't know what I would do if I got stranded in the school!" "I would break down the door." Liv says, scrunching her nose. "No way am I staying in this creepy place at night. Give me detention all you want, I'm getting out." I laugh. It feels good. A little unfamiliar, here, like this, but good. "It wasn't all that bad. Kai and I played games and explored and..." I trail off, memories flooding to me. Liv and Annie make eye-contact across the table and raise their eyebrows but say nothing. I clear my throat. "It's not...I mean, it's just-" I don't know what to say. Liv and Annie nod though. "Complicated." Annie fills in. "We get it." Liv says, flipping her hair over her shoulders. "I've only broken up with Brayden-what? Four times this month? New record." Annie makes a face. "You should NOT take him back. It's just like...his vibe. I don't like it." "Vibes. You're going by 'vibes'? Is this why you are so blind to the fact that you and Cody CLEARLY belong together-" "Liv!" Annie squeaks, darting a glance around. "I've told you already. No. And that is not at all related to your jerk of an ex." "What do you think, June?" Liv asks, turning away from Annie. I start at being addressed, then shrug. "I don't know him all that well. He does have a sort of...arrogant resting face though, I feel like." "See? SEE?" Liv rolls her eyes. "Annie, honey, please don't pretend you have a decent taste in guys." "It was ONE TIME okay? One time!" "It was not just one time." Liv whispers to me and I laugh. They stay there for the rest of lunch, laughing and telling stories. I've never been part of a group like this before. But honestly? It feels like home. Chapter 25: Kai People I should NOT take advise from: ~Wyatt Carter (Most of the time) ~Cody Reeves (Sometimes) ~Cyrus Reeves (ALL OF THE TIME) ~...basically my entire friend group of idiots^ Monday, Oct 30th, 11:30am "No. NO. I refuse to accept it." The fire in Wyatt's eyes is legitimately scary for someone who rarely isn't smiling. I sigh. I knew he'd take it bad. "Okay-done, I have a plan." Wyatt folds his hands together. "You hide in my basement. My brothers NEVER clean down there-even the FBI wouldn't be able to find you." "Wy-" I start, but he interrupts. "Or better yet-Liam can hijack your car the day before you're supposed to leave. He knows how to do all sorts of stuff he shouldn't!" "Wy-"
"What about the barn? Up in the loft? You could like, build your whole own place up there-" "Wyatt, listen-" "NO, Kai." Wyatt shakes his head so hard I'm surprised he doesn't scramble his brains. "You can't leave. I don't want to hear 'it's going to be okay' or 'I'll visit you at Christmas' because if this starts to feel real, I'm going to cry, and I can't cry because we're in the cafeteria and everyone will see and I'll be forever known as a crybaby and be bullied because you won't be there to stand up for me and-" His voice is getting steadily higher and more shaky so I grab his shoulders. "Okay. Okay?" "Okay." Wyatt won't look up. "This is stupid. I should be comforting you, not the other way around-" "No. Don't talk about it. We're gonna figure it out, okay? That's what we do. You and me. We figure it out. We get through it. Right?" "Yeah." Wyatt nods and lets out a long breath. His eyes lock with mine. "You don't want to leave, right?" "No." I feel my own eyes well up and dart my gaze away, blinking hard. "Not at all." "Good. I don't want you to." I see the twins coming over so I send Wyatt a look that hopefully says 'do NOT talk about this'. Cody sets his tray down, puts his head on the table and groans. Cyrus swipes own of his fries and sits nonchalantly on his other side. Despite being nearly identical, Cy and Cody might have come from different planets. Cody is sweet and quiet and thoughtful. Cyrus is loud and carefree and what a lot of girls call 'charming' and I would call a hopeless fl1rt. "What's up?" Wyatt asks, scooting his plate away so Cody's dark hair doesn't get in the ketchup. Cyrus waves his hand dismissively. "Annie-freaking-Prissah. What else? I've been telling this man for YEARS to move on but he's stuck on her like cement." Cody sits up and glares. His already naturally messy black hair is even more tousled, making him resemble his brother even more, though his eyes have more blue in the gray. And Cyrus has more pronounced dimples. "It's not my fault you don't understand commitment-" "I don't understand fawning over someone who clearly thinks of you as a brother-" The two start to bicker, something they do a lot. Especially about this topic in particular. Cyrus is more...let's say-fluid with relationships. In one one moment, out of it the next. Cody, on the other hand, has been in l0v3 with his best friend for the larger portion of his lifetime. Without much hope of it being reciprocated. Wyatt and I make eye contact across the table, sharing an amused grin, as we usually do when these two make a scene. "C'mon guys." I say with an eye roll. "We all know Cody isn't suddenly going to get over Annie and Cyrus isn't suddenly going to become the perfect citizen-" "Already am." Cyrus says with a wink. Wyatt smacks his arm. "Perfect bane-of-my-existence. Olivia. Ashlen. Are you serious?!" Cyrus shrugs and smirks. "She's cute." "First of all," Wyatt says, glaring. "She isn't single. Second of all-you know how I feel about her!" "First of all," Cyrus mocks. "Yes she is. I'm not THAT kind of dirtbag. Second of all, yes-secretly pining, dreaming of her hands in your hair, yours on her hips-" "SHUT UP RIGHT NOW-" Wyatt throws his hands over his ears, so red he might be changing species. If looks could k!11, Cyrus would've been MORE than six feet under. We all burst out laughing-except for Wyatt who scowls at everyone in turn-because the concept is remarkably ridiculous. We can barely go a day without Wy complaining about how much he hates Liv, and everything that she does wrong, everything she's done to him. Secretly, Cyrus tried to make bets with Cody and I on when the two would finally, in his words, 'quit the whining and snog already'. Cody and I wouldn't do that to Wyatt, but that didn't mean it didn't make us chuckle a bit. Though if Wy ever finds that paper, I hope Cyrus knows how to run fast. "Fine. I won't fl1rt with your girl." "She's not-" "Your ENEMY, pardon my language." Cyrus points at Cody. "Or yours. Your girl, I mean. Not cause I couldn't take you in a fight but because I don't want you to cry-" Cody narrows his eyes. "You'd be surprised." He mutters darkly, but Cy ignores him. "What about the Avens chick, huh Kai? Cause if what Wyatt told me was true, you two got awful close over that weekend..." Cyrus smiles wide. I blush. Swallow. Look away. "She's...definitely not 'my girl'." Sure, she's not sitting with her 'complication' right now-in fact she's sitting with Olivia and Annie-but I know better than to take that as something more than it is. Cyrus's teasing grin fades a bit. "Oh. That sucks, man." He pats my shoulder. "Need me to k1!! anyone off for you?" It's so surprising I choke on my water. "N-no." I cough, laughing. "Thanks for the offer though." "Anytime." He nudges Cody. "And that goes for you too. I heard the name 'Gavin' passed around and trust me-I know the guy and I could take him out, easy." And as everyone laughs, I know one thing for certain. I can't leave.
