Citrus [completed]

Chapter 11

A few days after that weird conversation I had with Vanessa at The Viper, we sat in the food court of Iverson's campus. It was large and there was a constant quiet buzz from all the students there. It was a nice spot to relax on campus.

I steadily ignore Blair as she calls my name repeatedly. It's become second nature to tune Blair out, a talent I am proud of. I butter my bagel as Blair's eyes narrow on me. "You have such a talent for pissing me off," Blair hisses at me. I face her as I smile, sliding farther into my seat.

"I've only had a decade to practice," I've done it like it was my job since middle school. Blair was just a little shit right back to me, so I didn't feel bad.

"It's like you hate me," Blair plops her head onto the table. Eden rolls his eyes at her dramatics. I was happy to notice that Vanessa even seemed used to Blair's act and didn't glance her way.

"Do you remember what happened last time you took me with you on a double date," I begin. Blair winces slightly, but I don't stop, "I got a stalker,"

"We were thirteen. How was I supposed to know Melissa Pelussi was going to go through your trash," Blair tried to argue. My eyes narrow on her.

"Ask Eden," I throw him under the bus. Eden looks up, dropping his pencil before he crosses his arms.

"Don't bother." Blair looks discouraged as she slides into her seat more with a pout on her lips. I pick up my pencil to continue sketching. Eden, slowly abandoning his homework because of the terrible influence of Blair, begins ranting about the last time Blair had taken him on a date with her. It had included a trip to the circus and ended with Eden's pants catching fire.

My little focus on Eden's story shatters when I hear a quiet ringing. It piques my interest when I realize the ringing comes from Vanessa's small clutch. I watch her dig for it, wincing when she glimpses the contact. A V forms in between her brows as the phone stops ringing in her hand. She bites her lip before sliding it back into her purse. I'm tempted to ask her what it was about, but her purse vibrates again.

"Are you going to answer that?" I ask as I gesture towards her purse.

Vanessa grunts as she stands up from the table, "Give me a second, I have to answer this call." With that, Vanessa quickly accepts the call and stalks away from the table. Eden nods before going back to his story, but I barely listen as I track Vanessa as she walks out of the building and stands by the front door. I watch her through the window, creepily, as she has her conversation on the phone.

Normally, I wouldn't worry about this, but I watch as Vanessa speaks into the phone, shaking her head, flicking her hair side to side. Her posture becomes tenser and tenser the longer the call goes on. Whoever she's talking to must have a lot to say as Vanessa barely contributes to the conversation and listens. Occasionally Vanessa will speak what looks like a sentence, but it seems as if she's cut off more.

I turn away, giving her a few seconds after the call to collect herself and for me to pretend like I wasn't intruding on something that felt personal. I pretend that I was listening to Eden's story all this time, nodding as if I know what's going on. It takes about three minutes for her to collect herself before Vanessa makes her way back into the cafe and starts heading back towards us.

When Vanessa comes back, she smiles once at Blair, but I freeze in my seat. It's not right. Since the night we had gone out Vanessa had smiled an open and friendly smile, but this one was icy. Whatever had happened when Vanessa had walked away from the table, it had upset her. She stiffly sat down into her seat and quickly chimed back into the conversation as if nothing had happened.