shattered smile

Chapter 4

Miles, holding a bouquet of tulips, smiles at me.
"What?" he asks innocently. "Oh, these are for you."
Once I manage to pull myself together, I reach out and take them.
"They're gorgeous," I tell him, burying my nose in them. "Thank you."
After putting them in water, i lead him inside.
"So... want a tour of the town?" I say, after sitting awkwardly for a few minutes.
"Sure, that'd be great."
We hop into my car and start out of the neighborhood.
I do a roundabout and pull in to the local Waffle House.
"This," I say, parking, "is Waffle House. Also known as the ultimate after game hangouts and date spot." I realize my mistake as soon as the words are out of my mouth- I implied this was a date. He doesn't seem to notice, so I continue on.
"You'll want to get the Funny Face to start. It's really good, actually."
We walk inside and grab a booth, and I notice some other girls from school. Slouching down and pulling my hoodie back on, I pray that they don't see me- but I'm not lucky and they see me and prance over.
"Reese! Wow, snagging a new boy already? How'd you ever get someone like him?" Ella, bitchy cheerleader #1, purrs.
"Witchcraft?" her crony, Marie, cackles. I take a deep breath and mumble something like "stop."
But then Miles stands up and crosses his arms. "I invited her out."
"Oh, hon," Ella smiles, "you could do so much better!"
"No, I couldn't. Reese is beautiful and smart and kind, and that's more than you."
Ella scoffs and flounces away, Marie following. I stare wide eyed at Miles.
"Why'd you do that?" I ask.
"Because they can't treat you like that." he shrugs. "Now, should I get whipped cream on my funny face?"