Hellfire's Angel | Stranger Things

The Lunch Table

           He was on her mind all morning, she couldn't concentrate properly in class. Jackie knew, she could read her friend like an open book, plus the marks on her neck were a dead giveaway.

"Good night, was it?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Frankie replied with a smile.

"Chemistry homework, was it? Or something a bit more physical?"

She tugged at the collar of her turtleneck jumper. "How obvious are they?" she asked.

"Very. But I know what I'm looking for. I'm sure no one else will notice. Does he, uh, know what he's doing then? Or are you teaching him?"

"Oh, trust me, Jack, it was all him. He absolutely knows what he's doing."

Her friend flashed her a wicked grin. "Damn, so Hellfire is where it's at. Who would have guessed? Maybe you could set me up with a friend, ooh, we could go on double dates!"

"Whoa! I don't know about that. I mean, we haven't even been on a proper date yet." Jackie raised her eyebrow at that. "We've hung out, done date-like things, I guess. But nothing we've ever called a date... I'm not even sure that we're dating. We're still just friends."

"Darling, I swear, you are your own worst enemy. Just date the boy. I think he could be good for you. He puts a smile on your face and he knows what he's doing. There is nothing stopping you."

Actually, there was plenty stopping them. For starters, it felt too early after breaking up with Travis. Now there was Gareth to consider. However, the cons couldn't outweigh the one pro which mattered most to her; she really liked this boy.

They met up with Beth for lunch, chatting about their classes while queuing with their trays for food. Jackie was telling them about her bad Spanish test results when Beth suddenly groaned. "What the hell."

Both Frankie and Jackie followed her gaze to the lunch table they had been occupying every day since the milkshake incident when they no longer felt like sitting at their old table. People were sitting at it. And not just any random strangers, which she wouldn't have minded. It was Tommy and Travis and a couple of their friends, while the other boys they usually sat with were at their usual table.

"Are they taking the piss?" said Beth, "They can't have both! Where are we going to sit?"

There were spaces at other tables, but there weren't any empty ones. Frankie weighed up their options as they collected their food. Either they act like boss bitches and sit at their table anyway, ignoring Travis and Tommy, but she knew that would end in conflict. They could sit at their old table, with the lesser jocks who would probably have something to say but wouldn't be as bad.

They could sit outside, but it was getting colder, the weather was turning and it could definitely rain. The best solution was to sit at a completely different table with space. And then she saw just the table.

"Follow me, say nothing, and be nice," she said, picking up her tray. Jackie was right behind her, Beth took a moment before falling in several steps behind. "Hi, I don't suppose these chairs are free?" She looked from Gareth to his other friends first, her gaze falling on Eddie last, blinking slowly.

"Uh, sure," he said, completely taken by surprise.

"Great!" She slipped onto the bench next to Gareth. Beth sat down beside her, and Jackie opposite. She smiled at the boy she sat next to.