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Chapter Four ✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
School was the last thing Avery wanted to deal with.
Stepping out the air conditioned van, the warm morning air wrapped around her. Avery swung her bag over her shoulder and pulled her blonde locks out from under the strap. It barely took seconds for people to start staring and muttering. Avery tried her best to not satisfy them, avoiding their eyes and ignored their comments. She waited for Pope to emerge from the drivers side, watching Kie and JJ climb out the backseats.
"Hey, chill out" Kie told JJ, witnessing him take a large swig of alcohol from his flask. Avery rolled her eyes at him, forcing herself to look away.
"If I black out, just don't remind me" He bluntly said. Avery silently hoped that neither of them relied on her to sort him out.
They walked in silence. Avery felt a knot in her stomach. She hugged herself, keeping her gaze on the ground. A yellow slate came into her view and she felt Pope softly grab her elbow to stop her from walking into it. There was a memorial for John B, like any of these kids even cared that much about him.
"I feel like people are staring at us" Kie glanced around to meet multiple gazes. She was right, everyone was staring at them.
"Oh, yeah" JJ mumbled, finally looking around.
"Because they are" Avery quietly said, keeping her focus on the pictures of her friend. She could feel every pair of eyes on her, making her skin prickle.
"Guys, I can't be late" Pope told them as he strolled off towards the entrance.
Avery only followed because she didn't want to be left alone with JJ. Kie followed, "Hey. Hey. We gotta stick together"
Reluctantly, Pope took Kie's outstretched hand. JJ bumped past Avery, muttering, "yeah, stick together"
Avery trailed a few steps behind the trio, clenching her jaw at the sight of them close together. JJ had been caught by Kie, forced to slow his pace to walk besides her. After a few steps, he hesitantly slowed and stuck his arm out. The gesture was almost missed by Avery, she blinked cluelessly at his arm for a second.
"Stick together" She whispered. Her trembling hand reached out and hooked under JJ's arm. It was a familiar feeling, something they had done a thousand times before. But this time, it was completely different.
•✿•✿•
Her phone vibrated on the desk. Avery cringed, thankful that another ringtone went off and disguised the rumble. She ignored the notification, keeping her focus on the lesson. It wasn't until Pope whispered over to her, asking if she got a message from an unknown number. That got her interested. She sneaked her phone across the desk and onto her lap, seeing the notification sitting on her lock screen.
