Daniel
I spot them from across the mall, wandering around the third level shops. Evangeline's smiling brightly, laughing at something Chris said, her arms looped through her brothers'.
I open my mouth to say hi, lift my hand to wave, but drop it to my side, looking away. Ever since the brawl with Owen, I've found it hard to look at my best friends or their stepsister directly in the eye. I scrub a hand through my hair. It's not like it would be too pleasant for them to see me, anyway. I haven't showered nor shaved, and stubble is pricking the lower part of my face. My pants could be used for a parachute and has a hole on the waistband. My white shirt is grey, rumpled and smells like bleach and powdered milk.
A distance away, I hear a an exclamation. I turn and see a figure racing toward me, lustrous dark hair trailing behind like an inky comet as it weaves through the crowd. My lip quirks, previous notions of running away slipping my mind.
She's really been practicing hard, huh...
"Daniel!" A weight slams into my middle, almost taking me down. Small, strong arms wrap around me. Her face is pressed into my chest, I'm pretty sure she can hear the sudden spike of my heartbeat. My hands settle on her shoulder blades, her hair tickling the back of my hands.
"I missed you..." I blanch. Did I hear that right?
I look up to see Max and Chris jogging up behind us. Chris looks super amused, while Max looks a little miffed, but tickled at the same time. I meet their eyes, my lips forcing themselves to curl up. Evangeline lifts her head, seemingly realising that she's unnecessarily clinging to me, and steps back, blushing. Max's thick arms immediately come down around her shoulders protectively.
"Sorry."
My heart flutters for some reason, but I laugh. "No biggie."
"We missed you, Daniel!" Chris grins. "Evie says track isn't the same without you, and class is boring as us without you and your farting noises."
I grin. "Is that all I'm for? Farting good noises?"
"And for us to copy homework off you." I smirk at Evangeline's face. "They don't actually mean any of it, nor do they copy homework off of me." Their hands circle Evangeline in an obvious manner. "Good to see you look well. How've you been?"
I rake a hand through my fringe, it's getting long. "Nothing much. Just chilling at home, seeing the therapist weekly. You?" My mood's dampened again at the mention. Dr Collins is a nice lady in her forties, and is very understanding. So far, I've progressed as much as being able to control myself when in a fit of rage, by counting down.
"Anyway, what're you doing here dude?" Max queries, trying to change the subject in a not so obvious manner. I shrug nonchalantly, forcing a smile. "Gran was getting sick of me just moping around at home, and sent me to get some stuff. How about you?" I incline my head, my eyes on Evangeline."
"We were headed for some sugar. Wanna come?" Evangeline pipes up, smiling prettily, and I can't refuse her shining eyes. Max's lip twitches imperceptibly. I would've missed it if I hadn't forever myself to tear my gaze off of his stepsister.
Ten minutes later, we're all crammed into a booth seat at a cafe called The Bluebell. Apparently, Lucas works here part time. He's not on shift today though, which makes me slightly relived. I did beat his best friend to a pulp. Somehow, since the cafe is full house and here are no chairs available, Max, Evangeline and I are crammed into the booth, while Chris takes the stool opposite us, lacing his fingers together as he scans the dessert menu. Strangely enough, none of them seem bothered by my unkempt appearance and weird odor. (The milk.)
