For as long as she could remember, Iris Thorn had been alone. She never had many friends, and never took a liking to anything social.
After her parents decide to open a restaurant in a new state, Iris leaves behind her past hoping to change who she...
"And sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in." -Jane Austen
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"Watcha looking at, freak?" Kyler's voice was a loud boom ringing through every nerve encompassing Eli's body.
He shuddered, putting distance between him and the boy who enjoyed torturing him on the daily. His hands immediately found the hem of his sweater and he toyed with it, wanting to release his anxiety somehow.
He didn't have Demetri by his side. Hell, he didn't even have his new friend Miguel by his side.
"Cat got your tongue?"
Kyler stepped in front of him now and Eli cursed under his breath. There was no getting out of this. The last of the students wandering the halls had gone into their classes once the bell rang.
He zoned out as Kyler continued laughing at him.
Part of Eli was actually kind of happy they were messing with him now, instead of when he was with Iris.
That kind of embarrassment he could not handle.
When the usual beatdown was done, Eli made his way to class, ignoring the stares he received when he walked into chemistry late. Miguel and Demetri gave him a confused look and Eli mumbled the Kylers name soft enough so that they could hear.
They all looked down at their worksheets of naming elements and did not utter another word to one another.
༶•༶•༶
"So, what was it like in Canada?"
Eli perked up at Miguel's voice, asking Iris a question.
The red-haired girl pursed her lips and put her hands on the cafeteria table, "cold. Very cold."
Miguel nodded his head, extremely interested in any information that was different from what he already assumed Canada was like.
"Yeah but other than that?"
Iris shrugged her shoulders and looked down for a moment, trying to uncover any hidden memories she had with the country that was now in her past.
"Boring? It was nothing like this. No sunshine every day, no clear blue skies that look straight out of a movie. The beaches were shitty and the schools were extremely dull. No one really went out after school and walked around because again, it was nothing like this."
Her face fell for a moment as she realized it wasn't all that bad.
"But, the winters were magical. Like something straight out of a Disney movie. The snow would shut down places all the time and we would all be stuck inside. But instead of complaining, everyone was happy about it. And in the summer, when there was not much to do, the drive-in movies were always packed."
When she realized she was rambling, Iris cleared her throat and let out a dry chuckle, "I guess you don't appreciate something until you've lost it."
The three boys looked at her with pitying faces and Iris hated it. She hated how she just spilled out so many things from her past to people she barely knew.
Miguel spoke up first, not wanting the redhead to feel embarrassed, "That sounds really cool Iris."
He also put his hands up on the table, fidgeting with one of his hands, "I moved here too so I know what it's like to feel different in an area that is foreign."
Demetri cut off Miguel, "Is that why you're always wearing sweaters and pants? I mean it's like 80 degrees out."
Iris internally panicked for a moment as she racked her brain for anything to say. Any excuse, any lie to keep her secret safe.
But before she could speak up, Demetri answered his own question, "Well I guess it's a change from always wearing warmer clothes."
Iris nodded her head, agreeing with him. She sighed, subtly putting her hand across her heart to try and stop it from beating so fast.
"I still haven't gotten a run down on this place." She aimed her question toward the group of boys, but she looked at Eli as she said it, hoping to make him feel a little less nervous.
"Eli looked to Miguel who looked to Demetri."
"I mean, we aren't exactly the greatest people to answer that question."
Eli nodded his head and looked over to Iris, finally meeting her eyes. "Yeah, we don't exactly go out that much." His voice came out sharper than before and was slightly raspy.
"That's okay, but you must know at least one cool spot?"
"Oh yeah, I mean there is golf n stuff. If that's what you consider to be cool."
Iris thought for a moment. She wasn't great at golf, well she wasn't great at any sport for that matter, but at least it was something new.
