Nadine's Stuck.

SIX

Nadine's POV:

Is it weird that I have the urge to tell Cade about everything? About my dad, my childhood, my cutting...about it and what he did to me. What did he do to me? I'm just being overdramatic.

There are times where I just want to blurt it all out, but I know that it won't do me any good. Being vulnerable doesn't do anyone any good.

It's 6:00pm (18:00), an hour after we finished coming up with the rules and punishments. Cade and I are walking to a diner that's a few minutes away from campus. He said I'm going to meet his friends there and the freshman they got paired up with, if they signed up to get a freshman. I'm curious to meet Cade's friends, but I'm also scared. What if they hate me? God, they probably will. At least they'll be other freshman there, right?

Neither of us say anything as we walk.

Eventually, we get to the entrance of the diner. Cade grabs my hand and leads me into the diner and then to his friends. A few of them snicker. At me? At us? It must be a comical sight: a frail girl dressed in pinks and cute clothes, holding hands with a tall, muscular guy dressed in black and dark clothes.

Sitting at the table there are two guys and two girls. I assume the girls are freshman.

Cade takes a sit at the table before gesturing to the chair next to him. I sit down in it.

"Everyone, this is Nadine Rosewood, goes by Nadia." Cade introduces me, knowing I wouldn't do it myself.

I received a few waves.

"My name's Elana!" One of the girls says. She looks cheerful. She's wearing a mint green, cropped tank top, jean shorts, and heart earrings. Her light brown hair is thrown up in a ponytail. She's really pretty and I've seen her around school, but I don't have any classes with her. I wonder why she got paired. Maybe she talks too much in class or something? Seems like a silly thing to get paired for. I wish I talked too much...in a good way, not in a bad way, where everyone just wants you to shut up. How do talkative people talk so much? How do I get people to like me? Would they like me more if I talked more? But if I do, I'll say something stupid.

"I'm Kai. Elana's my freshman." He's wearing a band t-shirt and jeans. His hair is dirty blonde and a little scruffy-looking.

I nod in response. I feel my palms get sweaty.

"I'm Akiko." The other girl says. She's decked out in goth clothes. I'm slightly jealous of her height. I'm in the same math class as her, and I know how much trouble she can cause. It's no wonder she got paired.

"Noah. Akiko's senior." Noah seems nonchalant. He's wearing a basic t-shirt and sweatpants, not putting much into his looks, but still effortlessly attractive. He has a medium skin tone and dark brown hair and eyes.

"Where's Riley?" Cade asks.

My heart drops.

Riley. Riley, Riley, Riley.

Riley Davis? No. A different one. A different Riley, they're not talking about him. They can't be.

I know they are.

I hate Riley Davis. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!!! I wish he never existed!

I want to cry, and I feel my breathing get heavier.

It was my fault.

"Couldn't make it. He's probably fucking that blonde girl he was with yesterday." Akiko rolls her eyes and takes a sip of Elana's milkshake.

I'm relieved, and my breathing regulates. If it was him and he was here, I don't know what I would do.

Elana hits Akiko on the arm. "Hey! That's mine!! And you're just jealous he won't fuck you!"

"Shut up, Lana, you called him hot!"

That has to be the worst part. He is hot. I hate that he's attractive, and I hate that I find him attractive.

"Whatever..." Elana moves her milkshake further away from Akiko, shielding it.

"You two are insufferable." Cade rolls his eyes.

"Nuh uh!" Elana retorts.

Cade calls over a waitress to take his and I's orders. Everyone else has already ordered.

The waitress smiles and walks over to us. "Hi, what would you like, Cade?" She greets him. I'm guessing him and friends meet up here a lot.

"I'll have a hamburger, fries, a Coke, and for Rosewood over here..." He gestures for me to order.

"Um.." I immediately start stammering. The waitress eyes me. "Fries...and chicken fingers." I stutter.

She nods and looks over at Cade, furrowing her eyebrows.

"She's my roommate."

The waitress nods again and goes to the kitchen.

That was embarrassing. Humiliating.

. . .

Word count: 806