The Grabber's Daughter (A TBP Fanfic)

Chapter Four: Friends?

Melinda's walk to school today was uneventful. She didn't run into Finney again, so it was just her walking to school. With the way she was feeling, she was thankful for that.

It took about 20 minutes to walk there, same as any other day. She had to force herself to walk at the same pace. Her body was screaming at her for it, but she couldn't afford to be late. She walked into the school building, going to math first like she does every other day. She slipped into her chair in the back. It seemed to be like any other day in math. Except today, the boy with the long curly blonde hair was awake and looking at her.

She shifted uncomfortably at his stare but didn't say anything. She was used to not talking unless she was spoken to, and this was no different. Eventually he did speak up after a few minutes of staring at her.

"Heard you knocked my little brother to the ground yesterday. Didn't give me a name, but his description was pretty similar to you," He said gruffly. Melinda looked over at him for a moment before looking away.

"...Yeah. didn't mean to," she murmured in response. "Wait. Your name is Vance right? What was your brother's name? He didn't tell me his either," she asked before thinking better of it. He looks at her for another moment, before giving her a single nod.

"Yeah, that's me. Little brother is Griffin," he replies, and the conversation drops after that as class started. It was an interesting exchange, albeit a short one. After class had ended Vance hurried out of the classroom, so that was the end of it. She also left, though at a much slower pace. She winced a few times at the pain in her back, but did her best to ignore it. Melinda was good at that, ignoring things so she doesn't have to deal with it. She supposed it came with living in a household like hers.

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She had almost forgotten about the fact that she had agreed to meeting Finney's friends during lunch. He found her walking after English, and walked right next to her.

"Hey, are you still good with going to the cafeteria with us?" Finney asked, and Melinda nodded with a small smile.

"Good, just follow me."

And she did. She followed him into the maze-like cafeteria to a smaller table in a corner. There were two boys sitting at the table, only one of which she recognized.

"You're friends with Bruce Yamada?" I ask in disbelief. He chuckled and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Uh yeah, guess I am. I know, it's kinda unbelievable," he replied, walking over to the table with Melinda trailing behind him. "Hey guys, this is Melinda Shaw, the girl I told you about, Melinda, this is Bruce Yamada and Robin Arellano."

Bruce gave her a little wave and a welcoming smile. Robin just looked up at her and gave her a half smile.

"Hi Melinda, it's good to meet you," Bruce said to her. Robin still said nothing, just looking up at her with a curious look. When Melinda made eye contact with him, she felt... something. Something about his warm chocolate eyes looking at her made her face feel hot. She broke off eye contact and gave a little wave herself.

"Hi," she said quietly. Finney sat down at one of the seats at the table across from Bruce, so she sat in the seat next to him; which was directly across from Robin.

"Hey," replied Robin, finally saying something. He had a little half smile on his face which once again made her face feel warm. She didn't know why she felt like that, and like most things she put it out of her mind for now. She gave a smile back , still not really making eye contact.