The Rich and The Wolf

22

ELLE

At school, I met up with Rhett in the morning before classes. I had told Kate that I needed to meet a teacher and left her. Except, I really just went out to the parking lot to find the Rreserve kids at the back of the parking lot. They tended to hang out there before school and during lunch. They took off as soon as school was over with.
        I saw Rhett leaning against the truck, his arms crossed and his muscles bulging from underneath his t-shirt. Although winter was nearing and I was in a fall jacket, almost every guy from the Reserve was wearing a t-shirt or a long sleeve shirt. The girls were a bit more sensible and wore coats. Rhett saw me from far away and jogged away from the truck to meet me. He gathered me in a tight hug and I flung my arms around his neck, embracing him. I leaned up to him and pecked him on the lips, a wide smile spreading across his face. He took my hand and led me back to the group.
"Rhett," I protested. "I don't know," I said, a little uneasy about meeting all of his friends.
"Please?" he asked, "They're harmless. I promise," he said. I nodded and pulled me along beside him.
       As I approached the group, I saw heads turn and I didn't meet one pair of angry eyes. Everyone that I got eye contact with was smiling, their eyes warm. Other people were talking amongst each other and didn't notice that I was walking over to them. There was a girl with her arm looped around Chase's and her long hair was braided to the side, a huge smile on her face. She seemed to bounce in her spot, almost excited.
"Guys," Rhett said as we reached the truck, "This is my girlfriend, Elle," he said and smiled widely. I smiled too.
"Good to see you again Elle," Chase said beside me. He nodded and smiled. The girl beside him kept on smiling and bouncing in excitement.
"I'm Anna!" the girl said excitedly and pushed away from Chase. She hugged me tightly and then pulled away to smile at me, "It's about time you came over to get introduced. We've heard all about you!" she cried happily.
       She was very pretty, with long, black hair and bronze skin. She had brown eyes with flecks of gold in them. She was about the same height as me, maybe a bit smaller, but very thin. She wore an army green jacket with a purple scarf around her neck. She paired it with dark blue jeans and just below the knee leather boots. She was very fashionable and totally nice.
"I'm Chase's girlfriend," she explained, "It takes a while to get comfortable around everyone, but they're pretty nice guys once you get to know them," she told me and smiled, she lowered her voice and leaned closer, "The girls might be a little jealous because almost every girl has a crush on Rhett. They're just mad he's taken," she explained. We both chuckled at that and I felt proud of myself for snagging him from the other girls. "Anyways, I'm super happy to finally meet you. It's pretty annoying being the only girlfriend in their family. Now I finally have someone else to hang out with," she whispered to me, "Elle, if you ever need anything, just let me know," she said, "I can't imagine how hard it is to date someone from the Reserve when you don't live there," she said.
"Why is that?" I asked her, puzzled.
"Our lifestyle is very... different," she said and nodded, "We have our own rules; I guess you can say," She explained, "We just live differently over there," she told me.
"It sounds... nice," I gushed at the thought of living there, "It sounds free," I said excitedly.
"Oh it is," Chase said butting it.
"And exciting," Rhett said, "All the time."
"That's true," Anna said, "There's never a dull moment."
"Ain't that the truth," Chase muttered and a collective laugh came from the group.
"You'll get to experience the fun soon enough, eh Rhett?" someone called from the group.
"Aw shut up!" Rhett called back to him with a playful tone, "They make it sound so scary, like we're a part of some dark underworld," Rhett said to me, "We're not. We're just having fun," he said and pulled me close to him. I rested against him and hugged around his middle.
"Hey Elle," I heard Anna call to me. I pulled away from Rhett and looked at her, "There's a party at the Reserve on Friday," she told me with a big smile, "You should get some friends and come!" she said excitedly.
"I don't know," I mumbled and glanced up at Rhett. "My friends... they don't really approve," I explained to her quietly.
"Well," she said and stepped around Chase and moved to me, "You can come with me! More time for us to get to know each other," she said and smiled.
"It would be fun to have you there," Rhett told me and squeezed my waist softly.
"I'll think about it," I said with an honest smile. Rhett was smiling at me and he took my hand just as the bell rang.
"Find me before lunch," I told him and leaned up to look at him.
"I'll be there," he said and kissed my forehead, "Think about the party," he said before we went our separate ways.
       As lunch neared, I began to get nervous. There wasn't any way I could back out of this, nor did I really want to. I was afraid of what people were going to say. Not about me, but about Rhett. I don't think he's ever faced this many judgemental people. As long as he is there for me and I am there for him, it should be fine.
        The bell rang signalling the end of class and the beginning of lunch for seniors and sophomores. Juniors and freshman had lunch after us, when we had third period. I left Government Studies and emerged into the hallway. I didn't have that class with anyone, so I was stuck walking alone. Rhett spotted me before I saw him. I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. I turned to see his smiling face.
"Hi," he murmured into my ear as I reached up to hug him.
"Hi," I said and took his hand. He took my books in his other hand, "I can carry those," I protested.
"It's the least I can do," he said, "An apology for this morning," he said and I looked up to see an apologetic look in his eyes, so I nodded in response.
"How did your morning classes go?" I asked him, distracting myself from the stares I was getting from everyone.
"Calculus was boring, history we watched a movie and we started essays in English," Rhett said.
"Calculus?" I asked him, astonished and amazed with him. I looked at him and he was beaming to himself.
"What?" I asked and chuckled, "I like math," he told me as we reached my locker. I laughed easily at his answer and felt the nerves leaving me.
        I opened the lock, took my books from Rhett and tossed them in the bottom of the locker. I pulled out my lunch and shoved it into my bag before closing my locker.
"Ready?" Rhett asked me reaching for my hand.
"As I'll ever be," I told him and wrapped my fingers around his.
        We walked towards the cafeteria, halfway down the hallway. The halls were still packed with people and usually we would have to weave our way through the crowd. But, as people saw us together and holding hands, the crowd seemed to part. People split apart and stood on either side of the hallway as Rhett and I walked down. It was like we were some sort of freak show. Rhett tightened his grip on my hand and I glanced up at him quickly before returning the squeeze.
       As we turned the corner of the cafeteria, heads still turned to look at us. Rhett and I pushed past a few people who were gawking from the middle of the hallway and into the cafeteria. The smell of greasy pizza and fresh baked cookies wafted into my nose.
"What about right there?" Rhett asked and pointed to an empty table in the back by the windows. I nodded at him and we made our way there.
        As we walked past tables more heads turned. My stomach flip-flopped and twisted, making me feel sick. I didn't know how much longer I could stand people staring at us, like we were some sort of freak-show. I sat with my back to the majority of the cafeteria, something I never would have done before. Normally, I would want people to be looking at me, but not now. Rhett sat beside at the circular table and gave me a weak smile. I just pulled out my lunch bag and began to unwrap my lunch.
"Banana bread?" I offered him, "I packed an extra," I said and handed him the other piece.
"Sure," he said and un-wrapped it and took a large bite.
"Ever heard of manners?" I asked and laughed as crumbs fell from his mouth.
"I'm starving!" he cried with his mouth full. I smacked his shoulder and he laughed, causing more crumbs to fall from the corner of his mouth. I reached over to wipe a crumb off of his lip and he caught my hand in his, twisting our fingers together.
       We ate in silence, as did much of the cafeteria. I finished off my salad and Rhett finished his peanut butter sandwich and ransacked my bag for extra snacks. He found a chocolate-truffle pudding (something that would add ten pounds to me by looking at it) and an applesauce, which he ate both of.
         We began packing up our garbage when two fashionable purses were set onto the table. I looked up to see Kate and Jessica standing with trays and food in their hands.
"Can we sit with you guys?" Kate asked us.
"Of course," I answered her and pulled her chair back for her. She set down her tray and opened the lid on her water bottle. Jessica sat beside her and smiled nervously at me.
"I'm Kate," she said and extended her hand towards Rhett, "Elle's best friend, by the way."

"And I'm Jessica, Elle's other best friend," she said and smiled, extending her hand as well.
"Rhett," he said and shook Kate's hand first and then Jessica's, "Elle's boyfriend," he added with a large grin on his face. My cheeks warmed with what he said, but excitement danced in my belly.
"I'm really sorry Elle," Kate said and turned towards me. She twisted the cap on her water bottle nervously before saying, "For making you choose. If I was a good friend, maybe I would have met Rhett sooner and been more accepting. I'm really sorry," she said. I pulled her into a tight hug and she wrapped her tiny arms around me.
"I'm sorry as well!" Jessica cried, "I can't believe how bitchy we were. We should have been happy for you. I think we were both really surprised about the whole thing, but if you're happy, we are both here to support you," she told me sincerely and got up to give me a hug.
"It's okay," I whispered, "If it were the other way around, I would have done the same thing," I told them and pulled back.
"No you wouldn't have Elle," Kate said, "You're better than that."

       We sat and chatted while Kate and Jess ate their lunch. Rhett and Kate were really nice to each other, Kate even offering to help with some of his classes and Rhett offered the same in exchange. Jessica was level-headed and kind, which was unusual for her. She only made a few snarky remarks, but Rhett just laughed it off. Kate had even mentioned going over to the Reserve one day to hang out with us.
        Maybe this is what Rhett meant when he said we could change things, make things better between the two sides of town. I was looking forward to this change.

The next day at lunch, Kate immediately sat with us and chatted like all three of us had been friends for a long time. Jessica joined us soon after, apologizing about being late and complaining about her Algebra II teacher. I sat with my back to the student body again, still not ready to face the stares and whispers. Rhett sat beside me. Half way through lunch; Kate's boyfriend came to eat with us as well. Rhett and Jake shook hands and discussed football, like they already knew each other. I wondered if Kate had told him about us, and asked him to be civil. Jake was a good guy, just not the one who seemed to be excepting of Rhett.
        A few minutes before the bell rung, Chase walked into the cafeteria doors, Anna holding his hand. I caught their attention and Anna waved, dragging Chase along with her. Chase and Anna sat beside Rhett and across from me and Kate.
"Kate, Jess; this is Chase, Rhett's cousin and his girlfriend Anna," I told her.
"Nice to meet you," Kate said and smiled at them both. Kate extended her hand and shook Chase's and then Anna's. She turned Anna's hand over and squealed. "That bracelet is gorgeous!" she cried excitedly and touched the beads on it. Jessica leaned over and took Anna's hand inspecting it for herself.
"Thanks," Anna said beaming, "My mom makes them on the Reserve."
"Elle, check this out," she said and pulled her closer.
"That is gorgeous!" I agreed and pulled at Anna's hand to look at it closer.
"You guys should come to the Reserve and look at my mom's store," Anna said, "She's got some awesome stuff."
"Definitely!" Kate said excitedly and I watched as her hazel eyes grew round with excitement.
"Speaking of the Reserve," I said slyly and looked at Kate first and then Jessica. I glanced at Anna quickly and she gave me a 'thumbs up' for encouragement, "There's a party there on Friday night, we are all invited," I told them. It wasn't exactly the truth, but Jessica and Kate were more likely to agree to go if they thought they were personally invited, "I know it's a little soon, because we just became friends," I said and gestured to Anna and the others, "But I think it would be fun. Jake is welcome to come too!" I told her.
"You know what," Kate said and tapped her chin, "That sounds pretty good and while we're at it, we should check out your mom's store," Kate said and smiled at Anna.
"It's a date then!" I cried and clapped my hands in happiness. Rhett smiled widely at me from across the table and I couldn't help but smile back.

As the days went on, our cafeteria lunch group got bigger. We had to pull tables together at the back of the cafeteria by the windows. Most of the kids from the Reserve joined us at lunch; sometimes they would stray back to the parking lot to be alone. Megan and Katrina joined our group at lunch as well, guiltlessly flirting with the Reserve guys. Many of my old friends joined us as well. It was a good mix of seniors sitting at our table.
        The only people that didn't join us was Connor. Every day he would sit at his own round table and stare at us. I didn't tell anyone that whenever I looked over, Connor was always looking at me. I didn't say anything about how he was still texting me or how he would look at me in biology. I didn't want to worry Rhett so I kept that information to myself. I was just hoping that Connor would go away and just let me be happy with Rhett.