How To Rule Your High School

Chapter 20: A Clique of Two

     I'd planned on Deanna laying an ambush for me before school, so I was purposefully ten minutes late for the bell. It meant I had to trudge all the way to the office for a late slip, but it also meant that whatever confrontation she'd been planning had been thwarted...for now.

     But by lunch, I wasn't so lucky.

     "You didn't think you could avoid us forever, did you?" Deanna asked sweetly, coming up behind me and snatching my arm with a vice grip. Courtney fell in on my other side, shooting me an uncomfortable sidelong look.

     "You haven't returned any of my calls," she whispered, as Deanna marched me towards the cafeteria.

     "Because I really don't want to talk," I said, feeling like crap for saying something to my best friend. But Courtney just looked straight ahead as Deanna led me to my old table. She only released her grip when she'd plunked me down in my old chair. Through the crowd, I could see Ethan enter the cafeteria, casting his eyes around until they landed on me. His brows crashed together in a frown as he beelined our way.

     "I get that you're mad, "Deanna started, leaning across the table from where she'd sat down across from me, "But you don't get to just quit, okay? You're our friend and it sucks to see you hurting when you won't even let us help,"

     "You had your chance and not one of you raised a finger to help," I snarled at her, my arms crossed as I sat there, miserably hunched over among the A-listers. Ethan was almost upon us, glaring daggers at Deanna's back.

     "It was a freaking party Madison! We were all drunk!" Deanna snapped, rolling her eyes, "I mean, come on! One guy makes a mistake and-"

     "You wanna go get some food?" Ethan said loudly, cutting her off as he stopped behind her. Deanna craned her neck to see who dared interrupt her diatribe, only to leap to her feet when she saw it was Ethan.

     "And you," she hissed, planting her hands on her hips as she faced off with him, "Who in the hell do you think you are brainwashing our girl against us?"

     Ethan cocked an eyebrow, sparing Deanna no more than a glance when he looked back at me.

     "You coming?" he said. I stood, despite Deanna's glare.

     "Absolutely," I replied, hoisting my purse over my shoulder. Deanna didn't move, so Ethan had to go around her, her eyes shooting us daggers the entire time.

     "Maddie, please," Courtney said quietly as I passed her, reaching up to grab my hand. I paused, but Ethan snaked an arm around my shoulders, coming up behind me after going around Deanna.

     "Sorry Courtie," I said quietly. Her hand dropped and I turned my eyes forward as Ethan led me away. Tyler had just come through the swinging double doors of the cafeteria, his eyes flicking from me to Ethan, whose arm was still around my shoulders. I couldn't even look at him as we walked away towards the lineup for food.

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     "Thanks for saving me," I said, as Ethan and I wove through the hallways after lunch towards math class. We'd taken up our same spot at the end of the band geek table, only to get death glares from both my old table and Ethan's old table. Clearly neither of them were happy we'd made our own little clique of two.

     "Next time I hope I won't have to," he said, holding the classroom door open for me.

     "She's just...I don't know, she just gets to me, you know?" I said, as we slid into our seats. Ethan sighed.