The Vituperator (NaNoWriMo 2015)

sixteen \\ off

TAE'S SANDWICH gets torn apart in a ravenous motion, disappearing completely into his mouth in under a minute. I can't help but stare, astounded.

"Whuh?" He frowns at me, mouth still full. He swallows down the rest of it with a big gulp. "I'm starving."

"We've got an hour for lunch," I say, "you know you can take your time, right? I got heartburn just looking at you."

"Aw," he coos, putting a his hand on mine gently. I can feel some crumbs on his fingertips. "I didn't know you felt that way about me. I'm sorry, but my heart has been ensnared by another soul."

I tear my hand away, rolling my eyes. "Heartburn is an indigestion thing."

"What ever you say," he says, patting my head.

"Wait a second," I say, turning my head to face him completely. "I never knew you liked someone."

His cheeks turn pink. It's quite an endearing sight. "God, don't say "like," it sounds like we're preteens."

"What do I say then? Love?"

He scoffs, but the blush doesn't leave his cheeks. He looks around the cafeteria, most likely to stall an answer.

"Try... enamored."

"Sure, sure," I say, letting him have a win. "Let's change subject. I think you might turn into a tomato if we don't."

"You know, I miss it when you just didn't talk."

I shrug, crossing my legs in my seat. "Your fault. You dragged me back into regular human reaction."

He takes a bit of my food, plucking a french fry from my tray. "I wouldn't exactly say regular. Not you, not just yet. You're getting there, though. Don't worry."

"I kind of miss being really quiet."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it made me seem creepy. I liked it. I was... strangely intimidating."

"Aw, don't worry. You're still scary to me," he says, using a patronizing baby voice for the last part. He lift a hand to pinch my cheek, and I bat it away before it makes contact.

"Hey, see? You still don't like people touching you. You've still got that, at least," Tae offers with a smile.

I scrunch up my face, glancing at Tae. "I'm actually okay with you. It's just that nobody should ever touch my face. Not even me. Acne's a bitch."

He places a hand over his heart and gasps. If could cry on the spot, he would have. "You're okay with me? I'm absolutely honored!"

"Shut up, you're the most decent out of the company I keep."

"Speaking of the unworthy company we keep," Tae says, turning his head left and right to look around us. "Where is everyone?"

"I think Sasha and Bryson have some kind of club meeting, I heard them bitching about it last period," I offer, eating another fry. With a scan of the occupied cafeteria tables, I don't see anyone from the gang. Sometimes they sit at other tables, I've noticed - but only for a while, to chat for a couple minutes then regroup. It's almost routine.

"Right, right," Tae nods, giving me a sheepish smile as he takes another french fry, "they'll be out soon then. Nick, on the other hand, I think he's absent today."

My stomach lurches at the sound of his name, uneasy. I haven't read on to see what Alona did about Nick, but an educated guess says that this is what sparked events leading her to skip town. If Nick gets any worse, I won't be surprised. After all, Bryson turned out to be worse than I thought too. I can see why they're friends. Awful boys just have to stick together.