Playing Evelyn

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

You know that scene in Mean Girls where Lindsay Lohan walks into the gym and everyone stops talking to stare at her? Yeah, that was exactly what happened when I walked into the cafeteria that day.

There had been a few whispers during my two classes that morning and some very curious glances my way but other than that, nothing too extraordinary had gone down.

Then I’d walked into the cafeteria.

It was almost like a wave went through the students. It started with one guy who nudged his buddy and pointed at me and quickly spread until every single eye in the place was on me.

I backed up a step and bumped into Gabriel. “Looks like we should’ve gone out for lunch,” he muttered as he took in the scene in front of him.

“Yeah,” I said breathlessly.

One guy whistled at me, setting off a bunch of others who seemed to think it was a brilliant idea. I rolled my eyes at the crowd as a few of them started to call out remarks.

“Hey baby, where have you been hiding?” a football player said, looking me up and down.

Gabriel stiffened as he scowled at the idiot.

“I just joined the soccer team!”

“You’re looking hot for a nerd!”

Was that supposed to be a compliment?

I opened my mouth to say something but didn’t get a chance to.

“Stop!” Gabriel shouted, taking a step so that he was standing beside me. He flung his arm around my shoulders and my eyes widened when he pulled me closer to him.

Once I was snug against his side, I hissed, “Gabriel, what the hell are you doing.”

He ignored me and scowled at the guys in the cafeteria. “If anyone says anything about Evie ever again, I’ll find you and trust me, you won’t like the result.” He said threateningly, tugging me closer suddenly, making me stumble until the front of my body was plastered to his side. I ignored the tap dance my heart was doing and put my hand on his abdomen, intending to push away.

“She’s mine,” he said quietly but the sound carried judging by the moment of shocked silence followed by the roar of conversation as everyone turned to the person beside them to gossip about what had just happened.

I pushed away from Gabriel and for a second I could only stare at him with my mouth hanging open. He looked down at me, his expression curiously blank.

I snapped my mouth shut and glared at him. “What the hell, Gabriel?”

He didn’t say anything. I groaned and turned on my heel, leaving the cafeteria. The hallways were mostly empty so I moved quickly towards the school entrance. I needed some air.

I had just made it outside when someone grabbed my arm. I whirled to face Gabriel and cursed my traitorous heart when it did a little flip as his hair blew in the light breeze and his eyes became a lighter blue in the sunlight.

Hormones are so annoying.

“What the hell just happened?”

Uncertainty crossed his eyes for a second and he ran a hand through his now windblown hair. “Evie, I…” he trailed off, searching for words.

“You what?” I asked crossing my arms and tapping my foot. “You thought that when I agreed to hang out with you more it meant that you could make totally barbaric statements and embarrass me in front of the whole school?” His eyes turned dark as he stood completely still and glared at me. I ignored him. “I’m not that fragile, you know. I could’ve handled a few comments about my whore-ish ways. Now everyone’s going to be talking about how the school’s bad boy fell for the invisible yet slutty girl who up until a few days ago, no one even knew existed.” I let out a frustrated breath and impatiently shoved a strand of hair out of my eyes.