dead roses & body counts//tøp

two - normal

song of the chapter - alphabet boy - melanie martinez

/ashley/

Barely having enough time to mutter a quick apology to Josh, I chased Jenna to the bathroom, just at her heel. Once she was hiding behind the safety of the door to the women's bathroom, I pushed the door open and stomped it shut with my heel.

"Jenna Black!" I grit my teeth. Jenna looked in my direction, head bowed in shame already. My expression softened, and I managed a small grimace. "Sorry." She shook her head, her own silent way of forgiving me for raising my voice. I walked over, wrapping my arms around her. In the comfort of the hug, Jenna leaned her head on my shoulder and took a deep breath. I could feel her anxiety like it was some devastating magnet looming above her in a invisible cloud. It tugged and pulled at my heartstrings and toyed with my own brain, as if being close to her gave the magnet some power over me. I pulled away, more quickly than I intended to. Jenna rubbed her temples, a nervous habit she'd developed even if there was no headache. I tugged on her sleeve gently, trying to arouse some interest to the activities on the other side of the door. "C'mon, don't chicken out on me, Black." I smiled a little, a small smile that I knew Jenna would offer me if our places were switched. She gave me a small smile back, but reluctance still kept her away from the door. "What are you so scared of?" I groaned, shaking her arm. Jenna giggled quietly, but she still shyly pulled her arm away, meekly shrugging.

"What if they don't like me? Or what I think? And there's so many of them..Higher chances of me saying something stupid." She mumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"Chances are, they'll love you and your silly, twisted up, poetic mind. C'mon, genius, let's go. Dazzle them and rock their socks. Besides, it's the librarian and a freaking library club. We won't have to come back if everything's that bad." When I started to open the door a little, she squeaked slightly. I closed it again, waiting as she tapped her bottom lip as words stumbled around her brain, each one fighting to come out first.

"Deal" was all she said, so I opened the door and grabbed her hand so she had no way to escape. I led her back to the circle of chairs, suddenly taking a moment to appreciate how happy everyone seemed, talking to one other. People talked, catching up before the meeting began. Mrs. Westing talked to Josh, and he laughed about something, his cheeks tinted a light pink. It was kind of cute, what with it matching his red hair a little. I wanted to ask him about the brand of dye he used.. Maybe take some tips...

Jenna sat down, fitting so snugly in a great big tan armchair she could cross her legs criss-cross and still fit her purse in front of her. I sat in the smaller chair next to her, waiting for the other seats to gradually get filled. I examined my surroundings and took a better look at the other people; there was a short girl with hair split into two colors, another girl with a cool eyebrow thing going on, some guys whose eyes and faces were glued to their phone, some probably boring adults, Josh, Mrs. Westing, and an empty chair next to Josh. He looked around, his gaze traveling the entire room but avoiding the empty chair. I wondered why, and was about to ask, but Mrs. Westing cleared her throat.

"We have some new members today. How about everyone introduce themselves, say our names, and a little something sweet and extra?" She offered us big smiles, looking around at the circle for signs of agreement. She turned to Josh, who seemed eager enough to go first. He laughed a little, the corners of his eyes crinkling as his face lit up with a glowing smile; "Hi, I'm Josh. I used to drum." He gave Jenna and me a little wave again, and I waved back slightly, biting the corner of my lip. From him, the others picked up.

The next guy looked like a typical douche; he was someone who'd probably say something annoying without properly chewing his sandwich and then still hopelessly worshipped by half the unfortunate chicas around him. "I'm Brendon. This was not my idea." He pulled at the collar of his baggy maroon sweatshirt, and I heard Jenna snort quietly under her breath. After Brendon, went cool-eyebrow-thing. "I'm Lynn, and boys are gross." Lynn leaned forward on her elbows, resting her chin on the knuckles of her left hand. She looked like she could easily slit someone's throat by simply glaring at them, so I instantly decided she was someone I didn't want to mess with. After Lynn went and the next person, some late-thirties-near-Thumper-type guy named Rob, the door opened and let in a gust of cold air. I tried to see who had entered, but shelves were in my way and blocked my vision of the door. Jenna seemed too busy staring at a loose thread in her sweater, so I looked back at the rest of the club.