Keepers of Ice

Chapter 20 - Kept

The first friend that she had found at the nearby shopping mall was Chloe Walker. She had been waiting near the entrance of the mall and her green eyes lit up with recognition when Stacey had approached her. Chloe had her brown hair tied up neatly in a ponytail and had been reading something on her phone.

"Hey Chloe!" Stacey hugged her friend with a grin. "Are the others here yet?"

Chloe returned her hug with her phone still in hand. "Oh, hey Stace." She turned off her phone and placed it in her handbag. "I saw your boyfriend earlier waiting outside the cinemas. Also, miss Elizabeth just texted me. She said she was going to be running a little late."

"That's so Hailey," Stacey sighed. "Well, let's go look for Cody."

Stacey was wearing black skinny jeans, running shoes and a light blue jacket over a white top. She was not a huge fan of dresses, skirts or high heels even on special occasions such as this one. However, she had allowed Hailey to give her advice on makeup through a Skype video chat a few hours ago in hopes of impressing Cody.

After venturing through the shopping mall for a few minutes, they soon spotted Cody standing just outside the movie cinemas just as Chloe had said he would. Cody noticed them and waved. His wonderful brown eyes met hers and she smiled.

"Hey babe," he said before embracing her in a hug. He then faced her friend. "Hello, Chloe. Where's Hailey?"

"Hey, library monitor sir," Chloe said with a salute. "Hailey said she'll be a little late."

"Please don't call me that."

"Okay then, Stacey's boyfriend," Chloe said with a smirk.

Stacey shot her friend a death stare. "Ignore her. She's just teasing you because she knows she'll be third-wheeling soon," she whispered to Cody.

"You know I can hear you right?" Chloe laughed. "You guys hungry? We should have a quick dinner since the movie doesn't start for another forty minutes and even then, there's still like another twenty minutes of advertisements before the actual movie even plays.

"Yeah now that you mention it, I am quite hungry. What do you guys want to eat?" Cody asked.

"I'm thinking fast-food. KFC anyone?" Stacey suggested. "I'm in the mood for fried chicken right now. Maybe I'll even save some for Hailey."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Hailey a health freak or something? She hates fast-food."

"Speaking of the hater, there she is!" Stacey pointed at a red-haired girl who had just appeared from around the corner. She was strutting through the mall towards them with high heels and was wearing a dress that was a bit too tight for her. Stacey noticed that Hailey had also overdone it with her glamorous makeup, which caused her to cringe. Yet, every teenage guy and girl in the area suddenly had their eyes pinned on her with awe.

Hailey smiled and waved at one of the cute boys who was staring at her. He smiled and waved back a little too enthusiastically. Stacey rolled her eyes. She may be one of my best friends, but Hailey's such a flirt.

"Sorry for being late!" Hailey apologised before greeting her best friends with a quick hug.

"You look like a clown," Chloe teased.

"At least I stand out, right?" the two of them broke into laughter. Hailey turned to notice Cody and smiled. "Hey Cody."

Stacey suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy. She knew that Hailey did not mean it, but she did not like the way her friend was smiling at her boyfriend. Instead of brushing it off like she knew she should have, Stacey turned and observed Cody's facial expression with a frown.