Lights That Dance To Her Heart

Chapter 4

<<•AJ's P.O.V•>>

"Oi. Are you even listening to me?" Max flicks a pea in my face, it bounced off my nose and landed on the tray below my head.

I'm staring at the entrance to the cafeteria. Just watching or, more importantly, waiting. I'm waiting for Rachel to come out of those doors. Smirk on her face and dance her way over to the table, Emma trailing after her. She would come over here and say what she did to that girl, telling me how she embarrassed her in front of everyone or how she shoved the poor girl in the janitor's closet and locked her in.

"And she screamed and screamed for me to let her go," She would say, always with a smile maybe a giggle or two. "but I'm not planning to. Until tomorrow."

"He's waiting for his girlfriend." Dan says from across me. I glance over at him, he's not even looking up from his spoiled pizza.

As I said before, I did sit with people who were "popular" in this school. Dan Micha. Brown haired and hazel eyes. He's popular for being athletic. He was the soccer team's captain but was kicked off because he got into a fight with a member from another team. He claims that he only did it because the member attacked Dan's teammate, Spencer Terry. I don't have a problem with him, he seems chiller than the other people that sit at this table. And yeah, I can consider him my friend, what's wrong with that?

"Why don't you ask her out?" Harvey said from beside of him. Harvey Pecolly. A dirty blonde with a deep voice that can be hard from miles away. He's popular for being one of the best players on the basketball team. And he, too, is wearing shorts (I can see Max shifting uncomfortably out of the corner of my eye). He asked if me and Max could join the basketball team, I figured because of Max's height and my muscles (I have been working out after 6th grade). Of course Max denied, but I considered it. He is also cocky after winning.

"I'm not asking her out." I hold back a scoff, then I turn my attention to Dan. "And yeah, I guess you can say I'm waiting for her. But mostly because I'm afraid what she's done to the girl." I shift my eyes back to the double doors.

"The girl?" Max said from beside of me, mouthful of fries.

"Yeah." Angela says from beside of Max, "The new girl. I heard from Emma that the girl was targeted by Rachel because AJ over here was acting thirsty." She leans forward on the table and smirks at me. Angela Carol. Popular for being... I don't really know what. She just appeared here for some reason. Maybe it's the rare occasion of Rachel actually liking someone.

I blush and awkwardly scoff. "Okay first off, I was acting thirsty." I hold up quotation marks, "and second, she just reminds me of someone I used to know." I turn my head back to the double doors, trying to cover my cheeks with my sleeve.

Suddenly, the doors swung open, the clack of the handle hitting the steel frame silenced the cafeteria for just seconds before it was drowned out by the intriguing conversations erupting again. But I know everyone has their ears tuned to the entrance of the room.

It's Rachel, Emma... and the girl. They glide through the room, ever so graceful and ever so gently, to get in line for the food. As they go through the line many situations run through my head. What are they doing in line together? Rachel looked ready to kick the new girl's ass when she saw me looking at her. What's going on?'

There is an obnoxious laugh coming from the line, Rachel. She's forcing herself to laugh I can tell. I've heard her real laugh, like someone dragged her voice box on gravel. This laugh is soft and bubbly, similar to the popping of bubbles. But there is a laugh that I barely notice, one that's more familiar than Rachel's. It's crisp and sweet, and it ends with a cute sigh. I pick my head up from the table to look at the line. The girl is standing beside of Rachel, beaming up at her. Something rushes inside me, like an old feeling.