Fix You ~Completed~

Act Thirteen

"Lem!" Gale didn't even wait for me to turn around before his arms were around my small frame, yanking me away from the man standing beside me in line at the café. I wobbled a bit on my feet, nearly knocking him over. "Oops, my bad! I don't know my own strength."

"You have the grip of a stuffed bear, Ale," I responded quietly, glancing in the direction of my boyfriend. Kyla was watching with crinkled eyebrows and a pursed mouth. I quickly shook Gale off and turned back to my friend. "Kyla came with me tonight! He, uh, wanted to meet you guys."

My sweet ginger friend swung his arm up and landed it right across my shoulders. "Is that so?" he exclaimed cheerfully, bringing us back beside Kyla. He gave the darkly dressed man a huge, Gale-grin and stuck his other arm out. His hand was the softest hand I'd ever touched in my whole life and I could tell Kyla was disgusted by it. "Hi! I'm Gale, Clem's ginger buddy. Don't worry, though. I don't steal souls; I steal hearts!"

"Charming," was all Kyla said. "It's almost our turn, so decide what you want, Clem."

I only ever got a cinnamon latte anymore, so it took no deciding. Gale remained with us in the line, ignoring the painfully awkward tension that had my throat tightening. "Eddie is a little late tonight. He was doing some Christmas stuff. Last minute shopping, he called it, even though Christmas is weeks away."

"Well, didn't he say he usually does it months in advance?" I pointed out, my voice barely audible over the ruckus in the café. Kyla cleared his throat and I took the obvious sign I needed to get Gale's arm off me. I playfully jabbed him in the ribs and pulled back, moving a tiny bit closer to Kyla.

"Yeah. He's such an annoying, organized human being," Gale sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wished he was a little more... I don't know. Careless?"

"Wow," I chuckled, covering my hand with my mouth.

Kyla's hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist, shocking me into complete silence. He pulled me along to the counter and he gave a confused Jimmy his order. "What do you want, Clem?" he turned to me, his voice gentler than it usually was.

"Your usual?" Jimmy asked, his head turned towards me. I shyly nodded and smiled at the boy with the pink tipped hair. Jimmy smiled, "Right up! And for you, Gale my boy?"

"Boy? I am the same age as you, Jim-Jam!" Gale sassed back, leaning his elbows on the counter.

While they continued their usual banter, I noticed Eddie walking into the café... with two girls beside him. I vaguely recognized them as being friends with Barista Madison; one was this tiny girl from Hawaii or Polynesia and the other was a very rich-and-she-knows-it girl with arms as thin as mine. I have the feeling hers are acquired in a very similar way.

I stepped closer to Kyla, unsure of why I suddenly felt so irritable. Was it seeing Eddie with the girls? I mean, I didn't know them. I couldn't say if they were nice or not, but something about Eddie hanging out with them just bothered me.

Gale said he had just broken up with his last girlfriend two months ago, so I assumed that meant he wasn't ready for a new relationship. It's possible he simply hadn't met anyone yet, but I found it hard to believe he'd be ready to move on after only sixty days. Then again, I didn't know what sort of relationship he had with the girl. Maybe they didn't mean much to each other. Maybe they only went out for a week. Who really knows. Different wounds heal at different rates. It's not like they were soul-mates... probably.

"Hey, guys!" Eddie chirped, coming up behind us in line. When I tried breaking off from Kyla to give him a customary hug, I found myself unable to move. His grip on my hand was bone shattering. I remained by my boyfriend and smiled at Eddie, saying hi. "I see you brought... I'm gonna guess Kyla?"

I felt so proud when I gestured towards him. "Yeah, this is my Kyla!"

"Clem, don't call me that." He glared at me.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly, dropping my eyes. Just as I did that, Jimmy slid our coffee cups our way. Kyla handed him the money wordlessly. "Um, Kyla, this is-"

"Edmund, the hockey player," Kyla finished my sentence, incorrectly.

"Eddie, actually," he corrected, equally cold. I sent him a pleading look. If Kyla thought my friends were assholes, he wouldn't let me hang out with them anymore. I wished I had more time to warn Eddie and Gale; my whole relationship with them was practically riding on this night. "Moving on," Eddie sighed, gesturing to the girls behind him, "this is Jesimae and Kam. I invited them to hang with us tonight. Is that okay?"

Gale gasped, glancing in between Eddie, Jimmy, and I in great shock. "Eddie, are you hoping you score a cute date?"

The smaller one, Kam, burst out laughing while Jesimae rolled her eyes and walked past us boys to get to the counter. Jimmy flashed her a faux-smile and asked what she'd like. "I missed you at work today," he pouted when she asked for a pumpkin spice latte.

"Do you even know my name, Jimmy?" she responded, dolling out some money.

"Sure," he sighed, not holding any shame for his dismissal of the girl. I stared in awe of him. I could never blow someone off like that.

Kyla was staring, too, but at something else. More specifically, Jesimae's chest. It wasn't all that great, either! I nudged him, but his eyes didn't move. He didn't even look bothered that I realized.

I bit my bottom lip, again trying to remove my hand. Kyla let me slip away this time and I stomped over to Gale.

"So," Kyla spoke up, capturing Jesimae's attention. She gave him an impatient nod. "I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"

WAIT. No, I'm misinterpreting this. Kyla is not hitting on Jesimae. Not in front of me, not at all. Kyla would never hurt me like that. Kyla would never-

"I'm a freshman," she said, dismissing him by looking back to Jimmy. "Hurry please, Jim."

"Don't call me that," Jimmy huffed as he worked.

"Ah, makes sense. I'd definitely remember you," Kyla continued.

Gale laid his hand down on my arm, squeezing it. I was about to look away, in disgust, but then Jesimae's fist was flying towards my pathetic excuse of a boyfriend's face and Jimmy was shouting for her to break his legs and Kam was rushing forwards to kick his shins and everyone else just sort of stood and watched. I expected Eddie to intervene and pull the brawl apart, but he looked the most pleased out of all of us.

"You pervert!" Jesimae screeched, nailing him again in the nose. Red stained her knuckle. "You are a fucking creep! I'd never, ever consider you! So stop staring at me!"

"Guys! That's enough!" Gale called, but his heart wasn't in it. A few laughs even escaped him.

The girls got a few more attacks in before Kyla managed to wrench Jesimae away from him. I should have felt bad when I saw his twisted, bloody face, but all I felt was this strange satisfaction. Now he felt the way I felt.

"Fuck you," he huffed towards Jesimae."You should have taken that as a fucking compliment, you bitch. Clem, come on. Let's go."

I stared at Gale apologetically. "I, uh, I guess I-I'll see you later?" I said, following Kyla like a lost puppy. My friends stared at me as I took Kyla's arm and started asking him if he was okay, if he needed to go to the hospital. He snarled that he was fine, those little girls couldn't do that much damage.

Too bad they hadn't done more.