Never Would I Ever (Previously A Wink, a Smile, and a Kiss)

Chapter 3

"What?!" Amanda screamed in a panic,"How could that even happen?" Just a minute ago, she had been on top of the world. Hayden had just asked her to the dance, but right when she came out of the newsroom, Castor and Layla rushed to her. They'd explain in such a rushed fashion that the entire school had heard Hayden and Amanda's conversation.

"Emma was going insane in that Emma way," Layla slightly laughed before being met with a glare from Castor. Emma's way of dealing with situations like this apparently was acting like the distraught victim of some scandal. Of course, all her friends were trying to comfort her and reassure her. It's not every day your boyfriend completely disses you in front of the school, so Amanda in a way felt bad.

"Not the time," Castor enunciated through her teeth. She was busy patting Amanda who was on the floor having a near panic attack.

"When you think about it, it's not that bad. You got asked out by Hayden for godssake," Layla said as she patted her on the back too.

"I just didn't want it to go down like this. I don't like people talking about me and my personal life without me there to hear," Amanda spoke to the floor between her knees.

"Psh, then you should've been freaking out the day you got here. You're the new girl. Of course, people are going to be talking about you. Just learn not to care what others think," Layla spoke truthfully. She was the one who'd gone through the most compared to the group. They'd all gotten bullied at least once in their life, but Layla was still going through that. She was always so blunt, and it rubbed some people the wrong way.

"You're right. I just needed a moment to process it," Amanda said as she got off the floor and took a large breath in. There was nothing she could do to change what had happened.

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"You are kidding," Jessie said loudly in their usual cafe. It was a cute little shop a couple blocks away from their school . Sometimes, they'd be able to snag the secret room in the cafe whenever the cute barista was around. It was basically sound-proof and mostly used for special events, but when it wasn't occupied, Selena, Jessie, Layla, Castor, and Amanda would rush to nab it. The room had a very calming vibe with candles everywhere and Moroccan inspired furniture. There actually weren't chairs, but pillows and cushions and blankets. One low, round table was centered in the room, where they would gossip and catch up on what was happening to each other. The topic currently was the dance, which was two days away.

"No, no. I'm not. His danceposal was just so stupid," Selena giggled while sipping a cappucino.

"What was it like?" Castor whispered, being extremely curious.

"He rode in on Selena's horse and-" Amanda laughed, not able to finish her sentence.

"Fell off when he tried to ask her to the dance. It was hilarious," Layla said.

Amanda tried to complete the essay due in an hour, but Castor pulled the laptop away.

"No," Amanda whined and tried to grab it back. Castor started scrolling through it and typing things while evading Amanda.

"Sent," Castor said as she handed it back to her.

"What? Come on, I need to finish my essay," Amanda started looking through her laptop again.

"Too late. I sent it already. You've been working on it for days. We need to focus on the dance. It's tomorrow," Castor stressed the last sentence. Amanda reluctantly put her laptop into her bag, so they could continue the conversation properly.

"Just say yes to him already. Sooner or later he's going to get tired of your games," Jessie told Selena who rolled her eyes. Jessie was always the voice of reason in every situation. It didn't matter how serious things got, she'd always keep her calm. That was why Amanda often found herself staying late at Jessie's. They were yin and yang.