A Certain Not-So-Bad Boy

{twenty-four}

The next day at school went by completely normal. It was a blur of equations and facts, a brief encounter with Carson, lunch with Amber, and then something about the French Revolution. I had completed all the homework I had after I got home, not wanting it to ruin my weekend, so here we were on Saturday morning.

I sat at the kitchen table by myself at 8:30 in the morning because I had woken up and couldn't go back to sleep. I gripped the handle of my coffee mug as I took a sip and continued to read my book.

My phone dinged beside me and I glanced at the screen. It was a text from Carson. I stuck a scrap of paper in my book to mark the page and opened up the message.

C: Hey Angel. Grayson is coming over to hang out because the doctors said he can leave the hospital for a while. Do you want to come hang with us?

I was so glad that Grayson was finally able to receive some normalcy.

M: Sure! When should I come over?

C: Anytime. Grayson is here already if you wanted to come now. Also, there will be some other people from Heath.

M: Okay, I guess I'll be there around nine?

C: See you then ;)

I had no idea why the last sentence required a winky face, but I got flustered anyway. I put my coffee mug in the sink and took my phone upstairs to decide what to wear. Not that I care what I wear to Carson's house. I just want to look presentable... For the kids from Heath! I need to make a nice impression. That's why I care what I'm wearing.

I shook my head and focused on the clothes in front of me. Eventually, I just decided on black ripped jeans, a plain white top, and a denim jacket paired with my white low top converse. I brushed my hair and decided to switch up my hair since for once, I wasn't late.

Ten minutes later, my hair was in dutch braided pigtails and my lashes were coated in a little mascara. With my phone and keys, I walked downstairs and wrote a note telling my dad where I was.

The air was getting colder. The pale sunlight didn't do much to warm me up, and I noticed a delicate layer of frost covering the grass of our front lawn. Winter was coming soon.

The drive to Carson's house was a short one, and soon I was parking on the street in front of his house. I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. My nerves were catching up to me; I wasn't very good at meeting new people.

The door opened, distracting me from my thoughts. I looked up to see... "Grayson!"

"Maya!"

I hugged him tightly, glad to see he was doing okay. "How are you?"

He smiled. "The doctors say I'll be fine. I have a bit of chemo left to get through." 

"Hey," I said, finally looking at Carson. "I thought there were going to be other people here."

He placed a hand over his heart. "And here I thought you would be happy to get me alone. You wound me."

"Get over yourself," I said, rolling my eyes. "Besides, Grayson's here too. We're not alone."

"Stop flirting," Grayson said casually. "Save it for when you're actually alone."

I blushed and rolled my eyes while Carson laughed. "But to answer your question, there will be three other people coming any time now."

"Okay," I said, biting my lip nervously.

"Don't worry," Grayson said, sensing my discomfort. "They're nice, I promise. I'm only friends with the best of the best." He winked.