Lie to Me: A Mermaid Tail

Chapter 7- I Get lt, You're Gorgeous

I waited patiently in the lunch line as the old hag dumped a hamburger and an apple on my plate. The apple was sure to be bruised now, as it had bounced on my tray. I smiled a thank you to the lunch lady, trying not to stare at the very large mole to the left of her mouth. I paid my three bucks and grabbed a very large water bottle, then headed to mine and Paisley's table in the back corner of the cafeteria.

"Hey," I greeted, sitting down next to her. She was happily eating a bright green salad, decorated with ripe red baby tomatoes and carrots, plus what I instantly recognized as garlic croutons her mother made from scratch. It was dressed in what I guessed was creamy Italian, Paisley's favorite salad dressing. 

"Where's Nate?" I asked. He'd been sitting with us since he met me at the beach. Paisley shrugged. Just then, the cafeteria doors opened and Aidan strutted in, no food in his hands. But, hanging off of his arm was a girl. Diana, I thought scathingly. There were, of course, girls following behind him and fluttering around him, but Aidan didn't look very pleased with all of this attention.

I saw Diana whisper something to Aidan, and then he shook her off his arm. Her face showed hurt and confusion. "Not now, Diana," Aidan called back at her, his eyes now locked with mine. He began walking in our direction.

"It's Dee-ah-na!" Diana called back at him in a whiny tone, stomping her hoochie heel once on the ugly green and white tiled floor.

"Whatever," Aidan said, completely ignoring her as he came and sat down right next to me. Diana looked completely disgusted and surprised that he had disregarded her. I smiled smugly at her dismay. I never liked her, she was the school slut but she was popular.

I ate silently while Paisley and Aidan bantered back and fourth about how he was liking school so far. I tuned it out, putting my headphones in my ears and taking a big sip of water as Paisley excused herself for a minute, leaving the lunchroom. Aidan smirked at my large intake of water, and I rolled my eyes and blasted Dubstep. I was pretty sure the entire table could hear it, but whatever. The soundtrack for their lunch.

While I was skipping through songs (my iPod was on shuffle,) I heard a beeping noise.

Beep, beep, beep beep, beep, beeeeeep. The pattern repeated itself once more. I took my earbuds out of my ears and looked around.

Beep, beep, beep beep, beep, beeeeeep. It was coming from Aidan's pocket. He noticed, too, and he pulled a phone out of his pocket. It was perfectly square with a dull navy case. There was a red button on the side and a blue one on the top of the front screen. It was like no other phone I had ever seen, though it slightly resembled an iPhone.

Aidan quickly stood up from out table and cast a glance at me before exiting the room.

 I stood up too and speed walked to the door Aidan left from. I quietly pushed the door open. Turning my head in all directions, I saw Aidan a little ways away, by a janitor's closet. I inched towards him silently, begging my footsteps to be silent and not give me away. I hid about five feet from him, dangerously close. As I crouched behind a trashcan, I heard him talking into the little box.

"Yeah," I heard him mutter. "Yeah, I found it." Found what? I thought. I readjusted myself, my legs groaning in protest.

"It's taken a liking to me," he scoffed. I could picture him smiling. My eyes narrowed. If he's talking about me, I definitely have not "taken a liking".

"Stay near it," I heard the voice on the other end command. Aidan repositioned himself so he had one side leaning against the wall.

"Like I said, it likes me. No problem there," he said. Ugh.

"I'll try and hack into the school's data base, and rearrange your schedule," the female voice on the other end said. What does that have to do with anything?

"Okay," Aidan agreed, crossing his arms.

"Keep it in your sight," the voice said. It was getting quieter. The person on the other end of the line must be whispering. I couldn't hear it anymore.

"I will. It shouldn't be that hard," Aidan said, laughing.

"I get it, you're gorgeous," the lady said in a slightly bored and sarcastic tone.

"Damn right I am," he said. I laughed a little.

"I'm still your boss," she said in a superior tone. My legs were really starting to cramp up. It was like they were supporting the sky instead of just me.

"Whatever," Aidan said. I recognized this as a mocking voice; he didn't mean it. I resisted the urge to laugh. I could almost feel the phone call coming to a close. I stood up, groaning silently, and quickly ran to the cafeteria door, careful to keep my footsteps silent. Aidan and his 'boss' were out of earshot, now, I couldn't hear him anymore. I silently opened the cafeteria door and slipped inside.

I made my way over to Paisley. Nate was now sitting down, too.

"So, what was that about? Does he have a girlfriend?" Paisley asked, disappointment in her voice. 

 "No, but he was on the phone with his boss. Sounded official," I said, pausing. "Apparently, there's this...thing that likes him, and then he said he was gorgeous, no wait, the boss said he was gorgeous sarcastically. And, and..." I bit my lip, trying to remember. 

 "Shh, Ash, here he comes!" Paisley warned, shhhing me into next week. While hers was an expression of worry, Nate wore a confused look. "We'll explain later," Paisley said hurriedly.

"Explain what?" Aidan said. All of us looked alarmed, even Nate, who had no idea what was going on.

"N-nothing," Paisley stuttered. I kicked her under the table, letting her know I was wondering if she could possibly be less obvious. Aidan shot her a confused look, then sat down next to me. He grinned crookedly, leaning in closer.

"How about you and me go out to dinner tonight?" he whispered, looking me in the eyes. Jeez, this guy wastes no time. Honestly, I was shocked at his sudden change of heart. He went from "threatening unknown male" to "best guy friend" to "possible love interest"- wait, what am I saying? Possible love interest? 

'There's something off about this guy,' he mouthed. I looked at the tabletop again. 

"Umm, Ashlyn? About that date," Aidan said, bringing me back to reality. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "No, not tonight." I looked across the table at Nate, then quickly looked back up at Aidan. He appeared much tenser, and he looked quickly at Nate, too. I let their little exchanged go unnoticed by me, though Paisley seemed to be hanging onto our every word.

"Why not," Aidan muttered scathingly.

"I don't want to," I said. I couldn't tell the guy I thought there was something wrong with him! "And I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable out to dinner with some stranger-" I was cut off as Aidan leaned in even closer. The smell of pine and that smell after a summer rain wafted off him. I inhaled quietly and subtly, taking in everything. It was heavenly, intoxicating. I closed my eyes and gulped.

"You sure?" Aidan said, his voice smooth and perfect. I tried not to notice his muscles, but the image of him in his bathing suit wouldn't get out of my head. I collected every ounce of courage I had.

"Positive," I whispered. Nate's face infiltrated my head, and I found myself feeling a little guilty. Even though I shouldn't. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paisley twirling her hair and looking intently at me and Aidan. She had obviously been listening far too intently. Aidan backed up, his scent lessening around me. I was thankful; it was exhilarating. He's human, you're a mermaid, I reminded myself. I remembered the suspicious square phone in his pocket and that mysterious phone call he had with his boss.

I shuddered. The thought of the call chilled me to the core. It was all too weird for my comfort zone.

Thankfully, the bell rang, and I eagerly left the room, dragging Paisley behind me, leaving Nate and Aidan standing awestruck, for different reasons, at the table.