Don't Do It

T w e n t y - t w o

•Jake's POV•

"I promise I won't bite."

Arianna looks at me, skepticism written all over her face, pulling her head back. She crosses her arms.

"You want me to sit with you?" She looks at everyone seated at the table, including me. "The cool kids?"

Her words cause all of us to fall into a silence that's way too long, whilst we're staring back at her. The awkwardness of the situation is quite funny actually.

When I told my friends that I want Ari to hang out with us today, they were speechless. Mainly because, except for Tiffany, Chloe and Tori, they don't know who the hell Arianna is.

I had to explain to them that she's the quiet blonde girl who always gets distinctions in all her subjects, who wears baggy clothes, and who wears purple glasses.

I was also going to mention that she's stunningly beautiful, but, you know, it would've made them freak. As far as everyone is concerned, Jake Oliver only says the popular girls are beautiful.

The nerds, and everyone else, are basically invisible.

"Er, I'm pretty sure that's what he said," Justin retorts, and breaks the silence. He opens his bottle of orange juice and takes a few sips, his swallowing being the only sound that can be heard.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, just sit down." I glare at Nick, warning him to keep his mouth shut since he isn't helping whatsoever.

I look at Ari to see how she's going to react.

Her left hand goes to her face to fix her glasses, a sigh escaping from her lips. I can't make out if it's because of irritation, or because she's overwhelmed. I think it's the latter.

"Okay." Arianna says as she moves forward and glues her butt onto the seat. My nose catches the fragrance of her perfume as it lingers in the air; jasmine.

She places her arms on the large round table, intertwining her fingers so tightly that they became pale and yellow.

She's that nervous, huh. Let me try to make her feel comfortable.

"Would you like to eat something?" I ask her and her eyes immediately land on the variety of foods that are lying on the centre of the table.

There are mini burgers, ribs, chicken nuggets, two salads, and three bottles of orange juice that are left over.

It may seem as though it's a bit too much, but all that food is filling up nine people's stomachs. Ten, if Ari accepts my offer.

For your information, this food does not come from the cafeteria. Their meals are crappy today so I ordered this food from a restaurant and they speedily delivered it.

I love treating my friends to a nice meal once in a while. And it's not like it's going to put a dent in my wallet, since I have tons of money in my account.

I'm super kind when I want to be; and I'm not like what these people think.

"No, thanks. I'm okay."

My heart sinks. Arianna is refusing to eat anything even when I know she's hungry.

Maybe her friends are going to get her something from the cafeteria, but that won't happen anytime soon since the line is extremely long.

"Are you sure?" Tiffany enquires with a voice full of concern, "We don't mind, if that's what you're worried about."

My lips form into a smile. Tiffany's so caring, she really knows how to make someone's day. Her ability to connect with people is amazing and mysterious. The world needs more people like her.