Seeing Grey

5. Noah Chase

The warm cafeteria milk slid sickly down my throat as I waited for Jacob and some other buddies of mine to arrive at our lunch table. I was spacing out when Mikayla appeared out of nowhere and set down her tray, "Are you in love with Grey, Noah?" I started to choke on my milk as I began to process what Mikayla had said. Grey and love in the same sentence, no way! Why would Mikayla think that in the first place?

"What?" I asked her with confusion. She smiled and I realized how beautiful Mikayla had grown to be these past years. I only saw her once and that was at the mall a year ago but I never told her about Grey. Someone was talking, and with this thought my elementary school dread came back. I felt like I needed a joint.

"Well," she began talking as she leaned in close. "All these freshman boys were talking about this Grey Summers and―"

"Winters," I correct her but, I quickly realized that was a mistake. Although, it was kind of funny how she messed up her last name. She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips in annoyance. "Right," she said slowly. Then, she gave me an odd stare.

"So you have heard of her," she muttered rudely to herself. I nod back at her, not wanting to go into full detail about my crazy neighbor who was madly in love with me.

"So go on with the story Mikayla," I urge in a bored tone. A tone the usual boy would have about gossip. This way, she wouldn't think up any wild ideas.

Mikayla forced a smile onto her pretty face. In her smile I see one of her front tooths is crooked- a remnant of her old self. "Well, supposedly this Grey Winters chick is like an angel on earth. That she is deep and that she is beautiful but it's not obvious. I mean, what is that? Since when is beauty obvious or not? I guess it's cause they say she like, doesn't do her makeup or hair." Obviously Mikayla was not a guy and she did not know her beauty was obvious. Her type of beauty screamed at you and demanded attention.

Michaela continued as if her next statement would save the earth, "supposedly she is the hottest girl of all the grades. She even beat the senior girls, Noah! The senior girls! Ugh, I was planning to be the hottest girl of freshman year, maybe even sophomore! Now some B*tch named Grey is coming in and taking my place! Who names their child Grey anyway? It's such an ugly and drab color!" Michaela finally finishes her tirade and is left breathless from talking so fast. When had my sweet best friend become so vain? I didn't put so much thought into it because suddenly a voice interrupted my thoughts.

"I agree, you know, about the name thing. It is pretty ugly and drab," the girls voice giggled at the end of her statement. It was the sweetest giggle I had ever heard. Mikayla's mouth dropped and suddenly I didn't want to turn around because I knew who the voice belonged to. It took me a couple of seconds but I knew.

I mustered enough courage and turned around to face Grey. I could not believe that she had even stalked me out to what lunch table I sat at.

I finally saw the whole scene splayed out in front of me. Mikayla mumbled something about her friends waiting for her and walked away embarrassed at being caught. Then it was just me, Grey and Jacob. I should have known he would have been behind this. Grey looked unknowingly between us. Jacob, my so- called best friend, was a major snake. He smiled as if nothing major was going on, "I asked Grey to sit with us at lunch, is that fine?"

I could not believe Jacob asked me with Grey listening. He knew I would want to say no but I couldn't say it to her face! I looked to Grey and her beautiful jade eyes locked onto my pale, pale green ones. For a quick second I had forgotten that Grey was a crazy and insolent girl, and for that quick second I had to fight the growing urge to reach out and touch her freckles. Her eyes went wild crazily looking back and forth, from me to Jacob. She opened her mouth slightly and I got another urge. It was an urge I never thought I would ever have about Grey. I had no idea what was going on with me.

Grey began to stumble all over her words as she started to speak, "um, well, uh, you know what? I am going to just go sit with my friends. It's the first day of school anyway."

She looked to Jacob and gave him a warm smile but when she turned to me it quickly disappeared from her face. Soon, she was off. I was left staring at her retreating back and shiny hair that I just wanted to run my hands through. I seriously wasn't myself.

"Dude," Jacob said dragging out the U and adding laughter. "She hates you, that look she gave you, oh my God, it was pure evil. I thought you said she loved you?" He teased. I drowned out Jacob's voice and looked back to Grey who was sitting down with a very blonde guy and a beautiful girl. Still, she wasn't as beautiful as Grey.

"Yeah, I thought she did," I finally answered Jacob in a hushed whisper.

Twenty minutes later the lunch bell rang signaling the start of my afternoon classes and I got this anxiousness to see if Grey would be in them. I couldn't understand this sudden interest I had in Grey. Suddenly, she was so alluring and I wanted to know her every thought and secrets. I didn't like this obsession I was starting to have for Grey.

I sat down in my seat, patiently watching the door just waiting to see those bright eyes.

"Hey, what's up bro?" I look up at Kenny, the most popular senior of our school.

"What's up?" I retort accompanied by a handshake. Kenny looks at the door and nudges my arm with his elbow.

"There she is, the hot freshman that has all us upperclassmen vying for her attention. Do you know her name?" He asked me. I didn't need to look up over at the door to know who he was talking about but I did anyway. It was to see her beauty. After doing so, I felt this strange force of anger that I never had before and I didn't want Kenny to know Grey's name.

"Well?" He prods. Kenny smiles in her direction as he fixes his wispy hair. I hated him at this exact moment.

Staring at Grey the whole time I said, "Grey, Grey winters." I didn't like this feeling of... jealousy. "Her name's Grey Winters," I say slowly and distracted. Having this unwanted feeling made me hate Grey all over again, it made me scared of her all over again. And like that, the feelings and her beauty was gone―almost. In a menacing tone I warned Kenny, "Trust me Kenny, you don't want to mess with that. That girl is pure crazy".

And I will be right, soon nobody will like Grey Winters anymore and she will be a social leper once again. And I would be fine or so I hope.

"I can handle crazy," says Kenny with a mischievous face. I clench my hands into tight fists. I want to scream no to him and tell him to stay away from my Grey. That she loves me and only me. But I couldn't and I just wanted to slug him as hard as I could as he made his way over to Grey with his cocky walk. He was so sure of getting her and I was sure of that too.