Aubrey, the Star

08: double stars

Aubrey

★

double stars - "a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to each other."

By halftime, I knew I needed to plan a great escape.

Charlotte, Mariah and the blonde minion, who still hadn't talked to me, were busy scrolling through their phones while I sat beside them looking utterly clueless. Maybe it was time to ask for a cellphone? I mean, apparently they were all the rage and people couldn't stand reality for more than a second. And I'm all for escaping reality.

Chellgren was only down by one touchdown - 19-12. Jameson was the result of the first touchdown and I'd never seen a crowd go more ballistic. It was crazy to witness his king status amongst the whole town, seemingly. I bet he couldn't go anywhere without being acknowledged. I, on the other hand, managed to make it down the bleachers without one peep from my sister and the terrible twins.

"You can't leave." An arm fell around my shoulders, slowing my pace down. "I have to win a bet." Mickey, sporting a fresh black pixie cut, frowned at me. Since when were we the type of people to do this? I'd eaten lunch at her table for the past week and she barely paid attention to my existence.

"Excuse me?" I asked her, weaving through the crowds of energetic fans.

"Thomas and I have a bet going on how long you would last sitting through the game." Wow. I actually felt offended. "Only because you don't seem like the sociable type."

I scoffed. "I don't seem like the sociable type?" She nodded her head. "You've been calling me new girl as a slight insult since day one and today at lunch you said that my ass was flat.

Mickey looked away awkwardly, biting her lip. I raised an eyebrow at her before shaking my head with a sigh.

"Take your hand off of me." I shrugged her arms off my shoulders, shooting her an annoyed look. "Your brother had the nerve to tell me you like me too - whatever the hell that meant."

"New girl-," Mickey began. I stopped in my tracks, my jaw clenched tight and she stopped mid-sentence. "Aubrey, it's hard to trust new people here." She pulled a cold face as if she was remembering something that bothered her. "Everyone here has an agenda. We fit in however we can too. Once new people come...they're trying to find their footing on already unstable ground. So, when Lincoln brought you over to our table I freaked."

"Why," I asked. "Is it because you think I'm going to do whatever Charlotte did to Lincoln." Her blue eyes met mine intently. I could see the waves rippling myself. A storm rolled in and was causing commotion. "What happened between them, Mickey?"

Mickey pursed her lips, keeping whatever secret inside. I let out a defeated sigh. There was no way that I was going to let this matter go. Especially, after how Charlotte acted towards Lincoln on the bleachers. Whatever it was - it must've been bad. Maybe even awful if it made Mickey so protective of Lincoln.

"You don't like me and you don't trust me," I said, stating the obvious.

"Take that as a compliment, Alexander," Mickey chided, causing me to scowl at her. "I don't like many new people. Jameson is my twin. We have that core connection, you know?"

"Oh, so you two have your own special language too?" I laughed, imagining Jameson and Mickey talking like aliens.

Mickey crossed her arms around her chest, raising her chin. "Yes," she said. "My brother seems to like you, for whatever reason. My core is telling me to trust his judgement."