Chapter 26
The next couple days of work were alright. While things with Felix made me feel unbelievably happy and excited, Oliver's constant negativity around the store was really getting to me. I wasn't sure why all of a sudden he was becoming more and more of an asshole, but I just accepted it and tried to steer clear of his path as much as I could.
I hummed a little to myself as I began to wipe down all the counters in the store.
"Why are they coming here?" Oliver asked in annoyance. I glanced over, realizing him and Chelsea were getting in another heated argument. I then looked over to Kendrick and Elijah, who rolled their eyes in unison. It was kinda cool, not gonna lie.
"Why are you so mad? They're your friends!" Chelsea argued.
"Not since they kicked me out of the band."
"Wait...they kicked you out?"
"Are you kidding? Do you even pay attention to anything I say?"
I pretended to ignore them as I continued to do my job.
"I don't get them." Kendrick said to me as he helped me clear the counter.
"I don't think anyone does." Elijah added, crossing his arms and staring over at the bickering couple.
Suddenly, four guys entered the store. It was hard to recognize them at first without their instruments and the harsh stage lights, but I soon realized they were The Poisoned Youth. Their entrance seemed to piss Oliver off: He immediately stopped everything he was doing, marching right up to them.
"Look who it is! The traitor." one of them announced. I recognized him as the lead singer. Matt, I think his name was. The rest of the band stood behind him in what looked like a cheesy choreographed position.
"Matty! Hey, long time no see!" Chelsea cheered excitedly, obviously failing to read the room.
"You can't come around here anymore." Oliver declared, crossing his arms. "Get out."
"What, because you own the place?" Matt snickered.
"No. But I do." Jack announced, stepping out of his office and descending down the stairs. "We're not interested in the Poisoned Youth anymore. We have a new home band."
"Right, right." Matt nodded, "Yeah, what's it called again? Clementine and the two little gay boys?"
Chelsea and the rest of the band found this joke hilarious, bursting into laughter. No one else was amused, however.
"Oh, real mature." Elijah stepped up now, "Get out of here with that shit, dude."
"Elijah leave it to me." Oliver muttered.
"No, leave it to me." Jack stepped in.
I tried my best to stay out of it and to not take their words to heart. Surely, Jack and Oliver had a grip on the situation. Surely, things wouldn't escalate.
Or so I thought.
"Oh, look! It's the star herself!" Matt acknowledged me, attempting to make his way over to me before Oliver stepped directly in front of him.
Felix then abruptly entered the room.
"Wow, perfect timing." Kendrick noted as Felix made his way to me, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the conflict.
"My spide-y senses were tingling." he joked.
"Outside." I heard Oliver say. I looked back, watching as he grabbed Matt and shoved him towards the door out into the parking lot.
-
"Wait, wait, wait...so Chelsea invited the Poisoned Youth to Grooves? Is she dumb?" Naomi asked.
"She isn't dumb! She's a genius." Rylie said in awe, "She stirs up drama so much better than I ever could."
"Yeah, well, it ended with Oliver beating Matt's ass. She got her boyfriend temporarily banned from the mall." I rolled my eyes.
As if on cue, a crying Chelsea plopped down at the table along with us. I looked around the food court at all the empty tables, confused as to why she chose to sit with us of all people.
"He broke up with me!" she cried, "I got dumped by a fucking loser!"
Everyone at the table exchanged confused glances.
"I thought you were so in love with him." Felix said, clearly trying to hold back laughter. I had to hold it back as well as we glanced over at each other. Growing up, watching Chelsea cry was one of the most amusing things to us. She always contorted her face in the most dramatic way possible. It was always such a comical experience.
Yeah...we were sadistic little kids.
"Well, I got back with him because I thought he was still in the Poisoned Youth. And like, you know...that band's going places." she pointed out, "But then I find out he's not in the band anymore so I was going to break up with him but then...he broke up with me first!"
She continued to sob. Kendrick uncomfortably patted her shoulder, clearly not caring but at the same time wanting to be polite.
"Why'd he dump you?" Rylie questioned.
She shrugged, shaking her head, "I don't know. I'm just so perfect that I can't even comprehend why he would do such a thing!" she paused, taking a moment to blow her nose obnoxiously loud. Felix almost lost it, letting out a slight laugh but quickly disguising it as a cough. I smacked his arm as a way to chastise him for being insensitive, but then she start blowing her nose again and I nearly lost it as well. "He's just not the same Oliver he was before. He's changed since we last went out." Chelsea finally continued.
"Really? Because he seems like the same old asshole to me." Felix shrugged.
"Oh, fuck off." she rolled her eyes at him, standing up. Rylie stood up along with her.
"I understand you, girl." she said, smiling, "How about we go talk shit about him? Let it all out."
They both seemed to bond over this shared love of shit talking, and left as fast as they could.
