Friends Don't

Chapter Twenty-nine

Later that day Mrs. Pierce asked me to go shopping with her and the other women, and though hesitant at first, I agreed to go.

It was Christmas Eve so the town was very busy, probably all those late shoppers who wait until the day before to buy something for their significant other.

We were at the mall, which with the amount of people seemed like it had to be some type of hazard. Even for a mall there must be an occupancy limit. I imagined this is what a normal high school would feel like every day; shoving through the crowd of people just to get where you're going. It's not like I would know, since I went to a school for rich kids, or more like a school for kids whose parents were rich and thought it would be better to keep you with those on the same social ladder as you.

I would have much preferred to go to a regular high school and push my way through all the lingering students, even though I felt like I might have a small panic attack trying to take one step in the mall, I still think a regular high school would have been more fun. If I would have gotten to experience that I might not be on the verge of a panic attack right now.

All of us had separated not long after getting to the mall. They were all doing some shopping for themselves, why they would pick this day of all days I didn't know. As for me, I was trying to find a gift for Grayson. No, I wasn't one of those late shoppers that I was referring to earlier. I was simply trying to find something to show my gratitude towards him for letting me crash his family's Christmas and for being a great friend.

Even after all the time we'd spent together I still wasn't sure what to get him. As I walked past the store fronts, I watched what other women stood in line waiting to purchase. Would he like a scarf? Even in all this freezing weather I'd never seen him wear one. The watch some woman was holding looked nice, but I'd never seen him wear a watch either, and by the looks of it I couldn't afford it with my small budget.

Maybe I haven't paid as much attention to him as I should have been, or maybe he was just one of those simple guys that shopping for was hard because they either already had everything they needed, or they didn't want anything.

It was around one in the afternoon when I met the girls in the food court for lunch. A we sat around the table I listened to them all make small talk, joining in from time to time, mostly when someone asked me a question.

I wondered if they liked me or if they were just being nice to me because of Grayson. Of course, his mom seemed to like me, or at least made it seem that way, and I feel like Heather and I had a good, somewhat, bonding time making cookies this morning, but what about the others?

His sister, Leanne, must have some thoughts about me reeling in her head. Even though I've made it clear there's nothing going on between us, she's jumped on board with the others thinking there is.

Sylvia, his aunt, had talked to me quite a bit during lunch, and she wore a smile most of the time, so maybe she liked me. She was the one to ask me the most questions about my life, like she genuinely wanted to know more about me, but I tried to stick to the good things, and leave my parents and that drama out of it.

As for Grandma Georgia, she seemed to like the cookies and praised me on them, so maybe she liked me. Though she did slip in the question of if Grayson and I planned on having a kid anytime soon because she only had one great grandkid and she wasn't getting any younger. That didn't necessarily give any clue as to whether or not she liked me, and I didn't know how to answer the question, but it did make me choke on the sip of water I had just taken. It was embarrassing having to race for napkins and try to blot Sylvia's Christmas sweater dry.

By the time we'd walked through the front door of the Pierce home Sylvia's sweater had, thankfully, dried. I felt bad about it the whole time since it'd happened. No one said anything, but from time to time I saw her glance down at the soaked spot, which was noticeable from even far away.