White Haired Devil

5~ Lunch With The Posse

~EDITED 01/25/2020

December 4th

"You what?!" Geni laughed, plopping back in her seat as her head fell back, and a weird sound came out of her throat. I looked down at my hands in shame, just wanting to crawl up into a hole. I told her and Amanda what I accidentally told Ross, and Geni laughed at me.

"Geni, stop it! Can't you see she's embarrassed? Stop teasing," Amanda scolded, punching Geni in the arm. Geni yelped and pouted, apologizing to me. I cracked a bashful smile.

"It's not her fault; I'm the one who should have shut my mouth. I now have a feeling Ross won't let it go," I said, picking up one of my strawberries and taking a bite.

"You've got that right, sweetcheeks," Ross's voice appeared behind me, making me skip, turning around sharply. I held a hand to my heart and turned back around, laying my head on the cold surface of the table.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers, don't scare me like that again," I begged, hearing the chair next to me drag across the floor. Eyes flying open, I picked my head up to give Ross a disconcerting look as he sat next to me. When he was settled and comfy, he crossed his arms over his chest and did a double-take when he saw my look.

"What?" He asked. I opened my mouth but was cut short by Geni.

"Did I miss something? Because last time I checked, we weren't sitting with the scariest yet most appealing guys in school," she stated bluntly, making Amanda choke on her apple. I laughed and covered my mouth, delighted when Geni haphazardly patted Amanda's back. I looked over and saw that Vladimir had taken the empty seat next to me. I felt as if his appearance was weirdly vampiric yet modern.

Dylan was sitting next to Geni- not surprising- and Reggie was on Amanda's left. Reggie had a very laid back stature to him. Like he didn't have a care in the world.

"So, you think I'm appealing?" Dylan claimed, and the look Geni gave him told me every word she was about to utter would ruin this man's day. I exchanged an amused glance with Amanda before we both returned our eyes to the table.

"Oh, honey, don't insult me by thinking you're in any way my type. I was simply parroting what I've heard." She eyed him with a disgusted grimace. "And after sitting here, I think I've come to my own result," She leaned forward, making Dylan involuntarily sit back. "You're not scary nor appealing. Just desperate. Next." I coughed into my fist as Amanda raised her book to hide her face. It was silent for 2.5 seconds before the guys erupted with laughter.

"Close your mouth, hon, you'll catch flies," Geni said, waving him off and not giving him a second glance. Dylan closed his mouth as his face dropped, any words he may have had as a retort dying in his mouth. I kind of felt bad for Dylan. He has the biggest crush on her, and she just crushed his heart. Maybe it'll teach him a lesson, I thought.

"That was harsh," Vlad muttered, but he had a smile on his face. Reggie chuckled and threw a few skittles in his mouth before pulling out his phone and snapping a few pictures of Dylan's defeated expression.

"Yeah. Good luck nursing your pride back to par, be sure to wrap it in your sisters Hello Kitty bandaids," Reggie teased, getting popcorn thrown at him by Dylan. Where in the world is this food?

"Are you guys here for a reason, or are you just here to attract the entire schools' population towards us?" Amanda asked, quite intense. Everyone went quiet and looked at her, and that's when we noticed something. The entire lunchroom was watching us. Oh, dear.

Shrinking down, I grabbed the last strawberry and kept my eyes on my knees. Ross suddenly threw his arm over the back of my chair, so I peeped up to see Ross with a brooding expression. Noticing the attention, the guys had turned to stare darkly at everyone, getting them to avert their eyes and mind their own business.

Once the attention was off them, the glaring ceased, and Ross looked down at me. Glancing up is when I noticed just how close he truly was. My breath hitched in my throat, and I watched Ross's eyes relax as he studied my features. Then he winked at me. I gulped and looked away.

"Hey, when you guys are done, could we discuss the reason their here?" Amanda's sarcasm rang through my ears. Blood flushed through my face as I sat up, clearing my throat. Damn him.

"Right. So, discussing the form of payment-" Dylan started, but my eyes snapped up, and I glared at him darkly. "Which, in this case, would be nothing." he fixed, trailing off as he leaned into Geni. "Man, are you sure she wasn't RJ in a past life? Because I can swear she can be scarier than he is," he whispered, making her snort.

"There will be no form of payment because your the ones who caused the mess you're cleaning up," my tone felt menacing, his attitude toward the situation making me highly annoyed, which doesn't happen so quickly. I'm the middle child of five; you'd think I'd have more tolerance.

"Man, who lit the fuse on your-," Vlad muttered, to which I elbowed him in the ribs. A bold move on my part.

"Damn, woman! What the hell are your elbows made of, titanium?" He whined, making everyone laugh, but Ross and I. Closing my eyes, I willed myself to breathe.

"The only type of payment you would get is probably food my mother makes," I sat back and pinched the bridge of my nose, ignoring Ross's warm arm on the back of my chair. "Because even though you guys ruined our fence and the paint on the side of the house, my mother will still feel bad for making you clean it up in the cold," I said, sighing. Reggie, Dylan, and Vlad all exchanged agreeable glances.

"I can accept that. Free food? Hell yeah!" Reggie said, high fiving Vlad. My eyes shot open, my hand falling to my lap.

"Cut it out. Do not take advantage of my mother. She is a good woman and an even better mother. I swear to the gods, if you do any wrong by her, I will personally castrate every single one of you and make you watch me feed your balls to my dog. Do you. Under. Stand?" I threatened, clenching my teeth. I sat up in my chair, turning to look at Ross. "And that includes you," I finished. Assessing everyone's reactions- the girls were fine and were eating without fail, but the guys all stared at me with wide eyes- for ages. Finally, Geni groaned.

"Ugh, will you close your mouths?" Geni cried, efficiently getting them to shut their mouths. Wow, acknowledging their reputations, they were very accustomed to following orders. Unless they were pissed off, I remember hearing stories about it.

"You can bet your sorry asses that both Geneva and I will follow up on those threats if need be, by the way," she added while reading her book. Dylan laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I can deal with that. I promise not to cross your mom, Kendall," he swore, looking at me sincerely. I nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, us too. I was worried for a second, though. I thought we'd have to deal with a father," Reggie commented, getting a few nods. Even so, I felt my spine stiffen. Jaw locking, memories flashed behind my eyelids every time I blinked. Amanda and geneva stopped just as quickly, picking up on my shift immediately.

"Geneva," Amanda spoke cautiously, her sudden tone making the guys around us go quiet. Geni stood up to try and come around the table.

"Hey Doll, why don't we go for a walk-" I stood up abruptly just as her hand reaches my shoulder. My eyes were on the container sitting stationary on the table.

"Kendall?" Ross wondered- the tone he used alerting me that he felt me freeze up.

"Be at my house tomorrow at four-thirty. My mom should be home by then. Amanda, give them my address," And I left. I walked away, out of the cafeteria. I was in no way angry at them for asking a simple question. But I was upset at myself. After so long, why does even the mention of a father spike my anxiety? Why couldn't I forget? Why, why do they have to haunt me? The memories, the nightmares...

Why am I still afraid?!

*********************

~EDITED 01/25/2020