Life in Hiding

20 ~ Pickle

Monday morning, I've never been happier to go to school.

Running downstairs, I hum to myself as I throw an extra bagel in the toaster and pour some orange juice in a cup. Throwing my lunch in my bag, I'm halfway through my breakfast when I notice my family sitting at the kitchen table.

The twins blink, along with Scarlett who holds a coffee mug to her lips as she watches me.

"Morning." I offer through a mouth food of food and they stay silent, Scarlett covering her mouth in disbelief.

"What?" Did something happen in the last 12 hours I don't know about?

"Your shirt." The twins state in disbelief.

Glancing down, I flatten the buttons of my pickle embroidered button up. "What's wrong with my shirt?"

"It's funny." Saffron offers and Scarlett shakes her head.

"It's been months since you've worn one of those shirts." Oh. I guess it has. These last few months, the only thing I've been wearing are hoodies.

"Well, they're back."

Slowly, she smiles. "Thank God."

Grabbing my juice, I have breakfast with my family as they silently marvel over my choice of clothing.

*****

Arriving at school, the twins stay in as Saffron runs to class. Locking the doors, they turn to me.

"So you kiss a girl one time and now you're okay?" Sterling demands. Thanks for the video, Christian.

"I guess, I just needed to realize I was ready to be okay again." I shrug. "I'm not gonna date or anything, but I've never kissed someone just because."

The kiss wasn't my saving grace. It was great, but it wasn't about Alex. I just had to kiss someone to understand it was okay to do that. In my mind, Ella still had this hold on me because she was the person I did everything with. Unless you count one kiss I had with Jovie when we were kids and I only did that to piss Ella off.

"Sterling has." Silver snorts as his twin punches him in the gut.

"I know." I smirk, unlocking the car doors and stepping out. Leaving them behind, a shocked gasp and a hyena laugh follow me into the building.

The twins try to be secretive but between me and Scarlett, they don't stand a chance. We knew Sterling kissed that girl before he even got home from their little group date.

Stopping by my locker, continue down the hall until I'm leaned up against Chloe's locker. She opens her locker and I wait for her to look my way. When she doesn't, I clear my throat.

"Good morning, Chlo-bear."

She closes her locker and walks off. Scrambling to catch up, I offer her the bagel. "Breakfast to-go."

She speeds up and I'm left watching her walk away. Well, this is an issue. Catching sight of Graham, I grab his arm. "What's wrong with Chloe?"

"Oh– um... I–" He blushes. "Nothing."

"Dude, I'm not going to hurt you, we've been through this." I remind him.

"Tell that to my arm."

Letting go, I take a small step back. "Sorry, now explain."

"She hasn't told me anything but all she did this weekend at the cabin was drink and throw darts." He pulls at his collar and I nod.

"So she's talking to you?"