The Dare

Chapter Ten • Visit

TEN • VISIT

"And you were where, yesterday?" Chloe questioned in a petty manner. With a sigh of exasperation, I tried to keep moving towards our table, also in a strict pursuit to perhaps lose Chloe in the bustle. I didn't mind lying, I just had no urge to talk about anything right now.

My classes were already enough to handle. Every class with its glamourous workload had me up into the late hours of the unforgiving night, promising a set of rekindled, purple bags beneath my eyes as my reward. I feared nights to come in that aspect, but then again, what had I expected? Puppies and kittens, rainbows and sunshine, butterflies and lollipops? Reietto Academy pushed the Minds and Bloods alike to their full potentials as far as my introductory information yesterday had gone, and I certainly wasn't about to protest; it was what I wanted.

"Fine...stubborn. Where are you staying? You can't live in the temporary rooms, you know," Chloe mentioned as we neared the table. As helpful of a tour guide as she had been lately, my nerves were also being thoroughly tested and fried through her persistance.

"I'm not sure. Daniel invited me to some Inbetweener meeting tonight, so I'll exlpore my options when the time comes," I stated dryly. Chloe, seeing my pleasantly irritable mood, decided to back off and said nothing until we reached the lunch group I had newly accomodated.

"Rose! Good to see you," Daniel exclaimed, a little overenthusiastically. Bex and Ceilia waved, they're sweet personalities already bleeding through the paper of my sour mood. Evalee and Nick, however, were no where to be seen. With an overly observant gaze, Daniel seemed to see the question of their absence rising on my face.

"Nick and Evalee only hang out with us every so often. Who knows what they do otherwise," he explained, biting into his sandwich. I nodded and began to eat my lunch in silence. I was still burdened by the divisions. Was I the only newcomer who had spent her brain and energy just to place herself into a social group of acceptance? As silly as it felt, a strange itch told me there was more to these three, menacing divisions; a further threat posed on later terms that had yet to be revealed.

The more I meanandered through pointless thoughts, the more exhausted I became. Once I had returned to reality, I realized that the twins had left, leaving me, Chloe, and Daniel, who were trying to get my attention by waving their arms frantically.

"What?" I finally mumbled, giving into their continuous gestures. Daniel was the first to speak.

"Can you come tonight? I know you said you weren't sure about your decision yet, but..."

"-That's no reason to miss the party. Metaphorically speaking; it's not much of a party," Chloe interrupted. "As far as I'm concerned, you'd have no opposing force holding you back otherwise. It's only your third day of school." She had a meticulously spot-on truth about that; I really had no reason not to go, but after talking with Cas and meeting Ryder, my mind was really beginning twist a different direction.

That wasn't to say I wasn't leaning towards the middle, but my research was far from done. Tonight could just be another part of that experiment.

"Hello? Still alive?" Daniel persisted, reaching over to steal some of my lunch. Unlike the twins, I wasn't willing to make a game of it; I wasn't very hungry anyway.

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah." They stared at me with analyzing expressions, curious to see through my odd behaviour and short responses, but in all honesty, they didn't need to know. I had been here for three days and known them for three days. No damage done.

"Since that's obviously set in stone," Daniel drawled sarcastically, "I was trying to look for you yesterday. Found a new lunch buddy, huh?" My head shot up as Chloe's eyes widened with a new flame. Chloe may be slightly empty in the head and clueless, but Daniel was a bit sharper. That is, if he was implying my lunch date with Cas.