this is the start | gilinsky

Chapter Twelve

    This shouldn't be awkward. I shouldn't feel weird. Standing in Jack Gilinsky's sister's room without a shirt on shouldn't give me this much anxiety. 

    "This one would look super cute on her!" Jack's older sister, Molly, tells Laura, his other older sister. I see that she's holding up a short-sleeved white v-neck and cringe. Too much of my cleavage would be showing in that. I quickly wipe the look off my face, trying not to be rude. 

    Molly shoves the shirt at me and urges me to try it on. I do what she wants and slide it over my head letting it fall carelessly over my body. It's not as tight as Mallory's shirt was yesterday, it's actually kind of nice. The only thing I hate about it is how it makes my chest so obvious. 

    "You look better in that than I ever did." Laura compliments me. 

    "I doubt that." I tell her, hoping she knows what she said is not true. She places her hand on my forearm and squeezes it, just like Mom does.

    "We should put this in the wash now; that way you can have it back before you leave." Molly recommends, holding up my stained t-shirt. I shake my head and grab it from her.

    "No way! I am not having you wash my clothes for me!" I laugh.

    "Oh, come on, Marley! It's just one shirt." Laura reaches out to take it from me but I grasp it tighter.

    "No, nope, nu-uh." I refuse to let them have it. 

   "Marley, we are not letting you leave this house until you give us that shirt!" Molly orders.

    "Then I guess I'll never leave." 

    "Jack would like that." Laura jokes. My face goes blank and I have to tell myself not to get too excited. His sisters notice my sudden change in behavior and I mentally smack myself.

    "He's with Leigh..." Molly whispers. I see Laura roll her eyes. 

    "It was just a joke, calm down." 

    "I'm gonna leave this here until I go home," I take a deep breath and put my dirty shirt on Molly's desk, "Don't you dare wash it." The sisters nod their heads and I give them the best smile I can muster up before turning to walk out of the room. 

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    "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Leigh squeals. "I thought we agreed never to mention that again!" She claps her hands together annoyingly loud and I pray that I have the strength not to roll my eyes when she playfully slaps Gilinsky. I guess Sammy senses my irritation because he nudges me with his shoulder. I stay fixated on the ground.

    "I remember how embarrassing that was..." Leigh continues. I don't even recall what this conversation is even about but I'm assuming it has something to do with her and Gilinsky, so I shake it off. 

    We've been sitting around in a circle on Gilinsky's living room floor for the past two hours just talking about nothing, I haven't even said a word. I feel like I don't belong here. Especially with Leigh.

    "Do you still have my clothes from yesterday?" Mallory whispers from next to me while Leigh continues to blabber on about whatever she was talking about. 

    "Yeah, do you wanna come to my place after we leave here so I can give them to you?" I propose. 

    "Ok." Mallory nods. 

    "What about you, Harley?" Leigh's question is directed at me. A couple of laughs are stifled and I stiffen.

    "Huh?" My lips curl. I don't even bother telling her that my name isn't Harley. 

    "Do you have a boyfriend back home?" I can tell Leigh is trying not to sound rude, but she doesn't succeed. 

    My cheeks feel hot as I clear my throat. "No." I admit. I never talked to any boys in New York other than my brother's friends. I'm pretty sure none of them knew I existed.

    "Oh." She responds. 

    I've just made everything super awkward and I'm not sure how to fix it. I feel so stupid. I should've just lied and said yeah. I'm sure Tyler (one of Jordan's friends) would've gone along with it just to help me out. 

    "I'm gonna head home..." I announce. My eyes find a clock above the fireplace to see that it's only nine. I must be a laughingstock around here.

    "Why so early?" Johnson eyes me as I stand up. I know it's not because of the shirt, but I pull it up in the front anyway.

    "It's my second day here and I haven't really spent much time with my dad." I shrug. It's half true. I do wanna spend time with my dad, but I also just wanna get out of here. 

    "Need me to walk you home?" Sam queries. 

    "No," Mallory answers for me, "I'm actually going with her so I can go pick up my clothes." I instantly feel a pang of guilt in my chest. I forgot that if I left, Mal would have to leave too. 

    "It's fine, you can st-"

    "We'll see you all tomorrow." Mallory cuts me off. She leans over towards Johnson and pecks him on the cheek before dragging me to the front door. Everyone mumbles their goodbyes and I laugh as soon as we're out of earshot. 

    "What was that?" 

    "I needed to get out of there just as much as you wanted to." Mallory looks tired. "I don't know why Leigh's acting so weird." 

    "It's probably my fault..." I concede.

    "No, it has to be something else." Mallory disagrees. "I think her and Jack aren't really working out and she's just moody." 

    "What do you mean they're not working out?" My heart leaps. "Jack looks at her like she's gold."

    "The same way Sammy looks at you." Mallory smiles. I stop dead in my tracks. 

    "What?" My breathing seems to be cut off and I feel dizzy. Sammy? 

    "Oh, never mind." Mallory seems to be entertained by my reaction. "I'm just messing with you, I know y'all are best friends." Best friends? Would I call Sam my best friend? We have gotten really close even though it's only been two days. I'm getting more confused as the seconds pass by, I don't even know what to think.

    "Anyway, I don't know - I just feel like things are weird between them." Mallory leaves it at that and we don't speak anymore until we get to my house. 

    "I washed them and everything." I say as we make our way up to my room. Saying the word 'washed' makes me remember my dirty t-shirt is still up in Molly's room. I mentally curse myself for being so forgetful. 

    "I appreciate that." Mallory thanks me. I nod my head, opening up my bedroom door. As soon as it's open I hear Violet's soft bark and smile. She jumps off my bed and leaps up to lick me on the face. I laugh and pet her head then slide past her into my room. Mal keeps Violet busy while I rummage through my closet to get her clothes. 

    When I return to her with them, Violet is no longer next to her. "I guess she got tired of me," Mallory humors. I shake my head. 

    "She was probably hungry and went to her food bowl." I hand her clothes over. 

    "I'll talk to you tomorrow." 

    "Yeah." I wave her off after giving her quick hug and she bounces down the stairs and out of the house. Falling onto my bed in exhaustion, I wonder why I'm so tired.

    I hear Dad calling me from the family room and decide I need to get up and hang out with him. My clock reads 9:20pm. I can do this, I just need time to get used to everything. Hopefully I will.

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hey guys i hope you liked this chapter! I feel like it was getting boring because I kept dragging it on, so I just decided to end it where I did. Next chapter will be more exciting! If you have any suggestions or advice don't be afraid to tell me, and don't forget to vote if you want to! much love- gilinskyshigh