Janis Sarkisian and the absolutely, unbelievably perfect family

Strange

The mall was fairly quiet when we arrived. I wasn't sure if that was because it was only eight o'clock in the morning or whether in was because of how heavily it was raining but for some reason we were practically alone in the large shopping center.

Mrs Hubbard lead us straight to a shop that supplied uniforms and began talking to the lady behind the till as me and Damian wondered around, waiting for them to be finished, "You know you could have shown me a picture of you in your uniform Damian." I point out as we flick through a rack of blazers.

Snorting Damian shakes his head, "Not on your life. I don't have any pictures of me in my uniform cause all of them make me look like a lawyer and that is not the look I'm going for."

I laugh, scanning the shop floor for other people. Thankfully there weren't any. I had never been very fond of large and busy spaces, the noise often became to much for me fairly quickly and people budging up against me often made things worse.

Mrs Hubbard walks towards us with a woman with a tape measure behind her. Cue the thirty most embarasing minutes of my life.

---

We leave the shop with two heavy bags of clothes . The uniform wasn't actually as bad as Damian had made it out to be, there was a grey, red and black plaid patterned skirt with the same style tie. A v-neck sweater with red stripes around the neck, wrists and bottom, and a blazer with the school logo on it and a red hem line all around it. We also bought a couple of white shirts to wear underneath.

Walking through the mall I watched as more and more people began to turn up. A good percentage of the people being kid my age, slowly I got closer to Damian as we walked.

Noticing this he took my hand without missing a beat and lead us both into the homewear store after Mrs Hubbard, "You alright Janis?" He asked so only I could hear him.

I nodded, "I'm fine. I'm just not a big fan of crowds is all. Or other kids, they tend to only be made up of assholes."

Damian sniggered, nodding his head in agreement and then promptly getting distracted by a display of fairy lights and dragging me over to it, "Ooh these are cute!" He gushed, picking up a box of star shaped lights.

I nodded along, "I guess." I had never really been give the opportunity to decorate my own room so this was all foreign to me, I might as well have been building a rocket ship. That probably would have been easier.

Mrs Hubbard walked up behind us, "If you see anything you like just pop it in the cart!" She said, gesturing to the shopping cart that she had pushed over to us.

I shake my head immediately, "Oh I don't need anything." I say quickly, "The rooms fine as it is." I add on seeing both their sceptical expressions.

"Janis dear just because something is already good, doesn't mean it cannot be made better. Besides I want you to feel at home in your room, it should be decorated how you like it." Mrs Hubbard said, a sympathetic look on her face, "You don't have to get much, but please humour a lady who wants to make someone important to her happy."

My cheeks flush a deep red as she says this, burning my face. I had never had someone openly admit they care about me before, appart from Cady, and it was a strange feeling. I didn't really know how to react to it. 

Damian nudged me again, "Come on Janis, you gotta decorate it somehow."

I fight the urge to refuse again, instead taking the fairy lights out of Damians hand and throwing them in the cart. Shooting a smile towards Mrs Hubbard as I did so.

She beams at me, patting my back happily and beginning to push the cart down another isle, "Thank you!"

Once she is gone Damian grabs my hand and tugs me down an isle filled with different kinds of bedding. From star patterned sheets to just solid colours, it wouldn't have surprised me if they had it all.

"I have blue sheets on my bed." Damian told me as we scanned through the options in front of us, "I used to have these bunny ones and Ma tried to get me to keep using them. I think she was trying to deny my growing up you know."

I laugh at him, running my fingers along a galaxy patterned set, attempting not to absolutely fall in love with it, "I've never really got to pick my own stuff. The last home I was in just gave me a blanket and told me to make do. And the orphanages have limited supplies."

Damian peered over my shoulder, plucking the bedding from underneath my fingers and winking cheekily at me, "We'll get this one then yeah?" Before I could answer he had ran off to find Mrs Hubbard, me hot on his trail, laughing.

By the time we were heading to the checkout, Mrs Hubbard's shopping cart was full of all kinds of decorations. Including those glow in the dark stars that young children stick on their ceilings. Me and Damian had agreed that if I was going with a space theme for my room I might as well do it properly.

I had never felt this way about two people before. It was still to early to say if I loved them but I could feel an attachment growing, an attachment that would surely break me if something was to go wrong. Which knowing me it probably would.

It was a strange feeling. One I didn't want to lose. For once in my life I just wanted to be happy.

---

After putting our bags in the car, Mrs Hubbard lead us into the food hall inside the mall, sitting us down at a table and taking our orders before wondering off.

Damian was busy babbling about how excited he was to get home and start decorating my room, "Its going to look so good! I mean I though I had good taste and then you move in and make me look like a toddler."

I flick my hair over my shoulder in jest and flutter my eyelashes at him, "Its not my fault I'm just so fantastic!" I drawled, not immediately noticing the shadow that had been cast over our table or the way Damian developed a pail sick look on his face.

I look up to see a group of three girls stood by our table, staring at me. Raising an eyebrow I peered at the one who looked like we was in charge, she had long blond hair and cold blue eyes that probably would have been pretty if she didn't look like a complete and utter bitch, "Um...can I help you?"

She smiled in the most fake way I had ever seen, "We just didn't recognise you. That's all. We were wondering who you were and why you are hanging around with him." She inclines her head towards Damian and I feel my face heat up in annoyance.

"He has a name you know." I point out in a cliped tone, "And I'm sure you know it seen as you appear to have a distaste for him already."

The girl just smirks, "You must be new." She says, ignoring my prior statement, "I'm Regina George and this is Gretchen," she points to the brown haired girl beside her, "And Karen." She points to another blond who waves dopely at me.

"Hi, I'm Janis." I say, my eye flicking over to Damian who is sinking deeper and deeper down his chair, "I am new here and I'd like it very much if you left me and Damian alone. We're waiting for someone and that someone isn't you and your possy."

Reginas face darkens a little, I guess she isn't used to getting rejected like that, "I just thought you might need help finding the right kind of friends." She states, eyeing up Damian judgmentally and then looking me up and down annoyingly slowly.

"I'm alright. I can tell the right sort for myself thanks." I smile at her and take Damians hand, squeezing it just to prove a point.

That was when Mrs Hubbard walked over with a tray of food, "Is everything alright here?" She asked, her eyes nervous as she looked between, Damian and the other three girls.

I nod, smiling sweetly at her, "Its fine. Regina and her friends were just leaving." I flick my eyes up Reginas form the exact same way she had me and wave tauntingly at her.

"Of course! See you at school Janis!" Regina said, glaring at me, then turning on her heel and stalking away with Karen and Gretchen right behind her.

I met eyes with Damian and immediately burst out laughing, trying to ignore the waves of danger I got off of Regina George.