Chapter 3

My eyes met Everett’s unwelcoming ones, as I felt a shudder send down my spine. I was unable to speak, as my throat felt tight and dry.

                “I suggest you leave now, before I humiliate you in front of everyone outside.” Everett glared at me.

                I stared down at my feet, as I avoided any eye contact with Everett. His eyes were just so demeaning and intense, and I couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a few seconds. If I did, then I was scared that I would’ve broken down into tears. “I can’t leave,” I muttered, “my mom’s here.”

                Everett’s features softened for a minute at the sound of me mentioning my mother. I knew Everett always had a soft spot for my mother, because she was like his second mom. Colette and my mother were always around each other, so Everett grew on my mother quickly. “Well, just because she’s welcome, doesn’t mean you are.” Everett grumbled, before disappearing outside to the backyard.

                Shortly after Everett left, I stood frozen in his living room, paralyzed. I was on the verge of tears when my mother came back with Mr. Rosenfeld. Both of them had drinks in their hands, and my mother frowned when she saw me. “Riley? Honey, what are you still doing in here?” my mother asked. “Let’s go outside. I heard one of my high school friends are here!”

                I forced a smile, as I followed my mother and Mr. Rosenfeld outside. The air was warm, and smelt strongly of charcoal. I recognized some of my mother’s old friends and husbands, and a lot of Everett’s friends from school.

                “Audra!” a woman squealed, placing her beer down on the patio table to give my mother a warm hug. “I haven’t seen you since Riley was still three feet!”

                My mother grinned, happier than I have seen her in months. “It’s great to see you, Beatrice! Where’s your daughter?”

                Beatrice scanned her eyes over to where all Everett’s friends were hanging around, laughing obnoxiously. I caught his eyes for a second, before he turned away with a scowl plastered across his face. My heart sank, as Beatrice waved her hands to a strawberry blonde. “Cassandra, come here for a second!”

                The strawberry blonde got up from her seat, which was placed in between two guys, as she skipped over towards us. She frowned when she saw me, but immediately smiled when her eyes casted back to her mother’s.

                “What’s up?” she asked, giving us a curious smile.

                My mother beamed, as she pulled Cassandra into a tight hug. Cassandra’s eyes widened with confusion for a minute, before she let out a soft chuckle. She hugged my mother back before the two of them pulled away.

                “Honey, do you remember Aunt Audra and Riley?” Beatrice asked her daughter. Cassandra looked unsure, as she stared intently at my mother. “She’s the woman that used to give you those rainbow sprinkled cookies when you were little!”

                Cassandra’s eyes suddenly brightened with reorganization, as she nodded. “That was you?” she grinned. “I miss those cookies so much!”

                My mother’s cheeks turned dewy and red from happiness, as she smiled at Cassandra. “Well, you’ll be getting some more of them once your mother and I exchange numbers!”

                Beatrice laughed, before she gave my mother a hearty pat on the back. “We have so much to catch up on!” she threw her head back with laughter. She turned to Cassandra, before she pushed her towards me. “Honey, do you think you could hang around with Riley for tonight? She looks a bit on the shy side!”

                I blushed, as I stared down at my beat up shoes. “She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want-“

                “Sure!” Cassandra cut me off, giving her mother a smile.

                I stared at Cassandra with wide eyes. Her mother and mine left towards a group of middle aged woman, as I bit my lower lips. “Listen, you don’t have to be stuck with me if you don’t want to.” I told her once our mother’s were out of earshot.

                Cassandra gave me a small smile, before pulling my arm towards the group of Everett’s friends. “I wasn’t expecting it, but I’ve heard a lot about you from Everett.” She sighed, giving me a weak smile. “Nothing too good, unfortunately. But, I’m not going to take any chances listening to what he has to say. I want to find out for myself if what he says is true or not.”

                Whenever Everett made snide comments about me in front of everyone, I always noticed that everyone was laughing except of Cassandra. I gulped, before I nervously followed her over to Everett and his group of friends. His eyes immediately darkened when he saw me, as his death glare followed Cassandra and I until we sat down.

                Everyone was quiet, waiting for someone to say something. Cassandra rolled her eyes, before clearing her throat. “Guys, it’s rude to stare. Introduce yourselves.”

                Nobody said a word, but I could see from the corner of my eyes one of the guys nudging another. “Hey, isn’t that the girl that Everett hates?”

                My cheeks turned bright red, as I stared down at my bare legs. I suddenly regretted wearing my denim shorts today, considering the fact that my legs were bony and pale, unlike all of the other girls here that were wearing shorts. Their legs were all long and tanned.

                “Everett, what are the chances of your dad giving us some beer?” someone suddenly asked, as everyone erupted into laughter.

                Everett growled, staring down at his hands, though. No one knew why he was so moody when it came to alcohol, but I did. Everett had been against alcohol ever since his mother died. After all, it was a drunk driver who wasn’t paying attention to the traffic lights and killed her.

                My best guess was that Everett hadn’t told any of his so called friends about the reason for his mother’s death.

                “Don’t even think about it, Aaron.” Everett snapped.

                Aaron pressed his lips together in a thin, tight line, as Everett glared down at the ground. Cassandra, who shifted beside me uncomfortably, let out a low chuckle. “So guys, are any of you going to homecoming this year?”

                Immediately, the conversation shifted into the homecoming game that was coming up this Friday. Girls squealed excitedly about the upcoming homecoming dance and a few girls who sat around us even hinted to the guys to ask them to the dance. The guys were obviously too oblivious to see it, though, because they were too busy chatting about which team would win.

                I dozed off into my own space after a few minutes listening into their conversations. Nothing about dances or football interested me, so I stared mindlessly at the can of soda that I held in my hands.

                “Riley? What do you think?” Cassandra suddenly nudged my elbow, making my jolt up.

                I blinked at her, as all of the girl’s eyes turned towards me. Some were friendly, but others were cold and harsh. I cleared my throat, my cheeks turning pink. “I’m sorry, what?”

                Cassandra let out a laugh. “I was asking you if you wanted to get ready with the girls and I for homecoming.”

                I frowned, biting my lower lip. “I wasn’t planning on going.”

                Everett glanced over to where his father was, making sure he was out of earshot before he spoke to me. “It’s better if you don’t.” Everett gave me a cold glare. “You won’t be welcomed anyways.”

                Cassandra rolled her eyes, as she shot Everett a glare. “No one asked you, Everett.”

                I stared nervously at my palms, as I gulped. Why was Cassandra defending me? As far as I know, she and I haven’t had any contact or physical interaction until just an hour ago.

                “You’re at my house, Cassandra.” Everett smirked. “I think I get to say whatever I want.”

                Cassandra narrowed her eyes over at Everett with frustration, before cursing under her breath. “Jerk.” She muttered.

                “It’s okay.” I said, as I suddenly got up from my seat. Everett’s eyes shifted over to mine, as I ignored his gaze. “I didn’t want to go, anyways.”

                “You don’t have to listen to-“ Cassandra started off.

                I cut her off, giving her a weak smile. “I’m going to find my mother now.”

*

                “I still can’t believe you went to his house.” Max mumbled, as we walked down the halls side by side the next school morning.

                I rolled my eyes, as we stopped in front of our lockers, which were side by side each others. I dialed my combination, before taking out my books for the morning. “It wasn’t like I wanted to go.” I sighed. “I wish Mr. Rosenfeld hadn’t bumped into me at the grocery store. If he hadn’t, Everett wouldn’t have embarrassed the crap out of me.”

                “You really should’ve come over to my house, though.” Max grinned. “I had some of the guys over, and we had a Call of Duty marathon with your favorite Chinese food.”

                I laughed, pushing Max’s shoulder. “You don’t need to rub it in my face.” I paused. “Besides, there was this one girl who didn’t seem to hate my guts.”

                Max frowned, leaning against his locker. “Who? You made friends with one of Rosenfeld’s followers?”

                I gave him a glare. “She wasn’t all that bad, you know. Her name’s Cassandra.”

                “Did I hear someone say my name?” a bubbly blonde suddenly appeared by my shoulder, grinning from ear to ear at Max and I.

                Max clenched his jaw, giving Cassandra an unwelcoming stare. I nudged his elbow, as I shot him a glare.

                “Hi Cassandra.” I gave her a small smile, as she waved back at me enthusiastically.

                “Hey! I was trying to look for you at the barbecue on Saturday, but when I asked Everett, he said that you left.” Cassandra frowned.

                I licked my lips, shrugging. “Yeah. I wasn’t really fitting in, anyways.”

                Cassandra gave me a sad smile, as Max cleared his throat, stepping in. “Of course you didn’t fit in, Riley.” He glared at Cassandra accusingly. “That jerk’s friends weren’t exactly nice to you.”

                I glared at Max, punching his arm. “Max, stop being an ass.” Max got overprotective of me at times, and I appreciated it, but sometimes, he just didn’t know when to stop. “Cassandra’s nice, okay?”

                Cassandra gave Max a small smile, holding her hand out for him to shake. “I don’t think we’re formally met. I’m Cassandra Skinner.” She frowned, staring at Max intently. “I think we have a few classes together, am I right?”

                Max groaned, as he gave Cassandra’s hand a firm shake. He looked stiff as his hand touched hers. “Max Hunter.” he muttered.

                Cassandra smiled, ignoring Max’s negativity. “Max Hunter.” She repeated. “It has a nice ring to it.”

                Max muttered something under his breath, as Cassandra stared down at the silver watch that was latched around her left wrist. She frowned, as she looked up at us, giving us a small smile. “I’ll talk to you guys later, okay?” she waved. “I have class on the fourth floor.”

                “Bye.” I smiled weakly, as Cassandra turned around, and went down the hall.

                When she was completely gone, I turned to Max, giving him a nice smack on the shoulder. He flinched, giving me an accusing stare. “Hey!” he winced. “That actually hurt!”

                “You deserved it, you nut head.” I snapped. “Why were you being such a dick to Cassandra?”

                Max sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. “Well, no offense, but why would one of Everett’s friends want to be friends with you?” he asked.

                I sighed, rethinking his words. Max was right, but it was about time that I finally got a new friend. Max has been my only friend since Everett made everyone turn against me. “I’ll be careful, okay?” I reassured Max. The bell rang, as I sighed. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

                I made my way over to my first period biology class, and took the seat in the front row. After the late bell rang, and the class was settled down, I noticed that Everett wasn’t in class yet. His usual seat in the back of the class had now been taken by someone, and the only empty seat was right beside mine. I bit my lips, hoping that he wouldn’t show up today.

                But, ironically, the door flew open. Everett stood by the doorway, his skin pale, and eyes blotchy and tired looking.

                “You’re late, Mr. Rosenfeld.” The teacher grumbled, as Everett ignored him, shoving a late pass in his direction. The teacher glared at Everett, before clearing his throat. “Take the seat beside Miss Monroe, please.”

                Everett’s eyes dangerously flashed over to mine, as I dipped my head low. I heard Everett snicker, as I hid my face with my curtain of hair. “I’d rather sit on the floor.”

                “Take your seat before I give you detention.” The teacher angrily growled. “Now.”

                I heard Everett groan, as I heard him throw his book bag down on his desk. It landed with a loud thud, as he planked himself in his seat, slouching lazily.

                “Now without further interruptions, I can continue on with my lesson.” The teacher shot Everett a glare, before speaking.

                “Great, I have to listen to this boring lesson and sit next to a dog.” Everett muttered under his breath. “Can this day get any worse?”

*

                “I heard they were serving those brown hot dogs for lunch again today.” Max made a face, as we entered the lunch room later the day. The smell of burnt hot dogs immediately filled my nose, as I scrunched my nose in disgust.

                “I brought a sandwich from home today if you want to share it.” I said, as I began to dig into my bag to look for the sandwich I made this morning.

                Max shrugged, as we sat down at our usual table. I pulled the sandwich out from my bag, blushing when I realized that it had been squashed and flattened. Max let out a chuckle, as he shook his head. “Good job, Riley. How did you manage to get a footprint on this?” Max asked, holding up the sandwich that had a very evident footmark on it.

                “Someone must’ve stepped on it when I put my bag on the ground.” I muttered, tossing the sandwich out to the nearest trash can there was. “Whatever. I wasn’t hungry, anyways.”

                Max stared at me from a long moment, before taking a package of my favorite chocolate chip cookies out from his bag. My eyes widened, as Max tossed it towards my directions.

                “I got these for you.” Max grinned, as I beamed at the cookies.

                “Thank you!” I gushed, ripping open the package once it was in my hands.

                Max laughed, as soon, another female voice was laughing along with us. “Excited about cookies, aren’t we?” Cassandra asked, as she took the empty seat beside me.

               My cheeks turned bright red, as I noticed that everyone from Everett’s lunch table had their heads turned this way, wondering why the hell Cassandra was sitting with a couple of losers like me.

                “Wow, I didn’t think you were actually serious when you said that you were going to see us at lunch.” Max muttered under his breath.

                Cassandra frowned, looking hurt for a second, before a smile lit across her face. “Well, it’s nice to finally have some space out of that bubble.”

                “What bubble?” I muffled, as I chewed on a cookie.

                Cassandra blushed, before shrugging lightly. “It’s just, the girls are nice and all.” She turned around to stare at the group of girls that I usually saw her around with. “But, they don’t really like talking about anything other than shoes and lip gloss.”

                “Oh.” Max finally said something. “Well, we like talking about how pathetic shoes and lip gloss are.”

                A smile spread across Cassandra’s lips, and she didn’t seem the slightest bit offended. “I think we’ll be great friends.”