"Makayla..." I droned.

"Hey, you need to come with me!" She said grabbing my arm.

"Kayla!" I swatted her arm.

"Ow!"

"Woman, you know how I am!" The memory of the prank fluttered through my face but she didn't catch it.

"Whatever, c'mon!" She said with a light in her eyes. Oh no, I thought, what has her mind connived this time? I followed her and asked,

"What is it?"

"Lunch." She said with a smile that worried me, "NOW."

Pro tip, when a girl speaks in all caps; it'd be wise for you to do what she says. As some old people told me once, happy wife, happy life or if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. I don't know why I translated that to two wise words for friendships with women: yes, ma'am. Yup, that's the two words: yes ma'am... most of the time, it's a start.

I followed her into the cafeteria and once I saw an empty seat next to Sarahlinn I stopped for a second. The blonde from my second period was across from her and gave me a smirk. Oh dear Lord Jesus.

Kayla urged me onwards with a look in her eyes I interpreted as get over here or die the Death. I followed her as tentatively as I would Sauron. After the Dark Lord took the edge of the table I... tried to sit naturally next to Sarah.

"Everyone!" Makayla introduced, "This is Allen! Allen," she pointed to those named, "Hannah, Megan, Alisha and Sarah."

Hannah was picking at her food, Alisha gave a bashful wave, Megan was still reading her book, and Sarahlinn smiled as she blew a tuft of her hair from her eyes. I mumbled a greeting and got my packed lunch, two Subway foot longs I bought this morning. I popped open a can of Cherry Dr. Pepper as the others looked at me... or was it the food?

"Gawd," Hannah said, "I wish we had open campus lunch."

Well it was the food.

"I know right-" Megan started until she saw me and said with a start, "oh! You..."

I gave her finger guns saying, "Heyy!"

But my face was probably screaming about being comfortably—uncomfortable. Yeah, as of today that's a thing. The anxiety of sitting next to my crush was uncomfortable... but sitting next to my crush somehow made me comfortable at the same time? I sipped some soda in an attempt to calm my nerves.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Hannah asked before Kayla kicked her shin and gave her the Glare of Sauron. I tried to joke, another coping mechanism of mine,

"What? Jeally of my sandwich toasted over the fires of Mordor?"

The others laughed and Hannah rolled her eyes.

"On a legit note, yeah. Yeah I am."

"Hey guys," Makayla started, "how about we all meet up after school at Subway?"

This time, I gave her the Glare of Sauron.

"Yeah, totally!" Alisha said with some hidden intent, "Speaking of, I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Yeah," Hannah said checking her nails nonchalantly, "I do to."

"Same here!" Kayla said.

I watched my sandwich as the three got up and left. Megan was on the other end of the table, reading, and Sarah was next to me. With my mind blank, I tried using the closest thing on my mind besides her for conversation.

"So- uh- did you want a sub?"

Yeah, smooth Allen, SMOOTH. Food just had to be the other thing on your mind! She giggled and looked at me.

"No thanks."

She puckered her lip, cast fleeting eyes at the bathroom and then reached into her backpack and pulled something out.

"Hey, I'd like to apologize about that prank the other night."

I tightened up, but said,

"Oh, no problem!" Then I combined my face with sandwich.

"No, I would have been livid. And-" she smiled sheepishly, "thanks for catching me and-" she blushed, "stuff."

I was probably blushing as well, I couldn't feel it coming like other people could. Before I could say anything though Megan randomly asked,

"Do you know Tolkien Black Speech?"

I leaned over to make eye contact with her cuz... you know... Sarahlinn's ethereal beauty was in the way.

"The language of the orcs? No?"

"Good, geav ij room alreadausan lat ukilpak loveruk!"*

"Jesus Christ! We just met!"

Sarah rolled her eyes, "What did you say?"

"You understood me?!"

"Yeah, I did. I meant I can't speak it but I understand it!"

Megan just buried her head into her book flushed red. Sarah sighed and pulled out my phone. She smiled and handed it to me on my thigh so the teachers wouldn't see. As if on cue the others returned.

Deep breaths Allen, get your third leg to come down from the ceiling...

"Hey," Hannah said as they all sat down, "I wanna eat that."

Megan gave me the I'm—watching—you signal with two fingers and uttered, "Jiak'm waavchaumn lat!"**

I just laughed at Megan, speaking fluent Black Speech like the Nazgûl or something.

"You'll need the Palantir in order to do that."

Hannah grumbled something and everyone started eating. Alisha smiled at me in the corner of my eye and I put my phone into my pocket and hit the vibrate switch just in case. I took some more bites of my sandwich and sipped some soda.

"So," Makayla asked with a smug look, "how's your day so far?"

Well, I thought, I'm only a few minutes into lunch and I am surrounded by women... and in this context it might be my worst nightmare.

Sarah smirked, "Not to bad I hope."

Why does her voice make ALL the difference?

"It's been okay," I said after a bite, "had a run in with those twins in math class."

"You mean Dick-1 and Dick-2? Just wait until you run into the Cat in the Hat." Hannah said with a mouth partly full of chicken fried steak.

"What was their problem anyway?"

Pain flashed across Hannah's face and Makayla was quick to change the subject.

"What were your favorite classes so far?"

"Why are you asking? You already know." I growled out.

"Yeah but they don't," Makayla added with a swift kick, "silly."

"Ow!"

I spied my brother passing by, tray of food in hand.

"Hey bae! Make sure he doesn't grope anyone or something!"

I covered my face and Makayla almost yelled back,

"I will babe!"

"You, told him." Hannah accused nonchalantly.

"I didn't tell him a word of what happened." I answered seriously.

"Really?" Makayla said mischievously and she pretended to get up to tell him.

"You stay right there Kayla!" I piped and she let out one of her laughs that wooed my brother and I thought was obnoxious.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Sarah asked curiously, "Does he annoy you?"

"Very much so." I said with zero humor.

"Aww, don't be like that." Kayla said.

"Just wait until you marry him, you'll Black Widow him in his sleep because of his snoring or something."

"Don't you hate it when you go to the bathroom," Hannah said changing the subject, "and your siblings dropped a bomb in there?"

"Well," I confessed, "he and I have had separate bathrooms most of our lives."

"Guys," Alisha stated resting her head in her hand while looking at me, "he never told us his favorite subjects."

"Oh yeah! Tell us!" Kayla said.

"Well in my free time I like to read history." I said bashfully.

They were silent a moment and Hannah said in a monotone, "History is so cool."

"I know right? My favorite period of time is from 1848 to maybe 1895."

Hannah rose a brow confused and yelped when Sarah kicked her.

"My favorite subject," Sarah said, "is probably psychology. I want to go and become a child psychologist someday."

"And I want to become Brock Lesnar when he was MMA." Hannah said monotonously and Sarah kicked her again. Is there something I missed?

"You know what I want to be already ladies." Kayla said and everyone practically groaned in unison, including Megan from her book.

"Married."

She waved her hand dismissively, "Yep."

The lunch bell rang and Sarah turned to me and asked, "Same place tomorrow?"

"S-sure." I said and we all joined the herds of students funneling out the door.

A/N: Translations? "Get a room already you silly lovers" & "I'm watching you" XD If it's wrong I used a translator tool... I know I'm a wussie XD.